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'78f76101e1a67f0fbfb1bbc8df75ee097247d4e4'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies strengthen as U.S. wage growth slows'|'(Updates prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies strengthened on Friday after U.S. wage growth eased, fueling bets that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates again this year. U.S. average hourly earnings rose a wafer-thin 0.1 percent in August after two months of stronger gains, data showed on Friday, adding to concerns over sluggish inflation that remains far below the Fed''s 2 percent target. A slower path of U.S. rate hikes may sustain demand for high-yielding assets in emerging markets, bolstering the value of their currencies. "Real economic activity is solid but price and wage pressures remain weak," Citigroup strategists wrote in a client note. "Markets, and the Fed, will remain in ''wait and see'' mode." Currencies from Mexico and Colombia firmed around 0.5 percent, and the Argentina peso climbed 0.7 percent. The Brazil real inched up about .1 percent. Gains in the Chilean peso were limited by bets on interest rate cuts later in the year, after minutes from the central bank''s last policy meeting showed one policymaker voted for a reduction, and the currency was essentially flat. The peso has rallied in recent weeks as copper prices soared, feeding expectations of easing inflationary pressure. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index rose nearly 1.7 percent, also helped by stronger-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter that suggested a recovery from the deepest recession in a century remained on track. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1938 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1091.42 0.34 26.14 MSCI LatAm 2902.95 1.04 22.75 Brazil Bovespa 72007.79 1.66 19.56 Mexico IPC 51049.51 -0.31 11.85 Chile IPSA 5173.91 0.4 24.63 Chile IGPA 25838.50 0.43 24.62 Argentina MerVal 23703.80 0.49 40.11 Colombia IGBC 11162.63 1.03 10.21 Venezuela IBC 234286.09 -0.48 638.95 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1441 0.09 3.34 Mexico peso 17.8020 0.47 16.53 Chile peso 625.05 -0.07 7.30 Colombia peso 2930 0.58 2.44 Peru sol 3.238 0.03 5.44 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.2000 0.70 -7.70 Argentina peso (parallel) 18.1 0.88 -7.07 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Alistair Bell and Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam/emerging-markets-latam-currencies-strengthen-as-u-s-wage-growth-slows-idUSL2N1LI1PS'|'2017-09-02T00:58:00.000+03:00'
'a94950a6b8acf7a394f2dedd2f289c4e588304cb'|'Occidental ships first crude cargo from Corpus Christi after Harvey'|'HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Oil producer Occidental Petroleum has loaded and shipped its first crude oil cargo from its Western Gulf Coast terminal since operations at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, were disrupted by Hurricane Harvey, the company said on Saturday.The company’s Ingleside Energy Center oil export terminal, with capacity to handle 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), has resumed activities and plans to continue alleviating congestion for crude producers in the U.S Permian basin, where Occidental operates large output facilities.The first crude cargo, on an Aframax tanker, started loading some 700,000 barrels of U.S crude on Thursday and it set sail on Saturday for an undisclosed international destination, the firm said. (Reporting by Catherine Ngai; writing by Marianna Parraga; editing by Richard Valdmanis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-occidental/occidental-ships-first-crude-cargo-from-corpus-christi-after-harvey-idINL2N1LJ0E9'|'2017-09-02T15:54:00.000+03:00'
'e0139ca4edea0068e988f105927fbf785fa9e53c'|'China''s Xi says BRICS must promote open world economy'|'September 3, 2017 / 8:32 AM / an hour ago China''s Xi says BRICS must promote open world economy Reuters Staff 1 Min Read China''s President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee XIAMEN, China (Reuters) - The BRICS group of countries must promote trade liberalisation and an open world economy, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday. The countries of BRICS - which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - should explore ways to innovate economically, Xi said at the start of a BRICS summit in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen. Related Coverage'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/china-brics-int/chinas-xi-says-brics-must-promote-open-world-economy-idUKKCN1BE0F0'|'2017-09-03T11:31:00.000+03:00'
'e5674247c05e9bad7bb1c7a7322146f2525507ef'|'Bain, Cinven name industry veteran Albrecht as Stada CEO'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Private equity firms Bain and Cinven, the buyout firms that have taken control of Stada ( STAGn.DE ), picked generic drug industry veteran Claudio Albrecht as the German group’s fourth chief executive in 15 months.However, Albrecht, an Austrian, is only expected to serve as an interim boss until a long-term candidate is found.Albrecht, who advised Bain and Cinven as they were bidding for Stada against a rival consortium of Permira and Advent, would now “lead the process of transition to a privately held company”, they said on Friday.“In due course, we expect him to join the Stada group in a non-executive role as originally envisaged once a CEO has been recruited who will lead Stada in the long run.”Bain and Cinven clinched the Stada deal last month with a sweetened 5.3 billion-euro ($6.3 billion) bid, the largest private equity-funded takeover of a German listed company.Albrecht was head of Icelandic generic drugmaker Actavis until it was taken over in 2012 by U.S. peer Watson Pharmaceuticals, which adopted the target company’s name.Among previous roles, he was chief executive of family-owned German drugmaker Ratiopharm, which was later acquired by Teva ( TEVA.TA ).His experience is mainly in the field of generic drugs - cheap copies of pharmaceuticals that have lost patent protection. While that is a key source of cash flow for Stada, the German group has mainly relied on prescription-free consumer care products for growth in previous years.Albrecht’s nomination has yet to be rubber-stamped by the future supervisory board, as Bain and Cinven have to fill five non-executive board seats following the resignation of directors last week.Stada’s new owners will also appoint Mark Keatley as finance chief. He is a partner at Claudio Albrecht’s advisory firm Albrecht, Prock & Partners and served as chief financial officer of Actavis before the Watson deal.Following pressure from an activist investor to overhaul Stada, long-serving Chief Executive Hartmut Retzlaff last year resigned on health grounds, to be replaced by executive board member Matthias Wiedenfels.Wiedenfels quit in a dispute with the group’s supervisory board in July and was succeeded by Engelbert Coster Tjeenk Willink as interim chief executive in July.($1 = 0.8410 euros)Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-ceo/bain-cinven-name-industry-veteran-albrecht-as-stada-ceo-idINKCN1BC49R'|'2017-09-01T06:40:00.000+03:00'
'4ba89cf7bdee081d859c0266dbcb9059e2124a94'|'Department store operator Bon-Ton turns to turnaround advisers -sources'|'(Reuters) - U.S. department store chain Bon-Ton Stores Inc ( BONT.O ) is hiring advisers to help it turn around its business and slash its debtload, as it struggles to cope with the sector’s downturn, according to people familiar with the matter.The move underscores the woes of the bricks-and-mortar retail sector, which has been plagued by numerous bankruptcies this year as consumers increasingly move their spending to e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ).Bon-Ton has tapped advisory firm AlixPartners LLP to provide operational advice on its turnaround efforts, and is also interviewing banks to appoint an advisor to review strategic options including debt restructuring, the sources said this week.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Bon-Ton and AlixPartners did not respond to requests for comment.Bon-Ton serves smaller communities in 26 states across the U.S. Northeast, Midwest and Great Plains under banners including Bon-Ton, Younkers and Bergner‘s.The York, Pennsylvania-based company has been suffering from years of losses, including a loss of $33.2 million for the quarter that ended July 29.Bon-Ton’s debt totaled about $850 million as of July 29. A portion of the company’s revolving credit facility expires next year. Bon-Ton’s market capitalization is just $15 million.The department store operator’s debt is trading well below its face value, indicating investor concerns over its ability to make a full repayment. The company’s $350 million in collateral-backed bonds maturing in 2021 were trading at about 38 cents on the dollar on Thursday, according to Thomson Reuters data.Bon-Ton has been seeking to cut costs and capture a bigger slice of the online shopping pie. It has also been offering products made in the local communities surrounding its stores in a program called “Close to Home.”William Tracy, the company’s former chief operating officer, took over as Bon-Ton’s CEO this month. He had previously held management positions at shoe and accessories seller Nine West, New York retailer Fortunoff and Canadian department store operator Hudson’s Bay Company ( HBC.TO ).Hudson’s Bay is considering going private following pressure from an activist shareholder, Reuters reported last week. Nordstrom Inc ( JWN.N ), another U.S. department store operator, is also considering being taken private by members of the Nordstrom family.AlixPartners has advised several retailers in financial distress, including fashion house BCBG Max Azria Global Holdings LLC, which filed for bankruptcy in February.Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bon-ton-stores-restructuring/department-store-operator-bon-ton-turns-to-turnaround-advisers-sources-idINKCN1BB2C6'|'2017-08-31T14:24:00.000+03:00'
'2eaf6be2ad670127a97adf665569e29d0e8d53cc'|'Travel money demand suggests rise in Britons choosing south-east Asia'|'Currencies Travel money demand suggests rise in Britons choosing south-east Asia Post Office reports jump in demand for Thai baht and Vietnamese dong as pound’s fall against euro makes Europe dearer Sales of Thailand’s currency through the Post Office travel money arm between June and August were up 69% on the same period last year. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Currencies Travel money demand suggests rise in Britons choosing south-east Asia Post Office reports jump in demand for Thai baht and Vietnamese dong as pound’s fall against euro makes Europe dearer View more sharing options Rupert Jones Saturday 2 September 2017 00.01 BST Sterling’s slump since the Brexit vote appears to have led to not just an increase in staycations but a boom in the numbers of UK holidaymakers heading east to destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam and Bali. The Post Office’s travel money arm said the trends it was seeing in demand for currency indicated a surge in trips booked to south-east Asia as UK tourists look to combine winter sun later this year with lower prices for accommodation, food and other holiday staples. The weakness of sterling added hundreds of pounds to the cost of many people’s summer holidays both this year and last. On Friday the pound was trading at just under €1.09. That is down from €1.30 the day before the referendum in June 2016, and €1.42 in August 2015. But British holidaymakers heading to Europe are being offered much worse exchange rates than that at some UK airport bureaux de change. It was reported on Friday one at Southampton was offering €0.867 for a pound. While sterling’s slide has made overseas holidays more expensive and prompted some Britons to swap Ibiza for the Isle of Wight, others have decided to look further afield, which may partly reflect the fact that in the case of some currencies, the pound is not down quite so dramatically. For example, while sterling has fallen by 16% against the euro since the day before the Brexit vote, it is down 10% against the Vietnamese dong over the same period. The Post Office, which claims to be the UK’s biggest travel money provider, said one of the biggest surges in demand had been for the Thai baht. Sales of Thailand’s currency June to August were up 69% on the same period last year. Demand for the Vietnamese dong was up 29%, while for the Indonesian rupiah the increase was 13%. As a result, these three countries, plus Malaysia (up 7%), accounted for four of the top 10 spots in the provider’s table of the “fastest growing currencies” this summer. Andrew Brown, a spokesman for the Post Office’s travel money division, said: “Looking forward to the autumn and winter, there is every reason to expect that UK tourists will head east for long-haul holidays if our summer currency sales are anything to go by. Savvy travellers know that prices in Thailand, Bali, Vietnam and Penang are cheap, and in times when the value of sterling is uncertain, low resort costs are proving a big draw.” Strong demand for trips to watch the British & Irish Lions summer rugby tour made the New Zealand dollar the fastest growing currency between June and August, with demand up 124%. Brown said: “Sales have remained very healthy over the past month, suggesting New Zealand will be popular with UK visitors this winter.” In terms of Europe, Croatia proved to be “the year’s big winner”, with Post Office sales of its currency, the kuna, up by a third over the summer compared with the same period last year. Over the past five years kuna sales have more than doubled, it said. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/02/travel-money-demand-suggests-rise-in-britons-south-east-asia-pound-fall-euro'|'2017-09-02T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'e7d17634ae715b88c240c7b08e8370004b6a1323'|'CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 1-U.S. stock ETFs attract most cash since June -Lipper'|'(Please see table at bottom, corrected to comply with an official correction from Lipper) By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. fund investors regained their risk appetite during the latest week, draining money market funds and pouring their cash into stocks after six straight weeks of withdrawals. Stock exchange-traded funds in the United States attracted $9.2 billion during the week ended Aug. 30, the most since June, according to Lipper data on Thursday. That more than offset the $3.1 billion that bled from equity mutual funds in the same period, the research service said. Mutual funds are heavily favored by retail investors, while ETFs draw a diverse set of clients, including fast-trading hedge funds. Tom Roseen, head of research services for Thomson Reuters'' Lipper unit, said there is plenty to worry about with ongoing conflict between North Korea and the United States as well as "lofty" U.S. stock prices. Yet the global economy looks good. "People were a little bit more aggressive," Roseen said of ETF investors. "They were just focused on the good news." Funds focused on domestic shares pulled in $3.9 billion, the most since June. Internationally focused equity funds pulled in $2.2 billion, the most since July, Lipper said. Money market funds, which have pulled in tens of billions this summer as calm markets turned turbulent, posted $19.9 billion in withdrawals during the latest week, the data showed. But Roseen said uncertainty is keeping demand up for some safe-haven investments. Gold is trading at $1,321 an ounce, up nearly 9 percent from early July. Precious metals commodities funds, which invest directly in gold and other similar assets, pulled in $766 million in their largest week of inflows since June. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF pulled in $213 million, the most since March. That fund buys shares in companies that produce bullion. The following is a breakdown of the flows for the week, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds: Sector Flow Chg % Assets Assets Count ($blns) ($blns) All Equity Funds 6.136 0.10 6,126.670 11,448 -Domestic 3.928 0.09 4,199.973 8,165 Equities -Non-Domestic 2.208 0.12 1,926.697 3,283 Equities All Taxable Bond 2.128 0.09 2,503.163 5,773 Funds All Money Market -19.912 -0.77 2,560.250 1,092 Funds All Municipal 0.345 0.09 393.086 1,408 Bond Funds (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/investment-mutualfunds-lipper/update-1-u-s-stock-etfs-attract-most-cash-since-june-lipper-idINL2N1LH2A6'|'2017-08-31T21:35:00.000+03:00'
'f151f82aeb22a508e03cadc6fc9498dc914d6c0b'|'Liberty House to invest $1 bln in Australian steelworks to meet infrastructure boom'|'MELBOURNE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Liberty House says it will pump A$1.26 billion ($1 billion) into steel-making capacity in Australia to meet the demands of a decade-long infrastructure boom in the country, months after acquiring a steelworks which was in voluntary administration and billions of dollars in debt.The British firm’s executive chairman, billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, visited the South Australian town of Whyalla to announce the upgrades on Friday, saying a 100-day review would result in plans to transform the plant, including fixing its power needs by harnessing waste gases and investing in pumped hydro and large-scale solar energy.The previous owner of the steelworks, Australian steel group Arrium Ltd, collapsed in April 2016 with A$2.8 billion in debt after creditors rejected a $927 million bailout proposal by private equity group GSO Capital Partners that would have paid no more than 55 cents on the dollar on their claims.But despite its 18-months in limbo, Gupta told Australian media on Friday he did not see why the plant should be condemned.“I saw an asset which was misunderstood, underappreciated and I saw a discussion going on about how to transition to its close so that the impact on the town was minimised — I was shocked,” Gupta said.He told the Australian Financial Review on Friday of short-term plans to lift the steel plant’s capacity to 1.5 million tonnes and increase output at the electric arc furnaces and rolling mills on the east coast to meet an “immense”, 10-year pipeline of new infrastructure projects in Australia including highways, bridges and airports.In a nod to its pre-Arrium glory days, Gupta said the plant and its associated infrastructure would now operate under the name Liberty OneSteel.Liberty House, which operates together with energy and commodities business SIMEC under the $9.4 billion Gupta Family Group (GFG) Alliance, hit the headlines last year when it offered to rescue steel plants owned by Tata Steel UK that were on the verge of shutdown.Liberty has since bought an aluminum smelter in Scotland and a steel plant in the United States (Reporting by Joseph Hinchliffe; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/arrium-australia/liberty-house-to-invest-1-bln-in-australian-steelworks-to-meet-infrastructure-boom-idUSL4N1LJ047'|'2017-09-02T12:17:00.000+03:00'
'7fb102c611bc7363db747bcb424e5476ae08247f'|'No offer for Fiat Chrysler on the table, CEO says'|'Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne arrives in the paddocks before the third free practice session for the Italian F1 Grand Prix in Monza September 5, 2015. REUTERS/Max Rossi Picture Supplied by Action Images MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler has not received any offer for the company nor is the Italian-American carmaker working on any “big deal”, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Saturday.Speaking on the sidelines of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix, Marchionne said the focus remained on executing the company’s business plan to 2018.The executive reiterated the company was working on a plan to “purify” its portfolio and that units, such as the components businesses, would be separated from the group. He hopes to complete that process by the end of 2018.He said the time was not right for a spin-off of luxury brand Maserati and sporty Alfa Romeo and the two brands needed to become self-sustainable entities first. He said such a spin-off would not happen under his tenure, which lasts until April 2019.Reporting by Agnieszka Flak '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-fiatchrysler-m-a/no-offer-for-fiat-chrysler-on-the-table-ceo-says-idINKCN1BD0EG'|'2017-09-02T09:27:00.000+03:00'
'b49c1cac4a19ee6aa797eb6b03ae8f1bf221fa5f'|'Lloyds appoints MBNA boss to lead credit card growth push-source'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:47 AM / in 5 hours Lloyds appoints MBNA boss to lead credit card growth push-source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A sign hangs outside a Lloyds Bank branch in London, Britain, February 21, 2017. Picture taken February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) will announce on Monday the boss of a credit card business bought by the lender will lead a push into expanding its card business in an effort to boost profit and reduce its reliance on mortgage lending. Elyn Corfield, who has been MBNA’s managing director since Lloyds’ 1.9 billion pound takeover completed earlier this year, will take charge of the bank’s overall cards operation, according to a source familiar with the plans. Lloyds bought MBNA to diversify the bank’s mortgage-dominated balance sheet, as record-low interest rates squeeze the lender’s ability to make profits on secured home-lending. A number of other appointments are also expected to be announced internally on Monday. The bank declined to comment. Sky News reported the move earlier. Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; editing by Carolyn Cohn '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloyds-credit-card/lloyds-appoints-mbna-boss-to-lead-credit-card-growth-push-source-idUKKCN1BF1C2'|'2017-09-04T14:46:00.000+03:00'
'feeaf488afa3dd1c57b47fa77eaa111cca16b11f'|'Moscow says Schlumberger Russian oil services deal held up by U.S sanctions - reports'|'MOSCOW, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The acquisition of Russia’s Eurasia Drilling Co (EDC) by U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger has been held up by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Russian Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich was Quote: d as saying by local news services.Schlumberger applied to the watchdog for approval to buy the stake in late July in a deal widely seen as testing the state of relations between Russia and the United States.However, since then the United States has introduced additional sanctions against Russia for its alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential elections in 2016. The sanctions restrict cooperation in the Russian energy sector.Several Russian officials, including the Natural Resources minister and the head of anti-monopoly body, have said the deal had been held up due to the political turmoil.“I agree that we shouldn’t sell it if in a month the company will stop working (due to sanctions),” Dvorkovich was Quote: d as saying by RIA news agency late on Friday.Schlumberger has made no comment on the state of the deal.It is Schlumberger’s second attempt to buy into EDC, and it would be the first U.S. stake in Russia’s oil and gas industry since sanctions were imposed on Moscow after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.In 2015, Schlumberger agreed to buy 45.65 percent of EDC for $1.7 billion, but the deal fell through after the Russian anti-monopoly repeatedly postponed its approval. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Hugh Lawson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-schlumberger-sanctions/moscow-says-schlumberger-russian-oil-services-deal-held-up-by-u-s-sanctions-reports-idUSL8N1LJ06F'|'2017-09-02T17:33:00.000+03:00'
'78d6cde775a29e6f3c5ca7c1d44faa72ed03dc7a'|'Ford''s US auto sales dip 2.1 pct in August; GM''s rise 7.5 pct'|'September 1, 2017 / 1:49 PM / 6 minutes ago Automaker shares rise as Texans must replace drowned cars Joseph White , Ankit Ajmera 4 Min Read The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Warren Transmission Operations Plant in Warren, Michigan October 26, 2015. Photo taken October 26. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook DETROIT (Reuters) - Shares of the Big Three Detroit automakers rose on Friday despite lackluster August sales, with investors focusing on a likely surge in demand as residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast replace flood-damaged cars and trucks. Overall U.S. car and light truck sales fell in August to a seasonally adjusted annual selling pace of 16.03 million vehicles, according to WardsAuto, down from a 17.13 million vehicle pace a year ago. U.S. auto sales have been slowing for much of the year. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as Gulf Coast residents must replace tens of thousands of vehicles ruined by flood damage. Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas last week and the storm caused historic flooding in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States. Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. Mark LaNeve, Ford Motor Co’s U.S. sales chief, told analysts that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 “we saw a very dramatic snapback” in demand. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford’s Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers, and has “every indication we would have to add some production” of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers’ shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. FILE PHOTO: The Ford logo is seen on a car in a park lot in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo “It’s got to be a positive for the industry,” LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. General Motors Co shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March, and were trading up 2.9 percent ahead of the close at $37.60. Ford was up 3.3 percent at $11.39 and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ’s U.S.-traded shares were up nearly 5.2 percent $15.90, hitting their highest in more than five years. The Detroit automakers posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp improved sales by nearly 7 percent, Honda Motor Co’s sales fell 2.4 percent. GM got a lift from robust sales of crossovers across its four brands. The largest U.S. automaker by sales plans to move used vehicles into Houston, and expressed confidence it can reduce inventories to 850,000 or fewer vehicles by year end. Big auto dealership chains also intend to move vehicles to Houston from other markets as residents get insurance checks for drowned cars. “Hurricane Harvey did have an adverse effect on deliveries during the last week of August for every automaker but the key U.S. economic fundamentals remain supportive of strong vehicle sales,” GM Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem said in a statement. Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. vehicle sales fell 11 percent to 176,033 units. The company partly citing a planned 23 percent cut in sales to rental car companies. U.S. consumers kept migrating toward sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Toyota sold more than 43,000 redesigned RAV4 compact SUVs, up nearly 26 percent from a year ago. The RAV4 has displaced the Camry sedan as Toyota’s best-selling vehicle year to date. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Jeffrey Benkoe'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos/fords-u-s-auto-sales-dip-2-1-pct-in-august-gms-rise-7-5-percent-idUSKCN1BC50P'|'2017-09-01T16:40:00.000+03:00'
'de7927b3f477f0048708e48888430362053d6a70'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 1'|'Sept 1 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Nearly a year after Wells Fargo & Co''s fraudulent account scandal burst into public view, the bank said it had turned up more than a million additional accounts that customers may not have authorized. nyti.ms/2wrkiIt- Toshiba Corp, the embattled Japanese conglomerate, said on Thursday it needed more time to choose an outside investor for its microchip business, extending a period of uncertainty for the company as it seeks a multibillion-dollar cash infusion to stabilize its finances. nyti.ms/2gv3zjT- The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States on Thursday jumped 5 cents from the day before, to $2.45, the highest price of the year, according to the AAA motor club. Contracts for September wholesale deliveries rose 25.5 cents a gallon, signaling that the worst is yet to come. Experts said prices at the pump could easily rise an additional 30 cents a gallon. nyti.ms/2wWqdbK- Thirteen of The Village Voice''s 17 union workers were laid off and were told they would no longer have jobs after the third week of September, a union representative said. nyti.ms/2iKsVe7Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-1-idINL4N1LI22V'|'2017-09-01T02:53:00.000+03:00'
'02920165349751b47f8091308b00af0a4917a813'|'Kawasaki vying for $3.2 billion New York subway order'|'MONTREAL/TOKYO Aug 31 (Reuters) - Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan said on Thursday it was vying to win a $3.2 billion subway contract with the largest U.S. transit agency, after Bombardier Inc of Canada acknowledged this week that it was out of the running.Bombardier Transportation, the company''s German-based rail unit, and China''s CRRC Corp were jointly bidding for the contract from New York''s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for at least 1,000 subway cars, a source familiar with the matter said.The two are no longer in the running because of Bombardier''s delays in completing a separate MTA subway car contract, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity about the confidential bidding process.Bombardier said this week it was "disappointed" about being excluded from the procurement, but would not give a reason.Kawasaki is working with France''s Alstom SA as system supplier for the cars, the source said.Maika Yamashita, a spokeswoman for Kawasaki Heavy in Tokyo, said the company was trying to win the bid. "We have not heard that an order has been decided," she added.Both Bombardier and Kawasaki are longstanding suppliers for the MTA, the largest U.S. transit agency by ridership, which serves one in three mass transit riders and two-thirds of rail riders in the country.CRRC in China could not immediately be reached for comment.Representatives for the MTA spokesman and Alstom declined to comment. (Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/newyork-subway-kawasakiheavy-idINL2N1LG23B'|'2017-08-31T22:09:00.000+03:00'
'd338a630f13d8a987d0ac4bbc8bd60d9849759cc'|'TABLE-Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. in August'|'Sept 1 (Reuters) - The following are the 20 top-selling vehicles in the U.S. in August as reported by the automakers and ranked by total units. Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. in August RANK VEHICLE Aug-17 Aug-16 PCT CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 77,007 66,946 +15.0 2 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 54,448 52,408 +3.9 3 Toyota RAV4 43,265 33,171 +30.4 4 Ram P/U 37,608 40,265 -6.6 5 Toyota Camry 37,051 32,864 +12.7 6 Honda Civic 36,482 32,807 +11.2 7 Honda CR-V 30,960 36,517 -15.2 8 Honda Accord 30,019 30,115 -0.3 9 Nissan Rogue 29,844 32,979 -9.5 10 Chevrolet Equinox 28,245 15,273 +84.9 11 Toyota Corolla 27,644 32,138 -14.0 12 Ford Escape 23,631 28,061 -15.8 13 Jeep Grand Cherokee 23,572 18,403 +28.1 14 Chevrolet Malibu 22,725 16,723 +35.9 15 Toyota Highlander 18,845 14,966 +25.9 16 Ford Explorer 18,125 18,294 -0.9 17 Toyota Tacoma 17,394 15,373 +13.1 18 Ford Fusion 17,378 19,052 -8.8 19 GMC Sierra P/U 17,254 17,478 -1.3 20 Dodge Caravan 17,109 10,572 +61.8 Top 20 Selling Vehicles In U.S. Through August RANK VEHICLE YTD 2017 YTD 2016 PCT CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 576,334 527,847 +9.2 2 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 363,354 380,176 -4.4 3 Ram P/U 327,759 313,294 +4.6 4 Toyota RAV4 269,835 230,957 +16.8 5 Nissan Rogue 257,958 215,160 +19.9 6 Honda CR-V 249,977 231,609 +7.9 7 Honda Civic 248,928 255,599 -2.6 8 Toyota Camry 247,775 266,748 -7.1 9 Toyota Corolla 232,504 256,730 -9.4 10 Honda Accord 221,013 231,415 -4.5 11 Ford Escape 208,303 209,699 -0.7 12 Chevrolet Equinox 185,223 158,475 +16.9 13 Nissan Altima 183,292 217,290 -15.6 14 Jeep Grand Cherokee 158,975 135,419 +17.4 15 Ford Explorer 155,349 147,246 +5.5 16 Nissan Sentra 146,583 155,806 -5.9 17 Ford Fusion 138,489 189,892 -27.1 18 Toyota Highlander 137,837 112,108 +23.0 19 GMC Sierra P/U 136,370 146,372 -6.8 20 Jeep Wrangler 134,428 134,372 +0.0 (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/autosalesusa-top20/table-top-20-selling-vehicles-in-u-s-in-august-idINL4N1LI4MT'|'2017-09-01T17:32:00.000+03:00'
'73406e902a3713ce89d3a0d04415b6931687fe75'|'Allianz, Baloise and Cinven among final bidders for Generali''s Belgian unit: sources'|'The Assicurazioni Generali logo is seen in downtown Milan, Italy, February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - European insurers Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) and Baloise Holding ( BALN.S ) and London-based buyout fund Cinven are finalizing rival offers for Generali’s ( GASI.MI ) Belgian unit ahead of a Sept. 8 deadline, sources told Reuters.The deal could value the business at up to 500 million euros ($595 million) in what would be the Italian insurer’s biggest divestment in its latest reorganization.Generali, Europe’s third biggest insurer, wants to wrap up the auction by mid September finding a new owner for a business that provides anything from life to car insurance to a network of about 530,000 retail and corporate clients.It is looking to sell the entire business to a single investor rather than breaking it up and carving out so-called “back books”, which consist of existing contracts with no access to new clients, the sources said.The Italian firm said in November it wanted to raise at least 1 billion euros by leaving 13 to 15 countries.Bermuda-based insurer Athene Holding ( ATH.N ) is also vying for the unit, the sources said, adding that it might only be targeting the “back books”.Allianz, Baloise and Cinven are instead looking to buy the business as a whole, they said.Generali, Allianz, Baloise, Athene and Cinven declined to comment.The auction, which is being led by Deutsche Bank, was launched earlier this year as part of Generali’s efforts to cut costs in weaker markets and boost profit.Bidders were asked to submit non-binding offers in July, the sources said, with one adding first round bids valued the business at less than 500 million euros.Generali has been present in Belgium for over a century having started operations there in 1901.Its Belgian unit has 6.3 billion euros of assets under management and reported a net profit of about 89 million euros in 2016, with total premium income rising 19.2 percent to 800 million euros.Generali recently sold its Colombian business to Talanx Group and is working with BNP Paribas to find a new owner for its Dutch business.It also planning to exit Portugal, the sources said, adding a process will kick off later this year.Germany’s Allianz recently formed a joint venture and strategic partnership with British insurer LV= [LV.UL] to form the third-largest property and casualty insurer in Britain. It also took control of Nigeria’s Ensure Insurance in a push for growth in Africa.Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Oliver Hirt, editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-generali-m-a-belgium/allianz-baloise-and-cinven-among-final-bidders-for-generalis-belgian-unit-sources-idINKCN1BC4LZ'|'2017-09-01T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'2b6e889dc0a730312f3bd591711dc7332feb5007'|'Nine years on, another Lehman Brothers bankruptcy'|'Cracking deadlock on Brexit bill may require EU summit Cracking deadlock on Brexit bill may require EU summit Cracking deadlock on Brexit bill may require EU summit Reuters TV United States September 1, 2017 / 7:42 PM / 38 minutes ago Nine years on, another Lehman Brothers bankruptcy Tom Hals 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Lehman Brothers name moves across a news ticker in New York''s Times Square September 15, 2008. REUTERS/Joshua Lott/File Photo WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) - Two affiliates of Lehman Brothers, the U.S. investment bank that collapsed in 2008 and fueled an economic crisis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late on Thursday, a reminder of the complexity of unwinding a global financial institution. The two affiliates, Lehman Brothers U.K. Holdings (Delaware) Inc and Lehman Pass-Through Securities Inc, were put into bankruptcy as part of a deal that will generate $485 million cash for the Lehman estate, according to court documents. The affiliates own residential mortgage-backed securities, real estate and stock in First Data Corp ( FDC.N ), which helps process credit card transactions, among other assets, according to papers filed in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. Affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management Inc of Canada ( BAMa.TO ) are buying stakes in the Lehman affiliates, which were put into bankruptcy to carry out the deal. Administrators have spent years winding down Lehman’s holdings and have distributed around $147 billion to creditors, according to court records. More than 100 people still work for Lehman and the case remains one of the largest U.S. bankruptcies, even after the distributions to creditors. The estate holds $7 billion of assets, much of it cash, as it works through hundreds of remaining creditor claims and legal disputes. Lehman is currently in the midst of a trial, already 42 days long, seeking $2 billion from Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) over disputed derivative claims. Citigroup has denied it owes the money to Lehman. The memory of Lehman’s dramatic failure has sparked regulatory efforts to prevent another damaging collapse. On Friday, the U.S. Federal Reserve finalized a rule aimed at making it easier to wind down large banks. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Steve Orlofsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-lehmanbros-bankruptcy/nine-years-on-another-lehman-brothers-bankruptcy-idUKKCN1BC5UP'|'2017-09-01T22:34:00.000+03:00'
'f1a302a8bff7150e5cd4420219853b85911ec1a0'|'JetBlue Airways opens Havana ticket offices'|'HAVANA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways opened two ticketing offices in Havana on Friday, the latest U.S. company to signal confidence in the Cuba market and to shrug off new tensions with the island nation under President Donald Trump.American Airlines and Delta Airlines opened offices earlier this year.Friday’s opening comes despite an ongoing diplomatic spat between the old Cold War foes and a noticeable pause in bilateral meetings since Trump took office.Beginning in December, some U.S. diplomats and family members based in Cuba suffered physical harm from a still-to-be-determined acoustic source. There have been no recent incidents.Two Cuban diplomats based in Washington were asked to leave until the issue is resolved.The only other U.S. corporations with a significant physical presence in Cuba are Google, which has servers and a showroom, and Marriott International, which operates a Sheraton Four Points in Havana and last month said it would open a second hotel in 2019.Former U.S. President Barack Obama, as part of his efforts to normalize relations, authorized direct flights in 2015 after a half-century hiatus.“I am delighted to inaugurate this ticket office a year and a day after making history ... with the first commercial flight from the United States to Cuba,” Robín Hayes, JetBlue’s chief executive, said, upon opening a downtown ticketing office. The second office is at Havana’s international airport.Trump in June rolled back parts of Obama’s historic opening to Cuba, saying his predecessor negotiated a “terrible and misguided deal.”Embassies, established in 2015, remain, as do direct flights, but the revised approach includes stricter enforcement of a longtime ban on Americans going to Cuba as tourists. Among changes are limiting visits to 12 existing categories of non-tourist travel and a ban on the use of hotels and other facilities owned by Cuba’s military.Cruise ships are permitted, the administration said, but not independent visits by solo travelers and families under the popular people-to-people travel category, which Trump charged was being used to violate the tourist ban.According to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, which monitors bilateral business, the three largest U.S. cruise ship companies have announced more than 280 sailings to Cuba through 2019.Some 300,000 Americans, excluding those of Cuban descent, visited Cuba in the first six months of 2017, more than twice last year’s number during the same period, according to the Cuban government. (Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-cuba/jetblue-airways-opens-havana-ticket-offices-idUSL2N1LI15S'|'2017-09-01T23:54:00.000+03:00'
'9ad0fa2711e5b5b3c981cc6b4e087af7f0e4f8b1'|'EU''s Vestager says Essilor-Luxottica merger requires thorough vetting'|'FILE PHOTO: The Luxottica owned brand of Persol glasses are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - The proposed merger of Italian eyewear manufacturer Luxottica with French lens manufacturer Essilor will require thorough vetting by European antitrust authorities, the head of the bloc’s competition watchdog said on Saturday.Luxottica, the world’s biggest eyewear company whose brands include Ray-Ban and Oakley, agreed in January a merger with Essilor, the biggest lens maker, to create an industry giant with a market value of 47 billion euros ($56 billion), more than 15 billion euros in revenues and 144,000 staff.The deal needs to clear antitrust hurdles in several countries and if approved is expected to close around the end of the year.The EU Commission was officially notified on Aug. 22 .EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said it was too early to say whether approval may require the companies to make significant concessions.“These are companies that have very big market shares and also, when it comes to sunglasses and lenses for glasses, obviously this is an important market, it is a very valuable market so I cannot say,” she told Reuters on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti business conference in Italy.A negative reaction from Essilor’s customers to the merger, which the company said in July had affected its first-half sales, has raised concerns among analysts that the two companies may be required to take more substantial concenssions to satisfy the competition regulators than initially anticipated.Exane-BNP Paribas analysts said in a recent note the examination of the deal by EU competition authorities would include sounding out competitors, clients, and professional associations as well as reviewing possible complaints.“Hence our concern over the mounting pushback from customers, recently stressed by Essilor,” they said.A ‘vertical integration’ between two companies operating at different stages of the production chain is normally less worrying for competition watchdogs than a “horizontal” merger boosting a firm’s market share. But a vertical tie-up can still risk blocking rivals’ access to suppliers or buyers, a process known as ‘foreclosure’.Vestager said a careful examination was necessary given the size of the two companies.“Even if it is a vertical integration, when you have market shares of this kind, in the high double digits, of course we have to be thorough in our analysis to make sure you don’t foreclose,” she said.($1 = 0.8434 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/luxottica-essilor-merger/eus-vestager-says-essilor-luxottica-merger-requires-thorough-vetting-idINKCN1BD0OS'|'2017-09-02T15:13:00.000+03:00'
'4d0a78a9c7d290eb9b660244c201c08a35107da0'|'Apple shifts responsibility for Siri to operating system chief'|'September 1, 2017 / 10:41 PM / 44 minutes ago Apple shifts responsibility for Siri to operating system chief Stephen Nellis 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An Apple iPhone 7 and the company logo are seen in this illustration picture taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo (Reuters) - Apple Inc has transferred responsibility for Siri, its voice assistant, from content chief Eddy Cue to operating systems chief Craig Federighi, a sign that the company is looking to embed the voice assistant more deeply into its core systems amid rising competition from Alphabet Inc’s Google and Amazon.com Inc. Apple made the change in an update to the company’s executive biography pages. An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the change to Reuters but did not comment beyond the changes. Cue, a senior vice president, had overseen Siri since 2012 when Scott Forestall, Apple’s software chief at the time, was fired by CEO Tim Cook. Cue is primarily known as Apple’s chief content dealmaker, negotiating the company’s pivotal deals with record companies during the iTunes era and more recently its Apple Music streaming deals and its television content efforts. But Cue also runs Apple’s internet-based services such as iCloud. In recent years, though, Apple has embedded its voice assistant more deeply into its iOS and macOS operating systems, letting it control things like adding calendar appointments, and expanded it from phones to laptops. Siri now controls third-party apps to do things like summon a ride or book a table. Federighi, a senior vice president, oversees those operating systems. The shift in Siri’s leadership comes as Apple faces increased competition to get users speaking to its devices. Though Apple was the first major tech company to release a voice assistant in 2011, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google’s voice assistant have emerged to jostle for consumers attention. Amazon and Google have both released voice-activated speakers to showcase their assistants. Amazon has even started selling Echo devices, which feature Alexa, in some of its 470 Whole Foods retail stores. This holiday season, Apple’s will jump into the fray and compete against those speakers with its forthcoming HomePod, which will feature Siri. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-siri/apple-shifts-responsibility-for-siri-to-operating-system-chief-idUKKCN1BC65L'|'2017-09-02T01:41:00.000+03:00'
'2bac88528480be7aaf69c08cd535c113adcf4f56'|'Exclusive - Volkswagen''s $1.8 billion Ducati sale stalls at union roadblock, strategy rift'|'September 4, 2017 / 5:32 PM / 19 minutes ago Exclusive - Volkswagen''s $1.8 billion Ducati sale stalls at union roadblock, strategy rift Pamela Barbaglia , Paola Arosio , Andreas Cremer 4 Min Read A 3D printed Volkswagen logo is seen in front of a displayed Ducati logo in this illustration taken July 17, 2017. Picture is taken on July 17. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic LONDON/MILAN/BERLIN (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) has put the 1.5 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) (1.38 billion pounds) sale of Ducati motorcycles on hold after resistance from German trade unions and internal rifts on strategy, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Ducati is wholly controlled by VW’s luxury brand Audi ( NSUG.DE ), which is at odds with the parent over strategy, and a decision to sell the 91-year old business, which is based in the Borgo Panigale district of the northern Italian city of Bologna, needs to be approved by VW’s supervisory board. Labour leaders at VW, who hold half the seats on the 20-member board, have strongly opposed a sale regardless of price. VW has told five bidders to hold off making binding bids for Ducati, which it put up for sale in April to help raise cash to fund a strategic overhaul following the emissions scandal at Europe’s largest automaker, the sources said. The bidders, some of whom expressed astonishment and anger at the way the process had been handled, were ready to pay about 1.5 billion euros for Ducati, the sources said. VW, Audi and union representatives declined to comment. Italy’s Benetton family, U.S. automotive firm Polaris Industries and Ducati’s former owner Investindustrial made it to the last stage of an auction in July, along with private equity funds Bain Capital and PAI Partners. The bids valued the business at 1.3 billion to 1.5 billion euros, representing a multiple of more than 13 times Ducati’s core earnings of about 100 million euros. The logo of Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati is seen at a motocycle dealer in Dietlikon, Switzerland October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann DIFFERENCES The auction had been expected to wrap up later this year with binding bids due in October, one of the sources said. “At this stage it is highly unlikely that negotiations will be resumed this year,” one of the sources said, adding bidders were growing impatient. “There are still differences between VW and Audi that need to be resolved and the unions are far from backing the sale,” he said. A source close to Audi said a reshuffle of VW’s top management board, which swapped four out of seven executives, had slowed the sales process in July, undermining management’s ability to press ahead with the planned divestment. Another source close to VW said no decision could be taken unless all the parties involved sat down and talked, but no meeting had been scheduled with VW, Audi, the German unions and possibly the Porsche-Piech family, which owns a majority stake in Audi’s parent VW. This source said Audi was well aware that bidders were getting nervous, but stressed the need for consensus before the sale process could be resumed. VW is due to hold a board meeting on Sept. 29 although any decision on Ducati’s sale is seen as unlikely, another said. VW’s head of strategy, Thomas Sedran, told Reuters last month that the German group was in no hurry to find a new owner for Ducati as it was more focused on its multi-billion-euro shift towards electric vehicles and transport services than a divestment. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze and Jan Schwartz; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-ducati-m-a-exclusive/exclusive-volkswagens-1-8-billion-ducati-sale-stalls-at-union-roadblock-strategy-rift-idUKKCN1BF25B'|'2017-09-04T20:32:00.000+03:00'
'36e18f3e798f89a470a75193f430e3f16903cc7f'|'Analysis: Slowdown-hit Indian economy counts costs of stronger rupee'|'FILE PHOTO: An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s stronger currency has become a threat for its growth aspirations, piling pressure on the central bank to aggressively intervene in the foreign exchange market even at the risk of incurring the wrath of the United States.The rupee has risen more than 6 percent this year against the dollar, snapping six consecutive years of depreciation, with the impact magnified by the decline of many competitors’ currencies against the greenback over the same period.That is weighing on an economy that is struggling to cope with disruption caused by ambiguous rules of a recently launched Goods and Services Tax (GST), and has yet to fully recover from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s crackdown on “black money”.While the rupee’s surge is being driven by strong capital inflows lured by India’s economic and political stability, it is making the country’s exports less competitive and is also driving up imports, prolonging a slump in manufacturing.An exports slowdown dented GDP growth by 2.6 percentage points in the last quarter. Overall economic expansion cooled to5.7 percent in the June quarter, data released on Thursday showed, its slackest pace in more than three years.“(The) rupee is now really hurting growth,” said Pronab Sen, the former Chief Statistician of India and now a country director for think-tank International Growth Center. “It is about time India does something about it, else we will have to brace ourselves for an extended spell of weak growth.”HANDS-OFF APPROACH Previously, strong rupee appreciation would prompt policymakers to talk down the currency. But that has been absent under Modi, as many of his cabinet colleagues are keen to project the rising rupee as an endorsement of the Indian leader’s economic stewardship.But with slowing export earnings threatening jobs and double-digit imports growth hollowing out Modi’s signature ‘Make in India’ program, some officials are calling for action.In its mid-year economic survey, the finance ministry last month cited exchange rate appreciation as one of the downside risks for Asia’s third-largest economy.Thursday’s GDP figures have only reinforced those concerns.“A call will have to be made sooner rather than later whether the economy can afford the rupee at these levels,” said a senior government official.STRUGGLING EXPORTERS Indian policymakers were banking on an improving global economy to lift demand for Indian goods, helping improve capacity utilization levels at Indian factories, which are running nearly 30 percent below their capacityThose hopes, however, have been belied as merchandise exports growth has slumped to 3.9 percent year-on-year from near 28 percent growth in March.While overseas shipments have been hurt by rising protectionism and the uncertainty created by the GST, a stronger rupee has not helped the cause either.The Indian currency appreciated 4 percent against the dollar during the last quarter, whereas the Chinese yuan and Malaysian ringgit depreciated by 1.9 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.Ajay Sahai, head of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), says this price differential of nearly 6 percentage points made it tougher to compete with Chinese exporters in non-branded segments such as tiles, leather and garments.“This price gap is good enough for a company like Wal-Mart to shift its orders to other locations,” Sahai said.Service exports - a strength of the Indian economy thanks to the success of outsourcing firms such as Infosys Ltd ( INFY.NS ) and Tata Consultancy Services ( TCS.NS ) - are more vulnerable to the rupee’s rise.In a recent report, citing a report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), DBS Bank said every 1 percent rise in the rupee would affect the bottom-line of information-technology and outsourcing companies by as much as 40 basis points.NO EASY OPTIONS The central bank has so far confined its interventions in the foreign exchange markets to efforts aimed at minimizing volatility rather than capping the currency.But buoyant capital flows are not only putting appreciation pressure on the rupee, they are also flushing the financial markets with excess liquidity, which could pose challenges for the central bank’s monetary policy.With inflation way below its medium-term target, the RBI could look to cut interest rates to prevent further currency appreciation. It could also aggressively cap the rupee by buying dollars to build foreign exchange reserves.Such measures, however, could complicate the RBI’s inflation management and potentially also put India on Washington’s currency watchlist.The U.S. Treasury is mandated by law to initiate special currency talks with any country that has “material” current account and “significant” bilateral trade surpluses, and persistent, one-sided intervention in foreign exchange markets.If a country meets two of the three conditions, it will be put on the monitoring list. India already runs a trade surplus of more than $20 billion with the United States.The South Asian nation is currently not on the monitoring list, but President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into the causes of the U.S. trade deficit with 12 of its trade partners, including India.“There are no easy options,” said the government official.Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Alex Richardson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-economy-gdp-analysis/slowdown-hit-indian-economy-counts-costs-of-stronger-rupee-idINKCN1BC5L5'|'2017-09-01T20:30:00.000+03:00'
'949df9ec2adae79efc2138fafb5ee05cd8f79573'|'Uber picks Dara Khosrowshahi as its new boss'|'“A LEADER is a dealer in hope,” said Napoleon. For much of this year Uber, a ride-hailing firm, has lacked both leadership and optimism. But on August 27th news leaked that Uber had poached as its new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, the boss of Expedia, an online travel company. Mr Khosrowshahi is seen as an astute dealmaker and a canny manager. In his 12 years at the helm of Expedia, the gross value of its hotel and other travel bookings more than quadrupled and its pre-tax earnings more than doubled.Can he rally the troops? Uber is fast-growing and was last year valued privately by investors at around $68bn, but has suffered a host of setbacks, which led to the ousting of Travis Kalanick, its co-founder and boss, in June. The firm faces a criminal probe by America’s Department of Justice into a covert software feature that showed regulators different versions of its app, as well as a new investigation into whether it may have violated America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing officials abroad. It must also contend with multiple lawsuits and allegations that it encouraged a sexist culture. 12 hours ago What would the FDP do? Kaffeeklatsch 13 hours ago Escobar is dead, but “Narcos” and the drugs trade live on Prospero 14 hours ago The French president acts on his promise to overhaul jobs laws Europe 15 hours ago An interview with Christian Lindner Kaffeeklatsch 16 hours ago Whatever she may say, Theresa May won’t fight the next election Bagehot''s notebook 17 hours ago See all updates Mr Khosrowshahi is less well-known than two other finalists for the job—Jeff Immelt, who until recently was CEO of General Electric, and Meg Whitman, who runs Hewlett Packard Enterprise. But he is widely admired. He moved to America from Iran as a child (and has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s restrictive policy on immigration). On his watch Expedia acquired Orbitz and Travelocity, two competitors, and successfully integrated them. That is proof he can build a healthy corporate culture, says Erik Blachford, who used to be the CEO of Expedia and is now at TCV, a venture-capital firm.Mr Khosrowshahi’s finance skills will be just as valuable. He served as a chief financial officer at IAC, an internet conglomerate owned by Barry Diller, and as a former dealmaker at Allen & Co, an investment bank. “More New York than Silicon Valley” is how one entrepreneur describes him (although for more than a decade he has lived in the Seattle area, where Expedia is headquartered). Financial acumen will be helpful when Uber embarks on an initial public offering. In his first meeting with employees on August 30th he suggested that the firm will go public as soon as 18 months from now, which should boost morale.His priority before then will be to fill out Uber’s executive ranks. Techies like telling the joke that Uber is the first fully autonomous company, because almost all its key positions, including a chief financial officer and chief operating officer, have been vacant. An upcoming IPO will also affect how much to favour international expansion in the face of huge losses. Uber is growing quickly but bleeding money: in the first half of 2017 it lost around $1.4bn. It has retrenched in China and Russia, but has to choose between spending heavily to attract customers and drivers or steering towards profitability more quickly.Two lawsuits will also demand his attention. One was filed earlier this year by Waymo, a self-driving car company owned by Google’s parent firm, Alphabet. It accuses Uber of knowingly buying a self-driving-car startup called Ottomotto which had stolen Waymo’s intellectual property. The affair is scheduled to go to trial in October, but Mr Khosrowshahi might decide that a better course would be to settle the lawsuit.The other suit involves Benchmark Capital, an early investor in Uber and a former ally of Mr Kalanick, who remains on the company’s board and, along with his co-founder and another early executive, controls the majority of super-voting shares. Benchmark has accused Mr Kalanick of fraud and sued to try to stop him from intervening in Uber’s affairs and appointing additional board members. Benchmark claims that Mr Kalanick hid critical details about the state of the firm when he asked in 2016 for the support of Benchmark and other board members to add three more board seats. A hearing took place on August 30th in which a judge sided with Mr Kalanick, ordering that the dispute be resolved by an arbitrator, out of court, at least for now.All the legal wrangling makes things awkward. Mr Khosrowshahi will need to deal tactfully with Benchmark, which still has a representative on Uber’s board, and with Mr Kalanick, who feels unjustly pushed out, although he has publicly backed the choice of Mr Khosrowshahi. Other senior people at Uber also need to shape up. News of the hiring is believed to have been leaked by an anonymous board member before anything was announced to staff or even to the executive team that has led Uber in recent months. That left many at Uber annoyed; no one likes learning vital news about their firm from press reports. To succeed, Uber’s whole board, as well as Mr Khosrowshahi, will have to show leadership. "Self-driving no longer"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21727855-he-must-tackle-huge-losses-lawsuits-and-meddling-predecessor-uber-picks-dara?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-02T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'62d2cd44fd75f8550c70dbe38e1cc50b8ca9873b'|'Gold steady near nine-and-a-month highs as North Korea tensions persist'|'Gold bars imprinted with the word Kazakhstan are seen at the country''s National Bank vault in Almaty, Kazakhstan, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Mariya Gordeyeva/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Friday as some investors took profits ahead of U.S. payrolls data at 1230 GMT that will provide clues on the pace of U.S. interest rate rises.But demand for gold as a perceived safe investment remained strong because of tensions over North Korea and political turmoil in the United States, keeping prices near 9-1/2-month highs.The U.S. payroll numbers follow weak U.S. inflation data on Thursday that reduced expectations of an interest rate increase this year and pushed gold prices higher.Gold is sensitive to interest rates because higher rates raise bond yields, making non-yielding bullion less attractive, and tend to boost the dollar, in which gold is priced.Economists polled by Reuters expect a payrolls increase of 180,000 jobs in August.Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,320.04 an ounce by 1159 GMT. That was still close to Tuesday’s peak of $1,325.94 -- the highest level since Nov. 9 -- and set for a weekly gain of 2.3 percent.U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,325.40.Gold is likely to rise further after prices increased by 4.1 percent in August, the biggest monthly gain since January, said Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler.“The technical uptrend is well established, there is continuing uncertainty over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and an imminent wrangle between Congress and the White House over the debt ceiling that must be solved by late September to avoid technical default,” he said.Brinkmanship over debt negotiations could easily tip over into loss of market confidence in the U.S. dollar, Butler said.The dollar has weakened for six consecutive months, supporting gold by making it cheaper for holders of other currencies. The dollar weakened slightly on Friday, while U.S. bond yields and global stocks edged higher.Adding to geopolitical concerns, the United States on Thursday told Russia to close a consulate, worsening a diplomatic spat.On the technical side, Fibonacci support for gold was at $1,297.50, said analysts at ScotiaMocatta. But gold had upward momentum and is likely to rise through resistance at $1,326.20 towards $1,350, they said.Butler said that a continued push higher could see gold reach last year’s peak of $1,374.91.“The breakout pattern now evident on the charts will likely gain further traction, drawing in more quant-based funds,” said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.Silver was down 0.2 percent at $17.54 an ounce but remained on track for a weekly gain of 2.9 percent.Platinum gained 0.5 percent to $1,000.30 while palladium advanced 0.8 percent to $940.75.Additional reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Dale Hudson and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious/gold-steady-near-nine-and-a-month-highs-as-north-korea-tensions-persist-idINKCN1BC3FW'|'2017-08-31T23:06:00.000+03:00'
'cafed520156856f5e5213d7d8bd28302ac294944'|'Telecom Argentina shareholders approve merger with Cablevision'|'A Telecom Argentina communications company sign is pictured on the front of one of its buildings in Buenos Aires, Argentina July 7, 2017. Union workers'' banners seen on the wall read "United we are stronger". REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Shareholders in Telecom Argentina SA ( TEC2.BA ) approved a planned merger with cable TV provider Cablevision SA ( CVH.BA ) during a meeting on Thursday, the company said in a letter to Argentina’s securities regulator on Friday.The merger, first announced in July, still required regulatory approval, the company said. Reuters has reported that the combined company would have to return broadcast airwaves to the Argentine government in order to be approved by the country’s communications regulator.Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-telecoms-m-a/telecom-argentina-shareholders-approve-merger-with-cablevision-idUSKCN1BC51O'|'2017-09-01T16:57:00.000+03:00'
'45ace62ae6798e4aa10514a93da03d3c17a81f9e'|'Samsung secures self-driving car permit in California'|'August 31, 2017 / 9:34 PM / an hour ago Samsung secures self-driving car permit in California Stephen Nellis 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An employee using his mobile phone walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, August 25, 2017. Kim Hong-Ji (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) said on Thursday it has received a permit to test self-driving vehicles in California, marking the entry of the world''s largest smart phone maker four months after iPhone maker and arch rival Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) received a permit. Its parent company in May secured permission from South Korean authorities to test a self-driving car fitted with its own sensors and software systems. At that time, South Korean officials said the company planned to use the car to develop a self-driving car algorithm that could drive in adverse weather. In a statement to Reuters, Samsung did not say what precisely what it planned to test in the United States but said it secured the permit "in pursuit of a smarter, safer transportation future." The company, part of a massive conglomerate that makes everything from washing machines to heavy machinery, said it has "no plans to enter the car-manufacturing business." With the foray into the U.S. self-driving car landscape, Samsung will jostle with its friends and foes. Besides Apple, it will join Waymo, a division of Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ), which supplies the Android operating system that runs on Samsung''s phones. Samsung has a range of other opportunities for growth in the self-driving car business. Earlier this year, the company closed its $8 billion purchase of car audio maker Harman International Industries, giving it a wide foot print in so-called connected car technologies. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Steve Orlofsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-autos-idUKKCN1BB33R'|'2017-09-01T00:34:00.000+03:00'
'30bedbfc375f96f59e6c8404c4b94634606b73d0'|'Moscow says Schlumberger Russian oil services deal held up by U.S sanctions: reports'|'MOSCOW (Reuters) - The acquisition of Russia’s Eurasia Drilling Co (EDC) by U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger ( SLB.N ) has been held up by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Russian Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich was Quote: d as saying by local news services.Schlumberger applied to the watchdog for approval to buy the stake in late July in a deal widely seen as testing the state of relations between Russia and the United States.However, since then the United States has introduced additional sanctions against Russia for its alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential elections in 2016. The sanctions restrict cooperation in the Russian energy sector.Several Russian officials, including the Natural Resources minister and the head of anti-monopoly body, have said the deal had been held up due to the political turmoil.“I agree that we shouldn’t sell it if in a month the company will stop working (due to sanctions),” Dvorkovich was Quote: d as saying by RIA news agency late on Friday.Schlumberger has made no comment on the state of the deal.It is Schlumberger’s second attempt to buy into EDC, and it would be the first U.S. stake in Russia’s oil and gas industry since sanctions were imposed on Moscow after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.In 2015, Schlumberger agreed to buy 45.65 percent of EDC for $1.7 billion, but the deal fell through after the Russian anti-monopoly repeatedly postponed its approval.Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-schlumberger-sanctions/moscow-says-schlumberger-russian-oil-services-deal-held-up-by-u-s-sanctions-reports-idINKCN1BD0BF'|'2017-09-02T07:37:00.000+03:00'
'86366870a3135b19721e803133cb7ad2ec141aa7'|'Harvey''s wake tempers bullish outlook for U.S. oil output growth'|'September 1, 2017 / 8:07 PM / 18 minutes ago Harvey''s wake tempers bullish outlook for U.S. oil output growth Ernest Scheyder 4 Min Read An aerial view of the Pasadena Refining System, Inc., is seen in Pasadena, Texas, U.S. August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif HOUSTON (Reuters) - Damage and delays from Tropical Storm Harvey will hold the U.S. oil industry back from achieving a targeted 10 million barrels per day of production anytime soon, according to analysts, a setback in America’s fight for global market share with OPEC. The storm, which flooded refineries, wells and pipelines across Texas, added to a string of problems oil companies already faced, like low crude prices and expensive engineering challenges at new shale wells. Earlier this year, oil analysts and some company executives had anticipated that the United States could top the 10 million bpd mark by year-end. That would have been a 14 percent increase, taking U.S. output to a level not seen since the 1970s. But then Harvey knocked out about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity and shuttered transport routes for crude, gasoline, diesel and other products. The storm’s impacts sent gasoline prices soaring but also crimped demand for crude. Bringing all that infrastructure back to normal operations could take weeks or months. “Harvey is going to have a longer effect on the oil industry than anyone would have imagined,” said Dan Katzenberg, an oil industry analyst at R.W. Baird & Co. “It’s just a real mess on so many levels.” The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is frustrated that the storm has not pushed global prices higher, with one OPEC delegate telling Reuters, “It seems no event will move the oil price up much.” Slipping production after a major storm is not unprecedented: U.S. output slipped after Hurricane Dennis in 1999, Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, forcing a range of industry and government reactions. On Friday, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said he had authorized the release of 4.5 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The move, aimed at helping a handful of Gulf Coast refiners deal with local supply disruptions, will likely depress oil prices further. FINANCIAL STRAINS FILE PHOTO: An oil tank damaged by Hurricane Harvey is seen near Seadrift, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo The Energy Information Administration (EIA) earlier this year had forecast that technological and process improvements would lift U.S. production sharply, leading some analysts and executives to predict 10 million bpd by December. But in recent months those expectations dimmed. Producers, showing signs of financial strain from the tepid oil prices, pared budgets for the year. Companies also face problems with pressure imbalance and high natural gas levels at new shale oil wells in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. oilfield. The EIA on Thursday revised lower its data on U.S. oil production for June, saying it fell nearly 1 percent in the month to about 9.1 million bpd. Analysts called that a bad omen for the rest of the summer. Harvey forced Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ), Royal Dutch Shell PLC ( RDSa.L ), Marathon Oil Corp ( MRO.N ), Statoil ASA ( STL.OL ) and other producers in the Eagle Ford shale region of Texas and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to halt production and the drilling and fracking of shale wells. More than a quarter of Gulf production went offline due to the storm, according to government data. In the Eagle Ford shale, producers on Friday were still assessing damage, but most saw operations slow or grind to a halt. “At this point, we’re really waiting to see what the cumulative effect will be” from Harvey, said Paul Hesse of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Exxon lost nearly 100,000 bpd of production, and Shell has so far lost more than 700,000 bpd. ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ), meanwhile, said it does not plan to reopen its headquarters, which abuts a Houston reservoir that nearly breached, until Sept. 11. “That 10 million (bpd) level is just not going to happen in the next two years at least,” said Anas Alhajji, an independent oil analyst and economist. “The impact of Harvey adds to existing woes.” Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-oil/harveys-wake-tempers-bullish-outlook-for-u-s-oil-output-growth-idUKKCN1BC5WB'|'2017-09-01T23:05:00.000+03:00'
'b32dfb72b40130ea42ca82d0e5225d78ae6817d1'|'Britain says it cannot be blackmailed by EU over exit bill'|'September 1, 2017 / 4:41 AM / 30 minutes ago Britain says it cannot be blackmailed by EU over exit bill Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Britain''s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox speaks during an interview with Reuters at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy TOKYO (Reuters) - British trade minister Liam Fox said on Friday Britain would not be blackmailed into agreeing on the cost of leaving the European Union, and urged Brussels to move negotiations on to discuss Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. The third round of Brexit negotiations, focussed on settling the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU, ended on Thursday with a warning from Brussels that more work needed to be done before they moved on to discuss future ties. The British government has been keen to shift talks to a new relationship, seeking to allay business concerns on trade and regulation, but Brussels has demanded progress first on central issues, including how much Britain should pay when it leaves. “We can’t be blackmailed into paying a price on the first part,” Fox told broadcaster ITV during a visit to Japan with Prime Minister Theresa May. The so-called Brexit bill is a contentious issue both domestically, where eurosceptics are keen to see as little money paid as possible, and with the EU, which is demanding Britain meets its existing commitments to the bloc. Britain has said it is prepared to meet its international obligations. Fox said businesses across Europe had told him they were keen to see more detail on what Britain’s new relationship with the EU would look like. “We think we should begin discussions on the final settlement because that’s good for business, and it’s good for the prosperity both of the British people and of the rest of the people of the European Union,” Fox said. Related Coverage '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-fox/britain-says-it-cannot-be-blackmailed-by-eu-over-exit-bill-idUKKCN1BC3PE'|'2017-09-01T07:45:00.000+03:00'
'16b0b4accefd5e261c07eddf1c4aa26fe6c2599d'|'Honda reaches $605 million U.S. settlement over Takata air bags'|'September 1, 2017 / 6:04 PM / in an hour Honda reaches $605 million U.S. settlement over Takata air bags David Shepardson 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Visitors walk past a logo of Takata Corp on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan on February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ) said it agreed to a $605 million (467.04 million pounds)so-called economic loss settlement on Friday covering up to 16.5 million U.S. vehicles with potentially faulty Takata air bag inflators. The settlement covers several forms of economic damages linked to the inflators, including claims that vehicles were inaccurately represented to be safe, and that buyers had overpaid for cars with defective or substandard air bags. It also covers out-of-pocket costs, including lost wages and child care costs, Honda owners may face, or already have incurred, to get vehicles equipped with the Takata air bag inflators repaired. The Japanese automaker joins other major automakers that have reached similar settlements, and agreed to take additional actions to try to help speed recall repairs of vehicle inflators that can potentially rupture and cause serious injuries or deaths. Five other automakers have reached similar settlements worth about $650 million in total. At least 18 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide have been tied to the defect that led Takata Corp to file for bankruptcy protection in June. Takata inflators can explode with excessive force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. All but one of the deaths have been in Honda vehicles. To date, 19 automakers have recalled more than 42 million vehicles in the largest auto safety callback in history. Takata expects 125 million vehicles worldwide will eventually be recalled due to its defect-prone inflators. Honda said the settlement covers 11.4 million vehicles currently under recall and 5.1 million more vehicles that may be recalled later. Last month, Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) agreed to pay $97.7 million to settle economic claims over the recall of 4.4 million vehicles. In June, a federal judge in Miami granted preliminary approval to settlements with Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ), Subaru Corp ( 7270.T ), BMW AG <BMWG.DE) and Mazda Motor Corp ( 7261.T ) totalling $553 million and affecting 15.8 million vehicles with Takata inflators. The automaker settlements reached so far include the creation of an outreach programme to contact owners of recalled vehicles and help address the low number of completed repairs, as well as compensation for economic losses including out-of-pocket expenses. Some settlements also include a possible residual distribution payment of up to $500, rental car payments for some owners, and a customer support programme for repairs and adjustments, including an extended warranty. In January, Takata agreed to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing and to pay $1 billion to resolve a U.S. federal investigation into its inflators. As part of the Justice Department settlement, Takata agreed to establish two independently administered restitution funds: one for $850 million to compensate automakers for recalls and a $125 million fund for individuals injured by its air bags who had not already reached a settlement. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-honda-settlement/honda-reaches-605-million-u-s-settlement-over-takata-air-bags-idUKKCN1BC5ND'|'2017-09-01T21:04:00.000+03:00'
'67091f78ea9b51a467231d9426bed59898822e21'|'UPDATE 2-Tenet to replace CEO, board directors under activist pressure'|'(Adds details of Tenet''s plans, background)By Michael Erman and Michael FlahertyNEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Tenet Healthcare Corp said on Thursday it would replace longtime Chief Executive Trevor Fetter and members of its board, as pressure builds from its largest shareholder to shake up the hospital company''s management.The changes come as tension rises between Tenet and Glenview Capital Management, an activist investor that owns 17.8 percent of its stock.Glenview pulled two of its executives from Tenet''s board earlier this month, citing irreconcilable differences over strategy. The move triggered the end of a truce signed between the two sides last year, a so-called standstill agreement that now expires on Friday.Glenview has owned shares in the company since 2012, riding the stock up to a September 2014 peak of $63.50 per share, before the stock took a nosedive.Shares of Tenet, one of the largest U.S. hospital companies, have lost nearly three-quarters of their value since 2015. The industry has struggled over that period because of fewer patients, rising expenses and high debt. Tenet''s stock closed flat at $17.17 per share on Thursday.Fetter, who has led the company since 2003, will step down as CEO and as a director by March 15, 2018 or when a successor is appointed, whichever comes earlier, the company said. It has already begun the search for a new CEO.Tenet also replaced Fetter as the company''s chairman, appointing independent lead director Ronald Rittenmeyer as its executive chairman effective immediately, and said it would start a process to bring new members to its board.The company also announced a shareholder rights plan, saying it would protect its net operating loss (NOL) of $1.7 billion, which Tenet can use to capture $600 million in tax savings.Ownership change "could severely limit the company''s ability to utilize its NOLs," Tenet said, defining it, under the U.S. tax code, as a 50 percentage point change in stock ownership over a three-year period by shareholders owning more than 5 percent. That effective poison pill will expire at the end of its 2018 shareholder meeting.Tenet''s stock market value is $1.7 billion, while its long-term debt load is a whopping $15 billion.Should Glenview launch its own campaign to shake up the company and its board, the activist investor will need to convince stock owners that its plan is better than Tenet''s initiatives, and assure debt holders that their plan will not impact the company''s ability to make good on paying off its hefty debt load. (Reporting by Michael Erman and Michael Flaherty; Editing by Grant McCool and Bill Rigby) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/tenet-healthcare-ceo-idINL2N1LH20P'|'2017-08-31T19:19:00.000+03:00'
'd53d17c306b9e9de6ce8ebdb29e094df699555b5'|'Huntsman CEO confident merger with Clariant will succeed: paper'|'FILE PHOTO: Huntsman Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Huntsman poses in front of a maleic anhydride unit at Huntsman''s polyurethane plant in Geismar, Louisiana April 15, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman /File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Huntsman ( HUN.N ) Chief Executive Peter Huntsman said shareholders in Clariant ( CLN.S ) and his own company “almost without exception” support their planned merger after learning the rationale for the $20 billion deal, according to an interview published in Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.“I have met with more Clariant shareholders than Huntsman shareholders since the transaction was announced earlier this year, and I do not have the impression Clariant shareholders oppose the deal,” Huntsman, a son of the founder, said in the interview published on Friday.Investors including Corvex’s Keith Meister who own 10 percent of Swiss-listed Clariant shares oppose the combination of the chemicals groups and are seeking to convince shareholders to reject the merger.Clariant has hired Goldman Sachs to help it keep the deal on track.Shareholders at Huntsman and Clariant have to vote on the deal, with Clariant requiring 66 percent support for the transaction to go through and Huntsman a 50 percent majority.In the Finanz und Wirtschaft interview, Huntsman predicted the merged company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) will hit 20 percent of annual sales in five years -- both have about 15 percent margins now -- with cashflow reaching more than 50 percent of EBITDA.After the merger, HuntsmanClariant can grow at least twice as fast as global gross domestic product, he said, with the merged company rated at investment grade in less than five years.Huntsman has a long-term rating of “BB” from Standard & Poor‘s, while Clariant has a “BBB-” rating.Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-huntsman-interview/huntsman-ceo-confident-merger-with-clariant-will-succeed-paper-idINKCN1BC4P4'|'2017-09-01T09:45:00.000+03:00'
'b34090f14f2bd23d56f40876888e7d09b27fc759'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Futures extend gains after August jobs data'|'September 1, 2017 / 12:41 PM / 12 minutes ago US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Futures extend gains after August jobs data Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks index futures extended gains on Friday after a report from the Labor Department showed monthly employment numbers for August came in below expectations. But the pace of increase could be more than sufficient for the Federal Reserve to announce a plan to start trimming its massive bond portfolio. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 156,000 last month, below the 180,000 increase expected by economists polled by Reuters. Futures snapshot at 8:34 a.m. ET: * Dow e-minis were up 71 points, or 0.32 percent, with 19,892 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis were up 8 points, or 0.32 percent, with 150,935 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 29 points, or 0.48 percent, on volume of 31,223 contracts. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-snapshot-futures-extend-gains-after-august-jobs-data-idUSL4N1LI3WJ'|'2017-09-01T15:37:00.000+03:00'
'ef999b914090aac01fceff1a15e3916d6d18385d'|'UK drug firm Indivior to appeal U.S ruling on Dr Reddy''s generic drug'|'Sept 1 (Reuters) - Indivior said on Friday it would appeal against a U.S. court ruling that generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s had not infringed its patents, potentially opening the way to a rival to the firm’s Suboxone Film opiod addiction treatment.Indivior has said it would not be able to rely on patents to prevent Dr. Reddy’s from making and marketing a generic alternative to Suboxone Film in the United States, unless the court’s ruling was reversed on appeal.The firm said the average market share of Suboxone Film in the United States was 61 percent in 2016, and accounted for 80 percent of Indivior’s total revenues last year.Shares in Indivior were forecast to open down 10-15 percent at the market opening, after the ruling by the U.S. Delaware District Court.Indivior said in a statement it could not quantify the precise financial impact of generic alternatives to Suboxone Film on revenues but said it “could potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the U.S.”Indivior said if pharmacies could substitute Suboxone Film with a generic rival without direct consultation with the patient it could lead to the British firm’s treatment losing up to 80 percent of its market share “within a matter of months”.Indivior said that as of Aug. 29 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not announced it had granted tentative or final marketing authorisation to any generic Suboxone Film alternative.If the FDA grants approval to Dr. Reddy‘s, the British firm said its rival would be able to market a generic alternative to Suboxone Film in the United States.Indivior said in June that it had won a U.S. patent battle against Actavis and Par Pharmaceutical over Suboxone Film. (Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/indivior-ruling/uk-drug-firm-indivior-to-appeal-u-s-ruling-on-dr-reddys-generic-drug-idINL8N1LI0RD'|'2017-09-01T05:02:00.000+03:00'
'6a585922d4168ab3694b1cafb23807cb84b560c7'|'Smith & Williamson to pursue listing after ditching Rathbones merger'|'(This Aug 31 story corrects spelling of Blake Goldring in paragraph 7)By Ben Martin and Parikshit Mishra(Reuters) - Wealth manager Smith & Williamson (S&W) plans to pursue a potential stock listing after its merger talks with rival Rathbone Brothers ( RAT.L ) collapsed on Thursday.S&W said in a statement it was preparing for a potential stock listing when it was approached by Rathbones.Now that talks with Rathbones had ended, a float was back on the table, a spokeswoman for S&W told Reuters.The failure of discussions with Rathbones could open the way for competitor Tilney to revive an unsuccessful counterbid for S&W that Reuters reported this week.Tilney launched its approach after Rathbones confirmed that it was holding discussions about an all-share merger with S&W, owned by former and current employees as well as AGF.The S&W spokeswoman said they were not currently in discussions with Tilney."AGF will actively pursue alternatives to realize value in its investment in Smith & Williamson for the benefit of AGF shareholders," Blake Goldring, chief executive officer of AGF, said in a statement. bit.ly/2vN9LpfRathbones, the FTSE 250 company, said it had carried out “very extensive due diligence and negotiations” but had ended exclusive talks between the two British firms.“We continue to believe that our proposition was both a compelling strategic and value creation opportunity for all Smith & Williamson’s stakeholders,” Rathbones’ boss Philip Howell said in a statement.The wealth manager said the cost of working on the failed deal would see it take a charge of about 5 million pounds ($6.5 million) in 2017.Rathbones’ proposal valued S&W at between 500 million pounds and 600 million pounds, a source told Reuters earlier this week.Rathbones’ shares closed down 0.5 percent at 27.80 pounds on Thursday, giving it a market capitalization of around 1.4 billion pounds.Two sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Tilney, a wealth manager controlled by private equity house Permira, had failed in an attempt to open discussions with S&W.The sources said at the time that Tilney would consider making a fresh bid if the Rathbones talks collapsed.Tilney did not respond to requests for comment.Editing by David Evans and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rathbone-m-a-smith-merger/rathbone-brothers-terminates-merger-talks-with-smith-williamson-idINKCN1BB2TA'|'2017-08-31T17:18:00.000+03:00'
'96f1c7cdfbcbbfe1cfec05660e1d55b58ae23601'|'EURO DEBT SUPPLY-Four euro zone countries to sell bonds next week'|'LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Government bond supply in the euro area picks up next week, with Austria, Germany, Spain and France scheduled to hold debt sales.* On Tuesday, Austria will issue 1.38 billion euros in bonds by reopening bonds maturing in 2037 and 2027.* Germany, the euro zone’s benchmark issuer, on Wednesday will sell 3 billion euros of five-year bonds.* On Thursday, France will auction up to 9 billion euros of long-term debt including an ultra-long bond.* Spain is also scheduled to hold a bond auction on Thursday, although the details are yet to be released. (Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by John Geddie) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-outlook/euro-debt-supply-four-euro-zone-countries-to-sell-bonds-next-week-idINL8N1LI1WG'|'2017-09-01T07:52:00.000+03:00'
'118f8623b81bbad97332a4262da159eae6bd8f1d'|'Western Digital CEO apologized to Toshiba for friction over chip unit sale'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:19 AM / in 3 hours Western Digital CEO apologized to Toshiba for friction over chip unit sale 4 Min Read A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp’s ( WDC.O ) CEO apologized to his counterpart at Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) for strained ties after the U.S. firm sued to keep their chip joint venture from being sold to rival bidders, according to an Aug. 11 letter. The embattled Japanese conglomerate has put its chip unit, - worth between $17 billion to $18 billion, up for sale as it scrambles to cover liabilities at its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit. Relations between Western Digital and its chips partner quickly frayed, however, as Toshiba entertained other bids. It was not immediately clear what impact the letter had on relations between the two firms, but in mid-August they agreed to try to overcome their dispute and enter into serious discussions. They failed to clinch a deal by end-August as planned, however, and Toshiba said on Thursday that it would continue to talk to the Western Digital consortium as well as two other suitors - groups led by Bain Capital and by Taiwan’s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ). “I am not a litigious person by nature. Personally, I have never sued anyone,” Chief Executive Steve Milligan wrote in the letter, which was seen by Reuters. “I understand that the litigation and ongoing disputes have created significant ill will for some within Toshiba. This is regrettable and I am deeply sorry for the feelings this has created.” Toshiba declined to comment on the letter. A representative for Western Digital said she could not immediately comment. In the letter, Milligan also sought to reassure Toshiba CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa that the U.S. firm would address any concerns that Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), a key customer of Toshiba’s NAND flash memory chips, might have about a deal. People familiar with the talks have said Apple is likely concerned about being on the backfoot in pricing power if Toshiba, the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND chips, struck a deal with Western Digital, which ranks No. 3. Apple has joined Bain’s consortium bidding for Toshiba’s chip unit, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said this week. Milligan said in the letter that Western Digital was only offering to hold convertible bonds in the chip business, Toshiba Memory Corp (TMC), and would have no voting rights or board seats. “Additionally, Western Digital will not have any ability to interfere in the management or operations of TMC, and we have no desire or expectations to the contrary,” he said. “We are highly confident that Apple will understand this structure and be comforted by it,” he said, suggesting that the two sides meet with Apple to address any questions. Any delays to Toshiba clinching a deal could allow rival Samsung Electronics’ ( 005930.KS ) extend its lead in advanced 3D chips, a risk Milligan cited as he said their differences were “down to only a very small number of outstanding issues”. He offered to drop all legal action on the part of Western Digital once they had clinched a deal. “As you know, time is not our friend,” he wrote. “The only people benefiting from this prolonged dispute are the competitors to our joint ventures.” Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-ceo-apologizes-to-toshiba-for-friction-over-chip-unit-sale-idINKCN1BC42M'|'2017-09-01T05:19:00.000+03:00'
'001816e7210178f4bdeafdf628750383a752a2b0'|'Hearing-aid maker Sonova names Danaher''s Kaldowski as new CEO'|'ZURICH, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Sonova on Friday named Arnd Kaldowski as new chief executive officer as the Swiss company renews leadership following acquisitions and product introductions aimed at protecting its perch as the world’s largest hearing aid maker.Kaldowski, a 50-year-old German who previously headed a diagnostics unit at Danaher Corp, will become Sonova’s chief operating officer in October and is slated to replace Lukas Braunschweiler as CEO starting on April 1, 2018.Braunschweiler, who has led Sonova since 2011, has been proposed to join Sonova’s board at the annual shareholders meeting next June. (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sonova-ceo/hearing-aid-maker-sonova-names-danahers-kaldowski-as-new-ceo-idINFWN1LH17G'|'2017-09-01T03:20:00.000+03:00'
'd4379313213ad19daa2c55439b1e512a46dc2865'|'UPDATE 1-Azerbaijan launches new bonds as part of IBA debt swap'|'(Adds new info, details) BAKU, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan''s new dollar bonds, issued as part of a restructuring of the state-run bank IBA, started trading on Friday, with two of the issues big enough to be eligible for the main emerging debt benchmark, JPMorgan EMBI Global. The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) earlier this year angered investors with a plan to restructure $3.3 billion in debt and said in July it had received approval from creditors holding 93.9 percent of the affected credits. The scheme allowed bondholders to swap into new dollar issues from the Azeri sovereign as well as IBA. IBA issued a $1 billion Eurobond due in 2024 with a 3.5 percent coupon, the bank''s documents showed. IBA also said in a statement the Azeri finance ministy had approved seven of its own new Eurobonds, due from December 2017 until September 2032 and with a total worth of $2.266 billion. Traders in London said some of the new bonds were trading fairly actively, with Tradeweb data showing the $300 million 2029 issue Quote: d at 104 cents and the 2032 $1 billion bond at 87 cents. The 2029 IBA bond was Quote: d around 87 cents. Inclusion of the 2029 and 2032 bonds into the EMBI index will raise Azerbaijan''s weight in the benchmark, analysts said. Lazard acted as financial adviser to the bank for the restructuring. Below is a table of all the new issues: The Republic of 0.850% 01.12.2017 U.S.$184,508,000 0.850 per cent. Azerbaijan Notes due 2017 The Republic of 2.820% 01.09.2018 U.S.$173,524,000 2.820 per cent. Azerbaijan Notes due 2018 The Republic of 2.820% 01.09.2019 U.S.$173,524,000 2.820 per cent. Azerbaijan Notes due 2019 The Republic of 2.820% 01.09.2020 U.S.$173,524,000 2.820 per cent. Azerbaijan Notes due 2020 The Republic of 2.820% 01.09.2021 U.S.$173,524,000 2.820 per cent. Azerbaijan Notes due 2021 The Republic of 5.125% 01.09.2029 U.S.$310,718,000 5.125 per cent. Azerbaijan Notes due 2029 The Republic of 3.500% 01.09.2032 U.S.$1,076,578,000 3.500 per Azerbaijan cent. Notes due 2032 International 3.500% 01.09.2024 U.S.$1,000,000,000 3.500 per Bank of cent. Notes due 2024 Azerbaijan (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; writing by Margarita Antidze and Sujata Rao; editing by Richard Balmforth) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/azerbaijan-iba-issue/update-1-azerbaijan-launches-new-bonds-as-part-of-iba-debt-swap-idINL8N1LI3R1'|'2017-09-01T14:33:00.000+03:00'
'e71f4060511e595ef579c304323cf5e863f12c53'|'RPT-WRAPUP 5-U.S. job growth slows in August; wage growth retreats'|'(Repeats to add Breakingviews link)* Nonfarm payrolls increase 156,000 in August* Unemployment rate rises to 4.4 percent* Average hourly earnings rise 0.1 percent* Harvey does not have an impact on August numbersBy Lucia MutikaniWASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in August after two straight months of hefty increases, but the pace of gains should be more than enough for the Federal Reserve to announce a plan to start trimming a massive bond portfolio accumulated as it sought to bolster the economy.Persistently sluggish wage growth could, however, make the U.S. central bank cautious about raising interest rates again this year. The Labor Department said on Friday nonfarm payrolls increased by 156,000 last month. The economy created 399,000 jobs in June and July.“We see nothing here that prevents the Fed from initiating its balance-sheet reduction plan at the September meeting,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.Average hourly earnings rose three cents or 0.1 percent after advancing 0.3 percent in July, keeping the year-on-year gain in wages at 2.5 percent for a fifth consecutive month. The average workweek slipped to 34.4 hours from 34.5 hours in July.U.S. stocks were trading higher, with the Dow hitting the 22,000 mark for the first time in more than two weeks. The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. Treasuries fell.August’s moderation in employment growth, which pushed payroll gains below the 176,000 monthly average for this year likely reflects a seasonal quirk. Over the past several years, the initial August job count has tended to exhibit a weak bias, with revisions subsequently showing strength.“The August payroll count does tend to be biased downward, typically reflecting seasonal difficulty in measuring the timing of back-to-school, as well as low initial response rates during the summer,” said Robert Rosener, an economist at Morgan Stanley in New York.The department said Hurricane Harvey, which devastated parts of Texas, had no “discernable” effect on payrolls as the disaster struck after the survey period for the August employment report. Economists say the storm could hurt September payrolls if the disruption from the flooding is prolonged.The smaller household survey showed a decline in employment last month. As a result, the unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.Economists had forecast payrolls increasing by 180,000 jobs last month. Still, August’s gains were far more than the 75,000 to 100,000 jobs per month needed to keep up with growth in the working-age population.The labor market has continued to strengthen even as hopes for a promised tax cut this year have faded.Republican President Donald Trump on Wednesday reiterated his longstanding call for slashing the U.S. corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent at a time when lawmakers believe they would be lucky to bring it down to 25 percent.The Republican-led U.S. Congress faces a tough challenge in passing tax reform legislation, having already failed to deliver on healthcare reform sought by Trump.FACTORIES HUMMING Underscoring labor market strength, manufacturing payrolls surged by 36,000 jobs in August, the most in four years, with the motor vehicle sector adding 13,700 positions.Employment in the sector could be buoyed by an anticipated spike in demand for automobiles as residents in the Houston area replace flood-damaged vehicles.A second report on Friday from the Institute for Supply Management showed its factory activity index soared to 58.8 in August, the highest reading since April 2011, from 56.3 in July. A measure of factory employment hit a more than six-year high.The employment report showed construction jobs jumped 28,000 last month. That was the largest gain since February and came despite a lull in homebuilding activity and home sales. Another report on Friday showed construction spending falling to a nine-month low in July.While August’s job gains likely keep the Fed on course to outline a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities at its Sept. 19-20 policy meeting, tepid wage growth casts doubts on a December interest rate increase.The anemic wage gains came on the heels of a report on Thursday showing the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, increased 1.4 percent in the 12 months to July - the smallest rise in just over 1-1/2 years.U.S. financial markets are pricing in a roughly 42 percent probability of a rate hike at the Fed’s December meeting according to CME Group’s FedWatch program. The Fed has increased borrowing costs twice this year.Lack of strong wage growth raises concerns about the sustainability of a recent surge in consumer spending, which spurred the fastest economic growth in more than two years in the second quarter.The private services sector led the slowdown in job gains last month, with payrolls rising 95,000. That was the smallest gain since March and followed an increase of 179,000 jobs in July. Economists also blamed the moderation in hiring on a dearth of qualified workers.“The economy can’t create more jobs as there is no one left to hire at this late stage of the recovery with the expansion starting its ninth year in July,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York.Retail employment increased by 800 last month as a surge in hiring at building material and garden supply stores was offset by continued layoffs at clothing retailers.Payrolls at nonstore retailers rose only 700 despite online retailer Amazon.com holding a series of job fairs to recruit about 50,000 workers last month. Government hiring declined for a second straight month in August.Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-economy/rpt-wrapup-5-u-s-job-growth-slows-in-august-wage-growth-retreats-idINL2N1LI1DW'|'2017-09-01T16:07:00.000+03:00'
'51fb646115aa4b9797ff3281e8084c8718a81f45'|'Paper Excellence to buy Brazil''s Eldorado from J&F for $4.7 billion'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Brazilian holding company J&F Investimentos SA on Saturday accepted a proposal from Netherlands-based Paper Excellence to buy pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA for 15 billion reais ($4.7 billion), including debt.The companies said in a statement that the transaction would take 12 months to complete, and Paper Excellence, controlled by the owners of Indonesia’s Asia Pulp & Paper Co Ltd, would fully assume Eldorado’s debt of almost 8 billion reais.A person with direct knowledge of the transaction said Brazilian pension funds that own 19 percent of Eldorado’s equity were considering whether to sell their stakes. J&F owns 81 percent of the pulpmaker.Eldorado’s management will remain in place until regulatory approval has been secured, according to the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak.Reuters reported on Sunday that Asia Pulp & Paper had extended a proposal to acquire Eldorado for 15 billion reais.Eldorado is among the flagship assets J&F put up for sale after brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista agreed to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion-real fine for their role in corruption scandals that have hurt President Michel Temer’s administration. As a result, the Batistas have had to shed assets and refinance debt.J&F agreed to sell Havaianas flip-flop maker Alpargatas SA in July to a group led by investment firms of Brazil’s most prominent banking families for $1.1 billion. Mexico’s Grupo Lala SAV de CV struck a deal to buy dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA in August.Paper Excellence began operating its first cellulose plant in 2007 in Meadow Lake, Canada, and has since expanded by buying other plants in that country and Europe.$1 = 3.1419 reais Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eldorado-brasil-ma/paper-excellence-to-buy-brazils-eldorado-from-jf-for-4-7-billion-idUSL2N1LI23O'|'2017-09-02T22:18:00.000+03:00'
'ded90c0e733db5f7ee2fa2358b059f2462cb87fc'|'China regulator releases draft rules on stock exchanges - media'|'September 2, 2017 / 7:10 AM / 11 hours ago China regulator releases draft rules on stock exchanges: media Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Beijing, China, June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s securities regulator has published draft rules designed to give stock exchanges more power in regulating the market, Chinese media reported on Saturday. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released for public comment a revision to an existing policy on the management of stock exchanges, the Shanghai Securities News and Securities Times reported. The draft rule includes provisions to encourage better supervision by the exchanges of activity and trading in the markets. CSRC spokeswoman Gao Li was quoted saying that the draft rule reflected lessons learned from stock markets overseas and the volatility in Chinese stock markets in 2015. The proposed revision would help ensure orderly markets, reduce risk and guard against market manipulation and insider trading, Gao said. Reporting By Alexandra Harney; Editing by Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-exchanges-rules/china-regulator-releases-draft-rules-on-stock-exchanges-media-idUSKCN1BD07S'|'2017-09-02T10:01:00.000+03:00'
'e2135c5b27b16e4880758165e7a842b517b4fb9e'|'Uber second-quarter bookings increase, loss narrows'|'FILE PHOTO: The Uber logo is seen on a screen in Singapore August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White /File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] on Wednesday reported a 16 percent increase in quarterly bookings and a smaller loss than the previous period as the ride-services company showed signs of inching towards profitability.The shrinking losses reflect Uber’s efforts to rein in massive spending on subsidies for both drivers and customers even as it battles rivals in tough markets like South Asia.The San Francisco-based company said it lost $645 million in the second quarter, 9 percent less than the $708 million loss in the first quarter and 35 percent less than the $991 million loss in the fourth quarter of last year. For all of 2016, Uber lost about $3 billion.As a private company, Uber is not required to publicly report its financial results, but earlier this year it began offering a glimpse of its performance by disclosing certain numbers.The continued growth in ridership suggests Uber’s core business has so far weathered a string of scandals. But the scale of its losses are unprecedented in Silicon Valley and executives have declined to offer a timetable for profitability.Uber is facing allegations of sexual harassment, a lawsuit alleging trade-secrets theft and a federal criminal probe over its use of software to evade city regulators, among other alleged misconduct.Some investors have eyed Uber’s $68 billion valuation with scepticism, and four mutual fund investors disclosed this week that they had marked down the value of their Uber shares by as much as 15 percent.Uber said its gross ride bookings for the second quarter reached $8.7 billion, up from $7.5 billion in the first quarter. The number of global trips on its service increased 150 percent over the previous year, with growth strongest in developing markets.Those numbers include trips in Russia, where Uber last month merged its operations with local rival Yandex.Adjusted net revenue, which reflects Uber’s cut of ride fares, rose to $1.75 billion from $1.5 billion in the first quarter, Uber said.Since 2010, Uber has raised more than $15 billion from investors, allowing it to operate at a significant loss. The company said it has $6.6 billion in the bank, down from around $7.2 billion in the first quarter.Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, cautioned that Uber’s reporting is selective and excludes parts of the business’s financial model that may show the company in a less favourable light.“There’s clearly growth in the numbers reported by Uber here,” Dawson said, but they should be taken “with a big pinch of salt.”The company is searching for a new chief executive and also lacks a chief financial officer, highly unusual for a company of its size. The former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick was ousted in June, and it is unclear how the absence of a CEO will affect the current quarter’s financial results.News website Axios first reported Uber’s second-quarter results on Wednesday.Editing by Leslie Adler and Bill Rigby '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uber-profitability-results/uber-reports-losses-of-645-million-in-second-quarter-ride-bookings-grow-idINKCN1B32GE'|'2017-08-23T18:25:00.000+03:00'
'a419f1cfb0ce08891271198f18275ae83bac4fd4'|'Central banks must be ready with cash to calm Brexit nerves - bank lobby'|'September 1, 2017 / 1:12 PM / 3 hours ago Central banks must be ready with cash to calm Brexit nerves - bank lobby Huw Jones , Andrew MacAskill 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An employee shows fifty-euro notes in a bank in Sarajevo, March 19, 2012. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Central banks should be ready to inject cash into the financial markets to keep them stable after Britain leaves the European Union in 2019, a draft report from a bank industry lobby said. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), in a draft report seen by Reuters, said that regulators, central banks and national governments should continue to support financial market stability between Britain’s departure from the EU and start of new trading terms. “This may require particular attention during the uncertain period around Brexit, and in particular during the transition, and may involve more regular market communications and targeted support in case of market need, for example, access to liquidity schemes,” the report said. This and other steps would be needed to minimise disruption, it said. AFME’s report also provides a blueprint for a transition phase after Britain’s EU exit in March 2019. This would include a “bridging phase” to avoid “short-term disruption” until new trading terms are ratified and an “adaptation phase” for moving to the new terms. The report did not specify a time frame for the transition but said it should be limited. “It is crucial that clarity is provided as soon as possible on a transitional period, and ideally before the end of this year,” AFME said. AFME wants existing market arrangements maintained throughout the transitional period, reflecting worries among bankers that they might have to comply first with a transition period and then the new trading terms. “This means that existing legislation, regulation, permissions and authorisations should continue to be effective during the transitional period,” it said. Company bosses also want Britain to negotiate a staggered departure from the EU by the end of this year or they will have to push ahead with plans that assume they will lose all access to the single market after March 2019. Senior executives are calling on Britain to choose an existing model for trading with the EU during any transitional phase because negotiating a new arrangement could prove as difficult as the final terms. Britain could either keep its existing trading arrangements, or copy Norway, which pays hundreds of millions of euros to access the European internal markets from outside the bloc. “The government needs to keep things as simple as possible or we going to end up digging ourselves into a deeper hole than we are already in,” one executive said. Britain’s financial services sector has already called for the country’s new trading terms for banks, insurers and funds to be based on a system of “mutual recognition”, whereby Britain and the EU accept each other’s financial rules. Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, said this week that it would be “impossible” for the bloc to automatically accept UK rules. Reporting by Huw Jones. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks/central-banks-must-be-ready-with-cash-to-calm-brexit-nerves-bank-lobby-idUKKCN1BC4WX'|'2017-09-01T16:11:00.000+03:00'
'36f17e2b72199d663e6f1bb3cf20cce8f7a57e6b'|'China developer Evergrande to cut debt by 2020, choose profits over scale'|'FILE PHOTO: The company logo of Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd is pictured in Hong Kong, China March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group, which has the second-largest debt pile among the nation’s corporates, pledged to slash its debt by 2020 after unveiling a jump in first-half profits that was aided by the early redemption of some bonds.The country’s No.3 property developer by sales also announced it is changing its growth strategy to focus on growing profitably, and reduce the size of its land reserves towards that end.Evergrande said on Monday it aimed to cut its net debt ratio to around 70 percent by June 2020 from 240 percent now, helped partly by the introduction of a third round of strategic investments of 30 billion yuan ($4.53 billion) to 50 billion yuan by its unit, Hengda Real Estate Group, expected after September.As a first step, it aims to lower the ratio to 140 percent by end of June next year, and to 100 percent in the year after. Its total borrowings stood at 673.5 billion yuan as of end-June.Chief Executive Xia Haijun told an earnings briefing Evergrande would no longer aim to be the largest developer in China by sales, but instead attempt to be the No. 1 by margins.It will start to reduce the scale of land reserve by 5 to 10 percent, or 10 to 20 million square meters, each year, he said.“In the last 20 years, Evergrande has been chasing scale, but why is Evergrande changing strategy this year? ... This is because we have the basis for a transformation,” said Xia.“Because China’s property market has moved from a golden era to a stable one, so we need to transform.”Evergrande’s core profit, which excludes revaluation gains, came in at 27.30 billion yuan ($4.12 billion) over the six months ended June, a more than three-fold surge versus 7.8 billion yuan a year ago, thanks to a substantial rise in average selling prices and a full redemption of high-interest perpetual bonds.Its net profit rose nine-fold to 18.83 billion yuan, while gross margin rose by 7.5 percentage points to 35.8 percent.However, the developer booked a net loss on the disposal of available-for-sale financial assets of 7.02 billion yuan.Earlier this year, subsidiaries of Evergrande sold 1.55 billion A-shares in China Vanke at a lower than average buying price to state-owned Shenzhen Metro, ending a years-long struggle for boardroom control at the larger peer Vanke.Having half of its exposure to smaller cities in China, Evergrande was less affected by a slew of government tightening measures to rein in the country’s overheated property sector.The developer said its future land purchases would be focused on Tier 2 and satellite cities in China that are less impacted by tightening policies, although it forecast land prices would rise steadily due to a shortage.Evergrande redeemed all its perpetual bonds, totalling 112.94 billion yuan, by end-June. The bonds cost it $1.6 billion in interest last year.Its dollar bonds were trading higher by a quarter to a half point across maturities after its pledge to further cut its net debt ratio.The developer has seen its shares surge close to 400 percent this year, driven by an imminent backdoor listing for most of its real estate assets in mainland China, fresh capital of 70 billion yuan from strategic investors as well as share buybacks.Evergrande said it believed the Chinese economy would maintain a stable and favourable trend and that it was confident it could achieve its full-year contract sales target.($1 = 6.6279 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/evergrande-results/china-developer-evergrande-to-cut-debt-by-2020-choose-profits-over-scale-idINKCN1B8155'|'2017-08-28T09:43:00.000+03:00'
'21f1a0ac1b50e4fac36cc0406a0bf1df0170d378'|'ECB''s Nowotny sees little room for rate hikes if inflation low'|'September 1, 2017 / 8:19 AM / in an hour ECB''s Nowotny sees little room for rate hikes if inflation low Reuters Staff 1 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member and OeNB governor Ewald Nowotny addresses a news conference in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger ALPBACH, Austria (Reuters) - There is little room for a European Central Bank interest rate hike as long as inflation is low, Austrian central bank governor Ewald Nowotny said on Friday. ”As long as we have low rates of inflation... I do not see a perspective for higher rates of interest,“ Nowotny, who also sits on the ECB’s rate-setting Governing Council, told a conference. ” “Interest rates do have an important element not only on the macroeconomic side but they also have to play an important role as signalling in a market economy,” he added. Euro zone inflation rose to 1.5 percent in August but is expected to undershoot the ECB’s target of almost 2 percent for years to come. The ECB has pledged to keep its key rate, now at -0.4 percent, at its current level until well past the conclusion of its asset purchases. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-nowotny/ecbs-nowotny-sees-little-room-for-rate-hikes-if-inflation-low-idUKKCN1BC480'|'2017-09-01T11:19:00.000+03:00'
'8961a316523effcd3d4d8bee438394e2e5491889'|'Disorderly Brexit chances 25 percent; UK economy to slow further - Reuters poll'|'September 1, 2017 / 2:22 PM / 6 hours ago Disorderly Brexit chances 25 percent; UK economy to slow further Ross Finley 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Anti-Brexit, pro-European Union Remain supporters wave flags as they travel up and down the River Thames, outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain August 19, 2017. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The chances of Britain eventually exiting the European Union in a disorderly manner have eased a bit, according to a Reuters poll of economic forecasters, who still say a free trade deal, even if there is a transition period, is the most likely outcome. The median probability of no deal in the poll taken Aug 29-31 was 25 percent, down from 30 percent in a survey six weeks ago. In the meantime, UK economic growth is forecast to keep slowing despite an upturn in the broader world economy. However, economists also say regardless of whether or not a transition deal is agreed, leaving with no agreement - meaning the UK would have to trade with the EU under basic World Trade Organisation rules - is the second-most likely outcome. Third is European Economic Area membership, which would allow the UK continued full access to the EU Single Market that it was so instrumental in helping to shape. But it would exclude Britain from having any more say in shaping it. Remaining in the EU, which would mean overriding the June 23, 2016 Brexit vote, was the fourth most likely outcome. “We apply a 50 percent weight to no deal being reached by the end of March 2019, but rather than a disorderly exit, we expect the process to be fudged in some way, for example a prolonged transition period,” notes Joanna Davies, a senior economist at Fathom, underscoring the high level of uncertainty. Davies is the only economist in the panel who is forecasting a mild UK recession to take place this year. She gave a 20 percent probability of a disorderly Brexit in the poll, where other responses ranged from just 5 percent to 75 percent. Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, also gave just a one-in-five chance of a disorderly “no deal” Brexit. “While it is logistically impossible to agree an entire deal by March 2019, both sides generally seem to be in favor of a transition arrangement, or phased implementation. It would take a catastrophic breakdown in communications for one side to walk away from the table,” Shaw noted. The survey results provide some rough guidance on the prevailing thinking among economic forecasters on the UK just as negotiations between the British and EU delegations appear to have hit their roughest patch. Ahead of the EU membership referendum, economists were almost completely united - an extremely rare occurrence in a profession well-known for diverging views - saying that staying in the EU was the best choice for Britain’s economic prospects. Initial consensus forecasts for a mild recession following the vote, based on the assumption that Britain would formally declare its intention to leave straight away as then-Prime Minister David Cameron had promised to do, were off the mark. But before and since his successor Theresa May signed the Article 50 declaration to withdraw in late March, economists have called many of the near-term consequences of the Brexit vote broadly correct, including soaring imported inflation from a tumbling pound, and the current consumer spending slowdown. While officials, including the Bank of England, have clung to a view exports and investment will rise and make up for this, economists have been more pessimistic, warning that uncertainty will force companies to delay spending decisions. That call is also proving to be broadly correct, both in the official data and survey evidence. Forecasters in the Reuters poll are sticking to their view that economic growth will be just 1.6 percent this year and 1.3 percent next, in contrast to the Bank of England’s view, which started the year at 2.0 percent and has since been chopped. The Reuters consensus for 2018 growth has been in a steady range of 1.2-1.5 percent every month since July 2016, the month after the Brexit vote. Prior to that, it was 2.3 percent, showing just how consistent economists have been since. Most are also convinced that the BoE will not raise interest rates between now and when the Article 50 notification period expires. Only 14 of 59 economists expect one or more rate rises by end-2018. Only two of the eight Monetary Policy Committee members voted for a rate rise in August, including ex-Citi economist Michael Saunders, who in a Thursday speech again argued the case for raising rates, saying the economy is likely to be “not too bad” in coming quarters. [nL8N1LH2FW] Polling by Anisha Sheth and Mumal Rathore; Analysis by Sarmista Sen and Rahul Karunakar; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-brexit-poll/disorderly-brexit-chances-25-percent-uk-economy-to-slow-further-idUKKCN1BC53Y'|'2017-09-01T17:18:00.000+03:00'
'50a11386b4d054313506bdb1a13aabb3688ee2c8'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 1'|' 45 AM / 16 minutes ago UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 1 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Sept 1 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 1 point at 7429.5 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. * PETROFAC: CEO of Petrofac Ltd Ayman Asfari made over 300,000 euros ($356,760.00) on betting on a stock price drop of an oil firm after being tipped off by its boss of his resignation, financial regulators in Italy have said, The Times reported on Friday. bit.ly/2xBzSS4 * SMITH & WILLIAMSON: Wealth manager Smith & Williamson (S&W) plans to pursue a potential stock listing after its merger talks with rival Rathbone Brothers collapsed on Thursday. * OIL: U.S. crude futures fell in Asian trading on Friday, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry with nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline. * GOLD: Gold inched lower on Friday as mild profit-taking set in after recent rallies and as investors awaited U.S. jobs data for direction on interest rates, but safe-haven demand kept prices near 9-1/2 month highs as tensions over North Korea lingered. * STORM HARVEY: A flood-hit southeast Texas city lost its drinking water supply and police and soldiers rescued thousands still stranded on Thursday after powerful storm Harvey killed 44 people and displaced more than a million on the Gulf Coast. * STORM LIDIA: Tropical Storm Lidia lashed the southern tip of Mexico''s Baja California peninsula with heavy rain and high winds as it barreled through the popular tourist resorts of Los Cabos on Thursday evening, authorities said. * U.S. ECONOMY: U.S. job growth likely slowed in August after two straight months of robust gains, but the pace of increase should be more than sufficient for the Federal Reserve to announce a plan to start trimming its massive bond portfolio. * The UK blue chip index closed 0.9 percent higher at 7430.62 points on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as support from commodities-related stocks and financials helped the blue-chip index score its second consecutive monthly gain. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: EMIS Group Half Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com ($1 = 0.8409 euros) (Reporting by Justin George Varghese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-1-idUSL4N1LI2AG'|'2017-09-01T08:44:00.000+03:00'
'dba534483bdb9232bdf0b07726b52729451a7aff'|'India seen posting stronger economic growth as shock from cash clampdown fades'|'A worker cuts metal inside a workshop manufacturing metal pipes in Mumbai, India August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s economy likely showed further signs of recovery in the latest quarter from a shock cash squeeze late last year, but the rebound is not expected to be strong enough to help it reclaim the crown of the world’s fastest-growing major economy.Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have expanded 6.6 percent in the April-June quarter INGDPQ=ECI from a year earlier, according to economists polled by Reuters.That would mark a solid acceleration from 6.1 percent growth in January-March, but still lag China’s 6.9 percent print in the latest quarter.Forecasts ranged from 5.7 to 7.2 percent.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shock decision last November to scrap high-value old banknotes wiped out about 86 percent of currency in circulation virtually overnight, pounding consumer demand.Since then, high frequency indicators such as sales of two-wheel vehicles, oil consumption, cargo traffic and rail freight have shown the impact of the cash clampdown is gradually fading.“The economy likely dusted off the post-demonetisation lull,” said Radhika Rao, an economist at DBS Bank in Singapore.Yet, Asia’s third-largest economy is far away from firing on all cylinders - capital spending remains weak and debt-laden banks are still circumspect in lending.Confusion over a new goods and services tax and high debt levels in rural areas could also dampen activity in coming months.HEADWINDS The launch of a national Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1 has caused chaos on the ground as ambiguous rules have left firms confused over how to price their products.Business surveys showed both services and manufacturing activity contracted at their fastest rate in years in July.In rural areas, huge inventories of grain from last year’s record harvest has led to large declines in prices, leaving millions of farmers in debt.With restive farmers demanding loan relief, four Indian states have agreed to waive billions of dollars in farm loans. A few more states are contemplating similar write-offs.The debt waivers come at a time when state finances are under pressure, compelling some of them to slash capital spending to keep their budget deficits in check.Further clouding the economic outlook is growing stress on corporate balance sheets, frustrating Modi’s efforts to revive private investments.In the telecoms sector, the entry of Reliance Jio has dramatically reduced prices, hitting corporate profits. Similarly, a marked decline in the price of renewable energy has put thermal power companies in a spot.There is little surprise then that a number of economists including those in the government have begun sounding warnings.Still, there is a good chance of Thursday’s data throwing an upside surprise, thanks to a favourable GDP “deflator”. The federal statistics office uses the deflator to strip out price changes to make quarters comparable.The GDP deflator is expected to decline by as much as 200 basis points from the March quarter due to a sharp cooling in inflation, imparting an upside bias to real growth figures.The federal statistics office will release the data at 1200 GMT.Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-economy-gdp/india-seen-posting-stronger-economic-growth-as-shock-from-cash-clampdown-fades-idINKCN1BA318'|'2017-08-30T21:13:00.000+03:00'
'd3146f15278271745ee8e33f2de85e73a0b18f2e'|'Kawasaki vying for $3.2 billion New York subway order'|'Logos of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.are seen on a model of the company''s green gas engine at it Tokyo head office April 25, 2013. REUTERS/Toru Hanai MONTREAL/TOKYO (Reuters) - Kawasaki Heavy Industries ( 7012.T ) of Japan said on Thursday it was vying to win a $3.2 billion subway contract with the largest U.S. transit agency, after Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) of Canada acknowledged this week that it was out of the running.Bombardier Transportation, the company’s German-based rail unit, and China’s CRRC Corp ( 601766.SS ) were jointly bidding for the contract from New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for at least 1,000 subway cars, a source familiar with the matter said.The two are no longer in the running because of Bombardier’s delays in completing a separate MTA subway car contract, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity about the confidential bidding process.Bombardier said this week it was “disappointed” about being excluded from the procurement, but would not give a reason.Kawasaki is working with France’s Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) as system supplier for the cars, the source said.Maika Yamashita, a spokeswoman for Kawasaki Heavy in Tokyo, said the company was trying to win the bid. “We have not heard that an order has been decided,” she added.Both Bombardier and Kawasaki are longstanding suppliers for the MTA, the largest U.S. transit agency by ridership, which serves one in three mass transit riders and two-thirds of rail riders in the country.CRRC in China could not immediately be reached for comment.Representatives for the MTA spokesman and Alstom declined to comment.Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-newyork-subway-kawasakiheavy/kawasaki-vying-for-3-2-billion-new-york-subway-order-idUSKCN1BC3CS'|'2017-09-01T03:15:00.000+03:00'
'039bed5198d377f8d4c77e68bc626c3911a3474b'|'Cargill, an intensely private firm, sheds light on the food chain'|'ANGLERS love a record catch. Fish farmers, too. So when a salmon bred and raised near this village at the head of a Norwegian fjord was pulled out of captivity earlier this year weighing a sumo-sized 17kg, it was cause for jubilation. “It was fantastic,” says Einar Wathne, head of aquaculture at Cargill, the world’s biggest food-trading firm. Not only was it produced in 15 months, one-fifth faster than usual, it also looked and tasted good. Mr Wathne’s Norwegian colleagues celebrated by eating it sashimi-style shortly after its slaughter.Cargill is a company usually associated with big boots rather than waders. America’s largest private company has built a reputation after 152 years of existence as middleman to the world, connecting farmers with buyers of human and animal food everywhere. Through a trading network that spans 70 countries (and that includes scores of ports, terminals, grain and meat-processing plants and cargo ships), it supplies information and finance to farmers, influences what they produce based on the needs of its food-industry customers, and connects the two. 12 hours ago What would the FDP do? Kaffeeklatsch 13 hours ago Escobar is dead, but “Narcos” and the drugs trade live on Prospero 14 hours ago The French president acts on his promise to overhaul jobs laws Europe 15 hours ago An interview with Christian Lindner Kaffeeklatsch 16 hours ago Whatever she may say, Theresa May won’t fight the next election Bagehot''s notebook 17 hours ago See all updates Its purchase of EWOS, a Norwegian fish-food company, in 2015 for $1.5bn was its first big foray into aquaculture. It was the second-biggest acquisition in Cargill’s history. That made it quite a splash for David MacLennan, Cargill’s chief executive since 2013, who took over the company just as a dozen fat years in the agriculture industry had drawn to a close. He is now fishing for future sources of growth.The firm’s foray into the salmon business should help in two ways. First, it is part of Cargill’s attempt to expand into higher-value markets. One of its traditional mainstays, the trading of bulk agricultural commodities, has struggled since the end, in around 2013, of a China-led commodities supercycle. The firm has also suffered from a recent slump in demand for grains for biofuels. Consumption of farmed fish across the world has boomed, meanwhile, partly at the expense of beef, pork and other meats. Fish feed is its highest-cost component, and more efficient ways of feeding are key to the salmon industry’s growth.Second, Cargill can learn via the salmon-feeding business how to deal with increasingly picky consumers. Mr Wathne notes that salmon is a “premium” product, so consumers want to know not just where it came from, but where what it is fed on comes from. Fishermen of wild salmon, a well-connected bunch, are keen to turn public opinion against the farmed kind. That battle could make Cargill better at handling traceability in more established parts of its food business, such as meats.Cargill faces a particularly hard task building trust with increasingly information-hungry consumers. To its critics the company epitomises the faceless character of “Big Agriculture”, with boots that trample on the environment, animal welfare, and on small farmers. “I recognise that we are big, and because we are privately owned and because we are primarily business-to-business...it is harder to have that transparency,” says Mr MacLennan. “We want to be more well known.”Some of his eight predecessors would have spluttered over his idea of more disclosure, which involves wider use of social media, more interviews and more engagement with NGOs. Since generations of Cargill and MacMillan families built the company up from a regional grain trader, born in Iowa in 1865, into a global giant, it has kept out of the limelight, preferring to leave that to the customers whose branded products it provides ingredients for, such as McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets and Danone’s baby formula. Its taste for privacy has not always served it well; the title of a book published in 1995, “Invisible Giant”, sums up Cargill’s sinister reputation in the eyes of anti-globalists. “In the absence of information people will make up their own story,” Mr MacLennan says.Private ownership has given Cargill room to take a long-term view, but had also enabled management to get away with subpar performance in a business with 150,000 employees and revenues of $110bn. Before Mr MacLennan and his finance chief, Marcel Smits, launched a management reshuffle and streamlined the company in 2015, its weak returns would have been a red rag to an activist investor had it been a public company, says Bill Densmore of Fitch, a ratings agency.The cost-cutting that has ensued, and a recent upswing in demand for American meat that particularly favoured Cargill, has pushed returns higher than those of its main listed rivals, Archer Daniels Midland and Bunge (see chart ). Yet Craig Pirrong, an expert on trading companies at the University of Houston, says private ownership constrains Cargill’s ability to raise capital to invest in fixed assets as it expands and moves upmarket. Mr MacLennan says he has sought since 2013 to introduce “a bit of more of a public-company culture”. He stresses, though, that there is “no intention of going public”.The big traders largely squandered the commodities boom of the past decade. Returns languished despite an unprecedented surge in demand for agricultural products, such as cereals, chicken and fish. In that time, Mr MacLennan says, farmers invested in new soil-mapping technologies to improve yields, better seeds and more storage facilities. An ability to hold on to grain until market conditions are favourable has given farmers clout in their relationship with the traders. New entrants, such as China’s own trading powerhouse, COFCO, and Glencore, an Anglo-Swiss firm, are also making the competition more cut-throat. Meanwhile, a series of bountiful harvests in North and South America in recent years has produced record stocks of grain, reducing prices.To diversify Cargill’s sources of revenue, Mr MacLennan has sold $2bn-worth of assets since 2015, such as a second-tier American pork business, and invested $3.5bn in more value-added products, such as cooked meats, branded chicken, animal nutrition and food ingredients. Some current and former Cargill employees think such investments may be opportunistic, rather than enduring. If supply disruptions—bad weather, say, or a trade war between America and China—raised the volatility of food prices again, they expect Cargill to pour its capital back into bulk commodities. Though remaining committed to agriculture, Mr MacLennan rejects that idea. “If we were to do that, it would be a failure,” he says.Moving closer to the consumer brings new sources of complexity. These include understanding widespread public rejection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Though Cargill handles huge cargoes of GM corn and soyabeans, it has recently had some of its non-GM ingredients certified by an NGO which verifies that food is not bioengineered. This has angered the pro-GMO farmers that it serves.Cargill is also making bets on early-stage technology. In August it took a share in a “meatless-meat” company, Memphis Meats, that produces beef, chicken and duck out of the cells of living animals, rather than from carcasses. This represents a potential insurgency against the conventional meat industry. Cargill is also co-investing with Calysta, a Silicon Valley startup, in a factory costing up to $500m that will produce up to 200,000 tonnes of fish food, known as FeedKind, made out of bacteria fed on methane. It is a novel approach to reducing the amount of freshly caught seafood, such as anchovies, in fish food, but is untested at scale.Like counterparts facing upheaval in other industries, Cargill worries that the supply of food from farm to table is being disrupted. As Richard Payne of Accenture, a consultancy, puts it, the threat for traders is that farmers at one end of the supply chain use more technology to handle their own pricing, financing and logistics, and retailers at the other end of the chain, under pressure from tech-led firms such as Amazon, squeeze food manufacturers and their suppliers. Still, one-and-a-half centuries of business has taught Cargill not to get caught in the middle. "Middleman to the world"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21727935-epitome-big-agriculture-tries-predict-future-food-cargill-intensely-private?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-02T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'e6d307c4c085d23a82ff46ad43614fc85cf51db6'|'PRESS DIGEST- Canada- Sept 1'|'Sept 1 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.THE GLOBE AND MAIL Bombardier Transportation won a lucrative tender to install train signalling systems in Azerbaijan by keeping a separate set of books that concealed the presence of a Russian-controlled shell company from the World Bank, and ignored a whistle-blower who raised alarms, a Swedish court heard on Thursday. tgam.ca/2woem4AThe Liberal government has established an advisory council on the North American free-trade agreement and the environment as Ottawa tries to persuade the Trump administration to increase environmental protections in the trade deal. tgam.ca/2woQJsLBritish Columbia students are heading back to schools filled with thousands of new teachers, recruited from across Canada and internationally, as the province remakes the education system in the wake of a major Supreme Court of Canada decision that led to the hiring spree. tgam.ca/2woHbxUNATIONAL POST As Sears Canada executive chairman Brandon Stranzl prepares to launch a bid for the ailing department store chain, questions persist as to how his wife was able to secure an executive role with the retailer that lasted for more than a year and ended weeks before the company filed for bankruptcy protection. bit.ly/2woX5Zm (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada/press-digest-canada-sept-1-idINL4N1LI3TK'|'2017-09-01T10:22:00.000+03:00'
'1e5f87b8979bb5f59b8b26ea2698be1b378089d0'|'What slowdown? Asian factories chug along as global demand holds up'|'September 1, 2017 / 6:37 AM / 36 minutes ago What slowdown? Asian factories chug along as global demand holds up Marius Zaharia 6 Min Read A man works in the Tianye Tolian Heavy Industry Co. factory in Qinhuangdao in the QHD economic development zone, Hebei province, China December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia’s factories cranked up production in August as global demand remained strong, confounding expectations that growth may have peaked, but worries about China’s massive debt and monetary tightening in the West are likely to keep businesses and markets on edge for months to come. Similar manufacturing activity surveys from Europe and the United States later on Friday are expected to show strong growth, too, paving the way for a gradual rollback of the radical stimulus introduced after the global financial crisis. In China, manufacturing activity accelerated to a six-month high, buoyed by the sharpest increase in new export orders in seven years and higher prices, a private survey showed. That echoed similarly robust official data on Thursday suggesting the industrial sector is continuing to prosper from a year-long, government-led building boom. In both cases, economists had expected growth rates to ease. The third quarter is now looking strong enough that China could sustain much of the momentum from its forecast-beating 6.9 percent growth in the first half of the year, despite a regulatory crackdown on riskier types of financing and debt and a slew of measures to cool its overheating property market. Indeed, ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service this week raised its growth forecasts for China, South Korea and Japan. “The surveys point to resilient industrial activity last month,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics. But he added: “Investment growth has cooled recently and we anticipate a further slowdown as the impact of tighter monetary conditions continues to feed through. If we are right, the current strength of industrial activity can’t be sustained for long.” BETTER DEMAND AT HOME AND ABROAD Manufacturing also expanded solidly in the world’s No.3 economy, Japan, as domestic and export orders picked up. The pick-up in new business was generally more modest than in China, however, suggesting its economic growth may moderate from an eye-popping 4 percent annualized rate in the second quarter. Other Asian electronics producers were also still riding high. Taiwan’s manufacturing survey saw the fastest growth in four months, while South Korea’s exports beat expectations and posted their longest run of growth in almost six years. South Korea is the first among major exporting countries to publish its monthly trade figures. India’s activity also unexpectedly rebounded in August, in a sign there was light at the end of the tunnel, with the shock of last year’s demonetization cash crunch and confusion over a new goods and services tax likely to ease in coming months. Data on Thursday showed Indian economic growth unexpectedly cooled in the June quarter to a three-year low of 5.7 percent. CHINA RESHUFFLES LEADERSHIP AT CRITICAL TIME In China, the private Caixin/Markit survey showed new business grew at the strongest pace in more than three years in August. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.6, from 51.1 in July. Levels above 50 suggest expansion. Prices of industrial commodities and building materials, in particular, have surged in China this year largely due to the government’s hefty infrastructure spending and its efforts to reduce excess capacity by shutting inefficient mines and mills. China’s surprisingly resilient growth so far this year is not only a boon for the global economy but also for the Communist Party as it prepares for a once-in-five-years leadership reshuffle in October, with stability its key priority. At the party congress, President Xi Jinping is expected to consolidate power and lay out his vision for the next five years and beyond, with focus on areas like economic reform and the war on corruption.[L4N1LH48X] But risks for China abound as the government tries to defuse a rapid build-up in corporate debt that is now estimated at around 1.7 times the size of the economy. Further regulatory tightening could curb growth in the near-term or roil financial markets, even though debt control and reforms are needed to foster longer-term sustainable growth. “After the congress everything will be much tighter ... and that may have an impact on the economy,” said Kevin Lai, chief economist Asia ex-Japan at Daiwa Capital Markets. On Friday, the head of the People’s Bank of China’s research bureau said the property market has become a major source of financial risk and said new measures should be considered. TAPERING, UNWINDING While policymakers in China and Japan still have their feet firmly on the gas, feeding a steady stream of stimulus to their economies, stronger growth in the West is prompting central bankers there to start winding back years of super-easy money. Europe’s manufacturing PMI is expected to show hardy growth, with economists forecasting a headline reading of 57.4 percent, the same as in July. In the United States, the ISM manufacturing PMI in the United States is seen rising to 56.5, from 56.3 in July, though it is likely to be overshadowed by non-farm job data which could give investors clues on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again this year. Laurence Boone, Global Head of Research and Investment Strategy at AXA Investment Managers, expects the Fed to announce the unwinding of its enormous balance sheet in September and the European Central Bank to announce in October it will start tapering its asset purchases next year. But he said the pace of interest rate hikes in the United States may slow as the Trump administration struggles to implement its economic policies. Boone expects three more hikes in the current cycle. “U.S. politics is seen as the main source of uncertainty in the Western world,” Boone said. Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy/what-slowdown-asian-factories-chug-along-as-global-demand-holds-up-idUKKCN1BC3YP'|'2017-09-01T09:38:00.000+03:00'
'fb775e1768f3a374364c45d8ca6e9d665aab9c42'|'Corpus Christi''s storm-ravaged energy industry begins slow recovery'|'Rescue boats navigate flood waters of Tropical Storm Harvey in Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. in a still image from video August 30, 2017. Greg Savoy HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil refiners and port facilities in Corpus Christi, Texas, were making strides resuming operations from Hurricane Harvey, but Houston and other Gulf Coast energy hubs remained flooded, officials said on Thursday.Their efforts, which could take weeks to complete, must be repeated across a broad swath of coastal Texas and Louisiana before America''s oil and fuel production can fully recover from deep cuts caused by record flooding.Power has been restored to all four Corpus Christi-area oil refineries and the Army Corps of Engineers is conducting final surveys of the port''s waterways before fully reopening early next week, according to port officials.Related Coverage Factbox: Major Texas ports remain mostly closed owing to Storm HarveyCorpus Christi port allowing vessels up to 43'' draft: Coast Guard"We are keeping our target of a full reopen by Sept. 4," said Patricia Cardenas, a port spokeswoman.Refiners Citgo Petroleum Corp [PDVSAC.UL], Flint Hills Resources [FHR.UL] and Valero Energy Corp are moving to restart their plants in Corpus Christi, as is the nearby Valero Three Rivers refinery, according to sources, company officials and filings.A damaged oil tank near Seadrift. Rick Wilking On Thursday, energy industry intelligence service Genscape said the Flint Hills Corpus Christi refinery restarted its largest crude distillation unit, which feeds all other units at the refinery.All were shut by Aug. 25, hours before Harvey roared ashore just north of the city with winds over 130 miles per hour (209 km per hour). Those four plants together have a capacity to refine 835,979 barrels of crude oil per day, or 4.4 percent of the nation''s total.Nearly a quarter of U.S. refining output is offline in the wake of the storm, as other plants in Texas and Louisiana also shut.On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard began allowing vessels with up to 43 feet (13.1 m) to enter the city''s port during daytime hours. Such vessels are able to hold about 500,000 barrels of oil. The Intracoastal Waterway between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, Texas, also is open, it added."Getting that port up and running is just so important," said Cleo Rodriguez Jr., president and CEO of the United Chamber of Commerce of Corpus Christi. "It is the economic engine for the entire region." Some $100 million of goods typically moves through the port daily, according to port officials. Rodriguez said he felt lucky Corpus Christi did not receive worse damage from Harvey, the most powerful storm to strike the state since 1961. "Our member businesses have reported significant losses here, but so far nothing huge or catastrophic," he said. "Our neighbors, like Rockport, were not so lucky. There was complete devastation there." He said he expected Corpus Christi business to mostly recover by the end of September.Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-corpuschristi-idUSKCN1BB34V'|'2017-09-01T00:49:00.000+03:00'
'2ac85ef27e33ca24a05cb5a934736971a0835b26'|'Flipkart fashion arm Myntra says private labels post operating profit'|'August 31, 2017 / 11:26 AM / in a day Flipkart fashion arm Myntra says private labels post operating profit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read An employee works inside the office of Myntra in Bengaluru, India, May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/Files BENGALURU (Reuters) - Flipkart’s fashion arm Myntra posted an operating profit in its private labels business in the past two months, the chief executive of Myntra said on Thursday, boding well for its business outlook. This would help Myntra’s in-house brands portfolio post a double-digit operating profit margin in the next 18-24 months, Ananth Narayanan told reporters in Bengaluru, reiterating the firm’s target to become profitable by March 2018. Nine of the top 20 brands sold on its portal are Myntra’s own fashion labels, Narayanan said. Flipkart, India’s leading homegrown online retailer, and its fashion arms Myntra and Jabong together control two-thirds of the country’s online fashion market. Private labels are seen as lucrative, high-margin business for online marketplaces such as Amazon.com and Flipkart as they can control the sales, marketing and distribution of their products. Reporting by Krishna V Kurup; Writing by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/myntra-growth/flipkart-fashion-arm-myntra-says-private-labels-post-operating-profit-idINKCN1BB1F4'|'2017-08-31T09:26:00.000+03:00'
'3e77b4a50461417982adbdad108553590fd65215'|'Carrefour plunge rattles retail stocks as Europe extends gains'|'Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares rose for a second day on Thursday following heavy losses on jitters over North Korea but posted a third straight month of decline, while a profit warning from Carrefour sank the retail sector.The pan-European STOXX 600 ended up 0.8 percent, boosted by strong gains for miners and construction stocks, while the retail sector dropped 1.3 percent.Also buoying the market was a Reuters report that rapid gains in the euro, which helped drag the STOXX to a six-month low this week, were worrying a growing number of ECB policymakers, raising the chance asset purchases will be phased out only slowly.Carrefour ( CARR.PA ) shares fell 13 percent, their biggest daily drop in 20 years, after the French supermarket chain warned 2017 profit could decline by 12 percent and cut its sales growth target.It reported weaker-than-expected first-half earnings as intense retail competition weighed on margins.“Although Carrefour’s weak first-half results are partly related to some external or non-recurring factors (integration of Eroski stores in Spain, change in credit regulation in Brazil), they also illustrate the group’s structural challenges,” Barclays analysts wrote.French peer Casino ( CASP.PA ) fell 2.8 percent as investors saw similar pressures hitting it. Analysts at Jefferies said Carrefour’s results had forced a re-evaluation of their investment thesis.The retail index .SXRP has been one of the worst-performing in Europe this year as competition and structural pressures mount.“It’s been a tough time for the sector, with the more macro theme that Amazon is slowly eating everyone’s lunch, though that’s not the case in Europe to the same extent as the U.S.,” said Paul Harper, equity strategist at DNB Bank.“Another problem is that the retail sector is relatively highly priced, so there’s not really much room for disappointment,” he added.Pernod Ricard ( PERP.PA ) shares slipped 1.9 percent after the world’s second-biggest spirits group said currency exchange would be a bigger weight on earnings than previously expected.[nL8N1LH288]Miners Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ), Anglo American ( AAL.L ) and Glencore ( GLEN.L ) rose sharply, helping to lift the index as copper prices gained on stronger Chinese demand.Chipmakers AMS ( AMS.S ) and Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ) rose 5.1 and 4.3 percent respectively as the suppliers to smartphone maker Apple ( AAPL.O ) benefited from increased investor enthusiasm ahead of the next iPhone release, a trader said.Though banking stocks .SX7P helped stoke gains on Thursday, they suffered their worst monthly losses since June last year when Britain’s vote to exit the EU roiled markets.The STOXX 600 ended in the red for a third month.While a global consensus has formed this year around stronger prospects for European equities, the region’s main benchmarks have slipped in the summer as company earnings were measured up against lofty expectations and a surging euro reined stocks back.“You can explain a significant chunk of the dip by the currency,” DNB Bank’s Harper said.“Consensus earnings for the MSCI Europe peaked in mid-May and estimates started lowering in the second quarter as analysts had to mark to market their currency assumptions.”Reporting by Helen Reid and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Kit Rees and Dale Hudson '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/carrefour-plunge-rattles-retail-stocks-as-europe-extends-gains-idINKCN1BB0P7'|'2017-08-31T05:34:00.000+03:00'
'03c91ca5988432d15286ba23290b4b9a3d9196c3'|'Hellman & Friedman leads race for $5 billion Nets deal: Financial Times'|'August 31, 2017 / 11:34 PM / in 7 hours Hellman & Friedman leads race for $5 billion Nets deal: Financial Times Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman is the frontrunner in the race to acquire Nets, Scandinavia’s largest payments processor, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the discussions. The deal is expected to value Nets at more than 31.3 billion Danish crowns ($5.01 billion), the newspaper also reported. on.ft.com/2vNvIVi Nets is seeing “considerable interest” from potential buyers, Chief Executive Bo Nilsson had said earlier this month. Nets could be the next big deal in the sector following a flurry of acquisitions, including U.S. credit card payments processor Vantiv finalizing a deal to buy Britain’s biggest payments processor Worldpay for 8 billion pounds ($10.35 billion) earlier this month. U.S. payment giants and Mastercard are both seen as suitors for Nets, which has a current market capitalization of 29.16 billion Danish crowns according to Thomson Reuters data. Hellman & Friedman could not be immediately reached for comment while Nets did not immediately comment on the report. Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nets-m-a-hellman-friedman/hellman-friedman-leads-race-for-5-billion-nets-deal-financial-times-idINKCN1BB39Y'|'2017-08-31T21:34:00.000+03:00'
'453ae2a2ba1c05bda8526253bda791661833a39b'|'RPT-U.S. fuel shortages from Harvey to hamper Labor Day travel'|'September 1, 2017 / 11:00 AM / 4 minutes ago RPT-U.S. fuel shortages from Harvey to hamper Labor Day travel Reuters Staff (Repeats story published Thursday with no changes) By Devika Krishna Kumar and Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Travelers and fuel suppliers across the United States braced for higher prices and shortages ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend as the country’s biggest fuel pipelines and refineries curb operations after Hurricane Harvey. Just six days after Harvey slammed into the heart of the U.S. energy industry in Texas, the effects are being felt not just in Houston, but also in Chicago and New York, and prices at the pump nationwide have hit a high for the year. Supply shortages have developed even though there are nearly a quarter of a billion barrels of gasoline stockpiled in the United States. But much of it is held in places where it cannot be accessed due to massive floods, or too far away from the places it is needed. Some of it is unfinished, meaning it needs to be blended before it can go to gas stations. Harvey has highlighted another weakness in the system: pipeline terminals typically only have a five-day supply in storage to load into the lines. Some of the biggest pipelines in the United States, supplying the northeast market and the Chicago area, have already shut down or reduced operations because they have no fuel to pump. “Gasoline is very much a ‘just-in-time’ fuel, for as many million barrels as they think we have,” said Patrick DeHaan, petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. “Sure, they are somewhere, but they still have to be mixed and blended together.” At least two East Coast refiners, including Philadelphia Energy Solutions and Irving Oil, have already run out of gasoline for immediate delivery as they have rushed to send supplies to the U.S. Southeast, Caribbean, Mexico and South America to offset the lack of exports since Harvey, sources said. Wholesale gasoline and jet fuel prices have soared as at least 4.4 million barrels per day of refining capacity, or nearly 24 percent of total U.S. capacity, has been closed due to the record rains. “Since Friday, my cost has gone up 30 cents per gallon,” said Ben Little, owner of independent station Ben Little Pure, in the middle of Nashville. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued fuel waivers in 38 states and Washington, D.C. to ease concerns of supply shortages. The Energy Department released 500,000 barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Thursday. But the market is not short of crude, which makes up the majority of the country’s strategic stockpiles. The United States is short of fuel. The country only has a 1-million barrel gasoline reserve, established in the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. That is enough to supply the East Coast for about eight hours. Gasoline production hit a record in this past week of 9.85 million barrels a day, ahead of the storm, due to the expected spike in driving demand, according to U.S. Energy Department data, a phenomenon seen in the last several years. TERMINAL SUPPLIES RUN LOW QUICKLY Colonial Pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel system, said deliveries to the U.S. Northeast from east of Lake Charles, Louisiana would be hit by supply constraints and as its Houston and Port Arthur origination points have been shut by the storm. One terminal operator in the New York Harbor region which receives distillate fuel supplies from Colonial said it expects disruptions to its next batch of supplies set to arrive on Sept. 6. Jet fuel supplies are also threatened. Colonial also services major airports, including Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport, the busiest U.S. terminal, and Washington’s Dulles. U.S. airlines had been projected to carry 16.1 million passengers worldwide this weekend, up 5 percent from last year. Motiva Enterprises LLC’s Port Arthur refinery, the country’s largest, with the ability to produce 600,000 barrels of products a day, will be shut for at least two weeks, according to sources familiar with plant operations. Others may remain shut longer, so motorists nationwide may not have seen the full impact of Harvey yet. The average national price for regular-grade gasoline is up 10 cents in the last week to $2.449 a gallon, but some states have seen increases of as much as 19 cents, according to motorist group AAA. Prices are likely to top $2.50 a gallon in coming weeks, which would be the highest since August 2015, the AAA said. Kim Black, 48, waited in line for 45 minutes to fill her white SUV in Garland, a suburb of Dallas, the fifth station she had tried Thursday. A clerk suddenly waived his arms at the line, yelling, “No more gas!” She was only able to pump less than two gallons, clicking the handle twice to be sure. “$7.00. Well, that’s it,” she said. Additional reporting by Alana Wise and Libby George in New York, Timothy Gardner in Washington, Timothy Ghianni in Nashville, Tennessee and Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Editing by David Gaffen, Simon Webb and Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-fuel-shortage/rpt-u-s-fuel-shortages-from-harvey-to-hamper-labor-day-travel-idUSL2N1LH2H1'|'2017-09-01T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'd817a345490b0834012aca64d40906582576e210'|'Canadian Natural nears deal for Cenovus''s Pelican Lake asset -Bloomberg'|'Sept 1 (Reuters) - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd is nearing a deal to buy Cenovus Energy Inc’s heavy oil project in Pelican Lake, Alberta, for about C$1 billion ($807 million), Bloomberg reported on Friday.Cenovus had received multiple bids for the Pelican Lake asset including from companies such as Canadian Natural and ARC Financial Corp, Reuters reported earlier in August, citing people familiar with the matter.Canadian Natural advanced to the final round of bidding alongside Cona Resources Ltd for the asset, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ( bloom.bg/2vyWbdN )The transaction, which has yet to be finalized, could be reached as early as next week, Bloomberg added.Canadian Natural declined to comment on the report, while Cenovus and Cona Resources were not immediately available outside regular business hours.Cenovus is looking to sell parts of its portfolio to pay off debt used to part-fund its C$16.8 billion purchase of some ConocoPhillips assets in May.The Calgary-based company said in July it expected asset sales could fetch more than C$5 billion by the end of this year. ($1 = 1.2390 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/cenovus-energy-divestiture-cdn-natural-r/canadian-natural-nears-deal-for-cenovuss-pelican-lake-asset-bloomberg-idINL4N1LI55I'|'2017-09-01T20:32:00.000+03:00'
'eefd6cd9eab2814aada808297dd17904f866a965'|'China''s land ministry says to continue targeted policies'|'September 2, 2017 / 9:43 AM / 3 hours ago China''s land ministry says to continue targeted policies Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man rides a tricycle past an advertising poster for luxury apartments in Beijing, July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will continue its targeted policies to address demand and supply in the property sector and stay on track with land supply plans, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Saturday. The government faces the challenge of controlling rising home prices in the largest cities where prices are too expensive for many residents, while also encouraging sales and supporting prices in smaller cities that face a glut of unsold homes. In the second half of the year it would focus on its “one city, one strategy” approach to key cities, the ministry said in a statement on its website. It would push property developers to start and complete projects according to their contracts, narrow gaps in supply and demand in the market, and promote the healthy and stable development of the property market. It also said that it would check that land transfer contracts are being followed. In the first half of the year, the ministry inspected cities’ land supply plans. It said it requires those that aren’t on track to make adjustments to make sure they meet targets for land supply. Prices of new homes in China grew 12.4 percent in 2016, the fastest rate since 2011. A Reuters poll on Aug. 29 showed that China’s home prices are likely to rise more than previously estimated despite a flurry of government curbs to crack down on speculation. On Friday, Xu Zhong, head of the central bank’s research bureau, wrote in a central bank publication that China’s property market has become a major source of financial risk. “Real estate has serious problems such as crowding out investment (from other areas), impeding the transformation and healthy development of the economy, and is also an important source of financial risks,” Xu wrote. China wants to keep the property market stable ahead of a once-in-five-years Communist Party congress next month. Reporting By Alexandra Harney and Elias Glenn; Editing by Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-property-land/chinas-land-ministry-says-to-continue-targeted-policies-idUKKCN1BD0BW'|'2017-09-02T12:43:00.000+03:00'
'bcc9fac944ad6d63494a9df892cfea6c0b806c36'|'Lululemon is leaning toward men to bolster growth'|'The logo for Lululemon Athletica is seen outside a retail store in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Lululemon Athletica Inc is coming off two straight quarters of solid growth and is forging ahead with expansion plans that include a focus on menswear, a move that could breathe life into an ailing athleisure market.In targeting men, the company has jumped into an arena dominated by the likes of Nike Inc and Under Armour Inc, and expects a billion dollar business for that division by 2020.“Men’s is still one of our best-kept secrets,” Chief Executive Officer Laurent Potdevin said on a post-earnings conference call on Thursday with analysts.Known for its yoga-inspired clothing, Lululemon’s lean toward men could be a good strategy, especially as rivals struggle in a lackluster market for athleisure gear - casual clothing designed for both exercise and everyday wear.“In successfully pivoting from being a women’s brand to one that now appeals to both genders, Lululemon stands in marked contrast to Under Armour, which has seen only limited success in attracting women,” analyst Neil Saunders of GlobalData Retail said.“This augurs well for the future as we believe Lululemon has much more runway with male shoppers.”The company is prominently displaying men’s merchandise like its popular anti-ball crushing (ABC) pants and “anti-stink” items in its stores. Its new ABC swimming gear has also sold well.Lululemon’s shares were up 7 percent at $61.72 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, a day after the company raised its full-year revenue forecast on strong demand for women’s clothes.The men’s division gained traction as well, driven by a 23 percent jump in sales of pants and shorts.Vancouver-based Lululemon does not break out sales for the overall men’s business, but analysts at JP Morgan said it accounts for about 13 percent to 14 percent of total sales.Lululemon will debut its first dedicated marketing strategy for men in September, as part of its global “This is Yoga” campaign, launched in May.Lululemon’s plan to go after men hits Nike, Under Armour and Gap Inc’s Athleta brand, and could also impact sales at retailers such as Dicks Sporting Goods.“We believe weakness in Nike and Under Armour North America apparel sales creates share gain opportunity for Lululemon,” analyst Rafe Jadrosich of Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a note earlier this month.Lululemon is much smaller than Nike and Under Armour - Evercore analyst Omar Saad said the brand sold around 30 million units in North America over the last 12 months, compared with 100 million for Under Armour and Nike’s 350 million.“Nike and Under Armour have suffered from a lack of innovation, over-distribution in moderate channels, and heavy promotions,” Jadrosich said.Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, additional reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Bernard Orr and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lululemon-results-outlook/lululemon-is-leaning-toward-men-to-bolster-growth-idUSKCN1BC5DD'|'2017-09-01T19:12:00.000+03:00'
'f4f914d0dc4f45873a94442ca2f7b06ad51c3701'|'Swedish payment services firm Klarna H1 net profit 228 million SEK'|'STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish online payment services firm Klarna, one of Europe’s highest-valued tech startups, on Friday reported a net profit of 228 million crowns ($28.4 million) for the first six months of the year on sales of 2.05 billion.The firm, which has 1,500 employees and operates in 18 countries, increased revenues by 21 percent and net profit by 138 percent from a year earlier.“We are pleased with the continued strong growth trajectory across all markets, increased merchant base and increased volumes recorded,” Klarna spokeswoman Aoife Houlihan said in an email to Reuters.Founded in 2005 and backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital and Atomico, Klarna is one of Europe’s so-called tech unicorns - a start-up with a valuation of more than $1 billion. At the end of 2015, its estimated valuation was $2.25 billion.($1 = 8.0326 Swedish crowns)Reporting by Olof Swahnberg and Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Anna Ringstrom and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/klarna-results/swedish-payment-services-firm-klarna-h1-net-profit-228-million-sek-idINKCN1B51EF'|'2017-08-25T09:51:00.000+03:00'
'b7eeab2457e7eb00efa319d332906618b3601485'|'Cargill, an intensely private firm, sheds light on the food chain'|'ANGLERS love a record catch. Fish farmers, too. So when a salmon bred and raised near this village at the head of a Norwegian fjord was pulled out of captivity earlier this year weighing a sumo-sized 17kg, it was cause for jubilation. “It was fantastic,” says Einar Wathne, head of aquaculture at Cargill, the world’s biggest food-trading firm. Not only was it produced in 15 months, one-fifth faster than usual, it also looked and tasted good. Mr Wathne’s Norwegian colleagues celebrated by eating it sashimi-style shortly after its slaughter.Cargill is a company usually associated with big boots rather than waders. America’s largest private company has built a reputation after 152 years of existence as middleman to the world, connecting farmers with buyers of human and animal food everywhere. Through a trading network that spans 70 countries (and that includes scores of ports, terminals, grain and meat-processing plants and cargo ships), it supplies information and finance to farmers, influences what they produce based on the needs of its food-industry customers, and connects the two. Its purchase of EWOS, a Norwegian fish-food company, in 2015 for $1.5bn was its first big foray into aquaculture. It was the second-biggest acquisition in Cargill’s history. That made it quite a splash for David MacLennan, Cargill’s chief executive since 2013, who took over the company just as a dozen fat years in the agriculture industry had drawn to a close. He is now fishing for future sources of growth.The firm’s foray into the salmon business should help in two ways. First, it is part of Cargill’s attempt to expand into higher-value markets. One of its traditional mainstays, the trading of bulk agricultural commodities, has struggled since the end, in around 2013, of a China-led commodities supercycle. The firm has also suffered from a recent slump in demand for grains for biofuels. Consumption of farmed fish across the world has boomed, meanwhile, partly at the expense of beef, pork and other meats. Fish feed is its highest-cost component, and more efficient ways of feeding are key to the salmon industry’s growth.Second, Cargill can learn via the salmon-feeding business how to deal with increasingly picky consumers. Mr Wathne notes that salmon is a “premium” product, so consumers want to know not just where it came from, but where what it is fed on comes from. Fishermen of wild salmon, a well-connected bunch, are keen to turn public opinion against the farmed kind. That battle could make Cargill better at handling traceability in more established parts of its food business, such as meats.Cargill faces a particularly hard task building trust with increasingly information-hungry consumers. To its critics the company epitomises the faceless character of “Big Agriculture”, with boots that trample on the environment, animal welfare, and on small farmers. “I recognise that we are big, and because we are privately owned and because we are primarily business-to-business...it is harder to have that transparency,” says Mr MacLennan. “We want to be more well known.”Some of his eight predecessors would have spluttered over his idea of more disclosure, which involves wider use of social media, more interviews and more engagement with NGOs. Since generations of Cargill and MacMillan families built the company up from a regional grain trader, born in Iowa in 1865, into a global giant, it has kept out of the limelight, preferring to leave that to the customers whose branded products it provides ingredients for, such as McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets and Danone’s baby formula. Its taste for privacy has not always served it well; the title of a book published in 1995, “Invisible Giant”, sums up Cargill’s sinister reputation in the eyes of anti-globalists. “In the absence of information people will make up their own story,” Mr MacLennan says.Private ownership has given Cargill room to take a long-term view, but had also enabled management to get away with subpar performance in a business with 150,000 employees and revenues of $110bn. Before Mr MacLennan and his finance chief, Marcel Smits, launched a management reshuffle and streamlined the company in 2015, its weak returns would have been a red rag to an activist investor had it been a public company, says Bill Densmore of Fitch, a ratings agency.The cost-cutting that has ensued, and a recent upswing in demand for American meat that particularly favoured Cargill, has pushed returns higher than those of its main listed rivals, Archer Daniels Midland and Bunge (see chart ). Yet Craig Pirrong, an expert on trading companies at the University of Houston, says private ownership constrains Cargill’s ability to raise capital to invest in fixed assets as it expands and moves upmarket. Mr MacLennan says he has sought since 2013 to introduce “a bit of more of a public-company culture”. He stresses, though, that there is “no intention of going public”.The big traders largely squandered the commodities boom of the past decade. Returns languished despite an unprecedented surge in demand for agricultural products, such as cereals, chicken and fish. In that time, Mr MacLennan says, farmers invested in new soil-mapping technologies to improve yields, better seeds and more storage facilities. An ability to hold on to grain until market conditions are favourable has given farmers clout in their relationship with the traders. New entrants, such as China’s own trading powerhouse, COFCO, and Glencore, an Anglo-Swiss firm, are also making the competition more cut-throat. Meanwhile, a series of bountiful harvests in North and South America in recent years has produced record stocks of grain, reducing prices.To diversify Cargill’s sources of revenue, Mr MacLennan has sold $2bn-worth of assets since 2015, such as a second-tier American pork business, and invested $3.5bn in more value-added products, such as cooked meats, branded chicken, animal nutrition and food ingredients. Some current and former Cargill employees think such investments may be opportunistic, rather than enduring. If supply disruptions—bad weather, say, or a trade war between America and China—raised the volatility of food prices again, they expect Cargill to pour its capital back into bulk commodities. Though remaining committed to agriculture, Mr MacLennan rejects that idea. “If we were to do that, it would be a failure,” he says.Moving closer to the consumer brings new sources of complexity. These include understanding widespread public rejection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Though Cargill handles huge cargoes of GM corn and soyabeans, it has recently had some of its non-GM ingredients certified by an NGO which verifies that food is not bioengineered. This has angered the pro-GMO farmers that it serves.Cargill is also making bets on early-stage technology. In August it took a share in a “meatless-meat” company, Memphis Meats, that produces beef, chicken and duck out of the cells of living animals, rather than from carcasses. This represents a potential insurgency against the conventional meat industry. Cargill is also co-investing with Calysta, a Silicon Valley startup, in a factory costing up to $500m that will produce up to 200,000 tonnes of fish food, known as FeedKind, made out of bacteria fed on methane. It is a novel approach to reducing the amount of freshly caught seafood, such as anchovies, in fish food, but is untested at scale.Like counterparts facing upheaval in other industries, Cargill worries that the supply of food from farm to table is being disrupted. As Richard Payne of Accenture, a consultancy, puts it, the threat for traders is that farmers at one end of the supply chain use more technology to handle their own pricing, financing and logistics, and retailers at the other end of the chain, under pressure from tech-led firms such as Amazon, squeeze food manufacturers and their suppliers. Still, one-and-a-half centuries of business has taught Cargill not to get caught in the middle. Business "Middleman to the world"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21727935-epitome-big-agriculture-tries-predict-future-food-cargill-intensely-private?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-02T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'198366d108ebb91c26a1ef80c8ccaf574931c043'|'South Korea inflation hits five-year high in August as fresh food prices soar'|'A sales assistant adjusts fruits at a major retail outlet in Seoul August 5, 2011. REUTERS/Truth Leem/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s annual inflation surged in August to its highest in more than five years as heavy rain and a summer heatwave pushed up the price of fresh foods, government data showed on Friday.The consumer price index rose 2.6 percent in August from a year earlier, Statistics Korea said, accelerating from a 2.2 percent rise in July, and marking its fastest rise since April 2012 when the index also gained 2.6 percent on-year.It compared to a 2.2 percent rise tipped in a Reuters survey of analysts’ expectations.“Seasonal factors such as the heatwave, as well as the incident related to contaminated eggs across the country lifted up fresh food prices,” said Kim Doo-un, an economist at Hana Financial Investment.Kim said the sudden surge in prices was not from an increase in domestic demand, adding that he saw consumer prices remaining volatile through the October shopping season when South Koreans celebrate the national Chuseok holiday.The price of eggs soared 53.3 percent in August on-year after eggs from some local farms were found to be contaminated with a potentially harmful pesticide.The price of radish and tomatoes surged 71.4 percent and 45.3 percent respectively, pushing up the overall price gains of fresh food costs to 18.3 percent on-year.In monthly terms, inflation gained 0.6 percent from July.Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and fuel prices, was 1.8 percent in August, unchanged from July.Inflation this year has lingered near the Bank of Korea’s inflation target of 2 percent as private consumption has improved.Revised second quarter gross domestic product growth data issued released earlier on Friday showed the economy expanded 0.6 percent from a quarter earlier versus 1.1 percent growth in the first quarter.Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Christine Kim; Additional reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Eric Meijer '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-economy-inflation/south-korea-inflation-hits-five-year-high-in-august-as-fresh-food-prices-soar-idINKCN1BC3H7'|'2017-08-31T23:35:00.000+03:00'
'1e9d872fa1d6ae7b6f87f4a5664d8381c1dc14c1'|'Bain and Cinven nominate Albrecht CEO, Keatley for CFO'|'FRANKFURT, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Private equity firms Bain and Cinven plan to nominate Claudio Albrecht as new chief executive of Stada and Mark Keatley as finance chief, they said on Friday.Bain and Cinven this month won control of generic drugmaker Stada with a sweetened 5.3 billion-euro ($6.3 billion) bid, the largest private equity-funded takeover of a German listed company. ($1 = 0.8410 euros) (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Thomas Escritt) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/stada-arzneimitt-ceo/bain-and-cinven-nominate-albrecht-for-ceo-keatley-for-cfo-idINASM000EF6'|'2017-09-01T04:00:00.000+03:00'
'8d876d884d4f87f34cd259da362e0336ce78d7ca'|'Trump nominates Columbia professor Jackson for seat on U.S. SEC'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson, an advocate for public disclosure of political spending by companies, for a vacant seat on the five-member U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.If the nomination is approved by the U.S. Congress, Jackson would fill a spot reserved for a Democrat. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-sec/trump-nominates-columbia-professor-jackson-for-seat-on-u-s-sec-idINW1N1L400P'|'2017-09-01T22:01:00.000+03:00'
'9e1aa31a740865e02f18c30b1aded64fe41ece96'|'Huawei unveils faster phone chip it can beat Apple, Samsung'|'BERLIN, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Huawei aims to use artificial intelligence-powered features such as instant image recognition to take on rivals Samsung and Apple when it launches its new flagship phone next month, a top executive said on Saturday.Richard Wu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business, on Saturday revealed a powerful new mobile phone chip Huawei is betting on for its upcoming flagship Mate 10 and other high-end phones to deliver faster processing and lower power consumption.Huawei will launch the Mate 10 and its sister phone, the Mate 10 Pro, in Munich on Oct. 16, Wu confirmed. He declined to detail new features, but the phones are expected to boast large, 6-inch-plus full-screen displays, tech blogs predict.Artificial intelligence (AI) built into its new chips can help make phones more personalised, or anticipate the actions and interests of their users, Wu said.As examples, he said AI can enable real-time language translation, heed voice commands, or take advantage of augmented reality, which overlays text, sounds, graphics and video on real-world images phone users see in front of them.Wu believes the new Kirin 970 chip’s speed and low power can translate into features that will give its phones an edge over the Apple iPhone 8 series, set to be unveiled on Sept. 12, and Samsung’s range of top-line phones announced this year. Huawei is the world’s No. 3 smartphone maker behind Samsung and Apple.“Compared with Samsung and Apple, we have advantages,” Wu said in an interview during the annual IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin. “Users are in for much faster (feature) performance, longer battery life and more compact design.”The company asserts its newly announced Kirin 970 chip will preserve battery life on phones by up to 50 percent.Huawei describes the new chip as the first Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for smartphones. It brings together classic computing, graphics, image and digital signal processing power that have typically required separate chips, taking up more space and slowing interaction between features within phones.Most importantly, Huawei aims to use the Kirin chips to differentiate its phones from a vast sea of competitors, including Samsung, who overwhelming rely on rival Snapdragon chips from Qualcomm, the market leader in mobile chip design. Among major phone makers, only Apple and Huawei now rely on their own core processors.The 970 is designed by Huawei’s HiSilicon chip design business and built using the most advanced 10 nanometre production lines of contract manufacturer TSMC. (Reporting By Eric Auchard; Editing by Ros Russell) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/huawei-tech-smartphone/huawei-unveils-faster-phone-chip-it-says-can-beat-apple-samsung-idINL8N1LJ0BU'|'2017-09-02T17:05:00.000+03:00'
'87a46d29ecaa4a83265be09f21f870a063e14e7a'|'UPDATE 1-As Harvey gained fury, Home Depot raced to respond'|'(Adds comments from trucking firm Old Dominion)By Nandita Bose and Sruthi RamakrishnanAug 31 (Reuters) - Almost three days before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, hardware retailer Home Depot Inc received an alert from a weather service and activated its disaster-response plan to get supplies to those in the storm''s path, while turning a profit, too.Then, as Harvey gained power and made landfall late on Friday, the world''s largest home improvement retailer set up a temporary hurricane command center at its Atlanta headquarters. It told managers to freeze prices and move plywood, generators, chainsaws and other storm-related merchandise to the front of stores.By Thursday, Home Depot had sent about 700 truckloads of supplies to its Texas stores in the path of the hurricane.As the streets began to flood over the weekend, the command center began ordering stores to shut down. But trucks still rolled out of a dedicated warehouse, stocked with hurricane defense and recovery products, located in Baytown, just 30 miles from downtown Houston.In its response, Home Depot followed a plan honed over many hurricane seasons, which aims to minimize disruptions and ensure that it can continue to deliver essential materials and equipment to the affected areas. It is also designed to allow the retailer to capitalize on a surge in demand for its products once repairs begin.Before the hurricane season begins each summer, the retailer stocks everything from flashlights to shovels in dedicated centers. It pre-loads trucks so they can leave for stores as soon as a hurricane alert comes from a weather service."As each natural disaster goes by, we hone our processes already in place so we can react quicker and faster the next time this happens," said Pete Capel, a 26-year Home Depot veteran and merchandising executive in charge of the hurricane command center.Moody''s Analytics estimates Harvey could cost southeast Texas $51 billion to $75 billion in losses, ranking it among the costliest storms in U.S. history. Private forecaster Planalytics on Monday said Harvey could cost retailers $1 billion in lost sales.However, with planning and preparation, Home Depot, its rival Lowe''s Cos Inc, other home improvement retailers like Menards, Ace Hardware, True Value and their online counterparts like Wayfair Inc could see a sales boost.After Hurricane Sandy barreled into the New Jersey shoreline in late October of 2012, Home Depot attributed $242 million of fourth quarter sales to a boost in business arising from the repairs.SWIFT RESPONSE Much depends on a quick response to big storms. By Saturday, up to 200 employees drafted from merchandising, logistics, supply chain and human resources teams were marshalling people and goods from Home Depot''s buzzing five-room command center filled with monitors tracking the storm and maps of the hurricane region pasted on walls.On Sunday, 80 employees arrived from Austin, the Texas state capital far from the danger zone, to stock stores in Corpus Christi, a coastal city hit by the storm. By Tuesday more workers from San Antonio were moving to Victoria, another affected city.At the Corpus Christi store, Home Depot workers placed pallets of bottled water, flashlights, gas cans and batteries near the cash registers.One of those brought in, Bethany Grams, traveled 300 miles (483 km)from Waco, Texas, to work 12-hour shifts. "It''s been really heartening," she said, brushing back tears. "It''s just good to get to help."Along with the hardware sellers, railroads, trucking companies, logistics firms and others that make up the supply-chain of the economy also faced the challenge of providing essential goods to Texas, the second-largest U.S. state.Trucking company Old Dominion Freight Line Inc had around 2,000 shipments held up by Harvey and is refusing Houston-bound merchandise until after the roads clear, said David Bates, senior vice president of operations.Before the storm hit, Old Dominion parked its tractor trailers in Corpus Christi to protect them against the wind, but it was the flooding that idled them. "We didn''t anticipate 10 to 20 feet of water in Houston," Bates said. "You can''t anticipate that."Home Depot said it was too early to compare the scale of this year''s operation with earlier efforts or to estimate how much Harvey would cost it.Burt Flickinger, managing director of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group estimates it cost the retailer about $50 million to deal with hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005 and expects Harvey''s costs to top that."They are a clear leader with disaster response and their strategic planning during such times is better than any retailer globally," he said.While discount chains or department stores would bear the costs while missing out on revenue because of lost business, what Home Depot spent was an investment that would eventually bring "10 to 15 times more in sales," Flickinger said.PLANNING FOR DISASTER Home Depot''s storm plan shows how preparing for natural disasters has become over the years an inherent part of the retailers'' business.The company, with annual sales of $95 billion, first identified hurricane response as a strategic need after Hurricane Andrew, 25 years ago. It has refined its tactics since. Just over a decade ago, it established four distribution centers with hurricane-specific goods within easy reach of hurricane-prone coastal areas - in Baytown, Texas; Lakeland, Florida; Cranbury, New Jersey; and one near company headquarters in Atlanta.For Harvey, Home Depot used Baytown, a warehouse in Dallas and one in Winchester, Virginia. Texas contributes about 10 percent to Home Depot''s revenue, according to research firm Global Data.Thanks to upgraded inventory tracking technology, store managers now know when to expect emergency shipments. Such precise information was not yet at hand at the time Hurricane Sandy struck almost five years ago. Now it helps retailers to limit losses by re-opening stores as fast as possible.Out of the 48 stores Home Depot had to shut, six remained closed as of Thursday morning. Ensuring timely deliveries to the rest is a challenge and retailers are counting on vendors to help out.West Fraser, a supplier of lumber to Home Depot, said it was trying to make sure deliveries to its customers were as regular as possible. Other suppliers, such as Weyerhaeuser Co , USG Corp, Jeld-Wen Holding Inc and Masonite Corp did not respond to requests for comment.By Tuesday, Home Depot had lined up shipments ready to go into Houston, Capel said. As of Thursday, some of those shipments had started to make their way in.Lowe''s, which has its own disaster-response strategy, had closed 27 stores as of Monday, but by Wednesday had opened all but four. Workers were restocking, pushing to have all stores open in the next few days, said Rick Neudorff, the retailer''s emergency command center operations manager.By Tuesday, Lowe''s has dispatched 700 trucks from warehouses around the country that can get goods to Texas in two days or less, diverting many directly to stores rather than distribution centers. Lowe''s also is asking vendors to ship directly to stores, Neudorff told Reuters."Some stores are practically selling generators off the back of the truck because people have been waiting in the stores for the generators to arrive," he said. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Eric Johnson in Seattle and Andy Sullivan in Corpus Cristi; Editing by David Greising and Tomasz Janowski) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-homedepot-idINL2N1LH2BL'|'2017-08-31T20:59:00.000+03:00'
'9d86d363f939e448be0ba9d868f245af379896b5'|'Merkel backs class-action lawsuits for diesel car owners'|'German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) arrives for a TV debate with her challenger Germany''s Social Democratic Party SPD candidate for chancellor Martin Schulz in Berlin, Germany, September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s support for collective lawsuits could force Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) to offer to compensate owners of diesel cars in Germany as it has done in the United States over manipulated emissions tests.VW offered billions of dollars to U.S. customers after its cheating of emissions tests came to light two years ago.It has so far rejected any payments for the owners of 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe where different legal rules weaken the chances of customers winning compensation.“We will probably soon move to (discuss) the legal test case so that one can also bring about class action lawsuits which I support in principle,” Merkel said in a TV debate on Sunday night, her strongest endorsement to date of a change in German law.“It’s completely clear that the car industry must be held responsible for what it has done,” she added in the debate with Social Democrat (SPD) challenger Martin Schulz before the Sept. 24 election.Merkel criticized a draft law on the issue submitted by the SPD as “too bureaucratic”, but said she was open to starting discussions on the matter as early as Monday.A government spokesman said it was not clear whether the chancellor’s comments would herald a new pre-election push to agree a common stance on the matter between Merkel’s Christian Democrats and Schulz’s Social Democrats, who currently govern in a grand coalition.“Car executives have cheated,” Schulz said during the debate. “With legal test cases we could treat consumers in a similar way as also in other countries.”The diesel emissions scandal has cost VW, the world’s largest carmaker, as much as $25 billion in fines and compensation payments.Merkel did announce plans on Monday to double to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) a fund aimed at cleaning up urban transport infrastructure to try to prevent bans of diesel cars in some German cities.The government has come under pressure for not doing enough to crack down on vehicle pollution and for being too close to powerful carmakers.The issue has become a central campaign topic ahead of the election, prompting the government to summon car bosses to a summit last month to discuss how to cut pollution.Under the U.S legal system, lawyers can file a suit for one client and have it certified as a class action for those in a similar situation.In Germany, by contrast, each plaintiff must file individually and pay legal fees upfront, a system criticized by consumer lobbies as hostile to claimants.Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-emissions-lawsuits/merkel-backs-class-action-lawsuits-for-diesel-car-owners-idUSKCN1BF1LD'|'2017-09-04T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'3e8c43c45e038bbd7964caf643e69eafc97e33c1'|'UPDATE 1-Aluminium producers seek Q4 premiums of as low as $100/T - sources'|'* Producers’ Q4 offers are down from $118-119/T in Q3* Japanese buyers say these offers are too high* Spot premiums are down amid ample supply in Asia (Adds details)TOKYO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Global aluminium producers have offered Japanese buyers premiums of as low as $100 per tonne for primary metal shipments during the October to December period, three sources directly involved in pricing talks said on Monday.That premium would be 15 percent to 16 percent lower than the prices for shipments over the July to September period, the sources said.Another seller sought a premium of $110 a tonne, which would be 7 percent to 8 percent lower than the current quarter, the sources said.Japan is Asia’s biggest aluminium importer and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region.Spot premiums have weakened in Japan amid ample supply in Asia despite the recent surge in the prices for the light metal and solid local demand from the automobile sector.“The three-digit offers are way too high as they don’t reflect the current spot market,” said one of the sources, a Japanese trader who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, adding that some spot deals were done recently at around $86 per tonne.For the July to September quarter, Japanese buyers agreed to pay premiums of between $118 to $119 per tonne PREM-ALUM-JP, down 7 percent to 8 percent from the prior quarter due to softer spot premiums.The quarterly pricing negotiations began last week between Japanese buyers and producers, including South32 Ltd, Alcoa Inc, Rio Tinto Ltd and Rusal . The talks are expected to last toward the end of this month. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-aluminium-premiums/update-1-aluminium-producers-seek-q4-premiums-of-as-low-as-100-t-sources-idINL4N1LL36K'|'2017-09-04T07:47:00.000+03:00'
'7c1329289d3fd59005288e2916faf1e8ef272b50'|'Foreign banks face new EU set-up to allow more scrutiny'|'September 4, 2017 / 12:26 PM / in an hour Foreign banks face new EU set-up to allow more scrutiny 3 Min Read An illustration picture shows euro coins, April 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - Nineteen foreign banks in the European Union will need to set up new holding companies so that regulators can scrutinise them more closely, an EU discussion paper says, mirroring steps taken by the United States. The European Commission proposed last November that banks headquartered outside the bloc consolidate their EU activities under an “intermediate parent undertaking” or IPU in response to U.S. moves to require foreign banks to set up such companies. The commission, which is the EU’s executive, has now fleshed out its thinking and has made a preliminary estimate that 19 foreign banks will have to set up an IPU. Between them they operate via 53 subsidiaries and 53 branches, with 35, more than a third of the total, in Britain alone. Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019, which makes having a “proper framework” for supervising non-EU banking operations “even more relevant”, a discussion paper, which was reviewed by Reuters and is dated Sept.1, said. Separately, the bloc has already proposed that clearing houses that handle large amounts of euro-denominated assets should be jointly supervised by Brussels after Brexit. Subsidiaries of foreign lenders make up 42 percent of banking subsidiaries in the bloc, up from 36 percent in 2008, but EU regulators have only “limited access” to timely data on what goes on across these operations, the document said. “As a consequence, the supervision of subsidiaries that belong to the same third-country group, but operate in different member states is fragmented and hence might result in regulatory and supervisory arbitrage.” An IPU would “not necessarily increase capital or liquidity requirements”, it added. The European Central Bank, which supervises top euro zone lenders, and the Single Resolution Board, in charge of closing down those lenders if they fail, both want foreign branches, and not just subsidiaries, to come under IPUs. The commission, however, is sticking to its view that branches should not be included. Subsidiaries are directly supervised by the country they are in, while branches are supervised mainly by the bank’s home country. The EU proposal needs approval from member states and the European Parliament to become law, and major changes are often made during this process. The 19 banks are Bank of America, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, UBS, Bank of New York Mellon, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, State Street, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, Wells Fargo, Bank of China Ltd, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Nomura Holdings, and Royal Bank of Canada. The document said the benefits to financial stability of creating IPUs would “clearly outweigh” unquantified potential one-off costs of reorganisation. Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-banks-regulations/foreign-banks-face-new-eu-set-up-to-allow-more-scrutiny-idUKKCN1BF1F6'|'2017-09-04T15:26:00.000+03:00'
'97bb1bd5aa28c6ec1b020b3214578364d8e82b51'|'US refiners set for volatile but upward run post Harvey -Barron''s'|'NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) - U.S. refinery stocks are an attractive place to be for investors, Barron’s said on Sunday, even after some companies in the sector suffered flood damage and output shortages from Hurricane Harvey.U.S. refiners are benefiting from a short-term spike in gasoline prices post-Harvey and, over the long term, will benefit from U.S. energy independence, according to Barron‘s.Marathon Petroleum pays an attractive dividend, has diverse holdings and high-tech refining assets, Barron’s said, adding that Andeavor also pays an attractive dividend and trades at a low valuation compared with peers. (Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-refiners-barrons/us-refiners-set-for-volatile-but-upward-run-post-harvey-barrons-idINL2N1LL00O'|'2017-09-03T22:41:00.000+03:00'
'0bd23d9c9b3bbf9cd242fd7a2e6f8c41eb891099'|'Looming debt ceiling deadline pushing some U.S. fund managers to cash'|'September 1, 2017 / 4:24 PM / 33 minutes ago Looming debt ceiling deadline pushing some U.S. fund managers to cash David Randall 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - A potential standoff over the U.S. federal debt ceiling is raising alarm bells among fund managers who fear a repeat of 2011 when a protracted showdown over increasing the government’s borrowing limit and subsequent downgrade of U.S. credit quality led to a more than 15 percent slump in the S&P 500 stock index. U.S. investors are raising cash and buying protection, bracing for a messy fight ahead of the Treasury Department’s Sept. 29 deadline to raise the debt limit, a legal cap on how much the U.S. government is allowed to borrow. Failure to increase the debt ceiling could lead to a recession and prompt the first significant sell-off of the Trump administration. The benchmark S&P 500 has not fallen by 5 percent or more in over a year, the longest streak without such a decline in more than 20 years. Federal efforts to clean up the devastation after Hurricane Harvey battered Texas have decreased the probability of a federal government shutdown to 35 percent from 50 percent two weeks ago, according to Goldman Sachs, as the legislation could be packaged into a larger disaster relief bill. Yet the danger still remains, Goldman warned in a Tuesday note. “A delayed debt ceiling hike is still clearly possible,” Goldman strategists wrote. “The president continues to raise the possibility of a shutdown if the border wall is not funded, and the upcoming extension of spending authority is likely to be temporary, potentially pushing the risk of a shutdown later into the year.” Fund managers say they are not confident that a debt ceiling agreement will be passed as quickly as the broad market expects. “You’ve got a political environment that is very contentious, not just left versus right but within the Republican Party itself,” said Jeff Klingelhofer, a co-portfolio manager of the $1.1 billion Thornburg Strategic Income Fund. “If the rhetoric increases it will spook markets and we are taking risk off the table” by raising cash and lowering the credit duration in their bond portfolios, he said. David Ader, chief macro strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence, said Treasury bills for October are about 10 basis points higher in yields than they normally would be, owing to debt-ceiling concerns. “People are avoiding them,” he said. President Donald Trump criticized congressional Republican leadership for not tying the debt ceiling increase into a bill that made it easier for the Department of Veteran Affairs to fire employees for misconduct, calling the situation a “mess” in an Aug. 24 tweet. When asked about the possibility of attaching debt ceiling legislation to a relief bill for the victims of Harvey, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday: “At the end of the day, I just want it raised.” The stock market has so far shaken off concerns this year ranging from increasing tensions over North Korea’s missile tests to ongoing investigations into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election as U.S. corporate profits have jumped. As of Aug. 29, 73.6 percent of companies in the S&P 500 reported earnings above analyst estimates in the second quarter, pushing earnings up 12.1 percent for the index as a whole, according to Thomson Reuters data. Even so, the stock market’s unbroken push higher this year leaves it more vulnerable to a significant decline if a debt ceiling deal is not reached by late September, said Matt Watson, a co-portfolio manager of the $3.2 billion James Balanced Golden Rainbow Fund. As a result, Watson’s fund has been raising cash and is preparing to buy shorter-duration Treasury bonds if they see a sign of a sell-off. “The stock market is very overvalued, so it makes sense to lighten up on risk going into this,” he said. Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and James Dalgleish; Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday. For the daily stock market report, please click [.N]'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-stocks-weekahead/looming-debt-ceiling-deadline-pushing-some-u-s-fund-managers-to-cash-idUKKCN1BC5EH'|'2017-09-01T19:23:00.000+03:00'
'fd06940b01023e07f859e345bc2f880c5c72da0d'|'Wells Fargo uncovers more fake accounts in drawn-out scandal'|'August 31, 2017 / 4:06 PM / 7 hours ago Wells Fargo uncovers more fake accounts in drawn-out scandal Dan Freed 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) hiked the tally of accounts that were potentially opened without customers'' knowledge by over a million on Thursday after an expanded review of improper sales practices. The revelation is the latest chapter in a year-long scandal at the San Francisco bank and puts it back in the crosshairs of lawmakers as they prepare to return to Congress next week. Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading voice on consumer finance issues, tweeted "Unbelievable" after Wells Fargo said it had found an additional 1.4 million accounts were potentially opened without permission, bringing the total estimate to about 3.5 million. She repeated her call for the bank''s top brass to appear before the Senate Banking Committee. "Every new disclosure seems to expand the scope of the bank’s troubles, which creates the perception that the scandal is getting bigger rather than going away," said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group. "We believe the political and regulatory spotlight will continue to shine brightly on Wells Fargo. That is likely to limit the ability of the bank to grow aggressively." The scandal over phony accounts first erupted last September, when Wells Fargo reached a $190 million (147.07 million pounds)settlement with regulators over the matter. That led to the departure of its veteran chief executive John Stumpf, a divisive shareholder meeting and disclosures of other sales practice problems ranging from unwanted auto insurance to improper mortgage fees. Once lauded on Wall Street for its ability to sell more products to customers than any of its big-bank rivals, Tim Sloan, who took over as chief executive last year, faces a long slog to revive the bank''s reputation. The problems reported on Thursday came after a third party hired by Wells Fargo examined accounts stemming back to 2009, a broader timeframe than a review conducted last year. The bank previously disclosed the expanded review in a quarterly securities filing, but not its results. FILE PHOTO: Customers approach the Wells Fargo & Co. bank in downtown Denver, U.S., April 13, 2016. Rick Wilking/File Photo Wells will return $2.8 million to customers who appear to have had consumer and small business accounts opened without permission. It also uncovered about 528,000 potentially unauthorized online bill pay enrollments, a newly disclosed problem, and will return $910,000 to customers who were affected. The bank also faces multiple regulatory probes and private lawsuits. A pending settlement for one private lawsuit led Wells to review accounts dating back to 2002, Sloan said on a conference call with reporters. "With the expanded analysis now complete, we will focus on remediation and making things right for our customers," he said. The unauthorized online billpay fees were small, Sloan said, often $1. They resulted from branch employees setting up accounts in order to achieve product sales goals that have since been eliminated. The bank has refunded these amounts. Wells Fargo shares were down 0.8 percent in early afternoon trading, underperforming the S&P Financial .SPSY which was flat. The additional refunds amount to a tiny fraction of the bank''s quarterly earnings, but investors who spoke to Reuters in recent weeks said they were less worried about the hard costs than a degradation of the bank''s once-pristine brand. They also expressed concern about Wells becoming an easy political target going into the midterm elections. Warren Buffett, who runs Wells Fargo''s largest investor, Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), said this week he still considers it a great bank despite selling some of his holdings. But he acknowledged the bank will likely find more problems now that it is shining a light in dark places. "There''s never just one cockroach in the kitchen," he said on CNBC. Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Additional reporting by David Henry and Olivia Oran; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra, Bernadette Baum and Carmel Crimmins'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wells-fargo-accounts-idUKKCN1BB2AH'|'2017-08-31T21:16:00.000+03:00'
'feb3a543206f37acbd3527b142cebf35c5653193'|'Union Pacific says Arkema chemical plant fire hindering line repairs'|'HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Union Pacific Corp said on Saturday repairs to a rail line damaged by Tropical Stormy Harvey are being hindered by a fire at an Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas.The railroad said the repairs to its line between Houston and Beaumont, Texas, are one of its top priorities. However, the line runs next to the smoldering chemical plant, limiting access for its repair crews. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-union-pacific/union-pacific-corp-says-addressing-a-substantial-washout-at-chocolate-bayou-texas-and-hopes-to-restore-service-there-next-week-idINL2N1LJ0LO'|'2017-09-02T19:27:00.000+03:00'
'e885f7cbaca1285146053117fa93e97c9bd3155d'|'Britain says to rule on Fox-Sky advise as soon as possible'|'September 4, 2017 / 1:11 PM / 5 hours ago Britain says to rule on Fox-Sky advice as soon as possible Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Sky News logo is seen on an advertising wrap on a bus in west London, Britain June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it would decide as “soon as is reasonably practicable” whether to refer Rupert Murdoch’s $15 billion (£11.59 billion) bid to buy pay-TV group Sky ( SKYB.L ) for an in-depth review. Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) agreed to take full control of the European pay-TV group Sky in December, but the British government is still deciding whether to refer the deal for a full investigation which could add many months to the approval process. It asked regulator Ofcom to look again at certain aspects of the deal in August and said on Monday it would carefully consider the advice before taking a final decision. (This version of the story was refiled to fix typo in headline) Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; writing by Kate Holton; editing by Paul Sandle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sky-m-a-fox/britain-says-to-rule-on-fox-sky-advise-as-soon-as-possible-idUKKCN1BF1JN'|'2017-09-04T16:11:00.000+03:00'
'75ae37269b09dd85c63f7372d4598567cd0303fc'|'PPC says AfriSam''s new merger proposal falls short'|'JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African cement maker AfriSam [AFRSMV.UL] launched a new bid for PPC ( PPCJ.J ) on Monday with an offer that valued its rival at about 9.2 billion rand ($709 million), but an independent PPC board said it was too low.It was AfriSam’s third attempt in three years to merge with PPC and create a pan-African cement group with assets across six countries, after its previous bid was abandoned in February.Under the revised all-share merger proposal, the deal values PPC at about 9.2 billion rand or 5.75 rand per share, and gives AfriSam an enterprise value of 7.5 billion rand.As part of the proposal, the African unit of Canada’s Fairfax Africa Holdings ( FAHu.TO ) offered to buy 22 percent of PPC at 5.75 rand per share for 2 billion rand and also give AfriSam a cash injection to reduce the merged entity’s debt.The proposal could still be put to PPC shareholders but the initial response of PPC’s independent board, created to assess the AfriSam merger, was that the offer was too low. PPC said it would consider the offer but also said it had received rival offers.“The preliminary observation of the independent board regarding the partial offer from Fairfax is that, as indicated through prior engagements with AfriSam on a possible merger, the current 5.75 rand offer price fundamentally undervalues PPC,” PPC’s Chairman Peter Nelson said in a statement.Avior Capital Markets research analyst Garth Arenz agreed that the offer price was low.“I think the offer price is too low and with the current PPC share price trading above 5.75 rand after the announcement, it means that the market also thinks that 5.75 rand is too low and that a competing offer in excess of 5.75 rand will be presented to PPC,” Arenz said.Shares in PPC closed 8.8 percent higher on Monday at 5.93 rand.The 5.75 rand offer price is about 68 percent less than PPC’s share price in 2014, when AfriSam first proposed a merger. At that time, PPC was trading at 18 rand a share.PPC said it had received other offers from trade bidders, one of whom included a potential cash component, to create a pan-African cement giant. It did not name the bidders, saying the talks were confidential.It said the proposals were “credible and potentially value-enhancing for shareholders to merit careful consideration.”RECAPITALIZATION OF AFRISAM To make AfriSam’s deal possible, Fairfax would also recapitalize AfriSam by acquiring up to 4 billion rand worth of AfriSam’s shares, representing 60 percent of AfriSam’s equity capital and voting rights.“Among other benefits, the investment by Fairfax Africa will greatly reduce the underlying debt of the merged entity which will have sufficient liquidity and capital to compete in its current markets and selectively target growth opportunities on the continent”, said AfriSam acting chief executive Rob Wessels.Reporting by Nqobile Dludla,; Editing by Ed Osmond and Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ppc-m-a-afrisam/ppc-says-afrisams-new-merger-proposal-falls-short-idUSKCN1BF277'|'2017-09-05T02:00:00.000+03:00'
'1b23b5a0cd6a563fbe4ca1c9a2e7d99db74fa36b'|'Most Clariant shareholders support merger says Huntsman - Reuters'|'The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - The vast majority of Clariant’s ( CLN.S ) shareholders support the Swiss chemical maker’s planned $20 billion merger with American peer Huntsman ( HUN.N ), Huntsman’s Chief Executive told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.“I have met between 150 and 200 shareholders in groups and in individual talks and explained the details of the merger to them,” Peter Huntsman said. “The large majority stand behind us.”The merger unveiled by the companies in May has been opposed by activist investor White Tale Holdings, which says the deal runs against Clariant’s focus on specialty chemicals over commodities.White Tale, whose principals include U.S. hedge fund manager Keith Meister, has amassed a 10 percent Clariant stake worth nearly 750 million Swiss francs ($778 million).Huntsman told the newspaper that a merger was needed to save costs and enable the companies to compete with Chinese and Indian rivals.“Consolidation in the chemicals industry will continue and the environment is getting tougher,” he said. “There is a risk of being crushed by the competition.”A representative of White Tale said Clariant should be split up to maximize investor value, telling Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung that several parties were interested in the plastics and coatings division.($1 = 0.9645 Swiss francs)Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Robin Pomeroy '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-merger-huntsman/most-clariant-shareholders-support-merger-says-huntsman-idINKCN1BE0MJ'|'2017-09-03T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'f863f387211d5962038fc51b14a12f8c4c933621'|'Paper Excellence to buy Brazil''s Eldorado from J&F for $4.7 billion'|'September 2, 2017 / 2:26 PM / 42 minutes ago Paper Excellence to buy Brazil''s Eldorado from J&F for $4.7 billion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian holding company J&F Investimentos SA on Saturday accepted a proposal from Netherlands-based Paper Excellence to buy pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA for 15 billion reais (3.62 billion pounds), including debt. The companies said in a statement that the transaction would take 12 months to complete, and Paper Excellence, controlled by the owners of Indonesia’s Asia Pulp & Paper Co Ltd, would fully assume Eldorado’s debt of almost 8 billion reais. A person with direct knowledge of the transaction said Brazilian pension funds that own 19 percent of Eldorado’s equity were considering whether to sell their stakes. J&F owns 81 percent of the pulpmaker. Eldorado’s management will remain in place until regulatory approval has been secured, according to the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak. Reuters reported on Sunday that Asia Pulp & Paper had extended a proposal to acquire Eldorado for 15 billion reais. Eldorado is among the flagship assets J&F put up for sale after brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista agreed to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion-real fine for their role in corruption scandals that have hurt President Michel Temer’s administration. As a result, the Batistas have had to shed assets and refinance debt. J&F agreed to sell Havaianas flip-flop maker Alpargatas SA ( ALPA4.SA ) in July to a group led by investment firms of Brazil’s most prominent banking families for $1.1 billion. Mexico’s Grupo Lala SAV de CV ( LALAB.MX ) struck a deal to buy dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA in August. Paper Excellence began operating its first cellulose plant in 2007 in Meadow Lake, Canada, and has since expanded by buying other plants in that country and Europe. Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eldorado-brasil-m-a/paper-excellence-to-buy-brazils-eldorado-from-jf-for-4-7-billion-idUKKCN1BD0K7'|'2017-09-02T17:26:00.000+03:00'
'e185ea210b8f6a2f253a09a94d1d4a95dd5a9abe'|'A scheme to let non-flyers through the security gates'|'In an era of strict security checks and other inconveniences for air travel, one American airport is making a sharp move in the opposite direction. On September 5th, Pittsburgh International will become the first American airport since the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001 to allow people who are not booked on a flight to pass through security. Families will be able to see loved ones off as they board their flight. Children will be able to join a travelling parent to watch planes take off. Friends will be able to eat and shop at the stores that flyers normally frequent (in Pittsburgh, some retailers , such as Hugo Boss, Armani Jeans and Bar Symon, only have shops in the airport).Pittsburgh International has been pushing for years for this change, which flies in the face of the Transportation Security Administration’s policy of trying to reduce the number of people and bags going through the meticulous checks. However, non-travellers will still be subject to inspections as rigorous as those for flyers. And to enter security they will first have to show their ID at a designated counter, where their names will be scanned on the no-fly-list database, in order to receive a one-day pass that lets them through. The scheme will initially run just from 9am to 5pm on weekdays, but it is hoped the hours will be extended. 16 hours This is not an entirely novel concept at Pittsburgh. The TSA there has permitted non-passengers through the cordon to the swanky shops on the occasional one-day holiday since 2014. According to the chief executive of the airport authority, around 3,000 people took advantage of those holidays; the boss of the airport’s Airmall says sales improved "100 per cent”. The question is whether the new scheme will be a success and expand to other airports. A TSA spokesman describes it as a one-off arrangement between Pittsburgh International and TSA staff at the airport and that it is “not part of a larger nationwide initiative.”But if other airports, and their retailers, city officials and representatives in Congress, see this as a big revenue booster, they will surely push to implement it elsewhere (although one local congressman in Pittsburgh was perhaps exaggerating when he said “It’s really a very, very exciting moment in our country”.)There are potential drawbacks. The TSA is already struggling to contain long queues; adding non-flyers won’t help. Officials from the TSA and the airport promise that passengers will get priority when the lines back up, but they are vague about how this will be implemented. (Will families be split up if one member is flying and the others are accompanying him, for example?) Moreover, it is entirely possible that not many people will want to go through airport security if they don’t have to. The odd thing about this scheme is that the more successful it is, the more problematic it gets. If enough people decide that a jaunt through security is worth it to get good food and drink, the queues could swell around happy hour.Still, it’s a welcome change to see an airport become friendlier and more accommodating—and for the TSA to co-operate and make it happen.Next Hurricane Harvey wreaks havoc on American air travel'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/seeing-friends-and-family-airports?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-01T18:09:00.000+03:00'
'8e1bf477d1ba19a56b8081c7bc93b3ecd0123c58'|'China regulator releases draft rules on stock exchanges - media'|'September 2, 2017 / 7:10 AM / 2 hours ago China regulator releases draft rules on stock exchanges - media Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s securities regulator has published draft rules designed to give stock exchanges more power in regulating the market, Chinese media reported on Saturday. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released for public comment a revision to an existing policy on the management of stock exchanges, the Shanghai Securities News and Securities Times reported. The draft rule includes provisions to encourage better supervision by the exchanges of activity and trading in the markets. CSRC spokeswoman Gao Li was quoted saying that the draft rule reflected lessons learned from stock markets overseas and the volatility in Chinese stock markets in 2015. The proposed revision would help ensure orderly markets, reduce risk and guard against market manipulation and insider trading, Gao said. Reporting By Alexandra Harney; Editing by Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-exchanges-rules/china-regulator-releases-draft-rules-on-stock-exchanges-media-idUKKCN1BD07N'|'2017-09-02T10:10:00.000+03:00'
'35739df8db8e40a90804741f89e6c0c6fd1520f6'|'German businessman Alexander Skora joins bidding for Air Berlin'|'September 4, 2017 / 8:47 AM / 34 minutes ago German businessman Alexander Skora joins bidding for Air Berlin Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German businessman Alexander Skora is bidding for Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) with unidentified international investors and aims to keep it flying with a limited route network, he said in a statement on Monday. “I mean routes such as Majorca and other selected destinations,” he said. Under his proposal, Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) would take over Air Berlin’s long-haul routes and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) other European routes, the statement said. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-m-a-skora/german-businessman-alexander-skora-joins-bidding-for-air-berlin-idUKKCN1BF0XG'|'2017-09-04T11:47:00.000+03:00'
'ce635cfae1adb756f729170d0261277b89cba7f1'|'Nine years on, another Lehman Brothers bankruptcy'|'WILMINGTON, Del, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Two affiliates of Lehman Brothers, the U.S. investment bank that collapsed in 2008 and fueled an economic crisis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late on Thursday, a reminder of the complexity of unwinding a global financial institution.The two affiliates, Lehman Brothers U.K. Holdings (Delaware) Inc and Lehman Pass-Through Securities Inc, were put into bankruptcy as part of a deal that will generate $485 million cash for the Lehman estate, according to court documents.The affiliates own residential mortgage-backed securities, real estate and stock in First Data Corp, which helps process credit card transactions, among other assets, according to papers filed in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. Affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management Inc of Canada are buying stakes in the Lehman affiliates, which were put into bankruptcy to carry out the deal.Administrators have spent years winding down Lehman’s holdings and have distributed around $147 billion to creditors, according to court records.More than 100 people still work for Lehman and the case remains one of the largest U.S. bankruptcies, even after the distributions to creditors. The estate holds $7 billion of assets, much of it cash, as it works through hundreds of remaining creditor claims and legal disputes.Lehman is currently in the midst of a trial, already 42 days long, seeking $2 billion from Citigroup Inc over disputed derivative claims. Citigroup has denied it owes the money to Lehman.The memory of Lehman’s dramatic failure has sparked regulatory efforts to prevent another damaging collapse. On Friday, the U.S. Federal Reserve finalized a rule aimed at making it easier to wind down large banks. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/lehmanbros-bankruptcy/nine-years-on-another-lehman-brothers-bankruptcy-idUSL2N1LI1I9'|'2017-09-02T03:31:00.000+03:00'
'8c21b3be70825172df058e3453bdf93a77925f81'|'Records of 4 million Time Warner Cable customers left unsecured - Gizmodo'|'September 1, 2017 / 5:54 PM / 7 minutes ago More than 4 million Time Warner Cable records exposed in leak Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Time Warner Cable truck returns to its office in San Diego, California, U.S., November 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - More than four million records of users of Time Warner Cable’s MyTWC app were found unsecured on an Amazon server last month, digital security research centre Kromtech Security Center said in a blog post on Friday. The files — more than 600 gigabytes in size containing sensitive information such as transaction ID, user names, Mac addresses, serial numbers, account numbers — were discovered on Aug. 24 without a password by researchers of Kromtech. ( bit.ly/2wqgA3J ) “A vendor has notified us that certain non-financial information of legacy Time Warner Cable customers who used the MyTWC app became potentially visible by external sources,” Charter Communications Inc, Time Warner Cable’s parent, said in an email. The information was removed immediately after the discovery and the incident is being investigated, Charter said. The breach was eventually linked to BroadSoft Inc, a communications company, whose unit developed the MyTWC app. Broadsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-timewarnercable-breach/records-of-4-million-time-warner-cable-customers-left-unsecured-gizmodo-idUKKCN1BC5MI'|'2017-09-01T20:53:00.000+03:00'
'c75171ef5ac18060546f230f94c3692c6e03310a'|'Apax to buy majority stake in luxury retailer Matchesfashion.com'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:30 PM / 44 minutes ago Apax to buy majority stake in luxury retailer Matchesfashion.com Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A woman enters the offices of private equity firm APAX in London May 18, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Helgren (Reuters) - British private equity firm Apax Partners is to buy a majority stake in luxury fashion retailer Matchesfashion.com for an undisclosed sum. Matchesfashion.com founders Tom and Ruth Chapman, and existing venture capital backers Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and Highland Europe, will a retain minority stake in the business, Apax said in a statement. “We are delighted that Apax Partners have taken a majority stake in the business”, the retailer’s founders said, adding that the current CEO Ulric Jerome and CFO Fiona Greiner would continue to lead Matchesfashion.com. Last week, Sky News reported that Apax Partners was close to buying Matchesfashion.com for about 800 million pounds. bit.ly/2wtu3pv Qatalyst Partners is advising Matchesfashion.com on the deal. Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-matchesfashion-com-m-a-apax-partners/apax-to-buy-majority-stake-in-luxury-retailer-matchesfashion-com-idUKKCN1BC5U4'|'2017-09-01T22:30:00.000+03:00'
'573b23e9b821c71f2a9ccbb33082ffd9a5abf343'|'Crude falls as flooding from Harvey roils U.S. oil industry'|'September 1, 2017 / 12:49 AM / 17 minutes ago U.S. gasoline in first slide since Harvey, oil under pressure Libby George 4 Min Read Flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey encompass the Motiva Enterprises LLC in Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif NEW YORK (Reuters) - Benchmark U.S. gasoline prices slid for the first day since Hurricane Harvey struck the U.S. oil industry heartland, as some refineries restarted operations, while oil prices remained under pressure and settled about flat. Harvey, downgraded to a tropical storm and losing steam as it moved inland, killed more than 40 people and brought record flooding that shut at least 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity. Closure of roughly a quarter of the U.S. refining industry sparked fears of fuel shortages before the Labor Day weekend and cast doubts on refinery demand for crude. This widened the crack spread, the difference between the prices of U.S. gasoline RBc1 and crude oil CLc1. On Thursday, U.S. gasoline hit a two-year high above $2 a gallon. On Friday, as two refineries began to restart and some ports reopened, gasoline futures RBc1 fell 2 percent and the crack spread RBc1-CLc1 fell more than 5 percent. Brent crude LCOc1 for November settled 11 cents lower at $52.75 a barrel. The Brent contract for October, which expired on Thursday, closed up $1.52 at $52.38. Related Coverage Storm Harvey opens up rare jet fuel exports from Europe to U.S. U.S. crude CLc1 settled 6 cents higher at $47.29 a barrel after trading lower for most of the day. For the week, Brent was up 0.65 percent while U.S. crude posted a weekly decline of 1.25 percent. Analysts said prices would seesaw until there the market got a clearer outlook for the refinery industry. “We’re continuing to assess the refining sector and its ability to come back from Harvey,” said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC. “The good news for consumers is that it seems some of the units are in the process of getting back in operation.” Marathon Petroleum Corp’s ( MPC.N ) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, had raised production to 45 percent of its 459,000 barrel per day capacity, sources told Reuters on Friday. Citgo Petroleum Corp said it was moving to restart its 157,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Explorer Pipeline, which hauls fuel from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest region, aims to restart its main lines this weekend as refineries indicated they would be able to resume supplies after Tropical Storm Harvey, a spokesman told Reuters. The U.S. government tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the first time in five years, and on Friday authorized an additional release of 3.5 million barrels, adding to the 1 million barrels of crude already cleared to go to a working refinery in Louisiana. U.S. crude oil stocks fell sharply last week as refineries raised output with the approach of Harvey, the Energy Information Administration said. [EIA/S] The oil market outside the United States remains well supplied with ample production by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. However, OPEC oil output slipped in August by 170,000 bpd from a 2017 high, a Reuters survey found. (For a graphic on U.S. crude oil vs gasoline prices, click reut.rs/2wm69xQ ) (For a graphic on U.S. crude oil stocks and production, click reut.rs/2en5PVR ) (For a graphic on Harvey''s energy impact interactive, click tmsnrt.rs/2iK0YD9 ) Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Dale Hudson and David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/crude-falls-as-flooding-from-harvey-roils-u-s-oil-industry-idUSKCN1BC3EQ'|'2017-09-01T04:54:00.000+03:00'
'46eaa0b321b9e1ddd3707e5469ed73619adf459f'|'UPDATE 1-Kenya stock exchange halts trading briefly after fall on court ruling'|'(Adds trader’s comment)NAIROBI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Kenya’s stock exchange halted trading briefly midway through Friday’s session after blue chip shares plummeted following the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the Aug.8 presidential election, traders said.Trading restarted at 1000 GMT, they said.East Africa’s biggest economy has a history of disputed polls. The court decision to cancel the result, the first of its kind in Kenya’s history, sets up a new race for the presidency between Uhuru Kenyatta and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga.Traders said the market’s main indices may have plunged by more than the daily limit of 10 percent, forcing the automatic halt to trading to kick in. Real time data is usually not available for the market apart from for individual stocks.Telecoms operator Safaricom, the biggest company by market cap, fell 4.9 percent to trade at 24.00 Kenyan shillings ($0.2328) per share, traders said.“No one likes uncertainty especially if the uncertainty period is as long as 60 days,” said Ken Minjire, head of securities at Nairobi-based Genghis Capital.Kenyatta and Odinga will face off in a runoff election within 60 days according to the constitution.The shilling had weakened 0.4 percent immediately following the court’s ruling to 103.20/40. ($1 = 103.1000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting By Duncan Miriri and Maggie Fick; Editing by Jon Boyle and Hugh Lawson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/kenya-election-stocks/update-1-kenya-stock-exchange-halts-trading-briefly-after-fall-on-court-ruling-idINL8N1LI26K'|'2017-09-01T08:32:00.000+03:00'
'19a6cbe1aa17f9d70757bf6ae299cfc4122d5b23'|'China August data to show economy solidly poised before key Party congress'|' 27 AM / 15 minutes ago China August data to show economy solidly poised before key Party congress Reuters Staff 5   A man carrying a girl walks through a bridge at a park next to Beijing''s central business area, China August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - After surprising pretty much everyone with solid growth in the first half, China’s economy has continued to motor along nicely with a flurry of data for August expected to show momentum will largely hold up through to the end of the year despite tighter policy. Annual growth in the world’s second-biggest economy picked up to 6.9 percent in the first six months of the year, as brightening global demand boosted Chinese shipments and resilient domestic consumption helped to cushion the impact of policy makers’ efforts to reduce debt and cool the property market. The growth momentum has surprised most China observers, especially in light of Beijing’s campaign to wean the economy off a years-long debt-fuelled binge, with early fears of a sharper downturn well and truly put to bed. According to a Reuters poll of analysts, over the next few weeks a flurry of data for August is likely to back market expectations for growth to taper off only modestly from the first half’s pace, with some such as smaller firms seen bearing the brunt of tightening financial conditions. On the whole, the August data set should support views that China’s economy will be in good heart heading into a key political meeting of the ruling Communist Party and give policy makers a comfortable cushion through to the end of the year to deepen much-needed reforms. China’s economic numbers so far have been encouraging in a boon to world trade even as risks to the global economy have increased this year from rising U.S. protectionism and growing tensions in the Korean peninsula. Strong factory reports last week showed strength in the industrial sector continued through August, while Chinese demand has lifted commodities prices from steel to iron ore and underpinned a resurgence in global growth. Most economists now forecast China’s economy to slow only moderately through the end of the year and handily beat the government’s 2017 growth target of around 6.5 percent. In a surprising period of stability, China’s gross domestic product growth has accelerated or remained stable for five consecutive quarters for the first time since at least the early 1990s. POLICY DIRECTION That provides a welcome backdrop for the once-every-five-years congress of the Communist Party, which will start October 18, the day before China announces third quarter GDP growth. China watchers will likely look for signs of any new direction in economic policy after the meeting, where President Xi Jinping is expected to further strengthen his grip on power. FILE PHOTO: Trucks loaded with cargo containers are seen at Ningbo Zhoushan Port, Zhejiang province, December 7, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo A stronger yuan in the face of a weak U.S. dollar has helped stabilise global markets that were spooked by a year and a half of sustained weakness in the Chinese currency, which was accompanied by capital outflows and a steep decline in the nation’s foreign currency reserves. Analysts expect China’s foreign currency reserves, the largest in the world, to have increased for a seventh straight month to $3.1 trillion (£2.39 trillion) in August from $3.081 trillion the month before, the Reuters poll showed. Export growth is forecast to moderate to 6.0 percent in August from 7.2 percent the previous month, while imports probably remained in double digits at 10.0 percent growth, from 11.0 percent. Double digit growth in China’s imports this year has been good news for exporters around the world, particularly commodities exporters, who have benefited from a sustained rebound in commodity prices. China’s trade surplus in August was tipped at $48.6 billion, which would be the highest since January. The inflation rate likely picked up in August to 1.6 percent year-on-year from 1.4 percent, which would be the first uptick in four months. Producer price growth also likely accelerated in August for the first time in four months to 5.6 percent from 5.5 percent, as government efforts to reduce excess capacity by shutting inefficient and heavily polluting mines and mills help sustain a rally in commodity prices. Strong exports and a more than 20 percent increase in infrastructure investment are seen lifting industrial output 6.6 percent year-on-year in August, up from 6.4 percent growth in July. Retail sales likely picked up slightly to 10.5 percent growth while fixed asset investment growth may have slowed to 8.2 percent in August, from 8.3 percent in the previous month. China’s money supply growth has dipped to the slowest on record in the past few months, hurt by a campaign to rein in leverage and the riskiest forms of non-bank lending. Analysts expect that trend to continue, with the median forecast for 9.1 percent year-on-year growth in M2, down from 9.2 percent in July. New bank lending likely totalled 900 billion yuan in August, up from 825.5 billion yuan in July, while the balance of outstanding loans probably fell to 13.0 percent. Reporting by Elias Glenn and Shaloo Shrivastava; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-data/china-august-data-to-show-economy-solidly-poised-before-key-party-congress-idUKKCN1BF0VI'|'2017-09-04T11:26:00.000+03:00'
'1f2d1e6eaaf51bb162fde7d26ac19d598e194bd2'|'Spain''s to issue up to 5.25 bln euros in debt this week'|'MADRID, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Spain plans to issue up to 5.25 billion euros ($6.25 billion) in four bonds this week, including an inflation-linked paper, the Treasury said on Monday.The inflation-linked bond is due November 30, 2027 and the Treasury plans to auction between 250 million euros and 750 million euros of this paper.The Treasury will also sell between 3.5 billion and 4.5 billion euros of bonds due April 30, 2022; Oct. 31, 2027; and July 30, 2033.$1 = 0.8400 euros Reporting By Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Jesús Aguado '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/spain-debt/spains-to-issue-up-to-5-25-bln-euros-in-debt-this-week-idINE8N18A02Q'|'2017-09-04T10:15:00.000+03:00'
'd52e7b506e8d5ee4f4db05c864e1bda646c00dab'|'Pricey housing markets mean co-living buildings are on the rise'|'MONDAY is “Game of Thrones” night at The Collective’s Old Oak building. Millennials congregate in TV rooms around the 11-storey, 550-person block. Some gather at the cinema, lounging on bean bags decorated with old graphics from Life magazine. Nothing gets residents out of their rooms like the hit TV show. This is not a student dorm, however. It is home.The Collective is a pioneer of a new property format known as “co-living”. Instead of self-contained flats, residents live in tiny rooms with 12 square metres of floor space. Most contain just a bed and a bathroom. During a two-night stay your correspondent could barely fit his shoulders into the shower cubicle. It is outside these rooms that the building makes its pitch. It comes with a gym, spa, libraries, a good restaurant and a cinema. Residents get access to all of these amenities, as well as their room, for a rental payment of £800-£1,000 ($1,033-$1,292) a month. That includes all bills and high-speed Wi-Fi; they pay extra for meals in the restaurant. Residents have come up with their own services, too. The Collective houses a “library of things”, or a shared repository of useful objects—hammers, tape measures and even tents.Rising rents have opened up a gap in the market. The ratio of average rents to incomes in London rose from a quarter to a third between 2004 and 2014. In New York, average rents have grown from 29% of average income in 2002 to 34% in 2014. Most young professionals moving to thriving cities face a difficult choice between spending a big share of their income on renting their own place, or moving in with strangers in a shared house to save money. The Collective offers something different.Old Oak, the firm’s first building in north-west London, has been 97% occupied for most of this year. The Collective is putting up two more co-living buildings in London, one in Stratford and one in Canary Wharf. The notion of tiny rooms and shared luxury services is fairly new and little tested, but the property industry is paying attention. Jack Sibley of TH Real Estate, a property investment manager, calls it “one of the most promising ideas for the future of living to emerge for some time”.The next step for Reza Merchant, The Collective’s founder, is expansion abroad. He is close to striking deals on buildings in Boston and New York, and is talking to developers in Berlin, where historically low rents have been rising fast for the city’s young, creative types. The Collective has no real competitors in Britain but its move to America will see it run into Ollie, a co-living firm in New York.Both of Ollie’s existing co-living buildings are smaller than Old Oak (the largest of its kind in the world). But the American firm will soon run a co-living space over 13 floors of a building in Long Island City in the borough of Queens. It is being developed by Quadrum Global, a property investment company, whose financial models predict that co-living will substantially outperform conventional rented flats in future because the return per square foot is so high.WeWork, a private firm that is the world’s largest provider of shared workspaces and is valued at an estimated $20bn, has a residential arm, WeLive, that is running co-living units out of a leased building on Wall Street in Manhattan. It has joined forces with a property firm in Seattle called Martin Selig to construct a new 36-storey building, 23 floors of which will be dedicated to co-living.The model will get tweaked as developers see what works and what doesn’t. Mr Merchant is using data gathered from Old Oak to refine The Collective’s new buildings. Rooms will be slightly larger, because the tiny square footage is one of the main reasons residents give for moving on. Sensors monitor use of the common spaces, and in the new complexes the kitchens will all be on one floor, rather than scattered around the building. Most of Old Oak’s shared spaces are in fact fairly empty; the liveliest area is the launderette, where residents mingle and watch TV as they wait for washing cycles.Maria Carvalho, a social-sciences academic at the London School of Economics, moved into the building because she wanted to live with other people, but did not want to have to find roommates. “I would call it a hipster commune, not a hippy commune,” she says. She particularly likes meeting friends walking home from the train station but says kitchen utensils often go missing. (With too many co-livers to be able to know everyone personally, CCTV is used in these areas as a guarantor of good conduct and cleanliness.)The Collective and other companies like it have a choice to make, says Roger Southam of Savills, a property firm. They could continue focusing on incoming workers to big cities, providing minimal private living space alongside attractive shared areas. But Mr Southam sees much more potential if co-living spaces can give residents slightly more private space, allowing them to attract people already living in cities. Starting from the smallest of rooms and working up may let co-living firms hit upon the perfect balance of shared and private space. Who, after all, doesn’t want a cinema in the basement? Business "Rent collective"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21727948-co-living-hipsters-not-hippies-pricey-housing-markets-mean-co-living-buildings-are?fsrc=rss'|'2017-08-31T22:51:00.000+03:00'
'bccb59a1f4368a949fe375bc266137f6ac3d9673'|'U.S. labour board files complaint against Tesla over worker rights'|'September 1, 2017 / 1:00 AM / 3 hours ago U.S. labor board files complaint against Tesla over worker rights Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan on August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo - (Reuters) - The U.S. agency in charge of enforcing labor law on Thursday filed a complaint against electric carmaker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ), saying it found merit to workers’ complaints about unfair labor practices. According to the National Labor Relations Board complaint, Tesla violated workers’ rights by requiring them to sign a confidentiality agreement that could bar them from talking about their working conditions and safety issues at the company’s facility in Fremont, California. The agency also investigated charges by the workers that Tesla intimidated and harassed them and violated workers’ rights under federal labor law. Tesla has denied the allegations. The company must respond to the charges by Sept. 14. The NLRB has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 14 before an administrative law judge in Oakland, California. “These allegations, which have been filed by the same contingent of union organizers who have been so outspoken with media, are entirely without merit,” Tesla said in a statement. Complaints were filed by three employees and the United Auto Workers union, which has encouraged Tesla employees to unionize. The workers said Tesla made them sign a document that they may face termination or criminal prosecution for speaking publicly, or to the media, about anything they observed at work or their working conditions, NLRB said. Reporting by Sangameswaran S and Manas Mishra; in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-labor/u-s-labor-board-files-complaint-against-tesla-over-worker-rights-idUKKCN1BC3FK'|'2017-09-01T03:59:00.000+03:00'
'aaa40827d76a9f2f20ccde7e27b41fd602ec6fcc'|'Petronas interested in controlling stake in Daewoo E&C: Maeil Business'|'FILE PHOTO - Motorists queue to fill natural gas at a Petronas station with its landmark Petronas Twin Towers headquarters in the background, in Kuala Lumpur February 4, 2012. Bazuki Muhammad/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - Malaysia''s Petroliam National Bhd (Petronas) is interested in buying a controlling stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd ( 047040.KS ), a South Korean newspaper reported on Friday, sending shares in the South Korean firm surging 9 percent.Petronas is considering acquiring the 50.75 percent stake owned by Korea Development Bank (KDB), Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing unnamed investment banking sources.A KDB spokesman declined comment on the report of Petronas'' interest. Petronas was not immediately available for comment. Daewoo E&C declined to comment.State-run KDB announced last year it would put up its stakes in non-core subsidiaries for sale. Since then, it has chosen BoA Merrill Lynch and Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities as sales advisors for Daewoo E&C, the spokesman said.The notice to officially kick off the sale of its stake in Daewoo E&C is expected to come by end-September, he added.Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-daewoo-e-c-m-a-petronas-idINKCN1BC3KN'|'2017-09-01T00:49:00.000+03:00'
'a221d7309d51437e8e87d28f44361ed7b55e7757'|'Retail U.S. gasoline prices surge as Harvey keeps refiners shut'|'A gas station worker pumps gas into a car at a gas station of the state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela August 29, 2017. Picture taken August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retail U.S. gasoline prices surged to two-year highs on Friday and global shipping routes were scrambled, even as some of the nation’s oil refineries began restarting in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.Major fuel pipelines feeding the U.S. Northeast and Midwest were shut or severely curtailed, prompting shortages and dramatic spikes in wholesale cash prices that pushed the national retail average to $2.519 a gallon, the highest since August 2015.Harvey, which raked across the Texas Gulf coast a week ago, has roiled global fuel markets. Tankers carrying millions of barrels of fuel have been rerouted to the Americas to avert shortages. European refining margins hit a two-year high amid the surge in exports.Effects of the storm will continue for weeks, if not months, after record rains and flooding in Houston and the U.S. energy hub. It knocked out about 4.4 million barrels of daily refining capacity, slightly more than Japan uses daily, and only some restarts have begun so far.On Friday, the U.S. Energy Secretary approved an additional release of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, adding 3.5 million barrels on top of the 1 million barrels approved as of Thursday.The Explorer Pipeline, which hauls fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Midwest region, said it aimed to restart its main lines this weekend as refineries indicated they would be able to resume supplies.Marathon Petroleum Corp’s ( MPC.N ) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, had raised production to 45 percent of its 459,000 bpd capacity, sources told Reuters.In Corpus Christi, where Harvey first made landfall, Citgo Petroleum Corp PDVSAC.UL said it was beginning to restart its 157,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, while Flint Hills Resources and Valero Energy Corp ( VLO.N ) were also moving to restart their plants, sources said.LIGHT AT END OF TUNNEL Benchmark U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 had surged more than 15 percent since the storm began. But on Friday, U.S. gasoline margins RBc1-CLc1 tumbled nearly 5 percent and gasoline futures RBc1 fell by just under 2 percent, their first daily loss since the storm hit.“Yesterday, the anxiety over Harvey reached a crescendo,” said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC, adding that with the restarts, “you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”The biggest U.S. refiner, Motiva''s Port Arthur facility, which can handle 600,000 barrels of crude daily, will be shut for at least two weeks, however, according to sources familiar with plant operations. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2xzsKWz )Other plants in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area are expected to face similar challenges restarting as waters continue to rise, even as flooding receded in Houston, some 85 miles (137 km) west.The national average for a regular gallon of gasoline rose to $2.519 as of Friday morning, the highest since August 2015. That marks a 17.5-cent increase since Aug. 23, before the storm began, according to motorists advocacy group AAA. Even stiffer increases were reported in the U.S. Southeast, which relies heavily on Gulf supplies.South Carolina, for instance, has seen prices rise nearly 30 cents. Prices were up nearly 20 cents in Texas, where fuel shortages were already evident.SHORTAGE WORRIES Suppliers in the Chicago area were taking steps to prevent shortages, and banking on hope as wholesale prices continued to increase.Dave Luchtman, owner and president of Lucky’s Energy Service Inc, a small distributor in Chicago, has rented two storage trailers that hold 8,000 gallons each, expected to be delivered Friday.“So I have a little lifeline,” Luchtman said.Refineries so far have not given any indication that there are fuel shortages, said Mario Orlandi, an operations manager at Olson Service Co, which supplies diesel and gasoline to the Chicago area.“Cross our fingers, keep our tanks full,” Orlandi said.The global impact of the storm was being felt in Venezuela, where financially strapped state-run PDVSA is facing the possibility that scheduled deliveries - tankers floating offshore for weeks due to non-payment - will make their way to other Latin American destinations.At least two cargoes scheduled to deliver to Venezuela currently in the port of Curacao are now expected to be delivered to Ecuador.Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and other countries want to tap some of the 7 million barrels of fuel sitting in the Caribbean sea, according to three traders and shippers.European and Asian traders have diverted millions of barrels of fuel to the Americas. That included a rare opportunity for exports of jet fuel from Europe to the United States, reversing the usual flow of shipments.Supplies from distant markets may not arrive soon enough to avert a crunch after the Colonial Pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel system, said it would shut part of its main lines to the Northeast.“We are going to have outages from Texas to Boston,” said one East Coast market source. The market is “way under-appreciating the magnitude of this.”Several East Coast refineries have run out of gasoline for immediate delivery as they sent fuel elsewhere, and concerns over shortages ahead of the U.S. Labor Day extended weekend were mounting.For a graphic on Harvey''s impact on energy markets click - tmsnrt.rs/2iK0YD9Reporting by Erwin Seba and Devika Krishna Kumar; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Susannah Gonzales, Marianna Parraga, Karolin Schaps, Ron Bousso, Libby George and Seng Li Peng; Writing by David Gaffen and Libby George; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-energy/retail-u-s-gasoline-prices-surge-as-harvey-keeps-refiners-shut-idINKCN1BC4SO'|'2017-09-01T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'b73eaa5cc155d0f27a0c858b52435592d8f0568b'|'Canada''s Toromont to buy Caterpillar dealer Hewitt for C$1.02 bln'|'A Caterpillar logo is pictured on the skid-steer loader at the construction site In Warsaw, Poland June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel (Reuters) - Canada’s Toromont Industries Ltd said on Monday it would buy Hewitt Group, a dealer of Caterpillar Inc heavy equipment, for about C$1.02 billion in cash and shares.Toromont will pay Hewitt C$917.7 million in cash and 2.25 million Toromont shares, the company said on Monday.Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hewitt-m-a-toromont-indus/canadas-toromont-to-buy-caterpillar-dealer-hewitt-for-c1-02-bln-idINKCN1B814J'|'2017-08-28T09:37:00.000+03:00'
'bd69c191699198bece7e101a7a034308ea92c627'|'Japan July factory output falls but growth momentum seen intact'|'A worker walks near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s industrial output fell more than expected in July, pulling back from the previous month’s gain, as manufacturers curbed production of general-purpose and electrical machinery in a likely sign of a temporary slowdown in factory activity.Industrial output fell 0.8 percent in July from the previous month, dragged down by production of semiconductor production equipment, turbines and power generators, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Thursday.The reading compared with the median estimate of a 0.5 percent drop in a Reuters poll of economists, following a 2.2 percent increase in June.Still, manufacturers forecast factory output would rebound in August, underscoring the view that Japan’s economy, the world’s third-largest, is on track to extend a growth run in the current quarter on the back of better external and domestic demand.“Production fell in reaction to June’s gains but it remains in a recovery trend,” said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute. “Likewise the overall economy will continue a steady expansion in the current quarter, although we cannot expect such robust growth seen in the previous quarter.”The rainy and cool weather in August may dampen consumer spending in Japan, while in the U.S. - Japan’s key export market - damages wrought by hurricane Harvey was a source of concern, Tokuda said.Besides the weather factors, there’s no immediate risk to Japan’s growth at least until later this year when China’s economy could start to slow, and next year when the ongoing tech boom may peak out, he added.Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expect output to rise 6.0 percent in August and decline 3.1 percent in September.The ministry stuck to its assessment of industrial output, saying production is picking up over time.Japan’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in the second quarter -- growing at a 4 percent annualised rate -- as consumer and company spending picked up.Analysts expect the economy to continue growing at a healthy clip in coming quarters, offering the Bank of Japan hope that a tight labour market will finally start to boost wages and consumer spending.Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Kim Coghill & Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-output/japan-july-industrial-output-falls-0-8-percent-month-on-month-idINKCN1BA335'|'2017-08-30T22:02:00.000+03:00'
'dc7f35b5d6040b32d435a6f6736b810f97001458'|'Video streaming device maker Roku files for IPO'|'(Reuters) - Video streaming device maker Roku Inc filed for an initial public offering on Friday, as the company looks to cash in on the booming demand for such services.The Los Gatos, California-based company said it applied to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ROKU”.Connected to televisions, Roku devices provide access to services offered by Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ), Hulu, Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ), Starz among others.Roku had 15.1 million active accounts as of June 30, according to the filing. bit.ly/2wYNAkOThe company streamed 2.9 billion hours, including advertising, in the six months ended June 30, a 76 percent jump from a year earlier, according to the filing.The filing did not mention the number of shares that will be offered and their price range.Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets Inc are the lead bookrunners, according to the filingRoku filed for an IPO of up to $100 million. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-roku-ipo/video-streaming-device-maker-roku-files-for-ipo-idINKCN1BC636'|'2017-09-01T19:45:00.000+03:00'
'dc6d71024e6c32446e2f128b5f38023a1ed31369'|'Liberty House to invest $1 bln in Australian steelworks to meet infrastructure boom'|'MELBOURNE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Liberty House says it will pump A$1.26 billion ($1 billion) into steel-making capacity in Australia to meet the demands of a decade-long infrastructure boom in the country, months after acquiring a steelworks which was in voluntary administration and billions of dollars in debt.The British firm’s executive chairman, billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, visited the South Australian town of Whyalla to announce the upgrades on Friday, saying a 100-day review would result in plans to transform the plant, including fixing its power needs by harnessing waste gases and investing in pumped hydro and large-scale solar energy.The previous owner of the steelworks, Australian steel group Arrium Ltd, collapsed in April 2016 with A$2.8 billion in debt after creditors rejected a $927 million bailout proposal by private equity group GSO Capital Partners that would have paid no more than 55 cents on the dollar on their claims.But despite its 18-months in limbo, Gupta told Australian media on Friday he did not see why the plant should be condemned.“I saw an asset which was misunderstood, underappreciated and I saw a discussion going on about how to transition to its close so that the impact on the town was minimised — I was shocked,” Gupta said.He told the Australian Financial Review on Friday of short-term plans to lift the steel plant’s capacity to 1.5 million tonnes and increase output at the electric arc furnaces and rolling mills on the east coast to meet an “immense”, 10-year pipeline of new infrastructure projects in Australia including highways, bridges and airports.In a nod to its pre-Arrium glory days, Gupta said the plant and its associated infrastructure would now operate under the name Liberty OneSteel.Liberty House, which operates together with energy and commodities business SIMEC under the $9.4 billion Gupta Family Group (GFG) Alliance, hit the headlines last year when it offered to rescue steel plants owned by Tata Steel UK that were on the verge of shutdown.Liberty has since bought an aluminum smelter in Scotland and a steel plant in the United States (Reporting by Joseph Hinchliffe; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/arrium-australia/liberty-house-to-invest-1-bln-in-australian-steelworks-to-meet-infrastructure-boom-idINL4N1LJ047'|'2017-09-02T02:16:00.000+03:00'
'da74fffc68b334a0df6de216329e65975012bc22'|'Niki Lauda preparing bid for Air Berlin''s Niki unit'|'September 3, 2017 / 12:53 PM / in 3 hours Niki Lauda preparing bid for Air Berlin''s Niki unit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda is working on a bid to buy back the Niki subsidiary of insolvent airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), he told Reuters on Sunday. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection last month after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Now the carrier is to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with about 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany up for grabs. “I am preparing a plan to bid for Niki which has to go in there by the end of the week. But I have not decided yet under what conditions I will do it,” Lauda told Reuters on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Bidders for the assets must submit offers by a Sept. 15 deadline, and a decision could come on Sept. 21, three days before the German national election. Lauda said he had started looking at Niki’s accounts, with more documents due to come on Monday and Tuesday before he can take a final decision. German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) has government backing to take over large parts of Air Berlin. Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor are also seen as likely bidders. The carrier is being kept in the air thanks to a 150 million euro ($178 million) government loan, which government officials say will last the airline for up to three months. Reporting by Alan Baldwin, writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-niki/niki-lauda-preparing-bid-for-air-berlins-niki-unit-idINKCN1BE0QM'|'2017-09-03T10:53:00.000+03:00'
'e0d911cc17c9eccd00dfc713cc35ff3f98028288'|'UPDATE 2-Acacia Mining scales down as Tanzanian export ban bites'|'(Adds detail, background, analyst)JOHANNESBURG/BENGALURU, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Acacia Mining said on Monday it would stop underground work at its flagship Tanzanian gold mine and cut its production guidance in the face of a confrontation between the industry and the government.Shares in the FTSE 250 company plummeted 9 percent to 188 pence by 1000 GMT, making it worst decliner among an index of its peers.Acacia, majority-owned by Barrick Gold, said it would have to scale back operations at Bulyanhulu mine and cut staff as it coped with a government ban on exports of unprocessed ore, imposed in March to encourage the construction of a local smelter.The ban had left a build-up of ore and cut revenue as the firm met taxes and other bills, Acacia said in a statement.“The impact of the ban, in addition to the deterioration of the current operating environment, has led to negative cash flow of approximately $15 million per month at the mine and thus has made ordinary course operations at Bulyanhulu unsustainable,” it added in a statement.Annual production is expected to be 100,000 ounces lower than the bottom of the previous guidance range of 850,000-900,000 ounces, it added.Acacia has been caught up in sweeping changes to Tanzania’s mining industry spearheaded by President John Magufuli, who believes his country is not getting its fair share of profits.The government also accuses Acacia of evading taxes for years by under-declaring exports - an allegation dismissed by the company which said in July it had been hit with a $190 billion tax bill, equivalent to four times the East African country’s annual gross domestic product.Despite the cash burn, Acacia’s chief financial officer Andrew Wray said the company did not need additional financial resources or financial assistance from its Canadian parent Barrick.“From our perspective we still have reasonable liquidity as on the balance sheet,” said Wray said. “We’re not contemplating looking beyond Acacia’s resources at this time.”A combination of scaling back Bulyanhulu, cutting corporate overheads, expansionary drilling at its largest mine North Mara, greenfield exploration activity and gold hedging should return Acacia back into cash generation next year, the miner said.“Regrettably, the implementation of this programme will lead to a significant reduction in the workforce from the current 1,200 employee and 800 contractor roles,” Acacia said.Acacia first signalled intentions to put Bulyanhulu mine under care and maintenance in June.“Acacia has implemented a sensible holding pattern – Bulyanhulu can be restarted without significant effort, but the company moves into a considerably more viable operational and financial position in the meantime,” Investec analysts said.“We expect this to now move the pressure onto the president – if he actually cares.”Talks between the Tanzanian government and Barrick Gold are ongoing, Acacia said.Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru, Barbara Lewis in London and Zandi Shabalala in Johannesburg; Editing by Jason Neely and Andrew Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/acacia-mining-outlook/update-1-acacia-mining-scales-down-as-tanzanian-export-ban-bites-idINL8N1LL11T'|'2017-09-04T09:46:00.000+03:00'
'4fa2c117c40c1edc25b27b0b19df5f41ddf90bcf'|'BOJ on course to retreat from radical stimulus - ex-BOJ Kiuchi'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:14 AM / in 6 minutes Former BOJ dissenter says central bank on course to retreat from radical stimulus 3 Min Read People walk past the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s central bank is already in the process of winding down its radical monetary policy and may also look at making changes to its long-term interest rate target in the near future, former board member Takahide Kiuchi said on Monday. While Governor Haruhiko Kuroda may persist in achieving his 2 percent inflation target, BOJ bureaucrats working under him will seek to water down the target as Kuroda’s term expires next April and the cost of its massive stimulus rises, Kiuchi said. “The BOJ has already begun normalizing policy since it shifted to yield curve control (YCC) last year, and that’s the direction the bank seems to heading,” he told Reuters. Kiuchi, who finished up his tenure as board member in July, was a sole proponent of tapering the BOJ’s asset purchases and long warned of the pitfalls of Kuroda’s monetary experiment. Many of Kiuchi’s criticisms have now gained support among some market participants, lawmakers and central bankers, including his caution over setting a binding timeframe for hitting the BOJ’s elusive price target. With inflation still subdued despite years of ultra-loose policy, the BOJ could re-define its inflation target to a more flexible one aimed over a longer timeframe, said Kiuchi, who is now executive economist at Nomura Research Institute. The BOJ may also switch its long-term interest rate target to one targeting three- or five-year yields from the 10-year yield, as the shorter end of the curve is easier to control with fewer bond purchases, he added. “YCC is a very fragile framework that won’t be sustainable once the economy is hit with an external shock,” Kiuchi said. “Reviewing YCC and targeting yields for bonds with a shorter duration is one option. It’s quite possible this could happen.” Under a policy framework adopted last September, the BOJ guides short-term rates to minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year bond yield around zero percent. The BOJ also has a loose pledge to buy bonds so its holdings increase at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($728.73 billion). But it has recently been slowing purchases to around 60 trillion yen as its huge purchases drain bond market liquidity. Kiuchi warned the BOJ must further slow its buying to around 45 trillion yen per year, as the current pace of 60-trillion-yen would mean purchases hit the limit around mid-next year. If the economy needs further monetary support, the only step left for the BOJ could be to abandon YCC and ramp up bond buying to finance big fiscal spending by the government, he said. “There’s not much left monetary policy can do to prop up the economy, and the cost of ultra-easy policy is becoming huge.” Additional reporting by Sumio Ito; Editing by Sam Holmes '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj/boj-on-course-to-retreat-from-radical-stimulus-ex-boj-kiuchi-idINKCN1BF0K5'|'2017-09-04T09:08:00.000+03:00'
'e92cc0218d5db9a85d918f6c0c8a706d8861cbcd'|'China''s Legend strikes $1.8 bln deal to buy Luxembourg''s BIL bank from Qatari investors'|'September 1, 2017 / 1:35 PM / in an hour China''s Legend strikes $1.8 bln deal to buy Luxembourg''s BIL bank from Qatari investors Julie Zhu 3 Min Read HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Legend Holdings struck a deal on Friday to buy a 90 percent stake in Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL) from Qatar’s royal family for 1.48 billion euros ($1.76 billion), marking its biggest overseas acquisition. Legend, owner of computer group Lenovo Group Ltd, is acquiring 161-year-old BIL from Precision Capital, an investment vehicle of Qatar royal family members including former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani. The purchase is being made through its Hong Kong subsidiary, Beyond Leap Limited, Legend said in a statement. Reuters first reported in July that Legend was in talks with Precision on a potential acquisition of BIL. The acquisition comes amid China’s heightened scrutiny of overseas deals by some large groups in an attempt to curb the country’s massive debt build-up. But finance is not on the restricted list of Beijing’s new rules on outbound investment. Founded in 1856 as the oldest private bank in Luxembourg, BIL employs more than 2,000 people worldwide and had some 37.7 billion euros of assets under management at the end of 2016. “This is an important strategic investment for Legend. Financial services is one of Legend Holdings’ key target industries,” Legend chairman Liu Chuanzhi said in the statement. He said Legend aimed to support the bank and its existing management to grow BIL into a Luxembourg-based, international banking brand. “We believe that as a long-term strategic shareholder, Legend can add value to the international business development opportunities and application of financial technology of the bank,” he said. Apart from owning Lenovo, Beijing-based Legend is also the parent of private equity firm Hony Capital and venture capital firm Legend Capital. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, including from the European Central Bank and Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year. BIL’s existing management team will remain in place after the takeover while the Luxembourg government will keep the remaining 10 percent of the bank, according to the statement. “We are very pleased that this bank has found a new buyer from China, a country with which Luxembourg has developed a lot of relations knowing that we now have seven Chinese banks established here,” Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna told reporters in Luxembourg. ($1 = 0.8398 euros) Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Michele Sinner in Luxembourg; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bil-m-a-legend-holdings/chinas-legend-strikes-1-8-bln-deal-to-buy-luxembourgs-bil-bank-from-qatari-investors-idINKCN1BC4ZH'|'2017-09-01T11:35:00.000+03:00'
'5646223ae9c38735a1c69d7d8bffb49fa53432f6'|'Results boost European shares, Indivior plunge puts pressure on UK mid caps'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:36 AM / 14 minutes ago Results boost European shares, Indivior plunge puts pressure on UK mid caps Kit Rees 4 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares started September on a firm footing on Friday after three months of losses as financials rose and an update from Vivendi boosted media stocks. A record plunge in pharma firm Indivior weighed on British mid caps, however. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.4 percent and euro zone blue chips .STOXX50E gained 0.6 percent, with investors poised for the U.S. monthly jobs report later in the session which could provide clues on the Federal Reserve''s next decision on interest rates. Germany'' DAX .GDAXI gained 0.5 percent and Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE rose 0.2 percent, though a near-40 percent slump in Indivior''s ( INDV.L ) shares put pressure on the FTSE 250 .FTMC which retreated 0.2 percent. “There has been some stock-specific volatility, but overall I think the markets are still relatively well-supported by the low interest rate environment, so that’s probably going to be the case for the foreseeable future,” Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said. “While there is some ... negative sentiment towards markets, I think investors haven’t really got anywhere else to go because bonds are yielding very little and cash is yielding very little,” Khalaf added. Indivior’s shares were set for their biggest one-day loss on record after the firm said it would appeal against a U.S. court ruling that generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s ( REDY.NS ) had not infringed its patents, potentially opening the way to a rival to the firm’s Suboxone Film opiod addiction treatment. On an otherwise relatively quiet day for corporate news, shares in Swedish vehicle maker Volvo ( VOLVb.ST ) jumped 7.2 percent and were on track for their biggest one-day gain in more than four months after setting new financial targets. Results drove some sizeable moves, with shares in French media firm Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) rising around 5 percent after the group confirmed its outlook, reporting better than expected profit growth for the year. Europe’s media sector .SXMP was the top-gaining sector, up 1 percent. “These results mean that investors are likely to believe management’s claim of a Canal+ turnaround and listen to music bulls even more,” analysts at Barclays said, upping their rating on the stock to “equal weight” from “underweight”. French telecoms stock Iliad ( ILD.PA ) edged 1.1 percent higher on the back of robust first half earnings, which saw profit rise 22 percent thanks to winning new subscribers. Swiss security firm Dormakaba ( DOKA.S ) was another top riser, boosted 4.3 percent to an all-time high after Societe Generale began its coverage of the stock with a “buy” rating. Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/results-boost-european-shares-as-indivior-plunge-puts-pressure-on-uk-mid-caps-idUKKCN1BC43W'|'2017-09-01T11:55:00.000+03:00'
'ca44ebbd224e62dca0948621cf9c6a800368b5e8'|'METALS-Copper firmer as China industrial outlook brightens'|'SYDNEY, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Copper firmed in early Asian trading on Friday, gaining momentum from a positive outlook for Chinese industrial activity.China''s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in six months in August, buoyed by a surge in export orders and higher prices, according to the private Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index.The official Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) released on Thursday rose to 51.7 in August from 51.4 the previous month.FUNDAMENTALS * LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3 percent at $6,811 a tonne by 0115 GMT, extending gains from the previous session. The contract touched a peak of $6,872 on Thursday, the highest since September 2014.* SHFE COPPER: The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.2 percent at 52,730 yuan ($8,003) a tonne shortly after the open.* SPECULATION: A speculative frenzy triggered by a falling dollar, tighter supplies and healthy demand in top consumer China have in recent weeks propelled prices of industrial metals to multi-year highs.* INDONESIA CHEERS: Indonesia''s government left no doubts as to who it believes got the better deal in its landmark agreement with Freeport McMoRan Inc on the future of the Grasberg copper mine.* MINE BOOST: Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd said on Thursday it would boost its stake in unit Minera Panama SA to 90 percent in a deal valued at $635 million to increase its copper mining operations.* DOLLAR DOWN: The dollar edged down on Friday after tepid U.S. economic data casts doubts on whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates again this year, though investors were cautious ahead of the key monthly U.S. employment data later in the global session.* For the top stories in metals and other news, click orMARKETS NEWS * Asian equities followed Wall Street''s gains overnight and edged higher on Friday while the dollar''s advance slowed ahead of the U.S. jobs report due later in the session.DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0145 China Caixin manufacturing PMI final Aug 0750 France Markit manufacturing PMI Aug 0755 Germany Markit/BME manufacturing PMI Aug 0800 Euro zone Markit manufacturing PMI final Aug 1230 U.S. Nonfarm payrolls Aug 1230 U.S. Unemployment rate Aug 1400 U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI Aug 1400 U.S. Construction spending Jul 1400 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve conducts open meetingPRICES Three month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tinARBS ($1 = 6.5888 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL4N1LI19S'|'2017-09-01T00:00:00.000+03:00'
'eb44364de59cc792290c7b7cba56f54a759114c4'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on'|'Sept 1 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 1 point at 7429.5 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. * PETROFAC: CEO of Petrofac Ltd Ayman Asfari made over 300,000 euros ($356,760.00) on betting on a stock price drop of an oil firm after being tipped off by its boss of his resignation, financial regulators in Italy have said, The Times reported on Friday. bit.ly/2xBzSS4 * SMITH & WILLIAMSON: Wealth manager Smith & Williamson (S&W) plans to pursue a potential stock listing after its merger talks with rival Rathbone Brothers collapsed on Thursday. * OIL: U.S. crude futures fell in Asian trading on Friday, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry with nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline. * GOLD: Gold inched lower on Friday as mild profit-taking set in after recent rallies and as investors awaited U.S. jobs data for direction on interest rates, but safe-haven demand kept prices near 9-1/2 month highs as tensions over North Korea lingered. * STORM HARVEY: A flood-hit southeast Texas city lost its drinking water supply and police and soldiers rescued thousands still stranded on Thursday after powerful storm Harvey killed 44 people and displaced more than a million on the Gulf Coast. * STORM LIDIA: Tropical Storm Lidia lashed the southern tip of Mexico''s Baja California peninsula with heavy rain and high winds as it barreled through the popular tourist resorts of Los Cabos on Thursday evening, authorities said. * U.S. ECONOMY: U.S. job growth likely slowed in August after two straight months of robust gains, but the pace of increase should be more than sufficient for the Federal Reserve to announce a plan to start trimming its massive bond portfolio. * The UK blue chip index closed 0.9 percent higher at 7430.62 points on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as support from commodities-related stocks and financials helped the blue-chip index score its second consecutive monthly gain. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: EMIS Group Half Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com ($1 = 0.8409 euros) (Reporting by Justin George Varghese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-1-idINL4N1LI2AG'|'2017-09-01T03:45:00.000+03:00'
'54ea4c6e283b533691e43766f3bc3238232faa7d'|'Japan government eyes Japan Post share sale as soon as this month: source'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:10 AM / 4 hours ago Japan government eyes Japan Post share sale as soon as this month: source Taiga Uranaka 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Japan Post''s logo is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government plans to sell shares in Japan Post Holdings Co ( 6178.T ) as soon as this month, the first sale since the company’s massive 2015 listing, a government source familiar with the deal said on Friday. The finance ministry will meet with underwriters on Monday to discuss the sale, said this source and two other people familiar with the deal. Such meetings of an underwriter syndicate usually indicate the share offering process is nearing the final stages. The size of the sale could not be immediately confirmed. A ministry spokesman said he had no knowledge of the sale. A Japan Post spokeswoman said the timing of a share sale had not been decided and declined to comment further. A share sale has been expected since the government picked six investment banks in March to underwrite the potentially large offering. The finance ministry eventually plans to sell some 4 trillion yen ($36 billion) in the conglomerate, partly to fund reconstruction of areas in northern Japan hit by a catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Japan Post, which spans mail delivery, banking and insurance, made an unprecedented three-way initial public offering in November 2015. The government sold about $12 billion worth of shares in the holding company and its bank and insurance units. The next sale could come quickly. When the government held a secondary sale of shares in Japan Tobacco Inc ( 2914.T ) in February 2013, the sale launched six days after the meeting with underwriters. The government, which now owns about 80 percent of Japan Post, expects to launch the secondary sale this month but might wait until October, especially if markets should become volatile, the government source said. Shares of Japan Post jumped more than 40 percent in the weeks after the firm’s market debut, but they have recently traded below the IPO price of 1,400 yen. The stock rose 0.4 percent on Friday to 1,371 yen. ($1=110.08 yen) Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by William Mallard and Neil Fullick '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-post-share-sale/japan-government-eyes-japan-post-share-sale-as-soon-as-this-month-source-idINKCN1BC41K'|'2017-09-01T05:10:00.000+03:00'
'39498c20d37c04bc03d73a27a499780763bc0cad'|'Britain''s Aveva set to unveil Schneider deal: source'|'London (Reuters) - British engineering software company Aveva ( AVV.L ) is poised to announce a tie-up with France’s Schneider Electric ( SCHN.PA ) to create a business worth more than 3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion), a source close to the matter told Reuters.The deal is expected to be confirmed as soon as Tuesday morning and will be structured as a reverse takeover in which Schneider will take a majority stake in Aveva, with shareholders in the British company receiving more than 800 pence per share in cash, the source said.Schneider’s software assets will move to Aveva, which will remain listed on the London Stock Exchange and will retain its Cambridge headquarters, the source added after the deal was first reported by Sky News.Lazard and Numis ( NUM.L ) are advising Aveva while Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) is working with Schneider, the source said.The combined company will have an enterprise value, which includes debt, of more than 3 billion pounds, the source said.A spokesman for Schneider declined to comment and Aveva did not return an emailed request for comment.It marks the third time that the two companies have tried to agree a deal, following previous attempts last year and in 2015.($1 = 0.7738 pounds)Additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-avevagroup-m-a-schneider/britains-aveva-set-to-unveil-3-billion-pound-schneider-merger-sky-news-idINKCN1BF27Q'|'2017-09-04T16:14:00.000+03:00'
'99ace53855887025a10816f1dd9438512bb7ee6b'|'Landmark Intel judgment critical for other EU antitrust cases'|'* Intel decision could affect cases against Qualcomm and Google* Judges may provide clarity on whether rebates are legalBy Foo Yun CheeBRUSSELS, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Europe’s top court will rule on Wednesday whether U.S. chipmaker Intel offered illegal rebates to squeeze out rivals in a judgment that could affect EU antitrust regulators’ cases against Qualcomm and Alphabet’s Google.The ruling by the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) could also provide more clarity on whether rebates are anti-competitive by nature or whether enforcers need to prove the anti-competitive effect.The European Commission in a 2009 decision said that Intel tried to thwart rival Advanced Micro Devices by giving rebates to PC makers Dell, Hewlett Packard, NEC and Lenovo for buying most of their computer chips from the company.It handed down a 1.06 billion euro ($1.3 billion) fine, a record that was subsequently eclipsed by the 2.4 billion euro fine levied on Google in June this year.A lower court upheld the EU competition authority’s decision in 2014, but last year an ECJ court adviser backed Intel’s arguments.An adverse ruling for the Commission on Wednesday could result in a radical review of ongoing cases, said Andrew Ward, a partner at Madrid-based law firm Cuatrecasas.“A loss in such a high-profile case would be embarrassing (for the regulator),” he said, adding that it might mean that long-established theories and processes would need to be reassessed.“Losing against Intel would clearly be a blow to the Commission and a confidence boost for Google, since on the face of it the theory of harm is much more established in the Intel case.”Google has come under fire from the EU over its Android smartphone operating system and online search advertising.U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, meanwhile, faces EU charges of using anti-competitive methods to squeeze out British phone software maker Icera and of making illegal payments to a major customer for exclusively using its chipsets since 2011.It would be a rare departure, however, for the ECJ to go against the Commission.“If the Commission wins, it will be business as usual. They will be even more confident in their agenda,” another lawyer said. ($1 = 0.8395 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-intel-antitrust/landmark-intel-judgment-critical-for-other-eu-antitrust-cases-idINL8N1LL3HH'|'2017-09-04T14:03:00.000+03:00'
'7006d10e97abf2ef37ab03188a2582372576b4e7'|'Crude falls as flooding from Harvey roils U.S. oil industry'|'September 1, 2017 / 12:50 AM / 7 minutes ago Crude falls as flooding from Harvey roils U.S. oil industry Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A Dow refinery operates during Hurricane Harvey near Seadrift, Texas, August 26, 2017. Rick Wilking TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell in early Asian trading on Friday, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry with a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Clc1 was down 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $46.98 barrel at 0028 GMT. The contract settled up 2.8 percent on Thursday. The new Brent LCOc1 contract for November delivery was down 10 cents at $52.76 barrel. The contract for October delivery, which ended trading on Thursday, closed up $1.52, or 2.99 percent, at $52.38 a barrel. U.S. gasoline futures have rallied more than 28 percent to a two-year high above $2 a gallon, buoyed by fears of a fuel shortage days ahead of the U.S. Labor Day weekend''s traditional surge in driving. Gasoline for September delivery settled up 25.52 cents, or 13.54 percent, at $2.1399 on the last day of trading in the contract. Gasoline for October delivery RBc1 was down 0.2 percent at $1.7754, suggesting traders believe the supply shock will ease by then. Hurricane Harvey has killed at least 35 people and brought record flooding to the U.S. oil heartland of Texas, paralyzing at least 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity, according to company reports and Reuters estimates. The U.S. Department of the Interior''s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said that roughly 13.5 percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was also shut in on Thursday. The U.S. government tapped its strategic oil reserves for the first time in five years on Thursday, releasing 1 million barrels of crude to a working refinery in Louisiana. Traders were also scrambling to redirect fuel to the United States. U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week even as refineries hiked output in the run up to the Harvey''s approach, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. [EIA/S] Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 5.4 million barrels in the week to Aug. 25, compared with analysts'' expectations for an decrease of 1.9 million barrels. Gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 35,000 barrels, compared with analysts'' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.0 million-barrel drop. Overall gasoline demand hit a record in the week, hitting an estimated 9.85 million barrels per day. (For a graphic on crude oil vs gasoline prices, click reut.rs/2wm69xQ ) (For a graphic on U.S. crude oil stocks and production, click reut.rs/2en5PVR ) (For an interactive on Harvey''s energy impact, click tmsnrt.rs/2iK0YD9 ) Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKCN1BC3EQ'|'2017-09-01T03:45:00.000+03:00'
'f50717bd3110089ffbb026657af7204bfea531eb'|'CEE MARKETS-Crown leads currency gains on record Czech GDP growth, PMIs'|'* Czechs report record Q2 GDP growth at 2.5 pct q/q * Czech, Hungarian, Polish PMIs show continuing growth * Crown strengthens near recent multi-week highs vs euro * Czech central bank may raise rates again soon (Adds stock market, Czech central bank comments) By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Central European currencies mostly firmed on Friday, helped by data showing record quarterly growth in the Czech economy and upbeat manufacturing business sentiment figures across the region. Stocks were mixed. Budapest''s main index continued to drift off record highs. Bucharest regained some ground after slumping on Thursday on changes in corporate tax rules that were unfavourable to banks. The Czechs revised annual second-quarter economic growth to 4.7 percent from 4.5 percent, and quarterly growth to 2.5 percent from 2.3 percent, the fastest three-month pace on record. The Czech August Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) dropped to 54.9, below analysts'' forecast of 56, from 55.3 in July. It was still well above the 50 mark that separates economic contraction from expansion, as were similar data readings in Budapest and Warsaw. The crown gained 0.1 percent against the euro by 1241 GMT, to trade at 26.081, still below the two-week highs it set on Wednesday at 26.02 after hawkish comments from two Czech central bankers. The comments triggered some expectations that the bank (CNB) may lift interest rates further already at its next meeting on Sept. 27, after early last month it delivered the European Union''s first rate hike since 2012 to fight inflation, which after years of anaemic levels rose above its 2 percent target. Growth picked up in the second quarter "to a substantially greater extent than forecast by the CNB," the bank said. KBC analysts said the CNB was still more likely to wait for new economic projections from its staff due in November. "Nevertheless, a September rate hike can hardly be excluded. We should add that neither September (27th) nor November (2nd) rate hikes are fully priced in the money market rates now," they said in a note. Polish August flash figures released on Thursday showed a modest rise in annual inflation to 1.8 percent, as expected and still below the Polish central bank''s 2.5 percent target. According to the unanimous view of 18 analysts in a Reuters poll, the central bank in Warsaw is expected to keep its benchmark rate at a record low at its meeting next Wednesday. It is also expected to hold fire until hiking in the last quarter of 2018. Hungary''s central bank flagged more monetary easing a week ago, knocking down the forint from 28-month highs to around 306 against the euro. It still traded near that level on Friday, though the strong economic figures lifted it and the zloty by 0.1 percent, to 305.15 and 4.246, respectively. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1441 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.081 26.112 +0.12 3.55% 0 5 % Hungary 304.80 305.56 +0.25 1.32% forint 00 00 % Polish zloty 4.2382 4.2516 +0.31 3.91% % Romanian leu 4.5975 4.5937 -0.08% -1.36% Croatian 7.4210 7.4155 -0.07% 1.81% kuna Serbian 119.15 119.22 +0.06 3.52% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1027.6 1022.2 +0.53 +11.5 4 7 % 0% Budapest 37803. 38092. -0.76% +18.1 29 26 2% Warsaw 2518.2 2516.2 +0.08 +29.2 9 6 % 8% Bucharest 8135.9 8052.0 +1.04 +14.8 8 3 % 3% Ljubljana 814.51 812.75 +0.22 +13.5 % 1% Zagreb 1896.6 1893.0 +0.19 -4.92% 4 1 % Belgrade 724.71 725.60 -0.12% +1.02 % Sofia 708.02 705.44 +0.37 +20.7 % 3% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.048 0.005 +068b +0bps ps 5-year 0.038 0.024 +038b +2bps ps 10-year 0.88 -0.037 +050b -5bps ps Poland 2-year 1.715 0.012 +245b +1bps ps 5-year 2.628 0.011 +297b +1bps ps 10-year 3.302 0.015 +293b +0bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.65 0.78 0.88 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.21 0.25 0.31 0.15 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.766 1.775 1.825 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-crown-leads-currency-gains-on-record-czech-gdp-growth-pmis-idINL8N1LI1NE'|'2017-09-01T07:17:00.000+03:00'
'5deed3b4700c0fc309457b670a92f44dc4635365'|'Microsoft pushes AR/VR features with Oct. Windows 10 update'|'The Microsoft logo is shown on the Microsoft Theatre at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake BERLIN (Reuters) - Microsoft is to update its flagship operating system next month so that the latest generation of Windows 10 hardware devices and software can tap into augmented and virtual reality technologies, executives said on Friday.The software upgrade, its fourth update, will be offered from Oct. 17 to existing customers of Windows 10 running on more than 500 million devices, the company said.Microsoft also announced plans by computer and virtual-reality headset makers to introduce new hardware for businesses, consumers and video gamers to take advantage of so-called “mixed reality” features in the October software release.“We’re enabling you to immerse yourself in a new reality - mixed reality,” Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s executive vice president in charge of Windows, said in a speech at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin.Mixed reality is the term Microsoft uses to describe software that covers both augmented and virtual reality.Augmented reality overlays text, sounds, graphics and video on real-world images that users actually see in front of them, while virtual reality creates entirely computer-generated worlds.The multimedia content can be viewed on computers, TV displays, smartphones, tablets or, in the case of virtual reality, on dedicated goggles. Microsoft plans to target these features first at advanced video game players using VR headsets, with business applications to follow, officials said.Microsoft’s push comes as the U.S. tech giants - Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook, along with China’s Baidu - increasingly battle to make augmented reality, together with artificial intelligence and cloud-based services, into the next computer platform.Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter said in a research note this week that, unlike virtual reality which requires special goggles to view, augmented reality works on smartphones and other existing devices, making it vastly more accessible. He predicted far-reaching impacts in gaming and entertainment, as well as communications, manufacturing, fitness, health and retail.Microsoft, which has largely remade itself into a supplier of cloud services delivered via the internet, has moved to a roughly six-month release cycle for feature updates of Windows from its three-year release cycle for disk-based versions of its operating system software.The company also announced a range of devices from key hardware partners ready to take advantage of mixed reality features in the Windows 10 update available in mid-October from vendors including Lenovo, HP Inc, Dell [DI.UL], Acer, Asus and Fujitsu.Microsoft’s new software release shrinks the laborious set-up of VR headsets for users to around 10 minutes, down from two to three hours now and helps cut the costs of headsets, in a step towards making such technology more mainstream, they said.Other new Windows 10 features include a refreshed Photos app and the capacity to save files up to the cloud using Microsoft’s OneDrive service, without consuming local storage space. Win10 will also offer “Game Mode”, which allows video gamers to devote the full processing power of their computers to what they are playing, as if it was an Xbox game console, the company said.Editing by Maria Sheahan, Jane Merriman and Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-windows/microsoft-pushes-ar-vr-features-with-october-windows-10-update-idUSKCN1BC4UO'|'2017-09-01T15:37:00.000+03:00'
'f8cc200f42572f7b222f9b7c54ec7ca8c10e2853'|'Gold miner Avocet to consider insolvency for Burkina Faso unit'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:37 AM / 14 minutes ago Gold miner Avocet to consider insolvency for Burkina Faso unit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Gold miner Avocet Mining Plc ( AVM.L ) said on Monday it will consider filing for insolvency of its subsidiary Societe des Mines de Belahouro (SMB), which operates the Inata gold mine in Burkina Faso, after the unit’s standstill agreement with its creditors expired. The boards of SMB and Avocet will meet on Sept. 8 to consider “all available options, including the potential filing of an insolvency petition by SMB”, Avocet said in a statement. SMB’s financial and trade creditors could not agree among themselves on an extension of the agreement, the company said. “Given the current status of discussions, it is unclear whether agreement on a restructuring of the balance sheet can be reached before SMB has exhausted all available sources of financing,” the company said. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-avocet-mining-burkina/gold-miner-avocet-to-consider-insolvency-for-burkina-faso-unit-idUKKCN1BF0LY'|'2017-09-04T09:37:00.000+03:00'
'1127f14ee690b201517fc95de740394758c098c0'|'EU''s Vestager Essilor-Luxottica merger requires thorough vetting'|'September 2, 2017 / 5:22 PM / in an hour EU''s Vestager says Essilor-Luxottica merger requires thorough vetting Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Lens producers Essilor'' s logo is seen in an optician shop in Paris, France, March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File photo CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - The proposed merger of Italian spectacles maker Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) with French lens manufacturer Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) will require thorough vetting by European antitrust authorities, the head of the bloc’s competition watchdog said on Saturday. Luxottica, the world’s biggest eyewear company whose brands include Ray-Ban and Oakley, agreed in January a merger with Essilor, the biggest lens maker, to create an industry giant with a market value of 47 billion euros ($56 billion), more than 15 billion euros in revenues and 144,000 staff. The deal needs to clear antitrust hurdles in several countries and if approved is expected to close around the end of the year. The EU Commission was officially notified on Aug. 22 . EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said it was too early to say whether approval may require the companies to make significant concessions. “These are companies that have very big market shares and also, when it comes to sunglasses and lenses for glasses, obviously this is an important market, it is a very valuable market so I cannot say,” she told Reuters on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti business conference in Italy. A negative reaction from Essilor’s customers to the merger, which the company said in July had affected its first-half sales, has raised concerns among analysts that the two companies may be required to take more substantial concessions to satisfy the competition regulators than initially anticipated. Exane-BNP Paribas analysts said in a recent note the examination of the deal by EU competition authorities would include sounding out competitors, clients, and professional associations as well as reviewing possible complaints. “Hence our concern over the mounting pushback from customers, recently stressed by Essilor,” they said. A ‘vertical integration’ between two companies operating at different stages of the production chain is normally less worrying for competition watchdogs than a “horizontal” merger boosting a firm’s market share. But a vertical tie-up can still risk blocking rivals’ access to suppliers or buyers, a process known as ‘foreclosure’. Vestager said a careful examination was necessary given the size of the two companies. “Even if it is a vertical integration, when you have market shares of this kind, in the high double digits, of course we have to be thorough in our analysis to make sure you don’t foreclose,” she said. Also asked about possible competition hurdles for the purchase of the troubled Ilva steel plant in southern Italy by ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), the world’s biggest steelmaker, Vestager said it was a “very tricky case” but good cooperation so far with the Italian authorities boded well for the approval process ahead. ($1 = 0.8434 euros) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-essilor-merger/eus-vestager-says-essilor-luxottica-merger-requires-thorough-vetting-idINKCN1BD0OY'|'2017-09-02T15:22:00.000+03:00'
'd80990c4d36451de3763f24f876b753c6c7816c5'|'UPDATE 1-Aon to buy real estate investment firm Townsend from Colony NorthStar'|'(Changes source)By Greg RoumeliotisNEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Insurance broker Aon Plc said on Friday it would buy real estate investment management firm The Townsend Group from Colony NorthStar Inc for $475 million, helping expand its property investment management portfolio.Aon has been tweaking its portfolio this year. In May it closed a deal to sell its benefits administration and HR outsourcing to private equity firm Blackstone Group for $4.8 billion.Headquartered in London, Aon is a risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and also provides human resources solutions and outsourcing services to companies in more than 120 countries.The Townsend deal will boost Aon’s outsourced chief investment officer services by adding more real estate investments. The company’s investment arm has more than $100 billion of assets under management.Townsend’s chief executive, Terry Ahern, will continue to lead real estate and real asset investment services, Aon said.Reuters reported the deal earlier on Friday.NorthStar Asset Management took a majority stake in the Townsend Group from private equity firm GTCR LLC in 2015 for $380 million. NorthStar Asset Management earlier this year was part of a three-way merger with NorthStar Realty Finance Corp and private equity firm Colony Capital Inc.Morgan Stanley was the financial adviser for the Aon deal, Colony NorthStar said. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; additional reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Sriraj Kalluvila) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/townsend-ma-aon-plc/update-1-aon-to-buy-real-estate-investment-firm-townsend-from-colony-northstar-idINL2N1LI202'|'2017-09-01T19:50:00.000+03:00'
'4077018c7fe5e4061ec720fd91cbb10e2f145b36'|'Nine years on, another Lehman Brothers bankruptcy'|'WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) - Two affiliates of Lehman Brothers, the U.S. investment bank that collapsed in 2008 and fuelled an economic crisis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late on Thursday, a reminder of the complexity of unwinding a global financial institution.The two affiliates, Lehman Brothers U.K. Holdings (Delaware) Inc and Lehman Pass-Through Securities Inc, were put into bankruptcy as part of a deal that will generate $485 million cash for the Lehman estate, according to court documents.The affiliates own residential mortgage-backed securities, real estate and stock in First Data Corp ( FDC.N ), which helps process credit card transactions, among other assets, according to papers filed in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. Affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management Inc of Canada ( BAMa.TO ) are buying stakes in the Lehman affiliates, which were put into bankruptcy to carry out the deal.Administrators have spent years winding down Lehman’s holdings and have distributed around $147 billion to creditors, according to court records.More than 100 people still work for Lehman and the case remains one of the largest U.S. bankruptcies, even after the distributions to creditors. The estate holds $7 billion of assets, much of it cash, as it works through hundreds of remaining creditor claims and legal disputes.Lehman is currently in the midst of a trial, already 42 days long, seeking $2 billion from Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) over disputed derivative claims. Citigroup has denied it owes the money to Lehman.The memory of Lehman’s dramatic failure has sparked regulatory efforts to prevent another damaging collapse. On Friday, the U.S. Federal Reserve finalised a rule aimed at making it easier to wind down large banks.Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Steve Orlofsky '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lehmanbros-bankruptcy/nine-years-on-another-lehman-brothers-bankruptcy-idINKCN1BC5UG'|'2017-09-01T22:36:00.000+03:00'
'4576da6f6068462e0496ecde269e50fd15e666b4'|'Exclusive - BroadSoft explores options, including potential sale: sources'|'(Reuters) - BroadSoft Inc ( BSFT.O ), a U.S. provider of software that helps companies offer cloud-based communications services, is exploring its options, including the potential sale of the company, according to people familiar with the matter.The move comes as BroadSoft faces increasing competition from larger technology companies such as Cisco Systems Inc ( CSCO.O ), Ericsson ERICB.ST and Nokia Oyj ( NOKIA.HE ), as well as newer market entrants such as 8x8 Inc ( EGHT.O ).BroadSoft is working with investment bank Jefferies LLC as it pursues a possible sale to another company or a private equity firm, the sources said this week. There is no certainty of any deal, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. BroadSoft and Jefferies declined to comment.BroadSoft shares ended up 11.5 percent at $48.00 on the news, giving the company a market capitalisation of $1.5 billion.Based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, BroadSoft provides software and services that enable mobile, fixed-line and cable service providers to offer unified communications over their internet protocol networks.BroadSoft has historically sold its products to large telecommunications companies, which then resell the software to their business customers. BroadSoft has recently tried to revamp its business model to sell directly to these customers, a move that risks its relationships with its telecommunications partners, according to a Barclays Plc ( BARC.L ) research report published last month.BroadSoft competitor Mitel Networks Corp ( MNW.TO ) announced a deal to buy rival ShortTel Inc ( SHOR.O ) last month for $430 million.Reuters in February reported that BroadSoft competitor 8x8 Inc ( EGHT.O ) had been exploring a sale.New York-based hedge fund P2 Capital Partners LLC owned a 4.6 percent stake in BroadSoft as of the end of June, according to Thomson Reuters data. P2 has often behaved as an activist shareholder and has even offered to buy companies in which it has invested.For example, P2 pressured Epiq Systems in 2014 to seek a sale, eventually placing its own $1.1 billion bid for the software company. The bid was rejected, and Epiq was sold two years later to OMERS Private Equity and buyout firm Harvest Partners LP.Another BroadSoft shareholder with a history of acquisitions is buyout firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ), which is Broadsoft’s 13th-largest shareholder, according to Thomson Reuters data.For the second quarter ending June 30, Broadsoft’s revenue rose to $88.8 million, up 9 percent from $81.7 million a year earlier. Its net loss was $3 million, compared with a loss of $2.9 million a year earlier.Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Michael Flaherty in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/broadsoft-m-a-exclusive/exclusive-broadsoft-explores-options-including-potential-sale-sources-idINKCN1BA2GT'|'2017-08-30T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'c9953865943caecc399a804d6f449d5ef7f3b12d'|'BRIEF-Aveva set to unveil 3 billion stg Schneider merger- source'|'Sept 4 (Reuters) -* Aveva set to unveil 3 billion stg Schneider merger; deal structured as reverse takeover that will see Schneider take majority stake in combined co -source* Aveva shareholders will receive more than 800 pence share in cash. Combined entity will have an enterprise value of more than 3 billion pounds- source '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-aveva-set-to-unveil-3-billion-stg/brief-aveva-set-to-unveil-3-billion-stg-schneider-merger-source-idINFWN1LL0D2'|'2017-09-04T16:14:00.000+03:00'
'3270bab29cd3e6be52d3c7fd7d8edf0be62077d8'|'Letter to my younger self: one day you''ll have to take your hands off the wheel - Guardian Small Business Network'|'  09.00 BST Last modified on   09.02 BST Dear Timo, Trust me when I say this: all you need right now, aged 26, is a crazy idea that you believe in and that others may one day believe in, too. Oh, and the guts to quit your job, borrow some money and tell your future wife the next few years are going to be hectic. Spend time thinking long and hard about what motivates you. It won’t take you long to find the answers: solving problems, doing good in the world and having fun along the way. Seeing friends and family around you unable to pursue their dreams will encourage you to follow yours. Be willing to change and adapt – a fast-growing business requires you to reinvent yourself all the time Eventually, you’ll have an exciting business idea, which you’ll take a gamble on. You’ll launch Gousto in 2012, a recipe box company making home cooking easier by delivering recipes plus fresh, wholesome ingredients directly to people’s doors. It will take a while, but people will eventually catch on to your idea. Here’s the first lesson you’ll learn: being a founder is not glamorous, it’s hard graft. You’ll begin by floggingyour new food concept off a stand in Brick Lane market. In years to come you’ll look back on these days fondly, because it’s the first time you’ll get direct customer feedback – something you’ll obsess about in the future. There will be sleepless nights and when your recipe boxes become popular, you worry about becoming a victim of your own success. There’ll be days when you’ll have to pack boxes with your team until 5am, to fulfil customer orders. It will feel frantic. Before you know it, you’ll need to find money. It’s a hugely stressful time and you’ll be full of nervous excitement. My advice: accept support from those who share your passion for putting good food on the table. You need to trust your gut on this one. You’ll find the right angel investors to help you take Gousto to the next level. This will also be the time you need to build a team. It won’t be the first growing pain, but it will be an important milestone. Naturally as you bring others in, the dynamic and culture of the business changes, particularly at the pace you’ll be growing at. But you can still shape it into what you imagined – culture will always be hugely important to you. Hire sensibly, be honest about what you’re trying to create and don’t be afraid to reassess your existing team to see where the gaps are. The number one ingredient for success is people, so it’s important to get it right. You’ll also spent a lot of time making sure there are no hidden biases in the recruitment process, anonymising certain stages to ensure you’re building the strongest team. Letter to my younger self: don''t rush into anything in your 20s Read more As the business grows, you’ll realise you need to adapt and grow too, so you’ll sign up for an MBA. It will require 5am starts, which feel like you’re waking from the dead, and long commutes to Cambridge, but it’s a good move. Forget what your past teachers said about you not being academic. It’s been a journey of incredibly trajectory, that at times has made your head spin. Five years ago, you were a founder with a business plan, which wasn’t worth much at that point. All you needed was passion, positivity and a can-do attitude. Today, your role is a very different one. It’s about finding the best people with more experience to drive the business forward, delegating responsibility and entrusting others with your pride and joy. You’ll be apprehensive to do this initially, but take comfort in the fact that it means the business is doing well. After many difficult decisions, you’ll make the transition from founder to CEO and will have to take your hands off the wheel. What have I learned? Always say yes to mentorship – I’ve collected a group of 10 advisers so far, whose experience has proved invaluable. Be willing to change and adapt – a fast-growing business requires you to reinvent yourself all the time. You’re 26 when you start Gousto and you won’t have all the answers. Five years on, I still don’t now. But so long as you’re always willing to learn from others and educate yourself to be the best you can be, you’ll be fine. Timo Timo Boldt is the founder of Gousto . Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/sep/02/letter-to-my-younger-self-timo-bolt-gousto'|'2017-09-02T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'ab13ebabb3c0e418796fe873b69ce1e0d2ca79cd'|'Planned German urban transport infrastructure fund may be doubled - reports'|'September 1, 2017 / 3:11 AM / 2 hours ago Planned German urban transport infrastructure fund may be doubled: reports Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Cars and trucks are stuck in a traffic jam near Irschenberg, Germany July 28, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle BERLIN (Reuters) - A planned fund to improve urban transport infrastructure in Germany may be boosted to a billion euros when Chancellor Angela Merkel meets on Monday with representatives of towns particularly affected by diesel emissions, media reported. Germany’s car industry, which employs some 800,000 people and is the country’s biggest exporter, is under intense pressure to cut diesel fumes almost two years after Volkswagen admitted to deliberately cheating U.S. pollution tests. Regional newspapers Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten said the volume of the fund, which is to be used to build more charging stations for electric cars and for switching to electric buses among other things, was likely to be doubled as long as Germany’s federal states bear some of the costs. The newspapers cited no source for the information. Merkel had previously said some 500 million euros or more would be made available to the planned fund. Reporting by Michelle Martin; editing by Ralph Boulton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-environment-germany-diesel/planned-german-urban-transport-infrastructure-fund-may-be-doubled-reports-idUKKCN1BC3LM'|'2017-09-01T06:01:00.000+03:00'
'f73dce59abc5d6b29580546838c3539985cb1562'|'Carnival Cruise ships to return to Galveston after Harvey forced change in course'|'Aug 31 (Reuters) - Three Galveston, Texas-based Carnival Cruise Lines ships will return to the Port of Galveston this weekend, days after Tropical Storm Harvey forced them to delay plans to dock there, the company said on Thursday.Carnival''s Freedom, Breeze and Valor had been stationed around New Orleans while the deadly storm ripped through Houston and historic flooding forced the closure of ports in the region.The ships had completed their planned itineraries but were unable to dock safely in Galveston on their return.Carnival redirected the ships to New Orleans to replenish food and fuel.Passengers were given the choice to disembark in New Orleans and arrange their own way home, or stay on board the ship and return to Galveston when possible.Just more than half of the 11,954 passengers elected to remain on board, said Carnival spokeswoman Christine De la Huerta. Carnival provided a complimentary bus service to the airport for those who opted to disembark in New Orleans.Carnival said it expected the Port of Galveston to reopen beginning on Friday and that all three of its ships would be en route back to Galveston by Thursday evening.Reporting by Alana Wise in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-cruiseship-idINL2N1LH29M'|'2017-08-31T20:48:00.000+03:00'
'0d3b1b610264eed0988c52208015dd963e469081'|'Great expectations - earnings beats lose allure for stock investors'|'September 1, 2017 / 12:49 PM / 4 hours ago Great expectations - earnings beats lose allure for stock investors Helen Reid 6 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - The latest corporate results season in Europe, while solid, was marked by lukewarm share price moves even for companies that reported better-than-expected profits - a sign that strong earnings growth is no longer a reason for investors to keep chasing richly valued stocks. The euro’s runaway strength - it is up 13 percent against the dollar this year - is a blow to exporters and has led to some scepticism that European companies will be able to keep delivering double-digit growth and analyst sentiment is starting to sour. This has left European stocks, market darlings at the start of 2017, down more than 6 percent from their May peaks despite a particularly healthy turnaround in corporate profits in the first half of the year. “People’s expectations were already elevated, and the (earnings) data didn’t lead people to raise their numbers any further,” said Graham Secker, European equities strategist at Morgan Stanley. “Europe looked tactically really quite overbought after the French election so you’ve already priced in quite a lot.” A stellar round of first-quarter earnings in Europe, during which companies posted the best growth in seven years, and fading political risks spurred a rush back into regional stocks, putting them on the path to record highs. However, as valuations rose well above long-term averages and more money was pumped into Europe, the bar for earnings surprises rose. On the flipside, tolerance for earnings disappointments continued to fall. Analysts at JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) have pointed out that investors have punished shares of companies missing estimates much more than they have rewarded those that outpaced forecasts. More than half the companies in the MSCI Europe index beat earnings expectations in the second quarter. Yet, on average, shares of these companies were flat over the two days after reporting, according to Thomson Reuters data. Meanwhile, for the companies that missed estimates, shares fell 0.6 percent with healthcare, materials and the tech sector seeing drops of between 2 and 4 percent, the data showed. This echoed a similar trend in the United States, where 73 percent of the S&P500 beat estimates and, like Europe, shares showed little reaction. BAML said in a note to clients that for the first time since 2000, shares of U.S. companies beating earnings were not outperforming, suggesting investors globally are looking beyond just profits. “Expectations have caught up with what have been solid fundamentals and we are at a juncture now where some macro indicators have shown signs of topping out,” said Ronan Carr, European equity strategist at BAML. The strengthening euro, surging above $1.20 for the first time in 2-1/2 years this week, has also piled pressure on earnings estimates for big European companies, many of which derive most of their revenues overseas. “The sell-off over the last couple of months has been accompanied by underperformance of exporters relative to domestically focused stocks, which suggests currency has been a factor,” said Dennis Jose, European equity strategist at Barclays. BENEATH THE SURFACE Investors now appear to be digging into details of how companies are generating these earnings and scouring statements for everything from profitability to signs of market share gains. “Companies increasingly know the importance of meeting Street targets, because they know that the share price will be hit otherwise,” said Juliet Cohn of Principal Global Investors. “It’s important to look beneath the surface to see how they are achieving their numbers. Are they benefiting from a reduction in tax? Are there one-offs? Is the order book very lumpy?” One area garnering attention is profit margins, where year-on-year growth has been significantly weaker this quarter in Europe after double-digit growth in the two previous quarters, JPMorgan data showed. Relatively weak performance last year for some sectors could also be artificially inflating earnings growth, investors said. ”We may have seen the best year-on-year change in earnings growth we can expect,” said Jeff Donlon, managing director of global strategies at Manning & Napier. “The comparatives get a bit more difficult for a lot of different industries going forward, particularly the oil industry which is still cycling through some very low oil prices from early 2016,” he added. The energy sector’s earnings rebound delivered nearly half the earnings growth in Europe in the second quarter, Blackrock analysts said. But even in this sector, investors have shrugged off the headline earnings figures, eyeing instead the danger to dividend payments arising from a potential hit to profits as oil prices stay stubbornly low. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-results/great-expectations-earnings-beats-lose-allure-for-stock-investors-idUKKCN1BC4V7'|'2017-09-01T15:48:00.000+03:00'
'1f27d32565bf860da03e5628f4783d81b3c76bf7'|'Morning News Call - India, September 4 - Reuters'|'To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Anant Kumar Hegde to assume charge of their portfolios in New Delhi. 11:00 am: New Trade Minister Suresh Prabhu to take charge of portfolio in New Delhi. 5:00 pm: New Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to take charge of portfolio in New Delhi. 6:15 pm: New Power Minister to take charge of portfolio in New Delhi. LIVECHAT - CHINA COMMODITIES Amid the surprising appreciation of the Chinese yuan against the dollar this year, will the commodity rally in China continue to have steam? Simon Ting, a futures trader from Strait Financials, will discuss the outlook of commodities at 09:00 am IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS • India appoints new defence minister, rejigs cabinet to refocus on economy Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Nirmala Sitharaman as defence minister on Sunday as part of a cabinet reshuffle, as he seeks to get economic growth back on track and modernise the armed forces before national elections in 2019. • ANALYSIS-Slowdown-hit Indian economy counts costs of stronger rupee India''s stronger currency has become a threat for its growth aspirations, piling pressure on the central bank to aggressively intervene in the foreign exchange market even at the risk of incurring the wrath of the United States. • India''s former cenbank head says had cautioned government on demonetization -report Former central bank head Raghuram Rajan had cautioned the government that short-term costs of a radical ban of high-value currency notes would outweigh the long-term benefits, Times of India newspaper reported on Sunday. • Adani at odds over royalty negotiations for Australian coal mine -paper Adani Enterprises appears to be at odds with the state of Queensland over royalties for its Carmichael coal project, according to a media report, just days after the Indian company said it would soon break ground on the Australian mine. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • South Korea conducts missile drill after N.Korea nuclear test rattles globe South Korea''s military carried out a missile drill in response to North Korea''s sixth nuclear test, while global markets reacted to the sharp escalation in tensions between Pyongyang and the United States. • Trump to scrap protection for "Dreamers," give Congress 6 months to fix U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to scrap a program shielding immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children from deportation but will give Congress six months to craft a bill to replace it, sources familiar with the situation said. • Hong Kong, Singapore in talks to grab bigger share of derivatives business Hong Kong and Singapore are seeking to snare a bigger share of the $540 trillion global derivatives business, taking advantage of tough new UK and European banking rules and uncertainty created by Britain''s plans to leave the European Union. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • Indian government bonds are likely to trade higher as weaker-than-expected domestic growth has boosted expectations of future rate cuts. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.45 percent-6.50 percent band. • The Indian rupee will likely open higher against the dollar, tracking gains in the non-deliverable forwards trade in the previous session, even as North Korea’s latest nuclear test over the weekend sparks risk-aversion. GLOBAL MARKETS • Wall Street gained modestly on Friday as a tepid U.S. jobs report kept expectations muted for another interest rate hike this year, while investors kicked off a typically dour month for stocks on a positive note. • The Japanese yen, gold and sovereign bonds all rose early as North Korea''s latest nuclear test provoked the usual knee-jerk shift to safe havens, while futures pointed to a difficult day for global equities. • U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday as strong manufacturing data boosted sentiment that economic growth is solid, even after the August jobs report was weaker than economists expected. • Oil markets were volatile, supported by shutdowns of U.S. production following Hurricane Harvey, but pressured by an expected downturn in crude demand as the storm knocked out refineries along the Gulf of Mexico coast. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.01/64.04 September 1 -$130.12 mln -$11.87 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.76 pct Month-to-date -$1.97 bln - Year-to-date $7.01 bln $23.13 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.0200 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Erum Khaled in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall/morning-news-call-india-september-4-idINL4N1LL1FG'|'2017-09-04T01:22:00.000+03:00'
'c9d21d9dc3e549883514de153a08715667900db1'|'Four execs to leave Reckitt Benckiser amid company struggles'|'September 4, 2017 / 8:55 AM / in an hour Four execs to leave Reckitt Benckiser amid company struggles Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Products produced by Reckitt Benckiser; Vanish, Finish, Dettol and Harpic, are seen in London, Britain February 12, 2008. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Four senior executives are leaving Reckitt Benckiser Group ( RB.L ) as the British consumer goods company fights to recover from the weakest performance in its history. The maker of Durex condoms and Lysol cleaners on Monday confirmed the upcoming departures of the heads of human resources, information technology, developing markets and category development. The voluntary departures also come as Reckitt integrates Mead Johnson, its biggest takeover ever. The company has also been grappling for months with the fallout from a failed product launch and a safety scandal in South Korea that wiped out its business there. Darrell Stein, senior vice president of information services, will leave on October 1, to be immediately replaced by Seth Cohen, who will join the company from PepsiCo ( PEP.N ). Stein’s departure comes months after Reckitt was hit by a cyber attack that hobbled its global operations and cost it about 100 million pounds of sales this year. Deborah Yates, senior vice president of human resources, and Roberto Funari, executive vice president of category development, will leave at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities, Reckitt said. Frederic Larmuseau, head of developing markets, will also leave at the end of year, Reckitt said, to take the helm of Jacobs Douwe Egberts, a coffee business owned by JAB Holdings. His departure was announced six weeks ago. “RB is transforming itself to become the undisputed leader in global consumer health and hygiene and has taken a number of important steps on this strategic journey over the last six months. This journey is driving a change in our portfolio priorities and, over time, how we operate,” the company said in a statement. “We remain confident that we have the right strategy and the considerable bench strength of talent to deliver significant and sustainable value creation for all of our stakeholders.” Reckitt''s shares were down 1.1 percent at 0815 GMT, underperforming a FTSE 100 .FTSE that was down 0.2 percent. The departures were first reported by the Financial Times. Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-reckitt-benc-grp-restructuring/four-execs-to-leave-reckitt-benckiser-amid-company-struggles-idINKCN1BF0XT'|'2017-09-04T06:55:00.000+03:00'
'8c19de8f7334b271b4ac16e3ad54f3b3b858a1e5'|'UPDATE 1-Uzbekistan to lift most forex restrictions from Sept.5'|'(Changes source to presidential decree, adds context, details)TASHKENT, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan will allow its citizens and companies to buy and sell foreign currency without restrictions at a market rate, taking a major step towards opening up its economy to badly needed foreign investment.The reform, which confirms a Reuters report published last week, takes effect on Tuesday, according to a decree published on President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s website on Sunday.Since being elected in December, Mirziyoyev has moved to gradually liberalise the country’s sum currency, allowing some companies and banks to trade it at a market rate and scrapping mandatory foreign currency sales last month.The decree removes most restrictions on foreign currency operations by individuals and businesses in central Asia’s second largest economy. However, when buying foreign currency, Uzbek citizens will have it transferred onto special bank cards rather than being handed cash.The document also instructs the central bank to run a tight monetary policy to ensure the sum’s stability. It states that the sum’s exchange rate must only be determined by market factors, but provides no figures.Foreign companies have largely stayed out of the resource-rich nation of 32 million because decades-old regulations forcing most businesses to sell foreign currency at a knockdown official rate while buying it at a much more costly one.As of Sunday, the official rate of the sum - set by the central bank - stood at 4,210 per dollar while the black market rate was around 7,700 per dollar. (Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Susan Fenton and John Stonestreet)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uzbekistan-forex/update-1-uzbekistan-to-lift-most-forex-restrictions-from-sept-5-idUSL8N1LK07E'|'2017-09-03T19:00:00.000+03:00'
'b63a65a5b9e7aae5fb677b923323db8f66a9a4cd'|'NAFTA talks kick off in Mexico City under cloud of Trump threats'|'September 1, 2017 / 3:52 PM / 2 hours ago NAFTA talks kick off in Mexico City under cloud of Trump threats Dave Graham , Anthony Esposito 4 Min Read MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Trade negotiators from Canada and the United States gathered under rainy skies in Mexico City on Friday to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the mood darkened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s persistent threats to pull out. Teams from the three countries were due to kick off a second round of talks on 25 tables of discussion, with subjects such as digital commerce and small businesses seen as areas where consensus was possible, Mexican officials said. The Sept. 1-5 round will also touch on more thorny topics such as rules governing local content in products made in North America, Mexico’s economy ministry said in a statement. Trump wants to include rules that some content must be made in the United States. Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke by telephone on Thursday and stressed they wanted to reach an agreement on NAFTA by the end of the year, the White House said. If they achieve that, it could set a record among the fastest multinational trade negotiation. Nevertheless, one Mexican official noted that Trump’s threats had put pressure on his negotiators, forcing them to adopt tougher positions “than they would like,” while another official said they were ready to leave the table if needed. Related Coverage Trump said this week he might trigger a 180-day countdown to withdraw from NAFTA while the talks were ongoing to help meet his goals, which include sharply reducing a $64 billion annual U.S. trade deficit with Mexico. NAFTA, first implemented in 1994, eliminates most tariffs on trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Critics say it has drawn jobs from the U.S. and Canada to Mexico, where workers are badly paid. Supporters say it has created U.S. jobs, and the loss of manufacturing from the United States has more to do with China than Mexico. United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer speaks at a news conference prior to the inaugural round of North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations in Washington, U.S., August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein If NAFTA collapses, costs could rise for hundreds of billions of dollars of trade as tariffs are brought back. Free-trade lobby groups say consumers would be saddled with higher prices and less availability of products ranging from avocados and berries to heavy trucks. UNCERTAIN FUTURE Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray told officials in Washington on Wednesday that Mexico would walk away from the negotiations if Trump pulls the trigger on withdrawing from the deal. Amid Trump’s warnings, Mexico is preparing for something hard to imagine even a few months ago - life without the agreement that boosted trilateral trade to around $1 trillion annually. Juan Pablo Castanon, president of Mexico’s Business Coordination Council representing the private sector in the talks, said Mexico’s “Plan B” could be up and running within three months of an eventual NAFTA collapse. Talking on Mexican television, he said the plan was focused on striking new trade arrangements in Asia and Latin America, sourcing alternate suppliers such as Brazil for grains now imported from the United States, and finding ways to recreate investor guarantees that are included in NAFTA. “We estimate we would have to be ready in three months. Of course, some investment arriving would be slowed down, but in three months, Mexico’s reorientation and recovery measures would have to be ready,” Castanon said. Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto travels to China this weekend for talks about trade and investment, while Mexican negotiators were due to take part in trade talks with South American nations, Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday. Mexico’s status as the biggest foreign buyer of yellow corn from the United States gives it some leverage in the NAFTA talks, with corn-growing states that voted for Trump in 2016 emerging as a powerful voice that is opposed to scrapping the deal. Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/nafta-talks-round-in-mexico-to-tackle-rules-of-origin-market-access-idUKKCN1BC5C3'|'2017-09-01T20:11:00.000+03:00'
'10df702b8b7e7196b03cc6e9f5a66205a2f5a4ae'|'Wall St Week Ahead-Looming debt ceiling deadline pushing some U.S. fund managers to cash'|'(Repeats Friday story without changes)By David RandallNEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A potential standoff over the U.S. federal debt ceiling is raising alarm bells among fund managers who fear a repeat of 2011 when a protracted showdown over increasing the government’s borrowing limit and subsequent downgrade of U.S. credit quality led to a more than 15 percent slump in the S&P 500 stock index.U.S. investors are raising cash and buying protection, bracing for a messy fight ahead of the Treasury Department’s Sept. 29 deadline to raise the debt limit, a legal cap on how much the U.S. government is allowed to borrow.Failure to increase the debt ceiling could lead to a recession and prompt the first significant sell-off of the Trump administration. The benchmark S&P 500 has not fallen by 5 percent or more in over a year, the longest streak without such a decline in more than 20 years.Federal efforts to clean up the devastation after Hurricane Harvey battered Texas have decreased the probability of a federal government shutdown to 35 percent from 50 percent two weeks ago, according to Goldman Sachs, as the legislation could be packaged into a larger disaster relief bill.Yet the danger still remains, Goldman warned in a Tuesday note.“A delayed debt ceiling hike is still clearly possible,” Goldman strategists wrote. “The president continues to raise the possibility of a shutdown if the border wall is not funded, and the upcoming extension of spending authority is likely to be temporary, potentially pushing the risk of a shutdown later into the year.”Fund managers say they are not confident that a debt ceiling agreement will be passed as quickly as the broad market expects.“You’ve got a political environment that is very contentious, not just left versus right but within the Republican Party itself,” said Jeff Klingelhofer, a co-portfolio manager of the $1.1 billion Thornburg Strategic Income Fund.“If the rhetoric increases it will spook markets and we are taking risk off the table” by raising cash and lowering the credit duration in their bond portfolios, he said.David Ader, chief macro strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence, said Treasury bills for October are about 10 basis points higher in yields than they normally would be, owing to debt-ceiling concerns. “People are avoiding them,” he said.President Donald Trump criticized congressional Republican leadership for not tying the debt ceiling increase into a bill that made it easier for the Department of Veteran Affairs to fire employees for misconduct, calling the situation a “mess” in an Aug. 24 tweet.When asked about the possibility of attaching debt ceiling legislation to a relief bill for the victims of Harvey, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday: “At the end of the day, I just want it raised.”The stock market has so far shaken off concerns this year ranging from increasing tensions over North Korea’s missile tests to ongoing investigations into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election as U.S. corporate profits have jumped. As of Aug. 29, 73.6 percent of companies in the S&P 500 reported earnings above analyst estimates in the second quarter, pushing earnings up 12.1 percent for the index as a whole, according to Thomson Reuters data.Even so, the stock market’s unbroken push higher this year leaves it more vulnerable to a significant decline if a debt ceiling deal is not reached by late September, said Matt Watson, a co-portfolio manager of the $3.2 billion James Balanced Golden Rainbow Fund.As a result, Watson’s fund has been raising cash and is preparing to buy shorter-duration Treasury bonds if they see a sign of a sell-off.“The stock market is very overvalued, so it makes sense to lighten up on risk going into this,” he said. (Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and James Dalgleish; Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday. For the daily stock market report, please click) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead/wall-st-week-ahead-looming-debt-ceiling-deadline-pushing-some-u-s-fund-managers-to-cash-idUSL2N1LI16A'|'2017-09-03T19:00:00.000+03:00'
'a0bc8ac50f29b8a3c88c75982a96a5d009420a74'|'Union Pacific says Arkema chemical plant fire hindering line repairs'|'HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Union Pacific Corp said on Saturday repairs to a rail line damaged by Tropical Stormy Harvey are being hindered by a fire at an Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas.The railroad said the repairs to its line between Houston and Beaumont, Texas, are one of its top priorities. However, the line runs next to the smoldering chemical plant, limiting access for its repair crews. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-union-pacific/union-pacific-says-arkema-chemical-plant-fire-hindering-line-repairs-idUSL2N1LJ0LO'|'2017-09-03T05:31:00.000+03:00'
'25642f3303dbb561b59968fc5b013504c24e5d24'|'Japan insurer Sompo plans to sell UK unit Canopius - source'|'September 1, 2017 / 5:28 AM / 2 hours ago Japan insurer Sompo plans to sell UK unit Canopius - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings Inc ( 8630.T ) is planning to sell its UK unit Sompo Canopius to private equity firm Centerbridge Partners, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Friday. The Nikkei business daily said the Japanese property and casualty insurer was planning to sell Canopius for more than 100 billion yen (703.01 million pounds). Sompo bought Canopius, a Lloyd’s of London insurance market player, for about $1 billion in 2014. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sompo-canopius/japan-insurer-sompo-plans-to-sell-uk-unit-canopius-source-idUKKCN1BC3TN'|'2017-09-01T08:29:00.000+03:00'
'48a296d1283324110d8535a2f31c2b316d276b08'|'Hellman & Friedman leads race for 31.3 billion Danish crowns Nets deal - FT'|'August 31, 2017 / 11:37 PM / an hour ago Hellman & Friedman leads race for 31.3 billion Danish crowns Nets deal - FT Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman is the frontrunner in the race to acquire Nets ( NETS.CO ), Scandinavia''s largest payments processor, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the discussions. The deal is expected to value Nets at more than 31.3 billion Danish crowns (3.88 billion pounds), the newspaper also reported. on.ft.com/2vNvIVi Nets is seeing "considerable interest" from potential buyers, Chief Executive Bo Nilsson had said earlier this month. Nets could be the next big deal in the sector following a flurry of acquisitions, including U.S. credit card payments processor Vantiv ( VNTV.N ) finalising a deal to buy Britain''s biggest payments processor Worldpay ( WPG.L ) for 8 billion pounds earlier this month. U.S. payment giants and Mastercard ( MA.N ) are both seen as suitors for Nets, which has a current market capitalisation of 29.16 billion Danish crowns according to Thomson Reuters data. Hellman & Friedman could not be immediately reached for comment while Nets did not immediately comment on the report. Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nets-m-a-hellman-friedman-idUKKCN1BB3AH'|'2017-09-01T03:20:00.000+03:00'
'ca6d3620d0b3502643feac01eac273e0017f2f0e'|'UPDATE 1-Trump to nominate Robert Jackson for seat on SEC -source'|'(Adds Jackson could not be reached for comment)WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.Jackson is expected to be formally nominated on Friday, the source said. He would fill a vacant spot reserved for a Democrat on the five-member panel.His appointment follows the administration''s decision to nominate Hester Peirce as a Republican commissioner in July and would bring the SEC to full strength and paving the way for Chairman Jay Clayton to push ahead on an agenda of reducing public companies'' regulatory burdens.Jackson could not be reached for comment on Thursday.Jackson is known for his advocacy work in trying to advance new rules at the SEC that would force public companies to disclose their political spending to investors. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-sec-jackson-idINL2N1LI028'|'2017-08-31T23:24:00.000+03:00'
'448bda4bb18c16fa736dab27b73d5a284f3a8bab'|'Enel CEO says not interested in discussing possibility of single network firm'|'September 1, 2017 / 9:25 AM / in 2 hours Enel CEO says not interested in discussing possibility of single network firm Reuters Staff 2 Min Read File Photo - Francesco Starace, CEO and general manager of Enel Group, at the MAXXI National Museum in Rome, Italy, May 17, 2016 REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi CERNOBBIO, Italy, (Reuters) - Italy’s top utility Enel ( ENEI.MI ) is not interested in discussing merging its fiber-optic infrastructure business with that of Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) to create a single network company, CEO Francesco Starace said on Friday. Open Fiber, controlled by utility Enel and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and Telecom Italia are building separate fast internet networks across Italy. Some politicians in Rome as well as industry players have said it might make sense for them to join forces. “We are very busy connecting Italy and that is the mission of Open Fiber... We are not interested in talking about it (the possibility of a single network company), it is not an exciting topic for us,” Starace told reporters on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti business forum. He also rejected speculation about a possible management reshuffle at Open Fiber. Open Fiber would be in good position to buy the copper network of phone incumbent Telecom Italia if it were put up for sale, the chairman of the fiber-optic company Franco Bassanini said in a newspaper interview last month. Reporting by Giancarlo Navach and Valentina Za, writing by Silvia Aloisi '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-enel-telecomitalia-network/enel-ceo-says-not-interested-in-discussing-possibility-of-single-network-firm-idINKCN1BC4C9'|'2017-09-01T07:25:00.000+03:00'
'ccf97f0752b2bd520a83d3db78732ea12d89795d'|'Japan Inc turns contract workers into permanent staff as labour market tightens'|'September 1, 2017 / 4:41 AM / a minute ago Japan Inc turns contract workers into permanent staff as labor market tightens 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Businessmen walk in Tokyo''s business district, Japan January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s labor market is getting so tight that companies are starting to convert contract and part-time workers into full-time, regular employees to prevent them from leaving - a move that could lift wages and spending but squeeze profits. The trend is a reversal from the decades-long practice here of hiring cheaper contract workers who receive few benefits and are easier to hire and fire. They now make up more than a third of the workforce. Companies are willing to reverse course and take on the extra costs that come with regular employees because of the tightest labor market since the 1970s, as Japan’s population ages and declines. “We consider this as necessary investment for the future rather than a burden,” said Mayumi Kuroda, a spokeswoman for Credit Saison Co Ltd 8253.T, a credit card issuer that plans to turn 2,200 part-timers and other contract workers into regular employees in mid-September. They will qualify for bonuses and benefits, such as retirement plans, when they join the regular ranks. The company won’t disclose the cost but predicts it won’t have a big impact on earnings, Kuroda said. “We hope this will help employees keep up motivation and come up with innovations,” she said. “If we fail to deliver, only the cost will rise.” Last year, the average monthly pay for regular workers was 321,700 yen ($2,932) while for contract workers it was 211,800 yen ($1,924), so a change in status can mean a big jump in pay plus benefits workers weren’t previously receiving. That isn’t across the board - some will see little change in their compensation but will get more job security. Increased labor costs may squeeze corporate profits, forcing companies to either raise prices or improve labor productivity. “We are fully aware of the risk that keeping employees as regular workers will raise fixed personnel costs, but I doubt pursuing profits by exploiting workers will boost creativity,” said Takayoshi Hontao, chairman of Going.com, which develops and operates business management systems. It has turned 10 of its contractors into full-timers, making all of its 40 employees regulars. JOB SECURITY One of the biggest positives is that it gives employees a sense of job security. “When the company offered me a permanent job last year, I felt I was needed, which has increased my motivation. It opened the doors for my promotion to a section chief, and a pay raise,” said Mami Tanaka, a 29-year-old employee at Going.com. Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd 6178.T has offered full-time jobs to 3,145 contract employees this fiscal year, and Fast Retailing Co Ltd 9983.T, which includes the Uniqlo brand, has done the same with about 16,000 part-timers. At Japan Airlines Co Ltd 9201.T, about 1,100 cabin attendants on contracts were offered permanent full-time jobs last year, following a similar move by its domestic rival ANA Holdings Inc 9202.T. Some small companies in need of specialized workers are also following suit. FILE PHOTO - Businessmen are seen inside a high-rise office building in Tokyo November 21, 2013. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo “It’s very difficult nowadays to secure plasterers at a time when our business is busy thanks to the construction boom ahead of the Olympics,” said Muneaki Harada, president of plastering firm Harada Sakan. “There’s a risk of fixing costs, but I believe benefits outweigh costs,” he said. LABOR LAW REVISIONS The trend is expected to accelerate toward April 2018 when a revised labor contract law starts forcing companies to provide permanent status for temporary workers who have served more than five years, if the workers request it. The jobs-to-applicants ratio among full-time permanent employees hit a record high of 1.01 in June and July, meaning there was slightly more than one full-time, regular job per applicant, government data shows. Including non-regular workers, the ratio was 1.52, or 1 1/2 jobs per applicant, the highest level since 1974. FILE PHOTO : Newly-hired employees of Japan Airlines (JAL) group bow during an initiation ceremony at a hangar of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan, April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Japan’s lifetime employment system, which undergirded its economic growth for decades, has frayed since the early 1990s after the country’s asset bubble burst. Since then, the share of non-regular workers has almost doubled as companies saddled with excess capacity, debt and excess workers have replaced regular employees with cheaper contract workers. But that has curbed overall wages and hurt consumer spending. “The competition for able workers will intensify, which will benefit those who are willing to work full-time with better working conditions and job security, helping spur consumption,” said Hiroshi Watanabe, economist at Sony Financial Holdings. Nationwide, the number of full-time permanent workers stopped falling for the first time in eight years in 2015. Since then, it’s grown about 800,000 to reach 33.7 million, according to the labor ministry. Last year, the share of non-regular workers stopped rising for the first time in seven years. It is still hovering at a record 37.5 percent, reflecting the rising number of the elderly who are hired as contract workers after retirement. The unfolding trend is “a step in the right direction,” said Takahiko Uesugi, a human resources section chief at Treebell Co Ltd, a computer system services provider that has turned 90 non-regular workers into regular workers in the past two years with the help of government subsidies. It plans to offer permanent jobs to 20 more in the coming year. About 400 of its 600 employees are regular workers. “The IT industry has relied so much on contract workers. It gives a bad impression that engineers are working under a poor labor environment,” Uesugi said. “It has gone too far.” (For a graphic on benefits for employees at Japan Inc, click tmsnrt.rs/2iKc6Qk ) (For a graphic on regular workers vs. non-regular employees, click reut.rs/2eJpO1q ) Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; additional reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Malcolm Foster and Martin Howell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-labour-analysis/japan-inc-turns-contract-workers-into-permanent-staff-as-labor-market-tightens-idUKKCN1BC3PJ'|'2017-09-01T07:38:00.000+03:00'
'e8c67168f87ae705fffdf85e7b219b0e6fb65ed1'|'Japan insurer Sompo plans to sell UK unit Canopius over $909 million: source'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings Inc ( 8630.T ) said on Friday it has agreed to sell British unit Sompo Canopius to private equity consortium led by Centerbridge Partners for $952 million.Sompo, one of Japan’s three-biggest property and casualty insurers, bought Canopius, a Lloyd’s of London insurance market player, for about $1 billion in 2014.Sompo has been reviewing its overseas business portfolio after completing the $6.3 billion purchase of U.S. property and casualty insurer Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd earlier this year.In a statement, Sompo said the sale is likely to close in the first quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approval.The insurer said it would use sale proceeds for its growth strategy, which could include overseas acquisitions.Sompo said Macquarie Capital and GC Securities were its financial advisors and Mishcon de Reya LLP was its legal advisor.Centerbridge said Royal Bank of Canada acted as its financial advisor and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP as legal advisor.(This version of the story corrects to PE consortium, not firm, in first paragraph)Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sompo-canopius/japan-insurer-sompo-plans-to-sell-uk-unit-canopius-for-over-909-million-source-idINKCN1BC3WR'|'2017-09-01T04:10:00.000+03:00'
'c34508d0afb4541010a17e7e892cc1c10ff58363'|'G4S suspends 9 staff at UK migrant centre, to investigate conduct'|'EDINBURGH, Sept 1 (Reuters) - British outsourcer G4S has suspended nine members of staff at an immigration removal centre while it investigates a BBC report alleging abuse in the treatment of migrants, the company said on Friday.“We have received written allegations of abhorrent conduct at Brook House and on that basis we have deemed it serious enough to suspend the staff involved,” a spokeswoman for G4S said.The centre, near Gatwick Airport, is staffed by more than 200 employees and has around 500 occupants. G4S said it had reported the incident to the police.Reporting by Elisabeth O''Leary; editing by Kate Holton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/g4s-investigation/g4s-suspends-9-staff-at-uk-migrant-centre-to-investigate-conduct-idINL8N1LI119'|'2017-09-01T05:35:00.000+03:00'
'e727ef834db6b29a7156353d4b9459424044a4c1'|'Getting it wrong, Finnish-style'|'September 1, 2017 / 9:59 AM / 30 minutes ago Getting it wrong, Finnish-style Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Souvenirs are seen as people shop at a market in Helsinki, Finland, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins HELSKINI (Reuters) - Sometimes getting an estimate wrong is a positive thing. Unexpected strength in construction and services turned initial Finnish growth estimates for the second quarter on their head on Friday. The statistics office said growth was 0.4 percent, overturning the 0.5 percent decline it announced in last month’s flash estimate. Annual GDP growth was revised up to 3 percent from a prior estimate of 1.6 percent.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-finland-gdp-graphic/getting-it-wrong-finnish-style-idUKKCN1BC4F9'|'2017-09-01T13:00:00.000+03:00'
'08b3117ad72c29b7cb4a7948b9c29586077bde3a'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips with losses for resource stocks'|'September 1, 2017 / 1:46 PM / 22 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips with losses for resource stocks Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index lost ground in early trade on Friday, weighed by losses among its heavyweight energy and materials sectors as oil and gas prices fell. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 32.38 points, or 0.21 percent, at 15,179.49 shortly after the open. It is on track for a 0.8 percent gain on the week. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-slips-with-losses-for-resource-stocks-idUSL2N1LI0RA'|'2017-09-01T16:45:00.000+03:00'
'8dadf0626778c7b58e93137ff65c20d4ffff5da8'|'Italy, France holding ''technical talks'' on Fincantieri-STX shipyard deal'|'CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - Italy and France are holding “technical talks” over a disputed bid by Italy’s Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) to take the control of French shipyard STX, the chairman of Fincantieri Gianpiero Massolo said.Paris angered Rome in July after it ordered a “temporary” nationalization of STX, cancelling a previous deal under which state controlled Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy 54.6 percent of the French group.The head of states of the two countries are due to discuss the issue on Sept. 27 during a Franco-Italian summit in Lyon.“The summit is approaching and it would make sense to have a preparatory meeting ... even if technical talks are already going on,” Massolo told journalists on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti conference in Cernobbio.“Both governments are interested in a consolidation of the sector, let’s let them do the work,” he added.Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; writing by Francesca Landini; editing by Valentina Za '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a-fincantieri-chairman/italy-france-holding-technical-talks-on-fincantieri-stx-shipyard-deal-idUSKCN1BC5ON'|'2017-09-02T02:19:00.000+03:00'
'de83fc807422f28dcd0a91724c50a39aea9e85e0'|'Global economy - Enter the Draghi'|'September 1, 2017 / 2:26 PM / 4 hours ago Enter the Draghi Balazs Koranyi 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO:European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi testifies before the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The spotlight shines on Mario Draghi once again. The European Central Bank president has to reconcile an economic dichotomy of robust growth with weak inflation, a dilemma exacerbated by a seemingly unstoppable rise in the euro. The time for thinking is running out, however. The ECB’s massive stimulus scheme is due to expire by year-end so Draghi will have to start charting a new course when policymakers meet on Sept 7. The problem is that the ECB is undershooting its near 2 percent inflation target for the fifth year running and will continue to miss into the next decade, failing on its primary mandate and potentially jeopardizing its own credibility despite unprecedented stimulus. Economic growth, now into its 17th straight quarter, is even complicating the problem. The euro naturally firms as the economy roars ahead but that makes imports cheaper and holds back inflation even more. Indeed, the currency is up by 13 percent this year against the dollar, a reflection of the euro zone’s strength, policy uncertainty in the United States and expectations that one way or another, the ECB will have to tighten policy. That leaves Draghi with a tricky job. He must acknowledge that work is underway on the future of stimulus but he needs to keep details to the minimum to buy a bit more time and temper edgy markets. With few specific decision coming out of the meeting, it will be a communication tightrope with each word carrying extra weight. “We think the key reason for staying put on 7 September is the sharp -- more than 5 percent -- rise in the euro since late June, a move that the ECB will not want to turbo-charge through additional hawkish rhetoric,” UBS economist Reinhard Cluse said. Indeed, markets see no policy change from the ECB in September and expect a decision only in October with asset buys cut by a third from next year, a Reuters poll of analysts showed. STILL EFFECTIVE? The big headache is that inflation is not behaving like it used to. Even as labor markets tighten, wage growth is not accelerating and prices fail to rise, indicating that models used by central banks may be outdated. The shift could signal a change in the nature of inflation with supply, demand and labor becoming more global, implying that central banks’ ability to control their own inflation has been reduced. For Draghi, Europe’s rapid ageing, hidden job market slack and more flexible labor markets may also be a drag. Conservative policymakers argue that the ECB has done all that it could and should now step back, keeping policy easy but not running on all cylinders since that should be reserved for emergencies. Doves fret that stepping back now could risk undoing years of work, damaging the ECB’s hard-earned credibility. Draghi will need to find middle ground for now. Announcing new staff forecasts, he will likely upgrade the ECB’s growth outlook and reduce inflation projections but only slightly. He is also expected to announce that the ECB’s technical committees have been tasked with mapping policy options, a signal that a decision is imminent. Having already expressed concern about the rise of the euro in July, policymakers may also repeat their warning about the currency moving too quick. But no other change is expected with Draghi also seen maintaining the ECB’s guidance for even more asset buys if necessary. “We expect the guidance will be maintained again because the ECB will want to avoid sending any message that could be prone to over-interpretation,” Nomura said. “Very little has changed in the underlying euro area fundamental picture.” So Draghi will merely set up the market for a decision in October, also leaving the door open for a move in December. Some argue that the real elephant in the room is Italy. Its GDP has yet to recover to pre-crisis levels, unemployment is high and its bank sector is weak. This has given a real platform for euro skeptics, a danger as the country heads towards an election next year. Any big poll gains by anti-euro parties could increase market volatility and some argue that the ECB wants to hang onto its potent tools to soothe sentiment. “It’s also our long-held belief that it is in the ECB’s interest to maintain a significant quantum of purchases throughout the Italian elections period, which potentially take place as late as May 2018,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-outlook/enter-the-draghi-idUKKCN1BC54E'|'2017-09-01T17:24:00.000+03:00'
'aaf93c6ec3c37a241e9568397c4e50f7948feec8'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil court halts JBS shareholder meeting as rift deepens'|'(Recasts to add details, share performance throughout)By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Ana ManoSAO PAULO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - JBS SA on Friday had to suspend a shareholder meeting to decide the fate of Chief Executive Officer Wesley Batista after his family, which controls the world’s No. 1 meatpacker, won a legal injunction that may draw out a dispute with other shareholders.According to a securities filing, a federal judge ordered a 15-day suspension of the meeting and decided that disagreements between the Batista family and minority shareholders should be settled by the São Paulo Stock Exchange’s arbitrage council.The Batistas won the injunction a day after the investment arm of state development bank BNDES had blocked the family from casting ballots in the assembly. BNDES Participações, known as BNDESPar, called the assembly in July, seeking to push Batista out through a lawsuit with the backing of other shareholders.A May plea-bargain deal exposing a bribery ring run by Batista and his younger brother Joesley led BNDESPar to seek his removal from JBS, blaming the scandal for a 23 percent plunge in the company’s stock price this year.Reuters reported on Aug. 25 that Wesley Batista, 47, told investors in recent weeks that his departure could delay a downsizing of JBS and the public listing of a U.S. subsidiary. The Batista brothers, who transformed JBS into the world’s largest meatpacker over the past decade, have a 42 percent stake, twice as big as BNDESPar‘s.While Batista’s advisers have yet to devise a formal strategy after winning the injunction, there is the “willingness from the family’s side to sit down and negotiate a solution,” a person with direct knowledge of the family’s thinking said.The family’s holding company said it was open to dialogue in a public statement “lamenting that the BNDES has taken a legal path in detriment to dialogue.” Representatives for Rio de Janeiro-based BNDESPar declined to comment on the ruling.Shares reversed early losses on Friday, as the decision opened the possibility that both parties would negotiate a quick resolution. Still, arbitration conflicts tend to drag for long in Brazil, where legal maneuvering often aggravates disputes.The stock rose 0.4 percent to 8.70 reais in midday Friday trading, extending gains over the past month to 13 percent. (Reporting by Ana Mano and Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by W Simon) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jbs-ceo-battle/update-1-brazil-court-halts-jbs-shareholder-meeting-as-rift-deepens-idINL2N1LI0UU'|'2017-09-01T13:13:00.000+03:00'
'82ccd08e2dda471c8d31427d13b95a95a2eee29a'|'Results boost European shares as Indivior plunge puts pressure on UK mid caps'|'LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - European shares rose early on Friday, starting September on a firm footing after three months of losses as financials rose and an update from Vivendi boosted media stocks, though a record plunge in pharma firm Indivior weighed on British mid caps.The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5 percent, as were euro zone blue chips, with investors awaiting a U.S. jobs report later in the session which could provide clues on the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates.Germany’ DAX gained 0.3 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, though a 35 percent slump in Indivior’s shares put pressure on the FTSE 250 which retreated 0.2 percent.Indivior’s shares were set for their biggest one-day loss on record after the firm said it would appeal against a U.S. court ruling that generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s had not infringed its patents, potentially opening the way to a rival to the firm’s Suboxone Film opiod addiction treatment.On an otherwise relatively quiet day for corporate news, shares in Swedish vehicle maker Volvo jumped 6.7 percent and were on track for their biggest one-day gain in more than four months after setting new financial targets.Results drove some sizeable moves, with shares in French media firm Vivendi rising 5.8 percent after the group confirmed its outlook, reporting better than expected profit growth for the year. Europe’s media sector was the top-gaining sector, up 1 percent.French telecoms stocks Iliad edged 1.6 percent higher on the back of robust first half earnings, which saw profit rise 22 percent thanks to winning new subscribers.Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Janet Lawrence '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks/results-boost-european-shares-as-indivior-plunge-puts-pressure-on-uk-mid-caps-idINL8N1LI0UI'|'2017-09-01T05:30:00.000+03:00'
'497019ea1c73d73af55b96c52b3c25c5fd62cf23'|'Allianz, Baloise and Cinven among final bidders for Generali''s Belgian unit - sources'|'FRANKFURT/LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - European insurers Allianz and Baloise Holding and London-based buyout fund Cinven are finalising rival offers for Generali’s Belgian unit ahead of a Sept. 8 deadline, sources told Reuters.The deal could value the business at up to 500 million euros ($595 million) in what would be the Italian insurer’s biggest divestment in its latest reorganisation.Generali, Europe’s third biggest insurer, wants to wrap up the auction by mid September finding a new owner for a business that provides anything from life to car insurance to a network of about 530,000 retail and corporate clients.It is looking to sell the entire business to a single investor rather than breaking it up and carving out so-called “back books”, which consist of existing contracts with no access to new clients, the sources said.The Italian firm said in November it wanted to raise at least 1 billion euros by leaving 13 to 15 countries.Bermuda-based insurer Athene Holding is also vying for the unit, the sources said, adding that it might only be targeting the “back books”.Allianz, Baloise and Cinven are instead looking to buy the business as a whole, they said.Generali, Allianz, Baloise, Athene and Cinven declined to comment.The auction, which is being led by Deutsche Bank, was launched earlier this year as part of Generali’s efforts to cut costs in weaker markets and boost profit.Bidders were asked to submit non-binding offers in July, the sources said, with one adding first round bids valued the business at less than 500 million euros.Generali has been present in Belgium for over a century having started operations there in 1901.Its Belgian unit has 6.3 billion euros of assets under management and reported a net profit of about 89 million euros in 2016, with total premium income rising 19.2 percent to 800 million euros.Generali recently sold its Colombian business to Talanx Group and is working with BNP Paribas to find a new owner for its Dutch business.It also planning to exit Portugal, the sources said, adding a process will kick off later this year.Germany’s Allianz recently formed a joint venture and strategic partnership with British insurer LV= to form the third-largest property and casualty insurer in Britain. It also took control of Nigeria’s Ensure Insurance in a push for growth in Africa.$1 = 0.8405 euros Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Oliver Hirt, editing by David Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/generali-ma-belgium/allianz-baloise-and-cinven-among-final-bidders-for-generalis-belgian-unit-sources-idUSL8N1LH6PC'|'2017-09-01T14:01:00.000+03:00'
'2e563c70328ad535672af9347408fa7a9e5646e5'|'Taxify takes on Uber in crowded London taxi-hailing market'|'September 4, 2017 / 2:51 PM / in 23 minutes Taxify takes on Uber in crowded London taxi-hailing market 4 Min Read A Taxify car drives in Tallinn, Estonia, June 13, 2017. Picture taken June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Estonian start-up Taxify is to go head to head with Uber [UBER.UL] in London’s highly competitive taxi-hailing market, and also has Paris in its sights. Taxify said it will launch services across London on Tuesday after signing up 3,000 private hire taxi drivers, who have been vetted to ensure they meet local licensing requirements. It marks a major move forward for Taxify after missteps by the Silicon Valley giant already allowed it to make inroads in several cities in central and eastern Europe and Africa. In London, it enters a crowded market where the city’s famous black cab taxi drivers and private hire taxi firms such as Addison Lee compete with ride-hailing apps including Gett and Hailo, which is now part of Daimler’s MyTaxi. Uber counts 40,000 drivers and has 3 million London users, who take 1 million trips a week. Taxify is a fraction of Uber’s size - being active in just under 25 cities compared to Uber’s presence in nearly 600 cities worldwide - but runs on a lower cost business model, allowing passengers to pay marked-down fares and letting drivers retain a bigger share of the profits. Taxify said on Monday it would take a 15 percent commission on rides booked through its online platform, versus the 20-25 percent Uber charges in London. Taxify also said it will accept cash as well electronic payments from riders, unlike Uber. “We will always be cheaper than Uber,” company founder and Chief Executive Markus Villig said in a telephone interview with Reuters. The Uber logo is seen on a screen in Singapore August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White Uber has struggled over the past year with legal setbacks, workplace harassment scandals, driver protests and bitter disputes among directors. Over the past year it has pulled back from China, Russia and several eastern European countries, while retaining minority stakes in joint ventures in those markets. In a bid to stabilise the company, it fired its pugnacious co-founder and chief executive Travis Kalanick in June and last week named Expedia Inc CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to lead the company. ( reut.rs/2vEtVXa ) From its home base in the Baltics, Taxify first staked out major cities in central and eastern Europe. Over the past year, it has vaulted into several of Africa''s biggest cities, where Villig says he expects to overtake Uber by the end of 2017. ( reut.rs/2iUoJIK ) Bolstered by recently announced financial backing from China''s DiDi, Taxify aims to expand into five more cities by the end of the year, including Paris, Villig said in a phone interview. ( reut.rs/2eVl0qa ) DiDi Chuxing, China''s largest ride-hailing firm, is seeking to turn up the heat on ride-sharing pioneer Uber via a string of deals with regional rivals in Southeast Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.( reut.rs/2iUTDRc ) “Ride-sharing has been monopolised by Uber,” Villig said. “Now it is getting clear that in most markets there will be major competitors.” “Competition is a good thing as it raises service levels across the board,” an Uber spokesman said in a statement. Reporting By Eric Auchard; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-competition-taxify/taxify-takes-on-uber-in-crowded-london-taxi-hailing-market-idUKKCN1BF1SU'|'2017-09-04T17:50:00.000+03:00'
'c1ec50d7e3c406159774112d0a889a7effc16a50'|'European shares fall as North Korea nuclear test causes broad sell-off'|' 24 AM / 17 minutes ago European shares fall as North Korea nuclear test causes broad sell-off Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN (Reuters) - The risk-off mood sparked by a powerful North Korean nuclear test hit European shares on Monday, triggering a broad sell-off, while Novartis fell following the news that its CEO will step down. The pan-European STOXX 600 index and euro zone blue chips .STOXX50E both fell 0.5 percent and the UK''s FTSE .FTSE slipped 0.2 percent. No sector in Europe was trading in positive territory while banks .SX7P led the declines, down 0.9 pct North Korea said an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile was tested on Sunday, prompting the warning of a “massive” military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened. Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ) was among top fallers, down 2.2 percent after its Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said the car maker had not received any offer for the company nor was it working on any “big deal”. Pharma heavyweight Novartis was down 0.7 percent. The group said its chief executive Joseph Jimenez will retire in 2018, leaving to younger chief drug developer Vasant Narasimhan, 41, the task to run the company starting in February. Novartis ( NOVN.S ) shares, which carry the third largest weigh on the MSCI Europe benchmark, have underperformed their sector over the last 10 years. Among risers, precious metal miners Randgold ( RRS.L ) and Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) benefited from a flight to safe haven assets such as gold. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Kit Rees'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-fall-as-north-korea-nuclear-test-causes-broad-sell-off-idUKKCN1BF0Q7'|'2017-09-04T10:20:00.000+03:00'
'6ce7afcc5c0f60984724fa78a6f01602ff24b591'|'Euro zone investor morale improves unexpectedly in September - survey'|'September 4, 2017 / 8:37 AM / 21 minutes ago Euro zone investor morale improves unexpectedly in September - survey Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People talk in front of a screen showing the Polish stock market index (WIG20) at the Warsaw Stock Exchange August 29, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel BERLIN (Reuters) - Investor sentiment in the euro zone improved unexpectedly in September as concerns about the potential impact of a widening car emissions scandal in Germany and the development of the U.S. economy faded into the background, a survey showed on Monday. The Frankfurt-based Sentix research group said its euro zone index rose to 28.2 points from 27.7 points in August. That compared with the consensus forecast of 27.4 in a Reuters poll. “The data from Germany and the United States last month was disappointing. In both regions, the trend is reversing moderately,” Sentix said. Investors viewed the euro zone’s current conditions a bit more sceptically, with a sub-index edging down to 39.8 in September from 40.0 in the previous month. But expectations for economic developments in the euro zone improved, rising to 17.3 from 16.0, the survey showed. An index tracking Germany, the euro zone’s largest economy, rose to 34.0 in September from 33.2 in August. “Low interest rates, increased state spending on refugees and high government subsidies are driving the domestic economy,” Sentix said. “In addition, Germany is still benefiting from a relatively weak euro.” The survey chimed with last month’s Ifo business sentiment index that showed German business confidence remained broadly stable after climbing to three record highs in a row, suggesting that a consumption-led upswing will continue. Sentix polled 983 investors from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Michelle Martin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-sentix/euro-zone-investor-morale-improves-unexpectedly-in-september-survey-idUKKCN1BF0WJ'|'2017-09-04T11:37:00.000+03:00'
'd5165ec5bae0680cdfbce76d9b56c72e73ddede7'|'China Merchants Port to buy 90 percent of Brazilian port operator for $924 million'|'September 4, 2017 / 1:34 AM / in 4 hours China Merchants Port to buy 90 percent of Brazilian port operator for $924 million Reuters Staff 2 Min Read HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Merchants Port Holdings Co Ltd ( 0144.HK ) said on Monday it would buy 90 percent of Brazilian port facilities operator TCP Participações S.A. for HK$7.23 billion ($924 million), as it aims to expand into Latin America. The deal, which would be funded by internal resources and external debt financing, is conditional on government approvals including from the Brazilian antitrust and regulatory authorities, the Chinese port operator said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse. China Merchants said it would buy the TCP shares from investment fund Fundo de Investimento em Participações, Soifer, Pattac, Tuc Pac, Galigrain and Grup Maritim TCB, S.L. The remaining 10 percent of TCP will be held by Soifer with 6 percent, and 2 percent each by Pattac and Tuc Par. Based in the City of Curitiba, TCP operates the container terminal concession in the Port of Paranaguá, which is the second-largest container terminal in Brazil. ($1 = 7.8249 Hong Kong dollars) Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-mer-port-tcp/china-merchants-port-to-buy-90-percent-of-brazilian-port-operator-for-924-million-idINKCN1BF03C'|'2017-09-03T23:34:00.000+03:00'
'b2434e9d1b1a16ec12bb8b08c3568344241c7cb5'|'Wall St Week Ahead-Looming debt ceiling deadline pushing some U.S. fund managers to cash'|'(Repeats Friday story without changes)By David RandallNEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A potential standoff over the U.S. federal debt ceiling is raising alarm bells among fund managers who fear a repeat of 2011 when a protracted showdown over increasing the government’s borrowing limit and subsequent downgrade of U.S. credit quality led to a more than 15 percent slump in the S&P 500 stock index.U.S. investors are raising cash and buying protection, bracing for a messy fight ahead of the Treasury Department’s Sept. 29 deadline to raise the debt limit, a legal cap on how much the U.S. government is allowed to borrow.Failure to increase the debt ceiling could lead to a recession and prompt the first significant sell-off of the Trump administration. The benchmark S&P 500 has not fallen by 5 percent or more in over a year, the longest streak without such a decline in more than 20 years.Federal efforts to clean up the devastation after Hurricane Harvey battered Texas have decreased the probability of a federal government shutdown to 35 percent from 50 percent two weeks ago, according to Goldman Sachs, as the legislation could be packaged into a larger disaster relief bill.Yet the danger still remains, Goldman warned in a Tuesday note.“A delayed debt ceiling hike is still clearly possible,” Goldman strategists wrote. “The president continues to raise the possibility of a shutdown if the border wall is not funded, and the upcoming extension of spending authority is likely to be temporary, potentially pushing the risk of a shutdown later into the year.”Fund managers say they are not confident that a debt ceiling agreement will be passed as quickly as the broad market expects.“You’ve got a political environment that is very contentious, not just left versus right but within the Republican Party itself,” said Jeff Klingelhofer, a co-portfolio manager of the $1.1 billion Thornburg Strategic Income Fund.“If the rhetoric increases it will spook markets and we are taking risk off the table” by raising cash and lowering the credit duration in their bond portfolios, he said.David Ader, chief macro strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence, said Treasury bills for October are about 10 basis points higher in yields than they normally would be, owing to debt-ceiling concerns. “People are avoiding them,” he said.President Donald Trump criticized congressional Republican leadership for not tying the debt ceiling increase into a bill that made it easier for the Department of Veteran Affairs to fire employees for misconduct, calling the situation a “mess” in an Aug. 24 tweet.When asked about the possibility of attaching debt ceiling legislation to a relief bill for the victims of Harvey, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday: “At the end of the day, I just want it raised.”The stock market has so far shaken off concerns this year ranging from increasing tensions over North Korea’s missile tests to ongoing investigations into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election as U.S. corporate profits have jumped. As of Aug. 29, 73.6 percent of companies in the S&P 500 reported earnings above analyst estimates in the second quarter, pushing earnings up 12.1 percent for the index as a whole, according to Thomson Reuters data.Even so, the stock market’s unbroken push higher this year leaves it more vulnerable to a significant decline if a debt ceiling deal is not reached by late September, said Matt Watson, a co-portfolio manager of the $3.2 billion James Balanced Golden Rainbow Fund.As a result, Watson’s fund has been raising cash and is preparing to buy shorter-duration Treasury bonds if they see a sign of a sell-off.“The stock market is very overvalued, so it makes sense to lighten up on risk going into this,” he said. (Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and James Dalgleish; Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday. For the daily stock market report, please click) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead/wall-st-week-ahead-looming-debt-ceiling-deadline-pushing-some-u-s-fund-managers-to-cash-idINL2N1LI16A'|'2017-09-03T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'c3d1ec6f1068fb61918a31ca4eefd354e5a4a7b7'|'New German car sales up 3.5 percent in August - source'|' 33 AM / 18 minutes ago New German car sales up 3.5 percent in August - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Volkswagen cars are lined up for sale at a car shop in Bad Honnef near Bonn, Germany, November 4, 2015. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay HAMBURG (Reuters) - Sales of new passenger cars in Germany rose 3.5 percent in August to around 253,500 vehicles, an industry source told Reuters on Monday. Eight-month passenger car registrations in Europe’s largest auto market were up 2.9 percent at 2.3 million vehicles, the source said on condition he not be identified because official sales data has not yet been published. Germany’s VDA auto industry association is expected to disclose official figures later on Monday. Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-vehicleregistrations/new-german-car-sales-up-3-5-percent-in-august-source-idUKKCN1BF0R6'|'2017-09-04T10:33:00.000+03:00'
'f105959e9f1cd013392abe58de8258552a0fd99f'|'India''s former cenbank head says had cautioned govt on demonetisation -report'|'September 3, 2017 / 6:15 AM / 3 hours ago India''s former central bank head says had cautioned government on demonetization: report Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan listens to questions during a news conference at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai, India, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s former central bank head Raghuram Rajan had cautioned the government that short-term costs of a radical ban of high-value currency notes would outweigh the long-term benefits, Times of India newspaper reported on Sunday. He had first given his opinion on whether to carry out the ban in February 2016, the paper reported, citing excerpts from Rajan’s book on his stint at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), titled “I Do What I Do: On Reforms Rhetoric and Resolve”. That was months before Prime Minister Narendra Modi stunned the country on Nov. 8 by abolishing 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, removing 86 percent of the currency in circulation in a bid to crack down on “shadow economy”. “The RBI flagged what would happen if preparation was inadequate,” the paper cited Rajan as saying in the book that will be released next week. Rajan also told the newspaper in an interview that the demonetization had a disruptive impact on the economy. “I think all said and done, it would be fair to say the intent was good. But certainly at this point, one still cannot in any way say it has been an economic success. But again, as I said, only time will tell,” he was quoted as saying. Indians returned most of the estimated 15.4 trillion rupees ($242 billion) in high-currency bills removed from circulation last year, the RBI said in its annual report on Wednesday. Modi had been intending to make it difficult for hoarders of undeclared wealth to exchange their undeclared cash for legal tender, but it seems most of it was returned by individuals, implying there was a very small amount of unaccounted money held in cash or evaders had managed to legalize their unaccounted money. While Modi’s drive to unearth unaccounted wealth did not deliver the desired result, it hurt consumer demand in a country where most people are paid in, and buy what they need with, cash. India’s economy lost further steam in the quarter to June as growth slid to 5.7 percent, its lowest level in more than three years and a marked slowdown from a 6.1 percent growth in the January-March period. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-india-cenbank-rajan/indias-former-central-bank-head-says-had-cautioned-government-on-demonetization-report-idUKKCN1BE083'|'2017-09-03T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'6caed8773ff240b9d84f0d3586e72b72a01faf49'|'Most Clariant shareholders support merger says Huntsman'|'The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - The vast majority of Clariant’s ( CLN.S ) shareholders support the Swiss chemical maker’s planned $20 billion merger with American peer Huntsman ( HUN.N ), Huntsman’s Chief Executive told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. “I have met between 150 and 200 shareholders in groups and in individual talks and explained the details of the merger to them,” Peter Huntsman said. “The large majority stand behind us.” The merger unveiled by the companies in May has been opposed by activist investor White Tale Holdings, which says the deal runs against Clariant’s focus on specialty chemicals over commodities. White Tale, whose principals include U.S. hedge fund manager Keith Meister, has amassed a 10 percent Clariant stake worth nearly 750 million Swiss francs ($778 million). Huntsman told the newspaper that a merger was needed to save costs and enable the companies to compete with Chinese and Indian rivals. “Consolidation in the chemicals industry will continue and the environment is getting tougher,” he said. “There is a risk of being crushed by the competition.” A representative of White Tale said Clariant should be split up to maximize investor value, telling Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung that several parties were interested in the plastics and coatings division. ($1 = 0.9645 Swiss francs) Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Robin PomeroyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-merger-huntsman/most-clariant-shareholders-support-merger-says-huntsman-idUSKCN1BE0MJ'|'2017-09-03T19:04:00.000+03:00'
'df6508f1ab5a5f8a6f88d6406f80bab4414e24a6'|'Harvey residential insured and uninsured flood loss $25-$37 bln- Corelogic'|'Sept 1 (Reuters) - Analytics firm Corelogic estimates total residential insured and uninsured flood loss from Hurricane Harvey of between $25 billion and $37 billion, it said on Friday.Of that, around $6.5-$9.5 billion is estimated to be insured flood loss for homes in the affected areas in Texas and Louisiana.Corelogic said an estimated 70 percent of flood damage from Harvey is not covered by any insurance.An additional $1-$2 billion in insured losses is attributed to damage from wind.Corelogic had on Wednesday raised its estimate for insured property losses for wind and storm surge to $1.5-3 billion, but this estimate did not include flood losses. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Carolyn Cohn in London; Editing by Rachel Armstrong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-corelogic/harvey-residential-insured-and-uninsured-flood-loss-25-37-bln-corelogic-idINL8N1LI0SL'|'2017-09-01T04:40:00.000+03:00'
'fb69bd4196cfe234b87febbb0d5e5b20faf06050'|'Co-op Bank retail bondholders face steep loss in restructuring'|' 25 PM / 8 minutes ago Co-op Bank retail bondholders face steep loss in restructuring Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People walk past a branch of The Co-operative Bank in London, Britain, February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Co-operative Bank said on Friday retail bondholders will get back less than half the face value of their investment in a restructuring aimed at saving the lender from collapse. Those impacted are holders of Co-op Bank subordinated bonds which paid an 11 percent coupon and were due to mature in 2023. The bank said they will receive about 4.50 pounds ($5.83) for every 10 pounds they had invested in the bonds. The bank has said a restructuring and recapitalisation plan agreed in June would provide much greater capital strength, with its core capital ratio expected to rise to between 22 and 23 percent by the end of the year, double the level from June. Co-op Bank, which provides banking services to almost 4 million retail and small and medium-sized enterprises, put itself up for sale in February after its capital base dipped to levels unacceptable to Britain’s financial regulators, as it grappled with restructuring costs and weak income. ($1 = 0.7715 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cooperative-bank-bonds/co-op-bank-retail-bondholders-face-steep-loss-in-restructuring-idUKKCN1BC54Q'|'2017-09-01T17:25:00.000+03:00'
'66c018cfefd37c526d78843955ed010efa344f7f'|'American retailers, restaurants oppose U.S. negotiators produce proposal'|'August 31, 2017 / 11:29 PM / 2 hours ago American retailers, restaurants oppose U.S. NAFTA produce proposal Ginger Gibson 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A customer looks over produce at the Phoenix Public Market in Phoenix, Arizona August 23, 2011. Joshua Lott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American retail, restaurant and agriculture groups weighed in on Thursday against a U.S. NAFTA modernization proposal that could pave the way for U.S. seasonal produce growers to file anti-dumping cases against Mexico, according to letters sent to Trump administration officials. Talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement resume this weekend in Mexico, the second round after U.S. President Donald Trump''s renewed threats to withdraw from one of the world''s biggest trade blocs. In one letter seen by Reuters, sent to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday, retailers argued that the U.S. proposal to allow more complaints about the dumping of perishable produce would have "dangerous implications for U.S. businesses and consumers." Seasonal fruit and vegetable growers in the southeastern United States have come under increasing pressure from year-round Mexican imports under NAFTA and are seeking the ability to pursue anti-subsidy and anti-dumping cases or seek temporary import quotas. Small growers have not been able to bring such cases because they do not represent a big enough share of U.S. production to qualify under current U.S. trade laws. Lighthizer, in NAFTA negotiating objectives published by his office, said he would seek a "separate domestic industry provision for perishable and seasonal products" in trade cases. The retailers and food industry groups argued that American producers could be left open to retaliatory measures if more complaints were to be filed, for instance, against avocados, tomatoes and other produce imported from Mexico. The letter was signed by large trade groups including the National Council of Chain Restaurants, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. A separate letter was sent on Wednesday by 26 U.S. agriculture groups - addressing Ross, Lighthizer, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Gary Cohn, the top White House economic adviser. It too urged American negotiators to abandon the fresh produce proposal because it risks damaging U.S. producers. "Once seasonal tariffs were put in place for tomatoes, for example, Mexico or Canada may initiate trade cases of their own on any of a wide range of U.S. agricultural products, beginning a tit-for-tat cycle that could broadly limit agricultural trade," the letter said. "At a time of low commodity prices in much of the United States, US agriculture can hardly afford to see a primary market disrupted," it added. Additional reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-produce-idUSKCN1BB39L'|'2017-09-01T07:29:00.000+03:00'
'f35ea4a22ca1913110d0b5eda056e3c628232a81'|'Retail U.S. gasoline prices surge as Harvey upends global markets'|'September 1, 2017 / 11:18 AM / a minute ago Retail U.S. gasoline prices surge after Harvey, global impact felt Erwin Seba , Devika Krishna Kumar 6 Min Read HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retail U.S. gasoline prices surged to two-year highs on Friday and global shipping routes were scrambled, even as some of the nation’s oil refineries began restarting in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Major fuel pipelines feeding the U.S. Northeast and Midwest were shut or severely curtailed, prompting shortages and dramatic spikes in wholesale cash prices that pushed the national retail average to $2.519 a gallon, the highest since August 2015. Harvey, which raked across the Texas Gulf coast a week ago, has roiled global fuel markets. Tankers carrying millions of barrels of fuel have been rerouted to the Americas to avert shortages. European refining margins hit a two-year high amid the surge in exports. Effects of the storm will continue for weeks, if not months, after record rains and flooding in Houston and the U.S. energy hub. It knocked out about 4.4 million barrels of daily refining capacity, slightly more than Japan uses daily, and only some restarts have begun so far. On Friday, the U.S. Energy Secretary approved an additional release of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, adding 3.5 million barrels on top of the 1 million barrels approved as of Thursday. The Explorer Pipeline, which hauls fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Midwest region, said it aimed to restart its main lines this weekend as refineries indicated they would be able to resume supplies. Marathon Petroleum Corp’s ( MPC.N ) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, had raised production to 45 percent of its 459,000 bpd capacity, sources told Reuters. In Corpus Christi, where Harvey first made landfall, Citgo Petroleum Corp PDVSAC.UL said it was beginning to restart its 157,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, while Flint Hills Resources and Valero Energy Corp ( VLO.N ) were also moving to restart their plants, sources said. LIGHT AT END OF TUNNEL Related Coverage Magellan''s Permian crude pipelines set to restart: notice Benchmark U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 had surged more than 15 percent since the storm began. But on Friday, U.S. gasoline margins RBc1-CLc1 tumbled nearly 5 percent and gasoline futures RBc1 fell by just under 2 percent, their first daily loss since the storm hit. “Yesterday, the anxiety over Harvey reached a crescendo,” said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC, adding that with the restarts, “you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.” The biggest U.S. refiner, Motiva''s Port Arthur facility, which can handle 600,000 barrels of crude daily, will be shut for at least two weeks, however, according to sources familiar with plant operations. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2xzsKWz ) Other plants in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area are expected to face similar challenges restarting as waters continue to rise, even as flooding receded in Houston, some 85 miles (137 km) west. The national average for a regular gallon of gasoline rose to $2.519 as of Friday morning, the highest since August 2015. That marks a 17.5-cent increase since Aug. 23, before the storm began, according to motorists advocacy group AAA. Even stiffer increases were reported in the U.S. Southeast, which relies heavily on Gulf supplies. A gas station submerged under flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey is seen in Rose City, Texas, U.S., on August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman South Carolina, for instance, has seen prices rise nearly 30 cents. Prices were up nearly 20 cents in Texas, where fuel shortages were already evident. SHORTAGE WORRIES Suppliers in the Chicago area were taking steps to prevent shortages, and banking on hope as wholesale prices continued to increase. Dave Luchtman, owner and president of Lucky’s Energy Service Inc, a small distributor in Chicago, has rented two storage trailers that hold 8,000 gallons each, expected to be delivered Friday. “So I have a little lifeline,” Luchtman said. Refineries so far have not given any indication that there are fuel shortages, said Mario Orlandi, an operations manager at Olson Service Co, which supplies diesel and gasoline to the Chicago area. “Cross our fingers, keep our tanks full,” Orlandi said. The global impact of the storm was being felt in Venezuela, where financially strapped state-run PDVSA is facing the possibility that scheduled deliveries - tankers floating offshore for weeks due to non-payment - will make their way to other Latin American destinations. At least two cargoes scheduled to deliver to Venezuela currently in the port of Curacao are now expected to be delivered to Ecuador. Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and other countries want to tap some of the 7 million barrels of fuel sitting in the Caribbean sea, according to three traders and shippers. European and Asian traders have diverted millions of barrels of fuel to the Americas. That included a rare opportunity for exports of jet fuel from Europe to the United States, reversing the usual flow of shipments. Supplies from distant markets may not arrive soon enough to avert a crunch after the Colonial Pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel system, said it would shut part of its main lines to the Northeast. “We are going to have outages from Texas to Boston,” said one East Coast market source. The market is “way under-appreciating the magnitude of this.” Several East Coast refineries have run out of gasoline for immediate delivery as they sent fuel elsewhere, and concerns over shortages ahead of the U.S. Labor Day extended weekend were mounting. (For a graphic on Harvey''s impact on energy markets, click tmsnrt.rs/2iK0YD9 ) Reporting by Erwin Seba and Devika Krishna Kumar; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Susannah Gonzales, Marianna Parraga, Karolin Schaps, Ron Bousso, Libby George and Seng Li Peng; Writing by David Gaffen and Libby George; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Tom Brown'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-energy/retail-u-s-gasoline-prices-surge-as-harvey-upends-global-markets-idUSKCN1BC4MR'|'2017-09-01T14:10:00.000+03:00'
'c88df8641a8fc2bd2619202cf60c6a0f0988756c'|'The parable of St Paul'|'PAUL POLMAN runs Europe’s seventh-most valuable company, Unilever, worth $176bn, but he is not a typical big cheese. A Dutchman who once considered becoming a priest, he believes that selling shampoo around the world can be a higher calling and detests the Anglo-Saxon doctrine of shareholder primacy, which holds that a firm’s chief purpose is to enrich its owners. Instead Mr Polman preaches that companies should be run “sustainably”—by investing, paying staff fairly, and by making healthy products with as little damage as possible to the environment. This is actually better for profits in the long run, he argues: society and shareholders need not be in conflict.Mr Polman’s beliefs were tested in February when Unilever received a bid from Kraft-Heinz, a ketchup-to-hot dog gorilla controlled by Warren Buffett and 3G Capital, a fund known for ripping costs out of multinationals. If, in its own mind, Unilever is a good corporate citizen, then it sees Kraft as an angry American with no interest in the planet, heavy debts, no growth, very little foreign presence, and an obsession with self-harming cost cuts.Latest updates The wealth and mediocrity of English football Graphic detail 11 hours ago What would the FDP do? Kaffeeklatsch 12 hours ago Escobar is dead, but “Narcos” and the drugs trade live on Prospero 14 hours ago The French president acts on his promise to overhaul jobs laws Europe 14 hours ago An interview with Christian Lindner Kaffeeklatsch 15 hours ago Whatever she may say, Theresa May won’t fight the next election Bagehot''s notebook 16 hours ago See all updates Kraft’s bid fizzled when Mr Buffett got cold feet, but the clash of ideologies is not over. For one thing, Unilever seems to have been pressured into adopting some 3G-style tactics. In April it promised to lift operating margins by 3.6 percentage points by 2020, to carry out a share buy-back and to exit its poorly performing margarine business. Its investment in brands and plant and equipment is expected to be flat in 2017, having risen in former years.After a “cooling off” spell required by British takeover rules, Kraft can now bid again. Inspired by 3G, activist hedge funds are stalking two rivals, Nestlé and Danone, and other peers are slashing costs. Mr Polman will probably stand down within two years—he wants his successor to be a Unilever insider—raising the question of whether his vision is coherent and will endure.There are two key tests. Has Unilever really been socially virtuous while creating lots of value for its owners? And does the market for corporate control function as it should, so that such a firm can survive? Start with the question of virtue. Since early 2009, when Mr Polman took over, emissions, water usage and waste have fallen by 43%, 38% and 96% respectively, per unit of production. Investment (including capital spending, research, branding and marketing) has risen to 20% of sales, from 18%. Tax payments have risen from 25% to 30% of underlying profits.So far so good. But Mr Polman has not been as nice to staff as you might expect. Their numbers have stayed at 170,000 (Kraft meanwhile has cut its workforce by 20% since 2013) but pay as a share of the firm’s output, or its “gross-value-added”, has fallen from 46% to 39%. Unilever’s pay per employee has been flat in dollar terms even as its top few managers have got 24% more on average. Mr Polman received $9m last year, a third more than his predecessor got (though less than his American peers).He argues that sustainability is good for shareholders because investment creates growth. Consumers, staff and regulators are attracted to firms that exhibit good conduct. For shareholders the clearest sign of success is Unilever’s global market share, which has risen from 16% to 18% since 2008, according to Alliance Bernstein, a brokerage. That is impressive given that local firms are gaining ground from multinationals in the emerging economies where Unilever makes almost two-thirds of its sales.But currency weakness has been a drag. Free cashflow per share has risen by 65% in dollar terms—a fairly average performance compared with a basket of ten Unilever rivals. Total return (share price appreciation plus dividends) was 138% in 2008-16 in dollars, behind the average for the peer group, although not by much. Mr Polman’s boldest claims about his firm are over the top, but broadly speaking Unilever has been run in a fairly sustainable way and delivered reasonable results for its owners.What about the second question—whether such a firm can survive with a fragmented base of shareholders, some of whom may be out for a fast buck? Takeovers should happen only when the target is badly run or if combining two firms will yield synergies. But Unilever is well managed and Kraft’s probable changes—more debt, and cost-cutting—it can do itself.Kraft is a “roll-up”, a firm that relies on acquisitions and cost cuts to mask low growth. Its sales have declined for the past nine quarters. Roll-up strategies usually end badly for investors. Still, cheap debt means that, while such firms remain on a winning streak, they can operate on a vastly greater scale than before (a combined Kraft-Unilever might have had as much as $120bn of debt). Many bosses, including, probably, Mr Polman, think normal firms need protecting from them. Britain could adjust its takeover rules in favour of target companies. More countries could alter their fiscal codes to stop tax breaks for leveraged buyers or they could copy France’s “Florange” law, which limits the voting rights of short-term shareholders.Society v shareholder valueIn fact, Unilever’s close encounter with Kraft suggests the jury is still out on whether capitalism is too myopic to allow firms to operate virtuously. The outcome so far broadly shows that markets work. Unilever’s shares were undervalued. Some of the changes that it has made were actually in the pipeline anyway (for example, in 2016 Mr Polman said margins would rise by up to 3.2 percentage points by 2020). Kraft’s bid forced the company to fine-tune its strategy and articulate it better. As a result Unilever’s total return is now almost at the top of its peer group.But much depends on the next 24 months. Kraft could bid again. An activist may attack Unilever. Mr Polman’s successor could repudiate his approach. Mr Polman is no saint, but his legacy is to have made one of Europe’s biggest companies a test case of how far shareholder primacy should go. If Unilever can’t keep half an eye on the greater good, no firm can. Watch it closely.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21727908-unilever-worlds-biggest-experiment-corporate-do-gooding-parable-st-paul?fsrc=rss'|'2017-08-31T22:51:00.000+03:00'
'a8ae147c6416e8921da6555ece0019eea7ee4842'|'Brazil antitrust body recommends rejection of Petrobras gas unit sale'|'The logo of Petrobras, state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, is seen at President Bernardes Refinery in Cubatao, Brazil June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A body of Brazil’s Cade antitrust watchdog on Monday recommended rejecting the acquisition of a liquefied petroleum gas distribution unit owned by state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ) by Ultragaz Participações Ltda.The watchdog division said the sale of Liquigas Distribuidora SA should be rejected by Cade´s board because the new player could have excessive regional market power that would be difficult to resolve through divestitures.In a statement, Cade´s panel said the deal would eliminate one of the four competitors controlling 85 percent of the market and would create incentives to price collusion.Petrobras agreed to sell Liquigas to Ultragaz, a unit of Brazilian industrial conglomerate Ultrapar Participações SA ( UGPA3.SA ), last November for 2.8 billion reais ($884 million), as part of a large asset sale program to cut its debt.If the Cade board rejects the Liquigas sale, it would be the third large deal blocked this year by the antitrust body.In June, Cade blocked the sale of education group Estacio Participacoes SA ( ESTC3.SA ) to rival Kroton Educacional SA ( KROT3.SA ).Earlier this month, Cade rejected the sale of fuels distribution firm Alesat to Ipiranga, a company also controlled by Ultrapar.Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/liquigas-m-a-antitrust/brazil-antitrust-body-recommends-rejection-of-petrobras-gas-unit-sale-idINKCN1B829F'|'2017-08-28T19:43:00.000+03:00'
'1265620f115c6a6834329c820c145b0a97d90734'|'London-listed drugmaker Indivior shares crash after U.S. patent blow'|'(Reuters) - Shares in London-listed Indivior plunged 40 percent after the drugmaker said a U.S. court ruling could clear the way for a generic rival to its treatment for opioid addiction that generates 80 percent of its revenues.Indivior said the Delaware District Court ruling meant it would not be able to rely on patents to prevent Indian firm Dr.Reddy’s from making and marketing a generic alternative to Suboxone Film unless the judgment is reversed on appeal.Suboxone Film had an average market share in the United States of 61 percent in 2016, Indivior said in a statement, and the treatment accounted for 80 percent of its total revenues last year.Shares in Indivior were down 37.5 percent at 260.6 pence at 1000 GMT, after the ruling on patents for the Suboxone treatment delivered by dissolvable film placed under the tongue rather than by tablet. The fall meant the share price gains over the year were wiped out.Indivior, spun off from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, said it could not quantify the precise financial impact of generic alternatives to Suboxone Film on revenues but said it “could potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the U.S.”Indivior said that if pharmacies could substitute Suboxone Film with a generic rival without direct consultation with the patient it could lead to the treatment losing up to 80 percent of its market share “within a matter of months”.Dr. Reddy‘s, whose shares gained 9 percent, bought the abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic rival treatment from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in June 2016 for $70 million.THREAT TO FORECASTS Dr Reddy’s welcomed the verdict.“The judgment reiterates our commitment to providing affordable and innovative medicines that address the unmet and under-met needs of patients around the world,” it said.The company gave no further details of the timing of a possible rival treatment.“Dr Reddy’s still needs to obtain FDA approval. So even in the best case, launch by Dr. Reddy’s is at least a year away,” said Anubhav Aggarwal, an analyst with Credit Suisse.Sales of Suboxone Film were higher in the first half of 2017 on the same period a year ago, but market share fell slightly to 59 percent from 61 percent. Generic rivals in tablet form are already on the market.In September, 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against Indivior alleging that it tried to keep generic versions of a drug off the market.The lawsuit by the states alleged that Indivior took steps to get patients to switch to the oral strip version of Suboxone.Indivior said in its statement on Friday it would “continue vigorously defending its intellectual property.”Indivior did not make any immediate changes to its full-year forecasts, but said the risk to the guidance related to the launch of a generic suboxone film has increased.The company raised its full-year revenue forecast by about 4 percent in July to a range of $1.09 billion to $1.12 billion.“Guidance provided at 1H assumed no generic film launch; hence there is increased risk around the guidance and we expect the company to update the market if there is any change in the visibility on the timing of a potential generic launch,” said James Vane-Tempest an analyst with Jefferies.Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair and Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/indivior-ruling/london-listed-drugmaker-indivior-shares-crash-after-u-s-patent-blow-idINKCN1BC4IU'|'2017-09-01T08:36:00.000+03:00'
'e7d4a0e3ab776ce60e17edc3ab6eadecbf04b18e'|'PPC says AfriSam''s new merger proposal falls short'|'JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African cement maker AfriSam [AFRSMV.UL] launched a new bid for PPC ( PPCJ.J ) on Monday with an offer that valued its rival at about 9.2 billion rand ($709 million), but an independent PPC board said it was too low.It was AfriSam’s third attempt in three years to merge with PPC and create a pan-African cement group with assets across six countries, after its previous bid was abandoned in February.Under the revised all-share merger proposal, the deal values PPC at about 9.2 billion rand or 5.75 rand per share, and gives AfriSam an enterprise value of 7.5 billion rand.As part of the proposal, the African unit of Canada’s Fairfax Africa Holdings ( FAHu.TO ) offered to buy 22 percent of PPC at 5.75 rand per share for 2 billion rand and also give AfriSam a cash injection to reduce the merged entity’s debt.The proposal could still be put to PPC shareholders but the initial response of PPC’s independent board, created to assess the AfriSam merger, was that the offer was too low. PPC said it would consider the offer but also said it had received rival offers.“The preliminary observation of the independent board regarding the partial offer from Fairfax is that, as indicated through prior engagements with AfriSam on a possible merger, the current 5.75 rand offer price fundamentally undervalues PPC,” PPC’s Chairman Peter Nelson said in a statement.Avior Capital Markets research analyst Garth Arenz agreed that the offer price was low.“I think the offer price is too low and with the current PPC share price trading above 5.75 rand after the announcement, it means that the market also thinks that 5.75 rand is too low and that a competing offer in excess of 5.75 rand will be presented to PPC,” Arenz said.Shares in PPC closed 8.8 percent higher on Monday at 5.93 rand.The 5.75 rand offer price is about 68 percent less than PPC’s share price in 2014, when AfriSam first proposed a merger. At that time, PPC was trading at 18 rand a share.PPC said it had received other offers from trade bidders, one of whom included a potential cash component, to create a pan-African cement giant. It did not name the bidders, saying the talks were confidential.It said the proposals were “credible and potentially value-enhancing for shareholders to merit careful consideration.”RECAPITALIZATION OF AFRISAM To make AfriSam’s deal possible, Fairfax would also recapitalize AfriSam by acquiring up to 4 billion rand worth of AfriSam’s shares, representing 60 percent of AfriSam’s equity capital and voting rights.“Among other benefits, the investment by Fairfax Africa will greatly reduce the underlying debt of the merged entity which will have sufficient liquidity and capital to compete in its current markets and selectively target growth opportunities on the continent”, said AfriSam acting chief executive Rob Wessels.Reporting by Nqobile Dludla,; Editing by Ed Osmond and Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ppc-m-a-afrisam/ppc-says-afrisams-new-merger-proposal-falls-short-idINKCN1BF277'|'2017-09-04T15:58:00.000+03:00'
'8aa81998007474bd01fd0a6edcd453711154e882'|'UPDATE 1-Trump nominates Columbia professor Jackson seat on U.S. SEC'|'(Adds background on Jackson and previous SEC nomination)WASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson, an advocate for public disclosure of political spending by companies, for a vacant seat on the five-member U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.If the nomination is approved by the U.S. Congress, Jackson would fill a spot reserved for a Democrat.His nomination, announced in a White House statement, follows a July decision by Trump to tap Hester Peirce, a former congressional aide, for a Republican seat on the commission.Approval of the nominees would bring the agency tasked with policing and writing rules for Wall Street to full strength and clear the way for SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to push ahead on an agenda of reducing the regulatory burden on public companies.Jackson is known for his advocacy work in trying to advance new rules at the SEC that would force public companies to disclose their political spending to investors. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-sec/update-1-trump-nominates-columbia-professor-jackson-for-seat-on-u-s-sec-idINL2N1LJ00N'|'2017-09-01T22:41:00.000+03:00'
'775238bf307f8213b147edcb2f9decb8f953fc05'|'Euro zone factory activity rises in August on strong demand - PMI'|'A worker welds in a factory in Gravellona Lomellina, 45km (27 miles) southwest of Milan, June 11, 2013. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/Files REUTERS - Euro zone manufacturing activity accelerated in August, clocking the fastest rise in export orders since February 2011 despite a strengthening currency, a business survey showed.Along with evidence of slowly-rising pricing power for businesses, the data may bolster confidence in the European Central Bank to make - and go ahead with - plans to reel back its massive asset purchases programme later this year.IHS Markit’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for the euro zone rose to 57.4 in August, in line with the preliminary reading and up from 56.6 in July.The latest factory PMI matched where it was in June, which was the highest since April 2011 and well above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.Strong manufacturing growth was recorded broadly across all major euro zone economies, with German factory activity also rising to the best since early 2011.“The euro zone’s impressive manufacturing upturn regained momentum in August, with a summer surge in factory activity suggesting rising goods production will support another strong GDP reading in the third quarter,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, in a release.“Producers across the region are benefiting from rising domestic demand as economic recoveries gain momentum, as well as surging export sales.”An index measuring output, which feeds into a composite PMI due on Tuesday, jumped to 58.3 from 56.5 in July, and slightly higher than the flash estimate of 58.1. The backlogs of work index rose to an 11-year high, a good sign for future output.Solid euro zone growth this year has led to expectations for the ECB to move away from its ultra-easy policy and has pushed the euro over 12 percent higher against the dollar in 2017.Still, the export orders sub-index, which also includes trade within the euro area, rose to the highest in 6-1/2 years to 58.5 in August, in line with the flash estimate and upsharply from 56.8 in July.That improvement in demand was for products from across the nations in the euro zone broadly, with German export orders rising at the fastest pace since May 2010.The survey also showed price pressures strengthened a bit in August with input costs rising the fastest since May and output prices increasing at a faster rate than in the previous month.Euro zone inflation rose more than expected to 1.5 percent in August, according to official data published on Thursday.But inflation in the 19-country currency bloc is well below the central bank’s target of just below 2 percent and wage pressures have remained largely absent.Editing by Toby Chopra '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-economy-pmi/euro-zone-factory-activity-rises-in-august-on-strong-demand-pmi-idINKCN1BC46W'|'2017-09-01T06:10:00.000+03:00'
'a3e6da95477cbe7100ad225d9350ff2eb3bbd881'|'Petronas interested in controlling stake in Daewoo E&C: Maeil Business'|'FILE PHOTO - Motorists queue to fill natural gas at a Petronas station with its landmark Petronas Twin Towers headquarters in the background, in Kuala Lumpur February 4, 2012. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - Malaysia’s Petroliam National Bhd (Petronas) is interested in buying a controlling stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd ( 047040.KS ), a South Korean newspaper reported on Friday, sending shares in the South Korean firm surging 9 percent.Petronas is considering acquiring the 50.75 percent stake owned by Korea Development Bank (KDB), Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing unnamed investment banking sources.A KDB spokesman declined comment on the report of Petronas’ interest. Petronas was not immediately available for comment. Daewoo E&C declined to comment.State-run KDB announced last year it would put up its stakes in non-core subsidiaries for sale. Since then, it has chosen BoA Merrill Lynch and Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities as sales advisors for Daewoo E&C, the spokesman said.The notice to officially kick off the sale of its stake in Daewoo E&C is expected to come by end-September, he added.Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-daewoo-e-c-m-a-petronas/petronas-interested-in-controlling-stake-in-daewoo-ec-maeil-business-idINKCN1BC3KN'|'2017-09-01T00:49:00.000+03:00'
'92f32dde18f15b4cf17780d8a01d8491458144ff'|'German investor Woehrl takes issue with Air Berlin sale process'|'An Airbus A320-214 aircraft of Air Berlin airways is seen at Zurich airport, Switzerland August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The field of bidders for Air Berlin’s ( AB1.DE ) assets appeared to narrow further on Thursday when aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl stepped back from the process to search for a partner.Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Ethical Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.Now the carrier is to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with about 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany up for grabs.Leading German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor are seen as likely bidders. Ryanair ( RYA.I ) will not submit a bid, Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary said on Wednesday.Woehrl -- who made his name when he bought German airline Deutsche BA from British Airways for a nominal 1 euro ($1.17) in 2003 -- has proposed keeping Air Berlin intact as a charter airline rather than carving it up.But he declined to sign a confidentiality agreement that would allow him to look at Air Berlin’s books, a pre-condition for a formal offer for the carrier. Such a step would be inappropriate as it wants to work with one of the other bidders on a joint offer, Woehrl’s firm Intro said.“The agreement is unsuitable given the consortium solution that Intro is planning,” the statement said.Lufthansa has already turned Woehrl down, but he has received positive signals from other bidders, it said, without providing details. Woehrl reiterated that he was not interested in buying only parts of Air Berlin.Lufthansa, which declined to comment on Woehrl’s statement, has the German government’s backing to take over major parts of Air Berlin.A source has told Reuters that the German flagship carrier could acquire as many as 90 of its planes, including 38 aircraft it is already leasing from the airline and its leisure unit Niki.EasyJet and Condor could split the rest of the fleet between them, media reports have said, with easyJet interested in up to 40 planes and Condor a double-figure number.Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda has expressed interest in buying back leisure unit Niki.Bidders for the assets must submit offers by a Sept. 15 deadline, and a decision could come on Sept. 21, three days before a German election.The carrier is being kept in the air thanks to a 150 million euro ($178 million) government loan, which it has said would last for up to three months.($1 = 0.8424 euros)Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Peter Maushagen; Editing by Edmund Blair and Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-woehrl/woehrl-wants-to-team-up-with-another-bidder-to-buy-air-berlin-idINKCN1BB0XX'|'2017-08-31T07:07:00.000+03:00'
'e7505f55af866398e27e25c414fcef023e17b8d4'|'Expedia names Alan Pickerill CFO'|' 16 PM / 16 minutes ago Expedia names Alan Pickerill CFO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 1 (Reuters) - Online travel services company Expedia Inc said on Friday it appointed Alan Pickerill as its chief financial officer. Pickerill, who was most recently the senior vice president, treasurer and head of investor relations at Expedia, succeeds Mark Okerstrom, currently president and chief executive of the company. Expedia named Okerstrom to its top job earlier this week, after Dara Khosrowshahi left the company to become CEO of car-ride provider Uber Technologies Inc. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/expedia-cfo/expedia-names-alan-pickerill-cfo-idUSL4N1LI3ZY'|'2017-09-01T16:13:00.000+03:00'
'8b15968010a95bb5a38edf86d6a26e90deac209b'|'Hewlett Packard Enterprise to complete software spin-off'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:06 AM / 15 minutes ago Hewlett Packard Enterprise to complete software spin-off Salvador Rodriguez 3 Min Read The Hewlett-Packard (HP) logo is seen as part of a display at the Microsoft Ignite technology conference in Chicago, Illinois, May 4, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co completed the spin-off of much of its software business early on Friday, closing the door on the disastrous 2011 acquisition of British firm Autonomy and narrowing the company’s focus to data centre hardware and software. The enterprise software businesses, which include the widely used ArcSight security platform, have been merged with Micro Focus International Plc, a British software company. HPE was formed when the company once known as Hewlett-Packard split into HPE and HP Inc in November 2015. The spin-off comes as HPE adjusts to the rapid shift of corporate computing to cloud services offered by the likes of Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp. HPE aims to cater specifically to customers running services both on their own premises and in the cloud, said Ric Lewis, senior vice president of HPE’s cloud software group, in an interview. The spin-off marks the end of HP’s unhappy tangle with Autonomy, which it acquired for $11 billion in an aborted effort to transform HP into an enterprise software leader. The ink was barely dry on the much-criticized deal when the company took an $8.8 billion writedown on it. HP fired CEO Leo Apotheker and later sued Michael Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, once the chief executive and chief financial officers of Autonomy, respectively. The ongoing legal case remains the responsibility of HPE, the company said. “Autonomy was a distraction - a big one - and HPE can now stop spending its energy on defending its decision and dealing with the aftermath,” said Glenn O’Donnell, a Forrester Research analyst. The challenge now for HPE will be to quickly build new software for mixed data centre environments, said Tom Bittman, an analyst with Gartner. “They have the hardware, they have the networking, but software is key here, and they have to push hard,” Bittman said. Chris Hsu, who was previously chief operating officer of HPE, is taking over as CEO of Micro Focus. He intends to focus on growth through acquisitions, Hsu told Reuters. “A highly fragmented industry of enterprise software creates an environment whereby we will be well positioned to benefit from that industry consolidation,” Hsu said in a July interview. “Micro Focus used to be primarily a place where software would go to spend its elderly years,” Bittman said. “With all this new software, growth should become a major strategy.” Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez; Editing by Jonathan Weber, Bill Rigby and Andrew Hay'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hewlett-packard-spinoff/hewlett-packard-enterprise-to-complete-software-spin-off-idUKKCN1BC40R'|'2017-09-01T10:05:00.000+03:00'
'9ad5d1607dd1f9f101f1bc5a54996447d02352bb'|'CPC''s oil exports drop 1 pct in Aug'|'MOSCOW, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The Caspian oil pipeline cut supplies by about 1 percent in August from July, to 4.417 million tonnes, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said on Friday.In January-August, CPC’s exports rose to 36.1 million tonnes from 28.08 million tonnes in the year-earlier period, in accordance with its expansion plans.Last month, the consortium said it had curtailed its export target for this year to 56.5 million tonnes of crude oil (1.13 million barrels per day) due to a global oil output cut deal reached by OPEC and non-OPEC producers.Initially, it had planned to export almost 65 million tonnes this year.The pipeline connects the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan, and a number of other fields, to the sea terminal near Novorossiisk in Russia. (Reporting by Alla Afanasyeva; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/cpc-oil-exports/cpcs-oil-exports-drop-1-pct-in-aug-idUSL8N1LI48S'|'2017-09-02T00:56:00.000+03:00'
'84b31b74a3f3173775b4a7684040abc0abca9fdc'|'Of Indian banknotes cancelled last year, 99% are accounted for'|'ON NOVEMBER 8th 2016, Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, stunned its 1.3bn people by announcing that most banknotes would soon become worthless. Indians then queued for weeks on end to exchange or deposit their banned money at banks. The comfort for the poor was that the greedy, tax-dodging rich would suffer more, as they struggled to launder their suitcases full of cash by year-end.Not so. A report from the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on August 30th suggests that of the 15.4trn rupees ($241bn) withdrawn—roughly 86% of all banknotes by value—15.3trn rupees, or 99% of them, have been accounted for. Either the “black money” never existed or, more likely, the hoarders found a way of making it legitimate. 7 hours ago A Defenders of the scheme say it is merely one plank of a wider fight against informal economic activity and corruption. Banks have enjoyed an influx of cash. Digital payments are up (from a low base), as issuance of replacement notes has not caught up with the pre-withdrawal peak (see chart).Officials once privately salivated in hope that maybe a quarter of the money, if not more, would remain in the shadows. An edict to the central-bank governor to renege on his promise to “pay the bearer” of unreturned, demonetised notes fuelled social-media rumours that this could finance a one-off dividend to be dished out to all Indians.In fact, not much more than 100 rupees a person is available. The RBI has released the figure only now, claiming, improbably, that it needed to count the cash in its tills. Its reputation for independence and competence has been dented. So has national pride: demonetisation has pared growth and handed back to China India’s coveted crown of being world’s fastest-growing large economy. "Paint it white"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21727909-thats-bad-news-government-hoping-windfall-indian-banknotes-cancelled?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-02T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'3e186adb50df7ebab2658c12ee797c38a82faac1'|'Pricey housing markets mean co-living buildings are on the rise'|'MONDAY is “Game of Thrones” night at The Collective’s Old Oak building. Millennials congregate in TV rooms around the 11-storey, 550-person block. Some gather at the cinema, lounging on bean bags decorated with old graphics from Life magazine. Nothing gets residents out of their rooms like the hit TV show. This is not a student dorm, however. It is home.The Collective is a pioneer of a new property format known as “co-living”. Instead of self-contained flats, residents live in tiny rooms with 12 square metres of floor space. Most contain just a bed and a bathroom. During a two-night stay your correspondent could barely fit his shoulders into the shower cubicle. 11 It is outside these rooms that the building makes its pitch. It comes with a gym, spa, libraries, a good restaurant and a cinema. Residents get access to all of these amenities, as well as their room, for a rental payment of £800-£1,000 ($1,033-$1,292) a month. That includes all bills and high-speed Wi-Fi; they pay extra for meals in the restaurant. Residents have come up with their own services, too. The Collective houses a “library of things”, or a shared repository of useful objects—hammers, tape measures and even tents.Rising rents have opened up a gap in the market. The ratio of average rents to incomes in London rose from a quarter to a third between 2004 and 2014. In New York, average rents have grown from 29% of average income in 2002 to 34% in 2014. Most young professionals moving to thriving cities face a difficult choice between spending a big share of their income on renting their own place, or moving in with strangers in a shared house to save money. The Collective offers something different.Old Oak, the firm’s first building in north-west London, has been 97% occupied for most of this year. The Collective is putting up two more co-living buildings in London, one in Stratford and one in Canary Wharf. The notion of tiny rooms and shared luxury services is fairly new and little tested, but the property industry is paying attention. Jack Sibley of TH Real Estate, a property investment manager, calls it “one of the most promising ideas for the future of living to emerge for some time”.The next step for Reza Merchant, The Collective’s founder, is expansion abroad. He is close to striking deals on buildings in Boston and New York, and is talking to developers in Berlin, where historically low rents have been rising fast for the city’s young, creative types. The Collective has no real competitors in Britain but its move to America will see it run into Ollie, a co-living firm in New York.Both of Ollie’s existing co-living buildings are smaller than Old Oak (the largest of its kind in the world). But the American firm will soon run a co-living space over 13 floors of a building in Long Island City in the borough of Queens. It is being developed by Quadrum Global, a property investment company, whose financial models predict that co-living will substantially outperform conventional rented flats in future because the return per square foot is so high.WeWork, a private firm that is the world’s largest provider of shared workspaces and is valued at an estimated $20bn, has a residential arm, WeLive, that is running co-living units out of a leased building on Wall Street in Manhattan. It has joined forces with a property firm in Seattle called Martin Selig to construct a new 36-storey building, 23 floors of which will be dedicated to co-living.The model will get tweaked as developers see what works and what doesn’t. Mr Merchant is using data gathered from Old Oak to refine The Collective’s new buildings. Rooms will be slightly larger, because the tiny square footage is one of the main reasons residents give for moving on. Sensors monitor use of the common spaces, and in the new complexes the kitchens will all be on one floor, rather than scattered around the building. Most of Old Oak’s shared spaces are in fact fairly empty; the liveliest area is the launderette, where residents mingle and watch TV as they wait for washing cycles.Maria Carvalho, a social-sciences academic at the London School of Economics, moved into the building because she wanted to live with other people, but did not want to have to find roommates. “I would call it a hipster commune, not a hippy commune,” she says. She particularly likes meeting friends walking home from the train station but says kitchen utensils often go missing. (With too many co-livers to be able to know everyone personally, CCTV is used in these areas as a guarantor of good conduct and cleanliness.)The Collective and other companies like it have a choice to make, says Roger Southam of Savills, a property firm. They could continue focusing on incoming workers to big cities, providing minimal private living space alongside attractive shared areas. But Mr Southam sees much more potential if co-living spaces can give residents slightly more private space, allowing them to attract people already living in cities. Starting from the smallest of rooms and working up may let co-living firms hit upon the perfect balance of shared and private space. Who, after all, doesn’t want a cinema in the basement? "Rent collective"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21727948-co-living-hipsters-not-hippies-pricey-housing-markets-mean-co-living-buildings-are?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-08-31T22:51:00.000+03:00'
'6c6ad2d6c7d59e93d4ce55ca06be81f169990640'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. refiner Motiva warns of fuel supply crunch after Harvey -source'|'(Adds comment from Circle K)NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Refiner Motiva has warned customers along the route of the largest U.S. fuel pipeline to prepare for shortages after Hurricane Harvey shut refineries and cut supply to the line, said a source at a fuel distributor supplied by Motiva.Motiva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Harvey shut refineries that can process up to 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude. The plants shut down include Motiva’s 603,000 bpd facility in Port Arthur, Texas, the largest refinery in the country.The reduction in fuel supplies has forced the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies fuel from refineries near the Gulf of Mexico to the U.S. Northeast, to reduce supplies. Motiva warned customers near the areas supplied by the pipeline to brace for shortages, the source said.Convenience store and gas station chain Circle K, a big buyer from Motiva, said the company was working with a limited supply.”Circle K is continually assessing the fuel situation... is working hard to get our fuel supply to full capacity and to all our stores as soon as possible,” a company spokesperson said.Alimentation Couche Tard Inc is the operator of Circle K stores (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-motiva-supply/update-1-u-s-refiner-motiva-warns-of-fuel-supply-crunch-after-harvey-source-idINL2N1LI26F'|'2017-09-01T22:20:00.000+03:00'
'49dafe0b88e077ce197559c1514d0c88bdbcc6f7'|'INSIGHT-How fair is our food? Big companies take reins on sourcing schemes'|'* More companies crafting in-house sustainability schemes* Critics say standards risk being muddled* Companies say targets tailored for increasingly savvy consumers* New standards also help companies meet own sustainability goals* Third-party certifiers try to adapt and stay relevantBy Ana IonovaLONDON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - From cocoa to tea, food and drink giants are setting their own standards for ethical sourcing of raw materials, moving away from third-party labels such as Fairtrade.Mondelez International, owner of chocolate brands Cadbury and Toblerone, Unilever, behind tea brands such as Lipton and PG Tips, and Barry Callebaut, the world’s biggest producer of chocolate and cocoa products, have all introduced their own schemes.They say their targets are more comprehensive and some claim their schemes are more effective in tracking whether a product is ethically sourced every step of the way. With companies under financial pressure, analysts say it has also been a way to save money.But critics are worried that the standards that third-party groups such as UTZ Certified or Rainforest Alliance have fought to establish risk being muddled and what is deemed ethical and sustainable could become more ambiguous.“Standards measuring environmental and social issues need to be transparent because, once this process happens behind closed doors, it is difficult to see how companies and farms apply them,” said Sloane Hamilton, labour rights policy advisor at Oxfam, a charity focused on alleviating poverty.“We don’t want to see standards watered down, and neither do we want customers to be faced by a bewildering proliferation of different certification schemes.”Third-party certifiers are not opposed to all self-certification, even though the loss of fees could threaten their future. Rather, they are worried standards could become meaningless if too many companies set their own criteria.Mondelez started selling the first Green & Black’s chocolate in the UK without a Fairtrade logo in August, more than 23 years after the brand’s Maya Gold bar received Britain’s first mark.The bar instead carries the stamp of “Cocoa Life”, a Mondelez scheme started in 2012 with broad goals including improved productivity, protection of fertile land and gender equality in farming communities.Mondelez says Fairtrade is still an “implementing partner” and the group’s auditing arm is used to vet cocoa sourced through “Cocoa Life”.Fairtrade, a non profit, aims to push for a better deal for farmers and workers in developing nations. It sets standards, including a minimum price for raw materials, and requires companies to contribute towards businesses or community projects, in exchange for the Fairtrade stamp.But as the concept of ethically-sourced ingredients has become better understood by consumers, brands have started adopting standards that work for their business and image.“It’s opened the door for companies to say ‘well let’s develop a standard that suits our business and also has the impact that we want to have on the ground,” said Alan Rownan, ethical labels analyst at Euromonitor.Crafting in-house standards has also become a way to trim costs for big companies under financial pressure as economic growth slows and consumers opt for healthier snacks or smaller, more artisan brands.“When the whole market is certified, the ability to have a higher price for it becomes less,” said Jon Cox, analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Zurich, who follows companies such as Nestle and Barry Callebaut.“So why not bring it in-house anyway and save money? And if they can convince consumers that it’s as good as some of the independents, if not better, then that maybe helps them as well.”DEEPER INVOLVEMENT While third-party labels have had a leading role in the drive to stamp out practices such as deforestation and child labour on farms, they have also faced criticism.Think-tanks and industry groups say the way they enforce standards is not transparent enough and they have failed to align their programmes to reduce complexity. Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified are now expected to streamline their standards after recently announcing plans to merge.With consumer awareness growing, companies are also seeking to track more closely the sourcing of their ingredients and show the impact of certification to their consumers.Fairtrade ensures that the sourcing of raw materials including coffee and bananas can be traced at every step of farming and processing but it does not provide the same guarantee for cocoa and tea.It says certified cocoa beans are difficult to track as they can get mixed with conventional beans at the processing stage in countries that do not have the capacity to keep them separate.This means a Fairtrade chocolate bar may be made with certified and conventional cocoa, with the label only guaranteeing that the company buys a percentage of Fairtrade beans and that any premium paid goes to farmers certified by the organisation.Some food and drinks companies say, as part of their move to new standards, they are taking a more active role in sourcing to show consumers a clearer link.For example, Barry Callebaut built a dedicated ethically-sourced cocoa butter tank in a factory in Belgium and it has launched a mobile app aimed at improving traceability on farms in the Ivory Coast.Mondelez does not track cocoa through the entire supply chain, but it says Cocoa Life has allowed for a deeper involvement with farmers. The company uses digital mapping in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Indonesia to boost transparency and traceability from farm to processing facility.“When you’re simply a buyer of raw materials, then in a typical supply chain, you’re not involved directly on the ground,” said Jonathan Horrell, global director of sustainability for Mondelez.Some companies have also set deadlines for eliminating unsustainable practices from their supply chain and, as they approach, the pressure to find solutions has intensified.Unilever has promised to source 100 percent of its materials sustainably by 2020 using both certification and its own “Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Code.”Barry Callebaut is also aiming to source 100 percent of its ingredients sustainably by 2025, up from 23 percent in 2015. It buys cocoa through external schemes and its own “Cocoa Horizons” programme.“They’re under pressure to reach these (goals),” Rownan said. “And it’s not always easy to reach 100 percent targets following these mainstream, rigid certifications.”SAVVY CONSUMERS While critics of self-certification worry about muddling standards, consumers are growing savvier. The companies say they risk a fierce backlash if they try to loosen the rules.“If you connect your name to it...then you want to make sure what you’re putting out there is absolutely credible,” said Christiaan Prins, head of external affairs for Barry Callebaut. “The consumer nowadays can no longer be tricked in any sense.”Sainsbury’s angered consumers and watchdogs in June when it replaced the Fairtrade mark on its own-brand tea with its pilot “Fairly Traded” version, with an eye to possibly extending it to other products such as coffee and bananas.Under “Fairly Traded”, farmers will get “above and beyond” what they were receiving from Fairtrade and it should help make them more resilient to climate change, said Sainsbury’s head of media relations David Nieberg.But critics say the scheme takes control away from farmer organisations, who will no longer directly receive a premium for their tea. The premium will be managed by the Sainsbury’s Foundation and will be used to fund farmers’ strategic projects.Sainsbury’s will not pay licensing fees to Fairtrade but will continue to buy tea from farmers certified by the group. It will also purchase from farmers vetted by other groups if it decides they meet its in-house rules for ethical sourcing, Nieberg said.Consumer scrutiny is likely to be even greater towards companies using self-made schemes to meet ambitious targets for “sustainable” sourcing - a label that is already ambiguous because it has many standards and meanings.“When companies move away from certifiers and all of a sudden are able to far more easily achieve their sustainability goals – well what’s changed?” said Rownan. “I think consumers will want to know.”With questions about their future, third-party certifiers are trying to adapt to the potential dent to licensing fees, which made up 11 million euros ($13.04 million) or 63 percent of Fairtrade International’s income in 2015.“We’re trying to show them the stories behind the investment,” said Dario Soto Abril, chief executive officer at Fairtrade International. “We’re making a big effort to listen to companies and adapt and innovate within our model.”Fairtrade also hopes to expand through new partnerships with groups such as Lidl and Aldi, said Abril. Fairtrade’s auditing arm, FLOCERT, also launched an online platform called Fairtrace, to make it easier to track products through the supply chain. ($1 = 0.8434 euros) (additional reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Anna Willard) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/food-fairtrade-sustainability/insight-how-fair-is-our-food-big-companies-take-reins-on-sourcing-schemes-idINL8N1L93IY'|'2017-09-03T07:00:00.000+03:00'
'e54541e455ad7a46e17f99679ce75afb294c7a49'|'Allianz, Baloise and Cinven among final bidders for Generali''s Belgian unit - sources'|'September 1, 2017 / 11:08 AM / in an hour Allianz, Baloise and Cinven among final bidders for Generali''s Belgian unit - sources Arno Schuetze , Pamela Barbaglia 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A banner with a logo of Generali insurance is seen outside one of its branch offices in Telfs, Austria, November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - European insurers Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) and Baloise Holding ( BALN.S ) and London-based buyout fund Cinven are finalising rival offers for Generali’s ( GASI.MI ) Belgian unit ahead of a Sept. 8 deadline, sources told Reuters. The deal could value the business at up to 500 million euros ($595 million) in what would be the Italian insurer’s biggest divestment in its latest reorganisation. Generali, Europe’s third biggest insurer, wants to wrap up the auction by mid September finding a new owner for a business that provides anything from life to car insurance to a network of about 530,000 retail and corporate clients. It is looking to sell the entire business to a single investor rather than breaking it up and carving out so-called “back books”, which consist of existing contracts with no access to new clients, the sources said. The Italian firm said in November it wanted to raise at least 1 billion euros by leaving 13 to 15 countries. Bermuda-based insurer Athene Holding ( ATH.N ) is also vying for the unit, the sources said, adding that it might only be targeting the “back books”. Allianz, Baloise and Cinven are instead looking to buy the business as a whole, they said. Generali, Allianz, Baloise, Athene and Cinven declined to comment. The auction, which is being led by Deutsche Bank, was launched earlier this year as part of Generali’s efforts to cut costs in weaker markets and boost profit. Bidders were asked to submit non-binding offers in July, the sources said, with one adding first round bids valued the business at less than 500 million euros. Generali has been present in Belgium for over a century having started operations there in 1901. Its Belgian unit has 6.3 billion euros of assets under management and reported a net profit of about 89 million euros in 2016, with total premium income rising 19.2 percent to 800 million euros. Generali recently sold its Colombian business to Talanx Group and is working with BNP Paribas to find a new owner for its Dutch business. It also planning to exit Portugal, the sources said, adding a process will kick off later this year. Germany’s Allianz recently formed a joint venture and strategic partnership with British insurer LV= [LV.UL] to form the third-largest property and casualty insurer in Britain. It also took control of Nigeria’s Ensure Insurance in a push for growth in Africa. ($1 = 0.8405 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-generali-m-a-belgium/allianz-baloise-and-cinven-among-final-bidders-for-generalis-belgian-unit-sources-idUKKCN1BC4M7'|'2017-09-01T14:08:00.000+03:00'
'e91bf174cc5a6c0ec76371ed7ee0b492ceca712f'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Sept 4'|'ZURICH, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Monday.CLARIANT The vast majority of Clariant’s shareholders support the Swiss chemical maker’s planned $20 billion merger with American peer Huntsman, Huntsman Chief Executive Peter Huntsman told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.For more news, clickSWATCH Chief Executive Nick Hayek said the Belenos Clean Power unit, in which his company holds a controlling stake, plans to start production of electric car batteries next year after suffering delays, Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported.For more news, clickCOMPANY STATEMENTS * Gurit said it has completed the acquisition of PH Windsolutions, a deal which was announced in April.* AMS will continue to make acquisitions, Chief Executive Alexander Everke told Swiss newspaper NZZ on Saturday, as the Austrian-based chip maker targets annual sales growth of 40 percent.ECONOMY The Swiss National Bank is due to release sight deposit data at 0800 GMT.Reporting by Zurich newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks/swiss-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-4-idINL8N1LI426'|'2017-09-04T02:52:00.000+03:00'
'8ff99d3c2fc03d54f7ee233609e7c9d537f3573e'|'China set to create world''s top utility with latest government merger'|'A worker fixes the company logo of China Guodian Corp at a building in Beijing, China January 24, 2013. Picture taken January 24, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s top coal miner Shenhua Group Corp Ltd will take over China Guodian Group Corp, among the country’s top five state power producers, in a deal that will create the world’s largest power utility worth $278 billion.The companies have been in talks about a merger for several months as Beijing aims to shake up its indebted and inefficient state sector, streamline the number of companies and create globally competitive firms in sectors including power generation, shipping and metals.The Guodian-Shenhua deal was announced on Monday by China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in a one-line statement that gave no other details.In a filing later on Monday, Shenhua’s listed unit China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd said its parent will absorb Guodian as part of the deal and the new company will be called National Energy Group.Beijing has merged 15 SOEs since 2015 and currently manages 103 - a number that could eventually fall to about 40, state media reported.The combined entity would have an installed capacity topping 225 gigawatts (GW), leapfrogging EDF and Enel to become the world’s biggest power company by capacity, according to Frank Yu, principal consultant for Asia-Pacific Power and Renewables at Wood Mackenzie.It would also be the largest wind power developer with 33 gigawatts of capacity and the biggest coal producer, he said.The deal will provide Guodian with a captive coal supply that will help manage its price risks for its main raw material, give it access to Shenhua’s infrastructure of rail, harbours and shipping fleet, as well as its deep cash reserves that will help the power producer pay off its large debts, analysts said.For Shenhua, a merger with a major state power provider such as Guodian - also a leading hydropower and renewables developer - could ease its dependence on polluting coal as smog-plagued China looks to move toward cleaner fuel.FILE PHOTO: A company logo of China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 16, 2010. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo “The union of coal and utilities means both Shenhua and Guodian will balance their risks from commodities, but it will not necessarily boost its (the combined company‘s) profit level,” said Li Rong, power analyst with SIA Energy.TRILLIONS IN ASSETS Shenhua had assets worth 1.04 trillion yuan ($157.38 billion) at the end of April and Guodian had assets worth 800 billion yuan, according to company statements.On Friday, Shenhua’s listed unit China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd delivered its strongest interim results in four years, becoming one of the most profitable public commodity companies in the country.Government-enforced mining capacity cuts as part of the war on smog have helped fuel a spectacular rally in coal prices in China since the summer of 2016, defying forecasts that the industry was in terminal decline and hurting utilities’ profits.In Shenhua Energy’s filing, it said it will combine coal-fired power assets with Gourdian’s listed unit GD Power, creating a new subsidiary that will include 40 plants across all major regions.GD will be the controlling shareholder of that entity, with Shenhua contributing 29.27 billion yuan and GD accounting for some 37.37 billion of the total value.China Guodian is one of five state power producers formed in 2002 after the restructuring of China’s state-owned power sector monopoly, along with China Huadian Corp, State Power Investment Corp, China Huaneng Group and China Datang Corp.($1 = 6.6080 Chinese yuan)Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Tom Hogue and Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-power-shenhua-guodian/china-power-producer-guodian-to-merge-with-shenhua-coal-government-idINKCN1B80M9'|'2017-08-28T05:54:00.000+03:00'
'c41d8d60eb84c6f42b1a9023f542675622a617c4'|'Audio firm Harman aims for sales boost, new deals after Samsung takeover'|'September 1, 2017 / 6:40 PM / 17 minutes ago Audio firm Harman aims for sales boost, new deals after Samsung takeover Douglas Busvine , Eric Auchard 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, August 25, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji BERLIN (Reuters) - Audio specialist Harman International wants to nearly treble annual sales by 2025 by partnering with tech groups such as Amazon ( AMZN.O ), Google ( GOOGL.O ) and Microsoft ( MSFT.O ), as well as its new owner, Samsung ( 005930.KS ), its chief executive said on Friday. CEO Dinesh Palliwal, in an interview at the IFA consumer electronics fair, said he had set an internal goal to make Harman a $20 billion (15.44 billion pounds) business within eight years, up from around $7.3 billion currently, through a mix of internal growth and bolt-on deals. He declined to name specific targets but said that acquisitions could come in the fields of artificial intelligence, voice recognition, machine learning and the internet of things. The aim is to expand the three parts of its business: consumer and professional audio products, along with its biggest operation, automotive audio and parts supply. Six months after Harman was acquired for $8 billion by Samsung Electronics - the largest overseas deal ever for the South Korean group - Palliwal said his firm would retain a distinct strategy and a strong measure of independence from the parent. This week Harman introduced in Berlin new audio speakers that talk to Google ( GOOGL.O ) Home and Amazon ( AMZN.O ) Alexa, the top voice-controlled digital assistants on the market. Harman is also demonstrating speakers that can be run by voice commands from Microsoft’s ( MSFT.O ) forthcoming Cortana assistant that are set to be released later this year. “What is the long-term strategy? To continue to be agnostic; to provide excellent product,” Palliwal said. “People want choice and they do not want to sacrifice the quality of sound. This is where Harman comes in.” Such voice-activated products – which can steer music systems, dim the lights, tell jokes or activate a security system – hook up their owners to the so-called internet of things without them having to type instructions on a smartphone or a computer keyboard. Harman is also working to provide Samsung’s digital assistant, Bixby, with “the world’s best, enabled, smart, intelligent speaker,” Palliwal said, “but it won’t replace the others,” he said, referring to working with rivals such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Reporting by Douglas Busvine and Eric Auchard in Berlin. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-samsung-elec-harman/audio-firm-harman-aims-for-sales-boost-new-deals-after-samsung-takeover-idUKKCN1BC5QA'|'2017-09-01T21:40:00.000+03:00'
'1febd5c6034e84c8b97645b4bee74a87bab2ac98'|'DB11 drives Aston Martin back into black in first half of year'|'The Aston Martin logo is seen at a car repair workshop in Beijing, China June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Aston Martin reported its first half-yearly profit in almost a decade on Friday as sales of the new DB11 model put the luxury British carmaker on the road to recovery.The 104-year old firm posted a record pre-tax profit of 21.1 million pounds ($27 million) in the first six months of the year, its first since 2008, compared with a 82.3 million pound loss last year.Aston, famed for making the sports car driven by fictional secret agent James Bond, has benefited from surging sales with volumes rising 67 percent to 2,439 vehicles, spurred on by the new DB11 model.“It’s the big uptick in volume ... plus we’re getting much higher specifications on these cars,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Wilson told Reuters.The carmaker expects full-year volumes to rise by around a third to roughly 5,000 cars and Wilson said it is “increasingly possible” that the firm will post a full-year pre-tax profit this year, which would be its first since 2010.Demand was at a low last year as the firm was still selling its range of older models ahead of the release of several new cars designed to boost volumes and its appeal.The automaker, owned mainly by Kuwaiti and Italian investors, is implementing a turnaround plan which could propel it towards a stock market flotation by the end of the decade.Following media speculation earlier this year, Chief Executive Andy Palmer said a number of options were open to shareholders but declined to provide a timeframe for any decision.“They could sell to other private equity, they could sell to other luxury groups, they could sell to other OEMs (carmakers). They have a whole raft of possibilities, of which one is an IPO,” he told Reuters.BREXIT RISKS But the car industry is concerned that Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2019 could harm its recent success with any tariffs and border checks jeopardising sales and risking the viability of plants.Palmer said the firm has ploughed resources into boosting its market share in the United States and Japan since the June 23 referendum last year to mitigate against any risks around the 15 percent of sales currently made to the EU.“We decided to invest money in marketing in the U.S,” he said.“We are trying to give a push in the U.S. to increase our market share there, increase our volumes there (and) therefore decrease our reliance on Europe,” he told Reuters. “To some extent, that would be true also of Japan.”The firm also suffered a setback earlier this year as it had to recall 1,658 Vantage sports cars and 2,244 DB11 coupe models.Some Vantage cars are affected by a transmission issue whereby the gears can change outside of the driver’s control, whilst the tyre pressure mounting system is incorrectly set in the DB11, according to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.The cost of the Vantage recall is in the “low hundreds of thousands” and changes to the DB11 will be less expensive, the firm said on Friday.Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Keith Weir and David Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/astonmartin-results/db11-drives-aston-martin-back-into-black-in-first-half-of-year-idINKCN1B5205'|'2017-08-25T13:56:00.000+03:00'
'04963ce9eda3aa574041fcb56f82e9146c3e11a4'|'Tenet to sell Philadelphia hospitals for $170 mln'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tenet Healthcare Corp ( THC.N ) said on Friday it will sell its two Philadelphia hospitals and related operations to Paladin Healthcare for around $170 million, as the hospital company works to lighten its debt load.Tenet is under pressure from its largest shareholder -- Glenview Capital Management -- to shake things up. It said on Thursday that it plans to replace longtime Chief Executive Trevor Fetter and members of its board.The company said it expects to receive $152.5 million in cash as well as a promissory note for $17.5 million from Paladin for Hahnemann University Hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and other related operations. It said it will take a non-cash impairment charge of around $230 million for the assets in the third quarter this year.Shares of Tenet, one of the largest U.S. hospital companies, have lost nearly three-quarters of their value since 2015. The industry has struggled over that period because of fewer patients, rising expenses and high debt.Tenet’s stock market value is $1.7 billion, while its long-term debt load is a whopping $15 billion.Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Phil Berlowitz '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-tenet-healthcare-philadelphia/tenet-to-sell-philadelphia-hospitals-for-170-mln-idINKCN1BC5B4'|'2017-09-01T13:36:00.000+03:00'
'de63ede1ee72e0b93bb772179729fa19131e6668'|'British fashion retailer New Look seeks change of leadership to revive fortunes'|'September 1, 2017 / 10:14 AM / 29 minutes ago British fashion retailer New Look seeks change of leadership to revive fortunes Esha Vaish 3 Min Read Women hold New Look shopping bags on Oxford Street in London, Britain, February 12, 2010. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo - (Reuters) - British budget fashion retailer New Look [NEWOON.UL], which is owned by South Africa’s Brait ( BATJ.J ) and struggling with declining sales in a fiercely competitive UK market, said Chief Executive Anders Kristiansen had left the company. New Look had been one of Britain’s most popular retail names for decades, offering fashionable clothes at lower prices, but has seen its sales slide over the past year amid rising competition from the likes of online retailers Asos ( ASOS.L ) and Boohoo ( BOOH.L ) and Inditex’s ( ITX.MC ) Zara, which can bring the latest trends to stores more quickly via its local supply chain. “As New Look embarks on its next phase of development, we have mutually agreed that it is the appropriate time for a change to the leadership of the company,” New Look Chairman John Gnodde said in a statement. Kristiansen had been at the helm for five years. A source told Reuters on Friday that given recent changes in the consumer environment and New Look’s performance, Brait had decided that he was “not the right guy at the moment”. This had lead them to “quite quickly” decide to seek new leadership, the source added. Brait, in which South African retail mogul Christo Wiese is the top investor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a New Look spokesman declined to comment. Last month the retailer reported a 4.4 percent decline in revenue for the 13 weeks to June 24, which Kristiansen said was a “disappointing quarter of trading” and vowed to ramp up efforts to cut costs and deliver a better “product proposition”. New Look named Danny Barrasso, managing director for UK and Ireland, as interim chief with immediate effect as its board searches for a permanent CEO. New Look was set up in 1969 and Brait acquired nearly all of it for $1.2 billion in 2015. Investors and analysts say that the retailer needs to become even faster in identifying and responding to trends. It has hired Paula Dumont López, who has previously worked for Inditex and will join New Look as chief creative director this month from Espirit. Barrasso, who has been with New Look since 2012, was appointed interim CEO because he knows the business “inside out”, said the source, adding that Brait and New Look’s board intended to search internally and externally for a permanent CEO. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-new-look-group-ceo/british-fashion-retailer-new-look-seeks-change-of-leadership-to-revive-fortunes-idUKKCN1BC4GP'|'2017-09-01T13:14:00.000+03:00'
'36b36a575a0f1925c70e5811bb486c2884efab21'|'Paper Excellence to buy Brazil''s Eldorado from J&F for $4.7 billion'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian holding company J&F Investimentos SA on Saturday accepted a proposal from Netherlands-based Paper Excellence to buy pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA for 15 billion reais ($4.7 billion), including debt.The companies said in a statement that the transaction would take 12 months to complete, and Paper Excellence, controlled by the owners of Indonesia’s Asia Pulp & Paper Co Ltd, would fully assume Eldorado’s debt of almost 8 billion reais.A person with direct knowledge of the transaction said Brazilian pension funds that own 19 percent of Eldorado’s equity were considering whether to sell their stakes. J&F owns 81 percent of the pulpmaker.Eldorado’s management will remain in place until regulatory approval has been secured, according to the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak.Reuters reported on Sunday that Asia Pulp & Paper had extended a proposal to acquire Eldorado for 15 billion reais.Eldorado is among the flagship assets J&F put up for sale after brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista agreed to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion-real fine for their role in corruption scandals that have hurt President Michel Temer’s administration. As a result, the Batistas have had to shed assets and refinance debt.J&F agreed to sell Havaianas flip-flop maker Alpargatas SA ( ALPA4.SA ) in July to a group led by investment firms of Brazil’s most prominent banking families for $1.1 billion. Mexico’s Grupo Lala SAV de CV ( LALAB.MX ) struck a deal to buy dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA in August.Paper Excellence began operating its first cellulose plant in 2007 in Meadow Lake, Canada, and has since expanded by buying other plants in that country and Europe.($1 = 3.1419 reais)Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-eldorado-brasil-m-a/paper-excellence-to-buy-brazils-eldorado-from-jf-for-4-7-billion-idINKCN1BD0K0'|'2017-09-02T12:22:00.000+03:00'
'847bb33dabb3e0f6f3f6537f057bd5353ba15bc4'|'Itaú Unibanco board approves new share buyback plan - filing'|'SAO PAULO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The board of Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Brazil''s largest private bank, approved a new share buyback program, the company said in a securities filing on Thursday.According to the bank, the new program is entitled to buy back up to 60 million ordinary shares and up to 39.15 million preferred shares. The repurchased shares could be maintained at the company, could be canceled or could be put up for sale in the market again, said the filing. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/itau-unibco-hldg-buyback-idINE6N1HI01P'|'2017-08-31T22:07:00.000+03:00'
'a88801e37aa773a10db106d2b6ce64f53a815ca8'|'Saab links up with Adani to bid to build fighter jets in India'|'September 1, 2017 / 11:47 AM / 14 minutes ago Saab links up with Adani to bid to build fighter jets in India Aditi Shah 3 Min Read NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Sweden’s Saab ( SAABb.ST ) will tie up with India’s Adani Group to bid for a contract to make fighter aircraft in India, its chief executive said on Friday, pitting it against Lockheed Martin ( LMT.N ) in a race to equip India’s air force with new jets. Saab is offering its Gripen fighter and U.S. defence contractor Lockheed its F-16 to supply hundreds of aircraft that India’s air force says it needs to replace its Soviet-era fleet. Saab and Lockheed have both offered to build a single-engine aircraft locally to comply with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature “Make-in-India” initiative to cut imports and build a domestic defence industry. Hakan Buskhe, Saab’s CEO, told reporters in New Delhi that the company would invest “billions of dollars” if it won the order, and that it was prepared to export the Gripen from India if the government allowed it to do so. Saab and Adani have yet to decide on a location for manufacturing, Buskhe said. Lockheed Martin is also proposing to manufacture F-16s in India for export. nL4N1LA4MK Under India’s new “strategic partnerships” defence policy, a foreign aircraft maker must collaborate with an Indian firm to develop a world-class indigenous aeronautical base that India has struggled to build for decades. Lockheed has already picked India’s Tata Advanced Systems as its local partner to produce F-16s that will compete for the contract with Saab’s Gripen. Adani is a $12 billion group with businesses ranging from energy and logistics to real estate but it has little presence in defence. The Indian government will issue a formal request to Lockheed and Saab over the next few days to provide information about their plans to design, develop and produce combat jets in India, a government official told Reuters earlier this week. Defence analysts say the competition is between Lockheed and Saab, the only companies that have announced joint ventures with Indian companies and a pledge to build locally if they win. India signed a deal in September last year to buy 36 twin-engine Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation ( AVMD.PA ) for around $8.7 billion, the country’s first major acquisition of combat planes in two decades. Indian air force officials have warned for years of a major capability gap opening up with China and Pakistan without new state-of-the-art planes, as India’s outdated fleet retires and production of a locally made plane was delayed. India originally awarded Dassault an order for 126 Rafales in 2012 after the fighter beat rivals in a decade-long selection process, but subsequent talks collapsed. Writing by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-defence-saab/saab-links-up-with-adani-to-bid-to-build-fighter-jets-in-india-idUKKCN1BC4PU'|'2017-09-01T14:47:00.000+03:00'
'1a83e34cf9749565b58bf3435577fef50f73c671'|'U.S. Chemical Safety Board says to probe incident at Arkema''s Crosby, Texas, plant'|'WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into explosions at a flooded Arkema SA chemical plant in Crosby, Texas.In a statement on Facebook, CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allan Sutherland said the federal agency would begin its probe with requests for documents from the chemical maker and would not deploy to the site of the explosions until emergency response activities were completed and the facility was deemed safe.Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Eric Beech '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-arkema-investigation-idINW1N1JQ03A'|'2017-08-31T19:09:00.000+03:00'
'8b614c1bcad774918ec0bceb3c69a5836b0e2539'|'World''s No. 1 solar panel maker wants slice of Brazil market - executive'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - China’s Trina Solar, the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic panels, is looking to grab a piece of Brazil’s nascent solar power market despite tough economic conditions, the company’s Latin America chief said.Trina ( TSLy.D ) opened an office in Brazil this year, aiming to become a major player by focussing on small-scale projects such as those that place solar panels on residential and business rooftops.Trina has ruled out building a plant in Brazil, as some competitors have, preferring to initially import panels from China, Álvaro García-Maltrás, the company’s main executive for Latin America, said in an interview on Wednesday.Brazil has turned to solar energy later than other countries in Latin America. Heavily dependent on hydropower projects, the country only recently decided to diversify its energy mix by adopting solar-friendly policies.But Brazil’s deepest recession on record, with a total economic contraction of 8 percent for 2015 and 2016, dealt a blow to early solar projects, with some being cancelled outright.“The main reason for us to start investing in Brazil was not related to large projects,” García-Maltrás said.“The market for distributed generation is enough to make this sector very attractive and it is not subject to the uncertainties we’ve seen in the official rounds (for licensing large projects).”The executive said Trina believed the market for small-scale solar generation facilities in Brazil would double every year for the next three or four years. Demand for equipment from this segment would be larger than from large solar parks, he said.Trina’s plan to import all its panels means it cannot tap Brazilian government financing for projects that use locally produced panels. But García-Maltrás said the company could still be competitive.Chinese rival PV producer BYD Co Ltd ( 002594.SZ ) and Canadian Solar Inc ( CSIQ.O ) have built plants in Brazil, and are looking to supply large-scale projects that could benefit from lower-interest financing from Brazil’s development bank BNDES.“We’re a conservative company. We want to be certain of our moves and investments,” García-Maltrás said.“We would need some assurance that doing this would make economic sense. We are ready (to invest in a local unit), but we should not do so in the short term.”Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-power-trina/worlds-no-1-solar-panel-maker-wants-slice-of-brazil-market-executive-idINKCN1BB2YY'|'2017-08-31T18:30:00.000+03:00'
'22b4fba4ff540cb5494da794cc72fdb21a0c3108'|'The parable of St Paul'|'PAUL POLMAN runs Europe’s seventh-most valuable company, Unilever, worth $176bn, but he is not a typical big cheese. A Dutchman who once considered becoming a priest, he believes that selling shampoo around the world can be a higher calling and detests the Anglo-Saxon doctrine of shareholder primacy, which holds that a firm’s chief purpose is to enrich its owners. Instead Mr Polman preaches that companies should be run “sustainably”—by investing, paying staff fairly, and by making healthy products with as little damage as possible to the environment. This is actually better for profits in the long run, he argues: society and shareholders need not be in conflict.Mr Polman’s beliefs were tested in February when Unilever received a bid from Kraft-Heinz, a ketchup-to-hot dog gorilla controlled by Warren Buffett and 3G Capital, a fund known for ripping costs out of multinationals. If, in its own mind, Unilever is a good corporate citizen, then it sees Kraft as an angry American with no interest in the planet, heavy debts, no growth, very little foreign presence, and an obsession with self-harming cost cuts. 12 hours ago What would the FDP do? Kaffeeklatsch 13 hours ago Escobar is dead, but “Narcos” and the drugs trade live on Prospero 14 hours ago The French president acts on his promise to overhaul jobs laws Europe 15 hours ago An interview with Christian Lindner Kaffeeklatsch 16 hours ago Whatever she may say, Theresa May won’t fight the next election Bagehot''s notebook 17 hours ago See all updates Kraft’s bid fizzled when Mr Buffett got cold feet, but the clash of ideologies is not over. For one thing, Unilever seems to have been pressured into adopting some 3G-style tactics. In April it promised to lift operating margins by 3.6 percentage points by 2020, to carry out a share buy-back and to exit its poorly performing margarine business. Its investment in brands and plant and equipment is expected to be flat in 2017, having risen in former years.After a “cooling off” spell required by British takeover rules, Kraft can now bid again. Inspired by 3G, activist hedge funds are stalking two rivals, Nestlé and Danone, and other peers are slashing costs. Mr Polman will probably stand down within two years—he wants his successor to be a Unilever insider—raising the question of whether his vision is coherent and will endure.There are two key tests. Has Unilever really been socially virtuous while creating lots of value for its owners? And does the market for corporate control function as it should, so that such a firm can survive? Start with the question of virtue. Since early 2009, when Mr Polman took over, emissions, water usage and waste have fallen by 43%, 38% and 96% respectively, per unit of production. Investment (including capital spending, research, branding and marketing) has risen to 20% of sales, from 18%. Tax payments have risen from 25% to 30% of underlying profits.So far so good. But Mr Polman has not been as nice to staff as you might expect. Their numbers have stayed at 170,000 (Kraft meanwhile has cut its workforce by 20% since 2013) but pay as a share of the firm’s output, or its “gross-value-added”, has fallen from 46% to 39%. Unilever’s pay per employee has been flat in dollar terms even as its top few managers have got 24% more on average. Mr Polman received $9m last year, a third more than his predecessor got (though less than his American peers).He argues that sustainability is good for shareholders because investment creates growth. Consumers, staff and regulators are attracted to firms that exhibit good conduct. For shareholders the clearest sign of success is Unilever’s global market share, which has risen from 16% to 18% since 2008, according to Alliance Bernstein, a brokerage. That is impressive given that local firms are gaining ground from multinationals in the emerging economies where Unilever makes almost two-thirds of its sales.But currency weakness has been a drag. Free cashflow per share has risen by 65% in dollar terms—a fairly average performance compared with a basket of ten Unilever rivals. Total return (share price appreciation plus dividends) was 138% in 2008-16 in dollars, behind the average for the peer group, although not by much. Mr Polman’s boldest claims about his firm are over the top, but broadly speaking Unilever has been run in a fairly sustainable way and delivered reasonable results for its owners.What about the second question—whether such a firm can survive with a fragmented base of shareholders, some of whom may be out for a fast buck? Takeovers should happen only when the target is badly run or if combining two firms will yield synergies. But Unilever is well managed and Kraft’s probable changes—more debt, and cost-cutting—it can do itself.Kraft is a “roll-up”, a firm that relies on acquisitions and cost cuts to mask low growth. Its sales have declined for the past nine quarters. Roll-up strategies usually end badly for investors. Still, cheap debt means that, while such firms remain on a winning streak, they can operate on a vastly greater scale than before (a combined Kraft-Unilever might have had as much as $120bn of debt). Many bosses, including, probably, Mr Polman, think normal firms need protecting from them. Britain could adjust its takeover rules in favour of target companies. More countries could alter their fiscal codes to stop tax breaks for leveraged buyers or they could copy France’s “Florange” law, which limits the voting rights of short-term shareholders.Society v shareholder valueIn fact, Unilever’s close encounter with Kraft suggests the jury is still out on whether capitalism is too myopic to allow firms to operate virtuously. The outcome so far broadly shows that markets work. Unilever’s shares were undervalued. Some of the changes that it has made were actually in the pipeline anyway (for example, in 2016 Mr Polman said margins would rise by up to 3.2 percentage points by 2020). Kraft’s bid forced the company to fine-tune its strategy and articulate it better. As a result Unilever’s total return is now almost at the top of its peer group.But much depends on the next 24 months. Kraft could bid again. An activist may attack Unilever. Mr Polman’s successor could repudiate his approach. Mr Polman is no saint, but his legacy is to have made one of Europe’s biggest companies a test case of how far shareholder primacy should go. If Unilever can’t keep half an eye on the greater good, no firm can. Watch it closely.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21727908-unilever-worlds-biggest-experiment-corporate-do-gooding-parable-st-paul?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-08-31T22:51:00.000+03:00'
'e754f6032865b753e9ef83b86d542aba3fe4d95a'|'China''s Legend buys Luxembourg''s BIL bank for $1.8 billion in landmark European expansion'|'September 1, 2017 / 3:20 PM / 32 minutes ago China''s Legend buys Luxembourg''s BIL bank for $1.8 billion in landmark European expansion Julie Zhu 5 Min Read HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Legend Holdings ( 3396.HK ) struck a deal on Friday to buy a 90 percent stake in Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL) for 1.48 billion euros ($1.76 billion) in the biggest takeover of a European deposit-taking bank by a Chinese firm so far. Legend, best known as owner of computer group Lenovo Group Ltd ( 0992.HK ), is acquiring 161-year-old BIL from Precision Capital, an investment vehicle of members of Qatar’s royal family, including former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani. Legend’s biggest overseas acquisition is being made through its Hong Kong subsidiary, Beyond Leap Limited, the company said. Reuters first reported in July that Legend was in talks with Precision on a potential acquisition of BIL. Chinese companies have become increasingly interested in European banks despite the sector’s low profitability. In May, China’s HNA became the largest direct shareholder in Deutsche Bank, while Fosun holds a 24 pct stake in Portugal’s largest listed bank Millennium BCP. The BIL acquisition comes amid China’s heightened scrutiny of overseas deals by some large groups in an attempt to curb the country’s massive debt build-up. But finance is not on the restricted list of Beijing’s new rules on outbound investment. Founded in 1856 as the oldest private bank in Luxembourg, BIL employs more than 2,000 people worldwide and had some 37.7 billion euros of assets under management at the end of 2016. “This is an important strategic investment for Legend. Financial services is one of Legend Holdings’ key target industries,” Legend chairman Liu Chuanzhi said in a statement. He said Legend aimed to support the bank and its existing management to grow BIL into a Luxembourg-based, international banking brand. “We believe that as a long-term strategic shareholder, Legend can add value to the international business development opportunities and application of financial technology of the bank,” he said. Apart from owning Lenovo, Beijing-based Legend, led by its long-time chairman Liu, one of China’s best-known entrepreneurs, is also the parent of private equity firm Hony Capital and venture capital firm Legend Capital. BEYOND COMPUTERS Legend has, in recent years, been diversifying beyond the sluggish PC sector, which Lenovo built up by acquiring IBM’s PC business in 2005, into other sectors including financial services. By teaming up with its part-owned investment firms, Legend has dipped its toe into a variety of industries from food production and car rental to dentistry and start-up incubation. Legend secured a minority interest in Britain’s Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) last year. reut.rs/2vxMU5A The Chinese company also made it to the final stages of the auction for Madrid-based mutual fund platform Allfunds but lost out to funds GIC and Hellman & Friedman. The BIL deal is subject to regulatory approvals, including from the European Central Bank and Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year. BIL’s existing management team will stay in place while the Luxembourg government will keep the remaining 10 percent of the bank, according to the statement. “We are very pleased that this bank has found a new buyer from China, a country with which Luxembourg has developed a lot of relations knowing that we now have seven Chinese banks established here,” Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna told reporters in Luxembourg. The purchase price more than doubles the 730 million euros Precision paid for BIL in 2011 when Franco-Belgian financial group Dexia, BIL’s then parent company, needed a state-led bailout by France, Belgium and Luxembourg and sold off all its active businesses. With the takeover of BIL, Legend said it is looking to further expand its footprint in Europe’s financial sector and provide services to companies taking part in Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative. Unveiled in 2013, the Belt and Road project is aimed at building a modern-day “Silk Road”, connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Central Asia, and beyond to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. While China’s overall outbound investments have dropped off amid capital outflows curbs, Chinese acquisitions linked to the Belt and Road policy are soaring. BIL’s net income fell to 110 million euros last year from 134 million in 2015, mainly due to writedowns and restructuring expenses, according to its annual report. ($1 = 0.8398 euros) Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Michele Sinner in Luxembourg; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bil-m-a-legend-holdings/chinas-legend-buys-luxembourgs-bil-bank-for-1-8-billion-in-landmark-european-expansion-idUKKCN1BC59T'|'2017-09-01T18:20:00.000+03:00'
'f72a6244488e5ef4343b5f2a93aa17815bbf103c'|'Irish manufacturing growth hits two-year high in August - PMI'|'September 1, 2017 / 5:08 AM / 2 hours ago Irish manufacturing growth hits two-year high in August - PMI Reuters Staff 2 Min Read DUBLIN(Reuters) - Irish manufacturing sector growth hit a two-year high in August, a survey showed on Friday, as firms’ expansion into more markets and securing of new business added to signs that the booming economy is showing few signs of slowing down. Ireland has had the best performing economy in the European Union since 2014 and economists say continued jobs, wage and consumption growth back up government forecasts for a further 4.3 percent expansion in gross domestic product this year. Business surveys have been similarly supportive and the Investec Purchasing Managers’ index rose to 56.1 in August from 54.6 a month earlier, reaching the highest level since July 2015, well above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction. While Ireland is particularly vulnerable to Brexit due to its close trading links with Britain, manufacturers are proving increasingly resilient to any early impact with the sub-index measuring new export orders rising to 55.6 from 54.6 in July. Export orders contracted for the first time in three years ahead of last year’s Brexit referendum but the sector has recovered and grown strongly all year. “Panellists linked the uptick in growth in new export orders to the securing of new customers and success in international markets,” Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O‘Sullivan said. “Given the improving international economic backdrop, we think that Irish manufacturing firms are right to be upbeat about the outlook.”'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-pmi/irish-manufacturing-growth-hits-two-year-high-in-august-pmi-idUKKCN1BC3SF'|'2017-09-01T08:07:00.000+03:00'
'1d3561fa6e7d59d03ef4facc5827a303a0afe919'|'INVESTMENT FOCUS-Great expectations: earnings beats lose allure for stock investors'|'* European earnings met with tepid share price reaction* Currency surge, high expectations dampen enthusiasm* Investors scrutinise results beyond headline figures* Stronger euro dents analysts'' earnings expectations tmsnrt.rs/2wl5oFx* European stock valuations remain above average tmsnrt.rs/2xARq0EBy Helen ReidLONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The latest corporate results season in Europe, while solid, was marked by lukewarm share price moves even for companies that reported better-than-expected profits - a sign that strong earnings growth is no longer a reason for investors to keep chasing richly valued stocks.The euro’s runaway strength - it is up 13 percent against the dollar this year - is a blow to exporters and has led to some scepticism that European companies will be able to keep delivering double-digit growth and analyst sentiment is starting to sour.This has left European stocks, market darlings at the start of 2017, down more than 6 percent from their May peaks despite a particularly healthy turnaround in corporate profits in the first half of the year.“People’s expectations were already elevated, and the (earnings) data didn’t lead people to raise their numbers any further,” said Graham Secker, European equities strategist at Morgan Stanley.“Europe looked tactically really quite overbought after the French election so you’ve already priced in quite a lot.”A stellar round of first-quarter earnings in Europe, during which companies posted the best growth in seven years, and fading political risks spurred a rush back into regional stocks, putting them on the path to record highs.However, as valuations rose well above long-term averages and more money was pumped into Europe, the bar for earnings surprises rose. On the flipside, tolerance for earnings disappointments continued to fall.Analysts at JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) have pointed out that investors have punished shares of companies missing estimates much more than they have rewarded those that outpaced forecasts.More than half the companies in the MSCI Europe index beat earnings expectations in the second quarter. Yet, on average, shares of these companies were flat over the two days after reporting, according to Thomson Reuters data.Meanwhile, for the companies that missed estimates, shares fell 0.6 percent with healthcare, materials and the tech sector seeing drops of between 2 and 4 percent, the data showed.This echoed a similar trend in the United States, where 73 percent of the S&P500 beat estimates and, like Europe, shares showed little reaction.BAML said in a note to clients that for the first time since 2000, shares of U.S. companies beating earnings were not outperforming, suggesting investors globally are looking beyond just profits.“Expectations have caught up with what have been solid fundamentals and we are at a juncture now where some macro indicators have shown signs of topping out,” said Ronan Carr, European equity strategist at BAML.The strengthening euro, surging above $1.20 for the first time in 2-1/2 years this week, has also piled pressure on earnings estimates for big European companies, many of which derive most of their revenues overseas.“The sell-off over the last couple of months has been accompanied by underperformance of exporters relative to domestically focused stocks, which suggests currency has been a factor,” said Dennis Jose, European equity strategist at Barclays.BENEATH THE SURFACE Investors now appear to be digging into details of how companies are generating these earnings and scouring statements for everything from profitability to signs of market share gains.“Companies increasingly know the importance of meeting Street targets, because they know that the share price will be hit otherwise,” said Juliet Cohn of Principal Global Investors.“It’s important to look beneath the surface to see how they are achieving their numbers. Are they benefiting from a reduction in tax? Are there one-offs? Is the order book very lumpy?”One area garnering attention is profit margins, where year-on-year growth has been significantly weaker this quarter in Europe after double-digit growth in the two previous quarters, JPMorgan data showed.Relatively weak performance last year for some sectors could also be artificially inflating earnings growth, investors said.”We may have seen the best year-on-year change in earnings growth we can expect,” said Jeff Donlon, managing director of global strategies at Manning & Napier.“The comparatives get a bit more difficult for a lot of different industries going forward, particularly the oil industry which is still cycling through some very low oil prices from early 2016,” he added.The energy sector’s earnings rebound delivered nearly half the earnings growth in Europe in the second quarter, Blackrock analysts said.But even in this sector, investors have shrugged off the headline earnings figures, eyeing instead the danger to dividend payments arising from a potential hit to profits as oil prices stay stubbornly low.Reporting by Helen Reid, graphics by Helen Reid and Vikram Subhedar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-results/investment-focus-great-expectations-earnings-beats-lose-allure-for-stock-investors-idUSL4N1LG4P7'|'2017-09-01T15:45:00.000+03:00'
'760fef1a4c1e11e6a9e24c82cd089891b1fd9774'|'HP Inc''s quarterly profit beats on higher PC sales'|'FILE PHOTO - A Hewlett-Packard logo is seen at the company''s Executive Briefing Center in Palo Alto, California January 16, 2013. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo (Reuters) - HP Inc ( HPQ.N ), which houses the hardware business of former Hewlett-Packard Co, reported a slightly higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it sold more personal computers.Revenue from HP’s personal systems unit, which sells notebooks, desktops and workstations, rose 12 percent to $8.40 billion in the third quarter ended July 31. Notebook sales increased 16.4 percent, offsetting a dip in desktop sales.The Palo Alto, California-based company forecast full-year earnings per share of $1.63-$1.66 compared with analysts’ estimate of $1.64, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The company, which bought Samsung Electronics Co’s ( 005930.KS ) printer business in September, said on Wednesday revenue from its printer and copier business rose 6.2 percent to $4.70 billion in the reported quarter.However, net earnings from continuing operations fell to $696 million, or 41 cents per share, from $843 million, or 49 cents per share.Total revenue rose 10 percent to $13.1 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $12.31 billion.Excluding items, the company earned 43 cents per share. Analysts on average expected earnings of 42 cents.Shares of HP, which have gained 27 percent since the start of the year, were down marginally in after-hours trading on Wednesday.Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hpinc-results/hp-inc-posts-fourth-straight-rise-in-quarterly-revenue-idINKCN1B32FY'|'2017-08-23T18:20:00.000+03:00'
'4d49bcd472311949c837ba415aa9861a1f891e07'|'Planned German urban transport infrastructure fund may be doubled - reports'|'September 1, 2017 / 3:11 AM / 19 minutes ago Planned German urban transport infrastructure fund may be doubled: reports Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Cars and trucks are stuck in a traffic jam near Irschenberg, Germany July 28, 2017. Michaela Rehle BERLIN (Reuters) - A planned fund to improve urban transport infrastructure in Germany may be boosted to a billion euros when Chancellor Angela Merkel meets on Monday with representatives of towns particularly affected by diesel emissions, media reported. Germany''s car industry, which employs some 800,000 people and is the country''s biggest exporter, is under intense pressure to cut diesel fumes almost two years after Volkswagen admitted to deliberately cheating U.S. pollution tests. Regional newspapers Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten said the volume of the fund, which is to be used to build more charging stations for electric cars and for switching to electric buses among other things, was likely to be doubled as long as Germany''s federal states bear some of the costs. The newspapers cited no source for the information. Merkel had previously said some 500 million euros or more would be made available to the planned fund. Reporting by Michelle Martin; editing by Ralph Boulton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-environment-germany-diesel-idUKKCN1BC3LM'|'2017-09-01T06:01:00.000+03:00'
'd65091334f49bb8f645c9231b16104443047421e'|'Take Five - World markets themes for the week ahead'|'September 1, 2017 / 3:14 PM / 4 hours ago Take Five - World markets themes for the week ahead Reuters Staff 10 Min Read FILE PHOTO: (L-R) The Hong Kong Exchanges flag, Chinese national flag and Hong Kong flag are hoisted outside the Hong Kong Stocks Exchange in Hong Kong June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. 1/ MONEY TALK The strength of the euro is likely to be the main discussion point at Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting, as policymakers weigh up what it means for their inflation target and how quickly they can scale back stimulus. There has been a dramatic shift in expectations for central bank announcements recently. A survey on Friday showed a quarter of economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to announce a change to its asset purchase programme on Thursday, down from over half three weeks ago. The main culprit is the euro, which with all the uncertainty generated by everything from Brexit to Trump to North Korea, is emerging as a safe-haven currency. The single currency’s strength is now very much part of the internal debate within the ECB, sources told Reuters, as it makes imports to the bloc cheaper and holds down consumer prices. Euro zone inflation rose slightly more than forecast in August to 1.5 percent, but it is well short of the ECB’s target and a four-year peak of 2 percent struck in February. 2/ SEALING A DEAL? Investors will be hoping for a swift resolution to a looming deadline to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which stands at about $19.8 trillion. While Congressional Republicans have not spelled out their plan for dealing with an annual spending bill deadline, and the increase in the federal debt ceiling, some have speculated those issues might be swept into one piece of legislation, possibly including Harvey aid. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday told CNBC he would be open to the debt limit being dealt with as part of a Harvey relief bill, although he said spending on the hurricane could bring forward the debt ceiling deadline. The last major standoff over lifting the debt ceiling, in mid-2011, ultimately cost the United States its prized triple-A credit rating from Standard & Poor’s and came close to tipping U.S. stocks into a bear market. In the 11 trading days that marked the height of the crisis, the S&P 500 fell 16.7 percent - its sharpest decline over any comparable period since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. 3/ EMERGING STRONGER Emerging market equities are topping the global performance league tables this year, with dollar-based returns of more than 26 percent. The MSCI index has just recorded it eighth straight month of gains in August, the best run since 2003-04. There is likely more to come. Markets are pricing out another Fed rate rise by year-end, keeping the dollar in check. U.S. President Donald Trump has not managed to deliver any stimulus. Emerging and developing economies are recovering steadily - surveys show factory production and exports roared ahead in China and almost everywhere else last month. Finally, emerging companies have surpassed earnings expectations by roughly 2.6 percent the latest quarter, Morgan Stanley estimates, with Chinese firms leading the pack with an 8.2 percent beat. This is shaping up to be the best year for the MSCI EM index since 2009. But that year, with returns of 70 percent-plus fuelled Fed money printing, may prove too hard to beat. 4/ POWERFUL BACKING “When the state sector advances, the private sector retreats”– so goes the Chinese idiom. China’s push this year with supply-side reforms to kill excess capacity and wean its economy off debt certainly appear to be having that effect, handing its mammoth state-owned sector a massive advantage in costs and opportunities and starving the private sector of both cash and profits. The outperformance of the stock market sub-indices of state-owned firms over the private sector index attests to that. Profits at China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were up 44.2 percent between January and July from a year earlier, triple the pace of the 14.2 percent rise in private sector profits. China’s big four banks, including Bank of China, are at the fore of this outperformance and reform drive that have sent their margins soaring and raised hopes of an improvement in loan quality. The launch of new funds by the government dedicated to financing SOE reform, coming ahead of the communist party’s 19th Party Congress, should only extend that advantage. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-themes/take-five-world-markets-themes-for-the-week-ahead-idUKKCN1BC58T'|'2017-09-01T18:14:00.000+03:00'
'f1f427a6ceda15ee4f5821ca7147034f1db39f95'|'UPDATE 1-Trump to nominate Robert Jackson for seat on SEC -source'|'(Adds Jackson could not be reached for comment)WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.Jackson is expected to be formally nominated on Friday, the source said. He would fill a vacant spot reserved for a Democrat on the five-member panel.His appointment follows the administration’s decision to nominate Hester Peirce as a Republican commissioner in July and would bring the SEC to full strength and paving the way for Chairman Jay Clayton to push ahead on an agenda of reducing public companies’ regulatory burdens.Jackson could not be reached for comment on Thursday.Jackson is known for his advocacy work in trying to advance new rules at the SEC that would force public companies to disclose their political spending to investors. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-sec-jackson/update-1-trump-to-nominate-robert-jackson-for-seat-on-sec-source-idINL2N1LI028'|'2017-08-31T23:24:00.000+03:00'
'a227b5f89bd1d6b3c82f8dcc54c8b9be296f6248'|'Asia follows Wall Street higher, dollar advance slows before jobs data'|' 06 AM / 32 minutes ago Asia follows Wall Street higher, dollar advance slows before jobs data Shinichi Saoshiro 4   A woman holding an umbrella walks past an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei 225 outside a brokerage in Tokyo, July 8, 2015. Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian equities followed Wall Street''s gains overnight and edged higher on Friday while the dollar''s advance slowed ahead of the U.S. jobs report due later in the session. The nonfarm payrolls report is the last before the U.S. Federal Reserve''s next policy meeting and may influence the timing of the Fed''s rate hike. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.2 percent. Australian shares added 0.35 percent and South Korea''s KOSPI .KS11 advanced 0.25 percent. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 climbed 0.4 percent. Wall Street shares closed higher overnight as investors responded to strong economic data and drew some cautious hope from the Trump administration''s latest promises for long-awaited details of a tax reform plan. [.N] U.S. consumer spending rose slightly less than expected in July and annual inflation advanced at its slowest pace in more than 1-1/2 years, diminishing expectations of an interest rate increase in December. The dollar''s recent advance slowed as rate hike expectations were dented. The greenback was up 0.15 percent at 110.130 yen JPY= having gone as high as 110.675 overnight, its strongest in two weeks. The euro was steady at $1.1909 EUR= after plumbing a one-week low of $1.1823 overnight. The financial markets looked to the U.S. jobs report due at 1230 GMT for further clues on the state of the world''s largest economy. Economists polled by Reuters expect U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 180,000 jobs in August after surging 209,000 in July and average hourly earnings to have increased 0.2 percent after rising 0.3 percent in July. "The wages component of the jobs report will be key. If earnings are to have picked up along with employment, we will see a straightforward reaction with U.S. stocks and yields rising and the dollar being bought," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was a shade lower at 92.629.The index slipped about 0.2 percent on Thursday and was poised to end 0.1 percent lower on the week in which it hit a 2-1/2-year low of 91.621 on geopolitical tensions before bouncing back. In commodities, crude oil prices stood tall after rallying overnight as traders scrambled to reroute millions of barrels of fuel with almost a quarter of U.S. refining capacity remaining offline. [O/R] Hurricane Harvey, which brought record flooding to the U.S. oil heartland of Texas, has shut down at least 4.4 million barrels per day of refining capacity, according to company reports and Reuters estimates. U.S. crude CLc1 was slightly lower at $47.01 per barrel after surging 2.8 percent overnight. Gold hovered near a 9-1/2-month high, supported as the dollar came off its recent highs and by lingering concerns over tensions in the Korean Peninsula. [GOL/] Spot gold was steady at $1,321.10 an ounce XAU= after gaining 1 percent overnight. The precious metal was on track to gain 2.4 percent this week, during which it touched $1,325.93 an ounce on Tuesday, its highest since early November. Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Eric Meijer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKCN1BC3G3'|'2017-09-01T04:06:00.000+03:00'
'abcdac24e3925916f2c60b62b63d43ced755e4b0'|'VW brand chief vows to boost SUVs sales, U.S. market share'|'September 1, 2017 / 12:32 AM / 20 minutes ago VW brand chief vows to boost SUVs sales, U.S. market share David Shepardson 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An American flag flies next to a Volkswagen car dealership in San Diego, California, U.S. September 23, 2015. Mike Blake/File Photo CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (Reuters) - A top executive of German automaker Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) said Thursday the company expects to boost its sport-utility vehicle sales sharply by 2020 and will move to add electric vehicle offerings in the wake of its diesel emissions cheating scandal. Herbert Diess, who heads the mass market Volkswagen brand, said the world''s largest carmaker by sales expects SUVs to account for 40 percent of its global sales, up from less than 15 percent today. Volkswagen is building about 400 Atlas SUVs a day at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant, or a pace of about 100,000 per year, but will eventually be able to build 800 a day, the plant manager, Antonio Pinto, said. Volkswagen has been shifting its focus in the United States from marketing compact cars and midsize sedans to promoting larger, U.S.-built SUVs such as the Atlas. "SUVs will drive our business worldwide because SUVs are becoming very important worldwide," Diess said. He said the Chattanooga plant has room to grow and suggested the company could eventually add electric vehicle production in Tennessee. The VW brand in the United States currently has just a 1.9 percent market share, and Diess would like to eventually get to 5 percent market share or more. "We can''t win America over in two years time," he said. "It''s a 10-year plan." VW U.S. brand sales are up about 6 percent through July to 188,000 vehicles. VW in 2009 vowed to more than triple U.S. brand sales by 2018 to 800,000 vehicles a year but abandoned that goal after sales setbacks and a scandal over diesel emissions cheating. As part of its diesel emissions settlement, Volkswagen has agreed to add at least three additional electric vehicles, including an SUV, in California by 2020 and must sell an average of 5,000 electric vehicles annually there through 2025. Diess said VW plans a completely new electronic architecture for its electric vehicles that will be upgradable, connected to the mobile web and more competitive with electric vehicle market leader Tesla Inc( TSLA.O ). "We have to take them very seriously," Diess said. As for the diesel scandal, Diess said, "We are recovering." Volkswagen pleaded guilty in March to rigging emissions tests, and agreed to spend up to $25 billion to address claims from U.S. owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers, and buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkwagen-suvs-idUKKCN1BC3DP'|'2017-09-01T03:32:00.000+03:00'
'dab904447f3fccf634efaeacb4f6d5ce4039633e'|'London-listed drugmaker Indivior shares tumble after U.S. patent setback'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:16 AM / in 2 minutes London-listed drugmaker Indivior shares tumble after U.S. patent setback Justin George Varghese 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Shares in Indivior ( INDV.L ) plunged 40 percent on Friday after it said a U.S. court ruling could lead to a generic rival to its treatment for opioid addiction that generates 80 percent of the London-listed drug maker’s revenues. Indivior has said it would not be able to rely on patents to prevent Indian firm Dr.Reddy’s ( REDY.NS ) from making and marketing a generic alternative to Suboxone Film unless the ruling by the Delaware District Court was reversed on appeal. Suboxone Film had an average market share in the United States of 61 percent in 2016, the firm said in a statement. The treatment accounted for 80 percent of Indivior’s total revenues last year, it added. Shares in Indivior were down about 40 percent at 252 pence at 0832 GMT, after the ruling on patents for the treatment delivered by dissolvable film placed under the tongue rather than by tablet. The fall wipes out this year’s share gains. Indivior, spun off from Reckitt Benckiser ( RB.L ) in 2014, said it could not quantify the precise financial impact of generic alternatives to Suboxone Film on revenues but said it “could potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the U.S.” Indivior said that if pharmacies could substitute Suboxone Film with a generic rival without direct consultation with the patient it could lead to the treatment losing up to 80 percent of its market share “within a matter of months”. FINANCIAL IMPACT Indivior said that as of Aug. 29 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not announced any marketing authorization to a generic Suboxone Film alternative. “Indivior says it’s hard to gauge the financial impact but its dominant market position could collapse in a matter of months,” said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX capital. Sales of Suboxone Film were higher in the first half of 2017 on the same period a year ago, but market share fell slightly to 59 percent from 61 percent. Generic rivals in tablet form are already on the market. In September, 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against Indivior alleging that it tried to keep generic versions of a drug off the market. The lawsuit by the states alleged that Indivior took steps to get patients to switch to the oral strip version of Suboxone. Indivior said in its statement on Friday it would “continue vigorously defending its intellectual property.” Dr. Reddy‘s, whose shares were up 9 percent at 0832 GMT, bought the abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic rival treatment from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( TEVA.TA ) in June 2016 for $70 million. “Dr Reddy’s still needs to obtain FDA approval. So even in the best case, launch by Dr. Reddy’s is at least a year away,” analysts at Credit Suisse wrote in a note. Indivior said in June it had won a U.S. patent battle against Actavis ( AGN.N ) and Par Pharmaceutical PRX.N over Suboxone Film. ($1 = 0.7746 pounds) Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair and Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-indivior-ruling/london-listed-drugs-firm-indivior-suffers-setback-in-u-s-patents-ruling-idUKKCN1BC42E'|'2017-09-01T12:03:00.000+03:00'
'789daba45b41f22e5265596cea397b8346a64b82'|'How fair is our food? Big companies take reins on sourcing schemes'|'Food and drink giants take reins on sourcing schemes Science Record-breaking U.S. astronaut heads back to Earth North Korea says conducts ''perfect'' hydrogen bomb test Reuters TV United States September 3, 2017 / 9:15 AM / 4 hours ago How fair is our food? Big companies take reins on sourcing schemes Ana Ionova 9 Min Read Green and Black''s chocolate bars are displayed for sale in a store in London, Britain August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - From cocoa to tea, food and drink giants are setting their own standards for ethical sourcing of raw materials, moving away from third-party labels such as Fairtrade. Mondelez International ( MDLZ.O ), owner of chocolate brands Cadbury and Toblerone, Unilever ( ULVR.L ), behind tea brands such as Lipton and PG Tips, and Barry Callebaut, the world’s biggest producer of chocolate and cocoa products, have all introduced their own schemes. They say their targets are more comprehensive and some claim their schemes are more effective in tracking whether a product is ethically sourced every step of the way. With companies under financial pressure, analysts say it has also been a way to save money. But critics are worried that the standards that third-party groups such as UTZ Certified or Rainforest Alliance have fought to establish risk being muddled and what is deemed ethical and sustainable could become more ambiguous. “Standards measuring environmental and social issues need to be transparent because, once this process happens behind closed doors, it is difficult to see how companies and farms apply them,” said Sloane Hamilton, labor rights policy advisor at Oxfam, a charity focused on alleviating poverty. “We don’t want to see standards watered down, and neither do we want customers to be faced by a bewildering proliferation of different certification schemes.” Third-party certifiers are not opposed to all self-certification, even though the loss of fees could threaten their future. Rather, they are worried standards could become meaningless if too many companies set their own criteria. Mondelez started selling the first Green & Black’s chocolate in the UK without a Fairtrade logo in August, more than 23 years after the brand’s Maya Gold bar received Britain’s first mark. The bar instead carries the stamp of “Cocoa Life”, a Mondelez scheme started in 2012 with broad goals including improved productivity, protection of fertile land and gender equality in farming communities. Mondelez says Fairtrade is still an “implementing partner” and the group’s auditing arm is used to vet cocoa sourced through “Cocoa Life”. Fairtrade, a non profit, aims to push for a better deal for farmers and workers in developing nations. It sets standards, including a minimum price for raw materials, and requires companies to contribute toward businesses or community projects, in exchange for the Fairtrade stamp. But as the concept of ethically-sourced ingredients has become better understood by consumers, brands have started adopting standards that work for their business and image. “It’s opened the door for companies to say ‘well let’s develop a standard that suits our business and also has the impact that we want to have on the ground,” said Alan Rownan, ethical labels analyst at Euromonitor. Crafting in-house standards has also become a way to trim costs for big companies under financial pressure as economic growth slows and consumers opt for healthier snacks or smaller, more artisan brands. “When the whole market is certified, the ability to have a higher price for it becomes less,” said Jon Cox, analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Zurich, who follows companies such as Nestle and Barry Callebaut. “So why not bring it in-house anyway and save money? And if they can convince consumers that it’s as good as some of the independents, if not better, then that maybe helps them as well.” DEEPER INVOLVEMENT While third-party labels have had a leading role in the drive to stamp out practices such as deforestation and child labor on farms, they have also faced criticism. Think-tanks and industry groups say the way they enforce standards is not transparent enough and they have failed to align their programmes to reduce complexity. Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified are now expected to streamline their standards after recently announcing plans to merge. With consumer awareness growing, companies are also seeking to track more closely the sourcing of their ingredients and show the impact of certification to their consumers. Fairtrade ensures that the sourcing of raw materials including coffee and bananas can be traced at every step of farming and processing but it does not provide the same guarantee for cocoa and tea. Green and Black''s chocolate bars are seen in a photo illustration in London, Britain August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall It says certified cocoa beans are difficult to track as they can get mixed with conventional beans at the processing stage in countries that do not have the capacity to keep them separate. This means a Fairtrade chocolate bar may be made with certified and conventional cocoa, with the label only guaranteeing that the company buys a percentage of Fairtrade beans and that any premium paid goes to farmers certified by the organization. Some food and drinks companies say, as part of their move to new standards, they are taking a more active role in sourcing to show consumers a clearer link. For example, Barry Callebaut built a dedicated ethically-sourced cocoa butter tank in a factory in Belgium and it has launched a mobile app aimed at improving traceability on farms in the Ivory Coast. Mondelez does not track cocoa through the entire supply chain, but it says Cocoa Life has allowed for a deeper involvement with farmers. The company uses digital mapping in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Indonesia to boost transparency and traceability from farm to processing facility. “When you’re simply a buyer of raw materials, then in a typical supply chain, you’re not involved directly on the ground,” said Jonathan Horrell, global director of sustainability for Mondelez. Some companies have also set deadlines for eliminating unsustainable practices from their supply chain and, as they approach, the pressure to find solutions has intensified. Green and Black''s chocolate bars are seen in a photo illustration in London, Britain August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall Unilever has promised to source 100 percent of its materials sustainably by 2020 using both certification and its own “Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Code.” Barry Callebaut is also aiming to source 100 percent of its ingredients sustainably by 2025, up from 23 percent in 2015. It buys cocoa through external schemes and its own “Cocoa Horizons” program. “They’re under pressure to reach these (goals),” Rownan said. “And it’s not always easy to reach 100 percent targets following these mainstream, rigid certifications.” SAVVY CONSUMERS While critics of self-certification worry about muddling standards, consumers are growing savvier. The companies say they risk a fierce backlash if they try to loosen the rules. “If you connect your name to it...then you want to make sure what you’re putting out there is absolutely credible,” said Christiaan Prins, head of external affairs for Barry Callebaut. “The consumer nowadays can no longer be tricked in any sense.” Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ) angered consumers and watchdogs in June when it replaced the Fairtrade mark on its own-brand tea with its pilot “Fairly Traded” version, with an eye to possibly extending it to other products such as coffee and bananas. Under “Fairly Traded”, farmers will get “above and beyond” what they were receiving from Fairtrade and it should help make them more resilient to climate change, said Sainsbury’s head of media relations David Nieberg. But critics say the scheme takes control away from farmer organizations, who will no longer directly receive a premium for their tea. The premium will be managed by the Sainsbury’s Foundation and will be used to fund farmers’ strategic projects. Sainsbury’s will not pay licensing fees to Fairtrade but will continue to buy tea from farmers certified by the group. It will also purchase from farmers vetted by other groups if it decides they meet its in-house rules for ethical sourcing, Nieberg said. Consumer scrutiny is likely to be even greater toward companies using self-made schemes to meet ambitious targets for “sustainable” sourcing - a label that is already ambiguous because it has many standards and meanings. “When companies move away from certifiers and all of a sudden are able to far more easily achieve their sustainability goals – well what’s changed?” said Rownan. “I think consumers will want to know.” With questions about their future, third-party certifiers are trying to adapt to the potential dent to licensing fees, which made up 11 million euros ($13.04 million) or 63 percent of Fairtrade International’s income in 2015. “We’re trying to show them the stories behind the investment,” said Dario Soto Abril, chief executive officer at Fairtrade International. “We’re making a big effort to listen to companies and adapt and innovate within our model.” Fairtrade also hopes to expand through new partnerships with groups such as Lidl and Aldi, said Abril. Fairtrade’s auditing arm, FLOCERT, also launched an online platform called Fairtrace, to make it easier to track products through the supply chain. additional reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Anna Willard'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-food-fairtrade-sustainability-insight/how-fair-is-our-food-big-companies-take-reins-on-sourcing-schemes-idUKKCN1BE0GI'|'2017-09-03T12:26:00.000+03:00'
'52abc8aac54aaffa2c56faebf23335ffc3353548'|'Indivior to appeal U.S ruling on Dr Reddy''s generic drug'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:08 AM / 22 minutes ago London-listed drugs firm Indivior suffers setback in U.S. patents ruling Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Indivior ( INDV.L ) said on Friday it would appeal against a U.S. court ruling that generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s ( REDY.NS ) had not infringed its patents, potentially opening the way to a rival to the firm’s Suboxone Film opioid addiction treatment. London-listed Indivior has said it would not be able to rely on patents to prevent Dr. Reddy’s from making and marketing a generic alternative to Suboxone Film in the United States, unless the court’s ruling was reversed on appeal. The firm said the average market share of Suboxone Film in the United States was 61 percent in 2016, and accounted for 80 percent of Indivior’s total revenues last year. Shares in Indivior, which was spun off from Reckitt Benckiser ( RB.L ) in 2014, were down 38 percent at 259.5 pence($3.35) after the open, after the ruling by the U.S. Delaware District Court. Indivior said in a statement it could not quantify the precise financial impact of generic alternatives to Suboxone Film on revenues but said it “could potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the U.S.” Indivior said if pharmacies could substitute Suboxone Film with a generic rival without direct consultation with the patient it could lead to the British firm’s treatment losing up to 80 percent of its market share “within a matter of months”. Indivior said that as of Aug. 29 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not announced it had granted tentative or final marketing authorisation to any generic Suboxone Film alternative. If the FDA grants approval to Dr. Reddy‘s, the British firm said its rival would be able to market a generic alternative to Suboxone Film in the United States. Indivior said in June that it had won a U.S. patent battle against Actavis ( AGN.N ) and Par Pharmaceutical PRX.N over Suboxone Film. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-indivior-ruling/indivior-to-appeal-u-s-ruling-on-dr-reddys-generic-drug-idUKKCN1BC41E'|'2017-09-01T10:08:00.000+03:00'
'ab84456ee5add38a653bd736762619c0b556d374'|'Raising euro zone inflation, employment more difficult - Constancio'|' 26 AM / 23 minutes ago Raising euro zone inflation, employment more difficult: Constancio Reuters Staff 1 Min Read European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio listens during a news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The growing uncertainty over the future of economic policy in the United States and weak global “reflationary” pressures make it more difficult to lift euro zone inflation, European Central Bank vice president Vitor Constancio said on Friday. “The growing uncertainty surrounding the strength of the world economic recovery, and of the U.S. in particular, makes the normalization of inflation and unemployment levels in the euro area more difficult,” Constancio told a conference in Cernobbio, Italy. “The strong worldwide reflationary phase that seemed likely at the beginning of the year has not materialized,” Constancio said. “Therefore, the tasks of normalizing inflation and unemployment to acceptable levels continue to be difficult.” Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-constancio/raising-euro-zone-inflation-employment-more-difficult-constancio-idUKKCN1BC4CM'|'2017-09-01T12:23:00.000+03:00'
'efc1661a01043bce188e137c254e9537430370b0'|'Hewlett Packard Enterprise to complete software spin-off'|'September 1, 2017 / 7:05 AM / in 5 hours Hewlett Packard Enterprise to complete software spin-off Salvador Rodriguez 3 Min Read File Photo - Signs for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., cover the facade of the New York Stock Exchange November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co ( HPE.N ) completed the spin-off of much of its software business early on Friday, closing the door on the disastrous 2011 acquisition of British firm Autonomy and narrowing the company’s focus to data center hardware and software. The enterprise software businesses, which include the widely used ArcSight security platform, have been merged with Micro Focus International Plc ( MCRO.L ), a British software company. HPE was formed when the company once known as Hewlett-Packard split into HPE and HP Inc in November 2015. The spin-off comes as HPE adjusts to the rapid shift of corporate computing to cloud services offered by the likes of Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ). HPE aims to cater specifically to customers running services both on their own premises and in the cloud, said Ric Lewis, senior vice president of HPE’s cloud software group, in an interview. The spin-off marks the end of HP’s unhappy tangle with Autonomy, which it acquired for $11 billion in an aborted effort to transform HP into an enterprise software leader. The ink was barely dry on the much-criticized deal when the company took an $8.8 billion writedown on it. HP fired CEO Leo Apotheker and later sued Michael Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, once the chief executive and chief financial officers of Autonomy, respectively. The ongoing legal case remains the responsibility of HPE, the company said. “Autonomy was a distraction - a big one - and HPE can now stop spending its energy on defending its decision and dealing with the aftermath,” said Glenn O’Donnell, a Forrester Research analyst. The challenge now for HPE will be to quickly build new software for mixed data center environments, said Tom Bittman, an analyst with Gartner. “They have the hardware, they have the networking, but software is key here, and they have to push hard,” Bittman said. Chris Hsu, who was previously chief operating officer of HPE, is taking over as CEO of Micro Focus. He intends to focus on growth through acquisitions, Hsu told Reuters. “A highly fragmented industry of enterprise software creates an environment whereby we will be well positioned to benefit from that industry consolidation,” Hsu said in a July interview. “Micro Focus used to be primarily a place where software would go to spend its elderly years,” Bittman said. “With all this new software, growth should become a major strategy.” Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez; Editing by Jonathan Weber, Bill Rigby and Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-hewlett-packard-spinoff/hewlett-packard-enterprise-to-complete-software-spin-off-idINKCN1BC40S'|'2017-09-01T05:05:00.000+03:00'
'592eba3ec2962ef55d06b3862c1d75a6ed80c65b'|'Huntsman CEO confident merger with Clariant will succeed - paper'|'September 1, 2017 / 12:05 PM / in 10 minutes Huntsman CEO confident merger with Clariant will succeed - paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Huntsman Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Huntsman poses in front of a maleic anhydride unit at Huntsman''s polyurethane plant in Geismar, Louisiana April 15, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman /File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Huntsman ( HUN.N ) Chief Executive Peter Huntsman said shareholders in Clariant ( CLN.S ) and his own company “almost without exception” support their planned merger after learning the rationale for the $20 billion deal, according to an interview published in Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft. “I have met with more Clariant shareholders than Huntsman shareholders since the transaction was announced earlier this year, and I do not have the impression Clariant shareholders oppose the deal,” Huntsman, a son of the founder, said in the interview published on Friday. Investors including Corvex’s Keith Meister who own 10 percent of Swiss-listed Clariant shares oppose the combination of the chemicals groups and are seeking to convince shareholders to reject the merger. Clariant has hired Goldman Sachs to help it keep the deal on track. Shareholders at Huntsman and Clariant have to vote on the deal, with Clariant requiring 66 percent support for the transaction to go through and Huntsman a 50 percent majority. In the Finanz und Wirtschaft interview, Huntsman predicted the merged company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) will hit 20 percent of annual sales in five years -- both have about 15 percent margins now -- with cashflow reaching more than 50 percent of EBITDA. After the merger, HuntsmanClariant can grow at least twice as fast as global gross domestic product, he said, with the merged company rated at investment grade in less than five years. Huntsman has a long-term rating of “BB” from Standard & Poor‘s, while Clariant has a “BBB-” rating. Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-clariant-huntsman-interview/huntsman-ceo-confident-merger-with-clariant-will-succeed-paper-idUKKCN1BC4RB'|'2017-09-01T15:05:00.000+03:00'
'97c1fb7a9e1ff4f9766d6e0d915edfb90bb06540'|'Dixons Carphone shares plunge 30 percent after handset sales falter'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Britain’s Dixons Carphone dived as much as 30 percent after the retailer cut its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, blaming tougher conditions in the mobile market as customers keep their handsets longer.Dixons Carphone, which trades as Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse in Britain and Ireland, said the weakness of the pound was also making new devices more expensive at a time when technical innovation has been limited.A market leader in both the electricals and mobile phone market, Dixons Carphone said headline pretax profit for the year was expected to be in a broad range of 360 million pounds to 440 million pounds ($460-562 million).The group reported profit of 501 million pounds in the year to 29 April, and analysts had expected a similar number this year. On average they had forecast 495 million pounds, according to Thomson Reuters data.Chief Executive Seb James said that customers were taking their time before upgrading their phones to the latest model.“The cause of that really is that people are holding on to handsets longer, on average we are seeing four to five months longer,” he said.The shares traded 24 pecent lower at 179p at 0945 GMT. They had already fallen by a third this year as investors feared Britain’s biggest electricals retailer would suffer from the growing inflationary pressures on consumers.Analysts said the fact the group was trading well in its electricals business, which sells more expensive items, suggested the problem had its roots in a lack of innovation in the mobile phone market.“Unfortunately that’s not something Carphone Warehouse can do a great deal about,” said Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.“The forthcoming generation of Samsung Galaxy and iPhone handsets claim to make big steps forward, but recent history hasn’t delivered much that’s revolutionary. Seb James will be hoping (Apple boss) Tim Cook has something big up his sleeve.”The share fall was the latest in a series of dramatic declines this week with WPP and Provident Financial tumbling after company statements.A sign displays the logo of Dixons Carphone at the company headquarters in London, Britain August 1, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/Files ALL EYES ON APPLE James said he believed there was a group of phone owners who were ready for an upgrade.But he said the company was assuming that the longer upgrade cycle, which has lengthened to 29 months from 23 months, was here to stay.New phones coming to the market include Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 8 “phablet”, and a widely expected 10th anniversary iPhone from U.S. rival Apple Inc, set to be unveiled next month.“We know that for half of the premium market, which is the bit that we like, the Apple base more or less rejected the iPhone 7,” he said.“We are optimistic, without betting the farm in anyway, that iPhone 8 will be a good release for Apple, significantly better than 7.”“Demand is very much there and we think it will come back,” he told analysts, adding that most customers would choose to buy the devices with a long-term contract with an operator.The group has also been hit by the removal of roaming fees in Europe.It shares the lifetime value of a customer contract with the mobile operator, and so it will lose some of the revenue it previously received from customers using their phones abroad.It expects this to have a negative impact of between 10 and 40 million pounds this year.($1 = 0.7825 pounds)Editing by Kate Holton/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/dixons-carphone-outlook/dixons-carphone-shares-plunge-30-percent-after-profit-warning-idINKCN1B40V9'|'2017-08-24T07:04:00.000+03:00'
'c4e2cce5355b6481b6ebb1c0efc120bc6ce2f014'|'UK and Japan aim for trade deal straight after Brexit - source'|'British Prime Minister Theresa May shakes hands with her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe following their joint press conference at the state guest house in Tokyo, Japan August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool TOKYO (Reuters) - Britain and Japan are aiming to put in place a bilateral trade agreement “pretty much immediately” after Brexit, a government source said on Thursday as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to reassure businesses and politicians during a visit to Tokyo.“Our intention would be for our deal to come into force pretty much immediately,” a government source said on Thursday. “That’s the UK position and they’ve (Japan) agreed to it.”The source also said that May had met Toyota ( 7203.T ) Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, Nissan ( 7201.T ) CEO Hiroto Saikawa and Hitachi ( 6501.T ) Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi during her trip.The meetings were “enthusiastic and positive”, the source said.Reporting by William James in Tokyo; writing by Costas Pitas in London; editing by Kate Holton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-japan-trade/uk-and-japan-aim-for-trade-deal-straight-after-brexit-source-idINKCN1BC3FB'|'2017-08-31T23:01:00.000+03:00'
'bfebc92f8c5a9b46d83e99c79a0f6f21e4506404'|'LGIM to vote against Sports Direct chair at AGM over governance concerns'|'September 1, 2017 / 2:41 PM / in 25 minutes LGIM to vote against Sports Direct chair at AGM over governance concerns Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A company logo is seen outside a Sports Direct store in Vienna, Austria, April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger LONDON (Reuters) - British fund manager Legal & General Investment Management said on Friday it would vote against the re-election of the chairman of retailer Sports Direct ( SPD.L ) over continued concerns about the company’s governance. LGIM, the fund arm of insurer Legal & General ( LGEN.L ), said it had voted against the chairman’s re-election since 2014 and had opposed the re-election of all the company’s non-executive directors in 2016. “Although we are encouraged by some of the positive steps made over the past year, such as refreshing the board and labour relations, we believe progress is not sufficient to warrant supporting the Chairman’s re-election this year,” Sacha Sadan, director of corporate governance, said in a statement. “We believe that all shareholders should continue to send a strong signal to Sports Direct calling for change.” The AGM will be held on Sept. 6. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Pamela Barbaglia'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sports-direct-investor-agm/lgim-to-vote-against-sports-direct-chair-at-agm-over-governance-concerns-idUKKCN1BC55U'|'2017-09-01T17:40:00.000+03:00'
'ab4eb1239f1ddfcb1001504f05730b34b14f67bc'|'Iliad profit rises on subscriber gains'|'September 1, 2017 / 10:25 AM / 6 minutes ago Iliad profit rises on subscriber gains Reuters Staff 3 Min Read French broadband Internet provider Iliad logo is seen in Paris, France, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - French telecoms operator Iliad ( ILD.PA ) said profit rose 22 percent in the first half as the provider of low-cost internet and mobile services continued to win new business from rivals Orange ( ORAN.PA ), Bouygues ( BOUY.PA ) and SFR ( SFRGR.PA ). Net income rose to 232.6 million euros in January-June from 190.4 million a year earlier, the company sad in a statement, on a 7.3 percent increase in revenue to 2.46 billion. The owner of the Free internet and mobile brand, whose 2012 market launch sparked a price war in France, also posted 874.6 million euros in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), up 8.2 percent. The group said it added 200,000 net new mobile subscribers in April-June, winning the biggest share of new business among French mobile operators for the 22nd consecutive quarter. Total subscribers including fixed-line rose to 19.61 million at the end of June from 18.34 million a year earlier. In fixed-line, however, Free saw its profitability decline slightly in the first half with a slowdown in subscriber additions that billionaire founder Xavier Niel blamed on “aggressive” sales promotions by Bouygues and other rivals. In response, the group will now push ahead with the development of a long-awaited successor to its current Freebox offering, Niel said, without giving a launch date. “In such conditions it’s the quality of our boxes that wins new business,” he said on a conference call with analysts. “We’ve tried to hold back but at some point you can’t wait any longer, so we’ll be back with a new box.” Iliad reiterated full-year and medium-term goals including a 40 percent EBITDA margin by 2020, compared with 35.5 percent recorded in the first half. In Italy, where the company is preparing its first overseas expansion, Iliad may be interested in acquiring 5G wireless spectrum in an upcoming government auction, Chief Executive Maxime Lombardini also said on Friday. Reporting by Laurence Frost and Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by Leigh Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iliad-results/iliad-profit-rises-on-subscriber-gains-idUKKCN1BC4HZ'|'2017-09-01T13:25:00.000+03:00'
'c13fb2b12b1ca961fa67989ee036641aee5dc1d4'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher after jobs data'|'September 1, 2017 / 1:36 PM / 20 minutes ago US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher after jobs data Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after data showed job growth slowed more than expected in August and wage growth remained anemic, which could make the Federal Reserve cautious about raising interest rates again this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35.26 points, or 0.16 percent, to 21,983.36. The S&P 500 gained 4.77 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,476.42. The Nasdaq Composite added 14.93 points, or 0.23 percent, to 6,443.59. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-snapshot-wall-st-opens-higher-after-jobs-data-idUSL4N1LI41X'|'2017-09-01T16:33:00.000+03:00'
'858f3aa031a5c212525175fcd0d642b5db13bd93'|'Kawasaki vying for $3.2 billion New York subway order'|'FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a signboard of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. at the company''s Tokyo Head Office in Tokyo April 22, 2013. Toru Hanai/File Photo MONTREAL/TOKYO (Reuters) - Kawasaki Heavy Industries ( 7012.T ) of Japan said on Thursday it was vying to win a $3.2 billion subway contract with the largest U.S. transit agency, after Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) of Canada acknowledged this week that it was out of the running.Bombardier Transportation, the company''s German-based rail unit, and China''s CRRC Corp ( 601766.SS ) were jointly bidding for the contract from New York''s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for at least 1,000 subway cars, a source familiar with the matter said.The two are no longer in the running because of Bombardier''s delays in completing a separate MTA subway car contract, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity about the confidential bidding process.Bombardier said this week it was "disappointed" about being excluded from the procurement, but would not give a reason.Kawasaki is working with France''s Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) as system supplier for the cars, the source said.Maika Yamashita, a spokeswoman for Kawasaki Heavy in Tokyo, said the company was trying to win the bid. "We have not heard that an order has been decided," she added.Both Bombardier and Kawasaki are longstanding suppliers for the MTA, the largest U.S. transit agency by ridership, which serves one in three mass transit riders and two-thirds of rail riders in the country.CRRC in China could not immediately be reached for comment.Representatives for the MTA spokesman and Alstom declined to comment.Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/newyork-subway-kawasakiheavy-idINKCN1BC3CT'|'2017-09-01T03:20:00.000+03:00'
'a708eb33692bb43d34ecc59585e6e9a52bb457a1'|'Pernod Ricard confident on acceleration in profit growth for 2017-2018'|'A barman of French drinks maker Pernod Ricard group prepares drinks for clients at the " Club Pernod" in Marseille, France, April 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier/Files PARIS (Reuters) - French spirits maker Pernod Ricard said on Thursday it was confident that profits for the current financial year would show an acceleration from the 2016/17 underlying profit growth of 3.3 percent it reported on Thursday.Cost cuts, robust sales in its top market of the United States, and stronger demand in China offset weakness in India as Pernod posted the rise in earnings.Pernod - the world’s second-biggest spirits group behind Britain’s Diageo - also handed investors a 7 percent dividend hike, and the owner of Mumm champagne and Martell cognac was confident it would improve its performance.Pernod Ricard forecast underlying profit growth from recurring operations of between 3 percent and 5 percent for the full year up to June 30, 2018.This would be an acceleration from the 3.3 percent rise in profit from recurring operations in the 2016/2017 full financial year, when profits came in at 2.394 billion euros ($2.84 billion) - slightly below the average of 2.42 billion euros in an Inquiry Financial poll for ThomsonReuters.The 2016/17 performance was near the high end of Pernod’s guidance for underlying operating profit growth of 2-4 percent.($1 = 0.8420 euros)Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/pernod-results/pernod-ricard-confident-on-acceleration-in-profit-growth-for-2017-2018-idINKCN1BB0GG'|'2017-08-31T03:57:00.000+03:00'
'043e476639679ccf2e7439ca276f139e1c5f2ce7'|'French, Italian ministers to hold talks on STX shipyard row'|'MILAN (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday he would meet his Italian counterpart on Sept. 11 to try to trash out an agreement over Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri’s ( FCT.MI ) blocked takeover bid for STX France shipyards.Rome and Paris hope to resolve the issue in time for a Sept. 27 Franco-Italian summit.“We are in the process of finding a compromise with the Italian government. I will be in Rome on the 11th of September to find a new compromise with Italian minister Pier Carlo Padoan and the government,” Le Maire told reporters on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti business conference in Italy.“The cooperation between France and Fincantieri remains the best option for (STX) Saint Nazaire so we have to fix some problems... But I‘m convinced that if everyone is able to make an effort we will find a compromise before the end of September.”France angered Italy in July after it ordered a “temporary” nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which state-owned Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy a 54.6 percent stake.France took the decision after Fincantieri, which had agreed to buy the majority stake from its former Korean owners, refused a French government proposal to accept 50-50 ownership.Le Maire said earlier this week he would make fresh proposals to Italy without giving details beyond saying they should be extended to Franco-Italian cooperation in the field of naval defense.The nationalization of STX has added strain to France’s relations with Italy, where the growing influence of French investors on domestic businesses is under scrutiny.The Italian government is looking into whether French group Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) duly informed the prime minister’s office of it exercising de facto control over phone company Telecom Italia (TIM) ( TLIT.MI ), which is considered a strategic national asset.Rome could fine Vivendi, which has a 24 percent stake in TIM but has repeatedly denied controlling it, if it found the French group did not fulfill its obligations.Rome cannot veto the acquisition of stakes in TIM or changes in control over the company if the buyer comes from within the European Union. But under “exceptional” circumstances, Italy could exercise a so-called “golden power” on a European buyer if there is serious risk to national security and the functioning of its communications network.Le Maire said Italian investments in France were welcome. “I hope that also French investments are welcome in Italy.”He reiterated France backed the idea of a European version of the International Monetary Fund and said that in coming weeks he would announce corporate privatizations to fund innovation to modernize France.Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Valentina Za and Helen Popper '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a-fincantieri-chairman/italy-france-holding-technical-talks-on-fincantieri-stx-shipyard-deal-idINKCN1BC5ON'|'2017-09-01T16:20:00.000+03:00'
'34846da7295eb0fa0a59f3d8bb48fce441d70bc2'|'Global economy - Enter the Draghi'|'September 1, 2017 / 2:24 PM / in 13 hours Global economy - Enter the Draghi Balazs Koranyi 5 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi gives a speech during Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Lindau, Germany August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The spotlight shines on Mario Draghi once again. The European Central Bank president has to reconcile an economic dichotomy of robust growth with weak inflation, a dilemma exacerbated by a seemingly unstoppable rise in the euro. The time for thinking is running out, however. The ECB’s massive stimulus scheme is due to expire by year-end so Draghi will have to start charting a new course when policymakers meet on Sept 7. The problem is that the ECB is undershooting its near 2 percent inflation target for the fifth year running and will continue to miss into the next decade, failing on its primary mandate and potentially jeopardizing its own credibility despite unprecedented stimulus. Economic growth, now into its 17th straight quarter, is even complicating the problem. The euro naturally firms as the economy roars ahead but that makes imports cheaper and holds back inflation even more. Indeed, the currency is up by 13 percent this year against the dollar, a reflection of the euro zone’s strength, policy uncertainty in the United States and expectations that one way or another, the ECB will have to tighten policy. That leaves Draghi with a tricky job. He must acknowledge that work is underway on the future of stimulus but he needs to keep details to the minimum to buy a bit more time and temper edgy markets. With few specific decision coming out of the meeting, it will be a communication tightrope with each word carrying extra weight. “We think the key reason for staying put on 7 September is the sharp -- more than 5 percent -- rise in the euro since late June, a move that the ECB will not want to turbo-charge through additional hawkish rhetoric,” UBS economist Reinhard Cluse said. Indeed, markets see no policy change from the ECB in September and expect a decision only in October with asset buys cut by a third from next year, a Reuters poll of analysts showed. STILL EFFECTIVE? The big headache is that inflation is not behaving like it used to. Even as labour markets tighten, wage growth is not accelerating and prices fail to rise, indicating that models used by central banks may be outdated. The shift could signal a change in the nature of inflation with supply, demand and labour becoming more global, implying that central banks’ ability to control their own inflation has been reduced. For Draghi, Europe’s rapid ageing, hidden job market slack and more flexible labour markets may also be a drag. Conservative policymakers argue that the ECB has done all that it could and should now step back, keeping policy easy but not running on all cylinders since that should be reserved for emergencies. Doves fret that stepping back now could risk undoing years of work, damaging the ECB’s hard-earned credibility. Draghi will need to find middle ground for now. Announcing new staff forecasts, he will likely upgrade the ECB’s growth outlook and reduce inflation projections but only slightly. He is also expected to announce that the ECB’s technical committees have been tasked with mapping policy options, a signal that a decision is imminent. Having already expressed concern about the rise of the euro in July, policymakers may also repeat their warning about the currency moving too quick. But no other change is expected with Draghi also seen maintaining the ECB’s guidance for even more asset buys if necessary. “We expect the guidance will be maintained again because the ECB will want to avoid sending any message that could be prone to over-interpretation,” Nomura said. “Very little has changed in the underlying euro area fundamental picture.” So Draghi will merely set up the market for a decision in October, also leaving the door open for a move in December. Some argue that the real elephant in the room is Italy. Its GDP has yet to recover to pre-crisis levels, unemployment is high and its bank sector is weak. This has given a real platform for euro sceptics, a danger as the country heads towards an election next year. Any big poll gains by anti-euro parties could increase market volatility and some argue that the ECB wants to hang onto its potent tools to soothe sentiment. “It’s also our long-held belief that it is in the ECB’s interest to maintain a significant quantum of purchases throughout the Italian elections period, which potentially take place as late as May 2018,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-outlook/global-economy-enter-the-draghi-idUKKCN1BC54D'|'2017-09-02T03:23:00.000+03:00'
'a0fd26353f59ba1b2a0b36210f8d23e98c80daa4'|'Current euro level not a threat for European firms - Moscovici'|'September 2, 2017 / 9:53 AM / in 3 hours Current euro level not a threat for European firms: Moscovici Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An employee shows fifty-euro notes in a bank in Sarajevo, March 19, 2012. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - The current level of the euro is not threatening the performance of European companies, Pierre Moscovici, Europe’s Economic Commissioner said on Saturday. Speaking on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti business conference in northern Italy, Moscovici said the strength of the euro also depended on monetary policy, adding he trusted the “leadership and vision” of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. “One must stay calm...the current level of the euro clearly does not prevent our companies winning market shares, being strong, performing and competitive, and exporting,” he said. Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Isla Binnie'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-euro-moscovici/current-euro-level-not-a-threat-for-european-firms-moscovici-idUKKCN1BD0C7'|'2017-09-02T12:51:00.000+03:00'
'2d4eb083b9284f56a0f102ebe00ce6bfe1ec7be3'|'Kawasaki vying for $3.2 billion New York subway order'|'FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a signboard of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. at the company''s Tokyo Head Office in Tokyo April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo MONTREAL/TOKYO (Reuters) - Kawasaki Heavy Industries ( 7012.T ) of Japan said on Thursday it was vying to win a $3.2 billion subway contract with the largest U.S. transit agency, after Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) of Canada acknowledged this week that it was out of the running.Bombardier Transportation, the company’s German-based rail unit, and China’s CRRC Corp ( 601766.SS ) were jointly bidding for the contract from New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for at least 1,000 subway cars, a source familiar with the matter said.The two are no longer in the running because of Bombardier’s delays in completing a separate MTA subway car contract, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity about the confidential bidding process.Bombardier said this week it was “disappointed” about being excluded from the procurement, but would not give a reason.Kawasaki is working with France’s Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) as system supplier for the cars, the source said.Maika Yamashita, a spokeswoman for Kawasaki Heavy in Tokyo, said the company was trying to win the bid. “We have not heard that an order has been decided,” she added.Both Bombardier and Kawasaki are longstanding suppliers for the MTA, the largest U.S. transit agency by ridership, which serves one in three mass transit riders and two-thirds of rail riders in the country.CRRC in China could not immediately be reached for comment.Representatives for the MTA spokesman and Alstom declined to comment.Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/newyork-subway-kawasakiheavy/kawasaki-vying-for-3-2-billion-new-york-subway-order-idINKCN1BC3CT'|'2017-08-31T22:20:00.000+03:00'
'd9e96cca93cbdd9f9123529027eb58a46b7c8268'|'Mexico, Canada to stay in NAFTA even if U.S. leaves - minister'|'September 1, 2017 / 12:25 AM / 2 hours ago Mexico, Canada to stay in NAFTA even if U.S. leaves - minister Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Mexico''s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo gestures as he delivers a speech during a meeting with senators in Mexico City, Mexico August 29, 2017. Carlos Jasso MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico and Canada would remain in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) even if the Trump administration abandoned the accord, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Thursday. "NAFTA will continue to regulate the relationship between Mexico and Canada," Guajardo said at an event in Mexico City, noting that only Washington might consider leaving the accord. "The one that could take that decision, depending on how we get on with the negotiation, is our neighbour the United States." Guajardo was speaking a day before U.S., Mexican and Canadian negotiators meet in Mexico City to work on updating the 23-year-old trade accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to dump if he cannot rework it to his satisfaction. The negotiations in Mexico City will be the second round on revamping NAFTA after talks in Washington two weeks ago. Trump argues the accord has cost the United States jobs and industrial capacity, while Mexico says the integration of the region has made it more competitive, helping to protect jobs. "Neither Canada nor Mexico will announce their departure (from NAFTA) because we want to keep being regulated by NAFTA," Guajardo added after a meeting with lawmakers. Reporting by Adriana Barrera; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/trade-nafta-mexico-guajardo-idINKCN1BC3D5'|'2017-09-01T03:22:00.000+03:00'
'a2e5941c6c02b28bddceb89890f8c936d392ec9b'|'Despite strains, Vietnam and China forge closer economic ties'|'September 1, 2017 / 5:04 AM / 6 minutes ago Despite strains, Vietnam and China forge closer economic ties My Pham , Matthew Tostevin 6 Min Read Porters load bags of dried longan fruit onto a truck in preparation for export to China at Dong Dang town, on the border with China, in Vietnam''s northern Lang Son province July 30, 2014. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo HANOI (Reuters) - Tensions are high on the South China Sea as Vietnam faces off against China over their overlapping maritime claims. But for the boatmen on the junks cruising the calm expanse of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, another growing Chinese presence in the region is very welcome indeed. “More than half our tourists are Chinese now,” said Nguyen Van Phu, 33, who has spent six years working on the boats that chug between the bay’s spectacular stone towers. “If they stopped coming it would be a big problem, if not a disaster.” The number of Chinese tourists in Vietnam has surged this year, just one sign of the growing economic ties between two long-time enemies. Chinese investment in Vietnam is also increasing rapidly, as is trade between the two countries. But while tourists, trade and investment are being welcomed, they also present a challenge for a fiercely independent country like Vietnam, which has been wary of China’s growing influence in the region. “The rising economic dependence on China makes it more difficult for Vietnam to decide how far to confront China on the South China Sea,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a researcher at the Vietnam Economics and Policy Research Institution. Vietnam would suffer far more than China economically in the event of political instability given its smaller size, he said. China exports more goods to Vietnam than any other country in Southeast Asia, sending textiles to be made into shirts and sneakers, and electronic components for mobile phones and large flat-panel displays. Those completed products are exported around the world, as well as back to China. Vietnam also makes electronics components for factories in China, and exports computers for Chinese consumers. Manufacturers see Vietnam as an attractive base, with wages as little as a third of those in coastal regions of China, according to employment consultants. And while proximity has historically been a source of friction between the two countries - they fought a border war as recently as 1979 and armed clashes flared for years afterwards - for manufacturers it’s a boon. “We strategically invested in Vietnam because of its geographical advantage – closer to China and hence lower cost on materials, transportation and relatively shorter production lead time,” said Bosco Law, chief executive of the Hong Kong-based Lawsgroup. The company makes clothes for brands such as Gap, whose global operations include scores of outlets in China. Businesses contacted by Reuters declined to talk openly about the risks for them of tension between Vietnam and China. Chinese trade and investment has surged across Southeast Asia in recent years as companies search out new bases for manufacturing and consumers for their goods. China has also invested in infrastructure and plans to pour development funds into Southeast Asia as part of its sprawling Belt and Road initiative. That has already had a political effect. Container trucks cross the Tan Thanh border gate with China in Vietnam''s northern Lang Son province July 30, 2014. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo Big recipients of Chinese investment such as Cambodia and Laos are promoting China’s line on the South China Sea at regional meetings. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, meanwhile, has cited Chinese investment pledges as he softens his country’s stance on its maritime disputes with China. MISTRUST Tensions between Beijing and Hanoi have been high since mid-June, when Chinese pressure forced Vietnam to suspend oil drilling on a block that overlaps the line China says marks its claim to almost all the South China Sea. As Vietnam has emerged as the most vocal regional opponent of China’s maritime claims in Southeast Asia, it has drawn Beijing’s ire. Its growing defence links to the United States, Japan and India also make China suspicious. Slideshow (2 Images) The Vietnamese government has also had to contend with public pressure at home. A row over Chinese oil drilling in disputed waters in the South China Sea in 2014 sparked anti-China riots in Vietnam in which foreign factories thought to be Chinese were set on fire, before the rig was removed. Tourism dipped in the aftermath, but quickly bounced back. Trade has also risen steadily since then. Exports to China jumped nearly 43 percent to $13 billion in the first half of 2017 from a year earlier, according to customs data. Imports rose more slowly, climbing 16 percent. Chinese tourist arrivals, meanwhile, soared 60 percent to nearly 1.9 million in the first half of 2017 to account for around one third of all foreign visitors. For the most part, the government has welcomed the boost from Chinese tourism, as it strives to meet a 6.7 percent target for annual economic growth. INVESTMENTS WELCOMED Vietnam is also welcoming Chinese investments, if cautiously. “We should be careful but at the same time we should take advantage,” said Nguyen Mai, the president of Vietnam’s Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises. The biggest foreign direct investors in Vietnam have long been from South Korea and Japan, particularly in the electronics sector. More than 100,000 Vietnamese work for Samsung alone in Vietnam. However, Chinese investment is growing quickly, nearly doubling last year to almost 8 percent of total foreign direct investment. Investment went into solar panel and plastics factories, among other areas. Direct U.S. investment accounts for about 2 percent of the total so far this year; the United States is also Vietnam’s second-largest trade partner. Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vietnam-china/despite-strains-vietnam-and-china-forge-closer-economic-ties-idUKKCN1BC3S6'|'2017-09-01T08:03:00.000+03:00'
'a122bd75809084cb10fc12272c589a84cceac6ae'|'UPDATE 1-Results boost European shares, Indivior plunge puts pressure on UK mid caps'|'* STOXX 600 up 0.4 pct, blue chips up 0.6 pct* Vivendi leads media sector after strong results* Volvo sets new financial targets, shares rise* Indivior slumps after U.S. court ruling* U.S. jobs report in focus (Adds details and Quote: s, updates prices)By Kit ReesLONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - European shares started September on a firm footing on Friday after three months of losses as financials rose and an update from Vivendi boosted media stocks.A record plunge in pharma firm Indivior weighed on British mid caps, however.The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.4 percent and euro zone blue chips gained 0.6 percent, with investors poised for the U.S. monthly jobs report later in the session which could provide clues on the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates.Germany’ DAX gained 0.5 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, though a near-40 percent slump in Indivior’s shares put pressure on the FTSE 250 which retreated 0.2 percent.“There has been some stock-specific volatility, but overall I think the markets are still relatively well-supported by the low interest rate environment, so that’s probably going to be the case for the foreseeable future,” Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.“While there is some ... negative sentiment towards markets, I think investors haven’t really got anywhere else to go because bonds are yielding very little and cash is yielding very little,” Khalaf added.Indivior’s shares were set for their biggest one-day loss on record after the firm said it would appeal against a U.S. court ruling that generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s had not infringed its patents, potentially opening the way to a rival to the firm’s Suboxone Film opiod addiction treatment.On an otherwise relatively quiet day for corporate news, shares in Swedish vehicle maker Volvo jumped 7.2 percent and were on track for their biggest one-day gain in more than four months after setting new financial targets.Results drove some sizeable moves, with shares in French media firm Vivendi rising around 5 percent after the group confirmed its outlook, reporting better than expected profit growth for the year. Europe’s media sector was the top-gaining sector, up 1 percent.“These results mean that investors are likely to believe management’s claim of a Canal+ turnaround and listen to music bulls even more,” analysts at Barclays said, upping their rating on the stock to “equal weight” from “underweight”.French telecoms stock Iliad edged 1.1 percent higher on the back of robust first half earnings, which saw profit rise 22 percent thanks to winning new subscribers. Swiss security firm Dormakaba was another top riser, boosted 4.3 percent to an all-time high after Societe Generale began its coverage of the stock with a “buy” rating.Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks/update-1-results-boost-european-shares-indivior-plunge-puts-pressure-on-uk-mid-caps-idINL8N1LI18D'|'2017-09-01T06:53:00.000+03:00'
'6b2adb55c28b38e5df6b2f04aa11458767dbadc7'|'Futures extend gains after August jobs data'|'Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street gained modestly on Friday as a tepid U.S. jobs report kept expectations muted for another interest rate hike this year, while investors kicked off a typically dour month for stocks on a positive note.U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in August after two straight months of hefty increases. The Labor Department said on Friday nonfarm payrolls increased by 156,000 last month, while economists had forecast an increase of 180,000.Following the data, traders were betting on a 39 percent chance that the Federal Reserve would raise rates at its December meeting, similar to bets earlier in the week, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.“The latest economic data that came out today ... didn’t provide information to the Fed that they need to go out and raise interest rates,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana.“The data kind of continued to show this Goldilocks-type situation, which the market tends to like,” Carlson said. “It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold.”The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 39.46 points, or 0.18 percent, to end at 21,987.56, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.9 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,476.55 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 6.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,435.33.Market watchers were also digesting other economic data. U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in July, hitting a nine-month low, but the Institute for Supply Management said its index for factory activity soared to 58.8 in August, the highest reading since April 2011.“The markets are up, I think, because the economic data that has been released is still supportive of economic growth, still supportive of earnings growth, which ultimately is going to drive stock prices,” said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.Energy .SPNY and materials .SPLRCM led among major stock sectors while utilities .SPLRCU lagged the most.The S&P 500 hovered near all-time highs as major stock indexes marked gains for a second straight week. The Nasdaq tallied a record closing high after minting its best week of the year.The benchmark S&P had posted a 0.06 percent gain in August, its most sluggish monthly performance since March’s slight decline. September ranks as the worst month for stocks, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.Shares of major automakers climbed after the companies reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks as Houston area residents replace cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey. General Motors ( GM.N ) rose 2.2 percent and Ford Motor ( F.N ) gained 2.9 percent.Lululemon Athletica ( LULU.O ) shares rose 7.2 percent after the yoga and leisure apparel maker reported profit and revenue that topped expectations.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.30-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.92-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.About 5.1 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, below the 5.8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and James Dalgleish '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/futures-extend-gains-after-august-jobs-data-idINKCN1BC4UA'|'2017-09-01T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'f7f1ba3445fb811e0a3dc2bed3a508442eb7c492'|'China''s property market is a major source of financial risk - central bank official'|'September 1, 2017 / 4:08 AM / 2 hours ago China''s property market is a major source of financial risk - central bank official Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Residential buildings are seen in Beijing, China, January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s property market has become a major source of financial risk, a central bank official said on Friday, according to China Finance, a publication under the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Xu Zhong, head of PBOC’s research bureau, wrote that authorities will maintain a tight control over property markets in first and second-tier cities, and suggested property market tax reform should be included in China’s broader tax reform considerations. The central bank will maintain a prudent and neutral monetary policy, said Xu, but markets cannot expect that such policy alone can address China’s property market problems. China should consider measures related to home mortgage loan growth to address property market price volatility, said Xu. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-property/chinas-property-market-is-a-major-source-of-financial-risk-central-bank-official-idUKKCN1BC3OE'|'2017-09-01T07:07:00.000+03:00'
'0cd3bcb719ba77595f0b05c53f42ea3b7e13b820'|'Acacia to reduce Tanzania operations, cut jobs'|'September 4, 2017 / 7:11 AM / 9 minutes ago Acacia Mining scales down as Tanzanian export ban bites Reuters Staff 2 Min Read JOHANNESBURG/BENGALURU (Reuters) - Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ) said on Monday it would stop underground work at its flagship Tanzanian gold mine and lay off staff to cope with a ban on exports of unprocessed ore, part of a confrontation between the industry and the government. The FTSE 250 company said the partial shutdown at Bulyanhulu would cut its overall production, sending its shares plummeting 9 percent to 188 pence by 1000 GMT, making it worst decliner among an index of its peers. FTNMX1770 The nationwide ban on gold and copper concentrates - imposed by the government in March to encourage the construction of a local smelter - had left a build-up of ore inventory and cut revenue as the firm faced tax bills and other costs, said Acacia, which is majority-owned by Barrick Gold ( ABX.TO ). “The impact of the ban, in addition to the deterioration of the current operating environment, has led to negative cash flow of approximately $15 million per month at the mine and thus has made ordinary course operations at Bulyanhulu unsustainable,” it added in a statement. Annual production is expected to be 100,000 ounces lower than the bottom of the previous guidance range of 850,000-900,000 ounces, it added. Acacia has been caught up in sweeping changes to Tanzania’s mining industry spearheaded by President John Magufuli, who believes his country is not getting its fair share of profits. The government also accuses Acacia of evading taxes for years by under-declaring exports - an allegation dismissed by the company which said in July it had been hit with a $190 billion tax bill, equivalent to four times the East African country’s annual gross domestic product. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru, Barbara Lewis in London and Zandi Shabalala in Johannesburg; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-acacia-mining-outlook/acacia-to-reduce-tanzania-operations-cut-jobs-idUKKCN1BF0PB'|'2017-09-04T10:11:00.000+03:00'
'1d40b1f8839ce80c9554edcf26225876a48821ca'|'WTO reverses ruling against Boeing 777X tax credits'|'September 4, 2017 / 2:03 PM / 12 minutes ago WTO reverses ruling against Boeing 777X tax credits Reuters Staff 2 Min Read GENEVA/PARIS, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization delivered a setback to the European Union in a long-running trade row with the United States over aircraft subsidies on Monday, reversing a recent ruling that Boeing had received prohibited support for its newest jet. The decision by WTO appeal judges overturns a decision to ban some Washington-state support for facilities including a $1 billion plant designed to build the world’s largest carbon-composite wings for Boeing’s future 777X. A WTO panel ruled last year that a reduction in the state’s business and occupation tax in return for a decision to place 777X production in the state had deliberately shut out imports. But its appeals body found the tax breaks had not explicitly targeted trade flows, removing them from the WTO’s most severe category of banned aid known as “prohibited” subsidies. The decision neutralises a potential trump card which the EU played in 2014 to shake up the world’s biggest trade dispute -- a decade into the war of rival claims between Washington and Brussels over billions of dollars of support for planemakers. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, editing by Tom Miles)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/wto-aircraft/wto-reverses-ruling-against-boeing-777x-tax-credits-idUSL8N1LL2YT'|'2017-09-04T17:03:00.000+03:00'
'9dc2fea225dec2583964c998534e2460c1a202a4'|'U.S. energy industry claws back after Harvey, but gas prices elevated'|'September 3, 2017 / 5:50 AM / in 2 hours U.S. energy industry claws back after Harvey, but gas prices elevated Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Clouds from Hurricane Harvey are seen in the background as smoke rises from a burn off at an oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Several key refineries began restarting over the weekend after Hurricane Harvey slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast energy hub and crippled their operations, but gasoline prices remained near two-year highs amid fears of shortages. The storm took down a quarter of U.S. oil refining capacity and lifted average gasoline prices by more than 17.5 cents since Aug. 23. On Saturday, ExxonMobil Corp began restarting the country’s second-largest oil refinery, the 560,500 barrels per day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, unit, while Phillips 66 said it was working to resume operations at its 247,000 bpd Sweeny refinery and at its Beaumont oil and fuels terminal. The restarts followed an announcement from Valero Energy Corp on Friday that it was increasing production at its Corpus Christi, Texas-area refineries. The hurricane battered Texas before weakening to a tropical storm and inundated the region with torrential rains and flooding. Some pipelines also restarted over the weekend, assuaging worries over the ability of refineries to get the crude oil they need to operate. Magellan Midstream Partners said it had resumed operations on Friday on its BridgeTex and Longhorn crude oil pipelines, which transport around 675,000 bpd of West Texas crude to East Houston. Still, the majority of Texas ports remained closed to large vessels, limiting discharge of imported crude, and the Colonial Pipeline, which hauls more than 3 million bpd of refined products including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from the Gulf Coast to the populous U.S. Northeast was also partially closed. Reporting By Libby George; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-energy/u-s-energy-industry-claws-back-after-harvey-but-gas-prices-elevated-idINKCN1BE06Y'|'2017-09-03T16:05:00.000+03:00'
'7572f0c3b5ad071cf9d3b07f6a694d5e85eb5136'|'Russia''s VTB sees no risks for itself from Otkritie bailout'|'The logo of Russian bank VTB is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW (Reuters) - VTB ( VTBR.MM ), Russia’s second biggest lender, sees no risks for itself from the central bank’s bailout of Otkritie bank, it said on Thursday.State-controlled VTB, which holds just under a 10 percent stake in Otkritie group, the holding company that controls Otkritie bank, supported the group via loans and other instruments during its rapid growth.Asked about its role in Otkritie’s expansion, VTB said it worked with financial institutions “purely on a market basis.”“Our cooperation with Otkritie is built on the same principles of openness and competitiveness as with other partners,” it said in emailed replies to Reuters questions.The central bank said this week Otkritie group, whose other shareholders include holding company executives as well as Lukoil’s top managers and some others, grew too rapidly, with its capital failing to keep up with the expansion.VTB said its share in Otkritie bank’s liabilities was around 3 percent at its peak in the fourth quarter of 2015 and had fallen to insignificant levels since then. Those liabilities, it said, include trading operations with debt instruments.“Other Russian financial institutions have worked with Otkritie in a much bigger scale,” VTB said, without naming those institutions.The bank, which spent a couple of years absorbing Bank of Moscow, Russia’s biggest banking bail out to date, said Otkritie’s financial rescue did not pose any risks to VTB as it did not have credit risk secured by Otkritie bank shares.Under the bailout plan, the central bank will take a minimum of a 75 percent stake in Otkritie bank, Russia’s biggest private bank and seventh largest by assets. The stake may increase to 100 percent if the bank’s capital turns negative.VTB said it helped to finance Otkritie group’s purchase of a diamond business from Lukoil ( LKOH.MM ) for $1.45 billion, a deal that completed in May.That loan, VTB said, was provided at market rates and was not secured by Otkritie bank or group’s shares, but rather by other assets.“We do not plan to pull out of Otkritie’s equity or to increase our current share. Neither do we plan to invest our own funds into the bank,” VTB said.Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-banks-otkritie-vtb/russias-vtb-says-sees-no-risks-from-otkritie-banks-bail-out-idUSKCN1BB257'|'2017-08-31T23:05:00.000+03:00'
'0e3fb2ed23c6ce0affd412719b7ca639f5497bb6'|'Cracking deadlock on Brexit bill may require EU summit talks'|'September 1, 2017 / 3:16 PM / an hour ago Cracking deadlock on Brexit bill may require EU summit talks Jan Strupczewski , Alastair Macdonald 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Anti-Brexit, pro-European Union Remain supporters wave flags as they travel up and down the River Thames, outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain August 19, 2017. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A 60 billion euro gulf between the European Union and Britain over how much London owes when it quits the bloc may be the biggest obstacle to a deal on an orderly Brexit in March 2019, officials said after talks this week. There are sharply differing legal interpretations of the “Brexit bill” that Britain will legally be obliged to pay in a divorce settlement with Brussels. But there are signs too of where compromise may emerge that could allow Prime Minister Theresa May deliver a headline figure more palatable to British voters than the 60 billion euros ($70 billion) widely talked about and without leaving the other 27 leaders staring at a hole in budgets. The key could be to take account of payments Britain is willing to make after leaving as part of a transition to a new cooperation pact with the bloc, EU officials and diplomats involved in negotiations told Reuters on Friday after tense talks in Brussels. Brexit Secretary David Davis, asked about that on Friday, said: “It’s an idea that’s been floated around.” A snag though is that EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier is bound by his 27 national masters not even to discuss any post-Brexit arrangements until “significant progress” is made on agreeing a divorce. However, Barnier has made clear he does not need to agree any figure before asking EU leaders to launch parallel talks on the future EU-UK relationship -- possibly at a summit with May in October. He would be content with agreeing the “methodology” of calculation before launching Phase Two. Barnier made clear he disliked the first formal British response on Tuesday to the EU’s demands for probably several years-worth of its current annual EU contributions to cover outstanding commitments to such things as EU staff pensions and future EU grants already promised to developing countries. The confidential legal analysis, which British officials said rejected EU assertions that the bloc’s seven-year financing plans are legally binding on member states, meant London was refusing to pay for any commitments after Brexit, Barnier said -- at odds with what May’s government has previously said. However, EU officials’ ears pricked up when Davis told the same news conference that, even if Britain found no legal basis for many EU demands, it also recognised “moral obligations” and was prepared to pay for good relations in the future. “We’ve a very different legal stance,” Davis said. But he then twice quoted from May’s formal divorce letter, sent in March: “The settlement should be in accordance with law and in the spirit of the UK’s continuing partnership with the EU.” A senior EU official stressed to journalists afterwards that there could be no mixing up of Britain’s obligations incurred pre-Brexit with those it might accept post-Brexit in return, say, for participation in EU programmes or access to markets -- similar to payments that non-members like Norway already make. However, others see flexibility created by a grey zone around what constitutes “sufficient progress” on agreeing the financial settlement in order for Barnier to ask leaders to expand his mandate to talks on the post-Brexit transition. Davis pressed his case this week for Barnier to show more “flexibility” and merge discussions on the withdrawal treaty with those on the future relationship, arguing that it was impossible to complete the former without the latter. Barnier rejected that. But EU officials concede that the answer to closing the gap on the Brexit bill may lie there. “I would understand Davis ... in the following way,” one said. “Let’s start talking about Phase Two if you want to clinch a deal on the money.” While Barnier would not publicly stray from his position of refusing to discuss post-Brexit arrangements before some kind of agreement on the money, informal discussions on how much Britain might pay during a transition of several years where it remains in much of the EU’s regulatory framework could work. “A transition period, which is short, has a definite end, ... maybe that is the answer – a bridge between the two expectations,” the official said. Another senior European official involved in the Brexit talks cautioned that there was little mood among the 27 other states to let Britain off lightly on the money -- it will leave a big hole in the Union’s budget that no one wants to fill. However, he said, in the interests of avoiding a chaotic Brexit with no deal, they could be open to a compromise that helped May “sell” the deal at home by spreading British payments across both the final Brexit payment and future contributions. “There is zero chance of a positive decision on moving to Phase Two if there is no preliminary compromise on this,” he said. “The compromise should be linked to agreeing methodology.” Such is the sensitivity of the issue that officials say it may have to be decided at the highest political level, possibly when May attends the Brrussels summit in October. Editing by Richard Balmforth '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-money/cracking-deadlock-on-brexit-bill-may-require-eu-summit-talks-idUKKCN1BC598'|'2017-09-01T18:15:00.000+03:00'
'c3dd87b04c0fe83a98cc539730a09759ba1d4e5d'|'FTSE up for first September trades after second monthly strike'|'September 1, 2017 / 9:17 AM / an hour ago FTSE inches up for first September trades after second monthly strike 3 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - UK blue chips, backed by buoyant mining stocks, were up for their first September trades on Friday after outperforming their European peers with a second consecutive monthly rise in August. The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended up 0.1 percent, while the mid cap FTSE 250 .FTMC index was held back with a 0.1 percent retreat due to the collapse of Indivior''s shares ( INDV.L ). The drugmaker’s shares sank 35 after it said it would appeal against a U.S. court ruling which potentially opens the way to a rival to the firm’s Suboxone Film opiod addiction treatment. “The company is facing a mammoth struggle now,” said Neil Wilson, a senior market analyst at ETX capital. Other midcaps suffered blows including Greene King ( GNK.L ), down 3.8 percent after HSBC cut its rating on the stock and electronics retailer Dixons Carphone ( DC.L ), which lost 1.7 percent after both Investec and Morgan Stanley took a more negative view on its prospects. Miners, which had already helped the FTSE stay in positive territory in the previous session, were up with Glencore ( GLEN.L ) rising 2.1 percent, Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ) 2.2 percent and Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) 0.3 percent. Energy sector heavyweights BP ( BP.L ) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) fell 0.1 and 0.2 percent respectively. Financials were mixed with HSBC ( HSBA.L ) and Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) falling slightly and Barclays ( BARC.L ) and Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) both up around 0.5 percent. Provident Financial ( PFG.L ), which made the headlines in August with a profit warning and the departure of its CEO Peter Crook, saw its shares fall 1.2 percent after Jeffries cut its recommendation from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’. Reporting by Julien Ponthus; Editing by Richard Balmforth'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-up-for-first-september-trades-after-second-monthly-strike-idUKKCN1BC4C3'|'2017-09-01T12:19:00.000+03:00'
'9c0c55875a159120c3513eae3d06f602412fb8e1'|'Abercrombie posts much smaller loss than expected, shares soar'|'A person carries a bag from the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files REUTERS - U.S. teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co posted a much smaller than expected quarterly loss on Thursday, helped by robust demand for its Hollister surfwear brand, sending the company’s shares soaring as much as 18 percent.Hollister has been driving Abercrombie’s results in recent quarters, while the company’s namesake brand, which sells a wider range of apparel, has struggled.Other established teen apparel companies have also struggled in the face of changing consumer tastes, the rise of fast-fashion retailers such as H&M and Inditex’s Zara and growing pressure from Amazon.com Inc.To win back shoppers deserting malls, Abercrombie has remodeled its stores and slashed prices, particularly in its Hollister business, which it also began revamping as a fast-fashion brand.Hollister posted a 5 percent rise in sales at established stores in the second quarter ended July 29, topping analysts’ average estimate for a 2.9 percent increase, according to Consensus Metrix.Same-store sales at Abercrombie’s namesake brand continued to decline, falling 7 percent in the latest quarter, but besting the 8.5 percent decrease expected by analysts, according to Consensus Metrix.Signage is seen at the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files The company said total sales at established stores fell 1 percent. That result, too, topped expectations.Abercrombie’s upbeat results come more than a month after it ended talks to sell itself. The company had said in May it was in talks with several bidders regarding a potential sale.Net loss attributable to Abercrombie widened to $15.5 million, or 23 cents per share in the second quarter, from $13.1 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.Excluding one-time items, the company posted a loss of 16 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 33 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Net sales fell slightly to $779.3 million, also handily beating analysts’ expectations of $758.6 million.New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie’s shares were up 13 percent at $10.83 in premarket trading.Teen apparel maker American Eagle Outfitters Inc on Wednesday posted better-than-expected results in a glum retail environment, helped by strong demand for its jeans and Aerie line of lingerie.Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma and Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/abercrombie-results/abercrombies-second-quarter-loss-widens-idINKCN1B41CN'|'2017-08-24T09:44:00.000+03:00'
'cc68c3e24ca6ef2668bee5c70cc7ad5f934f1e76'|'How can small businesses beat the Brexit blues? - KIA Fleet partner zone'|'Brexit may seem a million miles away for a humble home-grown outfit, but commerce operates globally – and even the smallest outfit will tend to sell abroad via e-commerce. Even though nothing seems certain with Brexit, is there anything you can do now to start understanding how it could impact the way you do business? We’ve chatted to top small business advisers – and a small business owner – to gauge their views.The business advisers Bobby Lane, head of business development and outsourcing at Shelley Stock Hutter , says that you should mind your currency.Lane saw the initial panic when the EU referendum result came in, but now he sees a more “roll your sleeves up” attitude prevailing. While the pound has weakened, this has made our products cheaper to sell abroad – and British products and services were already attractive at a premium price. A trade deal with the US could open us up to the biggest consumer market in the world. But the value of the pound is likely to be volatile, so Lane recommends managing currency hedging “very carefully”.Carl Reader, director at accountants d&t believes that you should watch your workforce and keep communication lines open. Reader believes that certain businesses will struggle if the tap of EU talent is turned off. Our growing tech industry would be in trouble if it was unable to access European coders, for example. “But I don’t believe the government will cut access to good talent,” he says. However, less skilled roles are often filled by foreigners – and filling them with UK workers will require salaries to rise, he fears.Another area to watch out for is communication. If your business engages with EU suppliers, the onus will be on you to keep on top of any changes that might affect that trade, such as customs and duties. “As this develops, it won’t always be front page news abroad – so other countries’ level of understanding will be lower than ours. Communication will be a challenge.”Chris Barnard, accountancy technical manager at Crunch Accounting , forecasts that “changes to tax will undoubtedly occur, with VAT being a prime candidate since our VAT mechanism is currently linked to EU rules”, says Barnard. “Make sure you’ve got a proactive accountant who will tell you the moment new rules and regulations are announced.”Developing on Reader’s theme, Barnard recommends keeping in touch with your technology providers, particularly if you use an e-commerce platform to undertake business abroad.London and Scottish SMEs keeping calm and carrying on through Brexit Read more “Be sure to keep in regular touch with your chosen provider – they’re likely to know about any changes first and will be able to advise on any increase in costs.” If you’re using online tech to serve in Europe, why not consider expanding your horizons? “If you primarily serve European countries, it’s a good time to think about looking further afield. Trading with Europe might not get any more expensive, but it never hurts to diversify.”The lawyer Gary McIndoe, director at Latitude Law , argues it’s important to support and sponsor staff.Employers should engage with their workforce now to determine whether Brexit will affect their EU employees personally, which might include supporting them through the application process for residence cards. “This can provide them with a greater sense of security – or allaying fears of any immediate changes to their employment,” says McIndoe. As EU citizenship becomes less significant in assessing a person’s right to work, conducting full and thorough right-to-work checks will be increasingly important in order to avoid punishment in the event of illegal working. Talk to any employees who may be at risk if changes come into force, and find out how they plan to continue residing in the UK. Do they have settled status or is there another route they could take? “If you have a sponsor licence, this might be a way to keep a valued employee. If you don’t, this may be a route to consider for the future.”The small business founder Jack Jenkins, co-founder of University Cribs , believes you should be thinking hard and prepared to react.Jenkins helped launch a student property search engine, University Cribs, in November 2016, which he describes as a “Rightmove or Zoopla for students”. There is a great concern that EU students will turn away from the UK. Jenkins’ business has to consider all possibilities, and be prepared to move as the market moves.“Ultimately, what doesn’t come from Europe will, in time, be made up for from China and India and big developing countries.” University Cribs is “constantly” thinking about the future, with Brexit a key part of that thinking.“It’s completely new, there’s no script for this … we need to be very careful about what we’re doing in our planning process, looking at markets, and analysing the knock-on effects. We listen, react and try to understand. Picking up snippets, news, listening to accountants, that’s the most important thing.”Content on this page is paid for and provided by Kia Fleet , sponsor of the Guardian Small Business Network Accessing Expertise hub. Topics KIA Fleet partner zone advertisement features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/kia-fleet-partner-zone/2017/aug/29/how-small-businesses-beat-brexit-blues'|'2017-08-29T19:55:00.000+03:00'
'296651b468b045ad4e8e81fd4422fa4d06e3622f'|'UPDATE 2-Cargill estimates Brazil to export 5 mln tonnes of corn in Aug'|'Men work next to a truck unloading second corn (winter corn) near Sorriso in the Mato Grosso state, Brazil, July 26, 2017. Picture taken July 26, 2017. Nacho Doce SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A Brazil Cargill executive estimated on Thursday that the country will have exported 5 million tonnes of corn in August, with the U.S.-based agriculture firm accounting for a large share of the trade.Brazil is expected to export 35 million tonnes of corn this year, he said, higher than a 28-million-tonne forecast by the government and above industry group Anec''s 30-million-tonne projection.Brazil is set to account for 50 percent of global corn exports between this August and January next year, Paulo Sousa, the head of Cargill''s local grains and oilseeds unit, told an industry conference."Cargill will be the leader," he said in relation to the company''s ratio of Brazil''s August corn exports, declining to elaborate. The company has operated in the country for 52 years.Brazil''s prominence as a corn exporter in the second half of the year is due to winter corn, which is planted between February and March, and harvested between July and August."Brazil originates the cheapest corn in the world and will continue to do so until April or May of next year," he said.Corn futures closed higher in Chicago on technical buying and short-covering at the end of the month. CBOT December corn CZ7 settled up 12-1/4 cents at $3.57-3/4 per bushel on Thursday.A second annual corn crop, planted after soybeans are harvested, has made Brazil the world''s second-largest exporter of the cereal and a major competitor to the United States in global markets. For a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2hP1YWkThe second corn harvest represents about 68 percent of Brazil''s total corn crop, which this year is estimated at roughly 97 million tonnes."But winter corn is a lot more vulnerable to climate risks, so price volatility tends to be a constant issue," Cargill''s Sousa said.Last year, he said to illustrate his point, there was a steep fall in Brazil''s corn production due to weather factors affecting winter corn planting in the first quarter. Because a significant portion of the winter corn had been traded by farmers in advance for the export markets, there was a problem on the supply side."The price went up so much that it allowed exporters like Cargill and competitors to buy back what they had sold," he said, adding this was done to cover the production gap and cater to domestic demand. Not all of the exported corn could be bought back, he said.Reporting by Ana Mano; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-meat-siavs-cargill-ltd-idUSKCN1BB357'|'2017-09-01T00:51:00.000+03:00'
'5e90c0e9d788cda56302ee763392b99193c0e13c'|'Liberty House to invest $1 billion in Australian steelworks to meet infrastructure boom'|'September 2, 2017 / 4:27 AM / 7 hours ago Liberty House to invest A$1.26 billion in Australian steelworks to meet infrastructure boom Joseph Hinchliffe 3 Min Read Executive Chairman of Liberty House Group, Sanjeev Gupta at Fort William Lochaber Scotland; December 19, 2016. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Liberty House says it will pump A$1.26 billion (£0.77 billion) into steel-making capacity in Australia to meet the demands of a decade-long infrastructure boom in the country, months after acquiring a steelworks which was in voluntary administration and billions of dollars in debt. The British firm’s executive chairman, billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, visited the South Australian town of Whyalla to announce the upgrades on Friday, saying a 100-day review would result in plans to transform the plant, including fixing its power needs by harnessing waste gases and investing in pumped hydro and large-scale solar energy. The previous owner of the steelworks, Australian steel group Arrium Ltd, collapsed in April 2016 with A$2.8 billion in debt after creditors rejected a $927 million bailout proposal by private equity group GSO Capital Partners that would have paid no more than 55 cents on the dollar on their claims. But despite its 18-months in limbo, Gupta told Australian media on Friday he did not see why the plant should be condemned. “I saw an asset which was misunderstood, underappreciated and I saw a discussion going on about how to transition to its close so that the impact on the town was minimised — I was shocked,” Gupta said. He told the Australian Financial Review on Friday of short-term plans to lift the steel plant’s capacity to 1.5 million tonnes and increase output at the electric arc furnaces and rolling mills on the east coast to meet an “immense”, 10-year pipeline of new infrastructure projects in Australia including highways, bridges and airports. In a nod to its pre-Arrium glory days, Gupta said the plant and its associated infrastructure would now operate under the name Liberty OneSteel. Liberty House, which operates together with energy and commodities business SIMEC under the $9.4 billion Gupta Family Group (GFG) Alliance, hit the headlines last year when it offered to rescue steel plants owned by Tata Steel UK that were on the verge of shutdown. Liberty has since bought an aluminium smelter in Scotland and a steel plant in the United States Reporting by Joseph Hinchliffe; Editing by Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-arrium-australia/liberty-house-to-invest-1-billion-in-australian-steelworks-to-meet-infrastructure-boom-idUKKCN1BD05T'|'2017-09-02T07:28:00.000+03:00'
'5f7c64ce3960f45ca6a23189d6d89ce2e84c16d7'|'Moscow says Schlumberger Russian oil services deal held up by U.S sanctions - reports'|'September 2, 2017 / 9:54 AM / 3 hours ago Moscow says Schlumberger Russian oil services deal held up by U.S sanctions - reports Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - The acquisition of Russia’s Eurasia Drilling Co (EDC) by U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger ( SLB.N ) has been held up by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Russian Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted as saying by local news services. Schlumberger applied to the watchdog for approval to buy the stake in late July in a deal widely seen as testing the state of relations between Russia and the United States. However, since then the United States has introduced additional sanctions against Russia for its alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential elections in 2016. The sanctions restrict cooperation in the Russian energy sector. Several Russian officials, including the Natural Resources minister and the head of anti-monopoly body, have said the deal had been held up due to the political turmoil. “I agree that we shouldn’t sell it if in a month the company will stop working (due to sanctions),” Dvorkovich was quoted as saying by RIA news agency late on Friday. Schlumberger has made no comment on the state of the deal. It is Schlumberger’s second attempt to buy into EDC, and it would be the first U.S. stake in Russia’s oil and gas industry since sanctions were imposed on Moscow after its 2014 annexation of Crimea. In 2015, Schlumberger agreed to buy 45.65 percent of EDC for $1.7 billion (£1.31 billion), but the deal fell through after the Russian anti-monopoly repeatedly postponed its approval. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-schlumberger-sanctions/moscow-says-schlumberger-russian-oil-services-deal-held-up-by-u-s-sanctions-reports-idUKKCN1BD0C9'|'2017-09-02T12:53:00.000+03:00'
'bde6666cdc2c3295c8cfd309b6b7ed40f3728746'|'Britain says to rule on Fox-Sky advise as soon as possible'|' 53 PM / 8 minutes ago Britain says to rule on Fox-Sky advise as soon as possible   LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it would decide as “soon as is reasonably practicable” whether to refer Rupert Murdoch’s $15 billion bid to buy pay-TV group Sky for an in-depth review. Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox agreed to take full control of the European pay-TV group Sky in December, but the British government is still deciding whether to refer the deal for a full investigation which could add many months to the approval process. It asked regulator Ofcom to look again at certain aspects of the deal in August and said on Monday it would carefully consider the advice before taking a final decision. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; writing by Kate Holton; editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/sky-ma-fox/britain-says-to-rule-on-fox-sky-advise-as-soon-as-possible-idUSS8N1GZ04I'|'2017-09-04T15:52:00.000+03:00'
'1506d95acf876d0c3cff4e4dc97d92ed6197f4b9'|'Russia''s Rosgeo in $400 million deal to drill for South African gas'|'CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Russian exploration company Rosgeo will drill for gas off the southern coast of South Africa under a $400 million deal with PetroSA to help build the African country’s reserves.The agreement announced on Monday comes against a backdrop of declining domestic gas reserves that have curtailed output at PetroSA’s gas-to-liquid plant in Mossel Bay.“The project envisages extraction of up to 4 million cubic metres of gas daily. This will subsequently be delivered to PetroSA’s gas-to-liquids refinery,” PetroSA said in a statement.The deal was signed on the sidelines of the BRICS block of developing nations meeting in Xiamen, China, and will see Rosgeouse seismic and drilling vessels to explore South Africa’s south coast, where Total also had acreage.Reporting by Wendell Roelf; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-safrica/russias-rosgeo-in-400-million-deal-to-drill-for-south-african-gas-idINKCN1BF1M5'|'2017-09-04T11:40:00.000+03:00'
'f755e7dd3cf165edd1554eb6627c3b6b37a29aa1'|'Britain''s Destiny Pharma raises cash to fund ''superbug'' drugs'|'September 4, 2017 / 2:22 PM / in 20 minutes Britain''s Destiny Pharma raises cash to fund ''superbug'' drugs Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Destiny Pharma ( DEST.L ), which is developing drugs to target antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, has raised 15.3 million pounds by listing shares on London’s AIM market. The proceeds will be used to fund a clinical trial for its leading candidate for a drug to prevent post-surgical infection from “superbugs” including MRSA, the company said. The shares were trading 31 percent higher than the offer price of 157 pence at 207 pence on Monday afternoon. Destiny Pharma is the second biotech company to list this year, it said, following SkinBio Therapeutics ( SBTX.L ) onto AIM. The company also said on Monday that it had agreed a framework deal with China Medical System (CMS)( 0867.HK ) to give CMS rights in China and some other Asian countries to develop and commercialise its drugs in return for a 3 million pound equity investment. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-destinypharma-ipo-proceeds/britains-destiny-pharma-raises-cash-to-fund-superbug-drugs-idUKKCN1BF1Q3'|'2017-09-04T17:23:00.000+03:00'
'40b16873c06089d216bf4fdd2078a71f5424c324'|'Hellman & Friedman leads race for $5 billion Nets deal: Financial Times'|'August 31, 2017 / 11:34 PM / 3 hours ago Hellman & Friedman leads race for $5 billion Nets deal: Financial Times Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman is the frontrunner in the race to acquire Nets, Scandinavia''s largest payments processor, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the discussions. The deal is expected to value Nets at more than 31.3 billion Danish crowns ($5.01 billion), the newspaper also reported. on.ft.com/2vNvIVi Nets is seeing "considerable interest" from potential buyers, Chief Executive Bo Nilsson had said earlier this month. Nets could be the next big deal in the sector following a flurry of acquisitions, including U.S. credit card payments processor Vantiv finalizing a deal to buy Britain''s biggest payments processor Worldpay for 8 billion pounds ($10.35 billion) earlier this month. U.S. payment giants and Mastercard are both seen as suitors for Nets, which has a current market capitalization of 29.16 billion Danish crowns according to Thomson Reuters data. Hellman & Friedman could not be immediately reached for comment while Nets did not immediately comment on the report. Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nets-m-a-hellman-friedman-idINKCN1BB39Y'|'2017-08-31T21:34:00.000+03:00'
'e131eec29b5cb7797a3d364a3245b372da5d1246'|'Landmark Intel judgment critical for other EU antitrust cases'|'September 4, 2017 / 4:28 PM / an hour ago Landmark Intel judgment critical for other EU antitrust cases Foo Yun Chee 3 Min Read The Intel logo is displayed on computer screens at SIGGRAPH 2017 in Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe’s top court will rule on Wednesday whether U.S. chipmaker Intel offered illegal rebates to squeeze out rivals in a judgment that could affect EU antitrust regulators’ cases against Qualcomm and Alphabet’s Google. The ruling by the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) could also provide more clarity on whether rebates are anti-competitive by nature or whether enforcers need to prove the anti-competitive effect. The European Commission in a 2009 decision said that Intel tried to thwart rival Advanced Micro Devices by giving rebates to PC makers Dell [DI.UL], Hewlett Packard, NEC and Lenovo for buying most of their computer chips from the company. It handed down a 1.06 billion euro (£975.27 million) fine, a record that was subsequently eclipsed by the 2.4 billion euro fine levied on Google in June this year. A lower court upheld the EU competition authority’s decision in 2014, but last year an ECJ court adviser backed Intel’s arguments. An adverse ruling for the Commission on Wednesday could result in a radical review of ongoing cases, said Andrew Ward, a partner at Madrid-based law firm Cuatrecasas. “A loss in such a high-profile case would be embarrassing (for the regulator),” he said, adding that it might mean that long-established theories and processes would need to be reassessed. “Losing against Intel would clearly be a blow to the Commission and a confidence boost for Google, since on the face of it the theory of harm is much more established in the Intel case.” Google has come under fire from the EU over its Android smartphone operating system and online search advertising. U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, meanwhile, faces EU charges of using anti-competitive methods to squeeze out British phone software maker Icera and of making illegal payments to a major customer for exclusively using its chipsets since 2011. It would be a rare departure, however, for the ECJ to go against the Commission. “If the Commission wins, it will be business as usual. They will be even more confident in their agenda,” another lawyer said. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-intel-antitrust/landmark-intel-judgment-critical-for-other-eu-antitrust-cases-idUKKCN1BF214'|'2017-09-04T19:28:00.000+03:00'
'47d9e3da216d4c5b447e1efd92313bdebb8c62ab'|'LPC-Stada’s giant €2.35bn buyout loan launches'|'LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A €2.35bn jumbo loan financing backing private equity groups Bain Capital and Cinven’s buyout of German generic drugmaker Stada has launched to Europe’s leveraged loan market, banking sources said on Monday.Bain and Cinven last month won the majority of Stada shares with a sweetened €5.24bn bid, offering €66.25 per share in the largest private-equity funded takeover of a German listed company.Barclays, Nomura and UBS are leading the leveraged loan financing as physical bookrunners, alongside joint bookrunners Citi, Commerzbank, Jefferies, JP Morgan and Societe Generale.Deutsche Bank and ING also joined as joint bookrunners prior to launch, as did BNP Paribas, LBBW, MUFG as mandated lead arrangers.A few other banks are also expected to join the financing, the sources said.The financing comprises a €1.65bn first-lien term loan and a €300-equivalent, sterling-denominated first-lien term loan. Both have a seven-year maturity and are offered with 101 soft-call for six months.There is also a €400m six-year revolving credit facility, guided to pay 325bp over Euribor/Libor with a 0% floor.The financing will be shown to investors at a bank meeting on September 7, when full pricing will emerge. Both term loans are offered with a 0% floor.Investors have been asked to commit to the loans by September 21.The buyout will also be backed with €485m of seven-year senior secured fixed rate bonds and €340m of eight-year senior unsecured fixed rate notes that are expected to launch shortly, the sources said.This is the first jumbo loan out of the blocks post-summer and is expected to garner a lot of attention from banks and investors eager to do the deal and put a meaningful amount of new money to work.Around €1bn of term loans that form part of a wider US$7.75bn-equivalent buyout financing backing US life sciences company Avantor’s take-private of lab supplies company VWR Corp are also expected to launch imminently, sources said.Stada’s financing launched on Monday shortly after the buyout firms said they will offer minority Stada shareholders a marked-up €74.40 per share to get full control of Stada, giving in to pressure from hold-out investor Elliott Management. (Editing by Christopher Mangham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/stada-loans/lpc-stadas-giant-2-35bn-buyout-loan-launches-idUSL8N1LL214'|'2017-09-04T18:57:00.000+03:00'
'f66f1889bf36afc80b163e1dd444596da9b69409'|'China pledges new funding for BRICS as group opposes protectionism'|'September 4, 2017 / 4:02 AM / a minute ago China pledges new funding for BRICS as group opposes protectionism Michael Martina , Yawen Chen 4 Min Read Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for a group photo during the BRICS Summit at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in Xiamen, southeastern China''s Fujian Province, China September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Wu Hong/Pool XIAMEN, China (Reuters) - China will give $80 million in funding for BRICS cooperation plans, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday, while the bloc of five emerging countries pledged to oppose protectionism. Xi offered 500 million yuan ($76.4 million) for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan, and another $4 million for projects at the group’s New Development Bank (NDB) during a three-day leaders summit in the southeastern city of Xiamen. China’s new contributions to BRICS pale in comparison to its $124 billion pledge earlier in May for Xi’s own Belt and Road initiative, which aims to expand links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond as a new way to boost global development. The announcement came amid questions over the relevance of BRICS and China’s commitment to the NDB in light of the Belt and Road initiative and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, both key efforts by Beijing to bolster its global influence. Xi said during a plenary session at the BRICS leaders’ summit that the five emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - should increase cooperation in sectors such as trade and investment, monetary policy and finance, and sustainable development. “We should redouble our efforts to comprehensively deepen BRICS partnerships and open BRICS cooperation,” he said. Set up in 20l5 as an alternative to the World Bank, the Shanghai-headquartered NDB was seen as the first major BRICS achievement after the group came together in 2009 to press for a bigger say in the post-World War Two financial order created by Western powers. The BRICS leaders will gather in Xiamen through Tuesday, giving host China its latest chance to position itself as a bulwark of globalization in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. A draft “Xiamen Declaration” seen by Reuters, a formal version of which is expected to be issued later, said BRICS countries will continue to firmly oppose protectionism as they are committed to an “open and inclusive” multilateral trading system. (L-R) Brazil''s President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Africa''s President Jacob Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a group photo during the BRICS Summit at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in Xiamen, southeastern China''s Fujian Province, China September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Pool The communique emphasized the need to be vigilant in guarding against “inward-looking policies” that could hurt global market confidence, and called upon all countries to fully implement the Paris climate agreement. The summit has been overshadowed by North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test, which came on Sunday just hours before Xi opened the meeting with a keynote speech, and prompted a vow of a “massive” military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened. Though China’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the test, Xi did not mention North Korea during that 45-minute address or in his televised remarks during Monday’s plenary session. Slideshow (13 Images) The BRICS grouping said in its draft communique that it strongly deplored Pyongyang’s test, but that the problem over its nuclear program should only be settled through peaceful means and dialogue. “We express deep concern over the ongoing tension and prolonged nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula,” it said. North Korea tested two ICBMs in July that could fly about 10,000 km (6,200 miles), putting many parts of the U.S. mainland within range and prompting a new round of tough international sanctions. Though angered over the tests, China - North Korea’s closest ally - has lambasted the West and its allies over recent weeks for promoting the “China responsibility theory” for North Korea. The U.N. Security Council was set to meet later on Monday to discuss new sanctions against the isolated regime. Chen Fengying, an economics expert at the state-backed China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting that at the most BRICS countries will take note of the North Korean problem. “Intervention is rather difficult. Our cooperation is mainly on global governance,” she said. Editing by Jacqueline Wong & Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-brics/xi-says-china-will-give-76-million-for-brics-cooperation-plan-idUKKCN1BF0AN'|'2017-09-04T13:51:00.000+03:00'
'eaa49f255b5bc4c8516434c5131a20f2e226bb1a'|'UPDATE 1-Canada''s Fairfax offers $154 mln for 22 pct of South Africa''s PPC'|'(Adds details)JOHANNESBURG, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Canada’s Fairfax Africa Holdings < has offered to buy 22 percent of South African cement maker PPC Ltd for 2 billion rand ($154 million), a cash injection aimed at strong-arming the debt-laden company into a tie-up with its nearest unlisted rival AfriSam.In August, PPC said Afrisam intends to make a new proposal on a merger of the two South African cement makers after AfriSam terminated its current plan.Fairfax, through its regional unit, said the offer to buy into PPC, at 5.75 rand per share, was subject to the PPC board recommending it as fair and reasonable and its shareholders voting in favour of AfriSam’s bid, PPC said on MondayThe Fairfax offer is also subject to the completion of an all-share merger between Afrisam and PPC that values PPC at about 9.2 billion rand, or 5.75 rand per share, and AfriSam at an enterprise value of 7.5 billion rand.But PPC independent board, created to assess the Afrisam merger, was of the view that the proposal “fundamentally undervalues PPC”.PPC also said it had received other offers from trade bidders, one of whom included a potential cash component, to create a pan-African cement giant. It did not name the bidders, saying the talks are confidential.It added that the proposals were “credible and potentially value-enhancing for shareholders to merit careful consideration.”With around 5 billion rand in net debt and about 1 billion rand in cash, PPC did not declare a dividend in the year to end of March, saying it needed the money to pay down borrowings jacked up by years of expansion elsewhere on the continent.The merger, if it happens, would create a group with more financial muscle that would be able to compete globally, with assets across six African countries.AfriSam, which is majority owned by the Public Investment Corporation pension fund, first proposed a merger in 2014 when PPC’s share price had been under pressure due to infighting between its board and former chief executive. ($1 = 12.9520 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla,; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Ed Osmond) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ppc-ma-afrisam/update-1-canadas-fairfax-offers-154-mln-for-22-pct-of-south-africas-ppc-idINL8N1LL2M7'|'2017-09-04T12:23:00.000+03:00'
'89d4d3c2fedfe2e16bcd1ef8900bc03391449e87'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 4 - Reuters'|'Sept 4 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times* One of the country''s biggest alternative loan providers Ratesetter channelled millions of pounds of investors’ money into investments offered by rivals without telling its customers, according to the Times. bit.ly/2wwwo53* James Henderson, the chief executive of Bell Pottinger has stepped down over allegations that his company ran a secret campaign to stir up racial tensions in South Africa. bit.ly/2wwYxc5The Guardian* HSBC has rushed to head off complaints from small businesses that found the bank had frozen or closed down their accounts as part of a crackdown on financial crime. bit.ly/2wwaeQ0* Theresa May is being urged to face down a potential backlash from backbench Conservatives and sign off proposals aimed at forcing councils to unleash a building boom to tackle Britain''s housing crisis. bit.ly/2wwzeHeThe Telegraph* Big listed companies are abandoning quarterly financial reports to focus on longer-term targets, in moves investors hope will help tackle Britain''s weak productivity, according to data from the Investment Association (IA), a lobby group for major City money manager. bit.ly/2wwAYQK* EEF, the trade association which represents 20,000 companies in the engineering and manufacturing sector, has unveiled a top civil servant as its new chief executive. Stephen Phipson will take the helm at EEF, replacing Terry Scuoler who has led the industry group for eight years. bit.ly/2wwA1baSky News* Sky News has learnt that Charter Court Financial Services, the owner of the Exact and Precise mortgage brands, is likely to announce its intention to float as soon as this week. bit.ly/2wwo05cThe Independent* Passengers flying British Airways to Orlando next summer who value their space should avoid flying on Fridays or the first flight of the day on Saturdays. Those are the services which will feature BA''s new "densified" jets, with 52 more seats squeezed into the same planes. ind.pn/2wwacaR* Emerging markets will start to dominate rankings of the world''s top economies by 2030, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCooper. ind.pn/2wwnrsb (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Peter Cooney) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-4-idINL8N1LK0XD'|'2017-09-03T21:31:00.000+03:00'
'88d5178021c5db3a6ddbd9d824d74590ddfe4f85'|'Benetton''s Edizione sells out of Italy publishing sector: source'|'MILAN (Reuters) - Edizione, the holding company of the Benetton family, has pulled out of the Italian publishing sector by selling stakes in top financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore and publisher Caltagirone Editore ( CED.MI ), a source close to the matter said on Friday.Edizione sold its 2 percent stake in Il Sole 24 Ore and a 2.24 percent stake in Caltagirone in July, the source said.Edizione has already pulled out of Italian publisher RCS Mediagroup ( RCSM.MI ).Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, writing by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Isla Binnie '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-italy-publishing-benetton/benettons-edizione-sells-out-of-italy-publishing-sector-source-idINKCN1BC4KM'|'2017-09-01T08:50:00.000+03:00'
'91b943d37cb9ff6f0d7ccf0cb9ace29e16899702'|'Latest Air Berlin bidder looks to focus on holiday routes'|'September 4, 2017 / 10:27 AM / 4 hours ago Latest Air Berlin bidder looks to focus on holiday routes Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - A German businessman joined the field of potential bidders for insolvent Air Berlin on Monday, proposing to focus on only a few routes to holiday destinations. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Now the carrier is to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with about 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany up for grabs. Skora, who owns a hostel in Berlin and says he earned a pilot’s license in the United States, is looking at Air Berlin’s books and will then decide whether to submit a formal bid for some of its assets, he told Reuters on Monday. Any bid would be made jointly with a consortium of investors from Israel, Canada and the United States, he added, without providing details. His proposal would see Air Berlin return to its roots as a holiday carrier and pass on long-haul and a number of European destinations to German flagship carrier Lufthansa and Britain’s easyJet. “I believe strongly that it is possible to continue flying with the basic business with which everything started. I mean routes such as Majorca and other selected destinations,” he said in a statement earlier on Monday. Lufthansa has government backing to take over large parts of Air Berlin. EasyJet and Thomas Cook’s Condor are also seen as likely bidders. German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday that Utz Claassen, a former chief executive of German utility EnBW, was also bidding for Air Berlin assets with a “highly potent and very reputable international investor”. In an interview with daily Handelsblatt, Claassen declined to confirm his interest, citing confidentiality. Ryanair said last week it would not submit a bid, and German aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl stepped back from the process on Thursday to search for a partner. Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda told Reuters on Sunday he was working on a bid to buy back Air Berlin’s Niki unit. Bidders for the assets must submit offers by a Sept. 15 deadline, and a decision could come on Sept. 21, three days before the German national election. Air Berlin is being kept in the air thanks to a 150 million euro ($178.50 million) government loan, which officials say will last the airline for up to three months. ($1 = 0.8403 euros) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-skora/latest-air-berlin-bidder-looks-to-focus-on-holiday-routes-idINKCN1BF140'|'2017-09-04T13:25:00.000+03:00'
'96a45a67677e14913bea3777579d61bab18f66d8'|'Trial of former Tesco executives adjourned to September 25'|' 23 PM / in 28 minutes Trial of former Tesco executives adjourned to September 25 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Christopher Bush (R) former Tesco UK managing director arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Britain September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON (Reuters) - The trial of three former senior executives at Tesco ( TSCO.L ) accused of fraud and false accounting was adjourned on Monday until Sept. 25. Christopher Bush, who was managing director of Tesco UK, Carl Rogberg, who was UK finance director, and John Scouler, who was UK food commercial director, are all charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position and one count of false accounting at Britain’s biggest retailer. All three pleaded not guilty at a hearing on Aug. 3. The case, which is due to last around 10 to 12 weeks, follows an overstatement of Tesco’s profit forecast in 2014. Tesco issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Sept. 22, 2014 saying that during final preparations for an interim results announcement it had identified a 250 million pound overstatement of its expected profit for the half year, mainly due to booking commercial deals with suppliers too early. In the following weeks the company suspended eight senior members of staff including Bush, Rogberg and Scouler. Tesco’s shares tumbled and the company was plunged into the worst crisis in its near 100-year history. The estimated profit overstatement, which was identified three weeks after Dave Lewis joined Tesco as chief executive, was later raised to 263 million pounds. Lewis took over from Phil Clarke, who had been fired due to the company’s poor performance. No charges have been brought against Clarke or Lewis. The overstatement concerned guidance published by Tesco in a trading update on Aug. 29, 2014, downgrading its outlook. According to the charges, Bush, Rogberg and Scouler concealed Tesco’s true financial position from its auditors and other employees between Feb. 1, 2014 and Sept. 23, 2014. Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Keith Weir and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-tesco-fraud/trial-of-former-tesco-executives-adjourned-to-september-25-idUKKCN1BF1KQ'|'2017-09-04T16:23:00.000+03:00'
'db9c697752d389799b23a58489f267de76478b32'|'Latest Air Berlin bidder looks to focus on holiday routes'|'September 4, 2017 / 9:02 AM / 6 minutes ago Latest Air Berlin bidder looks to focus on holiday routes   FILE PHOTO: Passengers board an Air Berlin aircraft at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - A German businessman joined the field of potential bidders for insolvent Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) on Monday, proposing to focus on only a few routes to holiday destinations. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Now the carrier is to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with about 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany up for grabs. Skora, who owns a hostel in Berlin and says he earned a pilot’s license in the United States, is looking at Air Berlin’s books and will then decide whether to submit a formal bid for some of its assets, he told Reuters on Monday. Any bid would be made jointly with a consortium of investors from Israel, Canada and the United States, he added, without providing details. His proposal would see Air Berlin return to its roots as a holiday carrier and pass on long-haul and a number of European destinations to German flagship carrier Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ). “I believe strongly that it is possible to continue flying with the basic business with which everything started. I mean routes such as Majorca and other selected destinations,” he said in a statement earlier on Monday. FILE PHOTO: German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo Lufthansa has government backing to take over large parts of Air Berlin. EasyJet and Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor are also seen as likely bidders. German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday that Utz Claassen, a former chief executive of German utility EnBW ( EBKG.DE ), was also bidding for Air Berlin assets with a “highly potent and very reputable international investor”. In an interview with daily Handelsblatt, Claassen declined to confirm his interest, citing confidentiality. Ryanair ( RYA.I ) said last week it would not submit a bid, and German aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl stepped back from the process on Thursday to search for a partner. Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda told Reuters on Sunday he was working on a bid to buy back Air Berlin’s Niki unit. Bidders for the assets must submit offers by a Sept. 15 deadline, and a decision could come on Sept. 21, three days before the German national election. Air Berlin is being kept in the air thanks to a 150 million euro ($178.50 million) government loan, which officials say will last the airline for up to three months. Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Nadine Schimroszik; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-skora/german-businessman-alexander-skora-joins-bidding-for-air-berlin-idUKKCN1BF0YE'|'2017-09-04T13:31:00.000+03:00'
'09864feb440ce9778b6fca6860ebc57bb06e1d07'|'South Africa''s PPC says Fairfax makes partial offer of $154 mln'|' 48 PM / 11 minutes ago South Africa''s PPC says Fairfax makes partial offer of $154 mln   JOHANNESBURG, Sept 4 (Reuters) - South Africa’s cement maker PPC said on Monday a regional unit of Fairfax Africa Investments will make a partial offer to buy its shares for 2 billion rand ($154 million), subject to PPC shareholders agreeing to a tie-up with its nearest unlisted rival Afrisam. In August, PPC said AfriSam intends to make a new proposal on a merger of the two South African cement makers after AfriSam terminated its current plan. Shares in PPC rose 3.67 percent to 5.65 rand at 1234 GMT. ($1 = 12.9458 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/ppc-ma-afrisam/south-africas-ppc-says-fairfax-makes-partial-offer-of-154-mln-idUSL8N1LL2KZ'|'2017-09-04T15:47:00.000+03:00'
'b06942e8e0867e3d095ac2514e10f69a42200bbf'|'Novartis Calls for the Doctor'|'Novartis Calls for the Doctor Swiss giant is looking a little too comfortable and needs a fresh pair of eyes. By From Bettmann via Getty The generational handover at Europe''s pharmaceutical giants is gathering pace. Novartis AG is promoting chief medical officer Vasant Narasimhan to replace Joe Jimenez as CEO in February. It puts a scientist back at the helm of the Swiss drugmaker just months after rival GlaxoSmithkline Plc went the other way and installed a marketing executive to the top job. Narasimhan inherits a mixed legacy but he has some options to make shareholders happy. In common with other large pharma groups, Novartis is grappling with the expiry of patents. Gleevec, for leukemia, lost protection last year. Treatments for multiple sclerosis and breast cancer face the same fate in 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, Entresto, a new heart failure drug, got off to a slow start. Alcon, the ophthalmology division, has been a drag and Jimenez''s last big move was to put the unit on review for separation. Novartis is coping reasonably well. True, sales were down 5 percent in 2015 and 2 percent last year, but they''re expected to be broadly flat in 2017. The shares trade at a premium to most European peers on price to forecast earnings, showing the market''s faith in the company''s drug pipeline. The stock has also performed in line with global pharma peers. On the face of it, there''s no urgent need for Narasimhan to make radical changes after his surprise elevation. Yet he can''t just coast. The balance sheet is strong: net debt is forecast to end 2017 at $18.2 billion, just 1.3 times the current year''s Ebitda. The finances will become even healthier if, as expected, Novartis sells its side of consumer healthcare joint venture to partner GSK. The Swiss company also has a big stake in Roche Holding AG that it could sell. Jimenez''s M&A strategy is to do modest "bolt-on" deals of up to $5 billion. Narasimhan could afford to be more aggressive, and new CEOs have been known to make bold moves in this industry. Werner Baumann launched a $66 billion cash offer for seeds giant Monsanto Company almost immediately after taking the helm of Bayer AG last year. The obvious target for Novartis would be London-listed AstraZeneca Plc. Even for Novartis, capitalized at $219 billion, that would be a lot to swallow, especially for a new boss short on M&A experience. Unfortunately there''s a shortage of smaller prey that have drugs with sales profiles big enough to make a difference. The alternative would simply be to shrink and return some cash to shareholders. Novartis has something in common with Nestle SA, the Swiss consumer group being targeted by activist Dan Loeb. It has assets like Alcon that can be seen as non-core and ripe for disposal, plus arguably a balance sheet that could be tighter. Jimenez has been tidying things up, but the job is far from done. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-04/novartis-calls-for-a-new-doctor'|'2017-09-04T15:35:00.000+03:00'
'c211596a1ef2d2a485ad297175d0ce2062a3eeb0'|'Asia tracks Wall St higher, dollar advance slows before jobs data'|'September 1, 2017 / 1:05 AM / 2 hours ago Asia tracks Wall St. higher, dollar advance slows before jobs data Shinichi Saoshiro 5 Min Read Women holding parasols walk past an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average rate outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian equities followed Wall Street’s gains overnight and edged higher on Friday while the dollar’s advance slowed ahead of the U.S. jobs report due later in the session. The nonfarm payrolls report is the last before the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting and may influence the timing of the Fed’s rate hike. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.3 percent. Australian shares added 0.15 percent while South Korea''s KOSPI .KS11 gave back earlier gains to dip 0.2 percent. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 climbed 0.2 percent. Chinese shares gained after the private Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index showed the country’s August manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in six months. Shanghai .SSEC was up 0.4 percent and Hong Kong''s Hang Seng .HSI rose 0.3 percent. Wall Street shares closed higher overnight as investors responded to strong economic data and drew some cautious hope from the Trump administration’s latest promises for long-awaited details of a tax reform plan. [.N] U.S. consumer spending rose slightly less than expected in July and annual inflation advanced at its slowest pace in more than 1-1/2 years, diminishing expectations of an interest rate increase in December. The dollar''s recent advance slowed as rate hike expectations were dented. The greenback was up 0.05 percent at 110.015 yen JPY= having gone as high as 110.675 overnight, its strongest in two weeks. The euro was steady at $1.1910 EUR= after plumbing a one-week low of $1.1823 overnight. The financial markets looked to the U.S. jobs report due at 1230 GMT for further clues on the state of the world’s largest economy. Economists polled by Reuters expect U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 180,000 jobs in August after surging 209,000 in July and average hourly earnings to have increased 0.2 percent after rising 0.3 percent in July. “The wages component of the jobs report will be key. If earnings are to have picked up along with employment, we will see a straightforward reaction with U.S. stocks and yields rising and the dollar being bought,” said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was 0.1 percent lower at 92.603.The index slipped about 0.2 percent on Thursday and was poised to end 0.1 percent lower on the week in which it hit a 2-1/2-year low of 91.621 on geopolitical tensions before bouncing back. In commodities, crude futures fell, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry with nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline. [O/R] Hurricane Harvey, which brought record flooding to the U.S. oil heartland of Texas, has shut down at least 4.4 million barrels per day of refining capacity, according to company reports and Reuters estimates. “It looks like everyone thinks that the hurricane will affect refining more than production,” said Tony Nunan, oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. “Production will come back faster than refining so it is just going to exacerbate the situation where there’s too much oil.” U.S. crude futures CLc1 was down 0.5 percent at $47.01 per barrel. The futures had surged 2.8 percent on Thursday following a steep drop the previous day, during a week in which the hurricane roiled the oil market. Gold was near a 9-1/2-month high, supported as the dollar came off its recent highs and by lingering concerns over tensions in the Korean Peninsula. [GOL/] Spot gold was slightly lower at $1,318.93 an ounce XAU= after rallying 1 percent overnight. The precious metal was on track to gain 2.4 percent this week, during which it touched $1,325.93 an ounce on Tuesday, its highest since early November. Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-follows-wall-street-higher-dollar-advance-slows-before-jobs-data-idUKKCN1BC3FT'|'2017-09-01T05:43:00.000+03:00'
'7cc8b6ea6c6e913a4b504254d22eea3d6a784483'|'Under pressure, Hyundai clashes with China partner over suppliers - sources'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:26 AM / 13 minutes ago Under pressure, Hyundai clashes with China partner over suppliers - sources Norihiko Shirouzu , Hyunjoo Jin 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Men cylce past an advertising billboard for Hyundai cars opposite the plant of Hyundai Motor Co in Beijing, China, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co is at loggerheads with its Chinese partner over efforts to cut supplier costs, as they grapple with cut-throat competition and the impact of a stand-off between Beijing and Seoul, four people familiar with the dispute said. Hyundai, along with affiliate Kia Motors, has been caught up this year in a political row over a missile defence system deployed in South Korea but opposed by China. That came against the backdrop of increased competition from local automakers, already making life tough in the world’s biggest market. Until last year, Hyundai and Kia ranked third in China by sales. But sales for Hyundai alone have slumped 41 percent from January to July, making this the biggest crisis since Hyundai entered the Chinese market in 2002. Hyundai and its local partner BAIC Motor Corp Ltd are divided over how to solve the issue. Hyundai wants to protect its South Korean supply chain, while BAIC favours shifting to cheaper Chinese suppliers, the people said. “BAIC wants to solve this aggressively and is aggressively pursuing it by asking Hyundai to change its sourcing strategy significantly and immediately,” said the head of a Hyundai supplier based in Seoul familiar with the matter. He added the idea was to source more locally from cheaper suppliers. Hyundai wants to solve this more gradually “over perhaps 5-10 years and do so in phases,” the person added. BAIC declined to comment. A Hyundai Motor spokesperson told Reuters: “Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have been continuously trying to source competitive parts in China.” The stand-off underscores the depth of a crisis facing Hyundai and its suppliers in China, heavily reliant on sales to Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. South Korea approved the full deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on Monday - a day after North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test - and says it is needed to counter growing threats from North Korea. China has strongly opposed the system and says its powerful radar poses a threat to its national security. “China has started to become a grave for South Korean automakers and suppliers,” said Lee Hang-koo, a senior research fellow at Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, adding suppliers were being hit the hardest. South Korean firms are squeezed between cheaper Chinese suppliers and European rivals which are technologically more advanced, making it challenging for them to diversify their customers beyond Hyundai Motor, he said. Parts from South Korean suppliers are around 30-40 percent more expensive than those from local Chinese suppliers, industry sources say. Hyundai last week replaced the head of its China operations, following months of tumbling sales. It was forced to suspend production temporarily at its four China plants last month over issues of non-payment to a supplier. Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in BEIJING and Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Ian Geoghegan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hyundai-china-suppliers/under-pressure-hyundai-clashes-with-china-partner-over-suppliers-sources-idUKKCN1BG0NI'|'2017-09-05T10:25:00.000+03:00'
'e395b944e2e7257efd99a9418f1a906a37ae9a54'|'U.S. labour board files complaint against Tesla over worker rights'|' 00 AM / 25 minutes ago U.S. labor board files complaint against Tesla over worker rights Reuters Staff 2   The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan on August 11, 2017. Tyrone Siu/File Photo - (Reuters) - The U.S. agency in charge of enforcing labor law on Thursday filed a complaint against electric carmaker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ), saying it found merit to workers'' complaints about unfair labor practices. According to the National Labor Relations Board complaint, Tesla violated workers'' rights by requiring them to sign a confidentiality agreement that could bar them from talking about their working conditions and safety issues at the company''s facility in Fremont, California. The agency also investigated charges by the workers that Tesla intimidated and harassed them and violated workers'' rights under federal labor law. Tesla has denied the allegations. The company must respond to the charges by Sept. 14. The NLRB has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 14 before an administrative law judge in Oakland, California. "These allegations, which have been filed by the same contingent of union organizers who have been so outspoken with media, are entirely without merit," Tesla said in a statement. Complaints were filed by three employees and the United Auto Workers union, which has encouraged Tesla employees to unionize. The workers said Tesla made them sign a document that they may face termination or criminal prosecution for speaking publicly, or to the media, about anything they observed at work or their working conditions, NLRB said. Reporting by Sangameswaran S and Manas Mishra; in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-labor-idUKKCN1BC3FK'|'2017-09-01T03:59:00.000+03:00'
'ce48fbf4dbb52352d5eee2eb44e6e0193a9e2e75'|'Shortfall in Irish tax take narrows slightly in August'|'September 4, 2017 / 3:59 PM / in 8 minutes Shortfall in Irish tax take narrows slightly in August Reuters Staff 2 Min Read DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland collected 0.7 percent less tax than expected at the end of August, the Finance Ministry said on Monday, a slight improvement on the previous month as the government seeks to eliminate the shortfall by year end. Ireland has consistently beaten its revenue targets in recent years as the fast-growing economy boosted the state’s tax take but receipts had fallen as much as 2.4 percent behind target in April before beginning their correction. By the end of August, income tax, excise and stamp duties all remained behind target while the outturn for corporate tax and VAT was better than expected. Tax revenues were 4.9 percent or 1.4 billion euros up year-on-year and government spending, which came in 0.8 percent below target, increased by an almost identical amount compared with the same period last year. The government recorded a surplus of 1.8 billion euros for the first eight months of the year versus a 329 million euro deficit a year ago, primarily due to the sale of 28 percent of the state’s shareholding in Allied Irish Banks ( ALBK.I ). Excluding the AIB share sale and other one-off transactions, the Finance Ministry said the underlying exchequer position showed a year-on-year improvement of 314 million euros. Ireland aims to cut its budget deficit to 0.4 percent of gross domestic product this year from 0.7 percent in 2016 as it moves towards its first balanced budget for a decade. Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-budget/shortfall-in-irish-tax-take-narrows-slightly-in-august-idUKKCN1BF1Z6'|'2017-09-04T18:59:00.000+03:00'
'97da1311791823a0d9e5ccdb21c1eb2694b8ab2c'|'UK construction growth slides to 1-year low in August - PMI'|'September 4, 2017 / 8:34 AM / 7 hours ago UK construction growth slides to 1-year low in August - PMI Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Construction cranes are seen on a residential building project behind homes in London, Britain, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files LONDON, (Reuters) - - Growth in Britain’s construction firms fell unexpectedly to a one-year low in August, hit by an investment slump in the commercial sector as Brexit uncertainty weighed on the economy, a survey showed on Monday. Countering more upbeat news about the economy last week, the Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 51.1 from 51.9 in July, closer to the 50 mark that indicates stagnation. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of 52.0. Monday’s PMI underlined the uncertain outlook for an economy that has become increasingly difficult for the Bank of England to gauge. A similar survey of manufacturers published on Friday had hinted at a strengthening of economic growth in the second half of the year. Britain’s economy had its slowest first half of the year since 2012 as households came under pressure from a big rise in inflation following the fall in sterling caused by last year’s Brexit vote. So far, construction, manufacturing and exports have failed to compensate for the consumer slowdown. Housebuilding was the only construction sector to generate significant growth during August, the PMI showed. Civil engineering activity was broadly flat, while the commercial construction sector contracted at the fastest pace since July last year - just after Britain voted to leave the European Union. “There were signs that UK construction firms are bracing for the soft patch to continue into this autumn, with fragile business confidence contributing to weaker trends for job creation and input buying during August,” Tim Moore, an associate director at IHS Markit, said. Survey compiler IHS Markit said the murky economic outlook for Britain weighed on commercial building, with clients delaying spending decisions or even scaling back projects. New orders across construction as a whole fell for a second month, albeit not as sharply as in July. Construction makes up around 6 percent of British economic output. The Markit/CIPS survey for the much larger services sector - which accounts for nearly 80 percent - is due at 0830 GMT on Tuesday. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by William Schomberg and Toby; Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-economy-pmi/uk-construction-growth-slides-to-1-year-low-in-august-pmi-idUKKCN1BF0W9'|'2017-09-04T11:34:00.000+03:00'
'8fb41b54a32bddad9cbe3929c3cc946f500c5787'|'Foreign banks face new EU set-up to allow more scrutiny'|'LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Nineteen foreign banks in the European Union will need to set up new holding companies so that regulators can scrutinise them more closely, an EU discussion paper says, mirroring steps taken by the United States.The European Commission proposed last November that banks headquartered outside the bloc consolidate their EU activities under an “intermediate parent undertaking” or IPU in response to U.S. moves to require foreign banks to set up such companies.The commission, which is the EU’s executive, has now fleshed out its thinking and has made a preliminary estimate that 19 foreign banks will have to set up an IPU. Between them they operate via 53 subsidiaries and 53 branches, with 35, more than a third of the total, in Britain alone.Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019, which makes having a “proper framework” for supervising non-EU banking operations “even more relevant”, a discussion paper, which was reviewed by Reuters and is dated Sept.1, said.Separately, the bloc has already proposed that clearing houses that handle large amounts of euro-denominated assets should be jointly supervised by Brussels after Brexit.Subsidiaries of foreign lenders make up 42 percent of banking subsidiaries in the bloc, up from 36 percent in 2008, but EU regulators have only “limited access” to timely data on what goes on across these operations, the document said.“As a consequence, the supervision of subsidiaries that belong to the same third-country group, but operate in different member states is fragmented and hence might result in regulatory and supervisory arbitrage.”An IPU would “not necessarily increase capital or liquidity requirements”, it added.The European Central Bank, which supervises top euro zone lenders, and the Single Resolution Board, in charge of closing down those lenders if they fail, both want foreign branches, and not just subsidiaries, to come under IPUs.The commission, however, is sticking to its view that branches should not be included. Subsidiaries are directly supervised by the country they are in, while branches are supervised mainly by the bank’s home country.The EU proposal needs approval from member states and the European Parliament to become law, and major changes are often made during this process.The 19 banks are Bank of America, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, UBS, Bank of New York Mellon, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, State Street, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, Wells Fargo, Bank of China Ltd, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Nomura Holdings, and Royal Bank of Canada.The document said the benefits to financial stability of creating IPUs would “clearly outweigh” unquantified potential one-off costs of reorganisation. (Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-banks-regulations/foreign-banks-face-new-eu-set-up-to-allow-more-scrutiny-idINL8N1LL1RO'|'2017-09-04T10:17:00.000+03:00'
'294ec7c6261683c5621d0903148c5462c0844729'|'Euro zone producer prices rise slower than expected in July'|' 11 AM / in 2 minutes Euro zone producer prices rise slower than expected in July Reuters Staff 2 Min Read An employee works on the automobile assembly line of a Citroen C3 car at the PSA Peugeot Citroen plant in Poissy, near Paris, France, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone producer prices grew more slowly in July than expected by markets, data from the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat showed on Monday. Eurostat said prices at factory gates in the 19 countries sharing the euro were unchanged month-on-month, instead of 0.1 percent higher as expected by economists polled by Reuters, and rose 2.0 percent year-on-year, rather than the expected 2.2 percent. Month-on-month, producer prices went up for non-durable consumer goods and energy, and decreased for intermediate goods. Producer prices herald trends in consumer inflation because unless retailers and intermediaries absorb the price changes in factories, they are directly transmitted to consumers. Consumer inflation accelerated to 1.5 percent year-on-year in August from 1.3 percent in July. The European Central Bank wants to keep consumer inflation below, but close to 2 percent over the medium term. It has been buying tens of billions of euros of government bonds on the secondary market a month to flood the banking system with cash and in this way spur more credit to the economy and faster price growth, closer to its target. Next ECB policy meeting is on Thursday. Reporting By Jan Strupczewski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-producer-prices/euro-zone-producer-prices-rise-slower-than-expected-in-july-idUKKCN1BF0Z8'|'2017-09-04T12:10:00.000+03:00'
'554e11dcdafce80d5914c49585ac4bc2e221db7c'|'Iran says OPEC compliance with output cut increasing: SHANA'|'September 4, 2017 / 4:34 PM / an hour ago Iran says OPEC compliance with output pact increasing Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Persian Gulf, Iran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC members’ compliance with the agreement to reduce output has improved in recent months, Iran’s oil minister said on Monday, noting that unofficial talks were underway among the oil producing countries to extend the cuts next year. Under the agreement OPEC is curbing its collective oil production by about 1.2 million bpd, while Russia and some other non-OPEC producers are cutting a further 600,000 bpd until March 2018. “I think the oil market is balanced. OPEC members’ compliance with output cuts has not fallen in the last six months; it has increased,” Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying by the Iranian oil ministry’s news agency SHANA. The International Energy Agency said in July that OPEC’s compliance with production cuts fell in June to its lowest levels in six months as several members pumped much more oil than allowed by their supply deal, thus delaying a market rebalancing in supply and demand. However, the IEA said in August that world oil demand would grow more than expected this year, helping to ease the glut in supply. Zanganeh said the OPEC agreement on output cuts would continue until the end of the Iranian year in March 2018 and that “there are talks underway to extend it but they are not official yet.” However, before a meeting in Tehran with Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Fernando Coelho Filho, Iran’s oil minister said, “it is improbable that Brazil (a non-OPEC country) joins the output cut under current conditions.” He added that other non-OPEC members, especially Russia, have co-operated well with OPEC in cutting oil production. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-iran-oil/iran-says-opec-compliance-with-output-cut-increasing-shana-idUKKCN1BF21A'|'2017-09-04T19:34:00.000+03:00'
'edddd7d7d33e127df3a1796e3805d9d1b271ce78'|'Nets close to selecting bidder for exclusive talks -source'|'LONDON/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Payments firm Nets ( NETS.CO ) is set to enter exclusive talks with one of three private equity suitors as soon as next week, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.Hellman & Friedman, Permira and Nordic Capital have all completed due diligence on Scandinavia’s largest payments processor.Any successful private equity move on Nets would rank as one of the biggest take-private deals in Europe in recent years.The source said Hellman & Friedman is determined to pay up to win control, while Permira and Nordic Capital are more conservative on price.Permira is closely monitoring the process, another source said, and remains keen to buy the firm, which was one of Europe’s biggest IPOs last year and has a current market value of about $5 billion.Hellman & Friedman, Permira and Nordic Capital declined to comment.Payments companies have refrained from joining the race as they lacked synergies with Nets’ diversified portfolio of payments products, several banking sources said.Once a backwater of banking, the payments sector is now both lucrative and fast-growing, but also faces competition from newcomers trying to disrupt the way merchants are paid.The three buyout funds have spent the past two months carrying out due diligence on the Copenhagen-listed firm which is also the biggest issuer of Denmark’s most-used debit card, Dankort.Nets said on Friday that discussions were still ongoing regarding a potential takeover of the company.The statement, which came in response to an FT report saying that Hellman & Friedman was the frontrunner in the race, follows a July 1 announcement that Nets had been approached by potential buyers.Shares in Nets rose 1.4 percent on Friday to 156.60 per share, valuing the business at 30.89 billion Danish crowns ($4.9 bln), the highest since the company’s IPO.Interest in the company follows a similar 3 billion pound swoop by private equity firms Blackstone and CVC Capital on British payments firm Paysafe ( PAYS.L ), which offers pre-paid cash cards and online wallets popular among online gambling customers.London-based private equity house Permira recently bought a stake of at least 10 percent in payments firm Klarna, one of Europe’s most highly valued tech start-ups. Nordic Capital sold its Stockholm-based payments firm Bambora to French rival Ingenico ( INGC.PA ) for 1.5 billion euros in July.Payments companies have become sought-after targets as more shoppers switch from cash to digital platforms and a flurry of deals has pushed up sector valuations.On Aug. 9 U.S. credit card processing company Vantiv ( VNTV.N ) clinched a milestone deal to buy British-based rival Worldpay ( WPG.L ) for 8 billion pounds in a bid to create a $29 billion global payments powerhouse.“It’s clear to me that we’re entering a period of consolidation in Europe in line with what we’ve seen in the United States,” Nets Chief Executive Bo Nilsson said on Aug. 17, pointing to an “extreme level” of M&A activity.He said Nets had seen “considerable interest” from potential bidders, without naming them.“As one of the biggest and most developed operators on the payment services market, I‘m not surprised that some see Nets as a brick in that puzzle,” he said.Nets, which was previously held by buyout funds Bain Capital and Advent, was valued at $4.5 billion at the time of its listing last September, nearly doubling the sum paid by the two private equity investors when they started investing in 2014.However, its shares have since struggled to trade above its IPO price of 150 crowns.($1 = 6.2609 Danish crowns)Reporting By Pamela Barbaglia. Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nets-private-equity-m-a/nets-close-to-selecting-bidder-for-exclusive-talks-source-idINKCN1BC5FS'|'2017-09-01T14:40:00.000+03:00'
'ac9614f426310b7dbaa1ead3493f0e7fe1222b7f'|'London''s High Court rules Thomas Cook pilot strike can go ahead'|'September 6, 2017 / 3:32 PM / in 12 minutes London''s High Court rules Thomas Cook pilot strike can go ahead Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Pilots for Thomas Cook Airlines are set to strike later this week in a dispute over pay after London’s High Court on Wednesday refused to block the industrial action. A judge refused Thomas Cook’s request for an injunction to stop the strike, a spokeswoman for the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) said. “BALPA has always been confident in (last month‘s) decisive ballot result and was disappointed that Thomas Cook decided to challenge it legally rather than spending time and effort bringing an acceptable offer to the table,” Brian Strutton, BALPA General Secretary, said in a statement. “However, we robustly defended our right to strike and the judge rejected Thomas Cook’s arguments about the wording of the ballot paper.” The strike is due to begin at 0300 on Friday, and will last 12 hours. Thomas Cook was not immediately available for comment, but has said all its flights will operate during the stoppage. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thomas-cook-grp-airlines-strike/londons-high-court-rules-thomas-cook-pilot-strike-can-go-ahead-idUKKCN1BH25M'|'2017-09-06T18:31:00.000+03:00'
'a87f3cd668004aab48b6d64c23387790742afc6c'|'Italy''s Pirelli valued at up to 8.7 billion euros by IPO joint coordinator'|'MILAN (Reuters) - Italian tyre maker Pirelli, which is planning to float a stake of up to 40 percent on the Milan bourse next month, is valued at between 7.6 billion euros and 8.7 billion euros by analysts at Banca IMI, one of the global coordinators of the share sale.The valuation, included in a confidential study seen by Reuters, applies to Pirelli’s equity and is based on a comparison with the company’s peers and a discounted cash flow analysis.“In our view, Pirelli’s superior financial profile and higher expected earnings growth justify a premium versus Tier1 players,” Banca IMI analysts said in the study.Reporting by Elisa Anzolin, writing by Silvia Aloisi '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo-valuation/italys-pirelli-valued-at-up-to-8-7-billion-euros-by-ipo-joint-coordinator-idINKCN1BF1N1'|'2017-09-04T11:50:00.000+03:00'
'1b6ecc3a999423a416354121645e57cc2c2d754a'|'China pledges small increase in funding for BRICS'|'September 4, 2017 / 3:55 AM / 7 minutes ago China pledges small increase in funding for BRICS Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (L-R) Brazil''s President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Africa''s President Jacob Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a group photo during the BRICS Summit at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in Xiamen, southeastern China''s Fujian Province, China September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Pool XIAMEN, China (Reuters) - China will give 500 million yuan (£59 million) for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan, and another $4 million (£3 million) for projects at the BRICS countries’ New Development Bank, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday. The newly announced $80 million funding plan pales in comparison to China’s $124 billion pledge earlier in May in a push for Xi’s own Belt and Road initiative, which aims to expand links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond as a new way to boost global development. The announcement came amid questions over the relevance of BRICS and China’s commitment to its New Development Bank (NDB) in light of the Belt and Road initiative and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Xi said BRICS countries should increase cooperation in sectors such as trade and investment, monetary and finance, and sustainable development. “We should redouble our efforts to comprehensively deepen BRICS partnerships and open BRICS cooperation,” he said during a plenary session at a BRICS leaders’ summit in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen. The heads of state from the BRICS group of emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will gather in Xiamen through Tuesday, giving host China its latest chance to position itself as a bulwark of globalisation in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. (The story was refiled to correct the dateline to Xiamen) Reporting by Yawen Chen and Michael Martina; Editing by Jacqueline Wong & Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-brics/xi-says-china-will-give-500-million-yuan-for-brics-cooperation-plan-idUKKCN1BF0A1'|'2017-09-04T07:58:00.000+03:00'
'd76e3d817c8f103cc11847dadebfa892a7230f69'|'WTO reverses ruling against Boeing 777X tax credits'|'September 4, 2017 / 2:21 PM / an hour ago WTO reverses Boeing 777X tax credit ruling in blow to EU Tim Hepher , Tom Miles 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A 777X banner is pictured above the 777 Wing Horizontal Build Line at Boeing''s production facility in Everett, Washington, U.S. June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond PARIS/GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization has reversed a ruling that Boeing ( BA.N ) received prohibited support for its newest aircraft, dealing a blow to the European Union in its long-running row with the United States over subsidies. Monday’s decision by WTO appeal judges overturns a ruling which had banned some Washington-state support for plants including a $1 billion (£772.38 million) factory designed to build the world’s largest carbon-composite wings for Boeing’s 777X jet. A WTO panel ruled last year that a reduction in the state’s business and occupation tax in return for a decision to place 777X production in the state had deliberately shut out imports. But its appeals body found the tax breaks had not explicitly targeted trade flows, removing them from the WTO’s most severe category of banned aid known as “prohibited” subsidies. The decision neutralises a potential trump card, which the EU played in 2014 to shake up the world’s biggest trade dispute. Prohibited subsidies are a form of aid that the WTO’s 164 members consider exceptionally market-distorting and are automatically banned wherever they are proved to exist. The WTO appeals body did not consider whether the 777X tax credits fell under the more common banner of “actionable” subsidies, since the EU had not resorted to fallback arguments as it gambled on securing a quick, game-changing victory. But the EU may use evidence from the case to try to widen a previous successful claim against earlier versions of the same tax credits, meaning that although the EU’s latest gambit failed, the 13-year-old war between Washington and Brussels over support for their dominant planemakers will continue. “Today’s ruling will strengthen the (original EU) case on the long term and allow us to expand our compliance demands,” Airbus spokeswoman Maggie Bergsma said, while Boeing called the ruling a “sweeping and clear win”. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the EU had lost most of its claims and “cannot justify their own illegal subsidies by hiding behind groundless claims against the U.S.” COMPLIANCE Neither side has been able to make the key charge of prohibited subsidies stick at the appeals stage but both have won billions of dollars of claims about “actionable” subsidies, while disagreeing over who comes off worst and racking up an estimated $100 million in costs. The WTO is considering appeals on whether each side complied with previous demands to remove billions of dollars of unfair support. A decision on whether the EU has fallen into line is expected at the end of the year, with a ruling on U.S. compliance due in 2018. U.S. sources say the timetable could give the administration of President Donald Trump, who has pledged tough enforcement of trade laws, the first crack at introducing sanctions that could theoretically be targeted at any industry, not just aerospace. If either side is found not to have complied by removing the harmful support for its planes, the other will be able to impose counter-measures. However, new disputes could arise if sanctions are imposed, despite claims to have complied subsequently. A European source predicted legal procedures could continue indefinitely until both sides decide to settle. Airbus renewed a call for a broad global agreement on support for planemakers. Reporting by Tim Hepher and Tom Miles; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wto-aircraft/wto-reverses-ruling-against-boeing-777x-tax-credits-idUKKCN1BF1PW'|'2017-09-04T17:22:00.000+03:00'
'f2f3ce0c27b210581e648b0239c752fe6a4679e3'|'Global Markets: Yen, bonds and gold gain after N.Korea tests ''hydrogen bomb'''|'September 4, 2017 / 2:42 AM / in 6 minutes Global Markets - Yen, bonds and gold gain on North Korea nuclear test, missile report 4 Min Read U.S. Dollar and Japan Yen notes are seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Japanese yen, gold and sovereign bonds all rose on Monday as North Korea’s latest nuclear test, and reports Pyongyang was making preparations for another missile launch, provoked the usual knee-jerk shift to safer harbours. The dollar was marked down to 109.57 yen, having been as low as 109.22 and off a whole yen from late on Friday. Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation and traders tend to assume Japanese investors would repatriate funds at times of crisis, thus pushing up the yen. Many wonder, however, if Japanese assets would really remain in favour if an actual war broke out in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei did not take the news well, losing 0.9 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.75 percent with South Korea’s main index down 1 percent. “Like a bad horror movie, the North Korea saga intersperses moments of calm, with occasional action to jolt you out of your chair,” said ING’s head of Asian research Rob Carnell. “But we have been here now many, many times,” he added. “Unless this is the precursor to U.S. military action, which we doubt, then in a little over a day or two, tensions will calm again, making this a good buying opportunity for investors with a strong enough nerve.” European bourses looked set to open lower with Eurostoxx 50 and FTSE futures off 0.4 percent and the DAX contract down 0.6 percent. North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, prompting the threat of a “massive” military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened. Speaking outside the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump and his national security team, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Trump asked to be briefed on all available military options. On Monday, news agency Yonhap reported North Korea was seen to be making preparations for another ballistic missile launch, possibly of ICBM-class. Futures on 10-year U.S. Treasuries climbed 7 ticks, while yields on Japanese 10-year government debt rallied to their lowest since last November. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 dipped 0.4 percent, though U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. ECB MEETING LOOMS The dollar slipped to 0.9591 Swiss francs from 0.9646, and was off 0.25 percent against a basket of currencies at 92.583. Gold hit a 10-month high and was last up 0.9 percent at $1,337.14. The euro was 0.3 percent firmer at $1.1898, though investors were wary ahead of a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday. There have been reports some at the ECB are unhappy with the euro’s strength and are in no rush to signal the start of a tapering in its massive balance sheet. Wall Street had ended last week on a mildly positive note after a tepid U.S. jobs report kept expectations muted for another interest rate hike this year. The Dow ended Friday with a gain of 0.18 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.20 percent and the Nasdaq 0.1 percent. [.N] U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in August after two straight months of hefty increases. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 156,000 last month, while economists had forecast an increase of 180,000. On a brighter note, the Institute for Supply Management reported its factory activity index soared to 58.8 in August, the highest reading since April 2011. That was just the latest sign that global factory growth was gaining traction and added to bullishness on industrial metals. Copper climbed 1 percent on Monday to hit its highest in three years. In the oil market, prices were subdued as shutdowns of U.S. production following Hurricane Harvey were balanced by an expected downturn in crude demand as the storm knocked out refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. Brent crude shed 54 cents to $52.21, while U.S. crude eased 4 cents to $47.25 a barrel. Reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney; Editing by Peter Cooney & Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-yen-bonds-and-gold-gain-after-n-korea-tests-hydrogen-bomb-idINKCN1BF05X'|'2017-09-04T00:42:00.000+03:00'
'd30e739610c446627cd6814c6828386a46b7b0de'|'Warburg Pincus adds $183 mln to China''s Nova Property investment'|'September 4, 2017 / 8:43 AM / 35 minutes ago Warburg Pincus adds $183 mln to China''s Nova Property investment Reuters Staff 2 Min Read HONG KONG, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC on Monday said it will invest $183 million in Nova Property Investment Co. Ltd as the Chinese real estate developer and asset manager it co-founded looks to expand ‘aggressively’ in the country’s largest cities. Nova’s management team is also investing an undisclosed amount into the company as part of the deal, the firms said in a joint statement. The funds come on top of the $170 million Warburg Pincus poured to found Nova in 2015 with Chinese entrepreneur Qian Wang. Nova plans to use the funds to buy “aged and distressed properties” and convert them into modern apartments and shared-office space for rent. It already has about $735 million in assets under management, including 32 projects already in operation and or under development in Shanghai. New home prices in China jumped 9.7 percent in July from a year ago, even as the government imposed restrictions to keep prices in check. Soaring prices and tighter lending make owning a home difficult for the country’s young and urban population, making rental a more affordable option. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/warburg-pincs-china/warburg-pincus-adds-183-mln-to-chinas-nova-property-investment-idUSL4N1LL2XG'|'2017-09-04T11:43:00.000+03:00'
'4f1bdaef50720771470319a5cdd48af6e65a32db'|'Four execs to leave Reckitt Benckiser amid company struggles'|'September 4, 2017 / 8:57 AM / 2 hours ago Four execs to leave Reckitt Benckiser amid company struggles Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Products produced by Reckitt Benckiser; Vanish, Finish, Dettol and Harpic, are seen in London, Britain February 12, 2008. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Four senior executives are leaving Reckitt Benckiser Group ( RB.L ) as the British consumer goods company fights to recover from the weakest performance in its history. The maker of Durex condoms and Lysol cleaners on Monday confirmed the upcoming departures of the heads of human resources, information technology, developing markets and category development. The voluntary departures also come as Reckitt integrates Mead Johnson, its biggest takeover ever. The company has also been grappling for months with the fallout from a failed product launch and a safety scandal in South Korea that wiped out its business there. Darrell Stein, senior vice president of information services, will leave on October 1, to be immediately replaced by Seth Cohen, who will join the company from PepsiCo ( PEP.N ). Stein’s departure comes months after Reckitt was hit by a cyber attack that hobbled its global operations and cost it about 100 million pounds of sales this year. Deborah Yates, senior vice president of human resources, and Roberto Funari, executive vice president of category development, will leave at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities, Reckitt said. Frederic Larmuseau, head of developing markets, will also leave at the end of year, Reckitt said, to take the helm of Jacobs Douwe Egberts, a coffee business owned by JAB Holdings. His departure was announced six weeks ago. “RB is transforming itself to become the undisputed leader in global consumer health and hygiene and has taken a number of important steps on this strategic journey over the last six months. This journey is driving a change in our portfolio priorities and, over time, how we operate,” the company said in a statement. “We remain confident that we have the right strategy and the considerable bench strength of talent to deliver significant and sustainable value creation for all of our stakeholders.” Reckitt''s shares were down 1.1 percent at 0815 GMT, underperforming a FTSE 100 .FTSE that was down 0.2 percent. The departures were first reported by the Financial Times. Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-reckitt-benc-grp-restructuring/four-execs-to-leave-reckitt-benckiser-amid-company-struggles-idUSKCN1BF0XT'|'2017-09-04T11:36:00.000+03:00'
'fed73da803d791d4ff98aa01e6d8f49f8fdc7482'|'Japan plans 1.4 trillion yen share sale of Japan Post - sources'|' 04 AM / 13 minutes ago Japan plans 1.4 trillion yen share sale of Japan Post - sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Japan Post Holdings'' Chief Executive Officer Masatsugu Nagato speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government is preparing to sell about 1.4 trillion yen (£9.8 billion) worth of shares in Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd ( 6178.T ), rivalling the conglomerate’s huge 2015 initial public offering, three people with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday. The finance ministry plans the secondary offering as soon as the end of this month, the first sale since the company went public. The finance ministry met on Monday with underwriters to discuss the sale, which investors have been anticipating since the government picked six investment banks in March to handle the offering. The offering price and number of shares to be sold will be determined between Sept. 25 and 27 after gauging investor demand, said the sources, who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. A Japan Post spokeswoman said the timing of the share sale has not been decided and declined to further comment. The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The share sale is the first since the company and its two financial units made an unprecedented three-way initial public offering in November 2015, from which the government raised about $12 billion. The government, which now owns about 80 percent of Japan Post, eventually plans to sell $36 billion in the conglomerate, partly to fund reconstruction of areas in northern Japan hit by a catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Shares in the holding company fell 3 percent on Monday to 1,326 yen after Reuters reported on Friday that the government was preparing the share sale. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-post-share-sale/japan-plans-1-4-trillion-yen-share-sale-of-japan-post-sources-idUKKCN1BF0YL'|'2017-09-04T12:03:00.000+03:00'
'7e1eb1235f2c301c9b23328bbea030a6f2dc9f44'|'Sainsbury''s says Brexit disruption could leave food rotting at border'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:38 AM / 17 minutes ago Sainsbury''s says Brexit disruption could leave food rotting at border Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Shopping trolleys are seen at a Sainsbury''s store in London, Britain April 30, 2016. Photograph taken April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s second biggest supermarket group Sainbury’s ( SBRY.L ) has warned that food could be left rotting at the border if supply chains are disrupted by customs checks once Britain leaves the European Union. Any new controls on imports and exports of food would increase costs and transport times, making it harder to get fresh items to customers, Chief Executive Mike Coupe told Britain’s Press Association. “If you take our fresh produce supply chains, for example, we put things on a lorry in Spain and it will arrive in a distribution center somewhere in England, and it won’t have gone through any border checks,” he said. “Anything that encumbers that has two effects: it adds cost, and it also has a detrimental effect on freshness - if you’re shipping fresh produce from a long distance, even a few hours of delay can make a material impact.” Coupe said the retail industry would increasingly make its voice heard if the countdown to Brexit in March 2019 continued with no clear solution to the issue of customs controls. Industry body the British Retail Consortium warned last week that British shoppers could face higher prices and less choice unless Britain and the EU can agree how to handle issues such as border checks, haulage and food safety after Brexit. The opposition Labour Party has proposed keeping Britain in the single market and customs union for a transitional period after 2019 to avoid damaging jobs and the economy. Prime Minister Theresa May has called on lawmakers to back legislation needed to sever ties with the EU. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-sainsbury/sainsburys-says-brexit-disruption-could-leave-food-rotting-at-border-idUKKCN1BF1AJ'|'2017-09-04T14:28:00.000+03:00'
'ee4478e017ff2ea95cddd8204acf6b329f457a36'|'French, Italian ministers to hold talks on STX shipyard row'|'September 1, 2017 / 6:19 PM / 2 hours ago French, Italian ministers to hold talks on STX shipyard row Reuters Staff 3 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday he would meet his Italian counterpart on Sept. 11 to try to trash out an agreement over Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri’s ( FCT.MI ) blocked takeover bid for STX France shipyards. Rome and Paris hope to resolve the issue in time for a Sept. 27 Franco-Italian summit. “We are in the process of finding a compromise with the Italian government. I will be in Rome on the 11th of September to find a new compromise with Italian minister Pier Carlo Padoan and the government,” Le Maire told reporters on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti business conference in Italy. “The cooperation between France and Fincantieri remains the best option for (STX) Saint Nazaire so we have to fix some problems... But I‘m convinced that if everyone is able to make an effort we will find a compromise before the end of September.” France angered Italy in July after it ordered a “temporary” nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which state-owned Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy a 54.6 percent stake. France took the decision after Fincantieri, which had agreed to buy the majority stake from its former Korean owners, refused a French government proposal to accept 50-50 ownership. Le Maire said earlier this week he would make fresh proposals to Italy without giving details beyond saying they should be extended to Franco-Italian cooperation in the field of naval defense. The nationalization of STX has added strain to France’s relations with Italy, where the growing influence of French investors on domestic businesses is under scrutiny. The Italian government is looking into whether French group Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) duly informed the prime minister’s office of it exercising de facto control over phone company Telecom Italia (TIM) ( TLIT.MI ), which is considered a strategic national asset. Rome could fine Vivendi, which has a 24 percent stake in TIM but has repeatedly denied controlling it, if it found the French group did not fulfill its obligations. Rome cannot veto the acquisition of stakes in TIM or changes in control over the company if the buyer comes from within the European Union. But under “exceptional” circumstances, Italy could exercise a so-called “golden power” on a European buyer if there is serious risk to national security and the functioning of its communications network. Le Maire said Italian investments in France were welcome. “I hope that also French investments are welcome in Italy.” He reiterated France backed the idea of a European version of the International Monetary Fund and said that in coming weeks he would announce corporate privatizations to fund innovation to modernize France. Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Valentina Za and Helen Popper'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a-fincantieri-chairman/italy-france-holding-technical-talks-on-fincantieri-stx-shipyard-deal-idUKKCN1BC5ON'|'2017-09-02T14:22:00.000+03:00'
'95922b8498dadd8b17d0d8663635073448971c22'|'Foreign banks face new EU set-up to allow more scrutiny'|' 17 PM / 37 minutes ago Foreign banks face new EU set-up to allow more scrutiny Huw Jones 3 Min Read LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Nineteen foreign banks in the European Union will need to set up new holding companies so that regulators can scrutinise them more closely, an EU discussion paper says, mirroring steps taken by the United States. The European Commission proposed last November that banks headquartered outside the bloc consolidate their EU activities under an “intermediate parent undertaking” or IPU in response to U.S. moves to require foreign banks to set up such companies. The commission, which is the EU’s executive, has now fleshed out its thinking and has made a preliminary estimate that 19 foreign banks will have to set up an IPU. Between them they operate via 53 subsidiaries and 53 branches, with 35, more than a third of the total, in Britain alone. Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019, which makes having a “proper framework” for supervising non-EU banking operations “even more relevant”, a discussion paper, which was reviewed by Reuters and is dated Sept.1, said. Separately, the bloc has already proposed that clearing houses that handle large amounts of euro-denominated assets should be jointly supervised by Brussels after Brexit. Subsidiaries of foreign lenders make up 42 percent of banking subsidiaries in the bloc, up from 36 percent in 2008, but EU regulators have only “limited access” to timely data on what goes on across these operations, the document said. “As a consequence, the supervision of subsidiaries that belong to the same third-country group, but operate in different member states is fragmented and hence might result in regulatory and supervisory arbitrage.” An IPU would “not necessarily increase capital or liquidity requirements”, it added. The European Central Bank, which supervises top euro zone lenders, and the Single Resolution Board, in charge of closing down those lenders if they fail, both want foreign branches, and not just subsidiaries, to come under IPUs. The commission, however, is sticking to its view that branches should not be included. Subsidiaries are directly supervised by the country they are in, while branches are supervised mainly by the bank’s home country. The EU proposal needs approval from member states and the European Parliament to become law, and major changes are often made during this process. The 19 banks are Bank of America, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, UBS, Bank of New York Mellon, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, State Street, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, Wells Fargo, Bank of China Ltd, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Nomura Holdings, and Royal Bank of Canada. The document said the benefits to financial stability of creating IPUs would “clearly outweigh” unquantified potential one-off costs of reorganisation. (Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-banks-regulations/foreign-banks-face-new-eu-set-up-to-allow-more-scrutiny-idUSL8N1LL1RO'|'2017-09-04T20:17:00.000+03:00'
'839f31caad4800076a1d200737c2d9becf74b25d'|'Novartis''s Jimenez stepping down, Narasimhan named new CEO'|'September 4, 2017 / 5:32 AM / in 5 hours Novartis names drugs chief as CEO to deliver return to growth John Miller 4 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis ( NOVN.S ) CEO Joe Jimenez will step down on Feb. 1 and hand over to drug development chief Vas Narasimhan to decide the fate of $50 billion in assets and make good on a pledge to return the Swiss company to sales growth. Jimenez, who will have been at the helm for eight years when he retires, has hived off animal health, vaccines and over-the-counter drugs businesses at Novartis to focus on generally more profitable prescription medicines, particularly in cancer. But sales have been hit as top-selling drugs such as blood cancer treatment Gleevec have lost patent protection, while eye business Alcon has lagged expectations and generics arm Sandoz has faced intense pressure on prices in the United States. Novartis got a boost last week, when the United States approved its $475,000-per-patient Kymriah treatment for young people with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, one of a series of new drugs it expects to revive sales growth starting next year. Jimenez, 57, said on Monday now was a good time to move on. “I really believe a leader has to be in place at the beginning of that growth phase to see it through,” he told reporters on a call. “And that wouldn’t be me, given that I‘m already eight years into my tenure.” Narasimhan, 41, is among a new generation of youthful leaders at Novartis, including head researcher Jay Bradner at the Novartis Institutes For Biomedical Research. Together, they have sought to improve the company’s way of moving drugs from the laboratory into commercial products, something they acknowledge has not always worked efficiently. “That’s going to continue to be the focus of the company: To translate that innovation into commercial success,” said Narasimhan, a U.S. citizen. Analysts said Narasimhan’s skills as a Harvard-trained medical doctor and former McKinsey consultant may be the blend Novartis needs to balance research and business. “The appointment ... brings deep medical and commercial knowledge plus strong communication, and we expect this fresh start to be taken very well by the markets,” said David Evans, a Kepler Cheuvreux analyst. CEO Joseph Jimenez of Swiss drugmaker Novartis addresses the company''s annual news conference in Basel January 29, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann DECISIONS But there will be plenty in Narasimhan’s in-tray. His appointment comes as Novartis is reviewing Alcon for a possible sale that could bring in $25-$35 billion. Newly appointed CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG Vas Narasimhan is pictured n this picture released by Novartis Global Media Relations on September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Justin Hession/HANDOUT He must also decide what to do with its $10 billion stake in its over-the-counter (OTC) drugs venture with GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK.L ). Novartis faces a deadline of March 2018 to decide whether to exercise a sell option for its 36.5 percent stake. Narasimhan will have to weigh up too what to so with Novartis’s $14 billion stake in cross-town rival Roche ( ROG.S ), which the company has said could be sold. Novartis shares have lagged the Stoxx European Health Care Index .SXDP by around 9 percent during Jimenez’s tenure. At 1025 GMT, they were down 0.9 percent at 80.10 Swiss francs. Having held various roles at Novartis since 2005, Narasimhan became global head of drug development and chief medical officer in 2016. Jimenez said his departure would not affect a strategic review of Alcon, with an update due by year’s end. “We’re going to consider all options ranging from keeping the business up to a capital markets exit,” he said. “There really is no change, so don’t read anything into it.” He also hailed last week’s U.S. approval of Kymriah, the first so-called CAR-T therapy to win the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s blessing. “We started this five years ago, it was a big bet, a lot of people thought we were crazy and it’s paying off,” Jimenez said. “We have big plans.” Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-novartis-ceo/novartiss-jimenez-stepping-down-narasimhan-named-new-ceo-idUKKCN1BF0I0'|'2017-09-04T09:04:00.000+03:00'
'99069b2d745d4a5eb6f064bace2d4a3ed8ec1aad'|'Britain''s Aveva set to unveil 3 billion pound Schneider merger - Sky News'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:17 PM / 16 minutes ago Britain''s Aveva set to unveil Schneider deal - source Ben Martin 3 Min Read London (Reuters) - British engineering software company Aveva ( AVV.L ) is poised to announce a tie-up with France’s Schneider Electric ( SCHN.PA ) to create a business worth more than 3 billion pounds, a source close to the matter told Reuters. The deal is expected to be confirmed as soon as Tuesday morning and will be structured as a reverse takeover in which Schneider will take a majority stake in Aveva, with shareholders in the British company receiving more than 800 pence per share in cash, the source said. Schneider''s software assets will move to Aveva, which will remain listed on the London Stock Exchange and will retain its Cambridge headquarters, the source added after the deal was first reported by Sky News.( bit.ly/2wz4fKv ) Aveva, founded in 1967 as a spin-off from Cambridge University, provides software for the oil, shipping and power sectors. The reverse takeover would be Britain’s biggest technology deal this year. However, the deal’s structure means Aveva would avoid the fate of other British technology groups that have been lost to foreign buyers in recent years, such as Softbank’s $32 billion takeover of Cambridge-based chip designer ARM Holdings. Lazard and Numis ( NUM.L ) are advising Aveva while Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) is working with Schneider, the source said. The combined company will have an enterprise value, which includes debt, of more than 3 billion pounds, the source said. A spokesman for Schneider declined to comment and Aveva, where James Kidd took over as CEO in January, did not reply immediately to an emailed request for comment. The companies have twice abandoned previous attempts to agree a deal in 2015 and last year. The collapse of the first attempt was blamed by Aveva on the “highly complex structure of the proposed transaction” and worries about “significant integration challenges”. The British company did not give a reason for abandoning the second attempt in June last year. However, a source told Reuters at the time that obstacles included the complexities of merging the two businesses. The source did not say how previous hurdles had been overcome. Additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-avevagroup-m-a-schneider/britains-aveva-set-to-unveil-3-billion-pound-schneider-merger-sky-news-idUKKCN1BF27Y'|'2017-09-04T21:11:00.000+03:00'
'b8d07c88d50be5f3c9f0ba37020543e6cdd424fb'|'UPDATE 2-Trump to scrap protection for Dreamers, give Congress 6 months to fix'|'(Adds reaction from lawmakers, background)By Steve HollandWASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has decided to scrap a program shielding from deportation immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children but will give Congress six months to craft legislation to replace it, sources familiar with the situation said.The president decided to delay enforcement of his decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the two sources said on Sunday. One source cautioned that the president could change his mind.The decision to give Congress half a year to come up with a an alternative, first reported by Politico, represents a compromise of sorts after top Republicans and business leaders asked Trump to keep the program.DACA, an Obama administration policy, protects nearly 800,000 young men and women often called “Dreamers” from deportation and allows them to work legally.Dreamers are a fraction of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, most of them Hispanic. Trump as a candidate promised to deport all of them, but many Americans have rallied to support the young adults who have spent large parts of their lives in the United States.The decision, to be announced on Tuesday, will seek to placate both sides in the immigration debate at a time when the president is also grappling with North Korea’s nuclear program and Houston’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey.DIVIDED REPUBLICANS As a candidate, Trump pledged to immediately scrap the program but he ran into stiff opposition.House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan urged Trump on Friday not to rescind the program and was joined by Senator Orrin Hatch, also a Republican.Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American Republican from Florida tweeted her dismay with the decision to scrap DACA: “After teasing #Dreamers for months with talk of his ‘great heart,’ @POTUS slams door on them. Some ‘heart’.”That said, Trump’s base will likely be far from happy about the president’s decision to leave open the option of a fix. Representative Steve King, a hawk on immigration and Iowa Republican, tweeted his opposition to the plan on Sunday night.Democrats, like Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, also wanted the program to continue. Franken called the reported decision a “disgrace.”Nancy Pelosi, the top House Democrat, last week asked Ryan to meet with Democratic lawmakers to discuss a “comprehensive legislative solution.”Leading business figures defended the Dreamers, including Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who signed a letter to the president outlining the economic contribution of Dreamers.Prior to the news of Trump’s action, Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook tweeted, “250 of my Apple coworkers are #Dreamers. I stand with them.”But U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin downplayed those warnings on Sunday, telling Fox News Sunday he was “less concerned about the economic impact.”Most of the Dreamers came from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. More than 200,000 live in California, while 100,000 are in Texas. New York, Illinois and Florida also have large numbers.Congress under presidents of both parties has been unable to pass comprehensive immigration reform. What to do about Dreamers has been actively debated within the White House and Trump administration. One senior administration official described the debate as a “tug of war” between factions.DACA supporters argue that the people it protects grew up and are U.S. educated and integrated into American society, with little connection to the countries in which they are citizens. Opponents of the program argue that illegal immigrants take jobs from U.S. citizens. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall; Writing by Diane Bartz; Editing by Andrew Hay and Mary Milliken) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-immigration-daca/update-2-trump-to-scrap-protection-for-dreamers-give-congress-6-months-to-fix-idINL2N1LL01P'|'2017-09-04T00:42:00.000+03:00'
'42907b4dac23b34d6d5de3cf04dac82c7f43d127'|'Bain, Cinven give in to Elliott''s demand for higher Stada buyout'|'September 4, 2017 / 5:47 AM / 36 minutes ago Bain, Cinven give in to Elliott''s demand for higher Stada buyout Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Buyout groups Bain Capital and Cinven said they would propose to Stada’s management to offer minority shareholders cash compensation of 74.40 euros per share, giving in to pressure from activist investor Elliott. Bain and Cinven last month won control of German generic drug maker Stada with a sweetened 5.3 billion-euro ($6.3 billion) bid, in the largest private-equity funded takeover of a German listed company, offering 66.25 euros per share. They had secured acceptances for close to 64 percent of Stada’s shares, but they are trying to win the backing of more than 75 percent of shareholders so they can tap into Stada’s cashflow. Elliott Management had said on Thursday, however, that it wanted at least 74.40 euros per share for its stake, which most recently stood at 13.3 percent, or 15.2 percent when taking stock options into account. Bain and Cinven said in a statement late on Sunday that while they were “convinced that the fair value of Stada shares is below the price required by Elliott” they would propose offering minority shareholders 74.40 euros in cash per share. “Bain Capital and Cinven firmly believe that Stada, its business and its stakeholders substantially benefit from certainty on the success of a DPLTA (profit and loss agreement),” they said. With the shares ending Friday’s trading session at 79.50 euros, buyers of the stock appeared to be betting on an even higher compensation deal than Elliott demands. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-offer/bain-cinven-give-in-to-elliotts-demand-for-higher-stada-buyout-idUKKCN1BF0IT'|'2017-09-04T08:42:00.000+03:00'
'8b00a82c0150a3fbb3f270918a057c56558f4d4f'|'LPC-Stada’s giant €2.35bn buyout loan launches'|'LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A €2.35bn jumbo loan financing backing private equity groups Bain Capital and Cinven’s buyout of German generic drugmaker Stada has launched to Europe’s leveraged loan market, banking sources said on Monday.Bain and Cinven last month won the majority of Stada shares with a sweetened €5.24bn bid, offering €66.25 per share in the largest private-equity funded takeover of a German listed company.Barclays, Nomura and UBS are leading the leveraged loan financing as physical bookrunners, alongside joint bookrunners Citi, Commerzbank, Jefferies, JP Morgan and Societe Generale.Deutsche Bank and ING also joined as joint bookrunners prior to launch, as did BNP Paribas, LBBW, MUFG as mandated lead arrangers.A few other banks are also expected to join the financing, the sources said.The financing comprises a €1.65bn first-lien term loan and a €300-equivalent, sterling-denominated first-lien term loan. Both have a seven-year maturity and are offered with 101 soft-call for six months.There is also a €400m six-year revolving credit facility, guided to pay 325bp over Euribor/Libor with a 0% floor.The financing will be shown to investors at a bank meeting on September 7, when full pricing will emerge. Both term loans are offered with a 0% floor.Investors have been asked to commit to the loans by September 21.The buyout will also be backed with €485m of seven-year senior secured fixed rate bonds and €340m of eight-year senior unsecured fixed rate notes that are expected to launch shortly, the sources said.This is the first jumbo loan out of the blocks post-summer and is expected to garner a lot of attention from banks and investors eager to do the deal and put a meaningful amount of new money to work.Around €1bn of term loans that form part of a wider US$7.75bn-equivalent buyout financing backing US life sciences company Avantor’s take-private of lab supplies company VWR Corp are also expected to launch imminently, sources said.Stada’s financing launched on Monday shortly after the buyout firms said they will offer minority Stada shareholders a marked-up €74.40 per share to get full control of Stada, giving in to pressure from hold-out investor Elliott Management. (Editing by Christopher Mangham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/stada-loans/lpc-stadas-giant-2-35bn-buyout-loan-launches-idINL8N1LL214'|'2017-09-04T08:55:00.000+03:00'
'f9aa4fafb57713f2e8b5370a0869be0a989840f8'|'Banks look to the blockchain and Barclays'' website woes'|'Bitcoin Banks look to the blockchain and Barclays'' website woes Martin Arnold and guests discuss how banks are bringing blockchain technology to financial markets, Barclays'' new, error-prone stockbroking website and the ongoing Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal. Save to myFT Presented by Martin Arnold and produced by David Blood Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Banking Weekly from The Financial Times. With me, Martin Arnold, the FT''s banking editor. Joining me in the studio is Emma Dunkley, our retail banking correspondent, and Caroline Binham, our financial regulation correspondent. While we''ll be joined over the phone by Ben McClanahan, our US banking editor, and Lee Braine of Barclays. First, we''ll be discussing how some of the world''s biggest banks have teamed up to develop a new form of digital cash for financial markets, based on blockchain technology. While, at the same time, Chinese regulators are warning about the dangers of blockchain based cryptocurrency fundraising schemes, known as initial coin offerings. Then we''ll hear about how Barclays has upset hundreds of thousands of customers by moving them to a new stockbroking website that is being plagued by glitches. And, finally, we''ll hear about Wells Fargo''s latest embarrassing admissions in its fake account scandal. So firstly, to blockchain technology and news that big banks are teaming up, and six of them have joined a consortium to develop a new form of digital cash that they hope to launch next year for clearing and settling financial transactions over the technology that underpins Bitcoin, the world''s biggest cryptocurrency. Barclays, Credit Suisse, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, HSBC, MUFG, and State Street have all teamed up to work with on this utility settlement coin, created by Switzerland''s UBS to make financial markets more efficient. Joining me to discuss this is Lee Braine, who works in the chief technology office of Barclays investment bank. Lee Braine, you are part of the chief technology office in Barclays Investment Bank, and Barclays is one of the six big banks that has joined the so-called Utilities Settlement Coin Project, that was founded by UBS, to use blockchain technology to create a digital currency that makes financial markets more efficient. Tell me how this blockchain technology will work, and why is Barclays interested in it? Well, Barclays is involved in evaluating many financial technology innovations. So recently, in the distributed ledger space, we''ve been collaborating with consortia and institutions, whether that be ISDA, DTCC, et cetera, and exploring and evaluating everything from blockchain standards to including smart contracts and distributed ledgers for the capital market space. So the Utility Settlement Coin Consortium, we''ve been following that for about 18 months, and we joined it last month. There are a few potential benefits that appeal to us. At the core of it was the idea of the potential to shorten the settlement lifecycle. So this can permit a number of potential improvements. So, for example, to capital efficiency, you have less funds tied up during the settlement process, and also for risk reduction, in terms of counterparty credit risk et cetera. So it''s more certain and quicker, as well, in having it on blockchain technology, rather than the existing payments and settlements and clearing technology, or the systems that we have currently? Indeed. That''s the promise of the technology, because you need to bear in mind the current capital markets ecosystem, if you look at the technology landscape, includes a lot of work arounds, because settlement finality is not instant. And one of the potential features of this utility supplement coin, it''s starting with cash, is to allow instant settlement finality. Yeah. And is it right that it''s essentially a way of getting the cash that sits on central banks into digital form, so that that cash can be switched almost instantaneously between financial market participants? Is that how it''s going to work? Well, the transfer of the token, between two institutions, should be the equivalent of achieving legal settlement finality. In terms of the nature of the coin, regarding its issuance, that there are a spectrum of options that have been explored in the last few years, ranging from a central bank itself issuing a digital currency-- and there''s a lot of research in that space, for example, universities produce prototypes on behalf of central banks-- right the way through to commercial banks issuing their own tokens, and you consider that as a type of emoney. And then, at the more extreme end, you can imagine virtual currencies that are not backed by any state. So there''s a range of design options-- Like Bitcoins? --in that. For example. So we''re able to look at those range-- or that range of options, and select the design features that are required to support the capital markets settlement. And, in that space, we accept that it will be quite a few years before central banks could be in the position of issuing their own digital currencies. So therefore, we would look for them to be issued via an alternative means, and yet be able to still retain settlement finality, because they''re assets that are backed by funds at a central bank. Yeah. So you''re not creating new currencies. You''re taking existing currencies, and putting them all on blockchain technology, so that they can be moved around faster. Indeed. So that each token is linked to a corresponding central bank''s fiat currency. So you could imagine a utility settlement coin dollar, a utility settlement coin euro, pound, and so on. So that''s the nature of the concept. And when this launches, in the first instance, it won''t be as, you know, the fully fledged putting of the whole of financial markets on blockchain technology. It''ll be quite a sort of staggered launch, and initially just be for payments between financial institutions. Is that right? Indeed. So if you consider a roadmap view, starting with the simpler transaction types, so a pure cash payment transaction would probably be the initial transaction type. But we do understand and accept that, in order to have broader adoption, you''d need to move into other asset classes, as well. So the idea being that in order to get the benefits of the instant settlement across more transaction types, consider, for example, a delivery versus payment, where you would have both a cash leg and a securities leg. You would get the benefits when you''re able to atomically move the two transactions-- Yeah. --the two legs at the same time. But then you have to have the securities, like bonds or equities, on blockchain themselves. And that hasn''t been done yet, so that might take some more time. Hm. Indeed. So I would say that''s much further in the future to have other asset classes, also represented in this tokenised way, that are suitable for atomic swap. Lee Braine, of Barclays Investment Banks Chief Technology Office, thank you very much for talking to us. Thank you. Now, Caroline, it''s interesting that banks are doubling down on blockchain technology, and teaming up to develop the potential for this technology. While, at the same time, regulators are coming out and warning about a different use of blockchain technology, which is the initial coding offerings that have spawned a new form of fund raising, and seen many small companies-- many technology companies-- come out and raise vast amounts of money by issuing these tokens on blockchain. What''s the latest that''s happened in China? Tell us about that. Yeah. So the Central Bank of China, on Monday, came out and sort of went one further than other warnings that we''ve seen from regulators in the states and others. They came out and just said, well, these ICOs, these initial coins offerings, are illegal, and they suspect that they''re being used as sort of shadowy way to raise finance. They''ve told issuers that have already gone ahead with ICOs to refund investors. They haven''t exactly specified how that would be. And they''ve said that they''ll crack down on any feature ICOs. So it''s really the starkest warning that we''ve heard yet, as authorities around the world try to crack down on what really has been a bubble this year in ICOs. The authorities in Hong Kong, quite soon after the Chinese authorities, came out with their own warning. They weren''t quite as robust in their attack on ICOs. They followed more the line that the American Securities and Exchange Commission has said, earlier this summer, which is essentially that, in their view, ICOs likely would fall under the remit of them as a securities regulator. They''re securities rather than commodities, in other words. Yeah, and until they are classed as securities around the world, and therefore subject to all the financial regulation that that applies to securities offerings, they''re pretty much totally unregulated. So you''ve got companies that are raising this cash in return for these-- the investors in these tokens are getting no rights in the companies. There''s very little disclosure necessarily. It can all be very vague. Some of them are, you know, really quite extraordinary things. I mean, there''s one which is a Ponzi ICO, which, I mean, is surely just going a step too far, isn''t it? Well, I think there''s certainly a regulatory grey area here. And I think the issue has been that you see a lot of tech challenges coming into this finance space thinking that they can do things better and easier, and it''s a brave new world. When, actually, when you boil it down to some of the practises are the same as you see, as you rightly said, to essentially what''s a Ponzi scheme, and where we''ve had decades, if not centuries, of regulation to ensure that sharp practise is eradicated as much as possible and investors don''t lose their shirts. So I think we''ve got this interesting tension right now, as we see challenges come into this fintech space as to how the regulators really deal with it. And, yeah, I think, until perhaps there''s a more global concerted effort to label what these instruments actually are doing, then perhaps there still will be a few questions to be answered. Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin bounces around-- Yeah. --to reflect all of these things. Yeah. The latest moves in China have hit the price. Very, very much. I mean, the interesting thing about Bitcoin is that it tends to be a sort of safe haven asset, similar to gold. So you see gold and Bitcoin rising in price in times of geopolitical strife, things like that. And you would think that this week, with everything that''s going on in North Korea, that would also be the case. But as we saw earlier this summer, when the SEC first came out with its warning about ICOs, Bitcoin has really been hit hard by the Chinese statement on Monday, and that''s continued through this week. Yeah. Thanks, Caroline. Now, turning to Barclays. Emma, you''re here to tell us about how hundreds of customers, who-- of Barclays stockbroking service-- have found they''ve been transferred to a new online service that Barclays has launched, that they hoped would have a broader appeal, but it seems to be plagued with all kind of glitches. And now many of the customers are complaining that they can''t even leave the service very quickly. They''re having to wait weeks and weeks to get out of this service. What''s happening? So Barclays launched a new DIY investment platform, which is essentially an execution only investment site, to replace its 30-year-old stockbrokers business unit. So this new site, called Smart Investor, was launched over the bank holiday weekend, but it was instantly hit with many problems. So, for example, a number of customers complained about the fact that they were receiving error messages. They also complained about the fact that they couldn''t get through to the customer services team. The customer services team said were open until 7:00, but in fact it closed at 6:00. And there are many complaints that came through. A number of customers have also complained about the fact that the new pricing structure means that if you''re a frequent trader of stocks and shares, as many of our readers are, then, in fact, you''re going to be facing higher prices. And the move by Barclays is aimed at rolling its investment service into the retail bank, so that more of its customers will likely be buy and hold fund investors. So, arguably, a lot of customers will receive lower charges, but those traditional share dealing customers will face higher fees as a result. So we''ve seen a number of customers looking to move. And as a result of this bottleneck, Barclays has been hit with a number of delays in providing the transfers for these customers to rival platforms. Some customers have said that they were told by Barclays that they could face a transfer time of up to three months, which is, I think, three times longer than the typical time frame. Is this another story of banks trying to modernise and embrace the new digital disruption era of robo advisors, et cetera, and ending up getting it wrong? I think this is more a case of Barclays attempting to get more of its retail customer base to use its DIY investment service. It realises that many investors are perhaps too scared to dip their toe into the share market, but they''re more likely to buy funds and be longer buy and hold investors. So in that regard, by rolling in the separate business division into its retail bank, it''s likely to expand its customer base, but also it can save on costs by removing this separate stockbroker''s division. But the move does-- the move has agitated many of its customers, that have been with stock brokers for more than 30 years, who do focus on trading shares and more complicated exotic types investments, who now find it costlier to do so. And also a bit disgruntled about the new site and its functions, which are more geared towards longer buy and hold fund investors. Presumably, the robo advisors, and the other fintechs that provide this service, will be licking their lips at Barclays difficulties. Thanks, Emma. Wells Fargo has announced that it''s uncovered nearly 70% more potentially unauthorised accounts than originally thought, dealing a fresh blow to the big US bank that struggling to shake off the effects of this scandal that erupted a year ago. Joining us to discuss the latest developments is Ben McClanahan, our US banking editor. Ben, why is Wells failing to get a grips on this scandal? Yeah. Hi, Martin. I think-- I don''t think the bank is taking it sufficiently seriously. I think that''s the core of the problem. Just a few months before all this blew up, I went to see John Stumpf, in May of last year, and, of course, I asked him about the sort of groundswell of press reports about a potential scandal brewing. And he seemed to think it was no big deal. He talked about, you know, less than 1% of staff affected and a legacy problem, and the vast majority of people at Wells Fargo are turning up every day determined to do the right thing. I don''t doubt that''s the truth, but the problem is he had 5,300 senior managers sacked for straining illegally to hit sales targets that the bank now accepts were illegitimate. So you got the rest of the vast bank, 99% of people, also set at similar targets, and also under enormous strain to hit them. So it seems to me it''s a deep seated cultural problem the bankers just failed to get to grips with. Of course, it''s booted out Jon Stumpf, it''s booted out the chairman, which-- who replaced, well, effectively, John Stumpf for a year. Quite a few senior executives who have gone; they clawed back pay and so on. But still, there is a constant drip drip of other scandals potentially brewing. In that story, I talk about the auto insurance enrollment, which is a bit like the UK PPI scandal. You know, people signed up for cover that they didn''t necessarily need and necessarily didn''t want. There''s another one about locking in rates for mortgages, which the bank will do for a fee, and then it will apparently delay and delay and delay until you''re forced to pay another fee for extending it. So it''s a top to bottom problem, I think, which certainly wasn''t recognised at the time it blew up. Sounds like a pretty deep seated cultural issues there. How bad do you think this could get for Wells? And are other banks under scrutiny for similar behaviour? Yeah. Well, how bad for Wells? Well, it''s certainly not getting better, on a day to day basis. I was looking at the valuation premium that Wells used to have of the rest the big US banks, and in price to book terms, Wells used to have a 60 basis point, you know, advantage. That''s now down to 12, and I can see it vanishing completely. And is that because of anticipation of fines, or because of their losing customers? I think it''s business model, which was thought to be, you know, a cut above the rest. Wells seemed to have a magic that the others didn''t possess, you know, the ability to sell six or seven products to the same household without overstepping any boundaries. That''s proven to be essentially wrong. Moody''s today had a report saying this latest escalation, you know, this 60% increase-- or 67% increase in fake accounts was a credit negative blow. So everyone''s lining up now to take potshots. And it''s not just the financial markets, it''s its senators, it''s Congress, potentially having another series of hearings, and all the class action lawsuits which are emerging. People sacked for failing to hit these targets, some of them want their jobs back, lots of them want money from Wells. And there was a separate class action settlement about the fake account scandal that was approved on a provisional basis in July, and that could unravel given that the latest revelations. Yeah. Yeah. OK. And other banks in the spotlight, do you think? Yeah-- not directly, but TD Bank, the bank up in Toronto, which has a-- yeah, based in Toronto, they have a quite a big US retail network, which could potentially be subject to some scrutiny of the OCC, because of practises north of the border. There was a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary, a few months ago, alleging similar stuff that Wells was up to. The OCC, which is one of the big bank regulations over here, has an ongoing probe into sales practises, so banks are very conscious about the, you know, low rate environment that has caused pressure on the top line. What they''ve done to incentivise sales staff to hit targets, it''s all under the microscope. And my reporting leads me to believe that there''s at least one other big bank-- I shouldn''t really name who they are-- up to no good. Apparently, in California, had a similar internal purge at Wells. So I''m certainly going to keep on picking at this seam. I think there''s lots more stories to come from it. OK, we''ll follow that closely. Thanks very much, Ben. Thanks, Martin. That''s it for this week. All that''s left to do is to thank Emma, Caroline, Ben, and Lee for their contributions, and thank you for listening. Remember, you can keep up to date with all the latest banking stories at ft.com/banking. Banking Weekly was produced by David Blunt. Until next week, goodbye. [MUSIC PLAYING]'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/video/3900f0fc-db9a-4e73-a255-44e8f81b30d2'|'2017-09-06T13:31:00.000+03:00'
'ca6aa20163d97acc88269ebbe692713d2f26db95'|'German industry group preparing for hard Brexit'|'September 6, 2017 / 12:10 PM / in 6 hours German industry group preparing for hard Brexit John O''Donnell 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - German, British and European Union flags fly in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s biggest industry group has set up a task force including companies such as Airbus, Siemens and Deutsche Bank to prepare for a disruptive British departure from the European Union, according to people involved. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) task force will identify by the end of December the risks to German industry from a “hard” Brexit after monthly meetings of dozens of experts, the people said. The preparations are the result of growing nervousness amid slow and acrimonious negotiations between Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis and his opposite number at the European Commission, Michel Barnier. In Germany, companies are now preparing for the worst, including the imposition of tolls and the risk of a loss of access to London financial markets, the people involved said. “Many people in Britain have hoped that they would get a special deal from Germany. We’ve been saying for a year that this is not going to happen,” said Markus Becker-Melching of the Association of German Banks, which is involved in the task force. “We are working on the basis that there will be a hard Brexit,” he said. “The wheels are now set in motion to prepare for this.” One person directly involved with the task force, who asked not to be named, added: “We have to plan now for there being no agreement, for things not working.” The existence of the task force, which was established in June and is now accelerating its work in regular meetings in Berlin, will be officially announced in early October. Its conclusions in December will be important in shaping the position of the new German government, which may be in place then following elections later this month. The companies involved declined to elaborate on the work of the task force. DERIVATIVES WORRIES More than six months into Brexit divorce talks that must conclude by April 2019, there is little sign of progress. Earlier this week, Britain’s David Davis warned a row over how much money Britain should pay the EU when it leaves would probably last the duration of the negotiations. The EU has said this and other issues must first be resolved before talks on future trading relations can begin. Frustration has meanwhile been building in Germany, Europe’s industrial heartland and the EU’s biggest economy. Late last month BDI president Dieter Kempf criticised the British government for its conduct in negotiations. “The British government continues to lack a clear course,” he said. “Despite declarations of unity from British cabinet members, there is no coordinated government approach.” The BDI, with 36 member associations representing 100,000 businesses, is one of Germany’s most influential lobby groups. One of the problems at the top of its list, alongside possible tariffs, is the potential disruption to multitrillion-dollar derivative markets. These are based chiefly in London and are an essential means for German companies to hedge against risks such as rising oil prices. “While a straight-forward company loan would not really be touched, the derivatives market poses a big potential problem,” said the person directly involved with the task force. “No one should work on the assumption that there will be rules in place in time to deal with this.” Reporting by John O''Donnell; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-germany-industry/german-industry-group-preparing-for-hard-brexit-idUKKCN1BH1LF'|'2017-09-06T15:10:00.000+03:00'
'6619243a2fa32c5c7c4321baf4b3389891ab6368'|'Cordray tests Ohio''s election waters anud concerns about consumer agency''s future'|'CINCINNATI/WASHINGTON Sept 4 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. consumer watchdog will discuss his agency’s work at one of the country’s largest Labor Day gatherings on Monday and simultaneously stoke major doubts about its future.Democrat Richard Cordray, appointed head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by former President Barack Obama, is widely expected to enter Ohio’s governor race in coming weeks. Many political leaders in Washington and Ohio say he is testing the waters for a campaign with Monday’s speech before a major Democratic constituency, a Labor Day picnic hosted by the AFL-CIO that typically draws crowds in the thousands.To run in the 2018 election, Cordray must resign from the consumer bureau under a law banning public servants from using their offices for political gain. His term does not expire until next summer after Ohio Democrats select their gubernatorial nominee.If Cordray leaves the CFPB, members of both parties expect Republican President Donald Trump to seize on the vacancy to fulfill his promises to slash regulations or even dismantle the agency, reviled by banks and conservatives.What happens to the CFPB, established seven years ago to protect individuals against predatory lending, once Cordray resigns is an open question. There is no precedent for replacing its director, a powerful leader who both writes and enforces rules.Cordray’s deputy has been in an “acting” role for a year, making him an unlikely successor. The agency has repeatedly declined to comment on resignation rumors.“I am very clear that it is muddy,” said Richard Hunt, president and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association, who closely tracks the agency.CFPB critics who contend Cordray oversteps his authority and is not accountable to anyone say Trump should use a 1998 law to slide in a current administration appointee, already confirmed by Congress, as temporary director the moment Cordray resigns. A legal ruling that Trump can fire Cordray is currently under appeal.It would be logical ”to go with a Senate-confirmed person who is already locked in,” said Kate Larson, who follows capital markets issues for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.That would block a Cordray loyalist from taking over and give a replacement nominee time for confirmation. Some say Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin could fill in alongside performing current duties.Others hope Cordray will stay to defend CFPB from Trump, strengthen safeguards on mortgages and other debt, and continue cracking down on banks such as Wells Fargo & Co.“He’s done a great job and I don’t think he should leave for any reason,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of the liberal group Allied Progress.But CFPB’s mandate is part of federal law, said Dennis Kelleher, head of Better Markets, a Wall Street reform group.“One would hope that the next director, who has to swear an oath to uphold the law and not just uphold Trump’s ideology, would follow the law,” he said. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Bill Trott) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/cfpb-cordray/cordray-tests-ohios-election-waters-anud-concerns-about-consumer-agencys-future-idINL2N1LI27D'|'2017-09-04T11:43:00.000+03:00'
'962b90fb5e63c7455e5b81759868e09258b0b5c2'|'Four executives to leave Reckitt Benckiser amid company struggles'|'September 4, 2017 / 8:46 AM / 3 hours ago Four executives to leave Reckitt Benckiser amid company struggles Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Products produced by Reckitt Benckiser; Vanish, Finish, Dettol and Harpic, are seen in London, Britain February 12, 2008. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Four senior executives are leaving Reckitt Benckiser Group ( RB.L ) as the British consumer goods company fights to recover from the weakest performance in its history. The maker of Durex condoms and Lysol cleaners on Monday confirmed the upcoming departures of the heads of human resources, information technology, developing markets and category development. The voluntary departures also come as Reckitt integrates Mead Johnson, its biggest takeover ever. The company has also been grappling for months with the fallout from a failed product launch and a safety scandal in South Korea that wiped out its business there. Darrell Stein, senior vice president of information services, will leave on October 1, to be immediately replaced by Seth Cohen, who will join the company from PepsiCo ( PEP.N ). Stein’s departure comes months after Reckitt was hit by a cyber attack that hobbled its global operations and cost it about 100 million pounds of sales this year. Deborah Yates, senior vice president of human resources, and Roberto Funari, executive vice president of category development, will leave at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities, Reckitt said. Frederic Larmuseau, head of developing markets, will also leave at the end of year, Reckitt said, to take the helm of Jacobs Douwe Egberts, a coffee business owned by JAB Holdings. His departure was announced six weeks ago. “RB is transforming itself to become the undisputed leader in global consumer health and hygiene and has taken a number of important steps on this strategic journey over the last six months. This journey is driving a change in our portfolio priorities and, over time, how we operate,” the company said in a statement. “We remain confident that we have the right strategy and the considerable bench strength of talent to deliver significant and sustainable value creation for all of our stakeholders.” Reckitt''s shares were down 1.1 percent at 0815 GMT, underperforming a FTSE 100 .FTSE that was down 0.2 percent. The departures were first reported by the Financial Times. Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-reckitt-benc-grp-restructuring/four-executives-to-leave-reckitt-benckiser-amid-company-struggles-idUKKCN1BF0X4'|'2017-09-04T11:45:00.000+03:00'
'1590fe1f034a5bb27fe2fa0e0ff2b67618f59ebf'|'Oil steady as U.S. refining demand rises but ample crude supplies weigh'|'September 7, 2017 / 2:05 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Oil mixed, Brent rises as Irma casts shadow over Harvey recovery 4 Min Read A worker at an oil field owned by Bashneft, Bashkortostan, Russia, January 28, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures were mixed on Thursday, with Brent rising to a 5-1/2 month high while U.S. crude slipped on a bigger-than expected crude stock build, as the restart of U.S. refiners after Hurricane Harvey was countered by the threat of Hurricane Irma. Brent futures LCOc1 gained 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $54.49 a barrel, its highest close since April 18 for a second day in a row. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1, meanwhile, lost 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $49.09 per barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday U.S. weekly crude stocks increased 4.6 million barrels last week, topping analysts’ forecast for a 4.0-million-barrel build in a Reuters poll. ENERGYUSA [EIA/S] Reflecting the impact of Harvey which hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, the EIA said U.S. oil refinery utilization rates slumped 16.9 percentage points to 79.7 percent last week, the lowest rate since 2010. U.S. Gulf Coast utilization rates dropped to 63.4 percent, the lowest rates since the EIA began collecting the data in 2010. “The impact of Hurricane Harvey is clearly visible in the report. The data scrambles the recent trend of declining crude inventories and further rises are likely in the weeks ahead,” said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC in New York. He noted the big drop in refinery utilization “almost assures” crude stockpiles will continue to rise in coming weeks. U.S. Gulf Coast facilities were slowly recovering from the devastating effects of Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas almost two weeks ago, shutting key infrastructure in the heart of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. As of Wednesday, about 3.8 million barrels of daily refining capacity, or 20 percent of the U.S. total, was shut in, though a number of refineries and petroleum-handling ports were restarting. U.S. refiner Valero’s five refineries located on the Texas Gulf Coast are in the process of ramping back up, Chief Executive officer Joe Gorder said on Thursday. At the same time, prices were weighed down by fears that Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean could interrupt crude shipments in and out of the United States. In the week after Harvey hit, U.S. crude exports dropped 749,000 barrels per day to 153,000 bpd. Irma barrelled into Caribbean islands overnight with wind speeds up to 185 miles per hour (295 kph) and was heading for Florida. Fuel shortages were reported in Florida as retailers struggled to keep up with demand from customers, many of whom were evacuating and filling tanks ahead of the storm’s landfall expected this weekend. Another Atlantic storm, Jose, is following on Irma’s heels and is expected to gain in strength and intensify into a major hurricane by Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Yet another hurricane, Katia, is in the Gulf of Mexico. “Demand may continue to be distorted as multiple hurricanes make their way across the Caribbean,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA. Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-steady-on-rising-u-s-refining-demand-but-ample-crude-supplies-weigh-idUKKCN1BI067'|'2017-09-07T05:42:00.000+03:00'
'fe45292347bff03fa6caff5a3f4f7b62235afb6d'|'The lessons of fidget spinners'|'YOU can spin it on your nose, chin, finger or tongue. Some include LED lights, others resemble a ship’s wheel, or even a skull and crossbones. The fidget spinner has three paddle-shaped blades attached to a central, weighted disc containing ball bearings. Flick a blade and it spins, for anything up to 12 minutes in an advanced version from Japan. It was originally designed to help calm children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism, but swept the world earlier this year as a toy that everyone can play with.Retail sales have undoubtedly slowed recently, says Mark Austin of ToyWorld , a trade publication—good news for the schools that have banned it as too distracting for pupils. But the spinner has created a new “fidget” category of toys. And the global toy industry, which was surprised by its success, has learned lessons. 10 hours ago Authentic baroque performance is energising young performers Prospero 11 hours ago The lessons of fidget spinners Business and finance 11 hours ago Wealth alone cannot account for Europe’s low birth rates Graphic detail 11 hours ago A majority of Britons now follow no religion Britain 11 hours ago Some good news from Italy Europe 13 hours ago See all updates The fad started in America in February. By May, all 20 of the top-selling toys on Amazon, an online retailer, were either fidget spinners or fidget cubes, a close relation. There have been many such crazes—who can forget the great loom-band mania of 2014?—but none that spread as fast. Frédérique Tutt, an analyst of the global toy market for NPD, a data company, says that it took just three weeks to cross the Atlantic and go global. No one knows exactly how many have been sold but NPD estimates that at least 19m were sold in the 12 rich-world countries that they track (including America and the biggest European markets) during the first six months of this year. Others put the figure at over 50m.Big toy retailers, the usual arbiters of what sells, were initially caught flat-footed. Fidget spinners were a plaything that children themselves discovered and shared on social media, particularly on YouTube and Instagram. No person or firm had a patent on spinners, so with no patenting or licensing fees to pay, anyone was able to make one. They are produced in huge quantities in China, often by businesses that previously manufactured smartphone accessories. Others were made using 3D-printing. That has been a boon for small shops, which have been able to stock these unbranded goods from wherever they can find them.Andrew Moulsher, managing director of Peterkin, a firm that imports toys into Britain, calls it a “watershed moment” for the business. Big retailers usually plan their inventory as much as 18 months ahead of peak seasons such as summer or Christmas; schedules are often tied to toy-filled films such as the Star Wars and Cars franchises. This is where most of their attention, as well as their marketing and advertising budgets, go. So it was easy for big retailers to miss the eruption of fidget spinners on the internet. (Subsequently they reacted as well as they could, says Mr Austin, ordering spinners in by air freight.)Developing and manufacturing a toy can take even longer than inventory planning—up to three years. But now there is pressure to spot new fads and bring products to market far more quickly. After the fidget spinner, both manufacturers and retailers know they must respond faster to signals from social media. A Californian company, MGA, which was founded in 1979, spotted that children were watching YouTube videos of other youngsters opening presents; to take advantage of this “unboxing” trend, it managed to produce the L.O.L Surprise! doll, which contains several layers of gifts, in just nine months. It has been another best-seller.The successor to the spinner may be the roller, an oblong-shaped object weighted at either end. Mr Moulsher started importing Japan’s Mokuru brand of rollers into Britain in July. He has sold about 40,000. Learning from the fidget fad, he is hoping that the return of schools this month and a smart social-media strategy will see sales rocket. Teachers, be warned.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21728603-sales-might-have-peaked-they-have-changed-toys-lessons-fidget-spinners?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-06T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'e0aca8dce49f3158ef2ec89a1ab317b7d7c75046'|'Fed''s Fischer resigns, leaving Trump earlier chance to shape central bank'|'September 6, 2017 / 2:55 PM / 36 minutes ago Fed''s Fischer resigns, leaving Trump earlier chance to shape central bank Reuters Staff 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, a veteran central banker who helped set the course for modern monetary policy, said on Wednesday he will step down from his position in mid-October, potentially accelerating President Donald Trump’s opportunity to reshape the direction of the central bank. In a letter to Trump, Fischer, 73, said he was resigning for personal reasons effective on or around Oct. 13, eight months before his term as vice chair expires in June. In the letter, Fischer said jobs growth had returned to the United States and that “steps to make the financial system stronger and more resilient” had been taken - actions that may now be weakened by the Trump administration. His departure leaves the seven-person board of governors with as few as three sitting members, depending on whether and when the Senate confirms Trump nominee Randal Quarles to the role of vice chair for supervision, a job distinct from Fischer’s vice chairmanship. The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination on Thursday. The White House said it had no immediate comment on Fischer’s departure or on the timing for filling his spot or other positions at the Fed. Though the Fed often operates with fewer than its full complement of seven governors, it has never dipped as low as three. Fischer’s earlier-than-expected departure intensifies the urgency for Trump to decide how deeply he wants to overhaul U.S. monetary policy. Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s term expires in February. While Trump has spoken approvingly of her performance he has also kept the door open to naming his top economic adviser Gary Cohn, or someone else, to the job. The sense of confusion over the Fed’s future leadership heightened with the controversy surrounding Trump’s response to a white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville last month, as pressure mounted on Cohn, who is Jewish, to respond. Yellen and Fischer are also Jewish, and Fischer served as governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013 before joining the Fed. In the closing days of his presidential campaign, Trump ran out an advertisement featuring Yellen and other prominent Jewish financial figures that was criticized for its anti-Semitic overtones. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer addresses The Economic Club of New York in New York, U.S. on March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo “This will certainly leave us all scrambling to understand the new calculus of the Board,” said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust in Chicago. In the shorter term, Fischer’s departure in October may lower the likelihood of another Fed interest rate increase this year. As some of his colleagues began wondering about a permanent downshift in global inflation and interest rates, Fischer maintained an underlying faith in the macroeconomic models - which he helped refine - that showed falling unemployment ultimately raising inflation and requiring higher interest rates in response. “We generally saw him as a centrist on the Committee,” said JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli. “At the margin his absence may lower slightly the odds of a December hike.” The drop in board membership to three should not impact the Fed’s workflow despite what Tannenbaum called the “lack of bench strength.” A SMALLER BOARD The Fed’s supervisory functions can be conducted with as few as two of the seven members, according to the board’s rules. The Fed’s rate-setting policy committee can also continue to meet, though with the five regional bank presidents on the committee in a majority. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies after Fischer’s announcement. Over his career Fischer, a native of Zambia, helped to shape modern economic theory as an academic, trained many of today’s top central bankers and put his ideas into practice in a series of jobs. He was chief economist at the World Bank, and first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund during the Asian financial crisis. He was also a vice chairman at Citigroup from 2002 to 2005 before taking over as governor of the Bank of Israel. Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in New York and Ann Saphir in San Francisco; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-fischer/feds-fischer-announces-resignation-to-leave-mid-october-idUKKCN1BH21R'|'2017-09-06T23:42:00.000+03:00'
'8eabc4ca045c92e89274e9316617388279c42ff2'|'China''s HNA launches $1 billion offer for Singapore''s CWT'|'FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate HNA Holding Group Co ( 0521.HK ) on Thursday launched a bid to buy Singaporean logistics firm CWT Ltd ( CWTD.SI ) for $1 billion, after getting a green light from its shareholders.HNA unit HNA Belt and Road Investments (Singapore) Pte Ltd offered S$2.33 per CWT share, valuing the deal at S$1.399 billion ($1.04 billion).The offer represents a 2.19 percent premium over CWT’s last traded price of S$2.28 on Wednesday.CWT, incorporated in 1970 as a private arm of the Port of Singapore Authority, has interests that include logistics services, commodity marketing, financial services and engineering services.HMA, with businesses spanning aviation to financial services, first announced its intent to buy CWT in April, but was waiting for the go-ahead from its shareholders.That approval came in a general meeting on Thursday, HNA said.HNA had said the acquisition would help it become a leading logistics player and diversify its property investment portfolio.HNA, one of China’s most acquisitive conglomerates, has been snapping up assets overseas, with the latest being the purchase of a 16.2 percent stake in Swiss airport retailer Dufry AG ( DUFN.S ).Reporting By Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cwt-ltd-m-a-hna/chinas-hna-launches-1-billion-offer-for-singapores-cwt-idUSKCN1BI20T'|'2017-09-07T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'210d6737e188e2501767f4aa9c82534f9afef2bd'|'Daimler to launch Via ride-hailing in Europe'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:23 AM / 9 minutes ago Daimler to launch Via ride-hailing in Europe Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sign shows to Daimler AG headquarter near Mercedes museum in Stuttgart, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler is investing 50 million euros (£46 million) in a new joint venture with U.S.-based ride-hailing start-up Via to offer on-demand shared shuttle services in European cities starting with London this year. Via already offers 1 million rides a month in Chicago, New York and Washington, complementing local transport by allowing customers to hail a van to a virtual bus stop using their smartphone. The European joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Vans and Via will operate as a new entity with headquarters in Amsterdam, Daimler said, adding that Volker Morhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, will join Via’s board of directors. Daimler and Via’s joint venture will seek to partner with public transit operators across Europe and to develop vans with electric and autonomous vehicle technology. Reporting by Edward Taylor; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-daimler-via-europe/daimler-to-launch-via-ride-hailing-in-europe-idUKKCN1BF19L'|'2017-09-04T14:22:00.000+03:00'
'6f3ae654df99ce49af40350b30594c1bc4fb6229'|'Johnson Service CEO to retire, group sees FY results beat'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:26 AM / 18 minutes ago Johnson Service CEO to retire, group sees FY results beat Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Johnson Service Group ( JSG.L ) Chief Executive Chris Sander is set to retire in the first half of next year, the textile rental company said, and forecast that results for the current year would be slightly ahead of current market expectations. The group said on Monday adjusted pretax profit from continuing operations rose 23.5 percent to 16.8 million pounds in the six months ended June 30, helped by benefits of recent acquisitions and cost control measures. “We are well placed to exploit the opportunities that exist within our market sectors and the exceptional performance across all of our brands gives us confidence that this will continue in the second half,” Sander said in a statement. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-johnson-service-results/johnson-service-ceo-to-retire-group-sees-fy-results-beat-idUKKCN1BF0L8'|'2017-09-04T09:26:00.000+03:00'
'357eedc7561beade2011878cc287ab865aeca87f'|'India''s Eicher set to make $1.8 billion-$2 billion binding bid for Ducati - paper'|'September 7, 2017 / 9:54 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago India''s Eicher ready to bid up to $2 billion for Ducati - paper Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The logo of Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati is seen in Dietlikon, Switzerland October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann BANGALORE/BERLIN (Reuters) - India’s Eicher Motors ( EICH.NS ) is set to offer $1.8 billion-$2 billion (£1.38 billion - £1.53 billion) for Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Thursday, although German owner Volkswagen has put the sale process on hold, sources have said. Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) put Ducati up for sale in April to help fund a strategic overhaul in the wake of the emissions scandal, but it has faced resistance from German trade unions and internal rifts over the group’s strategy. Earlier this week, Volkswagen instructed five potential buyers to hold off making binding bids, sources familiar with the auction told Reuters. Mumbai-based Eicher, which makes Royal Enfield motorbikes, is believed to be the only Asian firm left in the auction and the Economic Times quoted unnamed sources saying it is currently finalising terms ahead of the original bid deadline of end-September. Bologna-based Ducati is controlled by VW’s Audi division ( NSUG.DE ), which along with VW declined to comment. Eicher, whose shares reached a record high, was not available for comment. UNION OPPOSITION FILE PHOTO: The logo of Ducati is seen on a Monster Testastretta model during a Motor Day Exibition in Rome, Italy, March 5 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo Sources close to labour representatives at Audi and VW, repeated on Thursday that trade unions remain opposed to the sale of Ducati, which has also raised interest from U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson ( HOG.N ), sources have said. German labour unions are keen to avoid disruptions in the workforce ahead of next year’s works council elections at VW, two sources said. Separately, despite the growing costs for the diesel emissions scandal and shift to electric cars, trade unions believe there is no financial need for VW and Audi to sell Ducati given the group’s strong financial results. FILE PHOTO: Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone of Italy rides during the first free practice session of the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 23, 2015. REUTERS/Olivia Harris/File Photo Under Audi’s watch, revenue at Ducati rose to 593 million euros (£542.67 million) in 2016 from 450 million euros in 2013, with deliveries up 25 percent to 55,451 motorbikes, according to Audi data. VW’s head of strategy, Thomas Sedran, told Reuters last month that the German group was in no hurry to find a new owner for Ducati. Meanwhile, Eicher shares closed up 2.4 percent having earlier risen as much as 3.9 pct on the bid report. The Eicher Group designs, develops and manufactures trucks buses and motorcycles and their components. “Ducati being a well-renowned brand will help Eicher in terms of design and technology, which in turn will help expand the Royal Enfield product portfolio in the years to come,” said Basudeb Banerjee, analyst at Mumbai’s Antique Stockbroking. Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil and Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru and Andreas Cremer in Berlin; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ducati-m-a-eicher-motors/indias-eicher-set-to-make-1-8-billion-2-billion-binding-bid-for-ducati-paper-idUKKCN1BI182'|'2017-09-07T12:54:00.000+03:00'
'c344f31c40a4c59ba537d7a52cdf7b1418577fb6'|'UPDATE 1-Miner Teck raises 3rd-qtr coal sales volume forecast'|'(Reuters) - Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd ( TECKb.TO ) on Wednesday raised its forecast for sales volumes of its steelmaking coal in the third quarter, and also said it expects to realize an average price of around $158 to $163 a ton.Vancouver-based Teck said it now expects to sell between 7.2 million and 7.5 million tonnes of steelmaking coal in the third quarter due to strong demand, up from a previous forecast of at least 7 million tonnes.The third-quarter price index for premium quality steelmaking coal sold under contract is $170 a ton, Teck said. The company, the world’s second-biggest shipper of steelmaking or coking coal, typically receives around 94 percent of the benchmark price.Since April 1, the industry has shifted to an index pricing mechanism for premium coal from a negotiated quarterly benchmark price.Teck’s third-quarter sales volume and price forecast were both higher than expected, RBC analyst Stephen Walker said in a note to clients.Teck’s shares ended up 0.5 percent at C$29.62 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru and Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Savio D''Souza and James Dalgleish '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-teck-resources-pricing/teck-expects-lower-steelmaking-coal-prices-in-third-quarter-idUSKCN1BH1WQ'|'2017-09-07T00:48:00.000+03:00'
'65eaea2e0b88baf380d41c6859dd089c49cdac74'|'Lachlan Murdoch partner in court to delay vote on CBS TV station buyout'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:05 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Court challenge delays vote on CBS'' Australian TV station buyout Tom Westbrook 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A news crew''s microphone from Network 10 in Sydney, Australia, June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) buyout of struggling Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ) will be delayed at least a week, after a court on Thursday said it would pause the deal to hear a challenge by a rival bidder. The decision opens a new front in a battle between CBS and a consortium led by Lachlan Murdoch, co-chair of News Corp ( NWSA.O ), over Australia’s third-ranked free-to-air TV station. Murdoch and his business partner Bruce Gordon, who between them had controlled a fifth of the company when it entered administration, were the sole suitors until CBS’s surprise agreement to buy Ten on Aug. 28 for an undisclosed sum. The youth-focused broadcaster with a national reach and strong brand became a tempting target as its market capitalization plunged to just A$58 million ($46.3 million) in June. Ten entered administration that month after Gordon and Murdoch dropped a debt guarantee. Its biggest creditor, however, was CBS, which it owed A$844 million for licensing shows such as NCIS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Only three years previously it had rejected a $588 million takeover bid from Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ). Gordon lodged a court challenge to the CBS buyout late on Wednesday, alleging Ten’s administrators had mishandled the network’s sale and should not allow CBS to vote at an upcoming creditors meeting. His lawyer, Andrew Bell, told the New South Wales Supreme Court on Thursday there were “defects” and “information deficiencies” in administrator KordaMentha’s communications with creditors. FILE PHOTO - The CBS "eye" and logo are seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Richard McHugh, representing KordaMentha and the network, said Gordon was merely a “disappointed under-bidder” and that his client expected the challenge to fail. Nevertheless, Justice Ashley Black said a planned meeting of Ten’s creditors, set for Sept. 12, must be postponed a week to accommodate the case, lest it approved the buyout before the challenge was properly heard. “The egg would be scrambled” and the deal likely beyond the court’s power to unravel were the meeting to go ahead, “without the matter determined on its merits”, Black said. He set the case for hearing on Sept. 12, provided the parties agreed to the date. Gordon and Murdoch’s takeover bid was approved by Australia’s competition regulator in August, but remained stymied by media laws that prevent a single party from owning print, radio and television assets in the same market. No such restrictions apply to the CBS bid. Gordon, a billionaire, owns a regional television station and Murdoch’s News Corp publishes about two-thirds of the nation’s newspapers. ($1 = 1.2534 Australian dollars)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/lachlan-murdoch-partner-in-court-to-delay-vote-on-cbs-tv-station-buyout-idUSKCN1BI08G'|'2017-09-07T06:00:00.000+03:00'
'82f9a4e85b8860aff5e231f26fa5457e6bdaf488'|'Heads roll at Australia''s CBA amid money-laundering scandal'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:48 AM / 33 minutes ago Heads roll at Australia''s CBA amid money-laundering scandal Paulina Duran , Byron Kaye 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Commonwealth Bank of Australia logo adorns the wall of a branch in Sydney, Australia, May 8, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ), the country’s biggest lender, announced a major board shake-up on Monday as it scrambles to shore up investor support following allegations it oversaw thousands of breaches of anti-money laundering rules. But the ouster of a third of the bank’s non-executive board, including the first two directors to leave since the allegations were made public on Aug. 3, failed to impress shareholders as CBA stock touched 10-month intraday lows on the news. The board overhaul came as CBA faced the first day of court hearings into the allegations, and while it did not deny that illicit transfers had taken place, it said it would contest its level of responsibility. CBA has been under mounting pressure to respond more aggressively to the crisis, which has damaged its already tarnished reputation and exposed it to billions of dollars in potential fines. Directors and audit committee members Launa Inman and Harrison Young would step down on Nov. 16, while a third director, Andrew Mohl, would leave in a year, CBA said in a statement, without giving a reason for the departures. CBA announced on Aug. 14 that Chief Executive Officer Ian Narev would leave by mid-2018, although it said his departure was not related to the money-laundering scandal. Narev has blamed a coding error for most of the alleged breaches. Robert Whitfield, a former head of institutional banking at CBA rival Westpac Banking Corp ( WBC.AX ), would be appointed to the board, CBA said on Monday, without naming any other new appointees. Whitfield could be in the running to replace Narev, said Omkar Joshi of Regal Funds Management, a CBA shareholder. “It is unlikely now that you can really have an internal candidate for that role - rightly or wrongly internal candidates have been tainted with that same brush,” he said. A man banks at a Commonwealth Bank automatic teller machine in Sydney, Australia, August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed CBA shares touched 10-month intraday lows before closing down 1.42 percent at A$74.41, while the broader market was down 0.39 percent. The shares have dropped 12 percent since the scandal erupted last month wiping roughly A$17 billion (£10.4 billion) off its market value. Money laundering allegations against CBA - tmsnrt.rs/2fsCZHt FIRST HEARING Financial crime fighting agency AUSTRAC alleges CBA oversaw tens of thousands of illicit transfers amounting to A$624.7 million from 2012 to 2015, including some by known criminal gangs. CBA’s lawyers told the Federal Court on Monday the bank would not “in large part” contest the main facts of the legal action, but said they planned to file a defence. AUSTRAC’s lawyers told the court they expected the bank would try to prove it took reasonable precautions against money laundering and terror financing. Judge David Yates gave CBA until Dec. 15 to file a defence. The next hearing was set for April 2, 2018. The AUSTRAC case has triggered a landslide of bad news for CBA, with two other Australian regulators subsequently launching investigations and a law firm threatening to file a class action on behalf of shareholders. Last year, CBA admitted using unscrupulous practices that cheated people out of life insurance payments, and in 2014 Narev publicly apologised after CBA advisors were found to have given customers poor financial advice. Reporting by Paulina Duran and Byron Kaye in Sydney, Sandhya Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-cba-moneylaundering/heads-roll-at-australias-cba-amid-money-laundering-scandal-idUKKCN1BF0MR'|'2017-09-04T09:47:00.000+03:00'
'0cc437f789d5a413c6f11935f9edcf402f34503a'|'Lachlan Murdoch partner in court to delay vote on CBS TV station buyout'|'FILE PHOTO: A news crew''s microphone from Network 10 in Sydney, Australia, June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) buyout of struggling Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ) will be delayed at least a week, after a court on Thursday said it would pause the deal to hear a challenge by a rival bidder.The decision opens a new front in a battle between CBS and a consortium led by Lachlan Murdoch, co-chair of News Corp ( NWSA.O ), over Australia’s third-ranked free-to-air TV station.Murdoch and his business partner Bruce Gordon, who between them had controlled a fifth of the company when it entered administration, were the sole suitors until CBS’s surprise agreement to buy Ten on Aug. 28 for an undisclosed sum.The youth-focused broadcaster with a national reach and strong brand became a tempting target as its market capitalization plunged to just A$58 million ($46.3 million) in June.Ten entered administration that month after Gordon and Murdoch dropped a debt guarantee. Its biggest creditor, however, was CBS, which it owed A$844 million for licensing shows such as NCIS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.Only three years previously it had rejected a $588 million takeover bid from Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ).Gordon lodged a court challenge to the CBS buyout late on Wednesday, alleging Ten’s administrators had mishandled the network’s sale and should not allow CBS to vote at an upcoming creditors meeting.His lawyer, Andrew Bell, told the New South Wales Supreme Court on Thursday there were “defects” and “information deficiencies” in administrator KordaMentha’s communications with creditors.FILE PHOTO - The CBS "eye" and logo are seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Richard McHugh, representing KordaMentha and the network, said Gordon was merely a “disappointed under-bidder” and that his client expected the challenge to fail.Nevertheless, Justice Ashley Black said a planned meeting of Ten’s creditors, set for Sept. 12, must be postponed a week to accommodate the case, lest it approved the buyout before the challenge was properly heard.“The egg would be scrambled” and the deal likely beyond the court’s power to unravel were the meeting to go ahead, “without the matter determined on its merits”, Black said.He set the case for hearing on Sept. 12, provided the parties agreed to the date.Gordon and Murdoch’s takeover bid was approved by Australia’s competition regulator in August, but remained stymied by media laws that prevent a single party from owning print, radio and television assets in the same market.No such restrictions apply to the CBS bid.Gordon, a billionaire, owns a regional television station and Murdoch’s News Corp publishes about two-thirds of the nation’s newspapers.($1 = 1.2534 Australian dollars)Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates and Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/lachlan-murdoch-partner-in-court-to-delay-vote-on-cbs-tv-station-buyout-idINKCN1BI08G'|'2017-09-07T01:05:00.000+03:00'
'2e567781c237f54e8d8801070d42c4d43cc4d1c2'|'Foreigners buy up Japanese bonds as geopolitical tensions take hold'|'Illustrative picture shows Japanese 10,000 yen bank notes spread out at an office of World Currency Shop in Tokyo in this August 9, 2010 illustrative picture. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Foreign investors were big buyers of Japanese bonds last week, with geopolitical tensions and concerns over U.S. fiscal policy boosting demand for such safe (if low-yielding) assets.Weekly data from Japan’s finance ministry issued on Thursday showed foreign investors bought a net 1.3592 trillion yen ($12.46 billion) of medium- to long-dated Japanese bonds in the week through Sept. 2. This net purchase was the third largest in records stretching back to 2005.In what seems to be a paradox for some, Japan has served as a safe-haven of sorts with the yen often gaining in times of global risk aversion.Japan is the world’s biggest creditor nation and there is an assumption that investors there will repatriate offshore funds in a crisis, boosting demand for yen.Demand for safer assets such as government debt were in high demand last week after North Korea’s ballistic missile launch alarmed global markets.The yield on the Japanese government two-year bond (JGB) fell to a three-month low of minus 0.170 percent on Aug. 31 as bond prices rose. It last stood at minus 0.155 percent. JGB yields have been kept near historical lows under the Bank of Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policy.The benchmark 10-year JGB yield declined to a 10-month trough of minus 0.010 percent on Monday and last stood at 0.015 percent.“We saw debt yields decline broadly last week on heightened geopolitical risks and concerns over the U.S. fiscal situation. And buying of Japanese bonds by foreigners stood out, as domestic investors are not keen on buying bonds that yield below zero,” said Noriatsu Tanji, senior bond strategist at Mizuho Securities.Investors have been worried whether the U.S. Congress would fail to raise the country’s debt ceiling and face a technical default, leaving the Treasury unable to issue debt.Foreign investors were seen to have bought short-term Japanese bills as an alternative to U.S. Treasury bills because of their fears of a potential default.In turn, demand that could not be fully met at the short end spilled over to longer-dated maturities.“The short end of the yield curve is firmly anchored, so downward pressure on the curve spreads easily through the two-year, five-year and 10-year maturities,” said a trader at domestic bank. Still, observers said the latest bout of foreign investor buying needed to be seen in context.“Monthly data shows that unlike last year, foreign investors’ buying of Japanese bonds has been sluggish so far this year. Last week’s spike in buying came after a period of relatively thin flows,” said Tanji at Mizuho Securities.According to finance ministry data, foreigners bought a net 4.747 trillion yen ($43.51 billion) of mid- to long-term Japanese bonds in the first six months of 2016, but had only purchased a net 1.951 trillion yen during the same period in 2017.Foreign investors sold a net 158.3 billion yen of Japanese equities in the week through Sept. 2.($1 = 109.1100 yen)Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Additional reporting by Hiroyasu Hoshi in Tokyo; Editing by Eric Meijer '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-foreign/foreigners-buy-up-japanese-bonds-as-geopolitical-tensions-take-hold-idINKCN1BI0IO'|'2017-09-07T08:45:00.000+03:00'
'8b449e3d49cf8d309f452b5765fff36746b605a1'|'CEE MARKETS-Dinar retreats as Serbian central bank surprises with rate cut'|'* CEE banks not worried by inflation apart from Czechs * ECB CPI forecast cut would help CEE currencies - trader (Recasts with Serbian interest rate cut) By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The dinar eased on Thursday after Serbia''s central bank (CBS) surprised by cutting its main interest rate to help economic growth. It reduced Central Europe''s highest main interest rate to 3.75 percent, after keeping it steady at 4 percent for more than a year. All 10 analysts and traders polled by Reuters had expected an unchanged rate, and the bank had repeatedly said that uncertainties in global markets justified caution in policies. But on Thursday it said it wanted to give "additional support to lending activity and economic growth". Earlier this week, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and the International Monetary Fund said Serbia''s growth could fall behind earlier forecasts. The dinar eased 0.1 percent against the euro to 119.6 by 1146 GMT, drifting away from four-year highs set late last month at 118.78. It was helped in recent months by seasonal foreign currency inflows, including financing for infrastructure projects. But analysts in a Reuters poll this week projected a 3 percent weakening for the next 12 months, while other regional currencies in the region are seen firming. "Strong RSD (dinar) has combined with low oil prices in providing a small, if surprise, opportunity for the CBS to cut rates," said Peter Attard Montalto, an analyst at Nomura. "The economy has relatively tight fiscal policy this year whilst it does not have the (European Union) structural fund boon its neighbors do, and so there is some scope for a small amount of easing," he added. The cut swings the balance towards central bank doves in the region. The Czech central bank became the first in the region and the European Union last month to raise interest rates in more than five years, but its 2 percent inflation target is the lowest in Central Europe. Hungary''s central bank has flagged further monetary easing, and two of its economists said on Thursday that annual inflation could retreat late this year after a rise in August and September. Comments from Poland''s central bank after its meeting on Wednesday did not signal short-term worries over inflation either. Regional currencies were directionless, although the forint recouped some of its recent losses, firming 0.3 percent against the euro. If the European Central Bank cuts inflation forecasts, that could lend some support to Central European currencies, which mostly have higher yields than euro zone countries, one Budapest-based fixed-income trader said. "In that case, it will be a bit more difficult for the (Hungarian) central bank to weaken the forint," the trader said. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1346 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.105 26.108 +0.01 3.46% 0 0 % Hungary 305.40 306.48 +0.36 1.12% forint 00 50 % Polish zloty 4.2490 4.2455 -0.08% 3.65% Romanian leu 4.5985 4.5970 -0.03% -1.38% Croatian 7.4325 7.4307 -0.02% 1.65% kuna Serbian 119.60 119.45 -0.13% 3.14% dinar 00 00 Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1023.3 1024.9 -0.16% +11.0 5 5 4% Budapest 37896. 37878. +0.05 +18.4 63 86 % 2% Warsaw 2499.0 2512.4 -0.53% +28.3 9 0 0% Bucharest 7992.6 8015.7 -0.29% +12.8 5 3 1% Ljubljana 812.49 812.44 +0.01 +13.2 % 2% Zagreb 1884.3 1888.9 -0.24% -5.54% 6 0 Belgrade 729.20 727.70 +0.21 +1.65 % % Sofia 706.24 705.93 +0.04 +20.4 % 3% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.022 0.005 +070b -2bps ps 5-year 0.068 0.09 +041b +8bps ps 10-year 0.956 0.064 +060b +5bps ps Poland 2-year 1.67 0.022 +239b +0bps ps 5-year 2.535 0.009 +288b +0bps ps 10-year 3.196 0.004 +284b -1bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.7 0.81 0.9 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.15 0.2 0.24 0.15 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.76 1.78 1.81 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-dinar-retreats-as-serbian-central-bank-surprises-with-rate-cut-idINL8N1LO3EW'|'2017-09-07T10:57:00.000+03:00'
'707df96fa859c6471f98d1cf71bc1aa19d8b3234'|'Theresa May under growing pressure to lift public sector pay cap - Society'|'Theresa May under growing pressure to lift public sector pay cap Labour party and union leaders demand change after day of pointed criticisms, strike calls and Westminster protests The TUC’s Frances O’Grady has issued a demand for public sector workers to be given an above inflation pay rise. Photograph: Karen Robinson for the Observer Theresa May under growing pressure to lift public sector pay cap Labour party and union leaders demand change after day of pointed criticisms, strike calls and Westminster protests View more sharing options Thursday 7 September 2017 00.01 BST Last modified on Thursday 7 September 2017 01.12 BST Theresa May is facing mounting pressure from unions and Labour to lift the public sector pay cap after a day of pointed criticisms, strike calls and demonstrations around Parliament. The TUC’s leader has issued a demand for public sector workers to be given a pay rise above the rate of inflation, as thousands of nurses protested in Westminster against a policy that has led to a 14% real-terms cut in wages over the past seven years. Meanwhile, civil servants who are members of the PCS union are to be balloted for strikes over their pay falling by between £2,000 and £3,500 in real terms between 2010 and 2016, it was announced. Crushed Maybot makes a handy sweetness and light dispenser - John Crace Read more The prime minister confirmed in the Commons on Wednesday that a decision on whether to lift the 1% cap would be taken within weeks. In an interview with the Guardian, Frances O’Grady, the TUC’s general secretary, said the government must come up with a generous offer. “If the definition of generosity is giving people a one-off pay increase that keeps their wages flat in real terms, then I think that would be a mistake,” she said. The TUC estimates the cap has meant that some workers have lost £4,000 in real terms from their salary since 2010. O’Grady also suggested raising public sector pay would help boost private sector earnings, currently negative in real terms due to a recent inflation spike. Inflation stood at 2.6% in July and is expected to rise to 3% in the coming months since the slump in sterling following the EU referendum last year, which has pushed up the cost of imported goods. Average weekly earnings for employees in Great Britain rose by 2.1% in the three months to June compared with a year earlier. Speaking before the start of the TUC congress in Brighton on Sunday, O’Grady said: “People would feel, excuse me, we’ve been missing out now with our so called ‘sacrifice’, for seven years. That’s a lot of money on a modest wage that people have missed.” The Royal College of Nursing president, Cecilia Anim, told a rally in Parliament Square that she had a message “to the people next door”. She said: “For far too long our hard work, our skill, our dedication has been taken for granted by this government … for too long the lives of our friends and colleagues have been blighted. And why? Because our pay has been cut.” Nurses in the crowd, from those just starting out to others with more experience, told how they were struggling to cope at work because of staff shortages, and at home because of the pay restraint. Billy Nichols, a nurse of 25 years who works at Wrexham Maelor hospital, said:“My disposable income has dropped over the last seven years so it’s a struggle to pay bills, pay the mortgage. There’s been a steady decline in morale and it’s reaching rock bottom.” Inside parliament, Jeremy Corbyn asked the prime minister a series of questions about in-work poverty and demanded to know if the government would lift the pay cap. May confirmed that a decision on whether to ease the cap would be taken later this year, when the annual “framework” is set out for the next financial year. She then criticised the Labour leader, saying: “What he does in this house, and outside this house, is consistently stand up and ask for more money to be spent on this that and the other.” Afterwards, her spokesman said she had not been describing public sector pay as spending money on “this, that and the other”, but was referring to other Labour spending commitments. Whitehall departments are at odds over plans to raise the public sector pay cap after No 10 offered a clear hint this week that it could be lifted. May’s spokeswoman said on Monday the prime minister recognised the “sacrifice” made by public sector workers, and that a process was in place to look at pay. A poll of 3,000 workers by the unions’ umbrella body found that one out of eight workers is skipping meals to make ends meet, while almost half are struggling as wages stagnate. One in eight workers struggle to afford food, finds TUC survey Read more After years of decline in real earnings, the battle to lift the cap is reaching a head as services come under pressure from growing numbers of staff choosing to leave their jobs . John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, accused May this week of “almost provoking” public sector workers into industrial action after years of pay restraint. He said the Tories were likely to pick certain groups of workers to help, rather than lifting the 1% cap for the whole public sector. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/07/public-sector-pay-cap-theresa-may-under-growing-pressure'|'2017-09-07T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'e6c2b2d26cae955222334daf17e25f409e231c69'|'India''s 2017/18 sugar output seen up 24.2 percent - industry source'|'September 7, 2017 / 7:57 AM / Updated an hour ago India''s 2017/18 sugar output seen up 24.2 percent - industry source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker checks the flow of sugar inside the Gandavi sugar factory, 165 km (102 miles) south of Ahmedabad, India, March 26, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s sugar output is expected at 25.1 million tonnes in the year beginning October, up 24.2 percent from the 2016/17 season, an industry source said on Thursday. Higher output will help India, the world’s biggest consumer of the sweetener, obviate import needs in the next season. After letting mills import half a million tonnes of duty-free raw sugar this year, the government is soon expected to allow imports of another 200,000 tonnes at an import duty of 25 percent. Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-sugar/indias-2017-18-sugar-output-seen-up-24-2-percent-industry-source-idINKCN1BI0WE'|'2017-09-07T11:06:00.000+03:00'
'a58dfb9b2e8f73c3bdaed26624b279ebe5e52924'|'UPDATE 1-Chinese logistics firm Best, backed by Alibaba, launches $932 mln U.S. IPO'|'* Shares offered in range of $13-$15* Company led by former Greater China president for Google* IPO pricing set for Sept 19, debut set for following day (Writes through with details of the offering)By Elzio BarretoHONG KONG, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Best Inc, a Chinese logistics company backed by Alibaba Group, is launching a U.S. IPO that is seeking as much as $932 million to fund an expansion of its logistics and supply chain network, develop new technology and open more convenience stores.The Hangzhou-based company, led by Johnny Chou, a former Greater China president for Alphabet Inc’s Google, plans to list on the New York stock exchange and the IPO will be equivalent to 16.4 percent of the firm’s enlarged share capital.China is the world’s biggest logistics market, notching up $1.6 trillion in annual revenue in 2016, with demand for express delivery services expected to jump 17.9 percent annually in the six years to 2021, Best said, citing forecasts from consulting firm iResearch.The offering will include an issue of 53.56 million new American Depositary Shares (ADS), each representing one class A ordinary share, in an indicative range of $13 to $15 each, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.Existing shareholders, including private equity firms CDH Investments, China Renaissance Capital, state-owned Everbright Financial Holding Investment Holding and a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, are selling another 8.54 million ADSs.CEO Chou is offering 1 million shares, while his brother George Chow, the company’s chief strategy and investment officer, is selling 250,000 shares.Best follows a number of Chinese logistics companies in going public. They include S.F. Holding, YTO Express and STO Express which listed in Chinese markets, and ZTO Express, which raised $1.4 billion with a New York listing in October.Best is offering shares at a 2019 forecast price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.7–20.4 times, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters, compared with 13.7 times for ZTO.P/E ratios tend to be higher in China and SF Holding trades at 35.3 times while YTO trades at 21.7 times.The IPO is slated to be priced on Sept. 19 and its market debut is set for the following day.The company plans to use $300 million to expand its convenience stores and its logistics and supply chain services, with another $100 million set aside for technology investments. The remainder will be used for general corporate purposes and potential acquisitions.CITIC CLSA, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Oppenheimer & Co and Stifel were hired as underwriters. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/best-ipo/update-1-chinese-logistics-firm-best-backed-by-alibaba-launches-932-mln-u-s-ipo-idUSL4N1LO1N9'|'2017-09-07T08:15:00.000+03:00'
'cb9af13a1161cd6618ced1c080829597b7510fb1'|'Fenergo hires 300 as banks step up mid-office overhaul'|'September 6, 2017 / 11:08 PM / 2 hours ago Fenergo hires 300 as banks step up mid-office overhaul Steve Slater 4 Min Read LONDON (IFR) - Financial technology firm Fenergo is doubling its staff as banks sign up for its software to “onboard” clients and carry out compliance and due diligence more easily - further evidence of the technology shaking up capital markets. Dublin-based Fenergo is among several fintech firms targeting the “middle office” - where the front office ends and before the back office deals with transactions. Many bankers see that middle ground as too labour intensive and ripe for overhaul and cost cutting from automation. Major banks can each employ thousands of staff in the area. ”The area of biggest potential saving and most ignored is the middle office,” said Marc Murphy, founder and CEO of Fenergo. ”I would project that at least 50% of the manual efforts in the middle office can be replaced by automation,” he told IFR. Fenergo has 62 banks now live on its system, including Santander, HSBC, UBS, BNY Mellon and Bank of China. It said its software allows banks to onboard clients more seamlessly and quicker. That should allow banks to cut through the manual handling and reduce costs, run regulatory checks quicker and stay on top of what is needed as compliance and supervision demands change. Murphy said Fenergo’s growth has been helped by two tailwinds: the extra regulation and compliance being demanded of banks, including know your customer, anti-money laundering and a swathe of derivatives reforms; and the digital banking revolution. Fenergo said on Thursday it plans to add 100 more staff to the 200 roles it announced in April. It will take its headcount to 600. It has just hired Michele Shepard as chief revenue officer and Greg Watson as managing director of sales and strategy. Shepard was previously chief revenue officer for Vertafore, a technology provider for US insurers. Watson joined from HSBC’s investment bank, where he was head of the client management group, which included managing client onboarding and due diligence. Spencer Lake, former vice-chairman of HSBC’s investment bank and senior Merrill Lynch banker, joined Fenergo’s board this year as vice-chairman. 2020 LISTING? Fenergo is backed by Insight Venture Partners, a New York private equity and venture capital firm founded in 1995, which has raised over US$13bn (9.97 billion pounds)and invested in more than 250 software, internet and data firms. It was Fenergo’s main backer in a US$75m fundraising in 2015. Fenergo’s revenues in the year to March 2017 were €30m. This financial year the target is €50m and Murphy said it was on track to comfortably beat that number. He said the target is to reach €100m in revenues and to list on Nasdaq in 2020. Helping banks navigate increased compliance and regulations is the focus of many of the financial technology firms that are targeting capital markets activities. Murphy said a lot of bank clients complain they have already submitted data and documentation requested by banks, often when new regulations are issued or a client wants a new product. ”What we’re doing doesn’t make banks unique, but it allows them to trade and transact in a secure and compliant fashion. Regulation can be mutualised and shared as a commodity among like-minded banks. ”We’re not a utility, we’re a technology company, but we’re using the principals of a utility to allow people to share their work to be safer and more cost effective whilst ensuring they stay compliant,” he said. Reporting by Steve Slater'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fenergo-banks/fenergo-hires-300-as-banks-step-up-mid-office-overhaul-idUKKCN1BH38W'|'2017-09-07T02:09:00.000+03:00'
'812c9ee6b57c9b7224306b9e09e7e833c653c287'|'U.S. 1-month bills sold at highest rate in 9 years'|'NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $20 billion of one-month bills, which mature when the government might be out of cash if the debt ceiling is not raised by late September, at the highest interest rate in nine years.The Treasury paid investors and dealers an interest rate of 1.300 percent on the latest one-month bill supply, which was the highest rate since 1.575 percent at an one-month T-bill sale on Sept. 9, 2008, Treasury data showed. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chris Reese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-bills/u-s-1-month-bills-sold-at-highest-rate-in-9-years-idINL2N1LM1EE'|'2017-09-05T15:17:00.000+03:00'
'4dc97c2c00d20a0487c4473137b0e3b29a0f23ee'|'Germany needs to halve coal-fired capacity by 2030 - deputy Economy Minister'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:26 AM / 4 hours ago Germany needs to halve coal-fired capacity by 2030 - deputy Economy Minister Vera Eckert 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Steam rises from the cooling towers of the coal power plant of RWE, one of Europe''s biggest electricity and gas companies in Niederaussem, north-west of Cologne, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay MUNICH (Reuters) - Germany would have to shut 25 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power capacity, equivalent to about half its current total, by 2030 to meet carbon-cutting targets agreed under the Paris climate deal, Deputy Economy Minister Rainer Baake said on Tuesday. Baake told an energy conference in Munich that the measures would have to be worked out by the incoming government after this month’s general election. “This can be done in line with the law and without compensation; this we know from getting out of nuclear energy,” said Baake, who helped to drive the phasing out of nuclear energy that Germany began in 2001. A fair and detailed plan could be initiated without any surprises farther down the line, Baake said, adding that the heat and transport sectors also faced tough tasks in hitting their respective targets. Germany has so far achieved a 27.6 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 1990 levels but needs to hit 40 percent by 2020. It is aiming for 50 percent by 2030, with a gradual increase to 80-95 percent by 2050. The sector has made great strides in raising the share of renewable fossil-free power in its output mix to 35 percent, but heat provision and transport lag far behind because of their heavy dependence on natural gas and refined crude oil products. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will make climate targets more specific in her next term if re-elected, which could prove uncomfortable for the car and construction industries. Baake said that both a change in climate-related taxation that has hit electricity consumers hard and allowed the other sectors to be lax on emissions needs rethinking. “Energy taxes and fees will have to be rearranged,” he said. The current government also has plans to expand renewable power usage in heat and transport applications. This is part of a huge national “sector coupling” project to provide green power for heating and transport through sources such as hydrogen, geothermal energy or renewable-power electric heat pumps. “We have a head start in renewable power and we should make economic use of it,” Baake said. Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Maria Sheahan and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-energy-emissions/germany-needs-to-halve-coal-fired-capacity-by-2030-deputy-economy-minister-idUKKCN1BG1BP'|'2017-09-05T13:26:00.000+03:00'
'e58b4635d72472ce5b883bd7580fc91d67c71101'|'Indonesia''s Pertamina eyes Rosneft refinery deal by year end -official'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:01 AM / 2 hours ago Indonesia''s Pertamina eyes Rosneft refinery deal by year end -official Reuters Staff 1 Min Read PT Pertamina workers as seen during the process of loading and unloading fuel at a fuel terminal in Pematang Siantar, Indonesia North Sumatra province, October 6, 2016, in this picture taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Irsan Mulyadi/via REUTERS JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina [PERTM.UL] is aiming to sign a joint venture deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) for the development of a new greenfield refinery in Tuban, East Java, by the end of this year, a company official said on Tuesday. The project would be 45 percent owned by Rosneft and 55 percent owned by Pertamina, Pertamina Finance Director Arief Budiman told reporters. Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Fergus Jensen '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-pertamina-rosneft-oil/indonesias-pertamina-eyes-rosneft-refinery-deal-by-year-end-official-idINKCN1BG0OO'|'2017-09-05T05:01:00.000+03:00'
'956b14d2a9e93d5c080fde83f280773c5e2566a4'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. consumer watchdog chief Cordray tests Ohio''s election waters'|'(Adds speech, comments to reporters, background on CFPB, changes dateline and byline)By Lisa LambertCINCINNATI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Democrat Richard Cordray delivered a campaign-style stump speech at a sprawling Labor Day celebration on Monday, but the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief stopped short of saying whether he intends to run for governor of Ohio.If Cordray were to step down to run for political office it would allow President Donald Trump to appoint a successor as head of the consumer watchdog agency, which has stoked the ire of Wall Street with steep penalties for misconduct and tougher rules on lending.“We need to join together to help each other rekindle the hope, the enthusiasm, and the willingness to find and make our own opportunities,” Cordray said to hundreds of union members, a key Democratic constituency, at an AFL-CIO picnic in Cincinnati.Cordray is the first director of the CFPB, a consumer watchdog agency created under former President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.An Ohio native, he has been widely expected to jump into the race for governor and clearly appeared to be testing the political waters with his speech on Monday.Though many had speculated he would use the occasion to announce his candidacy, activists and political leaders said any formal announcement about Cordray’s plans to enter the 2018 contest would wait until the CFPB finalizes a long-awaited rule restricting the activity of payday lenders.Current Ohio Governor John Kasich, among more than a dozen Republican candidates to be defeated by Trump in last year’s presidential primary campaign, is barred by term limits from running again in the pivotal election battleground state.As CFPB director, Cordray has rained down steep penalties on banks, auto dealers, student lenders and credit card companies for alleged predatory lending practices. His reputation as being tough on banks and sticking up for consumers has many Democrats saying he is their best hope for taking the governors mansion, and chipping away at Republicans’ dominance in state government.Due to a law forbidding public officials from using their office to advance political campaigns, Cordray would have to resign to run for governor. His term does not expire until next summer, when Democrats will already have selected their gubernatorial nominee in primary elections.Members of both parties have said Trump would seize on a vacancy at the top of the CFPB to make good on campaign promises to slash regulations and weaken or perhaps even dismantle the agency.Republicans have long fought to take the agency apart, saying it oversteps its authority and that the single director, who both writes and enforces rules, has too much power.The agency itself has repeatedly declined to comment on Cordray resignation rumors.CFPB critics say Trump could use a 1998 law to slide in a current administration appointee, already confirmed by Congress, as temporary director if Cordray resigns. A legal ruling that Trump can fire Cordray is currently under appeal.“He’s done a great job and I don’t think he should leave for any reason,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of the liberal group Allied Progress. (Additional reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/cfpb-cordray/update-1-u-s-consumer-watchdog-chief-cordray-tests-ohios-election-waters-idINL2N1LL0PN'|'2017-09-04T19:51:00.000+03:00'
'253f6659735b09d3ba694d76ae45bce0eda75508'|'FTSE steady as defensives rise; financials falter'|'September 7, 2017 / 9:15 AM / Updated 30 minutes ago FTSE edges up but financials falter after ECB meeting 3 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s top share index ended the session higher on Thursday with most sectors in positive territory with the exception of financial stocks, which suffered, alongside the rest of their European peers, after the European central bank reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 0.6 percent following three days of losses. Banking stocks, which are sensitive to interest rates as well as bond yields, sustained heavy losses like HSBC ( HSBA.L ), down 4.1 percent. Barclays ( BARC.L ), Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ), Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) and Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) all down between 0.4 to 1.3 percent. RSA Insurance ( RSA.L ) went down 1.7 percent while Provident ( PFG.L ) and Prudential ( PRU.L ) took more limited hits (0.2%). Mining stocks BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) also posted a significant fall on the index as it traded ex-dividend. Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) led a rise in defensive, consumer-focused companies. Shares in the tobacco firm jumped nearly 2.8 percent after it sold part of its stake in Spanish logistics company Logista ( LOG.MC ). Outside of the blue chips, a flurry of results saw some sizeable individual moves among British mid cap stocks, with shares in Bovis Homes ( BVS.L ) rising more than 10 percent to their highest level in more than two years after the housebuilder reported its half year results, and broker Numis upgraded the stock to “buy” from “add”. “The strategic review is being done at pace and tangible benefits will start to be delivered from H2 2017 onwards and this will result in much improved ROE (return on equity),” analysts at Numis said in a note. “Bovis is returning excess capital to shareholders which we forecast will lead to it being the highest yielding stock in the sector,” Numis analysts added. Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Toby Davis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-steady-as-defensives-rise-financials-falter-idUKKCN1BI14Q'|'2017-09-07T12:15:00.000+03:00'
'093941ba98f995640305d86427da71641ddfe76d'|'Amazon plans second headquarters in N. America'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:08 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Amazon opens bidding to cities for $5 billion ''HQ2'', a second headquarters Richa Naidu , Supantha Mukherjee 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it would build a $5 billion (3.83 billion pounds) second headquarters in North America, kicking off a competition between cities and states to offer tax cuts and incentives that could bring 50,000 new jobs. The largest e-commerce company said it intended to create “HQ2”, a headquarters that would be a “full equal” to its Seattle office, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement. The company wants a city of more than a million people with an international airport, good education and mass transit. It also wants subsidies. Incentives from land to fee cuts to relocation packages will be a major part of the decision, Amazon said, and local governments have shown they will go to great lengths to secure jobs and investment. In return, it promised up to 50,000 jobs averaging more than $100,000 in annual compensation over the next 10 to 15 years. Wisconsin’s legislature recently voted to give Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn a $3-billion incentive package to build a $10-billion liquid crystal display factory in the state, for example. Cities and states immediately began expressing interest. Dallas has already contacted Amazon, Mayor Michael Rawlings said, and Kentucky plans to submit a formal bid. Houston is interested and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made a case for his city in discussions with Bezos, a Chicago spokesman said. Toronto’s mayor John Tory called the Canadian city a “prime candidate.” Amazon’s investment plan gives it new leverage with politicians at a time when it has been criticized for its effect on bricks-and-mortar retailers. President Donald Trump has criticized the company as doing “great damage”, costing jobs in cities and states. The Wisconsin Foxconn factory will be in the home district of Paul Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Amazon said it was seeking proposals by Oct. 19 and would select the location next year. Related Coverage Toronto vies for site of second Amazon headquarters More than 50 cities have the 1-million population Amazon targets. Likely contenders could include U.S. Midwest states, where Amazon has many of its warehouses; Texas, which is the base of the Whole Foods Market grocery chain it acquired this year; and other business-friendly states. Amazon has been awarded more than $1 billion in state and local subsidies since 2000, according to estimates by watchdog Good Jobs First, which collects information on state subsidies from government filings, academics and news reports. Texas leads the way with the value of subsidies to Amazon, followed by Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, it said. “Amazon’s business model changed from avoiding state sales tax collections to seeking economic development incentives,” said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First. LeRoy, who has written critically of Amazon, said the reality of moving a headquarters has more to do with the executive talent pool, the amenities, schools, housing stock and quality of life, rather than municipal finance incentives. Amazon’s shares were up 1.2 percent at $979.61 on Thursday. SPRAWLING SEATTLE FOOTPRINT Amazon pointed to its expansion in Seattle as a sign of what it could do. The company, which began as a bookseller, has grown into the internet’s biggest retailer, built an award-winning movie studio, and has expanded around the world. Its workforce has exploded to more than 380,000 from under 25,000 since it moved to downtown Seattle in 2010, as it rapidly expanded to become a global retailer - selling everything from groceries to appliances. The company’s total revenue has grown to $136 billion at the end of last year, from $34 billion in 2010. Amazon recently snatched up Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. The “HQ2” project would initially need more than 500,000 square feet and up to 8 million square feet beyond 2027, Amazon said. “We want to find a city that is excited to work with us and where our customers, employees, and the community can all benefit,” Amazon said. Its Seattle campus spreads across 8.1 million square feet in 33 buildings and employs more than 40,000 people. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said his office immediately began conversations with Amazon about the company’s needs and its long-term plans for operations in the city. “But, we also must know headwinds are coming. Unprecedented growth will not happen forever and my upcoming budget will reflect that.” Incentives for Amazon’s new headquarters could make sense as a long-term investment that could change the image of a metropolitan area, said Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist for the Progressive Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. “The question is, how much of a tax break would you have given to have Apple set up shop in your state? It’s not so much the jobs as becoming a focal point for growth. No one can put a price tag on that.” One gripe among corporate watchdogs is the amount of actual state and local income taxes companies pay. For instance, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), between 2008 and 2015, there were 240 profitable companies among the Fortune 500 that fully disclosed their state and local income tax payments. They paid state income taxes equal to less than 2.9 percent of their U.S. profits. “Since the average statutory state corporate tax rate is about 6.25 percent (weighted by gross state product), that means that over this period, more than half of their profits escaped state taxes entirely,” ITEP reported in April. Writing by Peter Henderson, Additional reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago, Supantha Mukherjee and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru, Daniel Bases in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-amazon-com-headquarters/amazon-plans-second-headquarters-in-n-america-idUKKCN1BI1DA'|'2017-09-07T14:07:00.000+03:00'
'75e3c78954d40060bb409b9b20279f491f24e4df'|'Europe must solve financial problems without IMF - Greek PM'|'September 7, 2017 / 4:02 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Europe must solve financial problems without IMF - Greek PM   FILE PHOTO - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a parliamentary session on the collapse of Cyprus peace talks in Athens, Greece July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas ATHENS (Reuters) - Europe needs to set up institutions to resolve future crises of its member states without having to turn to “third parties,” such as the International Monetary Fund, for financial support, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday. The IMF, alongside the European Union, has participated in two of Greece’s three foreign bailouts since 2010 in exchange for unpopular austerity measures. “Europe must create the appropriate institutions... to be able to deal with its problems using its own institutions, its own financing tools,” Tsipras told reporters during a joint press conference in Athens with French President Emmanuel Macron. “We are at the right moment... to move in this direction whereby Europe will be able to resolve its own problems without necessarily seeking support from third parties,”   Lefteris Papadimas; Writing Karolina Tagaris'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-france-tsipras-imf/europe-must-solve-financial-problems-without-imf-greek-pm-idUKKCN1BI28W'|'2017-09-07T19:01:00.000+03:00'
'8e3dd0f500b3ce3bcbf03e95fa461e1f52ae07f5'|'LME to cut short-dated carry trade fees'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:19 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago LME to cut short-dated carry trade fees Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Men walk past the London Metal Exchange (LME) in London, July 22, 2011. REUTERS/Paul Hackett/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange said on Thursday it will cut substantially short- and medium-dated carry fees from Oct. 1 to support its physical user base and encourage the use of its daily date structure. “The LME will reduce carry fees and intends to introduce a new financial OTC fee with effect from 1 Jan. 2018 to ensure fairness in LME fee structures,” the exchange said in a release. Short-dated carry trades by ring members and on LMEselect will be reduced to $0.15 and $0.25 respectively. Client contracts for short-dated carries will be reduced to $0.25. From Nov. 1, a new fee category of medium-dated carry trades will be introduced. Trades in this category executed by ring members and LMEselect will be reduced to $0.25 and $0.45 respectively. Reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lme-reform-fees/lme-to-cut-short-dated-carry-trade-fees-idUKKCN1BI24N'|'2017-09-07T18:55:00.000+03:00'
'fa201a8f1483da6443c157eca86783e59e2bc20a'|'Italy''s Pirelli valued at up to 8.7 bln euros by IPO joint coordinator'|'September 4, 2017 / 1:47 PM / 29 minutes ago Italy''s Pirelli valued at up to 8.7 bln euros by IPO joint coordinator Reuters Staff 1 Min Read MILAN, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Italian tyre maker Pirelli, which is planning to float a stake of up to 40 percent on the Milan bourse next month, is valued at between 7.6 billion euros and 8.7 billion euros by analysts at Banca IMI, one of the global coordinators of the share sale. The valuation, included in a confidential study seen by Reuters, applies to Pirelli’s equity and is based on a comparison with the company’s peers and a discounted cash flow analysis. “In our view, Pirelli’s superior financial profile and higher expected earnings growth justify a premium versus Tier1 players,” Banca IMI analysts said in the study. Reporting by Elisa Anzolin, writing by Silvia Aloisi'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/pirelli-ipo-valuation/italys-pirelli-valued-at-up-to-8-7-bln-euros-by-ipo-joint-coordinator-idUSI6N1KQ01L'|'2017-09-04T16:47:00.000+03:00'
'2e1aa2adb25685bd6fbe0b35afbbcf0be47150e3'|'UK builder Bovis reins in growth targets as profits slide'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:31 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago UK builder Bovis reins in growth targets as part of turnaround Costas Pitas 2 Min Read Greg Fitzgerald, CEO of Bovis, poses for a portrait during an interview with Reuters at offices in London, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - British housebuilder Bovis ( BVS.L ), the subject of two failed takeover bids this year, said it would rein in growth plans under a new boss after reporting a 31 percent fall in first-half profit on Thursday. Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald took over in April aiming to turn around a business hurt by critical media coverage in Britain prompted by complaints about the quality of its homes. First-half pre-tax profit fell 31 percent to 42.7 million pounds as completions declined 6 percent to 1,512 units, in line with previously stated expectations, as the firm slows its building this year to focus on improving quality. Related Coverage UK builder Bovis to reduce land bank as part of turnaround While nearly all of Britain’s major housebuilders have posted bumper profits in recent years, Bovis has suffered as buyers complained about issues ranging from a lack of sealant in bathrooms to nails poking through walls. On Thursday, the firm said it now aimed to build 4,000 homes per year, significantly lower than a previous target of 5,000-6,000, and that it would focus much more on delivering affordable housing. Greg Fitzgerald, CEO of Bovis, poses for a portrait during an interview with Reuters at offices in London, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville Its shares were up 9 percent in early trading. Slideshow (2 Images) “If we were going to go to 6,000... I would probably need to open about four new offices. Opening four new offices in regions where we are not established and have no links to any supply chain, would be counterproductive,” Fitzgerald told Reuters. “It would lose us money, it would lose us definitely margin and it would be more of the same, giving poor properties over to our customers, which is what Bovis experienced far too many times,” he said. He told Reuters that full-year volumes would end the year down nearly 10 percent at around 3,600 units, before growing next year and reaching 4,000 homes in 2019. The firm has also reviewed the efficiency of some of its operations such as planning, design and engineering and has reduced its overall headcount by 120, with the total restructuring costing around 4 million pounds. Editing by James Davey and Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bovis-results/uk-builder-bovis-reins-in-growth-targets-as-profits-slide-idUKKCN1BI0NO'|'2017-09-07T09:30:00.000+03:00'
'344e2010944abb820c03560202f055de75a2f5a9'|'UK Brexit minister says good prospect of agreeing transitional deal with EU'|'September 7, 2017 / 10:12 AM / Updated 2 hours ago UK Brexit minister says "good prospect" of agreeing transitional deal with EU Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - There is a good prospect Britain will negotiate a transitional arrangement with the European Union before it leaves the bloc in March 2019, Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis said on Thursday. Davis said Britain had only raised the issue of transition briefly with the EU so far in negotiations as it is not among the first four issues due to be discussed. Asked by a lawmaker what prospects there were for bespoke transitional arrangements being agreed and implemented by March 2019, Davis told parliament: “We are finding that the (European) Commission is open to discussion of transition ... I think there is a very good prospect.” Parliament is on Thursday due to begin debating legislation to sever political, financial and legal ties with the EU, and the opposition Labour Party has said it cannot support the bill without it being amended to better protect workers’ rights. Junior Brexit minister Steve Baker told lawmakers the government would not accept any amendments to the bill that compromised its purpose. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Kylie MacLellan; editing by Kate Holton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-transition/uk-brexit-minister-says-good-prospect-of-agreeing-transitional-deal-with-eu-idINKCN1BI1A4'|'2017-09-07T08:12:00.000+03:00'
'8d0893adcd39f2d2927074137c5abda5fe533160'|'U.S. services sector growth accelerates; trade deficit edges up'|'September 6, 2017 / 3:51 PM / 11 minutes ago U.S. services sector growth accelerates; trade deficit edges up Lucia Mutikani 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Container ships sit in berths at the Port of Los Angeles, California October 15, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. services sector activity accelerated in August amid strong gains in new orders and employment, suggesting that a slowdown in job growth last month was probably temporary. The economic outlook received a further boost from other data on Wednesday showing only a modest rise in the trade deficit in July. The reports were the latest signs that the economy had gathered momentum early in the third quarter. Economists, however, cautioned that Hurricane Harvey, which devastated parts of Texas, could sap some of the strength. “The U.S. economy carried a little more momentum than originally thought,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist atBMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “However, some of that momentum will be blunted by, for starters, Hurricane Harvey.” The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its non-manufacturing activity index increased 1.4 points to 55.3 in August, rebounding from an 11-month low in the prior month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Last month’s increase in services industry activity also reflected a jump of 1.6 points in the production subindex. Even more encouraging, a measure of services sector employment jumped 2.6 points. The government reported last week that the economy created 156,000 jobs in August, with the private services sector hiring the smallest number of workers in five months. Economists largely shrugged off the slowdown in job growth, blaming it on a seasonal quirk. Over the past several years, the initial August job count has tended to exhibit a weak bias, with revisions subsequently showing strength. Last month, services industries also reported an increase in new orders as well as prices. The ISM said the “majority of respondents are optimistic about business conditions going forward.” The dollar was trading marginally lower against a basket of currencies .DXY as traders digested news that Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer would step down next month. Prices for longer-dated U.S. Treasuries rose, while stocks on Wall Street were trading mostly higher. CHINA TRADE GAP WIDENS Reports on consumer and business spending have suggested the economy gathered more strength early in the third quarter after gross domestic product increased at a 3.0 percent annualised rate in the April-June period. In a separate report on Wednesday, the Commerce Department said the trade deficit rose 0.3 percent to $43.7 billion in July. When adjusted for inflation, the trade deficit widened to $61.6 billion from $60.8 billion in June. The so-called real goods deficit in July was below the second-quarter average of $62.4 billion. While that suggests trade could add to gross domestic product in the third quarter, economists at Wrightson ICAP cautioned that Hurricane Harvey could significantly impact commodity prices and trade volumes, and push up the trade deficit in September. Trade added two-tenths of a percentage point to GDP in the second quarter. The politically sensitive U.S.-China trade deficit increased to an 11-month high in July. That ongoing deficit has grabbed the attention of President Donald Trump, who has blamed it for helping to decimate U.S. factory jobs as well as stunting U.S. economic growth. Trump, who argues that the United States has been disadvantaged in its dealings with trade partners, has ordered the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was signed in 1994 by the United States, Canada and Mexico. On Saturday, Trump threatened to withdraw from a free trade deal with South Korea. “When you negotiate with countries keep in mind you are really going up against some of the biggest corporations in America who moved their operations overseas years ago,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. “This deficit concern is somewhat misguided as it is largely a trade war with ourselves. These jobs are not coming back to America’s heartland.” In July, real goods exports slipped despite petroleum exports hitting a record high. Exports of goods and services fell 0.3 percent to $194.4 billion in July. Exports of motor vehicles and parts fell, but shipments of capital goods rose. Exports to China increased 3.5 percent, while those to the European Union tumbled 9.8 percent. Imports of goods and services slipped 0.2 percent to $238.1 billion in July. There were declines in imports of motor vehicles and parts as well as crude oil. Imports of goods from China increased 3.1 percent. The U.S.-China trade deficit rose 3.0 percent to $33.6 billion in July, the highest level since August 2016. The United States saw a 3.7 percent drop in goods and services imported from the EU in July, which left the trade deficit with the economic bloc 7.9 percent higher at an eight-month high of $13.5 billion. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy/u-s-services-sector-growth-accelerates-trade-deficit-edges-up-idUKKCN1BH277'|'2017-09-06T18:50:00.000+03:00'
'15fa6dc916a5ca399c2bbfaea52fd8558c490794'|'UPDATE 1-Norway''s mature areas licensing round attracts bids from 39 oil firms'|'* Government annually hands out acreage near existing fields* Number of firms applying rises to 39 from 33 last year* In 2013, a record 50 companies submitted bids (Adds ministry statement, detail)OSLO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - A total of 39 oil companies asked for exploration acreage offshore Norway in the so-called predefined areas (APA) licensing round by the Sept. 1 deadline, the country’s energy ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.When announcing the round in May, the government expanded the pre-defined areas near existing discoveries by a total of 87 blocks in the Norwegian and the Barents Seas.It plans to announce license awards in early 2018.Last year, 33 companies applied and 29 of these were awarded 56 production licenses in the APA 2016 round. Mature area licensing rounds attracted the biggest interest in 2013, when 50 companies submitted bids, compared to only 16 bids in 2005.Norway’s APA rounds were introduced in 2003 to encourage time-critical exploration near existing discoveries.Normally, oil firms have between one and three years to decide whether to drill an exploration well, otherwise the production license becomes void.Norway holds separate licensing rounds to hand out acreage in frontier areas. Companies do not have to pay for exploration acreage, but future profits from any discoveries that are made are subject to high tax rates. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/norway-oil-exploration/update-1-norways-mature-areas-licensing-round-attracts-bids-from-39-oil-firms-idINL8N1LN1QK'|'2017-09-06T07:04:00.000+03:00'
'b02b0288fddada2190e42a053132b288e6437edf'|'U.S. lawmakers, business urge Trump not to scrap South Korea trade pact'|' at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 14, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - ’s top trade adviser expressed optimism on Tuesday about reaching agreement on a revised free trade pact with South Korea, days after Trump suggested scrapping the deal with a key American ally.Senior U.S. lawmakers and America’s biggest business lobby urged Trump not to pull out of the five-year-old U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), especially at a time of heightened tensions over missile tests.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, speaking in Mexico City after a second round of NAFTA talks with Canada and Mexico, said negotiations with Seoul were continuing.“We have a negotiation we’re in,” Lighthizer told reporters when asked whether KORUS would be terminated. “My hope is that we’ll have a successful discussion with the Koreans as things proceed and that the problems with that agreement from our perspective will be worked out.”Trump said on Saturday he would discuss KORUS’s fate with advisers this week, prompting widespread concern among lawmakers and the business community.The chairmen and senior Democrats on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee said in a statement on Tuesday that North Korea’s sixth and largest nuclear bomb test on Sunday “underscores the vital importance of the strong alliance between the United States and South Korea.”The statement by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, senior Democrat Richard Neal and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and senior Democrat Ron Wyden said talks to improve South Korea’s implementation and compliance with the trade agreement were welcome. But it said the agreement itself was central to the U.S.-South Korean alliance.In a separate letter to Trump, Senator Joni Ernest, a Republican from Iowa in the U.S. corn belt, said the South Korean market was especially important for U.S. beef, corn and pork producers.“Terminating KORUS would leave our farmers at a competitive disadvantage to those in other countries that enjoy preferential trade access to Korea,” Ernst wrote.In a strongly worded statement the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 3 million businesses, also opposed any “rash and irresponsible” withdrawal.“We do not believe this move would create a single American job — but it would cost many,” said Tom Donohue, who warned that it would damage relations between the White House and business community.“Ironically, states across mid-America that voted for the president would take the hit from withdrawal as their agricultural and manufactured goods exports fell in the wake of such a move,” Donohue said.Reporting by David Lawder in Mexico City, and Richard Cowan and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-southkorea/u-s-lawmakers-business-urge-trump-not-to-scrap-south-korea-trade-pact-idINKCN1BG328'|'2017-09-05T19:12:00.000+03:00'
'592277a6f72afa7bd6602b5ac84721e2f034b949'|'Syngenta plans to issue notes to refinance takeover by ChemChina'|'ZURICH, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Syngenta plans to issue multi-tranche, benchmark-sized notes with maturities up to 30 years to refinance bridge loans used by ChemChina for its $43 billion takeover of the Swiss chemical maker, Syngenta said on Wednesday.Syngenta mandated BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Suisse, HSBC, MUFG and Santander to arrange fixed-income investor meetings starting Sept. 11. Syngenta also said it may use its $7.5 billion Euro Medium Term Note programme for further issuances.“The net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be used mainly to refinance the bridge financing for ChemChina’s acquisition,” the company said in a statement. “Any remaining proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes at Syngenta.”Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/syngenta-ag-bonds-refinancing/syngenta-plans-to-issue-notes-to-refinance-takeover-by-chemchina-idUSFWN1LN0IL'|'2017-09-06T17:29:00.000+03:00'
'4c1ee0fdb3d057d40f7e3e4ef5c81cac6bd90fdd'|'Loma Negra hires banks for U.S.- Argentina IPO as early as Sept - sources'|'September 6, 2017 / 8:44 PM / in 29 minutes Loma Negra hires banks for U.S.- Argentina IPO as early as Sept - sources Tatiana Bautzer , Guillermo Parra-Bernal 3 Min Read SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Loma Negra Cia Industrial Argentina SA, the country’s largest cement producer, has hired investment banks for an initial public offering that could be launched as early as this month, according to three sources with knowledge of the plan. Parent company Intercement Brasil SA, whose businesses span from Brazil and Europe to northern Africa, wants to sell shares of Loma Negra in Argentina and New York to raise cash and cut debt, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the deal freely this week. Loma Negra filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late on Tuesday. Underwriters for the IPO include the investment banking units of Morgan Stanley & Co ( MS.N ), Banco Bradesco SA ( BBDC4.SA ), Bank of America Corp. ( BAC.N ), Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ), Itaú Unibanco Holding SA ( ITUB4.SA ), according to the SEC filing. Camargo Correa SA, the industrial group that owns Intercement, has long considered a partial sale of Loma Negra as Argentina slowly lures back foreign investment with President Mauricio Macri’s market-friendly policies. The move also shows how Camargo Correa’s controlling family is battling the effects of Brazil’s longest recession on record, years of rampant borrowing and a corruption probe that ensnared the group’s engineering unit. Proceeds from the Loma Negra IPO, which could offer as much as 30 percent of the company, will be used by Intercement to reduce its debt, which totals five times its annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, one of the people said. Representatives for Intercement did not immediately comment. Newspaper Valor Economico first reported details of the IPO on Wednesday. Camargo Correa purchased Loma Negra in 2005 for $1 billion (767.05 million pounds), the first in a series of acquisitions to strengthen Intercement in emerging markets. Loma Negra was founded in 1926 by Argentine businessman Alfredo Fortabat. Reuters reported in December that Camargo Correa had contacted investors over a private sale of a minority stake in Loma Negra, but talks did not bear fruit. Over the past two years, with Brazil’s recession and corruption scandals taking a toll on finances, Camargo Correa undertook a quick effort to downsize. It has since exited power utility CPFL Energia SA ( CPFE3.SA ) and apparel maker Alpargatas SA ( ALPA4.SA ) in 2015, fetching some $3 billion from the sales. Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-loma-negra-ciasa-ipo/loma-negra-hires-banks-for-u-s-argentina-ipo-as-early-as-sept-sources-idUKKCN1BH2ZE'|'2017-09-06T23:44:00.000+03:00'
'9b5fad74314b187a4de002087f23e8d18ccafcbe'|'Western Digital in talks for stake in Toshiba chip unit after an IPO: Kyodo'|'FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building under construction is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) is in talks to gain voting rights of just under 16 percent in Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) memory chip unit on the assumption that it will be listed in the future, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday.Kyodo did not cite sources or say who the U.S. firm was in talks with.Representatives for Western Digital and Toshiba declined to comment on discussions surrounding the $17 billion-$18 billion auction of the world’s No. 2 NAND producer.Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key chip plant but which has been at loggerheads with its partner over the auction, has offered to drop out of a group bidding for the unit in return for a stronger position in their joint venture, sources told Reuters this week.The size of any Western Digital stake in the memory chip unit when it goes public has been one of the sticking points in the discussions, people familiar with the matter have said.Toshiba’s board, under pressure to clinch a deal soon, met on Wednesday to consider Western Digital’s new proposal but did not reach an agreement, people familiar with the matter said.Toshiba is now aiming to reach a final agreement with the Western Digital-backed consortium by Sept. 13, two sources briefed on the talks said.Sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to talk to media on the matter.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-in-talks-for-stake-in-toshiba-chip-unit-after-an-ipo-kyodo-idINKCN1BI02Z'|'2017-09-06T23:10:00.000+03:00'
'834df3f9eba8aeceb875641604c3a1f0714e900e'|'Nasdaq to buy eVestment for $705 million'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:46 AM / in an hour Nasdaq to buy analytics firm eVestment for $705 million Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A view of the exterior of the Nasdaq market site in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq Inc ( NDAQ.O ) said on Tuesday it would buy investment analytics provider eVestment Alliance LLC for $705 million to broaden its reach to buy-side clients. Evestment, whose cloud-based services help institutional investors monitor market trends and make investment decisions, will boost Nasdaq’s market data services business. Nasdaq’s market data business provides investors information to make better investment decisions. Revenue from that business rose 7.5 percent in the second quarter ended June. Nasdaq said it would use debt and cash on hand to buy eVestment. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. Reporting by Nikhil Subba and Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/evestment-m-a-nasdaq/nasdaq-to-buy-evestment-for-705-million-idINKCN1BG1LZ'|'2017-09-05T14:45:00.000+03:00'
'6fa568085f9c3d86469342ad121eaa02f60e353c'|'LPC-VWR launches US$7.75bn buyout financing'|'LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A jumbo US$7.75bn-equivalent buyout financing backing US life sciences company Avantor’s take-private of lab supplies company VWR Corp has launched for syndication, banking sources said.Underwriting banks Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Jefferies are leading the loan and bond financing that has been hotly anticipated by investors eager to put a meaningful amount of money to work. JP Morgan joined the deal prior to launch.The loan comprises a US$2.4bn first lien term loan and a €500m first lien term loan, as well as a US$250m revolving credit facility.The euro loan is expected to pay around 350bp over Euribor, with a 0% floor, the sources said.The loan will be shown to investors in New York on September 7 and in London next week.The loans launch in conjunction with two senior secured notes -- a US$1.4bn 7NC3 and a €500m 7NC3, as well as a US$2.25bn, 8NC3 unsecured note.The European bond roadshow begins on September 11, followed by a US roadshow beginning on September 14, with pricing thereafter.Avantor, which is owned by New Mountain Capital, said that it would buy VWR Corp for about US$4.38bn on May 5.The merger will create a global laboratory equipment giant supplying healthcare and technology industries with everything from beakers to microscopes. (Editing by Alasdair Reilly) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/vwr-loans/lpc-vwr-launches-us7-75bn-buyout-financing-idINL8N1LM5DW'|'2017-09-05T14:17:00.000+03:00'
'2e0c806c52e19673ec8c3ae6dc202829955d03d7'|'Airbus says United expands and rejigs A350 plane order'|'Reuters TV United States September 6, 2017 / 12:43 PM / a minute ago Airbus says United expands and rejigs A350 plane order Reuters Staff 1 Min Read An Airbus A350-900 aircraft performs a flight pass during the Singapore Airshow in Singapore February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Tim Chong PARIS (Reuters) - United Airlines has ordered 10 extra A350 passengers jets while downgrading its overall order from the largest model, the A350-1000, to the smaller A350-900, Airbus said on Wednesday. United Airlines will now take 45 A350-900 aircraft instead of 35 of the upcoming A350-100 model, which is now being tested. United Continental Holdings ( UAL.N ), the airline’s parent group, said separately it had deferred A350 deliveries to late 2022 through 2027 as part of a fleet review. Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Brian Love'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-united/airbus-says-united-expands-and-rejigs-a350-plane-order-idUKKCN1BH1P8'|'2017-09-06T15:35:00.000+03:00'
'c0260a1e6ff51e13c8c742ae0585ed95aa8081b5'|'EY teams up with Maersk, Microsoft on blockchain-based marine insurance'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:03 PM / 5 minutes ago EY teams up with Maersk, Microsoft on blockchain-based marine insurance Jemima Kelly 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Consultancy EY, data security firm Guardtime, Microsoft and ship operator Maersk have joined to build a blockchain-based marine insurance platform that will be the first real-world use of the nascent technology in the shipping industry. EY and Guardtime said the platform had already been built and would be deployed in January, when A.P. Moller-Maersk MAESKb.CO, which was part of a 20-week trial of the new platform, would start using it for some areas of its business, along with insurers MS Amlin and XL Catlin. A near decade-long slump in segments of the global shipping industry has led many companies to seek ways to cut costs and curb pressures on working capital. The container shipping sector - which Maersk dominates - has been among the worst-hit, due to an oversupply of vessels and worries over global demand, pushing lines to find greater cost efficiencies. Shaun Crawford, EY’s global insurance leader, said the 400-year-old marine insurance sector was one of the most inefficient areas of the insurance industry. Shipping companies pay $30 billion in premiums paid annually. Blockchain works as a tamper-proof database that is shared and updated across a network in real time. It can automatically process and settle transactions via so-called “smart contracts” using computer algorithms, with no need for third-party verification. It has been touted as a potentially revolutionary technology in many fields including financial services and healthcare. But it has so far not been used much outside cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, where the technology originates. “The significance of this from my perspective is this is the first real enterprise use-case for blockchain,” said Mike Gault, chief executive of Guardtime, an Amsterdam-based company. Gault said the blockchain was “absolutely essential” for this platform to function, as it was able to guarantee that all parties - from shipping companies to brokers, insurers and other suppliers - had access to the same database, which could be integrated into insurance contracts. “Insurance transactions are currently far too tedious and frictional,” said Maersk’s head of risk and insurance, Lars Henneberg, in a statement. “Blockchain technology has the potential to facilitate the desired development that is long overdue.” The platform is built on Microsoft’s ( MSFT.O ) Azure cloud-based technology. International insurance industry standards body ACORD and advisory firm Willis Towers Watson ( WLTW.O ) also collaborated on building the platform. Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blockchain-insurance-marine/ey-teams-up-with-maersk-microsoft-on-blockchain-based-marine-insurance-idUKKCN1BG3A4'|'2017-09-06T02:02:00.000+03:00'
'082293275192b0ba2b2ed237639d5cf3836f9341'|'UPDATE 4-Canadian banks expect boost from BoC rate hike'|'* RBC says decision can add at least C$300 million to revenues* Scotiabank says hike will improve profit margin* TD cautions against raising rates too quickly* RBC, TD lift prime lending rate 25 basis points (Adds rate hikes by BMO, Scotiabank and CIBC)By Matt ScuffhamTORONTO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Canada’s three biggest lenders said the Bank of Canada’s decision to raise interest rates on Wednesday would boost their profits over the next year, although one executive warned the central bank not to lift rates too quickly.The Bank of Canada surprised many when it hiked rates and left the door open to more rate increases in 2017 even as it pledged to pay attention to how higher borrowing costs would hit Canada’s indebted households.Royal Bank of Canada’s Chief Executive Dave McKay said he expected the decision to raise interest rates to add more than C$300 million ($245 million) to revenues at the country’s biggest bank over 5 years.“I would say a 25-basis-point increase in rates should benefit our retail franchise in the first year roughly by C$100 million but increase to upwards of C$300 million by year five as it takes a while to blend into the portfolio,” McKay said at the Scotiabank Financials Summit.Rising interest rates allow banks to make higher profits by improving their net interest margins, the difference between what they pay to attract deposits and what they charge to lend money.Bank of Nova Scotia CEO Brian Porter said that the latest hike and a previous increase of 25 basis points in July would add 2 to 3 basis points in 2018 to the net interest margin achieved by the bank’s Canadian business. He did not quantify how much revenue that equates to.Toronto-Dominion Bank’s CEO Bharat Masrani also said rising rates would be good for his bank, Canada’s second-biggest lender, as long as they proceed at a moderate pace.“If you believe that we are in a rising rate environment then I think generally speaking it’s a positive event for TD as long as the rate hikes are in an orderly fashion and do not tip the economy into a major slowdown,” Masrani said.“The stage we are at in the cycle I would think that, for a while at least, this will be a positive phenomenon,” he added.Masrani declined to quantify the anticipated boost to the bank’s revenues from the latest interest rate increase.RBC said on Wednesday that it would increase its prime lending rate by 25 basis points to 3.2 percent, effective Thursday. The prime lending rate is used by banks to set interest rates for variable-rate mortgages and other loans.TD, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce also said they would raise their prime lending rates by 25 basis points to 3.2 percent, effective Thursday.$1 = 1.2225 Canadian dollars Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-cenbank-banks/update-1-canadian-banks-expect-to-benefit-from-bank-of-canada-rate-hike-idINL2N1LN1DA'|'2017-09-06T14:24:00.000+03:00'
'a25ce6a47af20df73d2fb46a76b77af581040ab9'|'Switzerland tries again to overhaul damaging business tax'|' 54 PM / in 7 minutes Switzerland tries again to overhaul damaging business tax John Revill 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Swiss flag is pictured in front of the Federal Palace (Bundeshaus) is pictured in Bern, Switzerland, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland proposed new reforms to its business tax on Wednesday, hoping to win approval for an overhaul after voters in February rejected an earlier attempt to comply with international standards. An overhaul of its corporate tax system, which aimed to preserve Switzerland as a favoured location for international companies while avoiding being branded a low-tax pariah, was thrown out by voters who feared cuts to public services or higher personal taxes. The government said Switzerland was suffering as a business location as a result of the current arrangements, which have been criticised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as it sought comment from cantons, business groups and trade unions about its latest plans, which it said would cost it 750 million Swiss francs (£601.37 million). To help sweeten the change, Swiss family allowance would rise by 30 francs per month so that parents get 230 francs for each school-aged child and 280 francs for those at university. “The proposal will make a significant contribution to having an appealing location and thus to added value, jobs and tax receipts. The reform will additionally meet international requirements concerning corporate tax law,” the government said. Its new proposals would still abolish special tax status enjoyed by 24,000 foreign companies that pay corporate tax rates as low as 7.8 to 12 percent, which is far below the 12 to 24 percent rate applied to ‘normal’ Swiss companies. Key changes include a clearer definition of the so-called “patent box”, which allows profits from new products developed in Switzerland to get tax relief of up to 90 percent. A controversial notional interest deduction on excess equity has been scrapped, while dividends will be subject to higher taxation. At least 70 percent of dividend payments would be subject to tax, up from 60 percent now. In response to the mooted tax rises, cantons are expected to lower their tax rates for ‘ordinary’ companies to deter them from leaving. To cover the shortfall, the federal government will increase the share cantons get from federal tax to 20.5 percent from 17 percent. The consultation runs until Dec. 6 before parliament votes early next year, although it could be disputed by another referendum if opponents gather 50,000 signatures. The earliest the new measures could come into force would be 2020, the government said. Reporting by John Revill; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-swiss-tax-reform/switzerland-tries-again-to-overhaul-damaging-business-tax-idUKKCN1BH21P'|'2017-09-06T17:54:00.000+03:00'
'bbcbc1742d10ce10c6e7785ab46fdf9299177c89'|'Top investment banks'' revenues rise in calmer markets - survey'|'September 6, 2017 / 11:11 PM / 6 hours ago Top investment banks'' revenues rise in calmer markets - survey Dasha Afanasieva 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A river ferry passes in front of the Canary Wharf business district at dusk in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Revenue at the world’s 12 largest investment banks rose in the first six months of 2017 thanks to a stronger performance in the underwriting of debt and equity issues compared with a year ago, a survey showed on Thursday. Overall revenues were up 4 percent at $82 billion (62.90 billion pounds) in the first half of 2017 but were still almost 13 percent down from the same period five years ago, according to data from industry analytics firm Coalition. An improving global economy, robust corporate profitability, an ample supply of money by central banks, even as U.S. interest rates are rising, and some fading political risk from elections have all contributed to pushing market volatility to its lowest level for years across fixed income, currency and commodity markets around the world. This makes it easier to issue equity and debt, but harder to profit off trading. “A very low level of macro volatility has supported equity issuance but put pressure on certain fixed income products, while record low interest rates have helped drive the debt business,” said George Kuznetsov, Head of Research and Analytics at Coalition. Trading in fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) divisions, the largest share of total revenue, was stable compared with the first half of 2016. “The expectations earlier in the year of a recovery in FICC have not materialised,” Kuznetsov added. Meanwhile equities revenue fell 3 percent to $22.6 billion due to tougher competition, the report said. Coalition tracks Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), Barclays ( BARC.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Citigroup ( C.N ), Credit Suisse , Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), HSBC ( HSBA.L ), JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and UBS ( UBSG.S ). Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-investment-banks-revenue-coalition/top-investment-banks-revenues-rise-in-calmer-markets-survey-idUKKCN1BH396'|'2017-09-07T02:11:00.000+03:00'
'9cc584ede9e36f6cad634654fff14e2582e7ae20'|'China''s HNA launches $1 billion offer for Singapore''s CWT'|'FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate HNA Holding Group Co ( 0521.HK ) on Thursday launched a bid to buy Singaporean logistics firm CWT Ltd ( CWTD.SI ) for $1 billion, after getting a green light from its shareholders.HNA unit HNA Belt and Road Investments (Singapore) Pte Ltd offered S$2.33 per CWT share, valuing the deal at S$1.399 billion ($1.04 billion).The offer represents a 2.19 percent premium over CWT’s last traded price of S$2.28 on Wednesday.CWT, incorporated in 1970 as a private arm of the Port of Singapore Authority, has interests that include logistics services, commodity marketing, financial services and engineering services.HMA, with businesses spanning aviation to financial services, first announced its intent to buy CWT in April, but was waiting for the go-ahead from its shareholders.That approval came in a general meeting on Thursday, HNA said.HNA had said the acquisition would help it become a leading logistics player and diversify its property investment portfolio.HNA, one of China’s most acquisitive conglomerates, has been snapping up assets overseas, with the latest being the purchase of a 16.2 percent stake in Swiss airport retailer Dufry AG ( DUFN.S ).Reporting By Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cwt-ltd-m-a-hna/chinas-hna-launches-1-billion-offer-for-singapores-cwt-idINKCN1BI20T'|'2017-09-07T12:42:00.000+03:00'
'518b1691366e7e00aaa4d6ba9d9f3e62e43cfa61'|'Tepco shares rise after reports of possible nuclear restart approval'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:47 AM / 16 minutes ago Tepco shares rise after reports of possible nuclear restart approval Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Logo of the Tokyo Electric Power Co Holdings (TEPCO) is seen on helmets at TEPCO''s South Yokohama Thermal Power Station in Yokohama, Japan July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) - Shares in Tokyo Electric Power Co ( 9501.T ), operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, rose more than 3 percent on Thursday after media reports that it may get approval as early as next week to restart one of its other atomic plants. Tepco’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station, the world’s biggest nuclear power plant, may get initial safety approval from Japan’s nuclear regulator next week to restart two reactors, the Yomiuri newspaper and other media reported. Approval would allow a company that has been widely criticized for a lax approach to safety and a slow response to the meltdowns at Fukushima to operate a nuclear power station after regulators earlier questioned if it was up to the task. A go-ahead would also be the first for reactors of the same basic design as those that melted down at the Fukushima Daiichi station in March 2011, after a massive earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling and power systems. Radiation from the meltdowns forced 160,000 people from their homes, many never to return, and destroyed businesses, fisheries and agriculture. The latest government estimate puts the cost of the disaster at 21.5 trillion yen (150.99 billion pounds). After reports of the possible approval for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, Tepco shares rose as high as 450 yen, up 15 yen, or 3.4 percent. They were up 2.8 percent at 0239 GMT, while the broader market was up 0.4 percent. Tepco officials were not immediately available for comment. Hurdles remain to any restart, the biggest being getting approval from the governor of Niigata prefecture, where the Kashiwazaki plant is located. Ryuichi Yoneyama, the governor, has said he will not discuss a restart until Niigata completes its own safety review, which could take until 2020 at the earliest. Tepco has said it will cooperate with the prefecture’s review for Kashiwazaki, which is also the world’s biggest power station outside of hydroelectric dams. Many of Japan’s nuclear reactors are still going through a relicensing process set up after the Fukushima disaster, the world’s worst since Chernobyl in 1986. Five out of 42 reactors are now operating after reviews, the most since the Fukushima disaster led to the eventual shutdown of all nuclear units. All of the restarted units have a different design from those at Fukushima, using a technology that some experts say make them less susceptible to meltdowns. Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Tom Hogue'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-nuclear-tepco/tepco-shares-rise-after-reports-of-possible-nuclear-restart-approval-idUKKCN1BI0AF'|'2017-09-07T06:46:00.000+03:00'
'e59a654680346dbea6447bc739ed4d897652fede'|'EU national consumer bodies press Volkswagen on Dieselgate repairs'|'September 7, 2017 / 10:06 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago EU national consumer bodies press Volkswagen on Dieselgate repairs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man uses phone under a Volkswagen logo at the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European national consumer bodies pressed Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) to fix all emissions-cheating vehicles by the end of the year, in a joint letter on Thursday showing mounting impatience with the German carmakers response to the Dieselgate scandal. VW has pledged billion of dollars to compensate owners of its diesel cars in the United States, where it admitted to cheating emissions test in 2015. But it has so far rejected such calls for the 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe, where different legal rules weaken the chances of winning a pay out. The agencies from the EU’s 28 member states call in the letter, signed by the European Commission and the Dutch consumer authority, which has taken the lead in the case, for Volkswagen to confirm it can meet its own timeline for removing illicit software that cheated emissions tests. “Only by acting together can consumer authorities ensure that EU consumer law is respected,” Europe’s Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova said in a statement. “With today’s joint position, EU consumers can be sure that both consumer authorities in member states and the European Commission are on their side and that any half measures will not be accepted.” While the letter makes a show of unity, it will still be up to member states individually to follow up with action to defend its consumers. The letter, addressed to VW’s CEO, urged the carmaker to inform affected car owners as soon as possible, to make legally-binding assurances that the technical fix will not diminish the value of their vehicles, help ease the work of car dealerships, and be prepared to extend the period for offering free repairs. Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel @AdeCar; editing by Philip Blenkinsop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vw-emissions-eu/eu-national-consumer-bodies-press-volkswagen-on-dieselgate-repairs-idUKKCN1BI19M'|'2017-09-07T13:05:00.000+03:00'
'558f1d235662ece13bdfd1a8348b073cdbd3b5e8'|'Goldman CEO says former No. 2 Cohn would do a ''great job'' as U.S. Fed chair'|'September 6, 2017 / 5:15 PM / 20 minutes ago Goldman CEO says former No. 2 Cohn would do a ''great job'' as Fed chair Olivia Oran 1 Min Read Gary Cohn, U.S. President Donald Trump''s top economic adviser, steps from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) CEO Lloyd Blankfein said that Gary Cohn would do a “great job” if he were to replace Janet Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve. “Gary is very, very capable,” Blankfein said, speaking in New York on Wednesday at a conference organized by German newspaper Handelsblatt Global. “He’s not an academic, but I’ll tell you there is no one that has a better sense of markets.” Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president who is now director of the National Economic Council, has been cited as a leading candidate to run the Federal Reserve over the coming years. Cohn would be “much less theoretical, much more practical,” than previous Fed chairs, Blankfein added. “If Gary got that job, he’d do a different job, but a great job.” Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-fed/goldman-ceo-says-former-no-2-cohn-would-do-a-great-job-as-u-s-fed-chair-idUKKCN1BH2EO'|'2017-09-06T20:06:00.000+03:00'
'094109d1850af2bd45bb296c1b5fb4b7382db735'|'Tronc buys New York Daily News'|'(Reuters) - Tronc Inc ( TRNC.O ), owner of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times newspapers, has gained entry into the United States’ top media market by acquiring the New York Daily News from publishing and property mogul Mort Zuckerman.Tronc disclosed in a filing early Tuesday that it had paid $1 in cash plus the assumption of liabilities for the nearly 100-year-old tabloid newspaper and a state-of-the-art printing plant in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City.The Chicago-based company will assume the Daily News’ $26.5 million in pension obligations as well as about $35 million in insurance and workers’ compensation liabilities, the filing said.The News, which bills itself as “New York’s Hometown Newspaper,” has long been a paper aimed at the working class in the nation’s biggest city. It once was home to some of New York’s top columnists, such as Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin.But, as with the newspaper industry as a whole, its fortunes have declined. It has also had to compete for advertisers and readers with the city’s other tabloid, the New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.Tronc was interested in the News because of the 25 million unique monthly visitors drawn to its website, which will increase Tronc’s digital audience, Tim Knight, the president of Tronc digital unit TroncX, said in an interview. These users will increase the reach of Tronc, which drew 55 million average monthly unique visitors in the second quarter.The News also has daily print circulation of 200,000 and Sunday circulation of 240,000.Tronc executives declined to comment on any future job cuts at the newspaper.A New York Daily News with the headline "TRONC BUYS THE NEWS" is seen on a newsstand in New York City, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Cowen & Co analyst Lance Vitanza said in a research note that New York City was an “obvious gap in Tronc’s footprint” and said it would accretive to Tronc’s earnings and free cash flow within 12-18 months.Tronc is doubling down on newspapers at a time when total industry newspaper revenue is expected to fall to $23.9 billion in 2021 from $33.3 billion in 2012, a decline of 28 percent over a decade, according to PwC.Slideshow (3 Images) Tronc executives also said they would look to implement the ARC publishing system it has licensed from The Washington Post at the Daily News after it finishes putting it into effect it in other cities.Tronc said late on Monday it would also buy a 49.9 percent interest in a joint venture with Zuckerman-related entities that will own the 25-acre parcel of land on which the Daily News’ printing facility in New Jersey is located.Tronc’s predecessor, The Tribune Co, founded the Daily News, and with the transaction, Tronc will serve 10 major U.S. markets, Tronc Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said. Tronc’s other newspapers include the Baltimore Sun, the Hartford Courant and the San Diego Union-Tribune.Zuckerman, who first put the Daily News on the auction block in February 2015, sought $200 million for the paper at the time, and later scrapped the sales plans. ( reut.rs/2gADvAe )On Aug. 21, Tronc announced that digital media veteran Ross Levinsohn would take over as chief executive officer and publisher of the Los Angeles Times as part of a shake-up of senior management there.(The story fixes typographical error in 7th paragraph to make daily print circulation “200,000” instead of “200,0000”)Additional reporting by Sangameswaran S and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-daily-news-m-a-tronc/tronc-buys-new-york-daily-news-idINKCN1BG09O'|'2017-09-05T01:26:00.000+03:00'
'ecea3c03bc3a8a0ebcc761aad9901516f3164eaf'|'Noble Group in talks to extend $2 bln credit facility deadline'|'SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Noble Group is in discussions with its North American lenders to extend an October deadline for a $2 billion credit facility, while also taking steps to sell parts of its business to cut debt, its chairman said on Tuesday.Paul Brough, a board member and restructuring veteran, who took over as the commodity trader’s chairman in May, told shareholders in Singapore that Noble’s U.S. lenders had been very supportive of the company’s plans to sell assets.“We have approached them for a further extension so that we can complete the oil liquids sale on a stable basis. I am hoping that we can also speak to our RCF (revolving credit facility) lenders about further forbearance from them,” Brough said.Once Asia’s largest commodities trading house, Noble is slashing jobs and selling assets to cut debt after a crisis-wracked two years. It is in the process of selling its North American gas and power business and expects to announce a deal for its oil liquids unit by the end of September.In the last few months, Noble also got waivers from other banks on its loan covenants. It has debt due next year also.The Singapore-listed company said in June its $2 billion credit facility, secured on its inventories and working capital, would be extended by four months from June 20. (Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Tom Hogue) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/noble-grp-shareholders/noble-group-in-talks-to-extend-2-bln-credit-facility-deadline-idINL4N1LM3FP'|'2017-09-05T07:56:00.000+03:00'
'fc0ab723155f5f6169da9bce054f10f59435e7e2'|'Ackman tells ADP board that shareholders want them to work together'|'FILE PHOTO: Bill Ackman speaks during the SALT conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Richard Brian/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor William Ackman on Thursday told Automatic Data Processing board members that large shareholders want the company and activist hedge fund to work together and that he too wants to end the current proxy fight.Two days after meeting the full board for the first time, Ackman on Thursday tried to cool the emotionally charged atmosphere at a time when his hedge fund is seeking three board seats but has been rejected by the company. In a short letter to the board he wrote that a “substantial number of shareholders ... would strongly prefer that the company embrace its significant potential for improvement and that we work together in the best interest of the company.” The letter was made public in a regulatory filing.Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-adp-ackman/ackman-tells-adp-board-that-shareholders-want-them-to-work-together-idINKCN1BI24J'|'2017-09-07T13:32:00.000+03:00'
'aa3880fd6bf425d95299b6dc75cf0233963a7007'|'Former CIA director Petraeus joins KKR backed security firm'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:37 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Former CIA director Petraeus joins KKR backed security firm Joseph Menn 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO -- Former CIA director David Petraeus speaks to the media after a meeting with U.S. President elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower New York, U.S., November 28, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Former United States CIA Director David Petraeus said Thursday he has joined the board of a large cybersecurity company controlled by investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR & Co. LP), taking his most prominent role in the private sector. Petraeus, a KKR partner and head of its global risk assessment, said in an exclusive interview that he was joining Optiv Security because of the increasing importance of hacking threats. The reconstituted six-member board also includes David DeWalt, who stepped down this year from the board of cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc and previously led McAfee Security through its sale to Intel Corp. The private equity group KKR bought a dominant stake in Optiv this February. The company has about $2 billion in annual revenue and more than 1,000 employees. In a joint interview with Reuters, the men said they wanted to expand Optiv’s commercial customer base beyond the 67 percent of the Fortune 500 that it currently serves and deeper into the government, where former general Petraeus pledged to help with his understanding of intelligence and military needs. “I obviously bring an understanding of certainly the cyber capabilities of the military and the intelligence community, but also a sense of the broader governmental cybersecurity needs,” Petraeus said. DeWalt will serve as vice chairman, steering the way to a possible public stock offering under a chairman from KKR, Herald Chen, who heads KKR private equity’s technology industry team. Optiv, which grew out of the consulting firm Accuvant, performs vulnerability assessments and operates one of the larger services for managing security operations on behalf of client companies. Like other former senior government officials and industry chief executives, both Petraeus and DeWalt have invested personally in a number of cyber security firms. Also like their peers, both men complain that there are more than enough companies in the industry and say existing large firms like Optiv are better positioned to partner with allies to offer comprehensive services. “Companies get millions of alerts a day, how do you make sense of it all?” DeWalt asked. “What we need is more trusted advisors.” Reporting by Joseph Menn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-petraeus/former-cia-director-petraeus-joins-kkr-backed-security-firm-idUSKCN1BI24V'|'2017-09-07T18:36:00.000+03:00'
'e4670f4c4bc1fd04f94cd94797d4f6323f42ad26'|'Euro minefield - what markets will monitor at ECB''s meeting'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:11 AM / Updated 44 minutes ago Euro minefield - what markets will monitor at ECB''s meeting Dhara Ranasinghe , Saikat Chatterjee 6 Min Read Flags in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) before a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymakers hold a widely anticipated meeting later on Thursday, amid speculation the central bank wants to wind down its extraordinary bond-buying monetary stimulus soon. However, this year’s surge in the euro exchange rate complicates the ECB’s exit strategy. It curtails already sub-target inflation by making dollar-priced imports cheaper, dragging down the booming export sector and cutting into corporate earnings from outside the bloc. Any mention of the euro and its relative impact on financial and economic conditions, as a result, may be the biggest market mover on Thursday. Here’s what financial markets are looking for from the ECB’s statement and President Mario Draghi’s press conference. 1. EURO STRENGTH The euro’s more than 13 percent rise against the dollar so far this year, its biggest in 14 years, puts the currency at the top of investor watch lists. Absolute levels for the euro are still below its levels since ECB chief Mario Draghi promised to save the euro zone, but it is the speed of the move that is a concern. On a trade-weighted basis, the euro EUR=ECBF has gained nearly 6 percent in less than five months. That strength creates obstacles for both economic growth and inflation in the euro zone. Sources told Reuters last week that euro strength could delay ECB plans to roll back stimulus, and Draghi is sure to be asked about the currency in the post-meeting news conference. (For a graphic on ''Euro Valuations'' click reut.rs/2gLznAT ) 2. POLICY STATEMENT With currency strength making a rare appearance in the minutes of the last policy meeting on July 20, markets will watch if the currency gets more attention in the formal post-meeting statement this week. Despite the reference, Morgan Stanley analysts say mention of the currency has dropped sharply in recent months after data-mining each policy statement and accompanying press conference since 1998. July’s policy statement had an abnormally low nine mentions of the currency compared with an average of 27 in the last two years and far below 56 times at its March meeting. “I think they will be careful not to push any major changes - they are wary of the exchange rate,” said Robert Skelton, a portfolio manager at Mediolanum Asset Management. 3. STAFF FORECASTS Revisions to the ECB’s staff projections following recent gains in the euro is another important focus. Markets expect a slight downward revision in core inflation forecasts, although analysts said the ECB’s long-term forecasts may be little changed and should not in themselves derail plans for tapering next year. Inflation in the 19-country currency bloc, which the ECB aims to keep just below 2 percent, accelerated to 1.5 percent in August from 1.3 percent. The ECB forecasts inflation of 1.5 percent in 2017 and 1.3 percent in 2018. 4. TAPERING Markets have pushed back expectations for when the ECB will signal a scaling back of its stimulus, to October from September. The latest Reuters poll predicts the same. Still, ECB comments will be scrutinized for any clues on the timing and scale of a taper. About 36 percent of government bond yields in the euro zone are below zero, compared with a peak in June 2016 of 51 percent, according to JP Morgan Asset Management. Globally, 30 percent of government bond yields are sub zero. Frederik Ducrozet, an economist at Pictet Wealth Management, expects the ECB to lay the groundwork for the decision to be made by year-end, tasking its committees to study all policy options for 2018. (For a graphic on ''Money markets scale back rate-hike bets'' click reut.rs/2vKPvcL ) 5. BOND-BUYING PARAMETERS The ECB may also be questioned about a growing scarcity of eligible bonds for the bond-buying scheme, which might encourage it to wind down stimulus sooner rather than later. The ECB bought fewer German bonds in August than in any month since the start of the stimulus programme, suggesting it was holding back to avoid running out of debt to buy. As the ECB pushes against its self-imposed limits for asset purchases, bond investors will be looking for any changes in the composition of the bond-buying scheme -- whether that’s in country allocation or changes in the mix of corporate and government bonds in the scheme. “The general sense is that it is all going down,” said Nandini Ramakrishnan, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. “The 60 billion euros a month includes both (corporate and government bonds), so reducing that, we think, could proportionately reduce the purchases in both.” 6. MARKET IMPLICATIONS The market reaction itself could be in the spotlight, especially if the euro moves sharply either way. European stocks peaked at a two-year high in May, and the pan-European STOXX 600 equity index has fallen by around 6 percent since then, with euro zone stocks .STOXXE shedding a similar amount. Some investors blamed the euro’s blistering ascent as the main culprit. European banking stocks .SX7P will benefit from any hawkish slant, as a low-rate environment has hurt margins. Banks have so far underperformed the broader market and are relatively cheap. If the ECB maintains the status quo, European stocks may rise, as companies in the pan-European equity index get more than half their revenues outside the euro zone, according to estimates from Societe Generale. Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Saikat Chatterjee, Kit Rees and Marc Jones; Editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-markets-ecb/euro-minefield-what-markets-will-monitor-at-ecbs-meeting-idUKKCN1BI0KC'|'2017-09-07T09:11:00.000+03:00'
'2defbc92d6660bd59754b038eaef3356ddfbdf54'|'Unilever adds Pukka herbal tea to drinks portfolio'|' 24 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Unilever adds Pukka herbal tea to drinks portfolio Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever ( ULVR.L ) has acquired Pukka herbal teas, the latest in a string of deals by the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant to add smaller brands promoted as artisanal or healthy. The world’s largest tea company, home to Lipton and PG Tips, said on Thursday it had acquired Pukka Herbs Ltd, which has annual sales of 30 million pounds ($39 million) and growth of 30 percent. It did not disclose the price it paid. It recently bought Sir Kensington’s mayonnaise and in recent years bought Grom and Talenti gelato brands. Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pukka-m-a-unilever/unilever-adds-pukka-herbal-tea-to-drinks-portfolio-idUKKCN1BI16C'|'2017-09-07T12:24:00.000+03:00'
'ab3122c4f4c1ed64d163663b6671e9a54b5b5e21'|'Trian proposes shake-up to P&G''s structure and strategy'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:30 PM / 4 hours ago Trian proposes shake-up to P&G''s structure and strategy Michael Flaherty 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S. on October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist investor Trian Partners on Wednesday released its long-awaited plan to boost shares of Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ), detailing changes intended to streamline and rejuvenate the maker of Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent and Pampers diapers. The release of the 94-page proposal comes as the two sides are locked in a battle over efforts by Trian co-founder Nelson Peltz to join the 12-member board of the consumer products company. P&G has resisted, saying Peltz is a bad fit for the board and has an outdated view on how the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company operates. Shareholders will vote on Oct. 10 on whether to add Peltz to the board. Valued at $232 billion, P&G would be the biggest U.S. company by market capitalization to face a proxy fight. “Trian believes P&G should be organised into three largely autonomous business units under a lean holding company,” the hedge fund said in its proposal. The company is currently comprised of four global business units. Trian, P&G’s fifth-largest shareholder, also said the company’s management compensation plan is tied to three-year goals that are set too low. Procter & Gamble said in a statement that the company is executing a winning strategy, as evidenced by its 2017 fiscal year results. “We remain focused on delivering our plan, while preventing anything from derailing the progress we are making to create value for all P&G shareholders.” Trian’s $3.5 billion P&G investment became public earlier this year, but its strategy on how to boost the company’s shares had until now remained behind closed doors. Other proposed changes include Peltz offering to lead a board study on how P&G can improve innovation, having “failed to create a new meaningful brand in nearly 20 years” according to Trian. Peltz would also encourage the board to groom more outside leadership talent and to have P&G focus its acquisition strategy on buying and developing smaller, more local brands, Trian said. Trian has touted Peltz’s experience on boards of other consumer companies including Mondelez International Inc ( MDLZ.O ), Sysco Corp ( SYY.N ) and Triangle Industries Inc, a packaging company where Peltz was chairman and chief executive from 1983 to 1988. REORGANIZATION P&G is organised into four global business units: Baby, Feminine and Family Care; Beauty; Fabric and Home Care; and Health and Grooming. P&G, which has been cutting costs and selling off brands, reported net sales last quarter that were flat at $16.08 billion. Trian proposes shrinking that to three groups, each with a regional leader with full control of the business, its profits and its losses: Beauty, Grooming and Healthcare; Fabric and Home Care; and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. Under the new organization, the CEO would oversee the three business leaders. The three business divisions would sit under a holding company, which controls public company functions and costs, Trian said. According to Trian, P&G’s management compensation plan is tied to three-year goals that are too low, including a 2.8 percent organic sales target, which is lower than the company’s 3 percent to 3.5 percent market growth target. Trian has taken swipes previously at P&G’s bureaucracy and stock performance compared to peers, a dig it repeated in its plan, citing a total shareholder return over the last decade that trailed both peers and the S&P 500. P&G, shares of which have risen 10 percent this year to $92.72, has countered that the company’s stock performance has outperformed since CEO David Taylor took over in Nov. 2015. Since then, P&G said in a letter to shareholders last month that total shareholder return has risen 28 percent through mid-August, beating peers. Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-procter-gamble-trianfund/trian-proposes-shake-up-to-pgs-structure-and-strategy-idUKKCN1BH371'|'2017-09-07T01:30:00.000+03:00'
'e333cc9797bb340cf86f50f2198601d38b216377'|'Deere to buy agtech company Blue River for $305 million'|'People look at Deere equipment as they attend National Farm Machinery show in Louisville, Kentucky, February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Meredith Davis (Reuters) - Deere & Co ( DE.N ), known for its trademark green tractors, said on Wednesday it would acquire privately-held Blue River Technology for $305 million to increase the machine-learning capabilities of its farm equipment.California-based Blue River has designed technology that helps farmers reduce the use of herbicides by spraying only where weeds are present, optimizing the use of inputs in farming, Deere said in a statement.Agriculture technology, which includes the use of drones, robotics and bioengineering to efficiently grow crops, has become a buzzword in the farming industry in the past few years.Recently Monsanto ( MON.N ) struck a deal with biotech company ToolGen Inc to develop farm products, while DuPont DD.N bought agriculture analytics firm Granular Inc.Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-blue-river-technology-m-a-deere-co/deere-to-buy-agtech-company-blue-river-for-305-million-idINKCN1BH375'|'2017-09-06T20:35:00.000+03:00'
'6b4b4c894d105f09273e15d22b1279d9fcc81114'|'FCA under pressure from select committee to publish leaked RBS report - Business'|'Publish leaked RBS report, MPs tell FCA Nicky Morgan says report into defunct global restructuring group should be published without delay A woman shelters under an umbrella as she walks past a branch of RBS in the City of London Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Publish leaked RBS report, MPs tell FCA Nicky Morgan says report into defunct global restructuring group should be published without delay View more sharing options Thursday 7 September 2017 15.02 BST First published on Thursday 7 September 2017 00.01 BST The Financial Conduct Authority is facing pressure from the Treasury select committee of MPs to publish the report into Royal Bank of Scotland’s troubled business restructuring unit. Nicky Morgan , the Conservative MP who chairs the powerful committee, has called on the FCA to publish the report, which was completed last year, after it was leaked to the BBC last week. In a letter to Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA, Morgan said the so-called skilled persons’ report into the activities of the now defunct global restructuring group should be published without delay. RBS mistreated clients, leaked FCA report reveals Read more It was a topic that had been raised by her predecessor, Andrew Tyrie, who did not stand at the June election. Morgan said: “The FCA told the committee in November 2016 that a full account of the findings from the skilled persons’ report would be published. Nearly a year later, and nearly four years since the report was commissioned, we are still waiting for answers. “The report itself is now in the hands of an unknown number of third parties. The FCA now has no control over the timing or content of further public disclosures from it. The balance has tipped firmly in favour of full publication. I have written to Mr Bailey to urge him to secure the approval of RBS to do so, without delay.” Allegations about the treatment of small businesses in the GRG unit first surfaced in 2013 when Lawrence Tomlinson, a businessman who was an adviser to the then business secretary, Vince Cable, compiled a dossier alleging the bank deliberately wrecked small businesses to make profits. Last year, RBS said it would pay £400m in compensation to customers of the unit, which was closed in 2013. The FCA, which commissioned the skilled persons’ report – paid for by RBS – said it had already initiated a leak inquiry. It said: “We have asked the other parties who had access to the report, namely RBS and Promontory, to do the same. If the Treasury select committee or the BBC have evidence that the document was leaked by the FCA, we encourage them to share that with us.” The FCA said it would respond formally to Morgan’s letter. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/07/fca-select-committee-rbs-report-nicky-morgan'|'2017-09-07T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'63f10504e95de6eb37fce669327faa39a052120c'|'ECB to start laying groundwork for stimulus exit'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:06 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Euro strength worries ECB as October stimulus decision looms Francesco Canepa , Balazs Koranyi 5 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference following the ECB''s governing council''s interest rate decision in Frankfurt, Germany, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The euro’s strength is already weighing on inflation and will be a key factor for the European Central Bank next month when it decides how to proceed with its massive stimulus programme in 2018, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday. The euro EUR= , which has gained 14 percent against the dollar this year is "very important" and needs careful monitoring, Draghi said after keeping rates at record lows and leaving the door open to even more stimulus if necessary. His cautious comments raise the chances that the ECB will opt to phase out its 2.3 trillion euro (£2.10 trillion) bond buying scheme only very slowly next year, despite solid economic growth in the euro zone and worries about real estate bubbles in richer countries such as Germany. A sharp rally in the euro since the start of the summer was the main reason for a downgrade in the ECB’s new 2018-19 inflation forecasts, which are now even farther away from the ECB’s target of almost 2 percent. “The medium-term outlook for inflation was revised downward in the staff’s projections, mainly due to the appreciation of the exchange rate, which means that we will have to take into account this element in our information set in our future policy decisions,” Draghi said. Confirming a Reuters report from last week, Draghi added that there was now broad consensus within the ECB that currency volatility was a “source of uncertainty” in formulating monetary policy [L8N1LO49T] Underlining the dilemma faced by the ECB, the euro EUR= hit a nine-day high above $1.20 as Draghi spoke, as investors piled into euro zone bonds on the prospect of continued ECB buying. Related Coverage ECB statement following policy meeting The ECB decided to retain the option to boost its bond purchases if needed, suggesting policymakers are still far from contemplating the end of the programme. “The recalibration will be very gradual with a particular attention accorded to the market reaction to rates, spreads and forex as they impact financial conditions,” Gilles Pradère, a portfolio manager at RAM Active Investments, said. The key problem for the ECB in deciding whether to continue or wind down the asset purchases is that while growth is robust, inflation will remain under the ECB’s target for years to come given a sizable slack in the labour market and the absence of meaningful wage growth. Indeed, while the ECB upgraded some of its growth forecasts and predicted a faster decline in unemployment, it also cut its inflation projection. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference following the ECB''s governing council''s interest rate decision in Frankfurt, Germany, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach The bank now sees price growth at 1.2 percent next year compared with 1.3 percent predicted in June, and at 1.5 percent in 2019, down from 1.6 percent forecast three months ago. While no projections for 2020 will be made until December, Draghi said he personally expected inflation to converge with the ECB’s target in 2020. OCTOBER Though the ECB has preferred to tailor its message by the smallest of increments, time is running out for a decision as the scheme is due to end in December. The bank has only two more rate meetings this year, on Oct. 26 or Dec. 14. Slideshow (3 Images) Draghi simply reiterated that policymakers would decide this autumn, adding: “Probably the bulk of these decisions will be taken in October.” Such a timeline suggests that the ECB could still make some or all of the key decisions at the December meeting, just weeks before the current scheme is due to end. Hawkish rate-setters led by Germany argue that bond buying has reached its potential so it should be wound down. But “doves” say that a rapid exit could tighten financial conditions too much, undoing the programme’s successes. Analysts polled by Reuters predicted no policy change on Thursday and expect bond buys to be cut by one-third in a decision later this year. “Even though the ECB failed to present details of a game plan, the ECB’s intentions are clear: prepare a very smooth tapering without pushing up interest rates and with as little further euro appreciation as possible,” ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. “In our view, this could mean a somewhat softer tapering than we initially thought, announcing at the October meeting a reduction of the monthly purchases to no less than 40 billion euros starting in January,” he added. Draghi said the “sequencing” of the ECB’s policy path had not been discussed, meaning interest rates would only be raised after the bond purchases have ended. He also said that there was no discussion of the so-called issue limit, which limits the ECB in buying up to one-third of each country’s debt, and there was no talk of including new instruments into the programme. Additional reporting by John O''Donnell; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Catherine Evans and Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy/ecb-to-start-laying-groundwork-for-stimulus-exit-idUKKCN1BH35W'|'2017-09-07T01:06:00.000+03:00'
'85ca4953f1ac409c446f1e6a834e22d1be04f4d5'|'H.B. Fuller to buy Royal Adhesives & Sealants for $1.58 bln'|'September 5, 2017 / 12:14 AM / 13 minutes ago H.B. Fuller to buy Royal Adhesives & Sealants for $1.58 billion Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (This Sept. 4 story corrects spelling of H.B. Fuller) (Reuters) - Adhesive maker H.B. Fuller Co ( FUL.N ) said it signed an agreement to acquire its smaller rival Royal Adhesives & Sealants from affiliates of private equity firm American Securities LLC for about $1.58 billion. Through this deal, H.B. Fuller is looking to tap into Royal’s product technology resources. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company said in a statement that it intends to fund the deal through new debt financing. H.B. Fuller said it expected to realize $35 million in cost synergies and $15 million in growth synergies over the next three years as a result of the merger. Fuller said the combined entity would generate about $2.9 billion revenue. Morgan Stanley & Co. is advising H.B. Fuller’s in this deal. Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-royal-adhesives-m-a-hb-fuller/h-b-fuller-to-buy-royal-adhesives-sealants-for-1-58-billion-idUSKCN1BG00F'|'2017-09-05T03:08:00.000+03:00'
'f5606b773dd4b6625c7152c82f06c135799bf0b5'|'McDonald''s workers stage company''s first strike in Britain'|'Sainsbury''s says Brexit disruption could leave food rotting at border Royal Baby Prince William and wife Kate expecting third child South Korea warns that North may launch missiles Reuters TV United States September 4, 2017 / 11:38 AM / 16 minutes ago McDonald''s workers stage company''s first strike in Britain Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A McDonald''s sign is displayed on a restaurant in London, Britain December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Workers at two McDonald’s restaurants staged the first strike to hit the company in Britain in a protest over pay and other issues on Monday. Fourteen workers at restaurants in Cambridge and Crayford, in London, went on strike to demand an increase in pay to 10 pounds ($13) an hour, an end to so-called zero-hour contracts which offer no fixed hours, and more trade union recognition. A spokesman for McDonald‘s, which has operated in Britain since 1974, said the strikers represented less than half of the 33 union members who were balloted and the stated reason for the strike related to internal grievance procedures and not pay or contracts. He said the company and its franchisees were offering staff the option of a guaranteed hour contract but so far 86 percent of its employees had chosen to stay on flexible contracts. A union representing the workers said it also wanted trained shop stewards to monitor stores across Britain. Two managers in the Cambridge branch of the restaurant were suspended this year for bullying and harassment, the union said. Monday’s action coincides with strikes in the United States and Belgium. Small demonstrations in support of the striking McDonald’s workers were taking place in 14 locations in Britain. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, said he supported “the brave McDonald’s workers, who are making history today. They are standing up for workers’ rights by leading the first ever strike at McDonald’s in the UK.” Reporting by Rachel Wood; Editing by William Schomberg and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-mcdonalds/mcdonalds-workers-stage-companys-first-strike-in-britain-idUKKCN1BF19N'|'2017-09-04T14:36:00.000+03:00'
'23a8342ba726dfb3daf8cb9984f8d97419193608'|'Merkel backs class-action lawsuits for diesel car owners'|' 43 PM / in 15 minutes Merkel backs class-action lawsuits for diesel car owners Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Protests against Germany''s "Dieselgate" in front of Germany''s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in Berlin, Germany, August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s support for collective lawsuits could force Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) to offer to compensate owners of diesel cars in Germany as it has done in the United States over manipulated emissions tests. VW offered billions of dollars to U.S. customers after its cheating of emissions tests came to light two years ago. It has so far rejected any payments for the owners of 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe where different legal rules weaken the chances of customers winning compensation. “We will probably soon move to (discuss) the legal test case so that one can also bring about class action lawsuits which I support in principle,” Merkel said in a TV debate on Sunday night, her strongest endorsement to date of a change in German law. “It’s completely clear that the car industry must be held responsible for what it has done,” she added in the debate with Social Democrat (SPD) challenger Martin Schulz before the Sept. 24 election. Merkel criticised a draft law on the issue submitted by the SPD as “too bureaucratic”, but said she was open to starting discussions on the matter as early as Monday. A government spokesman said it was not clear whether the chancellor’s comments would herald a new pre-election push to agree a common stance on the matter between Merkel’s Christian Democrats and Schulz’s Social Democrats, who currently govern in a grand coalition. “Car executives have cheated,” Schulz said during the debate. “With legal test cases we could treat consumers in a similar way as also in other countries.” The diesel emissions scandal has cost VW, the world’s largest carmaker, as much as $25 billion in fines and compensation payments. Merkel did announce plans on Monday to double to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) a fund aimed at cleaning up urban transport infrastructure to try to prevent bans of diesel cars in some German cities. The government has come under pressure for not doing enough to crack down on vehicle pollution and for being too close to powerful carmakers. The issue has become a central campaign topic ahead of the election, prompting the government to summon car bosses to a summit last month to discuss how to cut pollution. Under the U.S legal system, lawyers can file a suit for one client and have it certified as a class action for those in a similar situation. In Germany, by contrast, each plaintiff must file individually and pay legal fees upfront, a system criticised by consumer lobbies as hostile to claimants. Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-emissions-lawsuits/merkel-backs-class-action-lawsuits-for-diesel-car-owners-idUKKCN1BF1MB'|'2017-09-04T16:43:00.000+03:00'
'314059ad794539881ce9761bd6f2298dfe25b651'|'Macron says euro zone budget, finance minister must remain goal of integration'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:58 AM / Updated 28 minutes ago Greek hosts warm to Macron''s euro zone vision Michel Rose , Lefteris Papadimas 4 Min Read French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are seen before delivering their speeches atop the Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aris Messinis/Pool ATHENS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday backed Germany’s idea of a European Monetary Fund (EMF) to counter economic shocks in euro zone member states but stressed the ultimate goal of deeper integration should remain a euro zone budget. Macron, who wants a giant leap forward in European cooperation, pressed for greater financial solidarity towards the bloc’s more vulnerable members. He also used a visit to Greece, which nearly crashed out of the euro zone in 2015, to call for an easing of Athens’ debt burden. Elected in May, the French leader is trying to reshape and strengthen the euro currency bloc by creating a euro zone finance minister and parliament, as well as a stand-alone budget to cushion against economic shocks and head off future crises. But he is running into German resistance despite conciliatory public signals from Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her finance minister has proposed transforming the euro zone’s rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), into a fully fledged EMF with more powers to support weaker members. “We should head towards a European Monetary Fund but this should in no way be mixed up with a (euro zone) budget,” Macron told Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. With its own EMF, Europe would be less reliant on the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, a key player in successive Greek bailouts. “We respect the IMF, but we can manage better with an organisation which was set up to have a European mentality and understand the euro zone’s special features,” Pavlopoulos said. Related Coverage IMF must show "good faith" in Greek debt talks - France''s Macron The euro zone is emerging from the near-decade-long economic and financial crisis that almost ripped it apart. But Macron lamented what he called a “kind of civil war” over differences within the currency union. He praised Greece’s austerity reforms but said ordinary Greeks had paid a heavy price. RECOVERY SIGNS Greece’s economy is showing signs of rebounding after a deep recession that shrank it by a quarter, boosting hopes it can emerge from years of financial bailouts. Even so, unemployment stands at nearly 22 percent, the highest in the euro zone. French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech atop the Pnyx Hill as the Acropolis hill with the ancient Parthenon temple is seen in the background in Athens, Greece, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aris Messinis/Pool Macron renewed his call for tighter oversight of foreign investments in the EU -- a message that Greece has opposed -- and urged European investors to support the Greek recovery. The privatisation of state assets has been a key element of Greece’s bailouts since 2010. China’s COSCO shipping, owner of the world’s fourth largest container fleet, took a 51 percent stake in Greece’s largest port last year. “A Europe which protects itself is one which protects our strategic investments,” said Macron, who travelled to Athens with about 40 French executives. “I want Greece to continue to remain attractive, to open itself to international investors, and for Europe to fully support it in order to maintain European sovereignty.” Slideshow (12 Images) GREEK BAILOUT Euro zone governments in June approved another 11th-hour credit line for Greece worth nearly $10 billion (7.65 billion pounds) after the IMF said it would in principle join the country’s current bailout, having hesitated for two years. In June the IMF demanded that Greece adopt more austerity measures in 2019 and 2020, after the current bailout programme expires in August 2018. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Greece planned to exit its international bailout next August, putting an end to years of crisis and uncertainty. Europe, he added, needed to create institutions to resolve future crises without having to turn to “third parties” such as the IMF for financial support. “We are absolutely ready and determined to move in this direction and I‘m certain our lenders have the same approach of avoiding hurdles and delays,” Tsipras said. Greece and the IMF have often crossed swords over Greece’s fiscal progress, its economic targets and unpopular reforms in the labour market. Macron urged the IMF to show “good faith” in upcoming Greek debt talks. Reporting by Michel Rose, Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Mark Trevelyan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-france/macron-says-euro-zone-budget-finance-minister-must-remain-goal-of-integration-idUKKCN1BI1J4'|'2017-09-07T15:02:00.000+03:00'
'7e42906ef08b908978485f61848b243ef172f476'|'Statoil says latest deal with Rosneft is compliant with sanctions'|'September 7, 2017 / 7:56 AM / Updated 39 minutes ago Statoil says oilfield deal with Rosneft complies with sanctions Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Norwegian oil company''s Statoil logo is seen at their headquarters in Fornebu, Norway, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins OSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s Statoil ( STL.OL ) said on Thursday its cooperation with Russia’s Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) in developing the onshore North Komsomolskoye oilfield was compliant with European Union and U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. Statoil confirmed plans to take a 33 percent stake in the northwest Siberian field under an agreement signed with Rosneft in 2013, a year before sanctions on cooperation in oil production were imposed. “We continue to be transparent about all our activities and we make sure they are compliant with all relevant sanctions,” a Statoil spokesman said in an email, adding that North Komsomolskoye was a conventional oilfield, containing highly viscous crude. Sanctions ban Western companies from helping Russia produce oil from shale formations in the Arctic and in waters deeper than 150 metres (165 yards). The spokesman said Statoil planned to sign an agreement on the stake in SevKomNefteGaz LLC, which holds the North Komsomolskoye license, before moving to the next pilot production programme. Statoil will decide on the field’s full development later. He said test production could commence “soon”, but declined to provide any timeframe or say when full output might start. Rosneft said on Thursday that drilling and testing in 2015-2016 helped increase the field’s oil and condensate reserves to 111 million metric tonnes, or 813 million barrels based on worldwide average gravity, from 52 million tonnes. “The start of test production ... will lay the ground for a full-scale field development,” it said in a statement. Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Dale Hudson and Gwladys Fouche'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-statoil-rosneft-russia/statoil-says-latest-deal-with-rosneft-is-compliant-with-sanctions-idUKKCN1BI0WG'|'2017-09-07T10:56:00.000+03:00'
'709ad9a4ceccf5e20111782bae334def1a8d9810'|'Toronto vies for site of second Amazon headquarters'|'TORONTO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The mayor of Toronto said on Thursday that Canada’s largest city was working to make sure it has an attractive bid for Amazon.com Inc’s second headquarters.Earlier on Thursday, Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, announced a $5 billion expansion plan that would generate 50,000 new jobs.“I firmly believe that Toronto is a prime candidate to host Amazon’s second headquarters in North America. I will be leading the charge to make the case that Amazon should call Toronto home,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement. (Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Writing by Allison Lampert; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/amazoncom-headquarters-toronto/toronto-vies-for-site-of-second-amazon-headquarters-idINL2N1LO1I7'|'2017-09-07T15:59:00.000+03:00'
'9882e973462700673c27910cfd697b32069d21a3'|'Russia informed of recall of 7,670 Volkswagen cars - standards agency'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:31 AM / 12 minutes ago Russia informed of recall of 7,670 Volkswagen cars - standards agency Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A VW logo is seen in front of the main building of the Volkswagen brand at the Volkswagen headquarters, in Wolfsburg, Germany May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s standards agency said on Tuesday it had been informed of a recall of 7,670 cars of Volkswagen NFZ Multivan T5 and T6 models by Volkswagen Group ( VOWG_p.DE ) sold between 2014 and 2016. Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Polina Devitt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-autos-recall/russia-informed-of-recall-of-7670-volkswagen-cars-standards-agency-idUKKCN1BG1JZ'|'2017-09-05T14:31:00.000+03:00'
'7cea54b1c712acc53d52a405d57fd84d883c92c0'|'BRIEF-Qualcomm stay appeal denied by Seoul High Court'|'Sept 4 (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc-* Qualcomm stay appeal denied by Seoul High Court on absence of irreparable harm; appeal to Seoul High Court on merits of the case to proceed* Qualcomm Inc - will file an immediate appeal of stay decision to Korea Supreme Court* Court’s decision to deny Qualcomm’s stay application does not impact Qualcomm’s appeal of underlying KTFC decision* Qualcomm inc - order reviewed by Court does not invalidate any existing license agreements, does not prohibit Qualcomm from entering into licenses Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-qualcomm-stay-appeal-denied-by-seo/brief-qualcomm-stay-appeal-denied-by-seoul-high-court-idUSFWN1LL0DQ'|'2017-09-05T06:03:00.000+03:00'
'51e22e4743d7c9e4bc4b342b005ff3eeec299c9c'|'NAFTA talks progress on energy, telecoms, customs - lobby group'|'September 5, 2017 / 4:06 AM / in an hour NAFTA talks progress on energy, telecoms, customs - lobby group Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A NAFTA banner is pictured where the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Mexico City, Mexico, September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Trade negotiators from Canada, the United States and Mexico have made headway on issues including energy, small businesses and telecommunications in talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the head of a top business lobby said on Monday. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” said Juan Pablo Castañon, head of the Consejo Coordinador Empresarial (CCE), which represented Mexico’s private sector during the trade talks. Castañon highlighted advances in energy, telecommunications, investment, as well as improving conditions for small-and-medium-sized firms and streamlining the customs procedures. He was talking to reporters near the close of the fourth day of a second round of negotiations to modernize the 23-year-old trade accord that underpins more than $1.2 trillion in annual trade. The round is set to wrap on Tuesday in Mexico City. The optimism stands in contrast to comments from U.S. President Donald Trump last week, who said he could move to withdraw from NAFTA if he does not get concessions to reduce a U.S. trade deficit of around $64 billion with Mexico. Castañon said talks on the automotive sector, labor and dispute resolution mechanisms were among the areas least advanced in the negotiations so far. Those issues remain some of the toughest sticking points on which to broker consensus and all three countries have previously flagged they could walk away from the table without any resolution on such matters. Free-trade negotiations often take years to conclude, but delegates in the new round of NAFTA dialogs are seeking to finish the current talks over a very tight timeframe. Negotiators aim to end the talks before Mexico’s presidential election campaign begins in earnest next year and the U.S. mid-term elections later in 2018. The next round of talks will start on Sept. 24 in Ottawa, said Castañon. So far talks have largely focused on proposing preferred language for less controversial areas, such as digital and cross-border services trade, according to government officials and industry representatives briefed. But negotiators have not started banging out the wording for more controversial subjects, including rules of origin and dispute resolution mechanisms. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo are scheduled to hold a joint news conference on Tuesday afternoon after talks conclude. Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/trade-nafta-negotiators/nafta-talks-progress-on-energy-telecoms-customs-lobby-group-idINKCN1BG0CL'|'2017-09-05T07:05:00.000+03:00'
'867111218c3277c608090251191e10f8dff6411d'|'U.S. crude prices rise on returning refineries, but gasoline slumps to pre-Harvey levels'|'September 5, 2017 / 12:59 AM / 18 minutes ago U.S. crude rises, gasoline falls as refineries restart Henning Gloystein , Dmitry Zhdannikov 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Vehicles line up for gasoline at the Fuel City service station in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Brandon Wade SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices rose on Tuesday and gasoline fell as the gradual restart of refineries in the Gulf of Mexico that were shut by Hurricane Harvey raised demand for crude and eased fears of a fuel supply crunch. Gasoline futures RBc1 dropped 4 percent from their last close, to $1.68 per gallon, down from $2.17 on Aug. 31 and back to levels last seen before Harvey hit the U.S. Gulf Coast and its large refining industry. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures Clc1 rose more than 1 percent to $47.84 per barrel by 1008 GMT, up 55 cents from their last settlement. “Gasoline fell as refineries in Texas began to reopen,” said William O‘Loughlin, investment analyst at Rivkin Securities. Texas was edging towards recovery from the devastation of Harvey as shipping channels, oil pipelines and refineries restarted some operations. Eight U.S. oil refineries with 2.1 million barrels per day of refining capacity, or 11.4 percent of the U.S. total, were shut as of Monday afternoon, the Department of Energy said. Harvey hit the Texan coast late on Aug. 25 and at its peak knocked out almost a quarter of all U.S. refining capacity. In international markets, Brent crude futures LCOc1 edged higher by 0.3 percent to $52.49 a barrel amid signals the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could extend its output limits beyond the first quarter of 2018. Russia and Saudi Arabia have discussed extending an oil output cut agreed among OPEC and non-OPEC producers but no specific decisions have been made yet, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said unofficial talks were under way to extend the cuts, adding that global crude inventories remained at high levels. Editing by Dale Hudson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/u-s-crude-prices-rise-on-returning-refineries-but-gasoline-slumps-to-pre-harvey-levels-idUKKCN1BG01R'|'2017-09-05T03:59:00.000+03:00'
'50fbd9de80b3def98edbdfe3e030e8c55579feeb'|'BRIEF-Tronc acquires the New York Daily News'|'Sept 4 (Reuters) - Tronc Inc -* Tronc acquires the New York Daily News* Acquired all of outstanding interests of Daily News, LP., owner of New York Daily News and NYDailyNews.com* Arthur Browne, current editor-in-chief of New York Daily News has also been named as publisher* Arthur Browne has agreed to stay until end of 2017* Under terms of transaction, Tronc assumed operational and pension liabilities of New York Daily News* Transaction includes 100% ownership of New York Daily News’ printing facility in Jersey City, New Jersey* Tronc Inc - will acquire 49.9% interest in JV with Zuckerman-related entities that will own 25-acre parcel of land on which printing facility is located Source text for Eikon: (Bengaluru Newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tronc-acquires-the-new-york-daily/brief-tronc-acquires-the-new-york-daily-news-idUSASB0BHZ5'|'2017-09-05T06:20:00.000+03:00'
'aa602a0a43170358640679e0f341ded307392b9f'|'Deutsche Bank CEO calls on ECB to change course'|'September 6, 2017 / 7:54 AM / 16 minutes ago Deutsche Bank CEO calls on ECB to change course Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan speaks during the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank’s ( DBKGn.DE ) chief executive John Cryan on Wednesday called on the European Central Bank to change course on monetary policy as asset price bubbles develop. He also said Frankfurt is the most natural location as a financial hub as banks move from London after Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. “The era of cheap money in Europe should come to an end - despite the strong euro,” Cryan told a room full of bankers in Frankfurt a day before the ECB’s governors meet to discuss policy. Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by John O''Donnell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-banks-rates/deutsche-bank-ceo-calls-on-ecb-to-change-course-idUKKCN1BH0WE'|'2017-09-06T10:49:00.000+03:00'
'ad18769b8c65315e55cd00a27d3e6955c3b7fb39'|'EU regulators halt review of Qualcomm-NXP deal for second time'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have halted for a second time their review of U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm’s $38-billion bid for NXP Semiconductors after the companies failed to provide key details of the deal.The European Commission paused its investigation on Aug. 17, a filing on its website showed. It had previously set a Dec. 6 deadline for its decision.“Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the deadline for the Commission’s decision is then adjusted accordingly,” EU competition regulators said in an email.The Commission is investigating concerns that the deal may raise prices and reduce innovation in the semiconductor industry.Qualcomm, which supplies chips to Android smartphone makers and Apple faces the risk of regulators vetoing the deal if it is unable to address those concerns with concessions.It is set to become the leading supplier to the fast growing automotive chip market following the deal, the largest ever in the semiconductor industry. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/nxp-semicondtrs-ma-qualcomm-eu/eu-regulators-halt-review-of-qualcomm-nxp-deal-for-second-time-idINL8N1LN35W'|'2017-09-06T10:00:00.000+03:00'
'62888e5b43a3496f4e46f7e90cf7257995a61c10'|'P&G says Peltz''s plan would lead to higher costs, lower profits'|' 43 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago P&G says Peltz''s plan would lead to higher costs, lower profits Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 7 (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co on Thursday said activist investor Nelson Peltz’s plan to boost shareholder value would result in higher costs, lower profits and another restructuring that could lead to a breakup of the company. Peltz’s Trian Partners released its long-awaited proposal on Wednesday, and called for P&G to be organized into “three largely autonomous business units under a lean holding company”. P&G said it had studied that approach and concluded it would result in higher costs, lower efficiency, reduced profits, and an added layer of management complexity. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru, editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/procter-gamble-trianfund/pg-says-peltzs-plan-would-lead-to-higher-costs-lower-profits-idUSL4N1LO3QT'|'2017-09-07T14:43:00.000+03:00'
'3a3a960c3c5164dd9d718a713df8ca50c27a0f42'|'China to spend over $1 trillion on planes over next 20 years - Boeing'|'September 6, 2017 / 7:25 AM / 5 minutes ago China to spend over $1 trillion on planes over next 20 years - Boeing Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese airlines are likely to buy more than 7,000 planes worth $1.1 trillion (844.6 billion pounds) over the next 20 years, as they grow their fleets to meet robust demand for domestic and international travel, Boeing Co said in a bullish forecast on Wednesday. Its latest estimate of 7,240 aircraft purchases for the period to 2036 is 6.3 percent higher than the U.S. planemaker’s previous prediction of 6,810 planes last year. “China’s continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle-class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook,” Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of marketing, said. “China’s fleet size is expected to grow at a pace well above the world average, and almost 20 percent of global new airplane demand will be from airlines based in China,” Tinseth said in a statement. Boeing and European rival Airbus have been jostling for market share in China, the world’s fastest growing aviation market, with both opening assembly plants in the country. Both firms have profited heavily from the aggressive fleet expansion plans of Chinese airlines, which are now experiencing falling passenger returns on routes, thanks to stiffer competition and capacity increases. The U.S. firm said it expects three-quarters of the 7,240 plane orders to be for single-aisle aircraft, thanks to strong demand for travel within China and throughout Asia. The widebody fleet would require 1,670 new planes, it added. Tinseth said he expected more demand for widebody aircraft, adding that the falling returns now being experienced by airlines was temporary. “They are big investments, it takes time, and they will get there,” he said. He added that there was more optimism on the long-term economic outlook, given better-than-expected economic growth in China this year, while the cargo market was also seeing a resurgence. Reporting by Pei Li in BEIJING and Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI; Editing by Sam Holmes and Clarence Fernandez'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-aviation-boeing/china-to-spend-over-1-trillion-on-planes-over-next-20-years-boeing-idUKKCN1BH0T0'|'2017-09-06T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'127e31917cca3b77bdd2ef1e7b197db0302c7e48'|'German family-owned Zeitfracht joins bidding for Air Berlin'|'German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht said on Tuesday it had expressed its interested in bidding for insolvent airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), citing opportunities for air freight business.“Ideally, we would like to keep Air Berlin intact in its entirety,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday, adding it expected to be given access to Air Berlin’s books swiftly so it could submit a formal offer by the Sept. 15 deadline.Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Edward Taylor '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-zeitfracht/german-family-owned-zeitfracht-joins-bidding-for-air-berlin-idUSKCN1BG0U4'|'2017-09-05T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'6e1f7ecc511e7c0fa64d43119509345d1137b926'|'Under pressure, Hyundai clashes with China partner over suppliers - sources'|'September 5, 2017 / 6:56 AM / in 4 hours Exclusive: Under pressure, Hyundai clashes with China partner over suppliers - sources Norihiko Shirouzu , Hyunjoo Jin 5 Min Read A man cylces past a gate of Hyundai Motor Co plant in Beijing, China, August 30, 2017. Picture taken August 30, 2017. Picture taken August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co is at loggerheads with its Chinese partner over efforts to cut supplier costs, as they grapple with cut-throat competition and the impact of a stand-off between Beijing and Seoul, four people familiar with the dispute said. Hyundai, along with affiliate Kia Motors, has been caught up in a political row over a missile defence system deployed in South Korea, but opposed by China. That has come against the backdrop of ever tougher competition from local Chinese automakers. Until last year, Hyundai and Kia ranked third in China by sales. But Hyundai’s sales alone have slumped 41 percent from January to July, fraying relations with local partner BAIC Motor Corp Ltd and making this the biggest crisis since Hyundai entered the Chinese market in 2002. Last month, Hyundai suspended production at its four China plants for a week after a French supplier refused to provide fuel tanks when its bills went unpaid. On Tuesday, Hyundai suspended production at one of its plants in China after a German firm went unpaid. Hyundai and BAIC - whose Beijing Hyundai joint venture is a 50:50 partnership - are divided over how to solve the issue of suppliers and tougher competition. Hyundai wants to protect its South Korean supply chain, while BAIC favours shifting to cheaper Chinese suppliers to cut costs, the people said. “BAIC wants to solve this aggressively and is ... asking Hyundai to change its sourcing strategy significantly and immediately,” said the head of a Hyundai supplier based in Seoul, adding the idea was to source more locally from cheaper suppliers in China. Hyundai wants to solve this more gradually “over perhaps 5-10 years and do so in phases,” the person said. BAIC declined to comment. A Hyundai Motor spokesperson told Reuters: “Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have been continuously trying to source competitive parts in China.” The stand-off underscores the depth of a crisis facing Hyundai and its suppliers in China, heavily reliant on sales to Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. “China has started to become a grave for South Korean automakers and suppliers,” said Lee Hang-koo, a senior research fellow at Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, adding suppliers were being hit the hardest. South Korean firms are squeezed between cheaper Chinese suppliers and European rivals which are technologically more advanced, making it challenging for them to diversify their customers beyond Hyundai Motor, he said. Parts from South Korean suppliers are around 30-40 percent more expensive than those from Chinese suppliers, industry sources say. PRICE WAR Hyundai has sought to turn its fortunes around, and last week replaced the head of its China operations. It also has plans for a local “brand” store, wants to assemble its premium Genesis cars locally and accelerate the launch of a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) for China. But sales have kept falling, aggravating an underlying rift at Beijing Hyundai over supplier costs, as Chinese carmakers such as Geely Automobile gain strength, and local suppliers improve their quality. Hyundai cars in China rely heavily on South Korea suppliers that have set up shop there, in large part to serve the group, despite higher costs. Some 145 members of South Korea’s parts supplier association had 289 plants in China at the end of 2016. “We can’t beat (local suppliers) in terms of price,” a senior executive at a South Korean supplier to Hyundai told Reuters, adding BAIC was putting pressure on Hyundai to switch to Chinese parts. A second supplier said some suppliers had not been paid since May, with BAIC pressing to cut prices by a fifth before payment. That could push some to a loss, the executive said. GROWING PRESSURE Pressure from BAIC to cut supplier costs has grown after a parts procurement study two years ago looked at its supplier costs versus Chinese rivals such as Changan Automobile Co Ltd and Great Wall Motor Co Ltd. These Chinese carmakers have made big strides, sometimes taking advantage of global automakers’ and suppliers’ engineering know-how and expertise, helping them produce popular and competitive SUVs, and win market share. BAIC backed moving towards local suppliers, and using the local supply chain to press overseas suppliers to reduce their costs. For Hyundai, though, this would hurt suppliers, including its affiliates, who serve it globally. An official at the South Korea parts suppliers’ association, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said some suppliers to Hyundai in China were taking out loans and laying off staff. “This is not an easy one to solve,” said another person close to Hyundai, adding the carmaker would seek to avoid changing its supply chain policies in China. “But if sales of Hyundai cars keep falling, then perhaps Hyundai will have no choice but to accept BAIC’s solution.” Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in BEIJING and Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hyundai-china-suppliers/under-pressure-hyundai-clashes-with-china-partner-over-suppliers-sources-idINKCN1BG0NK'|'2017-09-05T04:56:00.000+03:00'
'fef712ba9adf40deb5196d1ebe971f0811f59a39'|'HKEX talks to lure Saudi Aramco listing "will never stop" - CEO'|'September 5, 2017 / 3:15 AM / 14 minutes ago HKEX talks to lure Saudi Aramco listing "will never stop" - CEO Anne Marie Roantree 4 Min Read Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Chief Executive Charles Li attends an interview by Reuters in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd (HKEX) is still in talks with oil giant Saudi Aramco, with the bourse’s planned IPO investment links with China key to clinching the potential listing, Chief Executive Charles Li told Reuters on Tuesday. In February, Li said the stock exchange would bank on its role as a gateway to mainland China’s deep-pocketed investors to win the coveted listing of state oil firm Saudi Arabian Oil Co. Li, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event, said “the talk will never stop” in trying to woo the oil giant, with China now one of the largest importers of Saudi crude. Li said, however, that a planned primary stock connect, which would allow mainland Chinese investors to participate in Hong Kong initial public offerings (IPOs), would be pivotal in convincing Aramco to list in the Asian financial hub. Saudi authorities plan to list up to 5 percent of the world’s largest oil producer on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and also one or more international markets, potentially raising as much as $100 billion. NEW TRADING BOARD Li also said he expects to conclude final recommendations on rules for a new trading board “in the coming weeks”. HKEX started public consultation in June on the possibility of a board allowing listings of companies with dual-class share structures, which would be aimed at so-called new-economy firms in sectors such as the internet and bio-technology. Asia’s third-biggest equity bourse by market value is eager to increase its exposure to new, high-growth sectors to remain among the world’s top destinations to list shares. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Chief Executive Charles Li attends an interview by Reuters in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip Public consultation ended last month, with financial industry professionals still divided over the matter. Li said there might be a need for another round of consultation to decide how the new board and weighted voting rights would be implemented. Discussions would be “very intensive”, Li added. Hong Kong’s government and regulators are increasingly concerned that a series of scandals, many centred on mainland Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, has tarnished the territory’s reputation as a financial centre. Hong Kong has grabbed international headlines following scandals at companies including Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd and China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co Ltd, while a penny stocks crash earlier this year impacted the Growth Enterprise Market. The bourse’s second trading board has seen high levels of volatility due to very concentrated shareholdings and concerns have grown over the quality of companies listed there. Addressing concerns about listing criteria being less stringent on the new board, Li said public interest would not be compromised for profitability. He also downplayed the likelihood of the local financial regulator being given more regulatory heft or oversight. “Public interest is number one,” he said. “The key is the market will understand that the bulk of the listing rule regulation is still going to be at the exchange but the SFC will take a proactive role whenever they see fit,” he said, referring to the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong. Li added, however, that Hong Kong needed to find new ways to attract so-called new-economy companies to stay competitive. The HKEX chief also said he saw a sharp increase in international companies raising capital in Hong Kong since the start of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock connect, which allows non-Chinese investors to buy Shenzhen-listed shares via Hong Kong. Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Additional reporting by Elzio Barreto, Sumeet Chatterjee, Twinnie Siu and Julie Zhu; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hkex-ceo-board/discussions-on-new-hk-board-to-be-finalised-in-coming-weeks-hkex-ceo-idUKKCN1BG095'|'2017-09-05T08:27:00.000+03:00'
'eb603af5b9ca6889f5ee2edbe6b7594890e5ed0e'|'Lego to cut 1,400 staff as decade-long sales boom ends'|'September 5, 2017 / 8:01 AM / 19 minutes ago Lego to cut 1,400 staff as decade-long sales boom ends Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen , Julie Astrid Thomsen 3 Min Read A Lego logo is seen outside the world''s biggest Lego store in Leicester Square in London, Britain November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Lego said it would lay off 8 percent of its staff and revamp its business after reporting its first fall in sales in more than a decade on Tuesday. The report of a 5-percent decline in mid-year revenue came a month after Lego abruptly removed its chief executive, suggesting the company is facing its biggest test since flirting with bankruptcy in the early 2000s. The Danish toymaker said it could not promise a return to growth in the next two years, a jolting acknowledgement for a group widely admired for embracing the digital era and tying up lucrative franchises from Harry Potter to Minecraft. “We have now pressed the reset-button for the entire group,” executive chairman Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said, acknowledging the business had grown too complicated. He would seek a return to a leaner and more efficient organisation to respond to “losing momentum ... which we think could ultimately lead to stagnation or even decline.” Lego said revenues had disappointed in its core markets of the United States and Europe, after a decade of double-digit growth and launches spanning Lego sets, video games, movie franchises and smartphone applications. Sales related to its Star Wars line declining slightly in the first half of the year, the company said. It marked a sharp reversal for a company that managed to expand and respond to rising demand in Asia when Knudstorp was CEO, even as the global toy market shrank after the 2008 financial crisis. Lego toys are displayed at the Lego World exhibition at Bella Center Copenhagen, Denmark February 15, 2017. Scanpix Denmark/Ida Guldbaek Arentsen/via REUTERS Bali Padda tool over as chief executive in January, but the Briton was removed just eight months later and replaced by Danish industrialist Niels B. Christiansen. Sales between January and June stood at 14.9 billion Danish crowns (£1.84 billion), still topping My Little Pony producer Hasbro Inc’s ( HAS.O ) sales of $1.82 billion (£1.40 billion) and Barbie doll maker Mattel Inc’s ( MAT.O ) $1.71 billion. Last year, revenue growth slowed from 25 percent in 2015 to just six percent. Lego said it will cut approximately 1,400 positions - including up to 600 at its headquarter in Billund, Denmark - the majority of them before the end of 2017. The company currently employs some 18,200 people. “We’ve been through a decade of very high growth and during those years we have invested a great deal,” Knudstorp said, noting that the company added more than 7,000 new positions between 2012 and 2016. “What we have unfortunately recently seen is that despite the continued high level of investment, these have not materialised into a good harvest,” he said. The unlisted company said in March that mid-single-digit growth rates were more realistic for the years to come, but those expectations were revised downward on Tuesday. “We are not saying specifically whether we will grow the next two years or not,” Knudstorp said. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Julie Astrid Thomsen; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lego-results/toymaker-lego-to-cut-8-percent-of-staff-as-sales-decline-idUKKCN1BG0WL'|'2017-09-05T14:09:00.000+03:00'
'5438d55292701ca127ecfb4c19ba275e6775fda3'|'Amazon plans second headquarters in North America'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:04 AM / Updated an hour ago Amazon opens bidding to cities for $5 billion ''HQ2'', a second headquarters Richa Naidu , Supantha Mukherjee 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Amazon.com Inc driver stands next to an Amazon delivery truck in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on May 21, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo - RC117144E570 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) said on Thursday it would build a $5 billion second headquarters in North America, kicking off a competition between cities and states to offer tax cuts and incentives that could bring 50,000 new jobs. The largest e-commerce company said it intended to create “HQ2”, a headquarters that would be a “full equal” to its Seattle office, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement. The company wants a city of more than a million people with an international airport, good education and mass transit. It also wants subsidies. Incentives from land to fee cuts to relocation packages will be a major part of the decision, Amazon said, and local governments have shown they will go to great lengths to secure jobs and investment. In return, it promised up to 50,000 jobs averaging more than $100,000 in annual compensation over the next 10 to 15 years. Wisconsin’s legislature recently voted to give Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn a $3-billion incentive package to build a $10-billion liquid crystal display factory in the state, for example. Cities and states immediately began expressing interest. Dallas has already contacted Amazon, Mayor Michael Rawlings said, and Kentucky plans to submit a formal bid. Houston is interested and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made a case for his city in discussions with Bezos, a Chicago spokesman said. Toronto’s mayor John Tory called the Canadian city a “prime candidate.” Amazon’s investment plan gives it new leverage with politicians at a time when it has been criticized for its effect on bricks-and-mortar retailers. President Donald Trump has criticized the company as doing “great damage”, costing jobs in cities and states. The Wisconsin Foxconn factory will be in the home district of Paul Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Amazon said it was seeking proposals by Oct. 19 and would select the location next year. Related Coverage Kentucky plans to submit formal bid for Amazon''s second headquarters More than 50 cities have the 1-million population Amazon targets. Likely contenders could include U.S. Midwest states, where Amazon has many of its warehouses; Texas, which is the base of the Whole Foods Market grocery chain it acquired this year; and other business-friendly states. Amazon has been awarded more than $1 billion in state and local subsidies since 2000, according to estimates by watchdog Good Jobs First, which collects information on state subsidies from government filings, academics and news reports. Texas leads the way with the value of subsidies to Amazon, followed by Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, it said. “Amazon’s business model changed from avoiding state sales tax collections to seeking economic development incentives,” said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First. LeRoy, who has written critically of Amazon, said the reality of moving a headquarters has more to do with the executive talent pool, the amenities, schools, housing stock and quality of life, rather than municipal finance incentives. Amazon’s shares were up 1.2 percent at $979.61 on Thursday. SPRAWLING SEATTLE FOOTPRINT Amazon pointed to its expansion in Seattle as a sign of what it could do. The company, which began as a bookseller, has grown into the internet’s biggest retailer, built an award-winning movie studio, and has expanded around the world. Its workforce has exploded to more than 380,000 from under 25,000 since it moved to downtown Seattle in 2010, as it rapidly expanded to become a global retailer - selling everything from groceries to appliances. The company’s total revenue has grown to $136 billion at the end of last year, from $34 billion in 2010. Amazon recently snatched up Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. The “HQ2” project would initially need more than 500,000 square feet and up to 8 million square feet beyond 2027, Amazon said. “We want to find a city that is excited to work with us and where our customers, employees, and the community can all benefit,” Amazon said. Its Seattle campus spreads across 8.1 million square feet in 33 buildings and employs more than 40,000 people. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said his office immediately began conversations with Amazon about the company’s needs and its long-term plans for operations in the city. “But, we also must know headwinds are coming. Unprecedented growth will not happen forever and my upcoming budget will reflect that.” Incentives for Amazon’s new headquarters could make sense as a long-term investment that could change the image of a metropolitan area, said Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist for the Progressive Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. “The question is, how much of a tax break would you have given to have Apple set up shop in your state? It’s not so much the jobs as becoming a focal point for growth. No one can put a price tag on that.” One gripe among corporate watchdogs is the amount of actual state and local income taxes companies pay. For instance, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), between 2008 and 2015, there were 240 profitable companies among the Fortune 500 that fully disclosed their state and local income tax payments. They paid state income taxes equal to less than 2.9 percent of their U.S. profits. “Since the average statutory state corporate tax rate is about 6.25 percent (weighted by gross state product), that means that over this period, more than half of their profits escaped state taxes entirely,” ITEP reported in April. Writing by Peter Henderson, Additional reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago, Supantha Mukherjee and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru, Daniel Bases in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-headquarters/amazon-plans-second-headquarters-in-north-america-idUSKCN1BI1DM'|'2017-09-07T14:03:00.000+03:00'
'e4db9f8fe041e487ea2a930259ddc613269f5322'|'Euro shrugs off ECB concerns to top $1.20'|'September 7, 2017 / 1:13 PM / Updated an hour ago Euro pushes past ECB concerns to top $1.20 Saikat Chatterjee , Dhara Ranasinghe 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A journalist takes a picture of the new 50 Euro banknote with a mobile phone during the presentation of the new bill at the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - The euro jumped to a nine-day high on Thursday and bond yields fell as the European Central Bank broadly stuck to its outlook for growth and inflation while expressions of concerns at the single currency’s strength were insufficient to rein it in. ECB President Mario Draghi referred several times in his post-meeting news conference to the euro’s strength, and said it was the main reason for a cut in the bank’s new 2018-19 inflation forecasts. He also indicated any winding down of its massive stimulus programme was likely to be slow. It came as no surprise that Draghi cited the euro, which is up 14 percent this year against the dollar EUR= EUREER=ECBF, but his stress that the growth outlook was broadly unchanged allowed the euro to surge past $1.20. “The verbal intervention that was potentially on the cards coming up to $1.20 wasn’t there,” said Neil Jones, head of hedge fund FX sakes at Mizuho. “The actual FX reference...was lukewarm at best.” The single currency, which is up less than 5 percent on a trade-weighted basis EUREER=ECBF, rose as high as $1.2059 as Draghi spoke. It held most of its gains, last trading at $1.2027, up 0.9 percent on the day. “This was classic Draghi at the press conference: very balanced regarding the economic outlook but very vague regarding the outlook for policy,” Martin Arnold, FX and macro strategist at ETF Securities in London. European shares rose after the ECB reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was last up 0.3 percent on the day, with the export-oriented German DAX .GDAXI up 0.7 percent. Bond markets focused on the lack of a clear timetable for winding back the ECB’s programme of emergency bond buying, sending yields lower. The scheme is due to run to the end of the year but a strong euro curbs inflation and could complicate any attempt to withdraw stimulus. Draghi said most decisions on the scheme would probably be taken next month. Germany’s benchmark 10-year government bond yield fell to fractionally below 0.31 percent DE10YT=TWEB, its lowest since late June. Italy’s 10-year bond yield tumbled 10.5 bps to 1.916 percent IT10YT=TWEB, also its lowest level since late June. That pushed the gap over top-rated German Bund yields to 161 bps -- its tightest in more than two weeks. Portuguese bond yields slid 13 bps to 2.72 percent IT10YT=TWEB, their biggest one-day fall since April. Lower-rated southern euro zone countries have been among the main beneficiaries of ECB bond-buying, which has crushed borrowing costs across the bloc. “There was no clear sign of tapering, so there is a bit of relief in bond markets,” said ABN AMRO senior fixed income strategist Kim Liu. The euro initially surged after Draghi said the bank was keeping its growth and inflation forecasts broadly unchanged. It fell back when he added that recent volatility in the exchange rate was a source of uncertainty and had contributed to a trimming of the 2018-19 inflation forecasts. Its later recovery back above $1.20 helped push the dollar index to its weakest since January 2015. .DXY “(Draghi) is firing bullets to try to slow the currency’s strength down as much as they can,” said Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Financial Group in London. “The drop in yields and tightening of spreads slowed it down and possibly they will be able to design a smooth exit. I don’t think they are comfortable at all on the level of the currency but they are trying to control the level of pain.” Writing by Patrick Graham and Nigel Stephenson; Editing by Toby Chopra '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-forex-euro/euro-shrugs-off-ecb-concerns-to-top-1-20-idUKKCN1BI1RM'|'2017-09-07T16:21:00.000+03:00'
'170a74cc846dd7d6c4e7016529a73d5dd3ea0bd8'|'Auto suppliers Delphi, Magna join funding round for Lidar company Innoviz'|'SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Top automotive suppliers Delphi Automotive and Magna International Inc have joined a $65 million funding round for Innoviz Technologies, the maker of laser-based sensor technology for autonomous vehicles, the Israeli company said on Thursday.The Series B funding round comes as Innoviz prepares for the 2019 debut of its automotive grade solid-state Lidar device, InnovizOne, for full and partial self-driving systems.Suppliers Delphi and Magna will offer Innoviz’s technology to the automakers it works with, said Oren Rosenzweig, the co-founder and chief business officer of Innoviz.The company also plans to mass produce its Lidar platform for testing and development available in the first quarter of 2018.Auto industry experts believe Lidar is one of the crucial tools for the performance of full autonomous vehicles, and it has become a prime focus of investment. Lidar relies on light pulses reflected off objects to gauge their position on and near the road.The investment by rivals Magna and Delphi underscores auto suppliers’ desire to identify self-driving solutions for global automakers. Such tier-one suppliers serve as systems integrators, responsible for vetting devices and technologies that they then integrate into the automobile.The cost, complexity and accelerated pace of development of self-driving vehicles continue to spark sweeping alliances between automobile manufacturers and suppliers, and suppliers and makers of specific technology, such as Lidar.Over a dozen companies, from early entrant Velodyne to companies like Quanergy Systems and startups Luminar and LeddarTech, are vying to bring down the price of Lidar and improve its performance to meet real-world needs beyond its current use in development of self-driving cars.“When we started out we thought the biggest issue was price,” said Rosenzweig. “We’re working on getting the price down significantly compared to what you have today but we have to make the performance much higher.”He estimated that Lidar will drop significantly in price, as radar has, as the market develops. Rosenzweig estimated that the first Innoviz Lidar will be priced “in the hundreds.”InnovizOne Lidar can see objects with reflectivity of 50 percent at 200 meters, ahead of rivals whose devices see objects with 80 percent reflectivity, he said.“This is why it’s hard to compare Lidars, because you need to understand the assumptions people have when they give the numbers,” said Rosenzweig. “There are no standards. That’s the challenge.”Delphi announced last month it had acquired a minority stake in Innoviz. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/innoviz-autonomous/auto-suppliers-delphi-magna-join-funding-round-for-lidar-company-innoviz-idINL2N1LN29A'|'2017-09-07T09:31:00.000+03:00'
'48c156dafb8e34480b0b5262d9f3379663aa6921'|'Boeing wins $499 mln U.S. defense contract -Pentagon'|'September 6, 2017 / 9:16 PM / 5 minutes ago Boeing wins $499 mln U.S. defense contract -Pentagon Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Boeing Co was awarded a $499 million multiple award shared ceiling contract for six companies for the Aerospace Systems Air Platform Technology Research program, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/boeing-pentagon/boeing-wins-499-mln-u-s-defense-contract-pentagon-idUSL2N1LN2EV'|'2017-09-07T00:15:00.000+03:00'
'5b37ee2fefb3ac3311b23f12bce26ff6e8e198f9'|'Alitalia workers plan to join a bid for insolvent airline -Panorama magazine'|'FILE PHOTO: Scale models of Alitalia airplanes are displayed at a shop selling models of vehicles in Rome, Italy October 31, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - A group of Alitalia employees is preparing to join up with a non-European carrier and two Italian financial partners to bid for the insolvent airline, Italian weekly Panorama reported on Wednesday.Rome is looking for a buyer for all of Alitalia, which is under special administration for the second time in a decade. Around 10 bidders, including Ryanair ( RYA.I ), have expressed an interest in acquiring all of the carrier or part of its assets.Two pilots have now rallied support among Alitalia’s roughly 11,600 staff for a plan to buy 10-20 percent of the company, possibly partly financed by their severance pays, Panorama reported. It did not say how many employees were involved.The magazine did not name the other airlines or financial partners involved. It said the workers’ bid was motivated by a desire to keep their jobs.Binding offers for Alitalia must be presented by Oct. 2.Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-m-a-workers/alitalia-workers-plan-to-join-a-bid-for-insolvent-airline-panorama-magazine-idUSKCN1BH2V9'|'2017-09-07T03:57:00.000+03:00'
'30d5657847cc0b26beeb1b2d540f348798087f31'|'U.S. starts probe into steel flanges from China, India'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:16 AM / Updated 10 hours ago U.S. starts probe into steel flanges from China, India Reuters Staff 2 Min Read U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at Maryland, U.S., June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Commerce on Wednesday said it began an investigation into possible dumping and subsidization of stainless steel flanges from China and India. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the trade action in a statement, saying: “The Department will act swiftly, while assuring a full and fair assessment of the facts, to ensure that everyone trades on a level playing field.” In 2016 imports of stainless steel flanges from China and India were valued at an estimated $16.3 million and $32.1 million, respectively, the statement said. The probe followed petitions by two privately held companies, Core Pipe Products Inc of Illinois and Maass Flange Corp of Texas. They alleged dumping margins, or the discount to fair value, on products from China of 99.23 percent to 257.11 percent and from India of 78.49 percent to 145.25 percent. They also estimated that products from both countries were subsidized at undetermined rates, the statement said. The International Trade Commission is due to make a preliminary decision about whether the imports injure U.S. producers by Oct. 2, which would ensure the Commerce Department continues its investigation, the statement said. It said that from Jan. 20 through Sept. 6 this year, the department had begun 62 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, up 41 percent from the previous year. Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Andrew Hay'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-flanges/u-s-starts-probe-into-steel-flanges-from-china-india-idINKCN1BI011'|'2017-09-07T03:18:00.000+03:00'
'3d762b16e6247f635cd8cc2b5595da7840dd8a41'|'Ex-minister accuses former Brazil president Lula of accepting bribes'|'BRASILIA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The former finance minister under Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday accused the ex-president of receiving bribes from contractor Odebrecht , adding to a list of corruption accusations that threaten Lula’s ability to run in 2018.Lawyers for former Finance Minister Antonio Palocci said he told prosecutors that Lula accepted Odebrecht’s purchase of land for an institute in his name, a country house in Sao Paulo state and 300 million reais ($97 million) to be used after he left office.A representative for Lula said in a statement that Palocci, who was arrested a year ago in a corruption investigation, was lying and making accusations without evidence to secure a favorable deal with prosecutors to reduce his sentence.Such testimony from a close confidant could be damning for Lula, who intends to run for president again next year if he can successfully appeal a conviction that would bar him from standing. Lula faces four additional trials.Palocci testified for two hours as part of a probe into allegations Lula accepted the land for the institute.“It was a blood pact and a package of bribes that included payment for a property, an estate ranch and 300 million reais that gradually were made available according to a spreadsheet delivered by the contractor,” said Adriano Bretas, one of Palocci’s lawyers.Tracy Reinaldet, another of Palocci’s lawyers, said the agreement was made during the transition from Lula into former President Dilma Rousseff’s first term. Palocci also served as Rousseff’s chief of staff initially but was forced to resign due to corruption allegations. (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Ricardo Brito; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption/ex-minister-accuses-former-brazil-president-lula-of-accepting-bribes-idUSL2N1LN2JY'|'2017-09-07T01:48:00.000+03:00'
'9a3e0ef7fba4d6d6886ee4a679319c1fd944d28f'|'Blockchain immature for big central banks, ECB and BOJ say'|'September 6, 2017 / 2:29 PM / in 5 minutes Blockchain immature for big central banks, ECB and BOJ say Reuters Staff 2 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Distributed ledger technology like blockchain is not mature enough to power the world’s biggest payment systems, though it has the potential to improve system resilience, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday. The conclusions drawn are similar to those of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada in earlier assessments. Blockchain, which first emerged as the system powering the cryptocurrency bitcoin, is a shared record of information that is maintained by a network of computers without the need for a trusted third party. The euro zone and Japanese central banks argued that the technology has significant potential, “giving reasons to be optimistic”, but said issues including latency remained and that further development and testing were needed. “Given the relative immaturity of the technology, distributed ledger technology is not a solution for large-scale applications like BOJ-NET and TARGET2 at this stage of development,” the ECB and BOJ said in a joint statement, referring to their payment systems. “This joint effort has produced a thorough set of results that provide reasons to be optimistic with respect to the capabilities of DLT within payment systems,” they added. Information on a blockchain can be viewed by all parties connected to the network but can only be amended if each participant agrees to the changes. This creates a shared golden source of data that can reduce the need for an intermediaries such as banks, improving the potential for direct, real-time financial transactions between firms or individuals. Banks and other large financial institutions have been ramping up efforts to develop blockchain-based technology to run some of their most burdensome back-office processes, such as the clearing and settlement of securities. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blockchain-ecb/blockchain-immature-for-big-central-banks-ecb-and-boj-say-idUKKCN1BH1YC'|'2017-09-06T17:29:00.000+03:00'
'a8cb3ab82f14c64d619495ab6d79738efa70502f'|'Singapore''s DBS wins RBI approval to start subsidiary banking operation'|'September 4, 2017 / 10:57 AM / in 3 hours Singapore''s DBS wins RBI approval to start subsidiary banking operation Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A logo of DBS is pictured outside an office in Singapore January 5, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - Singapore’s biggest lender DBS Group Holdings ( DBSM.SI ) has won the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to provide banking services in the country through a wholly-owned subsidiary, its CEO said on Monday. Piyush Gupta said the bank expects to move to a subsidiary structure from the current branch structure in the country in the next six to nine months and was open to injecting more capital into the Indian business. The Reserve Bank of India had said in 2013 it would treat foreign banks operating in the country on nearly equal terms with local lenders if they moved to a wholly owned subsidiary structure. However, very few banks have shown interest. DBS was among the first to apply for a wholly-owned subsidiary in India. The approval gives DBS the ability to expand its products and increase the number of its branches across India. Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/dbs-india-subsidiary/singapores-dbs-wins-rbi-approval-to-start-subsidiary-banking-operation-idINKCN1BF171'|'2017-09-04T13:57:00.000+03:00'
'56390515d39b0384d640fb7d755b3f44f2a8c3c8'|'Investors pile into gold as Korean tensions escalate'|'September 4, 2017 / 1:26 PM / 6 hours ago Investors pile into gold as Korean tensions escalate Pratima Desai 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker shows gold biscuits at a precious metals refinery in Mumbai, India March 3, 2008. REUTERS/Arko Datta/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped to their highest in nearly a year on Monday as escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States and a weaker dollar persuaded investors to take refuge in assets perceived to be safe. Spot gold XAU= hit $1,339.47 on Monday, its highest since Sept. 27 last year, a time when the metal was benefiting from a surge of interest following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Prices of the precious metal used as a hedge against political and financial turmoil are up more than 7 percent this quarter and more than 16 percent this year. Investor interest can be seen in the holdings of physically-backed exchange traded funds, which at 54.757 million ounces are up more than three percent since Aug. 8. North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, prompting the threat of a “massive” military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened. “The war risk helped gold and it has been bid because of the weaker dollar,” said Andrew Cole, a fund manager at Pictet Asset Management, adding he saw “further upside”. Cole said Pictet’s Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund with nearly $590 million under management has four percent of its holdings in physical gold and 3.5 percent in gold mining stocks. The U.S. currency against a basket of other major currencies recently fell towards 90, to its lowest since January 2015, largely due to speculation the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates as quickly as anticipated. [FED/R] That made dollar-denominated gold cheaper for holders of other currencies; a relationship used by funds to generate buy and sell signals from mathematical models. [FRX/] “We’ve had uncertainty related to (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s inability to pass his growth-friendly policies and the Fed seem to be more dovish,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said. The idea that heightened security risks are behind rising demand for gold is highlighted by its relationship with silver, which because of its lower liquidity typically tends to move in a wider range than gold. “Silver has not managed to outperform gold, which is what we normally see when precious metals rally. That tells me gold demand is safe-haven demand for diversification,” Saxo Bank’s Hansen said. “Gold positioning is bullish. The ratio of longs to shorts is at its highest since late 2012, for every short there are 19 long positions.” On COMEX, speculators raised their net long gold positions for the 7th week running in the week to Aug. 29 to 231,896 contracts, the highest since September last year. Also reinforcing gold is loose monetary policy in many parts of the world. “There is a general unease about the management of currencies and the role central banks have played in that,” Pictet’s Cole said. “Look at bitcoin, an alternative currency, gold fits into that bill.” On the technical front, analysts say, North Korea’s missile tests helped gold to break decisively through the $1,300 an ounce triple-top resistance, which now serves as support. Upside barriers include $1,352, near last September''s high, followed by $1,376, the upper Bollinger band on the monthly charts. However, the momentum indicator near zero suggests gold could be in for a period of consolidation. Reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gold-korea-dollarindex/investors-pile-into-gold-as-korean-tensions-escalate-idUKKCN1BF1KY'|'2017-09-04T16:26:00.000+03:00'
'1088d2d900768a3c297bcc6ef2194ffd0945bd62'|'In sign of oil rebalancing, North Sea floating storage shrinks'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:01 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago In sign of oil rebalancing, North Sea floating storage shrinks Alex Lawler 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The volume of global price benchmark North Sea crude being held in floating storage has declined sharply since mid-August, according to shipping data and trade sources, a sign that a long-awaited market rebalancing is gaining momentum. Two supertankers being used to store North Sea crudes offshore the UK, Desimi and Gener8 Neptune, contain about 4 million barrels of oil, trade sources said. Three weeks ago, the total was closer to 10 million barrels. The clearing of the crude to destinations including China and South Korea has been encouraged by a rise in the price of Brent crude for delivery soon relative to later supplies LCOc1-LCOc2, trade sources said, a feature known as backwardation. “The whole market is tightening up,” said a North Sea trade source. “Crude inventories have been drawn down, and there is no direct economic incentive for floating storage.” The North Sea is home to the dated Brent benchmark, which is underpinned by Forties crude and three other grades. A stronger North Sea price can affect the wider market, as Brent is used to price oil around the world and underpins the futures market. LCOc1 Brent futures have moved back into their pre-Hurricane Harvey backwardation after concern of a significant drop in crude demand failed to materialise. With the Brent market in backwardation, the economic gain from keeping the crude in floating storage is removed. South Korea and China are regular buyers of North Sea Forties crude when the arbitrage is open. The volume of floating storage in the North Sea built up earlier this year amid a global crude glut and the price of oil being higher for future supplies, a feature known as contango. There is usually some crude being stored on supertankers in the North Sea as a market is found for the oil, often in far-away destinations such as Asia. One source described the current volume of around 4 million barrels as “operational.” Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northsea-oil/in-sign-of-oil-rebalancing-north-sea-floating-storage-shrinks-idUKKCN1BI22L'|'2017-09-07T18:01:00.000+03:00'
'2b1c76a1063c2c87cbed4700afe53806ef0bbbff'|'New Zealand unit of Topshop placed in receivership'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:24 AM / 7 minutes ago New Zealand unit of Topshop placed in receivership Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The New Zealand arm of British fashion retailer Topshop said on Thursday that it had been placed in receivership, just two years after the brand arrived in the country. Top Retail Limited, which owns the licence to operate Topshop in New Zealand, said in an emailed statement that its two stores would stay open until a final decision was made on their ownership. Like its Australian counterpart, the chain has struggled amid increased competition and posted losses, its receiver firm McGrathNicol said in a statement. As in many countries, New Zealand’s retail sector has been hurt as consumers replace visits to brick-and-mortar stores with online shopping. In neighbouring Australia, the chain had also suffered in the soft retail market and was placed under administration in May. Four Australian stores had managed to stay afloat after a restructure in which Britain’s Arcadia Group Ltd bought back parts of Topshop from its Australian franchise. Topshop opened its doors in New Zealand in 2015 to social media fanfare and long queues of people. It operates stores on the mainstreets of the capital, Wellington, and the country’s largest city, Auckland. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-newzealand-retail-topshop/new-zealand-unit-of-topshop-placed-in-receivership-idUKKCN1BI09C'|'2017-09-07T06:24:00.000+03:00'
'881f8ba9f90af21798172b8422158749cd3f814d'|'Government should cut Bank of Ireland out of Post Office bank, says report - Business'|'Post Office Government should cut Bank of Ireland out of Post Office bank, says report Ending partnership and establishing a state-run Post Bank would help small businesses and rural communicates, new research argues ‘Buying the banking business would help the Post Office to remain self-funding,’ said the author of the report. Photograph: Lewis Stickley/PA Post Office Government should cut Bank of Ireland out of Post Office bank, says report Ending partnership and establishing a state-run Post Bank would help small businesses and rural communicates, new research argues   07.00 BST First published   00.01 BST The government should cut the Bank of Ireland out of the Post Office network and establish a state-run Post Bank, using it to boost services to small firms and rural communities, a new report argues. Ending the partnership – which offers savings, credit cards and mortgages through the Post Office brand – and buying the Dublin-based bank’s Post Office assets would cost up to £2bn, according to research from Cass Business School on behalf of the Communication Workers Union. Doing this would help boost profits at the network, removing the need for government money in the long-run. Prof Barbara Casu Lukac, author of the report, said: “Most people are probably not aware they’re buying Bank of Ireland products, because they buy it at the Post Office. Buying the banking business would help the Post Office to remain self-funding.” This isn’t the first time the government has been urged to tear up its contract with the Bank of Ireland, while the latest calls also follow several attempts in recent years to get the government to create a state-owned “Post Bank” . Many European countries, including Italy and France, operate banks through their postal operators. The Labour party also included the establishment of a commission to create a Post Bank in its election manifesto. The plan could also represent a return to the days of the old Giro Bank , a “people’s bank” started by Harold Wilson in the 1960s through the Post Office but later sold off by Margaret Thatcher in the late 1980s. Creating a bank would offset the closure of branches by major high street lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, while also helping small firms to access financial services, according to the Cass study. Banks are set to close a record 762 branches this year, depriving rural communities of local facilities. Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial news Read more The report argues the Bank of Ireland lacks the ability to invest substantially in the Post Office. That has prevented the firm from establishing small business lending, while it’s also struggled to roll out current accounts, Lukac said. Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU, said the Post Office network “gives it huge potential for growth and to provide banking services” to small firms and financially excluded communities. “We would urge the government and the Post Office to act on the report’s recommendations,” he said. A spokesman for Bank of Ireland said the lender has a “long-established and successful financial services partnership” with the Post Office, dating back over a number of years and serving about 2.4 million customers. “Regarding the report referred to, we have no comment to make,” the spokesman added. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/07/government-should-cut-bank-of-ireland-out-of-post-office-bank-says-report'|'2017-09-07T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'847e00f51c115aa1b544e4be4b02fc358cc8b4fb'|'UPDATE 1-EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 6)'|'(Updates with Qualcomm, NXP deal review suspension)BRUSSELS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Private equity firms CVC and PAI Partners to acquire the rest of Spanish retailer Cortefiel (approved Sept. 6)NEW LISTINGS NoneEXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 11 -- Cinven Capital Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire joint control of GTA Travel Holding Ltd (notified Aug. 4/deadline Sept. 11)SEPT 14 -- Norwegian-based DNB Bank ASA and Swedish Nordea Bank AB to establish a joint venture concerning their banking activities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania(notified Aug. 9/deadline Sept. 14)SEPT 20 -- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)-- Buyout group KKR to acquire Dutch car park operator Q-Park (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)SEPT 25 -- Germany’s Infineon Technologies and SAIC Motor to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 25/simplified)SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge in 46 bln-euro deal (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)-- French reinsurance company Scor to acquire MutRe, a French company involved in the reinsurance of companies’ insurance policies (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26/simplified)SEPT 27 -- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27/simplified)SEPT 28 -- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (notified Aug. 24/simplified/deadline Sept. 28)SEPT 29 -- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)JAN 8 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 8 2018 after Commission opened in-depth investigation)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/update-1-eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL8N1LN5GA'|'2017-09-06T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'6451c8fbcaf3a8bbdfb9cfd95520532f5e1326b0'|'UPDATE 1-Kyrgyzstan says to settle environment lawsuits with Centerra'|'(Updates with statement from Centerra, stock price)By Olga Dzyubenko and Susan TaylorBISHKEK/TORONTO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Centerra Gold Inc and the Kyrgyz Republic have reached a proposed settlement related to mutual environmental lawsuits on the company’s Kumtor gold mine, though an agreement has not yet been finalized, the Canadian miner said on Wednesday.Talks are at an advanced stage on a deal to settle all outstanding disputes affecting Kumtor, said Toronto-based Centerra, which is locked in a bitter dispute with Kyrgyzstan over profit sharing at the mine, the company’s largest asset.The proposed settlement does not address that issue.Centerra shares were up about 8.4 percent to C$8.36 on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the announcement and lifting of a trading halt.Under the proposed agreement, which is subject to approval by Centerra’s board, the company would make a one-time $50 million payment to a new government-run nature development fund, alongside annual payments of $2.7 million contingent on government-compliance with the agreement.Centerra would also pay $7 million to a cancer care support fund and a further $3 million payment one year after a deal closed.Centerra is the biggest foreign investor and tax payer in Kyrgyzstan, contributing up to 10 percent of the impoverished Central Asian nation’s gross domestic product. The state owns a 32.7 percent stake in Centerra.In 2016, the miner took the nation to international arbitration over the profit sharing disagreement.It also was fined around $100 million for environmental damage by a court in Kyrgyzstan last year, while another regulator filed a $230 million lawsuit against the company.Under the proposed settlement, Centerra said it would also boost its payments to a reclamation fund to $6 million annually, until reaching the estimated reclamation cost, subject to a $69 million minimum.Centerra said it would also follow previous recommendations from the government’s environmental consultant, Amec Foster Wheeler, adding that most are fully implemented.Last July, Centerra acquired U.S.–based Thompson Creek Metals, for approximately $1.1 billion, to reduce its exposure to Kyrgyzstan. (Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko in Bishek and Susan Taylor in Toronto; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh, Bill Trott and Paul Simao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/centerra-kyrgyzstan/update-1-kyrgyzstan-says-to-settle-environment-lawsuits-with-centerra-idINL8N1LN4PJ'|'2017-09-06T13:34:00.000+03:00'
'ee6f4c4f661c68eb3be4616f7b4d05ff262abfa5'|'VW eyes sale of assets accounting for 20 percent of revenues: WSJ'|'FILE PHOTO - A man uses phone under a Volkswagen logo at the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is actively working on deals to sell non-core assets accounting for as much as 20 percent of the German carmaker’s annual revenues, The Wall Street Journal Quote: d its chief executive as saying on Thursday.Matthias Mueller told the Journal that a new team was working to sell businesses no longer considered critical.The Volkswagen group last year generated just over 217 billion euros ($260 billion) in revenues.Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this month that Volkswagen had put the 1.5 billion-euro sale of Ducati motorcycles on hold after resistance from German trade unions and internal rifts on strategy.Labor leaders at VW, who hold half the seats on the 20-member board, have strongly opposed a sale, regardless of price.Mueller told the Journal that Volkswagen’s governance structure meant that the talks over Ducati would take time.“The list (of asset disposals) has not been put away on the shelf. But we’re not going to let anyone tell us which decision to make,” the paper Quote: d him as saying.He also said that any talk of a possible merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) ( FCHA.MI ) was “speculation”.“We’re a big company and don’t have any interest in getting any more bloated. There has been a lot of speculation about FCA, which we’ve noted, but it is just speculation and nothing more,” he said.Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has previously wanted to merge with General Motors ( GM.N ) but was rebuffed repeatedly, and while he briefly flirted with the idea of a tie-up with Volkswagen, he said in June that there were no talks with anyone at present.($1 = 0.8333 euros)Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-divestiture/vw-eyes-sale-of-assets-accounting-for-20-percent-of-revenues-wsj-idUSKCN1BI2O0'|'2017-09-07T21:38:00.000+03:00'
'a0a75ae466b04de5109e2ef4e4dfe2bd38efac86'|'Madoff trustee recoups 527 million pounds in biggest settlement since 2011'|'September 6, 2017 / 7:45 PM / 2 hours ago Madoff trustee recoups 527 million pounds in biggest settlement since 2011 3 Min Read Bernard Madoff walks back to his apartment in New York December 17, 2008. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton NEW YORK (Reuters) - The trustee recovering money for Bernard Madoff’s victims on Wednesday announced his biggest settlement in six years, recouping $687 million (526.84 million pounds) from an Irish fund that began sending client money to the imprisoned Ponzi schemer in the 1990s. Thema International Fund Plc’s payment would boost the recovery by the trustee Irving Picard to about $12.7 billion, or more than 72 percent of the $17.5 billion in principal he has said Madoff’s customers lost. The payment represents transfers that Dublin-based Thema received from Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in the six years before Madoff’s fraud was uncovered in December 2008, plus 19.26 percent of earlier withdrawals. Wednesday’s settlement requires approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25. The accord is the trustee’s largest since a more than $1 billion settlement in July 2011 with Rye, New York-based Tremont Group Holdings Inc, one of Madoff’s largest “feeder funds.” Such funds often funnelled customer money to Madoff without telling the customers. Wednesday’s settlement stemmed from litigation begun in 2009 against non-U.S. entities linked to Sonja Kohn, founder of the now-defunct Bank Medici AG in Vienna, and Switzerland’s Benbassat family. Kohn had been a friend of Mario Benbassat, his family’s patriarch, and according to the trustee had been “instrumental” in getting European investors to invest in Madoff feeder funds. Neither Kohn nor the Benbassats have been accused of criminal wrongdoing. Lagoon Investment Ltd and Thema Fund Ltd, two offshore funds created by the Benbassat family, agreed to repay roughly $370.8 million to Madoff customers in settlements announced on June 27, according to court papers. The trustee said he will allow Thema International to maintain its so-called net equity claim in the Madoff firm’s liquidation. Madoff, 79, is serving a 150-year prison term. He pleaded guilty to fraud on March 2009. The cases are Securities Investor Protection Corp v. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-01789; and Picard v HSBC Bank Plc et al in the same court, No. 09-01364. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-madoff-settlement/madoff-trustee-recoups-527-million-pounds-in-biggest-settlement-since-2011-idUKKCN1BH2TJ'|'2017-09-06T22:45:00.000+03:00'
'8a685bacce305f9dc272387e699bb0edbb9ec3c0'|'Amcor considering potential takeover of rival Bemis Co: Bloomberg'|'(Reuters) - Packaging company Amcor Ltd ( AMC.AX ) is considering a takeover of rival Bemis Co ( BMS.N ), Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.Amcor is working with advisers to explore a bid for Bemis, which has a market valuation of about $4.3 billion, the report said.Amcor and Bemis were not immediately available to comment.Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bemis-co-m-a-amcor-ltd/amcor-considering-potential-takeover-of-rival-bemis-co-bloomberg-idINKCN1BI2TM'|'2017-09-07T18:06:00.000+03:00'
'8001201ef277c0d9f4e1abedf089dac6c62a1911'|'Conoco says Eagle Ford oil output nearing 80 pct of pre-Harvey level'|'NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips said on Monday its oil production in the Eagle Ford shale region had hit roughly 50 percent of its pre-hurricane rate of 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and expected it to reach 80 percent by the evening.The company suspended all operations and shut in production in the Texas region on Aug. 25 due to Hurricane Harvey.Conoco said production associated with natural gas liquids at Eagle Ford was expected to be the slowest to recover due to offtake constraints, which it said could last “at least another week.” (Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Writing by Libby George; Editing by James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-conocophillips/conoco-says-eagle-ford-oil-output-nearing-80-pct-of-pre-harvey-level-idINL8N1LL46V'|'2017-09-04T18:51:00.000+03:00'
'e10f4a4eb6546c49a577787ddd573b07966b674a'|'Australia''s AGL under pressure to sell, not close, coal-fired plant'|'September 6, 2017 / 4:43 AM / in 5 hours Australia''s AGL under pressure to sell, not close, coal-fired plant Sonali Paul 3 Min Read The logo of AGL Energy Ltd, Australia''s no.2 power retailer, adorns the building of their head office in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2017. Picture taken February 8, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray MELBOURNE (Reuters) - AGL Energy ( AGL.AX ), Australia’s biggest power producer, came under pressure from the government on Wednesday to sell rather than close one of its coal-fired plants in 2022 to help keep the lights on in a market short on stable power supplies. The company said it remained committed to shutting its Liddell power station in 2022, even after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government was talking to AGL Chief Executive Andy Vesey about selling the plant. “AGL has committed to the closure of the Liddell power station in 2022, which is the end of its operating life,” AGL said in a statement. The comments came after the Australian Energy Market Operator warned this week of a heightened risk of blackouts in Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, after 2022 if Liddell is shut. The clash highlights challenges facing Australia, where blackouts have become more frequent following a decade of uncertainty over carbon policy that has deterred investment in stable generation to back up wind and solar power. Turnbull told parliament on Tuesday he was talking to AGL about extending the life of the Liddell plant for at least five years, and told reporters that CEO Vesey was willing to consider selling it. “He’s said that he would be prepared to discuss selling to a responsible party who would be able to keep the power station going for a period,” Turnbull said. AGL said on Wednesday it still plans to close Liddell in 2022, noting it had given the market seven years notice to allow time to replace that capacity. “Keeping old coal plants open won’t deliver the reliable, affordable energy our customers need,” Vesey said on social media. The company said it continued to assess what capacity would be needed to replace Liddell. “AGL will continue to engage with governments, regulators and other stakeholders to deliver appropriate outcomes but notes that the company has made no commitment to sell the Liddell Power Station nor to extend its life beyond 2022,” it said. Privately owned Delta Electricity, which owns another coal-fired plant, said it would be interested in Liddell, but would have to carefully study the cost of extending its life before deciding whether to bid. “If it’s out there, we’d certainly go and have a look,” Delta Company Secretary Steve Gurney told Reuters. Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said it was too early to say whether the government would help pay to keep the plant open. Reporting by Chris Thomas and Sonali Paul; Editing by Stephen Coates and Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-agl-energy-liddell/australias-agl-under-pressure-to-sell-not-close-coal-fired-plant-idINKCN1BH0HS'|'2017-09-06T02:43:00.000+03:00'
'31e9c1890aa51d3aaa0225e4cb29ad9a752060e7'|'Airbus posts modest August deliveries, highlighting engine delays'|'September 6, 2017 / 6:15 PM / 6 minutes ago Airbus posts modest August deliveries, highlighting engine delays Tim Hepher 3 Min Read An Airbus A350-1000 lands during its maiden flight event in Colomiers near Toulouse, Southwestern France, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus ( AIR.PA ) said on Wednesday it had delivered eight A320neo-family jets in August and 76 so far this year, highlighting uncertainty over its 2017 delivery schedule after delays in receiving engines from its U.S. supplier. Deliveries of the newest member of Airbus’s narrowbody jet family, which generates most of its profits, have been disrupted by delays in engine supply from United Technologies ( UTX.N ) subsidiary Pratt & Whitney. In July, Airbus was forced to water down its financial guidance for the year, and tensions with the supplier flared last week when it told the United Technologies not to let its plans to buy Rockwell Collins ( COL.N ) distract if from resolving the issue. The announcement that Airbus had delivered 76 A320neo-family aircraft this year, leaves it just 38 percent of the way towards its full-year goal of 200 deliveries with just four months left. Airbus has said A320neo deliveries would be weighted towards the second half of the year, but industry sources said doubts were growing over whether Airbus could meet its full-year goal. United Technologies said this week it would not lose focus on industrial issues and stuck to its engine production goals. Elsewhere on its delivery book, Airbus said it had delivered eight A350 aircraft in August, bringing the total so far this year to 43. Airbus has not published a 2017 target for that model, but industry sources say it is aiming for about 80. Rival Boeing leads on both deliveries and orders this year. For the first eight months, Airbus delivered 399 aircraft, virtually unchanged from 400 at the same point last year. Finance Director Harald Wilhelm has said Airbus aims to deliver more than 720 aircraft in 2017, exceeding official guidance of more than 700, for a gain of 4.7 percent compared with 2016. Airbus sold 12 aircraft in the typically quiet month of August and took two cancellations. It sold 264 aircraft in the first eight months, or 215 after adjusting for cancellations. In roughly the same period, Boeing sold 491 aircraft - or 424 after cancellations. Between January and July, the latest period for which data is available, Boeing delivered 410 jets. Airbus had said earlier on Wednesday it sold 10 A350 jets to United Airlines ( UAL.N ) and agreed to defer deliveries as part of a restructured order from the U.S. airline. Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-orders/airbus-posts-modest-august-deliveries-highlighting-engine-delays-idUKKCN1BH2M3'|'2017-09-06T21:15:00.000+03:00'
'b599a6c119e251b9259469d0dd0eca767c260ef0'|'UK proposes to end free movement of labour after Brexit - Guardian'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:53 PM / in 3 hours UK proposes to end free movement of labour after Brexit - Guardian Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will end the free movement of labour immediately after Brexit and introduce measures to drive down the number of lower-skilled EU migrants, a leaked government document published by the Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday. Reducing net migration to Britain was one of the main reasons behind last year’s vote to leave the European Union, but firms have expressed concern they may not be able to hire the skilled and unskilled workers they need after Brexit. The Guardian said the document had yet to be endorsed by Prime Minister Theresa May’s top team of ministers. “Put plainly, this means that, to be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but also make existing residents better off,” the Guardian quoted the document as saying. The government does not comment on leaked draft documents, a government spokesman said. “We will be setting out our initial proposals for a new immigration system which takes back control of the UK’s borders later in the Autumn,” the spokesman said. May has previously said that free movement of labour would have to end when Britain leaves the bloc, but she has so far offered no detail on what kind of immigration system she wants. The Guardian said the government was also outlining a phased introduction of a new immigration system that ends the right to settle in Britain for most European migrants – and places tough new restrictions on their rights to bring in family members. “Food and drink manufacturing, Britain’s largest manufacturing sector, will be alarmed by the proposals contained in the document published by The Guardian,” The Food and Drinks Federation said in a statement. In August, net migration to Britain fell to its lowest level in three years in the 12 months to the end of March, with more than half the drop caused by EU citizens leaving and fewer arriving since the Brexit vote. But, at 246,000, the figure is far higher than the “tens of thousands” May has repeatedly stressed she believes is a sustainable level of migration. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-immigration/uk-proposes-to-end-free-movement-of-labour-after-brexit-guardian-idINKCN1BG2XE'|'2017-09-06T00:24:00.000+03:00'
'3ee260dd4ba6282ef6128fd307dd2723fbfbaff8'|'BBC launches staff pay review to quell anger over gender gap'|'September 6, 2017 / 12:05 PM / in 2 hours BBC launches staff pay review to quell anger over gender gap Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BBC workers place barriers near to the main entrance of the BBC headquarters and studios in Portland Place, London, Britain, July 16, 2015. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Files LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC is reviewing employee pay after it was forced to reveal that male stars were paid far more than their female counterparts, damaging the British public broadcaster’s image and angering women employees. The revelation in July that the BBC’s best-paid male star earned five times more than the best-paid woman, and that two thirds of on-air high earners were men, generated a spate of critical headlines as well as internal strife. “These are difficult and often deep-rooted challenges, and they are not unique to the BBC, but I see this as a moment of real opportunity for us,” Director General Tony Hall said in a speech on Wednesday. Hall said the corporation had commissioned a report on its gender pay gap, to be independently audited, that would look not just at top earners but at the broader picture across the BBC. He said it had also launched an audit of equal pay covering UK-based staff, which was being carried out by the law firm Eversheds and auditors PwC. “If it throws up issues, we’ll deal with them immediately,” said Hall, adding that both reports would be published. A woman is reflected as she passes the BBC''s Broadcasting House in London, Britain July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/Files BBC management had initially responded to outrage over the pay disclosures by pledging to close the gender gap by 2020, but that failed to satisfy irate women employees. “The director general must be in no doubt about how serious an issue equal and fair pay is for women across the organisation,” said a group of female BBC employees including high-profile TV and radio presenters. “The BBC should be the standard-bearer for this in the media,” they said in a statement on Wednesday, calling for solutions to rectify injustices to be put in place before the end of 2017. Hall gave no details about how exactly the gender pay gap would be tackled. The Telegraph newspaper quoted a senior BBC source as saying that the pay review could lead to pay cuts for some staff and rises for others. Funded by a licence fee levied from TV viewers in Britain, the BBC reaches 95 percent of British adults every week and a global audience of 372 million with its huge range of news and current affairs, entertainment, drama and comedy programmes. Its funding model means that it faces constant scrutiny by the British public, who pay for it, and by commercial rivals, who say the 3.7-billion-pound ($4.8-billion) licence fee distorts the market and gives the BBC an unfair advantage. Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-bbc/bbc-launches-staff-pay-review-to-quell-anger-over-gender-gap-idINKCN1BH1L8'|'2017-09-06T15:04:00.000+03:00'
'2efd520808ac855c572dd12ee5904e4c4cb5d17e'|'BP, Shell tie future to North Sea despite broad retreat'|' 30 AM / in 12 minutes BP, Shell tie future to North Sea despite broad retreat Ron Bousso 5 Min Read A Shell logo is seen on a fuel pump at a gas station In Warsaw, Poland June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Two of the most veteran oil and gas producers in the UK North Sea, Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and BP ( BP.L ), still tie their future to the ageing offshore basin despite a broad retreat in recent years. Both companies plan to explore this year for new resources in the North Sea, one of the oldest deepwater hubs faced with harsh weather conditions, executives told Reuters. The two oil giants have sold billions worth of North Sea fields, many of them nearing the end of their life, in recent years. But still they see golden opportunities there as new technologies open up resources that can be profitable with oil trading at around $50 a barrel and in some cases lower. “We like the North Sea. It has been an important hub for us for a long time and it will remain one,” BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said on the sidelines of the Offshore Europe conference in Aberdeen, Scotland, from where many companies hold their North Sea operations. “This year we will be drilling six exploration wells in the UK North Sea. That’s more than we drilled in decades.” In another sign of confidence, France’s Total ( TOTF.PA ) last month acquired Maersk Oil, which will see it leapfrog Shell and BP to become the second-largest North Sea producer after Norway’s Statoil ( STL.OL ). The parallel investments and retreat in the North Sea come as the basin prepares to dismantle dozens of platforms and plug hundreds of depleted wells that will cost operators including BP and Shell more than $60 billion (£46.05 billion) by 2050. The North Sea became a major offshore hub in the 1970s. Although its production peaked in the late 1990s, it has staged a modest recovery since 2015. It is believed to hold an additional 20 billion barrels, according to the British government. Despite harsh weather and often high costs, the North Sea offers a stable tax regime and guaranteed payments as its oil is sold in industrialised countries with high investment ratings and no military conflicts. BP, together with Shell and Siccar Point, started production in 2017 at one of the largest projects launched in the region in years, the Quad 204 field in the west Shetlands. A BP logo is seen at a new petrol station on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso BP plans to launch another field, Clair Ridge, next year, with the aim of doubling production by 2020 to 200,000 barrels of oil and gas equivalent per day (boed). At the same time, BP has sold a number of ageing fields, pipelines and terminals in recent years. GOOD MARGINS Shell’s oil and gas production in the North Sea is set to fall by around 40 percent to 150,000 boed after the planned completion this year of the $3.8 billion sale of a large number of fields and assets to private-equity-backed Chrysaor. But Shell vowed to remain a key player in the North Sea and invest hundreds of millions of dollars there. “Shell very much plans to be part of that future,” Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said of the North Sea. The Anglo-Dutch company plans to drill three to five exploration wells in the North Sea this year, according to Shell’s UK Chair Sinead Lynch and Steve Phimister, director of its UK oil and gas production, known as upstream. Shell also aims to maintain stable production of 150,000 boed into 2030, which will require an annual investment of between $600 million and $1 billion dollars, they said. The North Sea was severely hit by a three-year drop in oil prices, with drilling activity falling to levels not seen since the 1970s, according to Catherine MacGregor, drilling group president at services provider Schlumberger ( SLB.N ). But operators rose to the challenge, sharply reducing operating costs and introducing efficiencies that were lost throughout the rally in oil prices to above $100 a barrel in the first half of the decade. Operating costs in the North Sea have halved since 2014 to an average of around $15 per barrel, BP’s Dudley said. “The margin on the barrel in the North Sea is so strong it asks for you to come to invest in the basin to maintain production levels,” Phimister said. Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Dale Hudson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-majors-northsea/bp-shell-tie-future-to-north-sea-despite-broad-retreat-idUKKCN1BH1GN'|'2017-09-06T14:30:00.000+03:00'
'91a87c0d578321b7180d4c782d8ffa47db2570e1'|'United Tech, Rockwell deal faces bumpy road to approval, especially in the EU'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:53 PM / in 3 hours United Tech, Rockwell deal faces bumpy road to approval, especially in the EU Tim Hepher , Alwyn Scott , Diane Bartz 5 Min Read Traders work at the post where United Technologies stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid PARIS/NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) faces a long road to win approval for its $23 billion plan to buy avionics maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ), and the biggest bumps could be in Brussels rather than Washington. United Tech and Rockwell, who both supply airplane makers, say the overlap in their product lines is relatively small. Yet opponents of the deal could argue the combination gives the aircraft parts supply company undue market power. An early sign of trouble came when U.S. plane maker Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said it intended to take a “hard look” at the proposed deal. “Until we receive more details, we are skeptical that it would be in the best interest of—or add value to—our customers and industry,” Boeing said in a statement. The combined company could make more than 50 percent of the systems content on a Boeing 787 aircraft, by dollar value, noted Kevin Michaels, president of consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, referring to such components as flight controls and air conditioning. Michaels said he does not see the deal facing an issue from a competitive standpoint as there is virtually no overlap in products between the two companies. Rockwell’s shares rose 0.3 percent to $131.00 while United Tech shares fell 5.7 percent to $111.21, in part on the warning from Boeing. There was also a sign that Airbus is preparing to ratchet up pressure behind the scenes. A source close to the European plane maker told Reuters there were concerns about a “disconnect” between United Technologies and the leadership of its Pratt & Whitney unit. Another Airbus source said any distraction due to the merger would benefit Pratt & Whitney’s main rival CFM International, co-owned by the U.S. manufacturer General Electric Co( GE.N ) and France’s Safran ( SAF.PA ). Problems at Pratt & Whitney have delayed European aircraft deliveries, and Airbus has publicly warned United Tech to focus on delivering jet engines on time. If Boeing or Airbus opts to complain to antitrust enforcers, they can take the complaint to Europe’s competition authority and either the U.S. Justice Department or Federal Trade Commission, both of which review proposed mergers for compliance with antitrust law. Their strongest argument would be if both companies made one or several parts and had few competitors. “Many initially assumed it would be a slam dunk because of the lack of overlap. But the EU probe may prove to be difficult, simply on the grounds that the combined company would be so big,” said Nick Cunningham, aerospace analyst at UK-based Agency Partners. Boeing could also be concerned about the “portfolio effect,” where companies are able to exercise leverage based on the fact that they sell a wide range of specialized products to certain customers. This argument was used to doom GE’s plan to buy Honeywell in 2001, although it was European regulators rather than Washington who killed that deal. Boeing or other companies objecting to the deal could complain about a loss of competition. That would be the case if the government proves that either United Tech or Rockwell had plans to expand to compete with the other, said James Tierney, a former Justice Department antitrust expert now at the law firm Orrick. Antitrust enforcers would also be concerned by the reduced number of market players if United Tech and Rockwell were among the few companies that Boeing or Airbus could reach out to resolve technical problems, said Tierney. That concern would be amplified if the Defense Department agreed, said Tierney. Both the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission review proposed mergers to ensure they are legal under antitrust law. It is unclear which of the agencies would review this deal, antitrust experts said. (This version of the article corrects misstatement by source in 1st sentence to say combined company would have 50 percent of systems content on the Boeing 787, not 50 percent of all content in 4th paragraph. Also, in second sentence of 4th paragraph, corrects to say Michaels does not see a regulatory issue, not that this could be a bigger issue.) Reporting by Tim Hepther in Paris, Alwyn Scott in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Writing by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chris Sanders and David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rockwell-collins-m-a-utc-antitrust/united-tech-rockwell-deal-faces-bumpy-road-to-approval-especially-in-the-eu-idINKCN1BG39K'|'2017-09-05T20:53:00.000+03:00'
'f45c067aad7c60d06143d88b6942c780b069e6c2'|'UPDATE 1-Ex-minister accuses former Brazil President Lula of accepting bribes'|'(Adds charges by prosecutor against Lula and Rousseff; adds context)By Lisandra Paraguassu and Ricardo BritoBRASILIA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The former finance minister under Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday accused the ex-president of receiving bribes from contractor Odebrecht , adding to a list of corruption accusations that threaten Lula’s ability to run for president in 2018.Lawyers for the former finance minister, Antonio Palocci, said he told prosecutors that Lula accepted Odebrecht’s purchase of land for an institute in his name, a country house in Sao Paulo state and 300 million reais ($97 million) to be used after he left office.A representative for Lula said in a statement that Palocci, who was arrested a year ago in a corruption investigation, was lying and making accusations without evidence to secure a favorable deal with prosecutors to reduce his sentence.Such testimony from a close confidant could be damning for Lula, who intends to run for president again next year if he can successfully appeal a conviction that would bar him from standing. Lula faces four additional trials.Separately on Wednesday, Brazil’s top prosecutor, Rodrigo Janot, charged Lula, ex-President Dilma Rousseff and a former minister with obstruction of justice related to Lula’s nomination as Rousseff’s chief of staff in 2016. The nomination, later struck down by the Supreme Court, would have shielded Lula from prosecution by lower courts.It was the second charge from Janot in two days. On Tuesday he accused Lula, Rousseff and six other members of their Workers Party for allegedly forming a criminal organization to carry out corruption and other crimes involving state-controlled oil company Petrobras.Lula and Rousseff deny the charges.Palocci leveled his accusations in two hours of testimony on Wednesday as part of a probe into allegations that Lula accepted the land for the institute.“It was a blood pact and a package of bribes that included payment for a property, an estate ranch and 300 million reais that gradually were made available according to a spreadsheet delivered by the contractor,” said Adriano Bretas, one of Palocci’s lawyers.Tracy Reinaldet, another of Palocci’s lawyers, said the agreement was made during the transition from Lula into Rousseff’s first term. Palocci also served as Rousseff’s chief of staff initially but was forced to resign due to corruption allegations. (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Ricardo Brito; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption/update-1-ex-minister-accuses-former-brazil-president-lula-of-accepting-bribes-idINL2N1LO00M'|'2017-09-06T22:56:00.000+03:00'
'e9de54181e2df807fc5aac092da842c8f7ff94c8'|'Surrey becomes most expensive place in UK to buy pint of beer - UK news'|'Surrey has overtaken London as the most expensive place in the UK to buy a pint, according to the latest Good Pub Guide.Despite the fact that a beer in the capital costs £4.20 on average, drinkers can expect to pay 20p more in the traditionally well-off county, where house prices are twice the UK average.It is the only time since the guide was first published in 1982 that the average price in London has not been the highest in Britain.Fiona Stapley, the editor of the Good Pub Guide 2018, believes the capital’s dip in the ranking may be a result of the type of pub the handbook favours.“We’re not sure why this has happened, but Surrey is so affluent. It’s always going to be the expensive places – either London or Surrey. It may be that we have quite a lot of little local pubs in the guide that are London locals and they’re not as expensive as some of the big pubs [in the capital] that young people go to,” she said.The guide found that the average price of a pint of beer in Britain is £3.60, up 13p (3.7%) in a year, compared with a year-on-year rise of 1p in 2016.Facebook Twitter Pinterest An estate agent adjusts a listing in the window of his store in Guildford, Surrey. Photograph: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesHerefordshire and Yorkshire were the cheapest places to buy a pint (£3.31), followed closely by Shropshire (£3.33). London and Surrey were the only two places in the guide’s “rip off” category, with Sussex the next most expensive at £3.82.Stapley said pubs were facing a number of cost pressures, including inflation at 2.6% , which made for a difficult trading environment.“The chancellor’s decision to increase duty on beer for the first time in five years has been a massive blow to brewers, publicans and their customers,” she said.“There’s also been a huge increase [in costs] as a result of the national living wage, which has hit the industry really hard. The cost of raw materials is high for anything to do with making food and brewing beer, even boring things like electricity and gas.“Although landlords do try to absorb some of the costs themselves, they can’t cover all the increases, so some of it has to go on to customers. It’s a worry for a lot of publicans who may already be struggling anyway.”With 21 pubs closing each week , Stapley warned that even more could be forced to shut their doors as a result. Nevertheless, she said it was important to be positive about the future of the industry, pointing to research by Oxford University published earlier this year, which found that people who have a local they visit regularly tend to feel more socially engaged and contented.“If you’ve not have a good day or if you’ve had a fantastic day, you want to share it with people. It just makes you feel that you belong, it makes you feel at home, it’s vey cosseting,” she said.Topics UK news Food & drink Family finances London Beer Travel & leisure'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/07/surrey-most-expensive-pint-uk-london-good-beer-guide'|'2017-09-07T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'fcf067bdf7f678fe895f1f70e16b3c22dc2f996d'|'BRIEF-United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes on CNBC says anti-trust risk is very low on deal with Rockwell Collins'|'Sept 5 (Reuters) -* United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes on CNBC says anti-trust risk is very low on deal with Rockwell Collins* United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes on CNBC says will look at splitting up if deal does not work* United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes says on DACA, “we have to be compassionate” - CNBC '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-united-technologies-ceo-greg-hayes/brief-united-technologies-ceo-greg-hayes-on-cnbc-says-anti-trust-risk-is-very-low-on-deal-with-rockwell-collins-idUSFWN1LM0N8'|'2017-09-05T22:00:00.000+03:00'
'9bf2434e9841adb5e7aa4a7613545361da62f0d6'|'Jaguar Land Rover says hopeful of smooth trading after Brexit'|' 48 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Jaguar Land Rover says hopeful of smooth trading after Brexit   Signs are seen outside the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in Liverpool, northern England, September 12 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover ( TAMO.NS ) is hopeful that exporters in Britain will be able to trade in Europe after Brexit without bureaucracy and red tape because politicians on both sides will want to do the best for their countries, its boss said on Thursday. JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, is Britain’s biggest carmaker. “I‘m absolutely convinced that the politicians on both sides, continental Europe but also the UK, are interested to do the best for the society,” Chief Executive Ralf Speth told BBC Radio. “So therefore I‘m quite clear and hope that we get free and fair trade also in the future, without bureaucracy, without red tape so that the export industry ... can grow again.” Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Estelle Shirbon'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-jaguarlandrover/jaguar-land-rover-says-hopeful-of-smooth-trading-after-brexit-idUKKCN1BI0PO'|'2017-09-07T09:48:00.000+03:00'
'98b30a2b04b5a34fe0676c486522a1c926fec688'|'Nissan says new electric vehicle competitors ''positive'' for market'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:42 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Nissan signals a future EV crossover model Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Nissan Motor Co''s new Leaf, the latest version of the world''s top selling electric vehicle (EV), is seen during its world premiere in Chiba, Japan, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) said on Thursday it was considering producing an electric SUV in the near future as it expects demand for electric vehicles (EVs) to increase in coming years. “We might have a crossover EV shortly in the future,” Daniele Schillaci, head global sales and marketing who also oversees Nissan’s EV business, told reporters. “It’s totally logical for us, given the strong EV experience we’ve had, to see this technology one day will be carried to a crossover,” he added, while declining to elaborate on specific timing or models. Nissan on Wednesday launched a revamped version of its Leaf EV hatchback model, going head-to-head with Tesla Inc’s ( TSLA.O ) Model 3 and hoping to blunt criticism of limited driving ranges undermining EVs’ mass-market appeal. [L8N1LL070] The car, on sale in Japan from Oct. 2 and elsewhere in early 2018, can run for 150 miles (241 km) on a single charge based on estimates using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, using a 40 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery. Prices in Japan will start from 3.15 million yen ($28,992). Nissan is planning to release a longer-range, higher priced Leaf next year which will carry a bigger, 60 kWh battery. Schillaci said the car would be able to travel more than 225 miles (362 km), using EPA-based estimates. The Leaf’s launch comes after luxury electric car maker Tesla made its first foray into the Leaf’s more affordable price band in July with its $35,000, 220-mile Model 3. General Motors Co’s ( GM.N ) Bolt, released last year, runs for about 283 miles (455 km) and has a price tag of about $37,000. Schillaci said the automaker was also looking at ways to expand its “e-Power” gasoline hybrid system into other regions following strong sales in Japan of the e-Note, its compact multipurpose vehicle launched last year which was the first model to use the system. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Chris Gallagher '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nissan-strategy/nissan-says-new-electric-vehicle-competitors-positive-for-market-idUKKCN1BI0P0'|'2017-09-07T09:41:00.000+03:00'
'3c7350d1558a84c185feff661420765032ec213c'|'Emirates could restore U.S. capacity within six to nine months'|'LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Emirates President Tim Clark said on Thursday he hopes the Middle East’s largest airline will restore capacity to the United States in six to nine months after some flights were dropped earlier this year.“Demand for travel is still fairly strong, and I‘m hoping that in the next six to nine months that we will restore our capacity to what it was,” Clark said at an industry conference in London.Emirates started cutting frequencies on five U.S. routes from May, blaming a drop in demand on travel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.Clark said in June that demand to cities where Emirates had cut capacity had started to improve. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; writing by Alexander Cornwell; editing by David Clarke) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/airlines-london-emirates/emirates-could-restore-u-s-capacity-within-six-to-nine-months-idIND5N1GY02H'|'2017-09-07T06:27:00.000+03:00'
'0740099dfe6cec700a4392478a2f8b4f7536275b'|'MOVES-JPMorgan names Beer new global chief information officer'|' 53 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago MOVES-JPMorgan names Beer new global chief information officer Reuters Staff 1 Min Read NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has promoted Lori Beer to be global chief information officer, succeeding Dana Deasy, who is retiring, according to an internal memo. Deasy, 58, will join the boards of some technology companies with which JPMorgan has made partnerships and investments, according to the memo, which was sent to employees by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon on Thursday and seen by Reuters. Beer, 50, has been chief information officer for JPMorgan’s corporate and investment bank. In her new job, she will become the fifth woman on JPMorgan’s operating committee of 10 executives. Beer joined JPMorgan in 2014 after working for 15 years at Anthem Inc, according to the memo. (Reporting by David Henry in New York)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-executives-cio/moves-jpmorgan-names-beer-new-global-chief-information-officer-idUSL2N1LO0OW'|'2017-09-07T16:49:00.000+03:00'
'd0f50cef4b5c6c1a06c9263bda572615bc512ab7'|'Airbus says United expands and rejigs A350 plane order'|'An Airbus A350-900 aircraft performs a flight pass during the Singapore Airshow in Singapore February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Tim Chong PARIS (Reuters) - United Airlines has ordered 10 extra Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A350 jetliners, while ditching the largest model, the A350-1000, in favor of the smaller and more popular A350-900 and delaying deliveries to save cash, the companies said on Wednesday.United Airlines will now take 45 A350-900 aircraft instead of 35 of the upcoming A350-1000, which is undergoing flight trials before the first delivery later this year.The move is a mixed result for Airbus, sacrificing what had been seen as a key endorsement for its A350-1000 but preserving a place in the wide-body fleet at United after a review that had raised doubts over the A350’s entire future at the airline.United Airline’s finance chief Andrew Levy told a Cowen and Co conference that the 325-seat A350-900 was a “better fit” for United’s network.The aircraft will be used to replace United’s Boeing 777-200ER jets, which start to reach 25 years of age in 2022.Industry sources said United could still opt for the A350-1000 or other types if its fleet needs evolve.“We have many more options that we can exercise at similar attractive economics,” Levy said.The A350 order was held over from United Airlines’ fleet plans before it merged in 2010 with Continental Airlines, which had previously had an exclusive relationship with Boeing.Industry analysts said the A350-1000 risked being crowded out of the world’s largest airline, which had also placed significant orders for the competing Boeing 777-300ER.However, the airline also wanted to delay taking delivery of A350s, a decision that can trigger price escalation clauses and give planemakers some extra bargaining power in negotiations.Parent company United Continental Holdings ( UAL.N ) said it had deferred A350 deliveries to late 2022 through 2027, lowering near-term spending by $1 billion.The revised deal is worth another $1.5 billion for Airbus at list prices. The 366-seat A350-1000 has a catalogue price of $359.3 million, compared with $311.2 million for the A350-900.Aircraft are typically sold at discounts.Keeping the A350 at United had been seen as a key priority for Airbus executive vice-president Kiran Rao, recently named as successor for Airbus’s soon-to-retire sales chief John Leahy.Airbus declined comment.The A350-1000 was launched to compete with the older Boeing 777-300ER, whose production is slowing. But Airbus has struggled to preserve momentum at the top of its twin-engined range after Boeing fought back with the larger 777X.Orders for the A350-1000 peaked in July at 212 units, when they represented a quarter of all orders for the A350 family. The latest reshuffle reduces that percentage to a five-year low of 20.6 percent, a Reuters analysis shows.Additional reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Brian Love and Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-united/airbus-says-united-expands-and-rejigs-a350-plane-order-idUSKCN1BH1P8'|'2017-09-06T15:40:00.000+03:00'
'653f53c5b419a2a635b869ea3fcb0ef1b72da9d0'|'Grupo Mexico eyes October IPO of its rail unit: sources'|'The logo of mining and infrastructure firm Grupo Mexico is pictured at its headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico, August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo Mexico ( GMEXICOB.MX ) has resumed plans to list its transportation division, including its Ferromex railroad operator, on Mexico’s stock exchange, four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Its GMexico Transportes transportation division, previously called Infraestructura y Transportes Mexico (ITM), includes subsidiaries Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), Ferrosur, Intermodal Mexico and Texas Pacifico.The initial public offering will be launched in October, according to two of the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to publicly speak about the matter.Grupo Mexico in 2016 scrapped plans for the IPO of 15 percent of ITM‘S stock, arguing that market conditions were not optimal. It planned to raise between 13.7 billion and 16.0 billion pesos ($770 million to $899 million).Calls and emails to the company went unanswered.Grupo Mexico struck a $2.1 billion deal in March to take over Florida East Coast Railway, allowing it to expand its exposure to U.S. rail freight, increase dollar earnings and diversify revenue sources.($1 = 17.8005 Mexican pesos)Reporting by Sheky Espejo; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-grupo-mexico-ipo/grupo-mexico-eyes-october-ipo-of-its-rail-unit-sources-idINKCN1BH2SD'|'2017-09-06T17:30:00.000+03:00'
'76bb0af7c60d9b98b7c73488d03b8d81322d5787'|'Scotiabank running due diligence on BBVA Chile acquisition -CEO'|' 40 PM / 9 minutes ago REFILE-Scotiabank running due diligence on BBVA Chile acquisition -CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Fixes typo in second paragraph) TORONTO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia’s Chief Executive Brian Porter said on Wednesday the bank was undertaking due diligence on the potential acquisition of BBVA’s retail business in Chile. “We’re in the due diligence phase,” Porter said. “These opportunities don’t come along very often. They are once in a lifetime opportunities”. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bbva-chile-scotiabank/scotiabank-running-due-diligence-on-bbva-chile-acquisition-ceo-idUSL2N1LN0TO'|'2017-09-06T16:38:00.000+03:00'
'6668e3e7c45f726b333adc2bf1fb72db325800b2'|'VW eyes sale of assets accounting for 20 percent of revenues - WSJ'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:40 PM / a minute ago VW eyes sale of assets accounting for 20 percent of revenues: WSJ Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man uses phone under a Volkswagen logo at the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is actively working on deals to sell non-core assets accounting for as much as 20 percent of the German carmaker’s annual revenues, The Wall Street Journal quoted its chief executive as saying on Thursday. Matthias Mueller told the Journal that a new team was working to sell businesses no longer considered critical. The Volkswagen group last year generated just over 217 billion euros ($260 billion) in revenues. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this month that Volkswagen had put the 1.5 billion-euro sale of Ducati motorcycles on hold after resistance from German trade unions and internal rifts on strategy. Labor leaders at VW, who hold half the seats on the 20-member board, have strongly opposed a sale, regardless of price. Mueller told the Journal that Volkswagen’s governance structure meant that the talks over Ducati would take time. “The list (of asset disposals) has not been put away on the shelf. But we’re not going to let anyone tell us which decision to make,” the paper quoted him as saying. He also said that any talk of a possible merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) ( FCHA.MI ) was “speculation”. “We’re a big company and don’t have any interest in getting any more bloated. There has been a lot of speculation about FCA, which we’ve noted, but it is just speculation and nothing more,” he said. Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has previously wanted to merge with General Motors ( GM.N ) but was rebuffed repeatedly, and while he briefly flirted with the idea of a tie-up with Volkswagen, he said in June that there were no talks with anyone at present. ($1 = 0.8333 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-divestiture/vw-eyes-sale-of-assets-accounting-for-20-percent-of-revenues-wsj-idUKKCN1BI2O0'|'2017-09-07T21:37:00.000+03:00'
'bb1030892dec99262cc69fe43bbc9be690433543'|'Home Depot, Lowe''s start shipping emergency material to Florida ahead of hurricane'|'September 6, 2017 / 5:28 PM / 14 minutes ago Home Depot, Lowe''s start shipping emergency material to Florida ahead of hurricane Nandita Bose 3 Min Read CHICAGO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Home improvement retailers Home Depot Inc and Lowe’s Inc said on Wednesday they have started shipping emergency material to Florida in anticipation of Hurricane Irma, even as they continue recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Irma, which hit the Caribbean island of St. Martin on Wednesday, is expected to make landfall in Florida during the weekend but its precise trajectory remained uncertain. Irma could become the second powerful storm to thrash the U.S. mainland after Hurricane Harvey killed more than 60 people and caused as much as $180 billion in damage after hitting Texas late last month. “This is unusual because we are now juggling two different storms in two different phases. One is approaching while the other market is in the recovery phase,” Home Depot spokesman Matthew Harrigan told Reuters. Home Depot is following the “same script” preparing for Irma as it did for Harvey. The retailer’s merchandising and supply chain teams have previously dealt with different weather-related disasters at once, Harrigan said without giving specific examples. Before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, the world’s largest hardware and home improvement chain activated its disaster-response plan, asked managers to freeze prices in stores around the region and move storm related merchandise to the front of the store. It followed a plan honed over many hurricane seasons to minimize disruptions, deliver essential material to affected areas and capitalize on a surge in demand for products once repairs begin. Home Depot said it takes up to two months to open stores that are hit hard by a hurricane. Both Home Depot and Lowe’s had activated a hurricane command center during Hurricane Harvey that is now continuing to monitor the path of Hurricane Irma and mobilizing resources such as supplies. Rival Lowe’s Inc said it has sent 400 truckloads of hurricane prep material including flashlights, batteries and weather radios to Florida. Analysts have said investments in logistics and supply chain by home improvement chains during a weather-related disaster typically brings about 10 to 15 times more in sales. Shares of both Home Depot and Lowe’s traded up nearly 2 percent on Wednesday morning. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago, Additional reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-home-depot/home-depot-lowes-start-shipping-emergency-material-to-florida-ahead-of-hurricane-idUSL2N1LN1K6'|'2017-09-06T20:27:00.000+03:00'
'b67571803797b2fd94c7d81fd7000a23848dea5f'|'Verastem''s blood cancer drug succeeds in late-stage trial'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:16 AM / 6 minutes ago Verastem''s blood cancer drug succeeds in late-stage trial Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 6 (Reuters) - Verastem Inc said on Wednesday its drug to treat certain types of blood cancer met the main goal of a late-stage study. The drug, duvelisib, showed a superior progression free survival rate than the current standard of care, ofatumumab, when tested on patients suffering from cancers that affect cells of the immune system, the company said. Verastem said it intends to file for a marketing application for duvelisib in the first half of 2018. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/verastem-trial/verastems-blood-cancer-drug-succeeds-in-late-stage-trial-idUSL4N1LN3I7'|'2017-09-06T13:15:00.000+03:00'
'017d958437099c13230c7905c18a3473318802e1'|'EU plans rule change to increase taxes on online giants'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers are set to discuss next week rule changes aimed at increasing taxes on digital multinationals such as Google and Amazon, an EU document seen by Reuters said.Online giants are facing increasing pressure in Europe over the low tax they pay, but states have often found it difficult to raise the bill because existing rules limit the taxation rights to the countries where companies are physically present.The current legal framework favours digital companies over their physical counterparts and deprives states of valuable tax revenues, the Estonian presidency of the EU said in a document prepared for an informal meeting of finance ministers in Tallinn on Sept 15-16.The document proposes a reform of international tax rules to change the concept of “permanent establishment” so that digital multinationals could be taxed where they create value, and not only in countries where they have established their tax residence. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-tax-digital/eu-plans-rule-change-to-increase-taxes-on-online-giants-idINL8N1LN4JR'|'2017-09-06T12:34:00.000+03:00'
'358614e0e728aae33748d18430478b5b9c83ee18'|'Facebook digital ads figures differ from census data -analyst'|'September 6, 2017 / 4:24 AM / in 3 minutes Facebook digital ads figures differ from census data -analyst David Ingram , Rama Venkat Raman 3 Min Read The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (Reuters) - Figures Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) gives advertisers about its potential reach differ from U.S. census data, an investment analyst said on Tuesday, renewing questions about how tech companies verify the value of their digital marketing space. Facebook, Alphabet Inc’s Google ( GOOGL.O ) and other internet companies have faced persistent scrutiny from advertisers about how many people watch ads online and how to measure their views. Facebook’s ad-buying website tells advertisers that the world’s largest social network has a potential reach of 41 million 18 to 24 year olds in the United States, whereas U.S. census data shows that last year there were 31 million people living in the country between these ages, Brian Wieser, a Pivotal Research Group senior analyst, said in a note. The gap persists for 25 to 34 year olds and is not widely known among ad agency executives, Wieser wrote in the client note, adding that the gap may cause large advertisers to step up demands for third-party measurement services. Wieser, unlike most stock analysts, maintains a “sell” rating on Facebook’s shares. Facebook said in a statement that its audience estimates did not match census data, but added that this was by design as ad reach numbers “are designed to estimate how many people in a given area are eligible to see an ad a business might run. They are not designed to match population or census estimates”. People on Facebook self-report their ages, so these may also vary from census data. The company also uses location data from mobile devices to estimate its reach, meaning that it counts tourists and other visitors. Some 5.6 million non-residents visited the United States in January, the most recent month for which the U.S. Commerce Department publishes data. Last year, Facebook apologised to advertisers after finding that the average time users spent viewing online ads had been artificially inflated, because it was counting only videos that were watched for at least three seconds, its benchmark for a “view.” In November, Facebook launched a blog called Metrics FYI to share updates and corrections for its data. “While Facebook’s measurement issues won’t necessarily deter advertisers from spending money with Facebook, they will help traditional TV sellers justify existing budget shares and could restrain Facebook’s growth in video ad sales on the margins,” Wieser said. Reporting by David Ingram in San Francisco and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-advertising-research/facebook-inflates-ad-reach-claims-pivotal-research-analyst-idUKKCN1BH0GG'|'2017-09-06T10:58:00.000+03:00'
'0a4c5ecbfd6a69c2f1cdc9e8fae04bf1b00b3c42'|'Oil markets dip storm Harvey fallout; Hurricane Irma heads into Caribbean'|'September 6, 2017 / 12:53 AM / 31 minutes ago Oil up after Harvey fallout; Hurricane Irma heads into Caribbean Henning Gloystein , Julia Payne 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A gas pump is seen hanging from the ceiling at a petrol station in Seoul June 27, 2011. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak/File Photo SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as strong global refining margins and the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries provided a more bullish outlook after sharp drops due to Storm Harvey. Brent LCOc1 had gained 28 cents to $53.66 a barrel by 0952 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures Clc1 were up 15 cents at $48.81. “Hurricane Harvey was bearish for crude and speculators went massively short WTI but now there is a reversal to positions pre-Harvey. Strong margins are helping underpin crude ... gasoil is at its highest point this year,” Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix consultancy said. Many refineries, pipelines and ports that were knocked out by Harvey 10 days ago are restarting. As of Tuesday, about 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity, or 20 percent of the U.S. total, was shut. This compares with 4.2 million bpd at the height of the storm. Related Coverage Asian traders look to snap up U.S. crude in wake of Hurricane Harvey Focus was also being drawn to the Category 5 storm Hurricane Irma, which is barrelling towards the Caribbean and Florida and could knock out other refineries and cause more fuel shortages. Around 250,000 barrels of daily refining capacity in the Dominican Republic and Cuba lies in the immediate path of Irma, Thomson Reuters Eikon data showed. Fuel storage data due on Wednesday from the American Petroleum Institute and on Thursday from the Energy Information Administration is expected to give a better view of the extent of Harvey’s impact on U.S. fuel inventories, although analysts say it will take a few weeks longer to get a complete picture. There is also another tropical storm on Irma’s heels in the Atlantic, and another one active in the Gulf of Mexico. Longer-term, the oil industry outlook is for ample supplies and low prices as crude output remains high in the three biggest producing regions: Russia, the Middle East and North America. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday he expects the 2018 price of Brent to be $45 to $55 per barrel. Analysts said oil companies had adjusted to lower prices by cutting costs and thanks to improved refinery margins. “The oil majors are looking more comfortable at lower oil prices, posting strong quarterly results in Q2 despite weaker upstream revenue,” BMI Research said in a note. Reporting by Julia Payne and Henning Gloystein; Additional reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Dale Hudson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-markets-dip-on-fallout-from-hurricane-harvey-irma-also-in-focus-idUKKCN1BH04A'|'2017-09-06T06:46:00.000+03:00'
'779b6ad8e94bd43b87aaf6dc9d72520c8e9d3fa8'|'Fewer than 10 UK-based banks have asked for EU licence as Brexit looms -sources'|' 44 AM / 33 minutes ago Fewer than 10 UK-based banks have asked for EU license as Brexit looms: sources 6 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Fewer than ten of the approximately 40 banks that conduct EU business out of London have applied so far for a license to continue banking in the bloc after Britain leaves, regulatory sources told Reuters. The slow pace of applications is raising concern at the European Central Bank, the EU’s top banking supervisor, that some lenders are not doing enough to prepare for Brexit, or may even avoid its watch through a gap in the rules. The past two months have seen a pick-up in the number of banks saying they plan to set up new EU subsidiaries after Brexit, with most major U.S., British and Japanese banks saying they will establish units in Frankfurt or Dublin. But supervisory sources say they have still seen few formal applications for licenses. “We’re having lots of meetings but not enough concrete action,” one supervisor said. While Britain does not leave the EU until March 2019, bank executives have said time is already running out: it could take 18 months or more to set up a new subsidiary, given the need to relocate staff, get the requisite technology and change contractual arrangements with EU clients. The location of investment banks’ European headquarters is a major issue during Britain’s negotiations to leave the EU. Companies across the bloc depend for financing on global banks whose European arms are now mainly based in London. The Bank of England estimates that half of all the debt and equity issued in the EU involves financial institutions in Britain. Big banks have warned a “hard Brexit” could trigger financial instability if they were to suddenly lose access to EU markets. On Friday, Europe’s banking industry group said central banks would need to be ready to inject cash into financial markets to help keep them stable. The application for a banking license, to an EU member state’s national regulator and to the ECB, can take 6-12 months, and possibly longer if many banks apply at the same time. Three sources at different EU banking watchdogs told Reuters the total number of banks that had submitted applications so far across Europe was still in single digits. The ECB declined to comment on the number of applications made, but has previously expressed concern that banks are behind in their preparations. “A number of the larger banks have made progress in their planning,” Sabine Lautenschlaeger, who represents the ECB’s supervisory arm on the board, said last month. “But we have not seen many final decisions yet.” A spokesman at German regulator Bafin said it had received some applications and expected this to swell into double-digits eventually. The Central Bank of Ireland did not receive any applications in the first half of the year, its mid-year report shows. SUBSIDIARIES According to Lautenschlaeger, there are around 40 banks that now conduct business in other EU countries from UK bases. These include UK lenders, the big Wall Street investment banks and smaller groups from Asia and the Middle East. To receive permission to operate new or expanded subsidiaries in the EU, they would have to subject their business plans, safety and the fitness of managers and investors to national and ECB banking supervisors. Most major international and UK banks already operate small licensed subsidiaries in at least one other EU country, but would still need expanded regulatory approval to transfer big chunks of their London business to them. In at least five cases -- Barclays ( BARC.L ), Citi ( C.N ), HSBC ( HSBA.L ), JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and State Street ( STT.N ) -- European subsidiaries are already big enough to be directly supervised by the ECB, although they may need further permission to expand their operations. Barclays has said it plans to secure an expanded license for its subsidiary in Ireland. Among other big banks, Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) is negotiating with Dutch supervisors about moving some of its staff and business to its subsidiary in the Netherlands, while Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) and Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) plan to make formal submissions this year. ESCAPING SCRUTINY The ECB has complained that some firms could avoid its supervision by setting up market divisions, known as broker-dealers, rather than full-blown banks. A gap in EU financial rules means brokers do not need to be approved by the ECB, only by the national market supervisor of the country they base themselves in. Bank subsidiaries that obtain only a broker-dealer license, rather than an EU banking license, would not be able to take deposits or write loans for EU clients, but they could still deal in securities. The ECB worries that if banks avoid their supervision it could bring additional risks. Global investment bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) may be among those taking this route. A source has told Reuters the U.S. firm, which already has a licensed bank in Germany, has applied for a brokerage license from German market and banking supervisor Bafin. The ECB has asked EU lawmakers to close the loophole that allows banks to obtain brokerage licenses without ECB supervision, but this has yet to happen. Another factor keeping some banks from moving too fast in their Brexit plans is the challenge of negotiating with staff about moving out of London. “The delay in applications could also be due to considerations not to lose top-level employees,” a German supervisor said. Additional reporting by Frank Siebelt and Tom Sims in Frankfurt; Rachel Armstrong, Anjuli Davies, Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White in London and Padraic Halpin in Dublin; editing by Peter Graff'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-ecb/fewer-than-10-uk-based-banks-have-asked-for-eu-license-as-brexit-looms-sources-idUKKCN1BH143'|'2017-09-06T12:32:00.000+03:00'
'74a9a2740977c6b4e3d39508617f4d434532f9bd'|'''Star Wars: Episode IX'' and director part ways over movie vision -Disney'|'File Photo: Director Colin Trevorrow attends the premiere of "The Book of Henry" in Culver City, California, U.S. June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Phil McCarten LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The “Star Wars” movie franchise has parted ways with another director, Walt Disney Co announced on Tuesday, saying that director and writer Colin Trevorrow would no longer be involved in the studio’s scheduled 2019 film “Star Wars: Episode IX.”Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd in a statement blamed differing visions for the project but did not name a replacement.“Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on ‘Star Wars: Episode IX,''” the statement said.“Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process, but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon.”Trevorrow was due to write and direct the movie.It was the second “Star Wars” project to lose a director this year. Disney in June said that film makers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had left the upcoming Han Solo “Star Wars” spin-off movie project due to creative differences. They were replaced by Hollywood veteran Ron Howard, the Oscar-winning director of “A Beautiful Mind.”“Star Wars: Episode IX” is part of Disney’s expanding slate of “Star Wars” movies, which was rebooted by 2015’s hit, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” that reunited original 1977 stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. That film made more than $2 billion at the global box office.Disney gave no details about the reasons for Trevorrow’s departure, but Hollywood trade paper Variety cited sources as saying the split stemmed from differences over the script.Production on the film, the last of the planned trilogy of new movies tied to the central tale of the Skywalker family, was due to start early next year.The ninth film in the space saga was due to have starred Fisher and her character General Leia Organa, but Fisher’s unexpected death last year derailed those plans.Lucasfilm Ltd president Kathleen Kennedy said in a Vanity Fair interview in May that the film was being reworked by her, Trevorrow and the Lucasfilm team.Lucasfilm has said it would not digitally recreate Fisher’s likeness in future films.Trevorrow was named director after scoring a box office hit in 2015 with a reboot of dinosaur movie “Jurassic World.”The next film in the franchise, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” will be released in December.Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-starwars/star-wars-episode-ix-and-director-part-ways-over-movie-vision-disney-idUSKCN1BG387'|'2017-09-06T01:26:00.000+03:00'
'6bb8feb7d91649aa19981c659c008efecda35edf'|'China''s old growth model keeps slowdown at bay'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:32 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago China''s old growth model keeps slowdown at bay Elias Glenn , Kevin Yao 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man carrying a girl walks through a bridge at a park next to Beijing''s central business area, China August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s economy continues to defy expectations for a slowdown, buoyed by strong global demand for its exports and a resilient property market - despite a government pledge to crack down on rising risks. Beijing’s efforts to consolidate and restructure its industrial sector is paying dividends as profits rise, while strong fiscal spending and sustained infrastructure investment have ensured domestic demand stays strong. Manufacturing surveys last week showed factories continued to enjoy strong price gains, while demand remained strong with big increases in new business. All this means there is a good chance China’s growth will accelerate for the first time in seven years after growing at a 26-year low of 6.7 percent last year. The economy grew 6.9 percent in the first half of this year. “One factor is government investment; another is the impact from property,” said Wang Jun, senior economist at China Centre for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), a Beijing-based think-tank. “A resilient property market is a very important factor behind the stronger than expected economic growth, which is still from traditional drivers.” Wang expects China’s economy to grow 6.8 percent this year, beating the government’s target of around 6.5 percent. But reliance on old growth drivers - property and exports, a strong state sector, with a large dose of credit greasing the gears - raises concerns about the economy’s long-term trajectory. State firms account for an ever greater portion of overall fixed asset investment, and government-directed infrastructure spending continues to grow at over 20 percent, even as overall fixed asset investment growth has slowed to single digits. The confidence in the state sector is reflected in the stock market. Investors are betting on state firms to outperform their private company peers. A stock index tracking state-owned firms has outperformed an index of private firms by about 15 percentage points this year. While government budgetary spending has risen at only a slightly faster pace this year, CCIEE’s Wang said fiscal spending data doesn’t include off-budget spending, which has expanded via public-private partnerships and local government debt issuance. Investment in new property development is growing faster this year than last, and sales have held up better than expected this year as demand spills over into smaller cities, said Nie Wen, an economist at Hwabao Trust in Shanghai. Exports have also rebounded, growing 7 percent in dollar terms through July after two years of declines, even taking into account a surging yuan. (For a graphic on China''s fixed asset investment, click tmsnrt.rs/2xdrRpy ) GIVE UP GROWTH TARGET With growth on track this year, investors are now looking at whether the government will push through tough reforms, especially those targeting state firms, after the October congress of the ruling Communist Party, at which President Xi Jinping is expected to further consolidate power. State firms dominate upstream industries that have benefited most from commodity price gains, and it is the stronger state firms that come out ahead when weaker competitors are forced to shut down capacity or close operations completely. “We are pushing supply-side reforms, which pushed up prices in upstream sectors, but the spillover to the downstream sectors is not smooth,” said Hwabao’s Nie. Indeed, a recent survey of 2,000 Chinese industrial firms by Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business professor Gan Jie found the advantage of state firms over private firms is widening. There is also the enduring problem of China’s massive credit build-up. Michael Pettis, a finance professor at Peking University, says China has not made significant changes to its growth model, as credit continues to grow faster than nominal GDP. He believes China’s natural growth rate is significantly below its current GDP growth rate. “If you want growth more quickly than organic growth, it takes debt. How do you solve the debt problem? Simple, you give up the growth target,” Pettis told Reuters. “You can’t have the GDP growth target and reduce debt.” (For a graphic on china economy, click tmsnrt.rs/2lQ48De ) Reporting by Kevin Yao and Elias Glenn; Editing by Ian Geoghegan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-analysis/chinas-old-growth-model-keeps-slowdown-at-bay-idUKKCN1BI1MM'|'2017-09-07T15:32:00.000+03:00'
'2731020065bec05d9a707528cf4a949a3a829ecb'|'Russia''s Gazprom, Mitsui sign LNG cooperation agreement'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:45 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Russia''s Gazprom, Mitsui sign LNG cooperation agreement Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of Russian gas giant Gazprom is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ), Russia’s biggest natural gas producer, and Japanese trading firm Mitsui & Co ( 8031.T ) have signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cooperation agreement, the Russian energy giant said on Thursday. “The document reflects the parties’ striving toward cooperation in production, transportation and marketing of small and medium-scale LNG on the territory of Japan, as well as LNG bunkering in the Sea of Japan,” Gazprom said in a statement. Gazprom also said it had clarified certain provisions in the memorandum of understanding it signed with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) last year. Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; editing by David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-gazprom-mitsui-lng/russias-gazprom-mitsui-sign-lng-cooperation-agreement-idINKCN1BI0P2'|'2017-09-07T04:45:00.000+03:00'
'e994a32ee8a8bbc8104ea1e1c4de711670c1fc0e'|'Well done, Ryanair - yes, Ryanair! – for shaming the speedy boarders - Stuart Heritage - Opinion - The Guardian'|'N obody likes a speedy boarder. That’s just a fact, plain and simple. People who purchase priority boarding upgrades on low-cost airlines are genuinely worse than the devil. They’re snooty and snobby, and the only way they can distinguish themselves from the unwashed plebs they’re forced to share a plane with is by spending a fiver for the privilege of sitting in it first. They’re people who go on the internet specifically to pretend not to know who Kim Kardashian is. They’re people who sneer in Harvesters. They are the absolute living worst.Ryanair: pay £5 for priority boarding to carry on wheelie bags Read more They’re so bad that they’ve even done the unthinkable and made Ryanair look halfway good. Ryanair , for crying out loud: a company that’s inherently impossible to like. A company that made its name with unremitting unpleasantness as standard, run by a silent-movie baddie on a gap year from tying women to railway lines, has somehow come out of a policy announcement looking decent. Ryanair has just announced its intention to force everyone who uses a wheelie bag as hand luggage to purchase a priority boarding pass. And, well, hooray.On the surface, this is simply to address issues of space. On a plane with 189 seats, they say, there is only enough space in the overhead lockers for 90 bags. But lately, people have been exploiting Ryanair’s two-bag hand luggage policy by dragging both a wheelie bag and an oversized rucksack on with them. If every passenger did this, there’d be 380 bags all competing for a microscopic amount of space. Ryanair’s answer is a simple one: if you really want to bring two big bags on board with you, you’re going to have to pay for them.But really it seems Ryanair is simply doing a sterling piece of detective work. Whether intentionally or not, it’s actually helping to weed out latent speedy boarders. The people who are speedy boarders at heart – the sort of people who ignore the homeless and watch illegally streamed films for free, the sort of people who look at you with a dumb I’d-help-if-I-could expression when you ask for them to move their bag from an empty seat on a crowded train – but can’t commit to paying extra to make their monstrousness explicit, are gradually being edged out into the daylight.They’re the people who stop the plane taking off, attempting the equivalent of stuffing a wedding cake into a condomAnd, make no mistake, people who try to cram two big bags into the overhead lockers on planes are the living embodiment of latent speedy boarders. They’re the people who stop the plane taking off on time, causing a bottleneck in the aisle because they’re tutting and wheezing and attempting the aviation equivalent of stuffing a wedding cake into a condom. They could have just placed one of their bags in hold for free like everyone else. But no: that would have taken a maximum of five minutes and the barest trace of consideration for other people, and their convenience isn’t worth that.But now these people have been forced out into the open. If they want to maintain their selfishness, they’re going to have to pay for it. They’re going to have to let everyone else on the plane know upfront what exactly a swaggering pranny they are. The bell will ring in the departure gate, and they’ll announce “Can everyone who labours under the woeful apprehension that they’re somehow better than you please come to the front of the line?”, and the rest of us will watch, silently committing their bovine faces to memory.Honestly, I think Ryanair could have probably gone a little further with this plan. Hopefully its next policy will involve leading the speedy boarders to the plane with a bell-ringing nun who keeps chanting the word “Shame” at them. Or, better yet, special badges for speedy boarders to wear, so that everyone else can single them out and understand the depths of their depravity. Or, you know, slightly bigger overhead lockers. Whichever’s easiest, really.• Stuart Heritage writes on film, TV and music for the GuardianTopics Ryanair Opinion Airline industry comment'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/ryanair/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/07/ryanair-speedy-boarders-priority-boarding'|'2017-09-07T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'3dde38cb4fa08c1fdede8d161fcebe7ce3b39ce4'|'Tyson to build new Kansas plant as demand for chicken surges'|'Sept 6 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods, the biggest U.S. meat processor, said on Tuesday it would build a $320 million poultry complex in eastern Kansas to meet increasing consumer demand for chicken.The company said the new unit, which will produce pre-packaged trays of chicken for grocery stores, would begin production in mid-2019.The unit, which can process 1.25 million birds per week, would consist of a processing plant, hatchery and feed mill and employ about 1,600 people, Tyson said.Sales of chicken have increased as consumers seek more protein in their diets. It is also cheaper than beef and pork and is considered more healthy.Tyson said in a post-earnings call in August that it was finding it difficult to meet the increased demand for fully cooked chicken and raw meat in the United States.U.S. per capita consumption of chicken is expected to hit a record high this year, according to National Chicken Council’s annual data that runs from 1965. (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/tyson-foods-plant/tyson-to-build-new-kansas-plant-as-demand-for-chicken-surges-idINL4N1LM4WY'|'2017-09-05T17:12:00.000+03:00'
'b01d2822af0f3b62fb711050af2afa9284faa474'|'Buckeye Partners shuts Puerto Rico oil terminal ahead of Hurricane Irma'|' 19 PM / 24 minutes ago Buckeye Partners shuts Puerto Rico oil terminal ahead of Hurricane Irma Reuters Staff 1 Min Read HOUSTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Buckeye Partners has shut its Yabucoa oil terminal in Puerto Rico ahead of Hurricane Irma and is preparing for the storm at two other marine terminals in Florida and the Bahamas, the company said on Wednesday. The Yabucoa terminal can store up to 4.6 million barrels of crude and refined products. It also has two docks and one deep water berth. “Operations will resume as soon as weather conditions are safe to do so,” the company said in a statement. Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Bill Trott'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-buckeye-partners/buckeye-partners-shuts-puerto-rico-oil-terminal-ahead-of-hurricane-irma-idUSL2N1LN1SD'|'2017-09-06T21:19:00.000+03:00'
'792e46b75a51fe8cd844c42e609920e8ba0909a9'|'Essar Oil UK may boost purchase of U.S. oil'|'The logo of Essar group is seen at its headquarters in Mumbai, India August 21, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Essar Oil UK expects a $250-milion upgrade of its Stanlow refinery in northwest England to improve its basic profit margin by $1 a barrel as it will be able to process a greater variety of cheaper crude oils and raise output, its chief executive said on Wednesday.The company, owned by the Indian billionaire Ruia brothers’ Essar Group, plans to raise the annual processing capacity of Stanlow by about 10 percent to 75 million barrels.The company’s gross refining margin, the profit from processing a barrel of crude, stood at $9.20 a barrel in the March quarter, up from $6.80 a year ago.The Ruias, who last month completed the sale of their Indian refining business Essar Oil to a consortium led by Russia''s Rosneft for $12.9 billion, have so far invested $800 million in Stanlow since acquiring it from Royal Dutch Shell in 2011. reut.rs/2eKWPOiEssar plans to complete the expansion of the crude unit and revamp its catalytic cracker by July, S. Thangapandian told Reuters, adding that the refinery would be shut for at least a month to undertake the upgrade.“The final schedule for the shutdown will be drawn up in two to three months’ time,” he said, adding that following the expansion the company’s petrochemical production would also rise by about 10 percent.Essar mostly processes light oils because of stringent emission standards in the UK. But Stanlow’s use of North Sea crudes has been cut to about 50-70 percent from about 85 percent with an increase in purchases of oil from north and west Africa.The refiner earlier this year also took in for the first time a consignment of Eagle Ford shale oil from the United States and has booked two more cargoes, for delivery in October and November, to take advantage of price differentials.While the supply glut has weighed on Brent and West Texas Intermediate prices, the spread between the two grades holds at about $4.50 a barrel.“There is scope to buy more cargoes from the U.S. if the differential between Brent-WTI stays above $3 a barrel,” Thangapandian said.In the last year Stanlow has processed 37 more grades of crude and the expansion is geared towards further diversifying supplies to process cheaper grades while improving middle distillate yields.Essar UK supplies 16 percent of the UK’s demand for road transport fuels and operates 36 retail fuel stations but Thangapandian said the company aims to expand this number to some 400 in the next five years.Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi and Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/essar-uk-oil/essar-oil-uk-may-boost-purchase-of-u-s-oil-idINKCN1BH1IJ'|'2017-09-06T09:39:00.000+03:00'
'fe2d386d4a0fb8ef25286bc914eb8e66678f1a62'|'Wal-Mart starts holiday layaway program amid slow toy sales'|'CHICAGO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc has begun its holiday layaway program as it hopes to cash-in early on demand for gifts like toys, which saw slower sales growth industry-wide last December and has struggled to pick up so far this year.The world’s largest retailer started the layaway program on Sept. 1, a day before it did last year where customers can pay as little as $10 to hold items worth a minimum of $50.Layaway programs, which have made a comeback since the 2008 financial crisis as customers avoided using credit cards to make purchases, allow shoppers to put aside holiday merchandise like electronics and toys and make payments in installments until the full price has been paid.These plans tend to have a sizeable impact on sales and analyst estimates suggest the program accounts for as much as 15 percent of holiday revenues at Wal-Mart stores in poorer areas of the United States. Wal-Mart expects demand for toys to remain strong this year, despite worries about possible viewer fatigue after two strong years for the Star Wars franchise. “We think episode eight is going to be a strong movie, strong theatrical, the weekend was what we expected ... and what was going on in our stores and anticipate that will carry through,” Anne Marie Kehoe, Wal-Mart’s vice president of toys, said on a conference call. The retailer released Star Wars products at its stores on Sept. 1. She said Wal-Mart has stocked a bigger assortment of Star Wars items at a variety of price points this year. According to data from The NPD Group, the U.S. toy industry grew 5.5 percent between January-November 2016 but in December sales grew 3 percent, bringing annual 2016 growth to about 5 percent at $20.4 billion. In 2015, sales grew 6.7 percent.Sales are also off to a slower start in 2017, the NPD group said in a note in July.Toy sales have been under pressure as they compete with videogames and YouTube videos. Toymakers like Lego A/S and Mattel Inc, who are seeing sales decline, have been attempting to modernize toys for the digital age.For the holiday season, Wal-Mart said it will have 300 toys exclusively available at its stores and on its website from 400 toys last year. It includes Frozen Sleigh and Monster Jam Grave Digger along with collectible items like Fingerlings, L.O.L. Surprise Fizz Factory and littleBits Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit, Kehoe said.Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/walmart-holidayshopping/wal-mart-starts-holiday-layaway-program-amid-slow-toy-sales-idINL4N1LM5PD'|'2017-09-06T02:03:00.000+03:00'
'8fad942bc76851b4a3c52f05bc00417876b46bac'|'China to spend over $1 trillion on planes over next 20 years - Boeing'|'Reuters TV United States September 6, 2017 / 7:29 AM / a minute ago China to spend over $1 trillion on planes over next 20 years: Boeing Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Boeing Co''s logo is seen above the front doors of its largest jetliner factory in Everett, Washington, U.S. January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese airlines are likely to buy over 7,000 planes worth nearly $1.1 trillion over the next 20 years as they grow their fleets to meet robust demand for domestic and international travel, Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Wednesday. Its latest estimate of 7,240 aircraft purchases for the period to 2036 is 6.3 percent higher than the U.S. planemaker’s previous prediction of 6,810 planes last year. Reporting by Pei Li in BEIJING and Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI; Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-aviation-boeing/china-to-spend-over-1-trillion-on-planes-over-next-20-years-boeing-idUKKCN1BH0T2'|'2017-09-06T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'dee3d08895581c46b7925b7389d6d5e0a6bf12ec'|'France kicks off privatizations with sale of Engie stake'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:18 PM / in 2 hours France kicks off privatizations with sale of Engie stake Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of French gas and power group Engie is seen at the CRIGEN, the Engie Group research and operational expertise center, in Saint-Denis near Paris, France, Saint-Denis, France, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - The French government kicked off a planned asset sales plan with the sale of a 4.5 percent stake in gas utility Engie SA ( ENGIE.PA ) for 1.53 billion euros ($1.82 billion), the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a statement that the Engie sale is the first step in a 10 billion-euro state asset sales plan announced in July. “The proceeds of this operation will go towards the planned innovation fund,” Le Maire said. He added that the state wants to deploy its resources where they are most needed, notably to fund innovation. New French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to redeploy state funds locked up in companies in non-strategic, mature industries to invest in innovative start-up companies. State holding company APE said in a separate statement that following the stake sale - which included the sale of a 4.1 percent stake to institutional investors at 13.80 euros per share - the APE will hold 24.1 percent of Engie’s capital and 27.6 percent of the voting rights. The state remains the leading Engie shareholder following the sale, APE said. The operation also included the sale of a 0.46 percent stake to Engie itself, which will be used for employee share awards. Banking sources told Reuters last month that the national lottery, Paris’s main airport operator, Engie and several other firms deemed not strategic were set to be part of a wave of French privatizations this autumn. (1 euro = $1.19) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-france-privatisations-engie/france-kicks-off-privatizations-with-sale-of-engie-stake-idINKCN1BG37I'|'2017-09-05T20:18:00.000+03:00'
'699f900fc21bd8a61cc2025c22bac4e835d1e68e'|'Shell opens first Mexico gas station, eyes up to $1 billion investment'|'September 5, 2017 / 6:11 PM / 3 hours ago Shell opens first Mexico gas station, eyes up to $1 billion investment Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car''s side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, January 29, 2015. Picture taken January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell opened its first gas station in Mexico on Tuesday, adding to a growing list of foreign-branded pumps in a market still dominated by the green-coloured outlets of state-owned company Pemex. Following a 2013 constitutional energy overhaul that ended Pemex’ decades-long monopoly, private companies can now brand gas stations and sell non-Pemex brand gasoline and diesel, as well as import fuels. The opportunities are huge for the private sector in the fuel market of Latin America’s second-biggest economy, with Mexico now one of the world’s biggest gasoline consumers and the top foreign importer of U.S. gasoline. Shell said in a statement it plans to open an unspecified number of additional service stations and that investment in Mexico’s fuel sector could reach about $1 billion (£0.76 billion) over the next decade “if current market conditions are maintained.” The company’s inaugural gas station, which also features a convenience store, is located in a northwestern suburb of the sprawling Mexican capital. Shell, which in June won a shallow water exploration and production contract along with France’s Total, operates more than 43,000 gas stations in some 80 countries worldwide. Mexico boasts some 11,400 gas stations, the vast majority of which remain Pemex franchises. Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mexico-shell/shell-opens-first-mexico-gas-station-eyes-up-to-1-billion-investment-idUKKCN1BG2QH'|'2017-09-05T21:11:00.000+03:00'
'27a0c1a2996831bd2db88e82191ee44c35d699ed'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as energy, banking stocks gain'|' 44 PM / 10 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as energy, banking stocks gain Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index gained in early trade on Wednesday as heavyweight energy and financial stocks rose and convenience store operator Alimentation Couche Tard gained after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 46.52 points, or 0.31 percent, to 15,136.67 shortly after the open. All 10 of its main sector were in positive territory (Reporting by Alastair Sharp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-rises-as-energy-banking-stocks-gain-idUSL2N1LN0VB'|'2017-09-06T16:42:00.000+03:00'
'1aab60e70b29065ffae8489610dbe86e6a895bb1'|'European shares cautious ahead of ECB meeting; autos lift German stocks'|'September 7, 2017 / 7:39 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago European shares rise after ECB keeps ultra-easy policy Danilo Masoni 4 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday after the European Central Bank reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance and said details on cutting its massive stimulus would come in October. A fifth day of gains in auto stocks, however, helped German shares shrug off a spike in the euro as cheap valuations have revived investor interest in the sector. While the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5 percent, the export oriented German blue-chip index .GDAXI rose 1 percent to its highest level in more than six weeks. The euro jumped to a nine-day high as the ECB broadly stuck to its outlook for growth and inflation while outlining concerns about the single currency’s strength. “We still expect that the ECB will continue to take steps towards a tighter policy framework in a very gradual manner,” said Handelsbanken Capital economist Rasmus Gudum Sessingö. “Today’s message confirmed our expectation that the October meeting will include an extension of the QE program that currently is set to expire end December, but also details of the banks tapering plans,” he added in a note. A trader at a European bank said any stimulus extension would be welcomed by stock investors, while the move in the euro had little impact given the sharp swings already seen in August, when the single currency broke above the key $1.20 level. Almost all sectors traded in positive territory, while Europe’s banking index .SX7P steadied after three straight days of losses. Banks, whose lending business benefits from higher interest rates and yields, have been under pressure recently after strength in the euro fuelled talk the ECB could delay monetary policy tightening. Among top euro zone bank decliners were Spain’s Sabadell ( SABE.MC ) and Italy’s UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ), down 2 and 0.7 percent respectively, while BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) added 1.1 percent and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) added 0.6 percent. The head of the heavyweight German lender on Wednesday called on the ECB to change course on providing cheap money, despite the strong euro, warning he sees price bubbles in stocks, bonds and property. Carmakers .SXAP were a bright spot, up 0.9 percent and on track for their fifth straight day of gains. Traders said investors were lured by cheap valuations, expectations that sales could be driven up by people replacing cars damaged during hurricanes in the United States, while efforts by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to avert bans of diesel vehicles in some cities also buoyed interest. Ferrari ( RACE.MI ) lagged with a fall of 5.5 percent after a double downgrade from Morgan Stanley to “underweight” from “overweight”. Tobacco firm Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) rose 2.8 percent after selling part of its stake in Spanish logistics company Logista ( LOG.MC ). British outsourcer Capita ( CPI.L ) fell 2.4 percent after restating its 2016 profit following accounting changes. Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Dale Hudson and Pritha Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/european-shares-cautious-ahead-of-ecb-meeting-autos-lift-german-stocks-idUKKCN1BI0VE'|'2017-09-07T10:39:00.000+03:00'
'533b27124b314fa7b571f6e2297c79b23391b58c'|'China''s Guangzhou port storage facilities unable to accept new coal cargoes - official'|'Trucks carrying shipping containers are seen at Nansha terminal of Guangzhou port in Guangdong province, China June 14, 2017. Picture taken June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - Guangzhou port, the largest coal transport hub in southern China, said on Thursday that coal imports were operating normally after typhoon weather had caused a backlog that left storage facilities temporarily unable to accept new cargoes.“Coal imports operations are operating normally,” Guangzhou Port Co said in a filing to the Shanghai Exchange on Thursday.Reuters reported on Wednesday that Guangzhou, with 14 coal berths and capacity to handle 60 million tonnes of shipments per year, had halted operations, including foreign coal imports.The move surprised traders, who said they hadn’t received official information on why operations had been halted, and feared a ban on imports was being implemented in the wake of similar curbs at other China ports.The port, however, said on Thursday that it had not received notice of any official import restrictions.“Guangzhou port has not received any notices from customs regarding any curb on coal imports,” a port official told Reuters earlier on Thursday. “Neither did the port send out any notices to its clients ... As of this week, we still have foreign coal cargo ships coming into the port.”Thomson Reuters shipping data showed that at least one thermal coal cargo ship left the port on Thursday morning empty, after arriving there fully laden in the early morning hours of Sept. 4.The latest port filing showed August’s cargo throughput of all products, including coal, was at 35.5 million tonnes, up 3.8 percent from a year ago, but down from 38.45 million tonnes in July.Prior to the port filing, the reports of disruptions had rekindled worries about tightness in the market amid declining domestic production and more stringent port checks on coal cargoes.Mining caps and closures last year resulted in huge rises in coal prices which took many in the market by surprise.China’s coal production in July fell to its lowest level since October 2016 due to a flurry of environmental checks at coal mines. Coal imports also touched a five-month low in July.Reporting by Meng Meng and Beijing Monotoring Desk; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-coal-imports/chinas-guangzhou-port-storage-facilities-unable-to-accept-new-coal-cargoes-official-idINKCN1BI0DL'|'2017-09-07T07:40:00.000+03:00'
'8a5866eb159779f425b65c50fd4726ea1d1d6662'|'Popular bondholders challenge Spanish bailout fund'|'LONDON, Sept 7 (IFR) - Disgruntled bondholders in Banco Popular have opened up a new front in their challenges to the decisions taken in early June, appealing for more information about the reasoning that put the Spanish bank in resolution.The move saw junior bondholders bailed in on June 7 before the lender was immediately sold to Santander for a token €1, but the bondholders are contesting the decision.Last month the group, which includes Pimco, Anchorage Capital, Algebris, Ronit Capital and Cairn Capital, launched an action against the Single Resolution Board, which had recommended to the European Commission that Popular be put into resolution.The same group last night filed proceedings in the Spanish national court against the country’s Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB), which was set up in 2009 to provide funds to bailout Spain’s struggling banks.FROB provided a valuation of the bank, ahead of its resolution, that determined it was no longer viable and that junior bondholders would have to be bailed in, if €8bn of capital could not be raised immediately.The bondholders have filed an appeal in the national court to seek clarity in how FROB reached its decision, and if necessary claim restitution for their losses.“The FROB resolution lacked the necessary justification, which made it impossible for stakeholders to evaluate the reasons, the legal basis or the valuation underpinning the FROB resolution,” said Richard East, partner at law firm Quinn Emanuel, which is representing the bondholders.Andersen Tax & Legal is acting as Spanish legal counsel for the bondholders.In its earlier complaint, the bondholders had called for the SRB and EC to launch an inquiry into any leaks of regulatory information that could have caused customers to remove their deposits.That bank run effectively hampered Popular’s sales process, being conducted by JP Morgan and Lazard, leading to its resolution and distressed sale to Santander.Santander has already offered to pay up to €1bn in compensation to retail bondholders.Under that scheme, Santander is offering retail holders of certain Popular subordinated debt, or equity acquired as part of its May 2016 rights issue, new subordinated debt instruments as compensation for the losses.Up to €980m of the new bonds will be issued, paying 1% annually for seven years. The perpetual bonds can be called after seven years but if not called they will then pay 5.75% over bank spread rates. (Reporting by Christopher Spink) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/popular-bondholders-challenge-spanish-ba/popular-bondholders-challenge-spanish-bailout-fund-idINL8N1LO2S2'|'2017-09-07T09:01:00.000+03:00'
'c3dd183995814ff0f47f9ccc24e57ee85822b7f8'|'Loma Negra hires banks for U.S.-Argentina IPO as early as September: sources'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Loma Negra Cia Industrial Argentina SA, the country’s largest cement producer, has hired investment banks for an initial public offering that could be launched as early as this month, according to three sources with knowledge of the plan.Parent company Intercement Brasil SA, whose businesses span from Brazil and Europe to northern Africa, wants to sell shares of Loma Negra in Argentina and New York to raise cash and cut debt, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the deal freely this week.Loma Negra filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late on Tuesday. Underwriters for the IPO include the investment banking units of Morgan Stanley & Co ( MS.N ), Banco Bradesco SA ( BBDC4.SA ), Bank of America Corp. ( BAC.N ), Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ), Itaú Unibanco Holding SA ( ITUB4.SA ), according to the SEC filing.Camargo Correa SA, the industrial group that owns Intercement, has long considered a partial sale of Loma Negra as Argentina slowly lures back foreign investment with President Mauricio Macri’s market-friendly policies.The move also shows how Camargo Correa’s controlling family is battling the effects of Brazil’s longest recession on record, years of rampant borrowing and a corruption probe that ensnared the group’s engineering unit.Proceeds from the Loma Negra IPO, which could offer as much as 30 percent of the company, will be used by Intercement to reduce its debt, which totals five times its annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, one of the people said.Representatives for Intercement did not immediately comment. Newspaper Valor Economico first reported details of the IPO on Wednesday.Camargo Correa purchased Loma Negra in 2005 for $1 billion, the first in a series of acquisitions to strengthen Intercement in emerging markets. Loma Negra was founded in 1926 by Argentine businessman Alfredo Fortabat.Reuters reported in December that Camargo Correa had contacted investors over a private sale of a minority stake in Loma Negra, but talks did not bear fruit.Over the past two years, with Brazil’s recession and corruption scandals taking a toll on finances, Camargo Correa undertook a quick effort to downsize. It has since exited power utility CPFL Energia SA ( CPFE3.SA ) and apparel maker Alpargatas SA ( ALPA4.SA ) in 2015, fetching some $3 billion from the sales.($1 = 3.12 reais)Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-loma-negra-ciasa-ipo/loma-negra-hires-banks-for-u-s-argentina-ipo-as-early-as-september-sources-idUSKCN1BH2YJ'|'2017-09-07T04:37:00.000+03:00'
'2ad0bed62fae7623ce67d9269720bdd81540e411'|'Statoil says latest deal with Rosneft is compliant with sanctions'|'The company logo of Statoil is seen during a company results presentation in London February 6, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo OSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s Statoil ( STL.OL ) said on Thursday its cooperation with Russia’s Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) in developing the onshore North Komsomolskoye oilfield was compliant with European Union and U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.Statoil confirmed plans to take a 33 percent stake in the northwest Siberian field under an agreement signed with Rosneft in 2013, a year before sanctions on cooperation in oil production were imposed.“We continue to be transparent about all our activities and we make sure they are compliant with all relevant sanctions,” a Statoil spokesman said in an email, adding that North Komsomolskoye was a conventional oilfield, containing highly viscous crude.Sanctions ban Western companies from helping Russia produce oil from shale formations in the Arctic and in waters deeper than 150 metres (165 yards).The spokesman said Statoil planned to sign an agreement on the stake in SevKomNefteGaz LLC, which holds the North Komsomolskoye license, before moving to the next pilot production programme. Statoil will decide on the field’s full development later.He said test production could commence “soon”, but declined to provide any timeframe or say when full output might start.Rosneft said on Thursday that drilling and testing in 2015-2016 helped increase the field’s oil and condensate reserves to 111 million metric tonnes, or 813 million barrels based on worldwide average gravity, from 52 million tonnes.“The start of test production ... will lay the ground for a full-scale field development,” it said in a statement.Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Dale Hudson and Gwladys Fouche '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-statoil-rosneft-russia/statoil-says-latest-deal-with-rosneft-is-compliant-with-sanctions-idINKCN1BI0VZ'|'2017-09-07T05:55:00.000+03:00'
'06ddf462b1b7f3696e875ad719455d068046ab91'|'Batteries for homes, businesses surged in U.S. in 2nd qtr'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. energy storage market fell 11 percent in the second quarter as utilities connected fewer large projects to the grid, but batteries deployed in homes and businesses hit a record thanks to state incentives in California and Hawaii and lower prices on the technology.Overall, the U.S. deployed 38 megawatts of new energy storage during the period, down from 42.8 MW a year ago, according to a report released on Thursday by GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association. More than 40 percent of that was installed in homes and businesses, up from just 9 percent in the first quarter.The market for energy storage is still small, but growing rapidly as the costs of battery systems have fallen 10 to 15 percent over the last year, according to GTM analyst Ravi Manghani. Batteries can help solve the intermittency of solar energy generation, but the costs are still so high they need government support to make financial sense for customers.California, for instance, mandated that utilities procure energy storage systems to help ensure reliable electricity supply following a major natural gas leak near Los Angeles. Those systems created a surge in the utility-scale storage market at the end of 2016 and in the first quarter of 2017, so the decline in the second quarter was expected.California was the largest market for both residential and commercial installations, with 604 kilowatts and 12,030 kilowatts, respectively, thanks to a state incentive program that can halve the cost of a battery. State regulators doubled funding for the program earlier this year.Top battery manufacturers include Tesla Inc, LG Chem Ltd and Samsung SDI Co Ltd.Businesses are increasingly using batteries to lower hefty utility charges that are based on their peak demand.Home battery systems allow customers to store solar power generated during the day for use after sunset. But most homeowners who purchase batteries to pair with their solar systems want them primarily for backup power in the event of an outage, Manghani said.Hawaii was the second-biggest residential storage market with 552 kW. Because of its very high electricity rates and lack of a net metering program, batteries are an attractive option for many homeowners in Hawaii. (Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Sue Horton and Grant McCool) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-energy-batteries/batteries-for-homes-businesses-surged-in-u-s-in-2nd-qtr-idINL2N1LN20S'|'2017-09-07T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'34bef75b498f34559e1c2553477c06947474dc8e'|'EU plans rule change to increase taxes on online giants'|'September 6, 2017 / 2:34 PM / 6 minutes ago EU plans rule change to increase taxes on online giants Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BRUSSELS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers are set to discuss next week rule changes aimed at increasing taxes on digital multinationals such as Google and Amazon, an EU document seen by Reuters said. Online giants are facing increasing pressure in Europe over the low tax they pay, but states have often found it difficult to raise the bill because existing rules limit the taxation rights to the countries where companies are physically present. The current legal framework favours digital companies over their physical counterparts and deprives states of valuable tax revenues, the Estonian presidency of the EU said in a document prepared for an informal meeting of finance ministers in Tallinn on Sept 15-16. The document proposes a reform of international tax rules to change the concept of “permanent establishment” so that digital multinationals could be taxed where they create value, and not only in countries where they have established their tax residence. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-tax-digital/eu-plans-rule-change-to-increase-taxes-on-online-giants-idUSL8N1LN4JR'|'2017-09-06T17:34:00.000+03:00'
'52632d20c5b9db9ff1f6b9937c8311632964d4f3'|'BBC launches staff pay review to quell anger over gender gap'|'September 6, 2017 / 12:06 PM / 6 hours ago BBC launches staff pay review to quell anger over gender gap Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A woman is reflected as she passes the BBC''s Broadcasting House in London, Britain July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC is reviewing employee pay after it was forced to reveal that male stars were paid far more than their female counterparts, damaging the British public broadcaster’s image and angering women employees. The revelation in July that the BBC’s best-paid male star earned five times more than the best-paid woman, and that two thirds of on-air high earners were men, generated a spate of critical headlines as well as internal strife. “These are difficult and often deep-rooted challenges, and they are not unique to the BBC, but I see this as a moment of real opportunity for us,” Director General Tony Hall said in a speech on Wednesday. Hall said the corporation had commissioned a report on its gender pay gap, to be independently audited, that would look not just at top earners but at the broader picture across the BBC. He said it had also launched an audit of equal pay covering UK-based staff, which was being carried out by the law firm Eversheds and auditors PwC. “If it throws up issues, we’ll deal with them immediately,” said Hall, adding that both reports would be published. BBC management had initially responded to outrage over the pay disclosures by pledging to close the gender gap by 2020, but that failed to satisfy irate women employees. “The director general must be in no doubt about how serious an issue equal and fair pay is for women across the organisation,” said a group of female BBC employees including high-profile TV and radio presenters. “The BBC should be the standard-bearer for this in the media,” they said in a statement on Wednesday, calling for solutions to rectify injustices to be put in place before the end of 2017. Hall gave no details about how exactly the gender pay gap would be tackled. The Telegraph newspaper quoted a senior BBC source as saying that the pay review could lead to pay cuts for some staff and rises for others. Funded by a licence fee levied from TV viewers in Britain, the BBC reaches 95 percent of British adults every week and a global audience of 372 million with its huge range of news and current affairs, entertainment, drama and comedy programmes. Its funding model means that it faces constant scrutiny by the British public, who pay for it, and by commercial rivals, who say the 3.7-billion-pound licence fee distorts the market and gives the BBC an unfair advantage. Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-bbc/bbc-launches-staff-pay-review-to-quell-anger-over-gender-gap-idUKKCN1BH1LH'|'2017-09-06T15:06:00.000+03:00'
'2aefbde719a9c6973b6dcfe1b2867db440aa272a'|'GoPro expects to post adjusted profit in Q3'|'A GoPro device featuring 16 cameras, to be used with Google''s "Jump," to provide viewers with 360-degree video, is shown during the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco, California May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo REUTERS - Action camera maker GoPro Inc said on Thursday it expects to be profitable on an adjusted basis in the third quarter, ahead of the holiday season launch of its newest cameras, sending its shares up 17 percent.The company’s body-mounted point-of-view cameras have a huge following among action junkies such as surfers and skydivers, but sales have taken a beating in recent quarters after a series of missteps including production issues and delays.GoPro, which had earlier expected to report an adjusted loss in the third quarter, said strong demand for its cameras and drones was helping it reduce inventory.The company also said it was on track to launch the Hero 6, the latest edition of its flagship action cameras, and the new Fusion 360 camera by the holiday season.“(GoPro‘s) execution is going well ... specifically, the excitement is that the demand for existing GoPro products is strong and that bodes well for quite a Hero 6 sell run,” Wedbush Securities analyst Alicia Reese said.GoPro’s shares have fallen nearly 50 percent since October over concerns it is losing ground to feature-rich smartphones and rival products from companies such as Garmin and Sony Corp.Production issues with the Hero 5 camera and a delay in the launch of its Karma drone had also dented sales, weighing on the company’s stock.A successful launch of the Hero 6 could help allay some of those concerns.The company said it expects third-quarter revenue and gross margins to be at the high end of its forecast of $290 million to $310 million and 36 percent to 38 percent, respectively.San Mateo, California-based GoPro still expects a third-quarter loss on a reported basis, or before excluding one-time items.On an adjusted basis, the company had earlier expected a loss of 1 cent to 11 cents per share.Analysts on average were expecting a loss of 5 cents per share and revenue of $304 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.GoPro Chief Executive Nick Woodman said last month the company expects low double-digit revenue growth for 2017 and to be profitable for the year.Shares of GoPro were up 17.3 percent at $10.44 in early trading.Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/gopro-outlook/gopro-expects-to-post-adjusted-profit-in-q3-idINKCN1BI1FY'|'2017-09-07T09:26:00.000+03:00'
'36e8086522a10c070ba305fba59cd3def06807da'|'Strong growth in BRICS countries'' trade in 2017 - Maersk'|'September 7, 2017 / 10:47 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Strong growth in BRICS countries'' trade in 2017 - Maersk Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The MV Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, the world''s biggest container ship, arrives at the harbour of Rotterdam August 16, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Kooren/File Photo COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Trade between the BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has grown strongly this year, figures from the world’s largest container shipper showed on Thursday. Maersk Line, which handles one out of seven containers shipped globally, said its shipments from China to India had increased 26 percent by value in the first half of the year compared to last year. It also said that its shipments from China to Brazil and from China to South Africa each had grown by almost 9 percent. “We can see from our own statistics, customers in the four countries are most attracted to Chinese textile & apparel, consumer electronics (appliances and kitchenware) and furniture products,” Mike Fang, Managing Director for Maersk Line’s Greater China Cluster, said in a statement sent to Reuters. Growth in China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly accelerated in August, survey data showed, suggesting the world’s second-largest economy is still expanding at a healthy clip. Chinese policymakers are keeping the stimulus taps flowing at a time when stronger growth has prompting some in the West to start winding back cheap money. Maersk also said that the value of its shipments from South Africa to China had increased by 44 percent in the period. Although Chinese imports still mainly focused on raw materials and resources, Maersk Line saw an increase in the imports of, for example, meat from Brazil and fruits and nuts from South Africa, Fang said. “E-commerce cooperation is developing very fast among the five countries, with many of their products gaining traction on the Chinese market,” Fang said. “There is much potential to enable trade among BRICS nations and we will definitely look into it,” he said. The figures, which are more detailed than in Maersk’s earlier statements, were devised for a BRICS nations summit in Xiamen, China, this week. Reporting by Teis Jensen; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/maersk-brics/strong-growth-in-brics-countries-trade-in-2017-maersk-idINKCN1BI1CN'|'2017-09-07T13:46:00.000+03:00'
'0e01d1267957f9548b39d6a40661e9e2eaf317d4'|'Fortive to buy radiation safety company Landauer for $770 million'|'(Reuters) - Fortive Corp ( FTV.N ) said on Wednesday it would buy Landauer Inc ( LDR.N ), a provider of radiation safety and outsourced medical physics services, for about $770 million, including debt.Landauer’s shares were up 12.6 percent at $69.10 in premarket trading, topping the offer price of $67.25.Fortive’s offer represented a 9.6 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on Tuesday.Landauer would be a part of Fortive’s field solutions platform, which includes its Fluke and Qualitrol businesses, that make test and measurement tools and precision equipment for utilities, power companies and other industries.Everett, Washington-based Fortive, the industrial technology spin-off of Danaher Corp ( DHR.N ), would fund the deal with available cash and credit.Lazard was the financial adviser to Landauer.Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-landauer-m-a-fortive/fortive-to-buy-radiation-safety-company-landauer-for-770-million-idINKCN1BH1RY'|'2017-09-06T11:04:00.000+03:00'
'fb5386d710598ea576aab6170d5fb8177d595328'|'UTC touts $23 billion deal as stock drops, Boeing turns critic'|'September 5, 2017 / 12:56 PM / an hour ago UTC touts $23 billion deal as stock drops, Boeing turns critic Alwyn Scott 5 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors and Boeing Co gave two thumbs down on Tuesday to aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) $23 billion plan to buy avionics maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ). The acquisition, announced on Monday, would be the largest in aerospace history and create a new player in the top echelon of suppliers to Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and other plane makers. United Tech shares were down 5.2 percent after Boeing said it would and use the power granted by its contracts with the companies, and its sway with regulators, “to protect our interests.” The stock had fallen more than 4 percent before Boeing’s statement, as analysts factored in United Tech’s decision to halt share buybacks for three to four years and earnings dilution caused by the cash-and-stock deal. Analysts expected $2 billion in buybacks in the second half of 2017 alone. The loss of years of buybacks and Boeing’s unusual blowback came as plane makers are pressing United Tech and other suppliers for price cuts and trying to compete against them on high-margin services and spare parts. By making more of the components used on each Boeing and Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) aircraft, analysts say, United Technologies-Rockwell Collins would gain leverage to resist that pressure. United Tech Chief Executive Greg Hayes, who would lead the combined company, brushed aside Boeing’s concerns. “The whole idea of this deal is to be able to drive more innovative solutions at lower cost for our customers - both the (plane makers) and the airlines,” Hayes told Reuters on Tuesday, shortly before Boeing issued its criticism. Rockwell’s skill with software combined with United Tech’s expertise in numerous aircraft components allows the company to offer new “digital” products that airlines want, he said. “We’ll be able to do predictive analytics that many others can’t do, and that’s how you add value to airline customers,” Hayes said, referring to data-crunching that allows airlines to spot problems in engines and other components before they fail. HAYES ASSURED ENDERS Hayes said he had assured Airbus CEO Tom Enders that United Tech’s Pratt & Whitney unit will stay on track to deliver between 350 and 400 jetliner engines this year. Traders work at the post where United Technologies stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid United Tech fell behind on engine deliveries this year due to production problems, and Airbus raised concern last week about the deal distracting United Tech. “Pratt has nothing to do with this,” Hayes said, noting United Tech’s aerospace unit, not Pratt, will combine with Rockwell Collins to create Collins Aerospace. Hayes also knocked down speculation that the purchase would prompt United Tech to spin off its Carrier air conditioner or Otis elevator units, saying the company needs their cash flow to help pay down debt from the deal. But Hayes did not rule out such sales in the longer term. FILE PHOTO: The ticker symbol for United Technologies is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo “After the deal is done, and after we pay down some debt, we’re going to go back and look,” he said. If the company’s share price does not reflect its value, he said, “we’ll need to do something.” United Tech could sell “non-core pieces” such as home security in the meantime, Hayes said. But given taxes and lost earnings, “it’s hard to make financial sense out of those transactions” unless they fetch a high price, he said. Rockwell''s shares rose 0.3 percent to $131.00 in afternoon trading. United Tech shares, part of the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI , fell 5.2 percent to $111.82. “We see limited upside near term as share repurchase is withdrawn and deal timing becomes an investor focus,” analyst Jeff Sprague at Vertical Research Partners said in a note. United Tech’s engines and systems portfolio has little overlap with the avionics, seats and interiors businesses of Rockwell, which Hayes said should mean little trouble during the necessary regulatory review. The combination, if successful, would mark the rise of a second engines-to-seating supplier, after jet-engine maker Safran SA’s ( SAF.PA ) pending $7.7-billion deal to buy seat maker Zodiac Aerospace ( ZODC.PA ). Safran said on Tuesday it would look at assets that might come up for sale after the United Tech-Rockwell deal. United Tech expects to borrow $15 billion and will assume $7 billion in Rockwell debt to fund the deal, which is expected to close by the third quarter of 2018. United Tech said the acquisition would add to earnings in its first full year and yield at least $500 million in cost savings by the fourth year of operation. Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, Tim Hepher and Mike Stone; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rockwell-collins-m-a-utc-divestment/united-tech-sees-limited-divestment-needs-cash-flow-to-reduce-debt-idUKKCN1BG1RJ'|'2017-09-05T23:01:00.000+03:00'
'85a1912f558e662fb9302ee32950ca8e533aeb44'|'Bank of Canada leapfrogs Fed, other central banks on rate hikes'|'September 6, 2017 / 8:27 PM / in an hour Bank of Canada leapfrogs Fed, other central banks on rate hikes Andrea Hopkins 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A sign is pictured outside the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada struck a more confident approach to growth on Wednesday with its second rate hike in three months, pushing to the front of the pack of major central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve. After years of economic pain in Canada induced by slumping commodity prices, the surprise move has flipped policy divergence on its head. Just months ago, Canada lagged the U.S. economic recovery and looked like it would never keep up with the Fed’s tightening cycle. The Canadian dollar jumped more than 2 percent to a two-year high against the greenback as the bank decided to raise rates now instead of waiting until October as expected, and as policymakers struck a more hawkish tone. The Fed is the only other major central bank in the world to raise rates this year. The Bank of Canada has distinguished itself as the only central bank willing to raise borrowing costs before inflation has even reared its head, said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank. “The bank’s confidence in its perception of the outlook is in stark contrast to the challenges other central banks are facing with regards to policymaking,” Osborne said. All major global central banks slashed interest rates and several turned to alternative methods to stimulate their economies in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2007-2009. Few have found their way back to more normal levels of borrowing costs. The Fed began raising rates in 2015, when Canada was cutting rates to counter a drop in oil prices. Now, Fed officials are getting more dovish in the face of weak U.S. inflation data, reducing the likelihood of a third rate hike this year Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank has indicated caution about withdrawing from its asset purchase programme and the Bank of England is battling sluggish growth and Brexit risks. On the other side of the world, the Reserve Bank of Australia has said its stimulatory policy remains appropriate. Canada’s economy will pay a price for the rush to raise rates ahead of the pack. The lift to the Canadian dollar will make exports more expensive in the United States, the country’s largest market. “If Canada were to get far out ahead of the Fed in raising rates, that would fuel additional appreciation of the Canadian dollar and that would create new headwinds for non-commodity exports,” said Bill Adams, senior international economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh. The come-from-behind economic recovery in Canada may be partly chalked up to fiscal stimulus more easily achieved in Ottawa than in gridlocked Washington, as well as the willingness of banks to lend, said Mark Chandler, head of Canadian fixed income and currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets. Canada also typically benefits in the later stages of a global economic recovery, as industrial production revives in other countries, spurring demand for Canada’s natural resources and putting a floor under commodity prices. “All those are good developments for a small open trading economy,” said Chandler. “Typically that would be Canada’s role - late in the game, we are out ahead of the pack.” Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-canada-cenbank-divergence-analysis/bank-of-canada-leapfrogs-fed-other-central-banks-on-rate-hikes-idUKKCN1BH2XJ'|'2017-09-06T23:27:00.000+03:00'
'3b6ea9bc8675ff9a55753612778fb4c4fe4459a9'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 7'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Providing new evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Facebook Inc disclosed on Wednesday it had identified more than $100,000 worth of divisive ads on hot-button issues purchased by a shadowy Russian company linked to the Kremlin. nyti.ms/2f4Q0nB- Stanley Fischer, the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, said he would resign in mid-October, an unexpected decision that gives President Trump greater leverage over central bank policy. nyti.ms/2wKDOQu- Facebook Inc is blocked in China but the social media giant in recent months has quietly scouted for office space in Shanghai, according to two people with knowledge of its efforts there. nyti.ms/2wKQ5Vc- Toys "R" Us Inc has hired restructuring advisers from the prominent law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP as it tries to cope with hundreds of millions of dollars of debt coming due, according to two people briefed on the matter. nyti.ms/2wKCBse- Lawmakers in the House took a major step on Wednesday toward advancing the development of driverless cars, approving legislation that would put the vehicles onto public roads more quickly and curb states from slowing their spread. nyti.ms/2vNz3by (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-7-idINL4N1LO1U3'|'2017-09-07T02:15:00.000+03:00'
'2fa93e630bfeabe9052a22274c8e9109e66f8ac2'|'German current account surplus to remain world''s largest - Ifo'|' 16 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago German current account surplus to remain world''s largest - Ifo Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The skyline with its characteristic banking towers is pictured during sun down after a sunny spring day in Frankfurt, Germany, April 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s current account surplus is expected to remain the world’s largest this year despite an overall drop which is mainly due to higher costs for oil and natural gas imports, the Munich-based Ifo economic institute said on Thursday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission have for years urged Berlin to lift domestic demand and imports as a way to reduce global economic imbalances and fuel global growth, including within the euro zone. U.S. President Donald Trump has also criticised Germany for doing too little to reduce its trade surplus with the United States, accusing Berlin of “very bad” trade policies. Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed back, saying Berlin’s economic and fiscal policies have already turned private consumption and state spending into the main growth drivers of Europe’s biggest economy. Merkel also pointed out that the German surplus is mainly a result of the interplay of supply and demand on global markets and that Berlin has only limited influence on other important factors such as the euro exchange rate and energy prices. Ifo said it estimated the German current account surplus -- which measures the flow of goods, services and investments -- to remain the world’s largest in 2017 at $285 billion, followed by China with roughly $190 billion and Japan with $170 billion. “Germany’s overall surplus is mainly caused by trade flows,” Ifo said in its analysis, adding that stronger demand from other euro zone countries, the rest of the EU and the United States had boosted exports in the first half of the year. The German current account surplus is expected to shrink to 7.9 percent of total output in 2017 from 8.3 percent in the previous year. “This is mainly due to energy prices,” Ifo said. Higher costs for oil and natural gas are pushing up German imports which has a dampening effect on the trade surplus. Still, Ifo’s estimates mean that Berlin would once again breach the European Commission’s recommended upper threshold of 6 percent this year. Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Thomas Escritt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-trade/german-current-account-surplus-to-remain-worlds-largest-ifo-idUKKCN1BI14O'|'2017-09-07T12:16:00.000+03:00'
'02854203ed0f9f52a52b139413e542ed4d10f28a'|'The death of the car show?'|'May calls on MPs to back Brexit bill autos Honda on a mission to get its mojo back Hurricane Irma kills eight on island of Saint Martin Reuters TV United States September 7, 2017 / 12:16 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago The death of the car show? Laurence Frost , Edward Taylor 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People run preparations at the Tesla company booth during the media day at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany, September 14, 2015. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Frankfurt’s vast auto show, which opens next week, is already getting attention of the wrong kind - for its impressive list of no-shows. Besides the glaring absence of Tesla ( TSLA.O ) and its electric Model 3, the roster of big names staying away has grown this year to include such venerable brands as Nissan ( 7201.T ), Peugeot, Fiat ( FCHA.MI ), Volvo, Jeep, Mitsubishi and Infiniti. The uncertain fortunes of the traditional car show mirror those of an industry in flux, its incumbents threatened by emissions regulation, tech giants and the sharing economy. “Car shows need a new approach,” said Patrick Koller, chief executive of Faurecia, a parts supplier with 19 billion euros ($23 billion) in global sales. “Otherwise they will disappear.” Frankfurt and Paris host two of the world’s biggest shows in alternate years, punctuated by the Detroit show in January and other events in China, Japan, the U.S. and Switzerland. But many of the traditional gatherings have seen visitor numbers fall since the turn of this century, when most new cars were still unveiled under their lights, framed by show girls. The decline may be accelerating. Paris attendance was down 14 percent last year - with fear of attacks also weighing on tourism - and January’s Detroit show drew 9,000 fewer visitors. The sense of upheaval is acute in Germany, as Frankfurt prepares for its first car show opening since the Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions scandal blew up. Days before the event, Chancellor Angela Merkel was urging local officials not to ban diesels, as her re-election campaign drew opposition fire over perceived government cosiness with the industry. TECH BATTLEGROUND But diesel scandals are just one of the problems challenging automakers and the legendary largesse of their trade shows. Related Coverage BMW readies mass production of electric cars, 12 models by 2025 The emergence of tech as the main battleground for the connected, autonomous cars of the future has drawn exhibitors to competing events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Footfall is becoming less important anyhow. Thanks to social media, Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) reckons its Mercedes-Benz innovations reach the same global audience of 1 billion whether unveiled in Frankfurt or at CES - a trade-only show closed to the public, with less than a fifth of the German event’s attendance numbers. “Daimler’s media strategy has changed with the rising significance of tech,” spokeswoman Bettina Fetzer said. Although Mercedes will be out in force on Frankfurt’s 200,000-square meter show floor, it is “getting more complex” to decide how and where to showcase new products, Fetzer said. To counter the drift, show organizers and exhibitors are rethinking formats and scrambling to associate with events and brands outside the staid universe of the combustion engine. Next week’s show will debut a New Mobility World forum with Google and Facebook as partners, while Mercedes hosts a conference under the banner of South by Southwest, the eclectic cultural gathering held in Texas. Rival BMW’s ( BMWG.DE ) program includes TED Talks-branded presentations. Anxious not to be outdone, Paris show managers traveled to Las Vegas in January to discuss collaboration with CES, but came away empty-handed. “There are no discussions at this time for event expansion into Europe,” a CES spokeswoman said. “These are attempts to stay relevant in the public domain,” said analyst Arndt Ellinghorst of Evercore ISI, a brokerage. “The way people consume products and brands is changing,” he said. “The days when it was enough to lure consumers to shows with half-dressed girls on car bonnets are long gone.” POP-UPS The modernization efforts have not prevented Tesla, Nissan or another half-dozen brands from quitting the car-show circuit. For several years, Tesla attended the main European shows before opting out of both Geneva and Frankfurt this year - just as the North American launch of its $35,000 Model 3 makes waves. “We look for events where automobiles might be less expected,” a Tesla spokesman said, citing golf and boat shows as well as a European summer road trip with pop-up Tesla displays along the route. “We can reach a lot of people that way.” Nissan’s decision to skip Frankfurt followed a “full review at global level of our event and show strategy to facilitate maximum brand visibility”, the company said. Reports of the car show’s inevitable demise have been exaggerated, however. As networking events up to CEO level they remain unmatched, while suppliers and new entrants are already filling gaps left by the patchier presence of some carmakers. German industrial group Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) is returning after a decade’s absence. “If the sector is going to change so dramatically we want to be there and show what we can do,” said Karsten Kroos, head of the company’s auto parts division. Others skipping this show will be back. Instead of turning up every year, many carmakers simply want to opt in when they have something to announce. “A car show is a marketing tool like any other, so it has to provide a return on investment,” Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ) brand chief Jean-Philippe Imparato told Reuters earlier this year. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t be in Frankfurt again before too long.” ($1 = 0.8376 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-frankfurt-fear/the-death-of-the-car-show-idUKKCN1BI1JX'|'2017-09-07T15:12:00.000+03:00'
'844a7e47acc6d1c1093f4a5edcb9adb824765b8f'|'Sports Direct reiterates earnings guidance ahead of shareholder meeting'|'September 6, 2017 / 6:17 AM / 23 minutes ago Sports Direct reiterates earnings guidance ahead of shareholder meeting Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A man walks past a Sports Direct store on Oxford Street in London, Britain July 22, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Hackett LONDON (Reuters) - British retailer Sports Direct ( SPD.L ) said on Wednesday it remained optimistic on its trading outlook, reiterating its earnings guidance for the current year. In an update ahead of its annual shareholders’ meeting the firm, controlled by founder, CEO and majority shareholder Mike Ashley, said it still aimed to achieve growth in core earnings of 5 percent to 15 percent in its 2017-18 year. Core earnings had fallen 29 percent in 2016-17. Sports Direct said trading in its new format flagship stores continued to exceed its expectations. At the AGM the retailer’s chairman Keith Hellawell could be forced to honour a pledge to step down if independent shareholders don’t back him. Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sports-direct-outlook/sports-direct-reiterates-earnings-guidance-ahead-of-shareholder-meeting-idUKKCN1BH0NG'|'2017-09-06T09:31:00.000+03:00'
'94b2e34227b3c6752390cc611069f98a87a272af'|'Edinburgh Airport sale potential hit by Brexit jitters - sources'|' 15 PM / 30 minutes ago Edinburgh Airport sale potential hit by Brexit jitters - sources Dasha Afanasieva , Ben Martin 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - People stand outside the international arrivals entrance at Edinburgh airport in Scotland April 23, 2012. REUTERS/David Moir LONDON (Reuters) - Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) explored a possible sale of Edinburgh Airport this year but decided that Brexit uncertainties would hit the price tag, sources close to the matter told Reuters. The infrastructure fund’s sale of London City airport last year at a chunky valuation of more than 30 times core earnings had stoked speculation about more deals and the sources said that GIP asked banks to review its options. The sources said the Edinburgh Airport valuation concerns arose because of uncertainty over Britain’s ability to strike a deal on access to Europe’s aviation market after the country leaves the bloc. A spokesman for GIP declined to comment. Edinburgh handled 12.4 million passengers last year and ranks as Britain’s sixth-busiest airport ahead of Glasgow. One of the sources said that investment banks had proactively contacted GIP hoping to land a sellside mandate, but GIP was in no rush to sell and no deal was imminent. But another source said he expects GIP to consult banks again in the next 12 months. GIP bought Edinburgh Airport for 807 million pounds more than five years ago from the now defunct BAA, which also used to own Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. Last year GIP sold London City Airport to a consortium including Canada’s Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for more than 2 billion pounds, having bought it for only 742 million pounds in 2006. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gip-edinburgh-m-a/edinburgh-airport-sale-potential-hit-by-brexit-jitters-sources-idUKKCN1BG1OG'|'2017-09-05T15:15:00.000+03:00'
'7b44760cffff48e74e25fb64784e26f8fa3fda97'|'UPDATE 1-"Angry Birds" maker Rovio plans IPO'|'September 5, 2017 / 5:49 AM / 41 minutes ago UPDATE 1-"Angry Birds" maker Rovio plans IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds Rovio comments, detail) HELSINKI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Finnish mobile games and animation studio Rovio Entertainment Ltd said on Tuesday that it was planning an initial public offering (IPO) and listing of its shares in Helsinki in a long-awaited move aimed to boost growth. The maker of the Angry Birds hit games and 3D movie said the IPO would consist of share sales by its biggest shareholders and a share issue of about 30 million euros ($35.71 million). “We are very pleased with the company’s strong performance in recent years... The contemplated IPO and listing will offer new shareholders an opportunity to participate in Rovio’s success,” Chairman Mika Ihamuotila said in a statement. Following years of falling earnings, job cuts and restructuring, Rovio returned to profit in 2016 on the back of its Angry Birds 3D movie and recovering game sales. Rovio said the IPO would help it boost growth and also enable it to use shares in potential acquisitions. Carnegie and Danske are joint global coordinators in the contemplated IPO while Deutsche Bank are joint bookrunners, Rovoi said. Rovio is 70 percent owned by Trema International, a firm owned by Kaj Hed, the uncle of company co-founder Niklas Hed. Other investors include venture firms Accel Partners and Atomico. ($1 = 0.8402 euros) (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/rovio-ipo/update-1-angry-birds-maker-rovio-plans-ipo-idUSL8N1LM0H6'|'2017-09-05T08:46:00.000+03:00'
'cf5b5bf8ec235eef9336478d7c10c30bab972817'|'"Angry Birds" maker Rovio plans to list its shares'|'September 5, 2017 / 5:21 AM / 44 minutes ago "Angry Birds" maker Rovio plans IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Angry Birds products are displayed during a news conference in Hong Kong July 3, 2012. REUTERS/Bobby Yip HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish mobile games and animation studio Rovio Entertainment Ltd said on Tuesday that it was planning an initial public offering (IPO) and listing of its shares in Helsinki in a long-awaited move aimed to boost growth. The maker of the Angry Birds hit games and 3D movie said the IPO would consist of share sales by its biggest shareholders and a share issue of about 30 million euros (27.6 million pounds). “We are very pleased with the company’s strong performance in recent years... The contemplated IPO and listing will offer new shareholders an opportunity to participate in Rovio’s success,” Chairman Mika Ihamuotila said in a statement. Following years of falling earnings, job cuts and restructuring, Rovio returned to profit in 2016 on the back of its Angry Birds 3D movie and recovering game sales. Rovio said the IPO would help it boost growth and also enable it to use shares in potential acquisitions. Carnegie and Danske are joint global coordinators in the contemplated IPO while Deutsche Bank are joint bookrunners, Rovio said. Rovio is 70 percent owned by Trema International, a firm owned by Kaj Hed, the uncle of company co-founder Niklas Hed. Other investors include venture firms Accel Partners and Atomico. Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rovio-ipo/angry-birds-maker-rovio-plans-to-list-its-shares-idUKKCN1BG0HZ'|'2017-09-05T08:21:00.000+03:00'
'004bbece702075c15b146b660b64b2bf67c9bbcb'|'German Merck eyes sale of consumer health business'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:17 AM / 4 minutes ago German Merck eyes sale of consumer health business Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugmaker Merck KGaA is considering selling its 860 million-euro (789.2 million pounds) consumer health business to focus on science and technology, it said on Tuesday. “We expect increasing internal constraints to fund the business to reach the required scale. Fully anticipating this, we are preparing strategic options,” Belen Garijo, chief executive of the healthcare business, said in a statement. Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-merck-consumer/german-merck-eyes-sale-of-consumer-health-business-idUKKCN1BG0R4'|'2017-09-05T10:17:00.000+03:00'
'b00fde17d2694888ca6a741b168bbd60bf2d6356'|'Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms: sources'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:39 AM / 38 minutes ago Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms: sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) has offered to drop out of a bid for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) lucrative semiconductor business in return for a stronger position in the two companies’ chip joint venture, two sources said on Tuesday. Toshiba needs to sell the chip unit to plug a giant hole in its finances caused by the failure of the conglomerate’s U.S. nuclear business, but the deal has snagged on such issues as antitrust concerns if the U.S. disk-drive maker were a major owner. To help close the deal, California-based Western Digital has told Toshiba it is prepared to pull out of a consortium bidding for the business in order to address such concerns, said the sources, one with direct knowledge of the transaction and one who was briefed on this development. In return, Western Digital is seeking to strengthen its position in the joint venture operations, they said. A Western Digital spokeswoman said she could not comment on details of the talks. Toshiba was not immediately available for comment outside Tokyo business hours. Toshiba and Western Digital, which jointly invest in Toshiba’s key plant in central Japan, failed to seal a deal by Toshiba’s target date last week due to disagreement over the U.S. firm’s future stake in the business. Reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-offers-to-exit-toshiba-chip-bid-for-better-jv-terms-sources-idUSKCN1BG1E2'|'2017-09-05T13:39:00.000+03:00'
'1461f141d22686f7ef346733473f78baee5b7ae5'|'LPC-Bankers work on US$70bn debt for Altice Charter tie-up'|'LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Bankers are working on debt financings of around US$70bn backing a potential offer by Netherlands-based telecom conglomerate Altice NV and its US cable unit for US cable operator Charter Communications Inc, banking sources said on Wednesday.A debt deal would be one of the largest acquisition financing packages to date and one of the largest leveraged acquisition financings, the sources said.”Even on a conservative level, the debt backing Altice’s Charter bid would be the largest-ever leveraged financing,” a senior banker said.Altice’s founder, Franco-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi is studying a bid for Charter Communications, which is worth more than US$180bn, Thomson Reuters reported last month.Drahi made his fortune through debt-fuelled acquisitions swiftly followed by cost cutting to boost profits and a deal for Charter would enable Drahi to bring his business model to the United States.Altice NV and Altice USA have almost as much debt as their combined market capitalisations, at €32bn and US$23bn, respectively.Bankers are unwilling to risk missing out on a deal of this size and are actively pitching financing proposals to Altice to back any potential bid, bankers said.“The financing would be sizeable so every big bank is around it in some shape or form - all the guys that have led Altice deals in the past,” a second senior banker said.“Any bank with any appetite will be in there pitching. No one wants to miss out on the trade,” a third senior banker said.The deal would be the largest financing to date for Altice, which has skilfully raised billions of dollars of leveraged loans and high-yield bonds to finance its growth by acquisition.Altice purchased rival French mobile telecommunications firm SFR in 2014, which was financed with US$21.9bn-equivalent in debt. At that time, it included the largest high-yield bond issue ever as well as Europe’s largest-ever covenant-lite loan.The largest syndicated loan ever agreed was global brewer AB InBev’s US$75bn loan that backed its acquisition of SABMiller in 2015, followed by Verizon Communications’ US$61bn loan in 2013 backing its US$130bn acquisition of the 45% stake in Verizon Wireless that it didn’t already own from Vodafone .JUMBO STRUCTURE The financing proposals for Altice’s potential bid for Charter include secured and unsecured high-yield bonds and loans and could also include some euro-denominated paper to maximise liquidity.Banks are proposing a range of structures including investment grade and sub-investment grade, in a bid to capture both bank and fund liquidity.“A financing of this magnitude would require tapping into every market to raise the funds and get pricing tension. They would need to have a foot in dollars and euros, bonds and loans to take advantage of technicals at any point,” the second senior banker said.The lower levered investment grade secured piece would be rated around two notches higher at double B than higher-yielding bonds. The loans would sit at a senior level, the sources said.A hybrid blend of investment and sub-investment grade financing have been used to finance cable companies previously including Liberty Global-owned British-based broadband provider Virgin Media, Dutch telecoms company VodafoneZiggo and even Charter Communications, one of the sources said.Around US$70bn of debt works out at 5.0 times the combined company’s approximate US$12.4bn Ebitda, after taking synergies into account, the sources said.This falls within the US leveraged lending guidelines, which raises red flags when deals are levered over 6.0 times.Charter has an approximate Ebitda of US$10bn, while Altice USA’s Ebitda is around US$2.4bn, the sources said.Other banks could consider adding more leverage, which could boost the size of the overall debt financing. Other banks are also looking into deeply subordinated debt instruments that resemble equity.Whatever the structure, a jumbo financing of this size would test the depth of liquidity in the loan and bond markets, sources said.“Conventional wisdom says you can’t do this in the debt markets as it will be too big,” a fourth senior banker said.In 2014, the strategy of playing loans off against bonds and tapping both the dollar and euro market for Altice’s SFR buy worked better than anyone expected, and the bonds received US$100bn of orders. (Editing by Tessa Walsh) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/altice-loans/lpc-bankers-work-on-us70bn-debt-for-altice-charter-tie-up-idINL8N1LN4NK'|'2017-09-06T13:54:00.000+03:00'
'8d28fb99b73b0a42f9333505166a685707f3b084'|'Fewer than 10 UK-based banks have asked for EU licence as Brexit looms - sources'|'European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Fewer than ten of the approximately 40 banks that conduct EU business out of London have applied so far for a license to continue banking in the bloc after Britain leaves, regulatory sources told Reuters.The slow pace of applications is raising concern at the European Central Bank, the EU’s top banking supervisor, that some lenders are not doing enough to prepare for Brexit, or may even avoid its watch through a gap in the rules.The past two months have seen a pick-up in the number of banks saying they plan to set up new EU subsidiaries after Brexit, with most major U.S., British and Japanese banks saying they will establish units in Frankfurt or Dublin.But supervisory sources say they have still seen few formal applications for licenses.“We’re having lots of meetings but not enough concrete action,” one supervisor said.While Britain does not leave the EU until March 2019, bank executives have said time is already running out: it could take 18 months or more to set up a new subsidiary, given the need to relocate staff, get the requisite technology and change contractual arrangements with EU clients.The location of investment banks’ European headquarters is a major issue during Britain’s negotiations to leave the EU. Companies across the bloc depend for financing on global banks whose European arms are now mainly based in London. The Bank of England estimates that half of all the debt and equity issued in the EU involves financial institutions in Britain.Big banks have warned a “hard Brexit” could trigger financial instability if they were to suddenly lose access to EU markets. On Friday, Europe’s banking industry group said central banks would need to be ready to inject cash into financial markets to help keep them stable.The application for a banking license, to an EU member state’s national regulator and to the ECB, can take 6-12 months, and possibly longer if many banks apply at the same time. Three sources at different EU banking watchdogs told Reuters the total number of banks that had submitted applications so far across Europe was still in single digits.The ECB declined to comment on the number of applications made, but has previously expressed concern that banks are behind in their preparations.“A number of the larger banks have made progress in their planning,” Sabine Lautenschlaeger, who represents the ECB’s supervisory arm on the board, said last month. “But we have not seen many final decisions yet.”Asked by Reuters, a spokesman for the Dutch central bank said the institution had talks with “a couple of dozen” firms but it had yet to receive any formal application.A spokesman at German regulator Bafin said it had had some applications and expected their number to swell into double-digits eventually. The Central Bank of Ireland did not receive any applications in the first half of the year, its mid-year report shows.SUBSIDIARIES According to Lautenschlaeger, there are around 40 banks that now conduct business in other EU countries from UK bases. These include UK lenders, the big Wall Street investment banks and smaller groups from Asia and the Middle East.To receive permission to operate new or expanded subsidiaries in the EU, they would have to subject their business plans, safety and the fitness of managers and investors to national and ECB banking supervisors.Most major international and UK banks already operate small licensed subsidiaries in at least one other EU country, but would still need expanded regulatory approval to transfer big chunks of their London business to them.In at least five cases -- Barclays ( BARC.L ), Citi ( C.N ), HSBC ( HSBA.L ), JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and State Street ( STT.N ) -- European subsidiaries are already big enough to be directly supervised by the ECB, although they may need further permission to expand their operations.Barclays has said it plans to secure an expanded license for its subsidiary in Ireland. Among other big banks, Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) is negotiating with Dutch supervisors about moving some of its staff and business to its subsidiary in the Netherlands, while Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) and Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) plan to make formal submissions this year.ESCAPING SCRUTINY The ECB has complained that some firms could avoid its supervision by setting up market divisions, known as broker-dealers, rather than full-blown banks.A gap in EU financial rules means brokers do not need to be approved by the ECB, only by the national market supervisor of the country they base themselves in.Firms that obtain only a broker-dealer license, rather than an EU banking license, would not be able to take deposits or write loans for EU clients, but they could still deal in securities. The ECB worries that if banks avoid their supervision it could bring additional risks.Global investment bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) may be among those taking this route. A source has told Reuters the U.S. firm, which already has a licensed bank in Germany, has applied for a brokerage license from German market and banking supervisor Bafin.The ECB has asked EU lawmakers to close such a loophole but this has yet to happen.Another factor keeping some banks from moving too fast in their Brexit plans is the challenge of negotiating with staff about moving out of London.“The delay in applications could also be due to considerations not to lose top-level employees,” a German supervisor said.Additional reporting by Frank Siebelt and Tom Sims in Frankfurt; Rachel Armstrong, Anjuli Davies, Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White in London and Padraic Halpin in Dublin; editing by Peter Graff '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-ecb/fewer-than-10-uk-based-banks-have-asked-for-eu-license-as-brexit-looms-sources-idINKCN1BH143'|'2017-09-06T12:34:00.000+03:00'
'd088c8bc5b26f3364000609c78fd00a55e177565'|'Barcelo hires Santander to study offer for NH Hotel Group - El Confidencial'|'September 6, 2017 / 7:33 AM / a minute ago Barcelo hires Santander to study offer for NH Hotel Group: El Confidencial Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MADRID (Reuters) - Family-owned Spanish hotel group Barcelo has hired Santander bank ( SAN.MC ) to study a possible takeover of NH Hotel Group ( NHH.MC ) in a move that could create one of the biggest hotel chains in Spain, El Confidencial reported on Wednesday, citing sources with knowledge of the process. Although no formal talks have started, initial contact has been made between shareholders, the online newspaper said. Neither Barcelo, NH or Santander were available for comment on Wednesday. Shares in NH rose 4.5 percent in early trade. The purchase of a 29.5 percent stake in NH by China’s HNA Group ( 0521.HK ) ( 000616.SZ ) last year has led to a shareholder face-off at the hotel chain. Almost 60 percent of NH’s shareholders backed a motion to oust HNA-appointed board members at its annual meeting in June over what they said was a conflict of interest from the Chinese conglomerate’s takeover of a rival hotel group. HNA filed a lawsuit in September last year asking for the decision to be reversed. A Madrid court dismissed the claim on Tuesday. Barcelo Hotel Group has more than 100 hotels in 20 countries. Reporting By Andres Gonzalez; Writing by Sonya Dowsett'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-nh-hoteles-m-a-barcelo/barcelo-hires-santander-to-study-offer-for-nh-hotel-group-el-confidencial-idUKKCN1BH0UC'|'2017-09-06T10:31:00.000+03:00'
'06cbd8dbc9080768abe3de7de48d578b02ad7ff3'|'Asia stocks down, dollar on defensive, gripped by risk aversion'|'Signs can be seen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange April 9, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in Europe and the United States rose on Wednesday, but Asian markets fell and gold neared a 1-year high on investor concern about tensions on the Korean peninsula and a major hurricane barreling towards Puerto Rico and Florida.The U.S. dollar fell against a basket of major currencies .DXY= after weaker-than-expected manufacturing data and after Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Stanley Fischer said he would resign in October. (Graphic: World FX rates in 2017 - tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh )“This means a sea change in the composition of the Fed, especially as it’s not clear if Fed Chair (Janet) Yellen is going to get renominated. The composition of the Fed is going to look entirely different than it did just a couple of years ago,” said Subadra Rajappa, head of U.S. rates strategy at Societe Generale in New York.The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 61.07 points, or 0.28 percent, to 21,814.38, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.63 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,461.48 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 9.92 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,365.65.The greenback also hit its lowest against the Canadian dollar in more than two years after the Bank of Canada surprised many by raising rates.The dollar fell as much as 1.9 percent against the loonie to C$1.2140 CAD=D4 , its lowest since mid-June 2015.The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.14 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.14 percent.A meeting on Thursday of European Central Bank policymakers is expected to yield clues as to when they will begin to scale back monetary stimulus.“A lot will depend on how (ECB President Mario) Draghi addresses the euro,” said Commerzbank currency strategist Esther Reichelt, in Frankfurt. “The question is whether he’ll address it strongly enough for the market to react.”Risk-averse investors were also still worried about North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests. As tensions remained high, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that resolving the crisis is impossible with sanctions and pressure alone.In the Caribbean, dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Irma slammed across islands with pounding winds and raging surf en route to a possible landfall in Florida this weekend.“I think it (North Korea) is still going to be a factor with a bit of nervousness out there. We also have another hurricane heading towards Florida,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida. “We’re already seeing water flying off the shelves at grocery stores.”Given the geopolitical tensions and weaker dollar, gold rose. Spot gold XAU= added 0.1 percent to $1,340.01 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 gained 0.07 percent to $1,345.40.MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.36 percent lower, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 lost 0.14 percent.Oil prices rose as strong global refining margins and the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries provided a more bullish outlook after sharp drops due to Storm Harvey.U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.05 percent to $49.17 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $53.96, up 1.09 percent.For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarketsReporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Additional reporting by Scott Malone in San Juan, Nigel Stephenson and Julia Payne in London, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Karen Brettell and Sam Forgione in New York; Graphic by Marc Jones; Editing by James DalgleishOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-stocks-down-dollar-on-defensive-gripped-by-risk-aversion-idUSKCN1BH02Z'|'2017-09-06T03:38:00.000+03:00'
'24a89e5eb10369ce4c3c81471e772d5ff8e0e8b5'|'Fed''s Mester sees gradual rate hikes as helping amid uncertainty'|'September 7, 2017 / 4:23 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Fed''s Mester sees gradual rate hikes as helping amid uncertainty Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, speaks during an interview in Manhattan, New York, U.S., August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should stick to its plan to raise interest rates gradually to keep the economy from overheating and financial imbalances in check, a U.S. central banker said on Thursday, even as fiscal and political uncertainty temper business optimism. The Fed has raised interest rates twice this year, and policymakers in June pointed to one more rate hike this year and three next year. This would be a slow-but-sure approach to tightening monetary policy that Fed Chair Janet Yellen said was justified by improvements in the labour market and the conviction that inflation will return to 2 percent over the next couple of years. “If economic conditions evolve as anticipated, I believe further removal of accommodation via gradual increases in the fed funds rate will be needed and will help sustain the expansion,” Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said in remarks prepared for delivery in Pittsburgh. “I see this consistency as a positive in that it underscores our systematic approach to promoting our policy goals and it removes policy ambiguity at a time when uncertainty seems to be rising on other fronts.” Mester, who next votes on Fed policy in 2018, repeated many of the forecasts she has made in recent months, including her view that the U.S. economy will grow above the 2 percent pace she believes is its long-term trend, keeping unemployment below 4.75 percent and allowing inflation to return to the Fed’s 2-percent target in the next year or so. She also said that while she is encouraged by business investment and activity, supported by high levels of business optimism, “some of my business contacts report that mounting political and fiscal policy uncertainty has begun to temper some of that optimism.” The Trump administration has struggled to make good on the legislative promises from its campaign including a plan to reform the tax system and to repeal and replace the Affordable Health Act, the signature health insurance program of former President Barack Obama. If reduced optimism leads to a pullback in investment in capital or innovations, Mester said, productivity growth, already sluggish and likely the biggest cause of tepid wage increases, could suffer. Mester said she continues to back a plan to begin reducing the Fed’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet “in the near future”. The plan, she said, has been well-telegraphed and is so gradual that she expects no big or sharp increases in long-term yields to result. Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-mester/feds-mester-sees-gradual-rate-hikes-as-helping-amid-uncertainty-idUKKCN1BI2AH'|'2017-09-07T19:23:00.000+03:00'
'5b4c04e3f9282b35bb017603ad43b1f027658a22'|'Elliott-owned Charter Court plans London IPO'|'LONDON (Reuters) - UK online mortgage bank Charter Court Financial Services is planning an initial public offering in London, the firm said on Tuesday, which a source said would value it at more than 500 million pounds ($645.95 million).Charter Court, majority owned by investment firm Elliott Management, is aiming for a free float of at least 40 percent via the IPO, it said in a statement.It will issue 20 million pounds in new shares in addition to a sale of part of the stakes held by Elliott and Charter Court management, the firm said.Old Mutual Global Investors has provided a letter of intent to buy 100 million pounds of the offering on behalf of funds that it manages, Charter Court said.Charter Court was set up in 2008 and focuses on UK residential mortgages, operating under the Charter Savings Bank, Prescise Mortgages and Exact Mortgage Experts brands.It had 4 billion pounds in retail deposits at June 30.Gross mortgage lending reached 22.1 billion pounds in June, up 9 percent from May and up 3 percent from June 2016, according to UK Finance.Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Noor Zainab Hussain; Editing by Rachel Armstrong '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-charter-court-ipo-elliott/elliott-owned-charter-court-plans-london-ipo-idINKCN1BG0P4'|'2017-09-05T05:06:00.000+03:00'
'a8bbea9a2cc910801ca6f0da219cc7937caca8f1'|'Hong Kong needs new ways to lure more tech listings: HKEX CEO'|'Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Chief Executive Charles Li attends an interview by Reuters in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong needs to find new ways to attract so-called new-economy companies to stay competitive, Charles Li, chief executive of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd (HKEX) ( 0388.HK ), told Reuters on Tuesday.In June, HKEX started a consultation on the launch of a third board that could allow companies to list with dual-class share structures and would target companies in sectors such as the internet and bio-tech.Public consultation ended last month, with financial industry professionals still divided over the matter.Some bankers and corporate governance experts have expressed concern that a third board could lower governance standards in the city, which has seen a series of corporate scandals that have rattled investors and battered some stocks.Li said public interest wouldn’t be compromised for profitability.“Public interest is number one,” he said.“The key is the market will understand that the bulk of the listing rule regulation is still going to be at the exchange (HKEX) but the SFC will take a proactive role whenever they see fit,” he said, referring to the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong.The HKEX chief, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Hong Kong, also said he saw a sharp increase in international companies raising capital in Hong Kong since the start of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock connect, which allows non-Chinese investors to buy Shenzhen-listed shares via Hong Kong.Related Coverage London Metal Exchange trading fees likely to be cut: HKEX chiefHKEX CEO says talks to win Saudi Aramco listing "will never stop"Reporting by Pete Sweeney; Additional reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee and Elzio Barreto; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hkex-ceo/hong-kong-needs-new-ways-to-lure-more-tech-listings-hkex-ceo-idUSKCN1BG06N'|'2017-09-05T05:40:00.000+03:00'
'be027581095e0bf0b07b7fa143406e4b1bb9360a'|'Wells Fargo whistleblower lawsuit is revived by U.S. appeals court'|'September 7, 2017 / 4:44 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Wells Fargo whistleblower lawsuit is revived by U.S. appeals court Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read A Wells Fargo bank sign is pictured in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) faces a new legal worry after a federal appeals court on Thursday revived a whistleblower lawsuit by two former employees who said they were fired for trying to report misconduct by lenders that the bank later absorbed. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a federal district judge to revisit the case, which concerned behaviour predating the 2008 financial crisis and recent scandals concerning Wells Fargo’s own practices, after the Supreme Court made it easier for some whistleblowers to sue. “We look forward to stating our legal position with the district court,” Wells Fargo spokeswoman Elise Wilkinson said. Robert Kraus, a former Wachovia Corp controller, and Paul Bishop, a former World Savings Bank mortgage salesman, had accused their employers of hiding mortgage improprieties and billions of dollars of losses. They said this enabled the lenders, along with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, to falsely certify their compliance with banking laws, and borrow or receive aid from the Federal Reserve at favourable rates. Wachovia bought World Savings’ parent Golden West Financial Corp, an adjustable-rate mortgage specialist, for $24.2 billion (18.53 billion) in 2006, and Wells Fargo took over both for $12.7 billion at the end of 2008. The plaintiffs sued under the federal False Claims Act, which lets whistleblowers pursue claims that the government was defrauded and, if successful, share in recoveries. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn dismissed the case in 2015, and the appeals court upheld his decision in May 2016. But the next month, the Supreme Court ruled in another case that some courts made it too hard to pursue False Claims Act cases, and said whistleblowers could sue over misrepresentations that were “material to the government’s payment decision.” Ordered to reconsider Kraus’ and Bishop’s case, the appeals court directed Cogan to apply this new materiality standard to their claims. Tejinder Singh, a partner at Goldstein & Russell representing the whistleblowers, in an interview said the decision serves as a warning for companies. “Going forward, companies will likely feel far less safe taking undue advantage of government programs, and when they do transgress it will be easier for whistleblowers and the government itself to obtain redress,” he said. Wells Fargo is also combating fallout from practices including its creation of up to 3.5 million unauthorized accounts, charging 800,000 borrowers for unneeded auto insurance, and enrolling a potential 528,000 customers for online bill-paying without permission. The case is U.S. ex rel. Bishop et al v Wells Fargo & Co et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-2449. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wells-fargo-whistleblower/wells-fargo-whistleblower-lawsuit-is-revived-by-u-s-appeals-court-idUKKCN1BI2BU'|'2017-09-07T19:43:00.000+03:00'
'713ef2f1febbf70b69b1d107b1d615e81d5fd59e'|'Goldman Sachs may triple or quadruple Frankfurt headcount, Germany chief says'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:30 PM / Updated 34 minutes ago Goldman Sachs says may triple or quadruple Frankfurt headcount Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A trader works at the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, New York, U.S. on April 16, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Wolfgang Fink, co-chief of Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) in Germany, said the U.S. investment bank may triple or quadruple its presence in Frankfurt in light of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Fink, speaking to bankers at a conference in Germany’s financial capital on Thursday, said the bank’s working assumption was that it was going to double its Frankfurt headcount from 200 now. But under some scenarios, “we may triple or even quadruple” the number of people on the ground, he said, without elaborating. The wide range of potential personnel moves highlights the uncertainty that financial institutions face with the unknowns of Brexit and how banks and clearing will be regulated. Britain is home to most of Goldman’s European operations. It has about 6,000 employees there now, providing services including broking and market-making in securities, foreign-exchange trading and corporate finance across the region. Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-frankfurt/goldman-sachs-may-triple-or-quadruple-frankfurt-headcount-germany-chief-says-idUSKCN1BI1MB'|'2017-09-07T15:30:00.000+03:00'
'9ab2f515d54c872155ee72f10890b5d8e87a5474'|'Brazil''s Cade gives final okay to Ternium-CSA deal, rejects CSN appeal'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The board of Brazil antitrust agency Cade gave final approval on Wednesday to Ternium SA’s ( TX.N ) acquisition of Thyssenkrupp AG’s ( TKAG.DE ) Brazilian steel mill CSA Cia Siderúrgica do Atlántico SA, rejecting an appeal by a Brazilian rival.Cade first approved the deal, valued at 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), in August, but Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional ( CSNA3.SA ) appealed as an interested third party.Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-csa-m-a-ternium-antitrust/brazils-cade-gives-final-okay-to-ternium-csa-deal-rejects-csn-appeal-idINKCN1BH249'|'2017-09-06T13:19:00.000+03:00'
'29a9a835e41d57c39bb7e236c8efcea486b42832'|'German state CDU backs automotive outsider as next Volkswagen CEO'|'Reuters TV United States  24 AM / a minute ago German state CDU backs automotive outsider as next VW CEO Reuters Staff 2   A Volkswagen logo is pictured at the newly opened Volkswagen factory in Wrzesnia near Poznan, Poland September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The man forecast to become premier of the German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) second-biggest shareholder, says someone from outside the car industry should succeed chief executive Matthias Mueller when his contract expires in 2020. A company pedigree has been the hallmark of most VW CEOs but that tradition has been tainted by the emissions scandal that erupted two years ago on the watch of Martin Winterkorn, a hard-core engineer and long-serving VW insider. Investors are calling for more outside expertise on VW’s management and supervisory boards to help clear up the emissions trickery as the carmaker pushes a post-dieselgate strategic shift to electric cars and new mobility services. That message has been reinforced by recent news that current Lower Saxony Premier Stefan Weil, who is forecast to lose the next regional election in October, allowed Volkswagen to vet a speech he made about the diesel scandal. “Perhaps it is good after all to pick someone who is completely unstressed by all conceivable automobile scandals but who still has an affinity towards this important industry,” Bernd Althusmann said in an interview, without suggesting names. The 50-year-old Althusmann is the leading candidate for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party in a state election on Oct. 15 it is expected to win - a result which would likely make him state premier and a member of VW’s supervisory board. Lower Saxony owns an 11.8 percent stake in VW and controls 20 percent of the voting rights in the world’s largest carmaker. Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Jan Schwartz; Editing by Georgina Prodhan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-ceo/german-state-cdu-backs-automotive-outsider-as-next-vw-ceo-idUKKCN1BH1EE'|'2017-09-06T14:10:00.000+03:00'
'7e0732981300a4d4812f613635f57a6ad7de4103'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|' 04 AM / 10 minutes ago Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Wednesday: ** British PR agency Bell Pottinger said it had hired accountancy firm BDO to advise on a possible sale after it lost business for running a racially-charged campaign in South Africa, leaving its future increasingly uncertain. ** Toshiba Corp’s board, under pressure to clinch a deal for its prized memory chip unit soon, met to review a revised bid proposed by Western Digital Corp but no agreement was reached, people familiar with matter said. ** German aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl expects to submit an offer for insolvent Air Berlin early next week, jointly with several partners, he told German television. ** Chinese conglomerate HNA Group considered taking a stake in Allianz but was rebuffed by the management of the German insurance giant, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily reported. ** Brazil state-controlled oil firm Petrobras said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday that it will sell a 90-percent stake in its wholly owned subsidiary Transportadora Associada de Gas SA (TAG). (Compiled by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idUSL4N1LN3AM'|'2017-09-06T13:02:00.000+03:00'
'be19b45c82860e1d9f65ef94f913b09ccf33278a'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 6)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Private equity firms CVC and PAI Partners to acquire the rest of Spanish retailer Cortefiel (approved Sept. 6)NEW LISTINGS NoneEXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES noneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 11 -- Cinven Capital Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire joint control of GTA Travel Holding Ltd (notified Aug. 4/deadline Sept. 11)SEPT 14 -- Norwegian-based DNB Bank ASA and Swedish Nordea Bank AB to establish a joint venture concerning their banking activities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania(notified Aug. 9/deadline Sept. 14)SEPT 20 -- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)-- Buyout group KKR to acquire Dutch car park operator Q-Park (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)SEPT 25 -- Germany’s Infineon Technologies and SAIC Motor to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 25/simplified)SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge in 46 bln-euro deal (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)-- French reinsurance company Scor to acquire MutRe, a French company involved in the reinsurance of companies’ insurance policies (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26/simplified)SEPT 27 -- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27/simplified)SEPT 28 -- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (notified Aug. 24/simplified/deadline Sept. 28)SEPT 29 -- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)DEC 6 -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline Dec. 6)JAN 8 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 8 2018 after Commission opened in-depth investigation)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL8N1LN38B'|'2017-09-06T09:59:00.000+03:00'
'7c8ffbbb60077f179e8545784de922ac90c5231f'|'Buyout firm Cove Hill Partners closes $1 billion fund'|'(Reuters) - Cove Hill Partners, a recently formed private equity firm founded by a former Bain Capital executive, said on Thursday it closed its first private equity fund with more than $1 billion in commitments.The fund was financed by a broad base of investors, including families, university endowments and charitable foundations, and also received contributions from its founders, it said in a press release.Launched this year, Cove Hill was founded by Andrew Balson, who previously spent 17 years at buyout firm Bain Capital.Cove Hill will invest in consumer and technology companies valued between $100 million and $800 million, including debt, Balson said. It will focus on longer term investments with an average duration of eight or nine years, but, in some cases lasting as long as 15 years.When Balson left Bain five years ago, he had the idea to set up a long-term fund but ended up joining an education startup called MatchBeyond. He starting fundraising for Cove Hill in March.Although most longer-duration private equity funds generate lower returns than other private equity peers, Cove Hill will aim for returns in the top 25 percent of all private equity firms, he said.Balson, who has been on the board of Domino’s Pizza ( DPZ.N ) for 19 years, said he wants to replicate the long-term success of Domino’s at other companies.”We are very interested in working with our portfolio companies to utilize technology, data and new marketing techniques to grow their businesses and create a competitive advantage,” Balson said.Another founding member, Justin Roberts, formerly of General Catalyst and THL Partners, will serve as managing director and co-lead of technology investing.Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-privateequity-cove-hill/buyout-firm-cove-hill-partners-closes-1-billion-fund-idINKCN1BI2RI'|'2017-09-07T17:27:00.000+03:00'
'c84c1788946ebcd71c3361a53e1d3d702e5d58fd'|'British Airways to close defined benefits pension scheme'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:14 PM / Updated an hour ago British Airways to close defined benefits pension scheme Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - British Airways aircraft taxi at Heathrow Airport near London, Britain October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways proposed the closure of a major pension scheme on Thursday, angering trade unions representing some workers who have already been on strike this year in a continuing dispute over pay. British Airways, owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group, said it had to address “the significant and growing funding deficit faced by the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS)”, and that under new proposals it would close the scheme. “We will be proposing new pension arrangements that will improve benefits for the majority of UK colleagues,” British Airways said in a statement, adding NAPS, which has some 17,000 BA staff members, would be closed to future accruals but the pension benefits already earned would be protected. However trade unions Unite and GMB said in a joint statement that the move was a “bitter disappointment”, saying they had been working to explore options to keep the scheme open. “This announcement sadly confirms that our advice has gone unheeded and that we have been unable to convince British Airways that keeping the scheme open is the right thing to do, for both the company and its employees,” the unions said in a statement. “Instead of certainty many will now face uncertainty as their retirement approaches.” Separately Unite members of BA’s “mixed-fleet” cabin crew that serves long and short-haul routes have been on strike several times this year, in a long-running dispute over pay and sanctions against those taking industrial action. In August Unite said it would suspend strike action pending further talks aimed at resolving the dispute. Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iag-britishairways-pensions/british-airways-to-close-defined-benefits-pension-scheme-idUKKCN1BI2LD'|'2017-09-07T21:26:00.000+03:00'
'3153810071e0ac49a40364b54bd94c758752946e'|'Exxon Mobil says Hadrian South system, Galveston 209 platform back online'|'HOUSTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp said that its Hadrian South subsea production system and Galveston 209 platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were back online after shutting due to storm Harvey, a spokeswoman said in an email on Sunday.The company added that it was continuing post-storm assessment on the Hoover platform. (Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-exxon/exxon-mobil-says-hadrian-south-system-galveston-209-platform-back-online-idINL2N1LK0OD'|'2017-09-03T19:06:00.000+03:00'
'e187ed07da79cf891cbfc8709c8630f382e44ca0'|'RPT-INSIGHT-For Chinese millennials, despondency has a brand name'|'September 5, 2017 / 6:00 AM / 28 minutes ago RPT-INSIGHT-For Chinese millennials, despondency has a brand name Reuters Staff (Repeating story to additional subscribers) By Yawen Chen and Tony Munroe BEIJING, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Chinese millennials with a dim view of their career and marriage prospects can wallow in despair with a range of teas such as “achieved-absolutely-nothing black tea”, and “my-ex‘s-life-is-better-than-mine fruit tea”. While the drink names at the Sung chain of tea stalls are tongue-in-cheek, the sentiment they reflect is serious: a significant number of young Chinese with high expectations have become discouraged and embrace an attitude known on social media as “sang”, after a Chinese character associated with the word “funeral” that describes being dispirited. “Sang” culture, which revels in often-ironic defeatism, is fuelled by internet celebrities, through music and the popularity of certain mobile games and TV shows, as well as sad-faced emojis and pessimistic slogans. It’s a reaction to cut-throat competition for good jobs in an economy that isn’t as robust as it was a few years ago and when home-ownership - long seen as a near-requirement for marriage in China - is increasingly unattainable in major cities as apartment prices have soared. “I wanted to fight for socialism today but the weather is so freaking cold that I‘m only able to lay on the bed to play on my mobile phone,” 27 year-old Zhao Zengliang, a “sang” internet personality, wrote in one post. “It would be great if I could just wake up to retirement tomorrow,” she said in another. Such ironic humour is lost on China’s ruling Communist Party. In August, Sung Tea was called out for peddling “mental opium” by the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, which described sang culture in an editorial as “an extreme, pessimistic and hopeless attitude that’s worth our concern and discussion”. “Stand up, and be brave. Refuse to drink ‘sung tea’, choose to walk the right path, and live the fighting spirit of our era,” it said. China’s State Council Information Office did not reply to a request for comment for this story. While “sang” can be a pose or affectation, despondency among a segment of educated young people is a genuine concern for President Xi Jinping and his government, which prizes stability. The intensifying censorship clampdown on media and cyberspace in the run-up to autumn’s Communist Party congress, held once every five years, extends even to negativity, with regulations issued in early June calling for “positive energy” in online audiovisual content. Later that month, some young netizens were frustrated when Bojack Horseman, an animated American TV series about a half-man/half-horse former sitcom star, and popular among the “sang” generation for his self-loathing and cynicism, was pulled from Chinese streaming site iQiyi. “Screw positive energy,” Vincent, a 27-year old Weibo user, commented under a post announcing the news. A spokesperson at iQiyi said the decision to remove Bojack Horseman was due to “internal process issues” but declined to give further details. Social media and online gaming giant Tencent Holdings Ltd has even gone on the counterattack against “sang” culture. It has launched an ad campaign around the Chinese word “ran” – which literally means burning and conveys a sense of optimism - with slogans such as “every adventure is a chance to be reborn.” ONLY-CHILD BLUES Undermining “sang” may take some doing. “Sang” is also a rebellion against the striving of contemporary urban China, no matter the cost or hopes of achieving a goal. Tied to that is intense social and family pressure to succeed, which typically comes with the expectation that as members of the one-child generation people will support ageing parents and grandparents. Zhao’s online posts, often tinged with dark humour, have attracted almost 50,000 fans on microblogging site Weibo. Zhao turned the subject into a book last year: “A Life Where You Can’t Strive for Success All The Time”. While China’s roughly 380 million millennials - or those aged about 18 to 35 - have opportunities that earlier generations would have found unimaginable, they also have expectations that are becoming harder to meet. The average starting salary for college graduates dropped by 16 percent this year to 4,014 yuan ($608) per month amid intensifying competition for jobs as a record 8 million graduate from Chinese universities - nearly ten times the number in 1997. Even among elite “sea turtles” - those who return after studying overseas, often at great expense - nearly half of 2017 graduates earned less than 6,000 yuan per month, a Zhaopin.com survey found, with 70 percent of respondents saying their pay is “far below” expectations. Home-ownership is a nearly universal aspiration in China, but it is increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. An average two-bedroom home in Beijing’s resale market costs around 6 million yuan ($909,835)after prices surged 36.7 percent in 2016, according to Fang.com, China’s biggest real estate website. That’s about 70 times the average per capita disposable income in the city; the ratio is less than 25 times for New York City. Median per person rent in Beijing, where most of the estimated 8 million renters are millennials, according to Ziroom.com, has risen 33 percent in the past five years to 2,748 yuan a month in June, equivalent to 58 percent of median income in the city, a survey by E-House China R&D Institute found. The costs often mean that young Chinese workers have to live on the edges of cities, with long, stressful journeys to work. Financial pressures also contribute to young Chinese waiting longer to get married. In Nanjing, a major eastern city, the median age for first marriages rose to 31.6 last year, from 29.9 in 2012, official data showed. RISING EXPECTATIONS “Sang” contrasts with the optimism of those who entered adulthood during the years of China’s double-digit economic growth in previous decades. That generation was motivated by career prospects and life quality expectations that their parents and grandparents, who had learned to “eat bitter” during tougher times, could only dream of. “Our media and society have shoved too many success stories down our throat,” said Zhao. “‘Sang’ is a quiet protest against society’s relentless push for achieving the traditional notion of success. It is about admitting that you just can’t make it,” she told Reuters. It is also a symptom of the lack of channels for frustrated young adults to vent frustration, a survey of 200 Chinese university students by researchers at state think tank Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) found in June. “The internet itself is a channel for them to release pressure but due to censorship it’s impossible to do so by openly venting,” Xiao Ziyang, a CASS researcher, told Reuters. “It’s necessary for the government to exercise public opinion control to prevent social problems.” Sung Tea founder Xiang Huanzhong, 29, said he expects pressure on young Chinese adults only to grow, citing the aging of the population as a particular burden for the young. Xiang has capitalised on the trend with products named after popular “sang” phrases. The chain has single locations in 12 cities after opening its first permanent tea stall in July in Beijing, where a best-selling “sitting-around-and-waiting-to-die” matcha milk tea costs 18 yuan. Xiang said he chose tame names for his products so as not to attract censure from authorities, leaning towards the self-deprecating. He took issue with the People’s Daily’s critical editorial. “It didn’t try to seriously understand at all,” he said. Wang Hanqi, 21, a student at Nanjing Audit University, sought out Sung Tea after hearing about it on social media. “I‘m a bit disappointed that the names for the tea are not ‘sang’ enough,” he said in an interview outside the Beijing stall. Reporting by Yawen Chen and Tony Munroe in BEIJING; Additional Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Irene Wang in BEIJING; Editing by Martin Howell in SINGAPORE'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/china-congress-millennials/rpt-insight-for-chinese-millennials-despondency-has-a-brand-name-idUSL4N1LL3BB'|'2017-09-05T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'94592a25111c69bbbb706c3ad70135306fe20ad0'|'FTSE edges higher, Aveva deal boosts mid caps'|'September 5, 2017 / 9:21 AM / 5 minutes ago FTSE edges higher, Aveva deal boosts mid caps Julien Ponthus 3 Min Read People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s top share index edged slightly higher on Tuesday alongside other European bourses following losses in the previous session prompted by concerns over North Korea’s latest nuclear test. While investors were in no mood for a sell-off, caution was still very much present. “It is strictly impossible to know what could happen in the next coming hours”, Saxo Bank said in a note to its clients, referring to North Korea, whose nuclear test on Sunday triggered international condemnation. Britain’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent at 7,433.29 points by 0848 GMT, with most sectors in positive territory. Mid caps rose at a slightly faster pace of 0.4 percent. The publication of the IHS Markit/CIPS services Purchasing Managers’ Index, which fell to 53.2 in August from 53.8 in July and below the median forecast of 53.5 in a Reuters poll of economists, did not alter the mood of investors. Shares in precious metals miner Fresnillo, which posted the best performance on Monday, surrendered some of its previous gains with a 2.1 percent retreat. Randgold Resources also went back into negative territory and edged down 0.4 percent. Provident sustained the heaviest losses, with a 3 percent fall, while other financial stocks such as HSBC <HSBA.L, Barclays, Standard Chartered and Lloyds were flat. Top gainers came from different sectors : hotels and restaurant operator Whitbread led the index with a 2.1% rise, followed by entertainment group Merlin, up 1.7 percent, and pharmaceutical group Shire, rising 1.5 percent. A tie-up announced between Schneider Electric and Aveva gave a boost to the British group’s shares, which jumped as much as 25 percent and were set for their biggest one-day gain in more than two years. British housebuilder Redrow was another buoyant midcap stock. Its shares sprung 5.7 percent after it posted better-than-expected 2016-17 pre-tax profits and said revenue and profit expectations would continue to rise into 2020. Shares in British bicycle and car part retailer Halfords also rose strongly after maintaining its full year profit guidance on Tuesday as it reported retail like-for-like sales growth of 3.5 percent in the 20 weeks to August 18. TalkTalk shares were slightly higher, up 1.2 percent, after the Financial Times reported it was exploring an exit from its mobile operations. British online gaming company 888 Holdings rose 1.6 percent after posting a 9 percent rise in first-half revenue on the strength of its casino and sports betting business. Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-edges-higher-aveva-deal-boosts-mid-caps-idUKKCN1BG152'|'2017-09-05T12:23:00.000+03:00'
'179b819c0d561b45366227bdb3b6283d1d7b45e4'|'Mexico signs e-commerce deal with China''s Alibaba Group'|'FILE PHOTO - A logo of Alibaba Group is seen on a building under construction, where the company''s Beijing headquarters will be, in Beijing, China, October 15, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File photo MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s government said on Wednesday it has inked a deal with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, to get Mexican products and services, especially from small- and medium-sized firms, onto the top Chinese e-commerce firm’s platform.The deal comes as Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto wraps up a trip to China to discuss trade and investment, as part of a strategy to diversify and open new markets for his country’s products.With U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a deal that underpins $1.2 trillion in trilateral trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico, Pena Nieto’s government has stepped up efforts to open up new trade channels.The United States, Canada and Mexico concluded a second round of talks to modernize NAFTA on Tuesday, with top officials saying progress had been made.During Pena Nieto’s trip, China’s vice trade minister, Wang Shouwen, said China was interested in possibly establishing a free trade agreement with Mexico.Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-alibaba/mexico-signs-e-commerce-deal-with-chinas-alibaba-group-idUSKCN1BH2DQ'|'2017-09-06T19:53:00.000+03:00'
'98d1f12751bde35db86bd4efc62cd7d4c31dafc3'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 7'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times- An unusual 1.5 million pounds ($1.96 million) cash bonus for the chief executive of Aveva Group PLC for clinching the merger this week with Schneider Electric SE has raised eyebrows with the Cambridge company''s biggest shareholder, Standard Life Aberdeen PLC bit.ly/2wJzK2M- Neil Woodford, founding partner of Woodford Investment Management has blamed credit growth in China as the main reason behind the recent poor performance of his most high-profile fund in an interview for his website. bit.ly/2wJFGJ2The Guardian- Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive John Cryan has issued a stark warning about the impact of technology, to an audience at a conference in Frankfurt saying a "big number" of his staff will lose their jobs as robots take over. bit.ly/2wJH3I4- The Financial Conduct Authority is facing pressure from Parliament''s Treasury Select Committee to publish its leaked report into Royal Bank of Scotland PLC''s troubled business restructuring unit. bit.ly/2wK3WeiThe Telegraph- Sports Direct International PLC''s under-fire chairman Keith Hellawell survived a tense shareholder vote today after narrowly clinching support for his re-election from the majority of independent shareholders. bit.ly/2wIz8ud- The European Court of Justice has ordered a 1.06 billion Euro ($1.26 billion) fine for Intel Corp to be re-examined in a major victory for the U.S. microchip giant that could bolster Silicon Valley in its battles with Brussels. bit.ly/2wJCkWsSky News- Asda, the British supermarket arm of Wal-Mart says a shake-up of its main office functions will result in the loss of 300 jobs. bit.ly/2wJjW09- Downing Street is asking Britain''s biggest companies to give public support to the government''s approach to its Brexit negotiations, a move which has angered a string of blue-chip boardrooms. bit.ly/2wJngIvThe Independent- Up to 54 new wind turbines are set to be installed in the Scottish Highlands in a proposal by the GFG Alliance to power an aluminium smelter plant in Fort William and a steel plant in Motherwell. ind.pn/2wKa9ac- Lilium Aviation, a German company that held a successful test flight of the Eagle, its two-seat electric jet announced on Tuesday that it has raised $90 million in a new round of financing. ind.pn/2wJmf3j ($1 = 0.8386 euros) ($1 = 0.7665 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-7-idINL2N1LO003'|'2017-09-06T22:12:00.000+03:00'
'8bd00dc607247dac4062c634af853611cae4e14d'|'EnQuest profits slide on slower Kraken oilfield ramp-up'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:46 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago EnQuest profits slide on slower Kraken oilfield ramp-up Ron Bousso 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - North Sea-focused oil producer EnQuest ( ENQ.L ) on Thursday reported a sharp drop in first-half profits on lower production and delays in ramping up its flagship Kraken oilfield. EnQuest’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first half of 2017 fell to $151 million million (115.73 million pounds) from $243 million a year earlier, broadly in line with the $153 million expected by analysts polled by Reuters. EnQuest kept its previous full-year production guidance, which calls for a fall of as much as 18 percent to 10 percent above or below 37,015 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). The London-listed company’s shares have traded near a 10-month low since it forecast the fall in production due to delays in bringing Kraken’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel into operation and lower production from some of its other North Sea oilfields. Other operational issues and the lack of recent drilling in other existing fields will also impact production, it said. Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-enquest-results/enquest-profits-slide-on-slower-kraken-oilfield-ramp-up-idUKKCN1BI0PA'|'2017-09-07T09:45:00.000+03:00'
'04c6cb2c37e1a5a1bfcd1353dafd9125af3422d6'|'Nissan says new electric vehicle competitors ''positive'' for market'|'YOKOHAMA, Japan, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co considers new electric vehicle competitors positive for the market because it is an opportunity to “democratise” the environment-friendly vehicles, an executive vice president said on Thursday.Daniele Schillaci, head global sales and marketing who also oversees Nissan’s EV business, also told reporters it was logical to see the EV technology used in the new Leaf model carried over to SUV crossovers in the future.He did not elaborate on the timing of other EV models.Nissan on Wednesday launched the latest version of its Leaf electric car, facing stiff competition from Tesla Inc’s recently launched Model 3. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Chris Gallagher) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/nissan-strategy/nissan-says-new-electric-vehicle-competitors-positive-for-market-idINL4N1LO1SC'|'2017-09-07T04:32:00.000+03:00'
'e46b27878e7bf62b0ccbd037d23504fbebd90f0a'|'Go-Ahead targets overseas growth as domestic strikes hit profit'|'September 7, 2017 / 7:20 AM / Updated an hour ago Go-Ahead targets growth abroad after strikes hit UK rail arm Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British transport company Go-Ahead Group ( GOG.L ) aims to make 15-20 percent of its profit abroad within five years, it said on Thursday, as it forecast further challenges at home where its Southern rail business has been hit by strikes. The company said slowing growth in passenger revenues at its rail business in southeast England was set to continue amid a squeeze on consumer incomes, cutting its profitability expectations for its rail division in its new financial year. For the year ended July 1, group operating profit fell by 7.4 percent drop to 150.6 million pounds ($196 million), hit by the strikes and one-off costs at its bus business. Go-Ahead’s London bus business has failed to retain some contracts in the face of increased competition. In August, the company also failed in a bid to retain its West Midlands rail franchise after running the network in central England for 10 years. It said on Thursday that international contracts would help to offset some of the impact. “While it was disappointing to be unsuccessful in our bid to retain London Midland, progress in our international strategy will see some of the lost revenue from the franchise replaced with contracts in the targeted markets of Singapore bus, Dublin bus and German rail,” CEO David Brown said in a statement. Go-Ahead had previously not disclosed a formal international expansion target. Jefferies analyst Alex Paterson said the new target was “encouraging”, retaining his “buy” rating on the stock. But he cut his share target price to 2,050 pence from 2,250 pence, citing a larger than expected slowdown in the company’s southeast rail business. Go-Ahead shares were down 4.7 percent at 1,678 pence in early trading. The company said its results were in line with expectations, having already lowered its full-year profit forecast in February to reflect the impact of strikes on Southern railways. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by David Clarke and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-go-ahead-group-results/go-ahead-targets-overseas-growth-as-domestic-strikes-hit-profit-idUKKCN1BI0TH'|'2017-09-07T10:19:00.000+03:00'
'1eec257eb8ceb515de9dc2b3c97e187f8c293c2e'|'European shares eye third day of losses as financials feel pressure'|'September 6, 2017 / 7:49 AM / in a minute European shares eye third day of losses as financials feel pressure Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday in cautious early trading on the eve of a European Central Bank meeting, while tensions on the Korean peninsula weighed on risky assets. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.4 percent, poised for its third straight day of losses, while euro zone blue chips .STOXX50E retreated 0.3 percent. Germany''s DAX .GDAXI fell 0.3 percent, and Britain''s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE declined 0.4 percent. Financials were the biggest weight, with euro zone banks .SX7E extending their slide from the previous session as the sector came back in focus ahead of the ECB’s policy meeting on Thursday, which will be watched for possible signals of monetary tightening. Denmark’s Jyske Bank ( JYSK.CO ) was the biggest STOXX faller, dropping 4 percent after BRFholding reduced its total number of shares in the lender. Geopolitical jitters between North Korea and the United States maintained pressure on markets, after North Korea warned of “more gift packages” for the United States. Almost every European sector was in negative territory, with basic resources .SXPP down 0.7 percent and oil and gas stocks .SXEP falling 0.5 percent as commodity prices declined. Elsewhere results spurred some sizeable individual stock moves, with shares in Micro Focus ( MCRO.L ) soaring more than 7 percent to the top of the STOXX after giving a third quarter update. British housebuilder Barratt Developments ( BDEV.L ) declined 3.2 percent following its update. Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Mark Trevelyan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/european-shares-eye-third-day-of-losses-as-financials-feel-pressure-idUKKCN1BH0VN'|'2017-09-06T10:53:00.000+03:00'
'2cf8715b828507e72643e4198958fc1520ac8b88'|'RPT-Florida braces for second fuel supply hit as Hurricane Irma approaches'|' 23 PM / 14 minutes ago RPT-Florida braces for second fuel supply hit as Hurricane Irma approaches Reuters Staff (Repeats Tuesday’s story with no changes) By Devika Krishna Kumar Sept 5 (Reuters) - Fuel distributors and traders in Florida braced for a second supply shock as Hurricane Irma barreled toward the state on the heels of disruptions from Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Irma, described by forecasters as a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane is forecast to reach southern Florida on Saturday, prompting Governor Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency. Florida does not have any refineries and its more than 20 million residents rely on refined products delivered by tanker and barge at its ports. While locals stocked up on bottled water and plywood, fuel distributors scrambled to fill up on gasoline and diesel supplies before rough seas force port closures. “We are also working with Homeland (Security) to get ships in before the hurricane,” said Ned Bowman, executive director at the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, which represents 98 percent of fuel sold in Florida. Bowman added that the “window is closing fast.” The threat of Irma looms after Hurricane Harvey killed more than 60 people, dumped over 50 inches (127 cm) of rain and damaged 203,000 homes. About a quarter of U.S. refining capacity was offline as Harvey hammered Louisiana and Texas for several days, shutting key infrastructure in the heart of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. Retail gas prices in Florida have already jumped about 36 cents in one week to $2.68 a gallon as of Tuesday, according to motorists advocacy group AAA. In part because of Florida’s tourism industry and heavy passenger and cargo traffic through its international airports, state demand for motor gasoline and jet fuel is among the highest in the United States, according to the EIA. The emergency issued by the governor also lifts trucking restrictions, allowing drivers to work longer hours and more freely bring in gasoline and fuel from other states if needed. “We talked to the governor’s staff about what the worst case scenario is,” Bowman said, adding that they were well prepared to address any fuel shortages. Port Everglades, South Florida’s main seaport for receiving petroleum products including gasoline and jet fuel, said in a notice on its website it has gasoline reserves of at least one week stored on site. There are a variety of cruise, cargo and petroleum ships scheduled to arrive this week and the coming weekend that could be affected by heavy weather, the port said. Currently, three petroleum ships are in port with another two waiting offshore. Some cargoes destined for Florida could look to the New York Harbor to clear, one trader said. However, strong Florida prices mean most may simply float the cargoes until ports clear for discharge, he said. There are 12 petroleum companies operating in and around the port that provide fuel to a dozen Florida counties and four international airports. Southeast Petro, a wholesaler in the Southeast supplying fuel to over 400 gas stations, said it was already anticipating delays on loadings due to refinery closures in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. “We have been placed on restricted allocations for fuel by the oil companies,” the company said in a notice on its website. Hurricanes also often lead to demand being sapped over the short term if the storm floods areas and shuts in people. Around Florida, southeastern states including South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia have already seen prices at the pump soar amid tighter supplies. Colonial Pipeline Co, the biggest U.S. fuels system, reopened a portion of its main distillate and gasoline lines after being forced to a shut due to flooding at its supply points and amid dwindling supplies. However, it could take days for flows to the southeast to resume to normal rates, shippers said. “The southeast hasn’t gotten regular supplies for a week to 10 days now due to Colonial Pipeline ... and your window to get cargo in to Port Everglades is the next 48 hours or 72 hours,” one East Coast trader said. Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-gasoline/rpt-florida-braces-for-second-fuel-supply-hit-as-hurricane-irma-approaches-idUSL2N1LN11W'|'2017-09-06T17:22:00.000+03:00'
'a5b19f8b3396a7b4bb2a000c9ef8a9bede75da76'|'Japan''s second quarter GDP seen revised down on smaller capex gains'|'September 6, 2017 / 3:49 AM / 13 minutes ago Japan''s second quarter GDP seen revised down on smaller capex gains Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People cross a street in the Shinjuku shopping and business district in Tokyo, Japan May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s economy likely grew at a slower pace than initially estimated in the second quarter, on expected downward revisions in capital spending growth, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. The world’s third-largest economy is seen expanding at an annualised pace of 2.9 percent in April-June, the poll of 17 analysts found, which would be a significant downward revision from the 4.0 percent growth seen in the preliminary data. That would translate into 0.7 percent growth from the previous quarter, revised down from an initial reading of 1.0 percent, the poll showed. “Capital spending is likely be revised down. But overall, the economy maintained its high rate of growth helped by consumer spending and public investment,” said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute. He expects the economy will continue its recovery in July-September and after. “Both domestic and external demand will likely perform well thanks to the global economic recovery. But we need to watch downside risks from China’s economy and a possible downturn in consumer spending due to bad weather.” Capital expenditure, a major component of gross domestic product, is expected to have risen 0.5 percent over the quarter, much slower than the 2.4 percent rise shown in the preliminary data. Japanese companies curbed their pace of investment in plant and equipment in April-June, suggesting the government may revise down its initially rosy estimate for economic growth in the second quarter. “There is no change to the notion that the economy kept its solid tone but a positive surprise of the high rate of growth in the preliminary data for April-June may turn out to be an illusion,” said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities. The Cabinet Office publishes the revised GDP data at 8:50 a.m on Sept. 8 (2350 GMT Sept. 7). Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-gdp/japans-second-quarter-gdp-seen-revised-down-on-smaller-capex-gains-idUKKCN1BH0EI'|'2017-09-06T06:49:00.000+03:00'
'9024241e19e03480090f11d9ba67a869886d69eb'|'Hurricane Harvey lifts U.S. jobless claims to more than two-year high'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:43 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Hurricane Harvey lifts U.S. jobless claims to more than two-year high Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Leaflets lie on a table at a booth at a military veterans'' job fair in Carson, California October 3, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in more than two years last week amid a surge in applications in hurricane-ravaged Texas, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a firming jobs market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits soared by 62,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000 for the week ended Sept. 2, the highest level since April 2015, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The weekly increase was the largest since November 2012. Data for the prior week was unrevised. A Labor Department official said last week’s data had been impacted by Hurricane Harvey, which devastated parts of Texas, including unprecedented flooding in Houston. Unadjusted claims for Texas surged 51,637 last week as some people found themselves temporarily unemployed. Claims for Louisiana were also affected by the storm and increased 258. In addition, claims for California, Hawaii, Kansas, Puerto Rico, Virginia and Wyoming were estimated because of the Labor Day holiday on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 241,000 in the latest week. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased by 13,500 to 250,250 last week suggesting the labour market continued to strength. The government reported last week that the economy created 156,000 jobs in August, with the private services sector hiring the smallest number of workers in five months. Economists largely dismissed the slowdown in job growth, blaming it on a seasonal quirk. Over the past several years, the initial August job count has tended to exhibit a weak bias, with revisions subsequently showing strength. The claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 5,000 to 1.94 million in the week ended Aug. 26. The so-called continuing claims have now been below the 2 million mark for 21 straight weeks, pointing to shrinking labour market slack. The four-week moving average of continuing claims slipped 4,000 to 1.95 million, remaining below the 2 million mark for the 19th consecutive week. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy/hurricane-harvey-lifts-u-s-jobless-claims-to-more-than-two-year-high-idUKKCN1BI1NH'|'2017-09-07T15:41:00.000+03:00'
'dfff4c7ace72d6556b388d54d255d93aaf86ca04'|'UPDATE 1-Lilly to cut 8 pct jobs as it works to reduce costs'|'September 7, 2017 / 1:48 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago UPDATE 2-Lilly to cut 8 pct of jobs in bid to cut costs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds background about Lilly’s drug pipeline) Sept 7 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Thursday it would lay off about 8 percent of its employees as the drugmaker, which has suffered setbacks over the past year in the development of two potential blockbuster drugs, works to cut costs. Lilly will cut about 3,500 positions around the world, resulting in yearly savings of about $500 million, beginning in 2018. The company expects most of the cuts to come from a voluntary early-retirement program it is offering in the United States. It is also closing a plant in Iowa and research and development offices in New Jersey and China. Lilly expects charges of about $1.2 billion before tax, or $0.80 per share after tax. Shares of Lilly rose 48 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $80.99 in morning trading. Lilly outlined in July a likely multi-year delay for its experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve the drug, calling for an additional clinical study. That delay followed the failure of a trial in November of Lilly’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment solanezumab, which the company had hoped would be the first medicine approved to slow progression of the disease. The company said it has the potential to launch two new medicines by the end of 2018. The FDA is currently reviewing abemaciclib to treat advanced breast cancer. Lilly officials were not available for immediate comment. Reporting by Michael Erman in New York and Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott and Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/lilly-layoffs/update-1-lilly-to-cut-8-pct-jobs-as-it-works-to-reduce-costs-idUSL4N1LO4AQ'|'2017-09-07T16:47:00.000+03:00'
'2a72f8bd1e7208135b7eb3cec6526ca30845519a'|'Brazil judge lifts injunction on Petrobras sale of TermoBahia stake to Total'|'Tanks of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company are seen in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ) said on Wednesday that a federal court struck down an injunction that had stopped the sale of the state-controlled oil company’s stake in thermal power station operator TermoBahia to France’s Total ( TOTF.PA ).Petroleo Brasileiro, as the company is formally known, had agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in TermoBahia to Total in a $2.2 billion deal signed in December.Petrobras said the Federal Regional Court for the Fifth Region on Tuesday had reversed an injunction granted in August by a lower court.The Brazilian company is in the midst of a campaign to sell $8 billion worth of assets this year as it seeks to reduce its debt burden.Reporting by Laís Martins, writing by Jake Spring '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture/brazil-judge-lifts-injunction-on-petrobras-sale-of-termobahia-stake-to-total-idINKCN1BH382'|'2017-09-06T21:00:00.000+03:00'
'b0f962da0527ba99738f2c49cf7cf226a6fdfbe9'|'Boeing raises concern about $23 billion United Tech-Rockwell deal'|'An Air France Boeing 777 aircraft lands at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Roissy, near Paris, July 28, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Files NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Tuesday it would look closely at United Technologies Corp’s ( UTX.N ) $23 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ), breaking its month-long silence on a deal.“We intend to take a hard look at the proposed combination of United Technologies and Rockwell Collins,” Boeing said in a statement.“Until we receive more details, we are skeptical that it would be in the best interest of - or add value to - our customers and industry.”Boeing said its interest, and that of its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders, was to ensure the long-term health and competitiveness of the aerospace industry supply chain.“Should we determine that this deal is inconsistent with those interests, we would intend to exercise our contractual rights and pursue the appropriate regulatory options to protect our interests,” the company said.“Also, both companies are significant suppliers to Boeing and other (plane makers), and at a time of record industry production, their first priority should be delivering on existing cost, schedule and quality commitments for their customers and ours.”Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/rockwell-collins-m-a-boeing/boeing-raises-concern-about-23-billion-united-tech-rockwell-deal-idINKCN1BG2H6'|'2017-09-05T14:47:00.000+03:00'
'c7927c77dd8cbe9f1d567ebffdfc34e7bd0fe8e0'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 6'|'Sept 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- The renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement sputtered forward on Tuesday as officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico concluded their second round of talks with plenty of pleasantries but little major progress to announce. nyti.ms/2wF7AG5- Lego, the toy company said on Tuesday that it would cut 1,400 jobs after earnings showed its revenue and profit both fell in the first half of the year. The results come as Lego faces an increasingly competitive landscape. More children use mobile devices for entertainment, leaving Lego to battle not just its traditional rivals like Mattel Inc and Hasbro Inc. nyti.ms/2wEkV3g- Europe''s human rights court ruled on Tuesday that companies can monitor their employees'' email if they are notified in advance, giving shape to a rapidly evolving area of the law at the intersection of technology, privacy and workers'' rights. nyti.ms/2x9Ktqo- President Trump''s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, created by President Obama to allow children who entered the United States illegally to remain the country, spurred reactions through the business community — many of them opposed to the rollback of protections. nyti.ms/2eISZoC- Rovio Entertainment Ltd, the Finnish mobile games and animation studio is planning an initial public offering that could value the company at roughly $2 billion, in a test of whether investors will find favor in a single franchise and whether the business can evolve. nyti.ms/2x9zgpL (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-6-idINL4N1LN23Y'|'2017-09-06T02:43:00.000+03:00'
'964f8389842e4892c011abe846b2d2a93bd69a09'|'HP Enterprise revenue beats on higher demand for networking devices'|'September 5, 2017 / 9:21 PM / in 25 minutes HP Enterprise revenue beats on higher demand for networking devices Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A trader passes by the post where Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Data centre technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co reported a better-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by higher sales for its networking equipment. Shares of the company rose 4.13 percent to $14.62 (11.22 pounds) after the bell on Tuesday. Revenue from the company’s enterprise group division, which included storage and networking businesses and accounted for more than three-fourths of total revenue, rose nearly 3 percent to $6.79 billion in the third quarter ended July 31. That number beat the average analyst estimate of $6.37 billion, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. The company said revenue from sale of servers fell 1 percent while networking revenue rose 16 percent. The Palo Alto, California-based company said it expected current-quarter profit to be in the range of 26 cents per share and 30 cents per share. Analysts on an average were expecting profit of 40 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. HPE reported a 2.5 percent rise in quarterly revenue to $8.21 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $7.49 billion. However, net income fell to $165 million, or 10 cents per share, in the third quarter, from $2.27 billion, or $1.32 per share, a year earlier. The net income was partly affected by the spinoffs of its enterprise services business with Computer Sciences Corp and software business with Micro Focus International PLC, HPE said. Excluding items, the company earned 30 cents per share. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hpe-results/hp-enterprise-revenue-beats-on-higher-demand-for-networking-devices-idUKKCN1BG32J'|'2017-09-06T00:36:00.000+03:00'
'1b0613b14983cf3cba677a2dae9274feaee0af8b'|'Nissan says new electric vehicle competitors ''positive'' for market'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:32 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Nissan says new electric vehicle competitors ''positive'' for market Reuters Staff 1 Min Read YOKOHAMA, Japan, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co considers new electric vehicle competitors positive for the market because it is an opportunity to “democratise” the environment-friendly vehicles, an executive vice president said on Thursday. Daniele Schillaci, head global sales and marketing who also oversees Nissan’s EV business, also told reporters it was logical to see the EV technology used in the new Leaf model carried over to SUV crossovers in the future. He did not elaborate on the timing of other EV models. Nissan on Wednesday launched the latest version of its Leaf electric car, facing stiff competition from Tesla Inc’s recently launched Model 3. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Chris Gallagher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/nissan-strategy/nissan-says-new-electric-vehicle-competitors-positive-for-market-idUSL4N1LO1SC'|'2017-09-07T09:30:00.000+03:00'
'61636bfd5ee43124ea00efa80985ffbf62ebe7f1'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 5'|'Sept 5 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Tronc Inc the publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, announced on Monday that it had acquired The Daily News, the nearly 100-year-old tabloid that for decades set the city''s agenda with its gossip, sports and city coverage. nyti.ms/2xKHyRY- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States could consider stopping all trade with countries doing business in North Korea, in a move that could spell economic catastrophe for the pugnacious country. nyti.ms/2wCsnud- United Technologies Corp has agreed to buy airplane parts maker Rockwell Collins Inc for $30 billion, including debt, establishing an industrial giant and cementing one of the largest deals ever in the aerospace industry. nyti.ms/2wCQicP- Lilium Aviation, a German company that held a successful test flight of the Eagle, its two-seat electric jet at their Munich base this year, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $90 million in a new round of financing. nyti.ms/2eYl2xr (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-5-idINL4N1LM1ZT'|'2017-09-05T02:41:00.000+03:00'
'dfd072a00a91e5bfa654ebe164093d455c776c30'|'Nikkei falls to 1-week low as North Korea fears linger'|'* Exporters mixed after dollar-yen edges lower* Nintendo tumbles on profit-takingBy Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average fell to a one-week low in choppy trade on Tuesday morning as geopolitical tensions over North Korea sapped risk appetite, while index-heavyweight Fast Retailing Co dropped on weak sales.The Nikkei shed 0.4 percent to 19,431.02 in midmorning trade, after initially opening slightly higher. It fell to as low as 19,392.31, the weakest level since Aug. 29.The United States accused North Korea’s trading partners on Monday of aiding its nuclear ambitions and said Pyongyang was “begging for war” after the North’s powerful nuclear test on Sunday and signs that further missile launches were on the way.“It’s natural that investors stay on the sidelines while fears about North Korea still linger,” said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities.He also said that investors are focused on U.S. monetary policy and upcoming discussions over the U.S. debt ceiling, which will likely keep activity subdued for the time being.Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo clothing outlets, fell 1 percent after its domestic same-store sales slipped 3.4 percent in August from a year earlier.Exporters were mixed after the dollar edged down 0.2 percent to 109.52 yen during Asian trade. It slid to 109.220 the previous day in a knee-jerk reaction to North Korea’s nuclear bomb test on Sunday.Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co rose 0.5 percent, while Hitachi Ltd fell 0.4 percent and Hoya Corp declined 1.8 percent.Nintendo Co was down 2.7 percent on profit-taking, moving away from a 3-1/2 week high hit last Friday.The Mothers market of start-up shares stumbled 4.6 percent to hit a more than four-month low.The broader Topix shed 0.5 percent to 1,595.59 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 dropped 0.4 percent to 14,152.79. (Editing by Sam Holmes) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday/nikkei-falls-to-1-week-low-as-north-korea-fears-linger-idUSL4N1LM1FH'|'2017-09-05T05:41:00.000+03:00'
'444a1eac84380a05ce90ad17cff4ac77d3c6b296'|'Petrobras fuel unit approves new bylaws ahead of planned IPO'|'The logo of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in at Petrobras Paulinia refinery in Paulinia, Brazil July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo BRASILIA (Reuters) - BR Distribuidora SA, the fuel distributing unit of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, approved new bylaws ahead of a planned initial public offering, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.BR Distribuidora will have its shares listed on Brazil’s strictest listing market segment after the offering, Petrobras, as the company is commonly know, said in a statement. The IPO is has been expected by early December.Reporting by Silvio Cascione '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-br-distribuidora-ipo/petrobras-fuel-unit-approves-new-bylaws-ahead-of-planned-ipo-idUSKCN1BG1NP'|'2017-09-05T20:07:00.000+03:00'
'795a4c40a47118323794d4e20e2cc0bef5e74201'|'Fintech pushes EU to explore changes to bank software rules'|'September 5, 2017 / 1:00 PM / 30 minutes ago Fintech pushes EU to explore changes to bank software rules Francesco Guarascio 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People pose with high security digital payment units built by Motion Pay, that allows customers to pay in Chinese yuan renminbi using Chinese online money payment services "WeChat Pay", and "Alipay", where payments get converted to Canadian dollars at point of sales locations in Canadian stores and businesses, in Toronto, Canada, May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union banks facing increasing competition from financial technology firms could find it easier to invest in software under rule changes being discussed with regulators. EU banking rules treat software as a cost rather than an investment, forcing lenders to cover expenditure on digital applications with an equal amount of capital. But with banks threatened by a growing number of cyber attacks and under pressure from nimble new entrants to the sector, regulators are now considering changes. “The Commission services are in a dialogue with stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the interaction between accounting and prudential treatment of software,” a European Commission spokeswoman told Reuters. “We will envisage appropriate action if needed.” The Commission, which proposes laws at the EU level, shied away from the issue in an overhaul of banking rules last year, despite lobbying from banks in the region. If expenditure on software, which amounts to roughly half of banks’ total digital investment, were treated in the EU as it is in the U.S. it could free up more than 20 billion euros (£18.35 billion) in capital this year alone, one banking lobbyist said. “It would help immensely if the Commission recognised the importance of this issue,” Wim Mijs, head of the European Banking Federation, said. DIGITAL DIVIDE Many European banks have been slow to invest in adapting to rapid changes in the way consumers use technology for finance, with so-called fintech firms starting to steal market share in a variety of sectors from payments to lending. Fintech companies have also attracted the money needed to develop new technologies, with global investment worldwide in the sector more than 100 billion dollars at the end of 2016, data cited by the Bank for International Settlements shows. Although fintech is still relatively small, the BIS warned of the “increasing challenge” it poses to banks, which have in many cases reacted by buying start-ups and their technologies. They are also investing in upgrading their digital infrastructure, with a recent report from Celent, a financial services consulting firm, forecasting European banks would spend more than 60 billion euros ($71 billion) in software and information technology this year. Banks argue software is a key component of their business, as customers demand more digital products such as mobile payments or online services. As software becomes more bank-specific, it increases in value and should therefore be incorporated in capital, as is the case for tangible assets like buildings, banks say. This would reduce the amount of cash they have to hold to cover digital expenses under EU rules. However the European Banking Authority (EBA) said changes to existing rules should be treated “with the highest caution”. If banks were free to set aside less capital to cover software expenses, they could end up with a lower capital ratio, which may increase risks. BONUS BLOCK Banks are also seeking clearer exemptions for digital experts to EU rules which were introduced after the financial crisis to limiting bonuses to 100 percent of bankers’ salaries. Banks say this hinders acquisitions of fintech firms, as high-ranking digital staff are used to big bonuses which they may have to relinquish if they become bank employees. The Commission says the rules already provide exemptions for digital experts, but banks want the EU to clarify them to avoid “unintended consequences,” Mijs said. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-banks-fintech/fintech-pushes-eu-to-explore-changes-to-bank-software-rules-idUKKCN1BG1RW'|'2017-09-05T15:59:00.000+03:00'
'b551aa2af8268cb5f7e011726f658895eed04d42'|'BRIEF-United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes on CNBC says anti-trust risk is very low on deal with Rockwell Collins'|'Sept 5 (Reuters) -* United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes on CNBC says anti-trust risk is very low on deal with Rockwell Collins* United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes on CNBC says will look at splitting up if deal does not work* United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes says on DACA, “we have to be compassionate” - CNBC '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-united-technologies-ceo-greg-hayes/brief-united-technologies-ceo-greg-hayes-on-cnbc-says-anti-trust-risk-is-very-low-on-deal-with-rockwell-collins-idINFWN1LM0N8'|'2017-09-05T11:58:00.000+03:00'
'11e867ec8024b32daa8e0fecb6d350d72c6c08ae'|'United Tech, Rockwell deal faces bumpy road to approval, especially in the EU'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:54 PM / 4 hours ago United Tech, Rockwell deal faces bumpy road to approval, especially in the EU Tim Hepher , Alwyn Scott , Diane Bartz 5 Min Read United Technologies logo is displayed on a screen at the post where it''s stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid PARIS/NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) faces a long road to win approval for its $23 billion plan to buy avionics maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ), and the biggest bumps could be in Brussels rather than Washington. United Tech and Rockwell, who both supply airplane makers, say the overlap in their product lines is relatively small. Yet opponents of the deal could argue the combination gives the aircraft parts supply company undue market power. An early sign of trouble came when U.S. plane maker Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said it intended to take a “hard look” at the proposed deal. “Until we receive more details, we are skeptical that it would be in the best interest of—or add value to—our customers and industry,” Boeing said in a statement. The combined company could make more than 50 percent of the systems content on a Boeing 787 aircraft, by dollar value, noted Kevin Michaels, president of consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, referring to such components as flight controls and air conditioning. Michaels said he does not see the deal facing an issue from a competitive standpoint as there is virtually no overlap in products between the two companies. Rockwell’s shares rose 0.3 percent to $131.00 while United Tech shares fell 5.7 percent to $111.21, in part on the warning from Boeing. There was also a sign that Airbus is preparing to ratchet up pressure behind the scenes. A source close to the European plane maker told Reuters there were concerns about a “disconnect” between United Technologies and the leadership of its Pratt & Whitney unit. Another Airbus source said any distraction due to the merger would benefit Pratt & Whitney’s main rival CFM International, co-owned by the U.S. manufacturer General Electric Co( GE.N ) and France’s Safran ( SAF.PA ). Problems at Pratt & Whitney have delayed European aircraft deliveries, and Airbus has publicly warned United Tech to focus on delivering jet engines on time. If Boeing or Airbus opts to complain to antitrust enforcers, they can take the complaint to Europe’s competition authority and either the U.S. Justice Department or Federal Trade Commission, both of which review proposed mergers for compliance with antitrust law. Traders work at the post where United Technologies stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Their strongest argument would be if both companies made one or several parts and had few competitors. “Many initially assumed it would be a slam dunk because of the lack of overlap. But the EU probe may prove to be difficult, simply on the grounds that the combined company would be so big,” said Nick Cunningham, aerospace analyst at UK-based Agency Partners. Boeing could also be concerned about the “portfolio effect,” where companies are able to exercise leverage based on the fact that they sell a wide range of specialized products to certain customers. United Technologies Chairman and CEO Greg Hayes gives an interview to CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid This argument was used to doom GE’s plan to buy Honeywell in 2001, although it was European regulators rather than Washington who killed that deal. Boeing or other companies objecting to the deal could complain about a loss of competition. That would be the case if the government proves that either United Tech or Rockwell had plans to expand to compete with the other, said James Tierney, a former Justice Department antitrust expert now at the law firm Orrick. Antitrust enforcers would also be concerned by the reduced number of market players if United Tech and Rockwell were among the few companies that Boeing or Airbus could reach out to resolve technical problems, said Tierney. That concern would be amplified if the Defense Department agreed, said Tierney. Both the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission review proposed mergers to ensure they are legal under antitrust law. It is unclear which of the agencies would review this deal, antitrust experts said. (In 4th paragraph corrects misstatement by source in 1st sentence to say combined company would have 50 percent of systems content on the Boeing 787, not 50 percent of all content. In second sentence of 4th paragraph, corrects to say Michaels does not see a regulatory issue, not that this could be a bigger issue) Reporting by Tim Hepther in Paris, Alwyn Scott in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Writing by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chris Sanders and David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rockwell-collins-m-a-utc-antitrust/united-tech-rockwell-deal-faces-bumpy-road-to-approval-especially-in-the-eu-idUKKCN1BG39M'|'2017-09-06T01:53:00.000+03:00'
'7754279e5b8039629ec94a73ce24137eb3466a22'|'Activist investor urges RLJ Lodging to consider selling itself'|'(Reuters) - Activist investor Land and Buildings, which owns about 2 percent in U.S. real estate investment trust RLJ Lodging Trust ( RLJ.N ), urged the REIT to consider selling itself.RLJ’s management has been disappointing and the company’s performance casts doubt on its ability to unlock shareholder value, Land and Buildings said in a statement on Wednesday.Jonathan Litt-controlled Land and Buildings is known to aggressively target companies he deems undervalued and in need of leadership or strategy changes.The hedge fund in July warned Hudson’s Bay Co ( HBC.TO ) that it would consider a push to remove some directors at the Canadian retailer if the company did not take steps to enhance shareholder value.Land and Buildings said RLJ should provide a comprehensive plan outlining how the company would achieve a valuation that was better than Blackstone Group LP’s ( BX.N ) all-cash offer it had earlier rejected.Blackstone had earlier in the year offered to buy RLJ, which owns hotels that operate under brands such as Hyatt and Hilton, for about $3 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.Blackstone’s offer came at a time when RLJ had agreed to buy fellow lodging trust FelCor and a deal with Blackstone would have jeopardized the process.In a letter to shareholders on Wednesday the activist investor expressed frustration on RLJ’s inability to lay out its strategy for the combined company.“The RLJ management team has failed to communicate a comprehensive strategy for the combined company, which we believe has left many members of the investment community skeptical of the transaction.”RLJ’s shares were up 1.2 percent at $20.30 in morning trade. Up to Tuesday’s close RLJ had fallen 15 percent since it announced its acquisition of FelCor on April 24.Reporting by Nikhil Subba and Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rlj-lodg-trst-landandbuildings/activist-investor-urges-rlj-lodging-to-consider-selling-itself-idINKCN1BH21D'|'2017-09-06T12:54:00.000+03:00'
'3e997b6e469e7cada5a9dbc3bfdc3c292b9b8f34'|'ABB plans expansion in U.S., scouting for acquisitions, CEO says'|'Wed Sep 6, 2017 / 4:57 PM EDT ABB plans expansion in U.S., scouting for acquisitions, CEO says Joseph White FILE PHOTO: CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, February 8, 2017. Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - ABB Ltd ( ABBN.S ) plans to expand its U.S. industrial robot factory in Michigan, the company''s chief executive officer said on Wednesday, while declining to comment on reports that he is weighing the purchase of a unit of rival General Electric Co ( GE.N ). Ulrich Spiesshofer, who took over as CEO of ABB in 2013, said in an interview that the company plans to expand its industrial robot manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, which delivered its first robot in March. He declined to offer details on new jobs or investment. ABB currently has a workforce of about 1,000 at the Auburn Hills complex. Zurich-based ABB is counting on continued growth in demand for industrial robots from automakers and other sectors, such as the food and beverage industry, Spiesshofer said. U.S. automakers have caught up with Japanese and German rivals in the level of factory automation, Spiesshofer said. "The next phase is about portfolio differentiation and expansion," as automakers build more electric cars, he said. ADVERTISEMENT Spiesshofer has been reshaping ABB''s portfolio of businesses through acquisitions and divestitures for the past four years. He declined to comment on whether he is discussing the acquisition of GE''s industrial solutions business. People familiar with the situation said last month that GE and ABB had restarted talks after GE cut the asking price of the business, which sells industrial electrical equipment. ABB is scouting for potential acquisitions in certain areas, such as planning software, and those would likely be smaller deals, Spiesshofer said. ABB will be "brutally disciplined" in what it buys, he said, noting that the company "could have afforded" to buy industrial robot maker Kuka last year, but walked away "because the economics did not fit what we want to do." In a presentation on Wednesday, Spiesshofer reaffirmed that, after what he called a "transitional year" in 2017, ABB should begin hitting its goals for revenue growth of 3 to 6 percent, and returns on capital investments in the "mid-teens." Spiesshofer said problems with excess capacity in the robotics and motion business that hit second-quarter results should be resolved by growth in business. "I am confident for the full year we will be back" within a profit margin range of 15 to 18 percent, he said. Operating margins for ABB''s robotics and motion business were 14.9 percent in the second quarter. ADVERTISEMENT '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-abb-expansion/abb-plans-expansion-in-u-s-scouting-for-acquisitions-ceo-says-idUSKCN1BH309'|'2017-09-06T23:54:00.000+03:00'
'5fa5c38de8de09fbc1f6c2dfef2d10941459f136'|'Britain to change personal injury payment rate in boost for insurers'|'September 7, 2017 / 9:20 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago UK to change personal injury payment rate in boost for insurers Carolyn Cohn 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain plans to alter the interest rate used to calculate how much in compensation should be paid by insurers for personal injuries, the Ministry of Justice said on Thursday, in a move to reduce the size of awards as well as the cost of insurance. Vehicle insurers’ profits were dented and insurance premiums have risen since Britain in February unexpectedly cut the so-called Ogden discount rate to -0.75 percent from 2.5 percent previously. A lower rate requires insurers to make larger lump sum payments on personal injury claims, as it assumes lower annual investment returns for that lump sum. The rate is currently linked to the yield on index-linked gilts. An outcry from insurers led to a government consultation on how the rate is calculated. “Based on the evidence currently available, the government would expect that if a single rate were set today under the new approach, the real rate might fall within the range of 0 to 1 percent,” the ministry said in a statement. Draft legislation to make the change will go before the UK parliament later on Thursday, it said. The new rate would not be applied retrospectively, it added. A government paper published on Thursday proposes that the rate be set with reference to “low risk”, rather than “very low risk” investments and that the rate be reviewed at least every three years. Huw Evans, director general of the Association of British Insurers, said the new rate “would better reflect how claimants actually invest their compensation in reality”. “If implemented, it will help relieve some of the cost pressures on motor and liability insurance in a way that can only benefit customers,” he said. However, Brett Dixon, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said the new rate ”must be set to meet the needs of catastrophically injured people“, adding that lower insurance premiums were ”of no benefit if (customers) are severely injured and forced to take risks with the compensation they so desperately need”. Jefferies analysts said the changes could hit legal hurdles. “If the new methodology does presume that victims take some investment risk, then it could challenge the fundamental principle of full compensation,” they said in a note. “The possibility remains that this legislation is materially altered before it is implemented.” Shares in motor insurer Direct Line ( DLGD.L ) were up 2.3 percent at 380 pence at 1234 GMT, one of the top performers in the FTSE 100 index .FTSE , while Admiral ( ADML.L ) was down 0.75 percent at 1,844 pence. Aviva ( AV.L ) which also has a large motor insurance business, was up 0.1 percent at 507 pence, while RSA Insurance ( RSA.L ) was down 0.3 percent at 647 pence. “If passed, the benefits will be felt by all our customers, helping to stop the rot of steep rises in premiums,” said RSA’s chief executive Stephen Hester. Editing by Jason Neely, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-insurance-discount-rate/britain-to-change-personal-injury-payment-rate-in-boost-for-insurers-idUKKCN1BI15H'|'2017-09-07T13:23:00.000+03:00'
'6decd2b1d24e69de98d481e822ebfb39d0c2c82f'|'Man Group wins approval for private fund management license in China'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:20 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Man Group wins approval for private fund management license in China Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British hedge fund Man Group ( EMG.L ) said on Thursday it had received approval to develop onshore investment products in China. Man Group said it had successfully registered with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) as a private securities investment fund manager and received a Private Securities Investment Fund Manager (PFM) license. The PFM license has been granted to Man Investment Management (Shanghai) Co, Ltd, a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) incorporated in Huangpu District, Shanghai, it said. “We strongly believe that there has been a growing appetite from the Chinese institutional investment community for the products we will offer under the new license,” Man Group Chief Executive Luke Ellis said. Reporting by Simon Jessop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-man-group-china-licence/man-group-wins-approval-for-private-fund-management-license-in-china-idUKKCN1BI24R'|'2017-09-07T18:20:00.000+03:00'
'01a9f0ab8f08f540b2b2b3e99caf73acc478aba2'|'HSBC begins payouts to some of small UK firms whose accounts it froze'|' 12 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago HSBC begins payouts to some of small UK firms whose accounts it froze Lawrence White 4 Min Read HSBC headquarters is seen at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC ( HSBA.L ) has offered compensation to at least two of the small British businesses caught up unintentionally in a crackdown on illicit money, seeking to limit the damage from an operation that has been criticised by lawmakers and industry. Reuters reported on Aug. 24 that HSBC had closed or frozen the accounts of dozens of apparently innocent small businesses in the crackdown. Sources with knowledge of the matter have since told Reuters the number of companies affected is in the hundreds. Video game developer Richard Davey drew widespread attention on social media this week with an article detailing his woes after HSBC froze the account of his company, Photon Storm Ltd. In the article, published on Monday on the website Medium, Davey said his business was set to lose water, telephone and internet services as a result of the account block, and that one staff member quit after failing to receive his salary. The bank unfroze his account on Tuesday and rang him with an offer of compensation, Davey told Reuters. Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking for HSBC UK, confirmed the bank had offered compensation to some clients but declined to say how many or what amounts had been paid out. “If HSBC has disadvantaged a customer in any way we’ll always seek to make it right,” she told Reuters on Thursday. HSBC has unblocked more than 15 small business accounts whose cases were brought to the bank’s attention by Reuters, sources at the companies affected said. So far, two of those said they had been offered compensation. While such payouts are unlikely to have a significant impact on HSBC’s bottom line, the bank faces reputational damage among customers, lawmakers and business associations over how it handled the closures, which happened in July and August, and the subsequent complaints. HSBC has been trying to tighten its checks on business customers after it received a $1.9 billion fine in 2012 for allowing itself to be used to launder drug money from Mexico. HSBC’s Murphy said the bank has in recent weeks begun hiring staff and transferring them from other departments to better manage the system. “For every complaint we have received, myself or a member of my team has been allocated to one of those individuals to call the customer and we are actively resolving their cases,” she said. The bank previously told Reuters that it tries to contact customers before blocking their accounts. But more than 20 companies whose funds were frozen told Reuters that they had complied with all requests for information and been told they had answered to HSBC’s satisfaction. Davey said he has been in limbo for nearly a month after his accounts were frozen without warning on Aug. 10, with HSBC staff unable to provide any information on why it happened or when his case would be resolved. “We need to hear fully and openly from HSBC on this,” said Godfrey John Bewicke-Copley, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for fair business banking. “If these accusations are true, it is another damning revelation about poor practice from the institutions that millions of people and businesses should be able to trust,” he said. Companies who have contacted Reuters in recent days to talk about their experiences include a Kent-based tea shop, a music talent agency, a maker of virtual reality headsets and a luxury travel boutique. The companies are all in the small business sector which the government wants to encourage to thrive after Britain leaves the European Union. “One glimmer of UK economic hope is increased overseas trade among small firms. Thanks to this overbearing HSBC crackdown we’re seeing the debilitation of innocent businesses that are driving this growth,” said Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses. Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-smallmid-compensation/hsbc-begins-payouts-to-some-of-small-uk-firms-whose-accounts-it-froze-idUKKCN1BI1XV'|'2017-09-07T17:11:00.000+03:00'
'000acb3dc059f94f98f0fdcad97cc84871e3c741'|'Foreigners buy up Japanese bonds as geopolitical tensions take hold'|'TOKYO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Foreign investors were big buyers of Japanese bonds last week, with geopolitical tensions and concerns over U.S. fiscal policy boosting demand for such safe (if low-yielding) assets.Weekly data from Japan’s finance ministry issued on Thursday showed foreign investors bought a net 1.3592 trillion yen ($12.46 billion) of medium- to long-dated Japanese bonds in the week through Sept. 2.This net purchase was the third largest in records stretching back to 2005.In what seems to be a paradox for some, Japan has served as a safe-haven of sorts with the yen often gaining in times of global risk aversion.Japan is the world’s biggest creditor nation and there is an assumption that investors there will repatriate offshore funds in a crisis, boosting demand for yen.Demand for safer assets such as government debt were in high demand last week after North Korea’s ballistic missile launch alarmed global markets.The yield on the Japanese government two-year bond (JGB) fell to a three-month low of minus 0.170 percent on Aug. 31 as bond prices rose. It last stood at minus 0.155 percent.JGB yields have been kept near historical lows under the Bank of Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policy.The benchmark 10-year JGB yield declined to a 10-month trough of minus 0.010 percent on Monday and last stood at 0.015 percent.“We saw debt yields decline broadly last week on heightened geopolitical risks and concerns over the U.S. fiscal situation. And buying of Japanese bonds by foreigners stood out, as domestic investors are not keen on buying bonds that yield below zero,” said Noriatsu Tanji, senior bond strategist at Mizuho Securities.Investors have been worried whether the U.S. Congress would fail to raise the country’s debt ceiling and face a technical default, leaving the Treasury unable to issue debt.Foreign investors were seen to have bought short-term Japanese bills as an alternative to U.S. Treasury bills because of their fears of a potential default.In turn, demand that could not be fully met at the short end spilled over to longer-dated maturities.“The short end of the yield curve is firmly anchored, so downward pressure on the curve spreads easily through the two-year, five-year and 10-year maturities,” said a trader at domestic bank.Still, observers said the latest bout of foreign investor buying needed to be seen in context.“Monthly data shows that unlike last year, foreign investors’ buying of Japanese bonds has been sluggish so far this year. Last week’s spike in buying came after a period of relatively thin flows,” said Tanji at Mizuho Securities.According to finance ministry data, foreigners bought a net 4.747 trillion yen ($43.51 billion) of mid- to long-term Japanese bonds in the first six months of 2016, but had only purchased a net 1.951 trillion yen during the same period in 2017.Foreign investors sold a net 158.3 billion yen of Japanese equities in the week through Sept. 2.($1 = 109.1100 yen)Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Additional reporting by Hiroyasu Hoshi in Tokyo; Editing by Eric Meijer '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-foreign/foreigners-buy-up-japanese-bonds-as-geopolitical-tensions-take-hold-idUSL4N1LO1XU'|'2017-09-07T08:13:00.000+03:00'
'fd1895e20fa6c30ee76fcab66a4a1c27522127fe'|'Overseas owners become net sellers of British firms, data shows'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:44 AM / 23 minutes ago Overseas owners become net sellers of British firms, data shows Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A view of the City of London and Canary Wharf. July 7, 2017. REUTERS/John Sibley LONDON (Reuters) - Overseas owners became net sellers of British companies for the first time in 15 years between April and June, according to data that could hint at nerves among foreign investors over Brexit. Foreign businesses sold British firms worth 3.8 billion pounds in the period, outweighing acquisitions of 2.9 billion pounds, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said as Britain gears up to leave the European Union. Mergers and acquisitions data are volatile and values are often skewed by big deals, with the second quarter including Bank of America Corp’s ( BAC.N ) 1.9 billion-pound sale of credit card company MBNA to Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ). However, the number of acquisitions of British firms by overseas buyers also fell to 44 from 70 in the first quarter, the fewest since the third quarter of 2015. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in the run-up to the referendum that Britain was reliant on the “kindness of strangers” to balance its books, highlighting how the country needed tens of billions of pounds of foreign finance a year. Overseas acquisitions made by British companies rose sharply in the second quarter to hit 18.3 billion pounds, largely reflecting Reckitt Benckiser’s ( RB.L ) purchase of U.S. baby formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition MJN.N for $16.6 billion. The number of mergers and acquisitions between British companies fell to 66 in the second quarter from 94 in the first quarter, the fewest since the third quarter of 2015. Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-m-a/overseas-owners-become-net-sellers-of-british-firms-data-shows-idUKKCN1BG1LQ'|'2017-09-05T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'568356af2eaac7963a96abf77cf8c7e73d78cd45'|'Chairman of Sports Direct survives investor vote'|'Reuters TV United States September 6, 2017 / 11:14 AM / in 5 hours Sports Direct AGM ends, result of chairman vote to come later Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sports Direct Chairman Keith Hellawell (R) arrives for the company''s AGM at their headquarters in Shirebrook, Britain September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples SHIREBROOK, England (Reuters) - The annual shareholders’ meeting of Sports Direct ( SPD.L ) has concluded with the firm saying the results of investor votes will be announced through the Regulatory News Service (RNS) later on Wednesday. Chairman Keith Hellawell could be forced to honor a pledge to step down if a majority of independent shareholders do not back him. Sports Direct is controlled by founder and 61 percent shareholder Mike Ashley. Ashley, who did not attend the meeting, is also the firm’s chief executive. Hellawell declined to answer any questions from media after the meeting. Reporting by Paul Sandle, writing by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sports-direct-agm/sports-direct-agm-ends-result-of-chairman-vote-to-come-later-idUKKCN1BH1EP'|'2017-09-06T19:11:00.000+03:00'
'5382e1bd9c25096d9a798f0ec1123f702f162a5c'|'Mexico economy minister sees common ground on energy in NAFTA talks'|'Mexico''s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo addresses the media to close the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada at Secretary of Economy headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico, September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States, Mexico and Canada are largely in agreement on issues related to the energy sector, Mexico’s economy minister said Tuesday, as the second round of talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement comes to a close.Speaking at a press conference, Mexican minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the countries are still discussing whether to devote a separate chapter to energy in the agreement, or whether to weave it in across the board.That issue should be settled by the next round of talks, he added.The three countries wrapped up the second round of talks to modernize NAFTA on Tuesday, building on the momentum from the first round in Washington two weeks ago.The ministers said negotiators will meet for a third round of talks in Ottawa from Sept. 23-27 as they race to rewrite the accord by early next year to avoid conflicts with 2018 election cycles in Mexico and the United States.Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/trade-nafta-ministers/mexico-economy-minister-sees-common-ground-on-energy-in-nafta-talks-idINKCN1BG32H'|'2017-09-05T19:12:00.000+03:00'
'dbcd0075a81b7b4b1c434c5aec5ea0399f535e1c'|'UPDATE 1-Nissan takes EV battle to Tesla with longer-range Leaf'|'* Base model priced $29,000, range 150 miles from 40 kWh battery* Japan sales start Oct. 2, other countries from early 2018* CEO says will launch even longer version next year (Adds executive comments, global sales target)By Naomi TajitsuCHIBA, Japan, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd launched a revamped version of its Leaf electric vehicle (EV) on Wednesday, going head-to-head with Tesla Inc’s Model 3 and hoping to beat off criticism of limited driving ranges dulling EVs’ mass-market appeal.The new Leaf, on sale in Japan from Oct. 2 and elsewhere early next year, has a range of about 150 miles (241 kilometres) on a single charge according to U.S. environmental regulator estimates, up from its predecessor’s 107 miles thanks to a bigger, 40 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery.At an event to launch the model, Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa said a longer-range version of the Leaf to be launched next year would carry an even bigger, 60 kWh battery. That would give it a range of “more than 300 miles”, he said, without specifying which standards were used to calculate the distance.The launch comes after luxury electric car maker Tesla made its first foray into the Leaf’s more affordable price band in July with its $35,000 Model 3 boasting a range of 220 miles.Industry experts have said a range of over 250 miles at a price of around $30,000 would be needed to see a significant shift to EVs targeting the mass market - criteria next year’s longer-range Leaf might reach.Nissan said it aims to sell at least 90,000 new-model Leafs annually, “doubling, or even tripling” sales of its predecessor, which topped 47,000 last year. Prices in Japan will start from 3.15 million yen ($28,992).“If it’s successful, the Leaf will be a major part of the portfolio of Nissan,” Saikawa said. “EVs will no longer be a niche product.”Nissan’s marquee electric model has had a sporty facelift and the Japanese version is packed with the latest automated functions including single-lane highway driving and self-parking, along with its combined accelerate and brake “e-pedal”.The car will continue to use lithium-ion batteries from Automotive Energy Supply Corp, a battery maker which Nissan began as a joint venture with NEC Corp. Nissan sold the business to Chinese investment firm GSR Capital last month.But for all the improvements, analysts said EVs’ range remains insufficient to lure a meaningful number of drivers, particularly in the U.S. where gasoline prices are historically low, limiting EVs’ appeal to the affluent and environment-conscious.“Until we see a significant improvement in range and/or economics that feed through to a rise in gasoline prices, EV buyers will be buying for environmental or altruistic reasons,” said Janet Lewis, head of Asia transportation research at Macquarie Securities. “It’s still a very, very niche market.”Nissan was one of the first automakers to mass market an EV in 2010 with the first Leaf, now the world’s best-selling all-battery car.Just 2 million EVs were registered worldwide as of 2016, according to the International Energy Agency. That compared with the 80 million non-commercial vehicles sold last year alone. To date, Nissan has sold 280,000 Leafs and, since 2012, 80,000 units of sister model Zoe developed with Renault SA. ($1 = 108.6500 yen) (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Christopher Cushing) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/nissan-ev/update-1-nissan-takes-ev-battle-to-tesla-with-longer-range-leaf-idINL4N1LN1KC'|'2017-09-06T04:19:00.000+03:00'
'3e2f020328ec01474a236b797f10d1b5127a6428'|'UK employers worry about loss of research funding after Brexit'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:10 PM / 13 hours ago UK employers worry about loss of research funding after Brexit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Flags are arranged at the EU Commission headquarters ahead of a first full round of talks on Brexit, Britain''s divorce terms from the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain must seek to protect research funding for its universities when it leaves the European Union or risk losing its leading role in innovation, one of the country’s main employer groups said on Wednesday. Britain should negotiate an “associated country” status which would allow it to continue to participate in EU research programmes once it is no longer a member of the bloc, the Confederation of British Industry said. “Today EU schemes make up a sixth of our total research funding,” Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, said. “Replacing that would be a real challenge. But this isn’t just about money – it is about international leadership and giving the UK a voice in setting standards,” she added in excerpts of a speech she is due to deliver to universities. The EU’s main programme for funding research, technology and innovation is expected to provide an estimated 80 billion euros (73.10 billion pounds) in funding between 2014 and 2020 to countries within the bloc and beyond. Prime Minister Theresa May’s government was due to publish a Brexit position paper on science and innovation on Wednesday, setting out its stance for talks with the rest of the EU. The Institute of Directors, another employers group, called on the government to continue making payments into the EU budget in order to maximise Britain’s access to the bloc’s research programmes, and for London to allow free movement of EU academics to reduce the risk of restrictions on its involvement. Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-brexit/uk-employers-worry-about-loss-of-research-funding-after-brexit-idUKKCN1BG3AE'|'2017-09-06T02:09:00.000+03:00'
'a83c1f26e1f07cd36dc0bc0eae843793f808d531'|'Nissan takes EV battle to Tesla with longer-range Leaf'|'CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd ( 7201.T ) launched a revamped Leaf electric vehicle (EV) on Wednesday, going head-to-head with Tesla Inc’s ( TSLA.O ) Model 3 and hoping to blunt criticism of limited driving ranges undermining EVs’ mass-market appeal.The automaker said it aims to “double, even triple” annual sales of the previous incarnation, jump-starting demand in major markets such as the United States, and packing new technologies to make up for a shorter driving range than rival offerings.“If it’s successful, the Leaf will be a major part of the portfolio of Nissan,” Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa said at a launch for the new version of the world’s best-selling battery-powered car. “EVs will no longer be a niche product.”The car, on sale in Japan from Oct. 2 and elsewhere in early 2018, can run for 150 miles (241 kilometers) on a single charge according to U.S. regulator estimates, up from its predecessor’s 107 miles due to a bigger, 40 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery.Prices in Japan will start from 3.15 million yen ($28,992).The launch comes after luxury electric car maker Tesla made its first foray into the Leaf’s more affordable price band in July with its $35,000, 220-mile Model 3. Tesla has said it has received half a million orders for the Model 3, indicating the challenge Nissan has in preserving the Leaf’s number-one rank.Nissan, whose first Leaf was among the first mass-market EVs, has given its marquee model a sporty facelift drawing on its more mainstream designs including the Micra and Rogue, in an effort to dispel the image of EVs being only for the affluent and environment-conscious.Nissan Motor Co''s new Leaf, the latest version of the world''s top selling electric vehicle (EV), is seen during its world premiere in Chiba, Japan, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon The mid-sized car comes equipped with Nissan’s latest automated functions including single-lane highway driving and self-parking, along with its combined accelerate and brake “e-pedal”.“The pricing is flat, (yet) we have a full model change... You have autonomous drive technology, a new battery, new powertrain. How can this be unattractive to a young customer?” said Ivan Espinosa, vice president of global product planning.But for all the improvements, analysts said current EV driving ranges are too short to lure a meaningful number of drivers away from conventional cars, particularly in the U.S. where gasoline prices are historically low.Slideshow (11 Images) “Until we see a significant improvement in range and/or economics that feed through to a rise in gasoline prices, EV buyers will be buying for environmental or altruistic reasons,” said Janet Lewis, head of Asia transportation research at Macquarie Securities. “It’s still a very, very niche market.”Industry experts said a range over 250 miles and price around $30,000 would be needed to see a significant shift to mass-market EVs.Worldwide EV registrations numbered just 2 million as of 2016, showed data from the International Energy Agency. That compared with the 80 million non-commercial vehicles sold last year alone. To date, Nissan has sold 280,000 Leafs.Saikawa said a longer-range Leaf for launch next year would carry a bigger, 60 kWh battery, yielding a range of roughly “more than 300 miles”, without specifying which standards Nissan used for the estimate.The Leaf will continue to use lithium-ion batteries from Automotive Energy Supply Corp, which Nissan began as a joint venture with NEC Corp ( 6701.T ) and sold to Chinese investor GSR Capital last month.Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-ev/nissan-takes-ev-battle-to-tesla-with-longer-range-leaf-idUSKCN1BH03T'|'2017-09-06T03:42:00.000+03:00'
'3fd3eb8dbb2df8a9e6cdc97a753d576f74bb4e2e'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 7'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 10 points higher at 7354.13 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers. * RBS: Britain''s financial regulator should release a leaked report about Royal Bank of Scotland that alleged many companies suffered from "inappropriate action" by its Global Restructuring Group unit, a senior British lawmaker said. * ASTRAZENECA: A new kind of injectable biotech treatment for severe asthma from AstraZeneca and Amgen promises to help a much broader range of patients than existing medicines like GlaxoSmithKline''s Nucala. * THOMAS COOK GROUP: Pilots for Thomas Cook Airlines are set to strike later this week in a dispute over pay after London''s High Court on Wednesday refused to block the industrial action. * RETAIL: Britain''s Office for National Statistics will delay the publication of retail sales data for August, originally scheduled for Sept. 14, because of technical issues, it said on Wednesday. * LONDON HOUSING: The mayor of London plans to spend 250 million pounds ($326 million) buying land to tackle the city''s affordable housing crisis, which he described on Wednesday as the single biggest barrier to prosperity for Londoners. * BREXIT: The British government has asked FTSE 100 companies to sign a public letter endorsing its Brexit strategy, four sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, risking further strains with firms who are reluctant to agree. * BREXIT: The European Union will soon ask Britain to take responsibility for solving the Irish border problems, according to documents leaked to the Guardian. * EX-DIVS: Admiral Group, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton , CRH, Convatec , Glencore, Land Securities , RSA Insurance, Shire and Standard Life Aberdeen will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 6.51 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations * The UK blue chip index closed down 0.25 percent at 7,354.13 points on Wednesday, weighed down by losses among banks and housebuilders although they ended off lows hit on simmering geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: McBride PLC Full Year 2017 Earnings Release Bovis Homes Group PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Go-Ahead Group PLC Full Year 2016 Earnings Release Redde PLC Full Year 2017 Earnings Release Ashmore Group PLC Full Year 2017 Earnings Release EnQuest PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-7-idUSL4N1LO25S'|'2017-09-07T08:36:00.000+03:00'
'ddba2f4ef730d9bf6be504aa43f0b6831323a099'|'Euro zone economy confirmed to grow at robust pace in second quarter'|'September 7, 2017 / 9:07 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Strong euro zone growth driven by consumer spending Francesco Guarascio 3 Min Read Euro coins are seen in front of displayed flag and map of European Union in this picture illustration taken in Zenica, May 28 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone economy grew at a robust pace in the three months to June, driven mostly by higher domestic demand and investment, official data released on Thursday confirmed. The European statistics office Eurostat said the euro zone’s expansion picked up speed in the second quarter, with the economy growing 0.6 percent compared with the previous three months. That was in line with previous estimates and market expectations and up from a 0.5 percent rise in January-March. The acceleration was driven by growing consumer spending and investment, with the economy shrugging off slower export growth as a result of the strong euro EUR= . Household consumption went up by 0.5 percent in the second quarter from 0.4 percent in the first three months of the year, and imports more than doubled their growth rate to 0.9 percent from 0.4 percent. Government expenditure also accelerated to 0.5 percent from 0.2 percent. Higher consumer confidence and demand drove up investment, which expanded by 0.9 percent after a 0.3 percent contraction in the previous quarter. Hit by the stronger euro, which is up around 13 percent against the dollar this year, exports slowed their growth to 1.1 percent from 1.3 percent in the previous quarter. Eurostat also revised upwards the data on euro zone growth on a yearly basis. The bloc’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 2.3 percent in the second quarter and by 2.0 percent in the first three months of the year, higher than previous estimates of 2.2 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. The yearly figure for the second quarter was also higher than the average forecast of economists polled by Reuters who had expected a 2.2 percent rise on the year. The Eurostat reading came as European Central Bank policymakers met in Frankfurt. Their interest rate decisions are to be announced at 1145 GMT, followed by ECB President Mario Draghi’s news conference at 1230 GMT. The GDP growth and its domestic component confirm the healthy state of the bloc’s economy, positive news for the ECB which could start preparing the ground for a reduction of its monetary stimulus, even though inflation remains below target. Reporting By Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-gdp/euro-zone-economy-confirmed-to-grow-at-robust-pace-in-second-quarter-idUKKCN1BI13O'|'2017-09-07T12:07:00.000+03:00'
'5352a57ce4e5adc7108083a7d5e748acfb849cae'|'Popular bondholders challenge Spanish bailout fund'|'LONDON, Sept 7 (IFR) - Disgruntled bondholders in Banco Popular have opened up a new front in their challenges to the decisions taken in early June, appealing for more information about the reasoning that put the Spanish bank in resolution.The move saw junior bondholders bailed in on June 7 before the lender was immediately sold to Santander for a token €1, but the bondholders are contesting the decision.Last month the group, which includes Pimco, Anchorage Capital, Algebris, Ronit Capital and Cairn Capital, launched an action against the Single Resolution Board, which had recommended to the European Commission that Popular be put into resolution.The same group last night filed proceedings in the Spanish national court against the country’s Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB), which was set up in 2009 to provide funds to bailout Spain’s struggling banks.FROB provided a valuation of the bank, ahead of its resolution, that determined it was no longer viable and that junior bondholders would have to be bailed in, if €8bn of capital could not be raised immediately.The bondholders have filed an appeal in the national court to seek clarity in how FROB reached its decision, and if necessary claim restitution for their losses.“The FROB resolution lacked the necessary justification, which made it impossible for stakeholders to evaluate the reasons, the legal basis or the valuation underpinning the FROB resolution,” said Richard East, partner at law firm Quinn Emanuel, which is representing the bondholders.Andersen Tax & Legal is acting as Spanish legal counsel for the bondholders.In its earlier complaint, the bondholders had called for the SRB and EC to launch an inquiry into any leaks of regulatory information that could have caused customers to remove their deposits.That bank run effectively hampered Popular’s sales process, being conducted by JP Morgan and Lazard, leading to its resolution and distressed sale to Santander.Santander has already offered to pay up to €1bn in compensation to retail bondholders.Under that scheme, Santander is offering retail holders of certain Popular subordinated debt, or equity acquired as part of its May 2016 rights issue, new subordinated debt instruments as compensation for the losses.Up to €980m of the new bonds will be issued, paying 1% annually for seven years. The perpetual bonds can be called after seven years but if not called they will then pay 5.75% over bank spread rates. (Reporting by Christopher Spink) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/popular-bondholders-challenge-spanish-ba/popular-bondholders-challenge-spanish-bailout-fund-idUSL8N1LO2S2'|'2017-09-07T19:03:00.000+03:00'
'add1e8199578d302a409acc1af541d0a9e52fd22'|'Chinese logistics firm Best, backed by Alibaba, launches $932 million U.S. IPO'|'FILE PHOTO - A man rides an electric scooter past a distribution hub of the Chinese logistics company Best Inc in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Best Inc, a Chinese logistics company backed by Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ), is launching a U.S. IPO that is seeking about $930 million to fund an expansion of its supply chain network, develop new technology and open more convenience stores.The Hangzhou-based company, led by Johnny Chou, a former Greater China president for Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google, plans to list on the New York stock exchange and the IPO is expected to value Best at up to $5.7 billion.The company had in June said it aimed to raise up to $750 million from the IPO, but in August it increased the size of the offering, including a greenshoe option, to $1.07 billion, underscoring expectations of strong demand.China is the world’s biggest logistics market, with $1.6 trillion in revenue in 2016 and demand for express delivery services seen up 17.9 percent annually in the six years to 2021, Best said, citing forecasts from consulting firm iResearch.The company’s share of China’s express delivery market grew to 8.6 percent in the six months to June 2017, from 2.7 percent in 2012, Best said.Best’s IPO includes 53.56 million new American Depositary Shares (ADS), each representing one class A ordinary share, in an indicative range of $13-$15 each, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday shows.Existing shareholders, including private-equity firms CDH Investments, China Renaissance Capital, state-owned Everbright Financial Holding Investment Holding and a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, are selling another 8.54 million ADSs.FILE PHOTO: A man rides an electric delivery vehicle of the Chinese logistics company Best Inc in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo CEO Chou is offering 1 million shares, while his brother George Chow, the company’s chief strategy and investment officer, is selling 250,000 shares.Chou controls Best with a 46 percent voting stake through special shares, while Alibaba has a 37.3 percent voting power and Alibaba affiliate Cainiao Smart Logistics owns 9 percent.FILE PHOTO - The logo of the Chinese logistics company Best Inc is seen outside a local delivery hub in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo Best follows a number of Chinese logistics companies in going public. They include S.F. Holding ( 002352.SZ ), YTO Express ( 600233.SS ) and STO Express ( 002468.SZ ) which listed in Chinese markets, and ZTO Express ( ZTO.N ), which raised $1.4 billion with a New York listing in October.Best is offering shares at a 2019 forecast price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.7–20.4 times, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters, compared with 13.7 times for ZTO.P/E ratios tend to be higher in China and SF Holding trades at 35.3 times, while YTO trades at 21.7 times.The IPO is slated to be priced on Sept. 19 and its market debut is set for the following day.The company plans to use $300 million to expand its convenience stores and its logistics and supply chain services, with another $100 million set aside for technology investments. The remainder will be used for general corporate purposes and potential acquisitions.Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-best-ipo/chinese-logistics-firm-best-backed-by-alibaba-launches-932-million-u-s-ipo-idINKCN1BI08C'|'2017-09-07T01:05:00.000+03:00'
'8339b5cfab5cf1e612d39d7ac6e79eb3a424b477'|'HSBC begins payouts to some of small UK firms whose accounts it froze'|'A branch of HSBC Bank is pictured in Cairo, Egypt July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC ( HSBA.L ) has offered compensation to at least two of the small British businesses caught up unintentionally in a crackdown on illicit money, seeking to limit the damage from an operation that has been criticized by lawmakers and industry.Reuters reported on Aug. 24 that HSBC had closed or frozen the accounts of dozens of apparently innocent small businesses in the crackdown. Sources with knowledge of the matter have since told Reuters the number of companies affected is in the hundreds.Video game developer Richard Davey drew widespread attention on social media this week with an article detailing his woes after HSBC froze the account of his company, Photon Storm Ltd.In the article, published on Monday on the website Medium, Davey said his business was set to lose water, telephone and internet services as a result of the account block, and that one staff member quit after failing to receive his salary.The bank unfroze his account on Tuesday and rang him with an offer of compensation, Davey told Reuters.Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking for HSBC UK, confirmed the bank had offered compensation to some clients but declined to say how many or what amounts had been paid out.“If HSBC has disadvantaged a customer in any way we’ll always seek to make it right,” she told Reuters on Thursday.HSBC has unblocked more than 15 small business accounts whose cases were brought to the bank’s attention by Reuters, sources at the companies affected said.So far, two of those said they had been offered compensation.While such payouts are unlikely to have a significant impact on HSBC’s bottom line, the bank faces reputational damage among customers, lawmakers and business associations over how it handled the closures, which happened in July and August, and the subsequent complaints.HSBC has been trying to tighten its checks on business customers after it received a $1.9 billion fine in 2012 for allowing itself to be used to launder drug money from Mexico.HSBC’s Murphy said the bank has in recent weeks begun hiring staff and transferring them from other departments to better manage the system.“For every complaint we have received, myself or a member of my team has been allocated to one of those individuals to call the customer and we are actively resolving their cases,” she said.The bank previously told Reuters that it tries to contact customers before blocking their accounts. But more than 20 companies whose funds were frozen told Reuters that they had complied with all requests for information and been told they had answered to HSBC’s satisfaction.Davey said he has been in limbo for nearly a month after his accounts were frozen without warning on Aug. 10, with HSBC staff unable to provide any information on why it happened or when his case would be resolved.“We need to hear fully and openly from HSBC on this,” said Godfrey John Bewicke-Copley, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for fair business banking.“If these accusations are true, it is another damning revelation about poor practice from the institutions that millions of people and businesses should be able to trust,” he said.Companies who have contacted Reuters in recent days to talk about their experiences include a Kent-based tea shop, a music talent agency, a maker of virtual reality headsets and a luxury travel boutique.The companies are all in the small business sector which the government wants to encourage to thrive after Britain leaves the European Union.“One glimmer of UK economic hope is increased overseas trade among small firms. Thanks to this overbearing HSBC crackdown we’re seeing the debilitation of innocent businesses that are driving this growth,” said Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses.Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-smallmid-compensation/hsbc-begins-payouts-to-some-of-small-uk-firms-whose-accounts-it-froze-idUSKCN1BI1YU'|'2017-09-07T17:28:00.000+03:00'
'df216f29ef8526a1e5caac3f8e5e6a56d3d609a1'|'Merck & Co snaps up 3 yr-old German biotech firm for up to $550 mln'|'September 6, 2017 / 1:58 PM / 17 minutes ago Merck & Co snaps up 3 yr-old German biotech firm for up to $550 mln Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FRANKFURT, Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. pharma group Merck & Co has acquired 3-1/2 year old German biotech start-up Rigontec for up to 464 million euros ($554 million), adding a new approach to its development of drugs that spur the immune system to attack tumours. Merck, maker of promising cancer immunotherapy Keytruda, agreed to pay 115 million euros upfront for the Munich-based firm and up to 349 million euros on top, depending on regulatory and commercial achievements, the two companies said in a statement on Wednesday. Rigontec just started testing its most advanced compound RGT100 on humans in May, banking on a mechanism of action called RIG-I which is designed to trigger a long-term response of the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against infections. Rival Bristol-Myers Squibb Co last month banked on a similar medical approach when it agreed to buy IFM Therapeutics for an upfront payment of $300 million. Rigontec was founded in early 2014 as a spin-off of the University of Bonn and has raised close to 30 million euros from a number of life science investors. Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/rigontec-ma-merck-co/merck-co-snaps-up-3-yr-old-german-biotech-firm-for-up-to-550-mln-idUSASM000EK7'|'2017-09-06T16:57:00.000+03:00'
'b593e852b44e913cbddbc3fff6993043f2ede5d6'|'Sports Direct''s embattled chairman faces ejection at annual meeting'|'September 6, 2017 / 12:03 AM / in an hour Sports Direct''s chairman survives investor vote Paul Sandle 4 Min Read Sports Direct Chairman Keith Hellawell (R) arrives for the company''s AGM at their headquarters in Shirebrook, Britain September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples SHIREBROOK, England (Reuters) - The embattled chairman of British retailer Sports Direct survived a vote to oust him by a slim margin on Wednesday, after he said he would resign if a majority of independent shareholders voted against him for a third time. Investors have blamed Keith Hellawell for a string of management and governance failures at Sports Direct and accuse him of being unable to control Mike Ashley - the retailer’s billionaire founder, chief executive and 61 percent shareholder. Hellawell, a former police chief constable and government drugs czar who has chaired Sports Direct for eight years, received the backing of 53.24 percent of votes cast by the company’s independent investors at its annual general meeting. The 75-year old only kept his job last September and at another vote in January thanks to Ashley using his majority shareholding to secure his chairman’s re-election. Ashley was not present at this year’s AGM, held at Sports Direct’s offices in Shirebrook, central England. Just 15 shareholders attended the 35-minute meeting. The result of the ballot was revealed after the meeting and Hellawell declined to take any questions from media. WORKERS RIGHTS Sports Direct was heavily criticised last year by lawmakers for its treatment of workers, including paying some less than the minimum wage for shifts at its main warehouse. During the meeting Hellawell defended the firm’s record. He said Sports Direct employed 29,000 people and had paid 300 million pounds ($391 million) in employee bonuses. It paid staff sick and holiday pay and saw a high rate of job retention and applications. “If we are so bad one wonders...why people would want to come and join us and stay with us,” he said. Several independent investors had called for a new chairman to speed up reforms of working practices, restructure the board and improve corporate governance. Given its recent history of bad publicity, Sports Direct may have struggled to find a high calibre replacement for Hellawell. It took three years to recruit a permanent finance director. Sports Direct Chairman Keith Hellawell arrives for the company''s AGM at their headquarters in Shirebrook, Britain September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples Hermes Investment Management, Royal London Asset Management and Aberdeen Standard Investments were among investors that said they would vote against Hellawell’s re-election. Last September, 54 percent of the independent votes cast at the AGM opposed Hellawell’s re-election. That prompted another ballot at a special meeting in January, at which the same proportion of independent votes opposed Hellawell. TRADING OPTIMISM Slideshow (2 Images) Earlier, Sports Direct said it remained optimistic on its trading outlook, reiterating guidance for growth in core earnings of 5-15 percent in its 2017-18 financial year. Core earnings slumped 29 percent in 2016-17, in part caused by the weaker pound following last year’s Brexit vote. The retailer said trading in new format flagship stores continued to exceed its expectations, while the quality of its stores was improving as smaller shops are relocated. There was no mention of trading in the firm’s old, un-refurbished stores. “We remain fully focused on our strategic goal of moving our core business towards the ‘Selfridges of sport’ in order to further strengthen our proposition and drive long-term profitability,” said Ashley in a statement, drawing parallels to the industry-leading London department store. Shares in the firm were up 1.9 percent at 392 pence at 1332 GMT. They were trading at over 900 pence in 2014. Analysts at Peel Hunt, who have an “add” stance on Sports Direct, said the noise from the AGM was not fundamental to the firm’s prospects. “The underlying news today (the trading update) is solid,” they said. “The shares won’t re-rate (rise) until a clear path to former (earnings) levels is clear.” Writing and additional reporting by James Davey, Editing by Mark Potter and Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sports-direct-agm/sports-directs-embattled-chairman-faces-ejection-at-annual-meeting-idUKKCN1BH001'|'2017-09-06T03:03:00.000+03:00'
'123f4d0eb3d167ea93e2c429f56a25c4ca87f7af'|'Hurricane Harvey lifts U.S. jobless claims to more than two-year high'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:34 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Hurricane Harvey boosts U.S. jobless claims to more than two-year high Lucia Mutikani   Leaflets lie on a table at a booth at a military veterans'' job fair in Carson, California October 3, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to a more than two-year high last week amid a surge in applications in hurricane-ravaged Texas, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a strong labor market. The surge in claims reported by the Labor Department on Thursday offered an early glimpse of Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the economy. The storm unleashed unprecedented flooding in Houston, disrupting oil, natural gas and petrochemical production and forcing a temporary closure of refineries. As Texas tries to recover from the late August storm, Florida is bracing for   is expected to make landfall over the weekend. Economists say Harvey could put a dent in third-quarter gross domestic product and hold back job growth in September. But they expect any lost output to be recouped in the fourth quarter and payrolls growth to rebound in October. “The near-term economic impact of what increasingly appears to be two severe natural disasters in close proximity to one another will be a clear negative,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Michigan. “Having said that, the national economy appears to remain on track.” Initial claims for state unemployment benefits surged 62,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000 for the week ended Sept. 2, the highest level since April 2015, the Labor Department said. The weekly increase was the largest since November 2012. A Labor Department official said last week’s data had been impacted   Unadjusted claims for Texas surged 51,637 last week as some people found themselves temporarily unemployed. That accounted for 95.6 percent of the increase in unadjusted claims last week. Related Coverage Economists had forecast claims rising to 241,000 in the latest week. Claims could stay elevated for the next few weeks. LABOR MARKET FIRMING Despite last week’s jump, claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labor market, for the 131st straight week. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased by 13,500 to 250,250 last week, still suggesting the labor market continues to strengthen. There are concerns, however, that disruptions from the flooding in Houston could hurt job growth in September. Employment in Houston is a little over 3 million. “If employment were to decline by just 5 percent, that would mean a job loss of 150,000,” said Michelle Girard, chief economist at NatWest Markets in Stamford, Connecticut. “We do not rule out the possibility of a negative payroll print in September, especially given the potential for further damage from Hurricane Irma.” The economy created 156,000 jobs in August, a slowdown in job growth that was largely blamed on a seasonal quirk. Economists did not expect the temporary headwinds from the storms to stop the Federal Reserve from announcing a plan later this month to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities accumulated as it sought to stimulate the economy. The dollar fell against the euro as the European Central Bank signaled it was preparing to scale back its $2.75 trillion stimulus program. Prices for U.S. Treasuries rose, while stocks on Wall Street were little changed. In a second report on Thursday, the Labor Department said worker productivity increased at a 1.5 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, revised up from the 0.9 percent pace it reported last month. That followed a 0.1 percent rate of increase in the first quarter. Despite the upward revision to productivity, the trend remains weak, suggesting it would be difficult to achieve robust economic growth. President Donald Trump has vowed to boost annual growth to 3 percent through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and regulatory rollbacks. Compared to the second quarter of 2016, productivity increased at a 1.3 percent rate, instead of the previously reported 1.2 percent pace. With productivity rising, unit labor costs, the price of labor per single unit of output, increased at only a 0.2 percent pace in the second quarter, revised down from the previously reported 0.6 percent pace. “The data do nothing to suggest a change in the three key underlying trends noted in previous reports - slow productivity growth, sluggish real wage growth, and low wage inflation,” said Patrick Newport, a U.S. economist at IHS Markit in Lexington, Massachusetts. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/hurricane-harvey-lifts-u-s-jobless-claims-to-more-than-two-year-high-idUSKCN1BI1MV'|'2017-09-07T15:34:00.000+03:00'
'3319a6c27b20231bf5d226c7de43fece59aa6f94'|'Apple''s new iPhone could face supply shortfalls after launch - WSJ'|'September 7, 2017 / 5:12 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Apple''s new iPhone could face supply shortfalls after launch - WSJ Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A woman looks at the screen of her mobile phone in front of an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) new iPhone had hit production glitches early in its manufacturing process and could lead to supply shortfalls and shipping delays following its launch next week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The company’s shares were down 0.5 percent at $161.11. The production glitches pushed the manufacturing process back by about a month, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fans and investors are eagerly looking forward to the 10th anniversary iPhone 8 to see whether it will deliver enough new features to spark a new generation to turn to Apple. The company is widely tipped to adopt higher-resolution OLED displays for the latest iPhone, along with better touchscreen technology and wireless charging - which could come with a $1,000 (£765) plus price tag. ( reut.rs/2eOldP5 ) Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-iphone/apples-new-iphone-could-face-supply-shortfalls-after-launch-wsj-idUKKCN1BI2FN'|'2017-09-07T20:11:00.000+03:00'
'c5f4f6ae2cbdaf50f55ee716f3ce28fe44c0eb01'|'Independence push in Catalonia dents appeal of Spanish bonds'|' 05 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Independence push in Catalonia dents appeal of Spanish bonds Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A man is silhouetted in front of an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) in Ripoll town, north of Barcelona, Spain, August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea LONDON (Reuters) - The gap between Italian and Spanish government bonds yields held close to its tightest level in a month on Thursday, reflecting an underperformance of Spanish debt ahead of an independence vote in Catalonia. Catalonia’s parliament voted on Wednesday to hold an independence referendum on Oct. 1, setting up a clash with the Spanish government that has vowed to stop what it says would be an illegal vote. Polls in the northeastern region show support for self-rule waning as Spain’s economy improves. But the majority of Catalans want the opportunity to vote on whether to split from Spain. The increased political noise has sparked an underperformance of Spanish bonds against their southern European peers in recent weeks. On Thursday, the gap between 5-year bond yields in Italy and Spain IT5YT=TWEB ES5YT=TWEB, a gauge of how investors view relative risks, was around 47 basis points and its narrowest since early August. The gap between 10-year bond yields in Italy and Spain IT10YT=TWEB ES10YT=TWEB has narrowed 10 bps in the past two weeks, also reflecting an underperformance of Spanish bonds against Italian debt. “Italian political risks have moved into the background and while everyone assumes Catalonia won’t become independent, the game of chicken continues,” said ING senior rates strategist Martin van Vliet. “That’s why we see a modest underperformance of Spanish bonds.” Spain’s government bond market has also underperformed the euro zone’s benchmark issuer, top-rated Germany. The Spanish/German 10-year yield spread was at around 110 bps on Thursday, having hit 111 bps on Wednesday -- its widest since mid-July.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-bonds-spain/independence-push-in-catalonia-dents-appeal-of-spanish-bonds-idUKKCN1BI1DO'|'2017-09-07T14:04:00.000+03:00'
'e8a91b2b7e60a89891c0bebc5ddb1a7a3a09bab1'|'Trian proposes shake-up to P&G''s structure and strategy'|'FILE PHOTO - Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist investor Trian Partners on Wednesday released its long-awaited plan to jolt shares of Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ), detailing changes intended to streamline and rejuvenate the maker of Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent and Pampers diapers.The release of the 94-page proposal comes as the two sides are locked in a battle over efforts by Trian co-founder Nelson Peltz to join the 12-member board of the $232 billion consumer products company.P&G has resisted, saying Peltz is a bad fit for the board and has an outdated view on how the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company operates.Shareholders will vote on Oct. 10 on whether to add Peltz to the board in the only U.S. proxy fight to challenge a company as large as P&G.“Trian believes P&G should be organized into three largely autonomous business units under a lean holding company,” the hedge fund said in its so-called white paper. The company is currently organized in four global business units.Trian, currently P&G&rsquo;s fifth-largest shareholder, also said the company’s management compensation plan is tied to three-year goals that are set too low.The fund’s $3.5 billion P&G investment became public earlier this year, but its strategy on how to boost the company’s shares had until now remained behind closed doors.Other proposed changes include Peltz offering to lead a board study on how P&G can improve innovation, having “failed to create a new meaningful brand in nearly 20 years” according to Trian.Peltz would also encourage the board to groom more outside leadership talent and to have P&G focus its acquisition strategy on buying and developing smaller, more local brands, Trian said.Trian has touted Peltz’s experience on boards of other consumer companies including Mondelez International Inc ( MDLZ.O ), Sysco Corp ( SYY.N ) and Triangle Industries Inc, a packaging company where Peltz was chairman and chief executive from 1983 to 1988.Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-trianfund/trian-proposes-shake-up-to-pgs-structure-and-strategy-idINKCN1BH31W'|'2017-09-06T19:20:00.000+03:00'
'dfab3c8942d7929f0473146bb4dc219c6805891a'|'Hit factory: British music stars break overseas sales records - Business'|'The popularity of British music abroad has hit a record high as artists including Adele, David Bowie and Coldplay brought in more than £350m from fans around the world last year.Sales of British music outside the UK surged 11% to a record £365m last year – the highest level since records began – spurred by the phenomenal growth in popularity of streaming music on services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer.UK music trade body the BPI does not break down who was the most popular British artist abroad in terms of sales of all of their music, including back catalogues, but Adele’s 25 was the best-selling album by a UK artist in 2016.David Bowie’s Blackstar, his last album released just before his death last year, ranked second with foreign fans. Bowie was the biggest-selling artist in the UK last year . Facebook Twitter Pinterest A still from Bowie’s Blackstar video. Photograph: PR The top five was rounded out by The Rolling Stones’s Blues & Lonesome, Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams and Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool.The BPI said the value of British music exports – sales of CDs, vinyl, streaming and downloads of singles and albums – has rocketed by more than 72% since the start of the decade as legal streaming has replaced widespread piracy.“Music by brilliant British artists such as Ed Sheeran, Adele , David Bowie, Coldplay and Sam Smith is streamed and purchased the world over,” said Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI and the annual Brit Awards. “The global digital streaming market represents a huge new opportunity.”Global streaming revenues need to grow by less than 10% this year to pass physical sales, which fell 8% to $5.4bn in 2016. Last year saw a 60% surge to $4.6bn.The BPI, which is to officially release the figures at its annual meeting on Thursday, said that British recording artists and labels made the most from their music overseas since it began keeping records at the turn of the century.Since 2000, the British record industry has made a total of £4.4bn from the sale of music outside the UK.British music proved to be most popular in the USA, the world’s biggest music market, followed by Germany, France, Australia and Canada.The BPI said that fast-emerging markets such as Asia, Turkey, India and South America were becoming increasingly significant in sales terms. However Japan is the only Asian market in a top 10 comprised of six European nations, Canada and the US and Australia.“With Britain leaving the European Union, the UK needs businesses that are true global superstars,” said Taylor. “Government can help seize the opportunity by making sure our artists can tour freely post-Brexit.”Best-selling albums by British artists outside the UK in 2016 1. Adele - 25 2. David Bowie - Blackstar 3. The Rolling Stones - Blues & Lonesome4. Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams5. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped PoolSource: IFPITop 10 markets for British music overseas 1. USA2. Germany3. France4. Australia5. Canada6. Netherlands7. Japan8. Italy9. Sweden10. BelgiumSource: BPI'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/07/hit-factory-british-music-stars-break-overseas-sales-records'|'2017-09-07T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'4769293df1d6ed50ddbe062448f8c76e6636d3b8'|'Britain should seize chance to lead world in oil decommissioning - Treasury'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:26 PM / in 2 hours Britain should seize chance to lead world in oil decommissioning - Treasury Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A section of the BP Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) oil platform is seen in the North Sea, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen in Scotland, Britain, February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Andy Buchanan/Pool/File Photo EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Decommissioning of oil facilities in the North Sea over the next decades presents a chance for Britain to become a world leader in the field if firms seize the opportunity, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. “The North Sea is one of the first regions in the world to start decommissioning on such a large scale,” said Andrew Jones, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, ahead of a visit to the Offshore Europe oil sector conference in Aberdeen. Britain’s Oil and Gas Authority forecasts that UK oil and gas operators will spend almost 60 billion pounds on decommissioning in the North Sea oil region, off the northeastern coast of Scotland, between now and the 2050s. Removing, dismantling, cleaning and recycling old oil rigs and pipelines is an obligation of all oil and gas operators in the UK, and as the industry matures decommissioning is an area of opportunity. “The UK oil and gas industry supports 300,000 jobs, and with up to 20 billion barrels of oil yet to recover, has many productive years ahead. As the need for decommissioning grows, we must seize the opportunity to cement the UK as a world leader in this field and export this knowledge globally,” Jones said. Around one tenth of old oil and gas facilities have already been removed from the area, and in the next 10 years more than 100 platforms will need to be scrapped and over 1,800 oil wells plugged, according to the Oil and Gas Authority, a trade body. Tax relief from the government covers around 40 percent of the total cost of decommissioning for UK companies, the Treasury said. Reporting by Elisabeth O''Leary; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-energy-scotland/britain-should-seize-chance-to-lead-world-in-oil-decommissioning-treasury-idUKKCN1BF2JX'|'2017-09-05T02:25:00.000+03:00'
'2d1f24936f8141fef213f8d2e42cab3daeb24e44'|'Britain sells 4.0 bln stg of 2065 gilt via syndication'|'September 5, 2017 / 12:55 PM / 3 hours ago Britain sells 4.0 bln stg of 2065 gilt via syndication Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday that it had sold 4.0 billion pounds ($5.2 billion) of the 2.5 percent 2065 conventional gilt via syndication. The Debt Management Office said that the gilt was sold at a price that gives an average yield of 1.547 percent, equivalent to half a basis point more than the yield of the 3.5 percent 2068 gilt that is used as a benchmark. HSBC, Morgan Stanley, NatWest Markets and Scotiabank acted as joint bookrunners. ($1 = 0.7708 pounds) (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-bonds-2065/britain-sells-4-0-bln-stg-of-2065-gilt-via-syndication-idUSL9N1JA01B'|'2017-09-05T20:55:00.000+03:00'
'8134d3551eb0b2682d900cd40786fabbf747790a'|'Bain, Cinven give in to Elliott''s demand for higher Stada buyout'|'The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bain Capital and Cinven will offer minority Stada ( STAGn.DE ) shareholders a marked-up 74.40 euros per share to get full control of the German generic drugmaker, the buyout groups said, giving in to pressure from hold-out investor Elliott Management.Bain and Cinven last month won the majority of Stada shares with a sweetened 5.24 billion euro ($6.23 billion) bid including debt, offering 66.25 euros per share in the largest private-equity funded takeover of a German listed company.They had acceptances for close to 64 percent of the shares, but under the German takeover code need the backing of more than 75 percent of shareholders to tap into Stada’s cashflow via a so-called domination and profit and loss transfer agreement.Elliott said on Thursday, however, it wanted at least 74.40 euros per share for its stake, which most recently stood at 13.3 percent, or 15.2 percent when taking stock options into account.If a 74.40 euros a share offer were to secure Bain and Cinven all remaining shares they have not already been offered, the total price tag for Stada including debt would rise by about 180 million euros to 5.42 billion euros.Bain and Cinven said in a statement late on Sunday that while they were “convinced that the fair value of Stada shares is below the price required by Elliott” they would propose offering minority shareholders 74.40 euros in cash per share.“Bain Capital and Cinven firmly believe that Stada, its business and its stakeholders substantially benefit from certainty on the success of a DPLTA (profit and loss agreement),” they said.The shares had jumped 3.2 percent to 82.05 euros by 0740 GMT, with buyers betting that some minority investors might hold out for an even higher offer.Stada shares were trading at 62 to 64 euros in the first week of July when first reports emerged that Elliott was building a stake in Stada.Germany-based officials representing Elliott could not immediately be reached for comment.Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Maria Sheahan and Patricia Weiss; Editing by Stephen Coates and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-offer/bain-cinven-give-in-to-elliotts-demand-for-higher-stada-buyout-idINKCN1BF0IT'|'2017-09-04T03:50:00.000+03:00'
'a6934f08c6682e9c201b5165c555d0fbe7413afc'|'UK-listed BNN Technology suspends shares after CFO''s allegations'|' 28 PM / 6 minutes ago UK-listed BNN Technology suspends shares after CFO''s allegations Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A company which helps European soccer clubs promote themselves in China on mobile phones has asked for trading in its shares on London’s Alternative Investment Market to be suspended while it investigates “serious allegations” against two top executives. BNN Technology ( BNN.L ), which says it has partnerships with a number of soccer clubs, including Manchester City, Barcelona and Arsenal, said in a statement on Monday its chief financial officer, Scott Kennedy, had resigned, making a number of allegations against Chief Executive Darren Mercer and Chief Operating Officer Wei Qi. The company said a committee of board members has suspended Mercer and Qi while it investigates the allegations. Mercer and QI could not immediately be reached for comment. “The decision to suspend two of our senior team was not taken lightly and should not be taken as an assessment of the validity, or otherwise, of these allegations,” Chairman Harry Keiley said in the statement. “However, given the serious nature of these allegations and the source from which they have come, the independent committee feels it has no choice but to suspend the relevant individuals at this time.” BNN Technology declined to comment further on the nature of the allegations and said trading in the shares would remain suspended, “pending the appointment of suitable executive management to oversee the company’s operations, particularly those in China, whether interim or permanent.” The suspension comes amid increased scrutiny of companies who are listed on AIM which have Chinese operations. ( reut.rs/2wyfuTB ) The company originally listed on AIM as a gambling business in 2014, changing to become a provider of technology for online and mobile phone transactions after China banned the online sale of lottery products in March 2015, according to its website. It also now helps distribute news and runs competitions for fans of its client soccer clubs through a partnership with China''s Xinhua News. bit.ly/2x4B0AL Shares in the firm last traded at 42p on Friday, down nearly 70 percent this year and valuing the company at just over 100 million pounds ($130 million). BNN raised 25 million pounds from investors in May, and reported a loss of 15.5 million pounds for the six months ending June 30 in its latest set of results. ($1 = 0.7720 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bnntechnology-suspension/uk-listed-bnn-technology-suspends-shares-after-cfos-allegations-idUKKCN1BF1L4'|'2017-09-04T16:28:00.000+03:00'
'099f450af08a43b12d3b3ddbf13974bf2c880caf'|'Claassen keeps cards close to chest on Air Berlin - Handelsblatt'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:54 AM / an hour ago Claassen keeps cards close to chest on Air Berlin - Handelsblatt Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Utz Claassen, a former chief executive of German utility EnBW ( EBKG.DE ), declined to confirm in an interview with daily Handelsblatt that he was interested in buying assets of insolvent airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ). “If there was such interest, indiscretion would be unacceptable. Such bidding processes are generally subject to the utmost confidentiality,” the paper quoted Claassen as saying in its Monday edition. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Now the carrier is to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with about 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany up for grabs. German weekly Der Spiegel had reported on Friday that Claassen had flagged to Air Berlin’s administrator a proposal that would help safeguard jobs with the help of a “highly potent and very reputable international investor”. Asked whether he believed investors would be interested in a concept to grow rather than shrink Air Berlin, he told Handelsblatt: “There are always investors somewhere who are willing and able to restructure, at least if they haven’t been scared off by political posturing.” German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) has government backing to take over large parts of Air Berlin. Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor are also seen as likely bidders. Ryanair ( RYA.I ) said last week it would not submit a bid, and German aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl stepped back from the process on Thursday to search for a partner. Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda told Reuters on Sunday he was working on a bid to buy back Air Berlin’s Niki unit. Bidders for the assets must submit offers by a Sept. 15 deadline, and a decision could come on Sept. 21, three days before the German national election. Air Berlin is being kept in the air thanks to a 150 million euro (£137.6 million) government loan, which officials say will last the airline for up to three months. Reporting by Maria Sheahan, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa-claassen/claassen-keeps-cards-close-to-chest-on-air-berlin-handelsblatt-idUKKCN1BF0NC'|'2017-09-04T09:54:00.000+03:00'
'c88af17c38c8422bd6faa11354aa65476d69a0fa'|'Britiain''s Aveva set to unveil 3 billion pound Schneider merger - Sky News'|'(Reuters) - British engineering software company Aveva Group ( AVV.L ) is set to unveil a 3 billion pound-plus ($3.9 billion) merger with the software arm of France’s Schneider Electric ( SCHN.PA ), Sky News reported on Monday.The deal is expected to be announced on Tuesday and Aveva’s board is said to be recommending the deal to its shareholders, the broadcaster reported.Aveva Group, which provides software for the oil, shipping and nuclear power sectors, had said in June last year that it had ended talks with Schneider over a possible tie-up. [nL4N1972BM]Representatives of Aveva Group and Schneider Electric were not immediately available for comment. ( bit.ly/2wz4fKv )($1 = 0.7738 pounds)Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/avevagroup-m-a-schneider/britiains-aveva-set-to-unveil-3-billion-pound-schneider-merger-sky-news-idINKCN1BF27U'|'2017-09-04T16:14:00.000+03:00'
'9956f3d36eb60c1a370b808ea5601f071edcd26d'|'Tiremaker Pirelli to offer 40 percent of share capital in upcoming IPO'|'FILE PHOTO: Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - Italian tyremaker Pirelli, bought by state-owned China National Chemical two years ago, will sell up to 40 percent of its capital in an initial public offering as it plans to return to the Milan stock exchange in October.The relisting of the world’s fifth-largest tyremaker will test demand for a streamlined company that focuses on high-end consumer tyres, after the company’s less profitable truck and industrial tyre business was folded into a unit of China National Chemical (ChemChina) [CNNCC.UL].Prior to a 2015 delisting that had followed ChemChina’s takeover, Pirelli’s shares had traded on the Milan exchange since 1922.ChemChina acquired the Italian group - one of Italy’s best-known brands - through Marco Polo International Italy for more than 7 billion euros ($8.3 billion).Related Coverage Italy''s Pirelli valued at up to 8.7 billion euros by IPO joint coordinatorAfter carving out the industrial tyres business, it left Pirelli to focus on more upmarket tyres for brands such as Mercedes MERCBZ.UL, Audi ( NSUG.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ).With high-value products expected to account for some 63 percent of revenue by the end of 2020, Pirelli aims to market itself as a top-end industrial player, sources have told Reuters.“The goal is to get a better valuation of the group because of its focus on higher-margin products,” one source said.Peers such as Continental AG ( CONG.DE ) and Michelin ( MICP.PA ) trade at around 10.8 times earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data. Top-end sports car maker Ferrari ( RACE.MI ), another well-known Italian industrial brand that sought a luxury goods company valuation in its IPO, trades at 35 times its earnings.State-owned ChemChina holds a 65 percent stake in Marco Polo, currently Pirelli’s sole shareholder.Holding company Camfin, whose investors include Pirelli boss Marco Tronchetti Provera and Italian banks Unicredit ( CRDI.MI ) and Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), has more than 22 percent of Marco Polo. The rest is in the hands of investment fund LTI, linked to Russia’s Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ).ChemChina and Camfin have committed not to sell any further Pirelli shares for a year after the group’s market debut, while investment fund LTI would hold on to its shares for at least 180 days after the floatation, the statement said.Following its listing and the approval of its 2018 results, the company said it expected to pay out 40 percent of its net profit in dividends.Pirelli reported a net profit of 67.6 million euros in the first half of the year and expects revenues to grow an average of 9 percent per year in the period between 2016 and 2020.Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo/tiremaker-pirelli-to-offer-40-percent-of-share-capital-in-upcoming-ipo-idINKCN1BF0JP'|'2017-09-04T04:00:00.000+03:00'
'03779e7fcf076f6637e584edea03cc3c77415788'|'Loma Negra hires banks for U.S.-Argentina IPO as early as September: sources'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Loma Negra Cia Industrial Argentina SA, the country’s largest cement producer, has hired investment banks for an initial public offering that could be launched as early as this month, according to three sources with knowledge of the plan.Parent company Intercement Brasil SA, whose businesses span from Brazil and Europe to northern Africa, wants to sell shares of Loma Negra in Argentina and New York to raise cash and cut debt, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the deal freely this week.Loma Negra filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late on Tuesday. Underwriters for the IPO include the investment banking units of Morgan Stanley & Co ( MS.N ), Banco Bradesco SA ( BBDC4.SA ), Bank of America Corp. ( BAC.N ), Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ), Itaú Unibanco Holding SA ( ITUB4.SA ), according to the SEC filing.Camargo Correa SA, the industrial group that owns Intercement, has long considered a partial sale of Loma Negra as Argentina slowly lures back foreign investment with President Mauricio Macri’s market-friendly policies.The move also shows how Camargo Correa’s controlling family is battling the effects of Brazil’s longest recession on record, years of rampant borrowing and a corruption probe that ensnared the group’s engineering unit.Proceeds from the Loma Negra IPO, which could offer as much as 30 percent of the company, will be used by Intercement to reduce its debt, which totals five times its annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, one of the people said.Representatives for Intercement did not immediately comment. Newspaper Valor Economico first reported details of the IPO on Wednesday.Camargo Correa purchased Loma Negra in 2005 for $1 billion, the first in a series of acquisitions to strengthen Intercement in emerging markets. Loma Negra was founded in 1926 by Argentine businessman Alfredo Fortabat.Reuters reported in December that Camargo Correa had contacted investors over a private sale of a minority stake in Loma Negra, but talks did not bear fruit.Over the past two years, with Brazil’s recession and corruption scandals taking a toll on finances, Camargo Correa undertook a quick effort to downsize. It has since exited power utility CPFL Energia SA ( CPFE3.SA ) and apparel maker Alpargatas SA ( ALPA4.SA ) in 2015, fetching some $3 billion from the sales.($1 = 3.12 reais)Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-loma-negra-ciasa-ipo/loma-negra-hires-banks-for-u-s-argentina-ipo-as-early-as-september-sources-idINKCN1BH2YJ'|'2017-09-06T18:40:00.000+03:00'
'fd0772d190ee26207ade2c2b61fae4c9d4e56cd0'|'Hong Kong needs new ways to lure more tech listings - HKEX CEO'|'September 5, 2017 / 2:38 AM / in 2 hours Hong Kong needs new ways to lure more tech listings - HKEX CEO Pete Sweeney 2 Min Read Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Chief Executive Charles Li attends an interview by Reuters in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong needs to find new ways to attract so-called new-economy companies to stay competitive, Charles Li, chief executive of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd (HKEX), told Reuters on Tuesday. In June, HKEX started a consultation on the launch of a third board that could allow companies to list with dual-class share structures and would target companies in sectors such as the internet and bio-tech. Public consultation ended last month, with financial industry professionals still divided over the matter. Some bankers and corporate governance experts have expressed concern that a third board could lower governance standards in the city, which has seen a series of corporate scandals that have rattled investors and battered some stocks. Li said public interest wouldn’t be compromised for profitability. “Public interest is number one,” he said. “The key is the market will understand that the bulk of the listing rule regulation is still going to be at the exchange (HKEX) but the SFC will take a proactive role whenever they see fit,” he said, referring to the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong. The HKEX chief, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Hong Kong, also said he saw a sharp increase in international companies raising capital in Hong Kong since the start of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock connect, which allows non-Chinese investors to buy Shenzhen-listed shares via Hong Kong. Related Coverage '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hkex-ceo/hong-kong-needs-new-ways-to-lure-more-tech-listings-hkex-ceo-idUKKCN1BG06O'|'2017-09-05T05:37:00.000+03:00'
'0ca23bed652b13b0501cca20bb91140eb780ac4c'|'China''s Guangzhou port storage facilities unable to accept new coal cargoes - official'|'September 7, 2017 / 4:41 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago China''s Guangzhou port storage facilities unable to accept new coal cargoes - official Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Trucks carrying shipping containers are seen at Nansha terminal of Guangzhou port in Guangdong province, China June 14, 2017. Picture taken June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Guangzhou port, the largest coal transport hub in southern China, said on Thursday that its storage facilities are currently unable to accept new coal cargoes. Bad weather in recent weeks has led to a backlog of cargoes, a Guangzhou Port Co ( 601228.SS ) official told Reuters, with storage facilities almost full. “We’ve had three typhoons since the end of August and lots of rains in recent weeks,” said the official, who declined to be identified by name pending a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Guangzhou, with 14 coal berths and capacity to handle 60 million tonnes of shipments per year, had halted operations, including foreign coal imports. The move surprised traders who said they hadn’t received official information on why operations had been halted, and feared a ban on imports was being implemented in the wake of similar curbs at other China ports. “Guangzhou port has not received any notices from customs regarding any curb on coal imports,” the official said. “Neither did the port send out any notices to its clients ... As of this week, we still have foreign coal cargo ships coming into the port.” The port is “working actively” to resolve coal shipment backlog problems, the official said, without giving a timetable for a full resumption of operations. Shipping containers are seen at Nansha terminal of Guangzhou port, in Guangdong province, China June 14, 2017. Picture taken June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer The latest port filing showed August’s cargo throughput volumes at 35.5 million tonnes, up 3.8 percent from a year ago, but down from 38.45 million tonnes in July. Shipping containers are seen at Nansha terminal of Guangzhou port, in Guangdong province, China June 14, 2017. Picture taken June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer News of the halt on new cargoes will rekindle worries about tightness in the market amid declining domestic production and more stringent port checks on coal cargoes. Mining caps and closures last year resulted in huge rises in coal prices which took many in the market by surprise. The Guangzhou port official said some traders have been holding their stocks at port, anticipating a hike in prices in winter, aggravating congestion. China’s coal production in July fell to its lowest level since October 2016 due to a flurry of environmental checks at coal mines. Coal imports also touched a five-month low in July. Reporting by Meng Meng and Beijing Monotoring Desk; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-coal-imports/chinas-guangzhou-port-storage-facilities-unable-to-accept-new-coal-cargoes-official-idUKKCN1BI0DM'|'2017-09-07T07:41:00.000+03:00'
'06e3de350c3a855e370c3b6662df22c4c57ffcc1'|'ABB plans expansion in U.S., scouting for acquisitions, CEO says'|'September 6, 2017 / 9:00 PM / 3 hours ago ABB plans expansion in U.S., scouting for acquisitions, CEO says Joseph White 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - ABB Ltd ( ABBN.S ) plans to expand its U.S. industrial robot factory in Michigan, the company’s chief executive officer said on Wednesday, while declining to comment on reports that he is weighing the purchase of a unit of rival General Electric Co ( GE.N ). Ulrich Spiesshofer, who took over as CEO of ABB in 2013, said in an interview that the company plans to expand its industrial robot manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, which delivered its first robot in March. He declined to offer details on new jobs or investment. ABB currently has a workforce of about 1,000 at the Auburn Hills complex. Zurich-based ABB is counting on continued growth in demand for industrial robots from automakers and other sectors, such as the food and beverage industry, Spiesshofer said. U.S. automakers have caught up with Japanese and German rivals in the level of factory automation, Spiesshofer said. “The next phase is about portfolio differentiation and expansion,” as automakers build more electric cars, he said. Spiesshofer has been reshaping ABB’s portfolio of businesses through acquisitions and divestitures for the past four years. He declined to comment on whether he is discussing the acquisition of GE’s industrial solutions business. People familiar with the situation said last month that GE and ABB had restarted talks after GE cut the asking price of the business, which sells industrial electrical equipment. ABB is scouting for potential acquisitions in certain areas, such as planning software, and those would likely be smaller deals, Spiesshofer said. ABB will be “brutally disciplined” in what it buys, he said, noting that the company “could have afforded” to buy industrial robot maker Kuka last year, but walked away “because the economics did not fit what we want to do.” In a presentation on Wednesday, Spiesshofer reaffirmed that, after what he called a “transitional year” in 2017, ABB should begin hitting its goals for revenue growth of 3 to 6 percent, and returns on capital investments in the “mid-teens.” Spiesshofer said problems with excess capacity in the robotics and motion business that hit second-quarter results should be resolved by growth in business. “I am confident for the full year we will be back” within a profit margin range of 15 to 18 percent, he said. Operating margins for ABB’s robotics and motion business were 14.9 percent in the second quarter. Reporting by Joseph White; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-abb-expansion/abb-plans-expansion-in-u-s-scouting-for-acquisitions-ceo-says-idINKCN1BH309'|'2017-09-06T19:00:00.000+03:00'
'32822b1715e2873b8d218017f5cb400123014045'|'Russia''s Rosneft, China''s CEFC agree joint exploration in Siberia'|'MOSCOW, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Russian oil major Rosneft said on Sunday it signed a cooperation agreement with CEFC China Energy Company for joint exploration in Siberia.The agreement also makes provision for “joint activity in such areas as refining, petrochemicals and crude and product trading,” Rosneft said.Rosneft also signed a contract with CEFC for Russia to increase direct supplies of crude oil to China.“The agreements signed today fully reflect the Company’s strategy, whose priorities includes strengthening relations with the Asia Pacific countries and, in particular, with China,” Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said in a statement. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; editing by John Stonestreet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-rosneft-china/russias-rosneft-chinas-cefc-agree-joint-exploration-in-siberia-idUSL8N1LK099'|'2017-09-03T18:20:00.000+03:00'
'57ffee158b263ca9ea77a46209a879d7b8bf7333'|'Irish consumer sentiment falls back from post-Brexit high'|' 12 PM / 12 minutes ago Irish consumer sentiment falls back from post-Brexit high Reuters Staff 2 Min Read DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish consumer sentiment fell back from a 17-month high in August, a survey showed on Wednesday, as consumers reported only limited gains in their personal finances from a healthy Irish economy. Ireland’s economy has posted the fastest growth in Europe for the past three years and unemployment has fallen rapidly but that has failed to buoy consumers, many of whom are experiencing an uneven recovery and rising living costs. The KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index dipped to 102.9 last month from 105.1 in July, its highest level since February last year. The index hit a 15-year high of 108.6 in January 2016 before Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. While consumers were increasingly positive about the prospects for the Irish economy and the outlook for jobs, they were less confident of their personal financial prospects in 12 months’ time and about the potential for major purchases. Only 25 percent of consumers reported a clear improvement in their personal financial circumstances in the past 12 months, while 27 percent forecast they would improve in the coming year. “A key message of the survey for some time is that it is not possible to equate the scale of improvement in the Irish economy at large with the change in fortunes of the average Irish consumer,” KBC chief economist Austin Hughes said. “With income growth for many modest at best and significant ‘legacy’ problems from the crisis, pressures on household finances remain widespread.” Fifty-three percent of consumers said they expected the economy to strengthen further in the next twelve months, while 13 percent expected a deterioration. Reporting by Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries; editing by Andrew Roche'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-consumersentiment/irish-consumer-sentiment-falls-back-from-post-brexit-high-idUKKCN1BG3AS'|'2017-09-06T02:12:00.000+03:00'
'f04a782e7c45e819dcb3762cf4ac644c79976986'|'P&G says Peltz''s plan would lead to higher costs, lower profits'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:31 PM / Updated an hour ago P&G says Peltz''s plan would lead to higher costs, lower profits Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Procter & Gamble (PG) is seen on a tube of toothpaste in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ) on Thursday said activist investor Nelson Peltz’s plan to boost shareholder value would result in higher costs, lower profits and another restructuring that could lead to a breakup of the company. Peltz’s Trian Partners released its long-awaited proposal on Wednesday, and called for P&G to be organized into “three largely autonomous business units under a lean holding company”. “Mr. Peltz’s suggestions would be value destructive, and we believe it represents another example of his misguided view of P&G’s business,” P&G said in a statement. P&G said it had studied several organizational structures, including the one proposed by Peltz, and concluded it would result in higher costs, lower efficiency, reduced profits, and an added layer of management complexity. FILE PHOTO - Nelson Peltz speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Trian, P&G’s fifth-largest shareholder, has been locked in a prolonged battle with the consumer products conglomerate, raising investor hopes of a break-up of the company. In July, Peltz made public his frustrations with the company’s lagging stock price and its “suffocating bureaucracy” and said he was seeking a board seat, a demand the company has turned down. “The board evaluated Mr. Peltz against its previously identified list of desired skills and experiences and concluded that he did not fill a current need,” P&G said in the statement, adding that it did not get positive recommendations about Peltz from others who have worked with him. Shareholders will vote on Oct. 10 on whether to add Peltz to the board. P&G’s shares, which have risen 5.5 percent since Peltz announced his stake in the company in February, were slightly higher before the opening bell. Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru, editing by Bernard Orr '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-trianfund/pg-says-peltzs-plan-would-lead-to-higher-costs-lower-profits-idINKCN1BI1MI'|'2017-09-07T10:31:00.000+03:00'
'480a8e1a0e2931690d87c3e02034119187ef66d2'|'Argentina increases 2024 bond issuance for 3rd time in 2 months'|'BUENOS AIRES, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Argentina increased its dollar-denominated Bonar 2024 sovereign bond issuance by up to $5 billion, the government said in the official gazette on Tuesday, the third time it has increased the bond in a little over two months.President Mauricio Macri’s government also inked a repurchase deal for $1.8 billion worth of the bonds with UBS AG London branch, Deutsche Bank AG, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and BBVA Banco Frances SA .The bond was originally sold in 2014 for $3.25 billion with a 8.75 percent coupon. At the time the country was locked out of the international capital markets due to a debt default dispute that was resolved last year, soon after President Mauricio Macri came to power in late 2015.The government had increased the Bonar 2024 bond issuance by $4 billion in early August, inking a $2.7 billion repo deal, and by $4 billion in late June, along with a $1.5 billion repurchase deal. (Reporting by Hernan Nessi; Writing by Luc Cohen) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/argentina-bond/argentina-increases-2024-bond-issuance-for-3rd-time-in-2-months-idINL2N1LM0HY'|'2017-09-05T10:52:00.000+03:00'
'199402d48dde9868b5f69ce3850b26ef36e828c7'|'Tronc buys New York Daily News in push into No. 1 media market'|'September 5, 2017 / 5:27 PM / in an hour Tronc buys New York Daily News in push into No. 1 media market Liana B. Baker 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Tronc Inc, owner of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times newspapers, has gained entry into the United States’ top media market by acquiring the New York Daily News from publishing and property mogul Mort Zuckerman. Tronc disclosed in a filing early Tuesday that it had paid $1 in cash plus the assumption of liabilities for the nearly 100-year-old tabloid newspaper and a state-of-the-art printing plant in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. The Chicago-based company will assume the Daily News’ $26.5 million in pension obligations as well as about $35 million in insurance and workers’ compensation liabilities, the filing said. The News, which bills itself as “New York’s Hometown Newspaper,” has long been a paper aimed at the working class in the nation’s biggest city. It once was home to some of New York’s top columnists, such as Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin. But, as with the newspaper industry as a whole, its fortunes have declined. It has also had to compete for advertisers and readers with the city’s other tabloid, the New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Tronc was interested in the News because of the 25 million unique monthly visitors drawn to its website, which will increase Tronc’s digital audience, Tim Knight, the president of Tronc digital unit TroncX, said in an interview. These users will increase the reach of Tronc, which drew 55 million average monthly unique visitors in the second quarter. The News also has daily print circulation of 200,000 and Sunday circulation of 240,000. A New York Daily News with the headline "TRONC BUYS THE NEWS" is seen on a newsstand in New York City, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Tronc executives declined to comment on any future job cuts at the newspaper. Cowen & Co analyst Lance Vitanza said in a research note that New York City was an “obvious gap in Tronc’s footprint” and said it would accretive to Tronc’s earnings and free cash flow within 12-18 months. Tronc is doubling down on newspapers at a time when total industry newspaper revenue is expected to fall to $23.9 billion in 2021 from $33.3 billion in 2012, a decline of 28 percent over a decade, according to PwC. Tronc executives also said they would look to implement the ARC publishing system it has licensed from The Washington Post at the Daily News after it finishes putting it into effect it in other cities. Tronc said late on Monday it would also buy a 49.9 percent interest in a joint venture with Zuckerman-related entities that will own the 25-acre parcel of land on which the Daily News’ printing facility in New Jersey is located. Tronc’s predecessor, The Tribune Co, founded the Daily News, and with the transaction, Tronc will serve 10 major U.S. markets, Tronc Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said. Tronc’s other newspapers include the Baltimore Sun, the Hartford Courant and the San Diego Union-Tribune. Zuckerman, who first put the Daily News on the auction block in February 2015, sought $200 million for the paper at the time, and later scrapped the sales plans. ( reut.rs/2gADvAe ) On Aug. 21, Tronc announced that digital media veteran Ross Levinsohn would take over as chief executive officer and publisher of the Los Angeles Times as part of a shake-up of senior management there. Additional reporting by Sangameswaran S and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/daily-news-m-a-tronc/tronc-buys-new-york-daily-news-in-push-into-no-1-media-market-idINKCN1BG2LJ'|'2017-09-05T15:27:00.000+03:00'
'57aa911dfba65f663849e9365b248bd90302660d'|'Facebook inflates ad reach, claims Pivotal Research analyst'|'September 6, 2017 / 4:27 AM / an hour ago Facebook inflates ad reach, claims Pivotal Research analyst Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The record store Grooves advertises their presence on Facebook in their shop window in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (Reuters) - Facebook Inc inflates the number of people who can see the advertisements on its platform, a Pivotal Research Group analyst said in a note. Facebook’s Ads Manager claims a potential reach of 41 million 18- to 24-year olds and 60 million 25- to 34-year olds in the United States, whereas U.S. census data shows that last year there were a total of 31 million people between the ages of 18 and 24, and 45 million in the 25-34 age group, the analyst said. “While Facebook’s measurement issues won’t necessarily deter advertisers from spending money with Facebook, they will help traditional TV sellers justify existing budget shares and could restrain Facebook’s growth in video ad sales on the margins,” said research analyst Brian Wieser, who maintains a ‘sell’ rating on the stock with a price target of $140 for year-end 2017. Facebook said, “they (reach estimates) are designed to estimate how many people in a given area are eligible to see an ad a business might run. They are not designed to match population or census estimates.” The estimations are based on several factors such as user behavior, user demographics and location data from devices, Facebook said in a statement, in response to the research note. In September last year, Facebook told advertisers that the average time users spent viewing online ads was artificially inflated, because it was only counting videos that were watched for at least three seconds, its benchmark for a “view.” In November 2016, Facebook launched a new blog on its website called Metrics FYI, to share updates and corrections for its data. Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-advertising-research/facebook-inflates-ad-reach-claims-pivotal-research-analyst-idUKKCN1BH0H3'|'2017-09-06T07:23:00.000+03:00'
'b38c4c1bbc4e5be2b2a513ac796a796386bc5484'|'AIG appoints Lucy Fato as general counsel'|'Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. insurer American International Group Inc said on Tuesday Lucy Fato will assume the role of general counsel, effective Oct. 16.Fato, whose duties will include overseeing compliance, regulatory, government affairs and the company’s lobbying efforts, will report to Chief Executive Brian Duperreault.She succeeds Peter Solmssen, who will retire after serving as AIG’s general counsel since 2016, the company said.Fato, who had earlier worked with Duperreault at Marsh & McLennan Cos, is joining from global investigation firm Nardello & Co.Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/aig-moves-generalcounsel/aig-appoints-lucy-fato-as-general-counsel-idUSL4N1LM5D3'|'2017-09-06T00:08:00.000+03:00'
'0da3614ab11a14bc1a99757bfb29a92f95d1a096'|'Oberbank set to finance Austrian projects in Iran with new deal'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:33 AM / Updated an hour ago Oberbank set to finance Austrian projects in Iran with new deal Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich 3 Min Read VIENNA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Austria’s Oberbank will sign a deal with Iran this month enabling it to finance new ventures there, its chief executive said, among the first European lenders to do so since sanctions were eased. The deal Tehran struck in 2015 with six major powers lifted many sanctions in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities and technically paved the way for international business deals with Iran. However, many banks have stayed away for fear of inadvertently breaking remaining U.S. sanctions, which could lead to huge fines. Oberbank, Austria’s seventh-biggest lender, with a balance sheet of roughly 20 billion euros ($24 billion), is due to host a signing ceremony on Sept. 21 at its headquarters in the city of Linz with envoys from Iran’s central bank and Finance Ministry, its Chief Executive Franz Gasselsberger said. Executives from 10-12 Iranian banks will also be present for the signing of the agreement, which will enable Oberbank to provide credit for Austrian companies doing business in Iran, Gasselsberger told Reuters on Thursday. “I think we are the first European bank (to reach such an agreement),” Gasselsberger said in a telephone interview, adding that he was relying on information from the Iranian authorities. “Evidently some Germans and Italians are also negotiating,” he said, adding that a Danish bank was also in talks. He declined to name any of those companies, but Denmark’s Danske Bank said in January that it was negotiating with Iran’s central bank. GUARANTEES The Oberbank agreement with Iran covers projects by Austrian companies in Iran lasting more than two years, in areas that were previously under sanctions. Oberbank already finances exports to Iran in areas such as food, Gasselsberger said. “We have very concrete projects in the fields of infrastructure, rail, health, hospital construction, factory building, photovoltaics, hydro power,” Gasselsberger said. Export credit guarantees covering 99 percent of a project’s volume will be provided by the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank, the main Austrian body that issues them. “The sticking point was obtaining an additional guarantee from the Iranian republic,” Gasselsberger said. “We negotiated with the Iranian central bank but the guarantee is evidently coming from the Iranian Finance Ministry.” Although President Hassan Rouhani cancelled a visit to Austria in March 2016, Iranian business executives went ahead with the trip and signed outline deals with Austrian exporters. ($1 = 0.8389 euros) (Writing by Francois Murphy; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/oberbank-iran/oberbank-set-to-finance-austrian-projects-in-iran-with-new-deal-idUSL8N1LN3WK'|'2017-09-07T19:33:00.000+03:00'
'20c6509a0a2d549852a14d02e3d4a8fae400311a'|'LME to upgrade electronic trading system after complaints'|'LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) is set to upgrade and strengthen its electronic trading system after falling volumes and user complaints about outages and poor functionality.The LME launched a discussion on market structure and reform in April after trading volumes fell 4.3 percent in 2015 and 7.7 percent in 2016. It will publish the results on Thursday.It is expected to cut some fees, seek consensus on reducing rents for storing metal in its network of warehouses, encourage trading of monthly contracts and highlight potential investments in its electronic trading platform, LMEselect.Brokers and traders say they have complained to the LME about frequent disconnections and glitches on LMEselect.“It has more outages than it should do,” said a source at a major commodities-trading bank. “It’s a credibility issue for the LME.”Necessary upgrades were likely to cost tens of millions of dollars, sources said.“Enough people have made a point of highlighting LMEselect in their responses to the discussion paper,” said a source at a metals broker. “It gives the LME ammunition for HKEx.”Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx), bought the LME in 2012 for $2.2 billion.Around a third of LME volumes come through LMEselect, which launched in 2001, with the remainder traded in open outcry and via telephone.The head of a metals brokerage said outages had occurred every few months on LMEselect, sometimes lasting up to four hours.Investors have also complained that LMEselect’s opening hours do not suit traders in the United States and that the system cannot perform sophisticated functions for industrial metals trading such as implied pricing.Implied pricing involves extrapolating prices for contracts that mature on one date from trading activity on other dates, something common on other exchanges.“LMEselect technology is old, slow and prone to freezing over, not a good situation when you have a client order.” said another source at a metals broker.The LME said its discussion paper had proposed ways to increase the processing power of LMEselect, and these could enable functionality such as extrapolated prices.“Should the LME decide to take this or another proposal forward, we would of course make the necessary investments to make this possible,” it said. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Additional reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lme-reform-select/lme-to-upgrade-electronic-trading-system-after-complaints-idINL5N1KE0GK'|'2017-09-06T11:40:00.000+03:00'
'd450e746ab07b88b0c61fbf88995e686a7d04323'|'German auto chiefs must fix industry''s mistakes, Merkel says'|'September 6, 2017 / 3:14 PM / in 5 minutes German auto chiefs must fix industry''s mistakes, Merkel says Reuters Staff 3 Min Read German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leaves after the TV debate with her challenger Germany''s Social Democratic Party SPD candidate for chancellor Martin Schulz in Berlin, Germany, September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel told staff representatives from Germany’s car manufacturers on Wednesday that managers must remedy mistakes made by the industry to win back consumers’ confidence. Germany’s auto sector was plunged into crisis two years ago when Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) admitted to cheating U.S. diesel emissions tests. Suspicions of collusion between the country’s carmakers have since surfaced, and they could face “very high” fines if that is proved true in court, European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said. The sector’s problem have become an issue in campaigning for a national election taking place on Sept. 24, and many who work in the industry - Germany’s biggest exporter and provider of some 800,000 jobs - are worried about its future. Antitrust regulators are investigating whether Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi ( NSUG.DE ), BMW ( BMWG.DE ) and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) held secret meetings to discuss suppliers, prices and standards to the detriment of foreign carmakers. “The chancellor made it clear that company management must clearly identify and eliminate mistakes in order to regain the confidence of consumers,” Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement after she met the heads of the firms’ employee works councils. Merkel’s main challenger in the election, Social Democrat Martin Schulz, has criticised her approach to carmakers and called for them to pay for the widening emissions scandal. Last month, German politicians and car bosses agreed to an overhaul of engine software on 5.3 million diesel cars to cut pollution and try to repair the industry’s reputation. But many politicians fear Germany’s carmakers are failing to invest enough in new technology and infrastructure. On Tuesday, Merkel said her government was willing to help manufacturers make the change to cleaner models with low-emissions engines. Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-politics/german-auto-chiefs-must-fix-industrys-mistakes-merkel-says-idUKKCN1BH23H'|'2017-09-06T18:14:00.000+03:00'
'5f304a4e437edd27934e2d54c751b98e5314e7f2'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil watchdog arm recommends rejecting ArcelorMittal-Votorantim tie-up'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A body of Brazil’s antitrust watchdog Cade has recommended the rejection of ArcelorMittal SA’s proposed acquisition of Votorantim Siderurgia SA, saying the tie-up would impact competition in the nation’s long steel market.In a statement on Tuesday, Cade’s general superintendency said the merger of two of Brazil’s top-three long steelmakers could hamper competition. It said the deal could lead to price-fixing, giving the combined entity extra market power for scrap in Brazil’s southeastern region, the nation’s most industrious.The recommendation comes as Brazil’s steel industry faces an increase in mergers after struggling this decade with the impact of cheap imports, a harsh recession and plunging government spending that sparked a drop in infrastructure works.In recent months, Brazil’s long-docile antitrust watchdog has shocked executives by rejecting two high-profile planned takeovers this year, leading companies in the industrial and services sectors to mull alternatives to mergers.ArcelorMittal, the world’s No. 1 steelmaker and also Brazil’s biggest producer of flat steel products, agreed in February to take over Votorantim Siderurgia’s local operations - a move that would create a player with capacity to make 5.6 million tonnes of raw steel annually.In a separate statement, ArcelorMittal said the recommendation was “merely a technical concept whose analysis is an opinion.” Votorantim Siderurgia, a unit of Brazil’s largest diversified industrial group, said both companies would continue to cooperate with Cade to identify potential antitrust issues.Shares of ArcelorMittal fell 1.3 percent to 22.51 euros in Amsterdam on Tuesday, paring back gains this year to about 7 percent.Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Alberto Alerigi Jr; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-votorantim-siderurgia-m-a-arcelormitt/brazil-watchdog-arm-recommends-rejecting-arcelormittal-votorantim-tie-up-idUSKCN1BG39O'|'2017-09-06T01:53:00.000+03:00'
'91d727d10ad76f3e75101dbb789aa2e265b02907'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as financials lead retreat, Teck slumps'|'(Adds investor comment; updates prices to close)* TSX ends down 101.45 points, or 0.67 percent, at 15,090.15* Eight of the TSX’s 10 main groups finish lowerBy Alastair SharpTORONTO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index fell on Tuesday as investors pulled back amid tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program and as another hurricane threatened the southern United States.Financial stocks led declines as bond yields fell, while gold miners gained and energy stocks perked up with a surge in oil prices and news of a deal in Alberta’s oil patch.Teck Resources Ltd fell 6.7 percent to C$29.47 after Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp, a cornerstone shareholder, sold a substantial chunk of its holding.The diversified miner had risen steadily from a trough below C$20 in mid-June as copper prices lifted off.The heavyweight financials group lost 1.2 percent, tracking larger losses among U.S. financials as investors flocked to low-risk government debt in reaction to North Korea’s biggest nuclear missile test yet.“People are getting a little bit nervous about the approaching debt ceiling in the U.S., and certainly North Korea has rattled people significantly,” said Rick Hutcheon, president and chief operating officer at RKH Investments.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 101.45 points, or 0.67 percent, at 15,090.15.The most influential movers included Royal Bank of Canada , which fell 1.5 percent to C$90.77, and insurer Manulife Financial Corp, down 2.6 percent to C$24.01.The energy group edged 0.4 percent higher as crude prices jumped and gasoline slumped with refineries in Texas starting to resume operations in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Another hurricane, Irma, is rolling toward the southern United States.“No one knows where Irma is going to go, the track looks like it’s through Florida but it could go right back into Texas again,” Hutcheon said.Canadian Natural Resources gained 1.5 percent to C$39.30 after agreeing to buy Cenovus Energy’s Pelican Lake heavy oil operations in Alberta for C$975 million ($787 million). Cenovus shares jumped 3.3 percent to C$10.28.Eight of the index’s 10 main groups finished in negative territory, with decliners outnumbering advancers by a 1.5-to-1 ratio overall.The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, gained 0.2 percent as gold miners were boosted by a jump in the precious metal to a one-year high, offsetting Teck’s fall.Kinross Gold Corp gained 4.7 percent to C$5.81 and Goldcorp Inc rose 2.3 percent to C$17.41.Hudson’s Bay Co fell 6.8 percent to C$11.27 as investors braced for its earnings report after the bell. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-falls-as-financials-lead-retreat-teck-slumps-idUSL2N1LM25H'|'2017-09-06T00:09:00.000+03:00'
'cc9146989506ff24b732433eaef606b2c18b547b'|'Amazon plans $5 billion second headquarters in N. America'|'FILE PHOTO - The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) said on Thursday it would build a $5 billion second headquarters in North America, kicking off a competition between cities and states to offer tax cuts and incentives that could bring 50,000 new jobs.The largest e-commerce company said it intended to create “HQ2”, a headquarters that would be a “full equal” to its Seattle office, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement. The company wants a city of more than a million people with an international airport, good education and mass transit.It also wants subsidies. Incentives from land to fee cuts to relocation packages will be a major part of the decision, Amazon said, and local governments have shown they will go to great lengths to secure jobs and investment. In return, it promised up to 50,000 jobs averaging more than $100,000 in annual compensation over the next 10 to 15 years.Wisconsin’s legislature recently voted to give Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn a $3-billion incentive package to build a $10-billion liquid crystal display factory in the state, for example.Cities and states immediately began expressing interest. Dallas has already contacted Amazon, Mayor Michael Rawlings said, and Kentucky plans to submit a formal bid. Houston is interested and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made a case for his city in discussions with Bezos, a Chicago spokesman said. Toronto’s mayor John Tory called the Canadian city a “prime candidate.”Amazon’s investment plan gives it new leverage with politicians at a time when it has been criticized for its effect on bricks-and-mortar retailers. President Donald Trump has criticized the company as doing “great damage”, costing jobs in cities and states. The Wisconsin Foxconn factory will be in the home district of Paul Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.Amazon said it was seeking proposals by Oct. 19 and would select the location next year.More than 50 cities have the 1-million population Amazon targets. Likely contenders could include U.S. Midwest states, where Amazon has many of its warehouses; Texas, which is the base of the Whole Foods Market grocery chain it acquired this year; and other business-friendly states.Amazon has been awarded more than $1 billion in state and local subsidies since 2000, according to estimates by watchdog Good Jobs First, which collects information on state subsidies from government filings, academics and news reports. Texas leads the way with the value of subsidies to Amazon, followed by Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, it said.“Amazon’s business model changed from avoiding state sales tax collections to seeking economic development incentives,” said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First.LeRoy, who has written critically of Amazon, said the reality of moving a headquarters has more to do with the executive talent pool, the amenities, schools, housing stock and quality of life, rather than municipal finance incentives.Amazon’s shares were up 1.2 percent at $979.61 on Thursday.SPRAWLING SEATTLE FOOTPRINT Amazon pointed to its expansion in Seattle as a sign of what it could do. The company, which began as a bookseller, has grown into the internet’s biggest retailer, built an award-winning movie studio, and has expanded around the world. Its workforce has exploded to more than 380,000 from under 25,000 since it moved to downtown Seattle in 2010, as it rapidly expanded to become a global retailer - selling everything from groceries to appliances.The company’s total revenue has grown to $136 billion at the end of last year, from $34 billion in 2010. Amazon recently snatched up Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion.The “HQ2” project would initially need more than 500,000 square feet and up to 8 million square feet beyond 2027, Amazon said.“We want to find a city that is excited to work with us and where our customers, employees, and the community can all benefit,” Amazon said. Its Seattle campus spreads across 8.1 million square feet in 33 buildings and employs more than 40,000 people.Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said his office immediately began conversations with Amazon about the company’s needs and its long-term plans for operations in the city. “But, we also must know headwinds are coming. Unprecedented growth will not happen forever and my upcoming budget will reflect that.”Incentives for Amazon’s new headquarters could make sense as a long-term investment that could change the image of a metropolitan area, said Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist for the Progressive Policy Institute, a liberal think tank.“The question is, how much of a tax break would you have given to have Apple set up shop in your state? It’s not so much the jobs as becoming a focal point for growth. No one can put a price tag on that.”One gripe among corporate watchdogs is the amount of actual state and local income taxes companies pay.For instance, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), between 2008 and 2015, there were 240 profitable companies among the Fortune 500 that fully disclosed their state and local income tax payments. They paid state income taxes equal to less than 2.9 percent of their U.S. profits.“Since the average statutory state corporate tax rate is about 6.25 percent (weighted by gross state product), that means that over this period, more than half of their profits escaped state taxes entirely,” ITEP reported in April.Writing by Peter Henderson, Additional reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago, Supantha Mukherjee and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru, Daniel Bases in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/amazon-com-headquarters/amazon-plans-5-billion-second-headquarters-in-n-america-idINKCN1BI1KR'|'2017-09-07T15:11:00.000+03:00'
'7b2f5bc4a213b1cf9483e130eb1eb1b473dc164e'|'Virgin Atlantic ''confident'' UK and U.S. will have aviation deal for Brexit'|'September 7, 2017 / 2:29 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Virgin Atlantic confident of Anglo-U.S. aviation deal post Brexit Alistair Smout 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Virgin Atlantic passenger aircraft prepares for take off from Gatwick Airport in southern England, Britain, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is likely to have a bilateral arrangement governing transatlantic flights after it leaves the European Union, the head of Virgin Atlantic Airways [VA.UL] said on Thursday. Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive Craig Kreeger also said that while the weaker pound had had a negative effect on the airline, this had not been as large as expected. Britain needs to negotiate an air transport service agreement with the EU to keep airline services running when Britain leaves the bloc and will also need a replacement for the “open skies” agreement between the United States and the EU. Ryanair’s Michael O‘Leary has issued stark warnings about the prospect of flights to the EU being grounded when Britain leaves in March 2019. However, Kreeger said that such a scenario for flights to the United States was unlikely. “I have a lot of confidence that what we’ve seen this year is an indication of the fact that the UK is not going to cut itself off from the rest of the world, from a travel perspective,” Kreeger told Reuters at an industry conference. “I‘m confident that the UK and U.S. will have a bilateral arrangement in place that means flights don’t cease. The things that are really important will work their way out over time.” A sharp fall in the pound was one of the immediate impacts of Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June 2016. That hurt Virgin Atlantic, which relies on revenues from British travellers in pounds but has many of its costs in dollars. However, Kreeger said that demand from Britons to travel had held up better than expected, while the airline had also benefited from more visitors than expected from the United States and Asia. “We’d anticipated it being a really rough year. But we’ve had a really encouraging year against that backdrop,” he said. “We have seen that Brits are resilient. The summer holiday is sacrosanct. Demand has dropped a little bit, but nowhere near what you would expect with a 15 percent increase in the cost of travel abroad.” In July, Virgin Atlantic said Air France-KLM would buy 31 percent of the airline from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, making it the second largest Virgin Atlantic shareholder after U.S. airline Delta, which owns a 49 percent stake, and reducing Virgin Group’s stake to 20 percent. Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airlines-london-virgin-atlantic/virgin-atlantic-confident-uk-and-u-s-will-have-aviation-deal-for-brexit-idUKKCN1BI1ZA'|'2017-09-07T17:29:00.000+03:00'
'8b669dd91bdd816299af56ce82ad41f6d4290764'|'International Sugar Organization sees India''s 2017/18 output at 25 million tonnes'|'September 7, 2017 / 1:08 PM / Updated 3 hours ago International Sugar Organization sees India''s 2017/18 output at 25 million tonnes Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A labourer carries a sack filled with sugar in a store at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, February 15, 2016. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The International Sugar Organization (ISO) said on Thursday it expects India’s sugar output to rise by about 22 percent to 25 million tonnes in the year beginning October, and the world’s biggest consumer of the sweetener could export the commodity in 2018/19. China is expected to import 6.1 million tonnes - 6.3 million tonnes of sugar in 2017/18, compared with 6 million tonnes a year ago, Jose Orive, executive director of the ISO, told reporters on Thursday. He said China will release 1.5 million tonnes of sugar from its state reserves in 2017/18, compared with 1.25 million tonnes a year ago. Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-sugar/international-sugar-organization-sees-indias-2017-18-output-at-25-million-tonnes-idINKCN1BI1Q5'|'2017-09-07T16:04:00.000+03:00'
'fda2baae1721c0686dec1109bcf15d5bf2bdf88c'|'Mnuchin, Ryan see passage of U.S tax overhaul by end of year - Reuters'|'September 7, 2017 / 4:18 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Mnuchin, Ryan see passage of U.S tax overhaul by end of year Doina Chiacu , Susan Heavey 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin gestures during a news briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 25, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan voiced confidence on Thursday that Congress will pass an overhaul of the U.S. tax code by the end of this year, a major but elusive goal for President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans. “We want America to wake up on New Year’s Day 2018 with a new tax system,” Ryan said, adding that his goal was to have a U.S. corporate tax rate at or below 22.5 percent, down from the current 35 percent. [nL2N1LO0QI] “I think it’s still very viable to get it done this year,” Mnuchin said, calling the tax overhaul his and Trump’s top priority. “We don’t need to set a specific date. We’re going to get this done as quickly as we can.” [nL2N1LO0HG] Mnuchin and Ryan made their predictions a day after Trump reached a deal with Democrats to avert an unprecedented default on U.S. government debt, keep the government funded at the outset of the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 and provide aid to victims of Hurricane Harvey. [nL2N1LN19D] Trump has said he wants to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent. Ryan, in an interview with the New York Times, indicated that a figure that low was unrealistic. “The numbers are hard to make that work,” Ryan said. “He obviously wants to push this as low as possible. I completely support doing that, but at the end of the day we’ve got to make these numbers work.” “Our goal is to be at or below the industrialized world average - and that’s 22.5 (percent). So our goal is to get in the mid- to low 20s. And we think that’s an achievable goal,” he added. The White House hopes Wednesday’s deal clears the decks for Congress to tackle the tax overhaul, a top Trump campaign promise. Even though Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, Trump has yet to win passage of any major legislation, with Democrats typically united against him. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks during a press briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. on September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/Files His administration previously has offered rosy predictions about the timing of a tax overhaul that have not come to pass. Mnuchin in February said the administration was committed to getting the tax overhaul through Congress by August. Mnuchin and Ryan are members of six-member Republican team that has been negotiating a tax plan behind closed doors for months, excluding Democrats and producing only a few pages of basic principles. The group was meeting on Thursday morning. Trump on Tuesday urged congressional leaders to make a big push on taxes with cuts for individuals and companies and tax breaks for businesses to bring back profits from overseas. [nW1N1L400Z] Republicans are still divided on significant issues such as whether tax cuts should be offset with spending cuts to avoid increasing the federal budget deficit and how much to lower the corporate income tax rate. In an interview with Fox Business Network, Mnuchin said he was not worried about the plan going off track because of either Democrats or conservative Republicans making their own demands. Many Democrats have voiced opposition to a tax plan that primarily benefits the wealthiest Americans and corporations. Asked whether he was concerned that Democrats could use the funding deal struck on Wednesday to make demands such as rejecting any tax cut for the wealthy or pushing for a cut for middle-income earners, Mnuchin said no. He also said he expected some Democrats to back the final tax plan. On Wednesday, Trump said he would offer more details about his tax reform plan in about two weeks. [nL2N1LO014] Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by David Morgan; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-tax/mnuchin-ryan-see-passage-of-u-s-tax-overhaul-by-end-of-year-idINKCN1BI2AA'|'2017-09-07T14:18:00.000+03:00'
'3023b9d0fb06312788e8659667cd9b922e025afd'|'Trump''s antitrust pick meets with Elizabeth Warren - source'|' 41 PM / 11 minutes ago Trump''s antitrust pick meets with Elizabeth Warren - source Diane Bartz 2 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, met on Wednesday with President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, where she pressed him on political interference in antitrust and lobbying, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The source did not say if the meeting was sufficient to convince Warren to support Makan Delrahim. She has reportedly put a “hold” on his confirmation to be assistant attorney general. Delrahim declined comment on the discussions. At the meeting, Warren pressed Delrahim on how he would respond to any effort by the White House to influence an antitrust decision. As a candidate, Trump said he would oppose AT&T’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner , owner of CNN and one of the country’s largest film and television companies. Delrahim said in his confirmation hearing in May that on his watch the division’s reviews would be free from any political influence. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-antitrust-congress/trumps-antitrust-pick-meets-with-elizabeth-warren-source-idUSL2N1LN2GZ'|'2017-09-07T00:41:00.000+03:00'
'8bad5897b544092f223eec5a2001d184dd2bd902'|'Medical device maker Teleflex to buy NeoTract in $1.1 billion deal'|'(Reuters) - Medical device maker Teleflex Inc said on Tuesday it would buy privately held NeoTract Inc to strengthen its portfolio of urology devices in its second billion-dollar deal in the past nine months.Teleflex, whose devices are used in cardiac, respiratory and emergency care, said it would buy NeoTract in a deal whose value could rise to $1.1 billion based on the NeoTract’s sales, including those of its flagship device, UroLift System.The UroLift System is a minimally invasive device to treat men with lower urinary tract disorders due an enlarged prostate. A second-generation UroLift System in due in the second half of 2018.NeoTract targets a market that is worth more than $30 billion and the company has clocked revenue growth of 20 percent or more in 13 of the past 14 quarters, Teleflex said.The company’s revenue is expected to be between $115 million and $120 million this year, compared with about $51 million in 2016, and is estimated to increase at least 40 percent in 2018, the companies said.That rate of growth will help Teleflex increase its revenue in the mid-single digit percentage range for the next several years, as well as boost its margin profile, the company said.Teleflex’s revenue increased 3.2 percent in 2016 and is currently estimated to rise about 12 percent this year, mainly due to its deal to buy Vascular Solutions Inc, before tapering off to 3.2 percent growth by 2020, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Teleflex bought Vascular Solutions for about $1 billion in December to bolster its coronary and vascular business. That deal closed in February.Teleflex said it would pay NeoTract $725 million when the deal closes, expected within the next 30 days, and an additional $375 million when it hits certain sales milestones through 2020.The deal is expected to slightly dilute Teleflex’s adjusted earnings per share this year, be neutral to profits next year and add 35-40 cents from 2019, the companies said.Teleflex’s shares closed at $210.51 on Friday, having gained about 31 percent in 2017.Guggenheim Securities is Teleflex’s financial adviser and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP its legal adviser.J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is advising NeoTract and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is its legal counsel.Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-neotract-m-a-teleflex/medical-tech-provider-teleflex-to-buy-neotract-in-1-1-billion-deal-idINKCN1BG1KD'|'2017-09-05T09:31:00.000+03:00'
'720b53856ec0f0c0534db52b454fd2e506a037f6'|'Bank of England reaches deal with union to end pay dispute'|'September 5, 2017 / 12:32 PM / 17 minutes ago Bank of England reaches deal with union to end pay dispute Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England has settled a dispute over pay with staff that led to the central bank’s first strike in more than 50 years, the BoE and the Unite trade union said on Tuesday. Some maintenance and security staff stopped work for three days last month and a protest outside the bank by around 15 employees, some wearing masks of Governor Mark Carney, drew widespread media attention. “Unite is pleased to bring the Bank of England dispute to an end having secured significant improvements for staff across the organization,” Mercedes Sanchez, a regional officer for the union, said. The BoE also welcomed the agreement. “The proposal that has been agreed includes a range of measures focused on improving our relationship with Unite and involving them more in pay discussions,” a BoE spokesperson said. “We hope this leads to a more productive relationship with the union going forward.” Unite said it had achieved a payment for lower-paid staff during the 2017/18 pay review as well as extra holiday. Prime Minister Theresa May has come under increasing pressure from lawmakers to end a below-inflation 1 percent cap on public sector pay rises that has been in place since 2013, which replaced a previous pay freeze, as part of efforts to cut government spending. Although it is operationally independent of the government, the BoE has also limited pay rises to 1 percent for most staff, in line with other public bodies. Neither Unite nor the BoE gave indications that larger pay increases were in the pipeline. Earlier on Tuesday, a member of May’s cabinet did not deny media reports that the government will soon relax its public sector pay cap. Unite also said it would now be involved with all future pay negotiations at the Bank from the outset. Sixty percent of members accepted the BoE’s offer to end the dispute. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by David Milliken and Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-pay/bank-of-england-reaches-deal-with-union-to-end-pay-dispute-idUKKCN1BG1PY'|'2017-09-05T15:29:00.000+03:00'
'03a2b145d142208bb06edbc5f73b2431fc8e3270'|'Tyremaker Pirelli to offer 40 percent of share capital in upcoming IPO'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:01 AM / 34 minutes ago Tiremaker Pirelli to offer 40 percent of share capital in upcoming IPO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - Italian tiremaker Pirelli said on Monday it had filed a request to place on the market up to 40 percent of its shares in an initial public offering expected to be completed by October. The world’s fifth-largest tiremaker was delisted from the Milan bourse in 2015 after a mandatory offer launched by Marco Polo, an investment vehicle controlled by China National Chemical and the company’s sole shareholder. The group said in a statement it had deposited a request to be listed on the Milan stock exchange on Sept. 1 and that it expected to start trading in October. Following its listing and starting from the approval of its 2018 results, the company expects to pay out 40 percent of its net profit in dividends, the statement added. Reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Christian Schmollinger'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo/tiremaker-pirelli-to-offer-40-percent-of-share-capital-in-upcoming-ipo-idUKKCN1BF0JP'|'2017-09-04T08:56:00.000+03:00'
'2f48893413423ae604ab37a9fe4df3018e9710d0'|'Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms - sources'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:40 AM / 11 minutes ago Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms - sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) has offered to drop out of a bid for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) lucrative semiconductor business in return for a stronger position in the two companies’ chip joint venture, two sources said on Tuesday. Toshiba needs to sell the chip unit to plug a giant hole in its finances caused by the failure of the conglomerate’s U.S. nuclear business, but the deal has snagged on such issues as antitrust concerns if the U.S. disk-drive maker were a major owner. To help close the deal, California-based Western Digital has told Toshiba it is prepared to pull out of a consortium bidding for the business in order to address such concerns, said the sources, one with direct knowledge of the transaction and one who was briefed on this development. In return, Western Digital is seeking to strengthen its position in the joint venture operations, they said. A Western Digital spokeswoman said she could not comment on details of the talks. Toshiba was not immediately available for comment outside Tokyo business hours. Toshiba and Western Digital, which jointly invest in Toshiba’s key plant in central Japan, failed to seal a deal by Toshiba’s target date last week due to disagreement over the U.S. firm’s future stake in the business. Reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-offers-to-exit-toshiba-chip-bid-for-better-jv-terms-sources-idUKKCN1BG1EA'|'2017-09-05T13:40:00.000+03:00'
'6739fc44c8bd24955c41b2056adaceffc60b0a54'|'UK factories ride crest of European upturn, for now - survey'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:18 PM / in 7 hours UK factories ride crest of European upturn, for now - survey Reuters Staff 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man works on the production line at the Toyota factory in Derby, central England, March 7, 2011. REUTERS/Darren Staples/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Fuelled by a resurgent European economy, the highest proportion of British manufacturers in at least 20 years now report rising output and orders, despite gloom around the outlook at home, an industry survey showed on Tuesday. While Britain’s factories have failed to contribute to official measures of economic growth so far in 2017, a stronger second half to the year looks in store, according to a quarterly report from manufacturing association EEF and accountants BDO. The survey’s gauges for orders and output hit their highest levels since records started in 1995, with respondents reporting especially strong demand from the European Union. By contrast, domestic orders “remained on the softer side”, the report said. Three-fifths of British factories described demand from Britain’s largest export market as positive, double the proportion for Asia. “This period is likely to be the peak, however, and we are likely to see a more stable picture in the coming months rather than any further significant acceleration,” EEF chief economist Lee Hopley said. “There is little doubt that Brexit is likely to weigh on sentiment over the next twelve months with uncertainty over the UK’s terms of exit,” she added. Britain’s economy had its slowest first half of the year since 2012 as households came under pressure from a big rise in inflation following the fall in sterling caused by last year’s Brexit vote. Manufacturers, who make up around 10 percent of British economic output, became more downbeat about the outlook for Britain’s economy for a second quarter running, the EEF/BDO survey showed. Overall the report fitted with the idea that British manufacturers are in the midst of a temporary “sweet spot”. Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent used that phrase in March to describe a window in which producers could enjoy the benefits of a weaker currency, before the possible downsides of Brexit come to fruition. The EEF/BDO report showed manufacturers have used the pound’s fall since last year’s Brexit vote to accumulate profit, perhaps explaining why investment levels were “not as positive as might be expected” given strong output and orders. Nonetheless, the survey’s gauge of manufacturing investment picked up to a two-and-a-half year high. A separate monthly Markit/CIPS survey last week also pointed to a brighter outlook for British manufacturing in the second half of 2017. Still, evidence remains patchy that sources of economic growth like exports and investment will seriously compensate for a slowdown in consumer spending. EEF stuck to its forecast that Britain’s economy will expand 1.6 percent this year and 1.3 percent next year, matching the consensus of the latest Reuters poll of economists. “It is vital the government sends a signal to industry and investors in the UK and overseas that it is doing everything in its power to get growth of the UK economy back on the agenda,” Hopley said. The EEF/BDO survey was conducted between Aug. 2 and Aug. 23 and covered 416 manufacturers. Reporting by Andy Bruce'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-manufacturing/uk-factories-ride-crest-of-european-upturn-for-now-survey-idUKKCN1BF2JR'|'2017-09-05T02:17:00.000+03:00'
'21136c761e69a710487451a544bb36bae35928a8'|'Redrow lifts outlook further as profits jump'|'England beat Slovakia with Rashford winner Life For Chinese millennials, despondency has a brand name North Korean missile reportedly on the move Reuters TV United States September 5, 2017 / 6:30 AM / a few seconds ago UK builder Redrow lifts outlook further as profits jump Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British housebuilder Redrow ( RDW.L ) said it expected revenue and profit expectations to continue to rise into 2020, after posting better-than-expected 2016-17 pre-tax profits of 315 million pounds ($416 million). The firm said it now expected to report turnover of around 2.2 billion pounds in 2020 and profit of around 430 million pounds. It had previously guided that it would post revenue of 1.9 billion pounds in 2019. But the firm also warned the government that the country needs to reach an early agreement as part of Brexit talks to secure the key role of European Union construction workers. Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-redrow-results/uk-builder-redrow-lifts-outlook-further-as-profits-jump-idUKKCN1BG0MT'|'2017-09-05T09:26:00.000+03:00'
'2d51e5fdd8fa3163f2bea3ca9be63059c7a494aa'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil court suspends auction of Shree Renuka sugar mill -BNDES'|'(Adds BNDES statement)SAO PAULO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A Brazilian court has suspended the judicial auction of a sugar mill owned by India’s Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd scheduled for Monday, after a request from state bank BNDES, the bank said in a statement.BNDES said the request was granted on Friday and added that it holds mortgage guarantees for Renuka.Reuters reported the development earlier on Monday, citing a source.The mill would be sold as part of an in-court debt restructuring of Renuka do Brasil, a local unit of Shree Renuka, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015. China’s Cofco International was among the companies that had asked to take part in the auction. (Reporting by José Roberto Gomes; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira and Jake Spring; Editing by Bill Trott) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-sugar-shree-renuka/update-1-brazil-court-suspends-auction-of-shree-renuka-sugar-mill-bndes-idUSL2N1LL18C'|'2017-09-05T03:01:00.000+03:00'
'6f1fdc42bb14daeb6df6617979b1b3e904434cdc'|'Microsoft president urges Congress: put Dreamers before tax reform'|'Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith speaks at a Microsoft tech gathering in Dublin, Ireland October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/Files WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The president of Microsoft Corp expressed deep disappointment on Tuesday with President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind a program for immigrants brought into the United States illegally as children and urged Congress to protect these so-called Dreamers before embarking on tax reform legislation.“We say this even though Microsoft, like many other companies, cares greatly about modernizing the tax system and making it fairer and more competitive. But we need to put the humanitarian needs of these 800,000 people on the legislative calendar before a tax bill,” President Brad Smith said in a statement.“As an employer, we appreciate that Dreamers add to the competitiveness and economic success of our company and the entire nation’s business community. In short, urgent DACA legislation is both an economic imperative and a humanitarian necessity.”Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by David Alexander '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-immigration-microsoft/microsoft-president-urges-congress-put-dreamers-before-tax-reform-idINKCN1BG2C4'|'2017-09-05T13:57:00.000+03:00'
'de642418c5ceef351fb7c43c8c81f34f3ac82f92'|'Kazakhstan may strike separate deal with OPEC on oil output curbs'|'September 7, 2017 / 1:28 PM / Updated an hour ago Kazakhstan may strike separate deal with OPEC on oil output curbs Mariya Gordeyeva 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The full moon rises in the background over an oil rig at the Kashagan offshore oil field in the Caspian sea in western Kazakhstan August 21, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer ASTANA (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is aiming for a standalone deal with leading global oil producers on restraining its crude production due to a need to crank up output at its Kashagan field, a Kazakh official said on Thursday. The Central Asian nation increased oil and gas condensate output by 9.9 percent in January-July to 49.907 million tonnes, or 1.724 million barrels per day (bpd), exceeding its quota of 1.7 million bpd under a global supply pact. Kazakhstan has said it needs to adjust the terms of the deal as it expects to boost output later this year thanks to the giant Kashagan field. On Thursday, Deputy Energy Minister Aset Magauov said his country needed to repay the shareholders in Kashagan, where output had been delayed for years before it was relaunched last year. “I think that talks on Kazakhstan’s commitments will continue separately,” Magauov told reporters. “There is understanding from OPEC that the project (Kashagan) is very large, there have been huge investments and there is a need to return these investments to shareholders.” He said Kashagan, with investments of around $55 billion (£42.11 billion), was expected to produce 13 million tonnes next year (260,000 bpd), while other oil projects in the country could see their output reduced. Kashagan has been developed by a consortium of China National Petroleum Corp [CNPET.UL], Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ), Eni ( ENI.MI ), Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ), Total ( TOTF.PA ), Inpex ( 1605.T ) and KazMunaiGas KMGZ.KZ. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia and Kazakhstan, agreed to cut output from January this year until the end of March 2018 to reduce global inventories and support oil prices. Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Dale Hudson and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kazakhstan-oil-kashagan/kazakhstan-may-strike-separate-deal-with-opec-on-oil-output-curbs-idUKKCN1BI1T4'|'2017-09-07T16:28:00.000+03:00'
'a2f4f20c380ab487c5956460c081d655355ddc38'|'Elliott-owned Charter Court plans London IPO'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:05 AM / an hour ago Elliott-owned Charter Court plans London IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - UK online mortgage bank Charter Court Financial Services is planning an initial public offering in London, the firm said on Tuesday, which a source said would value it at more than 500 million pounds ($645.95 million). Charter Court, majority owned by investment firm Elliott Management, is aiming for a free float of at least 40 percent via the IPO, it said in a statement. It will issue 20 million pounds in new shares in addition to a sale of part of the stakes held by Elliott and Charter Court management, the firm said. Old Mutual Global Investors has provided a letter of intent to buy 100 million pounds of the offering on behalf of funds that it manages, Charter Court said. Charter Court was set up in 2008 and focuses on UK residential mortgages, operating under the Charter Savings Bank, Prescise Mortgages and Exact Mortgage Experts brands. It had 4 billion pounds in retail deposits at June 30. Gross mortgage lending reached 22.1 billion pounds in June, up 9 percent from May and up 3 percent from June 2016, according to UK Finance. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Noor Zainab Hussain; Editing by Rachel Armstrong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-charter-court-ipo-elliott/elliott-owned-charter-court-plans-london-ipo-idUKKCN1BG0P4'|'2017-09-05T10:02:00.000+03:00'
'a38d86d80ec7bb71978c0c6321f4f7409a918765'|'German family-owned Zeitfracht joins bidding for Air Berlin'|'German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht said on Tuesday it had expressed its interested in bidding for insolvent airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), citing opportunities for air freight business.“Ideally, we would like to keep Air Berlin intact in its entirety,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday, adding it expected to be given access to Air Berlin’s books swiftly so it could submit a formal offer by the Sept. 15 deadline.Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Edward Taylor '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-zeitfracht/german-family-owned-zeitfracht-joins-bidding-for-air-berlin-idINKCN1BG0U4'|'2017-09-05T05:41:00.000+03:00'
'c0739616725f94a64529db87828398b9a0a7f96e'|'United Tech to buy Rockwell Collins for $30 billion in stock and cash'|'FILE PHOTO - The ticker symbol for United Technologies is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Aerospace supplier United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) has struck a $30 billion agreement to buy avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ), the companies said on Monday, in a deal that bulks up UTC’s power with plane makers by creating one of the world’s largest makers of civilian and defense aircraft components.Farmington, Connecticut-based United Technologies will pay $140 per share for Rockwell Collins, split between $93.33 per in cash and $46.67 in stock, according to the companies. The price represents a 17.6 percent premium to Rockwell’s $119 share price before news of the talks emerged on Aug. 4.Shares of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins closed at $130.61 on Friday. U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.The acquisition price implies a total transaction value of $30 billion, including Rockwell Collins’ debt, and a total equity value of $23 billion. United Tech said it plans to fund the cash portion through debt issuances and cash on hand.Under the deal, the companies said that Rockwell Collins and UTC’s aerospace systems segment will be combined to create a new business unit named Collins Aerospace Systems.“This acquisition adds tremendous capabilities to our aerospace businesses and strengthens our complementary offerings of technologically advanced aerospace systems,” UTC’s chairman and chief executive officer, Greg Hayes, said in the statement.“Together, Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems will enhance customer value in a rapidly evolving aerospace industry by making aircraft more intelligent and more connected,” he said.Related Coverage United Tech defends $23 billion Rockwell deal as shares slideSafran on alert for assets from UTC''s Rockwell tie-upSUPPLIERS VS PLANEMAKERS The creation of a new giant in the top echelon of aircraft parts makers comes as planemakers Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) are trying to capture more of the profits earned by their suppliers. Both are pushing suppliers to lower prices and are moving into the high-margin aftermarket arena for parts and services that suppliers now enjoy.In a move seen as a threat to Rockwell, Boeing said in July that it would build up its own avionics business.Last week, Airbus urged supplier UTC to stay focused on fixing industrial problems that have delayed new aircraft deliveries.United Technologies Chairman and CEO Greg Hayes gives an interview to CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid If plane makers “are going to take more of the aftermarket or demand more of the aftermarket, we’re going to have to think about how we price our products,” Hayes told analysts in July.By making more of the components needed on each aircraft, analysts say, United Technologies likely will gain some leverage to resist such pressures.The deal also follows a wave of consolidation among smaller aerospace manufacturers in recent years that was caused in part by the need to invest in new technologies such as metal 3-D printing and connected factories to stay competitive. A combined United Technologies and Rockwell Collins could similarly invest, and their broad portfolios have little overlap.Slideshow (2 Images) United Technologies makes Pratt & Whitney jet engines used by Airbus, Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ) and other plane makers. It supplies engines for Lockheed Martin Corp’s ( LMT.N ) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It also supplies such key components as landing gear, air conditioning systems and engine covers to a wide range of jetliners.Rockwell Collins is a major avionics supplier to Boeing and Airbus and other plane makers. In April it added passenger seating, cabin interiors, lavatories and galleys through its $6.4 billion acquisition of B/E Aerospace.The two companies have spent a month trying to reach an agreement, and their combined sales would be more than $62 billion, compared with about $95 billion for Boeing.United Technologies expects to close the purchase in the third quarter of 2018. The company, with a $94.2 billion market value, also owns Otis Elevator and air conditioner maker Carrier.Rockwell Collins has a market value of $21.2 billion.The deal, which includes $7 billion in Rockwell’s debt, is expected to save more than $500 million by the fourth year after its completion, the companies said.Morgan Stanley & Co LLC was the financial adviser to United Tech, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was its legal adviser.J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc were Rockwell’s financial advisers, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was its legal adviser.Reporting by Alwyn Scott and Mike Stone; Additional reporting by Michael Flaherty and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York and Yashaswini Swamynathan Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rockwell-collins-m-a-utc/united-tech-to-buy-rockwell-collins-for-30-billion-in-stock-and-cash-idINKCN1BF2K1'|'2017-09-04T21:31:00.000+03:00'
'b7ff2b98dd60c3deba1ba8fbcdd68d08983addaa'|'Russia, Saudi Arabia discussed extending OPEC deal, no decisions - TASS'|'September 5, 2017 / 5:34 AM / 23 minutes ago Russia, Saudi Arabia discussed extending OPEC-led deal, no decision - TASS Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak speaks to journalists after a news conference of the 4th OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Commettee in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 24, 2017. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and Saudi Arabia have discussed extending an oil output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers but no specific decisions have been made, the TASS news agency quoted Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Tuesday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers led by Russia are cutting oil output until the end of March 2018. A committee of OPEC and non-OPEC nations recommended extending the curbs further if needed. “We met in St Petersburg and discussed such an option (with Saudi Arabia) - that it is possible within the framework of the signed agreements,” TASS quoted Novak as saying. “We are considering all kinds of options. We may consider the issue of extending (the OPEC-led deal) if need be.” The Interfax news agency quoted Novak as saying it was premature to talk about the possible extension to the deal. OPEC and other leading oil producers including Russia agreed at the end of last year to cut their combined oil production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to help rebalance the market amid weaker oil prices. Russia has agreed to reduce its output by 300,000 bpd from the October level of 11.247 million bpd. Russian oil output fell to a year-low of 10.91 million bpd in August from 10.95 million bpd in July, Energy Ministry data showed on Saturday. Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-opec-russia/russia-saudi-arabia-discussed-extending-opec-deal-no-decisions-tass-idUKKCN1BG0IY'|'2017-09-05T08:33:00.000+03:00'
'7271d0c39eaa5473bf92cbf4575cccf9925d9ce6'|'Australia''s Commonwealth Bank slapped with class-action suit'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Australia''s Commonwealth Bank adorns an automatic teller machine (ATM) in central Sydney, Australia October 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia was hit on Tuesday with potentially Australia’s biggest class-action lawsuit over a money-laundering scandal that has already smashed its share price and exposed it to billions of dollars in fines.Litigation financier IMF Bentham Ltd said it would fund the lawsuit against Australia’s biggest bank, accusing it of making false and misleading statements and failing to disclose breaches of anti-money laundering rules for years.A second lawsuit against the A$128 billion ($102 billion) lender, on top of one filed on Aug 3. by financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC alleging breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, is fuelling investor concerns that the scandal may still have more shocks in store.“The market has priced into the fact that there is uncertainty in a negative way,” said James McGlew, executive director of corporate stockbroking at Argonaut Ltd.“This is going to take some time to play out.”In addition to the two civil suits, CBA is being investigated by Australia’s banking and corporate regulators over the suspicious transfers cited in the AUSTRAC claim. Investors are also worried that foreign regulators will pick up the case, as some of the money was sent offshore.IMF will bankroll the class action on behalf of all CBA shareholders who bought stock between Aug. 17, 2015 and Aug. 3, 2017, seeking damages for the premium paid for the shares as the material information remained hidden, IMF director Hugh McLernon told Reuters on Tuesday.CBA has about 800,000 retail and 4 million indirect Australian shareholders, according to its 2017 annual report.Shares in the bank were down 0.31 percent on Tuesday, against a 0.29 percent fall in the wider market.The shares have dropped 12 percent since the scandal erupted last month, wiping roughly A$17 billion ($13.55 billion) off the bank’s market value, even though it reported its eight consecutive record cash profit on Aug. 9.BOARD SHAKE-UP CBA announced a board shake-up on Monday but the move failed to appease investors, with the stock touching 10-month lows before closing down 1.42 percent.Three of its nine non-executive directors will leave over the next 12 months, and Robert Whitfield, a former head of institutional banking at rival Westpac Banking Corp, was appointed as an independent non-executive director.CBA announced on Aug. 14 that Chief Executive Officer Ian Narev would leave by mid-2018, his almost 7-year tenure marred by scandals that have added to calls for a far-reaching judicial inquiry into Australia’s banking system more broadly.The bank is now looking for a new CEO amid one of the darkest periods in its 106-year history, with some analysts saying Whitfield could be in the running.In the first day of hearings on the AUSTRAC case on Monday, the bank indicated it would not dispute the watchdog’s allegation that it processed tens of thousands of illicit transfers amounting to A$624.7 million ($498.64 million) from 2012 to 2015.Rather, the court heard it would contest its level of responsibility, having previously blamed a coding error for most of the breaches.CBA did not respond to requests for comment.($1 = 1.2528 Australian dollars)Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney,; Additional reporting by Sandhya Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye and Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/australia-cba-moneylaundering/australias-commonwealth-bank-slapped-with-class-action-suit-idINKCN1BG0D3'|'2017-09-05T02:25:00.000+03:00'
'f1206d41c740b5b8d225410d0cd56b9aa2de90e6'|'Irish services growth ticks up to three-month high in August - PMI'|'September 5, 2017 / 5:04 AM / in 25 minutes Irish services growth ticks up to three-month high in August - PMI Reuters Staff 2 Min Read DUBLIN, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Growth in Ireland’s services sector inched up to hit a three-month high in August, a survey showed on Tuesday, but there were signs the strength of the euro may be impacting exports in the sector. The Investec Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) ticked up to 58.4 in August from 58.3 in July. It fell to a seven-month low in June of 57.6, but remained well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. The sector last fell below that mark in June 2012, when Ireland was halfway through a three-year bailout. Like the wider economy, services firms have so far proved very resilient to neighbouring Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Growth in new export orders slipped to a three-month low in August, which the authors said may have been influenced by the strengthening of the euro. A slight contraction in financial services exports was the first decline recorded in the area since October 2012. “While recent FX moves are unhelpful for the Irish economy, our core view remains that the improving trends across most of Ireland’s key trading partners will be sufficient to deliver continued progress for the Services industry here,” Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O‘Sullivan said. He noted that while the subindex of expectations for business in 12 months’ time eased to its lowest level in 11 months, nearly eight times as many firms still expect to see growth in activity over the coming year as those who anticipate a decline. Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-pmi/irish-services-growth-ticks-up-to-three-month-high-in-august-pmi-idUKKCN1BG0G8'|'2017-09-05T08:04:00.000+03:00'
'5a17452ed1bfca4541fd89f37b90755a218e9e23'|'UPDATE 1-Discussions on new HK trading board to end in coming weeks -HKEX CEO'|'(Adds details and Quote: s)By Anne Marie RoantreeHONG KONG, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong is expected to finalize discussions on a new stock exchange board “in the coming weeks”, Charles Li, chief executive of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd (HKEX), told Reuters on Tuesday.In June, HKEX started a consultation on the launch of a third board that could allow companies to list with dual-class share structures and would target “new economy” companies in sectors such as the internet and bio-tech.Public consultation ended last month, with financial industry professionals still divided over the matter.Li, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event, said there might be a need for another round of consultation to decide details of the implementation of the new board and weighted voting rights. Discussions would be “very intensive” around such consultations, Li added.Li said public interest wouldn’t be compromised for profitability.“Public interest is number one,” he said.“The key is the market will understand that the bulk of the listing rule regulation is still going to be at the exchange (HKEX) but the SFC will take a proactive role whenever they see fit,” he said, referring to the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong.The HKEX chief also said he saw a sharp increase in international companies raising capital in Hong Kong since the start of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock connect, which allows non-Chinese investors to buy Shenzhen-listed shares via Hong Kong.Hong Kong, Asia’s third-biggest equity bourse by market value, is eager to increase its exposure to new high-growth sectors to remain a global listings powerhouse. (Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Additional reporting by Elzio Barreto, Sumeet Chatterjee and Twinnie Siu; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Christopher Cushing) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hkex-ceo-board/update-1-discussions-on-new-hk-trading-board-to-end-in-coming-weeks-hkex-ceo-idINL4N1LM1OL'|'2017-09-05T01:42:00.000+03:00'
'72fa2dddb362ecf72c29cd09c450da0cfa592c2b'|'H.B. Fuller to buy Royal Adhesives & Sealants for $1.58 billion'|'(This Sept. 4 story corrects spelling of H.B. Fuller)(Reuters) - Adhesive maker H.B. Fuller Co ( FUL.N ) said it signed an agreement to acquire its smaller rival Royal Adhesives & Sealants from affiliates of private equity firm American Securities LLC for about $1.58 billion.Through this deal, H.B. Fuller is looking to tap into Royal’s product technology resources.The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company said in a statement that it intends to fund the deal through new debt financing.H.B. Fuller said it expected to realize $35 million in cost synergies and $15 million in growth synergies over the next three years as a result of the merger.Fuller said the combined entity would generate about $2.9 billion revenue.Morgan Stanley & Co. is advising H.B. Fuller’s in this deal.Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-royal-adhesives-m-a-hb-fuller/h-b-fuller-to-buy-royal-adhesives-sealants-for-1-58-billion-idINKCN1BG00F'|'2017-09-04T22:11:00.000+03:00'
'478c84f868e501196955e880eb5a04d8829c9a0f'|'Amazon fears sink Blackstone''s $2.8 billion Australian mall sale'|'September 5, 2017 / 2:51 AM / in 2 hours Amazon fears sink Blackstone''s $2.8 billion Australian mall sale Tom Westbrook 3 Min Read The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid SYDNEY (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone Group has called off the sale of its A$3.5 billion ($2.8 billion) Australian shopping mall portfolio, a source said, as the looming arrival of Amazon.com spooks buyers of bricks-and-mortar stores. With no interest in the entire 10-mall package, the cancelled sale is also the latest sign of stress in Australia’s east-coast real estate market, where population growth and booming property prices have underpinned landlords’ profits for years. Blackstone, the world’s biggest alternative asset manager, walked away from the sale last week and will renovate the malls instead, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. “They had strong offers, but only for individual assets, not for the whole 10 (malls). There’s been a hit on retail-sector sentiment because of the emergence of Amazon,” added the source, who was not authorised to speak publicly. A Blackstone spokeswoman declined to comment. Blackstone’s assets, suburban shopping centres mainly in Sydney and Melbourne, were mostly acquired in 2011 when the firm swooped on troubled property players Valad Property Group and Centro Properties. Since then, Australian retail landlords such as Scentre Group and Stockland Corp Ltd have enjoyed steady profits as population growth supported retail spending and a booming real estate market pushed up land values. But Blackstone’s move to put its malls on the block in April came just as the property market hit a peak and as Amazon announced the planned launch of its online shopfront service in Australia. Home price rises have since cooled or even reversed in Sydney and Melbourne after years of steep gains, while sluggish wages growth has slowed sales for retailers who rent mall stores. “The lay of the land had shifted I suspect,” said property investor Winston Sammut, managing director of Folkestone Maxim Asset Management. “Of course you want to sell at the peak and I think it looks like the peak has passed.” Seattle-based Amazon has yet to fully explain its strategy in Australia, but mere mention of the behemoth’s arrival has roiled the share prices of retailers and retail landlords. Blackstone’s portfolio is seen as particularly vulnerable because investors view its malls as lower quality and comparable to the swath of second-tier shops that have shuttered in the United States due to online competition. “Australia does not have the oversupply of malls that the U.S. has, but you get the picture,” said Sholto Maconochie, head of real estate research at brokerage CLSA. “It’s a tough ask to get a portfolio sale away at book value in our view.” Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-blackstone-group-australia-sale/blackstone-cancels-2-8-billion-australian-mall-sale-on-weak-interest-source-idINKCN1BG07P'|'2017-09-05T00:51:00.000+03:00'
'0cdf5aa1eb3fd7d6e259518dbe6c213cf4054d41'|'Goldman suspends work on U.S. IPO of HNA''s Pactera unit: sources'|'September 6, 2017 / 9:29 AM / in 5 hours Goldman suspends work on U.S. IPO of HNA''s Pactera unit: sources Kane Wu , Julie Zhu 3 Min Read A Goldman Sachs sign is displayed inside the company''s post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) has suspended its preliminary work on a planned U.S. initial public offering (IPO) for Chinese conglomerate HNA Group’s IT outsourcing unit Pactera, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. One of the sources, who could not be identified as the negotiations are not public, said the Wall Street bank shelved the project after the deal failed to meet the bank’s internal due diligence requirements, or “know-your-customer” checks. Reuters reported in July that HNA had tapped Goldman to work on the U.S. IPO of Pactera, a Beijing-based firm it bought from Blackstone last year for $675 million in cash. The unit was renamed HNA Ecotech Panorama Cayman Co this year. Goldman was not formally mandated for the IPO, which was in the early stages, but had been tapping investors for the firm’s pre-IPO fundraising round. HNA said in a statement sent to Reuters that Pactera had not started the formal IPO process and had not appointed any investment bank to assist in the IPO. “HNA and Goldman Sachs have always had a strong working relationship, and currently all joint projects between the two companies are functioning normally,” it said. Goldman declined to comment. Pactera did not respond to requests for comment. FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo The sources said the suspension of work on the IPO by Goldman could delay Pactera’s plan to list next year. Pactera had initially sought to close a $200 million pre-IPO round in the third quarter of 2017, and list in early 2018. The sources said Pactera was pressing ahead without Goldman, hoping to act as a listed vehicle for HNA’s Ecotech arm, focused on technology investments. It is seeking to raise capital through convertible bonds, two of the sources said. HNA, one of China’s most acquisitive conglomerates, has seen its banking relationships put to test since the summer, as Beijing cracks down on what it deems excessive deals. China’s banking regulator in June ordered a group of lenders to assess their exposure to offshore investments by a handful of acquisitive groups, including HNA. The New York Times reported in July that Bank of America Merrill Lynch had pulled back from working with the group due to its opaque ownership stricture. HNA Chief Executive Adam Tan said later that BAML had not dealt closely with the group. The sources said Goldman had not severed ties with HNA, adding due diligence checks were made separately for every deal. Reporting by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu; Additional reporting by Matt Miller; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Kim Coghill and Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-conglomerates-hna-ipo/goldman-suspends-work-on-u-s-ipo-of-hnas-pactera-unit-sources-idINKCN1BH13B'|'2017-09-06T07:29:00.000+03:00'
'b97dd71f20e3857a820ad5e0d1afe81c44b40b71'|'Trump sours on Cohn for Fed chair, looks at several candidates - sources'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:36 AM / in 25 minutes Trump sours on Cohn for Fed chair, looks at several candidates - sources Jeff Mason , Steve Holland 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is considering many candidates to head up the Federal Reserve and has soured on nominating his top economic adviser Gary Cohn to lead the U.S. central bank, according to sources close to the White House and an administration official. Two sources said Trump remained upset with Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president, for criticizing his response to the violence sparked by a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month. A White House official said Cohn remained an essential player in Trump’s push for tax reform. Another administration official said Trump was “considering several candidates” for the Fed. Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s term expires in February. Trump was widely criticized for blaming “many sides” for the Charlottesville violence, and Cohn stood with him during a news conference at Trump Tower in New York days after the rally when the president said there “very fine people” on both sides of the rally, which was attended by neo-Nazis. Cohn looked visibly uncomfortable during those remarks and said later in an interview with the Financial Times that the administration had to do a better job of condemning hate groups. Trump has said he would consider reappointing Yellen, who was nominated to lead the Fed by his Democratic predecessor, former President Barack Obama. Trump also has mused about backing Cohn. Charlottesville helped changed that. “He’s not getting it. Trump wants to fire him,” said one source with close ties to the White House who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The president does not forget,” said another source close to Trump, referring to Cohn’s criticism. Cohn is one of the main architects of the administration’s effort to reform the U.S. tax code and lower tax rates for individuals and corporations. But the president did not single Cohn out for praise during a tax reform rollout speech last week in Missouri, sparking speculation that their relationship had cooled. Cohn said in his interview with the Financial Times that he came under pressure to resign from the Trump administration. Speculation in recent weeks that Cohn might be on the way out has rattled markets, but officials have insisted he planned on staying. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump and his advisers have discussed Stanford University economist John Taylor, former BB&T Bank Chief Executive John Allison, and former Fed governors Lawrence Lindsey and Kevin Warsh as possible appointees to the Fed’s Board of Governors. The Fed chair heads up the Board of Governors. There are currently three vacant seats on the Fed Board of Governors, though Trump has nominated Utah investor Randal Quarles to fill one. Trump’s choice for Fed chair may come down to whether he would rather keep Yellen, despite her defence of banking regulation after the economic crisis, or choose someone new who may agree with him on the need for banking deregulation but also seek faster interest-rate hikes. Most of the names who are thought to be in the mix for Fed chair are hawkish on interest rates, including Warsh, a former Wall Street banker who served as a Fed governor at the time of the financial crisis, and Taylor, author of a widely cited but only loosely followed mathematical rule for setting interest rates. Allison has been an outspoken opponent of the Dodd-Frank banking regulations implemented in response to the financial crisis. Trump has criticized the regulations for slowing the economy. Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Ann Saphir; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-fed/trump-sours-on-cohn-for-fed-chair-looks-at-several-candidates-sources-idUKKCN1BI01J'|'2017-09-07T03:36:00.000+03:00'
'644b362d713103e88d3ee5c14cc55cb717b34d8f'|'Chinese logistics firm Best, backed by Alibaba, launches $932 million U.S. IPO'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:04 AM / 12 minutes ago Chinese logistics firm Best, backed by Alibaba, launches $932 million U.S. IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read HONG KONG (Reuters) - Best Inc, a Chinese logistics company backed by Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ), has launched an up to $932 million (714.34 million pounds) initial public offering, seeking funds to expand its logistics and supply chain network, develop new technology and open more of its convenience stores. The Hangzhou-based company is offering 53.56 million new American Depositary Shares (ADS), each representing one class A ordinary share, in an indicative range of $13 to $15 each, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Existing shareholders including private equity firms CDH Investments, China Renaissance Capital, state-owned Everbright Financial Holding Investment Holding and a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, are selling another 8.54 million ADSs. The company plans to use $300 million of the proceeds to expand its convenience stores and its logistics and supply chain services, with another $100 million set aside for technology investments and the remainder for general corporate purposes and potential acquisitions. Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-best-ipo/chinese-logistics-firm-best-backed-by-alibaba-launches-932-million-u-s-ipo-idUKKCN1BI088'|'2017-09-07T06:03:00.000+03:00'
'fabd641db44118bba14763ec5e6853fa6ba8f251'|'Union Pacific CEO says Harvey to impact third-quarter EPS, lift demand in fourth quarter'|'FILE PHOTO: A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington National Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - No. 1 U.S. railroad Union Pacific Corp ( UNP.N ) has repaired most of the damage caused to its network by catastrophic flooding brought by Hurricane Harvey to Houston late last month and its network should be fully operational around the end of September, the company’s top executive said on Wednesday.In an interview with Reuters after surveying damage to the Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad’s operations around Houston, Chief Executive Officer Lance Fritz said that while the storm will have a slight impact on third-quarter earnings, pent-up demand from manufacturers in the area and recovery efforts should boost the railroad in the fourth quarter.Fritz said that “immediately following the hurricane, we were cut off from Houston in every direction. Virtually every (rail) subdivision was washed out or under water.”Around a week and a half after the storm, Union Pacific’s routes to the north, west and south of Houston are “largely open” with the exception of three bridges that need to be repaired. The last of those will be fixed around the end of September, Fritz said.He added that the railroad is also working to help dozens of its employees in the Houston area who have been affected, through its own charity organization and connecting them with state and federal authorities who are providing aid.Fritz said while the railroad has managed to find a way to re-route freight around areas that are still affected “there are still dozens and dozens of our customers that are closed, some of which have an estimated time for reopening and some of which don‘t.”Harvey should shave around 5 cents per share off Union Pacific’s third-quarter earnings, partly due to lost business plus the need to pay for storm damage, the CEO said. Analysts expect Union Pacific to post third-quarter earnings of $1.53 per share.“We have an umbrella insurance policy for catastrophic events like this, but the first few tens of millions (of dollars) are covered by us,” he said.But during the fourth “I think there is going to be a fair amount of pent-up demand because a lot of manufacturers are going to spool back up or others have been producing but haven’t had an opportunity to ship,” Fritz added. “Then there will be rebuilding efforts, which will probably generate some incremental business as well.”In the meantime, Union Pacific is still monitoring Hurricane Irma closely to see where it will make landfall, he said.Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by James Dalgleish '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-union-pacific-harvey/union-pacific-ceo-says-harvey-to-impact-third-quarter-eps-lift-demand-in-fourth-quarter-idUSKCN1BH36D'|'2017-09-07T01:21:00.000+03:00'
'580fad2aa6d25678ad018c2d410f329a82e69f0a'|'Bristol-Myers says FDA places partial hold on Opdivo myeloma trials'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:18 PM / 10 minutes ago Bristol-Myers says FDA places partial hold on Opdivo myeloma trials Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed a partial hold on three clinical trials testing Bristol-Myers Squibb’s immunotherapy Opdivo in combination with other medicines for multiple myeloma due to risks seen in similar studies involving a rival drug, the company said on Wednesday. Patients with relapsed multiple myeloma taking part in the trials who were experiencing clinical benefit will be allowed to continue treatment, but no new patients will be enrolled for now, Bristol Myers said. The FDA in July placed a hold on three Merck & Co multiple myeloma trials testing its Keytruda along with other standard medicines for the blood cancer following reports of more deaths in patients who received Keytruda than in the control arms of the studies. Opdivo and Keytruda belong to a high-profile new class of drugs called PD-1 inhibitors that work by blocking a mechanism tumors use to hide from the immune system, allowing it to detect and attack cancer. “The FDA determined data currently available from non-Opdivo studies indicate the risks of PD-1/PD-L1 treatment plus pomalidomide or lenalidomide and possibly PD-1/PD-L1 treatments alone or with other combinations outweigh potential benefit for patients with multiple myeloma,” Bristol-Myers said on its website. Lenalidomide and pomalidomide are the widely used Celgene Corp multiple myeloma treatments Revlimid and Pomalyst. “BMS remains steadfast in our commitment to improve outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma, and will work closely with the FDA to address concerns,” the company said in a statement. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bristol-myers-fda/bristol-myers-says-fda-places-partial-hold-on-opdivo-myeloma-trials-idUSL2N1LN2L7'|'2017-09-07T01:17:00.000+03:00'
'4539d82e40fa5a14f81868f7bbf55b9b7a187bc0'|'RPT-Indonesia''s Pertamina receives first license to export gasoil -sources'|'(Repeats with no changes to text)* Crowded retail market, lower domestic demand drives up inventory* Licence issued 2-3 weeks ago, working on export procedures* Pertamina still wants to focus on domestic sales* Lobbying government to be exclusive importer of gasoilBy Jessica Jaganathan and Wilda AsmariniSINGAPORE/JAKARTA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Indonesia’s Pertamina has received a license from the government to export gasoil for the first time, three sources close to the matter said on Monday, although the state oil company is planning to prioritize domestic sales if possible.Pertamina is typically an importer of gasoil, as diesel is called in most Asian markets, but inbound shipments have declined over the years as it ramped up refining output and demand from the mining sector slowed.With other gasoil sellers - such as Royal Dutch Shell , Exxon Mobil Corp and Solaris Prima Energy - crowding into the retail market, and an increased biodiesel mandate in 2016 reducing conventional consumption, Pertamina’s supply of the fuel has also outperformed demand, said Toharso, director of refineries at Pertamina, who goes by one name.If Pertamina exports its surplus fuel, it would help ease supply tightness in Asia caused by Tropical Storm Harvey, which drove up the Asian gasoil margins to a one-and-a-half month high, traders said.The company, though, is also taking steps to sell more gasoil into its domestic market by asking the government to grant it a monopoly on diesel imports, which would force the other retailers to buy from Pertamina.The state oil company received the gasoil export license two to three weeks ago, and it is developing a standard operating procedure on how to export the cargoes, the sources said.Still, “we will try our best to sell in the domestic market,” Toto Nugroho, senior vice president at Pertamina for integrated supply chain, told Reuters.But if market competition means storage inventories build up, “the last resort is to export,” he said.Pertamina declined to give details on possible export volumes or a timeline of shipments.LOBBYING FOR IMPORT MONOPOLY Pertamina supplies about 70 percent of Indonesia’s gasoil needs, while private firms supply the rest, Toharso said.Many of the private firms import their gasoil, but Pertamina is lobbying Jakarta to name it the country’s exclusive importer of the fuel, a move that would alleviate the state oil company’s surplus and possibly negate its need to export the fuel.“Pertamina is encouraging the Energy Ministry to make other companies not to import gasoil and just buy it from Pertamina,” said Toharso.Indonesia’s Energy Ministry did not address a Reuters query asking if it will approve Pertamina’s request.Dadan Kusdiana, a spokesman for the ministry said it will “encourage (retail) companies to purchase from Pertamina first before they import.”“Pertamina has also sent an offer letter to other (retail) companies that need gasoil,” Kusdiana said.But the prices offered by Pertamina are higher than buying from the international market, said a buyer who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak with media.“We can easily absorb the cargoes as long as the price is competitive,” the buyer said.Toharso said the prices were negotiable.Nearly two-thirds of Indonesia’s gasoil is used in its transport sector for commercial vehicles, which is expected to grow at 3 to 5 percent this year. The rest is used in the country’s industrial and mining sectors.Solaris Prima Energy is a subsidiary of China-owned trader Unipec Singapore, whose parent company is Asia’s top refiner Sinopec Corp. (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan in SINGAPORE and Wilda Asmarini in JAKARTA; Editing by Tom Hogue) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-gasoil/rpt-indonesias-pertamina-receives-first-license-to-export-gasoil-sources-idUSL4N1LM14J'|'2017-09-05T04:21:00.000+03:00'
'7cd783defaaf27613f2043be31d69e1e8c9f9e4b'|'Pakistan inflation rate rises to 3.42 percent'|'September 5, 2017 / 8:06 AM / in 4 hours Pakistan inflation rate rises to 3.42 percent Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A man selling mangoes pushes his wares on a cart at a market in Karachi, Pakistan, June 1, 2015. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/Files ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan’s annual inflation rate increased to 3.42 percent in August from 2.91 percent a month earlier, the state Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate was 0.19 percent in August, the bureau said. Food items such as onions, tomatoes and mango were the main reason behind an increase in the month-on-month prices. Reporting by Asif shahzad; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Richard Borsuk '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/pakistan-inflation/pakistan-inflation-rate-rises-to-3-42-percent-idINKCN1BG0WH'|'2017-09-05T06:06:00.000+03:00'
'74b4251fe504f63bb7b0b2199d9ee8dbfc52ca72'|'ECB replaces North Korea in euro zone bond market spotlight'|'FILE PHOTO: An employee shows fifty-euro notes in a bank in Sarajevo, March 19, 2012. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Euro zone government bond yields dipped on Tuesday as attention shifted from tensions over North Korea to an approaching European Central Bank meeting that could shed light on the timing for an unwinding of massive monetary stimulus.The latest worries over North Korea’s nuclear programme have bolstered demand for safe bonds in recent weeks. Its sixth and most powerful nuclear test at the weekend lent further support to fixed income on Monday, but overall the impact has been limited. .That in part, say analysts, suggests markets see the chances of a military conflict as low. It also reflects some caution against piling into bonds heavily before Thursday’s ECB meeting.“The ECB meeting is still the key risk event for the week and the impact of geopolitics is fading,” said Commerzbank rates strategist Rainer Guntermann.“A consensus has settled on the view that the ECB will indicate the exit is coming at some point but refrain from giving details.”After shooting up in the wake of comments by ECB chief Mario Draghi in late June that were seen paving the way for “tapering”, government bond yields have headed back down.In Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy and its benchmark bond issuer, 10-year bond yields were down 3 basis points on the day at 0.34 percent in late trade on Tuesday and about 25 bps below 18-month highs set in July.Two-year German yields slipped 1.5 bps to -0.78 percent, their lowest in more than four months.The fall in yields coincided with a drop in U.S. Treasury yields as U.S. traders returned after the Labor Day holiday.The pull-back in bond yields has been aided by the euro, which hit 2-1/2 year highs above $1.20 a week ago.A stronger currency, which dampens inflation by lowering the cost of imported goods, complicates the ECB’s exit from quantitative easing.Minutes from the ECB’s July meeting reflected concern about currency strength -- a worry voiced again by some policymakers last week -- raising the chances that asset purchases will be phased out only slowly.The euro trade-weighted index is up almost 5 percent this year, and has added just over 1 percent since the ECB’s July meeting.“Strength in the currency will have downward pressure on the ECB’s inflation forecasts through to 2019, which should prevent any hawkish tone this week,” said Patrick O‘Donnell, an investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management.Yields on debt issued by lower-rated euro zone members, seen as prime beneficiaries of the ECB’s bond-purchase stimulus scheme, also fell. Italian 10-year yields slid below 2 percent for the first time since Aug. 8.They were last down 5.3 bps at 1.993 percent.The ECB is still expected to start winding down its stimulus early next year, given a stronger economic outlook and a scarcity of eligible bonds for the programme.Data released on Monday showed the ECB bought fewer German bonds in August than in any month since the start of the stimulus programme, suggesting it was holding back to avoid running out of debt to buy.Instead it has for several months been buying more French and Italian bonds than it is supposed to under the scheme.For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarketsReporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Gareth Jones '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds/ecb-replaces-north-korea-in-euro-zone-bond-market-spotlight-idINKCN1BG0VF'|'2017-09-05T10:54:00.000+03:00'
'8c4b4e816db3c449049bae9e1da7b3e738cf1a40'|'Europol urges action after record number of money laundering tip-offs'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europol’s head is calling for tighter controls after an analysis found money laundering goes mostly uninvestigated, despite banks alerting police to record numbers of suspicious transactions.European banks flagged almost one million transactions suspected of laundering money in 2014, the latest year for which data is available, the law enforcement agency said on Tuesday.But only one in 10 of these was investigated and Europol is now urging banks to improve the data they provide to help law enforcement authorities to follow up.“The most surprising thing is the consistent figure of 10 percent ... investigated by police,” Europol’s Executive Director Rob Wainwright said, adding that laundering is driven in large part by the drugs trade. “We haven’t gone far enough.”Europol’s analysis underscores the wide extent of money laundering in Europe, charting a steady rise to almost one million suspect cases in 2014.That was 17 percent higher than the previous year and more than two thirds up on 2006, thanks partly to active reporting by some banks amid international efforts to tackle the problem.In Italy alone, Europol found the sums of money involved in such transactions amounted to 164 billion euros ($195 billion)in 2014 - roughly one tenth of the country’s economy.However, Europol estimates the amount confiscated as a result of any police investigation was barely 1 percent of criminal proceeds in the European Union.Wainwright said that the money being laundered was chiefly the proceeds of drug sales and that there had been a rise in the number of professional money laundering syndicates, who took a commission for their service.“Drugs is still the single largest criminal sector,” he said. “That cash has to get into the system. It is used to fund the lifestyle of the criminal godfathers.”Two-thirds of transactions suspected of laundering money in Europe come from Britain and the Netherlands, according to the report, although this is due in part to the size of the financial centres in London and Amsterdam.In its analysis, the European Union police agency found that there were more than 350,000 suspicious cases in 2014 reported to the United Kingdom police authorities - roughly two thirds higher than in 2006.Dutch authorities were alerted to 277,000 suspect transactions in that year.($1 = 0.8393 euros)Reporting by John O''Donnell; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/finance-moneylaundering/europol-urges-action-after-record-number-of-money-laundering-tip-offs-idINKCN1BG2G4'|'2017-09-05T14:32:00.000+03:00'
'4ad004d171c8205ee60406e5ca5b364c9d39ca4f'|'United Tech sees limited divestment; needs cash flow to reduce debt'|'FILE PHOTO: The ticker symbol for United Technologies is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) said on Tuesday it is not planning quick divestments of businesses after it agreed to acquire avionics supplier Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ) in a $23 billion deal.The company needs cash flow from all of its businesses to help reduce debt and retain its investment-grade credit rating, United Tech Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes said on a conference call with analysts.United Tech expects to borrow $15 billion to fund the deal and assume $7 billion in Rockwell Collins debt.Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/rockwell-collins-m-a-utc-divestment/united-tech-sees-limited-divestment-needs-cash-flow-to-reduce-debt-idINKCN1BG1RL'|'2017-09-05T10:56:00.000+03:00'
'fc466e729065336f296e7855cdb74db53ff9d1c2'|'India to soon allow 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar imports, govt source says'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:51 AM / in 17 minutes India to soon allow 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar imports, govt source says Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker checks the flow of sugar inside the Gandavi sugar factory, 165 km (102 miles) south of Ahmedabad, India, March 26, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will soon allow imports of 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar on the country’s southern ports, a government source said on Tuesday. “The imports will be allowed in a day or two,” the source added. India’s food minister said on Monday the country would soon take a decision on the need to import sugar. Reporting by by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-sugar/india-to-soon-allow-300000-tonnes-of-raw-sugar-imports-govt-source-says-idINKCN1BG1EX'|'2017-09-05T13:48:00.000+03:00'
'e76954fb637db7fca5b147517a8a2e001fcc88e7'|'Alliqua Biomedical sells TheraBond 3D Antimicrobial Barrier Systems product line'|'Sept 5 (Reuters) - Alliqua Biomedical Inc* Alliqua Biomedical Inc announces the sale of TheraBond 3D Antimicrobial Barrier Systems product line; Alliqua updates fiscal year outlook* Sees FY 2017 revenue up about 13 to 19 percent* Sees FY 2017 revenue $18.4 million to $19.3 million* Alliqua Biomedical Inc - for fiscal year 2017 company still expects cash burn from operations to be approximately $12.0 million* Alliqua Biomedical says Alliqua sold all assets associated with its TheraBond 3D Antimicrobial Barrier Systems product line to Argentum Medical, LLC* Alliqua Biomedical Inc - Alliqua will use proceeds from sale for working capital purposes and to reduce its outstanding debt balance* Alliqua Biomedical Inc - as a result of the transaction, company’s lender has agreed to defer all principal payments until January 31, 2018* Alliqua Biomedical Inc - aggregate purchase price for TheraBond product line was approximately $3.8 million* Alliqua Biomedical - net of payments to Alliqua’s senior secured lender of $1.65 million, Alliqua received proceeds of approximately $1.65 million at closing Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-alliqua-biomedical-sells-therabond/brief-alliqua-biomedical-sells-therabond-3d-antimicrobial-barrier-systems-product-line-idUSASB0BI19'|'2017-09-05T20:00:00.000+03:00'
'240e950edf54b884bfb684552607e4f424bd4146'|'UK consumers spend more in August, but pinch persists - BRC'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:15 PM / in 7 hours UK consumers spend more in August, but pinch persists - BRC Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A shopper checks her shopping list in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British shoppers increased their spending in August at the fastest pace so far in 2017, excluding a surge in April caused by the Easter holiday, but there is little sign yet that the squeeze on spending is easing, retailers said on Tuesday. Retail sales grew by an annual 1.3 percent on alike-for-like basis, which strips out changes in store size, the British Retail Consortium said. Growth in total sales in August was also the highest non-Easter reading of the year, rising by 2.4 percent, speeding up from an increase of 1.4 percent in July. “August provided a welcome pick-up in retail sales across channels, with non-food returning to growth as shoppers’ attentions turned to homewares, autumn clothing ranges and the new school term,” BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said. “However, these figures tell a less positive story about the health of consumer spending than it might seem at first glance,” she said in a statement. Non-food sales remain at levels seen two years ago and strong food sales largely reflect rising prices, with growth in volume terms weaker than last year, the BRC said. A sharp fall in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote in June 2016, combined with weak increases in pay, has eaten into the spending power of households in Britain who are the main drivers of the country’s economy. Dickinson said a rise in employee pension contributions in April next year would further squeeze disposable incomes. Separately on Tuesday, credit card firm Barclaycard said British consumers increased their spending at a slower pace in August and fewer of them felt confident about their finances. Consumer spending grew by 2.9 percent compared with August last year, down from a rise of 3.5 percent in July, Barclaycard said. The growth in spending last month was also weaker than the average increase of 3.8 percent so far in 2017. Barclaycard said 54 percent of consumers who took part in a survey it commissioned felt confident in their household finances, down from a recent high of 69 percent in June. Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail/uk-consumers-spend-more-in-august-but-pinch-persists-brc-idUKKCN1BF2JN'|'2017-09-05T02:14:00.000+03:00'
'2f5080672c74f59230fa10d1018c944c2f6235ff'|'Euro zone businesses outpace struggling British peers'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:41 AM / 36 minutes ago Euro zone businesses outpace struggling British peers Jonathan Cable 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Workers assemble an e-Golf electric car at the new production line of the Transparent Factory of German carmaker Volkswagen in Dresden, Germany March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Business activity in the euro zone stayed robust in August as it outpaced Britain, where an economy increasingly bogged down by Brexit worries lost momentum, surveys showed on Tuesday. Growth in the euro zone slowed only marginally from the blistering pace set in the spring, according to a Purchasing Managers’ Index. An equivalent reading for Britain was the lowest since last September, shortly after the referendum vote to leave the European Union. “The story in the next couple of years is that by all probability - unless we get an external shock - the euro zone recovery is for real. I don’t see any reason why this will peter out anytime soon,” said Erik Nielsen, group chief economist at UniCredit. “Where would growth come from at this stage in Britain? There is erosion of real income because of the inflation numbers and the uncertainty means investment will not play a role until you get some clarity on what is going on (about Brexit).” IHS Markit’s Final Composite PMI for the euro zone held steady at 55.7 in August, slightly below an earlier flash estimate of 55.8. It has been above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction since mid-2013. The services PMI fell to a seven-month low of 54.7 from July’s 55.4 but was still one of the best growth rates in over six years. Similarly, while the new business index fell, it remained above its long-run trend. The PMI for Britain’s dominant service industry fell to 53.2 in August from July’s 53.8, below the median forecast of 53.5 in a Reuters poll. [GB/PMIS] The data suggested that euro zone and Britain’s economic growth paths are diverging. The euro zone reading points to third quarter GDP expansion of 0.6 percent, IHS Markit said, matching second quarter growth and faster than the 0.4 percent predicted in a Reuters poll last month. Britain, which initially withstood the shock of the June 2016 Brexit vote before slowing sharply in early 2017, has outpaced the bloc’s economies over two-thirds of the time since recovery from the financial crisis began. But rising inflation and weak wage growth has curtailed household spending and it is expected to grow just half the euro zone’s rate this quarter, 0.3 percent, then maintain that lacklustre pace through to the middle of next year. [ECILT/GB] British shoppers increased spending in August at the fastest pace so far in 2017, excluding a surge in April caused by the Easter holiday, but there is little sign yet that a squeeze on spending is easing, retailers said on Tuesday. Non-food sales remain at levels seen two years ago and separately on Tuesday, credit card firm Barclaycard said British consumers increased their spending at a slower pace in August and fewer of them felt confident about their finances. PARTING WAYS Forward-looking indicators in the euro zone survey imply there will be little slowdown this month with new orders, backlogs of work, employment and an expectation gauge remaining strong. Yet while optimism among British company managers edged up, it remained close to low levels that have been indicative of the economy stalling or even contracting in the past, with Brexit the main concern, IHS Markit said. “Higher costs and lower investment are slowing UK output to a chronic crawl. The summer months may have been warm but the recessional risks for the UK economy are only increasing as we move into autumn,” said Jeremy Cook, chief economist at WorldFirst, a foreign exchange payments company. One common theme was rising price pressures - welcome news to policymakers at the European Central Bank who want inflation higher but less attractive to their counterparts at the Bank of England who want to bring inflation down. The euro zone output prices index rose to 52.1 from 51.7. August inflation nudged closer to the ECB’s target, registering 1.5 percent, data showed last week. ECB policymakers meet on Thursday, and while no change is expected then, they are expected to announce a reduction of monthly asset purchases in October, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll. BoE rate-setters meet next week. Prices paid by services firms rose at the fastest pace in six months, potentially adding to Britain’s inflation rate, which is already heading for about 3 percent, above the central bank’s 2 percent target. Most economists polled by Reuters were convinced the BoE will not raise interest rates between now and when the initial Brexit negotiation period ends in a little under two years. Only 14 of 59 economists expected one or more rate rises by end-2018. Additional reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Ross Finley and John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-economy-pmi/euro-zone-businesses-outpace-struggling-british-peers-idINKCN1BG1E8'|'2017-09-05T13:40:00.000+03:00'
'ba93c07393009565f330d861aedff935146c6d40'|'Exclusive - Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms: sources'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:40 AM / 5 hours ago Exclusive - Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms Kentaro Hamada , Makiko Yamazaki 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) has offered to drop out of a group bidding for Toshiba’s ( 6502.T ) coveted flash memory chip business to take a stronger position in their joint venture instead, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The move may help Toshiba finally seal a deal to sell the chip business after months of delays, providing it with the funds needed to cover billions of dollars in liabilities arising from the failure of Westinghouse, its U.S. nuclear power engineering subsidiary. A consortium including Western Digital, U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co ( KKR.N ), the state-backed Innovation Network of Japan and Development Bank of Japan were previously offering around 1.9 trillion yen (£13.41 billion) for the chip business, according to people familiar with the talks. Those talks had stalled in recent weeks, however, as the two sides struggled to come to an agreement over Western Digital’s stake in the business, which the Japanese company wanted to limit in an attempt to avoid prolonged antitrust reviews, sources have said. Toshiba and Western Digital, joint venture partners at Toshiba’s key plant in central Japan, are the world’s second and third largest producers of NAND memory chips after Samsung Electronics Co ( 005930.KS ). To help close the deal, California-based Western Digital has told Toshiba it is prepared to pull out of a consortium bidding for the business in order to address such concerns, said the sources, one with direct knowledge of the transaction and one who was briefed on the development. In return Western Digital is seeking to strengthen its position in the joint venture operations, they said. It is, for example, asking Toshiba to ensure that they invest jointly in a new production line, according to one of the sources. Toshiba’s board is due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the deal, the sources said. Western Digital’s potential participation will be the subject of future talks among the consortium members, said the sources. Failure to clinch a sale in the next few weeks could mean that it may not clear all necessary regulatory approvals by the end of the financial year in March. That would likely lead to Toshiba reporting negative equity for two years in a row, increasing its chances of its shares being delisted. A Western Digital spokeswoman said she could not immediately comment while Toshiba said it could not comment on details of the talks. Toshiba and Western Digital failed to seal a deal by a previously-planned deadline last week due to a disagreement over the U.S. firm’s future stake in the business, sources have said. Negotiations were also complicated by private equity investor Bain Capital’s last minute re-submission of a rival 2 trillion-yen offer, bringing in Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) to help bolster its bid, but sources have said Toshiba is still focusing on talks with the Western Digital consortium. Reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard, Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-exclusive/western-digital-offers-to-exit-toshiba-chip-bid-for-better-jv-terms-sources-idUKKCN1BG1EA'|'2017-09-05T14:42:00.000+03:00'
'd0eeb631f5b86bf76d992a2ea8293da4efc28931'|'Fed should be cautious in face of weak inflation - Brainard'|'September 5, 2017 / 12:12 PM / 5 minutes ago Fed should be cautious in face of weak inflation - Brainard Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is displayed in Washington, U.S., June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. inflation is falling “well short” of target so the Federal Reserve should be cautious about raising interest rates any further until it is confident that prices are headed higher, an influential Fed policymaker said on Tuesday. In a dovish speech in the face of months of weak inflation readings, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said the U.S. central bank should go so far as to make it clear it is comfortable pushing prices modestly above the Fed’s 2-percent target. “We should be cautious about tightening policy further until we are confident inflation is on track to achieve our target,” Brainard, a permanent voter on monetary policy, said in a speech in New York. “There is a high premium on guiding inflation back up to target so as to retain space to buffer adverse shocks with conventional policy,” she added. “I believe it is important to be clear that we would be comfortable with inflation moving modestly above our target for a time.” Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-brainard/fed-should-be-cautious-in-face-of-weak-inflation-brainard-idUKKCN1BG1O5'|'2017-09-05T15:12:00.000+03:00'
'3e5b28a13050d819ea788e5445c44d9e24eb25d9'|'Noble Group extends $2 billion credit facility'|'FILE PHOTO: The company logo of Noble Group is displayed at its office in Hong Kong, China January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo (Reuters) - Commodity trader Noble Group said on Thursday the deadline for a $2 billion credit facility with its North American lenders had been extended to January next year.Noble, which has got waivers from other banks on its loan covenants in the last few months, has debt due in the next year as well.Once Asia’s largest commodities trading house, Noble is slashing jobs and selling assets to cut debt after a crisis-wracked two years.It is in the process of selling its North American gas and power business and expects to announce a deal for its oil liquids unit by the end of September.The company said the credit facility extension would help in the ongoing sale process.Noble Group Chairman Paul Brough had said on Tuesday the company was in discussions to extend the October deadline of the credit facility.Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-noble-grp-shareholders/noble-group-extends-2-billion-credit-facility-idINKCN1BI2EJ'|'2017-09-07T15:07:00.000+03:00'
'4a156f90879c3b7f0107f351a5e898d4bfb4d92e'|'EQT has no plans for quick exit from Ottobock, Sivantos'|'MUNICH, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Private equity firm EQT has no plans for a quick exit from either prosthetics maker Ottobock or hearing aids manufacturer Sivantos Group, EQT partner Marcus Brennecke said.* “We have invested (in Sivantos for) two and a half years. Normally we hold investments for four to five years ... We have no plans to exit before the end of 2018,” Brennecke told a news briefing on Thursday.* However, he said EQT would look at any good offers that came before then.* Commenting on Ottobock, he said: “I see that in three years, at the earliest. We have to work with the majority owners and management for three, four, five years first.”* Brennecke also said that it was too soon to divest Apleona, the former real estate services business EQT bought from Bilfinger for 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 bln) in 2016. ($1 = 0.8326 euros) (Reporting by Joern Poltz; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eqt-divestiture/eqt-has-no-plans-for-quick-exit-from-ottobock-sivantos-idINL8N1LO62Y'|'2017-09-07T14:47:00.000+03:00'
'1055fd6bc12b6a63ca5a21f63666924d661ae4df'|'Vivendi nears deal with Italy watchdog to cut Mediaset stake: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: The Vivendi logo at the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - French media group Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) is close to reaching a preliminary deal with Italy’s communications watchdog on cutting its stake in Silvio Berlusconi’s broadcaster Mediaset ( MS.MI ), two sources said on Thursday.Vivendi’s influence in Italy has come under close political and regulatory scrutiny since the French group led by billionaire Vincent Bollore built up its stake in Italy’s biggest private broadcaster Mediaset last year.It had already tightened its grip on Telecom Italia (TIM) ( TLIT.MI ) and Rome is looking into whether Vivendi failed to meet an obligation to notify it of its effective control of a company which is considered a strategic national asset.Italy’s AGCOM regulator has demanded Vivendi reduce its stake in either Mediaset or TIM to below 10 percent after ruling that by holding both it breached Italian rules meant to prevent concentration of power.Vivendi is the biggest single shareholder in Telecom Italia with a 24 percent stake and also holds 28.8 percent of Mediaset, making it the second-largest investor after the family of former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi.The French company’s preliminary agreement with AGCOM should land on the desk of the regulator’s board of commissioners, who have to approve any deal, at their next meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 13 although a final decision will not be taken until April 2018, the sources added.The solution agreed with AGCOM envisages Vivendi transferring the Mediaset shares above the 10 percent threshold into a blind trust, one of the two sources said.Vivendi will have one year to comply with AGCOM’s ruling if it is to avoid being fined up to 5 percent of its revenues, some 540 million euros ($648 million).($1 = 0.8334 euros)Reporting by Alberto Sisto; writing by Giulia Segreti; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-vivendi-mediaset-regulator/vivendi-nears-deal-with-italy-watchdog-to-cut-mediaset-stake-sources-idINKCN1BI2IM'|'2017-09-07T15:46:00.000+03:00'
'48cd9eeb8938bb9b77230c8fab4803c0652c16f7'|'Lachlan Murdoch partner in court to delay vote on CBS TV station buyout'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:29 AM / 17 minutes ago Lachlan Murdoch partner in court to delay vote on CBS TV station buyout Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The CBS "eye" and logo are seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - A business partner of News Corp ( NWSA.O ) Co-Chairman Lachlan Murdoch filed a motion in an Australian court on Thursday seeking to stop a vote on CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) planned buyout of a struggling local television station. Murdoch and billionaire Bruce Gordon, an Australian regional television owner, controlled a combined stake of about a fifth in ratings laggard Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ) when it called in administrators in June. The pair had expressed interest in buying Ten but U.S. television giant CBS, the Australian network’s biggest creditor, surprised them by announcing on Aug. 28 it would instead buy Ten for an undisclosed sum. Ten’s creditors, including CBS, were scheduled to vote on the CBS takeover at a meeting on Sept. 12, but Gordon and his related entities filed a motion on Thursday seeking to stop that meeting from taking place. The matter was continuing on Thursday. Reporting by Tom Westbrook, writing by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/lachlan-murdoch-partner-in-court-to-delay-vote-on-cbs-tv-station-buyout-idUKKCN1BI09L'|'2017-09-07T06:28:00.000+03:00'
'83078f6973aa19246362c26b501c9a7d66e62e00'|'Irish annual inflation rate bounces back to 4-month high of 0.4 percent'|'September 7, 2017 / 10:39 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Irish annual inflation rate bounces back to 4-month high of 0.4 percent Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man looks at a window display of jewellery on Grafton Street, Dublin, November 18, 2010. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish consumer prices increased by 0.4 percent on an annual basis in August, the fastest rate reported since April, data showed on Thursday. Consumer prices also rose 0.4 percent on a monthly basis in August, after a decrease of 0.2 percent the previous month. Prices were unchanged on an annual basis in July. Ireland has been the European Union’s fastest growing economy for three years, but inflation has remained broadly flat over the period. Price increases over the past 12 months were most pronounced in housing, utilities, restaurants and hotels, the central statistics office   Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-inflation/irish-annual-inflation-rate-bounces-back-to-4-month-high-of-0-4-percent-idUKKCN1BI1BS'|'2017-09-07T13:38:00.000+03:00'
'ea1593dfc789d3553eac012ec0a0972ecf077710'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips shortly after open, but retailers jump'|' 48 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips shortly after open, but retailers jump Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index turned negative shortly after the open on Thursday as strong gains in consumer discretionary stocks failed to offset broader declines in key sectors. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index fell 18.13 points, or 0.12 percent, to 15,041.70. Half of the index’s 10 main groups were lower. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-slips-shortly-after-open-but-retailers-jump-idUSL2N1LO0RI'|'2017-09-07T16:48:00.000+03:00'
'0627a874921c960556beb077b7f73acebeabe9f7'|'ING closes "trade of 2017" Czech crown bet'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:49 AM / 8 minutes ago ING closes "trade of 2017" Czech crown bet Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Czech Crown coins and notes are seen in this picture illustration taken April 1, 2017. REUTERS/David W Cerny/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch bank ING, which last year dubbed buying the Czech crown ‘the trade of 2017’, said on Tuesday it was closing its recommendation on the currency, which has risen less than expected since the ending of an exchange rate cap. Last September in a high-profile call, ING had advised clients to position for a jump in the crown’s value against the euro as the central bank prepared to scrap the 27 crowns per euro cap which was in place since late-2013. But since the Czech central bank removed the cap in April, the currency has gained only 3.6 percent against the euro, contrary to some analysts’ predictions that it would rise as much as 10 percent. But the crown has struggled to break below 26.00 versus the euro, despite the Eastern European country’s central bank embarking on an interest rate-hiking cycle CZRP=. ING analysts Petr Krpata and Jakub Seidler told clients that speculative positioning on the crown had turned excessive and there was now limited upside to the crown. The logo of ING bank is seen at the entrance of the group''s main office in Brussels, Belgium, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir “The short euro/crown spot party started in September 2016 as market participants pre-positioned for the central bank currency floor exit,” they said, noting that the crown was struggling to rise “despite the Czech National Bank turning from arguably the most dovish into the most hawkish central bank”. “At current levels, we see a low risk reward in rolling the short euro/crown position over.” On Tuesday, the crown was trading at 26.09 to the euro, down around 0.1 percent on the day after central bank governor Jiri Rusnok said there was no need to rush with the next rate hike.. “With the market already pricing in one full 25 basis-point rate hike by the end of this year and around 60 bps by the end of 2018, the CNB would have to signal and deliver a much more hawkish tightening cycle to push euro/crown meaningfully lower,” Krpata and Seidler added. Non-residents’ share of the Czech government bond market fell in July to 45.6 percent from a record high of 47.62 percent in the previous month, as some investors started pulling back from the trade. Reporting by Alexander Winning, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-czech-forex-ing-groep/ing-closes-trade-of-2017-czech-crown-bet-idUKKCN1BG1M4'|'2017-09-05T14:48:00.000+03:00'
'1ef962c54f87207ddc49bba4d0bd7d2d6e294b54'|'888 Holdings revenue up 3 percent on casino, sports betting'|'September 5, 2017 / 6:36 AM / in 27 minutes German tax provision deals 888 a losing hand Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British online betting company 888 Holdings swung to a half-year loss because of charges for tax provisions in Germany and a financial penalty imposed by the UK Gambling Commission. However, revenue rose 9 percent to $270 million (208.9 million pounds) in the six months to the end of June on the continued strength of its casino and sports betting business. The group, which operates 888 casino, poker, sport and bingo brands, reported a loss before tax of $17.3 million for the six months, reversing from a profit of $27.8 million last year. The company took an exceptional charge of $50.8 million, including a $45.3 million charge related to potential value added tax (VAT) on services in Germany prior to 2015. Last week, 888 was fined a record 7.8 million pounds for failing to protect vulnerable customers at risk of gambling addiction. 888 also warned that the expansion of gaming duty on casino, poker and bingo free bets in Britain will increase the cost base for operators in the UK. “Whilst the industry will continue to face regulatory headwinds in the second half of the year..., trading in Q3 has started well and in line with the board’s expectations.” Chief Executive Itai Frieberger said in a statement. Revenue at its casino and sports divisions rose 11 percent and 35 percent respectively with the latter performing strongly in Italy. Shares in the company were up 1.3 percent at 267p at 0835 GMT. The gambling sector is seen ripe for further consolidation, with the outcome of a review of betting machines in high street shops seen as the likely trigger. Last year, Gibraltar-based 888 and casino operator Rank Group Plc pursued a deal for William Hill. However, William Hill rejected the takeover proposals. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-888-holdings-results/888-holdings-revenue-up-3-percent-on-casino-sports-betting-idUKKCN1BG0N7'|'2017-09-05T09:36:00.000+03:00'
'88c3e64c3508da6850222286710c8aa48c888a2f'|'Aveva to tie-up with Schneider Electric in software deal'|'September 5, 2017 / 6:25 AM / 17 minutes ago Britain''s Aveva to tie-up with Schneider Electric in software deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Fuses from French company Schneider Electric are seen in an office in Madrid, Spain, August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Sergio Perez LONDON (Reuters) - British engineering software company Aveva Group said on Tuesday it had agreed to combine with Schneider Electric’s software business, creating a London-listed software firm worth more than 3 billion pounds. France’s Schneider will take a 60 percent stake in the enlarged group under the terms of the deal, which is structured as a reverse takeover. Details of the deal - the third attempt by the two companies to combine - were reported late on Monday. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aveva-group-m-a-schneider/britains-aveva-to-tie-up-with-schneider-electric-in-software-deal-idUKKCN1BG0M9'|'2017-09-05T09:23:00.000+03:00'
'e16f325af6269e7f722630227b61cd7e6900bf51'|'Exclusive: Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms - sources'|'FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp has offered to drop out of a bid for Toshiba Corp’s lucrative semiconductor unit after their talks stalled, seeking instead a stronger position in the two companies’ chip joint venture, two sources said on Tuesday.The move may help Toshiba finally seal a deal to sell its prized unit after months of delays, providing it with funds to cover billions of dollars in liabilities linked to its failed U.S. nuclear business Westinghouse.A consortium including Western Digital, U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co, the state-backed Innovation Network of Japan and Development Bank of Japan were previously offering around 1.9 trillion yen ($17.4 billion) for Toshiba’s chip business, according to people familiar with the talks.Those talks had stalled in recent weeks, however, as the two sides struggled to come to an agreement over Western Digital’s stake in the business, which the Japanese company wanted to limit in an attempt to avoid prolonged antitrust reviews, sources have said.To help close the deal, California-based Western Digital has told Toshiba it is prepared to pull out of a consortium bidding for the business in order to address such concerns, said the sources, one with direct knowledge of the transaction and one who was briefed on this development.In return, Western Digital is seeking to strengthen its position in the joint venture operations, they said.Toshiba’s board is due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the deal, the sources said.A Western Digital spokeswoman said she could not immediately comment. Toshiba said it could not comment on details of the talks.Toshiba and Western Digital, which jointly invest in Toshiba’s key plant in central Japan, failed to seal a deal by a previously-planned deadline last week due to disagreement over the U.S. firm’s future stake in the business, sources have said.Reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-exclusive/western-digital-offers-to-exit-toshiba-chip-bid-for-better-jv-terms-sources-idINKCN1BG1E2'|'2017-09-05T08:42:00.000+03:00'
'5110374098f6604bc3eff3e31e7f73c2b6afbc08'|'China to loan Guinea $20 bln in exchange for minerals'|'September 6, 2017 / 2:29 PM / 20 minutes ago China to loan Guinea $20 billion to secure aluminum ore Saliou Samb 2 Min Read CONAKRY (Reuters) - China agreed on Wednesday to loan Guinea $20 billion over almost 20 years in exchange for concessions on bauxite, an ore of aluminum which the West African country has in abundance, the mines minister said. The projects guaranteed by the loan included China Power Investment Corp’s (CPI) planned alumina refinery and Aluminium Corp of China’s ( 601600.SS ) (Chalco) bauxite mine and another bauxite project by China Henan International Cooperation Group, all of them in the northwestern town of Boffa. “Those are the three projects targeted as priorities for the first phase,” Mines Minister Abdoulaye Magassouba told Reuters. “The revenues these projects generate will serve as reimbursement for the loans.” The minister said the money would be spent on badly needed infrastructure - Guinea is one of the world’s least developed countries - a roads-for-minerals formula that China often uses to gain access to Africa’s resources. Projects earmarked included roads in the capital Guinea and highways upcountry, a project for extending the port of Conakry, an electric transmission line and the building of a university, Magassouba said. Chalco said last month it plans to invest $500 million in the project in Boffa, about 200 kilometres from the capital Conakry, which was abandoned by BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) in 2013. The $6 billion CPI alumina project has been on the cards since at least 2012. Guinea, Africa’s leading bauxite producer, holds some of the world’s richest bauxite and iron ore deposits, including the Simandou iron ore deposit, in its remote east, which is mired in legal disputes but has nevertheless attracted intense interest from China. Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guinea-mining-china/china-to-loan-guinea-20-billion-in-exchange-for-minerals-idUSKCN1BH1YT'|'2017-09-06T17:16:00.000+03:00'
'ae7ee1048367147ae0c0d12e7a2ffc5e5a608042'|'Candy maker Mars looks to curb greenhouse gas emissions across supply chain'|'September 6, 2017 / 4:01 AM / 13 hours ago Candy maker Mars looks to curb greenhouse gas emissions across supply chain 3 Min Read Mars bars are seen in this picture illustration taken February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration NEW YORK (Reuters) - Candy manufacturer Mars Inc is aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions and address other sustainability issues across its supply chain in a bid to help meet goals from the Paris climate agreement. Mars is one of a number of U.S. firms, including Walmart Stores Inc and Apple Inc, that have committed to curbing climate change even as sentiment on the issue shifts in Washington. U.S. corporations including Home Depot Inc and General Mills are now major users of renewable energy like solar and wind. The McLean, Virginia-based firm plans to spend $1 billion as it expands its sustainability goals beyond previously announced targets to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 from its level in 2007. “We expect to have a competitive advantage from a more resource efficient supply chain,” Mars Chief Executive Officer Grant F. Reid said in a statement. The company now said it will cut greenhouse gas emissions across its supply chain by 67 percent by 2050. Some companies have reaffirmed their commitment to battle climate change in recent months, after President Donald Trump said in June the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The move drew praise from fossil fuel groups but criticism from others. Mars has been sequencing genomes for crops like cocoa to make the plants more productive and has begun to have conversations with suppliers including mint oil manufacturers on potentially transitioning to renewable energy, said Andy Pharoah, Mars Vice President of Corporate Affairs. The company already uses renewable energy to power its operations in U.S. and U.K. markets. Mars is also targeting reducing poverty in the production of some of its core crops, namely cocoa, rice and mint, and addressing human rights violations in cocoa, palm oil, and fish. Exploitative labor and deforestation have been persistent issues for crops like cocoa and palm oil, two major ingredients for Mars’ candy bars. In addition to candies like M&M’s and Snickers, the company makes pet food and Uncle Ben’s rice. “Forced labor has no place in our supply chain, so we are very focused on making progress against that,” said Pharoah. “There’s a whole range of activities on that. That starts with being open and transparent and calling it out.” Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Phil Berlowitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mars-climatechange/candy-maker-mars-looks-to-curb-greenhouse-gas-emissions-across-supply-chain-idUSKCN1BH0F7'|'2017-09-06T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'd12bbc47c4b436e414dea77866dedc9934168ef4'|'Edinburgh Airport sale potential hit by Brexit jitters: sources'|'An aircraft is moved from its bay at Edinburgh Airport in Scotland April 23, 2012. REUTERS/David Moir/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) explored a possible sale of Edinburgh Airport this year but decided that Brexit uncertainties would hit the price tag, sources close to the matter told Reuters.The infrastructure fund’s sale of London City airport last year at a chunky valuation of more than 30 times core earnings had stoked speculation about more deals and the sources said that GIP asked banks to review its options.The sources said the Edinburgh Airport valuation concerns arose because of uncertainty over Britain’s ability to strike a deal on access to Europe’s aviation market after the country leaves the bloc.A spokesman for GIP declined to comment.Edinburgh handled 12.4 million passengers last year and ranks as Britain’s sixth-busiest airport ahead of Glasgow.One of the sources said that investment banks had proactively contacted GIP hoping to land a sellside mandate, but GIP was in no rush to sell and no deal was imminent.But another source said he expects GIP to consult banks again in the next 12 months.GIP bought Edinburgh Airport for 807 million pounds ($1.1 billion) more than five years ago from the now defunct BAA, which also used to own Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.Last year GIP sold London City Airport to a consortium including Canada’s Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for more than 2 billion pounds, having bought it for only 742 million pounds in 2006.Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-gip-edinburgh-m-a/edinburgh-airport-sale-potential-hit-by-brexit-jitters-sources-idINKCN1BG1OD'|'2017-09-05T10:17:00.000+03:00'
'9bc163d6885b1ad0378fa1df29ebadf24002060a'|'Toymaker Lego to cut 8 percent of staff as sales decline'|'Reuters TV United States September 5, 2017 / 8:05 AM / 27 minutes ago Lego to cut 1,400 staff as decade-long sales boom ends 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The window of a Lego shop in Copenhagen, Denmark April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Lego said it would lay off 8 percent of its staff and revamp its business after reporting its first fall in sales in more than a decade on Tuesday. The Danish toymaker announced a 5-percent decline in mid-year revenue a month after abruptly removing its chief executive, suggesting it is facing its biggest test since flirting with bankruptcy in the early 2000s. Lego said it could not promise a return to growth in the next two years, a jolting acknowledgement for a group widely admired for embracing the digital era and tying up lucrative franchises from Harry Potter to Minecraft. “We have now pressed the reset-button for the entire group,” executive chairman Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said, acknowledging the business had grown too complicated. He would seek a return to a leaner and more efficient organization to respond to “losing momentum ... which we think could ultimately lead to stagnation or even decline.” Lego said revenues had disappointed in its core markets of the United States and Europe, after a decade of double-digit growth and launches spanning Lego sets, video games, movie franchises, robotics and smartphone applications. Sales related to its Star Wars line declining slightly in the first half of the year, the company said. SHARP REVERSAL It marked a sharp reversal for a company that managed to expand and respond to rising demand in Asia when Knudstorp was CEO, even as the global toy market shrank after the 2008 financial crisis. FILE PHOTO: A Lego logo adorns a wall at the headquarters of the Danish toy company during the annual news conference in Billund, Denmark March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo Knudstorp, took the top job aged 35 in 2004, a year after Lego flirted with bankruptcy, and set about reviving Lego’s core business. That included firing consultants and hiring new designers to come up with higher-margin products that were up to date but still looked like Lego, an abbreviation of the Danish “leg godt”, meaning “play well”. Bali Padda tool over as chief executive in January, but the Briton was removed just eight months later and replaced by Danish industrialist Niels B. Christiansen. Sales between January and June stood at 14.9 billion Danish crowns ($2.38 billion), still topping My Little Pony producer Hasbro Inc’s ( HAS.O ) sales of $1.82 billion and Barbie doll maker Mattel Inc’s ( MAT.O ) $1.71 billion. Slideshow (6 Images) Last year, revenue growth slowed from 25 percent in 2015 to just six percent. Lego said it will cut approximately 1,400 positions - including up to 600 at its headquarter in Billund, Denmark - the majority of them before the end of 2017. The company currently employs some 18,200 people. “We’ve been through a decade of very high growth and during those years we have invested a great deal,” Knudstorp said, noting that the company added more than 7,000 new positions between 2012 and 2016. “What we have unfortunately recently seen is that despite the continued high level of investment, these have not materialized into a good harvest,” he said. The unlisted company said in March that mid-single-digit growth rates were more realistic for the years to come, but revised those expectations downward on Tuesday. “We are not saying specifically whether we will grow the next two years or not,” Knudstorp said. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Julie Astrid Thomsen; Editing by Jason Neely and Andrew Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-lego-results/toymaker-lego-to-cut-8-percent-of-staff-as-sales-decline-idUKKCN1BG0WK'|'2017-09-05T11:01:00.000+03:00'
'b64b11c74640058ed11f3e4de7c6ca103190b572'|'UPDATE 1-Pimco Total Return Bond Fund attracts first inflows since April 2013'|'(Adds analyst Quote: , figures for Pimco Income Fund)By Jennifer AblanNEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Pimco Total Return Bond Fund, which lost its crown as the world’s largest bond fund following former manager Bill Gross’s shocking exit, has attracted its first monthly inflows in more than four years.Investors added $348 million of new cash into the fund in August, bringing its assets under management to $74.7 billion.The fund, which Gross had managed from 1987 until September 2014, when he resigned from the investment firm he co-founded, remains only about one-fourth as large as it was in April 2013, when assets under management peaked at $292.9 billion.A Pimco spokesman declined to comment.“While one month is not a trend, this is a positive sign as investors give a closer look as the management team nears its three-year anniversary at the helm,” said Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF & Mutual Fund Research at CFRA. “Pimco Total Return’s three-year record is stronger in the past three years than its Lipper peer group and 2017 has been an above-average year so far.”The Pimco Income Fund, which is seen by analysts and investors as Pimco’s new flagship fund, attracted $3.1 billion of inflows in August. Pimco Income, which is overseen by group chief investment officer Dan Ivascyn, now has total assets under management of $96.4 billion.Pimco, which had $1.16 trillion in assets under management overall as of June 30, is owned by German insurer Allianz SE . (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/funds-pimco/update-1-pimco-total-return-bond-fund-attracts-first-inflows-since-april-2013-idINL2N1LM1NI'|'2017-09-05T16:57:00.000+03:00'
'442b3b8ef4651a62933f16bc1b01741edc5dcfb2'|'Boeing raises concern about $23 billion United Tech-Rockwell deal'|'FILE PHOTO: The Boeing Company logo is projected on a wall at the "What''s Next?" conference in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Tuesday it would look closely at United Technologies Corp’s ( UTX.N ) $23 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ), breaking its month-long silence on a deal.“We intend to take a hard look at the proposed combination of United Technologies and Rockwell Collins,” Boeing said in a statement.“Until we receive more details, we are skeptical that it would be in the best interest of - or add value to - our customers and industry.”Boeing said its interest, and that of its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders, was to ensure the long-term health and competitiveness of the aerospace industry supply chain.“Should we determine that this deal is inconsistent with those interests, we would intend to exercise our contractual rights and pursue the appropriate regulatory options to protect our interests,” the company said.“Also, both companies are significant suppliers to Boeing and other (plane makers), and at a time of record industry production, their first priority should be delivering on existing cost, schedule and quality commitments for their customers and ours.”Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rockwell-collins-m-a-boeing/boeing-raises-concern-about-23-billion-united-tech-rockwell-deal-idINKCN1BG2H0'|'2017-09-05T14:47:00.000+03:00'
'1aed4c2768bbdb2b9c5d78d9bd56a2eb20772854'|'BRIEF-H.B. Fuller to buy Royal Adhesives & Sealants for $1.58 bln'|'Sept 4 (Reuters) - HB Fuller Co* H.B. Fuller announces agreement to acquire Royal Adhesives & Sealants* HB Fuller co says agreed purchase price is $1,575 million* H.B. Fuller intends to finance transaction through new debt financing* HB Fuller co says upon closing transaction, H.B. Fuller will be a company with nearly $2.9 billion in revenue* Identified $35 million in cost synergies, $15 million in growth synergies expected to be realized over next 3 years as result of merger Source text for Eikon: (Bengaluru Newsroom: +1 646 223 8780) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hb-fuller-to-buy-royal-adhesives-s/brief-h-b-fuller-to-buy-royal-adhesives-sealants-for-1-58-bln-idUSFWN1LL0DJ'|'2017-09-05T03:09:00.000+03:00'
'facc143e993b8b1c248566493a09bfaf21a011c0'|'UK outsourcer Capita lowers 2016 profit after accounting changes'|' 27 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago UK outsourcer Capita lowers 2016 profit after accounting changes Reuters Staff 1 Min Read EDINBURGH (Reuters) - British outsourcer Capita ( CPI.L ), looking for a new CEO after a series of profit warnings, lowered its 2016 underlying operating profit on Thursday after adopting new accounting standards. Capita restated its 2016 operating profit to 335 million pounds ($436.87 million), from a previous 481 million pounds. It also reported net liabilities of 553 million pounds, versus assets of 483 million pounds originally reported. The group, which provides specialist IT-enabled business services to banks, retailers and utilities, also said it expects first half results later this month to be as anticipated in June. By adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS 15) now, the company will recognise, measure and disclose revenue from long term customers at a later date in the process than it did before. The new accounting method does not affect cash flow, or the profitability of contracts over their lifetime, Capita said. Reporting by Elisabeth O''Leary; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-capita-results/uk-outsourcer-capita-lowers-2016-profit-after-accounting-changes-idUKKCN1BI0NJ'|'2017-09-07T09:27:00.000+03:00'
'3739ff5896fbd03fa501dcea489f386879dbf300'|'Brazil judge lifts injunction on Petrobras sale of TermoBahia stake to Total'|'Tanks of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company are seen in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ) said on Wednesday that a federal court struck down an injunction that had stopped the sale of the state-controlled oil company’s stake in thermal power station operator TermoBahia to France’s Total ( TOTF.PA ).Petroleo Brasileiro, as the company is formally known, had agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in TermoBahia to Total in a $2.2 billion deal signed in December.Petrobras said the Federal Regional Court for the Fifth Region on Tuesday had reversed an injunction granted in August by a lower court.The Brazilian company is in the midst of a campaign to sell $8 billion worth of assets this year as it seeks to reduce its debt burden.Reporting by Laís Martins, writing by Jake Spring '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture/brazil-judge-lifts-injunction-on-petrobras-sale-of-termobahia-stake-to-total-idUSKCN1BH382'|'2017-09-07T06:58:00.000+03:00'
'dc68441b0c2db5e95507e9f4abb03891f054242d'|'Trian proposes shake-up to P&G''s structure and strategy'|'FILE PHOTO: Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S. on October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist investor Trian Partners on Wednesday released its long-awaited plan to boost shares of Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ), detailing changes intended to streamline and rejuvenate the maker of Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent and Pampers diapers.The release of the 94-page proposal comes as the two sides are locked in a battle over efforts by Trian co-founder Nelson Peltz to join the 12-member board of the consumer products company.P&G has resisted, saying Peltz is a bad fit for the board and has an outdated view on how the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company operates.Shareholders will vote on Oct. 10 on whether to add Peltz to the board. Valued at $232 billion, P&G would be the biggest U.S. company by market capitalization to face a proxy fight.“Trian believes P&G should be organized into three largely autonomous business units under a lean holding company,” the hedge fund said in its proposal. The company is currently comprised of four global business units.Trian, P&G&rsquo;s fifth-largest shareholder, also said the company’s management compensation plan is tied to three-year goals that are set too low.Procter & Gamble said in a statement that the company is executing a winning strategy, as evidenced by its 2017 fiscal year results.“We remain focused on delivering our plan, while preventing anything from derailing the progress we are making to create value for all P&G shareholders.”Trian’s $3.5 billion P&G investment became public earlier this year, but its strategy on how to boost the company’s shares had until now remained behind closed doors.Other proposed changes include Peltz offering to lead a board study on how P&G can improve innovation, having “failed to create a new meaningful brand in nearly 20 years” according to Trian.FILE PHOTO - Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Peltz would also encourage the board to groom more outside leadership talent and to have P&G focus its acquisition strategy on buying and developing smaller, more local brands, Trian said.Trian has touted Peltz’s experience on boards of other consumer companies including Mondelez International Inc ( MDLZ.O ), Sysco Corp ( SYY.N ) and Triangle Industries Inc, a packaging company where Peltz was chairman and chief executive from 1983 to 1988.REORGANIZATION P&G is organized into four global business units: Baby, Feminine and Family Care; Beauty; Fabric and Home Care; and Health and Grooming. P&G, which has been cutting costs and selling off brands, reported net sales last quarter that were flat at $16.08 billion.Trian proposes shrinking that to three groups, each with a regional leader with full control of the business, its profits and its losses: Beauty, Grooming and Healthcare; Fabric and Home Care; and Baby, Feminine and Family Care.Under the new organization, the CEO would oversee the three business leaders. The three business divisions would sit under a holding company, which controls public company functions and costs, Trian said.According to Trian, P&G&rsquo;s management compensation plan is tied to three-year goals that are too low, including a 2.8 percent organic sales target, which is lower than the company’s 3 percent to 3.5 percent market growth target.Trian has taken swipes previously at P&G&rsquo;s bureaucracy and stock performance compared to peers, a dig it repeated in its plan, citing a total shareholder return over the last decade that trailed both peers and the S&P 500.P&G, shares of which have risen 10 percent this year to $92.72, has countered that the company’s stock performance has outperformed since CEO David Taylor took over in Nov. 2015.Since then, P&G said in a letter to shareholders last month that total shareholder return has risen 28 percent through mid-August, beating peers.Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-trianfund/trian-proposes-shake-up-to-pgs-structure-and-strategy-idUSKCN1BH31W'|'2017-09-07T00:20:00.000+03:00'
'd6cab1fbe724dfb86d952423dc25f7ecf03087b9'|'German shipping group Rickmers to continue ship management under new owners'|'* Insolvent Rickmers sells ship management unit to consortium* Purchase price undisclosed* Consortium wants to buy remaining Rickmers businesses* Plan needs approval, earlier restructuring plan failedFRANKFURT, Sept 7 (Reuters) - German shipping group Rickmers, which filed for insolvency in June, said on Thursday its ship management unit had the all-clear to continue business after it was bought by Bremen-based Zeaborn Group and owner Bertram Rickmers.The company said in a statement that a consortium consisting of Zeaborn and Bertram Rickmers bought the division, which has its main sites in Hamburg, Singapore and Cyprus after they won a bidding process.“It has only taken a few months after preliminary self-administration of the assets of Rickmers Holding AG was ordered to find a solution for continuing the business,” it said, adding the creditors’ committee of Rickmers Holding had approved the plan.The purchase price was not given.The goal of the consortium is to expand and invest in the business and pursue further growth in a deal involving the takeover of the remaining business units of the Rickmers Group, including insurance and several services companies.The deal is subject to approval by the German federal cartel office.An earlier restructuring plan had failed to win the approval of lender HSH Nordbank.This made Rickmers the most recent high-profile casualty of the crisis in global container shipping, where oversupply and sluggish trade have curbed freight rates and earnings over the past few years, although there have been signs of budding recovery.The Rickmers executive board remains in office, flanked by chief insolvency officer Christoph Morgen of law firm Brinkmann & Partner and Jens-Soeren Schroeder of Johlke Niethammer & Partners as trustee.Rickmers, which has 114 ships and employs around 2,000, in 2016 doubled losses to 341 million euros ($408 million) on sales of 483 million. ($1 = 0.8354 euros) (Reporting by Vera Eckert and Jan Schwartz; editing by Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/rickmers-restructuring/german-shipping-group-rickmers-to-continue-ship-management-under-new-owners-idINL8N1LO43C'|'2017-09-07T12:11:00.000+03:00'
'7115fdda6485200e0972d559122b7b5d2ed46c19'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 5'|'Sept 5 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.Headlines* North Korea is ''begging for war'' says U.S. ambassador to U.N. on.ft.com/2wzPNC8* Bell Pottinger expelled by industry body for unethical practice. on.ft.com/2wzttIC* Uber faces challenge from car-booking app backed by Chinese. on.ft.com/2wzIg6hOverview* The United States accused North Korea’s trading partners on Monday of aiding its nuclear ambitions and said Pyongyang was “begging for war” after the North’s powerful nuclear test on Sunday and signs that further missile launches were on the way.* Bell Pottinger, one of Britain’s best-known PR agencies, was expelled from the industry’s trade association on Monday over a campaign adjudged to have deliberately stoked racial tensions in South Africa.* Estonian start-up Taxify is to go head to head with Uber in London’s highly competitive taxi-hailing market, and also has Paris in its sights. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-5-idUSL8N1LL4CJ'|'2017-09-05T02:15:00.000+03:00'
'd59f87a58c1208f8085616ec031f6847466e9d2d'|'Barcelo hires Santander to study offer for NH Hotel Group: El Confidencial'|'MADRID (Reuters) - Family-owned Spanish hotel group Barcelo has hired Santander bank ( SAN.MC ) to study a possible takeover of NH Hotel Group ( NHH.MC ) in a move that could create one of the biggest hotel chains in Spain, El Confidencial reported on Wednesday, citing sources with knowledge of the process.Although no formal talks have started, initial contact has been made between shareholders, the online newspaper said.Neither Barcelo, NH or Santander were available for comment on Wednesday. Shares in NH rose 4.5 percent in early trade.The purchase of a 29.5 percent stake in NH by China’s HNA Group ( 0521.HK ) ( 000616.SZ ) last year has led to a shareholder face-off at the hotel chain.Almost 60 percent of NH’s shareholders backed a motion to oust HNA-appointed board members at its annual meeting in June over what they said was a conflict of interest from the Chinese conglomerate’s takeover of a rival hotel group.HNA filed a lawsuit in September last year asking for the decision to be reversed. A Madrid court dismissed the claim on Tuesday.Barcelo Hotel Group has more than 100 hotels in 20 countries.Reporting By Andres Gonzalez; Writing by Sonya Dowsett '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nh-hoteles-m-a-barcelo/barcelo-hires-santander-to-study-offer-for-nh-hotel-group-el-confidencial-idUSKCN1BH0UC'|'2017-09-06T15:36:00.000+03:00'
'3932b434263583d542cde8a9606fddb32fd2fe05'|'Asian traders look to snap up U.S. crude in wake of Hurricane Harvey'|'FILE PHOTO: Flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey encompass the Motiva Enterprises LLC in Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Some oil traders in Asia are looking to snap up crude cargoes from the United States after Hurricane Harvey closed U.S. refineries, denting local demand and pushing out the price spread between U.S and Atlantic Basin crude benchmarks.Hurricane Harvey barreled into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast around 10 days ago, closing nearly a quarter of the nation’s refining capacity, although some of that is now coming back online.The closures pushed the prompt-month spread between West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 and Brent crude LCOc1 to the widest in two years at nearly $6 a barrel last week, prompting Asian traders to hunt for competitively priced U.S crude. However, some said spot prices would need to ease further before traders fixed cargoes for the journey east. (GRAPHIC: Spot prices for U.S. crude reut.rs/2gKWKun )"One good piece of news is that the WTI-Brent spread has blown out so much that means excess U.S. crude is going to be exported," said Tony Nunan, oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. (GRAPHIC: U.S. WTI vs Brent crude oil futures price spread - reut.rs/2vKqBtG )“It looks like there wasn’t much damage to export facilities and they should come back up quicker (than expected).”Prices for WTI light grades were the weakest and they could head to Asia first, said a Singapore-based trader, declining to be identified as he was not authorized to speak with media.Still, the market is evolving daily with spot levels for WTI Midland WTC-WTM rebounding on Tuesday after several refineries restarted post-Harvey.Taiwanese refiner Formosa Petrochemical Corp ( 6505.TW ) could consider buying from the United States.“We’re watching the situation,” spokesman KY Lin told Reuters.“U.S. crude’s length may worsen and put more downward pressure on prices in the next two weeks.”Spot premiums for Mars WTC-MRS, another grade that’s popular with Asian refiners, edged down on Tuesday from more than two-year highs as more tankers were allowed to offload sour grades in the Gulf.U.S. crude supplies are expected to stay elevated because at least 1.4 million barrels per day of refining capacity could still be offline past mid-September, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note on Wednesday.“We project that the hurricane will have added 40 million barrels to U.S. crude inventories in the month following landfall,” the analysts said.Companies that often ship U.S. crude to Asia include BP ( BP.L ), Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ), Trafigura, Mercuria and Occidental in addition to North Asian refiners Unipec, PetroChina, JXTG ( 5020.T ), Cosmo Energy ( 5021.T ), GS Caltex and SK Energy.Reporting by Florence Tan; Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in TOKYO; Editing by Joseph Radford and Tom Hogue '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-usa-oil/asian-traders-look-to-snap-up-u-s-crude-in-wake-of-hurricane-harvey-idUSKCN1BH0L9'|'2017-09-06T08:38:00.000+03:00'
'60c03b5cc384ebeeeaaab0691d4312c60cdd43bb'|'BRIEF-Indus Towers signs MoU with Indian Oil Corp'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:14 AM / 8 minutes ago BRIEF-Indus Towers signs MoU with Indian Oil Corp Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 6 (Reuters) - Indus Towers : * Signed MoU with Indian Oil Corp for setting up mobile tower network across all 26,000 outlets pan-India. Source text - Indus Towers, India’s largest telecom infrastructure company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), an integrated energy major for setting up mobile tower network across all 26,000 outlets pan-India. This is in line with its vision of ‘Putting India First’ and committed towards building a robust infrastructure for NextGen digital services network; thus, providing uninterrupted connectivity to citizens.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-indus-towers-signs-mou-with-indian/brief-indus-towers-signs-mou-with-indian-oil-corp-idUSFWN1LN08X'|'2017-09-06T13:12:00.000+03:00'
'bcf06d3f7322a0dc2d37ef8f267080696b997d2d'|'Brazil watchdog arm recommends rejecting ArcelorMittal-Votorantim tie-up'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A body of Brazil’s antitrust watchdog Cade has recommended the rejection of ArcelorMittal SA’s proposed acquisition of Votorantim Siderurgia SA, saying the tie-up would impact competition in the nation’s long steel market.In a statement on Tuesday, Cade’s general superintendency said the combination of two of Brazil’s top-three long steelmakers could lead to the elimination of relevant market players. The tie-up would also lead to potential price-fixing practices and increased purchasing power in the scrap market in Brazil’s southeastern region - the nation’s most industrious, the general superintendency said. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Leslie Adler; Editing by Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/votorantim-siderurgia-ma-arcelormitta-an/brazil-watchdog-arm-recommends-rejecting-arcelormittal-votorantim-tie-up-idUSL2N1LM26J'|'2017-09-06T05:33:00.000+03:00'
'b60061aa4bd90a6d98a9392af0abc0ad5da0f760'|'Petrobras fuel unit approves new bylaws ahead of planned IPO'|'The logo of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in at Petrobras Paulinia refinery in Paulinia, Brazil July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo BRASILIA (Reuters) - BR Distribuidora SA, the fuel distributing unit of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, approved new bylaws ahead of a planned initial public offering, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.BR Distribuidora will have its shares listed on Brazil’s strictest listing market segment after the offering, Petrobras, as the company is commonly know, said in a statement. The IPO is has been expected by early December.Reporting by Silvio Cascione '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-br-distribuidora-ipo/petrobras-fuel-unit-approves-new-bylaws-ahead-of-planned-ipo-idINKCN1BG1NP'|'2017-09-05T10:07:00.000+03:00'
'7634024378966afca8765bf78f10b4892e8a1135'|'Lloyds bank tops complaints league in Britain'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:12 PM / in an hour Lloyds bank tops complaints league in Britain Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A sign hangs outside a Lloyds Bank branch in London, Britain, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Complaints about banks and insurers in Britain rose in the first half of 2017 with the figures still dominated by loan insurance as a compensation deadline for mis-selling is publicised, the Financial Ombudsman Service said on Tuesday. Complaints in January to June totalled 170,000, up 13 percent on the second half of 2016, with almost two thirds of the complaints relating to only 10 companies. Payment protection insurance or PPI, totalled 90,000, with Lloyd’s and its units topping the complaints table. Bank of Scotland, part of Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) was the subject of 20,541 complaints, with the 17,080 relating to PPI. Lloyds itself came second, with 18,068 complaints, 14,847 about PPI. Another Lloyds’ unit, MBNA Limited, was 10th, with 4,368 complaints, most of which were about PPI. Lloyds Banking Group’s Group Customer Service Director, Stephen Noakes, said the bank continued to prioritise putting things right as quickly as it can, with over seven in 10 complaints resolved within three days, excluding PPI. “Where complaints are referred to the Ombudsman they agree with our decisions in the majority of cases,” Noakes said. On a brighter note, Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) dropped out of the top 10 table for PPI complaints, with 1,361 new cases. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) kicked-off a publicity campaign last week featuring an animatronic head of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to highlight an August 2019 compensation deadline for mis-sold PPI policies. “While we still don’t know what impact this will have on our workload, today’s data shows that PPI complaints are already increasing,” Chief Ombudsman Caroline Wayman said in a statement. Complaints about banking and credit have increased by 12 percent to around 47,000 in the first half of this year, and within this consumer credit complaints are up by almost a fifth to nearly 15,000. The data covers complaints from 245 companies across the financial sector, and most of the businesses named for the first time operate in consumer credit, a sector the Bank of England and FCA are examining more closely due to sharp growth rates. Reporting by Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill, editing by Pritha Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-banks-complaints/lloyds-bank-tops-complaints-league-in-britain-idUKKCN1BF2JB'|'2017-09-05T02:12:00.000+03:00'
'b4f5e086c2deb486605070f95a4a46c2a89aa340'|'Western Digital offers to exit Toshiba chip bid for better JV terms: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) has offered to drop out of a bid for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) lucrative semiconductor business in return for a stronger position in the two companies’ chip joint venture, two sources said on Tuesday.Toshiba needs to sell the chip unit to plug a giant hole in its finances caused by the failure of the conglomerate’s U.S. nuclear business, but the deal has snagged on such issues as antitrust concerns if the U.S. disk-drive maker were a major owner.To help close the deal, California-based Western Digital has told Toshiba it is prepared to pull out of a consortium bidding for the business in order to address such concerns, said the sources, one with direct knowledge of the transaction and one who was briefed on this development.In return, Western Digital is seeking to strengthen its position in the joint venture operations, they said.A Western Digital spokeswoman said she could not comment on details of the talks. Toshiba was not immediately available for comment outside Tokyo business hours.Toshiba and Western Digital, which jointly invest in Toshiba’s key plant in central Japan, failed to seal a deal by Toshiba’s target date last week due to disagreement over the U.S. firm’s future stake in the business.Reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-offers-to-exit-toshiba-chip-bid-for-better-jv-terms-sources-idINKCN1BG1E2'|'2017-09-05T08:42:00.000+03:00'
'c632aee4b46ee3c263a7a8e5bbf97ecb073265ad'|'ECB says investors must share burden of any bank rescue'|'September 5, 2017 / 9:40 AM / in 17 minutes ECB says investors must share burden of any bank rescue Reuters Staff 1 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Private investors must share the burden of any bank rescue, a senior European Central Bank supervisor said on Tuesday, calling for subjecting the sector to “market discipline”. “A substantial private sector burden-sharing is a non-negotiable prerequisite prior to public funds being touched,” Pentti Hakkarainen, a member of the supervisory board of the ECB, told a conference. “In regulating and supervising financial institutions, we should still make space for market forces and market discipline to act,” he added. Reporting By Francesco Canepa'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-banks-bailout-ecb/ecb-says-investors-must-share-burden-of-any-bank-rescue-idUKKCN1BG17Q'|'2017-09-05T12:39:00.000+03:00'
'0104e6728c25ede968dbae55fb7d8156058997a5'|'UK''s ''copy and paste'' trade policy forced by lack of negotiating capacity - official'|'September 4, 2017 / 9:08 PM / 10 hours ago UK''s ''copy and paste'' trade policy forced by lack of negotiating capacity - official Reuters Staff 2 Min Read EU and British flags fly outside the European Commission building in London, Britain August 12, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Britain does not have the capacity to individually negotiate new trade deals with all the European Union’s existing partners, a senior official from the trade department said, explaining why it is pursuing “copy and paste” versions of current EU deals. Britain and Japan agreed last week that an EU-Japan trade deal would form the basis for their own trading arrangements after Britain leaves the bloc. The government said it wanted to replicate other external EU trade deals in time for Britain’s March 2019 exit and then adjust them over time. But a senior official, who declined to be named, said the policy was in part dictated by a lack of capacity at the Department for International Trade. “We can’t do 40 FTAs (Free Trade Agreements), we haven’t got the capacity to do that,” the official said. The Department for International Trade was set up after last year’s decision to leave the EU, with a mission to tee up trade deals across the world to be signed after Brexit. The ability to do such bilateral deals has been promoted by the government as a major selling point of leaving the bloc. But after decades of relying on the EU to negotiate its trade deals, the department has had to hire negotiating teams almost from scratch. In August, it rejected criticism of its hiring policy and said it now had more than 300 staff working on trade policy and 3,200 worldwide. The EU has around 40 FTA agreements with external countries, the biggest being those with Switzerland and South Korea. Reporting by William James, editing by Ed Osmond '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-trade/uks-copy-and-paste-trade-policy-forced-by-lack-of-negotiating-capacity-official-idUKKCN1BF2FR'|'2017-09-05T00:08:00.000+03:00'
'b3d1ad6eabb72517cdb7c0445326d8c8f8fd8725'|'UPDATE 1-Toshiba shares gain after Western Digital offers to exit chip bid for better JV terms'|'* Toshiba shares rise more than 4 percent* Western Digital offers to drop out of a group bidding* Toshiba board to meet on Wednesday to discuss the chip unit sale (Adds details on board meeting, share price, background)TOKYO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Toshiba shares rose more than 4 percent on Wednesday after sources told Reuters that Western Digital Corp has offered to drop out of a group bidding for its flash memory chip business to take a stronger position in their joint venture instead.The move could see Toshiba finally seal a deal to sell the chip business after months of delays, providing it with the funds needed to cover billions of dollars in liabilities arising from the failure of U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse.Toshiba’s board is due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the deal, the sources have told Reuters. Western Digital’s potential participation will be the subject of future talks among the consortium members, they said.Toshiba and Western Digital failed to seal a deal by a previously-planned deadline last week due to a disagreement over the U.S. firm’s future stake in the business, sources have said.Failure to clinch a sale in the next few weeks could mean that it may not clear all necessary regulatory approvals by the end of the financial year in March, which would likely lead to Toshiba reporting negative equity for two years in a row, increasing its chances of its shares being delisted.Toshiba shares had gained 4.17 percent to 325 yen at 0034 GMT, while the benchmark Nikkei share average had tumbled to a four-month low.Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Junko Fujita; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-shares/update-1-toshiba-shares-gain-after-western-digital-offers-to-exit-chip-bid-for-better-jv-terms-idINL4N1LN03C'|'2017-09-05T22:38:00.000+03:00'
'5b115798d86083b9e0b17d9a50befe2b5aa795e9'|'Britain asks companies to publicly back Brexit strategy - sources'|'September 6, 2017 / 3:29 PM / in 3 minutes Britain asks companies to publicly back Brexit strategy - sources Kate Holton , Andrew MacAskill 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The British government has asked FTSE 100 companies to sign a public letter endorsing its Brexit strategy, four sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, risking further strains with firms who are reluctant to agree. Britain’s vote last year to leave the European Union has damaged relations between major companies and the government, with businesses increasingly concerned that moves to leave the single market and customs union would damage their operations. On Wednesday, many were alarmed at a leaked government report that set out plans to curb immigration for lower skilled workers while others have complained that they have little visibility of how Brexit will unfold. “We believe this is a good time for employers to work with government and parliament to make a success of Brexit and secure a bright future for our country,” said the letter, circulated to FTSE 100 companies. A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May declined to comment but said there had been lots of engagement with companies over Brexit. It is not the first time a government has asked big business to lend its support, with high profile figures previously signing letters published in national newspapers that backed the policies of former prime minister David Cameron. “We welcome the government’s commitment to negotiating an interim period so that firms can ensure they are ready to adapt to the changing relationships and thrive under the new partnership being created with the EU,” it adds. One source said the Brexit letter was received last Thursday and said the government hoped to publish it as early as this Thursday. The source, who said they had not decided whether to sign, added that the contents often change as companies agree to comply. Another source said they had also read the letter. Two other sources said they were reluctant to commit. ”This certainly raised a few eyebrows,“ a FTSE 100 executive, who is in regular talks with the government, told Reuters. ”We are very reluctant to be dragged into politics at the best of times. Right now we don’t want to endorse a plan that is going to do enormous damage to our industry. The second source said they had “no appetite to sign”. Jonathan Reynolds, City spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, described the government as “desperately trying to canvass support” for its Brexit negotiations. “It’s telling and alarming that business leaders have so little confidence in this government’s approach that they are reluctant to sign even this lukewarm statement,” he said. Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-companies/britain-asks-companies-to-publicly-back-brexit-strategy-sources-idUKKCN1BH258'|'2017-09-06T18:46:00.000+03:00'
'27ec6a8a02d0e77964ea4a640b40ea70bf180b8c'|'Citi to hire 100 wealth management staff in Australia'|'Sept 5 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc said on Tuesday it planned to hire 100 wealth management staff in Australia in the next three years to lure more high net worth clients.The hiring is part of an effort to triple the number of wealth management clients in Australia, Citigroup said.Australia has the third-biggest population of high net worth individuals in the Asia Pacific region, with more than 230,000 people with A$1 million ($795,800) to invest, said Gonzalo Luchetti, Citigroup’s head of Asia-Pacific retail banking.“There is opportunity for Citi Australia to leverage its global brand awareness in the region and capture a larger share of this group,” Luchetti said in a statement.The new hiring comes after Citigroup’s Australian wealth management unit’s 14 percent rise in assets under management in 2016, the company said.In Australia, Citigroup serves over a million customer accounts and 900 corporate accounts. In Asia Pacific, it is aiming for “mid-teen growth” in its number of clients in 2017, it said. ($1 = 1.2566 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Christina Martin in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye and Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/citigroup-australia/citi-to-hire-100-wealth-management-staff-in-australia-idUSL4N1LM26O'|'2017-09-05T09:01:00.000+03:00'
'7fcea07f1f48ecd3af7e321caebd7fcdc63671d3'|'Russia''s Putin says row with Exxon over Sakhalin-1 is resolved'|'September 7, 2017 / 8:02 AM / Updated an hour ago Russia''s Putin says row with Exxon over Sakhalin-1 is resolved Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A vessel leaves the Orlan oil plattform at Sakhalin-1''s off-shore rig at the Chaivo field, some 11 km (7 miles) off the east cost of Sakhalin island October 10, 2006. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - A dispute with U.S. major ExxonMobil over the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project has been resolved, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. Speaking at a conference in the Russian Pacific port city of Vladivostok, he said that the government will soon announce the decision. Exxon has been in talks with Russian gas giant Gazprom for years over gas sales from Sakhalin-1. Gazprom has a monopoly on gas exports via pipeline from Russia. Exxon also lodged a claim with a court of arbitration in Stockholm in 2015 seeking the return of $637 million which it said it had over-paid in taxes to the Russian exchequer. Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; Katya Golubkova and Denis Pinchuk; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-exxon-putin/russias-putin-says-row-with-exxon-over-sakhalin-1-is-resolved-idINKCN1BI0WV'|'2017-09-07T11:01:00.000+03:00'
'5d39e8403b7fdf497065255f6e9a566091baa3c3'|'China''s virtual coin fundraising ban just the start of tighter regulations - Yicai'|'September 5, 2017 / 2:19 AM / 16 minutes ago China''s virtual coin fundraising ban just the start of tighter regulations - Yicai Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China is poised to further tighten rules on virtual currencies after regulators on Monday banned virtual coin fundraising schemes, Chinese financial news outlet Yicai reported citing sources. China banned and deemed illegal the practice of raising funds through launches of token-based digital currencies, targeting so-called initial coin offerings (ICO) in a market that has exploded since the start of the year. Yicai’s report late Monday cited a source close to decision-makers as saying the announcement on the ban was just the start of further follow-up regulations of virtual currencies. In total, $2.32 billion (1.8 billion pounds) has been raised through ICOs globally, with $2.16 billion of that being raised since the start of 2017, according to cryptocurrency analysis website Cryptocompare. Bitcoin rival Ethereum, which token-issuers usually ask to be paid in and which has seen dramatic growth this year, fell sharply on the news. It was down almost 20 percent on Monday at $283, according to trade publication Coindesk. Bitcoin was also down 8 percent, while the total value of all cryptocurrencies was down around 10 percent after China’s ban was announced, according to industry website Coinmarketcap.com. Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-finance-digital/chinas-virtual-coin-fundraising-ban-just-the-start-of-tighter-regulations-yicai-idUKKCN1BG064'|'2017-09-05T05:19:00.000+03:00'
'8334cd9adb6c6670352f6e2820b77b86def45d1d'|'Stocks tentative after selloff on North Korea fears'|'September 5, 2017 / 1:13 AM / 2 hours ago Asia stocks on defensive after selloff on North Korea fears Hideyuki Sano 5 Min Read Employees of a foreign exchange trading company work near monitors showing TV news on North Korea''s nuclear test (R) and the Japanese yen''s exchange rate against the Euro and the U.S. dollar (L) in Tokyo, Japan September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares eked out small gains on Tuesday as expectations that Beijing will maintain support for its economy ahead of a key congress supported Chinese stocks and metals prices, but worries about North Korea kept many investors on edge. European shares were expected rise slightly after a slide on Monday. Spread betters see Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC gaining 0.3 percent and Britain’s FTSE 0.1 percent. But Wall Street looked set to open slightly softer after a long holiday weekend during which Pyongyang triggered its most powerful nuclear test yet. S&P500 mini futures, which had slid on Monday, last stood at 2,469, 0.2 percent below Friday’s close. MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent thanks to gains in Chinese shares, though many markets were in the red. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.6 percent on fears that more provocation from North Korea is possible. Media said the North appeared to be preparing for further ballistic missile tests. The White House said on Monday that “all options to address the North Korean threat are on the table” while U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley urged the 15-member U.N. Security Council to impose the “strongest possible” sanctions to deter Pyongyang. “It’s not clear whether diplomacy can solve this problem given it has failed for the last 25 years,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. “But the U.S. doesn’t seem to be ready for a military action soon, either. So we are likely to see continued stalemate, which will keep a tab on share prices.” Fears about North Korea kept safe-haven assets in demand, with gold rising 0.1 percent to $1,336 per ounce, after having hit a 11-month high of $1,339.8 on Monday. In the currency market, the yen, which usually gains on risk aversion due to Japan’s net creditor nation status, gained 0.4 percent to 109.32 yen to the dollar, near Monday’s high of 109.22 yen. The euro slightly extended its gains to trade at $1.1905. But it kept some distance from a 2-1/2-year high of $1.2070 hit last week on rising expectations that a stronger euro could slow the European Central Bank’s (ECB) plans to rein in its bond-buying stimulus scheme. The Chinese yuan hit a near 16-month high of 6.515 per dollar. It has gained 2.0 percent in less than two weeks, a sizable move for the pair, in response to dollar weakness and a series of stronger midpoints set by the central bank. The Shanghai composite index of mainland Chinese shares hit its highest levels since January 2016, due to solid economic and earnings growth in China in recent months and expectations that Beijing will not tolerate any disruptions ahead of a key Communist Party Congress in mid-October. Such expectations also helped to lift copper to a near three-year of $6,944.5 per tonne. It last stood at $6,933, up 0.2 percent on the day. The prices of steel and iron ore have rallied in recent weeks. But some analysts say profit-taking in base metals could start soon. “Now that Beijing fixed its schedule on the national congress, it may no longer accelerate infrastructure spending,” said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior economist at Nomura Securities. “We should be mindful of the possibility that iron ores, steel and other non-ferrous metals will peak out soon.” U.S. crude oil prices edged higher while U.S. gasoline prices slumped to pre-Hurricane Harvey levels, as oil refineries and pipelines in the U.S. Gulf Coast slowly resumed activity, easing supply concerns. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ticked up 0.2 percent to trade at $47.38 per barrel. The return of U.S. refineries ended a spike in gasoline prices as initial fears of a serious supply crunch faded. U.S. gasoline futures dropped 4.1 percent from their last close, to $1.67 per gallon, down from $2.17 touched on Aug. 31 and back to levels last seen before Harvey hit the U.S. Gulf coast and its large refining industry. Elsewhere, bitcoin dropped further from Saturday’s all-time high of $4,979.9 to trade at $4,012 after China on Monday banned the practice of raising funds through launches of token-based digital currencies, or so-called initial coin offerings (ICO). Editing by Richard Borsuk and Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/stocks-tentative-after-selloff-on-north-korea-fears-idUKKCN1BG02I'|'2017-09-05T04:13:00.000+03:00'
'5c38f67f862835a505275c52194a4a2b4037ac23'|'UPDATE 1-China to loan Guinea $20 bln to secure aluminium ore'|'(Adds details, background, Quote: s)By Saliou SambCONAKRY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - China agreed on Wednesday to loan Guinea $20 billion over almost 20 years in exchange for concessions on bauxite, an ore of aluminium which the West African country has in abundance, the mines minister said.The projects guaranteed by the loan included China Power Investment Corp’s (CPI) planned alumina refinery and Aluminium Corp of China’s (Chalco) bauxite mine and another bauxite project by China Henan International Cooperation Group, all of them in the northwestern town of Boffa.“Those are the three projects targeted as priorities for the first phase,” Mines Minister Abdoulaye Magassouba told Reuters. “The revenues these projects generate will serve as reimbursement for the loans.”The minister said the money would be spent on badly needed infrastructure - Guinea is one of the world’s least developed countries - a roads-for-minerals formula that China often uses to gain access to Africa’s resources.Projects earmarked included roads in the capital Guinea and highways upcountry, a project for extending the port of Conakry, an electric transmission line and the building of a university, Magassouba said.Chalco said last month it plans to invest $500 million in the project in Boffa, about 200 kilometres from the capital Conakry, which was abandoned by BHP Billiton in 2013. The $6 billion CPI alumina project has been on the cards since at least 2012.Guinea, Africa’s leading bauxite producer, holds some of the world’s richest bauxite and iron ore deposits, including the Simandou iron ore deposit, in its remote east, which is mired in legal disputes but has nevertheless attracted intense interest from China. (Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/guinea-mining-china/update-1-china-to-loan-guinea-20-bln-to-secure-aluminium-ore-idUSL8N1LN4HT'|'2017-09-06T23:05:00.000+03:00'
'35f71e58fca1bc32b0c8f38902df87c86b1d6612'|'Hudson''s Bay reports wider loss but higher sales'|'TORONTO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Hudson’s Bay Co reported a steeper-than-forecast quarterly loss but better-than-expected retail sales, helped in part by new store openings, and said it continued to evaluate opportunities for its real estate.The Saks Fifth Avenue owner posted a net loss of C$201 million, or C$1.10 a share, more than the C$142 million net loss, or 78 Canadian cents-a-share loss reported a year ago.Analysts had expected a net loss of C$116.1 million, or 60 Canadian cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Total sales rose 1.2 percent to C$3.29 billion, compared with expectations of C$3.26 billion, while total comparable sales fell 1.3 percent on a constant currency basis, while sales at Saks Fifth Avenue rose 1.7 percent. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Peter Cooney) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/hudsons-bay-results/hudsons-bay-reports-wider-loss-but-higher-sales-idUSL2N1LM0YI'|'2017-09-06T00:21:00.000+03:00'
'f76df3eae5b5f3670b83364c6aa2b50125f03a48'|'UPDATE 1-Scotiabank CEO says BBVA Chile a "once in lifetime" opportunity'|'September 6, 2017 / 2:05 PM / 9 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Scotiabank CEO says BBVA Chile a "once in lifetime" opportunity Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Recasts, adds background on potential acquisition) TORONTO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia Chief Executive Brian Porter said on Wednesday the bank’s potential acquisition of BBVA’s retail business in Chile was a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” The bank was currently undertaking due diligence on the business, which has a market value of about $2.1 billion, Porter said. “These opportunities don’t come along very often,” he said at the Scotiabank Financials Summit. Scotiabank, which has the biggest foreign presence of any Canadian bank, is focusing its international strategy on the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc comprising Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia. The bank said last month that its capital strength, which is the strongest of Canada’s major banks, gave it “flexibility to grow and invest.” (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Frances Kerry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bbva-chile-scotiabank/update-1-scotiabank-ceo-says-bbva-chile-a-once-in-lifetime-opportunity-idUSL2N1LN0VR'|'2017-09-06T17:03:00.000+03:00'
'ce828757639d9b7678b1a5086df041f1e880b668'|'LME to upgrade electronic trading system after complaints'|'September 6, 2017 / 1:48 PM / in 12 minutes LME to upgrade electronic trading system after complaints Peter Hobson 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Men walk past the London Metal Exchange (LME) in London, July 22, 2011. REUTERS/Paul Hackett/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) is set to upgrade and strengthen its electronic trading system after falling volumes and user complaints about outages and poor functionality. The LME launched a discussion on market structure and reform in April after trading volumes fell 4.3 percent in 2015 and 7.7 percent in 2016. It will publish the results on Thursday. It is expected to cut some fees, seek consensus on reducing rents for storing metal in its network of warehouses, encourage trading of monthly contracts and highlight potential investments in its electronic trading platform, LMEselect. Brokers and traders say they have complained to the LME about frequent disconnections and glitches on LMEselect. “It has more outages than it should do,” said a source at a major commodities-trading bank. “It’s a credibility issue for the LME.” Necessary upgrades were likely to cost tens of millions of dollars, sources said. “Enough people have made a point of highlighting LMEselect in their responses to the discussion paper,” said a source at a metals broker. “It gives the LME ammunition for HKEx.” Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) ( 0388.HK ), bought the LME in 2012 for $2.2 billion. Around a third of LME volumes come through LMEselect, which launched in 2001, with the remainder traded in open outcry and via telephone. The head of a metals brokerage said outages had occurred every few months on LMEselect, sometimes lasting up to four hours. Investors have also complained that LMEselect’s opening hours do not suit traders in the United States and that the system cannot perform sophisticated functions for industrial metals trading such as implied pricing. Implied pricing involves extrapolating prices for contracts that mature on one date from trading activity on other dates, something common on other exchanges. “LMEselect technology is old, slow and prone to freezing over, not a good situation when you have a client order.” said another source at a metals broker. The LME said its discussion paper had proposed ways to increase the processing power of LMEselect, and these could enable functionality such as extrapolated prices. “Should the LME decide to take this or another proposal forward, we would of course make the necessary investments to make this possible,” it said. Reporting by Peter Hobson; Additional reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lme-reform-select/lme-to-upgrade-electronic-trading-system-after-complaints-idUKKCN1BH1W3'|'2017-09-06T16:48:00.000+03:00'
'e9fe1f84a7eebaed3f937d7821b299a4a10c347c'|'BRIEF-Spotify picks Courtney Holt from Disney to lead its efforts around original video and podcast programming- source'|' 30 PM / 9 minutes ago BRIEF-Spotify picks Courtney Holt from Disney to lead its efforts around original video and podcast programming- source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 6 (Reuters) - * Spotify picks Courtney Holt from Disney to lead its efforts around original video and podcast programming- source Source'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-spotify-picks-courtney-holt-from-d/brief-spotify-picks-courtney-holt-from-disney-to-lead-its-efforts-around-original-video-and-podcast-programming-source-idUSFWN1LN0NL'|'2017-09-06T21:29:00.000+03:00'
'0b783a89d543fa9854907df8332cc0133b709cd2'|'Teck expects lower steelmaking coal prices in Q3'|' 45 PM / 9 minutes ago Teck expects lower steelmaking coal prices in Q3 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 6 (Reuters) - Teck Resources Ltd said it expected lower average realized prices on the sale of steelmaking coal for the third quarter. Teck, the largest North American producer of steelmaking - or coking - coal, said it expects prices to be between $158 and $163 per tonne, lower than the $170 benchmark price it set for the quarter. However, the Vancouver, Canada-based company raised its steelmaking coal sales volume forecast for the quarter to between 7.2 and 7.5 million tonnes, citing strong demand. The company had earlier forecast sales volume of at least 7 million tonnes. (Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/teck-resources-pricing/teck-expects-lower-steelmaking-coal-prices-in-q3-idUSL4N1LN4AF'|'2017-09-06T16:45:00.000+03:00'
'2f7f896c9cf3ad2ce1509e5c100227cc58d20326'|'Airbus issues safety alert on Tiger helicopters flying in turbulence'|'September 6, 2017 / 1:46 PM / in 33 minutes Airbus issues safety alert on Tiger helicopters flying in turbulence Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - German Air Force Tiger attack helicopters land during a flight demonstration by German Bundeswehr at the U.S. military base in Grafenwoehr, Germany, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle BERLIN (Reuters) - Airbus Helicopters, citing observations from an investigation into the crash of one of its Tiger helicopters during a U.N. mission in Mali, has urged operators to keep environmental factors in mind when using auto pilot during turbulence. The unit of European aerospace giant Airbus ( AIR.PA ) said its “alert service bulletin” should not be seen as an indication of the possible cause of the crash in July, which killed both crew members, but was intended to increase operators’ safety. “Specifically, we want to standardise all flight manuals and remind operators that crews must adjust their attention to environmental conditions while using the auto pilot during turbulence,” the company said in the bulletin. Airbus, which was brought into the Mali crash investigation in mid-August, said there were no parallels between that accident and the situation that caused the crash of an Airbus H225 helicopter in Norway in 2016, killing 13 people. Norwegian investigators concluded in April that the 2016 crash was the result of metal fatigue in the aircraft’s gearbox. German officials continue to investigate the cause of the crash in the Mali desert. The German defence ministry, in a report last month, said the aircraft began to break up while in flight, losing its rotor, but said it was too early to speculate about the causes of the crash. Officials say it could take months to complete the probe. At the time of the crash, they said there were no signs the helicopter was downed by an attack. Germany’s deployment of four Tiger helicopters to Mali earlier this year was controversial since the aircraft required extra maintenance given the strong heat and other environmental conditions in the African country, although officials say the aircraft had been performing normally. Germany agreed to deploy four of its then fleet of 27 Tiger helicopters and four NH-90 transport helicopters to Mali earlier this year after the Dutch military said it could not continue the work. But Germany’s increased support was heavily debated in parliament, and required a waiver from the German military allowing the helicopters to operate in higher temperatures. Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-helicopters/airbus-issues-safety-alert-on-tiger-helicopters-flying-in-turbulence-idUKKCN1BH1VJ'|'2017-09-06T16:46:00.000+03:00'
'213ebd68f3b493989ba3ae75e1bf302ef498de14'|'United Tech not planning breakup after $23 billion Rockwell'|'September 5, 2017 / 12:57 PM / in 2 hours United Tech defends $23 billion Rockwell deal, Boeing turns critic Alwyn Scott 4 Min Read Traders work at the post where United Technologies stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) defended its $23 billion acquisition of avionics maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ) on Tuesday, as Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said it was skeptical the deal would benefit airlines. United Tech shares fell 5 percent as some analysts downgraded the company, citing its decision to halt share buybacks for three to four years and dilution from the cash-and-stock deal. Boeing said it would take a hard look at the combination, the largest in aerospace history, and use the power granted by its contracts with the companies, and its sway with regulators, “to protect our interests.” United Tech Chief Executive Greg Hayes earlier on Tuesday said he had assured Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) CEO Tom Enders that the Pratt & Whitney engine division will stay focused on delivering between 350 and 400 jetliner engines this year. Airbus raised concern about the Rockwell acquisition last week, and Boeing has been known to oppose deals if suppliers gain too much power or risk losing focus. “Pratt has nothing to do with this deal,” Hayes told Reuters. “They won’t be part of the integration efforts” combining United Tech’s separate aerospace unit with Rockwell Collins to create Collins Aerospace. Hayes also knocked down speculation that the purchase would prompt United Tech to spin off its Carrier air conditioner or Otis elevator units, saying the company needs their cash flow to help pay down debt from the deal. But Hayes did not rule out such sales in the longer term. “After the deal is done, and after we pay down some debt, we’re going to go back and look,” he said. FILE PHOTO: The ticker symbol for United Technologies is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo If the company’s share price does not reflect its value, he said, “we’ll need to do something.” United Tech could sell “non-core pieces” such as home security in the meantime, Hayes said. But given taxes and lost earnings, “it’s hard to make financial sense out of those transactions” unless they fetch a high price, he said. Rockwell''s shares rose 0.5 percent to $131.26 in mid-day trading. United Tech shares, part of the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI , fell 4.9 percent to $112.18. “We see limited upside near term as share repurchase is withdrawn and deal timing becomes an investor focus,” analyst Jeff Sprague at Vertical Research Partners said in a note. United Tech had planned $2 billion in buybacks in the second half of 2017, he said. The acquisition, announced on Monday, would create a major supplier to Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) at a time when the plane makers are pressing for price cuts and trying to compete against suppliers on services and spare parts. It also marks the rise of a second engines-to-seating supplier, after jet-engine maker Safran SA’s ( SAF.PA ) pending $7.7-billion deal to buy seat maker Zodiac Aerospace ( ZODC.PA ). Safran said on Tuesday it would look at assets that might come up for sale after the United Tech-Rockwell deal. United Tech’s engines and systems portfolio has little overlap with the avionics, seats and interiors businesses of Rockwell, which Hayes said should mean little trouble during the necessary regulatory review. United Tech expects to borrow $15 billion and will assume $7 billion in Rockwell debt to fund the deal, which is expected to close by the third quarter of 2018. United Tech said the acquisition would add to earnings in its first full year and yield at least $500 million in cost savings by the fourth year of operation. Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, Tim Hepher and Mike Stone; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rockwell-collins-m-a-utc-divestment/united-tech-sees-limited-divestment-needs-cash-flow-to-reduce-debt-idINKCN1BG1RJ'|'2017-09-05T10:57:00.000+03:00'
'550c8687c0cb514f063f7b323c1a4bda238591b7'|'German family-owned Zeitfracht joins bidding for Air Berlin'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:42 AM / in 12 minutes German family-owned Zeitfracht joins bidding for Air Berlin Reuters Staff 1 Min Read German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht   expressed its interested in bidding for insolvent airline Air Berlin, citing opportunities for air freight business. “Ideally, we would like to keep Air Berlin intact in its entirety,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday, adding it expected to be given access to Air Berlin’s books swiftly so it could submit a formal offer by the Sept. 15 deadline. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Edward Taylor'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa-zeitfracht/german-family-owned-zeitfracht-joins-bidding-for-air-berlin-idUKKCN1BG0UT'|'2017-09-05T10:42:00.000+03:00'
'6b0231b02b6cb83b81a47c18a26a46ca5e5dd6af'|'Ireland to repay last of IMF bailout loans to cut interest bill'|' 09 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Ireland to repay last of IMF bailout loans to cut interest bill Padraic Halpin 2 Min Read The International Monetary Fund logo is seen during the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland is to seek early repayment of 5.5 billion euros (£5.03 billion) of loans taken under its 2010 EU-IMF bailout and hopes to save around 150 million euros by refinancing the money at cheaper rates, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said on Thursday. As part of the deal, the government plans to repay the last of its bailout debt to the International Monetary Fund of 4.5 billion euros, Donohoe said. The loans were part of a 64 billion euros EU-IMF bailout taken by Ireland after a property crash triggered a banking crisis in a bailout programme that forced the government to impose years of painful austerity. “This is a sign that we’re putting our dark days in the past,” Donohoe told reporters. The government will also seek to repay 600 million euros owed to Sweden and 400 million to Denmark in bilateral loans that were part of the bailout package. But Donohoe said he would not seek early repayment of a British bilateral bailout loan as its fixed terms would not allow for any savings. In 2014 and 2015 Ireland made similar moves to reduce the cost of its debt through the early repayment of its more expensive IMF bailout loans, replacing the debt with funds raised at cheaper market rates to save around 1.5 billion euros. In addition to interest savings, the current transaction will provide liquidity benefits and increase the ECB’s purchase capacity for Irish government bonds in its quantitative easing programme, the Finance Ministry said. Ireland has been keen in recent months to issue new debt to replenish the scarce pool of Irish debt eligible for the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme. The ECB cut its monthly purchases of Irish bonds earlier this year after nearing a self-imposed limit of holding 33 percent of any country’s debt, a pressure Ireland can help alleviate by issuing new eligible debt. Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-debt/ireland-to-repay-last-of-imf-bailout-loans-to-cut-interest-bill-idUKKCN1BI1WJ'|'2017-09-07T17:09:00.000+03:00'
'48bbc7813c97babaaf81d24bc20dc441d5179cdc'|'New Zealand unit of Topshop placed in receivership'|'WELLINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The New Zealand arm of British fashion retailer Topshop said on Thursday that it had been placed in receivership, just two years after the brand arrived in the country.Top Retail Limited, which owns the licence to operate Topshop in New Zealand, said in an emailed statement that its two stores would stay open until a final decision was made on their ownership.Like its Australian counterpart, the chain has struggled amid increased competition and posted losses, its receiver firm McGrathNicol said in a statement.As in many countries, New Zealand’s retail sector has been hurt as consumers replace visits to brick-and-mortar stores with online shopping.In neighbouring Australia, the chain had also suffered in the soft retail market and was placed under administration in May. Four Australian stores had managed to stay afloat after a restructure in which Britain’s Arcadia Group Ltd bought back parts of Topshop from its Australian franchise.Topshop opened its doors in New Zealand in 2015 to social media fanfare and long queues of people. It operates stores on the mainstreets of the capital, Wellington, and the country’s largest city, Auckland. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/newzealand-retail-topshop/new-zealand-unit-of-topshop-placed-in-receivership-idINL4N1LO1EP'|'2017-09-07T01:05:00.000+03:00'
'58d665375496e05724cb5085ccc25529c0024db1'|'EU plans rule change to increase taxes on online giants'|' 46 PM / 14 minutes ago EU plans rule change to increase taxes on online giants Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers are set to discuss next week rule changes aimed at increasing taxes on digital multinationals such as Google and Amazon, an EU document seen by Reuters said. Online giants are facing increasing pressure in Europe over the low tax they pay, but states have often found it difficult to raise the bill because existing rules limit the taxation rights to the countries where companies are physically present. The current legal framework favours digital companies over their physical counterparts and deprives states of valuable tax revenues, the Estonian presidency of the EU said in a document prepared for an informal meeting of finance ministers in Tallinn on Sept 15-16. The document proposes a reform of international tax rules to change the concept of “permanent establishment” so that digital multinationals could be taxed where they create value, and not only in countries where they have established their tax residence. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-tax-digital/eu-plans-rule-change-to-increase-taxes-on-online-giants-idUKKCN1BH20J'|'2017-09-06T17:47:00.000+03:00'
'54a132f6f2947dea9c5c0611e75eb28e09a9c083'|'U.S. to unveil revised self-driving car guidelines: sources'|'File Photo - A prototype of Google''s own self-driving vehicle is seen during a media preview of Google''s current autonomous vehicles in Mountain View, California September 29, 2015. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration is set to unveil revised self-driving vehicle guidelines next week in Michigan, responding to automakers’ calls for elimination of legal barriers to putting autonomous vehicles on the road, sources briefed on the matter said on Tuesday.U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was expected to unveil the revised guidelines next Tuesday at a self-driving vehicle testing facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, four people briefed on the matter said.A spokesman for Chao did not immediately comment. The White House Office of Management and Budget approved the undisclosed Transportation Department changes to the guidelines on Aug. 31, according a posting on a government website.On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a sweeping proposal to speed deployment of self-driving cars without human controls and bar states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The measure could help many automakers and tech companies keep their pledges of getting self-driving cars on the market by 2020 or 2021.The House will vote on the bill under fast-track rules that allow no amendments. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators working on similar legislation has not introduced a bill.The bill, passed unanimously by a House panel in July, would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to 25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the first year. Over three years, the cap would rise to 100,000 vehicles annually.The House measure would require automakers to provide regulators with safety assessment reports proposed in the 2016 self-driving guidelines, but would not require pre-market approval of advanced vehicle technologies.Consumer advocates have called for giving the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration quicker access to crash data and more funding to oversee self-driving cars.Automakers and technology companies, including General Motors Coand Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit Waymo, have sought easier federal rules for self-driving technology, while some consumer groups have pushed for more safeguards.The Obama administration issued guidelines for self-driving cars in September 2016, calling on automakers to voluntarily submit details of self-driving vehicle systems in a 15-point “safety assessment” and urging states to defer to the federal government on most vehicle regulations.Automakers raised numerous concerns about the Obama administration guidance, including the suggestion that automakers should submit systems to regulators for review before putting them on the market.Companies including Waymo, GM, Ford Motor Co, Uber Technologies Inc, Tesla Inc and others are aggressively pursuing automated vehicle technologies.Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-vehicles-selfdriving/u-s-to-unveil-revised-self-driving-car-guidelines-sources-idUSKCN1BG345'|'2017-09-06T05:46:00.000+03:00'
'f057bd06451457d14109c73ec6cbc5c86c066a30'|'Vodafone sells down shareholding in South Africa''s Vodacom'|'September 6, 2017 / 11:06 AM / in 7 minutes Vodafone sells down shareholding in South Africa''s Vodacom Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A branded sign is displayed on a Vodafone store in London, Britain May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Vodafone ( VOD.L ) has sold down its stake in South African subsidiary Vodacom ( VODJ.J ) by 5.2 percentage points, it announced on Wednesday, sending the African mobile firm’s share price down by more than 6 percent. The sale of 90 million shares for 14.85 billion rand (£880.26 million) in a private placement reduces Vodafone’s stake in Vodacom to 64.5 percent. The sale follows Vodafone’s move to consolidate its African holdings by selling most of its holding in Kenya’s Safaricom ( SCOM.NR ) to Vodacom in exchange for a larger stake in the South African company. That deal pushed the proportion of the South African firm’s shares that are traded on the Johannesburg Security Exchange below the JSE’s minimum threshold of 20 percent. “As part of the Safaricom transaction, Vodafone therefore committed to Vodacom that it would sell down a sufficient number of shares to ensure that Vodacom will meet the 20 percent minimum free float requirement on the JSE,” Vodafone and Vodacom said in a combined statement. After the South African market closed on Tuesday Vodafone sold the shares to institutional investors for 165 rand apiece, which compared with Vodacom’s closing price of 178.30 rand. Shares in Vodacom, South Africa’s market leader which now also holds a 35 percent stake in Safaricom, were down 6.5 percent at 166.75 rand at 1049 GMT. Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vodafone-group-vodacom-grp/vodafone-sells-down-shareholding-in-south-africas-vodacom-idUKKCN1BH1EF'|'2017-09-06T14:06:00.000+03:00'
'3c06e1c9d51a19255e867b6d3168268ccbb93f64'|'Barcelo hires Santander to study offer for NH Hotel Group: El Confidencial'|'MADRID (Reuters) - Family-owned Spanish hotel group Barcelo has hired Santander bank ( SAN.MC ) to study a possible takeover of NH Hotel Group ( NHH.MC ) in a move that could create one of the biggest hotel chains in Spain, El Confidencial reported on Wednesday, citing sources with knowledge of the process.Although no formal talks have started, initial contact has been made between shareholders, the online newspaper said.Neither Barcelo, NH or Santander were available for comment on Wednesday. Shares in NH rose 4.5 percent in early trade.The purchase of a 29.5 percent stake in NH by China’s HNA Group ( 0521.HK ) ( 000616.SZ ) last year has led to a shareholder face-off at the hotel chain.Almost 60 percent of NH’s shareholders backed a motion to oust HNA-appointed board members at its annual meeting in June over what they said was a conflict of interest from the Chinese conglomerate’s takeover of a rival hotel group.HNA filed a lawsuit in September last year asking for the decision to be reversed. A Madrid court dismissed the claim on Tuesday.Barcelo Hotel Group has more than 100 hotels in 20 countries.Reporting By Andres Gonzalez; Writing by Sonya Dowsett '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nh-hoteles-m-a-barcelo/barcelo-hires-santander-to-study-offer-for-nh-hotel-group-el-confidencial-idINKCN1BH0UC'|'2017-09-06T05:33:00.000+03:00'
'541015f9363e941625718eb23582ea6266bcfdcf'|'UPDATE 1-United orders more Airbus A350s but drops largest model'|' 19 PM / 12 minutes ago UPDATE 1-United orders more Airbus A350s but drops largest model Reuters Staff (Adds quote, details, background) By Tim Hepher PARIS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - United Airlines has ordered 10 extra Airbus A350 jetliners, ditching the largest model, the A350-1000, in favour of the smaller and more popular A350-900 whilst delaying deliveries to save cash, the companies said on Wednesday. United Airlines will now take 45 A350-900 aircraft instead of 35 of the upcoming A350-1000, which is in flight trials before the first delivery later this year. The move is a double-edged result for Airbus, sacrificing what had been seen as a key endorsement for its A350-1000 but preserving a place in the wide-body fleet at United after a review that had raised doubts over the A350’s future at the airline. United Airline’s finance chief Andrew Levy told a Cowen and Co conference that the 325-seat A350-900 was a “better fit” for United’s network. The aircraft will be used to replace United’s Boeing 777-200ER jets, which start to reach 25 years of age in 2022. Industry sources said United could still opt for the A350-1000 or other types if its fleet needs evolve. “We have many more options that we can exercise at similar attractive economics,” Levy said. The A350 order was held over from United Airlines’ fleet plans before it merged in 2010 with Continental Airlines, which had previously had an exclusive relationship with Boeing. Industry analysts said the A350-1000 risked being crowded out of the world’s largest airline, which had also placed significant orders for the competing Boeing 777-300ER. However, the airline also plans to delay taking delivery of A350s, a decision that typically results in negotiations with the planemaker to reduce extra costs for the airline. United Continental Holdings, the airline’s parent group, said it had deferred its A350 deliveries to late 2022 through 2027, lowering near-term capital spending by $1 billion . The revised deal is worth another $1.5 billion for Airbus at list prices. The 366-seat A350-1000 has a catalogue price of $359.3 million, compared with $311.2 million for the A350-900. Aircraft are typically sold at discounts. The A350-1000 was launched to compete with the older Boeing 777-300ER, whose production is slowing as a result. But Airbus has also struggled to preserve momentum at the top of its twin-engined range after Boeing fought back with the larger 777X. Orders for the A350-1000 peaked in July at 212 units, when they represented a quarter of all cumulative orders for the A350 family. The latest reshuffle reduces that percentage to a five-year low of 20.6 percent, a Reuters analysis shows. Additional reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Brian Love and Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/airbus-united/update-1-united-orders-more-airbus-a350s-but-drops-largest-model-idUSL8N1LN3OV'|'2017-09-06T19:19:00.000+03:00'
'06b668ff3f162665aaf48b5c1f130871ac543722'|'France kicks off privatisations with sale of Engie stake'|'September 5, 2017 / 10:21 PM / 40 minutes ago France kicks off privatisations with sale of Engie stake Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of French gas and power group Engie is seen at the CRIGEN, the Engie Group research and operational expertise center, in Saint-Denis near Paris, France, Saint-Denis, France, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - The French government kicked off a planned asset sales plan with the sale of a 4.5 percent stake in gas utility Engie SA ( ENGIE.PA ) for 1.53 billion euros (1.40 billion pounds), the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a statement that the Engie sale is the first step in a 10 billion-euro state asset sales plan announced in July. “The proceeds of this operation will go towards the planned innovation fund,” Le Maire said. He added that the state wants to deploy its resources where they are most needed, notably to fund innovation. New French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to redeploy state funds locked up in companies in non-strategic, mature industries to invest in innovative start-up companies. State holding company APE said in a separate statement that following the stake sale - which included the sale of a 4.1 percent stake to institutional investors at 13.80 euros per share - the APE will hold 24.1 percent of Engie’s capital and 27.6 percent of the voting rights. The state remains the leading Engie shareholder following the sale, APE said. The operation also included the sale of a 0.46 percent stake to Engie itself, which will be used for employee share awards. Banking sources told Reuters last month that the national lottery, Paris’s main airport operator, Engie and several other firms deemed not strategic were set to be part of a wave of French privatisations this autumn. Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-privatisations-engie/france-kicks-off-privatisations-with-sale-of-engie-stake-idUKKCN1BG37P'|'2017-09-06T01:21:00.000+03:00'
'ece7f42fc86112ee683030248c6793a351e535f7'|'ECB working on licensing rules for fintechs, Nouy says'|'September 6, 2017 / 8:34 AM / in 38 minutes ECB working on licensing rules for fintechs, Nouy says Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Flags in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) before a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is working on new licensing guidelines that would also cover financial technology firms, Daniele Nouy, the ECB’s top bank supervisor told a conference on Wednesday. The fintech sector, though still relative small, has been stealing market share from traditional lenders in a variety of sectors from payments to lending, attracting investment $6.5 billion (4.99 billion pounds) in the first half of the year. “At the ECB, we are, for instance, devising a guide on licensing that also covers fintechs,” Nouy told a conference. “This guide will be published shortly for the purpose of a public consultation.” “The technical and financial hurdles have become a bit lower; the (banking) market has become more contestable,” Nouy said added. The nascent industry, ranging from mobile payment apps to ‘cryptocurrencies’ like bitcoin, is seen playing a crucial role in the future of financial services but regulators are still searching for ways to properly supervise a sector that has largely flown under their radar. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-fintech-ecb/ecb-working-on-licensing-rules-for-fintechs-nouy-says-idUKKCN1BH0ZV'|'2017-09-06T11:34:00.000+03:00'
'2ffd295cf053e552de7511999ef688b6cf134a72'|'German auto chiefs must fix industry''s mistakes, Merkel says'|'September 6, 2017 / 3:17 PM / 34 minutes ago German auto chiefs must fix industry''s mistakes, Merkel says Reuters Staff 3 Min Read German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) for the upcoming general elections, gives a speech during an election rally in Ludwigshafen, Germany, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel told staff representatives from Germany’s car manufacturers on Wednesday that managers must remedy mistakes made by the industry to win back consumers’ confidence. Germany’s auto sector was plunged into crisis two years ago when Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) admitted to cheating U.S. diesel emissions tests. Suspicions of collusion between the country’s carmakers have since surfaced, and they could face “very high” fines if that is proved true in court, European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said. The sector’s problem have become an issue in campaigning for a national election taking place on Sept. 24, and many who work in the industry - Germany’s biggest exporter and provider of some 800,000 jobs - are worried about its future. Antitrust regulators are investigating whether Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi ( NSUG.DE ), BMW ( BMWG.DE ) and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) held secret meetings to discuss suppliers, prices and standards to the detriment of foreign carmakers. “The chancellor made it clear that company management must clearly identify and eliminate mistakes in order to regain the confidence of consumers,” Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement after she met the heads of the firms’ employee works councils. Merkel’s main challenger in the election, Social Democrat Martin Schulz, has criticized her approach to carmakers and called for them to pay for the widening emissions scandal. Last month, German politicians and car bosses agreed to an overhaul of engine software on 5.3 million diesel cars to cut pollution and try to repair the industry’s reputation. But many politicians fear Germany’s carmakers are failing to invest enough in new technology and infrastructure. On Tuesday, Merkel said her government was willing to help manufacturers make the change to cleaner models with low-emissions engines. Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-politics/german-auto-chiefs-must-fix-industrys-mistakes-merkel-says-idUSKCN1BH232'|'2017-09-06T18:16:00.000+03:00'
'bb929bdd2ae09efaaa86c7c7d0955f3883967bad'|'Syngenta plans to issue notes to refinance takeover by ChemChina'|'ZURICH, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Syngenta plans to issue multi-tranche, benchmark-sized notes with maturities up to 30 years to refinance bridge loans used by ChemChina for its $43 billion takeover of the Swiss chemical maker, Syngenta said on Wednesday.Syngenta mandated BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Suisse, HSBC, MUFG and Santander to arrange fixed-income investor meetings starting Sept. 11. Syngenta also said it may use its $7.5 billion Euro Medium Term Note programme for further issuances.“The net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be used mainly to refinance the bridge financing for ChemChina’s acquisition,” the company said in a statement. “Any remaining proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes at Syngenta.”Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/syngenta-ag-bonds-refinancing/syngenta-plans-to-issue-notes-to-refinance-takeover-by-chemchina-idINFWN1LN0IL'|'2017-09-06T12:29:00.000+03:00'
'5730934c09e26cf19257e0216c8ce8c0426e37ea'|'EU''s top court refers Intel antitrust case back to lower court'|'September 6, 2017 / 8:07 AM / 11 minutes ago Court orders Intel case review in blow to EU antitrust regulators 3 Min Read People walk under Intel logo at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hanna LUXEMBOURG/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe’s top judges dealt a rare blow to European Union antitrust regulators on Wednesday by sending their case against chipmaker Intel back to a lower court for an appeal. In a move that may have ramifications for the EU watchdog’s cases against Qualcomm and Google, the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) said a court which had upheld a 1 billion euro (£914.47 million) European Commission fine against Intel should re-examine the U.S. company’s appeal. “The case is referred back to the General Court in order for it to examine the arguments put forward by Intel concerning the capacity of the rebates at issue to restrict competition,” the ECJ said in a statement. The Commission handed down the fine in 2009, a record at the time, saying that Intel had tried to block rival Advanced Micro Devices by giving rebates to PC makers Dell [DI.UL], Hewlett-Packard Co, NEC and Lenovo for buying most of their computer chips from Intel. The ruling is good news for companies in the EU regulator’s crosshairs, Foad Hoseinian at law firm Freshfields, said. “This is a setback for the Commission as it will be more closely scrutinized by the courts in the future. There is now a clear obligation to look at effects-based arguments,” he said. Regulators have generally frowned upon rebates, especially those offered by dominant companies, based on the theory that they are anti-competitive in nature, while companies say that enforcers have to prove that they have anti-competitive effects before sanctioning them. “Companies will be more confident when they go to the Commission and more corporations will have the appetite to take the Commission to court on effects-based arguments,” Hoseinian said. The Commission said it would study the judgment carefully and that it was up to the General Court to review its decision. Intel said it was reviewing the court ruling. The ruling raises the bar for the regulator when it comes to proving wrongdoing, said Rein Wesseling, a partner at law firm Stibbe. “It forces the Commission to be as economic in its approach in other cases as it did in Intel. This is encouraging for Qualcomm and Google,” he said. Google, which was hit with a landmark 2.42 billion euro fine in June over its Shopping service, is under fire over its Android smartphone operating system and online search advertising. Google has denied any wrongdoing. U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, meanwhile, faces EU charges of using anti-competitive methods to squeeze out British phone software maker Icera and of making illegal payments to a major customer for exclusively using its chipsets since 2011. Qualcomm has said complaints by rivals which triggered the EU case have no merit. Reporting by Michele Sinner and Philip Blenkinsop; writing by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-intel/eus-top-court-refers-intel-antitrust-case-back-to-lower-court-idUKKCN1BH0XI'|'2017-09-06T11:06:00.000+03:00'
'3924190aecaa551ebd16d1f3b4491fd984e41357'|'Euro zone business activity remained strong in August - PMI'|'September 5, 2017 / 8:06 AM / 31 minutes ago Euro zone businesses outpace struggling British peers Jonathan Cable 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Tourist binoculars offer users the chance to pay in Pounds or Euros in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, historically claimed by Spain, April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) - Business activity in the euro zone stayed robust in August as it outpaced Britain, where an economy increasingly bogged down by Brexit worries lost momentum, surveys showed on Tuesday. Growth in the euro zone slowed only marginally from the blistering pace set in the spring, according to a Purchasing Managers’ Index. An equivalent reading for Britain was the lowest since last September, shortly after the referendum vote to leave the European Union. “The story in the next couple of years is that by all probability - unless we get an external shock - the euro zone recovery is for real. I don’t see any reason why this will peter out anytime soon,” said Erik Nielsen, group chief economist at UniCredit. “Where would growth come from at this stage in Britain? There is erosion of real income because of the inflation numbers and the uncertainty means investment will not play a role until you get some clarity on what is going on (about Brexit).” IHS Markit’s Final Composite PMI for the euro zone held steady at 55.7 in August, slightly below an earlier flash estimate of 55.8. It has been above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction since mid-2013. The services PMI fell to a seven-month low of 54.7 from July’s 55.4 but was still one of the best growth rates in over six years. Similarly, while the new business index fell, it remained above its long-run trend. The PMI for Britain’s dominant service industry fell to 53.2 in August from July’s 53.8, below the median forecast of 53.5 in a Reuters poll. The data suggested that euro zone and Britain’s economic growth paths are diverging. The euro zone reading points to third quarter GDP expansion of 0.6 percent, IHS Markit said, matching second quarter growth and faster than the 0.4 percent predicted in a Reuters poll last month. Britain, which initially withstood the shock of the June 2016 Brexit vote before slowing sharply in early 2017, has outpaced the bloc’s economies over two-thirds of the time since recovery from the financial crisis began. But rising inflation and weak wage growth has curtailed household spending and it is expected to grow just half the euro zone’s rate this quarter, 0.3 percent, then maintain that lacklustre pace through to the middle of next year. British shoppers increased spending in August at the fastest pace so far in 2017, excluding a surge in April caused by the Easter holiday, but there is little sign yet that a squeeze on spending is easing, retailers said on Tuesday. Non-food sales remain at levels seen two years ago and separately on Tuesday, credit card firm Barclaycard said British consumers increased their spending at a slower pace in August and fewer of them felt confident about their finances. PARTING WAYS Forward-looking indicators in the euro zone survey imply there will be little slowdown this month with new orders, backlogs of work, employment and an expectation gauge remaining strong. Yet while optimism among British company managers edged up, it remained close to low levels that have been indicative of the economy stalling or even contracting in the past, with Brexit the main concern, IHS Markit said. “Higher costs and lower investment are slowing UK output to a chronic crawl. The summer months may have been warm but the recessional risks for the UK economy are only increasing as we move into autumn,” said Jeremy Cook, chief economist at WorldFirst, a foreign exchange payments company. One common theme was rising price pressures - welcome news to policymakers at the European Central Bank who want inflation higher but less attractive to their counterparts at the Bank of England who want to bring inflation down. The euro zone output prices index rose to 52.1 from 51.7. August inflation nudged closer to the ECB’s target, registering 1.5 percent, data showed last week. ECB policymakers meet on Thursday, and while no change is expected then, they are expected to announce a reduction of monthly asset purchases in October, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll. BoE rate-setters meet next week. Prices paid by services firms rose at the fastest pace in six months, potentially adding to Britain’s inflation rate, which is already heading for about 3 percent, above the central bank’s 2 percent target. Most economists polled by Reuters were convinced the BoE will not raise interest rates between now and when the initial Brexit negotiation period ends in a little under two years. Only 14 of 59 economists expected one or more rate rises by end-2018. Additional reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Ross Finley and John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-pmi/euro-zone-business-activity-remained-strong-in-august-pmi-idUKKCN1BG0WV'|'2017-09-05T11:06:00.000+03:00'
'f4de2e13b922c2f97a2702e897bd67d64abba614'|'Asda to cut 300 jobs at Leeds, Leicester offices'|'Reuters TV United States September 6, 2017 / 4:04 PM / 18 minutes ago UK''s Asda to cut 300 jobs at Leeds, Leicester offices Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Shoppers leave the Asda superstore in High Wycombe, Britain, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh LONDON (Reuters) - Asda, the British supermarket arm of Wal-Mart ( WMT.N ), is to cut 300 jobs at its offices in Leeds, northern England, and Leicester, central England, seeking to cut costs to stay competitive, it said on Wednesday. The firm said it was adapting how its offices operated to support its store estate. “These changes impact around 1,100 roles... and sadly result in around 300 colleagues leaving us,” Asda said. Last month Asda reported its first underlying quarterly sales growth in three years and said its back-to-basics turnaround under a new management team was working. Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Alistair Smout'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-asda-redundancies/uks-asda-to-cut-300-jobs-at-leeds-leicester-offices-idUKKCN1BH28J'|'2017-09-06T19:00:00.000+03:00'
'b760ca69e1a8597167b9a985720a58c73c269509'|'Global shares rise but tensions remain over North Korea, hurricane'|'September 6, 2017 / 12:38 AM / in 8 minutes Global shares rise but tensions remain over North Korea, hurricane Hilary Russ 4 Min Read Signs can be seen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange April 9, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in Europe and the United States rose on Wednesday, but Asian markets fell and gold neared a 1-year high on investor concern about tensions on the Korean peninsula and a major hurricane barreling towards Puerto Rico and Florida. The U.S. dollar fell against a basket of major currencies .DXY= after weaker-than-expected manufacturing data and after Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Stanley Fischer said he would resign in October. “This means a sea change in the composition of the Fed, especially as it’s not clear if Fed Chair (Janet) Yellen is going to get renominated. The composition of the Fed is going to look entirely different than it did just a couple of years ago,” said Subadra Rajappa, head of U.S. rates strategy at Societe Generale in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 61.07 points, or 0.28 percent, to 21,814.38, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.63 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,461.48 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 9.92 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,365.65. The greenback also hit its lowest against the Canadian dollar in more than two years after the Bank of Canada surprised many by raising rates. The dollar fell as much as 1.9 percent against the loonie to C$1.2140 CAD=D4 , its lowest since mid-June 2015. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.14 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.14 percent. A meeting on Thursday of European Central Bank policymakers is expected to yield clues as to when they will begin to scale back monetary stimulus. “A lot will depend on how (ECB President Mario) Draghi addresses the euro,” said Commerzbank currency strategist Esther Reichelt, in Frankfurt. “The question is whether he’ll address it strongly enough for the market to react.” Risk-averse investors were also still worried about North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests. As tensions remained high, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that resolving the crisis is impossible with sanctions and pressure alone. In the Caribbean, dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Irma slammed across islands with pounding winds and raging surf en route to a possible landfall in Florida this weekend. “I think it (North Korea) is still going to be a factor with a bit of nervousness out there. We also have another hurricane heading towards Florida,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida. “We’re already seeing water flying off the shelves at grocery stores.” Given the geopolitical tensions and weaker dollar, gold rose. Spot gold XAU= added 0.1 percent to $1,340.01 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 gained 0.07 percent to $1,345.40. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.36 percent lower, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 lost 0.14 percent. Oil prices rose as strong global refining margins and the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries provided a more bullish outlook after sharp drops due to Storm Harvey. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.05 percent to $49.17 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $53.96, up 1.09 percent. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Additional reporting by Scott Malone in San Juan, Nigel Stephenson and Julia Payne in London, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Karen Brettell and Sam Forgione in New York; Graphic by Marc Jones; Editing by James Dalgleish'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-stocks-down-dollar-on-defensive-gripped-by-risk-aversion-idUKKCN1BH02Z'|'2017-09-06T18:57:00.000+03:00'
'94fd894aaa52404ef5959095c2ce1831d001602c'|'Brazil''s Cade gives final okay to Ternium-CSA deal, rejects CSN appeal'|'September 6, 2017 / 2:27 PM / 15 minutes ago Brazil''s Cade gives final okay to Ternium-CSA deal, rejects CSN appeal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The board of Brazil antitrust agency Cade gave final approval on Wednesday to Ternium SA’s acquisition of Thyssenkrupp AG’s Brazilian steel mill CSA Cia Siderúrgica do Atlántico SA, rejecting an appeal by a Brazilian rival. Cade first approved the deal, valued at 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), in August, but Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional appealed as an interested third party. $1 = 0.84 euros Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/csa-ma-ternium-antitrust/brazils-cade-gives-final-okay-to-ternium-csa-deal-rejects-csn-appeal-idUSE6N1K4054'|'2017-09-06T17:26:00.000+03:00'
'df20303659cf128b68b233663332010ab6fe9ffa'|'Nestle to buy Sweet Earth foods to boost healthier offering'|'FILE PHOTO: The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey, Switzerland February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Nestle and Unilever both snapped up small, artisanal brands on Thursday, part of a drive by big food firms to boost slowing sales with products seen as ethical or healthy.Changing consumer tastes and habits have rocked the processed food sector, letting upstarts steal market share from traditional brands with the growth of e-commerce, social media and interest in sustainability and health.Natural, organic, artisanal or plant-based products have been a bright spot in an otherwise tepid market, where the need to buy growth and cut costs led to Danone’s purchase of WhiteWave and failed attempts by Kraft Heinz to buy Unilever and Mondelez to buy Hershey.Nestle, the world’s largest processed food company which has recently become a target of activist shareholder Third Point, said on Thursday it has agreed to buy Sweet Earth, a U.S. maker of frozen meals, burritos and burgers that use meat substitutes.That marks its first foray into the U.S. market for plant-based foods like tofu and seitan, which is growing at a double-digit rate annually and expected to reach $5 billion by 2020.Meanwhile Unilever said it has bought the small British organic tea brand Pukka, known for herbal teas with catchy names such as mint matcha green and turmeric gold.The acquisition extends the world’s largest teamaker into the market for organic tea, which Euromonitor says will grow by 22 percent to reach $1.2 billion by 2021.Euromonitor analyst Maria Mascaraque said the market for organic food and drinks is still a small part of the total, but should continue to grow strongly.“(The market) shows growth opportunities based on the evolution of consumers’ priorities towards the consumption of natural foods and beverages as well as the increasing interest in social and environmental responsibilities,” Mascaraque said.Neither company disclosed what they were paying for their respective acquisitions, but Unilever said Pukka has annual sales of 30 million pounds and growth of 30 percent.This should lift Unilever’s portfolio, which includes large brands Lipton and PG Tips, and which Euromonitor says has seen its market share slip over the past five years.Unilever has done a string of small deals, including Sir Kensington’s mayonnaise, Talenti and Grom gelatos and Dollar Shave Club, that expand its presence in categories that are challenging traditional consumer brand models.For its part, Nestle recently announced it had taken a stake in food delivery service Freshly, as it seeks to keep up with changing consumer preferences.Nestle said Sweet Earth would remain independent from its U.S. food business, which includes DiGiorno pizzas and Hot Pockets, and continue to be led by its founders.Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by David Clarke/Jason Neely/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/nestle-m-a/nestle-to-buy-sweet-earth-foods-to-boost-healthier-offering-idINKCN1BI1F2'|'2017-09-07T09:21:00.000+03:00'
'648b3b2a60488dcfb974c7f6d77f3a664047026c'|'Russia''s Sechin discussed offering Rosneft share to Japan - court documents'|'MOSCOW, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Igor Sechin, the head of Russian oil giant Rosneft, offered a stake in the company to Japanese investors before eventually selling to an international consortium, according to documents released during an unrelated court case.In one of the biggest Russian privatisation deals in years, the consortium made up of Qatar and commodities trader Glencore bought a 19.5-percent stake in state-owned Rosneft, one of the world’s largest oil firms, for 10.5 billion euros in December.About three weeks before that, Sechin had attended a meeting where he described discussions with Japanese investors about them buying the stake, according to a transcript of the meeting read out in court on Tuesday.Sechin made the remarks, according to the transcript, at a meeting with Alexei Ulyukayev, who was at the time Russia’s economy minister. Sechin was wearing a wire, as part of a law enforcement sting, and Ulyukayev is now on trial for bribery, which he denies.State prosecutors read a transcript of the recording picked up on Sechin’s device at Ulyukayev’s trial.Reuters was not able to corroborate the authenticity of the transcript. A Rosneft spokesman said it was company policy not to comment on a criminal investigation.According to the transcript, the two men talked about Japanese investors, with Sechin saying: “You know, I‘m telling them, the essence of our proposals is this: ‘You are getting a stake in the company, this is the first condition for development of joint projects’.”“Our second proposal, after the stake (sale), is the creation (of a venture) in production, transportation and joint work on the markets.”ISLANDS There was no mention in the passages from the transcript read out in court of what Rosneft was proposing to create. The Japanese investors were not identified.According to the transcript, Sechin said the Japanese side had raised the “political issue” of territories.Moscow and Tokyo have been bogged down for years in talks over islands - called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia, seized by Soviet forces at the end of World War Two.“They are quite pragmatic. They want to fulfil their main task... To get a political benefit to the territory. Even during the talks they raised such questions, but we dismissed it at once, said: ‘Guys, no!''” Sechin told Ulyukayev, according to the transcript.Sechin also said Rosneft had offered Japanese investors a chance to take part in the development of an east Siberian oil and gas field called Verkhnechonsk, as well as the offshore Tsentralno-Tatarsky block near Japan, according to the transcript.Japanese media outlet Nikkei reported last year that the Japanese government was considering investing as much as 1 trillion yen ($9.7 billion) to buy 10 percent of Rosneft through the government-backed Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp, or JOGMEC.Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko later said the government was not considering an investment in Rosneft. (Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-japan-rosneft-oil/russias-sechin-discussed-offering-rosneft-share-to-japan-court-documents-idINL8N1LM435'|'2017-09-05T13:32:00.000+03:00'
'c816775e3e555b09b2a708800fdb6bf86ac4fb1e'|'Britain''s Unite union reaches pay deal with Bank of England to end dispute'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:59 AM / in 3 hours Bank of England reaches deal with union to end pay dispute Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England has settled a dispute over pay with staff that led to the central bank’s first strike in more than 50 years, the BoE and the Unite trade union said on Tuesday. Some maintenance and security staff stopped work for three days last month and a protest outside the bank by around 15 employees, some wearing masks of Governor Mark Carney, drew widespread media attention. “Unite is pleased to bring the Bank of England dispute to an end having secured significant improvements for staff across the organisation,” Mercedes Sanchez, a regional officer for the union, said. The BoE also welcomed the agreement. “The proposal that has been agreed includes a range of measures focused on improving our relationship with Unite and involving them more in pay discussions,” a BoE spokesperson said. “We hope this leads to a more productive relationship with the union going forward.” Protesters hold up Bank of England Governor Mark Carney masks outside the bank as it staff begins a three day strike over pay, in the City of London, Britain, August 1, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Unite said it had achieved a payment for lower-paid staff during the 2017/18 pay review as well as extra holiday. Prime Minister Theresa May has come under increasing pressure from lawmakers to end a below-inflation 1 percent cap on public sector pay rises that has been in place since 2013, which replaced a previous pay freeze, as part of efforts to cut government spending. Although it is operationally independent of the government, the BoE has also limited pay rises to 1 percent for most staff, in line with other public bodies. Neither Unite nor the BoE gave indications that larger pay increases were in the pipeline. Earlier on Tuesday, a member of May’s cabinet did not deny media reports that the government will soon relax its public sector pay cap. Unite also said it would now be involved with all future pay negotiations at the Bank from the outset. Sixty percent of members accepted the BoE’s offer to end the dispute. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by David Milliken and Gareth Jones '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-pay/britains-unite-union-reaches-pay-deal-with-bank-of-england-to-end-dispute-idUKKCN1BG1MV'|'2017-09-05T14:59:00.000+03:00'
'44f58de6823bceb0e2049a284833f710f58045ee'|'Brexit upheaval seen creating 3,000 financial jobs in Luxembourg'|'September 6, 2017 / 1:32 PM / 13 minutes ago Brexit upheaval seen creating 3,000 financial jobs in Luxembourg Huw Jones 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - View of the grund quarter in central city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, March 25, 2017. Reuters/Eric Vidal LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit will lead to about 3,000 new jobs being created in Luxembourg as UK asset managers and insurers bulk up operations in the Grand Duchy to avoid being cut off from EU customers, a senior Luxembourg financial official said on Wednesday. Nicolas Mackel, chief executive of Luxembourg for Finance, a body which promotes the country’s financial sector, said actual numbers would hinge on the trading terms Britain secures with the European Union after Brexit in March 2019. Several London-based asset managers and insurers have already announced plans to bolster operations in Luxembourg. “From what I see now, if you projected all the different actors together, my guesstimate is about 3,000 in the next two years, but then that will change and grow probably,” Mackel told Reuters in an interview. Most of the jobs will be local hires in asset management rather than shifting people from London, Mackel said. After the initial wave of job losses in Britain to set up EU licensed businesses, the “second wave” will comprise an erosion of London’s financial centre over 5-10 years as office leases are not renewed, staff who leave are not replaced, and people decide not to work in Britain in the first place, he said. Tokio Marine ( 8766.T ) said on Wednesday it was applying for regulatory approval to set up shop in Luxembourg, making it the ninth insurer to choose the Grand Duchy. Luxembourg is home to 60,000 financial services jobs and, like Dublin, Paris and Frankfurt, is seeking to attract a slice of London’s “City” financial district because of Brexit. Mackel said firms based in London that need an EU beachhead were planning to spread operations across several cities. “It’s not one takes it all. There is a lot of hype,” he said. Luxembourg is scrutinising new, non-binding EU guidelines for national regulators on how much of a footprint asset managers from London must have to obtain a licence in an EU state after Brexit. Mackel said the worry was that the bloc would build on the guidelines and make it harder for asset managers to “delegate” key operations like managing portfolios from an EU base to staff in a country outside the bloc. Delegation is common globally, with many managers in New York and Hong Kong managing funds in the bloc. “Suddenly in Brexit this becomes an issue, and the industry does not understand the problem (EU regulator) ESMA is trying to solve. Europe is not the only option for asset managers,” Mackel said. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-luxembourg/brexit-upheaval-seen-creating-3000-financial-jobs-in-luxembourg-idUKKCN1BH1V1'|'2017-09-06T16:31:00.000+03:00'
'576b68e952200f19343447d556868e66e03c1a65'|'Wal-Mart starts holiday layaway program amid slow toy sales'|'People line up at a Walmart store that reopened Friday after Tropical Storm Harvey in Port Arthur, Texas, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc has begun its holiday layaway program as it hopes to cash-in early on demand for gifts like toys, which saw slower sales growth industry-wide last December and has struggled to pick up so far this year.The world’s largest retailer started the layaway program on Sept. 1, a day before it did last year where customers can pay as little as $10 to hold items worth a minimum of $50.Layaway programs, which have made a comeback since the 2008 financial crisis as customers avoided using credit cards to make purchases, allow shoppers to put aside holiday merchandise like electronics and toys and make payments in installments until the full price has been paid.These plans tend to have a sizeable impact on sales and analyst estimates suggest the program accounts for as much as 15 percent of holiday revenues at Wal-Mart stores in poorer areas of the United States.Wal-Mart expects demand for toys to remain strong this year, despite worries about possible viewer fatigue after two strong years for the Star Wars franchise.“We think episode eight is going to be a strong movie, strong theatrical, the weekend was what we expected ... and what was going on in our stores and anticipate that will carry through,” Anne Marie Kehoe, Wal-Mart’s vice president of toys, said on a conference call. The retailer released Star Wars products at its stores on Sept. 1.She said Wal-Mart has stocked a bigger assortment of Star Wars items at a variety of price points this year.According to data from The NPD Group, the U.S. toy industry grew 5.5 percent between January-November 2016 but in December sales grew 3 percent, bringing annual 2016 growth to about 5 percent at $20.4 billion. In 2015, sales grew 6.7 percent.Sales are also off to a slower start in 2017, the NPD group said in a note in July.Toy sales have been under pressure as they compete with videogames and YouTube videos. Toymakers like Lego A/S and Mattel Inc, who are seeing sales decline, have been attempting to modernize toys for the digital age.For the holiday season, Wal-Mart said it will have 300 toys exclusively available at its stores and on its website from 400 toys last year. It includes Frozen Sleigh and Monster Jam Grave Digger along with collectible items like Fingerlings, L.O.L. Surprise Fizz Factory and littleBits Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit, Kehoe said.Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-holidayshopping/wal-mart-starts-holiday-layaway-program-amid-slow-toy-sales-idUSKCN1BH0FH'|'2017-09-06T07:08:00.000+03:00'
'a6b111b443ffd002480a640d53bf02f742568e85'|'Britain asks companies to publicly back Brexit strategy - sources'|' 35 PM / a minute ago Britain asks companies to publicly back Brexit strategy: sources   FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The British government has asked some of its biggest companies to sign a letter endorsing its Brexit strategy, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, adding that businesses had been reluctant to agree. Ties between major companies and the government have been strained since the country voted to leave the European Union, with businesses increasingly concerned that moves to leave the single market and customs union would damage their operations. Two sources confirmed a report by Sky News that the government had circulated a letter to companies to get their backing for its approach to leaving the EU. A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May’s office declined to comment and said there had been lots of engagement with companies over Brexit. Reporting by Kate Holton, Kylie MacLellan and Andrew MacAskill, editing by Elizabeth Piper'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-companies/britain-asks-companies-to-publicly-back-brexit-strategy-sources-idUKKCN1BH25X'|'2017-09-06T18:29:00.000+03:00'
'b5c23d279816a82c4465192112c6a6a123bedc0d'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi outperforms on firm oil, Qatar hit by FTSE change'|'September 6, 2017 / 2:25 PM / 5 hours ago MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi outperforms on firm oil, Qatar hit by FTSE change Reuters Staff * A little over two-thirds of Saudi stocks climb * Doha at 20-month closing low * Polls show fund managers bearish on Qatari stocks * Dana Gas stalls after two-day surge * Emaar is main support in Dubai By Celine Aswad DUBAI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s equities index firmed on Wednesday because of strong oil prices while Qatar fell to its lowest close since January 2016 after index compiler FTSE’s mid-year review hurt some stocks. Brent oil was around $53.50 a barrel, slightly above its level when the Saudi market traded on Tuesday last week, just before it closed for long Eid al-Adha holidays. All but two of the 14 listed Saudi petrochemical producers rose as the market reopened on Wednesday with Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical adding 1.9 percent. The main Saudi stock index rose 0.7 percent. The Doha index lost 1.3 percent to 8,685 points on its first day of trade after a one-week closure for Eid holidays. Qatar Gas Transport (Nakilat) dropped 2.9 percent after FTSE said it would move the company to its mid-cap index from its large-cap index, effective from Sept. 15. Industrial conglomerate Aamal slumped 4.4 percent, Qatari Investors Group fell 1.8 percent and Qatar Navigation lost 0.2 percent after FTSE said it would delete all three stocks from its all-world index. A Reuters poll published last week showed regional asset managers have turned negative towards Qatari stocks again, with 38 percent expecting to cut their allocations and none to raise them. Selling appeared to ease in July, but the Qatari market came under renewed pressure in August as it became clear there was little prospect of an early end to the diplomatic rift between Doha and four Arab states. In the United Arab Emirates, FTSE decided to remove Abu Dhabi’s Union National Bank from its global equity index. Its shares did not trade on Wednesday but the Abu Dhabi index fell 0.5 percent. Dana Gas, the most heavily traded stock in Abu Dhabi, fell as much as 3.9 percent on profit-taking before closing flat. Dana had soared 20 percent over the previous two days on news of a deal for it to obtain overdue payments from Iraqi Kurdistan. Dubai’s index rose 0.5 percent as the largest listed real estate developer, Emaar Properties, gained 2.3 percent. Egypt’s index lost 0.7 percent as stocks favoured by foreign investors were among the worst performers, including Commercial International Bank, which fell 2.3 percent. Qalaa Holdings slumped 1.6 percent after FTSE said it would exclude the stock from its AllCap index. HIGHLIGHTS * The index rose 0.7 percent to 7,306 points. DUBAI * The index added 0.5 percent to 3,642 points. ABU DHABI * The index fell 0.5 percent to 4,457 points. QATAR * The index lost 1.3 percent to 8,685 points. EGYPT * The index declined 0.7 percent to 13,318 points. KUWAIT * The index slipped 0.04 percent to 6,918 points. BAHRAIN * The index rose 0.7 percent to 1,311 points. OMAN'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks/mideast-stocks-saudi-outperforms-on-firm-oil-qatar-hit-by-ftse-change-idUSL8N1LN3S6'|'2017-09-06T17:25:00.000+03:00'
'40feabb4274eb949bafbe87ff6e3d5feed918d04'|'UK statistics agency postpones retail data, cites technical issues'|'September 6, 2017 / 4:36 PM / 13 minutes ago UK statistics agency postpones retail data, cites technical issues Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Shoppers walk past a sale sign in central London, Britain June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Office for National Statistics will delay the publication of retail sales data for August, originally scheduled for Sept. 14, because of technical issues, it said on Wednesday. “ONS has experienced a delay in processing survey data from the Retail Sales Inquiry,” it said a statement. “There is no risk to the security of the data, but in order to complete the necessary processing and quality assurance to meet ONS’s highest standards, it is necessary to postpone the publication of the Retail Sales Index data and bulletin for August.” The ONS said it would announce a new publication date as soon as the problems are resolved. Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Stephen Addison'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail-data/uk-statistics-agency-postpones-retail-data-cites-technical-issues-idUKKCN1BH2C9'|'2017-09-06T19:36:00.000+03:00'
'f3e4abd753ac40d35f2c0bfe0815e1b2ef51dfee'|'Euro minefield - what markets will monitor at Thursday''s ECB meeting'|'September 6, 2017 / 1:39 PM / 5 hours ago Euro minefield - what markets will monitor at Thursday''s ECB meeting Dhara Ranasinghe , Saikat Chatterjee 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Flags in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) before a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymakers hold a widely anticipated meeting on Thursday, amid speculation the central bank wants to wind down its extraordinary bond-buying monetary stimulus soon. However, this year’s surge in the euro exchange rate complicates the ECB’s exit strategy. It curtails already sub-target inflation by making dollar-priced imports cheaper, dragging down the booming export sector and cutting into corporate earnings from outside the bloc. Any mention of the euro and its relative impact on financial and economic conditions, as a result, may be the biggest market mover on Thursday. Here’s what financial markets are looking for from the ECB’s statement and President Mario Draghi’s press conference. 1. EURO STRENGTH The euro’s more than 13 percent rise against the dollar so far this year, its biggest in 14 years, puts the currency at the top of investor watch lists. Absolute levels for the euro are still below its levels since ECB chief Mario Draghi promised to save the euro zone, but it is the speed of the move that is a concern. On a trade-weighted basis, the euro EUR=ECBF has gained nearly 6 percent in less than five months. That strength creates obstacles for both economic growth and inflation in the euro zone. Sources told Reuters last week that euro strength could delay ECB plans to roll back stimulus, and Draghi is sure to be asked about the currency in the post-meeting news conference. 2. POLICY STATEMENT With currency strength making a rare appearance in the minutes of the last policy meeting on July 20, markets will watch if the currency gets more attention in the formal post-meeting statement this week. Despite the reference, Morgan Stanley analysts say mention of the currency has dropped sharply in recent months after data-mining each policy statement and accompanying press conference since 1998. July’s policy statement had an abnormally low nine mentions of the currency compared with an average of 27 in the last two years and far below 56 times at its March meeting. “I think they will be careful not to push any major changes - they are wary of the exchange rate,” said Robert Skelton, a portfolio manager at Mediolanum Asset Management. 3. STAFF FORECASTS Revisions to the ECB’s staff projections following recent gains in the euro is another important focus. Markets expect a slight downward revision in core inflation forecasts, although analysts said the ECB’s long-term forecasts may be little changed and should not in themselves derail plans for tapering next year. Inflation in the 19-country currency bloc, which the ECB aims to keep just below 2 percent, accelerated to 1.5 percent in August from 1.3 percent. The ECB forecasts inflation of 1.5 percent in 2017 and 1.3 percent in 2018. 4. TAPERING Markets have pushed back expectations for when the ECB will signal a scaling back of its stimulus, to October from September. The latest Reuters poll predicts the same. Still, ECB comments will be scrutinized for any clues on the timing and scale of a taper. About 36 percent of government bond yields in the euro zone are below zero, compared with a peak in June 2016 of 51 percent, according to JP Morgan Asset Management. Globally, 30 percent of government bond yields are sub zero. Frederik Ducrozet, an economist at Pictet Wealth Management, expects the ECB to lay the groundwork for the decision to be made by year-end, tasking its committees to study all policy options for 2018. 5. BOND-BUYING PARAMETERS The ECB may also be questioned about a growing scarcity of eligible bonds for the bond-buying scheme, which might encourage it to wind down stimulus sooner rather than later. The ECB bought fewer German bonds in August than in any month since the start of the stimulus programme, suggesting it was holding back to avoid running out of debt to buy. As the ECB pushes against its self-imposed limits for asset purchases, bond investors will be looking for any changes in the composition of the bond-buying scheme -- whether that’s in country allocation or changes in the mix of corporate and government bonds in the scheme. “The general sense is that it is all going down,” said Nandini Ramakrishnan, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. “The 60 billion euros a month includes both (corporate and government bonds), so reducing that, we think, could proportionately reduce the purchases in both.” 6. MARKET IMPLICATIONS The market reaction itself could be in the spotlight, especially if the euro moves sharply either way. European stocks peaked at a two-year high in May, and the pan-European STOXX 600 equity index has fallen by around 6 percent since then, with euro zone stocks .STOXXE shedding a similar amount. Some investors blamed the euro’s blistering ascent as the main culprit. European banking stocks .SX7P will benefit from any hawkish slant, as a low-rate environment has hurt margins. Banks have so far underperformed the broader market and are relatively cheap. If the ECB maintains the status quo, European stocks may rise, as companies in the pan-European equity index get more than half their revenues outside the euro zone, according to estimates from Societe Generale. Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Saikat Chatterjee, Kit Rees and Marc Jones; Editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-markets-ecb/euro-minefield-what-markets-will-monitor-at-thursdays-ecb-meeting-idUKKCN1BH1V7'|'2017-09-06T16:52:00.000+03:00'
'9d3f3ee4c4b72b543433da0f556d6bfddaedd504'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks, currency rise ahead of central bank rate cut'|'(Adds central bank rate cut, final prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Brazil''s stocks and currency rallied on Wednesday before the central bank cut interest rates to a four-year low after the market closed, seeking to spur an incipient economic recovery. The central bank slashed its benchmark Selic rate by 100 basis points to 8.25 percent, but signaled the pace of monetary easing would probably slow next month. Earlier, the market rallied as Brazil''s Congress cleared two key fiscal bills, adding to investor optimism over President Michel Temer''s ability to pass market-friendly reforms. Mexico''s peso, meanwhile, rose by 0.6 percent against the dollar amid general weakness in the greenback, while the S&P/BMV IPC stock index strengthened 0.43 percent. "Today''s advance can be put down to adjustments in some firms whose values had lost ground and were looking attractive," said Gerardo Copca, a strategist at Metanalisis consultancy. Late on Tuesday, Brazilian lawmakers approved softened budget targets for 2017 and 2018, as well as a bill setting a market-based benchmark rate for state development bank BNDES that will reduce subsidies in years to come. The measures are central to Temer''s efforts to limit growth of public debt without implementing further tax hikes. Investors hope that will boost long-term growth in Brazil as the economy emerges from the deepest recession in a century. Hopes of increased lawmaker support for his platform grew this week after the country''s top prosecutor threatened to partially revoke a plea deal that had supported corruption charges against the center-right president. The Brazilian real strengthened 0.55 percent on Wednesday as the cost of insuring against a Brazilian sovereign default hit a new two-year low. The country''s benchmark stock index neared a record high. Supporting demand for Brazilian shares was news the Finance Ministry was analyzing the implications of relinquishing veto rights on certain strategic decisions in a few companies, which could pare back the state''s role in the economy. Shares of state-controlled power utility Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA, which the government plans to privatize, rose 2.3 percent. Planemaker Embraer SA, which could be targeted by the measure, rose 3.2 percent, also lifted by a $1.1 billion firm order from SkyWest. The Chilean peso closed up 0.55 percent to the highest since May 2015, tracking a rally in prices of copper, a key export. The currency has strengthened sharply in recent weeks, but some traders believe the move may be overstretched. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2230 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1083.18 -0.16 25.62 MSCI LatAm 2939.30 1.09 25.58 Brazil Bovespa 73412.41 1.75 21.89 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 50515.60 0.43 10.68 Chile IPSA 5080.59 -1.02 22.38 Chile IGPA 25416.50 -0.94 22.58 Argentina MerVal 24164.85 0.58 42.84 Colombia IGBC 11219.89 -0.13 11.39 Venezuela IBC 266926.16 -1.06 741.90 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1021 0.55 4.74 Mexico peso 17.7860 0.61 16.63 Chile peso 618.3 0.55 8.49 Colombia peso 2913.7 0.69 3.01 Peru sol 3.235 0.03 5.53 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.2050 0.17 -7.73 Argentina peso (parallel) 17.90 0.22 -6.03 (Additional reporting by Sheky Espejo in Mexico City; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam/emerging-markets-brazil-stocks-currency-rise-ahead-of-central-bank-rate-cut-idUSL2N1LN1Z8'|'2017-09-07T02:20:00.000+03:00'
'be8e53bbe3e3a0c1af139d93e5a5d84f64b3352b'|'UPDATE 1-GoPro expects to post adjusted profit in Q3; shares jump'|' 43 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago UPDATE 1-GoPro expects to post adjusted profit in Q3; shares jump Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds details, shares) Sept 7 (Reuters) - Wearable camera maker GoPro Inc said on Thursday it expects to be profitable on an adjusted basis in the third quarter, sending its shares up 17 percent. The company said it expects current-quarter revenue and gross margins to be at the high end of its forecast of $290 million to $310 million and 36 percent to 38 percent, respectively. GoPro said it expects to benefit from its upcoming Hero6 and Fusion 360 action-cameras. The company’s body-mounted point-of-view cameras won a huge following among action junkies such as surfers and skydivers, but sales took a beating in the past few quarters after a series of missteps including a delay in the launch of its Karma drone and production issues with its Hero5 camera. Since then, the company has focused on the launch of the Hero 6 and the Fusion 360 cameras in an effort to woo customers. GoPro, however, said on Thursday it expects to post a third-quarter loss on a GAAP basis, or before excluding one-time items. The company had previously forecast third-quarter adjusted loss of 1 cent to 11 cents per share. Analysts on average are expecting a loss of 5 cents per share and revenue of $304 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company’s shares were up 16.9 percent at $10.40 in premarket trading. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/gopro-outlook/update-1-gopro-expects-to-post-adjusted-profit-in-q3-shares-jump-idUSL4N1LO3P1'|'2017-09-07T14:43:00.000+03:00'
'a1e085f60f9e37e73b25dc32e3df1c21cb8f6baf'|'Nestle, Unilever think small in Big Food''s sales quest'|'September 7, 2017 / 10:16 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago Nestle, Unilever think small in Big Food''s sales quest Martinne Geller 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey, Switzerland February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Nestle ( NESN.S ) and Unilever ( ULVR.L ) both snapped up small, artisanal brands on Thursday, part of a drive by big food firms to boost slowing sales with products seen as ethical or healthy. Changing consumer tastes and habits have rocked the processed food sector, letting upstarts steal market share from traditional brands with the growth of e-commerce, social media and interest in sustainability and health. Natural, organic, artisanal or plant-based products have been a bright spot in an otherwise tepid market, where the need to buy growth and cut costs led to Danone’s ( DANO.PA ) purchase of WhiteWave and failed attempts by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) to buy Unilever and Mondelez ( MDLZ.O ) to buy Hershey ( HSY.N ). Nestle, the world’s largest processed food company which has recently become a target of activist shareholder Third Point, said on Thursday it has agreed to buy Sweet Earth, a U.S. maker of frozen meals, burritos and burgers that use meat substitutes. That marks its first foray into the U.S. market for plant-based foods like tofu and seitan, which is growing at a double-digit rate annually and expected to reach $5 billion by 2020. Meanwhile Unilever said it has bought the small British organic tea brand Pukka, known for herbal teas with catchy names such as mint matcha green and turmeric gold. The acquisition extends the world’s largest teamaker into the market for organic tea, which Euromonitor says will grow by 22 percent to reach $1.2 billion by 2021. Euromonitor analyst Maria Mascaraque said the market for organic food and drinks is still a small part of the total, but should continue to grow strongly. “(The market) shows growth opportunities based on the evolution of consumers’ priorities towards the consumption of natural foods and beverages as well as the increasing interest in social and environmental responsibilities,” Mascaraque said. Neither company disclosed what they were paying for their respective acquisitions, but Unilever said Pukka has annual sales of 30 million pounds and growth of 30 percent. This should lift Unilever’s portfolio, which includes large brands Lipton and PG Tips, and which Euromonitor says has seen its market share slip over the past five years. Unilever has done a string of small deals, including Sir Kensington’s mayonnaise, Talenti and Grom gelatos and Dollar Shave Club, that expand its presence in categories that are challenging traditional consumer brand models. For its part, Nestle recently announced it had taken a stake in food delivery service Freshly, as it seeks to keep up with changing consumer preferences. Nestle said Sweet Earth would remain independent from its U.S. food business, which includes DiGiorno pizzas and Hot Pockets, and continue to be led by its founders. Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by David Clarke/Jason Neely/Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-nestle-m-a/nestle-to-buy-sweet-earth-vegetarian-foods-idUKKCN1BI1AI'|'2017-09-07T16:18:00.000+03:00'
'1443cff74feceff54e00ffc54c0e3e3037d7e674'|'EU national consumer bodies press Volkswagen on Dieselgate repairs'|'September 7, 2017 / 10:07 AM / Updated 4 hours ago EU national consumer bodies press Volkswagen on Dieselgate repairs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Volkswagen company is seen on a car on an assembly line at the Volkswagen car factory in Palmela, Portugal, December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European national consumer bodies pressed Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) to fix all emissions-cheating vehicles by the end of the year, in a joint letter on Thursday showing mounting impatience with the German carmakers response to the Dieselgate scandal. VW has pledged billion of dollars to compensate owners of its diesel cars in the United States, where it admitted to cheating emissions test in 2015. But it has so far rejected such calls for the 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe, where different legal rules weaken the chances of winning a pay out. The agencies from the EU’s 28 member states call in the letter, signed by the European Commission and the Dutch consumer authority, which has taken the lead in the case, for Volkswagen to confirm it can meet its own timeline for removing illicit software that cheated emissions tests. “Only by acting together can consumer authorities ensure that EU consumer law is respected,” Europe’s Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova said in a statement. “With today’s joint position, EU consumers can be sure that both consumer authorities in member states and the European Commission are on their side and that any half measures will not be accepted.” While the letter makes a show of unity, it will still be up to member states individually to follow up with action to defend its consumers. The letter, addressed to VW’s CEO, urged the carmaker to inform affected car owners as soon as possible, to make legally-binding assurances that the technical fix will not diminish the value of their vehicles, help ease the work of car dealerships, and be prepared to extend the period for offering free repairs. Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel @AdeCar; editing by Philip Blenkinsop '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vw-emissions-eu/eu-national-consumer-bodies-press-volkswagen-on-dieselgate-repairs-idUSKCN1BI193'|'2017-09-07T13:04:00.000+03:00'
'0ffaafada225985cc904d92c0a1ae50033bcd7dc'|'Should vegans eat palm oil? - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'A s marketing slogans go, NotFrom.com offers something aspirational. Stacked on the virtual shelves of this new online vegan supermarket are row upon row of “animal and planet cruelty free” products.Only it’s not quite that simple. Yes, all of the products are plant-based and free from animal inputs. But, beyond this the line between what is and isn’t cruel to the planet gets hazy. Palm oil is one ingredient that troubles Dana Levy and Peter Birrell, the husband and wife team behind NotFrom.com, who admit that 100% planet-friendly products are hard to come by.“There’s an ongoing debate in the vegan community, with people saying they’re not going to buy products from animals but then they switch to products that include palm oil, which is a paradox [because] in a way they’re part of destroying the rainforests where orangutans and other animals are living,” says Levy.Some of my best friends are vegans, says Jeremy Corbyn, but I’m not one Read more “If we were to try to source the perfect product, we’d probably only have about 20 products on [NotFrom.com],” says Birrell, whose site has filters for buyers, including “no palm”.Cruelty-free? Few ingredients highlight the planet-friendly dilemma more than palm oil. Found in everything from margarine to ice-cream, this ubiquitous vegetable oil is natural and plant-based, yet it’s also linked with the destruction of vast tracts of rainforest . Including palm oil in a cruelty-free diet is “not a straightforward question”, admits Vegan Society’s spokeswoman Sam Calvert. Even so, it qualifies as vegan for the purposes of product labelling. Its inclusion is not insignificant. Over the last four years, the number of vegan products launched in the UK has almost tripled, with nearly one in 10 new food brands making a vegan claim, according to market analysis firm Mintel . Some vegan brands have opted for the zero-palm route. Ice-cream manufacturer Booja-Booja , for instance, ditched palm oil as an emulsifier in its products, opting for either agave or coconut syrup instead.“We don’t feel that palm oil is necessary, and neither are many of the other extras you’ll find in other ice-creams, so we just don’t use it,” says Louise Collins, marketing coordinator at vegan-certified Booja-Booja.Others continue to use palm oil, but only when it is sourced from sustainably-certified farms. Two big brands making a play in the vegan market are sandwich shop chain Pret a Manger and consumer giant Unilever. Both tell the Guardian that they too seek to use sustainable palm oil wherever possible.Faith in Nature adopts a similar position. For over 100 tonnes of ingredients, the UK vegan cosmetic brand has either cut out palm oil entirely or replaced it with sustainably-certified palm oil.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Faith in Nature’s shampoo range Photograph: Faith in Nature But even a sustainable certificate does not always guarantee that there have been no negative environmental impacts in production. The industry’s sustainability body, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), last year suspended the certification of Malaysian palm company IOI over allegations of deforestation. While another RSPO member is under investigation , accused of clearing rainforest in Papua, Indonesia. No perfect answer With palm oil, like other vegetable oils, there’s no perfect answer. Any mass-produced agricultural commodity, however sustainably produced, will have a negative impact of some kind on the natural world. This fact is not lost on Jonathan Petrides, co-founder of the vegan food delivery firm AllPlants , which has stripped palm oil out of 90% of its products. Petrides is certainly no fan of unchecked palm oil production nor is he entirely convinced that certified palm oil is as sustainable as the industry claims , yet he’s wary about the implications of zero palm oil too. “Palm oil has almost become like the devil and I think it’s awesome that people are campaigning for the rights of the rainforest … but let’s not kid ourselves that all the other plants we’re using are being picked from a bush and aren’t taking over habitats as well,” he says. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jerk Jackfruit from AllPlants’ range Photograph: AllPlants He believes palm could actually be better than alternative sources of vegetable oil such as sunflower oil, soya or rapeseed, which are less productive than palm oil and therefore require more land for the same amount of oil. It’s time for a wider public debate about the planetary effects of modern methods of food production, says Emma Keller at environmental charity WWF. And palm oil’s inclusion (or not) in vegan diets could be an issue to kick it off, she adds. “There’s a role for key [vegan] brands to move away from palm oil, but not if it means just creating the next vegetable oil boom, like with coconut oil,” says Keller. “So I think there’s a huge opportunity for them to start a conversation and move public opinion not just on palm oil but on other vegetable oils too.”It’s an aspiration that the founders of NotFrom.com endorse. Big industry will only seriously invest in non-plant alternatives to palm oil, such as algae-based oils, when consumers start asking for them. And consumers will only do this when levels of public awareness increase. “Lack of consumer awareness and action leaves us at the mercy of the larger food industry,” says Birrell, “which has proven itself to be callously impervious to the plight of the planet.”Topics Guardian sustainable business the palm oil debate Food Food & drink Vegan food and drink Veganism features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/05/vegans-palm-oil-plant-based-diet-cruelty-free'|'2017-09-05T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'43804c2130b307b8f08be8d577648c2eee5f49d6'|'Deutsche Bank boss calls on ECB to halt cheap money'|'September 6, 2017 / 7:49 AM / 20 minutes ago Deutsche Bank boss calls on ECB to halt cheap money Tom Sims 3 Min Read Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan addresses a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank chief executive John Cryan has called on the European Central Bank to change course on providing cheap money, warning he sees price bubbles in stocks, bonds and property. “The era of cheap money in Europe should come to an end - despite the strong euro,” Cryan told a room full of bankers in Frankfurt on Wednesday, a day before the ECB’s governors meet to discuss policy. Low interest rates, money printing and a penalty charge for hoarding cash have been at the heart of attempts by the central bank to reinvigorate the 19-country euro zone economy in the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis. But the policy, which has seen the ECB print more than 2 trillion euros (1.84 trillion pounds) so far, has been politically divisive, prompting fierce criticism from famously thrifty Germans. It has also imposed a heavy cost on still fragile banks, turning deposits into a hot potato that many would rather avoid so as not to pay charges to their central bank for storing them. The head of Germany’s largest commercial bank warned of the fallout from cheap money, cautioning against using the strong euro as a justification for printing more. “We are now seeing signs of bubbles in more and more parts of the capital market,” he said. FRANKFURT TO WIN Cryan also said Frankfurt was the most natural location as a financial hub as banks move from London after Britain’s decision to leave the European Union - ahead of Paris, Dublin and Amsterdam. “There is only one European city which can fulfil these requirements and that city is Frankfurt,” he said, pointing to Frankfurt’s supervisory authorities, law firms, consultancies and airport. Britain’s planned departure from the EU has prompted banks and investors in London to examine other cities to keep a foothold in the bloc, allowing them to sell across the continent without additional costs or trade hurdles after Brexit. Frankfurt and Dublin have emerged as the most popular centres. “It’s not about a choice between Dublin, Paris or Frankfurt – it’s about a choice between New York, Singapore or Frankfurt,” he said. “Brexit could become a large stimulus package for Frankfurt’s economy.” Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by John O''Donnell and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-banks-rates/deutsche-bank-ceo-calls-on-ecb-to-change-course-idUKKCN1BH0VP'|'2017-09-06T11:57:00.000+03:00'
'2f91e1407184365b9b7f4a03866621b151118a56'|'Italy to hike 2018 GDP and deficit forecasts - source'|' 19 AM / 6 minutes ago Italy to hike 2018 GDP and deficit forecasts - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An Italian flag waves in front of the Montecitorio palace in downtown Rome November 8, 2011. REUTERS/Tony Gentile ROME (Reuters) - Italy will raise its forecast for next year’s economic growth to around 1.5 percent from the current estimate of 1.0 percent when the Treasury issues new projections this month, a source with knowledge of the forecasting document said on Wednesday. Despite the improved growth outlook, the government will also increase its target for the 2018 budget def0icit to 1.7 or 1.8 percent of gross domestic product from the current target of 1.2 percent, said the source. This year’s growth forecast will be raised to around 1.5 percent, said the source, from the current projection of 1.1 percent, confirming earlier comments from a government source. The new official forecasts are due to be issued on around September 20. reporting by Luca Trogni, writing by Gavin Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-budget-forecasts/italy-to-hike-2018-gdp-and-deficit-forecasts-source-idUKKCN1BH1FQ'|'2017-09-06T14:23:00.000+03:00'
'3f5796912d46663ba62cb1c4dbbbdfca14236077'|'Nikkei takes cues from Wall Street rebound on debt ceiling deal'|'* Trump forges deal for 3-month debt ceiling reprieve* Energy shares gain after crude oil rises on WednesdayBy Lisa TwaroniteTOKYO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Thursday, pulling away from the previous session’s four-month intraday lows after news of an agreement to extend the U.S. debt limit cheered Wall Street.The Nikkei was up 0.4 percent at 19,430.19 at the end of morning trade.Major U.S. stock indexes finished higher overnight, with the S&P 500 ending within 15 points of its record closing high, after President Donald Trump forged a surprising deal with Democrats in Congress on Wednesday to extend the U.S. debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 15.Investors also pondered news that U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer will step down from his position in mid-October, potentially accelerating Trump’s opportunity to reshape the direction of the central bank.Trump also said on Wednesday that he would get into “great detail” over the next two weeks on his U.S. tax reform plan, which has been short on specifics.He also warned on Wednesday that the United States would no longer tolerate North Korea’s actions after its sixth nuclear test, but said the use of military force against Pyongyang would not be his “first choice.”“North Korean fears have calmed, and you have some glimmers visible at the end of the tunnel, with Trump talking about tax reform,” said Gavin Parry, managing director of Parry International Trading in Hong Kong.“Talk of tax reform tends to bring a little bit of ‘animal spirit’ back to markets,” he said. “This carries over to Japan, where the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy is expected to remain easy, with no tapering on the horizon there.”Data released earlier on Wednesday showed that foreign investors remained net sellers of Japanese stocks for the week ending on Sept. 2.Energy shares gained, with the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s oil and coal subindex up 0.8 percent.Crude oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday as strong global refining margins and the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries after Hurricane Harvey closures provided a more bullish outlook.Investors remained wary of Hurricane Irma, which could strike Florida over the weekend.McDonald’s Holdings Company Japan rose 1.3 percent, after the fast food restaurant operator said its August same-store sales rose 14.5 percent from a year earlier.Construction-related shares gained, with Komatsu Ltd and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co both rising 2.7 percent.But small-to-mid cap stocks largely lagged broader gains, with the Mothers market of start-up shares down 0.4 percent, moving back toward more than four-month lows plumbed on Wednesday.Toshiba Corp fell 0.9 percent after Kyodo News reported that Western Digital Corp was in talks to gain voting rights of just under 16 percent in Toshiba’s memory chip unit on the assumption that it will be listed in the future. Toshiba is now aiming to reach a final agreement with the Western Digital-backed consortium by Sept. 13, said sources briefed on the talks.The broader Topix was 0.6 higher at 1,601.35 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 also added 0.6 percent to 14,193.17. (Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Sam Holmes) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday/nikkei-takes-cues-from-wall-street-rebound-on-debt-ceiling-deal-idUSL4N1LO1J9'|'2017-09-07T06:00:00.000+03:00'
'205681faad1823fcf539c669f6a1f23b9ff97516'|'Cenovus Energy to sell Pelican Lake assets for C$975 million'|'FILE PHOTO - President and CEO Brian Ferguson of Cenovus Energy addresses shareholders during the company''s annual general meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo (Reuters) - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy Cenovus Energy Inc’s ( CVE.TO ) Pelican Lake heavy oil operations in Alberta for C$975 million ($787 million), the company’s second acquisition this year.The company has its own crude oil producing asset adjacent to the Cenovus Pelican Lake property, and both use a similar technology to boost oil recovery.Analysts said Canadian Natural paid a price that was within estimates, and the acquisition will help it reduce costs in Pelican Lake.Reuters reported last week that Canadian Natural was in advanced talks to buy the Pelican Lake assets.Canadian Natural shares opened higher and extended gains more than 1.7 percent to C$39.37 after news of the deal. By mid day, the stock had moderated gains and stood at C$39.04, up 0.8 percent.Cenovus shares were up as high as 4.2 percent at C$10.36 before trading at C$10.22, up 2.7 percent.The benchmark Canada share index was down 0.8 percent. [.GSPTSE]Canadian Natural said in March it had agreed to buy oil sands assets from Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and Marathon Oil Corp ( MRO.N ) for $8.5 billion.The company was among Canadian producers who snapped up assets this year from foreign oil majors who departed the region.In a separate statement on Tuesday, Cenovus said the proceeds from the Pelican Lake sale would be used to pay down debt used to fund the $13.3 billion acquisition of some assets from ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) in March.Cenovus also said it was close to selling its Suffield oil and natural gas assets in Alberta, which could fetch between C$500 million and C$600 million. nL1N1KQ12S]CIBC Capital Markets and Barclays Capital Canada Inc were Cenovus’s financial advisers. The sale is expected to close by Sept. 30.Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru and Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cenovus-energy-divestiture/cenovus-energy-to-sell-pelican-lake-assets-for-c975-million-idINKCN1BG1BG'|'2017-09-05T08:22:00.000+03:00'
'0cc4ec9c17e138f8e7d1a613df1fc6bc7196873e'|'Sistema shares surge after Putin calls for settlement with Rosneft'|'The logo of Russian conglomerate Sistema is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin XIAMEN, China (Reuters) - Shares in Russian industrial conglomerate Sistema jumped 15 percent on Tuesday after President Vladimir Putin said he hoped it would reach an out-of-court settlement in its dispute with state oil giant Rosneft.A Russian court ruled last month that Sistema should pay 136.3 billion roubles ($2.4 billion) in damages to Rosneft to settle a dispute over mid-sized oil producer Bashneft. Sistema has said it will appeal against that decision.Putin, speaking at a news conference after a summit in China, said he had met Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin as well as Vladimir Yevtushenkov, chairman and main owner of Sistema, and listened to their positions.“It would be wrong for me to publicly announce my position. I hope that they will be able to reach an amicable agreement,” Putin told reporters.“It would benefit both companies and the Russian economy as a whole,” he said, adding he had given no direct instructions to any party in the case.A Rosneft spokesman said the company had not received any “amicable” proposals from Sistema. Sistema did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Shares in Sistema were 7.89 percent higher at 13,535 roubles on the Moscow Exchange by 0816 GMT, having jumped 15 percent to their highest since June 20 immediately after Putin’s comments. The broader market index was up 0.21 percent.In June, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would not intervene in the row after the court froze more than 170 billion roubles worth of Sistema assets as part of the litigation.The case has rekindled broader fears about investor rights in Russia. Sistema has rejected Rosneft’s claims as groundless and said the case was hurting the country’s investment climate.Additional reporting and writing by Vladimir Soldatkin and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Jack Stubbs and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-putin-sistema/sistema-shares-surge-after-putin-calls-for-settlement-with-rosneft-idINKCN1BG11L'|'2017-09-05T11:52:00.000+03:00'
'85c9992be77da957ced43fa072719d2c41c006d3'|'China''s Anbang, HNA considered buying insurance group Allianz - sources'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:09 AM / 12 minutes ago China''s Anbang, HNA considered buying insurance group Allianz - sources Sumeet Chatterjee 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of insurer Allianz SE is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd [ANBANG.UL] and HNA Group Co Ltd [HNAIRC.UL] separately considered buying stakes in German insurer Allianz SE ( ALVG.DE ) as part of plans to create a global financial empire, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The conglomerates weighed buying a majority stake in the world’s fourth-largest insurer by market value - worth over $95 billion (£72.91 billion) - while HNA was also open to a minority stake, said two people who were involved in the discussions. The separate talks, which were at an early stage and did not result in formal bids, were called off earlier this year on expected regulatory hurdles in Germany and China and due to little interest shown by Allianz’s management, they said. It’s “highly unlikely” those plans would be revived in the near future, one of the people said. A bid to acquire a controlling stake in Allianz, one of nine insurers of global systemic importance, would have ran into political and regulatory hurdles, as the insurer is a German stalwart that holds a huge amount of capital and is an important pillar for local pensions. FILE PHOTO: The headquarters building of Anbang Insurance Group are pictured in Beijing, China, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo The people spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of the issue. HNA’s plans to buy a stake in Allianz, which is not seen as a takeover candidate due to its size and importance in Germany’s financial sector, was first reported on Wednesday by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Representatives at Allianz, Anbang and HNA - which has announced over $50 billion in deals since 2015 including stakes in Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc ( HLT.N ) - all declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Although the talks did not continue for long, the plans for possible separate bids for Allianz reveal ambition among Chinese conglomerates including Anbang and HNA to create a global empire through large, debt-fuelled acquisitions. Massive overseas deals has resulted in Chinese regulators ramping up scrutiny this year of outbound acquisitions - ranging from football clubs to movie studios - of groups including Anbang, HNA, Fosun and Dalian Wanda. The government has increased restrictions on overseas acquisitions in recent months and has leant on domestic banks to reduce lending that helped fuel the shopping spree and saw local firms spending a record $221 billion on assets overseas in 2016. Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Additional reporting by Matthew Miller and Tom Sims; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-conglomerates-allianz/chinas-anbang-hna-considered-buying-insurance-group-allianz-sources-idUKKCN1BH17T'|'2017-09-06T13:45:00.000+03:00'
'7bf04d884f9dcef656ca3441dcf7b7e14492688a'|'UPDATE 1-Novo Nordisk settles U.S. probe over diabetes drug for nearly $58.7 million'|'September 5, 2017 / 9:18 PM / 11 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Novo Nordisk settles U.S. probe over diabetes drug for nearly $58.7 million Reuters Staff (Adds details on settlement) By Nate Raymond Sept 5 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk will pay nearly $58.7 million to resolve claims the drugmaker’s sales staff downplayed the importance of a warning about cancer risks on the label of its diabetes medication Victoza, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. The settlement will resolve a series of lawsuits centered on allegations that Novo Nordisk armed its sales representatives with information to give to doctors that created the false or misleading impression that the label’s warning was wrong or unimportant. “When a drug manufacturer fails to share accurate risk information with doctors and patients, it deprives physicians of information vital to medical decision-making,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler said in a statement. Novo Nordisk Inc, a unit of Denmark’s Novo Nordisk A/S, did not admit wrongdoing as part of the civil settlement. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Under the settlement, Novo Nordisk will pay the government $12.15 million that the Justice Department said it earned by violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act from 2010 to 2012. The company will pay an additional $46.5 million to the federal government and various states to resolve claims under the False Claims Act and similar state laws, the Justice Department said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/novo-nordisk-settlement/update-1-novo-nordisk-settles-u-s-probe-over-diabetes-drug-for-nearly-58-7-million-idUSL2N1LM236'|'2017-09-06T00:16:00.000+03:00'
'7a3cf4e3a4541b7aa462aff5713b76d99043def7'|'Toshiba says to build new chip facility in northern Japan'|'September 6, 2017 / 5:33 AM / an hour ago Toshiba says to build new chip facility in northern Japan Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba is seen as a shareholder arrives at Toshiba''s extraordinary shareholders meeting in Chiba, Japan March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp said it has decided to build a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Iwate, northern Japan, even as it seeks to sell its memory chip unit to raise funds. It is considering whether its chip joint venture partner SanDisk, owned by Western Digital Corp, will take part in the investment, it said in a statement. Western Digital offered to drop out of a group bidding for Toshiba’s flash memory chip business after talks stalled, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Western Digital is instead seeking a stronger position in their joint venture, the sources said. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-chips/toshiba-says-to-build-new-chip-facility-in-northern-japan-idUKKCN1BH0KV'|'2017-09-06T08:32:00.000+03:00'
'5ea7d8908cef25f04cf4f9f010c7dc6ec476398e'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 6'|'Sept 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.Headlines* UK proposal threatens tough post-Brexit rules for EU migrants. on.ft.com/2wDSL8z* Lego suffers first drop in revenues in a decade. on.ft.com/2wDSOkL* Boeing fires warning shot over $30 bln UTC-Rockwell deal. on.ft.com/2wDTnLzOverview* Britain will end the free movement of labour immediately after Brexit and introduce measures to drive down the number of lower-skilled EU migrants, a leaked government document published by the Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday.* Lego announced a 5-percent decline in mid-year revenue a month after abruptly removing its chief executive, suggesting it is facing its biggest test since flirting with bankruptcy in the early 2000s.* Boeing Co warned on Tuesday that it will oppose United Technologies Corp’s $30-billion plan to buy avionics maker Rockwell Collins Inc. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-6-idINL8N1LM6PZ'|'2017-09-05T21:18:00.000+03:00'
'8b262a01e2420f71a610e4dd7b82199bb00ce943'|'Canada mulls buying used Boeing fighter jets from Australia'|'OTTAWA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Canada, embroiled in a dispute with Boeing Co over the planned purchase of 18 new Super Hornet fighter jets, could buy used versions of the plane from Australia instead, the defense ministry said on Wednesday.The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspended talks with Boeing over the planned acquisition after the U.S. firm launched a trade challenge against Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc in April.“In light of Australia recently notifying all allies about their intent to dispose of their (Super Hornet) fleet, Canada visited them to inquire about the state of their equipment and spare parts,” the office of Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement.“It is too early to provide detailed information about other options,” it added. The Australian air force operates 24 Super Hornets.Trudeau on Tuesday complained about what he called Boeing’s “unfair and aggressive” trade challenge against Bombardier, which the U.S. firm alleges is dumping passenger planes in the American market.Sajjan says Canada needs an interim fleet of 18 jets until it is able run an open competition to replace its veteran CF-18 fighters, a process that could take five years.Neither Boeing nor the Australian High Commission (embassy) in Ottawa were immediately available for comment.Australia bought the Super Hornets as an interim fleet until it could take delivery of F-35 planes made by Lockheed Martin Corp.Canada’s former Conservative administration said in 2010 it would buy 65 F-35 jets but later scrapped the decision, triggering years of delays and reviews.Ahead of the October 2015 election that brought him to power, Trudeau campaigned on a promise not to buy the F-35s, saying they were too expensive. Officials have since softened their line, saying the plane would be eligible to take part in the open competition. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-canada/canada-mulls-buying-used-boeing-fighter-jets-from-australia-idINL2N1LN1DL'|'2017-09-06T15:16:00.000+03:00'
'83447c64cf70ad366f5da5f2a1010463cb9f87df'|'UPDATE 1-Lenovo settles charges it sold laptops with compromised user security'|'(Adds Lenovo comment, details on dispute)WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Lenovo Inc, a major laptop maker, has agreed to pay $3.5 million and make changes in how it sells laptops in order to settle allegations it sold devices with pre-loaded software that compromised users’ security protections.The agreement with Connecticut, the Federal Trade Commission and 31 other states was announced on Tuesday.The software, called VisualDiscovery, was installed on hundreds of thousands of laptops beginning in August 2014 in order to deliver pop-up advertisements. The software also blocked browsers from warning users when they tried to access malicious websites.The software was also able to access consumers’ sensitive information, like Social Security numbers, the FTC said. That information was not sent to Superfish, which sold VisualDiscovery, the FTC said.“Lenovo compromised consumers’ privacy when it preloaded software that could access consumers’ sensitive information without adequate notice or consent to its use,” Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said in a statement. “This conduct is even more serious because the software compromised online security protections that consumers rely on.”Lenovo said in a statement that it stopped selling the pre-loaded software in early 2015.“While Lenovo disagrees with allegations contained in these complaints, we are pleased to bring this matter to a close after 2-1/2 years,” the company said.“To date, we are not aware of any actual instances of a third party exploiting the vulnerabilities to gain access to a user’s communications,” the company said in an email statement.As part of the settlement, Lenovo agreed to get consumers’ consent before installing this type of software, the FTC said. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Paul Simao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lenovo-group-usa-ftc/update-1-lenovo-settles-charges-it-sold-laptops-with-compromised-user-security-idINL2N1LM0WF'|'2017-09-05T13:13:00.000+03:00'
'1ed8b35f274471305d1fe6b5b649199de26b84eb'|'Hong Kong needs new ways to lure more tech listings - HKEX CEO'|'Reuters TV United States  40 AM / a minute ago Hong Kong needs new ways to lure more tech listings: HKEX CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Chief Executive Charles Li attends an interview by Reuters in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong needs to find new ways to attract new economy companies to stay competitive, Charles Li, chief executive of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing ( 0388.HK ), told Reuters on Tuesday. In June, HKEX started a consultation on the launch of a third board that could allow companies to list with dual-class share structures and would target “new economy” companies in sectors such as internet and bio-tech. Public consultation ended last month, with financial industry professionals still divided over the matter. The HKEX chief, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Hong Kong, also said he saw a breakthrough in international capital raising in Hong Kong by companies once primary stock connect was allowed. Reporting by Pete Sweeney; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hkex-ceo/hong-kong-needs-new-ways-to-lure-more-tech-listings-hkex-ceo-idUKKCN1BG06N'|'2017-09-05T05:37:00.000+03:00'
'84aa70ab624fe52a71ffc01dbf2ee6cc6c5ec876'|'CORRECTED-JP Morgan overtakes BAML as lead FTSE 100 adviser'|'(Corrects name of data provider to Adviser Rankings in paras 3 and 6)LONDON, Sept 4 (IFR) - JP Morgan has reclaimed its crown as the most popular stockbroker for Britain’s biggest firms after leapfrogging rival Bank of America Merrill Lynch.But it was not all good news for JP Morgan - it lost its top position as the most popular stockbroker for all British firms to Numis Securities, which continues to add midcap and smaller clients.JP Morgan, whose strength as corporate broker across the City stems from its takeover of blue-blood firm Cazenove, had 30 clients in the FTSE 100 as at August 8, according to data released on Monday by Adviser Rankings.JP Morgan added one client in the last three months to take it past BAML, which had 29 blue-chip clients, down from 31 in May.Barclays, Morgan Stanley and UBS all remain tied as the third most popular brokers for FTSE 100 clients, each with 21 mandates in August, all unchanged from May.They are followed by Goldman Sachs, which had 15 clients after adding one during the quarter, and Credit Suisse (12), Citigroup and Deutsche Bank (both 11), the data from Adviser Rankings showed.Corporate broking is a uniquely British practice that is highly competitive and can pull in hefty investment banking revenues - as well as bragging rights.Banks typically provide free advice to clients in return for usually leading on any equity issuance, M&A advisory and other deals. The relationships between adviser and company can last for years or even decades.JP Morgan is easily the most popular corporate broker among the FTSE 250 mid-sized UK companies, with 85 clients. Numis ranks second, with 42 mid-cap clients.Numis had 195 clients across the London stock market as at August 8, up five from May. That took it above JP Morgan, which had 189 clients, down from 193 in May.They were followed by other firms specialising in advising midcap and smaller firms - Finncap and Peel Hunt ranked third, each with 119 clients. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Christopher Spink.) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/idINL8N1LL36V'|'2017-09-04T12:43:00.000+03:00'
'2708754c3ac60f31c72bfae3069c1583b2971307'|'France plans to end oil and gas production by 2040'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:30 AM / 12 minutes ago France plans to end oil and gas production by 2040 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - People sunbathe as oil and gas tankers are anchored off the Fos-Lavera oil hub near Marseille, southeastern France, October 7, 2010. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - France plans to pass legislation by the end of 2017 to phase out all oil and gas exploration and production on its mainland and overseas territories by 2040, becoming the first country to do so, according to a draft bill presented on Wednesday. President Emmanuel Macron wants to make France carbon neutral by 2050 and plans to curb green house gas emissions by leaving fossil fuels, blamed for contributing to global warming, in the ground. Under the draft bill presented to cabinet on Wednesday, France will no longer issue exploration permits and the extension of current concessions will be gradually limited until they are phased out by 2040 - the same year when France plans to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles. The decision is, however, largely symbolic because France only produces about 6 million barrels of hydrocarbons a year, representing about 1 percent of its consumption. France will continue to import and refine oil for its needs. “The law will halt the exploitation of hydrocarbons in our territory; existing concessions cannot be renewed beyond 2040,” the draft bill states. No shale gas permit has ever been issued in France and it will be impossible to do so after the law is passed. The law could impact companies such as French oil major Total ( TOTF.PA ), which although it has discontinued oil exploration in mainland France, still has permits to explore in overseas territories such as offshore Guyane Maritime in French Guiana. Total declined to comment immediately. Macron is pressing ahead with implementing the landmark accord reached by nearly 200 nations in the French capital in 2015 to fight climate change after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal. As part of the measures, France plans to stop generating electricity from coal by 2022 and reduce to 50 percent from more than 75 percent the share of nuclear in its electricity generation, while favouring the increase of renewable power in its electricity mix. Reporting by Bate Felix and Benjamin Mallet; editing by Richard Lough and Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-hydrocarbons/france-plans-to-end-oil-and-gas-production-by-2040-idUKKCN1BH1AC'|'2017-09-06T13:29:00.000+03:00'
'b5310039ff96c7cfb018005b6a2fe9de565af41b'|'Vietnam moves one step closer to sale of majority stake in brewer Sabeco'|'Cans of beer move along a production line at a factory of Saigon Beer Corporation (Sabeco) in Hanoi, Vietnam June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kham HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s prime minister has approved a plan to sell a majority stake in brewer Sabeco SAB.HM, a government committee said in a document seen by Reuters on Tuesday, taking the state-controlled brewer one step closer to a long-awaited sale.Vietnam has one of the world’s most attractive beer markets and the biggest in Southeast Asia, thanks to a young population that consumed nearly 4 billion litres in 2016.Foreign brewers from Kirin ( 2503.T ) to Heineken ( HEIN.AS ) have been looking at a possible investment in the maker of the Bia Saigon and 333 brews since it was earmarked for privatization. But long-stated plans for the government, which still owns about 90 percent, to sell a majority stake have met with repeated delays.A meteoric rise in Sabeco’s share price due to high demand and a small float has complicated matters, making it difficult for industry buyers - including Heineken which already owns a 5 percent share - or other investors to step in.The stock listed at 110,000 dong but is now trading at around 255,000 dong, a more than 130 percent increase.The document did not mention a timeline for the sale or how much the government wants to raise.Sabeco, the country’s second-biggest listed firm by market value, is a key plank of a broader privatization effort, which includes dairy firm Vinamilk VNM.HM, Vietnam Airlines HVN.HNO and rival brewer Habeco BHN.HM.The Vietnamese government also plans to sell a further sliver of Vinamilk, around 3 percent, at 154,000 dong each, higher than the previous estimate, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Tuesday.The divestment out of Vinamilk, Vietnam’s top firm by value, is expected to bring in 7.443 trillion dong ($328 million) to the state, Vietnam’s Steering Committee for Enterprise Innovation and Development said in a statement dated Aug. 30.The State Capital Investment Corp, the government’s representative in Vinamilk, said it estimated the stake sale would fetch 6.5-7 trillion dong.Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Writing by Clara Ferreira-Marques; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sabeco-sale/vietnam-to-sell-53-59-percent-of-top-brewery-firm-sabeco-government-idUSKCN1BG0S8'|'2017-09-05T15:24:00.000+03:00'
'177bf55675f15dffe0280e49d548cdaa67e0595b'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips as financials weigh; energy stocks jump on deal'|'TORONTO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index slipped in early trade on Tuesday, weighed by falls among financial stocks, while Cenovus Energy Inc and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd both jumped after announcing a deal for Cenovus’ Pelican Lake assets.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 29.15 points, or 0.19 percent, at 15,162.45 shortly after the open. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-slips-as-financials-weigh-energy-stocks-jump-on-deal-idINL2N1LM0OO'|'2017-09-05T11:47:00.000+03:00'
'27cd59d31717a8c0e6915ca08e214100eb997338'|'London Metal Exchange trading fees likely to be cut - HKEX chief'|'September 5, 2017 / 8:56 AM / 30 minutes ago London Metal Exchange trading fees likely to be cut - HKEX chief Anne Marie Roantree 3 Min Read Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Chief Executive Charles Li attends an interview by Reuters in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip HONG KONG (Reuters) - Trading fees at the London Metal Exchange (LME) will likely be cut to bolster liquidity at the world’s oldest and largest market for industrial metals, said the chief executive of its owner, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX). A 31 percent average fee hike in January 2015 is cited by metal industry officials as a major reason behind tumbling LME volumes, and the exchange is expected to announce fee cuts when it releases an industry reform plan later this week. “We probably increased those fees a bit too much. We probably will knock it back ... it’s a very important feature to get liquidity into the LME,” Charles Li, the head of HKEX, told a Reuters Newsmaker event in Hong Kong on Tuesday. He didn’t give specifics on the scale or timing of such cuts. The plan to shave fees comes amid the Hong Kong exchange’s efforts to leverage its $2.2 billion takeover of LME in 2012 by expanding into China, the world’s biggest metals consumer. The Hong Kong exchange has partially succeeded in improving profits at the LME by raising fees and boosting electronic trading, while arbitrage activity between the LME and the Shanghai Futures Exchange has soared this year. Falling volumes have been a concern. Overall volumes at the LME, which has been operating for almost 140 years, in the seven months to the end of July were flat on last year. The annual drop last year was 7.7 percent. “Obviously, the LME was a member-owned mutual regime, and they eventually became more commercialised,” Li said. “In that fee commercialisation, looking back, we probably have increased certain fees too much, and increased other fees not enough.” Li also said the HKEX’s planned commodity platform in the Qianhai economic zone in southern China, just 50 km (30 miles) from Hong Kong, was still at an early stage. “That’s going to be a long work in progress,” Li said. Eventually, as China’s markets open up, the Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME) is intended to connect with the LME and possibly other mainland exchanges, luring customers with opportunities to be active in both the mainland’s domestic markets and international markets. Additional reporting by Elzio Barreto and Melanie Burton; Writing by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by James Pomfret and Gopakumar Warrier'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hkex-ceo-lme/london-metal-exchange-trading-fees-likely-to-be-cut-hkex-chief-idUKKCN1BG129'|'2017-09-05T11:56:00.000+03:00'
'1756dda40579b6365ac80092a3458b1e87df14ef'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate panel to look at self-driving commercial trucks'|'September 6, 2017 / 4:16 PM / 4 minutes ago UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate panel to look at self-driving commercial trucks Reuters Staff (Adds senator quote, background on issue, companies involved) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee plans a hearing next Wednesday on the future of self-driving commercial trucks that will include the chief executive of Navistar International Corp and safety advocates. A U.S. House bill aimed at speeding self-driving vehicles to market that faces a vote Wednesday does not include changes to allow fully autonomous commercial trucks on U.S. roads, but some senators want to include commercial trucks. The Teamsters union has praised efforts to keep self-driving commercial trucks out of a proposed bill aimed at speeding deployment of the advanced technology for cars, warning that truck driver jobs may be at risk. “Self-driving technology for trucks and other large vehicles has emerged as a pivotal issue in Congress’ attempt to help usher in a new era of transportation,” said Senator John Thune, who chairs the Commerce Committee. Also testifying will be Deborah Hersman, president of the National Safety Council, as well as the head of the American Trucking Associations and chief of the Colorado State Patrol. Alphabet Inc’s self-driving car unit Waymo is working on developing self-driving trucks, the company said in June. Other companies have also been working on self-driving trucks. Ride services company Uber Technologies is working on autonomous trucking through its Otto unit, acquired last year. Tesla Inc, which is working on self-driving technologies, said in April it plans to unveil a commercial truck called the Tesla Semi this month. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has said she is “very concerned” about the impact of self-driving cars on U.S. jobs, a big part of President Donald Trump’s campaign message. The Teamsters, which represent 1.4 million workers including hundreds of thousands of truck drivers, have lobbied to keep commercial trucks out of the self-driving legislation. Auto industry leaders have said 3 million commercial truck jobs could eventually be at risk if self-driving vehicles replaced human drivers. The Teamsters have opposed efforts by states to approve plans by logistics companies to use platooning technology that could reduce driver jobs by allowing a pack of trucks to be digitally connected and driven in formation. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/autos-selfdriving-trucks/update-1-u-s-senate-panel-to-look-at-self-driving-commercial-trucks-idUSL2N1LN1DT'|'2017-09-06T19:15:00.000+03:00'
'4a81c8a43a04df9517f4d4e8d1f50ad091558222'|'France wants right to veto euro clearing in UK after Brexit - EU sources'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:42 AM / 6 minutes ago France wants right to veto euro clearing in UK after Brexit - sources 4 Min Read Pound and Euro coins are seen in this picture illustration taken January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - France wants European Union regulators to have a veto over how Britain supervises UK-based clearing houses of euro denominated transactions after Brexit, EU sources said. The demand marks an escalation in efforts by France, the European Central Bank and others to have a decisive say over euro-denominated clearing after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019. LCH, a unit of the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), currently dominates clearing of euro denominated derivatives. Euro clearing has become a battleground between London and Brussels as both sides are locked in divorce talks that will shape how Europe’s financial market - along with its tax revenue and the hundreds of thousands of jobs - is divided up. The EU’s executive European Commission proposed a draft law in June that sketches out a system of joint supervision of “systemic” clearing houses outside the bloc that handle large amounts of derivatives and other contracts traded in euros. Euro clearing would have to move from London to the EU if joint supervision was deemed insufficient by Brussels. EU policymakers say they should have a say over such “third country” activity in order to ensure euro zone financial stability in times of crisis. Officials from the bloc’s member states meet next week to begin the approval process for the draft law, and the two biggest states, Germany and France want tougher measures than what’s been proposed so far, EU sources with knowledge of the meeting said. Each member state was asked to give their views on the draft law, and France has said it wants the ability of the ECB to impose extra requirements on non-EU clearing houses to be given to the European Commission and to the bloc’s European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) as well, the sources said. France wants them to “have a say, up to a veto right if needed” on some decisions taken by non-EU authorities, if those decisions go against the bloc’s interests, the sources added. The closure of a vital clearing service that cannot be easily be replicated in the EU is one example of a decision that could be vetoed. LCH and other clearing houses in Britain are regulated by the Bank of England. Germany says in its submission that the EU proposals don’t go far enough in giving the ECB powers to change clearing house rules and act quickly in a crisis, the sources said. Some EU policymakers are still smarting after LCH raised how much cash was required to back financial transactions during the euro zone debt crisis, saying this decision fuelled further instability. Germany, like Austria, is against handing more powers to Paris-based ESMA at the expense of national regulators, and instead backs giving the ECB new powers “to impose additional requirements on third-country” clearing houses. Next week’s meeting will start by discussing a proposal from the ECB to amend one of its founding articles to allow the Frankfurt-based central bank to “make regulations to ensure efficient and sound clearing and payment systems” within the EU “and with other countries”. Germany believes this is of “particular relevance to the Brexit situation”, the sources said. Spain said it was unsure whether such “deep change” was actually needed for supervising clearing houses, a view backed by Sweden, a sign of how member states don’t want to see their national watchdogs lose more power to EU regulators. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-clearing/france-wants-right-to-veto-euro-clearing-in-uk-after-brexit-eu-sources-idUKKCN1BH1BU'|'2017-09-06T13:42:00.000+03:00'
'26b75250721d83dd6516b49b3c41a78e3ce0bd98'|'EU''s top court refers Intel antitrust case back to lower court'|'LUXEMBOURG, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Europe’s top court on Wednesday told a lower court to re-examine U.S. chipmaker Intel’s appeal against a 1.06-billion-euro ($1.3 billion) EU antitrust fine.“The Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court, which had upheld the fine of 1.06 billion euros imposed on Intel by the Commission for abuse of a dominant position,” the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice (ECJ) said.“The case is referred back to the General Court in order for it to examine the arguments put forward by Intel concerning the capacity of the rebates at issue to restrict competition,” the ECJ said.The General Court in its 2014 ruling upheld the European Commission’s 2009 decision but last year an court adviser recommended backing Intel’s arguments.The Commission handed down the fine, a record at the time, reasoning that Intel had tried to block rival Advanced Micro Devices by giving rebates to PC makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co, NEC and Lenovo for buying most of their computer chips from Intel. ($1 = 0.8386 euros) (Reporting by Michele Sinner and Philip Blenkinsop, writing by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/idINB5N1G8025'|'2017-09-06T05:53:00.000+03:00'
'1f7009f6ad84edd7c1afe1fc3c847552d72ab64f'|'Home Depot, Lowe''s start shipping emergency material to Florida ahead of hurricane'|'CHICAGO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Home improvement retailers Home Depot Inc and Lowe’s Inc said on Wednesday they have started shipping emergency material to Florida in anticipation of Hurricane Irma, even as they continue recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey in Texas.Irma, which hit the Caribbean island of St. Martin on Wednesday, is expected to make landfall in Florida during the weekend but its precise trajectory remained uncertain.Irma could become the second powerful storm to thrash the U.S. mainland after Hurricane Harvey killed more than 60 people and caused as much as $180 billion in damage after hitting Texas late last month.“This is unusual because we are now juggling two different storms in two different phases. One is approaching while the other market is in the recovery phase,” Home Depot spokesman Matthew Harrigan told Reuters.Home Depot is following the “same script” preparing for Irma as it did for Harvey. The retailer’s merchandising and supply chain teams have previously dealt with different weather-related disasters at once, Harrigan said without giving specific examples.Before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, the world’s largest hardware and home improvement chain activated its disaster-response plan, asked managers to freeze prices in stores around the region and move storm related merchandise to the front of the store. It followed a plan honed over many hurricane seasons to minimize disruptions, deliver essential material to affected areas and capitalize on a surge in demand for products once repairs begin.Home Depot said it takes up to two months to open stores that are hit hard by a hurricane.Both Home Depot and Lowe’s had activated a hurricane command center during Hurricane Harvey that is now continuing to monitor the path of Hurricane Irma and mobilizing resources such as supplies.Rival Lowe’s Inc said it has sent 400 truckloads of hurricane prep material including flashlights, batteries and weather radios to Florida.Analysts have said investments in logistics and supply chain by home improvement chains during a weather-related disaster typically brings about 10 to 15 times more in sales.Shares of both Home Depot and Lowe’s traded up nearly 2 percent on Wednesday morning. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago, Additional reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-home-depot/home-depot-lowes-start-shipping-emergency-material-to-florida-ahead-of-hurricane-idINL2N1LN1K6'|'2017-09-06T15:29:00.000+03:00'
'b54c9b5c6053d9115df8026a152f84cf089ff002'|'Brazil''s Petrobras to sell 90 percent of natural gas transport unit'|'Tanks of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company are seen in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil state-controlled oil firm Petrobras said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday that it will sell a 90-percent stake in its wholly owned subsidiary Transportadora Associada de Gas SA (TAG).TAG, a unit for transporting natural gas, operates a 4,500-kilometer (2,800-mile) pipeline system mostly in the country’s north and northeast.Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture-tag/brazils-petrobras-to-sell-90-percent-of-natural-gas-transport-unit-idINKCN1BG3BI'|'2017-09-05T21:23:00.000+03:00'
'e79034265f267f6e89f6bd98ecd67e51002f93ad'|'LPC: United Tech launches US$6.5bn loan for Rockwell Collins buy'|'NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - United Technologies Corp launched a US$6.5bn loan on Wednesday to support the aerospace and industrial company’s US$23bn purchase of avionics supplier Rockwell Collins Inc, the largest merger ever in the aerospace sector, sources said.The financing is a 364-day bridge term loan that will ultimately be replaced by permanent bond debt, the sources said.It is the first loan backing merger and acquisition activity in the investment-grade aerospace arena so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters LPC.Morgan Stanley is administrative agent. The bank, along with HSBC Securities and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, are joint lead arrangers and bookrunners.Loan pricing details were not immediately available.The company on Tuesday said it expects to raise about US$14bn of new debt, as well as bring back US$1bn of foreign cash, to fund the cash portion of the deal.The acquisition, announced on Monday, is valued at US$30bn when including the US$7bn of Rockwell debt that United Technologies will be assuming.The merger is expected to close by the third quarter of next year.MICRO-BURST M&A has come in a “micro-burst of activity” over the past few weeks, and likely will remain episodic through the rest of the year, one senior banker said of a wave of mergers between high-quality companies announced late in the summer.Other recent large tie-ups include Gilead Sciences Inc’s agreement to buy Kite Pharma Inc for about US$12bn, and Sempra Energy’s US$9.45bn acquisition of Texas electricity transmission and distribution grid operator Oncor Electric Delivery Co.Companies are “actively having discussions” about new M&A opportunities, another senior banker said. “People are giving up on Washington, and moving forward” in the absence of any resolution about US tax reform, the banker said.United Technologies plans to fund the US$23bn purchase amount with two-thirds cash and one-third stock, according to a transcript of a conference call with analysts on Tuesday.The company’s senior unsecured debt is rated A3 by Moody’s Investors Service and A- by S&P, both investment-grade rankings.Each of the agencies said they might cut the company’s credit rating by a notch, depending on the pace of deleveraging. Such a ratings reduction would maintain investment-grade credit quality.United Technologies said on Tuesday that it expects to suspend share buybacks, limit M&A and explore opportunities to repatriate cash and divest non-core assets, toward the effort to keep its investment-grade ratings.Rockwell Collins and United Technologies’ aerospace systems segment will be combined to create a new business unit named Collins Aerospace Systems, the companies said in announcing the acquisition. (Reporting by Lynn Adler; Editing By Michelle Sierra and Leela Parker Deo) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/united-rockwell-tieup/lpc-united-tech-launches-us6-5bn-loan-for-rockwell-collins-buy-idINL2N1LN27X'|'2017-09-06T18:22:00.000+03:00'
'9dbcd9e406a68e413a700609413efb47894b58f7'|'U.S. stock futures lower as North Korea tensions rise'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:50 AM / 15 minutes ago Fresh North Korea tensions hit Wall Street Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - U.S. stocks sank on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 stumbling to its biggest single-day loss in about three weeks, as investors weighed fresh tensions with North Korea. North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, marking a dramatic escalation of the regime’s stand-off with the United States and its allies. With U.S. markets closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday, Tuesday marked the first regular trading since the geopolitical developments. “North Korea seems to be what gets the biggest reaction, at least over the last month or two,” said Aaron Jett, vice president for global equity research at Bel Air Investment Advisors in Los Angeles. ”It’s basically just a risk-off day ... There is no data, no earnings, nothing really fundamental to move the market today, so it sells off when there’s a scary headline again,” Jett said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 234.25 points, or 1.07 percent, to 21,753.31, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 18.7 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,457.85 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 59.76 points, or 0.93 percent, to 6,375.57. Wall Street may face a bumpy road in September, typically the worst month for stocks, if there is a showdown in Washington over the U.S. budget and the federal debt ceiling. Investor nerves on Tuesday may have been heightened by news of a powerful storm heading to the southern United States closely on the heels of devastation in Texas from Hurricane Harvey. Shares in home insurers with exposure to Florida tumbled as investors braced for losses as Hurricane Irma appeared set to hit the state. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid The CBOE Volatility index .VIX, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, rose 2.10 points to 12.23. The benchmark S&P fell as much as 1.2 percent during the session, but stemmed its losses by the close. Declines of at least 1 percent have been rare in 2017 as the stock market has steadily climbed to all-time highs. The S&P on Friday had ended within five points of its record closing high. Slideshow (3 Images) “We rallied pretty hard over the past two weeks and didn’t really break out to the upside so I think that set us up to give some back today,”said William Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird in Milwaukee.Financials .SPSY were the worst-performing sector, dropping 2.2 percent for their biggest one-day fall since mid-May as U.S. Treasury yields dropped sharply. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said the U.S. central bank should delay raising U.S. interest rates until it is confident inflation that is now “well short” of target will rebound. Goldman Sachs’ shares ( GS.N ) fell 3.6 percent, dragging down the Dow, while the S&P was pulled lower by a more than 2-percent fall in shares of JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and Bank of America ( BAC.N ). Aerospace stocks were rattled by United Technologies’ ( UTX.N ) $23 billion deal to buy avionics maker Rockwell Collins ( COL.N ). United Technologies shares slumped 5.7 percent and were the Dow’s biggest decliners, while shares of fellow Dow component, plane maker Boeing ( BA.N ), fell 1.4 percent. Rockwell Collins shares rose 0.3 percent. Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ) shares fell 3.5 percent after the airline cut its forecast for passenger unit revenue. Insmed ( INSM.O ) shares more than doubled after the company said its drug for a rare lung disorder met the main goal in a late-stage study. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.34-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.14-to-1 ratio favored decliners. Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/u-s-stock-futures-lower-as-north-korea-tensions-rise-idUSKCN1BG1LB'|'2017-09-05T14:49:00.000+03:00'
'0746b95d3b2b6b43de352c0bdbd14705db4cc32b'|'China services sector expands by most in three months in August - Caixin PMI'|'September 5, 2017 / 2:07 AM / 13 minutes ago China services sector expands by most in three months in August - Caixin PMI Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A basket vendor walks past red lanterns serving as decorations to celebrate the new year outside a shopping mall in Kunming, Yunnan province January 6, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING, Sept 5 (Reuters) - China’s services sector expanded at a faster clip in August as new business orders picked up, a private business survey showed on Tuesday, pointing to renewed strength in a key part of the world’s second-largest economy. The findings were in line with an official gauge of the non-manufacturing sector published last week which also showed growth in the services sector accelerated, bolstering views that China’s economy remains on solid footing. The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 52.7 in August - the highest reading in three months - from 51.5 in July. New business expanded at the fastest pace in three months with a reading of 53.1 in August, while companies also hired the most workers in four months. A reading above 50 indicates growth, and any lower than that signals contraction. The Caixin index for factory activity in August was 51.6, the highest in six months. China is counting on services, particularly high value-added services in finance and technology, to lessen the economy’s traditional reliance on heavy industry and investment. Government statistics show the services sector, accounting for just over one-half of China’s economy in the first half of 2017, grew 7.7 percent in that period from a year earlier, easily outpacing overall GDP growth of 6.9 percent. But in a sign of a potential price squeeze on service companies, prices charged fell for the first time since March 2016 while input price inflation picked up in August from July as companies said competition intensified. Caixin’s composite manufacturing and services PMI, also released on Tuesday, rose to 52.4 in August from 51.9 in July and was the highest in six months. “The recovery in both manufacturing and services has led the economic outlook to continue to improve,” Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, said in a note accompanying the data release. “But we need to closely watch whether the recent rises in input costs will weigh on corporate profits and fuel inflation,” Zhong added. The uptick in China’s economy over the past few months bodes well for the country’s leadership ahead of a once-every-five-years congress of the Communist Party, which will open on Oct. 18. Economic data to be released over the next few weeks is expected to show momentum will largely hold up through to the end of the year, despite tighter monetary policy. Reporting by Elias Glenn, Editing by Richard Borsuk'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-pmi-services-caixin/china-services-sector-expands-by-most-in-three-months-in-august-caixin-pmi-idUKKCN1BG054'|'2017-09-05T05:07:00.000+03:00'
'c831fee3f6b009f0cd90b88616a1185c47d7c295'|'GM August China vehicle sales up 12 pct y/y'|'BEIJING, Sept 5 (Reuters) - General Motors Co’s vehicle sales in China rose 12 percent in August from a year earlier to 328,425 units, following a 6.3 percent increase in July, the Detroit-based automaker said on Tuesday.GM’s January-August sales totalled 2.38 million vehicles, a 0.3 percent gain from the same period a year ago.GM’s sales figures come on the heels of relatively strong sales numbers reported on Monday by Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp.Honda said its sales in August grew 20.6 percent to 128,671 vehicles, while Toyota’s sales volume of 108,500 vehicles were up 13.2 percent ahead year-on-year. (Reporting By Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Vyas Mohan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-autos-gm/gm-august-china-vehicle-sales-up-12-pct-y-y-idINB9N1L901J'|'2017-09-05T04:21:00.000+03:00'
'2ca19294707cfe90e06dbbe932db0cdbb895d2fd'|'Hyundai Motor suspends output at a China factory due to supply disruption'|'September 5, 2017 / 2:14 AM / 18 minutes ago Hyundai hit again by supply disruption in China, one plant halted Hyunjoo Jin 3   The South Korean and Chinese national flags fly alongside the company flag of Hyundai Motor Co at its plant in Beijing, China, August 30, 2017. Picture taken August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s Hyundai Motor said it had suspended production at one of its China factories on Tuesday after a supplier refused to provide parts due to delays in payment - its second such incident in as many weeks. Frayed relations with suppliers to its venture with BAIC Motor Corp Ltd are adding to headaches for Hyundai in China, where it has seen sales slump due to diplomatic tensions between the two nations and fierce competition from local brands. Supplier sources familiar with the matter and analysts say that BAIC is in charge of payments and has been responsible for the delays. Hyundai declined to comment on the reason for the failure to pay suppliers. A representative for BAIC could not be immediately reached for comment. Their joint venture had only just resumed production at four China plants on Aug. 30 after a suspension of about a week because one French supplier refused to provide fuel tanks due to non-payment. This time, a German firm has refused to provide parts for air intake systems, a representative for Hyundai said, declining to identify the supplier. The joint venture’s three other Chinese factories remain operational. Any loss of production from this one factory is unlikely to have a major sales impact as Hyundai probably has sufficient inventory at the plant because its cars have not been selling well, said Ko Tae-bong, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities. “That is manageable. But if Hyundai’s Chinese partner is refusing to make payments, that’s a different story,” he said, adding that the issue could occur time and time again. Scrambling to tackle problems in China, Hyundai said this week it had appointed a new head for its China operations. Tao Hung Than, who is of Chinese descent, took the helm effective Friday replacing Chang Won-shin, who lasted less than a year in the job. The new China CEO, however, has a huge task in front of him if he is going to get Hyundai back on track in the world’s biggest auto market - one that accounted for nearly a quarter of Hyundai’s revenue in the last financial year. A weakening brand image and a product line-up without attractive SUVs are only adding to pain from diplomatic tensions. Hyundai’s sales from its Chinese factories plummeted 64 percent in April-June first quarter, when the automaker posted its smallest quarterly net profit in five years. South Korean firms have been hit by a Chinese backlash over Seoul’s decision to deploy a U.S. missile defence system to counter threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. China says the system poses a threat to its national security. Hyundai and BAIC were also due to start operations at a fifth China car factory late last month but the timetable has been pushed back. Hyundai has declined to comment on the postponement. Shares in Hyundai fell as much as 2.1 percent to their lowest level in more than four months on Tuesday and have declined 4.9 percent since the first reports of the supply disruptions emerged a week ago. Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hyundai-motor-china/hyundai-motor-suspends-output-at-a-china-factory-due-to-supply-disruption-idUKKCN1BG05W'|'2017-09-05T05:14:00.000+03:00'
'63b43fdbf545b8257ec69a2fd30e524ac0a2adca'|'Halfords maintains profit guidance on solid trading'|'September 5, 2017 / 6:15 AM / an hour ago Halfords maintains profit outlook after "staycation summer" Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Halfords sign is seen outside a store in London, Britain April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British bicycles and car part retailer Halfords maintained its full year profit guidance on Tuesday after summer sales were boosted by more Britons opting to holiday at home due to the weaker pound. The firm reported retail like-for-like sales growth of 3.5 percent in the 20 weeks to August 18, with a strong performance in camping, roof boxes and cycle carriers complementing growth in service-related sales. “I am pleased with the trading performance over the first 20 weeks of the year in both motoring and cycling. A combination of good planning and execution meant that we optimised sales from the staycation summer,” said Chief Executive Jill McDonald. Total group sales growth was 4.8 percent, indicating the firm has so far shrugged off a squeeze on consumer spending. The trading update is the last to be presided over by McDonald. She resigned in May to take up a position leading Marks & Spencer’s clothing and homewares business and will leave Halfords in October. The statement provided no update on her successor. Analysts are on average forecasting a pretax profit of 74 million pounds for Halfords’ 2017-18 year, according to Reuters data, down from 75.4 million pounds in 2016-17. Halfords said it still expects a cost hit of about 25 million pounds in 2017-18 from the depreciation of sterling, with 15 million pounds relating to the first half. ”Our foreign exchange mitigation plans are working in line with expectations and we are well prepared for the peak trading period through winter,” McDonald said. Shares in Halfords, down 11 percent so far this year, closed Monday at 315.4 pence, valuing the business at 629 million pounds. Reporting by Emma Rumney, editing by James Davey'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-companies-halfords-grp/halfords-maintains-profit-guidance-on-solid-trading-idUKKCN1BG0LH'|'2017-09-05T09:14:00.000+03:00'
'1723132619cc30e3e4ad2e7a21beb654c294cc84'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil prosecutor says new audio threatens Batista leniency deal'|'(Adds details throughout, background)By Ricardo Brito and Lisandra ParaguassuBRASILIA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A leniency deal struck between the controlling shareholders of Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA and prosecutors may be partially revoked, threatening witnesses’ immunity but keeping their testimony, the country’s top prosecutor said on Monday.Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot said at a news conference that billionaire meat tycoon Joesley Batista and a fellow state’s witness seemed to have inadvertently recorded a four-hour conversation discussing crimes not covered in their plea bargain. The audio was submitted to prosecutors on Thursday as an attachment to an unrelated matter, he said.Joesley Batista and his brother Wesley previously confessed to bribing scores of politicians in plea bargain testimony that allowed them to avoid prosecution. With their help, prosecutors got a recording of President Michel Temer apparently endorsing hush payments to a possible witness in a graft probe.Janot said the new audio was “very troubling” because it suggested the Batistas had not been forthcoming about all of their crimes. He also said the audio implicated someone at the Supreme Court of unspecified wrongdoing and suggested that a prosecutor in his office had aided the Batistas illegally.Janot said evidence from their plea bargain testimony, which he has used to bring corruption charges against Temer, will stand regardless of whether witnesses lose immunity after an investigation of the new audio.The prosecutor general is expected to bring a second wave of charges against Temer in coming weeks.Questions about the Batistas’ testimony are likely to hang over the charges against Temer, making it easier for members of Congress to prevent the president from facing trial at the Supreme Court, as they did with earlier charges.Temer declined to comment on the matter when asked by reporters in China.J&F Investimentos SA, the holding company through which the Batista family controls JBS, said Janot had hastily interpreted the recording, which contained “considerations of hypotheses” and did not compromise the good faith of the witnesses.The company agreed in May to pay a leniency fine of 10.3 billion reais ($3.3 billion) for its role in a political bribery scheme.Since then, Joesley Batista resigned as chairman of JBS, but his brother Wesley remains chief executive and has been fighting efforts to remove him led by state development bank BNDES, another major shareholder in the world’s largest meatpacker.Janot opened an investigation on Monday into revising the leniency deals of Joesley Batista and two other J&F executives, according to a document on his office’s website.Since the plea deal, J&F has been racing to sell assets in order to reduce debt and pay the leniency fine.In three months, the holding company has signed agreements to sell Havaianas flip-flops maker Alpargatas SA, dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA and pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA.$1 = 3.1409 reais Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo and Jake Spring in Brasilia; Editing by Brad Haynes and Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-jbs/update-1-brazil-prosecutor-says-new-audio-threatens-batista-leniency-deal-idINL2N1LL16Y'|'2017-09-05T00:25:00.000+03:00'
'4c4da1d669d6d11274bd3bca8a1a4e02249ea686'|'Tronc buys New York Daily News'|'September 5, 2017 / 3:25 AM / in 33 minutes Tronc buys New York Daily News Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tronc Inc (TRNC.O), formerly Tribune Publishing Company, is seen at TechFair LA, a technology job fair, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (Reuters) - Newspaper company Tronc Inc, which owns the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, said it acquired the New York Daily News from media and property mogul Mort Zuckerman. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source familiar with the deal said Tronc would assume roughly $30 million of liabilities. Tronc said late on Monday it would also buy a 49.9 percent interest in a joint venture with Zuckerman-related entities that will own the 25-acre parcel of land on which New York Daily News’ printing facility in New Jersey is located. Zuckerman, who first put the New York Daily News on the auction block in February 2015, sought $200 million for the paper at the time. However, he dropped the plan and said in August 2015 that the newspaper was no longer up for sale. ( reut.rs/2gADvAe ) Tronc’s predecessor, The Tribune Co, founded the New York Daily News, and with the transaction, Tronc will serve 10 major U.S. markets, Tronc CEO Justin Dearborn said in a statement. Arthur Browne, current editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News, has also been named as the publisher. Browne, who previously indicated his intention to retire from the paper, has agreed to stay until the end of 2017 and will report to Tronc President Timothy Knight. Reporting by Sangameswaran S and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru, Liana Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daily-news-m-a-tronc/tronc-buys-new-york-daily-news-idUKKCN1BG09O'|'2017-09-05T06:21:00.000+03:00'
'7dae946d78a3ff4cdccf3b4c418ac979b5235a7c'|'Russia''s Rosneft has not received ''peaceful'' proposals from Sistema'|'September 5, 2017 / 8:16 AM / in an hour Russia''s Rosneft has not received ''peaceful'' proposals from Sistema Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of Russian conglomerate Sistema is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) has not received any “peaceful” proposals from Sistema ( AFKS.MM ) to solve their legal wrangling, Rosneft’s spokesman Mikhail Leontyev told Reuters on Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Tuesday said he had met the heads of Sistema and Rosneft, expressing hope that both could reach an out-of-court settlement. A Russian court ruled on Aug. 23 that Sistema should pay more than 136 billion roubles ($2.4 billion) to Rosneft in a dispute over oil producer Bashneft ( BANE.MM ). Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-rosneft-sistema/russias-rosneft-has-not-received-peaceful-proposals-from-sistema-idINKCN1BG0XJ'|'2017-09-05T06:16:00.000+03:00'
'a96e7487a443c54fdf4732ada8d30ba97161b783'|'UK car sales fall by around 6 to 7 percent in August - preliminary data'|'September 5, 2017 / 6:34 AM / 2 hours ago UK car sales fall again in August Costas Pitas 2 Min Read Car dealerships selling new cars are pictured at Portslade near Brighton in southern England January 7, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor LONDON (Reuters) - British new car sales fell for the fifth month in a row in August, the longest run of declines since 2011, a car industry body said on Tuesday, as uncertainty over Brexit and possible levies on diesel cars hit Europe’s second-biggest market. Sales fell by an annual 6.4 percent to 76,433 vehicles, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), with demand among businesses and individuals both slumping. Diesel car registrations fell by 21.3 percent, whilst petrol sales rose 3.8 percent in a further sign that uncertainty over possible government-imposed penalties on the most polluting vehicles is putting off buyers. But SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said he expected demand to remain strong in September, which accounts for some 15 percent of annual sales as it is one of only two occasions each year when a new licence plate series is introduced to indicate the age of a vehicle. “With the new 67-plate now available and a range of new models in showrooms, we anticipate the continuation of what are historically high levels of demand,” Hawes said. Several carmakers, representing around three-quarters of the market, have launched trade-in and scrappage schemes in recent weeks which should help to support the September selling month. The SMMT expects full-year registrations to end the year down nearly 4 percent at 2.59 million units from 2.69 million in 2016, which was a record high. Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by Andy Bruce and Louise Heave'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-autos/uk-car-sales-fall-by-around-6-to-7-percent-in-august-preliminary-data-idUKKCN1BG0N1'|'2017-09-05T09:34:00.000+03:00'
'8b87b0cb6b98efd542c856f95fcdc5e4de7110b8'|'Brazil''s Rio state secures $20 billion through federal rescue plan'|'BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s government announced a financial rescue plan for cash-strapped Rio de Janeiro state on Tuesday that should allow it to pay about 63 billion reais ($20.16 billion) in salaries and debts through 2020.The plan includes a three-year reprieve for the state on servicing loans from the federal government and an estimated 11 billion reais in loans from public and private banks.It is contingent on spending cuts by the state government and measures to raise revenues, authorities said. It also calls for the mandatory privatisation of the state water and sewer company Cedae.Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles told reporters the state should start receiving the loans within 30 days, enabling it to pay overdue salaries that have led to successive protests and strikes in the crime-plagued state capital, also called Rio de Janeiro.“The state will start to come back to normality,” Meirelles said, adding that the plan could be extended beyond the initial three years if necessary, as Brazil emerges from its worst recession on record.The federal aid programme follows the deployment of 8,500 soldiers to curb escalating violence in the state capital in July, a year after it hosted the 2016 Olympic Games.Former state governor Sergio Cabral, whose administration boosted state spending ahead of the 2016 Games, is in jail on charges of leading a major corruption scheme that included buying votes at the International Olympic Committee, police and prosecutors announced separately on Tuesday. [L2N1LM0CX]State lender Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social SA (BNDES) will coordinate bank loans to the state, Meirelles told a press conference.He added that the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul has been engaged in preliminary talks aimed at securing a similar rescue deal.Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-economy-rio/brazils-rio-state-secures-20-billion-through-federal-rescue-plan-idINKCN1BH05W'|'2017-09-05T23:08:00.000+03:00'
'8c35c0ac27e25bc3126b2dd804aaf49ab9657cb9'|'Asia stocks down, dollar on defensive, gripped by risk aversion'|'September 6, 2017 / 12:38 AM / 5 minutes ago Dollar steadies after Korea tensions weigh on stocks 5 Min Read A U.S. Dollar note is seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Shares fell in Europe and Asia on Wednesday as simmering tension over the Korean peninsula kept investors wary of taking on risk, although Wall Street looked to have put its worst fears behind it and the dollar edged higher U.S. index futures ESc1 1YMc1 NQc1 were all in positive territory, indicating Tuesday’s slide in reaction to North Korea’s sixth and biggest nuclear weapons test on Sunday may have been arrested. The S&P 500 .SPX suffered its biggest one-day fall in three weeks on Tuesday. Oil price rose, with Brent crude hitting its highest since late May. The dollar also made slight gains against the yen, having fallen 1 percent at one point on Tuesday. Yields on safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, which fell to their lowest in nearly 10 months on Tuesday, and German government debt, both rose, with the outlook for monetary policy also drawing investors’ attention. A meeting on Thursday of European Central Bank policymakers is expected to yield some clues as to when they will begin to scale back monetary stimulus. “A lot will depend on how (ECB President Mario) Draghi addresses the euro. I‘m quite confident that he’ll address it in some way, but the question is whether he’ll address it strongly enough for the market to react,” said Commerzbank currency strategist Esther Reichelt, in Frankfurt. The pan-European STOXX 600 share index fell 0.4 percent, close to its opening levels. In the latest developments in the North Korea nuclear crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting his South Korean counterpart in Vladivostok that it could not be resolved with sanctions and pressure alone. Separately, a top North Korean diplomat warned on Tuesday his country is ready to send “more gift packages” to the United States. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.4 percent and Tokyo''s Nikkei hit a four-month low, closing down 0.1 percent. South Korea''s KOSPI index .KS11 ended down 0.3 percent at a near four-week low. FILE PHOTO - A man walks past an electronic screen displaying the Nikkei share average as cherry blossoms are in full bloom outside a brokerage in Tokyo March 22, 2013. The dollar gained 0.1 percent against a basket of currencies .DXY and a similar amount to 108.87 yen, JPY= , which investors often seek during uncertain times. Japan is the world’s largest net creditor country, and traders assume Japanese repatriation from foreign countries will eclipse foreign investors’ selling of Japanese assets. The euro EUR= was up 0.1 percent at $1.1921. Ten-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR edged up to almost 2.08 percent, having fallen as far as 2.065 percent on Tuesday. Tuesday’s fall in Treasury yields also followed cautious comments from Fed policymakers, which investors perceived as making a third interest rate rise this year unlikely. Indeed, the average yield on local-currency emerging-market sovereign debt dropped below 6 percent for the first time since February 2015. Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Tuesday the central bank should be cautious about tightening policy further until it was clear inflation was heading towards target. German 10-year yields, the euro zone benchmark, inched up to 0.34 percent, having earlier hit their lowest in a week at 0.325 percent DE10YT=TWEB TAKING A VIEW “We’ve got the oil price higher, which is something that is often consistent with a move higher in bond yields,” said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets. “After such a significant downward move in U.S. Treasury yields, there’s also a bit of retracement there.” Gold, another asset sought in troubled times, was up 0.1 percent to $1,339 an ounce after touching $1,344 on Tuesday, its highest since September 2016. Oil prices rose as U.S. refineries re-opened after Hurricane Harvey, even as Hurricane Irma headed towards the Caribbean. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 79 cents to $54.17, its highest since late May. Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Graphic by Marc Jones; Editing by Catherine Evans, Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/asia-stocks-down-dollar-on-defensive-gripped-by-risk-aversion-idUKKCN1BH033'|'2017-09-06T03:40:00.000+03:00'
'f0be3bc6f24df5e6f9f96901121a8e31f5acf272'|'Conoco says Eagle Ford oil output nearing 80 pct of pre-Harvey level'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips said on Monday its oil production in the Eagle Ford shale region had hit roughly 50 percent of its pre-hurricane rate of 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and expected it to reach 80 percent by the evening.The company suspended all operations and shut in production in the Texas region on Aug. 25 due to Hurricane Harvey.Conoco said production associated with natural gas liquids at Eagle Ford was expected to be the slowest to recover due to offtake constraints, which it said could last “at least another week.”Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Writing by Libby George; Editing by James Dalgleish '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-conocophillips/conoco-says-eagle-ford-oil-output-nearing-80-percent-of-pre-harvey-level-idUSKCN1BF2F3'|'2017-09-04T23:48:00.000+03:00'
'8747fea381c86501eecdd9fa1ad5069b0988e36c'|'Publisher of High Times acquires LGBT publications'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - Oreva Capital, the Los Angeles-based investment firm that recently bought marijuana enthusiast magazine “High Times,” has funded a management buyout of a handful of media brands catering to the gay community.Oreva has backed a management-led buyout of Here Publishing, which owns such titles as “The Advocate” and “Out,” with plans to grow its online and events business, Oreva CEO Adam Levin told Reuters in an interview this week.Levin, who is also CEO of High Times, declined to comment on how much Oreva paid to buy Here Publishing from its former owner, Here Media.Oreva is buying Here Publishing, which it is rebranding “Pride Media Inc,” at a time when many print publishers are struggling with declining subscribers and advertising revenue.However, Levin believes that by acquiring niche media with a passionate audience, like “High Times” which is expected to go public in the next few months, and now with Pride Media, there is an opportunity to grow revenue, he said.“We are looking for brands that have strong emotional ties with a community,” he said. “We think there is a unique opportunity in niche media brands that are undervalued and have further ways to monetize the intellectual property.”Oreva plans to grow Pride Inc’s events business so that it makes up 25 to 30 percent of the company’s revenue in the next 12 to 18 months, up from 5 percent currently, Levin said.Similarly, the company expects to invest in its digital business and grow its total reach to 15 to 18 million monthly visitors, up from 12 million currently in the next 12 months, he said. (Reporting by Jessica Toonkel; Editing by James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/oreva-lgbt/publisher-of-high-times-acquires-lgbt-publications-idINL2N1LN1LS'|'2017-09-07T11:01:00.000+03:00'
'445ae545f8ac96ab400dde55a681fb0ddef56aef'|'ECB keeps policy, guidance unchanged'|'The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the "Luminale, light and building" event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. EUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank on Thursday lowered some of its inflation projections to reflect a firming euro but lifted some growth forecasts after the euro zone economy registered its best growth run in a decade.The euro has gained 13 percent against the dollar this year, a mixed blessing for the ECB as it reflects a robust economy but caps inflation by reducing the cost of imports.The ECB now sees inflation of 1.5 percent in 2017 and 1.2 percent in 2018, compared with its forecasts of 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent respectively from June. Both are well below its target of just under 2 percent.Growth this year was seen at 2.2 percent versus an earlier 1.9 percent forecast.The following are the ECB staff’s new projections for inflation and GDP growth, with June’s forecasts in brackets. The ECB updates projections once a quarter.2017 2018 2019 GDP growth 2.2 1.8 1.7(1.9) (1.8) (1.7) Inflation 1.5 1.2(1.3 1.5(1.5) ) (1.6) Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy-decision/ecb-keeps-policy-guidance-unchanged-idINKCN1BI1KC'|'2017-09-07T15:06:00.000+03:00'
'dd1bcdaf6fa6f4758987955b47cefdd6b765556c'|'UPDATE 1-Illinois governor agrees to sell bonds to pay off bills'|'(Adds comments from governor and spokesman, background on bond ratings)CHICAGO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said on Thursday the state will sell $6 billion of bonds to reduce an unpaid bill pile that ballooned to more than $15 billion during an unprecedented two-year budget impasse.The Democratic-controlled legislature included the general obligation bond authorization in the fiscal 2018 budget it enacted in July over the Republican governor’s vetoes.But Rauner last month expressed reluctance to tap that authorization despite a push from Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who contended the move was more cost-effective than continuing to accrue late bill payment penalties of as much as 12 percent a year.Acknowledging that the state has been borrowing from its vendors and service providers, the governor said in a statement he will use the bonding authority ”because it’s better to have Wall Street carry our debt than Main Street Illinois.”He added that lawmakers failed to account for additional debt service costs for the new bonds and that his office was looking at spending cuts to make room for annual principal payments of $500 million plus interest.The authorization limits the bonds’ maturity to 12 years and requires their issuance by Dec. 31.The structure and timing of the bond issuance is being evaluated, according to Jason Schaumburg, a Rauner spokesman.Last month, S&P Global Ratings said the bond sale could help protect Illinois’ BBB-minus credit rating from a downgrade to junk. (Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Matthew Lewis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/illinois-bonds/update-1-illinois-governor-agrees-to-sell-bonds-to-pay-off-bills-idINL2N1LO1E9'|'2017-09-07T15:51:00.000+03:00'
'447e75fec5b2e2fe0d8220c0148b1cd6b71c98f1'|'BMW readies mass production of electric cars, 12 models by 2025'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:10 PM / Updated 4 hours ago BMW gears up to mass produce electric cars by 2020 Edward Taylor , Irene Preisinger 4 Min Read An employee holds a BMW logo on the production line of the BMW C evolution electric maxi-scooter at the BMW Berlin motorcycle plant February 23, 2015. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT/MUNICH (Reuters) - Germany’s BMW ( BMWG.DE ) is gearing up to mass produce electric cars by 2020 and will to have 12 different models by 2025, it said on Thursday, as traditional manufacturers race to catch up with U.S. electric car pioneer Tesla ( TSLA.O ). Car buyers shunned electric vehicles because of their high cost and limited operating range until Tesla unveiled the Model S in 2012, a car that cracked the 200 mile (322 km) range barrier on a single charge. Since then, big advances in battery technology and a global crackdown on pollution in the wake of Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) diesel scandal have raised pressure on carmakers to speed up development of zero-emission alternatives. BMW, which launched the i3 electric car in 2013, said it was now readying its factories to mass produce electric cars by 2020 if demand for battery driven vehicles takes off. “By 2025, we will offer 25 electrified vehicles – 12 will be fully-electric,” Chief Executive Harald Krueger told journalists in Munich, adding the electric cars would have a range of up to 700 km (435 miles). It marks a significant foray by a major manufacturer into electrification. BMW, which includes the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands and sold 2.34 million cars last year, announced the move on the day smaller rival Jaguar said it would offer electric or hybrid variants of all its models by 2020. On Wednesday, Nissan unveiled a new version of its Leaf electric vehicle in its latest move to take on Tesla, the U.S. firm co-founded by Elon Musk that sold 83,922 vehicles last year. ROLLS-ROYCE FILE PHOTO - A model displays the charging plug of a BMW i3 electric car during the Auto China 2016 in Beijing, China, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee Traditional carmakers have been slow to embrace the electric vehicle market because it remains unprofitable, largely due to the cost of batteries which make up between 30 percent and 50 percent of the cost of an electric vehicle. A battery pack with 60 kWh capacity and 500 km range costs around $14,000 (£10,718) today, compared with a gasoline engine that costs around $5,000. Add to that the $2,000 for the electric motor and the inverter, and the gap is even wider. But capacity investments into the battery sector may bring down costs of electric vehicles to a “tipping point” when they reach parity with combustion-engined equivalents some time between 2020 and 2030, according to analysts at Barclays. With cities threatening to ban combustion-engined vehicles or to tax diesel cars more heavily, the total cost of ownership of electric cars could drop below their combustion-engined equivalents, and Europe could become a 100 percent pure battery electric vehicle market by 2035, according to analysts at ING. The Frankfurt motor show, starting next week, will be used by BMW to unveil a new four-door electric car positioned between the i3 city car and the i8 hybrid sportscar, Krueger said. “We will be increasing the share of electrified models across all brands and model series. And, yes, that also includes the Rolls-Royce brand and BMW M vehicles,” he said. German rivals will also be showing electric cars, with Daimler’s ( DAIGn.DE ) Mercedes-Benz brand unveiling the EQA, a concept mass market electric car, Volkswagen taking the wraps off the ID Crozz. Aside from vehicle cost, a key obstacle to making electric cars popular is the amount of time it takes to recharge, and a lack of charging stations. London needs to spend 10 billion euros (£9.15 billion) to get charging infrastructure to a level where retail buyers can practically own an electric car, consultancy AlixPartners has said. Almost none of that spending has been earmarked so far. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Alexander Smith and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt/bmw-readies-mass-production-of-electric-cars-12-models-by-2025-idUKKCN1BI1KN'|'2017-09-07T15:10:00.000+03:00'
'a1df63be181b33728963e5e849c94bf7e84e391a'|'Deutsche Bank ''uncomfortable'' with Brexit regulation uncertainty'|'September 7, 2017 / 1:10 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Deutsche Bank ''uncomfortable'' with Brexit regulation uncertainty Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A statue is seen next to the logo of Germany''s Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) is “uncomfortable” with the uncertainty over regulations following Britain’s departure from the European Union, a senior official at Germany’s biggest bank said on Thursday. Sylvie Matherat, the bank’s chief regulatory officer, said normally a regulator sets the framework, and then a bank adapts to fit the mould. But now, it’s the reverse situation, with Deutsche Bank forced to lay out its Brexit plans to regulators in Britain and Germany before there is an actual framework in place. “At this stage, we are asked by regulators on both sides to send to them our plans, and then they tell us if they like them or not,” she said. “Normally it’s the other way around: The regulation first, and then we adapt.” “At this stage, it’s a little uncomfortable,” she said at a conference in Frankfurt, with the chief of Germany’s financial watchdog at her side on stage. The bank is headquartered in Frankfurt, but has large operations in London. She declined to say how many of the bank’s jobs might move from London, though in the past she has said it could be up to 4,000. The Bank of England has said it might force EU banks such as Deutsche, which currently operate in Britain as branches, to convert their London outposts into subsidiaries, which would require additional capital. European banks have privately warned they will have to shift thousands of people out of Britain if Brexit negotiations push the Bank of England to demand that they reinforce London operations with fresh capital. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-regulations/deutsche-bank-uncomfortable-with-brexit-regulation-uncertainty-idUKKCN1BI1RE'|'2017-09-07T16:09:00.000+03:00'
'2ac0976c108eac2783915d6938a3b5afde2ea469'|'UK builder Bovis to reduce land bank as part of turnaround'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:59 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago UK builder Bovis to reduce land bank as part of turnaround Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Greg Fitzgerald, CEO of Bovis, poses for a portrait during an interview with Reuters at offices in London, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - British builder Bovis ( BVS.L ), which has been subject to two failed takeover bids, will reduce its land bank by putting half of the plots at two of its biggest sites into a joint venture with a partner as part of a turnaround, its CEO said. The builder will also pay subcontractors more quickly and up its rates for some as part of efforts to revive the ailing firm. Bovis said it would downsize two of its biggest sites - in the central English town of Wellingborough and the southern area of Sherford - by putting half of the plots of land into a joint venture with a partner, reducing its land bank, generally a builder’s biggest cost. Greg Fitzgerald, who has cut headcount and reduced volume targets, said the sites - which had been bought by the previous management - were too big for the firm. “We’ll take our land bank down by about 1,600 plots... so that will in one fell swoop deal with those two very, very large sites,” he said. Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bovis-results-turnaround/uk-builder-bovis-to-reduce-land-bank-as-part-of-turnaround-idUKKCN1BI28K'|'2017-09-07T18:58:00.000+03:00'
'fe043193ce9e0be98473cdf0cadc90dbb541abfa'|'Blackstone cancels $2.8 bln Australian mall sale on weak interest - source'|'SYDNEY, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone Group cancelled the sale of a A$3.5 billion ($2.8 billion) Australian shopping mall portfolio after it was unable to find a buyer, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.“They pulled the sale process last week. The rationale was that with the level of market demand, they decided to focus on active management,” said the source, who asked not to be named because they were not authorised to comment publiclyThe U.S. group put its Australian portfolio of 10 shopping centres, mostly in Sydney and Melbourne, on the market in April. ($1 = 1.2582 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/blackstone-group-australia-sale/blackstone-cancels-2-8-bln-australian-mall-sale-on-weak-interest-source-idINS9N1IV013'|'2017-09-05T00:02:00.000+03:00'
'a83bcb72e449cf5cfb8224073014577462606162'|'Vietnam to sell 53.59 percent of top brewery firm Sabeco: government'|'Cans of beer move along a production line at a factory of Saigon Beer Corporation (Sabeco) in Hanoi, Vietnam June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kham HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s prime minister has approved a plan to sell a majority stake in brewer Sabeco SAB.HM, a government committee said in a document seen by Reuters on Tuesday, taking the state-controlled brewer one step closer to a long-awaited sale.Vietnam has one of the world’s most attractive beer markets and the biggest in Southeast Asia, thanks to a young population that consumed nearly 4 billion liters in 2016.Foreign brewers from Kirin ( 2503.T ) to Heineken ( HEIN.AS ) have been looking at a possible investment in the maker of the Bia Saigon and 333 brews since it was earmarked for privatization. But long-stated plans for the government, which still owns about 90 percent, to sell a majority stake have met with repeated delays.A meteoric rise in Sabeco’s share price due to high demand and a small float has complicated matters, making it difficult for industry buyers - including Heineken which already owns a 5 percent share - or other investors to step in.The stock listed at 110,000 dong but is now trading at around 255,000 dong, a more than 130 percent increase.The government wants to sell 53.59 percent of Sabeco, according to a document by Vietnam’s Steering Committee for Enterprise Innovation and Development dated Aug. 30. The document, however, did not mention a timeline for the sale or how much the government wants to raise.Sabeco, the country’s second-biggest listed firm by market value, is a key plank of a broader privatization effort, which includes dairy firm Vinamilk VNM.HM, Vietnam Airlines HVN.HNO and rival brewer Habeco BHN.HM.The Vietnamese government also plans to sell a further sliver of Vinamilk, around 3 percent, at 154,000 dong each, higher than the previous estimate, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Tuesday.The divestment out of Vinamilk, Vietnam’s top firm by value, is expected to bring in 7.443 trillion dong ($328 million) to the state, Vietnam’s Steering Committee for Enterprise Innovation and Development said in a statement dated Aug. 30.The State Capital Investment Corp, the government’s representative in Vinamilk, said it estimated the stake sale would fetch 6.5-7 trillion dong.Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Writing by Clara Ferreira-Marques; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Vyas Mohan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sabeco-sale/vietnam-to-sell-53-59-percent-of-top-brewery-firm-sabeco-government-idINKCN1BG0S8'|'2017-09-05T05:26:00.000+03:00'
'626a458af1c62736b0a85203a3e1ceb8223bb4e5'|'Activist investor urges RLJ Lodging to consider selling itself'|' 33 PM / 19 minutes ago Activist investor urges RLJ Lodging to consider selling itself Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 6 (Reuters) - Activist investor Land and Buildings on Wednesday urged U.S. real estate investment trust RLJ Lodging Trust to consider selling itself. Land and Buildings owns about 2 percent of RLJ. RLJ’s management has been disappointing and the company’s performance casts doubt on its ability to unlock shareholder value, Land and Buildings said. (Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/rlj-lodg-trst-landandbuildings/activist-investor-urges-rlj-lodging-to-consider-selling-itself-idUSL4N1LN4AU'|'2017-09-06T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'dbaa8a1ea525716b5295095dfd7ebf23a1313df2'|'Banking group Nordea snubs Sweden with HQ move to Finland'|'September 6, 2017 / 5:43 PM / 23 minutes ago Banking group Nordea snubs Sweden with HQ move to Finland Simon Johnson , Johan Ahlander 4 Min Read Sweden''s Minister for Finance Magdalena Andersson comments along with Minister for Financial Markets and Consumer Affairs Per Bolund on Swedish bank Nordea''s decision to move the headquarters from Stockholm to Finland during a press meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, September 6, 2017. TT NEWS AGENCY/ Claudio Bresciani via REUTERS STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Nordea ( NDA.ST ), the Nordic region’s biggest bank, said on Wednesday it would move its headquarters to Finland, a move aimed at cutting costs of complying with Swedish regulations and dealing a blow to Stockholm’s bid to be build a financial hub. The move is the first time since the 2008 financial crisis that a major bank has shifted its headquarters to avoid tougher rules. Nordea said the move to Finland, where it would be supervised by the European Central Bank, would save about 1 billion euros in the longer term despite extra short-term costs. It said the bank wanted a level playing field with rivals supervised by the ECB, which has since 2014 sought to establish common standards across the euro zone. “The Single Supervisory Mechanism is an appropriate regulator for a bank of our size and complexity,” Nordea CEO Caspar Von Koskull told reporters on a conference call. The bank, the ninth biggest by market value in Europe, said in March it could move HQ if the government hiked fees to cover the cost of winding up banks that fail, prompting the centre-left coalition to soften some terms. Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said she was disappointed but said tax revenues would not be affected. She said Sweden was looking at joining the European banking union, but a decision could take years. “They want the security that the banking union provides, and that leaves Finland as the alternative that can provide that,” Exane BNP Paribas analyst Andreas Hakansson said. Nordea shares closed broadly unchanged. MIXED BLESSING Analysts have been divided about how moving the HQ would affect Nordea, once owned by the Swedish state, and Sweden. Some analysts had expected lower capital requirements within the banking union would allow Nordea to lift dividend payouts. But Nordea said it would keep capital and dividend policy unchanged, although it said it would make long-term savings. Sweden’s demand for big capital buffers has acted as stamp of quality for buyers of bank debt, lowering borrowing costs for Swedish banks, which partly explains why they are twice as profitable in terms of capital employed (ROCE) as European rivals. But the move could reduce regulatory uncertainty for Nordea ahead of next year’s election. Sweden’s centre-left government has been considering ways to tax banks more heavily. “Welcome to Finland Nordea HQ. Finland’s membership in the Banking Union provides a stable business environment,” Finland’s Finance Minister Petteri Orpo wrote on Twitter. Some Swedish customers, already frustrated at what they see as inflated bank profits, opposed the moved as unpatriotic and cynical. Some unions had said they could withdraw funds and business from Nordea if its HQ went abroad. Losing Nordea will be a blow to Swedish prestige as it seeks to attract financial firms when Britain leaves the European Union. It will also fuel criticism from those who say the government is hostile to business. The Swedish finance minister said the move could reduce risks to the economy from the outsized banking sector. “Having a banking headquarters also comes with increased risks for tax payers,” she said. “That is exactly why we in the Swedish parliament have found it important to have tough rules to safeguard financial stability.” But regardless of where a bank is based in the region, problems at one institution could quickly hit other banks in other centres and could still leave Swedish taxpayers a bill for any clean up, experts say. Sweden avoided the worst of the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, but a banking crash in the early 1990s plunged the country into a recession and held back growth for years. Additional reporting by Niklas Pollard in Stockholm and Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-nordea/banking-group-nordea-snubs-sweden-with-hq-move-to-finland-idUKKCN1BH2IQ'|'2017-09-06T20:42:00.000+03:00'
'c548c3de1c70678ce7e9659fc2ffde48f0d7402a'|'FTSE dips on Korean worries as financials, housebuilders take a hit'|'September 6, 2017 / 8:59 AM / 16 minutes ago FTSE dips as financials, Barratt take a hit Julien Ponthus 3 Min Read A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British shares fell on Wednesday, weighed down by losses among banks and housebuilders although they ended off lows hit on simmering geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula. Britain''s blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE ended down 0.25 percent at 7,354.13 points, with financials taking the most points off the index with shares in HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Prudential ( PRU.L ) and Barclays ( BARC.L ) down between 0.7 and 1.1 percent. The biggest FTSE loser however was Barratt Developments ( BDEV.L ), down 4.6 percent after the housebuilder reported results and said it would continue to monitor “carefully” the impact of Brexit on its business. Liberum analysts said some investors could be disappointed by Barratt’s lack of an update on its gross margin target. “(Barratt‘s) shares are our least preferred in the sector as its relatively lower margins make it more exposed to downside risk, and its relatively short landbank and high land creditors mean that it has less scope to reduce cash outflows in support of the dividend than the other returners,” they said in a note. Smaller peer Berkeley ( BKGH.L ) fell 2.5 percent. The company said the London property market continued to be impacted by uncertainty surrounding Brexit and a property tax hike. Other companies in the sector were also retreating, with Taylor Wimpey ( TW.L ) down 1.7 percent. Royal Mail ( RMG.L ) was down 0.7 percent after Britain’s Communications Workers Union said it would ballot more than 100,000 of its members over industrial action. Easyjet ( EZJ.L ) was down 0.4 percent at 1150p after HSBC cut its target price to 1550p from 1600p. Glaxosmithkline ( GSK.L ) fell 0.5 percent after Credit Suisse cut its target price to 1725p from 1775p. Micro Focus ( MCRO.L ) shares surged 6.2 percent after its third quarter results. Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-dips-on-korean-worries-as-financials-housebuilders-take-a-hit-idUKKCN1BH11K'|'2017-09-06T12:00:00.000+03:00'
'5c73deb587f042dde1f14b231622ae67c027be1a'|'UPDATE 1-Fortive to buy radiation safety company Landauer for $770 mln'|'(Reuters) - Fortive Corp ( FTV.N ) said on Wednesday it would buy Landauer Inc ( LDR.N ), a provider of radiation safety and outsourced medical physics services, for about $770 million, including debt.Landauer’s shares were up 12.6 percent at $69.10 in premarket trading, topping the offer price of $67.25.Fortive’s offer represented a 9.6 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on Tuesday.Landauer would be a part of Fortive’s field solutions platform, which includes its Fluke and Qualitrol businesses, that make test and measurement tools and precision equipment for utilities, power companies and other industries.Everett, Washington-based Fortive, the industrial technology spin-off of Danaher Corp ( DHR.N ), would fund the deal with available cash and credit.Lazard was the financial adviser to Landauer.Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-landauer-m-a-fortive/fortive-to-buy-radiation-safety-company-landauer-for-770-million-idUSKCN1BH1RY'|'2017-09-06T15:58:00.000+03:00'
'e96c6ba8e8bd04ee86f94d7a8b8f9ea570e7efc1'|'China to spend over $1 trillion on planes over next 20 years - Boeing'|'FILE PHOTO: Visitors look at models of Boeing aircrafts at the Aviation Expo China 2015, in Beijing, China, in this September 16, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese airlines are likely to buy more than 7,000 planes worth $1.1 trillion over the next 20 years, as they grow their fleets to meet robust demand for domestic and international travel, Boeing Co said in a bullish forecast on Wednesday.Its latest estimate of 7,240 aircraft purchases for the period to 2036 is 6.3 percent higher than the U.S. planemaker’s previous prediction of 6,810 planes last year.“China’s continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle-class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook,” Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of marketing, said.“China’s fleet size is expected to grow at a pace well above the world average, and almost 20 percent of global new airplane demand will be from airlines based in China,” Tinseth said in a statement.Boeing and European rival Airbus have been jostling for market share in China, the world’s fastest growing aviation market, with both opening assembly plants in the country.Both firms have profited heavily from the aggressive fleet expansion plans of Chinese airlines, which are now experiencing falling passenger returns on routes, thanks to stiffer competition and capacity increases.The U.S. firm said it expects three-quarters of the 7,240 plane orders to be for single-aisle aircraft, thanks to strong demand for travel within China and throughout Asia. The widebody fleet would require 1,670 new planes, it added.Tinseth said he expected more demand for widebody aircraft, adding that the falling returns now being experienced by airlines was temporary. “They are big investments, it takes time, and they will get there,” he said.He added that there was more optimism on the long-term economic outlook, given better-than-expected economic growth in China this year, while the cargo market was also seeing a resurgence.Reporting by Pei Li in BEIJING and Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI; Editing by Sam Holmes and Clarence Fernandez '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-aviation-boeing/china-to-spend-over-1-trillion-on-planes-over-next-20-years-boeing-idINKCN1BH0UV'|'2017-09-06T10:56:00.000+03:00'
'079ab43f94a48c547c820ad98516ee32ece6cf3f'|'Toshiba shares gain after Western Digital offers to exit chip bid for better JV terms'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) board, under pressure to clinch a deal for its prized memory chip unit soon, met on Wednesday to review a revised bid proposed by Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) but no agreement was reached, people familiar with matter said.The latest twist in a tortuous series of revised bids and changing alliances among suitors has seen Western Digital - which has been at loggerheads with Toshiba - offering to drop out of the bid it is organizing if that will help get a deal done and other conditions are met, separate sources said on Tuesday.Those conditions include no other rival chipmaker being part of the consortium and a stronger position for the U.S. firm in their joint chip venture, they said.Scrambling to cover billions of liabilities at its U.S. nuclear unit, Toshiba needs an agreement in the next few weeks. According to one person with direct knowledge of the situation, Toshiba’s board is aiming to vote on the new proposal at a meeting next week.Sources declined to comment as they were not authorized to speak on the matter. Toshiba declined to comment on the auction process.Western Digital, which has invested heavily in their chip joint venture, had been on the backfoot for much of the auction this year as Toshiba entertained other higher bids. Relations between the two frayed to the point where the U.S. firm, which argues no deal is possible without its consent, initiated legal action.Toshiba shares rose nearly 5 percent on hopes that Western Digital’s compromise, in which it would stay in the consortium but no longer offer financing, would help seal a deal.But whether the revised proposal will be enough to get the Western Digital-backed consortium, which also includes U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) as well as Japanese government-backed investors, over the finishing line is unclear.TOSHIBA WARY FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Toshiba remains wary that Western Digital is still angling to take control of the unit - worth $17 billion to $18 billion - at some point in the future, sources familiar with the matter said.Just last week, Toshiba said it had not narrowed the pool of suitors and was also looking at a bid from U.S. private equity firm Bain, which has roped in Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) to bolster its offer, as well as one from Taiwan’s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ).It was not known if those bids were also reviewed by Toshiba’s board on Wednesday.Slideshow (2 Images) One source said the Western Digital consortium was now sounding out Apple’s interest in providing some financing to the chip business, although another source said this did not sound feasible.The value of the revised offer from the Western Digital-backed consortium was not immediately clear.Under its earlier proposal, the U.S. firm was offering to contribute 150 billion yen ($1.4 billion) through convertible bonds as part of the consortium’s $17-18 billion offer, sources have said.But Toshiba insisted that Western Digital limit the size of its stake in the chip unit to 15 percent over the next 10 years - a condition that the U.S. firm declined to accept, they added.In exchange for withdrawing from the consortium, Western Digital is asking Toshiba for a larger share of the chip allocation at their plant. It is also demanding that Toshiba ensure the two firms invest jointly in new production lines, sources said.Toshiba, after the board meeting, said it decided to build a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Iwate, northern Japan, and was considering whether its chip joint venture partner SanDisk, owned by Western Digital, will take part.Failure to clinch a sale of the chip unit in the next few weeks could mean that it may not clear all necessary regulatory approvals by the end of the financial year in March, which would likely lead to Toshiba reporting negative equity for two years in a row, increasing its chances of its shares being delisted.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse, Taiga Uranaka, Junko Fujita and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-shares/toshiba-shares-gain-after-western-digital-offers-to-exit-chip-bid-for-better-jv-terms-idINKCN1BH00L'|'2017-09-05T22:17:00.000+03:00'
'b0a32e095fd82d1504c4898eb75d8900290c4011'|'UPDATE 1-Canadian banks expect to benefit from Bank of Canada rate hike'|'September 6, 2017 / 4:25 PM / an hour ago UPDATE 2-Canadian banks expect boost from Bank of Canada rate hike Reuters Staff * RBC says decision can add at least C$300 million to revenues * Scotiabank says hike will improve profit margin * TD cautions against raising rates too quickly (Adds comments from TD Bank CEO) By Matt Scuffham TORONTO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Canada’s three biggest lenders said the Bank of Canada’s decision to raise interest rates on Wednesday would boost their profits over the next year, although one executive warned the central bank not to lift rates too quickly. The Bank of Canada surprised many when it hiked rates and left the door open to more rate increases in 2017 even as it pledged to pay attention to how higher borrowing costs would hit Canada’s indebted households. Royal Bank of Canada’s Chief Executive Dave McKay said he expected the decision to raise interest rates to add more than C$300 million ($245 million) to revenues at the country’s biggest bank over 5 years. “I would say a 25-basis-point increase in rates should benefit our retail franchise in the first year roughly by C$100 million but increase to upwards of C$300 million by year five as it takes a while to blend into the portfolio,” McKay said at the Scotiabank Financials Summit. Rising interest rates allow banks to make higher profits by improving their net interest margins, the difference between what they pay to attract deposits and what they charge to lend money. Bank of Nova Scotia CEO Brian Porter said that the latest hike and a previous increase of 25 basis points in July would add 2 to 3 basis points in 2018 to the net interest margin achieved by the bank’s Canadian business. He did not quantify how much revenue that equates to. Toronto-Dominion Bank’s CEO Bharat Masrani also said rising rates would be good for his bank, Canada’s second-biggest lender, as long as they proceed at a moderate pace. “If you believe that we are in a rising rate environment then I think generally speaking it’s a positive event for TD as long as the rate hikes are in an orderly fashion and do not tip the economy into a major slowdown,” Masrani said. “The stage we are at in the cycle I would think that, for a while at least, this will be a positive phenomenon,” he added. Masrani declined to quantify the anticipated boost to the bank’s revenues from the latest interest rate increase. $1 = 1.2225 Canadian dollars Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-cenbank-banks/update-1-canadian-banks-expect-to-benefit-from-bank-of-canada-rate-hike-idUSL2N1LN1DA'|'2017-09-06T19:24:00.000+03:00'
'7cacaeec21d125571fd33cb327aca23192773762'|'Nissan targets new Leaf global sales of more than 90,000 a year'|'Nissan Motor Co''s new Leaf, the latest version of the world''s top selling electric vehicle (EV), is seen during its world premiere in Chiba, Japan, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd ( 7201.T ) is targeting annual global sales of more than 90,000 units for its new Leaf electric vehicle, the company said on Wednesday.The battery supplier for the revamped Leaf is Automotive Energy Supply, the same as for the previous Leaf.The new Leaf, launched on Wednesday, goes on sale in Japan from Oct. 2 and elsewhere early next year.Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-ev-target/nissan-targets-new-leaf-global-sales-of-more-than-90000-a-year-idUSKCN1BH08Z'|'2017-09-06T05:05:00.000+03:00'
'ad2e3191cf1b62665272fec0c591bf71724f2077'|'Isle of Man firm to launch 250 million-pound Dubai property priced in bitcoin'|'September 5, 2017 / 11:22 PM / 13 hours ago Isle of Man firm to launch 250 million-pound Dubai property priced in bitcoin Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Bitcoin (virtual currency) coin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Knox Group of Companies, with headquarters in the Isle of Man, announced late on Tuesday it will launch a residential and commercial property development in Dubai valued at 250 million pounds ($325 million), with residences that can be purchased in the digital currency bitcoin. The company said the 2.4 million-square-foot (22.3-hectare) property venture called Aston Plaza and Residences, consisting of two residential towers and a shopping mall, will be the first major real estate development that will accept bitcoin as payment. The Dubai project is one step toward efforts to push bitcoin into the mainstream. Maligned and ridiculed in its early days, bitcoin hit a record high of $4,870 on Friday, surging more than 400 percent so far this year. The whole project is expected to be completed by late 2019. “This a great opportunity for the crypto-currency community to offload some of its significant gains, especially the early adopters, and actually deploy them in hard-core assets which I‘m building,” Knox’s chairman, Doug Barrowman, said in an interview with Reuters. Barrowman, originally from Scotland, in 2008 founded Knox, which engages in private equity, property and wealth management. The company manages 1.5 billion pounds in assets, he said. The Dubai venture is a collaboration with Baroness Michelle Mone, a member of the House of Lords and founder of the lingerie company Ultimo. Mone said in an interview that her interior design company will do the interiors of the apartments. Bitcoin payments platform BitPay will process the bitcoin transactions. The company already provides bitcoin payment tools to companies such as Microsoft and Richard Branson’s space venture, Virgin Galactic. Knox’s Barrowman said the current popularity of initial Coin offerings (ICOs), a token-based method of fundraising for technology start-ups, has shown that there is huge demand for crypto-investors to diversify their assets. Studio apartments will start in price from 33 bitcoin and, mirroring ICOs, early investors will be given additional bonuses, Barrowman said. Packages for interior design services and furniture can also be purchased in bitcoins. One-bedroom apartments can go for about 54 bitcoins, or $250,000, Barrowman said, while two-bedrooms can be bought for 80 bitcoins, or $380,000. Essentially, the apartments will be offered at a 15-20 percent discount, Barrowman said. There will be 1,133 apartments; 480 have already been sold in traditional currencies and the remaining will be earmarked for bitcoin holders, Baroness Mone said. (1 British pound = $1.30) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aston-bitcoin-property/isle-of-man-firm-to-launch-250-million-pound-dubai-property-priced-in-bitcoin-idUKKCN1BG3BA'|'2017-09-06T02:13:00.000+03:00'
'a9898edb222b6280450245eda5bf06a1467c9d4e'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Anbang Insurance Group, Prisa, Vodafone, Fortive, Reliance Industries)Sept 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Wednesday:** Reliance Industries Ltd, oil-to-telecoms conglomerate, said it will buy assets of Kemrock Industries and Exports Ltd, in a move to enter the composites and carbon fibre manufacturing business.** Fortive Corp said it would buy Landauer Inc , a provider of radiation safety and outsourced medical physics services, for about $770 million, including debt.** Vodafone has sold down its stake in South African subsidiary Vodacom by 5.2 percentage points, it announced.** Spanish media company Prisa said it was in talks over the possible sale its Santillana publishing group with U.S. private equity company Rhone Capital.** China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd and HNA Group Co Ltd separately considered buying stakes in German insurer Allianz SE as part of plans to create a global financial empire, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.** British PR agency Bell Pottinger said it had hired accountancy firm BDO to advise on a possible sale after it lost business for running a racially-charged campaign in South Africa, leaving its future increasingly uncertain.** Toshiba Corp’s board, under pressure to clinch a deal for its prized memory chip unit soon, met to review a revised bid proposed by Western Digital Corp but no agreement was reached, people familiar with matter said.** German aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl expects to submit an offer for insolvent Air Berlin early next week, jointly with several partners, he told German television.** Brazil state-controlled oil firm Petrobras said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday that it will sell a 90-percent stake in its wholly owned subsidiary Transportadora Associada de Gas SA (TAG). (Compiled by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1LN3AM'|'2017-09-06T08:04:00.000+03:00'
'59336c8bf4944a96fe6787c46601dd763388fcc4'|'U.S. factory orders post biggest drop in nearly three years'|'September 5, 2017 / 2:12 PM / 3 hours ago U.S. factory orders tumble, but business spending firming Lucia Mutikani 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Boeing worker is pictured in the wing system installation area at their factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for U.S.-made goods recorded their biggest drop in nearly three years in July, but demand for capital goods was stronger than previously reported, pointing to a faster pace of business spending early in the third quarter. Strong business spending is underpinning manufacturing and helping offset the drag from declining motor vehicle output. Manufacturing makes up about 12 percent of the U.S. economy. Factory goods orders tumbled 3.3 percent amid a slump in demand for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. That was the biggest drop since August 2014 and followed a 3.2 percent surge in June. Orders excluding transportation equipment rose 0.5 percent after edging up 0.1 percent the prior month. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, seen as a measure of business spending plans, jumped 1.0 percent in July instead of gaining 0.4 percent as reported last month. Orders for these so-called core capital goods slipped 0.1 percent in June. Shipments of core capital goods, which are used to calculate business equipment spending in the gross domestic product report, jumped 1.2 percent in July instead of the previously reported 1.0 percent rise. The surge in shipments suggests that business spending on equipment strengthened further early in the third quarter. “The recovery in business equipment investment that began late last year appears to have continued into the second half of 2017,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.Business investment on equipment increased at an 8.8 percent annualized rate in the April-June quarter, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2015. Business spending is firming even as the boost from oil and gas drilling is starting to fade as ample supplies restrain crude oil prices. In July, orders for computers and electronic products increased 2.1 percent, the biggest gain in a year. Orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components vaulted 2.6 percent, also the largest increase in a year. Workers construct mini-bikes at motorcycle and go-kart maker Monster Moto in Ruston, Louisiana January 25, 2017. Picture taken January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Nick Carey MACHINERY DEMAND WEAKENING Machinery orders, however, fell 0.9 percent. That was the largest drop in nine months and followed a 0.5 percent gain in June. Orders for industrial machinery fell 0.8 percent. Mining, oil field and gas field machinery orders rose 1.7 percent after climbing 2.5 percent in June. Demand is slowing as oil prices have dipped below $50 per barrel, and oil rigs in operation are hovering near a two-month low. Honda Motor Co''s Acura NSX luxury sports cars are seen in assemble line at the company''s Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio, U.S., November 11, 2016. Picture taken November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Maki Shiraki - D1BEUOCBLMAA Orders for transportation equipment sagged 19.2 percent, the biggest drop since August 2014. That reflected a 70.8 percent dive in civilian aircraft orders. Boeing ( BA.N ) has reported on its website that it received only 22 aircraft orders in July, sharply down from 184 in the prior month. Motor vehicle orders fell 0.9 percent after being unchanged in June. Auto sales peaked last December, leading to a slump in motor vehicle production as manufacturers work to reduce an inventory overhang. Production could get a boost from an anticipated spike in demand for automobiles as residents in storm-ravaged Texas replace flood-damaged vehicles. In July, unfilled orders at factories fell 0.3 percent after increasing 1.3 percent in June. Manufacturing inventories gained 0.2 percent, rising for the second straight month. Shipments rose 0.3 percent. As a result, the inventories-to-shipments ratio fell to 1.37 from 1.38 in June. “This is consistent with our expectation for inventories to be additive to growth in the second half,” said Tim Quinlan, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The fact that the inventory-to-shipment ratio came down suggests the stockpiling is justified.” Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-manufacturing/u-s-factory-orders-post-biggest-drop-in-nearly-three-years-idUSKCN1BG1Z5'|'2017-09-05T22:12:00.000+03:00'
'aceb7087d7335506de3114cca8f1da6a1a292606'|'European court rules firms must tell employees of email checks'|'September 5, 2017 / 8:18 AM / 44 minutes ago European court rules companies must tell employees of email checks Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A generic picture of a woman working in an office sitting at her desk typing on a computer. REUTERS/Catherine Benson CRB STRASBOURG (Reuters) - Companies must tell employees in advance if their work email accounts are being monitored and such checks must not unduly infringe workers’ privacy, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday. In a judgement in the case of a man fired 10 years ago for using a work messaging account to communicate with his family, the judges found that Romanian courts failed to protect Bogdan Barbulescu’s private correspondence because his employer had not given him prior notice it was monitoring his communications. Email privacy has become a hotly contested issue as more people use work addresses for personal correspondence even as employers demand the right to monitor email and computer usage to ensure staff use work email appropriately. Courts in general have sided with employers on this issue. The company had presented him with printouts of his private messages to his brother and fiancée on Yahoo Messenger as evidence of his breach of a company ban on such personal use. Barbulescu had previously told his employer in writing that he had only used the service for professional purposes. The European court in Strasbourg ruled by an 11-6 majority that Romanian judges, in backing the employer, had failed to protect Barbulescu’s right to private life and correspondence. The court concluded that Barbulescu had not been informed in advance of the extent and nature of his employer’s monitoring or the possibility that it might gain access to the contents of his messages. The company was not named in the ruling. The court also said there had not been a sufficient assessment of whether there were legitimate reasons to monitor Barbulescu’s communications. There was no suggestion he had exposed the company to risks such as damage to its IT systems or liability in the case of illegal activities online. “This set of requirements will restrict to an important extent the employers’ possibilities to monitor the workers’ electronic communications,” said Esther Lynch, confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. “Although it does not generally prohibit such monitoring, it sets high thresholds for its justification. This is a very important step to better protect worker’s privacy.” The ruling could lead to more clarity on the scope of corporate discipline, said James Froud, partner at law firm Bird & Bird. “We may see a shift in emphasis, with courts requiring employers to clearly demonstrate the steps they have taken to address the issue of privacy in workplace, both in terms of granting employees ‘space’ to have a private life whilst clearly delineating the boundaries,” he said. Reporting by Alastair Macdonald, Julia Fioretti and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-privacy-emails-echr/european-court-rules-firms-must-tell-employees-of-email-checks-idUKKCN1BG0YC'|'2017-09-05T11:18:00.000+03:00'
'5e5e2374f95959bff20c49ea46a41092a6f59299'|'Nokia says could cut 597 jobs in France by end-2019'|'September 6, 2017 / 6:14 PM / in 16 minutes Nokia says could cut 597 jobs in France by end-2019 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Nokia logo is seen at the company''s headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins PARIS (Reuters) - Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia said on Wednesday it could cut 597 jobs in France by end-2019 as part of a plan to save 1.2 billion euros at group level. The job cuts would concern central and support functions within Alcatel-Lucent International and Nokia Solutions Networks France, which employ a combined 4,200 people in the country, a Nokia spokeswoman told Reuters in an e-mail. R&D functions were excluded from the plan and Nokia, which bought former rival Alcatel-Lucent in 2016, will seek to limit as much a possible forced redundancies, she said. The CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, and CFTC unions said the plan was “unacceptable” and asked for a meeting at the Economy Ministry. The Ministry told Reuters it would convene in the coming weeks a committee made of union and company representatives to monitor the issue. Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic, Dominique Vidalon, Cyril Altmeyer and Yann Le Guernigou; editing by John Irish'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-nokia-france-jobs/nokia-says-could-cut-597-jobs-in-france-by-end-2019-idUKKCN1BH2LZ'|'2017-09-06T21:06:00.000+03:00'
'c7f42324c38682bd4f70c85e4b13082fbef5e5aa'|'Blockchain immature for big central banks, ECB and BOJ say'|'Servers for data storage are seen at Advania''s Thor Data Center in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland August 7, 2015. REUTERS/Sigtryggur Ari/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Distributed ledger technology like blockchain is not mature enough to power the world’s biggest payment systems, though it has the potential to improve system resilience, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday.The conclusions drawn are similar to those of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada in earlier assessments.Blockchain, which first emerged as the system powering the cryptocurrency bitcoin, is a shared record of information that is maintained by a network of computers without the need for a trusted third party.The euro zone and Japanese central banks argued that the technology has significant potential, “giving reasons to be optimistic”, but said issues including latency remained and that further development and testing were needed.“Given the relative immaturity of the technology, distributed ledger technology is not a solution for large-scale applications like BOJ-NET and TARGET2 at this stage of development,” the ECB and BOJ said in a joint statement, referring to their payment systems.“This joint effort has produced a thorough set of results that provide reasons to be optimistic with respect to the capabilities of DLT within payment systems,” they added.Information on a blockchain can be viewed by all parties connected to the network but can only be amended if each participant agrees to the changes.This creates a shared golden source of data that can reduce the need for an intermediaries such as banks, improving the potential for direct, real-time financial transactions between firms or individuals.Banks and other large financial institutions have been ramping up efforts to develop blockchain-based technology to run some of their most burdensome back-office processes, such as the clearing and settlement of securities.Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/blockchain-ecb/blockchain-immature-for-big-central-banks-ecb-and-boj-say-idINKCN1BH1XZ'|'2017-09-06T17:08:00.000+03:00'
'92d0417a8e431748980b0016dde5fe0a858d7c77'|'EU rejects plan for measures against steel from four countries'|'September 7, 2017 / 1:33 PM / Updated 42 minutes ago EU rejects plan for measures against steel from four countries Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments on Thursday rejected measures to counter dumping of hot-rolled steel from Brazil, Iran, Russia and Ukraine. The European Commission, which oversees trade policy in the 28-member European Union, had set out plans to levy tariffs of up to 33 percent on the steel grade, used in construction and machinery, from the four countries. But EU countries opposed the plan. Some believed the measures were too weak and others regarded them as too strong, EU sources said. The Commission had also proposed that duties should not apply if the product is sold at or above a set minimum price of 472.27 euros (£432) per tonne. This measure was also rejected. The minimum price proposal was opposed also by European steelmakers federation Eurofer, which lodged a complaint against the imports. Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-steel-tariffs/eu-rejects-plan-for-measures-against-steel-from-four-countries-idUKKCN1BI1TN'|'2017-09-07T16:33:00.000+03:00'
'f54f6e245019bd414b34cbe73b354fd9f07817fa'|'Court challenge delays vote on CBS'' Australian TV station buyout'|'September 7, 2017 / 3:05 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Court challenge delays vote on CBS'' Australian TV station buyout Tom Westbrook 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A news crew''s microphone from Network 10 in Sydney, Australia, June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) buyout of struggling Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ) will be delayed at least a week, after a court on Thursday said it would pause the deal to hear a challenge by a rival bidder. The decision opens a new front in a battle between CBS and a consortium led by Lachlan Murdoch, co-chair of News Corp ( NWSA.O ), over Australia’s third-ranked free-to-air TV station. Murdoch and his business partner Bruce Gordon, who between them had controlled a fifth of the company when it entered administration, were the sole suitors until CBS’s surprise agreement to buy Ten on Aug. 28 for an undisclosed sum. The youth-focused broadcaster with a national reach and strong brand became a tempting target as its market capitalization plunged to just A$58 million ($46.3 million) in June. Ten entered administration that month after Gordon and Murdoch dropped a debt guarantee. Its biggest creditor, however, was CBS, which it owed A$844 million for licensing shows such as NCIS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Only three years previously it had rejected a $588 million takeover bid from Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ). Gordon lodged a court challenge to the CBS buyout late on Wednesday, alleging Ten’s administrators had mishandled the network’s sale and should not allow CBS to vote at an upcoming creditors meeting. His lawyer, Andrew Bell, told the New South Wales Supreme Court on Thursday there were “defects” and “information deficiencies” in administrator KordaMentha’s communications with creditors. FILE PHOTO - The CBS "eye" and logo are seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Richard McHugh, representing KordaMentha and the network, said Gordon was merely a “disappointed under-bidder” and that his client expected the challenge to fail. Nevertheless, Justice Ashley Black said a planned meeting of Ten’s creditors, set for Sept. 12, must be postponed a week to accommodate the case, lest it approved the buyout before the challenge was properly heard. “The egg would be scrambled” and the deal likely beyond the court’s power to unravel were the meeting to go ahead, “without the matter determined on its merits”, Black said. He set the case for hearing on Sept. 12, provided the parties agreed to the date. Gordon and Murdoch’s takeover bid was approved by Australia’s competition regulator in August, but remained stymied by media laws that prevent a single party from owning print, radio and television assets in the same market. No such restrictions apply to the CBS bid. Gordon, a billionaire, owns a regional television station and Murdoch’s News Corp publishes about two-thirds of the nation’s newspapers. ($1 = 1.2534 Australian dollars)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/lachlan-murdoch-partner-in-court-to-delay-vote-on-cbs-tv-station-buyout-idUKKCN1BI08G'|'2017-09-07T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'4be55c8864c11c3f6896f579997f276cb28a95b2'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 7'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times- An unusual 1.5 million pounds ($1.96 million) cash bonus for the chief executive of Aveva Group PLC for clinching the merger this week with Schneider Electric SE has raised eyebrows with the Cambridge company''s biggest shareholder, Standard Life Aberdeen PLC bit.ly/2wJzK2M- Neil Woodford, founding partner of Woodford Investment Management has blamed credit growth in China as the main reason behind the recent poor performance of his most high-profile fund in an interview for his website. bit.ly/2wJFGJ2The Guardian- Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive John Cryan has issued a stark warning about the impact of technology, to an audience at a conference in Frankfurt saying a "big number" of his staff will lose their jobs as robots take over. bit.ly/2wJH3I4- The Financial Conduct Authority is facing pressure from Parliament''s Treasury Select Committee to publish its leaked report into Royal Bank of Scotland PLC''s troubled business restructuring unit. bit.ly/2wK3WeiThe Telegraph- Sports Direct International PLC''s under-fire chairman Keith Hellawell survived a tense shareholder vote today after narrowly clinching support for his re-election from the majority of independent shareholders. bit.ly/2wIz8ud- The European Court of Justice has ordered a 1.06 billion Euro ($1.26 billion) fine for Intel Corp to be re-examined in a major victory for the U.S. microchip giant that could bolster Silicon Valley in its battles with Brussels. bit.ly/2wJCkWsSky News- Asda, the British supermarket arm of Wal-Mart says a shake-up of its main office functions will result in the loss of 300 jobs. bit.ly/2wJjW09- Downing Street is asking Britain''s biggest companies to give public support to the government''s approach to its Brexit negotiations, a move which has angered a string of blue-chip boardrooms. bit.ly/2wJngIvThe Independent- Up to 54 new wind turbines are set to be installed in the Scottish Highlands in a proposal by the GFG Alliance to power an aluminium smelter plant in Fort William and a steel plant in Motherwell. ind.pn/2wKa9ac- Lilium Aviation, a German company that held a successful test flight of the Eagle, its two-seat electric jet announced on Tuesday that it has raised $90 million in a new round of financing. ind.pn/2wJmf3j ($1 = 0.8386 euros) ($1 = 0.7665 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-7-idUSL2N1LO003'|'2017-09-07T03:11:00.000+03:00'
'55c8490fd4f2fff32cd7094fbc7b69e477413e9d'|'Top banks'' H1 commodity revenue slides 41 percent to lowest since 2006'|'September 6, 2017 / 11:13 PM / 2 hours ago Top banks'' H1 commodity revenue slides 41 percent to lowest since 2006 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A river ferry passes in front of the Canary Wharf business district at dusk in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Commodities-related revenue at the 12 biggest investment banks tumbled 41 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2017 to its lowest since at least 2006, a consultancy said on Thursday. The decline was mainly due to a drop in client activity and a slump in trading performance in the energy sector, financial industry analytics firm Coalition said in a report. Revenue from commodity trading, selling derivatives to investors and other activities in the sector fell to $1.3 billion (997.16 million pounds) in the first six months of the year, it said. “Revenues reached their lowest level since 2006 because of ongoing weakness in energy, in particular natural gas, owing to lower volatility, reduced client activity and trading underperformance,” Coalition said. The company has been analysing bank data since 2006. Coalition did not mention any individual banks, but in the second quarter, Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) posted the weakest commodities results in its history as a public company. Banks’ commodity revenue has been on a steady downward path in recent years as they have exited or slimmed down their commodity business due to heightened government regulation and poor performance from the sector. In the fourth quarter of 2016, commodity revenue jumped 20-25 percent, largely due to an improvement in U.S. power and gas activity. But it declined 7 percent for the whole of 2016 due to weakness in the oil sector. Coalition tracks Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), Barclays ( BARC.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Citigroup ( C.N ), Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), Goldman Sachs, HSBC ( HSBA.L ), JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and UBS ( UBSG.S ). Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-banks-commodities/top-banks-h1-commodity-revenue-slides-41-percent-to-lowest-since-2006-idUKKCN1BH39C'|'2017-09-07T02:23:00.000+03:00'
'624ad06cc6e84ba2ad288d8716b876480848bf8d'|'Italy''s dual currency schemes may be long road to euro exit'|'FILE PHOTO - Italy''s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures during the television talk show "Porta a Porta" (Door to Door) in Rome, Italy June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s main opposition parties are replacing their calls to leave the euro with apparently less radical proposals to flank it with a new currency they say can boost growth and jobs.Yet if any of their schemes are adopted with success they may convince many Italians that the economy can function without the euro, and make an eventual euro exit more likely.It is a big if: previous such plans have been tried around the world with mixed results and it would take a political shift for new ones to be introduced in Italy, but not everyone is ruling it out.“It can be done, technically and politically it is perfectly possible,” said Roberto Perotti, economics professor at Milan’s Bocconi University.Three of Italy’s four largest parties - the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the right-wing Northern League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia - propose introducing a parallel currency after an election due early next year.They have settled on the dual currency proposal as a way of continuing to tap into widespread anti-euro sentiment in Italy while avoiding - at least for now - the huge upheaval and market turmoil that outright euro exit may trigger.Opinion polls currently point to a hung parliament in which they could get a majority of seats but would be unlikely to form a government due to divisions on other issues.Some Northern League and 5-Star lawmakers say their primary goal is to persuade Brussels and Italy’s partners to change European fiscal rules to allow them to spend more and cut taxes. The threat of a parallel currency, which is opposed by the European Commission, can help them achieve this, they say.However, many of the strongest supporters of the scheme are anti-euro and they admit one of its main aims would be to prepare the ground for a euro exit when the time comes.“With a parallel currency in place, if we want to leave the euro our economy will still be able to operate even if the European Central Bank tries to crush us by shutting off liquidity in euros,” said the Northern League’s economics spokesman Claudio Borghi.Italians were strongly pro-euro when the single currency was launched in 1999, but since then Italy has been the most sluggish euro zone economy and many blame the euro for their falling living standards and high unemployment.A poll by the Winpoll agency in March showed only around half of Italians back the euro and an EU-wide survey in July by the German Bertelsmann Stiftung think tank showed just 17 percent of Italians said they were satisfied with the direction the EU, half the EU-average.NERVOUS MARKETS The European Commission is concerned by the dual currency talk, and so are financial markets.Investors sold off Italian government bonds last month after Berlusconi said he was in favour of printing a “new lira” for domestic use, to pump money into the economy. Under his plan euros would still be used for all international transactions and by tourists.The four-times prime minister had made the proposal before, but markets are now particularly edgy ahead of an election where only the ruling Democratic Party (PD) does not propose to tinker with the current euro set-up.The PD is running neck-and-neck with 5-Star, with rightist allies the Northern League and Forza Italia in third and fourth place.Asked to comment for this article, the European Commission said there could be only one legal tender in the euro zone. Yet many dual currency proponents say that is no obstacle.They argue that “legal tender” is defined as a currency that sellers are obliged to accept. If there is no obligation, a dual currency does not infringe any EU treaties, they say.Daniel Gros, head of the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies, agreed. “If there is no obligation there is no legal problem,” he said.However, he doubted the proposals would ever be adopted, describing them as posturing that distracted attention from the real problem of Italy’s economy, which was a lack of productivity growth.“READY FOR EURO COLLAPSE”Dual currency supporters in Italy point to the success of employer-provided meal vouchers, now used by millions of Italians to buy groceries as well as lunches.Parallel currencies have numerous historical precedents. Berlusconi often cites the AM-lira, introduced by the allies in Italy during and after World War Two. One of the most successful is the Swiss WIR franc, launched in 1934 for use by businesses, which still helps them obtain cheap credit during downturns.Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s anti-EU National Front, proposed the reintroduction of the franc in parallel with the euro during this year’s election campaign.The Northern League’s Borghi said Italy “has to be ready for the euro’s collapse,” which he sees as only a matter of time.He is the architect of the party’s proposal - which Berlusconi has also hinted he would support - called “mini-BOTs”, named after Italy’s short-term Treasury bills.Borghi says initially some 70 billion euros of these small denomination, interest-free bonds would be issued by the Treasury to firms and individuals owed money by the state as payment for services or as tax rebates.They could then be used as money to pay taxes and buy any services or goods provided by the state, including, for example, petrol at stations run by state-controlled oil company ENI.Borghi says this will convince people to use them and businesses to accept them, and he has already launched surveys on Twitter and Facebook to pick the most popular designs for the mini-BOT notes.Bocconi University’s Perotti said the impact could be severe. “It would increase public debt, Brussels would object and, especially if done on a large scale it would make it more likely we are eventually forced out of the euro zone,” he said.Economists who support the idea admit it would push up Italy’s huge public debt, the second highest in the euro zone after Greece‘s, but say this would soon be outweighed by the positive impact on economic growth.The anti-establishment 5-Star, which has rowed back on plans for a referendum on the euro, backs a proposal for a “fiscal currency” put forward by economics professor Gennaro Zezza who, like Borghi, believes the euro will fail sooner or later.Zezza’s fiscal currency would initially be electronic, but he said notes could be issued within about a year. It would allow the state to pay public salaries and fund investment and, as with mini-BOTs, could be used by citizens to pay taxes.“Our idea has a lot in common with mini-BOTS,” he added.Editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/italy-euro-analysis/italys-dual-currency-schemes-may-be-long-road-to-euro-exit-idINKCN1BJ24B'|'2017-09-08T14:36:00.000+03:00'
'c0baa199bd7e0d52b0941866e416bbd1e06c3157'|'New Metro to rejoin Germany''s MDAX index'|'September 5, 2017 / 9:38 PM / 23 minutes ago New Metro to rejoin Germany''s MDAX index Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - German retailer Metro ( B4B.DE ), recently demerged from consumer electronics group Ceconomy ( CECG.DE ), will join Germany’s mid-cap index MDAX .MDAXI. Stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) said on Tuesday the stock was eligible for fast entry to the index due to its market capitalisation and order book turnover. Metro hopes the split from Ceconomy, which is also listed on the MDAX, will trigger a revaluation of its stock, but it is still trading at a big discount to pure wholesale retailers such as Sysco ( SYY.N ) and Booker ( BOK.L ). Grand City Properties ( GYC.DE ) will also join the MDAX, replacing Rational AG ( RAAG.DE ) and becoming the sixth real estate company on Germany’s mid-cap index. Rational and Bilfinger ( GBFG.DE ) will move to the SDAX .SDAXI small-cap index. Recently listed online takeaway firm Delivery Hero ( DHER.DE ) and Aroundtown Property Holdings ( ALATP.PA ) will also enter the SDAX. The composition of the DAX .GDAXI index of Germany’s 30 biggest companies will remain unchanged, Deutsche Boerse said. The index changes will become effective on Sept. 18. The next regular index review will be held on Dec. 5, the company said. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-stocks/new-metro-to-rejoin-germanys-mdax-index-idUKKCN1BG341'|'2017-09-06T00:38:00.000+03:00'
'98fef2b50d0f848fb61aa4ad9922125856625d88'|'Brazil''s Cade gives final okay to Ternium-CSA deal, rejects CSN appeal'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The board of Brazil antitrust agency Cade gave final approval on Wednesday to Ternium SA’s ( TX.N ) acquisition of Thyssenkrupp AG’s ( TKAG.DE ) Brazilian steel mill CSA Cia Siderúrgica do Atlántico SA, rejecting an appeal by a Brazilian rival.Cade first approved the deal, valued at 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), in August, but Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional ( CSNA3.SA ) appealed as an interested third party.Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-csa-m-a-ternium-antitrust/brazils-cade-gives-final-okay-to-ternium-csa-deal-rejects-csn-appeal-idUSKCN1BH249'|'2017-09-06T23:22:00.000+03:00'
'a2dbc7abb46016e6f1bb5c1f8d50bb33cc41ac7c'|'Nestle to buy Sweet Earth vegetarian foods'|'FILE PHOTO: The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey, Switzerland February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Nestle ( NESN.S ) and Unilever ( ULVR.L ) both snapped up small, artisanal brands on Thursday, part of a drive by big food firms to boost slowing sales with products seen as ethical or healthy.Changing consumer tastes and habits have rocked the processed food sector, letting upstarts steal market share from traditional brands with the growth of e-commerce, social media and interest in sustainability and health.Natural, organic, artisanal or plant-based products have been a bright spot in an otherwise tepid market, where the need to buy growth and cut costs led to Danone’s ( DANO.PA ) purchase of WhiteWave and failed attempts by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) to buy Unilever and Mondelez ( MDLZ.O ) to buy Hershey ( HSY.N ).Nestle, the world’s largest processed food company which has recently become a target of activist shareholder Third Point, said on Thursday it has agreed to buy Sweet Earth, a U.S. maker of frozen meals, burritos and burgers that use meat substitutes.That marks its first foray into the U.S. market for plant-based foods like tofu and seitan, which is growing at a double-digit rate annually and expected to reach $5 billion by 2020.Meanwhile Unilever said it has bought the small British organic tea brand Pukka, known for herbal teas with catchy names such as mint matcha green and turmeric gold.The acquisition extends the world’s largest teamaker into the market for organic tea, which Euromonitor says will grow by 22 percent to reach $1.2 billion by 2021.Euromonitor analyst Maria Mascaraque said the market for organic food and drinks is still a small part of the total, but should continue to grow strongly.“(The market) shows growth opportunities based on the evolution of consumers’ priorities towards the consumption of natural foods and beverages as well as the increasing interest in social and environmental responsibilities,” Mascaraque said.Neither company disclosed what they were paying for their respective acquisitions, but Unilever said Pukka has annual sales of 30 million pounds and growth of 30 percent.This should lift Unilever’s portfolio, which includes large brands Lipton and PG Tips, and which Euromonitor says has seen its market share slip over the past five years.Unilever has done a string of small deals, including Sir Kensington’s mayonnaise, Talenti and Grom gelatos and Dollar Shave Club, that expand its presence in categories that are challenging traditional consumer brand models.For its part, Nestle recently announced it had taken a stake in food delivery service Freshly, as it seeks to keep up with changing consumer preferences.Nestle said Sweet Earth would remain independent from its U.S. food business, which includes DiGiorno pizzas and Hot Pockets, and continue to be led by its founders.Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by David Clarke/Jason Neely/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nestle-m-a/nestle-to-buy-sweet-earth-vegetarian-foods-idINKCN1BI1AI'|'2017-09-07T08:16:00.000+03:00'
'a8760552a087a48d6042fd4f04d4e0a5161352e2'|'Swedish central bank keeps policy ultra-loose as eyes ECB and crown'|'September 7, 2017 / 8:45 AM / Updated 41 minutes ago Swedish central bank keeps policy ultra-loose as eyes ECB and crown Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A view of an entrance at Sweden''s central bank in Stockholm, Sweden, August 12, 2016. Picture taken August 12, 2016. REUTERS/Violette Goarant STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden’s central bank left its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged on Thursday, bypassing signs that the economy is overheating in favour of keeping the crown weak to support an upturn in inflation. Central banks around the globe are puzzling over how to normalise policy as their economies begin to recover. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada have already moved part of the way down that path while the European Central Bank, which is also meeting on Thursday, may soon start to wind down its 2.3 trillion euro asset purchase programme. But continued worries over sluggish inflation are slowing down that process and, despite warnings from analysts that the Swedish economy is overheating and concerns about a housing bubble, the Riksbank presented a dovish policy outlook. “The economic signals from abroad are good, but global inflation remains subdued,” the central bank said in a statement. “Compared with the forecast in July, there are now expectations of a somewhat more expansionary monetary policy in many countries that are important to Sweden.” The central bank said domestic inflation had been stronger than expected. “However... economic activity needs to continue to make an impact on price development.” It stuck to a forecast that rates would not start to rise until the middle of 2018. The Riksbank is worried tightening policy too quickly would push up the crown and send inflation tumbling again after only just having seen price rises get back on track. The Swedish currency weakened against the euro following the central bank’s statement. EURSEK= OUT OF STEP? But its ultra-loose policy risks falling out of step with an economy that has expanded at above trend rate for several years and should not slow appreciably as the rest of the world picks up speed, drawing in Swedish exports. “The Riksbank is committed to reach the (inflation) target at all costs and they don’t want to risk inflation losing steam now,” Nordea Chief Economist Annika Winsth said. A shift in policy will probably have to wait for a more hawkish stance from the ECB, which is widely expected to hold rates unchanged later on Thursday. A clear tightening signal from Frankfurt would take the pressure off the crown. But the euro zone has its own exchange rate troubles with the common currency having climbed around 13 percent against the dollar EUR= since the start of the year. That could slow any tapering of the ECB’s quantitative easing programme, forcing the Riksbank to keep buying bonds well into next year. All analysts in a Reuters poll expected the Riksbank to keep rates on hold. A slim majority expected the bank to hike rates in the second quarter in 2018. Reporting by Simon Johnson, Niklas Pollard, Daniel Dickson and Johan Ahlander; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-cenbank-rates/swedish-central-bank-keeps-policy-ultra-loose-as-eyes-ecb-and-crown-idUKKCN1BI10Z'|'2017-09-07T11:45:00.000+03:00'
'8a45bde1337b508532bdcf7e347a8b724a551cdb'|'Auto suppliers Delphi, Magna join funding round for Lidar company Innoviz'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:31 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Auto suppliers Delphi, Magna join funding round for Lidar company Innoviz Alexandria Sage 3 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Top automotive suppliers Delphi Automotive and Magna International Inc have joined a $65 million funding round for Innoviz Technologies, the maker of laser-based sensor technology for autonomous vehicles, the Israeli company said on Thursday. The Series B funding round comes as Innoviz prepares for the 2019 debut of its automotive grade solid-state Lidar device, InnovizOne, for full and partial self-driving systems. Suppliers Delphi and Magna will offer Innoviz’s technology to the automakers it works with, said Oren Rosenzweig, the co-founder and chief business officer of Innoviz. The company also plans to mass produce its Lidar platform for testing and development available in the first quarter of 2018. Auto industry experts believe Lidar is one of the crucial tools for the performance of full autonomous vehicles, and it has become a prime focus of investment. Lidar relies on light pulses reflected off objects to gauge their position on and near the road. The investment by rivals Magna and Delphi underscores auto suppliers’ desire to identify self-driving solutions for global automakers. Such tier-one suppliers serve as systems integrators, responsible for vetting devices and technologies that they then integrate into the automobile. The cost, complexity and accelerated pace of development of self-driving vehicles continue to spark sweeping alliances between automobile manufacturers and suppliers, and suppliers and makers of specific technology, such as Lidar. Over a dozen companies, from early entrant Velodyne to companies like Quanergy Systems and startups Luminar and LeddarTech, are vying to bring down the price of Lidar and improve its performance to meet real-world needs beyond its current use in development of self-driving cars. “When we started out we thought the biggest issue was price,” said Rosenzweig. “We’re working on getting the price down significantly compared to what you have today but we have to make the performance much higher.” He estimated that Lidar will drop significantly in price, as radar has, as the market develops. Rosenzweig estimated that the first Innoviz Lidar will be priced “in the hundreds.” InnovizOne Lidar can see objects with reflectivity of 50 percent at 200 meters, ahead of rivals whose devices see objects with 80 percent reflectivity, he said. “This is why it’s hard to compare Lidars, because you need to understand the assumptions people have when they give the numbers,” said Rosenzweig. “There are no standards. That’s the challenge.” Delphi announced last month it had acquired a minority stake in Innoviz. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/innoviz-autonomous/auto-suppliers-delphi-magna-join-funding-round-for-lidar-company-innoviz-idUSL2N1LN29A'|'2017-09-07T19:31:00.000+03:00'
'1fd05ef0bbb9e0612b912035ea580ff046805a55'|'Virgin Atlantic ''confident'' UK and U.S. will have aviation deal for Brexit'|'A Virgin Atlantic plane arrives at Liverpool John Lennon Airport in Liverpool northern England, May 19 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is likely to have a bilateral arrangement governing transatlantic flights after it leaves the European Union, the head of Virgin Atlantic Airways [VA.UL] said on Thursday.Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive Craig Kreeger also said that while the weaker pound had had a negative effect on the airline, this had not been as large as expected.Britain needs to negotiate an air transport service agreement with the EU to keep airline services running when Britain leaves the bloc and will also need a replacement for the “open skies” agreement between the United States and the EU.Ryanair’s Michael O‘Leary has issued stark warnings about the prospect of flights to the EU being grounded when Britain leaves in March 2019. However, Kreeger said that such a scenario for flights to the United States was unlikely.“I have a lot of confidence that what we’ve seen this year is an indication of the fact that the UK is not going to cut itself off from the rest of the world, from a travel perspective,” Kreeger told Reuters at an industry conference.“I‘m confident that the UK and U.S. will have a bilateral arrangement in place that means flights don’t cease. The things that are really important will work their way out over time.”A sharp fall in the pound was one of the immediate impacts of Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June 2016. That hurt Virgin Atlantic, which relies on revenues from British travelers in pounds but has many of its costs in dollars.However, Kreeger said that demand from Britons to travel had held up better than expected, while the airline had also benefited from more visitors than expected from the United States and Asia.“We’d anticipated it being a really rough year. But we’ve had a really encouraging year against that backdrop,” he said.“We have seen that Brits are resilient. The summer holiday is sacrosanct. Demand has dropped a little bit, but nowhere near what you would expect with a 15 percent increase in the cost of travel abroad.”In July, Virgin Atlantic said Air France-KLM would buy 31 percent of the airline from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, making it the second largest Virgin Atlantic shareholder after U.S. airline Delta, which owns a 49 percent stake, and reducing Virgin Group’s stake to 20 percent.Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airlines-london-virgin-atlantic/virgin-atlantic-confident-uk-and-u-s-will-have-aviation-deal-for-brexit-idUSKCN1BI20P'|'2017-09-07T17:48:00.000+03:00'
'0c68a11d4c3b5a4984974218e679e8746efb326b'|'European shares up, led by financials, health stocks; Aveva gains on Schneider deal'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:36 AM / 17 minutes ago European shares up, led by financials, health stocks; Aveva gains on Schneider deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read General view of the Frankfurt stock exchange, Germany, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski LONDON (Reuters) - European shares crept higher on Tuesday, brushing off geopolitical tension as attention turned to deal-making after Aveva’s tie-up with Schneider Electric. Financials and health stocks underpinned broader gains. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2 percent, recovering after a three-day winning streak ended Monday, following North Korea''s sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday. Euro zone blue chips .STOXX50E gained 0.3 percent. Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 0.3 percent and Germany''s DAX .GDAXI rose 0.4 percent. Financials were the biggest contributors to gains, recovering after the risk-off start to the week. Basic resources .SXPP was the top-gaining sector. Health stocks also helped underpin the rise, led higher by Germany’s Merck KGAA ( MRCG.DE ), which said that it was considering selling its consumer health business. British mid caps .FTMC jumped 0.4 percent after shares in British engineering software firm Aveva ( AVV.L ) rocketed more than 24 percent. Aveva   Electric''s ( SCHN.PA ) software business, creating a London-listed software firm worth   Shares in Schneider Electric advanced 1 percent. German drugs packaging firm Gerresheimer ( GXIG.DE ) was among the biggest fallers, extending losses to trade 3.6 percent lower after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy” on the back of a difficult market environment. Reporting by Kit Rees, editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-up-led-by-financials-health-stocks-aveva-gains-on-schneider-deal-idUKKCN1BG0TU'|'2017-09-05T10:34:00.000+03:00'
'3948b50be95275b1693384ec6c61f57133a1b527'|'UPDATE 1-United Tech to buy Rockwell Collins for $30 bln, combine aerospace operations'|'September 4, 2017 / 11:59 PM / 2 minutes ago UPDATE 1-United Tech to buy Rockwell Collins for $30 bln, combine aerospace operations Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds details on deal, UTC comment, expected benefit) Sept 4 (Reuters) - Jet-engine maker United Technologies Corp has agreed to would buy aircraft parts manufacturer Rockwell Collins Inc for $30 billion, including debt, the companies said. Under the deal, Rockwell shareholders will receive $140 per share in stock and cash, split between $93.33 in cash and $46.67 in United Tech stock, the companies said in a statement. The offer represents an 18 premium to Rockwell’s closing share price on Aug. 3, the day before media reported that UTC was weighing a bid for Rockwell. Under the deal, the companies said that Rockwell Collins and UTC’s aerospace systems segment will be combined to create a new business unit named Collins Aerospace Systems. “This acquisition adds tremendous capabilities to our aerospace businesses and strengthens our complementary offerings of technologically advanced aerospace systems,” UTC’s chairman and chief executive officer, Greg Hayes, said in the statement. “Together, Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems will enhance customer value in a rapidly evolving aerospace industry by making aircraft more intelligent and more connected,” he said. The deal, which includes $7 billion in Rockwell’s debt, is expected to save more than $500 million by the fourth year after its completion, the companies said. Morgan Stanley & Co LLC was the financial adviser to United Tech and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was its legal adviser. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc were Rockwell’s financial advisers, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was its legal adviser. Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/rockwell-collins-ma-utc/update-1-united-tech-to-buy-rockwell-collins-for-30-bln-combine-aerospace-operations-idUSL2N1LL17P'|'2017-09-05T02:59:00.000+03:00'
'7bcc2d4e918a40886c21ef5bd6bf2f10b9c89b0f'|'Japan regional banks'' core profits falling faster than expected - FSA draft'|'September 6, 2017 / 9:59 AM / 13 minutes ago Japan regional banks'' core profits falling faster than expected - FSA draft Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A revolving light is seen in front of Bank of Japan (BOJ) buildings in Tokyo, June 24, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Profits from lending and fee business at Japan’s smaller banks are falling faster than expected amid very low interest rates, with more than half the institutions losing money on these core operations, the country’s financial regulator warns in a draft report. The Bank of Japan’s drastic monetary policy, with interest rates near or below zero, has squeezed lenders across the country, especially the more than 100 regional banks whose depopulating local economies are slumping. Many of these smaller banks are staying in the black only thanks to securities trading, which could in turn open them to new risks, says the draft of an annual Financial Services Agency report, seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Reporting by Takahiko Wada; Writing by Junko Fujita; Editing by William Mallard'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-regional-banks-profits/japan-regional-banks-core-profits-falling-faster-than-expected-fsa-draft-idUKKCN1BH15W'|'2017-09-06T12:58:00.000+03:00'
'097720e3b49c87a3199ca1909cf0e0012357b583'|'Azerbaijan set to sign new deal with BP on ACG oilfields - agency'|' 31 AM / 11 minutes ago Azerbaijan set to sign new deal with BP on ACG oilfields - agency Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Spectators are seen reflected in a British Petroleum sponsors building in Olympic Park at the London 2012 Paralympic Games September 6, 2012. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan plans to sign a new contract with BP ( BP.L ) in the coming days on development of the giant Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oilfields until 2050, Azertag news agency on Wednesday quoted Azeri President Ilham Aliyev as saying. The fields are the largest oilfields in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian basin. An existing deal is due to expire in 2024 and a BP-led consortium and Azeri state oil firm SOCAR signed a letter of intent in December to continue development of the giant offshore fields until 2050. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-azerbaijan-bp-oil/azerbaijan-set-to-sign-new-deal-with-bp-on-acg-oilfields-agency-idUKKCN1BH1HO'|'2017-09-06T14:31:00.000+03:00'
'3e9ce456367a2d896bf58aa647b6cd249011e860'|'Sports e-commerce firm Fanatics closes $1 billion funding round led by SoftBank'|'September 6, 2017 / 11:28 AM / in 3 hours Sports e-commerce firm Fanatics closes $1 billion funding round led by SoftBank Liana B. Baker 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File photo New York (Reuters) - Sports e-commerce firm Fanatics has closed a $1 billion funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp’s Vision fund, which will give it the firepower to expand internationally, Chief Executive Doug Mack told Reuters. The new funding will value the Jacksonville, Florida-based company that runs online sales for the National Basketball Association and the National Football League at $4.5 billion - more than twice the $2 billion in revenue expected this year, the company said. The majority of Fanatics’ business is in the United States where it licenses merchandise and handles e-commerce sales for items such as sports jerseys for teams. It is hoping to expand its revenue in international markets by leveraging SoftBank’s expertise in Asia, Mack said in an interview on Tuesday. Fanatics, which handles online sales for football clubs Manchester United and Real Madrid, currently gains about 10 percent of its sales internationally. “It will definitely grow many-fold from there,” Mack said, referring to international sales. “We’ve only scratched the surface of the global opportunity. Soccer is the world’s No. 1 sport, and then there’s cricket. You’ll see us extend our rights to international leagues.” SoftBank, run by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, is making the bulk of its investment in Fanatics out of its $93 billion Vision Fund, the world’s biggest private equity fund, SoftBank confirmed the funding. While the majority of the $1 billion in funding comes from SoftBank, the National Football League and Major League Baseball also participated. SoftBank was introduced to Fanatics by Michael Rubin, the company’s executive chairman who previously founded GSI Commerce, a company that attracted an $100 million investment from SoftBank before it was sold to eBay for $2.4 billion. Fanatics is also looking to hire more engineers, data scientists and designers with the cash. Mack said one of the firm’s strengths lay with its technology that allows it to manufacture clothing very quickly. When Fanatics wanted to raise money for victims of the devastating Hurricane Harvey, it created a “Houston Strong” line of clothing featuring all of the city’s local sports teams. It took less than three days to design the shirts, get permission from the sports teams and start shipping, Mack said. An initial public offering or sale isn’t on the horizon, Mack said, although the company has been spending on deals. In April, it acquired VF Corporation’s sports licensing group, which owns the Majestic sportswear brand, for $225 million. Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-fanatics-funding-softbank-group/sports-e-commerce-firm-fanatics-closes-1-billion-funding-round-led-by-softbank-idINKCN1BH1DH'|'2017-09-06T09:28:00.000+03:00'
'c91a9a970dfdb70dd74db6d468970eec1abb6f05'|'China''s Anbang, HNA considered buying insurance group Allianz: sources'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:14 AM / in an hour China''s Anbang, HNA had sights set on insurer Allianz: sources Sumeet Chatterjee 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of insurer Allianz SE is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Anbang Insurance Group and HNA Group both considered buying into German insurer Allianz SE this year as part of plans to become global financial powerhouses, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The separate talks, which were at an early stage and did not result in formal bids, were called off earlier this year due to expected regulatory hurdles in Germany and China and the fact that Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) showed little interest, they added. The Chinese conglomerates both weighed buying a majority stake in the world’s fourth-largest insurer by market value - which is worth over $95 billion - while HNA was also open to a minority stake, two people involved in the discussions said. It was “highly unlikely” that the talks to acquire a controlling stake in Allianz, one of nine insurers regulators say are of global systemic importance, would be revived in the near future, one of the people said. A bid would have ran into political and regulatory hurdles as the insurer is a German stalwart that holds a huge amount of capital and is an important pillar for local pensions. HNA’s [HNAIRC.UL] plan to buy an Allianz stake was first reported by Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Representatives at Allianz, Anbang [ANBANG.UL] and HNA - which has announced over $50 billion in deals since 2015 including stakes in Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc ( HLT.N ) - all declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Although the talks did not continue for long, the plans for possible separate bids for Allianz reveal ambition among Chinese conglomerates including Anbang and HNA to create a global empire through large, debt-fueled acquisitions. FILE PHOTO: The headquarters building of Anbang Insurance Group are pictured in Beijing, China, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BINGE BUYING Massive overseas deals has resulted in Chinese regulators ramping up scrutiny this year of outbound acquisitions - ranging from football clubs to movie studios - of groups including Anbang, HNA, Fosun and Dalian Wanda. Beijing has increased restrictions on overseas acquisitions in recent months and has leant on domestic banks to reduce lending that helped fuel the shopping spree and saw local firms spending a record $221 billion on assets overseas in 2016. And in June, China ordered a group of lenders to assess exposure to some of China’s more aggressive dealmakers, including Anbang, Dalian Wanda, and HNA, the sprawling aviation-to-financial services conglomerate. Anbang started discussing acquiring a controlling stake in Allianz in the second half of last year and had held informal talks with some banks, including select Wall Street banks, to seek advisory and lending support, the people said. HNA had also held similar talks with some banks, they said. Besides regulatory roadblocks, the uncertainty about the ownership structures at the two conglomerates, however, led to some banks pulling back from those talks, the people said. Similar to HNA, Beijing-based Anbang, whose main business is insurance, has been one of China’s most aggressive dealmakers in recent years, and is best-known overseas for the record-breaking purchase of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York. Anbang’s overseas shopping spree included acquisition of Allianz’s South Korean businesses -- Allianz Life Insurance Korea and asset management firm Allianz Global Investors Korea -- for more than $3 million last year. Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Additional reporting by Matthew Miller and Tom Sims; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques/Christopher Cushing/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-conglomerates-allianz/chinas-anbang-hna-considered-buying-insurance-group-allianz-sources-idINKCN1BH18K'|'2017-09-06T08:14:00.000+03:00'
'014494955b4f14ca2ecb03376d6e8d5049b78fc5'|'Fed''s Kaplan sticks to view that balance sheet should shrink'|'Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan in Mexico City, Mexico, July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido (Reuters) - Hurricane Harvey was a “significant” event that will slow the Texas and perhaps the U.S. economy for a few months, but it is no reason for the Federal Reserve to reconsider a plan to start trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet as soon as next month.“Harvey would not cause me to change my view on the timing” of when the Fed should begin trimming the balance sheet, which should be “as soon as possible,” Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan told reporters on Tuesday.The Fed next meets in two weeks and is expected to announce a plan to begin allowing its bond portfolio to shrink.Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-kaplan-harvey/feds-kaplan-sticks-to-view-that-balance-sheet-should-shrink-idINKCN1BH02N'|'2017-09-05T22:38:00.000+03:00'
'ff77a2bf3f6f9ace13ca4710dc2789f788a876a7'|'''Angry Birds'' maker Rovio plans to list its shares'|'HELSINKI (Reuters) - “Angry Birds” maker Rovio Entertainment Ltd is moving ahead with a long-awaited initial public offering to help fund new games and deals in a consolidating industry, it said on Tuesday.The Finnish company said it would raise around 30 million euros ($36 million) by selling new shares, while existing investors - which include the uncle of the company’s co-founder as well as venture capital firms Accel Partners and Atomico - would also sell an undisclosed stake in the business.Rovio, whose games had been downloaded 3.7 billion times by June, declined to put an estimated value on the company, which some media reports have said could be as high as $2 billion.Rovio saw rapid growth after the 2009 launch of the original “Angry Birds” game, in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs that steal birds’ eggs, as the company cashed in on its popularity by licensing the brand for use on toys and clothing.In 2011, it said a flotation was a mid-term target, but there was little progress as business quickly declined amid the rise of rival games such as Supercell’s “Clash of Clans” and King’s “Candy Crush Saga”.Rovio was slow to respond to a shift to freely available games that make revenue from in-game purchases and advertising. In 2015, it made an operating loss and cut third of staff.But the 2016 release of 3D movie “Angry Birds”, together with new games, have revived the brand and helped sales recover.In the first half of this year, sales almost doubled from a year earlier to 153 million euros, while core profit increased to 42 million euros from 11 million a year before.The company said it expected sales and profits to increase significantly in 2017 as a whole.CONSOLIDATOR Technology analysts have said Rovio is too dependent on the “Angry Birds” brand and should create new intellectual property to help it grow.FILE PHOTO: Angry Birds characters Bomb, Chuck and Red are pictured during the premiere in Helsinki, Finland, May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Tuomas Forsell/File Photo Some are also skeptical of talk of a $2 billion valuation.“Valuations ... have shot up in past few years. So it’s a tempting time for the owners to make an exit,” said analyst Atte Riikola from Helsinki-based equity research firm Inderes. “But compared with historic results ... that sounds really high.”Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta said on Tuesday the company was working on several new game ideas, while also planning a sequel to the movie, scheduled for 2019.Its main game titles at the moment include “Angry Birds 2,” “Angry Birds Blast”, “Angry Birds Friends” and a new multiplayer game “Battle Bay.”Rovio is also looking at consolidation opportunities.“The gaming industry is very fragmented ... we strongly believe that consolidation will take place going forward,” Levoranta told a news conference. “We have a huge potential to act as a consolidator, a kind of platform to partners”Last year, China’s Tencent Holdings bought a majority stake in Finland’s other prominent games maker, Supercell, for $7.2 billion.Rovio is 69 percent owned by Trema International, a firm owned by Kaj Hed, the uncle of company co-founder Niklas Hed.The company gave no details on how many shares the existing shareholders would sell, but Chairman Mika Ihamuotila said he understood Trema would remain as a long-term investor.It also did not give a timeframe for the planned listing on the Helsinki stock exchangeCarnegie and Danske are joint global coordinators for the IPO, while Deutsche Bank and OP are joint bookrunners.Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas Forsell; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rovio-ipo/angry-birds-maker-rovio-plans-to-list-its-shares-idUSKCN1BG0HY'|'2017-09-05T08:20:00.000+03:00'
'e9d318892393ecd5b1a3fcb4343b159879a1f334'|'Alitalia workers plan to join a bid for insolvent airline -Panorama magazine'|'FILE PHOTO: Scale models of Alitalia airplanes are displayed at a shop selling models of vehicles in Rome, Italy October 31, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - A group of Alitalia employees is preparing to join up with a non-European carrier and two Italian financial partners to bid for the insolvent airline, Italian weekly Panorama reported on Wednesday.Rome is looking for a buyer for all of Alitalia, which is under special administration for the second time in a decade. Around 10 bidders, including Ryanair ( RYA.I ), have expressed an interest in acquiring all of the carrier or part of its assets.Two pilots have now rallied support among Alitalia’s roughly 11,600 staff for a plan to buy 10-20 percent of the company, possibly partly financed by their severance pays, Panorama reported. It did not say how many employees were involved.The magazine did not name the other airlines or financial partners involved. It said the workers’ bid was motivated by a desire to keep their jobs.Binding offers for Alitalia must be presented by Oct. 2.Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-m-a-workers/alitalia-workers-plan-to-join-a-bid-for-insolvent-airline-panorama-magazine-idINKCN1BH2V9'|'2017-09-06T18:00:00.000+03:00'
'2c17ce046fee4ee0d99bf6ce2c3b06141a2d2711'|'Drugmaker Vectura''s first half revenue up 6 percent on rising sales of inhaled products'|'September 6, 2017 / 6:42 AM / 17 minutes ago Drugmaker Vectura''s first-half revenue up 6 percent on rising sales of inhaled products Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Vectura said revenue rose 6 percent in the first half of the year, driven by rising sales of its recently launched inhaled products and the continued weakness of sterling against a basket of its main trading currencies. The FTSE-250 firm that specializes in developing lung drugs said revenue rose to 78.8 million pounds ($102.67 million) in the six months ended June 30 from 73.9 million pounds in the prior-year period. The company posted a higher loss before tax of 44.5 million pounds, up from a loss of 22.4 million pounds earlier, as amortization expenses continued to increase following its merger with SkyePharma in June. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-vectura-grp-results/drugmaker-vecturas-first-half-revenue-up-6-percent-on-rising-sales-of-inhaled-products-idUKKCN1BH0OK'|'2017-09-06T09:41:00.000+03:00'
'3dc298d04373acc8f196b472eaf5d82997b56d4c'|'Nissan targets new Leaf global sales of more than 90,000 a year'|'September 6, 2017 / 3:43 AM / an hour ago Nissan targets new Leaf global sales of more than 90,000 a year Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Nissan Motor Co''s new Leaf, the latest version of the world''s top selling electric vehicle (EV), is seen during its world premiere in Chiba, Japan, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd is targeting annual global sales of more than 90,000 units for its new Leaf electric vehicle, the company said on Wednesday. The battery supplier for the revamped Leaf is Automotive Energy Supply, the same as for the previous Leaf. The new Leaf, launched on Wednesday, goes on sale in Japan from Oct. 2 and elsewhere early next year. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nissan-ev-target/nissan-targets-new-leaf-global-sales-of-more-than-90000-a-year-idUKKCN1BH0E0'|'2017-09-06T06:43:00.000+03:00'
'b3ac93fee08e507af4a5a9352d63238b8de45220'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St flat after late-day lift; media stocks lag'|'NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended little changed on Thursday after a moderate late-day rally as media stocks which slumped after negative business updates from Walt Disney and Comcast were offset by gains in healthcare shares.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.83 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,785.81, the S&P 500 lost 0.42 point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,465.12 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,397.87. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-snapshot-wall-st-flat-after-late-day-lift-media-stocks-lag-idINZXN0R3U2I'|'2017-09-07T18:05:00.000+03:00'
'64b0d1b05c9e4fe4567164d4bf761bbbb3f7d84a'|'What effect is Donald Trump really having on American tourism?'|'WHEN Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, he wasted no time in trying to bar people from certain Muslim-majority countries entering America. He swiftly, too, promised to make good on his pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border. The nation’s travel industry shuddered. It did not feel like the actions of a man keen to woo visitors from abroad.The predicted “Trump slump” quickly appeared to materialise. Within months, several online travel firms, including Kayak and Hopper, reported that fewer people were searching for flights to America. That seemed plausible. The country was getting terrible press abroad and the firms that sell flights online seemed the best placed to monitor demand for travel in real time. Come July, however, the U.S. Travel Association revealed that everything was rosy. Instead of a Trump slump, the country was in fact enjoying a Trump bump. The organisation’s Travel Trends Index, which tracks flight and hotel bookings, plane boardings and other data, suggested that the number of international visitors had grown for the 13th straight month in May. Previously gloomy commentators ( including this one ) were left to wonder how they had got it so wrong. 10 In fact, they had not. On September 5th, the U.S. Travel Association'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/slump-bump-slump?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-06T23:27:00.000+03:00'
'a7be9a9e19cc7c0c01d3e66281f0cf00c296bb10'|'UPDATE 1-EQT has no plans for quick exit from Ottobock, Sivantos'|'(Adds further comment on Sivantos, ProSiebenSat.1)MUNICH, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Private equity firm EQT has no plans for a quick exit from either prosthetics maker Ottobock or hearing aids manufacturer Sivantos Group, EQT partner Marcus Brennecke said.* “We have invested (in Sivantos for) two-and-a-half years. Normally we hold investments for four to five years ... We have no plans to exit before the end of 2018,” Brennecke told a news briefing on Thursday.* However, he said EQT would look at any “extremely good offer which anticipates future value” that came before then.* Commenting on Ottobock, he said: “I see that in three years, at the earliest. We have to work with the majority owners and management for three, four, five years first.”* Brennecke said it was too soon to divest Apleona, the former real estate services business EQT bought from Bilfinger for 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 bln) in 2016.* Asked whether EQT could invest in the media sector, Brennecke said the firm had no interest in “old media” such as printers or traditional publishers but could invest in digital media, without naming possible targets.* Asked about ProSiebenSat.1 Chief Executive Thomas Ebeling’s strategy of combining traditional broadcasting with digital media, Brennecke said: “Looking from the outside, it makes sense. We understand him.” ($1 = 0.8326 euros) (Reporting by Joern Poltz; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Susan Fenton and Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eqt-divestiture/update-1-eqt-has-no-plans-for-quick-exit-from-ottobock-sivantos-idINL8N1LO6F9'|'2017-09-07T15:56:00.000+03:00'
'dd542c513be9d374ca087d7b7a4fd88f4872aaa0'|'All new Jaguar Land Rover cars to have electric option from 2020'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:44 AM / Updated an hour ago All new Jaguar Land Rover cars to have electric option from 2020 Costas Pitas 3 Min Read The name badge is seen on Jaguar Land Rover''s I-PACE concept car on display ahead of it''s 2018 production launch as Jaguar''s first fully electric SUV at their ''Tech Fest'' in London, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - All new Jaguar Land Rover cars will be available in an electric or hybrid version from 2020, Britain’s biggest carmaker said on Thursday, as it speeds up plans to electrify its model range. Last year, the company, owned by India’s Tata Motors ( TAMO.NS ), said it would offer greener versions of half of its new line-up by 2020, but it has now ramped up its plans. Demand for electric models continues to rise sharply and in July Britain said it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 to cut pollution, replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens. Related Coverage UK needs to do more for electric car future - Jaguar Land Rover CEO Carmakers are racing to tap into growing demand for low-emissions models with Nissan ( 7201.T ) launching a revamped version of its Leaf electric vehicle on Wednesday in a bid to better take on Tesla’s ( TSLA.O ) Model 3. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which showcased its first electric model in 2016, said it would release a range of powertrain options over the coming years. A visitor views a classic Jaguar E-Type modified with an electric engine on display at the Jaguar Land Rover ''Tech Fest'' in London, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville “We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles,” said Chief Executive Ralf Speth. The automaker, which built nearly 550,000 of Britain’s 1.7 million cars last year, has said it wants to build electric models in its home market but a number of factors need to be in place first, including support from government and academia. Slideshow (10 Images) It will build its first electric model, the I-PACE, in Austria. Like much of the British car industry, JLR is also worried that Brexit could leave its car exports facing lengthy customs delays and tariffs of up to 10 percent, risking the viability of production in Britain. But as traditional carmakers battle with tech firms such as Google ( GOOGL.O ), and disruptive entrants including Tesla, JLR also unveiled its latest plans to tap into new and developing technologies. At a ‘Tech Fest’ in London, the company is showcasing several autonomous and connected car gadgets including a steering wheel called ‘Sayer’ which will contain speech recognition software, enabling it to answer questions, connect to news, select entertainment and order food. Editing by Mark Potter and Guy Faulconbridge '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jaguarlandrover-tech/all-new-jaguar-land-rover-cars-to-have-electric-option-from-2020-idUKKCN1BI0P4'|'2017-09-07T09:47:00.000+03:00'
'531733ea6cbf0be43a0b4bdf9a8e2ad230c95a36'|'Turkey''s Pegasus may add European flights as security concerns ease'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:05 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Turkey''s Pegasus may add European flights as security concerns ease Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Turkish budget airline Pegasus ( PGSUS.IS ) is looking to boost its flights between Europe and Turkey following a recovery in demand this year as the security situation improved, its chief commercial officer said. After a torrid 2016 which saw Pegasus make a loss after a series of attacks in the country, tourists are returning to Turkey. Pegasus’s passenger numbers increased 14.1 percent between January and July from a year earlier and the carrier returned to profit in the second quarter. “For European destinations, with our fleet increasing and due to the market demand, we will be looking at increasing flight frequencies to Italy, to Spain, to Germany, to the UK,” Pegasus CCO Guliz Ozturk told Reuters at an industry conference in London on Thursday. “If the market demand is there, because of the perception of an improvement in the situation in Turkey, we will utilise that demand.” Pegasus expects delivery of more Airbus a320 neo aircraft between December 2017 and May 2018 as part of a bigger 2012 order. Provided the security situation in Turkey remains stable, Ozturk said business this year could return to levels seen in 2015. “There is a significant improvement compared to last year’s figures in European tourist traffic to Turkey,” Ozturk said. “Those security concerns are not there anymore, and if it stays as it is, we will also capture the pre-crisis figures (of 2015).” Foreign nationals were among those killed last year in separate attacks in Istanbul’s historic centre, its Ataturk airport and near a football stadium, while an attempted coup in the country also deterred visitors to Turkey. British tour operator Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ) said in March that tourists were returning to Turkey, though many European tour operators had already switched capacity towards Spain and the Western Mediterranean for this summer. Ozturk said that Pegasus was not looking to capitalise on the disruption, but could nevertheless benefit if others had switched flights away from Turkey. “The business we’re doing is a bit different,” she said, adding that Pegasus only had a limited number of direct flights to resorts. “But if people would like to travel, they find a way to travel, and if those direct flights are not there, they will fly with connecting flights and Pegasus will be there to serve.” Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airlines-london-pegasus/turkeys-pegasus-may-add-european-flights-as-security-concerns-ease-idUKKCN1BI2KH'|'2017-09-07T21:05:00.000+03:00'
'fe4b1fc0641eb4ce21f516666774993991bc2832'|'Asda cuts nearly 300 jobs at its head office as part of cost-cutting effort - Business'|'Asda has axed nearly 300 jobs at its head office as part of a major cost-cutting drive at the supermarket.The grocer, which is owned by Walmart, informed around 288 affected staff about the cull on Wednesday afternoon, instructing all of those workers to leave their posts immediately. A further 800 staff have had the scope of their job descriptions changed as part of the shake-up.The job cuts account for more than one-tenth of Asda’s 2,500 head office roles, and it is understood that the majority of staff being let go had been working at its office in Leeds while the rest were based at Asda’s office in Leicester.A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “At Asda we value each and every one of our colleagues. The changes are in response to the ever-changing sector in which we’re working and the need to adapt to create an agile business which is fit for the future.”Asda is in the midst of a turnaround plan under new chief executive Sean Clarke , who is attempting to arrest falling sales as the supermarket scraps it out with rivals in a price war that has eroded profits.It comes after reports surfaced last month that thousands of Asda workers across 18 underperforming stores are facing redundancy or changes to their working hours. Staffing arrangements in a further 59 stores are also being looked at as Clarke brings in a raft of changes.In August, there were signs that his strategy was beginning to bear fruit, with Asda posting its first quarterly sales growth in three years. The supermarket reported a 1.8% rise in like-for-like sales in the second quarter, bringing an end to 11 consecutive quarters of deterioration.Figures were boosted by a combination of price cuts and rising inflation, and came a year after Asda reported its worst quarterly performance on record when sales tumbled by 7.5%.Clarke, who took up the reins last summer after being parachuted in to replace previous boss Andy Clarke, has slashed the prices of everyday items as part of attempts to woo back shoppers.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/06/asda-cuts-nearly-300-jobs-at-its-head-office-as-part-of-cost-cutting-effort'|'2017-09-06T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'37583808181e81a630534c8d9d617ba4b9a36037'|'Uber to stop using diesel cars in London by end 2019'|'September 8, 2017 / 11:10 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Uber to stop using diesel cars in London by end 2019 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The Uber logo is seen on a screen in Singapore August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White LONDON (Reuters) - Uber [UBER.UL] will cease using diesel cars in London by the end of 2019 and the vast majority of rides will be in electric or hybrid vehicles by then, the taxi app said on Friday. At the moment the company says around half of all the journey miles completed in the British capital are undertaken with greener vehicles on the firm’s standard low-cost UberX service, which lets customers book journeys on their smartphone. Several carmakers have announced plans in recent months to electrify a large proportion of their new cars, with Volvo [GEELY.UL] becoming the first major carmaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine. Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040, replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens. Uber, which has about 40,000 London drivers, will only offer electric or hybrid models on UberX by the turn of the decade and plans to do the same by 2022 nationwide. “Air pollution is a growing problem and we’re determined to play our part in tackling it with this bold plan,” said Uber’s Head of UK Cities, Fred Jones. “Londoners already know many cars on our app are hybrids, but we want to go much further and go all electric in the capital,” he said. Globally, Uber has endured a tumultuous few months after a string of scandals involving allegations of sexism and bullying at the company, leading to investor pressure which forced out CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick. In London, the firm has faced criticism from unions, lawmakers and traditional black cab drivers over working conditions. Later this month, it will appeal a decision by British judges who have ruled that the app should treat two of its drivers as workers and pay them the minimum wage and holiday pay. The capital’s transport regulator will also decide in September on how much Uber needs to pay to renew its licence. Uber said on Friday that it will help its drivers who want to switch to greener cars with a more than 150 million-pound fund, paying up to 5,000 pounds per upgrade from a petrol or diesel vehicle. Uber will start building the fund next month with a 2-million pound investment with a further 35 pence added from each fare taken in London. It will also offer the first 1,000 Londoners who scrap an older diesel car, 1,500 pounds in credit to use on Uber. Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-london/uber-to-stop-using-diesel-cars-in-london-by-end-2019-idUKKCN1BJ19N'|'2017-09-08T14:15:00.000+03:00'
'0f331bb5c672df7108d3713ce0026ade8b3c5baa'|'UK economy picking up, rate hike possible in early 2018 - NIESR'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:26 PM / Updated 3 hours ago UK economy picking up, rate hike possible in early 2018 - NIESR Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Construction work is carried out on the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, in London, Britain July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit-bound economy has picked up a bit of momentum and the Bank of England might raise interest rates in early 2018, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) estimated on Thursday. Britain’s economy likely expanded by 0.4 percent in the three months to August, speeding up from 0.2 percent in the three months to July but below its long run trend of quarterly growth of about 0.6 percent. “Looking ahead into the second half of this year and beyond, we see the economy rebalance towards international trade in response to strengthening global growth and a weaker currency and away from domestic demand,” Amit Kara, head of UK macroeconomic forecasting at NIESR, said. “If indeed economic growth is sustained at the 0.4-0.5 percent level, we prescribe a 25 basis-point increase in Bank Rate in the first quarter of 2018 to reverse some of the emergency stimulus that the Bank of England injected into the economy last August in response to the EU referendum result.” Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-niesr/uk-economy-picking-up-rate-hike-possible-in-early-2018-niesr-idUKKCN1BJ1GH'|'2017-09-08T15:26:00.000+03:00'
'7a6236d04b49c1a35a167ccbdcfe355bbd9ad595'|'Kraft Heinz names 3G Capital partner David Knopf as CFO'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:49 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Kraft Heinz names 3G Capital partner David Knopf as CFO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Bottles of Heinz tomato ketchup of U.S. food company Kraft Heinz are offered at a supermarket in Zumikon, Switzerland December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo (Reuters) - Heinz ketchup maker Kraft Heinz Co ( KHC.O ) said on Friday 3G Capital partner David Knopf would replace Paulo Basilio as its chief financial officer, starting in October. Kraft Heinz, backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett and private equity firm 3G Capital, also said Basilio would become president of its U.S. business, while Chief Operating Officer George Zoghbi will transition to a strategic adviser role. Knopf, 29, currently the vice president and category head of Kraft Heinz’s Planters nuts business, has worked with 3G Capital on mergers involving companies such as Burger King and H.J. Heinz Co. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kraft-heinz-cfo/kraft-heinz-names-3g-capital-partner-david-knopf-as-cfo-idUSKCN1BJ1JE'|'2017-09-08T15:49:00.000+03:00'
'ed4fedb131ae555139ad8414d7ce9c35a0a38cbc'|'Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects'|'September 8, 2017 / 4:16 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects Jarrett Renshaw , Ernest Scheyder 5 Min Read A massive drilling derrick is pictured on BP''s Thunder Horse Oil Platform in the Gulf of Mexico, 150 miles from the Louisiana coast, May 11, 2017. Picture taken May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jessica Resnick-Aul NEW YORK/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast intend to go ahead with plans for near record spending on expansions next year, despite Hurricane Harvey driving up labor costs and slowing work, experts said. Harvey largely spared oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast from significant damage but thousands of homes and businesses were not as fortunate. Refiners and recovery projects will complete for the same labor, driving up costs or causing labor shortages. Industrial investment in the Gulf Coast is expected to hit $51.9 billion next year, near the 2015 peak, requiring an army of pipefitters, ironworkers and other craftsman, said Industrial Information Resources (IIR), which tracks labor supply for refiners and other industrial companies. “We had a labor shortage before Harvey, but now it’s significantly worse,” said IIR’s Anthony Salemme. “It’s going to spread to soft crafts like painters and insulators.” Investments have soared in recent years because the shale revolution fed off an existing infrastructure. The region’s deep water ports and expanding pipeline and storage networks offer an easy outlet to global markets. It also boasts a welcoming regulatory climate and skilled workforce. Since 2010, $85 billion worth of petrochemical projects have started or been completed across the United States, nearly all of them in the Gulf Coast region, according to the American Chemistry Council. But the concentration along the Gulf of Mexico leaves these facilities and supporting networks exposed to the brutal force of tropical storms and hurricanes, as Harvey laid bare last month. The storm shut roughly a quarter of the nation’s refinery capacity and more than a dozen petrochemical plants halted operations. Ports were closed and key fuel pipelines serving the Midwest and U.S. Northeast were partially or completely shut, driving up pump prices as fears of fuel shortages took hold. Preliminary assessments suggest that storm’s hit to the region is not deterring companies from going ahead with existing projects. But global commodities buyers such as Ineos Group [INEOSG.UL] and Reliance Industries Ltd that relied on existing facilities shut by the storm may now consider putting some warehouses and stock elsewhere. “The robustness of the supply chain is brought a little more under attention,” said David Witte, a senior vice president at consultants IHS Markit. “They may be looking at it differently.” Construction costs also could slow some work. INVESTMENT PLANS There is no sign that major new projects are under threat. Several with plans on the drawing board, including BASF SE, DowDuPont Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp are sticking to growth plans. Others said they will repair Harvey’s damage before making any decisions on long-term strategy for the region. Exxon earlier this year said it would invest $20 billion to expand Texas refining and petrochemical operations in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Baytown. All three communities were damaged by Harvey. As part of that expansion, Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp are proposing an about $10 billion chemical plant in Corpus Christi, near where Harvey made landfall. The project is moving forward, according to a source familiar with the matter. Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri declined to comment. DowDuPont is also undeterred from an ongoing $4 billion expansion project that includes new capacity in Freeport, Texas, on the coast. “Hurricane Harvey does not change our perspective on the region being a great location for our investments,” spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in a statement. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is expanding its operations in the Gulf, also has proposed new investments in western Pennsylvania, near the natural gas-rich Marcellus formation. The plant will help Shell capture a larger share of the U.S. market for polyethylene, more than half of which is concentrated in northern states. It took Shell years to make the decision to build the plant. Pennsylvania has started to position itself as a second U.S. refining region, even though new plants are years away from opening. The state lacks the specialized refining workforce and proximity to open water - and the Panama Canal - that make the Gulf Coast area still so appealing. The U.S. Gulf Coast will remain an attractive investment area, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith and other energy officials. “What this storm has demonstrated is the resilience of the energy system,” said Torgrim Reitan, who runs Statoil ASA’s U.S. operations. “Even a Harvey can’t take out this capacity.” Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Additional reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Julia Simon in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-energy-infrastructure/harvey-may-pinch-some-gulf-coast-refining-chemical-projects-idUSKCN1BJ0CP'|'2017-09-08T07:15:00.000+03:00'
'b08bcff72d4580df6cecb3e0ed542cfb85aa18da'|'The lessons of fidget spinners'|'YOU can spin them on your nose, chin, finger or tongue. Some include LED lights; others resemble a ship’s wheel, or even a skull and crossbones. The fidget spinner has three paddle-shaped blades attached to a central, weighted disc containing ball bearings. Flick a blade and it spins—for as long as 12 minutes, if it’s an advanced model from Japan. Originally designed to help calm children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism, it swept the world earlier this year as a toy that everyone could play with.Retail sales have undoubtedly slowed recently, says Mark Austin of ToyWorld , a trade publication—good news for the schools that have banned the toys as too distracting for pupils. But the spinner has created a new “fidget” category of playthings. And the global toy industry has learned lessons from its surprising success. 21 The fad started in America in February. By May, all 20 of the top-selling toys on Amazon, an online retailer, were either fidget spinners or fidget cubes, a close relation. There have been many such crazes—who can forget the great loom-band mania of 2014?—but none that spread as fast. Frédérique Tutt, an analyst of the global toy market for NPD, a data company, says the spinner took just three weeks to cross the Atlantic and go global. No one knows exactly how many have been sold but NPD estimates that at least 19m were sold in the 12 rich-world countries that it tracks (including America and the biggest European markets) during the first six months of this year. Others put the figure at over 50m.Big toy retailers, the usual arbiters of what sells, were initially caught flat-footed. Fidget spinners were a plaything that children themselves discovered and shared on social media, particularly on YouTube and Instagram. No person or firm had a patent on spinners, so with no licensing fees to pay, anyone could make them. They are produced in huge quantities in China, often by firms that previously manufactured smartphone accessories. Others were made using 3D printing. That has been a boon for small shops, which have been able to stock these unbranded goods from wherever they can find them.Andrew Moulsher, managing director of Peterkin, a firm that imports toys into Britain, calls it a “watershed moment” for the business. Big retailers usually plan their inventory as much as 18 months ahead of peak seasons such as summer or Christmas; schedules are often tied to toy-filled films such as the “Star Wars” and “Cars” franchises. This is where most of their attention, as well as their marketing and advertising budgets, goes. So it was easy for big retailers to miss the eruption of fidget spinners online. (Subsequently they reacted as well as they could, says Mr Austin, ordering spinners in by air freight.)Developing and manufacturing a toy can take even longer than inventory planning—up to three years. But now there is pressure to spot new fads and bring products to market far more quickly. After the fidget spinner, both manufacturers and retailers know they must respond faster to signals from social media. A Californian company, MGA, which was founded in 1979, spotted that children were watching YouTube videos of other youngsters opening presents; to take advantage of this “unboxing” trend, it managed to produce the L.O.L. Surprise! doll, which contains several layers of gifts, in just nine months. It has become another best-seller.The spinner’s successor may be the roller, an oblong object weighted at either end. Mr Moulsher started importing Japanese Mokuru rollers into Britain in July and has sold about 40,000. Learning from the fidget fad, he hopes the new school term and a smart social-media strategy will see sales rocket. Teachers, be warned. "Fidget revolution"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21728603-sales-might-have-peaked-they-have-changed-toys-lessons-fidget-spinners?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'a76e2598eb7bc4d2164b8b96ab27a3b801e617ba'|'German industrial output flat in July on weak energy sector'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:18 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago German industrial output disappoints on weak energy Michael Nienaber 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Container ships are seen at a loading terminal at the Hamburg harbour in Hamburg, Germany February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German industrial production flatlined in July as a slight rise in manufacturing and construction output was offset by a plunge in the energy sector, suggesting that factories will contribute to growth more slowly in the third quarter. Record-high employment, increased job security and rising real wages are powering a consumer-led upswing in the German economy that looks set to help Chancellor Angela Merkel win a fourth term in office in a federal election on Sept. 24. In a rare sign of weakness in Europe’s biggest economy, data published on Wednesday had shown that feeble domestic demand drove a surprise fall in industrial orders in July. Thursday’s unchanged reading for industrial output, according to Economy Ministry data, followed a fall of 1.1 percent in June and compared with a consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a 0.6 percent gain. ING economist Carsten Brzeski said the disappointing data could give rise to doubts about the strength of the economy. But he noted that industrial production had registered unbroken growth in the first five months of the year. “Some pause in this trend was bound to happen,” he said. “In our view, the prospects for the German industry remain rosy, at least for the short term.” A breakdown of the data showed factories churned out more intermediate goods in July while production of capital goods and consumer goods fell slightly. Construction activity also rebounded, but energy output tumbled 4.7 percent which was the steepest monthly fall since January 2011 - cancelling out increases in the other sectors. “VERY DYNAMIC” The economy ministry said industrial production lost momentum in the summer after a “very dynamic” first half, adding that indicators pointed to a continuation of the industrial upswing, albeit at a slower pace than in the first six months. Brzeski said German industry was “simply still on annual leave” in July but should return with a rebound after the summer. He also pointed to the prospect of more fiscal stimulus after the election. Ulrike Kastens from Sal. Oppenheim agreed that the weak industrial data showed the economy taking a breather rather than reaching a turning point. “Overall growth will be slightly weaker in the third quarter than in the first half of the year, but the upswing will continue and remain solid,” she added. The German economy grew by 0.7 percent on the quarter in the first three months of the year and by 0.6 percent from April to June, driven by increased household and state spending as well as higher investment in buildings and equipment. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the German economy to grow by 1.8 percent in 2017 and by 1.6 percent in 2018 in real terms. This would be slightly below the 1.9 percent in 2016, which was the strongest rate in five years. Reporting by Michael Nienaber, editing by Emma Thomasson and John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-output/german-industrial-output-flat-in-july-on-weak-energy-sector-idUKKCN1BI0M1'|'2017-09-07T09:18:00.000+03:00'
'0e2ce380ed1282939612795b78aa53eb8932d9bc'|'Nestle to buy Sweet Earth vegetarian foods'|'September 7, 2017 / 10:17 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Nestle, Unilever think small in Big Food''s sales quest Martinne Geller 4 Min Read The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LONDON (Reuters) - Nestle ( NESN.S ) and Unilever ( ULVR.L ) both snapped up small, artisanal brands on Thursday, part of a drive by big food firms to boost slowing sales with products seen as ethical or healthy. Changing consumer tastes and habits have rocked the processed food sector, letting upstarts steal market share from traditional brands with the growth of e-commerce, social media and interest in sustainability and health. Natural, organic, artisanal or plant-based products have been a bright spot in an otherwise tepid market, where the need to buy growth and cut costs led to Danone’s ( DANO.PA ) purchase of WhiteWave and failed attempts by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) to buy Unilever and Mondelez ( MDLZ.O ) to buy Hershey ( HSY.N ). Nestle, the world’s largest processed food company which has recently become a target of activist shareholder Third Point, said on Thursday it has agreed to buy Sweet Earth, a U.S. maker of frozen meals, burritos and burgers that use meat substitutes. That marks its first foray into the U.S. market for plant-based foods like tofu and seitan, which is growing at a double-digit rate annually and expected to reach $5 billion (£3.83 billion) by 2020. Meanwhile Unilever said it has bought the small British organic tea brand Pukka, known for herbal teas with catchy names such as mint matcha green and turmeric gold. The acquisition extends the world’s largest teamaker into the market for organic tea, which Euromonitor says will grow by 22 percent to reach $1.2 billion by 2021. The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey, Switzerland February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo Euromonitor analyst Maria Mascaraque said the market for organic food and drinks is still a small part of the total, but should continue to grow strongly. “(The market) shows growth opportunities based on the evolution of consumers’ priorities towards the consumption of natural foods and beverages as well as the increasing interest in social and environmental responsibilities,” Mascaraque said. Neither company disclosed what they were paying for their respective acquisitions, but Unilever said Pukka has annual sales of 30 million pounds and growth of 30 percent. This should lift Unilever’s portfolio, which includes large brands Lipton and PG Tips, and which Euromonitor says has seen its market share slip over the past five years. Unilever has done a string of small deals, including Sir Kensington’s mayonnaise, Talenti and Grom gelatos and Dollar Shave Club, that expand its presence in categories that are challenging traditional consumer brand models. For its part, Nestle recently announced it had taken a stake in food delivery service Freshly, as it seeks to keep up with changing consumer preferences. Nestle said Sweet Earth would remain independent from its U.S. food business, which includes DiGiorno pizzas and Hot Pockets, and continue to be led by its founders. Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by David Clarke/Jason Neely/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nestle-m-a/nestle-to-buy-sweet-earth-vegetarian-foods-idUKKCN1BI1AN'|'2017-09-07T13:17:00.000+03:00'
'f58a4a8ca531dceae0f656431c3b1a8d262b76c3'|'Russian central bank launches new ruble liquidity tool for banks'|'September 4, 2017 / 6:16 AM / 13 minutes ago Russian central bank launches new ruble liquidity tool for banks Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An employee counts Russian ruble banknotes at an office in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, December 17, 2014. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s Central Bank said on Monday it had launched a new mechanism of providing banks with ruble liquidity, effective Sept. 1. The regulator will provide liquidity in roubles for no more than 90 days, with an interest rate equal to its key rate plus 1.75 percentage points, it said in a statement. “Banks that have encountered temporary liquidity difficulties may (have recourse) to this mechanism after all other liquidity sources are exhausted,” the regulator said. Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh and Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-cenbank-liquidity/russian-central-bank-launches-new-ruble-liquidity-tool-for-banks-idUKKCN1BF0KF'|'2017-09-04T09:16:00.000+03:00'
'9e7e1b9e7c0015b96972f1907daa541aee2bd232'|'Exclusive - Under pressure, Hyundai clashes with China partner over suppliers: sources'|'September 5, 2017 / 7:26 AM / an hour ago Exclusive - Under pressure, Hyundai clashes with China partner over suppliers: sources Norihiko Shirouzu , Hyunjoo Jin 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Men cylce past an advertising billboard for Hyundai cars opposite the plant of Hyundai Motor Co in Beijing, China, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co ( 005380.KS ) is at loggerheads with its Chinese partner over efforts to cut supplier costs, as they grapple with cut-throat competition and the impact of a stand-off between Beijing and Seoul, four people familiar with the dispute said. Hyundai, along with affiliate Kia Motors ( 000270.KS ), has been caught up in a political row over a missile defence system deployed in South Korea, but opposed by China. That has come against the backdrop of ever tougher competition from local Chinese automakers. Until last year, Hyundai and Kia ranked third in China by sales. But Hyundai’s sales alone have slumped 41 percent from January to July, fraying relations with local partner BAIC Motor Corp Ltd ( 1958.HK ) and making this the biggest crisis since Hyundai entered the Chinese market in 2002. Last month, Hyundai suspended production at its four China plants for a week after a French supplier refused to provide fuel tanks when its bills went unpaid. On Tuesday, Hyundai suspended production at one of its plants in China after a German firm went unpaid. Hyundai and BAIC - whose Beijing Hyundai joint venture is a 50:50 partnership - are divided over how to solve the issue of suppliers and tougher competition. Hyundai wants to protect its South Korean supply chain, while BAIC favours shifting to cheaper Chinese suppliers to cut costs, the people said. “BAIC wants to solve this aggressively and is ... asking Hyundai to change its sourcing strategy significantly and immediately,” said the head of a Hyundai supplier based in Seoul, adding the idea was to source more locally from cheaper suppliers in China. Hyundai wants to solve this more gradually “over perhaps 5-10 years and do so in phases,” the person said. BAIC declined to comment. A Hyundai Motor spokesperson told Reuters: “Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have been continuously trying to source competitive parts in China.” The stand-off underscores the depth of a crisis facing Hyundai and its suppliers in China, heavily reliant on sales to Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. “China has started to become a grave for South Korean automakers and suppliers,” said Lee Hang-koo, a senior research fellow at Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, adding suppliers were being hit the hardest. South Korean firms are squeezed between cheaper Chinese suppliers and European rivals which are technologically more advanced, making it challenging for them to diversify their customers beyond Hyundai Motor, he said. Parts from South Korean suppliers are around 30-40 percent more expensive than those from Chinese suppliers, industry sources say. PRICE WAR Hyundai has sought to turn its fortunes around, and last week replaced the head of its China operations. It also has plans for a local “brand” store, wants to assemble its premium Genesis cars locally and accelerate the launch of a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) for China. But sales have kept falling, aggravating an underlying rift at Beijing Hyundai over supplier costs, as Chinese carmakers such as Geely Automobile ( 0175.HK ) gain strength, and local suppliers improve their quality. Hyundai cars in China rely heavily on South Korea suppliers that have set up shop there, in large part to serve the group, despite higher costs. Some 145 members of South Korea’s parts supplier association had 289 plants in China at the end of 2016. “We can’t beat (local suppliers) in terms of price,” a senior executive at a South Korean supplier to Hyundai told Reuters, adding BAIC was putting pressure on Hyundai to switch to Chinese parts. A second supplier said some suppliers had not been paid since May, with BAIC pressing to cut prices by a fifth before payment. That could push some to a loss, the executive said. GROWING PRESSURE Pressure from BAIC to cut supplier costs has grown after a parts procurement study two years ago looked at its supplier costs versus Chinese rivals such as Changan Automobile Co Ltd ( 000625.SZ ) and Great Wall Motor Co Ltd ( 601633.SS ). These Chinese carmakers have made big strides, sometimes taking advantage of global automakers’ and suppliers’ engineering know-how and expertise, helping them produce popular and competitive SUVs, and win market share. BAIC backed moving towards local suppliers, and using the local supply chain to press overseas suppliers to reduce their costs. For Hyundai, though, this would hurt suppliers, including its affiliates, who serve it globally. An official at the South Korea parts suppliers’ association, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said some suppliers to Hyundai in China were taking out loans and laying off staff. “This is not an easy one to solve,” said another person close to Hyundai, adding the carmaker would seek to avoid changing its supply chain policies in China. “But if sales of Hyundai cars keep falling, then perhaps Hyundai will have no choice but to accept BAIC’s solution.” Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in BEIJING and Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hyundai-china-suppliers-exclusive/under-pressure-hyundai-clashes-with-china-partner-over-suppliers-sources-idUKKCN1BG0NI'|'2017-09-05T13:07:00.000+03:00'
'5088bb5fa6977282cbb6ea252c820ea538e0c5e2'|'Asian shares rise on relief over U.S. debt ceiling deal, euro eyes ECB'|'September 7, 2017 / 12:58 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Euro burns past $1.20 as ECB signals stimulus slowdown Marc Jones 6 Min Read A journalist takes a picture of the new 50 Euro banknote with a mobile phone during the presentation of the new bill at the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - The euro climbed past $1.2050 despite a verbal warning on its strength from ECB head Mario Draghi on Thursday, as the central bank flagged it was preparing to scale back its 2.3 trillion euro (£2.10 trillion) stimulus programme. Traders were left waiting after the ECB’s initial statement reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance, but leapt on the euro as Draghi said the bank’s staff were looking at how to wind down its 60 billion-euro-a-month buying programme.. The euro jetted as high as $1.2059 from just under $1.1975 before Draghi spoke, while European stocks saw their day’s gains halved at the prospect of ongoing euro strength. “We will be ready for much of what we have to decide (to scale back stimulus) by October,” Draghi said at the ECB’s post-meeting news conference. “Right now, judging the way the world is going we should be ready.” Markets also benefited from relief that the U.S. Congress struck a deal on the country’s debt limit and that there had been no further ratcheting up of the North Korea crisis in Asia, though Wall Street saw a flat start with Hurricane Irma on track to hit Florida by the weekend. Canada’s dollar held its gains, after a surprise interest rate rise on Wednesday reminded everyone that G7 monetary settings will not remain super-easy forever . It also showed the clear implication of policy tightening right now - the Canadian dollar surged more than 2 percent at one point to its highest levels in two years. Draghi acknowledged that that was one of the ECB’s main conundrums. All the economic activity signals suggest it should take its foot off the gas - updated Eurostat figures as policymakers met confirmed the bloc saw robust growth in the second quarter. But the 13 percent surge of the euro already this year is impacting its sub-target inflation outlook, forecasts for which were trimmed by the ECB on Thursday. It is not the only issue Frankfurt is struggling with either. Sweden’s crown - the only northern European currency to have risen against the euro this year - fell on Thursday after its central bank said it was introducing a bigger buffer on its inflation target. That should give it more leeway on policy moves. AT THE LIMIT Wall Street’s S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes slipped 0.2-0.3 percent as they opened. People walk past an electronic board showing exchange rate between Japanese Yen and U.S. Dollar outside a brokerage at a business district in Tokyo, Japan August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Ahead of the restart a Labor Department report showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in more than two years last week amid a surge in applications in hurricane-ravaged Texas. Asia in contrast had been mildly risk-on overnight. China’s yuan rose past the psychologically important 6.5 per dollar level for the first time since May 2016, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares gained 0.3 percent and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI, which has been burdened by tensions over North Korea, jumped 1.2 percent. That was its biggest gain in four months and came amid signs that major powers were talking intensively about the region’s strains. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he was having discussions with the leaders of Russia, Japan and the United States and that there would be no war on the peninsula. China said it agreed the United Nations should take more action against North Korea after its latest nuclear test. North Korea said any U.N. sanctions would be met with “powerful counter measures” as it again accused the U.S. of angling for war. Market sentiment had also been helped after U.S. President Donald Trump forged a surprising deal with Democrats in Congress to raise the U.S. debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 15. There was some disappointment that the deal was so short-term. But U.S. economic data was also fairly upbeat. “The deadline on the debt ceiling has been extended just by three months, so it will come back to haunt markets again later this year. Still, markets liked it as we don’t have to worry about it for now,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. Yields on U.S. Treasuries had ticked higher on the deal but were being pushed back again, along with the dollar. Ten-year paper was hovering at 2.087 just off the previous days 10-month low of 2.054 percent. Euro zone yields also fell despite the ECB’s hint at reduced bond buying. Italy’s 10-year yield fell to 1.958 percent, its lowest since late June, with traders soothed by a comment from Draghi that the sequencing of the scale back had been set. In commodities, oil prices maintained most of this week’s strong gains as the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries improved the outlook after sharp falls caused by Hurricane Harvey. U.S. crude futures were steady at $49.05 per barrel, having gained 3.0 percent in the previous three sessions, while Brent ticked to a new 3-1/2-month high of $54.59. Traders are now shifting their focus to Hurricane Irma, ranked as one of the five most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in the last 80 years. It killed eight people on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, left Barbuda devastated on Thursday and was expected to reach Florida at the weekend. Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/asian-shares-rise-on-relief-over-u-s-debt-ceiling-deal-euro-eyes-ecb-idUKKCN1BI02D'|'2017-09-07T03:57:00.000+03:00'
'53d0ecfccab805fa4c038740ba987df4dfb662b8'|'UK''s Euromoney to consider options for market intelligence unit'|' 59 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago UK''s Euromoney to consider options for market intelligence unit   (Reuters) - UK’s Euromoney Institutional Investor ( ERM.L ), the publisher of Euromoney magazine, said it would consider strategic options for its emerging markets focused Global Markets Intelligence division after receiving unsolicited interest from potential buyers for the unit. Global Markets Intelligence Division, headquartered in Hong Kong, provides macro-economic, company and industry intelligence and has customers in China, India and central and eastern Europe. “Recent, unsolicited interest from potential buyers confirms the Board’s view that the division is an attractive asset,” Euromoney said. The company said it had engaged advisers to assess its options. The unit reported revenue of $52.7 million in 2016, Euromoney said. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-euromoney-instnl-strategy/uks-euromoney-to-consider-options-for-market-intelligence-unit-idUKKCN1BI0QW'|'2017-09-07T09:58:00.000+03:00'
'b8a91ecb2edc4ee853cd73b67b5f41e3a760a005'|'Majedie says to absorb external research costs under Mifid II'|' 12 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Majedie says to absorb external research costs under Mifid II Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British fund firm Majedie Asset Management said on Thursday it would absorb the cost of external research under new European Union rules due to go live in early 2018. The EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II will require asset managers to agree a price for broker research after years when the cost was bundled together with other services including trade execution. While some asset managers have decided to pass the cost on to clients, many - including Vanguard, Baillie Gifford and JPMorgan Asset Management - have decided to pay the cost themselves. Majedie said it is currently spending around 3 million pounds a year on research. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Maiya Keidan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-majedie-research-costs/majedie-says-to-absorb-external-research-costs-under-mifid-ii-idUKKCN1BI1A9'|'2017-09-07T13:12:00.000+03:00'
'bb6c1f7ae0a13f76309d44af3385bc73facd5878'|'All new Jaguar Land Rover cars to have electric option from 2020'|'September 7, 2017 / 6:37 AM / Updated 5 hours ago All new Jaguar Land Rover cars to have electric option from 2020 Costas Pitas 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - All new Jaguar Land Rover cars will be available in an electric or hybrid version from 2020, Britain’s biggest carmaker said on Thursday, as it speeds up plans to electrify its model range. Last year, the company, owned by India’s Tata Motors ( TAMO.NS ), said it would offer greener versions of half of its new line-up by 2020, but it has now ramped up its plans. Demand for electric models continues to rise sharply and in July Britain said it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 to cut pollution, replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens. Related Coverage UK needs to do more for electric car future: Jaguar Land Rover CEO Carmakers are racing to tap into growing demand for low-emissions models with Nissan ( 7201.T ) launching a revamped version of its Leaf electric vehicle on Wednesday in a bid to better take on Tesla’s ( TSLA.O ) Model 3. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which showcased its first electric model in 2016, said it would release a range of powertrain options over the coming years. Jaguar Land Rover''s I-PACE concept car is seen on display ahead of it''s 2018 production launch as Jaguar''s first fully electric SUV at their ''Tech Fest'' in London, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville “We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles,” said Chief Executive Ralf Speth. The automaker, which built nearly 550,000 of Britain’s 1.7 million cars last year, has said it wants to build electric models in its home market but a number of factors need to be in place first, including support from government and academia. Slideshow (9 Images) It will build its first electric model, the I-PACE, in Austria. Like much of the British car industry, JLR is also worried that Brexit could leave its car exports facing lengthy customs delays and tariffs of up to 10 percent, risking the viability of production in Britain. But as traditional carmakers battle with tech firms such as Google ( GOOGL.O ), and disruptive entrants including Tesla, JLR also unveiled its latest plans to tap into new and developing technologies. At a ‘Tech Fest’ in London, the company is showcasing several autonomous and connected car gadgets including a steering wheel called ‘Sayer’ which will contain speech recognition software, enabling it to answer questions, connect to news, select entertainment and order food. Editing by Mark Potter and Guy Faulconbridge'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jaguarlandrover-tech/all-new-jaguar-land-rover-cars-to-have-electric-option-from-2020-idUSKCN1BI0OL'|'2017-09-07T09:36:00.000+03:00'
'f3dd1ec5cab564ec16ac063682ca42874c7e6c70'|'Up for sale? Bell Pottinger fights for survival after South Africa scandal'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Bell Pottinger has put itself up for sale after it lost clients for running a racially charged campaign in South Africa, potentially bringing down the curtain on one of the world’s leading public relations agencies.After working behind the scenes on events ranging from the election of Margaret Thatcher to the death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, Bell Pottinger has been brought down by a scandal of its own making.On Tuesday, it was thrown out of a British industry body for running a campaign in support of South African President Jacob Zuma. That campaign was deemed to have deliberately inflamed racial tensions, prompting clients to ditch the firm, among them HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank.Its second-biggest shareholder, Chime, has written off its 25 percent stake and its chief executive and biggest investor have quit. It is now fighting to retain clients and key staff.“I can confirm that we have appointed BDO to look at all options for the business including a possible sale,” a spokesman for Bell Pottinger said in an e-mail. It made no further comment.Bell Pottinger was founded in 1987, after co-founder Tim Bell made his name by helping to get Thatcher elected as Britain’s first female prime minister.It says it works to protect its clients’ reputations, “whatever the size of the challenge”. Past clients have included Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky, the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a foundation for the memory of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.“WHITE MONOPOLY CAPITAL”In South Africa, it worked with the president’s son and the influential Gupta family on a political campaign that South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, described as a bid to “divide and conquer” the public.According to an email published in South African media, Bell Pottinger said the campaign needed to stress the continued “existence of economic apartheid”.FILE PHOTO: South African President Jacob Zuma addresses his supporters after he survived a no-confidence motion in Cape Town, South Africa, August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo The communications preceded a sustained campaign condemning enemies of Zuma, including pro-business elements of Zuma’s own ruling African National Congress, as agents of “white monopoly capital”.The slogan, aired frequently on a Gupta-owned television station, quickly gained traction in a country where the white minority still wields disproportionate economic clout two decades after the end of apartheid.Bell Pottinger was paid 100,000 pounds ($129,000) a month by Oakbay, the holding company of the Guptas, which has been accused of using its closeness to Zuma to win government contracts. Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.Slideshow (2 Images) Britain’s Public Relations and Communications Association expelled Bell Pottinger for a minimum of five years, an unprecedented step for such a prominent member.Bell Pottinger has apologized for the campaign and described it as “inappropriate and insensitive”, but it did dispute the basis on which the (PRCA) ruling was made.Co-founder Bell told Reuters the agency is now “close to the end”. He visited South Africa to meet the Guptas ahead of the contract, but has since distanced himself from the South Africa scandal.“It was inevitable, and I‘m not surprised,” he said of the PRCA expulsion. “I think it’s very sad that something that I ran for years and years has been destroyed in less than a year,” he told Reuters by telephone.Other clients such as South African investment bank Investec, mining company Acacia, luxury goods firm Richemont, UK construction company Carillion and UK bank CYBG have also stopped working with Bell Pottinger recently.A former chief executive of a large London corporate PR firm said agencies were generally valued as a multiple of their income fee, but that it would be difficult to value a company struggling to retain clients.“The one thing that Bell Pottinger still has is some really good people, and if they’re going to have any hope of holding it together, either to fix it or sell it in part or in chunks, they’ve got to try and keep the people onside,” the former CEO said, adding that rivals would be circling.Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-politics-bellpottinger/britains-bell-pottinger-explores-sale-options-after-south-africa-scandal-idINKCN1BH165'|'2017-09-06T07:54:00.000+03:00'
'15aa85687b167d3eb33619ae1b319c10df2d6c56'|'Kyrgyzstan says to settle environment lawsuits with Centerra'|'BISHKEK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Centerra Gold Inc and the government of Kyrgyzstan have agreed to settle mutual lawsuits over environmental matters related to the Canadian company’s Kumtor gold mine, the Central Asian state said in a statement on Tuesday.Under the agreement, Toronto-based Centerra will contribute $50 million to an environmental fund and increase a so-called ‘environmental payout’ to $3 million annually, from $310,000, said the statement published on the government’s website. (Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/centerra-kyrgyzstan/kyrgyzstan-says-to-settle-environment-lawsuits-with-centerra-idINL2N1LN108'|'2017-09-06T12:44:00.000+03:00'
'f038d2ae0a8dcbaa28e58fa82ef34ed4c13846ef'|'German factory orders fall on weak domestic demand'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:22 AM / 28 minutes ago German factory orders fall on weak domestic demand Michael Nienaber 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A couple looks into a shop window of a jeweller in the city centre of Frankfurt December 18, 2012. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner BERLIN (Reuters) - German industrial orders fell unexpectedly in July on feeble domestic demand while appetite from abroad was flat, data showed on Wednesday - a rare sign of weakness in Europe’s largest economy less than three weeks before federal elections. Recent buoyant economic figures had underlined the strength of the German economy and its consumption-led upswing ahead of the Sept. 24 vote in which Angela Merkel is expected to win a record-equalling fourth term as chancellor. “This is not adding fuel to the hype about the economy,” Bankhaus Lampe economist Alexander Krueger said, although he noted that the overall trend in orders is still upwards. Factories registered a 0.7 percent drop in orders in July after contracts for goods made in Germany rose by 0.9 percent in June, data from the Economy Ministry showed. The reading for July far undershot a Reuters forecast of a 0.3 percent rise. Excluding volatile bulk orders, the headline figure was up 0.6 percent in July, the ministry said. The stronger euro did not seem to have dampened demand, with orders from countries outside the 19-member single currency bloc rising by 0.6 percent in July, Stefan Kipar at BayernLB said. LESS CONSUMER GOODS The overall drop was mainly caused by a plunge in demand for consumer goods, but intermediate and capital goods orders also edged down on the month, a data breakdown showed. Commerzbank analyst Ralph Solveen said the figures suggested that factories would still contribute to overall growth in the third quarter, but to a lesser extent than in the first half. The Federal Statistics Office will publish industrial output data for July on Thursday (0600 GMT). The ministry said order activity remained on a very high level overall. “In the past three months, German companies have registered nearly as many orders as they did before the outbreak of the economic and financial crisis in 2008,” it added. Orders and sentiment indicators pointed to a continuation of the solid upswing in the sector, the ministry added. Recent figures have shown the number of Germans out of work falling further, consumer morale improving and the manufacturing sector expanding. The German economy grew by 0.7 percent on the quarter in the first three months of the year and by 0.6 percent from April to June, driven by increased household and state spending as well as higher investment in buildings and equipment. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the German economy to grow by 1.8 percent in 2017 and by 1.6 percent in 2018 in real terms. This would be slightly below the 1.9 percent in 2016, which was the strongest rate in five years. Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-orders/german-factory-orders-fall-on-weak-domestic-demand-idUKKCN1BH18G'|'2017-09-06T13:22:00.000+03:00'
'ac78d7b8e626f11405d68d917333367d9c350261'|'Volkswagen engineer to appeal U.S. prison sentence'|'FILE PHOTO - An American flag flies next to a Volkswagen car dealership in San Diego, California, U.S. September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - Former Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) engineer James Liang plans to appeal a 40-month prison sentence for his role in Volkswagen’s multiyear scheme to sell diesel cars that generated more pollution than U.S. clean air rules allowed, according to a court filing on Thursday.A federal judge sentenced Liang in August.U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox also ordered the former engineer to pay a $200,000 fine.In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Michigan, his lawyer on Thursday said Liang’s sentence would be appealed to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-sentencing/volkswagen-engineer-to-appeal-u-s-prison-sentence-idUSKCN1BJ03D'|'2017-09-08T04:00:00.000+03:00'
'bffd5bb76694c3e2be658d327e353b4b6fcd4cdd'|'Wall Street set to open lower as Irma powers toward Florida'|'A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Friday as investors braced for potential damage from Hurricane Irma as it moved toward Florida, while a decline in big tech names like Apple and Facebook pushed the Nasdaq down more sharply.The Dow eked out a gain, helped by a 4.0-percent rise in shares of insurer Travelers ( TRV.N ).Insurer shares rose broadly, with the Dow Jones U.S. Insurance Index .DJUSIR up 2.1 percent, recouping some losses after being under pressure recently as the southern United States braced for another powerful storm closely on the heels of Hurricane Harvey.Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, lashed Cuba and the Bahamas as it drove toward Florida, while U.S. officials were preparing a massive response to the storm.“Investors are really in a wait-and-see mode given their concern about the impact of Hurricane Irma on Florida and wherever else it ends up going,” said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.“Overall, we are seeing the market and investors sort of hunker down to see what the damage and destruction turns out to be,” she said.The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 13.01 points, or 0.06 percent, to 21,797.79, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 3.67 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,461.43 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 37.68 points, or 0.59 percent, to 6,360.19.The tech sector .SPLRCT, which has outperformed all other major groups this year, ended down 0.9 percent.Energy shares .SPNY fell 1.1 percent as oil prices dropped on worries that commerce and energy demand in Florida and the Southeast would be hit hard due to Irma.Major indexes all posted declines for the week after two weeks of gains. Geopolitical concerns kept investors on edge as South Korea prepared for a possible further missile test by North Korea on Saturday, days after its sixth and largest nuclear test.“It’s a confluence of concerns that have been hovering over the market, everything from North Korea ... and obviously the hurricane and the damage that will ensue,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.Despite those macro concerns, the benchmark S&P 500 still is within about 1 percent of its all-time closing high as investors point to strong corporate earnings and solid economic data as supporting stocks.Equifax ( EFX.N ) was the biggest percentage loser on the S&P, falling 13.7 percent, after the provider of consumer credit scores said personal details of as many as 143 million U.S. consumers were hacked.Kroger ( KR.N ) shares ended down 7.5 percent after the biggest U.S. supermarket owner reported a quarterly profit drop amid an intensifying grocery price war.Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.19-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.01-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.About 6 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, above the 5.8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/wall-street-set-to-open-lower-as-irma-powers-toward-florida-idINKCN1BJ1L9'|'2017-09-08T16:03:00.000+03:00'
'744af0aa4daf4286107709f88fc8284d3fc36bde'|'FCA quizzed by lawmakers on listing rule plans ahead of Aramco IPO'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:10 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Britain''s FCA quizzed by lawmakers on listing rule plans ahead of Aramco IPO   FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s financial regulator has been told by two parliamentary committees to address concerns that plans to relax rules on listing state companies could undermine corporate governance. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in July proposed a new listing category for companies controlled by sovereign states, which was seen as a move to help London win the listing of Saudi Aramco as the oil giant prepares for what is expected to be the world’s largest ever initial public offering. The proposal, however, has attracted the attention of Britain’s Treasury Select Committee and Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, chaired by Nicky Morgan and Rachel Reeves respectively, who have written an open letter to FCA boss Andrew Bailey asking if the rules could weaken “protection for private investors against interference from foreign sovereign company owners”. They asked the regulator to explain if Aramco’s interest in listing in London influenced the consultation and whether companies controlled by sovereign entities engaged in it. The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been scrapped from April 1 amid reforms to fix a supervisory system criticised for failing to spot the financial crisis coming, forcing Britain to bail out banks. Two new bodies will replace it - the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority. REUTERS/Chris Helgren (BRITAIN - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS LOGO) - GM1E9411OC101 Morgan and Reeves also asked if ministers and government officials had been consulted on the balance between attracting foreign investment and maintaining the integrity of Britain’s stock market. The FCA said it has received the letter and will respond in due course. The FCA’s proposals were applauded by Britain’s financial lobby groups as helping to ensure the country’s capital markets remain attractive once it leaves the European Union. But they have received a cold reception from investors and corporate governance groups that say the proposed new listing category could lower the quality of companies on the London stock market and leave shareholders with less protection when things go wrong. Aramco has yet to decide where it will list, though London and New York have been touted as frontrunners for the bulk of the public flotation. Reporting by Clara Denina; Additional reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-regulation-ipo/britains-fca-quizzed-by-lawmakers-on-listing-rule-plans-ahead-of-aramco-ipo-idUKKCN1BI34S'|'2017-09-08T02:12:00.000+03:00'
'6333ff006f4cce96ace54e84fe7a1176e350dcf9'|'Oil prices rise on sharp drop in U.S. production as hurricanes bite'|'September 8, 2017 / 2:00 AM / Updated 39 minutes ago Oil prices rise on sharp drop in U.S. production as hurricanes bite 3 Min Read A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. crude production was hit harder by Hurricane Harvey than expected, with even bigger storm Irma heading for Florida and threatening to cause more disruption to the petroleum industry. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $49.21 barrel at 0406 GMT, 12 cents above their last settlement. Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, were up 24 cents to $54.73 a barrel, after reaching a session high of $54.79 a barrel, their highest level since April. Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S. Gulf coast two weeks ago, and crude prices initially slumped because almost a quarter of the country’s huge refinery industry was knocked out by the storm, cutting demand for crude oil, refining’s lifeblood. But as the refinery sector gradually recovers, so is its crude processing, shifting the focus to oil production. But data shows Harvey’s impact was also felt there. U.S. oil output fell by almost 8 percent, from 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to 8.8 million bpd, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Port and refinery closures along the Gulf coast and harsh sea conditions in the Caribbean have also impacted shipping. “Imports (of oil) to the U.S. Gulf Coast fell to levels not seen since the 1990s,” ANZ bank said. Traders said it would take weeks for the U.S. petroleum industry to return to full capacity, and that under the current conditions it was difficult to identify fundamental market trends. “The data for this week and next will be taken with a grain of salt as the underlying trend will be obscured by the effects of the hurricane,” said William O‘Loughlin, investment analyst at Rivkin Securities. Even as the oil industry continues to grapple with the fallout from Harvey, a much bigger Hurricane was lashing the Caribbean islands and heading for the United States. Hurricane Irma, which has become one of the biggest storms ever measured - picking up the Twitter hashtag #irmageddon - early on Friday was over the Dominican Republic and Haiti, heading for Cuba and the Bahamas. It was predicted to hit Florida on Sunday or Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Irma was still a Category 5 Hurricane, with wind speeds of 175 miles per hours (280 km/h). Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-markets-move-little-with-industry-in-grip-of-caribbean-hurricanes-idUKKCN1BJ061'|'2017-09-08T07:18:00.000+03:00'
'6a5dba14b6b3245d2eb99fe06ac44093735e09f7'|'Bankers say Brexit deal needed for cross-border contracts'|'September 8, 2017 / 10:53 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Bankers say Brexit deal needed for cross-border contracts Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The British Union flag and the European Union flag are seen flying behind a clock in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union need an agreement to allow cross-border financial contracts to run beyond Brexit and avoid disrupting markets, two banking lobby groups said on Friday. The legal status of cross-border contracts written by UK-based financial firms is unclear once they no longer come under EU rules from March 2019, UK Finance and the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) said in a joint paper. “It is estimated that 1.3 trillion euros ($1.57 trillion) of UK-based bank assets are related to the cross-border provision of financial products and services – many of which support EU exporting businesses that are key drivers of growth,” AFME Chief Executive Simon Lewis said. “Early action to clarify that these contracts will continue following Brexit is therefore critical.” Action could include legally-binding “grandfathering”, or allowing existing contracts to run to maturity without change, the paper said. Authorities have taken similar steps in the past when they agreed “continuity” measures to introduce the euro and new EU rules on derivatives, it added. Taking no action would mean huge costs to restructure businesses or transfer contracts to other entities. The Bank of England is already examining what can be done to mitigate the impact of Brexit on cross-border insurance contracts. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Kevin Liffey '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks/bankers-say-brexit-deal-needed-for-cross-border-contracts-idUKKCN1BJ17V'|'2017-09-08T13:53:00.000+03:00'
'845242ee4259e0603a35f70099614f6213c7df7f'|'UPDATE 1-Will Saudi Aramco deliver world record profit for next year''s IPO?'|'* Saudi Aramco is world’s biggest oil producing company* IPO aims to raise cash for kingdom’s investment plans* Saudi crown prince suggests company worth $2 trillion* Valuation demands annual earnings around $130 billion (Adds latest figures for Aramco’s reserves in paragraph 3)By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron BoussoLONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - When oil giant Saudi Aramco discloses its financials for the first time next year, it must either surprise investors with world record profits or reduce its aspirations for a $2 trillion valuation in its initial public offering (IPO).Investors have long debated whether Aramco could be valued anywhere close to $2 trillion, the figure suggested by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wants to raise cash through the IPO to finance investments aimed at helping wean the world’s biggest oil exporting nation off dependency on crude.Based on Aramco’s oil reserves of 261 billion barrels and a valuation of $7 to $8 per barrel in line with recent industry acquisitions - such as Total’s purchase of Maersk’s oil assets - Aramco warrants close to the $2 trillion valuation.But that is not the only metric for an energy firm’s worth. By other measures, Aramco’s target valuation may be challenging.Most other metrics for the world’s largest oil producing company are simply not known and will not be disclosed until Aramco publishes financial results before the planned IPO in 2018.Yet a simple calculation using globally accepted ratios for Aramco’s peers - enterprise value versus core earnings (EV/EBITDA) - shows the Saudi firm has to report EBITDA in the region of $130 billion to achieve a $2 trillion valuation.Such an EBITDA figure would be a global first. No firm in any industry has reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) above $100 billion.By comparison, Apple, the technology giant and the world’s most valuable listed firm that is worth more than $830 billion, reported EBITDA of $82 billion in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.AWAITING BOOK-BUILDING Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest listed energy firm with a market capitalisation of $365 billion in 2016, reported EBITDA of $23 billion last year, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. In 2012, it reported EBITDA of $65 billion - but that was when oil traded well above $100 a barrel. Benchmark Brent crude is now around $54.Last year, Exxon traded at EV/EBITDA of more than 15 times, which is high by energy industry standards. If Aramco matched that same high ratio, its core earnings would need to be around $130 billion to achieve its target valuation.Aramco would not be drawn when asked to comment on how it would achieve the $2 trillion figure.“This is highly speculative. We do not comment on speculation or rumour,” the company told Reuters in a statement.A Saudi Arabia-based industry source said Aramco’s value could not be calculated until the completion of book-building to assess investor appetite.The source said it was misleading to compare Aramco with Exxon, which has less than half the Saudi firm’s oil output and not even a 10th of its reserves. EBITDA should not be the only measure, the source added.(For a GRAPHIC see: tmsnrt.rs/2fH0rkr )Nevertheless, Aramco would do well to secure Exxon’s high ratios. Investors tend to like Exxon more than other oil firms, handing it ratios that are sometimes more generous than popular technology firms such as Google and Apple.For example, Exxon’s rivals Shell, BP and Total trade at EV/EBITDA of around six times. If Aramco was assessed at that level, it would need to show core earnings at an astonishing $330 billion a year to achieve a valuation of $2 trillion.“One thing you never do ahead of an IPO is to tell the market how much the company will be worth as you immediately become hostage to a number or a timetable,” said a Western investment banker, who was involved in listing another state energy firm.DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Yet Aramco could prove hugely profitable, given its oil output of about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) and some of the world’s cheapest crude recovery rates, alongside its global refinery network that adds further value.Exxon by comparison has less than half Aramco’s output - with oil-equivalent production of 4 million bpd in 2016, while the U.S. firm’s reserves are a fraction of Aramco’s - with proved oil-equivalent reserves of about 20 billion barrels.Aramco has never published results, but conclusions about its earnings can be drawn from Saudi Arabia’s accounts, given oil constitutes the lion’s share of the nation’s revenues, said Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist at U.S.-based Rapidan Group.“Based on the Saudi current-account balance, Aramco had revenues of $160 billion last year from just oil and refined products exports when the average price of oil was $43 a barrel,” Mohamedi said.“So if the price of oil goes to $70 per barrel, it is not impossible for Aramco to make a top line of $250 billion a year. Given that operational costs of Aramco are one of the lowest in the world, it is not impossible to see them reporting the bottom line or earnings on a huge scale – of $100 billion a year and above,” he said.Financials aside, investors will also assess country risk when working out Aramco’s valuation.Exxon benefits from having its headquarters in the United States, even if some of its operations and production are in politically unstable nations.Aramco’s head office is in Saudi Arabia, a nation in a volatile region with a war in Yemen on its doorstep.“Aramco is definitely a fantastic, modern and high-quality company,” said the Western banker. “But unfortunately, no one can say that Saudi Arabia is a fantastic country from the geopolitical prospect.”Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/aramco-ipo/update-1-will-saudi-aramco-deliver-world-record-profit-for-next-years-ipo-idUSL8N1LP2AD'|'2017-09-08T18:07:00.000+03:00'
'4996d2ed68743a62f9db3789b92ef0825ae94eec'|'Credit Suisse WM cuts UK equities as hard Brexit seen less likely'|' 44 PM / Updated 34 minutes ago Credit Suisse WM cuts UK equities as hard Brexit seen less likely   Participants arrive ahead of the annual shareholder meeting Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Zurich, Switzerland April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann MILAN (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Wealth Management cut their view on British equities to “underperform” saying earnings momentum has likely peaked and that the lower likelihood of a “hard” Brexit would see a firmer sterling and weigh on exporter earnings. “With a hard Brexit looking less likely, a potential reversal of the recent GBP weakness could weigh on UK equities going forward as it remains one of the most important drivers of the relative performance,” the Swiss bank’s wealth management said in a note. UK''s blue chips FTSE 100 index .FTSE has risen around 27 percent since the lows it hit following a referendum last year when Britons voted for their country to leave the European Union. Those gains have largely been driven by a weaker sterling which makes the large chunk of offshore profits of UK bluechips more valuable. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Vikram Subhedar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stocks-downgrade/credit-suisse-wm-cuts-uk-equities-as-hard-brexit-seen-less-likely-idUKKCN1BJ1J9'|'2017-09-08T15:44:00.000+03:00'
'6e2e020c152eb7b59e3d293f0d07213152d4d738'|'Exclusive: Brazil''s Classico in talks to buy AGC''s Cemig stake, source says'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - AGC Energia SA is in advanced talks to sell the 20.1 percent voting stake it holds in Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA to investment bank Banco Classico SA, which could in turn be invited to share control of Brazil’s No. 3 power utility, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.According to one of the people, AGC Energia could fetch around 1.4 billion reais ($453 million) with the sale, which is expected to take place in coming weeks. In a surprise move announced late on Thursday, AGC Energia decided to break off Cemig’s shareholder accord, without detailing why.Such a sale price would represent a premium of almost 100 percent over the value of Cemig’s common shares ( CMIG3.SA ), which fell 1.8 percent to 8.33 reais in midafternoon trading in São Paulo. Trading volume on the stock hit the highest level since May on the news.For almost 15 years, AGC Energia and the state of Minas Gerais, which owns a 51 percent voting stake in Cemig, were tied to an accord that gave the former autonomy to decide strategy. The relation soured after Minas Gerais Governor Fernando Pimentel came to power in 2015 and sought to turn around Cemig, which had grown too big, too fast over the previous decade.The people said both partners disagreed over plans to cut Cemig’s debt and dispose of troubled operations like renewable power firm Renova Energia SA ( RNEW11.SA ), which could soon be sold.Cemig’s divestiture plans have taken longer than those of rivals, demonstrating the difficulties of trimming a company that expanded beyond power into fiber optics, information technology and gas distribution in recent years. Most of those takeovers have delivered subpar returns.A partner like Classico, which also is a holder in state-controlled power group Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA, “is key to speeding up Cemig’s downsizing and liability management,” said one of the people, who asked for anonymity because the talks remain private.Minas Gerais state would be willing to rewrite Cemig’s shareholder accord if Classico and AGC Energia agree to sign a deal, the same person added.Cemig and AGC Energia declined to comment. Efforts to obtain comment from Classico’s representatives in Rio de Janeiro were not immediately successful. The state’s government did not have an immediate comment.NEW BUSINESS Chief Financial Officer Adezio Lima said in July that Cemig will fully dispose of a majority, 43 percent stake in Rio de Janeiro-based utility Light SA ( LIGT3.SA ) and focus on in-house generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity.While Cemig’s consolidated debt fell to 12.5 billion reais at the end of June, the utility has lost the rights to operate four hydropower dams and has to repay 4.1 billion reais in liabilities before the end of the year.The people added that AGC Energia’s exit should speed the sale of Cemig’s stake in Renova to a unit of Brookfield Asset Management at 9 reais per unit. Reuters first reported the deal on July 7.Cemig and Light are part of Renova’s controlling bloc, and they have already agreed to be bought out by Brookfield, said the person. If the deal is concluded successfully, Brookfield will probably take Renova private, said the person.Units of Renova, a blend of the company’s preferred and common stock, rose 0.7 percent to 7.23 reais on Friday. The stock is up 20 percent this year.Lima said in July that exiting Renova could take around 60 days. A São Paulo-based spokesman for Canada’s Brookfield ( BAMa.TO ) declined to comment.A unit of infrastructure conglomerate Andrade Gutiérrez SA, AGC Energia had been negotiating a way to exit Cemig over the past months, one of the people said.As part of the shareholder accord with Minas Gerais, AGC Energia had control of several key management positions, including the vice presidency of new business - which negotiated and oversaw Cemig’s business expansion, acquisitions and greenfield projects.($1 = 3.0891 reais)Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Additional reporting by Luciano Costa in São Paulo; Editing by Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cemig-shareholder-ag-participacoes-ex/exclusive-brazils-classico-in-talks-to-buy-agcs-cemig-stake-source-says-idINKCN1BJ29B'|'2017-09-08T15:48:00.000+03:00'
'ef1e38ed869c9635879ca17cdde9ef6bfca92f10'|'Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects'|'Reuters TV United States September 8, 2017 / 4:17 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects Jarrett Renshaw , Ernest Scheyder 5 Min Read A massive drilling derrick is pictured on BP''s Thunder Horse Oil Platform in the Gulf of Mexico, 150 miles from the Louisiana coast, May 11, 2017. Picture taken May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jessica Resnick-Aul NEW YORK/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast intend to go ahead with plans for near record spending on expansions next year, despite Hurricane Harvey driving up labor costs and slowing work, experts said. Harvey largely spared oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast from significant damage but thousands of homes and businesses were not as fortunate. Refiners and recovery projects will complete for the same labor, driving up costs or causing labor shortages. Industrial investment in the Gulf Coast is expected to hit $51.9 billion next year, near the 2015 peak, requiring an army of pipefitters, ironworkers and other craftsman, said Industrial Information Resources (IIR), which tracks labor supply for refiners and other industrial companies. “We had a labor shortage before Harvey, but now it’s significantly worse,” said IIR’s Anthony Salemme. “It’s going to spread to soft crafts like painters and insulators.” Investments have soared in recent years because the shale revolution fed off an existing infrastructure. The region’s deep water ports and expanding pipeline and storage networks offer an easy outlet to global markets. It also boasts a welcoming regulatory climate and skilled workforce. Since 2010, $85 billion worth of petrochemical projects have started or been completed across the United States, nearly all of them in the Gulf Coast region, according to the American Chemistry Council. But the concentration along the Gulf of Mexico leaves these facilities and supporting networks exposed to the brutal force of tropical storms and hurricanes, as Harvey laid bare last month. The storm shut roughly a quarter of the nation’s refinery capacity and more than a dozen petrochemical plants halted operations. Ports were closed and key fuel pipelines serving the Midwest and U.S. Northeast were partially or completely shut, driving up pump prices as fears of fuel shortages took hold. Preliminary assessments suggest that storm’s hit to the region is not deterring companies from going ahead with existing projects. But global commodities buyers such as Ineos Group [INEOSG.UL] and Reliance Industries Ltd that relied on existing facilities shut by the storm may now consider putting some warehouses and stock elsewhere. “The robustness of the supply chain is brought a little more under attention,” said David Witte, a senior vice president at consultants IHS Markit. “They may be looking at it differently.” Construction costs also could slow some work. INVESTMENT PLANS There is no sign that major new projects are under threat. Several with plans on the drawing board, including BASF SE, DowDuPont Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp are sticking to growth plans. Others said they will repair Harvey’s damage before making any decisions on long-term strategy for the region. Exxon earlier this year said it would invest $20 billion to expand Texas refining and petrochemical operations in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Baytown. All three communities were damaged by Harvey. As part of that expansion, Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp are proposing an about $10 billion chemical plant in Corpus Christi, near where Harvey made landfall. The project is moving forward, according to a source familiar with the matter. Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri declined to comment. DowDuPont is also undeterred from an ongoing $4 billion expansion project that includes new capacity in Freeport, Texas, on the coast. “Hurricane Harvey does not change our perspective on the region being a great location for our investments,” spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in a statement. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is expanding its operations in the Gulf, also has proposed new investments in western Pennsylvania, near the natural gas-rich Marcellus formation. The plant will help Shell capture a larger share of the U.S. market for polyethylene, more than half of which is concentrated in northern states. It took Shell years to make the decision to build the plant. Pennsylvania has started to position itself as a second U.S. refining region, even though new plants are years away from opening. The state lacks the specialized refining workforce and proximity to open water - and the Panama Canal - that make the Gulf Coast area still so appealing. The U.S. Gulf Coast will remain an attractive investment area, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith and other energy officials. “What this storm has demonstrated is the resilience of the energy system,” said Torgrim Reitan, who runs Statoil ASA’s U.S. operations. “Even a Harvey can’t take out this capacity.” Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Additional reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Julia Simon in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-energy-infrastructure/harvey-may-pinch-some-gulf-coast-refining-chemical-projects-idUKKCN1BJ0CP'|'2017-09-08T07:07:00.000+03:00'
'3226197dc708bafca9a8b7af6da078349d8d91d1'|'Exclusive: ECB policymakers agreed on stimulus cut at meeting - sources'|'September 8, 2017 / 10:20 AM / Updated an hour ago Exclusive: ECB policymakers agree on cutting stimulus - sources Reuters Staff 5 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymakers agreed at their meeting on Thursday that their next step would be to begin reducing their monetary stimulus, three sources with direct knowledge of the discussion said. After 2-1/2 years of massive money-printing, the ECB is taking baby-steps towards weaning the euro zone off the easy cash that has helped boost the economy but is also blamed for creating bubbles in richer countries such as Germany. The ECB left its policies unchanged on Thursday. But President Mario Draghi suggested October would be decision time regarding the future of the 2.3 trillion euros ($2.8 trillion) bond-buying programme. Policymakers debated various scenarios, he said. The four options being considered for reducing its bond buying, according to sources who asked not to be named, include cutting its monthly buying from the current 60 billion euros to 20 or 40 billion from the start of 2018, with the scheme running for another six or nine months. The decision was likely to come at the Oct. 26 meeting and should be backed by a broad consensus, the sources said. One suggested a compromise could be found for setting monthly purchases somewhere between 20 billion and 40 billion euros. The sources added that much of the focus of the discussion was on the overall amount of the purchases, including the reinvestment of proceeds from maturing bonds, which will slowly rise towards 15 billion euros per month next year, the sources said. The ECB declined to comment on the report, which pushed the euro and government bond yields in the single currency bloc higher. INFLATION Despite solid economic growth in the euro zone, inflation has yet to rise back to the ECB’s target of almost 2 percent and has been further curbed by a recent rise in the euro against major currencies, which makes imports cheaper and exports less attractive. The rally in the euro was raising the chances that the ECB would opt to phase out quantitative easing only very slowly next year and may look for other ways to support the economy. The sources said policymakers also agreed that interest rates will not be raised before the asset buys end, indicating by default that any extension of the programme would also push out the first rate hike. Indeed, Irish central bank governor Philip Lane said on Friday the ECB would maintain its easy policy stance until it is happy with the path of inflation and cited a new round of cheap loans, or TLTRO, as one of its available tools. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference following the ECB''s governing council''s interest rate decision in Frankfurt, Germany, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Even Germany’s central bank governor Jens Weidmann, who has long called for the ECB to step off the QE pedal, struck a conciliatory tone on Friday. “The increase in inflation is sluggish and the uncertainty about the future inflation path is quite large,” Weidmann, who sits on the ECB’s Governing Council, said. “For this reason, the Governing Council has decided to wait and take its time to assess the monetary policy situation.” This showed that policymakers are keen to avoid a repeat of the public discord that has marred the history of the quantitative easing programme since its 2015 launch, with decisions criticised by national central banks hostile to the policy and even by some within the ECB’s own Executive Board. LIMITS Any extension to the bond scheme will leave the ECB exposed to the risk of running out of eligible bonds to buy under the strict conditions it has set itself to limit market disturbance and not become a blocking minority in any country. But the sources said the so-called issuer limit, which caps any ECB buying to a third of a country’s outstanding debt, is not up for discussion because it would open the programme up to a legal challenge. Maintaining the cap and the programme’s other self-imposed constraints would curtail the purchases as the ECB is already approaching its limit in several countries - notably Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy and the ECB’s top critic. This meant the ECB may have to deviate even farther from the national quotas adopted at the outset of the programme, which determine how much debt it can buy from each country depending on its shareholding in the central bank. Indeed, the ECB has been buying fewer German and more Italian and French bonds than it is supposed to for months, with purchases of public-sector paper issued by Germany hitting an all-time low in August. Some technical issues may have to wait until the ECB’s last meeting of the year in December, according to Finnish governor Erkki Liikanen. “We have a meeting in October where we will address these issues, and it could be that the fine-tuning on these issues will be made afterwards,” Liikanen told the Finnish parliament on Friday. ($1 = 0.8316 euros) Reporting by Frank Siebelt, Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa; Additional reporting by Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki, Padraic Halpin in Dublin and other Reuters bureaus; Editing by Mark John '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy/exclusive-ecb-policymakers-agreed-on-stimulus-cut-at-meeting-sources-idINKCN1BJ152'|'2017-09-08T13:20:00.000+03:00'
'1044494a73494ff9df535b1769b982182189500e'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Chile peso falls as copper drops, North Korea weighs'|'(Updates with final prices, context) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Chile''s peso on Friday posted its biggest daily drop in four months as traders questioned whether a rally in copper that has underpinned the currency''s upswing was justified, while geopolitical tensions weighed on other markets such as Mexico. Markets were cautious as South Korea waited out the risk of another missile test by North Korea on Saturday, the anniversary of its founding. North Korea marks the occasion each year with a big display of pageantry and military hardware. The Chilean peso weakened more than 1 percent to 620 to the dollar, snapping a string of four straight days of gains but still near two-year highs. The drop came on the heels of a decline in prices of copper, a key export, as traders booked profits on a 20 percent surge that began in June. Analysts have voiced skepticism that the industrial metal would continue to rise, given signs of stagnant demand from top consumer China. Chinese data for August showed imports of copper and copper products held steady for the fourth month in a row. Expectations that the Chilean central bank would react to the peso''s recent strength by cutting interest rates also helped to temper those bullish on the currency, especially following weaker-than-expected August price figures. Still, some remained confident. Nomura strategists recommended clients bet that the Chilean currency would outperform the Mexican peso. "The sharp increase in copper prices could potentially front-load the country''s process of investment recovery and accelerate an economic rebound," they wrote in a report. The Mexican peso slipped 0.3 percent, driven lower by higher risk aversion worldwide amid rising concerns about what North Korea could do next. Tension on the Korean peninsula has escalated as North Korea''s leader, Kim Jong Un, has stepped up the development of weapons. It has tested a string of missiles this year, including one over Japan, and conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday. Apprehension over the expected arrival of lethal hurricane Irma in Florida also kept markets on edge. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2210 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 1091.17 0.1 26.55 MSCI LatAm 2942.08 -0.39 25.7 Brazil Bovespa 73078.85 -0.45 21.34 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 50083.80 -0.33 9.73 Chile IPSA 5091.81 -0.37 22.65 Chile IGPA 25475.58 -0.34 22.87 Argentina MerVal 24018.13 -0.96 41.97 Colombia IGBC 11210.11 -0.32 10.68 Venezuela IBC 279357.84 2.2 781.11 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.0945 0.24 5.00 Mexico peso 17.7150 -0.25 17.10 Chile peso 620.5 -1.05 8.09 Colombia peso 2906.5 0.05 3.27 Peru sol 3.232 0.06 5.63 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.2000 0.03 -7.70 Argentina peso (parallel) 17.83 -0.28 -5.66 (Additional reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam/emerging-markets-chile-peso-falls-as-copper-drops-north-korea-weighs-idUSL2N1LP21L'|'2017-09-09T01:21:00.000+03:00'
'87e67eddab046c9f88684546fda84d7e290a4f83'|'Akzo Nobel issues profit warning, CFO to step aside'|'FILE PHOTO: Cans of Dulux paint, an Akzo Nobel brand, are seen on the shelves of a hardware store near Manchester, Britain, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel issued a profit warning on Friday and announced a revamp that will include the chief financial officer stepping aside and a shake-up to its paints and industrial coatings businesses.The Dutch company, citing cost inflation and currency headwinds, said it would not achieve the 100 million euro ($121 million) improvement in 2017 operating profit it promised when rejecting a recent takeover.In May the company rejected a 26.3 billion euro takeover by U.S. rival PPG Industries, an offer worth 95 euros per share. Akzo shares were down 2.9 percent at 76.4 euros in early trade on Friday.Akzo said CFO Maelys Castella would take a leave of absence due to health reasons and return “in a senior management position” when she is better.Castella will be replaced on a temporary basis by group controller Hans De Vriese.CEO Ton Buechner in July also quit for health reasons.“It is extraordinary that these cases follow each other so rapidly, but it is purely coincidental. They are for entirely different reasons, and are in no way related,” Chairman Antony Burgmans said on a call with reporters.New CEO Thierry Vanlancker will meet with shareholders on Friday to defend the company’s strategy following a court order to repair relations damaged under Buechner and Burgmans.Shareholders led by Elliott Advisors sued Akzo for the right to hold a shareholders meeting to vote on expelling Burgmans for mismanagement.Dutch courts twice rejected shareholders requests, but instructed the company to repair relations, leading to Friday’s shareholders meeting and a loose promise from Burgmans to step down when his term ends in April 2018.REVAMP In rejecting the PPG takeover Akzo Nobel pledged to pursue is own sale of its Specialty Chemicals Division which represents a third of the company’s sales and profit.Under a reorganisation announced on Friday, Akzo said it will realign management along four geographical lines for paints and there will be four “integrated coatings business units” presumably by product line, although the company did not elaborate.Vanlancker said headwinds such as higher raw material costs were having “a wider and greater impact as the year continues” and the company was raising prices and cutting costs in response.Akzo remains on course to meet 2020 financial targets announced in April, he said, including reaching a 15 percent return on sales, though analysts have been sceptical about these targets.($1 = 0.8295 euros)Editing by Stephen Coates and Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-restructuring/akzo-nobel-issues-profit-warning-cfo-to-step-aside-idINKCN1BJ0ON'|'2017-09-08T10:10:00.000+03:00'
'55b0e993575e394745f00bc1c48d2da80d27d416'|'Taxify halts London services after regulator questions licence'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:34 AM / Updated an hour ago Taxify halts London services after regulator questions licence Eric Auchard 3 Min Read Taxify CEO Markus Villig shows a smartphone app at company''s headquarters in Tallinn, Estonia, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Uber rival Taxify has temporarily halted operations in London, the company said on Friday, after local regulator Transport for London said the new market entrant had failed to obtain a proper operating licence. The Estonian taxi-hailing start-up, which is active in 25 cities in central and eastern Europe and Africa, this week launched private hire taxi hailing services across London ( reut.rs/2eQFWSe ). Transport for London (TfL) confirmed it was investigating the company, saying it was not licensed to operate. “Taxify is not a London licensed private hire operator,” a TfL spokesman said in a statement issued on Thursday. “We are urgently investigating the nature and extent of its activities and will take action where appropriate.” TfL said it was preparing a new statement on Friday. The company said in a statement its software platform for connecting drivers and passengers was working with City Drive Services, a licensed London private hire firm. City Hire was incorporated in 2014 with offices located in southeast London, according to filings with UK Companies House. Taxify said it had signed up 3,000 drivers and had 30,000 customers download its ride-ordering app in its first three days of service. The company said it looked forward to discussions with TfL to resolve the issue. “(Our) sole objective is to make London’s ride-hailing market fairer so that better value is delivered for customers and drivers alike,” the company said. ”Taxify charges less commission than market incumbents such as Uber, keeping prices low for customers and improving earning potential for drivers. In March, Uber lost a court battle to stop TfL from imposing stricter English reading and writing standards on private hire drivers. The action was partly taken in response to protests by London black cab drivers against Uber for failing to meet local standards ( reut.rs/2xgcDzZ ). Uber later won the right to appeal the decision. TfL has also announced plans to increase the fees private hire operators pay to cover the increased costs of regulating the increasingly competitive taxi and ride-hailing sector. Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-competition-taxify/taxify-halts-london-services-after-regulator-questions-licence-idUKKCN1BJ0QE'|'2017-09-08T10:34:00.000+03:00'
'2b9b3c0d4d585af9dee5120cd5e2cb0caef185d5'|'Oil rising on weak dollar, not output pact - Sechin'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:40 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil rising on weak dollar, not output pact - Sechin Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Tony Fountain, Chairman of Essar Oil Ltd., attends a news conference in Mumbai, India August 21, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files MOSCOW (Reuters) - The main driver behind rising oil prices is a weaker dollar and not a global effort by producers to curb output, Igor Sechin, chief executive of top Russian oil company Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ), has told TASS news agency. “The Americans support their shale oil producers through dollar depreciation,” TASS cited Russia’s most influential energy executive as saying. “I believe that the OPEC deal has no impact (on the market), it is the dollar devaluation,” Sechin said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia have agreed to reduce output by around 1.8 million barrels per day until next March in a bid to reduce global oil inventories and support prices. As for whether producers decide to extend that deadline, Sechin told TASS that OPEC leader Saudi Arabia would likely make its decision based on its plans to list oil company Saudi Aramco. “If it goes for (the listing), they will be interested in higher prices and will probably encourage their OPEC partners to extend it. If they don‘t, they will be less interested.” Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; writing by Maria Tsvetkova; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/oil-opec-sechin/oil-rising-on-weak-dollar-not-output-pact-sechin-idINKCN1BJ0QO'|'2017-09-08T10:38:00.000+03:00'
'443549e60ec3066faaf5eea7a3568884332a8b17'|'Weak spending, rising costs hit UK pub group Greene King'|' 23 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Weak spending, rising costs hit UK pub group Greene King Rahul B 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British pub group Greene King ( GNK.L ) reported a drop in sales and warned weak consumer confidence and rising costs were set to continue, sending its shares down as much as 15 percent on Friday. The company, which runs more than 2,900 pubs and restaurants, said recent mixed weather and a drop in business at its family pub restaurant brand Fayre & Square had contributed to the decline. However, it also joined rivals in pointing to a broad-based weakness in consumer confidence as incomes are squeezed by rising inflation, and to growing costs in the industry such as from the national minimum wage and from a weaker pound. “We remain cautious about the trading environment and expect the challenges of weaker consumer confidence, increased costs and increasing competition to persist over the near term,” it said in a statement. At 0855 GMT, Greene King shares were down 12.4 percent at 578 pence after touching a five-year low of 559 pence. The company, which also brews beers such as Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale, said pub like-for-like sales for the 18 weeks to Sept. 3 fell 1.2 percent, compared with a market decline of 0.7 percent. It said cost savings were helping it to contain the impact of “weaker than anticipated sales” and “unprecedented industry cost pressures.” However, Investec analysts cut their recommendation on the stock to “hold” from “buy” and slashed their target price by 183 pence to 667 pence. A string of Britain pub and restaurant groups including Mitchells & Butlers ( MAB.L ) and Whitbread ( WTB.L ) have also reported slowing demand - a warning signal for the country’s economy which relies heavily consumer spending. Budget pubs chain JD Wetherspoon is due to report full-year results next week. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greene-kin-outlook/weak-spending-rising-costs-hit-uk-pub-group-greene-king-idUKKCN1BJ10A'|'2017-09-08T12:22:00.000+03:00'
'044bf518fb5821e5be8c1c1cbcdf5277467d8aeb'|'London stays world''s top finance centre despite Brexit'|'The Canary Wharf financial district is seen at dusk in London, Britain November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files FRANKFURT/ LONDON (Reuters) - London remains the globe’s most attractive financial centre, extending its lead over New York despite Britain’s looming departure from the European Union, a survey found on Monday.Britain’s departure from the trading bloc has led to some politicians and economists predicting London will lose its pre-eminent status as a financial centre, but there are few signs of that happening yet.London was placed first, followed by New York, Hong Kong and Singapore in the Z/Yen global financial centres index (GFCI), which ranks 92 financial centres on factors such as infrastructure and access to high quality staff. New York was 24 points behind the British capital, the biggest gap between the two since the survey started in 2007.New York’s ranking fell 24 points from last year, the largest fall among the top contenders, a dip the survey’s authors said was “presumably due to fears over U.S. trade”.Since becoming U.S. President in January, Donald Trump has pulled out of a planned trans-Pacific trade agreement and is pursuing a more isolationist economic policy.Tourists carrying Union Flag umbrellas shelter from the rain in front of the London Eye wheel in London, Britain, August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Files Britain’s most powerful financial lobby group, TheCityUK, cautioned against complacency and called for clarity on its transitional arrangements for leaving the EU, which will apply beyond April 2019, when Britain is due to formally leave.“Absent this, many firms have already started to activate their contingency plans and others will undoubtedly follow suit if these aren’t confirmed as soon as possible - and by the end of this year at the very latest,” said Miles Celic, Chief Executive Officer of TheCityUK.Since the survey was conducted in June, talks between Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis and his opposite number at the European Commission, Michel Barnier, have become increasingly acrimonious.The past two months have also seen a pick-up in the number of banks saying they plan to set up new EU subsidiaries after Brexit, with most major U.S., British and Japanese banks saying they will establish units in Frankfurt or Dublin.Frankfurt has moved up to 11th in the table from 23rd a year ago and Dublin has moved to 30th from 33rd.Reporting By John O''Donnell and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-london-rating/london-stays-worlds-top-finance-centre-despite-brexit-idINKCN1BM0FV'|'2017-09-11T08:24:00.000+03:00'
'dcf42b6672942bd36f3fa4550f53c6544a52f2cc'|'Vivendi nears deal with Italy watchdog to cut Mediaset stake - sources'|'September 7, 2017 / 5:45 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Vivendi nears deal with Italy watchdog to cut Mediaset stake: sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Vivendi logo at the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - French media group Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) is close to reaching a preliminary deal with Italy’s communications watchdog on cutting its stake in Silvio Berlusconi’s broadcaster Mediaset ( MS.MI ), two sources said on Thursday. Vivendi’s influence in Italy has come under close political and regulatory scrutiny since the French group led by billionaire Vincent Bollore built up its stake in Italy’s biggest private broadcaster Mediaset last year. It had already tightened its grip on Telecom Italia (TIM) ( TLIT.MI ) and Rome is looking into whether Vivendi failed to meet an obligation to notify it of its effective control of a company which is considered a strategic national asset. Italy’s AGCOM regulator has demanded Vivendi reduce its stake in either Mediaset or TIM to below 10 percent after ruling that by holding both it breached Italian rules meant to prevent concentration of power. Vivendi is the biggest single shareholder in Telecom Italia with a 24 percent stake and also holds 28.8 percent of Mediaset, making it the second-largest investor after the family of former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi. The French company’s preliminary agreement with AGCOM should land on the desk of the regulator’s board of commissioners, who have to approve any deal, at their next meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 13 although a final decision will not be taken until April 2018, the sources added. The solution agreed with AGCOM envisages Vivendi transferring the Mediaset shares above the 10 percent threshold into a blind trust, one of the two sources said. Vivendi will have one year to comply with AGCOM’s ruling if it is to avoid being fined up to 5 percent of its revenues, some 540 million euros ($648 million). ($1 = 0.8334 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-vivendi-mediaset-regulator/vivendi-nears-deal-with-italy-watchdog-to-cut-mediaset-stake-sources-idUKKCN1BI2IM'|'2017-09-07T20:38:00.000+03:00'
'e609fa83de04a885d9006db4fb66a7392bc43bc0'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro burns past $1.20 as ECB signals stimulus slowdown'|'* Brent oil at 3 1/2-month high* Wall Street starts slightly lower* Surprise deal to raise U.S. debt ceiling for only three months* Wall Street set for subdued start* Powers talk about North Korea situation* Graphic: World FX rates in 2017 tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVhBy Marc JonesLONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The euro climbed past $1.2050 despite a verbal warning on its strength from ECB head Mario Draghi on Thursday, as the central bank flagged it was preparing to scale back its 2.3 trillion euro ($2.75 trillion) stimulus programme.Traders were left waiting after the ECB’s initial statement reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance, but leapt on the euro as Draghi said the bank’s staff were looking at how to wind down its 60 billion-euro-a-month buying programme..The euro jetted as high as $1.2059 from just under $1.1975 before Draghi spoke, while European stocks saw their day’s gains halved at the prospect of ongoing euro strength.“We will be ready for much of what we have to decide (to scale back stimulus) by October,” Draghi said at the ECB’s post-meeting news conference. “Right now, judging the way the world is going we should be ready.”Markets also benefited from relief that the U.S. Congress struck a deal on the country’s debt limit and that there had been no further ratcheting up of the North Korea crisis in Asia, though Wall Street saw a flat start with Hurricane Irma on track to hit Florida by the weekend.Canada’s dollar held its gains, after a surprise interest rate rise on Wednesday reminded everyone that G7 monetary settings will not remain super-easy forever .It also showed the clear implication of policy tightening right now - the Canadian dollar surged more than 2 percent at one point to its highest levels in two years.Draghi acknowledged that that was one of the ECB’s main conundrums. All the economic activity signals suggest it should take its foot off the gas - updated Eurostat figures as policymakers met confirmed the bloc saw robust growth in the second quarter.But the 13 percent surge of the euro already this year is impacting its sub-target inflation outlook, forecasts for which were trimmed by the ECB on Thursday.It is not the only issue Frankfurt is struggling with either.Sweden’s crown - the only northern European currency to have risen against the euro this year - fell on Thursday after its central bank said it was introducing a bigger buffer on its inflation target. That should give it more leeway on policy moves.AT THE LIMIT Wall Street’s S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes slipped 0.2-0.3 percent as they opened.Ahead of the restart a Labor Department report showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in more than two years last week amid a surge in applications in hurricane-ravaged Texas.Asia in contrast had been mildly risk-on overnight.China’s yuan rose past the psychologically important 6.5 per dollar level for the first time since May 2016, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares gained 0.3 percent and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2 percent.South Korea’s KOSPI, which has been burdened by tensions over North Korea, jumped 1.2 percent. That was its biggest gain in four months and came amid signs that major powers were talking intensively about the region’s strains.South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he was having discussions with the leaders of Russia, Japan and the United States and that there would be no war on the peninsula .China said it agreed the United Nations should take more action against North Korea after its latest nuclear test. North Korea said any U.N. sanctions would be met with “powerful counter measures” as it again accused the U.S. of angling for war.Market sentiment had also been helped after U.S. President Donald Trump forged a surprising deal with Democrats in Congress to raise the U.S. debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 15.There was some disappointment that the deal was so short-term. But U.S. economic data was also fairly upbeat .“The deadline on the debt ceiling has been extended just by three months, so it will come back to haunt markets again later this year. Still, markets liked it as we don’t have to worry about it for now,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.Yields on U.S. Treasuries had ticked higher on the deal but were being pushed back again, along with the dollar. Ten-year paper was hovering at 2.087 just off the previous days 10-month low of 2.054 percent.Euro zone yields also fell despite the ECB’s hint at reduced bond buying. Italy’s 10-year yield fell to 1.958 percent, its lowest since late June, with traders soothed by a comment from Draghi that the sequencing of the scale back had been set.In commodities, oil prices maintained most of this week’s strong gains as the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries improved the outlook after sharp falls caused by Hurricane Harvey.U.S. crude futures were steady at $49.05 per barrel, having gained 3.0 percent in the previous three sessions, while Brent ticked to a new 3-1/2-month high of $54.59.Traders are now shifting their focus to Hurricane Irma, ranked as one of the five most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in the last 80 years. It killed eight people on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, left Barbuda devastated on Thursday and was expected to reach Florida at the weekend. ($1 = 0.8378 euros)Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Toby Chopra '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-euro-burns-past-1-20-as-ecb-signals-stimulus-slowdown-idUSL8N1LO4T5'|'2017-09-07T16:50:00.000+03:00'
'2b12eb624a87768a0b3b3a57d654b282bbe567e4'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 7'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.Headlines* Downing Street urges business to publicly back Brexit stance. on.ft.com/2w8DEjZ* Facebook reveals Russian spending on U.S. election ads. on.ft.com/2w88rNY* Stanley Fischer resigns as Fed vice-chairman. on.ft.com/2w8QuP7Overview* The British government has asked FTSE 100 companies to sign a public letter endorsing its Brexit strategy on Wednesday angering many executives who are reluctant to agree.* Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it had found that an influence operation likely based in Russia spent $100,000 on thousands of ads promoting divisive social and political messages in a two-year-period amid investigations into allegations of Russian efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election.* U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, a veteran central banker who helped set the course for modern monetary policy, said on Wednesday he will step down from his position in mid-October. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-7-idINL8N1LN6NI'|'2017-09-06T21:20:00.000+03:00'
'f1eaae3eb38411731db56107c84b7ea8708dc8b6'|'China sovereign fund says tougher U.S. stance may hit investments'|'September 7, 2017 / 8:46 AM / Updated 28 minutes ago China sovereign fund says tougher U.S. stance may hit investments Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Li Keping, senior adviser and former president and chief investment officer of CIC is seen during an interview in Astana, Kazakhstan September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mariya Gordeyeva ASTANA (Reuters) - A tougher approach in Washington towards acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreigners may slow potential direct investments by China’s sovereign wealth fund, its senior adviser said in an interview. A government panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), has so far this year objected to at least nine acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign buyers, including Chinese ones - a record number. China’s $814 billion sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) said in July it aimed to increase direct investments in the United States through a newly-established New York office. The sectors targeted include infrastructure and property. Presently, 42 percent of CIC’s total overseas portfolio is in the United States, but mostly in public markets. “As an investor, we have to follow U.S. laws and regulations,” Li Keping, senior adviser and former president and chief investment officer of CIC, told Reuters. “We think that with CFIUS they are not transparent enough, with the decision rationale not clearly explained”. Li said the CFIUS review process lacked transparent criteria, ”meaning we don’t know how to meet them” and increased costs for the fund. “(The lack of transparency) may have influence on CIC with regards to larger direct investment projects in the United States, a negative influence,” he said. Li Keping, senior adviser and former president and chief investment officer of CIC is seen during an interview in Astana, Kazakhstan September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mariya Gordeyeva Li said the move towards more direct investments was a global trend observed over the last few years. “This is true for all international institutional investors, not just sovereign funds, but also institutions such as pension funds from the U.S., Canada and Asia-Pacific,” he said. “Also, institutions are paying more and more attention to improving and building their internal expertise. Sovereign funds are growing up and becoming mature.” CIC was hiring globally “to get good, better talent,” Li said. Li spoke on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds in Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation bordering China and one of the key links in Beijing’s new “Silk Road” project. The Belt and Road initiative is aimed at connecting China by land and sea to Southeast, South and Central Asia, and beyond. Li indicated it was up to institutions other than CIC to spearhead that initiative. “We hope that under this framework, governments and development institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, can generate more investment opportunities for commercial companies,” he said. Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-usa-swf/china-sovereign-fund-says-tougher-u-s-stance-may-hit-investments-idUKKCN1BI11A'|'2017-09-07T11:46:00.000+03:00'
'5e13b5c4a8fab79766547e477eb64a45a6f1f028'|'BRIEF-Gritstone Oncology announces $92.7 mln series B preferred stock financing'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - Gritstone Oncology:* Announced successful completion of $92.7 million series B preferred stock financing* Its targeting tumor-specific neoantigens is expected to enter clinical trials in mid-2018* Proceeds from financing to be used to advance co’s tumor antigen identification platform & pipeline of cancer immunotherapies* Financing round led by Lilly Asia Ventures, with participation from GV, Trinitas Capital (Beijing), Alexandria Venture Investments Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-gritstone-oncology-announces-927-m/brief-gritstone-oncology-announces-92-7-mln-series-b-preferred-stock-financing-idINB8N1KT001'|'2017-09-07T08:43:00.000+03:00'
'30910f0115fc1a1f3c63145ec0bf64f68c465bed'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Sept 7'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Goldman Sachs Group Inc has stopped working on the potential listing of Pactera Technology International Ltd, a company owned by HNA Group Co, because of concerns about the acquisitive conglomerate''s ownership structure. on.wsj.com/2eHSffL- President Donald Trump is unlikely to nominate Gary Cohn to succeed Janet Yellen as the next Federal Reserve chairman, according to people familiar with the president''s thinking. on.wsj.com/2eHSE1L- The majority of ships operating in the U.S. Navy''s Seventh Fleet, where two destroyers have been involved in fatal collisions since June, weren''t certified to conduct basic operations at sea related to war-fighting, according to U.S. Navy records. on.wsj.com/2eHjE1z- Some board members of Toshiba Corp are making a last-minute push to accept Foxconn Technology Group''s bid for Toshiba''s memory-chip unit. on.wsj.com/2eHFQZs- Several congressional committees investigating Russian meddling during the 2016 U.S. election are expected to hear this week from witnesses connected to the controversy. on.wsj.com/2eHzb1v- In a bid to speed up the delivery process, Amazon.com Inc is set to open a fulfillment facility on Staten Island, bringing 2,250 full-time jobs to the area. on.wsj.com/2eIFphE- Facing a dearth of teachers, many states in the U.S. are now scaling back on requisite qualifications that will make it easier to teach in public school classrooms. on.wsj.com/2eI3J2S- Hurricane Irma struck several islands in the northeast Caribbean on Wednesday, killing at least three people and flattening swaths of the island of Barbuda, while officials in Florida pressed hundreds of thousands of residents ahead of a possible landfall on Sunday. on.wsj.com/2eHJjakCompiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-7-idINL4N1LO1VD'|'2017-09-07T02:11:00.000+03:00'
'db04bcafd444535ca5ba9c059612d208ab421272'|'UPDATE 1-Trian proposes shake-up to P&G''s structure and strategy'|'September 6, 2017 / 10:25 PM / in 2 minutes UPDATE 1-Trian proposes shake-up to P&G''s structure and strategy Reuters Staff (Adds details from Trian’s white paper, P&G comment, background) By Michael Flaherty NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Activist investor Trian Partners on Wednesday released its long-awaited plan to boost shares of Procter & Gamble Co, detailing changes intended to streamline and rejuvenate the maker of Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent and Pampers diapers. The release of the 94-page proposal comes as the two sides are locked in a battle over efforts by Trian co-founder Nelson Peltz to join the 12-member board of the consumer products company. P&G has resisted, saying Peltz is a bad fit for the board and has an outdated view on how the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company operates. Shareholders will vote on Oct. 10 on whether to add Peltz to the board. Valued at $232 billion, P&G would be the biggest U.S. company by market capitalization to face a proxy fight. “Trian believes P&G should be organized into three largely autonomous business units under a lean holding company,” the hedge fund said in its proposal. The company is currently comprised of four global business units. Trian, P&G’s fifth-largest shareholder, also said the company’s management compensation plan is tied to three-year goals that are set too low. Procter & Gamble said in a statement that the company is executing a winning strategy, as evidenced by its 2017 fiscal year results. “We remain focused on delivering our plan, while preventing anything from derailing the progress we are making to create value for all P&G shareholders.” Trian’s $3.5 billion P&G investment became public earlier this year, but its strategy on how to boost the company’s shares had until now remained behind closed doors. Other proposed changes include Peltz offering to lead a board study on how P&G can improve innovation, having “failed to create a new meaningful brand in nearly 20 years” according to Trian. Peltz would also encourage the board to groom more outside leadership talent and to have P&G focus its acquisition strategy on buying and developing smaller, more local brands, Trian said. Trian has touted Peltz’s experience on boards of other consumer companies including Mondelez International Inc , Sysco Corp and Triangle Industries Inc, a packaging company where Peltz was chairman and chief executive from 1983 to 1988. REORGANIZATION P&G is organized into four global business units: Baby, Feminine and Family Care; Beauty; Fabric and Home Care; and Health and Grooming. P&G, which has been cutting costs and selling off brands, reported net sales last quarter that were flat at $16.08 billion. Trian proposes shrinking that to three groups, each with a regional leader with full control of the business, its profits and its losses: Beauty, Grooming and Healthcare; Fabric and Home Care; and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. Under the new organization, the CEO would oversee the three business leaders. The three business divisions would sit under a holding company, which controls public company functions and costs, Trian said. According to Trian, P&G’s management compensation plan is tied to three-year goals that are too low, including a 2.8 percent organic sales target, which is lower than the company’s 3 percent to 3.5 percent market growth target. Trian has taken swipes previously at P&G’s bureaucracy and stock performance compared to peers, a dig it repeated in its plan, citing a total shareholder return over the last decade that trailed both peers and the S&P 500. P&G, shares of which have risen 10 percent this year to $92.72, has countered that the company’s stock performance has outperformed since CEO David Taylor took over in Nov. 2015. Since then, P&G said in a letter to shareholders last month that total shareholder return has risen 28 percent through mid-August, beating peers. Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/procter-gamble-trianfund/update-1-trian-proposes-shake-up-to-pgs-structure-and-strategy-idUSL2N1LN2GA'|'2017-09-07T01:25:00.000+03:00'
'1fb3772eef4a68ec006f3bd6f4f0550e4e2b5fd8'|'BRIEF-Gymboree plan of reorganization confirmed by court'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - Gymboree Corp-* Gymboree plan of reorganization confirmed by court* Expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from chapter 11 by end of month* Gymboree Corp says under terms of plan, a comprehensive recapitalization of Gymboree will be completed that will eliminate more than $900 million of debt Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-gymboree-plan-of-reorganization-co/brief-gymboree-plan-of-reorganization-confirmed-by-court-idINASB0BIMB'|'2017-09-07T22:39:00.000+03:00'
'24bd69b2cc47690896a19ef9621335002441ecb1'|'Panipat, the global centre for recycling textiles, is fading'|'WHEN the doors open to the warehouse at Ambey Spinning Mills in Panipat, a city 90km from Delhi, it seems as if its contents might tumble out like those of an overstuffed cupboard. Heaps of clothes are piled to the ceiling. Ten women meticulously extract zips, chains and buttons from T-shirts, winter jackets and denims using long blades usually used to chop vegetables. Outside, a teenage boy wields a knife to bash synthetic fibre against a tree stump. In another workshop clothes are shredded, spun into yarn and woven by power looms into blankets. Bullock carts take them for further processing; they are then sent off for sale in India and beyond.Known as the “cast-off capital”, Panipat is home to 150-200 such mills, which take in discarded clothes from Western countries and turn them into recycled cloth. The industry employs around 20,000 people and brings in annual revenues of $62m, according to Pawan Garg of All India Woollen and Shoddy Mills Association, a trade body (“shoddy” was originally a non-pejorative word for reclaimed fibre). Panipat’s history in textiles began after the Indian subcontinent’s bloody partition in 1947, when weavers from the province of Sindh and the districts of Jhang and Multan in Punjab, finding themselves suddenly located in Pakistan, were uprooted and moved to the ancient city. They set up looms to knit coarse, hand-spun cotton carpets, wall hangings and sofa covers (from new wool) that were an instant hit abroad (and qualified as a dowry in marriages in northern India). The city’s later emergence as a recycling hub coincided with a slump in Prato, a small industrial town in Italy with a 1,000-year-old tradition in textiles. In the 1990s Panipat mill owners bought discarded Italian machinery from Prato designed to make cheap shoddy yarn from recycled wool. The industry took off; its annual revenues rose to over $300m.Times have since changed. Cheaper and lighter polyester substitutes are increasingly preferred by wholesale buyers such as aid agencies, railways and hospitals, whether Indian or foreign. Such materials need expensive machines that many Panipat mills cannot afford. Rising labour costs have squeezed margins. An erratic electricity supply and frequent machinery breakdowns are more of a scourge than ever. Indian winters are shorter, complains one mill owner, which affects domestic demand for woollen clothing. Most factories in Panipat are working at half capacity.The business is fragmented, poorly organised and almost wholly unregulated. Had there been basic oversight by the government, some in the business say, standards might have risen. Whatever the reasons, the mills did not invest much of their formerly fat profits into upgrading machinery or workers’ skills. That could have helped them find more customers willing to pay a premium for high-quality fabric from recycled yarn, which appeals to environmentally conscious companies.Panipat may help the planet but also exhibits the least attractive features of the textile business in developing countries: sweatshop conditions for workers, rock-bottom pay, use of child labour and so on. Almost all workers there are contract labourers who earn a tenth of what those in the formal sector are paid. Women receive 120 rupees ($1.80) a day for manually ripping up around 100kg of garments. Workers manage to sell off baubles and trinkets scavenged from the cast-off clothes but must often share the proceeds with mill owners. Despite the bosses’ attention to such details, “there is no money in it anymore,” says Mr Garg. Business "Hanging by a thread"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728661-industrys-decline-missed-opportunity-india-panipat-global-centre-recycling?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'431b0d5642966308045fa15fc5d4a469035e5f3a'|'Asian shares steady, dollar slumps on ECB''s tapering signal'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:03 AM / Updated an hour ago Asian shares steady, dollar slumps on ECB''s tapering signal Lisa Twaronite 4 Min Read A man looks at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares edged up on Friday as investors kept a wary eye on another U.S. storm, while the dollar skidded after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi suggested the bank may begin tapering its massive stimulus program this autumn. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.1 percent, but was still down 0.2 percent for the week. Japan''s Nikkei stock index .N225 was pressured by a stronger yen and slipped 0.5 percent, losing 2 percent for the week. Wall Street ended little changed on Thursday, as investors continued to tracking Hurricane Irma, which was bearing down on Florida on the heels of devastation in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Economists said Harvey could weigh on U.S. economic growth for the third quarter, though they did not this to delay the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement of a plan at its meeting this month to start trimming its $4.2 trillion debt portfolio. The storm caused U.S. initial jobless claims to spike to a two-year high, despite an underlying strength in the labor market. “Economic conditions appear to warrant the continued removal of accommodation, and we think that will occur in two primary fashions, the first of which will be normalization of the balance sheet,” said Bill Northey, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Private Client Group based in Helena, Montana. “But inflation has been stubbornly low and we’re not seeing a lot of material data to indicate that is changing,” he added. New York Fed President William Dudley said on Thursday that the central bank should continue gradually raising U.S. interest rates given low inflation should rebound, sounding slightly less confident than his previous hawkish comments in the face of weak price readings. The benchmark U.S. Treasury yield stood at 2.045 percent US10YT=RR in Asian trade, down from its U.S. close of 2.061 percent. It plumbed a 10-month low of 2.03 percent on Thursday. Besides the slumping Treasury yields, the dollar was also pressured by ECB head Draghi’s remarks that policymakers would decide on tapering this autumn, and that “probably the bulk of these decisions will be taken in October.” The ECB must take into account the weakening of inflation owing to the strong euro as it prepares to wind down its stimulus, Draghi said, after the central bank kept rates at record lows at its regular policy meeting and confirmed that asset purchases would continue at least until December. The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.2028 EUR= after surging as high as $1.2059 on Thursday, not far from its 2-1/2-year high of $1.2070 hit late last month. The dollar inched 0.1 percent lower against then yen to 108.32 yen JPY= , moving back toward a 10-month low of 108.05 touched on Thursday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.2 percent at 91.467 .DXY, moving back toward Thursday’s low of 91.405, its weakest since January 2015. Crude oil futures firmed, with Brent crude LCOc1 gaining 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $54.56 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 edged up 2 cents to $49.11 per barrel. On Thursday, global crude oil benchmarks diverged, with Brent rising to a 5-1/2 month high. But U.S. crude slipped on a bigger-than expected crude stock build, as the restart of U.S. refiners after Hurricane Harvey was countered by the threat of Hurricane Irma. [U/S] Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asian-shares-steady-dollar-slumps-on-ecbs-tapering-signal-idUKKCN1BJ039'|'2017-09-08T04:01:00.000+03:00'
'4bd1ce6c85c4223273d7a12e71cda0c5f910142b'|'UPDATE 1-Hours before shareholders meet, Akzo dumps bad news'|'(Updates with CFO on leave of absence)AMSTERDAM, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel, the Dutch company that rejected a 26.3 billion euro ($32 billion) buyout from U.S. rival PPG Industries in May, on Friday lowered its 2017 financial targets and announced a revamp of how it manages the two businesses it is not selling, paints and industrial coatings.The company said it is facing cost inflation and currency headwinds and 2017 EBIT, though higher than last year, would not grow by the 100 million euros it had promised when rejecting PPG’s advances.In addition, CFO Maelys Castella will go on a leave of absence due to health reasons, and return “in a senior management position” when she is better, Akzo said. Her departure for health reasons follows the resignation of CEO Ton Buechner, who quit for health reasons in July.New CEO Thierry Vanlancker is to meet with shareholders later Friday to defend the company’s strategy, following a court order to repair relations badly damaged by shareholder anger over the course the company charted under Buechner and Supervisory Board Chairman Antony Burgmans.Akzo Nobel is pursuing plans to sell or seek an initial public offering of shares for its specialty chemicals division by next spring in order to focus on paints and coatings.The company’s reorganisation will see management of those businesses combined and realigned on geographical lines.“Challenges include unfavourable foreign exchange rates, continued headwinds for the Marine and Protective Coatings industry, temporary disruption to the manufacturing and supply chain during the third quarter and current margin pressure from greater than expected raw material cost inflation,” the company said in a statement.Vanlancker said the impact of these was having “a wider and greater impact as the year continues” and the company was raising prices and cutting costs in response.He said the company would still meet new 2020 financial targets announced in April, including reaching 15 percent return on sales, though analysts have been sceptical from the start they could be achieved.Castella will be replaced on a temporary basis by group controller Hans De Vriese while Akzo looks for a new CFO.$1 = 0.8277 euros Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-restructuring/update-1-hours-before-shareholders-meet-akzo-dumps-bad-news-idINL8N1LP0LL'|'2017-09-08T03:56:00.000+03:00'
'487ed5cc6e235d083404f9fd2acb591bb57d1b60'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 8'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Equifax Inc, one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, said on Thursday hackers had gained access to company data that potentially compromised sensitive information for 143 million American consumers, including Social Security numbers and driver''s license numbers. nyti.ms/2xTtBRI- Amazon.com Inc took the unusual step on Thursday of announcing it wants a second home outside Seattle, starting what is sure to be a fierce bidding war to lure Amazon — and the thousands of high-paying jobs it will bring to town — using a combination of tax breaks and other sweeteners. nyti.ms/2wMJ1sQ- Two planned streaming services of Walt Disney Co took clearer shape on Thursday, as the entertainment giant vowed to bring "Star Wars" and Marvel movies to one and proposed a novel approach to the other: sports á la carte. nyti.ms/2f7TyFJ- The Food and Drug Administration this week accused the drugmaker Pfizer Inc of failing to properly investigate reports of malfunctioning EpiPens, including incidents when patients died or became severely ill after the device failed to work. Pfizer manufactures the EpiPen, which treats allergic reactions, for the drugmaker Mylan NV. nyti.ms/2ePWWZ0Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-8-idINL4N1LP1ZN'|'2017-09-08T02:16:00.000+03:00'
'51fc77cc6fc9223bb8b2fbe304a147dde327cb98'|'Deutsche Boerse''s CEO says can''t speculate about the future of his job'|' 42 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Deutsche Boerse''s CEO says can''t speculate about the future of his job Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse attends the initial public offering of Scale at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse’s ( DB1Gn.DE ) chief executive officer Carsten Kengeter on Thursday declined to speculate about the future of his job. “But you see that I am standing here and not a hologram,” he told a room full of bankers while speaking at a conference in Frankfurt. Kengeter is under investigation by Frankfurt prosecutors for possible insider trading. Kengeter has denied wrongdoing. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Edward Taylor'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-kengeter/deutsche-boerses-ceo-says-cant-speculate-about-the-future-of-his-job-idUKKCN1BI17J'|'2017-09-07T12:42:00.000+03:00'
'768a967bdb27f13099771d5813dede7dc12b2125'|'Invest in Greece, you won''t regret it - Greek PM tells French businesses'|'September 8, 2017 / 8:24 AM / Updated an hour ago Invest in Greece, you won''t regret it: Greek PM Michel Rose , Angeliki Koutantou 4 Min Read Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses members of his government during a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens, Greece July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged French businesses on Friday to invest in Greece, as it emerges from its debt crisis, and assured them that they would not regret it. Tsipras said attracting investment was a priority for his leftist-led government, which aims to reduce the jobless rate, the euro zone’s highest, and make Greece financially independent in 2018, when the country’s third international bailout expires. “Greece is an opportunity... a real opportunity,” Tsipras told French business leaders accompanying French President Emmanual Macron on a two-day trip to Athens. “You won’t regret your choice,” he said. After seven years of crisis and painful reforms, Greece’s economy could grow by more than 2 percent this year, he added. But Greece still ranks very low in terms of direct investment. The 43-year old leader was catapulted to power in 2015 on pledges to tear up the country’s bailouts, end austerity and freeze privatizations, scaring away investors. After tense talks, he signed up to a new bailout, Greece’s third since 2010. On Friday, Tsipras promised to reduce red tape, a common hurdle for investors in the country, and cut the corporate tax rate by 3 percentage points to 26 percent in 2020, if Greece outperforms on its bailout-prescribed fiscal targets. He said he would personally lead a task-force that would oversee projects and consult with investors. “We are ready to proceed with reforms,” he said. “We are ready to discuss them with you. We want to hear your concerns,” he said after greeting the French executives one by one. “WE ARE HERE” French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron greet a man playing the laterna as they walk on main commercial Ermou street in Athens, Greece September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Macron echoed the call, urging Europeans to invest in Greece, returning to his theme from Thursday that Europe needs to protect its strategic investments to protect itself. Greece has boosted investment ties with China in recent years after China’s COSCO Shipping ( 600428.SS ) bought a controlling stake in Piraeus Port ( OLPr.AT ), Greece’s biggest, for 280.5 million euros. China’s State Grid, the world’s biggest utility, acquired a minority stake in Greece’s power grid operator ADMIE in June. “Greece was sometimes forced to choose non-European investments because European investors weren’t there any more. I’m not happy with this situation,” Macron said during his visit with about 40 French executives including from blue-chips Total ( TOTF.PA ) and Vinci. “I want Europeans, as much as the whole world, to come and invest in Greece,” he said. “We were here, we are here, we will be here.” Total’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne backed Macron’s call to be more vigilant about state-backed Chinese firms taking control of strategic sectors within the region. Total is interested in investing in renewable energy in Greece and in oil drilling off its waters, he said. But he added that European investors were often more reluctant, leaving room for Chinese firms to step in. “Investing in Greece is not as simple as that. Labor costs are a bit higher than in eastern Europe, and it’s less connected to the German market, large European markets,” he said. “The Chinese have done it in Africa, they are doing it in the Mediterranean, taking advantage of this weakness.” France has a strong investment presence in Greece. It supported Athens in 2015 during its talks with European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders that almost forced the country out of the euro zone. The two countries agreed to boost cooperation in tourism, infrastructure, new technologies and defense, Tsipras said. Greece’s power distribution operator HEDNO, a unit of the its electricity utility Public Power Corp. ( DEHr.AT ), and France’s power distributor Enedis agreed to team up in smart power meters that Greece needs to curb rampant power theft. Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Alison Williams '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-greece-france-tsipras/invest-in-greece-you-wont-regret-it-greek-pm-tells-french-businesses-idUKKCN1BJ0V7'|'2017-09-08T11:21:00.000+03:00'
'86270eddcd7b4a29a34c4a9e4f3e6483c6dadd7e'|'Equifax to brief U.S. congressional aides on hacking incident'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Congressional aides will get a briefing on Friday from Equifax Inc after the company said personal details of as many as 143 million U.S. consumers were accessed by hackers between mid-May and July, in what could be one of the largest-ever data breaches in the United States.Staff will receive a briefing on the incident from Equifax officials, said Jeff Emerson, a spokesman for the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. Equifax shares were down 13.8 percent in heavy trading early on Friday. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/equifax-cyber-congress/equifax-to-brief-u-s-congressional-aides-on-hacking-incident-idINL2N1LP0X0'|'2017-09-08T12:37:00.000+03:00'
'da6e8a3bd4dd5bcb20da71af7ba5d98745b71e08'|'Retail spending surges to two-year high in August - survey'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:07 PM / Updated an hour ago Retail spending surges to two-year high in August - survey Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A shopper checks her shopping list in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Spending in British shops increased last month at the fastest pace in nearly two years, a survey showed on Friday, as a weaker pound led to more Britons opting to holiday at home and to an influx of tourists from abroad. Britain’s economy has cooled as the rise in inflation since last year’s Brexit vote and tepid wage growth have squeezed consumers’ real earnings. Recent surveys have shown a gradual decline in consumer confidence and discretionary spending. However, accountancy firm BDO said overall UK like-for-like sales values rose 2 percent in August after falling 0.6 percent in July. It was the biggest rise since September 2015 and the strongest performance for the month of August in the last four years. The BDO report chimed with other surveys that have shown increased shop spending, reflecting the rise in prices since the Brexit vote rather than an improvement in Britain’s consumer economy. BDO highlighted a strong performance for lifestyle goods, where sales rose 3.1 percent year-on-year due to increasing numbers of “stay-at-home holidaymakers” and foreign tourists. Fashion sales increased by 1.5 percent, the strongest result since November 2016, while homeware sales were up 1.9 percent. “As school terms begin after the summer break and the start of festive trading nears, retailers will be gearing up for their most critical trading months,” said Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO. “The uncertain environment and fragile consumer sentiment requires all retailers to be ever more strategic with their pricing and promotional activities.” A survey by the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday showed retail sales values grew by an annual 1.3 percent on a like-for-like basis, but warned growth in volume terms was weaker than last year. Reporting by Fanny Potkin; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail/uk-retail-spending-surges-to-two-year-high-in-august-survey-idUKKCN1BI34M'|'2017-09-08T02:10:00.000+03:00'
'77f23806b88225b6e0e0709fd60f46a33967483d'|'Global Fashion Group second-quarter losses continue to narrow'|' 48 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Global Fashion Group second-quarter losses continue to narrow Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Global Fashion Group, the emerging markets fashion retailer set up by investors Kinnevik ( KINVb.ST ) and Rocket Internet ( RKET.DE ), reported its second-quarter operating losses nearly halved as net revenue jumped by 25.6 percent. The company, which runs websites in Russia, Latin America, the Middle East and south-east Asia, said on Friday its adjusted loss before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) shrank to 12.1 million euros (11.11 million pounds). Quarterly net revenue came to 281.9 million euros. Excluding exchange rate fluctuations, net revenue was up by 16 percent. The results excluded its unit Namshi, now majority owned by Emaar Malls. GFG saw its valuation slashed by two thirds to 1 billion euros last April in a fund raising with Kinnevik. It is seen as a possible candidate for an eventual stock market flotation, along with Rocket’s meal kit delivery firm HelloFresh. Reporting by Anna Serafin and Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-fashion-group-results/global-fashion-group-second-quarter-losses-continue-to-narrow-idUKKCN1BJ0LX'|'2017-09-08T09:48:00.000+03:00'
'20a7d537189615cc9202a3f30b4027151104c0d3'|'ECB''s stimulus signal pushes euro zone bond yields to new lows'|'FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the "Luminale, light and building" event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Government bond yields in the euro area fell to multi-month lows early on Friday, extending the previous day’s decline after the European Central Bank signalled a slow exit from its monetary stimulus scheme.Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond yield fell to 0.286 percent, its lowest since late June. Two-year bond yields fell to 4 1/2-month lows at minus 0.796 pct.In southern Europe, Portuguese bond yields fell to their lowest in more than a year at 2.702 percent. They slid 13 bps on Thursday, their biggest one-day fall since April.Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds/ecbs-stimulus-signal-pushes-euro-zone-bond-yields-to-new-lows-idINKCN1BJ0L1'|'2017-09-08T09:28:00.000+03:00'
'609235ae7db5b82ca64f15cc13c9e14f18da4412'|'China invests $9.1 billion in Rosneft as Glencore, Qatar cut stakes'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:33 PM / Updated 29 minutes ago China invests $9.1 billion in Rosneft as Glencore, Qatar cut stakes Olesya Astakhova , Chen Aizhu 4 Min Read A worker is seen at the central processing facility of the Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate CEFC will buy a 14.16 percent stake in Russian oil major Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) for $9.1 billion (£6.90 billion) from a consortium of Glencore ( GLEN.L ) and the Qatar Investment Authority, strengthening the energy partnership between Moscow and Beijing. CEFC China Energy has grown in recent years from a niche oil trader into a sprawling energy conglomerate and the transaction will allow China, the world’s second largest energy consumer, to boost cooperation with the world’s top oil producer. The deal comes as the United States imposes a new round of economic sanctions on Russia, making it difficult for large Western firms such as Glencore to develop partnerships and increase ties with state-owned firms such as Rosneft. Glencore said in a statement that CEFC will buy shares at a premium of around 16 percent to the 30-day volume weighted average price of Rosneft shares without naming the price. A CEFC spokesman said the company would pay $9.1 billion. Rosneft’s market capitalisation stands at $57 billion and the deal makes it one of the largest investments ever made by China into Russia. Glencore and QIA will retain stakes of 0.5 percent and 4.7 percent in Rosneft respectively. The Kremlin has been seeking to grow ties with China, especially since the West imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow to punish it for the annexation of Crimea and an incursion in east Ukraine in 2014. Russia tops the list of Chinese crude suppliers where it competes with its arch-rival Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter. OPAQUE DEAL Glencore and QIA agreed to buy a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft in December 2016 for over 10.2 billion euros to help the Kremlin plug budget holes. The transaction coincided with expectations of political detente between Moscow and Washington after Donald Trump became U.S. president and pledged to improve ties with Moscow. Rosneft is run by Igor Sechin, a close ally or President Vladimir Putin, who awarded special state decorations to the head of Glencore Ivan Glasenberg for executing the transaction. Putin also awarded state decorations to the Russian head of Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo ( ISP.MI ), Antonio Fallico, for helping fund the deal with a 5.2 billion euro loan. The transactions has, however, raised a lot of questions among bankers and market analysts. Glencore and QIA never disclosed the final beneficiaries of the stake and Intesa could not syndicate the loan from other banks to share risks as most lenders declined to get involved because of new sanctions on Russia. Last month, Washington imposed further sanctions on Moscow in the strongest action against Russia since 2014 - in part as a response to conclusions by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the presidential election. On Friday, Sechin said QIA and Glencore cut the stakes partially because of a decline in the U.S. dollar against the euro, which made debt servicing more expensive. “From Rosneft’s point of view, the arrival of such a partner is positive as it shows that the foreign investors still keep their interest to the Russian oil industry,” said Alexander Kornilov from Aton brokerage in Moscow. The deal has yet to close pending final negotiations and on receipt by CEFC of all necessary regulatory approvals. Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rosneft-cefc-glencore/chinas-cefc-buys-into-rosneft-as-glencore-qatar-cut-stakes-idUKKCN1BJ1HZ'|'2017-09-08T16:41:00.000+03:00'
'd537c49d611042261ff23d07d1c88ce1e5886e50'|'Hyundai China plant restarts but investors fret over supplier problem'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:23 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Fresh China worries hit Hyundai, suppliers even as plant restarts Hyunjoo Jin , Brenda Goh 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Men cylce past an advertising billboard for Hyundai cars opposite the plant of Hyundai Motor Co in Beijing, China, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo SEOUL/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shares in Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) and its suppliers slid on Friday on fresh worries over its position in China after highly critical state newspaper comments - even as it managed to get a Chinese car plant restarted. The South Korean automaker has been at odds with partner BAIC Motor ( 1958.HK ) over their supplier strategy, sources have said - a rift that appears to be at the root of problems over some of its European suppliers not being paid on time, leading to plant stoppages. China’s state-run Global Times weighed in on the thorny situation, running an article in its English edition on Thursday that cited unidentified sources describing BAIC as highly critical of Hyundai. The newspaper followed up with commentary on Friday lambasting Seoul for its decision to deploy the U.S. anti-missile defense system THAAD - a diplomatic standoff that has been hurting Hyundai and other South Korean firms that are highly reliant on the Chinese market. Sources have said BAIC wants to shift to cheaper Chinese suppliers to cut costs amid intensifying competition in the world’s biggest auto market, while Hyundai want to protect its current supply chain. Related Coverage Shares in Hyundai suppliers were battered most with Hyundai Mobis ( 012330.KS ) tumbling as much as 6.6 percent on fears a shift towards Chinese suppliers was underway. Hyundai Motor fell 3.6 percent. BAIC declined to comment and said it was not aware of the Global Times articles. Hyundai said in a statement that a cooperative relationship with its partner would continue and “the two companies plan to continue various dialogue to strengthen competitiveness in the Chinese market.” The automaker said earlier in the day that operations at its plant in Hebei province resumed on Thursday afternoon after being suspended since Tuesday - the second time in as many weeks that it has had to halt production at Chinese plants. “We continue to be in discussions over payment,” a spokesman for the automaker said. Samsung Securities analyst Esther Yim said the internal disputes over suppliers seemed unresolved, helping trigger fresh slides in shares of both Hyundai and its supplier affiliates on Friday. “Investors are frustrated that Hyundai is just blaming the political situation, and doing little to address the problem. Hyundai is a silent bystander,” she said, adding that the apparent infighting signalled a prolonged crisis for the South Korean automaker. But Hyundai and its suppliers were not the only ones to feel the pain, as the Global Times referred to THAAD as ‘a malignant tumour’. “Have the conservatives in South Korea eaten kimchi until they’ve become confused?” the unsigned article said, referring to the staple Korean side dish of fermented vegetables. Lotte Shopping ( 023530.KS ) whose supermarket stores in China have been shut down for months in the wake of diplomatic tensions, fell 4.1 percent, and South Korea’s top comestic firm AmorePacific 090430.kS slumped 4.3 percent. Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by Dahee Kim and Heekyong Yang in SEOUL and by Shanghai newsroom staff; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hyundai-motor-china/hyundai-resumes-output-at-china-plant-in-payment-talks-with-supplier-idUKKCN1BJ04G'|'2017-09-08T06:46:00.000+03:00'
'83f9ea26c3de9cdccadc2e8d54190e52427b5520'|'U.S. firm backing ether-based ETF says to refile listing application'|' The U.S. firm behind an effort to start an exchange-traded fund based on the cryptocurrency ether said on Thursday it planned to refile an application to list the security on Intercontinental Exchange Inc’s NYSE Arca exchange after an initial filing was withdrawn.NYSE withdrew the application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list the EtherIndex Ether Trust ETF on Wednesday, according to a regulatory filing. The withdrawal came after EtherIndex LLC, which would issue the fund’s shares, amended its registration filing for the ETF on Tuesday.The delay “is a timing issue and not at all a reflection of our commitment to the product,” Joseph Quintilian, chief financial officer of EtherIndex, said in an email.The SEC began proceedings in April on whether to approve the ETF and was due to make a decision by Sept. 20.EtherIndex will refile the application “the moment we see the appropriate developments in the marketplace,” said Quintilian, who is also a partner at Axiom Markets LLC, a futures trading firm he co-founded in 2005 with Virtu Financial founder Vincent Viola. He did not give more details.A spokeswoman for NYSE declined to comment.Ether is a digital commodity based on the value token of the blockchain of the peer-to-peer Ethereum computer network, and the ETF would provide shareholders with exposure to the daily change in the U.S. dollar price of the token.The rapid rise in value of cryptocurrencies this year has driven fears of a bubble that could burst. That, along with a number of massive cybersecurity breaches affecting digital currency holders and the lack of consistent treatment of the assets by governments has caught the attention of regulators.In April, the SEC said it would review an earlier decision to block the listing of the first U.S. ETF tracking the cryptocurrency bitcoin, on CBOE Holdings Inc’s Bats exchange. [nL1N1HX17H]And in July the regulator said tokens issued through initial coin offerings (ICOs), where digital currencies based on blockchain technologies are sold publicly and then traded on secondary exchanges, can be considered securities.That means ICOs would fall under laws that require disclosures and are subject to regulatory scrutiny to protect investors, unless a “valid exemption” applies.China on Monday banned ICOs, which have raised $2.16 billion this year, and have helped fuel the rapid rise in value of cryptocurrencies. The move caused the prices of ether and bitcoin to tumble. [nL4N1LL2S9]Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-etherindex-etf/u-s-firm-backing-ether-based-etf-says-to-refile-listing-application-idUSKCN1BI2VW'|'2017-09-07T23:57:00.000+03:00'
'604f7b712ac7e2738046569268829a91be8b2a74'|'Former Amazon.com analyst pleads guilty to insider trading'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:14 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Former Amazon.com analyst pleads guilty to insider trading Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read (Reuters) - A former Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) financial analyst pleaded guilty on Thursday to insider trading for tipping a former college fraternity brother about the retailer’s quarterly results before they were made public. Authorities said Brett Kennedy gave fellow University of Washington alumnus Maziar Rezakhani nonpublic information from Amazon’s database, showing that the retailer would lose less money and report higher revenue for the first quarter of 2015 than Wall Street expected, in exchange for $10,000 cash. In a related civil case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Rezakhani made $115,997 trading Amazon shares based on the April 2015 tip, after posting the results on Internet message boards and boasting that the “numbers are so obvious” that a “5 year old can guess what they will do.” Rezakhani was sentenced in March to five years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges in a separate case. U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes in Seattle said Kennedy pleaded guilty to securities fraud in the federal court in that city. Kennedy, 26, of Blaine, Washington, faces up to 20 years in prison at his Dec. 8 sentencing, but prosecutors will recommend that he serve no more than a year and a day. He agreed to pay $10,875 to settle with the SEC. “Mr. Kennedy was little more than a kid (24) at the time of the incident,” his lawyer Chris Black said in an statement. “He exercised very poor judgment in this case but it was a one-time incident. ... He has taken responsibility for his actions and looks forward to putting this chapter in his life behind him.” The SEC also charged Rezakhani and his former investment adviser Sam Sadeghi, who the regulator said discussed the tip with Kennedy and Rezakhani, and hoped to eventually start a New York hedge fund with Rezakhani. Sadeghi, 28, agreed to pay $24,215 to settle with the SEC, without admitting wrongdoing. Contact information for his lawyer was not immediately available. Rezakhani, also 28, pleaded guilty in July 2016 to mail fraud, bank fraud and filing a false tax return after being accused of defrauding Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), a small bank and various shippers in connection with his iPhone resale business. A lawyer for Rezakhani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/amazon-insidertrading/former-amazon-com-analyst-pleads-guilty-to-insider-trading-idINKCN1BJ03P'|'2017-09-08T04:10:00.000+03:00'
'230ca020998b8381675b578c9f13c5f1613f1a3f'|'Shareholders urge Thyssenkrupp to get on with Tata Steel deal'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:42 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Shareholders urge Thyssenkrupp to get on with Tata Steel deal Tom Käckenhoff , Christoph Steitz 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) shareholders are urging the group to clinch a deal with Tata Steel TISC.N to merge their European steel businesses this year, warning failure to do so would be a blow to its credibility. Talks between the two firms over a potential combination have been dragging on for a year and a half, held up mainly by lengthy negotiations to cut Tata Steel’s pension liabilities in Britain that ended with an agreement last month. A deadline for objections against the agreement ends on Friday, with no complaints expected, clearing a further hurdle for the two parties to sign a memorandum of understanding and start a detailed look at one another’s books. A source familiar with the process said this due diligence would start in October, following general elections in Germany later this month, with the subsequent negotiations about further details expected to take several months. “A collapse (of talks) would be very negative for Hiesinger. He has worked on the deal for a long time,” said Union Investment fund manager Ingo Speich, referring to Thyssenkrupp’s Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger. “The uncertainty is a drag on the share price. A fast agreement would be very helpful.” Thyssenkrupp - in which Union Investment is a top 20 shareholder with more than 45 million euros ($54 million) worth of stock - has seen its shares outperform German blue-chips so far this year. Investors see further upside if a deal is struck. “Everyone expects that the deal is coming. If that doesn’t happen it would be a disappointment,” said a top-10 shareholder not authorized to speak about listed stocks on the record. “If there is a successful tie-up there is upside of 10-20 percent for Thyssenkrupp,” the shareholder added. Hiesinger has campaigned for a joint venture as his favorite option to reduce Thyssenkrupp’s stake in the volatile steel sector, garnering support from investors but drawing complaints from labor unions that fear layoffs. Hiesinger has not committed to a timeline for any deal. Workers also fear Thyssenkrupp could become a minority shareholder in the planned joint venture, which would enable the group to deconsolidate the business and load it with debt to repair its own stretched balance sheet. That would take away the right to co-determination that German workers enjoy over key corporate decisions. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-shareholders/shareholders-urge-thyssenkrupp-to-get-on-with-tata-steel-deal-idINKCN1BJ1IL'|'2017-09-08T15:30:00.000+03:00'
'dba275b64ab1662c140b45503c72ec8ecba37eec'|'Uber to stop using diesel cars in London by end 2019'|'September 8, 2017 / 11:02 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Uber to stop using diesel cars in London by end 2019 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The Uber logo is seen on a screen in Singapore August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Uber will cease using diesel cars in London by the end of 2019 and the vast majority of rides will be in electric or hybrid vehicles by then, the taxi app said on Friday. At the moment the company says around half of all the journey miles completed in the British capital are undertaken with greener vehicles on the firm’s standard low-cost UberX service, which lets customers book journeys on their smartphone. Several carmakers have announced plans in recent months to electrify a large proportion of their new cars, with Volvo becoming the first major carmaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine. Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040, replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens. Uber, which has about 40,000 London drivers, will only offer electric or hybrid models on UberX by the turn of the decade and plans to do the same by 2022 nationwide. “Air pollution is a growing problem and we’re determined to play our part in tackling it with this bold plan,” said Uber’s Head of UK Cities, Fred Jones. “Londoners already know many cars on our app are hybrids, but we want to go much further and go all electric in the capital,” he said. Globally, Uber has endured a tumultuous few months after a string of scandals involving allegations of sexism and bullying at the company, leading to investor pressure which forced out CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick. In London, the firm has faced criticism from unions, lawmakers and traditional black cab drivers over working conditions. Later this month, it will appeal a decision by British judges who have ruled that the app should treat two of its drivers as workers and pay them the minimum wage and holiday pay. The capital’s transport regulator will also decide in September on how much Uber needs to pay to renew its licence. Uber said on Friday that it will help its drivers who want to switch to greener cars with a more than 150 million-pound ($197 million) fund, paying up to 5,000 pounds per upgrade from a petrol or diesel vehicle. Uber will start building the fund next month with a 2-million pound investment with a further 35 pence added from each fare taken in London. It will also offer the first 1,000 Londoners who scrap an older diesel car, 1,500 pounds in credit to use on Uber. ($1 = 0.7613 pounds) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uber-london/uber-to-stop-using-diesel-cars-in-london-by-end-2019-idINKCN1BJ18O'|'2017-09-08T14:01:00.000+03:00'
'1c2d22c560c86343c5e354a269440cca19b557b7'|'Hungary should not rush into further payroll tax cuts - minister'|'September 9, 2017 / 9:05 AM / Updated 10 hours ago Hungary should not rush into further payroll tax cuts - minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Hungarian Economy Minister Mihaly Varga attends an interview with Reuters in Budapest, Hungary, May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh/File Photo BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary should not rush into further cuts in payroll taxes after steep reductions agreed with employers for 2017, Economy Minister Mihaly Varga said on Saturday. “Our budget deficit (target) is 2.4 percent, but if we want to reduce the vulnerability of the economy, then we need to lower public debt more quickly,” Varga told an annual meeting of economists. Varga added that policy makers should also wait to see whether the U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates shortly and review local fiscal developments in the first eight months before considering any further payroll tax cuts. Reporting by Gergely Szakacs; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hungary-tax/hungary-should-not-rush-into-further-payroll-tax-cuts-minister-idUKKCN1BK097'|'2017-09-09T12:04:00.000+03:00'
'f774cc832177ae19073f354e2b8c6a5b851d1cd4'|'Brazil top prosecutor requests billionaire Batista''s arrest -source'|'BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Brazil’s top prosecutor asked the country’s Supreme Court late on Friday to approve the arrest of billionaire Joesley Batista, one of the owners of the world´s largest meatpacker JBS SA, a person with knowledge of the matter said.Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot had told a news conference on Monday that he was considering revoking a plea bargain deal struck by Batista and a fellow state’s witness after they appeared to have inadvertently recorded themselves discussing crimes not covered in the deal.The source, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that Janot had requested the arrest of Batista and Ricardo Saud, a former executive at the Batista family holding company J&F Investimentos, based on the four-hour recording.Janot’s office did not respond to calls and email requests for comment.Joesley Batista and his brother Wesley confessed to bribing scores of politicians in plea bargain testimony that allowed them to avoid prosecution. Amongst the evidence they provided to prosecutors was a recording of President Michel Temer apparently endorsing hush payments to a possible witness in a graft probe.The source said that Janot had revoked the benefits granted under the plea bargain deal to Joesley and Ricardo Saud, a former executive of holding company J&F Investimentos, through which the Batista family controls JBS.He also asked Supreme Court Justice Edson Facchin to authorize the arrest of a former prosecutor, Marcelo Miller, the source said.The taped conversation, which was made public by the Supreme Court this week, was inadvertently submitted to prosecutors with unrelated material last week.In it, Batista and Saud say Miller helped the Batista brothers strike their plea bargain before leaving the Prosecutors Office in April to work in a private law firm.In a statement this week, J&F said Batista and Saud were simply discussing hypotheses in the conversation, not facts.Batista´s lawyer, Pierpaolo Bottini, filed a request on Saturday for the Supreme Court to hear defense arguments before authorizing the arrest of his client and Saud.The lawyer also said Batista and Ricardo Saud are willing to surrender their passports.A lawyer for Miller, André Perecmanis, said on Saturday his client did not help the Batistas in their plea deal while working as a prosecutor.Another source with knowledge of the matter said the leniency agreement of J&F Investimentos SA, which the company signed in May agreeing to pay a record leniency fine of 10.3 billion reais ($3.3 billion) for its role in the political bribery scheme, had been validated on Friday by a federal court.The source, asking for anonymity to discuss the matter freely, said that if a plea bargain by J&F Investimentos is canceled, the leniency agreement may also lose effect.A string of asset sales depend on the validity of the leniency agreement.In three months, the holding company has signed agreements to sell Havaianas flip-flops maker Alpargatas SA ALPA4.SA, dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA and pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA, but the sales may only be finalized if the leniency agreement is still valid. ($1 = 3.0875 reais) (Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia, Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-jbs/brazil-top-prosecutor-requests-billionaire-batistas-arrest-source-idUSL2N1LQ0AB'|'2017-09-10T00:38:00.000+03:00'
'debcfb355f95031535688fb4616d29ebb2f20f25'|'A craft-beer boom with Chinese characteristics'|'EVIDENCE unearthed at Mijiaya in Shaanxi province proved that the Chinese have an ancient tradition of making beer. Brewers were operating 5,000 years ago, using grains such as millet and Job’s tears (a kind of pearl barley). This year a couple of small-scale brewers lovingly recreated that Neolithic ale. The cloudy, hop-free beverage would challenge even the bravest microbrew devotee. Ladislao Raphael of Moonzen Brewery in Hong Kong describes it as “sour and funky”.Yet Mr Raphael and his fellow craft-beer evangelists are winning converts. The Chinese market, which is the world’s largest, is dominated by mass-produced lager. But craft breweries are sprouting up around the country—by 2016 there were around 150, up threefold from 2015. Consumption of their brews has surged by two-thirds over the past five years, figures from GlobalData show, even as overall beer-swilling declines. This mirrors a global pattern: consumers often crave better beers as they get richer. Trend-setters in affluent coastal regions are drinking less but pricier beer. 21 Many craft breweries are foreign-run, but plenty are Chinese-owned too. It was foreigners who initially provided most business for Great Leap Brewing, a stalwart of Beijing’s craft scene, which set up in 2010 in a traditional courtyard down a dusty hutong (alleyway). Now 75% of its customers are locals, says Carl Setzer, its American brewmaster. Panda Brew, founded in Beijing by Pan Dinghao in 2013 with basic home-brewing equipment, recently began exporting to Britain.Distinctive local tastes have become a feature of the market. Wheat beers are popular, perhaps because they go well with Chinese food and locals like to combine carousing with chewing. Domestic brewers must also make the most of readily available ingredients. Barley in China is mostly poor quality and importing it is costly. Some brewers use exotic items like Sichuan peppers and Oolong tea, which appeal to a sense of local identity.Doing business in China is rarely hassle-free. Small importers buy craft beer on the grey market and treat it badly, skimping on the cold storage needed to keep it fresh on long journeys to Chinese bars and supermarkets. This risks sullying craft beer’s reputation for quality. Another frowned-on practice is “contract brewing”. Small breweries are subject to rules that stop them selling beyond their premises, which they often circumvent by tapping into bigger brewers’ capacity. Beverages made this way do not always meet craft-beer standards, but are still sold as such.Yet as demand for craft beer in America softens from recent highs, China’s market still promises much. In March the biggest brewer of them all, Belgium’s AB InBev, bought a stake in a Shanghai brewery called Boxing Cat. Beyond megalopolises such as Shanghai, speciality beers are selling well, even though microbrews can cost ten times as much as locally brewed lager. In contrast to the sour-tasting brews of China’s distant past, craft beer’s future on the mainland looks likely to be sweet. "All the beer in China"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728675-consumers-are-increasingly-willing-pay-up-craft-beer-craft-beer-boom-chinese?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'e594a8ead5aabcbafa32075eec8b038645416320'|'Eldorado vows to exhaust all legal means for Greek gold mine permits'|'ATHENS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Canada’s Eldorado Gold Corp will exhaust all legal means to secure the permits it needs for its gold mine investment in Greece, its chief executive said in a newspaper interview.Eldorado is developing the Skouries and Olympias projects in northern Greece, where it also operates the Stratoni mine. Skouries has been a particular flash point with the authorities, with differences lasting for years over testing methods applied to comply with environmental regulations.“We will exhaust all legal means to get the necessary permits and I believe we will get them,” Eldorado Chief Executive George Burns told Kathimerini’s Sunday edition.“If our differences cannot be sorted out in a friendly manner, I will do whatever it takes to defend our shareholders and our employees’ interests.”Eldorado has applied for licensing but the energy ministry has said it would launch an arbitration process this month to ensure that the Toronto-based miner respects its contractual obligations.“We want a good relationship with the Greek state. We have shown a lot of patience and we will continue to show patience,” Burns said, adding the company had spent more than two billion dollars to acquire Greek assets and a further one billion dollars to develop them.Greece, which has received three international bailouts since 2010, is seeking investments to rebuild its economy and help it emerge from years of deep economic crisis.Publicly, its leftist-led government backs investment but investors often complain of hurdles such as excessive red tape and labour union and political resistance. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Gareth Jones) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eldorado-greece/eldorado-vows-to-exhaust-all-legal-means-for-greek-gold-mine-permits-idINL5N1LQ0GJ'|'2017-09-09T16:41:00.000+03:00'
'579535f4e68aaf6f484024e536a1b6d413282419'|'United Technologies merges with Rockwell Collins'|'WHEN passengers board an aircraft, only a few care whether it was built by Airbus or Boeing, two giants that make all the world’s big airliners. Fewer still would recognise the names of the thousands of suppliers that produce the 2m or so parts that go into a modern jet. Surprisingly little of the work is done by Boeing and Airbus. Boeing has outsourced 70% of the parts for its 787 aircraft. The job of assembling Airbus’s A380 superjumbo in its Toulouse factory accounts for only 4% of the work required to make it. The balance of power between aerospace firms and their suppliers is causing ructions.Near hostilities have broken out due to a run of big mergers among parts-makers. On September 4th, United Technologies (UTC), an American conglomerate that makes Pratt & Whitney engines and other aerospace parts, announced that it had agreed to buy Rockwell Collins, an avionics firm, for $30bn. Although it is one of the biggest-ever mergers in the aerospace business, the deal is just the latest in a series of supplier tie-ups this year. In April, Rockwell Collins itself bought B/E Aerospace, a cabin-interiors specialist, for $8.6bn. Two months later Safran, a French maker of engines and landing gear, agreed to buy Zodiac, a specialist in aircraft seats, for $7.7bn. 21 As usual, the firms’ bosses pledge that synergies between the businesses will help fund the deals. UTC wants its merger with Rockwell to produce $500m in savings, according to its chief executive, Greg Hayes. But the imperative behind these supplier tie-ups lies elsewhere, in the oodles of profit they make from planemakers. In the past two years, suppliers made profit margins of between 14% and 17%, compared with 9% for planemakers. The main reason for the divergence is that the huge development costs associated with jetliner programmes are borne by planemakers, not their suppliers. And assembling parts is a relatively low value-added activity.Confronted with a shrinking number of new orders, as well as pressure from investors, both Airbus and Boeing are adopting a more aggressive stance towards the suppliers. This means trying to push them into offering much lower prices today, in return for future contracts. But that is not all. By outsourcing the most complex parts of their aircraft, Airbus and Boeing lost control of what turned out to be a highly lucrative market for servicing aircraft, with airlines as customers. Rolls-Royce, a British engine-maker, makes half its sales and all its profits from servicing engines. The pair want this market back if possible. They are trying to make more parts in-house. In July, Boeing set up an avionics subsidiary to make more of its electrical systems itself. Airbus is cutting back its list of suppliers and doing more of its own work.It is in response to this assault that the supply chain is consolidating, says Jim Harris of Bain & Company, a consultancy. Gaining scale gives suppliers clout with their customers and with their own supply chains. The merged UTC and Rockwell will have annual revenues of $62bn, not far off Airbus at $80bn and Boeing at $96bn.Unsurprisingly, Boeing has hit the roof about UTC’s acquisition of Rockwell, and has threatened to lobby regulators to stop the deal on competition grounds. Nor is Airbus happy, particularly as problems with Pratt & Whitney’s engines are holding up the delivery of dozens of its jets. It worries that a merger will distract UTC from resolving the problem. It is rare to see two firms that have long battled each other team up on the same side, but there is little doubt, according to an adviser to Boeing and Airbus, that they both “have the knives out for their suppliers”. "Dogfight in the skies"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728655-aerospace-suppliers-are-merging-fight-back-against-planemakers-united-technologies-merges?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'53753e083ec840bdba2224a210e6d957565777fe'|'Dr Reddy''s says German regulator makes six observations on unit'|'FILE PHOTO: People walk past a chemist''s shop at a market in Mumbai, India June 25, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo (Reuters) - Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories ( REDY.NS ) said on Friday a German regulator has made six major observations about its Duvvada drug making facility in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, sending shares down as much as 7.1 percent.Dr. Reddy‘s, in an exchange filing, did not however elaborate on the observations, which typically refer to aspects of the production process that must be improved in order to gain regulatory approval for exports.A company spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for details of the observations on Friday.The products manufactured at the unit are not currently exported to the European Union, it said.Germany and the United Kingdom contribute the most to Dr. Reddy’s revenue from Europe, which rose 28 percent to 2.08 billion rupees ($32.57 million) in the June quarter.($1 = 63.8550 Indian rupees)Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-dr-reddys-germany/dr-reddys-says-german-regulator-makes-six-observations-on-unit-idINKCN1BJ0MQ'|'2017-09-08T05:00:00.000+03:00'
'50a714be04cc6852751180cfa51b04417f5c6643'|'Britain''s FCA quizzed by lawmakers on listing rule plans ahead of Aramco IPO'|'FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s financial regulator has been told by two parliamentary committees to address concerns that plans to relax rules on listing state companies could undermine corporate governance.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in July proposed a new listing category for companies controlled by sovereign states, which was seen as a move to help London win the listing of Saudi Aramco as the oil giant prepares for what is expected to be the world’s largest ever initial public offering.The proposal, however, has attracted the attention of Britain’s Treasury Select Committee and Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, chaired by Nicky Morgan and Rachel Reeves respectively, who have written an open letter to FCA boss Andrew Bailey asking if the rules could weaken “protection for private investors against interference from foreign sovereign company owners”.They asked the regulator to explain if Aramco’s interest in listing in London influenced the consultation and whether companies controlled by sovereign entities engaged in it.The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been scrapped from April 1 amid reforms to fix a supervisory system criticised for failing to spot the financial crisis coming, forcing Britain to bail out banks. Two new bodies will replace it - the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority. REUTERS/Chris Helgren (BRITAIN - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS LOGO) - GM1E9411OC101 Morgan and Reeves also asked if ministers and government officials had been consulted on the balance between attracting foreign investment and maintaining the integrity of Britain’s stock market.The FCA said it has received the letter and will respond in due course.The FCA’s proposals were applauded by Britain’s financial lobby groups as helping to ensure the country’s capital markets remain attractive once it leaves the European Union.But they have received a cold reception from investors and corporate governance groups that say the proposed new listing category could lower the quality of companies on the London stock market and leave shareholders with less protection when things go wrong.Aramco has yet to decide where it will list, though London and New York have been touted as frontrunners for the bulk of the public flotation.Reporting by Clara Denina; Additional reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-regulation-ipo/britains-fca-quizzed-by-lawmakers-on-listing-rule-plans-ahead-of-aramco-ipo-idUSKCN1BI34S'|'2017-09-08T07:14:00.000+03:00'
'9794193af086c43bc695982375b583c76aa374b6'|'Dairy Crest set for windfall from pension deal'|'September 8, 2017 / 8:05 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Dairy Crest set for windfall from pension deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s Dairy Crest Group ( DCG.L ) will report an exceptional gain of 125 million pounds ($164 million) in the current financial year after a change in the way in which its pension liabilities are calculated. The company, which makes Cathedral City cheese, said a change to link future annual increases of pension payments to the CPI measure of inflation had resulted in a reduced deficit of 100 million pounds as of March, 2016. Dairy Crest said it would have to pay 12 million pounds less than previously expected into the company pension fund over the next two financial years, potentially freeing up more cash for other operations. Its contributions will then rise to 20 million pounds annually until 2022 by when the intention is for the scheme to be self-funding. The fund consisted of 8,255 pensioners at the end of 2016. Reporting by Justin George Varghese; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dairy-crest-pensions/dairy-crest-set-for-windfall-from-pension-deal-idUKKCN1BJ0TU'|'2017-09-08T11:05:00.000+03:00'
'6cdb6b8633bdbd7f276c851802df48327d2147dd'|'Target slashes prices on thousands of items, shares falter'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - Target Corp said on Friday that it lowered prices on thousands of items, from cereal to baby formula, further hurting retail stocks already pressured by Kroger Co’s disappointing quarterly results spurred by price cuts.Target, which vowed earlier in the year to aggressively clamp down on prices to compete with rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Amazon.com, said it had spent months reassessing the prices of everyday items such as milk, eggs, razors and bath tissue.The retailer, which said it would continue to offer discounts on some products in addition to the price-cuts, added that it had also eliminated more than two-thirds of its price and offer call-outs.The retailer’s shares were down as much as 4.7 percent in midday trading on Friday, in-line with a slump among retail stocks after Kroger reported price cuts hurting its bottom line.Target wants to make it easier for customers to spot lower prices by removing the guesswork that comes with temporary deals, Mark Tritton, Target’s chief merchandising officer, said in a blog post.A-Line Partners analyst Gabriella Santaniello said the move might initially cost Target in margins, but that lower prices and fewer temporary price cuts may also drive sales volumes that could eventually offset eroding margins.“At the end of the day people just want everyday lower prices and that is what Target is aiming to do.”When Target first announced in February that it would cut prices and miss full-year profit estimates, its shares plunged to a 2-1/2-year low.Like Target, Kroger, the biggest U.S. supermarket company, has slashed prices on staples such as milk and eggs to fend off competition from Wal-Mart, discounters Lidl and Aldi, and the newly merged Amazon and Whole Foods Market.Amazon.com’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods has the grocery industry on edge, worried that the online retail giant could upend the fresh food business in the way it did with books and electronics.Amazon last month lowered prices on some Whole Foods groceries including avocados and beef.“I don’t think this came out of nowhere. (Target) were clearly picking up on the signals and the consumer’s response to Amazon and it is clear to me Amazon encroaching on their space,” A-Line Partners analyst Gabriella Santaniello said.Shares in Amazon were down 0.7 percent, while Wal-Mart was down about 2 percent and Kroger’s stock tumbled nearly 10 percent, hitting a 3-1/2 year low. (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago and Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/target-prices/target-slashes-prices-on-thousands-of-items-shares-falter-idINL2N1LP1DB'|'2017-09-08T16:03:00.000+03:00'
'db25b273ce020ef57089e650cc0e9d6eb7f9c5e3'|'Inflation targets still proving elusive'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:58 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Inflation targets still proving elusive Jonathan Cable 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A shopper checks her shopping list in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England rate setters won’t shock markets with any policy moves when they meet next week as a struggling economy and Brexit fears offset any concerns over inflation sailing well above target. Britain’s economy initially withstood the shock of last year’s decision to quit the European Union but slowed sharply in early 2017 and is expected to grow by just 0.3 percent this quarter, half the rate of the euro zone. [ECILT/GB] That poses a challenge for the central bank as, rather than targeting growth, its main remit is to keep inflation -- currently running at 2.6 percent -- at 2 percent. “We expect the Bank of England to leave monetary policy unchanged, given the subdued growth story and ongoing Brexit uncertainty,” said James Knightley at ING. “Nonetheless, there are going to be members who continue to vote for a rate hike, given that consumer price inflation is likely to move higher once again.” At the last meeting two members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to increase rock-bottom interest rates, but none of their seven colleagues are expected to join them on Thursday in calling for higher borrowing costs. “Our own view is that rates won’t rise this year or next. But that doesn’t mean the rollercoaster ride for expectations is over,” said Liz Martins at HSBC. “An unexpectedly hawkish tilt from the MPC in September could mean a kneejerk reaction which pushes sterling and rates higher -- if only temporarily.” The risk of a “bumpy Brexit” does not mean the Bank should keep interest rates at their record low, MPC member Michael Saunders said last week, as the central bank risked being rushed into sharper rate hikes in future, potentially hurting growth. Inflation broke through target earlier this year, largely because sterling’s plunge in value since Britons voted to leave the European Union in June 2016 has pushed up import prices. Policymakers at the European Central Bank are facing the opposite problem -- they are struggling to get inflation up to their 2 percent target ceiling as a strengthening euro has kept price rises in check. They left their own ultra-easy monetary policy alone on Thursday but will decide next month how to proceed with the Bank’s massive stimulus program in 2018. ECB President Mario Draghi said the euro’s exchange rate is “very important” and needs careful monitoring. His cautious comments raise the chances the ECB will opt to phase out its 2.3 trillion euro bond buying scheme only very slowly next year, despite solid economic growth. “The current economic conditions warrant a slightly less accommodative monetary policy in the near future, provided the euro or any other disturbing element do not derail the euro zone’s recovery,” said Louis Harreau at Credit Agricole. In the United States, the Federal Reserve has already started on a tightening cycle but appears to be getting more dovish in the face of weak economic data. Recent comments from Fed policymakers show a split on the outlook for inflation and how that will play out for future interest rate increases so August price data due on Thursday should give markets more of a steer. The Swiss National Bank also meets on Thursday but is unlikely to move, with political tensions and low inflation keeping their hands tied. Switzerland’s franc is susceptible to appreciation during periods of increased geopolitical tension and the potential for conflict in the Korean peninsula will weigh on minds. North Korea has stepped up the development of weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions and tested several missiles this year, including one that flew over Japan. Pyongyang conducted its sixth and biggest nuclear test on Sept. 3. A survey on Friday showed most South Koreans doubt North Korea will start a war, although President Donald Trump again highlighted the possibility of a U.S. military response. Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-outlook/inflation-targets-still-proving-elusive-idUSKCN1BJ1PS'|'2017-09-08T17:00:00.000+03:00'
'96ea6ad4d0ee29fa16b650caf51e6d9086a52284'|'Canadian province of Quebec considers issuance of ultra-long bonds'|'TORONTO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Quebec is considering the issuance of ultra-long bonds after the recent issue of these bonds by the federal government showed strong investor demand, Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao said on Friday.“Given the good reception in the financial markets in general for longer dated products, we will consider that,” Leitao said. “We will pick our spot ... but certainly ultra-longs are part of the mix.” (Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Matt Scuffham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-bonds-quebec/canadian-province-of-quebec-considers-issuance-of-ultra-long-bonds-idINL2N1LP1UE'|'2017-09-08T18:25:00.000+03:00'
'59f6b13797cfc195c44a0cebf430c7de634aa332'|'Equifax says details of 143 mln consumers potentially hacked'|'((Corrects second-last paragraph of Sept. 7 story to say that company executives sold stock worth about $1.8 million, not about $17.8 million))By Yashaswini Swamynathan(Reuters) - Equifax Inc, a provider of consumer credit scores, said on Thursday that personal details of as many as 143 million U.S. consumers were accessed by hackers between mid-May and July, in what could be one of the largest data breaches in the United States.The company’s shares fell nearly 19 percent in after-market trading as investors reacted to possible consequences of the exposure of sensitive data of nearly half of the U.S. population.Atlanta-based Equifax said in a statement that it discovered the breach on July 29. It said criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files that included names, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers.In addition, credit card numbers of around 209,000 U.S. consumers and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information of around 182,000 U.S. consumers were accessed. Information of some UK and Canadian residents was also gained in the hack, Equifax said.Equifax said in its statement that it was working with law enforcement agencies and has hired a cyber-security firm to investigate the breach. It said its investigation is “substantially complete,” and expects it will be completed in the coming weeks.The company declined to comment beyond its statement.The Federal Bureau of Investigation is tracking the situation, a spokeswoman for the agency said.U.S. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement that it would not be an “exaggeration to suggest that a breach such as this represents a real threat to the economic security of Americans.”Equifax''s breach follows rival Experian Plc''s breach two years ago that exposed sensitive personal data of some 15 million people who applied for service with T-Mobile US Inc ( reut.rs/2f8ES9k )A magnifying glass is held in front of a computer screen in this picture illustration taken in Berlin May 21, 2013. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/File Photo “This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do,” Equifax Chief Executive Richard Smith said in a statement, adding that the company is conducting “a thorough review of our overall security operations.”LIKELIHOOD FOR PHISHING SEEN HIGH Cybersecurity experts said the breach was very serious.“On a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 10. It affects the whole credit reporting system in the United States because nobody can recover it, everyone uses the same data,” said Avivah Litan, a Gartner Inc analyst who tracks identity theft and fraud.Equifax handles data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide and manages a database with employee information from more than 7,100 employers, according to its website.Ryan Kalember, senior vice president of cyber security firm Proofpoint, said the hack was “especially troubling” because companies typically offer free credit monitoring services from firms such as Equifax, which has now itself suffered a huge cyber attack.“The information is very personal - the likelihood that it could be used for phishing is very high,” said Matt Tait, a former analyst at the British intelligence service GCHQ and a cyber security researcher.Equifax said consumers could check if their information had been impacted at, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.Representative Maxine Waters, a member of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said in a statement that she would reintroduce legislation to “enhance consumer protection tools available to minimize harm caused by identity theft.”Three days after Equifax discovered the breach, three top Equifax executives, including Chief Financial Officer John Gamble and a president of a unit, sold Equifax shares or exercised options to dispose off stock worth about $1.8 million, regulatory filings show. It was not clear whether these transactions were part of a pre-arranged sales plan.Equifax said in a statement that the executives were not aware that an intrusion had occurred when they sold their shares.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru and Siddharth Cavale and Dustin Volz in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber/equifax-says-details-of-143-million-consumers-potentially-hacked-idUSKCN1BI2VK'|'2017-09-07T23:44:00.000+03:00'
'f05e2e593d8e62aa5fa3304ef076cfa533bde623'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 8'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times- Eicher Motors Ltd, the Indian company that owns Royal Enfield, is set to make a binding bid to buy Volkswagen-owned Ducati of up to $2 billion by the deadline at the end of the month, according to a report in the Economic Times. bit.ly/2xaewxz- The votes of a single City investment house, Schroders Plc , saved Keith Hellawell, the Sports Direct International Plc chairman. Schroders confirmed that it had voted its 5.05 percent stake in support of Hellawell at the retail group''s annual meeting on Wednesday. bit.ly/2xauKXgThe Guardian- Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc has become the latest large carmaker to say it will stop launching new models solely powered by internal combustion engines, two months after Volvo AB pledged to do so. bit.ly/2xa18cE- Increases in payouts to victims of car crashes and botched operations are to be scaled back after a furious backlash by the insurance industry against Ministry of Justice plans. bit.ly/2xadNfvThe Telegraph- Bovis Homes Group PLC''s share price has soared more than 8 percent as its new Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald updated investors on his strategic review. bit.ly/2xa38Sc- Charlotte Hogg, who resigned from the Bank of England earlier this year after failing to declare her brother''s job at Barclays Plc, has been named the new head of Visa Inc''s Europe business. bit.ly/2x9V1oySky News- Public relations firm Bell Pottinger Private Ltd is on the brink of collapsing into administration, just days after controversial work for a South African client led to its expulsion from its industry association. bit.ly/2xa9wZD- British Airways faces union opposition over its plans to address a "significant and growing" funding deficit by closing its main pension scheme. bit.ly/2xaachMThe Independent- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has sounded a warning about the rapid appreciation of the euro and said there were concerns expressed by "most members" of the ECB''s governing council at its meeting this week over the euro exchange rate. ind.pn/2xabR75- Consumer goods giant Unilever NV has snapped up tea group Pukka Herbs Ltd. ind.pn/2xasgbqCompiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-8-idINL2N1LO2G2'|'2017-09-07T22:10:00.000+03:00'
'62d38a377423bfc22fc4f1c99839848d10a3bf1d'|'French probe alleges 2 million PSA cars had engine cheats: Le Monde'|'Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of French carmaker PSA Group addresses the media during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann PARIS (Reuters) - The French investigation into alleged emissions cheating by PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) found that suspect software had been used on almost 2 million vehicles sold by the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, Le Monde reported on Friday.Paris-based PSA denies any use of fraudulent engine software, a spokesman said in response to the newspaper report, which sent PSA shares sharply lower. The stock was down 4.4 percent at 17.78 euros as of 1019 GMT.So-called “defeat devices” restrict exhaust output of toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) under regulatory test conditions while letting emissions far exceed legal limits in real-world driving.In February PSA became the fourth carmaker to be referred to French prosecutors by the country’s DGCCRF watchdog over suspected emissions test-cheating, after Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), Renault ( RENA.PA ) and Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ).PSA’s engineering chief acknowledged at the time that emissions treatment in the group’s diesels was deliberately reduced at higher temperatures to improve fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in out-of-town driving, where NOx output is considered less critical.According to Le Monde, an internal PSA document obtained by DGCCRF investigators includes discussion of the need to “make the ‘defeat device’ aspect less obvious and visible”.However PSA insists there is nothing fraudulent or illegal about its engine calibrations.“PSA denies any fraud and firmly reaffirms the pertinence of its technology decisions,” the company said on Friday.Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Bate Felix '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peugeot-diesel/french-probe-alleges-2-million-psa-cars-had-engine-cheats-le-monde-idUSKCN1BJ12J'|'2017-09-08T12:48:00.000+03:00'
'2259bb6c87ff357e5d2653affa21c427348151ed'|'Hyundai Motor says will continue China JV with BAIC'|'FILE PHOTO: The body of a Hyunday car moves on a conveyor belt at the Hyundai Motor Co plant in Beijing, China, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co ( 005380.KS ) said on Friday it will continue its Chinese joint venture with BAIC Motor ( 1958.HK ), shrugging off investor concerns about soured relationships between the partners.China’s state-run Global Times newspaper has reported BAIC might risk losing the joint venture if disputes over suppliers were not resolved, citing an industry insider.“The cooperative relationships between the two companies under the joint venture will continue, and the two companies plan to continue various dialogues to strengthen competitiveness in the Chinese market,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement to Reuters.Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hyundai-motor-china-baic-motor/hyundai-motor-says-will-continue-china-jv-with-baic-idUSKCN1BJ0BC'|'2017-09-08T06:58:00.000+03:00'
'd9bed44c79e3c9d2e3e706253b44515fef260e30'|'Western Digital seeks Y50 billion from Apple to help finance Toshiba chip bid: Kyodo'|'FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) has sought to stop Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) from taking control of Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) chip business by threatening not to buy its products in the future, people with knowledge of the deal said.Apple, which uses Toshiba’s NAND flash memory chips in its iPhones, is concerned about losing pricing power if Western Digital is running the operation, the sources said on Friday.However, if Western Digital remains a minority investor in the business, Apple, a top customer for Toshiba chips, is offering around 50 billion yen ($460 million) to a group including the U.S. firm to help finance a bid, one source said.Apple declined to comment, while a Western Digital spokeswoman said it could not comment on details of the talks. Toshiba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key chip plant, is leading a $17-18 billion bid for the chip business, sources familiar with the talks have said.Sources said earlier in the week that Western Digital offered to step back from the consortium’s financing in return for a stronger position in their joint venture, and was roping in Apple for funding.But it has been unclear whether other parties in the consortium, which also includes U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) as well as Japanese government-backed investors, would pay more to cover for the 15 billion yen that Western Digital had previously planned to pay as part of the bid.Sources have said Western Digital does want a future stake in the chip business, although it was unclear how much.Toshiba executives, fearing that Western Digital was angling to eventually take over the chip business, are demanding that the U.S. company promise to limit the size of its stake in the company, sources said, requesting anonymity as talks were confidential.Toshiba’s board is now aiming to reach a final agreement with the consortium by Wednesday, sources have said.The company is under pressure to clinch a deal soon and complete regulatory approvals by the end of the fiscal year in March to ensure it does not report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running - a scenario that could result in delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Last week, Toshiba said it had not yet narrowed the pool of suitors and was also looking at a bid from U.S. private equity firm Bain as well as one from Taiwan’s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ).All three bids have involved Apple, Toshiba’s key memory chip customer, sources said.($1 = 107.6800 yen)Reporting by Taro Fuse; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Kentaro Hamada in Tokyo and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Shri Navaratnam/Christopher Cushing/William Mallard/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-apple/western-digital-seeks-y50-billion-from-apple-to-help-finance-toshiba-chip-bid-kyodo-idINKCN1BJ0Q5'|'2017-09-08T10:33:00.000+03:00'
'398a486ec7fa52c638034fb355f744bb4cd8eb97'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds State Auto Financial Corp, PKO BP)Sept 8 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:** Italy’s Edizione Holding, the investment vehicle of the Benetton family, is preparing a bid for Italian packaging manufacturer Guala Closures, valued at more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) including debt, three sources said.** Thyssenkrupp shareholders are urging the group to clinch a deal with Tata Steel to merge their European steel businesses this year, warning failure to do so would be a blow to its credibility.** Geely-owned Volvo Car Group said it would buy some assets of Luxe, a U.S. based premium valet and concierge service, to boost the development of its digital services.** Monsanto Co will sell its small branded cotton seed business to local firm Tierra Agrotech Private Ltd, but remains fully committed to India’s agriculture sector, a Monsanto India spokesman said.** A group including Western Digital is seeking around 50 billion yen ($464 million) from Apple Inc to help finance a bid for Toshiba Corp’s memory chip unit, Kyodo news agency reported.** Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay signaled it had no intention of selling German department store chain Kaufhof, after people familiar with the matter said Austrian real estate company Signa Holding was considering a bid.** Chinese conglomerate CEFC will buy a 14.16 percent stake in Russian oil producer Rosneft from a consortium of Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority in a move that further strengthens the energy partnership between Moscow and Beijing.** Property and casualty insurer State Auto Financial Corp said it was considering options for its excess and surplus lines business, including a sale.** Poland’s biggest bank, PKO BP, has agreed to buy mutual fund company KBC TFI from Belgium’s KBC Asset Management for an undisclosed sum, the state-run lender said.** Romanian investment fund Fondul Proprietatea is considering selling its 20 percent stake in state-owned hydro power producer Hidroelectrica, a move it said was triggered by lack of government progress in listing it.** Chilean forestry company Arauco has reached an agreement to buy two wood panel plants in Brazil from competitor Masisa , in a deal worth $102.8 million, the company said.** Turkey’s Celebi Aviation Holding has shown interest in buying state-owned Air India’s ground handling operations, India’s aviation secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey said.** Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, said it was in talks to buy Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell titles, including the Daily Express and the Star tabloid. (Compiled by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1LP3TM'|'2017-09-08T09:04:00.000+03:00'
'54f8a42d0aece30a082f10b86237b0ff5ac1d3ad'|'AstraZeneca gives FTSE a leg-up'|'  9:17 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Irma, AstraZeneca gives FTSE a leg-up 3 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s top share index closed higher on Monday, boosted by financial stocks which surfed an insurance rally across Europe and the United States as estimates of the cost of Hurricane Irma dropped. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 0.6 percent at 7,413.59 points, while mid caps .FTMC gained 0.4 percent. The FTSE 350 non-life insurance index .FTNMX8530 jumped 2.1 percent, leaving it on track for its biggest one-day gain since April, with shares in Lancashire Holdings ( LRE.L ), Beazley BEZG.L, Esure ( ESUR.L ) and Hiscox ( HSX.L ) all rising between 2.9 percent to 10.3 percent. Provident ( PFG.L ) was the top gainer with a 3.8 percent rise as other British financial shares rose in line with Europe and Wall Street after Hurricane Irma weakened to a Category 1 storm. “Insured losses (overall) are now expected to be less than many feared,” Credit Suisse analysts said after the estimated insured loss in the United States resulting from Irma was cut to $20-40 billion. In other sectors, AstraZeneca’s shares were among the biggest gainers on the FTSE, rising 2.1 percent after reassuring results from two of its lung cancer drugs. The pharma firm’s shares are yet to recover from a 15 percent plunge in July, when initial results from its advanced lung cancer study, known as Mystic, failed. “(AstraZeneca) now has a good chance of growing the opportunity from what was previously expected in Stage III lung cancer,” analysts at Liberum said in a note. “If the reaction moves much beyond this, the shares would be starting once again to price a chance of success for Mystic,” they added. Among fallers, precious metals miners Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) and Randgold Resources ( RRS.L ) were on the back foot as the price of safe-haven gold fell, while shares in Primark-owner Associated British Foods ( ABF.L ) were the biggest FTSE decliners, down 5 percent after giving a full-year trading update. Reporting by Kit Rees and Julien Ponthus; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/astrazeneca-gives-ftse-a-leg-up-idUKKCN1BM0YJ'|'2017-09-11T12:17:00.000+03:00'
'895503e38b3c6cc753c9ff8b491e8502df6e923c'|'RPT-Europe''s bank regulators on expensive hiring spree before Brexit'|'(Repeats with no changes)* Brexit pushes banks from London to Europe* Regulators to hire dozens of banks experts* Modest public sector pay poses hiring challengeBy John O‘DonnellFRANKFURT, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Europe’s regulators are competing to hire risk specialists to prepare for an influx of banks escaping Brexit, nudging up salaries and stretching staff budgets.Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, which have big operations in London, intend to expand in the European Union after Britain’s departure.Germany’s financial regulator, Bafin, and the French and Irish central banks intend to hire dozens of new recruits in the coming year, according to officials.The European Central Bank, which has overall responsibility for supervising banks, is also seeking new staff.But filling such positions is difficult, partly because risk specialists are in hot demand and budgets of public institutions are limited.“We are seeing a lot more competition in hiring people for risk, in both the public sector and the private sector,” said Nigel David, a head-hunter at Charles Levick in London. “You are seeing salaries shoot up.”Ireland’s central bank said late last year it had set a target of boosting staff numbers this year by almost 10 percent, or 170 people, in part to cope with Brexit.By May, the numbers were broadly unchanged at about 1,600 employees. A central bank spokeswoman declined to say why it had not hired more staff.But Philip Lane, its governor, spoke of the challenge of hiring in a newspaper interview in July.“Any regulator in a major financial centre, I‘m sure the Bank of England or the New York Fed have similar challenges, there is always going to be the issue of how to compete with the other opportunities,” he said.The majority of its employees earn between 25,000 euros and 75,000 euros ($90,400). Starting salaries for risk managers at an investment bank are around $52,600.Ireland’s problem has been exacerbated by pay restrictions and extra taxes on civil servants, imposed by the government as it seeks to recover from a financial collapse.The central bank recently approved the creation of 26 new posts to deal with the “increased workload post the Brexit referendum”.MATHS, PHYSICS DEGREES With the clock ticking to Britain’s EU departure by April 2019, banks are already beginning to migrate from London.The shift will give Europe’s regulators a greater say over global finance after Brexit even though they are still dealing with the regulatory fallout from the last financial crash.Regulators in Paris wants to hire 50 additional people, while Germany’s Bafin is examining new staff as part of budget negotiations for 2018 now taking place, people familiar with the matter said.But like Dublin, they may find that their hiring pot is not big enough.A survey of risk experts by recruiter Barclay Simpson found that salaries for European market risk specialists at an investment bank began at 40,000 pounds ($52,600) for graduates and climbed above 400,000 pounds for top managers.By comparison, Daniele Nouy, the ECB’s top regulator, earned just 278,000 euros ($335,300) last year.The typical candidate for a risk management job would have a degree in maths or physics to help spot the risk of, for example, a mortgage default, one headhunter said. They might also have experience of working in a retail bank.“Risk is a very competitive market,” said Liam O‘Mahoney, of head-hunter Eames Consulting in London. “It’s going to be very difficult for a central bank to attract people.”The ECB, which has an annual budget for policing banks of more than 400 million euros, may be one of the few institutions able to keep pace.It is seeking to hire contractor risk specialists at daily rates of 1,000 euros - plus expenses, people familiar with the programme said. A spokeswoman for the ECB declined to comment.For others, such as Germany’s Bafin, where salaries range between 35,000 euros and 80,000 euros, the hope is that the appeal of a secure job in a predictable civil service will appeal.“It’s international,” said one employee. “The work is interesting. And unlike the private sector, people here work 41 hours a week.” ($1 = 0.8292 euros) (Editing by Anna Willard) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-regulators/rpt-europes-bank-regulators-on-expensive-hiring-spree-before-brexit-idUSL5N1LR13R'|'2017-09-11T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'3501da3fd36b9adc1b5a62cb568af94c0e95bc9a'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 11)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Cinven Capital Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire joint control of GTA Travel Holding Ltd (approved Sept. 8)NEW LISTINGS -- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)-- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES NoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 14 -- Norwegian-based DNB Bank ASA and Swedish Nordea Bank AB to establish a joint venture concerning their banking activities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania(notified Aug. 9/deadline Sept. 14)SEPT 20 -- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)-- Buyout group KKR to acquire Dutch car park operator Q-Park (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)SEPT 25 -- Germany’s Infineon Technologies and SAIC Motor to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 25/simplified)SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge in 46 bln-euro deal (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)-- French reinsurance company Scor to acquire MutRe, a French company involved in the reinsurance of companies’ insurance policies (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26/simplified)SEPT 27 -- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27/simplified)SEPT 28 -- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (notified Aug. 24/simplified/deadline Sept. 28)SEPT 29 -- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)JAN 8 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 8 2018 after Commission opened in-depth investigation)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)-- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL5N1LS5D5'|'2017-09-11T15:27:00.000+03:00'
'0cfdbd2dafaf1686f1fb259f5f3288e892f35b40'|'Ever better and cheaper, face-recognition technology is spreading'|'TOURING the headquarters of Megvii in Beijing is like visiting Big Brother’s engine room. A video camera in the firm’s lobby recognises visitors in the blink of an eye. Other such devices are deployed around the office. Some of the images they capture are shown on a wall of video called “Skynet”, after the artificial-intelligence (AI) system in the “Terminator” films. One feed shows a group of employees waiting in front of an elevator with a white frame around every face and the name of each person next to it. Quizzed on the Orwellian overtones of the set-up, Yin Qi, the startup’s chief executive, simply remarks that “this helps catch bad guys.”Even if Mr Yin wanted to ponder the implications of the technology, he would not have the time. Megvii is busy building what he describes as a “brain” for visual computing. The firm has come a long way since its founding in 2011 (its name stands for “mega vision”). More than 300,000 companies and individuals around the world use its face-recognition technology, which is called Face++, making it one of the biggest such services. In December Megvii raised $100m, giving it a valuation of nearly $2bn and turning it into the world’s first billion-dollar startup from might be called the “facial-industrial complex”. 20 Providers in this field sell hardware and software tools to recognise faces and then connect those faces to other useful data. Although the market is fairly small—the most optimistic estimates put it at a few billion dollars—the technology has started to permeate the wider business landscape. The main reason is that the accuracy of facial recognition is rapidly improving, putting it on the same trajectory as speech recognition, which really took off when accuracy improved by a final few percentage points, to almost 100%. “Most people underestimate the difference between 95% and 99% accuracy—99% is a game-changer,” Andrew Ng, a noted AI researcher, has said about speech recognition.What’s more, the smartphone will do for face recognition what smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo, have done for speech recognition: make it acceptable to consumers. Millions of Chinese already “swipe” their faces on smartphones to authorise payments. On September 12th Apple is expected to unveil a new version of its iPhone, with technology that can reliably identify the owner’s face and then unlock the device, even in the dark. That will come only a few weeks after Samsung presented a new Galaxy Note with a similar but less sophisticated feature.It makes sense to separate facial-recognition technology into two categories: the underlying capability and the applications that make use of it. Megvii’s Face++ belongs in the first category, as do similar offerings from SenseTime, another Chinese startup, NTechLab, a Russian firm, as well as Amazon, IBM and Microsoft. All provide face recognition as a cloud-computing service. Megvii’s customers can upload a batch of photos and names, and use them to train algorithms, which then can recognise those particular people. Firms can also integrate the recognition service into their own offerings, for instance to control access to online accounts.Megvii’s and SenseTime’s services are largely founded on good data. They have access to the Chinese government’s image database of 700m citizens, who are each given a photo ID by the age of 16. Chinese government agencies are also valuable customers—more and more of the country’s hundreds of millions of surveillance cameras will soon recognise faces. In Shenzhen facial recognition is used to identify jaywalkers; names and pictures go up on a screen. In Beijing the municipality has started using the technology to catch thieves of toilet paper in public restrooms (its system also prevents people from taking more than 60 centimetres of paper within a nine-minute period).Commercial applications, often powered by one of the cloud-computing services, are spreading even faster. On September 1st Ant Financial, a subsidiary of Alibaba, deployed its “Smile to Pay” system for the first time in a physical store: customers at a healthier version of a KFC restaurant, called KPRO, in Hangzhou, can settle their bill by looking at a screen (see picture). Xiaomai, a chain of convenience stores, has said it will use facial scans when people enter its stores in order to study their behaviour. Several Chinese banks now let users identify themselves at ATMs with their faces.The West is further behind. Some industries have long used a basic kind of face recognition, including casinos wishing to turn away notorious gamblers. But it is mainly big online companies that make (cautious) use of the technology. Facebook has gone furthest by having its members tag friends on photos so the firm’s algorithms can recognise them on other pictures. Google employs the technology in order to group pictures that users have uploaded to its photo service. Amazon’s new home speaker, Echo Look, also has a camera, which could presumably be made to recognise faces.Other firms are testing the waters. JetBlue and other American airlines have taken initial steps to match passengers’ faces to passport photos, aiming to eliminate boarding passes. Lloyds Bank is not the only Western bank planning to copy Chinese ones and allow customers to use their faces to log into accounts. Uber, a ride-hailing firm, has a system requiring drivers in India to take a selfie before starting a shift. This should cut down on unregistered drivers impersonating registered ones. Nvidia, a chipmaker, has plans for facial recognition in its new Californian headquarters.There is potential for products that lift sales, too. Video cameras could, for instance, recognise loyal customers and VIPs who deserve special treatment. They could detect dissatisfaction on shoppers’ faces and dispatch staff to intervene. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is said to be working on a facial-recognition system to improve customer service.Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the spread of these services has already prompted efforts to thwart them. An Israeli startup, D-ID, which stands for “de-identification”, has developed software that slightly alters photos so that algorithms cannot recognise them. This allows people to share pictures of their faces without having to worry that they will be used to identify them. Others have suggest low-tech defences against sophisticated surveillance systems, such as glasses with hallucinogenic patterns on the frame of the specs, or simply wearing masks or make-up.Yet it is unlikely that such “adversarial attacks”, in the lingo, will keep face recognition from being widely used. Mr Yin of Megvii expects the technology to become a commodity. This is why he has already set his sights higher. He is directing the firm’s computer-vision brain towards even more complex tasks, such as interpreting human behaviour and recognising objects.In the long run Mr Yin wants his firm to develop into an “algorithm factory” that offers all sorts of building blocks for computer-vision services, which other firms will be able to combine and recombine in order to come up with ever more sophisticated offerings. Whether Megvii lives up to this ambition or not, the technologies it peddles will only spread.Dig deeper Leader: What machines can tell from your face Science and technology (1): Advances in AI are used to spot signs of sexuality Science and technology (2): Researchers produce images of people’s faces from their genomes "The facial-industrial complex"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728654-chinas-megvii-has-used-government-collected-data-lead-sector-ever-better-and-cheaper?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'56c01da2873057d8001c3fed2043c656bb9578c8'|'Carlsberg keen on bigger stake, says Habeco executive: media'|'September 8, 2017 / 8:41 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Carlsberg keen on bigger stake, says Habeco executive: media Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Bottles of Carlsberg beer are seen in fridge in a bar in St. Petersburg June 17, 2014. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk/File Photo HANOI (Reuters) - Carlsberg ( CARLb.CO ) is keen on expanding its stake in Habeco BHN.HM, one of Vietnam’s biggest brewers, to at least 51 percent, a local news website reported, citing a Habeco executive. Vietnam plans to privatize Habeco by selling its entire 82 percent stake. Carlsberg, which already owns around 17 percent of the company, also holds the priority purchase rights. Habeco is still in talks with the Danish brewer on the stake sale, state-controlled An Ninh Thu Do online newspaper quoted Habeco’s deputy chief Vuong Toan as saying. Carlsberg did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Reporting by Mi Nguyen; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-habeco-carlsberg/carlsberg-keen-on-bigger-stake-says-habeco-executive-media-idUSKCN1BJ0WP'|'2017-09-08T11:39:00.000+03:00'
'9391af35d28f564cd5f931ca302f8ecd847566a5'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX dragged lower by energy, financials; Dollarama surges'|'* TSX down 35.3 points, or 0.23 percent, to 15,024.53* Five of the TSX’s 10 main groups down* Falling bond yields weigh on financialsBy Solarina HoTORONTO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index fell on Thursday, pressured by a retreat in energy and financial stocks as investors tracked Hurricane Irma and falling global bond yields.Enbridge Inc was the biggest driver of the index’s decline, falling 1.3 percent to C$49.23, while Manulife Financial Corp declined 1.6 percent to C$23.55.The energy group retreated 0.6 percent. U.S. crude slipped on a bigger-than-expected crude stock build, as the restart of U.S. refiners after Hurricane Harvey was countered by the threat of Hurricane Irma.The financial services sector, which accounts for roughly a third of the index’s weight, slipped 0.6 percent, as Hurricane Irma weighed on insurance companies and bank stocks were pressured by a drop in global bond yields.“People are worried about the yield curve pivoting,” said Irwin Michael, portfolio manager at ABC Funds. “They’re always worried about a flattening out and maybe even inverting. We don’t see it happening, but it’s a concern.”The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index fell 35.3 points, or 0.23 percent, to 15,024.53.Half of the index’s 10 main groups were in the red, with telecoms down 1.1 percent.“The Canadian stock market is the only one of the big seven that is down for the year, so we’ve got some catch-up to do here in Canada,” Michael said.Partially offsetting the losses were gains by the materials group. The resource-focused sector added 0.3 percent, as gold miners profited from bullion prices that touched a one-year-high following weak U.S. jobs data.A 1.6 percent jump in consumer discretionary stocks was led by Dollarama Inc. Dollarama shares rose 10.6 percent to C$134.72 after the company posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.Hudson’s Bay Co climbed 6.7 percent to C$13.01, extending Wednesday’s gains after an activist shareholder said it believed that a highly qualified third-party buyer had “serious interest” in acquiring the department store operator’s European chain.The index posted nine new 52-week highs and two new lows. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-dragged-lower-by-energy-financials-dollarama-surges-idUSL2N1LO247'|'2017-09-08T00:14:00.000+03:00'
'84aa28d8fb7378dc21a382bdc79848451e13d59b'|'Petrobras extends deadline in sale of seven exploration areas'|'September 9, 2017 / 1:27 AM / Updated 18 hours ago Petrobras extends deadline in sale of seven exploration areas Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil state-controlled oil firm Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ) extended the deadline for interested parties to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to access technical, legal and financial information related to seven exploration areas it is seeking to sell. Petroleo Brasileiro, as the company is formally known, said in a stock exchange filing on Friday that it would extend the deadline until Sept. 29 “in view of interest from the market.” The shallow water areas are located in the states of Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The Brazilian company is in the midst of a campaign to sell $8 billion worth of assets this year as it seeks to reduce its debt burden. The filing did not say when the original deadline was. Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Andrew Hay'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/petrobras-divestiture/petrobras-extends-deadline-in-sale-of-seven-exploration-areas-idINKCN1BK01I'|'2017-09-09T04:23:00.000+03:00'
'd245dad1908b9ebe9739c08b3f3c3749f50e42f7'|'Paramount has not received payment from Chinese studios - studio CEO'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:06 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Paramount has not received payment from Chinese studios: studio CEO Jessica Toonkel 2 Min Read File Photo: The main gate to Paramount Pictures Studios, a division of Viacom, Inc. is pictured in Los Angeles, California July 29, 2008. REUTERS/Fred Prouser (Reuters) - Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures movie studio still has not received payments from the Chinese studios it entered into a financing deal with in January, Paramount Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos told investors on Friday. The snag in the funding deal comes at a delicate time for Viacom and Paramount, which are in the midst of a turnaround strategy under Viacom’s new CEO, Bob Bakish. Paramount is one of six brands that Viacom is focusing on as part of the strategy. In January, Paramount announced a deal under which two Chinese film companies, Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media, would invest $1 billion in Paramount, giving the studio much needed cash and support as it attempts to grow. However, Viacom executives disclosed in the company’s third-quarter earnings call in August that a payment from Huahua had been delayed as a result of increased restrictions by the Chinese government on outside investments, causing concern among investors. “We haven’t received the money we are entitled to under the deal, but we have been given continued assurances they are processing it,” Gianopulos told attendees of the Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference. Paramount is prepared to replace the funding in a timely manner if the situation is not resolved soon, he said. The studio expects improvement in its box office numbers this year, with real results from its turnaround by 2018, Gianopulos told attendees. Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Steve Orlofsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-paramount-ceo/paramount-has-not-received-payment-from-chinese-studios-studio-ceo-idUKKCN1BJ2EB'|'2017-09-08T21:53:00.000+03:00'
'df4fd9303711d8dca751dbb1ce2d53b9021c545d'|'Stronger euro continues to hold back European shares'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:42 AM / Updated 42 minutes ago Stronger euro continues to hold back European shares Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A two Euro coin is pictured next to an English ten Pound note in an illustration taken March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - European shares opened lower on Friday across all major bourses and sectors, failing to get support from rather quiet trading sessions in Asia and Wall Street, and as the euro’s rally continues to hurt appetite for regional stocks. The German blue chip DAX index .GDAXI was down 0.1 percent, France''s CAC .FCHI 0.3 percent, Spain''s IBEX .IBEX 0.1 percent, London''s FTSE .FTSE 0.2% and Milan''s FTSE MIB was just slightly in negative territory. The broader pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark was down 0.3 percent. After suffering four straight sessions in the red, European banks were slightly higher, with the sectoral index .SX7P up 0.2 percent. Elsewhere, shares in Pub operator Greene King ( GNK.L ) made a 14 percent fall after a weak sales update and France’s Rubis were down 4.8 percent after its first half results. Reporting by Julien Ponthus, Editing by Vikram Subhedar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/stronger-euro-continues-to-hold-back-european-shares-idUKKCN1BJ0RJ'|'2017-09-08T10:43:00.000+03:00'
'75aa02f2f7a6c648dd38ee65bc7f3559de49367f'|'UPDATE 1-China invests $9.1 bln in Rosneft as Glencore, Qatar cut stakes'|'FILE PHOTO: A logo of Russian state oil firm Rosneft is seen at its office in Moscow, October 18, 2012. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo MOSCOW/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate CEFC will buy a 14.16 percent stake in Russian oil major Rosneft for $9.1 billion from a consortium of Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority, strengthening the energy partnership between Moscow and Beijing.CEFC China Energy has grown in recent years from a niche oil trader into a sprawling energy conglomerate and the transaction will allow China, the world’s second largest energy consumer, to boost cooperation with the world’s top oil producer.The deal comes as the United States imposes a new round of economic sanctions on Russia, making it difficult for large Western firms such as Glencore to develop partnerships and increase ties with state-owned firms such as Rosneft.Glencore said in a statement that CEFC will buy shares at a premium of around 16 percent to the 30-day volume weighted average price of Rosneft shares without naming the price. A CEFC spokesman said the company would pay $9.1 billion.Rosneft’s market capitalization stands at $57 billion and the deal makes it one of the largest investments ever made by China into Russia.Glencore and QIA will retain stakes of 0.5 percent and 4.7 percent in Rosneft respectively.The Kremlin has been seeking to expand its ties with China, especially since the West imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow to punish it for the annexation of Crimea and an incursion into east Ukraine in 2014.Russia tops the list of Chinese crude suppliers where it competes with its arch-rival Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.OPAQUE DEAL Glencore and QIA agreed to buy a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft in December 2016 for over 10.2 billion euros to help the Kremlin plug budget holes.The transaction coincided with expectations of political detente between Moscow and Washington after Donald Trump became U.S. president and pledged to improve ties with Moscow.Rosneft is run by Igor Sechin, a close ally or President Vladimir Putin, who awarded special state decorations to the head of Glencore Ivan Glasenberg for executing the transaction.Putin also awarded state decorations to the Russian head of Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo, Antonio Fallico, for helping fund the deal with a 5.2 billion euro loan.The transactions has, however, raised a lot of questions among bankers and market analysts.Glencore and QIA never disclosed the final beneficiaries of the stake and Intesa could not syndicate the loan from other banks to share risks as most lenders declined to get involved because of new sanctions on Russia.Intesa said its 5.2 billion euro loan was reimbursed today following the CEFC deal.“It always looked as if the Qatar-Glencore deal was hastily arranged so as to allow the privatization to take place by the end of last year and the proceeds booked to the federal budget,” said Chris Weafer from Macro Advisory consultancy.Last month, Washington imposed further sanctions on Moscow in the strongest action against Russia since 2014 - in part as a response to conclusions by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the presidential election.On Friday, Sechin said QIA and Glencore cut the stakes partially because of a decline in the U.S. dollar against the euro, which made debt servicing more expensive.Sechin told reporters CEFC would get access to Rosneft’s oil fields and petrochemical projects in East Siberia to guarantee bigger synergies.“From Rosneft’s point of view, the arrival of such a partner is positive as it shows that the foreign investors still keep their interest to the Russian oil industry,” said Alexander Kornilov from Aton brokerage in Moscow.CEFC said the deal would give it annual equity oil production of 42 million tonnes (840,000 barrels per day) and access to oil and gas reserves of 2.67 billion tonnes (20 billion barrels).The deal will be China’s second largest oil and gas acquisition after the $15.1 billion purchase of Canada’s Nexen by CNOOC in 2013. Earlier this decade, Beijing also loaned $25 billion to Russia to help it build a pipeline from Siberia.Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rosneft-cefc-glencore/chinas-cefc-buys-into-rosneft-as-glencore-qatar-cut-stakes-idUSKCN1BJ1HT'|'2017-09-08T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'4b357b9a3d840de5339bacabbfdb97f0ca142a22'|'ECB policy will stay easy until inflation heads to target: Lane'|' 16 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago ECB policy will stay easy until inflation heads to target: Lane Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man is seen in front of a sheet of five Euro notes at the opening of the new Central Bank of Ireland offices in Dublin, Ireland April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will maintain its ultra-easy policy stance until it is happy with the path of inflation in the euro zone, ECB’s policymaker Philip Lane said, citing a new round of cheap loans to banks as one of the available tools. “What we have now is the forward guidance for 2018 and the accommodative monetary stance is there until we see convincing evidence that inflation is on a sustainable path towards the target,” Lane, who heads the Irish central bank, said. The ECB is due to decide next month on the future of its 2.3 trillion euro (£2.11 trillion) bond-buying programme, with sources telling Reuters a cut in the pace of buying is on the cards. “What we would be doing in the autumn is to work out the calibration of our monetary policy instruments,” he added. “Of course we’ve accumulated a big stock at this point as well and then you’ve other measures that are not currently active that as a matter of logic, they are part of what can be done such as versions of TLTROs (targeted longer-term refinancing operations).” Reporting By Padraic Halpin; Writing by Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-lane/ecb-policy-will-stay-easy-until-inflation-heads-to-target-lane-idUKKCN1BJ1FM'|'2017-09-08T15:16:00.000+03:00'
'95f993b6ccdf94938deea4c3be7deb37cbe9477c'|'United Technology merges with Rockwell Collins'|'WHEN passengers board an aircraft, only a few care whether it was built by Airbus or Boeing, two giants that make all the world’s big airliners. Fewer still would recognise the names of the thousands of suppliers that produce the 2m or so parts that go into a modern jet. Surprisingly little of the work is done by Boeing and Airbus. Boeing has outsourced 70% of the parts for its 787 aircraft. The job of assembling Airbus’s A380 superjumbo in its Toulouse factory accounts for only 4% of the work required to make it. The balance of power between aerospace firms and their suppliers is causing ructions.Near hostilities have broken out due to a run of big mergers among parts-makers. On September 4th, United Technologies (UTC), an American conglomerate that makes Pratt & Whitney engines and other aerospace parts, announced that it had agreed to buy Rockwell Collins, an avionics firm, for $30bn. Although it is one of the biggest-ever mergers in the aerospace business, the deal is just the latest in a series of supplier tie-ups this year. In April, Rockwell Collins itself bought B/E Aerospace, a cabin-interiors specialist, for $8.6bn. Two months later Safran, a French maker of engines and landing gear, agreed to buy Zodiac, a specialist in aircraft seats, for $7.7bn.  20   20   As usual, the firms’ bosses pledge that synergies between the businesses will help fund the deals. UTC wants its merger with Rockwell to produce $500m in savings, according to its chief executive, Greg Hayes. But the imperative behind these supplier tie-ups lies elsewhere, in the oodles of profit they make from planemakers. In the past two years, suppliers made profit margins of between 14% and 17%, compared with 9% for planemakers. The main reason for the divergence is that the huge development costs associated with jetliner programmes are borne by planemakers, not their suppliers. And assembling parts is a relatively low value-added activity.Confronted with a shrinking number of new orders, as well as pressure from investors, both Airbus and Boeing are adopting a more aggressive stance towards the suppliers. This means trying to push them into offering much lower prices today, in return for future contracts. But that is not all. By outsourcing the most complex parts of their aircraft, Airbus and Boeing lost control of what turned out to be a highly lucrative market for servicing aircraft, with airlines as customers. Rolls-Royce, a British engine-maker, makes half its sales and all its profits from servicing engines. The pair want this market back if possible. They are trying to make more parts in-house. In July, Boeing set up an avionics subsidiary to make more of its electrical systems itself. Airbus is cutting back its list of suppliers and doing more of its own work.It is in response to this assault that the supply chain is consolidating, says Jim Harris of Bain & Company, a consultancy. Gaining scale gives suppliers clout with their customers and with their own supply chains. The merged UTC and Rockwell will have annual revenues of $62bn, not far off Airbus at $80bn and Boeing at $96bn.Unsurprisingly, Boeing has hit the roof about UTC’s acquisition of Rockwell, and has threatened to lobby regulators to stop the deal on competition grounds. Nor is Airbus happy, particularly as problems with Pratt & Whitney’s engines are holding up the delivery of dozens of its jets. It worries that a merger will distract UTC from resolving the problem. It is rare to see two firms that have long battled each other team up on the same side, but there is little doubt, according to an adviser to Boeing and Airbus, that they both “have the knives out for their suppliers”.  Business   "Dogfight in the skies"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728655-aerospace-suppliers-are-merging-fight-back-against-planemakers-united-technology-merges?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'68e197dc863b50c9888373aa1524d474186bc5ba'|'Exchange-rate shifts have helped the global economy'|'STICKLERS for value have plenty of reasons to frown at financial markets. Much feels out of whack, from squashed bond yields to pricey stockmarkets. Yet currency markets, at least, seem to have shifted in line with fundamentals this year. Take the euro, for instance. Since the start of 2017 it has risen by almost 15% against the dollar, to $1.19 (see chart). That has taken it much closer to fair value by benchmarks such as purchasing-power parity (PPP), the exchange rate at which a basket of goods is worth the same in different countries. The OECD puts the euro’s PPP at $1.33. That is quite a stretch from $1.04 in January. “The elastic had to snap back,” says Kit Juckes of Société Générale, a French bank.Of course, the euro’s revival is a result of more than its being cheap. The anxiety that elections in Europe might bring to power anti-euro populists, such as Marine Le Pen in France, has dissipated. The euro-zone economy has further strengthened, raising the prospect that monetary policy will soon be less accommodating. Even so, the European Central Bank (ECB) seems in no hurry to fulfil these hopes, in part because of the euro’s recent surge. The bank’s rate-setting council met on September 7th, as The Economist was going to press, and was expected to keep interest rates unchanged and to put off a decision on how to “taper” its bond purchases.Latest updates The Republican Party in California continues its long, slow slide Democracy in America 8 hours ago Why Stephen King’s novels still resonate Prospero 13 hours ago Are Americans sacrificing food and clothing to pay their taxes? Graphic detail 13 hours ago Retail sales, producer prices, wages and exchange rates 18 hours ago Foreign reserves 19 hours ago Why “affordable housing” in Africa is rarely affordable The Economist explains a day ago See all updates The flipside of euro strength is a weaker dollar. It surged in the weeks after the elections in November on a belief that big tax cuts were likely and that a fiscal stimulus of this kind would oblige the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more quickly than otherwise, pulling capital to America and lifting the dollar. Hopes of tax reform have been dashed. Indeed America’s economy has underperformed. The IMF, for instance, revised down its forecasts for GDP growth in July. A series of surprisingly weak inflation figures has made the Fed more cautious about raising interest rates.All this has hurt the dollar. Since the start of March it has fallen by 6.5% against a broad basket of currencies weighted by their importance to America’s trade. This is good news for the world economy. A weakening dollar has also given a recovery in emerging-market economies room to breathe. A weak dollar allows for cheaper borrowing in dollars in global markets. Central banks have been able to cut interest rates without worrying that this will weaken their own currencies and stoke inflation. The global appetite for risk-taking has also helped. When investors are cautious, they cling to “safe haven” currencies, such as the dollar, yen or Swiss franc. But when the volatility index (the Vix, or fear index) falls, the riskier (“risk-on”) emerging-market currencies tend to do well, according to Kevin Daly of Goldman Sachs, a bank (see chart).Can the euro’s winning streak against the dollar continue? Fundamentals, such as valuations and current-account balances (the euro-zone’s big surplus; America’s big deficit), suggest it should. But such factors are often a weak pull on currencies. Other influences will soon tug in the opposite direction, notes George Papamarkakis, of North Asset Management, a hedge fund. The ECB’s anxiety about euro strength is one. Another is the Fed’s plan to reverse its programme of quantitative easing, or QE, by letting its holdings of bonds tail off. Because one effect of QE was to weaken the dollar, its reversal ought logically to strengthen it. And the euro has already travelled quite far on improved sentiment. Last year it slid because of a fear of Ms Le Pen, says Mr Papamarkakis. “Now there is no fear of anything.” Finance and economics "Fear and favour"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728629-euros-strength-and-dollars-weakness-have-had-benign-effects-exchange-rate?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'e42a0d4e01f92eb68d3190ea02875e7106470632'|'The next oil major? Service firm Schlumberger''s big bet on production'|'Reuters TV United States September 8, 2017 / 5:12 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago The next oil major? Service firm Schlumberger''s big bet on production Liz Hampton 8   The exterior of a Schlumberger Corporation building is pictured in West Houston, Texas, U.S. on January 16, 2015. REUTERS/Richard Carson/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - The world’s largest oilfield services company, Schlumberger NV, is spending billions of dollars buying stakes in its customers’ oil and gas projects - investing in the same ventures it supplies with equipment and expertise. The new business model gives Schlumberger a say in drilling decisions, oilfield management and even on hiring other Schlumberger units for service contracts, the company has told investors. The expanded operational authority saves Schlumberger from bidding for each of the many jobs that typically require separate contracts on a large drilling project - effectively locking out the firm’s competitors. Schlumberger’s gamble could upend the service business model throughout the industry, as rivals including General Electric Co’s unit Baker Hughes say they are considering whether to adopt similar strategies. The model can supercharge profits on a given job but also ramps up risk, giving the firm more exposure to global oil price swings and potentially big losses if individual projects fail. The downsides have some analysts questioning whether the traditionally conservative firm is taking on too many speculative projects too quickly. Schlumberger already has taken hundreds of millions in write-downs or impairments on some of these joint ventures, according to its financial filings. Traditionally, oil producers manage the risk and make the financial and operational decisions on projects; they pay service providers a fee to carry out individual jobs. Firms such as Schlumberger typically supply a wide variety of services, such as well design, along with technology and staff to run rigs. Schlumberger declined to make executives available for interviews and did not respond to written questions about its production business. Despite early setbacks, Schlumberger has committed cash to growing the division, called Schlumberger Production Management, since its launch in 2011. Last year, it generated $1.4 billion in revenue. It had investment of $2.6 billion as of June 30, Schlumberger Executive Vice President Patrick Schorn told investors earlier this summer. The company’s investments have the firm co-managing about 230,000 barrels a day of oil and gas output at the end of 2016 - about as much as one of the largest U.S. independent producers, Pioneer Natural Resources. This year, the company stepped up the financing role, opening a standalone investment fund to provide financing for the ventures. The company has not disclosed the size of the fund. Such ventures require a breadth of skills and a tolerance for risk generally found at large integrated oil companies such as Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp. Two of Schlumberger’s newest partnerships - a deepwater liquefied natural gas project off the coast of Equatorial Guinea and an Argentina shale development with YPF SA - involve decision-making and operational authority similar to that typically held by multinational oil producers. In June, Schlumberger agreed to invest $700 million in an oil exploration project with Nigerian National Petroleum Corp and First Exploration & Production that would require global oil prices of between $50 to $60 a barrel to achieve a 20 percent profit, research house Bernstein estimated in a report published in July. Current prices are struggling to break out of the bottom of that range. COMPETING WITH CUSTOMERS As Schlumberger’s production business has grown, it has negotiated deals that include equity in oil and gas fields and as well as deals that give the firm payment based on oil and gas output, according to interviews with customers, partners, investors and former Schlumberger executives. Schlumberger this year agreed to contribute $390 million for a 49 percent stake in a venture with YPF in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale field, which has attracted international oil firms including Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell. Schlumberger Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard has downplayed the potential for its production business to compete with its own oil company customers. He described the enterprise as “a new avenue for project investments alongside our customers” in remarks to investors in April. Schorn also insisted this spring that the business is “not significantly changing the risk profile ... the biggest risk remains the cyclical nature” of the oil and gas industry. ‘CAPABILITY AND CASH’ Investors say Schlumberger, which held $6.22 billion in cash and short-term investments at June 30, is strong enough to handle any increased risks and the price volatility of its investments in long-term projects. As both project manager and service provider, Schlumberger also has an enviable level of control over operations, said Mike Breard of Dallas-based wealth management firm Hodges Capital, which invests in oilfield service companies. “I like the long-term aspect of it – the fact that they are telling frack crews where to work, and using their own equipment more efficiently than might be used by some other operator,” he said. British-based natural gas explorer Sound Energy PLC was happy to give Schlumberger full rights to the service contracts on drilling projects in Morocco in exchange for a Schlumberger investment amounting to 27 percent of total costs, said the chief of British-based natural gas explorer. Schlumberger will get 27.5 percent of revenue from the oil produced. “We’re smaller and entrepreneurial. Schlumberger has the technical capability and cash. That’s the nature of the partnership,” Sound CEO James Parsons said in an interview. The duo has completed three wells in Morocco and plans to drill three more by year end. “It’s a $50 [million] or $60 million bet for them so far,” Parsons said. Schlumberger’s appetite for these ventures is spurring rivals to consider similar financing and services deals. Baker Hughes recently agreed to provide about $10 million in financing to Twinza Oil’s first offshore gas field in Papua New Guinea, supplying the cash to prove the merits of the field. “It allows Twinza to have success in going out to raise financing,” Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said. Baker Hughes will not take a stake in the oilfield, unlike some of Schlumberger’s joint investments with producers. RISK AND LOSS In 2014 and 2015, Schlumberger took nearly $400 million in combined write-offs on oil production investments, including an Eagle Ford shale field in south Texas that struggled after oil prices crashed. It also is owed about $900 million by Ecuador. In July, the South American country said it had negotiated a payment plan that includes an expanded contract that has Schlumberger agreeing to invest another $1 billion in the venture. Schlumberger hasn’t commented on the South American nation’s disclosure. It previously acknowledged taking Ecuadorian bonds in lieu of cash for $150 million in bills. It also previously estimated its investment in the projects at up to $4.9 billion over 20 years. The write downs have stirred some on Wall Street to question whether Schlumberger should take more conservative path with its oil production partnerships. The firm’s production division “used to focus on production management of well understood low-risk oil fields,” said Colin Davies, a Bernstein oilfield services analyst. “Now it has expanded into frankly somewhat more speculative ventures.” Additional reporting by Caroline Stauffer in Argentina, Ron Bousso in London and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Gary McWilliams, Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-schlumberger-oil-production-insight/the-next-oil-major-service-firm-schlumbergers-big-bet-on-production-idUKKCN1BJ0EI'|'2017-09-08T08:05:00.000+03:00'
'8d2e66f5632723f2c8df9ce2bf0a073a5fd6dade'|'Hurricane Harvey has exposed the inadequacy of flood insurance'|'THOSE who live on America’s coasts know to prepare for wrathful hurricanes in late summer—nailing plywood to their windows as the storm approaches. America’s property insurers and reinsurers are ready, too, using sophisticated models to track storms and estimate potential losses. But wind is not the only danger from hurricanes. Ask Houstonians who saw their homes inundated by Hurricane Harvey’s 52 inches (132cm) of rain in the six days to August 30th. Or those in tthe path of Hurricane Irma, which, as The Economist went to press, was wreaking havoc across the Caribbean. But whereas wind damage is covered under most standard insurance policies in America, flood insurance is a government-run add-on that far from all homeowners buy. As a result, of over $30bn in property losses in Texas, only 40% may be insured.The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was set up in 1968, after a series of large losses led private insurers to pull back. Those living within a 100-year floodplain (ie, with a 1% annual chance of a flood occurring), as defined by the maps of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and holding a government-guaranteed mortgage, are obliged to purchase NFIP coverage. Others can buy it as an add-on, but few do. The programme covers only about 5m properties in all of America. In Houston much of the damage occurred outside the floodplain, so many properties may be completely uncovered, and left relying on ad hoc federal relief. For political reasons, NFIP charges low premiums, pricing out private insurers. But this also means its income does not cover all losses, and it is forced to borrow from American taxpayers. After Hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Sandy in 2012, the programme is $25bn in the red. Moreover, the rigid caps it puts on coverage ($250,000 per private house, $100,000 for its contents, $500,000 per business property, and $500,000 for its contents) do not suit all small businesses and homeowners. Large companies can and do buy private flood insurance (for which they pay a high price).Might a private-sector solution be more efficient? One difficulty is that flood risk is tricky to model, and so to insure. As Dan Dick of Aon Benfield, a reinsurance broker, points out, assessing a property’s flood risk requires detailed and very localised data on topography. Insurers have, until recently, simply not had access to the right data, or to models sophisticated enough to gauge flood risk properly. That has changed over the past decade as specialised modelling firms like RMS, famous for its hurricane modelling, and JBA have started to offer flood models; Aon also has its own models. Still, private flood insurance remains a tiny part of the market (though last year the NFIP did, for the first time, take out private reinsurance on some of its risks).Another obstacle is that flooding is very heavily concentrated and owners of high-risk properties are far more likely to seek insurance, making it difficult to spread risks. But other countries show how private insurance markets can play a bigger role. In Britain private insurers include flood coverage as part of standard policies, so risks are distributed across a wider pool of policyholders. But the government intervenes heavily in reinsurance through a body called Flood Re. This is meant to keep insurance affordable even for high-risk areas through mandatory cross-subsidies, financed by a levy on all insurers.Germany, for its part, has no direct state intervention at all in flood insurance. Its mapping system divides the country into four zones: areas of ten-, 100-, and 200-year floods, and all those beyond. It was developed by the insurance industry, not the government, and allows for more sophisticated risk assessment and pricing than does America’s mandated purchasing.Even so, no country has fully faced up to the thorny questions raised by flood insurance. Pooling flood risk means those in flood-prone areas pay little more than those in dry ones for insurance, which weakens the disincentive to build in such vulnerable areas. Exceptions, such as Flood Re’s exclusion of flood-prone houses built after 2009, or NFIP’s discounts for communities that take measures to reduce flood risk, are not enough to counter this effect. Meanwhile, losses from floods keep growing: so far, this has mostly been because of higher property values, says Michael Szoenyi of Zurich Insurance, but the trend will continue as climate change increases the incidence of floods.An alternative approach has been taken by the Netherlands, which, despite its vulnerable position at sea level, does not have generally available flood insurance. The country has focused instead on building robust flood-protection infrastructure. Recurrent floods require more than better insurance arrangements. Dams and dykes may matter more. Finance and economics "Under water"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728631-flood-risk-tricky-insure-and-state-intervention-hinders-much-it?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'200c65b17b0b8e93c69f4c9b5024943075d42e7c'|'A craft-beer boom with Chinese characteristics'|'EVIDENCE unearthed at Mijiaya in Shaanxi province proved that the Chinese have an ancient tradition of making beer. Brewers were operating 5,000 years ago, using grains such as millet and Job’s tears (a kind of pearl barley). This year a couple of small-scale brewers lovingly recreated that Neolithic ale. The cloudy, hop-free beverage would challenge even the bravest microbrew devotee. Ladislao Raphael of Moonzen Brewery in Hong Kong describes it as “sour and funky”.Yet Mr Raphael and his fellow craft-beer evangelists are winning converts. The Chinese market, which is the world’s largest, is dominated by mass-produced lager. But craft breweries are sprouting up around the country—by 2016 there were around 150, up threefold from 2015. Consumption of their brews has surged by two-thirds over the past five years, figures from GlobalData show, even as overall beer-swilling declines. This mirrors a global pattern: consumers often crave better beers as they get richer. Trend-setters in affluent coastal regions are drinking less but pricier beer. Many craft breweries are foreign-run, but plenty are Chinese-owned too. It was foreigners who initially provided most business for Great Leap Brewing, a stalwart of Beijing’s craft scene, which set up in 2010 in a traditional courtyard down a dusty hutong (alleyway). Now 75% of its customers are locals, says Carl Setzer, its American brewmaster. Panda Brew, founded in Beijing by Pan Dinghao in 2013 with basic home-brewing equipment, recently began exporting to Britain.Distinctive local tastes have become a feature of the market. Wheat beers are popular, perhaps because they go well with Chinese food and locals like to combine carousing with chewing. Domestic brewers must also make the most of readily available ingredients. Barley in China is mostly poor quality and importing it is costly. Some brewers use exotic items like Sichuan peppers and Oolong tea, which appeal to a sense of local identity.Doing business in China is rarely hassle-free. Small importers buy craft beer on the grey market and treat it badly, skimping on the cold storage needed to keep it fresh on long journeys to Chinese bars and supermarkets. This risks sullying craft beer’s reputation for quality. Another frowned-on practice is “contract brewing”. Small breweries are subject to rules that stop them selling beyond their premises, which they often circumvent by tapping into bigger brewers’ capacity. Beverages made this way do not always meet craft-beer standards, but are still sold as such.Yet as demand for craft beer in America softens from recent highs, China’s market still promises much. In March the biggest brewer of them all, Belgium’s AB InBev, bought a stake in a Shanghai brewery called Boxing Cat. Beyond megalopolises such as Shanghai, speciality beers are selling well, even though microbrews can cost ten times as much as locally brewed lager. In contrast to the sour-tasting brews of China’s distant past, craft beer’s future on the mainland looks likely to be sweet. Business "All the beer in China"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728675-consumers-are-increasingly-willing-pay-up-craft-beer-craft-beer-boom-chinese?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'297e3d4bfd374e70ec424e7b489d67ec181c001d'|'India market regulator proposes tighter ratings agency rules'|'MUMBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - India’s capital markets regulator proposed additional changes to credit ratings agencies on Friday, including a restriction on cross-holdings and spinning off non-ratings businesses.The move comes just months after the watchdog set tougher rules, including mandating ratings agencies to more closely monitor whether issuers are meeting their debt obligations and increasing disclosure requirements.The new proposals by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) include requiring a ratings agency to hive off any other business it does, apart from assigning ratings and economic or financial research, to a separate entity.SEBI also suggested that an appeal by a company against a rating assigned to it should be reviewed by a different panel than one which issued the rating.It also said that an agency could be allowed to withdraw ratings half way through the term of the financial instrument being rated or after it had rated the instrument continuously for five years, whichever was higher.SEBI said that a ratings organisation should have a minimum net capital of 500 million Indian rupees ($7.84 million) before it is accredited as a credit ratings agency. The current net capital requirement is 50 million rupees.SEBI also proposed that a ratings agency should not hold more than 10 percent shares or voting rights and representation on the board of a rival.It has invited public comments on the proposals by Sept. 29. ($1 = 63.7800 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-ratings-regulations/india-market-regulator-proposes-tighter-ratings-agency-rules-idINL4N1LP4C8'|'2017-09-08T12:37:00.000+03:00'
'4f51fc7bca5c4652f5fd501c982b9733a81c7818'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Sept 8'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Amazon.com Inc on Thursday launched an plan to establish a second corporate headquarters in North America, creating up to 50,000 high-paying jobs, many in software development and most of them new. on.wsj.com/2wNapaV- President Donald Trump signaled he was open to making more deals with Democrats in Congress despite anger from fellow Republicans over a bipartisan agreement that passed the Senate Thursday. on.wsj.com/2wMN355- Authorities on Thursday ordered more than 650,000 people to evacuate the Miami area as Hurricane Irma churned toward a possible collision with the mainland U.S. and after the Category 5 storm killed at least 11 people in the Caribbean. on.wsj.com/2wN0SAz- Guo Wengui, Chinese businessman who has alleged corruption among China''s political and corporate elites, said he is seeking asylum in the U.S., Beijing tries to discredit him and try him on criminal charges. on.wsj.com/2wNhKaq- President Donald Trump refused to rule out military action against North Korea on Thursday, but he stopped short of answering a reporter''s question as to whether he would tolerate a nuclearized North Korean state if the threat were contained. on.wsj.com/2wMKxf5- Equifax Inc said Thursday that hackers gained access to some of its systems, potentially compromising the personal information of roughly 143 million U.S. consumers. on.wsj.com/2wMWJN9- The Food and Drug Administration issued a scathing warning letter to a Pfizer Inc unit that manufactures the emergency auto-injector EpiPen, saying the company "failed to thoroughly investigate" product failures depsite patients'' deaths. on.wsj.com/2wMWWQ8- Eli Lilly Co announced plans on Thursday to cut roughly 8% of its global workforce, which includes 2,000 jobs in the U.S. on.wsj.com/2wMNIn5Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-8-idUSL4N1LP1XH'|'2017-09-08T06:58:00.000+03:00'
'0b63ebbf330995f15493358a4686cddae8ca2a97'|'Gymboree says court confirmed plan of reorganization'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - Children’s apparel retailer Gymboree Corp said on Thursday that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has confirmed its plan of reorganization.“Gymboree expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the month, after the conditions of the Plan are satisfied”, said the company in a statement.The retailer also said a comprehensive recapitalization will be completed that will eliminate more than $900 million of debt.Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as the company’s legal counsel, AlixPartners LLP is serving as its financial advisor, and Lazard is serving as its investment bank, according to the statement.Gymboree had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2017 with a plan to cut its debt by around $1 billion and close 375 stores. (Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bankruptcy-gymboree/gymboree-says-court-confirmed-plan-of-reorganization-idINL2N1LP027'|'2017-09-07T23:11:00.000+03:00'
'010ae866bfa65340563a9449611e559bb598e2ca'|'United Technologies merges with Rockwell Collins'|'WHEN passengers board an aircraft, only a few care whether it was built by Airbus or Boeing, two giants that make all the world’s big airliners. Fewer still would recognise the names of the thousands of suppliers that produce the 2m or so parts that go into a modern jet. Surprisingly little of the work is done by Boeing and Airbus. Boeing has outsourced 70% of the parts for its 787 aircraft. The job of assembling Airbus’s A380 superjumbo in its Toulouse factory accounts for only 4% of the work required to make it. The balance of power between aerospace firms and their suppliers is causing ructions.Near hostilities have broken out due to a run of big mergers among parts-makers. On September 4th, United Technologies (UTC), an American conglomerate that makes Pratt & Whitney engines and other aerospace parts, announced that it had agreed to buy Rockwell Collins, an avionics firm, for $30bn. Although it is one of the biggest-ever mergers in the aerospace business, the deal is just the latest in a series of supplier tie-ups this year. In April, Rockwell Collins itself bought B/E Aerospace, a cabin-interiors specialist, for $8.6bn. Two months later Safran, a French maker of engines and landing gear, agreed to buy Zodiac, a specialist in aircraft seats, for $7.7bn. As usual, the firms’ bosses pledge that synergies between the businesses will help fund the deals. UTC wants its merger with Rockwell to produce $500m in savings, according to its chief executive, Greg Hayes. But the imperative behind these supplier tie-ups lies elsewhere, in the oodles of profit they make from planemakers. In the past two years, suppliers made profit margins of between 14% and 17%, compared with 9% for planemakers. The main reason for the divergence is that the huge development costs associated with jetliner programmes are borne by planemakers, not their suppliers. And assembling parts is a relatively low value-added activity.Confronted with a shrinking number of new orders, as well as pressure from investors, both Airbus and Boeing are adopting a more aggressive stance towards the suppliers. This means trying to push them into offering much lower prices today, in return for future contracts. But that is not all. By outsourcing the most complex parts of their aircraft, Airbus and Boeing lost control of what turned out to be a highly lucrative market for servicing aircraft, with airlines as customers. Rolls-Royce, a British engine-maker, makes half its sales and all its profits from servicing engines. The pair want this market back if possible. They are trying to make more parts in-house. In July, Boeing set up an avionics subsidiary to make more of its electrical systems itself. Airbus is cutting back its list of suppliers and doing more of its own work.It is in response to this assault that the supply chain is consolidating, says Jim Harris of Bain & Company, a consultancy. Gaining scale gives suppliers clout with their customers and with their own supply chains. The merged UTC and Rockwell will have annual revenues of $62bn, not far off Airbus at $80bn and Boeing at $96bn.Unsurprisingly, Boeing has hit the roof about UTC’s acquisition of Rockwell, and has threatened to lobby regulators to stop the deal on competition grounds. Nor is Airbus happy, particularly as problems with Pratt & Whitney’s engines are holding up the delivery of dozens of its jets. It worries that a merger will distract UTC from resolving the problem. It is rare to see two firms that have long battled each other team up on the same side, but there is little doubt, according to an adviser to Boeing and Airbus, that they both “have the knives out for their suppliers”. "Dogfight in the skies"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728655-aerospace-suppliers-are-merging-fight-back-against-planemakers-united-technologies-merges?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'1a261a61c4669370234742306cacdb1065b12c44'|'HNA Group says sees no imminent changes to shareholding structure'|'September 8, 2017 / 4:10 AM / Updated 2 hours ago HNA Group says sees no imminent changes to shareholding structure Elzio Barreto , Julie Zhu 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - HNA Group Co, one of the most acquisitive Chinese buyers of overseas assets, expects no changes to its shareholding structure in the near future, the head of the conglomerate’s international unit said on Friday. HNA has been in the spotlight together with other Chinese conglomerates for the billions of dollars they have splashed on marquee real estate properties and global brands, as Beijing cracks downs on what it deems excessive deals. It has also faced questions over its shareholding structure and debt. “The reason why HNA group tries to be transparent is because we have nothing to hide. Transparency is the best policy,” Wang Shuang, the group’s chief investment officer and CEO of its international unit, told a conference in Hong Kong. The conglomerate issued an open letter in July to disclose its shareholding structure because it was getting a lot of questions from different people about its ownership, he added. Wang said the group has committed to such disclosures on a regular basis. Uncertainty over political and economic conditions has slowed the pace of outbound mergers and acquisitions from China, but HNA will continue to look for potential targets that could create value for the group, he added. Wang said HNA looks at many different companies before making an acquisition, with the success rate of deals at only 5 percent of what it examines. HNA Group is “in the best financial situation” today, he added. Additional reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hna-group-investment/hna-group-says-sees-no-imminent-changes-to-shareholding-structure-idUKKCN1BJ0CF'|'2017-09-08T07:09:00.000+03:00'
'5dcafba0ddfb73abe8386b6617887115673b8f76'|'Morning News Call - India, September 8'|'To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 8:30 am: Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete, Suzuki Motor Corp. President T. Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra MD Pawan Goenka at ACMA event in New Delhi. 9:30 am: Hindustan Aeronautics CEO Kaveru Renganathan, Saab India Technologies Marketing Director Sudhir Varma, TRIGO Managing Director Ajay Pande at energizing Indian aerospace industry event in New Delhi. 10:00 am: State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Chairperson M.S. Sahoo at India SME Manufacturing Summit in Mumbai. 10:30 am: Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar at 51st International Literacy Day program in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Chairperson Chanda Kochhar and Chief Executive Bharav Dasgupta at IPO presser in Mumbai. 3:30 pm: Mahindra & Mahindra President of Automotive Sector Rajan Wadhera at e-rickshaw launch in New Delhi. 4:30 pm: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Ganpathi Raju, Minsiter of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, Science & Technology Minister Y.S. Chowdhary at Silver Jubilee of GMR Varalaskhmi Foundation in New Delhi. 5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. 6:00 pm: Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan at a book launch function in Mumbai. 6:30 pm: Standard Chartered Chief - Investment Strategy, Steve Brice, to share H2 market outlook in Mumbai. LIVECHAT - QUIZ EAST The first of our Friday quizzes focuses on Asia and the week''s top news. Tests your wits and googling speed at 1100 am IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS • INTERVIEW-RBI''s ex-head pitches for state asset sales to bail out banks India could sell stakes in state-owned companies to fund a bank recapitalisation and revive growth without straying from the path of fiscal consolidation, a former head of the Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday. • Eicher ready to bid up to $2 billion for Ducati - paper Eicher Motors is set to offer $1.8 billion-$2 billion for Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Thursday, although German owner Volkswagen has put the sale process on hold, sources have said. • Hotel aggregator Oyo raises $250 million from SoftBank fund, others Hotel aggregator Oyo said on Thursday it has raised $250 million from new and existing investors in a fresh round of funding led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank''s Vision Fund. • ICICI Lombard seeks to raise up to $891 million in IPO ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. set a price range of 651 rupees to 661 rupees a share for its initial public offering, which will run Sept. 15-19, according to a stock exchange filing on Thursday. • Indian government urged to inject more funds into lenders Deputy central bank governor Viral Acharya called on the government to inject "substantial additional capital" into state-owned lenders, saying the country had to urgently address the weak balance sheets in its banking sector. • India needs to find allies to tap cheap funds for clean coal - trade body India needs to partner with other countries to tap cheaper funds for cleaner coal technologies as the South Asian nation is expected to use the fuel to produce over half of its power in the next two decades, the World Coal Association chief said on Thursday. • India, China regulators ask Potash to sell stake for merger with Agrium Fertilizer companies Agrium Inc and Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc said on Thursday they were told by regulators in India and China that they need to divest Potash''s offshore interests for their merger to be approved. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Monstrous Hurricane Irma kills 14 in Caribbean, heads for Florida The eye of Hurricane Irma grazed the Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday shaking buildings after it smashed a string of Caribbean islands as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, killing 14 people on its way to Florida. • Euro strength worries ECB as Oct stimulus decision looms The euro''s strength is already weighing on inflation and will be a key factor for the European Central Bank next month when it decides how to proceed with its massive stimulus programme in 2018, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday. • Japan''s Q2 economic growth revised down from stellar first reading Japan''s economic growth in the second quarter was much slower than seen in a stellar preliminary reading, government data showed, confounding hopes for a long awaited pick-up in domestic demand. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • The SGX Nifty Futures were at 9,977.50, trading up 0.2 percent from its previous close • Indian government bonds are likely to trade steady ahead of a fresh supply of notes through a weekly auction today. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.50 percent-6.54 percent band. • The Indian rupee will likely edge higher against the dollar, in line with most other Asian currencies, tracking gains in the euro after the European Central Bank hinted at winding down its stimulus from October. GLOBAL MARKETS • Wall Street ended little changed on Thursday after a moderate late-day rally as media stocks, which slumped on negative business updates from Walt Disney and Comcast, were offset by gains in healthcare shares. • Asian shares edged up as investors kept a wary eye on another U.S. storm, while the dollar skidded after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi suggested the bank may begin tapering its massive stimulus programme this autumn. • The euro hovered below a 2-1/2-year high versus the dollar, as a policy meeting by the European Central Bank did little to support the beleaguered U.S. currency. • U.S. long-dated Treasury yields fell to 10-month lows on Thursday as U.S. jobless claims data and worries about the impact of hurricanes Irma and Harvey on the world''s largest economy stoked safe-haven demand for government debt. • Oil prices were little changed as the international petroleum industry remains in the grip of Caribbean hurricanes which have pummelled the region for the last two weeks. • Gold prices hit a fresh one-year high early as the dollar sagged on the back of weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data and the euro firmed. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.00/64.03 September 7 -$88.11 mln $126.62 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.8 pct Month-to-date -$484.61 mln $314.10 mln Year-to-date $6.52 bln $23.46 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.0100 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Erum Khaled in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall/morning-news-call-india-september-8-idINL4N1LP1I7'|'2017-09-08T01:19:00.000+03:00'
'96b37886d0890bdcaeb4918f1c3b2cac6427db48'|'Will Saudi Aramco deliver world record profit for next year''s IPO?'|'A view shows Saudi Aramco''s Manifa oilfield, Saudi Arabia, June 14, 2015. Saudi Aramco/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) - When oil giant Saudi Aramco discloses its financials for the first time next year, it must either surprise investors with world record profits or reduce its aspirations for a $2 trillion valuation in its initial public offering (IPO). [IPO-ARMO.SE]Investors have long debated whether Aramco could be valued anywhere close to $2 trillion, the figure suggested by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wants to raise cash through the IPO to finance investments aimed at helping wean the world’s biggest oil exporting nation off dependency on crude.Based on Aramco’s oil reserves of 261 billion barrels and a valuation of $7 to $8 per barrel in line with recent industry acquisitions - such as Total’s ( TOTF.PA ) purchase of Maersk’s oil assets - Aramco warrants close to the $2 trillion valuation.But that is not the only metric for an energy firm’s worth. By other measures, Aramco’s target valuation may be challenging.Most other metrics for the world’s largest oil producing company are simply not known and will not be disclosed until Aramco publishes financial results before the planned IPO in 2018.Yet a simple calculation using globally accepted ratios for Aramco’s peers - enterprise value versus core earnings (EV/EBITDA) - shows the Saudi firm has to report EBITDA in the region of $130 billion to achieve a $2 trillion valuation.Such an EBITDA figure would be a global first. No firm in any industry has reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) above $100 billion.By comparison, Apple ( AAPL.O ), the technology giant and the world’s most valuable listed firm that is worth more than $830 billion, reported EBITDA of $82 billion in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.AWAITING BOOK-BUILDING Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ), the world’s largest listed energy firm with a market capitalization of $365 billion in 2016, reported EBITDA of $23 billion last year, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. In 2012, it reported EBITDA of $65 billion - but that was when oil traded well above $100 a barrel. Benchmark Brent crude is now around $54 LCOc1.Last year, Exxon traded at EV/EBITDA of more than 15 times, which is high by energy industry standards. If Aramco matched that same high ratio, its core earnings would need to be around $130 billion to achieve its target valuation.Aramco would not be drawn when asked to comment on how it would achieve the $2 trillion figure.“This is highly speculative. We do not comment on speculation or rumor,” the company told Reuters in a statement.A Saudi Arabia-based industry source said Aramco’s value could not be calculated until the completion of book-building to assess investor appetite.FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo The source said it was misleading to compare Aramco with Exxon, which has less than half the Saudi firm’s oil output and not even a 10th of its reserves. EBITDA should not be the only measure, the source added.(GRAPHIC: Aramco''s possible valuations and metrics - tmsnrt.rs/2fH0rkr )Nevertheless, Aramco would do well to secure Exxon’s high ratios. Investors tend to like Exxon more than other oil firms, handing it ratios that are sometimes more generous than popular technology firms such as Google ( GOOGL.O ) and Apple.For example, Exxon’s rivals Shell ( RDSa.L ), BP ( BP.L ) and Total ( TOTF.PA ) trade at EV/EBITDA of around six times. If Aramco was assessed at that level, it would need to show core earnings at an astonishing $330 billion a year to achieve a valuation of $2 trillion.“One thing you never do ahead of an IPO is to tell the market how much the company will be worth as you immediately become hostage to a number or a timetable,” said a Western investment banker, who was involved in listing another state energy firm.Slideshow (4 Images) DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Yet Aramco could prove hugely profitable, given its oil output of about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) and some of the world’s cheapest crude recovery rates, alongside its global refinery network that adds further value.Exxon by comparison has less than half Aramco’s output - with oil-equivalent production of 4 million bpd in 2016, while the U.S. firm’s reserves are a fraction of Aramco’s - with proved oil-equivalent reserves of about 20 billion barrels.Aramco has never published results, but conclusions about its earnings can be drawn from Saudi Arabia’s accounts, given oil constitutes the lion’s share of the nation’s revenues, said Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist at U.S.-based Rapidan Group.“Based on the Saudi current-account balance, Aramco had revenues of $160 billion last year from just oil and refined products exports when the average price of oil was $43 a barrel,” Mohamedi said.“So if the price of oil goes to $70 per barrel, it is not impossible for Aramco to make a top line of $250 billion a year. Given that operational costs of Aramco are one of the lowest in the world, it is not impossible to see them reporting the bottom line or earnings on a huge scale – of $100 billion a year and above,” he said.Financials aside, investors will also assess country risk when working out Aramco’s valuation.Exxon benefits from having its headquarters in the United States, even if some of its operations and production are in politically unstable nations.Aramco’s head office is in Saudi Arabia, a nation in a volatile region with a war in Yemen on its doorstep.“Aramco is definitely a fantastic, modern and high-quality company,” said the Western banker. “But unfortunately, no one can say that Saudi Arabia is a fantastic country from the geopolitical prospect.”Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-ipo/will-saudi-aramco-deliver-world-record-profit-for-next-years-ipo-idUSKCN1BJ0JF'|'2017-09-08T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'c424ffd9948e086e9dc21103aa6f799731c48040'|'LVMH-backed PE fund buys a piece of South Korean style'|'SEOUL (Reuters) - A private equity firm backed by French luxury goods giant LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) has invested in South Korean startup sunglass maker Gentle Monster, banking on the Korean pop culture boom to fuel sales of the country’s luxury brands.Ravi Thakran, chairman and managing partner of L Catterton Asia, said the company had become the second-biggest shareholder of IICOMBINED, the owner and operator of Gentle Monster, after its two founders.He did not disclose the value of the transaction. Media have reported the deal would be worth about 60 billion won ($53.17 million).It is the firm’s third investment in South Korea after it bought minority stakes in Clio Cosmetics ( 237880.KQ ) and YG Entertainment ( 122870.KQ ).L Catterton pursued the deal in the face of political tensions between South Korea and China that have dented sales of South Korean products like cosmetics and forced South Korean singers to cancel performances in China, hitting the profits of Clio and YG Entertainment.The row had affected only low- and mid-end products and had not impacted Gentle Monster, Thakran said.Founded in 2011, Gentle Monster surged in popularity in South Korea and China - traditionally dominated by Western luxury brands - after South Korea actress Jeon Ji-hyun wore its sunglasses in the popular drama “My Love from the Star”.Shareholders would discuss a stock market listing although they were “not in a hurry” as the priority was to manage the firm’s growth, Thakran said.He said South Korea also offered attractive investment prospects in areas such as ginseng, travel retail, fashion, music, entertainment and technology.($1=1,128.4200 won)This story is refiled to add missing word in paragraph 5.Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-gentlemonster-lvmh/lvmh-backed-pe-fund-buys-a-piece-of-south-korean-style-idINKCN1BJ009'|'2017-09-07T22:03:00.000+03:00'
'f359d037abeb376fe8b8d9ab4476cf5e5da9885c'|'Jamie Dimon leaves Wall Street perch to have a say in Washington'|'Irma menaces Bahamas and Cuba, heads for Florida Irma menaces Bahamas and Cuba, heads for Florida Irma menaces Bahamas and Cuba, heads for Florida Reuters TV United States September 8, 2017 / 4:34 PM / Updated 34 minutes ago Jamie Dimon leaves Wall Street perch to have a say in Washington Pete Schroeder , David Henry 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is starting to look like Corporate America’s shadow president. The 61-year-old banker has made more than a dozen trips to Washington so far this year to press a broad agenda with a range of influential policymakers, people who attended the meetings or are familiar with his schedule said. Dimon has already visited the nation’s capital four times as much as he does in a typical year. His ramped-up presence comes after taking the helm of the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents CEOs of large U.S. companies, in December. “We couldn’t ask for a more engaged or more effective Business Roundtable chair,” said Joshua Bolten, former chief of staff for President George W. Bush, whom Dimon installed as the organization’s president and CEO. The frequency of his trips, and the wide range of policies he has been discussing, have started chatter among power brokers in Washington and on Wall Street about how much energy Dimon is devoting to issues beyond JPMorgan. At times, they said, Dimon carries himself more like someone running the country than someone running a bank. “If you’re Jamie Dimon, you’ve always had access,” said Tim Pawlenty, CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, a Wall Street trade group. “The difference is, now he wants it. He wants to play a role in policy more broadly than just representing his company.” Dimon has said in the past that the only big job he would want would be U.S. president, but also said running for office would be impractical. Associates told Reuters he has abandoned the idea entirely, and only became more active in Washington because he was worried about his bank, the economy and the future of the country. A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment or make Dimon available for an interview. Reuters spoke to over a dozen people who have interacted with Dimon in Washington or were briefed on his meetings. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss his activities. Those who have met Dimon recently include Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown and Mark Warner, Rep. Patrick McHenry, who is a member of House Republican leadership, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. FAMILIAR SIGHT He was around so much during the summer that Washington regulars said it was no longer surprising to see Dimon pop out of the Capitol Hill subway system or leave a lawmaker’s office. He has joked with staff about getting a condominium in Washington because of how often he travels there, one person said. Although Dimon’s meetings typically center on topics like tax reform or financial rules, he is not shy about weighing in on issues ranging from immigration to education and criminal justice reform, those familiar with the discussions said. FILE PHOTO: Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake In meetings, he has been using an app he asked Business Roundtable staff to build. It allows member CEOs to show how many voters in a district work for their companies, and how many facilities the companies have there, to persuade lawmakers that their priorities are aligned. During his interactions with lawmakers, Dimon can be brash and expresses annoyance with Congress’s inability to advance legislation, people who attended the meetings said. Sometimes he would show his lighter side. One day in July, Dimon spotted his Democratic Senator Richard Durbin, an old foe who championed a rule that slashed debit card fees and which Dimon has called “downright idiotic.” Durbin was withdrawing money from a non-Chase ATM when Dimon approached from behind and quipped: “We welcome competition.” A Durbin representative confirmed the interaction, first described by a Politico reporter in a tweet, took place but declined to elaborate. Those who have followed Dimon through his career are not surprised that the straight-talking New York banker has become even more outspoken during Donald Trump’s presidency. Associates say he has been shocked by some of Trump’s actions, such as abandoning the Paris climate accord, threats to tear up free trade deals, a call for a ban transgender people from the military and ending a program that protects people who were brought into the United States illegally as children from deportation. Dimon is not the only corporate boss venturing outside his usual terrain. Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) CEO Lloyd Blankfein has criticized Trump in tweets, while others including Apple Inc CEO ( AAPL.O ) Tim Cook and Merck & Co ( MRK.N ) CEO Ken Frazier have condemned the president’s actions in public statements. But Dimon, who often refers to himself as a “patriot,” differs in tone and demeanor, sources said. The table of contents for his April letter to shareholders includes categories such as “The United States of America is truly an exceptional country,” and devoted more space to public policy prescriptions than in prior years. After Trump said “both sides” were to blame for the violence between white supremacists and left-wing protesters in Virginia, Dimon offered unsolicited advice on how a president should carry himself. “It is a leader’s role, in business or government, to bring people together, not tear them apart,” he wrote in an employee memo. Reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington and David Henry in New York; Additional reporting by Patrick Rucker in Washington and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tomasz Janowski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-dimon-washingtondc/jamie-dimon-leaves-wall-street-perch-to-have-a-say-in-washington-idUKKCN1BJ23Z'|'2017-09-08T19:35:00.000+03:00'
'f46ca4387a725f86b3b361cdacc0414795fbd246'|'Genstar Capital to buy proxy advisory firm ISS for $720 million'|'(Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Genstar Capital said on Thursday it would buy shareholder advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS) from Vestar Capital Partners for $720 million.ISS will continue to operate independently after the deal closes in the fourth quarter, Genstar said in a statement.Bought by private equity firm Vestar Capital in 2014, ISS has 900 employees covering 40,000 shareholder meetings of publicly traded companies every year, offering recommendations on everything from votes on executive pay to a company’s bylaws.ISS’s special situations research team headed by Cristiano Guerra, which also provides recommendations on mergers and acquisitions, wields significant influence over the outcome of proxy fights and contested transactions.Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was legal adviser to ISS and Vestar Capital Partners while Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP provided legal counsel to Genstar Capital.Reporting by Nikhil Subba and Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-institutional-shareholder-services-m/genstar-capital-to-buy-proxy-advisory-firm-iss-for-720-million-idINKCN1BI20C'|'2017-09-07T12:51:00.000+03:00'
'1366ee1abc65c969126da4dcd2b0dd68406889d4'|'CORRECTED-SAFT ON WEALTH-Saving hurts, and so do the errors of self-invested plans: James Saft'|'(Corrects academic affiliations of authors of research in paragraph 8)By James SaftSept 6 (Reuters) - A little thought experiment for retirement savers:Pretend we are at the race track and I pick your pocket, take a 10-dollar bill, replace the wallet surreptitiously and then ‘give’ you the money with instructions to put the funds on a horse. Now pretend that I also instruct you to take another 10 dollars of your own money and make a second bet.I’ll bet, with my own money, that you pick a riskier horse with longer odds for the ‘gift’ tenner than the one you actually had to fish out of your wallet. After all, if you are playing with house money, why not shoot for the stars, right?That, in essence, is the situation many defined contribution (DC) retirement savers face and taking fewer risks with ‘their’ money is how they respond, according to a new study.The results don’t just confirm some truism of behavioral economics but perhaps point to important conclusions about the pitfalls of our system of self-directed retirement savings.The study looked at how employees allocate defined benefit plan (DB) investments in plans which are entirely funded by their employer as compared to how they invest money in ones funded by forgone take-home pay, in this instance 403b plans for employees at a state university. ( here )The upshot is that savers take fewer risks and have lower allocations to theoretically higher-return assets in retirement plans in which they’ve chosen to enjoy less take-home pay as a funding source as against ‘automatic’ plans in which the entire amount is contributed by the employer.“These findings are consistent with the notion of a house money effect, with the employer contribution as the house money. Employees appear be more willing to take risk with the employer money, or ‘free money,’ than their own salary reduction contribution to the 403(b) account,” Andrea Anthony of Golden Gate University and Kristine Beck and Inga Chira of California State University- Northridge wrote in the study.The study used data from Oregon State University employees, meaning that the typical participant was both better educated and better off than an average retirement saver.Remember, all funds put into retirement savings are earnings, not gifts; they are the result of market forces and negotiation rather than largesse by employers. The salient difference between the two main types of plans studied is that the 403b ones were elective and funded by a sacrifice of take-home pay today for retirement money in the future.NOT OUR OWN BEST FRIENDS The study isn’t useful just because it demonstrates that we become more risk-averse if we feel it is ‘our’ money at stake, but also that it points out some fundamental flaws in the system in the U.S., which is dominated by self-directed retirement savings accounts in which the beneficiary makes the decision about how to invest.That move, from DB plans to DC ones, shifted risk to individual employees from companies and other employees. It also meant that most retirement savers must now rely on an amateur - themselves - who is prone to many self-destructive behavioral biases.Retirement savers should be investing in equities and other high-risk, high-reward assets if they meet their own risk profile well, not avoiding them because it would be painful to lose what feels like your own hard-earned money.A 2015 study from Boston College showed that defined benefit plans, which are managed by professionals, had a weighted average return of 7.9 percent annually between 1990 and 2012, compared to 7 percent for defined contribution plans. While that underperformance was in part driven by paying higher fees, it excludes the impact of Individual Retirement Accounts, which are also self-managed, and which own about half as many more assets as DC accounts. ( here )Geometric rates of return for DB plans were 4.7 percent from 2000-2012, compared to 3.1 percent for DC plans and just 2.2 percent for IRAs.The typical IRA is not only charged higher fees than DB ones but holds a whopping 11 percent of assets in low-yielding money market accounts.Individuals are just not very good at this game, and it will be individuals who suffer due to low returns compounded over decades.In moving to individually managed retirement savings we’ve democratized investing, but it is very much like the H.L. Mencken quip: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” (Editing by James Dalgleish) ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/markets-saft/saft-on-wealth-saving-hurts-and-so-do-the-errors-of-self-invested-plans-james-saft-idINL2N1LN219'|'2017-09-06T17:41:00.000+03:00'
'95f9fb63e21bce734341fe889b5e5e739a431b6c'|'A year on, Wells Fargo cannot shake off its mis-selling scandal'|'ON SEPTEMBER 8th 2016, Wells Fargo’s reputation plummeted abruptly from that of America’s finest bank to that of yet another dodgy company. It was revealed to have opened an enormous number of potentially unauthorised retail deposit, current (checking) and credit-card accounts. A year on, two questions have yet to be put to rest. How much harm did Wells do to its customers? And how much did the scandal hurt the bank itself?Wells has not been passive in its response. It has produced report after report on its misdeeds and submitted to investigations by two federal regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It has purged its chief executive and the head of its retail bank, clawed back executive bonuses, transformed its board and simplified its formerly decentralised structure. It has created a comprehensive process for restitution and settled a class-action suit. Yet it cannot put the scandal behind it. In July it was reported that up to 570,000 car-loan customers may have been forced to buy unneeded insurance. On August 31st a new report on the initial scandal increased the number of potentially unauthorised accounts from 2.1m to 3.5m (excluding the years from 2002 to 2009, which could not be examined because of changes to the bank’s systems). In the latest investigation, an entirely new concern emerged: another 528,000 potentially unauthorised accounts for online-bill payment.That is unlikely to be the end of it. The full report was not made public, adding to concerns that other embarrassing problems have been found. The Department of Justice has launched an investigation; New York’s attorney-general has requested details about the forced car insurance. Criminal charges are not inconceivable. Nor are fines of almost any magnitude; since the financial crisis America’s regulators have proved adept at extracting large payments from financial institutions. Private suits are also on the cards. A husband and wife who were fired have filed suit, alleging they were punished for whistle-blowing. Others among the 5,300 sacked over the account-creation scandal may take action, too, claiming they were merely executing orders. And of course customers could also go to court. California’s government, for one, may be on the verge of making it easier for them to do so.Yet the scandal has done remarkably little damage to Wells’s franchise. Over the past year, Apple and JPMorgan Chase are the only American firms to have made more money. Wells’s return on equity is not particularly high, but that is true for banks in general. Compared with its peers in the industry, it has had good results. Customers have not been fleeing. Deposits have risen and Wells has the leading market share in some businesses that require institutional trust, such as processing automated clearing-house (ACH) payments, which underpin credit-card, payroll and all manner of other transactions.The scandal forced Wells to dump the strategy seen as the secret of its success—to see a branch as a shop and a financial product as a type of retail good. It now says shareholder returns are only the last of six “core values”, after innovation, community service and others. But it still monitors the profitability of client relationships. Despite the distractions of the past year, it has improved the technology in its branches, with cardless ATM withdrawals and automated warnings if accounts fall below a customer-selected level. These are hardly radical innovations but are new to American finance, and they matter to customers.The direct costs of its troubles have been relatively trivial (though its legal bill may not seem so to lawyers). It is in the process of paying $11m for refunds and compensation tied to the account openings, $80m for the unwanted car insurance, $185m for fines and $142m to settle a class-action suit. A bit more than 40% that has already been clawed back from various executives. The biggest cost to Wells has probably been paid by its share price. If it traded at an earnings multiple closer to that of JPMorgan Chase it would be worth tens of billions of dollars more. That is the price not so much of shame, as of uncertainty. Finance and economics "Stick in the mud"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728636-though-its-impact-bank-has-been-less-profound-feared-year-wells?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'845aed87944a6ab9d37f93db471072dbc708cde4'|'Air Berlin may drop more long-haul routes next week - sources'|'FRANKFURT/BERLIN, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin may drop more long-haul routes next week, earlier than planned, to cut costs as it races to find investors before it runs out of cash, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.“The next step will be that further long-haul planes from Duesseldorf will be grounded,” one of the sources, who is familiar with the industry, told Reuters.Air Berlin said talk of cancelling more routes was “speculation”.The government pledged a 150 million euro ($180.7 million) loan to keep its planes flying for up to three months while its assets are carved up, most likely among several buyers.Air Berlin said late in August it was bringing forward by a month to Oct. 1 the cancellation of its services from Berlin to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and from Duesseldorf to Boston.It said this week it was dropping flights from Berlin to New York and Miami and from Duesseldorf to Orlando as of Sept. 25.Bidders have until Sept. 15 to submit binding offers for Air Berlin’s assets, with a decision possible as early as Sept. 21.German flagship carrier Lufthansa has government backing to take over large parts of the airline.A source has told Reuters the German flagship carrier could acquire as many as 90 of its planes, including 38 aircraft it was already leasing from the airline and its leisure unit Niki.Britain’s EasyJet and Thomas Cook’s Condor could split the rest of the fleet between them, media reports have said, with easyJet interested in up to 40 planes and Condor considering a double-digit figure.An industry source said Condor was also interested in Niki as well as further aircraft including crew, and would submit a binding offer next week.$1 = 0.8303 euros Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Klaus Lauer; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-longhaul/air-berlin-may-drop-more-long-haul-routes-next-week-sources-idINL8N1LP3HV'|'2017-09-08T11:24:00.000+03:00'
'ed3061160c58598e4f2d2945bb2d30bd0d4563b5'|'United Technology merges with Rockwell Collins'|'WHEN passengers board an aircraft, only a few care whether it was built by Airbus or Boeing, two giants that make all the world’s big airliners. Fewer still would recognise the names of the thousands of suppliers that produce the 2m or so parts that go into a modern jet. Surprisingly little of the work is done by Boeing and Airbus. Boeing has outsourced 70% of the parts for its 787 aircraft. The job of assembling Airbus’s A380 superjumbo in its Toulouse factory accounts for only 4% of the work required to make it. The balance of power between aerospace firms and their suppliers is causing ructions.Near hostilities have broken out due to a run of big mergers among parts-makers. On September 4th, United Technologies (UTC), an American conglomerate that makes Pratt & Whitney engines and other aerospace parts, announced that it had agreed to buy Rockwell Collins, an avionics firm, for $30bn. Although it is one of the biggest-ever mergers in the aerospace business, the deal is just the latest in a series of supplier tie-ups this year. In April, Rockwell Collins itself bought B/E Aerospace, a cabin-interiors specialist, for $8.6bn. Two months later Safran, a French maker of engines and landing gear, agreed to buy Zodiac, a specialist in aircraft seats, for $7.7bn. As usual, the firms’ bosses pledge that synergies between the businesses will help fund the deals. UTC wants its merger with Rockwell to produce $500m in savings, according to its chief executive, Greg Hayes. But the imperative behind these supplier tie-ups lies elsewhere, in the oodles of profit they make from planemakers. In the past two years, suppliers made profit margins of between 14% and 17%, compared with 9% for planemakers. The main reason for the divergence is that the huge development costs associated with jetliner programmes are borne by planemakers, not their suppliers. And assembling parts is a relatively low value-added activity.Confronted with a shrinking number of new orders, as well as pressure from investors, both Airbus and Boeing are adopting a more aggressive stance towards the suppliers. This means trying to push them into offering much lower prices today, in return for future contracts. But that is not all. By outsourcing the most complex parts of their aircraft, Airbus and Boeing lost control of what turned out to be a highly lucrative market for servicing aircraft, with airlines as customers. Rolls-Royce, a British engine-maker, makes half its sales and all its profits from servicing engines. The pair want this market back if possible. They are trying to make more parts in-house. In July, Boeing set up an avionics subsidiary to make more of its electrical systems itself. Airbus is cutting back its list of suppliers and doing more of its own work.It is in response to this assault that the supply chain is consolidating, says Jim Harris of Bain & Company, a consultancy. Gaining scale gives suppliers clout with their customers and with their own supply chains. The merged UTC and Rockwell will have annual revenues of $62bn, not far off Airbus at $80bn and Boeing at $96bn.Unsurprisingly, Boeing has hit the roof about UTC’s acquisition of Rockwell, and has threatened to lobby regulators to stop the deal on competition grounds. Nor is Airbus happy, particularly as problems with Pratt & Whitney’s engines are holding up the delivery of dozens of its jets. It worries that a merger will distract UTC from resolving the problem. It is rare to see two firms that have long battled each other team up on the same side, but there is little doubt, according to an adviser to Boeing and Airbus, that they both “have the knives out for their suppliers”. Business "Dogfight in the skies"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728655-aerospace-suppliers-are-merging-fight-back-against-planemakers-united-technology-merges?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'2c7927e5abfca83889ac114054b0a064e7b6ea54'|'UPDATE 1-Canadian province of Quebec considers issuance of ultra-long bonds'|'(Adds details on ultra-long bonds, Quebec budget)By Fergal SmithTORONTO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Quebec is considering issuance of ultra-long bonds after the federal government’s recent issue of these bonds met with strong investor demand, Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao said on Friday.“Given the good reception in the financial markets in general for longer dated products, we will consider that,” Leitao said. “We will pick our spot ... but certainly ultra-longs are part of the mix.”Ultra-long bonds, which help lock in financing over extended periods of time and enable governments to refinance less often, have a term to maturity of 40 years or more. They are not as common as 30-year issues.The federal government in August sold C$750 million of its ultra-long bond, which matures in 2064. It was the first reopening of that bond since November 2014. On Tuesday, Hydro-Quebec sold C$500 mln of its 2055 bond.Issuance of these bonds comes as interest rate increases by the Bank of Canada drive up borrowing costs for shorter-dated issues.Quebec has already borrowed enough to satisfy its requirements for this fiscal year but could pre-fund for the next fiscal year.In a financial report, the province showed a budget surplus of C$98 million for the three months ending June 30, 2017 after the deposit of C$506 million in the Generations Fund, a fund dedicated to reducing the province’s debt. In March, it projected a balanced budget for 2017-2018. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Matt Scuffham and David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-bonds-quebec/update-1-canadian-province-of-quebec-considers-issuance-of-ultra-long-bonds-idINL2N1LP1VX'|'2017-09-08T19:13:00.000+03:00'
'5aef94d03f2aef1fd9fb540b1f2d3733099986ce'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-Will Saudi Aramco deliver world record profit for next year''s IPO?'|'September 10, 2017 / 6:00 AM / Updated 8 hours ago RPT-UPDATE 1-Will Saudi Aramco deliver world record profit for next year''s IPO? Reuters Staff (Repeats with no changes to text) * Saudi Aramco is world’s biggest oil producing company * IPO aims to raise cash for kingdom’s investment plans * Saudi crown prince suggests company worth $2 trillion * Valuation demands annual earnings around $130 billion By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron Bousso LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - When oil giant Saudi Aramco discloses its financials for the first time next year, it must either surprise investors with world record profits or reduce its aspirations for a $2 trillion valuation in its initial public offering (IPO). Investors have long debated whether Aramco could be valued anywhere close to $2 trillion, the figure suggested by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wants to raise cash through the IPO to finance investments aimed at helping wean the world’s biggest oil exporting nation off dependency on crude. Based on Aramco’s oil reserves of 261 billion barrels and a valuation of $7 to $8 per barrel in line with recent industry acquisitions - such as Total’s purchase of Maersk’s oil assets - Aramco warrants close to the $2 trillion valuation. But that is not the only metric for an energy firm’s worth. By other measures, Aramco’s target valuation may be challenging. Most other metrics for the world’s largest oil producing company are simply not known and will not be disclosed until Aramco publishes financial results before the planned IPO in 2018. Yet a simple calculation using globally accepted ratios for Aramco’s peers - enterprise value versus core earnings (EV/EBITDA) - shows the Saudi firm has to report EBITDA in the region of $130 billion to achieve a $2 trillion valuation. Such an EBITDA figure would be a global first. No firm in any industry has reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) above $100 billion. By comparison, Apple, the technology giant and the world’s most valuable listed firm that is worth more than $830 billion, reported EBITDA of $82 billion in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. AWAITING BOOK-BUILDING Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest listed energy firm with a market capitalisation of $365 billion in 2016, reported EBITDA of $23 billion last year, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. In 2012, it reported EBITDA of $65 billion - but that was when oil traded well above $100 a barrel. Benchmark Brent crude is now around $54. Last year, Exxon traded at EV/EBITDA of more than 15 times, which is high by energy industry standards. If Aramco matched that same high ratio, its core earnings would need to be around $130 billion to achieve its target valuation. Aramco would not be drawn when asked to comment on how it would achieve the $2 trillion figure. “This is highly speculative. We do not comment on speculation or rumour,” the company told Reuters in a statement. A Saudi Arabia-based industry source said Aramco’s value could not be calculated until the completion of book-building to assess investor appetite. The source said it was misleading to compare Aramco with Exxon, which has less than half the Saudi firm’s oil output and not even a 10th of its reserves. EBITDA should not be the only measure, the source added. (For a GRAPHIC see: tmsnrt.rs/2fH0rkr ) Nevertheless, Aramco would do well to secure Exxon’s high ratios. Investors tend to like Exxon more than other oil firms, handing it ratios that are sometimes more generous than popular technology firms such as Google and Apple. For example, Exxon’s rivals Shell, BP and Total trade at EV/EBITDA of around six times. If Aramco was assessed at that level, it would need to show core earnings at an astonishing $330 billion a year to achieve a valuation of $2 trillion. “One thing you never do ahead of an IPO is to tell the market how much the company will be worth as you immediately become hostage to a number or a timetable,” said a Western investment banker, who was involved in listing another state energy firm. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Yet Aramco could prove hugely profitable, given its oil output of about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) and some of the world’s cheapest crude recovery rates, alongside its global refinery network that adds further value. Exxon by comparison has less than half Aramco’s output - with oil-equivalent production of 4 million bpd in 2016, while the U.S. firm’s reserves are a fraction of Aramco’s - with proved oil-equivalent reserves of about 20 billion barrels. Aramco has never published results, but conclusions about its earnings can be drawn from Saudi Arabia’s accounts, given oil constitutes the lion’s share of the nation’s revenues, said Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist at U.S.-based Rapidan Group. “Based on the Saudi current-account balance, Aramco had revenues of $160 billion last year from just oil and refined products exports when the average price of oil was $43 a barrel,” Mohamedi said. “So if the price of oil goes to $70 per barrel, it is not impossible for Aramco to make a top line of $250 billion a year. Given that operational costs of Aramco are one of the lowest in the world, it is not impossible to see them reporting the bottom line or earnings on a huge scale – of $100 billion a year and above,” he said. Financials aside, investors will also assess country risk when working out Aramco’s valuation. Exxon benefits from having its headquarters in the United States, even if some of its operations and production are in politically unstable nations. Aramco’s head office is in Saudi Arabia, a nation in a volatile region with a war in Yemen on its doorstep. “Aramco is definitely a fantastic, modern and high-quality company,” said the Western banker. “But unfortunately, no one can say that Saudi Arabia is a fantastic country from the geopolitical prospect.” Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/aramco-ipo/rpt-update-1-will-saudi-aramco-deliver-world-record-profit-for-next-years-ipo-idUSL8N1LP2B8'|'2017-09-10T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'17cd8d3549335c967dc47886c4a6db3f65dc285a'|'World Bank executive says won''t persist with capital increase deadline'|'September 7, 2017 / 7:31 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago World Bank executive says won''t persist with capital increase deadline Leika Kihara , Takashi Umekawa 3 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - The World Bank should not be “bogged down” on a specific date for member countries to boost its capital, a senior executive of the multilateral lender said, suggesting a deal won’t be struck before the initial deadline of end-2017. Axel van Trotsenburg, the World Bank’s vice president of development finance, said the priority should be to ensure all member countries are comfortable with the deal. “It is always a challenge when you have 190 countries around the table. Everyone has an opinion and everyone has a priority,” he said, adding it was inappropriate to set a timeframe like “one week or one month.” “We like to find consensual solutions, where ultimately everybody is satisfied with the compromise that has been worked out,” he told Reuters on Thursday. The World Bank has been pushing over the past few years for a general capital increase for its affiliate lender, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). It set a goal of agreeing on the capital boost in 2017 at an annual meeting in Lima in 2015, and hoped to push through a deal at its upcoming annual meeting in Washington in October. But an agreement will likely be delayed until the subsequent meeting in April next year as the United States, the biggest shareholder of the World Bank, has refused to shoulder the fiscal burden, three Japanese government sources told Reuters. The U.S. disapproval may force the World Bank to scrap the capital increase plan altogether, the sources said on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media. When asked about the chance of no agreement in October, Trotsenburg said he would not call it a postponement as there will be “continued work” for a deal. “If you do it ambitiously fast but you don’t do it right, you don’t have a good result,” he said. “You need to be focused on good results and don’t get bogged down on one date.” The United States holds a 17.25 percent share in IBRD. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has signaled reluctance toward cooperating with multilateral institutions, fuelling concerns about protectionism around the world. Trotsenburg, however, downplayed those worries. “You need to deal very carefully with taxpayers’ money and you need to be highly accountable,” he said, adding it was wrong to conclude Washington was not committed to development aid just because it asks tough questions. Trotsenburg also said the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank arm that offers aid to the world’s poorest countries, plans to issue the first batch of bonds to fund its spending during the first half of next year. That will be part of a broader plan by IDA to diversify its resources beyond contributions from donor countries. IDA seeks to raise funds in the capital market through issuance of bonds during a three-year period until June 2020, and has secured triple-A credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P. Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-worldbank-capital/world-bank-executive-says-wont-persist-with-capital-increase-deadline-idUKKCN1BI0UT'|'2017-09-07T10:23:00.000+03:00'
'03592a41803174d1282db9a8f8a543df2a823916'|'PSA CEO says switch to electric cars must be profitable - paper'|'  10:22 AM / an hour ago PSA CEO says switch to electric cars must be profitable - paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of French carmaker PSA Group addresses the media during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) will support newly acquired Opel introducing electric cars but the switch must be profitable for it to be successful, PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares told German paper Bild am Sonntag. Politicians and regulators across the globe are promoting electric cars after Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) diesel cheating scandal exposed higher-than-expected pollution levels among all car brands. “If it works and companies can be profitable that’s good. But if it does not gain acceptance in the market, then everybody: industry, employees, and politicians have a big problem,” Tavares told the paper. PSA Group took control of Opel and Vauxhall on August 1 this year, completing a 2.2 billion euro takeover. “We as PSA will make the technology available to Opel to pursue further electrification. If Opel wants to become a fully electric brand some day, we’re ok with that, providing it is profitable,” Tavares said in a joint interview with new Opel Chief Executive Michael Lohscheller. Electric cars need to be accepted in the market without any subsidies, Tavares said. Asked whether Opel will be profitable in three years time, new Chief Executive Michael Lohscheller said, “Opel must be and will be profitable.” Opel’s losses widened in the second quarter to around $250 million, auto trade weekly Automobilwoche reported earlier this month. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opel-peugeot-electrification/psa-ceo-says-switch-to-electric-cars-must-be-profitable-paper-idUKKCN1BL0GN'|'2017-09-10T13:20:00.000+03:00'
'9c6a57fe2addaf92461f08f5e48a223eae020524'|'Secure smartphone app could replace fraud-prone paper passports - Money'|'Secure smartphone app could replace fraud-prone paper passports Britain ‘falling behind’ as other countries embrace digital ID documents View more sharing options Michael Savage Policy editor Sunday 10 September 2017 00.01 BST Paper passports and driving licences should be torn up and replaced by a digital document that can be stored on a smartphone, a thinktank has said. Handing people a more secure, digital proof of identity would reduce online crime and save money, according to the Social Market Foundation . It points out that other countries have already developed secure ID technology and Britain has “not fully kept up with technological and social change”. It warns that the continued reliance on paper documents and the lack of secure online ID has contributed to a boom in identity fraud, which increased by 68% between 2010 and 2016. If current trends continue, there will have been 1.5 million fraud cases in the UK between 2010 and 2020. The thinktank suggests that a government programme called Verify , which has created a secure online identity check, should be built upon to eventually allow people to dispense with paper passports and driving licences altogether. “Around the world, forward-looking countries are embracing the opportunities offered by digital identity authentication and verification,” the report said. “ Estonia’s e-ID enables digital signatures, internet voting and public service access, and the UAE now has a smartphone passport app. “We envision a future in which individuals could choose to no longer hold a passport, driving licence and birth certificate as individual verifiers. Instead, they could opt for all these forms of documentation to sit under one register of entitlement. This could bring about significant cost savings for government, not least from reduced postage and printing costs associated with different types of physical identification.” It said that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency spent about £40m on printing and postage in 2016-17 – close to 17% of total operating costs. The design for the new UK passport is also out for tender as part of a £490m government contract. The thinktank also suggests that not having some form of paper ID has become an indicator of financial and social exclusion. “Those in relatively deprived areas are much less likely to have access to a passport or driving licence,” it said. “Physical documentation will probably be required for some time, given varying degrees of digital uptake across the globe, though the long-term picture undoubtedly looks paperless.” Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/09/secure-smartphone-app-replace-fraud-prone-paper-passports'|'2017-09-10T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'be59953ee411ed8da8d2060966d6d4cd419ddb1c'|'Indian insurer ICICI Lombard seeks to raise $892 million in IPO sale'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:30 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago Indian insurer ICICI Lombard seeks to raise $892 million in IPO sale Devidutta Tripathy 2 Min Read MUMBAI (Reuters) - ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd’s initial public offering of shares opening next week aims to raise up to 57 billion rupees ($892 million), the latest listing in what is expected to be a record-setting year for India. India has already seen $3.2 billion in IPOs this year, according to Thomson Reuters data, and looks set to easily surpass the $4 billion raised in 2016, the best year in six, led by a spate of upcoming listings from insurers. Ajay Saraf, executive director at Mumbai investment bank ICICI Securities said he expected this year could even surpass the record $8.5 billion seen in 2010, as strong retail investment flows have sparked a 21.4 percent gain in the main NSE index .NSEI so far this year. ICICI Lombard looks set to be the next big IPO, after it late on Thursday set a price range of 651 rupees to 661 rupees a share for its IPO. The insurer will take orders on Sept. 15-19. The company’s two main shareholders - ICICI Bank Ltd ICBK.NS and Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd FFH.TO - are selling a combined 86.2 million shares, or a 19 percent stake, in what is the first Indian IPO by a non-life insurer. Insurers are expected to be one of the main drivers of IPOs this year as two of the country’s biggest life insurers - SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd - are set to raise a total of about $2.5 billion in the coming weeks, according to banker estimates. Relatively lower insurance penetration and rising income levels helping people buy more insurance products in Asia’s third-largest economy, raising the outlook for the sector. State-run reinsurer General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) and non-life insurer New India Assurance Co Ltd have also filed for IPOs that bankers estimate could raise a total of more than $3 billion. ($1 = 63.9050 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-icicilombard-ipo/indian-insurer-icici-lombard-seeks-to-raise-892-million-in-ipo-sale-idUSKCN1BJ1H8'|'2017-09-08T20:30:00.000+03:00'
'cd10acfd359e91b9594c3f38eb964964c9f790ac'|'Ever better and cheaper, face-recognition technology is spreading'|'TOURING the headquarters of Megvii in Beijing is like visiting Big Brother’s engine room. A video camera in the firm’s lobby recognises visitors in the blink of an eye. Other such devices are deployed around the office. Some of the images they capture are shown on a wall of video called “Skynet”, after the artificial-intelligence (AI) system in the “Terminator” films. One feed shows a group of employees waiting in front of an elevator with a white frame around every face and the name of each person next to it. Quizzed on the Orwellian overtones of the set-up, Yin Qi, the startup’s chief executive, simply remarks that “this helps catch bad guys.”Even if Mr Yin wanted to ponder the implications of the technology, he would not have the time. Megvii is busy building what he describes as a “brain” for visual computing. The firm has come a long way since its founding in 2011 (its name stands for “mega vision”). More than 300,000 companies and individuals around the world use its face-recognition technology, which is called Face++, making it one of the biggest such services. In December Megvii raised $100m, giving it a valuation of nearly $2bn and turning it into the world’s first billion-dollar startup from might be called the “facial-industrial complex”. Providers in this field sell hardware and software tools to recognise faces and then connect those faces to other useful data. Although the market is fairly small—the most optimistic estimates put it at a few billion dollars—the technology has started to permeate the wider business landscape. The main reason is that the accuracy of facial recognition is rapidly improving, putting it on the same trajectory as speech recognition, which really took off when accuracy improved by a final few percentage points, to almost 100%. “Most people underestimate the difference between 95% and 99% accuracy—99% is a game-changer,” Andrew Ng, a noted AI researcher, has said about speech recognition.What’s more, the smartphone will do for face recognition what smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo, have done for speech recognition: make it acceptable to consumers. Millions of Chinese already “swipe” their faces on smartphones to authorise payments. On September 12th Apple is expected to unveil a new version of its iPhone, with technology that can reliably identify the owner’s face and then unlock the device, even in the dark. That will come only a few weeks after Samsung presented a new Galaxy Note with a similar but less sophisticated feature.It makes sense to separate facial-recognition technology into two categories: the underlying capability and the applications that make use of it. Megvii’s Face++ belongs in the first category, as do similar offerings from SenseTime, another Chinese startup, NTechLab, a Russian firm, as well as Amazon, IBM and Microsoft. All provide face recognition as a cloud-computing service. Megvii’s customers can upload a batch of photos and names, and use them to train algorithms, which then can recognise those particular people. Firms can also integrate the recognition service into their own offerings, for instance to control access to online accounts.Megvii’s and SenseTime’s services are largely founded on good data. They have access to the Chinese government’s image database of 700m citizens, who are each given a photo ID by the age of 16. Chinese government agencies are also valuable customers—more and more of the country’s hundreds of millions of surveillance cameras will soon recognise faces. In Shenzhen facial recognition is used to identify jaywalkers; names and pictures go up on a screen. In Beijing the municipality has started using the technology to catch thieves of toilet paper in public restrooms (its system also prevents people from taking more than 60 centimetres of paper within a nine-minute period).Commercial applications, often powered by one of the cloud-computing services, are spreading even faster. On September 1st Ant Financial, a subsidiary of Alibaba, deployed its “Smile to Pay” system for the first time in a physical store: customers at a healthier version of a KFC restaurant, called KPRO, in Hangzhou, can settle their bill by looking at a screen (see picture). Xiaomai, a chain of convenience stores, has said it will use facial scans when people enter its stores in order to study their behaviour. Several Chinese banks now let users identify themselves at ATMs with their faces.The West is further behind. Some industries have long used a basic kind of face recognition, including casinos wishing to turn away notorious gamblers. But it is mainly big online companies that make (cautious) use of the technology. Facebook has gone furthest by having its members tag friends on photos so the firm’s algorithms can recognise them on other pictures. Google employs the technology in order to group pictures that users have uploaded to its photo service. Amazon’s new home speaker, Echo Look, also has a camera, which could presumably be made to recognise faces.Other firms are testing the waters. JetBlue and other American airlines have taken initial steps to match passengers’ faces to passport photos, aiming to eliminate boarding passes. Lloyds Bank is not the only Western bank planning to copy Chinese ones and allow customers to use their faces to log into accounts. Uber, a ride-hailing firm, has a system requiring drivers in India to take a selfie before starting a shift. This should cut down on unregistered drivers impersonating registered ones. Nvidia, a chipmaker, has plans for facial recognition in its new Californian headquarters.There is potential for products that lift sales, too. Video cameras could, for instance, recognise loyal customers and VIPs who deserve special treatment. They could detect dissatisfaction on shoppers’ faces and dispatch staff to intervene. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is said to be working on a facial-recognition system to improve customer service.Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the spread of these services has already prompted efforts to thwart them. An Israeli startup, D-ID, which stands for “de-identification”, has developed software that slightly alters photos so that algorithms cannot recognise them. This allows people to share pictures of their faces without having to worry that they will be used to identify them. Others have suggest low-tech defences against sophisticated surveillance systems, such as glasses with hallucinogenic patterns on the frame of the specs, or simply wearing masks or make-up.Yet it is unlikely that such “adversarial attacks”, in the lingo, will keep face recognition from being widely used. Mr Yin of Megvii expects the technology to become a commodity. This is why he has already set his sights higher. He is directing the firm’s computer-vision brain towards even more complex tasks, such as interpreting human behaviour and recognising objects.In the long run Mr Yin wants his firm to develop into an “algorithm factory” that offers all sorts of building blocks for computer-vision services, which other firms will be able to combine and recombine in order to come up with ever more sophisticated offerings. Whether Megvii lives up to this ambition or not, the technologies it peddles will only spread.Dig deeper Leader: What machines can tell from your face Science and technology (1): Advances in AI are used to spot signs of sexuality Science and technology (2): Researchers produce images of people’s faces from their genomes Business "The facial-industrial complex"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728654-chinas-megvii-has-used-government-collected-data-lead-sector-ever-better-and-cheaper?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'ea32b7a0a2720bc89f91478b2cddd5ba71c12001'|'Invest in Greece, you won''t regret it - Greek PM'|'September 8, 2017 / 8:22 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Invest in Greece, you won''t regret it - Greek PM Michel Rose , Angeliki Koutantou 4 Min Read Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech atop the Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged French businesses on Friday to invest in Greece, as it emerges from its debt crisis, and assured them that they would not regret it. Tsipras said attracting investment was a priority for his leftist-led government, which aims to reduce the jobless rate, the euro zone’s highest, and make Greece financially independent in 2018, when the country’s third international bailout expires. “Greece is an opportunity... a real opportunity,” Tsipras told French business leaders accompanying French President Emmanual Macron on a two-day trip to Athens. “You won’t regret your choice,” he said. After seven years of crisis and painful reforms, Greece’s economy could grow by more than 2 percent this year, he added. But Greece still ranks very low in terms of direct investment. The 43-year old leader was catapulted to power in 2015 on pledges to tear up the country’s bailouts, end austerity and freeze privatisations, scaring away investors. After tense talks, he signed up to a new bailout, Greece’s third since 2010. On Friday, Tsipras promised to reduce red tape, a common hurdle for investors in the country, and cut the corporate tax rate by 3 percentage points to 26 percent in 2020, if Greece outperforms on its bailout-prescribed fiscal targets. He said he would personally lead a task-force that would oversee projects and consult with investors. “We are ready to proceed with reforms,” he said. “We are ready to discuss them with you. We want to hear your concerns,” he said after greeting the French executives one by one. “WE ARE HERE” French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are seen before delivering their speeches atop the Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aris Messinis/Pool Macron echoed the call, urging Europeans to invest in Greece, returning to his theme from Thursday that Europe needs to protect its strategic investments to protect itself. Greece has boosted investment ties with China in recent years after China’s COSCO Shipping ( 600428.SS ) bought a controlling stake in Piraeus Port ( OLPr.AT ), Greece’s biggest, for 280.5 million euros (£257.25 million). China’s State Grid, the world’s biggest utility, acquired a minority stake in Greece’s power grid operator ADMIE in June. “Greece was sometimes forced to choose non-European investments because European investors weren’t there any more. I’m not happy with this situation,” Macron said during his visit with about 40 French executives including from blue-chips Total ( TOTF.PA ) and Vinci. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hugds French President Emmanuel Macron after delivering a speech atop the Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis “I want Europeans, as much as the whole world, to come and invest in Greece,” he said. “We were here, we are here, we will be here.” Total’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne backed Macron’s call to be more vigilant about state-backed Chinese firms taking control of strategic sectors within the region. Total is interested in investing in renewable energy in Greece and in oil drilling off its waters, he said. But he added that European investors were often more reluctant, leaving room for Chinese firms to step in. “Investing in Greece is not as simple as that. Labour costs are a bit higher than in eastern Europe, and it’s less connected to the German market, large European markets,” he said. “The Chinese have done it in Africa, they are doing it in the Mediterranean, taking advantage of this weakness.” France has a strong investment presence in Greece. It supported Athens in 2015 during its talks with European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders that almost forced the country out of the euro zone. The two countries agreed to boost cooperation in tourism, infrastructure, new technologies and defence, Tsipras said. Greece’s power distribution operator HEDNO, a unit of the its electricity utility Public Power Corp. ( DEHr.AT ), and France’s power distributor Enedis agreed to team up in smart power meters that Greece needs to curb rampant power theft. Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-france-tsipras/invest-in-greece-you-wont-regret-it-greek-pm-tells-french-businesses-idUKKCN1BJ0V3'|'2017-09-08T16:14:00.000+03:00'
'687c01e0ce404e6f04090faca061dc54d58ab4f4'|'Big bank trade sours as rate hikes stall, but some still believe'|'September 8, 2017 / 3:25 PM / Updated an hour ago Big bank trade sours as rate hikes stall, but some still believe Julien Ponthus 7 Min Read The famous skyline with its banking district is pictured in Frankfurt early evening April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - Buying European bank shares -- one of the biggest stock market plays of the year -- has turned sour as interest rate “normalisation” in the United States and Europe is deferred yet again, but dogged advocates of the sector are not selling yet. Investors rushed into the shares of European banks early this year, lured by cheap valuations, receding political risks and the prospect of steadily rising interest rates as the global economy improved. The banks were seen as one of the best ways to bet on the quickening pace of economic growth in Europe. Eight months on, however, the European banking index .SX7P is lagging the broader market. Stubbornly low inflation in the developed world means expectations that interest rates would rise in Europe and the United States have been put on hold. The prospect of interest rates rising back to normal from their near decade of historic lows should bring bigger revenues and profits to banks. But now that no longer seems likely to take place as soon as investors once thought. For asset managers, who are loaded up on banking shares, this underperformance comes at a problematic time as the year draws to a close and annual returns will be key in drawing client money in 2018. At Thursday’s close, the European banking index .SX7P had failed to deliver better returns than the STOXX 600 , gaining a meagre 3.2 percent on the year, half a percentage point less than the wider pan-European index. It is doubly frustrating for those who bet on banks, since a number of their assumptions about the economic improvement in Europe have largely been proven right. After nearly a decade of crises including the bursting of the U.S. sub-prime bubble and Europe’s sovereign debt woes, restructuring and massive increases in regulatory capital ratios, banks were finally seen on track to deliver steady profit growth. “The consensus was right about the fundamentals, they are coming through very clearly, you have great dividend yields, great valuation,” said Scott Meech, a managing director at UBP. "What is holding them back is the interest rate environment", the asset manager said, as most European banks abandoned much of their gains from the first half of the year as prospects for interest rate increases fell sharply. The impact of European Central Bank policy on the sector was clear on Thursday when President Mario Draghi acknowledged that the strengthening euro weighed on inflation prospects, suggesting a normalisation of monetary policy could wait a bit. While the ECB is mulling when and how fast it winds down a massive bond-buying programme, central bank sources make it clear it will not raise interest rates until the so-called tapering is completed first. While European shares got a boost from the central bank’s commitment to keep its stimulus package going in the short term, the banking sector took a hit of 0.8 percent. It’s not just the ECB: the slide in U.S. government yield curves to their lowest in years further underlines the difficulty for banks trying to generate growth in net interest margins. Growing uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s ability to push a pro-growth agenda through Congress has made some analysts doubt the Fed will raise rates for a third time this year. Policy doves on the Fed’s policymaking committee have taken the upper hand and doubt the wisdom of further rate hikes this year without getting inflation back to target. The most senior hawk on the council, Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, said this week he was stepping down next month. There is growing uncertainty about who might replace Chair Janet Yellen when her term ends early next year. Carmignac, which manages $61 billion in assets, takes the view that the global economy will also not keep up its current pace. “This supports gradually reducing our exposure to the most cyclical equity sectors such as banks, which we did by selling our Japanese financial positions and taking significant profits on our European bank positions”, said Jean Médecin, a member of the investment committee of the French asset manager. “SOONER OR LATER THE ECB WILL ACT” A number of analysts and investors are nevertheless holding on to their bullish stance on banks. “It can be disappointing for those who made that bet (on banks) at the beginning of the year,” said Farhad Moshiri, a banking analyst at Alpha Value, who said he and a majority of his peers stood by their positive view of the sector. Rates will eventually go up, and with them, banks’ profits, some investors say. “You can’t have a bund at 0.35 percent and growth at 2 percent in the euro zone; sooner or later the ECB will act,” said Laurent Gaetani, who heads the asset management arm of private bank Degroof Petercam. Gaetani said current prices are an entry point to sell German rates and buy European banking stocks. The prospects of growing dividends is also keeping some investors loyal to their business case for European banks. While the banks have scrambled to shore up their capital ratios during the last 10 years, they now are in a position to distribute much more of their profits, argued Jerome Legras from Axiom AI. Goldman Sachs also sees opportunities in capital returns in the banking sector even if no rate hikes occur before 2019. "We favour banks with upside even assuming no rate hikes", it said on Thursday in a research note, adding that banks such as BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) or KBC ( KBC.BR ) offered the prospects of high dividends, while Unicredit, for instance, had an appealing restructuring story to offer. Reporting by Julien Ponthus; editing by Peter Graff'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-markets-banks-analysis/big-bank-trade-sours-as-rate-hikes-stall-but-some-still-believe-idUKKCN1BJ1YV'|'2017-09-08T18:40:00.000+03:00'
'ca5dbd5089863bfc52d8e1bfb64752cbcae8215b'|'Mobile technology is revamping loyalty schemes'|'THOSE of a cynical bent might think Tom Stuker a glutton for punishment. Over the years, Mr Stuker has flown more than 18m miles (29m kilometres) on United Airlines, a carrier not always renowned for treating its passengers tenderly. Mr Stuker may possess the world’s most impressive frequent-flyer account. Over the past half-decade he has averaged over 1m miles a year with United.Mr Stuker is extreme in his devotion. But engendering customer loyalty is something that nearly all firms strive for. Most fail. The average American household belongs to 28 loyalty schemes. The country is home to 3.8bn scheme memberships in total, according to Colloquy, a research firm, up from 2.6bn in 2012. More than half of these accounts go unused. Frequent-flyer programmes, introduced in the 1970s, were the first examples of modern loyalty schemes. They proved to be a clever bit of marketing. Flyers value plane seats highly, so a free one feels like a substantial reward. But airlines can give away unsold berths at little incremental cost, because the jet would fly whether they are filled or not. Air miles are also sold to third parties, such as credit-card firms, which then use them to reward their own customers. For airlines, profit margins on frequent-flyer programmes can be 30-40%, says Pranay Jhunjhunwala of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a consultancy, compared with 10% on flights in general.Schemes like these are an example of “earn and burn” rewards, in which customers are rewarded for their purchases at a flat rate, whether a free flight for every 20,000 miles flown or a complimentary mochaccino for every nine swigged. According to Capgemini, another consultancy, nearly all firms with a loyalty scheme use this model.Because they are so easy to implement, they are often used defensively. Many firms start a programme only because their competitors have one, says Steve Grout of Collinson Group, a loyalty consultancy. But they are so common that they end up generating little fidelity. Often “the market returns to stasis,” argued Lena-Marie Rehnen of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in a paper published in 2016. Some 77% of earn-and-burn schemes fail in one way or another within the first two years, according to Capgemini.The best programmes, in contrast, get highly personal. Customers of Starbucks, for example, are encouraged to pay for their daily dose of caffeine using a smartphone app, which they pre-load with cash. (An estimated $1.2bn is deposited in Starbucks’s loyalty account.) This allows the firm to harvest reams of data on its patrons, including what they drink, at which stores and at what time of day—perhaps even whether it is sunny or raining when they choose a particular beverage. This information is then used to target members of the scheme with individual offers.If that sounds a touch intrusive, Starbucks’s customers do not seem to mind. In its latest results in July, the firm boasted 13.3m active members. Over a third of its sales in America come through its reward programme. Customers tend to be happier handing over personal information when they get personalised offers in return, says Javier Anta, another BCG consultant. Some 97% of purchases at Kroger, an American grocery firm, are reported to be made by loyalty-card holders, who receive individual offers based on their shopping habits. Such data can be among the most valuable things a firm owns. When Caesars Entertainment, a casino group, went bankrupt in 2015, auditors valued its loyalty database at $1bn, more even than its property on the Las Vegas strip.If data are the grist for the loyalty mill, then you might assume that the online giants would be running the best schemes. Yet this is not necessarily the case. Take Amazon. “Their philosophy is not good,” says one loyalty consultant (who asked not to be identified). “The amount they spend on promotions is insane.” Rather than offering across-the-board discounts, he says, Amazon would be much better served by designing and targeting customised promotions for particular shoppers as part of a loyalty scheme.As Starbucks has shown, many advances in the loyalty industry are driven by mobile technology. For a start, it allows firms to use location information to send well-targeted, real-time offers. And storing scores of cards in an e-wallet, rather than having to wedge them into a purse, encourages shoppers to use them. A quarter of people who abandoned schemes did so because they did not offer a smartphone app, according to Colloquy. Smartphones are also increasing the number of ways in which customers can garner rewards. Some restaurants, for example, offer points for those posting photos of their meals on Instagram, or for “checking in” on Facebook. The only limit, it seems, will be customers’ desire to protect privacy.Airlines, for their part, have been slow to keep up. Still, they have the odd card up their sleeves. In 2011, after Mr Stuker passed the 10m-mile mark, United Airlines named one of its jumbo jets after him. Even Starbucks would struggle to match that level of personalisation. Business "Forsake all others"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728679-if-you-want-loyalty-get-big-data-mobile-technology-revamping-loyalty-schemes?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'bc59597a6a26aa8ef796f3a6287d914ba92342cf'|'CEE MARKETS-Romanian stocks fall after proposal for pension reform'|'* Romania may make pension funds optional from 2018 * Romanian stocks fall, underperforming region * Currency markets calm, getting no clues from ECB * Bonds firm as ECB keeps asset-buying programme By Sandor Peto and Luiza Ilie BUDAPEST, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Stocks fell in Bucharest on Friday, underperforming Central European shares, after the Romanian government said it may make a mandatory pension scheme optional starting next year. Making them optional would probably reduce investments by the funds, whose assets totalled 36.06 billion lei ($9.46 billion) at the end of June. Bucharest''s main equities index fell 2.5 percent by 1019 GMT. Shares of investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, fell 2.3 percent after it said on Thursday that it might sell its 20 percent stake in hydro-power company Hidroelectrica . The Bucharest exchange has risen 10 percent since the end of 2016, underperforming Warsaw and Budapest this year, partly due to worry about the future of the pension system. The leu ignored the possible pension reform and traded little changed at l4.6 to the euro - like most Central European currencies, around its typical level of recent weeks. The forint was trading around 306 to the euro, the Czech crown at 26.1 and the zloty at 4.25. Bonds gained after the European Central Bank gave no sign it was ready to wind down asset-buying programme. Polish and Hungarian government debt extended the week''s gains, and thee yield on Hungarian 10-year bonds dropped 6 basis points to 2.86 percent. "We are firming ... The Fed will be unwilling to do anything because due to the storms there, and the ECB due to the euro''s strength," one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1119 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.097 26.158 +0.23 3.49% 0 0 % Hungary 306.30 305.42 -0.29% 0.82% forint 00 00 Polish zloty 4.2510 4.2503 -0.02% 3.60% Romanian leu 4.5990 4.5990 +0.00 -1.39% % Croatian 7.4300 7.4325 +0.03 1.68% kuna % Serbian 119.50 119.55 +0.04 3.22% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1020.3 1019.1 +0.11 +10.7 2 5 % 1% Budapest 37608. 37783. -0.46% +17.5 98 51 2% Warsaw 2487.2 2491.7 -0.18% +27.6 4 9 9% Bucharest 7781.4 7978.6 -2.47% +9.83 9 2 % Ljubljana 811.35 813.87 -0.31% +13.0 7% Zagreb 1882.7 1883.6 -0.05% -5.62% 1 7 Belgrade 727.50 729.28 -0.24% +1.41 % Sofia 701.72 705.87 -0.59% +19.6 6% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0 0.022 +075b +1bps ps 5-year -0.045 0 +032b -2bps ps 10-year 0.924 0.027 +060b +0bps ps Poland 2-year 1.662 -0.02 +241b -4bps ps 5-year 2.508 0.016 +288b -1bps ps 10-year 3.144 -0.005 +282b -3bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.7 0.8 0.89 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.155 0.165 0.2 0.15 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.755 1.79 1.802 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-romanian-stocks-fall-after-proposal-for-pension-reform-idINL8N1LP1YC'|'2017-09-08T08:14:00.000+03:00'
'534419595a9183b49fcfa358a8337d3e8fd47e86'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures down; jobs report, Hurricane Irma in focus'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on Friday ahead of jobs data and as investors remained cautious over Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms in a century that drove towards Florida.September futures on the S&P TSX index were down 0.11 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET.Employment data for August and capacity utilization data for Q2 are due at 08:30 a.m. ET.Canada’s main stock index fell on Thursday, pressured by a retreat in energy and financial stocks as investors tracked Hurricane Irma and falling global bond yields.Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were down 0.36 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.31 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were down 0.26 percent.(Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here )TOP STORIES Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay signalled it had no intention of selling German department store chain Kaufhof, after people familiar with the matter said Austrian real estate company Signa Holding was considering a bid.TransCanada Corp seeks to suspend the application for its Energy East pipeline for 30 days and may abandon the project, the company said on Thursday, weeks after Canada’s National Energy Board announced a tougher review process.ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Dollarama Inc: Desjardins raises target price to C$154 from C$134Hudson’s Bay Co: RBC raises price target to C$10 from C$9COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ETGold futures: $1354.3; +0.68 percentUS crude: $48.93; -0.33 percentBrent crude: $54.7; +0.39 percentLME 3-month copper: $6797; -1.47 percentU.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON FRIDAY 1000 Wholesale inventory, revised mm for July: Prior 0.4 pct1000 Wholesale sales mm for July: Expected 0.4 pct; Prior 0.7 pct1500 Consumer credit for July: Expected 15.10 bln; Prior 12.40 blnFOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market reportCanadian dollar and bonds reportReuters global stocks poll for CanadaCanadian markets directory ($1 = C$1.21) (Reporting by Pathikrit Bandyopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-futures-down-jobs-report-hurricane-irma-in-focus-idINL4N1LP3NN'|'2017-09-08T09:45:00.000+03:00'
'41f1b48247cd8eb60587123c8305ac5171be40e5'|'Central Bank says Ireland should plan for possible overheating'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:12 PM / Updated 29 minutes ago Central Bank says Ireland should plan for possible overheating Padraic Halpin 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A painted euro sign is seen on a wall in Dublin city centre October 22, 2014. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish Central Bank Governor Philip Lane on Friday urged the government to plan for the possible overheating of the economy by considering future tax increases, putting some surplus revenues aside and paying down more debt. Ireland’s economy has grown faster than any other in the European Union for the last three years and is showing few signs of slowing down, prompting policymakers to warn that it could overheat in the coming years if falling unemployment leads to excessive price and wage pressures. The government, central bank and independent fiscal watchdog all agree that, although the jobless rate has fallen sharply to 6.3 percent, the economy is not overheating at present, with overall inflation flat for over three years. “Although this may not be an immediate issue in relation to budget 2018, determining the counter-cyclical fiscal stance may be quite relevant for subsequent budgets if the economy hits full employment,” Lane said in his annual pre-budget letter to Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, published on Friday. “The development of a counter-cyclical fiscal strategy should also strike the balance in the allocation of surplus revenues between the proposed rainy day fund and reducing the gross stock of public debt.” Lane told reporters that if signs of overheating do appear, the government should also consider adopting measures that slow consumption and investment growth. He identified property tax as one area that was available for such increases. Lane has previously said government plans to ramp up public investment held back by years of strained finances may require it to cool other parts of its economy from 2019. He acknowledged that this was not an easy message for politicians. However he said the economy was not in a boom phase yet and that the possibility of overheating was still a conditional scenario and could be offset by other factors, such as the disproportionate effect on Ireland from Brexit. “We may not get there,” he said. He added that risks to growth remain clearly tilted to the downside at both European and domestic levels. “For me the issue is let’s not do this [boom and bust] again, let’s try and stabilise the economy,” he said. “The more stable the economy is... it’s going to be much easier in terms of planning socially vital issues,” Lane said. Additional reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Kevin Liffey'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy/ireland-needs-to-plan-for-possible-overheating-of-economy-central-bank-head-idUKKCN1BJ1EK'|'2017-09-08T16:37:00.000+03:00'
'2cf72cde86cc7c8a2a723f302403d92b56639b71'|'Oil markets move little with industry in grip of Caribbean hurricanes'|'Some Syrian schools erase Assad but tensions rise over Kurdish entertainment The spy still in the cold - Brexit leaves Smiley a stranger in UK Irma kills 14 in Caribbean Reuters TV United States September 8, 2017 / 2:13 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Oil prices rise on sharp drop in U.S. production as hurricanes bite 4 Min Read A view shows al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. crude production was hit harder by Hurricane Harvey than expected, with the even bigger storm Irma heading for Florida and threatening to cause more disruption to the petroleum industry. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $49.15 barrel at 00606 GMT, 5 cents above their last settlement. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, were up 24 cents at $54.73 a barrel, just shy of their Friday peak of $54.79 a barrel, their highest level since April. “WTI may break higher as storms limit crude processing ... U.S. oil production facilities haven’t fully recovered from Hurricane Harvey,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at futures brokerage Forex.com. Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S. Gulf coast two weeks ago, and crude prices initially slumped because almost a quarter of the country’s huge refinery industry was knocked out by the storm, cutting demand for crude oil, refining’s lifeblood. But as the refinery sector gradually recovers, so is its crude processing. “Most refineries are restarting and we expect a near-full recovery by month-end,” U.S. investment bank Jefferies said. Harvey’s impact was also felt in oil production. U.S. oil output fell by almost 8 percent, from 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to 8.8 million bpd, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). C-OUT-T-EIA Port and refinery closures along the Gulf coast and harsh sea conditions in the Caribbean have also impacted shipping. “Imports (of oil) to the U.S. Gulf Coast fell to levels not seen since the 1990s,” ANZ bank said. Traders said it would take weeks for the U.S. petroleum industry to return to full capacity, and that under the current conditions it was difficult to identify fundamental market trends. “The data for this week and next will be taken with a grain of salt as the underlying trend will be obscured by the effects of the hurricane,” said William O‘Loughlin, investment analyst at Rivkin Securities. Even as the oil industry continues to grapple with the fallout from Harvey, a much bigger Hurricane was lashing the Caribbean islands and heading for the United States. Hurricane Irma, which has become one of the biggest storms ever measured - picking up the Twitter hashtag #irmageddon - on Friday hit the Dominican Republic and Haiti, heading for Cuba and the Bahamas. It was predicted to hit Florida by Saturday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Irma was still a Category 5 hurricane, with wind speeds of 160-185 miles per hours (260-295 km/h). On Irma’s heels, Hurricane Jose is heading for the Caribbean Leeward islands, which have just been devastated by Irma, with wind speeds of 120 mph (195 km/h). With storm Katia about to hit the Mexican Gulf coast, there are three major hurricanes currently active in the region. “Any further disruptions in oil and gas production could further extend the rally in energy prices or at minimum keep prices bid (up) until the threat of tropical storms dissipate,” said Forex.com analyst Razaqzada. Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Joseph Radford '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-markets-move-little-with-industry-in-grip-of-caribbean-hurricanes-idUKKCN1BJ06S'|'2017-09-08T05:01:00.000+03:00'
'e4524cbb8b5697b52a811a834c73361fde150a9d'|'Uniper mulls reassembling German power plants in Britain - FAZ'|'September 9, 2017 / 7:05 PM / Updated an hour ago Uniper mulls reassembling German power plants in Britain - FAZ Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The flag of Uniper SE flutters in front of the utility''s firm headquarters previously used by German utility giant E.ON in Duesseldorf, Germany, June 8, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German utility Uniper ( UN01.DE ) may dismantle German power plants, reassemble them in Britain, and could even buy stakes in British gas power stations, Chief Financial Officer Christopher Delbrueck told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Energy utilities are struggling with a German government decision to switch off nuclear power plants by 2022 in a market which is burdened by overcapacity and lacklustre profitability. The British market is less burdened with such oversupply, creating opportunities for Uniper, Delbrueck said. “It may be worth it to disassemble some of the plants and to rebuild them in Great Britain. We need to do the maths on that carefully,” Delbrueck told the Saturday edition of German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The unpredictability of energy market regulation makes investments in new German plants difficult, he said, but this is not the case in Britain. “In a couple of years I think taking stakes in new gas power stations in Great Britain is a possibility,” Delbrueck told the paper. Uniper is interested in diversifying its business internationally, particularly in the energy trading business and may spend a triple-digit-million amount on acquisitions. One way to fund takeovers is to sell off minority stakes in gas infrastructure investments. “There are some activities where we hold minority stakes, without having a strategic interest. Such financial stakes could be divested,” Delbrueck told the paper. As part of an international diversification strategy, Uniper has made a 280 million euro (255 million pounds) payment towards Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, said Delbrueck. Erstwhile parent E.On ( EONGn.DE ), which split off parts of Uniper last year, has signalled it will sell off a further 47 percent in Uniper stake in 2018. Delbrueck said “a diversified placement on the market” would be his ideal scenario for the fate of the stake. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Ros Russell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uniper-britain-plants/uniper-mulls-reassembling-german-power-plants-in-britain-faz-idUKKCN1BK0TM'|'2017-09-09T22:05:00.000+03:00'
'ce8080c5fdf2169a45d505892c147b2b0447c8e4'|'Hours before shareholders meet, Akzo dumps bad news'|'September 8, 2017 / 5:35 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Akzo abandons profit forecast made during PPG takeover battle Toby Sterling , Bart H. Meijer 5 Min Read File photo: The sign of AkzoNobel is pictured at its headquarters in Amsterdam February 6, 2014. REUTERS/Toussaint Kluiters/United Photos AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), which fended off an unwanted takeover approach only three months ago, warned angry investors it would not hit its profit target this year. Adding to the sense of disarray at the top of the company, Akzo said its chief financial officer was stepping aside for health reasons and that it planned to shake up its paints and industrial coatings businesses. The profit shortfall and the departure of senior executives raise questions about a defence strategy used to thwart a 26 billion euro (£23.85 billion) takeover proposal from U.S. rival PPG Industries ( PPG.N ). The profit warning came as Akzo prepared to face investors at an extraordinary meeting in Amsterdam on Friday. The maker of Dulux paint, citing cost inflation and currency factors, said it would not achieve a 100 million euro improvement in annual operating profit it promised in April when it was fighting off PPG. That rejection angered a large chunk of Akzo’s shareholder base, given that PPG’s offer of 95 euros per share was a 50 percent premium to the company’s share price in February. The gap remains wide -- Akzo shares were down 2.5 percent at 77.36 euros by 0925 GMT. “We were not forecasting a 100 mln increase in EBIT anyway, so I am not surprised by the profit warning,” said Christian Faitz at Kepler Cheuvreux, who rates Akzo shares “Reduce”. “They were absolutely too optimistic.” MANAGEMENT CHANGES Rather than be bought by PPG, Akzo proposed the sale of its Specialty Chemicals Division, which represents a third of the company’s sales and profit. The architects of the defence plan are now gone from the company or leaving soon. Akzo said on Friday that Chief Financial Officer Maelys Castella would take a leave of absence due to health reasons and return “in a senior management position” when she has recovered. CEO Ton Buechner quit in July, also citing health reasons. Supervisory board Chairman Antony Burgmans, the focus of shareholder ire, has promised to retire in April 2018. “It is extraordinary that these cases follow each other so rapidly, but it is purely coincidental,” Burgmans said of the sick executives on a call with reporters. New CEO Thierry Vanlancker will meet shareholders on Friday to defend the strategy and goals crafted by others. The company said it would still hit 2020 targets. Shareholders led by Elliott Advisors twice sued Akzo for the right to hold a shareholders meeting to vote on expelling Burgmans for mismanagement. Dutch courts rejected those suits, but instructed the company to take steps to repair relations. That led to Friday’s shareholders meeting, which will not however offer investors a chance to vote on Burgman’s removal. “I think the company remains in a state of flux and we eagerly await the retirement of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board,” said John Bennett, head of European Equities at Janus Henderson, a top-20 investor in Akzo Nobel, in emailed comments. RESHAPING AKZO Under the reorganisation announced on Friday, Akzo said it will realign management along four geographical lines for paints and four product lines for industrial coatings: powders, marine coatings, wood coatings and vehicle finishings. Vanlancker said headwinds such as higher raw material costs were having “a wider and greater impact as the year continues” and the company was raising prices and cutting costs in response. He cited impacts from a range of temporary problems, including a fire at a Rotterdam refinery, the impact of Hurricane Harvey on supply chains, and low producer confidence in Britain as a result of Brexit. In addition, he said industry will feel longer-term impact from greater regulatory controls in China and a downturn in the shipbuilding industry. Kepler analyst Faitz said it is unlikely PPG will return to buy Akzo, given opposition by Dutch politicians and the determination of the Akzo Nobel Foundation, which holds powerful poison pill defences, to keep it independent. “Anybody as head of that foundation who would give his okay to Akzo selling out would have to eventually leave the Netherlands under cover and go into a witness protection programme,” he said. Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Simon Jessop; Editing by Jason Neely and Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-akzo-nobel-restructuring/hours-before-shareholders-meet-akzo-dumps-bad-news-idUKKCN1BJ0HK'|'2017-09-08T08:58:00.000+03:00'
'478990b87b9fb2354a74fb4b51e25c5c706623f0'|'Deutsche Boerse board seen backing insider trading deal - Manager Magazin'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:36 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Deutsche Boerse board seen backing insider trading deal - Manager Magazin Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A notebook with the logo of Deutsche Boerse Group (German stock exchange) is pictured before their New Year''s reception at the headquarters in Eschborn, outside Frankfurt, Germany, January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse’s ( DB1Gn.DE ) management board is expected to endorse in a meeting on Tuesday a settlement of an insider trading probe offered by prosecutors, Germany’s Manager Magazin reported on Friday, citing no sources. Deutsche Boerse declined to comment on the report. Frankfurt’s public prosecutor offered in July to drop an investigation into Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter over allegations of insider trading if Deutsche Boerse accepts two fines totalling 10.5 million euros (£9.63 million). Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Edward Taylor'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-insidertrading/deutsche-boerse-board-seen-backing-insider-trading-deal-manager-magazin-idUKKCN1BJ1IF'|'2017-09-08T15:36:00.000+03:00'
'68e899a9139c51d1d16a56c81fee0bcb8c39a248'|'Venezuela oil minister urges review of global output pact'|'September 8, 2017 / 10:33 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Venezuela oil minister urges review of global output pact Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Oil pumps are seen in Lake Maracaibo, in Lagunillas, Ciudad Ojeda, in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, March 20, 2015.REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia/File Photo ASTANA (Reuters) - Venezuelan oil minister Eulogio Del Pino urged OPEC and its partners on Friday to review the global output reduction pact in order to ensure a sustainable flow of investments into the sector. Speaking at an energy conference in Kazakhstan, Del Pino said the revision needed to be done “very carefully” based on the outcomes of the global pact so far. Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Dmitry Solovyov'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-venezuela-opec/venezuela-oil-minister-urges-review-of-global-output-pact-idUKKCN1BJ15U'|'2017-09-08T13:33:00.000+03:00'
'7f49564e0a87d1f4e8b9ab2b95ccff2c6c631f64'|'P&C insurer State Auto considering sale of E&S business'|'(Reuters) - Property and casualty insurer State Auto Financial Corp ( STFC.O ) said on Friday it was considering options for its excess and surplus lines business, including a sale.The review includes Rockhill Insurance Co, which State Auto acquired in 2009 to enter the E&S market.The E&S business comes under specialty insurance, the smallest among the Columbus, Ohio-based company’s three units.State Auto, which has a market valuation of about $981 million, said it had retained Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to advise on the evaluation.Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-state-auto-fin-assets/pc-insurer-state-auto-considering-sale-of-es-business-idINKCN1BJ1KO'|'2017-09-08T10:57:00.000+03:00'
'1856697cf53fd8a9978f1094bf84596f6c34bbb0'|'Japan inflation will pick up but more time needed to hit BOJ''s 2 percent target - deputy governor'|' 23 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Japan inflation will pick up but more time needed to hit BOJ''s 2 percent target - deputy governor   File photo: Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso speaks during an interview with Reuters at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo April 9, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino SEOUL (Reuters) - A tightening labour market will spur inflation in Japan, but a little more time will be needed to reach the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent price target, the BOJ’s deputy governor said on Friday. Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Hiroshi Nakaso said Japan’s economy is running well, and its labour market is “extremely tight”. The BOJ has repeatedly pushed back the timeframe for reaching its 2 percent inflation target, most recently to around fiscal 2019, as prices pressures remain stubbornly weak. Reporting by Dahee Kim and Cynthia Kim; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-boj/japan-inflation-will-pick-up-but-more-time-needed-to-hit-bojs-2-percent-target-deputy-governor-idUKKCN1BJ0GH'|'2017-09-08T08:23:00.000+03:00'
'ca8b4c5dd6342bfd6564bea2ece94a5a898e6228'|'Shell begins to restart Deer Park, Texas site after hurricane'|'September 8, 2017 / 9:02 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Shell begins to restart Deer Park, Texas site after hurricane Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A logo for Shell is seen on a garage forecourt in central London, Britain, March 6, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ) said on Friday it was beginning restart activities at its Deer Park, Texas site after it was shut due to Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the Houston area last week. Shell’s Deer Park complex includes a 325,700 barrel per day (bpd) refinery. Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-storm-harvey-shell-deerpark/shell-begins-to-restart-deer-park-texas-site-after-hurricane-idUKKCN1BJ2KW'|'2017-09-09T00:02:00.000+03:00'
'cfcdec9033d6b5b1a849bc8b2c173a194049e7b8'|'Stronger euro continues to hold back European shares'|'Traders sit at their desks in front of the DAX board at the Frankfurt stock exchange, Germany, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski LONDON (Reuters) - European shares traded lower on Friday across most exchanges and sectors, failing to get support from subdued sessions in Asia and on Wall Street, and as the euro’s rally dims appetite for regional stocks.At 0830 GMT, the German blue chip DAX index .GDAXI was down 0.2 percent, France''s CAC .FCHI 0.4 percent, London''s FTSE .FTSE 0.3 percent, Milan''s FTSE MIB .FTMIB 0.4 percent. The broader pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark was down 0.3 percent.After suffering four straight sessions in the red, European banks were slightly higher, with the sectoral index .SX7P up 0.3 percent.The banking sector’s .SX7P lending business benefits from higher interest rates and investors fear the European Central Bank might delay monetary policy tightening if the euro keeps on strengthening against the dollar.Spain’s Banco Santander ( SAN.MC ) and Caixbank ( CABK.MC ), France’s Natixis CNAT.Pa and Britain’s Barclays posted the strongest gains, between 1.1 and 1.7 percent.For Laurent Gaetani, head of Degroof Petercam Gestion, the weakening of some banks’ share price presents an opportunity to buy on the dip.“These are entry points,” the French asset manager told Reuters, adding he was “overweight” on the sector.Insurers AXA ( AXAF.PA ) and Allianz ( ALVG.DE ), for which Barclays raised its target price, also rose 0.3 and 0.4 percent respectively.Elsewhere, shares in British pub operator Greene King ( GNK.L ) fell 14 percent after a weak sales update and French fuel storage company Rubis ( RUBF.PA ) were down 4.8 percent after its first half results.Another big faller was France’s Hermes International ( HRMS.PA ) whose shares fell 4.5 percent. The luxury group had been expected to join the CAC 40 index but STMicroelectronics ( STM.PA ), up 1.2 perent, was admitted instead.Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) lost 2.1 percent after it issued a profit warning and announced a revamp that will include the chief financial officer stepping aside and a shake-up to its paints and industrial coatings businesses.In the automobile sector .SXAP, Volkswagen ( VOWG.DE ) was up 0.7 percent after reports it was actively working on deals to sell non-core assets accounting for as much as 20 percent of the German carmaker’s annual revenues.Its French counter part Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ) had a rougher morning and was down 1.8 percent after Exane BNP Paribas cut its target price by 4 percent and its rating to “underperform” from “neutral”.Reporting by Julien Ponthus; Editing by Vikram Subhedar/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/stronger-euro-continues-to-hold-back-european-shares-idUSKCN1BJ0RN'|'2017-09-08T10:39:00.000+03:00'
'7af2163065201b292e7383f0139b18eaf87d2f19'|'UPDATE 1-Virgin Atlantic confident of Anglo-U.S. aviation deal post Brexit'|'(Adds further details, Quote: s)By Alistair SmoutLONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Britain is likely to have a bilateral arrangement governing transatlantic flights after it leaves the European Union, the head of Virgin Atlantic Airways said on Thursday.Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive Craig Kreeger also said that while the weaker pound had had a negative effect on the airline, this had not been as large as expected.Britain needs to negotiate an air transport service agreement with the EU to keep airline services running when Britain leaves the bloc and will also need a replacement for the “open skies” agreement between the United States and the EU.Ryanair’s Michael O‘Leary has issued stark warnings about the prospect of flights to the EU being grounded when Britain leaves in March 2019. However, Kreeger said that such a scenario for flights to the United States was unlikely.“I have a lot of confidence that what we’ve seen this year is an indication of the fact that the UK is not going to cut itself off from the rest of the world, from a travel perspective,” Kreeger told Reuters at an industry conference.“I‘m confident that the UK and U.S. will have a bilateral arrangement in place that means flights don’t cease. The things that are really important will work their way out over time.”A sharp fall in the pound was one of the immediate impacts of Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June 2016. That hurt Virgin Atlantic, which relies on revenues from British travellers in pounds but has many of its costs in dollars.However, Kreeger said that demand from Britons to travel had held up better than expected, while the airline had also benefited from more visitors than expected from the United States and Asia.“We’d anticipated it being a really rough year. But we’ve had a really encouraging year against that backdrop,” he said.“We have seen that Brits are resilient. The summer holiday is sacrosanct. Demand has dropped a little bit, but nowhere near what you would expect with a 15 percent increase in the cost of travel abroad.”In July, Virgin Atlantic said Air France-KLM would buy 31 percent of the airline from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, making it the second largest Virgin Atlantic shareholder after U.S. airline Delta, which owns a 49 percent stake, and reducing Virgin Group’s stake to 20 percent. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/airlines-london-virgin-atlantic/update-1-virgin-atlantic-confident-of-anglo-u-s-aviation-deal-post-brexit-idINL8N1LO5M7'|'2017-09-07T14:11:00.000+03:00'
'3fbd76176842cdb483cfad8dc74185f8c6d5f667'|'Shareholders urge Thyssenkrupp to get on with Tata Steel deal'|' 41 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Shareholders urge Thyssenkrupp to get on with Tata Steel deal Tom Käckenhoff , Christoph Steitz 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) shareholders are urging the group to clinch a deal with Tata Steel TISC.N to merge their European steel businesses this year, warning failure to do so would be a blow to its credibility. Talks between the two firms over a potential combination have been dragging on for a year and a half, held up mainly by lengthy negotiations to cut Tata Steel’s pension liabilities in Britain that ended with an agreement last month. A deadline for objections against the agreement ends on Friday, with no complaints expected, clearing a further hurdle for the two parties to sign a memorandum of understanding and start a detailed look at one another’s books. A source familiar with the process said this due diligence would start in October, following general elections in Germany later this month, with the subsequent negotiations about further details expected to take several months. “A collapse (of talks) would be very negative for Hiesinger. He has worked on the deal for a long time,” said Union Investment fund manager Ingo Speich, referring to Thyssenkrupp’s Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger. “The uncertainty is a drag on the share price. A fast agreement would be very helpful.” Thyssenkrupp - in which Union Investment is a top 20 shareholder with more than 45 million euros ($54 million) worth of stock - has seen its shares outperform German blue-chips so far this year. Investors see further upside if a deal is struck. “Everyone expects that the deal is coming. If that doesn’t happen it would be a disappointment,” said a top-10 shareholder not authorized to speak about listed stocks on the record. “If there is a successful tie-up there is upside of 10-20 percent for Thyssenkrupp,” the shareholder added. Hiesinger has campaigned for a joint venture as his favorite option to reduce Thyssenkrupp’s stake in the volatile steel sector, garnering support from investors but drawing complaints from labor unions that fear layoffs. Hiesinger has not committed to a timeline for any deal. Workers also fear Thyssenkrupp could become a minority shareholder in the planned joint venture, which would enable the group to deconsolidate the business and load it with debt to repair its own stretched balance sheet. That would take away the right to co-determination that German workers enjoy over key corporate decisions. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-shareholders/shareholders-urge-thyssenkrupp-to-get-on-with-tata-steel-deal-idUKKCN1BJ1IL'|'2017-09-08T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'397b23b1fba5a71d432e14d0fc339ef6726989c4'|'Volvo Cars to buy Luxe assets to boost digital services'|'FILE PHOTO: A Volvo XC 90 car is seen during an interview with CEO Hakan Samuelsson at the Volvo Cars Showroom in Stockholm, Sweden July 5, 2017. TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer/via REUTERS (Reuters) - Geely-owned Volvo Car Group said on Friday it would buy some assets of Luxe, a U.S.-based premium valet and concierge service, to boost the development of its digital services.Luxe’s advanced software, technology platform, key data scientists, app developers and software engineers will join Volvo in the Silicon Valley, the automaker said.San Francisco-based Luxe provides valet parking through an app.The deal is also expected to accelerate Volvo''s ability to offer services such as pick-up and drop, the automaker said. ( bit.ly/2eL4Yym )Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.Car-ride provider Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] was said to be in advanced talks with Luxe to buy some of its assets, according to media reports in June.Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-luxe-m-a-volvo/volvo-cars-to-buy-luxe-assets-to-boost-digital-services-idINKCN1BJ1SN'|'2017-09-08T12:27:00.000+03:00'
'2bce54ebe3154b312aff19bbe87ceec8be70354a'|'UK inflation expectations hold steady despite recent price climb - Bank of England'|'September 8, 2017 / 8:35 AM / Updated 4 hours ago UK inflation expectations hold steady despite recent price climb - Bank of England   FILE PHOTO: A woman shops in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The British public’s expectations for inflation remained stable in the three months to early August, a Bank of England survey showed on Friday, despite this year’s rise in price growth after the Brexit vote. The BoE said median expectations for inflation in a year’s time held steady at 2.8 percent while expectations for inflation two years out edged down to 2.7 percent from 2.8 percent in the previous survey which was conducted in May. Inflation in five years’ time was seen at 3.4 percent, compared with 3.3 percent three months earlier, returning to a peak last seen in May of last year. Britain’s inflation rate broke through the BoE’s 2 percent target earlier this year as the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote in 2016 pushed up the price of imports. British consumer price inflation held steady at 2.6 percent in July after reaching 2.9 percent, its highest level in nearly four years, in May. The central bank last month predicted inflation would peak at nearly 3 percent in October although since then sterling has weakened further against the euro, meaning the pressure on prices from the weak currency may persist for longer than the BoE thought. But most economists polled by Reuters last week said they expected the BoE to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.25 percent until 2019 as the country goes through the process of leaving the European Union. In the BoE survey published on Friday, 32 percent of respondents said rates might stay about the same over the next 12 months, compared with 31 percent in May. Forty-two percent of respondents expected rates to rise over the next 12 months, unchanged from May. The BoE is due to make its next statement on interest rates on Thursday of next week. The BoE’s data was based on a survey of 2,096 people conducted by polling company TNS between Aug. 4 and 8. Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by Michael Holden'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-inflation/uk-inflation-expectations-hold-steady-despite-recent-price-climb-bank-of-england-idUKKCN1BJ0W0'|'2017-09-08T11:46:00.000+03:00'
'241e4e0fd097f8a6925e4897dc417c4243c2e1ab'|'Merck''s immunotherapy, chemo mix shows extended lung cancer gains'|'MADRID (Reuters) - Giving Merck & Co’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy for previously untreated advanced lung cancer appears to provide durable benefits, according to an update of a closely watched clinical trial.U.S. regulators approved the drug cocktail in May but the limited clinical trial data to date means that questions still remain as to whether it will retain its effectiveness over time.In fact, the significant improvements first reported a year ago have been maintained for more than 18 months, with the risk of disease progression or death reduced by nearly half, researchers at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress reported on Friday.People in the 123-patient trial who got Keytruda plus chemotherapy survived 19 months on average before their disease worsened, against 8.9 months for those on chemo alone, data from a scientific abstract at the meeting showed.The overall survival rate was 70 percent for the combination compared with 56 percent for chemo on its own.Merck senior vice president Roger Dansey said the latest data confirmed the combination had “the potential to have a meaningful impact in the lives of many of these patients”.Lung cancer is by far the largest oncology market and rival drugmakers are racing to find new combinations based on immunotherapy drugs, which boost the immune system’s ability to fight tumors.Chemotherapy, despite its toxic side effects, has for many years been the standard treatment for the disease.Merck’s small trial was the first proof of the advantages of using chemotherapy and immunotherapy together in lung cancer and the U.S. drugmaker is now awaiting more conclusive data from a bigger study.Its Swiss rival Roche is also investigating a different immunotherapy and chemotherapy mix.Competing companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca have focused on combining two immunotherapies. However, AstraZeneca’s endeavors here suffered a big setback in July when a large combination drug trial failed to help lung cancer patients as hoped.Drugs like Keytruda and rival products from other companies work by taking the brakes off the immune system and allowing the body’s natural killer cells to home in on tumors.Tens of billions of dollars of these drugs are expected to sell in the years ahead, with lung cancer, the biggest cancer killer globally, the largest potential market.Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cancer-merck-co/mercks-immunotherapy-chemo-mix-shows-extended-lung-cancer-gains-idUSKCN1BI30D'|'2017-09-08T01:05:00.000+03:00'
'b94f264c8cd3a2419657efd6740153966a479956'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 8'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 9 points lower at 7396.98 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. * UK ECONOMY: Britain''s economy is "treading water" ahead of Brexit, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said on Friday after it downgraded forecasts for growth over the next two years. * UK RETAIL: Spending in British shops increased last month at the fastest pace in nearly two years, a survey showed on Friday, as a weaker pound led to more Britons opting to holiday at home and to an influx of tourists from abroad. * UK EMPLOYMENT: A fall in people coming to Britain from other European Union countries has aggravated a shortage of workers and forced employers to raise starting salaries at the fastest pace in nearly two years during August, a survey showed on Friday. * The UK blue chip index closed up 0.6 percent at 7396.98 points on Thursday with most sectors in positive territory with the exception of financial stocks, which suffered, alongside the rest of their European peers, after the European central bank reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Greene King PLC Update alongside AGM TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-8-idUSL4N1LP29F'|'2017-09-08T08:13:00.000+03:00'
'fd404e6289e2f97e8832fe83014b9993e05efc46'|'Azerbaijan''s SOCAR to boost its share in new deal with BP on oil fields'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:08 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Azerbaijan''s SOCAR to boost its share in new deal with BP on oil fields Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo TBILISI/BAKU (Reuters) - Azeri state energy company SOCAR is expected to increase its share in a new production sharing agreement with oil major BP ( BP.L ) for development of the country’s biggest oilfields, two industry sources familiar with the content of talks on the deal told Reuters. “According to preliminary information, SOCAR will increase its share at the expense of a share reduction of other companies, including BP,” an industry source, who is aware of the content of the negotiations, told Reuters. Another industry source, who also is familiar with the content of the talks and did not want to be named, said that SOCAR’s share in a new contract could be increased to 20 percent from the current 11.6 percent, while BP’s share could be reduced to 30 percent from the current 35.8 percent. “The shares of some other companies might be also reduced,” the source said. The figures in the final contract might still change, the source said. A spokeswoman for BP in Azerbaijan said: “We don’t have information on the content of the contract now.” A SOCAR spokesman said the company had no immediate comment. The shareholders in the consortium include BP, SOCAR, Chevron ( CVX.N ), INPEX ( 1605.T ), Statoil ( STL.OL ), ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ), TPAO, ITOCHU ( 8001.T ) and ONGC Videsh ( ONVI.BO ). Reporting by Margarita Antidze in TBILISI and Nailia Bagirova in BAKU; writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Christian Lowe'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-azerbaijan-agreement/azerbaijans-socar-to-boost-its-share-in-new-deal-with-bp-on-oil-fields-idUKKCN1BJ1LJ'|'2017-09-08T16:09:00.000+03:00'
'627ca8e4c30d8ccc2f0e88ada19368bf3953ba02'|'Gymboree says court confirmed plan of reorganization'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - Children’s apparel retailer Gymboree Corp said on Thursday that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has confirmed its plan of reorganization.“Gymboree expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the month, after the conditions of the Plan are satisfied”, said the company in a statement.The retailer also said a comprehensive recapitalization will be completed that will eliminate more than $900 million of debt.Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as the company’s legal counsel, AlixPartners LLP is serving as its financial advisor, and Lazard is serving as its investment bank, according to the statement.Gymboree had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2017 with a plan to cut its debt by around $1 billion and close 375 stores. (Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bankruptcy-gymboree/gymboree-says-court-confirmed-plan-of-reorganization-idUSL2N1LP027'|'2017-09-08T09:13:00.000+03:00'
'add5315a6f01bc79488ec821405f68fbe90ca58d'|'Will Saudi Aramco deliver world record profit for next year''s IPO?'|'September 8, 2017 / 6:08 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Will Saudi Aramco deliver world record profit for next year''s IPO? 6 Min Read A view shows Saudi Aramco''s Manifa oilfield, Saudi Arabia, June 14, 2015. Saudi Aramco/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) - When oil giant Saudi Aramco discloses its financials for the first time next year, it must either surprise investors with world record profits or reduce its aspirations for a $2 trillion valuation in its initial public offering (IPO). [IPO-ARMO.SE] Investors have long debated whether Aramco could be valued anywhere close to $2 trillion, the figure suggested by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wants to raise cash through the IPO to finance investments aimed at helping wean the world’s biggest oil exporting nation off dependency on crude. Based on Aramco’s oil reserves of 266 billion barrels and a valuation of $7 to $8 per barrel in line with recent industry acquisitions - such as Total’s ( TOTF.PA ) purchase of Maersk’s oil assets - Aramco warrants close to the $2 trillion valuation. But that is not the only metric for an energy firm’s worth. By other measures, Aramco’s target valuation may be challenging. Most other metrics for the world’s largest oil producing company are simply not known and will not be disclosed until Aramco publishes financial results before the planned IPO in 2018. Yet a simple calculation using globally accepted ratios for Aramco’s peers - enterprise value versus core earnings (EV/EBITDA) - shows the Saudi firm has to report EBITDA in the region of $130 billion to achieve a $2 trillion valuation. Such an EBITDA figure would be a global first. No firm in any industry has reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) above $100 billion. By comparison, Apple ( AAPL.O ), the technology giant and the world’s most valuable listed firm that is worth more than $830 million, reported EBITDA of $82 billion in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. AWAITING BOOK-BUILDING Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ), the world’s largest listed energy firm with a market capitalization of $365 billion in 2016, reported EBITDA of $23 billion last year, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. In 2012, it reported EBITDA of $65 billion - but that was when oil traded well above $100 a barrel. Benchmark Brent crude is now around $54 LCOc1. Last year, Exxon traded at EV/EBITDA of more than 15 times, which is high by energy industry standards. If Aramco matched that same high ratio, its core earnings would need to be around $130 billion to achieve its target valuation. Aramco would not be drawn when asked to comment on how it would achieve the $2 trillion figure. “This is highly speculative. We do not comment on speculation or rumor,” the company told Reuters in a statement. A Saudi Arabia-based industry source said Aramco’s value could not be calculated until the completion of book-building to assess investor appetite. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo The source said it was misleading to compare Aramco with Exxon, which has less than half the Saudi firm’s oil output and not even a 10th of its reserves. EBITDA should not be the only measure, the source added. (For a GRAPHIC see: tmsnrt.rs/2fH0rkr ) Nevertheless, Aramco would do well to secure Exxon’s high ratios. Investors tend to like Exxon more than other oil firms, handing it ratios that are sometimes more generous than popular technology firms such as Google ( GOOGL.O ) and Apple. For example, Exxon’s rivals Shell ( RDSa.L ), BP ( BP.L ) and Total ( TOTF.PA ) trade at EV/EBITDA of around six times. If Aramco was assessed at that level, it would need to show core earnings at an astonishing $330 billion a year to achieve a valuation of $2 trillion. “One thing you never do ahead of an IPO is to tell the market how much the company will be worth as you immediately become hostage to a number or a timetable,” said a Western investment banker, who was involved in listing another state energy firm. Slideshow (4 Images) DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Yet Aramco could prove hugely profitable, given its oil output of about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) and some of the world’s cheapest crude recovery rates, alongside its global refinery network that adds further value. Exxon by comparison has less than half Aramco’s output - with oil-equivalent production of 4 million bpd in 2016, while the U.S. firm’s reserves are a fraction of Aramco’s - with proved oil-equivalent reserves of about 20 billion barrels. Aramco has never published results, but conclusions about its earnings can be drawn from Saudi Arabia’s accounts, given oil constitutes the lion’s share of the nation’s revenues, said Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist at U.S.-based Rapidan Group. “Based on the Saudi current-account balance, Aramco had revenues of $160 billion last year from just oil and refined products exports when the average price of oil was $43 a barrel,” Mohamedi said. “So if the price of oil goes to $70 per barrel, it is not impossible for Aramco to make a top line of $250 billion a year. Given that operational costs of Aramco are one of the lowest in the world, it is not impossible to see them reporting the bottom line or earnings on a huge scale – of $100 billion a year and above,” he said. Financials aside, investors will also assess country risk when working out Aramco’s valuation. Exxon benefits from having its headquarters in the United States, even if some of its operations and production are in politically unstable nations. Aramco’s head office is in Saudi Arabia, a nation in a volatile region with a war in Yemen on its doorstep. “Aramco is definitely a fantastic, modern and high-quality company,” said the Western banker. “But unfortunately, no one can say that Saudi Arabia is a fantastic country from the geopolitical prospect.” Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-ipo/will-saudi-aramco-deliver-world-record-profit-for-next-years-ipo-idUKKCN1BJ0JF'|'2017-09-08T09:11:00.000+03:00'
'e3d94d8a92baad259aa30d17fe4aa8b8414b7c55'|'Paramount still has not received payment from Chinese studio -studio CEO'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures movie studio still has not received payments from at least one of the Chinese studios it entered into a financing deal with in January, Paramount Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos told investors on Friday.In January, Paramount announced a deal under which two Chinese film companies, Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media, would invest $1 billion in Paramount, giving the studio much needed cash and support as it attempts to grow..However, Viacom executives disclosed in the company’s third-quarter earnings call in August that a payment from Huahua had been delayed, causing concern among investors.Paramount has been given “continued assurances” that the payments are being processed but is prepared to replace the funding in a timely manner if the situation is not resolved soon, Gianopulos told attendees of the Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference.Reporting By Jessica Toonkel '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/paramount-ceo/paramount-still-has-not-received-payment-from-chinese-studio-studio-ceo-idINL2N1LP1EH'|'2017-09-08T16:31:00.000+03:00'
'672685fe99e19528d933e0aa096c86f614d3b6f1'|'Germany''s Ifo head warns of return of euro crisis - newspaper'|'Clemens Fuest during an interview with Reuters in Frankfurt February 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski BERLIN (Reuters) - The head of Germany’s Ifo economic institute warned of a return of the euro crisis in a newspaper interview published on Friday, and said the European Central Bank should start to roll back its zero-interest-rate policy.Ifo head Clemens Fuest told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper that a noticeable recovery in the euro zone, increasing inflation rates and rising prices for bonds, shares and real estate were reasons for the ECB to change course.“The longer this continues, the more painful it will be when the money dries up,” Fuest told the newspaper. “It’s time to start the exit process.”The ECB on Thursday reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance and kept the door open to increasing bond purchases if needed, despite the euro zone’s best economic run since the global financial crisis.Fuest said he agreed in principle that the ECB’s policy had been necessary given low inflation and weak economies in the euro zone, but the situation has changed.Many countries in the euro zone have significantly higher debt now than before the last euro crisis, and banks in some countries were still not as stable as desired, he said. Moreover, banks could still acquire sovereign bonds without equity guarantees.“That is why it should be expected that the crisis will return in the next recession,” he said.Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy-germany-ifo/germanys-ifo-head-warns-of-return-of-euro-crisis-newspaper-idINKCN1BJ01Z'|'2017-09-07T22:37:00.000+03:00'
'8f489e0ef9d091c581e2a646352e3f0c83f0ef64'|'UPDATE 2-Kroger''s comparable sales forecast misses estimates, shares slide'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:40 PM / Updated 41 minutes ago Kroger results hit by grocery price war, shares slide Lisa Baertlein 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Kroger Co ( KR.N ) on Friday reported a quarterly profit drop after an intensifying grocery price war hit its bottom line, and warned that same-store sales and operating margins would be lower than expected for the remainder of the year. The biggest U.S. supermarket owner with banners such as Ralphs, Harris Teeter and Food 4 Less, also said it would stop providing longer-term earnings growth forecasts due to the “dynamic operating environment.” Kroger’s long-term target for 8 to 11 percent earning per share growth had been a “key selling point” for investors, Pivotal Research analyst Ajay Jain said. Kroger shares, which are down 38 percent year-to-date, were down nearly 9 percent to $20.79, a 3-1/2 year low, in afternoon trading. Kroger, which operates nearly 2,800 U.S. food stores, has cut prices to fend off competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ), discounters Lidl and Aldi and the newly merged Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) and Whole Foods Market. Kroger’s net income fell 7.8 percent to $353 million, or 39 cents per share, for the second quarter ended Aug. 12. Closely watched sales at stores open at least 12 months rose 0.7 percent, excluding fuel. Kroger now sees those sales rising 0.5 percent to 1 percent, excluding fuel, for the remainder of the year. Analysts expected them to increase 1.2 percent for the third quarter and 1.7 percent for the fourth quarter, according to Consensus Metrix. FILE PHOTO: A shopper walks out of a Ralphs grocery store, which is owned by Kroger Co, ahead of company results in Pasadena, California U.S., December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo Kroger also forecast a 30 to 40 basis point decline in its full-year operating margin, excluding items, versus 2016. The forecasts exclude any hit from hurricane damage. Kroger’s insurance caps losses at $26 million per event. Amazon.com’s $13.7 billion Whole Foods purchase has rattled investors, who worry that the online retailer could upend the food business like it did for books and electronics. Amazon last month slashed Whole Foods’ prices on some popular items including avocados and beef. Kroger has also lowered prices on staples such as milk and eggs. “We expect the pricing environment to remain very competitive in 2017,” Moody’s Vice President Mickey Chadha said in an email. Kroger’s new strategy includes testing delivery at more than 150 stores and expanding ClickList, its online ordering and curbside pickup service, to more than 1,000 stores by the end of the year, Chief Executive Rodney McMullen said on a conference call. Kroger also is selling Prep+Pared meal kits at more than 50 stores and tapping customer data to generate personalized recipe suggestions on Kroger.com. Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Phil Berlowitz '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kroger-co-results/krogers-profit-dips-on-aggressive-price-cuts-shares-slide-idUSKCN1BJ1HX'|'2017-09-08T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'2d4439a7af3d8debc78ba2fbdcc7e13b338c57b8'|'U.S. consumer agency defends student loan reforms from Republican attacks'|'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. consumer financial watchdog on Thursday attempted to repel a Trump-administration attack on former President Barack Obama’s sweeping student loan reforms and defended itself against Republican attempts to weaken its powers.In a lengthy letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it had complied with its remit, despite her department’s charges to the contrary.The Education Department announced last week it would no longer work with the bureau on resolving student loan complaints, saying it had complicated the lending process “with potentially inaccurate and inconsistent directives.”It said the consumer bureau, created after the 2007-09 financial crisis to protect individuals from predatory lending, was not honoring an agreement to promptly refer complaints to the department, but using the department’s data “to expand its jurisdiction into areas that Congress never envisioned.”The Obama-appointed head of the watchdog, Democrat Richard Cordray, said the bureau shares complaint information in “near real-time” through an on-line portal with the department.It has “not exceeded its authority,” and only fulfilled its mission under federal law to monitor and respond to individuals’ complaints about debts as well as enforce federal consumer law, Cordray wrote.Congress created the bureau in part to mediate between consumers and credit card companies, banks, mortgage providers and other lenders.The dispute goes beyond a mere territory fight.Republicans revile the CFPB, saying it reaches too far in its rules and enforcement and should be more accountable to lawmakers. Democrats have said it helps ensure fair treatment for middle-class people unable to fight fraud on their own.Republicans also disapprove of Obama’s attempt to make college more affordable by moving almost all of the $1.4 trillion student-loan industry into the federal government. Currently, only servicing is handled outside the Education Department.During last year’s elections, Trump and fellow Republicans promised to “get government out of the business of lending” and DeVos is now working to return much of the process to the private sector.She also wants to redo other Obama-era regulations, such as protections for sexual-assault victims on college campuses.DeVos critics consider the department’s split from the CFPB as a way to protect for-profit schools, debt collectors and servicers from government intervention.Earlier this year the bureau, which has received nearly 20,000 complaints about student loan servicers since February 2016, sued the country’s largest servicer Navient Corp for systematically failing borrowers. Navient disputes the allegations and is contesting them in court.Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Editing by Rosalba O''Brien '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-education-loans/u-s-consumer-agency-defends-student-loan-reforms-from-republican-attacks-idINKCN1BJ050'|'2017-09-07T23:37:00.000+03:00'
'764786cbb38a6f479ab9f7e89acb4c6e12312dd7'|'Fenergo hires 300 as banks step up mid-office overhaul'|'LONDON, Sept 7 (IFR) - Financial technology firm Fenergo is doubling its staff as banks sign up for its software to “onboard” clients and carry out compliance and due diligence more easily - further evidence of the technology shaking up capital markets.Dublin-based Fenergo is among several fintech firms targeting the “middle office” - where the front office ends and before the back office deals with transactions. Many bankers see that middle ground as too labour intensive and ripe for overhaul and cost cutting from automation. Major banks can each employ thousands of staff in the area.”The area of biggest potential saving and most ignored is the middle office,” said Marc Murphy, founder and CEO of Fenergo.”I would project that at least 50% of the manual efforts in the middle office can be replaced by automation,” he told IFR.Fenergo has 62 banks now live on its system, including Santander, HSBC, UBS, BNY Mellon and Bank of China.It said its software allows banks to onboard clients more seamlessly and quicker. That should allow banks to cut through the manual handling and reduce costs, run regulatory checks quicker and stay on top of what is needed as compliance and supervision demands change.Murphy said Fenergo’s growth has been helped by two tailwinds: the extra regulation and compliance being demanded of banks, including know your customer, anti-money laundering and a swathe of derivatives reforms; and the digital banking revolution.Fenergo said on Thursday it plans to add 100 more staff to the 200 roles it announced in April. It will take its headcount to 600.It has just hired Michele Shepard as chief revenue officer and Greg Watson as managing director of sales and strategy. Shepard was previously chief revenue officer for Vertafore, a technology provider for US insurers. Watson joined from HSBC’s investment bank, where he was head of the client management group, which included managing client onboarding and due diligence.Spencer Lake, former vice-chairman of HSBC’s investment bank and senior Merrill Lynch banker, joined Fenergo’s board this year as vice-chairman.2020 LISTING? Fenergo is backed by Insight Venture Partners, a New York private equity and venture capital firm founded in 1995, which has raised over US$13bn and invested in more than 250 software, internet and data firms. It was Fenergo’s main backer in a US$75m fundraising in 2015.Fenergo’s revenues in the year to March 2017 were €30m. This financial year the target is €50m and Murphy said it was on track to comfortably beat that number.He said the target is to reach €100m in revenues and to list on Nasdaq in 2020.Helping banks navigate increased compliance and regulations is the focus of many of the financial technology firms that are targeting capital markets activities.Murphy said a lot of bank clients complain they have already submitted data and documentation requested by banks, often when new regulations are issued or a client wants a new product.”What we’re doing doesn’t make banks unique, but it allows them to trade and transact in a secure and compliant fashion. Regulation can be mutualised and shared as a commodity among like-minded banks.”We’re not a utility, we’re a technology company, but we’re using the principals of a utility to allow people to share their work to be safer and more cost effective whilst ensuring they stay compliant,” he said. (Reporting by Steve Slater) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/fenergo-hires-300-as-banks-step-up-mid-o/fenergo-hires-300-as-banks-step-up-mid-office-overhaul-idUSL8N1LN36P'|'2017-09-07T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'0ee370f56184f1565d4b6ca986fca50e5af032ad'|'Whirlpool''s washer battle with Samsung, LG heats up at trade hearing'|'September 7, 2017 / 7:10 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Whirlpool''s washer battle with Samsung, LG heats up at trade hearing Lesley Wroughton 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Whirlpool logo is seen at their plant in Apodaca, Monterrey, Mexico January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Appliance giant Whirlpool Corp ( WHR.N ) on Thursday called on the U.S. International Trade Commission to impose “global safeguard” restrictions on imported washing machines to stop its South Korean rivals Samsung and LG from flooding the American market with cheap machines. In testimony to the trade body, Whirlpool Chief Executive Officer Jeff Fettig accused Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) and LG Electronics Inc ( 066570.KS ) of pursuing a strategy of moving operations around the world to avoid paying U.S. duties. “Without safeguard relief, it is hard to see how we maintain our competitiveness in the face of a continued onslaught of low-priced imports,” Fettig said. He said the companies had moved major manufacturing operations to five different countries to avoid anti-dumping duties being imposed by the United States on their washing machines. “A global safeguard is absolutely critical because it is the only tool available under U.S. trade law that can remedy the impact of Samsung and LG’s evasive ‘country hopping’ behaviour,” he added. The ITC in January found that Whirlpool and other U.S. producers were injured by dumped imports of large residential washing machines from China. The 6-0 decision locked in place for five years final duties on the products of as much as 52.5 percent. Appealing to President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, Fettig warned that American jobs were at stake unless action was taken to halt the low-cost imports. FILE PHOTO - A flag bearing the logo of Samsung Electronics is pictured at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji While Whirlpool has been pursuing anti-dumping cases for years against its South Korean rivals, it did not seek broader relief under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 until Trump’s commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, took office with a mandate for a much tougher trade enforcement agenda. Two U.S. solar panel makers, SolarWorld America ( SWVKk.F ) and Suniva Inc, majority-owned by Chinese solar manufacturer Shunfeng International Clean Energy Ltd ( 1165.HK ), are seeking similar relief from imports in the first Section 201 case filed in more than a decade. CONSUMER BRAND APPEAL FILE PHOTO - A show attendee passes by the LG Electronics booth during the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, in this file picture taken January 9, 2009. REUTERS/Steve Marcus Samsung Electronics North America’s chief executive, Tim Baxter, rejected Whirlpool claims that the company’s washers were harming the U.S. appliance industry. “Our success in the U.S. laundry market is due to our ability to meet new consumer preferences,” Baxter said in prepared testimony for the hearing. “American consumers buy Samsung washing machines because of our design, quality workmanship and innovation.” Samsung said in June it would invest $380 million in a home appliance manufacturing plant in Newberry, South Carolina, which would generate 954 jobs by 2020. John Riddle, senior vice president of U.S. Home Appliances at LG, argued that LG’s growth in the U.S. market was because consumers were supporting its brand and that new retailers had decided to carry its products. The ITC will vote later this month on whether the washer imports cause harm to U.S. producers. If it makes such a finding, would recommend remedies by late November to Trump, who would make a final decision by early 2018. Additional reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trade-washers/whirlpools-washer-battle-with-samsung-lg-heats-up-at-trade-hearing-idUKKCN1BI2PQ'|'2017-09-07T22:10:00.000+03:00'
'ea22aa74b58908fb993d2300abf82c0f6ed690e2'|'UPDATE 1-FPL shut one reactor at Florida Turkey Point ahead of Irma'|'(Reuters) - Florida Power & Light (FPL) said it had shut one reactor at its Turkey Point nuclear plant on Saturday but will leave the other operating, after the forecast track for Hurricane Irma shifted toward the west and away from the South Florida plant.FPL also said it no longer plans to shut the two reactors at its St Lucie plant located on a barrier island on the state’s east coast, about 120 miles (193 km) north of Miami.Turkey Point is located about 30 miles south of Miami.Before Irma’s expected track changed, FPL said on Friday it planned to shut both units at Turkey Point sometime on Saturday about 24 hours before hurricane force winds reached the plant.The company also had said it planned to shut both reactors at St Lucie about 24 hours before hurricane force winds reached that plant.FPL, the biggest power company in Florida, changed its plan because hurricane force winds are no longer expected to reach either site.FPL is a unit of Florida energy company NextEra Energy Inc.Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-fpl-nuclear/fpl-shut-one-reactor-at-florida-turkey-point-ahead-of-irma-idUSKCN1BL0MD'|'2017-09-10T15:43:00.000+03:00'
'61b80c6d154ef1f8fdf8af48ccb8f47598e01cf3'|'Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects'|'September 8, 2017 / 4:00 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects Jarrett Renshaw , Ernest Scheyder 5 Min Read NEW YORK/HOUSTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast intend to go ahead with plans for near record spending on expansions next year, despite Hurricane Harvey driving up labor costs and slowing work, experts said. Harvey largely spared oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast from significant damage but thousands of homes and businesses were not as fortunate. Refiners and recovery projects will complete for the same labor, driving up costs or causing labor shortages. Industrial investment in the Gulf Coast is expected to hit $51.9 billion next year, near the 2015 peak, requiring an army of pipefitters, ironworkers and other craftsman, said Industrial Information Resources (IIR), which tracks labor supply for refiners and other industrial companies. “We had a labor shortage before Harvey, but now it’s significantly worse,” said IIR’s Anthony Salemme. “It’s going to spread to soft crafts like painters and insulators.” Investments have soared in recent years because the shale revolution fed off an existing infrastructure. The region’s deep water ports and expanding pipeline and storage networks offer an easy outlet to global markets. It also boasts a welcoming regulatory climate and skilled workforce. Since 2010, $85 billion worth of petrochemical projects have started or been completed across the United States, nearly all of them in the Gulf Coast region, according to the American Chemistry Council. But the concentration along the Gulf of Mexico leaves these facilities and supporting networks exposed to the brutal force of tropical storms and hurricanes, as Harvey laid bare last month. The storm shut roughly a quarter of the nation’s refinery capacity and more than a dozen petrochemical plants halted operations. Ports were closed and key fuel pipelines serving the Midwest and U.S. Northeast were partially or completely shut, driving up pump prices as fears of fuel shortages took hold. Preliminary assessments suggest that storm’s hit to the region is not deterring companies from going ahead with existing projects. But global commodities buyers such as Ineos Group and Reliance Industries Ltd that relied on existing facilities shut by the storm may now consider putting some warehouses and stock elsewhere. “The robustness of the supply chain is brought a little more under attention,” said David Witte, a senior vice president at consultants IHS Markit. “They may be looking at it differently.” Construction costs also could slow some work. INVESTMENT PLANS There is no sign that major new projects are under threat. Several with plans on the drawing board, including BASF SE , DowDuPont Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp are sticking to growth plans. Others said they will repair Harvey’s damage before making any decisions on long-term strategy for the region. Exxon earlier this year said it would invest $20 billion to expand Texas refining and petrochemical operations in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Baytown. All three communities were damaged by Harvey. As part of that expansion, Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp are proposing an about $10 billion chemical plant in Corpus Christi, near where Harvey made landfall. The project is moving forward, according to a source familiar with the matter. Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri declined to comment. DowDuPont is also undeterred from an ongoing $4 billion expansion project that includes new capacity in Freeport, Texas, on the coast. “Hurricane Harvey does not change our perspective on the region being a great location for our investments,” spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in a statement. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is expanding its operations in the Gulf, also has proposed new investments in western Pennsylvania, near the natural gas-rich Marcellus formation. The plant will help Shell capture a larger share of the U.S. market for polyethylene, more than half of which is concentrated in northern states. It took Shell years to make the decision to build the plant. Pennsylvania has started to position itself as a second U.S. refining region, even though new plants are years away from opening. The state lacks the specialized refining workforce and proximity to open water - and the Panama Canal - that make the Gulf Coast area still so appealing. The U.S. Gulf Coast will remain an attractive investment area, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith and other energy officials. “What this storm has demonstrated is the resilience of the energy system,” said Torgrim Reitan, who runs Statoil ASA’s U.S. operations. “Even a Harvey can’t take out this capacity.” (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Additional reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Julia Simon in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-energy-infrastructure/harvey-may-pinch-some-gulf-coast-refining-chemical-projects-idUSL2N1LG1W6'|'2017-09-08T07:00:00.000+03:00'
'613b771c121d43056b1df42c0b803cdeae313168'|'Ever better and cheaper, face-recognition technology is spreading'|'TOURING the headquarters of Megvii in Beijing is like visiting Big Brother’s engine room. A video camera in the firm’s lobby recognises visitors in the blink of an eye. Other such devices are deployed around the office. Some of the images they capture are shown on a wall of video called “Skynet”, after the artificial-intelligence (AI) system in the “Terminator” films. One feed shows a group of employees waiting in front of an elevator with a white frame around every face and the name of each person next to it. Quizzed on the Orwellian overtones of the set-up, Yin Qi, the startup’s chief executive, simply remarks that “this helps catch bad guys.”Even if Mr Yin wanted to ponder the implications of the technology, he would not have the time. Megvii is busy building what he describes as a “brain” for visual computing. The firm has come a long way since its founding in 2011 (its name stands for “mega vision”). More than 300,000 companies and individuals around the world use its face-recognition technology, which is called Face++, making it one of the biggest such services. In December Megvii raised $100m, giving it a valuation of nearly $2bn and turning it into the world’s first billion-dollar startup from might be called the “facial-industrial complex”.  5   5   16   21   a day ago Retail   Providers in this field sell hardware and software tools to recognise faces and then connect those faces to other useful data. Although the market is fairly small—the most optimistic estimates put it at a few billion dollars—the technology has started to permeate the wider business landscape. The main reason is that the accuracy of facial recognition is rapidly improving, putting it on the same trajectory as speech recognition, which really took off when accuracy improved by a final few percentage points, to almost 100%. “Most people underestimate the difference between 95% and 99% accuracy—99% is a game-changer,” Andrew Ng, a noted AI researcher, has said about speech recognition.What’s more, the smartphone will do for face recognition what smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo, have done for speech recognition: make it acceptable to consumers. Millions of Chinese already “swipe” their faces on smartphones to authorise payments. On September 12th Apple is expected to unveil a new version of its iPhone, with technology that can reliably identify the owner’s face and then unlock the device, even in the dark. That will come only a few weeks after Samsung presented a new Galaxy Note with a similar but less sophisticated feature.It makes sense to separate facial-recognition technology into two categories: the underlying capability and the applications that make use of it. Megvii’s Face++ belongs in the first category, as do similar offerings from SenseTime, another Chinese startup, NTechLab, a Russian firm, as well as Amazon, IBM and Microsoft. All provide face recognition as a cloud-computing service. Megvii’s customers can upload a batch of photos and names, and use them to train algorithms, which then can recognise those particular people. Firms can also integrate the recognition service into their own offerings, for instance to control access to online accounts.Megvii’s and SenseTime’s services are largely founded on good data. They have access to the Chinese government’s image database of 700m citizens, who are each given a photo ID by the age of 16. Chinese government agencies are also valuable customers—more and more of the country’s hundreds of millions of surveillance cameras will soon recognise faces. In Shenzhen facial recognition is used to identify jaywalkers; names and pictures go up on a screen. In Beijing the municipality has started using the technology to catch thieves of toilet paper in public restrooms (its system also prevents people from taking more than 60 centimetres of paper within a nine-minute period).Commercial applications, often powered by one of the cloud-computing services, are spreading even faster. On September 1st Ant Financial, a subsidiary of Alibaba, deployed its “Smile to Pay” system for the first time in a physical store: customers at a healthier version of a KFC restaurant, called KPRO, in Hangzhou, can settle their bill by looking at a screen (see picture). Xiaomai, a chain of convenience stores, has said it will use facial scans when people enter its stores in order to study their behaviour. Several Chinese banks now let users identify themselves at ATMs with their faces.The West is further behind. Some industries have long used a basic kind of face recognition, including casinos wishing to turn away notorious gamblers. But it is mainly big online companies that make (cautious) use of the technology. Facebook has gone furthest by having its members tag friends on photos so the firm’s algorithms can recognise them on other pictures. Google employs the technology in order to group pictures that users have uploaded to its photo service. Amazon’s new home speaker, Echo Look, also has a camera, which could presumably be made to recognise faces.Other firms are testing the waters. JetBlue and other American airlines have taken initial steps to match passengers’ faces to passport photos, aiming to eliminate boarding passes. Lloyds Bank is not the only Western bank planning to copy Chinese ones and allow customers to use their faces to log into accounts. Uber, a ride-hailing firm, has a system requiring drivers in India to take a selfie before starting a shift. This should cut down on unregistered drivers impersonating registered ones. Nvidia, a chipmaker, has plans for facial recognition in its new Californian headquarters.There is potential for products that lift sales, too. Video cameras could, for instance, recognise loyal customers and VIPs who deserve special treatment. They could detect dissatisfaction on shoppers’ faces and dispatch staff to intervene. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is said to be working on a facial-recognition system to improve customer service.Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the spread of these services has already prompted efforts to thwart them. An Israeli startup, D-ID, which stands for “de-identification”, has developed software that slightly alters photos so that algorithms cannot recognise them. This allows people to share pictures of their faces without having to worry that they will be used to identify them. Others have suggest low-tech defences against sophisticated surveillance systems, such as glasses with hallucinogenic patterns on the frame of the specs, or simply wearing masks or make-up.Yet it is unlikely that such “adversarial attacks”, in the lingo, will keep face recognition from being widely used. Mr Yin of Megvii expects the technology to become a commodity. This is why he has already set his sights higher. He is directing the firm’s computer-vision brain towards even more complex tasks, such as interpreting human behaviour and recognising objects.In the long run Mr Yin wants his firm to develop into an “algorithm factory” that offers all sorts of building blocks for computer-vision services, which other firms will be able to combine and recombine in order to come up with ever more sophisticated offerings. Whether Megvii lives up to this ambition or not, the technologies it peddles will only spread.Dig deeper Leader: What machines can tell from your face Science and technology (1): Advances in AI are used to spot signs of sexuality Science and technology (2): Researchers produce images of people’s faces from their genomes This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "The facial-industrial complex"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728654-chinas-megvii-has-used-government-collected-data-lead-sector-ever-better-and-cheaper?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'0e90d9000790151b4929e5c159b2656913784b1f'|'Kraft Heinz names 3G Capital partner David Knopf as CFO'|' 49 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Kraft Heinz names 3G Capital partner David Knopf as CFO   FILE PHOTO - A Heinz Ketchup bottle sits between a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and a bottle of Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce on a grocery store shelf in New York March 25, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters) - Heinz ketchup maker Kraft Heinz Co ( KHC.O ) said on Friday 3G Capital partner David Knopf would replace Paulo Basilio as its chief financial officer, starting in October. Kraft Heinz, backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett and private equity firm 3G Capital, also said Basilio would become president of its U.S. business, while Chief Operating Officer George Zoghbi will transition to a strategic adviser role. Knopf, 29, currently the vice president and category head of Kraft Heinz’s Planters nuts business, has worked with 3G Capital on mergers involving companies such as Burger King and H.J. Heinz Co. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kraft-heinz-cfo/kraft-heinz-names-3g-capital-partner-david-knopf-as-cfo-idUKKCN1BJ1JZ'|'2017-09-08T15:49:00.000+03:00'
'62f4bf85d27df5e94f36e618fa8ac77c93b2fa14'|'FBI probing if Uber used software to interfere with rivals - WSJ'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:30 PM / Updated 6 hours ago FBI probing if Uber used software to interfere with rivals - WSJ Reuters Staff 2 Min Read An electronic billboard advertising Uber is seen in front of an office block in London, Britain, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing to see if Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] had used software to illegally interfere with its competitors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The investigation is focusing on an Uber programme, internally known as “Hell,” that could track drivers working for rival service Lyft Inc, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the investigation. Under the programme, which was discontinued last year, Uber created fake Lyft customer accounts to seek rides, allowing it to track nearby Lyft drivers and ride prices, the Journal said. This also allowed Uber to obtain data on drivers who worked with both the car-ride providers and could have allowed it to lure drivers to leave Lyft with cash incentives, WSJ added. Uber was not immediately available for comment. The key question for investigators was whether the programme comprised of unauthorized access of a computer, the newspaper reported. The investigation is being led by the FBI’s New York office and the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, the Journal said. Uber is already grappling with a range of legal troubles and the report of the FBI investigation comes days after the company named Expedia Inc’s ( EXPE.O ) Dara Khosrowshahi as its chief executive. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-probe/fbi-probing-if-uber-used-software-to-interfere-with-rivals-wsj-idUKKCN1BJ1HH'|'2017-09-08T15:28:00.000+03:00'
'9b02bc13f70a233fc72a3c72fa4bc7400d2447b8'|'UK''s EnQuest gets waiver on quarterly credit test as profits drop'|'September 8, 2017 / 11:26 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago UK''s EnQuest gets waiver on quarterly credit test as profits drop Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Heavily indebted North Sea oil producer EnQuest ( ENQ.L ) has received a waiver on a quarterly credit review due in September after a slow ramp up of its flagship project led to a drop in earnings. London-listed EnQuest last year underwent financial restructuring to cope with low oil prices and a large spending programme to get its $2.5 billion (£1.89 billion) Kraken field up and running. A slower-than-expected ramp up of the field since it started production in June led to a drop in revenue and a risk that EnQuest would breach terms of its loan covenant. EnQuest’s debt rose to $1.92 billion   2017. “We’ve received the waiver for September. We went proactively to the banks to do that,” Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Swinney told analysts on Thursday. Companies regularly undergo financial stress tests, also known as a loan test, to check their ability to repay debt. The company said more quarterly waivers might be required in order to maintain its credit facility. Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-enquest-debt/uks-enquest-gets-waiver-on-quarterly-credit-test-as-profits-drop-idUKKCN1BJ1B9'|'2017-09-08T14:26:00.000+03:00'
'b1406bf53475d6ba868c0d619d65d99a0ef0b6ec'|'India slaps additional tax on some Chinese stainless steel imports'|'An employee works among stainless steel sheets at a steel factory in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China, September 2, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has imposed an additional import tax on certain stainless steel flat products from China for five years in order to curb influx of cheaper foreign imports, a government statement government imposed 18.95 percent countervailing duty on some hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel flat products, a first such levy on a steel product. This is aimed at helping local steel makers benefit when there is surge in imports, it said. bit.ly/2xhu17x“This would provide the much-needed relief to the stainless steel industry from the subsidized imports from China,” the statement said.“These imports were distorting the domestic market, which was under huge stress and led to financial stress in the industry.”India has previously imposed slew of anti-dumping duties on import of steel and stainless steel products from China, Japan and South Korea.The U.S. Department of Commerce said on Wednesday it has started a probe into possible dumping and subsidization of stainless steel flanges from China and India.Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-stainlesssteel-imports/india-slaps-additional-tax-on-some-chinese-stainless-steel-imports-idINKCN1BJ192'|'2017-09-08T14:06:00.000+03:00'
'4151c5afc6385a8a36848981c580ec7799f2d68a'|'Azerbaijan''s SOCAR to boost its share in new deal with BP on oil fields'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:04 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Azerbaijan''s SOCAR to boost its share in new deal with BP on oil fields Reuters Staff 2 Min Read TBILISI/BAKU, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Azeri state energy company SOCAR is expected to increase its share in a new production sharing agreement with oil major BP for development of the country’s biggest oilfields, two industry sources familiar with the content of talks on the deal told Reuters. “According to preliminary information, SOCAR will increase its share at the expense of a share reduction of other companies, including BP,” an industry source, who is aware of the content of the negotiations, told Reuters. Another industry source, who also is familiar with the content of the talks and did not want to be named, said that SOCAR’s share in a new contract could be increased to 20 percent from the current 11.6 percent, while BP’s share could be reduced to 30 percent from the current 35.8 percent. “The shares of some other companies might be also reduced,” the source said. The figures in the final contract might still change, the source said. A spokeswoman for BP in Azerbaijan said: “We don’t have information on the content of the contract now.” A SOCAR spokesman said the company had no immediate comment. The shareholders in the consortium include BP, SOCAR, Chevron, INPEX, Statoil, ExxonMobil , TPAO, ITOCHU and ONGC Videsh. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze in TBILISI and Nailia Bagirova in BAKU; writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Christian Lowe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bp-azerbaijan-agreement/azerbaijans-socar-to-boost-its-share-in-new-deal-with-bp-on-oil-fields-idUSL8N1LP3HP'|'2017-09-08T16:03:00.000+03:00'
'7af0dac52836c0a4ec31e1aa4b675804b5518734'|'ECB''s Weidmann warns of sluggish inflation, uncertainty'|'September 8, 2017 / 9:27 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago ECB''s Weidmann warns of sluggish inflation, uncertainty Reuters Staff 1 Min Read File photo: Jens Weidmann makes remarks at a press briefing during the IMF and World Bank''s 2017 Annual Spring Meetings, in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of Germany’s central bank warned on Friday that euro zone inflation remained sluggish and the outlook is uncertain, striking a cautious tone as the European Central Bank prepares to decide on the future of its aggressive stimulus programme. A long-standing critic of the ECB’s massive purchases of sovereign bonds, Jens Weidmann backed the central bank’s decision on Thursday to keep policy on hold and put off any move until October. “The forecasts published yesterday show that the increase in inflation is sluggish and the uncertainty about the future inflation path is quite large,” Weidmann, who sits on the ECB’s Governing Council, told an audience in Hamburg, Germany. “For this reason, the Governing Council has decided to wait and take its time to assess the monetary policy situation,” he added. Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-weidmann/ecbs-weidmann-warns-of-sluggish-inflation-uncertainty-idUKKCN1BJ10I'|'2017-09-08T13:00:00.000+03:00'
'03b8b4e7edf410817b30d2844ee0d82625ee92a0'|'Western Digital seeks Y50 billion from Apple to help finance Toshiba chip bid: Kyodo'|'FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building under construction is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) has sought to stop Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) from taking control of Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) chip business by threatening not to buy its products in the future, people with knowledge of the deal said.Apple, which uses Toshiba’s NAND flash memory chips in its iPhones, is concerned about losing pricing power if Western Digital is running the operation, the sources said on Friday.However, if Western Digital remains a minority investor in the business, Apple, a top customer for Toshiba chips, is offering around 50 billion yen ($460 million) to a group including the U.S. firm to help finance a bid, one source said.Apple declined to comment, while a Western Digital spokeswoman said it could not comment on details of the talks. Toshiba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key chip plant, is leading a $17-18 billion bid for the chip business, sources familiar with the talks have said.Sources said earlier in the week that Western Digital offered to step back from the consortium’s financing in return for a stronger position in their joint venture, and was roping in Apple for funding.But it has been unclear whether other parties in the consortium, which also includes U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) as well as Japanese government-backed investors, would pay more to cover for the 15 billion yen that Western Digital had previously planned to pay as part of the bid.Sources have said Western Digital does want a future stake in the chip business, although it was unclear how much.Toshiba executives, fearing that Western Digital was angling to eventually take over the chip business, are demanding that the U.S. company promise to limit the size of its stake in the company, sources said, requesting anonymity as talks were confidential.Toshiba’s board is now aiming to reach a final agreement with the consortium by Wednesday, sources have said.The company is under pressure to clinch a deal soon and complete regulatory approvals by the end of the fiscal year in March to ensure it does not report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running - a scenario that could result in delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Last week, Toshiba said it had not yet narrowed the pool of suitors and was also looking at a bid from U.S. private equity firm Bain as well as one from Taiwan’s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ).All three bids have involved Apple, Toshiba’s key memory chip customer, sources said.($1 = 107.6800 yen)Reporting by Taro Fuse; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Kentaro Hamada in Tokyo and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Shri Navaratnam/Christopher Cushing/William Mallard/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-apple/western-digital-seeks-y50-billion-from-apple-to-help-finance-toshiba-chip-bid-kyodo-idUSKCN1BJ0QC'|'2017-09-08T10:32:00.000+03:00'
'd3fb40eb4f446af1e2ee2f9eb1332a8bfe270f31'|'China August imports beat forecasts but exports shows signs of softening'|'September 8, 2017 / 6:42 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago China August imports beat forecasts but exports shows signs of softening Elias Glenn , Stella Qiu 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Trucks loaded with cargo containers are seen at Ningbo Zhoushan Port, Zhejiang province, December 7, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China posted stronger-than-expected import growth in August, reinforcing views that the world’s second-largest economy is still expanding at a healthy pace despite tighter policy. China’s imports grew 13.3 percent from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, handily beating analysts’ forecast of 10 percent and accelerating from an 11.0 percent pace in July. Purchases of industrial commodities continued to lead the way as soaring steel prices boost Chinese mills’ appetite for high-quality foreign iron ore to feed a year-long construction boom. “The strong import data suggests that domestic demand may be more resilient than expected in the second half to less accommodative monetary policy,” said Louis Kuijs at Oxford Economics in a note, referring to a clampdown on riskier forms of lending which is pushing up borrowing costs. Exports showed signs of softening, however, with growth cooling to 5.5 percent from a year earlier, roughly in line with analysts’ forecasts for a 6.0 percent increase but down from 7.2 percent in July. Export growth was the slowest since shipments fell in February, but analysts don’t foresee a protracted slowdown for the world’s largest exporter as global demand still appears solid. Germany’s BGA trade association now expects German exports to rise 5 percent in 2017, double its earlier forecast, Die Welt newspaper reported on Friday. Global manufacturing activity also expanded strongly in August, adding to views that demand was holding up in the current quarter. In addition, China has tended to lag export trends seen elsewhere in North Asia this year. Neighbouring South Korea last week reported robust shipments in August, though the rate of growth eased slightly from July. China’s electronics exports, which tend to be higher-value and higher-margin goods, increased 7.4 percent in August, while textile and apparel shipments fell by the single digits. BEIJING BEGINNING TO WORRY ABOUT STRONGER YUAN A surging yuan could complicate China’s trade picture in coming months. Policymakers are beginning to worry as exporters come under strain as the currency scales 21-month highs, insiders told Reuters. But most analysts say the stronger currency has not yet had a big impact on exports as companies price orders based on longer-term currency trends. “The strength in the yuan is unlikely to change our optimistic view on China’s near-term export outlook,” ANZ senior China economist Betty Wang wrote in a note, arguing that China has a strong position in global supply chains. Nevertheless, some smaller Chinese exporters have started to complain of losses due to a sharp turnaround in the yuan CNY=CFXS , which has firmed nearly 7.8 percent against the faltering U.S. dollar so far this year.[CNY/] Much of that surge has come in just the past few months, with the currency appreciating 2.1 percent in August alone. The mixed performance left China with a trade surplus of $41.99 billion for August, the General Administration of Customs said, the lowest since May. Analysts were expecting China’s trade surplus to have widened to $48.6 billion in August from July’s $46.73 billion (35.57 billion pounds) . SURPLUS WITH U.S. RISES The growth of China’s exports to the United States at 8.4 percent in August was the slowest pace since a decline in February, while its imports of U.S. goods rose 18.1 percent on-year after a 24.2 percent jump in the previous month. Shipments to the European Union rose only 5.2 percent in August, the second straight month of declining growth, while exports to Southeast Asia and Taiwan grew at a faster rate. Despite a rebound in 2017 from several lean years, China’s trade picture also continues to be clouded by persistent worries of further trade tensions with the United States, China’s largest export market. August saw China with its largest surplus with the U.S. since September 2015 at $26.2 billion, up from $25.2 billion in July. That could give fresh ammunition to U.S. President Donald Trump who has long complained that the trade imbalance between the two nations hurts the U.S. economy. Trump in August authorized an inquiry into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property in the first direct trade measure by his administration against Beijing, but one that is unlikely to prompt near-term change. Beijing has responded that China will tighten controls over IP theft, admitting that its IP protection was “not perfect” as a developing country. Improving global demand, particularly for electronics, has boosted exports for China and other trade-reliant Asian economies this year. But investors have been more focused on its strong appetite for imports, particularly industrial commodities such as iron ore and coal, which have sparked a global price rally and fuelled higher earnings and share prices for many resource-related companies. Sturdy import demand is good news for the government as it prepares for a key Communist Party Congress next month. Fueled by strong government infrastructure spending, generous bank lending and improving exports, China’s resilience has surprised investors and analysts so far this year. First-half economic growth surged to 6.9 percent, which should provide enough momentum to easily meet or beat Bejing’s full-year growth target of around 6.5 percent. Reporting by Stella Qiu and Elias Glenn; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-trade/china-august-imports-beat-forecasts-but-exports-shows-signs-of-softening-idUKKCN1BJ0LM'|'2017-09-08T09:42:00.000+03:00'
'45475a7e2d252678b433f42bb2f1b26d2a0aa70b'|'Volvo Cars to buy Luxe assets to boost digital services'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - Geely-owned Volvo Car Group said on Friday it would buy some assets of Luxe, a U.S. based premium valet and concierge service, to boost the development of its digital services.Volvo Car Group said the technology behind Luxe will help it advance its algorithms used for routing, logistics planning and arrival time predictions.The deal is also expected to accelerate its ability to offer digital customer experiences such as pick-up and drop-off services, the automaker said. ( bit.ly/2eL4Yym )No financial details of the transaction were disclosed. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/luxe-ma-volvo/volvo-cars-to-buy-luxe-assets-to-boost-digital-services-idINL4N1LP4GI'|'2017-09-08T12:17:00.000+03:00'
'7bef462eb75f5c6cd0663864580cd7e708d429e3'|'German competition watchdog to announce Facebook findings by year-end'|' 17 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago German competition watchdog to announce Facebook findings by year-end Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/Illustration/File Photo FLORENCE (Reuters) - The initial findings of Germany’s investigation of U.S. social network company Facebook over possible market abuse will be announced by the end of the year, the country’s cartel office said on Friday. The competition watchdog’s investigation, which kicked off in March last year, was triggered by concerns that users were not properly informed about how Facebook used personal data and that this could violate Germany’s data protection laws. Facebook, which generates revenues from advertising based on data from its users’ social connections, opinions and activities, has said it complies with the law. “I think we will present first results of this case before the end of this year,” Federal Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt told a conference organised by the International Bar Association. Companies can be fined up to 10 percent of their annual turnover by the German competition regulator if found guilty of abusing a dominant market position, though it has never imposed the maximum penalty. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-antitrust-germany/german-competition-watchdog-to-announce-facebook-findings-by-year-end-idUKKCN1BJ101'|'2017-09-08T12:17:00.000+03:00'
'1f904633cac4ca1598875f203336cc008d7a893a'|'FTSE falls as consumer stocks falter, Greene King drowns sorrows'|'September 8, 2017 / 9:39 AM / Updated an hour ago FTSE falls as consumer stocks falter, Greene King drowns sorrows Kit Rees 4 Min Read A sign displays the crest and name of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - A fall in mining stocks put pressure on Britain’s top share index on Friday, while British consumer-facing stocks came into sharp focus after pub operator Greene King’s ( GNK.L ) shares plunged following a bleak trading update. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index ended down 0.3 percent at 7,377.60 points, while mid caps .FTMC declined 0.4 percent. A decline in the copper price weighed on the FTSE’s miners, with Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ), BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) and Anglo American ( AAL.L ) all down more than 3 percent. Shares in mid cap brewer Greene King slumped more than 15 percent to a five-year low after it reported a fall in sales at its pubs, warning of tougher times ahead. The rise in inflation following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union last June has squeezed consumer spending, which has also been hit by muted wage growth. This in turn has made it a difficult environment for firms in the pub, restaurant and retail industries. Shares in rivals Marston’s ( MARS.L ), Mitchells & Butlers ( MAB.L ) and J D Wetherspoon ( JDW.L ) all fell, by between 2.6 percent and 8.5 percent. Among blue chips, Costa Coffee operator Whitbread ( WTB.L ) declined 0.6 percent. Broker Investec also cut its rating on Greene King shares to a “hold” from a “buy”. “We believe EPS momentum remains limited given the weak LFL (like-for-like) backdrop and high cost pressure environment, though the yield should provide some support to the share price,” analysts at Investec said in a note. The FTSE 100 ended a week dominated by a European Central Bank meeting with a loss of 0.8 percent. Banks, however, were among top gainers on Friday after the central bank indicated it was preparing to scale back its stimulus programme. “In recent years it’s been a problem for banks that interest rates have been as low as they are because that reduces their ability to earn a reasonable net interest margin,” said Nicholas Hyett, equities analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Lots of people have been waiting for it for a long time. Realistically how much monetary tightening are we going to see from the ECB? Probably not a great deal. It’s the start of a process, rather than the end of one,” Hyett added. Burberry ( BRBY.L ) rose 0.5 percent on the back of a positive note from Credit Suisse, whose analysts raised the luxury goods group to “outperform”, highlighting it as one of their top turnaround picks. “Burberry has undergone the biggest management reshuffle since its 2002 IPO,” analysts at Credit Suisse said in a note. “Margins are close to historical lows and the cost cutting plan in place should alleviate concerns about further earnings downgrades. With sell-side positioning the most negative it has been since 2009, we think this creates a buying opportunity,” Credit Suisse analysts added. Reporting by Kit Rees and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Alison Williams, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-falls-as-consumer-stocks-falter-greene-king-drowns-sorrows-idUKKCN1BJ11K'|'2017-09-08T12:39:00.000+03:00'
'dd323b078370b50c892c08a963c94f2e44098b35'|'Thomas Cook''s UK pilots threaten more strikes if pay talks fail'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:24 PM / Updated an hour ago Thomas Cook''s UK pilots threaten more strikes if pay talks fail Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Thomas Cook plane takes off from Liverpool John Lennon Airport in Liverpool northern England, May 19 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) - Pilots working for British tour operator Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ) will strike on three more days during September and October if talks starting next week fail to resolve a dispute over pay, the pilots’ union said on Friday. Thomas Cook pilots went on strike on Friday for 12 hours in what the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) said was the first walkout by British pilots in more than 40 years. Talks, due to start on Sept. 12, have been facilitated by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). Five days of negotiations will run over a two-week period. Strikes would be staged on Sept. 23, Sept. 29 and Oct. 3 if those talks failed, BALPA said. “There is still a significant gap between us and Thomas Cook so we cannot assume that those talks will succeed. That’s why we’ve set new strike dates,” BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said in a statement. Thomas Cook said all its flights operated during Friday’s stoppage. “We are disappointed that BALPA has announced further strike dates. We have set out a fair pay increase,” a Thomas Cook spokesman said in a statement, urging BALPA to negotiate. “BALPA have not moved from their demands for a pay rise which adds up to more than 10 per cent, or around 10,000 pounds ($13,217.00) per pilot,” it said. Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thomas-cook-grp-airlines-strike/thomas-cooks-uk-pilots-threaten-more-strikes-if-pay-talks-fail-idUKKCN1BJ1MV'|'2017-09-08T16:23:00.000+03:00'
'78d3eea7f0751797732571287275bd2379861f89'|'Chinese online insurer ZhongAn wins HK approval for $1 billion IPO -sources'|' 26 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Chinese online insurer ZhongAn wins HK approval for $1 billion IPO -sources   HONG KONG (Reuters) - ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd, China’s first internet-only insurer, secured Hong Kong stock exchange approval for its planned initial public offering which could raise more than $1 billion (761.21 million pounds), sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Friday. The company plans to start gauging investor appetite for the IPO, the largest by a financial technology (fintech) company in the city, as soon as Monday after receiving the nod from the listing committee of the Hong Kong stock exchange, added the sources. The sources could not be named because details of the deal are not public. ZhongAn did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on its IPO plans. Reporting by Julie Zhu and Elzio Barreto; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-zhongan-online-ipo/chinese-online-insurer-zhongan-wins-hk-approval-for-1-billion-ipo-sources-idUKKCN1BJ0GU'|'2017-09-08T08:26:00.000+03:00'
'33008beba11f5b5806cab74b7d5213301f6fcf48'|'America’s utilities prepare for a nuclear threat to the grid'|'WHEN North Korea said on September 3rd that it had developed a hydrogen bomb, adding that it could be used for a “super-powerful” high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) attack, America’s electricity industry was already on alert. Sceptics tend to dismiss as far-fetched the idea that the rogue regime would knock out the electricity grid by detonating a nuclear bomb high in the atmosphere. Regulators have not mandated safety measures. But the utilities are taking it seriously enough.They are more than a year into a three-year programme, funded by about 60 electricity firms, to understand the potential impact of a HEMP attack on the generation and transmission of electricity, and to find ways to shield the network. Such concerns are not new. In 1962, when America exploded nuclear devices high above the Pacific, electrical damage was found in Hawaii. The industry has also studied analogous space-weather effects on power systems, such as a geomagnetic storm in 1989 that knocked out power in Quebec.  20   20   But North Korea’s threat has focused more attention on the matter, says Robert Manning of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a non-profit organisation that is leading industry efforts. One problem underlined at a Senate hearing in May was the armed forces’ reluctance to share intelligence with utilities, and their lack of understanding about how to keep electricity flowing. “We were almost speaking past each other,” says Mr Manning. Communication has since improved, he adds.An EMP has three components, known as E1, E2 and E3, that from high altitude can spread across thousands of miles. The shortest, E1, lasts for nanoseconds, but can damage electronic components such as computers and electricity infrastructure. E2 is similar to a lightning strike, longer than E1 but at a lower amplitude. E3 is the longest-lasting and can affect transmission lines and the transformers connecting output from power stations to the grid.Some have argued that an attack on America’s power grid could lead to a catastrophic blackout lasting months. An EPRI study in February calculated that E3 from multiple detonations was unlikely to cause mass transformer failure. But it sees no cause for complacency and is doing more studies.Mr Manning says the industry is also looking for ways to shield equipment from electromagnetism, for example by using Faraday cages, metallic structures that block radio waves, to render the threat less effective. In Europe and Israel, experts have long studied HEMP. South Korea and Japan, also in the line of fire, are waking up to the threat too, he says.  Business   "HEMP-induced anxiety"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728664-north-korea-has-given-electricity-industry-jolt-fear-americas-utilities-prepare?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'bc0a7c343aa408962c3bfe15e57b5cefd3dded8b'|'An infrastructure for charging electric vehicles takes shape'|'A NEW phrase, “range anxiety”—the fear that an electric vehicle (EV) will run out of power before it reaches a charging-point—entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. At the time a Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling EV, could travel only 120km between charges. A car with a full tank of fuel will travel 650-800km between refills. A motorist relying on batteries has to find a public charger, a rare sight in 2013, or plug in at home to cover the same distance. Range anxiety has not gone away as EVs have advanced. But the problem now feels much more soluble.Many governments are pushing hard to replace the internal combustion engine (ICE) with cleaner EVs—this summer both Britain and France said that by 2040 new cars completely reliant on petrol or diesel will be illegal. By 2050, half the cars on the road globally, a billion in total, will be battery-powered, reckons Morgan Stanley, a bank. Falling battery costs mean that the total cost of EV ownership will soon hit parity with ICE models. Surveys show, however, that car buyers’ worries about charging—where you can do it, and how long it will take—remain a big impediment to going electric (after high prices). Unless buyers can be reassured about the availability and speed of charging, the EV revolution may progress at the pace of a milk float, not a Tesla in fast-accelerating “ludicrous” mode.Better EV batteries with greater capacity are helping. A range of 190km or more is now the norm. Nissan’s latest LEAF, unveiled on September 6th, will travel nearly 400km between charges. Tesla’s Model S, a luxury EV launched in 2012, has a range of 500km, as does its new Model 3, a cheaper car for the mass market.As ownership of EVs spreads, another reassuring fact is becoming clear: the amount of daily driving that people actually do, combined with an ability to charge at home, mean public charging facilities are rarely needed. Four out of five Europeans drive less than 100km a day. The average daily distance a car covers in Britain, for example, is less than 40km. Americans cover around 70km a day.So far, most EVs have been bought by better-off motorists, who usually have off-street parking with a socket to plug into. Over 90% of charging is currently done at home, carmakers say. Charging times at home are hardly a difficulty—a standard residential electricity supply and a 3.5KW charger will fill a battery in a smaller car in about eight hours, as its owner sleeps. A special 7KW home charger can recharge a Tesla’s larger batteries in eight hours. A car with a smaller battery takes just four.Yet mass adoption of EVs will mean appealing to the millions of households without garages. Nor can people on long road trips rely on better batteries alone. So far the rate of increase in the number of public charging-points in rich countries has just about kept pace with the growth of EVs, says Sean O’Flynn of Alix Partners, a consulting firm. In America the number of charging-stations grew by more than a quarter, to almost 16,000, in 2016 (see chart). But in most places the system needs to expand to provide enough chargers of the right capacities in the right locations.Carmakers, governments and commercial charging firms are all investing. Carmakers can differentiate their vehicles by providing souped-up charging. Tesla plans to expand its global network of 145KW “supercharger” stations, to 10,000. These public facilities can replenish the firm’s larger batteries to 80%—charged in 40 minutes (for technical reasons, fast chargers cannot top up batteries completely). Several other carmakers are also rolling out their own fast-charging networks, which need expensive kit but bring charging speeds down to the time it takes to use a conventional fuel pump. Nissan now has a global network of 4,000 fast chargers. Last year Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen and Ford also said they would together install a total of 400 public charging-points in Europe delivering 350KW, which will charge a small car to three-quarters full in four minutes and a big vehicle in 12 minutes.City and national governments are working on slower roadside charging for drivers who cannot plug in at home. Officials in London recently announced plans for 1,500 new charging-points by 2020. Local authorities there are experimenting with providing low-cost kerbside charging by enabling streetlights to double up as charging-points. France, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway are among the countries that have launched initiatives to improve access to public charging. (The EU is also mulling regulations that will require all new dwellings to have access to an EV charging-point.) China’s government, which is set on remaining the largest market for electric cars, has far bigger plans. This year alone it is installing 800,000 public charging-points, including 100,000 semipublic ones at workplaces and for taxis and commercial vehicles.Companies that do nothing but provide charging services have their own plans to invest large sums as more EVs hit the road. Pat Romano of Chargepoint, based in California, which runs more charging stations worldwide than any other firm, sees workplace charging as another way of filling the charging gap. He notes that for a few thousand dollars spent on the equipment, plus a cost for electricity that is about the same as the price of a cup of coffee a day, employers can offer workers free charging in the office car park. Commercial firms such as Chargepoint may well come to dominate charging away from the home, if only because they are more focused on it than either carmakers or governments.Better business models and technology should further increase the availability of charging. Chargie, an app that allows owners of home chargers to rent them to the public much like an Airbnb flat, launched recently in Britain. Wireless inductive charging from road to car is already technically feasible, if expensive; that would make sense at taxi ranks when vehicles sit idle, for example. Qualcomm, a chipmaker, has demonstrated technology for recharging a moving vehicle off any road surface, although this way of providing limitless range is still some way off.So there seems little likelihood that a dearth of infrastructure will hold back the spread of EVs. Some pundits imagine car parks of the future bristling with charging-points as plugging in becomes normal and filling with liquid fuel is regarded as an aberration. Range anxiety may then be remembered only by ageing motorists, along with other quaint old phrases such as “fill it up and check the oil”. Business "Charge of the battery brigade"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728671-reliable-network-should-not-prove-insurmountable-roadblock-infrastructure-charging?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'274c161083d43249a094bc328b9e94bc7ba79b31'|'Britain makes more funding available to help expand broadband'|'September 8, 2017 / 11:06 PM / Updated 13 hours ago Britain makes more funding available to help expand broadband Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo for the British Telecom group is seen outside of offices in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said 645 million pounds would be available to provide superfast broadband to more remote locations after a higher-than-expected take up of services delivered a windfall in funding. The government has been subsidising the roll-out of connections of 24 Mbps and above to 4.5 million premises in remote locations, and it requires its suppliers to recycle the funding when take-up is higher than expected. BT, its main supplier, has set aside 465 million pounds of funding - up from 292 million pounds in December - to extend coverage, which will be boosted by 180 million pounds of project efficiencies, the government said. Minister for Digital Matt Hancock said superfast broadband was now available to 94 percent of UK homes and businesses and it would reach 95 per cent by the end of the year. “The money that is now being returned to the programme for reinvestment will help us reach that final 5 per cent, and is all part of our commitment to make sure that 100 percent of the UK can get affordable, fast and reliable broadband by 2020,” he said. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-broadband/britain-makes-more-funding-available-to-help-expand-broadband-idUKKCN1BJ2Q6'|'2017-09-09T02:06:00.000+03:00'
'c9488fedf9b58f67fcd6d370d6519a0826393d19'|'Eldorado vows to exhaust all legal means for Greek gold mine permits'|'ATHENS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Canada’s Eldorado Gold Corp will exhaust all legal means to secure the permits it needs for its gold mine investment in Greece, its chief executive said in a newspaper interview.Eldorado is developing the Skouries and Olympias projects in northern Greece, where it also operates the Stratoni mine. Skouries has been a particular flash point with the authorities, with differences lasting for years over testing methods applied to comply with environmental regulations.“We will exhaust all legal means to get the necessary permits and I believe we will get them,” Eldorado Chief Executive George Burns told Kathimerini’s Sunday edition.“If our differences cannot be sorted out in a friendly manner, I will do whatever it takes to defend our shareholders and our employees’ interests.”Eldorado has applied for licensing but the energy ministry has said it would launch an arbitration process this month to ensure that the Toronto-based miner respects its contractual obligations.“We want a good relationship with the Greek state. We have shown a lot of patience and we will continue to show patience,” Burns said, adding the company had spent more than two billion dollars to acquire Greek assets and a further one billion dollars to develop them.Greece, which has received three international bailouts since 2010, is seeking investments to rebuild its economy and help it emerge from years of deep economic crisis.Publicly, its leftist-led government backs investment but investors often complain of hurdles such as excessive red tape and labour union and political resistance. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Gareth Jones) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eldorado-greece/eldorado-vows-to-exhaust-all-legal-means-for-greek-gold-mine-permits-idUSL5N1LQ0GJ'|'2017-09-10T02:40:00.000+03:00'
'0d06cd830e431f10902d86ce8963d5bedcb0a2cd'|'Fed''s Dudley still sees inflation rebound, U.S. rate hikes'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:14 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Fed''s Dudley still sees inflation rebound, U.S. rate hikes Jonathan Spicer , Stephanie Kelly 2 Min Read File Photo - William Dudley, President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, speaks at Brooklyn College in the Brooklyn borough of New York, March 7, 2014. REUTERS/Keith Bedford/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should continue gradually raising U.S. interest rates given low inflation should rebound, an influential Fed policymaker said in a Thursday speech that sounded slightly less confident than his previous hawkish comments in the face of weak price readings. New York Fed President William Dudley did not repeat an assertion three weeks ago that he expects to raise rates once more this year, and he called the persistent shortfall in prices surprising. Yet he reinforced the U.S. central bank’s general expectation that an inflation rebound is around the corner, allowing it to continue tightening monetary policy. “Even though inflation is currently somewhat below our longer-run objective, I judge that it is still appropriate to continue to remove monetary policy accommodation gradually,” said Dudley, a permanent voter on policy and a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen. The central bank has raised rates twice this year in a nod to decent economic growth, falling unemployment and solid job gains. Yet months of falling or flat inflation readings have flummoxed policymakers and caused investors to grow sceptical of a December rate hike, as implied in Fed forecasts from June. Dudley, who also predicted the Fed’s bond portfolio would shrink to $2.4 trillion (1.84 trillion pounds) to $3.5 trillion by early next decade, said the inflation weakness may hint at “structural factors” that would be positive for the economy and for workers. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure is now 1.4 percent. But Dudley said the falling dollar and “the fading of effects from a number of temporary, idiosyncratic factors” means that inflation will rise to the Fed’s 2-percent goal “over the medium term.” “I expect that the U.S. economy will continue to perform quite well,” he added. Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Stephanie Kelly; editing by Diane Craft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-dudley/feds-dudley-still-sees-inflation-rebound-u-s-rate-hikes-idUKKCN1BI350'|'2017-09-08T02:14:00.000+03:00'
'dea523503dbe7bbb145c650ca807c3de6d5f3f01'|'Wall St Week Ahead-High divi stocks may find favor as market headwinds abound'|'NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - High dividend yield stocks such as telecoms and utilities are looking more tempting as investors become increasingly nervous about the outlook for equities and as U.S. Treasury yields hover near a 10-month low.The wide spread between the 10-year Treasury note and high-dividend payers, coupled with these stocks’ reputation as a safer play, could tempt investors to move away from high growth names.A nuclear test from North Korea on Sunday rattled investors when markets opened on Tuesday after the extended holiday weekend, pushing the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes to a 10-month low.“If rates can stay down here you will see people begin to return to those days of owning high dividend stocks,” said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.Investors typically prize high dividend players in a low rate, low growth environment, as they search for high yielding and stable instruments.Fund managers already seem to be picking up some of these stocks. On a sector basis, weekly inflows for utilities were among the strongest, relative to assets under management, at 1.9 percent according to data from Credit Suisse through Sept. 1.Stocks in the telecom and utilities sector have some of the highest dividend yields in the S&P 500. Telecom CenturyLink has a dividend yield of 11.4 percent, top in the index. Utilities FirstEnergy and Southern Co both have dividend yields above 4.5 percent.Meckler said investors are now more confident these sectors can compete with the yield on the 10-year at such a low level.Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein issued a note of caution about the disparity between bond yields and equities at a conference in Germany on Wednesday, saying “When yields on corporate bonds are lower than dividends on stocks, that unnerves me.”Stubbornly low bond yields can be of concern to equity players because they are forced to take bigger risks as they search for higher returns. They also raise red flags about the health of the economy.Yields fell even further on Friday, to 2.016 percent, after New York Fed President William Dudley struck a less hawkish tone about rate hikes, while still defending them, in a Thursday night speech.FORK IN THE ROAD The dividend yield on the telecom sector is 5.2 percent while the utilities sector holds a 3.4 percent yield compared with a 2.4 percent yield for the broad S&P 500 index.Those sectors have had divergent fortunes this year, however, with utilities up more than 12 percent while telecoms have dropped more than 14 percent, the worst among the major S&P sectors.Telecoms also show a forward price to earnings ratio (PE) of 12.9, well below the 17.6 of the S&P 500. Utilities, however, are slightly more expensive with an 18.4 ratio, which could make them less attractive to investors even with the dividend premium.In a recent note to clients, analyst Craig Moffett at MoffettNathansan said valuations for Verizon and AT&T were “enticingly low” with dividend yields “particularly attractive relative to the 10-year Treasury.”The utilities sector has a strong 50-day negative correlation to the 10-year yield of 0.87, indicating the opposite directions they have traveled in. Telecoms, while still a negative 0.24, have a looser bond.STOCK HEADWINDS As investors weigh increasing risks for equities, including stretched valuations in what is typically a difficult period for stocks, the high dividend payers may be a safer play in a market that could be primed for a pullback.Tension with North Korea, economic disruption from major hurricanes and political wrangling in Washington are also among the issues investors have to contend with.“September and October are historically trying months for equities and add on to that geopolitical risk, it is somewhat prudent to be taking a little bit off the table here,” said Anthony Conroy, president at Abel Noser in New York.Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Megan Davies and Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead/wall-st-week-ahead-high-divi-stocks-may-find-favor-as-market-headwinds-abound-idINL2N1LN1Z6'|'2017-09-08T14:50:00.000+03:00'
'9dbe30c01f6055227f51f0cb0fd24f0b34e10279'|'French probe alleges 2 million PSA cars had engine cheats - Le Monde'|'Reuters TV United States  49 AM / a minute ago French probe alleges 2 million PSA cars had engine cheats: Le Monde Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of French carmaker PSA Group addresses the media during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann PARIS (Reuters) - The French investigation into alleged emissions cheating by PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) and other automakers found that suspect software had been used on almost 2 million vehicles sold by the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, Le Monde reported on Friday. Paris-based PSA denies any use of fraudulent engine software, a spokesman reiterated in response to the newspaper report. Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Bate Felix'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-peugeot-diesel/french-probe-alleges-2-million-psa-cars-had-engine-cheats-le-monde-idUKKCN1BJ12J'|'2017-09-08T12:45:00.000+03:00'
'8111e3e22b48348617b5b559932ed0089b9b9407'|'German trade group sees 5 percent rise in exports in 2017 - newspaper'|'September 8, 2017 / 3:05 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago German trade group sees 5 percent rise in exports in 2017 - newspaper Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Container ships are seen at a loading terminal at the Hamburg harbour in Hamburg, Germany February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s BGA trade association now expects German exports to rise 5 percent in 2017, double its earlier forecast, Die Welt newspaper reported on Friday. That would mark a huge jump from 2016, when German exports rose 1.1 percent. BGA said the projected increase was due mainly to increased trade with other European countries in the wake of economic recoveries in southern Europe. “In southern Europe and France optimism has returned and that means more investments, and Germany is benefiting from that,” BGA President Anton Boerner told the newspaper. Reporting by Andrea Shalal'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-trade-bga/german-trade-group-sees-5-percent-rise-in-exports-in-2017-newspaper-idUKKCN1BJ084'|'2017-09-08T06:04:00.000+03:00'
'bbb5b03cc525a2d28cdd031581e685f29943ab59'|'Governments need to rethink their attitudes to debt'|'GOVERNMENTS do not always make the best budget managers. Assuming it avoids an accidental debt default, America will run a bigger budget deficit this year than the last, despite a booming economy. Germany runs a surplus—but scrimps on critical investments and annoys its euro-area neighbours in the process. Japan, cowering under a mammoth public-debt pile, is weighing raising its consumption tax, though the last rise strangled a tenuous economic recovery. It is awkward, therefore, that the role of fiscal policy as a recession-fighting tool is only growing. The next downturn will be a painful and dangerous learning experience for many politicians.When that comes, at some point in the next few years, the initial policy response is easily foreseeable. Central banks, nimbler than parliaments, will again move first. But markets reckon that two years from now the Fed’s benchmark rate will remain below 2%, the Bank of England’s below 1% and the European Central Bank’s close to zero. Rates can only go so negative before people abandon the banking system for cash. So cuts to interest rates will be limited. By contrast, in the relatively mild recession of 2001 the Fed cut rates by more than six percentage points. Central-bank asset purchases will follow, assuming they are not already happening, as they might well still be in Europe and Japan. Their effects will be less powerful than in the past, however. When bond yields are low, as they are likely to be for the foreseeable future, bonds do not look much different from cash; giving banks cash for their bonds consequently does little to boost risk-taking. If monetary measures do not quickly revive animal spirits, the pressure on governments to act will grow. Some doubtless will. Public spending and tax cuts are popular, after all. But politicians are kept from taking full responsibility for battling recessions by the intellectual baggage of past decades. Some cling to the notion that stimulus is unhelpful, risky and hard.Such views need updating. Take the notion that fiscal stimulus is ineffectual. In the 1970s, before central banks focused so intently on inflation, efforts to boost the economy through borrowing often contributed more to rising prices than to growth. In the 1980s, the results were little better; hawkish central banks greeted any development likely to jolt prices with an expansion-squelching increase in interest rates. Economists of all stripes argued that the “multiplier” on stimulus—the amount by which a dollar of borrowing raises GDP—is usually low. Households save their higher incomes in expectation of offsetting future tax rises; omnipotent central banks cancel out the stimulative effects. But studies since the Great Recession tend to find that multipliers are substantially higher than once thought, particularly when monetary policy is constrained. Multipliers in such cases are often closer to two, ie, GDP increases by nearly twice the size of the stimulus.Nonetheless, big debt piles may heighten politicians’ caution about borrowing (see chart). If a borrower’s ability to repay is in doubt, he is forced to pay higher interest rates. That raises the cost of servicing debt, presenting governments with an excruciating choice between growth-sapping austerity and default. For many politicians, the financial crisis reinforced this lesson. In late 2009 bond yields on Greek debt began rising, after revisions to budget data revealed that the fiscal picture was bleaker than thought. Yields on the bonds of other peripheral euro-zone economies followed suit, spiking on several occasions between 2010 and 2012.Yet that crisis has receded, and not because the euro area resolved its indebtedness problem. With the exception of Ireland’s, debt levels around the periphery are higher now than at the peak of the crisis in 2012. Yields instead fell as it became clear that the ECB would buy the bonds of troubled countries, either because the survival of the euro demanded it, or to battle deflation. In a world of low interest rates, central-bank asset purchases are likely to become a conventional policy tool, so the appetite for bonds is less likely to dry up. The risk of inflation remains. But in advanced economies higher inflation usually means that firms are operating at capacity; the job of recession-fighting is done. At that point, a dose of austerity is appropriate, if politically unappetising.Debt comes for us allPerhaps most important, recent experience suggests that an aggressive fiscal response to economic weakness can in fact be safer than a more cautious approach. In a paper presented to central-banking luminaries in August, Alan Auerbach and Yuriy Gorodnichenko of the University of California, Berkeley find that bursts of fiscal stimulus need not lead to higher debt-to-GDP ratios or to higher borrowing costs. In some cases, they note, markets revise down their worries about creditworthiness in response to large-scale stimulus. Their work echoes an argument made by Brad DeLong, also of Berkeley, and Larry Summers, of Harvard University. They reckon long periods of limp growth eat away at an economy’s productive potential, as investments go unmade, for instance, or as healthy workers drop out of the labour force. Averting such scarring raises GDP in perpetuity, covering the cost of the jolt needed to escape the doldrums.A third argument about activist fiscal policy—that it is hard to get right—remains. Despite the financial crisis, governments have paid scant attention to the practicalities of fiscal stimulus; ideally, programmes should be automatic and proportionate to the severity of the downturn. Labour tax rates could be linked to unemployment figures, for instance, so that pay packets jump the moment conditions deteriorate. Funding to local governments could be similarly conditioned, to limit painful cutbacks by municipalities. To prevent a scramble for worthwhile, shovel-ready infrastructure projects, governments could make sure to have a ready queue, so spending could easily scale up in a downturn.To use stimulus effectively, politicians must understand the risks they face and plan accordingly. Sadly, it seems likely to take more nasty recessions to drive the point home.Visit our Free exchange economics blog Finance and economics "The borrowers"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728628-fight-next-recession-fiscal-stimulus-may-matter-more-monetary?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'833bcd466b8e6a43412b4e04df64155fa9cec258'|'Shanghai''s hard line on soft cheese could hurt European companies'|'September 8, 2017 / 1:57 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Shanghai''s hard line on soft cheese could hurt European companies Dominique Patton 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Dutch cheese is displayed in a shop window in Edam near Amsterdam, Netherlands February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BEIJING (Reuters) - Shanghai has halted the import of cheeses such as Roquefort, Brie and Camembert in a move set to damage European exporters, diplomatic and industry sources said on Friday. It is not clear why Shanghai, one of the main entry ports for most of the products, has imposed the suspension. Such cheeses are made with cultures not authorised in China, said a European diplomat who confirmed the decision, but the country has allowed them to come in for years. Shanghai’s inspection and quarantine bureau banned blue cheeses such as Roquefort and other soft cheeses including Brie and Camembert, said Vincent Marion, managing director of Shanghai-based online cheese shop Cheese Republic. The business had been notified of the change by its suppliers in late August, he said. The authority directed questions to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine in Beijing, which oversees food imports for the entire country. It did not respond to faxed questions on the matter. “The European cheese industry is extremely concerned by this ban,” said the diplomat who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. He said the ban impacts European cheeses more than others because of the large variety of cultures used in European cheese. China permits a relatively small number of edible cultures for use in food. There was no immediate comment from the European Commission or the French farm ministry. Cheese sales in China are expected to reach 5.3 billion yuan (£620.72 million) this year, up 26 percent from last year, according to research firm Euromonitor. More than 90 percent of cheese sold in the market is imported, with most coming from New Zealand and Australia, which supplies the bulk of mozzarella used on pizzas. Demand for high-end products such as Brie and Camembert is growing too however, with the two cheeses accounting for about 15 percent of sales this year, the Euromonitor data showed. Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-cheese-imports/shanghais-hard-line-on-soft-cheese-could-hurt-european-companies-idUKKCN1BJ1OP'|'2017-09-08T16:57:00.000+03:00'
'65c2b0acc823695fe67ff0a4ef86ce9c4a7f1ae9'|'France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek tax on digital giants'' revenues'|'September 9, 2017 / 2:08 PM / Updated an hour ago France, Germany, Italy, Spain seek tax on digital giants'' revenues Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake PARIS (Reuters) - France, Germany, Italy and Spain want digital multinationals like Amazon and Google to be taxed in Europe based on their revenues, rather than only profits as now, their finance ministers said in a joint letter. France is leading a push to clamp down on the taxation of such companies, but has found support from other countries also frustrated at the low tax they receive under current international rules. Currently such companies are often taxed on profits booked by subsidiaries in low-tax countries like Ireland even though the revenue originated from other EU countries. “We should no longer accept that these companies do business in Europe while paying minimal amounts of tax to our treasuries,” the four ministers wrote in a letter seen by Reuters. The letter, signed by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, Wolfgang Schaeuble of Germany, Pier-Carlo Padoan of Italy and Luis de Guindos, was addressed to the EU’s Estonian presidency with the bloc’s executive Commission in copy. They urged the Commission to come up with a solution creating an “equalisation tax” on turnover that would bring taxation to the level of corporate tax in the country where the revenue was earned. “The amounts raised would aim to reflect some of what these companies should be paying in terms of corporate tax,” the ministers said in the letter, first reported on by the Financial Times. Le Maire, Schaeuble, Padoan and de Guindos of Spain said they wanted to present the issue to other EU counterparts at a Sept. 15-16 meeting in Tallinn. The EU’s current Estonian presidency has scheduled a discussion at the meeting about the concept of “permanent establishment”, with the aim of making it possible to tax firms where they create value, not only where they have their tax residence. France has stepped up pressure for EU tax rules after facing legal setbacks trying to obtain payments for taxes on activities in the country. A French court ruled in July French court ruled that Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, was not liable to pay 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in back taxes because it had no “permanent establishment” in France and ran its operations there from Ireland. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Angus MacSwan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-tax-digital/france-germany-italy-spain-seek-tax-on-digital-giants-revenues-idUKKCN1BK0IF'|'2017-09-09T17:06:00.000+03:00'
'af8f0c44c75d060725386a40eebb1ec7b60b8f5d'|'Bitcoin tumbles on report China to shutter digital currency exchanges'|'September 8, 2017 / 4:13 PM / Updated 38 minutes ago Bitcoin tumbles on report China to shutter digital currency exchanges Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss , Angela Moon 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday after a report from a Chinese news outlet said China was planning to shut down local crypto-currency exchanges, although analysts said this was just a temporary setback. Sources close to a cross regulators committee that oversees online finance activities told Chinese financial publication Caixin that authorities plan to shut key bitcoin exchanges in China. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report. But two sources in direct contact with officials at three Chinese bitcoin exchanges - Beijing-based OKCoin, Shanghai-based BTC China, and Beijing-based Huobi - said the platforms told them that they have not heard anything from the Chinese government. The news follows China’s move earlier this week to ban so-called “initial coin offerings,” or the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors in order to finance start-up projects. Greg Dwyer, business development manager at crypto-currency trading platform BitMEX, said there was confusion over whether China would close bitcoin exchanges following the ICO ban. “If this turns out to be true, then this sell-off is substantiated, and we could see further downside over the weekend, as it could mean the large bitcoin/Chinese yuan exchanges will need to halt trading,” he added. Bitcoin dropped to a low of $4,227 (3,201.79 pounds) BTC=BTSP on the BitStamp platform and last traded at $4,309.80, down 6.6 percent. On Sept 2, it hit a record high of nearly $5,000. Sharp losses such as Friday’s are par for the course for an asset like bitcoin, analysts said. Over the course of its eight-year history, bitcoin has on a daily basis risen as much as 18 percent and fallen as much as 13 percent. Still, bitcoin was still up nearly 346 percent this year. John Spallanzani, chief macro strategist at GFI Group, said Friday’s losses could be short-lived. “Bitcoin is here to stay,” he said. Jehan Chu, a partner at Jen Advisors, a Hong Kong-based early-stage blockchain venture capital firm, noted that should China shut down bitcoin exchanges, it will not be the end of the crypto-currency world in the country. Blockchain, a digital ledger of transactions underpinning bitcoin, has leapt to prominence as it enable users to track and record assets across all industries. “This is just China pressing the ‘Pause button,” said Chu. A big part of bitcoin’s recent surge was the ICO craze, which exploded this year. Bitcoins and ether, another digital currency, are used to purchase tokens for ICOs. By mid-July, tech firms had raised about $1.1 billion in 89 coin sales this year, roughly 10 times more than in all of 2016, data from crypto-currency research firm Smith + Crown showed. Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Angela Moon; Editing by Dan Grebler and Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bitcoin-china/bitcoin-tumbles-on-report-china-to-shutter-digital-currency-exchanges-idUKKCN1BJ1UG'|'2017-09-08T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'1fb67daa326c0a99a877c9bc32a4f0ded4993f83'|'Monsanto to sell its cotton seed brand to India''s Tierra Agrotech'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:27 AM / Updated an hour ago Monsanto to sell its cotton seed brand to India''s Tierra Agrotech Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Monsanto logo is pictured in the company headquarters in Morges, Switzerland, May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Monsanto Co will sell its small branded cotton seed business to local firm Tierra Agrotech Private Ltd, but remains fully committed to India’s agriculture sector, a Monsanto India spokesman said on Friday. The sale comes as Monsanto fights a former licensee in India in a bitter dispute that has drawn in both the Indian and U.S. governments, while it is also the subject of a $66 billion takeover by Germany’s Bayer. Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed producer, said its Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) (MMB), a joint venture with India’s Mahyco, will continue to sell genetically modified cotton seeds under license to more than 40 Indian seed companies. However, its Monsanto Holdings Private unit, an MMB licensee which sells the company’s Bollgard I and Bollgard II seeds, will exit cotton and sell its branded seed to Tierra Agrotech. “Given the strategic choices, we have signed an agreement with Tierra Agrotech Private Ltd to pursue the sale of the branded cotton seed business, which will be effective subsequent to the necessary approvals,” Monsanto said in a statement. Monsanto Holdings had only a small share of India’s cotton seed market and focuses largely on vegetable seeds such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, the spokesman said. He declined to comment on the sale price. Tierra Agrotech officials were not immediately available for comment. Cotton output has jumped fourfold since India allowed MMB’s genetically modified variety in 2002, transforming the country into the world’s top producer and second-largest exporter of the fiber. MMB’s lab-grown seeds yield nearly all of the cotton produced in India. Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-monsanto/monsanto-to-sell-its-cotton-seed-brand-to-indias-tierra-agrotech-idINKCN1BJ0PK'|'2017-09-08T10:19:00.000+03:00'
'92698f15f05259acb22d888cfc67655ee6db4a9a'|'Western Digital seeks Y50 bln from Apple to help finance Toshiba chip bid -Kyodo'|'TOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - A group including Western Digital is seeking around 50 billion yen ($464 million) from Apple Inc to help finance a bid for Toshiba Corp’s memory chip unit, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday.Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key chip plant, is leading a $17-18 billion bid for the chip business, sources have said. The sources said earlier in the week that the U.S. firm offered to step back from the consortium’s financing in return for a stronger position in their joint venture.A Western Digital spokeswoman said it could not comment on details of the talks.$1 = 107.6800 yen Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-apple/western-digital-seeks-y50-bln-from-apple-to-help-finance-toshiba-chip-bid-kyodo-idUSL4N1LP2UN'|'2017-09-08T15:29:00.000+03:00'
'd39a3118e594d0cec55c48990d3813c13594a0a6'|'Russia''s Sechin: dollar fall drives oil market, not OPEC deal - TASS'|' 34 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Russia''s Sechin: dollar fall drives oil market, not OPEC deal - TASS   File photo: Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin speaks during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Igor Sechin, the moist influential Russian energy official, said that oil prices are on the rise due to the depreciation of the U.S. dollar rather the global deal with OPEC on curbing oil production, TASS news agency reported on Friday. “The Americans support their shale oil producers through dollar depreciation,” TASS cited Sechin, the chief executive of Russia’s largest oil company Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ), as saying. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Maria Tsvetkova'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-oil-sechin-opec/russias-sechin-dollar-fall-drives-oil-market-not-opec-deal-tass-idUKKCN1BJ0L7'|'2017-09-08T09:34:00.000+03:00'
'30702da850d8764e96edc5623666b47f652eefcf'|'TransCanada pauses Energy East pipe in face of tougher review'|'File Photo - President and CEO Russ Girling of TransCanada addresses shareholders during the company''s annual general meeting in Calgary, Alberta, May 1, 2015. REUTERS/Todd Korol CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp ( TRP.TO ) seeks to suspend the application for its Energy East pipeline for 30 days and may abandon the project, the company said on Thursday, weeks after Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) announced a tougher review process.TransCanada will do a “careful review” of the new assessment process to gauge its effect on the costs, schedules and viability of the pipeline to the Atlantic coast, the company said in a statement.The NEB in August expanded the scope of Energy East’s review, saying it will consider the project’s indirect greenhouse gas contributions and will provide “more visibility” to the evaluation of risks associated with accidents such as oil spills.The regulator said on Thursday it will consider TransCanada’s request to pause its Energy East application and will make a decision “in a timely fashion.”Energy East, which would take crude from Canada’s oil heartland of Alberta, would attain higher prices for Canadian producers, whose landlocked product trades at a discount to the West Texas Intermediate benchmark.Assessing indirect emissions had been opposed by TransCanada, which had called it “completely redundant and unnecessary.”In a filing to the regulator on Thursday, TransCanada also requested an extension to the deadline for filing Energy East updates to Oct. 27.Should TransCanada abandon the project, “the carrying value of its investment ... as well as its ability to recover development costs incurred to date would be negatively impacted,” the company said.TransCanada said it will continue to advance its other projects despite pausing Energy East.Dirk Lever, an energy infrastructure analyst at AltaCorp Capital in Calgary, said: “What they want to do is halt the clock on it, and I can’t say I am surprised.”Assessing indirect emissions “is a really tough ask,” he added.Royal Bank of Canada analyst Robert Kwan said Energy East is likely immaterial in the market’s valuation of TransCanada, although Thursday’s announcement could “drive negative sentiment that could put some downward pressure on the shares.”Energy East’s importance has somewhat diminished for TransCanada since the United States this year approved the company’s Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Alberta to U.S. refineries.The pipeline was up for its second NEB review, after the first stalled last year amid protests by environmentalists and after revelations that regulatory panel members met privately with a TransCanada consultant.Reporting by Ethan Lou and Nia Williams; Editing by David Gregorio and Grant McCool '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-energy-transcanada/transcanada-pauses-energy-east-pipe-in-face-of-tougher-review-idUSKCN1BI2Z1'|'2017-09-08T00:42:00.000+03:00'
'0a86acd962d201688da8a527ff35dd0c5405f6cc'|'China''s teapot plants form new club to beat rivals, but will it work?'|'September 8, 2017 / 5:08 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago China''s teapot plants form new club to beat rivals, but will it work? Chen Aizhu 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Employees close a valve of a pipe at a PetroChina refinery in Lanzhou, Gansu province January 7, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - A group of independent Chinese oil refiners is clubbing together to survive an onslaught by state-owned giants and the rise of private chemical giants, but industry analysts said the new alliance may find it hard to stick. Less than two years after becoming some of China’s newest crude oil importers, around 20 independent plants in the eastern industrial heartland of Shandong province plan to form a joint venture to coordinate their production, marketing, crude oil imports and investments. The new alliance, to be called the Shandong Refining & Chemical Group, is to be headquartered in the provincial capital Jinan, and as envisioned will be an upgrade on a crude-buying federation set up in early 2016 by some of the same members. The new group of “teapot” refiners aims to pool funds and resources to produce fuels and chemicals more efficiently as they battle stiff competition in an increasingly saturated market and under tightened environmental and tax scrutiny. “We see the need to advance to the next stage as we face competition from both the national team and the provincial team. We can’t afford operating like a plate of scattered sand,” said Zhang Liucheng, a vice president of Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group [SDHLYD.UL], one of the initiators of the stronger alliance. The earlier crude-purchasing club was too loose an organization and did not have much success, Zhang said. But while Shandong Dongming and fellow founding member Qingyuan Group are trying to build a more formal structure, including registering the new company as early as next week with a capitalisation of 50 billion yuan (5.86 billion pounds), there are few details such as a list of members and when they will start to commit funding. Analysts said pooling the assets and coordinating the investments of 20 plants that have multiple private and local government owners will be a huge challenge. “The new group shall have bigger political bargaining power ... but it will be hugely difficult to align all the various interests,” said Harry Liu, of consultancy IHS Markit. That was reflected in the comments of an executive of a teapot refiner that was a member of the crude buyers’ club: “Each plant has its unique product lines and marketing strategies, and every new investment is a result of thorough market studies. How would you expect the new group to coordinate?” The executive said his company was waiting to see a concrete action plan before agreeing to participate. FILE PHOTO: An employee rides a bike on a road near refinery plants of Chambroad Petrochemicals, in Boxing, Shandong Province, China, May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Meng Meng/File Photo (For a graphic on ''China''s gasoline demand growth'' click reut.rs/2wDDfYC ) SEEKING BIGGER CLOUT State-owned rivals Sinopec ( 600028.SS ) and PetroChina ( 601857.SS ) operate larger, more sophisticated plants, and have influence over government policies such as fuel export quotas, which are highly sought after as China’s refined product output far exceeds demand. Jiao Chong, managing director of Qingyuan Group, said the new venture could use its larger market presence to lobby the government. The planned group would have a combined crude oil import quota of over 50 million tonnes a year, or 1 million barrels per day, an amount on par with smaller state companies like Sinochem [SASADA.UL] and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC). “We can become a stronger voice in lobbying for policies like fuel export quotas,” Jiao said. The need for the independent refiners to club together is heightened by the emergence of new rivals, such as provincial government-backed private chemical giants like Rongsheng Holding Group and Hengli Group [HLGRP.UL] that are building or planning refining complexes on China’s eastern coast. Rongsheng’s first 400,000 bpd refinery is slated to start up as early as end-2018. Hengli, a privately-owned chemicals producer, is building a similar-sized refining complex, industry officials said. “New investments by the likes of Rongsheng have the integration skills and scale of production that teapots could barely rival, ” said IHS’ Liu. Shandong Dongming is China’s largest teapot refiner with a total operating capacity of 240,000 bpd. Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Tom Hogue '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-oil-refineries/chinas-teapot-plants-form-new-club-to-beat-rivals-but-will-it-work-idUKKCN1BJ0E1'|'2017-09-08T08:08:00.000+03:00'
'4d7ddf5c52d2433d875e2f58ec7671137aaaf39a'|'Benetton''s Edizione readying bid for packaging firm Guala Closures: sources'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Italy’s Edizione Holding, the investment vehicle of the Benetton family, is preparing a bid for Italian packaging manufacturer Guala Closures, valued at more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) including debt, three sources said.Guala’s main shareholder, Apriori Capital Partners, mandated Barclays and Credit Suisse in May to help with a sale or a possible initial public offering.The company, which specializes in packaging used to close or seal containers, such as bottle tops, has also attracted the interest of Australia-based rival Amcor and GS Merchant Banking Division.Guala’s advisers have asked bidders to table indicative offers by a deadline of Sept. 19, the sources said.Edizione is the investment vehicle of the Benetton family, which controls Italian road and airports group Atlantia and travel caterer Autogrill, but also invests in clothing, food and beverage and real estate.One of the sources said that private equity firms Onex Corporation, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, KKR also intend to bid.Apriori Capital and Amcor were not immediately available for comment. Edizione, KKR, Onex, GS Merchant Banking and Clayton, Dublier & Rice declined to comment.Bankers approaching different private equity bidders to offer financing packages are working on debt financing totaling around 800 million euros, or 6.5 times Gualas approximate 110 million euros in Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), the sources added.Guala, which sells more than 14 billion of its products each year and counts Diageo ( DGE.L ), Pernod Ricard ( PERP.PA ), Remy Cointreau ( RCOP.PA ) among its customers, has rebuffed offers from groups such as private equity firm KKR ( KKR.N ) on price in the past.Guala Closures is directly owned by GLC Holdings whose main investor is Apriori Capital. With 4,000 employees, it was delisted from the stock exchange in 2008.Reporting by Clara Denina, Claire Ruckin and Arno Schuetze; editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-guala-m-a-italy/benettons-edizione-readying-bid-for-packaging-firm-guala-closures-sources-idINKCN1BJ1ZL'|'2017-09-08T13:33:00.000+03:00'
'6e41d68206f5da58394d5131f253b2d1fa62bcd5'|'Daily Mirror owner in talks to buy Express in UK newspaper shake-up'|'September 8, 2017 / 11:27 AM / Updated an hour ago Daily Mirror owner in talks to buy Express in UK newspaper shake-up Paul Sandle 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The publisher of Britain’s Daily Mirror is in talks to buy rival titles the Daily Express and Daily Star, raising the prospect of a fresh round of painful restructuring in the embattled newspaper industry. A deal would bring together tabloids from the opposite ends of the political spectrum as the industry struggles to cope with declining sales, with readers and advertisers shifting online. Trinity Mirror, which has over 260 national and regional titles including the left-leaning Daily Mirror, had been in talks to take a stake in a new company that would include the titles of billionaire publisher Richard Desmond. It said on Friday it was now in talks to buy all of Desmond’s Northern & Shell assets, which include celebrity magazine OK! as well as the right-leaning Express and Star. It did not give a potential value for the deal. Desmond, who made his name publishing specialist magazines, including adult titles such as the British edition of Penthouse, bought the Express titles in 2000 for 125 million pounds ($164 million). Analysts said a deal could herald more restructuring in an industry which has gone through years of upheaval and layoffs. “In terms of operations, having a bigger print base is helpful because it will likely lead to scope for significant cost efficiencies,” Citi analysts said in a research note. “Coupled with greater scale in terms of audiences and ad sales, even in a declining market, we would anticipate strategic benefits from a deal.” DECLINING SALES Desmond’s OK! magazine, launched in 1993, led a burgeoning market for news about celebrities such as David and Victoria Beckham and reality TV stars, although its circulation has been hit by the rise of new online news sites. The circulation of the Daily Express, which was founded in 1900, has also fallen far from its heyday in the 1950s and 60s, when it sold more than 4 million copies a day. It sold 380,632 copies in July, according to industry specialists ABC, down 9.9 percent on a year earlier, while the Daily Star sold 421,812, down 18.4 percent. Under Desmond’s ownership, the Express has been a cheerleader for Britain leaving the European Union. The Daily Mirror, meanwhile, sold 625,278 copies in July, according to ABC, down 19.1 percent on a year earlier. Trinity Mirror said there was no certainty an agreement would be reached and any deal would need to be approved by its shareholders. At 1025 GMT, its shares were down 0.6 percent at 91.59 pence. ($1 = 0.7613 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/northern-shell-m-a-trinity-mirror/daily-mirror-owner-in-talks-to-buy-express-in-uk-newspaper-shake-up-idINKCN1BJ1AZ'|'2017-09-08T09:27:00.000+03:00'
'c4947d871a8db5283449c0421e18d3384f1a9530'|'Exclusive - BP''s stake in giant Azeri oilfields set to fall: sources'|'September 8, 2017 / 2:22 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Exclusive - BP''s stake in giant Azeri oilfields set to fall - sources Margarita Antidze 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - BP''s logo is seen on one of its corporate sponsor pavilions in the Olympic park, in Stratfod, east London, July 19, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo TBILISI/BAKU (Reuters) - BP’s ( BP.L ) stake in Azerbaijan’s vast oilfields is expected to shrink under a new production-sharing agreement with state energy company SOCAR, two industry sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. Azerbaijan plans to sign a new contract with BP next week on development of the giant Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oilfields that will run until 2050. The fields are the largest oilfields in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian basin. An existing deal is due to expire in 2024 and a BP-led consortium and SOCAR signed a letter of intent in December to continue development of the oilfields until 2050 in a move to unlock billions of dollars of fresh investment. “According to preliminary information, SOCAR will increase its share at the expense of a share reduction of other companies, including BP,” an industry source aware of the negotiations told Reuters. Another industry source, who also is familiar with the talks and did not want to be identified, said SOCAR’s share could increase to 20 percent from the current 11.6 percent while BP’s share could fall to 30 percent from 35.8 percent. “The shares of some other companies might be also reduced,” the source said. The figures in the final contract might still change, the source said. A spokeswoman for BP in Azerbaijan said: “We don’t have information on the content of the contract now.” A SOCAR spokesman said the company had no immediate comment. The shareholders in the consortium include BP, SOCAR, Chevron ( CVX.N ), INPEX ( 1605.T ), Statoil ( STL.OL ), ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ), TPAO, ITOCHU ( 8001.T ) and ONGC Videsh ( ONVI.BO ). The sources said that BP would remain the project operator, although some of its existing rights might be delegated to SOCAR. BP came under fire from Azeri President Ilham Aliyev earlier this decade for lower than promised output. Oil output at ACG totalled 14 million tonnes in the first half of 2017, or 585,000 barrels per day, down from 16 million tonnes a year earlier. Additional reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-azerbaijan-agreement-exclusive/exclusive-bps-stake-in-giant-azeri-oilfields-set-to-fall-sources-idUKKCN1BJ1S8'|'2017-09-08T17:22:00.000+03:00'
'a06c6c99306b17fc0d8334f6f49deb9265a317ba'|'Italy''s dual currency schemes may be long road to euro exit'|'September 8, 2017 / 3:44 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Italy''s dual currency schemes may be long road to euro exit Gavin Jones 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Italy''s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures during the television talk show "Porta a Porta" (Door to Door) in Rome, Italy June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s main opposition parties are replacing their calls to leave the euro with apparently less radical proposals to flank it with a new currency they say can boost growth and jobs. Yet if any of their schemes are adopted with success they may convince many Italians that the economy can function without the euro, and make an eventual euro exit more likely. It is a big if: previous such plans have been tried around the world with mixed results and it would take a political shift for new ones to be introduced in Italy, but not everyone is ruling it out. “It can be done, technically and politically it is perfectly possible,” said Roberto Perotti, economics professor at Milan’s Bocconi University. Three of Italy’s four largest parties - the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the right-wing Northern League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia - propose introducing a parallel currency after an election due early next year. They have settled on the dual currency proposal as a way of continuing to tap into widespread anti-euro sentiment in Italy while avoiding - at least for now - the huge upheaval and market turmoil that outright euro exit may trigger. Opinion polls currently point to a hung parliament in which they could get a majority of seats but would be unlikely to form a government due to divisions on other issues. Some Northern League and 5-Star lawmakers say their primary goal is to persuade Brussels and Italy’s partners to change European fiscal rules to allow them to spend more and cut taxes. The threat of a parallel currency, which is opposed by the European Commission, can help them achieve this, they say. However, many of the strongest supporters of the scheme are anti-euro and they admit one of its main aims would be to prepare the ground for a euro exit when the time comes. “With a parallel currency in place, if we want to leave the euro our economy will still be able to operate even if the European Central Bank tries to crush us by shutting off liquidity in euros,” said the Northern League’s economics spokesman Claudio Borghi. Italians were strongly pro-euro when the single currency was launched in 1999, but since then Italy has been the most sluggish euro zone economy and many blame the euro for their falling living standards and high unemployment. A poll by the Winpoll agency in March showed only around half of Italians back the euro and an EU-wide survey in July by the German Bertelsmann Stiftung think tank showed just 17 percent of Italians said they were satisfied with the direction the EU, half the EU-average. NERVOUS MARKETS The European Commission is concerned by the dual currency talk, and so are financial markets. Investors sold off Italian government bonds last month after Berlusconi said he was in favor of printing a “new lira” for domestic use, to pump money into the economy. Under his plan euros would still be used for all international transactions and by tourists. The four-times prime minister had made the proposal before, but markets are now particularly edgy ahead of an election where only the ruling Democratic Party (PD) does not propose to tinker with the current euro set-up. The PD is running neck-and-neck with 5-Star, with rightist allies the Northern League and Forza Italia in third and fourth place. Asked to comment for this article, the European Commission said there could be only one legal tender in the euro zone. Yet many dual currency proponents say that is no obstacle. They argue that “legal tender” is defined as a currency that sellers are obliged to accept. If there is no obligation, a dual currency does not infringe any EU treaties, they say. Daniel Gros, head of the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies, agreed. “If there is no obligation there is no legal problem,” he said. However, he doubted the proposals would ever be adopted, describing them as posturing that distracted attention from the real problem of Italy’s economy, which was a lack of productivity growth. “READY FOR EURO COLLAPSE” Dual currency supporters in Italy point to the success of employer-provided meal vouchers, now used by millions of Italians to buy groceries as well as lunches. Parallel currencies have numerous historical precedents. Berlusconi often cites the AM-lira, introduced by the allies in Italy during and after World War Two. One of the most successful is the Swiss WIR franc, launched in 1934 for use by businesses, which still helps them obtain cheap credit during downturns. Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s anti-EU National Front, proposed the reintroduction of the franc in parallel with the euro during this year’s election campaign. The Northern League’s Borghi said Italy “has to be ready for the euro’s collapse,” which he sees as only a matter of time. He is the architect of the party’s proposal - which Berlusconi has also hinted he would support - called “mini-BOTs”, named after Italy’s short-term Treasury bills. Borghi says initially some 70 billion euros of these small denomination, interest-free bonds would be issued by the Treasury to firms and individuals owed money by the state as payment for services or as tax rebates. They could then be used as money to pay taxes and buy any services or goods provided by the state, including, for example, petrol at stations run by state-controlled oil company ENI. Borghi says this will convince people to use them and businesses to accept them, and he has already launched surveys on Twitter and Facebook to pick the most popular designs for the mini-BOT notes. Bocconi University’s Perotti said the impact could be severe. “It would increase public debt, Brussels would object and, especially if done on a large scale it would make it more likely we are eventually forced out of the euro zone,” he said. Economists who support the idea admit it would push up Italy’s huge public debt, the second highest in the euro zone after Greece‘s, but say this would soon be outweighed by the positive impact on economic growth. The anti-establishment 5-Star, which has rowed back on plans for a referendum on the euro, backs a proposal for a “fiscal currency” put forward by economics professor Gennaro Zezza who, like Borghi, believes the euro will fail sooner or later. Zezza’s fiscal currency would initially be electronic, but he said notes could be issued within about a year. It would allow the state to pay public salaries and fund investment and, as with mini-BOTs, could be used by citizens to pay taxes. “Our idea has a lot in common with mini-BOTS,” he added. Editing by Philippa Fletcher '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-euro-analysis/italys-dual-currency-schemes-may-be-long-road-to-euro-exit-idUKKCN1BJ20F'|'2017-09-08T18:38:00.000+03:00'
'ec61748a8e628b83fc70e118e71516a1f706e920'|'RPT-Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects'|'September 8, 2017 / 10:00 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago RPT-Harvey may pinch some Gulf Coast refining, chemical projects Reuters Staff (Repeats with no changes) By Jarrett Renshaw and Ernest Scheyder NEW YORK/HOUSTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast intend to go ahead with plans for near record spending on expansions next year, despite Hurricane Harvey driving up labor costs and slowing work, experts said. Harvey largely spared oil and petrochemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast from significant damage but thousands of homes and businesses were not as fortunate. Refiners and recovery projects will complete for the same labor, driving up costs or causing labor shortages. Industrial investment in the Gulf Coast is expected to hit $51.9 billion next year, near the 2015 peak, requiring an army of pipefitters, ironworkers and other craftsman, said Industrial Information Resources (IIR), which tracks labor supply for refiners and other industrial companies. “We had a labor shortage before Harvey, but now it’s significantly worse,” said IIR’s Anthony Salemme. “It’s going to spread to soft crafts like painters and insulators.” Investments have soared in recent years because the shale revolution fed off an existing infrastructure. The region’s deep water ports and expanding pipeline and storage networks offer an easy outlet to global markets. It also boasts a welcoming regulatory climate and skilled workforce. Since 2010, $85 billion worth of petrochemical projects have started or been completed across the United States, nearly all of them in the Gulf Coast region, according to the American Chemistry Council. But the concentration along the Gulf of Mexico leaves these facilities and supporting networks exposed to the brutal force of tropical storms and hurricanes, as Harvey laid bare last month. The storm shut roughly a quarter of the nation’s refinery capacity and more than a dozen petrochemical plants halted operations. Ports were closed and key fuel pipelines serving the Midwest and U.S. Northeast were partially or completely shut, driving up pump prices as fears of fuel shortages took hold. Preliminary assessments suggest that storm’s hit to the region is not deterring companies from going ahead with existing projects. But global commodities buyers such as Ineos Group and Reliance Industries Ltd that relied on existing facilities shut by the storm may now consider putting some warehouses and stock elsewhere. “The robustness of the supply chain is brought a little more under attention,” said David Witte, a senior vice president at consultants IHS Markit. “They may be looking at it differently.” Construction costs also could slow some work. INVESTMENT PLANS There is no sign that major new projects are under threat. Several with plans on the drawing board, including BASF SE , DowDuPont Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp are sticking to growth plans. Others said they will repair Harvey’s damage before making any decisions on long-term strategy for the region. Exxon earlier this year said it would invest $20 billion to expand Texas refining and petrochemical operations in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Baytown. All three communities were damaged by Harvey. As part of that expansion, Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp are proposing an about $10 billion chemical plant in Corpus Christi, near where Harvey made landfall. The project is moving forward, according to a source familiar with the matter. Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri declined to comment. DowDuPont is also undeterred from an ongoing $4 billion expansion project that includes new capacity in Freeport, Texas, on the coast. “Hurricane Harvey does not change our perspective on the region being a great location for our investments,” spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in a statement. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is expanding its operations in the Gulf, also has proposed new investments in western Pennsylvania, near the natural gas-rich Marcellus formation. The plant will help Shell capture a larger share of the U.S. market for polyethylene, more than half of which is concentrated in northern states. It took Shell years to make the decision to build the plant. Pennsylvania has started to position itself as a second U.S. refining region, even though new plants are years away from opening. The state lacks the specialized refining workforce and proximity to open water - and the Panama Canal - that make the Gulf Coast area still so appealing. The U.S. Gulf Coast will remain an attractive investment area, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith and other energy officials. “What this storm has demonstrated is the resilience of the energy system,” said Torgrim Reitan, who runs Statoil ASA’s U.S. operations. “Even a Harvey can’t take out this capacity.” (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Additional reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Julia Simon in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-harvey-energy-infrastructure/rpt-harvey-may-pinch-some-gulf-coast-refining-chemical-projects-idUSL2N1LP03V'|'2017-09-08T13:00:00.000+03:00'
'386e2be1491df36f2c5577b279862df60e3221a3'|'Report finds Irish housing subsidy not key price driver - source'|'September 10, 2017 / 11:16 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Report finds Irish housing subsidy not key price driver - source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A crane is seen behind a row of residential properties in the Capital Dock area of Dublin, Ireland December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo DUBLIN (Reuters) - A state-commissioned report into an Irish government subsidy for first-time home buyers introduced last year has found it has not been a key factor in driving up house prices, a government source said on Sunday. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar accelerated the review of the “help to buy scheme” when he assumed office in May and said that if it was driving up prices, it would be phased out and replaced with incentives for increasing housing supply. But ministers have been less critical of the potential inflationary effects of the measure in recent weeks and the Sunday Times newspaper, which reported details of the review, said the government was expected to adjust rather than scrap it. The review outlines ways the government could amend the measure, the Sunday Times said. These include cutting the tax break in half or using the fund to take equity in a first-time buyer’s home. The scheme, which provides a tax rebate for prospective homebuyers and is limited to new builds in an attempt to stimulate house building, is due to run until 2019. House price growth has begun to accelerate in Ireland in recent months, climbing 11.6 percent in the year to the end of June amid a chronic lack of supply, particularly in bigger cities. While prices are 29 percent below the peak hit a decade ago before a property crash drove Ireland into an international bailout, residential rents Dublin are 8 percent above the 2007 peak and homelessness has been rising rapidly. Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-housing/report-finds-irish-housing-subsidy-not-key-price-driver-source-idUKKCN1BL0J1'|'2017-09-10T14:16:00.000+03:00'
'7cc1361c233cdd2a8f4f724fa4c5dff99a349bf3'|'Hours before shareholders meet, Akzo dumps bad news'|'AMSTERDAM, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel, the Dutch company that rejected a 26.3 billion euro ($32 billion) buyout from U.S. rival PPG Industries in May, on Friday lowered its 2017 financial targets and announced a revamp of how it manages the two businesses it is not selling, paints and industrial coatings.The company said it is facing cost inflation and currency headwinds and 2017 EBIT, though higher than last year, would not grow by the 100 million euros it had promised when rejecting PPG’s advances.$1 = 0.8277 euros Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-restructuring/hours-before-shareholders-meet-akzo-dumps-bad-news-idINL8N1LP0IG'|'2017-09-08T03:31:00.000+03:00'
'4a70ab7e052c29f26a8cb8cee2985e6047fcdd76'|'''Asleep on the job'' - Dixons Carphone comes under fire from shareholders'|'September 7, 2017 / 2:17 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago ''Asleep on the job'' - Dixons Carphone comes under fire from shareholders James Davey 3 Min Read Signs display the logo of Dixons Carphone at the company headquarters in London, Britain August 1, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Private shareholders in Dixons Carphone ( DC.L ) berated the UK-based electricals and mobile phone retailer’s board at its annual meeting on Thursday over a recent profit warning and a share price which has more than halved over the last year. Last month the group, which trades as Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse in Britain and Ireland, issued a profit alert which sent its shares tumbling by as much as 30 percent. The firm blamed tough conditions in the mobile phones market as customers keep their handsets longer. It said the weakness of the pound since last year’s Brexit vote was also making new devices more expensive at a time when UK consumers’ real earnings are falling and the housing market is sluggish. Ian Livingston, who succeeded Carphone Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone as Dixons Carphone’s chairman in April, began the firm’s annual shareholders’ meeting in central London with an apology. “I‘m sorry and I know how painful this (share price) decline has been for all of you,” he said, pointing out the group did report a record annual profit in June and said last month that its electricals business was continuing to trade well. However, his contrition failed to satisfy investors, who expressed their dismay over the stock price fall. John Farmer, a regular dissenting shareholder on Britain’s annual general meetings circuit, said the Dixons Carphone board had been “asleep on the job” in failing to see the changing nature of the mobile phones market. “Are you not strategically at fault for failing to anticipate and react to developments which led to the profit warning?,” he asked. “Are you really worth the money you’re paying yourselves.” Livingston said the firm had not erred strategically, it was the victim of a tougher market for mobile phones. He said the board was “very conscious” the performance of the phones business needed to improve and was confident that if overall group profit grew in a sustainable way the stock price would recover. Chief Executive Seb James, who told Reuters last month he was in a state of “Zen-like-calm” about the share price, said he had discussed the Aug. 24 profit warning in detail with many of the firm’s institutional shareholders but did not comment on what their reaction was. Shares in Dixons Carphone, which also trades as Elkjop, Elgiganten, Gigantti and Lefdal in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Greece, were down 0.35 percent at 172 pence at 1400 GMT, valuing the business at 2 billion pounds. Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dixons-carphone-outlook-agm/asleep-on-the-job-dixons-carphone-comes-under-fire-from-shareholders-idUKKCN1BI1Y1'|'2017-09-07T17:16:00.000+03:00'
'4312dabb422b642f29756e3b4aa7cea4024ab2ba'|'Inflation targets still proving elusive'|'September 8, 2017 / 2:03 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Inflation targets still proving elusive 4 Min Read A woman holds a Union Flag shopping bag in London, Britain April 23, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England rate setters won’t shock markets with any policy moves when they meet next week as a struggling economy and Brexit fears offset any concerns over inflation sailing well above target. Britain’s economy initially withstood the shock of last year’s decision to quit the European Union but slowed sharply in early 2017 and is expected to grow by just 0.3 percent this quarter, half the rate of the euro zone. That poses a challenge for the central bank as, rather than targeting growth, its main remit is to keep inflation -- currently running at 2.6 percent -- at 2 percent. “We expect the Bank of England to leave monetary policy unchanged, given the subdued growth story and ongoing Brexit uncertainty,” said James Knightley at ING. “Nonetheless, there are going to be members who continue to vote for a rate hike, given that consumer price inflation is likely to move higher once again.” At the last meeting two members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to increase rock-bottom interest rates, but none of their seven colleagues are expected to join them on Thursday in calling for higher borrowing costs. “Our own view is that rates won’t rise this year or next. But that doesn’t mean the rollercoaster ride for expectations is over,” said Liz Martins at HSBC. “An unexpectedly hawkish tilt from the MPC in September could mean a kneejerk reaction which pushes sterling and rates higher -- if only temporarily.” The risk of a “bumpy Brexit” does not mean the Bank should keep interest rates at their record low, MPC member Michael Saunders said last week, as the central bank risked being rushed into sharper rate hikes in future, potentially hurting growth. Inflation broke through target earlier this year, largely because sterling’s plunge in value since Britons voted to leave the European Union in June 2016 has pushed up import prices. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference following the ECB''s governing council''s interest rate decision in Frankfurt, Germany, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Policymakers at the European Central Bank are facing the opposite problem -- they are struggling to get inflation up to their 2 percent target ceiling as a strengthening euro has kept price rises in check. They left their own ultra-easy monetary policy alone on Thursday but will decide next month how to proceed with the Bank’s massive stimulus programme in 2018. ECB President Mario Draghi said the euro’s exchange rate is “very important” and needs careful monitoring. His cautious comments raise the chances the ECB will opt to phase out its 2.3 trillion euro bond buying scheme only very slowly next year, despite solid economic growth. “The current economic conditions warrant a slightly less accommodative monetary policy in the near future, provided the euro or any other disturbing element do not derail the euro zone’s recovery,” said Louis Harreau at Credit Agricole. In the United States, the Federal Reserve has already started on a tightening cycle but appears to be getting more dovish in the face of weak economic data. Recent comments from Fed policymakers show a split on the outlook for inflation and how that will play out for future interest rate increases so August price data due on Thursday should give markets more of a steer. The Swiss National Bank also meets on Thursday but is unlikely to move, with political tensions and low inflation keeping their hands tied. Switzerland’s franc is susceptible to appreciation during periods of increased geopolitical tension and the potential for conflict in the Korean peninsula will weigh on minds. North Korea has stepped up the development of weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions and tested several missiles this year, including one that flew over Japan. Pyongyang conducted its sixth and biggest nuclear test on Sept. 3. A survey on Friday showed most South Koreans doubt North Korea will start a war, although President Donald Trump again highlighted the possibility of a U.S. military response. Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-outlook/inflation-targets-still-proving-elusive-idUKKCN1BJ1Q4'|'2017-09-08T17:03:00.000+03:00'
'46097bc84a80da3544de222d7a1f93b807f0b442'|'Panipat, the global centre for recycling textiles, is fading'|'WHEN the doors open to the warehouse at Ambey Spinning Mills in Panipat, a city 90km from Delhi, it seems as if its contents might tumble out like those of an overstuffed cupboard. Heaps of clothes are piled to the ceiling. Ten women meticulously extract zips, chains and buttons from T-shirts, winter jackets and denims using long blades usually used to chop vegetables. Outside, a teenage boy wields a knife to bash synthetic fibre against a tree stump. In another workshop clothes are shredded, spun into yarn and woven by power looms into blankets. Bullock carts take them for further processing; they are then sent off for sale in India and beyond.Known as the “cast-off capital”, Panipat is home to 150-200 such mills, which take in discarded clothes from Western countries and turn them into recycled cloth. The industry employs around 20,000 people and brings in annual revenues of $62m, according to Pawan Garg of All India Woollen and Shoddy Mills Association, a trade body (“shoddy” was originally a non-pejorative word for reclaimed fibre). 21 Panipat’s history in textiles began after the Indian subcontinent’s bloody partition in 1947, when weavers from the province of Sindh and the districts of Jhang and Multan in Punjab, finding themselves suddenly located in Pakistan, were uprooted and moved to the ancient city. They set up looms to knit coarse, hand-spun cotton carpets, wall hangings and sofa covers (from new wool) that were an instant hit abroad (and qualified as a dowry in marriages in northern India). The city’s later emergence as a recycling hub coincided with a slump in Prato, a small industrial town in Italy with a 1,000-year-old tradition in textiles. In the 1990s Panipat mill owners bought discarded Italian machinery from Prato designed to make cheap shoddy yarn from recycled wool. The industry took off; its annual revenues rose to over $300m.Times have since changed. Cheaper and lighter polyester substitutes are increasingly preferred by wholesale buyers such as aid agencies, railways and hospitals, whether Indian or foreign. Such materials need expensive machines that many Panipat mills cannot afford. Rising labour costs have squeezed margins. An erratic electricity supply and frequent machinery breakdowns are more of a scourge than ever. Indian winters are shorter, complains one mill owner, which affects domestic demand for woollen clothing. Most factories in Panipat are working at half capacity.The business is fragmented, poorly organised and almost wholly unregulated. Had there been basic oversight by the government, some in the business say, standards might have risen. Whatever the reasons, the mills did not invest much of their formerly fat profits into upgrading machinery or workers’ skills. That could have helped them find more customers willing to pay a premium for high-quality fabric from recycled yarn, which appeals to environmentally conscious companies.Panipat may help the planet but also exhibits the least attractive features of the textile business in developing countries: sweatshop conditions for workers, rock-bottom pay, use of child labour and so on. Almost all workers there are contract labourers who earn a tenth of what those in the formal sector are paid. Women receive 120 rupees ($1.80) a day for manually ripping up around 100kg of garments. Workers manage to sell off baubles and trinkets scavenged from the cast-off clothes but must often share the proceeds with mill owners. Despite the bosses’ attention to such details, “there is no money in it anymore,” says Mr Garg. "Hanging by a thread"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728661-industrys-decline-missed-opportunity-india-panipat-global-centre-recycling?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'94b88d65a4f84f2c0b452eab7e86713e77ec6495'|'Brazil top prosecutor requests billionaire Batista''s arrest -source - Reuters'|'BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Brazil’s top prosecutor asked the country’s Supreme Court late on Friday to approve the arrest of billionaire Joesley Batista, one of the owners of the world´s largest meatpacker JBS SA, a person with knowledge of the matter said.Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot had told a news conference on Monday that he was considering revoking a plea bargain deal struck by Batista and a fellow state’s witness after they appeared to have inadvertently recorded themselves discussing crimes not covered in the deal.The source, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that Janot had requested the arrest of Batista and Ricardo Saud, a former executive at the Batista family holding company J&F Investimentos, based on the four-hour recording.Janot’s office did not respond to calls and email requests for comment.Joesley Batista and his brother Wesley confessed to bribing scores of politicians in plea bargain testimony that allowed them to avoid prosecution. Amongst the evidence they provided to prosecutors was a recording of President Michel Temer apparently endorsing hush payments to a possible witness in a graft probe.The source said that Janot had revoked the benefits granted under the plea bargain deal to Joesley and Ricardo Saud, a former executive of holding company J&F Investimentos, through which the Batista family controls JBS.He also asked Supreme Court Justice Edson Facchin to authorize the arrest of a former prosecutor, Marcelo Miller, the source said.The taped conversation, which was made public by the Supreme Court this week, was inadvertently submitted to prosecutors with unrelated material last week.In it, Batista and Saud say Miller helped the Batista brothers strike their plea bargain before leaving the Prosecutors Office in April to work in a private law firm.In a statement this week, J&F said Batista and Saud were simply discussing hypotheses in the conversation, not facts.Batista´s lawyer, Pierpaolo Bottini, filed a request on Saturday for the Supreme Court to hear defense arguments before authorizing the arrest of his client and Saud.The lawyer also said Batista and Ricardo Saud are willing to surrender their passports.A lawyer for Miller, André Perecmanis, said on Saturday his client did not help the Batistas in their plea deal while working as a prosecutor.Another source with knowledge of the matter said the leniency agreement of J&F Investimentos SA, which the company signed in May agreeing to pay a record leniency fine of 10.3 billion reais ($3.3 billion) for its role in the political bribery scheme, had been validated on Friday by a federal court.The source, asking for anonymity to discuss the matter freely, said that if a plea bargain by J&F Investimentos is canceled, the leniency agreement may also lose effect.A string of asset sales depend on the validity of the leniency agreement.In three months, the holding company has signed agreements to sell Havaianas flip-flops maker Alpargatas SA ALPA4.SA, dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA and pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA, but the sales may only be finalized if the leniency agreement is still valid. ($1 = 3.0875 reais) (Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia, Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-jbs/brazil-top-prosecutor-requests-billionaire-batistas-arrest-source-idINL2N1LQ0AB'|'2017-09-09T14:25:00.000+03:00'
'96c1e477f8850f530b69b91b51ea3b8ef3e63c26'|'Irma knocks out power to over 1.3 million customers in Florida'|'Sept 10 (Reuters) - Hurricane Irma knocked out power to over 1.3 million homes and businesses in south Florida on Sunday and threatened to leave millions more in the dark as it marched up the state’s west coast through the rest of the day.Irma crossed over the Florida Keys Sunday morning and was headed for the state’s southwest coast with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, making it a dangerous Category 4 storm, the second worst on the Saffir-Simpson scale.More than 1.3 million of its customers were already without power, said Florida Power & Light (FPL), the state’s biggest utility.On Friday, the utility warned Irma could impact around 4.1 million customers, but that was before the storm track shifted away from the eastern side of the state where FPL’s customers are concentrated in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.Last October, Hurricane Matthew knocked out 1.2 million FPL customers as it skirted Florida’s east coast without making landfall. Matthew did not come on shore and damage infrastructure, and it took the utility about two days to restore power.FPL has warned customers to prepare for outages that could last weeks if Irma requires the utility to rebuild parts of its service territory.FPL decided to shut only one of the two reactors at its Turkey Point nuclear plant on Saturday because the storm track shifted, and plans to leave both reactors at the St. Lucie plant in service because hurricane force winds are no longer expected to hit the sites.FPL had said on Friday it planned to shut both units at Turkey Point sometime on Saturday about 24 hours before hurricane force winds reached the plant.St. Lucie is located on a barrier island on the state’s east coast, about 120 miles (193 km) north of Miami, while Turkey Point is about 30 miles south of Miami.FPL is a unit of Florida energy company NextEra Energy Inc . (Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-energy/irma-knocks-out-power-to-over-1-3-million-customers-in-florida-idUSL2N1LR0E6'|'2017-09-10T18:25:00.000+03:00'
'687d29ec811d732d9b0c8afc3cefb834ddeff1f3'|'Oil steady on rising U.S. refining demand, but ample crude supplies weigh'|'September 7, 2017 / 2:10 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Oil dips on fears Hurricane Irma could hit crude shipments, rising Libya output Henning Gloystein 3 Min Read An oilfield worker walks next to drilling rigs at an oil well operated by Venezuela''s state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday over fears that Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean could interrupt crude shipments in and out of the United States, and as Libyan output began to recover from disruptions. However, prices received some support from rising demand in the United States, where Gulf Coast refineries are restarting in the wake of Hurricane Harvey that hit the region less than two weeks ago. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 18 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $48.98 barrel at 0687 GMT, but were still close to their highest in more than three weeks, reached in the previous session. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, dipped 21 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $53.99 a barrel, remaining near May highs marked the day before. U.S. Gulf Coast facilities were slowly recovering from the devastating effects of Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas almost two weeks ago, shutting key infrastructure in the heart of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. As of Wednesday, about 3.8 million barrels of daily refining capacity, or about 20 percent, was shut in, although a number of the refineries, as well as petroleum handling ports, were in the process of restarting. ANZ bank said on Thursday that U.S. crude prices should receive some support “as U.S. refineries increase their oil demand as they recover from recent flooding”. While Harvey’s effects were slowly fading, the massive Hurricane Irma hit Caribbean islands overnight with wind speeds up to 185 miles per hour (295 km/h) and was heading for Florida, where fuel shortages were reported as gas stations struggled to keep up with demand from customers filling tanks ahead of the storm’s landfall, expected this weekend. Another Atlantic storm, named Jose, is following on Irma’s heels and has been upgraded to hurricane strength by the U.S. National Hurricane Centre. Yet another hurricane, Katia, is developing in the Gulf of Mexico. “Demand may continue to be distorted as multiple hurricanes make their way across the Caribbean,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA. Outside the United States, ANZ said that the return of Libya’s largest oil field to production was “less supportive” of prices. Oil output at Libya’s Sharara field, the country’s largest, was resuming on Wednesday after a valve was reopened on a pipeline shut by an armed group for more than two weeks, Libyan oil industry sources said. Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Joseph Radford'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-steady-on-rising-u-s-refining-demand-but-ample-crude-supplies-weigh-idUKKCN1BI069'|'2017-09-07T05:05:00.000+03:00'
'f6a464662f14f5da90b38b4d9cb7af905e0232ad'|'Former Amazon.com analyst pleads guilty to insider trading'|'September 7, 2017 / 8:40 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago Former Amazon.com analyst pleads guilty to insider trading Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read (Reuters) - A former Amazon.com Inc financial analyst pleaded guilty on Thursday to insider trading for tipping a former college fraternity brother about the retailer’s quarterly results before they were made public. Authorities said Brett Kennedy gave fellow University of Washington alumnus Maziar Rezakhani nonpublic information from Amazon’s database, showing that the retailer would lose less money and report higher revenue for the first quarter of 2015 than Wall Street expected, in exchange for $10,000 (7,652.28 pounds) cash. In a related civil case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Rezakhani made $115,997 trading Amazon shares based on the April 2015 tip, after posting the results on Internet message boards and boasting that the “numbers are so obvious” that a “5 year old can guess what they will do.” Rezakhani was sentenced in March to five years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges in a separate case. U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes in Seattle said Kennedy pleaded guilty to securities fraud in the federal court in that city. Kennedy, 26, of Blaine, Washington, faces up to 20 years in prison at his Dec. 8 sentencing, but prosecutors will recommend that he serve no more than a year and a day. He agreed to pay $10,875 to settle with the SEC. “Mr. Kennedy was little more than a kid (24) at the time of the incident,” his lawyer Chris Black said in an statement. “He exercised very poor judgement in this case but it was a one-time incident. ... He has taken responsibility for his actions and looks forward to putting this chapter in his life behind him.” The SEC also charged Rezakhani and his former investment adviser Sam Sadeghi, who the regulator said discussed the tip with Kennedy and Rezakhani, and hoped to eventually start a New York hedge fund with Rezakhani. Sadeghi, 28, agreed to pay $24,215 to settle with the SEC, without admitting wrongdoing. Contact information for his lawyer was not immediately available. Rezakhani, also 28, pleaded guilty in July 2016 to mail fraud, bank fraud and filing a false tax return after being accused of defrauding Apple Inc , a small bank and various shippers in connection with his iPhone resale business. A lawyer for Rezakhani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-amazon-insidertrading/former-amazon-com-analyst-pleads-guilty-to-insider-trading-idUKKCN1BI2VB'|'2017-09-07T23:45:00.000+03:00'
'14306a109f141a4356cf698b0c5dfa5e2dafda63'|'Kraft Heinz names 3G Capital partner David Knopf as CFO'|'Sept 8 (Reuters) - Heinz ketchup maker Kraft Heinz Co said on Friday 3G Capital partner David Knopf would replace Paulo Basilio as its chief financial officer, starting in October.Kraft Heinz, backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett and private equity firm 3G Capital, also said Basilio would become president of its U.S. business, while Chief Operating Officer George Zoghbi will transition to a strategic adviser role.Knopf, 29, currently the vice president and category head of Kraft Heinz’s Planters nuts business, has worked with 3G Capital on mergers involving companies such as Burger King and H.J. Heinz Co. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/kraft-heinz-cfo/kraft-heinz-names-3g-capital-partner-david-knopf-as-cfo-idINL4N1LP42B'|'2017-09-08T10:42:00.000+03:00'
'6e778ae965df9b87d44237205c05aa0560fc40cb'|'Taxify halts London services after regulator questions licence'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:29 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Taxify halts London services after regulator questions licence Eric Auchard 3 Min Read FRANKFURT, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Uber rival Taxify has temporarily halted operations in London, the company said on Friday, after local regulator Transport for London said the new market entrant had failed to obtain a proper operating licence. The Estonian taxi-hailing start-up, which is active in 25 cities in central and eastern Europe and Africa, this week launched private hire taxi hailing services across London ( reut.rs/2eQFWSe ). Transport for London (TfL) confirmed it was investigating the company, saying it was not licensed to operate. “Taxify is not a London licensed private hire operator,” a TfL spokesman said in a statement issued on Thursday. “We are urgently investigating the nature and extent of its activities and will take action where appropriate.” TfL said it was preparing a new statement on Friday. The company said in a statement its software platform for connecting drivers and passengers was working with City Drive Services, a licensed London private hire firm. City Hire was incorporated in 2014 with offices located in southeast London, according to filings with UK Companies House. Taxify said it had signed up 3,000 drivers and had 30,000 customers download its ride-ordering app in its first three days of service. The company said it looked forward to discussions with TfL to resolve the issue. “(Our) sole objective is to make London’s ride-hailing market fairer so that better value is delivered for customers and drivers alike,” the company said. ”Taxify charges less commission than market incumbents such as Uber, keeping prices low for customers and improving earning potential for drivers. In March, Uber lost a court battle to stop TfL from imposing stricter English reading and writing standards on private hire drivers. The action was partly taken in response to protests by London black cab drivers against Uber for failing to meet local standards ( reut.rs/2xgcDzZ ). Uber later won the right to appeal the decision. TfL has also announced plans to increase the fees private hire operators pay to cover the increased costs of regulating the increasingly competitive taxi and ride-hailing sector. (Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uber-competition-taxify/taxify-halts-london-services-after-regulator-questions-licence-idUSL8N1LP0W4'|'2017-09-08T10:29:00.000+03:00'
'ba46062a794dc332c02dc3107deb48e616ace42b'|'BRIEF-Gymboree plan of reorganization confirmed by court'|'Sept 7 (Reuters) - Gymboree Corp-* Gymboree plan of reorganization confirmed by court* Expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from chapter 11 by end of month* Gymboree Corp says under terms of plan, a comprehensive recapitalization of Gymboree will be completed that will eliminate more than $900 million of debt Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-gymboree-plan-of-reorganization-co/brief-gymboree-plan-of-reorganization-confirmed-by-court-idUSASB0BIMB'|'2017-09-08T08:38:00.000+03:00'
'fb2885b3f5fde1f3fdb7b394098195eef760d8b4'|'UPDATE 1-Hours before shareholders meet, Akzo dumps bad news'|'September 8, 2017 / 5:55 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago UPDATE 3-Akzo abandons profit forecast made during PPG takeover battle Reuters Staff * Akzo Nobel won’t make operating profit target * Warning comes as prepares to face angry investors * CFO to step aside on health grounds (Updates with analyst, investor reaction) By Toby Sterling and Bart H. Meijer AMSTERDAM, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel , which fended off an unwanted takeover approach only three months ago, warned angry investors it would not hit its profit target this year. Adding to the sense of disarray at the top of the company, Akzo said its chief financial officer was stepping aside for health reasons and that it planned to shake up its paints and industrial coatings businesses. The profit shortfall and the departure of senior executives raise questions about a defence strategy used to thwart a 26 billion euro ($32 billion) takeover proposal from U.S. rival PPG Industries. The profit warning came as Akzo prepared to face investors at an extraordinary meeting in Amsterdam on Friday. The maker of Dulux paint, citing cost inflation and currency factors, said it would not achieve a 100 million euro improvement in annual operating profit it promised in April when it was fighting off PPG. That rejection angered a large chunk of Akzo’s shareholder base, given that PPG’s offer of 95 euros per share was a 50 percent premium to the company’s share price in February. The gap remains wide -- Akzo shares were down 2.5 percent at 77.36 euros by 0925 GMT. “We were not forecasting a 100 mln increase in EBIT anyway, so I am not surprised by the profit warning,” said Christian Faitz at Kepler Cheuvreux, who rates Akzo shares “Reduce”. “They were absolutely too optimistic.” MANAGEMENT CHANGES Rather than be bought by PPG, Akzo proposed the sale of its Specialty Chemicals Division, which represents a third of the company’s sales and profit. The architects of the defence plan are now gone from the company or leaving soon. Akzo said on Friday that Chief Financail Officer Maelys Castella would take a leave of absence due to health reasons and return “in a senior management position” when she has recovered. CEO Ton Buechner quit in July, also citing health reasons. Supervisory board Chairman Antony Burgmans, the focus of shareholder ire, has promised to retire in April 2018. “It is extraordinary that these cases follow each other so rapidly, but it is purely coincidental,” Burgmans said of the sick executives on a call with reporters. New CEO Thierry Vanlancker will meet shareholders on Friday to defend the strategy and goals crafted by others. The company said it would still hit 2020 targets. Shareholders led by Elliott Advisors twice sued Akzo for the right to hold a shareholders meeting to vote on expelling Burgmans for mismanagement. Dutch courts rejected those suits, but instructed the company to take steps to repair relations. That led to Friday’s shareholders meeting, which will not however offer investors a chance to vote on Burgman’s removal. “I think the company remains in a state of flux and we eagerly await the retirement of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board,” said John Bennett, head of European Equities at Janus Henderson, a top-20 investor in Akzo Nobel, in emailed comments. RESHAPING AKZO Under the reorganisation announced on Friday, Akzo said it will realign management along four geographical lines for paints and four product lines for industrial coatings: powders, marine coatings, wood coatings and vehicle finishings. Vanlancker said headwinds such as higher raw material costs were having “a wider and greater impact as the year continues” and the company was raising prices and cutting costs in response. He cited impacts from a range of temporary problems, including a fire at a Rotterdam refinery, the impact of Hurricane Harvey on supply chains, and low producer confidence in Britain as a result of Brexit. In addition, he said industry will feel longer-term impact from greater regulatory controls in China and a downturn in the shipbuilding industry. Kepler analyst Faitz said it is unlikely PPG will return to buy Akzo, given opposition by Dutch politicians and the determination of the Akzo Nobel Foundation, which holds powerful poison pill defences, to keep it independent. “Anybody as head of that foundation who would give his okay to Akzo selling out would have to eventually leave the Netherlands under cover and go into a witness protection programme,” he said. ($1 = 0.8295 euros) (Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Simon Jessop; Editing by Jason Neely and Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-restructuring/update-1-hours-before-shareholders-meet-akzo-dumps-bad-news-idUSL8N1LP0LL'|'2017-09-08T08:54:00.000+03:00'
'b0713487a95f07d8b84dc29e6575ce22f2d36a26'|'UK economy treading water ahead of Brexit - British Chambers of Commerce'|'September 7, 2017 / 11:05 PM / Updated 7 hours ago UK economy treading water ahead of Brexit - British Chambers of Commerce Andy Bruce 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s economy is “treading water” ahead of Brexit, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said on Friday after it downgraded forecasts for growth over the next two years. The BCC expects growth next year to be the weakest since the 2008-2009 recession, with gross domestic product rising by just 1.2 percent, down from an earlier 1.3 percent forecast. Growth in 2019 is predicted to be little better at 1.4 percent. “While some businesses report strong trading conditions, the UK economy as a whole is treading water, and there is no sign on the horizon of a return to healthier levels of growth,” BCC Director General Adam Marshall said. That is despite a slightly improved 2017 growth forecast of 1.6 percent, up from 1.5 percent previously and reflecting resilience in consumer spending. The latest Reuters poll of economists also suggests Britain’s economy is likely to expand 1.6 percent in 2017, before growth slows to 1.3 percent in 2018, assuming the Brexit process goes smoothly. Overall the BCC said it was clear that sterling’s sharp fall after last year’s vote to leave the European Union had done more harm than good. Britain’s economy was probably stuck on a “slow-growth trajectory”, reinforcing the need for the government to quell uncertainty about Brexit and the business environment at home. The economy had its slowest first half of the year since 2012 as households came under pressure from a big rise in inflation following the fall in sterling. “Our forecast suggests that the hoped-for rebalancing of the UK economy towards investment and export is unlikely to materialise in the medium term,” Marshall said. There is little evidence that customers are switching away from imported goods that have become more expensive in the wake of the pound’s post-Brexit vote plunge, which the BCC said was likely to weigh on Britain’s trade performance. “A cheaper currency does not automatically mean an export boom, no matter how some politicians and commentators will it to happen,” Marshall said. The industry group, which covers businesses employing about one in five private-sector workers, pushed back its forecast for the first Bank of England interest rate hike by six months to the third quarter of 2018. Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-bcc/uk-economy-treading-water-ahead-of-brexit-british-chambers-of-commerce-idUKKCN1BI34E'|'2017-09-08T02:06:00.000+03:00'
'bfe2fac89db840d0f31bc45f1b00f2cd92b1116b'|'Germany''s Ifo head warns of return of euro crisis - newspaper'|' 05 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Germany''s Ifo head warns of return of euro crisis - newspaper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - The head of Germany’s Ifo economic institute warned of a return of the euro crisis in a newspaper interview published on Friday, and said the European Central Bank should start to roll back its zero-interest-rate policy. Ifo head Clemens Fuest told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper that a noticeable recovery in the euro zone, increasing inflation rates and rising prices for bonds, shares and real estate were reasons for the ECB to change course. “The longer this continues, the more painful it will be when the money dries up,” Fuest told the newspaper. “It’s time to start the exit process.” The ECB on Thursday reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance and kept the door open to increasing bond purchases if needed, despite the euro zone’s best economic run since the global financial crisis. Fuest said he agreed in principle that the ECB’s policy had been necessary given low inflation and weak economies in the euro zone, but the situation has changed. Many countries in the euro zone have significantly higher debt now than before the last euro crisis, and banks in some countries were still not as stable as desired, he said. Moreover, banks could still acquire sovereign bonds without equity guarantees. “That is why it should be expected that the crisis will return in the next recession,” he said. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-germany-ifo/germanys-ifo-head-warns-of-return-of-euro-crisis-newspaper-idUKKCN1BJ00F'|'2017-09-08T03:05:00.000+03:00'
'cbaaf5060884a6b18ffb12cc217514727d985753'|'Irma a ''major event'' for insurance industry: Munich Re board member'|'September 10, 2017 / 3:02 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Irma a ''major event'' for insurance industry: Munich Re board member Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Torsten Jeworrek, board member of German Reinsurer Munich Re poses before company''s annual news conference in Munich, Germany, March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo MONACO (Reuters) - Hurricane Irma is proving to be a “major event” for Florida and the insurance industry, Torsten Jeworrek, member of the board of the German reinsurance giant Munich Re ( MUVGn.DE ), said on Sunday. The tropical storm is currently sweeping the Florida Keys and is forecast to slowly travel up to the Florida panhandle. Jeworrek and other insurance executives gathered in Monaco for an annual conference to haggle over reinsurance prices and strike underwriting deals. Even though Irma may skirt densely populated Miami, “Irma is still a major event for Florida and also a major event for the insurance industry,” Jeworrek said. Jeworrek said that Munich Re wasn’t especially exposed to Florida. “Florida for us is not an attractive state in terms of prices and margins,” he said. “We are not in the most exposed situation here.” Jeworrek, when asked by journalists, also hazarded a rough guess for the insured losses for the global industry of Hurricane Harvey, which struck Texas two weeks ago and caused massive flooding. He said that losses were estimated at between $20 billion and $30 billion, which would put the storm on a scale of Sandy. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Edward Taylor '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-reinsurance-munich-re-group/irma-a-major-event-for-insurance-industry-munich-re-board-member-idUSKCN1BL0S2'|'2017-09-10T18:02:00.000+03:00'
'51c62226965e933da2e0296d379755ae64445bca'|'UPDATE 1-Paramount has not received payment from Chinese studios -studio CEO'|'(Adds detail from presentation, background)By Jessica ToonkelSept 8 (Reuters) - Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures movie studio still has not received payments from the Chinese studios it entered into a financing deal with in January, Paramount Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos told investors on Friday.The snag in the funding deal comes at a delicate time for Viacom and Paramount, which are in the midst of a turnaround strategy under Viacom’s new CEO, Bob Bakish. Paramount is one of six brands that Viacom is focusing on as part of the strategy.In January, Paramount announced a deal under which two Chinese film companies, Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media, would invest $1 billion in Paramount, giving the studio much needed cash and support as it attempts to grow.However, Viacom executives disclosed in the company’s third-quarter earnings call in August that a payment from Huahua had been delayed as a result of increased restrictions by the Chinese government on outside investments, causing concern among investors.“We haven’t received the money we are entitled to under the deal, but we have been given continued assurances they are processing it,” Gianopulos told attendees of the Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference.Paramount is prepared to replace the funding in a timely manner if the situation is not resolved soon, he said.The studio expects improvement in its box office numbers this year, with real results from its turnaround by 2018, Gianopulos told attendees. (Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/paramount-ceo/update-1-paramount-has-not-received-payment-from-chinese-studios-studio-ceo-idUSL2N1LP1II'|'2017-09-09T02:52:00.000+03:00'
'9647d8c4c48c66af55cb3670522d90be1189a48f'|'Intesa Sanpaolo says to recoup loan after Rosneft stake sale'|'FILE PHOTO: The Intesa Sanpaolo logo is seen in Milan, Italy, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo will recoup a 5.2 billion euros ($6.3 billion) loan as a result of Chinese conglomerate CEFC’s acquisition of a 14.16 percent stake in Russian oil major Rosneft, the lender said on Friday.Intesa had extended the loan to help commodities trader Glencore ( GLEN.L ) and the Qatar Investment Authority buy a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft. Glencore and QIA sold most of that stake to CEFC for $9.1 billion in a deal unveiled earlier on Friday.“Following the sale of 14.16 percent of the Rosneft stake held by the QIA-Glencore consortium to the CEFC fund, the funding granted by Intesa Sanpaolo to the consortium, of the amount of 5.2 billion euros, will be fully reimbursed,” a spokesman for the bank said in an emailed statement.($1 = 0.8313 euros)Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Mark Bendeich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-rosneft-privatisation-loan/intesa-sanpaolo-says-to-recoup-loan-after-rosneft-stake-sale-idINKCN1BJ1RW'|'2017-09-08T12:17:00.000+03:00'
'6140a061c58edd59bf92cf3cf916e03c21fa7a26'|'Bell Pottinger''s Asian arm rebrands as London parent faces administration'|'September 8, 2017 / 10:47 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Bell Pottinger''s Asian arm rebrands as London parent faces administration Reuters Staff 3 Min Read An office building containing the London headquarters of the PR company Bell Pottinger is seen behind an entrance to an underground train station in London, September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - The Asian arm of PR agency Bell Pottinger has rebranded itself as Klareco Communications and plans to separate from the scandal-hit British parent which it expects will go into administration next week. Until recently one of the world’s biggest PR firms, Bell Pottinger has put itself up for sale after losing clients for running a racially charged campaign in South Africa which has led to it being shunned by its peers. As a result the firm’s second-biggest shareholder, Chime, has written off its 25 percent stake and its chief executive and biggest investor have quit. Co-founder Tim Bell, who resigned last year, said on Wednesday the agency was now “close to the end”. “I think it’s very sad that something that I ran for years and years has been destroyed in less than a year,” he told Reuters. Earlier this week the firm said it had appointed accounting firm BDO to advise it on a possible sale but no buyers have emerged and administration is now in prospect, a source familiar with the matter said. Bell Pottinger in London said on Friday only that the firm was “looking at all options”. The heads of Bell Pottinger’s Asian business, run as a legally separate entity, said that they now plan to relaunch as an independent firm called Klareco Communications with a new ownership structure. “While the UK business is expected to go into administration as early as next week, the Asia business is entirely ring-fenced and solvent,” the Asian arm said in a memo to clients on Friday. Klareco means clarity in Esperanto. Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, will be among its biggest creditors if the group fails to find a buyer. Lloyds may appoint an administrator if the company fails to make payments on the debt according to Bell Pottinger’s regulatory filings from March, which didn’t disclose the size of the loan. Lloyds declined to comment. On Tuesday Britain’s Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) expelled Bell Pottinger for a minimum of five years, an unprecedented step for such a prominent member, for running the South African campaign in support of South African President Jacob Zuma. It had been working with the president’s son and the influential Gupta family on a political campaign that South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance described as a bid to “divide and conquer” the public. According to an email published in South African media, Bell Pottinger said the campaign needed to stress the continued “existence of economic apartheid”. The PRCA said the campaign had deliberately inflamed racial tensions. Bell Pottinger has apologised for the campaign and described it as “inappropriate and insensitive”, but it disputed the basis on which the PRCA ruling was made. Reporting by Rachel Armstrong and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-safrica-politics-bellpottinger/bell-pottingers-asian-arm-rebrands-as-london-parent-faces-administration-idUKKCN1BJ17F'|'2017-09-08T13:47:00.000+03:00'
'282403e26a41aa9aaec3b05031e29038d21c1391'|'This week in sports: Patriots stumble as football season kicks off - Reuters'|'Sep 7, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (27) runs the ball in for a touchdown in front of New England Patriots strong safety Jordan Richards (37) and cornerback Malcolm Butler (21) at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports - 10264759 Listen to Keeping Score''s special NFL kickoff edition:A wrap up of the week in sports news:That was quick: The New England Patriots put to rest speculation of a possible perfect, 16-0 season Thursday night when they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in a stunning 42-27 loss to open the NFL season.When fantasy hits reality: The Massachusetts attorney general this week announced that popular fantasy sports websites DraftKings and FanDuel will pay a combined $2.6 million to resolve a probe of alleged unfair and deceptive practices affecting consumers.Nine lives?: The Carolina Panthers are hoping to bounce back from an abysmal 6-10 finish last year and return to the kind of dominant form of 2015, when they had a near-perfect season. Avoiding injuries to stars such as quarterback Cam Newton could make all the difference.And finally, sports business expert Rick Horrow sat down with the Los Angeles Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff to talk about the team’s future in Southern California. Watch here: '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-weekinsports-8sept2017/this-week-in-sports-patriots-stumble-as-football-season-kicks-off-idUSKCN1BJ2LD'|'2017-09-09T05:10:00.000+03:00'
'860e8fdcaff63df60b85386db9b40c565945f659'|'Big bank trade sours as rate hikes stall, but some still believe - Reuters'|'September 8, 2017 / 3:51 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Big bank trade sours as rate hikes stall, but some still believe Julien Ponthus 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, December 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski LONDON (Reuters) - Buying European bank shares -- one of the biggest stock market plays of the year -- has turned sour as interest rate “normalisation” in the United States and Europe is deferred yet again, but dogged advocates of the sector are not selling yet. Investors rushed into the shares of European banks early this year, lured by cheap valuations, receding political risks and the prospect of steadily rising interest rates as the global economy improved. The banks were seen as one of the best ways to bet on the quickening pace of economic growth in Europe. Eight months on, however, the European banking index is lagging the broader market. Stubbornly low inflation in the developed world means expectations that interest rates would rise in Europe and the United States have been put on hold. The prospect of interest rates rising back to normal from their near decade of historic lows should bring bigger revenues and profits to banks. But now that no longer seems likely to take place as soon as investors once thought. For asset managers, who are loaded up on banking shares, this underperformance comes at a problematic time as the year draws to a close and annual returns will be key in drawing client money in 2018. At Thursday’s close, the European banking index had failed to deliver better returns than the STOXX 600, gaining a meagre 3.2 percent on the year, half a percentage point less than the wider pan-European index. It is doubly frustrating for those who bet on banks, since a number of their assumptions about the economic improvement in Europe have largely been proven right. After nearly a decade of crises including the bursting of the U.S. sub-prime bubble and Europe’s sovereign debt woes, restructuring and massive increases in regulatory capital ratios, banks were finally seen on track to deliver steady profit growth. “The consensus was right about the fundamentals, they are coming through very clearly, you have great dividend yields, great valuation,” said Scott Meech, a managing director at UBP. “What is holding them back is the interest rate environment”, the asset manager said, as most European banks abandoned much of their gains from the first half of the year as prospects for interest rate increases fell sharply. [LINK] The impact of European Central Bank policy on the sector was clear on Thursday when President Mario Draghi acknowledged that the strengthening euro weighed on inflation prospects, suggesting a normalisation of monetary policy could wait a bit. While the ECB is mulling when and how fast it winds down a massive bond-buying programme, central bank sources make it clear it will not raise interest rates until the so-called tapering is completed first. While European shares got a boost from the central bank’s commitment to keep its stimulus package going in the short term, the banking sector took a hit of 0.8 percent. It’s not just the ECB: the slide in U.S. government yield curves to their lowest in years further underlines the difficulty for banks trying to generate growth in net interest margins. Growing uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s ability to push a pro-growth agenda through Congress has made some analysts doubt the Fed will raise rates for a third time this year. Policy doves on the Fed’s policymaking committee have taken the upper hand and doubt the wisdom of further rate hikes this year without getting inflation back to target. The most senior hawk on the council, Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, said this week he was stepping down next month. There is growing uncertainty about who might replace Chair Janet Yellen when her term ends early next year. Carmignac, which manages $61 billion in assets, takes the view that the global economy will also not keep up its current pace. “This supports gradually reducing our exposure to the most cyclical equity sectors such as banks, which we did by selling our Japanese financial positions and taking significant profits on our European bank positions”, said Jean Médecin, a member of the investment committee of the French asset manager. “SOONER OR LATER THE ECB WILL ACT” A number of analysts and investors are nevertheless holding on to their bullish stance on banks. “It can be disappointing for those who made that bet (on banks) at the beginning of the year,” said Farhad Moshiri, a banking analyst at Alpha Value, who said he and a majority of his peers stood by their positive view of the sector. Rates will eventually go up, and with them, banks’ profits, some investors say. “You can’t have a bund at 0.35 percent and growth at 2 percent in the euro zone; sooner or later the ECB will act,” said Laurent Gaetani, who heads the asset management arm of private bank Degroof Petercam. Gaetani said current prices are an entry point to sell German rates and buy European banking stocks. The prospects of growing dividends is also keeping some investors loyal to their business case for European banks. While the banks have scrambled to shore up their capital ratios during the last 10 years, they now are in a position to distribute much more of their profits, argued Jerome Legras from Axiom AI. Goldman Sachs also sees opportunities in capital returns in the banking sector even if no rate hikes occur before 2019. “We favour banks with upside even assuming no rate hikes”, it said on Thursday in a research note, adding that banks such as BNP Paribas or KBC offered the prospects of high dividends, while Unicredit, for instance, had an appealing restructuring story to offer. Reporting by Julien Ponthus; editing by Peter Graff '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/europe-markets-banks/big-bank-trade-sours-as-rate-hikes-stall-but-some-still-believe-idINKCN1BJ21A'|'2017-09-08T13:51:00.000+03:00'
'e83ff2d05d37694e591d869eca1e6abbfeece592'|'A year on, Wells Fargo cannot shake off its mis-selling scandal'|'ON SEPTEMBER 8th 2016, Wells Fargo’s reputation plummeted abruptly from that of America’s finest bank to that of yet another dodgy company. It was revealed to have opened an enormous number of potentially unauthorised retail deposit, current (checking) and credit-card accounts. A year on, two questions have yet to be put to rest. How much harm did Wells do to its customers? And how much did the scandal hurt the bank itself?Wells has not been passive in its response. It has produced report after report on its misdeeds and submitted to investigations by two federal regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It has purged its chief executive and the head of its retail bank, clawed back executive bonuses, transformed its board and simplified its formerly decentralised structure. It has created a comprehensive process for restitution and settled a class-action suit.  20   20   Yet it cannot put the scandal behind it. In July it was reported that up to 570,000 car-loan customers may have been forced to buy unneeded insurance. On August 31st a new report on the initial scandal increased the number of potentially unauthorised accounts from 2.1m to 3.5m (excluding the years from 2002 to 2009, which could not be examined because of changes to the bank’s systems). In the latest investigation, an entirely new concern emerged: another 528,000 potentially unauthorised accounts for online-bill payment.That is unlikely to be the end of it. The full report was not made public, adding to concerns that other embarrassing problems have been found. The Department of Justice has launched an investigation; New York’s attorney-general has requested details about the forced car insurance. Criminal charges are not inconceivable. Nor are fines of almost any magnitude; since the financial crisis America’s regulators have proved adept at extracting large payments from financial institutions. Private suits are also on the cards. A husband and wife who were fired have filed suit, alleging they were punished for whistle-blowing. Others among the 5,300 sacked over the account-creation scandal may take action, too, claiming they were merely executing orders. And of course customers could also go to court. California’s government, for one, may be on the verge of making it easier for them to do so.Yet the scandal has done remarkably little damage to Wells’s franchise. Over the past year, Apple and JPMorgan Chase are the only American firms to have made more money. Wells’s return on equity is not particularly high, but that is true for banks in general. Compared with its peers in the industry, it has had good results. Customers have not been fleeing. Deposits have risen and Wells has the leading market share in some businesses that require institutional trust, such as processing automated clearing-house (ACH) payments, which underpin credit-card, payroll and all manner of other transactions.The scandal forced Wells to dump the strategy seen as the secret of its success—to see a branch as a shop and a financial product as a type of retail good. It now says shareholder returns are only the last of six “core values”, after innovation, community service and others. But it still monitors the profitability of client relationships. Despite the distractions of the past year, it has improved the technology in its branches, with cardless ATM withdrawals and automated warnings if accounts fall below a customer-selected level. These are hardly radical innovations but are new to American finance, and they matter to customers.The direct costs of its troubles have been relatively trivial (though its legal bill may not seem so to lawyers). It is in the process of paying $11m for refunds and compensation tied to the account openings, $80m for the unwanted car insurance, $185m for fines and $142m to settle a class-action suit. A bit more than 40% that has already been clawed back from various executives. The biggest cost to Wells has probably been paid by its share price. If it traded at an earnings multiple closer to that of JPMorgan Chase it would be worth tens of billions of dollars more. That is the price not so much of shame, as of uncertainty.  Finance and economics   "Stick in the mud"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728636-though-its-impact-bank-has-been-less-profound-feared-year-wells?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'd80912eec6793ef7a466b70c704c2dfd19c40d17'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Petchems and banks support Saudi, Qalaa surges in Egypt'|'* Petchems, banks strong in Saudi* Qatar weakens to 18-month closing low* Dubai’s DSI up after chairman resigns* Dana Gas rises again in active trade* Egypt’s Qalaa Holding at 16-month peakBy Celine AswadDUBAI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Stock markets in the Middle East were mixed in narrow ranges on Sunday, with banks and petrochemicals supporting Saudi Arabia while Qatar edged down to a fresh 18-month closing low.The Saudi index rose 0.2 percent. All but two of the 14 listed petrochemical shares advanced after a pick-up in oil prices at the end of last week, with small polymer maker Nama Chemicals surging 9.5 percent in unusually heavy trade.Two-thirds of the 12 listed banks rose with Banque Saudi Fransi, the best performer, climbing 3.8 percent.Qatar’s index edged down 0.1 percent to 8,667 points, its fifth straight session of decline; foreign funds were net sellers, bourse data showed. Doha Bank slipped 0.6 percent.Dubai’s index edged up 0.1 percent, as builder Drake & Scull rose 1.1 percent in active trade after news that the company’s chairman, Majid al Ghurair, had resigned for “personal reasons”.DSI will elect a new chairman at board of directors meeting on Tuesday, and investors may hope the change could help the company rebound from losses caused by a slump in the regional construction industry.In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas added 1.2 percent and was again Abu Dhabi’s most heavily traded stock, accounting for almost two-thirds of trading volume.Last week it surged 28 percent in response to the company’s deal to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in payments from the government of Iraqi Kurdistan. The deal clears the way for Dana to resume expanding gas production in the area over the long term.Abu Dhabi National Energy climbed 6.4 percent but most other shares fell, dragging the main Abu Dhabi index down 0.2 percent.In Egypt, the index rose 0.2 percent with investment firm Qalaa Holdings jumping 7.5 percent to a 16-month high. Shares in the company have been strong since last week when one of its mining subsidiaries sold its stake in an Ethiopian company.HIGHLIGHTS SAUDI ARABIA * The index rose 0.2 percent to 7,378 points.DUBAI * The index edged up 0.1 percent to 3,648 points.ABU DHABI * The index dipped 0.2 percent to 4,446 points.QATAR * The index lost 0.1 percent to 8,667 points.EGYPT * The index added 0.2 percent to 13,456 points.KUWAIT * The index increased 0.4 percent to 6,926 points.BAHRAIN * The index rose 0.1 percent to 1,317 points.OMAN * The index edged up 0.2 percent to 5,057 points. (Editing by Andrew Torchia) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks/mideast-stocks-petchems-and-banks-support-saudi-qalaa-surges-in-egypt-idINL5N1LR0VQ'|'2017-09-10T12:13:00.000+03:00'
'355891d38812cd768e5c5030a118b12f5779cfb9'|'Greek PM vows bailout exit in 2018, help for workers, youth'|'September 9, 2017 / 9:09 PM / 12 hours ago Greek PM vows bailout exit in 2018, help for workers, youth Angeliki Koutantou , Renee Maltezou 3 Min Read Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his partner Betty Batziana (L) smile as they attend the opening of the annual International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki, in Thessaloniki, Greece, September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will exit successfully its bailout program in 2018 helped by strong growth, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday, vowing to support workers, young Greeks and small businesses as the economy recovers. Addressing a Greek public worn out by austerity and skeptical after years of reform efforts have failed to fix the country’s woes, Tsipras said his leftist-led government would do whatever it takes to end lenders’ supervision next year. “The country, after eight whole years, will have exited bailouts and suffocating supervision. That’s our aim,” Tsipras said in his annual policy speech in the northern city of Thessaloniki. “We are determined to do everything we can.” Greece’s current international bailout, worth 86 billion euros, expires next year. Tsipras’ term ends a year later. Tsipras said Athens would continue to outperform its fiscal targets and fight endemic tax evasion to create fiscal room for tax cuts that would alleviate the burden on businesses and households, long squeezed by the debt crisis. Greece has received about 260 billion euros in bailout aid from its eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund since 2010 in return for draconian austerity which has wiped out a quarter of its output and cut tens of thousands of jobs. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech during the opening of the annual International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki, in Thessaloniki, Greece, September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis Unemployment stood at 21.2 percent in June, the euro zone’s highest, with young Greeks the hardest hit. Greece’s economy is expected to grow by about two percent in 2018, a sign that sacrifices are bearing fruit, Tsipras said outlining initiatives to boost employment and fight a brain drain. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech during the opening of the annual International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki, in Thessaloniki, Greece, September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis A march of thousands of workers was largely peaceful outside the venue where he spoke. Tsipras said the state would give financial incentives to employers to hire more younger workers and spend 156 million euros to subsidize social security contributions of employers who will turn contractors into full-time staff. Unregistered work and contract jobs have increased during the debt crisis, as businesses are desperate to cut costs. The government will also pay 100 million euros to subsidize unpaid workers in struggling sectors and businesses, he said, promising to fight labor law violations. The 43-year old leader, whose Syriza party is sagging in opinion polls, was catapulted to power in 2015 promising to end the belt-tightening and tear up the bailouts. After months of tough talks with lenders, he signed up to a new bailout in exchange for further austerity. Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-pm/greek-pm-vows-bailout-exit-in-2018-help-for-workers-youth-idUKKCN1BK0VS'|'2017-09-09T23:59:00.000+03:00'
'e76be6f69be11ce68348d41531fd4bc343e616ae'|'Politicians hand over power at their peril - David Kynaston - Global'|'The Bank of England under Mark Carney has a good reputation but does it have too much leeway? View more sharing options Close Sunday 10 September 2017 00.04 BST O n the morning of 24 June 2016, as Britain woke up to endless replays of David Dimbleby announcing: “We’re out”, all eyes were on Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England . Suddenly, he seemed like the only grown-up left in the room as he calmly explained the measures he was taking to ensure economic stability in the potentially turbulent days ahead. Last month, 200 chief financial officers were asked to score out of 10 who would produce the best Brexit deal . The results were revealing: an average of 3.5 for Theresa May, but 8.6 for Carney. Indeed, it is fair to say that the Bank, in its 323-year history, has seldom, if ever, enjoyed greater prestige – and power – than it does now. Strikingly, not even Labour in its newly radical phase is disposed to challenge its authority. The shades of arguably our four most notable politicians would not be happy. In February 1797, amid fears of invasion and a flight of gold, William Pitt the Younger decided there was no alternative but to take Britain off the gold standard. (so that Bank of England notes were no longer backed by gold). The upshot was James Gillray’s immortal, nickname-coining cartoon, “POLITICAL RAVISHMENT, or The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street in danger!”, depicting the beanpole Pitt seeking to ravish a gaunt old lady dressed in banknotes and sitting on the Bank’s treasure. Britain eventually won the war and in 1821 returned to the gold standard. Over the rest of the century, on the back of a globalising economy, the City of London became the most dominant international financial and commercial centre that the world had ever seen, while the Bank itself assumed an increasingly public role, albeit still in private ownership. Most Victorian politicians avoided ruffling the Old Lady’s feathers – one chancellor, Lord Randolph Churchill, being described by his son Winston as “hovering for half an hour outside in a panic of nervousness” before his first visit there – but the great exception was William Gladstone. As chancellor in the 1850s and 1860s he waged a series of acrimonious battles over the Bank’s charges to government and established the Post Office savings banks as an alternative source of finance, while as four-times prime minister he continued to view the Bank as an unreformed vested interest (an exaggeration, but not a complete one). He was so unpopular there that, noted a Treasury diarist in 1888, “one Director said he intended to send Mr G [in his late seventies] a naïve advertisement of an enterprising undertaker who expressed surprise that people should go on living a life of trouble to themselves and others when they could be comfortably interred for £3…” Generally, up to 1914, the Treasury left the Bank well alone, but the First World War changed everything, significantly increasing government power. Between the wars, the Bank’s celebrated long-serving governor Montagu Norman did his best to control bank rate changes, but ultimately accepted that the final decision lay at Number 11. Even so, especially given the vastly inflated size of the national debt, no interwar chancellor wanted to make an enemy of the Bank. Certainly not Winston Churchill, who in 1925 gave in to Norman’s urgings and reluctantly returned Britain to the gold standard (which it had gone off during the Great War) at the pre-conflict parity of $4.86 to the pound – untenable and vastly destructive of British industry. Churchill never forgave Norman, though many years later, just before leaving No 10 in 1955, did bring himself to attend a dinner at the Bank in his honour. By then, following the left’s increasing demonisation of Norman through the 1930s, the Bank had been nationalised in 1946 by the postwar Labour government. The move was essentially symbolic, but importantly so, and through the 1950s and 1960s monetary policy became increasingly politicised, with opportunistic chancellors often having an eye on forthcoming byelections and suchlike. By the 1970s, a decade of economic troubles and high inflation, some Conservatives were talking about giving the Bank more autonomy and thereby making it easier for it to raise interest rates if it deemed that necessary. They reckoned without their leader. Even in opposition, Margaret Thatcher had an unfortunate first lunch at the Bank (“We did not take to her, because she spoke her mind in very broad and sweeping terms and gave little opening for anyone to tell her things which we could have told her,” noted one insider); in power from 1979, she was dismayed by the Bank’s entirely justified reluctance to sign up to zealously hardline monetarist dogma, at one point privately referring to the highly capable governor, Gordon Richardson as “that fool”, while towards the end, in 1988, she reacted dismissively to the suggestion of her chancellor, Nigel Lawson, that an independent Bank, taking its own interest rate decisions, would “enhance the credibility of our anti-inflationary stance”. Such an institutional change would instead, she riposted, “be seen as an abdication by the chancellor”; indeed, as “an admission of a failure of resolve on our part”. In short, though Thatcher may have privatised large chunks of the British economy and stopped government from trying to “pick winners”, she flatly disbelieved that elected and accountable politicians should contract out monetary policy. Then came Black Wednesday on 16 September 1992, almost exactly a quarter of a century ago. Despite the Bank spending some £3.3 bn to try to prevent it happening, George Soros and other major operators in the foreign exchange markets simply blew sterling out of the exchange rate mechanism (ERM). The aftermath was epoch-making, with two crucial things happening in quickish succession: first, the Bank swiftly stepping into the vacuum that had suddenly opened at the heart of government economic policy-making and replacing that vacuum with the coherent, relentless pursuit of inflation targeting; second, as New Labour intellectually took shape in the mid-1990s, an increasing recognition by Gordon Brown and Ed Balls that indispensable to ensuring that a future Labour government was not as crucified by the markets as its predecessors had been was the granting of independence to an inflation-targeting Bank. In May 1997, within days of the election, Brown duly conferred that independence, claiming it would help to avoid “the shifting sands of boom and bust”. “Labour,” claimed William Keegan in this paper, “has taken leave of its senses”. Generally, the press and City response at the time was positive. Even so, argued the Economist, “the true case for independence is not that there is no democratic loss, but that the loss is more than matched by the economic gain.” Twenty years on, the jury perhaps remains out. Most commentators would agree that the Bank’s monetary policy committee has had a good, if not unflawed, record; some (including me) would argue that the broader trend towards government outsourcing its previous responsibilities has contributed to a damagingly widespread sense of ineffective, out-of-touch politicians. Given that all economic decisions involve value judgments, given also that our current economic-cum-social model seems urgently in need of serious attention, Carney and his successors will continue to need those political skills that Pitt, Gladstone, Churchill and Thatcher had presumed to belong to parliamentary statesmen alone. David Kynaston’s Till Time’s Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England, 1694-2013 is published by Bloomsbury Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/sep/09/politicians-hand-over-power-at-their-peril'|'2017-09-10T07:04:00.000+03:00'
'7e3ff0d6942049d90e3b40be6e8e329aa3ccef69'|'Bertelsmann not considering listing Penguin Random House - paper'|'September 9, 2017 / 5:00 PM / Updated 32 minutes ago Bertelsmann not considering listing Penguin Random House - paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Unlisted German publishing giant Bertelsmann is not considering any further large takeovers worth “billions” and has no plans to list its Penguin Random House (PRH) division, Chief Financial Officer Bernd Hirsch told newspaper Boersen-Zeitung. Bertelsmann raised its stake in PRH to 75 percent in July, giving it the option of listing the business after it purchased a PRH stake from rival Pearson ( PSON.L ). Asked whether Bertelsmann was seeking full control of PRH, Hirsch said: “We have reached our goal of gaining 75 percent control.” Buying the outstanding 25 percent stake, which is still owned by Pearson, would depend on whether Pearson approached Bertelsmann over the matter, Hirsch said. Asked whether Bertelsmann would consider listing PRH, Hirsch said: “We have the IPO option. But this is not a scenario which we are thinking about.” The progress already being made to transform Bertelsmann into a digital publishing company has reduced the need to raise funds via the stock market to finance further strategic change. “If you think in a five-year timespan, the financing need is no longer of a magnitude where large projects need to be financed via an initial public offering,” Hirsch told the paper. Bertelsmann is also not considering a sale of its Printing Group, Hirsch added. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bertelsmann-penguin-listing/bertelsmann-not-considering-listing-penguin-random-house-paper-idUKKCN1BK0OH'|'2017-09-09T19:38:00.000+03:00'
'd09c3e82831184d81855f9f90abeaa4fc5a2969f'|'China''s August CPI rises 1.8 percent, PPI up 6.3 percent, both above forecasts'|'September 9, 2017 / 2:04 AM / Updated 14 hours ago China August producer inflation jumps to four-month high as economy races along Kevin Yao , Lusha Zhang 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A truck drives past rolls of steel inside the China Steel Corporation factory, in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s producer price inflation accelerated more than expected to a four-month high in August, fueled by strong gains in raw materials prices and pointing to strong, sustained growth for both factory profits and the economy. Consumer inflation also quickened more than forecast to a seven-month high, amid signs that upstream price gains are trickling through, but analysts said price gains remain modest and there is little pressure on the central bank to tighten policy further. “The unexpected rise in both CPI and PPI suggests that there is little hope China’s monetary policy could see some relaxation before the end of this year,” Zhou Hao, a Singapore-based analyst at Commerzbank. “We believe that the market has underestimated the inflationary pressure facing China’s economy, although inflation is unlikely to surge in the foreseeable future. That said, onshore rates are still on the rise,” he said, referring to higher financing costs. China’s producer price index (PPI) rose 6.3 percent in August from a year earlier, from 5.5 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected producer inflation would edge up to 5.6 percent, its first pickup in six months. On a month-on-month basis, the PPI rose 0.9 percent. The price data added to a long list of upside surprises for the world’s second-largest economy this year, which has so far defied analysts’ expectations of a slowdown. A year-long, government-led construction boom, a resilient property market and a recovery in exports have offset the expected drag from a regulatory crackdown on riskier types of financing, which is slowly driving up borrowing costs. “The pickup in PPI shows that demand remains steady, and we expect third-quarter economic growth to remain steady from the first half,” said Zhang Yiping, an economist at Merchants Securities in Shenzhen. With the industrial sector in high gear, the economy grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first six months of the year. If activity remains relatively solid in coming months, China’s economic growth could accelerate for the first time in seven years in 2017. Last year’s pace of 6.7 percent was the slowest in 26 years. “MAN OF STEEL” China’s industrial firms have been posting their strongest profits in years as the building boom fuels demand and prices for everything from cement and steel to glass and copper wiring. Its commodities futures markets have rallied hard and continued to surge through August, boosted by strong restocking demand and government pledges to shut inefficient and highly polluting mines and plants, which has underscored concerns over tight supply heading into winter. Activity in China’s steel industry expanded in August at the fastest pace since April 2016, reflecting high levels of production and low inventory. Prices of ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industries jumped 29.1 percent in August on-year while prices of non-ferrous metal sectors grew 16.3 percent, and prices of the oil processing sector rose 16.8 percent, the latest data showed. However, some analysts say rising prices have mainly benefited state firms which dominate upstream industries, while smaller companies further along the supply chain have been burdened by sharply higher raw materials costs. Likewise, some economists say sharply higher commodity prices are also flattering China’s import data, possibly exaggerating the strength of domestic demand. Imports rose 13.3 percent in August, more than expected, data showed on Friday. And, it still seems too early to tell if suddenly cash-rich “smokestack” industries are putting the money to use by paying down massive levels of debt, an issue that Beijing has made a top priority this year as it looks to contain financial risks. GRADUAL SPILLOVER INTO CONSUMER PRICES China’s strong appetite for resources such as iron ore has helped fuel a reflationary pulse in the manufacturing sector worldwide, producing synchronized growth in many developed and developing economies alike. But despite the country’s growing string of data surprises, analysts continue to maintain that factory-gate prices will lose steam eventually if regulatory tightening continues and consumer and corporate borrowing costs inexorably rise. Saturday’s data also suggested that the year-long gains in producer prices are starting to percolate through to the broader economy, but at a modest pace, which will be welcome news to the central bank. China’s retail inflation has been quite mild this year, raising questions about the accuracy of other official data that showed robust economic activity. But consumer inflation rate quickened more than expected to 1.8 percent in August from 1.4 percent in July, the first time it has accelerated in three months. The consumer price index (CPI) had been expected to rise 1.6 percent on-year. Food prices, the biggest component of the consumer price index (CPI), fell 0.2 percent from a year earlier. Non-food price inflation quickened to 2.3 percent in August from 2 percent in July. The government is targeting economic growth of around 6.5 percent this year and inflation of 3 percent, so the latest reading is still well within the central bank’s comfort range. China will release further August data next week on bank lending, industrial output, retail sales and investment, which are expected to point to solid growth. Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-inflation/chinas-august-cpi-rises-1-8-percent-ppi-up-6-3-percent-both-above-forecasts-idUKKCN1BK02C'|'2017-09-09T05:05:00.000+03:00'
'2d3a29cc0a84ee5b40497e4846d7f7d01839ffd3'|'Investors defend hedge funds amid rush to passive and private strategies'|'September 7, 2017 / 8:55 PM / Updated 16 hours ago Investors defend hedge funds amid rush to passive and private strategies Lawrence Delevingne 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Some big money investors are warning that the rush to cheap stock bets and private asset strategies at the expense of hedge funds may prove costly. “As those trends run their course, it will open up better opportunities for active equity investors,” Eric Alt, co-chief investment officer of $31 billion investment adviser Hall Capital Partners LLC, said Thursday during a panel discussion at the IMN Total Alts 2017 conference in San Francisco. “Our view continues to be that (hedge funds) can play a really valuable role in portfolios,” Hall said, noting that recent industry challenges around low returns were “more cyclical than structural.” Hedge fund managers have for years complained that ultra-low interest rates have artificially pushed up stocks and other assets since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Such economic stimulus programs by central banks have boosted the appeal of low-cost index funds, as well as firms that invest in private companies or debt with the help of borrowed money. Tim Recker, chief investment officer of the $2 billion James Irvine Foundation, also speaking on the panel, said he was adding to investments in hedge funds at a time when others are pulling out. Recker said that more expensive valuations and lower returns were making investments in private equity, venture capital and other non-traded asset classes less compelling. “We are very worried about the flows into the private investment space,” he said. According to Adam Geiger, chief investment officer of investment adviser New Legacy Group, “The deck has been stacked against hedge funds.” He said that low interest rates had caused minimal dispersion between the prices of different stocks and subdued market volatility, both factors that have traditionally given hedge fund managers an edge over traditional mutual fund stock pickers and cheap index funds. “You have to be disciplined about maintaining a diversified portfolio,” Geiger said in discussing private equity and other hot strategies. “If you are constantly chasing the thing that’s working at this time, then you are not prepared for what the next regime change is going to be.” Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedge-funds-investors/investors-defend-hedge-funds-amid-rush-to-passive-and-private-strategies-idUSKCN1BI2VQ'|'2017-09-07T23:50:00.000+03:00'
'648362d6451cecd4f1380059070ecf30b69e3465'|'UK wealth manager Rathbone says online allegations are baseless'|' 46 PM / Updated 30 minutes ago UK wealth manager Rathbone says online allegations are baseless   (Reuters) - Rathbone Brothers ( RAT.L ), the wealth manager that this month ended its pursuit of rival Smith & Williamson, said its share price fall on Friday had coincided with anonymous allegations made in an online discussion forum. The FTSE 250 company, whose shares were down 4.5 percent at 2,524 pence at 1223 GMT, said it was unaware of anything that would give substance to this allegation and that it was taking strong action. “We are alert to the possibility of market abuse,” Rathbone said in a brief statement. Rathbone did not specify what the allegations were or where they were published. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru and Carolyn Cohn in London; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rathbone-bros-stocks/uk-wealth-manager-rathbone-says-online-allegations-are-baseless-idUKKCN1BJ1JS'|'2017-09-08T15:46:00.000+03:00'
'9d037365894d41aeb14ee9f1aa99601f38b74956'|'Will Saudi Aramco deliver world record profit for next year''s IPO?'|'A view shows Saudi Aramco''s Manifa oilfield, Saudi Arabia, June 14, 2015. Saudi Aramco/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) - When oil giant Saudi Aramco discloses its financials for the first time next year, it must either surprise investors with world record profits or reduce its aspirations for a $2 trillion valuation in its initial public offering (IPO). [IPO-ARMO.SE]Investors have long debated whether Aramco could be valued anywhere close to $2 trillion, the figure suggested by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wants to raise cash through the IPO to finance investments aimed at helping wean the world’s biggest oil exporting nation off dependency on crude.Based on Aramco’s oil reserves of 261 billion barrels and a valuation of $7 to $8 per barrel in line with recent industry acquisitions - such as Total’s ( TOTF.PA ) purchase of Maersk’s oil assets - Aramco warrants close to the $2 trillion valuation.But that is not the only metric for an energy firm’s worth. By other measures, Aramco’s target valuation may be challenging.Most other metrics for the world’s largest oil producing company are simply not known and will not be disclosed until Aramco publishes financial results before the planned IPO in 2018.Yet a simple calculation using globally accepted ratios for Aramco’s peers - enterprise value versus core earnings (EV/EBITDA) - shows the Saudi firm has to report EBITDA in the region of $130 billion to achieve a $2 trillion valuation.Such an EBITDA figure would be a global first. No firm in any industry has reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) above $100 billion.By comparison, Apple ( AAPL.O ), the technology giant and the world’s most valuable listed firm that is worth more than $830 billion, reported EBITDA of $82 billion in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.AWAITING BOOK-BUILDING Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ), the world’s largest listed energy firm with a market capitalization of $365 billion in 2016, reported EBITDA of $23 billion last year, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data. In 2012, it reported EBITDA of $65 billion - but that was when oil traded well above $100 a barrel. Benchmark Brent crude is now around $54 LCOc1.Last year, Exxon traded at EV/EBITDA of more than 15 times, which is high by energy industry standards. If Aramco matched that same high ratio, its core earnings would need to be around $130 billion to achieve its target valuation.Aramco would not be drawn when asked to comment on how it would achieve the $2 trillion figure.“This is highly speculative. We do not comment on speculation or rumor,” the company told Reuters in a statement.A Saudi Arabia-based industry source said Aramco’s value could not be calculated until the completion of book-building to assess investor appetite.FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo The source said it was misleading to compare Aramco with Exxon, which has less than half the Saudi firm’s oil output and not even a 10th of its reserves. EBITDA should not be the only measure, the source added.(GRAPHIC: Aramco''s possible valuations and metrics - tmsnrt.rs/2fH0rkr )Nevertheless, Aramco would do well to secure Exxon’s high ratios. Investors tend to like Exxon more than other oil firms, handing it ratios that are sometimes more generous than popular technology firms such as Google ( GOOGL.O ) and Apple.For example, Exxon’s rivals Shell ( RDSa.L ), BP ( BP.L ) and Total ( TOTF.PA ) trade at EV/EBITDA of around six times. If Aramco was assessed at that level, it would need to show core earnings at an astonishing $330 billion a year to achieve a valuation of $2 trillion.“One thing you never do ahead of an IPO is to tell the market how much the company will be worth as you immediately become hostage to a number or a timetable,” said a Western investment banker, who was involved in listing another state energy firm.Slideshow (4 Images) DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Yet Aramco could prove hugely profitable, given its oil output of about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) and some of the world’s cheapest crude recovery rates, alongside its global refinery network that adds further value.Exxon by comparison has less than half Aramco’s output - with oil-equivalent production of 4 million bpd in 2016, while the U.S. firm’s reserves are a fraction of Aramco’s - with proved oil-equivalent reserves of about 20 billion barrels.Aramco has never published results, but conclusions about its earnings can be drawn from Saudi Arabia’s accounts, given oil constitutes the lion’s share of the nation’s revenues, said Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist at U.S.-based Rapidan Group.“Based on the Saudi current-account balance, Aramco had revenues of $160 billion last year from just oil and refined products exports when the average price of oil was $43 a barrel,” Mohamedi said.“So if the price of oil goes to $70 per barrel, it is not impossible for Aramco to make a top line of $250 billion a year. Given that operational costs of Aramco are one of the lowest in the world, it is not impossible to see them reporting the bottom line or earnings on a huge scale – of $100 billion a year and above,” he said.Financials aside, investors will also assess country risk when working out Aramco’s valuation.Exxon benefits from having its headquarters in the United States, even if some of its operations and production are in politically unstable nations.Aramco’s head office is in Saudi Arabia, a nation in a volatile region with a war in Yemen on its doorstep.“Aramco is definitely a fantastic, modern and high-quality company,” said the Western banker. “But unfortunately, no one can say that Saudi Arabia is a fantastic country from the geopolitical prospect.”Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-ipo/will-saudi-aramco-deliver-world-record-profit-for-next-years-ipo-idINKCN1BJ0JF'|'2017-09-08T09:10:00.000+03:00'
'5846f4b609f590d651c7551216c5be37ea387caa'|'HNA Group says sees no imminent changes to shareholding structure'|'September 8, 2017 / 4:34 AM / Updated an hour ago HNA Group says sees no imminent changes to shareholding structure Elzio Barreto , Julie Zhu 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - HNA Group Co, one of the most acquisitive Chinese buyers of overseas assets, expects no changes to its shareholding structure in the near future, the head of the conglomerate’s international unit said on Friday. HNA has been in the spotlight together with other Chinese conglomerates for the billions of dollars they have splashed on marquee real estate properties and global brands, as Beijing cracks downs on what it deems excessive deals. It has also faced questions over its shareholding structure and debt. “The reason why HNA group tries to be transparent is because we have nothing to hide. Transparency is the best policy,” Wang Shuang, the group’s chief investment officer and CEO of its international unit, told a conference in Hong Kong. The conglomerate issued an open letter in July to disclose its shareholding structure because it was getting a lot of questions from different people about its ownership, he added. Wang said the group has committed to such disclosures on a regular basis. Uncertainty over political and economic conditions has slowed the pace of outbound mergers and acquisitions from China, but HNA will continue to look for potential targets that could create value for the group, he added. Wang said HNA looks at many different companies before making an acquisition, with the success rate of deals at only 5 percent of what it examines. HNA Group is “in the best financial situation” today, he added. Additional reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hna-group-investment/hna-group-says-sees-no-imminent-changes-to-shareholding-structure-idINKCN1BJ0CZ'|'2017-09-08T07:31:00.000+03:00'
'490abda425f083c337b5c84c37cfc5227d69b178'|'Global Markets: Asian shares firm, dollar slumps on ECB''s tapering signal'|'September 8, 2017 / 4:44 AM / Updated an hour ago Global Markets: Asian shares firm, dollar slumps on ECB''s tapering signal Lisa Twaronite 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO : People are seen behind an electronic board showing stock prices after the New Year opening ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), held to wish for the success of Japan''s stock market, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares firmed on Friday, supported by solid Chinese trade data, while the dollar skidded after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi suggested the central bank may begin tapering its massive stimulus programme this autumn. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 percent, and was set for a 0.2 percent gain for the week. China’s August exports rose 5.5 percent from a year earlier, slightly missing analysts’ forecast of a 6.0 percent increase, while imports grew a robust 13.3 percent, handily beating expectations of 10 percent growth and reinforcing views that the world’s second-largest economy is still expanding at a healthy pace despite tighter policy. Japan’s Nikkei stock index was pressured by a stronger yen and slipped 0.4 percent. The index is poised for a 1.8 percent loss for the week. Australian shares slipped 0.3 percent, hit by weakness in energy and financial sectors, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia coming under renewed pressure as it struggled to shake off a money-laundering scandal that has shattered its reputation. South Korean shares fell 0.2 percent, as automakers led by market heavyweight Hyundai Motor dropped on worries its Chinese joint venture partner may pull out following the deployment of an anti-missile system that has angered Beijing. Markets are jittery that Pyongyang could launch another missile test on Saturday, during a North Korean national holiday. Wall Street ended little changed on Thursday, as investors continued to track Hurricane Irma, which was bearing down on Florida on the heels of devastation in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Economists said Harvey could weigh on U.S. economic growth for the third quarter, though they did not expect this to delay the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement of a plan at its meeting this month to start trimming its $4.2 trillion debt portfolio. The storm caused U.S. initial jobless claims to spike to a two-year high, despite underlying strength in the labour market. New York Fed President William Dudley said on Thursday the central bank should continue gradually raising rates given low inflation should rebound, sounding slightly less confident than his previous hawkish comments after weak inflation readings. The benchmark U.S. Treasury yield stood at 2.042 percent in Asian trade, down from its U.S. close of 2.061 percent. It plumbed a 10-month low of 2.03 percent on Thursday. Besides slumping Treasury yields, the dollar was also pressured by ECB head Draghi’s remarks that policymakers would decide on tapering this autumn, and that “probably the bulk of these decisions will be taken in October.” The ECB must take into account the weakening of inflation owing to the strong euro as it prepares to wind down its stimulus, Draghi said, after the central bank kept rates at record lows at its regular policy meeting and confirmed that asset purchases would continue at least until December. Draghi “talked about the euro, but in terms of volatility. He talked about the strength of the euro having an impact on inflation, but other than saying he’s going to watch and monitor it, there wasn’t anything to suggest that they’re going to do anything about it,” said Mitul Kotecha, head of Asia macro strategy for Barclays in Singapore. If the strengthening currency “had some impact on their tapering plan, that would have been different, but clearly at the moment, it looks like that’s not the case,” Kotecha said. The euro was up 0.4 percent at $1.2067 after touching a high of $1.2090, its firmest since January 2015. It was up 1.7 percent for the week. The dollar fell 0.2 percent against the yen to 108.32, moving back toward a 10-month low of 108.05 touched on Thursday and briefly again on Friday. It was 1.9 percent lower for the week. Meanwhile, Japanese second quarter GDP released on Friday showed growth was much slower than previously indicated. Wage growth and household spending remain lacklustre despite a tightening job market, keeping the Bank of Japan under pressure to maintain its massive monetary stimulus even as its U.S. and European counterparts contemplate gradual exits. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.5 percent at 91.187, after falling as low as 91.082, its weakest since January 2015, putting it on track for a 1.8 percent weekly loss. The Australian dollar rose 0.8 percent to $0.8103, scaling its highest peaks since May 2015. China’s yuan strengthened further against the U.S. dollar to its strongest in nearly 21 months. Crude oil futures firmed, with Brent crude gaining 0.4 percent to $54.70 a barrel, while U.S. crude edged up 0.2 percent to $49.21 per barrel. On Thursday, global crude oil benchmarks diverged, with Brent rising to a 5-1/2 month high. But U.S. crude slipped on a bigger-than expected stock build, as the restart of U.S. refiners after Hurricane Harvey was countered by the threat of Hurricane Irma. Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-asian-shares-firm-dollar-slumps-on-ecbs-tapering-signal-idINKCN1BJ0D5'|'2017-09-08T07:43:00.000+03:00'
'066c82842b28e7bbfc992de1c3967d8a8d2a06de'|'Roche eye drug fails late-stage trial in blow to pipeline'|'* Roche eye drug fails trial, putting future in doubt* Analysts don’t expect 2nd trial to be different* Roche needs new drugs to offset sales erosion from copiesBy John MillerZURICH, Sept 8 (Reuters) - A drug Roche had hoped would prevent loss of vision and become a big seller failed a late-stage trial, leading some analysts to say on Friday it now had no future.Lampalizumab, which was being trialled to treat a form of age-related macular degeneration, did not reduce changes in lesion area compared to a placebo after a year, Roche said.The Basel-based company said it had halted further doses until a second phase III study’s results can be evaluated, which is likely to be around November.However, some analysts are already writing off Lampalizumab, saying the second trial is not likely to turn out better.Lampalizumab is among Roche''s stable of new medicines it is pushing toward market in hopes of offsetting the impact of cheaper copies of its biggest sellers - the $20-billion-per-year trio of cancer drugs Herceptin, Avastin and Rituxan - that are starting to hit the market. [ reut.rs/2eM6FvK ]Its failure in tests is the latest in a string of disappointing trial results delivered by Roche drugs this year, taking some of the shine off its portfolio of up-and-coming medicines. [ reut.rs/2wO4uBm ]“While this result is disappointing, we will continue to evaluate results...to get a clearer understanding of the data as we await the results of our second phase III study, Chroma, anticipated in November,” Sandra Horning, Roche’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.Progressive and irreversible geographic atrophy affects more than 5 million people worldwide, impairing reading, driving, recognising faces, and activities in dim or low light.LITTLE SCOPE The drug represents a big opportunity for Roche, since there are no approved therapies for this condition.According to average estimates collected by Reuters, Lampalizumab had been forecast by analysts to hit $1.5 billion in annual sales by 2023, if it wins regulatory approval.Now, some analysts who had been counting on even more are already writing it off, even before the second trial.“There appears little scope for a positive outcome given the identical design of both trials,” said Deutsche Bank’s Tim Race, who had estimated peak annual sales exceeding 2 billion francs.“We now see limited prospect of the drug reaching the market in the near future and have removed its sales from our forecasts.” (Reporting by John Miller; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/novartis-lampalizumab-failure/roche-eye-drug-fails-late-stage-trial-in-blow-to-pipeline-idUSL8N1LP51H'|'2017-09-09T02:53:00.000+03:00'
'dc351b93651d8deb8ca2f67a32631c51ceb6484f'|'UPDATE 1-Western Digital seeks Y50 bln from Apple to help finance Toshiba chip bid -Kyodo'|'(Adds background on negotiations, competing bids)* Western Digital, Toshiba still in talks* Toshiba wants to limit Western Digital stake -sources* Rival bidders also roped in Apple -sourcesTOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - A group including Western Digital is seeking around 50 billion yen ($464 million) from Apple Inc to help finance a bid for Toshiba Corp’s memory chip unit, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday.Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key chip plant, is leading a $17-18 billion bid for the chip business, sources familiar with the talks have said.Sources said earlier in the week that the U.S. firm offered to step back from the consortium’s financing in return for a stronger position in their joint venture, and was roping in Apple for funding.But it has been unclear whether other parties in the consortium, which also includes U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP as well as Japanese government-backed investors, would pay more to cover for the 15 billion yen that Western Digital had previously planned to pay as part of the bid.Sources have said Western Digital does want a future stake in the chip business, although it was unclear how much. Toshiba executives, fearing that Western Digital was angling to eventually take over the chip business, are demanding that the U.S. company promise to limit the size of its stake in the company, sources said, requesting anonymity as talks were confidential.Toshiba’s board is now aiming to reach a final agreement with the consortium by Sept. 13, sources have said.The company is under pressure to clinch a deal soon and complete regulatory approvals by the end of the fiscal year in March to ensure it does not report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running - a scenario that could result in delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Last week, Toshiba said it had not yet narrowed the pool of suitors and was also looking at a bid from U.S. private equity firm Bain as well as one from Taiwan’s Foxconn.All three bids have involved Apple, Toshiba’s key memory chip customer, sources said.A Western Digital spokeswoman told Reuters it could not comment on details of the talks. Apple did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. ($1 = 107.6800 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Christopher Cushing) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting/update-1-western-digital-seeks-y50-bln-from-apple-to-help-finance-toshiba-chip-bid-kyodo-idINL4N1LP33F'|'2017-09-08T06:21:00.000+03:00'
'1b323bdd8b126a4b225ac67cdf3f3a6903cdacba'|'German trade surplus narrows as industrial motor sputters'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:08 AM / Updated an hour ago German trade surplus narrows as industrial motor sputters Paul Carrel 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Container ships are seen at a loading terminal at the Hamburg harbour in Hamburg, Germany February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German imports grew far faster than exports in July, narrowing the trade surplus and suggesting Europe’s largest economy will again rely on domestic demand to drive growth in the third quarter as a stronger euro acts as a headwind for exporters. Seasonally adjusted exports rose by 0.2 percent on the month while imports were up 2.2 percent, data from the Federal Statistics Office released on Friday showed. Both figures came in weaker than expected. ECONDE The seasonally adjusted trade surplus narrowed to 19.5 billion euros ($23.55 billion) from 21.2 billion euros in June. The July reading was lower than the Reuters consensus forecast of 20.3 billion euros. The trade figures came after data released on Wednesday showed industrial orders fell in July on feeble domestic demand while appetite from abroad was flat - a rare sign of weakness in the economy less than three weeks before federal elections. But Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING, said the German economy’s was still in good shape. “Even though this week’s industrial data was anything but splendid, strong fundamentals combined with buoyant confidence indicators still point to a quick rebound of industrial activity after the summer break,” he said. “The upside of the weak start to the third quarter is that the upside potential has clearly increased.” German business morale fell in August, though by less than expected, after climbing to three record highs in a row, suggesting that a consumption-led upswing in Germany will continue despite concern about a car emissions scandal. In the second quarter, consumers were the main source of growth in Germany as they reaped the benefits of record-high employment, rising wages and low interest rates. The European Central Bank’s expansive monetary policy has helped support the German economy, which no longer relies on its traditional export engine to drive growth and is instead propelled by domestic demand. A stronger euro, which is up 14 percent this year against the dollar, will add another headwind to German exporters, though Brzeski noted: “German exports are often less price sensitive than exports from other countries”. ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday the euro’s strength is already weighing on inflation and will be a key factor for the ECB next month when it decides how to proceed with its massive stimulus programme in 2018. His cautious comments raised the chances that the ECB will opt to phase out its 2.3 trillion euro bond buying scheme only very slowly next year, despite solid economic growth in the euro zone and worries about real estate bubbles in richer countries such as Germany. Friday’s data showed Germany’s current account surplus, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments, fell to 19.4 billion euros after an upwardly revised reading of 25.0 billion euros in June. The figures came after the Ifo institute said on Thursday that Germany’s current account surplus is likely to remain the world’s largest this year despite shrinking somewhat mainly due to higher costs for oil and natural gas imports. Additional reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-trade/german-trade-surplus-narrows-as-industrial-motor-sputters-idUKKCN1BJ0O9'|'2017-09-08T10:08:00.000+03:00'
'3ef4830c194eda3d814571f3eb9ad6bbc1aeee26'|'Bain, SK Hynix group ups bid for Toshiba chip unit to 2.4 trillion yen - sources'|'September 9, 2017 / 5:50 AM / Updated 13 hours ago Bain, SK Hynix group ups bid for Toshiba chip unit to 2.4 trillion yen - sources Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of SK Hynix is seen at a plant in Icheon, about 80 km (50 miles) southeast of Seoul, January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - A group including Bain Capital and South Korea’s SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ) has raised its offer for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) chip business to 2.4 trillion yen (£16.8 billion) including a 200 billion yen investment in infrastructure, sources familiar with the matter said. The offer by the consortium, which is led by the U.S. private equity group and the South Korean chipmaker as well as Japanese state-backed investors, was higher than an initial offer of around 1.94 trillion yen, according to the sources who requested anonymity because the talks were confidential. Bain and SK Hynix representatives were not immediately available for comment, while Toshiba declined to comment on details of the deal negotiations. The move comes after sources said Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ), which was part of a competing group in final-stage talks with Toshiba, had revised its offer. The sources said the U.S. company would take a step back from the initial financing consortium to address Toshiba’s concerns that a Western Digital stake could lead to prolonged anti-trust reviews. It was unclear what its latest offer was, but sources previously said it was offering around 1.9 trillion yen. FILE PHOTO - Toshiba''s used-memory chips are seen at an electronics shop in Tokyo November 9, 2010. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Toshiba is desperate to sell the unit and cover billions of liabilities at its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Last week it said it was considering three competing offers including one led by Taiwan’s Hon Hai ( 2317.TW ), also known as Foxconn. All three bidder groups have roped in Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) to bolster their offers, sources have said. Under their latest offer, Bain and SK Hynix offered to provide a combined total of around 567.5 billion yen, while Apple Inc would provide 335 billion yen, according to sources. Toshiba would keep 250 billion yen in the business, they said. U.S. technology firms and other Japanese companies were also expected to provide funding, while major banks were expected to provide a total of around 600 billion yen in funds, the sources said. Bain would have 49.9 percent of initial voting rights in the memory chip business, while Toshiba would have 40 percent and Japanese firms would have 10.1 percent, the sources said. Toshiba’s board is due to meet on Wednesday to consider the offers, sources said. Reporting by Kentaro Hamada; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting/bain-sk-hynix-group-ups-bid-for-toshiba-chip-unit-to-2-4-trillion-yen-sources-idUKKCN1BK06D'|'2017-09-09T08:50:00.000+03:00'
'ab37e3660cd876290f0335689ff11cc63000b878'|'Bertelsmann not considering listing Penguin Random House: paper'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Unlisted German publishing giant Bertelsmann is not considering any further large takeovers worth “billions” and has no plans to list its Penguin Random House (PRH) division, Chief Financial Officer Bernd Hirsch told newspaper Boersen-Zeitung.Bertelsmann raised its stake in PRH to 75 percent in July, giving it the option of listing the business after it purchased a PRH stake from rival Pearson ( PSON.L ).Asked whether Bertelsmann was seeking full control of PRH, Hirsch said: “We have reached our goal of gaining 75 percent control.”Buying the outstanding 25 percent stake, which is still owned by Pearson, would depend on whether Pearson approached Bertelsmann over the matter, Hirsch said.Asked whether Bertelsmann would consider listing PRH, Hirsch said: “We have the IPO option. But this is not a scenario which we are thinking about.”The progress already being made to transform Bertelsmann into a digital publishing company has reduced the need to raise funds via the stock market to finance further strategic change.“If you think in a five-year timespan, the financing need is no longer of a magnitude where large projects need to be financed via an initial public offering,” Hirsch told the paper.Bertelsmann is also not considering a sale of its Printing Group, Hirsch added.Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Gareth Jones '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bertelsmann-penguin-listing/bertelsmann-not-considering-listing-penguin-random-house-paper-idINKCN1BK0O0'|'2017-09-09T16:29:00.000+03:00'
'3598372de9f03170c99cbcc5c64795010956b064'|'China''s August producer inflation jumps to four-month high'|'September 9, 2017 / 2:06 AM / Updated 2 hours ago China''s August producer inflation jumps to four-month high Reuters Staff 3 Min Read People buy vegetables at a fresh food market in Beijing, China June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s producer price inflation accelerated more than expected to a four-month high in August, fueled by strong gains in raw materials prices and pointing to strong, sustained growth for both factory profits and the economy. The producer price index (PPI) rose 6.3 percent in August from a year earlier, from 5.5 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the August producer price inflation rate would edge up to 5.6 percent, its first pickup in six months. On a month-on-month basis, the PPI rose 0.9 percent in August. China’s industrial firms have been posting their strongest profits in years thanks to a government-led construction boom which has fueled demand and prices for everything from cement to steel. The country’s strong appetite for resources such as iron ore has helped fuel a reflationary pulse in the manufacturing sector worldwide. But analysts continue to maintain that factory-gate prices will lose steam eventually as the government continues to clamp down on riskier types of financing, which is slowly pushing consumer and corporate borrowing costs higher. China’s commodities futures markets have rallied hard this year and continued to surge through in August. Strong restocking demand and government pledges to shut inefficient and highly polluting mines and plants have underscored concerns over tight supply heading into winter. Activity in China’s steel industry expanded in August at the fastest pace since April 2016, reflecting high levels of production and low inventory. With the industrial sector in high gear, China’s economy grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first half of this year, turbo-charged by heavy government spending and massive bank lending last year. That momentum plus strong August readings so far should allow Beijing to easily meet or beat its full-year growth target of 6.5 percent. Indeed, relatively steady growth through the rest of the year would see the world’s second-largest economy accelerate for the first time in seven years. Last’s years pace of 6.7 percent was the slowest in 26 years. China’s consumer inflation rate also rose more than expected to a seven-month high of 1.8 percent in August, the bureau said, the first time it has accelerated in three months. The consumer price index (CPI) had been expected to rise 1.6 percent on-year compared with an increase of 1.4 percent in July. Food prices, the biggest component of the consumer price index (CPI), fell 0.2 percent from a year earlier. Non-food price inflation quickened to 2.3 percent in August from 2 percent in July. Analysts had expected the CPI to rise 1.6 percent from 1.4 percent in July but remain well within the central bank’s comfort zone. Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Kevin Yao '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-inflation/chinas-august-cpi-rises-1-8-percent-ppi-up-6-3-percent-both-above-forecasts-idUKKCN1BK026'|'2017-09-09T05:35:00.000+03:00'
'db55b6efa52d19d28f5ede82984e9c8ee50fd6ef'|'Saudi says it''s accelerating economic reforms, Aramco IPO on track'|'DUBAI, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s government is accelerating its economic reforms while revising some of them to give ministries more flexibility in meeting their targets, the information ministry said on Saturday.The Vision 2030 reform programme, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last year, aims to free the economy from dependence on oil exports. It has begun to bring state finances under control, but has not yet created major new sources of growth beyond oil.“Vision 2030 builds on early successes, and is strengthening its delivery mechanisms as it increases the scope and pace of implementation,” the information ministry said in a statement.The statement confirmed a Reuters report earlier in the week, which Quote: d sources as saying Riyadh was streamlining part of Vision 2030 without diluting key policies such as a big privatisation scheme and a drive to cut its budget deficit.The government is moving ahead with plans to sell about 5 percent of national oil giant Saudi Aramco, the ministry said. Officials have said they aim to complete the sale by the end of 2018, raising about $100 billion.“The government privatisation program continues to gain traction and the plan for an initial public offering of a stake in Saudi Aramco remains on track,” the statement said.“The IPO process is well underway and Saudi Aramco remains focused on ensuring that all IPO-related requirements are completed on time and to the very highest standards.”At the same time, ministries involved in the National Transformation Programme - a part of Vision 2030 that focuses on making the government and society more modern and efficient - will have more freedom to allocate resources and decide how they meet their goals.“For example, the Ministry of Health will lead the health portfolio, and it will have the decision-making power to adjust existing initiatives, add new ones and collaborate with other stakeholders” under the oversight of top economic officials, the statement added. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Gareth Jones) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/saudi-reforms/saudi-says-its-accelerating-economic-reforms-aramco-ipo-on-track-idINL5N1LQ09B'|'2017-09-09T11:29:00.000+03:00'
'2ffcc81c35c24c54d73b1ba23c70ed1825834338'|'Akzo Nobel Hasn''t Yet Delivered Its Real Profit Warning'|'It&apos;s basic advice in corporate finance. Once a company fends off an unwanted bidder, it should follow up with a raft of surprisingly good news to show it can get its act together after a close brush with fate.And then there&apos;s Akzo Nobel NV. Months after seeing off PPG Industries Inc.&apos;s $29 billion approach, the paintmaker on Friday cut its profit target for 2017.The disclosure heaps pressure on new CEO Thierry Vanlancker to create more certainty around what Akzo can achieve next year and beyond.Akzo is going through a challenging time. The profit warning reflects the lag in how the company can pass on raw material inflation to customers, as well as operational and supply chain disruptions, some of them due to Hurricane Harvey.There is also further management upheaval. The CFO has taken leave of absence for health reasons, and will return in a different role. A permanent successor is yet to be appointed. That follows the departure of the former CEO in July, also for health reasons. On top of all this, Vanlancker is revamping the company&apos;s structure.Amid so much disruption, the company is sticking with the most critical part of its investment story: the financial targets for 2020 it set out in April in its defense against PPG. These include achieving a 15 percent return on sales.Maybe Vanlancker feels he can&apos;t drop the goals yet -- he was part of the team that developed them.Investors were already struggling to believe in Akzo&apos;s now-abandoned pledge to lift operating profit by 100 million euros year, as well as the 2020 targets. Confirmation they were right about this year reinforces doubts about the latter.How can Vanlancker turn doubt into confidence? He needs a revised strategy that relies on Akzo action rather than global growth to drag the company out of the mire. That means finding more savings. Vanlancker is confident he can pass on cost inflation to customers, and reckons the new organizational structure will deliver some efficiencies. There are other options, too -- more aggressive M&A could boost returns by stripping out costs from overlapping businesses.The challenge will be to deliver results fast enough. But Vanlancker has some time on his side. PPG can&apos;t return with a bid until the end of the year and, even then, the political climate toward such a move is likely to be hostile. A peace deal with activist Elliott Advisors provides some breathing space. In the meantime, progress with the planned separation of the specialty chemicals business will provide a near-term fillip.Vanlancker still needs to demonstrate how he thinks he can hit the 2020 targets. If he can, he might just be able to defend a future bid on the company&apos;s merits without the need to rely on Dutch protectionism.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-08/akzo-nobel-hasn-t-yet-delivered-its-real-profit-warning'|'2017-09-08T14:33:00.000+03:00'
'997326382bf51dfa265d1b8aeaa9d3fc3dcf01fc'|'FPL shut one reactor at Florida Turkey Point ahead of Irma'|'Sept 10 (Reuters) - Florida Power & Light (FPL) said it had shut one reactor at Turkey Point on Saturday but will leave the other unit at the nuclear plant in South Florida operating after Hurricane Irma’s forecast track shifted toward the west and away from the plant.FPL also said it no longer plans to shut the two reactors at St Lucie plant located on a barrier island on the state’s east coast about 120 miles (193 km) north of Miami. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-fpl-nuclear/fpl-shut-one-reactor-at-florida-turkey-point-ahead-of-irma-idINL2N1LR0AJ'|'2017-09-10T10:18:00.000+03:00'
'4445e0c88d2bdfb0c98aaeaa823de8e078551118'|'Exclusive - UK banks call for "mutual recognition" deal with EU after Brexit'|'September 8, 2017 / 4:55 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Exclusive - UK banks call for ''mutual recognition'' deal with EU after Brexit Huw Jones , Andrew MacAskill 4 Min Read The Canary Wharf business district is seen reflected in windows at dusk in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union should accept each other’s rules governing financial services in a “flexible” trade deal that offers unfettered market access to big banks but protects small investors, according to proposals made in a draft industry document seen by Reuters on Friday. UK Finance, a trade body that represents British banks like Barclays ( BARC.L ), HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) and RBS ( RBS.L ), said in its 91-page proposal on “Financial Services in a new EU-UK Trade Agreement” that “mutual recognition” should be an “overarching principle”. Banks and other financial firms authorised in the UK would then be allowed by the bloc’s regulators to continue serving customers in the EU from Britain after Brexit in 2019. The quality of access would depend on how “sophisticated” or financially literate customers were. UK Finance declined to comment on a private report which is now being “tested” on market participants. The draft document outlines three categories of access, the first offering unrestricted access for large banks and institutional investors in Britain and the EU. Access for “financial professionals” would be more “calibrated”, with the final category, retail investors, protected by additional local rules. UK Finance calls this an “alternative” model for future trade which is “robust and flexible”. While the model is new, there are elements which are drawn from existing trade deals and national licensing regimes. “An EU firm providing services cross-border to a UK customer should be afforded regulatory treatment that does not unnecessarily disadvantage it vis-à-vis a UK-based firm (of any national identity) – and vice versa.” Fog shrouds the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez The document is still at the draft stage and may be amended. The mutual recognition idea has already been aired by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, and in a report drafted by the City of London and TheCityUK, which UK Finance worked with and goes into greater depth on how it could work in practice. However, many banks and insurers doubt such a deal can be agreed anytime soon with the EU and have pushed ahead with plans to open up new EU units outside Britain by 2019 to guarantee access to their customers there. Furthermore, the EU’s main Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said last month it would be “impossible” for the bloc to automatically accept UK rules, which would be the basis for mutual recognition. UK Finance said its proposed trade deal would be underpinned by “appropriate arrangements” between UK and EU regulators. “The core of this would be an EU-UK financial services committee with a wide-ranging remit to institutionalise cooperation,” the document said. The proposed trade deal seeks to address the future of 80 branches of banks across the EU, including the UK. Britain and the EU should offer them a “commercial establishment commitment” with a “strong element of deference to home-state regulation of branches”. Without such an agreement, branches of EU banks in Britain after Brexit face the cost of converting themselves into local subsidiaries holding their own cash and capital reserves. A new financial services committee involving representatives of the EU and Britain should be set up to resolve any disputes involving aspects of the trade deal and discuss changes in rules, the document says. This could be similar to the ones used by the EU and Switzerland or the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, according to the document. Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-trade-exclusive/exclusive-uk-banks-call-for-mutual-recognition-deal-with-eu-after-brexit-idUKKCN1BJ25J'|'2017-09-08T19:55:00.000+03:00'
'd0f999afaeffff7f391a6d4cd305d3748885d529'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX gains as improved risk-appetite boosts financials'|'  8:14 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX gains as improved risk-appetite boosts financials Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index, which had fallen for five straight days, rose on Monday after Hurricane Irma weakened and North Korea refrained from conducting a missile test, with financial shares and Tahoe Resources leading the rally. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 54.98 points, or 0.37 percent, at 15,040.30. Eight of the index’s 10 main groups advanced. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-gains-as-improved-risk-appetite-boosts-financials-idUSL2N1LS1PU'|'2017-09-11T23:12:00.000+03:00'
'050d549d39c348b8874193656fdf8547a5f3aecc'|'Western Digital seeks Y50 billion from Apple to help finance Toshiba chip bid - Kyodo'|'September 8, 2017 / 7:37 AM / Updated an hour ago Western Digital seeks Y50 billion from Apple to help finance Toshiba chip bid - Kyodo Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building under construction is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - A group including Western Digital is seeking around 50 billion yen (353.3 million pounds) from Apple Inc to help finance a bid for Toshiba Corp’s memory chip unit, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday. Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key chip plant, is leading a $17-18 billion bid for the chip business, sources have said. The sources said earlier in the week that the U.S. firm offered to step back from the consortium’s financing in return for a stronger position in their joint venture. A Western Digital spokeswoman said it could not comment on details of the talks. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-apple/western-digital-seeks-y50-billion-from-apple-to-help-finance-toshiba-chip-bid-kyodo-idUKKCN1BJ0QT'|'2017-09-08T10:37:00.000+03:00'
'119379ab2d13d1f51587dd4a98b6fc9f6e26ec15'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil''s Andrade Gutierrez walks out of Cemig shareholder accord'|'(Adds background, details on capital structure)SAO PAULO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - In a surprise move, a unit of Andrade Gutierrez SA, a Brazilian infrastructure and energy conglomerate, decided to leave the controlling bloc of Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais SA, putting an end to months of tension with the Brazilian power utility’s largest shareholder.In a Thursday filing, the utility known as Cemig said that AGC Energia S/A, a subsidiary of Andrade Gutierrez, said it would sell its stake in the company through a bloc trade, without elaborating.For almost 15 years, Andrade Gutierrez was part of Cemig’s controlling bloc with the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.Andrade Gutierrez owns 6.7 percent of Cemig through AGC Energia S/A, while the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais owns 17 percent of the utility’s capital.Efforts to contact Andrade Gutierrez outside business hours were unsuccessful.People familiar with the situation told Reuters over the past year that both partners disagreed over plans to reduce Cemig’s debt and dispose of money-losing operations and low-return, non-core assets.One of the people said earlier this year that the Minas Gerais state wanted to accelerate asset sales as a means to regain market confidence. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Writing by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/cemig-shareholder-andrade-gutierrez/update-1-brazils-andrade-gutierrez-walks-out-of-cemig-shareholder-accord-idUSL2N1LP023'|'2017-09-08T04:01:00.000+03:00'
'524b500c1499616c25caae3d16c769f05c744e03'|'New Venezuela prosecutor expects more arrests in oil graft cases'|'September 8, 2017 / 11:18 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago New Venezuela prosecutor expects more arrests in oil graft cases Alexandra Ulmer 5 Min Read Venezuela''s chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab speaks during an interview with Reuters in Caracas, Venezuela, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s new chief prosecutor Tarek Saab said he expects further arrests in widening oil-sector bribery scandals, after most of state energy company PDVSA’s top brass in the western region was detained in a major sweep this week. The two other significant oil cases he is investigating are overbilling in equipment sales at Venezuela’s main oil-exporting port of Jose, as well as at least $200 million (£151.57 million) in an overpricing case involving 10 companies in the oil-rich Orinoco Belt. “There are going to be arrests there, without a doubt” Saab said in an interview, adding details about the specific projects or joint ventures involved were confidential but he was interested in recovering capital. “This is just getting started.” Caracas-based PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] has been tarnished in recent years by international graft investigations. The company is the financial motor of President Nicolas Maduro’s leftist government but is suffering crippling operational problems. It has blamed a small group of wrongdoers for the ills and promised a war on graft. The opposition says PDVSA is a rat’s nest of corruption, and a congressional report last year said $11 billion was lost at the company between 2004 and 2014, when Rafael Ramirez was in charge. He denied the allegations. Saab, who took control of the prosecutor’s office last month, has vowed to lead a “crusade” against corruption in the nation with the world’s biggest crude reserves. The lawyer and former human rights ombudsman wants to focus in particular on the oil industry, the source of over 90 percent of crisis-hit Venezuela’s export income. As evidence of his seriousness, Saab pointed to this week’s arrest of eight oil executives in Venezuela’s traditional oil-producing region near Colombia. His office accuses them of irregularities including smuggling Venezuela’s highly-subsidized oil to Caribbean islands. The case was triggered by complaints from oil project Petrozamora, an venture between PDVSA and Russia’s Gazprombank. “We produced eight arrests and there can be more. We want to get to the bottom of this,” said Saab in an interview in his office in central Caracas on Thursday afternoon. Saab said one person allegedly involved in the Jose case had turned himself in but declined to give details. An internal police message seen by Reuters says Pedro Leon, a powerful executive who led PDVSA’s Orinoco Belt development for years before abruptly leaving at the start of the year, had returned to Venezuela this month and handed himself in. Venezuela''s chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab attends an interview with Reuters in Caracas, Venezuela, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello PDVSA has not responded to requests for comment on the cases. SAAB SPARS WITH PREDECESSOR The son of Lebanese immigrants who was born in the oil-producing state of Anzoategui, Saab trained as a lawyer and has been a state human rights ombudsman and Socialist Party governor. In the opposition’s eyes, the government ally lacks legitimacy, and his appointment to replace Luisa Ortega, who was removed after she broke with Maduro over human rights, is a sign of Venezuela’s swerve into dictatorship. Slideshow (2 Images) Opposition politicians say bribery cases are a reflection of turf wars, not a genuine intent by Maduro’s unpopular government to root out graft. Saab, in turn, accuses his predecessor Ortega, who fled Venezuela on a speedboat last month, of running an extortion ring that allowed culprits to pay in exchange for getting off the hook. She has rejected the claims as politically motivated. After being removed in a rare public fissure between Venezuelan officials, Ortega went into hiding and fled on a speedboat to Aruba. Since then, she has been travelling around Latin America denouncing the Maduro government for allegedly persecuting her and engaging in corruption. “She has no credibility,” said Saab in his office decorated with photos of Maduro, works by famous Venezuelan artists and drawings by his daughter. “She’s a person who lies repeatedly.” Saab said Ortega’s file on engineering conglomerate Odebrecht, which is ensnared in Brazil’s biggest graft scandal, only had 10 pages. He stressed he was pushing forward with the case. He said he did not rule out travelling to Brasilia to meet the neighbouring country’s prosecutors. Ortega, who says she remains Venezuela’s real chief prosecutor and was recently in Brazil herself, contends Saab is an “imposter” seeking vengeance. “What he’s done is spend all his time persecuting me, creating cases to prosecute me and my family,” Ortega told neighbouring Colombia’s W Radio this month. Saab was also in the limelight this year for family reasons. His son Yibram, a law student, in April stunned Venezuela by publicly coming out against the government, stating he had participated in anti-Maduro protests, and urging his father to “end the injustice.” Saab, whose office also features photos of his children, said he respected his son’s right to his opinion and loved him just the same. Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Girish Gupta and Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-venezuela-oil/new-venezuela-prosecutor-expects-more-arrests-in-oil-graft-cases-idUKKCN1BJ1AA'|'2017-09-08T14:19:00.000+03:00'
'111b4035e1a06e73f3c61af7cc4815fbb15b755a'|'Peru court allows Odebrecht''s sale of Olmos to Brookfield'|'September 11, 2017 / 6:04 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Peru court allows Odebrecht''s sale of Olmos to Brookfield Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A sign of the Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht is seen at their headquarters in Lima, Peru, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo/File Picture LIMA (Reuters) - An appeals court in Peru has rescinded a ban on Brazilian construction company Odebrecht SA’s ODBES.UL sale of its Olmos irrigation business to a consortium led by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP ( BIP.N ), the office of Peru’s judiciary said on Monday. A lower court had blocked the sale at the request of a government attorney who has been dismissed. The appeals court said forbidding the transaction was unconstitutional and would make it harder for Peru to secure civil reparations from Odebrecht for corruption. Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Phil Berlowitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-odebrecht-m-a-peru/peru-court-allows-odebrechts-sale-of-olmos-to-brookfield-idUSKCN1BM2BX'|'2017-09-11T20:57:00.000+03:00'
'0fe87037cf7fcb3e2dc973cfc65745bcea12b02c'|'AstraZeneca CEO, worried by Brexit, not signing UK govt letter'|'MADRID, Sept 9 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot, fearing a potentially abrupt Brexit, said on Saturday that lack of progress in negotiations made it impossible for him to sign a public letter of support for the British government’s strategy.As reported by Reuters this week, Prime Minister Theresa May’s office has asked companies listed in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index to put their name to a public letter welcoming the government’s efforts to make Brexit a success.“The reason I didn’t sign is that I felt there are so many areas that are still uncertain. How can we support something that we don’t really understand fully?” Soriot told Reuters on the sidelines of a cancer conference in Madrid.Executives at several companies have said privately that the request went down badly with many large corporations but they have been reluctant to comment publicly.Soriot said his refusal to sign did not mean the drugmaker disagreed with Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, adding that it could have some positive aspects if it went hand-in-hand with increased support for the UK life sciences sector.But the deep uncertainty about future terms of trade just 18 months before Brexit happens in March 2019 means exports of medicines could be hampered, he said.“What is starting to worry me, I must say, is the potential for the one thing I didn’t think would happen which is a hard Brexit,” he said.“If there is no extension we will be left in limbo because the UK will come out of Europe and we will have no trade agreements.”Britain’s second-biggest pharmaceuticals company makes a large amount of products in the north of England, including the cancer drug Zoladex, sales of which are increasing rapidly in China and other countries around the world.“We need to know that is not going to be disrupted because right now we are exporting under a trade agreement between the EU and China,” Soriot said.Many companies fear that Britain’s move to leave the world’s largest trading bloc will increase bureaucracy, drive up costs and eat into profitability.The public letter, which May’s advisers wanted Soriot and other business leaders to sign, states that signatories are confident that “global Britain has the potential to become one of the most productive economies of the 21st century”. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Dale Hudson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-astrazeneca/astrazeneca-ceo-worried-by-brexit-not-signing-uk-govt-letter-idINL5N1LQ0BF'|'2017-09-09T12:50:00.000+03:00'
'0dae658c68e58d0ed8dd9df527c1e2101bde8360'|'RPT-UK banks call for mutual recognition deal with EU after Brexit'|'(Repeats with no change to text)By Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskillLONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union should accept each other’s rules governing financial services in a “flexible” trade deal that offers unfettered market access to big banks but protects small investors, according to proposals made in a draft industry document seen by Reuters on Friday.UK Finance, a trade body that represents British banks like Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS , said in its 91-page proposal on “Financial Services in a new EU-UK Trade Agreement” that “mutual recognition” should be an “overarching principle”.Banks and other financial firms authorised in the UK would then be allowed by the bloc’s regulators to continue serving customers in the EU from Britain after Brexit in 2019.The quality of access would depend on how “sophisticated” or financially literate customers were.UK Finance declined to comment on a private report which is now being “tested” on market participants.The draft document outlines three categories of access, the first offering unrestricted access for large banks and institutional investors in Britain and the EU.Access for “financial professionals” would be more “calibrated”, with the final category, retail investors, protected by additional local rules.UK Finance calls this an “alternative” model for future trade which is “robust and flexible”.While the model is new, there are elements which are drawn from existing trade deals and national licensing regimes.“An EU firm providing services cross-border to a UK customer should be afforded regulatory treatment that does not unnecessarily disadvantage it vis-à-vis a UK-based firm (of any national identity) – and vice versa.”The document is still at the draft stage and may be amended.The mutual recognition idea has already been aired by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, and in a report drafted by the City of London and TheCityUK, which UK Finance worked with and goes into greater depth on how it could work in practice.However, many banks and insurers doubt such a deal can be agreed anytime soon with the EU and have pushed ahead with plans to open up new EU units outside Britain by 2019 to guarantee access to their customers there.Furthermore, the EU’s main Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said last month it would be “impossible” for the bloc to automatically accept UK rules, which would be the basis for mutual recognition.UK Finance said its proposed trade deal would be underpinned by “appropriate arrangements” between UK and EU regulators.“The core of this would be an EU-UK financial services committee with a wide-ranging remit to institutionalise cooperation,” the document said.The proposed trade deal seeks to address the future of 80 branches of banks across the EU, including the UK.Britain and the EU should offer them a “commercial establishment commitment” with a “strong element of deference to home-state regulation of branches”.Without such an agreement, branches of EU banks in Britain after Brexit face the cost of converting themselves into local subsidiaries holding their own cash and capital reserves.A new financial services committee involving representatives of the EU and Britain should be set up to resolve any disputes involving aspects of the trade deal and discuss changes in rules, the document says.This could be similar to the ones used by the EU and Switzerland or the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, according to the document. (Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-banks-trade/rpt-uk-banks-call-for-mutual-recognition-deal-with-eu-after-brexit-idINL8N1LP4R9'|'2017-09-10T06:03:00.000+03:00'
'12df7c9f1cbd0e771f8525859be3c94f6da9121d'|'Avocet to resume talks over Burkina Faso gold mine'|'Sept 11 (Reuters) - The boards of West Africa-focused Avocet Mining and its Societe des Mines de Belahouro (SMB) subsidiary will resume talks on Friday aimed at saving the struggling gold operation from insolvency.SMB, which operates the Inata gold mine in Burkina Faso, is is struggling to keep the mine operating after former workers seized a shipment of gold last year and faces possible insolvency after the expiry of a freeze on loan repayments.The boards of SMB and Avocet, which owns 90 percent of the Inata mine, were to meet on Sept. 8 to consider “all available options”, Avocet had said.Avocet said on Monday that a meeting would reconvene on Sept. 15 to reassess the status of talks with creditors, SMB’s liquidity position and the available options.The Inata mine produced 72,485 ounces of gold in 2016.Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/avocet-mining-burkina/avocet-to-resume-talks-over-burkina-faso-gold-mine-idINL5N1LS0UT'|'2017-09-11T05:21:00.000+03:00'
'3350858a974be9e0ec16e806e082729ec23984d0'|'Insurers ache for qualified inspectors after U.S. hurricanes'|'September 11, 2017 / 5:14 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Insurers ache for qualified inspectors after U.S. hurricanes Suzanne Barlyn , Catherine Ngai 6 Min Read Charlie Briganti, is joined by his mother-in-law, Juanita Hurt, and wife, Jenny Briganti as they look at where their townhouse once stood on the San Jacinto River in the aftermath of tropical storm Harvey in Kingwood, Houston, Texas, U.S. September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry (Reuters) - Insurers are scrambling to find inspectors in Texas and Florida after fierce hurricanes battered the states one after the other, causing tens of billions of dollars’ worth of property damage in less than two weeks. Although insurers maintain some number of inspectors, known as claims adjusters, across the U.S. year-round, they must redeploy staff from other areas or hire contract workers to fill gaps when catastrophes like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma strike. The speed with which they can do so is critical to residents and business owners awaiting insurance payments. “The one-two punch of Harvey and Irma is no question challenging to the industry,” said Kenneth Tolson, who heads the U.S. property and casualty division of Crawford & Co ( CRDb.N ), which provides claims adjusters and staff after disasters. Adjusters investigate claims on behalf of property insurers like Travelers Cos Inc ( TRV.N ), Hartford Financial Services Group Inc ( HIG.N ), Allstate Corp ( ALL.N ), State Farm and Farmers Insurance. Many other policies are backed by federal or state flood insurance programs. Texas and Florida together have more than 340,000 licensed adjusters, according to state agencies, but it was unclear precisely how many were on the ground. Insurers and industry groups said thousands were headed to affected areas from other parts of the United States. On Sunday afternoon, Hartford was prepared to send adjusters into Irma-battered areas “as authorities allow access,” spokeswoman Kelly Carter said. Hartford inspectors from Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky were poised to assist, she said. Zurich Insurance Group AG ( ZURN.S ) had Florida-based claims adjusters riding out the storm locally on Sunday, with plans to begin visiting commercial properties as soon as possible, spokesman David Hilgen said. Once Irma passes, a group of risk engineers at Zurich’s Tampa hub plan to fan out across South Florida to assess damage alongside forensic accountants, building consultants and mitigation contractors, he said. Some are using drones to help. Brent Hazen, a Farmers adjuster and drone pilot, spoke to Reuters while inspecting a roof in Missouri City, Texas. The drone buzzed above the house for 11 minutes, a process that would have taken an hour otherwise, Hazen said. “It is ... safer because it means I don’t have to get up on the roof,” he said. FACT OF LIFE Insurers have been put to the test before. After Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy in 2005 and 2012, it took months for many property owners to receive payouts, partly because there were too few adjusters with the needed expertise. Novice errors like not pulling off drywall to inspect for hidden damage, or not being familiar with software used for loss estimates, can reduce or delay insurance payments, adding to hardships residents are already facing. “It’s a fact of life after every disaster that there’s a shortage of experienced adjusters,” said Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a consumer advocacy group. Vehicles drive along Ocean Drive in South Beach as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria The inspector shortage may be worse this time because insurers have not faced hurricanes of this magnitude – certainly not two in a row – in half a century, industry experts said. Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide expects $10 billion in insured losses related to Harvey, and perhaps another $50 billion for Irma. Early estimates are likely to change, and do not include claims covered by the government. Many large insurers use their own adjusters, while smaller and midsize rivals are more likely to hire outside help. For-hire inspectors can charge $1,000-$2,000 per claim in the aftermath of major disasters, industry sources said. Work on the ground can be punishing. After Hurricane Harvey, Steve Sherin, executive general adjuster for Zurich’s North American unit, spent five days in Houston. He left his hotel at 4:30 a.m. each day to begin long days surveying damage at commercial properties. Last Thursday, he spent six hours walking through ankle-deep water and mud in one building, surrounded by the stench of dead fish decomposing on a parking garage floor and the loud noise of cleaning equipment. His workday lasted about 17 hours. “It’s tiring beyond belief,” Sherin said, “but there’s a lot of purpose in what we do.” LONG PROCESS For property owners, an inspection is often the first step in a longer, paperwork-heavy process. Few adjusters can immediately authorise payments, especially if policyholders are insured though state agencies or the National Flood Insurance Program. Richard Campell, whose Houston home was flooded, said his inspector was armed with an iPad and estimating software. The adjuster measured rooms, asked about water levels and photographed mounds of ruined belongings in the yard, he said. Campell, 67, must now submit an inventory with price replacement costs, including details like his refrigerator’s model and serial number. Still, he is grateful that the inspector reached his home in only five days. “It was the luck of the draw,” he said. Sean Maxwell, 27, also of Houston, had to leave her mother’s flooded home in a boat. An adjuster visited last week, and the family is now waiting for documents explaining the payout. “The funny thing is, when it comes in the mail, I don’t know how we’re going to get it because we don’t live there,” Maxwell said. Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn and Catherine Ngai in New York; Additional reporting by Nick Carey in Missouri City, Texas; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-storm-irma-insurance-inspectors/insurers-ache-for-qualified-inspectors-after-u-s-hurricanes-idUKKCN1BM0EK'|'2017-09-11T08:14:00.000+03:00'
'f2d8fcb052dd913af4e30be74d05eb22f325f911'|'More business travellers are booking their own trips'|'A friend of Gulliver’s recently received some devastating news, in the form of a change to company policy. No longer would he and his co-workers be able to book their own flights and file for reimbursements. Instead, the firm would buy all employees’ plane tickets from the start.On the face of it, this is a convenient change. It saves staff time by ensuring that they do not have to fill in tedious expense forms. But many business travellers may not see it that way. A study from Phocuswright, a travel-research firm, finds that more and more employees are booking their own travel and filing for reimbursements. Sometimes doing so allows for a better itinerary: travellers can avoid annoying layovers and airlines for which they reserve particular ire. Sometimes, if they are feeling generous towards their employer, it can save money too. But the most compelling reason is often the credit-card reward points. Say you are booking a flight from London to New York. On United Airlines, the round-trip will earn you close to 2,000 miles (3,218 km). Not bad. But if you book the flight at a popular time it may cost $1,000. With the most-generous credit cards, that could be worth an additional 3,000 points, which can be turned into air miles, cash or other rewards. Then add in the cost of a hotel for a few nights, transport to and from the airport and around town and a few dinners. In total, you could be on the way to the 12,500 points needed for an average American domestic flight. This windfall is all from a short business trip—but only if you book it with your own credit card.Workers who book their own trips—dramatically dubbed “rogue travellers” by the New York Times —are still in the minority. Most use a corporate travel agent or a company booking tool. But an increasing number are going rogue.This is possible because companies’ policies around booking business trips tend to be quite flexible. According to the Phocuswright study , 8-10% of companies have “tightly managed” policies, meaning employees must use certain suppliers and will not be reimbursed if they use others. That suggests around 90% of firms allow workers to choose which airline to fly, which hotel to stay in, and whether to travel by taxi or Uber. And even in tightly managed companies, more than half of employees say they can use any airline, and nearly half can use any hotel or car-rental firm. That makes sense from the employer’s perspective. Why limit options when cheaper and more convenient alternatives may be out there?The trend towards rogue bookings is aided by technology in two ways. First, travellers are increasingly using mobile devices to book their business trips. In companies with travel policies, over a third of employees book their travel on mobile devices; for hotels, that share is more than half. That allows travellers to book lodging and other logistics on the go, rather than dealing with travel managers or agents hundreds of miles away. Millennials are, unsurprisingly, leading the charge toward mobile bookings. (Notably, the West is far behind China in this respect, where 53% of all online travel bookings last year were made on mobile devices, compared with 25% in Britain and 21% in America.)But technology is also allowing employers to track their staff. Some companies do this with software like TripLink, a booking-centralisation tool from Concur, a travel-expense firm. It lets employers monitor all employees’ bookings to ensure they are in line with company policy. Other firms use apps to track workers’ travel. This is particularly useful when trips take workers to unstable parts of the world.In other words, rogue travellers are not really going rogue when their independent bookings are under ever-greater scrutiny and control. But then again, maybe independence is not really the goal here. Sometimes, it’s all about the air miles.Next What effect is Donald Trump really having on American tourism?'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/going-rogue?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-11T23:13:00.000+03:00'
'bfd17f25c1ad137eb724be688495159dd6191b4a'|'An infrastructure for charging electric vehicles takes shape'|'A NEW phrase, “range anxiety”—the fear that an electric vehicle (EV) will run out of power before it reaches a charging-point—entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. At the time a Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling EV, could travel only 120km between charges. A car with a full tank of fuel will travel 650-800km between refills. A motorist relying on batteries has to find a public charger, a rare sight in 2013, or plug in at home to cover the same distance. Range anxiety has not gone away as EVs have advanced. But the problem now feels much more soluble.Many governments are pushing hard to replace the internal combustion engine (ICE) with cleaner EVs—this summer both Britain and France said that by 2040 new cars completely reliant on petrol or diesel will be illegal. By 2050, half the cars on the road globally, a billion in total, will be battery-powered, reckons Morgan Stanley, a bank. Falling battery costs mean that the total cost of EV ownership will soon hit parity with ICE models. 21 Surveys show, however, that car buyers’ worries about charging—where you can do it, and how long it will take—remain a big impediment to going electric (after high prices). Unless buyers can be reassured about the availability and speed of charging, the EV revolution may progress at the pace of a milk float, not a Tesla in fast-accelerating “ludicrous” mode.Better EV batteries with greater capacity are helping. A range of 190km or more is now the norm. Nissan’s latest LEAF, unveiled on September 6th, will travel nearly 400km between charges. Tesla’s Model S, a luxury EV launched in 2012, has a range of 500km, as does its new Model 3, a cheaper car for the mass market.As ownership of EVs spreads, another reassuring fact is becoming clear: the amount of daily driving that people actually do, combined with an ability to charge at home, mean public charging facilities are rarely needed. Four out of five Europeans drive less than 100km a day. The average daily distance a car covers in Britain, for example, is less than 40km. Americans cover around 70km a day.So far, most EVs have been bought by better-off motorists, who usually have off-street parking with a socket to plug into. Over 90% of charging is currently done at home, carmakers say. Charging times at home are hardly a difficulty—a standard residential electricity supply and a 3.5KW charger will fill a battery in a smaller car in about eight hours, as its owner sleeps. A special 7KW home charger can recharge a Tesla’s larger batteries in eight hours. A car with a smaller battery takes just four.Yet mass adoption of EVs will mean appealing to the millions of households without garages. Nor can people on long road trips rely on better batteries alone. So far the rate of increase in the number of public charging-points in rich countries has just about kept pace with the growth of EVs, says Sean O’Flynn of Alix Partners, a consulting firm. In America the number of charging-stations grew by more than a quarter, to almost 16,000, in 2016 (see chart). But in most places the system needs to expand to provide enough chargers of the right capacities in the right locations.Carmakers, governments and commercial charging firms are all investing. Carmakers can differentiate their vehicles by providing souped-up charging. Tesla plans to expand its global network of 145KW “supercharger” stations, to 10,000. These public facilities can replenish the firm’s larger batteries to 80%—charged in 40 minutes (for technical reasons, fast chargers cannot top up batteries completely). Several other carmakers are also rolling out their own fast-charging networks, which need expensive kit but bring charging speeds down to the time it takes to use a conventional fuel pump. Nissan now has a global network of 4,000 fast chargers. Last year Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen and Ford also said they would together install a total of 400 public charging-points in Europe delivering 350KW, which will charge a small car to three-quarters full in four minutes and a big vehicle in 12 minutes.City and national governments are working on slower roadside charging for drivers who cannot plug in at home. Officials in London recently announced plans for 1,500 new charging-points by 2020. Local authorities there are experimenting with providing low-cost kerbside charging by enabling streetlights to double up as charging-points. France, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway are among the countries that have launched initiatives to improve access to public charging. (The EU is also mulling regulations that will require all new dwellings to have access to an EV charging-point.) China’s government, which is set on remaining the largest market for electric cars, has far bigger plans. This year alone it is installing 800,000 public charging-points, including 100,000 semipublic ones at workplaces and for taxis and commercial vehicles.Companies that do nothing but provide charging services have their own plans to invest large sums as more EVs hit the road. Pat Romano of Chargepoint, based in California, which runs more charging stations worldwide than any other firm, sees workplace charging as another way of filling the charging gap. He notes that for a few thousand dollars spent on the equipment, plus a cost for electricity that is about the same as the price of a cup of coffee a day, employers can offer workers free charging in the office car park. Commercial firms such as Chargepoint may well come to dominate charging away from the home, if only because they are more focused on it than either carmakers or governments.Better business models and technology should further increase the availability of charging. Chargie, an app that allows owners of home chargers to rent them to the public much like an Airbnb flat, launched recently in Britain. Wireless inductive charging from road to car is already technically feasible, if expensive; that would make sense at taxi ranks when vehicles sit idle, for example. Qualcomm, a chipmaker, has demonstrated technology for recharging a moving vehicle off any road surface, although this way of providing limitless range is still some way off.So there seems little likelihood that a dearth of infrastructure will hold back the spread of EVs. Some pundits imagine car parks of the future bristling with charging-points as plugging in becomes normal and filling with liquid fuel is regarded as an aberration. Range anxiety may then be remembered only by ageing motorists, along with other quaint old phrases such as “fill it up and check the oil”. "Charge of the battery brigade"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728671-reliable-network-should-not-prove-insurmountable-roadblock-infrastructure-charging?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'd049b59e031fa0ff734900c8592229ba1ac1b4b9'|'China studying when to ban sales of traditional fuel cars - Xinhua'|'  1:51 AM / Updated 11 hours ago China studying when to ban sales of traditional fuel cars: Xinhua Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Car dealers and customers walk at a second-hand car market near a newly-built residential area in Hefei, Anhui province, China January 26, 2013.REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING (Reuters) - China has begun studying when to ban the production and sale of cars using traditional fuels, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing comments by the vice industry minister, who predicted “turbulent times” for automakers forced to adapt. Xin Guobin did not give details on when China, the world’s largest auto market, would implement such a ban. The United Kingdom and France have said they will ban new petrol and diesel cars from 2040. “Some countries have made a timeline for when to stop the production and sales of traditional fuel cars,” Xin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was quoted as saying at an auto industry event in the city of Tianjin on Saturday. “The ministry has also started relevant research and will make such a timeline with relevant departments. Those measures will certainly bring profound changes for our car industry’s development,” he said. To combat air pollution and close a competitive gap between its newer domestic automakers and their global rivals, China has set goals for electric and plug-in hybrid cars to make up at least a fifth of Chinese auto sales by 2025. Xin said the domestic auto industry faced “turbulent times” over the years to 2025 to make the switch towards new energy vehicles, and called on the country’s car makers to adapt to the challenge and adjust their strategies accordingly. Banning the sale of petrol- and diesel-powered cars would have a significant impact on oil demand in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Last month, state oil major China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said China’s energy demand will peak by 2040, later than the previous forecast of 2035, as transportation fuel consumption rises through the middle of the century. Song Qiuling, a senior finance ministry official, said during Saturday’s event that government subsidies, intended for jump-starting the new energy auto industry, could easily be abused if held long-term and led to “mindless expansion” and excess capacity in the sector, Xinhua reported. She said China would gradually withdraw such financial subsidies for the sector, and instead speed up the establishment of a credits accumulation policy to support the industry. Late last month, Reuters reported that China was likely to delay implementing tough new sales quotas for electric plug-in vehicles, giving global automakers more time to prepare. Under the latest proposals, 8 percent of automakers’ sales would have to be battery electric or plug-in hybrid models by next year, rising to 10 percent in 2019 and 12 percent in 2020, but the rules would not be enforced until 2019, a year later than initially planned, the sources said. In July, Britain said it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 to cut pollution, replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens. Reporting by Tony Munroe and Yawen Chen; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-autos/china-studying-when-to-ban-sales-of-traditional-fuel-cars-xinhua-idUKKCN1BL01U'|'2017-09-10T07:33:00.000+03:00'
'264dfdbdff4a4472082ffd944cbe06156bb45bf6'|'Airlines scramble to evacuate residents ahead of Hurricane Irma'|'NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Airlines are racing against the clock to clear as many customers as possible from the likely Florida path of Hurricane Irma, as social and political pressure mounted for carriers to play a bigger role in aiding evacuations.As the powerful storm threatened to rip through the Florida coast by Sunday, airlines ramped up the number of flights available out of south Florida airports, where operations were likely to temporarily cease through the weekend and beyond.Despite added service, flights out of the area remained extremely limited. Airlines have been working to add more flights, but one big issue is the availability of crew and flight equipment.American Airlines, which has one of the larger operations in south Florida, said on Thursday it had added an additional 16 flights out of Miami, amid more than 2,400 forced cancellations through Monday.Delta Air Lines Inc said it had upsized aircraft and added flights to increase the number of available outgoing seats by 2,000. United Airlines added an additional six flights out of Miami to its hubs, including Newark and Chicago O‘Hare.All three carriers said they planned to mostly wind down south Florida operations by Friday evening.Under pressure from some members of Congress following social media reports of price gouging, airlines have taken the unusual step of publicly announcing price caps between $99 and $399 on tickets out of areas in Irma’s path.Airlines’ customer service practices have come under fire in recent months, and just last year, U.S. carriers were cleared in a federal investigation regarding exorbitant fare mark-ups in the wake of a deadly Amtrak derailment that drove up demand for air travel on some routes.Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who had been pressuring airlines to aid in evacuating Florida residents, spoke with airline executives on Thursday and urged them to add more flight outs of Florida.His office said Nelson is “pleased” airlines were doing everything they could to “help get impacted Floridians to safety.”The FAA is holding twice daily phone calls with airlines to talk about airport conditions but does not plan to close the Miami airport on Friday, officials said.Airlines are still planning for airport closures, however, and said they expect their operations to be impacted in the region at least through the weekend.Also affected by the storm, Carnival Cruise Lines, which has major operations out of Florida ports, said on Thursday it had canceled four of its Caribbean cruises, though it still planned to operate several more under modified itineraries.Reporting by Alana Wise and David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-airlines/airlines-scramble-to-evacuate-residents-ahead-of-hurricane-irma-idUSL2N1LO2AH'|'2017-09-08T01:36:00.000+03:00'
'ca4f5b0cc5535f7d0ffa02e4ef94610667c9b997'|'UK employers raise pay as Brexit skills shortage bites - recruiters'|'September 8, 2017 / 12:03 AM / Updated 5 hours ago UK employers raise pay as Brexit skills shortage bites - recruiters Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London, August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - A fall in people coming to Britain from other European Union countries has aggravated a shortage of workers and forced employers to raise starting salaries at the fastest pace in nearly two years during August, a survey showed on Friday. The monthly report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and accountancy firm KPMG showed companies struggled to fill their vacancies and turned increasingly to recruitment agencies. Starting salaries for permanent staff rose in August at the fastest pace since October 2015, something likely to be noticed by the Bank of England officials which is watching for signs of pay growth as it considers when to start raising interest rates. BoE officials have predicted wage growth will pick up in 2018 after falling in inflation-adjusted terms this year. British households have seen their spending power squeezed by a rise in inflation caused in large part by the fall in the value of sterling since last year’s Brexit vote. But REC said wage increases might not be sustainable if companies cannot get the people they need to grow. Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover told Reuters on Thursday it is feeling Brexit’s effects with non-British EU workers at its plants demanding better terms to compensate for uncertainty about their future in the country, and international suppliers less willing to commit to the country. “There is a significant shortage of people to fill blue collar roles such as drivers, electricians, and construction workers, and this is being exacerbated by a fall in net migration from the EU,” said Kevin Green, REC chief executive. Net migration to Britain fell to its lowest level in three years in the 12 months to the end of March, with more than half the drop caused by EU citizens leaving and fewer arriving since the Brexit vote. A leaked government document showed Britain is considering measures to restrict immigration for all but the highest-skilled EU workers, in plans that business groups described as alarming. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by William Schomberg '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-jobs/uk-employers-raise-pay-as-brexit-skills-shortage-bites-recruiters-idUKKCN1BJ005'|'2017-09-08T03:02:00.000+03:00'
'73cf71bb88fe516b23910e25eae342ecd3c9f4cb'|'Irma a ''major event'' for insurance industry - Munich Re board member'|'  2:44 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago Irma a ''major event'' for insurance industry - Munich Re board member Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Torsten Jeworrek, board member of German Reinsurer Munich Re poses before company''s annual news conference in Munich, Germany, March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo MONACO (Reuters) - Hurricane Irma is proving to be a “major event” for Florida and the insurance industry, Torsten Jeworrek, member of the board of the German reinsurance giant Munich Re ( MUVGn.DE ), said on Sunday. The tropical storm is currently sweeping the Florida Keys and is forecast to slowly travel up to the Florida panhandle. Jeworrek and other insurance executives gathered in Monaco for an annual conference to haggle over reinsurance prices and strike underwriting deals. Even though Irma may skirt densely populated Miami, “Irma is still a major event for Florida and also a major event for the insurance industry,” Jeworrek said. Jeworrek said that Munich Re wasn’t especially exposed to Florida. “Florida for us is not an attractive state in terms of prices and margins,” he said. “We are not in the most exposed situation here.” Jeworrek, when asked by journalists, also hazarded a rough guess for the insured losses for the global industry of Hurricane Harvey, which struck Texas two weeks ago and caused massive flooding. He said that losses were estimated at between $20 billion and $30 billion, which would put the storm on a scale of Sandy. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Edward Taylor'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-reinsurance-munich-re-group/irma-a-major-event-for-insurance-industry-munich-re-board-member-idUKKCN1BL0RH'|'2017-09-10T17:44:00.000+03:00'
'd8de179e5d720d948a19dbaf43e4b29b996b2611'|'AstraZeneca rebuilds cancer drug hopes with new lung data'|'September 8, 2017 / 10:08 PM / Updated 7 hours ago AstraZeneca rebuilds cancer drug hopes with new lung data Ben Hirschler 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of AstraZeneca is seen on medication packages in a pharmacy in London, Britain April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth /File Photo MADRID (Reuters) - Two AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) drugs tackling lung cancer in different ways delivered impressive clinical results on Saturday, helping the British group offset July’s big clinical trial setback in the disease. Particularly notable was the success of the infused immunotherapy medicine Imfinzi in helping non-small cell lung cancer patients with inoperable mid-stage disease that has not spread widely around the body. Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said it gave AstraZeneca a chance to intervene earlier in lung cancer, distinguishing it from rivals that have made more progress in tackling advanced or metastatic disease. Results from a large clinical trial showed patients survived on average 16.8 months without their disease worsening when given Imfinzi, against just 5.6 months for those on placebo. Solange Peters of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, who was not involved in the study known as Pacific, told Reuters the advantage of more than 11 months provided by Imfinzi was “absolutely amazing”. It is the first medicine to show superior progression-free survival in such patients. These individuals typically receive a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but only around 15 percent of them are still alive after five years. Significantly, while there were more reports of toxicity in patients taking Imfinzi, the level of severe problems was similar in both groups. “What we hear from the experts is that they think this is practice-changing,” Soriot told reporters. AstraZeneca had already said Pacific and another study called Flaura met their pre-defined goals, but the exact scale of the benefits was only disclosed at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress in Madrid. The results were also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Analysts believe using Imfinzi in so-called stage III lung cancer opens up an annual sales opportunity worth around $2 billion (£1.5 billion). Importantly, AstraZeneca has a lead of two to three years over rivals in this particular area. HIGHER SALES FORECASTS Soriot said analyst forecasts were now likely to rise - and the initial stock market reaction was positive, with AstraZeneca shares gaining 2 percent in extended trading after the results were unveiled late on Friday U.S. time. The stage III market is smaller than for advanced lung cancer, where a combination of Imfinzi and tremelimumab failed to work as hoped in the Mystic trial. That setback wiped $14 billion off AstraZeneca’s shares in July. Early success in Mystic would have given AstraZeneca the chance to establish the first immunotherapy combination in advanced lung cancer, ahead of rivals Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY.N ), Roche ( ROG.S ) and Merck ( MRK.N ). But Soriot says early-stage disease - where a cure is potentially possible - is now a big opportunity for AstraZeneca, which is also testing Imfinzi earlier than stage III. “The early lung cancer population will grow with more cancer screening,” he said. The Flaura trial, meanwhile, demonstrated the ability of AstraZeneca’s new pill Tagrisso to hold lung cancer at bay in patients with a certain genetic mutation that is particularly common in Asia. The study showed Tagrisso, which AstraZeneca has predicted will become a $4 billion-a-year seller, was significantly better than older medicines that act in a similar way. Patients on Tagrisso went 18.9 months on average before their disease worsened, against 10.2 months for those given either Roche’s ( ROG.S ) Tarceva or AstraZeneca’s Iressa. ESMO spokesman Enriqueta Felip of Spain’s Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology said Tagrisso’s edge over older medicines and its good tolerability meant it should be considered a new first-line treatment option. AstraZeneca is in discussions with global health authorities about seeking marketing approval to extend the use of Imfinzi and Tagrisso, based on the Pacific and Flaura data. Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Mark Potter and Dale Hudson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-cancer-astrazeneca/astrazeneca-rebuilds-cancer-drug-hopes-with-new-lung-data-idUKKCN1BJ2NS'|'2017-09-09T01:08:00.000+03:00'
'0b45b33c89e29b0e22e5ecfe27aeb1d5623bac87'|'ECB''s Stournaras backs calls for euro zone integration'|'September 9, 2017 / 11:46 AM / Updated 8 hours ago ECB''s Stournaras backs calls for euro zone integration Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Governor of the Central Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras speaks during an interview with Reuters at the bank''s headquarters in Athens, Greece, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s central banker said on Saturday that the euro zone should be reformed and equipped with efficient tools to counter future economic crises, echoing recent calls for a reshape of the euro currency block. “We need a visionary and ambitious, and at the same time a realistic approach, to turn the currency union into a more integrated financial and currency union with efficient crisis-management tools and resources,” Yannis Stournaras, who also sits on the ECB’s governing council, said in an editorial in the Ta Nea newspaper on Saturday. Stournaras said the euro zone should be strengthened because the ECB cannot be the single institution responsible for ensuring the euro zone’s stability nor can it maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy forever. His comments came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron used a two-day trip to Athens to send a message to fellow euro zone leaders about the need to strengthen the currency union at a time when Greece is coming out from years of economic crisis. Stournaras also backed a German proposal for a fully fledged European Monetary Fund which would be used to head off future economic shocks. France’s Macron, a centrist, was elected in May on a pro-EU platform that included pledges to create a euro zone budget that would be voted through by a euro zone parliament and supervised by a euro zone finance minister. Stournaras referred to that proposal as a possible way to improve the “sharing of risks and responsibilities” in the single currency union. Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-cenbanker/ecbs-stournaras-backs-calls-for-euro-zone-integration-idUKKCN1BK0DK'|'2017-09-09T14:39:00.000+03:00'
'741b60225ebb40589f5a8a6ab56d4f90dd7aa14f'|'EU lawmakers plan to guard carbon market from hard Brexit'|' 46 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago EU lawmakers plan to guard carbon market from hard Brexit Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European lawmakers will vote this week on a plan to protect the carbon market against a collapse of Brexit talks, which they fear would crash the price of tradable emissions permits. The bill was prompted by mounting concern that Britain could fail to reach at least a transitional trade deal with the European Union before its scheduled departure from the bloc less than two years from now. Britain is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Europe and its utilities are among the largest buyers of permits in the EU’s Emission Trading System (ETS), which charges power plants and factories for every ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit. The European Parliament’s biggest political group said it proposed an amendment to stop British business from a mass sell-off of emissions allowances if they are no longer part of the market. “It cannot be excluded that many of the responsible people in the U.K. government obviously have unrealistic assumptions,” European People’s Party (EPP) spokesman Peter Liese said in a statement. “That’s why we have to prepare for a hard Brexit.” EU lawmakers will vote on Wednesday on the amendment, which proposes to void all emissions permits issued by a country leaving the 28-nation bloc from January 2018 onward. Any changes would also have to be agreed by EU member states and the European Commission. “The amendment is important to make sure that, in the case of a hard Brexit, neither the UK will have any advantages nor the European Union will suffer from any disadvantages,” the EPP said. The EU is in the midst of work on carbon market reforms, championed by Britain, to reduce the share of free permits handed out after 2020 and shore up prices. Having had a say in how the system is shaped, most analysts believe that Britain will remain part of the system, following a similar path to Norway, which has companies that participate in the scheme despite the country not being an EU member. Slow progress in Brexit talks, however, have stirred fears of a messy break-up that could leave British businesses with little legal clarity on emmissions. A British government spokesman said the UK is considering all possible options for its future participation in the ETS. “To avoid any cliff-edge as we move from our current relationship to that future partnership, people and businesses in both the UK and the EU would benefit from an implementation period to adjust in a smooth and orderly way to new arrangements,” he said. “We recognize that to plan effectively, scheme participants will want an early understanding of the terms of the future UK-EU partnership and how it might affect the ETS.” Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels and Susanna Twidale in London; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-carbon/eu-lawmakers-plan-to-guard-carbon-market-from-hard-brexit-idUKKCN1BM16U'|'2017-09-11T13:40:00.000+03:00'
'993f6ad718c0254533bb324c48e3c182319dfe36'|'S.Korea''s GS Caltex says unsure when will restart fire-hit hydrocracker, aromatics unit'|'SEOUL, Sept 11 (Reuters) - GS Caltex, South Korea’s second-largest oil refiner, said on Monday that it was unsure when it would be able to restart a hydrocracker and aromatics unit after they were hit by fire last month.The refiner in August experienced two fires at its Yeosu refinery, southwest of Seoul, shutting its 66,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) vacuum reside hydrocracker (VRHCR) and one of its petrochemical units.“We are not sure of the timing, but we will resume operations when it’s deemed safe,” a company spokesman said.The 790,000-bpd facility will be able to keep churning out enough oil for domestic demand, but its exports may be crimped slightly, the spokesman added.GS Caltex is equally owned by GS Energy Corp, a unit of GS Holdings and U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Joseph Radford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-gscaltex-outages/s-koreas-gs-caltex-says-unsure-when-will-restart-fire-hit-hydrocracker-aromatics-unit-idINL4N1LS1WP'|'2017-09-11T03:58:00.000+03:00'
'402fd72c7e5790ce435c4f158fbd11f439b6c9c5'|'BoE''s Carney expands influence with two new global roles'|' 56 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago BoE''s Carney expands influence with two new global roles Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, addresses journalists during a press conference to deliver the quarterly inflation report in London, August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Frank Augstein/Pool LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is widening his influence by becoming chair of two global central bank groups which monitor risks from the economy and financial system. Carney will chair the Global Economy Meeting (GEM), part of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which is made up of 30 central banks and monitors the global economy and financial system. The 52-year-old Canadian, who has been Bank of England Governor since 2013, will also chair the Economic Consultative Committee (ECC), which prepares proposals for GEM. GEM flags risks to governments from the economy, and oversees work by other BIS panels on standards for market infrastructure, payments and markets. He starts in December, when Augustin Carstens, who currently chairs both bodies, becomes general manager of the BIS. Carney already chairs the Financial Stability Board at the BIS in Basel. The FSB coordinates new regulation for banks, insurers and asset managers introduced since the financial crisis that began a decade ago. Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bis-carney-economy/boes-carney-expands-influence-with-two-new-global-roles-idUKKCN1BM1FQ'|'2017-09-11T14:56:00.000+03:00'
'1df15b06fb7e69977959fa0d9e5d35e43933c5a6'|'India renegotiates LNG deal with Exxon - oil minister'|'September 9, 2017 / 7:40 PM / Updated 2 hours ago India renegotiates LNG deal with Exxon - oil minister Nidhi Verma 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - India''s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi, India, June 12, 2015. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has renegotiated the pricing of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from Australia’s Gorgon project to make the imported fuel affordable to price-sensitive domestic customers, Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday. India has been trying to leverage its position as one of the biggest energy consumers to strike better bargains for its companies. In 2015 it renegotiated the LNG pricing formula with Qatar’s Rasgas to buy the gas at half the original price. “Indian customers will receive (Gorgon) LNG volumes at an amicable price soon. This is done in a similar way to what we did with LNG from Qatar,” Pradhan said in a tweet. India’s top gas importer Petronet LNG signed a deal in 2009 with Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) to buy 1.5 million tonnes of LNG annually from Gorgon for 20 years. At that time Petronet agreed to buy LNG at a cost equivalent to 14.5 percent of the oil price and to pay for the shipping freight as well. Supplies under the deal began from January 2017, with the landed price of gas costing about $11-$13 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), almost double that of Asian spot LNG prices. The Gorgon gas prices are now linked to about 13-13.5 percent of the global oil price on a delivered basis, two sources with knowledge of the negotiation said. Renegotiation of the deal also shows how softening oil prices and a global supply glut are forcing LNG exporters to offer better deals to retain their share in global energy markets. India wants to gradually move to a gas-based economy and aims to double the cleaner fuel’s share in its energy mix to 15 percent in the next few years. Petronet’s managing director Prabhat Singh declined comment and Pradhan did not specify changes in the pricing formula. “Happy to share good news that India has, yet again, been able to address the long-term price issue of LNG from Gorgon to suit Indian market,” Pradhan said in a tweet. Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-oil-exxon-mobil/india-renegotiates-lng-deal-with-exxon-oil-minister-idUKKCN1BK0UR'|'2017-09-09T22:39:00.000+03:00'
'714e1fce5ea879910f6327497fd885fbcfcec52a'|'United Technologies merges with Rockwell Collins'|'WHEN passengers board an aircraft, only a few care whether it was built by Airbus or Boeing, two giants that make all the world’s big airliners. Fewer still would recognise the names of the thousands of suppliers that produce the 2m or so parts that go into a modern jet. Surprisingly little of the work is done by Boeing and Airbus. Boeing has outsourced 70% of the parts for its 787 aircraft. The job of assembling Airbus’s A380 superjumbo in its Toulouse factory accounts for only 4% of the work required to make it. The balance of power between aerospace firms and their suppliers is causing ructions.Near hostilities have broken out due to a run of big mergers among parts-makers. On September 4th, United Technologies (UTC), an American conglomerate that makes Pratt & Whitney engines and other aerospace parts, announced that it had agreed to buy Rockwell Collins, an avionics firm, for $30bn. Although it is one of the biggest-ever mergers in the aerospace business, the deal is just the latest in a series of supplier tie-ups this year. In April, Rockwell Collins itself bought B/E Aerospace, a cabin-interiors specialist, for $8.6bn. Two months later Safran, a French maker of engines and landing gear, agreed to buy Zodiac, a specialist in aircraft seats, for $7.7bn.  17   As usual, the firms’ bosses pledge that synergies between the businesses will help fund the deals. UTC wants its merger with Rockwell to produce $500m in savings, according to its chief executive, Greg Hayes. But the imperative behind these supplier tie-ups lies elsewhere, in the oodles of profit they make from planemakers. In the past two years, suppliers made profit margins of between 14% and 17%, compared with 9% for planemakers. The main reason for the divergence is that the huge development costs associated with jetliner programmes are borne by planemakers, not their suppliers. And assembling parts is a relatively low value-added activity.Confronted with a shrinking number of new orders, as well as pressure from investors, both Airbus and Boeing are adopting a more aggressive stance towards the suppliers. This means trying to push them into offering much lower prices today, in return for future contracts. But that is not all. By outsourcing the most complex parts of their aircraft, Airbus and Boeing lost control of what turned out to be a highly lucrative market for servicing aircraft, with airlines as customers. Rolls-Royce, a British engine-maker, makes half its sales and all its profits from servicing engines. The pair want this market back if possible. They are trying to make more parts in-house. In July, Boeing set up an avionics subsidiary to make more of its electrical systems itself. Airbus is cutting back its list of suppliers and doing more of its own work.It is in response to this assault that the supply chain is consolidating, says Jim Harris of Bain & Company, a consultancy. Gaining scale gives suppliers clout with their customers and with their own supply chains. The merged UTC and Rockwell will have annual revenues of $62bn, not far off Airbus at $80bn and Boeing at $96bn.Unsurprisingly, Boeing has hit the roof about UTC’s acquisition of Rockwell, and has threatened to lobby regulators to stop the deal on competition grounds. Nor is Airbus happy, particularly as problems with Pratt & Whitney’s engines are holding up the delivery of dozens of its jets. It worries that a merger will distract UTC from resolving the problem. It is rare to see two firms that have long battled each other team up on the same side, but there is little doubt, according to an adviser to Boeing and Airbus, that they both “have the knives out for their suppliers”.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Dogfight in the skies"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728655-aerospace-suppliers-are-merging-fight-back-against-planemakers-united-technologies-merges?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'03eeba1025f726d58283d07b7598c534c44637a8'|'Brazil top prosecutor requests billionaire Batista''s arrest -source'|'BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s top prosecutor asked the country’s Supreme Court late on Friday to approve the arrest of billionaire Joesley Batista, one of the owners of the world´s largest meatpacker JBS SA, a person with knowledge of the matter said.Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot had told a news conference on Monday that he was considering revoking a plea bargain deal struck by Batista and a fellow state’s witness after they appeared to have inadvertently recorded themselves discussing crimes not covered in the deal.The source, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that Janot had requested the arrest of Batista and Ricardo Saud, a former executive at the Batista family holding company J&F Investimentos, based on the four-hour recording.Janot’s office did not respond to calls and email requests for comment.Joesley Batista and his brother Wesley confessed to bribing scores of politicians in plea bargain testimony that allowed them to avoid prosecution. Amongst the evidence they provided to prosecutors was a recording of President Michel Temer apparently endorsing hush payments to a possible witness in a graft probe.The source said that Janot had revoked the benefits granted under the plea bargain deal to Joesley and Ricardo Saud, a former executive of holding company J&F Investimentos, through which the Batista family controls JBS.He also asked Supreme Court Justice Edson Facchin to authorize the arrest of a former prosecutor, Marcelo Miller, the source said.The taped conversation, which was made public by the Supreme Court this week, was inadvertently submitted to prosecutors with unrelated material last week.In it, Batista and Saud say Miller helped the Batista brothers strike their plea bargain before leaving the Prosecutors Office in April to work in a private law firm.In a statement this week, J&F said Batista and Saud were simply discussing hypotheses in the conversation, not facts.Batista´s lawyer, Pierpaolo Bottini, filed a request on Saturday for the Supreme Court to hear defense arguments before authorizing the arrest of his client and Saud.The lawyer also said Batista and Ricardo Saud are willing to surrender their passports.A lawyer for Miller, André Perecmanis, said on Saturday his client did not help the Batistas in their plea deal while working as a prosecutor.Another source with knowledge of the matter said the leniency agreement of J&F Investimentos SA, which the company signed in May agreeing to pay a record leniency fine of 10.3 billion reais ($3.3 billion) for its role in the political bribery scheme, had been validated on Friday by a federal court.The source, asking for anonymity to discuss the matter freely, said that if a plea bargain by J&F Investimentos is canceled, the leniency agreement may also lose effect.A string of asset sales depend on the validity of the leniency agreement.In three months, the holding company has signed agreements to sell Havaianas flip-flops maker Alpargatas SA ALPA4.SA, dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA and pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA, but the sales may only be finalized if the leniency agreement is still valid.Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia, Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Diane Craft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-jbs/brazil-top-prosecutor-requests-billionaire-batistas-arrest-source-idUSKCN1BK0NY'|'2017-09-09T19:04:00.000+03:00'
'24cecf7551dfcd937f86269d9199a7cb1d9e26b3'|'Mobile technology is revamping loyalty schemes'|'THOSE of a cynical bent might think Tom Stuker a glutton for punishment. Over the years, Mr Stuker has flown more than 18m miles (29m kilometres) on United Airlines, a carrier not always renowned for treating its passengers tenderly. Mr Stuker may possess the world’s most impressive frequent-flyer account. Over the past half-decade he has averaged over 1m miles a year with United.Mr Stuker is extreme in his devotion. But engendering customer loyalty is something that nearly all firms strive for. Most fail. The average American household belongs to 28 loyalty schemes. The country is home to 3.8bn scheme memberships in total, according to Colloquy, a research firm, up from 2.6bn in 2012. More than half of these accounts go unused. 21 Frequent-flyer programmes, introduced in the 1970s, were the first examples of modern loyalty schemes. They proved to be a clever bit of marketing. Flyers value plane seats highly, so a free one feels like a substantial reward. But airlines can give away unsold berths at little incremental cost, because the jet would fly whether they are filled or not. Air miles are also sold to third parties, such as credit-card firms, which then use them to reward their own customers. For airlines, profit margins on frequent-flyer programmes can be 30-40%, says Pranay Jhunjhunwala of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a consultancy, compared with 10% on flights in general.Schemes like these are an example of “earn and burn” rewards, in which customers are rewarded for their purchases at a flat rate, whether a free flight for every 20,000 miles flown or a complimentary mochaccino for every nine swigged. According to Capgemini, another consultancy, nearly all firms with a loyalty scheme use this model.Because they are so easy to implement, they are often used defensively. Many firms start a programme only because their competitors have one, says Steve Grout of Collinson Group, a loyalty consultancy. But they are so common that they end up generating little fidelity. Often “the market returns to stasis,” argued Lena-Marie Rehnen of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in a paper published in 2016. Some 77% of earn-and-burn schemes fail in one way or another within the first two years, according to Capgemini.The best programmes, in contrast, get highly personal. Customers of Starbucks, for example, are encouraged to pay for their daily dose of caffeine using a smartphone app, which they pre-load with cash. (An estimated $1.2bn is deposited in Starbucks’s loyalty account.) This allows the firm to harvest reams of data on its patrons, including what they drink, at which stores and at what time of day—perhaps even whether it is sunny or raining when they choose a particular beverage. This information is then used to target members of the scheme with individual offers.If that sounds a touch intrusive, Starbucks’s customers do not seem to mind. In its latest results in July, the firm boasted 13.3m active members. Over a third of its sales in America come through its reward programme. Customers tend to be happier handing over personal information when they get personalised offers in return, says Javier Anta, another BCG consultant. Some 97% of purchases at Kroger, an American grocery firm, are reported to be made by loyalty-card holders, who receive individual offers based on their shopping habits. Such data can be among the most valuable things a firm owns. When Caesars Entertainment, a casino group, went bankrupt in 2015, auditors valued its loyalty database at $1bn, more even than its property on the Las Vegas strip.If data are the grist for the loyalty mill, then you might assume that the online giants would be running the best schemes. Yet this is not necessarily the case. Take Amazon. “Their philosophy is not good,” says one loyalty consultant (who asked not to be identified). “The amount they spend on promotions is insane.” Rather than offering across-the-board discounts, he says, Amazon would be much better served by designing and targeting customised promotions for particular shoppers as part of a loyalty scheme.As Starbucks has shown, many advances in the loyalty industry are driven by mobile technology. For a start, it allows firms to use location information to send well-targeted, real-time offers. And storing scores of cards in an e-wallet, rather than having to wedge them into a purse, encourages shoppers to use them. A quarter of people who abandoned schemes did so because they did not offer a smartphone app, according to Colloquy. Smartphones are also increasing the number of ways in which customers can garner rewards. Some restaurants, for example, offer points for those posting photos of their meals on Instagram, or for “checking in” on Facebook. The only limit, it seems, will be customers’ desire to protect privacy.Airlines, for their part, have been slow to keep up. Still, they have the odd card up their sleeves. In 2011, after Mr Stuker passed the 10m-mile mark, United Airlines named one of its jumbo jets after him. Even Starbucks would struggle to match that level of personalisation. "Forsake all others"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728679-if-you-want-loyalty-get-big-data-mobile-technology-revamping-loyalty-schemes?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-07T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'c944430c8d2d59f83891cb4e0cc8c2c74156b63a'|'Citigroup sees third-quarter markets revenue down 15 percent vs year-earlier'|' 13 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Citigroup sees third-quarter markets revenue down 15 percent vs year-earlier   A view of the exterior of the Citibank corporate headquarters in New York, New York, U.S. May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) third-quarter total markets revenue is running about 15 percent less than a year earlier when volatility was boosted by reactions to the Brexit vote and U.S. elections, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said on Monday at an investor conference. Gerspach’s outlook was similar to the 12 percent decline anticipated by Barclays analyst, and conference host, Jason Goldberg, in a preview for the event being held through Wednesday. The first speaker at the event, Gerspach also said that easing of bank regulations is going more slowly than he had hoped, apparently because of still-vacant positions at the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. He warned that by the end of October the Federal Reserve needs to complete expected changes in its annual capital reviews, known as CCAR, for the banks to benefit in their 2018 evaluations. The reviews determine how much capital banks may payout in stock buybacks and shareholder dividends. Gerspach also said that he expects “slight increases” in expected credit loss rates from its North American Citi-branded and store-branded card business this year. Collections on delinquent accounts of store-branded cards have slowed this year, the company has said. Citigroup shares were up 0.7 percent shortly after the market opened in New York. Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-banks-conference-citigroup/citigroup-sees-3q-markets-revenue-down-15-percent-vs-year-earlier-idUKKCN1BM1NP'|'2017-09-11T16:14:00.000+03:00'
'b35539683fc059176df4c7c76d47037b753f8231'|'Thyssenkrupp says Tata Steel deal may come in September'|'September 11, 2017 / 12:13 PM / Updated an hour ago Thyssenkrupp may reach preliminary Tata Steel deal this month Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) may reach an agreement in principle this month to merge its European steel business with that of Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ), the group said on Monday, adding talks were constructive and had entered the final stretch. A spokeswoman for Thyssenkrupp said the companies were close to a memorandum of understanding (MoU), paving the way for a detailed look at one another’s books and detailed negotiations before creating the second-largest steelmaker in Europe. Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger is under pressure to deliver the planned combination, particularly following Tata Steel’s deal to cut its pension liabilities, after talks have dragged on for a year and a half. Hiesinger favours a steel joint venture, saying this is the best option to eliminate overcapacities in the volatile steel sector but drawing opposition from labour representatives, who fear thousands of job cuts. “The management board is currently in talks over strategic options,” the spokeswoman said, adding a meeting of the supervisory board initially scheduled for Sept. 12 had been moved back to ensure it was adequately informed. A spokesman for Thyssenkrupp’s works council said the meeting was scheduled to take place on Sept. 23 or 24. Shares in Thyssenkrupp ended the day up 1.4 percent and have gained about 17 percent this year, partly in anticipation of a deal. Trade unions remain opposed to Hiesinger’s plan, preferring a carve-out that would see Thyssenkrupp list its healthy assets including its elevator unit on the stock market instead, in a fashion similar to utility RWE ( RWEG.DE ). “We reject a merger with Tata,” said Dieter Lieske, head of the Duisburg-Dinslaken unit of IG Metall, Germany’s largest trade union, adding there were no signs that labour representatives on the group’s supervisory board would agree to the merger plan. Lieske said Ulrich Lehner, Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board chairman, may be forced to use his casting vote if the 20-member board, with equal representation of labour and capital interests, reaches a stalemate over the decision. Bloomberg on Monday reported that activist investor Cevian, Thyssenkrupp’s No.2 shareholder, was also opposed to the merger with Tata Steel, potentially robbing Hiesinger of a majority if all labour representatives also vote against the plan. A spokesman representing Cevian declined to comment. Monthly Manager Magazin earlier reported that Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board could agree to a combination either on Sept. 23 or 24, citing people involved in the negotiations. Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-steel/thyssenkrupp-says-tata-steel-deal-may-come-in-september-idUKKCN1BM1HD'|'2017-09-11T15:12:00.000+03:00'
'42dcd47567aeaff7f1cbd656a964f2766fa3550c'|'ADNOC could list stake in fuel retail business in early 2018: sources'|'September 10, 2017 / 9:53 AM / 3 hours ago ADNOC could list stake in fuel retail business in early 2018: sources Rania El Gamal , Saeed Azhar 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Cars are seen an ADNOC petrol station in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo - DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) could list more than 10 percent of its fuel retail business by early 2018 and one or two more businesses later as part of a major shake-up, sources familiar with the matter said. The listing for ADNOC Distribution, which manages petrol stations and convenience stores across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as bunkering facilities and lubricant plant, comes as Abu Dhabi and other Gulf states, are privatizing energy assets to make them more competitive and efficient in an era of cheap crude. ADNOC said in July it planned to float stakes in some of its services businesses, but did not give details. For ADNOC Distribution, Reuters reported in late July that banks had been mandated for the IPO, citing sources familiar with the matter. “They are still working on it, there may be other services (to be listed) but it will not be that fast,” said one source. ADNOC may in future choose to float one or maximum two more of its businesses such as its drilling arm, National Drilling Company, or energy infrastructure if the IPO of ADNOC Distribution proves successful, several sources familiar with the firm’s plans said. “The value of this is when you take a company through the IPO process you make it efficient, you optimize it, it becomes a better company as a whole,” a second source said. Listing of the fuel retailer business is likely to be on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange and could happen early next year, several sources told Reuters. An ADNOC spokesman said: “As announced on July 10, ADNOC is expanding its partnership model and creating new investment opportunities across all areas of its value chain.” “Central to ADNOC’s new approach will be the more active management of its portfolio of assets and businesses. ADNOC is therefore considering the potential IPO of minority stakes of some of its services businesses which have attractive investment and growth profiles,” the spokesman said. WIDER PLAN Since the appointment of Sultan al-Jaber as ADNOC’s chief executive last year, the company - dubbed “a sleeping energy giant” by one source - has launched a major shake-up. A sharp drop in crude prices since mid-2014 has forced the oil industry to cut costs and look for ways to boost efficiency amid competition from new producers such as U.S. shale firms. The transformation of ADNOC is also seen as part of an economic reform drive led by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “With (oil) prices not expected to increase much and production constrained by OPEC, Abu Dhabi needs to find alternative ways to get value out of its NOC (national oil company),” said Robin Mills, chief executive of UAE-based consultancy Qamar Energy. ADNOC has already begun consolidating the operations of two oil companies into a new entity, and a merger of three of its shipping and marine services businesses is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It is looking to set up its own trading unit. ADNOC produces some 3 million barrels of oil per day, or around 3 percent of global production. It also produces more than 9.8 billion cubic feet of raw gas per day, placing it among the largest energy producers in the world. Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-adnoc-ipo/adnoc-could-list-stake-in-fuel-retail-business-in-early-2018-sources-idINKCN1BL0EG'|'2017-09-10T07:53:00.000+03:00'
'97f901372de7cebed493a479243a13adeaf35d4b'|'UPDATE 1-FPL shut one reactor at Florida Turkey Point ahead of Irma'|'(Adds location of Turkey Point, earlier comments from FPL)Sept 10 (Reuters) - Florida Power & Light (FPL) said it had shut one reactor at its Turkey Point nuclear plant on Saturday but will leave the other operating, after the forecast track for Hurricane Irma shifted toward the west and away from the South Florida plant.FPL also said it no longer plans to shut the two reactors at its St Lucie plant located on a barrier island on the state’s east coast, about 120 miles (193 km) north of Miami.Turkey Point is located about 30 miles south of Miami.Before Irma’s expected track changed, FPL said on Friday it planned to shut both units at Turkey Point sometime on Saturday about 24 hours before hurricane force winds reached the plant.The company also had said it planned to shut both reactors at St Lucie about 24 hours before hurricane force winds reached that plant.FPL, the biggest power company in Florida, changed its plan because hurricane force winds are no longer expected to reach either site.FPL is a unit of Florida energy company NextEra Energy Inc . (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-fpl-nuclear/update-1-fpl-shut-one-reactor-at-florida-turkey-point-ahead-of-irma-idINL2N1LR0B0'|'2017-09-10T10:43:00.000+03:00'
'701302b4ce49dcf9d564488575994e32fd0fcb4d'|'MOVES-Global Bankers Insurance hires managing director for Europe'|'  11:33 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago MOVES-Global Bankers Insurance hires managing director for Europe Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 12 (Reuters) - Global Bankers Insurance Group, a unit of privately held Eli Global, has appointed Matteo Castelvetri as managing director for Europe. Castelvetri most recently worked as a managing director of Morgan Stanley’s Financial Institutions Group. Global Bankers also said it would open a new office in London in concert with Castelvetri’s appointment. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/global-bankers-insurance-group-moves-mat/moves-global-bankers-insurance-hires-managing-director-for-europe-idUSL4N1LT3ML'|'2017-09-12T14:33:00.000+03:00'
'7630a276d22e4d0146a6c38daea315f54c8ab0ee'|'UPDATE 2-Ashtead forecasts U.S. hurricane-driven demand for its tools'|'Reuters TV United States  10 AM / Updated 33 minutes ago Ashtead forecasts U.S. hurricane-driven demand for its tools Noor Zainab Hussain , Esha Vaish 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Ashtead Group ( AHT.L ) expects the clean-up and rebuilding needed in the United States after hurricanes Harvey and Irma to generate more demand for its diggers and tools. “As a minimum, we expect that the impact will help to underpin the current market assumptions in our 2021 plan,” the British company’s chief executive Geoff Drabble said on Tuesday. Shares in Ashtead, which hires out tools on short-term contracts, were up 8.3 percent to 1824 pence at 0911 GMT, making it London’s top blue-chip gainer after it said underlying pretax profit rose 21 percent to 238 million pounds ($314 million) in the first quarter, 4 percent higher than consensus estimates. “There will now be a significant clean-up program, where our scale, breadth of fleet and experiences in similar events will be a major asset,” Drabble said on an analyst call, adding that Ashtead has a 10 percent fleet market share in Houston. Ashstead’s underlying rental revenue rose 17 percent to 828.8 million pounds, while sales at its U.S. division Sunbelt Rentals, which accounts for 87 percent of revenue, rose 15 percent to $983 million pounds. “Whilst management is clearly taking a cautious view on forward forecasts and the potential impact of the hurricane season, it is clear that momentum is strong in the business and that risks to earnings remain firmly on the upside,” RBC analysts, who rate Ashtead as “outperform”, said. United Rentals Inc ( URI.N ), which has more exposure to the oil and gas sector, reported better than expected results for the quarter to June 30 as underlying rates improved. Ashtead shares have gained more than 35 percent since the U.S. elections on expectations that President Donald Trump will deliver on his plans to spend $1 trillion on roads and bridges, although this has yet to be put into action. “A combination of weak sterling and Donald Trump’s promises of a domestic infrastructure spending spree have raised confidence levels for management and investors alike,” George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said. At the same time, recent data showed that U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in July, hitting a nine-month low amid a steep decline in investment. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Louise Heavens/Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ashtead-group-results/ashtead-forecasts-u-s-hurricane-driven-demand-for-its-tools-idUSKCN1BN13Q'|'2017-09-12T13:00:00.000+03:00'
'dbd9679d4c9811ce71e77c0d17b98feffef5e569'|'BP in South American venture with Argentina''s Bridas'|' 53 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago BP in South American venture with Argentina''s Bridas Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo (Reuters) - British oil major BP ( BP.L ) has agreed to merge its interests in South American oil company Pan American Energy (PAE) with refiner and fuel retailer Axion Energy in a new joint venture with Axion’s owner and PAE partner Bridas Corporation. BP and Bridas, an Argentine energy company 50 percent-owned by China’s CNOOC ( 0883.HK ), will hold equal stakes in the newly merged Pan American Energy Group (PAEG) after a cash-free deal that is expected to close early next year, the companies said. The two companies will be represented by four board directors each, sharing nomination rights for senior executives. The self-funded joint venture will include PAE’s production of 262,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and its interests in the sought-after Vaca Muerta shale region. It will also contain Axion’s 90,000 barrel per day Campana refinery in Argentina and its network of more than 755 fuel retail sites in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. “We see value-enhancing opportunities throughout PAEG’s businesses; from extending the life of mature production and developing new unconventional resources including Vaca Muerta to growth in retail fuels and lubricants marketing,” BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said. Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-bridas-m-a/bp-in-south-american-venture-with-argentinas-bridas-idUKKCN1BM1F7'|'2017-09-11T14:53:00.000+03:00'
'88f6a148c39547454473fb465d34df5df4b363f3'|'Facebook fined 1.2 million euros by Spanish data watchdog'|'September 11, 2017 / 1:32 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Facebook fined 1.2 million euros by Spanish data watchdog Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/Illustration/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) - Facebook has been fined 1.2 million euros (1.09 million pounds) for allegedly collecting personal information from users in Spain that could then be used for advertising, the national data protection watchdog said on Monday. The fine stemmed from an investigation into the social network company conducted alongside similar probes in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, the AEPD authority said. The 1.2 million euro fine is a fraction of Facebook’s quarterly revenue of about $8 billion and stock market capitalisation of around $435 billion. AEPD said it found three cases in which Facebook had collected details such as the gender, religious beliefs, personal tastes and browsing history of its millions of Spanish users without informing them how such information would be used. Facebook did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. According to the AEPD, the tech giant did not sufficiently inform users about how it would use data collected on third-party websites, and did not obtain consent to use it. “Facebook’s privacy policy contains generic and unclear terms,” the authority said in a statement. “The social network uses specifically protected data for advertising, among other purposes, without obtaining users’ express consent as data protection law demands, a serious infringement.” Using cookies, Facebook also collects data from people who do not have an account on the social network but navigate other pages containing a “like” button, AEPD said. Facebook users’ activity can also be tracked on third-party sites, and the information collected added to what is already associated with a Facebook account, AEPD said. It said it also found evidence the network kept information for more than 17 months after users closed their accounts. Reporting by Robert Hetz and Isla Binnie; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-spain-fine/facebook-fined-1-2-million-euros-by-spanish-data-watchdog-idUKKCN1BM1PC'|'2017-09-11T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'7b6d3a27d68ef6efc0a749b3692db866554fdf92'|'RPT-UK banks call for "mutual recognition" deal with EU after Brexit'|'September 10, 2017 / 8:00 AM / Updated 6 hours ago RPT-UK banks call for "mutual recognition" deal with EU after Brexit Reuters Staff (Repeats with no change to text) By Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union should accept each other’s rules governing financial services in a “flexible” trade deal that offers unfettered market access to big banks but protects small investors, according to proposals made in a draft industry document seen by Reuters on Friday. UK Finance, a trade body that represents British banks like Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS , said in its 91-page proposal on “Financial Services in a new EU-UK Trade Agreement” that “mutual recognition” should be an “overarching principle”. Banks and other financial firms authorised in the UK would then be allowed by the bloc’s regulators to continue serving customers in the EU from Britain after Brexit in 2019. The quality of access would depend on how “sophisticated” or financially literate customers were. UK Finance declined to comment on a private report which is now being “tested” on market participants. The draft document outlines three categories of access, the first offering unrestricted access for large banks and institutional investors in Britain and the EU. Access for “financial professionals” would be more “calibrated”, with the final category, retail investors, protected by additional local rules. UK Finance calls this an “alternative” model for future trade which is “robust and flexible”. While the model is new, there are elements which are drawn from existing trade deals and national licensing regimes. “An EU firm providing services cross-border to a UK customer should be afforded regulatory treatment that does not unnecessarily disadvantage it vis-à-vis a UK-based firm (of any national identity) – and vice versa.” The document is still at the draft stage and may be amended. The mutual recognition idea has already been aired by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, and in a report drafted by the City of London and TheCityUK, which UK Finance worked with and goes into greater depth on how it could work in practice. However, many banks and insurers doubt such a deal can be agreed anytime soon with the EU and have pushed ahead with plans to open up new EU units outside Britain by 2019 to guarantee access to their customers there. Furthermore, the EU’s main Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said last month it would be “impossible” for the bloc to automatically accept UK rules, which would be the basis for mutual recognition. UK Finance said its proposed trade deal would be underpinned by “appropriate arrangements” between UK and EU regulators. “The core of this would be an EU-UK financial services committee with a wide-ranging remit to institutionalise cooperation,” the document said. The proposed trade deal seeks to address the future of 80 branches of banks across the EU, including the UK. Britain and the EU should offer them a “commercial establishment commitment” with a “strong element of deference to home-state regulation of branches”. Without such an agreement, branches of EU banks in Britain after Brexit face the cost of converting themselves into local subsidiaries holding their own cash and capital reserves. A new financial services committee involving representatives of the EU and Britain should be set up to resolve any disputes involving aspects of the trade deal and discuss changes in rules, the document says. This could be similar to the ones used by the EU and Switzerland or the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, according to the document. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-banks-trade/rpt-uk-banks-call-for-mutual-recognition-deal-with-eu-after-brexit-idUSL8N1LP4R9'|'2017-09-10T11:00:00.000+03:00'
'116bd5bfd50104673f9dd262c83fb6118a4bf851'|'One killed, several injured in bridge collapse in Bhubaneswar'|'BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - At least one person was killed and several others injured when an under-construction flyover bridge collapsed on Sunday in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha state, officials said.A portion of the bridge collapsed where over a dozen workers were working.“We have suspended two engineers who were supervising the work,” engineer-in-chief and secretary of Odisha’s works department Nalini Kanta Pradhan told Reuters.An inquiry has been ordered into the bridge collapse and appropriate action would be taken, said Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of the state.Reporting by Jatindra Dash; Editing by Manoj Kumar and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-bridge-collapse-bhubaneswar/one-killed-several-injured-in-bridge-collapse-in-bhubaneswar-idINKCN1BL0MR'|'2017-09-10T10:58:00.000+03:00'
'43ea77984ca97945ad289cbee37ac42c98e7df01'|'Eurowings, Germanwings reach agreement with Cabin crew union'|'Reuters TV United States   10:57 AM / 22 minutes ago Eurowings, Germanwings reach agreement with Cabin crew union Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of Lufthansa''s low-cost brand Eurowings is seen at Cologne-Bonn airport, Germany, November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) budget airlines Eurowings and Germanwings have reached an agreement in principle on wages and retirement benefits with German cabin crew union UFO, Eurowings said on Sunday. The outline deal, reached over the weekend, could end a three-year dispute which forced the cancellation of around 400 flights last October, after cabin crew at budget airlines Eurowings and Germanwings staged a strike. The collective wage agreement includes wage levels, profit participation and a pension deal for around 1,400 staff, Eurowings said in a press release on Sunday. The agreement needs to be formally approved and voted on by UFO’s management and Lufthansa Group’s senior management. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-lufthansa-unions-eurowings/eurowings-germanwings-reach-agreement-with-cabin-crew-union-idUKKCN1BL0I2'|'2017-09-10T13:42:00.000+03:00'
'bfc87e2d111cd81c06ef9f5fb1f32b0e5e392ce0'|'Guatemala court grants Tahoe unit San Rafael right to operate - Reuters'|'GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Guatemala’s Supreme Court has ruled that the local unit of Canadian miner Tahoe Resources can restart work at its Juan Bosco and El Escobal mines while carrying out a mandatory consultation of the local indigenous population.On its Twitter feed, Guatemala’s judicial authority said on Friday night that the court had ordered the San Rafael unit to conduct the survey of the indigenous population on their views about the mining projects during the next year.“During this period, the mining company San Rafael will be able to continue its operations,” the authority said.The decision marks the latest twist in a saga over the mines that has battered shares in Tahoe Resources.Last month the Constitutional Court, Guatemala’s top court of law, upheld a lower tribunal’s preliminary decision to suspend the two mining licenses over whether the indigenous community had been properly consulted by San Rafael.Escobal is one of the world’s largest silver mines and the mining licenses have been suspended since July 5 following a complaint by an environmental group about the consultation.The Supreme Court’s decision can still be appealed to the Guatemalan Constitutional Court. (Reporting by Bill Barreto; Editing by Alistair Bell) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/guatemala-tahoe/guatemala-court-grants-tahoe-unit-san-rafael-right-to-operate-idINL2N1LQ0R7'|'2017-09-09T22:25:00.000+03:00'
'158eb2ba028ba5ee0e421117c0c5fcf1c2283420'|'INSIGHT-Trust issues? China targets a $3 trillion shadow banking industry'|'September 10, 2017 / 3:05 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago INSIGHT-Trust issues? China targets a $3 trillion shadow banking industry Reuters Staff * Chinese regulators putting pressure on lending by trusts * Opaque structures used by trusts make them difficult to control * Two deals shed light on trust operations By Engen Tham SHANGHAI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - As a flood of unregulated cash swirls through the Chinese economy, Beijing has been taking aim at the trust companies whose unrestrained lending practices are worrying regulators. The trusts, at the heart of a vast shadow banking industry, are being pressured to step up compliance and background checks, and are being pushed towards greater transparency. But the fast-growing 20 trillion yuan ($3 trillion) industry, whose lending operations are cloaked behind opaque structures, will be tough to rein in, according to employees at some trusts. A regulatory sanction against one trust, Shanghai International Trust, and a legal case against another, National Trust, offer rare insights into the industry, and reveals just how hard it will be to police it. Shanghai Trust was fined 200,000 yuan for selling a product that violated leverage rules, according to a regulator’s notice in January. Regulators provided no further details about the case. Under these rules, property developers are only allowed to borrow up to three times their existing net assets. According to two people with direct knowledge of the case, an unknown sum was loaned by China Construction Bank through Shanghai Trust to Cinda Asset Management Company. Cinda then invested the cash. One of the sources said Cinda used the cash to acquire land, a sector rife with speculation that regulators have singled out as a “risky” destination for trust company loans. The source provided no further details. Shanghai Trust, Cinda, CCB and the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) declined to comment for this story. STEEL LOANS The case against National Trust, which had revenue of 655 million yuan in 2016, involves wealth management products linked to the steel industry. The trust was sued in June this year by eight investors who allege it misrepresented the risks involved in products it sold them and failed to adequately assess the guarantor’s creditworthiness. The trust skirted restrictions on loans to the steel industry by using the products to raise money to lend to a subsidiary of Bohai Steel Group, according to Tang Chunlin, a lawyer at Yingke Law Firm, who is representing the investors. The plaintiffs invested different sums in the wealth management products, which National Trust promised would deliver an annual return of over 9 percent. National Trust lent the money collected to a Bohai subsidiary, Tianjin Iron and Steel Group Co, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. Bohai Steel Group, which is undergoing a state-financed restructuring, has liabilities of around 192 billion yuan. National Trust has now defaulted on the product, according to Tang and Gongyu Zhou, one of the eight investors, because Tianjin Iron and Steel is unable to pay back its loan. The products were also illegally sold via third-party non-financial institutions, Tang and Zhou said. Zhou said he invested one million yuan in the product over two years from 2015 through 360caifu.com, an online finance platform. Bohai Steel Group, Tianjin Iron and Steel and 360caifu.com did not respond to requests for comment. National Trust declined to comment. STRUCTURAL CONCERNS One of the biggest challenges facing regulators is that many trusts employ a baffling array of structures, and funnel money through complex webs of beneficiaries, which makes untangling transactions extremely difficult. Nine people working at trusts, including the two with knowledge of the Shanghai Trust case, said such complex structures were often deliberately used to sidestep lending restrictions on banks and borrowers. “Really, only the project manager knows exactly how the money flows,” said a senior employee at one trust firm. The source and others at the trust firms could not be named because they were not allowed to speak to the public. INSURANCE LINK The practices of the trusts, and the speed at which the industry is growing, have made them a target for Beijing as it tries to keep a lid on risky lending, cool overheated markets and control corporate debt. In April, Deng Zhiyi, head of the CBRC’s trust department, warned of “severe risks” from funds flowing into the real estate, coal and steel sectors through trusts. The industry is now roughly a tenth the size of China’s commercial banking sector. While the companies are overseen by the CBRC, they are not held to the same standards as banks. For example, they do not have to meet the same capital adequacy standards. However, the regulator set out in detail in April certain structures that the trusts should not use, such as money-pooling schemes and structuring products to avoid restrictions on leverage. That was “a signal for financial institutions that from a legal and enforcement perspective, we are entering a stricter period,” said Armstrong Chen, financial compliance partner at King & Wood Mallesons. Trust firms will also have to start registering the details of their products, identifying the ultimate borrower of funds, this year, said Chen, who is in regular contact with the regulators. Chen said the requirement would improve transparency, but people at trust firms say it will still be difficult to detect the use of the under-the-table agreements typical of the industry. The Shanghai Trust case also reflected the tougher line being taken by regulators. The fine would have been negligible for the state-owned company, one of the largest trusts with a total of 3.89 billion yuan in revenue at the end of 2016. But according to three different sources with direct knowledge, Shanghai Trust was also barred from selling products to insurers for three years, a blow to a company that had made considerable sums selling products to the sector in recent years. One insurer invested as much as 10 billion yuan in just one of its property projects, according to one of the sources. COMPLIANCE EFFORTS Some of the trusts are already responding to the government pressure. Anxin Trust is increasing the number of onsite visits by staff and has doubled its compliance team, said a person with direct knowledge of the company’s activities. The trust is also looking at less risky deals – in healthcare, for example, rather than the more volatile property sector. A spokesman for Anxin said managing risk was a priority for the trust. China Industrial International Trust is requiring staff to include photos of site visits to prevent them from faking trips. Documents have to be signed by all participants face-to-face, said a person with direct knowledge of the company’s operations. The company declined to comment. Despite these changes, the government’s job managing the trusts keeps growing. In the first half of this year, trust loans increased by 1.31 trillion yuan, which compared with 279.2 billion in the period last year, according to central bank figures. That growth will be a challenge for the regulator, which is already facing staff shortages as it struggles to keep up with a broader official crackdown on financial risk. The trusts see more boom times ahead. “The demand for trust loans is increasing,” an internal report at a large trust firm in May said. “In the past, state-owned-enterprises would not consider such loans, but are now considering them,” said the report, adding that the trend started in March. A source made the report available to Reuters on the condition the name of the company was not disclosed. (Reporting by Engen Tham; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Philip McClellan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/china-shadowbanking-trusts/insight-trust-issues-china-targets-a-3-trillion-shadow-banking-industry-idUSL4N1IA1SK'|'2017-09-10T11:05:00.000+03:00'
'77d41b34ae92bf3de5f9fcb96ef653332b8d75f6'|'ADNOC could list stake in fuel retail business in early 2018 - sources'|'September 10, 2017 / 1:28 PM / Updated 4 hours ago ADNOC could list stake in fuel retail business in early 2018 - sources Rania El Gamal , Saeed Azhar 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Cars are seen an ADNOC petrol station in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) could list more than 10 percent of its fuel retail business by early 2018 and one or two more businesses later as part of a major shake-up, sources familiar with the matter said. The listing for ADNOC Distribution, which manages petrol stations and convenience stores across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as bunkering facilities and a lubricant plant, comes as Abu Dhabi and other Gulf states are privatising energy assets in an era of cheap crude. ADNOC said in July it planned to float stakes in some of its services businesses, but did not give details. For ADNOC Distribution, Reuters reported in late July that banks had been mandated for the IPO, citing sources familiar with the matter. “They are still working on it, there may be other services (to be listed) but it will not be that fast,” said one source. ADNOC may in future choose to float one or maximum two more businesses such as its drilling arm, National Drilling Company, or energy infrastructure if the IPO of ADNOC Distribution proves successful, several sources familiar with the firm’s plans said. The partial privatisation plan aims to make ADNOC a more competitive and commercially-focused firm, more akin to other state-owned controlled peers, the sources said. “It is not like it will be big selling off for big parts of the business,” one said. “The value of this is when you take a company through the IPO process you make it efficient, you optimise it, it becomes a better company as a whole.” The listing of the fuel retailer business is likely to be on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange and could happen early next year, several sources told Reuters. An ADNOC spokesman said: “As announced on July 10, ADNOC is expanding its partnership model and creating new investment opportunities across all areas of its value chain.” “Central to ADNOC’s new approach will be the more active management of its portfolio of assets and businesses. ADNOC is therefore considering the potential IPO of minority stakes of some of its services businesses which have attractive investment and growth profiles,” the spokesman said. WIDER PLAN Since the appointment of Sultan al-Jaber as ADNOC’s chief executive last year, ADNOC - dubbed “a sleeping energy giant” by one source - has launched a major shake-up. A sharp drop in crude prices since mid-2014 has forced the oil industry to cut costs and look for ways to boost efficiency. The transformation of ADNOC, a traditionally conservative firm, is also seen as part of an economic reform drive led by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “With (oil) prices not expected to increase much and production constrained by OPEC, Abu Dhabi needs to find alternative ways to get value out of its NOC (national oil company),” said Robin Mills, chief executive of UAE-based consultancy Qamar Energy. “The approach is rather different from Aramco’s, with more focus on subsidiary IPOs, JVs (joint ventures), and bringing in outside financing into select assets. ADNOC has of course always had more attention on partnerships than most other NOCs via the upstream JVs.” Saudi Arabia plans to list 5 percent of its national oil company Aramco by next year. ADNOC has already begun consolidating the operations of two oil companies into a new entity, and a merger of three of its shipping and marine services businesses is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It is looking to set up its own trading unit. ADNOC produces some 3 million barrels of oil per day, or around 3 percent of global production. It also produces more than 9.8 billion cubic feet of raw gas per day, placing it among the largest energy producers in the world. Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emirates-adnoc-ipo/adnoc-could-list-stake-in-fuel-retail-business-in-early-2018-sources-idINKCN1BL0O7'|'2017-09-10T16:26:00.000+03:00'
'5631aea3dd5ffef7e2e167be59ba67ac5d028ae8'|'Glencore submits best offer in Bangladesh naphtha tender'|'September 10, 2017 / 9:16 AM / 2 hours ago Glencore submits best offer in Bangladesh naphtha tender Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann DHAKA (Reuters) - State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corp (BPC) will sell 170,000 barrels of naphtha to Glencore at a discount of $2.36 a barrel to Singapore quotes, down from the last sale. Glencore quoted the best price among four companies competing in the tender for the cargo, scheduled to load over Sept. 14 to Sept. 16 on a free-on-board (FOB) basis from Chittagong, a senior BPC official said on Sunday. BPC last sold a cargo of similar size in mid-May at a discount of 79 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes. Bangladesh’s Eastern Refinery, the country’s only refinery, with a capacity of 33,000 barrels per day, produces 1.26 million barrels of naphtha a year. BPC imports 600,000 tonnes of Murban crude from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co [ADNOC.UL] and another 600,000 tonnes of Arab Light from Saudi Aramco annually for the refinery. Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editng by Christian Schmollinger '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bangladesh-naphtha/glencore-submits-best-offer-in-bangladesh-naphtha-tender-idUKKCN1BL0CF'|'2017-09-10T12:16:00.000+03:00'
'68eaa4e167bc4218174d52c00d616bf7039da80d'|'Euro strength may be smaller growth drag than in the past - ECB''s Coeure'|'  7:27 AM / Updated an hour ago Easy ECB policy to limit firming euro''s negative impact - Coeure Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Benoit Coeure, board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), is photographed during an interview with Reuters journalists at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank policy will remain accommodative for longer than in previous cases of demand shock, likely limiting the negative impact of the euro’s appreciation, ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Monday. Coeure''s comments suggest that policymakers are relatively relaxed about the currency''s 14 percent rise against the dollar EUR= this year, even as ECB President Mario Draghi singled out the exchange rate last week as a source of uncertainty which requires monitoring. “Compared with past demand shocks, policy will remain more accommodative for longer, thereby likely muting further the pass-through of any growth-driven exchange rate appreciation,” Coeure told a conference in Frankfurt. “And with the current recovery in the euro area being largely driven by domestic demand, euro strength may also have less of an impact on growth than, for example, after the Great Financial Crisis,” he added. The ECB targets inflation at almost 2 percent over the ‘medium term’, an undefined concept that is influenced by the size of any inflation shock. The bank has undershot its price growth target for four and a half years and will not raise inflation back towards 2 percent before 2020, its new projections from last week show. Still, it is expected to curb stimulus when policymakers meet in October as the threat of deflation is long gone and growth is far better than policymakers expected just a few months ago. “At the current juncture, however, the policy-relevant horizon – the ‘medium term’ concept in our monetary policy strategy – is likely to be longer given the persistence of subdued inflationary pressures,” Coeure said. Although seemingly relaxed about the currency appreciation, Coeure also warned that a persistent external shock could meaningfully alter the inflation outlook. “Exogenous shocks to the exchange rate, if persistent, can lead to an unwarranted tightening of financial conditions with undesirable consequences for the inflation outlook.” Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Mark Trevelyan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-coeure/euro-strength-may-be-smaller-growth-drag-than-in-the-past-ecbs-coeure-idUKKCN1BM0OH'|'2017-09-11T10:27:00.000+03:00'
'940bee9b9b916ebfd619f171b5ad1a358dc86d8e'|'BRIEF-Avendus Wealth Management launches Avendus Phoenix Fund'|'Sept 11 (Reuters) - Avendus :* Avendus Wealth Management launches Avendus Phoenix Fund; new fund received SEBI nod* Avendus Phoenix Fund is a closed ended fund with a minimum investment of INR 10 million Source text - (Avendus Wealth Management Pvt. Ltd., the wealth management arm of Avendus Capital, has announced the launch of its first Category III AIF, Avendus Phoenix Fund. This is a closed ended fund with a minimum investment of INR 1 crore. The fund will be managed by an expert team led by Aniruddha Naha, Director- Equities, Avendus Wealth. The new fund has received approval from Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI).) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-avendus-wealth-management-launches/brief-avendus-wealth-management-launches-avendus-phoenix-fund-idINFWN1LS08D'|'2017-09-11T05:01:00.000+03:00'
'6351e3aa53ef7de70ffd69825a2d928e900fc801'|'Nikkei rises for 3rd day, helped by cyclical stocks'|'  6:35 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Nikkei rises for 3rd day, helped by cyclical stocks Reuters Staff * Risk mood has come back - analyst * Hitachi soars after brokerage upgrade * Nisshinbo closes 26 pct higher on platinum-free fuel-cell catalysts By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose for a third day to a one-month high on Wednesday after Wall Street strengthened and the yen pulled back, helping buoy cyclicals such as exporters and banks. The Nikkei ended up 0.5 percent at 19,865.82 points, its highest close since Aug. 8. The S&P 500, Dow Jones industrials and Nasdaq Composite clocked record closes, with investors drawn to riskier assets as concerns over U.S.-North Korea tensions eased and the financial impact from Hurricane Irma appeared less severe than initially feared. In Tokyo, brokerage and banking sectors outperformed. Nomura Holdings jumped 2.4 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 1.5 percent. With the dollar hitting an almost two-week high of 110.290 yen, exporters including makers of machinery, electronics products and automobiles attracted buying. Pump manufacturer Ebara Corp rose 1.3 percent, agricultural equipment maker Kubota Corp added 1.7 percent, Panasonic Corp surged 4.5 percent and Nissan Motor Co rose 1.2 percent. “The risk mood seems to have come back as U.S. markets were rallying,” said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities. Still, investors are cautious about the medium-term growth outlook for the United States, especially as they try to gauge Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the economy. “We need to watch upcoming U.S. economic data and its impact on the stock market,” Sato said. Hitachi Ltd jumped 3.3 pct to a level not seen since August 2015 after UBS Securities raised its rating on the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’, saying that losses related to overseas projects were less than the market had expected. Elsewhere, Nisshinbo Holdings closed 26 percent higher to a level not seen since November 2015 after remaining untraded all day. The company said that it will roll out platinum-free fuel-cell catalysts, which has the potential to cut the high prices of fuel-cell cars. The broader Topix rose 0.6 percent to 1,637.33 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 0.6 percent to 14,503.72. Editing by Shri Navaratnam; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close/nikkei-rises-for-3rd-day-helped-by-cyclical-stocks-idUSL4N1LU2I4'|'2017-09-13T09:33:00.000+03:00'
'f52e975990fa87596bdfed22eb772095e5409bb6'|'Saudi says it''s accelerating economic reforms, Aramco IPO on track'|'September 9, 2017 / 1:28 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Saudi says it''s accelerating economic reforms, Aramco IPO on track Reuters Staff 3 Min Read DUBAI, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s government is accelerating its economic reforms while revising some of them to give ministries more flexibility in meeting their targets, the information ministry said on Saturday. The Vision 2030 reform programme, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last year, aims to free the economy from dependence on oil exports. It has begun to bring state finances under control, but has not yet created major new sources of growth beyond oil. “Vision 2030 builds on early successes, and is strengthening its delivery mechanisms as it increases the scope and pace of implementation,” the information ministry said in a statement. The statement confirmed a Reuters report earlier in the week, which quoted sources as saying Riyadh was streamlining part of Vision 2030 without diluting key policies such as a big privatisation scheme and a drive to cut its budget deficit. The government is moving ahead with plans to sell about 5 percent of national oil giant Saudi Aramco, the ministry said. Officials have said they aim to complete the sale by the end of 2018, raising about $100 billion. “The government privatisation program continues to gain traction and the plan for an initial public offering of a stake in Saudi Aramco remains on track,” the statement said. “The IPO process is well underway and Saudi Aramco remains focused on ensuring that all IPO-related requirements are completed on time and to the very highest standards.” At the same time, ministries involved in the National Transformation Programme - a part of Vision 2030 that focuses on making the government and society more modern and efficient - will have more freedom to allocate resources and decide how they meet their goals. “For example, the Ministry of Health will lead the health portfolio, and it will have the decision-making power to adjust existing initiatives, add new ones and collaborate with other stakeholders” under the oversight of top economic officials, the statement added. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-reforms/saudi-says-its-accelerating-economic-reforms-aramco-ipo-on-track-idUSL5N1LQ09B'|'2017-09-09T16:26:00.000+03:00'
'f7b11aa1ccc12b68b911df1ff7aa382a31cf9df4'|'Blackstone''s Schwarzman describes pressure to disband Trump advisory groups'|'NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Stephen Schwarzman said he understood the decision to disband the business advisory groups but said he was not personally “outraged” by President Trump’s reaction to a rally organized by white nationalists.Earlier at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said “I personally think it was a mistake that the councils were disbanded.”Schwarzman, speaking several hours after Mnuchin, made his first public comments on the issue since the CEO councils broke apart last month after violence in Charlottesville that left one woman dead. He said corporate chiefs faced “astonishing” pressure after Trump blamed both sides for the violence, and there was no appetite to keep the group going.Trump’s statements drew sharp rebukes. Recalling critical emails, Schwarzman said “People were under legitimate, astonishing pressure.” He added “I was accused of being a Nazi and I‘m Jewish.”As head of the Strategic and Policy Forum created to advise Trump on economic issues, Schwarzman, who runs investment firm Blackstone Group, said he polled all members including Mary Barra at General Motors Co. and Virginia Rometty at IBM, giving each one minute to speak and going in alphabetical order.“It was hard having all these constituents attack you,” Schwarzman said, explaining why the group broke apart so quickly. Schwarzman was described by people close to him as having been “outraged” by Trump’s statements, but he said on Tuesday that this was not the case. He declined to characterize his relationship with Trump or say whether he has continued to be in touch with the president.Generally, Schwarzman said people at the top of their fields with special skills have an obligation to help presidents, noting it was essentially their responsibility to aid society.Schwarzman said he was “passionate” about the program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA, which allows young people who came to this country illegally as children to avoid being deported. Trump has said he plans to end the program.”Where are you going to send them?“ Schwarzman said about the possibility of deporting as many as 800,000 people as early as next year. ”There’s a moral dimension to this that will overcome some of the political to-ing and fro-ing.“These people are as American as you are,” Schwarzman said. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hedgefunds-deliveringalpha-schwarzman/blackstones-schwarzman-describes-pressure-to-disband-trump-advisory-groups-idINL2N1LT154'|'2017-09-12T14:49:00.000+03:00'
'aaddd870086b2e64b50a1135f76865faa710b0bc'|'R3, UK regulator and banks team up on blockchain-based mortgage reporting'|'September 12, 2017 / 8:05 AM / Updated 9 hours ago R3, UK regulator and banks team up on blockchain-based mortgage reporting Anna Irrera 3 Min Read The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York-based software company R3 CEV has partnered with Britain’s financial watchdog and two large banks to develop a blockchain-based application to improve the regulatory reporting of mortgage transactions. R3 said on Tuesday that it had developed a prototype of the system together with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc ( RBS.L ) and another global bank which did not wish to be named. The system, which was built using R3’s blockchain called Corda, enables banks to generate automated delivery receipts for the regulator each time a mortgage is booked. The organizations hope that it can reduce the cost of the process and the risk of error. R3 leads a consortium of about 80 financial institutions aimed at building blockchain based technology for the finance industry. Thomson Reuters ( TRI.TO ), the parent of Reuters News, is a member of the consortium. Blockchain, which first came to prominence as the system underpinning crypto currency bitcoin, is a shared record of data maintained by a network of computers on the internet that can be accessed by all authorized parties. Financial institutions have been investing in its development in the hopes that it can help reduce their back office costs and complexity. Proponents of the technology suggest that it is ideally suited for simplifying record-keeping. The FCA prototype “can give the regulator a new tool capable of overseeing mortgage activity much more quickly and efficiently than before whilst greatly reducing data inconsistencies,” Richard Crook, head of emerging technology at RBS, said in a statement. It could also reduce the amount of work required by the regulator when processing reports that are typically sent in variety of formats, Steve Hey man, a project lead at R3, said in an interview. Participants in the project will continue to work toward a live testing phase, which is expected to involve other lenders and regulatory bodies, R3 said. Regulators across the world are looking to increase their use of innovative financial technology to become more efficient. The FCA has been leading the way globally on this initiative, having launched a dedicated division almost three years ago. Launched in 2015, R3 raised $107 million in May from companies including Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ), SBI Holdings Inc, HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ), Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) and Temasek Holdings. Reporting by Anna Irrera, Editing by Rosalba O''Brien'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-r3-fca/r3-uk-regulator-and-banks-team-up-on-blockchain-based-mortgage-reporting-idUSKCN1BN0QX'|'2017-09-12T16:05:00.000+03:00'
'7796213e820076e92559e90b241a5b4e5d142266'|'Lucky 8? $1,000 price tag dampens iPhone enthusiasm in China'|'September 11, 2017 / 7:00 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Lucky 8? $1,000 price tag dampens iPhone enthusiasm in China Cate Cadell 4 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) will launch an expected “iPhone 8” on Tuesday, hoping the number’s auspicious connotations in China will help turn around fortunes in the world’s biggest smartphone market after six quarters of falling sales. Chinese shoppers, however, are already counting the cost, with the latest model tipped to have a price tag upward of $1,000 - roughly double the average Chinese monthly salary. The success of Apple’s next iPhone in China is crucial for the Cupertino-based firm, which has seen its once-coveted phone slip into fifth position in China behind offerings from local rivals Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL]. Greater China, which for Apple includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounted for roughly 18 percent of iPhone sales in the quarter ended in July, making it the company’s top market after the United States and Europe. Yet those sales have been declining steadily and are down 10 percent from a year earlier, in contrast with growth in all other regions. And the iPhone’s share of China’s smartphone shipments fell to 9 percent in January-June, down from 14 percent in 2015, showed data from consultancy Counterpoint Research. While the iPhone 6 took China by storm in 2014, models since have received a more muted response. “I’ll wait for a drop in price, it’s too expensive,” said Angie Chen, 23, a project manager in Nanjing and iPhone 6 owner. Chen said she might even wait for the new phone’s successor, when prices will fall. “It’s a nice number to hear, but there’s no rush.” Eight is the luckiest number in China because it sounds similar to the phrase meaning “to get rich”. “Apple really needs to launch a very innovative product this time around,” said Mo Jia, Shanghai-based analyst at Canalys. However, the rising clout of local rivals would nevertheless make life tough for the U.S. firm, he said. “It has its work cut out.” A woman looks at the screen of her mobile phone in front of an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song The iPhone 7 suffered from the perception that it was too similar to earlier models. This time, despite talk of wireless charging, advanced touch screen and facial recognition technology, Chinese netizens are yet to replicate the online mania around previous iPhone launches. Mentions of “iPhone 8” on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo - an indicator of consumer interest - were running slightly ahead of the similar period before the iPhone 7 launch, but were far more muted than with the iPhone 6. Apple declined to comment on the new phone, price or supply. BUY ON CREDIT Slideshow (3 Images) One effect of Apple’s costliest phone to date will be the rise of sales on credit. Wang Yang, who runs a bricks-and-mortar smartphone store in Beijing’s largest tech market, said he expected more purchases online this time, as consumers make payments by instalment. “We will continue to stock the cheaper models or we won’t sell much,” he said. Fenqile, a platform backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ) allowing users to pay in instalments, said shoppers buying iPhones on the site had increased alongside rising prices - spiking in the second quarter of the year. Services backed by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd ( BABA.N ) and JD.com Inc ( JD.O ) have also introduced features this year aimed at price-conscious smartphone buyers, including flexible payment services and second-hand smartphone rentals. Apple itself has launched an instalments plan in China supported by three state-linked banks. “If it’s under $1,100 then I’ll buy it,” said Liu Song, 29, who works for a fintech startup in Beijing. “It’s manageable over 12 months for me, though I know some friends who are paying off phones for longer.” Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Christopher Cushing '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-iphone-china/lucky-8-1000-price-tag-dampens-iphone-enthusiasm-in-china-idUKKCN1BM0LN'|'2017-09-11T10:00:00.000+03:00'
'9db0f824ccb569557c20f584bc03b2530e8279c0'|'EU seeking response to concerns over China''s soft cheese ban'|'  3:35 PM / Updated 44 minutes ago EU seeking response to concerns over China''s soft cheese ban Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People are pictured outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission is concerned about a ban imposed on European soft cheese imports in China but has failed so far to receive a response from the authorities to letters complaining about the action, Commission sources said on Monday. Shanghai, one of the main entry ports for most products, has halted the import of cheeses such as Roquefort, Brie and Camembert in a move set to damage European exporters, diplomatic and industry sources said on Friday. It is not clear why Shanghai’s inspection and quarantine bureau had done so, though a European diplomat who confirmed the decision said such cheeses were made with cultures not authorised in China. “These cheeses have been safely imported and consumed in China for decades,” the EU sources said, adding that production techniques used for centuries to make EU cheese did not pose a risk to consumers. “The Chinese authorities have thus far failed to respond to our letters and honour commitments made to align with the international standards,” they said. Cheese sales in China were are expected to rise by 26 percent this year to 5.3 billion yuan ($812 million), according to research firm Euromonitor. More than 90 percent of cheese sold in the market is imported, with most coming from New Zealand and Australia, which supplies the bulk of mozzarella used on pizzas. However, demand for high-end products such as Brie and Camembert is also growing, with the two cheeses accounting for about 15 percent of sales this year, the Euromonitor data showed. Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-eu-cheese/eu-seeking-response-to-concerns-over-chinas-soft-cheese-ban-idUKKCN1BM21J'|'2017-09-11T18:37:00.000+03:00'
'c3a264953414fb807bfa9e7a962d177d84077ea6'|'BP files for IPO of U.S. pipeline assets'|'  1:04 PM / Updated 38 minutes ago BP files for IPO of U.S. Midwest, Gulf Coast pipeline assets Aparajita Saxena 3 Min Read The logo of BP is on display at a petrol station in Moscow, Russia, July 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhi/File photo (Reuters) - British energy company BP ( BP.L ) on Monday filed for an initial public offering of its U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast pipeline assets. BP Midstream Partners LP, the master limited partnership (MLP) formed by BP''s U.S. pipeline unit, plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BPMP," it said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ( bit.ly/2gVzlXb ) The offering comes nearly two months after BP outlined plans to spin off some of its U.S. pipeline assets in an IPO to raise cash. The IPO revives a plan first broached internally about five years ago before slumping crude oil prices caused BP to put the idea on hold, a source told Reuters in July. Other energy companies that have spun off their pipeline assets include Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) — which in 2014 raised nearly $1 billion (759.01 million pounds) in the largest MLP listing to date — and refiners such as Valero Energy Corp ( VLO.N ), Tesoro Corp TSO.N and Marathon Petroleum Corp ( MPC.N ). An MLP is a tax-advantaged structure often used by pipelines and other capital intensive companies to distribute excess cash to investors in the form of tax-deferred dividends. Most MLPs rely on external debt to fund new projects. Rising interest rates have made borrowing costlier for MLPs, weighing on their performance in recent months despite stabilizing oil prices. The Alerian MLP ETF ( AMLP.P ) has fallen 11.8 percent this year. “BP’s rationale for an MLP structure is basically to attract more investors,” Raymond James analyst Muhammed Ghulam said. BP’s U.S. pipeline business includes a network of 3,500 miles (5,633 kilometres) of pipelines and terminal facilities that transport and store more than 1.3 million barrels per day of oil, refined products and natural gas. In addition to the Gulf Coast and Midwest assets, BP operates pipelines in the Pacific Northwest. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan are among the underwriters for BP Midstream Partners’ IPO. BP Midstream said it intends to raise up to $100 million in the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-midstream-partners-ipo/bp-files-for-ipo-of-u-s-pipeline-assets-idUKKCN1BM1MC'|'2017-09-11T16:04:00.000+03:00'
'61a4b6078695f7b9a66cccba2146ba33f1e97a37'|'NTSB: ''operational limitations'' played major rule in Tesla autopilot crash'|'A Tesla logo hangs on a building outside of a Tesla dealership in New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Tuesday “operational limitations” in the Tesla Model S played a “major role” in a May 2016 crash that killed a driver using the vehicle’s semi-autonomous “Autopilot” system.The limits on the system include factors such as Tesla being unable to ensure driver attention even when the car is traveling at high speeds, ensuring Autopilot is used only on certain roads and monitoring driver engagement, NTSB said.The NTSB recommended auto safety regulators and automakers take steps to ensure that semi-autonomous systems are not misused.“System safeguards were lacking,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. “Tesla allowed the driver to use the system outside of the environment for which it was designed and the system gave far too much leeway to the driver to divert his attention.”Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) said in a statement that “Autopilot significantly increases safety,” citing an earlier government study that suggested the system reduced the incidence of crashes.The automaker said it would evaluate the NTSB’s recommendations.“We will also continue to be extremely clear with current and potential customers that Autopilot is not a fully self-driving technology and drivers need to remain attentive at all times,” Tesla said.Joshua Brown, a 40-year-old Ohio man, was killed near Williston, Florida, when his Model S collided with a truck while it was engaged in the “Autopilot” mode.SYSTEM LIMITS The incident raised questions about the safety of systems that can perform driving tasks for extended stretches of time with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human drivers.The NTSB recommendations will put new pressure on regulators and automakers to deal with the limitations of driver-assistance technologies.In its findings on Tuesday, the NTSB said the self-driving system’s “operational design” was a contributing factor to the 2016 crash because it allows drivers to avoid steering or watching the road for lengthy periods of time that were “inconsistent” with warnings from Tesla.The NTSB said Tesla could have taken further steps to prevent the system’s misuse, and faulted the driver for not paying attention and for “overreliance on vehicle automation.”The agency said the Autopilot system operated as designed but did not do enough to ensure drivers paid adequate attention. On some roads, drivers could use Autopilot at up to 90 miles (145 km) per hour, it said.Tesla did not ensure that the system was used only on highways and limited-access roads, as recommended in the owner’s manual, a fact that Sumwalt noted.The NTSB recommended that automakers monitor driver attention in ways other than through detecting steering-wheel engagement.The system could not reliably detect cross traffic and “did little to constrain the use of autopilot to roadways for which it was designed,” the board said.‘TEN SECONDS TO REACT’Monitoring driver attention by measuring the driver’s touching of the steering wheel “was a poor surrogate for monitored driving engagement,” said the board.Tesla said in June 2016 that Autopilot “is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert.”At a public hearing Tuesday on the crash involving Brown, NTSB said the truck driver and the Tesla driver “had at least 10 seconds to observe and respond to each other.”Brown’s family said on Monday the car was not to blame for the crash.“We heard numerous times that the car killed our son. That is simply not the case,” the family’s statement said. “There was a small window of time when neither Joshua nor the Tesla features noticed the truck making the left-hand turn in front of the car.”“People die every day in car accidents,” the statement said. “Change always comes with risks, and zero tolerance for deaths would totally stop innovation and improvements.”A spokeswoman for Tesla and a lawyer for the family, Jack Landskroner, have declined to say if the automaker has reached a legal settlement with the Brown family.NTSB recommended that NHTSA require automakers to have safeguards to prevent the misuse of semi-autonomous vehicle features.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it would review the findings of the safety board.In January, NHTSA said it found no evidence of defects in the crash. NHTSA and NTSB said Brown did not apply the brakes, and his last action was to set the cruise control at 74 miles per hour (119 kph), less than 2 minutes before the crash - above the 65-mph speed limit.Editing by Bernadette Baum and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-autopilot/ntsb-operational-limitations-played-major-rule-in-tesla-autopilot-crash-idUSKCN1BN1QP'|'2017-09-12T16:47:00.000+03:00'
'60be1b4379e179ae1e3e405e6e3fe2c7eafb7ca5'|'Sky agrees five-year deal with English Football League'|'  1:09 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Sky agrees five-year deal with English Football League Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Sky van is driven in London, Britain July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Pay-TV group Sky and the English Football League (EFL) have agreed a 600 million pound five-year domestic broadcasting deal, they said on Tuesday. The deal, which the EFL said represented a 36 percent increase on the current value of the rights, runs to 2024 and allows the broadcaster to stream all midweek Championship (second tier) matches. Sky ( SKYB.L ) said in a statement that the deal strengthened its position as “the home of football” and would offer subscribers more matches and more ways to watch. The broadcaster will show exclusively up to 183 live matches a year from the Championship, League One, League Two, Carabao (League) Cup and Checkatrade Trophy. The EFL said the new agreement would also allow clubs to stream midweek league games via their websites if not broadcast live on Sky Sports. Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-sky-plc/sky-agrees-five-year-deal-with-english-football-league-idUKKCN1BN1N0'|'2017-09-12T16:09:00.000+03:00'
'73af67fd5e85d398235f0899d64d58e72168ed99'|'Ghost stores, lost billions as Korea Inc''s China woes grow'|'September 12, 2017 / 11:14 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Ghost stores, lost billions as Korea Inc''s China woes grow Cynthia Kim , Adam Jourdan 6 Min Read A Lotte Mart is seen closed in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China September 8, 2017. Picture taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Adam Jourdan SEOUL/JIAXING, China (Reuters) - On a faded notice pasted to the padlocked doors of the Lotte Mart superstore in China’s Jiaxing, a date can still be read: March 6, 2017 - when the store was ordered to “temporarily” close over alleged fire safety issues. The shuttered entrance and flapping notices are a blunt reminder of how South Korean businesses have become unwitting victims in a year-long diplomatic stand-off between Beijing and Seoul. Last September, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned his South Korean counterpart that bilateral ties would suffer if Seoul did not properly handle China’s opposition to the planned deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defence system in South Korea. Now - with the system’s installation mostly complete amid growing threats from North Korea - the fallout is evident in both the shuttered Chinese stores of Lotte and the empty Seoul shopping districts once jammed with Chinese tourists. The Jiaxing outlet, southwest of Shanghai - along with around 90 other Lotte Mart stores in China - remains shut over its supposed fire safety violations. No inspectors have turned up despite what Lotte says were repeated entreaties to rectify the problems. A skeleton staff say they are being paid minimum required wages, but Lotte is now considering selling up. NEVER WORSE Upset over Seoul’s decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, tour operators say China has quietly banned groups travelling to South Korea, once one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists. Cruises have erased Korean ports from their trips and some flights have been cut. “Things have never been worse since formal diplomatic relations were established between the two in 1992,” said Han Jae-jin, an economist at the Hyundai Research Institute. Seoul and Washington say THAAD is purely a deterrent to nuclear-armed North Korea, but Beijing worries the system’s radar can penetrate its territory and will upset the regional security balance. Publicly, Beijing has maintained it supports “normal business” and other exchanges with South Korea has not commented on the situation with Lotte or tour groups. Near Dongdaemun in Seoul, a major shopping district, an outdoor wear popup store had signs reading “Thaad retaliation shock! Going out of business sale!”. Dozens of similar signs were seen across the 24-hour shopping precinct. Cho Kyung-suk, who has been selling women’s bags for 15 years in Dongdaemun, closed one of his three stores in February. ”Without the Chinese tour groups and buyers, I was making only about one fifth of what I used to,“ Cho said. If big companies are doing badly, imagine us.” VANISHING SHOPPERS The number of Chinese tourists, which used to account for about half of all visitors to South Korea, halved in the first seven months of 2017 compared to a year ago. That meant $5.1 billion (3.84 billion pounds) in lost business for South Korea, based on the average spending of Chinese visitors in 2015, data from the Korea Tourism Organization shows. A Lotte Mart is seen closed in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China September 8, 2017. Picture taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Adam Jourdan About 90 percent of the nation’s 160 tour agencies specializing in inbound Chinese tourism have closed, South Korea’s travel agent industry body estimates. Without the THAAD backlash, Asia’s fourth-largest economy was expected to grow more than 3 percent this year. The current forecast is 2.8 percent, according to the Bank of Korea. In China, Lotte has been at the centre of the storm, thanks to a land swap deal it agreed with Seoul so THAAD could be installed. Half a dozen Lotte Mart workers around China who spoke to Reuters said there was no sign stores were going to reopen. Lotte employs around 13,000 Chinese workers across the country. “Closing down our China business is one option we consider in the long-run as we can’t leave the stores closed like that for years,” an official at Lotte Mart’s Seoul office said, declining to be named. Some local Jiaxing residents said China’s response was warranted, even if it meant some other stores and restaurants nearby also closed or suffered. Slideshow (2 Images) “The shutdown is all linked to THAAD,” said Gao Yunfei, 22, an e-commerce worker from Anhui province outside the closed Lotte Mart store in Jiaxing. “It’s as it should be, it’s just a reflection of people’s love for their country.” K-POP TO DUTY FREE Back in South Korea, the country’s $8 billion duty-free market, the world’s largest, is also struggling. In wealthy neighbourhoods of Sinsa and Apgujeong in southern Seoul, where posh boulevards are packed with flagship stores and celebrity hair salons, retail rent prices have dropped to the lowest since 2013, according to the Korea Appraisal Board and local realtors. The Korea Duty Free Shops Association has asked regional airports across the country for rent discounts. Lotte Duty Free - the country’s biggest duty free operator - is even considering closing its flagship store in Incheon International Airport, after incurring its first quarterly loss since the 1980s this year. “We don’t think the THAAD issue will be resolved anytime soon, and there is nothing we can do to help,” an official at the Lotte Duty Free said, asking not to be named. With hopes of better ties, Lotte is still keeping its Chinese supermarkets, while big exporters like Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) are muddling through even after its China car sales tumbled over 60 percent in the second quarter. But small shops don’t have that luxury, said a children’s wear stall owner surnamed Shin in Dongdaemun. Chinese buyers were impossible to replace, even though vendors were trying to target visitors from Japan and Thailand. “This whole area was just (driven by) China, and look at it now,” 53 year-old Shin said, pointing to empty neighbouring stalls selling hot-dogs and facial masks. “Everyone here lived off Chinese money.” Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Heekyong Yang, Yuna Park, and Haejin Choi in SEOUL and Adam Jourdan, Anita Li and SHANGHAI newsroom; Editing by Soyoung Kim'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles-southkorea-china/ghost-stores-lost-billions-as-korea-incs-china-woes-grow-idUKKCN1BN34G'|'2017-09-13T02:14:00.000+03:00'
'fcb24967f1224831b9ebef37310d0c97407909ad'|'Toscafund to launch 300 million euro private equity fund'|' 13 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Toscafund to launch 300 million euro private equity fund Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - London-based Toscafund Asset Management is set to launch a new 300 million euro (£270.82 million) private equity fund that will focus on small and mid-sized companies, it said on Wednesday. Fabrizio Cesario and George Koulouris, who both previously worked at AnaCap Financial Partners, have joined Toscafund to establish the new fund, it said. “The ‘secular’ shift affecting the financial services industry is rapidly redesigning the competitive landscape, creating a wide opportunity set in the small/mid-cap space,” Cesario said in the statement. Toscafund, which was founded in 2000 by Martin Hughes, manages $3 billion (£2.26 billion) in assets, including an activist hedge fund strategy as well as stock-picking strategies. Reporting by Maiya Keidan; editing by Simon Jessop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-privateequity/toscafund-to-launch-300-million-euro-private-equity-fund-idUKKCN1BO19E'|'2017-09-13T14:13:00.000+03:00'
'8ac6e0576ff5a84a3c98f7c457ddf24260416bf4'|'Tech, insurers lead Wall Street rally as Irma, North Korea fears ease'|'FILE PHOTO: A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo (Reuters) - Three major U.S. indexes rose more than 1 percent on Monday as Irma’s downgrade to a tropical storm eased concerns about its impact on economic growth, and as North Korea refrained from any missile tests over the weekend, as feared.All the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by gains in technology and financial stocks, with insurers advancing as Irma’s fury petered out.Irma, once ranked as one of the most powerful hurricane recorded in the Atlantic, was downgraded to a tropical storm in the morning, but still caused severe flooding in many Florida cities and left more than 6 million homes and businesses without power.However, Irma’s weakening meant its impact on economic growth would not be as much as expected. That came as a relief, especially in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, whose devastation is estimated to dent third-quarter economic growth.Geopolitical tensions also eased as North Korea held a massive celebration on its founding day on Saturday, instead of another long-range missile launch as the United States and its allies were bracing for.“It is a risk back on situation, people are going back into the market,” said Neil Massa, senior equity trader at Manulife Asset Management in Boston.“For now, it is a relief rally for things on both ends - geopolitical and weather wise - as it did not come in too bad.”At 12:32 p.m. ET (1632 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 247.18 points, or 1.13 percent, at 22,044.97 and the S&P 500 was up 25.11 points, or 1.02 percent, at 2,486.54.The Nasdaq Composite was up 68.80 points, or 1.08 percent, at 6,428.99.World stocks climbed to a record high and the dollar gained, while gold retreated from Friday’s 13-month high.The CBOE volatility index, a widely followed measure of market anxiety, fell more than 12 percent to 10.80, on track for its biggest percentage decline since Aug. 22.The financial sector was up 1.69 percent. Goldman Sachs’ 1.8 percent rise led the Dow higher, followed by insurer Travelers, which rose 2.94 percent.Other insurers, especially the ones with exposure to Florida, also gained. Universal Insurance Holdings and HCI Group surged more than 15 percent, while Heritage Insurance soared 23 percent.The technology sector jumped 1.46 percent. Apple rose nearly 2 percent a day ahead of the launch of the new iPhone, providing the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and S&P.Tesla rose 4.6 percent to $359.42 on news that China is studying when to ban the production and sale of cars using traditional fuels.Teva jumped 22 percent after the generics drugmaker named a new chief executive.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,298 to 529. On the Nasdaq, 2,062 issues rose and 790 fell.Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/tech-insurers-lead-wall-street-rally-as-irma-north-korea-fears-ease-idINKCN1BM1T9'|'2017-09-11T17:07:00.000+03:00'
'a7dc20f7ddf4de444a37f0eedc27e6940d77b0f1'|'Exclusive - EU regulators have concerns about Luxottica, Essilor merger: source'|'September 11, 2017 / 3:17 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Exclusive - EU regulators have concerns over Luxottica-Essilor merger: source Foo Yun Chee 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Luxottica name is reflected in a pair of sunglasses in this photo illustration taken in Rome February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU anti-trust regulators will meet Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) this week to express concerns about their plan to merge into a 46 billion-euro (41.77 billion pounds) global eyewear powerhouse, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. The move suggests the European Commission wants concessions to address their concerns and that they could open an in-depth investigation if these are not given or seen as insufficient. Italy’s Luxottica is the world’s largest maker of spectacles, owning brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, and has 9,000 retail stores. France’s Essilor is the world’s top lens-maker. Luxottica declined to comment. Essilor was not immediately available for comment. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told Reuters this month that the deal would require careful vetting given the size of the two companies’ market shares. The commission is seeking views from all interested parties. Some retailers fear being undercut by an Essilor-Luxottica group able to offer famous brands and prescription lenses at prices they could not hope to match without hurting margins. “This is a significant development which will result in huge supply-chain and retail implications for the industry and consumers worldwide,” Specsavers, an international retail partnership, said in a statement emailed to Reuters. Specsavers, which says it has 1,700 stores in 10 countries, and some others in the industry have said they doubt the merger would be felt immediately by consumers. In the first regulatory ruling on the merger, New Zealand’s competition regulator approved the deal last week, saying Luxottica-Essilor would “be sufficiently constrained by the presence of existing competitors with the ability to expand at all levels of the supply chain and in all relevant markets”. Lens-makers, too, are watching developments closely, given that Essilor will have access to Luxottica’s retail chains spanning the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Essilor, in its half-year earnings briefing in July, referred to “a challenging market reaction” to the merger. It acknowledged that some of its customers had switched away from Essilor, but said there had been no major sales impact. “The eyeglass market is competitive. Customers have choices,” Essilor Chief Operating Officer Laurent Vacherot said. Japanese lens-maker Hoya Corp ( 7741.T ) expects the effect to be felt on the high street rather than on its own core business, with retailers pressured to lower prices by a few percentage points annually, said a source familiar with the matter. Hoya expects the pressure to be felt most keenly in the United States, which accounts for about a third of Hoya’s global business, the source said. Hoya sells mostly to independent stores and wants to channel more of its sales via chain stores. Additional reporting by Valentina Za in MILAN, Charlotte Greenfield in WELLINGTON, Naomi Tajitsu in TOKYO, Tom Westbrook in SYDNEY and Matthias Blamont in PARIS, editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu-exclus/exclusive-eu-regulators-to-voice-concerns-about-luxottica-essilor-deal-source-idUKKCN1BM201'|'2017-09-11T19:05:00.000+03:00'
'02f1589f6c02be9bca4eb90e749c5c158d217bee'|'BP files for IPO of U.S. pipeline assets'|'September 11, 2017 / 1:12 PM / Updated 4 hours ago BP files for IPO of U.S. pipeline assets Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BP''s logo is seen on one of its corporate sponsor pavilions in the Olympic park, in Stratfod, east London, July 19, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo (Reuters) - British energy company BP on Monday filed for an initial public offering of its U.S. pipeline assets. BP Midstream Partners LP, the master limited partnership (MLP) formed by BP’s U.S. pipeline unit, said in a regulatory filing it plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BPMP”. An MLP is a tax-advantaged structure often used by pipeline and other capital intensive companies. They do not pay corporate income tax on distributions, or earnings, to partners. The offering comes nearly two months after BP laid out plans to spin off some of its U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast pipeline assets in an IPO to raise cash. The IPO revives a plan first broached internally about five years ago before slumping crude oil prices caused BP to put the idea on hold, a source told Reuters in July. Other energy companies that have spun off their pipeline assets include Royal Dutch Shell — which in 2014 raised nearly $1 billion in the largest master limited partnership IPO to date — and refiners such as Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro Corp and Marathon Petroleum Corp. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan are among underwriters for BP Midstream Partners’ IPO. BP Midstream said it intends to raise up to $100 million in the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bp-midstream-partners-ipo/bp-files-for-ipo-of-u-s-pipeline-assets-idINKCN1BM1N8'|'2017-09-11T16:02:00.000+03:00'
'38f4a92eeacc703af074d30ac3dad55766fb9fa8'|'Galliford focuses on lower-risk contracts after construction hit'|'Reuters TV United States   3:58 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Galliford focuses on lower-risk contracts after construction hit Esha Vaish 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Galliford Try ( GFRD.L ) is focusing on winning contracts that lower risks for builders after writedowns on large, fixed-price infrastructure projects contributed to 57 percent drop in its profits, the British construction firm said on Wednesday. British builders have been hit by huge writedowns and multiple profit warnings over the past decade as rising wages and unexpected costs on fixed-price contracts with paper-thin margins have left companies losing money. Galliford’s chief executive said it was no longer chasing such large, fixed-price contracts and was instead bidding for public sector work with so-called framework agreements in areas such as water, motorways, defense and airports. “We’re concentrating ... on frameworks, where it’s a more collaborative approach to negotiate the price ... and you work with the (public institution) to build the right price, instead of just coming up with a set of drawings and bidding the lowest price,” Galliford Chief Executive Peter Truscott told Reuters. In February, Galliford booked a 98 million pound writedown. Sources have told Reuters that 55 million of that was linked to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route in Scotland, which also involves crisis-hit Carillion. Hurt by the writedown, Galliford on Wednesday reported a 57 percent drop in pretax profit to 58.7 million pounds ($78 million) for the year ended June 30. Framework agreements are being used more and more to break up major infrastructure projects, such as Britain’s new HS2 railway, into smaller chunks of work. This reduces the chances builders will suffer from escalating costs and also allows for prices to be negotiated for each separate section. Framework agreements also means higher margins and less competition for the providers that are shortlisted. FIXED-PRICE WOES In the lean years after the financial crisis that started a decade ago, British building firms bid for long-running, fixed-price contracts to keep work coming in. But those contracts have subsequently caused problems for most in the industry. Carillion ( CLLN.L ), which helps maintain British railways and roads, said in July that payment problems on four construction contracts nearing or reaching completion had forced it take a provision of 845 million pounds ($1.1 billion). The company, which has since promised to take future construction work on a highly selective basis and through lower-risk procurement routes, is due to report results and the outcome of a business review later this month. A number of other builders have also been taking a more selective approach to new work since 2015. Balfour Beatty ( BALF.L ) said in August that its UK division was being “more selective in the work that it bids, through increased bid margin thresholds, improved risk frameworks”. Morgan Sindall ( MGNS.L ) said in July it had also been more selective on jobs. Analysts said Galliford’s decision to shun fixed-price contracts was likely to reduce the amount of work it could bid for, but it was a better risk management strategy. “It makes sense that Galliford are walking away from the large, fixed-price contracts. It’s starting to be a trend within the industry,” Jefferies analyst Anthony Codling said. Galliford Finance Director Graham Prothero said the company now had only eight to 10 “iffy” fixed-price contracts on its construction books, with framework agreements or newer contracts accounting for three-quarters of its orders. Galliford chief Truscott also said it was “business as usual” with Carillion on their Scottish road project. A Carillion spokesman declined to comment. “As far as working (together) on new projects is concerned, we’re not doing those large price infrastructure projects anymore so we’re not likely to be partnering with that sort of company anyway, regardless of whether its Carillion or anybody else,” Truscott said. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-galliford-outlook/galliford-focuses-on-lower-risk-contracts-after-construction-hit-idUKKCN1BO22M'|'2017-09-13T18:53:00.000+03:00'
'6f30a879b08804d948fa7b03e5d06a0d1e44b6c1'|'As India Inc struggles to cut down debt, the economy suffers'|'September 13, 2017 / 4:09 AM / Updated 14 hours ago As India Inc struggles to cut down debt, the economy suffers Devidutta Tripathy , Suvashree Choudhury 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s cash crunch and confusion over the introduction of a national sales tax were initially blamed for pulling economic growth down to its weakest pace in more than three years. But that is masking a more debilitating factor affecting the economy - corporate debt. Thomson Reuters data, based on the latest annual earnings reports, shows India’s corporate debt rose to a seven-year high at the end of March. More than a fifth of large companies did not earn enough to pay interest on their loans and the pace of new loans fell to the lowest in more than six decades. The Indian government reported on Aug 31 that annual GDP growth in the quarter ended June dropped to 5.7 percent, an envious pace for many countries but India’s weakest since early 2014. It was blamed on attempts by the government to flush out money hidden from the tax man, which caused a cash crunch, and the introduction of a general sales tax (GST), which prompted businesses and consumers to hit the pause button. But Indian business executives say they are more concerned about the impact of soured loans on bank balance sheets, which prevent them from getting the full benefit of central bank rate cuts. That is sapping India’s economic vitality, they say. Since January 2015, the central bank has cut policy rates by 200 basis points, or 2 percentage points, but commercial bank benchmark lending rates have come down less, by about 120 basis points. “Interest rates are still very high,” said A. Issac George, chief financial officer of GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd. He said his firm’s borrowing costs have remained unchanged at about 11 percent. That makes it tougher for the conglomerate to lower its net debt of around 179 billion rupees ($2.80 billion). GVK’s earnings covered just half of its debt servicing costs, Credit Suisse data shows, below the 1 percent threshhold typically seen as a bare minimum. “We are not in a position to take a decision on whether we should expand our business or set up new businesses,” said George. GVK is not alone in trying to manage high debts. Thomson Reuters data shows net debt for 288 companies with a market capitalisation of more than $500 million, covering most big firms in India, has hit at least a seven-year high of 18 trillion rupees ($281 billion). Soured debt was 12 percent of total loans held by lenders at the end of March. FILE PHOTO: A cloth merchant holds message papers to distribute as he attends a procession during a strike to protest the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on textiles in Kolkata, India June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File photo Another Thomson Reuters analysis showed more than a fifth of 513 Indian companies had interest cover of less than 1 percent. New loans are also hard to come by: RBI data shows bank credit growth fell by a quarterly record in April-June. On an annual basis, the pace of new loans in the year to the end of March, fell to the lowest since the fiscal year ended in March 1954. The impact can be seen in the GDP data. Gross capital formation, a gauge of private investment, fell to less than 30 percent of GDP in the June quarter, from 31 percent a year earlier and 38 percent a decade ago. SEEKING ANSWERS Slideshow (5 Images) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central bank, has been reluctant to cut rates too aggressively because of concerns about consumer inflation. “It is only after lending rates come down that demand will revive to exhaust capacity and spark off investment,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients. RBI officials though see the issue as a banking one, and want the government to inject more funds into state-run lenders. Indian banks needed “substantial additional capital” from the government, RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said. Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday that Indian banks were likely to need about $65 billion in additional capital, 95 percent of it for state-run lenders, by March 2019, far above the $11 billion budgeted by the government. The government says it stands behind the banks, but has yet to commit additional capital. It is pushing instead for measures to grant the RBI more power to steer companies through bankruptcy, a process analysts say could take years. The government has other options: former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, for example, proposed in a Reuters interview that New Delhi sell stakes in state-owned companies to fund a bank recapitalisation. “We would always want to see lower rates, but I don’t see too much of a scope now to go below where we are today,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the metals-to-telecoms conglomerate, Aditya Birla. “At the end of the day if you have resolution to the NPA (non-performing asset) problem, that will create more space for the banks to start lending again.” Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy and Suvashree Dey Choudhury: Additional Reporting by Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru: Editing by Rafael Nam and Neil Fullick'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-economy-lendingrates/as-india-inc-struggles-to-cut-down-debt-the-economy-suffers-idINKCN1BO0AF'|'2017-09-13T02:09:00.000+03:00'
'e1301515c6766f588cf811b33fcf3c31f9645666'|'INSIGHT-Trust issues? China targets a $3 trillion shadow banking industry'|'(Repeats Sept 10 story with no changes)* Chinese regulators putting pressure on lending by trusts* Opaque structures used by trusts make them difficult to control* Two deals shed light on trust operationsBy Engen ThamSHANGHAI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - As a flood of unregulated cash swirls through the Chinese economy, Beijing has been taking aim at the trust companies whose unrestrained lending practices are worrying regulators.The trusts, at the heart of a vast shadow banking industry, are being pressured to step up compliance and background checks, and are being pushed towards greater transparency.But the fast-growing 20 trillion yuan ($3 trillion) industry, whose lending operations are cloaked behind opaque structures, will be tough to rein in, according to employees at some trusts.A regulatory sanction against one trust, Shanghai International Trust, and a legal case against another, National Trust, offer rare insights into the industry, and reveals just how hard it will be to police it.Shanghai Trust was fined 200,000 yuan for selling a product that violated leverage rules, according to a regulator’s notice in January. Regulators provided no further details about the case. Under these rules, property developers are only allowed to borrow up to three times their existing net assets.According to two people with direct knowledge of the case, an unknown sum was loaned by China Construction Bank through Shanghai Trust to Cinda Asset Management Company. Cinda then invested the cash.One of the sources said Cinda used the cash to acquire land, a sector rife with speculation that regulators have singled out as a “risky” destination for trust company loans. The source provided no further details.Shanghai Trust, Cinda, CCB and the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) declined to comment for this story.STEEL LOANS The case against National Trust, which had revenue of 655 million yuan in 2016, involves wealth management products linked to the steel industry.The trust was sued in June this year by eight investors who allege it misrepresented the risks involved in products it sold them and failed to adequately assess the guarantor’s creditworthiness.The trust skirted restrictions on loans to the steel industry by using the products to raise money to lend to a subsidiary of Bohai Steel Group, according to Tang Chunlin, a lawyer at Yingke Law Firm, who is representing the investors.The plaintiffs invested different sums in the wealth management products, which National Trust promised would deliver an annual return of over 9 percent. National Trust lent the money collected to a Bohai subsidiary, Tianjin Iron and Steel Group Co, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.Bohai Steel Group, which is undergoing a state-financed restructuring, has liabilities of around 192 billion yuan.National Trust has now defaulted on the product, according to Tang and Gongyu Zhou, one of the eight investors, because Tianjin Iron and Steel is unable to pay back its loan. The products were also illegally sold via third-party non-financial institutions, Tang and Zhou said.Zhou said he invested one million yuan in the product over two years from 2015 through 360caifu.com, an online finance platform.Bohai Steel Group, Tianjin Iron and Steel and 360caifu.com did not respond to requests for comment. National Trust declined to comment.STRUCTURAL CONCERNS One of the biggest challenges facing regulators is that many trusts employ a baffling array of structures, and funnel money through complex webs of beneficiaries, which makes untangling transactions extremely difficult.Nine people working at trusts, including the two with knowledge of the Shanghai Trust case, said such complex structures were often deliberately used to sidestep lending restrictions on banks and borrowers.“Really, only the project manager knows exactly how the money flows,” said a senior employee at one trust firm. The source and others at the trust firms could not be named because they were not allowed to speak to the public.INSURANCE LINK The practices of the trusts, and the speed at which the industry is growing, have made them a target for Beijing as it tries to keep a lid on risky lending, cool overheated markets and control corporate debt.In April, Deng Zhiyi, head of the CBRC’s trust department, warned of “severe risks” from funds flowing into the real estate, coal and steel sectors through trusts.The industry is now roughly a tenth the size of China’s commercial banking sector.While the companies are overseen by the CBRC, they are not held to the same standards as banks. For example, they do not have to meet the same capital adequacy standards.However, the regulator set out in detail in April certain structures that the trusts should not use, such as money-pooling schemes and structuring products to avoid restrictions on leverage.That was “a signal for financial institutions that from a legal and enforcement perspective, we are entering a stricter period,” said Armstrong Chen, financial compliance partner at King & Wood Mallesons.Trust firms will also have to start registering the details of their products, identifying the ultimate borrower of funds, this year, said Chen, who is in regular contact with the regulators.Chen said the requirement would improve transparency, but people at trust firms say it will still be difficult to detect the use of the under-the-table agreements typical of the industry.The Shanghai Trust case also reflected the tougher line being taken by regulators. The fine would have been negligible for the state-owned company, one of the largest trusts with a total of 3.89 billion yuan in revenue at the end of 2016.But according to three different sources with direct knowledge, Shanghai Trust was also barred from selling products to insurers for three years, a blow to a company that had made considerable sums selling products to the sector in recent years. One insurer invested as much as 10 billion yuan in just one of its property projects, according to one of the sources.COMPLIANCE EFFORTS Some of the trusts are already responding to the government pressure.Anxin Trust is increasing the number of onsite visits by staff and has doubled its compliance team, said a person with direct knowledge of the company’s activities. The trust is also looking at less risky deals – in healthcare, for example, rather than the more volatile property sector.A spokesman for Anxin said managing risk was a priority for the trust.China Industrial International Trust is requiring staff to include photos of site visits to prevent them from faking trips.Documents have to be signed by all participants face-to-face, said a person with direct knowledge of the company’s operations. The company declined to comment.Despite these changes, the government’s job managing the trusts keeps growing. In the first half of this year, trust loans increased by 1.31 trillion yuan, which compared with 279.2 billion in the period last year, according to central bank figures.That growth will be a challenge for the regulator, which is already facing staff shortages as it struggles to keep up with a broader official crackdown on financial risk.The trusts see more boom times ahead.“The demand for trust loans is increasing,” an internal report at a large trust firm in May said. “In the past, state-owned-enterprises would not consider such loans, but are now considering them,” said the report, adding that the trend started in March.A source made the report available to Reuters on the condition the name of the company was not disclosed. (Reporting by Engen Tham; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Philip McClellan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/china-shadowbanking-trusts/insight-trust-issues-china-targets-a-3-trillion-shadow-banking-industry-idUSL4N1LR02U'|'2017-09-11T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'ad7dcf344ecd2a635ca1e988c2897c0aaf5c3aab'|'CEE MARKETS-Currencies steady, Aug inflation data fail to boost Czech crown'|'By Krisztina Than and Jason Hovet BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Central European currencies were steady on Monday, with the Czech crown unmoved by August inflation data, which was in line with analysts'' expectations and stayed above the central bank''s target. Analysts are counting on another rate hike this year by the Czech central bank, following its first rate increase in a decade in August. Other central banks in the European Union''s eastern region are still in easing mode, in keeping with the European Central Bank which last week maintained its accommodative policy and gave no sign it was ready to wind down its asset-buying programme. Most analysts said Monday''s Czech data, which showed year-on-year inflation rate at 2.5 percent, pointed toward a possible hike in November, rather than when the bank meets on Sept. 27. The November meeting will be the next rate meeting after this month''s meeting. The headline inflation figure was below the central bank''s prediction of 2.6 percent. The bank has an inflation target of 2 percent with a tolerance band of one percentage point in both directions. The Czech market is also bracing for the expiry of a record amount of T-bills throughout this month. The largest maturity is due this week and investors may choose to cash in on the FX market. "The crown is obviously not willing to test 26 (versus the euro) again," CSOB said. "We expect the crown to trade slightly defensive this week." At 0742 GMT, the crown was trading steady at 26.088 to the euro, while the Hungarian forint was also unchanged at 306.60 versus the euro. Stocks in Central Europe firmed, with Bucharest leading gains, rising 0.9 percent by 0742 GMT, in what was seen as a positive correction after Friday''s falls. Stocks dropped on Friday after the Romanian government said it may make an existing mandatory private pension scheme optional starting next year. Making it optional would probably reduce pension funds'' investments, whose assets totalled 36.06 billion lei ($9.46 billion) at the end of June. The Bucharest exchange has risen 12 percent since the end of 2016, underperforming Warsaw and Budapest this year, partly due to worry about the future of the pension system. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 0942 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.088 26.102 +0.05 3.52% 0 0 % Hungary 306.60 306.62 +0.01 0.72% forint 00 00 % Polish zloty 4.2450 4.2467 +0.04 3.74% % Romanian leu 4.6010 4.6031 +0.05 -1.43% % Croatian 7.4310 7.4315 +0.01 1.67% kuna % Serbian 119.35 119.38 +0.03 3.35% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1023.5 1021.0 +0.24 +11.06 1 7 % % Budapest 37796. 37596. +0.53 +18.10 70 75 % % Warsaw 2495.0 2483.5 +0.46 +28.09 9 8 % % Bucharest 7930.1 7862.1 +0.87 +11.93 9 5 % % Ljubljana 812.57 811.98 +0.07 +13.24 % % Zagreb 1882.5 1882.7 -0.01% -5.63% 1 2 Belgrade 0.00 727.27 +0.00 -100.00 % % Sofia 707.59 705.51 +0.29 +20.66 % % BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.108 0 +063b -2bps ps 5-year 0.115 0.029 +048b +2bps ps 10-year 0.945 0 +061b -2bps ps Poland 2-year 1.67 -0.019 +240b -4bps ps 5-year 2.516 0.003 +288b -1bps ps 10-year 3.173 0 +284b -2bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech Rep <PR 0.69 0.81 0.91 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.13 0.15 0.18 0.15 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.755 1.774 1.803 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-currencies-steady-aug-inflation-data-fail-to-boost-czech-crown-idINL5N1LS1MN'|'2017-09-11T06:46:00.000+03:00'
'8b3e784ee85ab8f1c065dde0bfe21518457ec0df'|'Google says it has appealed to EU court against EU antitrust fine'|'September 11, 2017 / 1:00 PM / Updated 42 minutes ago Google challenges record EU antitrust fine in court Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google ( GOOGL.O ) appealed on Monday against a record 2.4-billion-euro ($2.9 billion) EU antitrust fine, with its chances of success boosted by Intel’s ( INTC.O ) partial victory last week against another EU sanction. The world’s most popular Internet search engine, a unit of the U.S. firm Alphabet, launched its appeal two months after it was fined by the European Commission for abusing its dominance in Europe by giving prominent placement in searches to its comparison shopping service and demoting rival offerings. The Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe’s second-highest, is expected to take several years before ruling on the appeal. A court spokeswoman said Google had not asked for an interim order to suspend the European Union decision. The Commission, which ordered Google to stop the practice by Sept. 28, is reviewing Google’s proposal on how it would comply with the EU decision. The EU competition enforcer will defend its decision in court, a spokesman said. Lobby group FairSearch, whose members include Google rivals such as British shopping comparison site Foundem and U.S. travel site TripAdvisor ( TRIP.O ), said the EU decision was sound. “The Commission’s decision stands on firm ground, both legally and factually, and we expect the Commission to win on appeal,” FairSearch lawyer Thomas Vinje said. The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered a lower tribunal last week to re-examine U.S. chipmaker Intel’s appeal against a 1.06 billion euro fine, a rare setback for the Commission. The Google case differs from Intel‘s, but the judgment has been welcomed by companies under EU scrutiny because it raises the bar for the regulator to prove wrongdoing. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-google-antitrust/google-says-it-has-appealed-to-eu-court-against-eu-antitrust-fine-idUKKCN1BM1LJ'|'2017-09-11T15:57:00.000+03:00'
'24d35e405543e23fd65fdea015e15784bd49a164'|'Bunge to buy 70 percent stake in IOI Corp unit for $946 million'|'September 12, 2017 / 8:27 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Bunge to buy 70 percent stake in IOI Corp unit for $946 million Karl Plume , John Benny 4 Min Read CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) - Grains trader Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) said on Tuesday it would buy a 70 percent stake in a Malaysian palm oil producer for $946 million (712.19 million pounds), to expand its higher-margin food ingredients business - a move that industry experts said would also make it a tougher takeover target. Bunge’s shares fell 5.9 percent to $71.30 after it announced the deal, for IOI Loders Croklaan, along with a credit facility of $900 million to help pay for it. The deal comes just two months after Bunge announced sweeping cost cuts aimed at reversing a slide in profits and after successfully rebuffing a takeover approach from rival Glencore ( GLEN.L ) earlier in the year. “The market is perceiving that this takes them out of the M&A risk,” said Bill Densmore, senior director of corporate ratings at Fitch Ratings, noting that the share price had been elevated this summer by expectations of a takeover. The deal’s relatively high valuation cost of more than 12 times IOI Loders’ estimated 2018 EBITDA and the increased debt from the transaction will make the Bunge a more expensive takeover target, said Farha Aslam, analyst with Stephens Inc. Bunge and other global grains traders, including Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) ( ADM.N ) and Cargill , have been trying to find ways to diversify and shore up earnings in the face of a global grains glut that has kept corn and soybean prices languishing for about four years. Bunge said in August, as it reported a 34 percent drop in quarterly earnings, that it thought Asian and South American oilseed crushing were areas for consolidation, along with U.S. grain handling. Chief Executive Soren Schroder said on Tuesday that the company would be “somewhat constrained” in M&A after this deal but that partnerships and joint ventures were still possible. The deal, once fully implemented, will get Bunge’s food and ingredients business close to its long term target of contributing about a third of the company’s earnings, he said. “It really gets us established in China as a speciality player in oils rather than just a refined oils player, which is what we are today,” he said. “It is the biggest growth market pretty much across the entire spectrum from food service to confection to direct human consumption, infant nutrition in particular,” he said. The transaction is also expected to lead to $15 million in cost cuts in the first year, according to Bunge. PALM OIL PORTFOLIO IOI Loders has a portfolio that includes palm and tropical oil-derived products. Palm oil is the most widely used edible oil in the world, found in everything from margarine to cookies and soap. Bunge said it was looking at more opportunities in the edible oil sector but not of the same magnitude. Bunge and IOI Corp Berhad ( IOIB.KL ), the parent of IOI Loders Croklaan, started discussions on the deal two years ago. Fitch and S&P Global said their ratings for Bunge remain unchanged after the announcement. IOI, which bought Loders Croklaan in 2002 from Unilever ( UNc.AS ) ( ULVR.L ), said it expected to record a gain of about 2.5 billion ringgit ($595 million) from the sale, according to a filing with the Malaysian Stock Exchange. IOI Corp also said it will use half the proceeds from the sale to repay borrowings, and the other half for dividend payments and working capital. The deal is expected to close in the next 12 months and IOI Loders will retain its brand and operate as part of Bunge’s food & ingredients business, Bunge said. J.P. Morgan was Bunge’s financial adviser and Shearman & Sterling is acting as its legal counsel. AmInvestment Bank acted as principal adviser for IOI. Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago and John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr, Shounak Dasgupta, Steve Orlofsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ioi-loders-croklaan-stake-bunge/bunge-to-buy-70-percent-stake-in-ioi-corp-unit-for-946-million-idUKKCN1BN2TI'|'2017-09-12T23:27:00.000+03:00'
'14c155d7f5dd22b7e7f1614a3c1330a1b59c0498'|'Google says it has appealed to EU court against EU antitrust fine'|'  12:59 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Google challenges record EU antitrust fine in court Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google ( GOOGL.O ) appealed on Monday against a record 2.4-billion-euro ($2.9 billion) EU antitrust fine, with its chances of success boosted by Intel’s ( INTC.O ) partial victory last week against another EU sanction. The world’s most popular Internet search engine, a unit of the U.S. firm Alphabet, launched its appeal two months after it was fined by the European Commission for abusing its dominance in Europe by giving prominent placement in searches to its comparison shopping service and demoting rival offerings. The Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe’s second-highest, is expected to take several years before ruling on the appeal. A court spokeswoman said Google had not asked for an interim order to suspend the European Union decision. The Commission, which ordered Google to stop the practice by Sept. 28, is reviewing Google’s proposal on how it would comply with the EU decision. The EU competition enforcer will defend its decision in court, a spokesman said. Lobby group FairSearch, whose members include Google rivals such as British shopping comparison site Foundem and U.S. travel site TripAdvisor ( TRIP.O ), said the EU decision was sound. “The Commission’s decision stands on firm ground, both legally and factually, and we expect the Commission to win on appeal,” FairSearch lawyer Thomas Vinje said. The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered a lower tribunal last week to re-examine U.S. chipmaker Intel’s appeal against a 1.06 billion euro fine, a rare setback for the Commission. The Google case differs from Intel‘s, but the judgment has been welcomed by companies under EU scrutiny because it raises the bar for the regulator to prove wrongdoing. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-google-antitrust/google-says-it-has-appealed-to-eu-court-against-eu-antitrust-fine-idUSKCN1BM1LJ'|'2017-09-11T15:53:00.000+03:00'
'e1dc0253c312495b15e2fc62373f124c9b16fb65'|'General Atlantic hires ex-AXA boss Henri de Castries'|'September 11, 2017 / 11:06 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago General Atlantic hires ex-AXA boss Henri de Castries Reuters Staff 2 Min Read France''s biggest insurer Axa outgoing Chief Executive Officer Henri de Castries poses during a news conference at their Paris headquarters, France, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - General Atlantic, a U.S. equity investment firm with around $20 billion in assets under management, has hired former AXA ( AXAF.PA ) head Henri de Castries to help advise it on possible European investment opportunities. General Atlantic said in a statement on Monday that de Castries, who is also on the boards of British bank HSBC ( HSBA.L ) ( 0005.HK ) and food company Nestle ( NESN.S ), would be joining the company as a special advisor and chairman of its European arm. “With a distinguished career leading one of Europe’s most prominent financial institutions, Henri’s wealth of experience as a global business leader will be an important and valuable addition to both General Atlantic and our global portfolio companies,” said General Atlantic chief executive Bill Ford. De Castries left AXA in September 2016 after nearly 17 years at the top of Europe’s second-largest insurer. He had backed losing candidate Francois Fillon in this year’s French presidential election, won by Emmanuel Macron. A graduate of France’s elite ENA administrative school and the HEC business school, de Castries was a civil servant before moving to Axa in 1989. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-privateequity-france-decastries/general-atlantic-hires-ex-axa-boss-henri-de-castries-idUKKCN1BM19A'|'2017-09-11T14:05:00.000+03:00'
'07016e843e9246e48ba516611b8ba2a642eb3033'|'Dalian Wanda says chairman Wang visited Hong Kong last week'|'September 11, 2017 / 4:18 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago Dalian Wanda says chairman Wang visited Hong Kong last week Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Group gives a speech at a university in Beijing, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group said on Monday its chairman Wang Jianlin was in Hong Kong on Sept. 8, just weeks after some media outlets said he had been stopped from leaving China. Wanda said on its website (www.wanda-group.com) that Wang met with Hong Kong’s former leader, Tung Chee-hwa. Two photos published on the website showed Wang, one of China’s richest men, with Tung, standing in front of a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region logo. It is unclear what the pair discussed, but a person with knowledge of the matter said the two are long-time friends and Wang is a counsellor of the China-United States Exchange Foundation set up by Tung. The photos were taken in Tung’s office, the person said. Wang had also met other friends during his short visit to Hong Kong and left the territory on Friday, said the person, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media on the matter. Wanda declined to comment on the trip. Tung’s office did not have an immediate comment. Some media outlets had reported last month, without citing sources, that Wang had been stopped from leaving China’s Tianjin airport with his family and detained for a few hours, which Wanda said was “groundless”. Last week, the group said it had filed lawsuits against a number of Chinese media outlets and social media accounts for spreading rumours, adding it would seek compensation of 5 million yuan (583,497 pounds) from each account and a public apology. Wanda, which has spent billions of dollars acquiring global entertainment and sports firms in recent years, is one of a number of firms to have drawn scrutiny of Chinese regulators who are concerned about capital outflows and risky overseas deals. Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dalian-wanda-chairman/dalian-wanda-says-chairman-wang-visited-hong-kong-last-week-idUKKCN1BM0B8'|'2017-09-11T07:16:00.000+03:00'
'6c4467dac5a3299dd6fb29f0fa9de11f2ed9ff0e'|'British motor insurer Sabre to pursue $800 million listing - sources'|'  5:26 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago British motor insurer Sabre to pursue $800 million listing - sources Ben Martin , Carolyn Cohn 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British motor insurer Sabre is planning an initial public offering (IPO) that could value it at 600 million pounds ($800 million) after failing to find a buyer, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Sabre’s private equity owner BC Partners is looking to list the Dorking-based firm in London in the coming months following an unsuccessful joint approach from U.S. investment firm Centerbridge and Qatar Reinsurance Company, two sources said. The company, which is behind the Insure 2 Drive, Go Girl and Drive Smart brands, is no longer in takeover negotiations and has begun talking to fund managers as it focuses solely on building interest in a stock market listing, the sources said. Barclays and Numis have been retained as lead financial advisers on the flotation, which is slated for either later this year or early in the first quarter of 2018, they said. Sabre’s listed rivals include Admiral ( ADML.L ), esure ( ESUR.L ) and Direct Line ( DLGD.L ), which trade at between eight and 12 times core earnings, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon. Motor insurers have come under scrutiny after a change to the way personal injury claims are calculated, which pushed up the size of those claims and dented insurers’ profits. However, the UK government is now proposing to change the rate again in a way which will benefit insurers. Rising motor insurance premiums are also making the outlook more attractive for the sector, analysts say. BC Partners took a majority stake in Sabre in 2013 in a 240 million-pound deal. Sabre’s float adds to a growing list of financial services companies whose investors have chosen to cash out. They include buy-to-let mortgage specialist Charter Court Financial Services, backed by Elliott, and debt collection firm Cabot Credit Management, which is held by JC Flowers and Encore Capital Group. Reporting by Ben Martin and Carolyn Cohn; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sabre-ipo/british-motor-insurer-sabre-to-pursue-800-million-listing-sources-idUKKCN1BN2GC'|'2017-09-12T20:26:00.000+03:00'
'da416b21e40b3755d0ef4550a0ab8b4d11c58037'|'China''s Premier Li: Countries should maintain free trade'|'September 12, 2017 / 4:36 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Nations should maintain free trade amid fragile world economy, China says Reuters Staff 2 Min Read China''s Premier Li Keqiang speaks during a news conference of The 1+6 Round Table Dialogue meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING (Reuters) - The world economy is showing positive signs but is still fragile and countries should rely on structural reforms, not quantitative easing, to support growth, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday. Li, who met with the heads of global bodies, including International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in Beijing, said that countries should maintain free trade. “There are increased positive factors in the global economy and signs of warming-up in some aspects. But at the same time, the fragility persists and unstable and uncertain factors are still increasing,” Li told a joint news conference with the heads of international agencies. “Free trade is a good medicine for resolving problems. Through free trade, we can resolve many problems in the difficult recovery, help companies transform and give consumers more choices,” he said. Turning to China, Li said the economy would remain steady and continue to improve. China’s economy grew a stronger-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first half, defying expectations of a slowdown and putting the country on pace to easily meet its growth target of around 6.5 percent. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C), speaks during The 1+6 Round Table Dialogue meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse September 12, 2017 in Beijing, China. REUTERS/Etienne Oliveau/Pool “Based on the growth trend in recent months, the economy will continue to maintain the trend seen in the first half,” Li said. He also addressed China’s high leverage ratio, which has been the focus of a campaign by policymakers to control risks. Slideshow (6 Images) China’s leverage has stabilised and has even shown some declines, Li said. Li also reiterated China’s pledge not to resort to competitive currency devaluation. At the official local close on Monday, the onshore spot yuan CNY=CFXS had gained around 6.5 percent so far this year, about the same percentage loss it suffered in 2016. The global economy is recovering, but could easily be derailed by policy uncertainty and the threat of protectionism, IMF chief Lagarde told the same briefing. Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy/chinas-premier-li-countries-should-maintain-free-trade-idUKKCN1BN0C6'|'2017-09-12T07:36:00.000+03:00'
'70ce226c2c11acba0b6a7e100122f8f8bd91fa71'|'Toshiba set to pick Western Digital-led group for chip unit - Nikkan Kogyo'|'September 11, 2017 / 10:35 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Toshiba still in talks over chip unit sale one day before deadline -sources Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Western Digital office building under construction is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Tokyo (Reuters) - Japan’s embattled Toshiba Corp is still in discussions with various parties over the $18 billion (£13.58 billion) sale of its memory chip business just a day before its latest, self-imposed deadline, people involved in the talks told Reuters on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, the Nikkan Kogyo business daily reported without citing sources that Toshiba has agreed to sell the business to a consortium led by U.S. chipmaking partner Western Digital Corp for about 2 trillion yen (£13.75 billion). The newspaper said Toshiba will announce the agreement on Wednesday and sign after a board meeting on Sept. 20. Toshiba is desperate to sell the unit to cover billions of dollars in liabilities at U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. The board wants the sale, beset by legal wrangling and revised bids, to be decided by Wednesday when it meets, separate people involved in the talks previously told Reuters. The people on Tuesday declined to be identified because the talks were confidential. FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo A Toshiba spokesman said no decision has been made, and that the company will not comment on details of the bidding process. The state-backed Innovation Network of Japan, which is part of the Western Digital-led consortium, held its investment committee meeting on Tuesday without making any decision. Slideshow (2 Images) Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, an external Toshiba director, said at a press conference on Tuesday at the Keizai Doyukai group of corporate executives, that though the deadline is important, it is also important that negotiations head in a good direction. As well as the Western Digital-backed consortium, which also includes KKR & Co LP, Toshiba has said it is considering a bid led by Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc, and one by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn). Western Digital has offered to drop out of bidding and take a stronger position its joint venture with Toshiba instead, but still wants a stake in the chip business in the future, people familiar with the matter previously told Reuters. The people also said Toshiba objected to the possibility of Western Digital eventually seeking control of the chip business, and so has sought a limit on any future stake. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in BENGALURU, Taiga Uranaka, Ritsuko Ando and Makiko Yamazaki in TOKYO; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-led-group-wins-bid-for-toshiba-chip-unit-nikkan-kogyo-idUKKCN1BM2SZ'|'2017-09-12T05:11:00.000+03:00'
'9f30708b57756e461db89f6af751c592609287a3'|'Wells Fargo sees third-quarter lending slower in autos, commercial real estate'|'  12:50 PM / Updated 29 minutes ago Wells Fargo CEO sees progress on expenses in second half 3 Min Read The sign outside the Wells Fargo & Co. bank in downtown Denver April 13, 2016. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) expects to gain better control of costs in relation to revenues, as it works to recover from a sales scandal, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Tim Sloan, CEO of the third-largest U.S. bank, said at an industry conference hosted by Barclays that expenses will likely account for 60 percent to 61 percent of revenues in the second half of 2017, down slightly from the previous three quarters. However, Sloan said the expense estimate does not include nonrecurring costs, including litigation costs that exceed the amount the bank has already set aside. Wells Fargo does not disclose how much it sets aside for litigation, but said in its second-quarter financial filing that such costs could exceed that amount by as much as $3.3 billion. That number was $2 billion in the bank’s first-quarter filing. Sloan, who has called Wells Fargo’s efficiency ratio unacceptable, said he expects the bank to return to its long-term target efficiency ratio of 55 percent to 59 percent some time next year. Wells Fargo shares rose 1.2 percent to $51.27 on Tuesday. The bank’s full-year net interest income will likely increase by the low- to mid-single digits from 2016, the CEO said. Third-quarter lending will be slowed by reduced activity in autos, the runoff of its junior lien mortgage portfolio, and what Sloan called a “slower and more competitive” environment for commercial real estate lending. He said the declines would be partially offset by increased nonconforming residential first mortgage lending. Wells Fargo’s business has been under pressure for the past year after the bank initially disclosed it had opened as many as 2.1 million accounts without customer authorization over several years. The ensuing scandal led to a company-wide review that turned up problems with other products, including auto and life insurance. Last month, Wells Fargo said the unauthorized accounts totaled as many as 3.5 million. Sloan’s predecessor John Stumpf resigned last year and other senior executives and board members have resigned or been fired. On Tuesday, Sloan faced questions over whether new issues would emerge. “I can’t promise its exactly over,” he said. He noted management changes, internal reviews and other steps the bank has taken since the scandal emerged. “We’ve been very focused on opening every door and turning over every rock in the company,” he said. Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-wells-fargo/wells-fargo-sees-third-quarter-lending-slower-in-autos-commercial-real-estate-idUSKCN1BN1LB'|'2017-09-12T15:50:00.000+03:00'
'5b8b4c131f502d677d83d125cd69363cded3e029'|'Danone eyeing solid Evian sales thanks to modernized plant'|'(L-R) Danone food company Chairman Franck Riboud, Brand Ambassador Jean-Claude Killy and Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber pose outside the new Evian water bottling plant during the official opening ceremony in Publier near Evian-les-Bains, France September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (Reuters) - Danone ( DANO.PA ), the world’s third-largest bottled water company, unveiled the modernization of its sole plant producing the popular Evian brand on Tuesday, in a move to increase capacity and underpin Evian’s solid growth.Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber, whose company is the latest European consumer goods group under pressure from investors calling for better returns, told Reuters Evian sales would continue growing at double-digit rates in the United States as more consumers opt for healthier diets.The global market for bottled water is forecast to reach $230 billion by 2021 from around $198 billion this year according to Euromonitor, as consumers move away from carbonated drinks and governments urge less consumption of sugar.Danone produces a range of bottled waters, including Badoit and Volvic, but Evian is its marquee brand.“The growth of Evian will stay solid in 2017. Evian remains very strong in the United States and is also doing well in France and in Europe,” Faber said on Tuesday.Sold in more than 140 countries, Evian sales grew 8 percent last year, beating the 6 percent growth of its global market and the 2.9 percent of Danone’s water division overall.Faber was speaking at the inauguration of the modernized, carbon-neutral bottling plant in the spa town of Evian-Les-Bains close to Lake Geneva. The overhaul of the facility is expected to create 200 more jobs.Danone is the world’s third largest bottled water group after Swiss rival Nestle ( NESN.S ), which owns Perrier, Vittel and San Pellegrino, and Coca-Cola ( KO.N ), the owner of Dasani water, according to market research firm Euromonitor. The water unit accounted for 21 percent of Danone’s group sales of 21.9 billion euros ($26 billion) in 2016.A logo is pictured outside the new Evian water bottling plant, part of Danone gorup, during the official opening ceremony in Publier near Evian-les-Bains, France September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Evian water was discovered by a French nobleman in 1789. It was first bottled in 1826 and has been owned by Danone since 1970, making it one of the biggest of Danone’s water units.Sales growth within Danone’s water business as a whole has been slowing down, due to weakness in China, where sales of the Mizone energy drink were hurt by de-stocking, although Faber said Mizone “was really not up for sale”.Slideshow (9 Images) But Danone is hoping sales growth at the water division will rise above 5 percent by 2020, up from 2.9 percent last year, under a new group strategy plan.The Evian arm will have spent 280 million euros on upgrading the bottling plant by 2020, lifting annual output capacity to 2 billion bottles, from 1.5 billion at present.Danone has recently been touted as a potential target for suitors or shareholders seeking better returns, given that its profits and sales have disappointed some investors.The fact that Danone has no large, controlling shareholder has also made it a target for those parties.Last month, media reports said Corvex Management had bought a 0.8 percent stake in Danone, a move that followed similar steps seen at Nestle and Procter & Gamble ( PG.N ).Faber declined to comment on the Corvex situation.Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-danone-evian-ceo/danone-eyeing-solid-evian-sales-thanks-to-modernized-plant-idINKCN1BN11D'|'2017-09-12T07:52:00.000+03:00'
'807584e15d312ef14c4bf76f29b04decfeaebef1'|'Nigeria''s Shoreline Energy signs $300 million gas deal with Shell'|' 57 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Nigeria''s Shoreline Energy signs $300 million gas deal with Shell Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Shell logo is seen on a fuel pump at a gas station In Warsaw, Poland June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian energy company Shoreline has signed a $300 million agreement with the local unit of Shell ( RDSa.L ) to develop gas infrastructure around the commercial capital, Lagos, both companies said on Monday. Shell said in June that it would place more emphasis on gas rather than oil in the West African country, which has the world’s ninth-largest proven gas reserves at 187 trillion cubic feet. Shoreline said the agreement was to develop, buy, market, distribute and sell natural gas in the Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Epe districts -- areas that contain the city’s business hub and some of the country’s most expensive residential properties. It said the agreement provided exclusive rights to distribute and sell gas in those areas. “The partnership is a significant boost to the gas supply efforts of the Federal and Lagos State governments and will deliver tangible benefits to companies and households in Lagos,” said Shoreline’s chairman, Kola Karim. A spokesman for Shell’s Nigeria subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, said the company was “exploring a downstream gas opportunity” in partnership with Shoreline. Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram and Libby George in London; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nigeria-gas/nigerias-shoreline-energy-signs-300-million-gas-deal-with-shell-idUKKCN1BM11J'|'2017-09-11T12:57:00.000+03:00'
'c62aa6bfbfd4cb08c7f0d768aefd9942f3cfc464'|'Thyssenkrupp aims for MoU with Tata Steel on steel merger'|'The new logo of ThyssenKrupp is seen at the headquarters of the steel maker and multinational conglomerate in Essen, Germany, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) could reach an agreement in principle this month to merge its European steel business with that of Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ), the group said on Monday, adding talks were constructive and had entered the final stretch.Shareholders last week put pressure on Thyssenkrupp to clinch a deal after talks over a potential steel combination dragged on for a year and a half, mainly held up by negotiations over Tata Steel’s British pension liabilities.That hurdle was removed after Tata Steel on Monday received regulatory clearance on a pension deal initially reached a month ago, enabling it to separate its UK pension scheme from the group.A spokeswoman for Thyssenkrupp said both groups were close to a memorandum of understanding (MoU), paving the way for a detailed look at one another’s books and detailed negotiations before creating the second-largest steelmaker in Europe.Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger favors a steel joint venture, saying this would be the best option to eliminate overcapacities in the volatile steel sector but drawing opposition from labor representatives, who fear cuts.Trade union IG Metall said it remained opposed to a joint venture, adding there were no signs the labor representatives it has on Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board would agree.Monthly Manager Magazin reported that Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board could agree to a combination either on Sept. 23 or 24, citing people involved in the negotiations.A spokesman for Thyssenkrupp’s works council confirmed that a board meeting initially scheduled for Sept. 12 had been pushed back to Sept. 23 or 24.Reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-steel/thyssenkrupp-aims-for-mou-with-tata-steel-on-steel-merger-idUSKCN1BM1O3'|'2017-09-11T21:18:00.000+03:00'
'fab01231fd61b8598123cafa355d241ea0c21532'|'Nordstrom family chooses Leonard Green as buyout partner: source'|'September 12, 2017 / 9:13 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Nordstrom family chooses Leonard Green as buyout partner: source Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Nordstrom department store is shown at a shopping center in San Diego, California September 10, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - Nordstrom Inc’s ( JWN.N ) founding family has selected private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners to help take the high-end retailer private, according to a source familiar with the matter. The family and Leonard Green are working on a formal bid that could be submitted in the next few weeks, the source said. Nordstrom’s shares rose as much as 9.6 percent to $49.40 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, valuing the U.S. department store operator at $8.21 billion. The Nordstrom family group, which owns 31.2 percent of the storied retailer, has been looking to take the company private, as it struggles to compete amid an industry-wide slowdown. No deal has been finalized yet and talks could still fall apart, the source told Reuters. Leonard Green would provide the Nordstrom family with about $1 billion in equity to help fund an offer, according to CNBC, which first reported the development. CNBC also reported that the family was in talks with banks to raise between $7 billion and $8 billion in debt to finance an offer. In July, Reuters reported that the family had been offering preferential terms to potential equity partners willing to fund a buyout and Leonard Green was one of the firms in talks to partner with the family. The family was also in talks with private equity firms Apollo Global Management LLC ( APO.N ) and KKR & Co LLP ( KKR.N ), sources told Reuters at the time. Nordstrom and Leonard Green were not immediately available to comment. Like many mall-based retailers, Nordstrom has been hit by the rise of online shopping and has been seeking to downsize its department store footprint. The company has also been investing in top locations, and expanding its discount shopping chain, Nordstrom Rack, as shoppers seek more value. On Monday, the retailer announced the opening of Nordstrom Local, a smaller outlet with no dedicated inventory, but which instead offered customers access to personal stylists and the use of services such as pick-up in-store. Reporting by Uday Sampath and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru and Liana Baker in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nordstrom-m-a/nordstrom-family-chooses-leonard-green-as-buyout-partner-source-idINKCN1BN2W2'|'2017-09-12T19:13:00.000+03:00'
'722516a801c2fe88aca7944a9b3b99360bccc352'|'No ex-divs on the FTSE 100 on Sept. 14'|'  12:46 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago No ex-divs on the FTSE 100 on Sept. 14 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - No FTSE 100 companies will go ex-dividend on Thursday, although several mid-caps will go ex-div, after which investors will no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout. Among FTSE 250 companies going ex-dividend are: COMPANY (RIC) DIVIDEND (pence) Assura 0.48 BBA Aviation 3.81 (U.S. cents) Computacenter 7.4 Derwent London 13.864 Equiniti 1.75 Inmarsat 21.62 (U.S. cents) Restaurant Group 6.8 Sanne Group 4.2 Sophos Group 3.3 (U.S. cents) Stobart Group 4.5 (Reporting by Kit Rees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-exdiv/no-ex-divs-on-the-ftse-100-on-sept-14-idUSL5N1LT34N'|'2017-09-12T15:46:00.000+03:00'
'49996833677a0c083e7301695d3f48ab806b9f9b'|'Toshiba signs memorandum to accelerate chip sale talks with Bain group'|' 54 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Toshiba signs memorandum to accelerate chip sale talks with Bain group Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of Toshiba is seen as a shareholder arrives at Toshiba''s extraordinary shareholders meeting in Chiba, Japan March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp   has signed a memorandum to accelerate talks to sell its memory chip business to a group led by private equity firm Bain Capital and chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. Toshiba said in a statement it now aims to sign a contract by late September but added that the memorandum does not exclude talks with other bidders. The embattled conglomerate said late last month it was continuing to talk with three suitors - the group led by Bain Capital, as well as those led by Western Digital and by Taiwan’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-announcement/toshiba-signs-memorandum-to-accelerate-chip-sale-talks-with-bain-group-idUKKCN1BO0GN'|'2017-09-13T08:53:00.000+03:00'
'4a2e020e7341b364c17bed879d76e4cd7e1716fd'|'SocGen recommends switch into German stocks as vote nears'|' 08 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago SocGen recommends switch into German stocks as vote nears Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A view shows the logo on the headquarters of French bank Societe Generale at the financial and business district of La Defense near Paris, France, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes MILAN (Reuters) - Societe Generale has recommended investors cut their exposure to Italian stocks following their multi-month outperformance and switch into Germany as it expects this month’s general election to boost equity markets in Europe’s biggest economy. “Italian equities are no longer the deep value asset they used to be,” strategists at the French bank led by Roland Kaloyan said on Wednesday, anticipating profit-taking and possible market stress due to political uncertainty. “We prefer to allocate into German equities which have recently suffered from the stronger euro. A Merkel victory would be a support for the German equity market,” they said. Germany is due to hold a parliamentary election on September 24 and the recent polls point to a victory of centre-right Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is running for a fourth term. Societe Generale said the key question after the vote is which party will join Merkel’s CDU in the government and what policy agenda will be adopted. It said a coalition with the FDP would look more market friendly but could complicate talks with EU partners, while another coalition with the SPD could help boost consumption. “Both outcomes are positive for the German market,” it said. Societe Generale kept its preference for the French stocks ahead of Labour market reforms which are expected to be voted on Sept. 22. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Vikram Subhedar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-germany/socgen-recommends-switch-into-german-stocks-as-vote-nears-idUKKCN1BO18V'|'2017-09-13T14:08:00.000+03:00'
'4464a6a18f7fc27f49d1c5887cca9df0413b5488'|'UPDATE 2-Turboprop planemaker ATR says demand sufficient to keep production stable'|'* ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo* ATR CEO: solid demand in Asia, Latin America* Margins “easily in double figures”* Regulation tussle with EU holding up sales to China (Adds Iran taking delivery of two more aircraft)By Tim Hepher and Cyril AltmeyerPARIS, Sept 13 (Reuters) - ATR, the world’s largest maker of turboprop planes, said demand in Asia as well as its first U.S. deal in 20 years, will help it maintain production levels following a drop in 2016.ATR, which has a market share of about 75 percent of the turboprop market, aims to produce around 80 aircraft this year and to sell at least as many aircraft as it delivers, supported by recent deals in the U.S. and India, according to ATR Chief Executive Christian Scherer.In 2016, ATR’s deliveries fell 9 percent to 80 units.Speaking to the French aerospace journalists’ association, Scherer confirmed reports that ATR had won a preliminary deal to supply 20 aircraft to Fort Lauderdale-based Silver Airways, marking its first sale to the United States in 20 years.The three-way deal was pieced together with Nordic Aviation Capital, a major owner of ATRs which will supply five of the planes from its existing orders for the aircraft and which will place a fresh order with ATR for the remaining 15.Silver Airways is owned by Versa Capital Management.Claiming that ATR is the world’s most profitable civil plane manufacturer, Scherer said ATR continued to deliver margins “easily in double figures” to its shareholders - Airbus and Italian group Leonardo.Revenue at ATR is expected to remain stable after falling 10 percent to $1.8 billion last year.SHAREHOLDERS DIVIDED Its strong profitability in part reflects ATR’s mature portfolio, though it is expected to face pressure in coming years to invest in new fleets.Its French and Italian shareholders have so far been divided on the issue, with Leonardo examining possible new developments and Airbus seen as reluctant to invest for the time being.Scherer said options included a makeover of the existing line-up or new types of plane, based either broadly on existing technology or a costlier leap in advanced features.No decisions have been taken, Scherer said.ATR’s main rival, Bombardier’s Q400, saw a burst of orders at the recent Paris Airshow but continues to lag ATR.A Bombardier executive said on Tuesday the Canadian company would arrest the decline in Q400 sales, Leeham News reported.Demand is solid in Asia and Latin America, Scherer said.ATR recently sold 20 aircraft to Iran, whose flag carrier IranAir earlier this year took four of the aircraft to serve regional cities and is in the process of taking another two.Scherer said he saw untapped potential for 300-400 turboprop sales in China in the coming 20 years, representing a sharp boost to a global market running at around 100 a year.But he was cautious about short-term sales in China where few regional airlines are winning licences to enter the business. He said ATR planes, which are not yet certified in China, were also hostage to wider talks between Beijing and the European Union over mutual recognition of regulators.Some progress is expected in coming months, he added.ATR is meanwhile studying whether to change its formal status from Groupement d‘Interet Economique - a type of consortium under French law - to an ‘S.A.’ corporation that is more widely used, but no decision is imminent, Scherer said. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/airbus-leonardo-atr/update-2-turboprop-planemaker-atr-says-demand-sufficient-to-keep-production-stable-idINL5N1LU5GQ'|'2017-09-13T15:42:00.000+03:00'
'a6a4cc18adc8f0fa788c70255203629b2c6af114'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat as energy, banks offset by materials, industrials'|'  1:41 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat as energy, banks offset by materials, industrials Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index was little changed shortly after the open on Wednesday as gains in the financial and energy sectors were offset by broader losses led by mining and industrial firms. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index fell 3.58 points, or 0.02 percent, to 15,139.83. Seven of the index’s 10 key groups lost ground. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-flat-as-energy-banks-offset-by-materials-industrials-idUSL2N1LU0PT'|'2017-09-13T16:39:00.000+03:00'
'd0e7da5fd6c2749ff7b89e78607ef25efd80dcbc'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. gambler Walters loses bid to stay free during insider trading appeal'|'  9:18 PM / Updated 5 hours ago UPDATE 1-U.S. gambler Walters loses bid to stay free during insider trading appeal Reuters Staff (Recasts to include court’s order on the motion) By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a bid by famed Las Vegas sports gambler William “Billy” Walters on Tuesday to remain free while he appeals his conviction and five-year prison sentence for insider trading. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan denied Walters’ motion to remain free on bail during his appeal only hours after hearing arguments. Walters has been ordered by U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel to surrender on Oct. 10. His attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, could not immediately be reached for comment. Shapiro had argued Tuesday morning that U.S. prosecutors engaged in a “concerted, extensive and illegal campaign” of leaks to the news media in Walters’ case. She also said evidence showed the government’s star witness, former Dean Foods Co Chairman Tom Davis, lied on the stand when he told jurors he fed Walters tips about the company using a prepaid “burner” cellphone dubbed the “Batphone.” Shapiro said those “substantial issues” meant Walters should be allowed to remain free during his appeal. Walters was accused of making more than $43 million in profits and avoided losses from 2008 to 2014, mostly from stock tips from Davis about Dean Foods. Walters was convicted in April of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy following a four-week trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Cucinella, arguing for the prosecution on Tuesday morning, noted that Castel had already considered both of the issues raised by Shapiro. Prosecutors admitted before Walters’ trial earlier this year that FBI agent David Chaves leaked information about a grand jury investigation of Walters to news media. The leaks have prompted a criminal investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General. Walters’ attorneys argued that the leaks were meant to revive a dormant investigation that would otherwise never have resulted in criminal charges. Shapiro argued on Tuesday that news reports about the investigation put pressure on Davis to testify for the prosecution and fabricate a story about tipping Walters. Castel ruled before the trial that the leaks were not grounds for dismissing the charges. The case has drawn attention because of prosecutors’ claim that Walters passed an insider tip about Dean Foods to champion golfer Phil Mickelson. The golfer was not charged with a crime but did agree to surrender money he made trading in the company’s stock to U.S. securities regulators. (Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Paul Simao and Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-insidertrading/update-1-u-s-gambler-walters-loses-bid-to-stay-free-during-insider-trading-appeal-idINL2N1LT2FX'|'2017-09-12T19:18:00.000+03:00'
'222f60e8a714491d5d29974316dd5885f734ce62'|'Matrimony.com IPO draws flurry of suitors'|'A broker reacts while trading at his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India, February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - Matrimony.com, the first pure-play Indian matchmaking website to launch a stock market listing, drew heavy demand for its offering, benefiting from the country’s booming IPO market.Market participants say the enthusiastic investor response could encourage other players in India’s $50 billion wedding services market to consider going public. India’s broader NSE stock index has surged nearly 25 percent this year and investor interest in IPOs has soared.Matrimony.com’s initial public offering of up to 5 billion rupees ($78 million) was subscribed 4.4 times over as of 7.45 p.m. India time (1415 GMT) on Wednesday, the last day of sale, with applications for over 12.5 million shares received, against the 2.8 million shares on offer, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.India has seen around 20 IPOs this year and all have been oversubscribed several times over, with a couple of them subscribed more than 100 times over, according to data from Prime Database.Matrimony.com, backed by U.S. venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, runs bharatmatrimony.com, elitematrimony.com and a host of other marriage services portals.In socially conservative India parents are often involved in finding partners for their children and parental consent remains largely a norm.Dating services such as Tinder have also tried to portray themselves as ‘parent approved’ in the country of 1.3 billion where live-in relationships are still taboo. Rising internet penetration, spurred by cheap data costs, has also helped more and more Indians go online to hunt for prospective spouses.Matrimony says it had 3.08 million active customer profiles as of June 30, 2017. Its rivals include websites like Shaadi.com and Info Edge- owned Jeevansathi.com, among others.The portal also offers websites and apps in multiple Indian languages and it helps customers to look for venues, outfits and photographers among other wedding-related services.Indian online matchmaking sites will generate bigger business as they become more widely accepted and increasingly attract more users, global consulting firm KPMG and Google said in a report last year.($1 = 63.9950 Indian rupees)Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/matrimony-com-ipo/matrimony-com-ipo-draws-flurry-of-suitors-idINKCN1BO27N'|'2017-09-13T19:45:00.000+03:00'
'adc1691ac8cd40a3deef51a682d334c502c3e690'|'Vodafone looking at investing in full-fibre network in Britain'|'September 13, 2017 / 4:02 PM / 2 hours ago Vodafone looking at investing in full-fibre network in Britain Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A branded sign is displayed on a Vodafone store in London, Britain May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone is looking at investing in laying ultrafast full-fibre broadband connections to homes and businesses in Britain if it can find partners to share the costs, a top executive said on Wednesday. The mobile network operator said on Monday it would spend 2 billion euros (£1.81 billion) on new full-fibre connections in Germany and also has invested in fixed line broadband networks in Italy, Portugal and Spain. Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery said he had the capital available to make an investment in Britain. “We are a committed investor, our strategy is very clear,” he said at the launch of a report commissioned by Vodafone called “Digital Super Towns, Unlocking the UK’s digital potential”. “If we can find the right economics and the right partners we’ll invest here.” Britain’s broadband infrastructure is dominated by network operator Openreach, owned by the former state monopoly telecoms company BT, which provides connections to Vodafone and other service providers as well as BT. Cable company Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global , has a rival network and there are a host of smaller providers like CityFibre. Until recently Openreach has focused on deploying new technology to speed up the ‘last mile’ of existing copper phone lines instead of running fibre at much greater cost all the way into homes and businesses. However, Openreach is now sounding out its wholesale service operator customers about whether they would be willing to co-invest in full fibre connections. The Telegraph newspaper said last month Vodafone was in talks about making such an investment. “We would work with any provider who can give us the scale and access and good economic costs to connect fibre to the homes of Britain,” Jeffery said, but declined to comment on whether a deal with Openreach was in prospect. Vodafone needed to make an adequate return, he said, which could need government incentives or partners taking a long-term strategic view to reduce the cost of individual connections. The UK government’s digital economy minister Matt Hancock said on Wednesday the focus had to be on full-fibre and 5G mobile broadband networks after completing the roll-out of faster copper-based networks. “The regulator Ofcom has legally separated BT and Openreach, and the test of that separation will be whether Openreach now works with other providers as well as with BT to provide the infrastructure for other retail companies to get out there,” he said at the same event. A spokesman for Openreach said the company was continuing to consult with its operator customers about investing in full- fibre networks. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-broadband-vodafone/vodafone-looking-at-investing-in-full-fibre-network-in-britain-idUKKCN1BO22Y'|'2017-09-13T19:02:00.000+03:00'
'3988ea0dfca8456985d231cd476d256bedd43b05'|'EasyJet muscles in on long-haul passengers with new connecting service'|'Reuters TV United States   6:37 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Britain''s easyJet launches platform to book partner flights   Passengers disembark from an EasyJet flight after arriving at Gibraltar airport in Gibraltar, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) - British budget airline easyJet ( EZJ.L ) on Wednesday launched a new booking platform to allow customers to use its website to book long-haul flights with other airlines, the company said. EasyJet said that customers would be able to buy other airlines’ flights on easyJet.com, and said it was the first global airline connections service by a European low fares airline. Its launch partners are WestJet ( WJA.TO ) and Norwegian ( NWC.OL ), who will offer flights to North and South America, as well as Singapore, from Gatwick. EasyJet said it was in talks with carriers in Asia about joining the scheme, which would expand into other airports in Europe. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-easyjet-strategy/britains-easyjet-launches-platform-to-book-partner-flights-idUKKCN1BO0K1'|'2017-09-13T17:37:00.000+03:00'
'5b6fa4b560a71ed4d6b0de652bbd3d841ed044e1'|'Western Digital says confident about its legal position in Toshiba''s chip business'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) said in a statement on Wednesday it remains confident it can protect its interests in its memory chip joint venture with Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ).Toshiba said earlier in the day that it has signed a memorandum to accelerate talks to sell the business to a rival bidding group led by private equity firm Bain Capital and chipmaker SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ).“We are disappointed that Toshiba would take this action despite Western Digital’s tireless efforts to reach a resolution that is in the best interests of all stakeholders,” it said.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-western-digital/western-digital-says-confident-about-its-legal-position-in-toshibas-chip-business-idINKCN1BO0MU'|'2017-09-13T05:09:00.000+03:00'
'9332e27dd6a0d99e26fdfe161d181cde3aaa524b'|'LSE buys further stake in clearing arm LCH'|'Sept 13 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) has agreed to buy an additional stake of up to 6.8 percent in its clearing arm LCH from some of its minority shareholders, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.LSE did not disclose the terms of the deals, in a brief statement issued after markets closed.In 2013 LSE acquired a majority stake in LCH Clearnet by paying 15 euros per share. After the deal, LSE was expected to own up to 57.8 percent of the firm, leaving other LCH shareholders with at most 42.2 percent.LSE has committed to invest to drive growth after the collapse of its proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse and in August reported a higher first-half profit, partly helped by a strong performance in its clearing business.LCH currently dominates clearing of euro-denominated financial instruments but the future location of euro clearing is uncertain following Britain’s move to leave the European Union.The European Commission has proposed that the EU would help supervise clearing houses like LCH in London after Brexit, with forced relocation of clearing to a euro zone rival such as Eurex only a last resort.LSE said on Wednesday that all shareholders in LCH had been notified of the share sale and that it would in due course confirm its updated shareholding in LCH following the deals. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lse-deals/lse-buys-further-stake-in-clearing-arm-lch-idINL5N1LU5MC'|'2017-09-13T15:41:00.000+03:00'
'6d21dcc915ace400122d01ecb1a1de853083e770'|'EU set to demand Internet firms act faster to remove illegal content'|'* EU wants step up in efforts against illegal online content* Does not rule out further legislation* Offers guidance on how such content can be removed quicklyBy Julia FiorettiBRUSSELS, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Companies including Google , Facebook and Twitter could face European Union laws forcing them to be more proactive in removing illegal content if they do not do more to police what is available on the Internet.The European Union executive outlines in draft guidelines reviewed by Reuters how Internet firms should step up efforts with measures such as establishing trusted flaggers and taking voluntary measures to detect and remove illegal content.Proliferating illegal content, whether because it infringes copyright or incites terrorism, has sparked heated debate in Europe between those who want online platforms to do more to tackle it and those who fear it could impinge on free speech.The companies have significantly stepped up efforts to tackle the problem of late, agreeing to an EU code of conduct to remove hate speech within 24 hours and forming a global working group to combine their efforts remove terrorist content from their platforms.Existing EU legislation shields online platforms from liability for the content that is posted on their websites, limiting how far policymakers can force companies, who are not required to actively monitor what goes online, to act.“Online platforms need to significantly step up their actions to address this problem,” the draft EU guidelines say.“They need to be proactive in weeding out illegal content, put effective notice-and-action procedures in place, and establish well-functioning interfaces with third parties (such as trusted flaggers) and give a particular priority to notifications from national law enforcement authorities.”TRUSTED FLAGGERS The guidelines, expected to be published at the end of the month, are non-binding but further legislation is not ruled out by Spring 2018, depending on progress made by the companies.However, a Commission source said any legislation would not change the liability exemption for online platforms in EU law.The Commission wants the companies to develop “trusted flaggers” - experienced bodies with expertise in identifying illegal content - whose notifications would be given high priority and could lead to the automatic removal of content.It also encourages web companies to publish transparency reports with detailed information on the number and type of notices received and actions taken and says the Commission will explore options to standardise such transparency reports.The guidelines also contain safeguards against excessive removal of content, such as giving its owners a right to contest such a decision.The Commission wants companies to hone technology used to automatically detect illegal content so that the volume which needs to be reviewed by a human before being deemed illegal can be narrowed down. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-internet-illegal/eu-set-to-demand-internet-firms-act-faster-to-remove-illegal-content-idINL5N1LT5FW'|'2017-09-13T10:26:00.000+03:00'
'9e36b6b1cf1816cf914dae7980fcab487caa671c'|'Italy watchdog acknowledges Vivendi plan to comply with demands on Mediaset: source'|'The Vivendi logo is pictured at the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate headquarters in Paris, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau MILAN (Reuters) - Italy’s communications watchdog AGCOM has acknowledged a plan by Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) to comply with its demands to cut its stake in either Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) or TV broadcaster Mediaset ( MS.MI ), a source said on Wednesday.Vivendi, which is the biggest shareholder of Telecom Italia with a 24 percent stake, owns around 29 percent of Mediaset, making it its second-largest investor.AGCOM has asked Vivendi to reduce its stake in one of the two companies to below 10 percent after ruling that by holding both it breached rules meant to prevent concentration of power.Vivendi will have one year to comply with AGCOM’s ruling if it is to avoid being fined. It has appealed against AGCOM’s decision but a ruling by an Italian administrative court will not come before next year.According to the source, AGCOM has reserved the right to make further evaluations on the matter after the 12 months run out.Reporting by Alberto Sisto, writing by Stephen Jewkes '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-mediaset-telecomitalia-vivendi-watchd/italy-watchdog-acknowledges-vivendi-plan-to-comply-with-demands-on-mediaset-source-idINKCN1BO29N'|'2017-09-13T15:05:00.000+03:00'
'6d144da1d17db9fb9185ac160cedd9e325b6a2c4'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-Shell set to draw line under a century of Iraqi oil'|'  12:52 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago RPT-UPDATE 1-Shell set to draw line under a century of Iraqi oil Reuters Staff (Repeats to additional clients, no changes to text) * Shell to relinquish stake in Majnoon field * Oil giant in process of selling West Qurna 1 stake * Company says to focus on Iraq’s gas production By Ron Bousso LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is set to end a century of oil production in Iraq by withdrawing from two of the Arab state’s flagship fields to focus on more profitable gas development. Shell’s retreat highlights the challenges foreign operators face with low-margin oil contracts in Iraq, an OPEC member that sits on some of the world’s biggest oil reserves and wants to boost production after years of conflict hindered development. The Anglo-Dutch firm said on Wednesday it had agreed with Iraq’s oil ministry to relinquish operations at Majnoon field to the government after unfavourable changes to fiscal terms. The announcement confirmed an earlier Reuters report. Shell is also selling its 20 percent stake in West Qurna 1 oil field in the south of the country. The field is operated by Exxon Mobil. Investment bank Lazard is running the sale for Shell, industry sources told Reuters. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shell said it was still committed to producing gas in Iraq, saying it would focus on developing and expanding the Basra Gas Company, which processes gas from the Rumaila, West Qurna and Zubair fields. It has a 44 percent stake in the joint venture. Shell produced almost 20 million barrels of oil from Iraq during 2016, which accounted for about 3.5 percent of the firm’s total oil output last year, according to Shell’s annual report. Precise terms of the contract terms are not public and Shell has not detailed its earnings from Iraqi oil. But a source told Reuters last year Shell had found limited financial benefit in recent years from oil production in Iraq, where it is paid in crude but has limited say on strategy. “The Oil Minister of Iraq formally endorsed a recent Shell proposal to pursue an amicable and mutually acceptable release of the Shell interest in Majnoon, with the timeline to be agreed in due course,” a Shell company spokesman said. Shell took the decision after Iraq applied performance penalties on the Shell-operated venture “which had a significant impact on its commerciality,” he said. Battling a sharp fall in oil prices since 2014, Iraq asked foreign firms to cut spending on oil projects in order to reduce the cash-strapped government’s contribution in shared ventures. Foreign firms in Iraq have long urged Baghdad to revise oil production contract terms to encourage development of reserves that Iraq estimates at about 153 billion barrels, the fourth biggest in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. “Maybe now they will speed things up,” one executive from another company operating in Iraq said. Shell, via its subsidiary Anglo Saxon Oil Company, was among a consortium of European firms called Turkish Petroleum Company which acquired concessions in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire to explore for oil in today’s Iraq. Oil was found 15 years later. Shell started developing Majnoon, which means “crazy” in Arabic, in 2010. It holds a 45 percent stake in the field that it operates under a technical service contract that expires in 2030. Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas holds a 30 percent stake, while Iraqi government holds 25 percent. Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Rania El Gamal in Dubai and Fanny Potkin in London; Editing by Jason Neely and Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/shell-iraq-qurna/rpt-update-1-shell-set-to-draw-line-under-a-century-of-iraqi-oil-idUSL5N1LU3XH'|'2017-09-13T15:52:00.000+03:00'
'd0a04b07971ee864fa12dbe1adce9274512a45d8'|'Toshiba shares down after Reuters reports it favors Bain group for chip sale'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) said on Wednesday it has agreed to focus on selling its prized chips unit to a group led by Bain Capital and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ), although it is not ruling out a deal with other bidders.The announcement came after sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Toshiba was now favoring the Bain group after failing to bridge disagreements with rival suitor Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ).Wednesday marks the third time the embattled Japanese conglomerate has failed to meet a target date to sell the $18 billion business - the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND memory chips.Without an agreement soon, it will be difficult for Toshiba to gain by the end of the financial year in March, regulatory approval and hence the funds it needs to cover billions in liabilities at it U.S. nuclear unit.Toshiba said in a statement it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Bain to accelerate discussions, and hoped to reach agreement in late September. But it added that the memorandum was not legally binding and did not prevent it from negotiating with other parties.A representative for Bain was not immediately available for comment, while SK Hynix declined to comment.Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key NAND memory plant but which has been at loggerheads with the Japanese firm for much of the auction - said it was disappointed as well as surprised at the development given its legal position.“We remain confident in our ability to protect our JV interests and consent rights,” the California-based firm said in a statement.FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/Illustration/File Photo Sources have said that discussions with Western Digital faltered as Toshiba, fearing its partner was angling to eventually take over the chip business, sought to limit the U.S. firm’s future stake in the unit.The Bain group’s latest offer is worth 2.4 trillion yen ($22 billion), including a 200 billion yen investment in infrastructure, they said, declining to be identified as the talks were private.The group had been chosen preferred bidder in June. But those talks lapsed as Japan government investors who had been part of that consortium told Toshiba they were reluctant to close a deal in the face of legal challenges posed by Western Digital.The current offer by Bain and Hynix is designed to get around the legal risks by inviting the state-backed investors - the Innovation Network Corp of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan - to invest in the business only after any arbitration with Western Digital is settled.But it remains uncertain whether Toshiba will be able to complete the transaction by the end-March as Western Digital is likely to seek a court injunction on the sale. A California court has ordered Toshiba to give the U.S. firm two weeks’ notice before a deal is closed.SK Hynix’s participation could also prolong antitrust reviews, industry watchers said. The South Korean chipmaker plans to limit its role to financing, but it’s unclear if it hopes to gain a stake in the future.If Toshiba does fail to secure sufficient financing by end-March, it is likely to report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running - a scenario that could result in a delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Shares of Toshiba ended flat, while SK Hynix shares rose 1.3 percent.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Junko Fujita in Tokyo, and Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-shares-down-after-reuters-reports-it-favors-bain-group-for-chip-sale-idINKCN1BO00R'|'2017-09-12T22:18:00.000+03:00'
'012a09950eec9128b0728e0c896cba8f40666805'|'Petrobras starts sale of fertilizer assets'|'  1:03 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Petrobras starts sale of fertilizer assets Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Petróleo Brasileiro SA launched on Monday the sale of two fertilizer units, as Brazil’s state-controlled oil company seeks to reduce capital spending and focus on core business segments. In a Monday securities filing, Petrobras said the sales are part of a move to exit fertilizers. The units that have been put on the block include Araucária Nitrogenados SA and Unidade de Fertilizantes-III, or UFN-III, which is 80 percent completed at the moment. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/petrobras-divestiture/petrobras-starts-sale-of-fertilizer-assets-idUSL2N1LS0KJ'|'2017-09-11T16:03:00.000+03:00'
'6a503ac029504da25ce8273b6bd000925dfa118b'|'WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to leave company'|'September 13, 2017 / 2:12 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to leave company Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, now owned by Facebook Inc ( FB.O ), will leave the messaging service company to start a new foundation, he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. Acton spent eight years with WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $19 billion in cash and stock. A Stanford alumnus, Acton co-founded WhatsApp with Ukrainian immigrant Jan Koum in 2009. The duo worked at Yahoo before starting WhatsApp. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-whatsapp-founder/whatsapp-co-founder-brian-acton-to-leave-company-idUKKCN1BO05Y'|'2017-09-13T05:11:00.000+03:00'
'cf381ee2e2542caa2d4e12d3c6a2c03db2ecd7b6'|'Bayer sells 9.4 percent stake in Covestro'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer has further reduced its holding in Covestro to 31.5 percent from 40.9 percent by selling 19 million shares in the plastics business for a total of 1.2 billion euros. ($1.4 billion)It said on Wednesday that it placed the stock at 63.25 euros each, a 3.7 percent discount to Tuesday’s closing share price, which DZ Bank analyst Peter Spengler said indicated healthy demand for the stock.Bayer, which is trying to wrap up the $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds giant Monsanto by the end of the year, had announced the accelerated bookbuilding late on Tuesday, part of its plan to fully sever ties with Covestro over the medium-term.It has agreed to hold off for 90 days on placing more shares in Covestro, which it spun off as a listed company two years ago. Bayer’s pension trust separately holds 8.9 percent of Covestro.Barclays and Citigroup acted as joint bookrunners for the placement, which was aimed at institutional investors.Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-covestro-price/bayer-sells-9-4-percent-stake-in-covestro-idINKCN1BO0GK'|'2017-09-13T03:54:00.000+03:00'
'e320489cb9534119a37260cc1c1157f4e3f64b0e'|'Energen seeks court ruling on investor rights as funds push for sale'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - Energen Corp on Tuesday sought guidance from an Alabama court on the state’s shareholder rights laws which an activist investor had said it would use to force a sale of the U.S. oil and gas producer, a regulatory filing shows.Corvex Management, a $5.5 billion hedge fund run by Keith Meister, has waged a public campaign since May aimed at making Energen put itself on the auction block to help bolster its lagging stock price, a position echoed by hedge fund Elliott Management.Energen’s assets are concentrated in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, where valuations have soared in the last two years as investors seek acreage in the low-cost production area to offset low oil prices. However, Energen, which has a market value of $5.1 billion, has traded at a discount to its peers.Energen’s management has said the Birmingham, Alabama-based company would follow its existing business plan.Corvex said last month its 10.1 percent stake passed the threshold needed for shareholders of Alabama-domiciled firms to call a special shareholder meeting at which it would seek approval to expand the board to 15 members from nine, with all new directors being Corvex nominees.In the filing, Energen disputed Corvex’s stance on the special meeting under both Alabama law and its own articles of association, and said it had asked the Circuit Court of Jefferson County to adjudicate on the matter.“It is important for this issue to be resolved in order for Energen to determine how to proceed without taking or permitting actions inconsistent with law and Energen’s governing documents,” the filing said.Corvex, Energen’s biggest shareholder, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The fund has often used proxy fights to press for changes at companies. In its latest battle, Corvex nominated an entire slate of directors at Williams Companies Inc last fall, a contest the fund dropped after the oil and gas producer added new members to its board.In a 2014 proxy fight, Corvex was among the investors that ousted the entire board of CommonWealth REIT.Energen shares closed 2.1 percent higher at $51.12 on the New York Stock Exchange.Reporting by Michael Flaherty and David French in New York; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-energen-corvex-court/energen-seeks-court-ruling-on-investor-rights-as-funds-push-for-sale-idINKCN1BO00B'|'2017-09-12T22:04:00.000+03:00'
'9e866f392f9bf1c40899043fac31461eca4de15c'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-S&P opens at record high as Irma weakens; Apple in focus'|'Sept 12 (Reuters) - The S&P opened at a record high on Tuesday as Irma further weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, and ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Apple’s new iPhone.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.57 points, or 0.22 percent, to 22,106.94. The S&P 500 gained 4.45 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,492.56. The Nasdaq Composite added 13.81 points, or 0.21 percent, to 6,446.07. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Savio D‘Souza) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-snapshot-sp-opens-at-record-high-as-irma-weakens-apple-in-focus-idINL4N1LT45Y'|'2017-09-12T11:32:00.000+03:00'
'054c530edb44b4b741536acf99a4be23189cdb11'|'Dover considering sale of upstream energy unit'|'(Reuters) - U.S. industrial conglomerate Dover Corp ( DOV.N ) said on Monday it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale, for its upstream energy unit.The company said the options also include a tax-free spinoff of the unit.The upstream energy unit is part of Dover’s overall energy business, which provides lift equipment services and diamond cutters used in oil and gas exploration and production.Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dover-divestiture/dover-considering-sale-of-upstream-energy-unit-idUSKCN1BN1AC'|'2017-09-12T14:06:00.000+03:00'
'16270c9546c48482f6a1832277c21b1eccfec2c0'|'EU lost up to 5.4 billion euros in tax revenues from Google, Facebook - report'|'September 13, 2017 / 3:58 PM / 18 minutes ago EU lost up to 5.4 billion euros in tax revenues from Google, Facebook - report Francesco Guarascio 3 Min Read A 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen in front of the logo of the European Union in this picture illustration made in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 15, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union states could have lost 5.4 billion euros (£4.87 billion) in tax revenues from Google and Facebook between 2013 and 2015, according to a report of the EU lawmaker responsible for a corporate tax reform that could raise online giants’ tax bill. The document, seen by Reuters, will be published on Thursday, the day before EU finance ministers begin a two-day meeting in the Estonian capital Tallinn, in which they will discuss how to increase taxes on large online businesses accused of paying too little in Europe. Digital multinationals “minimize the overall tax burden in the EU by routing all revenues to low-tax member states such as Ireland and Luxembourg,” said the report, prepared by EU socialist lawmaker Paul Tang. The document focuses on the social network Facebook and search engine Google, now part of Alphabet, because the two U.S. companies book most of their EU revenues in low tax-rate Ireland, a move that allows them to pay in the EU much lower taxes than those they face in the rest of the world. It says that Google pays taxes worth up to 9 percent of its revenues outside the EU, but this ratio goes down to no more than 0.82 percent inside the EU. “Facebook’s taxes as a share of their revenues recorded outside the EU is between 28 percent and 34 percent, whereas in the EU this is a remarkably low ratio of 0.03 percent to 0.10 percent,” the report adds. The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake This resulted in estimated revenue losses for EU states, other than Ireland, of between 51 and 54 billion euros between 2013 and 2015, the report concluded. Tang is in charge of steering through the EU assembly a tax reform, known as common corporate tax base, which aims at harmonising national tax deductions on business profits. He plans to introduce an amendment that would force online multinationals to pay taxes in the EU countries where they are present with a “digital platform” that generates at least 5 million euros of annual turnover. Existing rules require online companies to pay taxes only where they have a physical presence and a tax residence, regardless of where they generate their profits. Tang’s amendment is similar to a proposal made by the Estonian presidency of the EU, and that will be discussed by EU finance ministers this week [nL8N1LN4LQ]. If EU states decided to tax the revenues of digital companies, rather than their profits, as proposed by France with the backing of Germany, Italy and Spain [nL5N1LQ0C5], that could have generated 4 billion euros in tax revenues from Google and Facebook between 2013 and 2015 if a 5 percent rate was applied, the report estimated. That measure would also force Amazon to pay taxes. The U.S. online retailer, with an EU tax residence in Luxembourg, has been mostly exempted from taxes in the 2013-2015 period because it did not make profits, the report said. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-tax-digital/eu-lost-up-to-5-4-billion-euros-in-tax-revenues-from-google-facebook-report-idUKKCN1BO22I'|'2017-09-13T18:59:00.000+03:00'
'8688dbd69b1bb8875f74bc77e43c7fdba768e930'|'REFILE-Motor racing-Formula One agrees free-to-air deal with France''s TF1'|'(Repeats with TF1 group RIC)LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Formula One announced a limited three-year free-to-air deal with France’s TF1 television on Wednesday that will include the broadcaster’s home race next year as well as the showcase Monaco Grand Prix.“The agreement will commence at the beginning of the 2018 championship and TF1 will show four Formula One Grand Prix races in exclusivity on free-to-air in their entirety,” Formula One said in a statement.The other races will be shown as highlights.Vivendi Group’s Canal+ pay television channels currently have the right to broadcast all grands prix in France and agreed a new multi-year deal in May with the sport’s new owners Liberty Media.The French Grand Prix is returning after a 10-year absence next season with a race at the Le Castellet circuit near Marseille.France has two current drivers in Haas’s Romain Grosjean and rising star Esteban Ocon at Force India while manufacturer Renault has its own factory team and supplies engines to two others.Ferrari-backed Monegasque racer Charles Leclerc is also leading the Formula Two feeder series and is expected to enter Formula One with Sauber.Ian Holmes, Formula One’s director of media rights, said the TF1 deal would “significantly help to further elevate the sport in the market.”Formula One has faced declining television viewing figures in recent years, with the sport increasingly on pay television, and Liberty are keen to build the audience since taking over in January.“Free to air is critically important to us,” the sport’s commercial managing director Sean Bratches told an FIA conference in June.“My vision as it relates to media rights is a hybrid of free-to-air and pay. Our plan is to balance the two but have a prominent, over the year, free-to-air voice. That is important from a fans, sponsors and relevance standpoint.” (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-france-television/motor-racing-formula-one-agrees-free-to-air-deal-with-frances-tf1-idINL4N1LU4PM'|'2017-09-13T15:11:00.000+03:00'
'1603da5e83895d8122b8b0a7ae8b39b38e2f1558'|'Australian senate set to clear way for rival bid to CBS''s Ten TV'|'SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian lawmakers were set to approve legislation on Thursday allowing the consolidation of media companies, clearing the path for a likely rival bid to CBS Corp’s proposed buyout of television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings after reaching a late-night deal on media ownership.Australia’s so-called “two out of three” rule, which prohibits one organization from owning all three media in any given city - newspapers, television and radio - would be removed under an agreement with influential independent senator Nick Xenophon.The government secured the deal with Xenophon after sitting late into the night on Wednesday, clinching his crucial block of three votes and paving the way for the bill to be approved on Thursday when the senate reconvenes.“This has been the most difficult, protracted and robust set of negotiations in 20 years of being in parliament - state and federal,” Xenophon told reporters.The reform package, designed to allow Australian media to better compete against online giants such as Netflix and Google, is a boost to News Corp’s co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch and television entrepreneur Bruce Gordon, who have launched a joint legal challenge to the A$201.1 million deal by CBS to acquire the struggling Ten network.Australia’s communications minister, Mitch Fifield, said the overhaul of the pre-internet age laws will boost the long-term viability of Australian media.“This is not 1988, the Internet does exist,” Fifield told reporters. “The media laws were crafted for an era which today is barely recognizable.”Gordon, a billionaire, owns a regional television station, while Murdoch family-controlled News Corp publishes about two thirds of the nation’s newspapers. The allies held major stakes in Ten and were long seen as favorites to buy it if the two-out-of-three legislation was changed.Although no offer from Murdoch and Gordon has been disclosed, lawyers acting for them said on Monday the pair were interested in negotiating a deal for the Australian TV network.While the Senate deal clears any regulatory hurdles for Murdoch and his partner, they would still need a court to force Ten’s administrators to consider a counteroffer. The case continues.Despite slipping into administration in June, Ten is a tempting target, with the youth-focused broadcaster enjoying a national reach and strong brand.In exchange for Xenophon’s support the government has agreed to establish a fund to assist regional and small publishers and increased training for journalists.Reporting by Colin Packham and James Regan; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-australia-media/australian-senate-set-to-clear-way-for-rival-bid-to-cbss-ten-tv-idINKCN1BO2DR'|'2017-09-13T15:59:00.000+03:00'
'e13a493bd5dddf1a6ec41b33f80d3f5e9cc7f807'|'TREASURIES-U.S. bond yields rise on federal, corporate supply'|'* U.S. to sell $12 bln 30-year bond supply at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) * Companies have raised $26 bln in corporate bond market * U.S. August producer price data support benign inflation view By Richard Leong NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday with 10-year yield hitting a 2-1/2 week high as investors reduced their bond holdings to make room for this week''s government and corporate debt supply. A powerful rebound in stock prices around the world with Wall Street''s major indexes setting record highs on Tuesday also underpinned the bounce in bond yields, analysts said. Investors unloaded equities and other risky assets last week on concern about the potential for massive damage from Hurricane Irma and tension between North Korea and the United States and its allies over Pyongyang''s nuclear weapons program. Safe-haven buying of Treasuries knocked the benchmark 10-year yield to a 10-month low, just above 2 percent on Friday before turning higher this week on reduced tension between Washington and Pyongyang and early signs that destruction from Irma in the United States is not as devastating as some had feared. "The bond market is comfortable in a 2.10-2.30 percent range. We need new stresses to push it out of that range," said Matt Toms, chief investment officer of fixed income at Voya Investment Management in Atlanta. At 11:00 a.m. (1500 GMT), the 10-year yield was 2.179 percent, up almost 1 basis point from late on Tuesday and just marginally below a 2-1/2 week peak. The 30-year bond yield hovered near a three-week peak at 2.778 percent in advance of a $12 billion auction of long bond supply at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT). The latest 30-year supply was the final leg of this week''s $56 billion in coupon-bearing Treasuries supply. It followed softly bid auctions of three-year and 10-year debt. In "when-issue" activity, traders expected the latest 30-year supply to sell at a yield of 2.778 percent , which would be the lowest since October, Tradeweb data showed. In the corporate sector, companies have raised about $26 billion through the sales of investment-grade and high-yield debt this week, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters unit. On the data front, domestic producer prices grew 0.2 percent in August, less than the 0.3 percent increase forecast among analysts polled by Reuters. This latest reading reinforced the view that domestic inflation would remain below the Federal Reserve''s 2-percent goal longer than previously thought. This benign inflation outlook should help hold down long-term bond yields, analysts said. "There is a lack of fear of inflation in the bond market. There''s no credible case for inflation to increase," Toms said. September 13 Wednesday 11:00 AM New York / 1500 GMT Price US T BONDS DEC7 155-5/32 -0-3/32 10YR TNotes DEC7 126-140/256 -0-24/25 6 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 1.03 1.047 0.003 Six-month bills 1.1475 1.1702 0.007 Two-year note 99-206/256 1.3512 0.016 Three-year note 99-176/256 1.4819 0.016 Five-year note 99-88/256 1.7637 0.017 Seven-year note 99-48/256 2.0006 0.009 10-year note 100-160/256 2.1795 0.009 30-year bond 99-120/256 2.7762 0.001 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 23.50 0.25 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 19.75 0.50 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 7.25 0.50 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap -4.50 0.75 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -34.50 1.00 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-u-s-bond-yields-rise-on-federal-corporate-supply-idINL2N1LU10A'|'2017-09-13T13:07:00.000+03:00'
'192fbe806e2d08d3cfc5f5c16866af15734f7dbb'|'Japan govt launches $12 billion follow-up sale of Japan Post Holdings shares'|'FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past an advertisement board of Japan Post at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government on Monday said it will sell $12 billion worth of Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd ( 6178.T ) stock in an announcement that fund managers gave a tepid reception, saying limited growth prospects is likely to dull demand from institutional investors.The sale will be the first since the 2015 initial public offering (IPO) of the postal firm and its two units, Japan Post Bank Co Ltd ( 7182.T ) and Japan Post Insurance Co Ltd ( 7181.T ). That sale also raised $12 billion, earmarked for reconstruction of areas devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.“The company lacks growth potential appeal,” said Kazuo Okabe, general manager at Fukoku Capital Management. “I don’t think there will be strong demand from actively managed funds.”Japan Post, with 24,000 post offices and 400,000 employees, has spent the internet age minimizing the impact of a drop in letter delivery. It has also had to adjust to a competitive parcel delivery market that is booming thanks to e-commerce, but where the former monopoly is a distant third by market share.M&A MISSTEPS The national postal service prepared for its transition to private ownership with an attempt to demonstrate growth potential through acquisitions, aiming to become a global logistics firm akin to DHL operator Deutsche Post AG ( DPWGn.DE ).It bought Australian logistics firm Toll Holdings Ltd for A$6.5 billion ($4.9 billion) but had to write down much of the acquisition. Talks to buy Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc ( 3231.T ) ended earlier this year after failing to agree terms.“Japan Post cannot expect to realise strong growth on its own, it needs to pursue acquisitions. Management should not be timid about them even after the failure of the Toll deal,” said a ruling-party lawmaker, who is influential over a firm still 80 percent owned by the government. The lawmaker declined to be identified to speak candidly about the matter.Japan Post’s chief executive has said the firm can achieve growth through organic means alone.OFFER SIZE FILE PHOTO: Japan Post''s logo is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The latest sale, including extra shares to cover strong demand, would be equivalent to 22 percent of Japan Post’s outstanding stock, worth about 1.3 trillion yen ($12.1 billion) based on Monday’s closing share price of 1,321 yen. The IPO price was 1,400 yen.The offer price will be set from Sept. 25 to Sept. 27.Analysts said the pricing might be affected by the sheer size of the offering being difficult for the market to absorb. The offering is worth about 60 percent of total funds raised in Japan’s equity market in 2016, Thomson Reuters data showed.Japan Post also said on Monday it will separately buy back up to 100 billion yen worth of shares from the government.DIVIDEND APPEAL About 80 percent of IPO shares were offered domestically, of which 95 percent were sold to retail investors.Of particular appeal to retail investors is Japan Post’s relatively high dividend yield, market participants said. The yield was 3.79 percent at close of trade on Monday versus 1.8 percent for the benchmark average, Thomson Reuters data showed.“Still, I think investors would rather choose Tokyo Electron Ltd ( 8035.T ), which has higher growth expectations,” said Takato Tanikawa, fund manager at Bayview Asset Management, referring to a chip-making equipment maker whose yield is 3.2 percent.“There are many other stocks with solid fundamentals and similar dividend yields,” he said.Goldman Sachs, Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities are global coordinators for the offering.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Chris Gallagher; Additional reporting by Yoshiyuki Osada and Marika Tsuji; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-post-sharesale/japan-government-launches-12-billion-follow-up-sale-of-japan-post-holdings-shares-idINKCN1BM0V8'|'2017-09-11T06:32:00.000+03:00'
'09d10143935f4a722d1cb54dc466e1c7b819dbe1'|'UK inflation jump puts Bank of England back in spotlight on rates'|'LONDON (Reuters) - British inflation hit its joint highest level in more than five years in August, complicating the Bank of England’s job this week of explaining why it is not raising interest rates.The fall in the value of the pound since last year’s vote to leave the European Union helped drive the biggest rise in clothing prices since the consumer price index was launched in 1997 and rising global oil costs also had an impact.Consumer prices overall increased by 2.9 percent compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said, up from 2.6 percent in July and above the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists for a rise of 2.8 percent.That took the CPI back to its level in May. The last time it was higher than 2.9 percent was in April 2012.Sterling hit a one-year high against the dollar after the data and it rose strongly against the euro too as investors priced in a greater chance of the BoE raising rates for the first time in a decade. British government bond prices fell.Sam Hill, an economist with RBC Capital Markets, said the BoE had been expecting inflation of 2.7 percent in August and while no change in rates was likely this week, the inflation reading was a challenge for the central bank.Most members of its Monetary Policy Committee are worried that uncertainty about Brexit will hurt the economy, which slowed sharply in the first half of 2017, and they have so far held off on voting for raising rates.Furthermore, households have lost spending power as their wages are left behind by inflation. Figures due on Wednesday are expected to show pay grew by an annual 2.3 percent in the three months to July, picking up a touch but lagging inflation.A worker sorts clothing under the automated hanging system at John Lewis'' new distribution facility in Milton Keynes, Britain, September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples/Files “I think it will be a real headache for the MPC,” Hill said. “Inflationary pressure is there but there is also evidence that consumers are having a tough time.”PIPELINE PRESSURE The BoE targets 2 percent inflation. It expects inflation to hit about 3 percent in October, but much of it was due to the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote which the BoE expects to gradually fade out of the inflation figures.Slideshow (2 Images) However, a further recent fall in the pound against the euro is likely to keep pressure on British inflation for longer than the BoE forecast in August.The BoE is expected to keep the possibility of a rate hike on the radar for investors in its statement this week. Some economists said three of the MPC’s nine members might vote for a rate hike, up from two last month, with chief economist Andy Haldane joining the dissenters.But Paul Hollingsworth, an economist with Capital Economics, said he expected inflation to peak at 3.1 percent in October and the subsequent easing of price pressures would probably leave a clear majority of rate-setters voting for no change.“With mixed signals on the current strength of the economy and the majority of the Committee appearing to be comfortable with a temporary, exchange-rate driven pick-up in headline inflation, we don’t think that the MPC will be panicked into raising interest rates imminently,” he said.Most economists polled by Reuters in late August said they did not expect a rate hike until 2019.Tuesday’s data hinted at some future price pressure as the costs of raw materials and of goods leaving factories increased slightly. Factory gate prices rose by an annual 3.4 percent, the first increase in the rate since February.Additional reporting by David Milliken; Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Janet Lawrence '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-economy/uk-inflation-jump-puts-bank-of-england-back-in-spotlight-on-rates-idINKCN1BN1D5'|'2017-09-12T14:39:00.000+03:00'
'c6dc7873688e084b996edfad0784bcb60bb1f30d'|'InterGlobe Aviation aims to land $616 million share sale on Friday'|'September 13, 2017 / 3:06 PM / Updated 2 hours ago InterGlobe Aviation aims to land $616 million share sale on Friday Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Women spread fryums for drying on a rooftop as an IndiGo Airlines aircraft moves on the runway after landing at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport in Ahmedabad, India July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, which runs the country’s top airline IndiGo, will conduct a share sale to institutional investors on Friday that will raise for the company and its founders as much as 39.45 billion rupees ($616 million). The company set a price range on Wednesday of 1,125 rupees to 1,175 rupees a share for the sale of up to 33.6 million shares, comprising of 22.4 million new shares and 11.2 million existing shares. The share sale is aimed at helping the company meet minimum public holding rules. Citi, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are the banks managing the share sale, according to a filing. InterGlobe’s initial public offer in 2015 had raised about 30 billion rupees. ($1 = 64.0200 Indian rupees) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/interglobe-sharesale/interglobe-aviation-aims-to-land-616-million-share-sale-on-friday-idINKCN1BO1XI'|'2017-09-13T18:06:00.000+03:00'
'52773a316c84e03208d5e77a62cd107f42c5c06c'|'Japan''s MUFG picks Amsterdam as its EU investment banking base: sources'|'September 13, 2017 / 5:44 AM / Updated an hour ago Japan''s MUFG picks Amsterdam as its EU investment banking base: sources Taiga Uranaka 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO : People walk past a branch of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group''s bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) in Tokyo, Japan, May 16, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) has picked Amsterdam as its European Union investment banking base, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, as financial institutions prepare for Britain’s exit from the EU. MUFG has also decided to open a branch in Paris for its investment banking unit, said the sources, who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. An MUFG spokeswoman declined to comment. Japan’s largest lender with $2.8 trillion in assets has already picked the Dutch city for its commercial banking operations in continental Europe. Currently, the Japanese bank’s European investment banking unit, MUFG Securities EMEA plc, has its head office in London with staff of about 600 people. The sources said several dozen people would be moved to either Amsterdam or Paris from London, adding the British unit would continue to function as headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Global banks have said they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for Brexit, the country’s planned exit from the European Union in 2019. Financial services companies need a regulated subsidiary in an EU country to offer products across the bloc, which could prompt some to move jobs out of Britain if it loses access to the European single market. MUFG’s choice of Amsterdam as its EU hub, however, bucks the trend of other Japanese and global banking peers. In July, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, Japan’s No. 2 and No 3. lenders, said they would set up subsidiaries in Frankfurt to continue businesses in the bloc after Brexit. Amsterdam, with some of the world’s fastest data links and a history of high-frequency trading, has attracted financial market platforms looking for a post-Brexit base in Europe, with both Tradeweb and MarketAxess saying they would move to the city. However its appeal to investment banks looking to move there has been muted by a cap on bonuses for workers in the financial services industry. A rule limiting bonuses to 20 percent of fixed pay was brought in by the Dutch government after the 2008 financial crisis. The country’s parliament voted in June to scrap that limit in a non-binding consultative vote. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-mufg/japans-mufg-picks-amsterdam-as-its-eu-investment-banking-base-sources-idINKCN1BO0GA'|'2017-09-13T08:44:00.000+03:00'
'84e93dfbb65456be6366419ac194a3a6e36ebb36'|'Vodafone to invest 2 billion euros in German fibre connections'|'September 11, 2017 / 7:09 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago Vodafone to invest 2 billion euros in German fibre connections Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Branding for Vodafone is seen on the exterior of a shop in London, Britain, September 10, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone ( VOD.L ) said it would spend about 2 billion euros (1.82 billion pounds) to provide around 13.7 million new ultrafast broadband connections to homes and businesses by the end of 2021 in Germany, its biggest European market. The British company said on Monday the additional spending on its network would boost its service revenue growth in Germany by 1-2 percentage points in the mid-term. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vodafone-group-germany-broadband/vodafone-to-invest-2-billion-euros-in-german-fibre-connections-idUKKCN1BM0KS'|'2017-09-11T09:24:00.000+03:00'
'3f8a42d506156a4893ad282cdc758f5549f32b52'|'PSA boss says politicians responsible for fate of Opel engine testing jobs'|'September 12, 2017 / 2:40 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago PSA boss says politicians responsible for fate of Opel engine testing jobs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read An Opel logo is pictured on a car in front of the Opel headquarters in Ruesselsheim June 9, 2010. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - PSA Group’s ( PEUP.PA ) Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said on Tuesday European policymakers were responsible for the fate of 800 jobs at Opel’s engine testing facility, given that many are under threat from a regulatory push to promote electric cars. PSA is in the process of integrating Opel, after buying it from General Motors ( GM.N ), a task which analysts say will lead to sweeping job cuts since most vehicles will be migrated to platforms engineered by the French carmaker. Some 800 of Opel’s 7,700 engineers work at its seven-story engine development centre in Ruesselsheim, Germany, where the carmaker has 45 state-of-the-art engine test benches. With several European ministers warning carmakers about potential bans on combustion-engined cars, Tavares said he could not be held responsible for the fate of those jobs. “Well this is the decision made by the governments, to forbid the usage of the internal combustion engine, this is not my decision .... If they decide that, my role as the president of the company is to comply.” PSA Group and Opel will have to “reorganise ourselves in a way which is adapted to the new reality which is that governments want electrification.” With governments pushing electrification, Europe’s industry is taking a significant bet. “The scientific responsibility of selecting one technology and instructing the carmakers to go in this direction, this scientific responsibility is in the hands of the governments,” Tavares said. “If you ask everybody to make electric vehicles and you cannot subsidise them, then you have to raise prices or you have to smash the margins of the companies, and then you have a problem of the sustainability of the companies,” he added. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-peugeot-opel/psa-boss-says-politicians-responsible-for-fate-of-opel-engine-testing-jobs-idUKKCN1BN1WY'|'2017-09-12T17:39:00.000+03:00'
'ad06287cddc601fcf3fad239253c16ee1bdd033c'|'EU web tax plans go beyond French ''quick fix'' turnover levy'|'September 12, 2017 / 6:31 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago EU web tax plans go beyond French ''quick fix'' turnover levy Francesco Guarascio 3 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union’s plans to raise more tax from major internet companies such as Google and Amazon are more ambitious than the levy on turnover proposed by France, the EU presidency said, warning of the possible drawbacks of “quick fix” solutions. Estonia, which holds the rotating EU presidency, is proposing an overall reform of corporate taxation that would tax internet companies in the EU states where they make profits, regardless of their tax residence. France has proposed a tax on online giants’ turnover rather than on their profits. Germany, Italy and Spain have backed Paris on this idea. Both proposals are aimed at increasing the tax bills of web firms, preventing them from declaring their revenues only in EU states with low tax rates, like Ireland or Luxembourg. The issue will be discussed by EU finance ministers in a meeting in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, on Saturday. Although the aims coincide, the two proposals may clash. A tax on turnover could hit loss-making companies, which usually are exempted from taxes, and may reduce the appetite for investment, the Estonian undersecretary for tax, Dmitri Jegorov, told Reuters. He said such a tax would be “a quick fix”, rather than a structural solution to the problem of low taxation of the digital economy. “Our level of ambition is much higher,” he said. He added that the precondition for long-term fairer taxation was to affirm the principle of “virtual permanent establishment,” whereby digital companies pay taxes in countries where they have a “significant digital presence”. He did not give more details about the Estonian plans as political and technical talks one them have yet to be held. He also stressed that the French and the Estonian plans were not incompatible and could be seen as different steps of the same strategy. Despite divergences, pressure is growing to reach a compromise by the end of the year. Smaller EU states, usually reluctant to accept tax reforms, will need to be convinced. They hold a veto power on all tax legislation. The European Commission, the EU executive body in charge of making legislative proposals, welcomed the debate. “We trust that this momentum can be harnessed to drive forward our efforts to find solutions to the taxation of the digital economy,” a spokeswoman said, adding that the overall aim is that “profits are taxed where the value is created”. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-tax-digital/eu-web-tax-plans-go-beyond-french-quick-fix-turnover-levy-idUKKCN1BN2LK'|'2017-09-12T21:30:00.000+03:00'
'c62f161f92136779e3056521c2ba546eafa1b62a'|'Exclusive: Elliott''s Evergreen makes bid to buy Gigamon - sources'|'(Reuters) - Elliott Management Corp’s private equity arm has submitted a bid to acquire U.S. networking software maker Gigamon Inc ( GIMO.N ), according to people familiar with the matter.The bid from the private equity arm, called Evergreen Coast Capital Partners, comes five months after Elliott’s activist investor wing purchased a 15.3 percent stake in Gigamon and pushed it to explore a sale.Reuters could not confirm Elliott’s offer price for Gigamon, which had a market capitalization of about $1.58 billion based on its closing price on Friday. Evergreen has secured financing from two investment banks and made a formal bid in recent days, the sources added, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Gigamon’s shares jumped 5 percent on Monday immediately following the news, before paring gains to trade up 3.8 percent at $43.95.Elliott and Gigamon declined to comment.Elliott’s role at Gigamon as both shareholder activist and potential buyer highlights the hedge fund’s affinity for tech targets and its reputation as one of the world’s most aggressive shareholders.Should Evergreen succeed in acquiring Gigamon, it would mark the first time Elliott’s private equity group led the acquisition of a company that its activist side had put into play.While activist investors have made offers for companies in the past, New York-based Elliott, with assets of more than $33 billion, is one of the few hedge funds with a dedicated team chasing buyouts of whole companies. Elliott launched Evergreen in 2015.Gigamon has been working with an investment bank to evaluate takeover interest in recent months. The company could end its exploration of alternatives if the acquisition offers it receives do not meet its valuation expectations, the sources said.Gigamon, based in Santa Clara, California, attracted the interest of some companies and other private equity firms, but they appear to have fallen away from the sales process, the sources said. Gigamon’s stock has risen more than 22 percent since Elliott first disclosed its stake.Gigamon makes software used in large data centers to boost the flow of traffic and prevent bottlenecks.Gigamon is not the first time that Elliott’s activist team has converged with its private equity group.Evergreen participated in the auction for security software firm LifeLock Inc, where Elliott had taken an activist stake and pushed the company into a sale. LifeLock ultimately sold to Symantec Corp ( SYMC.O ) for $2.3 billion.Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Michael Flaherty in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-gigamon-m-a-elliott/exclusive-elliotts-evergreen-submits-offer-for-gigamon-sources-idINKCN1BM2GP'|'2017-09-11T17:32:00.000+03:00'
'7aafaceb0e7a3b99a4c70bbc44b5ffd655a90157'|'Petrobras starts sale of fertilizer assets'|'The logo of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in at Petrobras Paulinia refinery in Paulinia, Brazil July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Petróleo Brasileiro SA launched on Monday the sale of two fertilizer units, as Brazil’s state-controlled oil company seeks to reduce capital spending and focus on core business segments.In a Monday securities filing, Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ) said the sales are part of a move to exit fertilizers. The units that have been put on the block include Araucária Nitrogenados SA and Unidade de Fertilizantes-III, or UFN-III, which is 80 percent completed at the moment.Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture/petrobras-starts-sale-of-fertilizer-assets-idINKCN1BM1NR'|'2017-09-11T11:17:00.000+03:00'
'72e6b66216c615a1ab995f7ced24eb0a82edbb5e'|'Health insurer Centene to buy Fidelis Care for $3.75 billion'|'(Reuters) - Health insurer Centene Corp ( CNC.N ) said it would buy privately held Fidelis Care for $3.75 billion to enter New York, the second largest managed care state by membership in the United States.The company’s stock rose 6.7 percent to $97 in aftermarket trading on Tuesday.The acquisition would help Centene expand its government sponsored healthcare coverage with a leadership position in New York, the company said.Fidelis Care, a not-for-profit corporation, offers affordable health insurance coverage to New York residents and has over 1.6 million members in the state as of June 30.Centene said the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, would significantly improve the company’s earnings per share.Allen & Company LLC was the financial adviser to Centene and Skadden its legal counsel. Citi was the financial adviser to Fidelis Care and Norton Rose Fulbright its legal counsel.Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-centene-m-a-fidelis-care/health-insurer-centene-to-buy-fidelis-care-for-3-75-billion-idINKCN1BN2VU'|'2017-09-12T19:13:00.000+03:00'
'a873425980f92d49671670853cdbdd09080702d9'|'Mike Lynch-backed Sophia Genetics raises $30 million'|'September 13, 2017 / 8:15 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Mike Lynch-backed Sophia Genetics raises $30 million Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Mike Lynch poses for photographers at an awards ceremony in central London March 13, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Sophia Genetics, a data-driven healthcare company backed by British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, has raised $30 million (22.57 million pounds) in a funding round led by Balderton Capital to further develop its technology. The company’s machine-learning technology analyses DNA data to help clinicians find the best treatment options for diseases like cancer. Switzerland-based Sophia said its platform was now being used by 334 hospitals across 53 countries, and had tested more than 125,000 patients to date. Lynch, who founded and led software firm Autonomy before it was sold to Hewlett Packard in 2011 in a deal that soured a year later, first invested in Sophia through his Invoke Capital venture capital fund in 2014. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sophiagenetics-funding/mike-lynch-backed-sophia-genetics-raises-30-million-idUKKCN1BO0RK'|'2017-09-13T11:13:00.000+03:00'
'b0a2621465b5ca49b66cc951dc38fde0025a7c5c'|'Australia''s Cromwell to float $1.1 billion REIT in Singapore'|'SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s Cromwell Property Group ( CMW.AX ) will tap Asian investors in a bid to raise as much as 900 million euros ($1.1 billion) through a real estate investment trust in Singapore, according to a prospectus lodged Friday.The trust, called CEREIT, will hold 81 office, industrial and retail properties across Europe, which Cromwell values at about 1.8 billion euros.The planned initial public offering (IPO) will add to a strong year for listings on the Singapore bourse, which promotes itself as the Asian hub for real-estate trusts such as Frasers Centrepoint Trust ( FRCT.SI ) and Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust ( AEMN.SI ).A successful listing would be the largest since July, when NetLink NBN Trust ( NETL.SI ) raised $1.7 billion in the biggest IPO in Singapore in four years, propelling listings in the city-state to a multi-year high.Cromwell will retain roughly 12.7 percent of the new vehicle itself, with the rest offered to investors in Singapore, which is an Asian hub for real-estate trust listings.Cromwell, which had no further comment on Monday beyond the prospectus documents, said it received eligibility-to-list approval from Singapore’s bourse in August, and estimates the listing will yield 7.5 percent in 2018.Goldman Sachs and UBS are joint-managers for the listing, which has an offering price between 0.55 euros and 0.57 euros. A final price will be determined on Sept. 21.Australian-listed shares in Cromwell rose 0.8 percent to A$0.96 in morning trade on Monday, in line with the broader S&P/ASX 200 index .Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cromwell-prop-gp-ipo/australias-cromwell-to-float-1-1-billion-reit-in-singapore-idINKCN1BM028'|'2017-09-10T23:14:00.000+03:00'
'81cd2642031a15171533dac0e1a4e4297fb26223'|'Demand at U.S. 3-year note sale weakest since April'|'NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Overall demand for $24 billion of U.S. three-year Treasury notes was the weakest since April with their yield sold at the lowest in seven months, Treasury data showed on Monday.The ratio of bids to the amount of three-year notes offered came in at 2.70. At the prior three-year auction in August, this gauge of total auction demand was 3.13 which was the strongest since December 2015. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chris Reese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-3year/demand-at-u-s-3-year-note-sale-weakest-since-april-idINL2N1LS17Z'|'2017-09-11T15:18:00.000+03:00'
'79961b296a236575543c19e9f7169f5b4867fc15'|'Pilgrim''s Pride to pay $1 billion for parent JBS''s U.K. food unit'|'  3:14 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Pilgrim''s Pride to pay $1 billion for parent JBS''s U.K. food unit Guillermo Parra-Bernal , Vibhuti Sharma 3 Min Read SAO PAULO/BENGALURU (Reuters) - U.S. poultry processor Pilgrim’s Pride Corp ( PPC.O ) agreed on Monday to pay parent JBS SA about $1 billion for British subsidiary Moy Park Ltd, helping the Brazilian meatpacking giant retain a valuable asset amid a growing scandal. In a statement, Pilgrim’s Pride said the purchase of Moy Park was negotiated and approved by a special committee comprised of three independent board directors. The committee “was advised independently and had been granted full authority” over all aspects of the transaction, the statement said. Under terms of the transaction, which will be funded with cash and debt to parent JBS, Pilgrim’s Pride will allow Moy Park to remain based in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. Management at Moy Park, led by Chief Executive Officer Janet McCollum, will remain in place, the statement said. The unusual structure comes as JBS, the world’s No. 1 meatpacker, struggles with the aftershock of a corruption investigation ensnaring controlling shareholders Wesley and Joesley Batista. JBS, which paid $1.5 billion from Moy Park two years ago, is near completing an asset sale plan unleashed by the Batistas’ admission to bribing 1,893 politicians in Brazil. Pilgrim’s expects the Moy Park purchase to generate $50 million in annualised cost savings over the next two years. The combination should be “immediately accretive to earnings per share,” said the statement, noting the bid for Moy Park values the entire company at $1.3 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride shed 0.3 percent to $29 a share in Nasdaq trading on Monday. Shares of JBS ( JBSS3.SA ) reversed early losses and were adding 1.2 percent in late morning trading in São Paulo, arresting concern over revenue losses in a key market. Moy Park supplies 25 percent of chicken consumed in western Europe and is one of the top 10 food companies in the United Kingdom. JBS has controlled Pilgrim’s Pride since 2009 after paying $2.8 billion for a stake that now is about 75 percent. The Brazilian company, also the world’s No. 2 food processor, first announced plans to sell Moy Park on June 20. Barclays Plc acted as financial adviser to Pilgrim’s while Evercore Inc worked with Pilgrim’s special committee. Reuters had reported on July 31 that JBS picked BNP Paribas SA to help sell Moy Park. Some companies that had expressed interest in purchasing Moy Park included China’s WH Group and subsidiary Smithfield Foods Inc, buyout firm CapVest Partners LLP, Louis Dreyfus Co and Groupe Bigard. Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in São Paulo; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Bill Trott'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jbs-m-a-pilgrims-pride/pilgrims-pride-to-pay-1-billion-for-parent-jbss-u-k-food-unit-idUKKCN1BM1ZP'|'2017-09-11T18:13:00.000+03:00'
'5ab7921908577ff56cafc55c685e621f7e3363b6'|'Roche shares hit by trial flops, fears over biosimilar defence'|'  8:23 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Roche shares hit by trial flops, fears over biosimilar defense John Miller 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Roche tablets are seen positioned in front of a displayed Roche logo in this photo illustration shot January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche shares fell in early trading on Monday after trial failures added to the Swiss drugmaker’s challenge of replacing patent-expired medicines with lucrative new drugs. Its skin cancer treatment Zelboraf flopped, the company said on Monday, while similar drugs from Novartis achieved their goals. Additionally, analysts now doubt prospects for Roche’s eye drug lampalizumab after it failed a separate trial, jeopardizing more than $2 billion in potential annual sales. Roche has been counting on new drugs to bolster its business as rivals produce cheaper biosimilar copies of its biggest sellers -- the $20 billion-a-year trio of cancer drugs Herceptin, Avastin and Rituxan. But the recent flops, coupled with disappointing results this year on its immunotherapy Tecentriq and its Herceptin-Perjeta combination, underscore the challenge Roche faces. “In a best case, lampalizumab could have been a significant driver of Roche earnings growth over the next five years,” Kepler Cheuvreux analyst David Evans wrote in a note. “Virtually removing it from models will put more pressure on Roche sales, and on Roche’s attempts to keep margins even flat, as biosimilars start to take hold.” Roche shares were down 1.2 percent at 241.60 Swiss francs in early trade while Switzerland’s benchmark SMI rose. Goldman Sachs analysts cut their price target on the stock to 325 francs from 335 francs. Already, numerous versions of Roche’s Rituxan, also called MabThera, have been approved in Europe and are being reviewed in the United States. Copies of Herceptin and Avastin are hot on their heels. APPROVAL WINS Despite trial mis-steps, Roche has enjoyed several approval wins. Among top new drugs, Ocrevus is making headway in winning multiple sclerosis patients, generating 192 million Swiss francs ($201.94 million) in the first half. Moreover, the FDA is expected by mid-February to make a decision on hemophilia medicine ACE910, which is expected eventually to add billions to Roche’s bottom line. Roche, which upgraded its sales guidance for 2017 in July, continues to expect its new drugs -- Tecentriq, Gazyva and Perjeta, at the top of the list -- to drive sales growth despite erosion because of biosimilars. Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford was sanguine about the trial failures, saying they will not derail Roche’s sales growth. “Other new product development and launches, such as Ocrevus, Tecentriq and ACE910, look set to drive continued growth for the company despite approaching biosimilar headwinds,” he said. ($1 = 0.9508 Swiss francs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-roche-stocks/roche-shares-hit-by-trial-flops-fears-over-biosimilar-defense-idUSKCN1BM0UG'|'2017-09-11T11:14:00.000+03:00'
'980e19ba9b52b58ea532bd3f77f189e745e8421c'|'Exclusive - EU regulators to voice concerns about Luxottica, Essilor deal: source'|'  3:20 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Exclusive: EU regulators to voice concerns about Luxottica, Essilor deal - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Luxottica name is reflected in a pair of sunglasses in this photo illustration taken in Rome February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will meet Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) this week to express concerns about their 46-billion-euro ($55.12 billion) merger, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. The move shows that the European Commission wants concessions to address their concerns and that they are prepared to open an in-depth investigation if these are not given, or seen as insufficient. The deal, which would create a global eyewear powerhouse, has triggered worries among retailers and competitors. Italy’s Luxottica is the world’s No. 1 spectacles maker with brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley while France’s Essilor is the top lens maker. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu-exclus/exclusive-eu-regulators-to-voice-concerns-about-luxottica-essilor-deal-source-idUKKCN1BM20B'|'2017-09-11T18:17:00.000+03:00'
'd9df9dd0c3cc82d60331d2c9f2fb99e591d9aea1'|'Drax applies to turn more coal power to gas, build battery storage'|' 51 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Drax applies to turn more coal power to gas, build battery storage   (Reuters) - Drax ( DRX.L ) said on Wednesday it has applied to convert two of its remaining coal-fired power units to gas and to build battery storage, moves driven by Britain’s shift away from coal. Britain has said all coal power plants must be closed by the middle of the next decade and Drax, whose northern English coal plant was once Europe’s most polluting, has already switched three coal-burning units to wood pellets as a result. It now plans to install up to 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of gas-fired power capacity by replacing a maximum of two of its coal-burning turbines. It is also continuing with plans to convert a fourth coal unit to biomass. Drax said it has also notified Britain’s Planning Inspectorate, the body which recommends approvals of large infrastructure projects to the government, about its wishes to build a battery storage site of up to 200 megawatts (MW). “These options could repurpose up to two of our coal assets and extend their operation into the 2030s,” Andy Koss, chief executive of Drax’ power business, said. Drax said the project would only go ahead if it obtained 15-year contracts in Britain’s capacity market auctions. Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-drax-group-gas-planning/drax-applies-to-turn-more-coal-power-to-gas-build-battery-storage-idUKKCN1BO1QK'|'2017-09-13T16:51:00.000+03:00'
'ec1c99c32171302758efc3d098ccea0d8fd4c660'|'Auto leasing firm LeasePlan aims to list in 2018 -sources'|'FRANKFURT/LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Netherlands-based LeasePlan, the world’s largest auto-leasing firm, aims to float next year and could raise more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.LeasePlan said last month it was considering an IPO, potentially following in the tracks of French bank Societe Generale’s car leasing arm ALD which raised 1.2 billion euros when it floated in June.Deutsche Bank and UBS are expected to be picked as global coordinators for the planned listing, while STJ is advising owner TDR on the process, the people said.TDR and the banks declined to comment.ALD trades at a multiple of 10 times its 2017 expected earnings, while LeasePlan reported a rise in net profit by 15 percent to 275 million euros in the fist half of 2017.Assuming a similar valuation to ALD, Leaseplan it could be worth around 6 billion euros, meaning 25 percent of the firm could be sold for about 1.5 billion at IPO, analyst said.The exact size and timing of the Leaseplan IPO - which may slip into the second half of 2018 - have not yet been decided.Smaller German peer Sixt Leasing trades at a P/E ratio of 17, but is less comparable due some one-offs and its booming e-commerce business, one analyst said.LeasePlan was sold by Volkswagen and German bank Metzler in 2015 for 3.7 billion euros to a group of investors including Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM, Danish pension fund ATP, GIC, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and investment funds managed by TDR Capital.Along with European rivals, LeasePlan faces some uncertainties over the valuation of its 1.7 million vehicles under management, partly due to tighter emissions regulations.However, the company said in its 2016 annual report that to date it has not seen any significant impact on residual values or on the demand for certain types of used cars.Volkswagen Financial Services said on Wednesday that it also does not see the diesel debate having a significant impact on residual values of its leasing fleet. ($1 = 0.8396 euros) (Additional reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/leaseplan-corp-ipo/auto-leasing-firm-leaseplan-aims-to-list-in-2018-sources-idINL5N1LU4K6'|'2017-09-13T13:52:00.000+03:00'
'cd26d702540058a9b3c664d509a615d18917b133'|'BP files for IPO of U.S. pipeline assets'|'September 11, 2017 / 1:08 PM / Updated an hour ago BP files for IPO of U.S. Midwest, Gulf Coast pipeline assets Aparajita Saxena 3 Min Read BP''s logo is seen on one of its corporate sponsor pavilions in the Olympic park, in Stratfod, east London, July 19, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo (Reuters) - British energy company BP on Monday filed for an initial public offering of its U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast pipeline assets. BP Midstream Partners LP, the master limited partnership (MLP) formed by BP''s U.S. pipeline unit, plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BPMP," it said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ( bit.ly/2gVzlXb ) The offering comes nearly two months after BP outlined plans to spin off some of its U.S. pipeline assets in an IPO to raise cash. The IPO revives a plan first broached internally about five years ago before slumping crude oil prices caused BP to put the idea on hold, a source told Reuters in July. Other energy companies that have spun off their pipeline assets include Royal Dutch Shell — which in 2014 raised nearly $1 billion in the largest MLP listing to date — and refiners such as Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro Corp and Marathon Petroleum Corp. An MLP is a tax-advantaged structure often used by pipelines and other capital intensive companies to distribute excess cash to investors in the form of tax-deferred dividends. Most MLPs rely on external debt to fund new projects. Rising interest rates have made borrowing costlier for MLPs, weighing on their performance in recent months despite stabilizing oil prices. The Alerian MLP ETF has fallen 11.8 percent this year. “BP’s rationale for an MLP structure is basically to attract more investors,” Raymond James analyst Muhammed Ghulam said. BP’s U.S. pipeline business includes a network of 3,500 miles (5,633 kilometers) of pipelines and terminal facilities that transport and store more than 1.3 million barrels per day of oil, refined products and natural gas. In addition to the Gulf Coast and Midwest assets, BP operates pipelines in the Pacific Northwest. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan are among the underwriters for BP Midstream Partners’ IPO. BP Midstream said it intends to raise up to $100 million in the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-midstream-partners-ipo/bp-files-for-ipo-of-u-s-pipeline-assets-idUSKCN1BM1N8'|'2017-09-11T16:08:00.000+03:00'
'a64ba69b55f4a0e980f58cd3d6a8d50243c76ad3'|'FCA warns consumers on cryptocurrency fundraisings'|' 26 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago UK watchdog warns consumers on cryptocurrency fundraisings Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A logo of Bitcoin is seen on an advertisement of an electronic shop in Tokyo, Japan September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon LONDON (Reuters) - Intitial coin offerings (ICO), the practice of creating and selling digital currencies to finance start-up projects, are “very high risk” and speculative, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday. ICOs are a digital form of raising funds from the public using a virtual currency, with issuers accepting Bitcoin or Ether in exchange for a proprietary coin or token that is related to a specific company or project. “ICOs are very high-risk, speculative investments,” the FCA said in a consumer warning. “You should be conscious of the risks involved and fully research the specific project if you are thinking about buying digital tokens.” Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-bitcoin-regulator/uk-watchdog-warns-consumers-on-cryptocurrency-fundraisings-idUKKCN1BN0YJ'|'2017-09-12T12:26:00.000+03:00'
'6d7487c779cba9ba53a231290fa29ab5511cb58a'|'Irish house prices post fastest monthly rise in three years'|'  10:32 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Irish house prices post fastest monthly rise in three years Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A crane is seen behind a row of residential properties in the Capital Dock area of Dublin, Ireland December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish residential property inflation posted its fastest monthly rise in three years in July, as a lack of supply combined with surging demand helped to push prices up 3 percent, data showed on Tuesday. Annual price growth hit a two-year high of 12.3 percent, up from 7.1 percent a year ago, as prices were also buoyed by an easing of lending rules, a new government subsidy for first-time buyers and continued strong economic growth. Nationally, prices are 28 percent below the peak they hit a decade ago at the height of the property bubble. They have increased 60 percent on average from a 2013 low. Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-houseprices/irish-house-prices-post-fastest-monthly-rise-in-three-years-idUKKCN1BN15L'|'2017-09-12T13:31:00.000+03:00'
'cb20357fff888c70e171647e84254d772b878362'|'Two dozen bidders in fray to buy AXA''s wealth management unit in Hong Kong - sources'|'September 13, 2017 / 9:42 AM / a minute ago Two dozen bidders in fray to buy AXA''s wealth management unit in HK: sources Anshuman Daga , Sumeet Chatterjee 3 Min Read SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - About two dozen bidders, mainly from China, are vying to buy the Hong Kong wealth management unit of AXA SA ( AXAF.PA ), which the French insurer is looking to sell as it focuses on fast-growing businesses in Asia, three people familiar with the matter said. AXA Wealth Management HK Ltd, which offers savings and investment-linked insurance products, is expected to be valued at about $500 million, the sources said. The unit’s purchase would allow its buyer to get a toehold in Hong Kong’s lucrative insurance sector, without having to stand in queue for a license that could take a long time to get. Interest in AXA’s unit has mainly come from some insurers, Chinese state-owned enterprises, private investment groups and property companies, the sources said. China Taiping Insurance Holdings ( 0966.HK ) and Country Garden Holdings Co ( 2007.HK ) are among the companies that have shown interest, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak to media on the deal process. AXA and China Taiping declined to comment, while Country Garden did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hong Kong’s insurance sector has seen a flurry of M&A deals over the past two years as buyers, mostly deep-pocketed Chinese investors, target an industry that has been benefiting from strong sales of policies to people from the mainland. LUCRATIVE MARKET Hong Kong is home to 161 authorized insurers with about $48 billion in insurance premiums - small compared to $1.3 trillion in the United States and the United Kingdom’s $321 billion, but growing at a fast clip. Hong Kong is a developed life insurance market, with a life and health insurance premium to GDP ratio of 13.4 percent in 2015, the second-highest in Asia, according to Swiss Re. Last year, China’s Fujian Thai Hot Group, relatively new to Hong Kong financial circles, bought Dah Sing Financial’s life insurance unit for $1.4 billion in Hong Kong’s most expensive insurance M&A. AXA Wealth in Hong Kong is one of the last life insurers up for grabs in the Asian financial hub, the sources said. “Given the small size, a lot of buyers can afford this and scale it up,” one of them added. AXA is looking to wrap up the sale of the unit in a few months, the sources added. Reporting by Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Sumeet Chatterjee in HONG KONG, additional reporting by Julie Zhu in HONG KONG; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-axa-asia-insurance/two-dozen-bidders-in-fray-to-buy-axas-wealth-management-unit-in-hk-sources-idUKKCN1BO0ZD'|'2017-09-13T12:40:00.000+03:00'
'e49d06282baec1b7c8b66d9784c9c0645aabe4e0'|'New Apple Watch that makes calls turns comic book fantasy into reality'|'September 13, 2017 / 1:28 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago New Apple Watch that makes calls turns comic book fantasy into reality 4 Min Read Jeff Williams, Apple COO, talks about the Apple Watch Series 3. REUTERS/Stephen Lam CUPERTINO, Calif. (Reuters) - More than two years after releasing the Apple Watch, Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) has finally been able to replicate 1940s comic strip technology, an advance that analysts say will spur sales. The Series 3 of the Apple Watch, released on Tuesday along with the much-anticipated iPhone X, features wireless LTE connectivity. That means customers will be able to make phone calls or send text messages from the watch without needing to have an iPhone nearby, as they do with earlier models. The ability to make calls with a wristwatch has captured the imagination of tech enthusiasts at least since it was prominently featured in “Dick Tracy,” the comic about a private detective who, starting in 1946, used calls from his wrist to help bust bad guys. “This has been our vision from the beginning,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said at the launch event. “Now you can go for a run with just your watch and still be connected. It’s really nice to know you can be reached if needed.” To be sure, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) has sold smart watches with mobile data connectivity since 2014, but the first devices were bulky and suffered from poor battery life because the data connection consumed extra power. They also require a separate phone number. Apple claims its new Series 3, on the other hand, will have up to 18 hours of battery life and is just a fraction of a millimetre thicker that its previous Series 2. And it will have the same phone number as a customer’s iPhone, which will still be required for the initial set up of the watch. Apple said that all four major U.S. carriers will offer service for the watch, and AT&T Inc ( T.N ) and T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) both said it would cost an extra $10 a month. Jeff Williams, Apple COO, talks about Hermes Apple Watch bands. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Analysts generally believe the new connectivity could ignite sales, though there is little consensus as to how much. At $399, the new Watch is only slightly more expensive than the previous model, the $329 Series 2, which introduced standalone GPS capability. That $70 extra buys much more useful capabilities - including the ability to stream music from Apple Music. “The third time is the charm for the watch,” said Bob O‘Donnell of Techanalysis Research. What may hold some consumers back is the monthly recurring charge, which would far exceed the extra cost of the Series 3 over older watches over time, said Brian Blau, an Apple analyst with Gartner. “Yes, you do have to pay for that extra data plan, but it sounds like the carriers are at least going to make it relatively easy to do,” Blau said. Apple does not say how many Apple Watches it sells. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi believes Apple will sell 12 million watches in its fiscal 2017 and 14 million to 15 million in fiscal 2018. Gene Munster with Loup Ventures predicted a much bigger bump, to 26 million units in 2018. Either way, Apple is putting new pressure on smartwatch rivals such as Fitbit Inc ( FIT.N ) and Garmin Ltd ( GRMN.O ), which would be hard-pressed from a technical and business standpoint to match Apple’s wireless features. But the new Apple Watch still requires an iPhone, which Fitbit believes leaves it ample market room to sell wearable devices that work with all phones, not just iPhones. “With Android comprising approximately 80 percent of the global smartphone market, broad compatibility remains a core differentiator for Fitbit,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. Garmin did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours. The Watch will remain a blip in Apple’s sales, which were $215 billion last year. But it may be taking its place as part of a family of products that Apple loyalists cannot do without - all by making a schoolboy fantasy from the 1940s into reality for the masses. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Jonathan Weber, Lisa Shumaker and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-iphone-watch/new-apple-watch-that-makes-calls-turns-comic-book-fantasy-into-reality-idUKKCN1BO03Z'|'2017-09-13T04:29:00.000+03:00'
'6a5272e844005ec6957f2b5bd8119fff7b462c0e'|'Shell set to draw line under a century of Iraqi oil'|'  10:19 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Shell set to draw line under a century of Iraqi oil Ron Bousso 4 Min Read A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car''s side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) is set to end a century of oil production in Iraq by withdrawing from two of the Arab state’s flagship fields to focus on more profitable gas development. Shell’s retreat highlights the challenges foreign operators face with low-margin oil contracts in Iraq, an OPEC member that sits on some of the world’s biggest oil reserves and wants to boost production after years of conflict hindered development. The Anglo-Dutch firm said on Wednesday it had agreed with Iraq’s oil ministry to relinquish operations at Majnoon field to the government after unfavourable changes to fiscal terms. The announcement confirmed an earlier Reuters report. Shell is also selling its 20 percent stake in West Qurna 1 oil field in the south of the country. The field is operated by Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ). Investment bank Lazard is running the sale for Shell, industry sources told Reuters. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shell said it was still committed to producing gas in Iraq, saying it would focus on developing and expanding the Basra Gas Company, which processes gas from the Rumaila, West Qurna and Zubair fields. It has a 44 percent stake in the joint venture. Shell produced almost 20 million barrels of oil from Iraq during 2016, which accounted for about 3.5 percent of the firm’s total oil output last year, according to Shell’s annual report. Precise terms of the contract terms are not public and Shell has not detailed its earnings from Iraqi oil. But a source told Reuters last year Shell had found limited financial benefit in recent years from oil production in Iraq, where it is paid in crude but has limited say on strategy. “The Oil Minister of Iraq formally endorsed a recent Shell proposal to pursue an amicable and mutually acceptable release of the Shell interest in Majnoon, with the timeline to be agreed in due course,” a Shell company spokesman said. Shell took the decision after Iraq applied performance penalties on the Shell-operated venture “which had a significant impact on its commerciality,” he said. Battling a sharp fall in oil prices since 2014, Iraq asked foreign firms to cut spending on oil projects in order to reduce the cash-strapped government’s contribution in shared ventures. Foreign firms in Iraq have long urged Baghdad to revise oil production contract terms to encourage development of reserves that Iraq estimates at about 153 billion barrels, the fourth biggest in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. “Maybe now they will speed things up,” one executive from another company operating in Iraq said. Shell, via its subsidiary Anglo Saxon Oil Company, was among a consortium of European firms called Turkish Petroleum Company which acquired concessions in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire to explore for oil in today’s Iraq. Oil was found 15 years later. Shell started developing Majnoon, which means “crazy” in Arabic, in 2010. It holds a 45 percent stake in the field that it operates under a technical service contract that expires in 2030. Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas ( PETR.KL ) holds a 30 percent stake, while Iraqi government holds 25 percent. Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Rania El Gamal in Dubai and Fanny Potkin in London; Editing by Jason Neely and Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-iraq-qurna/shell-selling-its-stake-in-iraqs-west-qurna-1-oil-field-idUKKCN1BO13D'|'2017-09-13T15:52:00.000+03:00'
'b0b83a8b75b07ecc03c45ef7819bdc12b09c80c0'|'China''s LinkGlobal could enter bidding for Air Berlin: Bild'|'A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin is being towed at Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) has attracted buyer interest from China’s LinkGlobal Logistics, which is likely to join a growing list of suitors, German newspaper Bild said on Wednesday.The paper said LinkGlobal, which operates German regional airport Parchim, expressed its intention of making a bid to the airline’s administrator in a letter dated Aug. 31 from LinkGlobal’s managing director Jonathan Pang.LinkGlobal pledged to hand in a bid by the Sept. 15 deadline, according to the letter, a copy of which Bild said it had obtained.The logistics group also said in the letter it would look to move Air Berlin’s headquarters to Parchim, a town in north-eastern Germany.Bild said that Air Berlin’s administrator declined to comment.Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its biggest shareholder, Etihad Airways, withdrew funding following years of losses.Germany’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, is seen in pole position to acquire large parts and a decision on the bids come could as early as Sept. 21, three days before a national election.Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-airberlin-linkglobal/chinas-linkglobal-could-enter-bidding-for-air-berlin-bild-idINKCN1BN30Q'|'2017-09-12T20:08:00.000+03:00'
'1133bafbb3bb522f04b24e876afaeebfe6fb7f22'|'Alliance Pharma first-half revenue rises on strong sales abroad'|' 36 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Alliance Pharma first-half revenue rises on strong sales abroad Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - British specialty pharmaceutical company Alliance Pharma Plc ( ALAPH.L ) on Wednesday reported an 8.4 percent rise in first-half revenue, helped by international sales of its scar reduction product and eye supplement. The company, listed on London’s junior stock market, said revenue rose to 50.3 million pounds for the six months ended June 30, from 46.4 million pounds a year ago. Underlying profit before tax rose 1.7 percent to 11.9 million pounds during the period. Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alliance-phrma-results/alliance-pharma-first-half-revenue-rises-on-strong-sales-abroad-idUKKCN1BO0K3'|'2017-09-13T09:36:00.000+03:00'
'6dc7d17e4ca9209ca53352656c5c69f75b7ba099'|'Indirect bidders buy least U.S. 30-year bonds since November'|'NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Indirect bidders which include fund managers and foreign central banks on Wednesday purchased their smallest share of U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds at an auction in 10 months, according to U.S. Treasury Department data.The U.S. Treasury awarded 58.79 percent of the $12 billion of 30-year bonds offered, less than the 66.79 percent at the 30-year auction last month and their smallest percentage since November when it was 54.45 percent. (Reporting by Richard Leong; editing by Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-30year/indirect-bidders-buy-least-u-s-30-year-bonds-since-november-idINL2N1LU1CT'|'2017-09-13T15:22:00.000+03:00'
'8a2caf2f53f54b1d0beb94df3946fdc9c8820944'|'Bell Pottinger''s British business collapses after South African scandal'|'  4:52 PM / Updated 43 minutes ago Bell Pottinger''s British business folds after South Africa scandal Kate Holton 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Bell Pottinger’s British arm collapsed on Tuesday after the global public relations agency’s clients deserted it over a racially-charged political campaign it ran in South Africa. After working behind the scenes on some of the most defining moments in recent history, from the election of Margaret Thatcher to the death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, Bell Pottinger crumpled following a scandal of its own making. It entered a tailspin earlier this month after it was thrown out of an industry body for running a campaign in support of South African President Jacob Zuma, funded by the influential Gupta family, that sought to stir racial tension. Bell Pottinger, which is based in London, has lost customers, partners and its second-biggest shareholder in recent weeks, prompting the UK company to be put into administration -- a form of creditor protection -- after failing to find a buyer. “Following an immediate assessment of the financial position, the administrators have made a number of redundancies,” accountants BDO said on Tuesday. “The administrators are now working with the remaining partners and employees to seek an orderly transfer of Bell Pottinger’s clients to other firms in order to protect and realise value for creditors,” BDO added. NO OPTION AFTER LOSSES Bell Pottinger apologised in July this year after an email published in South African media showed it had sought to stress the continued “existence of economic apartheid”. With the inflammatory slogan “white monopoly capital” running on a Gupta-owned television channel, the country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, complained that Bell Pottinger was seeking to “divide and conquer” the public. The outcry led to the resignation of Bell Pottinger CEO James Henderson, also its biggest shareholder, while its second-biggest investor wrote off its stake. Clients such as global bank HSBC publicly distanced themselves from the firm. BDO said none of Bell Pottinger’s subsidiaries outside the UK were in administration, and would continue to trade under the control of their separate management teams. “Bell Pottinger has been heavily financially impacted by the well-publicised issues,” BDO said. “Late last week, the level of those losses, compounded by the inability of the business to win new clients, was such that remaining management were left with no option but to commence the process to place all UK Bell Pottinger entities into administration,” it added. Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-safrica-politics-bellpottinger/bell-pottingers-british-business-collapses-after-south-african-scandal-idUKKCN1BN2CB'|'2017-09-12T19:52:00.000+03:00'
'd9e347830e248cad57d035ea55501f1d528369dd'|'Asian shares lifted to 10 year high Wall Street record finishes'|'September 13, 2017 / 1:02 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Asian shares touch 10-year peak as Wall St. hits records Lisa Twaronite 5 Min Read A man looks at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks wobbled on Wednesday but still marked a 10-year high, cheered by record highs on Wall Street, while shares of Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) suppliers dipped following the release of the latest iPhone. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was slightly lower, after earlier poking up to its highest level since October 2007. Australian shares added 0.2 percent, while Korean shares .KS11 were 0.1 percent higher. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 .SPX , Dow Jones industrials .DJI and Nasdaq Composite .IXIC all marked record finishes as investors'' concerns faded about North Korean tensions as well as the impact of Hurricane Irma.[.N] “In the U.S. we had a bit of unwinding of the fear trade that it’s been going through and that’s flowing through to us as well,” said Mathan Somasundaram, a market portfolio strategist with Blue Ocean Equities in Sydney. U.S. gains were kept in check, however, by a decline in shares of Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) after it unveiled its newest line of iPhones. Apple fell 0.6 percent but pared some losses in afterhours trade. The new iPhone’s sales will have repercussions beyond Apple for many suppliers as well as its rivals. Taiwan’s benchmark dropped 0.5 percent, as shares of Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( 2330.TW ), the world’s biggest contract chip maker, dipped 0.5 percent, while Hon Hai Precision Industry ( 2317.TW ) was 0.4 percent lower. Japan''s Nikkei stock index .N225 added 0.5 percent to a one-month high, getting a tailwind as the yen stayed far away for its recent peaks. “The Nikkei is not rising on fundamentals at the moment, but rather on supply and demand moves, as the weaker yen prompts investors to cover short positions” that they took during recent bouts of risk aversion, said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities. “Lately, we have seen some reactive moves in early trading, and then stabilization or even profit-taking later in the session, and today might be the same,” Miura said. The dollar inched 0.1 percent lower on the day to 110.06 yen JPY= , but remained well above last Friday''s 10-month low of 107.32 plumbed when Hurricane Irma loomed and investors braced for the possibility of another missile or nuclear test to mark North Korea''s founding day on Sept. 9. The yen tends to benefit during times of economic and political uncertainty due to Japan’s net creditor nation status, and the expectation that Japanese investors would repatriate assets during times of crisis. Investors remained wary of a flare-up of tensions at any moment on the Korean peninsula, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying on Tuesday that U.N. sanctions on North Korea this week were a “very small step,” and “nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen” to deal with the country’s nuclear program. North Korea remained defiant over the latest sanctions, vowing to redouble efforts to fight off what it said was the threat of a U.S. invasion. The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.1978 EUR= , while the dollar index .DXY was down 0.1 percent at 91.814, holding well above Friday''s 2-1/2-year low of 91.011. Meanwhile, bitcoin skidded 3.3 percent to $4,027.66 BTC=BTSP on the BitStamp platform, after Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N, said on Tuesday that the crypto-currency "is a fraud" and will blow up. Bitcoin slid 6.6 percent on Friday, after reports that China was about to shut down local crypto-currency exchanges. Crude oil futures were mixed after gaining on Tuesday, when OPEC forecast higher demand in 2018 and Russia and Venezuela confirmed their commitment to a production-cutting deal to reduce the global crude glut. [O/R] Brent crude LCOc1 slipped 0.2 percent to $54.16 per barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 rose slightly to $48.24. Additional reporting by Nicole Pinto in Sydney; Editing by Kim Coghill & Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asian-shares-lifted-to-10-year-high-wall-st-record-finishes-idUKKCN1BO02T'|'2017-09-13T04:02:00.000+03:00'
'ad20a2b4b756280f617b750d4d9f3f793fcb525f'|'U.S. fund investors hesitant on domestic stocks -ICI'|'September 13, 2017 / 5:37 PM / Updated 3 hours ago U.S. fund investors hesitant on domestic stocks: ICI Trevor Hunnicutt 2 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - International stocks and taxable bonds raked in cash for the 40th week in a row as investors tiptoed away from the domestic equity market, Investment Company Institute (ICI) data for U.S.-based funds showed on Wednesday. Taxable bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds attracted $5.9 billion, and world stock funds pulled in another $2.7 billion, the trade group said. The data reflects activity in the week ended Sept 6, after North Korea’s largest ever nuclear bomb test and U.S. investors were shaken by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Stocks have gained in the days since as those concerns ebbed. “With the uncertainty tied to the impact of hurricanes and geopolitical risks tied to North Korea, investors have continued to favor the relative stability of investment-grade bond funds,” said Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA. The demand for bonds comes even as prominent investors warned about the safety of debt markets. Hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman on Tuesday said it looks like bonds are in a bubble. Closely watched investor Jeffrey Gundlach, also on Tuesday, said he was not optimistic about how bonds will fair in the next recession. Domestic stock flows dipped during the most recent week, with withdrawals nearing $3 billion, compared to $3.7 billion in inflows the week before. An MSCI Inc gauge of U.S. stocks trails the 21.3 percent return of 46 other top markets by more than 8 percentage points this year. “The relative strength of international equities has likely contributed to continued demand,” said Rosenbluth. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mutualfunds-ici/u-s-fund-investors-hesitant-on-domestic-stocks-ici-idUSKCN1BO2BW'|'2017-09-13T20:30:00.000+03:00'
'296ead7bb84e6e5cc220bfd077f9550502e1c0ff'|'LSE buys further stake in clearing arm LCH'|'Sept 13 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) has agreed to buy an additional stake of up to 6.8 percent in its clearing arm LCH from some of its minority shareholders, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.LSE did not disclose the terms of the deals, in a brief statement issued after markets closed.In 2013 LSE acquired a majority stake in LCH Clearnet by paying 15 euros per share. After the deal, LSE was expected to own up to 57.8 percent of the firm, leaving other LCH shareholders with at most 42.2 percent.LSE has committed to invest to drive growth after the collapse of its proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse and in August reported a higher first-half profit, partly helped by a strong performance in its clearing business.LCH currently dominates clearing of euro-denominated financial instruments but the future location of euro clearing is uncertain following Britain’s move to leave the European Union.The European Commission has proposed that the EU would help supervise clearing houses like LCH in London after Brexit, with forced relocation of clearing to a euro zone rival such as Eurex only a last resort.LSE said on Wednesday that all shareholders in LCH had been notified of the share sale and that it would in due course confirm its updated shareholding in LCH following the deals. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/lse-deals/lse-buys-further-stake-in-clearing-arm-lch-idUSL5N1LU5MC'|'2017-09-14T01:42:00.000+03:00'
'3c59c8cd1806f2d93e577511ac3e8506f514a3b2'|'Shell selling its stake in Iraq''s West Qurna 1 oil field'|'A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car''s side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, January 29, 2015. Picture taken January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is set to end a century of oil production in Iraq by withdrawing from two of the Arab state’s flagship fields to focus on more profitable gas development.Shell’s retreat highlights the challenges foreign operators face with low-margin oil contracts in Iraq, an OPEC member that sits on some of the world’s biggest oil reserves and wants to boost production after years of conflict hindered development.The Anglo-Dutch firm said on Wednesday it had agreed with Iraq’s oil ministry to relinquish operations at Majnoon field to the government after unfavorable changes to fiscal terms. The announcement confirmed an earlier Reuters report.Shell is also selling its 20 percent stake in West Qurna 1 oil field in the south of the country. The field is operated by Exxon Mobil.Investment bank Lazard is running the sale for Shell, industry sources told Reuters. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Shell said it was still committed to producing gas in Iraq, saying it would focus on developing and expanding the Basra Gas Company, which processes gas from the Rumaila, West Qurna and Zubair fields. It has a 44 percent stake in the joint venture.Shell produced almost 20 million barrels of oil from Iraq during 2016, which accounted for about 3.5 percent of the firm’s total oil output last year, according to Shell’s annual report.Precise terms of the contract terms are not public and Shell has not detailed its earnings from Iraqi oil.But a source told Reuters last year Shell had found limited financial benefit in recent years from oil production in Iraq, where it is paid in crude but has limited say on strategy.“The Oil Minister of Iraq formally endorsed a recent Shell proposal to pursue an amicable and mutually acceptable release of the Shell interest in Majnoon, with the timeline to be agreed in due course,” a Shell company spokesman said.Shell took the decision after Iraq applied performance penalties on the Shell-operated venture “which had a significant impact on its commerciality,” he said.Battling a sharp fall in oil prices since 2014, Iraq asked foreign firms to cut spending on oil projects in order to reduce the cash-strapped government’s contribution in shared ventures.Foreign firms in Iraq have long urged Baghdad to revise oil production contract terms to encourage development of reserves that Iraq estimates at about 153 billion barrels, the fourth biggest in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.“Maybe now they will speed things up,” one executive from another company operating in Iraq said.Shell, via its subsidiary Anglo Saxon Oil Company, was among a consortium of European firms called Turkish Petroleum Company which acquired concessions in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire to explore for oil in today’s Iraq. Oil was found 15 years later.Shell started developing Majnoon, which means “crazy” in Arabic, in 2010.It holds a 45 percent stake in the field that it operates under a technical service contract that expires in 2030. Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas holds a 30 percent stake, while Iraqi government holds 25 percent.Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Rania El Gamal in Dubai and Fanny Potkin in London; Editing by Jason Neely and Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shell-iraq-qurna/shell-selling-its-stake-in-iraqs-west-qurna-1-oil-field-idUSKCN1BO13F'|'2017-09-13T18:21:00.000+03:00'
'ee725276ca38004e62ef1989b22302a2db09da24'|'Goldman details $5 billion revenue growth plan'|'September 12, 2017 / 1:02 PM / Updated an hour ago Goldman details $5 billion revenue growth plan amid investor questions Olivia Oran 3 Min Read A Goldman Sachs sign is displayed inside the company''s post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) on Tuesday unveiled a growth plan that could add as much as $5 billion (3.76 billion pounds) in revenue annually, as the bank seeks to reassure investors after two poor trading quarters in a row. The growth initiative, which is not dependent on an overall improvement in the market environment, can be realized in the next three years and could contribute up to $2.5 billion in pre-tax earnings, Goldman president Harvey Schwartz said during a Barclays Group PLC financials conference in New York. The plans represent a marked shift for a firm that historically has given its shareholders little information about how it makes its money. But investor frustration particularly around the firm’s fixed income trading performance has tested Goldman’s time-tested “black box” strategy, Reuters reported in August. “These are things that generally might give you a sense of what’s happening under the hood at Goldman Sachs,” Schwartz said. Schwartz devoted significant time detailing growth priorities within fixed income, which during the second quarter reported a 40 percent drop in revenue. These opportunities include courting a greater number of asset managers and banks to trade with the firm; expanding its footprint with corporate clients particularly in commodities and currencies; lending more to clients; and hiring more trading talent. These plans could add $1 billion in revenue to Goldman each year, Schwartz said. Goldman had said it was trying to reduce its reliance on hedge fund clients and to encourage bankers and traders to work together to boost profit with the trading division. Goldman also is focussed on growing its lending portfolio across the firm, including its Marcus consumer loan and deposit platform, its corporate clients and its private wealth management clients. Some analysts expressed hesitation that Goldman will be able to execute on these plans. “Goldman’s growth strategy is focussed on penetrating new markets or client segments outside of the company’s traditional strengths so we are somewhat sceptical of the management’s ability to hit these revenue targets,” KBW analyst Brian Kleinhanzl wrote in a note. Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-banks-goldman-sachs-growth/goldman-details-5-billion-revenue-growth-plan-idUKKCN1BN1M8'|'2017-09-12T16:01:00.000+03:00'
'ace5a166baa262f06ffdb46268376061261cc25e'|'Electric car focus risks handing jobs to China, EU auto suppliers warn'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:40 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Build batteries or lose jobs, auto bosses tell Europe Emma Thomasson , Georgina Prodhan 4 Min Read A sign is pictured on an electric car charging station at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe shouldn’t rush to abandon the combustion engine and must build up its own production of electric car batteries to compete with China, auto suppliers and manufacturers said at the Frankfurt motor show. The comments come as the future of the car has become a hot topic in campaigning ahead of Germany’s Sept. 24 election, especially after Britain and France announced plans to eventually phase out combustion engines to try to cut pollution. Roberto Vavassori, president of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), warned a headlong rush to electric cars would hand business to China, which along with South Korea and Japan dominate battery production for such vehicles. “We need to provide a sensible transition period that doesn’t give unwanted gifts to our Chinese friends,” he said, estimating European automakers were paying 4,000-7,000 euros (£3,610-6,319) to China for batteries for every electric car. Vavassori called for a European drive to develop the next generation of battery cells. He said carmakers and politicians should look at other ways of cutting vehicle emissions too, such as more efficient engines and synthetic fuels. Germany’s Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) both announced plans on the eve of the Frankfurt show to accelerate their shift to electric cars. The head of Volkswagen’s core auto division said on Wednesday that European industry should come together to create a regional supplier of batteries. “For the initial phase, I still feel in good hands with the Korean suppliers, but I would appreciate if competition were to grow and a European consortium would emerge,” VW brand Chief Executive Herbert Diess told Reuters. “EUROPE AT RISK” German Chancellor Angela Merkel has raised the possibility of state support to bring chip and battery production back to Europe and her Social Democrat challenger Martin Schulz has also called for investment in cell production in Germany. The stakes are high, with the auto industry as a whole providing around 12.6 million jobs in the European Union, or about 5.7 percent of the total. Trade unions have been putting pressure on manufacturers to make electric cars in existing factories and invest in battery production in Europe, rather than outsourcing the work to Asia. “Self-contained value chains are a central pillar of our industrial model and play a big role in the success of the German economy,” Joerg Hofmann, president of the IG Metall union, told steel and car industry members on Wednesday. CLEPA’s Vavassori said Europe was lagging behind in the production of sensors and microchips, as well as batteries, and there was a risk in relying on Chinese supplies given geopolitical instability. “We need production in Europe for vehicles of the future, or we put all Europe at risk,” he said. Many in the car industry want governments to focus on setting targets to bring down carbon dioxide emissions, rather being prescriptive about quotas for electric cars. “Mandating certain percentages of certain technologies doesn’t take us to the best solution,” said Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche, who currently chairs ACEA, the main European carmakers’ association. On Wednesday, ACEA offered to further cut CO2 emissions by 2030, albeit dependent on uptake of electric cars. Germany’s Robert Bosch, the world’s biggest auto supplier, is keeping its options open, optimising the combustion engine and also exploring synthetic fuels, which could use existing filling stations and engines. “This is a faster way of limiting global warming,” said Bosch chief executive Volkmar Denner. “We are doing this alongside electric vehicles.” Additional reporting by Laurence Frost, Edward Taylor and Andreas Cremer; Editing by Keith Weir and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-suppliers/electric-car-focus-risks-handing-jobs-to-china-eu-auto-suppliers-warn-idUKKCN1BO1C0'|'2017-09-13T14:39:00.000+03:00'
'cd0d2d0eb3306c8f2c0995b75de00d718d74047b'|'Michelin eyes further takeover deals in gastronomy'|'Logos of the new 2017 annual Michelin restaurant guide are seen during the announcement of the newly-promoted chef in Paris, France, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Michelin ( MICP.PA ), which in July bought a stake in the influential Robert Parker wine guide, said it was not ruling out further acquisitions of similar upmarket, gastronomy brands.Michelin is mainly known for its tyre products, but the company has also run the Michelin guide to top restaurants and hotels for more than a century.Claire Dorland Clauzel, executive vice president of sustainable development at Michelin, told reporters at the Frankfurt car show that Michelin aimed to triple sales by 2020 within her particular part of the business.Michelin bought restaurant booking website “Bookatable” in 2016 and in July this year it purchased a 40 percent stake in Robert Parker Wine Advocate - the fine wine guide of influential critic Robert Parker.Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-frankfurt-michelin/michelin-eyes-further-takeover-deals-in-gastronomy-idINKCN1BO0Y0'|'2017-09-13T07:29:00.000+03:00'
'936d4ceaad0bab5d6fe0e4be6363535e2cc22f5d'|'UPDATE 1-Iconic Canadian retailer Roots files for IPO'|'(Adds details from filing)Sept 13 (Reuters) - Canadian lifestyle retailer Roots Corp said on Wednesday it filed a preliminary prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada for a proposed initial public offering of its common shares.The company, known for its casual wear and leather goods with a distinctive beaver logo, said New York-based private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners LP and founders Michael Budman and Don Green are selling their stake.The retailer is seeking to raise about C$200 million in the share sale this month and could have a market value of about C$700 million ($574 million) after listing, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.The shares will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ROOT, according to the regulatory filing. ( bit.ly/2x2kNeb )Roots reported sales of C$281.9 million in fiscal 2016, up 10 percent from a year earlier, according to the filing. The company’s net income nearly halved to $8.1 million in the same period.Roots’ proposed listing follows luxury jacket maker Canada Goose Holdings Inc’s IPO in March. Shares of the company are up nearly 27 percent since its debut. CIBC World Markets, Canaccord Genuity Corp and National Bank Financial are serving as underwriters for the Toronto-based Roots Corp, which has 116 retail stores in Canada and an online business that ships products to 54 countries. (Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/roots-corp-ipo/update-1-iconic-canadian-retailer-roots-files-for-ipo-idINL4N1LU5O9'|'2017-09-13T20:48:00.000+03:00'
'581a114562a8b81b2afbd6cabb88157c0d010dba'|'Facebook introduces new rules on advertising, hate speech'|'September 13, 2017 / 1:34 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Facebook to clamp down on who can cash in on ads Douglas Busvine 4 Min Read Miniature Facebook banners are seen on snacks prepared for the visit by Facebook''s Chief Operating Officer in Paris, France, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Facebook ( FB.O ) has tightened its rules on who can make money from advertising on its network, responding to criticism that it is too simple for providers of fake news and sensational headlines to cash in. The world’s largest social network implemented the new standards with immediate effect to make it clearer which publishers can earn money on Facebook and with what content. The new standards coincided with an appearance by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg in Germany, one of Facebook’s toughest critics on hate speech and safeguarding privacy. Facebook, together with Alphabet’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google, accounts for around two fifths of internet advertising, which is forecast by consultancy Zenith to grow by 13 percent to $205 billion this year – overtaking television as the biggest channel for companies to pitch their wares to consumers. Marketing executives have criticized Facebook for failing to ensure that the digital ads distributed to its more than 2 billion active users reach their intended audience. It has also drawn criticism from major advertisers for inflating its audience figures and not adequately tracking ads, which were sometimes placed alongside content detrimental to the brands being promoted. On Wednesday, Facebook said it would seek accreditation from the Media Ratings Council, a U.S. non-profit organization, for audience measurement services. “We take very seriously our responsibility to earn and maintain the trust of people in businesses,” Sandberg told dmexco, a major digital marketing gathering in Cologne. “We hear their concerns about safe environments, about standards, about measurement, and this is critical to us,” she said. “We’re working hard to roll things out that give you more control over where your ads run, and more knowledge about where your ads run, before, during and after campaign.” COMMUNITY STANDARDS To make money on Facebook in future, content creators and publishers will have to comply with its so-called community standards, which seek to ensure that content is authentic, not offensive and adheres to its guidelines. Those publishing content flagged as misinformation or false news may be ruled ineligible to profit from Facebook, as would creators of clickbait and sensationalism, according to the rules seen by Reuters. Facebook’s guidelines for monetization give broad definitions of content that would be disallowed – including “family entertainment characters engaged in violent, sexualized, or otherwise inappropriate behavior”. Also covered are depictions of death, casualties and physical injuries in tragedies such as natural disasters; and content that is incendiary, inflammatory, demeaning or disparaging toward people or groups. Facebook said it will provide post-campaign feedback to advertisers that clearly identifies the publishers that ran their ads. Facebook will also step up its monitoring of hate speech, adding 3,000 content reviewers to nearly double the size of its existing team, Senior Vice President for Global Marketing Solutions Carolyn Everson said in a blog post. “As soon as we determine that content has breached our community standards, we remove it. With a community as large as Facebook, however, zero tolerance cannot mean zero occurrence,” she said. Germany has led the way in demanding action on hate speech. Its parliament passed a law in June to introduce fines of up to 50 million euros ($60 million) for social media networks if they fail to remove hateful postings promptly. Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Emma Thomasson and Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-advertising-dmexco-facebook/facebook-introduces-new-rules-on-advertising-hate-speech-idUKKCN1BO1ON'|'2017-09-13T16:36:00.000+03:00'
'1162721d1d99634aabe80a77e24bdd9b6c9dee47'|'Exclusive: Amazon plans mega-warehouse for Mexico growth spurt'|'September 13, 2017 / 2:46 PM / Updated an hour ago Exclusive: Amazon plans mega-warehouse for Mexico growth spurt Daina Beth Solomon 8 Min Read MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is preparing to open a 1 million square-foot warehouse near Mexico City, sources familiar with the project said, part of an effort to boost its presence in Mexico’s nascent e-commerce industry. The new warehouse is slated to be built in the Tepotzotlan municipality about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Mexican capital, according to four Mexico City real estate professionals familiar with the plans. Expected to be completed next year, the facility would triple Amazon’s distribution space in Mexico, home to around 120 million potential customers. Amazon’s Mexico push comes amid talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, which could benefit the Seattle-based retailer if the United States persuades Mexico to raise a $50 limit on the value of online purchases that can be imported duty-free. Amazon is a relative newcomer to Mexico; it opened its Kindle e-books site to Mexican customers in 2013 and expanded into sales of physical goods just two years ago. But it is growing much faster than rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and is already the nation’s third-largest online retailer. Amazon posted $253 million in sales in Mexico last year, more than double the year before, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. Sharing a nearly 2,000-mile long border with the United States, Mexico would seem a logical place for Amazon to expand. But duplicating the company’s U.S.-style success could prove tougher. Online shopping comprises nearly 3 percent of all retail sales in Mexico compared with over 10 percent in the United States. Some Mexican shoppers are wary of online fraud and many do not have credit cards. Some analysts believe Amazon is willing to take the risk as it races to bulk up in foreign markets to compete with fast-moving global competitors such as China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. “Amazon is not afraid to plow into a new market in a very big way, take a big hit, but say, 10 years down the line, this is going to be big and profitable,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at the GlobalData Retail research firm. Amazon spokesman Julio Gil declined to comment on plans for a new warehouse in Mexico. He said the company’s Mexican unit is aiming to expand its product offerings, offer faster deliveries and make the purchasing process as smooth and secure as possible to inspire consumer confidence. “We’re trying to eliminate any friction,” Gil said. Amazon’s stock climbed more than 1 percent on Wednesday, reaching $994.10 a share by early afternoon. FLUID LOGISTICS Amazon currently operates two distribution centers in Mexico totaling more than 500,000 square feet (46,452 sq m), Gil said. Both are in Cuautitlan Izcalli in the state of Mexico, adjacent to the autonomous district of Mexico City, whose metro area is home to more than 20 million people. The new warehouse will be constructed about 7 miles (11 km) from the existing facilities. All are located along the so-called “NAFTA” highway, an industrial belt that runs through Mexico’s factory regions to the U.S. border. The new facility is being built by industrial developer Fibra Prologis, according to sources familiar with the plans. The Mexico-based real estate investment trust owns 34.2 million square feet (3.2 million sq m) of manufacturing and logistics space across Mexico. Prologis declined interview requests. At 1 million square feet, the new facility would be able to distribute bulky products such as furniture, as well as small items like books and microwaves, a set-up Amazon uses in other foreign countries, said Marc Wulfraat, president of the logistics consultancy firm MWPVL International. If about 85 percent of the space is used for small products – typical of a U.S. warehouse set-up – Amazon would be able to store 15 million products and make up to 1 million deliveries a day nationwide. It would likely employ 2,000 to 3,000 people to handle the shipments, Wulfraat said. The location could also serve as a distribution point for products going north to the United States, added Saunders from GlobalData. Amazon.com''s logo is seen at Amazon Japan''s office building in Tokyo, Japan, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon “Amazon is very fluid with its logistics,” he said. “As long as that border is reasonably open, Amazon is very agnostic.” MEXICAN RETICENCE ONLINE Amazon’s global operations stretch across 14 countries including Latin America’s most populous nations, Brazil and Mexico. That footprint fueled $11.5 billion in net international sales in the second quarter, just over half the size of Amazon’s North American sales. Amazon’s 2016 Mexico sales fell well behind the market leader, Argentina’s MercadoLibre Inc, with $435 million in sales, according to Euromonitor. Still Amazon edged out No. 4 Wal-Mart and was neck-and-neck with third-place Linio, a division of Berlin-based Rocket Internet . All are fighting for loyalty from consumers largely unaccustomed to clickable shopping and wary of credit card and mail fraud. “Much of the reticence of Mexican shoppers to make purchases online is uncertainty,” said Carlos Hermosillo Bernal, an analyst at Actinver. “Will I get the product? Is it what was being offered? What guarantee do I have?” That reluctance may fade as Mexico’s middle- and upper-class millennials gain purchasing power. Mexico City-based college student Daniel Arturo Munoz Castro, 20, said he has purchased board games, smartphone accessories and t-shirts on Amazon’s app. He appreciates the variety of products and ease of use, even though his father first thought it might be a scam. “It’s not like other web pages when you order things, and perhaps they don’t arrive. It’s very safe,” he said. Still, Mexico’s vast wealth disparity and cultural differences lead some analysts to doubt whether Amazon can replicate a U.S. shopping concept. Amazon backed off from its investments in China, for example, after struggling to understand the local markets, said Gene Munster, managing partner at Loup Ventures. “If they largely failed in China, why try in Mexico, Brazil or India? The answer is they haven’t failed yet in those areas, and they may be able to right the ship,” he said. TWEAKING TRADE RULES If the United States, Mexico and Canada raise the value of online purchases that can be imported duty-free as part of a modernized North American Free Trade Agreement, Amazon may be poised to reap rewards in Mexico. The proposal, which is backed by U.S. trade representatives, would push the duty-free limit on imports to about $800 from thresholds of $50 in Mexico and C$20 ($16.5) in Canada. That would give consumers in those countries an incentive to buy big-ticket products online from the United States, an idea that President Donald Trump has championed in his “Buy American” agenda. Mexican negotiators, however, are treading cautiously amid push-back from Mexican industries such as textiles and footwear. “We have to find a middle point that does not damage our economies with extreme liberalization,” Mexico Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said at the conclusion of NAFTA talks in Mexico City early this month. The next round is scheduled for Ottawa in late September. International trade analyst Claude Barfield of the American Enterprise Institute anticipates that even a compromise is unlikely to dash Amazon’s plans for Mexico. “I can’t imagine this would be a deal-breaker,” he said. (For a graphic, click here ) Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Marla Dickerson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-mexico-exclusive/exclusive-amazon-plans-mega-warehouse-for-mexico-growth-spurt-idUSKCN1BO1RD'|'2017-09-13T17:32:00.000+03:00'
'fb1c707dac620607e7a1a5f394411f103f0c244e'|'Halfords names Dixons Carphone executive as new boss'|'September 13, 2017 / 6:17 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Halfords names Dixons Carphone executive as new boss Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Halfords sign is seen outside a store in London, Britain April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON (Reuters) - British bicycles to car parts retailer Halfords ( HFD.L ) on Wednesday named Dixons Carphone ( DC.L ) executive Graham Stapleton as its new chief executive with effect from January next year. Stapleton will succeed Jill McDonald who is leaving Halfords to run Marks & Spencer’s ( MKS.L ) clothing business. Halfords said Jonny Mason will be interim CEO, in addition to his existing role as chief financial officer, with effect from Sept. 22. Stapleton, currently CEO of Dixons Carphone’s software business, Honeybee, will start on Jan. 15. Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-halfords-moves/halfords-names-dixons-carphone-executive-as-new-boss-idUKKCN1BO0J1'|'2017-09-13T09:17:00.000+03:00'
'248e794be3db12baba313bfd21474395d0a6db2d'|'GRAINS-Corn prices inch up, but USDA forecast caps gains'|'SYDNEY, Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. corn edged up on Wednesday to move away from a two-week low touched the day before, but a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast for higher North American production kept a lid on gains. FUNDAMENTALS * The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.4 percent at $3.52-3/4 a bushel by 0102 GMT. They slumped 1.7 percent in the previous session, when prices marked their weakest since Aug. 31 at $3.45-1/2 a bushel. * The most active soybean futures were up 0.6 percent at $9.55-3/4 a bushel, having closed down 1 percent on Tuesday. * The most active wheat futures rose 0.4 percent to $4.43-3/4 a bushel, after ending Tuesday down 1.7 percent. * The USDA in a monthly report raised its estimate of the average U.S. 2017 corn yield to 169.9 bushels per acre (bpa) from its August estimate of 169.5 bpa, above an average of analyst expectations for 168.2 bpa. * The USDA increased its soybean yield estimate to 49.9 bpa, from 49.4 in August, topping a range of trade expectations. * The USDA trimmed its world wheat ending stocks forecast for 2017/18 to 263.14 million tonnes, from 264.69 million in August. MARKET NEWS * The dollar extended its sharp rally against the yen on Wednesday, although it was capped against the euro with a potentially supportive spike in U.S. yields neutralised by a similar move by their German counterparts. * Oil prices were mixed early on Wednesday, but largely held on to gains in the previous session after OPEC said it expected higher demand for its crude next year. * The major Wall Street indexes hit record closing highs on Tuesday, with financial stocks leading the charge, but gains were stunted by a decline in Apple Inc shares after it unveiled its latest line of iPhones. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0600 Germany Consumer prices final Aug 0600 Germany Wholesale price index Aug 0900 Euro zone Employment Q2 0900 Euro zone Industrial production Jul Grains prices at 0102 GMT Contract Last Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI CBOT wheat 443.75 1.75 +0.40% +2.07% 450.27 53 CBOT corn 352.75 1.25 +0.36% -1.33% 364.05 44 CBOT soy 955.75 5.25 +0.55% -0.44% 950.02 51 CBOT rice 12.95 $0.00 +0.00% +2.33% $12.65 67 WTI crude 48.30 $0.07 +0.15% +0.48% $48.08 53 Currencies Euro/dlr $1.197 $0.001 +0.06% +0.18% USD/AUD 0.8025 0.001 +0.09% -0.04% Most active contracts Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight RSI 14, exponential (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Joseph Radford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-grains/grains-corn-prices-inch-up-but-usda-forecast-caps-gains-idINL4N1LU13Z'|'2017-09-12T23:34:00.000+03:00'
'a605213b8cfb6ed93338f83ca781b1c8fad81358'|'GRAPHIC-Take Five: World markets themes for the week ahead'|'(Repeats Friday item without changes)LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.1/ ELUSIVE INFLATION Inflation remains elusive in both the United States and the euro zone, complicating efforts to normalise monetary policy after years of extraordinary stimulus. U.S. inflation will get another reading on Sept. 14 with a Reuters poll of economists forecasting prices in August rose 0.3 percent. Stripping out the volatile food and energy components, core CPI is expected to rise 1.6 percent in the 12 months through August, still well below the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. Are the economists getting better at forecasting inflation in the United States, the European Union or the G10 overall for that matter? The Citigroup Inflation Surprise index for the United States is showing the data is still coming in below forecasts. When the surprise index readings are negative or move to zero and inflation remains low, that means forecasters are catching up with reality and incorporating low inflation into their asset price calculations.* GLOBAL ECONOMY-Inflation targets still proving elusive* Weak U.S. inflation puzzle should clarify in six months - Fed’s Dudley* Fed’s Fischer resigns, leaving Trump earlier chance to shape central bank2/ I‘LL HAVE SOME OF YOURSWhile the European Central Bank struggles with low inflation and a strong currency that exacerbates the problem, the Bank of England, which meets in the coming week, faces the opposite scenario - above-target inflation and a pound that some see falling to parity with the euro. Whether parity ever happens is unclear, but there are few obstacles on the chart, other than the 93.65 pence peak hit during sterling’s “flash crash” last October. Traders cite the possibility BoE policymakers might express concern about the weak pound’s impact on inflation for a slowing in the build-up of best against the currency. The possibility of parity may also play into the debate on the merits or otherwise of Britain’s choice to leave the European Union. August inflation data is due on Sept. 12 and is expected to show consumer prices rose 2.8 percent year on year, compared with 2.6 percent in July. Analysts see one chance in four sterling will reach parity with euro in next year UK inflation expectations hold steady despite recent price climb -Bank of England3/ DON‘T BANK ON RATE HIKESIf anyone needs a “normalisation” of monetary policy, it’s the banks. Earlier this year, as an improving global economy brought the prospect of steadily rising interest rates, investors scooped up bank shares in a big bet on recovery. Yet, as ECB President Mario Draghi made clear after its latest policy meeting, rate hikes, which have a major impact on lenders’ revenue and profits, remain a distant prospect in the euro zone. An index of bank stocks has underperformed the wider market. Not that everyone is giving up on banks. With euro zone growth picking up so, eventually, must interest rates. ANALYSIS-Big bank trade sours as rate hikes stall, but some still believe BREAKINGVIEWS-Higher rates can end European banks’ lost decade4/ CHINA‘S YUAN – THE SAFE TRADEIs the yuan’s sudden surge driven by a bid for safe havens against North Korea’s nuclear threats? Or has the market taken on board the People’s Bank of China’s desire to root out depreciation expectations? The currency had its best monthly gains ever in August and has wiped out all of the 6.5 percent losses it suffered against the dollar in 2016. Its rise immediately after North Korea’s sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3 was two standard deviations more than average daily moves in the past year, far outpacing the gains seen in the yen and gold. Other Asian currencies are riding on the yuan’s coat-tails and the sharp appreciation has led to a rush of foreign money into Chinese stock and bond markets, raising questions about how far China’s SAFE, or State Administration of Foreign Exchange, will let the yuan rise before announcing some form of trading or capital flow restrictions. FX reserves rose $11 billion in August, suggesting the PBOC might have reined in the currency through some form of intervention. But it can’t do more without giving Washington the ammunition to complain about currency manipulation.* China’s yuan extends blistering 2017 rally to 7.5 pct after breaching key level - nL4N1LP21L* China August FX reserves, up for 7th straight month, reach $3.092 trln - nL4N1LO2ZR5/ RUN, ROUBLE, RUN Russia’s central bank will ponder a cut in its key rate to as low as 8.5 percent when policymakers meet on Friday, according to a senior official. The bank has already flagged that rate cuts are on the cards. But the rouble has enjoyed support from investors who were snapping up Russian treasury bonds on expectations the central bank would cut rates more than previously thought. Brazil’s 100 basis point rate cut on Wednesday has ramped up the pressure, leaving Russia in the top spot for the highest forward-looking real interest rate among major emerging market economies.* Russia c.bank to discuss 25 or 50 bps rate cut in Sept - reports* Russian c.bank analysts predict more rate cuts this yearCompiled by Nigel Stephenson; Editing by Catherine Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets-themes/graphic-take-five-world-markets-themes-for-the-week-ahead-idUSL8N1LP4EY'|'2017-09-11T11:18:00.000+03:00'
'902da7fd4901d0800cc03ae84d16615d7f4309cb'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks hit new 3-year high as N.Korea holds back'|'LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Emerging stocks pushed to a new three-year high on Monday after nuclear-armed North Korea held back on stoking tensions further at the weekend while China’s yuan slipped off 16-month peaks after measures to stem its recent strength.A firmer dollar capped gains in emerging currencies but the overall mood was positive after North Korea marked the anniversary of its founding without resorting to any further missile or nuclear tests.“These market reactions to North Korea are always going to be short-lived as long as we don’t have a move towards war and that seems unlikely still,” said Per Hammarlund, chief emerging market strategist at SEB. “Once the rhetoric is tempered, markets normally recover quickly.”Assets across emerging markets have been on a roll in recent weeks, benefiting from weakened U.S. rate rise expectations - subdued inflation data, combined with Congress’s decision to push debt ceiling talks back to December, have reduced the likelihood of a rate move this year.MSCI’s emerging equity index rose 0.4 percent while emerging sovereign dollar bonds’ yield premia over U.S. Treasuries fell to 292 basis points (bps), the lowest since August 2014.JPMorgan’s emerging local currency bond index closed last week with a 5.93 percent yield, the lowest since January 2015 while the ELMI Plus index of emerging currencies likewise touched three-year highs on Friday.Currency gains have been led by the yuan, which has gained 7 percent in 2017 and breached the key 6.5 per dollar level for the first time since May 2016. But it slipped 0.7 percent on Monday after measures by authorities signalled discomfort with its recent strength.China’s central bank said on Monday it had scrapped reserve requirements for financial institutions settling forward yuan positions and also stopped requiring foreign banks to put aside reserves for offshore yuan deposits in China.JPMorgan analysts said recent yuan strength was due to the rebound in economic growth and improved interest rate differentials with the United States but estimated growth of 7 percent-plus would be needed to sustain further currency gains.“Our expectation is that some of the supports for yuan that have been apparent in 2017 will gradually dissipate over time. We remain comfortable with a modest depreciation trend returning for yuan over the medium term,” they told clients.The Turkish lira firmed 0.3 percent against the dollar to nine-month highs and Turkish stocks rallied 1.1 percent after second quarter data showed the economy grew by 5.1 percent year-on-year, just below a forecast of 5.3 percent in a Reuters poll.Turkey’s finance minister said tourism revenue growth and higher exports would help growth accelerate in the third quarter.Russia’s rouble firmed 0.3 percent, stocks rose half a percent and local bond yields held off three-month lows hit last week as expectations grew of a 25-50 bps rate cut this Friday.Ukraine this week holds roadshows for its first dollar bond since its 2015 debt restructuring, eyeing a benchmark-sized 10 to 15-year issue. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, seeFor TURKISH market report, seeFor RUSSIAN market report, see)Reporting by Sujata Rao and Claire Milhench; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets/emerging-markets-emerging-stocks-hit-new-3-year-high-as-n-korea-holds-back-idINL5N1LS112'|'2017-09-11T06:46:00.000+03:00'
'1e61d0e68a7bb69657fd1294bc2373f87b0ed425'|'Elliott discloses 5 percent stake in Japan''s Hitachi Kokusai Electric'|'September 11, 2017 / 5:33 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Elliott squares off against KKR with Hitachi Kokusai stake Junko Fujita , Elzio Barreto 3 Min Read TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) - U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management Corp said on Monday it has a stake of just over 5 percent in Hitachi Kokusai Electric ( 6756.T ), putting pressure on a stalled takeover bid by U.S. buyout firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ). Elliott’s stake pits two Wall Street heavyweights against each other and underscores the increasing convergence of private equity investing and shareholder activism across the globe. KKR agreed in April to buy the chip-making equipment and video solutions business from Hitachi Ltd ( 6501.T ) in a deal valuing the unit at about $2.3 billion. KKR planned to purchase up to 48.33 percent, paying 2,503 yen per share. Hitachi Kokusai was planning to buy back a 51.67 percent stake held by Hitachi at 1,710 yen a share, and then cancel those shares. The plan was put on hold in August after a third-party committee said the terms of the deal could be disadvantageous to minority shareholders. Elliott’s disclosure sent Hitachi Kokusai’s shares, already trading above KKR’s offer price, even higher on Monday and they ended up 4.6 percent at 2,895 yen. “We are encouraged by the company’s recent business success and the board’s efforts to safeguard shareholders’ interests through the establishment of the third-party committee,” Elliott said in a statement. Hitachi Kokusai’s first-quarter April-June sales jumped 64 percent to 47.6 billion yen ($439 million). For years, pressure by activist investors helped push companies into the arms of private equity buyers. But activists have increasingly become competitors to private equity buyers. A spokeswoman for KKR did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Elliott, a $33 billion multi-strategy hedge fund with an aggressive activist shareholder arm, is known for buying stakes in companies that are in the middle of a takeover or an acquisition and forcing a better deal for shareholders. Elliott often employs this strategy in Europe but has also attempted such a move in Asia previously. The fund attempted to block Samsung C&T Corp.’s ( 028260.KS ) acquisition of Chiel Industries, Inc. in 2015, an effort that ultimately failed. Elliott’s Hitachi Kokusai stake puts the spotlight back on KKR and its plans for Hitachi Kokusai. New York-based KKR, which pioneered the leverage buyout industry, has $148.5 billion of assets under management, according to its last quarterly earnings report. Additional reporting by Michael Flaherty in New York; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-hitachi-kokusai-elliott/elliott-discloses-5-percent-stake-in-japans-hitachi-kokusai-electric-idINKCN1BM0GE'|'2017-09-11T03:33:00.000+03:00'
'afc1d171621f405fd030651fa78d0d0b9db3bb01'|'Majority of EU goods most exposed to Britain are Irish - study'|'September 13, 2017 / 2:05 PM / 2 hours ago Majority of EU goods most exposed to Britain are Irish - study Padraic Halpin 3 Min Read A sign for customs and excise is seen on the motorway approaching the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, near Newry, Northern Ireland July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN (Reuters) - Eleven of the 15 European Union goods most exposed to Britain are Irish exports, an analysis by the country’s finance ministry showed on Wednesday, highlighting the extreme vulnerability to Brexit of some Irish firms. With close trading links to Britain and a shared land border, Ireland is widely considered the EU member most at risk when it neighbour leaves the bloc. Business fears Brexit will lead to a costly rise in tariffs, paperwork and transit times. The United Kingdom accounts for around 17 percent of Irish exports, but that figure leaps to 44 percent when foreign-owned firms are excluded, with employment-heavy industries in rural areas among the most reliant on trade across the Irish Sea. Products of Ireland’s agri-food sector are among the EU’s most exposed to Brexit, the finance ministry’s research showed, led by cereals, fruit and vegetables, almost 90 percent of which are exported to the UK. High volume Irish industries such as meat, dairy products, the live animal trade and wood manufacturing are also among the most exposed. Cyprus and Malta are the only other two EU member states whose goods feature in the top 15. The research also found that although Irish trade has become far less reliant on its nearest neighbour since the early 1970‘s, when the UK accounted for over 50 percent of total exports, some big sectors have increased their share of exports. The proportion of food and live animal exports to the UK increased to 46 percent in 2015 from 38 percent in 2000, while exports in manufactured goods rose to 55 percent of the sectors’ total exports from 43 percent over the same period. Irish agri-food would face some of the highest tariffs if the EU-registered World Trade Organisation tariff schedule was applied to EU-UK trade should Britain leave under a so-called “Hard Brexit” in 2019, the report noted. Agri-food and traditional manufacturing face an additional vulnerability due to the UK’s reliance on the two sectors, the report added, as outside the EU, Britain would have an incentive to seek trade agreements with third countries on better terms in areas in which it is not self-sufficient. Ireland’s government has called on Britain to stay in the EU’s customs union to maintain the currently invisible border between it and the British province of Northern Ireland, an outcome that would also limit disruption for exporters. But with Britain insisting it will leave the EU’s trade bloc, Dublin has also been introducing measures to encourage firms to diversify into other markets. Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Catherine Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-ireland/majority-of-eu-goods-most-exposed-to-britain-are-irish-study-idUKKCN1BO1QZ'|'2017-09-13T17:05:00.000+03:00'
'9d847cab9463f19d5a2d9d007dfc4a179200a1b5'|'Toshiba shares down after Reuters reports it favours Bain group for chip sale'|'September 13, 2017 / 12:17 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Toshiba to focus on chip talks with Bain, but doesn''t rule out other suitors Makiko Yamazaki 4 Min Read A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp said on Wednesday it has agreed to focus on selling its prized chips unit to a group led by Bain Capital and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, although it is not ruling out a deal with other bidders. The announcement came after sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Toshiba was now favouring the Bain group after failing to bridge disagreements with rival suitor Western Digital Corp. Wednesday marks the third time the embattled Japanese conglomerate has failed to meet a target date to sell the $18 billion business - the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND memory chips. Without an agreement soon, it will be difficult for Toshiba to gain by the end of the financial year in March, regulatory approval and hence the funds it needs to cover billions in liabilities at it U.S. nuclear unit. Toshiba said in a statement it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Bain to accelerate discussions, and hoped to reach agreement in late September. But it added that the memorandum was not legally binding and did not prevent it from negotiating with other parties. A representative for Bain was not immediately available for comment, while SK Hynix declined to comment. Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key NAND memory plant but which has been at loggerheads with the Japanese firm for much of the auction - said it was disappointed as well as surprised at the development given its legal position. “We remain confident in our ability to protect our JV interests and consent rights,” the California-based firm said in a statement. FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Sources have said that discussions with Western Digital faltered as Toshiba, fearing its partner was angling to eventually take over the chip business, sought to limit the U.S. firm’s future stake in the unit. The Bain group’s latest offer is worth 2.4 trillion yen (16.55 billion pounds), including a 200 billion yen investment in infrastructure, they said, declining to be identified as the talks were private. The group had been chosen preferred bidder in June. But those talks lapsed as Japan government investors who had been part of that consortium told Toshiba they were reluctant to close a deal in the face of legal challenges posed by Western Digital. The current offer by Bain and Hynix is designed to get around the legal risks by inviting the state-backed investors - the Innovation Network Corp of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan - to invest in the business only after any arbitration with Western Digital is settled. But it remains uncertain whether Toshiba will be able to complete the transaction by the end-March as Western Digital is likely to seek a court injunction on the sale. A California court has ordered Toshiba to give the U.S. firm two weeks’ notice before a deal is closed. SK Hynix’s participation could also prolong antitrust reviews, industry watchers said. The South Korean chipmaker plans to limit its role to financing, but it’s unclear if it hopes to gain a stake in the future. If Toshiba does fail to secure sufficient financing by end-March, it is likely to report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running - a scenario that could result in a delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Shares of Toshiba ended flat, while SK Hynix shares rose 1.3 percent. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Junko Fujita in Tokyo, and Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-shares-down-after-reuters-reports-it-favours-bain-group-for-chip-sale-idUKKCN1BO00T'|'2017-09-13T03:16:00.000+03:00'
'ed73aaef2dd196f8e2aab02e9e21c4391fd213c8'|'Toshiba to step up chip talks with Bain, Western Digital still in running - Nikkei'|'September 13, 2017 / 3:35 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Toshiba to step up chip talks with Bain, Western Digital still in running: Nikkei Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has signed a memorandum to step up talks to sell its memory chip business to a group led by private equity firm Bain Capital and chipmaker SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), the Nikkei newspaper said on Wednesday. But the struggling Japanese conglomerate also plans to continue talks with Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) which is leading a rival group bidding for the $18 billion semiconductor unit, the report said. Toshiba said it had no comment. The report comes after the Toshiba’s board met earlier in the day. Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Toshiba now favored the Bain group after failing to bridge key gaps in talks with business partner and rival bidder Western Digital. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-bain/toshiba-to-step-up-chip-talks-with-bain-western-digital-still-in-running-nikkei-idUKKCN1BO09P'|'2017-09-13T06:31:00.000+03:00'
'bff24a9154573d73928b9f3e033fa9c968f6dc9b'|'EU set to demand Internet firms act faster to remove illegal content'|' 33 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago EU set to demand Internet firms act faster to remove illegal content Julia Fioretti 3 Min Read 3D-printed Facebook and Twitter logos are seen in this picture illustration made in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Companies including Google ( GOOGL.O ), Facebook ( FB.O ) and Twitter ( TWTR.N ) could face European Union laws forcing them to be more proactive in removing illegal content if they do not do more to police what is available on the Internet. The European Union executive outlines in draft guidelines reviewed by Reuters how Internet firms should step up efforts with measures such as establishing trusted flaggers and taking voluntary measures to detect and remove illegal content. Proliferating illegal content, whether because it infringes copyright or incites terrorism, has sparked heated debate in Europe between those who want online platforms to do more to tackle it and those who fear it could impinge on free speech. The companies have significantly stepped up efforts to tackle the problem of late, agreeing to an EU code of conduct to remove hate speech within 24 hours and forming a global working group to combine their efforts remove terrorist content from their platforms. Existing EU legislation shields online platforms from liability for the content that is posted on their websites, limiting how far policymakers can force companies, who are not required to actively monitor what goes online, to act. “Online platforms need to significantly step up their actions to address this problem,” the draft EU guidelines say. “They need to be proactive in weeding out illegal content, put effective notice-and-action procedures in place, and establish well-functioning interfaces with third parties (such as trusted flaggers) and give a particular priority to notifications from national law enforcement authorities.” The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake TRUSTED FLAGGERS The guidelines, expected to be published at the end of the month, are non-binding but further legislation is not ruled out by Spring 2018, depending on progress made by the companies. However, a Commission source said any legislation would not change the liability exemption for online platforms in EU law. The Commission wants the companies to develop “trusted flaggers” - experienced bodies with expertise in identifying illegal content - whose notifications would be given high priority and could lead to the automatic removal of content. It also encourages web companies to publish transparency reports with detailed information on the number and type of notices received and actions taken and says the Commission will explore options to standardize such transparency reports. The guidelines also contain safeguards against excessive removal of content, such as giving its owners a right to contest such a decision. The Commission wants companies to hone technology used to automatically detect illegal content so that the volume which needs to be reviewed by a human before being deemed illegal can be narrowed down. Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-internet-illegal/eu-set-to-demand-internet-firms-act-faster-to-remove-illegal-content-idUKKCN1BO1IK'|'2017-09-13T15:31:00.000+03:00'
'd79b55f02ebf5cf5b1dac2507b616f099ae3ec6e'|'Iphone X shipping delay may dampen Apple''s holiday quarter'|'September 13, 2017 / 1:41 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Iphone X shipping delay may dampen Apple''s holiday quarter Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduces the iPhone X during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) highly anticipated iPhone X features a slew of innovations but delayed availability could hurt holiday-quarter sales. The much-hyped event on Tuesday unveiled three new phones, an advanced watch that can take calls and a new Apple TV, but die-hard fans will not be able to get their hands on the iPhone X until Nov. 3 - much later than iPhone 8’s shipping date of Sept. 22. The delay in shipping of the iPhone X could hurt Apple’s seasonally-strong fiscal first quarter as orders get pushed to the following quarter. The phone will start at $999 for the 64 GB version. Apple’s shares were down 1 percent at $159.35 in early trading on Wednesday. Although decked out with facial recognition technology, front and back glass, a 5.8-inch edge to edge display, wireless charging and animated emojis, some analysts said the delay tempers near-term sales and a few adjusted their estimates. “Given one month less sales for the iPhone X during the December quarter, we have reduced our December quarter iPhone sales estimates from 84 million to 79 million units,” Canaccord Genuity analysts wrote in a client note. The company’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus did not veer far away from previous models, sporting modest new features such as a glass body, wireless charging, better camera and a faster processor. This could lead consumers to wait for the iPhone X. “None of the features in the version 8 product will likely accelerate demand,” Mizuho analysts wrote in a note. Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduces the iPhone X during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Apple typically launches new iPhones in September and a big jump in sales usually follows in the holiday quarter, as users tend to upgrade devices when new phones sport significant design changes. Apple last saw a significant uptick in sales with the introduction of iPhone 6 in 2015. While the delay of the iPhone X could hurt near-term sales, analysts still think Apple’s loyal and hungry fans would lap up the new phone, boosting sales for fiscal 2018. Brokerage UBS said it continues to estimate 246 million phones in fiscal 2018 – up 15 percent. Apple, which is trying to energize sales in China, could hit a wall selling the pricey new phones there. The 8 and 8 plus start at $699 and the iPhone X is Apple’s most expensive phone. The high price of the iPhone X may not affect sales in the United States, where telecom carriers subsidize phone ownership, but it might dent sales in China and India. But even with the lack of major surprises, Apple’s phones are still expected to sell well. “It will still sell in enormous volumes because Apple has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to persuade consumers to shift their overall spending to place a greater share of their disposable income towards a smartphone purchase,” IHS Markit analyst wrote in a note. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-iphone-research/iphone-x-shipping-delay-may-dampen-apples-holiday-quarter-idUKKCN1BO1PD'|'2017-09-13T16:40:00.000+03:00'
'c5e051db29169d07750506d8d2f2e78d9aeaffa1'|'Juncker to lay out vision for stronger post-Brexit EU'|'September 12, 2017 / 11:24 PM / Updated 43 minutes ago Grab Brexit chance to forge a tighter EU - Juncker Alastair Macdonald 6 Min Read STRASBOURG (Reuters) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker urged EU governments on Wednesday to use economic recovery and Brexit as springboards towards a closer union, built on an expanded euro zone and a pivotal role in world trade. In his annual State of the European Union speech, Juncker sketched out a vision of a post-2019 EU where some 30 countries would be using the euro, with an EU finance minister running key budgets to help states in trouble. Tax and welfare standards would converge and Europe, not the United States, would be the hub of a free-trading world. The EU chief executive stressed his wish to heal divisions between eastern and western states. He sees that as vital to countering a drive, including by founding powers France and Germany, to set up new structures within the bloc that would exclude some poorer, ex-communist members in the east. “The wind is back in Europe’s sails,” Junker told the European Parliament, citing economic growth and the easing of a succession of crises -- Greek debt, refugee inflows, the rise of euroscepticism reflected in Brexit - that seemed to threaten the EU’s survival. “Now we have a window of opportunity, but it will not stay open for ever,” he said, emphasising a need to move on from and even profit from the British vote to leave the bloc in 2019. “We will keep moving on because Brexit isn’t everything, it is not the future of Europe,” he said in a speech that Brexit supporters said showed they were right to take Britain out of a bloc set on creating more powerful, central institutions. Related Coverage EU to race Britain for Australia, New Zealand trade deals In a carefully balanced, hour-long discourse in Strasbourg, he called on nationalist eastern leaders -- though not by name -- to stop defying EU courts over civil rights, and on westerners to drop attempts to keep out cheaper eastern workers or palm off inferior food products in poorer national markets. EURO FOR WHOLE EU But his core proposal for countering what is known as a “multispeed Europe” by encouraging all states to join the euro and other EU structures faces resistance in both non-euro zone countries and potentially in Paris and Berlin, where the newly elected President Emmanuel Macron and about to be re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel are readying their own plans. Macron plans to present his ideas for reforming the 19-nation euro zone on Sept. 26, two days after the German election, a French diplomatic source said. EU officials hope leaders may discuss the issues at a dinner on Sept. 28 before a summit in Estonia. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker addresses the European Parliament during a debate on The State of the European Union in Strasbourg, France, September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann “If we want the euro to unite rather than divide our continent, then it should be more than the currency of a select group of countries,” Juncker said. “The euro is meant to be the single currency of the European Union as a whole.” He noted that only long-standing EU members Britain and Denmark have a legal right not to adopt the euro. EU officials say that with Britain leaving, and the eight remaining non-euro states accounting for only 15 percent of EU GDP, Juncker sees it as natural for EU and euro zone policy to operate in unison. For that reason, he rejected proposals, led by France, for a special euro zone budget, finance minister and parliament. These functions, he said, should be filled instead by a vice president of the Commission, chairing the Eurogroup of 19 euro zone finance ministers and managing a euro zone budget that would be part of the budget for the whole EU, overseen by Parliament. While Denmark in fact pegs its crown closely to the euro, a drive to push the likes of Poland and Sweden into the euro would be a hard sell in those countries, while Germany, France and others have been sceptical about letting poorer states join yet. Slideshow (3 Images) Juncker proposed EU funding and technical help to encourage non-euro members to get themselves into a position to join. EUROSCEPTICS’ SCORN For Juncker, officials say, the departure of Britain, for all the difficulties it brings, means goodbye to the major power that has continually sought opt-outs from new integration projects, and offers an opportunity to end the habit for good. “Everyone should be in everything,” one senior official said. Eurosceptics responded critically to the Commission president’s speech. Ryszard Legutko, an EU lawmaker from Poland’s right-wing ruling party, warned against responding to problems with “the same old ‘more Europe, more Europe’” arguments. “That is not the answer,” he said. “We need to get the EU’s house in order before there can even be a discussion on centralising even further.” Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party said: “All I can say is, thank God we’re leaving.” Farage’s allies cheered when Juncker finally mentioned Brexit near the end of his speech and said the British would come to regret their “tragic” referendum decision to leave. Looking ahead to March 30, 2019, the day when Britain will be out of the EU, Juncker said he had proposed that Romania, which will then hold its rotating presidency, should host a summit in the formerly German-speaking Transylvanian city of Sibiu. There leaders should set out plans for a more united Union, two months before voters elect a new European Parliament. Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Philip Blenkinsop, Alissa de Carbonnel, Francesco Guarascio, Lily Cusack and Jan Strupczewski; Writing by Robin Emmott and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Mark Trevelyan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-juncker/juncker-to-lay-out-vision-for-stronger-post-brexit-eu-idUKKCN1BN35H'|'2017-09-13T02:24:00.000+03:00'
'6ec79246037f43aae20c9bc0f3908f2c6ebb7359'|'PRESS DIGEST- Canada - Sept 13'|' 40 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago PRESS DIGEST- Canada - Sept 13 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Sept 13 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) has laid charges against three realtors for allegedly accepting money from prospective home buyers in exchange for preferential access to preconstruction condo units. tgam.ca/2eUVJMc ** Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP is on the cusp of its second decade, and chief executive officer Sam Pollock is shoring up capital while preparing to welcome a new slate of index investors to mark the occasion. tgam.ca/2eW31zs ** Shareholders in Home Capital Group Inc have resoundingly rejected Warren Buffett''s bid to boost his stake in the mortgage lender, which must now try to rebuild its fortunes without additional support from its star investor. tgam.ca/2eUQyMm ** Canada and Britain have joined forces in their efforts to get Boeing Co to drop its trade complaint against Bombardier Inc, with British Prime Minister Theresa May taking her concerns over the case to U.S. President Donald Trump. tgam.ca/2eUR0Ky NATIONAL POST ** The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario on Tuesday released a commentary covering the province''s proposal to increase the minimum wage to C$15 ($12.4) an hour, finding the added labour costs for businesses will increase workers'' incomes, but that those extra payroll costs will force firms to axe some lower-income positions. bit.ly/2eUHrv5 ** Single-family house prices may be overvalued by as much as 60 percent in Toronto, but cooling measures may take a bigger bite out of markets away from the country''s largest metro area, says a new report. bit.ly/2eU8x5i ** Canada''s two major rail companies, Canadian National Railway Co and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, sounded off on Tuesday against a new legislative proposal they say will give U.S. competitors unfair access to the Canadian rail network, and potentially cause more of the country''s smaller and remoter rail lines to be abandoned. bit.ly/2eVrgh1 ($1 = C$1.21) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada/press-digest-canada-sept-13-idUSL4N1LU3JT'|'2017-09-13T13:37:00.000+03:00'
'e5829019216abccb8704aada18b82b703440e8f1'|'Exclusive: Syria calls off mysterious million tonne Russian wheat deal'|'FILE PHOTO:A farmer holds wheat in a field in Jdeidet Artouz, a suburb southwest of Damascus, Syria June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/File Photo DUBAI (Reuters) - A mysterious Syrian wheat purchase signed last October with a little-known Russian trader has formally been called off, a government source has told Reuters.War-torn Syria had sought 1 million tonnes of wheat from trader Zernomir to feed government-held territories and prevent bread shortages.Wheat exporter Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s six-year-old war and has helped the government with wheat aid.But there was scepticism about the ability of Zernomir to deliver on the deal from the start.“The deal was canceled due to difficulties in banking operations and execution,” the government source said.A Russian agriculture ministry official had told Reuters the main problem was that the supplier lacked experience and had set the price too low.FILE PHOTO:A wheat field is pictured in Jdeidet Artouz, a suburb southwest of Damascus, Syria June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/File Photo State grain buyer the General Authority for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob) instead signed contracts in February with local traders for around 1.2 million tonnes of Russian wheat.“We now have within our hands a lot of the quantities from those contracts and we will also evaluate the situation and see whether we need to go back to the market through tenders,” the source said.FILE PHOTO:A farmer harvests wheat in a field in Jdeidet Artouz, a suburb southwest of Damascus, Syria June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/File Photo Flat bread is a subsidized staple in Syria, where war is estimated to have killed several hundred thousand people and forced millions to flee their homes.Hoboob has not named the Syrian firms that are helping it buy Russian wheat.Russian customs data shows Russia supplied 125,200 tonnes of wheat to Syria in 2016/17, up from 47,000 tonnes in 2015/16.Syria’s strategic wheat reserves stand at six months’ worth versus just 17 days of reserves last year, Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Minister Abdullah al-Gharb said last month.Reporting by Maha El Dahan; additional reporting by Polina Devitt in Moscow; editing by Christian Schmollinger and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-syria-russia-wheat/exclusive-syria-calls-off-mysterious-million-tonne-russian-wheat-deal-idINKCN1BO10S'|'2017-09-13T07:55:00.000+03:00'
'c5288281f68be29b5e36895305253bc578991b89'|'Dutch insurer ASR to buy Generali Nederland for 143 million euros'|'AMSTERDAM/MILAN (Reuters) - Dutch insurer ASR ( ASRNL.AS ) said on Wednesday it would buy the Dutch operations of Italy’s Generali ( GASI.MI ) for 143 million euros ($171 million).Generali Nederland generated premiums of 379 million euros in 2016, ASR said.The acquisition would add 30 million euros to ASR’s annual profit after the deal closes in the first quarter of 2018, ASR CEO Jos Baeten said.The deal follows Generali’s recent accords to sell its businesses in Colombia and Panama as Europe’s third-biggest insurer works to exit markets where it lacks scale with a view to raising at least 1 billion euros from disposals.Generali said the sale of Generali Nederland, which contributed around 9 million euros to the group’s operating result in 2016, would generate a one-off net loss of 270 million euros.The disposal is set to lift Generali’s Solvency II ratio - a measure of financial strength - by around 1.6 percentage points.Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Valentina Za in Milan,; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Gopakumar Warrier '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-generali-asr-nederland/dutch-insurer-asr-buys-generali-nederland-for-143-million-euros-idINKCN1BO0FD'|'2017-09-13T03:29:00.000+03:00'
'afe7127298536be01967e0d730384601a395e9cb'|'Japan trials driverless cars in bid to keep rural elderly on the move'|'  8:53 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Japan trials driverless cars in bid to keep rural elderly on the move Naomi Tajitsu 3 Min Read Robot Shuttle, a driver-less, self driving bus, developed by Japan''s internet commerce and mobile games provider DeNA Co., drives past between rice stalk during an experimental trial with a self-driving bus in a community in Nishikata town, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan September 8, 2017. Picture taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato NISHIKATA, Japan (Reuters) - As the annual rice harvest begins this month in the Japanese town of Nishikata, the combines that usually putter along the sleepy roads lining its rice fields are giving way to a vehicle residents have never before seen, a driverless shuttle bus. Japan is starting to experiment with self-driving buses in rural communities such as Nishikata, 115 km (71 miles) north of the capital, Tokyo, where elderly residents struggle with fewer bus and taxi services as the population ages and shrinks. The swift advance of autonomous driving technology is prompting cities such as Paris and Singapore to experiment with such services, which could prove crucial in Japan, where populations are not only greying, but declining, in rural areas.Japan could launch self-driving services for remote communities by 2020, if the trials begun this month prove successful. The government plans to turn highway rest stops into hubs from which to ferry the elderly to medical, retail and banking services. “Smaller towns in Japan are greying even faster than cities, and there are just not enough workers to operate buses and taxis,” said Hiroshi Nakajima of mobile gaming software maker DeNA Co ( 2432.T ), which has branched into automotive software. “But there are a lot of service areas around the country, and they could serve as a hub for mobility services,” added Nakajima, the firm’s automotive director. In the initial trials of the firm’s driverless six-seater Robot Shuttle, elderly residents of Nishikata, in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture, were transferred between a service area and a municipal complex delivering healthcare services. Robot Shuttle, a driver-less, self driving bus, developed by Japan''s internet commerce and mobile games provider DeNA Co., is parked during an experimental trial with a self-driving bus in a community in Nishikata town, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan September 8, 2017. Picture taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato The town mirrors Japan’s population profile, with roughly a third of its 6,300 residents aged 65 or more, up from about a quarter four years ago, while the population overall has shrunk 4.5 percent. Daily bus services are limited to just a handful. Slideshow (7 Images) “I worry about not being able to go out when I‘m no longer able to drive,” said one test rider, Shizu Yuzawa, adding that she would be open to using such a service. “As people in towns become older and younger people move away, it’s going to become more difficult to get help getting around,” said the spry 77-year-old, who drives around in a mini-pick-up truck that belonged to her late husband. The test also checked the vehicle’s operational safety in road conditions ranging from puddles to fallen debris, and if those crossing its path would react to the warning it emits. The ride, at a speed of about 10 kph (6 mph), felt comfortable and safe, said test participant Mieko Shimazaki, 71, but her 72-year-old husband, Susumu, wanted more speed. “Self-driving cars could be useful in the future, but I’d like to see them go faster, at least at 40 kph (25 mph).” Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-elderly-selfdriving/japan-trials-driverless-cars-in-bid-to-keep-rural-elderly-on-the-move-idUKKCN1BN0UQ'|'2017-09-12T11:52:00.000+03:00'
'305cf81f52fdc3a2fc31cbbe50375e5efe85c1ef'|'BoE official says new global forex code may need tweaking'|' 36 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago BoE official says new global forex code may need tweaking Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Executive Director of markets for the Bank of England Chris Salmon speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Bank of England in London March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON (Reuters) - A new global code to stamp out attempts at rigging the world’s currency markets may need tweaking just months after it was published, a senior Bank of England official said on Tuesday. Central bankers and the forex industry published a voluntary code of conduct in May in response to banks being fined billions of dollars for rigging currency benchmarks. Chris Salmon, executive director for markets at the BoE, said an aspect of the code’s “last look” section may need changing. This refers to the ability for traders to reject a trade at the last minute. Salmon said a specific issue of trading activity during last look was particularly challenging. “What is clear to me is that there is, at the very least, the potential for misuse of this specific feature,” Salmon told an industry conference in Barcelona, Spain. To keep the global code up to date as markets change, a global foreign Exchange committee or GFXC was created. Chaired by Salmon, the GFXC launched a public consulation on last look in May. “If we can identify specific, legitimate, uses of this type of trading activity, as well as the already well-known illegitimate uses, we can then cater for both within the Code,” Salmon said. “But if the evidence suggests that trading in the last look window is simply inconsistent with good conduct, this section of the Code will need to be updated accordingly.” Changing the code would force changes in the business models at some trading firms. Salmon said the next potential code change is likely to focus on “post-trade” transparency. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Angus MacSwan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-boe-forex-regulations/boe-official-says-new-global-forex-code-may-need-tweaking-idUKKCN1BN0ZI'|'2017-09-12T12:33:00.000+03:00'
'03041f107b1986ed97724e7b80fe2642cb22b23c'|'Seven stocks to watch during the iPhone launch'|'September 11, 2017 / 8:48 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Seven stocks to watch during the iPhone launch Stephen Nellis 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Apple staff are silhouetted through the glass front of Australia''s flagship store in the minutes leading up to the first sale of the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 in Sydney, September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Steven Saphore SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - When Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) unveils new iPhones on Tuesday at its Apple Park “spaceship” campus, there may be important clues for the watchers of seven semiconductor stocks. Apple exerts a sun-like gravitational pull on the global electronics supply chain, affecting the pricing of commodities like flash memory chips - it consumes 18 percent of global supply. The iPhone maker can make or break small, speciality chip suppliers. The final tally of semiconductor winners and losers will not be known until the devices ship and analysts rip them apart to examine the circuit boards. That will give insight into matters like the continued battle between Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) and Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) to supply so-called modem chips for mobile data. Even the limited technical information Apple gives on stage tomorrow could shed light on how several other companies are faring. Here are seven stocks to watch during tomorrow’s launch. LUMENTUM Lumentum Holdings Inc ( LITE.O ) makes what are instead known as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, or VCSELs for short. These are a key component of 3D sensors that could power some of the expected features of the new flagship iPhone, such as the ability to unlock the phone through 3D facial recognition. The company said it has received $200 million (151.80 million pounds) in orders for these lasers since April. Lumentum says it has multiple customers, but most analysts believe Apple is behind the surge in orders. What is not clear, however, is whether the new facial recognition features will be available on only the flagship model, likely named the iPhone X, or whether it will also be available on the anticipated iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. FINISAR Finisar Corp ( FNSR.O ) also makes 3D sensor lasers but specializes in a higher powered version of the technology with greater range. That sensor would be more suitable for the backside of an iPhone, to assist with features such as augmented reality, in which digital objects float over real objects on screen. FILE PHOTO - An Apple logo is seen at an Apple store in Pudong, the financial district of Shanghai, China February 29, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Finisar Chief Executive Jerry Rawls said on an earnings call on Sept. 7 that production problems mean that the company will only ship a small number of the sensors this coming quarter, resulting in sales somewhere between $10 million and $100 million. “I think beyond that quarter, it’s totally dependent upon our lead customer and their demand,” Rawls said in response to an analyst question about 3D sensor orders. “Now they’re very optimistic, but I don’t think I can go further than that.” Apple may give a definitive answer to whether there’s a 3D sensor on the backside of the flagship iPhone tomorrow. MEMORY SUPPLIERS Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ), Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s ( 005930.KS ) semiconductor unit, SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ) and Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) are believed by analysts to be Apple’s core suppliers of flash memory chips. The key issue is that Toshiba is in the midst of selling its flash memory business to cover losses from its ailing nuclear unit. From Apple’s perspective, this raises the possibility of shrinking from four suppliers to three if SK Hynix or Western Digital were to win the bidding for the Toshiba unit. Apple itself is angling to take a minority stake in the business to help assure memory supplies. A key announcement from Apple tomorrow will be the storage capacity of new iPhones. A year ago, Apple eliminated all 16 gigabyte models, starting all iPhones with a minimum of 32 gigabytes of storage. If Apple raises capacity across the board, that will boost the importance of memory costs and give Apple yet more incentive to get involved in the Toshiba war. IMAGINATION TECHNOLOGIES Imagination Technologies Group PLC ( IMG.L ) used to supply the primary technology for the graphics processors in the iPhone, which helps games and movies look better without draining the battery. In June, Imagination put itself up for sale after Apple earlier told Imagination that it no longer needed its technology and would produce its own. On stage tomorrow, Apple is expected to announce its newest computing chip for the iPhone, the A11. If Apple discloses graphics capabilities that are hugely different from what Imagination’s designs are known to be capable of, it will be a hint that Apple has already ceased tapping Imagination’s intellectual property. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Steve Orlofsky '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-iphone-suppliers/seven-stocks-to-watch-during-the-iphone-launch-idUKKCN1BM2LI'|'2017-09-11T23:48:00.000+03:00'
'00f8c71795e84557685ab982871c47a9f3404f2d'|'Irish mortgage arrears fall but pace of decline moderates'|'  10:45 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago Decline in Irish mortgage arrears slows; Dublin readies new scheme Padraic Halpin 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A construction worker carries out work on scaffolding at ''The Cedars'' housing development site in the town of Swords situated on the outskirts of Dublin November 4, 2013. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton DUBLIN (Reuters) - The number of Irish homeowners whose mortgages were in arrears continued to decline in the second quarter, but the pace of the decline slowed, as the government prepared a new scheme to offer those in most distress a sustainable solution. Ireland’s economy has recovered rapidly since it emerged from an international bailout four years ago, but the legacy of the crisis is still evident in the 7.1 percent of homeowners whose mortgages remain more than 90 days in arrears, almost a decade after a property-market crash. Although that is down from a peak of 12.9 percent in 2013, the proportion in arrears fell only slightly in the second quarter from the first quarter’s 7.2 percent. Most of those are more than two years behind in payments, central bank data showed on Tuesday. The policy of successive governments in Ireland has been to keep families in their homes where possible. Repossessions are rare by international standards, with lenders pushed to restructure loans or sell them to non-bank entities. Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said on Friday that he would offer a revised “mortgage to rent” scheme by the end of the month, where private firms could buy distressed mortgages and offer the homeowner security of tenure at a rent they can afford, with the state paying the balance. The government hopes that by widening the eligibility and offering investors a state guarantee, it can reverse the low participation when the scheme began in 2012, particularly among the 32,000 accounts now in arrears over 720 days. That was down quarter-on-quarter and from a peak of 38,000 two years ago. However, those homeowners represented 90 percent of the total 2.7 billion euros (2.43 billion pounds) owed in arrears, an average of 76,500 euros per borrower. “We believe that the mortgage-to-rent scheme will play an important role in the resolution of long-term mortgage arrears, reducing potential repossessions and thereby limiting the need for additional state housing,” Diarmaid Sheridan, an analyst at Davy Stockbrokers, wrote in a note. “From a bank’s perspective, the scheme will also assist in reducing non-performing exposures at a time when institutions are under regulatory pressure to reduce their exposure to non-performing loans.” Analysts at Goodbody Stockbrokers said that while the revised scheme would not be transformative, it would offer banks a helpful alternative to further restructurings and disposals. Editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy/irish-mortgage-arrears-fall-but-pace-of-decline-moderates-idUKKCN1BN17H'|'2017-09-12T13:45:00.000+03:00'
'5fcfa48cb7803f15c6304facfa533ae422322387'|'Thyssenkrupp labor leaders ready to talk as Tata decision looms'|'The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Labor leaders at Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) are willing to talk to management about an overhaul of the group’s European steel operations, they said on Tuesday, but warned they remained opposed to a merger with Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ).Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger is under pressure to present a deal to combine Thyssenkrupp’s and Tata Steel’s European steel operations after talks have dragged on for a year and a half.A merger is Hiesinger’s preferred option, and the company said this week a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the companies could be reached this month.Labor representatives however suggest the group carve out and list its healthy assets to avoid what they fear will result in thousands of job cuts.“We want to hear what Thyssenkrupp has to say. We want to know what Thyssenkrupp has in mind,” Wilhelm Segerath, head of Thyssenkrupp’s works council and member of the group’s supervisory board, said.“A merger with Tata is no solution. It only serves to dump debt from Thyssenkrupp’s balance sheet. We won’t support that,” Segerath said, adding steel workers would protest against the plans on Sept. 22, two days before a supervisory board meeting.Detlef Wetzel, head of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe’s supervisory board, said: “We want to know what the board is planning. We will evaluate that and then decide.”Cevian, Thyssenkrupp’s second-largest shareholder and backer of Hiesinger, has not made up its mind about whether it will support his plans, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters following a report that said it was opposed.Bjoern Voss, analyst at Warburg Research, said: “From what I understand Cevian and management have so far worked in a consensual way.”“I find it unrealistic that the board has been working against a coalition of labor representatives and parts of the capital side,” he said.Hiesinger’s hopes to win support rest on a complex pension deal, under which Tata Steel has separated from its 15 billion pound ($19.9 billion) UK pension scheme, seen as the main hurdle to a deal so far.Members of the scheme now have the choice of going into the Pension Protection Fund, a lifeboat for pension schemes in Britain that run into trouble, or joining a new scheme that will be underwritten by Tata Steel, potentially leaving it exposed to some liabilities.Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Georgina Prodhan; Writing by Christoph Steitz; editing by Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-unions/thyssenkrupp-labor-leaders-ready-to-talk-as-tata-decision-looms-idINKCN1BN2EQ'|'2017-09-12T15:13:00.000+03:00'
'2712c484c6b43d803d9cd27b400b94e329a4f77d'|'ECB will eventually hit inflation target - Constancio'|' 17 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago ECB will eventually hit inflation target - Constancio Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People walk past a pizza shop with a sign of a euro coin used to advertise its prices in central Madrid, September 13, 2011. REUTERS/Paul Hanna FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank’s unconventional policy tools have successfully fought of the threat of deflation and will eventually raise inflation back to target, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio said on Tuesday. “By keeping a sufficient degree of monetary policy accommodation we can be confident that our goal will eventually be reached, in accordance with our mandate,” Constancio told a conference in Frankfurt. Having undershot its target for over four years, the ECB is now contemplating whether to ease back on stimulus, accepting that inflation will take longer to reach its target of almost 2 percent. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-constancio/ecb-will-eventually-hit-inflation-target-constancio-idUKKCN1BN1UN'|'2017-09-12T17:17:00.000+03:00'
'c2f8e94cec4fe97005a5dd5cad2b2726a1a35fb9'|'Gassled partners to appeal to Norwegian Supreme Court'|'OSLO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Four partners in Gassled, Norway’s gas infrastructure network, will appeal to the Norwegian Supreme Court a decision by a lower court that found in favour of the Norwegian state regarding the setting of network tariffs, two of the plaintiffs said on Wednesday.The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to hear the case in late 2017, one of the partners, Solveig Gas, said in a statement. (Reporting by Camilla Knudsen, editing by Gwladys Fouche) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/norway-lawsuit-gas/gassled-partners-to-appeal-to-norwegian-supreme-court-idINFWN1LU0D5'|'2017-09-13T12:29:00.000+03:00'
'd2ab9523b35b8cbbc07b7e487f67066947dfe758'|'New Apple Watch that makes calls turns comic book fantasy into reality'|'  1:30 AM / Updated 10 hours ago New Apple Watch that makes calls turns comic book fantasy into reality Stephen Nellis 4 Min Read Jeff Williams, Apple COO, speaks as product images are shown behind him during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam CUPERTINO, Calif. (Reuters) - More than two years after releasing the Apple Watch, Apple Inc has finally been able to replicate 1940s comic strip technology, an advance that analysts say will spur sales. The Series 3 of the Apple Watch, released on Tuesday along with the much-anticipated iPhone X, features wireless LTE connectivity. That means customers will be able to make phone calls or send text messages from the watch without needing to have an iPhone nearby, as they do with earlier models. The ability to make calls with a wristwatch has captured the imagination of tech enthusiasts at least since it was prominently featured in “Dick Tracy,” the comic about a private detective who, starting in 1946, used calls from his wrist to help bust bad guys. “This has been our vision from the beginning,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said at the launch event. “Now you can go for a run with just your watch and still be connected. It’s really nice to know you can be reached if needed.” To be sure, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has sold smart watches with mobile data connectivity since 2014, but the first devices were bulky and suffered from poor battery life because the data connection consumed extra power. They also require a separate phone number. Apple claims its new Series 3, on the other hand, will have up to 18 hours of battery life and is just a fraction of a millimeter thicker that its previous Series 2. And it will have the same phone number as a customer’s iPhone, which will still be required for the initial set up of the watch. Apple said that all four major U.S. carriers will offer service for the watch, and AT&T Inc and T-Mobile US Inc both said it would cost an extra $10 a month. Jeff Williams, Apple COO, speaks as product images are shown behind him during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Analysts generally believe the new connectivity could ignite sales, though there is little consensus as to how much. At $399, the new Watch is only slightly more expensive than the previous model, the $329 Series 2, which introduced standalone GPS capability. That $70 extra buys much more useful capabilities - including the ability to stream music from Apple Music. “The third time is the charm for the watch,” said Bob O‘Donnell of Techanalysis Research. Apple Watches are displayed during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam What may hold some consumers back is the monthly recurring charge, which would far exceed the extra cost of the Series 3 over older watches over time, said Brian Blau, an Apple analyst with Gartner. “Yes, you do have to pay for that extra data plan, but it sounds like the carriers are at least going to make it relatively easy to do,” Blau said. Apple does not say how many Apple Watches it sells. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi believes Apple will sell 12 million watches in its fiscal 2017 and 14 million to 15 million in fiscal 2018. Gene Munster with Loup Ventures predicted a much bigger bump, to 26 million units in 2018. Either way, Apple is putting new pressure on smartwatch rivals such as Fitbit Inc and Garmin Ltd, which would be hard-pressed from a technical and business standpoint to match Apple’s wireless features. But the new Apple Watch still requires an iPhone, which Fitbit believes leaves it ample market room to sell wearable devices that work with all phones, not just iPhones. “With Android comprising approximately 80 percent of the global smartphone market, broad compatibility remains a core differentiator for Fitbit,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. Garmin did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours. The Watch will remain a blip in Apple’s sales, which were $215 billion last year. But it may be taking its place as part of a family of products that Apple loyalists cannot do without - all by making a schoolboy fantasy from the 1940s into reality for the masses. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Jonathan Weber, Lisa Shumaker and Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-iphone-watch/new-apple-watch-that-makes-calls-turns-comic-book-fantasy-into-reality-idUSKCN1BO03T'|'2017-09-13T04:24:00.000+03:00'
'99d660f1342617f41bd7c875fbe788f90650c737'|'Toscafund to launch 300 mln euro private equity fund'|'LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - London-based Toscafund Asset Management is set to launch a new 300 million euro ($359.34 million) private equity fund that will focus on small and mid-sized companies, it said on Wednesday.Fabrizio Cesario and George Koulouris, who both previously worked at AnaCap Financial Partners, have joined Toscafund to establish the new fund, it said.“The ‘secular’ shift affecting the financial services industry is rapidly redesigning the competitive landscape, creating a wide opportunity set in the small/mid-cap space,” Cesario said in the statement.Toscafund, which was founded in 2000 by Martin Hughes, manages $3 billion in assets, including an activist hedge fund strategy as well as stock-picking strategies. ($1 = 0.8349 euros) (Reporting by Maiya Keidan; editing by Simon Jessop) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hedgefunds-privateequity/toscafund-to-launch-300-mln-euro-private-equity-fund-idINL5N1LU2YE'|'2017-09-13T09:06:00.000+03:00'
'5a41efb378a906ffbc59274452134a2cc95288cb'|'UPDATE 1-Swiss Life speaks to DOJ about possible tax evasion by U.S. clients'|'(Adds detail, background)By John Revill and Oliver HirtZURICH, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Swiss Life could face a fine in the United States after it was contacted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) about whether it helped U.S. clients avoid tax, Switzerland’s biggest life insurer said on Thursday.The disclosure comes as U.S prosecutors have been widening their probe of Swiss banks who have been helping wealthy American clients dodge taxes to include insurance companies.Swiss Life said the inquiry related to its cross-border business with U.S. clients.Its portfolio with U.S. clients of Swiss Life Liechtenstein and Swiss Life Singapore was around 250 million Swiss francs ($259 million), down from 1 billion francs a few years ago.“All insurance contracts have been categorized and been reported pursuant to the FATCA legislation,” Swiss Life said, referring to the 2010 U.S. anti-tax evasion law.“Swiss Life will use the opportunity for dialogue and explain its past cross-border business in cooperation with the U.S.,” the company added.Its shares opened down 1.1 percent.The DOJ inquiry concerns Swiss Life’s insurance wrapper business, life insurance policies into which the very wealthy can place stocks, private equity holdings and other bankable assets, exploiting tax benefits on investment income held in such policies.With the crackdown on bank secrecy in Switzerland, regulators have voiced concern that insurance wrappers could be used for tax avoidance.The Zurich-based company started selling the products in 2006, but stopped selling them in the United States in 2012. Swiss Life returned funds to hundreds of American clients who had invested in insurance wrappers linked to bank accounts at Bank Frey in 2013, The Wall Street Journal has reported.Banks ensnared in the matter have typically agreed to pay fines equivalent to around 1 to 7 percent of the U.S. assets under management in question. That could mean Swiss Life may face a fine of up to around $70 million if found to have helped aid tax evasion.Swiss financial institutions have been in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities seeking to crack down on tax evasion by American citizens, a hot topic in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.Credit Suisse agreed to pay a $2.5 billion fine in 2014 after it admitted helping U.S. citizens evade tax, while investigations continue against other large banks.Smaller banks have also been targeted, with Leodan Privatebank AG shutting down after paying $500,000 to reach a settlement with the DoJ in 2016.Smaller Swiss banks, which for years benefited from clients bringing money to Switzerland to take advantage of bank secrecy rules, are struggling due to a global clampdown on tax evasion and costly regulation.The U.S. investigation comes as Swiss Life, which last month reported a 5 percent increase in net profit during the first half of 2017, focuses on trimming costs and raising third-party asset management and investment income to offset sluggishness in its core life insurance business. ($1 = 0.9644 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Revill and Oliver Hirt, editing by John Miller and Michael Shields) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/swisslife-justice/update-1-swiss-life-speaks-to-doj-about-possible-tax-evasion-by-u-s-clients-idUSL5N1LV0NV'|'2017-09-14T10:03:00.000+03:00'
'593b8d82cb1f2f6da67a9c848e291a09a0d27e87'|'COLUMN-Will Equifax securities class action break jinx for shareholders?: Frankel'|'(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)By Alison FrankelNEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Shareholders haven’t had much success in securities class actions blaming investor losses on corporate data breach disclosures.There have been occasional settlements – the data broker ChoicePoint, for instance, agreed to pay $10 million to settle a shareholder data breach class action in 2008 – and there’s a potentially consequential shareholder case under way against Yahoo in federal court in San Jose.But for the most part, as Kevin LaCroix explained Wednesday at the D&O Diary blog, shareholder lawyers haven’t even bothered bringing securities class actions against big corporations that left confidential data vulnerable to hackers because company shares didn’t drop after data breach disclosures. There’s no point suing unless you can show investors lost money.RARE CREATURE Equifax is a different story.The credit reporting company’s share price plummeted by as much as 18 percent after it disclosed a hack that compromised personal data on as many as 143 million people.To be sure, Equifax has only about 120 million outstanding shares and a relatively small market capitalization of about $17 billion. So the company’s potential liability to investors in a securities class action is probably going to be dwarfed by the class action claims of consumers whose social security numbers and other confidential data was snatched by hackers. Nevertheless, securities class action firms told me Wednesday that Equifax appears to be that rare creature: a data breach defendant worth suing for securities fraud.One plaintiffs’ firm, Levi & Korsinsky, has already filed a securities class action against the company in federal court in Atlanta.Two other prominent shareholder firms – Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann – told me they are investigating suits for their clients, who include institutional investors.Many other plaintiffs’ lawyers, including the firms leading the Yahoo data breach securities litigation, issued shareholder alerts this week, advising Equifax investors to sign up for litigation.“We are actively investigating the case,” said Samuel Rudman of Robbins Geller. “From what we know so far, it looks like a strong case, with suspicious insider trading that warrants discovery.”EGREGIOUS Eduard Korsinsky, whose firm filed the Atlanta securities class action against Equifax, said in an email that this company isn’t like previous data breach defendants.“This is a company that’s in the business of protecting people’s data and charging for it, so a breach here is not merely peripheral, as in virtually all of the other cases, but core to its business model,” Korsinsky said.It’s all the more egregious, he said, for a credit monitoring company to sit on evidence of a hack and to allow corporate insiders to sell shares before disclosing the breach publicly.“Whether or not Equifax should be held to a higher breach standard given their business is debatable, but one would be hard pressed to justify the executives’ conduct subsequent to the breach,” Korsinsky said.Equifax did not respond to specific questions about investors’ allegations. Company representatives said in an email statement that Equifax cannot comment on litigation. “We are remaining focused on helping (consumers) to navigate this situation and providing the best customer support possible,” the statement said. Its statement did not address securities litigation and it did not respond to my followup email.SUSPICIOUS TRADES? As Rudman and Korsinsky said, one crucial piece of the securities case against Equifax will almost certainly be trades by corporate insiders in the time period between Equifax’s discovery of a hack and the company’s public disclosure of the breach.Investors have to show evidence of a company’s fraudulent intent in order to survive defense dismissal motions and obtain the right to depose insiders and see internal documents.If shareholders can plausibly allege that Equifax insiders delayed disclosure of the data breach to dump shares, they will sail past any defense motion to toss their case before they’re entitled to discovery.The magnitude of Equifax’s potential liability, though, will depend on how far back its alleged misstatements go.The company has said it realized it had been hacked in July, several weeks before it disclosed the breach. Plaintiffs’ lawyers will try to establish that Equifax began deceiving investors long before it found out about the breach so they can include more shareholders in the class action. (Only investors who acquired shares during the class period can claim damages.)The Levi & Korsinsky complaint alleges that Equifax’s fraud began in February 2016, when the company said in its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was a global leader in data security and continually invested in cutting edge technology to protect consumer data.“These material misstatements and/or omissions had the effect of creating in the market an unrealistically positive assessment of the company and its well-being and prospects, thus causing the company’s securities to be overvalued and artificially inflated,” the complaint asserted.BREAKING THE MOLD It’s tough for shareholders to convince judges of a company’s fraudulent intent from the sort of SEC disclosure statements cited in the Levi & Korsinsky complaint.But if Equifax investors can get past early dismissal motions, they can obtain discovery that could help them flesh out allegations that the company knowingly misrepresented the security of its data. (Or could squelch those allegations. It’s important to remember that shareholder lawyers have no idea yet what Equifax’s internal documents will show.)Like I said, the Equifax securities litigation won’t be as consequential as the consumer case. I doubt the competition among plaintiffs’ lawyers to lead the securities case will be as fierce as the inevitable battle to run the consumer class action. In the Yahoo data breach securities litigation, only two firms, Pomerantz and Glancy Prongay & Murray, asked to be named lead counsel. (They were appointed co-leads.)But the drop in Equifax’s share price and the company’s delay in disclosing the hack set it apart from most previous data breach securities defendants. If investors are going to break the mold on shareholder data breach class actions, this case seems like their chance. (Reporting by Alison Frankel. Editing by Alessandra Rafferty.) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/equifax-cyber-shareholders/column-will-equifax-securities-class-action-break-jinx-for-shareholders-frankel-idUSL2N1LU2A4'|'2017-09-14T01:09:00.000+03:00'
'13e7b78859ad81c1edf89ff5c5c2a67f892bb493'|'Japan stocks edge lower, weak China data, North Korea risks weigh'|'* Topix hits highest since Aug 2015* Foreign short-covering seems to have run its course - analyst* Nisshinbo sold on profit-taking with heavy tradeBy Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks edged lower in choppy trade on Thursday and snapped a three-day winning streak, as weak Chinese economic data offset early gains when the broader Topix index hit the highest level in more than two years.Sentiment deteriorated in the afternoon on news that a North Korean state agency threatened to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness” for supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution and sanctions over its latest nuclear test.The Nikkei share average fell 0.3 percent to 19,807.44, while the broader Topix also dropped 0.3 percent to 1,632.13. In early deals, the Topix rose 0.3 percent to as high as 1,642.56, the best level since August 2015.The non-ferrous metal sector was the worst performing sector on Thursday. Mitsui Mining & Smelting tumbled 5.4 percent and Toho Zinc declined 5.3 percent.Chinese data released in late morning showed factory output in the world’s second-biggest economy grew 6.0 percent in August on-year, while fixed-asset investment expanded 7.8 percent in the first eight months, both well below economists’ forecasts. China is one of Japan’s major export markets.Market participants said since the Nikkei hit a four-month low on Sept. 8, foreign investors and hedge funds have started covering their short positions as geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula had ebbed.But that has changed with the Nikkei recovering and hitting a one-month high on Wednesday.“Foreign investors’ short-covering seems to have run its course, while China’s weak data soured market sentiment,” said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.Recent gainers including insurance stocks and some exporters were among Thursday’s losers.MS&AD Insurance fell 0.8 percent, Sony Corp dropped 3.5 percent and Hitachi Ltd shed 1.0 percent.Meanwhile, Nisshinbo Holdings plumbed 9.8 percent and was the fourth-most traded stock by turnover as investors sold the stock to take profits from the sharp rises on the previous day. It jumped 26 percent on Wednesday after the textile company said it would roll out platinum-free fuel-cell catalysts, which has the potential to cut the high prices of fuel-cell cars.Traders said investors are looking ahead to U.S. consumer inflation data later in the day for clues on the possible timing of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next rate rise. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close/japan-stocks-edge-lower-weak-china-data-north-korea-risks-weigh-idUSL4N1LV2RS'|'2017-09-14T10:18:00.000+03:00'
'94a4ddddb1ac2ac82c4f56b90b6ee9dc5ec44b54'|'FPL says provided power to parts of Florida nursing home where deaths occurred'|' 01 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago FPL says provided power to parts of Florida nursing home where deaths occurred Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Florida Power & Light said on Wednesday it had provided power to some parts of the nursing home where people died after the facility lost electricity due to Hurricane Irma and that the home was not on a county top tier list for emergency power restoration. “Parts of the facility itself were energized by FPL, I can’t give you anything more specific than that at this point,” FPL spokesman Rob Gould told a news conference. Two elderly residents were found dead at the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills and three later died at a hospital. Gould said the home was not listed as a “top tier critical infrastructure facility” by the county. Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-fpl/fpl-says-provided-power-to-parts-of-florida-nursing-home-where-deaths-occurred-idUSL2N1LU14C'|'2017-09-13T19:00:00.000+03:00'
'4609813cdad78b9a7b2cca31375353e5632b5f38'|'Asia shares join global rally, hit 10 year high on Irma, North Korea relief'|'September 12, 2017 / 1:03 AM / Updated 2 hours ago World stocks hit record highs as Irma weakens Kit Rees 3 Min Read A trader sits in front of the DAX board at his desk at the Frankfurt stock exchange, Germany, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks climbed to record highs on Tuesday as easing tensions over North Korea and signs that Hurricane Irma was causing less damage than feared in the United States boosted risk appetite. MSCI All Country World Index edged up 0.2 percent, building on Monday’s 0.9 percent gain which was its fourth-biggest so far this year. The pan-European STOXX 600 index jumped to a one-month peak as insurers made further headway and basic resources and financials joined in the rally. MSCI World’s insurer index gained a further 0.3 percent, as insured property losses from Hurricane Irma’s are expected to be smaller than initially forecast. British consumer price inflation came in stronger than expected at 2.9 percent, offering more clues as to the Bank of England’s policy decision on Thursday. The central bank has been struggling to keep inflation at 2 percent since sterling tumbled in response to Britain voting to leave the European Union in June 2016, pressuring on consumer spending and living standards. Another market focus on Tuesday will be the launch of Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) iPhone 8 as its sales will have repercussions beyond Apple for many suppliers as well as its rivals. Helping to drive the uptick in risk appetite was relief that North Korea did not test-fire missiles or conduct nuclear weapon tests over the weekend as some had feared. The United Nations Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against Pyongyang on Monday over the country’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, imposing a ban on the country’s textile exports and capping imports of crude oil. “The measures did not include an outright ban on oil supplies to the regime, so the threat of an immediate military confrontation appears to have eased for now,” said Mutsumi Kagawa, chief global strategist at Rakuten Securities. But investors remain wary of possible retaliation by North Korea against the latest U.S. sanctions following its nuclear test earlier this month. UNWINDING SAFE-HAVEN BUYING Safe-haven assets such as U.S. Treasuries and gold gave back most of recent gains. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield jumped to 2.1515 percent US10YT=RR from 2.1250 percent. Sharp gains in U.S. bond yields supported the battered dollar, which held steady against its currency basket. The euro EUR= edged higher against the dollar at $1.1971 in early trades. Gold XAU= dropped to $1,326.31 per ounce, compared to Friday’s one-year peak of $1,357.4. Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-shares-join-global-rally-hit-10-year-high-on-irma-north-korea-relief-idUKKCN1BN02R'|'2017-09-12T03:59:00.000+03:00'
'76966e95b8bb45b5b10e4d4c145e57df81527e6d'|'Goldman Sachs president: Fixed income trading to stay challenged in third quarter'|'  12:26 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Goldman Sachs president: Fixed income trading to stay challenged in third quarter Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 12 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc President Harvey Schwartz said on Tuesday conditions for fixed-income trading have not improved much since the beginning of the year. “The market environment in the third quarter feels like the first and second quarter,” Schwartz said at a Barclays Group PLC financial conference in New York. “For FICC, it’s still a pretty challenging environment.” Schwartz’s comments are similar to remarks made by Goldman Chief Financial Officer Marty Chavez in August. In the second quarter, Goldman reported a 40 percent drop in bond trading revenue and the weakest commodities results in its history as a public company. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/goldman-sachs-fixed-income/goldman-sachs-president-fixed-income-trading-to-stay-challenged-in-third-quarter-idUSL2N1LT0GQ'|'2017-09-12T15:25:00.000+03:00'
'e271a4bac50728f62bd72dd3bf94acf53f4ef6c4'|'Iphone X shipping delay may dampen Apple''s holiday quarter'|'September 13, 2017 / 1:37 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Iphone X shipping delay may dampen Apple''s holiday quarter Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, speaks about the iPhone X during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s highly anticipated iPhone X features a slew of innovations but delayed availability could hurt holiday-quarter sales. The much-hyped event on Tuesday unveiled three new phones, an advanced watch that can take calls and a new Apple TV, but die-hard fans will not be able to get their hands on the iPhone X until Nov. 3 - much later than iPhone 8’s shipping date of Sept. 22. The delay in shipping of the iPhone X could hurt Apple’s seasonally-strong fiscal first quarter as orders get pushed to the following quarter. The phone will start at $999 for the 64 GB version. Apple’s shares were down 1 percent at $159.35 in early trading on Wednesday. Although decked out with facial recognition technology, front and back glass, a 5.8-inch edge to edge display, wireless charging and animated emojis, some analysts said the delay tempers near-term sales and a few adjusted their estimates. “Given one month less sales for the iPhone X during the December quarter, we have reduced our December quarter iPhone sales estimates from 84 million to 79 million units,” Canaccord Genuity analysts wrote in a client note. The company’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus did not veer far away from previous models, sporting modest new features such as a glass body, wireless charging, better camera and a faster processor. This could lead consumers to wait for the iPhone X. “None of the features in the version 8 product will likely accelerate demand,” Mizuho analysts wrote in a note. Apple typically launches new iPhones in September and a big jump in sales usually follows in the holiday quarter, as users tend to upgrade devices when new phones sport significant design changes. Apple last saw a significant uptick in sales with the introduction of iPhone 6 in 2015. While the delay of the iPhone X could hurt near-term sales, analysts still think Apple’s loyal and hungry fans would lap up the new phone, boosting sales for fiscal 2018. Brokerage UBS said it continues to estimate 246 million phones in fiscal 2018 – up 15 percent. Apple, which is trying to energize sales in China, could hit a wall selling the pricey new phones there. The 8 and 8 plus start at $699 and the iPhone X is Apple’s most expensive phone. The high price of the iPhone X may not affect sales in the United States, where telecom carriers subsidize phone ownership, but it might dent sales in China and India. But even with the lack of major surprises, Apple’s phones are still expected to sell well. “It will still sell in enormous volumes because Apple has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to persuade consumers to shift their overall spending to place a greater share of their disposable income toward a smartphone purchase,” IHS Markit analyst wrote in a note. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-iphone-research/iphone-x-shipping-delay-may-dampen-apples-holiday-quarter-idUSKCN1BO1OZ'|'2017-09-13T16:36:00.000+03:00'
'0a132e5423062f56caeb2ad062c90a836f4fa7b8'|'Eni signs cooperation deal with China''s CNPC'|'The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at an Agip gas station in Lugano, Switzerland June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Eni ( ENI.MI ) signed a cooperation agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on Wednesday in a move that could give the Italian oil major greater access to the Chinese market.Eni said in a statement it had agreed to work with state-owned CNPC in the fields of exploration and production, liquefied natural gas (LNG), trading and refining-petrochemicals.The deal will cover operations in China and abroad, it said, without giving further details.“It could allow Eni to tap Chinese resources while allowing CNPC to use Eni skills to develop its assets round the world,” one London-based oil analyst said, asking not to be named.China, which is ramping up its exploration efforts as crude oil production from ageing wells drops, is on a mission to lift natural gas consumption to help combat smog.The world’s top consumer of oil and coal has embarked on a huge investment program to expand its LNG and pipeline infrastructure.Eni has plans to boost its LNG business to meet growing demand early next decade and is looking to Asia to help market its growing gas portfolio.“The meeting (in Rome on Wednesday) was a chance to further strengthen the relationship between the two companies,” Eni said.The Italian state-controlled major, which has offices in Beijing, already works alongside CNPC on certain projects.In 2013 CNPC bought a 20 percent stake in Eni’s giant gas field off Mozambique while both companies are shareholders in the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan.Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-eni-cnpc/eni-signs-cooperation-deal-with-chinas-cnpc-idINKCN1BO1HS'|'2017-09-13T10:20:00.000+03:00'
'fbeff3fa95d12be96a839de33548ddc89f79644d'|'Cathay Pacific defers five A350 deliveries, switches six to smaller model'|'  12:34 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Cathay Pacific defers five A350 deliveries, switches six to smaller model Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Pilots walk up to a new Cathay Pacific Airways Airbus A350 after being received by the airline at Hong Kong Airport May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd ( 0293.HK ) said on Wednesday it would defer deliveries of five Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) widebody aircraft by a year and switch six others to a smaller model as it finalised an order for 32 narrowbody aircraft. The carrier has been slashing costs and adjusting its route network after reporting on Aug. 16 its biggest first-half loss in at least two decades amid stiff competition from rivals. It announced a non-binding deal to buy 32 Airbus A321neo aircraft valued at $4.064 billion (£3.06 billion) at list prices on Aug. 21. That purchase was finalised on Wednesday, according to a stock exchange announcement. Cathay also said on Wednesday it would switch six orders for A350-1000s to the smaller A350-900 model, saving $288 million based on list prices. The A350-900s will be delivered in 2019 and 2020, the airline said. Cathay added it would defer the delivery of six A350-1000 aircraft to 2021 from 2020. It did not give a reason for the switch to smaller aircraft or the deferrals. An Airbus spokesman confirmed the A321neo orders and the changes to the A350 order, and said the total number of A350s ordered by Cathay remained unchanged at 46. Airlines typically receive discounts on the list prices from the manufacturers. Cathay said it had received unspecified price concessions as part of the deal. The airline announced on Aug. 31 it would fly from its Hong Kong hub to three new European destinations - Brussels, Copenhagen and Dublin - using A350-900 aircraft from next summer. It has cancelled flights to Düsseldorf, Germany as part of the network changes. The A321neos, to be delivered between 2020 and 2023, will be operated mainly by short-haul arm Cathay Dragon on routes to mainland China and elsewhere within Asia, the airline said last month. Reporting by Jamie Freed; editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cathay-pacific-airbus-nl-orders/cathay-pacific-defers-five-a350-deliveries-switches-six-to-smaller-model-idUKKCN1BO1J0'|'2017-09-13T15:34:00.000+03:00'
'f36bf93200970b4027d6923d9be94d027bdd4a6e'|'Senior UK lawmaker calls for shaking up membership of bank boards'|'September 13, 2017 / 12:38 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Senior UK MP calls for shaking up membership of bank boards Huw Jones 3 Min Read A sign for Bank Street and high rise offices are seen in the financial district in Canary Wharf in London, Britain, October 21, 2010. REUTERS/Luke Macgregor/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Banks need to recruit a wider assortment of non-executive directors to their boards to end the kind of “group think” that lay behind the financial crisis, a senior British MP said on Wednesday. Non-executive directors failed to ask bank bosses tough questions before the 2007-2009 crisis, said Nicky Morgan, who was elected as chair of parliament’s Treasury Select Committee in July, and that remains an issue today. “It’s getting the right people on boards, asking the tough questions, to be unpopular with their executive officers,” Morgan told a Resolution Foundation think tank meeting to debate whether UK banking has changed since the crisis. Companies hire non-executives from the same mould as existing members, the former minister for women and equalities said. “There is still far too much recruitment in the board’s own image,” said Morgan, a member the governing Conservative party. The Treasury Select Committee drove through regulatory changes after the crisis, and Morgan said those reforms would be reviewed a decade after Northern Rock became the first bank in a century to trigger a run. “We are going to look at the whole architecture, 10 years on,” Morgan said. The crisis forced the government to inject billions of pounds into ailing banks, and since then the committee has held marathon sessions to make sure regulators and bankers toe the line. Under her term, Morgan said the committee would scrutinise implementation of new rules that require the retail arms of banks from 2019 to be fenced off from riskier investment bank operations, each with its own capital. “We could do more to quiz the Financial Policy Committee,” she added, referring to a new panel at the Bank of England charged with spotting risks as early as possible. The Treasury committee will also look at household debt levels and possibly the rapid growth in car loans, Morgan added. Alistair Darling, Britain’s finance minister during the crisis, said the government lost control of the situation for several days and could not let the RBS ( RBS.L ), a bank now controlled by the state, to collapse. Darling said at the debate that last year’s vote to leave the European Union can be traced back to the crisis and ensuing austerity, which left many people traumatised and trust in authorities shaken. The legacy is a political system so badly fractured that it is ill-equipped to deal with the economic and political crisis Britain now faces because of Brexit, Darling said. Morgan has already asked the Financial Conduct Authority to publish its report into allegations that RBS’s Global Restructuring Group allowed businesses to go bankrupt so that it could pick up their assets more cheaply. Some companies were so badly scarred by the crisis that they won’t ask banks for help with financing, Morgan said. Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-banks-morgan/senior-uk-lawmaker-calls-for-shaking-up-membership-of-bank-boards-idUKKCN1BO1JM'|'2017-09-13T15:38:00.000+03:00'
'b8665756ec50c126a5d6493acb7cf1ed2ba18c82'|'SK Hynix shares hit 16-year-high on hopes for Toshiba chip talks'|'SEOUL (Reuters) - Shares of SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ) extended gains on Wednesday to reach their highest level in more than 16 years after the Nikkei newspaper reported Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has agreed to step up talks to sell its chip business to a group including Bain and the South Korean chipmaker.The shares were last trading 3.5 percent higher.SK Hynix is also expected to post record earnings in the third and fourth quarter, boosted by strong chip prices.Reporting by Dahee Kim and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-sk-hynix/sk-hynix-shares-hit-16-year-high-on-hopes-for-toshiba-chip-talks-idINKCN1BO0AJ'|'2017-09-13T02:04:00.000+03:00'
'77de98e387b03202dc9664c521176ef6ed394586'|'Skype co-founder''s fund Atomico backs Worlds Adrift games maker'|'  7:18 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Skype co-founder''s fund Atomico backs Worlds Adrift games maker Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Niklas Zennstrom, founding partner and CEO at Atomic and co-founder and former CEO at Skype, speaks during the "Slush" event at Kaapelitehdas in Helsinki, November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva FRANKFURT (Reuters) - British games maker Bossa Studios on Tuesday said it has raised $10 million in a funding round led by European venture capital firm Atomico, ahead of the launch of the company’s pirate-themed multiplayer online title, Worlds Adrift. Bossa founders Henrique Olifiers and Imre Jele were involved in the development of RuneScape, a so-called massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) with more than 250 million user accounts set up since its launch in 2001. Atomico, established by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, will have two seats on the Bossa board filled by co-founder and partner Mattias Ljungman and Atomico-affiliated games entrepreneur Alexis Bonte will join Bossa’s board. Worlds Adrift features pirates tasked with building an airship, recruiting crew and taking control of skies dotted with floating islands. It is set to be the first game on general release to be built on the SpatialOS platform of Improbable, a British firm which in May raised $502 million in a funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, valuing it at over $1 billion. Improbable uses cloud-based computing to digitally simulate real-world locations for use in games and product design. Bossa said the $10 million Series A investment will be joined by its original investor, London Venture Partners, which specializes in early-stage funding for new games. It said it will use the funds to recruit staff to develop artificial intelligence, user-generated content and community-based gaming. Massively multiplayer online games are likely to account for a large chunk of the $29.4 billion that market researcher NewZoo expects to be spent on PC games this year, out of $108.9 billion for the entire games market. Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-videogames-bossa-funding/skype-co-founders-fund-atomico-backs-worlds-adrift-games-maker-idUKKCN1BN0ME'|'2017-09-12T10:10:00.000+03:00'
'bfa325b7650c7455cb6beecaeca134c03ee49baa'|'AA confirms it had talks with rival Hastings on insurance merger'|'  6:19 AM / Updated an hour ago AA, rival Hastings insurance merger talks end Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British insurer Hastings said on Tuesday that preliminary talks earlier this year to explore a possible merger with roadside recovery and motor insurance company AA’s insurance business had ended. “The Board confirms that the company did have preliminary discussions with the AA regarding a potential partnership with its insurance division, which have ceased,” Hastings said in a statement. “Whilst Hastings regularly reviews selective acquisition opportunities, its core strategy remains to deliver on its organic growth and its disclosed targets,” the insurer added. AA also confirmed the talks in a statement. “AA regularly reviews all strategic options, including whether a spin-off of any of its business lines would unlock further value and be in its shareholders’ interests,” AA said in a statement. The Financial Times reported on Monday that AA was looking to separate its insurance unit from its main rescue and repair business and merge it with Hastings. AA last month fired Executive Chairman Bob Mackenzie for gross misconduct and lowered its full-year forecasts. The company also said its performance in the first half of its financial year, which started in February, had been hit by a combination of an erratic work load and an inherently fixed cost base. On the other hand, rising British motor insurance premiums helped Hastings deliver a jump in first-half profit as people shopped around for policies, which the insurer said lifted its sales. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hastings-grp-m-a-aa-pl/aa-confirms-it-had-talks-with-rival-hastings-on-insurance-merger-idUKKCN1BN0IT'|'2017-09-12T09:19:00.000+03:00'
'93d551df22d1d06819a52629dc87c234a8c7de7f'|'Oil prices dip as traders assess U.S. hurricane impact'|' 28 AM / Updated 33 minutes ago Oil prices dip as traders assess U.S. hurricane impact Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Employees close a valve of a pipe at a PetroChina refinery in Lanzhou, Gansu province January 7, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - Oil prices edged down in early Asian trading on Tuesday, as traders weighed up the dampening effect on demand of Hurricane Irma versus refinery restarts following Hurricane Harvey that should lead to more crude oil processing. International benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was down 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $53.76 per barrel by 0108 GMT from the previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was down 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $48.04 a barrel. U.S. refineries, including the largest U.S. refinery Motiva Enterprises MOTIV.UL, have started to come back online. Motiva restarted production on Monday after being shut for about two weeks as Hurricane Harvey ripped through the U.S. Gulf coast. On Harvey’s heels, Hurricane Irma slammed into Florida on Sunday, leaving more than 7.4 million homes and businesses without power, but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. U.S. crude inventories likely rose last week, while refined product stockpiles were forecast to have declined, a preliminary Reuters poll showed. Six analysts polled ahead of inventory reports from the industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated, on average, that crude stocks likely rose 2.3 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 8. Amid persistent glut concerns, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih had talks with his Venezuelan, Kazakh counterparts about the possibility of extending supply cuts beyond March 2018. “Reports of an extension of the current production cut agreement continued to swirl around the market,” ANZ bank said in a note. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader, and other producers including Russia, agreed to curb their output by around 1.8 million barrels per day until next March. OPEC’s secretary-general Mohammad Barkindo said on Monday the supply cut deal was expected to help the global oil market rebalance and strong demand could further reduce oil inventories. Reporting by Jane Chung;  '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-prices-dip-as-traders-assess-u-s-hurricane-impact-idUKKCN1BN03M'|'2017-09-12T04:23:00.000+03:00'
'5f3f1c57b01193fee565c2168af83e12a3691ece'|'Wal-Mart restructures U.S. operations to speed change'|'CHICAGO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is restructuring its U.S. store operations and will consolidate its business divisions from six to four, the company said on Tuesday. “Our last field restructure was several years ago and our business has changed over that time,” the company said in a statement. “The structure we are putting in place will help improve communication and execution, streamline decision-making and help us accelerate our pace of change.”Wal-Mart’s divisions are currently structured across the West, South East, South Central, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, a source familiar with the matter, who did not wish to be identified said. The new divisions will take on a “different look”, the source said without giving details.As part of the restructuring, Wal-Mart will have 36 regional managers instead of 44. The retailer expects to finish the restructuring by October, the source said.“We had a similar structure in place three years ago and we are going back to that,” the source said.The company has been consolidating functions since the start of the year. In February, Reuters reported the company would consolidate its buying operations to better fight Amazon.com Inc and the retailer’s buying team based at Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters will place combined store and web orders with suppliers who sell on both platforms. It also reorganized its food leadership teams in July in an effort to compete better with grocery rivals. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/walmart-restructuring/wal-mart-restructures-u-s-operations-to-speed-change-idINL2N1LT1PC'|'2017-09-12T15:58:00.000+03:00'
'5f2d85bb03d8b6dfc9c3428c1232adcaa4ad59b3'|'Nearly a quarter of Scottish engineering firms risk staff losses due to Brexit - survey'|'September 13, 2017 / 4:21 PM / 27 minutes ago Nearly a quarter of Scottish engineering firms risk staff losses due to Brexit - survey Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A welder at a factory in Edinburgh, in a file photo. REUTERS/David Moir EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Almost one quarter of Scottish engineering and manufacturing firms have lost or are at risk of losing staff because of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, a survey published on Wednesday found. The poll by accountants Henderson Loggie also found almost three quarters of firms surveyed had problems recruiting staff with the right skills. Immigration is one of the thorniest issues in Britain´s Brexit negotiations, as many of those who voted to leave were concerned about high levels of EU workers arriving. A leaked document last week showing Britain was considering measures to restrict immigration for all but the highest-skilled EU workers, raised hackles at British companies. Immigration is particularly sensitive in Scotland where population decline, a source of concern for decades, had been reversed in recent years by young migrants arriving from the EU and settling. The poll of 50 firms in Scotland and 460 across the UK carried out in June and July found 84 percent of firms expected production costs to continue to rise and 22 percent cited Brexit concerns as a barrier to growth. “The sector continues to have difficulty recruiting staff with the relevant skills, the pressure on which is likely to increase as some businesses are at risk of losing staff due to Brexit,” said Gavin Black, partner at Henderson Loggie´s Manufacturing Group. The survey found that 23 percent of businesses have lost or are at risk of losing staff as a result of Brexit, due to uncertainty over post-Brexit EU workers’ rights and a drop in the value of the pound. That compared with 20 percent in the UK as a whole. A British trade survey conducted between March and May found nearly half of businesses operating in the food supply chain said EU workers were thinking about leaving because of uncertainty around Brexit. Reporting by Elisabeth O''Leary; editing by Stephen Addison'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-scotland-engineering/nearly-a-quarter-of-scottish-engineering-firms-risk-staff-losses-due-to-brexit-survey-idUKKCN1BO252'|'2017-09-13T19:27:00.000+03:00'
'cb96db2ebc850cc45b7b2272fe701d6e3ffd2a2e'|'TABLE-EFSF sells 996 mln euros of 8-yr bonds - Buba'|'BERLIN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The euro zone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), sold 996 million euros of 8-year bonds on Tuesday, with a bid to cover ratio of 6.1, Bundesbank data showed.AUCTION DATE 12/09/17 AVG YIELD 0.4 pct LOWEST ACCEPTED PRICE 100.74 TOTAL BIDS 6.089 bln euros NON-COMPETITIVE BIDS 3.978 bln euros ALLOTTED 0.996 bln euros BID COVER RATIO 6.1The auction details can be found atReporting by Berlin Newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/efsf-auction/table-efsf-sells-996-mln-euros-of-8-yr-bonds-buba-idINA5N1JY00K'|'2017-09-12T08:48:00.000+03:00'
'6b74cb62e13dc025595238843e3f41e5795b8bda'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-Germany''s Merck hires JP Morgan to sell consumer health'|'(Repeats story from late on Sept 8; no change to text)* JP Morgan advising on sales process* Guggenheim Partners also mandated, sources say* Nestle, Merck previously in talks over consumer JV-sources* Reckitt Benckiser, P&G among possible buyers, timing bad* Pfizer not interested in more consumer health -sourceBy Patricia Weiss, Ludwig Burger and Pamela BarbagliaFRANKFURT/LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Germany’s Merck KGaA has hired JP Morgan to sell its consumer health business, which includes brands such as Seven Seas vitamins and could be worth around $4.5 billion.The family-controlled drugmaker said on Tuesday it was considering selling the business, whose sales of over-the-counter medicines and vitamin supplements are about $1 billion a year, to help fund research into higher-margin prescription drugs.It has already sounded out prospective buyers including Swiss food giant Nestle, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.But while preliminary talks were held over the summer with Nestle, which favoured a joint venture deal, no agreement was reached, two of the sources added.The global market for consumer health products is worth an estimated $233 billion in sales this year, according to Euromonitor International, which ranks Merck’s business in the sector as the 32nd biggest, with a 0.4 percent share.One source said Merck was eyeing a price of 5 billion euros, while others said that 4 billion euros would be too ambitious because the business lacks global reach. Analysts at Bernstein have put a price tag of 3.7-5.6 billion euros on the business.Consumer health is very fragmented and has proved fertile ground for deals in recent years, as ageing populations and health-conscious consumers drive demand. Nestle, which wants to become a “nutrition, health and wellness company,” recently said it would pursue opportunities to expand in the sector.Merck, which confirmed JP Morgan’s role but declined to comment on other aspects of the process, prefers an outright sale of the business, which owns brands such as Bion nutritional supplements and decongestant Nasivin, the sources said.But Nestle, which also declined to comment, could yet decide it wants to buy the whole business, they said.GUGGENHEIM ON BOARD Two people familiar with the situation said Guggenheim Partners was also helping in the sales process. Merck and the boutique bank both declined to comment on its involvement.The German group said earlier this week it would give itself until early next year to make a decision on what to do with the business.Any delay might suit potential bidders such as Reckitt Benckiser, one of the sector’s biggest consolidators, which is digesting the $17 billion purchase of Mead Johnson.Consumer company Procter & Gamble along with Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Takeda and Abbott are all seen as other possible suitors.But Procter & Gamble is fighting off activist shareholder Trian, while Takeda has just bought Ariad.And U.S. drugmaker Pfizer is not interested in bulking up in consumer health, a source familiar with the company’s strategy said. The company declined to comment.Bayer has been largely ruled out because it is busy trying to get approval for its planned purchase of Monsanto while dealing with weakness at its own consumer care business.Sanofi is also seen as unlikely to bid because it is absorbed in folding Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer care business into its organisation after an asset swap. ($1 = 0.8310 euros) (Additional reporting by Martinne Geller and Arno Schuetze; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/merckkgaa-jpmorgan-consumerhealth/rpt-update-1-germanys-merck-hires-jp-morgan-to-sell-consumer-health-idINL5N1LS1C4'|'2017-09-11T05:31:00.000+03:00'
'7e3f5c2b97d58f6752bb46829dfe50ade2eccf48'|'MOVES-Deutsche Bank taps BofA banker as vice chair of Americas natural resources'|'NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank has appointed Scott Van Bergh as vice chairman of its natural resources group in the Americas, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a spokeswoman for the bank.Van Bergh had been at Bank of America Corp since 2003, most recently as vice chairman of global energy investment banking, and has more than 30 years of experience in energy banking, the memo said.Based in New York, Van Bergh will report to Warren Estey, Deutsche Bank’s head of natural resources in the Americas. (Reporting by David French; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/deutsche-bank-moves-vanbergh/moves-deutsche-bank-taps-bofa-banker-as-vice-chair-of-americas-natural-resources-idUSL2N1LS0SQ'|'2017-09-11T17:17:00.000+03:00'
'3a02c1ddbc7a0eefb31bd45f3c6eb619e889e0d4'|'Bombardier jobs hugely important to N. Ireland - PM May''s spokesman'|'  12:28 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Bombardier jobs hugely important to N. Ireland - PM May''s spokesman Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Jobs at aerospace firm Bombardier in Northern Ireland are hugely important to the province’s economy, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Tuesday, explaining her intervention in a trade dispute with U.S. rival Boeing. Earlier this year, Boeing launched a potentially damaging trade challenge action against Bombardier, alleging it is dumping its new C-Series passenger jets on the U.S. market. May raised the issue in a call with U.S. President Trump earlier this month. “These jobs are of huge importance to Northern Ireland and the economy in Northern Ireland and the prime minister wished to make that point to the president,” the spokesman told reporters, adding there had been a lot of government engagement with Boeing to try to persuade the company to drop or settle the case. “It is in everyone’s interests that we safeguard Bombardier’s operations and the highly skilled workers that it has in Belfast.” (Reporting by Kylie Maclellan, writing by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-britain-may/bombardier-jobs-hugely-important-to-n-ireland-pm-mays-spokesman-idUSS8N1JA00B'|'2017-09-12T15:26:00.000+03:00'
'852d0708129fc0a663949c2601a888a2a5432fba'|'Mercedes-Benz to offer electric option for every car by 2022'|'  8:36 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago Mercedes-Benz to offer electric option for every car by 2022 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler’s Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche on Monday said Mercedes-Benz will offer electric versions of all its models by 2022, converting its Smart city car brand to become fully electric. Speaking at the company’s investor day in Sindelfingen, Germany, Daimler said it will offer at least 50 electrified versions of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in a hybrid and fully electric car variants. Because electric cars have a lower margin than electric cars, Daimler has set itself a more ambitious savings target. The company’s Fit for Leadership 4.0 plan targets savings of 4 billion euros (3.6 billion pounds), Daimler said. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-daimler-strategy-investors/mercedes-benz-to-offer-electric-option-for-every-car-by-2022-idUKKCN1BM0TW'|'2017-09-11T11:18:00.000+03:00'
'518390bf970121e03c3047b847497373216a8695'|'Citigroup sees third-quarter markets revenue down 15 percent vs year-earlier'|'Reuters TV United States  21 PM / a minute ago Citigroup sees third-quarter markets revenue down 15 percent versus year-earlier Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Citigroup office is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 19, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) third-quarter total markets revenue is running about 15 percent less than a year earlier when volatility was boosted by reactions to the Brexit vote and U.S. elections, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said on Monday at an investor conference. Gerspach’s outlook was similar to the 12 percent decline anticipated by Barclays analyst, and confernce host, Jason Goldberg, in a preview for the event being held through Wednesday. Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-conference-citigroup/citigroup-sees-third-quarter-markets-revenue-down-15-percent-versus-year-earlier-idUKKCN1BM1OB'|'2017-09-11T16:14:00.000+03:00'
'18302c81bb56f64962d0f6582f83acaa30295910'|'Canada''s Alamos Gold to buy Richmont in a deal valued at C$905 million'|'(Reuters) - Canada’s Alamos Gold Inc ( AGI.TO ) ( AGI.N ) will buy smaller rival Richmont Mines Inc ( RIC.TO ) ( RIC.N ) in a deal valued at about C$905 million ($747 million) to create a top-10 gold producer in North America.Richmont shareholders will receive 1.385 Alamos share for each share held, or C$14.20, representing a 22 percent premium to Richmont’s last close.Shares of Alamos slumped 12 percent to C$9.02 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in early trading, while Richmont surged 6.7 percent C$12.40.The combined company, which will have majority of its production in Canada, is expected to produce 500,000 ounces of gold in 2017, the companies said in a statement.The deal includes Richmont’s flagship Island Gold Mine in Ontario, known for its high-grade yield and low cost. As a result, Alamos’s production is expected to increase at an average of 25 percent annually.Upon completion of the deal, which is expected by mid-November, Alamos will own 77 percent of the combined company and Richmont the rest.BMO Capital Markets was Alamos’ financial adviser, while Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd and Maxit Capital LP advised Richmont.Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-richmont-mines-m-a-alamos-gld/canadas-alamos-gold-to-buy-richmont-in-a-deal-valued-at-c905-million-idINKCN1BM1DP'|'2017-09-11T09:37:00.000+03:00'
'e937f24e2f210fa292f0f61bd0ed9c91ad90a2bf'|'UPDATE 1-Build batteries or lose jobs, auto bosses tell Europe'|'* Auto industry provides around 12.6 million European jobs* Electric cars benefit Asia which dominates in batteries* Suppliers want to look at other technologies too (Add details, Quote: s)By Emma Thomasson and Georgina ProdhanFRANKFURT, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Europe shouldn’t rush to abandon the combustion engine and must build up its own production of electric car batteries to compete with China, auto suppliers and manufacturers said at the Frankfurt motor show.The comments come as the future of the car has become a hot topic in campaigning ahead of Germany’s Sept. 24 election, especially after Britain and France announced plans to eventually phase out combustion engines to try to cut pollution.Roberto Vavassori, president of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), warned a headlong rush to electric cars would hand business to China, which along with South Korea and Japan dominate battery production for such vehicles.“We need to provide a sensible transition period that doesn’t give unwanted gifts to our Chinese friends,” he said, estimating European automakers were paying 4,000-7,000 euros ($5,000-8,000) to China for batteries for every electric car.Vavassori called for a European drive to develop the next generation of battery cells. He said carmakers and politicians should look at other ways of cutting vehicle emissions too, such as more efficient engines and synthetic fuels.Germany’s Daimler and Volkswagen both announced plans on the eve of the Frankfurt show to accelerate their shift to electric cars.The head of Volkswagen’s core auto division said on Wednesday that European industry should come together to create a regional supplier of batteries.“For the initial phase, I still feel in good hands with the Korean suppliers, but I would appreciate if competition were to grow and a European consortium would emerge,” VW brand Chief Executive Herbert Diess told Reuters.“EUROPE AT RISK”German Chancellor Angela Merkel has raised the possibility of state support to bring chip and battery production back to Europe and her Social Democrat challenger Martin Schulz has also called for investment in cell production in Germany.The stakes are high, with the auto industry as a whole providing around 12.6 million jobs in the European Union, or about 5.7 percent of the total.Trade unions have been putting pressure on manufacturers to make electric cars in existing factories and invest in battery production in Europe, rather than outsourcing the work to Asia.“Self-contained value chains are a central pillar of our industrial model and play a big role in the success of the German economy,” Joerg Hofmann, president of the IG Metall union, told steel and car industry members on Wednesday.CLEPA’s Vavassori said Europe was lagging behind in the production of sensors and microchips, as well as batteries, and there was a risk in relying on Chinese supplies given geopolitical instability.“We need production in Europe for vehicles of the future, or we put all Europe at risk,” he said.Many in the car industry want governments to focus on setting targets to bring down carbon dioxide emissions, rather being prescriptive about quotas for electric cars.“Mandating certain percentages of certain technologies doesn’t take us to the best solution,” said Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche, who currently chairs ACEA, the main European carmakers’ association.On Wednesday, ACEA offered to further cut CO2 emissions by 2030, albeit dependent on uptake of electric cars.Germany’s Robert Bosch, the world’s biggest auto supplier, is keeping its options open, optimising the combustion engine and also exploring synthetic fuels, which could use existing filling stations and engines.“This is a faster way of limiting global warming,” said Bosch chief executive Volkmar Denner. “We are doing this alongside electric vehicles.”$1 = 0.8354 euros Additional reporting by Laurence Frost, Edward Taylor and Andreas Cremer; Editing by Keith Weir and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/autoshow-frankfurt-suppliers/update-1-build-batteries-or-lose-jobs-auto-bosses-tell-europe-idUSL5N1LU3LK'|'2017-09-13T17:01:00.000+03:00'
'3793db3b1fc6332db50b2d0381a52ba6fcf5e940'|'UPDATE 1-Bayer sells 9.4 pct stake in Covestro for 1.2 bln euros'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer has further reduced its holding in Covestro to 31.5 percent from 40.9 percent by selling 19 million shares in the plastics business for a total of 1.2 billion euros. ($1.4 billion)It said on Wednesday that it placed the stock at 63.25 euros each, a 3.7 percent discount to Tuesday’s closing share price, which DZ Bank analyst Peter Spengler said indicated healthy demand for the stock.Bayer, which is trying to wrap up the $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds giant Monsanto by the end of the year, had announced the accelerated bookbuilding late on Tuesday, part of its plan to fully sever ties with Covestro over the medium-term.It has agreed to hold off for 90 days on placing more shares in Covestro, which it spun off as a listed company two years ago. Bayer’s pension trust separately holds 8.9 percent of Covestro.Barclays and Citigroup acted as joint bookrunners for the placement, which was aimed at institutional investors.Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-covestro-price/bayer-sells-9-4-percent-stake-in-covestro-idUSKCN1BO0GK'|'2017-09-13T09:22:00.000+03:00'
'8ec0c391ee8703648d6e3dd93e927e76edc9a3b2'|'Canada presses Greece on "troublesome" Eldorado Gold delays -Minister'|' 01 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Canada presses Greece on "troublesome" Eldorado Gold delays -Minister Reuters Staff 2 Min Read HALIFAX, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Canada’s Trade Minister flagged “troublesome” permit delays for Eldorado Gold Corp in a letter to the Greek Minister of Mines and Energy earlier this year, Francois-Philippe Champagne told Reuters on Wednesday. After meeting with the company at the Toronto mining conference in March, Champagne wrote to say that Canadian companies expect to be treated fairly and Eldorado has done “everything it can in order to comply with local laws and regulations.” Vancouver-based Eldorado threatened on Monday to suspend investment at three Greek projects, demanding permits and clarifications on an upcoming arbitration process. “We do that all the time when we see that Canadian companies operating abroad are not treated fairly in light of the rights and the regulations in that country and I will remake that case to my counterpart over the phone,” Champagne said. “We want to ensure a good trading relationship. Canada is a G7 country and when Canada speaks people listen.” (Reporting by David Ljunggren in Halifax, writing by Susan Taylor in Toronto; Editing by Matt Scuffham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eldorado-gold-greece-canada/canada-presses-greece-on-troublesome-eldorado-gold-delays-minister-idUSL2N1LU14I'|'2017-09-13T18:58:00.000+03:00'
'6c1b9a45650eff1a823d5f519411c082c70367a5'|'Teva to sell contraceptive brand Paragard in $1.1 bln deal'|'FILE PHOTO: A building belonging to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is seen in Jerusalem February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( TEVA.TA ), ( TEVA.N ) on Monday agreed to sell its contraceptive brand Paragard to a unit of Cooper Cos ( COO.N ) for $1.1 billion, on a day the struggling Israeli drugmaker named industry veteran Kare Schultz as CEO.The company’s U.S.-listed shares were up 1.4 percent at $18.75 in extended trading after closing up 19.3 percent in regular trading.The sale of the business is the first step in the planned divestment of non-core assets and the proceeds would be used to repay term loan debt, Teva said.Saddled with about $35 billion in debt, Teva has speeded up plans to divest non-core assets, Reuters reported last month, citing sources.“Investors will like this news, as in addition to a good price for the asset, and the recent share decline has been likely due in part to investor worries that the debt burden is high,” Wells Fargo Securities analyst David Maris said in a note.Teva’s U.S.-listed stock has halved since early August when it cut its forecasts.The company said on Monday it continued to look for divestiture opportunities, including the sale of the remaining assets of its global women’s health business, as well as its oncology and pain businesses in Europe.Teva said it expects to generate at least $2 billion in total proceeds from the sale of these businesses, as well as additional asset sales to be executed by the end of 2017.The deal with Cooper includes Teva’s manufacturing facility in Buffalo, NY, which makes Paragard exclusively.Paragard, an intrauterine copper contraceptive device, posted revenue of about $168 million for the year ended June 30.Teva said it will continue to manufacture and sell Paragard in the United States, until the deal is completed, which is expected before the year end.Earlier in the day, Teva named smaller peer Lundbeck’s ( LUN.CO ) Chief Executive Schultz as its CEO.Reporting by Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-teva-pharm-ind-divestiture-contracept/teva-to-sell-its-contraceptive-brand-paragard-in-1-1-billion-deal-idINKCN1BM2KQ'|'2017-09-11T18:37:00.000+03:00'
'cfb4450ec6dd0a03fb572b5afd5a541a17edf490'|'AT&T to reinvest more ad sales into content, extends free HBO offer'|'September 12, 2017 / 2:57 PM / Updated 2 hours ago AT&T to reinvest more ad sales into content, extends free HBO offer Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The AT&T logo is seen on a store in Golden, Colorado United States July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/Files REUTERS - AT&T Inc, which is buying Time Warner Inc, said it plans to reinvest more advertising revenue into content as it goes head-to-head with online streaming services such as Netflix Inc. AT&T also said it would now offer Time Warner’s premium cable channel HBO, home to hit shows such as “Game of Thrones” and “Veep”, to all customers on unlimited plans at no additional cost. The No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier in April offered free HBO to some customers on unlimited mobile data plans. Time Warner has been struggling to keep viewers glued to its channels as they flock to Netflix and Amazon.com Inc’s Prime Video, a trend that is taking a toll on ad sales. The media company posted a 6 percent drop in ad sales in the latest quarter, which it attributed partly to having fewer NBA and high-profile college basketball games than a year earlier. Time Warner has a great brand in HBO and the merger will allow it to leverage HBO to reach more subscribers, AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in New York on Tuesday. Stephenson said he wanted to offer advertisers the same degree of targeting they would get from digital platforms. “The advertising opportunity we think is significant,” he said. Together, the two companies have 1 trillion impressions per year. Ad impressions, or ad views, is a metric for the number of times an ad is displayed on a web page. Stephenson said AT&T was confident about closing the Time Warner deal by the end of the year. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru and Anjali Athavaley in New York; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/timewarner-m-a-at-t/att-to-reinvest-more-ad-sales-into-content-extends-free-hbo-offer-idINKCN1BN203'|'2017-09-12T17:56:00.000+03:00'
'587c220098967ac82435436b8ab839c5bd687234'|'Two labor unions end partnership with Harley-Davidson'|'September 12, 2017 / 3:21 PM / Updated an hour ago Two labor unions end partnership with Harley-Davidson Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A detail of a commuter''s Harley-Davidson motorcycle is photographed in Melbourne, Australia, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed (Reuters) - Two labor unions ended a two-decade long partnership agreement with Harley-Davidson Inc ( HOG.N ) on Tuesday, citing issues with senior management. Union leaders belonging to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the United Steelworkers (USW) said they were concerned with the way Harley’s management was handling staffing related to seasonal production. Chief Executive Matt Levatich agreed to work with the unions to resolve staffing issues raised on behalf of full-time workers, USW said in a release. Harley-Davidson said in May it would build a plant in Thailand, a major Asian automotive hub, to serve the growing Southeast Asian market, a move that was criticized by USW. The company’s shares were down 0.5 percent at $47.33. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-harley-davidson-unions/two-labor-unions-end-partnership-with-harley-davidson-idUSKCN1BN22R'|'2017-09-12T18:20:00.000+03:00'
'26b7ca5207068bf4673cdee4cbc74c66d81ac261'|'R3, FCA and banks team up on blockchain-based mortgage reporting'|'September 12, 2017 / 8:05 AM / Updated 4 hours ago R3, UK regulator and banks team up on blockchain-based mortgage reporting Anna Irrera 3 Min Read The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York-based software company R3 CEV has partnered with Britain’s financial watchdog and two large banks to develop a blockchain-based application to improve the regulatory reporting of mortgage transactions. R3 said on Tuesday that it had developed a prototype of the system together with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc ( RBS.L ) and another global bank which did not wish to be named. The system, which was built using R3’s blockchain called Corda, enables banks to generate automated delivery receipts for the regulator each time a mortgage is booked. The organizations hope that it can reduce the cost of the process and the risk of error. R3 leads a consortium of about 80 financial institutions aimed at building blockchain based technology for the finance industry. Thomson Reuters ( TRI.TO ), the parent of Reuters News, is a member of the consortium. Blockchain, which first came to prominence as the system underpinning crypto currency bitcoin, is a shared record of data maintained by a network of computers on the internet that can be accessed by all authorized parties. Financial institutions have been investing in its development in the hopes that it can help reduce their back office costs and complexity. Proponents of the technology suggest that it is ideally suited for simplifying record-keeping. The FCA prototype “can give the regulator a new tool capable of overseeing mortgage activity much more quickly and efficiently than before whilst greatly reducing data inconsistencies,” Richard Crook, head of emerging technology at RBS, said in a statement. It could also reduce the amount of work required by the regulator when processing reports that are typically sent in variety of formats, Steve Hey man, a project lead at R3, said in an interview. Participants in the project will continue to work toward a live testing phase, which is expected to involve other lenders and regulatory bodies, R3 said. Regulators across the world are looking to increase their use of innovative financial technology to become more efficient. The FCA has been leading the way globally on this initiative, having launched a dedicated division almost three years ago. Launched in 2015, R3 raised $107 million in May from companies including Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ), SBI Holdings Inc, HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ), Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) and Temasek Holdings. Reporting by Anna Irrera, Editing by Rosalba O''Brien'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-r3-fca/r3-uk-regulator-and-banks-team-up-on-blockchain-based-mortgage-reporting-idUKKCN1BN0QX'|'2017-09-12T11:04:00.000+03:00'
'0825820ed43e9ecb66dfff69f71a72bd374b6e52'|'Ryanair adds more planes, routes at Frankfurt airport'|'September 12, 2017 / 8:32 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago Ryanair adds more planes, routes at Frankfurt airport Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Ryanair aircraft lands at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain, May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Yates/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said on Tuesday it would base three more aircraft at Frankfurt airport from summer 2018 to add 34 new routes including Athens, Lisbon and Marseille. That brings the number of planes it has at Germany’s biggest airport to 10, encroaching further onto rival Lufthansa’s territory. An increase in flights from low-cost carriers is helping Frankfurt airport operator Fraport to boost passenger numbers this year, with the company saying earlier it had seen a 5 percent increase in August. Asked at a news conference whether Ryanair could grow further at Frankfurt airport after next summer, Chief Commercial Officer David O‘Brien said that depended largely on the competitive environment. “We’ve recently added Munich, we may do more there. If (Berlin) Tegel stays open... it’s conceivable that we would put more aircraft there,” he said. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-hldgs-routes/ryanair-adds-more-planes-routes-at-frankfurt-airport-idUKKCN1BN0TB'|'2017-09-12T11:32:00.000+03:00'
'88ed0b036bd58182aebc36546bab693800924bf6'|'INSIGHT-Once fringe players, Swiss traders grab $10 billion slice of LNG market'|'FILE PHOTO: A fisherman stands in his boat as a liquefied natural gas tanker (LNG) passes the coast near Havana, Cuba, June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss trading houses are muscling in on the global market for liquefied natural gas, until now the preserve of energy giants, and expect to grab a $10 billion share of the rapidly growing business this year.Trafigura [TRAFG.UL], Gunvor [GGL.UL], Vitol [VITOLV.UL] and Glencore are all shaking up a decades-old system dominated by Western oil majors and state energy producers which sell LNG directly to large consumers on long-term contracts.They plan 2017 shipments that will be more than triple the 2015 level, according to Reuters calculations based on figures for the four traders provided by trade sources.“The trade houses ... are not fringe players any more,” said Trafigura’s head of LNG Hadi Hallouche. “In the next four or five years there will be a significant amount of supply contracts expiring and that will open up the market.”In the short term, the Swiss traders may prove useful to producers such as Royal Dutch Shell and state-owned Qatargas by finding new buyers in emerging markets, easing a glut that the dominant suppliers helped to create.But they are determined to challenge the LNG establishment, and have set their sights on supplying not only the fastest-growing consumers like China, India and Pakistan but also the largest, such as power utilities in Japan and South Korea.The big buyers remain largely locked into long-term deals designed to ensure the producers get a return on their multi-billion dollar LNG investments, but that won’t last for ever.Traders believe they can bring greater liquidity, flexibility and efficiency to the market. “It will be in the interest of sellers and end users to allow trading companies to compete for access to production,” Hallouche said.Overall, the four Swiss traders expect to deliver over 25 million tonnes of LNG this year, up from seven million two years ago. Smaller rivals such as Hong Kong-based Noble Group and Dubai-based B.B. Energy should push the total above 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).HUNGRY FOR GAS Many countries are hungry for gas as a lower carbon, less polluting alternative to oil and coal for generating power. With pipeline supplies either limited by capacity or impractical, LNG - where gas is cooled to a liquid for delivery by sea - has become the fastest growing traded commodity.Numerous LNG projects, conceived before the 2008 financial crisis slowed world economic growth, are starting production. Between 2015 and 2020, global supply will grow by 135 mtpa or nearly 50 percent, Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts, largely from plants in Australia and the United States.However, an expected leap in U.S. import demand has failed to materialize as buyers opt for gas from domestic shale deposits. The resulting glut has pushed spot prices down by 70 percent from a peak in early 2014, giving the traders their chance to gain a foothold.Related Coverage Factbox: Commodities traders strike major LNG deals“The days of producers having nice cozy 25-year supply deals with buyers won’t disappear altogether,” David Fyfe, Gunvor Group’s chief economist, told Reuters. “But what traders bring is a mechanism to absorb oversupply and find markets that traditional producers might not have considered.”LNG production is set to hit 293 million tonnes this year, according to independent LNG consultant Andy Flower. That means the traders will deliver 8.5 percent of global supply.They won’t be content with this. “I would be surprised if Swiss trade houses’ share of delivered LNG didn’t double in the next three years,” said Otto Waterlander, senior oil and gas partner at McKinsey & Co. On top of supplying 50 mtpa, he forecast they may buy and sell almost double that among themselves, boosting market liquidity.MOPPING UP Over-investment in new production has undercut the producers’ dominance and traders are mopping up the surplus at prices often below the cost of production.Trafigura leads by volume, expecting to deliver around 7.5 million tonnes this year, a trading source told Reuters.FILE PHOTO: Trafigura logo is pictured in the company entrance in Geneva, Switzerland March 11, 2012. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Gunvor will raise its LNG shipments this year substantially from the nearly four million tonnes it delivered in 2016, another source said, putting it not far behind Trafigura.Vitol plans to raise 2017 volumes to at least seven million tonnes, according to a presentation to customers earlier this year, from less than three million in 2016. Glencore’s new team is to rack up around 3.5 mtpa.All four are used to working in politically complex markets involving high credit risks. So far they have concentrated on customers such as Egypt and Pakistan, countries with rapidly rising energy needs due to high population growth.Some are moving beyond trading, seeking stakes in LNG production and leasing capacity in facilities such as floating import terminals, which are far cheaper than those on dry land.“Floating terminals are nimbler, can be moved around and give buyers prompt access to LNG for however long they wish,” said Fyfe. “Emerging markets that may have shied away from the massive investment required for importing LNG before can now tap supplies ... for five to 10 years, encouraging more buyers to enter the market.”Trafigura and Gunvor are involved in floating terminals in Pakistan, and Gunvor struck a deal in January to supply the country for five years.Traders are also targeting more established markets. While major Chinese importers mainly have long-term contracts, a number of new players in the country such as ENN and Guanghui Energy Co Ltd are increasingly in the market for LNG.FILE PHOTO: The TEPCO logo and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tank are seen at Tokyo Electric Power Co Holdings (TEPCO)''s South Yokohama Thermal Power Station in Yokohama, Japan July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Developed economies also offer opportunities, including Britain which relies heavily on Norway for gas and Qatar for LNG. Trafigura hopes to reopen a defunct LNG import terminal in northeast England, which could also supply the continent by pipeline.STIFF COMPETITION Competition is stiff in securing supplies, including using the relatively untested technology of floating production platforms. Last month, Gunvor beat Vitol to take output from Africa’s first deepwater floating LNG project in Equatorial Guinea for 10 years.It offered to help finance state-run Sonagas’s 30 percent stake in the $2 billion scheme, marking the first time a trade house has helped bankroll an LNG project.Gunvor is also the first trading house with access to long-term LNG supply, obtained from Russia’s Yamal project, industry sources said. This will start exports later this year.Vitol has secured a multi-year supply deal with Angola’s sole LNG export project, which is led by Chevron. Originally the plant was supposed to supply the United States under long-term deals but these never materialized due to the shale gas boom and technical problems.While emerging markets offer rapid growth, Egypt, for instance, piled up payment arrears of half a billion dollars last year. Some industry figures believe similar problems will crop up among the new batch of LNG importers.Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating, for instance, is deep in junk territory. By contrast Japan’s JERA, a tie-up of Tokyo Electric Power Co and Chubu Electric which is the world’s biggest LNG buyer, has a high investment grade rating, as does the global number two, Korea Gas Corp.“There is more credit risk but the key is to be stringent in the due diligence process when examining opportunities,” said Fyfe.Competition is also shrinking trading margins. As recently as 2013, traders could pocket millions of dollars on a single trade but that has shrunk to about $750,000.To compensate traders are taking bigger positions in the market. Wrong-way bets, however, can mean heavy losses and unlike in oil, traders can’t anchor laden tankers at sea in the hope that prices pick up because LNG slowly evaporates.The Swiss also no longer have the field to themselves as national energy companies and power utilities such as Germany’s RWE are expanding their own trading divisions.For example, Socar Trading, an offshoot of Azerbaijan’s state oil company, is working to turn some African countries into LNG importers and has already done so with Malta.Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by David Stamp '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lng-tradehouses-insight/once-fringe-players-swiss-traders-grab-10-billion-slice-of-lng-market-idUSKCN1BN1LM'|'2017-09-12T15:49:00.000+03:00'
'7fdc101abefa1afe9dfe582b4fffd4c2180dadee'|'Western Digital-led group wins bid for Toshiba chip unit: Nikkan Kogyo'|'September 11, 2017 / 10:37 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Toshiba still in talks over chip unit sale one day before deadline: sources Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Toshiba''s used-memory chips are seen at an electronics shop in Tokyo November 9, 2010. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Tokyo (Reuters) - Japan’s embattled Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is still in discussions with various parties over the $18 billion sale of its memory chip business just a day before its latest, self-imposed deadline, people involved in the talks told Reuters on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, the Nikkan Kogyo business daily reported without citing sources that Toshiba has agreed to sell the business to a consortium led by U.S. chipmaking partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) for about 2 trillion yen ($18.3 billion). The newspaper said Toshiba will announce the agreement on Wednesday and sign after a board meeting on Sept. 20. Toshiba is desperate to sell the unit to cover billions of dollars in liabilities at U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. The board wants the sale, beset by legal wrangling and revised bids, to be decided by Wednesday when it meets, separate people involved in the talks previously told Reuters. The people on Tuesday declined to be identified because the talks were confidential. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo A Toshiba spokesman said no decision has been made, and that the company will not comment on details of the bidding process. The state-backed Innovation Network of Japan, which is part of the Western Digital-led consortium, held its investment committee meeting on Tuesday without making any decision. Slideshow (2 Images) Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, an external Toshiba director, said at a press conference on Tuesday at the Keizai Doyukai group of corporate executives, that though the deadline is important, it is also important that negotiations head in a good direction. As well as the Western Digital-backed consortium, which also includes KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ), Toshiba has said it is considering a bid led by Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), and one by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn) ( 2317.TW ). Western Digital has offered to drop out of bidding and take a stronger position its joint venture with Toshiba instead, but still wants a stake in the chip business in the future, people familiar with the matter previously told Reuters. The people also said Toshiba objected to the possibility of Western Digital eventually seeking control of the chip business, and so has sought a limit on any future stake. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in BENGALURU, Taiga Uranaka, Ritsuko Ando and Makiko Yamazaki in TOKYO; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-led-group-wins-bid-for-toshiba-chip-unit-nikkan-kogyo-idINKCN1BM2T6'|'2017-09-11T20:37:00.000+03:00'
'7fe6a454261ae931c036150b3625ca4ca43075bf'|'MOVES-Barclays hires Weir for asset finance trading'|'LONDON, Sept 13 (IFR) - Barclays has hired Matt Weir from Goldman Sachs to head asset finance trading within its new financing resource management - or FiRM - division that aims to improve the bank’s returns and better manage its capital and financial resources.Barclays said Weir will be based in London and start in November. He will report to FiRM head Art Mbanefo. FiRM was set up to help with structuring and financing across Barclays International, which includes the corporate and investment bank.Weir spent four years at Goldman, where he was head of European asset-backed financing and trading. He was previously at Morgan Stanley for seven years, where he was responsible for European commercial real estate lending. He also spent five years at Credit Suisse, including in debt capital markets and ABS trading.Weir will be responsible for building a new asset finance business within FiRM together with Cecile Hillary, who was hired in June as head of asset finance solutions for the unit. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Gareth Gore) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/moves-barclays-hires-weir-for-asset-fina/moves-barclays-hires-weir-for-asset-finance-trading-idINL5N1LU1VG'|'2017-09-13T07:00:00.000+03:00'
'3dfb5dce3f7f7d95aac08c2b830f6ba4a71a6267'|'EU carmakers offer conditional 20 percent CO2 cut by 2030'|'September 13, 2017 / 9:50 AM / 3 hours ago EU carmakers offer conditional 20 percent CO2 cut by 2030 Reuters Staff 4 Min Read An anti-exhaust emission traffic sign is pictured in Copenhagen, Denmark April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European carmakers have offered a further 20 percent cut in average carbon dioxide emissions for their vehicles in the next round of EU goals currently being drawn up, but said full compliance should wait until 2030 and remains conditional on consumer uptake of electrified cars. The industry needs a “clear and foreseeable time frame” for emission goals beyond 2021, when a new limit of 95 grammes of CO2 per kilometre is due to enter force, said Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) boss Dieter Zetsche, who currently chairs ACEA, the main European carmakers’ association. Europe’s powerful car industry has come under fire since Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) admitted to cheating on emission tests in the United States, with the head of the European Commission voicing “shock” at its behaviour in a speech on Wednesday. The scandal has prompted the European Commission to seek tougher controls over the industry’s emissions. It is expected this year to present a proposal for new CO2 standards for cars and vans for beyond 2020 to help achieve the bloc’s overall goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The further 20 percent cut proposed by ACEA would reduce average CO2 emission goals to 76 grammes per kilometre. Full implementation of these goals, however, should depend on consumer uptake of new models of electric and rechargeable hybrids, Zetsche told reporters at the Frankfurt auto show. During a mid-term review in 2025 the 20 percent reduction goal could either be raised or lowered depending not only on the uptake of electric cars but also on the availability of battery re-charging infrastructure, he added. “This conditionality principle links Europe’s long-term climate objectives to the reality of the market,” he said. According to ACEA data, chargeable electric vehicles made up 1.2 percent of new car sales in the first half of this year. A Commission spokeswoman said it was currently assessing the best options for developing “ambitious and realistic targets” - a debate the EU’s senior climate official called “very heated.” Jos Delbeke, director general of climate action, told a conference last week that regulators were considering policies to incentivise low-carbon vehicle uptake and infrastructure development - without setting targets. “We want to have ambitious targets but we also want targets that the transport sector can deliver on,” he said. But environmental campaigners said the industry was still doing too little itself to promote electric vehicle uptake. “More than 98 percent of marketing spend is on conventional cars,” said Greg Archer, clean vehicles director at Transport and Environment. “The industry needs to stop blaming others ... and start selling an electric dream to inspire their customers.” As long as the market share of electric cars remains small, Zetsche said the latest generation of diesel vehicles should remain on the road because they emit 15-20 percent less CO2 than equivalent petrol vehicles. “Any rash move away from this technology will make it more difficult for our industry to meet the European Commission targets,” he said. The ACEA called for an EU-wide approach to air quality to stop cities or countries opting for individual bans to tackle pollution, with Britain and France planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040. “We seem to go back to the Middle Ages where the cities were defining how things needed to be done, undermining the single or internal market,” ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert said. Reporting by Laurence Frost and Agnieszka Flak in Frankfurt and Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-autos-carbon/eu-carmakers-offer-conditional-20-percent-co2-cut-by-2030-idUKKCN1BO10A'|'2017-09-13T16:44:00.000+03:00'
'742b92a868cbee44a535b6d745b576685360a7db'|'Facebook to clamp down on who can cash in on ads'|'  1:36 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Facebook to clamp down on who can cash in on ads Douglas Busvine 3 Min Read A 3D plastic representation of the Facebook logo is seen in this illustration in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Facebook said on Wednesday it would introduce tougher rules on who can make money from advertising on its network, responding to criticism that it makes it too easy for providers of fake news and sensational headlines to cash in. With immediate effect, the world’s largest social network will launch new standards to provide clearer guidance on which publishers are eligible to earn money on Facebook and with what content, Senior Vice President for Global Marketing Solutions Carolyn Everson said in a blog post. These standards would apply to ad placements where context could matter, Everson wrote in the post, timed to coincide with an appearance on Wednesday by Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg at dmexco, a major digital marketing gathering in Cologne, Germany. Germany is one of Facebook’s toughest critics on hate speech and privacy. Its parliament passed a law in June to introduce fines of up to 50 million euros (£45.14 million) for social media networks if they fail to remove hateful postings promptly. Facebook, together with Alphabet’s Google, accounts for around two fifths of internet advertising, which is forecast by consultancy Zenith to grow by 13 percent to $205 billion (£154.50 billion) this year – overtaking television as the biggest channel for companies to pitch their wares to consumers. Facebook has faced criticism from marketers that digital ads distributed to its more than 2 billion monthly active users were not reaching their intended audience, were not being adequately tracked, and in some cases were being placed with content detrimental to the brands being promoted. ”We hear them loud and clear,” Everson wrote. “We take very seriously our responsibility to earn and maintain the trust of our advertiser partners – and give them the confidence they need to invest in us.” Facebook will also step up its monitoring of hate speech, adding 3,000 content reviewers to nearly double the size of its existing team. “There is absolutely no place on Facebook for hate speech or content that promotes violence or terrorism,” Everson said. “As soon as we determine that content has breached our community standards, we remove it. With a community as large as Facebook, however, zero tolerance cannot mean zero occurrence.” Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Emma Thomasson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-advertising-dmexco-facebook/facebook-introduces-new-rules-on-advertising-hate-speech-idUKKCN1BO1OQ'|'2017-09-13T17:08:00.000+03:00'
'8fa53dc08c173af78be02c5fb12e7e900c78adf5'|'Glencore sale of Rosneft stake earns rivals'' respect, bankers'' relief'|'September 12, 2017 / 6:08 AM / Updated an hour ago Glencore sale of Rosneft stake earns rivals'' respect, bankers'' relief Dmitry Zhdannikov 6 Min Read The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Glencore’s move last week to sell most of its stake in Russian oil major Rosneft to Chinese conglomerate CEFC is eliciting admiration from the Swiss oil trader’s rivals -- and relief from its bankers. To rivals, it appears to be a clever deal by Glencore’s boss Ivan Glasenberg, who had initially invested 300 million euros (272 million pounds) of Glencore’s money in a deal worth 10.2 billion. On paper, after nine months he shows a small loss: Glencore retains a 0.5 percent equity stake in Rosneft, now worth around 250 million euros. But crucially, traders expect Glencore to hold on to the most valuable benefit of the deal: an agreement to let his firm sell hundreds of millions of barrels of Russian oil to global markets over five years. “It is a very sweet deal. I wouldn’t hesitate to pay three times what Glencore paid to get those volumes,” said a trader with a rival. For Glencore’s bankers, the relief comes from unwinding the original deal, Russia’s biggest privatisation since the 1990s, under which Glencore and Qatari sovereign wealth fund QIA bought nearly a fifth of Rosneft through a structure of offshore holding companies funded mostly by debt. When that deal was reached in December, participants did not fully disclose the beneficiaries of their off-shore investment vehicle to the public, or explain which Russian banks were among those providing loans. Most big state Russian banks are subject to U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and interference in east Ukraine in 2014. “This structure is now being unwound. Everyone will now own Rosneft shares directly -- Glencore, Qatar and China. The debt to banks is also being paid out,” said a senior source close to last week’s deal who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Rosneft is run by Igor Sechin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Putin awarded state medals to Glasenberg for executing last year’s deal, and to the head of the Russian office of Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo for helping fund it with a 5.2 billion euro loan. The Qataris put in 2.5 billion euros and 2.2 billion came from undisclosed Russian banks. Unwinding the deal gets it off the books of Intesa, which could not syndicate the loan to share risks with other banks, as most lenders declined to get involved, especially as the United States was imposing new sanctions last month. “For Western banks it was a dead end. They wanted to know the beneficiaries of the structure and who funded the deal. Plus new sanctions made them even more uneasy,” said a source with a Western bank which was asked by Intesa to participate. Friday’s deal saw Glencore and QIA sell 14.16 percent in Rosneft to CEFC for $9.1 billion. Intesa said its debt will be reimbursed. FILE PHOTO - The shadow of a worker is seen next to a logo of Russia''s Rosneft oil company at the central processing facility of the Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo “It is the end of the mystery. The Western banks will never find out those details (of how the original deal was set up),” said the banking source who asked not to be identified as he is not allowed to speak to the press. BIG TRADE The senior source close to last week’s deal said the initial transaction stipulated that names of the banks could not be disclosed but added that the deal was fully compliant with all sanctions. Sources at the consortium have insisted that even though the structure was opaque, its beneficiaries never included firms other than Glencore and QIA. After the deal with CEFC, Glencore and QIA will retain stakes of 0.5 percent and 4.7 percent in Rosneft respectively. “Glencore being Glencore, there will be deal behind it. The original agreement included a 5-year supply deal with Rosneft for 220,000 barrels per day or 400 million barrels in total,” said investment bank Investec. By comparison, Glencore and its rival Vitol had to loan Rosneft $10 billion back in 2013 to secure supplies of 490 million barrels of crude, also over five years. With the old, 2013 deal expiring next year, it was important for Glencore to keep marketing large volumes of Russian crude as it faces stiff competition from the likes of Vitol and Swiss trader Trafigura, two traders at major oil firms said. “Glencore and QIA did a good deal for the Russian state when it needed money,” said the senior source close to the deal, adding that the oil export contract would stay in force even though the structure of the deal changes with the arrival of CEFC. On Friday, Rosneft’s Sechin said QIA and Glencore cut the stakes partially because of a decline in the U.S. dollar against the euro, which made debt servicing more expensive. The senior source close to the deal said Glencore’s and QIA’s exposure to the shares was hedged since the beginning and hence the sale didn’t bring material gain or loss. “The consortium never had an optionality to sell the shares back to Rosneft. What happened is that the consortium was contacted by three buyers and chose CEFC as they offered the best price,” the source said without naming other contenders. CEFC China Energy has grown in recent years from a niche oil trader into a sprawling energy conglomerate. Rosneft’s market capitalisation stands at $58 billion and the deal makes it one of the largest investments ever made by China into Russia. Additional reporting by Barbara Lewis; writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Peter Graff '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-glencore-rosneft/glencore-sale-of-rosneft-stake-earns-rivals-respect-bankers-relief-idUKKCN1BN0HY'|'2017-09-12T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'fec6d9081131bd2265e319d02753f407499095c5'|'Rupert Murdoch''s Fox joins court challenge to CBS'' Australian TV buyout'|'FILE PHOTO: The flag of the Twenty-First Century Fox Inc is seen waving at the company headquarters in the Manhattan borough in New York June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc joined a court challenge on Tuesday against rival U.S. cable network CBS Corp’s proposed buyout of struggling Australian television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd.The U.S. broadcasting heavyweights faced off in the Australian courtroom amid a battle for control of Ten, a ratings laggard which went into administration three months ago following long declines in viewership and advertising revenue.Lawyers for Ten said the private company of Murdoch’s son, Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch, had offered to revise the offer it made in June before it was elbowed aside by CBS.Murdoch’s company Illyria and its Australian partner had informed Ten overnight on Monday that they “wish to in some way reopen their offer by opening negotiations”, Ten lawyer Richard McHugh told the court.Illyria’s offer has not been disclosed but McHugh said the company had still not provided anything that could be put to Ten’s creditors.Documents released on Monday by the administrator show CBS, the free-to-air network’s major creditor, is prepared to pay at least A$201.1 million ($162 million) in cash for Ten.While Ten was worth less than A$60 million when it went into administration, it is an attractive takeover target because of its national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy.Twenty-First Century Fox and CBS are Ten’s largest creditors. Lachlan Murdoch and his Australian co-bidder, television entrepreneur Bruce Gordon, were also major Ten shareholders.Gordon filed the court action seeking to delay the CBS takeover, arguing the administrators had not properly informed creditors of their options.After New South Wales state Supreme Court Judge Ashley Black agreed to let Twenty-First Century Fox join Gordon’s action, a lawyer for the U.S. company said the terms of the CBS offer were unfair.“They are getting 100 cents in the dollar and we seem to be getting 1.75 cents in the dollar,” lawyer Ian Pike told the court.Pike did not refer to a rival offer from Lachlan Murdoch and Gordon, but Gordon’s lawyer, Andrew Bell, told the court his client was concerned administrators “made the decision not to put the competing (offer) to the creditors”.The hearing continues.($1 = 1.2488 Australian dollars)Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Byron Kaye and Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/rupert-murdochs-fox-joins-court-challenge-to-cbs-australian-tv-buyout-idINKCN1BN0CB'|'2017-09-12T02:44:00.000+03:00'
'2df9a6badf46d24600f17a64c8bc22bf6c73d6f4'|'Bunge to buy 70 pct stake in IOI Group unit for $946 million'|'Sept 12 (Reuters) - Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd said on Tuesday it would buy a 70 percent stake in IOI Loders Croklaan from Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Corp Berhad for $946 million.IOI Loders’ portfolio includes palm and tropical oil-derived products.The deal is expected to close in the next 12 months and IOI Loders will retain its brand and operate as part of Bunge’s food & ingredients business, Bunge said. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ioi-loders-croklaan-stake-bunge/bunge-to-buy-70-pct-stake-in-ioi-group-unit-for-946-million-idINL4N1LT3H3'|'2017-09-12T08:52:00.000+03:00'
'431114fa96da1ac44d6e8a5217d7cb8b66d48d77'|'British, Canadian PMs set for talks on Bombardier-Boeing spat'|'September 12, 2017 / 11:31 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago British, Canadian PMs set for talks on Bombardier-Boeing spat Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Boeing''s logo is seen on its KC-46 Aerial refuelling operator''s station demonstrator during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon ST. JOHN‘S, Newfoundland (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet in Ottawa next week and are set to discuss a crisis between U.S. firm Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and its Canadian rival Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the two leaders would hold talks on Sept. 18. Boeing has launched a potentially damaging trade action against Bombardier, which is a major employer in both Canada and Britain. Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-canada/british-canadian-pms-set-for-talks-on-bombardier-boeing-spat-idUKKCN1BN1C4'|'2017-09-12T14:31:00.000+03:00'
'8fc9d8cfeb982877c2c53b6a035a0cd9c4407d10'|'UK minister to give update on Fox-Sky deal on Tuesday'|'The Sky logo is seen on an advertising wrap on a bus in west London, Britain June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s media secretary will make a statement in parliament later on Tuesday about Rupert Murdoch’s bid to buy the rest of pay-TV group Sky ( SKYB.L ), the leader of the house said on Twitter.Minister Karen Bradley has been weighing whether to refer Twenty-First Century Fox’s ( FOXA.O ) bid for Sky for a wide-ranging investigation to assess the impact a takeover would have on the broader provision of news.Bradley is expected to speak around 1330 local time.Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Michael Holden '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sky-m-a-fox/uk-minister-to-give-update-on-fox-sky-deal-on-tuesday-idUSKCN1BN11L'|'2017-09-12T12:51:00.000+03:00'
'c13c32bbc47cb57451ab97ca05d4ff4a3f447bee'|'SBI Life to launch India''s first billion dollar IPO in seven years'|'  1:19 PM / Updated 39 minutes ago SBI Life to launch India''s first billion dollar IPO in seven years Devidutta Tripathy , S. Anuradha 2 Min Read MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd will launch an initial public offering next week to raise as much as $1.3 billion, sources with direct knowledge told Reuters, in what will be the country’s first billion-dollar IPO in nearly seven years. SBI Life, a subsidiary of top Indian lender State Bank of India ( SBI.NS ), will open the IPO sale to the public on Sept. 20 and close it on Sept. 22, according to a filing. Two sources said the shares will be sold in a price range of 685 rupees to 700 rupees apiece. The IPO will raise as much as 84 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) for SBI Life’s two main shareholders - State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif - which are paring their stakes. State Bank of India is selling up to an 8 percent stake, or 80 million shares, in SBI Life, while BNP Paribas Cardif is selling up to a 4 percent stake, or 40 million shares. SBI Life’s IPO is the biggest since state-run Coal India’s 155 billion rupee ($2.4 billion) IPO in 2010 and market participants expect 2017 to be a record-setting year for India, with fund-raising from IPOs exceeding 2010’s $8.5 billion. The country has already seen more than $3 billion in IPOs this year, according to Thomson Reuters data, and has a number of upcoming listings from insurers, which should take it well past the $4 billion raised from IPOs last year. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd’s IPO to raise up to $890 million opens on Friday, while state-run reinsurer General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) and non-life insurer New India Assurance Co Ltd have also filed for IPOs that bankers estimate could raise a total of more than $3 billion. Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy and S. Anuradha; Editing by Louise Heavens and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sbi-life-ins-ipo/indias-sbi-life-insurance-sets-price-range-for-up-to-1-3-billion-ipo-next-week-sources-idUSKCN1BN1O7'|'2017-09-12T21:19:00.000+03:00'
'02ea16a1fa2e3b267c5953f317371ba21cfec837'|'Exclusive: Toshiba now favours Bain group for chip sale; Western Digital talks stall: sources'|'  10:52 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago Exclusive: Toshiba now favours Bain group for chip sale; Western Digital talks stall: sources Taro Fuse 2 Min Read The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind a traffic light at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp now favours a group led by Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc as buyer for its prized semiconductor business, as it has failed to bridge key gaps with its business partner and rival bidder Western Digital Corp, two people briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. The Japanese conglomerate, which needs to sell the chip business to plug a huge hole in its finances, had been trying to seal a deal by Wednesday with the Western Digital group but now hopes to reach agreement with the Bain group by next week, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the talks were private. A Toshiba spokesman said the firm could not comment on details of the talks, which have already missed two deadlines by Toshiba’s banks, which want a deal to pump $18 billion (£13.58 billion) or more into the company to pull it out of negative shareholder equity and preventing it from being delisted. A Western Digital spokeswoman also declined to comment. The Japanese unit of Bain Capital and SK Hynix could not be reached for comment outside business hours. Reporting by Taro Fuse; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Writing by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-bain-exclusive/exclusive-toshiba-now-favours-bain-group-for-chip-sale-western-digital-talks-stall-sources-idUKKCN1BN181'|'2017-09-12T13:52:00.000+03:00'
'355a206bac81f3ad6ee73e356594cb58d8746df5'|'JPMorgan''s Dimon says bitcoin trading ''is a fraud'''|'September 12, 2017 / 6:12 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago JPMorgan''s Dimon says bitcoin ''is a fraud'' David Henry , Anna Irrera 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin “is a fraud” and will blow up, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), said on Tuesday. Speaking at an investor conference in New York, Dimon said, “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart.” Dimon said that if any JPMorgan traders were trading the crypto-currency, “I would fire them in a second, for two reasons: It is against our rules and they are stupid, and both are dangerous.” Dimon’s comments come as the bitcoin, a virtual currency not backed by any government, has more than quadrupled in value since December to more than $4,100 (3,086.65 pounds). Bitcoin is a digital currency that enables individuals to transfer value to each other and pay for goods and services bypassing banks and the mainstream financial system. Dimon also said JPMorgan’s third-quarter trading revenue will be down about 20 percent from a year earlier, in line with analysts’ expectations. Reporting by David Henry and Anna Irrera in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-banks-conference-jpmorgan/jpmorgans-dimon-says-bitcoin-trading-is-a-fraud-idUKKCN1BN2KL'|'2017-09-12T21:18:00.000+03:00'
'35286dab7387a0f511d566f0c47836215183965e'|'StanChart to meet Britain''s financial watchdog over Indonesia probe'|'  3:32 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago StanChart to meet Britain''s financial watchdog over Indonesia probe Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) will meet Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority this week over allegations of corruption at an Indonesian power plant company majority-owned by its private equity arm, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. The bank in September last year told U.S. authorities about alleged misconduct at MAXpower Group Pte Ltd, which builds and operates gas-fired power plants in Southeast Asia. A spokesman for StanChart declined to comment, while MAXpower could not immediately be reached. The bank said in a statement last September that it was taking the allegations seriously and had proactively reported them to the appropriate authorities. A whistleblower at the Indonesian company has alleged employees paid bribes to win business and that Standard Chartered executives on MAXpower’s board failed to prevent it, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing legal documents. Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-stanchart-indonesia-regulator/stanchart-to-meet-britains-financial-watchdog-over-indonesia-probe-idUKKCN1BM21N'|'2017-09-11T18:28:00.000+03:00'
'c79c73ece3dbcaf134083d129be04d5c7f10d311'|'Lotte founder''s eldest son to sell most of stakes in 4 units - Reuters'|'Former vice chairman of Tokyo-based Lotte Holdings Shin Dong-joo arrives for a trial at a court in Seoul, South Korea, March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL (Reuters) - Shin Dong-joo, the elder son of Lotte Group’s founder, has decided to sell most of his stakes in Lotte Shopping ( 023530.KS ) and three other units of South Korea’s No.5 conglomerate, his company said without providing the value of the sale.Shin raised “serious concerns” about the planned merger of Lotte Shopping with the three other affiliates - Lotte Confectionery ( 004990.KS ), Lotte Chilsung Beverage ( 005300.KS ) and Lotte Food ( 002270.KS ).Shareholders at Lotte Group affiliates last month approved a plan to set up the holding company by restructuring the conglomerate’s four listed units to boost operational transparency, a move analysts say could further enhance its chairman’s control amid a power struggle with his brother.The conglomerate has been under pressure to resolve its complex structure and improve governance after a public feud between founding family members that began in 2015 and has pitted Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin against elder brother Shin Dong-joo.“The splits and mergers aimed at launching a Lotte holding company would not benefit individual shareholders,” Shin Dong-joo’s statement said.The elder Shin said his stake sales did not mean he would give up trying to gain management control of the group.Shin Dong-bin, the youngest son of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, cemented control of the group in 2015 with the support of shareholders in a Japan-based holding company. Older brother Shin is engaged in legal proceedings seeking to wrest control.Several Lotte Group shares barely moved after Shin’s decision to sell his stakes.The elder Shin also said Lotte Shopping should “immediately” withdraw from the Chinese market, after most of its stores were shut down in the wake of a diplomatic row between Beijing and Seoul.Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee and Dahee Kim; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-lotte-shopping-stakesale/lotte-founders-eldest-son-to-sell-most-of-stakes-in-4-units-idINKCN1BN0GD'|'2017-09-12T03:40:00.000+03:00'
'7c6b13dece9501cecf1b186c3604b72cc772c7df'|'Ashtead forecasts U.S. hurricane-driven demand for its tools'|'September 12, 2017 / 6:56 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Ashtead forecasts U.S. hurricane-driven demand for its tools Noor Zainab Hussain , Esha Vaish 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Ashtead Group ( AHT.L ) expects the clean-up and rebuilding needed in the United States after hurricanes Harvey and Irma to generate more demand for its diggers and tools. “As a minimum, we expect that the impact will help to underpin the current market assumptions in our 2021 plan,” the British company’s chief executive Geoff Drabble said on Tuesday. Shares in Ashtead, which hires out tools on short-term contracts, were up 8.3 percent to 1824 pence at 0911 GMT, making it London’s top blue-chip gainer after it said underlying pre-tax profit rose 21 percent to 238 million pounds in the first quarter, 4 percent higher than consensus estimates. “There will now be a significant clean-up programme, where our scale, breadth of fleet and experiences in similar events will be a major asset,” Drabble said on an analyst call, adding that Ashtead has a 10 percent fleet market share in Houston. Ashstead’s underlying rental revenue rose 17 percent to 828.8 million pounds, while sales at its U.S. division Sunbelt Rentals, which accounts for 87 percent of revenue, rose 15 percent to $983 million pounds. “Whilst management is clearly taking a cautious view on forward forecasts and the potential impact of the hurricane season, it is clear that momentum is strong in the business and that risks to earnings remain firmly on the upside,” RBC analysts, who rate Ashtead as “outperform”, said. United Rentals Inc ( URI.N ), which has more exposure to the oil and gas sector, reported better than expected results for the quarter to June 30 as underlying rates improved. Ashtead shares have gained more than 35 percent since the U.S. elections on expectations that President Donald Trump will deliver on his plans to spend $1 trillion on roads and bridges, although this has yet to be put into action. “A combination of weak sterling and Donald Trump’s promises of a domestic infrastructure spending spree have raised confidence levels for management and investors alike,” George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said. At the same time, recent data showed that U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in July, hitting a nine-month low amid a steep decline in investment. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Louise Heavens/Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ashtead-group-results/ashtead-sees-increased-demand-from-hurricane-harvey-irma-clean-up-idUKKCN1BN0KM'|'2017-09-12T13:20:00.000+03:00'
'187f2fd67fc774dfb5a224e9617b3474e0009048'|'Hiscox sees higher U.S. property insurance rates after Harvey, Irma'|' 33 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Hiscox sees higher U.S. property insurance rates after Harvey, Irma   Sept 12 (Reuters) - Lloyd’s of London underwriter Hiscox Ltd said the price of insuring property in the United States would rise after the states of Texas and Florida suffered billions of dollars of losses from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. “This will definitely have the impact of eliminating price reductions. I think that loss-affected areas will see price rises. The bigger ticket property area will see price rises because that was a very under-priced area beforehand,” Chief Executive Bronek Masojada told Reuters. “People buy programmes covering all of their property wherever they are in America. So, it (price rises) will be broader than just Texas and Florida,” Masojada added. Like many Lloyd’s of London insurers, Hiscox offers U.S. property insurance. AIR Worldwide forecast on Monday total insured losses in the United States for Irma of between $20 billion and $40 billion. That was down from initial estimates over the weekend of as much as $65 billion. Rival risk modelling firm RMS estimates insured losses from Harvey of $25-$35 billion. Masojada said Hiscox would be announcing loss estimates “in due course”. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Carolyn Cohn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-hiscox/hiscox-sees-higher-u-s-property-insurance-rates-after-harvey-irma-idUSL5N1LT2W6'|'2017-09-12T14:31:00.000+03:00'
'e8628f117a0eb981d1333e798e108200bb08f7c8'|'Bayer sells 9.4 percent stake in Covestro'|'September 13, 2017 / 5:52 AM / Updated 38 minutes ago Bayer sells 9.4 percent stake in Covestro Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer said on Wednesday it sold 19 million shares in Covestro, or a 9.4 percent stake, for 63.25 euros apiece in an accelerated bookbuilding. The group said late on Tuesday it was selling 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) worth of Covestro shares under its plan to fully sever ties with the plastics business over the medium-term. With the placement, Bayer has reduced its direct interest in Covestro to 31.5 percent from 40.9 percent. Bayer has said its pension trust holds a further 8.9 percent. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-covestro-price/bayer-sells-9-4-percent-stake-in-covestro-idUKKCN1BO0GK'|'2017-09-13T08:48:00.000+03:00'
'ab0c24ec70b460999cfcfb7af11db0791432cee2'|'Oil prices mixed after OPEC expects higher demand, U.S. stockpile rise - Reuters'|'Storage tanks of Essar Oil are pictured in Vadinar, Gujarat, on October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said a global surplus of crude was starting to shrink, even though U.S. data showed another big increase in inventories due to the ongoing effects of Hurricane Harvey.U.S. gasoline prices, however, fell despite a record drawdown in inventories of the motor fuel. Analysts anticipate refineries will come back online after Harvey shut nearly a quarter of the nation’s refining capacity while demand slips due to the effects on the high-consuming states of Florida and Georgia following Hurricane Irma.The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) data showed a build of 5.9 million barrels of crude last week, exceeding expectations for a 3.2 million-barrel hike. [EIA/S]Much of that was because of a near 10 million-barrel increase in stocks in the U.S. Gulf region and as crude production rebounded from a brief Harvey interruption.U.S. crude futures CLc1 added to gains late in the session, boosted by expectations of a steady rebound in refining capacity. U.S. crude was up $1.04, or 2.2 percent, to $49.27 per barrel and Brent crude LCOc1 was up 84 cents to $55.11 a barrel by 2:04 p.m. ET (1804 GMT).“A sharp rebound in U.S. oil production compared with last week has limited gains in crude prices as concerns grow that oil output is recovering faster than refining capacity coming online,” said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy’s Global Gas Analytics in London.U.S. crude production rebounded to an average of 9.4 million barrels per day last week from 8.8 million bpd a week earlier, entirely the result of increases in the lower 48 states.U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI slumped 8.4 million barrels, the largest one-week decline since the EIA started recording the data in 1990, while distillate stocks fell 3.2 million barrels.U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 dipped after the data, and were down 0.4 percent at $1.6511 a gallon.Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston said the fall in prices was a “counterintuitive” reaction.“The market is reacting in anticipation of refineries restarting at the same time expecting a decline in demand due to the after effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma,” he said.The Paris-based IEA, in its monthly report, noted that the U.S.’ reliance on the Gulf Coast makes it vulnerable to similar events like Harvey, saying “normal operations are too important to fail.”It recommended that the U.S. strengthens its energy security to address events, such as hurricanes, by potentially adding oil products to government-held inventories.Overall, the IEA said that robust global demand and an output drop from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers should help balance inventories.The assessment echoed a report by OPEC forecasting higher demand for its oil in 2018 and pointing to signs of a tighter global market.Analysts at Drillinginfo.com noted that for oil to rally and hold those gains, the IEA’s demand projections have to pan out, along with the ongoing supply cuts, to help inventories fall.“Without inventory normalization, there can be no sustained price recovery,” they wrote.OPEC agreed with non-member nations last year to cut supply by 1.8 million bpd through March 2018, and major nations are seeking to extend that agreement further.The U.S. EIA on Tuesday revised its 2017 and 2018 U.S. oil output forecasts lower to reflect, in part, the effects of Harvey. Scott DiSavino in New York, Fanny Potkin in London and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil/oil-prices-mixed-after-opec-expects-higher-demand-u-s-stockpile-rise-idINKCN1BO02D'|'2017-09-12T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'c2d72ee0b7076f8150fd237c34e8ad7461e40502'|'Ministers to debate euro zone future, closer integration eyed'|'  4:51 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Ministers to debate euro zone future, closer integration eyed Jan Strupczewski 5 Min Read Euro coins are seen in front of displayed flag and map of European Union in this picture illustration taken in Zenica, May 28 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will launch a debate on the future of the single currency area on Friday that could lead to much deeper integration of their 19 economies and the creation of a euro zone finance minister and budget. They will then be joined in the Estonian capital Tallinn by finance ministers and central bank governors from the rest of the European Union for informal talks on Friday and Saturday. A deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will be one of the main topics on their agenda. The discussions are part of a renewed drive, led by Germany and France, to revamp the bloc after the sovereign debt crisis shook its foundations and Britain’s vote to leave the EU dealt a blow to the wider European Union. Berlin and Paris agree it would be good to have a joint pool of money specifically for countries using the euro. There should also be a person looking after such a budget, running a euro zone treasury -- a euro zone finance minister. But the two biggest euro zone countries and the EU institutions differ on how big that budget should be, where to find the money and how the funds should be spent. They also differ on what powers a future finance minister for the whole of the euro zone should have. Germany would like such a figure to have large powers, including a veto on national budgets and monitoring polices. But others say this would be difficult to reconcile with the prerogatives now accorded to the European Commission under EU treaties. Germany favours a small budget, known in EU jargon as a “fiscal capacity” or “stabilisation function”. It would rather not see any permanent transfers. For Berlin the budget could help finance structural reforms and maybe support investment. France is more in favour of a larger budget, euro zone officials say, that would act as a tool to help deal with economic cycle downturns, for instance by helping with unemployment benefit payments in countries in recession. Officials say Paris would be prepared to have a dedicated tax stream in the euro zone to finance such a budget. Germany has mentioned the possibility of using money from the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), but in general the issue of financing for the budget is wide open and there are no firm proposals. BUDGET MAY MEAN SOVEREIGN INSOLVENCY MECHANISM The head of the euro zone bailout fund, Klaus Regling, wrote in a speech to be delivered this week at the Eurofi conference in Tallinn that a euro zone budget would be useful only as a tool to counter asymmetric shocks -- for instance a sudden problem in one euro zone country, rather than the whole bloc. Regling suggested the size of such a euro zone budget could be 1-2 percent of euro zone Gross National Product, and could be accumulated over a number of years. This would be roughly the same as the size of the whole budget of the wider EU, which also amounts to about 1 percent of EU annual Gross National Income. “The framework for such limited fiscal capacity could be designed to prevent moral hazard and free-riding,” he said. In future euro zone reform, France emphasises the need for more risk-sharing and more financial solidarity among euro zone governments, while Germany stresses the need for more risk reduction and more fiscal discipline first. Operating a joint budget, with or without permanent transfers, would force the euro zone to ensure higher fiscal discipline. This has been hard to impose with current, complex EU rules and a political approach to their implementation. Some, like Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kazimir, are proposing to replace EU rules with market pressure. This could be done by introducing a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism, Kazimir said, which would focus markets on the risks of investing in government bonds.[nL8N1LO68S] But to complicate matters more, such a sovereign insolvency mechanism would have to be introduced in parallel with a change in the way risk is calculated for government bond portfolios in banks across the euro zone. This would be a very difficult task because it would have to be done in a way that would not lead to a panic sell-off of some bonds or market panic that one of the sovereigns could default which would become a self-fulfilling prophecy, officials said. European Union leaders may give first directions for further work on the new structure of the euro zone when they meet for their regular summit in December, officials said. But if the formation of a new German government after the elections on September 24th drags on for a long time, the leaders’ discussions may be postponed until March, they said. Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-eurogroup/ministers-to-debate-euro-zone-future-closer-integration-eyed-idUKKCN1BN2B2'|'2017-09-12T19:49:00.000+03:00'
'ea62ecd8679d11485cfb5cf74426b5fd82a21c50'|'China''s LinkGlobal could enter bidding for Air Berlin-Bild'|'  10:07 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago China''s LinkGlobal could enter bidding for Air Berlin-Bild Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An Airbus A330-223 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin takes off towards New York, U.S., from Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay   Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) has attracted buyer interest from China’s LinkGlobal Logistics, which is likely to join a growing list of suitors, German newspaper Bild said on Wednesday. The paper said LinkGlobal, which operates German regional airport Parchim, expressed its intention of making a bid to the airline’s administrator in a letter dated Aug. 31 from LinkGlobal’s managing director Jonathan Pang. LinkGlobal pledged to hand in a bid by the Sept. 15 deadline, according to the letter, a copy of which Bild said it had obtained. The logistics group also said in the letter it would look to move Air Berlin’s headquarters to Parchim, a town in north-eastern Germany. Bild said that Air Berlin’s administrator declined to comment. Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its biggest shareholder, Etihad Airways, withdrew funding following years of losses. Germany’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, is seen in pole position to acquire large parts and a decision on the bids come could as early as Sept. 21, three days before a national election. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airberlin-linkglobal/chinas-linkglobal-could-enter-bidding-for-air-berlin-bild-idUKKCN1BN30U'|'2017-09-13T01:06:00.000+03:00'
'c0df352f66eae07531031948453bf8966ea0082a'|'Air Berlin cancels more flights as pilots call in sick'|'  6:30 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Ailing Air Berlin cancels more flights as pilots call in sick again Reuters Staff 4 Min Read A German carrier Air Berlin aircraft is pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) was forced to cancel flights for a second day on Wednesday after pilots again called in sick in unusually high numbers, potentially complicating efforts to rescue the insolvent carrier. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-biggest airline, is set to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with binding offers due this Friday. The airline filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its biggest shareholder, Etihad Airways, withdrew funding following years of losses. However, those losses are mounting as more plans are grounded. Air Berlin said it had cancelled 32 flights on Wednesday after around 150 pilots called in sick. On Tuesday, Air Berlin had scrapped about 100 flights. Some short-haul flights at Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) budget airline Eurowings are also affected because it leases 33 planes with crews from Air Berlin. Air Berlin has already said the cancellations threatened its existence and could force it to shut down, jeopardising negotiations with potential investors and costing it several million euros a day. Both management and unions have called on staff to return to work to keep the business going so that talks can succeed. LUFTHANSA LOOMS LARGE Air Berlin said in an internal memo that after some pilots returned to work on Wednesday, it hoped for stable operations on Thursday. A 150 million euro (£135.41 million) government loan is helping to keep it going. Should the airline be grounded, its take-off and landing slots will be divided up among rivals and staff will have to apply for jobs on new contracts. German airline crews have in the past used sick leave to demonstrate concerns over job security and conditions, such as at TUIfly last year. Pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said it did not ask staff to call in sick and was surprised by the absences. Representative Markus Wahl said it was understandable members were worried because management had refused to talk about conditions for taking pilots into any new company. Cancellation of long-haul routes after a lessor asked for planes to be returned is adding to uncertainty, he added. Germany’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, is seen in pole position to acquire large parts of its rival and a decision on the bids come could as early as Sept. 21, three days before a national election. One source has told Reuters that Lufthansa is interested in as many as 90 of Air Berlin’s planes. That number includes the 33 being used by Eurowings, five already leased to Lufthansa’s Austrian Airlines as well as planes used by Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, the source said. Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) German carrier Condor is preparing a bid for parts of Air Berlin, another source said, while media reports said easyJet ( EZJ.L ) may want up to 40 planes. Aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl said he had submitted a bid for the whole of Air Berlin while German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht has also expressed interest. Air Berlin has also attracted buyer interest from China’s LinkGlobal Logistics. German newspaper Bild reported on Wednesday. Reporting by Sabine Wollrab and Klaus Lauer; Writing by Maria Sheahan and Victoria Bryan; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-cancels-more-flights-as-pilots-call-in-sick-idUKKCN1BO0JP'|'2017-09-13T09:29:00.000+03:00'
'71b8b8e1c3d5c768aa87e7c3dec543826df98d77'|'Apple suppliers weigh on European shares as equity rally falters'|'September 13, 2017 / 7:38 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Apple suppliers dent European shares as equity rally falters Helen Reid 4 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares faltered on Wednesday as a global equity rally showed signs of flagging, with Apple suppliers struggling after the new iPhone release disappointed with a later than expected shipping date. The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.3 percent as weakness in chipmakers was compounded by a drop in miners .SXPP. [MET/L] Euro zone stocks and blue chips .STOXX50E held steady, while Germany''s DAX .GDAXI , which touched its highest in nearly two months on Tuesday, fell back 0.1 percent. Chipmakers supplying to Apple ( AAPL.O ) were among the worst performers, with AMS ( AMS.S ) down 3.9 percent, while Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ) slipped 1.7 percent and STMicro ( STM.MI ) fell 1.1 percent. Traders said their shares were under pressure due to Apple’s new $999 iPhone X shipping later than expected, on November 3. The price tag could also dent demand for the device in markets such as China. “With the iPhone coming in around $1,000 it will be interesting to see how healthy demand is,” said Mike Bell, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. “If it’s relatively healthy I think it shows that there is still quite a lot of pricing power for U.S. companies and that consumers have confidence.” Chipmakers have been the best performing among Europe’s tech stocks this year, accounting for a large chunk of the sector’s outperformance. AMS shares have gained 165 percent year-to-date. Richemont ( CFR.S ) fell 1.6 percent despite reporting a sales beat for its first half thanks to a recovery in the Asian luxury market. UBS analysts said weaker retail growth may weigh on sentiment. Peer Swatch ( UHR.S ) also fell 2.5 percent, with some traders citing concerns that Apple’s new watch could also dent the watchmaker’s shares. The merging eyewear and lens makers Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) were also among the biggest fallers, down 1.9 to 2.1 percent. EU antitrust regulators were set to tell the firms of concerns they have over the merger this week. Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) was among a handful of risers, up 2.7 percent after German drugs and pesticides group Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) sold a 9.4 percent stake in the firm, in order to finance part of its acquisition of Monsanto ( MON.N ). European stocks were struggling for a further boost after sinking 7 percent over the summer months. “Our view is that European equities still have potential for upside,” said JPMAM’s Bell. “The earnings outlook is quite strong still; Europe has among the highest operating leverage of any major market so if the global economy remains strong that should drive margin expansion and earnings growth.” Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Kit Rees and Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/apple-suppliers-weigh-on-european-shares-as-equity-rally-falters-idUKKCN1BO0P2'|'2017-09-13T10:37:00.000+03:00'
'09cfeae0ace7ac5e973b7c3a3047692264cf49df'|'India''s edible oil imports to fall in coming crop year: analyst'|'MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s edible oil imports are set to fall in 2017/18 as a bumper crop of oilseeds are carried forward and will boost domestic edible oil production in the year ahead, a leading industry analyst and trade expert said on Wednesday.A drop in imports next year would be the first in seven years, although in July the view was that India’s higher oilseed output and crushing would lead to a fall in the current year.Instead, farmers were reluctant to sell this year’s bumper oilseed output at low prices and stocks will be carried forward to be crushed next year, said managing director of trading firm G.G. Patel & Nikhil Research Company, Govindbhai Patel.Lower purchases by the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils could put pressure next year on soyoil and palm oil prices, which have surged over the last few months.India is expected to import 15.13 million tonnes of edible oils in the year starting on Nov. 1, down 70,000 tonnes from the current year, Patel told an industry conference on Wednesday.India’s edible oil purchases - mainly palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia and soybean oil from Argentina and Brazil - have increased each year since 2010/11, according to the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA).The country’s edible oil imports in the year to Oct. 31 are now expected to rise 4.3 percent from a year ago to 15.2 million tonnes, Patel said, after earlier being expected to fall.That means India is likely to start the new marketing year with carry forward stocks of 1.16 million tonnes of soybeans compared to just 460,000 tonnes a year ago, Patel said.The country’s soybean production in 2017/18 is expected to fall 15.2 percent from a year ago to 8.9 million tonnes due to a reduction in planting and lower rainfall in key growing regions, he also said.Still, with the carry forward stocks, domestic output of edible oils is expected to rise 8.7 percent to 7.66 million tonnes in the next season.Palm oil accounts for more than half of India’s total edible oil imports. Its purchases are likely to edge lower to 9.13 million tonnes in 2017/18, compared with 9.28 million tonnes in the current year, Patel said.Imports of sunflower oil - perceived to be a healthier option by many Indians - could surge 8 percent to 2.3 million tonnes next year, while soyoil imports could remain largely steady around 3.5 million tonnes, he said.Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Tom Hogue '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-vegoils-imports/indias-edible-oil-imports-to-fall-in-coming-crop-year-analyst-idINKCN1BO1AU'|'2017-09-13T14:25:00.000+03:00'
'b01fd418dc18ec694c30970be04671a1164a0e50'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Thyssenkrup, Eni, Hayleys, Carlyle Group, China Zhongwang Holdings, CS Loxinfo)Sept 13 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Wednesday:** The government of North Rhine-Westphalia, home to engineering and steel group Thyssenkrupp, has come out in favour of the group’s planned merger of its European steel operations with those of Tata Steel< TISC.NS>.** Italian oil and gas group Eni said it had signed a cooperation agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation which would strengthen ties between the two groups.** Sri Lankan conglomerate Hayleys Plc is to buy a 61.73 percent stake in Singer Sri Lanka Plc for 10.9 billion rupees ($71 million), the company said.** Private equity firm Carlyle Group is planning a sale of South Korean security systems company ADT Caps in what could be the country’s biggest M&A deal in two years, sources with knowledge of the matter said.** China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd said it had acquired a controlling stake in a German aluminium extrusion firm that mainly supplies aircraft manufacturers.** Thailand’s largest telecommunications Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) plans to spend 2.6 billion baht ($78.57 million) to buy 56 percent of Internet service provider CS Loxinfo, further advancing its Internet broadband coverage.** About two dozen bidders, mainly from China, are vying to buy the Hong Kong wealth management unit of AXA SA, which the French insurer is looking to sell as it focuses on fast-growing businesses in Asia, three people familiar with the matter said.** Michelin, which in July bought a stake in the influential Robert Parker wine guide, said it was not ruling out further acquisitions of similar upmarket, gastronomy brands.** Britain’s Clinigen Group agreed to buy Quantum Pharma for 150.3 million pounds ($200 million), bringing together two companies that specialise in the supply of unlicensed medicines to doctors and hospitals.** Wood Textiles Holding will make way for R2G Rohan Czech’s takeover of Pegas Nonwovens after reversing course and agreeing to sell its 29.98 percent stake in the artificial fabrics maker, the company said.** German drugs and pesticides group Bayer BAYGn.DE has further reduced its holding in Covestro to 31.5 percent from 40.9 percent by selling 19 million shares in the plastics business for a total of 1.2 billion euros. ($1.4 billion).** Dutch insurer ASR said it would buy the Dutch operations of Italy’s Generali for 143 million euros ($171 million).** Toshiba Corp said it has signed a memorandum to accelerate talks to sell its memory chip business to a group led by private equity firm Bain Capital and chipmaker SK Hynix Inc .** Home Capital Group Inc’s shareholders rejected a proposal for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to raise its stake in the company, voting against the board’s recommendation in a third defeat for the U.S. billionaire this year.** Nordstrom Inc’s founding family has selected private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners to help take the high-end retailer private, according to a source familiar with the matter.** Health insurer Centene Corp said it would buy privately held Fidelis Care for $3.75 billion to enter New York, the second largest managed care state by membership in the United States.** Insolvent German airline Air Berlin has attracted buyer interest from China’s LinkGlobal Logistics, which is likely to join a growing list of suitors, German newspaper Bild said.** Energen Corp sought guidance from an Alabama court on the state’s shareholder rights laws which an activist investor had said it would use to force a sale of the U.S. oil and gas producer, a regulatory filing shows. (Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1LU3H7'|'2017-09-13T08:20:00.000+03:00'
'0f60dff00adfa1c804b81406a97578819f59e4c1'|'Petrobras starts sale of fertilizer assets'|'The logo of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in at Petrobras Paulinia refinery in Paulinia, Brazil July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Petróleo Brasileiro SA launched on Monday the sale of two fertilizer units, as Brazil’s state-controlled oil company seeks to reduce capital spending and focus on core business segments.In a Monday securities filing, Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ) said the sales are part of a move to exit fertilizers. The units that have been put on the block include Araucária Nitrogenados SA and Unidade de Fertilizantes-III, or UFN-III, which is 80 percent completed at the moment.Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture/petrobras-starts-sale-of-fertilizer-assets-idUSKCN1BM1NR'|'2017-09-11T21:14:00.000+03:00'
'a4afa542caa14e37a6809b6549f0dcada8a7f0c0'|'Western Digital-led group wins bid for Toshiba chip unit - Nikkan Kogyo'|'September 11, 2017 / 10:36 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Western Digital-led group wins bid for Toshiba chip unit: Nikkan Kogyo Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has decided to sell its memory chip unit to a group led by Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) for about 2 trillion yen ($18.29 billion), Japan’s Nikkan Kogyo newspaper said, without citing sources. The company plans to take a decision on Sept. 13 and make the decision official on Sept. 20, according to the report. Reuters could not immediately confirm the development. Toshiba was still in discussions over the sale as of late Monday, sources told Reuters. Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key chip plant, has been at loggerheads with its partner over the auction of the key chip business. ($1 = 109.37 yen) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-led-group-wins-bid-for-toshiba-chip-unit-nikkan-kogyo-idUKKCN1BM2T6'|'2017-09-12T01:34:00.000+03:00'
'314b49f4760a0bd9849723112d0bf7b999b76d19'|'RateSetter recovering after ''asteroid strike'' bad loan discovery'|'September 12, 2017 / 1:32 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago RateSetter recovering after ''asteroid strike'' bad loan discovery Lawrence White 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s peer-to-peer lending platform RateSetter has managed to retain most of its customers despite leaving the industry’s trade body last month after breaching its transparency rules, its Chief Executive Rhydian Lewis told Reuters in an interview. Peer-to-peer platforms, which bring together individual borrowers and lenders without a bank being involved, have grown rapidly in Britain since 2015 but are starting to come under regulatory scrutiny. The platforms offer investors better returns than high street bank accounts, in exchange for increased risks as the money is not protected by Britain’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme which guarantees ordinary bank deposits. RateSetter, one of Britain’s three largest peer-to-peer lenders, withdrew from the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association(P2PFA) after revealing it had stepped in to bail out bad loans without disclosing the fact to its investors, contravening the trade body’s rules. Its withdrawal has, in turn, delayed the firm’s full authorisation from regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), leaving RateSetter as the last of its peers still operating on interim permissions. Lewis said that while the platform has lost some business, it has retained 95 percent of its customers despite offering them the chance to sell out at no cost between July 18 and Aug. 31. “The fact that an asteroid has hit us but we’re still standing makes us feel better,” Lewis told Reuters in an interview at the firm’s headquarters in London, adding that it had a 27 percent rise in investment inflows while it was offering investors the chance to sell out. Lewis said that he expected authorisation from the FCA to be granted imminently. RateSetter said in July that it had stepped in to buy stakes in three borrowers including an auto finance firm and an advertiser after they ran into financial trouble, ‘interventions’ which RateSetter said it should have disclosed earlier. “As a result of one of our wholesale exposures, we failed to monitor the situation fully and then had to step in. The board took the view that the exposure was an exception and that it needs to be paid for by shareholders, not lenders,” Lewis told Reuters. RateSetter has since withdrawn from so-called wholesale funding, in which it lent money to third parties which then on-lend those funds. Peer-to-peer lenders have grown rapidly since they first appeared in Britain in 2005, lending more than 4 billion pounds by 2015 and doubling that total to 8.5 billion pounds by the first quarter of 2017, according to P2PFA data. RateSetter has lent around 2 billion pounds in total. Reporting by Lawrence White, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-interview-ratesetter/ratesetter-recovering-after-asteroid-strike-bad-loan-discovery-idUKKCN1BN1PF'|'2017-09-12T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'4abf3a02d299b5f6342d6c515c028bf688828768'|'Power costs from UK mini nuclear plants similar to offshore wind - Rolls-Royce'|'September 11, 2017 / 11:07 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Power costs from UK mini nuclear plants similar to offshore wind - Rolls-Royce Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The setting sun reflects on the windows of a building at Rolls-Royce in Derby, central England, November 4, 2014. REUTERS/Darren Staples/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Small-scale nuclear projects could deliver electricity to Britain for a similar cost as offshore wind, Rolls-Royce said on Tuesday, providing another potential option for a country struggling to get big nuclear projects off the ground. Britain needs to invest in new capacity to replace ageing coal and nuclear plants that are due to close in the 2020s, but the costs involved have seen large nuclear projects delayed or run into trouble. Offshore wind has plummeted in cost over the past few years, with the latest renewable auction clearing this week at a low of 57.50 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh). That is lower than the subsidy awarded to EDF to build Britain’s first large nuclear plant in twenty years. In response to the auction, Rolls-Royce, known best for making plane engines, said on Tuesday the small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) being developed by its consortium could deliver power at 60 pounds/MWh. SMRs use existing or new nuclear technology scaled down to a fraction of the size of larger plants and would be able to produce around a tenth of the electricity created by large-scale projects. The mini plants, still under development, would be made in factories, with parts small enough to be transported on trucks and barges where they could be assembled much more quickly than their large-scale counterparts. Rolls-Royce said the bulk of the components for its plants could be built in Britain and open up a potential 400 billion pound global export market. The British government, which is looking to boost exports as it leaves the European Union, launched a 250 million pound nuclear research and development competition in 2016, with a chunk of the money going towards the winning SMR design - but has yet to announce the winner. Rolls-Royce has launched a bid as part of a UK consortium with Amec Foster Wheeler, Nuvia, Arup and Laing O‘Rourke, with the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. Another group to express an interest in the competition is NuScale, majority owned by U.S. Fluor Corp, which has also said its projects could generate power at the 60 pound/MWh mark. Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britian-nuclearpower-rolls-royce/power-costs-from-uk-mini-nuclear-plants-similar-to-offshore-wind-rolls-royce-idUKKCN1BM2UU'|'2017-09-12T02:07:00.000+03:00'
'8637ff493cc5fcb682b65837bf2a8f82d08ea73d'|'Canada''s Desjardins mulls withdrawal from Kinder pipeline expansion'|'  8:29 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Canada''s Desjardins mulls withdrawal from Kinder pipeline expansion Ethan Lou 3 Min Read CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Canadian lender Desjardins is considering backing out of its C$145 million ($113 million) commitment to Kinder Morgan Inc’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, two people present at a meeting with the financial institution told Reuters. At the meeting last Thursday, Desjardins senior executives told aboriginal leaders the lender will consider their request to pull its financing for the C$7.4 billion ($6.1 billion) project, said Eugene Kung, a lawyer for the west coast Tsleil-Waututh Nation, who was at the event. Desjardins is a minor lender for the project, but a potential pull back would go beyond an announcement in July when it temporarily suspended lending for future oil pipelines. Desjardins, the largest association of credit unions in North America, said it may make the decision permanent this month, citing concerns about the impact pipelines may have on the environment. Desjardins spokesman André Chapleau said in a statement the financial institution’s “positioning on this issue has not yet been completed.” “We are listening to various stakeholders, internally and externally, and we do not intend to make our exchanges public in all due respect to our stakeholders,” Chapleau said. Kinder Morgan Canada, a division of Houston’s Kinder Morgan Inc, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The expansion is already facing opposition from environmental and aboriginal groups and the government of the British Columbia province, through which the pipeline passes. The Trans Mountain expansion would nearly triple the capacity of the existing pipeline from Canada’s oil heartland of Alberta to the west coast. Canadian producers, whose landlocked product trades at a discount to the West Texas Intermediate benchmark, say they need more export capacity to fetch better prices. In June, Dutch lender ING Groep NV said it would not finance any of Canada’s major pipeline projects. . At Thursday’s meeting in the French-speaking Quebec province, where Desjardins is based, the financial institution said also it would consider its ethics and values more than economics when it makes a final decision on whether to reject future pipelines, said Grand Chief Serge Simon of the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake, who was at the event. Desjardins is among 24 financial institutions that agreed to lend C$5.5 billion to Kinder Morgan for Trans Mountain, according to regulatory filings. Desjardins executives said on Thursday a final decision could be expected by the end of this month, lawyer Kung said. $1 = 1.2874 Canadian dollars Reporting by Ethan Lou; editing by Grant McCool'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/desjardins-pipelines/canadas-desjardins-mulls-withdrawal-from-kinder-pipeline-expansion-idUSL2N1LT1SX'|'2017-09-12T23:29:00.000+03:00'
'0868944df03cd8285650e88343187f7d83430f93'|'Brazil IT firm Tivit''s shareholders aim for up to $580 mln IPO'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Shareholders of Brazilian information technology provider Tivit Terceirização de Processos, Serviços e Tecnologia SA on Monday said they planned to raise up to 1.8 billion reais ($580 million) in an initial public offering.In a regulatory filing with Brazil’s securities industry watchdog, Tivit said its shareholders plan to sell 30.9 million shares at a price between 43 reais and 51 reais each. If there is demand, the company can sell additional 4.6 million shares.Tivit, which is controlled by British buyout firm Apax Partners LLP, will be listed in Brazil, but institutional investors in the United States may buy shares in the IPO through Regulation 144A. ($1 = 3.10 reais) (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/tivit-ipo/brazil-it-firm-tivits-shareholders-aim-for-up-to-580-mln-ipo-idINL2N1LS1V8'|'2017-09-11T19:43:00.000+03:00'
'ab43d34227624d28ebdd9dd2d1c238d1d65e8c65'|'Family offices look to emerging market equities for yield - report'|'  11:05 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Family offices look to emerging market equities for yield - report Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Companies that manage portfolios for individual families are looking to increase investments in emerging markets after higher equities helped them achieve average returns of 7 percent in 2016, according to a report by Campden Research and UBS. The companies, known as family offices, had an overall return of 0.3 percent in 2015, according to the report, which surveyed 262 families with an average portfolio of $921 million (699.05 million pounds) in assets under management. “Overtime, family offices have gone more illiquid and more risky in terms of asset classes and this allocation decision has actually paid off because those asset classes have performed well in 2016,” Sara Ferrari, head of the Global Family Office Group at UBS, said. “They say they will continue to be invested in equities and a lot say they are looking at switching to developing markets equities from developed markets in search for yield, which is not very easy to find,” she said. Forty-four percent of the family offices surveyed said they were planning to increase investment in developing markets equities, while 21 percent said they would allocate more to developed market equities. The MSCI’s All-Country World Index .MIWD PUS, a widely-tracked index of global stocks, has hit all-time highs this year thanks to low interest rates, receding European political risks, strong earnings and better growth prospects. The average family office portfolio currently has 27 of its assets invested in global equities with 7 percent allocated to emerging markets. Family investors also focus on private equity, taking stakes in small- and medium-sized companies. Private equity funds account for 20 percent of the average family office portfolio. “This share looks set to grow further as ... 40 percent (of family offices) intend to allocate more into private equity funds,” the report said. Allocations to hedge funds by family offices continued to decline last year, falling to 7.1 percent from 8 percent in 2015 and that is unlikely to rebound, the report said. The decline mirrors a similar trend among institutional investors, who pulled $11.5 billion from multi-strategy funds in 2016 after three consecutive years of net additions, according to data tracker eVestment. Reporting by Clara Denina; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-funds-allocation-familyoffices/family-offices-look-to-emerging-market-equities-for-yield-report-idUKKCN1BM2US'|'2017-09-12T02:05:00.000+03:00'
'1be6418672bfeb74150f07e37d39294c7c3eb5c3'|'Asian shares lifted to 10 year high on Wall Street record finishes'|'  1:00 AM / Updated an hour ago Apple takes shine off global stocks rally Patrick Graham 4 Min Read Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, speaks about the iPhone X during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam LONDON (Reuters) - Disappointment over the timing of Apple’s iPhone X release hampered further gains for world stock markets on Wednesday after an easing of concerns about North Korea sent indices to record highs. While a broadly weaker yen pushed Tokyo higher .N225 , MSCI''s main indicator of Asian shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell back from a 10-year peak and Europe''s main markets were flat. Apple suppliers including AMS ( AMS.S ) and Dialog ( DLGS.DE ) fell by 1-3 percent in morning trade in Europe, with traders citing the later than expected Nov. 3 shipping date for the new iPhone. British semi-conductor firm IQE Plc ( IQE.L ) sank more than 6 percent. Apple shares, which finished with a small loss on Tuesday, ( AAPL.O ) fell another 0.4 percent in pre-market trade. Wall Street overall was seen opening slightly lower. “It would appear that a running start to the week and fresh record highs in the S&P 500 has proven a little much for some traders, with profit taking seen ahead of Wednesday’s open,” said Craig Erlam, an analyst with online broker Oanda. The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.1 percent as weakness in chipmakers was compounded by a drop in miners .SXPP. FILE PHOTO - Women holding parasols, look at an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Chipmakers have been the best-performing among Europe’s tech stocks this year, accounting for a large chunk of the sector’s outperformance. AMS shares have gained 165 percent year-to-date. “The economics of the Apple announcement are interesting because it will really test this theory that inflation is going to be weak,” said Mike Bell, global markets strategist with JP Morgan Asset Management in London. “With the iPhone coming in around $1,000 it will be interesting to see how healthy demand is. If it’s relatively healthy I think it shows that there is still quite a lot of pricing power for U.S. companies and consumers have confidence.” In currency markets the dominant trend this week has been a recovery for the dollar and sterling. The dollar hit a 12-day high above 110 yen JPY= in Asian time before easing back as traders awaited U.S. inflation numbers on Thursday. Britain''s pound hit a one-year high above $1.33 GBP=D3 and a six-week high on a trade-weighted basis =GBP before falling back after weak wage data that may undermine any threat the Bank of England might make about raising interest rates. “Now it’s ‘Wait and see’ for U.S. dollar investors,” said Esther Reichelt, a strategist with Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “Everyone’s waiting for the inflation data tomorrow and the Fed next week.” After a soft start, oil prices were around half a percent higher after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the global oil surplus was starting to shrink due to robust global demand and an output drop from OPEC and other producers. Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly, Sujata Rao and Helen Reid in London; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/asian-shares-lifted-to-10-year-high-wall-street-record-finishes-idUKKCN1BO02X'|'2017-09-13T04:34:00.000+03:00'
'771c05b0142187b73a02e5362314feea7759b0a5'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 13)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Germany’s Infineon Technologies and SAIC Motor to set up a joint venture (approved Sept. 12)NEW LISTINGS -- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)-- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES NoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 14 -- Norwegian-based DNB Bank ASA and Swedish Nordea Bank AB to establish a joint venture concerning their banking activities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania(notified Aug. 9/deadline Sept. 14)SEPT 20 -- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)-- Buyout group KKR to acquire Dutch car park operator Q-Park (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)-- French reinsurance company Scor to acquire MutRe, a French company involved in the reinsurance of companies’ insurance policies (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26/simplified)SEPT 27 -- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27/simplified)SEPT 28 -- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (notified Aug. 24/simplified/deadline Sept. 28)SEPT 29 -- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)OCT 5 -- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)OCT 6 -- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)OCT 11 -- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)OCT 12 -- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)OCT 13 -- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)OCT 16 -- Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified)OCT 26 -- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)JAN 8 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 8, 2018 after the Commission opened in-depth investigation)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)-- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL5N1LU4S6'|'2017-09-13T13:06:00.000+03:00'
'101415b80a71ebc6d4529fd4f3ff06e727c19f02'|'Once fringe players, Swiss traders grab $10 billion slice of LNG market'|'September 12, 2017 / 12:59 PM / Updated 29 minutes ago Once fringe players, Swiss traders grab $10 billion slice of LNG market Oleg Vukmanovic 9 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A fisherman stands in his boat as a liquefied natural gas tanker (LNG) passes the coast near Havana, Cuba, June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss trading houses are muscling in on the global market for liquefied natural gas, until now the preserve of energy giants, and expect to grab a $10 billion (£7.55 billion) share of the rapidly growing business this year. Trafigura [TRAFG.UL], Gunvor [GGL.UL], Vitol [VITOLV.UL] and Glencore ( GLEN.L ) are all shaking up a decades-old system dominated by Western oil majors and state energy producers which sell LNG directly to large consumers on long-term contracts. They plan 2017 shipments that will be more than triple the 2015 level, according to Reuters calculations based on figures for the four traders provided by trade sources. “The trade houses ... are not fringe players any more,” said Trafigura’s head of LNG Hadi Hallouche. “In the next four or five years there will be a significant amount of supply contracts expiring and that will open up the market.” In the short term, the Swiss traders may prove useful to producers such as Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and state-owned Qatargas by finding new buyers in emerging markets, easing a glut that the dominant suppliers helped to create. But they are determined to challenge the LNG establishment, and have set their sights on supplying not only the fastest-growing consumers like China, India and Pakistan but also the largest, such as power utilities in Japan and South Korea. The big buyers remain largely locked into long-term deals designed to ensure the producers get a return on their multi-billion dollar LNG investments, but that won’t last for ever. Traders believe they can bring greater liquidity, flexibility and efficiency to the market. “It will be in the interest of sellers and end users to allow trading companies to compete for access to production,” Hallouche said. Overall, the four Swiss traders expect to deliver over 25 million tonnes of LNG this year, up from seven million two years ago. Smaller rivals such as Hong Kong-based Noble Group ( NOBG.SI ) and Dubai-based B.B. Energy should push the total above 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). HUNGRY FOR GAS Many countries are hungry for gas as a lower carbon, less polluting alternative to oil and coal for generating power. With pipeline supplies either limited by capacity or impractical, LNG - where gas is cooled to a liquid for delivery by sea - has become the fastest growing traded commodity. Numerous LNG projects, conceived before the 2008 financial crisis slowed world economic growth, are starting production. Between 2015 and 2020, global supply will grow by 135 mtpa or nearly 50 percent, Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts, largely from plants in Australia and the United States. However, an expected leap in U.S. import demand has failed to materialise as buyers opt for gas from domestic shale deposits. The resulting glut has pushed spot prices down by 70 percent from a peak in early 2014 LNG-AS, giving the traders their chance to gain a foothold. Related Coverage Factbox - Commodities traders strike major LNG deals “The days of producers having nice cozy 25-year supply deals with buyers won’t disappear altogether,” David Fyfe, Gunvor Group’s chief economist, told Reuters. “But what traders bring is a mechanism to absorb oversupply and find markets that traditional producers might not have considered.” LNG production is set to hit 293 million tonnes this year, according to independent LNG consultant Andy Flower. That means the traders will deliver 8.5 percent of global supply. They won’t be content with this. “I would be surprised if Swiss trade houses’ share of delivered LNG didn’t double in the next three years,” said Otto Waterlander, senior oil and gas partner at McKinsey & Co. On top of supplying 50 mtpa, he forecast they may buy and sell almost double that among themselves, boosting market liquidity. MOPPING UP Over-investment in new production has undercut the producers’ dominance and traders are mopping up the surplus at prices often below the cost of production. Trafigura leads by volume, expecting to deliver around 7.5 million tonnes this year, a trading source told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Trafigura logo is pictured in the company entrance in Geneva, Switzerland March 11, 2012. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Gunvor will raise its LNG shipments this year substantially from the nearly four million tonnes it delivered in 2016, another source said, putting it not far behind Trafigura. Vitol plans to raise 2017 volumes to at least seven million tonnes, according to a presentation to customers earlier this year, from less than three million in 2016. Glencore’s new team is to rack up around 3.5 mtpa. All four are used to working in politically complex markets involving high credit risks. So far they have concentrated on customers such as Egypt and Pakistan, countries with rapidly rising energy needs due to high population growth. Some are moving beyond trading, seeking stakes in LNG production and leasing capacity in facilities such as floating import terminals, which are far cheaper than those on dry land. “Floating terminals are nimbler, can be moved around and give buyers prompt access to LNG for however long they wish,” said Fyfe. “Emerging markets that may have shied away from the massive investment required for importing LNG before can now tap supplies ... for five to 10 years, encouraging more buyers to enter the market.” Trafigura and Gunvor are involved in floating terminals in Pakistan, and Gunvor struck a deal in January to supply the country for five years. Traders are also targeting more established markets. While major Chinese importers mainly have long-term contracts, a number of new players in the country such as ENN and Guanghui Energy Co Ltd are increasingly in the market for LNG. FILE PHOTO: The TEPCO logo and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tank are seen at Tokyo Electric Power Co Holdings (TEPCO)''s South Yokohama Thermal Power Station in Yokohama, Japan July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Developed economies also offer opportunities, including Britain which relies heavily on Norway for gas and Qatar for LNG. Trafigura hopes to reopen a defunct LNG import terminal in northeast England, which could also supply the continent by pipeline. STIFF COMPETITION Competition is stiff in securing supplies, including using the relatively untested technology of floating production platforms. Last month, Gunvor beat Vitol to take output from Africa’s first deepwater floating LNG project in Equatorial Guinea for 10 years. It offered to help finance state-run Sonagas’s 30 percent stake in the $2 billion scheme, marking the first time a trade house has helped bankroll an LNG project. Gunvor is also the first trading house with access to long-term LNG supply, obtained from Russia’s Yamal project, industry sources said. This will start exports later this year. Vitol has secured a multi-year supply deal with Angola’s sole LNG export project, which is led by Chevron ( CVX.N ). Originally the plant was supposed to supply the United States under long-term deals but these never materialised due to the shale gas boom and technical problems. While emerging markets offer rapid growth, Egypt, for instance, piled up payment arrears of half a billion dollars last year. Some industry figures believe similar problems will crop up among the new batch of LNG importers. Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating, for instance, is deep in junk territory. By contrast Japan’s JERA, a tie-up of Tokyo Electric Power Co and Chubu Electric which is the world’s biggest LNG buyer, has a high investment grade rating, as does the global number two, Korea Gas Corp. “There is more credit risk but the key is to be stringent in the due diligence process when examining opportunities,” said Fyfe. Competition is also shrinking trading margins. As recently as 2013, traders could pocket millions of dollars on a single trade but that has shrunk to about $750,000. To compensate traders are taking bigger positions in the market. Wrong-way bets, however, can mean heavy losses and unlike in oil, traders can’t anchor laden tankers at sea in the hope that prices pick up because LNG slowly evaporates. The Swiss also no longer have the field to themselves as national energy companies and power utilities such as Germany’s RWE ( RWEG.DE ) are expanding their own trading divisions. For example, Socar Trading, an offshoot of Azerbaijan’s state oil company, is working to turn some African countries into LNG importers and has already done so with Malta. Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lng-tradehouses-insight/once-fringe-players-swiss-traders-grab-10-billion-slice-of-lng-market-idUKKCN1BN1LQ'|'2017-09-12T16:01:00.000+03:00'
'59dfe0ba659994d4d80a2c2d90f57d3434d38ca0'|'European shares open higher after new records in Asia, Wall Street'|'  7:31 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago European shares open higher after new records in Asia, Wall Street Reuters Staff 2 Min Read General view of the Frankfurt stock exchange, Germany, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski LONDON (Reuters) - European bourses continued their relief rally, opening higher on Tuesday after stock markets in Asia and in the U.S. hit new record highs as worries about Hurricane Irma and North Korea’s nuclear standoff eased. All major trading centers and most sectors traded in positive territory as thee pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent, although some investors questioned how sustainable current markets levels are. “Whether that equity reaction is Panglossian complacency or a sign of wonderful underlying fundamentals remains open to question,” ING wrote in a morning note, adding that “even Category 5 storms can now be added to the list of things that ‘Don’t Really Matter’”. Financial stocks were yet again among the top performers, with financial services .SXFP and banking .SX7P respectively up 0.7 and 0.6 percent. Insurance firms .SXIP, which fueled Europe’s rise on Monday with a roughly 2 percent jump, were again in positive territory, edging up 0.3 percent. In other sectors, Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) was up 0.3 percent after announcing a 20 billion euro plan on Monday to develop zero-emission vehicles. Among losers, French veterinarian pharmaceutical company Virbac ( VIRB.PA ) sank 11.7 percent after cutting its full-year outlook. Editing by Kevin Liffey'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-open-higher-after-new-records-in-asia-wall-street-idUKKCN1BN0OD'|'2017-09-12T10:27:00.000+03:00'
'472da0a01fc375c5ea3655c6db9fba3aeaa5b6f5'|'Anthem still considering presence in some Obamacare markets: CEO'|'September 12, 2017 / 4:03 PM / Updated an hour ago Anthem still considering presence in some Obamacare markets: CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The office building of health insurer Anthem is seen in Los Angeles, California February 5, 2015. REUTERS/Gus Ruelas NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anthem Inc ( ANTM.N ), which has trimmed the number of states and counties in which it will sell individual Obamacare plans in 2018, said on Tuesday it is still working with some state regulators on its market participation for next year. Anthem and other insurers have a deadline of Sept. 27 to finalize their 2018 role in the individual insurance program created as part of former President Barack Obama’s national healthcare law, often called Obamacare. Anthem is the No. 2 U.S. health insurer. Anthem Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish said during a Morgan Stanley investor conference that the company has been repositioning itself in states with an eye to re-entering when appropriate if Congress and the White House stabilize the individual markets. Anthem shares were down 3.2 percent at $189.75 late on Tuesday morning. Insurers want Congress to eliminate the industrywide health insurance tax on premiums of about 3 percent and for it and the Trump administration to commit to paying monthly Obamacare subsidies that help make the plans affordable. Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-anthem-ceo/anthem-still-considering-presence-in-some-obamacare-markets-ceo-idUSKCN1BN26R'|'2017-09-12T19:03:00.000+03:00'
'31cca722db85dc88972eac1905dd9571fa97b964'|'Bosch sees driver-assistance sales growing to 2 billion euros by 2019'|'September 12, 2017 / 6:08 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Bosch sees driver-assistance sales growing to 2 billion euros by 2019 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Bosch parking deck is pictured near airport in Stuttgart, Germany, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bosch [ROBG.UL], the world’s biggest car parts supplier, sees its annual sales of driver-assistance systems at 2 billion euros ($2.39 billion) as early as 2019 as it outpaces market growth of 25 percent a year, it said on Tuesday. Driver-assistance systems provide features such as automatic braking, keeping cars in lane and alerting drivers to danger - and are the forerunners of fully automated driving. Bosch, which also makes home appliances and industrial products, sees its overall automotive business growing by 7 percent to 47 billion euros this year. The German group said it would be helped by the move to electric vehicles - led by China, where it already has a top position. It also supplies the powertrain system for Europe’s biggest electric-vehicle fleet, the German post office’s Streetscooters. Chief Executive Volkmar Denner said Bosch was not betting solely on electrification, despite a heated current debate in Germany about driving bans in cities for polluting vehicles and the future of the combustion engine. “For us, it’s not just the one or the other. We want to keep our technological options open, and not restrict ourselves to a single path,” he said at the Frankfurt car show. Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Laurence Frost '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-frankfurt-bosch/bosch-sees-driver-assistance-sales-growing-to-2-billion-euros-by-2019-idUSKCN1BN0I3'|'2017-09-12T09:06:00.000+03:00'
'3f295cc2744d170d431bce7b5779b07fdf5526d4'|'Expert Views: India consumer inflation accelerates to 3.36 percent in August'|'Customers buy grocery at a food superstore in Ahmedabad, October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s annual consumer inflation in August jumped to a five-month high of 3.36 percent from a year ago, driven by higher food prices, according to government data on Tuesday.The rise was higher than the 3.20 percent forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. Inflation rose to 2.36 percent in July, after falling for three straight months.COMMENTS ABHISHEK UPADHYAY, ECONOMIST, ICICI SECURITIES PRIMARY DEALERSHIP, MUMBAI”Inflation is largely in line with assumptions, but the key takeaway is the spike higher in core inflation to 4.6 percent.”Centre HRA (housing rent allowance) hike is a driver, but GST influence has clearly been inflationary, in line with our view.”That impact continues to play out in health, personal care and textiles. Interplay of these drivers coupled with adverse base could push inflation beyond 4 percent within this calendar year.”But from a monetary policy perspective, the renewed move higher in core inflation is of greater consequence, particularly because it is not just on account of the technical HRA hike impact.“In the context of growing risks of fiscal breaches, and with developed market central banks geared to remove accommodation as well, we continue to view a long pause from the MPC (monetary policy committee) as the most likely outcome.”RADHIKA RAO, GROUP ECONOMIST, DBS, SINGAPORE Related Coverage Rising food prices push India''s August retail inflation to five-month highIndia''s core consumer price inflation seen at 4.5-4.6 percent in AugustIndia''s industrial output up 1.2 percent in July”August CPI was in line with our expectations at 3.4 percent YoY, driven by the usual suspects, i.e. food pressures, along with higher housing and transport inflation.”On sequential basis, such vegetables-driven uptrend usually dissipates towards Oct-Nov and we expect this to pan out this year as well.“Higher core (inflation) and August headline inflation on the higher end of the central bank’s 2-3.5 percent target for 1H FY18 will douse any lingering expectations for an October rate cut.”SHUBHADA RAO, CHIEF ECONOMIST, YES BANK, MUMBAI ”Apart from food and fuel all other factors contributed to the month-on-month increase in inflation with housing driving the rise.Customers buy vegetables from a stall at a market in Ahmedabad, January 12, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files ”Overall inflation is walking along the indicative path with no unanticipated surprise shocks on the upside expected.”Core inflation has gone up due to the government salary hikes which have started to seep into the housing index.“It is critically important that the food economy is managed so that overall CPI remains in control. We do not expect any rate cuts in October.”ASHTOSH DATAR, ECONOMIST, IIFL INSTITUTIONAL EQUITIES, MUMBAI“Inflation data is higher than my estimate for sure. Food has driven (it) up, as expected”An employee works inside a steel rerolling mill at Chitra industrial area, on the outskirts of Bhavnagar town, in Gujarat May 28, 2011. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files “A rate cut can be expected before the end of this year if the core inflation has not risen. But (the repo rate) will be on hold if it has risen.”“Will stick to FY18 average CPI estimate of 3.5 percent for now.”“For inflation projection going ahead, the main risk is food inflation and how it shapes up given the extremely low levels we have currently.”HITESH JAIN, SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST, IIFL WEALTH MANAGEMENT, MUMBAI”We’re going to see a spike in most food commodities in the next two to three months, which will lead to a rise in overall headline inflation. It is very much in line with RBI expecting inflation to move higher.”There’s no major inflation risk as industrial commodities prices have moved higher, oil still remains low and food inflation will move higher. I think the overall headline inflation will not breach the overall tolerance level of RBI.“We are of the opinion that RBI will not deliver any rate cut this calendar year.”ANJALI VERMA, ECONOMIST, PHILLIPCAPITAL INDIA, MUMBAI ”I think there were still a few people who were expecting rate cuts to come through. But I think with this (data), it may not happen.”We are maintaining that there is no scope for further rate reduction. Core CPI going ahead is going to be 4 percent-plus. We are looking at a range of 4-4.5 percent.“The main risk points one needs to watch out for inflation projections going ahead are largely fuel and commodity prices.”Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury, Abhirup Roy, Jessica Kuruthu, and Vishal Sridhar; Compiled by Rafael Nam '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-economy-inflation-views/expert-views-india-consumer-inflation-accelerates-to-3-36-percent-in-august-idINKCN1BN1IH'|'2017-09-12T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'ae1a77cfd2cd36ea0bc0f42a20196c470a40b4eb'|'Altice says open-minded about cable M&A'|'September 12, 2017 / 2:58 PM / Updated 43 minutes ago Altice says open-minded about cable M&A Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Dexter Goei, CEO of cable and mobile telecoms company Altice, attends a news conference in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (Reuters) - Netherlands-based telecom conglomerate Altice NV ( ATCA.AS ) and its U.S. cable unit said it is open to mergers and acquisitions, specifically in the cable business. Altice USA Chief Executive Officer Dexter Goei, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in New York on Tuesday, said the company’s M&A interest lies primarily in cable, addressing previous media reports. In August, Reuters reported Altice was in the early stages of working on an offer to buy Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ). Altice said it was open-minded about M&A and was seeing better trends in video for the third quarter. Altice USA’s initial public offering in June was viewed as a means for founder Patrick Drahi to expand his U.S. cable empire by giving the company public stock it can use as currency for acquisitions. In May, Drahi told reporters that he considered cable expansion a priority, followed by mobile and content. However, the company’s executives said on Tuesday they would be patient about making any deals. “We are absolutely not going to stretch ourselves to do anything that we don’t think is good for our shareholders,” Goei said. Altice USA ( ATUS.N ) shares were up 3.6 percent at $29.70 in morning trading. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-altice-strategy/altice-says-open-minded-about-cable-ma-idINKCN1BN201'|'2017-09-12T12:58:00.000+03:00'
'747ecbb2f7fa7723b237628289ad34f2ab0f70f5'|'UPDATE 1-Teva to sell contraceptive brand Paragard in $1.1 bln deal'|'(Corrects first paragraph to say the sale was to a unit of Cooper Cos)Sept 11 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries , said it has agreed to sell Paragard, its intrauterine copper contraceptive brand, to a unit of Cooper Cos in a $1.1 billion cash deal.The sale of the business is the first step in the planned divestment of non-core assets and the proceeds would be used to repay term loan debt, Teva said on Monday.The deal with CooperSurgical includes the Isarel-based drug maker’s manufacturing facility in Buffalo, NY, which produces Paragard exclusively.Paragard had revenue of about $168 million for the year ended June 30.The deal comes on a day when Teva named smaller peer Lundbeck’s Chief Executive Kare Schultz as its new CEO, amid plans for more divestitures.Teva said it will continue to manufacture and sell Paragard in the United States, until the deal is completed. (Reporting by Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/teva-pharm-ind-divestiture-contraceptive/update-1-teva-to-sell-contraceptive-brand-paragard-in-1-1-bln-deal-idUSL4N1LS5F2'|'2017-09-11T23:49:00.000+03:00'
'18a4091f3b353977a00089ff8d60a80604f2d570'|'European shares open higher after record highs in Asia, Wall Street'|'  7:27 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago European shares open higher after record highs in Asia, Wall Street Julien Ponthus 3 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European bourses continued their relief rally, opening higher on Tuesday after stock markets in Asia and in the United States hit record highs as worries about Hurricane Irma and North Korea’s nuclear standoff eased. All major trading centres and most sectors traded in positive territory as the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent, although some investors questioned how sustainable current markets levels are. “Whether that equity reaction is Panglossian complacency or a sign of wonderful underlying fundamentals remains open to question,” ING wrote in a morning note, adding that “even Category 5 storms can now be added to the list of things that ‘Don’t Really Matter’”. Financial stocks were yet again among the top performers, with financial services .SXFP and banking .SX7P respectively up 0.7 and 0.6 percent. Insurance firms .SXIP, which fuelled Europe’s rise on Monday with a roughly 2 percent jump, were again in positive territory, edging up 0.3 percent. “The structure of today’s open is typically ‘risk-on’”, said Pierre Martin, a senior sales trader at Saxo Bank, noting that the positive trend for banking stocks or automobile shares showed investors’ moods were off geopolitical and climate worries and back to more positive corporate and macroeconomic news. Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) was up 0.5 percent after announcing a 20 billion euro plan on Monday to develop zero-emission vehicles and other constructors were also gaining ground, such as Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ) which topped France''s blue chip CAC 40 .FCHI index with a 1.5% rise. Novartis ( NOVN.S ) gained 0.6 percent as it reported that its biosimilar rituximab to treat blood cancers and immunological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis was accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Among losers, French veterinarian pharmaceutical company Virbac ( VIRB.PA ) sank 11.7 percent after cutting its full-year outlook. British home builders were also under pressure with Taylor Wimpey ( TW.L ) losing 2.8 percent or Barrat Development 2.4 percent after a report highlighted risks to the sector, a trader said. Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/european-shares-open-higher-after-new-records-in-asia-wall-street-idUKKCN1BN0O9'|'2017-09-12T11:40:00.000+03:00'
'0a3f39e46e98648531f1aec1c3750db122df5f54'|'Bubble-spotting in Europe'|'September 12, 2017 / 2:13 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Bubble-spotting in Europe Dhara Ranasinghe , Saikat Chatterjee , Vikram Subhedar 6 Min Read An emergency phone is seen near the famous euro sign landmark outside the former headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said last week he saw no bubbles in European asset prices, only a day after Deutsche Bank chief executive John Cryan insisted there were “signs of bubbles” building in the region’s capital markets. Who’s right? A glance across Europe’s markets suggests some froth forming in certain corners at least. After years of volatility surrounding the global banking crash and subsequent euro debt crisis, the European Central Bank’s remedy was to flood the bloc with cheap cash and directly support lending and bond markets via massive asset purchases. The euro zone economy has finally responded this year and is currently enjoying its best run since the single currency’s 1999 launch -- even if inflation remains subdued and below ECB targets. Europe’s asset markets have responded. Equity, credit and real estate prices have accelerated, challenging the ECB to withdraw its ultra-loose monetary policy before unsustainable bubbles develop. European high yield markets are trading significantly above their long-term historical valuation ranges, as this chart shows. BUBBLY BONDS The ECB’s 2.3 trillion euro (£2.07 trillion) bond-buying stimulus has driven borrowing costs in the single currency bloc to record lows. While stronger economic growth and an expectation that the scheme will be scaled back in coming months have pushed bond yields higher over the past year, a large chunk of the market remains in negative territory. According to JPMorgan Asset Management, 36 percent of government bond yields in the euro zone are below zero, compared with a peak in June 2016 of 51 percent. This chart shows which euro zone bonds are trading below the region’s inflation. For bond strategists, another example of how the ECB’s quantitative easing programme has inflated government bond prices in the bloc is to compare Italian bonds against U.S. Treasuries. Ten-year bond yields in Italy IT10YT=TWEB, a lower-rated sovereign that is often viewed as one of the weakest links in the euro area, have traded below U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR for almost the entire period since the ECB signalled in late 2014 that it would start buying bonds to boost inflation and growth. See chart below. “It’s hard to say there isn’t some kind of over-inflated asset prices,” said Iain Stealey, senior fixed income manager at JPMorgan Asset Management. “You’ve got negatively-yielding government bonds in an economy that is growing at a nominal growth rate approaching 4 percent. So there is a disconnect.” FROTHY FOREX The euro''s 14 percent surge against the dollar this year EUR= , its biggest annual rise since 2004, has turned around market expectations, and euro/dollar is the most crowded trade in the currency markets. Figures from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) show that hedge funds and other speculators now hold the biggest net long euro position since May 2011. Morgan Stanley’s own surveys show 93 percent of currency traders are bullish on the euro against the dollar, but some market watchers saying that kind of positioning is unlikely to be sustained for long. “We think the euro has gone too far in too short a period and that should remain a worry for policymakers,” said Richard Falkenhall, a senior currency strategist at SEB. A concern for some is that the euro’s steep appreciation has drawn in non-euro zone investors to the zone’s assets and flattered both the inflows and the returns in debt and equity. Any sudden currency reversal could have ripple effects across euro markets as result, even if economists would ultimately see that as a boon for growth. For a chart on hedge fund positioning in the euro, see chart below. EBULLIENT EQUITIES Perhaps the area where investors are most divided on whether bubbles exist in the euro zone is in equities, where the MSCI Europe equity index .dMIEU PUS is still more than 20 percent below its pre-2008 highs and valuations are broadly in line with long term averages. That is sharply in contrast to U.S. equities, which are overvalued across a range of key metrics. At the same time, expectations in Europe have grown considerably, with earnings growth forecast to expand in double digits in the coming months, according to Ken Hsia, a portfolio manager at Investec European Equity Fund who manages over $2 billion (£1.51 billion). But Hsia notes that bond proxy bets such as consumer durables are among the most expensive parts of the stock markets with a lot of positive earnings expectations already priced in. Valuations of consumer staples are above ranges, according to the chart below. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-markets-bubbles/bubble-spotting-in-europe-idUKKCN1BN1TU'|'2017-09-12T17:20:00.000+03:00'
'07d34f24bde2daf3bba0e86f01b64742e2f535bc'|'EU markets watchdog warns investors of market bubble threat'|'September 12, 2017 / 4:21 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago EU markets watchdog warns investors of market bubble threat John O''Donnell 2 Min Read The famous euro sign landmark is seen through the lights of a passing tram outside the former headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Rock-bottom interest rates and political uncertainty such as Brexit mean risks of an asset price bubble are at their highest, a European markets watchdog said on Tuesday, in an unusually strongly worded warning to investors. In a report, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) cautioned that “market and credit risks were very high”, pointing to the threat of contagion, or a spillover of problems to other parts of finance. It said “valuation risk”, a reference to the price of investments, was at the “highest levels due to financial weakness and geopolitical uncertainty”. The warning carries weight because the agency has deep insight into markets across the 28-member European Union. Although it mirrors concerns long held by some bankers, it is in stark contrast to efforts last week by the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, to play down fears that markets are overheating. “Brexit-related uncertainties remain among the most important sources of risk,” the authors of the ESMA report said, in a warts-and-all analysis of risks that singled out inflated asset prices or a cyber attack as potential problems. “We expect the political calendar of the EU including Brexit negotiations, policy developments in the U.S., and geopolitical developments to remain the major risk drivers for 2017,” the report said. Last week, Deutsche Bank’s Chief Executive John Cryan called on the ECB to change course on providing cheap money after it has printed more than 2 trillion euros (£1.80 trillion), warning of price bubbles in stocks, bonds and property. Reporting By John O''Donnell; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-market-report-risks/eu-markets-watchdog-warns-investors-of-market-bubble-threat-idUKKCN1BN289'|'2017-09-12T19:21:00.000+03:00'
'50be4378642bf58e26db317a4d9476da7ba0c737'|'JD Sports reports record first-half profit helped by expansion'|'  6:49 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago JD Sports reports record first half profit helped by expansion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People pass a JD Sports store in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall (Reuters) - Britain’s JD Sports Fashion Plc reported a record half-year pretax profit on Tuesday on demand for athletic leisure clothing and the opening of 35 new stores, sending its shares sharply higher. Strong trading in the half-year helped the seller of trainers and tracksuits predict full-year profit towards the upper end of market expectations of 268-290 million pounds. JD Sports, which also runs fashion and outdoor retail outlets such as Scotts and Blacks, said profit before tax for the 26 weeks to July 29 rose 33 percent to 102.7 million pounds from 77.4 million a year earlier. Revenue from its sports fashion business, made up of brands such as JD , Size? and Sprinter, rose more than 30 percent to 1.17 billion pounds. It opened 12 JD stores in UK and Ireland and 23 across mainland Europe in the first half. JD shares jumped 10 percent to 376 pence in early trade. JD, which sells from more than 1300 stores, has overtaken Sports Direct as the country’s leading sportswear retailer by market value. It opened 12 JD stores in UK and Ireland and 23 across mainland Europe in the first half. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jd-sports-results/jd-sports-reports-record-first-half-profit-helped-by-expansion-idUKKCN1BN0KG'|'2017-09-12T09:49:00.000+03:00'
'986eb25b8c31bf2cfbcfba93ffb0812be42206fe'|'Dover considering sale of upstream energy unit'|'(Reuters) - U.S. industrial conglomerate Dover Corp ( DOV.N ) said on Monday it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale, for its upstream energy unit.The company said the options also include a tax-free spinoff of the unit.The upstream energy unit is part of Dover’s overall energy business, which provides lift equipment services and diamond cutters used in oil and gas exploration and production.Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-dover-divestiture/dover-considering-sale-of-upstream-energy-unit-idINKCN1BN1AC'|'2017-09-12T09:12:00.000+03:00'
'b9324fe3352449ac82bf341ce7b262ccb5ef26c3'|'Rupert Murdoch''s Fox joins court challenge to CBS'' Australian TV buyout'|' 33 AM / Updated 38 minutes ago Rupert Murdoch''s Fox joins court challenge to CBS'' Australian TV buyout Tom Westbrook 3 Min Read News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers remarks at an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, aboard the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York, U.S. May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) joined a court challenge on Tuesday against rival U.S. cable network CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) proposed buyout of struggling Australian television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ). The U.S. broadcasting heavyweights faced off in the Australian courtroom amid a battle for control of Ten, a ratings laggard which went into administration three months ago following long declines in viewership and advertising revenue. Lawyers for Ten said the private company of Murdoch’s son, Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch, had offered to revise the offer it made in June before it was elbowed aside by CBS. Murdoch’s company Illyria and its Australian partner had informed Ten overnight on Monday that they “wish to in some way reopen their offer by opening negotiations”, Ten lawyer Richard McHugh told the court. Illyria’s offer has not been disclosed but McHugh said the company had still not provided anything that could be put to Ten’s creditors. Documents released on Monday by the administrator show CBS, the free-to-air network’s major creditor, is prepared to pay at least A$201.1 million ($162 million) in cash for Ten. While Ten was worth less than A$60 million when it went into administration, it is an attractive takeover target because of its national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy. Twenty-First Century Fox and CBS are Ten’s largest creditors. Lachlan Murdoch and his Australian co-bidder, television entrepreneur Bruce Gordon, were also major Ten shareholders. Gordon filed the court action seeking to delay the CBS takeover, arguing the administrators had not properly informed creditors of their options. After New South Wales state Supreme Court Judge Ashley Black agreed to let Twenty-First Century Fox join Gordon’s action, a lawyer for the U.S. company said the terms of the CBS offer were unfair. “They are getting 100 cents in the dollar and we seem to be getting 1.75 cents in the dollar,” lawyer Ian Pike told the court. Pike did not refer to a rival offer from Lachlan Murdoch and Gordon, but Gordon’s lawyer, Andrew Bell, told the court his client was concerned administrators “made the decision not to put the competing (offer) to the creditors”. The hearing continues.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/rupert-murdochs-fox-joins-court-challenge-to-cbs-australian-tv-buyout-idUKKCN1BN0BX'|'2017-09-12T07:32:00.000+03:00'
'01856923d3b7fc5740bb88c8a6c4a8695e2eb660'|'US STOCKS-Futures higher as Irma weakens further; Apple in focus'|' 33 AM / a minute ago US STOCKS-Futures higher as Irma weakens further; Apple in focus Reuters Staff * Futures up: Dow 47 pts, S&P 3.75 pts, Nasdaq 10 pts By Sruthi Shankar Sept 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Tuesday as Irma weakened further into a post-tropical cyclone and investors awaited the highly anticipated launch of the new iPhone. * Apple, the world’s biggest company by market capitalization, is expected to unveil the 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone at an event that starts at 1:00 p.m. ET (1700 GMT) * Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes, weakened to a post-tropical cyclone on Tuesday, allaying concerns about its impact to the economy. * The S&P 500 climbed to a record high close on Monday as concerns over Irma faded and North Korea did not test-fire missiles over the weekend as some had feared. * However, North Korea on Tuesday rejected a United Nations Security Council resolution imposing tougher sanctions, and said the United States would soon face the “greatest pain” it had ever experienced. * The U.N. unanimously stepped up sanctions against Pyongyang on Monday over the country’s most powerful nuclear test on earlier in the month, imposing a ban on North Korea’s textile exports and capping imports of crude oil. * In economic data, the Labor Department is expected to release its monthly job openings and labor turnover survey report for July at 10:00 a.m. ET. Job openings rose to 6.163 million in June. * Apple’s shares were up 1.05 percent ahead of the iPhone launch. * Sage Therapeutics slumped 23.18 percent after its drug to treat a life-threatening seizure disorder failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial. * DowDupont rose 2.47 percent after the company, which was formed when chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont merged, said it was making changes to its initial plans of splitting the company into three units. * U.S.-listed shares of Teva rose 7.35 percent after the drugmaker agreed to sell its contraceptive brand Paragard to a unit of Cooper Cos for $1.1 billion. Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET (1101 GMT): * Dow e-minis were up 47 points, or 0.21 percent, with 7,684 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis were up 3.75 points, or 0.15 percent, with 127,326 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 10 points, or 0.17 percent, on volume of 8,937 contracts. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-futures-higher-as-irma-weakens-further-apple-in-focus-idUSL4N1LT3LX'|'2017-09-12T14:30:00.000+03:00'
'fff2cf58afc9d8a21d835df5300742141e003cee'|'ECB has seen very little price pressure in recovery - Mersch'|'September 11, 2017 / 9:32 AM / Updated an hour ago ECB has seen very little price pressure in recovery - Mersch Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank presents an oversized newly unveiled 10 euro note at the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, January 13, 2014. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has seen very little pressure on inflation despite an economic recovery and policymakers will discuss this autumn whether to curb stimulus, ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Monday. Mersch, considered a policy hawk, told Luxembourg radio station 100.7 in an interview that there were a number of reasons inflation was not rising, principal among them the relative lack of wage pressure. “The main driver of inflation is normally wages. We see that the evolution of wages in most countries is not what it usually is in a recovery, which is that they rise very strongly,” Mersch said. Investors expect the ECB to reduce asset buys from next year as growth is robust and the threat of inflation is gone. But policy is expected to remain easy for years to come as inflation will not return to the bank’s target before the decade ends. Mersch said that limited wage expansion could be caused by competition from other countries, global value chains that dampened the cost of production and unions focused more on finding people jobs than pushing for higher wages. The ECB’s monetary policy had accordingly not so far changed. “Because quite simply the only thing that interests us is the evolution of prices and it simply isn’t where we want it yet,” Mersch said, adding that more structural reforms would likely see prices reacting more quickly, allowing the ECB to scale back its support sooner. The central bank was in discussions about how to adapt its monetary policy and whether withdrawal of support would land the euro zone in the place the bank wanted it to be. “This discussion has started but it isn’t like we are saying that we have to bring everything back to zero as we see there is still very little pressure in the price pipeline.” “Over the course of autumn we will see how far our instruments should or have to be adapted on the basis of new insights and how confident we are that we can withdraw the support to the economy through our monetary policy,” he said. Reporting by Michele Sinner, writing by Philip Blenkinsop '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-mersch/ecb-has-seen-very-little-price-pressure-in-recovery-mersch-idUKKCN1BM101'|'2017-09-11T12:31:00.000+03:00'
'99f8e1104fcea656b7fd978e1697bf0505a7e776'|'More flexible approach needed on public sector pay, says PM May'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:30 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago More flexible approach needed on public sector pay, says PM May Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A police officer patrols within the grounds of Buckingham Palace in London, Britain August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hackett LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday her government would need to be more flexible on public sector pay in the future, and that work on the issue would take place ahead of a Nov. 22 budget. “There is a need for greater flexibility as we look at these issues of public sector pay in the future,” May told parliament. “We will be working on this in the lead up to the budget and the remits for the pay review bodies in 2018/19 will be published in due course.” May’s government partially abandoned a cap on public-sector pay on Tuesday, saying it would raise wages for police and prison guards by more than its long-standing 1 percent limit. Reporting by William James and Kylie MacLellan, editing by Elizabeth Piper'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-politics-austerity/more-flexible-approach-needed-on-public-sector-pay-says-pm-may-idUKKCN1BO1BA'|'2017-09-13T14:29:00.000+03:00'
'7cb98c42ac23d20485c55d4f7b6625c6241febd0'|'Progress on global poverty and disease at risk, Gates says'|'September 13, 2017 / 6:50 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Progress on global poverty and disease at risk, Gates says Kate Kelland 3 Min Read Liseth, 40, sits in her home next to a sign which reads ''Welcome Liseth, we all love you, God is with you, be strong''. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis six months ago whilst being treated for leukemia. Carabayllo in Lima, Peru September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo London, September 13 (Reuters) - Proposed United States budget cuts could put in jeopardy great progress in reducing global poverty and disease and lead to 5 million more deaths from AIDS alone, the philanthropist Bill Gates warned on Wednesday. Gates, whose Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a major provider of global health and development funding, said there was currently “more doubt than usual about the world’s commitment to development”. A global health report by the foundation, co-authored by the Gates and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington (IHME), analysed progress against diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. It also tracked rates of poverty, maternal and infant death, access to contraception, sanitation and other development issues. Forecasting good and bad future scenarios, it found millions of lives hanging in the balance. In a telephone briefing about the findings, Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, said remarkable progress had been made in recent decades but that shifting priorities, instability and potential budget cuts could lead the world to turn away, jeopardising the gains. Tennis - US Open - Semifinals - New York, U.S. - September 8, 2017 - Bill Gates attends the Kevin Anderson of South Africa and Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain match. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton HIV, which currently infects almost 37 million people worldwide, is an “iconic example”, Gates said, “because the world really did step up with an incredible level of generosity which has meant (annual) AIDS-related deaths have fallen by almost a half since the peak in 2005.” A man, who supports a drug-buying network and takes generic drugs himself to prevent HIV infection, shows off some of his generic drugs at his home in central London, Britain November 3, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo The Gates IHME analysis, called the Goalkeepers report, forecast that a 10 percent cut in global donor funding for HIV treatment could mean more than 5 million extra deaths by 2030. Under budget proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump released in May, U.S. funding for global health programs including efforts on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria would see a 24 percent cut to about $6.5 billion for 2018. But opposition Democrats and many of Trump’s fellow Republicans have blasted his plan, saying they will reject it. Congress, not the administration, controls U.S. spending. Gates said his foundation is working hard to secure continued U.S. government funding for global health and development and remained hopeful the proposed cuts will not be approved. Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Angus MacSwan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/health-global-gates/progress-on-global-poverty-and-disease-at-risk-gates-says-idINKCN1BO0JE'|'2017-09-13T09:50:00.000+03:00'
'3459b2976e7bc95ef3a71b54d1dc382a3f508161'|'OMV head says Nord Stream-2 financing hampered by U.S. sanctions -Interfax'|'September 13, 2017 / 2:02 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago OMV head says Nord Stream-2 financing hampered by U.S. sanctions -Interfax Reuters Staff 1 Min Read MOSCOW, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Financing of large Russian projects, such as gas pipeline Nord Stream-2, “became almost impossible” after the United States introduced new sanctions against Russia, the chief executive of Austrian energy company OMV, Rainer Seele, said on Wednesday. He was also quoted as saying by Interfax news agency that the partners on Nord Stream-2 should first of all rely on their own capital to finance the project. OMV is a financial partner in the project. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-nordstream-sanctions/omv-head-says-nord-stream-2-financing-hampered-by-u-s-sanctions-interfax-idUSR4N1LP01A'|'2017-09-13T17:01:00.000+03:00'
'0c3401c7deb45bb30b828eb73d71dfaa3e642b04'|'Indian matchmaker IPO draws flurry of suitors'|'MUMBAI (Reuters) - Matrimony.com, the first pure-play Indian matchmaking website to launch a stock market listing, drew heavy demand for its offering, benefiting from the country’s booming IPO market.Market participants say the enthusiastic investor response could encourage other players in India''s $50 billion wedding services market to consider going public. India''s broader NSE stock index .NSEI has surged nearly 25 percent this year and investor interest in IPOs has soared.Matrimony.com’s initial public offering of up to 5 billion rupees ($78 million) was subscribed 4.4 times over as of 7.45 p.m. India time (10.15 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, the last day of sale, with applications for over 12.5 million shares received, against the 2.8 million shares on offer, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.India has seen around 20 IPOs this year and all have been oversubscribed several times over, with a couple of them subscribed more than 100 times over, according to data from Prime Database.Matrimony.com, backed by U.S. venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, runs bharatmatrimony.com, elitematrimony.com and a host of other marriage services portals.In socially conservative India parents are often involved in finding partners for their children and parental consent remains largely a norm.Dating services such as Tinder have also tried to portray themselves as ‘parent approved’ in the country of 1.3 billion where live-in relationships are still taboo. Rising internet penetration, spurred by cheap data costs, has also helped more and more Indians go online to hunt for prospective spouses.Matrimony says it had 3.08 million active customer profiles as of June 30, 2017. Its rivals include websites like Shaadi.com and Info Edge- ( INED.NS ) owned Jeevansathi.com, among others.The portal also offers websites and apps in multiple Indian languages and it helps customers to look for venues, outfits and photographers among other wedding-related services.Indian online matchmaking sites will generate bigger business as they become more widely accepted and increasingly attract more users, global consulting firm KPMG and Google said in a report last year.Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-matrimony-com-ipo/indian-matchmaker-ipo-draws-flurry-of-suitors-idUSKCN1BO271'|'2017-09-14T00:42:00.000+03:00'
'2b0432353d3ccf76035e2bcdf83e095530fffa22'|'China''s COFCO targets overseas grain partners after Growmark deal'|'PARIS (Reuters) - China’s COFCO International said it plans more partnerships in grain after a U.S. supply deal last month, as it expands overseas with a focus on grain, oilseed and sugar.The state-owned trading house has spent more than $3 billion buying agricultural traders Nidera and Noble Agri and has embarked on an overhaul of its newly acquired operations, notably in Europe and South America.“Following the successful integration of Nidera and Noble Agri into COFCO International and the establishment of a high-performing HQ in Geneva, we are launching a new chapter in COFCO International’s development,” its CEO Johnny Chi said.“We plan to advance a strategy focused on strengthening our core businesses of grains, oilseeds and sugar with a geographical focus on the Americas, Europe and Australia,” Chi said in a statement emailed to Reuters.COFCO last month unveiled a partnership with U.S. farm cooperative Growmark to own and operate a grain terminal COFCO inherited from Nidera on the Mississippi River.“COFCO International plans to establish several new international partnerships and is open to working together with all stakeholders in the supply chain,” Chi said.Buying Nidera and Noble Agri thrust COFCO into the league of multinational agricultural traders but integrating the two firms has raised uncertainty over its short-term prospects.Zhao Shuanglian, chairman of parent company COFCO Corporation [CNCOF.UL], was Quote: d as saying the “highly-performing” South American grain, oilseed and sugar portfolio would play “a major role” in COFCO International’s expansion.COFCO International’s Brazilian activities have undergone a series of changes, a reorganization that sources have partly attributed to an accounting hole found in Nidera’s Latin American operations.Sources also said last month that the group is considering selling Nidera’s Latin American seed business.A COFCO International spokesman declined to comment about a possible sale process.Reporting by Gus Trompiz; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cofco-grains-partnerships/chinas-cofco-targets-overseas-grain-partners-after-growmark-deal-idINKCN1BO2BA'|'2017-09-13T15:24:00.000+03:00'
'd83e9386e56141fd192229d598c9ea34a85b16e0'|'Carillion shakes up management to lead recovery'|'  7:09 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Carillion finance chief steps down in management reshuffle Reuters Staff 4 Min Read A Carillion sign can be seen in Manchester, Britain July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble (Reuters) - Britain’s Carillion ( CLLN.L ) announced the departure of its finance chief along with a series of changes to its management on Monday as the crisis-hit construction services company tries to stabilise its business and rebuild its balance sheet. Carillion has lost nearly 80 percent of its market value since mid-July when it booked an 845 million pound writedown on problematic construction contracts announced the departure of its chief executive. CFO Zafar Khan will step down with immediate effect, to be replaced by Emma Mercer, the finance head of its UK construction business. It has also appointed Andy Jones, who heads its Canadian business, as group chief operating officer, to replace Richard Howson, who leaves at the end of this month. The company has brought in Lee Watson, on a secondment from auditors Ernst & Young LLP, as its chief transformation officer in addition to a string of resignations, including that of its strategy director. Carillion also confirmed that it has hired Teneo Blue Rubicon to handle its financial public relations after parting ways with scandal-hit PR firm Bell Pottinger. Khan’s departure comes two months after Howson, currently serving as COO, was ousted as chief executive after the company warned on full-year profits, citing difficult markets and a deterioration in some contracts. The company declined to say what payout would be made to Khan, who was drawing an annual salary of 425,000 pounds. According to its last annual report, such severance payments are limited to no more than one year''s salary along with benefits such as car allowance, private health insurance and pension contributions. ( bit.ly/2xfBL9f ) Carillion, which helps to maintain British railways and roads, said in July that payment problems on four construction contracts nearing or reaching completion had forced it to take a provision of 845 million pounds. There has been speculation that the company may have to raise at least 500 million pounds and could announce a rights issue alongside its results on Sept. 29. Carillion’s troubles have been compounded by its debt pile and pension obligations and trouble collection cash from clients. Winning new contracts had become harder as spending in the Middle East adjusts to lower oil prices, and the firm had also experienced some delays in UK public spending decisions since Britain voted to leave the European Union. Rail and property services are areas Carillion has said it wants to focus on as it seeks to turn itself around. Analysts at UBS said the board changes support the company’s turnaround but call the timing of the announcement “somewhat odd”, given that the company will report results at the end of the month. UBS, which rates the stock a “sell”, warned again that the outcome for shareholders from a restructuring and recapitalisation exercise is “highly uncertain”. Shares in the company were down 3.3 percent at 42.12 pence in morning trade, having initially fallen more than 7 percent. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carillion-cfo/finance-chief-of-carillion-steps-down-idUKKCN1BM0K7'|'2017-09-11T10:22:00.000+03:00'
'57412418e5ef5e94bd3631070e8156bf9f72aa15'|'Saudi Aramco to add 1.9 million barrels of crude oil to its Japan storage'|' 32 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Saudi Aramco to add 1.9 million barrels of crude oil to its Japan storage Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil giant Saudi Aramco will on Wednesday add 1.9 million barrels (300,000 kilolitres) of crude to storage that it holds in Japan, a Japanese trade ministry official said on Monday. The move comes as Japan from this month raises the crude storage capacity that it lends for free to the state-run Aramco by 30 percent to 8.2 million barrels, based on a previous agreement between the two nations. The extra storage, which the Japanese government announced in July, will help Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, as it battles to keep customers in northern Asia amid a global glut and relatively low prices. In return for providing free storage on the southern islands of Okinawa, Japan gets a priority claim on the stockpiles in case of an emergency. Saudi Arabia currently holds a total of 6.3 million barrels (1 million kl) of crude in Japanese storage, the trade ministry official said, declining to be identified. Aramco could not be immediately reached for comment. Japan is Saudi Arabia’s biggest market for crude, but oil stored at the site in Okinawa has also been supplied to South Korea and China among others. State-owned Saudi Aramco has stored crude in Okinawa since early 2011 at no cost. The east Asian nation has a similar deal with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), under which ADNOC can store up to 6.29 million barrels (1 million kilolitres) at Kiire oil terminal in southern Japan’s Kagoshima. As Japan has a priority claim on the stockpiles, it treats the crude oil stored by Aramco and ADNOC as quasi-government oil reserves, counting half of the barrels as national crude reserves. Aramco and ADNOC need to fill at least half of the storage space at all times. Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-saudi-aramco/saudi-aramco-to-add-1-9-million-barrels-of-crude-oil-to-its-japan-storage-idUKKCN1BM0P6'|'2017-09-11T10:31:00.000+03:00'
'a941d8a51c4e8318b33e7f6f4085ce450ef53a93'|'UPDATE 2-Canada''s Eldorado suspends Greek investment over regulatory hurdles'|'President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Eldorado Gold Corporation addresses journalists during a news conference in Athens, Greece, September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis ATHENS/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada’s Eldorado Gold Corp threatened on Monday to suspend investment at its Greek mines and development projects, blaming delays in getting permits for jeopardizing one of the biggest investments in Greece since the country’s debt crisis.Eldorado said no additional investment would be made into the Olympias and Skouries projects and the Stratoni mine in Greece unless it received outstanding permits.It will place all its Greek projects, where it is targeting copper, gold, lead, silver and zinc, on care and maintenance from Sept. 22.The Skouries mine on the Halkidiki peninsula, a landscape of pristine beaches and lush forests, has long been a flashpoint with the authorities and a test of Greece’s resolve to push ahead with foreign investments.Differences have lasted for years over testing methods applied to comply with environmental regulations and the project has provoked violent protests by locals who fear it will destroy the environment and Halkidiki’s tourist riches.The uncertainty about Eldorado’s Greek projects has weighed heavily on its share price, which is down 48 percent in the past year, touching a 14-year low of C$2.24 on Aug. 4. Its shares were down 6 percent to C$2.34. in early trading on Monday.Eldorado’s Greek assets represent about 40 percent of the company’s net asset value, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Dan Rollins.In announcing its decision, Eldorado said the delays had hurt the company’s project schedules and budgets, ultimately hindering its ability to invest and do business in Greece.“I am disheartened to state that no additional investments will be made into Greece after September 22,” Chief Executive George Burns told reporters in Athens. “We cannot continue to put capital at risk without these permits.”Speaking in a conference call later on Monday, Burns said he hoped Eldorado’s decision “will motivate the government to move in the proper direction.”The suspension marks a tougher stance toward Greece by Burns, who became chief executive in April. His predecessor, Paul Wright, took Eldorado into Greece with the nearly $2 billion purchase of Skouries, Olympias and Stratoni in 2012.President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Eldorado Gold Corporation George Burns addresses journalists during a news conference in Athens, Greece, September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis The company has since invested over $1 billion in the country and Burns said “that figure could be double if we have the support and cooperation of the Greek government.”Eldorado also suspended operations in Greece for several months in 2016 after a confrontation with the government which revoked a mining permit due to environmental concerns.SEEKING INVESTMENTS Greece, which has received three international bailouts since 2010, is seeking investments to rebuild its economy and help it emerge from years of economic crisis.Slideshow (3 Images) During a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron last week, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged French businesses to invest in Greece and assured them “you won’t regret your choice.”But while publicly the leftist-led government backs investment, investors often complain of hurdles such as excessive red tape and labor union and political resistance.Eldorado has applied for licensing but the Greek energy ministry has said it would launch an arbitration process this month to ensure the company’s Greek unit, Hellas Gold, respects its contractual obligations.Eldorado said it was awaiting additional details from the government about the arbitration process and would reassess its investment options in the country after the approval of the permits.Burns said he was hopeful Eldorado could resolve the issue in talks with the government.“I‘m confident these mines will be built ... these are fantastic assets and there is no credible issue in front of us for us not to be moving forward.”Responding to Eldorado’s decision, Greek Energy Minister George Stathakis said environmental licensing involved lengthy and detailed procedures in order to comply with current European and national legislation.“It is rather clear that the company is not accustomed to operating in European countries,” Stathakis said in a statement.Additonal reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eldorado-gold-greece/eldorado-suspends-investment-in-greece-citing-regulatory-hurdles-idUSKCN1BM0N1'|'2017-09-11T11:12:00.000+03:00'
'118831ca35974e00ed8e11668261f59a43e87491'|'UPDATE 1-Freddie Mac to halt evictions, foreclosures in Harvey, Irma-impacted areas'|'A destroyed trailer park is pictured in an aerial photo in the Keys in Marathon, Florida, U.S., September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (Reuters) - Freddie Mac ( FMCC.PK ) said on Wednesday it will suspend sales of foreclosed homes until year-end and will stop until further notice evictions of homeowners in eligible areas devastated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.The U.S. mortgage finance agency said it is working with loan servicers to ensure that no property inspection costs resulting directly from Harvey or Irma are passed on to borrowers who were impacted.“They may be able to put their mortgage payments on hold for up to one year if their mortgage is owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac. The first step is for borrowers to contact their mortgage servicers -- the companies they send their payments to each month,” Yvette Gilmore, Freddie Mac’s vice president of single-family servicer performance management, said in a statement.Eligible areas for relief are counties or municipalities in Texas and Florida declared as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.Reporting By Richard Leong; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-mortgages/freddie-mac-to-halt-evictions-foreclosures-in-harvey-irma-impacted-areas-idUSKCN1BO2BZ'|'2017-09-13T20:32:00.000+03:00'
'f9c924f47a36505f05e38540bd75b82fbd97543f'|'Exclusive - Amazon plans mega-warehouse for Mexico growth spurt'|'  2:03 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Exclusive: Amazon plans mega-warehouse for Mexico growth spurt Daina Beth Solomon 8 Min Read The logo of the web service Amazon is pictured in this June 8, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Illustration MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is preparing to open a 1 million square-foot warehouse near Mexico City, sources familiar with the project said, part of an effort to boost its presence in Mexico’s nascent e-commerce industry. The new warehouse is slated to be built in the Tepotzotlan municipality about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Mexican capital, according to four Mexico City real estate professionals familiar with the plans. Expected to be completed next year, the facility would triple Amazon’s distribution space in Mexico, home to around 120 million potential customers. Amazon’s Mexico push comes amid talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, which could benefit the Seattle-based retailer if the United States persuades Mexico to raise a $50 limit on the value of online purchases that can be imported duty-free. Amazon is a relative newcomer to Mexico; it opened its Kindle e-books site to Mexican customers in 2013 and expanded into sales of physical goods just two years ago. But it is growing much faster than rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and is already the nation’s third-largest online retailer. Amazon posted $253 million in sales in Mexico last year, more than double the year before, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. Sharing a nearly 2,000-mile long border with the United States, Mexico would seem a logical place for Amazon to expand. But duplicating the company’s U.S.-style success could prove tougher. Online shopping comprises nearly 3 percent of all retail sales in Mexico compared with over 10 percent in the United States. Some Mexican shoppers are wary of online fraud and many do not have credit cards. Some analysts believe Amazon is willing to take the risk as it races to bulk up in foreign markets to compete with fast-moving global competitors such as China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. “Amazon is not afraid to plow into a new market in a very big way, take a big hit, but say, 10 years down the line, this is going to be big and profitable,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at the GlobalData Retail research firm. Amazon spokesman Julio Gil declined to comment on plans for a new warehouse in Mexico. He said the company’s Mexican unit is aiming to expand its product offerings, offer faster deliveries and make the purchasing process as smooth and secure as possible to inspire consumer confidence. “We’re trying to eliminate any friction,” Gil said. FLUID LOGISTICS Amazon currently operates two distribution centers in Mexico totaling more than 500,000 square feet (46,452 sq m), Gil said. Both are in Cuautitlan Izcalli in the state of Mexico, adjacent to the autonomous district of Mexico City, whose metro area is home to more than 20 million people. The new warehouse will be constructed about 7 miles (11 km) from the existing facilities. All are located along the so-called “NAFTA” highway, an industrial belt that runs through Mexico’s factory regions to the U.S. border. The new facility is being built by industrial developer Fibra Prologis, according to sources familiar with the plans. The Mexico-based real estate investment trust owns 34.2 million square feet (3.2 million sq m) of manufacturing and logistics space across Mexico. Prologis declined interview requests. At 1 million square feet, the new facility would be able to distribute bulky products such as furniture, as well as small items like books and microwaves, a set-up Amazon uses in other foreign countries, said Marc Wulfraat, president of the logistics consultancy firm MWPVL International. If about 85 percent of the space is used for small products – typical of a U.S. warehouse set-up – Amazon would be able to store 15 million products and make up to 1 million deliveries a day nationwide. It would likely employ 2,000 to 3,000 people to handle the shipments, Wulfraat said. The location could also serve as a distribution point for products going north to the United States, added Saunders from GlobalData. “Amazon is very fluid with its logistics,” he said. “As long as that border is reasonably open, Amazon is very agnostic.” MEXICAN RETICENCE ONLINE Amazon’s global operations stretch across 14 countries including Latin America’s most populous nations, Brazil and Mexico. That footprint fueled $11.5 million in net international sales in the second quarter, just over half the size of Amazon’s North American sales. Amazon’s 2016 Mexico sales fell well behind the market leader, Argentina’s MercadoLibre Inc, with $435 million in sales, according to Euromonitor. Still Amazon edged out No. 4 Wal-Mart and was neck-and-neck with third-place Linio, a division of Berlin-based Rocket Internet . All are fighting for loyalty from consumers largely unaccustomed to clickable shopping and wary of credit card and mail fraud. “Much of the reticence of Mexican shoppers to make purchases online is uncertainty,” said Carlos Hermosillo Bernal, an analyst at Actinver. “Will I get the product? Is it what was being offered? What guarantee do I have?” That reluctance may fade as Mexico’s middle- and upper-class millennials gain purchasing power. Mexico City-based college student Daniel Arturo Munoz Castro, 20, said he has purchased board games, smartphone accessories and t-shirts on Amazon’s app. He appreciates the variety of products and ease of use, even though his father first thought it might be a scam. “It’s not like other web pages when you order things, and perhaps they don’t arrive. It’s very safe,” he said. Still, Mexico’s vast wealth disparity and cultural differences lead some analysts to doubt whether Amazon can replicate a U.S. shopping concept. Amazon backed off from its investments in China, for example, after struggling to understand the local markets, said Gene Munster, managing partner at Loup Ventures. “If they largely failed in China, why try in Mexico, Brazil or India? The answer is they haven’t failed yet in those areas, and they may be able to right the ship,” he said. TWEAKING TRADE RULES If the United States, Mexico and Canada raise the value of online purchases that can be imported duty-free as part of a modernized North American Free Trade Agreement, Amazon may be poised to reap rewards in Mexico. The proposal, which is backed by U.S. trade representatives, would push the duty-free limit on imports to about $800 from thresholds of $50 in Mexico and C$20 ($16.5) in Canada. That would give consumers in those countries an incentive to buy big-ticket products online from the United States, an idea that President Donald Trump has championed in his “Buy American” agenda. Mexican negotiators, however, are treading cautiously amid push-back from Mexican industries such as textiles and footwear. “We have to find a middle point that does not damage our economies with extreme liberalization,” Mexico Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said at the conclusion of NAFTA talks in Mexico City early this month. The next round is scheduled for Ottawa in late September. International trade analyst Claude Barfield of the American Enterprise Institute anticipates that even a compromise is unlikely to dash Amazon’s plans for Mexico. “I can’t imagine this would be a deal-breaker,” he said. Graphic on Amazon''s two years of growth in Mexico: tmsnrt.rs/2x16eaG Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Marla Dickerson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-mexico-exclusive/exclusive-amazon-plans-mega-warehouse-for-mexico-growth-spurt-idUKKCN1BO1RD'|'2017-09-13T17:16:00.000+03:00'
'7e612dd46038c05d55b9e2b084b95623a1dcc1ba'|'Toshiba to step up chip talks with Bain, Western Digital still in running - Nikkei'|'September 13, 2017 / 12:17 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Toshiba to step up chip talks with Bain, Western Digital still in running: Nikkei Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/Illustration/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has signed a memorandum to step up talks to sell its memory chip business to a group led by private equity firm Bain Capital and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), the Nikkei newspaper said on Wednesday. But the struggling Japanese conglomerate also plans to continue talks with Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) which is leading a rival group bidding for the $18 billion semiconductor unit, the report said. Toshiba said it had no comment. A representative for Bain declined immediate comment. Related Coverage SK Hynix shares hit 16-year-high on hopes for Toshiba chip talks The report comes after the Toshiba’s board met earlier in the day. Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Toshiba now favored the Bain group after failing to bridge key gaps in talks with business partner and rival bidder Western Digital. Toshiba now hopes to reach agreement with the Bain group by next week, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the talks were private. Discussions with Western Digital faltered as Toshiba, fearing its partner was angling to eventually take over the chip business, sought to limit the U.S. firm’s future stake in the unit, the sources said. The embattled conglomerate has been rushing to finish the deal to cover billions of dollars in liabilities at its U.S. nuclear business, Westinghouse. Toshiba needs to clinch a deal soon so that regulatory reviews can be completed by the end of the financial year in March. If it does fail to secure sufficient financing by then, it is likely to report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running - a scenario that could result in a delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-shares-down-after-reuters-reports-it-favors-bain-group-for-chip-sale-idUKKCN1BO00R'|'2017-09-13T06:58:00.000+03:00'
'a4d7440bde69024b5abfa96d63c4663ae68e5d40'|'Carlyle to sell South Korean security firm ADT Caps: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: A general view of the lobby outside of the Carlyle Group offices in Washington, U.S., May 3, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group ( CG.O ) is planning a sale of South Korean security systems company ADT Caps in what could be the country’s biggest M&A deal in two years, sources with knowledge of the matter said.Carlyle has enlisted Morgan Stanley to help sell the business, two of the sources said, with another adding the sale process would be launched this year. The sources could not be named because details of the deal aren’t public.Carlyle declined to comment, while Morgan Stanley had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. ADT Caps was not immediately available for comment after regular business hours.A former unit of Tyco International Inc, ADT Caps offers central monitoring, access control, video surveillance control and other integrated security services and was bought by Carlyle in an auction for $1.93 billion in February 2014.Affinity Equity Partners, Bain Capital, Carlyle Group, KKR and South Korea’s MBK Partners were among those to submit bids for ADT Caps in 2014, which at the time was one of South Korea’s largest buyouts.It is not clear how much ADT Caps is valued at now, but industry sources say a private equity firm typically looks for a return of at least twice its initial investment, which means a sale of the business could potentially fetch around $4 billion.The biggest recent transaction involving private equity in South Korea was in September 2015, when Tesco sold Homeplus for $6.1 billion to a consortium led by MBK Partners.Reporting by Kane Wu; Additional reporting by Elzio Barreto in Hong Kong and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul; Editing by Alexander Smith and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-carlyle-m-a/carlyle-to-sell-south-korean-security-firm-adt-caps-sources-idINKCN1BO1AM'|'2017-09-13T09:29:00.000+03:00'
'c8381d46ac4a7ac6cb514a9df71f06cd5a13e991'|'Family offices look to emerging market equities for yield - report'|'LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Companies that manage portfolios for individual families are looking to increase investments in emerging markets after higher equities helped them achieve average returns of 7 percent in 2016, according to a report by Campden Research and UBS.The companies, known as family offices, had an overall return of 0.3 percent in 2015, according to the report, which surveyed 262 families with an average portfolio of $921 million in assets under management.“Overtime, family offices have gone more illiquid and more risky in terms of asset classes and this allocation decision has actually paid off because those asset classes have performed well in 2016,” Sara Ferrari, head of the Global Family Office Group at UBS, said.“They say they will continue to be invested in equities and a lot say they are looking at switching to developing markets equities from developed markets in search for yield, which is not very easy to find,” she said.Forty-four percent of the family offices surveyed said they were planning to increase investment in developing markets equities, while 21 percent said they would allocate more to developed market equities.The MSCI’s All-Country World Index, a widely-tracked index of global stocks, has hit all-time highs this year thanks to low interest rates, receding European political risks, strong earnings and better growth prospects.The average family office portfolio currently has 27 of its assets invested in global equities with 7 percent allocated to emerging markets.Family investors also focus on private equity, taking stakes in small- and medium-sized companies. Private equity funds account for 20 percent of the average family office portfolio.“This share looks set to grow further as ... 40 percent (of family offices) intend to allocate more into private equity funds,” the report said.Allocations to hedge funds by family offices continued to decline last year, falling to 7.1 percent from 8 percent in 2015 and that is unlikely to rebound, the report said.The decline mirrors a similar trend among institutional investors, who pulled $11.5 billion from multi-strategy funds in 2016 after three consecutive years of net additions, according to data tracker eVestment. (Reporting by Clara Denina; editing by David Clarke) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/funds-allocation-familyoffices/family-offices-look-to-emerging-market-equities-for-yield-report-idINL8N1JK40J'|'2017-09-11T21:01:00.000+03:00'
'8afc8e0f89ccbfe7d195d57c96dc775eba3c67bd'|'Mercedes-Benz Trucks signs contract with Iran Khodro'|'The logo of Iran-Khodro Company (IKCO) is seen on the carmaker''s booth at the 2016 Moscow International Auto Salon in Moscow, Russia, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin LONDON (Reuters) - Germany’s Mercedes-Benz Trucks signed a contract on Tuesday with Tehran-based automaker Iran Khodro, parent company Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ) told Reuters, laying the foundation for resuming distribution of its trucks in Iran.The deal between Iran Khodro and Mercedes-Benz Trucks includes creating a joint company that provides sales and after-sale services in the Islamic Republic, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.According to Tasnim, a second deal would be also signed next month to create a joint venture in Iran for production of heavy vehicles including Actros trucks.French PSA ( PEUP.PA ) -- the maker of Peugeots and Citroens -- and rival Renault ( RENA.PA ) have pushed hard into Iran since its 2015 deal with world powers that saw international sanctions lifted in return for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear activities.PSA has signed production deals worth 700 million euros ($768 million), while Renault has announced a new plant investment to increase its production capacity to 350,000 vehicles a year.Germany’s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) are among those that have put Iranian ambitions on hold as they are concerned that any deal with Tehran might affect their sales operations in the United States.Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-iran-autos-mercedes/mercedes-benz-trucks-signs-contract-with-iran-khodro-idINKCN1BN26G'|'2017-09-12T14:03:00.000+03:00'
'b1533942901b42e41c7b4a3f7508656af9dcbe2a'|'Malaysia Airlines to announce deal to buy 8 Boeing 787 jets: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: Visitors take pictures of a model of Boeing''s 787 Dreamliner during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo - RC18EDD572A0 SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines will announce a deal to buy eight widebody Boeing ( BA.N ) 787 jets during the visit of Prime Minister Najib Razak to the United States, two industry sources said on Tuesday.The deal, worth more than $1.8 billion at list prices, is expected to be one of the announcements that will be made after Najib meets with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the sources said.The United States was Malaysia’s third-largest trading partner in 2016. The meeting with Trump is critical for Najib, who is looking to raise his standing globally, and in Malaysia, where he is expected to call general elections in the coming months.An international graft probe by the United States and several other nations into state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has hurt Najib’s popularity. With the U.S. visit, Najib is hoping to put the 1MDB scandal behind him.Najib is scheduled to witness a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between Malaysia Airlines and Boeing, according to a schedule of the Prime Minister’s events in Washington reported by Malaysian media outlets.The two sources said Malaysia Airlines considered buying Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A330neos before settling on the 787 order. Aircraft manufacturers typically give discounts to list prices.FILE PHOTO: Men watch Malaysia Airlines aircraft at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, in this picture taken March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Olivia Harris/File Photo Malaysia Airlines said it would not comment on reports that are speculative in nature. Boeing and Airbus declined to comment. The sources did not want to be named because the discussions were private.Brendan Sobie, chief analyst at independent aviation research firm CAPA Centre for Aviation, said the timing of the order alongside Najib’s visit raised concerns of potential political influence over the purchase.Malaysia Airlines planes sit on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su “This has happened before with Malaysia Airlines - and other airlines in this region for that matter - where the government has decided to buy an airplane that wasn’t really required,” Singapore-based Sobie said. “I think in this case the 787 is required anyway. But now that it is a political thing there are questions.”Malaysia Airlines has been transforming its operations under two consecutive non-Malaysian bosses as it recovers from two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 disappeared in what remains a mystery and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. The carrier is targeting a return to profit next year.Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Peter Bellew said in June the carrier was in early negotiations with Airbus and Boeing for the purchase of 35-40 new long-range jets.CAPA analyst Sobie said the airline needed widebodies for growth, as well as to replace ageing A330 aircraft over the next several years, making eight aircraft a smaller than expected order.In the eight months ended August 31, Boeing announced 426 net orders compared to 215 at Airbus.Reporting by Jamie Freed and Praveen Menon; Additional reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-airlines-boeing-orders/malaysia-airlines-to-announce-deal-to-buy-8-boeing-787-jets-sources-idUSKCN1BN0M0'|'2017-09-12T10:15:00.000+03:00'
'01a640a51170463a67ede04b387d22e6894f99a0'|'Exclusive - Toshiba favours Bain group for chip sale; Western Digital talks stall: sources'|'September 11, 2017 / 10:35 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Exclusive - Toshiba favours Bain group for chip sale; Western Digital talks stall: sources Taro Fuse 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/Illustration/File Photo Tokyo (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) now favours a group led by Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ) to buy its prized semiconductor business, as it failed to bridge key gaps with its business partner and rival bidder Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ), two people briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. The Japanese conglomerate, which needs to sell the chip business to plug a huge hole in its finances, had been trying to seal a deal by Wednesday with the Western Digital group but now hopes to reach agreement with the Bain group by next week, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the talks were private. A Toshiba spokesman said the firm could not comment on details of the talks. They have already missed two deadlines by Toshiba’s banks, which want a deal to pump $18 billion (£13.58 billion) or more into the company to pull it out of negative shareholder equity and preventing it from being delisted. A Western Digital spokeswoman also declined to comment. The Japanese unit of Bain Capital and SK Hynix could not be reached for comment outside business hours. Toshiba is desperate to sell the unit to cover billions of dollars in liabilities from its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. The board had been seeking to decide on the preferred bidder for the sale, beset by legal wrangling and revised bids, on Wednesday, people involved in the talks previously told Reuters. The 2 trillion yen (£13.75 billion) bid led by Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) and U.S. private equity fund KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) had been in the lead, sources had previously said. But those talks snagged as Toshiba, fearing that Western Digital was angling to eventually take over the chip business, sought to control the U.S. firm’s stake in return for a better position in their current chipmaking joint venture, the sources said. The Bain-led group had been chosen preferred bidder in June. But those talks lapsed as Japan government investors who had been part of that consortium told Toshiba they were reluctant to close a deal in the face of the legal challenges posed by California-based Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s key NAND memory plant in central Japan. Reporting by Taro Fuse; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Writing by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard and Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-exclusive/western-digital-led-group-wins-bid-for-toshiba-chip-unit-nikkan-kogyo-idUKKCN1BM2SZ'|'2017-09-12T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'82d3bfe1c5d94a662a8a0e02028747af844a3bc6'|'METALS-Copper slides as funds sell and stocks rise'|'* LME/ShFE arb: tmsnrt.rs/2oQ5nm20* Market looking ahead to China data on industrial output* China commodity imports suggest rally may be fading (Updates with official prices)By Pratima DesaiLONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell on Tuesday as funds cut bets on higher prices, inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses jumped and the dollar steadied at higher levels.Benchmark copper on the LME traded down 1.6 percent at $6,643 a tonne in official open outcry activity, after last week hitting a three-year high of $6,970 a tonne. Prices are up around 20 percent this year.“The move from $6,000 to $7,000 in a month cannot be explained by fundamentals, which haven’t changed and which at this time of the year are normally, seasonally weak,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.“Mine production is recovering from disruptions earlier this year. Chile is reporting a growth in output and the issues between the Indonesian government and Freeport seem to have been resolved.”SPECULATORS: LME data shows funds’ net long copper position at 71,827 lots, or more than 1.8 million tonnes, is down from a peak of 78,527 lots late in August, but still near its highest since last December. LME-CA-MNETSTOCKS: Copper stocks in LME approved warehouses rose 10,300 tonnes to $218,725 tonne, but remain 40 percent below this year’s peak of 354,650 tonnes.DOLLAR: Also pressuring metals was a slightly stronger U.S. currency, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.CHINA IMPORTS: China’s imports of major commodities in August illustrate both why prices have gained in recent months and why this rally may be running out of steam.CHILE: The world’s largest copper producer saw output rise to 473,544 in July, up more than five percent year on year. Its output earlier this year fell due to a strike at Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine.INDONESIA: Indonesia and Freeport-McMoRan reached an agreement late last month to allow the U.S. miner to apply for a permit to keep operating its giant Grasberg copper and gold mine in the country. Grasberg is the world’s second-biggest copper mine.DATA: Base metals markets are looking ahead to data from China on new loans, investment and industrial production due this week for clues to the strength of demand over coming months.PRICES: Aluminium traded down 0.2 percent in official rings at $2,117.50 a tonne, zinc, untraded in rings, was bid down 0.7 percent at $3,063, lead shed 0.8 percent to trade at $2,260, tin slipped 0.4 percent to $20,660 and nickel lost 0.9 percent to $11,640.METALS: For other news on metals click on and for commoditiesAdditional reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals/metals-copper-slides-as-funds-sell-and-stocks-rise-idINL4N1LT2S6'|'2017-09-12T07:52:00.000+03:00'
'073fb487d51b81cb999c49c5d8ca1d360c5d5d43'|'Air Berlin cancels flights as pilots call in sick'|'  6:56 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Pilots ground Air Berlin flights as bid deadline nears Victoria Bryan , Klaus Lauer 4 Min Read German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) cancelled about 100 flights on Tuesday after pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, potentially hampering an attempt to find investors to rescue Germany’s second-largest airline. Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its biggest shareholder, Etihad Airways, withdrew funding following years of losses. Potential investors have until Sept. 15 to submit binding offers for the German airline. “We must return to stable operations. That is crucial in order to bring talks with investors to a successful conclusion,” Chief Operations Officer Oliver Iffert said in an internal memo. “Today is a day that threatens the existence of Air Berlin.” About 100 flights had been cancelled by late Tuesday morning after 200 Air Berlin pilots called in sick. Some short-haul flights at Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) budget airline Eurowings were also hit because it leases 33 planes with crews from Air Berlin. An industry source said Air Berlin could lose 4 million to 5 million euros (£3.61 million - £4.51 million) a day because of the cancellations. Pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said it was surprised by the absences and that it had not called on its members at Air Berlin to call in sick. In a similar incident last year, German leisure airline TUIfly was forced to cancel flights after cockpit and cabin crew called in sick. The union Verdi, which represents cabin staff, said then its members were concerned that merger talks, which have since failed, could lead to job and pay cuts. While a German government loan is helping keep Air Berlin alive, the carrier has also been forced to scrap some long-haul destinations from Sept. 25. Iffert said in the memo seen by Reuters that this was because a leasing company will no longer provide Air Berlin with 10 long-haul planes. Germany’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, is seen in pole position to acquire large parts of its rival and a decision on the bids come could as early as Sept. 21, three days before a national election. One source has told Reuters that Lufthansa is interested in as many as 90 of Air Berlin’s planes. That number includes the 33 being used by Eurowings, five already leased to Lufthansa’s Austrian Airlines as well as planes used by Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, the source said. Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) German carrier Condor is preparing a bid for parts of Air Berlin, another source said, while media reports say easyJet ( EZJ.L ) may want up to 40 planes. Aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl said he had submitted a bid for the whole of Air Berlin while German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht has also expressed an interest. Ryanair ( RYA.I ) said on Tuesday that Air Berlin could be of interest to the Irish low-cost carrier but it didn’t want to wait until after Lufthansa had finished talks. Additional reporting by Caroline Copley and Maria Sheahan; editing by Louise Heavens and David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-cancels-flights-as-pilots-call-in-sick-idUKKCN1BN0KQ'|'2017-09-12T09:53:00.000+03:00'
'ff6ae29d5526483a26a418ad744998fb11e485dc'|'COLUMN-Exxon Mobil''s deal to cut India LNG prices is actually quite good: Russell'|' 00 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago COLUMN-Exxon Mobil''s deal to cut India LNG prices is actually quite good: Russell Reuters Staff 5 Min Read (Repeats with no changes to text. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) * Graphic of LNG demand by region: reut.rs/2uGUu9X By Clyde Russell LAUNCESTON, Australia, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil’s deal to cut the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplied under long-term contract to an Indian buyer has largely been viewed as a bad outcome for producers of the super-chilled fuel. Certainly the trade made by Exxon to supply more LNG to Petronet LNG, but at a lower price, does seem to favour the Indian utility. Exxon will increase the volume supplied from its share of the Chevron-led Gorgon project in Western Australia by 1 million tonnes a year to about 2.5 million tonnes, but at a lower cost than originally agreed in 2009. The revised deal has sparked market speculation that this is the first domino to fall, and that more re-negotiations of long-term LNG contracts are likely. Up until now it has been extremely rare for these agreements to be amended, and so far, it has only been in India, where a deal with top LNG supplier Qatar was re-worked in 2015. Producers are probably nervous that major buyers in Japan, South Korea and China, which account for more than half of the global LNG market, will be tempted to seek better terms. Already there are some moves towards this end, with utilities in Japan banding together to pool their buying power and seek more flexible and shorter-term deals. What the Exxon-Petronet deal is a further sign of is that the era of long-term LNG contracts with prices linked to moves in crude oil are going the way of the dinosaurs. The market is already moving towards both spot and short-term deals, ranging from several months to a few years. Restrictive destination clauses are also being stripped from contracts, allowing buyers to on-sell cargoes, and thereby adding liquidity to the burgeoning spot market. SHORT-TERM PAIN, LONG-TERM GAIN The LNG market was always going to change as a result of the massive increase in liquefaction capacity in recent years, with eight new projects in Australia and at least six in the United States. The last of these new plants are scheduled for completion next year, and they will result in global LNG liquefaction capacity of around 450 million tonnes by 2020, representing a doubling in the space of a decade. This ramp-up was bound to have the effect of upending the rather cosy LNG club that prevailed between producers and their long-term customers. Oversupply has seen the price of spot Asian LNG LNG-AS drop to $6.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) as at the end of the week to Sept. 8, down from a record high of more than $20 at the start of 2014. The reworked Exxon agreement with Petronet reflects that reality of both ample supply and lower spot prices. While market observers have tended to focus on the lower price Exxon will receive, of perhaps greater importance is the fact that Petronet will buy 1 million tonnes more a year. LNG is continuing to make inroads into Asia, with rising demand from traditional buyers such as South Korea and China, and also from emerging players like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It also appears LNG is to some extent winning the battle with coal when it comes to building electrical generation in Asia, with its current price disadvantage offset by its lower pollution levels and coal’s greater political and social unpalatability. The market narrative for LNG is starting to change, from one where oversupply was seen as a problem that would last until the middle of the next decade to a view where demand is likely to rise quickly in the next few years, soaking up available supply and even tipping the market back into deficit. In this light, Exxon’s deal doesn’t look bad. Yes, the U.S. giant is taking a hit on prices now, but it is also clearing volumes that it may have had difficulty selling otherwise. If buyers do seek to re-negotiate other long-term deals, they do so at their own risk. They will have to balance the short-term advantage of lower prices against the potential longer-term problem they will have in competing for cargoes, maybe paying higher spot prices for them sometime in the next five to 10 years. Producers, for their part, should not resist the move to a more flexible LNG market, because a freer market will allow them to profit more when the supply-demand balance moves back in their favour, and also to survive low-price times by accessing a more liquid spot market. Editing by Tom Hogue'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/column-russell-lng/column-exxon-mobils-deal-to-cut-india-lng-prices-is-actually-quite-good-russell-idUSL4N1LT24L'|'2017-09-12T15:00:00.000+03:00'
'059b1e5bf345ad13ff5af513e1909a5bf11576a5'|'Brazil taps BNDES to design model for sale of lottery unit'|'  12:56 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Brazil taps BNDES to design model for sale of lottery unit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government has tapped state development bank BNDES to decide how control of a lottery unit will be sold to investors, as President Michel Temer seeks to reduce state involvement in the economy and cut a widening budget gap. According to the Tuesday edition of the government’s gazette, BNDES will be tasked with preparing all financial and legal aspects of an auction of Loteria Instantânea Exclusiva Lotex, a lottery unit currently overseen by state-controlled lender Caixa Econômica Federal SA. While the gazette did not specify the value and terms of a potential Lotex sale, it said BNDES also will be in charge of hiring an institution responsible for organizing the auction. The government has been considering selling Lotex for at least a couple of years but Temer made the plan official last month. A government council focused on state asset sales approved on Aug. 23 a plan to divest stakes in some of the country’s busiest airports as well as oil exploration, highway and power dam licensing rights. The government estimates buyers of licensing rights would be required to invest about 44 billion reais ($14.1 billion) to win and operate the assets. $1 = 3.1185 reais Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Gabriela Mello; Editing by Bill Trott'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-privatisation-lotex/brazil-taps-bndes-to-design-model-for-sale-of-lottery-unit-idUSL2N1LT0N8'|'2017-09-12T15:56:00.000+03:00'
'ce5800177c65681ea3d6e7555d9be721c3c19598'|'Britain pushes Boeing to drop its Bombardier challenge'|'September 12, 2017 / 12:29 AM / Updated an hour ago British PM May asks Trump to help over Boeing''s Bombardier challenge Elizabeth Piper , Guy Faulconbridge 4 Min Read Boeing''s logo is seen during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked President Donald Trump to intervene in a dispute between Boeing Co and Canadian rival Bombardier to help secure thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland. British ministers have also approached Boeing directly in an attempt to get the world’s largest aerospace company to drop its challenge against Bombardier, which could endanger a factory that employs 4,500 people in the British province. Bombardier is Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing employer and May’s Conservatives are dependent on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for their majority in parliament. May raised the issue with Trump in a call this month. She also plans to discuss the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when they meet next week, a source close to the matter said. May’s trip had been scheduled in advance, and there will be other items on the agenda, a Canadian official familiar with the matter told Reuters. A U.S. trade court is due to give a preliminary ruling on Boeing’s complaint on Sept. 25. “Our priority is to encourage Boeing to drop its case and seek a negotiated settlement with Bombardier,” a British government spokesman said in a statement. “This is a commercial matter, but the UK government is working tirelessly to safeguard Bombardier’s operations and its highly skilled workers in Belfast.” Boeing this year asked the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate alleged subsidies and unfair pricing at Bombardier, accusing it of having sold 75 of its CSeries medium-range airliners to Delta Air Lines at well below cost price. A spokesman for May said Bombardier’s jobs were “of huge importance” to Northern Ireland. A Boeing spokesman said on Tuesday the company would not comment on a meeting between heads of state. May is likely to find it difficult to convince Trump, who has made ‘America First’ a theme of his administration, to get one of the titans of U.S. industry to back off from defending what it views as its trade rights. Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May talks with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany July 8, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files But the DUP is certain to maintain its pressure on her. “The engagement at governmental level with Boeing and with the U.S. has been significant over the course of the summer because this is pivotal to the Northern Ireland economy,” DUP lawmaker Gavin Robinson told the Irish national broadcaster RTE. “We’re not there yet, and the work still has to continue.” PLANE FIGHT Bombardier makes the CSeries CS100 and CS300 state-of-the-art carbon wings at a plant in Belfast, along with other aircraft components. “Boeing had to take action as subsidized competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come, and we could not stand by given this clear case of illegal dumping,” Boeing said in a statement. “We believe that global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rules of the road, and that’s a principle that ultimately creates the greatest value for Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and our aerospace industry.” Bombardier called the allegations absurd. “Boeing’s petition is an unfounded assault on airlines, the traveling public and further innovation in aerospace,” a Bombardier spokesman said. “We are very confident the UK government understands what is at stake and will take the actions necessary to respond to this direct attack on its aerospace industry.” Industry sources said Boeing was unlikely to back down in the case, which mirrors a wider row with Europe’s Airbus over subsidies that it perceives as a strategic threat. The row could also reopen a debate over Britain’s own support for Bombardier in Northern Ireland. In 2008, the UK provided 113 million pounds in development loans plus other local aid for the production of CSeries wings, prompting a complaint from Brazil’s Embraer. The European Union rejected the claim. Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Tim Hepher in London; Conor Humphries in Dublin; and David Ljunggren in St. John''s, Newfoundland; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Chris Reese '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-britain/britain-pushes-boeing-to-drop-its-bombardier-challenge-idINKCN1BM2V1'|'2017-09-11T22:29:00.000+03:00'
'18ae3603c7b1d59b7bace5894fbde610f038cc4d'|'Air Berlin says Tuesday''s flight cancellations threaten its existence'|' 29 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Air Berlin says Tuesday''s flight cancellations threaten its existence Reuters Staff 1 Min Read An aircraft operated by German carrier Air Berlin lands in Berlin''s Tegel airport, Germany, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) said around 100 flight cancellations caused on Tuesday by large numbers of pilots calling in sick were threatening its existence and hurting its chances of saving jobs as it seeks investors for parts of the business. “No company could possibly be seen in a worse light than Air Berlin today,” Chief Operations Officer Oliver Iffert said in a internal memo to staff seen by Reuters. “We must return to stable operations. That is crucial in order to bring talks with investors to a successful conclusion,” he added. The airline said around 200 pilots, mainly captains, had called in sick. However, union Vereinigung Cockpit said in a separate statement it was surprised by the absences and that it had not called on its members to call in sick. Reporting by Klaus Lauer; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa-pilots/air-berlin-says-tuesdays-flight-cancellations-threaten-its-existence-idUKKCN1BN0YT'|'2017-09-12T12:28:00.000+03:00'
'cefde62c8e93d6af6dca64728c8f357298034fc9'|'Billionaire investor Robertson says stocks are in a "bubble"'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Julian Robertson said on Tuesday stocks are in a bubble, one day after the broad market hit another record high.Fueled by low interest rates, most stocks are now highly valued, the octogenarian founder of pioneering hedge fund firm Tiger Management said at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference in New York.“The market on the whole is quite high on a historic basis.”Robertson said he still liked the so-called FANG technology stocks, which include Facebook Inc, Amazon Inc, Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, calling them relatively inexpensive.“Apple is not that expensive a stock,” he said, also noting that he considered himself a “long-term player” in Facebook.Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne, Jennifer Ablan and Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-deliveringalpha-robertson/billionaire-investor-robertson-says-stocks-are-in-a-bubble-idUSKCN1BN2ES'|'2017-09-12T20:09:00.000+03:00'
'746d0c66973957572ae41e723c2508d1475ebc4d'|'Shell eyes Asia, aims to expand vehicle recharging at fuel stations'|'Showa Shell Sekiyu''s logo is seen at its gas station in Tokyo, Japan, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell aims to expand marketing operations in Asia and wants 20 percent of sales from its fuel stations worldwide to come from recharging electric vehicles and low carbon fuels by 2025, as the world shifts away from crude.The Anglo-Dutch firm, with 43,000 fuel stations in 80 countries, aims to expand in China and India, as well as Mexico, where it sees fossil fuel growth in the next decade, John Abbott, the head of refining, trading and marketing, told Reuters.But he said Shell remained focused on a future of where demand for alternatives to petrol and diesel cars would rise.“Shell will be part of leading the de-carbonising of the energy system. We have to accept that is the way the world is going,” he said in an interview in London.He said Shell, the world’s top roadside fuel station operator, was “working back from the customer, which is very relevant as we go through the energy transition.”Britain and France have said they will ban sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, while China and India are considering such a step, putting pressure on Shell and its peers to show investors how they can make profits in a world consuming less fossil fuel.Electric and hybrid-engine vehicles represent only a fraction of the world’s 1 billion car fleet now, but Shell forecasts it will account for about a quarter in 2040.Other fuels, such as hydrogen and natural gas, are also expected to become more popular as drivers seek lower polluting alternatives in the shift away from petrol and diesel.Abbott said Shell wanted about 20 percent of fuels offered at its forecourts by 2025 to be low carbon intensity, including biofuels, battery recharging and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which can be used to power trucks. He did not say how much business was generated by such energy alternatives now.Shell has launched pilot projects for vehicle recharging stations in Britain, the Netherlands and California. It is also part of a scheme to develop hydrogen fuel stations in Germany.Shell, which is betting on marketing to secure its revenues, plans to expand retail operations in China, India, Indonesia and also Mexico, where it opened its first fuel station this month, Abbott said. He did not give a timeline.Other oil majors are following a similar tack. Rival BP has increased its focus on retail, forming joint ventures with stores such as Marks and Spencer in Britain to attract customers to its fuel station forecourts.MARKETING RESILIENCE A sharp drop in oil prices in the past three years, during which a barrel of crude tumbled from above $100 to around $54 now, allowed Shell’s downstream activities to shine, partly because lower oil prices also mean cheaper gasoline and diesel for drivers.In the first half of 2017, Shell’s downstream activities - which covers everything from refining crude to delivering fuel at the roadside pump - generated more than $5 billion in profit, about two thirds of Shell’s total.This was helped by a restructuring of downstream operations in recent years. Shell sold about a fifth of its refineries in the past decade, and upgraded the ones it kept while integrating their activities with the trading and marketing operations.Shell’s marketing business alone generated $2 billion in profit in the first half of 2017.“Marketing gives the group resilience because it is not dependent on crude prices so much and refining margins,” Abbott said.Through the strong marketing operations and their tight link with trading Shell aims to also limit fluctuations in refining margins, which typically decline when oil prices rise.“My refineries have to be robust against a full range of refining margins. It is nice if refining margins are high, but I am not banking on it,” Abbott said.Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/shell-refining/shell-eyes-asia-aims-to-expand-vehicle-recharging-at-fuel-stations-idINKCN1BN1FF'|'2017-09-12T15:29:00.000+03:00'
'92563c1aa2cabc57ec1fc6bdccea01f6bf2f8652'|'Air Berlin cancels flights as pilots call in sick'|'People waiting at an Air Berlin counter at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) canceled about 100 flights on Tuesday after pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, potentially hampering an attempt to find investors to rescue Germany’s second-largest airline.Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its biggest shareholder, Etihad Airways, withdrew funding following years of losses. Potential investors have until Sept. 15 to submit binding offers for the German airline.“We must return to stable operations. That is crucial in order to bring talks with investors to a successful conclusion,” Chief Operations Officer Oliver Iffert said in an internal memo. “Today is a day that threatens the existence of Air Berlin.”About 100 flights had been canceled by late Tuesday morning after 200 Air Berlin pilots called in sick. Some short-haul flights at Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) budget airline Eurowings were also hit because it leases 33 planes with crews from Air Berlin.Related Coverage Air Berlin says Tuesday''s flight cancellations threaten its existenceAn industry source said Air Berlin could lose 4 million to 5 million euros a day because of the cancellations.Pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said it was surprised by the absences and that it had not called on its members at Air Berlin to call in sick.A board shows canceled Air Berlin flights at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt In a similar incident last year, German leisure airline TUIfly was forced to cancel flights after cockpit and cabin crew called in sick. The union Verdi, which represents cabin staff, said then its members were concerned that merger talks, which have since failed, could lead to job and pay cuts.While a German government loan is helping keep Air Berlin alive, the carrier has also been forced to scrap some long-haul destinations from Sept. 25. Iffert said in the memo seen by Reuters that this was because a leasing company will no longer provide Air Berlin with 10 long-haul planes.Slideshow (5 Images) Germany’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, is seen in pole position to acquire large parts of its rival and a decision on the bids come could as early as Sept. 21, three days before a national election.One source has told Reuters that Lufthansa is interested in as many as 90 of Air Berlin’s planes. That number includes the 33 being used by Eurowings, five already leased to Lufthansa’s Austrian Airlines as well as planes used by Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, the source said.Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) German carrier Condor is preparing a bid for parts of Air Berlin, another source said, while media reports say easyJet ( EZJ.L ) may want up to 40 planes.Aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl said he had submitted a bid for the whole of Air Berlin while German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht has also expressed an interest.Ryanair ( RYA.I ) said on Tuesday that Air Berlin could be of interest to the Irish low-cost carrier but it didn’t want to wait until after Lufthansa had finished talks.Additional reporting by Caroline Copley and Maria Sheahan; editing by Louise Heavens and David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-cancels-flights-as-pilots-call-in-sick-idUSKCN1BN0KK'|'2017-09-12T09:49:00.000+03:00'
'5c3e0198dff86d09cad218397e96534fba1a1b5e'|'OPEC sees higher 2018 oil demand, trims output'|'September 12, 2017 / 11:57 AM / Updated 2 hours ago OPEC sees higher 2018 oil demand, trims output 2 Min Read Crude oil is dispensed into a bottle in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC on Tuesday forecast higher demand for its oil in 2018 and pointed to signs of a tighter global market, indicating its production-cutting deal with non-member countries is helping to tackle a supply glut that has weighed on prices. In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the world would need 32.83 million barrels per day (bpd) of OPEC crude next year, up 410,000 bpd from its previous forecast. OPEC said inventories were falling and that an increase in the price of Brent crude for immediate delivery to a premium to that for later supplies, known as backwardation, raised hopes that a long-awaited rebalancing of the market is under way. “This is due to the shooting up of demand for prompt-loading barrels and amid increasing sentiment that the oil market will rebalance over the next year with a major drawdown in crude and product stocks,” OPEC said in the report. “This first stirring of backwardation since oil prices were above $100 a barrel is seen as a sign of tightening supplies and strong demand.” A TV camera is seen outside the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger Oil LCOc1 added gains after the report was released, trading above $54 per barrel. Prices are still less than half their levels in mid-2014. In a deal aimed to clear the supply glut, OPEC is curbing output by about 1.2 million bpd, while Russia and other non-OPEC producers are cutting by half as much, until March 2018. Ministers are now discussing extending the pact by at least three months. OPEC in the report also said its oil output in August came in below the demand forecast as output fell by 79,000 bpd from July to 32.76 million bpd. The figures mean OPEC’s compliance with its output-cutting pledge stands at 83 percent, according to a Reuters calculation, down from 86 percent initially reported for July but still high by OPEC standards. Editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil/opec-sees-higher-2018-oil-demand-trims-output-idUKKCN1BN1F7'|'2017-09-12T14:57:00.000+03:00'
'9d70a66533aae1f6d5aeb96e9c4332ceafc1c369'|'EU court upholds decision to limit German aid for BMW car plant'|'Reuters TV United States September 12, 2017 / 3:21 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago EU court upholds decision to limit German aid for BMW car plant Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A BMW logo is seen at a car dealership in Vienna, Austria, May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An EU court on Tuesday dismissed German carmaker BMW’s ( BMWG.DE ) bid to overturn a European Commission decision limiting the amount of state aid it could receive. The Commission stipulated in 2014 that the carmaker should receive no more than 17 million euros ($20 million) to expand production of two models of electric and hybrid passenger cars in Leipzig, a project expected to create 800 jobs. Germany had originally planned to grant 45 million euros towards the project, but the Commission ruled any amount exceeding 17 million euros was incompatible with internal market rules. BMW challenged the decision, claiming that the Commission had made errors in calculating the cost of the project. The General Court of the European Union, the EU’s second highest court, rejected BMW’s complaint. BMW said it was surprised by the ruling, saying it was effectively being punished for its plan to bring an innovative investment to a disadvantaged region. If it had planned to produce a normal car, then according to the Commission’s logic it would have been entitled to the aid in full, it said. “We will carefully review the ruling and decide in the next few weeks whether to appeal to the European Court of Justice,” the company said in a statement. Reporting by Lily Cusack and Peter Maushagen; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-court-bmw/eu-court-upholds-decision-to-limit-german-aid-for-bmw-car-plant-idUKKCN1BN22L'|'2017-09-12T18:15:00.000+03:00'
'e9a57467584f2a4ef68b3318f5de7da512661e62'|'China''s COFCO targets overseas grain partners after Growmark deal'|'PARIS (Reuters) - China’s COFCO International said it plans more partnerships in grain after a U.S. supply deal last month, as it expands overseas with a focus on grain, oilseed and sugar.The state-owned trading house has spent more than $3 billion buying agricultural traders Nidera and Noble Agri and has embarked on an overhaul of its newly acquired operations, notably in Europe and South America.“Following the successful integration of Nidera and Noble Agri into COFCO International and the establishment of a high-performing HQ in Geneva, we are launching a new chapter in COFCO International’s development,” its CEO Johnny Chi said.“We plan to advance a strategy focused on strengthening our core businesses of grains, oilseeds and sugar with a geographical focus on the Americas, Europe and Australia,” Chi said in a statement emailed to Reuters.COFCO last month unveiled a partnership with U.S. farm cooperative Growmark to own and operate a grain terminal COFCO inherited from Nidera on the Mississippi River.“COFCO International plans to establish several new international partnerships and is open to working together with all stakeholders in the supply chain,” Chi said.Buying Nidera and Noble Agri thrust COFCO into the league of multinational agricultural traders but integrating the two firms has raised uncertainty over its short-term prospects.Zhao Shuanglian, chairman of parent company COFCO Corporation [CNCOF.UL], was Quote: d as saying the “highly-performing” South American grain, oilseed and sugar portfolio would play “a major role” in COFCO International’s expansion.COFCO International’s Brazilian activities have undergone a series of changes, a reorganization that sources have partly attributed to an accounting hole found in Nidera’s Latin American operations.Sources also said last month that the group is considering selling Nidera’s Latin American seed business.A COFCO International spokesman declined to comment about a possible sale process.Reporting by Gus Trompiz; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cofco-grains-partnerships/chinas-cofco-targets-overseas-grain-partners-after-growmark-deal-idUSKCN1BO2BA'|'2017-09-13T20:23:00.000+03:00'
'07db50bc58e0aaf357845d24fe96f10d00a7d9e9'|'Hummingbird Resources to take wing with Malian gold'|'September 12, 2017 / 10:04 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Hummingbird Resources to take wing with Malian gold Barbara Lewis 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - London-listed junior miner Hummingbird Resources ( HUMR.L ) is exploring for opportunities and investigating derivatives to manage gold price risk, as it brings online a Malian mine its much bigger previous owner Gold Fields ( GFIJ.J ) rejected. Hummingbird’s shares have risen by more than 80 percent this year, boosted by anticipation its Yanfolila project will produce the first gold on schedule in December. When the sector was recovering from the commodity crash of 2015-16, Hummingbird raised debt and equity to cover the roughly $88 million (£66.40 million) capital expenditure needed for Yanfolila, which it began to build last year. It acquired the project from Gold Fields in 2014 for $21 million in the form of Hummingbird shares. “It was a small project for a major but a big project for a junior. For us it was an amazing opportunity,” Hummingbird Chief Executive Dan Betts said in an interview. “We’re 14 months into a 17-month project and everything is in place for first gold.” Betts said he could be interested in other orphaned assets, as projects that don’t fit into big miners’ portfolios are known. The advantage for juniors is initial investment and work has taken place. For now, Betts’ focus is delivering gold from Yanfolila in December and exploring territory nearby for deposits to offset the depreciation of an asset set to produce 132,000 ounces in the first full year. After that, output is seen at 107,000 ounces annually over the mine’s life, initially planned for eight years. Betts is also investigating puts, or options to sell at a fixed price, to protect against market falls. Gold XAU= this month has risen to the highest in around a year, above $1,350 an ounce, as geopolitical tension boosted its safe-haven appeal. Miners became wary of hedging, which allows them to lock in the price of their output, after Barrick Gold ( ABX.TO ) and others racked up losses unwinding options that were denying them the upside of a 12-year rally to record highs in 2011 just below $2,000 per ounce. Using derivatives instead provides insurance against downside and for a fee still allows access to price gains. Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ), which is reducing operations to cut losses as it seeks to resolve a dispute with the Tanzanian government, last week said it had spent $3.2 million on put options at $1,300 per ounce. Gold Fields decided to dispose of non-core projects in 2013. It still has a just over 6 percent stake in Hummingbird. “We’re watching with interest. It looks fantastic with first gold before the end of the year,” Gold Fields spokesman Sven Lunsche said. Editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hummingbird-gold/hummingbird-resources-to-take-wing-with-malian-gold-idUKKCN1BN136'|'2017-09-12T13:03:00.000+03:00'
'd597955bf8daa5e655ef8fe19fdcf48677d0c506'|'Two labor unions end partnership with Harley-Davidson'|'Sept 12 (Reuters) - Two labor unions ended a two-decade long partnership agreement with Harley-Davidson Inc on Tuesday, citing issues with senior management.Union leaders belonging to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the United Steelworkers (USW) said they were concerned with the way Harley’s management was handling staffing related to seasonal production.Chief Executive Matt Levatich agreed to work with the unions to resolve staffing issues raised on behalf of full-time workers, USW said in a release.Harley-Davidson said in May it would build a plant in Thailand, a major Asian automotive hub, to serve the growing Southeast Asian market, a move that was criticized by USW.The company’s shares were down 0.5 percent at $47.33. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/harley-davidson-unions/two-labor-unions-end-partnership-with-harley-davidson-idINL4N1LT4DY'|'2017-09-12T13:18:00.000+03:00'
'3f6f9872ab557f0453a726b1d36ac43855a3150a'|'Billionaire investor Robertson says stocks are in a bubble'|'NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Julian Robertson said on Tuesday stocks are in a bubble, one day after the broad market hit another record high.Fueled by low interest rates, most stocks are now highly valued, the octogenarian founder of pioneering hedge fund firm Tiger Management said at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference in New York.“The market on the whole is quite high on a historic basis.”Robertson said he still liked the so-called FANG technology stocks, which include Facebook Inc, Amazon Inc, Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, calling them relatively inexpensive.“Apple is not that expensive a stock,” he said, also noting that he considered himself a “long-term player” in Facebook. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne, Jennifer Ablan and Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hedgefunds-deliveringalpha-robertson/billionaire-investor-robertson-says-stocks-are-in-a-bubble-idINL2N1LT1E4'|'2017-09-12T15:08:00.000+03:00'
'965ed95f540ae8b4162692b3e0a08928bdfb3f86'|'Volkswagen''s CEO says has no plans to divide up the group'|' 57 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Volkswagen''s CEO says has no plans to divide up the group Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller attends the presentation of the new Volkswagen I.D. Crozz concept car during the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) has no plans to follow local rival Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) in considering changing the group’s legal structure, its chief executive said, even as the company undergoes the biggest transformation in its history. The world’s largest vehicle maker by sales said on Monday it was stepping up the pace on its electric car programme, announcing more than 20 billion euros (£18.04 billion) of new investments over the next 12 years. Daimler said in July it may split parts of its business into separate legal entities, a move that investors have said could unlock billions of euros in value by listing separate parts of the business and help fund its development of electric and robotic cars. Asked by reporters at the Frankfurt auto show whether he could imagine following rivals in looking at changing the group’s structure, VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said: “Others are always faster than Volkswagen but, somehow, we are still successful.” “No, one of my major tasks is to always and again look into such matters and reflect on the situation,” he added. “That is what we do and what I do with all authority and calm. And I will not let anyone push me.” A broader move by VW to create a holding structure could unlock an incremental 50 billion euros in value, on top of the group’s 68 billion in market capitalisation, analysts at research firm Evercore ISI said in   Andreas Cremer; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-volkswagen-structu/volkswagens-ceo-says-has-no-plans-to-divide-up-the-group-idUKKCN1BN1S2'|'2017-09-12T16:57:00.000+03:00'
'44f81754793e964df75bb4f804e0b26cb0022b4f'|'CEE MARKETS-Leu steady after lower-than-expected CPI data'|'BUDAPEST, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Romanian leu held steady after lower-than-expected inflation data on Tuesday, which confirmed that the pace of price growth across the region remains moderate. Romanian consumer price inflation slowed to 1.2 percent on the year in August, from July''s 1.4 percent, below market expectations for 1.5 percent, helped by a robust fall in food prices. All analysts polled by Reuters expect the Romanian central bank to keep interest rates on hold at a record low 1.75 percent at its next meeting on Oct. 3. Five out of eight see higher rates by the end of the first quarter of 2018. "CPI below consensus should be positive for Romanian government bonds. Hence, mildly positive for the leu as bonds could catch up a bit with regional sovereign debt markets," said Ciprian Dascalu, chief economist at ING Bank in Romania. Other central European currencies were also steady in early trade, although analysts expect the Czech crown to resume its firming trend, started after the central bank abandoned a cap that had kept the unit from appreciating. "EUR/CZK continues trading around 26.1, a level it reached in July as the appreciation trend following the FX regime abandoning faded," said analyst Wolfgang Ernst said at RBI in Vienna. "Still, at these levels we would regard CZK as undervalued and we would expect the appreciation trend to continue over the coming months until EUR/CZK has neared in on a fair value around 25," he said. A Reuters poll conducted last week indicated that the crown would lead currency gains in Central Europe in the next 12 months as the Czech central bank, the first in the region to start tightening, raises interest rates. The crown has gained about 3.5 percent against the euro since April, when the Czech central bank (CNB) abandoned a cap that had kept it at 27 to the euro or weaker for years. Meanwhile, Hungary''s central bank, the most dovish in the region, could decide to ease monetary conditions even further at its meeting next week, to combat stubbornly low inflation after what it sees as a temporary jump in August and September. CEE SNAPSHOT AT 0920 CET MARKETS CURRENCIES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.0910 26.0925 +0.01 3.51% % Hungary forint 306.7000 306.5600 -0.05% 0.69% Polish zloty 4.2500 4.2475 -0.06% 3.62% Romanian leu 4.5985 4.5983 +0.00 -1.38% % Croatian kuna 7.4420 7.4385 -0.05% 1.52% Serbian dinar 119.3100 119.4400 +0.11 3.39% % Note: daily calculated previous close at 1800 change from CET STOCKS Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2017 Prague 1029.67 1023.43 +0.61 +11.73 % % Budapest 38019.13 37895.85 +0.33 +18.80 % % Warsaw 2520.45 2513.44 +0.28 +29.39 % % Bucharest 8068.85 8058.72 +0.13 +13.89 % % Ljubljana 811.05 809.53 +0.19 +13.02 % % Zagreb 0.00 1881.44 +0.00 -100.00 % % Belgrade 0.00 728.73 +0.00 -100.00 % % Sofia 704.74 700.46 +0.61 +20.17 % % BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech Republic spread 2-year 0 0 +075b -1bps ps 5-year -0.033 -0.053 +032b -7bps ps 10-year <CZ10YT=RR 0.948 0.015 +060b +0bps > ps Poland 2-year 1.673 -0.006 +242b -1bps ps 5-year 2.534 0.016 +289b +0bps ps 10-year <PL10YT=RR 3.191 0.016 +284b +0bps > ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech Rep <P 0.71 0.85 0.95 0 RIBOR=> Hungary <B 0.11 0.12 0.14 0.14 UBOR=> Poland <W 1.77 1.776 1.805 1.73 IBOR=> Note: FRA Quote: s are for ask prices (Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-leu-steady-after-lower-than-expected-cpi-data-idINL5N1LT0TU'|'2017-09-12T05:47:00.000+03:00'
'b54b5604d00297af347d7f226df2daf0aa8e90e0'|'British, Canadian PMs set for talks on Bombardier-Boeing spat'|' 28 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago British, Canadian PMs set for talks on Bombardier-Boeing spat Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ST. JOHN‘S, Newfoundland, Sept 12 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet in Ottawa next week and are set to discuss a crisis between U.S. firm Boeing Co and its Canadian rival Bombardier, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the two leaders would hold talks on Sept. 18. Boeing has launched a potentially damaging trade action against Bombardier, which is a major employer in both Canada and Britain. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-canada/british-canadian-pms-set-for-talks-on-bombardier-boeing-spat-idUSL2N1LT0D3'|'2017-09-12T14:25:00.000+03:00'
'dea010c4003241d58ee9e64dd51ac310fb304d21'|'P&G investor Yacktman says to vote for adding Peltz to board'|' 40 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago P&G investor Yacktman says to vote for adding Peltz to board Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Investment advisory firm Yacktman Asset Management expressed its support for adding Trian Fund Management LP’s Nelson Peltz to Procter & Gamble Co’s ( PG.N ) board and criticized the company for engaging in “a costly and distracting proxy fight” with the activist investor. Yacktman said it owned $1.3 billion (£984.40 million) worth of P&G shares. Trian, P&G’s fifth-largest shareholder, has been locked in a prolonged battle with the consumer products conglomerate for months, raising investor hopes of a break-up of the company. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-procter-gamble-trianfund/pg-investor-yacktman-says-to-vote-for-adding-peltz-to-board-idUKKCN1BP1OD'|'2017-09-14T15:40:00.000+03:00'
'9008d29fb73a64459d0521768128eed4d876f272'|'Canada competition watchdog will not challenge Agrium, Potash merger'|'OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s competition watchdog said on Monday it will not challenge a proposed merger between Agrium Inc ( AGU.TO ) and Potash Corp ( POT.TO ), saying the transaction was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the fertilizer industry.The Competition Bureau said it had issued a “no action” letter to the two companies, which announced their plan to combine last year in an all-stock merger valued at $25 billion.Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-agrium-m-a-potashcorp/canada-competition-watchdog-will-not-challenge-agrium-potash-merger-idINKCN1BM2LY'|'2017-09-11T18:52:00.000+03:00'
'a50c9a31d73274795eccda7ab453503f8f709871'|'Japan Post: second delivery'|'Play audio for this article Pause 00:00 00:00 Bankers are busy banging the drum for the flotation of Best Logistics , the Chinese distribution group. Following swiftly behind will be an offering of shares in a Japanese market leader, priced at less than half their accounting book value. That pitch is unlikely to generate as much enthusiasm. Japan Post Holdings confirmed on Tuesday that it will offer another $12bn of stock to the market, two years after its initial offering. The discount is in part explained by investor scepticism about growth prospects in Japan; domestic logistics account for over half of operating income. Prospects are scarcely any more exciting in the banking subsidiary, which is separately listed. It too is a market leader measured by deposits, but is struggling under the Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy . Like European peers, it is emphasising fee income from sales of investment products. Its shares trade at a slightly smaller discount to book. Of the three privatised entities, only Japan Post’s insurance unit trades above its IPO price. Revenues there have declined 3.9 per cent in each of the past two years, but an increase in new policy sales helped a 14 per cent jump in overall net operating income. A fifth of Japanese people are clients and new policy income is almost twice that of competitors, according to Citi. The business is supported by the trend towards increasing individual responsibility for healthcare costs. Its target customers, the over-fifties, are in plentiful supply in Japan. A shame, then, that only the shares of Japan Post’s holding company are on offer. As with the original IPO, they will be targeted mostly at retail investors, who tend to be risk-averse. A carrot is the group’s dividend; its shares yield roughly 1.5 times the broader market level. Reports suggest parcel prices may rise next year, boosting profit. Expanding equity ownership in Japan would be a good thing. But that aim would be easier to achieve if small shareholders could be tempted with a more attractive proposition. Do you want to receive Lex in your inbox? Sign up for the weekly Best of Lex email at www.ft.com/newsletters . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t copy articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. '|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/6ee7037e-9793-11e7-a652-cde3f882dd7b'|'2017-09-12T14:25:00.000+03:00'
'e47a48baa917663103e65bb7dff95f90b585186b'|'French economy minister says had ''constructive'' STX meeting in Rome'|'  5:18 PM / Updated an hour ago French, Italian ministers upbeat after talks on STX shipyards row Reuters Staff 2 Min Read French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire arrives at the MEDEF union summer forum on the campus of the HEC School of Management in Jouy-en-Josas, near Paris, France, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - Italian and French ministers were upbeat after talks on Monday aimed at resolving a row over Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri’s ( FCT.MI ) blocked takeover bid for STX France shipyards. “A constructive meeting in Rome about STX. Our common goal: a deal between France and Italy for the September 27 summit,” French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire wrote on Twitter, referring to a forthcoming bilateral meeting in France. His Italian counterpart, Pier Carlo Padoan, also called the talks “constructive”, adding that the two sides had taken a step forward towards finding a deal. Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said the encounter had been “useful”. France angered Italy in July after it ordered a “temporary” nationalisation of STX, cancelling a deal in which state-owned Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy a 54.6 percent stake. France took the decision after Fincantieri, which had agreed to buy the majority stake from its former South Korean owners, refused a French government proposal to accept 50-50 ownership. Le Maire said ahead of Monday’s meeting that he would make fresh proposals to Italy without giving details beyond saying they should be extended to Franco-Italian cooperation in the field of naval defence. Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-italy-stx/french-economy-minister-says-had-constructive-stx-meeting-in-rome-idUKKCN1BM29O'|'2017-09-11T20:18:00.000+03:00'
'689f1f9cef61bbfe336b032530139855ee64f3d4'|'CMA accepts remedy proposals for Wood Group-Amec Foster merger'|'  6:47 AM / Updated an hour ago CMA accepts remedy proposals for Wood Group-Amec Foster merger Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s competition regulator said on Tuesday it accepted proposals by Amec Foster Wheeler Plc ( AMFW.L ) to sell almost all of its upstream offshore oil and gas servicing assets relating to its deal with John Wood Group ( WG.L ). The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating Wood Group’s deal to buy Amec for 2.2 billion pounds as the merger could lead to competition concerns in the supply of engineering and construction services and operation and maintenance services on the UK continental shelf. Wood Group had proposed to divest a majority of Amec Foster Wheeler’s upstream oil and gas assets and operations in the UK when the deal was announced in March. CMA said it will not refer the deal for an in-depth, phase-2 investigation. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-john-wood-m-a-amec-foster/cma-accepts-remedy-proposals-for-wood-group-amec-foster-merger-idUKKCN1BN0KC'|'2017-09-12T09:46:00.000+03:00'
'0b8c20d5050571e7d3ffb0b2a0317ca8a9c9308c'|'Toshiba says Western Digital overstates its rights over chip business'|'FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) said its business partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) had been “persistently” overstating its rights over a memory chip unit that the Japanese firm is looking to offload, showing the two remain at loggerheads over the $18 billion sale.The statement from the embattled Japanese conglomerate comes a day after it said it was stepping up talks to sell the unit to a group led by Bain Capital and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ). But it also said it would continue weighing a rival offer from Western Digital.“Toshiba regrets that Western Digital persistently overstates its limited consent rights in public statements,” the Japanese company said in a statement, referring to the U.S. firm’s claim that its consent was required for a sale as it had invested in Toshiba’s semiconductor plant.Western Digital on Wednesday said it was confident of its ability to protect its rights in the joint venture with Toshiba, which is the world’s No.2 producer of NAND memory chips.The two companies had last month entered final-stage talks, aiming to sign a deal and put their legal battle to rest, sources have said. But talks stalled as Toshiba, fearing Western Digital was angling to eventually take over the chip business, sought to limit the U.S. firm’s future stake in the unit, the sources added.In its statement on Thursday, Toshiba reiterated it “expects and is fully committed to completing a sale” by March 2018.Without an agreement to sell the unit soon, it will be difficult for Toshiba to gain by the end of the financial year in March, regulatory approval and hence the funds it needs to cover billions in liabilities at it U.S. nuclear unit.Toshiba is hoping to avoid reporting negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second straight year - a scenario that could knock it off the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-wd/toshiba-says-western-digital-overstates-its-rights-over-chip-business-idINKCN1BP0D7'|'2017-09-14T02:22:00.000+03:00'
'1e0f6a9d456dbdb2e2aa190506415240bc89b93f'|'Nintendo''s NES Classic Edition will be revived in 2018 12,'|'Nintendo''s mini-sized classic console is coming back in 2018 by Kaya Yurieff @kyurieff September 12, 2017: 12:11 PM ET Hands on with Nintendo''s retro-style mini console: the NES Classic Edition Here''s a bit of a good news for video game fanatics: The discontinued Nintendo mini-console is coming back. The company on Tuesday said its NES Classic Edition will start shipping again in 2018 due to strong demand. When the company announced earlier this year it was pumping the breaks on the console, gamers were not happy. After all, it one of the most sought items during the 2016 holiday shopping season -- and also one of the most difficult to find. Nintendo attributed the decision to stop production to "limited resources."But now it appears the company is rethinking its strategy. The console($60) touts 30 built-in games, including "Mario Bros." and "Donkey Kong," and a retro-inspired controller. The NES Classic Edition. Related: Super Nintendo gets the miniature console treatment The announcement of its return came just two weeks before the company will launch its second miniature-sized console: the SNES Classic Edition ($80). Itfeatures 21 built-in games like "Super Mario World" and "The Legend of Zelda." It will also include a new title, "Star Fox 2." Pre-orders for the SNES are already sold out online at Amazon, GameStop and Target. But Nintendo ( NTDOF ) promises it will be easier to get your hands on this one. The company said it will ship more units of the Super NES Classic Edition on its U.S. launch day, September 29, than all of last year with the NES Classic Edition. "Fans have shown their unbridled enthusiasm for these Classic Edition systems, so Nintendo is working to put many more of them on store shelves," the company said in a statement. T he company isn''t just banking on nostalgic consoles to drum up excitement and bring in sales.In March, Nintendo launched its latest gaming system -- the Nintendo Switch -- which works as both a TV-linked console and a handheld portable device. In its most recent quarter, the company sold 1.97 million Switch consoles. CNNMoney (New York) First published September 12, 2017: 12:11 PM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/12/technology/nintendo-nes-classic-edition-2018/index.html'|'2017-09-12T20:11:00.000+03:00'
'21f775a8bb7bc1c3291c22eb053654cef10edf6e'|'Bayer says sells 1.2 billion euros of Covestro shares'|'The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) is selling 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) worth of Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) shares under its plan to fully sever ties with the plastics business over the medium-term.The company, which is trying to wrap up the $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds giant Monsanto ( MON.N ) by the end of the year, did not specify how many shares in Covestro it would sell for the targeted sum.Based on Tuesday’s closing price, the stake for sale would represent about 9 percent of Covestro but the percentage will probably be higher since a block of shares of that size is typically placed at a discount.After a number of previous large trades, Bayer’s stake in the maker of transparent plastics and materials for insulation and padding foam has declined to 40.9 percent while Bayer’s pension trust holds a further 8.9 percent.Bayer said in a statement that an accelerated bookbuilding process aimed at institutional investors was launched on Tuesday after market close with Barclays ( BARC.L ) and Citigroup ( C.N ) acting as joint bookrunners.It has agreed to hold off on placing more Covestro shares for 90 days. Bayer spun off Covestro as a separate listed company two years ago.Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-covestro-placement/bayer-says-sells-1-2-billion-euro-in-covestro-shares-idINKCN1BN25V'|'2017-09-12T13:58:00.000+03:00'
'4cd5be31086ad86b9fd13ea234d22ff120efb4f6'|'Home Capital shareholders vote against Buffett lifting stake'|'September 12, 2017 / 2:33 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Home Capital investors spurn Buffett''s plan to boost stake Matt Scuffham 4 Min Read Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett waits to play table tennis during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. May 7, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking TORONTO (Reuters) - Home Capital’s ( HCG.TO ) shareholders on Tuesday rejected a proposal for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to raise its stake in the company, voting against the board’s recommendation in a third defeat for the U.S. billionaire this year. Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services last month recommended shareholders vote against the proposal, which called for Berkshire Hathaway ( BRKa.N ) to increase its shareholding from 20 percent to 38.4 percent. Home Capital Chairwoman Brenda Eprile told a special meeting of shareholders that 88.79 percent of votes cast were against the proposal, with 11.21 percent in favor. The deal would have allowed Berkshire Hathaway to buy new shares in the company at a price of C$10.30 per share, a deep discount to Home Capital’s closing price of C$14.08 on Monday, which would have impacted the overall value of Home Capital shares. Shares in Home Capital see-sawed after resuming trading at midday, initially falling as much as 3 percent and later gaining as much as 3.3 percent. At 12:30 EST, the shares were up 0.7 percent at C$14.18. Concerns over the potential dilution were alleviated by the vote, but analysts remain concerned about what impact tougher rules on mortgage lending in Canada will have on the business. “We continue to view pending regulatory changes as well as a moderating housing price environment as limits on meaningful earnings growth,” said Raymond James analyst Brenna Phelan. Berkshire did not respond to a request for comment. Last month, 87-year-old Buffett’s effort to buy the Oncor Electric utility in Texas ended in failure, when his $9 billion bid was topped by a $9.45 billion offer from Sempra Energy ( SRE.N ). In February, Berkshire had committed $15 billion to help Kraft Heinz Co’s ( KHC.O ) purchase of Unilever Plc ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ), but the proposed takeover was pulled after the Anglo-Dutch consumer products company rejected it. Home Capital and Berkshire agreed in June to a deal worth up to C$400 million ($329 million) for an initial stake of 20 percent in the business. The agreement enabled Berkshire to increase its stake subject to shareholder approval. Buffett took his stake in the company and provided a C$2 billion credit facility after investors withdrew more than 90 percent of funds from Home Capital’s high-interest savings accounts earlier this year. The withdrawals accelerated after April 19, when the Ontario Securities Commission accused Home Capital of making misleading statements to investors about its mortgage underwriting business. Home Capital reached a settlement with the commission in June and accepted responsibility for misleading investors. Home Capital said the terms of the credit facility, on which it does not currently have funds drawn, remain unchanged. Eprile reiterated the board’s belief that the deal would have been in the best interest of the company but said the vote reflected the progress the company has made in its turnaround plan. “This decision is a clear message that the majority of our shareholders believe that Home Capital’s improved deposit inflows and liquidity position diminish the need for additional capital,” she said. Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-homecapital-buffett/home-capital-shareholders-vote-against-buffett-lifting-stake-idUSKCN1BN1W5'|'2017-09-12T17:33:00.000+03:00'
'097184b0a5f6988b8ac0064efd29102687453682'|'VW board hasn''t discussed asset sales: Porsche SE Chairman in Spiegel'|'Wolfgang Porsche addresses a news conference at the company''s headquarters in Wolfburg, Germany October 7, 2015. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) supervisory board has not discussed the sale of parts of the carmaker’s business so far, board member Wolfgang Porsche told German magazine Der Spiegel, adding he saw no need to do so at the moment.“I do not see any necessity to divest parts of the group,” the magazine Quote: d Porsche as saying in an article released on Tuesday.Volkswagen Chief Executive Matthias Mueller last week was Quote: d by The Wall Street Journal as saying he was actively working on deals to sell non-core assets that could account for as much as 20 percent of its annual revenues.“That is not the focus right now,” Wolfgang Porsche said. “And the issue has not been discussed by the supervisory board.”Porsche is also Chairman of Porsche Automobil Holding SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), which owns 52.2 percent of voting shares in Volkswagen.Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-divestiture/vw-board-hasnt-discussed-asset-sales-porsche-se-chairman-in-spiegel-idUSKCN1BN1NQ'|'2017-09-12T16:15:00.000+03:00'
'1fffbc5ff330e21e5179bdb6bee36721bf917dfc'|'FCA warns consumers on cryptocurrency fundraisings'|'  9:26 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago FCA crypto-fundraising warning welcomed by industry Huw Jones , Jemima Kelly 4 Min Read A Bitcoin (virtual currency) coin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Start-ups aiming to raise funds through the issuance of new digital currencies, via so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs), welcomed on Tuesday a warning on the “very high risk” of such investments from Britain’s financial watchdog. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned consumers that they must be conscious of risks involved in ICOs and should research each specific project before investing in it. “ICOs are very high-risk, speculative investments,” the FCA said in a written warning that fell short of last week’s outright ban on such fundraising by China. “There is a good chance of losing your whole stake.” ICOs are a digital form of raising funds from the public using a virtual currency, with issuers accepting bitcoin or ether in exchange for a proprietary coin or token that is related to a specific company or project and can then - in theory - be traded like other cryptocurrencies. They have provided the fuel for a rapid ascent in the value of cryptocurrencies this year that has driven worries that a crypto-bubble could be set to burst. By creating and issuing digital tokens, entrepreneurs can raise large sums quickly - sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars in minutes - with little or no regulatory oversight. But unlike conventional fundraising, token holders are generally not given any share in the particular project, nor any security. Moneymailme, a social payments app, told Reuters on Tuesday that it was going to issue an ICO in October, with an initial goal of $20 million (£15.09 million). Until now, the company has managed to raise just $3 million, through conventional fundraising methods. Part of the reason for raising funds via an ICO - rather than via other means - is that it is an easier, faster way to raise money, said Mihai Ivascu, Moneymailme’s founder. But he welcomed the FCA’s warning. “I think it’s very good that warnings like this are in the market,” he said. “We should all be willing to help authorities in creating a regulatory framework (for ICOs).” “EXPERIMENTAL” BUSINESS MODELS Last week China banned ICOs, saying it was necessary to stop illegal fundraising and pyramid schemes, news that briefly sent the value of most cryptocurrencies tumbling. There appeared to be no negative impact on cryptocurrencies from the FCA warning on Tuesday, with both bitcoin and ether trading slightly higher on the day. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also issued an “investor alert” in July to make investors aware of potential risks from ICOs. And in August, regulators in Singapore and Canada also cautioned investors about the sector. For the buyer, the main reason for buying these highly risky tokens is often simply a speculative bet that their value will rise - a bet that has often paid off handsomely in recent months. The FCA said the digital token issued may represent a share in a firm, a prepayment voucher for future services or in some cases offer no discernible value at all. “Typically ICO projects are in a very early stage of development and their business models are experimental,” it said. Most ICOs are not regulated by the FCA and many are based overseas and might not intend to use the funds raised in the way set out in marketing brochures, the watchdog said Jakob Drzazga, co-founder of Berlin-based firm Brickblock, which is building a blockchain-based marketplace, said such warnings were important in protecting consumers. Brickblock is aiming to raise $50 million in an ICO in October. “(This warning) gives guidance to really research the team that’s behind these ICOs and do your due diligence, which I think is really important,” he said. Reporting by Huw Jones and Jemima Kelly; Additional reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Mark Potter and Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-bitcoin-regulator/fca-warns-consumers-on-cryptocurrency-fundraisings-idUKKCN1BN0XX'|'2017-09-12T12:26:00.000+03:00'
'5e14d67d9961f4b370ab9c2cce65b927a9a98755'|'Britain to hold annual budget on November 22, Hammond says'|' 38 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Britain to hold annual budget on November 22, Hammond says Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond leaves 11 Downing Street in London, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will hold its annual budget on Nov. 22, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said on Tuesday, setting the date of his first autumn budget since he decided to change the timing of the government’s flagship fiscal event. Hammond said last year that he would ditch the traditional spring budget and move it to the autumn, which he said would bring Britain’s system in line with other major economies and align it more neatly with the tax year. He will give a fiscal update in spring instead. “The budget will take place on 22nd November,” Hammond said to a committee of members of Britain’s House of Lords. Reporting by William Schomberg, writing by Alistair Smout, editing by David Milliken'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-hammond-budget/britain-to-hold-annual-budget-on-november-22-hammond-says-idUKKCN1BN23T'|'2017-09-12T18:38:00.000+03:00'
'9209fd53360f0b24cb7be1335a6f0c5416b62aa9'|'British motor insurer Sabre to pursue $800 mln listing - sources'|'  5:22 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago British motor insurer Sabre to pursue $800 mln listing - sources Ben Martin , Carolyn Cohn 2 Min Read LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - British motor insurer Sabre is planning an initial public offering (IPO) that could value it at 600 million pounds ($800 million) after failing to find a buyer, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Sabre’s private equity owner BC Partners is looking to list the Dorking-based firm in London in the coming months following an unsuccessful joint approach from U.S. investment firm Centerbridge and Qatar Reinsurance Company, two sources said. The company, which is behind the Insure 2 Drive, Go Girl and Drive Smart brands, is no longer in takeover negotiations and has begun talking to fund managers as it focuses solely on building interest in a stock market listing, the sources said. Barclays and Numis have been retained as lead financial advisers on the flotation, which is slated for either later this year or early in the first quarter of 2018, they said. Sabre’s listed rivals include Admiral, esure and Direct Line, which trade at between eight and 12 times core earnings, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon. Motor insurers have come under scrutiny after a change to the way personal injury claims are calculated, which pushed up the size of those claims and dented insurers’ profits. However, the UK government is now proposing to change the rate again in a way which will benefit insurers. Rising motor insurance premiums are also making the outlook more attractive for the sector, analysts say. BC Partners took a majority stake in Sabre in 2013 in a 240 million-pound deal. Sabre’s float adds to a growing list of financial services companies whose investors have chosen to cash out. They include buy-to-let mortgage specialist Charter Court Financial Services, backed by Elliott, and debt collection firm Cabot Credit Management, which is held by JC Flowers and Encore Capital Group. ($1 = 0.7533 pounds) (Reporting by Ben Martin and Carolyn Cohn; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/sabre-ipo/british-motor-insurer-sabre-to-pursue-800-mln-listing-sources-idUSL5N1LT4XR'|'2017-09-12T20:20:00.000+03:00'
'2b1d14b64e65f3cc96c6ca4a85ad9f8f4d80fb91'|'Huishan Dairy debt woes deepen as banks demand $220 million repayment'|'September 11, 2017 / 4:15 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Huishan Dairy debt woes deepen as banks demand $220 million repayment Elzio Barreto , Adam Jourdan 4 Min Read Products of Huishan Dairy are seen at a supermarket in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China March 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - HSBC ( HSBA.L ) and other lenders have demanded China Huishan Dairy Holdings ( 6863.HK ) repay a combined $220 million (£166 million) in loans this week - a move set to make it more difficult for the firm to extricate itself from a debt mountain and find a white knight. Billed as the nation’s largest integrated dairy firm in a high-profile $1.3 billion IPO in 2013, Huishan has since become a cautionary tale about risky financing and the complexity of resolving corporate debt problems in China. Shares in the company, which has been heavily dependent on short-term loans, plunged 85 percent in March before being suspended. Since then most of its directors have quit, it has missed loan payments and lost contact with a key executive in charge of its finances, and is also under investigation by Hong Kong’s securities regulator. Huishan said late on Monday it had received letters from HSBC on a $200 million loan made by a group of banks including the UK lender in 2015, saying the loan and interest were immediately due because of “one or more events of default”. Repayment of the $200 million loan was due within three days from Sept. 11, Huishan said in the statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, citing a letter sent by HSBC. The demand follows a letter of warning about broken loan covenants in April. Accrued interest added a further $6.4 million to that loan tranche. HSBC also demanded immediate repayment of a $13.7 million loan it had extended in 2014. HSBC headquarters is seen at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip Hong Kong’s banking watchdog is separately questioning banks over the $200 million syndicated loan raised by Huishan from lenders including China CITIC Bank International, Hang Seng Bank ( 0011.HK ), and HSBC, sources told Reuters in April. Huishan said in its statement on Monday that it continued to be in talks with its major bank creditors in China about debt restructuring and that it is seeking legal advice on HSBC’s demands. HSBC declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. As of March this year, Huishan owed $3.9 billion to creditors including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( 601398.SS ), Bank of China Ltd ( 3988.HK ) and HSBC. It has hired debt restructuring advisers and forensic accountants to investigate gaps in its financial statements. Huishan said in July it was planning to carve up shares in the company among its creditor banks and existing shareholders as part of restructuring plans and was ultimately looking for a white knight to financially support the firm. Huishan made headlines in 2016 when it sold and leased back part of its herd of cows, in what its executives called “innovative financing”. But risks linked to its debt-fuelled growth took centre stage after a December report from U.S.-based short-seller Muddy Waters questioned its accounting and debt burden. Reporting by Elzio Barreto and Adam Jourdan; Additional reporting by Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru and Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-huishan-debt/china-huishan-dairy-says-hsbc-demanding-immediate-loan-repayment-idUKKCN1BM247'|'2017-09-12T14:50:00.000+03:00'
'e9b2cd0efea57bbae68d3672c158f073dbdc8dd4'|'UPDATE 1-Manulife promotes Asia head to chief financial officer'|'  12:48 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Manulife promotes Asia head to chief financial officer Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds other senior appointments) TORONTO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Manulife, Canada’s biggest insurer, said on Tuesday that it planned to promote the head of its Asian business, Philip Witherington, to be chief financial officer from the start of 2018. He will succeed the current CFO, Steve Roder, who had decided to retire at the end of 2017, the company said. The move is among senior management changes that are part of a restructuring by incoming chief executive Roy Gori, who takes up his new role on Oct. 1. Manulife said it had appointed Paul Lorentz, who has previously held senior roles in its wealth and insurance businesses, as head of its global wealth and asset management business. He will take up his new position in October. The insurer also appointed Naveed Irshad as head of its North America Legacy Business. Irshad, who is currently the CEO of Manulife Singapore, will take up his new role in January. In a statement, Gori said the appointments “showcase the bench strength of Manulife’s senior leadership team, and position us strongly as we accelerate our transformation.” Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by W Simon'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/manulife-cfo/update-1-manulife-promotes-asia-head-to-chief-financial-officer-idUSL2N1LT0JX'|'2017-09-12T15:47:00.000+03:00'
'fe7faa73029c05098146c7649e612cc04da40ee8'|'UK minister to give update on Fox-Sky deal on Tuesday'|'September 12, 2017 / 9:58 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Fox worries prompt UK to take long look at Murdoch''s Sky bid Kate Holton , Paul Sandle 6 Min Read Workers ride on a Sky employee shuttle bus near their headquarters in west London, January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch’s planned $15 billion (£11.32 billion) takeover of European broadcaster Sky ( SKYB.L ) was thrown into doubt on Tuesday when Britain toughened its stance on the deal over concerns about standards at his U.S. Fox News network. Media Secretary Karen Bradley had already wanted regulators to scrutinise the increased influence Murdoch would gain from fully owning Sky, but in an unexpected twist she said they should also examine whether he had a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards. The announcement sent London-listed shares in Sky down 5 percent, before they recovered to trade at 937 pence, well below the 10.75 pounds per share Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) has agreed to pay for the 69 percent of Sky it does not already own. “I consider it important that entities which adopt controversial or partisan approaches to news and current affairs in other jurisdictions should, at the same time, have a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards here,” Bradley told parliament. She said the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should also look into corporate governance at the right-leaning Fox. The news network has been rocked by a series of sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits, leading to high profile resignations including former chief executive Roger Ailes and star anchor Bill O‘Reilly. Sky stopped broadcasting Fox News in Britain last month, a decision prompted it said by low audience numbers rather than any concerns about reputational damage in relation to the bid. The channel, however, has become a lightning rod for Murdoch’s long-standing critics in Britain, and it was cited repeatedly in opposition to the Sky takeover. PUPPET MASTER Britain’s political leaders have long sought the support of Australian-born Murdoch, who shook up the establishment after he arrived in Britain in the 1960s to buy newspapers such as the News of the World, Sun and Times. He then took on the BBC and ITV ( ITV.L ) with the launch of the Sky TV platform in 1989.Decades later he remains at the centre of the industry, with critics accusing him of using his media empire to play puppet master to governments of both political persuasions. His reputation was severely damaged in 2011 when a phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World forced him to drop a previous attempt to buy Sky. Undeterred, Murdoch, 86, and his family returned in December with an agreed bid to take full control of Sky, which broadcasts sports, entertainment and U.S. drama programmes in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. Son James Murdoch said at the time he did not foresee any regulatory difficulties. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government, however, has taken a cautious approach, and Bradley appointed media regulator Ofcom to examine the likely impact. The flag of the Twenty-First Century Fox Inc is seen waving at the company headquarters in the Manhattan borough in New York June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Ofcom said although there were some concerns about broadcasting standards, they did not merit a full investigation. Bradley did not agree. Sky said it was disappointed by the further delay, noting that Ofcom had said it was not necessary. “Nevertheless we will continue to engage with the process as the Secretary of State reaches her final decision,” it said. Fox too said it was disappointed that Bradley had chosen not to follow the advice of the independent regulator, which it said was the expert body tasked with enforcing the Broadcast Code. “As the correspondence between (government) and Ofcom makes clear, we do not believe that there are grounds for the Secretary of State to change her previous position,” it said. It said it looked forward to engaging with the CMA on its in-depth review as soon as possible, and subject to any further delays expected the deal to close by the end of June 2018. HARD LINE Opposition politicians had called on May’s government, weakened by the outcome of an election in June, not to wave through the bid. Competition lawyer Becket McGrath at Cooley LLP said the minister had taken the strongest stance open to her. “I think people have underestimated the level of concern over this deal within government,” he said. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said Bradley’s decision to refer the deal on broadcasting standards as well as on media plurality grounds was a surprise. “The CMA is likely to look at the relationship between Fox, the Murdoch family and control of the organisation,” they said, saying there was now a 15 percent chance the deal would be blocked outright. They said any issues raised by regulators should be able to be resolved by remedies from Fox. “The real question in our mind, is where is the point of pain, at which point Fox would not be willing to accept the remedies,” they said. Bradley has given both sides 10 days to respond and will then rule whether the takeover, which has already been approved in Brussels, will be submitted to the competition regulator for a six-month investigation into both areas of media plurality and broadcasting standards.   Kylie MacLellan; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sky-m-a-fox/uk-minister-to-give-update-on-fox-sky-deal-on-tuesday-idUKKCN1BN127'|'2017-09-12T12:58:00.000+03:00'
'056cfb0a1445d19b695c81929b8f50e3098dfcf5'|'Dreyfus says not selling Brazil juice assets, but open to joint ventures'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Louis Dreyfus Co is not looking to sell its Brazilian juice operations, but it is open to partnerships in the area, including possible tie-ups with local bottlers, Murilo Parada, chief executive for the Brazil unit, told Reuters on Monday.Parada, who is also Dreyfus global head for juices, spoke after the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Monday rumors that Dreyfus wanted to sell its juice assets in Brazil and that Israel’s Prodalim was interested in buying.“Prodalim has not contacted us, and even if it had we are not interested in selling the operation,” Parada said.Prodalim and Louis Dreyfus Co announced last month a deal for the Israeli company to buy a juice storage and blending facility in the United States.Under the deal, Dreyfus would continue to use the facility for blending operations and storage on a long-term contract.Prodalim has said it plans to expand in the sector. It closed a deal with Brazilian juice producer Gota Doce Citrus in 2014 granting Prodalim exclusivity to market Gota’s products.“Dreyfus is open to partnerships, upstream and downstream in the juice sector, but we are not selling the plants,” said Parada.He was promoted to lead global juice operations just over a week ago, after Adrian Isman was named to head its Grains and Value Chain Platforms.The Dreyfus Brazil unit CEO said the company had decided to strengthen juice production in Brazil, reducing its presence in the United States due to falling fruit production in Florida.The company has four juice processing plants in Brazil, the world’s largest orange juice exporter, and one port terminal for juice loadings.Regarding the changes in grains management, Parada said Isman would likely work very closely now with André Roth, global head for oilseeds. Both worked together in Brazil for some years in the past.Isman, Parada said, will continue to be based in the United States and continue to head Dreyfus operations there as the region’s CEO, in addition to his duties as grains head.He declined to say more regarding possible further changes in the company’s grains management.Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Phil Berlowitz '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-louis-dryfs-com-brazil/dreyfus-says-not-selling-brazil-juice-assets-but-open-to-joint-ventures-idINKCN1BM2RZ'|'2017-09-11T20:18:00.000+03:00'
'59492667314d6145d8215f5d4cf50e3ee7f1f158'|'France''s Credit Agricole to sell Saudi bank stake to Prince Alwaleed''s firm'|'A logo is pictured on a Credit Agricole bank branch in Paris, France, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau DUBAI/PARIS (Reuters) - France’s Credit Agricole ( CAGR.PA ) has agreed to sell about half its 31.1 percent stake in Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) ( 1050.SE ) to billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding ( 4280.SE ) for 5.76 billion riyals ($1.54 billion).The sale was part of a wider review of Credit Agricole’s assets and markets to meet new banking rules and tougher economic conditions. Sources had said in March it picked JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) to advise on a potential sale.“We see it as positive but expected as it is part of management plan to clean up capital and overseas operations,” brokerage house Jeffries’ analysts said in a note.BSF said after the deal was announced that Kingdom Holding would own 16.2 percent of the bank and Credit Agricole would retain 14.9 percent. It said Credit Agricole could sell a further 5 percent stake via off-market block trade deals.“With Alwaleed becoming a majority owner of the bank, it is a sound long term strategic move which will ultimately benefit BSF,” Hesham Abou Jamee, chief executive of Alisthmar Capital, told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV.Credit Agricole follows Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) ( RBS.L ) in seeking to sell its stake in a Saudi bank. RBS holds 40 percent of Alawwal Bank ( 1040.SE ), which is talks to merge with Saudi British Bank ( 1060.SE ), partly owned by HSBC ( HSBA.L ).Credit Agricole said the sale of a 16.2 percent stake in BSF would lift its fully-loaded common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio for Crédit Agricole S.A. by about 20 basis points and its fully-loaded CET1 ratio of Crédit Agricole Group by 5 basis points.The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second half of this year and will be funded through Kingdom Holding’s available liquidity and existing bank facilities, Kingdom said in a statement.Kingdom Holding shares rose 7.6 percent to 11.06 riyals, while Banque Saudi Fransi shares were down 2.7 percent at 32.10 riyals, after closing at 33 riyals on Monday.At a deal price of 29.5 riyals per share, Kingdom Holding is buying the BSF stake at a discount to its current share price and book value of Saudi bank peers.“It is not a very expensive acquisition,” said an analyst at a Gulf brokerage. “For Kingdom Holding, it is a really good deal. It is a clean bank and was quite conservative. Credit Agricole could have realized more but in this environment they got a buyer.”The acquisition is expected to increase cash flow and income for Kingdom Holding. Credit Agricole remains a strategic shareholder and will support the bank’s activities, Kingdom Holding said.Additional reporting by Blandine Henault in Paris, and Saeed Azhar and Celine Aswad in Dubai; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-credit-agricole-equity-banque-saudi/frances-credit-agricole-to-sell-saudi-bank-stake-to-prince-alwaleeds-firm-idINKCN1BN0VE'|'2017-09-12T07:02:00.000+03:00'
'dee823a87f3a5ca5f65c97d7f52081e17d013bda'|'Carmakers face electric reality as combustion engine outlook dims'|'  8:38 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago Carmakers face electric reality as combustion engine outlook dims Laurence Frost , Edward Taylor 6 Min Read Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche talks during the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European car bosses gathering for the Frankfurt auto show are beginning to address the realities of mass vehicle electrification, and its consequences for jobs and profit, their minds focused by government pledges to outlaw the combustion engine. As the latest such announcement by China added momentum to a push for zero-emissions motoring, Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) gave details about their electric programmes that could give policymakers some pause. Planned electric Mercedes models will initially be just half as profitable as conventional alternatives, Daimler warned - forcing the group to find savings by outsourcing more component manufacturing, which may in turn threaten German jobs. “In-house production is almost irrelevant to the consumer,” Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche told reporters on the eve of the Frankfurt auto show, in the midst of a German election campaign in which automotive jobs have loomed large. The company set a target of saving 4 billion euros (3.63 billion pounds) by 2025 to help fund the cost of its electric cars. “Daimler is the first company to state explicitly how much electric vehicles are going to hurt margins,” said Bernstein analyst Max Warburton. “It was brave to go first - but of course it won’t be the last.” Volkswagen (VW), for its part, said it was seeking new global supplier contracts to source 50 billion euros ($60 billion) of electric car content including batteries, which are not yet manufactured competitively in Europe. “A company like Volkswagen must lead, not follow,” Chief Executive Matthias Mueller told reporters. VW diesel emissions-cheating exposed by U.S. regulators in 2015 triggered global public outrage, dozens more investigations into test-rigging by the wider industry and a push by some lawmakers to ban diesel and eventually all engines. TIGHTENING NOOSE Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) shares jumped nearly 6 percent on Monday after a Chinese minister said it was a question of when, not if, Beijing bans fossil-fuel cars, tightening the noose around the combustion engine. France and Britain have promised its outright abolition by 2040. But PSA, the maker of Peugeots and Citroens, said it was concerned about the risks if consumers were left behind in the rush, and a new generation of battery cars does not sell. Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller attends the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach “If it doesn’t gain acceptance in the market, then everybody - industry, employees and politicians - has a big problem,” PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said in a pre-show interview with German weekly Bild am Sonntag. While Tesla has carved itself a successful premium niche, electric vehicles have yet to penetrate mass markets, with the heavily subsidised exception of Norway, and still account for less than 1 percent of global car sales. Automakers have sought to adapt to the changing tide - and in some cases distance themselves from “dieselgate” - by announcing multibillion-euro investments in electric cars, underpinned by plans to sell millions within a decade. A year into the scandal, VW unveiled plans to develop 30 new electric cars and sell 2-3 million annually by 2025. On Monday it upped the goal to 80 models and said it would need four times the capacity of Tesla’s “gigafactory” to supply their batteries. Volkswagen id concept-cars are pictured before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach JOBS FLIGHT Since the battery is the single biggest-value item in an electric car, however, experts point out that mass adoption would shift business and jobs from European suppliers to China, which already dominates the automotive power-pack market. According to consulting firm AlixPartners, electric drivetrains including batteries require 40 percent less manufacturing labour than mechanical ones. That would hit 112,000 jobs at European suppliers, even before any outsourcing. A phase-out of combustion engines by 2030 could cost 600,000 jobs in Germany alone, the country’s Ifo economic institute has warned. Chancellor Angela Merkel, on course for re-election on Sept. 24, said she was “no friend of bans”, in a Berliner Zeitung interview published on Tuesday. Speaking to a television audience of voters on Monday evening, Merkel said the industry would need support in its transformation. “The government still has to do more to set incentives,” she said, without giving details. Any deepening of the doubts surrounding mass electric car uptake could vindicate Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ) CEO Sergio Marchionne - one of the few car bosses who has largely resisted the plug-in vogue. “My aversion to electrification was based on pure cost issues,” Marchionne told analysts recently, predicting that stubbornly high battery costs would combine with tightening combustion-engine regulation to choke off overall sales. Independent analyst Richard Windsor warned that far from boosting the industry, the shift to electric cars - which are expected to last longer than combustion-engined equivalents and require less maintenance - could inflict long-term damage on it. “Vehicle makers are queuing up to announce their commitment to electric vehicles but at the same time they may be cheering for their own demise,” he said. Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt and Emma Thomasson in Berlin; Writing by Laurence Frost and Mark Potter; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-electrics/carmakers-face-electric-reality-as-combustion-engine-outlook-dims-idUKKCN1BN00F'|'2017-09-12T11:38:00.000+03:00'
'bffa8a537421ec8bfa7d6f638d8ae4d7e3970508'|'Renault, Toyota lead European car sales rise in August'|' 39 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Renault, Toyota lead European car sales rise in August Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Logo is seen at a Renault store in Minsk, Belarus June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko BERLIN (Reuters) - European car sales rose 5.5 percent in August, accelerating from an increase of 2.6 percent in July, according to industry data published on Thursday. Registrations rose to 903,143 vehicles in the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries in August and to 1.19 million vehicles for July, Brussels-based industry body ACEA said. For the first eight months of the year, registrations were up 4.4 percent to 10.56 million vehicles. In the 28-nation EU excluding Malta, registrations climbed 5.6 percent to 865,047 vehicles in August, the best August performance in a decade, ACEA said. Europe’s largest carmaker, Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), which is still grappling with its diesel emissions scandal, saw August deliveries rise 2.8 percent, with its namesake brand down 4.4 percent. Among the major manufacturers, Renault ( RENA.PA ) and Toyota ( 7203.T ) saw the biggest monthly increases with 13 percent and 12.5 percent, followed by Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ) with 9.8 percent. Performance was mixed for the region’s two biggest markets. Germany saw a 3.5 percent increase, while Britain registered a 6.4 percent drop, continuing a 9.3 percent fall seen in July. Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-vehicleregistrations/renault-toyota-lead-european-car-sales-rise-in-august-idUKKCN1BP0NO'|'2017-09-14T09:39:00.000+03:00'
'4ec77e5f3ec54ca323579432c6a3bcfde583c64c'|'Bayer joins in $100 million investment bet on ag-biotech startup'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo CHICAGO (Reuters) - Germany’s Bayer AG, one of the world’s biggest agricultural chemical companies, is joining a $100 million bet that the next big breakthrough in crop fertilizers will be found inside a biological Petri dish.Its Bayer LifeScience Center division, along with biotech firm Ginkgo Bioworks, is forming a startup to focus on developing biological solutions to reduce the use of nitrogen-based fertilizer, or make farmers’ use more efficient, company officials said this week.The venture will be backed via a Series A investment from the two companies and hedge fund Viking Global Investors LP. The funding round closed on Wednesday. Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks officials declined to discuss financial details or individual investment amounts.The still-unnamed business will focus on plant-based microbes, particularly finding ways for microorganisms to help plants and the soil assimilate nitrogen molecules from the air or other sources, Gingko Bioworks Chief Executive Jason Kelly said in an interview.The effort is part of a broader push in agricultural research to harness the microorganisms in plants and soil and, among other things, use them to improve crop yields or allow plants to thrive on lower amounts of fertilizer.Reducing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed to feed plants could ease environmental concerns over water contamination from nitrogen fertilizer run-off and related greenhouse gas emissions, company officials said.The Bayer-Gingko startup plans to hire 50 people and have offices at Ginkgo’s Boston facilities and in West Sacramento, California, home to Bayer’s plant biologics test facilities.Viking Global Investors could not be reached for comment.Investor interest in the microbiome and the broader life science sector has boomed in recent years.Gingko Bioworks developed a technology to make a variety of products ranging from perfumes and sweeteners to animal feed supplements - all thanks to microorganisms. Last summer, Gingko pulled in $100 million in Series C funding to obtain 600 million base pairs of manufactured DNA.Michael Miille, a vice president at Bayer Crop Science’s biologics group, said launching this venture as a startup was intended to keep it more nimble.“Everything is designed for speed,” said Miille, who will serve as interim CEO.Bayer’s latest investment is its fifth in the life science sector since December 2015, for a total of $650 million, company officials said.Bayer is working to close its $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co - which also is ramping up its biologicals portfolio.Editing by Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-investment/bayer-joins-in-100-million-investment-bet-on-ag-biotech-startup-idUSKCN1BP0CJ'|'2017-09-14T12:09:00.000+03:00'
'6850d49e1f3ac1c9993eb44f1dfed40bc0f94400'|'Tyremaker Pirelli says to raise up to 3.3 billion euros in IPO'|' 04 PM / a minute ago Tyremaker Pirelli says to raise up to 3.3 billion euros in IPO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - Italian tyremaker Pirelli unveiled plans on Thursday to raise as much as 3.3 billion euros (£2.97 billion) on its return to Milan’s stock market next month, in a public offer that values the company at less than it had originally hoped for. Pirelli said in a statement it would issue up to 350 million shares within an indicative price range of 6.30-8.30 euros each, giving it a valuation between 6.3 billion and 8.3 billion euros. Pirelli’s existing owners, including its controlling shareholder China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), had been seeking a valuation of up to 9 billion euros before, sources familiar with the matter said. Pirelli may also issue another 50 million shares to its bankers under an over-allotment option. If that happens, the total stake sold into the offer would amount to 40 percent. (This version of the story corrects to make clear Pirelli issued price range in a statement, not prospectus) Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Mark Bendeich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pirelli-ipo-price/tyremaker-pirelli-says-to-raise-up-to-3-3-billion-euros-in-ipo-idUKKCN1BP25R'|'2017-09-14T18:04:00.000+03:00'
'baaafb4b13489dee475f8f97f35842e0494a49b9'|'Britain''s easyJet launches platform to book partner flights'|'September 13, 2017 / 6:35 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Britain''s easyJet launches platform to book partner flights Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Passengers disembark from an EasyJet flight after arriving at Gibraltar airport in Gibraltar, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) - British budget airline easyJet ( EZJ.L ) on Wednesday launched a new booking platform to allow customers to use its website to book long-haul flights with other airlines, the company said. EasyJet said that customers would be able to buy other airlines’ flights on easyJet.com, and said it was the first global airline connections service by a European low fares airline. Its launch partners are WestJet ( WJA.TO ) and Norwegian ( NWC.OL ), who will offer flights to North and South America, as well as Singapore, from Gatwick. EasyJet said it was in talks with carriers in Asia about joining the scheme, which would expand into other airports in Europe. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Kate Holton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-easyjet-strategy/britains-easyjet-launches-platform-to-book-partner-flights-idUSKCN1BO0K1'|'2017-09-13T09:34:00.000+03:00'
'ac58ca2c959f09dc1b3f7307659cfdc60785402f'|'Chalco agrees $1.5 billion debt financing plan with China Pacific Insurance'|'BEIJING (Reuters) - Aluminum Corp of China Ltd 6001600.SS ( 2600.HK ) on Wednesday said it had agreed a debt financing plan, worth up to 10 billion yuan ($1.53 billion), with China Pacific Insurance Group Co ( 601601.SS ) to help fund construction of key projects.Total liabilities for Chalco, China’s No.2 aluminum smelter by capacity, stood at 96.334 billion yuan as of end-June, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing from last month.The company’s Hong Kong shares rose 4.13 percent to HK$6.80 on Wednesday. Trading in its Shanghai shares was suspended on Monday evening pending a “major event” that may constitute significant asset restructuring.The suspension prompted speculation Chalco or its parent, state-run Chinalco, would merge with another Chinese state firm.A company spokesman declined further comment.Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-metals-aluminium/chalco-agrees-1-5-billion-debt-financing-plan-with-china-pacific-insurance-idUSKCN1BO10C'|'2017-09-13T17:51:00.000+03:00'
'43cd5de94fe75e085e07cc061f5467d70df412d4'|'Unacceptable for pilots to put Air Berlin fate at risk - minister'|'September 13, 2017 / 1:11 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Unacceptable for pilots to put Air Berlin fate at risk - minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read German Labour Minister Andrea Nahles reacts to questions of Reuters journalists in Berlin, Germany, September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) - German Labour Minister Andrea Nahles said on Wednesday it is “completely unacceptable” for pilots at Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) to put the airline’s fate at risk by calling in sick in unusually high numbers. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-biggest airline, is set to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with binding offers due this Friday. “I think Air Berlin is in a decidedly difficult situation at the moment and the pilots, with their behaviour, are putting at risk a reasonable handover or sale. That is unacceptable,” Nahles told Reuters in a television interview. “And I say, quite clearly: 8,000 employees depend on this company. They should not be taken hostage to serve the interests of some pilots.” Reporting by Holger Hansen; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Madeline Chambers'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa-minister/unacceptable-for-pilots-to-put-air-berlin-fate-at-risk-minister-idUKKCN1BO1MW'|'2017-09-13T16:10:00.000+03:00'
'234bb344c989b41a018a3e382055b7c4fb84e04e'|'Insurers lead European shares higher after Hurricane Irma downgrade'|'  7:38 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Insurers lead European shares higher as Hurricane Irma weakens 2 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall MILAN (Reuters) - European shares rose on Monday, led by insurers as the downgrade of Hurricane Irma in the United States raised the prospect that costs for the industry may be lower than initially feared. Europe’s insurance index .SXIP was the biggest sectoral gainer, up 2 percent and set for its best day in more than four months after the estimated insured loss in the U.S. resulting from Irma was cut to $20-40 billion.[nL5N1LS14Z] “Insured losses (overall) are now expected to be less than many feared,” Credit Suisse analysts said. Their gains added fuel to a broad-based rally, helping the pan-European STOXX 600 rise 0.6 percent. Irma, which hit Florida early on Sunday, came swiftly after Hurricane Harvey, whose costs for the industry have been estimated at $20-$30 billion. Among top gainers were top world reinsurers Munich Re ( MUVGn.DE ), Swiss Re ( SRENH.S ) and Hannover Re ( HNRGn.DE ), all up over 4 percent, while Britain’s Beazley BEZG.L added 6 percent. Analysts at Baader Helvea upgraded Hannover Re to hold from sell, saying that following the stock’s recent heavy losses the market had already priced in an extremely severe scenario. Europe’s insurance index has underperformed the broader market so far in 2017 and is still down 4.5 percent from its year high, hit in early August. Elsewhere, pharma heavyweight AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) rose 2.3 percent after two of its drugs tackling lung cancer delivered impressive clinical results on Saturday. That helped the British group offset a big clinical trial setback in the disease in July that sent its shares down more than 15 percent, its biggest daily loss ever. In the same sector, however, Denmark’s Lundbeck ( LUN.CO ) slumped 11 percent, the leading faller in Europe, after the resignation of CEO Kåre Schultz. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Kit Rees and Mark Trevelyan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/insurers-lead-european-shares-higher-after-hurricane-irma-downgrade-idUKKCN1BM0PG'|'2017-09-11T10:38:00.000+03:00'
'e63733c7edc8b609062acbc6b6a45069aefbb516'|'US STOCKS-Wall St set for relief rally as Irma, N.Korea fears ease'|'  1:03 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago US STOCKS-Wall St set for relief rally as Irma, N.Korea fears ease Reuters Staff * Irma weakens to tropical storm, insurers gain * No North Korea missile test as feared * World stocks climb to a record high; gold drops * Futures up: Dow 111 pts, S&P 12 pts, Nasdaq 40.5 pts (Adds details, comment, updates prices) By Sruthi Shankar Sept 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open sharply higher on Monday on relief that Irma weakened to a tropical storm and North Korea did not conduct a nuclear test over the weekend as feared. Irma pounded heavily populated areas of central Florida over the weekend, but gradually lost strength and was downgraded to a tropical storm in the morning. Irma, once ranked as one of the most powerful hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic, had started off a category 5 and came on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, whose devastations economists said would dent third-quarter economic growth. Also boosting risk appetite was North Korea holding a massive celebration on it founding day on Saturday, instead of another long-range missile launch as the United States and its allies were bracing for. With the tensions easing, world stocks climbed to a record high, while the dollar edged higher and gold retreated from Friday’s 13-month high. “For now, we’re seeing a bit of a relief rally. It does appear that the worst-case scenario for Florida has been evaded,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. At 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT), Dow e-minis were up 111 points, or 0.51 percent, with 14,056 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 e-minis were up 12 points, or 0.49 percent, with 196,044 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 40.5 points, or 0.68 percent, on volume of 22,325 contracts. “However, a big question remains on the sanctions from the United Nations ... you just have to wait and see the reaction from North Korea,” Cardillo said. The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on Monday on a watered-down U.S.-drafted resolution to impose new sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test, diplomats said. Wall Street ended mixed on Friday, with the major indexes all posting declines for the week, as investors fretted about Pyongyang’s possible missile test and braced for Irma. Insurers’ shares, which had been under pressure after the back-to-back natural disasters, rose in premarket trading. Travelers, Allstate and Chubb were up more than 1 percent. Florida insurers gained more. Universal Insurance Holdings, Heritage Insurance and HCI Group surged between 16 percent and 19 percent. A host of biotech stocks were also higher after reporting positive news on their drug developments. Among them, Marinus Pharma surged about 37 percent and Idera Pharma gained about 20 percent. Also boosting pharma stocks was Teva, which jumped 11.6 percent after naming a new chief executive. Snap was down about 2 percent after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to “hold”, saying new products may take longer to improve daily active users trajectory. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-wall-st-set-for-relief-rally-as-irma-n-korea-fears-ease-idUSL4N1LS3ZF'|'2017-09-11T16:03:00.000+03:00'
'06377fa113d8fe5ccdf172e3673f215121451882'|'Thyssenkrupp aims for MoU with Tata Steel on steel merger'|' 21 PM / a minute ago Thyssenkrupp aims for MoU with Tata Steel on steel merger   The new logo of ThyssenKrupp is seen at the headquarters of the steel maker and multinational conglomerate in Essen, Germany, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) could reach an agreement in principle this month to merge its European steel business with that of Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ), the group said on Monday, adding talks were constructive and had entered the final stretch. Shareholders last week put pressure on Thyssenkrupp to clinch a deal after talks over a potential steel combination dragged on for a year and a half, mainly held up by negotiations over Tata Steel’s British pension liabilities. That hurdle was removed after Tata Steel on Monday received regulatory clearance on a pension deal initially reached a month ago, enabling it to separate its UK pension scheme from the group. A spokeswoman for Thyssenkrupp said both groups were close to a memorandum of understanding (MoU), paving the way for a detailed look at one another’s books and detailed negotiations before creating the second-largest steelmaker in Europe. Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger favors a steel joint venture, saying this would be the best option to eliminate overcapacities in the volatile steel sector but drawing opposition from labor representatives, who fear cuts. Trade union IG Metall said it remained opposed to a joint venture, adding there were no signs the labor representatives it has on Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board would agree. Monthly Manager Magazin reported that Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board could agree to a combination either on Sept. 23 or 24, citing people involved in the negotiations. A spokesman for Thyssenkrupp’s works council confirmed that a board meeting initially scheduled for Sept. 12 had been pushed back to Sept. 23 or 24. Reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-steel/thyssenkrupp-aims-for-mou-with-tata-steel-on-steel-merger-idUKKCN1BM1O3'|'2017-09-11T16:15:00.000+03:00'
'f26b744e4520dfcff317f036b02d9077e805e3e5'|'Delta to cancel about 800 flights due to Irma'|'September 11, 2017 / 12:54 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Delta to cancel about 800 flights due to Irma Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Empty runways and gates are see at Miami International Airport after Hurricane Irma strikes Florida, in Miami, U.S. September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc said it would cancel about 800 flights on Monday as it braces for Tropical Storm Irma at its Atlanta hub. "Hurricane Irma is expected to bring to the Atlanta hub strong crosswinds that exceed operating limits on select mainline and regional aircraft," Delta said on Monday. ( bit.ly/2gXW5Cu ) The No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic, whose business is heavily dependent on operations at the Atlanta airport, said it was planning to resume service to airports in Florida. Irma, ranked as one of the most powerful hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic, hit a wide swath of Florida over the past day. It is now a tropical storm with sustained winds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 km per hour). Bigger rival American Airlines Group Inc said on Sunday it would not resume commercial flights at its Miami International Airport hub on Monday, but may operate flights to bring in staff and supplies. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-flights/delta-to-cancel-about-800-flights-due-to-irma-idUSKCN1BM1L6'|'2017-09-11T15:51:00.000+03:00'
'b1c13e36e1e41e1187bf3c4faa706f2d35763fda'|'Travelcenters of America wins lawsuit vs Comdata over merchant fees'|' 01 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Travelcenters of America wins lawsuit vs Comdata over merchant fees   WILMINGTON, Del., Sept 11 (Reuters) - A Delaware court ruled in favor of Travelcenters of America LLC on Monday in its lawsuit against the Comdata affiliate of Fleetcor Technologies Inc over merchant fees paid by the truck stop operator to the fuel card provider. A Delaware judge ruled that TA Operating LLC, an affiliate of Travelcenters, did not breach a merchant agreement with Comdata and was entitled to damages for the difference between fees that TA Operating paid since Feb. 1 and what it would have paid under an amendment to the merchant agreement, according to the opinion. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/travel-america-fleetcor-technol-ruling/travelcenters-of-america-wins-lawsuit-vs-comdata-over-merchant-fees-idUSL2N1LS1FA'|'2017-09-11T22:00:00.000+03:00'
'68342effae358f3bea7ed2eaf0dc92fe55da7a67'|'Lawsuits against Equifax pile up'|'  6:53 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Lawsuits against Equifax pile up Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Trading information and the company logo are displayed on a screen where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed in the United States against Equifax Inc after the credit reporting company said thieves may have stolen personal information for 143 million Americans in one of the largest hackings ever. At least 24 federal lawsuits had been filed by Sunday in connection with the breach, which Equifax had publicly revealed three days earlier, and more were filed on Monday, court records show. Most will likely be combined into a single piece of nationwide litigation. Equifax said it learned of the hacking on July 29, and has set up procedures it said are intended to help people protect their Social Security numbers and other identifying information. ( www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/ ) Some lawsuits criticized Equifax’s offer of a year of free credit monitoring with its TrustedID product, with one complaint filed in San Jose, California, suggesting Equifax might do this to lay a “foundation” to pitch costlier services. It cited a Feb. 22 regulatory filing in which Atlanta-based Equifax said more companies are offering free or low-cost services such as credit scores, reports and monitoring “as a means to introduce consumers to premium products and services.” In afternoon trading, Equifax shares were down $10.03 (7.61 pounds), or 8.1 percent, at $113.20. They closed at $142.72 on Sept. 7, before the breach was disclosed. Some lawyers have said they may file securities fraud lawsuits over the share price decline. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Trott'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-equifax-cyber-lawsuits/lawsuits-against-equifax-pile-up-idUKKCN1BM2E7'|'2017-09-11T21:54:00.000+03:00'
'11630542eb2d0b10ad20b30686233781b3e42fff'|'China fiscal revenue and spending growth slow in August'|'September 11, 2017 / 3:51 AM / Updated an hour ago China fiscal revenue and spending growth slow in August Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A customer selects a product in a shop at Li Ning Center in Beijing, China June 20, 2016. Picture taken June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING (Reuters) - Government spending in China rose at its slowest monthly pace in 10 months, though for the whole of 2017 spending is still up slightly from last year in a boon to broad economic activity. China has pledged a pro-active fiscal policy to support the economy, and analysts have credited Beijing’s pump-priming as one of the key factors underpinning solid growth this year. In August, spending rose 2.9 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday, the smallest rise since October last year, mainly because some spending was front-loaded early in the year. For the first eight months of the year, spending increased 13.1 percent to 13.16 trillion yuan (1.53 trillion pounds), with the pace of growth still up slightly from last year’s 12.7 percent growth over the same period. Government revenue increased 7.2 percent in August, slower from July’s 11.1 percent pace, while Jan-Aug revenue rose 9.8 percent to 12.14 trillion yuan. Revenue growth over in the same period last year was 6.0 percent. China’s economy has defied expectations for a slowdown this year, as a government-led infrastructure drive sparked a boom in construction and underpinned demand and prices for everything from steel to cement to other building products. Value-added tax revenue rose 19.3 percent year-on-year in August to 390.8 billion yuan, while personal income taxes increased 18.7 percent and revenue from vehicle purchase taxes rose 30.9 percent. Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-fiscal-spending/china-fiscal-revenue-and-spending-growth-slow-in-august-idUKKCN1BM08N'|'2017-09-11T06:51:00.000+03:00'
'76502eea39a7723ca14224ac27f67a250099aa37'|'UPDATE 1-Iconic Canadian retailer Roots files for IPO'|'September 13, 2017 / 10:48 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago UPDATE 2-Iconic Canadian retailer Roots files for IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds lead underwriter details) Sept 13 (Reuters) - Canadian lifestyle retailer Roots Corp said on Wednesday it filed a preliminary prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada for a proposed initial public offering of its common shares. The company, known for its casual wear and leather goods with a distinctive beaver logo, said New York-based private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners LP and founders Michael Budman and Don Green are selling their stake. The retailer is seeking to raise about C$200 million in the share sale this month and could have a market value of about C$700 million ($574 million) after listing, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The shares will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ROOT, according to the regulatory filing. ( bit.ly/2x2kNeb ) Roots reported sales of C$281.9 million in fiscal 2016, up 10 percent from a year earlier, according to the filing. The company’s net income nearly halved to $8.1 million in the same period. Roots’ proposed listing follows luxury jacket maker Canada Goose Holdings Inc’s IPO in March. Shares of the company are up nearly 27 percent since its debut. TD Securities Inc, Credit Suisse Securities (Canada) Inc and BMO Capital Markets are the lead underwriters. CIBC World Markets, Canaccord Genuity Corp and National Bank Financial are serving as underwriters for the Toronto-based Roots Corp, which has 116 retail stores in Canada and an online business that ships products to 54 countries. (Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/roots-corp-ipo/update-1-iconic-canadian-retailer-roots-files-for-ipo-idUSL4N1LU5O9'|'2017-09-14T01:48:00.000+03:00'
'79914f6d8d1d4f34939cbd1ee6fb6b84260894eb'|'Preview: Japan''s low-inflation puzzle unlikely to sway BOJ into action'|'FILE PHOTO: A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is in the middle of a solid economic recovery, with business confidence at a decade-high. But inflation remains stubbornly low.Sounds familiar?The Bank of Japan, having tried many tricks in its monetary policy play book to vanquish decades of falling consumer prices, is expected to stand pat next week and signal that no further stimulus is forthcoming.The nine-member board will likely debate why inflation remains puzzlingly low. While that question has been a perennial one for Japan, the mystery this time is that prices remain tame even as job availability hit a 43-year high and consumption has rebounded.Given the slow inflation, some policymakers already worry that the BOJ may have to cut its inflation forecasts again at a quarterly review of its projections in October, say sources familiar with the bank’s thinking.“It’s too early to think about new projections. But it’s true inflation remains lacklustre despite pretty strong economic growth,” said one of the sources.Low inflation is a global phenomenon, including in many parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. In Japan, the problem has persisted since the late 1990s.At the two-day rate review ending on Sept. 21, the BOJ is set to keep intact a pledge to guide short-term interest rates at minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year government bond yield around zero percent under its yield curve control (YCC) policy.It is also seen maintaining a loose pledge to keep buying bonds so its holdings increase at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($724 billion).The BOJ has actually slowed purchases as strong demand for bonds briefly drove down 10-year bond yields below zero percent. Maintaining the current pace of buying would see the BOJ purchasing around 60 trillion yen per year.But central bank officials say they have no plan to change or remove the pledge as the BOJ may be forced to accelerate buying again if external factors send yields spiking.In a post-meeting briefing, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is likely to stress the bank is in no rush to follow the footsteps of its U.S. and European counterparts in dialing back stimulus.Japan’s economy expanded at an annualised rate of 2.5 percent in the second quarter thanks to robust exports and a pick-up in consumption. A recent survey showed manufacturers’ confidence at a decade-high.But core consumer prices rose just 0.5 percent in July from a year earlier, well below the BOJ’s 2 percent target, as firms remain wary of scaring away households with price hikes.The central bank cut its price forecasts in July and now expects inflation to hit 1.1 percent in the year ending in March 2018, still exceeding a 0.6 percent rise projected in a Reuters poll.Some BOJ officials concede that another cut in the forecast may be inevitable at the October review, but add that any such downgrade would not trigger additional easing.In an analysis in July, the BOJ partly blamed weak inflation on companies’ efforts to streamline operations to meet labour shortages, such as automating operations with new machinery.“Such efforts would boost productivity and won’t necessarily be bad for the economy,” justifying standing pat on policy even if inflation remains subdued, another source said.The BOJ has had to push back the timing for reaching its price target six times since it deployed its massive stimulus programme in 2013. It now expects consumer inflation to hit its target by March 2020.($1 = 110.4700 yen)Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-boj/preview-japans-low-inflation-puzzle-unlikely-to-sway-boj-into-action-idINKCN1BP10A'|'2017-09-14T11:59:00.000+03:00'
'02e8a68037485fa0ab170841f69088ece260f329'|'Oil prices expected to stay in a range of $50-$60, says BP CEO'|'September 14, 2017 / 12:23 PM / 3 hours ago Oil prices expected to stay in a range of $50-$60, says BP CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley addresses the gathering during a media interaction in New Delhi, India, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices are expected to hold between $50 and $60 a barrel as bloated global stocks fall after a deal between OPEC and other producers to trim output, BP ( BP.L ) Chief Executive Bob Dudley said on Thursday. “It was always going to take quite a while for stocks to come down. But for the OPEC and non-OPEC producer agreement, from everything we see, there is broadly compliance in place and stock levels are coming down,” Dudley said in an interview with Reuters. “We don’t expect a spike up in prices nor do we expect a big drop in prices. So we’re all trying to make our way in this world of between $50 and $60 and I would expect that to continue.” The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, are reducing crude output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until next March in an attempt to support prices by cutting a glut of crude oil on world markets. OPEC top producer Saudi Arabia and several other countries have held talks in recent days on a possible extension of the deal. Reporting by Ron Bousso, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-oil/oil-prices-expected-to-stay-in-a-range-of-50-60-says-bp-ceo-idUKKCN1BP1LU'|'2017-09-14T15:22:00.000+03:00'
'34c61799c35795db1893228c04841092fd6bf004'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Updates Autoliv, Dangote, Sky; Adds Santander, EQT Corp, GVC, Orange)Sept 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1400 GMT on Thursday:** A total of 17 companies have registered to take part in two rounds of bidding for licenses to explore pre-salt oil areas in Brazil, Oil and Gas Secretary Marcio Felix said.** Spanish bank Santander is the frontrunner to buy Deutsche Bank’s Polish assets ahead of Portugal’s Millennium bcp, two sources familiar with the matter said.** Hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co LP urged EQT Corp, which is buying Rice Energy Inc in a $6.7 billion deal, to split into two parts after the deal and to speed up efforts to boost the company’s stock price.** GVC, which has grown rapidly into one of Britain’s biggest online gambling companies, is still hungry for deals but will keep its powder dry until there is greater clarity on the UK regulatory environment, its CEO said.** Telecom Italia is considering several options for its Sparkle unit including selling the subsidiary or making it a separate entity within Telecom Italia that would remain under Italian leadership.** The French government is likely to reduce its 23 percent stake in telecommunications company Orange, the company’s head of European operations said.** South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare expanded its anaesthetic drugs portfolio with a $766 million deal with AstraZeneca as it focuses on injectibles rather than making tablets.** Sweden’s Autoliv said it planned to split into two listed companies, with one focused on high-tech safety gear to capture the rapid growth towards self-driving vehicles.** Nigeria’s Dangote Cement, controlled by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, has approached South African rival PPC about a takeover.** Britain should judge Rupert Murdoch’s bid for broadcaster Sky on facts and not politics or risk stifling inward investment after Brexit, his son and fellow executive James Murdoch said.** South Korea’s Lotte Shopping has picked Goldman Sachs to manage the sale of its supermarkets in China, after most of them were shut down amid political tensions between the two countries.** A Canadian and a Danish pension fund, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTTP) and ATP, have agreed to buy a 57.7 percent stake in Copenhagen Airports (CPH) from Australia’s Macquarie for about 9.8 billion Danish crowns ($1.57 billion).** British tour operator Thomas Cook said it had entered into a strategic alliance with Expedia to make the online travel company its preferred provider of hotels for certain holiday sales.** Adecco said it was buying U.S.-life-sciences career manager Biobridges to expand its higher-margin professional staffing business.** Toshiba Corp said its business partner Western Digital Corp had been “persistently” overstating its rights over a memory chip unit that the Japanese firm is looking to offload, showing the two remain at loggerheads over the $18 billion sale.** Germany’s Bayer AG, one of the world’s biggest agricultural chemical companies, is joining a $100 million bet that the next big breakthrough in crop fertilizers will be found inside a biological Petri dish.** Navicure, a healthcare technology company backed by Bain Capital, is nearing a deal to acquire ZirMed Inc that will value it at around $750 million, people familiar with the matter said.** Tenet Healthcare Corp has hired advisers to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the U.S. hospital operator, a person familiar with the matter said.** The Federal Reserve approved the purchase of Scottrade Financial Services by Toronto-Dominion Bank, as had been expected.** Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd is close to a deal to sell its women’s health assets outside the United States to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, the Fly reported, citing Bloomberg.** U.S. President Donald Trump blocked a Chinese-backed private equity firm from buying a U.S.-based chipmaker, sending a clear signal to Beijing that Washington will oppose takeover deals that involve technologies with potential military applications. (Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1LV3TC'|'2017-09-14T08:18:00.000+03:00'
'9d71aead44149b6fd30b9bb9737ddaa2dccf2c7a'|'UK confirms Murdoch''s Sky bid will be examined over broadcasting standards'|'  9:20 AM / 3 hours ago Judge Fox bid for Sky on merits not politics: James Murdoch Paul Sandle , Kate Holton 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and his wife Kathryn Hufschmid arrive for a reception to celebrate the wedding between Rupert Murdoch and former supermodel Jerry Hall which took place on Friday, in London, Britain March 5, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall CAMBRIDGE, England (Reuters) - Britain should judge Rupert Murdoch’s bid for broadcaster Sky ( SKYB.L ) on facts and not politics or risk stifling inward investment after Brexit, his son and fellow executive James Murdoch said on Thursday. Appearing before an audience of media executives hours after the government referred Twenty-First Century Fox’s ( FOXA.O ) $15 billion bid for a detailed investigation, James Murdoch struck a combative tone in defense of his family’s record in building global businesses that span TV, film and news. He was confident, he said, that the country’s independent regulators would assess the deal on its merits and not be swayed by politicians with scores to settle over how his father’s newspapers had treated them over the decades. “Whether or not 30 years ago someone had a grievance about a political position that a newspaper took ... is irrelevant,” Murdoch, who is CEO of Twenty-First Century Fox and chairman of Sky, said at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention. “We have a clock on this now. We are confident it goes through.” The Murdochs returned to buy full control of Sky in December 2016, more than five years after a phone-hacking scandal at their now-defunct News of the World tabloid newspaper sank a previous attempt. Since that failure they have split their company in two, separating the newspapers from the entertainment assets to help to smooth the deal’s passage deal. Related Coverage Backing Sky deal would show UK open after Brexit: James Murdoch But their reputation remains damaged in Britain after a public inquiry revealed close ties between Rupert Murdoch and prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron, creating the impression of a puppet master pulling the strings of the country’s politicians. Theresa May’s government has been much more cautious, referring the bid for lengthy investigations and in one instance ignoring the advice of media regulator Ofcom, which had cleared it on grounds of broadcasting standards. James Murdoch cast himself as apolitical, saying his own opinions did not influence the way he runs a group that made content ranging from The Simpsons cartoon to the award-winning Sky News and movies such as Avatar. “My politics are not an issue here,” he said. Tennis - US Open - Mens Final - New York, U.S. - September 10, 2017 - Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel stands before Rafael Nadal of Spain plays against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Segar “It’s an irony that in the U.S., in some sectors, they think I‘m a raging liberal environmentalist tree hugger, and here I‘m the right-wing demon who is going to Foxify everything.” Asked if he had spoken to the government about a separate investigation into newspaper ethics, he replied: “The government won’t take a meeting with me.” UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Media Secretary Karen Bradley told the same conference that she had referred the deal to the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) to give the public confidence in the regulatory process. “I want (the CMA) to look at the concerns that have been raised. You will see when we publish all the information on this exactly why the referral has been made,” she said. To secure the deal Fox will now need to prove it can uphold broadcasting standards during a six-month review that follows a series of sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits at the Fox News network in the United States. Asked if the Murdochs could be trusted after presiding over scandals at their British newspapers and later at Fox News, James Murdoch said the company had dealt with the problems effectively. He defended his stewardship of Sky, saying that few others had invested as much and over such a long period. He added that the issue of inward investment would become even more important as the country prepares to leave the European Union. “If the UK truly is open for business post-Brexit we’ll look forward to moving through the regulatory review process and this transformative transaction for the UK creative sector becoming an affirmation of that claim,” he said. The government has given the CMA 24 weeks to examine the deal. It will make recommendations, including any possible remedies, to Bradley. “I must then come to a final decision on whether or not the merger can proceed,” Bradley told parliament on Thursday. Sky shares dipped by 0.4 percent to 928.5 pence on Thursday, well below the 10.75 pounds per share offered by the Murdochs for the 61 percent of the company they do not already own. Additional reporting by Michael Holden and Alistair Smout; Editing by Keith Weir and David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sky-m-a-fox/uk-confirms-murdochs-sky-bid-will-be-examined-over-broadcasting-standards-idUKKCN1BP11T'|'2017-09-14T12:24:00.000+03:00'
'7f2bbe4197ca2f7b080b7e41a9946b9764d95799'|'OPEC sees oil rebalancing under way, further inventory declines'|' 42 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago OPEC sees oil rebalancing under way, further inventory declines Reuters Staff 1   OPEC logo is pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo OXFORD, England (Reuters) - The OPEC-led supply cut deal is helping to rebalance the global oil market, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said on Monday, and higher demand in the rest of this year should lead to further reductions in oil inventories. “It is clear the rebalancing process is under way, supported by the high conformity levels of OPEC member countries and participating non OPEC countries,” he said. Reporting by Alex Lawler; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-barkindo/opec-sees-oil-rebalancing-under-way-further-inventory-declines-idUKKCN1BM2L8'|'2017-09-11T23:41:00.000+03:00'
'9d4057ef74d0966032ae44c8332d2d2320ab3636'|'FTSE dips as sterling rises, housebuilders suffer'|'  9:07 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago FTSE dips as sterling rises, housebuilders suffer Helen Reid 4 Min Read A sign displays the crest and name of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Shares on Britain’s major market index softened on Tuesday as housebuilders weighed on benchmark gains and rising inflation boosted the pound. The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended the session 0.2 percent lower at 7,400.69 points after stronger-than-expected inflation figures for August sent the pound GBP=EBS to a one-year high against the dollar, weighing on mostly foreign-earning blue-chips. Housebuilders .TRXFLDGBPHBLD were among the worst-performing stocks, after mid-cap residential housing developer Redrow ( RDW.L ) dropped 8.3 percent after chairman and founder Steve Morgan’s foundation sold 25.9 million shares. Redrow’s fall sent blue-chips Taylor Wimpey ( TW.L ), Barratt Development ( BDEV.L ), and Persimmon ( PSN.L ) down 1.4 to 2 percent as concerns over the British housebuilding sector, one of the worst hit after the Brexit vote, simmered. Traders cited last week’s Berkeley Group ( BKGH.L ) share sale as another sign of pressure, and pointed to a BAML research note highlighting risks in a sector “priced for perfection”. Jefferies analysts argued, however, that the sector, which has rallied strongly since the Brexit vote, had not yet peaked. Among leading FTSE gainers was Ashtead ( AHT.L ), jumping 4.5 percent after its first-quarter update showed a profit beat and higher rental revenue in the United States. The firm said hurricanes Harvey and Irma would boost demand for its products. “Insurers and reinsurers are clearly the most exposed (though we note the change in Irma’s path has given some respite to the share prices of these stocks in the last 24 hours) whilst those exposed to reconstruction and replacing insured capital stock are likely to see a pick-up in demand over the next few months,” said Edward Park, investment director at Brooks Macdonald. Costa Coffee owner Whitbread ( WTB.L ) saw its shares weaken 0.4 percent after a double downgrade to “sell” from Citi analysts, who forecast slower earnings and just 4 to 5 years of growth left in the branded UK coffee market. Mid-cap auto recovery and insurance firm AA ( AAAA.L ) rose 3.4 percent after confirming it held talks with rival Hastings ( HSTG.L ) on a merger, and analysts mulled the implications of such a deal. “Although there are likely to have been some cost savings benefits from this deal, possibly in the 10 to 15 million pound range from rationalizing platforms, we think its logic would have been primarily around Intellectual Property,” said KBW analysts. JD Sports ( JD.L ) shares surged 9 percent to top mid-cap gainers and posted their best day in nearly four years after the sports fashion retailer reported a record first-half profit. “Trouble at Foot Locker led some analysts to start writing the obituary of ”athleisure“, but a big earnings beat from JD Sports Fashion today suggests the trend is very much alive and kicking,” said Neil Wilson of ETX Capital. (For a graphic on UK housebuilders click reut.rs/2jj0F2k ) Reporting by Helen Reid and Kit Rees; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-dips-as-sterling-rises-housebuilders-suffer-idUKKCN1BN0W2'|'2017-09-12T12:06:00.000+03:00'
'9a48727a0bd9fd5654cdf43ae3bfdeb7497b8998'|'Daimler CEO says migration to e-cars should be left up to market'|'September 12, 2017 / 10:35 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Daimler CEO says migration to e-cars should be left up to market Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Mercedes car maker Daimler AG presents the new Mercedes AMG Project One car during the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said the migration from combustion-engined cars to electric vehicles should be left up to the market rather than forced by quotas. “We want to reach the maximum speed ourselves, we don’t need quotas for that,” he said at the Frankfurt auto show on Tuesday. A media report said recently that the European Commission wanted to accelerate the retreat from combustion engines by setting a quota for low emission cars such as electric cars from 2025. The European Union said it had no plans to introduce quotas. Zetsche also said that Daimler had sold more Mercedes-Benz cars with diesel engines so far this year than in the year-earlier period, despite talk of possible diesel bans in some German cities. Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-daimler/daimler-ceo-says-migration-to-e-cars-should-be-left-up-to-market-idUKKCN1BN163'|'2017-09-12T13:34:00.000+03:00'
'412b9d0f0b75ec6429147005fef5895c460e1a43'|'UK says is "vitally important" Boeing and Bombardier dispute is settled'|'September 12, 2017 / 11:16 AM / Updated 2 hours ago UK says is "vitally important" Boeing and Bombardier dispute is settled Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Boeing Co''s logo is seen above the front doors of its largest jetliner factory in Everett, Washington, U.S. January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it was “vitally important” that a trade dispute between U.S. plane maker Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and its Canadian rival Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), a major employer in Northern Ireland, was settled. In April, Boeing asked the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate alleged subsidies and unfair pricing for Bombardier’s CSeries airplane, accusing the Canadian company of having sold 75 of the planes to Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ) last year at a price well below cost. Asked by a lawmaker in parliament whether the government would stand firmly behind Bombardier, Claire Perry, Minister for Climate Change and Industry, said: “It is vitally important that we have this dispute settled and we create the environment for many manufacturing companies in this vital sector to thrive and grow.” Bombardier is Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing employer and the government is pressing Boeing to drop its challenge, with Prime Minister Theresa May raising the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump in a call earlier this month. Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Kylie MacLellan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-britain-minister/uk-says-is-vitally-important-boeing-and-bombardier-dispute-is-settled-idUKKCN1BN1AR'|'2017-09-12T14:19:00.000+03:00'
'84abfa6ec82073e07786828a215fc9987c6a04d5'|'Shell eyes Asia, aims to expand vehicle recharging at fuel stations'|'September 12, 2017 / 12:04 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Shell eyes Asia, aims to expand vehicle recharging at fuel stations Ron Bousso , Dmitry Zhdannikov 4 Min Read Filled oil drums are seen at Royal Dutch Shell Plc''s lubricants blending plant in the town of Torzhok, north-west of Tver, November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) aims to expand marketing operations in Asia and wants 20 percent of sales from its fuel stations worldwide to come from recharging electric vehicles and low carbon fuels by 2025, as the world shifts away from crude. The Anglo-Dutch firm, with 43,000 fuel stations in 80 countries, aims to expand in China and India, as well as Mexico, where it sees fossil fuel growth in the next decade, John Abbott, the head of refining, trading and marketing, told Reuters. But he said Shell remained focused on a future of where demand for alternatives to petrol and diesel cars would rise. “Shell will be part of leading the de-carbonising of the energy system. We have to accept that is the way the world is going,” he said in an interview in London. He said Shell, the world’s top roadside fuel station operator, was “working back from the customer, which is very relevant as we go through the energy transition.” Britain and France have said they will ban sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, while China and India are considering such a step, putting pressure on Shell and its peers to show investors how they can make profits in a world consuming less fossil fuel. Electric and hybrid-engine vehicles represent only a fraction of the world’s 1 billion car fleet now, but Shell forecasts it will account for about a quarter in 2040. Other fuels, such as hydrogen and natural gas, are also expected to become more popular as drivers seek lower polluting alternatives in the shift away from petrol and diesel. Abbott said Shell wanted about 20 percent of fuels offered at its forecourts by 2015 to be low carbon intensity, including biofuels, battery recharging and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which can be used to power trucks. He did not say how much business was generated by such energy alternatives now. Shell has launched pilot projects for vehicle recharging stations in Britain, the Netherlands and California. It is also part of a scheme to develop hydrogen fuel stations in Germany. Shell, which is betting on marketing to secure its revenues, plans to expand retail operations in China, India, Indonesia and also Mexico, where it opened its first fuel station this month, Abbott said. He did not give a timeline. Other oil majors are following a similar tack. Rival BP ( BP.L ) has increased its focus on retail, forming joint ventures with stores such as Marks and Spencer ( MKS.L ) in Britain to attract customers to its fuel station forecourts. MARKETING RESILIENCE A sharp drop in oil prices in the past three years, during which a barrel of crude tumbled from above $100 to around $54 now LCOc1, allowed Shell’s downstream activities to shine, partly because lower oil prices also mean cheaper gasoline and diesel for drivers. In the first half of 2017, Shell’s downstream activities - which covers everything from refining crude to delivering fuel at the roadside pump - generated more than $5 billion (£3.77 billion) in profit, about two thirds of Shell’s total. This was helped by a restructuring of downstream operations in recent years. Shell sold about a fifth of its refineries in the past decade, and upgraded the ones it kept while integrating their activities with the trading and marketing operations. Shell’s marketing business alone generated $2 billion in profit in the first half of 2017, up almost 40 percent on a year before. “Marketing gives the group resilience because it is not dependent on crude prices so much and refining margins,” Abbott said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-refining/shell-eyes-asia-aims-to-expand-vehicle-recharging-at-fuel-stations-idUKKCN1BN1FO'|'2017-09-12T15:04:00.000+03:00'
'9824b8dae726c8b5cb40ecb110200b6d4fb24995'|'Exclusive: China''s CEFC examines taking stake in Russia''s En+ - sources'|'HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - China’s CEFC is considering investing in En+ as part of the aluminum-to-power conglomerate’s planned IPO, industry sources said, potentially boosting Beijing’s ownership of Russian natural resources.If CEFC buys a stake in En+, it would be the second large deal by the fast growing Chinese conglomerate in Russia this year, following its purchase last week of 14 percent of Kremlin-controlled oil major Rosneft for $9 billion.“CEFC is looking to further boost its presence in Russia and buy into En+,” one of the sources told Reuters.CEFC would buy into En+ as a cornerstone investor during an IPO scheduled for later this year, although the investment was conditional on the flotation going ahead, a second source said.Oleg Deripaska, the main owner of EN+, is looking to raise money for investments and debt repayment.En+, which manages Deripaska’s aluminum and hydro power businesses, wants to raise about $1.5 billion from a possible IPO in London, Deripaska said in June.However, the IPO was postponed after the United States imposed new sanctions on Russia in August.En+ said its the parent company, Basic Element, had signed a wide-ranging strategic cooperation agreement with CEFC in July and the two firms were studying various forms of cooperation. It declined to discuss the IPO and stake sale plans.A CEFC spokesman said he was not aware of such a deal and could not immediately comment.Under the deal with Rosneft, the Russian oil firm has pledged to give CEFC access to its oil fields and petrochemical projects in East Siberia, not far from the border with China.En+ also controls assets in Eastern Siberia, including utility EuroSibEnergo and 48 percent of Hong Kong-listed aluminum producer Rusal ( 0486.HK ).Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; additional reporting by Aizhu Chen; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cefc-enplus/exclusive-chinas-cefc-examines-taking-stake-in-russias-en-sources-idINKCN1BN29F'|'2017-09-12T14:33:00.000+03:00'
'7b91b586d55ecb51b6a10a093b670f4adcdc5aff'|'Global recovery could be derailed by policy uncertainty, protectionism risk - IMF''s Lagarde'|' 49 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Global recovery could be derailed by policy uncertainty, protectionism risk: IMF''s Lagarde Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Managing Director Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund, speaks during The 1+6 Round Table Dialogue meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse September 12, 2017 in Beijing, China. REUTERS/Etienne Oliveau/Pool BEIJING (Reuters) - The global economy is recovering, but could easily be derailed by policy uncertainty and the threat of protectionism, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in Beijing on Thursday. Lagarde and the heads of other international organizations including World Bank President Jim Yong Kim are meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday in Beijing. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-economy-imf/global-recovery-could-be-derailed-by-policy-uncertainty-protectionism-risk-imfs-lagarde-idUKKCN1BN0D5'|'2017-09-12T07:48:00.000+03:00'
'cae52db02dbb4d82955867846682d21a7bb31dae'|'Shell to invest $2 billion per year in Brazil through 2020'|'  4:28 PM / 44 minutes ago Shell to invest $2 billion per year in Brazil through 2020 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Cars pass by a Shell gas station in Buenos Aires, Argentina August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The Brazilian unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC ( RDSa.L ) will invest $2 billion (£1.51 billion) per year in the country through 2020, Flávio Rodrigues, director of government relations and regulatory affairs, said at an industry event on Thursday. Reporting by Alex Alper; Writing by Ana Mano'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brazil-shell/shell-to-invest-2-billion-per-year-in-brazil-through-2020-idUKKCN1BP2EX'|'2017-09-14T19:33:00.000+03:00'
'119bf66fa95953cfed8cecab4eb9a5dd61fd103a'|'Halozyme to license drug delivery tech to Roche, Bristol-Myers'|'  12:03 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Halozyme to license drug delivery tech to Roche, Bristol-Myers Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Swiss drugmaker Roche''s logo is seen at their headquarters in Basel, Switzerland January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Halozyme Therapeutics Inc said on Thursday it would license its drug delivery technology to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Swiss drugmaker Roche in separate collaborations. Shares of Halozyme rose 12.7 percent to $14.85 in premarket trading after the company also raised its 2017 revenue forecast as a result of the deals. The company now expects full-year revenue of $245 million to $260 million, compared with an earlier forecast of $115 million to $130 million. Halozyme will receive $105 million upfront from Bristol-Myers, while Roche will pay $30 million upfront for Halozyme’s Enhanze technology that helps quicken the administration of injectable drugs. Halozyme is also entitled to future payments of up to $160 million each from both deals, upon achieving development, regulatory and sales-based milestones. Halozyme had licensed Enhanze to Roche in 2006 for the development of two cancer drugs. Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-halozyme-bristol-myers/halozyme-to-license-drug-delivery-tech-to-roche-bristol-myers-idUSKCN1BP1KG'|'2017-09-14T15:00:00.000+03:00'
'21b8e8fb69cd4fc483c4fd59c34c36f10f91f9f7'|'Deutsche Boerse seeks to close insider trading case by paying fine'|'September 13, 2017 / 8:40 PM / 20 minutes ago Deutsche Boerse pays $12.5 million in bid to end insider trading case Victoria Bryan , Tom Sims 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse talks to the media during the presentation of FinTec start-up facilities provided by Deutsche Boerse in Frankfurt, Germany February 24, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) has agreed to pay fines totaling $12.5 million in a bid to draw a line under allegations of insider trading over share purchases by its chief executive Carsten Kengeter. But the exchange operator left a question mark hanging over its leadership, saying it would wait until investigations by Germany’s finance watchdog and the government of Hesse are completed before deciding whether to extend Kengeter’s contract. Kengeter, who denies any wrongdoing and is cooperating with authorities, made share purchases shortly before formal merger talks with London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) were announced and triggered a sharp rise in Deutsche Boerse’s shares. The insider trading investigation has cast a shadow over the German exchange operator’s efforts to recover from the failed merger with LSE, drawn criticism from shareholders and made the board reluctant to extend the CEO’s contract. In July, the German exchange operator said that the Frankfurt prosecutor had offered a deal to settle the case for fines totaling 10.5 million euros ($12.5 million). Deutsche Boerse said it had now decided to accept the fines, but maintained that the allegations were unfounded. “By doing so, Deutsche Boerse aims to ensure that the company can re-focus as quickly as possible on managing the business and leave behind the serious burdens placed on it by the investigation proceedings,” it said in a statement. “Deutsche Boerse, however, does not share the Public Prosecutor’s view concerning the accusations raised,” it said, adding it assumed the proceedings against Kengeter would be closed subject to conditions. REPUTATIONAL RISK Some shareholders were unhappy at the settlement. “The damage to Deutsche Boerse’s reputation is already immense. Shareholders should not be asked to shoulder more costs now. This approach is not acceptable,” fund manager Ingo Speich of Union Investment, said. The Frankfurt prosecutor declined to comment on Thursday on the case against Kengeter, who last week said the stock purchases were a “moral duty”, or how long its investigation would take to conclude. Meanwhile, German financial regulator BaFin said: “As previously announced, we will conduct an evaluation of whether Kengeter is still a ‘fit and proper’ manager once the criminal proceedings have been completed.” Deutsche Boerse is paying fines for two separate failings. Part is for failing to notify the public promptly about the merger talks with the LSE, with the remainder for the design of the executive share-buying scheme that allowed Kengeter to buy shares in Deutsche Boerse in the first place. Kengeter and Deutsche Boerse have said that he was authorized to buy the shares at a fixed time, between Dec. 1 and Dec. 21, 2015, as part of the compensation program - some two months before the merger talks were made official. Kengeter also received additional virtual shares, whose value depended on the long-term development of the bourse’s value, and is required to hold the stake until the end of 2019. Deutsche Boerse also said it may extend a 200 million euro share buyback program to the end of June 2018 from the end of 2017, citing market conditions. Its shares eased by 0.4 percent to 93.88 euros by 0825 GMT, broadly in line with Germany''s blue-chip index .GDAXI . Additional reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker, Andreas Framke and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-insidertrading/deutsche-boerse-seeks-to-close-insider-trading-case-by-paying-fine-idUKKCN1BO2NH'|'2017-09-13T23:38:00.000+03:00'
'06c082b11879bec75434c2cee5fed1e34d3e9fb5'|'Rupert Murdoch''s Fox joins court challenge to CBS'' Australian TV buyout'|'September 12, 2017 / 4:35 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Rupert Murdoch''s Fox joins court challenge to CBS'' Australian TV buyout Tom Westbrook 3 Min Read The flag of the Twenty-First Century Fox Inc is seen waving at the company headquarters in the Manhattan borough in New York June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc joined a court challenge on Tuesday against rival U.S. cable network CBS Corp’s proposed buyout of struggling Australian television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd. The U.S. broadcasting heavyweights faced off in the Australian courtroom amid a battle for control of Ten, a ratings laggard which went into administration three months ago following long declines in viewership and advertising revenue. Lawyers for Ten said the private company of Murdoch’s son, Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch, had offered to revise the offer it made in June before it was elbowed aside by CBS. Murdoch’s company Illyria and its Australian partner had informed Ten overnight on Monday that they “wish to in some way reopen their offer by opening negotiations”, Ten lawyer Richard McHugh told the court. Illyria’s offer has not been disclosed but McHugh said the company had still not provided anything that could be put to Ten’s creditors. Documents released on Monday by the administrator show CBS, the free-to-air network’s major creditor, is prepared to pay at least A$201.1 million ($162 million) in cash for Ten. While Ten was worth less than A$60 million when it went into administration, it is an attractive takeover target because of its national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy. Twenty-First Century Fox and CBS are Ten’s largest creditors. Lachlan Murdoch and his Australian co-bidder, television entrepreneur Bruce Gordon, were also major Ten shareholders. Gordon filed the court action seeking to delay the CBS takeover, arguing the administrators had not properly informed creditors of their options. After New South Wales state Supreme Court Judge Ashley Black agreed to let Twenty-First Century Fox join Gordon’s action, a lawyer for the U.S. company said the terms of the CBS offer were unfair. “They are getting 100 cents in the dollar and we seem to be getting 1.75 cents in the dollar,” lawyer Ian Pike told the court. Pike did not refer to a rival offer from Lachlan Murdoch and Gordon, but Gordon’s lawyer, Andrew Bell, told the court his client was concerned administrators “made the decision not to put the competing (offer) to the creditors”. The hearing continues.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/rupert-murdochs-fox-joins-court-challenge-to-cbs-australian-tv-buyout-idINKCN1BN0BZ'|'2017-09-12T02:35:00.000+03:00'
'72674223a11822017959b70cfef6b5507659d086'|'SuperGroup founders launch wealth sharing staff incentive plan'|'  12:50 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago SuperGroup founders launch wealth sharing staff incentive plan Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People stand outside a Superdry store in central London, Britain July 9, 2015. REUTERS/Paul Hackett   founders of British fashion retailer SuperGroup ( SGP.L ), owner of the Superdry brand, have launched an incentive plan that would see them share their wealth with the firm’s 4,500 employees - if its share price rises significantly. SuperGroup detailed the move, which forms part of its strategy to attract and retain talent, at its annual shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday. The scheme, which runs to September 2020, would see Julian Dunkerton and James Holder, transfer into a trust 20 percent of their gain from any increase in the group’s share price over 18 pounds. Dunkerton and Holder grew the fashion chain from a market stall in Cheltenham, western England, and listed its shares at 500 pence in London in 2010. The stock closed Monday at 1,560 pence, valuing the business at 1.27 billion pounds. Dunkerton, the group’s product and brand director, owns 26.7 percent of SuperGroup’s equity, while Holder owns 10.6 percent. Each 5-pound increase in the shares over the 18 pounds level would see the founders put 30 million pounds into the trust to be shared by staff worldwide. Chief Executive Euan Sutherland and Chief Financial Officer Nick Wharton participate in existing long-term incentive arrangements and have waived their entitlement to take part in the scheme. “As the founders of the business we remain significant investors and it is important to us that we share our ongoing success with all colleagues,” said Dunkerton. In July SuperGroup reported an 18.4 percent rise in 2016-17 underlying pretax profit. Reporting by James Davey, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-supergroup-workers/supergroup-founders-launch-wealth-sharing-staff-incentive-plan-idUKKCN1BN1L4'|'2017-09-12T15:49:00.000+03:00'
'3997080ae6568ede0aafd598b8f78d3071bd4123'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 11'|'Sept 11 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesBP Plc is to call time on chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg''s chequered seven-year reign by hiring headhunters to find a replacement. The oil giant is believed to be close to triggering a search process, although a formal decision has not yet been taken by the board. ( bit.ly/2vO0m1z )Emerisque Brands, a private equity firm founded by Ajay Khaitan, has entered exclusive talks to buy the fashion retailers Oasis, Warehouse and Coast from the Icelandic bank Kaupthing. ( bit.ly/2vOqNE5 )The GuardianThe Middle East arm of Bell Pottinger is in talks to separate from the scandal-hit PR agency, as its parent prepares to go into administration as soon as Monday. ( bit.ly/2vOcQGq )Windfarms around Britain''s coast will beat the planned nuclear power station Hinkley Point on price when the winning bidders for a 290-million-a-year pound pot of government subsidies are announced on Monday, experts predict. ( bit.ly/2vOxkPj )The TelegraphAlphabet''s Google Inc will launch a fightback against Brussels this week when the company lodges an appeal against its record monopoly abuse fine. The internet giant is expected to file the response to the European Commission''s 2.4 billion euros ($2.88 billion) penalty on Monday, the deadline for submitting an appeal. ( bit.ly/2vOxKFn )BAE Systems Plc has revealed plans for an unmanned tank which could raise questions about Britain''s policy on "robot warriors". The arms company envisions an autonomous combat vehicle supported by "fleets of smaller autonomous air and ground vehicles" which create a defensive perimeter around the tank. ( bit.ly/2vOyom3 )Sky NewsThe crisis-hit support services group Carillion Plc will face a fresh blow on Monday with the departure of its finance chief after just nine months in the job. ( bit.ly/2gVLLP3 )A sponsor of the Movistar professional cycling team is seeking to emulate the recent takeover of Rapha, the upmarket bikewear brand, by exploring a potentially lucrative sale. Endura, which is part-owned by a private equity firm, is considering appointing advisers after receiving a flurry of approaches to buy the business. ( bit.ly/2vObwn2 ) ($1 = 0.8324 euros) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-11-idINL4N1LR0E9'|'2017-09-10T22:09:00.000+03:00'
'152ed25f73681cd8943a9381a0f88c5b05005044'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 14'|'Sept 14 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.Headlines- U.S. orders agencies to stop using Kaspersky cyber software- South African opposition sets sights on McKinsey- Facebook acts to protect brands with new ad placement rules- Toshiba to speed up talks with Bain-led group on $20bn chip saleOverview- The Trump administration on Wednesday told U.S. government agencies to remove Kaspersky Lab products from their networks, saying it was concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence. on.ft.com/2vUeIxv- South Africa''s main opposition party has taken aim at Global consultancy McKinsey for its involvement in the scandal surrounding the Gupta business family that has caused the collapse of Bell Pottinger''s British arm. on.ft.com/2vUacyP- Facebook has tightened its rules on who can make money from advertising on its network, after brands withdrew their ads from Youtube for being placed before explicit or controversial content. on.ft.com/2vUasOj Capital, on.ft.com/2vUaDcr (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-14-idINL2N1LU2EF'|'2017-09-13T21:18:00.000+03:00'
'ea17d1f281a5adea0c7a8b3ab7d7894705253796'|'Nestle buys controlling stake in Blue Bottle Coffee'|'  4:24 PM / 43 minutes ago Nestle to brew high-end coffee with Blue Bottle buy Martinne Geller , Lisa Baertlein 4 Min Read A cup of Blue Bottle coffee is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nestle ( NESN.S ) has bought a majority stake in California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, marking a first step by the packaged coffee leader into the hipster world of speciality bars that serve high-end, single-origin and cold brewed coffees. The company behind Nescafe instant coffee and Nespresso brewers announced the purchase of a 68 percent stake of Blue Bottle on Thursday without disclosing financial terms. The price was around $425 million (317.26 million pounds), according to a source familiar with the matter. Like last week’s purchase of Sweet Earth meatless foods, the deal sees the world’s biggest maker of packaged food reaching out to the kind of choosy consumers who are turning away from its mass market brands like Nescafe coffee and Digiorno frozen pizza. It is the fourth deal this year by new chief executive Mark Schneider, an external hire brought in last year to shake up a conservative Swiss company that had missed its sales targets for four years running. Nestle and its multinational peers are fighting slower emerging markets, competition from new brands and a shift in consumer tastes away from processed food. The company is also selling its U.S. confectionery business, which includes brands like Baby Ruth and Butterfinger, as it seeks to transform itself into a “nutrition, health and wellness” company. Nestle, Europe’s biggest company by market value, is under pressure too from activist shareholder Third Point. The U.S. hedge fund announced a $3.5 billion stake in June and pressed Nestle for actions such as a margin target and divesting its 23 percent stake in France’s L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ). The U.S. market for coffee drinks has retail sales of $2.9 billion, according to Euromonitor International, which forecasts it to reach $4.4 billion by 2021. “Starbucks has for a long time had a virtual lock on this category, but that lead is starting to slip,” said Euromonitor analyst said Matthew Barry. A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Nestle’s purchase also comes amid consolidation in the so-called third-wave coffee sector in the United States. This market caters to mostly young, urban customers who have grown up on Starbucks ( SBUX.O ) but have progressed to more exotic drinks coaxed from hand-operated espresso machines or non-traditional brewers by expert baristas. Rival third-wave chains also include Intelligentsia and Stumptown, which were swept up in the recent coffee acquisition spree by privately held JAB Holdings. SILICON VALLEY BACKING Slideshow (8 Images) Blue Bottle, known for its exotic, micro-lot coffees, has minimalist-style coffee bars in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo. It expects to have 55 locations by the end of 2017, up from 29 last year. It has raised nearly $121 million in funding from high-profile investors including Twitter co-founder Ev Williams and GV (Google Ventures), according to data from Crunchbase. Other backers include Fidelity Management and Research, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom and Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto. Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue to operate as a standalone entity and current management and employees would retain a minority stake. Third-wave chains are still a niche, but big players have taken notice. Starbucks co-founder and long-time CEO Howard Schultz in April moved into the role of executive chairman to focus on its “Reserve” brand that is adding upscale coffee bars to existing cafes, building new standalone stores and investing in large, ultra high-end roastery and tasting rooms reported to cost as much as $20 million each. Starbucks’ exclusive, small-lot Reserve coffees can cost $50 per 8-ounce bag. Coffee drinks, including those made in glass siphon brewers, can run $10 each. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bluebottle-m-a-nestle/nestle-buys-controlling-stake-in-blue-bottle-coffee-idUKKCN1BP2E1'|'2017-09-14T19:24:00.000+03:00'
'6272674b0b6a24181b7e9aa5a3c6be2e62476dcf'|'Verizon has moved on from plans to acquire cable companies: CEO'|'September 14, 2017 / 2:30 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Verizon has moved on from plans to acquire cable companies: CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Verizon store in Superior, Colorado, U.S., July 27, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) said on Thursday that it has moved on from plans to acquire cable companies and instead will focus on building out its own fiber infrastructure. Speculation over a tie-up with Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) was building up after Chief Executive Lowell McAdam told Wall Street analysts last year that such a deal would make “industrial sense”. McAdam said on Thursday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference that Verizon is more interested in building up its fiber infrastructure. “We did, I guess, about a year ago, go through a process of taking a look at cable companies. But the fiber infrastructure isn’t there,” McAdam said. In April, Verizon agreed to buy optical fiber from Corning Inc ( GLW.N ) for at least $1.05 billion over the next three years to improve its network infrastructure. McAdam said at the conference on Thursday the company would be acquiring content for its Oath business and a content deal is expected by the end of September. Verizon bought Yahoo’s core business for $4.48 billion in 2016. It then combined Yahoo with AOL to form a venture called Oath. McAdam said the company expects cost savings of $10 billion over four years from operating expenses and capital expenses, which would fund their dividends in 2022. Shares of the company were marginally down at $47.06 in morning trading. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-verizon-strategy/verizon-has-moved-on-from-plans-to-acquire-cable-companies-ceo-idINKCN1BP21H'|'2017-09-14T12:30:00.000+03:00'
'7231becee19c52d882c121d58233e55de7c1bb14'|'Global insurance capital rule snared in transatlantic divide'|'September 11, 2017 / 7:09 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago Global insurance capital rule snared in transatlantic divide Huw Jones 6 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The first global standard for investors to compare how much capital insurers from different countries hold to keep policies safe is caught in a transatlantic tussle, casting doubt on whether it is practical, industry and regulatory officials say. Global banks have used common “Basel” capital rules for decades, and the $180 billion (136.64 billion pounds) bailout for insurer AIG ( AIG.N ) during the 2007-09 financial crisis prompted regulators to embark on a similar standard for insurers in 2013 for the world’s top 50 insurers. But four years into the work there is no completed International Capital Standard (ICS) nor a firm date for its introduction, making it harder for investors and policyholders to compare insurers from different parts of the world. “The sense is there has been a collective pause around the ICS following elections in the United States and the European Union, as well as Brexit,” said Mike Consedine, chief executive of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which groups U.S. state-level regulators. Slow progress has triggered speculation within the industry that regulators may tell insurers the process is now on hold when they meet in Kuala Lumpur in November. Hugh Savill, director of regulation at the Association of British Insurers, a trade body, said the ICS lacked sufficient political support for now to drive it through to completion. “There is a serious stalemate, and I see us no nearer agreement than two years ago,” Savill said. Others were openly critical. “It’s a mess. The U.S. won’t play and the ICS is going nowhere,” said the chief executive of a European insurer. “I don’t think you will get a material change in global capital because nobody can afford it.” Few believe, however, that a new capital rule would lead to big hikes in requirements. The ICS is being written by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) whose chair, Victoria Saporta, a Bank of England executive director, said a significant step forward was taken in July when the first version of the ICS was published for field testing. “There is no question that arriving at an ICS that achieves greater convergence than that of the different group capital standards adopted in different jurisdictions and regions is a challenging task,” Saporta told Reuters. “But it is also a necessary one if policyholders of international groups are to be better protected, whilst also enjoying the more inclusive offering that can result from the greater capital efficiencies of international diversification.” CARRY ON TALKING The IAIS has yet to come up with a single approach to calculating the amount of capital the world’s top 50 or so insurers will have to hold. It is testing two “approaches” for valuing liabilities such as future payouts on policies. The first approach is based on U.S. accounting rules, while the second is based on market prices, similar to EU capital rules known as Solvency II. But without as yet unclarified adjustments, the two approaches would come up with different capital requirements and leave investors scratching their heads. “Is there a bridge between U.S. accounting and Europe’s Solvency II? There is none that is economically sound,” said Tobias Buecheler, head of regulatory strategy at German insurer Allianz ( ALVG.DE ). “It’s unclear how those approaches can be combined, aligned. You have a divide between the United States and Europe.” Insurance industry officials say the IAIS should instead focus on managing risks from the sector’s activities, seen as more fruitful regulatory territory. Insurers point out that AIG was the only insurer bailed out in the financial crisis, and this was because it had moved into non-core, riskier hedge fund activities. Cristina Mihai, head of international affairs at Insurance Europe, a trade body, said it would be hard to have an ICS based on just one approach. Finding a common approach is becoming more difficult. NAIC announced a few weeks ago it was teaming up with the Federal Reserve to write a new U.S. capital rule, and Consedine made clear that any global rule would have to fit in with what this double act comes up with, not the other way round. “We have stressed the need previously for the ICS to be principles-based and to give countries a certain level of jurisdictional flexibility. That’s going to be critical for the United States,” Consedine said. Complications loom in Europe, too. European insurers will begin using a new accounting rule in 2021 known as IFRS 17, representing a major overhaul of how income is calculated. The EU’s Solvency II rules will be reviewed, meaning there could be changes with knock-on effects for the ICS. “There are more goalposts and they are all moving, that is the problem,” Allianz’s Buecheler said. Consedine said NAIC remains committed to the goals of the ICS, but it must result in something that is “workable for the United States and for regulators”. Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Mike Collett-White'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-insurance-regulations-capital/global-insurance-capital-rule-snared-in-transatlantic-divide-idUKKCN1BM0J5'|'2017-09-11T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'104dfcb43a5817862be0f403e398d94e52a0a6cb'|'CBS paying at least $162 million cash for Australia''s Ten Network'|'FILE PHOTO - The logo of Network Ten Pty Ltd is displayed above the company''s headquarters in Sydney, Australia, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - CBS Corp ( CBS.N ) will pay at least A$201.1 million ($162 million) in cash to buy Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings ( TEN.AX ), according to documents released on Monday by Ten’s administrator.CBS, the United States’ most-watched television network, said it agreed to buy Ten last month, without disclosing a price.But Ten’s administrator released financial details of the deal on Monday as the company fends off a court challenge from a rival bidder - a consortium led by Lachlan Murdoch, co-chair of News Corp ( NWSA.O ). The deal is paused while the court case is heard.The youth-focused broadcaster with a national reach and strong brand became a tempting target as its market capitalisation plunged to just A$58 million in June, when it was placed in administration under a mountain of debt.In a court case filed last week, Murdoch’s business partner, Bruce Gordon, accused administrator KordaMentha of failing to give creditors enough information about why the CBS bid was preferred.FILE PHOTO - The CBS "eye" and logo are seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo In response, KordaMentha published details of the deal, including the price tag “estimated at a minimum of A$201.1 million” in cash, and a table showing that most unsecured creditors receive higher payouts under the CBS arrangement.“The CBS proposal was superior to the Birketu and Illyria proposal for creditors generally,” KordaMentha said in a separate press release, referring to the private companies of Gordon and Murdoch, respectively.CBS is Ten’s largest creditor.Fellow creditor Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ), where Murdoch is also executive chairman, received a slightly higher payout under the Gordon-Murdoch proposal, the documents show.KordaMentha said Fox had applied to join the court challenge to the deal, which is scheduled for hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday.Gordon’s lawyers did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Fox’s Australian office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Murdoch declined to comment.Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/cbs-paying-at-least-162-million-cash-for-australias-ten-network-idINKCN1BM0C4'|'2017-09-11T02:34:00.000+03:00'
'03591c9cedbf3726f0e6b23a968035bee457b2f6'|'EU fails to agree on how to limit cheap Chinese imports: sources'|'STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union failed on Tuesday to agree on new rules to guard against cheap Chinese imports, sources said, in a sign that the bloc is yet to find an answer to one of its biggest challenges, the impact of globalisation.The European Commission, member states and EU lawmakers had intended to overcome their differences a day before Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivers his annual state of the union speech to the European Parliament.But they failed to do so and no date has been set for another attempt, a parliamentary source said.In his speech, Juncker is expected to address the issue of globalisation, blamed by many for job losses and the rise of populist politicians. He could propose allowing the screening of foreign takeovers.Central to the trade dispute is how to treat China.The European Union and many of China’s other trading partners have debated whether to treat China as a “market economy”, which Beijing says was its right at the end of 2016, some 15 years after it joined the World Trade Organisation.Until now, China has been treated as a special “non-market” case, meaning EU investigators decide that its exports are artificially cheap if the prices are below those of a third country, such as the United States.The European Commission, supported by the EU’s 28 member states, believes the rules for China must be changed and has proposed that for all WTO members, including China, dumping means selling for export at below domestic prices.However, if those prices are subject to “significant market distortions”, investigators can instead construct a fair value using international benchmark prices.Such distortions could include state interference, including state-owned enterprises, cheap financing or discrimination in favour of domestic producers.Critics, which include many in the European Parliament, say the new rules shift the burden of proof from Chinese to EU producers, making it much harder to impose measures.The European Parliament has said that if distortions are shown to exist in a given country then the onus should be on its exporters to show that their prices are market-conform.“We won’t go down in history as the ones who opened our market to China while completely disregarding the possibly drastic consequences for European manufacturing and industry,” said Gianni Pittella, head of the centre-left S&D grouping.Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-china-trade/eu-fails-to-agree-on-how-to-limit-cheap-chinese-imports-sources-idINKCN1BN2LO'|'2017-09-12T16:33:00.000+03:00'
'2d31d9b9e02514882d7f730d9fbefeb6d72ea7f1'|'Samsung Elec''s Galaxy Note 8 pre-orders highest among Note series - executive'|'September 12, 2017 / 1:58 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Samsung says Galaxy Note 8 pre-orders highest among Note series Joyce Lee 3 Min Read Models pose for photographs with Samsung Electronics'' Galaxy Note 8 during its launching ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) on Tuesday said pre-orders for its Galaxy Note 8 premium smartphone have hit the highest-ever for the Note series, beating its predecessor Note 7 over five days by about 2.5 times. Samsung is banking on the device to protect its market dominance as it competes with Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) latest iPhones due to be unveiled later on Tuesday. Note 8 sales begin in the United States, South Korea and elsewhere on Friday. Pre-orders reached about 650,000 Note 8 handsets over five days from about 40 countries, making the initial response “very encouraging,” DJ Koh, president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile communications business, said at a media event. The device succeeds the short-lived Note 7, whose battery fires resulted in Samsung pulling the device from the market after just a couple of months at a cost of billions of dollars. Its reputation tarnished, the world’s biggest smartphone maker by market share nevertheless decided to retain the Note brand after a survey showed 85 percent of 5,000 Galaxy Note users expressed brand loyalty, Koh said. PREMIUM ERA An employee poses for photographs with a Samsung Electronics'' Galaxy Note 8 during its launching ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji The Note 8’s U.S. price of $930 to $960, including dialling and data plans, begins an era of premium-priced handsets which analysts expect to be joined by $1,000-plus iPhones. Apple is widely expected to unveil a special edition iPhone commemorating 10 years of the handset, equipped with edge-to-edge screen and augmented reality, that will compete with the Note 8 for pre-holiday season sales in Western markets. Slideshow (5 Images) In China, the Note 8 is tasked with reviving fortunes in the world’s biggest smartphone market where local handset makers such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL] reduced Samsung’s market share to 3 percent in April-June, showed data from Counterpoint Research. Koh said it will take time to recover in China but expects changes this year such as appointing a new mobile chief, restructuring and focusing on key buyers to be effective. Koh also said Samsung hopes to showcase a foldable handset next year but that technological hurdles must be overcome before a decision can be made. “We are digging thoroughly into several issues we must overcome, as we don’t want to just make a few, sell a few and be done. We want to hear that Samsung made a very good product.” Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Richard Pullin and Christopher Cushing '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphone/samsung-electronics-galaxy-note-8-pre-orders-highest-among-note-series-exec-idUKKCN1BN050'|'2017-09-12T04:54:00.000+03:00'
'6735f890117e7f69c929019ff5388e143168bc69'|'HSBC''s incoming chairman set to face CEO succession questions'|'  10:26 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago HSBC''s incoming chairman set to face CEO succession questions Ben Martin 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - AIA Group Chief Executive and President Mark Tucker attends a news conference on the company''s annual results in Hong Kong, China February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip LONDON (Reuters) - Mark Tucker, the incoming chairman of HSBC ( HSBA.L ), will likely face questions over who will take over as CEO when he meets investors in Europe’s biggest bank ahead of taking up his post at the lender in October. Tucker takes over from Douglas Flint on Oct. 1 and one of his first priorities when he meets shareholders from next week will be deciding on whether to appoint an outsider to succeed Stuart Gulliver or look within the bank instead. Gulliver, who has been HSBC’s boss since 2011 and joined the bank 37 years ago, is due to step down next year. Tucker, who previously led Asian insurance giant AIA Group and British insurer Prudential, is the first outsider to become HSBC’s chairman in the lender’s 152-year history. Like the chairmanship, HSBC has only ever promoted internal candidates to become its chief executive. Some investors are bout the idea of an external replacement for Gulliver amid worries that having outsiders in both chairman and chief executive roles would be a big departure for the lender and possibly too disruptive. Tucker became a non-executive director of HSBC and chairman of the board’s nomination committee at the start of September. That committee handles executive succession planning and board appointments. Reporting by Ben Martin, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-chairman/hsbcs-incoming-chairman-set-to-face-ceo-succession-questions-idUKKCN1BO14E'|'2017-09-13T13:26:00.000+03:00'
'bed3a2ed0c1fe0947e22f11689111617f9b4aa91'|'VW wants European industry to back push for EV battery cells'|'A photographer takes a picture of a Volkswagen logo before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) wants German and European industry to come together to help create a regional supplier of electric car batteries to provide competition to Asian manufacturers, the head of its core autos division told Reuters.Europe’s largest carmaker and German rival Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) became the latest manufacturers this week to announce plans to speed up their shift to zero-emissions motoring.Volkswagen (VW) now aims to have 80 electric models by 2025, and says it will need four times the capacity of U.S. electric carmaker Tesla’s ( TSLA.O ) “gigafactory” to supply their batteries.While European companies assemble battery packs for electric cars, the region has no significant player in battery cells - the essential building blocks for the batteries that are currently mostly manufactured in Asia.“It would be desirable for the German and European industry to play a stronger role here,” VW brand Chief Executive Herbert Diess said. He declined to be more specific, but engineering and technology firms are likely to be most interested in the sector.His comments came after Europe’s auto suppliers association warned a fixation on electric cars risked damaging its industry because of Asia’s dominance in battery technology.Assembly of electric car content including battery cells will become one of the major growth areas in the coming decades, Diess said in an interview at the Frankfurt auto show.He left open whether VW, which buys its battery cells from South Korea’s LG Chem ( 051910.KS ) and Samsung ( 005930.KS ), would join a potential European consortium.“For the initial phase, I still feel in good hands with the Korean suppliers, but I would appreciate if competition were to grow and a European consortium would emerge,” Diess said.VW’s namesake brand, its largest division by sales, will spend 6 billion euros ($7.2 billion) through 2022 on its electric car program which will be based on the new MEB platform underpinning over 20 purely battery-powered models.Growing investment in electric cars will not undermine profitability as the brand is pursuing cost savings and cutting jobs as agreed with unions last year.As a result, the VW brand is sticking to targets for an operating margin of at least 4 percent by 2020 and 6 percent by 2025, compared with 1.8 percent last year, Diess said.“With this we generate just about enough cash to shoulder the investments, but have actually very little leeway,” he said. “We cannot afford to make many mistakes.”Editing by Christoph Steitz and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-frankfurt-volkswagen-batteri/vw-wants-european-industry-to-back-push-for-ev-battery-cells-idUSKCN1BO16J'|'2017-09-13T13:46:00.000+03:00'
'c40fcb9f7a45dc521f0bba2ad86f99874a0ea3d5'|'Ghost stores, lost billions as Korea Inc''s China woes grow'|'SEOUL/JIAXING, China (Reuters) - On a faded notice pasted to the padlocked doors of the Lotte Mart superstore in China’s Jiaxing, a date can still be read: March 6, 2017 - when the store was ordered to “temporarily” close over alleged fire safety issues.The shuttered entrance and flapping notices are a blunt reminder of how South Korean businesses have become unwitting victims in a year-long diplomatic stand-off between Beijing and Seoul.Last September, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned his South Korean counterpart that bilateral ties would suffer if Seoul did not properly handle China’s opposition to the planned deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defence system in South Korea.Now - with the system’s installation mostly complete amid growing threats from North Korea - the fallout is evident in both the shuttered Chinese stores of Lotte and the empty Seoul shopping districts once jammed with Chinese tourists.The Jiaxing outlet, southwest of Shanghai - along with around 90 other Lotte Mart stores in China - remains shut over its supposed fire safety violations. No inspectors have turned up despite what Lotte says were repeated entreaties to rectify the problems.A skeleton staff say they are being paid minimum required wages, but Lotte is now considering selling up.NEVER WORSE Upset over Seoul’s decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, tour operators say China has quietly banned groups travelling to South Korea, once one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists. Cruises have erased Korean ports from their trips and some flights have been cut.“Things have never been worse since formal diplomatic relations were established between the two in 1992,” said Han Jae-jin, an economist at the Hyundai Research Institute.Seoul and Washington say THAAD is purely a deterrent to nuclear-armed North Korea, but Beijing worries the system’s radar can penetrate its territory and will upset the regional security balance.Publicly, Beijing has maintained it supports “normal business” and other exchanges with South Korea has not commented on the situation with Lotte or tour groups.Near Dongdaemun in Seoul, a major shopping district, an outdoor wear popup store had signs reading “Thaad retaliation shock! Going out of business sale!”. Dozens of similar signs were seen across the 24-hour shopping precinct.Cho Kyung-suk, who has been selling women’s bags for 15 years in Dongdaemun, closed one of his three stores in February.”Without the Chinese tour groups and buyers, I was making only about one fifth of what I used to,“ Cho said. If big companies are doing badly, imagine us.”VANISHING SHOPPERS The number of Chinese tourists, which used to account for about half of all visitors to South Korea, halved in the first seven months of 2017 compared to a year ago. That meant $5.1 billion in lost business for South Korea, based on the average spending of Chinese visitors in 2015, data from the Korea Tourism Organisation shows.A Lotte Mart is seen closed in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China September 8, 2017. Picture taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Adam Jourdan About 90 percent of the nation’s 160 tour agencies specializing in inbound Chinese tourism have closed, South Korea’s travel agent industry body estimates.Without the THAAD backlash, Asia’s fourth-largest economy was expected to grow more than 3 percent this year. The current forecast is 2.8 percent, according to the Bank of Korea.In China, Lotte has been at the centre of the storm, thanks to a land swap deal it agreed with Seoul so THAAD could be installed.Half a dozen Lotte Mart workers around China who spoke to Reuters said there was no sign stores were going to reopen. Lotte employs around 13,000 Chinese workers across the country.“Closing down our China business is one option we consider in the long-run as we can’t leave the stores closed like that for years,” an official at Lotte Mart’s Seoul office said, declining to be named.Some local Jiaxing residents said China’s response was warranted, even if it meant some other stores and restaurants nearby also closed or suffered.Slideshow (3 Images) “The shutdown is all linked to THAAD,” said Gao Yunfei, 22, an e-commerce worker from Anhui province outside the closed Lotte Mart store in Jiaxing. “It’s as it should be, it’s just a reflection of people’s love for their country.”K-POP TO DUTY FREE Back in South Korea, the country’s $8 billion duty-free market, the world’s largest, is also struggling.In wealthy neighbourhoods of Sinsa and Apgujeong in southern Seoul, where posh boulevards are packed with flagship stores and celebrity hair salons, retail rent prices have dropped to the lowest since 2013, according to the Korea Appraisal Board and local realtors.The Korea Duty Free Shops Association has asked regional airports across the country for rent discounts. Lotte Duty Free - the country’s biggest duty free operator - is even considering closing its flagship store in Incheon International Airport, after incurring its first quarterly loss since the 1980s this year.“We don’t think the THAAD issue will be resolved anytime soon, and there is nothing we can do to help,” an official at the Lotte Duty Free said, asking not to be named.With hopes of better ties, Lotte is still keeping its Chinese supermarkets, while big exporters like Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) are muddling through even after its China car sales tumbled over 60 percent in the second quarter.But small shops don’t have that luxury, said a children’s wear stall owner surnamed Shin in Dongdaemun.Chinese buyers were impossible to replace, even though vendors were trying to target visitors from Japan and Thailand.“This whole area was just (driven by) China, and look at it now,” 53 year-old Shin said, pointing to empty neighbouring stalls selling hot-dogs and facial masks.“Everyone here lived off Chinese money.”Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Heekyong Yang, Yuna Park, and Haejin Choi in SEOUL and Adam Jourdan, Anita Li and SHANGHAI newsroom; Editing by Soyoung Kim '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/northkorea-missiles-southkorea-china/ghost-stores-lost-billions-as-korea-incs-china-woes-grow-idINKCN1BN344'|'2017-09-13T02:07:00.000+03:00'
'f6105e3e0dde0596e7fe3c481e188be2e0f261cb'|'Garuda Indonesia unit GMF AeroAsia to raise up to $422 million from IPO'|'A man takes picture of his colleague in front of public expose banner of the Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF AeroAsia), the aircraft maintenance and repair unit of Indonesian flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk, in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta JAKARTA (Reuters) - Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia, the aircraft maintenance and repair unit of Indonesian flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk ( GIAA.JK ), is raising as much as 5.55 trillion rupiah ($422 million) from an IPO to help drive its expansion plans.GMF AeroAsia is selling a maximum of 10.9 billion new shares at a price range of 390-510 rupiah apiece, a term sheet shows.The company is hoping to sell 10 percent to strategic investors, said Helmi Imam Satriyono, finance director at GMF’s parent Garuda. Five maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies from Asia and Europe had shown interest, he added.“This offering is mainly to drive global expansion,” GMF CEO Iwan Joeniarto said at a briefing on Monday.“The MRO industry is very attractive and relatively safe in relation to economic conditions,” he said, adding GMF had a profit margin of 15 percent for 2016.GMF is the largest aircraft maintenance operator in Indonesia and its clients include airlines from 55 countries, according to its website. Listed regional competitors include Singapore-based SIA Engineering Company Ltd ( SIAE.SI ) and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd ( 0044.HK ).Garuda owned 99 percent of GMF as of July, according to GMF’s presentation slides.Garuda CEO Pahala Mansury told Reuters in May the state-controlled airline planned to increase the contributions from its food catering and ground-handling units to improve its financial performance.Garuda reported a wider net loss for the first half of 2017, hurt by the costs of participating in the government’s tax amnesty scheme. It also sought consent to amend certain terms on its $500 million global sukuk bonds due 2020.Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Additional reporting by S. Anuradha of IFR; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gmfaeroasia-ipo/garuda-indonesia-unit-gmf-aeroasia-to-raise-up-to-422-million-from-ipo-idUSKCN1BM14L'|'2017-09-11T18:23:00.000+03:00'
'0c4bf947b2673240bd61da73e144c645b4266ede'|'Don''t fear the euro: investors stick with European stocks'|'September 14, 2017 / 10:12 AM / an hour ago Don''t fear the euro: investors stick with European stocks Danilo Masoni 6 Min Read The famous euro sign landmark is pictured outside the former headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach MILAN (Reuters) - The surging euro has played spoilsport with what had become global investors’ top trade this year -- buying European equities - though for some recent weakness in stocks offers a chance to reshuffle portfolios and stay invested. Fund managers, betting on diminishing political risk and confidence that the region was leaving behind years of economic sluggishness and flat-lining corporate profits, pumped money in the first five months of this year into cheaply valued stocks, particularly those that stood to benefit from a global recovery. However, major stock indexes peaked at two-year highs in May and have suffered sell-offs through the summer as the euro kept rising, fuelling worries that profits at the region’s large exporters would suffer as their competitiveness takes a hit. In August European equity funds even suffered their first weekly outflows in many months, as the euro strengthened to levels that caught many by surprise. But some of the world’s top funds say the falls are overdone and the euro’s strength underscores the region’s better prospects, so that shares of domestically focused companies could offer rich rewards. “I used to own a lot of exporters but that’s changed,” said Fidelity’s Bill Kennedy, who has been managing the $10 billion (£7.57 billion) Fidelity International Discovery Fund since 2004. Kennedy has already made his bets by adding to his portfolio more banks, builders and materials firms that he reckons will take advantage of a domestic recovery in the region. “The strengthening euro is a sign of improved confidence... The reality is that interest rates are going up because people are more confident and that’s a good thing,” he said. Strength in the euro not only helps many firms reduce costs of imported goods but historically it has lifted returns for offshore investors, such as Kennedy. Stocks ranging from builder Vinci ( SGEF.PA ) and carmaker Renault ( RENA.PA ) in France to German real estate firm Vonovia ( VNAn.DE ) and Italian retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) are among the top picks for analysts and investors. They make more than 80 percent of their sales in Europe, which is witnessing a string of upgrades to economic forecasts as domestic demand bolsters the recovery. The European Central Bank has lifted its 2017 euro zone GDP growth estimate to 2.2 percent from 1.9 percent previously. Yet the sudden spikes in the euro have clearly shown their market-moving potential this summer when the scale of overweight Europe rose close to the highest levels ever. Data from EPFR Global showed redemptions from European stock funds hit six-month highs in the last week of August when the euro peaked above $1.20 for the first time in two and a half years. Exchange-traded funds tracking the euro zone blue chip index .STOXX50E were among the hardest hit as two-thirds of all Europe Equity Funds recorded outflows or no flows, EPFR said. VALUATION GAP Opportunities abound under the surface. “Despite euro strength and upgrades to GDP forecasts, domestically focused euro area stocks have so far not materially outperformed,” Barclays strategists led by Dennis Jose said. Like Fidelity, the British investment house believes that banks and materials are the sectors to bet on and, if the past is any guide, a strong currency is a good omen. Historically, a strengthening euro has been a crucial component for European outperformance, Barclays wrote. Following the initial euro-related stress, European stocks showed signs this month they can weather the swings, raising the prospect that the focus could soon turn to company fundamentals. When ECB President Mario Draghi last week outlined concerns about currency volatility, the euro spiked higher again but European equities largely shrugged off the move. “I believe the correlation (euro up/European stocks down) is largely emotional and it is bound to vanish,” said Alessandro Balsotti, head of asset management at JCI Capital. One key ingredient that makes the case for investing in Europe is that valuations have become attractive again. On a price/earnings metric, the broader euro zone index .STOXXE has never been as cheap vis-à-vis Wall Street since 2009. UBS strategists led by Nick Nelson believe the discount of stocks with large euro zone exposure is even more appealing, while noting that a strong currency in the past has sometimes coincided with decent European earnings growth. Among their favourite plays they mentioned Dutch bank ING ( INGA.AS ), French caterer Elior ( ELIOR.PA ) as well as Vinci and Renault, which all combine high eurozone exposure with appealing valuations and strong earnings prospects. “Going forward, the quality of Europe Inc’s earnings will be more important than the euro,” JCI Capital’s Balsotti said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-euro/dont-fear-the-euro-investors-stick-with-european-stocks-idUKKCN1BP16U'|'2017-09-14T13:12:00.000+03:00'
'1346861160b4d40dc66b53eb0ba9b7d7b4085fca'|'Ireland says to resist Junker plan to prevent vetoes on EU tax reform'|'September 14, 2017 / 11:07 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Ireland says to resist Junker plan to prevent vetoes on EU tax reform Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Irish and European Union flags are pictured outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will resist any attempt to strip it of its veto over European Union tax policy, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said on Thursday after the European Commission’s head suggested tax changes be made by “qualified majority.” In a speech on Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker urged EU states to make the change as the current practice of unanimous decisions had blocked major overhauls of European Union tax legislation. “I and this government will not participate in any decision that changes our ability to protect our national interest on key issues like that,” Donohoe told Irish broadcaster RTE. “The need for unanimity... is a core issue of how the European Union manages issues like this.” Major reform of how multinational companies are taxed, such as those championed by Junker “would be a very very big economic challenge for Ireland,” Donohoe added. Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-juncker-tax-ireland/ireland-says-to-resist-junker-plan-to-prevent-vetoes-on-eu-tax-reform-idUKKCN1BP1DF'|'2017-09-14T14:07:00.000+03:00'
'54aa5ca9258d3ba9b0e434b8d1ef2545c1bd5f16'|'Exclusive - South Africa''s Capitalworks to launch London hedge fund business: sources'|'September 14, 2017 / 3:40 PM / 16 minutes ago Exclusive - South Africa''s Capitalworks to launch London hedge fund business: sources Maiya Keidan 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - South African private equity firm Capitalworks plans to launch a London-based business to provide financial and operational support for hedge funds, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The new venture, Sephira Investment Advisors, marks the first major foray into Britain for Capitalworks, one of the biggest South Africa-based private equity firms, with $515 million (£389.97 million) of assets under management. It comes at a time of relatively subdued growth outlooks across African markets and as Britain - the world’s second-biggest centre for asset management - faces uncertainty around the impact of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Regulatory filings in Britain showed two funds registered to Sephira Investment Advisors, comprising Sephira GEM Equity and Sephira EM Asia Equity. Capitalworks will provide a regulatory platform for the funds, help fundraise, particularly in South Africa, and inject some cash from its underlying investors, many of whom are South African, two of the sources said. A spokeswoman at Capitalworks declined to comment. The global emerging markets stock-picking hedge fund Sephira GEM Equity fund will be run by Jason Mitra and would likely launch in October with between $200 million and $250 million, two of the sources said. Mitra formerly worked at Carrhae Capital and Moore Capital Management, showed filings. Jan De Bruijn, who previously held roles at Aberdeen Asset Management and Threadneedle Asset Management, is associated with the Sephira EM Asia Equity fund, filings showed. The two sources said the Sephira EM Asia Equity fund will take a long-only approach to investing in Asian emerging markets and will launch after Mitra’s fund with about $100 million. Mitra and De Bruijn did not respond to requests for comment. Capitalworks’ private equity and venture capital funds currently focus on South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, its website says, and is among the leaders in South Africa’s $4.6 billion private equity industry, according to research firm Preqin. Its Private Equity Funds I and II were among the 10 largest South Africa-based private equity funds launched over the last 10 years. The continent’s two biggest economies, South Africa and Nigeria, both sank into recession this year, and despite showing signs of recovery, the pace of growth is slow. Reporting by Maiya Keidan and Ed Cropley; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-privateequity-exclusive/exclusive-south-africas-capitalworks-to-launch-london-hedge-fund-business-sources-idUKKCN1BP29Z'|'2017-09-14T18:40:00.000+03:00'
'eed79b9b62238177ba1f141e5db00899217798e7'|'Premier Oil seeks buyer for stake in North Sea gas field'|' 37 AM / 15 minutes ago Premier Oil seeks buyer for stake in North Sea gas field Ron Bousso , Karolin Schaps 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Premier Oil ( PMO.L ) is seeking to sell half of its stake in the Babbage gas field in the North Sea, according to a document seen by Reuters, as it tries to pay down a heavy debt pile it accrued during the oil market downturn. The London-listed oil and gas producer completed a financial restructuring earlier this year and is counting on revenue from disposals and the start-up of its new Catcher field to help it reduce debt that reached $2.74 billion (£2.07 billion) by the end of June. Premier holds a 47 percent stake in the Babbage field which it also operates and is seeking to sell a 23.5 percent non-operating interest, according to Premier’s sale prospectus, which invites indicative offers by end-September. It is also offering a 25 percent stake in the nearby Cobra discovery where it plans to drill an appraisal well next year, the document said. Premier gained the assets through last year’s $120 million acquisition of E.ON’s North Sea business. Chief Executive Tony Durrant confirmed to Reuters on Thursday that some of those assets are up for sale, without giving details. He said any bidding process for the Babbage stake had not yet been launched. “We’re still in the process of tidying up the E.ON acquisition. The core assets from that acquisition are Elgin-Franklin, Tolmount and Huntington, they have all been very successful. For the right offer we’d consider selling other assets from the E.ON portfolio,” Durrant told Reuters. Banking sources said the company hopes to raise up to $100 million from the sale. Babbage, located in the southern section of the North Sea of England’s eastern coast, began production in the summer of 2010. It is expected to produce around 200 billion cubic feet of natural with a remaining field life of over 15 years, according to the prospectus. Earlier this week, Premier said it agreed to sell its stake in the Wytch Farm onshore oil field to Verus Petroleum for $200 million. It has also put its 30 percent stake in the ETS pipeline up for sale, Durrant said in July. “We’re looking to increase our disposal target quite significantly above $100 mln for this year... to accelerate the debt reduction process,” he said at the time. Editing by Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-premier-oil-m-a/premier-oil-seeks-buyer-for-stake-in-north-sea-gas-field-idUKKCN1BP18Y'|'2017-09-14T13:37:00.000+03:00'
'72009f551d2c9cdf938d505f9d0d8a4208d7296f'|'Air Berlin says Tuesday''s flight cancellations threaten its existence'|'BERLIN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin said around 100 flight cancellations caused on Tuesday by large numbers of pilots calling in sick were threatening its existence and hurting its chances of saving jobs as it seeks investors for parts of the business.“No company could possibly be seen in a worse light than Air Berlin today,” Chief Operations Officer Oliver Iffert said in a internal memo to staff seen by Reuters.“We must return to stable operations. That is crucial in order to bring talks with investors to a successful conclusion,” he added.The airline said around 200 pilots, mainly captains, had called in sick.However, union Vereinigung Cockpit said in a separate statement it was surprised by the absences and that it had not called on its members to call in sick. (Reporting by Klaus Lauer; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-pilots/air-berlin-says-tuesdays-flight-cancellations-threaten-its-existence-idINF9N1L0028'|'2017-09-12T07:22:00.000+03:00'
'07e57821cd46f2ae14d39fd49898570b8f838552'|'Proxy adviser ISS outlines view of CEO removals from boards'|'NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Institutional Shareholder Services, the influential proxy adviser, said it closely weighs the consequences of a top company leader’s being voted off the board by shareholders, and explained its view of activist investors targeting chief executive officers.ISS released a paper on Tuesday in response to two major proxy fights - Procter & Gamble Co and Automatic Data Processing Inc - and the rising trend of activist shareholders directly attacking CEOs for removal from company boards.Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/iss-ceos/proxy-adviser-iss-outlines-view-of-ceo-removals-from-boards-idINL2N1LT29Q'|'2017-09-12T18:33:00.000+03:00'
'59ca0c471a24c372fcb9b1d82ee4501129e731d7'|'Google challenges record EU antitrust fine in court'|'September 11, 2017 / 12:57 PM / Updated 29 minutes ago Google challenges record EU antitrust fine in court Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google ( GOOGL.O ) appealed on Monday against a record 2.4-billion-euro (2.20 billion pounds) EU antitrust fine, with its chances of success boosted by Intel’s ( INTC.O ) partial victory last week against another EU sanction. The world’s most popular Internet search engine, a unit of the U.S. firm Alphabet, launched its appeal two months after it was fined by the European Commission for abusing its dominance in Europe by giving prominent placement in searches to its comparison shopping service and demoting rival offerings. The Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe’s second-highest, is expected to take several years before ruling on the appeal. A court spokeswoman said Google had not asked for an interim order to suspend the European Union decision. The Commission, which ordered Google to stop the practice by Sept. 28, is reviewing Google’s proposal on how it would comply with the EU decision. The EU competition enforcer will defend its decision in court, a spokesman said. Lobby group FairSearch, whose members include Google rivals such as British shopping comparison site Foundem and U.S. travel site TripAdvisor ( TRIP.O ), said the EU decision was sound. “The Commission’s decision stands on firm ground, both legally and factually, and we expect the Commission to win on appeal,” FairSearch lawyer Thomas Vinje said. The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered a lower tribunal last week to re-examine U.S. chipmaker Intel’s appeal against a 1.06 billion euro fine, a rare setback for the Commission. The Google case differs from Intel‘s, but the judgement has been welcomed by companies under EU scrutiny because it raises the bar for the regulator to prove wrongdoing. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-google-antitrust/google-says-it-has-appealed-to-eu-court-against-eu-antitrust-fine-idUKKCN1BM1LD'|'2017-09-11T16:37:00.000+03:00'
'cbf37eb368fd42e907fed1db50157c3165cd724f'|'British housebuilders sink as investors call top'|'September 12, 2017 / 1:28 PM / Updated 2 hours ago British housebuilders sink as investors call top Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A builder assembles scaffolding as he works on new homes being built for private sale on a council housing estate, in south London June 3, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning LONDON (Reuters) - British housebuilding stocks tumbled on Tuesday as big share sales by company founders and growing pessimism among analysts reignited concerns over the resilience of a sector which had enjoyed a strong rally since the Brexit vote. The founder and chairman of property developer Redrow ( RDW.L ), Steve Morgan, sold 25.9 million shares in the company through his charity foundation on Monday evening, sinking the shares 7 percent on Tuesday. Tony Pidgley, founder and chairman of Berkeley Group ( BKGH.L ), sold 750,000 shares in the housebuilder last week, sending stocks across the sector lower. “When Tony Pidgley and Steve Morgan sell shares in the companies they founded, investors take notice and ask if the silverback alpha males in the sector are calling the top of the market,” said Jefferies analysts. Their note, titled “Gurus calling the top?”, said the sales were particularly striking as they took place in the face of supportive factors including Britain’s housing shortage and the stimulus of the government’s Help to Buy policy. The FTSE index of housebuilders and property developers .FTNMX3720 has rallied around 25 percent since the Brexit vote. The vote to leave the EU initially hit sectors exposed to the domestic economy, chief of all housebuilders. But as the worst fears over the immediate economic impact of the vote failed to emerge, builders more than bounced back, cemented by investors’ confidence demand for housing would be resilient. High dividend payouts also kept investors in the shares of the likes of Barratt Development ( BDEV.L ) and Persimmon ( PSN.L ), which have surged between 30 and 43 percent. Redrow had notched up 50-percent gains before Tuesday’s fall. But the sector suffered another sell-off in early August after a report cast doubt over the Help to Buy scheme, indicating how much the earlier rally had depended on that stimulus. Investors have also started to worry the rally may have gone too far and increasingly scrutinised forward-looking guidance more than results. Shares in Berkeley Group ( BKGH.L ) and Barratt Developments ( BDEV.L ) fell last week after striking a cautious tone in their outlook, even though first-half results were in line with expectations. “In the short term I think [housebuilders] are too high,” said one trader, who asked not to be named. Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said the sector was highly priced and risks lurked ahead including the future of Help to Buy, the uncertain direction of interest rates and falling consumer confidence. (For a graphic on UK housebuilders click reut.rs/2jj0F2k ) Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Andrew Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-housebuilders/british-housebuilders-sink-as-investors-call-top-idUKKCN1BN1OR'|'2017-09-12T16:27:00.000+03:00'
'1a8953312369e015d4095426543c194af7f81f68'|'Spain''s Santander to raise up to 981 mln euros in subordinated debt'|'September 12, 2017 / 1:44 PM / Updated an hour ago Spain''s Santander to raise up to 981 mln euros in subordinated debt Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MADRID, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Spain’s Banco Santander registered on Tuesday a prospectus to raise up to 981 million euros ($1.2 billion) in subordinated debt as part of a commercial offer to compensate some retail clients who acquired shares and subordinated debt of Banco Popular and were wiped out when the bank was wound down. Popular was taken over by Santander on June 7 for the symbolic price of one euro after European authorities stepped in to prevent its collapse. When the bank first unveiled details of its compensation offer, it said it was planning to issue up to 980 million euros in subordinated debt. Santander said then that the plan excluded institutional investors and was directed at retail clients who acquired shares from May 26 to June 21 of 2016, during the period of Banco Popular’s last capital increase of around 2.5 billion euros. It would also include retail clients who acquired subordinated obligations computable as Tier 2 of the July 29, 2011 and Oct. 14, 2011 issues of Popular. In order to benefit from the offer, customers would be required to waive the right to pursue legal action against Santander, the lender said. Santander said on Tuesday in its prospectus clients have until December 15 to accept the commercial offer. ($1 = 0.8376 euros) (Reporting By Jesús Aguado and Carlos Ruano; editing by Sonya Dowsett)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/santander-compensation/spains-santander-to-raise-up-to-981-mln-euros-in-subordinated-debt-idUSE8N1HG01K'|'2017-09-12T21:44:00.000+03:00'
'07d4423c42b56334df3b4a7934b8b96b8669f6a7'|'Azerbaijan''s SOCAR seeks 25 pct share in deal with BP on oil fields'|'BAKU, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR plans to more than double its share in a new production sharing agreement with BP for the development of the country’s biggest oilfields, SOCAR First Vice-President Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh told reporters on Thursday.Yusifzadeh said that under a new draft agreement SOCAR’s share would rise to 25 percent from 11.65 percent. The shareholders in the consortium include BP, SOCAR, Chevron , Inpex, Statoil, ExxonMobil, Turkish Petroleum, Itochu and ONGC Videsh. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bp-azerbaijan-agreement/azerbaijans-socar-seeks-25-pct-share-in-deal-with-bp-on-oil-fields-idINL5N1LV0DP'|'2017-09-14T02:54:00.000+03:00'
'4e9222110d2cba9b138483bddf9960b2732b1f80'|'U.S. State Dept OKs possible sale to Canada of $5.23 bln in military equipment'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Canada of 18 fighter jets and other weapons worth an estimated $5.23 billion, a Pentagon agency said in a statement on Tuesday.The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it notified the U.S. Congress on Monday of the possible sale to Canada of 18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft and other equipment, including sidewinder missiles. It said the principal contractors will be Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, Raytheon Co and General Electric Co.Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-canada-military/u-s-state-dept-oks-possible-sale-to-canada-of-5-23-bln-in-military-equipment-idINW1N1LS00E'|'2017-09-12T17:24:00.000+03:00'
'604d58ec5d9e06b9e3434ffd09e052ac045452f2'|'Toyota says Brexit talks drift could threaten UK production'|'September 12, 2017 / 3:45 PM / Updated an hour ago Toyota says Brexit talks drift could threaten UK production 4 Min Read New Toyota cars are transported from their manufacturing facility in Burnaston, Britain March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deepening uncertainties over the direction and timetable of Brexit negotiations may force Toyota ( 7202.T ) to shift some UK production elsewhere if they are not addressed, the Japanese carmaker warned on Tuesday. Early government assurances that free trade with the European Union would survive Britain’s departure have been replaced by talk of transition periods, Toyota Executive Vice President Didier Leroy told Reuters. “A few months ago the UK government was saying, ‘We’re sure we’ll be able to negotiate (a deal) without any trade tax,''” Leroy said in an interview at the Frankfurt car show. “They are not saying that any more.” He added: “It’s clear that if we have to wait two to three more years to have a clarity on this topic, we will have a big question-mark about our future investment in the country.” Brexit talks have become bogged down in recent weeks, with the EU’s chief negotiator saying not enough progress had been made to begin discussing a free trade deal, amid differences over the size of the “divorce settlement” London should pay. Britain’s car industry is increasingly anxious that its exports could face tariffs and other barriers after 2019. PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) boss Carlos Tavares sounded an impatient note on Tuesday, saying Brexit uncertainties were complicating integration with Opel and its British Vauxhall plants, acquired by the Peugeot maker from General Motors ( GM.N ). “Until we have more visibility on the trade dimension it’s very hard to define a strategy,” Tavares said in Frankfurt. A Toyota Logo is pictured on a Prius car at a Toyota dealership in west London February 9, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Jaguar Land Rover ( TAMO.NS ), Britain’s biggest automaker, also warned last week that Brexit was already deterring EU workers and suppliers. Toyota announced plans in March to begin upgrading its Burnaston plant in central England in preparation for future models at a cost of 240 million pounds, after receiving written assurances from London. But Leroy, Toyota’s top foreign executive, said the company could not wait indefinitely before deciding whether to build a new model at the site after production of the ageing Avensis model ends. Burnaston also builds the smaller Auris. “We cannot take this kind of decision before we have clarity on the future trade relationship,” said Leroy. “We will not close the plant tomorrow morning, but if in two to three years we have to decide some future investments, of course the key point will be the competitiveness of this plant in future.” Leroy declined to say how much of the upgrade funds had already been spent, stressing that considerably larger sums would be needed to launch production of any new vehicles. Without further investment, Burnaston’s output “will probably start to decline before we will be able to take a decision,” Leroy said. “The longer we have to wait, the more potential there is to move to another factory.” He added: “We will not postpone a new product for three more years just because the negotiation is going to take three more years. So really there’s a strong need for us to have clarity as quickly as possible.” Reporting by Laurence Frost and Agnieszka Flak; Additional reporting by Costas Pitas in London; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-toyota-eu/toyota-says-brexit-talks-drift-could-threaten-uk-production-idUKKCN1BN24R'|'2017-09-12T18:49:00.000+03:00'
'6cd1091913c412b2f33eb59d851721dc0520a002'|'Jamie Dimon says his eventual successor works at JPMorgan'|'FILE PHOTO: Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), said on Tuesday that his eventual successor is an executive working at the bank.Dimon, speaking at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference in New York, said “there are several people” in the bank who board members know could do his job now if necessary.Dimon, 61, made the comment after being asked if he might be succeeded by Gary Cohn, the former chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) who is now President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser but who was unhappy about some of Trump’s responses to the recent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.“The president needs strong people and Gary is one of them,” said Dimon, who has led the bank since 2005.Dimon, repeating a statement he has made for a few years, said he wants to remain the bank’s chief executive for another five years.Reporting by David Henry in New York. Additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne and Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-dimon-ceo/jamie-dimon-says-his-eventual-successor-works-at-jpmorgan-idUSKCN1BN2US'|'2017-09-13T04:51:00.000+03:00'
'fd5047ae19b5bf067cac92191c131ddf825db8d2'|'Air Berlin scraps more long-haul flights'|' 42 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Air Berlin scraps more long-haul flights Reuters Staff 2 Min Read German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch - RC17E4C3CE40 BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin is scrapping more long-haul flights, this time to the Caribbean from Duesseldorf, to reduce its long-haul fleet and cut costs while it seeks investors, it said on Monday. The routes to destinations in places such as Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Antilles will end from Sept. 25, the carrier said. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, was forced to file for bankruptcy protection last month after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Its planes are being kept in the air thanks to a 150 million euro (136.48 million pounds) government bridging loan, which will last until the middle of November at the latest. Investors are currently lining up for the airline, with Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) seen as in pole position to take on large parts of Air Berlin. Bidders have until Sept. 15 to submit binding offers for the assets, with a decision possible as early as Sept. 21, three days before a German national election. Aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl late on Sunday said he had submitted a bid for the whole of Air Berlin. Air Berlin confirmed on Monday it had received a letter from Woehrl and was reviewing it. Air Berlin also said on Monday it was bringing forward again the cancellation of services from Berlin to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and from Duesseldorf to Boston, to Sept. 25. It had previously planned to cancel them on Oct 1. Last week, it also said it was dropping flights from Berlin to New York and Miami, and from Duesseldorf to Orlando as of Sept. 25. Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa-longhaul/air-berlin-scraps-more-long-haul-flights-idUKKCN1BM16S'|'2017-09-11T13:42:00.000+03:00'
'42e0e2850980c8cea299e4b069a8079c6e4fb8fd'|'Stock markets vie to host Saudi''s Aramco IPO'|'A view shows Saudi Aramco''s Manifa oilfield, Saudi Arabia January 22, 2015. Saudi Aramco/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Aramco, is set to stage what could be the largest initial public offering in history next year and stock exchanges around the world are competing for the chance to list its shares.A Reuters graphic shows the potential range of the value of Aramco’s listed shares against the average 2016 market capitalization of listed companies on the various exchanges as well as the advantages and disadvantages to Aramco of each one.See the graphic here: tmsnrt.rs/2jr9BCYSaudi officials have said the company will offer up to 5 percent of Aramco in the IPO. It is expected to list some shares on Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, with the rest on at least one overseas exchange.Among Aramco’s suitors include the New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Toronto stock exchanges.The IPO could raise as much as $100 billion, a large chunk of the $132.5 billion raised globally from IPOs in 2016, according to consultancy EY.Saudi officials have said Aramco could achieve a $2 trillion valuation, though they have not yet released financial information to substantiate that claim, which some analysts have cast doubt on.Listing part of the oil giant is a centerpiece of Vision 2030, a plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil, which is championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; Editing by Robin Pomeroy '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-ipo-stockmarkets/stock-markets-vie-to-host-saudis-aramco-ipo-idINKCN1BP1HM'|'2017-09-14T09:37:00.000+03:00'
'7f40ea08db04c9b966e47feba64fa9eb7c6e0f5a'|'EU to make banks pay to centralise markets supervision'|'September 14, 2017 / 2:15 PM / 19 minutes ago EU to make banks pay to centralise markets supervision Huw Jones 3 Min Read A picture illustration shows the Euro currency logo reflected in a person''s eye, in central Bosnian town of Zenica, March 13, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union wants to centralise market supervision and make banks pay for it, the bloc’s financial services chief said, signalling how it will seek to regroup after Britain leaves. A more integrated supervisory regime is needed to unify the EU’s capital market, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Thursday. Britain has long fended off attempts by Brussels to step up EU-level supervision of London, by far Europe’s biggest financial centre, but it will have no say over EU policy after Brexit in 2019. “We think that national supervisors in the EU should follow the same supervisory priorities,” Dombrovskis said in Estonia, where EU finance ministers meet on Friday. “We can go further on the path towards supervisory convergence by empowering the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to directly supervise certain firms,” Dombrovskis said, adding he will propose that banks help pay for their supervision by regulators like ESMA. There would also be a “strong role” for ESMA and its banking and insurance counterparts in the fintech sector as it seeks to compete with rival centres in London and elsewhere. “They should coordinate national technological innovation tools such as innovation hubs or regulatory sandboxes,” he said. The three regulators would also play a role in mobilising and directing capital towards “sustainable and green finance”. TRANSATLANTIC The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has warned the bloc not to upend an agreement between the United States and the EU on accepting each other’s clearing houses for derivatives transactions. CFTC Chair Christopher Giancarlo said on Tuesday that attempts by the EU to clamp down on clearing of euro-denominated derivatives in Britain after Brexit could damage this. Dombrovskis sought to ease tensions by saying that Brussels was aiming to give the green light to a similar transatlantic deal on cash set aside to cover uncleared, off-exchange derivatives trades in coming weeks. Work also continued on a similar deal for derivatives trading platforms, he added. “I am strongly pushing for this, because the financial crisis illustrated the international nature of our financial system, and the importance of a common approach to financial regulation,” Dombrovskis said. But countries should also apply agreed global banking rules for trading books and liquidity, he said. The United States Treasury has proposed delaying the application of both sets of rules. European banks have called on Dombrovskis to delay the trading book rules until it is clear what the United States will do. “The Commission is standing by its proposals to introduce these standards in Europe, as we have introduced all other international standards,” Dombrovskis said. Writing by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-markets-regulations/eu-to-make-banks-pay-to-centralise-markets-supervision-idUKKCN1BP208'|'2017-09-14T17:15:00.000+03:00'
'59755e098dd97570a399e08b1c0a46bb2147975d'|'UPDATE 1-Magazine Luiza slumps on plans for Brazil share offering'|'(Updates share performance, adds expansion plans in paragraphs 2-6)By Guillermo Parra-BernalSAO PAULO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Shares in Magazine Luiza SA, the Brazilian appliance retailer whose market value has quintupled this year, slumped the most in four months on Tuesday, after disclosing plans for a bigger-than-expected offering of 24 million new and existing shares.The stock shed as much as 16 percent, before recouping some of those losses to trade 13.2 percent down at 67.94 reais per share in midafternoon trading. Magazine Luiza recently approved a 1-to-8 share split, facilitating the offer and giving retail investors access to a stock that gained 739 percent in the past 12 months.Earlier in the day, Magazine Luiza said the offering plan aims to cut debt and fund acquisitions amid an ongoing shift towards e-commerce marketplace activities. The company will sell 17.6 million new shares, with five investors, including the controlling Trajano family, selling 6.4 million existing shares.Some investors said the offering opened an opportunity to cash in part of their year-to-date gains, driving prices down ahead of the transaction. One of them expects solid demand for the issue in the heels of growing revenue, declining borrowing costs and a nascent economic recovery in Brazil.“It’s an attractive case that I have no doubt will lure many types of buyers,” said one of the investors, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss investment strategies in public.At current prices, the restricted-efforts deal could help Magazine Luiza and the shareholders fetch 1.88 billion reais ($606 million) - compared with expectations of about 1 billion reais, when speculation about such a plan began to emerge in June, the investors said.Proceeds will be used to acquire technology firms specializing in retailing and marketplace platform services, and open new stores and cut debt. This year’s rally has reflected solid revenue trends stemming from Chairwoman Luiza Trajano’s strategy to transform current stores into small-scale distribution centers.Speaking in Rio de Janeiro at an event, Trajano said the company plans to open as many as 60 stores this year, with a strong focus on the country’s northeastern region. She ruled out rival purchases, saying Magazine Luiza will focus on technology to grow organically.“We’re done with this takeover phase of yesteryears,” she said.Magazine Luiza hired the investment-banking units of Bank of America Corp, Grupo BTG Pactual, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Credit Suisse Group AG, Banco Bradesco SA, Banco Santander Brasil SA and Banco do Brasil to work on the plan.Management will meet investors in Brazil and abroad over the next couple of weeks, with pricing slated for Sept. 27.The transaction will be in the form of a restricted-efforts offering, which differs from standard equity offerings in that a company does not have to request registration of the plan with securities industry watchdog CVM. Only qualified investors can participate in such offerings, and the deals cannot be marketed through road shows or the media. ($1 = 3.1026 Brazilian reais) (Additional reporting by Gabriela Mello in São Paulo and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Diane Craft and Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/magazine-luiza-newissue/update-1-magazine-luiza-slumps-on-plans-for-brazil-share-offering-idINL2N1LT0V1'|'2017-09-12T13:43:00.000+03:00'
'6e6d27c9b4e6a780a364348aaef63c1d33d9ddb0'|'Britain pushes Boeing to drop its Bombardier challenge'|'September 11, 2017 / 10:55 PM / Updated 3 hours ago May asks Trump to help over Boeing''s Bombardier challenge Elizabeth Piper , Guy Faulconbridge 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May has asked President Donald Trump to intervene in a dispute between Boeing Co and Canadian rival Bombardier to help secure thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland. British ministers have also approached Boeing directly in an attempt to get the world’s largest aerospace company to drop its challenge against Bombardier, which could endanger a factory that employs 4,500 people in the British province. Bombardier is Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing employer and May’s Conservatives are dependent on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for their majority in parliament. May raised the issue with Trump in a call this month. She also plans to discuss the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when they meet next week, a source close to the matter said. May’s trip had been scheduled in advance, and there will be other items on the agenda, a Canadian official familiar with the matter told Reuters. A U.S. trade court is due to give a preliminary ruling on Boeing’s complaint on Sept. 25. “Our priority is to encourage Boeing to drop its case and seek a negotiated settlement with Bombardier,” a British government spokesman said in a statement. “This is a commercial matter, but the UK government is working tirelessly to safeguard Bombardier’s operations and its highly skilled workers in Belfast.” Boeing this year asked the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate alleged subsidies and unfair pricing at Bombardier, accusing it of having sold 75 of its CSeries medium-range airliners to Delta Air Lines at well below cost price. A spokesman for May said Bombardier’s jobs were “of huge importance” to Northern Ireland. A Boeing spokesman said on Tuesday the company would not comment on a meeting between heads of state. May is likely to find it difficult to convince Trump, who has made ‘America First’ a theme of his administration, to get one of the titans of U.S. industry to back off from defending what it views as its trade rights. FILE PHOTO: Visitors look at models of Boeing aircrafts at the Aviation Expo China 2015, in Beijing, China, in this September 16, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo But the DUP is certain to maintain its pressure on her. “The engagement at governmental level with Boeing and with the U.S. has been significant over the course of the summer because this is pivotal to the Northern Ireland economy,” DUP lawmaker Gavin Robinson told the Irish national broadcaster RTE. “We’re not there yet, and the work still has to continue.” PLANE FIGHT FILE PHOTO - A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland on May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Bombardier makes the CSeries CS100 and CS300 state-of-the-art carbon wings at a plant in Belfast, along with other aircraft components. “Boeing had to take action as subsidized competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come, and we could not stand by given this clear case of illegal dumping,” Boeing said in a statement. “We believe that global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rules of the road, and that’s a principle that ultimately creates the greatest value for Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and our aerospace industry.” Bombardier called the allegations absurd. “Boeing’s petition is an unfounded assault on airlines, the travelling public and further innovation in aerospace,” a Bombardier spokesman said. “We are very confident the UK government understands what is at stake and will take the actions necessary to respond to this direct attack on its aerospace industry.” Industry sources said Boeing was unlikely to back down in the case, which mirrors a wider row with Europe’s Airbus over subsidies that it perceives as a strategic threat. The row could also reopen a debate over Britain’s own support for Bombardier in Northern Ireland. In 2008, the UK provided 113 million pounds in development loans plus other local aid for the production of CSeries wings, prompting a complaint from Brazil’s Embraer. The European Union rejected the claim. Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Tim Hepher in London; Conor Humphries in Dublin; and David Ljunggren in St. John''s, Newfoundland; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Chris Reese'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-britain/britain-pushes-boeing-to-drop-its-bombardier-challenge-idUKKCN1BM2U0'|'2017-09-12T01:54:00.000+03:00'
'c77e0922dbd80ed4006234734ea720f58515d23e'|'Uber chief legal officer Yoo plans to leave in near future -memo'|'FILE PHOTO - An Uber sign is seen in a car in New York, U.S. June 30, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] chief legal officer and general counsel Salle Yoo is planning to leave the company in the near future, according to a note seen by Reuters.The note sent by Yoo to Uber’s legal team says that she will continue to serve until the company’s recently appointed chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, names a replacement.According to the note, Yoo, who joined Uber in 2012, began considering a future beyond the company last spring after being named chief legal officer in May.Yoo’s departure comes as Uber is involved in a high-stake lawsuit filed by Alphabet Inc’s Waymo that threatens the company’s self-driving car business while Uber is also struggling to overcome allegations of sexual harassment and executive misconduct.Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Joseph Menn; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-executive/uber-chief-legal-officer-yoo-plans-to-leave-in-near-future-memo-idUSKCN1BO03H'|'2017-09-13T04:19:00.000+03:00'
'941c9a7ce451286e2c059aa2580cfff1dcf9b2d7'|'REFILE-Motor racing-Formula One agrees free-to-air deal with France''s TF1'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One announced a limited three-year free-to-air deal with France’s TF1 television on Wednesday that will include the broadcaster’s home race next year as well as the showcase Monaco Grand Prix.“The agreement will commence at the beginning of the 2018 championship and TF1 will show four Formula One Grand Prix races in exclusivity on free-to-air in their entirety,” Formula One said in a statement.The other races will be shown as highlights.Vivendi Group’s Canal+ pay television channels currently have the right to broadcast all grands prix in France and agreed a new multi-year deal in May with the sport’s new owners Liberty Media.The French Grand Prix is returning after a 10-year absence next season with a race at the Le Castellet circuit near Marseille.France has two current drivers in Haas’s Romain Grosjean and rising star Esteban Ocon at Force India while manufacturer Renault has its own factory team and supplies engines to two others.Ferrari-backed Monegasque racer Charles Leclerc is also leading the Formula Two feeder series and is expected to enter Formula One with Sauber.Ian Holmes, Formula One’s director of media rights, said the TF1 deal would “significantly help to further elevate the sport in the market.”Formula One has faced declining television viewing figures in recent years, with the sport increasingly on pay television, and Liberty are keen to build the audience since taking over in January.“Free to air is critically important to us,” the sport’s commercial managing director Sean Bratches told an FIA conference in June.“My vision as it relates to media rights is a hybrid of free-to-air and pay. Our plan is to balance the two but have a prominent, over the year, free-to-air voice. That is important from a fans, sponsors and relevance standpoint.”(This version of the story has been refiled to include TF1 group RIC)Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor-f1-france-television/formula-one-agrees-free-to-air-deal-with-frances-tf1-idUSKCN1BO2AS'|'2017-09-13T20:20:00.000+03:00'
'8cec77e2ea3bad2475212f9406ed73c27cb53ad6'|'Viacom''s MTV sees first summer ratings growth in six years'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:04 AM / Updated an hour ago Viacom''s MTV sees first summer ratings growth in six years Jessica Toonkel 3 Min Read A woman exits the Viacom Inc. headquarters in New York, U.S. on April 30, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo (Reuters) - Viacom Inc’s ( VIAB.O ) MTV network had its first summer of ratings growth in six years, the network told Reuters this week, a sign that the company is seeing progress wooing back coveted younger viewers who watch shows online. Viacom is in the midst of a turnaround to improve declining ratings and ad revenue by focusing on six core networks, including MTV under its new Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish. Once known as the edgy network for cool kids, MTV lost its luster in recent years as the former Viacom management failed to invest in programming or a digital strategy. In recent months, MTV has brought in new creative talent, re-engineered a number of existing shows and made an effort to reach a younger audience through social media, said Chris McCarthy, who was named president of MTV last year. Turning MTV around is crucial for Viacom as it makes up about 15 percent of the company’s media network revenue, according to John Janedis, a Jefferies analyst. In the third quarter, media network revenue was $2.56 billion, 76 percent of Viacom’s $3.36 billion total revenue. Summer is a key time for networks like MTV that cater to younger viewers because kids are home from school. “The ratings trajectory is the best we have seen in several years,” Janedis said. “That being said, after the erosion of audience over the past six years, this needs to continue.” During primetime, in its target audience aged 18 to 34 years, MTV saw a 31 percent ratings increase in August. The spike was helped by its new reality show “Siesta Key,” according to Nielsen data provided by Viacom. From June through August, MTV saw the first three months of consecutive ratings improvement year over year in six years, the company said. “Our original programming isn’t just about renewing for next season,” he said. “It’s about digging in and seeing what is working and what is not.” For example, MTV made several changes to “The Challenge,” its reality game show featuring alumnae from its “Real World” and “Road Rules” shows. MTV brought back some fan favorites of the show, upped the prize money to $1 million and quickened the show’s pace, McCarthy said. The show’s ratings jumped 20 percent among 18-34 year olds, making it the highest rated season in over two years with that demographic, according to the Nielsen data. Reporting by Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Anna Driver and Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-viacom-mtv/viacoms-mtv-sees-first-summer-ratings-growth-in-six-years-idUSKCN1BO189'|'2017-09-13T14:03:00.000+03:00'
'30d2937c0b2a994a5e1bc9092b4d32fcbd6e10ca'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'September 13, 2017 / 10:20 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Reuters Staff 4 Min Read (Adds Thyssenkrup, Eni, Hayleys, Carlyle Group, China Zhongwang Holdings, CS Loxinfo) Sept 13 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Wednesday: ** The government of North Rhine-Westphalia, home to engineering and steel group Thyssenkrupp, has come out in favour of the group’s planned merger of its European steel operations with those of Tata Steel< TISC.NS>. ** Italian oil and gas group Eni said it had signed a cooperation agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation which would strengthen ties between the two groups. ** Sri Lankan conglomerate Hayleys Plc is to buy a 61.73 percent stake in Singer Sri Lanka Plc for 10.9 billion rupees ($71 million), the company said. ** Private equity firm Carlyle Group is planning a sale of South Korean security systems company ADT Caps in what could be the country’s biggest M&A deal in two years, sources with knowledge of the matter said. ** China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd said it had acquired a controlling stake in a German aluminium extrusion firm that mainly supplies aircraft manufacturers. ** Thailand’s largest telecommunications Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) plans to spend 2.6 billion baht ($78.57 million) to buy 56 percent of Internet service provider CS Loxinfo, further advancing its Internet broadband coverage. ** About two dozen bidders, mainly from China, are vying to buy the Hong Kong wealth management unit of AXA SA, which the French insurer is looking to sell as it focuses on fast-growing businesses in Asia, three people familiar with the matter said. ** Michelin, which in July bought a stake in the influential Robert Parker wine guide, said it was not ruling out further acquisitions of similar upmarket, gastronomy brands. ** Britain’s Clinigen Group agreed to buy Quantum Pharma for 150.3 million pounds ($200 million), bringing together two companies that specialise in the supply of unlicensed medicines to doctors and hospitals. ** Wood Textiles Holding will make way for R2G Rohan Czech’s takeover of Pegas Nonwovens after reversing course and agreeing to sell its 29.98 percent stake in the artificial fabrics maker, the company said. ** German drugs and pesticides group Bayer BAYGn.DE has further reduced its holding in Covestro to 31.5 percent from 40.9 percent by selling 19 million shares in the plastics business for a total of 1.2 billion euros. ($1.4 billion). ** Dutch insurer ASR said it would buy the Dutch operations of Italy’s Generali for 143 million euros ($171 million). ** Toshiba Corp said it has signed a memorandum to accelerate talks to sell its memory chip business to a group led by private equity firm Bain Capital and chipmaker SK Hynix Inc . ** Home Capital Group Inc’s shareholders rejected a proposal for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to raise its stake in the company, voting against the board’s recommendation in a third defeat for the U.S. billionaire this year. ** Nordstrom Inc’s founding family has selected private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners to help take the high-end retailer private, according to a source familiar with the matter. ** Health insurer Centene Corp said it would buy privately held Fidelis Care for $3.75 billion to enter New York, the second largest managed care state by membership in the United States. ** Insolvent German airline Air Berlin has attracted buyer interest from China’s LinkGlobal Logistics, which is likely to join a growing list of suitors, German newspaper Bild said. ** Energen Corp sought guidance from an Alabama court on the state’s shareholder rights laws which an activist investor had said it would use to force a sale of the U.S. oil and gas producer, a regulatory filing shows. (Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idUSL4N1LU3H7'|'2017-09-13T13:19:00.000+03:00'
'ac3511cb1018a2d520395304c2aa566bbbcd3314'|'France''s Macron to present euro zone reform proposals on Sept. 26'|'September 13, 2017 / 9:19 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago France''s Macron to present euro zone reform proposals on September 26 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read France''s President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a press conference as part of his visit in the French Caribbean islands of St. Martin September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Christophe Ena/Pool PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will unveil more detailed proposals for reforms to the euro zone on Sept. 26, two days after Germany holds its federal election, a French diplomatic source said on Wednesday. Macron wants a giant leap forward in European cooperation. He has called for a euro zone finance minister and a euro zone parliament that would supervise a standalone budget for the bloc. Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Richard Lough'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-europe-reform/frances-macron-to-present-euro-zone-reform-proposals-on-september-26-idUKKCN1BO0X3'|'2017-09-13T12:13:00.000+03:00'
'a96f3af9d94a28f5b2041f66dae215adecda8f0e'|'Northern Ireland leaders appeal to VP Pence on Bombardier challenge'|'Reuters TV United States September 13, 2017 / 11:44 AM / a minute ago Northern Ireland leaders appeal to VP Pence on Bombardier challenge Amanda Ferguson 3 Min Read A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse BELFAST (Reuters) - A dispute between Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Canadian rival Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) that risks thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland could impact peace in the region, the leaders of its two main parties warned U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked President Donald Trump to urge the world’s largest aerospace company to drop its challenge against Bombardier, which could endanger a factory that employs 4,500 people in the British province. Bombardier is Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing employer and May’s Conservatives are dependent on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for their majority in parliament. “For a small economy such as ours, the significance of the contribution that Bombardier makes cannot be understated. The threat facing us as a result of the ongoing case is alarming, and goes much wider than it may immediately appear,” DUP leader Arlene Foster and Michelle O‘Neill of Sinn Fein said in letter to Pence, a copy of which was seen by Reuters. “The security of our economy has and continues to be a crucial part of our efforts in delivering peace through prosperity. At a time when we are striving to take the next steps in our work on the Peace Process, and resolve our current political difficulties, this issue creates a new and potentially critical factor.” Irish nationalists Sinn Fein and the pro-British DUP have for months tried in vain to re-establish a devolved power-sharing government, a key part of the 1998 peace deal that ended 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Washington played a key role in helping broker the deal. The parties confirmed that their leaders sent the letter, dated September 12. Boeing this year asked the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate alleged subsidies and unfair pricing at Bombardier, accusing it of having sold 75 of its CSeries medium-range airliners to Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ) at well below cost price. A U.S. trade court is due to give a preliminary ruling on Boeing’s complaint on Sept. 25. Editing by Padraic Halpin and Matthew Mpoke Bigg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier-nireland/northern-ireland-leaders-appeal-to-vp-pence-on-bombardier-challenge-idUKKCN1BO1CX'|'2017-09-13T14:29:00.000+03:00'
'0df02769e614acec431a644cef86b564cd883332'|'Corporate investment lifts July euro zone industry output'|'September 13, 2017 / 9:02 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Corporate investment lifts July euro zone industry output Reuters Staff 2 Min Read An employee of German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz works on the interior of a GLA model at their production line at the factory in Rastatt, Germany, January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone industrial production rebounded slightly in July after a steep fall in June, driven mostly by corporate investment and durable consumer goods, official data released on Wednesday showed. Overall output rose 0.1 percent in July month-on-month, the European Union statistics office Eurostat said, following a 0.6 percent drop in June. Despite the only slight increase, the output figures bode well for the 19-country bloc’s growth in the second half of the year, as the output rise was mostly caused by capital goods, confirming business’ upbeat sentiment. The July production data follow the acceleration of the euro zone’s economic growth to 0.6 percent in the three months to June after a robust 0.5 percent expansion in the first quarter. Eurostat said investment in capital goods, such as machinery, rose 0.8 percent on the month, the highest rise among the output components. Production of durable consumer goods, such as cars, also increased by 0.7 percent, as firms predicted higher consumer demand for more expensive goods. The limited growth of the overall indicator was due to a steep 1.2 percent fall in energy production and a 0.4 percent decline in the output of non-durable consumer goods, such as food and clothes. The month-on-month figure was in line with the average forecast of economists polled by Reuters, while the year-on-year 3.2 percent growth was slightly below market expectations for a 3.4 percent rise. There was also an upward revision of the June year-on-year data to 2.8 percent growth, from the 2.6 percent previously estimated by Eurostat. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-production/corporate-investment-lifts-july-euro-zone-industry-output-idUKKCN1BO0VC'|'2017-09-13T12:02:00.000+03:00'
'fcc4047efdde77b655f50749b122a830c42023b0'|'Toshiba to step up chip talks with Bain, Western Digital still in running: Nikkei'|'FILE PHOTO - A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has signed a memorandum to step up talks to sell its memory chip business to a group led by private equity firm Bain Capital and chipmaker SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), the Nikkei newspaper said on Wednesday.But the struggling Japanese conglomerate also plans to continue talks with Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) which is leading a rival group bidding for the $18 billion semiconductor unit, the report said.Toshiba said it had no comment.The report comes after the Toshiba’s board met earlier in the day. Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Toshiba now favored the Bain group after failing to bridge key gaps in talks with business partner and rival bidder Western Digital.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-bain/toshiba-to-step-up-chip-talks-with-bain-western-digital-still-in-running-nikkei-idINKCN1BO09P'|'2017-09-13T01:34:00.000+03:00'
'e8d35986c2b92b449bd7530dc2eee284b702c97d'|'MOVES-Harvest Global makes three appointments in Hong Kong office'|' 20 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago MOVES-Harvest Global makes three appointments in Hong Kong office Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 13 (Reuters) - Fund manager Harvest Global Investments, which focuses on the Chinese and Asian markets, has made three appointments as part of its expansion in Hong Kong. Winnie Wong was named fixed income portfolio manager. She has over 12 years of experience, including at Royal Bank of Canada, Warburg Pincus and Credit Suisse . Kathy Zhang was named China equity strategist, responsible for both Hong Kong and A-Share stock markets. She joins from Credit Suisse. Harvest Global named Kenn An as head of product development. An held the same title at UBS Asset Management in Hong Kong, where he comes from. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/harvest-global-investments-moves-winnie/moves-harvest-global-makes-three-appointments-in-hong-kong-office-idUSL4N1LU3I3'|'2017-09-13T13:18:00.000+03:00'
'22729a3447215e88e96f7a1fdc5cfd847d61bf42'|'Japan''s MUFG picks Amsterdam as its EU investment banking base'|'September 13, 2017 / 12:23 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Japan''s MUFG says picks Amsterdam as EU investment banking base Taiga Uranaka 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - People walk past a branch of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group''s bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) in Tokyo, Japan, May 16, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) ( 8306.T ) said it has picked Amsterdam as its European Union investment banking base, as financial institutions prepare for Britain’s exit from the EU. Japan’s largest lender is following the footsteps of other banks and financial services firms that are setting up regulated subsidiaries in an EU country so that they can do business across the bloc if Britain loses access to the European single market. MUFG Securities EMEA plc, the European investment banking unit of MUFG, currently has its head office in London with staff of about 600 people. “The new subsidiary in Amsterdam will ensure that the Group can continue to provide these (securities) services to its EU clients, even if the cross-border passport is lost as a result of Brexit,” MUFG, which has $2.8 trillion (£2.11 trillion) in assets, said in a statement on Wednesday. The timing of the start of Amsterdam operations is undecided since it is subject to approval by authorities, the bank said. MUFG also said it plans to open an investment banking branch in Paris and that several dozen people will be moved from London to either Amsterdam or Paris. The bank has already picked the Dutch city as its commercial banking operations hub in continental Europe. FILE PHOTO - Japan''s national flag is seen behind the logo of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) at its bank branch in Tokyo, Japan September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Global banks have said they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for Brexit, the country’s planned exit from the European Union in 2019. MUFG’s choice of Amsterdam as its EU hub, however, bucks the trend of other Japanese and global banking peers. In July, Mizuho Financial Group ( 8411.T ) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc ( 8316.T ), Japan’s No. 2 and No 3. lenders, respectively, said they would set up subsidiaries in Frankfurt to continue businesses in the bloc after Brexit. Amsterdam, with some of the world’s fastest data links and a history of high-frequency trading, has attracted financial market platforms looking for a post-Brexit base in Europe, with both Tradeweb and MarketAxess saying they would move to the city. However, its appeal to investment banks looking to move there has been muted by a cap on bonuses for workers in the financial services industry. A rule limiting bonuses to 20 percent of fixed pay was brought in by the Dutch government after the 2008 financial crisis. The country’s parliament voted in June to scrap that limit in a non-binding consultative vote. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-mufg/japans-mufg-picks-amsterdam-as-its-eu-investment-banking-base-idUKKCN1BO013'|'2017-09-13T03:22:00.000+03:00'
'b626f2f291e7097ff0f82c8212e07b3a939bdd11'|'Greece to beat budget target, plans more bonds - finance ministry official'|' 48 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Greece to beat budget target, plans more bonds - finance ministry official Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Euro coins are seen in front of a displayed Greece flag in this picture illustration, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece expects a larger-than-targeted primary budget surplus this year and plans to tap bond markets again within seven months, a senior finance ministry official said on Wednesday. Athens is keen to quickly conclude a third bailout review with its international creditors, helping smooth its return to market financing, as its rescue programme ends next August. Greece returned to bond markets for the first time in three years in July. It sold 3 billion euros of new five-year bonds alongside a tender to buy back outstanding 5-year paper issued in 2014. “Within the next six to seven months there will be efforts to tap bond markets,” the ministry official told reporters, declining to be named. “It will involve (raising) new money and a bit of debt management. This why we want to conclude the third bailout review fast, by January.” Without specifying a figure, the official said the country is this year set to exceed a targeted 1.75-percent-of-GDP primary budget surplus, which excludes debt servicing costs. Last week Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the government was determined to beat its fiscal targets and speed up the conclusion of the third review, promising a “dividend” to the vulnerable. The official said the planned handout would not be distributed to low-income pensioners, as last year when Tsipras unexpectedly announced a one-off Christmas bonus to retirees, angering the country’s lenders. “The (fiscal outperformance) will not go to pensioners, it will go towards other social spending, to pay down state arrears and growth projects.” Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, writing by George Georgiopoulos; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-economy-finmin/greece-to-beat-budget-target-plans-more-bonds-finance-ministry-official-idUKKCN1BO1E2'|'2017-09-13T14:48:00.000+03:00'
'd39e6f5b45906f838457580098ee0e63edb19cad'|'Cabot IPO delayed as Provident Financial ex-CEO quits board'|'  4:46 PM / Updated an hour ago Cabot IPO delayed as Provident Financial ex-CEO quits board Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Cabot Credit Management’s planned 1 billion pound ($1.3 billion) initial public offering has been delayed by the resignation from its board of the former boss of Provident Financial. A filing by Cabot, which is Britain’s biggest debt collection firm and counts private equity group JC Flowers as a shareholder, shows former Provident Financial ( PFG.L ) chief executive Peter Crook stepped down as a director on Sept. 8. Cabot, which is controlled by U.S. debt recovery business Encore Capital Group, had planned to announce its intention to float in London this week but Crook’s departure has delayed the process, a source close to the matter said. Crook, who did not return a request for comment, left Provident after more than a decade in August following a profit warning by the British subprime lender, its second in two months, which sparked a 66 percent share price fall. Provident also suspended its dividend and disclosed that the Financial Conduct Authority was investigating a product sold by its Vanquis Bank business. Cabot is still planning to press ahead with its flotation this year, the source said. A second source told Reuters that Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and private equity firm Apax Partners had separately expressed interest in buying Cabot this year, although the talks did not develop. Apax and CPPIB declined to comment. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Jefferies are working on the listing, which could give Cabot a market capitalization of around 1 billion pounds, the first source said. Reporting by Ben Martin; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cabot-ipo/cabot-ipo-delayed-as-provident-financial-ex-ceo-quits-board-idUKKCN1BM27Q'|'2017-09-11T19:42:00.000+03:00'
'6e9279bb612b341a89e036cfdd5633b099331e71'|'Aramco says IPO on track after report it is preparing for possible delay'|'Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco’s planned initial public offering remains on track, the company said on Thursday, after Bloomberg reported that the oil company is preparing contingency plans for a possible delay by a few months into 2019.Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world’s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange inRiyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in anIPO that could raise $100 billion.“The initial public offering of a stake in Saudi Aramco remains on track,” said Aramco in an email.“The IPO process is well under way and Saudi Aramco remains focused on ensuring that all IPO related work is completed to the very highest standards on time.”Bloomberg reported on Wednesday the Saudi government is still aiming for the IPO of the state-owned oil giant in the second half of 2018, but that the timetable is getting increasingly tight for what is likely to be the biggest share sale in history.Aramco has still not chosen an international venue for the listing although New York and London are seen as leading contenders. It has hired advisers for the deal, but has not chosen global coordinators or bookrunners, banking sources have said.Reuters reported last month that Saudi Arabia favors New York for the main foreign listing of Aramco, even though some financial and legal advisers have recommended London, citing people familiar with the matter.Related Coverage Stock markets vie to host Saudi''s Aramco IPOReporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bangalore, writing by Saeed Azhar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-ipo/stock-markets-vie-to-host-saudis-aramco-ipo-idINKCN1BP1A4'|'2017-09-14T08:42:00.000+03:00'
'0dc83d4b06471b09e62345984ebda3c38475f011'|'UPDATE 1-Florida nursing home where deaths occurred was not on priority list -utility'|'September 13, 2017 / 5:27 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Florida nursing home where deaths occurred was not on priority list -utility Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds background and quotes from FPL spokesman) Sept 13 (Reuters) - Florida Power & Light said on Wednesday it had provided power to part of a nursing home that housed six residents who died after the facility lost electricity due to Hurricane Irma, adding that it was not on a county priority list for emergency power restoration. “Parts of the facility itself were energized by FPL, I can’t give you anything more specific than that at this point,” FPL spokesman Rob Gould told a news conference, referring to the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills. Two elderly residents were found dead at the nursing home, and three later died at a hospital. Details on the sixth death were not immediately known. Police opened a criminal investigation at the nursing home in Broward Contry, which is north of Miami. Some residents were evacuated on early Sunday morning and some woke up feeling sick at the center, which had been without air conditioning, Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said. Gould said FPL met with Broward County officials in March before the storm season to discuss what facilities would be prioritized for power restoration this year. “They identified which facilities were to be critical top infrastructure facilities, this was not one of them,” he said about the Hollywood Hills center. Broward County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. FPL has said earlier this week that the company prioritizes restoring power to critical facilities such as hospitals, police and fire stations, communications centers, water treatment plants, transportation and shelter. Gould said the incident at Hollywood Hills emphasizes that all facilities need to have backup plans in case power is lost during storms. Memorial Regional Hospital, a facility across from the nursing home, was identified as a top priority by the county and had power, Gould said. Florida has more than 680 nursing homes that house about 73,000 residents, the Florida Health Care Association said. Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and W Simon'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/storm-irma-fpl/update-1-florida-nursing-home-where-deaths-occurred-was-not-on-priority-list-utility-idUSL2N1LU176'|'2017-09-13T20:27:00.000+03:00'
'ba725ae06652391aa6f0ad8bf0c1e089f4ec7b2f'|'BP files for IPO of US pipeline assets'|'  1:03 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago BP files for IPO of US pipeline assets Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 11 (Reuters) - British energy company BP on Monday filed for an initial public offering of its U.S. pipeline assets. BP Midstream Partners LP, the master limited partnership (MLP) formed by BP''s U.S. pipeline unit, said in a regulatory filing it plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BPMP". bit.ly/2gVzlXb An MLP is a tax-advantaged structure often used by pipeline and other capital intensive companies. They do not pay corporate income tax on distributions, or earnings, to partners. The offering comes nearly two months after BP laid out plans to spin off some of its U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast pipeline assets in an IPO to raise cash. The IPO revives a plan first broached internally about five years ago before slumping crude oil prices caused BP to put the idea on hold, a source told Reuters in July. Other energy companies that have spun off their pipeline assets include Royal Dutch Shell — which in 2014 raised nearly $1 billion in the largest master limited partnership IPO to date — and refiners such as Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro Corp and Marathon Petroleum Corp. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan are among underwriters for BP Midstream Partners’ IPO. BP Midstream said it intends to raise up to $100 million in the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bp-midstream-partners-ipo/bp-files-for-ipo-of-us-pipeline-assets-idUSL4N1LS4A8'|'2017-09-11T16:01:00.000+03:00'
'3ce9a8655fb6e4186c47c554579202c1f71a6591'|'Thomas Cook partners with Expedia for hotel sales'|' 45 AM / Updated an hour ago Thomas Cook partners with Expedia for hotel sales Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of global online travel brand Expedia is pictured at the International Tourism Trade Fair (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch LONDON (Reuters) - British tour operator Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ) said on Thursday it had entered into a strategic alliance with Expedia ( EXPE.O ) to make the online travel company its preferred provider of hotels for certain holiday sales. Thomas Cook said that while it remained focused on its own-brand hotels, Expedia would be the preferred partner for its “complementary city and domestic holiday business”, a wider range of hotels to give customers more choice. Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser said the agreement would “transform Thomas Cook’s city breaks and hotel-only offer for customers while helping the business take an important step forward in delivering our strategy for profitable growth.” “This will free us up to focus on holidays to our own-brand and selected partner hotels in sun & beach locations where we know we can really make a difference to customers,” he said in a statement. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thomas-cook-grp-strategy/thomas-cook-partners-with-expedia-for-hotel-sales-idUKKCN1BP0O9'|'2017-09-14T09:41:00.000+03:00'
'4d5084b06c9f2e264c5ae23a54466c9e9f3b11f4'|'Vivendi to notify Italy formally it does not control Telecom Italia: source'|'The Vivendi logo is pictured at the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate headquarters in Paris, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - French media giant Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) will file a formal notice informing Italian authorities that it exercises “management and coordination” over Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) but not control, a French source close to the matter said.That would contradict Italy’s market watchdog which ruled on Wednesday that Vivendi, which owns a 24 percent in the Italian group, had de facto control.Should the Italian government decide Vivendi does have de facto control it may conclude the preconditions exist for it to exercise “golden powers” which could range from a fine to imposing conditions or vetoing decisions Rome considers a threat to national interests.Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by Richard Lough '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-telecomitalia-vivendi/vivendi-to-notify-italy-formally-it-does-not-control-telecom-italia-source-idINKCN1BP1TE'|'2017-09-14T11:15:00.000+03:00'
'2015d1ecc95fc58045759f4c0a4eb8de70a092c4'|'Teva to sell contraceptive brand Paragard in $1.1 billion deal'|'September 11, 2017 / 9:39 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Teva to sell contraceptive brand Paragard in $1.1 billion deal Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A building belonging to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world''s biggest generic drugmaker and Israel''s largest company, is seen in Jerusalem February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( TEVA.TA ), ( TEVA.N ) on Monday agreed to sell its contraceptive brand Paragard to a unit of Cooper Cos ( COO.N ) for $1.1 billion (834.91 million pounds), on a day the struggling Israeli drugmaker named industry veteran Kare Schultz as CEO. The company’s U.S.-listed shares were up 1.4 percent at $18.75 in extended trading after closing up 19.3 percent in regular trading. The sale of the business is the first step in the planned divestment of non-core assets and the proceeds would be used to repay term loan debt, Teva said. Saddled with about $35 billion in debt, Teva has speeded up plans to divest non-core assets, Reuters reported last month, citing sources. “Investors will like this news, as in addition to a good price for the asset, and the recent share decline has been likely due in part to investor worries that the debt burden is high,” Wells Fargo Securities analyst David Maris said in a note. Teva’s U.S.-listed stock has halved since early August when it cut its forecasts. The company said on Monday it continued to look for divestiture opportunities, including the sale of the remaining assets of its global women’s health business, as well as its oncology and pain businesses in Europe. Teva said it expects to generate at least $2 billion in total proceeds from the sale of these businesses, as well as additional asset sales to be executed by the end of 2017. The deal with Cooper includes Teva’s manufacturing facility in Buffalo, NY, which makes Paragard exclusively. Paragard, an intrauterine copper contraceptive device, posted revenue of about $168 million for the year ended June 30. Teva said it will continue to manufacture and sell Paragard in the United States, until the deal is completed, which is expected before the year end. Earlier in the day, Teva named smaller peer Lundbeck’s ( LUN.CO ) Chief Executive Schultz as its CEO. Reporting by Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-teva-pharm-ind-divestiture-contracept/teva-to-sell-contraceptive-brand-paragard-in-1-1-billion-deal-idUKKCN1BM2PA'|'2017-09-12T00:42:00.000+03:00'
'85a44a5d3f0ca79a608c9e2a778b1430910ba7e8'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures higher as Irma weakens, North Korea tensions ease'|'  11:33 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures higher as Irma weakens, North Korea tensions ease Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Sept 12 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index was set to follow higher global markets on Tuesday on signs that Hurricane Irma was causing less damage than feared in the United States and easing tensions over North Korea. September futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.08 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. Canada’s main stock index, which had fallen for five straight days, rose on Monday after Hurricane Irma weakened and North Korea refrained from conducting a missile test, with financial shares and Tahoe Resources leading the rally. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were up 0.23 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.15 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.19 percent. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) TOP STORIES Britain said it was “vitally important” that a trade dispute between U.S. plane maker Boeing Co and its Canadian rival Bombardier, a major employer in Northern Ireland, was settled. Canada’s competition watchdog said on Monday it will not challenge a proposed merger between Agrium Inc and Potash Corp, saying the transaction was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the fertilizer industry. Enbridge Inc’s upgrade of its Line 3 crude oil pipeline hit an obstacle on Monday after the U.S. state of Minnesota told a regulatory committee that it has no need for the project, and that the existing pipe should be shut. ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Richmont Mines Inc: CIBC cuts price target to C$14.25 from C$15.50 Tahoe Resources Inc: CIBC raises price target to C$8 from C$7 COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1326.4; -0.35 percent US crude: $48.13; +0.12 percent Brent crude: $54; +0.3 percent LME 3-month copper: $6666.5; -1.21 percent U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON TUESDAY 1000 JOLTS job openings for July: Prior 6.163 mln FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1 = C$1.21) (Reporting by Pathikrit Bandyopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-futures-higher-as-irma-weakens-north-korea-tensions-ease-idUSL4N1LT3BQ'|'2017-09-12T14:33:00.000+03:00'
'3d086dd92725d3d6248a93efa3ceef2172836015'|'Macau''s unused billions: booming casino taxes sit in government coffers'|'September 12, 2017 / 5:54 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Macau''s unused billions: booming casino taxes sit in government coffers Farah Master 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Casinos of Wynn and SJM Holdings are seen in a general view of Macau, China October 8, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo MACAU (Reuters) - Over the past five years, Macau has raked in $70 billion in taxes from the casinos that have made the territory the largest gambling center in the world. But it has invested less than 10 percent of that take – by far its largest source of income – in much needed infrastructure. That shortfall was laid bare last month when Macau was struck by a typhoon that killed 10 people and wiped out power and water for over half the city. Years of mismanagement, poor planning and corruption are key reasons why the money has not been better utilized, according to academics, legislators and residents. “They could spend much more,” said Eric Sautede, a former professor at the University of Macau, and now a researcher specializing in the former Portuguese colony, referring to infrastructure investment. He said the government’s coffers were so large it could operate for the next several years without collecting taxes. However, taxes from Macau’s six casino operators - which account for more than 80 percent of government revenue annually - continue to pour in. The southern Chinese territory has zero public debt and had fiscal reserves of $55 billion at the end of 2016, equal to 540 percent of public expenditure that year, according to statistics from Macau’s financial bureau. Macau’s monetary authority said it invests the reserves in a globally diversified portfolio of assets, with a “stringent control on the overall risk level of the portfolio.” The annual rate of return during 2012-2016 ranged from 0.7 percent to 3 percent, it said. Macau’s government typically distributes an annual cash handout of 9,000 patacas ($1,117.73) for each of the more than 600,000 people living in the territory, as well as subsidies for things like education and small businesses. The government’s execution rate for infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, ports, and schools has also been low in recent years, according to an analysis of government figures. In 2013, as casino revenues hit a record $45 billion, the government had an execution rate of under 40 percent. The government said in an email without elaboration that projects were “hindered due to different reasons”. FILE PHOTO: People''s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers clean debris after Typhoon Hato hits in Macau, China August 25, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo Execution rates have been improving since 2014, after the appointments of Beijing-backed officials charged with cleaning up a trail of corruption left by predecessors now facing lengthy jail sentences. In 2016 the execution rate jumped to 85 percent, although the budget allocation for public infrastructure decreased, dropping to 11.1 billion patacas in 2016 from 14.8 billion patacas the year before. In 2012, the number was 19.8 billion patacas. A new bill is also planned to improve transparency in the drafting of budgets and monitoring of public finances. INFRASTRUCTURE BACKLOG However, unfinished public works projects are still scattered around Macau with skyrocketing budgets, according to economists. A new public hospital was meant to open this year but is still in the early construction phase. Macau’s new ferry terminal, meanwhile, was scheduled to open in 2007 but was only finished this year, 10 years behind schedule and over five times its original budget. Paul Bromberg, the chief executive of Spectrum Asia, a consultancy firm, said Macau’s public works were frequently delayed. “I remember government officials talking about plans to build a light rail in 2003 and now it is 2017 and there is still no rail system,” he said. The government is still grappling with the aftermath of the typhoon, this week estimating the losses at $1.4 billion. More than 100 public facilities were damaged and 500,000 trees were destroyed, while two casinos remain shuttered. The figures did not include potential losses for companies forced to suspend business operations due to typhoon damage. The government has appointed a new committee to handle natural disasters and says it will build a tidal wall to help alleviate heavy flooding in the future. However, long-time residents say they don’t expect changes any time soon. “The government has been talking about it for decades, “ said Harald Bruning, the director of the Macau Post Daily newspaper, referring to the tidal wall project. “I guess the project would only be completed in the next decade.” Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by James Pomfret and Philip McClellan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-macau-economy/macaus-unused-billions-booming-casino-taxes-sit-in-government-coffers-idUKKCN1BN0H3'|'2017-09-12T08:53:00.000+03:00'
'b9a3f73b7b2e4c83a8d8fd582a167c96035242b0'|'German economy could lose some momentum in second half - ministry'|'  7:46 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago German economy to grow by more than 2 percent this year - BDI Michael Nienaber 4 Min Read Construction cranes are pictured beside the tower of the Red City Hall in Berlin, Germany, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN (Reuters) - The German economy is set to grow by more than 2 percent this year adjusted for calendar effects, which would be the strongest rate in six years, the BDI industry association said on Tuesday as it lifted its growth forecast for Europe’s biggest economy. The outlook followed a more muted message from the Economy Ministry, which said the economy could lose some momentum in the second half after powering ahead in the first six months. Record-high employment, rising real wages and ultra-low borrowing costs are driving a consumer-led upswing in the German economy that looks set to help Chancellor Angela Merkel win a fourth term in office in a federal election on Sept. 24. The ministry, which has a reputation of giving more cautious outlooks, said in its monthly report that growth would continue in the second half. “However, the dynamics are likely to be somewhat weaker,” it said. The ministry is so far sticking to its 2017 growth forecast of 1.5 percent unadjusted, which would translate into 1.8 percent on a calendar-adjusted basis. But economists expect the government to raise that in its autumn outlook, due at the end of next month. Drawing its forecasts from its close links to more than 100,000 large, medium-sized and small firms from all branches of processing industry, which together employ more than 8 million employees, the BDI sees more upbeat figures. “The German economy is picking up speed,” BDI said in its quarterly economic report. It now expects unadjusted gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.8 percent this year, up from its previous estimate of 1.5 percent. “Adjusted for calendar effects, this corresponds with a growth rate of slightly more than 2 percent,” BDI said, adding the main reason for the improved outlook was the global recovery. RETAIL SECTOR FILE PHOTO - A man carries a shopping bag in the colours of the German national flag in downtown Hanover June 26, 2012. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer In the first half of the year German exports rose by almost 4 percent, BDI said. “We also expect a similar expansion rate for the second half,” Germany’s biggest industry association, which has a track record of nailing the data, said. “In addition to construction investment, equipment investment is also rising thanks to the high capacity utilisation in the industry,” it said. The International Monetary Fund said in July it expected the German economy to grow by 1.8 percent in 2017 and by 1.6 percent in 2018. This would be slightly below the 1.9 percent it achieved in 2016. The ministry said private consumption would remain an important growth engine, but a somewhat clouded mood in the retail sector could prompt a slight cooling in the third quarter. The monthly report chimed with economic data published this month that showed feeble domestic demand drove a surprise fall in industrial orders in July, while industrial production flatlined. In addition, retail sales fell more than expected on the month in July, suggesting that household spending lost some momentum at the beginning of the third quarter. The ministry said that overall business morale remained high and firms continued to hire new staff. “But employment growth could be somewhat slower. Also, production in manufacturing and construction could expand rather moderately,” it added. The German economy grew 0.7 percent on the quarter in the first three months of the year and 0.6 percent from April to June, driven by increased household and state spending as well as higher investments in buildings and machinery. “The net contribution of foreign trade to overall economic growth was slightly positive in the first half of the year,” the ministry said, adding that the robust labour market was fuelling domestic demand while the ECB’s low interest rates and the slightly cheaper oil prices were providing further impulses. Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy/german-economy-could-lose-some-momentum-in-second-half-ministry-idUKKCN1BN0PE'|'2017-09-12T10:47:00.000+03:00'
'949211702267e7af922caeaabdd4083d8c7e9539'|'Volkswagen''s ruling Porsche-Piech clan against asset sales'|'  5:33 PM / Updated an hour ago Volkswagen''s ruling Porsche-Piech clan against asset sales Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Volkswagen id concept-cars are pictured before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) controlling Porsche and Piech families are against selling any of the company’s assets, the clan’s most senior member said on Tuesday. Analysts and bankers have been expecting Europe’s largest carmaker to sell assets to make it more nimble and help fund a strategic shift following dieselgate, as well as to meet the cost of the scandal, which has already reached $25 billion (£18.86 billion). Volkswagen (VW) asked banks earlier this year to examine options for its motorcycle brand Ducati ( NSUG.DE ) and transmissions maker Renk, including selling the two divisions, sources have said, as it reviews its portfolio of assets after announcing a major push into electric cars and new mobility services last year. But after VW’s powerful labour unions have repeatedly opposed any such deal, the carmaker’s controlling Porsche and Piech clan on Tuesday also withheld its backing for divestments. “Of course the management board has the right to make such strategic considerations,” Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of Porsche SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), the holding firm through which the two family tribes control 52 percent of VW’s voting shares, told Reuters during the Frankfurt auto show. “But (asset) sales are currently not on the agenda. These questions have to date not been discussed on the supervisory board,” Porsche, also the clan’s spokesman, said. Rather than selling assets, Porsche said VW should focus on implementing a turnaround plan for its troubled core autos division which is pushing an increased embrace of electric cars. “We must continue to rigorously put the future pact into effect,” he said. “And we must become leaner in some places.” Reporting by Jan Schwartz; writing by Andreas Cremer; editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-volkswagen-assets/volkswagens-ruling-porsche-piech-clan-against-asset-sales-idUKKCN1BN2H8'|'2017-09-12T20:32:00.000+03:00'
'99df7254455435484a2d26e5e14400fc35764564'|'British motor insurer Sabre to pursue $800 mln listing - sources'|'LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - British motor insurer Sabre is planning an initial public offering (IPO) that could value it at 600 million pounds ($800 million) after failing to find a buyer, sources with knowledge of the matter said.Sabre’s private equity owner BC Partners is looking to list the Dorking-based firm in London in the coming months following an unsuccessful joint approach from U.S. investment firm Centerbridge and Qatar Reinsurance Company, two sources said.The company, which is behind the Insure 2 Drive, Go Girl and Drive Smart brands, is no longer in takeover negotiations and has begun talking to fund managers as it focuses solely on building interest in a stock market listing, the sources said.Barclays and Numis have been retained as lead financial advisers on the flotation, which is slated for either later this year or early in the first quarter of 2018, they said.Sabre’s listed rivals include Admiral, esure and Direct Line, which trade at between eight and 12 times core earnings, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.Motor insurers have come under scrutiny after a change to the way personal injury claims are calculated, which pushed up the size of those claims and dented insurers’ profits.However, the UK government is now proposing to change the rate again in a way which will benefit insurers.Rising motor insurance premiums are also making the outlook more attractive for the sector, analysts say.BC Partners took a majority stake in Sabre in 2013 in a 240 million-pound deal.Sabre’s float adds to a growing list of financial services companies whose investors have chosen to cash out.They include buy-to-let mortgage specialist Charter Court Financial Services, backed by Elliott, and debt collection firm Cabot Credit Management, which is held by JC Flowers and Encore Capital Group. ($1 = 0.7533 pounds) (Reporting by Ben Martin and Carolyn Cohn; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sabre-ipo/british-motor-insurer-sabre-to-pursue-800-mln-listing-sources-idINL5N1LT4XR'|'2017-09-12T15:23:00.000+03:00'
'4c036c4de32f72d9d30e6161535e37a71215191a'|'Toshiba says Western Digital overstates its rights over chip business'|'September 14, 2017 / 4:14 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Toshiba says Western Digital overstates its rights over chip business Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TOKYO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp said business partner Western Digital Corp overstated its rights over a chip business unit that the Japanese conglomerate was trying to sell, showing the two sides remained at loggerheads over the $18 billion auction. Toshiba said on Wednesday that it was stepping up talks to sell its semiconductor unit to a group led by Bain Capital. But it also said it would continue weighing a rival offer by Western Digital, which is also a joint venture partner. “Toshiba regrets that Western Digital persistently overstates its limited consent rights in public statements,” it said in a statement, referring to the U.S. company’s claim that its consent is required for a sale as it has invested in Toshiba’s chip plant. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-wd/toshiba-says-western-digital-overstates-its-rights-over-chip-business-idUSL4N1LV23Z'|'2017-09-14T12:14:00.000+03:00'
'83307b7248e10ec36e29757e86d4b37fe385c47b'|'Australian media wins relaxed ownership laws, but online rivals'' threat to stay'|'* Australian parliament loosens media ownership rules* Reforms expected to spark consolidation* Analysts believe reforms may not help traditional mediaBy Colin Packham and Jonathan BarrettSYDNEY, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Australia’s big media players have won long-sought reforms that will allow them to boost market share by facilitating consolidation, although doubts remain on whether the changes can stem the declines at the moguls’ ageing empires.Billed as a means to compete with online giants such as Netflix and Alphabet Inc’s Google, the loosening of ownership restrictions was approved by Australia’s parliament on Thursday after the country’s centre-right government won support for the reforms from independent politicians.The changes, supported by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp , Fairfax Media and Kerry Stokes-chaired Seven West Media, remove the so-called “two out of three” rule prohibiting one organisation from owning all three media - television, newspaper and radio - in any given city.Television networks will also be allowed to extend their reach beyond the previously allowed 75 percent of the population.The changes are expected to unleash a wave of consolidation locally, allowing long-established media players, including the Murdoch family, to increase their already vast interests.It could clear the path for News Corp’s co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch and television entrepreneur Bruce Gordon to launch a rival bid to CBS Corp’s proposed buyout of broadcaster Ten Network Holdings. The duo have mounted a joint legal challenge to CBS’s A$201 million deal to acquire ailing Ten.News Corp Australia and Fairfax welcomed the government’s media reform legislation.“This finally addresses the restrictions that have held back the competitiveness of media companies in Australia for far too long,” News Corp said in a statement.But analysts said the reforms package was no panacea.“I don’t think this helps at all,” said independent media analyst Peter Cox.“For their long term survivability they have to come up with a way to counter the loss of revenue that’s going to Facebook and Google.”Like their rivals globally, Australia’s traditional media companies have been squeezed by online rivals.Australian advertising spending is increasing more than 6 percent a year, twice as fast as the economy, and is forecast to reach $12 billion this year. Yet most of the growth is seen going into online advertising, while print, radio and television advertising is either flat or down.“I‘m not sure it really makes any difference now as the horse has bolted,” Brian Han, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said of the reforms.“But it does remove some of the shackles of consolidation against the might of Google and Facebook.”Australian media owners had been calling for a relaxation of ownership restrictions since the 1990s.“We are relieved at the prospect of saying goodbye to the world’s highest licence fees and the antiquated ownership laws,” Ten Network Chief Executive Officer, Paul Anderson, said.Seven West also issued a statement, welcoming the move.NEXT WAVE An anticipated wave of mergers, acquisitions and tie-ups has already started in Australia. Besides the Ten deal, private equity firms TPG Capital Management LP and Hellman & Friedman made competing buyout approaches for Fairfax earlier this year, although the deals weren’t concluded.Senator David Leyonhjelm, of the minor Liberal Democratic Party, said he was not concerned about a consolidation in Australian media so long as there was international interest.“It is not good policy to tie-up Australian media companies with rules and regulations that do not apply to Facebook and Google, which are not subject to restrictions such as two out of three,” said Leyonhjelm, who supports the reforms.“It can’t shrink to a monopoly as long as you have international competition.” ($1 = 1.2491 Australian dollars)Reporting by Colin Packham and Jonathan Barrett Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook and Melanie Burton in MELBOURNE; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/australia-media/australian-media-wins-relaxed-ownership-laws-but-online-rivals-threat-to-stay-idUSL4N1LV03E'|'2017-09-14T17:04:00.000+03:00'
'21406594ed2cd9e948f52bc8a0ca12a219857075'|'John Lewis warns cooling consumer demand will impact profits'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:20 AM / 5 hours ago John Lewis warns of Brexit impact after profit slides Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A John Lewis store is seen in Oxford street, in London, Britain August 14, 2016. Photograph taken on August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls LONDON (Reuters) - British retailer John Lewis [JLPLC.UL] warned that consumer confidence is being damaged by the shadow of Brexit and that performance would take a further hit after first-half profit tumbled by more than half. Employee-owned John Lewis, comprising the eponymous department store business and the upmarket Waitrose supermarket chain, on Thursday reported pre-tax profit down 53 percent at 26.9 million pounds, citing weak consumer demand and investment in its restructuring process. The group has also been hurt by currency movements, with the value of the pound having plunged since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The weaker pound and below-inflation pay increases have served to dent demand from increasingly price-conscious British shoppers. ”Brexit is having an impact on everybody,“ said Chairman Charlie Mayfield. ”Sterling is weaker and there’s evidence to show that confidence is being affected. “We expect the headwinds that have dampened consumer demand and put pressure on margins to continue into next year. In addition, we will incur higher pension accounting charges in the second half-year as a result of low market interest rates. These will all impact our full-year profits.” The company is now entering its key period of the year. More than half its pre-exceptionals profit comes in the final quarter because of surging demand in the run-up to Christmas. Mayfield, however, reiterated the longer-term benefits of a restructuring aimed at future-proofing John Lewis. The company said it incurred costs of 56.4 million pounds as part of the shake-up, including changes at Waitrose branches and in its IT, personnel and finance divisions. Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-johnlewis-results/john-lewis-warns-cooling-consumer-demand-will-impact-profits-idUKKCN1BP0LB'|'2017-09-14T09:24:00.000+03:00'
'625c6176d16e5b616bcc8ab8c534b1bf1e2798af'|'DowDuPont alters post-merger breakup plan'|'September 12, 2017 / 10:42 AM / Updated 2 hours ago DowDuPont alters post-merger breakup plans amid investor pressure Nivedita Bhattacharjee 3 Min Read (Reuters) - DowDuPont ( DWDP.N ), formed through the merger of chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, is shifting some operations in the three units it plans to create, potentially averting a prolonged fight with activist investors over its post-merger plans. Dow and DuPont will split into three companies focussing on agriculture, speciality chemicals and materials, but some investors including Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners and Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC urged the companies to take another look at the way business units are aligned. The company said on Tuesday its would now move businesses totalling more than $8 billion in annual sales from its materials science division to the speciality-chemical unit, including water purification and automotive systems. “We expect that this updated portfolio was seen by legacy Dow as the bare minimum to avoid an activist fight,” Bernstein analyst Jonas Oxgaard wrote in a client note. DowDuPont’s shares rose 2.5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange in late-afternoon trading. The changes were the result of a four-month review led by consultancy firm McKinsey & Co, which talked to 25 of the company’s biggest shareholders, Andrew Liveris, executive chairman of the combined company said in an interview. Liveris was formerly chief executive of Dow, and is set to retire from DowDuPont next year. Loeb’s Third Point, which has been critical of Liveris’ leadership, said in May the companies could unlock $20 billion (15.06 billion pounds) in additional value by tweaking the original spinoff plan. The Dow logo is seen on a building in downtown Midland, Michigan, in this May 14, 2015 file photograph. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook As part of the revised plan, DowDuPont will split the old Dow Corning and distribute its lucrative silicone business among the materials and speciality companies. Earlier, this business was expected to stay under the materials science division - which will account for more legacy Dow businesses and retain the Dow brand. The business produces silicon-based products for aerospace, automotive and electrical industries. FILE PHOTO - A view of the Dupont logo on a wall at the Dupont Edge Moor facility near Wilmington, Delaware, April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer The materials science company will be the biggest in terms of revenue generation, Liveris said, followed by the chemicals and agriculture businesses. Peltz’s Trian said it fully supports the portfolio adjustments announced by DowDuPont. “Since we first became involved in the merger discussions in November 2015, we planned to help the company execute this critical review at the appropriate time. We believe this is a great outcome for shareholders.” The merger is expected to save around $3 billion for the companies. Minority shareholder Glenview Capital Management said DowDuPont’s move was “an important first step” but leaves the company significantly undervalued, and recommended share buybacks. Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, additional reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dowdupont-m-a/dowdupont-alters-post-merger-breakup-plan-idUKKCN1BN16V'|'2017-09-12T13:42:00.000+03:00'
'81315e331449fabe18cbd3f637efc2a80eafc21e'|'Foreign outflows from Asian equities rise in Aug; analysts stay bullish'|'  9:47 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Foreign outflows from Asian equities rise in Aug; analysts stay bullish Patturaja Murugaboopathy 4 Min Read A Chinese investor monitors share prices at a securities company in Shanghai November 12, 2003. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV/File Photo (Reuters) - Foreign outflows accelerated in Asian equities in August as tensions in North Korea prompted global investors to book profits, but analysts predicted money would return on the back of positive earnings momentum and attractive valuations. Data from seven Asian exchanges including India, Indonesia and Thailand showed foreign investors sold about $4 billion (£3.01 billion) in total in August, the highest amount this year. “Tensions on the Korea peninsula increased, causing investors to book profit (in August),” said Jim McCafferty, head of equity research for Asia Pacific at Nomura. “We are still optimistic for the second half of the year. Earnings momentum has been good and Asia is cheap compared to the US.” Thomson Reuters data showed Asian companies'' total earnings beat their estimated earnings by 7 percent in the June quarter, with South Korea, Japan and Chinese firms taking the lead. According to the data, China’s industrial firms posted more higher profits, as the building boom fuelled demand and lifted prices for everything from cement and steel to glass and copper wiring. “China’s economy continues to grow strongly. Consumer confidence in Japan is improving and Japan’s earnings season has been strong,” said Nomura’s McCafferty. Private purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) for August increased for Taiwan, Singapore, India, Indonesia and South Korea, and in all cases except South Korea, the numbers showed an expansion of manufacturing activity. At the end of August, the MSCI Asia-Pacific index .MIAP PUS had a forward price earnings ratio of 13.9, lower than the MSCI United States index’s MIUS PUS 18.4 and MSCI Europe’s 14.9. Some analysts say this indicated global funds were still under-invested in the region. And with global liquidity still higher, analysts said Asian equities will benefit from that. “Cash levels remain elevated, suggesting markets can remain in an Icarus upside mode for risk assets,” said Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch. While foreign investment has slowed in the region, domestic investors have pitched in to support some equity markets. Domestic investment in Indian markets stood at $2.5 billion for August, which was much higher than the foreign inflows in the month. “The rising weight of domestic investors is a powerful one,” said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale in Hong Kong. “Japan domestic investors’ flows also take the lead and China investors on the Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong through the Southbound flows.” Reporting by Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-stocks-graphics/foreign-outflows-from-asian-equities-rise-in-aug-analysts-stay-bullish-idUKKCN1BO0ZY'|'2017-09-13T12:59:00.000+03:00'
'056fdb7aab7bcb56f64547cba322f1e5218941b5'|'Shell says to focus on Basra gas in Iraq after Majnoon exit'|'  6:59 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago Shell says to focus on Basra gas in Iraq after Majnoon exit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of a Shell gas station is pictured in Ulm, Germany, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle LONDON (Reuters) - Oil major Royal Dutch/Shell ( RDSa.L )   would focus its efforts on the development and growth of the Basra Gas Company in Iraq after handing over operations of the Majnoon oil venture back to the Iraqi government. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Shell Iraq has started preparations to finalise the exit of Shell from Majnoon, one of the largest fields in the country. “In May 2017, the ministry of oil in Iraq applied the performance penalty and remuneration factor on the Shell operated venture, the Majnoon oil field, which had a significant impact on its commerciality,” a Shell spokesman said. Shell then decided that it was in the best interest of all parties to hand over operations of the Majnoon venture to the Iraqi government. “Shell remains firmly committed to Iraq. By handing over Majnoon operation to the ministry of Oil, Shell will be in a stronger position to maximize value to the government of Iraq and its people as well as our shareholders by focusing its efforts on the development and growth of Basra Gas Company,” the spokesman said. Basra Gas Company is a joint venture between Shell, South Gas Company and Mitsubishi and the Petrochemical Project NEBRAS. Reporting by Ron Bousso, writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-oil-shell-basra/shell-says-to-focus-on-basra-gas-in-iraq-after-majnoon-exit-idUKKCN1BO0M6'|'2017-09-13T09:59:00.000+03:00'
'b5ec6fedf66edbac23b4d3c3fc6c59f0a6e61a67'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Sept 12'|'Sept 12 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Social Finance Inc, one of the most highly valued private financial-technology startups in the U.S., said on Monday night that Chairman and Chief Executive Mike Cagney would step down by the end of the year. on.wsj.com/2xWDcGM- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd on Monday appointed Kare Schultz, a nearly 30-year pharma industry veteran, as the company''s new chief executive. on.wsj.com/2xXcAFy- ComScore Inc said Monday that most of its board members will resign and it would complete a strategic review of the business amid pressure from shareholders over the company’s management and lack of transparency on finances. on.wsj.com/2xWE1iQ- The Japanese government is likely to raise more than $10 billion by selling another chunk of Japan Post Holdings Co , which has struggled in its first two years as a public company. on.wsj.com/2xWIuls- The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions against North Korea on Monday after U.S. officials eased their demands to convince China and Russia to approve the measure. on.wsj.com/2xWYhRD- British Prime Minister Theresa May won a key vote on Brexit legislation early Tuesday. The bill would come into effect on March 29, 2019, the day the UK is scheduled to leave the EU. on.wsj.com/2xWObQH- BP PLC''s subsidiary BP Midstream Partners LP said it was planning an initial offering of pipeline assets on the New York Stock Exchange of up to $100 million. on.wsj.com/2xXubgFCompiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-12-idINL4N1LT1US'|'2017-09-12T02:19:00.000+03:00'
'f1cff9d9eae4a10f47c58894d0d9e30454be59af'|'UPDATE 3-Home Capital investors spurn Buffett''s plan to boost stake'|'* 89 percent of votes cast against recommendation* Shareholders believe extra capital not required -chair* Board still believed proposal was in best interest* Shares up 0.7 percent (Adds analyst comment, share movement)By Matt ScuffhamTORONTO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Home Capital’s shareholders on Tuesday rejected a proposal for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to raise its stake in the company, voting against the board’s recommendation in a third defeat for the U.S. billionaire this year.Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services last month recommended shareholders vote against the proposal, which called for Berkshire Hathaway to increase its shareholding from 20 percent to 38.4 percent.Home Capital Chairwoman Brenda Eprile told a special meeting of shareholders that 88.79 percent of votes cast were against the proposal, with 11.21 percent in favor.The deal would have allowed Berkshire Hathaway to buy new shares in the company at a price of C$10.30 per share, a deep discount to Home Capital’s closing price of C$14.08 on Monday, which would have impacted the overall value of Home Capital shares.Shares in Home Capital see-sawed after resuming trading at midday, initially falling as much as 3 percent and later gaining as much as 3.3 percent. At 12:30 EST, the shares were up 0.7 percent at C$14.18.Concerns over the potential dilution were alleviated by the vote, but analysts remain concerned about what impact tougher rules on mortgage lending in Canada will have on the business.“We continue to view pending regulatory changes as well as a moderating housing price environment as limits on meaningful earnings growth,” said Raymond James analyst Brenna Phelan.Berkshire did not respond to a request for comment.Last month, 87-year-old Buffett’s effort to buy the Oncor Electric utility in Texas ended in failure, when his $9 billion bid was topped by a $9.45 billion offer from Sempra Energy .In February, Berkshire had committed $15 billion to help Kraft Heinz Co’s purchase of Unilever Plc , but the proposed takeover was pulled after the Anglo-Dutch consumer products company rejected it.Home Capital and Berkshire agreed in June to a deal worth up to C$400 million ($329 million) for an initial stake of 20 percent in the business. The agreement enabled Berkshire to increase its stake subject to shareholder approval.Buffett took his stake in the company and provided a C$2 billion credit facility after investors withdrew more than 90 percent of funds from Home Capital’s high-interest savings accounts earlier this year.The withdrawals accelerated after April 19, when the Ontario Securities Commission accused Home Capital of making misleading statements to investors about its mortgage underwriting business. Home Capital reached a settlement with the commission in June and accepted responsibility for misleading investors.Home Capital said the terms of the credit facility, on which it does not currently have funds drawn, remain unchanged.Eprile reiterated the board’s belief that the deal would have been in the best interest of the company but said the vote reflected the progress the company has made in its turnaround plan.“This decision is a clear message that the majority of our shareholders believe that Home Capital’s improved deposit inflows and liquidity position diminish the need for additional capital,” she said.$1 = 1.2143 Canadian dollars Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/homecapital-buffett/update-1-home-capital-shareholders-vote-against-buffett-lifting-stake-idINL2N1LT0ZN'|'2017-09-12T12:53:00.000+03:00'
'd5858eeed9c021cdc845e2f874dc538701152ed1'|'Britain pushes Boeing to drop its Bombardier challenge'|'FILE PHOTO - Boeing''s logo is seen during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked President Donald Trump to intervene in a dispute between Boeing Co and Canadian rival Bombardier to help secure thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland.British ministers have also approached Boeing directly in an attempt to get the world’s largest aerospace company to drop its challenge against Bombardier, which could endanger a factory that employs 4,500 people in the British province.Bombardier is Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing employer and May’s Conservatives are dependent on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for their majority in parliament.May raised the issue with Trump in a call this month. She also plans to discuss the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when they meet next week, a source close to the matter said.May’s trip had been scheduled in advance, and there will be other items on the agenda, a Canadian official familiar with the matter told Reuters.“You have to try everything,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday when asked about the joint approach with Britain, adding that she had spoken to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday.“We are as one. We are closely allied and are making our case in very strong partnership,” she said on the margins of a cabinet retreat in Atlantic Canada.A U.S. trade court is due to give a preliminary ruling on Boeing’s complaint on Sept. 25.“Our priority is to encourage Boeing to drop its case and seek a negotiated settlement with Bombardier,” a British government spokesman said in a statement.“The UK government is working tirelessly to safeguard Bombardier’s operations and its highly skilled workers in Belfast.”Boeing this year asked the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate alleged subsidies and unfair pricing at Bombardier, accusing it of having sold 75 of its CSeries medium-range airliners to Delta Air Lines at well below cost price.A spokesman for May said Bombardier’s jobs were “of huge importance” to Northern Ireland.A Boeing spokesman said on Tuesday the company would not comment on a meeting between heads of state.May is likely to find it difficult to convince Trump, who has made ‘America First’ a theme of his administration, to get one of the titans of U.S. industry to back off from defending what it views as its trade rights.But the DUP is certain to maintain its pressure on her.“The engagement at governmental level with Boeing and with the U.S. has been significant over the course of the summer because this is pivotal to the Northern Ireland economy,” DUP lawmaker Gavin Robinson told the Irish national broadcaster RTE.“We’re not there yet, and the work still has to continue.”PLANE FIGHT Bombardier makes the CSeries CS100 and CS300 state-of-the-art carbon wings at a plant in Belfast.“Boeing had to take action as subsidized competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come, and we could not stand by given this clear case of illegal dumping,” Boeing said in a statement.“We believe that global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rules of the road.”Bombardier called the allegations absurd.“Boeing’s petition is an unfounded assault on airlines, the traveling public and further innovation in aerospace,” a spokesman said.Industry sources said Boeing was unlikely to back down in the case, which mirrors a wider row with Europe’s Airbus over subsidies that it perceives as a strategic threat.The row could also reopen a debate over Britain’s own support for Bombardier in Northern Ireland. In 2008, the UK provided 113 million pounds in development loans plus other local aid for the production of CSeries wings, prompting a complaint from Brazil’s Embraer. The European Union rejected the claim.Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Tim Hepher in London; Conor Humphries in Dublin; and David Ljunggren in St. John''s, Newfoundland; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Chris Reese '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier-britain/britain-pushes-boeing-to-drop-its-bombardier-challenge-idUSKCN1BM2TY'|'2017-09-12T01:53:00.000+03:00'
'2e34c7a792a4411de9254ed86a4e5acc20ee79a8'|'Oil holds gains, buoyed by hopes for robust demand'|'September 14, 2017 / 1:23 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Oil holds gains, buoyed by stronger demand Christopher Johnson 3 Min Read A worker riding a bicycle passes the Fuji Oil Co.''s Sodegaura Refinery in Sodegaura, Japan February 8, 2017. Picture taken February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Thursday, holding on to recent gains after forecasts for stronger oil demand by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Benchmark Brent crude was up 20 cents at $55.36 a barrel by 0930 GMT, after rising 89 cents or 1.6 percent on Wednesday. U.S. light crude was up 25 cents at $49.55 after gaining 2.2 percent in the previous session. Brent has now climbed more than $10 a barrel over the last three months and is close to where it was at the beginning of the year, trading between about $55 and $57 a barrel. “By breaking $55.00 a barrel, Brent is moving back to the price range of January/February,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at energy markets consultancy Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland. Wednesday’s gains followed an IEA report which raised its estimate of 2017 world oil demand growth to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.5 million bpd. The IEA said a global oil surplus was beginning to shrink due to stronger-than-expected European and U.S. demand, as well as production declines in OPEC and non-OPEC countries. The supply side of the equation also looks promising, Barclays Research said. “Unrest in Iraq and Venezuela should keep output there in check, regional crude oil contangos have dissipated, and stocks are gradually declining,” it said. That said, “a softer market balance is in store for next year, which should ensure an OPEC/non-OPEC deal remains in place beyond March 2018”, Barclays added. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, have agreed to reduce crude output by about 1.8 million bpd until next March in an attempt to support prices. This week’s gains came despite data showing a big build in U.S. crude inventories after Hurricane Harvey. Energy Information Administration figures showed a build in U.S. crude inventories last week of 5.9 million barrels, exceeding expectations. [EIA/S] U.S. gasoline stocks slumped 8.4 million barrels, the largest weekly decline since the data began in 1990. U.S. gasoline futures extended declines on Thursday as demand was expected to slip due to the effects of Hurricane Irma on Florida and Georgia. Distillate stocks fell by 3.2 million barrels, the data showed. Many refineries in the U.S. Gulf are slowly returning to normal as they recover from floods and storm damage. ExxonMobil Corp said it was restarting its 362,300-barrels-per-day Beaumont, Texas, refinery for the first time since it was shut by Harvey. Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo; editing by Dale Hudson and Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil/oil-holds-gains-buoyed-by-hopes-for-robust-demand-idINKCN1BP04F'|'2017-09-13T23:23:00.000+03:00'
'eb4d89ffa47e5c07e067bc324f4af38bb2233dd3'|'REFILE-Renault, Toyota lead European car sales rise in August'|' 03 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago REFILE-Renault, Toyota lead European car sales rise in August Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Refiles to remove extraneous text from headline, with no other changes to text) BERLIN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - European car sales rose 5.5 percent in August, accelerating from an increase of 2.6 percent in July, according to industry data published on Thursday. Registrations rose to 903,143 vehicles in the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries in August and to 1.19 million vehicles for July, Brussels-based industry body ACEA said. For the first eight months of the year, registrations were up 4.4 percent to 10.56 million vehicles. In the 28-nation EU excluding Malta, registrations climbed 5.6 percent to 865,047 vehicles in August, the best August performance in a decade, ACEA said. Europe’s largest carmaker, Volkswagen, which is still grappling with its diesel emissions scandal, saw August deliveries rise 2.8 percent, with its namesake brand down 4.4 percent. Among the major manufacturers, Renault and Toyota saw the biggest monthly increases with 13 percent and 12.5 percent, followed by Fiat Chrysler with 9.8 percent. Performance was mixed for the region’s two biggest markets. Germany saw a 3.5 percent increase, while Britain registered a 6.4 percent drop, continuing a 9.3 percent fall seen in July. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/europe-vehicleregistrations/refile-renault-toyota-lead-european-car-sales-rise-in-august-idUSF9N1L002N'|'2017-09-14T09:02:00.000+03:00'
'e4c61d893dd97bf32ae42840e67f5137e8ffbc05'|'VW''s Skoda open to partnerships on India low-cost car: CEO'|'September 14, 2017 / 10:30 AM / Updated 2 hours ago VW''s Skoda open to partnerships on India low-cost car: CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Skoda Vision E is pictured during opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) Skoda division remains open to teaming up with other players to help meet cost targets to build a low-cost car for emerging markets, its chief executive said, after cooperation talks with India’s Tata Motors ( TAMO.NS ) collapsed. Skoda, commissioned by Volkswagen (VW) to explore an entry-level car platform with a focus on India, and Tata last month said talks had ended after their cooperation failed to hit cost-savings goals. While the German group’s Czech arm has since been assessing unilaterally whether VW’s MQB A0 platform could form the basis for a low-cost vehicle, it is still open to collaborate with other players on the emerging-markets vehicle project. “We are open to partnerships provided they yield the desired technical and economic synergies,” Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier said in an interview this week at the Frankfurt auto show. Skoda has held talks with a group of local suppliers, Maier said, as the carmaker aims to develop a low-cost vehicle that complies with stiffer engine emissions and crash-test requirements due to take effect in India in April 2020. But he said it is no foregone conclusion that the MQB A0 will be the savior in VW’s long-running effort to draw up a business case for a low-cost car in price-sensitive India. “It’s clear that without radical localization and the related cost advantages, we will be unable to turn the MQB A0 platform into a competitive tool in India,” he said. India is expected to become the world’s third-largest car market by 2020 but passenger vehicle sales have slowed in recent months due to policy changes and a new nationwide sales tax. A low-cost vehicle developed for India could also be launched in South America and the Middle East, VW group CEO Matthias Mueller told reporters at the Frankfurt show, adding that a budget car being developed with joint-venture partners in China may hit dealerships by 2019. Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Dale Hudson '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-frankfurt-skoda-cooperation/vws-skoda-open-to-partnerships-on-india-low-cost-car-ceo-idINKCN1BP14I'|'2017-09-14T08:30:00.000+03:00'
'b1b25e9675ad71fbbd5af245bd8e6f0144d7a9a6'|'African Markets - Factors to watch on Sept. 14'|'The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Thursday. - - - - - EVENTS: *Uganda plans to offer a petroleum exploration license to Armour Energy Limited GLOBAL MARKETS Asian stocks held steady on Thursday, consolidating after touching their highest in a decade and appeared to take in stride a burst of Chinese data which undershot market expectations. WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices eased on Thursday, but held on to most of their gains in the previous session when the market was buoyed by a forecast for firmer global oil demand by the International Energy Agency. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa''s rand slipped to its weakest in three weeks on Wednesday as traders opted to bank small profits from the currency''s dip below a crucial technical mark with creeping concerns about credit downgrades souring sentiment. NIGERIA MARKETS Nigeria plans to sell 917.14 billion naira worth of treasury bills between Sept. 14 and Nov. 30, a central bank debt calendar for the fourth quarter showed on Wednesday. NIGERIA BONDS Nigeria plans to sell 140.9 billion naira ($433.5 million) worth of treasury bills at an auction next week, the central bank said on Wednesday. NIGERIA OIL Nigeria is very unlikely to join OPEC''s cuts in oil production before March, its oil minister said on Wednesday. AFRICA SECURITY Mali and Niger, two of the West African nations worst affected by jihadist violence, appealed on Wednesday for international funding for a regional force they have set up to counter Islamist insurgencies. CAMEROON-NIGERIA SECURITY A girl with a bomb strapped to her walked into a mosque in northern Cameroon where it exploded, killing five worshippers in an attack bearing the hallmarks of Islamist militant group Boko Haram, authorities said. KENYA MARKETS The Kenyan shilling was under pressure against the dollar on Wednesday due to importer and corporate demand but was seen trading in a tight range, unlikely to reverse previous gains, traders said. KENYA ELECTION/POLITICS It''s much easier to snag a seat in Nairobi''s popular Strollers bar these days - a problem that manager Stephen Ngatia partly blames on Kenyan consumers hoarding their money during the turbulent election period. KENYA ELECTION/SECURITY Kenyan police in the western city of Kisumu fired tear gas and bullets in the air on Wednesday to disperse young men who broke into a hotel and beat women attending an election meeting, an officer said. GHANA INFLATION Ghana''s annual consumer price inflation rose to 12.3 percent in August from 11.9 percent in July, the statistics office said on Wednesday. IVORY COAST COCOA Ivory Coast is close to agreeing an increase in the minimum price paid to cocoa farmers to 750 CFA francs ($1.40) per kilogramme for the 2017/18 season, while holding the export tax at 16 percent, sources familiar with the matter said. UGANDA MARKETS The Ugandan shilling traded steady on Wednesday, helped by weak demand and some inflows from offshore investors participating in a central bank Treasury bill auction where a total of 155 billion shillings ($43.18 million) worth of debt was on offer. USA SOMALIA The U.S. military said on Wednesday it had carried out air strikes in Somalia against an al Qaeda-allied Islamist group and killed six militants. SOUTH SUDAN AID The Red Cross has halted operations across a third of South Sudan after gunmen shot dead a staff member, in what the U.N. said on Wednesday was the biggest such suspension during the country''s four-year civil war. USA SOUTH SUDAN frican countries should do more to pile pressure on South Sudan''s political leaders, who seem incapable of resolving the country''s four-year civil war, a top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday. ZIMBABWE LAND Zimbabwe''s Zimplats, which is majority controlled by Impala Platinum , will return some of the land it has not used for mining to the government, chief executive Alexander Mhembere said on Wednesday. USA GABON/COURT Federal prosecutors are preparing to file criminal charges against an American lobbyist for the Gabonese president, saying on Wednesday he made a false statement to a U.S. customs official stemming from a long-running money-laundering probe. MAURITIUS POLITICS The attorney general of the island nation of Mauritius stepped down on Wednesday after allegations he had helped launder gambling money. ANGOLA ELECTION Angola’s Constitutional Court rejected on Wednesday an appeal by the largest opposition party to annul the results of last month’s election, which gave a landslide victory to the ruling MPLA party. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/africa-factors/african-markets-factors-to-watch-on-sept-14-idUSL5N1LV0B1'|'2017-09-14T12:44:00.000+03:00'
'0841e2c8827b9e0242f05797ec9a6d3549661e80'|'Addison Lee takes premium car service brand to New York'|'  9:24 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago UK''s Addison Lee takes premium car service brand to New York Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - London-based premium car service Addison Lee has picked New York as the first overseas market where corporate customers will be able to book its branded vehicles, taking on the likes of Uber. Addison Lee, a familiar sight on London streets where it provides up to 30,000 rides a day, already operates in the United States under different names including Flyte Tyme and allows customers to use affiliates in dozens of countries. In New York, customers will be able to book journeys in a branded car via an app, online or by phone, it said on Wednesday, rivaling the likes of Uber, which offers the UberBLACK premium service, and executive transport firm Carey. A total of 500 vehicles will be available by the end of October. “Our London corporate customers want the same premium car experience in other key markets,” said Chief Executive Andy Boland. The firm also said it had bought Transdev unit Tandem Technologies, which provides car service booking and management software, as part of the expansion plan for an undisclosed sum. In London, Addison Lee has faced tough competition from Uber and last month its licence was renewed for just six months as the city’s transport regulator considers a new fees system which could raise the costs it and other large private hire firms pay. The high-end service has also faced criticism over working conditions and lost a legal battle last month involving a courier who had pushed for rights such as holiday pay. Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-addisonlee-usa/uks-addison-lee-takes-premium-car-service-brand-to-new-york-idUKKCN1BO2R4'|'2017-09-14T00:11:00.000+03:00'
'0493215faff79133cb7e1fd8c4af26df7cc05021'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as energy gains offset miner falls'|'  1:41 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as energy gains offset miner falls Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose slightly in early trade on Thursday, helped by energy stocks as oil prices rallied, while mining companies weighed as copper and other base metals prices fell. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 11.52 points, or 0.08 percent, at 15,138.33. Six of its 10 main sectors were lower. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-rises-as-energy-gains-offset-miner-falls-idUSL2N1LV0SV'|'2017-09-14T21:41:00.000+03:00'
'7272407baf41de0b77e7ce5f42dfa967aa4fc998'|'London house prices record biggest fall since 2008 - RICS'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:07 PM / 10 hours ago London house prices record biggest fall since 2008 - RICS 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Flowers are seen outside a house in central London, Britain January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON (Reuters) - House prices in central London fell at their sharpest pace since 2008 in August, intensifying the slowdown in the capital’s housing market, but prices went up in other regions of Britain, a survey showed on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its monthly balance of overall British house prices picked up to +6 after dropping to a four-year low of +1 in July. August’s reading was above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. But RICS said the reading was consistent with only a marginal rise in national prices. Britain’s housing market has slowed since the June 2016 referendum decision to leave the European Union, when prices were rising by about 8 percent a year, compared with growth rates of about 5 percent now, according to official data. Other measures from mortgage lenders have put the increase in house prices at about 2-3 percent a year. London’s prime central districts have borne much of the brunt of the slowdown, in part reflecting concerns about the impact of Brexit on the capital’s financial services industry and other related sectors. Also, prices in London have quadrupled over in the past 20 years, making homes unaffordable for many of its residents. RICS said surveyors rated housing in London and southeast England, where prices also fell, as the most over-valued in Britain. Fifty-six percent more surveyors in central London reported seeing a fall in prices than reported a rise, and it was the only region in Britain where prices were expected to fall over the next 12 months. By contrast, RICS reported solid price growth in Northern Ireland, the north west and south west of England and Scotland. However, the number of sales of properties across Britain continued to show no growth, a picture which began in November. Editing by David Milliken '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-houseprices-rics/london-house-prices-record-biggest-fall-since-2008-rics-idUKKCN1BO2X0'|'2017-09-14T02:06:00.000+03:00'
'0023131de0c1d201f6abcb47d825a3a13ad70006'|'Kaspersky Lab co-founder invited to testify to Congress later this month'|'  7:30 PM / 16 minutes ago Kaspersky Lab co-founder invited to testify to Congress later this month Dustin Volz 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, answers a question during an interview in New York, U.S. on March 10, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eugene Kaspersky, the co-founder and chief executive of Moscow-based anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab, was invited on Thursday to testify to U.S. lawmakers later this month over the security of its products. The U.S. House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology Committee said on Thursday it invited Kaspersky to testify on Sept. 27. U.S. government and private sector cyber experts were also invited. Kaspersky Lab did not immediately respond when asked if its chief executive would attend. The Trump administration on Wednesday told U.S. government agencies to remove Kaspersky Lab products from their networks, saying it was concerned the company was vulnerable to Russian government influence and that using its anti-virus software could jeopardize national security. Kaspersky has repeatedly denied allegations that it is a pawn of the Kremlin or that it conducts espionage on behalf of any government. In an op-ed published by Forbes on Thursday, Eugene Kaspersky defended his company, which he said had been targeted for nearly five years by unsubstantiated rumors that have yielded no proof of any wrongdoing. “I’ve repeatedly offered to meet with government officials, testify before the U.S. Congress, provide the company’s source code for an official audit and discuss any other means to help address any questions the U.S. government has about Kaspersky Lab - whatever it takes, I will do it,” Kaspersky wrote. Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Phil Berlowitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-kaspersky/kaspersky-lab-co-founder-invited-to-testify-to-congress-later-this-month-idUKKCN1BP2UV'|'2017-09-14T22:27:00.000+03:00'
'3c89d00d933567a02846209decca3e43c7887daf'|'As euro zone grows, three ECB rate setters mull stimulus cut'|'  8:51 AM / an hour ago As euro zone grows, three ECB rate setters mull stimulus cut Francesco Canepa , Hans Seidenstuecker 3 Min Read A journalist takes a picture of the new 50 Euro banknote with a mobile phone during the presentation of the new bill at the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LJUBLJANA/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - With the euro zone’s economy finally growing, the time for the European Central Bank to reduce its monetary stimulus may be nearing, speeches by three ECB policymakers suggested on Thursday. After buying more than 2 trillion euros (£1.80 trillion) worth of bonds since 2015, the ECB is expected to announce next month it will slow the pace of its purchases, since economic growth is accelerating and inflation is stable, albeit sluggish. One of the most vocal critic of the bond buys, Bundesbank head Jens Weidmann, said the situation called for “easing up on the accelerator” of monetary stimulus as the threat of a sustained fall in prices was now gone. “We’re not talking about a complete stop in monetary policy, but rather of easing up on the accelerator,” Germany’s central bank governor said in at an event in Frankfurt. “The ECB Governing Council must be careful not to miss the right time for normalising policy.” Speaking earlier in Ljubljana, Belgian governor Jan Smets, who also sits on the ECB’s Governor Council, said inflation seemed to have bottomed out. His Slovenian colleague Bostjan Jazbec also highlighted the euro zone’s positive economic performance and said a decision on the future of stimulus was now inevitable. Jens Weidmann, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, attends at the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke But he added policymakers were waiting for more economic data to confirm that inflation was indeed heading towards its mandated target of almost 2 percent. “We need more data and more confirmation that what we are doing is in line with fulfilling our mandate,” the Slovenian representative on the ECB’ Governing Council said. Slideshow (2 Images) Their comments add to similar remarks by six other ECB policymakers earlier in the week, showing consensus was building around a reduction in stimulus. Indeed, sources have told Reuters that policymakers agreed last week that their next move would be cutting the amount of bonds the ECB buys each month although the details of any decision had yet to be worked out. Euro zone inflation is now reliably above 1 percent, and ECB President Mario Draghi said he expected it to reach the ECB’s target in 2020, after missing it since 2013. But Draghi also emphasised uncertainty stemming from the euro’s rally against the dollar and other major currencies, which could affect inflation by making imports cheaper and exports dearer. Jazbec played down this threat, arguing that the strong euro was “a reflection of robustness of growth” in the euro zone. Additional reporting by Marja Novak and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-jazbec/ecb-needs-more-evidence-before-deciding-on-cutting-stimulus-jazbec-idUKKCN1BP0ZN'|'2017-09-14T20:13:00.000+03:00'
'f638f03c2349dd696d05929ab93a1d83c0e9fc49'|'U.N. calls for global economic makeover to replace neo-liberalism'|'  5:06 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago U.N. calls for global economic makeover to replace neo-liberalism Tom Miles 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A clock is seen in London''s Financial centre at Canary Wharf In London, Britain, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce/File Photo GENEVA (Reuters) - The world must ditch austerity and economic neo-liberalism and undertake a global “New Deal” to rebalance the global economy and achieve prosperity for all, the U.N. trade and development agency UNCTAD said in a report on Thursday. UNCTAD chief Mukhisa Kituyi said the global economy was picking up but still not lifting off. “A combination of too much debt and too little demand at the global level has hampered sustained expansion of the world economy,” he said in a statement. Much of the blame was aimed at “neo-liberalism”, a term used to refer to governments cutting back on their own role and leaving the private sector to lead economic and social development within a free-market capitalist system. After decades of such policies, the system was perceived to be unduly biased in favour of a handful of large corporations, financial institutions and wealthy individuals, the report said. The world now needed a “21st century makeover”, it said. “The whole neo-liberal mantra that ‘there is no alternative’ has begun to fall apart,” Richard Kozul-Wright, UNCTAD’s globalisation director, told a news conference. FILE PHOTO: A view of the City of London and Canary Wharf. July 7, 2017. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo ”There are plenty of alternatives out there and they are urgently needed given the kind of economic and social imbalances that we are currently facing.” He said central bank chiefs such as Mark Carney in Britain and Janet Yelland in the United States seemed to think they had solved the crisis and blamed any continuing risks on China. But the global system was still serving narrow interests, and the change that was needed went beyond simply ”tinkering with education or credit for poor people or ... putting the word ‘inclusive’ in front of every possible economic process you can imagine and believing you’ve solved the problem”. “We need a global ‘New Deal’,” he said, referring to the policies that revived the depressed U.S. economy in the 1930s. The aim should be to end fiscal austerity, imposed in 13 out of 14 leading advanced economies between 2011 and 2015, and prioritise reflation, full employment and decent jobs, rather than tackling inflation and cutting government debt. ”It needs a serious regulation of corporate abuse in both the financial and the corporate sector and it requires serious redistributionary measures – both fiscal and more innovative measures,” he said. Kozul-Wright said there were signs of a backlash against austerity in the Anglo-Saxon world, in countries such as New Zealand and Britain, and the United States could also potentially follow suit. But mainland Europe seemed to be extremely resistant to such a change of direction, he said. Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-un-economy/u-n-calls-for-global-economic-makeover-to-replace-neo-liberalism-idUKKCN1BP2J3'|'2017-09-14T20:05:00.000+03:00'
'563c5d42306fe5883affb503c000ee4b533da998'|'BP-led group signs Azerbaijan oilfield extension deal'|'  6:52 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago BP-led group signs Azerbaijan oilfield extension deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BAKU, Sept 14 (Reuters) - British oil major BP and Azeri state energy SOCAR on Thursday signed a contract extending its production sharing deal for Azerbaijan’s biggest oilfields until 2050. The existing deal is due to expire in 2024 and BP-led consortium and SOCAR pledged to continue developing the giant Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) offshore fields, the largest in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian basin. The shareholders in the consortium include BP, SOCAR, Chevron, Inpex, Statoil, ExxonMobil , TPAO, Itochu and ONGC Videsh. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova, writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bp-azerbaijan-agreement/bp-led-group-signs-azerbaijan-oilfield-extension-deal-idUSL5N1LS3R0'|'2017-09-14T09:50:00.000+03:00'
'ead9aa641667343733ffc9b9b46fb98c53772ac7'|'Shell Deer Park refinery production may resume by Friday - sources'|'September 14, 2017 / 11:21 PM / an hour ago Shell Deer Park refinery production may resume by Friday - sources   A Shell logo is seen on a fuel pump at a gas station In Warsaw, Poland June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ) may begin resuming production at its 325,700-barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery as early as Friday, sources familiar with plant operations said on Thursday. Shell plans to begin putting crude oil into the 270,000-bpd DU-2 crude distillation unit, the larger of two at the plant, as early as Friday, the sources said. The refinery was shut on Aug. 27 by Tropical Storm Harvey. A Shell spokesman wasn’t immediately available to comment. Other production units will come on-line after DU-2 successfully resumes production, according to the sources. Shell began restarting DU-2 on Monday night and was stalled for part of the week by the outage of a 650-pound (295-kilogram) steam line to the unit. After crude oil is introduced, Shell will start to test the products coming from DU-2 to see if they meet specifications. After bringing DU-2’s production within specification, the refinery will begin restarting other production units like the 70,000-bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit. The 45,900-bpd CR-3 reformer was not expected to be ready to restart over the weekend, the sources said. Reformers convert low-octane refining by-products into high-octane gasoline blending components. Shell was preparing to restart DU-2 following repairs from an Aug. 17 fire when Harvey hit the Houston area on Aug. 27. The Deer Park refinery is a 50-50 joint venture between Shell and Petroleos Mexicanos , Mexico’s national oil company. Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Sandra Maler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-storm-harvey-shell-deerpark/shell-deer-park-refinery-production-may-resume-by-friday-sources-idUKKCN1BP391'|'2017-09-15T02:19:00.000+03:00'
'96b84629353711cfd9b70bcbd65b9ec9413b00d6'|'LPC: McAfee''s US$4.75bn pre-IPO loan to finance dividend'|'NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - US software security firm McAfee LLC is raising US$4.75bn of new leveraged loans to finance a dividend payment of around US$2bn and refinance existing debt as the company prepares for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) as soon as next year, sources familiar with the deal said on Thursday.McAfee, which is owned by private equity firm TPG Capital (51%) and computer hardware giant Intel (49%), is raising loans, which are more flexible and easier to repay than bonds as it discusses a 2018 equity listing with banks, a source close to the deal said.The US$4.75bn of loans will refinance US$2.2bn of debt that financed McAfee’s spinoff from parent Intel, which was completed on April 3. The dividend payment of around US$2bn is one of the largest dividend payments on record, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data.The deal brings the total volume of dividend recapitalizations this year to US$11.3bn, compared to US$24.4bn in 2016, the data shows.Intel provided the initial financing for the spinoff with promissory notes due to the complexity of the deal and the absence of audited financials, which are generally required for agencies to rate companies’ debt. The notes paid a relatively high interest rate of 7%.McAfee completed its audits in July, two sources said. Strong debt markets and the company’s relatively low adjusted leverage are now allowing McAfee to raise the loan, which is new money for the company, and will reduce its borrowing costs substantially as well as paying the dividend to shareholders.Although McAfee’s financing is being marketed as a dividend deal, its pre-IPO financing is not a traditional recapitalization. Intel’s initial provision of McAfee’s debt means this is the first time investors will be gaining exposure to the company.The US$2bn dividend payment will also partly refinance some of the equity that TPG used to buy the company, a senior banker said.GOING VIRAL The US$4.75bn in loans include a US$3.05bn first-lien term loan, a €375m (US$450m) first-lien term loan, a US$750m second-lien term loan and a US$500m multi-currency revolving credit facility. Morgan Stanley is leading the first-lien debt while JP Morgan is leading the second-lien loan.A euro tranche was added during syndication allowing McAfee to broaden its currency exposure after reverse enquiry from European investors, a person familiar with the matter said.The deal will increase McAfee’s adjusted leverage from 4x to less than 6x, the person said. Although loan investors would have supported leverage of around 7x, the company opted for a lower multiple to appeal to equity investors as the company prepares for its IPO, the first source said.The US leveraged loan market has been remarkably strong this year with relatively little new acquisition financing. Investors are responding well to the new money deal and the chance to gain exposure to McAfee, after Intel initially provided the original financing, the second person familiar with the matter said.The leverage levels and pricing are also attractive to investors, who prefer lending to larger, more liquid loans. The deal, which launched on September 7, has already lined up several large orders before its commitment deadline of September 21, sources said.Pricing guidance on the first-lien loans is circulating in the 475bp-400bp over Libor and Euribor range. The interest rate on the second-lien loan is expected to be in the 775bp-800bp range.McAfee opted to line up a second-lien loan rather than issuing high-yield bonds as the loans can be repaid earlier than bonds, which have non-call provisions.Loan investors view an IPO as a positive credit event as they expect some of the loan to be repaid with the proceeds.NO MORE FIREWALL McAfee’s new money loan is proving popular with investors as the liquidity in US leveraged loan market has otherwise been focused on refinancing and repricing existing loans. There has been relatively little new money issuance to date as many buyouts have been secondary or tertiary deals with existing debt.Intel announced the US$7.7bn acquisition of McAfee in August 2010. The spin-off, which was announced in September 2016 and completed in April, was originally valued at US$4.2bn, according to Intel.Intel considers McAfee a strategic asset and that there is no interest in currently exiting its stake in the company, a source close to Intel said.Intel, TPG Capital, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan declined to comment. (Reporting by Jonathan Schwarzberg; Editing By Tessa Walsh and Michelle Sierra) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/mcafee-dividend/lpc-mcafees-us4-75bn-pre-ipo-loan-to-finance-dividend-idINL2N1LW0UK'|'2017-09-15T13:13:00.000+03:00'
'01108d14ba02df927165e3f9f75acf115be9bd10'|'Ryanair CEO says in process of finalising Alitalia offer'|' 24 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Ryanair CEO says in process of finalising Alitalia offer Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Ryanair aircraft taxis at Stansted airport, Britain April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce BERLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair ( RYA.I ) is in the process of finalising a binding offer for Alitalia, which will see it keep the brand, long-haul operations but changing the fleet for short-haul routes, CEO Michael O‘Leary said on Thursday. “We would have to order new planes, whether Boeing or Airbus,” O‘Leary told Reuters, adding that Ryanair preferred to own its fleet, rather than lease planes, as Alitalia does. He said Ryanair hoped to preserve jobs for pilots and crew, although warned they would have to be on new terms in line with Ryanair’s cost base. He added that Ryanair was not interested in bidding for Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) because the process was not transparent, repeating previous accusations that it was a stitch-up designed to make Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) stronger. He said he expected EU competition authorities would demand substantial remedies in the event Lufthansa buys Air Berlin, with the carrier likely to have to give up slots on routes within Germany to preserve competition. Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Caroline Copley'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alitalia-ryanair/ryanair-ceo-says-in-process-of-finalising-alitalia-offer-idUKKCN1BP182'|'2017-09-14T13:24:00.000+03:00'
'5da57eb356afd64c5bb669cef55fa6457abaa72d'|'Citigroup sees 3Q markets revenue down 15 percent vs year-earlier'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Citibank is pictured at an exhibition hall in Bangkok, Thailand, May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) third-quarter total markets revenue is running about 15 percent less than a year earlier when volatility was boosted by reactions to the Brexit vote and U.S. elections, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said on Monday at an investor conference.Gerspach’s outlook was similar to the 12 percent decline anticipated by Barclays analyst, and conference host, Jason Goldberg, in a preview for the event being held through Wednesday.The first speaker at the event, Gerspach also said that easing of bank regulations is going more slowly than he had hoped, apparently because of still-vacant positions at the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department.He warned that by the end of October the Federal Reserve needs to complete expected changes in its annual capital reviews, known as CCAR, for the banks to benefit in their 2018 evaluations. The reviews determine how much capital banks may payout in stock buybacks and shareholder dividends.Gerspach also said that he expects “slight increases” in expected credit loss rates from its North American Citi-branded and store-branded card business this year. Collections on delinquent accounts of store-branded cards have slowed this year, the company has said.Citigroup shares were up 0.7 percent shortly after the market opened in New York.Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-banks-conference-citigroup/citigroup-sees-3q-markets-revenue-down-15-percent-vs-year-earlier-idINKCN1BM26N'|'2017-09-11T19:40:00.000+03:00'
'9726f82b6a1d86321c6773292a3d9118e21a49fb'|'Nigeria''s Oando holds shareholder meeting after SEC green light'|'LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria’s Oando Plc ( OANDO.LG ) held its annual shareholder meeting on Monday after regulators gave it the green light despite an ongoing dispute over its ownership structure, sending shares in the energy company higher.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in July it was investigating Oando’s shareholding structure following its $1.65 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips’s ( COP.N ) Nigerian business in 2014.A company source said the dispute centered on the ownership of some Oando shares bought through an investment vehicle at the time of the ConocoPhillips deal.Oando Chief Executive Adewale Tinubu told shareholders the SEC had allowed the meeting to proceed as the company had disclosed the relevant information to the regulator.“Not every single allegation is true,” he told shareholders.Shares in Oando, which are also listed in Johannesburg and Toronto, rose 3.7 percent in Lagos to 6.75 naira, taking gains so far this year to 39 percent.Oando said in July it was aware the SEC had received petitions from some investors in relations to its shareholding structure but that the claims were untrue.Tinubu told the meeting that management was committed to protecting the interests of all shareholders.The company passed resolutions retaining its auditor Ernst & Young and adopting its 2016 accounts, an Oando spokesman said.Oando bought ConocoPhillips’s Nigerian business in a bid to add oil exploration and production to its petroleum products retailing businesses. But high financing costs coupled with lower oil prices hit profits, analysts say.Tinubu said the company had been aware of the uncertainty in 2014 but it had a detailed restructuring plan which has helped the company reduce its debt by over 40 percent to $600 million.“Oil prices has since recovered, our production has gone up and our big challenge which we have always had, which has been the Niger Delta militants ... is certainly on the decline.”Editing by David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-oando-shareholders/nigerias-oando-holds-shareholder-meeting-after-sec-green-light-idINKCN1BM2FS'|'2017-09-11T17:17:00.000+03:00'
'1e3034c84c26007771e4f1d6572189a0bec8d346'|'India to acquire seismic data of 48,000 line kms to boost oil, gas output'|'REUTERS - India aims to acquire seismic data of 48,243 line kilometres in five years as the world’s third biggest oil consumer seeks to boost its output by offering more areas for exploration, the government said on Tuesday.State-run explorers Oil India Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd will carry out the 2D seismic survey in areas spread across 24 states.The two companies will invest 29.33 billion rupees ($457.99 million) for this which will be reimbursed by the government.“As a basis for launching future exploration and production activities, appraisal of all unappraised areas is an important task,” the governmentOil India will cover the north-eastern states, while the remaining areas will be surveyed by ONGC.($1 = 64.0410 Mohi Narayan; '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-oil-survey/india-to-acquire-seismic-data-of-48000-line-kms-to-boost-oil-gas-output-idINKCN1BN1JP'|'2017-09-12T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'e10cb4ca4d4370bebb0ba4f52c4074add49f0ee5'|'UPDATE 1-Brazilian steelmaker CSN fills long-vacant CFO post'|'(Adds background on Marcelo Cunha Ribeiro, prior CFO)RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Cia Siderúrgica Nacional SA, Brazil’s third largest flat steelmaker, said on Monday it has named Marcelo Cunha Ribeiro as chief financial officer starting Sept. 12, filling a post that had been vacant for over a year.As CFO, Cunha Ribeiro will need to address the company’s failure to release financial statements for full-year 2016 performance and the first two quarters of 2017.The post had been empty since former CFO Paulo Rogerio Caffarelli left the steelmaker in May last year to take the helm of state-controlled Banco do Brasil SA.Cunha Ribeiro worked as Vice President of Finances for Brazilian apparel maker Restoque Comercio e Confecções SA and CFO of Brazilian supermarket chain St. Marche after a long stint at investment firm GP Investments Ltd. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Alberto Alerigi Junior; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/csn-management/update-1-brazilian-steelmaker-csn-fills-long-vacant-cfo-post-idUSL2N1LS24C'|'2017-09-12T02:53:00.000+03:00'
'2e4ca46d365214c613f92c598d0f62270213b8dc'|'Tata Steel UK pension scheme separates from firm'|' 48 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Tata Steel UK pension scheme separates from firm Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A company logo is seen outside the Tata steelworks near Rotherham in Britain, in this March 30, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Tata Steel’s UK pension scheme has separated from the company after regulators confirmed its pensions deal, the company said on Monday, paving the way for a merger of the European steel assets of India’s Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ) with those of Germany’s Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ). “The (British Steel Pension Scheme) has now been separated from Tata Steel UK and a number of affiliated companies,” Tata Steel UK said in a statement. The pension scheme has been a major stumbling block in a possible merger between the Indian steelmaker and Thyssenkrupp, because the German company was opposed to taking on 15 billion pounds in UK pension liabilities. The Pensions Regulator approved a deal last month to separate the Tata Steel UK pension scheme, but allowed 28 days for any objections. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Maytaal Angel, editing by Maiya Keidan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-tata-steel-pensions/tata-steel-uk-pension-scheme-separates-from-firm-idUKKCN1BM1ER'|'2017-09-11T14:47:00.000+03:00'
'b725ffb6ae508fa95febfbf989bf2394072afc8e'|'Garuda Indonesia unit GMF AeroAsia to raise up to $422 million from IPO'|'A man takes picture of his colleague in front of public expose banner of the Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF AeroAsia), the aircraft maintenance and repair unit of Indonesian flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk, in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta JAKARTA (Reuters) - Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia, the aircraft maintenance and repair unit of Indonesian flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk ( GIAA.JK ), is raising as much as 5.55 trillion rupiah ($422 million) from an IPO to help drive its expansion plans.GMF AeroAsia is selling a maximum of 10.9 billion new shares at a price range of 390-510 rupiah apiece, a term sheet shows.The company is hoping to sell 10 percent to strategic investors, said Helmi Imam Satriyono, finance director at GMF’s parent Garuda. Five maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies from Asia and Europe had shown interest, he added.“This offering is mainly to drive global expansion,” GMF CEO Iwan Joeniarto said at a briefing on Monday.“The MRO industry is very attractive and relatively safe in relation to economic conditions,” he said, adding GMF had a profit margin of 15 percent for 2016.GMF is the largest aircraft maintenance operator in Indonesia and its clients include airlines from 55 countries, according to its website. Listed regional competitors include Singapore-based SIA Engineering Company Ltd ( SIAE.SI ) and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd ( 0044.HK ).Garuda owned 99 percent of GMF as of July, according to GMF’s presentation slides.Garuda CEO Pahala Mansury told Reuters in May the state-controlled airline planned to increase the contributions from its food catering and ground-handling units to improve its financial performance.Garuda reported a wider net loss for the first half of 2017, hurt by the costs of participating in the government’s tax amnesty scheme. It also sought consent to amend certain terms on its $500 million global sukuk bonds due 2020.Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Additional reporting by S. Anuradha of IFR; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-gmfaeroasia-ipo/garuda-indonesia-unit-gmf-aeroasia-to-raise-up-to-422-million-from-ipo-idINKCN1BM14L'|'2017-09-11T08:22:00.000+03:00'
'23d556bbb895baa4a2e30036cbe07358d9b9ae79'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar up on weaker Irma as shares climb towards highs'|'* Stocks climb as Pyongyang eschews missile test* Irma downgraded to Category 1, tempering damage worries* Nikkei bounces 1.4 pct as yen eases, dollar edges up* Oil up as Saudi Arabia flags supply cut extension* Eyes on yuan on talk China to ease currency restrictionsBy Marc JonesLONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Monday and world shares climbed back towards record highs, on relief that North Korea did not conduct a further missile test at the weekend when it celebrated its founding anniversary.A weakening of Irma over the United States also tempered demand for safer assets, the hurricane having caused a number of deaths and knocked out electricity to 3 million homes and businesses on its way up the Florida coast.European shares started 0.75 percent higher as an official downgrading of Irma’s strength lifted insurance firms, while gold the yen and Treasuries dipped.Winning a reprieve from risk aversion, the dollar registered its biggest gains in the currency markets in ten days. It added 0.5 percent against its perceived safe-haven Japanese counterpart the yen and clawed back ground against the high-flying euro as an ECB policymaker flagged caution about the single currency’s recent rise.“The good news was that the eye of Hurricane Irma took a path west of Miami and has since weakened to a Category 1 storm so that damage in Florida – whilst still severe... appears not to be quite as catastrophic as had been feared last week,” said Daiwa Capital Markets strategist Chris Scicluna.“And thankfully there was no bad weekend news out of North Korea either.”Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.4 percent after Pyongyang held a massive celebration to congratulate the nuclear scientists and technicians who steered the country’s sixth and largest nuclear test a week earlier.The United States and its allies had been bracing for another long-range missile launch to mark the 69th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on Saturday.The sense of relief lifted E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 by 0.5 percent, while yields on 10-year Treasury notes rose 3 basis points to 2.09 percent.South Korea’s main index added 0.8 percent, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.4 percent.“It’s too early to say the (North Korean) risks are gone, but one thing for sure is that market players now think the situation won’t get worse as it did some weeks ago,” said Lee Kyung-min, a stock analyst at Daishin Securities in Seoul.Lee said many foreign investors and domestic institutions were purchasing South Korean tech and chemicals shares as quarterly earning season neared.The dollar hovered at 108.50 yen, up from Friday’s 10-month trough of 107.32. Against a basket of currencies, it added 0.15 percent to 91.490 still uncomfortably close to last week’s 2-1/2-year low of 91.011.The euro eased to $1.2017, having hit a top of $1.2092 on Friday amid speculation the European Central Bank was closer to starting a wind-back of its stimulus programme.ECB officials last week generally agreed their next move would be to cut their bond purchases and discussed a range of options, Reuters reported.RELAXED YUAN CONTROLS? China’s central bank was also a focus in Asia after sources said it planned to scrap reserve requirements for financial institutions settling foreign exchange forward yuan positions with effect from Monday.“The removal potentially makes it easier for traders to purchase the USD, easing the pressure for yuan appreciation,” said analysts at ANZ in a note.“The change likely signals some discomfort about the stronger yuan and its impact on Chinese exports.”The dollar was up 0.16 percent against the offshore yuan at 6.5128 yuan, off a low of 6.4437.There were also reports Beijing was planning to shut down local crypto-currency exchanges, dealing a blow to bitcoin’s recent stellar rally.Bitcoin was Quote: d at $4,300 on the BitStamp platform, off a recent record high of nearly $5,000.In commodity markets, gold softened 0.7 percent to $1,337.81 an ounce, away from a one-year peak of $1,357.54.Oil prices regained a little ground after the Saudi oil minister discussed the possible extension of a pact to cut global oil supplies beyond March 2018 with his Venezuelan and Kazakh counterparts.The news of the talks on Sunday helped offset the downward pressure on oil prices amid worries that energy demand would be hit hard by Hurricane Irma.U.S. crude was trading 36 cents firmer at $47.84 a barrel, while Brent rose 22 cents to $54.00.Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney; editing by John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-dollar-up-on-weaker-irma-as-shares-climb-towards-highs-idUSL5N1LS1PW'|'2017-09-11T11:44:00.000+03:00'
'1d4a763589a969e15bb6f4a6b196206702d92847'|'Thyssenkrupp''s home state in favour of Tata Steel tie-up'|' 54 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Thyssenkrupp''s home state in favour of Tata Steel tie-up   The new logo of ThyssenKrupp is seen at the headquarters of the steel maker and multinational conglomerate in Essen, Germany, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - The government of North Rhine-Westphalia, home to engineering and steel group Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ), has come out in favour of the group’s planned merger of its European steel operations with those of Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ). “The potential merger with Tata is an opportunity to tie up with a strong partner in Europe,” the state’s Economy Minister Andreas Pinkwart, a member of the pro-business Free Democratic Party, said in a parliamentary session on Wednesday. Members of the state’s previous government, a coalition of the Social Democrats and the Greens, had voiced criticism over the planned merger, warning of a potential loss of influence over corporate decisions that could affect jobs. Fearing that thousands of jobs could be cut as a result of a tie-up, unions have called on the new government to seek influence at Thyssenkrupp’s largest shareholder, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation. Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board will meet on Sept. 24 to discuss the planned joint venture, Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger’s preferred option to restructure the group’s steel business, whose roots go back more than 200 years. Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-state/thyssenkrupps-home-state-in-favour-of-tata-steel-tie-up-idUKKCN1BO1QR'|'2017-09-13T16:54:00.000+03:00'
'686817ea9e62f95c29a60d6389a333f3e80223ab'|'Saudis prepare for possible delay to Aramco IPO: Bloomberg'|'FILE PHOTO: A Saudi Aramco employee sits in the area of its stand at the Middle East Petrotech 2016, an exhibition and conference for the refining and petrochemical industries, in Manama, Bahrain, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is preparing contingency plans for a possible delay to the planned initial public share offering of Saudi Aramco ( IPO-ARMO.SE ) by a few months into 2019, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.The government is still aiming for the IPO of the state-owned oil giant in the second half of 2018, but that timetable is increasingly tight for what is likely to be the biggest share sale in history, according to the report. bloom.bg/2eVG9jvSaudi Arabian Oil Co, known as Saudi Aramco, was not immediately available for comment.Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world’s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100 billion.Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo/saudis-prepare-for-possible-delay-to-aramco-ipo-bloomberg-idINKCN1BO2SW'|'2017-09-13T19:50:00.000+03:00'
'825a1a66f1466d957fd5800b5f94c373ed0ea35d'|'France sees more EU states joining push over tax on online giants'|'  10:02 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago France sees more EU states joining push over tax on online giants Reuters Staff * Le Maire plays down report of division with Germany * To present proposal to others on Sept. 16 By Leigh Thomas PARIS, Sept 14 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he expected more EU countries to join in the coming days a French-led push to tighten the taxation of online giants like Google and Amazon. Germany, Italy and Spain have already signed onto a French proposal that digital multinationals such as those two leading companies should be taxed in Europe based on their revenues, rather than only profits as at present. Currently such companies are often taxed on profits booked by subsidiaries in low-tax countries like Ireland, even though the bulk of their sales comes from other EU countries. Le Maire is due to present the plan to other EU counterparts at a meeting in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on Saturday. “Other European countries will join on Saturday morning this French initiative that we want to succeed and to succeed quickly,” Le Maire told a news conference on Thursday. Le Maire played down report in French newspaper Les Echos that the Germans were not fully on board with the initiative, saying he and his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble were “on the same line”. A French Finance Ministry source said the proposed tax was the best way to move quickly, because there were far fewer constraints under international tax law for a levy based on a company’s revenues than for profits. Technical discussions would have to focus on defining how much revenue comes from a given country and what rate to use, a second ministry source said, suggesting that the rate would be of the order of several percentage points. So far, the ministry is not putting out a figure of how much revenue the tax could raise. However, an EU lawmaker’s study suggested EU states could have lost 5.4 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in tax revenues from Google and Facebook between 2013 and 2015. $1 = 0.8401 euros Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Matthew Mpoke Bigg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-tax-france-internet/france-sees-more-eu-states-joining-push-over-tax-on-online-giants-idUSL5N1LV26B'|'2017-09-14T13:02:00.000+03:00'
'04cbc01ce981b3e84fdbc1459ea278cae2a6a635'|'REFILE-Renault, Toyota lead European car sales rise in August'|'(Refiles to remove extraneous text from headline, with no other changes to text)BERLIN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - European car sales rose 5.5 percent in August, accelerating from an increase of 2.6 percent in July, according to industry data published on Thursday.Registrations rose to 903,143 vehicles in the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries in August and to 1.19 million vehicles for July, Brussels-based industry body ACEA said.For the first eight months of the year, registrations were up 4.4 percent to 10.56 million vehicles.In the 28-nation EU excluding Malta, registrations climbed 5.6 percent to 865,047 vehicles in August, the best August performance in a decade, ACEA said.Europe’s largest carmaker, Volkswagen, which is still grappling with its diesel emissions scandal, saw August deliveries rise 2.8 percent, with its namesake brand down 4.4 percent.Among the major manufacturers, Renault and Toyota saw the biggest monthly increases with 13 percent and 12.5 percent, followed by Fiat Chrysler with 9.8 percent.Performance was mixed for the region’s two biggest markets. Germany saw a 3.5 percent increase, while Britain registered a 6.4 percent drop, continuing a 9.3 percent fall seen in July. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/europe-vehicleregistrations/embargoed-renault-toyota-lead-european-car-sales-rise-in-august-idINF9N1L002N'|'2017-09-14T04:01:00.000+03:00'
'c170186209f3c7e5ea595eaf62c02a8cd21cbada'|'UPDATE 1-Lotte Shopping picks Goldman to manage sales of supermarkets in China'|'* Not decided if Lotte will sell all or part of stores in China * Most Lotte stores in China remain shut amid political tensions (Adds share price, background) SEOUL, Sept 14 (Reuters) - South Korea''s Lotte Shopping has picked Goldman Sachs to manage the sale of its supermarkets in China, after most of them were shut down amid political tensions between the two countries. It has not been decided whether the retailer will sell all its China supermarkets or part of them, a Lotte official said. Of Lotte''s 99 Mart stores in China, 74 were shut down by fire authorities over safety violations such as boxes blocking exit doors. Another 13 stores were shut down because of difficult business conditions. China has pressured South Korean businesses via boycotts and bans since Seoul decided last year to deploy a U.S.-made missile defence system as a deterrent to nuclear-armed North Korea. Beijing says the system''s radar can penetrate far into its territory. Lotte Group, South Korea''s No.5 conglomerate, has been among the hardest hit companies after it handed over land in southern South Korea so the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system could be installed there. Lotte has injected a total of 70 billion won ($62 million)into Mart stores in China to support the loss-making operations. Lotte Shopping previously said it was considering selling its supermarkets in China and other options should political tensions between the countries continue next year. Seoul deployed four more THAAD launchers last week, just days after Pyongyang conducted its sixth nuclear test. Lotte Shopping shares closed down 2 percent prior to the news, versus the wider market that was up 0.7 percent. ($1 = 1,131.4700 won) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lotte-shopping-china/update-1-lotte-shopping-picks-goldman-to-manage-sales-of-supermarkets-in-china-idINL4N1LV36W'|'2017-09-14T06:24:00.000+03:00'
'2f1abce07015aa875283a710fd47fe36baf12a27'|'MOVES- Harvest Global Investments, TOBAM, Railpen, Deloitte, First State Investments'|'Sept 13 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Wednesday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com.Harvest Global InvestmentsFund manager Harvest Global Investments, which focuses on the Chinese and Asian markets, has made three appointments as part of its expansion in Hong Kong.TOBAM Asset manager TOBAM has appointed Frédéric Jamet as head of trading and co-head of research based in Paris.RailpenRailway Pensions Investments Ltd said it appointed two senior property asset managers for its internal property investment team.DeloitteDeloitte appointed Rosemary Sereti as managing director of Deloitte Tax in its Washington national tax and tax controversy services practice.Houlihan LokeyGlobal investment bank Houlihan Lokey Inc said veteran banker Reinhard Koester has joined as managing director and co-head of the Financial Institutions Group.First State InvestmentsGlobal asset manager First State Investments said it appointed Heather Brilliant as managing director of Americas, effective September 8.Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/financial-moves/moves-harvest-global-investments-tobam-railpen-deloitte-first-state-investments-idINL4N1LU56Y'|'2017-09-13T18:08:00.000+03:00'
'6524be5bff3321a951c731a17e2d0295a4fdf266'|'China''s LinkGlobal could enter bidding for Air Berlin: Bild'|'A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin is being towed at Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) has attracted buyer interest from China’s LinkGlobal Logistics, which is likely to join a growing list of suitors, German newspaper Bild said on Wednesday.The paper said LinkGlobal, which operates German regional airport Parchim, expressed its intention of making a bid to the airline’s administrator in a letter dated Aug. 31 from LinkGlobal’s managing director Jonathan Pang.LinkGlobal pledged to hand in a bid by the Sept. 15 deadline, according to the letter, a copy of which Bild said it had obtained.The logistics group also said in the letter it would look to move Air Berlin’s headquarters to Parchim, a town in north-eastern Germany.Bild said that Air Berlin’s administrator declined to comment.Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its biggest shareholder, Etihad Airways, withdrew funding following years of losses.Germany’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, is seen in pole position to acquire large parts and a decision on the bids come could as early as Sept. 21, three days before a national election.Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airberlin-linkglobal/chinas-linkglobal-could-enter-bidding-for-air-berlin-bild-idUSKCN1BN30Q'|'2017-09-13T06:05:00.000+03:00'
'e84499948e8a1973e16fa8e61d1da458654c2f1c'|'BP-led group extends Azeri oil "contract of the century"'|'  5:15 AM / 14 minutes ago BP-led group extends Azeri oil "contract of the century" Nailia Bagirova , Ron Bousso 3 Min Read A BP logo is seen at a new petrol station on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso BAKU/LONDON (Reuters) - BP ( BP.L ) and Azerbaijan agreed on Thursday to extend into 2050 a contract to develop the ex-Soviet state’s biggest oilfield cluster, a deal dubbed “the contract of the century” when first signed in 1994. Under the new production sharing agreement, the Azeri state energy company SOCAR will increase its share to 25 percent from 11.65 percent, while BP’s stake declines to 30.37 percent from 35.8 percent. BP will remain the operator. The new contract secures large investment in Azerbaijan’s oil sector for decades and a one-off bonus of $3.6 billion (£2.73 billion) for the government, a welcome boost to a nation that has struggled with a sharp drop in oil prices in the past three years. Related Coverage BP sees strong profits in renewed Azeri oil contract The 1994 agreement to develop the giant Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) fields in the Caspian Sea was transformative for Baku’s political and economic development after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The new deal, whose exact terms were not disclosed, remains profitable for its partners at current oil prices of $55 a barrel, BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in an interview. The logo of Azeri state oil company SOCAR is seen near Gori, Georgia, May 3, 2016. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili The fields produce 585,000 barrels per day, accounting for three quarters of the Azerbaijan’s oil output, but production is expected to rise as the partners could invest up to $32 billion in the next 32 years, according to a statement. “There are still billions of barrels to recover and billions of dollars to invest” in the project, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Laura Bennie. “Attention will now turn to a brand-new production platform (Azeri Central East), which will be commissioned in the 2020s,” she said. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said the remaining oil reserves of the ACG oilfields stood at 500 million tonnes. Stakes of other firms in the consortium have also been reduced. Chevron ( CVX.N ) now has 9.57 percent, Inpex ( 1605.T ) 9.31 percent, Statoil ( STL.OL ) 7.27 percent, ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ) 6.79 percent, TPAO 5.73 percent, Itochu ( 8001.T ) 3.65 percent and ONGC Videsh ( ONVI.BO ) 2.31 percent. Additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Karolin Schaps; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Christian Lowe and Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-azerbaijan-agreement/azerbaijans-socar-seeks-25-percent-share-in-deal-with-bp-on-oil-fields-idUKKCN1BP0G3'|'2017-09-14T17:04:00.000+03:00'
'1ddfe5d89ab84d3fb8c2b23f82c8c0dac6131dda'|'Lawsuit accuses Google of discriminating against women in pay, promotions'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:46 PM / 20 minutes ago Lawsuit accuses Google of bias against women in pay, promotions Daniel Wiessner 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - Three female former employees of Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the tech company of discriminating against women in pay and promotions. The proposed class action lawsuit, filed in California state court in San Francisco, comes as Google is facing an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into sex bias in pay practices. The plaintiffs are a former Google software engineer, a former communications specialist and a former manager who worked in various roles at the Mountain View, California-based company. They say Google pays women in California less than men who perform similar work, and assigns female workers jobs that are less likely to lead to promotions. “While Google has been an industry-leading tech innovator, its treatment of female employees has not entered the 21st century,” Kelly Dermody, a lawyer for the women, said in a statement. Google spokeswoman Gina Scigliano denied the claims in a statement. She said employment decisions are made by hiring and promotion committees, and are vetted “to make sure there is no gender bias.” “If we ever see individual discrepancies or problems, we work to fix them, because Google has always sought to be a great employer, for every one of our employees,” she said. The plaintiffs say Google violated California laws requiring equal pay for similar work and prohibiting unfair and unlawful business practices. They are seeking to represent a class of women who worked at Google in California over the last four years. The Labor Department investigation stems from a 2015 audit in which the department says it discovered sex-based wage gaps among Google workers. The department last month appealed an administrative judge’s July decision that rejected its request for contact information for more than 20,000 Google employees. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; editing by Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-google-lawsuit/lawsuit-accuses-google-of-discriminating-against-women-in-pay-promotions-idUKKCN1BP2RZ'|'2017-09-14T21:53:00.000+03:00'
'aab5d07b2f80f38d817625aba913952b718ddf73'|'Nestle buys majority stake in Blue Bottle Coffee'|'A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nestle has bought a majority stake in California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, marking a first step by the packaged coffee leader into the hipster world of speciality bars that serve high-end, single-origin and cold brewed coffees.The company behind Nescafe instant coffee and Nespresso brewers announced the purchase of a 68 percent stake of Blue Bottle on Thursday without disclosing financial terms.The price was around $425 million, according to a source familiar with the matter.Like last week’s purchase of Sweet Earth meatless foods, the deal sees the world’s biggest maker of packaged food reaching out to the kind of choosy consumers who are turning away from its mass market brands like Nescafe coffee and Digiorno frozen pizza.It is the fourth deal this year by new chief executive Mark Schneider, an external hire brought in last year to shake up a conservative Swiss company that had missed its sales targets for four years running. Nestle and its multinational peers are fighting slower emerging markets, competition from new brands and a shift in consumer tastes away from processed food.The company is also selling its U.S. confectionery business, which includes brands like Baby Ruth and Butterfinger, as it seeks to transform itself into a “nutrition, health and wellness” company.Nestle, Europe’s biggest company by market value, is under pressure too from activist shareholder Third Point. The U.S. hedge fund announced a $3.5 billion stake in June and pressed Nestle for actions such as a margin target and divesting its 23 percent stake in France’s L‘Oreal.The U.S. market for coffee drinks has retail sales of $2.9 billion, according to Euromonitor International, which forecasts it to reach $4.4 billion by 2021.“Starbucks has for a long time had a virtual lock on this category, but that lead is starting to slip,” said Euromonitor analyst said Matthew Barry.A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Nestle’s purchase also comes amid consolidation in the so-called third-wave coffee sector in the United States. This market caters to mostly young, urban customers who have grown up on Starbucks but have progressed to more exotic drinks coaxed from hand-operated espresso machines or non-traditional brewers by expert baristas.Rival third-wave chains also include Intelligentsia and Stumptown, which were swept up in the recent coffee acquisition spree by privately held JAB Holdings.SILICON VALLEY BACKINGSlideshow (3 Images) Blue Bottle, known for its exotic, micro-lot coffees, has minimalist-style coffee bars in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo. It expects to have 55 locations by the end of 2017, up from 29 last year.It has raised nearly $121 million in funding from high-profile investors including Twitter co-founder Ev Williams and GV (Google Ventures), according to data from Crunchbase. Other backers include Fidelity Management and Research, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom and Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto.Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue to operate as a standalone entity and current management and employees would retain a minority stake.Third-wave chains are still a niche, but big players have taken notice.Starbucks co-founder and long-time CEO Howard Schultz in April moved into the role of executive chairman to focus on its “Reserve” brand that is adding upscale coffee bars to existing cafes, building new standalone stores and investing in large, ultra high-end roastery and tasting rooms reported to cost as much as $20 million each.Starbucks’ exclusive, small-lot Reserve coffees can cost $50 per 8-ounce bag. Coffee drinks, including those made in glass siphon brewers, can run $10 each.Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bluebottle-m-a-nestle/nestle-buys-controlling-stake-in-blue-bottle-coffee-idINKCN1BP2D7'|'2017-09-14T14:21:00.000+03:00'
'8a05c19cca28d8dbed5d6b8584a566f4f690301e'|'Bet Shemesh Engine seals big supply deal with Pratt & Whitney'|'  7:17 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Bet Shemesh Engine seals big supply deal with Pratt & Whitney Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JERUSALEM, Sept 14 (Reuters) - * Israel’s Bet Shemesh Engine Holdings said on Thursday it has expanded an agreement to supply parts to aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney by $530 million, bringing the total deal to $640 million. * Under the expanded deal, originally signed in December, the company will develop and produce new items for Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp in the civilian sector through 2026. * Chairman Gillon Beck said Bet Shemesh Engine is “among the few companies in the world able to produce rotating parts critical for jet engines,” which it will supply to Pratt & Whitney. * Bet Shemesh Engine is controlled by Israel’s largest private equity firm, FIMI Opportunity Funds. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bet-shemesh-1997-pratt-whitney/bet-shemesh-engine-seals-big-supply-deal-with-pratt-whitney-idUSL5N1LV1EA'|'2017-09-14T10:16:00.000+03:00'
'aa250eaf8b50092cac9bda837c205f0f600ceb32'|'Tenet Healthcare hires advisers to explore options: source'|'(Reuters) - Tenet Healthcare Corp ( THC.N ) has hired advisers to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the U.S. hospital operator, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The discussions are in the early stages and there is no guarantee they will lead to a sale, added the person, who could not speak for attribution because the talks are private.Tenet declined to comment.News of the strategic review was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.Last month, Tenet said it would replace longtime Chief Executive Trevor Fetter and members of its board, in response to pressure from its largest shareholder to shake up the hospital company’s management.Tension has been rising between Tenet and Glenview Capital Management, an activist investor that owns 17.8 percent of its stock.Glenview pulled two of its executives from Tenet’s board earlier in August, citing irreconcilable differences over strategy.Shares of Tenet, one of the largest U.S. hospital companies, have lost nearly three-quarters of their value since 2015. The industry has struggled over that period because of fewer patients, rising expenses and high debt.Shares of Tenet closed at around $16 on Wednesday, before rising more than 10 percent after hours.Potential buyers of Tenet would need to contend with the company’s $15 billion debt load, which could be a potential hindrance to private equity acquirers, said an investment banker, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak with the media.Reporting by Carl O''Donnell in New York; Additional reporting by Mike Flaherty and Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tenet-healthcare-m-a/tenet-healthcare-hires-advisers-to-explore-options-source-idUSKCN1BO2QV'|'2017-09-14T05:22:00.000+03:00'
'781406170b71eb9ff9190db5d5fe596d2c91de74'|'Renault-Nissan vows to double synergies in convergence push'|'PARIS (Reuters) - Renault-Nissan ( RENA.PA ) ( 7201.T ) pledged to double savings to 10 billion euros ($11.9 billion) by 2022 partly through closer cooperation with Mitsubishi Motors ( 7211.T ) but left key questions about the carmaking alliance unresolved.Chairman Carlos Ghosn has pledged to step up the pace of integration after Nissan took a controlling stake in Mitsubishi last year. The 18-year-old Renault-Nissan pairing has only recently begun rolling out cars on common architectures.Combined sales volumes are expected to rise to 14 million vehicles by 2022 from 10.5 million expected this year, with revenue advancing by a third to $240 billion, the alliance said at a news conference in Paris on Friday.However, any investors impatient for a new capital or management structure to speed integration and prepare Ghosn’s succession were likely to be disappointed.There was “no answer from Ghosn on the possibility of a merger by 2022”, Jeffries analyst Philippe Houchois noted.Ghosn has been seeking a new second-in-command, sources told Reuters in June. But such plans are linked to thornier questions about the balance of power between the two main carmakers and the French government’s outsize clout as Renault’s biggest shareholder, supported by double voting rights.Twelve new pure-electric models will be on the road by 2022 as Renault-Nissan seeks to defend the head-start it gained with the current generation of battery cars, spearheaded by the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe, as more competitors join the fray.With 5.27 million cars and vans delivered in the first half of the year, Renault-Nissan now claims the mantle of the world’s biggest carmaker, ahead of Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and Toyota ( 7203.T ), even though Renault has never consolidated the sales of its 43.4 percent-owned Japanese affiliate into its own.Under existing plans, the alliance is seeking to increase synergies - from cutting costs and boosting revenue - to 5.5 billion euros next year from 5 billion recorded in 2016.NEW ELECTRICS Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, reacts during a news conference in Paris, France, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY A fourth common vehicle platform will be shared across the alliance by 2022, the companies said on Friday, underpinning a future generation of electric cars which, together with hybrids, are expected to account for 30 percent of group sales.Renault-Nissan will aim to deliver more electric vehicles and also make greater use of shared technology and manufacturing processes.“Without a doubt, what we have seen and acted on and executed eight years ago is becoming mainstream,” Ghosn told reporters at a presentation in Paris.Slideshow (3 Images) Renault will soon launch an electrified version of the Kwid mini-SUV in China, he added, confirming media reports.As more models are launched on the new platforms by Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi and their other brands, shared architectures will account for 70 percent of sales by 2022, with common engines installed in 75 percent.Friday’s announcement was thin on details of how closer convergence would be achieved. Relations between Renault and Nissan engineering teams have sometimes been fraught, hampering savings in areas such as engines and transmissions.Convergence efforts will continue with no radical change to management structures, Ghosn said, suggesting that he had no immediate plans to hand over the reins.Ghosn stepped aside as Nissan chief executive in April while remaining chairman; his current contract Renault CEO contract expires next year.“I am intending to execute on the plan as long as it makes sense,” he said.More information on operational and product strategies and financial goals are expected when Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi each announce their mid-term plans in coming weeks - starting with the French carmaker on Oct. 6.Reporting by Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume; Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-renault-nissan/renault-nissan-vows-to-double-synergies-in-convergence-push-idUSKCN1BQ0L0'|'2017-09-15T14:33:00.000+03:00'
'b7a602664bb4823db4250ca50805a57923fb71c4'|'UPDATE 1-Deadly riots block mining operations in Guinea bauxite town'|' 55 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Deadly riots block mining operations in Guinea bauxite town Reuters Staff (Adds deaths, quote, background) By Saliou Samb CONAKRY, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A second person was killed and mining operations were partially blocked as rioting in the Guinean town of Boke, the West African nation’s main bauxite mining hub, entered a fourth day on Friday, witnesses and a company official said. Dozens of others have been injured in the violence, the latest in a series of riots in the town this year spurred by frustration at electricity cuts, pollution and a perceived failure of mining to raise living standards. “Of our three sites Katougouma, Malapouyah and Dapilong, only Katougouma is partly operational and the other two are blocked because of this difficult situation,” said Frederic Bouzigues, general manager of Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB). SMB is owned by China’s Winning Shipping Ltd and Shandong Weiqiao, along with UMS International Ltd and the Guinean state. It is one of two mining companies in Boke that each produce about 15 million tonnes of the aluminium ore bauxite annually. The other company, the Companie Bauxite de Guinee (CBG), did not respond to multiple requests for comment. CBG is 49 percent owned by the Guinean state and the remainder by Alcoa, Rio Tinto Alcan and Dadco. A 17-year-old boy was killed by gunshot on Thursday, his grandfather said. Security forces shot dead another man when they intervened to break up riots on Wednesday. Gunfire continued through the night on Thursday and the situation remained tense on Friday morning, witnesses said. A hospital official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said over 50 people had been injured. (Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Nellie Peyton,; Editing by Joe Bavier and Ed Osmond)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/guinea-mining/update-1-deadly-riots-block-mining-operations-in-guinea-bauxite-town-idUSL5N1LW2XX'|'2017-09-15T15:54:00.000+03:00'
'e1074d58cf1c6116633c7358d82ba18c490f994c'|'UPDATE 2-Brazil plans pension vote in October, before tax reform'|'(Adds Finance Minister comments, adds BRASILIA dateline)SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Brazil’s government intends to approve its proposed pension overhaul in the lower house of Congress in October, prioritizing it over a possible tax reform in the tight schedule ahead of the 2018 election year, ministers said on Monday.The pension overhaul, considered vital by the government to avoid an eventual debt crisis, has been stuck in Congress since May, when President Michel Temer was accused of corruption by the billionaire owners of meatpacker JBS SA.Monday’s remarks by Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles and Planning Minister Dyogo Oliveira nevertheless suggest policymakers are more confident about securing majority in Congress for unpopular measures given the widespread perception that Temer will not stand trial.Legislators blocked a first set of corruption charges against Temer a month ago, and congress leaders have signaled they would not remove their support for the president if a new charge is presented this week, as expected.The government has resumed talks about the proposed changes in the pension system in order to have it voted next month, Meirelles said on Twitter.Economists say the pension overhaul is key to avoiding financial meltdown of the government, but unions oppose proposed benefit cuts and the creation of a minimum retirement age.After approving the pension reform, the government would then seek to pass legislation to simplify the tax system, Meirelles added.A broad tax reform may not be politically viable though, Planning Minister Dyogo Oliveira said at an event.The government has not yet formally presented its tax proposal, which has also ranked among Temer’s priorities. Legislators have analyzed a separate bill, presented by Congressman Luiz Carlos Hauly.Oliveira also said the government had asked state development bank BNDES to return 50 billion reais ($16.2 billion) to the Treasury this year and 130 billion reais in 2018.BNDES, the world’s third-largest development bank, will change its business model to depend on market resources instead of scarce government funds, Oliveira added.Oliveira repeated that the government was trying to unfreeze 8 billion to 10 billion reais in public spending after approving a looser budget target in Congress. He said the exact number had yet to be confirmed.$1 = 3.0850 reais) (Reporting by Thaís Freitas in Sao Paulo and Silvio Cascione in Brasilia; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Marguerita Choy) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-economy/update-1-brazil-should-put-pension-overhaul-before-tax-reform-minister-idINL2N1LS0U0'|'2017-09-11T13:37:00.000+03:00'
'ab3d4e0cc8f3043046baa57248c30d80124f1f2c'|'Global accounting body steps up attack on ''data dump'' company statements'|'September 14, 2017 / 10:14 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Global accounting body steps up attack on ''data dump'' company statements Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Eric Thayer LONDON (Reuters) - Companies should produce more concise and crisper financial statements and annual reports, cutting out unnecessary “boilerplate” and “data dump” material, a global accounting body said on Thursday. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published guidance to encourage more selective judgments about relevant information in such statements. IASB Vice Chairman Sue Lloyd said there was too much clutter as companies and their auditors cover themselves by including every detail, rather than stepping back and saying what really matters for investors and leaving out the rest. Auditors in over 100 countries, including the European Union, apply IASB standards. Judgments can relate to core issues like recognizing losses or gains, and measuring them. The guidance sets out a four-step process to identify, assess, organize and review whether a piece of information is material. “If I am a bank, do people really care about my property, plant and equipment in the scheme of things?” Lloyd said. “If that’s how you think about it then the result is you just end up with pages and pages of stuff that’s not really relevant at all to investors. You have to wade through the morass to find the stuff that really matters for them.” The IASB hopes that statements and annual reports will become more concise. It wants a “behavioral change” among companies, auditors and even regulators, some of whom put pressure on firms to include every piece of information in statements, Lloyd added. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-accounts-regulations-iasb/global-accounting-body-steps-up-attack-on-data-dump-company-statements-idUSKCN1BP16E'|'2017-09-14T13:13:00.000+03:00'
'a5f5dcc2ee7f972e1978aa4aeb65b07e9ae5b9e3'|'Merkel says car industry must work to rebuild trust'|'September 14, 2017 / 9:25 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Merkel says car industry must work to rebuild trust Emma Thomasson 4 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany’s car industry should do everything in its power to repair its damaged reputation, pointing to the combustion engine’s uncertain future as she opened the Frankfurt motor show. The auto sector - Germany’s biggest exporters and employers of more than 800,000 people - was plunged into crisis two years ago when Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) admitted to cheating U.S. diesel emissions tests. “A lot of trust has been destroyed. That is why the industry must do everything to win back confidence, in its own interest and that of employees and German industry,” Merkel told the meeting of top car executives on Thursday. Merkel noted that the emissions scandal broke just after she opened the same show two years ago. The industry now faces many more challenges, including suggestions that China might eventually ban combustion engines, she said. Ahead of a national election on Sept. 24, Merkel has come under fire for her close ties to automakers and for failing to crack down on vehicle pollution following VW’s admissions and push the industry to move into electric vehicles. VW, BMW ( BMWG.DE ), Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), Audi ( NSUG.DE ) and Porsche have since come under investigation by European regulators for alleged anti-competitive collusion. The chancellor has taken a tougher line on the industry in recent weeks and pushed it to agree measures to help tackle pollution in cities, this month setting up a 1 billion euro fund to clean up urban transport. On Thursday, she urged foreign carmakers to join a deal with German manufacturers to overhaul engine software on diesel cars to cut pollution. She also reiterated her opposition to bans on diesel cars under consideration by courts in some German cities. PARKED IN THE LAY-BY? German chancellor Angela Merkel talks to the media during the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski Anton Hofreiter, parliamentary leader of the environmental Greens, said Merkel had contributed to the crisis by protecting the industry and allowing Germany to fall behind. “With her speech, Mrs Merkel is indicating towards the future, but the actions of her government mean she is still parked on the (hard) shoulder,” he said. “The next government must get serious with the modernisation of the auto industry.” The Greens, currently only on about 8 percent in the opinion polls ahead of the election, want Germany to stop the sale of new combustion engine vehicles from 2030. Slideshow (6 Images) Britain and France have recently announced plans to eventually ban all diesel and petrol vehicles, while Tesla ( TSLA.O ) has launched its first mass-market electric car. Matthias Wissmann, head of Germany’s VDA auto lobby that hosts the car show, admitted the industry had not made things easy for its political allies. Wissmann, a former member of Merkel’s conservatives and federal transport minister from 1993 to 1998, said regaining trust was the top priority, but also said the whole sector and its employees should not be condemned for the acts of a few. Merkel predicted that the combustion engine will survive as demand was booming in many parts of the world, while she said German automakers were still innovation leaders, accounting for a third of patents for electric and hybrid cars. “It is clear that we will still need combustion engines for decades, while also investing in new motor technologies at the same time,” she said. On Wednesday, auto suppliers and manufacturers said Europe should not rush to abandon the combustion engine and must build up its own production of electric car batteries to compete with China. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Michael Nienaber and John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-merkel/merkel-says-car-industry-must-work-hard-to-rebuild-trust-idUKKCN1BP121'|'2017-09-14T15:16:00.000+03:00'
'be783482a79ebfa148067e3be4ba3e6c7d5d308b'|'ECB''s chief economist calls for "steady hand" on easy policy'|'September 13, 2017 / 5:16 PM / 20 minutes ago ECB''s chief economist calls for "steady hand" on easy policy Reuters Staff 1 Min Read European Union flags are reflected in a window at the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank’s chief economist renewed his call on Wednesday for a “steady hand” in conducting the ECB’s ultra-easy monetary policy despite a positive growth outlook. “The baseline scenario for inflation going forward remains crucially contingent on very easy financing conditions which, to a large extent, depend on the current accommodative monetary policy stance,” Peter Praet said at an event in Frankfurt “Therefore, maintaining a steady hand continues to be critical to fostering a durable convergence of inflation towards our monetary policy objective.” The ECB is due to decide on the future of its 2.3 trillion euros (£2.08 trillion) bond-buying scheme in the coming weeks and sources have told Reuters policymakers agreed last week on cutting it from next year. But policymakers also agreed that even if stimulus is curbed, easy monetary policy will continue for a long time and normalisation would be gradual. Reporting By Francesco Canepa'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-praet/ecbs-chief-economist-calls-for-steady-hand-on-easy-policy-idUKKCN1BO2AO'|'2017-09-13T20:15:00.000+03:00'
'07a2ece1b5ed86328bd03060d2a724ccde0d6ff9'|'Shell selling its stake in Iraq''s West Qurna 1 oil field'|'A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car''s side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, January 29, 2015. Picture taken January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is set to end a century of oil production in Iraq by withdrawing from two of the Arab state’s flagship fields to focus on more profitable gas development.Shell’s retreat highlights the challenges foreign operators face with low-margin oil contracts in Iraq, an OPEC member that sits on some of the world’s biggest oil reserves and wants to boost production after years of conflict hindered development.The Anglo-Dutch firm said on Wednesday it had agreed with Iraq’s oil ministry to relinquish operations at Majnoon field to the government after unfavorable changes to fiscal terms. The announcement confirmed an earlier Reuters report.Shell is also selling its 20 percent stake in West Qurna 1 oil field in the south of the country. The field is operated by Exxon Mobil.Investment bank Lazard is running the sale for Shell, industry sources told Reuters. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Shell said it was still committed to producing gas in Iraq, saying it would focus on developing and expanding the Basra Gas Company, which processes gas from the Rumaila, West Qurna and Zubair fields. It has a 44 percent stake in the joint venture.Shell produced almost 20 million barrels of oil from Iraq during 2016, which accounted for about 3.5 percent of the firm’s total oil output last year, according to Shell’s annual report.Precise terms of the contract terms are not public and Shell has not detailed its earnings from Iraqi oil.But a source told Reuters last year Shell had found limited financial benefit in recent years from oil production in Iraq, where it is paid in crude but has limited say on strategy.“The Oil Minister of Iraq formally endorsed a recent Shell proposal to pursue an amicable and mutually acceptable release of the Shell interest in Majnoon, with the timeline to be agreed in due course,” a Shell company spokesman said.Shell took the decision after Iraq applied performance penalties on the Shell-operated venture “which had a significant impact on its commerciality,” he said.Battling a sharp fall in oil prices since 2014, Iraq asked foreign firms to cut spending on oil projects in order to reduce the cash-strapped government’s contribution in shared ventures.Foreign firms in Iraq have long urged Baghdad to revise oil production contract terms to encourage development of reserves that Iraq estimates at about 153 billion barrels, the fourth biggest in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.“Maybe now they will speed things up,” one executive from another company operating in Iraq said.Shell, via its subsidiary Anglo Saxon Oil Company, was among a consortium of European firms called Turkish Petroleum Company which acquired concessions in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire to explore for oil in today’s Iraq. Oil was found 15 years later.Shell started developing Majnoon, which means “crazy” in Arabic, in 2010.It holds a 45 percent stake in the field that it operates under a technical service contract that expires in 2030. Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas holds a 30 percent stake, while Iraqi government holds 25 percent.Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Rania El Gamal in Dubai and Fanny Potkin in London; Editing by Jason Neely and Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-shell-iraq-qurna/shell-selling-its-stake-in-iraqs-west-qurna-1-oil-field-idINKCN1BO13F'|'2017-09-13T08:19:00.000+03:00'
'47d898b52f306209f2795fc5defc95d81bc0cbd3'|'UPDATE 1-Swiss Life speaks to DOJ about possible tax evasion by U.S. clients'|'(Adds detail, background)By John Revill and Oliver HirtZURICH, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Swiss Life could face a fine in the United States after it was contacted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) about whether it helped U.S. clients avoid tax, Switzerland’s biggest life insurer said on Thursday.The disclosure comes as U.S prosecutors have been widening their probe of Swiss banks who have been helping wealthy American clients dodge taxes to include insurance companies.Swiss Life said the inquiry related to its cross-border business with U.S. clients.Its portfolio with U.S. clients of Swiss Life Liechtenstein and Swiss Life Singapore was around 250 million Swiss francs ($259 million), down from 1 billion francs a few years ago.“All insurance contracts have been categorized and been reported pursuant to the FATCA legislation,” Swiss Life said, referring to the 2010 U.S. anti-tax evasion law.“Swiss Life will use the opportunity for dialogue and explain its past cross-border business in cooperation with the U.S.,” the company added.Its shares opened down 1.1 percent.The DOJ inquiry concerns Swiss Life’s insurance wrapper business, life insurance policies into which the very wealthy can place stocks, private equity holdings and other bankable assets, exploiting tax benefits on investment income held in such policies.With the crackdown on bank secrecy in Switzerland, regulators have voiced concern that insurance wrappers could be used for tax avoidance.The Zurich-based company started selling the products in 2006, but stopped selling them in the United States in 2012. Swiss Life returned funds to hundreds of American clients who had invested in insurance wrappers linked to bank accounts at Bank Frey in 2013, The Wall Street Journal has reported.Banks ensnared in the matter have typically agreed to pay fines equivalent to around 1 to 7 percent of the U.S. assets under management in question. That could mean Swiss Life may face a fine of up to around $70 million if found to have helped aid tax evasion.Swiss financial institutions have been in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities seeking to crack down on tax evasion by American citizens, a hot topic in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.Credit Suisse agreed to pay a $2.5 billion fine in 2014 after it admitted helping U.S. citizens evade tax, while investigations continue against other large banks.Smaller banks have also been targeted, with Leodan Privatebank AG shutting down after paying $500,000 to reach a settlement with the DoJ in 2016.Smaller Swiss banks, which for years benefited from clients bringing money to Switzerland to take advantage of bank secrecy rules, are struggling due to a global clampdown on tax evasion and costly regulation.The U.S. investigation comes as Swiss Life, which last month reported a 5 percent increase in net profit during the first half of 2017, focuses on trimming costs and raising third-party asset management and investment income to offset sluggishness in its core life insurance business. ($1 = 0.9644 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Revill and Oliver Hirt, editing by John Miller and Michael Shields) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/swisslife-justice/update-1-swiss-life-speaks-to-doj-about-possible-tax-evasion-by-u-s-clients-idINL5N1LV0NV'|'2017-09-14T05:04:00.000+03:00'
'b43180c3a012eb40f2602fcca280391316fd05d1'|'World Bank calls for steps to bolster Palestinian economy'|'  10:15 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago World Bank calls for steps to bolster Palestinian economy Jeffrey Heller 3 Min Read JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Even in the absence of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, steps can be taken now that could significantly brighten a gloomy Palestinian economic situation, the World Bank said on Tuesday. In a new report it said addressing external constraints on the Palestinian economy “is the most important factor” in any turnaround, but the Palestinian Authority, which administers limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, also had to do its part to cut red tape stifling business activity. Removing Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement in so-called Area C in the occupied West Bank -- where Israel maintains civil and security control -- could boost the size of the West Bank economy by one-third in eight years, the World Bank said. “Such growth would not only be enabled by better access to critical scarce resources, notably land and water, but also other natural resources that would allow Palestinian businesses to take advantage of Area C’s comparative advantages in agriculture, mining and quarrying, and tourism,” it said. Area C, designated by interim peace deals signed in the 1990s, represents 61 percent of West Bank territory, and Israel cites security concerns for the restrictions it imposes there. According to the World Bank, currently less than 1 percent of Area C, which is already built up, is designated by the Israeli authorities for Palestinian use, while the remainder is heavily restricted or off-limits to Palestinians. The report noted recent “encouraging but limited measures” announced by Israel to allow a Palestinian industrial zone and the municipal boundaries of the Palestinian city of Qalqilya to expand into Area C. As for the Hamas Islamist-run Gaza Strip, where Israel and Egypt maintain tight border restrictions, alleviating restrictions on the movement of goods and people would allow critical trade to rebuild the territory’s infrastructure and economy following the 2014 war. Conflict in Gaza and a drop in foreign donor aid combined to slow real average annual GDP growth in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to 2 percent between 2013 and 2016. It dropped to 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017, the World Bank said. “Under a baseline scenario which assumes that the current Israeli restrictions remain in place and no improvement in the domestic economic and political environment, real GDP growth of the Palestinian economy is projected to reach 3.0 percent in 2017: 2.7 percent in the West Bank and 4.0 percent in Gaza,” the report said. “This growth level implies a near stagnation in real per capita income and an increase in unemployment.” Based on second quarter 2017 figures cited by the World Bank, employment in the West Bank, home to some 2.6 million people, is at 21 percent, and 44 percent in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of two million. Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Angus MacSwan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-palestinians-worldbank/world-bank-calls-for-steps-to-bolster-palestinian-economy-idUKKCN1BM2S1'|'2017-09-12T01:16:00.000+03:00'
'4e99d6f84b8a9f35daea9f0b074bed15da2ccee3'|'Climate-Change Link Queries Overtake Hoax Amid Hurricanes'|'Climate-Change Link Queries Overtake Hoax Amid Hurricanes Google search for correlation between global warming and storms jumps By @SStapczynski More stories by Stephen Stapczynski As the U.S. got hit by a second massive storm this month, search interest surged for “Does global warming cause hurricanes?,” according to Google Trends. While climate scientists continue to wrestle with the connection between global warming and individual storms, specialists in Germany and the U.K. have drawn a direct link between climate change and the intensity of Irma and destructiveness of Harvey. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-12/climate-change-link-queries-overtake-hoax-amid-hurricanes'|'2017-09-12T07:41:00.000+03:00'
'ddf953525530ef40bfaac0ba89e1f2ae06496940'|'Mexico''s Pemex says refinery electrical system damaged by quake'|'  5:24 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Mexico''s Pemex says refinery electrical system damaged by quake Reuters Staff 1 Min Read MEXICO CITY, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Mexican state oil company Pemex said on Tuesday that electrical systems at its refinery near the epicenter of last week’s massive earthquake were damaged, but it expects to repair them shortly. The system’s damaged turbogenerators will be fixed in the next few days at the Salina Cruz refinery, Pemex’s biggest, the company said in a statement. “When the quake struck, the turbogenerators were turning normally and suffered some damage,” it said. Pemex said it continues to evaluate the condition of the refinery’s industrial systems but has not detected other damage. Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; Editing by W Simon'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-pemex/mexicos-pemex-says-refinery-electrical-system-damaged-by-quake-idUSL2N1LT1HF'|'2017-09-12T20:24:00.000+03:00'
'5dc05761fd6a9cd57c496f5e4f66c42b5add7b34'|'Areva NP''s results growth follows recovery plan, CEO tells Les Echos'|'Reuters TV United States   5:20 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Areva NP''s results growth follows recovery plan, CEO tells Les Echos Reuters Staff 3 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - The core operating profit of Areva’s reactor unit Areva NP is growing according to its recovery plan, Areva NP’s chief executive Bernard Fontana told French business daily Les Echos on Tuesday. Under the recovery plan, Areva NP’s earnings before interest, tax, debt and depreciation (EBITDA) is seen reaching 207 million euros ($248 million) this year and more than 450 million euros in 2018. This compares with 95 million euros in 2016, Les Echos reported. The reorganization of Areva, nearly entirely state-owned, involves the sale of Areva’s nuclear reactor business to power utility EDF ( EDF.PA ) by the end of this year. Its uranium mining, nuclear fuel production and decommissioning activities will be transferred to a new company, NewCo. “(Areva NP) follows a path that complies with the one determined in the fall of 2015... Revenues are 10 percent lower than planned but we’re on time in terms of EBITDA and operational free cash flow,” Fontana said, citing cuts in rental costs at the company’s headquarters in Paris’ business district of La Defense. Areva NP’s plan notably consists in increasing production in its plants of Paimboeuf, Jarrie, Jeumont and Saint-Marcel and internalizing activities that were previously subcontracted, Les Echos reported. “The equipments we supply will have to be produced at a higher rate and quality,” Fontana said, as Areva NP’s foundry Creusot Forge undergoes an audit. Fontana added that the company’s priority in the next months is to make work the next generation EPR reactors that are under construction. Those include EPR reactors in Taishan in China, Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France. French utility EDF should eventually take 75.5 percent of Areva NP, along with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ( 7011.T ) (up to 19.5 percent) and Assystem ( ASY.PA ) (5 percent), Les Echos reported. India’s Reliance Industries ( RELI.NS ) could also buy a stake, the daily added. Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by John Irish'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-areva-outlook/areva-nps-results-growth-follows-recovery-plan-ceo-tells-les-echos-idUSKCN1BN2FA'|'2017-09-12T20:10:00.000+03:00'
'afa38ba7960a17c45a990678edb0936ad9fc2cae'|'Lawsuit accuses Google of discriminating against women in pay, promotions'|'The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - Three female former employees of Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the tech company of discriminating against women in pay and promotions. The proposed class action lawsuit, filed in California state court in San Francisco, comes as Google faces an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into sex bias in pay practices. The lawsuit appears to be the first to make class action sex bias claims against Google, but is only the latest instance of a major tech company being accused of discriminating against women. The Department of Labor sued Oracle America Inc in January, claiming it paid white men more than women and minorities with similar jobs. Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) and Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) are facing sex bias lawsuits, and Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) last year settled claims for $19.5 million. Meanwhile, Uber Technologies Inc in June said it would make a series of changes after a former engineer in a blog post accused the ride-hailing service of condoning rampant sexism. The plaintiffs in Thursday’s lawsuit are a former Google software engineer, a former communications specialist and a former manager who worked in various roles at the Mountain View, California-based company. They say Google pays women in California less than men who perform similar work, and assigns female workers jobs that are less likely to lead to promotions. “While Google has been an industry-leading tech innovator, its treatment of female employees has not entered the 21st century,” Kelly Dermody, a lawyer for the women, said in a statement. Google spokeswoman Gina Scigliano denied the claims in a statement. She said employment decisions are made by hiring and promotion committees, and are vetted “to make sure there is no gender bias.” “If we ever see individual discrepancies or problems, we work to fix them, because Google has always sought to be a great employer, for every one of our employees,” she said. The plaintiffs say Google violated California laws requiring equal pay for similar work and prohibiting unfair and unlawful business practices. They are seeking to represent a class of women who worked at Google in California over the last four years. The Labor Department investigation stems from a 2015 audit in which the department says it discovered sex-based wage gaps among Google workers. The department last month appealed an administrative judge’s July decision that rejected its request for contact information for more than 20,000 Google employees. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-lawsuit/lawsuit-accuses-google-of-discriminating-against-women-in-pay-promotions-idUSKCN1BP2RQ'|'2017-09-14T21:42:00.000+03:00'
'265c0a4c0d21d1014185c1a822a1333cd41583b6'|'Questfire Energy shuts in 900 boepd because of Alberta wildfire -CEO'|'September 13, 2017 / 5:13 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Questfire Energy shuts in 900 boepd because of Alberta wildfire -CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Junior Canadian oil and gas producer Questfire Energy Corp has shut in 900 barrels of oil equivalent per day of mostly natural gas production because of a wildfire raging in southern Alberta, the company chief executive said on Wednesday. CEO Richard Dahl said the out-of-control Kenow wildfire is currently about 2-3 kilometres west of the company’s operations, which were shut in at about 2 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning. (Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-wildfire-questfire-energy/questfire-energy-shuts-in-900-boepd-because-of-alberta-wildfire-ceo-idUSL2N1LU1CA'|'2017-09-13T20:12:00.000+03:00'
'adcc83a27390d68feb64f3460d8e9fa4403daf3e'|'Chalco agrees $1.5 billion debt financing plan with China Pacific Insurance'|'BEIJING (Reuters) - Aluminum Corp of China Ltd 6001600.SS ( 2600.HK ) on Wednesday said it had agreed a debt financing plan, worth up to 10 billion yuan ($1.53 billion), with China Pacific Insurance Group Co ( 601601.SS ) to help fund construction of key projects.Total liabilities for Chalco, China’s No.2 aluminum smelter by capacity, stood at 96.334 billion yuan as of end-June, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing from last month.The company’s Hong Kong shares rose 4.13 percent to HK$6.80 on Wednesday. Trading in its Shanghai shares was suspended on Monday evening pending a “major event” that may constitute significant asset restructuring.The suspension prompted speculation Chalco or its parent, state-run Chinalco, would merge with another Chinese state firm.A company spokesman declined further comment.Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-metals-aluminium/chalco-agrees-1-5-billion-debt-financing-plan-with-china-pacific-insurance-idINKCN1BO10C'|'2017-09-13T07:50:00.000+03:00'
'2dc6a0a62aa87a59159c15804722663568ef07d7'|'Dunelm warns on spending squeeze as sales fall'|' 28 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Dunelm warns on spending squeeze as sales fall Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - British home furnishings retailer Dunelm Group Plc ( DNLM.L ) said it expected British consumers’ disposable incomes to be under pressure as it reported a drop in sales in the 12 months to June. The seller of cushions, curtain and baking equipment said comparable sales fell 0.5 percent, citing a “changing pattern of customer shopping habits”. “We expect the trading climate to remain challenging with the disposable income of UK consumers under pressure,” the retailer said on Wednesday. Rising inflation and muted wage growth since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in June 2016 has led many consumers to rein in their spending. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dunelm-group-results/dunelm-warns-on-spending-squeeze-as-sales-fall-idUKKCN1BO0JI'|'2017-09-13T09:27:00.000+03:00'
'f874555d316c0c5e2e2968d7479c6972793ea269'|'Sterling high hurts FTSE 100'|'September 13, 2017 / 9:20 AM / 14 minutes ago Sterling''s slip from one-year high curbs FTSE losses 3 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 recouped most of its losses at the close on Wednesday, as sterling gradually came off a one-year high which had hit Britain’s top share index during the morning session. The FTSE 100 .FTSE , edged down 0.28 percent at 7,379 points after hitting a low of 7,336 points at the beginning of the session, as the British currency briefly surged to $1.3329. “The FTSE is back for a bullish test of 7,400”, Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said, pointing to a fall in the pound due to “disappointing” UK wage growth. While UK unemployment is at its lowest since 1974, wages are being dented by inflation, meaning the Bank of England will tread carefully on Thursday with any signals about when it may finally raise interest rates. The pound’s slump in the aftermath of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in June 2016 prompted a rally in the FTSE 100’s predominantly dollar-earning constituents, which got an accounting boost when converting revenues back to pounds. Mining stocks took the most points off the FTSE 100, with Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ), Fresnillo ( FRES.L ), Anglo American ( AAL.L ), BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ), Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) and Glencore ( GLEN.L ) dropping between 1.8 percent and 3.9 percent as the price of copper came under renewed pressure. Shares in pharmaceuticals also weighed with Astrazeneca ( AZN.L ) down 1.6 percent, while Shire ( SHP.L ) declined 0.7 percent, also hit by a target price cut from JP Morgan, and Glaxosmithkline ( GSK.L ) closed 0.4 percent lower. Budget airline operator easyJet ( EZJ.L ) was among the few stocks making headway, its shares ticking 0.7 percent higher after launching a platform which allows customers to book flights with other airlines on its website. Dunelm’s ( DNLM.L ) shares led the mid caps, soaring 8.4 percent after a well-received full year update. Analysts said the results from the home furnishings specialist were broadly in line with expectations, assuaging concerns over UK consumer spending which have plagued domestic-focused stocks since sterling’s plunge after the Brexit vote. Reporting by Kit Rees and Julien Ponthus; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/sterling-high-hurts-ftse-100-idUKKCN1BO0XD'|'2017-09-13T12:20:00.000+03:00'
'662ee6fa453b6062a3b1951cc0830f6bcf0c6646'|'Bitcoin exchange BTCChina to stop trading from September 30'|'  12:29 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago Bitcoin exchange BTCChina says to stop trading, sparking further slide Brenda Goh , Jemima Kelly 4 Min Read A Bitcoin (virtual currency) logo is pictured on a door in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier BEIJING/SHANGHAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCChina said on Thursday that it would stop all trading from Sept. 30, setting off a further slide in the value of the cryptocurrency that left it over 30 percent away from the record highs it hit earlier in the month. China has boomed as a cryptocurrency trading location in recent years, as investors and speculators flocked to domestic exchanges that formerly allowed users to conduct trades for free, boosting demand. But that has prompted regulators in the country to crack down on the cryptocurrency sector, in a bid to stamp out potential financial risks as consumers pile into a highly risky and speculative market that has seen unprecedented growth this year. BTCChina said its decision was based on a Sept. 4 directive from Chinese authorities that expressed concern over investment risks involved in cryptocurrencies and ordered a ban on so-called initial coin offerings, or ICOs - the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors to finance start-up projects. That ban, as well as warnings by regulators in other countries, has driven fears of a wider crackdown and prompted a sell-off that has helped wipe almost $60 billion off the total value of cryptocurrencies since they hit record highs at the start of the month, according to industry website Coinmarketcap. “The Chinese ban is causing a panic in the market as mixed messages and lack of clarity has turned sentiment negative,” said Charles Hayter, founder of data analysis site Cryptocompare. “The closure of BTCChina is perhaps a portent of what the other Chinese exchanges face.” BTCChina, one of China’s largest bitcoin trading platforms, which also runs an international exchange out of Hong Kong, will stop registration of new users from Thursday, it said on its official microblog. “We will stop all trades on the digital trading platform starting Sept. 30,” it said. Its co-founder, Bobby Lee, told Reuters the move would not affect trading on the BTCC international exchange, however. The price of bitcoin tumbled particularly sharply on BTCChina after the news. By 1233 GMT, it was down 18 percent on the exchange, at 20,510 yuan. On U.S. exchange Bitstamp, it slid as much as 10 percent to a five-week low of $3,426.92, having hit a record high of nearly $5,000 on Sept. 2. PANIC SPREADS Panic also spread to other cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin’s main rival ether - sometimes called ethereum - also down around 10 percent, according to Coinmarketcap. Reuters and other media had reported this week, citing sources, that China planned to further ban exchanges that allowed virtual currency trading but the regulator has yet to make an announcement. Spokeswomen for OkCoin and Huobi, BTCChina’s main rivals in China, declined to say whether they would announce similar moves. Huobi said it had not received any clear directives from regulators to do so. Investors in China contributed up to 2.6 billion yuan (£297.43 million), or $397 million, worth of cryptocurrencies through initial coin offerings in January-June, state-run media have said, citing data from the National Committee of Experts on Internet Financial Security Technology. Addding to bitcoin’s woes this week was a warning by Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan, that the cryptocurrency was a “fraud” and was set to “blow up” - comments that helped fuel a slide of as much as 11 percent in bitcoin on Wednesday. Bitcoin is on track for its worst month since January 2015. Reporting by Brenda Goh, Beijing Monitoring Desk and Jemima Kelly; Editing byLarry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-bitcoin-btcc/bitcoin-exchange-btcchina-to-stop-trading-from-september-30-idUKKCN1BP1ML'|'2017-09-14T15:28:00.000+03:00'
'36c4d76acb2caba011ee905c996b66eba8403f72'|'Autoliv eyes split of business into two listed companies'|'Autoliv CEO Jan Carlson poses for a picture at company headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden May 22, 2017. Picture taken May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Johannes Hellstrom STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden’s Autoliv ( ALIVsdb.ST ) ( ALV.N ) said it planned to split into two listed companies, with one focused on high-tech safety gear to capture the rapid growth toward self-driving vehicles, lifting its shares on Thursday.Autoliv is the biggest player by far in the market for safety gear such as airbags and seatbelts which generate the bulk of its earnings. It has yet to reach a dominant position in new fields such as radar, visions systems and driver assistance software that are key for development of self-driving cars.The company believes both businesses are undervalued and hopes the split will make them more appealing to investors.“A reason to do this is to clarify the potential in these businesses,” Autoliv Chief Executive Jan Carlson told Reuters.“To show the strength of possibly the world’s strongest product portfolio in electronics as well as the strong development we have in passive safety.”Investors have been putting pressure on car makers and their suppliers to more clearly identify the growth parts of their businesses, areas such as automated driving, electrification and digital technology.Delphi Automotive ( DLPH.N ), another major auto supplier, recently announced plans to separate into two entities - one dedicated to internal combustion technology and the other focused on electrification and automation.Autoliv said its listing could happen in about a year, but added that while that was the company’s intention, it was not ruling out alternatives.Analysts at Jefferies noted in a research note the consolidation opportunities in the electronics business.SHARES RISE Autoliv’s Stockholm-listed shares ( ALIVsdb.ST ) jumped as much as 12 percent and were up 10.5 percent at 1323 GMT.“The split will clearly help to bring the true value of Autoliv’s excellent market positions and strong product offering to the surface,” said John Hernander of Nordea, the firm’s fifth largest shareholder.Autoliv has seen major market share gains on order intake in its traditional, passive safety business over the past two years following the collapse of Japanese rival Takata.But the auto industry’s long lead times have meant that Autoliv is only now starting to reap the full benefits of those business wins, while strong orders in its electronics business will only gradually filter through into sales in coming years.Extra spending needed to deliver the influx of orders in recent years and technology investments needed have weighed on the stock, while worries have mounted over slower growth in the global car market.Autoliv’s U.S.-listed shares ( ALV.N ) are flat so far this year, lagging a 16 percent rise in the Dow Jones U.S. Automobiles & Parts Index .DJUSAP.Global carmakers and electronics firms such as Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) and Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) are racing to develop the emerging technology of autonomous vehicles.In electronics, Autoliv’s recent tie-ups include a joint venture with Geely-owned Volvo Cars, and partnerships with chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA.O ), as well as Velodyne over LiDar technology.The company said it expected sales to top $12 billion in 2019 while analysts are on average forecasting sales of $11.9 billion in 2019, Thomson Reuters data shows.It also gave sales and profit forecasts for the separate entities for 2020, giving further upside to consensus forecasts, according to Jefferies.Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; additional reporting by Niklas Pollard; editing by Biju Dwarakanath and Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-autoliv-targets/autoliv-eyes-split-of-business-into-two-listed-companies-idINKCN1BP0HJ'|'2017-09-14T03:35:00.000+03:00'
'52d0003915051f3ced7d443c44a7278f3c12c8d8'|'ECB should ease up on stimulus as cause for QE is gone: Weidmann'|'September 14, 2017 / 3:44 PM / Updated 30 minutes ago ECB should ease up on stimulus as cause for QE is gone: Weidmann Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Jens Weidmann, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, attends at the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke - RC157894DB60 FRANKFURT (Reuters) - With the threat of euro zone deflation largely gone, the justification for the European Central Bank’s massive asset purchase scheme is no longer there and policymakers should ease up on stimulus, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said on Thursday. Easy monetary policy is still needed because of low inflation and the ECB will continue to provide accommodation for a long time but the bank should “ease up on the accelerator”, Weidmann, who sits on the rate setting Governing Council said in Frankfurt. Weidmann, a long-time critic of the ECB’s quantitative easing (QE) programme, argued that accommodation is mainly a function of the ECB’s huge balance sheet after more than 2 trillion euros (£1.80 trillion) worth of bond buys, rather than of monthly purchases. With the asset buys due to expire at the end of the year, the ECB is expected to decide in October whether to continue the purchases or start winding them down. Markets expect a reduction in the buys given robust growth but expect the ECB to remain in the market for much of 2018 given still weak inflation. Weidmann added that lax monetary policy has negative side effects and can jeopardize financial stability, which should be taken into consideration even if macroprudential tools are the first line of defence for stability issues. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-weidmann/ecb-should-ease-up-on-stimulus-as-cause-for-qe-is-gone-weidmann-idUKKCN1BP2A3'|'2017-09-14T18:43:00.000+03:00'
'8900890360a8273676f88310ab81a69f81bb3b72'|'P&G''s business structure takes center stage in Trian proxy fight'|'FILE PHOTO - Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S. on October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Trian Partners, the activist fund seeking a seat on Procter & Gamble Co’s ( PG.N ) board, stepped up its criticism of the company’s business structure on Tuesday, a day after P&G&rsquo;s chief executive attacked Trian’s proposed reorganization as “dangerous.”Trian last week released a 94-page plan to boost shares of the consumer products giant, ahead of the Oct. 10 shareholder vote on whether to elect fund co-founder Nelson Peltz as a P&G director.P&G, the maker of Crest toothpaste and Gillette razors and which has a market value of $232 billion, is fighting to keep Peltz off the board.Reorganizing P&G into three global business units (GBUs) with presidents of each unit solely responsible, is central to Trian’s plan to boost the company’s stock price, a stance it reinforced on Tuesday.Speaking at the CNBC Delivering Alpha event, Trian co-founder and chief investment officer Ed Garden cited P&G&rsquo;s president of Greater China selling and market operations, Matthew Price, to illustrate Trian’s criticism that accountability is unclear across the company’s existing GBUs.“If sales really reports to GBUs, then which GBU does he report to?” Garden asked, referring to Price and demanding that P&G answer the question in writing.Garden went on to ask if the reporting lines really demonstrate accountability.“Everyone in the audience knows that if it’s a dotted line with someone reporting to you and you don’t control their compensation, then it’s a canard,” Garden said.Trian is P&G&rsquo;s fifth largest shareholder, owning 1.5 percent of the stock.P&G has said it already underwent a reorganization, dividing the company into 16 business units across six regions. CEO David Taylor highlighted the new organization at a Barclays conference last week, laying out the new structure in a slide titled “simpler, faster, accountable.”On Monday, speaking to CNBC commentator Jim Cramer, Taylor criticized Peltz’s proposed structure.“He’s proposed some things that could be very dangerous to the short term, which is reorganize the company right now,” Taylor said.Shares of P&G closed down 0.5 percent at $93.51 on Tuesday.Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-trian-proxy/pgs-business-structure-takes-center-stage-in-trian-proxy-fight-idINKCN1BN2TK'|'2017-09-12T18:33:00.000+03:00'
'dd46b1bf2f1e8a251bf70e58613ff9384f890a82'|'Apple set to unveil anniversary iPhone in major product launch'|'  7:07 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Apple unveils iPhone X in major product launch Stephen Nellis 4 Min Read Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduces the iPhone X during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam CUPERTINO, Calif. (Reuters) - Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) on Tuesday rolled out its much-anticipated iPhone X, a redesigned product of glass and stainless steel with an edge-to-edge display that Chief Executive Tim Cook called “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone.” The phone features wireless charging, an infrared camera and hardware for facial recognition, which replaces the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone. The home button found on previous iPhones is also gone, and users instead tap the device to wake it up. The phone, which is priced at $999 and ships on Nov. 3, as well as the holiday shopping season that follows are the most important for Apple in years. The new phone’s ship date raised questions about possible supply constraints ahead of the holidays. Apple normally ships new products within a week or two of announcing them, though Cook said the later date was consistent with earlier guidance to investors. “It’s great to have a product but we’d have liked it sooner rather than later, more like the beginning of October or mid- October,” said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. Apple shares were last down 0.6 percent. They had traded as much as 1 percent higher during the launch event. The company has sold more than 1.2 billion iPhones over the past decade and ushered in the era of mobile computing, but last year had a substantial decline in revenue as many consumers rejected the iPhone 7 as being too similar to the iPhone 6. The screen on the iPhone X is about the size of the current iPhone 7 plus, though the phone is smaller. It features richer colours thanks to a new technology called OLED that other vendors such as Samsung are also rolling out. But in an embarrassing moment for Apple senior vice president Craig Federighi, the face ID unlocking did not work on his first attempt during the on-stage presentation. Apple also introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which resemble the iPhone 7 line but have a glass back for wireless charging. Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, shows the iPhone X during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam The new phones feature Apple’s first proprietary graphics processor, which provides greater speed, improved cameras and some features for augmented reality apps. The cheapest phones have 64 gigabytes of memory, up from 32 gigabytes in previous models, and will sell for $699 and $799. The company also introduced an upgraded Apple Watch, which can make phone calls and access the internet without the user carrying an iPhone. The Series 3 watch will cost $399. Slideshow (12 Images) Apple did not provide sales figures for its watches, but Cook said sales had risen 50 percent from the year before and that the Apple Watch was now the best-selling watch in the world. Gene Munster, an analyst with Loup Ventures, believes sales of the watch could double or even triple because of the new connectivity. An upgraded Apple TV will support the high resolution display known as 4K and will feature more programming options as Apple steps up efforts to cut content deals and produce its own shows. FLASHY NEW CAMPUS Cook opened the event at the Steve Jobs Auditorium on Apple’s new campus with a tribute to the company’s co-founder and former CEO Jobs, who died in 2011. The Apple building itself was considered to be Jobs’ final product, and Cook spent a few minutes boasting about the design, energy-saving features and public spaces at the new campus, including a flagship Apple Store. The theatre, never before open to the public, features an expansive glass-enclosed lobby, with two massive white stone staircases leading down to the auditorium. Inside, the decor is similar to that of Apple’s stores, with hard maple flooring and tan leather seats. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Writing by Jonathan Weber; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/apple-iphone/apple-set-to-unveil-anniversary-iphone-in-major-product-launch-idINKCN1BN0LX'|'2017-09-12T05:07:00.000+03:00'
'05a7bb6cc9a1fdbb2315be2e9eead00bc804749c'|'Volkswagen is ''second mover'' in electric commercial vehicles - executive'|'September 17, 2017 / 12:41 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Volkswagen is ''second mover'' in electric commercial vehicles: executive Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An electric Volkswagen car is plugged into a recharging point in central London, Britain November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is a “second mover” in electrified commercial vehicles, after lagging companies such as Tesla ( TSLA.O ) and Deutsche Post DHL ( DPWGn.DE ) in putting them on the road, the head of VW’s trucks business told a German newspaper. He said Volkswagen had emissions-free alternatives to conventional trucks and buses on offer. “But maybe the German manufacturers were too slow. It could be,” German daily Tagesspiegel quoted Andreas Renschler, who is also a member of Volkswagen’s group management board, as saying in an interview published on its website on Sunday. Truck manufacturers such as Tesla, Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and Navistar International Corp ( NAV.N ) are racing to overcome the challenges of substituting batteries for diesel engines as regulators crack down on carbon dioxide and soot pollution. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday that the Silicon Valley company would show off a prototype of an electric semi-trailer truck on Oct. 26. “Tesla has set some important and good impulses in the industry,” VW’s Renschler told Tagesspiegel, but said Volkswagen was rather a “second mover, who would rather check a couple of times more whether the standards are right.” German peer Daimler said on Thursday that United Parcel Service ( UPS.N ) would be the first U.S. commercial customer for its new battery-powered eCanter truck. But German logistics group Deutsche Post quietly designed and made its own electric delivery van, the StreetScooter, and plans to double annual output to 20,000 by the end of the year. Volkswagen said at the Frankfurt auto show this week that it was stepping up its shift to electric cars by investing more than 20 billion euros ($24 billion) in zero-emission vehicles by 2030 to challenge pioneer Tesla in creating a mass market. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-electric/volkswagen-is-second-mover-in-electric-commercial-vehicles-executive-idUKKCN1BS0GT'|'2017-09-17T15:24:00.000+03:00'
'e1fac9ab122557923b81b0c5eab9fa395598ba89'|'France likely to cut Orange stake, executive says'|'The logo of Orange is pictured at the shop in central Chisinau, Moldova, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich WARSAW (Reuters) - The French government is likely to reduce its 23 percent stake in telecommunications company Orange ( ORAN.PA ), the company’s head of European operations said on Thursday.Asked about a potential reduction in the stake, Gervais Pellissier said: “the new government has been in place only since early July ... the government has not made a specific announcement. But based on the general announcement, this is probable”.In July, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France would begin selling stakes it holds in companies over the coming months to finance projects geared toward innovation.Pellissier also said during a visit to Warsaw that Orange was not planning acquisitions in Europe in the short term.“Don’t expect consolidation in our view in the short term,” Pellissier said. “The focus is to develop in the eight countries where we are present.”Reporting by Marcin Goettig; Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in PARIS; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-orange-m-a/france-likely-to-cut-orange-stake-executive-says-idUSKCN1BP216'|'2017-09-14T22:19:00.000+03:00'
'1f6cd52820ced2e8d4f0357351a87669e5f4e8a1'|'Germany urges Thyssenkrupp to reach deal with unions over Tata'|' 08 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Germany urges Thyssenkrupp to reach deal with unions over Tata Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The new logo of the ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany''s industrial conglomerate, is seen in front of their headquarters before the annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Economy Minister urged management at Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) to seek an agreement with its workers over plans to merge the group’s European steel operations with those of Indian peer Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ). A joint venture with Tata Steel is the preferred option of Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger to restructure the group’s steel business, despite ongoing resistance from labour representatives, who fear thousands of job cuts. “Such an important and strategic corporate decision should be made following intensive consultation and in consensus with labour representatives. So far, the labour side is not convinced by the decision,” said Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries, a member of the Social Democrats. “This leads to uncertainty among employees. That is not good for the company and the workers.” Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board will gather on Sept. 24, the day of Germany’s general elections, to discuss the plan and the company this week said it was possible a memorandum of understanding could be announced this month. Unions will stage protests against the plans in the city of Bochum on Sept. 22. Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/germany-urges-thyssenkrupp-to-reach-deal-with-unions-over-tata-idUKKCN1BP26B'|'2017-09-14T18:07:00.000+03:00'
'09a3457a425daf2db404ace798ea59816aa4a9db'|'Britain not at back of queue for EU trade deal - Commissioner'|'September 14, 2017 / 11:46 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Britain not at back of queue for EU trade deal - Commissioner Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Euro and Pound banknotes are seen in front of BREXIT letters in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A trade agreement with post-Brexit Britain is a priority for the European Union and the United Kingdom will not have to wait in line behind others for talks to start, a senior European Commissioner said on Thursday. “I’ve read papers that sometimes refer to some of us saying that the UK is the last possible partner with whom we want to negotiate trade. Forget this nonsense,” Jyrki Katainen, one of six Commission vice presidents at the EU executive, told a news conference. The EU has insisted that it will only begin negotiations about future economic relations with Britain once enough progress has been achieved on divorce matters, namely the rights of citizens, a payment by Britain to the EU and on the Northern Ireland border. “As soon as we know when we can start negotiating about the future arrangement, (trade) negotiations will start then. There’s no political priority that we want to keep the UK as the last in the queue,” Katainen said. The European Union in July struck a preliminary trade deal with Japan and is aiming to conclude talks with Mexico and the Mercosur countries - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - by the end of the year. Further negotiations are underway with a range of countries and regions across the world and the bloc hopes to start and finish talks with Australia and New Zealand in the next two years. Katainen, a former Finnish prime minister whose EU responsibilities are jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness, said the European Commission had shown it was capable of holding several trade negotiations at the same time. “So no need to provoke the situation anymore. It is complicated enough,” he said. EU Trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said the Commission, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of EU countries, had a “fantastic simultaneous capacity” to negotiation such accords. “Keep calm. Don’t panic,” she said. Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop and Robin Emmott; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-trade/britain-not-at-back-of-queue-for-eu-trade-deal-commissioner-idUKKCN1BP1IU'|'2017-09-14T14:46:00.000+03:00'
'2c3f7498ed430990a09ab0c06ea69943b5028d72'|'Bank of England to balance Brexit and inflation as it seeks right note on rates'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:27 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Bank of England to balance Brexit and inflation as it seeks right note on rates David Milliken 4 Min Read People walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England must decide how forcefully to talk about the prospect of a first interest rate rise in a decade on Thursday when it will weigh up the need to help Britain’s Brexit-bound economy against tackling a jump in inflation The BoE’s policymakers are widely expected to leave rates at a record low 0.25 percent when they make their latest policy statement at 11:00 GMT. But all eyes will be on its chief economist, Andy Haldane, to see if he switches sides and joins the two members of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee who have been voting in vain to reverse last year’s quarter-point cut in rates. Haldane was previously known as one of the more dovish members of the nine-strong MPC, but he said in July that he expected to back a rate increase later this year after inflation picked up. If he moves now, markets are likely to price in a strong chance of a rate hike as early as the BoE’s next meeting, in November, potentially unsettling Britain’s economy, which has already shown signs of faltering this year. Most economists polled by Reuters at the end of last month do not expect rates to rise until 2019. The consensus expectation is for a 7-2 vote on Thursday to keep rates on hold at 0.25 percent, and no change to the 435 billion pounds ($575 billion) of government bond holdings or 10 billion pounds of corporate debt. The BoE has raised the prospect of rate rises in recent years but not followed through. Weak wage growth, slower economic activity this year and big questions about what Brexit will mean for Britain’s economy mean most policymakers will probably stick with their view that the current surge in inflation is temporary. “We believe it is highly unlikely that the MPC will raise rates in the next two years given ongoing Brexit uncertainties,” said Mike Riddell, a fixed income portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors. “Nevertheless, it is possible that the MPC’s communications will attempt to jolt the market-implied rate higher.” STERLING STRUGGLES Sterling fell to a nine-month low against a range of currencies =GBP last month. While the BoE does not target sterling, further weakness would cause inflation to move higher above its 2 percent target and increase the risk that the post-Brexit rise in prices becomes longer-lasting. BoE Governor Mark Carney has said he expects inflation to peak at around 3 percent in October and then fall slowly. But he has also said a slowdown in investment by companies worried about Brexit meant Britain’s economy might be less able to grow without overheating, a warning to investors that a rate hike might come sooner than they thought. While inflation reached 2.9 percent in August, this was mostly due to the delayed impact of sterling’s more than 10 percent fall after last year’s Brexit vote, and most of the BoE’s policymakers think that effect will fade. Wage growth could put longer-term pressure on prices, but it undershot expectations in data released on Wednesday. Wages rose just 2.1 percent in the three months to July despite a fall in unemployment to a 40-year low. Furthermore, the broader economy is showing little sign of picking up after the lacklustre 0.2 to 0.3 percent quarterly growth rate in the first half of the year. UBS fixed income strategist John Wraith this week advised clients to take talk of higher rates with a pinch of salt. He said financial markets have priced in a greater chance of a BoE rate rise before each MPC meeting this year, only to be disappointed shortly after. The same seems to be happening this time, with short sterling interest rate futures <0#FSS:> now pricing in a rate rise for August 2018 compared with September 2019 last week. “Such warnings have failed to gain meaningful traction, as persistently weak economic data has repeatedly undermined the MPC’s message,” he said. Editing by William Schomberg, Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-boe/bank-of-england-to-balance-brexit-and-inflation-as-it-seeks-right-note-on-rates-idINKCN1BO2XW'|'2017-09-14T02:27:00.000+03:00'
'501744bbe051668bfc614c9cec82acb1e19f69f4'|'Global accounting body steps up attack on "data dump" company statements'|'Reuters TV United States  15 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Global accounting body steps up attack on ''data dump'' company statements Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Eric Thayer LONDON (Reuters) - Companies should produce more concise and crisper financial statements and annual reports, cutting out unnecessary “boilerplate” and “data dump” material, a global accounting body said on Thursday. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published guidance to encourage more selective judgments about relevant information in such statements. IASB Vice Chairman Sue Lloyd said there was too much clutter as companies and their auditors cover themselves by including every detail, rather than stepping back and saying what really matters for investors and leaving out the rest. Auditors in over 100 countries, including the European Union, apply IASB standards. Judgments can relate to core issues like recognizing losses or gains, and measuring them. The guidance sets out a four-step process to identify, assess, organize and review whether a piece of information is material. “If I am a bank, do people really care about my property, plant and equipment in the scheme of things?” Lloyd said. “If that’s how you think about it then the result is you just end up with pages and pages of stuff that’s not really relevant at all to investors. You have to wade through the morass to find the stuff that really matters for them.” The IASB hopes that statements and annual reports will become more concise. It wants a “behavioral change” among companies, auditors and even regulators, some of whom put pressure on firms to include every piece of information in statements, Lloyd added. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-accounts-regulations-iasb/global-accounting-body-steps-up-attack-on-data-dump-company-statements-idUKKCN1BP16E'|'2017-09-14T13:11:00.000+03:00'
'3743c257649d761c4d9658e6c85f371f44aa42c7'|'AXA explores options for European asset management arm: Bloomberg'|'FILE PHOTO: Logos of France''s biggest insurer Axa are seen on a building in Nanterre, near Paris, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo (Reuters) - French insurer AXA ( AXAF.PA ) is reviewing options for its European asset management business, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources close to the matter.AXA, Europe''s second-largest insurer, is looking at either a merger for the business or a joint venture, with Natixis ( CNAT.PA ) said to be among the potential partners, Bloomberg said. ( bloom.bg/2xnCo0r )The company has not made any final decision and could yet retain the business, Bloomberg said.The French insurer said in May that it planned to list its U.S. life insurance and asset management business in 2018 to free up capital and pursue takeover targets elsewhere.A spokesman for AXA declined to comment on the report.Reporting by Philip George in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-axa-sa-asset-management-m-a/axa-explores-options-for-european-asset-management-arm-bloomberg-idINKCN1BP2NV'|'2017-09-14T15:51:00.000+03:00'
'81f141f40cfa0318750f480522b41c17199ec45f'|'Stocks lure in cash but investors eyeing signs of correction: BAML'|'September 15, 2017 / 11:14 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Stocks lure in cash but investors eyeing signs of correction: BAML Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The company logo of the Bank of America and Merrill Lynch is displayed at its office in Hong Kong March 8, 2013. REUTERS/Bobby Yip LONDON (Reuters) - Riskier assets were in vogue this week as investors poured $8.9 billion into equities, but strategists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said flows data indicated positioning remained shy of peak levels. Bonds also drew in money for the 26th straight week, as investors hungry to earn a return rushed into U.S. Treasury funds, which enjoyed their biggest inflows in 62 weeks, EPFR figures showed. Though these flows indicated the “Icarus” trade pushing stock markets higher was alive and kicking, BAML strategists, who have been forecasting a correction this autumn, pointed to signs investors were not overly exuberant. The equity allocation among the bank’s private clients ticked lower and remained below its all-time high, while ETF flows showed investors shifted money back into deflation assets this month, seeking diversification away from the reflation trade. The bank’s “bull-bear” indicator of investor sentiment held steady at 7, with strategists saying a correction was most likely if it edged above 8 and fund managers increased their exposure to risky assets, pointing to a peak in positioning. A stock market fall could also be precipitated by GDP estimates catching up with earnings-per-share, or a U.S. tax reform announcement which would then focus investors’ attention solely on monetary tightening, they said. “Downtrend in Fed liquidity and ECB taper remain necessary conditions for a correction,” BAML’s strategists added, saying they expect the Fed to announce balance sheet reduction at its Sep. 20 meeting. U.S. stocks attracted their biggest inflows in 13 weeks, indicating contrarian bets as BAML’s fund manager survey this week showed the largest aggregate underweight on the U.S. since 2007. U.S. small-cap stocks, which are increasingly acting as a bellwether for expectations the Trump Administration will reach a deal to cut tax rates, drew their largest flows in six weeks. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted $12.5 billion this week, continuing to sap money from mutual funds which suffered $3.7 billion of outflows. Asset classes attracting the biggest flows year-to-date have been financials, technology, and emerging debt, while the least popular are real estate, healthcare and U.S. stocks. Tech stocks, emerging market equities and healthcare have delivered the strongest returns year-to-date while the U.S. dollar, energy and TIPS have been the worst bets. Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-flows-baml/stocks-lure-in-cash-but-investors-eyeing-signs-of-correction-baml-idUSKCN1BQ1F9'|'2017-09-15T14:14:00.000+03:00'
'97e672080ad6c718368b13a41650839952ecb0ac'|'Former ECB board member says EU rules pose bank run risks'|'September 15, 2017 / 2:33 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Former ECB board member says EU rules pose bank run risks Francesco Guarascio 3 Min Read The European Central Bank (ECB) presents the new 50 euro note at the bank''s headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski TALLINN (Reuters) - European Union rules on winding down failing banks could increase the risk of bank runs, a former board member of the European Central Bank said, reigniting a debate triggered by the collapse of Spain’s Banco Popular. EU regulators shut Banco Popular, Spain’s sixth largest lender and saddled with a pile of bad loans, in June after it was fatally weakened by a sudden withdrawal of deposits. Its activities and insured depositors were acquired by rival Santander for the nominal price of 1 euro. That has prompted a debate on whether EU rules on bank resolutions - a mild liquidation - could have worsened Popular’s situation by contributed to the panic among its depositors. Popular’s case was the first time that the rules, in force for less than two years, had been applied. They envisage losses for savers with uninsured deposits - meaning those over 100,000 euros - before a failing bank can be rescued. “We should reflect on whether the resolution framework can accelerate bank runs,” Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, an ECB board member between 2004 and 2012, said in a contribution to Eurofi magazine, a financial publication. Gonzalez-Paramo, who is now on the board of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), also urged an alignment of rules to prevent different EU members treating failing banks differently. Weeks after Banco Popular was shut, Italy rescued two regional lenders, Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza, using liquidation rules instead of the stricter resolution framework. “We should avoid a better treatment in liquidation than in resolution,” Gonzalez-Paramo said. His comments come as EU finance ministers are gathered in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, for a regular monthly meeting. Banking liquidation rules are not on the agenda of the meeting, but talks are afoot elsewhere on amending them. Regulators are debating whether to exclude uninsured depositors from the list of bank investors liable for losses in case of a rescue. In parallel, EU states are also considering measures that would allow them to temporarily stop people withdrawing money from their accounts when a bank is in difficulty. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Kevin Liffey'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-bankruptcy/former-ecb-board-member-says-eu-rules-pose-bank-run-risks-idUKKCN1BQ1YO'|'2017-09-15T17:33:00.000+03:00'
'001a75ed82d82b0f3ad001879821b10b7023966f'|'Former F1 champion Niki Lauda eyes parts of Air Berlin'|'  7:08 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Former F1 champion Niki Lauda eyes parts of Air Berlin Reuters Staff 4 Min Read F1 - Formula One - British Grand Prix 2017 - Silverstone, Britain - July 14, 2017 Mercedes Formula One team chairman Niki Lauda REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff VIENNA/BERLIN (Reuters) - Three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda said he has partnered with holiday firm Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) German airline Condor to make a bid worth around 100 million euros (£90.12 million) for 38 Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) leased aircraft. Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, filed for insolvency last month after major shareholder Etihad withdrew funding following years of losses. Administrators are now seeking to sell the business, with bids due to be submitted by Friday. A decision on the bids will be taken on Sept. 25, the day after Germany’s national election and four days later than planned, Air Berlin said on Thursday. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government last month granted a 150 million-euro loan to prevent Air Berlin’s planes from being grounded, which would have stranded holidaymakers abroad and put around 8,000 jobs at risk. Most potential investors are seen as being interested primarily in Air Berlin’s roughly 140 leased aircraft and its airport landing and take-off slots rather than its operating business or employees. Lauda holds a 51 percent stake in a consortium with Condor which will bid for 21 leased Airbus A320 and A321 planes operated by Air Berlin’s Niki - the holiday airline which Lauda once owned - and 17 Air Berlin aircraft, he told Austrian newspaper Kurier on Wednesday. Asked how much he was willing to pay, Lauda told ORF radio on Thursday: “It depends very much on how the details are defined, but we are now offering around 100 million (euros).” Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser declined to comment. The company has previously said it is looking to play an active role in the Air Berlin sale. Two sources close to Condor cautioned, however, that no joint bid had yet been submitted. One of them said such an offer was unlikely to materialise while the other source said that Condor remained interested in a double-digit number of planes, including ones for long-haul routes. Austrian-based Niki has lower costs than Air Berlin and earlier this year it took over flying on popular routes from Germany to tourist destinations in Spain. Lauda and Condor would face competition from Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline. Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) plans to make an offer for up to 90 planes, including Niki’s fleet and 38 crewed planes it already leases from Air Berlin, a source told Reuters. British airline easyJet ( EZJ.L ) is also interested in up to 40 planes, according to previous media reports, and Sueddeutsche Zeitung said on Thursday easyJet was interested in Air Berlin’s regional unit Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (LGW). LGW currently operates 20 smaller Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) aircraft and its operating certificate is being changed so that it can fly the A320s used by easyJet, the newspaper said. No one at the British carrier was immediately available for comment on Thursday. Other interested parties include aviation industry investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl, who says he has submitted a bid for the whole of Air Berlin, while German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht and China’s LinkGlobal Logistics have also expressed their interest. Meanwhile the former head of German utility EnBW ( EBKG.DE ), Utz Claassen, has put up 100 million euros to buy the carrier and pledged another 600 million in liquidity, Handelsblatt newspaper said on Thursday. Reporting by Shadia Nasralla, Victoria Bryan, Georgina Prodhan and Andreas Cremer with additional reporting by Alistair Smout in London; Editing by Jason Neely, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airberlin-lufthansa-lauda/lauda-to-offer-ca-100-million-euro-with-thomas-cook-for-air-berlin-parts-idUKKCN1BP0PT'|'2017-09-14T19:21:00.000+03:00'
'd92c57ec2737f0adaf5e4469f1e0a4d766739fbd'|'Central bank says Otkritie falsified accounts with eurobonds'|'Central bank says Otkritie falsified accounts with eurobonds Failed Russian lender held securities at ‘inflated prices’ to ‘sugarcoat financials’ Read next by Max Seddon in Moscow Listen to this article Play audio for this article Pause 00:00 00:00 Otkritie, the country’s largest private lender until regulators stepped in to save it last month, falsified its accounts through a gigantic eurobond purchase, the governor of the Central Bank of Russia said on Thursday. Elvira Nabiullina told reporters that Otkritie used its 2015 purchase of Rbs740bn in Russia’s 2030 eurobond — three-quarters of the total issuance — to hide its troubled finances. Holding so much of the eurobond issue essentially allowed Otkritie to set its own valuations for the bonds, analysts say. “The bank often acted with an eye on short-term returns without understanding what it was doing in the long term,” Ms Nabiullina said. “The paper was held [on Otkritie’s books] at an inflated price, which allowed the bank to sugarcoat its financials by manipulating the market price.” Ms Nabiullina also said the central bank would sue to recover bonuses paid to Otkritie’s management in the weeks before its collapse. She said the payments “could be interpreted as asset stripping.” A spokesman for Otkritie Bank declined to comment. A spokesman for its former holding company and its former chief executive Alexei Karakhan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The central bank stepped in last month to halt what would have been one of Russia’s largest ever bank collapses, after depositors withdrew 30 per cent of Otkritie’s assets over the summer. A newly established state rescue fund is taking 75 per cent of the equity and plans to run the lender for up to a year. Ms Nabiullina said Otkritie’s status as a “systemically important bank” meant the central bank had to step in. “Otkritie’s situation has an effect on many banks, and not just banks, but pension funds and insurance companies,” she said. Otkritie has a balance sheet hole of up to Rbs400bn, according to the central bank’s preliminary estimate. The final sum could be as much as double that, according to several senior state bankers. The bank’s former chairman, Ruben Aganbegyan, has left along with all but two of its senior executives, Otkritie said on Thursday. Since Ms Nabiullina became governor in 2013, the central bank has shut down more than 300 insolvent lenders. Early estimates of failed banks’ balance sheet holes often shoot up months later after a temporary administration period allows regulators time to probe the banks’ accounts. On Thursday, the central bank said that Yugra, the largest bank to go under this year, had an Rbs86bn hole — 12 times more than initially estimated. Otkritie was the first lender to be rescued by the central bank’s new fund. Ms Nabiullina said she intended to sell the bank on the market after the administration period ended “in a few months”. Ms Nabiullina said that when the central bank returned Otkritie to private ownership, it planned to appoint Mikhail Zadornov, a respected executive at state-run bank VTB, as chief executive. Mr Zadornov was finance minister during Russia’s default in 1998, and then won praise for creating VTB24, a retail bank that is being absorbed into VTB. “It’s a good challenge, plus he gets independence,” one of the people said. He will shift from VTB to Otkritie in the new year. VTB, which owns 10 per cent of the bank’s former parent company Otkritie Holding, played a key role in its rise from minnow to Russia’s largest private lender by assets in just a few years. VTB financed a 2012 acquisition that shot Otkritie into the top 10, then organised a massive repo deal to refinance state-run oil company Rosneft that saw Otkritie take its stake in the 2030 eurobonds. But the central bank’s slowness to react to the eurobond purchase raises questions about its regulation, a senior state banker said. “There was no way [the central bank] couldn’t have understood that the price was wrong,” the person said. Mr Zadornov said that VTB and Otkritie’s other shareholders were likely to lose the remainder of their stake once the central bank confirmed the hole in the balance sheet. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t copy articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/087a1018-9946-11e7-b83c-9588e51488a0'|'2017-09-14T18:31:00.000+03:00'
'fea42453390e93b59530613eff88e0ad330d4b62'|'Bunge to buy 70 percent stake in IOI Corp unit for $946 million'|'(Reuters) - Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) said it would buy a 70 percent stake in IOI Loders Croklaan from Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Corp Berhad ( IOIB.KL ) for $946 million, as a plan to invest in higher-margin businesses such as food ingredients and natural flavorings.Shares of Bunge, which rebuffed a takeover approach from rival Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ) in May, were down 5.8 percent at $71.33 in morning trading on Tuesday.Massive global grain stockpiles and low prices following four years of bumper harvests around the world have dragged down profits at Bunge and other grains traders.The announcement comes a month after Bunge reported a 34-percent drop in quarterly earnings and slashed its full-year outlook.In July, White Plains, New York-based Bunge said it was restructuring its global operations in response to tough market conditions.The plan by Bunge to acquire a controlling stake in the Malaysian company''s unit IOI Loders was after a period of talks between the companies, IOI Corp said in a statement on Tuesday. ( bit.ly/2jlmvm4 )Initial discussions with IOI Loders started 2 years ago, Bunge said.The deal will help Bunge build a higher margins oil portfolio, Bunge Chief Executive Soren Schroder said on a conference call.“In a short-time our global oil business will double in earnings...” Schroder said.The agricultural commodities trader also said it was looking at more opportunities in the edible oil sector, but not of the same magnitude.IOI Loders has a portfolio that includes palm and tropical oil-derived products. Palm oil is also the most widely used edible oil in the world, found in everything from margarine to cookies and soap.IOI, which bought Loders Croklaan in 2002 from Unilever ( UNc.AS ) ( ULVR.L ), said it expected to record a gain of about 2.5 billion ringgit ($594.39 million) from the sale, according to a filing with the Malaysian Stock Exchange.IOI Corp also said it will use half the proceeds from the sale to repay borrowings, and the other half for dividend payments and working capital.The deal is expected to close in the next 12 months and IOI Loders will retain its brand and operate as part of Bunge’s food & ingredients business, Bunge said.The transaction is expected to lead to $15 million in cost cuts in the first year alone, according to Bunge.J.P. Morgan was Bunge’s financial adviser and Shearman & Sterling is acting as its legal counsel.AmInvestment Bank acted as principal adviser for IOI.Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr, Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ioi-loders-croklaan-stake-bunge/bunge-to-buy-70-percent-stake-in-ioi-group-unit-for-946-million-idINKCN1BN18B'|'2017-09-12T09:02:00.000+03:00'
'bec75688f6d69002a15fed8e68f9a9e37825b67d'|'Cryptocurrency chaos as China cracks down on ICOs'|'FILE PHOTO: A Bitcoin (virtual currency) coin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration/File Photo SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s move last week to ban initial coin offerings (ICO) has caused chaos among start-ups looking to raise money through the novel fund-raising scheme, prompting halts, about-turns and re-thinks.China is cracking down on fundraising through launches of token-based digital currencies, targeting ICOs in a market that has ballooned this year in what has been a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs.The boom has fuelled a jump in the value of cryptocurrencies, but raised fears of a potential bubble.“This is not unlike the dotcom bubble of 2000,” said a partner at a venture capital fund in Shanghai, who didn’t want to be named because of the issue’s sensitivity. “There are a lot of companies raising a lot of money for not very good ideas, and these will eventually be weeded out. But even from the big dotcom bust, you still have gems.”“One of the reasons regulators stepped in was that the ICO fever extended beyond the traditional crypto community. The timing was an attempt to pre-empt this before it goes into a much broader mass market in China,” the partner said.Investors in China contributed up to 2.6 billion yuan ($394 million) worth of cryptocurrencies through ICOs in January-June, according to a state-run media report citing National Committee of Experts on Internet Financial Security Technology data.Pre-ICO roadshows featuring elaborate standing room-only presentations at 5-star hotels drew a diverse crowd, including grandmothers - a likely tipping point for regulators.The hype and subsequent crackdown came as China focuses on economic and social stability ahead of next month’s congress of the Communist Party, a once-in-five-years event.Beijing is also waging a broader campaign against fraudulent fundraising and speculative investment, which analysts attribute to China’s underdeveloped financial regulation and lack of legitimate investment options.While several start-ups said the exuberance had got out of control and they had expected Beijing to act, they said last week’s move panicked investors and caused confusion.Mi Huijin, for example, said he had just got off a train to Shanghai after closing a deal for his Singpay blockchain start-up when he switched on his phone to a flood of messages about the ban. He summoned the host of a popular live-stream channel to the railway station to calm his followers in a 40-minute broadcast.“Everyone shouldn’t panic. If you’ve nothing to be guilty of what’s there to be scared of?” he told the roughly 800,000 viewers. “After reviewing the regulations, I feel it’s a good thing.”Not everyone was convinced. While some comments below his video asked if Singpay would offer refunds, others warned that some users had reported the start-up to police.China’s position - which differs from regulators elsewhere, who say ICOs may be securities and thus subject to regulation - remains open to interpretation.Hu Bin, deputy director of the finance institute at the China Academy of Social Sciences, an institution directly under the State Council, or cabinet, has said this is a “stop on ICOs, not a ban. What are we stopping? Illegal ICOs.”Hu said China recognised there is real demand for ICOs, but wants to prevent them being used for speculation.FILE PHOTO: Cryptocurrencies are seen on a website that tracks the value of initial coin offerings (ICO) in this illustration photo taken September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo “It’s entirely proper for the Chinese government to seek protection for consumers and prevent fraud, (but) confining capital raising to a specific established sector of finance ... is to ignore the enormous societal value that blockchain technology can present,” said Alex Bessonov of BitClave, a Silicon Valley-based blockchain company, which, he said, is now discouraging Chinese investors.CANCELLED ICOS, RETURNED TOKENS Li Yuan, CEO of Selfsell, a start-up hoping to build a platform for retail investors, said he had to cancel a planned ICO for last week, and return all pledged coins.For those who already conducted their ICO, things are even more complicated.Da Hongfei, founder of Neo, a public blockchain which raised 30 million yuan ($4.65 million) through an ICO last year, said it was extending to next month an offer for participants to return their Neo coins in exchange for bitcoin.While the government announcement appeared to require all funds be returned to investors, Da said he can’t force people to exchange their tokens as they would lose out at bitcoin’s current rate. Bitcoin traded around $4,350 on Tuesday, according to Bitstamp, down from nearly $5,000 earlier this month.Slideshow (2 Images) “We offer the option, but we can’t point a gun at the user and ask them to refund,” Da said.That said, nearly all the ICO organisers interviewed by Reuters agreed the ICO market was getting out of control and needed change.More than 100,000 investors acquired new cryptocurrencies through 65 ICOs in January-June - a frenzy that attracted both investors seeking a quick trading profit and individuals and firms able to raise funds with little more than a plan and a website.“Many people have not been very discerning on whether the project is actually good or bad,” said Daniel Wang, founder of blockchain start-up Loopring, adding he asked Chinese ICO investors to return their tokens, though it’s difficult to recall tokens already trading on the secondary market.PLATFORMS IN LIMBO Indeed, the ban has left around five dozen platforms in China - websites that promote and list the tokens, usually in return for money or a portion of the offering, so they can be traded - in limbo.More than 40, including ICO365 and Bitbays, have shut down or suspended new ICO activity. Some also took their websites offline.Binance, which said that over 80 percent of its users were based overseas, said it would restrict all Chinese IP addresses from trading.For those companies serious about raising funds, there are other options.Xiaoning Li, CEO of VCCoin, said he returned 2,000 bitcoins to investors and was figuring out what to do next. “We have angel investors. We will probably still do an ICO, but have to look at where and how to do it,” he told Reuters.The co-founder of another platform said they were re-thinking their strategy outside China, and “will shift our focus to markets which are not banning ICOs, but rather trying to put in place higher standards and regulatory supervision” - such as the United States, Canada and Singapore.Reporting by Brenda Goh and Elias Glenn, with additional reporting and writing by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-finance-digital-ico-analysis/cryptocurrency-chaos-as-china-cracks-down-on-icos-idINKCN1BN34C'|'2017-09-13T02:12:00.000+03:00'
'28c6fcf92c72534c7606dd6f5126aa82fa12129e'|'UPDATE 1-European panel backs Janssen''s psoriasis drug'|'(Reuters) - A European Medicines Agency (EMA) panel recommended the approval of Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen’s drug, guselkumab, for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in adults.Guselkumab, which will be marketed as Tremfya, will be used to treat adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory disorder that results in sometimes painful, unsightly scaly and inflamed patches on the skin.The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CMPH) said the drug’s benefits were its ability to inhibit the inflammation and clinical symptoms associated with the disorder.CMPH’s opinions are normally endorsed by the European Commission within a couple of months.The drug, which Janssen had licensed from German biotech group Morphosys, got the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s blessing in July.The drug is administered by injection and will be an alternative for patients who do not respond to existing treatments, Janssen had said.Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and additional reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-morphosys-psoriasis/european-panel-recommends-approval-of-jjs-psoriasis-drug-idUSKCN1BQ1KF'|'2017-09-15T15:40:00.000+03:00'
'5e8de96b9c2a17cc0e82619834b9d6357808f4ad'|'China moves towards banning the internal combustion engine'|'“A DEFINING moment for the auto industry.” That is how usually restrained analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, described the news that China’s government wants to move towards a ban on gas guzzlers. On September 9th, Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, told an automotive conference in Tianjin, a grimy industrial city near Beijing, that the government is developing a long-term plan to phase out vehicles powered by fossil fuels.The news reverberated around car firms, for which China is the largest market. William Russo of China’s Gao Feng Advisory, a consultancy, who was previously a senior executive at Chrysler, says China is simply far too big to lose out on. “If China says no more fossil-fuel powered cars, global carmakers must follow.” 9 12 18 18 No timeline for a ban was suggested. China already has ambitious medium-term goals for automotive efficiency and climate change, including a cap on carbon emissions by 2030. Experts reckon this new ban might come into force around then. It is unclear whether the ban will include only pure-petrol cars or also plug-in hybrids that combine petrol engines with electric motors.Mr Xin’s news came just before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show, a spiritual home of conventional cars. Many attendees were sceptical. Despite much talk about national bans—this year Britain and France have said that by 2040 new cars completely reliant on petrol or diesel will be illegal—no country has passed concrete legislation to implement a ban, some noted. Others saw opportunity. Thierry Bolloré, chief competitive officer at Renault, the French arm of Renault-Nissan, a Franco-Japanese giant, says his firm is well prepared to start making electric vehicles (EVs) in China.Western firms are not going to get things their own way, however. China’s government is getting better at boosting its own EV manufacturers after years of giving out ill-considered subsidies and setting unrealistic sales targets. Local manufacturers have not been able to match the quality and innovation of petrol-fuelled cars produced by Western rivals. But China has advantages when it comes to electrification and connected cars. It has many inventive internet companies, is home to some of the world’s biggest battery producers and is at the centre of electronics manufacturing.BYD, a Chinese automotive firm in which Warren Buffett has a stake, has dramatically improved the quality of its EVs and car batteries, and is making a push abroad. A new generation of inventive, venture-backed EV firms like ThunderPower and Nio are making a splash at global auto shows. The electrification of transport could give Chinese carmakers and suppliers a chance to change from also-rans into champions. "Zooming ahead"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728980-its-government-developing-plan-phase-out-vehicles-powered-fossil-fuels-china-moves?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'3121ec1900fc360e24660bac5510a7ecc3df3c18'|'EU set to demand Internet firms act faster to remove illegal content'|'  12:31 PM / 20 minutes ago EU set to demand Internet firms act faster to remove illegal content Julia Fioretti 4 Min Read An illustration picture shows a man starting his Twitter App on a mobile device in Hanau near Frankfurt, October 21, 2013. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Companies including Google ( GOOGL.O ), Facebook ( FB.O ) and Twitter ( TWTR.N ) could face European Union laws forcing them to be more proactive in removing illegal content if they do not do more to police what is available on the Internet. The European Union executive outlined in draft guidelines reviewed by Reuters how Internet firms should step up efforts with measures such as establishing trusted flaggers and taking voluntary measures to detect and remove illegal content. Proliferating illegal content, whether because it infringes copyright or incites terrorism, has sparked heated debate in Europe between those who want online platforms to do more to tackle it and those who fear it could impinge on free speech. The companies have significantly stepped up efforts to tackle the problem of late, agreeing to an EU code of conduct to remove hate speech within 24 hours and forming a global working group to combine their efforts remove terrorist content from their platforms. Existing EU legislation shields online platforms from liability for the content that is posted on their websites, limiting how far policymakers can force companies, who are not required to actively monitor what goes online, to act. “Online platforms need to significantly step up their actions to address this problem,” the draft EU guidelines say. “They need to be proactive in weeding out illegal content, put effective notice-and-action procedures in place, and establish well-functioning interfaces with third parties (such as trusted flaggers) and give a particular priority to notifications from national law enforcement authorities.” TRUSTED FLAGGERS The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake The guidelines, expected to be published at the end of the month, are non-binding but further legislation is not ruled out by Spring 2018, depending on progress made by the companies. However, a Commission source said any legislation would not change the liability exemption for online platforms in EU law. A spokesman for Twitter had no comment on the draft but pointed to the company’s latest data on its efforts to tackle abuse showing it was taking action on ten times the number of abusive accounts every day compared to the same time last year. Facebook and Google declined to comment. The Commission wants the companies to develop “trusted flaggers” - experienced bodies with expertise in identifying illegal content - whose notifications would be given high priority and could lead to the automatic removal of content. It also encourages web companies to publish transparency reports with detailed information on the number and type of notices received and actions taken and says the Commission will explore options to standardise such transparency reports. The guidelines also contain safeguards against excessive removal of content, such as giving its owners a right to contest such a decision. The Commission wants companies to hone technology used to automatically detect illegal content so that the volume which needs to be reviewed by a human before being deemed illegal can be narrowed down. Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Alexander Smith and Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-internet-illegal/eu-set-to-demand-internet-firms-act-faster-to-remove-illegal-content-idUKKCN1BO1IH'|'2017-09-14T00:09:00.000+03:00'
'a8bb2fb13050fd0502866340d037f6f667c16171'|'Facebook won''t make cars, Sandberg reassures Germany'|'September 14, 2017 / 12:38 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Facebook won''t make cars, Sandberg reassures Germany Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg speaks during the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 14, 2017. FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Facebook’s ( FB.O ) Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg went on a charm offensive in Germany on Thursday, telling the country’s powerful automakers that the world’s biggest social network does not want to compete with them. “I come with very good news. We’re the only company in Silicon Valley that’s not building a car,” Sandberg said to laughter and applause at the opening ceremony of the Frankfurt motor show, where she met German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Facebook is sponsoring a “new mobility world” at the Frankfurt show that brings together carmakers, tech companies and start-ups in areas such as autonomous driving and electric cars. Sandberg’s visit to Germany comes after the country’s parliament passed a law in June to introduce fines of up to 50 million euros (£45.06 million) for social media networks if they fail to remove hateful postings promptly. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg speaks during the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski On Wednesday - when Sandberg was attending a marketing conference in Germany - Facebook tightened its rules on who can make money from advertising on its network to make it harder for providers of fake news and sensational headlines to cash in. Facebook also said on Wednesday it would step up its monitoring of hate speech, adding 3,000 content reviewers to nearly double the size of its existing team. Slideshow (2 Images) “We take our responsibility to the people who use our products, to the countries in which we work like Germany, to society at large, very seriously,” Sandberg said on Thursday. Sandberg announced that Facebook will join an urban mobility test project in Munich with carmakers and start-ups and said it will also sponsor a new university in Berlin focused on digital product development. Facebook, which has about 30 million active users in Germany out of a population of 80 million, has run a major advertising campaign in the country in recent weeks in an attempt to address concerns about privacy and control of personal data. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-germany/facebook-wont-make-cars-sandberg-reassures-germany-idUKKCN1BP1NX'|'2017-09-14T15:38:00.000+03:00'
'4fe2a623f551b6d3da0972703bb63b6053380029'|'States suing Trump administration over delayed fuel-economy fines'|'September 11, 2017 / 2:40 PM / Updated 3 hours ago States suing Trump administration over delayed fuel-economy fines David Shepardson 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York, California and three other U.S. states on Monday are suing the federal government for delaying the rollout of higher “gas-guzzler” penalties for automakers building new vehicles failing to meet minimum fuel-economy standards. The suit, which also includes Vermont, Maryland and Pennsylvania, is the highest-profile legal challenge to Trump administration vehicle policy to date. As part of a broad deregulation push under President Donald Trump, regulators are debating whether to grant automakers significant reductions in fuel economy requirements. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement that fuel efficient cars mean “cleaner air, better overall health for our children, and savings at the pump... We will hold the Trump Administration accountable.” Reuters reviewed a copy of the suit ahead of its filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. The challenge by the states follows a separate suit filed by three environmental groups over the delay. The states and environmental groups are challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) decision in July to suspend a 2016 Obama administration regulation that more than doubled penalties. Automakers protested the hike, saying it could increase industry compliance costs by $1 billion annually. Congress in 2015 ordered federal agencies to adjust civil penalties to account for inflation and, in response, NHTSA proposed to raise fines to $14 from $5.50 for every 0.1 mile per gallon of fuel that new cars and trucks consume in excess of required standards under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program. “State attorneys general have made clear: we won’t hesitate to act when those we serve are put at risk,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. In June, Schneiderman and 12 other state AGs vowed to take legal action to block rolling back vehicle emission requirements. In March, Trump ordered a review of U.S. vehicle fuel-efficiency standards from 2022-2025 put in place by the Obama administration, saying they were too tough. NHTSA has said the increases would potentially result in an additional $30 million in annual civil penalties. Automakers argue the increases would dramatically raise costs, since they would also boost the value of fuel economy credits used to meet requirements. Some automakers historically have opted to pay fines instead of meeting fuel efficiency requirements - including some luxury automakers. Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India’s Tata Motors, and Daimler AG paid the most in fines in recent years. NHTSA said in July many automakers were falling behind current fuel standards and face “the possibility of paying larger CAFE penalties over the next several years.”'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-vehicles-suit/states-suing-trump-administration-over-delayed-fuel-economy-fines-idUSKCN1BM1WL'|'2017-09-11T22:40:00.000+03:00'
'8ea96764cc931f15427ffd50d0c64754815d7422'|'Vivendi notified Italy government about its holding in Telecom Italia: source'|'A woman walks walk past the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate Vivendi''s headquarters in Paris April 8, 2015. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) notified the Italian government on Friday about its holding in Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) as required by the authorities, a source close to the matter said.The French media group has built up a 24 percent stake in Telecom Italia since 2015, becoming its number one shareholder and raising concerns in Italy about its growing influence on the former monopoly.Under an Italian decree adopted in March 2012, any investor who buys stakes in companies deemed of strategic importance for the country must notify the government within 10 days or face a fine.“This notification, made voluntarily, which no other investor was compelled to do before, was made in a spirit of collaboration with the Italian government,” the source said.Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by Maya Nikolaeva '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-vivendi-telecom-italia/vivendi-notified-italy-government-about-its-holding-in-telecom-italia-source-idINKCN1BQ2EI'|'2017-09-15T15:13:00.000+03:00'
'd9e1b13b16330c843ef42a09bd972397fbee82f8'|'UK watchdog rejects call to publish RBS report in full'|'September 14, 2017 / 11:04 PM / Updated 12 hours ago FCA rejects call to publish RBS report in full Huw Jones 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) bank is seen reflected in the windows of a branch of the bank in the City of London financial district in London September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s markets watchdog has rejected calls to publish a report into allegations Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) bankrupted small companies to pick up their assets on the cheap, saying it would instead release a detailed summary soon. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) refusal to publish the report sets it up for a public clash with parliament’s Treasury Select Committee (TSC) next month, which had wanted the report published because it has already been leaked to the BBC. The refusal was criticised by firms seeking compensation from RBS. The FCA commissioned consultants Promontory in January 2014 to look into allegations that RBS’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG) pushed some of its small business customers into bankruptcy in the aftermath of the financial crisis that began a decade ago. FCA Chief Executive Andrew Bailey said in a letter made public by the TSC on Friday that it was not in the public interest to publish in full because such “Section 166” reports were conducted on the basis they would be kept private. Bailey said the FCA would publish a detailed summary and in a form that won’t need “Maxwellisation”, a legal requirement to give RBS and Promontory a chance to respond, a process that has taken years with some official reports in the past. The detailed summary is largely ready for publication once the FCA has decided whether it should formally investigate RBS or individuals, Bailey said. ”I believe that we are near to reaching a conclusion on whether a formal investigation is called for, having undertaken work to build on the S166 report, Bailey said. The FCA published a “high-level” summary last year, and permission from RBS and Promontory would be needed before publishing the detailed summary. The BBC reported in August that only 10 percent of firms placed in the recovery group returned intact to the main RBS bank. UNCONSCIONABLE New TSC Chair Nicky Morgan said on Friday in response to Bailey’s letter that the leak of a report the watchdog has had for almost a year has fuelled confusion over what really happened to GRG customers. The committee recognised that such reports were normally not intended for publication, but given it was now in the hands of several third parties, publication was overwhelmingly in the public interest, she said. “Following my letter to Mr Bailey earlier this month, Committee colleagues and I have been overwhelmed by messages from those who consider that their businesses and livelihoods were destroyed by RBS’ GRG. Those affected have a right to know what really happened,” Morgan added. “The Committee is due to see the FCA next month, and I have no doubt that these issues will be raised.” The RBS-GRG Business Action Group, which represents hundreds of GRG customers seeking compensation, said the refusal to publish is “shocking and unconscionable”, and that Bailey should step aside. The all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking and finance said it was “outrageous” the FCA has refused to publish the report, saying it “smacks of a cover up” and called on the watchdog to reconsider its position. The group’s vice chair Norman Lamb said he would ask Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond to intervene. The Federation of Small Businesses said companies who had their livelihoods taken away deserve the truth, an apology, and the evidence they need to secure compensation. State-backed RBS, which had no comment, has admitted some wrongdoing over its handling of small businesses, but has said there was no evidence it pushed companies into bankruptcy. Promontory referred all questions to the FCA. The FCA is investigating the leak of the report and has told RBS and Promontory to do likewise. Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rbs-regulator-report/uk-watchdog-rejects-call-to-publish-rbs-report-in-full-idUKKCN1BP385'|'2017-09-15T02:04:00.000+03:00'
'703707e9e1134849f782e7f0c3b550a3cf2ce74b'|'RPT-Small creditors use India''s new bankruptcy rules to put the squeeze on big players'|'(This is a repeat of an item issued on Friday)By Devidutta Tripathy and Abhirup RoyMUMBAI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - In late June, one of India’s top wind power equipment makers, Inox Wind Ltd, was dragged into insolvency courts by a logistics handler over unpaid dues of $88,000. Two weeks on, the matter was settled, with dues paid off.The case illustrates how small creditors and vendors, previously at the mercy of large debtors, are now using India’s new bankruptcy code as a pressure ploy to secure payment of dues that would earlier have been all but impossible to recover.India overhauled bankruptcy laws last year with the main goal of helping banks tackle a $150-billion bad loan issue that is crimping growth in the economy.Less than a year on, insolvency professionals say it is vendors and small suppliers, also referred to as operational creditors, who are using the new rules as leverage to recover dues much more effectively than banks owed far larger sums.“It is not necessarily a negative thing, but it was not the objective of the new code,” said Ashish Chhawchharia, a partner at Grant Thornton who works on insolvency cases.The new rules give any creditor owed 100,000 rupees ($1,560) the right to drag a multi-billion dollar company to court.They lay out a stringent timeline for resolution, or force debtors into automatic liquidation, giving outsize influence to vendors and suppliers who would normally rank well below secured financial creditors, such as lender banks, in any bankruptcy process.But they have also stirred fears of a tsunami of cases jeopardising the plans of banks with billions of dollars at stake, and which are forced to join such proceedings.“If an operational creditor initiates a process, that basically brings in unwilling financial creditors, even if they do not deem it the right time or course of action,” said leading insolvency lawyer Sumant Batra.The court that handles such bankruptcy cases, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), should first test the intent of any operational creditor making a bankruptcy plea, he added.“NCLT has to hold an enquiry at the beginning to determine whether this has been filed only for recovery of debt, or whether this has been actually filed for a resolution or a liquidation process.”ERICSSON-RCOM Swedish telecom equipment firm Ericsson became the first high-profile foreign vendor to use the tool, filing a petition this week to drag Indian telecom carrier Reliance Communications to insolvency courts over unpaid dues of $180 million.By comparison, RCom, as the company is widely known, owes nearly $7 billion to its banks, who have agreed to a standstill over its servicing obligations until year end, while the company attempts to restructure.RCom said it plans to challenge the Ericsson plea.About 1,000 insolvency petitions have been triggered since early 2017, when the first case was admitted under the new rules, but consultant EY estimates about 80 percent of these were withdrawn following out-of-court settlements.About 60 percent of the cases brought to the NCLT are initiated by operational creditors, industry estimates show.Sanjay Ruia, a Mumbai chartered accountant who took a holiday tour operator to bankruptcy court over unpaid audit and advisory fees, said the law had made it easier for creditors like himself who would formerly have struggled to recover dues.Still, many fear the arm-twisting tactics could make life tougher for secured financial creditors, who must make steep balance-sheet provisions for loans to borrower firms entangled in bankruptcy proceedings.For its part, Inox Wind, which settled the dispute with the logistics firm, remains a “solvent company with excellent financial health” and has been regular in servicing all commitments to its lenders, it said in a statement in July. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy and Abhirup Roy; Editing by Euan Rocha and Clarence Fernandez) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-bankruptcy/rpt-small-creditors-use-indias-new-bankruptcy-rules-to-put-the-squeeze-on-big-players-idINL4N1LW4QU'|'2017-09-17T13:02:00.000+03:00'
'08da73a1cb23086f627d407c5719f4a8f906e0ad'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar index down for tenth day running'|'  2:21 PM / Updated 7 hours ago MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar index down for tenth day running Reuters Staff * Foreign funds continue to exit Qatar * UAE’s Dana Gas slumps ahead of London court hearing * Saudi index supported by petrochemicals gains * Bank Aljazira rises after Fitch affirms credit rating * Egypt’s El Sewedy Electric shines on solar plant deal By Celine Aswad DUBAI, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Qatar’s stock index fell for a tenth straight session on Sunday as talk of dispute negotiations fails to sway investors, while strong oil prices boosted the Saudi Arabia market. On Friday Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said his country was ready to sit at the negotiating table to try to end its diplomatic dispute with Gulf Arab neighbours. But in the absence of any positive response from the Saudi-led coalition that is boycotting Qatar, investors did not take the remarks as a sign that the dispute was moving closer to resolution. “There is too much uncertainty around Qatar right now, and the full extent of how hard those companies have been hurt by this crisis is yet to be known,” one Paris-based fund manager said. Qatar’s index fell 0.4 percent to 8,375 points, but closed 62 points above the session low. The index has lost 6.3 percent over 10 sessions. Doha Bank dropped 2.6 percent. Last week sources told Reuters the bank had cut about 10 jobs in the United Arab Emirates and planned to put some staff on unpaid leave because of the hit to its business from the diplomatic dispute. The bank said the information was incorrect but declined to elaborate. Foreign investors remained net sellers of Qatari stocks by a ratio of almost three to two, bourse data showed. In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas plunged by 6 percent and accounted for more than 70 percent of total market volume, dragging down the index by 0.8 percent. Dana rose last week after its Islamic bond holders proposed a deal to end a dispute over its refusal to redeem $700 million of maturing sukuk. But Dana rejected the proposal and a London High Court hearing on the dispute is due to start this week. The Dubai index fell 0.7 percent in thin trade. Union Properties, the most heavily traded stock, lost 1.1 percent. In Saudi Arabia, the index rose 0.4 percent as all but three of the 14 listed petrochemical shares rose after Brent oil closed near a five-month peak above $55 a barrel on Friday. Saudi Kayan Petrochemical added 2 percent. Banking shares were also generally strong, with Bank Aljazira climbing 3.9 percent after ratings agency Fitch affirmed the lender’s BBB+ credit rating with a stable outlook. Newly listed Zahrat Al Waha, which makes plastic bottle caps and other products, rose as much as 9.6 percent from its initial public offer price of 51.0 riyals on its first day of trade but closed 3.5 percent lower. Egypt’s index closed flat, with Juhayna Food Industries down 1.4 percent after declaring a cash dividend of 0.15 Egyptian pounds for the latest period. El Sewedy Electric jumped by 7.1 percent on news that the company had signed a 25-year agreement with the government of Egypt to build, own and operate a 65 megawatt solar power plant. HIGHLIGHTS * The index rose 0.4 percent to 7,403 points. DUBAI * The index lost 0.7 percent to 3,632 points. ABU DHABI * The index fell 0.8 percent to 4,447 points. QATAR * The index lost 0.4 percent to 8,375 points. EGYPT * The index edged up by 0.01 percent to 13,613 points. KUWAIT * The index edged down by 0.03 percent to 6,912 points. BAHRAIN * The index slipped by 0.3 percent to 1,300 points. OMAN'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks/mideast-stocks-qatar-index-down-for-tenth-day-running-idUSL5N1LY0HM'|'2017-09-17T17:20:00.000+03:00'
'f64390695e60ed99c260e99cba83803d93801ac8'|'China moves towards banning the internal combustion engine'|'“A DEFINING moment for the auto industry.” That is how usually restrained analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, described the news that China’s government wants to move towards a ban on gas guzzlers. On September 9th, Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, told an automotive conference in Tianjin, a grimy industrial city near Beijing, that the government is developing a long-term plan to phase out vehicles powered by fossil fuels.The news reverberated around car firms, for which China is the largest market. William Russo of China’s Gao Feng Advisory, a consultancy, who was previously a senior executive at Chrysler, says China is simply far too big to lose out on. “If China says no more fossil-fuel powered cars, global carmakers must follow.” 18 No timeline for a ban was suggested. China already has ambitious medium-term goals for automotive efficiency and climate change, including a cap on carbon emissions by 2030. Experts reckon this new ban might come into force around then. It is unclear whether the ban will include only pure-petrol cars or also plug-in hybrids that combine petrol engines with electric motors.Mr Xin’s news came just before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show, a spiritual home of conventional cars. Many attendees were sceptical. Despite much talk about national bans—this year Britain and France have said that by 2040 new cars completely reliant on petrol or diesel will be illegal—no country has passed concrete legislation to implement a ban, some noted. Others saw opportunity. Thierry Bolloré, chief competitive officer at Renault, the French arm of Renault-Nissan, a Franco-Japanese giant, says his firm is well prepared to start making electric vehicles (EVs) in China.Western firms are not going to get things their own way, however. China’s government is getting better at boosting its own EV manufacturers after years of giving out ill-considered subsidies and setting unrealistic sales targets. Local manufacturers have not been able to match the quality and innovation of petrol-fuelled cars produced by Western rivals. But China has advantages when it comes to electrification and connected cars. It has many inventive internet companies, is home to some of the world’s biggest battery producers and is at the centre of electronics manufacturing.BYD, a Chinese automotive firm in which Warren Buffett has a stake, has dramatically improved the quality of its EVs and car batteries, and is making a push abroad. A new generation of inventive, venture-backed EV firms like ThunderPower and Nio are making a splash at global auto shows. The electrification of transport could give Chinese carmakers and suppliers a chance to change from also-rans into champions. Business "Zooming ahead"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728980-its-government-developing-plan-phase-out-vehicles-powered-fossil-fuels-china-moves?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'934a8e3dfb08e2d82f2d54943cb517cd84900a44'|'Australian regulator ''not scared'' of taking on any entity, says banks very powerful'|'September 12, 2017 / 4:04 AM / a minute ago Australian regulator ''not scared'' of taking on any entity, says banks very powerful Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Greg Medcraft, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), speaks at a panel of regulators in Sydney, Australia, September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s corporate regulator on Tuesday took aim at the nation’s four major banks, saying they are very powerful with “a lot of hubris” and are not used to be taken on by regulators. Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Chairman Greg Medcraft, who was speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Sydney, said he is “not scared of anybody.” Medcraft emphasized the need for bigger penalties for white collar criminals. “I think they are not being used to taken on,” he said. A 2014 Senate Inquiry stated that ASIC is perceived to be “timid” and “hesitant”. It is also seen as weaker compared to Western regulators in terms of the small fines it levies and other penalties it imposes. ASIC is now trying to rebuild confidence, in part by taking three of Australia’s biggest banks - ANZ Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ), Westpac Banking Corp ( WBC.AX ) and National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ) - to court after failing to reach a settlement over allegations of benchmark interest rate rigging. The latest incident to rock Australia’s highly profitable “Big Four” banks is potentially the worst, with CBA accused last month by the nation’s financial intelligence agency of allowing criminals to launder millions of dollars. “I think the big banks are extremely powerful in this country,” Medcraft said. “When I became chairman I decided we need to build a war chest to take on big cases...I am not scared of anybody.” Medcraft’s tenure at ASIC expires in November. Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-regulator/australian-regulator-not-scared-of-taking-on-any-entity-says-banks-very-powerful-idUKKCN1BN0AV'|'2017-09-12T06:55:00.000+03:00'
'b623d097652ab8d565345806a0887fb26c1e8df3'|'Ukraine won''t rule out legal action against PwC over Privatbank'|' 33 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Ukraine won''t rule out legal action against PwC over Privatbank Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Ukraine''s finance minister Oleksandr Danylyuk speaks to a Reuters journalist during an interview in London, Britain July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Ukraine has not ruled out legal action against the local unit of the PwC consultancy in order to recoup some of the costs of bailing out lender Privatbank which had been audited by the firm, Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk told Reuters. Kiev has withdrawn PwC’s right to audit Ukrainian banks as punishment for what the central bank says was its failure to flag risky lending practices at the country’s largest lender, PrivatBank. PwC has said the ban is unjustified. Ukraine took over Privatbank in December after finding a capital shortfall of more than $5.5 billion. Its nationalisation has so far cost taxpayers $4.3 billion, but an Ernst and Young audit of the lender’s 2016 annual report showed additional funds worth $1.5 billion were needed to meet capital adequacy requirements. “We invested so much of taxpayers’ money into Privatbank and we are looking for ways to recoup the losses. If PwC played some role, they should be held liable for that as well,” Danylyuk told Reuters late on Monday after a meeting with investors in London. Asked if the government planned legal action against PwC he said nothing had been prepared as yet but added: “At the moment I just don’t exclude this ... not because we are preparing something, but I just understand the significance of the nationalisation and the responsibility that we have taken, and that would mean that we are asking questions.” The central bank estimates that 97 percent of PrivatBank’s corporate loans had gone to companies linked to its shareholders, who include the tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky, Ukraine’s second-richest man according to Forbes magazine. Reporting by Sujata Rao and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-economy-pwc/ukraine-wont-rule-out-legal-action-against-pwc-over-privatbank-idUKKCN1BN0Z4'|'2017-09-12T12:32:00.000+03:00'
'a13e74ec385ce67b2cfbe7a573985612e8710c07'|'Lenders, investors breathe easier as U.S. hurricane waters recede'|'September 11, 2017 / 11:38 PM / Updated 16 hours ago Lenders, investors breathe easier as U.S. hurricane waters recede Dan Freed 3 Min Read   Financial institutions with exposure to U.S. properties hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are tempering their loss estimates, as the damage to homes and businesses has been far less severe than expected. Late last week, before Irma hit Florida, reports that the vast majority of homeowners hit by Harvey had no flood insurance stoked fears about a wave of foreclosures and substantial losses for heavily exposed banks. Now that lenders have had a chance to survey the damage, they are not nearly as concerned. Irma ranked as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes until it barreled into the Florida Keys on Sunday, and was downgraded to a tropical storm early on Monday. Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas in late August, was also downgraded to a tropical storm and lost steam as it moved inland. “There will be some issues but relatively few compared to what I would have thought a week ago.” Texas Capital Bancshares Chief Executive Keith Cargill said at an investor conference hosted by Barclays on Monday. The roads leading to downtown Atlanta are deserted as Hurricane Irma which had been downgraded to a tropical storm blows through in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell Regions Financial Corporation, based in Birmingham, Alabama, with operations throughout the U.S. Southeast, estimated it could lose $10 million to $20 million out of $3.2 billion in total exposure to Hurricane Harvey, according to a financial filing early Monday. The bank has 25 branches in Houston. Regions still has no estimates for Irma, which forced it to close 460 branches, but Chief Financial Officer David Turner said at the conference that estimates for past hurricanes had a history of being excessive. Citing Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005, Turner said, “We originally thought our loss estimates were going to be around $100 million, and we lost less than $10 million.” Shortly after Harvey hit, data firm CoreLogic estimated $18 billion to $27 billion of residential uninsured flood loss for affected counties. Those losses would be borne by banks, bondholders, government agencies and people who own their homes outright, analysts said. Investors will have a better idea of whether those estimates prove too high when the largest U.S. consumer banks speak at the conference on Tuesday. Executives from Wells Fargo & Co, Bank of America Corp and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co are all scheduled to give presentations. Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-banks/lenders-investors-breathe-easier-as-u-s-hurricane-waters-recede-idUSKCN1BM2W9'|'2017-09-12T02:38:00.000+03:00'
'6a873460466d201413412511d17648e5720cf6a4'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint hits two-month low as more easing anticipated'|'By Gergely Szakacs BUDAPEST, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Hungarian forint hit a two-month low on Wednesday, extending a weeks-long downward drift as investors looked to a meeting next week at which the central bank is widely expected to loosen monetary conditions further. At 0826 GMT, the forint was down 0.14 percent at 307.60 versus the euro. Central Europe''s most dovish central bank (NBH) is widely expected to ease further on Tuesday to combat what it sees as a still benign underlying inflation picture. "The market is fully aware that the NBH can announce new measures practically anytime that can prevent any forint strengthening," a Budapest-based currency dealer said. A keynote speech by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, who urged EU governments to take advantage of Brexit and an economic upswing to forge a tighter union at the heart of world trade, had little immediate market impact. A move by the European Union''s executive on Tuesday to step up legal action against Warsaw over reforms affecting the judiciary sent the zloty to a two-week low. The currency was down 0.14 percent in early trade on Wednesday. Analysts said they expected the zloty to rebound as the strong fundamentals of Poland''s economy -- the region''s biggest -- come to the fore. "We would predict... some form of solution (to the EU/Poland dispute) to be found over the coming months," added Wolfgang Ernst, analyst at RBI in Vienna. "This could open the way for some PLN (zloty) recovery as soon as investors again focus more on the supportive economic picture in Poland." CEE MARKETS SNAPSHOT AT 1026 CET CURRENCIES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.1000 26.0935 -0.02% 3.48% Hungary forint 307.6000 307.1700 -0.14% 0.40% Polish zloty 4.2660 4.2600 -0.14% 3.23% Romanian leu 4.6020 4.6010 -0.02% -1.46% Croatian kuna 7.4670 7.4516 -0.21% 1.18% Serbian dinar 119.0700 119.2800 +0.18% 3.59% Note: daily change calculated from previous close at 1800 CET STOCKS Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2017 Prague 1041.00 1036.08 +0.47% +12.95% Budapest 38018.02 38076.88 -0.15% +18.79% Warsaw 2510.15 2505.88 +0.17% +28.86% Bucharest 8046.72 8009.44 +0.47% +13.57% Ljubljana 803.72 803.40 +0.04% +12.00% Zagreb 1863.88 1869.40 -0.30% -6.56% Belgrade 728.41 728.53 -0.02% +1.54% Sofia 691.75 694.58 -0.41% +17.96% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech Republic spread 2-year -0.027 0 +070bps +0bps 5-year -0.026 0 +031bps +1bps 10-year 0.969 0.009 +058bps +2bps Poland 2-year 1.682 -0.009 +241bps -1bps 5-year 2.556 0.002 +289bps +1bps 10-year 3.202 -0.006 +281bps +0bps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interbank Czech Rep <PRIBOR= 0.73 0.87 0.97 0 > Hungary 0.09 0.11 0.14 0.13 Poland 1.7575 1.775 1.81 1.73 Note: FRA Quote: s are for ask prices (Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Gergely Szakacs, editing by John Stonestreet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-forint-hits-two-month-low-as-more-easing-anticipated-idINL5N1LU1MA'|'2017-09-13T06:59:00.000+03:00'
'5e0c6eec36489924c00a847f1a6e29d2ca66f5ab'|'Mexico''s Sigma expects to raise up to $1 bln in IPO - prospectus'|'MEXICO CITY, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Mexico’s Sigma Alimentos, a unit of conglomerate Alfa, said on Wednesday it aims to raise up to 18.53 billion pesos ($1.04 billion) in its IPO later this month, pricing its shares at between 23 and 29 pesos.Sigma has said it aims to place up to 15 percent of its equity, and in its latest prospectus said it expected to register its shares on the exchange on Sept. 28, a week later than the company had previously indicated.The food company, which mainly sells cold meat and dairy products, said the listing would depend on market conditions.A Sigma public offering has been in the works since at least 2013.$1 = 17.7900 Mexican pesos Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/mexico-sigma/mexicos-sigma-expects-to-raise-up-to-1-bln-in-ipo-prospectus-idINS0N1LF00E'|'2017-09-13T12:34:00.000+03:00'
'49f537c67d62ae4ddd6952d467e540b5a3efff6b'|'Volkswagen wants European industry to back push for EV battery cells'|'September 13, 2017 / 10:48 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Europe needs to raise its game in car batteries - Volkswagen brand chief Andreas Cremer , Jan Schwartz 3 Min Read An electric Volkswagen car is plugged into a recharging point in central London, Britain November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) wants German and European industry to come together to help create a regional supplier of electric car batteries to provide competition to Asian manufacturers, the head of its core autos division told Reuters. Europe’s largest carmaker and German rival Daimler became the latest manufacturers this week to announce plans to speed up their shift to zero-emissions motoring. Volkswagen (VW) now aims to have 80 electric models by 2025, and says it will need four times the capacity of U.S. electric carmaker Tesla’s “gigafactory” to supply their batteries. While European companies assemble battery packs for electric cars, the region has no significant player in battery cells - the essential building blocks for the batteries that are currently mostly manufactured in Asia. “It would be desirable for the German and European industry to play a stronger role here,” VW brand Chief Executive Herbert Diess said. He declined to be more specific, but engineering and technology firms are likely to be most interested in the sector. His comments came after Europe’s auto suppliers association warned a fixation on electric cars risked damaging its industry because of Asia’s dominance in battery technology. Volkswagen id concept-cars are pictured before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Assembly of electric car content including battery cells will become one of the major growth areas in the coming decades, Diess said in an interview at the Frankfurt auto show. He left open whether VW, which buys its battery cells from South Korea’s LG Chem and Samsung, would join a potential European consortium. “For the initial phase, I still feel in good hands with the Korean suppliers, but I would appreciate if competition were to grow and a European consortium would emerge,” Diess said. VW’s namesake brand, its largest division by sales, will spend 6 billion euros (£5.42 billion) through 2022 on its electric car programme which will be based on the new MEB platform underpinning over 20 purely battery-powered models. Growing investment in electric cars will not undermine profitability as the brand is pursuing cost savings and cutting jobs as agreed with unions last year. As a result, the VW brand is sticking to targets for an operating margin of at least 4 percent by 2020 and 6 percent by 2025, compared with 1.8 percent last year, Diess said. “With this we generate just about enough cash to shoulder the investments, but have actually very little leeway,” he said. “We cannot afford to make many mistakes.” Editing by Christoph Steitz and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-volkswagen-batteri/volkswagen-wants-european-industry-to-back-push-for-ev-battery-cells-idUKKCN1BO16F'|'2017-09-13T13:47:00.000+03:00'
'42653b105d4a74c9d7da7d196d18a0f06b1a0243'|'Apple suppliers dent European shares as equity rally falters'|'September 13, 2017 / 7:39 AM / Updated an hour ago Apple suppliers dent European shares as equity rally falters Helen Reid 4 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares faltered on Wednesday as a global equity rally showed signs of flagging, with Apple suppliers struggling after the new iPhone release disappointed with a later than expected shipping date. The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.3 percent as weakness in chipmakers was compounded by a drop in miners .SXPP. [MET/L] Euro zone stocks and blue chips .STOXX50E held steady, while Germany''s DAX .GDAXI , which touched its highest in nearly two months on Tuesday, fell back 0.1 percent. Chipmakers supplying to Apple ( AAPL.O ) were among the worst performers, with AMS ( AMS.S ) down 3.9 percent, while Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ) slipped 1.7 percent and STMicro ( STM.MI ) fell 1.1 percent. Traders said their shares were under pressure due to Apple’s new $999 iPhone X shipping later than expected, on November 3. The price tag could also dent demand for the device in markets such as China. “With the iPhone coming in around $1,000 it will be interesting to see how healthy demand is,” said Mike Bell, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. “If it’s relatively healthy I think it shows that there is still quite a lot of pricing power for U.S. companies and that consumers have confidence.” Chipmakers have been the best performing among Europe’s tech stocks this year, accounting for a large chunk of the sector’s outperformance. AMS shares have gained 165 percent year-to-date. Richemont ( CFR.S ) fell 1.6 percent despite reporting a sales beat for its first half thanks to a recovery in the Asian luxury market. UBS analysts said weaker retail growth may weigh on sentiment. Peer Swatch ( UHR.S ) also fell 2.5 percent, with some traders citing concerns that Apple’s new watch could also dent the watchmaker’s shares. The merging eyewear and lens makers Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) were also among the biggest fallers, down 1.9 to 2.1 percent. EU antitrust regulators were set to tell the firms of concerns they have over the merger this week. Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) was among a handful of risers, up 2.7 percent after German drugs and pesticides group Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) sold a 9.4 percent stake in the firm, in order to finance part of its acquisition of Monsanto ( MON.N ). European stocks were struggling for a further boost after sinking 7 percent over the summer months. “Our view is that European equities still have potential for upside,” said JPMAM’s Bell. “The earnings outlook is quite strong still; Europe has among the highest operating leverage of any major market so if the global economy remains strong that should drive margin expansion and earnings growth.” Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Kit Rees and Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/apple-suppliers-weigh-on-european-shares-as-equity-rally-falters-idUKKCN1BO0P0'|'2017-09-13T11:36:00.000+03:00'
'6a5ee286c1eae02879d3b7ab3e41b0a91416069e'|'Motor racing-Aston Martin wants to be more involved in F1'|'LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - British luxury sportscar maker Aston Martin is looking to get more engaged in Formula One, chief executive Andy Palmer said on Sunday amid speculation of a title partnership with Red Bull and future engine involvement.“We want to be more involved in the sport,” Palmer told Britain’s Channel 4 television while attending the Singapore Grand Prix.“We’re currently studying the 2021 engine. If we get a reasonable regulation that brings down the cost of the engine, Aston would like to be involved in the engine,” added the Briton.“And then of course we’d like to be involved a little more next season and then join the dots. But it really depends on what happens with the engine regs.”Red Bull and Aston Martin have an existing relationship, with the team’s race cars carrying branding for the marque since last year.Top designer Adrian Newey, whose Renault-powered Red Bull race cars won four successive drivers’ and constructors’ titles between 2010-13, has worked with Aston Martin on the AM-RB 001 Valkyrie ‘hypercar’.Media reports have suggested Aston could become Red Bull’s title sponsor next season.Former Nissan executive Palmer was a key figure in negotiating just such a previous deal for the Japanese manufacturer’s Infiniti brand, which has now gone to the Renault works team, to partner Red Bull.The British-based team currently use Renault engines, branded Tag Heuer.Formula One, under new management since U.S.-based Liberty Media took over in January, and the governing FIA are looking at what sort of unit will power the series once the current agreement expires in 2020.The aim is to bring down costs and allow a cheaper and less complex engine than the current 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid power units, one that could also encourage new manufacturers into the sport.Aston Martin, a 104-year-old firm whose road cars have become closely associated with fictional British secret agent James Bond, last competed in Formula One in 1960.The company is now owned mainly by Kuwaiti and Italian investors and is seeking to boost its share of U.S. markets.Last month Aston reported its first half-yearly profit in almost a decade and it expects full-year volumes to rise by around a third to roughly 5,000 cars. (Editing by Clare Fallon) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-singapore-astonmartin/motor-racing-aston-martin-wants-to-be-more-involved-in-f1-idINL4N1LY0D1'|'2017-09-17T18:43:00.000+03:00'
'd24b317bcdb6e4a1f44780fdcb944ddf8b70588d'|'Coffee consolidation percolates as hipsters drink up'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:28 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Coffee consolidation percolates as hipsters drink up Martinne Geller , Lisa Baertlein 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nestle’s ( NESN.S ) high-priced purchase of a majority stake in California-based coffee bar chain Blue Bottle this week, highlights how big companies are seeking exposure to fast-growing premium brands driven by millenials. Industry experts are predicting more deals will follow in the highly fragmented coffee market, which provides richer profit margins than mainstream packaged food and drink. Since 2015 there have been nine coffee deals by JAB Holding Co, owned by Europe’s billionaire Reimann family. With brands like Douwe Egberts and Tassimo sitting alongside Blue Bottle rival Intelligentsia, JAB now owns the second-biggest packaged coffee business behind Nestle, owner of Nescafe and Nespresso. “There are certainly going to be further purchases at all levels of the price tier,” said Matthew Barry, beverage analyst at Euromonitor International, adding that any company that is not doing acquisitions risks falling behind. Earlier this month, Italy’s Massimo Zanetti ( MZB.MI ) bought a majority stake in Indonesian roaster Caswell’s and in August, Italy’s Lavazza bought a stake in France’s Espresso Service Proximite, its third acquisition in less than two years. In May, Lavazza’s chief executive told Reuters the company could put together more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) for acquisitions. THIRD WAVE Switzerland’s Nestle announced its deal with Blue Bottle late on Thursday. Its few dozen coffee bars are part of the so-called third wave coffee movement in the United States, which emphasizes quality beans and expertly-made drinks. Analysts see the deal as evidence that an energized Nestle, under its new chief executive, is taking steps to reconnect with consumers, particularly young ones. “It emphasizes the wish to actively work on the portfolio and build on attractive growth areas,” said Patrik Schwendimann, analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank. The deal gives Nestle entrance to high-end bars that are part refreshment and part theater, with space-age “siphon” or “vacuum” brewers. While niche, these outlets are seen as testing labs for new trends that may eventually go mainstream, such as cold brew, single-origin beans and nitro coffee. High street chains such as Starbucks and Costa ( WTB.L ) are already moving in that direction and a front-row seat could help Nestle innovate more quickly. FILE PHOTO - A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Nespresso already has a network of shops but Liberum analyst Robert Waldschmidt sees the Blue Bottle deal as being less about retail and more about Nestle getting a premium brand it may sell in packaged form. “I don’t think they’re trying to reinvent themselves as a retailer,” Waldschmidt said. “They could be looking at going a bit more multi-brand given that JAB is the epitome of multi-brand.” It remains to be seen if there is enough demand for such exotic drinks outside major urban markets, or whether expanding too much will hurt the Blue Bottle brand’s cachet. For now, Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue as a standalone entity. “At a national level, there is no evidence of a shift toward independent coffee,” Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said in a recent report on third wave coffee. “Independents are largely limited to the largest urban markets, which, while important to both chains (Starbucks and Costa), contribute a fairly small share of revenues or profits.” Slideshow (2 Images) She estimated that the top third wave players - which include JAB’s Stumptown and Intelligentsia, Philz, Counter Culture, Blue Bottle and La Colombe Coffee Roasters - together generate just $126 million in revenue across 123 stores. By contrast, Starbucks alone generated $21.3 billion in revenue last year from 25,085 stores globally. BIG MARK-UP Nestle is the leader in a global packaged food and beverage market that has seen growth slow due to cooling emerging markets, increased competition from upstart brands and changing consumer tastes away from processed food. The company, which is under pressure to improve returns from activist investor Third Point, has identified coffee as one of its key priorities for investment. “There’s a big markup on coffee shop coffees,” Liberum’s Waldschmidt said. “Put it all together and you’ve got growth and margin, and in some areas, barriers to entry. Its fragmented so you can consolidate, which usually leads to margins going up.” Nestle’s overall operating margin was 15.3 last year, whereas the margin in its powdered and liquid drinks unit, which includes coffee, was 20.8 percent. ($1 = 0.8375 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bluebottle-m-a-nestle/coffee-consolidation-percolates-as-hipsters-drink-up-idUKKCN1BQ2Q9'|'2017-09-15T23:06:00.000+03:00'
'56d7ad12dc86a9db82938edc2b9e11b8d2547159'|'Greek backtracking on reforms may prolong next review - ECB official'|'September 16, 2017 / 6:09 PM / Updated 11 hours ago Greek backtracking on reforms may prolong next review - ECB official Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pauses during a news conference at the annual International Trade Fair of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece should not put off agreed bailout reforms or it could “complicate” an upcoming bailout review by its foreign creditors, a European Central Bank official said on Saturday. Greece’s third bailout review is expected to begin in October with bad loans, the 2018 budget, the energy market and privatisations among the main issues, the ECB’s mission chief in Greece, Francesco Drudi, told Greek newspaper Proto Thema. “If any major backtracking or delays occur in the implementation of the key deliverables due so far, this could complicate the completion of the review,” Drudi said. “Unfortunately, a number of parliamentary bills adopted after the conclusion of the second review may not be in line with programme commitments and will have to be assessed by our teams,” he said. Athens is keen to conclude the review quickly to help smooth its return to market financing, as its third bailout programme ends next August. The second review dragged on for half a year, and delays had hurt economic activity. Greece has two remaining bailout reviews and Drudi said it should aim to complete at least one between now and the end of the programme to create momentum. “With regard to the post-programme period, we fully understand the government’s desire for a clean exit,” he said. A “clean exit” would mean Greece emerging from its latest bailout without further conditionality. “This will require a lot of effort to convince markets, investors and depositors that the momentum for reform will not abate and that no reversal of actions taken during the programme will occur.” Drudi said he expected Greece’s fiscal targets for the year were “still within reach”. “As far as next year is concerned, we do not have enough elements to assess the risks of a potential negative carry-over to 2018,” he said. Greece expects a larger-than-targeted primary budget surplus this year and plans to tap bond markets again within seven months, a senior finance ministry official said on Wednesday. Without specifying a figure, the official said the country is this year set to exceed a targeted 1.75-percent-of-GDP primary budget surplus, which excludes debt servicing costs. Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-bailout/greek-backtracking-on-reforms-may-prolong-next-review-ecb-official-idUKKCN1BR0OU'|'2017-09-16T21:08:00.000+03:00'
'd994903e75e03d32545c6a78a0d2c290a4e93583'|'Futures dip; economic data blast awaited for rate-hike clues'|'September 15, 2017 / 11:45 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Wall Street hits record high, S&P 500 teases 2,500-mark Noel Randewich 3 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Wall Street touched intra-day record highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 approaching the 2,500 mark as technology stocks bounced back after two days of declines. The S&P 500 information technology sector .SPLRCT rose 0.21 percent, powered by an Nvidia-led surge in chipmakers, while Apple rose 1.1 percent in its first gain since unveiling new iPhones on Tuesday. The semiconductor index .SOX surged 1.6 percent, boosted by Nvidia’s ( NVDA.O ) 5.7-percent jump to a record high after Evercore ISI raised its price target on the stock. The S&P 500 tech index has been the best performing sector this year, rising more than 25 percent, far outpacing the broader S&P 500’s 11.5-percent growth. Wall Street largely shrugged off reports showing an unexpected drop in U.S. retail sales last month and the first drop in industrial output since January, both in part due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey. “Investors are keeping an eye on the retail sales data, thinking it may be transitory, and are focusing on growth areas such as technology, which is mostly immune to policy decisions in DC and has avoided all the global noise,” said Michael Antonelli, managing director of institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. U.S. stocks have surged this year, despite turmoil in the White House, doubts about President Donald Trump’s ability to push through his pro-business reforms, uncertainty over the timing of rate hikes, and lately, tensions over Pyongyang’s missile tests. All three main indexes high intra-day all-time highs. At 2:12 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 0.24 percent at 22,256.23 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.28 percent to 6,446.84. The S&P 500 .SPX had gained 0.06 percent to 2,497.21, just short of the 2,500 mark. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.38-to-1 ratio. “That’s not the best spread at a new high, but it’s better than the other way around,” said Frank Gretz, a technical analyst for Wellington Shields & Co, a brokerage in New York. “That makes it technically healthy.” Earlier, North Korea fired a second missile in as many weeks over Japan, drawing criticism from global leaders but barely moving shares as investors await the next catalyst - the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Sept. 19-20. Boeing ( BA.N ) rose 1.66 percent to a record high after Canaccord Genuity raised its price target for the stock. Among the laggards was Oracle ( ORCL.N ), which sank 7.38 percent, on track for its worst day in more than 4 years after disappointing forecasts for its profit and cloud business. Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/futures-dip-economic-data-blast-awaited-for-rate-hike-clues-idUSKCN1BQ1HK'|'2017-09-15T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'eb7abc4c209d661f5b02cde1a797bc8a7bdff73a'|'Buba''s Weidmann wants to stay in office beyond 2019 - report'|'  7:45 PM / 36 minutes ago Buba''s Weidmann wants to stay in office beyond 2019 - report Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann is seeking a second term in office, German magazine Focus reported on Thursday. “Mr Weidmann really enjoys his job and if he is asked, he will of course be available for a second term in office,” the magazine cited a Bundesbank spokesman as saying. The 49-year-old has been president of Germany’s central bank since May 2011 and his term is due to end in April 2019. Weidmann, who has often criticised the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme, also sits on the ECB’s rate setting Governing Council. He has been touted as a possible successor to ECB President Mario Draghi when his term ends in late 2019. The Bundesbank could not be immediately reached for comment. Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bundesbank-weidmann/bubas-weidmann-wants-to-stay-in-office-beyond-2019-report-idUKKCN1BP2WB'|'2017-09-14T22:45:00.000+03:00'
'77fb97c41deb82f7d30e23eacb957ac0f3f7576f'|'Old Mutual sets deadline for bids for Buxton funds business -sources'|'  5:16 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Old Mutual sets deadline for bids for Buxton funds business -sources Ben Martin , Pamela Barbaglia 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Suitors for Old Mutual’s ( OML.L ) asset management arm run by veteran British investor Richard Buxton have until Sept. 29 to submit tentative bids for the business, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Goldman Sachs, which is running the sale of the unit, has given bidders less than three weeks to submit indicative offers as confidential material was only dispatched on Sept. 13, three sources said. Prospective suitors for the business, which is called Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) and sits within Old Mutual Wealth, include private equity funds TA Associates and Hellman & Friedman, according to one of the sources, who added that a host of buyout firms had been invited to run the rule over the unit. Old Mutual is aiming for a price tag of at least 500 million pounds, one of the other sources said. The company declined to comment. Buxton is one of Britain’s star fund managers and joined OMGI from Schroders four years ago, first as head of UK equities before being promoted to chief executive of the business in 2015. The decision to examine a deal for OMGI comes as Anglo-South African insurer and financial services giant Old Mutual presses ahead with an ambitious broader plan to break itself into four separate companies, one of which is Old Mutual Wealth. It plans to list the wealth business on the stock market next year. Old Mutual Wealth said on Sept. 2 that, as part of its plans for a float, it was overhauling its funds arm and that it considered multi-asset investment to be “core”, with Paul Simpson appointed to run that business. Meanwhile, OMGI will focus on single strategy investing under Buxton. Old Mutual Wealth said it would work with OMGI’s management to examine “internal and external structures”. A source told Reuters earlier this month Buxton was eager to strike off on his own and had been in talks with private equity firm TA Associates about a possible management buyout of OMGI. The TA Associates’ approach spurred Old Mutual to hire Goldman Sachs to run a formal sales process for the Buxton business, the source said. Reporting by Ben Martin and Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-old-mutual-sale/old-mutual-sets-deadline-for-bids-for-buxton-funds-business-sources-idUKKCN1BP2KP'|'2017-09-14T20:15:00.000+03:00'
'ef139c426eedb1a90abb6a5e51fe3639db0d302b'|'Premier Oil seeks buyer for stake in North Sea gas field'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Premier Oil ( PMO.L ) is seeking to sell half of its stake in the Babbage gas field in the North Sea, according to a document seen by Reuters, as it tries to pay down a heavy debt pile it accrued during the oil market downturn.The London-listed oil and gas producer completed a financial restructuring earlier this year and is counting on revenue from disposals and the start-up of its new Catcher field to help it reduce debt that reached $2.74 billion by the end of June.Premier holds a 47 percent stake in the Babbage field which it also operates and is seeking to sell a 23.5 percent non-operating interest, according to Premier’s sale prospectus, which invites indicative offers by end-September.It is also offering a 25 percent stake in the nearby Cobra discovery where it plans to drill an appraisal well next year, the document said.Premier gained the assets through last year’s $120 million acquisition of E.ON’s North Sea business.Chief Executive Tony Durrant confirmed to Reuters on Thursday that some of those assets are up for sale, without giving details.He said any bidding process for the Babbage stake had not yet been launched.“We’re still in the process of tidying up the E.ON acquisition. The core assets from that acquisition are Elgin-Franklin, Tolmount and Huntington, they have all been very successful. For the right offer we’d consider selling other assets from the E.ON portfolio,” Durrant told Reuters.Banking sources said the company hopes to raise up to $100 million from the sale.Babbage, located in the southern section of the North Sea of England’s eastern coast, began production in the summer of 2010. It is expected to produce around 200 billion cubic feet of natural with a remaining field life of over 15 years, according to the prospectus.Earlier this week, Premier said it agreed to sell its stake in the Wytch Farm onshore oil field to Verus Petroleum for $200 million.It has also put its 30 percent stake in the ETS pipeline up for sale, Durrant said in July.“We’re looking to increase our disposal target quite significantly above $100 mln for this year... to accelerate the debt reduction process,” he said at the time.Editing by Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-premier-oil-m-a/premier-oil-seeks-buyer-for-stake-in-north-sea-gas-field-idINKCN1BP17M'|'2017-09-14T08:20:00.000+03:00'
'4cc78e357f25e0257f88f3499eade4ee268001bb'|'Trucking industry, Navistar back U.S. self-driving legislation'|'Exterior of Navistar office is seen in Lisle, Illinois, October 4, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Young WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. trucking trade group and truck maker Navistar International Corp ( NAV.N ) urged a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday to include self-driving commercial trucks in proposed legislation intended to speed autonomous vehicles to market.The House last week unanimously approved a bill to hasten the use of self-driving cars and bar states from blocking such vehicles. The bill applies only to vehicles under 10,000 pounds (4,536 kg). The Senate is considering a similar draft measure that could include large commercial trucks.“It’s important for industry to participate in the creation of advanced driving technologies now,” said Navistar Chief Executive Troy Clarke in testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee. “Providing clarity on the legislative and regulatory front will allow us, truck manufacturers, to design and validate systems that meet the future needs of our customers.”Technology industry executives and policymakers are grappling with the possible impact of artificial intelligence and robotics on jobs and the economy as well as questions about potential safety issues.American Trucking Associations President and Chief Executive Chris Spear said in testimony that it was “critical” that federal policies developed for this technology include all vehicles on U.S. roads.Auto industry leaders have estimated that 3 million commercial truck jobs could eventually be at risk if self-driving vehicles replaced human drivers.Spear and Clarke said they did not believe there would be a big near-term impact on jobs.“Large scale displacement of drivers is not likely too happen, especially in the short and medium term,” Clarke said.U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has said she is “very concerned” about the impact of self-driving cars on jobs.The 1.4-million member International Brotherhood of Teamsters union is trying to convince Congress to reject new rules to speed self-driving truck deployment, warning they could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and reduce road safety.“It is essential that American workers are not treated as guinea pigs for unproven technologies that could put their lives at risk,” Teamsters General Secretary Treasurer Ken Hall told the committee on Wednesday.He argued that commercial trucks operate differently than passenger cars and any issues could cause more damage than those involving smaller vehicles.Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, who has been working with Republicans to draft self-driving legislation, said at the hearing he did not support including commercial trucks and that safety and job impacts must be addressed.Many Republican senators support including commercial trucks, as does Deborah Hersman, head of National Safety Council who testified at the hearing on Wednesday.Senator John Thune, a Republican who chairs the panel, said trucking should be addressed in the legislation, but said no final decision had been made on commercial trucks. He said he hoped to work with Democrats “to strike the right balance.”Thune said Wednesday he hoped to introduce a bill and get committee approval by early October.Self-driving proponents note that 94 percent of U.S. car crashes are the result of human error and argue self-driving cars could dramatically cut the 35,000 annual road deaths.Tech firms and shipping companies are bullish on the prospects for self-driving trucks, with Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ), Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL]’s Otto unit and Alphabet Inc’s Waymo unit ( GOOGL.O ) working on automated trucks.Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-selfdriving/trucking-industry-navistar-back-u-s-self-driving-legislation-idUSKCN1BO1VU'|'2017-09-13T17:52:00.000+03:00'
'82866813570608c89904a778d796793e71177987'|'Union, Invesco, Schroders to absorb research costs after reform'|'September 15, 2017 / 12:12 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Union, Invesco, Schroders, Janus to absorb MiFID research costs Carolyn Cohn , Simon Jessop 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Four major asset managers said on Friday they no longer planned to ask clients to pick up the bill for external investment research when new European Union rules come into force in January 2018. Germany’s Union Investment, Britain’s Schroders ( SDR.L ) and U.S. peers Invesco ICZ.N and Janus Henderson ( JHG.N ) had all planned to pass on some or all of the costs to investors in their funds, but since then many of their rivals had said they would fully absorb the costs. BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, on Thursday joined the list of companies that said they would bear research costs when the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, or MiFID-II, comes into force on Jan. 3. The decision by the four managers leaves Amundi as the biggest in a shrinking group of rivals still planning to charge clients for some of all of their external research. Under the rules, asset managers will have to agree a price for all research obtained from brokers and then either pay for it themselves or pass it on to clients. Previously they were given research for free in exchange for trading through the brokers. Related Coverage Factbox: Asset managers'' plans for handling investment research costs under EU''s MiFID-II “Union Investment has decided that it will no longer charge external research costs... and instead will recognize them in its own income statement,” it said in a statement. Union Investment said the decision came after the firm completed several in-house projects to calculate future research costs. “Our objective was that the total amount of future transaction and research costs would not be any higher than they are currently,” Chief Executive Hans Joachim Reinke said. “We therefore anticipate that, following our decision, the total costs for our customers will be lower.” Invesco said last month it preferred to fund payments for external research in a way that involved passing costs on to clients, although it acknowledged legal and regulatory uncertainties and competitive pressure could see that change. On Friday, the company, which manages $876.9 billion in assets across a range of equity, fixed income and other funds, said it had decided to pay for research for Mifid-impacted funds and client accounts from January. “We are committed to ensuring our investment professionals have access to the external research market, which is critical to decision-making and delivering the long term investment excellence our clients have come to expect from Invesco.” Schroders, which already paid for all external research for its quantitative equity and fixed income funds, said it would also now pay for research on its other equity funds, after previously planning to pass the costs on to clients. It also said it was considering applying this approach to other jurisdictions. “While we have met the main research principles of MiFID II for a number of years, we have concluded that we should absorb the cost of research for those clients affected by MiFID II,” Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive, said in a statement. Editing by Keith Weir, '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-mifid2-research-union-investment/union-investment-to-absorb-mifid-ii-research-costs-idINKCN1BQ1KW'|'2017-09-15T10:12:00.000+03:00'
'4987839a91a16ae799e0e43060cc6231615d785b'|'France to trim housing allowances - official'|'September 17, 2017 / 11:52 AM / Updated 8 hours ago France to trim housing allowances - official Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A French flag flies from the balcony of an apartment block in Paris, March 13, 2016. REUTERS/Mal Langsdon/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - The French government aims to rein in its massive spending on housing allowances while softening the blow for beneficiaries with rent cuts, an official said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday. Such allowances cost 19 billion euros (16.70 billion pounds) annually, making up the bulk of the 30 billion euros France spends on various housing support schemes. “The problem is not the allowances, it’s that rents are too high and have been rising for 40 years,” the State Secretary for Housing Julien Denormandie told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper. “We are therefore going to reform things fairly and justly: rents will come down at the same time as allowance amounts,” he said in the interview, outlining plans to be presented on Wednesday. Along with transport and subsidised jobs schemes, public spending on housing is one of the three priority areas for President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to cut state spending next year by 10 billion euros. In order to lower rents, Denormandie said the semi-public bodies that manage social housing would be asked to reduce their rents, which they could absorb by borrowing over longer periods. Budget minister Gerald Darmanin told France 3 television that some landlords set rents based on how much a tenant received in housing allowances, leading to rent inflation. While the government had means to lean on public housing, he said in the private sector housing landlords should feel compelled to “contribute to the struggle against the housing crisis”. Any reduction in housing allowances, which are enjoyed by 6.5 million people, is likely to be a political hot potato for the government. It faced a political storm in July when it decided to go ahead with a five-euro per month reduction in housing allowances, which had been budgeted by the previous government. Despite its huge cost, the current housing support system has done little to ease a major housing shortage in many French cities. Denormandie said that construction regulations would be eased to free up currently scarce building plots, a move long called for by developers. He said that plans to base allowances on a person’s current revenues, rather than on what the person earned two years ago as is currently the case, could also save 1 billion euros. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-reform-housing/france-to-trim-housing-allowances-official-idUKKCN1BS0FL'|'2017-09-17T15:00:00.000+03:00'
'1f3fd67064f4955768e9d38e91ff742755082d69'|'J&F to nominate Wesley Batista Jr. as next JBS CEO -newspaper'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The Batista family, which controls JBS SA, will nominate Wesley Batista Jr. as the meatpacker’s next chief executive officer on Monday, newspaper O Globo reported on Sunday.Globo columnist Lauro Jardim said the family would make the nomination through its J&F Investimentos SA holding, which controls JBS, the world’s largest meat company.J&F, in an emailed response, declined to comment on the matter.The move comes after Brazil’s federal police detained JBS CEO Wesley Batista on Wednesday following an investigation into the role played by him and his younger brother in suspected insider trading ahead of a plea bargain deal with prosecutors.The Batista family has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.Wesley Batista Jr., 25, heads JBS USA’s beef division and is the imprisoned CEO’s son.The decision to nominate Batista Jr. would deepen a rift between the family and Brazil’s BNDES state development bank.BNDES Participações SA, the bank’s investment arm and holder of a 21 percent stake in JBS, is pushing to remove Batista as CEO, with the support of other minority shareholders.In his column, Jardim wrote that BNDES was seeking to remove Tarek Farahat as chairman of JBS’ board and replace him with Cledorvino Belini, a former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO for Latin America.Nominating Batista Jr. may spark further questions regarding the commitment of the Batista family to implement strict governance practices in a company whose operations span from the Americas to Australia.Joesley Batista, one of the brothers who own JBS, has been in temporary detention for a week after recordings suggested he tried to take advantage of prosecutors and conceal details during negotiations that led to the plea deal. He has denied this.The insider trading case involving JBS and the Batistas follows probes by securities markets regulator CVM on trades both made before a plea deal between the brothers and prosecutors was announced in mid-May.The disclosure of their plea bargain testimony, which involved key politicians, led to the filing of three corruption charges against President Michel Temer and to Brazil’s biggest market selloff in at least a decade.Investigators suspect both brothers gained an unfair advantage in trading shares of JBS while helping the company build unusually high positions in currency futures and forwards in April and May. (Reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jbs-executive/jf-to-nominate-wesley-batista-jr-as-next-jbs-ceo-newspaper-idINL5N1LY0L4'|'2017-09-17T13:22:00.000+03:00'
'fa8b73abe248c74cc0cfb7ef7c753e8d2b339ffb'|'A legal vulnerability at the heart of China’s big internet firms'|'COMPANIES’ legal structures are usually mind-numbing fare. But occasionally it is worth pinching yourself and paying attention. Take “variable interest entities” (VIEs), a kind of corporate architecture used mainly by China’s tech firms, including two superstars, Alibaba and Tencent. They go largely unremarked, but VIEs have become incredibly important. Investors outside China have about $1trn invested in firms that use them.Few legal experts think that VIEs are about to collapse, but few expect them to endure, either. One sizeable investor admits loving Chinese tech firms’ businesses while feeling queasy about their legal structures. Like scientists appalled by their monstrous creations, even the lawyers who designed VIEs worry. They are “China’s version of too-big-to-fail”, says one. As well as being spooky, VIEs are another instance of how China’s weak property rights hurt its citizens.Latest updates A positive sign from the bond market Buttonwood’s notebook 21 minutes ago An   See all updates What are VIEs? Over 100 companies use them. Since the 1990s private firms have sought to break free of China’s isolated legal and financial systems. Many have done so by forming holding companies in tax havens and listing their shares in New York or Hong Kong. The problem is that they are then usually categorised as “foreign firms” under Chinese rules. That in turn prohibits them from owning assets in some politically sensitive sectors, most notably the internet.The lawyers’ quick fix, first used in 2000, was to shift these sensitive assets, such as operating licences, into special legal entities—VIEs—that are owned by Chinese individuals, usually the firms’ bosses. The companies sign contracts with the VIEs and their individual owners, which the companies say guarantees them control over the VIEs’ assets, sales and profits. Abracadabra!Alibaba, the world’s sixth-most valuable firm, illustrates how it works. It is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and in 2014 listed its shares in New York, but makes 91% of its sales in mainland China. There it owns five big subsidiaries which have contracts with five corresponding VIEs. The VIEs contain licences and domain names and are owned by Jack Ma and Simon Xie, two of Alibaba’s founders. It is as if Facebook were domiciled in Samoa, listed in Shanghai and its website and brand sat in separate legal entities that were the property of Mark Zuckerberg (but which he had agreed to allow Facebook to run and profit from).American regulators allow VIEs if their dangers are disclosed. Although most VIE schemes have worked smoothly, the underlying risks have risen in the past five years. It is unclear if VIEs are even legal in China. The latest annual reports of the ten largest firms that use them all admit to uncertainty about their status. In 2015 a draft reform from the Ministry of Commerce appeared to ban some VIEs, but the initiative has gone nowhere.Meanwhile, VIEs have become more prominent; the total value of companies that use them has soared as China’s internet industry has boomed. The share of firms’ sales generated by their VIEs varies but for most of the ten companies has risen since 2012 (see charts). The inner workings of the VIEs are often in flux. In nine cases, their structure has changed in that period: either the names or number of entities, or the names or stakes of their Chinese owners, have been altered. If they are being honest, most shareholders have little idea what is going on.For investors, there are two risks. First, the VIEs could be ruled illegal, potentially forcing the firms to wind up or sell vital licences and intellectual property in China. The second danger is that VIE owners seek to grab the profits or assets held within. If they refuse to co-operate, die, or fall out of political favour, it is far from clear that firms can enforce VIE contracts in Chinese courts.Yet this manifestly flawed system has endured for two decades. One theory is that managers favour it because it gives them more power—it is hard for outside shareholders to keep track of VIEs. Like their peers in Silicon Valley, who limit voting rights, China’s tech tycoons dislike it when investors call the shots.The bigger question is why China’s government tolerates the set-up. Perhaps it suits high officials to keep the country’s internet bosses on an ambiguous legal footing, so that they toe the line. VIEs could even be a diplomatic tool. In the event of a trade war, a quick way to hurt Americans’ economic interests (along with banning Apple, which makes a fifth of its sales in China) would be to void VIEs, although China’s reputation with all investors would suffer.Unscrambling eggsBut failing to tackle the status quo has wider costs, chief of which is that having internet firms listed abroad means most Chinese citizens cannot invest in the most dynamic bit of their economy. It is easier for a pensioner in Dundee to invest in firms in the world’s most exciting e-commerce market than it is for one in Dalian. Shanghai’s stock exchange is full of stodgy state-backed companies. So far, foreigners have made a capital gain of at least $500bn from China’s internet sector, while locals have been all but shut out. Imagine if Americans could not invest in Apple, Amazon, Facebook or Alphabet. As China’s internet firms get bigger, the unfairness of this will become ever more glaring.VIEs need to be unwound. Some small internet firms have bought back all their shares and delisted in America, then relisted in mainland China, but the cost of this for the big firms would be prohibitive. Alternatively, they could create dual listings in Shanghai or float the shares of their subsidiaries there for locals to invest in. Yet the question of their VIEs’ legality would linger.The enduring answer is for China to relax its foreign-ownership restrictions and open its capital account. Both foreigners and locals could buy into internet firms with a solid legal footing. Whether it does is a test of its appetite for creating an economy based on rules, not fiat. Until then VIEs are the financial equivalent of the “One China” principle that governs China’s relations with Taiwan, which the mainland considers a renegade province—a polite legal fiction that papers over serious problems. Such quick fixes can seem stable. But in the back of your mind there is a rational fear that they could blow up at any time.  Business   "The weakest link"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728984-variable-interest-entities-are-their-weakest-link-legal-vulnerability-heart-chinas?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-16T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'70f60f751825cc766b3d8230ea5047603bf5a7ee'|'Carlyle''s Brazil developer bets on fresh leaders to woo creditors'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A Brazilian land developer controlled by U.S. buyout firm Carlyle Group LP investment vehicles has appointed turnaround specialist Ivix Value Creation to help it reverse mounting client lawsuits and avoid filing for bankruptcy protection.São Paulo-based developer Urbplan Desenvolvimento Urbano SA named Ivix partner Alberto Tepedino chief executive officer and appointed another partner, Nelson Bastos, to a key advisory position this week, Tepedino and Bastos said.The move is intended to help Urbplan find a way to avoid restructuring a pool of asset-backed securities and credit worth 450 million reais ($144 million) and recover from a period of weak housing activity, they said.Their first task, they told Reuters on Wednesday, will be reviving confidence among creditors that Urbplan will repay them.“We are not here to carry out an autopsy of the company, which means we’ll do whatever it takes to avert Urbplan’s bankruptcy protection,” Bastos said.Urbplan declined to comment.Creditors have increasingly questioned a three-year, Carlyle-led turnaround of Urbplan, saying it took years for management appointed by the private equity giant to address rising customer delinquencies and stem fast debt growth, Reuters reported in February.Urbplan, which develops residential lots by laying out basic infrastructure, is the target of more than 2,000 lawsuits nationwide. Most of them come from clients who want their land purchases annulled, saying Urbplan halted work during a shareholder dispute that lasted for years.Under Carlyle, Urbplan embarked on an ambitious debt-fueled expansion, often running afoul of complex local urban development rules. Between 2007 and 2012, Urbplan raised about 700 million reais from the sale of real estate receivable-backed notes.The rift between Carlyle and Urbplan creditors has escalated since then, even after the private-equity firm’s investment vehicles, clients and co-investors injected fresh equity and provided the developer with additional funding.Carlyle did not have an immediate comment but has previously defended its record and said Urbplan has largely completed pending projects thanks to its investment.The situation highlights the risks facing global private-equity firms in Brazil, a country of unstable legal and business environments that is still coping with the fallout from a long and harsh recession.Ivix has helped clients - most of them privately held companies strained with soaring debt and legal liabilities - restructure over 10 billion reais since it was founded in May 2011. The firm’s partners will replace a group of Carlyle-appointed executives.Expectations that domestic interest rates will hit a record low by year-end are helping cut Urbplan’s debt-servicing costs, Tepedino said. Still, signs of a recovery in land development may fail to help Urbplan trim unwanted inventory of about 3,500 land lots, he said.$1 = 3.1262 Brazilian reais Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Editing by Rosalba O''Brien '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/carlyle-group-brazil-ivix/carlyles-brazil-developer-bets-on-fresh-leaders-to-woo-creditors-idINL2N1LV1QH'|'2017-09-15T09:02:00.000+03:00'
'0554c2163e52b7c9abb04d3a1740b59d7e635589'|'RPT-UPDATE 2-Nestle to brew high-end coffee with Blue Bottle buy'|'September 15, 2017 / 7:25 AM / Updated 5 hours ago RPT-UPDATE 2-Nestle to brew high-end coffee with Blue Bottle buy Reuters Staff (Repeats story first published on Thursday) * Marks foray into U.S. “third wave” coffee market * 2nd deal this month catering to changing tastes * Nestle sales slowed, coffee market consolidating By Martinne Geller and Lisa Baertlein LONDON/LOS ANGELES, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Nestle has bought a majority stake in California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, marking a first step by the packaged coffee leader into the hipster world of speciality bars that serve high-end, single-origin and cold brewed coffees. The company behind Nescafe instant coffee and Nespresso brewers announced the purchase of a 68 percent stake of Blue Bottle on Thursday without disclosing financial terms. The price was around $425 million, according to a source familiar with the matter. Like last week’s purchase of Sweet Earth meatless foods, the deal sees the world’s biggest maker of packaged food reaching out to the kind of choosy consumers who are turning away from its mass market brands like Nescafe coffee and Digiorno frozen pizza. It is the fourth deal this year by new chief executive Mark Schneider, an external hire brought in last year to shake up a conservative Swiss company that had missed its sales targets for four years running. Nestle and its multinational peers are fighting slower emerging markets, competition from new brands and a shift in consumer tastes away from processed food. The company is also selling its U.S. confectionery business, which includes brands like Baby Ruth and Butterfinger, as it seeks to transform itself into a “nutrition, health and wellness” company. Nestle, Europe’s biggest company by market value, is under pressure too from activist shareholder Third Point. The U.S. hedge fund announced a $3.5 billion stake in June and pressed Nestle for actions such as a margin target and divesting its 23 percent stake in France’s L‘Oreal. The U.S. market for coffee drinks has retail sales of $2.9 billion, according to Euromonitor International, which forecasts it to reach $4.4 billion by 2021. “Starbucks has for a long time had a virtual lock on this category, but that lead is starting to slip,” said Euromonitor analyst said Matthew Barry. Nestle’s purchase also comes amid consolidation in the so-called third-wave coffee sector in the United States. This market caters to mostly young, urban customers who have grown up on Starbucks but have progressed to more exotic drinks coaxed from hand-operated espresso machines or non-traditional brewers by expert baristas. Rival third-wave chains also include Intelligentsia and Stumptown, which were swept up in the recent coffee acquisition spree by privately held JAB Holdings. SILICON VALLEY BACKING Blue Bottle, known for its exotic, micro-lot coffees, has minimalist-style coffee bars in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo. It expects to have 55 locations by the end of 2017, up from 29 last year. It has raised nearly $121 million in funding from high-profile investors including Twitter co-founder Ev Williams and GV (Google Ventures), according to data from Crunchbase. Other backers include Fidelity Management and Research, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom and Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto. Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue to operate as a standalone entity and current management and employees would retain a minority stake. Third-wave chains are still a niche, but big players have taken notice. Starbucks co-founder and long-time CEO Howard Schultz in April moved into the role of executive chairman to focus on its “Reserve” brand that is adding upscale coffee bars to existing cafes, building new standalone stores and investing in large, ultra high-end roastery and tasting rooms reported to cost as much as $20 million each. Starbucks’ exclusive, small-lot Reserve coffees can cost $50 per 8-ounce bag. Coffee drinks, including those made in glass siphon brewers, can run $10 each. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bluebottle-ma-nestle/rpt-update-2-nestle-to-brew-high-end-coffee-with-blue-bottle-buy-idUSL5N1LW15Z'|'2017-09-15T15:25:00.000+03:00'
'262edde2fc00b4052b507ffcc881929bd690dd63'|'RPT-UK customs model unlikely to achieve frictionless post-Brexit trade'|'(Repeats Thursday item)* Around 95 pct of Britain’s international trade moved via ship* Volumes of EU trade mean even spot checks will be disruptive* Extra customs burdens will add cost, new infrastructure neededBy Kylie MacLellanSOUTHAMPTON, England, Sept 14 (Reuters) - At Southampton docks, a top British port for trade with countries outside the EU, the scene is one of frictionless international commerce. It’s a model that business leaders hope will also work well with Europe after Brexit, but fear it won‘t.Cranes lift containers smoothly on and off enormous ships berthed at the quayside while rows of new cars await shipment to destinations including the United States and Asia.There is little sign of the customs border that Britain maintains with most of the world apart from European Union states, thanks to a long-refined system of goods declarations completed electronically as ships plough to and from the country.Less than two percent of goods passing through Southampton, which lies on the south coast of England, are subject to physical checks by customs officials, according to its owner, Associated British Ports.At the moment Britain has no such customs border with the EU, a free-trade area of 28 states, but it is likely to reimpose one when it leaves the bloc in March, 2019. If London and Brussels fail to strike a trade deal, each side will start imposing import duties on each other’s goods.Few people believe the current system for non-EU trade can be replicated for EU goods without disruption at the seaports through which 95 percent of Britain’s international trade moves. That means industry’s wish for minimal extra red-tape, delays and costs after Brexit may not be granted.The government estimates a new, upgraded electronic customs system - due to be introduced just two months before Brexit - will need to process 255 million customs declarations a year, up from 55 million now.“Is a new IT system going to be able to cope with a sudden massive surge in stuff going through? ... It is a highly complex environment and the capacity for glitches is bound to be there,” said Guy Platten, Chief Executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping.The EU is Britain’s largest trading partner, accounting for 44 percent of exports and 53 percent of imports in 2016.Around 180,000 companies which now operate only within the EU face making customs declarations for the first time after Brexit. A study by the Institute for Government found that those declarations could mean a total additional cost of 4 billion to 9 billion pounds ($5 billion to $12 billion).“Costs will be passed on and it is going to impact on the consumer and on prices in the shops in the end,” Platten told Reuters.JUST IN TIME The government has proposed two options for a post-Brexit customs deal with the EU: a “highly streamlined” system using technology to create as frictionless a border as possible, and a new customs partnership removing the need for a customs border - an arrangement that would be particularly hard to negotiate.The first would involve measures such as pre-arrival notifications linked to customs declarations and vehicle registrations so trucks do not have to stop at the border, as well as pre-approved “authorised economic operators” who are given faster clearance.Pre-authorisation may work for goods on weeks-long sea voyages like many of those coming into Southampton, which handled international trade worth 71 billion pounds in 2014.But the short length of journeys from continental Europe means there is far less time to process goods before they arrive. Ferries carrying trucks to Dover, Britain’s top port for EU trade, typically take only 90 minutes to arrive from France.For “just-in-time” supply chains, where parts are delivered as they are needed in the production process, even a short delay would have an impact. Perishable goods, such as Dutch flowers or Spanish tomatoes, are particularly at risk.Supermarket group Sainsbury’s has warned that food could be left rotting at the border if supply chains are disrupted by customs checks.Finance minister Philip Hammond raised his concerns this week, saying trucks had to roll off ferries immediately and leave the Dover port, allowing the ship to reload and depart again promptly.“Anything that caused delay in vehicles exiting the port, delaying vehicles offloading, would cause significant disruption,” he told a parliamentary committee, adding that the government was looking at contingency arrangements for the event of no deal with the EU.Even spot checks would mean firms could start having to use warehouses in case their goods are among those inspected, possibly adding significant costs to finished products.Southampton owner ABP says it has space to accommodate customs checks at its ports around Britain. However, there are significant physical constraints elsewhere, particularly at Dover, which handled trade worth 69 billion pounds in 2014 and is hemmed in by white chalk cliffs.Asked if the capacity of facilities such as warehousing at British ports is adequate, Hammond replied: “No, it is clearly not.”Around 8,000 EU trucks a day pass through Dover, meaning more than 300 could be stopped if they are checked at a similar rate to non-EU imports -- the government says around four percent are currently subject to customs checks at border entry points.“If they want to do their four percent, then they are going to find somewhere outside the port confines in order to do that,” said James Hookham, Deputy Chief Executive of the Freight Transport Association, which says one hour’s delay at a port adds 15,000 pounds of costs to the trucking industry.The need to get infrastructure in place and train businesses in a new system means phasing the new regime in will be crucial to minimise disruption, said the Chamber of Shipping’s Platten.“To get it all implemented within the next 18 months is going to be almost impossible, so there has to be a long transition period to allow business and the supply chain to adjust to the new reality,” he said.“The nightmare is if nothing is agreed, nothing is done and we have this cut off on March 29, 2019.” ($1 = 0.7575 pounds) (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-ports/rpt-uk-customs-model-unlikely-to-achieve-frictionless-post-brexit-trade-idINL5N1LV4XM'|'2017-09-15T04:02:00.000+03:00'
'ad365c82cb3348acecd32bfc974d73b1161fee7a'|'UPDATE 1-Macy''s to hire 80,000 workers for holidays, fewer than last year'|'(Recasts lead; adds details, background)Sept 14 (Reuters) - Macy’s Inc will increase by 20 percent the number of workers it hires during the holiday shopping season to staff distribution and warehouses that support its online business, but total holiday hiring will fall.The department store operator said on Thursday it would hire 18,000 holiday workers to fulfill online orders, including shipping and packaging, an increase of about 3,000 from last year. But total hiring for the holiday season will fall to 80,000 from 83,000 last year, the company said, with Macy’s operating 70 fewer stores than it did last year.Rival Target Corp on Wednesday said it would hire 43 percent more seasonal workers, or a total of 100,000, for the holiday season rush.It was the first time in five years that Target increased the number of holiday workers it would hire, after the retailer reported a rise in comparable-store sales for the first time in more than a year.Seasonal hiring plans typically point to retailers’ sales expectations for the holiday season, which starts a day after Thanksgiving and continues into early January and accounts for nearly a third of annual sales.U.S. staffing firm Radial expects retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Ralph Lauren Corp and Toys R Us, to hire 35 percent more workers this holiday season to fill positions at distribution centers as well as for ancillary services such as order-online-pick-up-in-store and doorstep delivery.Macy‘s, like other department store operators, has been grappling with weak sales for years, as shoppers spend less on apparel and more on experiences, and as competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc intensifies.To counteract these pressures, large chains are heavily investing in their online businesses, including building distribution centers and logistic fleets while shutting stores and cutting jobs.More and more retailers are now relying on temporary workers to fill positions, Moody’s analyst Charles O‘Shea told Reuters.Macy’s has lowered the headcount of its permanent employees by nearly 16 percent over the last five years, filings show, and plans to shut 100 stores by the end of this year.Macy’s last month repeated its outlook for a decline in sales for the fiscal year ending in January of between 3.2 percent and 4.3 percent and a decline in comparable-store sales of 2 percent to 3 percent.Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/macys-employment/update-1-macys-to-hire-80000-workers-for-holidays-fewer-than-last-year-idINL4N1LV6HN'|'2017-09-14T22:52:00.000+03:00'
'd28bc0eb194b0bbb351fd58a960a02ab8d796e42'|'June quarter current account deficit widens to four-year high as imports surge'|'September 15, 2017 / 1:48 PM / Updated 7 hours ago June quarter current account deficit widens to four-year high as imports surge 2 Min Read An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s April-June current account deficit widened to its highest in four years as imports surged, but strong capital inflows comfortably financed the gap, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday. The current account deficit widened to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product, or $14.3 billion, as imports pushed the trade deficit to $41.2 billion from $23.8 billion in the same period a year ago. In the quarter ending in June last year, the current account deficit was 0.1 percent or $401 million. It is now at its highest level since the June quarter of 2013. The widening of the year-on-year deficit was primarily due to a larger increase in merchandise imports relative to exports, the RBI said in its release. While imports rose, some export-oriented sectors also slowed after India imposed its new goods and services tax (GST) in July, adding to the current account gap, analysts said. Analysts expect the current account deficit to narrow as exports pick up, but capital flows are likely to slow as the foreign investment limits for debt have been fully used up. “It appears the last month’s transition to GST had affected some export sectors, but that is expected to normalise going ahead,” said A. Prasanna, economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership. He said he expected the full year current account deficit to be 1.5 percent of GDP. Despite a wider current account gap, the balance of payments surplus was $11.4 billion in April-June, compared with $6.97 billion a year ago, helped by strong dollar inflows that boosted the rupee 0.43 percent during the quarter. India’s capital surplus, which includes foreign direct investment and portfolio inflows, stood at $25.4 billion compared with a $7.18 billion surplus a year ago. Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury; Editing by Jon Boyle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-currentaccount/june-quarter-current-account-deficit-widens-to-four-year-high-as-imports-surge-idINKCN1BQ1TT'|'2017-09-15T16:48:00.000+03:00'
'99248190cfa9fbb0505c4a3dd1552904db35fdf2'|'Ukraine''s growth-linked bonds - when recovery becomes painful'|'September 15, 2017 / 2:00 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Ukraine''s growth-linked bonds - when recovery becomes painful Sujata Rao 8 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Two years after a landmark debt restructuring, Ukraine is seeking a bond swap to avoid a mass of near-term repayments. But its real problem may lie further out - when securities linked to economic recovery start falling due. Ukraine threw in $3.6 billion (£2.66 billion) in GDP warrants - bonds indexed to economic growth - to sweeten its 2015 restructuring that forced investors to write off 20 percent of the original value of their holdings. But Kiev made one crucial omission: unlike other warrant issuers, it did not cap future payouts, possibly making itself liable for big annual payments after 2025. The warrants pay no regular interest but they kick in once Ukraine’s nominal GDP exceeds $125.4 billion and annual growth hits 3 percent. Payouts are subject to a complex formula but, put very simply, holders are entitled to a sum equal to 15 percent of any economic output achieved above this growth threshold, adjusted for inflation. Should the economy expand 4 percent or more, holders will take away no less than 40 percent of national wealth created above that higher level. FACTBOX: Annual interest payouts cannot exceed 1 percent of GDP until 2025 but after that, until expiry in 2040, there is no upper limit. “If you take a positive view of Ukraine in the long term, this is where you want to be. But for the government, this may be a high contingent liability going forward,” said Kaan Nazli, senior economist for emerging debt at Neuberger Berman, an asset manager which holds the warrants. Back in 2015, Ukraine was deep in recession and 3-4 percent growth seemed a distant prospect. Even now, with the country still in conflict with Russia, it is impossible to predict what future payouts may look like. To illustrate what Ukraine might face, Nazli calculates a $120 million payout in 2021 in a scenario where 2019 growth is 3.5 percent, leaping to $1.6 billion if growth hits 6 percent. Without the payout cap that is effective between 2021 and 2025, the bill would have been $2 billion, he says, predicting Ukraine would instead buy back the warrants “to reduce the burden for future generations”. Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk told Reuters that “as part of our liability exercise, we can look at warrants at some point” but declined to comment further. He was on a roadshow to market new dollar debt and persuade investors to swap bonds maturing in 2019 and 2020 for longer-dated ones. Related Coverage Factbox - How Ukraine''s GDP-linked bonds work Nazli, however, described Ukraine as “a bit stuck”. With recent data showing the economy slowly recovering, the warrants’ price has almost doubled this year to 60 cents in the dollar. Buying them back now would cost Kiev over $1.6 billion. Ukrainian institutions give differing figures for GDP growth but the payouts depend mostly on International Monetary Fund data. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecasts growth at two percent this year, rising to four percent in 2020. Danylyuk estimated the economy’s current size at $95 billion, well under the payout threshold. But BlueBay strategist Tim Ash says Kiev must prioritise buybacks, adding that Ukraine could well emulate central European economies such as Poland’s which achieved 4-5 percent annual growth for years as they recovered from economic collapse after the fall of Communism in 1989. “I argued the structure (of the warrants) was inappropriate for Ukraine and I think this is now showing effect ... (Buyback cost) is only set to rise, and potentially quickly,” Ash added. WHY WARRANTS? GDP warrants have been used in other debt restructurings, notably by Argentina in 2005 and Greece in 2012. Countries such as Nigeria and Venezuela have also offered oil warrants which paid out in event of an energy price windfall. The idea is to give a country breathing space, allowing it to pay less during an economic slump. Investors may accept restructuring terms which are less onerous to the borrower if promised a slice of future growth. A 2006 IMF study advised though that “all (warrant) payments are capped to ensure that in the event of extreme growth surprises, cash-flow payments do not exceed the country’s capacity to service debt”. Greece capped warrant coupons at 1 percent of the notional amount. Argentine payouts could not exceed 48 percent of the warrant’s face value. Nigerian warrants were triggered at a $28-per-barrel crude price but stopped paying above $43 a barrel. In Ukraine’s defence, it went into the restructuring with a disadvantage - around 40 percent of outstanding bonds were held by Franklin Templeton. The asset manager held a majority in many of the issues, allowing it to block the restructuring until it got terms that satisfied it. People familiar with the talks said “concentration of power” with Templeton fund manager Michael Hasenstab had left Ukraine with few options if it was to avoid outright default. Martin Gudgeon, head of European Restructuring at PJT Partners, the firm which represented the creditors in the negotiations, noted Ukraine had asked creditors to write off 40 percent of the bonds’ value but eventually agreed to provide an equity-like instrument in return for the 20 percent writedown. “We came up with it to find a solution for our clients,” Gudgeon told Reuters. “The uncapped GDP warrants look like a pretty good deal now.” Hasenstab clearly sees value in the warrants. He has cut Ukraine exposure this year to under 2 percent of total net assets of his flagship Global Bond Fund, down from 4.7 percent at the end of 2016. But the warrants’ share in the fund is unchanged at 0.64 percent, with a $650 million face value. Various other Templeton funds also own the warrants. WORTH IT? Holders of Argentine warrants found they were not without risk - the country dodged payments by publishing data that was widely considered as understating growth. Ukraine would find that harder as its performance is largely measured by IMF data. But fighting with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and a slow pace of reform could well brake recovery, meaning investors who wrote off a fifth of the bonds’ value during restructuring must wait longer to recoup their money. Or they may never do so. Gabriele Foa, EEMEA cross-asset strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates Ukraine’s potential growth at 3.0-3.5 percent and assesses fair value for the warrants in the low 50s of cents per dollar face value. “At these (price) levels I would be sceptical about the fundamental value left in these instruments,” Foa said. There is a wide range of views though. JPMorgan analyst Jonny Goulden assigns a value of 93 cents, citing Ukraine’s improving growth, inflation and exchange rate picture. In a mid-August note, he predicted Ukraine’s nominal GDP would exceed $125 billion in 2019 and that payouts could start in 2021, instead of 2024 as he had forecast earlier. “This makes cashflows likely to happen earlier and therefore total cashflows will be higher over the life of the warrant,” Goulden wrote, advising clients to hold on to the securities. Reporting by Sujata Rao; Additional reporting by Marc Jones and Karin Strohecker in London,; Natalia Zinets in Kiev; editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-bonds-gdp-analysis/ukraines-growth-linked-bonds-when-recovery-becomes-painful-idUKKCN1BQ1UY'|'2017-09-15T17:00:00.000+03:00'
'da672a0c4fec53013867cc779cf7dd2b792b333d'|'Alphabet talks with Lyft about possible investment -source'|'SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc is in discussions with Lyft Inc about a possible investment in the ride-hailing company, potentially deepening an existing partnership between the two firms, a person familiar with the talks said on Thursday.An injection of support from one of Silicon Valley’s largest companies could be a boost to Lyft as the No. 2 ride provider battles rival Uber Technologies Inc for market share.It was not immediately clear how large an investment Alphabet might make. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported there was at least some discussion of a $1 billion deal.Alphabet and Lyft declined to comment.In May, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo and Lyft announced a partnership to work together on developing self-driving technology; neither offered many details of the agreement.Recently, Lyft has been in an expansion mode, saying in August that it was available in 40 U.S. states covering 94 percent of the country’s population.Lyft raised $600 million in fresh funding in April, mostly from large global investment funds. The round valued the company at $7.5 billion, up from $5.5 billion at Lyft’s previous financing more than a year earlier.Additional investment could further push off discussion of an initial public offering, which Lyft had planned likely for 2018, according to sources close to the company. Lyft previously planned not to raise any more funding prior to its IPO, the sources said.Alphabet since 2013 has been an investor in Uber through its venture capital arm, known as GV. That relationship, though, became more complicated when Alphabet’s Waymo sued Uber this year for alleged theft of trade secrets.Reporting by Heather Somerville and David Ingram; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/alphabet-lyft/alphabet-talks-with-lyft-about-possible-investment-source-idINL2N1LW01F'|'2017-09-14T23:36:00.000+03:00'
'8a0af120444990ce598f2a02b7531b4f226ad623'|'AIA and Zurich submit separate bids for Australian insurers: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of AIA is displayed at its office in Hong Kong, China February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based insurance giant AIA Group Ltd ( 1299.HK ) has shown interest in buying Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s ( CBA.AX ) insurance business, which is likely to be valued at about $4 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.Separately, Zurich Insurance Group AG ( ZURN.S ) has emerged as the final bidder for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s ( ANZ.AX ) life insurance and wealth business, valued at about $3 billion, the people said.While the official final deadline for offers for fourth-largest Australian lender ANZ’s insurance and wealth business was Friday, there was still a possibility of a few more bids coming in soon, one of the people told Reuters.Australia is an attractive market for foreign insurers such as Zurich and MetLife Inc ( MET.N ) because the population and economy are growing faster than in most other developed markets and the regulatory regime is stable, analysts have said.Local banks’ insurance units have also struggled amid growing competition from the pure-play and large foreign insurance companies and due to new regulations demanding increased capital buffers for their main banking operations.National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ), the country’s No.3 lender by assets, sold its 80 percent stake in its life insurance arm to Japan’s Nippon Life [NPNLI.UL] for A$2.4 billion ($1.9 billion) in a deal that closed late last year.ANZ’s insurance and wealth management unit sale outcome is expected to be announced within a month and CBA’s is expected to take longer as more bidders are expected to join, the people with knowledge of the matter said.But there is no certainty that both transactions will proceed and be completed soon, one of the people said.Representatives at ANZ and CBA, as well as AIA and Zurich, all declined to comment. The people who have knowledge of the two divestment deals declined to be named as they were not allowed to discuss them in public.ANZ’s Australian insurance and wealth business reported a full-year cash profit of A$327 million for the year ended Sept. 30, 2016, down 24 percent from a year earlier, after significant restructuring and software charges.CBA said last month it was in talks to sell its life insurance business, although it did not name any potential buyer and added that the outcome of the negotiations was uncertain.CBA is being sued by Australia’s financial intelligence body over alleged widespread breaches of money laundering and counter terrorism financing laws. It is also facing a separate investigation by two regulatory bodies and a potential class action.Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; additional reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney, Jamie Freed in Singapore and Carolyn Cohn in London; editing by David Clarke and Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-australia-m-a-insurance/aia-and-zurich-submit-bids-for-australian-insurance-assets-sources-idINKCN1BQ1MB'|'2017-09-15T10:27:00.000+03:00'
'c021976a2febf37aa2b423a9e11026675f727818'|'Alphabet talks with Lyft about possible investment: source'|'September 15, 2017 / 2:11 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Alphabet talks with Lyft about possible investment: source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A smartphone app for Lyft drivers is seen during a photo opportunity in San Francisco, California February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) is in discussions with Lyft Inc about a possible investment in the ride-hailing company, potentially deepening an existing partnership between the two firms, a person familiar with the talks said on Thursday. An injection of support from one of Silicon Valley’s largest companies could be a boost to Lyft as the No. 2 ride provider battles rival Uber Technologies Inc for market share. It was not immediately clear how large an investment Alphabet might make. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported there was at least some discussion of a $1 billion deal. Alphabet and Lyft declined to comment. In May, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo and Lyft announced a partnership to work together on developing self-driving technology; neither offered many details of the agreement. Recently, Lyft has been in an expansion mode, saying in August that it was available in 40 U.S. states covering 94 percent of the country’s population. Lyft raised $600 million in fresh funding in April, mostly from large global investment funds. The round valued the company at $7.5 billion, up from $5.5 billion at Lyft’s previous financing more than a year earlier. Additional investment could further push off discussion of an initial public offering, which Lyft had planned likely for 2018, according to sources close to the company. Lyft previously planned not to raise any more funding prior to its IPO, the sources said. Alphabet since 2013 has been an investor in Uber through its venture capital arm, known as GV. That relationship, though, became more complicated when Alphabet’s Waymo sued Uber this year for alleged theft of trade secrets. Reporting by Heather Somerville and David Ingram; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-lyft/alphabet-talks-with-lyft-about-possible-investment-source-idINKCN1BQ06T'|'2017-09-15T00:11:00.000+03:00'
'7a7e89b7edfd13fca4f0a97492e305dc8cdc21d9'|'JPMorgan''s Dimon says bitcoin ''is a fraud'''|'FILE PHOTO - Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin “is a fraud” and will blow up, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), said on Tuesday.Speaking at a bank investor conference in New York, Dimon said, “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart.”Dimon said that if any JPMorgan traders were trading the crypto-currency, “I would fire them in a second, for two reasons: It is against our rules and they are stupid, and both are dangerous.”Dimon’s comments come as the bitcoin, a virtual currency not backed by any government, has more than quadrupled in value since December to more than $4,100.Bitcoin is a digital currency that enables individuals to transfer value to each other and pay for goods and services bypassing banks and the mainstream financial system.While banks have largely steered clear of bitcoin since it emerged following the financial crisis, the virtual currency has a range of people who support it, including technology enthusiasts, liberterians skeptical of government monetary policy and speculators attracted by its price swings.“Like it or not, people want exposure to bitcoin,” Edward Tilly, chairman and CEO of exchange group CBOE Holdings Inc. ( CBOE.O ), said at the same conference.CBOE has applied with U.S. regulators to launch a bitcoin futures contract and a bitcoin exchange traded fund on its venues.Any good trade is started with a difference of opinion, Tilly added. ”So Jamie can be on the short side and the issuers and those trading in physical can be on the long side, and it sounds like we have a great trade.”Dimon may also be on the other side of another bitcoin trade closer to home.At another conference about two hours later, Dimon said that one of his daughters had bought some bitcoin.FILE PHOTO - Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo “It went up and she thinks she’s a genius now,” Dimon said at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference.“WORSE THAN TULIP BULBS”Banks and other financial institutions have been concerned over bitcoin’s early association with online crime and money laundering.The supply of bitcoin is meant to be limited to 21 million, but there are clones of the virtual currency in circulation which have made the market for it more volatile.“It is worse than tulips bulbs,” Dimon said, referring to a famous market bubble from the 1600s.JPMorgan and many of its competitors, however, have invested millions of dollars in blockchain, the technology that tracks bitcoin transactions. Blockchain is a shared ledger of transactions maintained by a network of computers on the internet.Dimon said such uses will roll out over coming years as it is adapted to different business lines.Financial institutions are hoping blockchain can be adapted to simplify and lower the costs of processes such as securities settlement, loan trading and international money transfers.Dimon predicted big losses for bitcoin buyers. “Don’t ask me to short it. It could be at $20,000 before this happens, but it will eventually blow up.” he said.“Honestly, I am just shocked that anyone can’t see it for what it is.”Bitcoin’s price fell as much as 4 percent following Dimon’s comments and was last trading at $4,164. Rumours that the Chinese government is planning to ban trading of virtual currencies on domestic exchanges has weighed on bitcoin recently.“It feels like we are in the midst of a negative news cycle, but even considering all this, we are still trading above $4,000.” said John Spallanzani, chief macro strategist at GFI Group.Reporting by David Henry and Anna Irrera in New York Additional reporting by John McCrank, Angela Moon and Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-banks-conference-jpmorgan/jpmorgans-dimon-says-bitcoin-is-a-fraud-idINKCN1BN2PS'|'2017-09-13T01:32:00.000+03:00'
'c3f78419c7ce06382bbc50be1f75fab6fc6c0b3f'|'Exclusive - McKinsey ignored staff warnings in South Africa Gupta scandal, ex-employees say'|'September 13, 2017 / 6:08 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Exclusive - McKinsey ignored staff warnings in South Africa Gupta scandal, ex-employees say Joe Brock 9 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Steam rises at sunrise from the Lethabo Power Station, a coal-fired power station owned by state power utility ESKOM near Sasolburg, South Africa, March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Global consultancy McKinsey, facing parliamentary hearings in South Africa over payments to a firm controlled by a billionaire family, ignored suspicions raised over several years by local senior staff that companies it worked with were set up to steer state contracts, two former employees said. Since July, when new information emerged about McKinsey’s flagship South African contract, the consultancy has been under increasing scrutiny in a widening corruption scandal over the influence of the Gupta family, businessman friends of President Jacob Zuma. South Africa’s parliamentary committee on public enterprises is investigating whether McKinsey knowingly let funds from state utility Eskom be diverted to a Gupta company as a way of securing a $78 million contract to advise Eskom. McKinsey denies wrongdoing and says it intends to cooperate with the authorities if evidence of any impropriety emerges. “We hold ourselves to the highest professional standards wherever we work and stand firmly against corruption. We are committed to ascertaining the facts and swiftly taking any and all appropriate action,” spokesman Steve John told Reuters. McKinsey has hired law firm Norton Rose Fullbright to assist in an internal investigation. Norton Rose said it would not comment while its probe is under way. The accounts by the two former employees, who spoke to Reuters separately on condition of anonymity because their present jobs do not permit them to speak to the media, could provide fodder for lawmakers who say they have questions about the timeline McKinsey has given of when it learned of potential problems. McKinsey says it carried out a due diligence review on its partner in the Eskom deal beginning in January 2016, and cut all ties with the local firm two months later after it concluded the company was unfit. “We carry out checks on suppliers and partners when we work with them and address issues and concerns when they arise. When concerns were raised we undertook due diligence,” spokesman John said in a written response to questions. But the ex-employees said they had attended meetings in Johannesburg where problems with that firm and a precursor company employing the same principal staff had been discussed much earlier: as far back as 2013. The ex-employees said they would have expected such concerns to have been escalated to managers outside South Africa, although they did not know if that had happened. Ultimately, McKinsey accepted the Eskom account in spite of the warnings, the sources said. “We turned a blind eye,” said one. McKinsey spokesman John said he could not comment on meetings that may have taken place without knowing the names of the participants. Natasha Mazzone of the opposition Democratic Alliance, a member of the parliamentary committee investigating the affair, said the committee would be looking at what McKinsey knew, and when, about the intentions of its local partners. “If McKinsey is found to have been deliberately misleading South Africa and assisting in state capture, they will certainly be held to account and recommendations will be made to the portfolio committee.” “STATE OF CAPTURE” McKinsey’s Eskom contract was huge for the consultancy, accounting for more than half of its South African revenue, according to the two ex-employees. The deal coalesced even as a number of other business services firms were curtailing their work for South African state firms in the wake of an anti-corruption watchdog’s report into the Guptas. The 355-page report by the constitutionally-mandated Public Protector watchdog, entitled “State of Capture”, accused the government of improperly steering hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts to Gupta-controlled firms. The Guptas and President Zuma deny wrongdoing and say the scandal has been manufactured to undermine Zuma’s leadership. While McKinsey was working for Eskom in 2015-2016, Eskom paid 30 percent of the deal’s value to a firm called Trillian, which was controlled at the time by a Gupta family ally. The three parties, McKinsey, Eskom and Trillian, have given contradictory explanations for the payments to Trillian. Eskom says it paid because it was told by McKinsey that Trillian was McKinsey’s subcontractor. The utility declined to answer further questions for this story. Trillian, in response to Reuters questions, said it “was the partner of McKinsey and was paid its proportionate share of what McKinsey and Trillian billed against work done.” It said it was no longer controlled by the Guptas, as longterm Gupta family business partner Salim Essa had sold his shares this year. Essa did not respond to requests for comment. McKinsey has long said it was not responsible for the payments, never had any contractual relationship with Trillian and had severed all ties with the company in March 2016. But in July this year, several South African newspapers released a leaked Feb. 2016 letter by a McKinsey director instructing Eskom to pay Trillian and describing Trillian as McKinsey’s subcontractor. McKinsey says the letter “inaccurately characterised” its relationship with Trillian. The McKinsey director who wrote it, Vikas Sagar, has been placed on leave pending the outcome of McKinsey’s internal investigation. Sagar did not respond to attempts to reach him on social media, and McKinsey declined to make him available for comment. Mazzone of the opposition Democratic Alliance said: “We need to establish why a firm like McKinsey agreed to a 30 percent share of work with Trillian in the first place, when exactly they realised that siphoning to Gupta companies was taking place and if they alerted the Minister of Public Enterprises to possible concerns.” TIMELINE The two ex-employees said McKinsey’s South African office had been wrestling for years with the question of whether it was working with local companies that were little more than window-dressing to get contracts. Trillian was formed in 2015 by directors from another firm called Regiments, and employed many of the same principal staff. Regiments had already been McKinsey’s local partner on another contract since 2012, and the ex-employees said McKinsey’s office considered the new company to be a spin-off of the older one, intended to play a similar role in future deals. According to the ex-employees, McKinsey partners in South Africa told managers in the country that they thought both Regiments and Trillian had few capabilities, and were valuable mainly for political connections necessary to secure contracts. “At least two (Johannesburg-based) partners raised concerns about using Regiments as a sub-contractor back in 2013. It seemed clear Regiments was a way of us winning the contract and if we caused a fuss we would lose business,” one of the ex-employees said. “We had several meetings between 2013 and 2016 at top level locally about Regiments and Trillian, where it was asked: how are these unqualified companies winning us contracts? Why are the contract amounts so favourable? Why do we have to use them to get business?” In a statement to Reuters, Regiments strongly rejected the suggestion that it was employed by McKinsey solely to win contracts. Regiments had received “numerous client and McKinsey acknowledgements of our value add and delivery,” it said. “Regiments was never involved in the procurement process, except to provide our profile to McKinsey on a few occasions.” According to the ex-employees, as the Eskom deal was coming together in 2015, there was strong resistance within McKinsey’s South Africa office to working with Regiments personnel and their new vehicle Trillian on the Eskom bid. They said a McKinsey partner approached an Eskom board member in September 2015 to say that McKinsey did not want to work with either Regiments or Trillian, due to concerns over the ownership of those companies and their capabilities. A former Eskom executive, who also spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, confirmed that conversation took place. The McKinsey ex-employees said the partner who made the overture to the Eskom board member was shifted off the project and replaced by Sagar, who was promoted to the rank of director. Sagar then wrote his letter to Eskom describing Trillian as McKinsey’s subcontractor and instructing Eskom to pay it. The Eskom deal was too big to jeopardise by looking too closely at the role of the Guptas, the ex-employees said. “Losing a contract of that size would have serious implications for the business and staff in South Africa,” said one. “It was considered a risk worth taking.” Editing by Peter Graff '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-safrica-mckinsey/exclusive-mckinsey-ignored-staff-warnings-in-south-africa-gupta-scandal-ex-employees-say-idUKKCN1BO0HW'|'2017-09-13T09:07:00.000+03:00'
'5a9d1c3b1c4c73f3d71570f9bb62eff558d4da9b'|'Oil prices expected to stay in a range of $50-$60, says BP CEO'|'  12:25 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Oil prices expected to stay in a range of $50-$60, says BP CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley addresses the gathering during a media interaction in New Delhi, India, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices are expected to hold between $50 and $60 a barrel as bloated global stocks fall after a deal between OPEC and other producers to trim output, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said on Thursday. “It was always going to take quite a while for stocks to come down. But for the OPEC and non-OPEC producer agreement, from everything we see, there is broadly compliance in place and stock levels are coming down,” Dudley said in an interview with Reuters. “We don’t expect a spike up in prices nor do we expect a big drop in prices. So we’re all trying to make our way in this world of between $50 and $60 and I would expect that to continue.” The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, are reducing crude output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until next March in an attempt to support prices by cutting a glut of crude oil on world markets. OPEC top producer Saudi Arabia and several other countries have held talks in recent days on a possible extension of the deal. Reporting by Ron Bousso, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bp-oil/oil-prices-expected-to-stay-in-a-range-of-50-60-says-bp-ceo-idINKCN1BP1LH'|'2017-09-14T15:23:00.000+03:00'
'f5ab0592b4f36871e551abe9d5c4e1093bd9e497'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 14'|'Sept 14 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.Headlines- U.S. orders agencies to stop using Kaspersky cyber software- South African opposition sets sights on McKinsey- Facebook acts to protect brands with new ad placement rules- Toshiba to speed up talks with Bain-led group on $20bn chip saleOverview- The Trump administration on Wednesday told U.S. government agencies to remove Kaspersky Lab products from their networks, saying it was concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence. on.ft.com/2vUeIxv- South Africa''s main opposition party has taken aim at Global consultancy McKinsey for its involvement in the scandal surrounding the Gupta business family that has caused the collapse of Bell Pottinger''s British arm. on.ft.com/2vUacyP- Facebook has tightened its rules on who can make money from advertising on its network, after brands withdrew their ads from Youtube for being placed before explicit or controversial content. on.ft.com/2vUasOj- Toshiba Corp said on Wednesday it has agreed to focus on selling its prized chips unit to a group led by Bain Capital, although it is not ruling out a deal with other bidders. on.ft.com/2vUaDcr (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-14-idUSL2N1LU2EF'|'2017-09-14T02:18:00.000+03:00'
'9a4620d99c7ac07b752767c03196808895f9ab9a'|'VW, China partners to recall 4.86 million vehicles over Takata air bags - watchdog'|'Reuters TV United States September 14, 2017 / 3:35 AM / Updated an hour ago VW, China partners to recall 4.86 mln vehicles over Takata air bags: watchdog Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman stands next to a logo of Takata Corp at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, November 6, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) and its Chinese joint ventures FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen will recall 4.86 million vehicles due to issues with air bags supplied by bankrupt auto parts maker Takata Corp, China’s quality watchdog said on Thursday. The recall comes after the watchdog asked the German automaker, General Motors Co ( GM.N ) and Daimler AG’s ( DAIGn.DE ) Mercedes-Benz earlier this year to recall vehicles equipped with Takata air bags. The watchdog estimated over 20 million cars in China had air bags made by Takata, which have been linked to at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries globally. The air bags have the potential to explode with too much force and spray shrapnel. China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said VW China would recall 103,573 vehicles, FAW-Volkswagen 2.35 million vehicles and SAIC Volkswagen 2.4 million vehicles. The watchdog said the recall would begin in March next year and continue into 2019. Volkswagen officials did not provide immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. Of 37 vehicle manufacturers affected by the faulty air bag issue in China, 24 had recalled 10.59 million cars as at the end of June. A further five had made plans to recall 1.26 million vehicles. Volkswagen delivered 3.98 million vehicles in China last year, an increase of 12.2 percent on 2015, making it the biggest foreign automaker in the country. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-china-recall/vw-china-jvs-to-recall-4-86-million-vehicles-over-takata-air-bags-china-quality-watchdog-idUKKCN1BP0AA'|'2017-09-14T07:29:00.000+03:00'
'ead0dd6ea800372d72551e281a200a99609a102e'|'Clariant may join Swiss blue-chip index if disputed merger succeeds'|'September 15, 2017 / 1:12 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Clariant may join Swiss blue-chip index if disputed merger succeeds John Miller 4 Min Read The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - Specialty chemicals maker Clariant’s ( CLN.S ) proposed merger with U.S.-based Huntsman ( HUN.N ) may catapult the combined company into Switzerland’s blue-chip Swiss Market Index, lifting its appeal for funds focusing on the largest Swiss companies. The $20 billion tie-up plan must first survive a challenge from activist U.S.-based funds Corvex and 40 North, whose vehicle White Tale has taken a roughly 10 percent stake in Clariant in its bid to convince shareholders to reject the deal. A vote is expected by January, with two-thirds Clariant shareholder support needed for the deal to go through. If the transaction succeeds, HuntsmanClariant - with a market capitalization of about $15 billion - could not only challenge others including hearing aid maker Sonova ( SOON.S ) and money manager Partners Group ( PGHN.S ) that are on the cusp of SMI membership, but potentially eject an existing member. Lonza ( LONN.S ) and Sika ( SIK.S ) joined SMI this year. Insurer Swiss Life ( SLHN.S ), worth just over $11 billion, now has the lowest weighting and market capitalization on the index. “Joining Switzerland’s leading index would make Clariant much more relevant for Swiss funds,” said Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Christian Faitz, adding HuntsmanClariant would also see its profile raised among investors who follow international indicators like the Stoxx Europe 600 Chemicals Index. The SMI includes 20 of the largest, most-liquid publicly traded Swiss companies. Its members include food giant Nestle ( NESN.S ), cement maker LafargeHolcim ( LHN.S ) and drug maker Novartis NOVN. and the 20 firms make up nine-tenths of the Swiss stock market’s free-float capitalization. The SMI’s combined market value exceeds $1 trillion. Several factors determine SMI eligibility, according to the SIX Swiss Exchange, in a calculation that takes into account free float, market capitalization and trading volume. For example, the regulator deducts the value of investor stakes of more than 5 percent from its market capitalization calculation. Based on current ownership tracked by Reuters, two shareholders after the Clariant-Huntsman merger, White Tale and a group of Bavarian families, would likely exceed 5 percent. “Given the company’s dimensions following the merger, inclusion in the SMI is clearly something that is a possibility,” Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Philipp Gamper said. The SMI’s composition is reviewed annually in September, but extraordinary changes are possible. In May, drug ingredients maker Lonza replaced Actelion after the Swiss biotech was bought by Johnson & Johnson for $30 billion, while adhesives maker Sika supplanted chemicals-and-seeds giant Syngenta after its $43 billion acquisition by ChemChina. Investors fighting the merger, Corvex’s Keith Meister and 40 North’s David Winter and David Millstone, say Clariant’s specialty chemicals businesses are a poor fit with what they call Huntsman’s commodity operation. They have not publicly offered a specific alternative. Without such a proposal, analysts say prospects of the transaction succeeding are favorable. “Right now, the only thing that could really change this merger story is for White Tale to find a group of investors, somebody to buy Clariant completely,” Baader Helvea analyst Markus Mayer said. Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-huntsman-smi/clariant-may-join-swiss-blue-chip-index-if-disputed-merger-succeeds-idINKCN1BQ1QE'|'2017-09-15T11:12:00.000+03:00'
'77d1f8506cc2f859253bbd88bb06fc2ecaeb1d70'|'Bain says Dell, other tech firms join its bid for Toshiba chip unit'|'September 15, 2017 / 3:01 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Bain says Dell, other tech firms join its bid for Toshiba chip unit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Toshiba''s used-memory chips are seen at an electronics shop in Tokyo November 9, 2010. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Bain Capital, now in the lead to buy Toshiba Corp’s prized memory chip unit, said on Friday it has brought in Dell Inc and other tech firms as new members of its consortium to bolster its bid. Toshiba said this week it has agreed to focus on selling the world’s No. 2 NAND producer to a group led by Bain and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc but it did not rule out a deal with other suitors including Western Digital. Sources have said that the Bain group also included Apple Inc and the offer was worth 2.4 trillion yen ($22 billion), including a 200 billion yen investment in infrastructure. The U.S. private equity firm said in a statement that in addition to Apple, other members also included Dell, memory product maker Kingston Technology and data storage firm Seagate Technology Plc “who will provide capital in a sign of industry-wide support for an independent Toshiba”. It did not give a breakdown of how much each firm was prepared to invest. Addressing opposition from Toshiba’s joint venture partner Western Digital, which argues any deal will need its consent, Bain said it would honour “all the contractual terms of the Western Digital joint venture”. Reporting by Junko Fujita, Ritsuko Ando and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-bain/bain-says-would-honor-western-digital-contract-in-toshiba-chip-venture-idUKKCN1BQ08V'|'2017-09-15T07:18:00.000+03:00'
'09a36015afcd6ec47b3044d78a50e7615fd071c6'|'UPDATE 1-Motor racing-McLaren split from Honda and switch to Renault'|'* McLaren to end Honda partnership at year end* Former champions agree three-year deal with Renault* Honda to supply Toro Rosso instead* Spanish driver Carlos Sainz moves to Renault for 2018 (Adds background, Quote: s)By Abhishek TakleSINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Former champions McLaren will swap their Honda engines for Renault ones at the end of the Formula One season after calling time on a troubled three-year partnership marked by frustration and failure.Honda will stay in Formula One, replacing Renault as engine supplier to Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso whose Spanish driver Carlos Sainz moves to the French team on loan for the 2018 season.The major shake-up, announced at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, ends McLaren and Honda’s dream of recreating the glory years of the late 1980s and early 90s when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were dominant.“For a combination of reasons our partnership has not flourished as any of us would have wished,” McLaren executive director Zak Brown said in a statement.“It is certainly not for the want of effort on the part of either Honda or McLaren, but the time has come to move ahead in different directions.”Honda Motor Co. President Takahiro Hachigo expressed regret at a move that had become an open secret, and thanked Formula One’s owners Liberty Media and the governing FIA for their part in the dealmaking with Toro Rosso.“It is unfortunate that we must part ways with McLaren before fulfilling our ambitions, however, we made the decision with a belief that this is the best course of action for each other’s future,” he said.Fernando Alonso, the double world champion whose outbursts at Honda’s shortcomings have become a regular feature of race broadcasts, is expected to stay at McLaren.The 36-year-old Spaniard, who won his world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, was not mentioned in the statements but has made having a competitive engine a key demand.BUBBLE BURST McLaren and Honda revived their partnership at the start of 2015 amid a burst of optimism but that bubble was swiftly pricked.Honda has struggled to catch up with rivals and master the sport’s complex turbo hybrid engine regulations. McLaren are now ninth out of 10 in the constructors’ standings and have scored only 11 points from 13 races.The team founded by the late New Zealander Bruce McLaren have won eight constructors’ championships, 12 drivers’ titles and 182 races but are without a victory since the end of 2012.Owned largely by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Company and Saudi-born businessman Mansour Ojjeh, McLaren have gone through internal upheaval with former boss Ron Dennis forced out last November and Brown brought in.Brown said this month that the choice of engine partners, with Honda contributing more than $100 million a year to McLaren’s budget according to insiders, was one of the biggest decisions the team has had to make.“Fortunately, we have extremely committed shareholders (so) that we can make a sporting decision and deal with the economics,” he said then.Renault engines have powered Red Bull to six wins since the start of the Mercedes-dominated turbo-hybrid era in 2014, most recently with Australian Daniel Ricciardo at this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.McLaren will be hoping to be up there too next year and Renault, who have their own works team, looked forward to the challenge.”This is a strategic decision,“ said Renault Sport Racing president Jerome Stoll. ”This alliance is not only technical and sporting, but also comes with marketing and communication benefits.“We know that McLaren will push us hard on track and this competition will be to the benefit of all.”The split also removes Honda from the intense and increasingly embarrassing scrutiny the manufacturer has endured.“Honda and Toro Rosso will work as one team to strive for progress and a successful future together,” said Hachigo. (Writing by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-singapore-mclaren/update-1-motor-racing-mclaren-split-from-honda-and-switch-to-renault-idINL4N1LW3Y1'|'2017-09-15T09:32:00.000+03:00'
'15ea968351f17475f91c57e7a6123dc5024a3783'|'Lachlan Murdoch makes fresh bid for Australia''s Ten Network'|'September 15, 2017 / 3:06 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Law reform sparks bidding war for Australia''s Ten Network Tom Westbrook 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, 21st Century Fox CEO, arrives at the annual Allen and Co. conference at the Sun Valley, Idaho Resort July 11, 2013. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Media scion Lachlan Murdoch made a revised offer for Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ) on Friday, a day after Australia’s senate voted to lift a ban on the ownership of multiple types of media assets, allowing him to challenge U.S. suitor CBS Corp ( CBS.N ). The offer, whose value was not disclosed, escalates the battle for the bankrupt broadcaster into a full-scale bidding war, with Ten having already agreed to a surprise buyout by CBS. Ten went into administration three months ago after a long-term decline in viewer numbers and advertising revenue. But its national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy makes it an attractive buyout target. Murdoch and business partner Bruce Gordon bid for Ten as deregulation of media ownership was moving through parliament. But with the ban still in place, CBS - Ten’s biggest creditor - stepped in, prompting a legal challenge from Gordon. Murdoch, co-chair of News Corp ( NWSA.O ) - publisher of about two-thirds of Australian newspapers - and Gordon, owner of a regional TV station, are now able to counter CBS, as the pre-internet age regulation intended to prevent consolidation is certain to be overturned in a parliamentary vote next month. “Those rules are about to disappear and they’re looking to cash in,” Margaret Simons, an associate professor of media at Monash University in Melbourne, said of the new bid by phone. “Every time the media ownership regulations have changed over the last 20 years there have been almost instant moves by the big players, and all the big players have been pushing and watching and waiting for this for a long time,” she said. CREDITOR PAYOUT Ten is CBS’ biggest Australian customer. Its administrator, KordaMentha, has entered binding transaction documents with CBS, which showed the U.S. firm has agreed to pay at least A$201.1 million ($160.84 million) in cash. CBS has signed and the deal is now pending creditor approval, a KordaMentha spokesman said. KordaMentha published a report to creditors on Monday which showed CBS offered a pool of A$32 million in payouts to unsecured creditors, structured such that KordaMentha said the deal was “superior ... for creditors generally”. The revised bid from Murdoch’s private company Illyria and Gordon’s Birketu raises its proposed cash payable to unsecured creditors to A$55 million from A$35 million, showed documents reviewed by Reuters on Friday. Some large creditors would still receive less than under CBS’ bid, the bid documents showed. The spokesman for KordaMentha had no comment on the revised bid. CBS declined to comment. Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/lachlan-murdoch-makes-fresh-bid-for-australias-ten-network-idINKCN1BQ097'|'2017-09-15T01:06:00.000+03:00'
'360222b5f8ab0b8c7aa1906c0e78c688fad87992'|'Japan manufacturers'' mood sags amid global uncertainty - Reuters Tankan'|'September 15, 2017 / 5:12 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Japan manufacturers'' mood sags amid global uncertainty - Reuters Tankan Tetsushi Kajimoto , Izumi Nakagawa 3 Min Read An employee works at a beer production line at Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings'' factory in Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Noon/Files TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturers’ confidence worsened for the first time in four months in September from the previous month’s decade-high level and was expected to fall further, weighed by global uncertainty, a Reuters poll showed. The monthly poll - which tracks the Bank of Japan’s closely watched quarterly tankan - found the service-sector mood had its best reading in more than two years, adding to recent signs of recovery in private consumption. Compared with three months ago, the Reuters Tankan’s sentiment indexes for manufacturers and service sector firms held largely unchanged, pointing to a steady reading in the central bank’s upcoming tankan due on October 2. Firm tankan results would support the BOJ’s upbeat view on Japan’s economy, which is expected to continue moderate growth after posting its sixth straight quarter of expansion through June. The BOJ’s last tankan showed big manufacturers’business confidence hit its highest level in more than three years in the June quarter. However, the Reuters Tankan sentiment index was seen sliding over the next three months, reflecting uncertainty over the U.S. and Chinese economies - Japan’s key trading partners - as well as risks such as North Korea’s missile launches and nuclear weapons programme. “Our domestic clients are being cautious about capital spending due partly to anxiety about future prospects for Abenomics,” wrote a manager of a machinery producer, referring to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reflationary policy. “Capital spending is being put off overseas as well due to uncertainty on the recovery prospects for Europe, America and China.” Another machinery maker wrote in the survey, in which companies respond anonymously: “While special demands for industrial equipment related to smartphones have subsided, sales of home apparatus are seesawing due to the murky global outlook.” The sentiment index for manufacturers fell two points to 25 in September in the poll of 548 large- and mid-sized companies, conducted Aug. 30-Sept. 12, in which 268 firms responded. The index was down one point versus June, dragged down by producers of industrial materials such as oil and steel. The Reuters Tankan service-sector index rose five points to 34, marking the best reading since June 2015, led by retailers and information and communications firms. The index has risen one point from three months ago. The manufacturers’ and service-sector indexes were expected to fall to 21 and 28 respectively in December. “The domestic market is dwindling and consumption has not livened up with consumers tightening their purse strings,” a manager at one manufacturer noted. “It will take more time to shake off the deflationary mindset.” Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Eric Meijer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-tankan/japan-manufacturers-mood-sags-amid-global-uncertainty-reuters-tankan-idINKCN1BQ0FO'|'2017-09-15T08:10:00.000+03:00'
'fa2cbcef7302182ffe3cc7b40a764cd60e47a34e'|'Barclays whistleblowing head to leave bank - source'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:41 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Barclays whistleblowing head to leave bank - source Kirstin Ridley 2 Min Read The logo of Barclays bank is seen on glass lamps outside of a branch of the bank in the City of London financial district in London September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays’ ( BARC.L ) global head of whistleblowing is leaving the bank, according to a source familiar with the matter, five months after regulators began investigating Chief Executive Jes Staley for attempts to unmask a whistleblower. Jonathan Cox, a former police detective inspector, is leaving after dropping an employment lawsuit against Barclays for alleged whistleblowing rule breaches. His employment case had been listed at the East London Tribunal for Sept. 13, but the tribunal confirmed it had been withdrawn. No details about the case or his allegations have been disclosed. A spokesman for Barclays and Cox’s lawyer declined to comment on his departure, the case and whether there had been any financial settlement. A call to Cox’s office line was directed to his voicemail. Cox joined Barclays in May 2013 according to his LinkedIn profile and led the bank’s whistleblowing team for more than two years. Britain’s two financial regulators have been investigating Barclays and Staley for alleged breaches of whistleblowing rules since April after the CEO tried twice to identify an anonymous whistleblower last year, despite strict UK rules designed to protect them. Barclays has reprimanded Staley and said it would cut his bonus over his attempts to discover the identity of the author of a letter that made allegations “of a personal nature” about a senior banker. But the bank has resisted calls to fire him for what Chairman John McFarlane has called an “honest” mistake. Reuters does not know if Cox was involved in the episode. Cox listed his responsibilities as programme development and implementation, managing regulatory relationships, rolling out a global marketing strategy and protecting employees who report wrongdoing. Additional reporting by Lawrence White; editing by Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barclays-whistleblowing/barclays-whistleblowing-head-to-leave-bank-source-idUKKCN1BQ13Q'|'2017-09-15T14:23:00.000+03:00'
'2ffc58fd8de7d8dc0f6362b430e6efdb5f78f835'|'U.S. stock futures drop, yen gains after North Korea''s missile launch'|'Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of global equities rose and shares on Wall Street set new highs on Friday as investors shrugged off the latest missile test by North Korea, while the dollar eased on unexpected weak economic data that dimmed the likelihood for a U.S. rate hike.Brent oil prices, the global benchmark, held near five-month highs and were on track for the biggest weekly gain since late July. Forecasts for rising demand and the gradual restart of U.S. oil refineries after Hurricane Harvey pushed up prices.Gold fell after a European Central Bank official called for scaling back the bank’s stimulus program. Losses were capped when weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales renewed doubts the Federal Reserve will raise rates in December.Yields on longer-dated U.S. Treasury maturities briefly added to earlier declines after the weak data revived some concerns about slower economic growth in the third quarter and the possibility of a Fed rate hike.Interest rates are lower than at the beginning of the year which makes stocks more attractive, as does a back-drop of a growing global economy, said Rahul Shah, chief executive of Ideal Asset Management in New York.“We made it through the summer without a significant correction. As we head into earnings season, there’s a potential for the market to go even higher,” Shah said.Some of the big tech companies that form a large part of the indexes offer above-average growth at reasonable valuations, he said. Any dip in the equity market because of North Korean missile tests offer investors a buying opportunity, he said.“They tend to talk loud with their threats,” Shah said about North Korea. “But in terms of the actual commission of those threats, I don’t think it’s destabilising to the market.”Japan''s Nikkei .N225 closed 0.5 percent higher and a more than 3 percent jump for the week was its weekly performance since NovemberMSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.11 percent to set a new high for an index that tracks the performance of more than 2,400 stocks in 47 countries.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 55.74 points, or 0.25 percent, to 22,259.22. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.7 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,497.32 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 16.33 points, or 0.25 percent, to 6,445.42.The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of leading regional shares lost 0.41 percent to close at 1,495.38.U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in August as Hurricane Harvey likely depressed motor vehicle purchases, dropping 0.2 percent last month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales nudging up 0.1 percent.The disappointing U.S. data, which included industrial output in August, came after a report that showed the strongest increase in consumer prices in seven months.Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR fell 1/32 in price to yield 2.2023 percent.A eurozone government bond selloff resumed after hawkish rhetoric from a Bank of England policymaker bolstered the notion that central banks across the developed world are moving into tightening mode.German Bunds DE10YT=RR last fell 1 basis points in price to yield 0.433 percent, up from 0.437 percent late on Thursday.Brent oil prices, the global benchmark, held near five-month highs and posted their biggest weekly gain since late July.U.S. crude CLcv1 settled unchanged at $49.89 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 rose 15 cents to settle at $55.51 a barrel.The dollar index .DXY fell 0.23 percent, while the euro EUR= rose 0.15 percent to $1.1936. The Japanese yen weakened 0.62 percent versus the greenback at 110.91 per $1, and sterling GBP= last traded at $1.3567, up 1.28 percent on the day.U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.16 percent to $1,327.20 an ounce.Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/u-s-stock-futures-drop-yen-gains-after-north-koreas-missile-launch-idUSKCN1BP37W'|'2017-09-15T02:03:00.000+03:00'
'e5a993aafa02008c9556aefd897c4821eee3144a'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 13'|'Sept 13 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Nancy Gibbs, the first woman to lead Time magazine, is stepping down as editor in chief, ending her four-year run at the publication''s helm. nyti.ms/2f3ZYZN- Britain''s culture minister said on Tuesday she was inclined to ask the country''s competition regulator to carry out a detailed review of a bid by Rupert Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox to take full control of the British satellite television giant Sky Plc. nyti.ms/2jnRKgg- After a year-long investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that a Tesla Inc system capable of automatically steering and controlling a car had "played a major role" in a fatal crash in Florida. nyti.ms/2h2ypk9- DowDuPont Inc, the chemicals giant, said it would shift the focus of its reorganization plan after shareholders opposed a proposal to break up the company. nyti.ms/2eUN10i (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-13-idINL4N1LU1ZM'|'2017-09-13T02:39:00.000+03:00'
'f82c710d1e1164c6d74f38f5b78bb6b31f84a6a7'|'UPDATE 2-Euro zone bond yields hold gains as Austria 100-year leads supply glut'|'* Austria shocks market by selling 3.5 bln euros of century bonds* German yields stays at highs, close to 0.40 percent* German, Italian bond sales add to supply glut* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Updates prices)By Abhinav RamnarayanLONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Euro zone government bond yields were close to the highs hit on Tuesday after Austria said it would sell 3.5 billion euros of 100-year debt and other borrowers in the bloc lined up bond sales.Bond yields tend to rise when supply increases, and this week is particularly crowded as government and government-backed borrowers rush to access the market before the next European Central Bank meeting.“I think everyone expects the ECB is going to announce tapering in October, so they are trying to get their deals done now,” said ING strategist Martin van Vliet.“But the sell off in long-dated bonds really accelerated yesterday afternoon after Austria announced the deal size,” he said.Austria on Tuesday became the first euro zone country to sell 100-year bonds publicly via a syndication, and the 3.5 billion-euro deal dwarfed previous efforts.Belgium and Ireland have sold “century bonds” in the past, but only through a private placement, and for 50 million to 100 million euros each.On Wednesday, most euro zone government bond yields hovered around the highs hit on Tuesday.The yield on Germany’s 10-year government bond, the region’s benchmark, rose to 0.40 percent after recording its biggest daily rise since early July on Tuesday. It is now well over the 0.286 percent low reached as recently as Friday.The Netherlands sold 10 billion euros of bonds via auctions on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Germany sold over 2.4 billion euros of 10-year bonds and Italy sold 8 billion euros of bonds of various tenors .The European Investment Bank is to sell 3 billion euros of bonds maturing in December 2023, according to a banker working on the deal.“The high-duration supply is causing indigestion in euro rates markets with weaker euro and firmer risk sentiment adding to the downside in Bunds,” analysts at Commerzbank said in a note.Lingering concern about tapering of the ECB’s bond-buying stimulus also cast a shadow over bond markets after a report on Friday that rate-setters agreed last week to start reducing the bond purchases, with a decision likely at their next policy meeting on Oct. 26.The spread between Italian and German 10-year borrowing costs, a key indicator of risk sentiment, widened to 163 basis points, though the Italian bond auctions also played a part, analysts said.For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarketsReporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds/update-1-euro-zone-bond-yields-hold-gains-as-austria-100-year-leads-supply-glut-idINL5N1LU32Q'|'2017-09-13T09:26:00.000+03:00'
'd35a660ba7985afc47540f2925cdfd65419ff62e'|'Less foreign borrowing, longer bonds offset rise in emerging debt levels - BIS'|'U.S. 100 dollar banknotes and Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in this picture illustration in Beijing, China, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Illustration/Files LONDON (Reuters) - A large-scale shift towards domestically issued and longer-dated bonds in emerging markets has helped build resilience to external shocks despite the increase in overall debt levels, the Bank for International Settlements said.The BIS, an umbrella body for global central banks, has warned in the past that developing world risks were entering a new crisis because of a build-up in debt levels, especially in China. But its latest report found that changes in the composition of debt were a mitigating factor.“Borrowing is mostly done in local currencies, at longer maturities and at fixed rates. Taken together, these trends should help strengthen public finance sustainability by reducing currency mismatches and rollover risks,” the BIS wrote.Its quarterly report released on Sunday said emerging market government debt stood at $11.1 trillion, having doubled since end-2007. Public debt as a share of gross domestic product had risen to 51 percent, 10 percentage points above end-2007 levels.But only 14 percent of the outstanding debt of 23 of the big developing countries was in foreign currency, its data showed, down from 32 percent at the end of 2001.While foreign borrowing still made up about a third of the total in some countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Poland, such issuance has broadly declined.“The fall in the share of FX-linked debt in the early-2000s may have helped shield emerging economies from the global market turbulence of the 2007–09 crisis and its aftermath,” the study added.The BIS also noted that bond tenors had risen steadily across emerging markets, with an average maturity of 7.7 years for its sample set of 23 countries. This is only slightly below the average of eight years in developed countries.It cited Mexico and South Africa as examples of countries that had extended average maturity to eight and 16 years respectively - well above many advanced nations.This is not entirely without risk, however, the BIS warned.Longer maturities mean higher global bond yields - possibly as developed nations exit years of super-easy credit policies - “could have a greater impact than previously on the market value of debt, potentially increasing rollover risks and other adverse feedback mechanisms,” the report added.That is because interest rate rises tend to fuel a bigger drop in the price of longer-dated bonds than in those with shorter maturities.Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bis-emerging-debt/less-foreign-borrowing-longer-bonds-offset-rise-in-emerging-debt-levels-bis-idINKCN1BS0P6'|'2017-09-17T19:22:00.000+03:00'
'c76af698854792ba15df76612ac98ee51be9613a'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Sept 15 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Friday:** Media scion Lachlan Murdoch made a revised offer for Ten Network Holdings Ltd, a day after Australia’s senate voted to lift a ban on the ownership of multiple types of media assets, allowing him to challenge U.S. suitor CBS Corp.** Amazon.com Inc is interested in buying German online pharmacy Shop Apotheke, trade publication Apotheke Adhoc reported.** Russian lenders Promsvyazbank and Vozrozhdenie plan to merge next month, Vozrozhdenie said in a regulatory filing.** Nestle has bought a majority stake in California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, marking a first step by the packaged coffee leader into the hipster world of speciality bars that serve high-end, single-origin and cold brewed coffees.** British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said on it had continued its global expansion with a joint venture deal to enter the South Korean market.** Eurobank is in talks with Banca Transilvania to sell its subsidiaries in Romania as part of a restructuring plan agreed by Greece’s third largest lender with European Union authorities.** JD Finance, a unit of China’s No.2 e-commerce firm JD.com , is in talks to buy a 24 percent stake worth about $1.5 billion in domestic brokerage First Capital Securities Co Ltd , people with knowledge of the matter said.** Bain Capital, now in the lead to buy Toshiba Corp’s prized memory chip unit, said it has brought in Dell Inc and other tech firms as new members of its consortium to bolster its bid.** France’s Engie SA has received final bids from Chinese-owned Alinta Energy and private Australian firm Delta Electricity for its Loy Yang B coal-fired power plant in Australia, two people familiar with the process said.** “Moneyball” baseball executive Billy Beane is joining a consortium including Chinese businessman Chien Lee and American investor Paul Conway to acquire English soccer club Barnsley, a source close to the matter told Reuters. (Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1LW3LO'|'2017-09-15T08:17:00.000+03:00'
'ce638c3f55bfff57e37049b02012f78ca8ffd135'|'Lindorff/Intrum Justitia eyes Italian debt collection business'|'VENICE, Italy, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Lindorff/Intrum Justitia would be interested in buying an Italian bank’s debt collection business to expand in the country, the head of the Scandinavian group’s Italian unit said.Swedish debt collection firm Intrum Justitia this year bought Norwegian rival Lindorff to create a firm with more than 8,000 employees and operations in 23 European states.“We would like to be among the top three players in the Italian market in three-to-five years’ time,” Lindorff/Intrum Justitia’s managing director for Italy, Antonella Pagano, said.Italy’s 350 billion euro ($418 billion) impaired debt market has attracted interest from international investors hunting for high returns from risky assets that banks are under pressure to shed.Buying a bank’s debt collection business would allow the Scandinavian firm to expand quickly, Pagano said on the sidelines of Banca IFIS’s annual meeting on the Italian non-performing loan market, held in Venice.“That’s what we did in Spain where Lindorff bought Santander’s (debt collection) platform Aktua. We are interested in similar assets with a long-term management contract,” she said.Pagano declined to say whether Lindorff/Intrum Justitia would bid for Banca Carige’s debt collection platform, which is up for sale with a 1.4 billion euro bad loan portfolio.A Carige executive said on Friday more than 30 investors had looked at the portfolio, with about 20 expected to submit non-binding bids.Banca IFIS forecasts bad loan sales in Italy this year could reach a record 104 billion euros in terms of gross book value.DoBank, whose top investor is U.S. group Fortress Investment, is Italy’s largest debt collection firm with 80 billion euros of assets under management, IFIS data show.Cerved Credit Management follows with 12 billion euros, while others manage less than 10 billion euros each.($1 = 0.8365 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/italy-banks-intrum-justitia/lindorff-intrum-justitia-eyes-italian-debt-collection-business-idINL5N1LW4GN'|'2017-09-15T14:28:00.000+03:00'
'ae401a511568ba297e4206dfe6d7bc01e3bbeac3'|'Carlyle''s Brazil developer bets on fresh leaders to woo creditors'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A Brazilian land developer controlled by U.S. buyout firm Carlyle Group LP ( CG.O ) investment vehicles has appointed turnaround specialist Ivix Value Creation to help it reverse mounting client lawsuits and avoid filing for bankruptcy protection.São Paulo-based developer Urbplan Desenvolvimento Urbano SA named Ivix partner Alberto Tepedino chief executive officer and appointed another partner, Nelson Bastos, to a key advisory position this week, Tepedino and Bastos said.The move is intended to help Urbplan find a way to avoid restructuring a pool of asset-backed securities and credit worth 450 million reais ($144 million) and recover from a period of weak housing activity, they said.Their first task, they told Reuters on Wednesday, will be reviving confidence among creditors that Urbplan will repay them.“We are not here to carry out an autopsy of the company, which means we’ll do whatever it takes to avert Urbplan’s bankruptcy protection,” Bastos said.Urbplan declined to comment.Creditors have increasingly questioned a three-year, Carlyle-led turnaround of Urbplan, saying it took years for management appointed by the private equity giant to address rising customer delinquencies and stem fast debt growth, Reuters reported in February.Urbplan, which develops residential lots by laying out basic infrastructure, is the target of more than 2,000 lawsuits nationwide. Most of them come from clients who want their land purchases annulled, saying Urbplan halted work during a shareholder dispute that lasted for years.Under Carlyle, Urbplan embarked on an ambitious debt-fueled expansion, often running afoul of complex local urban development rules. Between 2007 and 2012, Urbplan raised about 700 million reais from the sale of real estate receivable-backed notes.The rift between Carlyle and Urbplan creditors has escalated since then, even after the private-equity firm’s investment vehicles, clients and co-investors injected fresh equity and provided the developer with additional funding.Carlyle did not have an immediate comment but has previously defended its record and said Urbplan has largely completed pending projects thanks to its investment.The situation highlights the risks facing global private-equity firms in Brazil, a country of unstable legal and business environments that is still coping with the fallout from a long and harsh recession.Ivix has helped clients - most of them privately held companies strained with soaring debt and legal liabilities - restructure over 10 billion reais since it was founded in May 2011. The firm’s partners will replace a group of Carlyle-appointed executives.Expectations that domestic interest rates will hit a record low by year-end are helping cut Urbplan’s debt-servicing costs, Tepedino said. Still, signs of a recovery in land development may fail to help Urbplan trim unwanted inventory of about 3,500 land lots, he said.Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Editing by Rosalba O''Brien '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-carlyle-group-brazil-ivix/carlyles-brazil-developer-bets-on-fresh-leaders-to-woo-creditors-idINKCN1BQ1EL'|'2017-09-15T09:12:00.000+03:00'
'f3ab50364db18a5a26eca80d7e91eb634436bc7d'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 14'|'Sept 14 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesA new tax for internet companies such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc''s Google is to be drawn up in Brussels amid frustration that tech companies can too easily shield profits from national governments. bit.ly/2xZyM1YEasyjet Plc passengers will be able to book flights for Singapore, Los Angeles and Buenos Aires for the first time under a scheme to open up the budget airline to long-haul flights. bit.ly/2h22kZBThe GuardianThe co-founder of Bell Pottinger Pvt, Tim Bell, has emerged as one of the creditors the firm''s administrators are unlikely to be able to pay back, with a 300,000 pounds bill outstanding from his multimillion-pound deal to leave the City PR firm last year. bit.ly/2h3VtipThe chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation that managed Grenfell Tower, Robert Black, is still being paid his full salary despite resigning from the role after the fire that killed at least 80 people. bit.ly/2h2HJV8The TelegraphThe Government is stepping up pressure on Silicon Valley giants to take responsibility for unlawful material online and share the spoils of the internet with media companies. bit.ly/2h3KFk4Theresa May has been urged to change the law on aid spending after it emerged that Britain cannot use its 13 billion pounds ($17.17 billion) aid budget to help its overseas territories devastated by Hurricane Irma. bit.ly/2h3wM5JSky NewsCar products retailer Halfords Group Plc is to replace departing chief executive Jill McDonald with the boss of Dixons Carphone Plc''s software business. Halfords said Honeybee chief operating officer Graham Stapleton would begin work in mid-January. bit.ly/2h1RlzbBritish energy production company, Drax Group Plc wants to convert two of its remaining coal-fired power units to gas. The move by Drax has been driven by the shift away from coal power. bit.ly/2h2fpC3The IndependentJapanese investment bank Mitsubishi UFJ Securities has announced that it is putting measures in place to move some of its European securities division from London to Amsterdam because of Brexit. ind.pn/2h2NAtAA criminal investigation has been opened after eight people died and more than 100 had to be evacuated when a nursing home was left without air conditioning in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. ind.pn/2y0s2AN ($1 = 0.7572 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-14-idINL4N1LU5K4'|'2017-09-13T21:53:00.000+03:00'
'ed31f05a9977363c9f30902f91811017b3e3679a'|'Credit Suisse reaches $79.5 mln settlement with MassMutual in RMBS case'|'ZURICH, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse is taking a roughly $79.5 million hit to settle charges by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance about its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) business, the Swiss bank said late on Thursday.The new pre-tax charge will be taken in the Zurich-based bank’s third-quarter results and is in addition to its existing legal reserves set aside for the case.“The agreement with MassMutual settles claims pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts related to the sale of 19 residential mortgage-backed securities certificates in 2006 and 2007,” Credit Suisse said in a statement.“The agreement resolves all claims in the two pending securities lawsuits filed by MassMutual against Credit Suisse.”It is Credit Suisse’s latest settlement regarding its RMBS business after it formally agreed in January to a $5.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over claims it misled investors about RMBS it sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.Credit Suisse reports third-quarter earnings on Nov. 2.Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/credit-suisse-gp-mbs-settlement-massmutu/credit-suisse-reaches-79-5-mln-settlement-with-massmutual-in-rmbs-case-idUSL5N1LW0CQ'|'2017-09-15T08:07:00.000+03:00'
'987c363b46f5e353417823b90c7d6f812cd6f183'|'''Saturday Night Live'' delivered laughs, now it''s looking for Emmys'|'LOS ANGELES, Sept 17 (Reuters) - “Saturday Night Live” found laughter and lampoonery in America’s fraught political and social scene and on Sunday the satirical sketch show looks set to reap the benefits at the Emmy awards, the highest honors in television.Led by Alec Baldwin’s withering impersonations of U.S. President Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy’s winning turn as former White House spokesman Sean Spicer, the show earned 22 Emmy nominations after its most-watched season in 23 years.Kate McKinnon is competing in the supporting actress race for her spoofs of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and White House aide Kellyanne Conway on the live show that airs on Comcast Corp’s NBC.Politics promise to run through Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles, starting with host Stephen Colbert, whose relentless attacks on Trump have brought a surge of viewers to “The Late Show.”“The biggest TV star of this year is undoubtedly Donald Trump. No one’s close,” quipped Colbert ahead of the ceremony.Julia Louis-Dreyfus is expected to win her sixth consecutive Emmy for playing an egotistical, losing presidential candidate on Time Warner’s HBO comedy “Veep.”“Veep” could also be a repeat winner for best comedy series, with actor-director Donald Glover’s hip-hop themed “Atlanta” and contemporary African-American family show “black-ish” seen by pundits as its closest rivals.Netflix’s dark Washington drama “House of Cards” and its stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are competing in a drama series category that includes fan favorite “Stranger Things,” dystopian series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” lawyer show “Better Call Saul”, sci-fi drama “Westworld,” British royal series “The Crown” and front-runner family show “This Is Us.”Two-time Emmy champ “Game of Thrones” is out of the running this year because of a later broadcast date for its seventh season.Sunday’s red carpet turnout will feature a slew of A-list movie stars who are flocking to the small screen and the more than 400 scripted shows on cable, streaming platforms and broadcast television.Nicole Kidman’s battered wife in HBO’s “Big Little Lies” is seen as leading the limited series category that features three other Oscar winners: Reese Witherspoon (also for “Big Little Lies”), and “Feud” co-stars Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange.“Nicole is the one to beat. She is having a career resurgence and she played the courageous role of the survivor of physical abuse in marriage,” said Tom O‘Neil, founder of awards website goldderby.comThe Emmy awards will be shown live on CBS television starting at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Mary MillikenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/awards-emmys/saturday-night-live-delivered-laughs-now-its-looking-for-emmys-idUSL2N1LW1IN'|'2017-09-17T16:00:00.000+03:00'
'e1af29e84f9a619903e507ef6157b3a083e83fca'|'''Saturday Night Live'' delivered laughs, now it''s looking for Emmys'|'LOS ANGELES, Sept 17 (Reuters) - “Saturday Night Live” found laughter and lampoonery in America’s fraught political and social scene and on Sunday the satirical sketch show looks set to reap the benefits at the Emmy awards, the highest honors in television.Led by Alec Baldwin’s withering impersonations of U.S. President Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy’s winning turn as former White House spokesman Sean Spicer, the show earned 22 Emmy nominations after its most-watched season in 23 years.Kate McKinnon is competing in the supporting actress race for her spoofs of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and White House aide Kellyanne Conway on the live show that airs on Comcast Corp’s NBC.Politics promise to run through Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles, starting with host Stephen Colbert, whose relentless attacks on Trump have brought a surge of viewers to “The Late Show.”“The biggest TV star of this year is undoubtedly Donald Trump. No one’s close,” quipped Colbert ahead of the ceremony.Julia Louis-Dreyfus is expected to win her sixth consecutive Emmy for playing an egotistical, losing presidential candidate on Time Warner’s HBO comedy “Veep.”“Veep” could also be a repeat winner for best comedy series, with actor-director Donald Glover’s hip-hop themed “Atlanta” and contemporary African-American family show “black-ish” seen by pundits as its closest rivals.Netflix’s dark Washington drama “House of Cards” and its stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are competing in a drama series category that includes fan favorite “Stranger Things,” dystopian series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” lawyer show “Better Call Saul”, sci-fi drama “Westworld,” British royal series “The Crown” and front-runner family show “This Is Us.”Two-time Emmy champ “Game of Thrones” is out of the running this year because of a later broadcast date for its seventh season.Sunday’s red carpet turnout will feature a slew of A-list movie stars who are flocking to the small screen and the more than 400 scripted shows on cable, streaming platforms and broadcast television.Nicole Kidman’s battered wife in HBO’s “Big Little Lies” is seen as leading the limited series category that features three other Oscar winners: Reese Witherspoon (also for “Big Little Lies”), and “Feud” co-stars Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange.“Nicole is the one to beat. She is having a career resurgence and she played the courageous role of the survivor of physical abuse in marriage,” said Tom O‘Neil, founder of awards website goldderby.comThe Emmy awards will be shown live on CBS television starting at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Mary Milliken '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/awards-emmys/saturday-night-live-delivered-laughs-now-its-looking-for-emmys-idINL2N1LW1IN'|'2017-09-17T11:01:00.000+03:00'
'1df8abdb79aaf72dfe44470575af72f16701420b'|'ZhongAn aims to offer life insurance after HK share sale'|'HONG KONG (Reuters) - ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd [IPO-ZAOL.HK] plans to add life insurance and other healthcare products to the range of policies China’s first internet-only insurer offers to accelerate its growth after going public in Hong Kong.The company, founded by Alibaba ( BABA.N ) Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Tencent ( 0700.HK ) Chairman Pony Ma and Ping An Insurance Group ( 2318.HK ) Chairman Ma Mingzhe also plans to offer its technology to insurers inside and outside of China, it said on Sunday.ZhongAn is offering 199.3 million new shares in an indicative range of HK$53.70 to HK$59.70 each, putting its initial public offering at up to HK$11.9 billion ($1.52 billion). Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) agreed to buy a stake of just below 5 percent in ZhongAn as a cornerstone investor in the IPO, investing about $550 million.“This is a good marriage for the company in the sense that this is a very strategic, visionary investor and they’ve done a lot of study into the company. Softbank is definitely a very strong stamp of approval,” Chief Financial Officer Francis Tang said at a news conference.SoftBank could make the investment through SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, or other affiliates, ZhongAn said.The company plans to use the new funds to bolster its capital base and cope with a 70 percent surge in gross written premiums in the three months ended March 2017, compared with the same period last year.“We are at a fast-pace growth stage, so we want to make sure that we have the sufficient capital because as an insurance company we have to have a strong capital base to do more business,” Tang said. “So when we see more business coming in, we want to make sure this won’t become a bottleneck.”The company has sold more than 8.2 billion policies to some 543 million people since its inception in 2013 in five areas: travel, health, consumer finance, auto and lifestyle consumption, where it started by insuring shipping returns at e-commerce giant Alibaba’s online marketplace.ZhongAn is applying for a license to offer life insurance products, Tang said, without giving an expected timeline for approval. It already offers 262 different types of insurance products and wants to add more within the five core areas.“We can further develop the depth and breadth in each of them,” Tang said. “We’re looking more at the pain points when you conduct your daily activities on the Internet ... what kind of protections do people need? We want to address those.”ZhongAn also plans to earn more in coming years from the sale of its technology to other insurers and partners within China and abroad.“This is how we want to see our expansion, not just outside China, but also inside China,” Tang said.($1 = 7.8188 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Elzio Barreto, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-zhongan-online-ipo/zhongan-aims-to-offer-life-insurance-after-hk-share-sale-idINKCN1BS0K3'|'2017-09-17T12:16:00.000+03:00'
'd829568176d71b8effd8f87a46de5fbe62dc92ec'|'Clariant may join Swiss blue-chip index if disputed merger succeeds'|'The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - Specialty chemicals maker Clariant’s ( CLN.S ) proposed merger with U.S.-based Huntsman ( HUN.N ) may catapult the combined company into Switzerland’s blue-chip Swiss Market Index, lifting its appeal for funds focusing on the largest Swiss companies.The $20 billion tie-up plan must first survive a challenge from activist U.S.-based funds Corvex and 40 North, whose vehicle White Tale has taken a roughly 10 percent stake in Clariant in its bid to convince shareholders to reject the deal.A vote is expected by January, with two-thirds Clariant shareholder support needed for the deal to go through.If the transaction succeeds, HuntsmanClariant - with a market capitalization of about $15 billion - could not only challenge others including hearing aid maker Sonova ( SOON.S ) and money manager Partners Group ( PGHN.S ) that are on the cusp of SMI membership, but potentially eject an existing member.Lonza ( LONN.S ) and Sika ( SIK.S ) joined SMI this year. Insurer Swiss Life ( SLHN.S ), worth just over $11 billion, now has the lowest weighting and market capitalization on the index.“Joining Switzerland’s leading index would make Clariant much more relevant for Swiss funds,” said Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Christian Faitz, adding HuntsmanClariant would also see its profile raised among investors who follow international indicators like the Stoxx Europe 600 Chemicals Index.The SMI includes 20 of the largest, most-liquid publicly traded Swiss companies. Its members include food giant Nestle ( NESN.S ), cement maker LafargeHolcim ( LHN.S ) and drug maker Novartis NOVN. and the 20 firms make up nine-tenths of the Swiss stock market’s free-float capitalization.The SMI’s combined market value exceeds $1 trillion.Several factors determine SMI eligibility, according to the SIX Swiss Exchange, in a calculation that takes into account free float, market capitalization and trading volume.For example, the regulator deducts the value of investor stakes of more than 5 percent from its market capitalization calculation.Based on current ownership tracked by Reuters, two shareholders after the Clariant-Huntsman merger, White Tale and a group of Bavarian families, would likely exceed 5 percent.“Given the company’s dimensions following the merger, inclusion in the SMI is clearly something that is a possibility,” Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Philipp Gamper said.The SMI’s composition is reviewed annually in September, but extraordinary changes are possible.In May, drug ingredients maker Lonza replaced Actelion after the Swiss biotech was bought by Johnson & Johnson for $30 billion, while adhesives maker Sika supplanted chemicals-and-seeds giant Syngenta after its $43 billion acquisition by ChemChina.Investors fighting the merger, Corvex’s Keith Meister and 40 North’s David Winter and David Millstone, say Clariant’s specialty chemicals businesses are a poor fit with what they call Huntsman’s commodity operation.They have not publicly offered a specific alternative. Without such a proposal, analysts say prospects of the transaction succeeding are favorable.“Right now, the only thing that could really change this merger story is for White Tale to find a group of investors, somebody to buy Clariant completely,” Baader Helvea analyst Markus Mayer said.Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-huntsman-smi/clariant-may-join-swiss-blue-chip-index-if-disputed-merger-succeeds-idUSKCN1BQ1QE'|'2017-09-15T16:07:00.000+03:00'
'530fe0b7c97e73bbd910d66e23ec984341ac5b76'|'Mazda to make hybrid, electric cars by early 2030s - Kyodo'|' 36 AM / 6 minutes ago Mazda to make hybrid, electric cars by early 2030s: Kyodo Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Mazda Motor''s logo is pictured at its news conference in Tokyo, Japan August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp plans to make its vehicle models electric-based, including petrol hybrids, by the early 2030s, Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Friday. A Mazda spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. Mazda does not sell any all-battery electric vehicles at the moment, however, it markets a hybrid model. Last month, the auto manufacturer said it has developed an ultra-efficient petrol engine, which can be used in hybrid models, and plans to incorporate that in its cars from 2019 onwards. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mazda-electric/mazda-to-make-hybrid-electric-cars-by-early-2030s-kyodo-idUKKCN1BQ0B7'|'2017-09-15T06:36:00.000+03:00'
'7aaf514bec8e2248728cb5cb27027194ef2e2b7d'|'Life after Rosneft deal: CEFC ambitions face debt, regulatory hurdles'|'FILE PHOTO: A logo of Russian state oil firm Rosneft is seen at its office in Moscow, October 18, 2012. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - CEFC China Energy is considering more deals after recently snapping up a $9.1 billion stake in Russia’s Rosneft, industry sources said, shrugging off a growing debt pile and rising regulatory scrutiny.Privately owned CEFC, in just a few years, has gone from a niche oil trader to a $25 billion conglomerate with strong political ties and a rare contract to store part of the nation’s strategic oil reserve.Its ambit now extends beyond oil assets to infrastructure and even financial services. It is one of a handful of conglomerates in China with all financial services licenses, owning or controlling banks, an insurer, a brokerage firm, a trading platform and several funds, according to its website.CEFC has long held overseas growth ambitions and grabbed the spotlight when it became the first to clinch a major deal since China’s recent crackdown on over-heated acquisitions.Last week, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing, CEFC agreed to buy a 14.2 percent stake in Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, from commodities giant Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority.But CEFC, whose ultimate owners are individuals, according to public corporate registry filings, has a broader plan. Industry executives and analysts describe the 15-year-old group as wanting to be the new Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, or China’s own Glencore. That would mean more deals are inevitable.CEFC is considering investing in En+ as part of the aluminum-to-power conglomerate’s planned IPO, Reuters reported earlier this week.And the group had expressed interest in investing in Portugal during a recent visit, with energy and insurance assets likely targets, according to industry sources.CEFC has tapped China Development Bank and Russian lender VTB to help fund the Rosneft deal, one banking source said. CDB, a Chinese policy bank, has long supported CEFC and is its biggest lender, according to the company’s financial reports.A senior CEFC executive said it is in discussions with CDB on financing the stake buy but added it was too early to give details. CEFC has 30 billion yuan trade financing credit line with CDB, he said.“CEFC will use our own cash flow and borrowings from Chinese and foreign institutions to finance the Rosneft deal,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.CDB and VTB did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.WATCHFUL EYE But CEFC’s ambition is not without risks. It has billions of dollars in debt coming due in the months ahead. And the Rosneft deal - CEFC’s most high-profile to date - will aggravate its debt burden.The company has around 44 billion yuan ($6.7 billion) of short term borrowing due by the first half of 2018, according to its 2017 half-year financial report, as disclosed to onshore bondholders. Its total debt amounted to 117 billion yuan at end-June, compared to total assets of 169 billion yuan. It reported a 2016 net profit of 4.5 billion yuan.Roughly 60-70 percent of the Rosneft deal value is being funded through debt, according to one banking source with direct knowledge of the transaction.In a July ratings report on CEFC’s debt issuing entity Shanghai CEFC International Group, China Lianhe Credit Rating cautioned there were uncertainties in the company’s overseas investments and businesses due to fluctuating oil prices, and that its rapidly growing short-term debt and increasing debt burden could have negative impact on the company’s operations and development. It did not change its AAA long-term credit ratings on the entity.“The company conducts relevant investments based on our long-term growth strategy, healthy financial status and thorough risk assessment,” CEFC said.CEFC will also need to address regulatory concerns, not least over how its Rosneft acquisition circumnavigates U.S sanctions.The United States has imposed a new round of economic sanctions on Russia and its state-owned firms including Rosneft. Lender VTB is also on the list.According to one person with direct knowledge, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) wrote to CEFC prior to the deal’s announcement, questioning how the sanctions will affect the deal and the Chinese firm’s future business. NDRC did not immediately comment on the situation.CEFC said the company is dealing with a globally respected party and had obtained the necessary guarantees and safeguards as part of the stake purchase agreement. “The company has understood there is no regulation whatsoever that prohibits acquiring these stakes from Rosneft,” it said and declined to comment further.Some of CEFC’s earlier deals are taking a long time to complete amid regulatory scrutiny overseas.A 50 percent stake purchase in J&T Finance Group, which includes banks in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, is still pending approval in several Eastern European countries. CEFC also hasn’t obtained regulatory clearance to buy 51 percent of KMG International, a fully-owned unit of Kazakh state oil and gas firm KazMunayGaz.Sources at Chinese state-owned and commercial banks also cautioned they may not be able to provide financing for the Rosneft deal.”We are still deciding whether to join the loan, given the timing right now is very sensitive - following the latest US sanctions,” said one China-based loan banker.Reporting by Kane Wu; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu, Aizhu Chen; and Carol Zhong and Yan Jiang of Basis Point; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cefc-china/life-after-rosneft-deal-cefc-ambitions-face-debt-regulatory-hurdles-idINKCN1BQ0OO'|'2017-09-15T05:17:00.000+03:00'
'8eee4b9ef774d535bebac0ac09e94b6bb2a21d48'|'UPDATE 1-Norway gas pipeline investors go to top court over tariff cut'|'(Adds detail, background)OSLO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - A group of investors in Norway’s gas pipeline network are going to the country’s highest court in a final attempt to overturn a government decision to cut pipeline tariffs that came into effect in October 2016.The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to hear the case in late 2017, one of the investors, Solveig Gas, said in a statement. The hearing, if accepted, will take place in 2018.The government owns 45.8 percent of the Gassled pipeline network via state-owned Petoro, while majority state-owned Statoil has 5 percent.The four investors pursuing the case own a combined 43.9 percent stake. They are in turn owned by Allianz, UBS , the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and France’s Caisse des Depots.In June, a Norwegian appeals court ruled against the four in a lawsuit that argued the cut in gas pipeline tariffs was unlawful and would cost them a combined 15 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.8 billion) in lost earnings through 2028.That verdict overturned a previous decision, and awarded the government 42.2 million crowns from the plaintiffs.Some of the companies involved have said the unexpected decision to lower gas transportation tariffs would hurt the image of Norway as a country to invest in.The government cut tariffs shortly after the four investors bought their stakes in Gassled in 2011 and 2012 from ExxonMobil , Total, Statoil and Royal Dutch Shell for a total of 32 billion crowns.Norway’s ministry of Petroleum and Energy was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Camilla Knudsen and Lefteris Karagiannopoulos; Editing by Gwladys Fouche and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/norway-lawsuit-gas/update-1-norway-gas-pipeline-investors-go-to-top-court-over-tariff-cut-idINL5N1LU4M4'|'2017-09-13T13:44:00.000+03:00'
'5034bd0c3a731c71e9f98e442bdabaaba8ae0023'|'ICO stands for Investor Caution Obligatory'|'HERE is the deal. You can buy an entry in a computer ledger issued by a startup company on the basis of an unregulated prospectus. It is called an “initial coin offering” or ICO. But though the ledger entry is called a coin, you cannot spend it in any shop. And whereas the use of the term ICO makes it sound like an IPO (initial public offering), the process whereby a firm lists on a stockmarket, coin ownership does not necessarily get you equity in the company concerned.This sounds like the kind of bargain that would appeal only to people who reply to e-mails from Nigerian princes offering to transfer millions to their accounts. But ICOs may well be the most popular investment craze since the dotcom boom of 1999-2000; even Paris Hilton, a celebrity heiress, has jumped on the bandwagon. The list of active, upcoming and recent ICOs on the website “ICO alert” covers 31 pages of A4 paper and includes around 600 companies. More than $2bn has been raised in total. There is a serious side to the craze, just as there was with the dotcom boom. The technology that underpins digital currencies—the blockchain—is an important development. This is a secure, decentralised ledger that everyone can inspect but that no single user controls. It seems likely to be adapted for use across the financial system—to record property transactions, for example.Many ICOs are designed to finance applications that will make use of the blockchain—for trading currencies, lending money or searching for jobs. In some cases, the “coins” can be exchanged for services on the site. In a way, this is like selling air miles in a startup airline; investors can either use the miles for flights or hope they can trade them at a profit. For the business, it is also a way of creating demand for the product they are selling.But in plenty of cases, an ICO is just a way of raising capital without all the hassle of meeting regulatory requirements, or the burden of paying interest to a bank. Businesses are able to achieve this feat because investors hope that the coins will rise rapidly in value, as has been the case with bitcoin or ethereum, the best-known digital currencies, which have seen stellar gains in the past year. Nothing makes individuals more willing to take risks than the sight of other people getting rich.But bitcoin is also different from ICOs. Its appeal is as a digital currency that can be used in a broad range of transactions. And the supply of bitcoin is designed to be limited, meaning some people regard it as an electronic version of gold.So there is a chance that bitcoin or ethereum will come into widespread use, although their function as a means of exchange is undermined by the volatility of their price. Currencies must be stores of value, at least in the short term. If you think a digital currency is going to rise 20% tomorrow, you won’t want to swap it for goods and services; if you think it is going to fall 20% you won’t want to accept it.It is also worth remembering that governments set the rules regarding the nature of legal tender within their borders. They will always have the whip-hand when it comes to issuing currency. If they believe that a digital currency is being used for widespread tax evasion, or is distorting the financial system, they will crack down hard.As far as business-related ICOs are concerned, a few may succeed. Investors may well be taking the “lottery ticket” approach, hoping that one big winner will offset a large number of losses. In a sense investors are acting like venture capitalists. But the sultans of Silicon Valley’s VC industry insist on a wide range of rights before they invest their capital, including protection against dilution of their stakes and (sometimes) the right to nominate board members. Investors in ICOs have nothing like that level of protection.In the circumstances, it is hardly surprising that regulators are getting involved. In America, the Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled that these coins may, in some cases, be securities and thus subject to regulation. A British regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, this week warned investors about the risks involved. The Chinese authorities have gone a lot further, declaring that ICOs are simply illegal.It is not easy to draw a line between financial innovation and reckless speculation. Perhaps an ICO will finance some breakthrough that boosts economic efficiency. If you work in the tech sector, you may be able to spot the occasional grain of wheat among the pile of chaff. Everyone else should assume that ICO stands for “It’s Completely Off-limits”.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21728791-regulators-signal-alarm-frenzied-investment-craze-ico-stands-investor?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-12T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'40693e2ac37596ca6d9fab304852d88643d89c4b'|'Horizon Pharma weighs sale of primary care unit -sources - Reuters'|'(Reuters) - Specialty drugmaker Horizon Pharma PLC ( HZNP.O ) is working with investment bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) to review strategic options for its primary care drugs business, including a potential sale of the unit, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.Dublin-based Horizon is in talks with a number of parties interested in acquiring the asset, expected to generate annual revenue of $350 million in sales in 2017, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. They added that the talks are in early stages and may not result in a sale.Horizon declined to comment. Morgan Stanley did not respond to a request for comment.The move would complete Horizon’s years-long transition away from reliance on drugs prescribed by primary care doctors, including arthritis drug Duexis, and toward drugs treating rare diseases, which are often better insulated from pricing pressure.Horizon has invested heavily in building a franchise to treat rare diseases in recent years. It has acquired companies such as Raptor Pharmaceuticals, which treats ailments including a rare metabolic disorder, and Crealta, which treats chronic gout.Meanwhile, Horizon’s legacy primary care faced challenges from efforts by healthcare providers to cut costs and improve quality of care, which has put pressure on drug prices.Horizon has highlighted the unit’s value as a source of steady cash that can finance other deals in the rare diseases space.“As we see other opportunities arise for this business, if there is a transaction that makes sense, then we will pursue it,” said Robert Carey, Horizon’s chief business officer on a May earnings call.The specialty pharmaceutical sector has struggled in recent years, ever since criticism during the election season of high drug prices caused the stock prices of these companies to tumble.A number of drugmakers have responded to the pricing pressure by exploring asset sales as a way to pay off debt or shed underperforming units.Reuters previously reported that Mallinckrodt PLC ( MNK.N ), a specialty drugmaker, was exploring a sale of its generic drug business, which has faced declining revenues in recent quarters.Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals recently agreed to sell to sell contraceptive brand Paragard for about $1.1 billion to a unit of Cooper Cos ( COO.N ).Reporting by Carl O''Donnell; Editing by David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-horizon-phar-m-a-divestiture/horizon-pharma-weighs-sale-of-primary-care-unit-sources-idINKCN1BQ2OY'|'2017-09-15T17:48:00.000+03:00'
'292c14709e324b0b73846c6fa6c975c95a8f48c3'|'High gold prices keep demand in check; India discounts narrow'|'September 15, 2017 / 1:18 PM / Updated 7 hours ago High gold prices keep demand in check; India discounts narrow Rajendra Jadhav , Arpan Varghese 2 Min Read A salesperson attends to a customer (not pictured) inside a jewellery showroom, during Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold-buying festival, in Mumbai, India April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo MUMBAI/BENGALURU (Reuters) - Demand for physical gold in Asia remained lacklustre this week as high prices kept consumers on the sidelines while discounts in India narrowed ahead of a festival season that could reignite buying interest. Dealers in India were offering a discount of up to $4 an ounce this week, down from an $8 discount last week. Recent price strength has dulled Asian demand, one Hong Kong-based trader said. “We are seeing more of selling; because of higher prices, people are taking profit on physical (gold).” In India, demand could improve going into the Dussehra festival in late September, one Mumbai-based banker said. “Until then, it is likely to be subdued and the market could continue trading at a discount,” the banker said. Also weighing on demand was a rally that lifted local rates to about 29,915 rupees per 10 grams, not far from the 10-month high of 30,474 rupees hit late last week. In top consumer China, gold demand was steady, with premiums offered in the $3-$5 range, the same as last week. In Hong Kong, premiums were in the 40 cents to $1 range, versus the 30-60 cent level last week. In Singapore, gold was being offered at a 60-80 cent premium over the benchmark, compared with last week’s premium of 80 cents. “We have seen a slowdown this week because prices are higher,” said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore dealer GoldSilver Central. Benchmark spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,323.21 an ounce at 1030 GMT, but prices remained supported by geopolitical tensions over North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons testing. [GOL/] “We’ve seen a number of clients come in to buy into gold because they’re worried about what’s going to happen in currency and stock markets,” Lan said. Gold in Japan was being sold at discounts of up to $1 to benchmark rates, unchanged from the previous week. Reporting by Arpan Varghese and Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-gold-demand/high-gold-prices-keep-demand-in-check-india-discounts-narrow-idINKCN1BQ1QT'|'2017-09-15T16:18:00.000+03:00'
'e409f8e821765439ce477d4bd9d8188aeed19706'|'UPDATE 1-Batista family member ensnared in Brazil cattle antitrust probe'|'  12:50 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Batista family member ensnared in Brazil cattle antitrust probe Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds JBS response in paragraph 5) SAO PAULO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A member of Brazil’s billionaire Batista family should be declared guilty for fostering anti-competitive practices in the domestic cattle slaughtering market more than a decade ago, a body at antitrust watchdog Cade recommended on Friday. In a post on the government’s official gazette, Cade’s general superintendency recommended charging José Batista Jr., the family’s eldest member and a former chief executive officer of what is now JBS SA, with helping to rig the market. The superintendency also said prosecutors and police in the state of Mato Grosso should receive the results of the antitrust probe against Batista Jr., JBS predecessor Friboi Ltda, and Independência SA, a rival meat company that went bankrupt almost a decade ago. Batista Jr.’s two younger brothers, Wesley and Joesley, have been detained for separate offenses, including insider trading. The board of JBS, the world’s No. 1 meatpacker, put talks to replace Wesley as chief executive officer on hold, Reuters reported on Thursday. JBS did not have an immediate comment. Efforts to contact Batista Jr. were unsuccessful. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Gabriela Mello; Editing by Jason Neely and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-antitrust-jbs/update-1-batista-family-member-ensnared-in-brazil-cattle-antitrust-probe-idUSL2N1LW0MD'|'2017-09-15T15:50:00.000+03:00'
'a9086fae677cf4af8a16481b22957c6867d4564e'|'Germany urges Thyssenkrupp to reach deal with unions over Tata'|'September 14, 2017 / 3:26 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Germany urges Thyssenkrupp to reach deal with unions over Tata Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Files BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Economy Minister urged management at Thyssenkrupp to seek an agreement with its workers over plans to merge the group’s European steel operations with those of Indian peer Tata Steel. A joint venture with Tata Steel is the preferred option of Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger to restructure the group’s steel business, despite ongoing resistance from labour representatives, who fear thousands of job cuts. “Such an important and strategic corporate decision should be made following intensive consultation and in consensus with labour representatives. So far, the labour side is not convinced by the decision,” said Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries, a member of the Social Democrats. “This leads to uncertainty among employees. That is not good for the company and the workers.” Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board will gather on Sept. 24, the day of Germany’s general elections, to discuss the plan and the company this week said it was possible a memorandum of understanding could be announced this month. Unions will stage protests against the plans in the city of Bochum on Sept. 22. Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/germany-urges-thyssenkrupp-to-reach-deal-with-unions-over-tata-idINKCN1BP27W'|'2017-09-14T18:23:00.000+03:00'
'3af16a36b3953e895c2b0582115a74fe8dbd20e4'|'Wall Street set to open lower as odds of rate hike increase'|'September 14, 2017 / 1:21 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago Dow strikes record high as broader market weakens Noel Randewich 4 Min Read A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Rising shares of Boeing pulled the Dow Jones Industrial Average up to a record high on Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell as investors saw higher-than-expected inflation increasing the chances of an interest rate hike. The Dow’s third consecutive all-time high was driven in part by Boeing ( BA.N ), which rose 1.36 percent after Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the aerospace and defence stock. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq moved lower after a Labor Department report showed consumer prices rose more than expected in August, boosting the odds of another interest rate hike this year. The consumer price index’s (CPI) 0.4-percent gain last month was its biggest in seven months and is the last major economic data to be released ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 19-20 policy meeting. “I don’t think the market was expecting that kind of a strength in terms of inflation,” said Victor Jones, director of trading at TD Ameritrade. “What people want is know is whether or not Yellen is going to talk about the lack of inflation as transitory, or whether it is continuing to concern them.” After the data, the odds of a hike in December rose above 50 percent for the first time since July, from 41.3 percent, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The Dow .DJI rose 0.2 percent to end at 22,203.48 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.11 percent to 2,495.62. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.48 percent to 6,429.08, hurt by a 0.86-percent decline in Apple ( AAPL.O ). Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a 0.88 percent increase in utilities .SPLRCU. The energy index .SPNY climbed 0.39 percent after U.S. crude CLc1 hit $50 per barrel for the first time since Aug. 10 on a bullish demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. Helped by strong corporate earnings reports and optimism that President Donald Trump will cut business taxes, the Dow has gained 12 percent this year. The S&P 500, up 11 percent in 2017, is trading at 17.6 times expected earnings, expensive compared with its 10-year average of 14.3, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. “I‘m not taking money out of stocks, but when new cash comes in, I‘m adding to our fixed income, whether that’s preferred shares, corporate bonds or mortgage-backed securities,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa. The consumer discretionary index .SPLRCD fell 0.54 percent, pulled down by a 0.74-percent decline in Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) and a 0.93-percent dip in Walt Disney ( DIS.N ). Equifax ( EFX.N ) fell 2.35 percent after the Federal Trade Commission opened a probe into the company’s massive data breach. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.09-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.20-to-1 ratio favoured decliners. About 6.0 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, above the 5.8 billion 20-day average. Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/wall-street-set-to-open-lower-as-odds-of-rate-hike-increase-idINKCN1BP1TY'|'2017-09-14T11:21:00.000+03:00'
'4c8d7242e1f2ee77dd66a5de26695fa4292052da'|'Trump move to block chipmaker deal bad for America - Xinhua'|'September 16, 2017 / 7:23 AM / Updated 18 hours ago Trump move to block chipmaker deal bad for America - Xinhua Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Lattice Semiconductor logo is seen in this illustration photo September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration SHANGHAI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to block a Chinese-backed firm from buying a U.S.-based chipmaker this week is detrimental to America’s growth and the global economy, China’s state news agency Xinhua said in a commentary on Saturday. Canyon Bridge Capital Partners’ planned $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corp was one of the largest attempted by a Chinese-backed firm in the U.S. microchip sector and was the first announced deal for the buyout fund, which launched last year with a focus on technology investment. U.S. regulatory scrutiny grew after Reuters reported in November that Canyon Bridge was funded partly by capital from China’s central government and had indirect links to its space program. Trump said in an executive order on Wednesday that Lattice and Canyon Bridge “shall take all steps necessary to fully and permanently abandon the proposed transaction” within 30 days. “The move, which is detrimental to both America’s growth and global economic recovery, also runs counter to the mutually-beneficial and win-win nature of China-U.S. relations,” the Xinhua commentary said. Security reviews of investments in sensitive sectors “should not be used as a tool to implement protectionism”, it added, echoing comments by a Commerce Ministry spokesman last week. Citing analysts who said Trump’s decision was made with an eye to the 2018 midterm election, Xinhua called it “penny wise and pound foolish ... It is a short-sighted move to take protectionist measures amid sluggish global growth.” “Chinese investment is not ‘Trojan Horse’ with hidden purposes,” it said. Trump is set to visit China in November. “The two countries need to strengthen dialogue and communication, promote cooperation and exchanges in various fields and properly handle issues of common concerns. Only then can China and the United States push forward the world’s most important bilateral relationship,” Xinhua said. Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by SImon Cameron-Moore'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-trade-commentary/trump-move-to-block-chipmaker-deal-bad-for-america-xinhua-idUKKCN1BR062'|'2017-09-16T10:21:00.000+03:00'
'6150176a35995411a83e140ee16cd6ed62fb0392'|'Lauda to bid for part of Air Berlin with Thomas Cook''s Condor'|'  7:23 PM / an hour ago Lauda to bid for part of Air Berlin with Thomas Cook''s Condor Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An Airbus A330-223 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin takes off towards New York, U.S., from Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay VIENNA (Reuters) - Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda will table an offer for parts of insolvent airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) together with Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) German carrier Condor, Lauda told Austrian newspaper Kurier on Wednesday. Lauda holds 51 percent of the consortium which will bid for 21 Airbus A320 and A321 planes of Air Berlin’s subsidiary Niki - formerly owned by Lauda - as well as 17 additional aircraft flying under the Air Berlin banner, according to Kurier’s online edition. The consortium plans to service short and medium haul flights to tourism hot spots, making use of Condor’s expertise in that sector. “As we have said previously, Thomas Cook and its leisure airline Condor stand ready to play an active role in the restructuring of Air Berlin and its subsidiary Niki. Clearly, we will explore all options,” said a Thomas Cook spokesman. A spokeswoman for Lauda confirmed the Kurier report. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-biggest airline, is set to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with binding offers due on Friday. The airline filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its biggest shareholder, Etihad Airways, withdrew funding following years of losses. Air Berlin had to cancel flights on Tuesday and Wednesday after pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, a move seen as a protest about job uncertainty but potentially complicating efforts to rescue the insolvent carrier. Kurier quoted Lauda as saying he did not understand why the pilots “were accelerating a bankruptcy before Air Berlin is sold.” Germany’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, is seen in pole position to acquire large parts of its rival and a decision on the bids come could as early as Sept. 21, three days before Germany’s national election. One source has told Reuters that Lufthansa is interested in as many as 90 of Air Berlin’s planes. That number includes the 33 being used by Eurowings, five already leased to Lufthansa’s Austrian Airlines as well as planes used by Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, the source said. Media reports said British carrier easyJet ( EZJ.L ) may want up to 40 planes. Aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl said he had submitted a bid for the whole of Air Berlin while German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht has also expressed interest. Air Berlin has also attracted buyer interest from China’s LinkGlobal Logistics, German newspaper Bild reported on Wednesday. Reporting By Shadia Nasralla, Victoria Bryan in Berlin; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airberlin-lufthansa-lauda/lauda-to-bid-for-part-of-air-berlin-with-thomas-cooks-condor-paper-idUKKCN1BO2JI'|'2017-09-13T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'03376fe59e806b57bdaca6cf23c9e2f0f5837f93'|'Asia stocks ease from decade high as China posts rare data miss'|'September 14, 2017 / 12:59 AM / 2 hours ago Weak China data knocks global stocks off record highs Nigel Stephenson 5 Min Read An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Nanjing, China May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer LONDON (Reuters) - World stock prices pulled back from record highs after weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data, while sterling held steady before a Bank of England rate decision later on Thursday. Chinese real estate investment picked up last month, but factory output, fixed asset investment and retail sales in the world’s second-largest economy all fell short of expectations. Shares fell in Asia, knocking MSCI’s All-Country World index .MIWD PUS, which tracks shares in 46 countries, off a record high hit on Wednesday, when Asian shares hit their highest since 2007 and Wall Street closed at all-time peaks. European shares opened lower. The pan-European STOXX 600 index dipped 0.1 percent. Banks were down 0.3 percent .SX7P. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged down 0.1 percent. China stocks .CSI300 fell 0.3 percent and Tokyo''s Nikkei index closed down 0.3 percent as the China numbers weighed on sentiment. The main event for European currency traders is likely to be the Bank of England policy meeting. While no change in rates is expected, investors will be watching whether there is any shift in the number of rate-setters voting for a rise after a jump in inflation last month. Weak wage growth and questions over what Brexit will mean for the economy suggest most policymakers will see the recent surge in inflation to well above the BoE’s target as temporary. Sterling held steady at $1.3208 GBP=D3 , having risen as high as $1.3329 on Wednesday. The pound was also flat at 89.95 pence per euro EURGBP=. The dollar dipped 0.1 percent against a basket of major currencies .DXY, its recent rally pausing before U.S. inflation data which may affect investors’ views on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for a third time later this year. The dollar was marginally weaker at 110.48 yen JPY= and the euro inched down to $1.1882 EUR= The dollar touched a 10-month low of 107.32 yen last week on worries over Hurricane Irma and North Korea but has rallied this weak as U.S. Treasury yields rose and investor appetite for risk grew. “We view this dollar move higher as broadly a corrective move and now the question is how much the dollar can recover before the data,” said Viraj Patel, an FX strategist at ING in London. EURO HEADWINDS The Swiss franc edged lower against the dollar and the euro CHF= EURCHF= after Switzerland''s central bank said its currency was highly valued and that the situation on the foreign exchange market was still fragile. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields edged down 0.3 basis points to 2.192 percent GB10YT=RR. Their German equivalents, the benchmark for borrowing costs in the euro zone, hit a 3-1/2-week high just shy of 0.42 percent DE10YT=TWEB. A weaker euro, which is down 1.7 percent from 2-1/2-year highs hit against the dollar last week, could encourage the European Central Bank to bring forward plans to withdraw monetary stimulus that has crushed euro zone bond yields. “The weaker euro has amplified the headwinds facing the bond market,” said Rainer Guntermann, a strategist at Commerzbank. “With the euro off its highs, it is easier for the ECB to taper next year.” In commodity markets, copper CMCU3 fell nearly 1 percent to $6,491 a tonne on concerns about excess supply. Oil prices held on to most of the gains racked up on Wednesday when the International Energy Agency forecast stronger global demand. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down just nine cents a barrel at $55.06. Gold XAU= hit its lowest in almost two weeks as the dollar held firm. The metal fell to as low as $1,318.75 an ounce before rebounding slightly to $1,323. For a graphic on world fx rates in 2017, click: tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo, Saikat Chatterjee and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; editing by John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-stocks-consolidate-after-touching-decade-highs-dollar-steady-idUKKCN1BP02R'|'2017-09-14T07:00:00.000+03:00'
'20913223b1afafb042ef185fc095d8508bd0c8d0'|'PRESS DIGEST -Wall Street Journal - Sept 14'|'Sept 14 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- A group including Apple Inc and Dell Technologies Inc surged to the front in a race to acquire Toshiba Corp''s memory-chip business. Apple and Dell would likely supply debt financing for the Bain Capital''s bid. on.wsj.com/2y0Hzkl- Equifax Inc said hackers exploited a vulnerability with a U.S. website application called Apache Struts in the data breach that affected potentially 143 million Americans. on.wsj.com/2y0bNDJ- Tenet Healthcare Corp, is exploring strategic options including a possible sale of the hospital company. on.wsj.com/2y0hHVF- U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats closed in on a deal to give legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall. on.wsj.com/2y0cddh- Halimah Yacob, 63, has been named Singapore''s first female president. on.wsj.com/2y0i2Yr- Jian Yung, a Chinese-born New Zealand lawmaker has acknowledged he once taught English to Chinese spies, an admission that comes as his party faces a closer-than-expected fight in a general election just 10 days away. on.wsj.com/2y0mbf5Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-14-idINL4N1LV25T'|'2017-09-14T02:23:00.000+03:00'
'0429a4c1be25620df8f5ec7d0e998d24db29e4ca'|'Morning News Call - India, September 15'|'To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Sun Group Corporate President and CEO Vikramjit Sahney, Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Mahindra and Mahindra Group Executive Board Member Rajeev Dubey at Global Skills Summit in New Delhi. 10:30 am: Mindtree CFO Jaannathan Chakravarthi, Tata Consultancy Services Vice President Finance Barindra Sanyal and Vedanta Group Finance Controller Nitin Gupta at National Conference on Financial Reporting event in New Delhi. 10:45 am: Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa and Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan at India Public Affairs Forum in New Delhi. 11.30 am: Bank of Baroda to announce tie-up with Amazon in Mumbai. 4:00 pm: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant at India Public Affairs Forum in New Delhi. 5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. LIVECHAT - QUIZ EAST The first of our Friday quizzes focuses on Asia and the week''s top news. Tests your wits and googling speed at 11:00 am IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS • WPI inflation hits four-month high in August India''s wholesale price inflation rose to 3.24 percent from a year ago, its fastest pace in four months, driven by higher prices of food and fuel products, data showed. • Google to launch mobile payment service in India - report Alphabet Inc''s Google plans to introduce a localised digital payment service in India as early as next week, technology website TechCrunch reported, citing a report from news site The Ken. • Top cotton buyers flock to India as hurricanes hit US crop The world''s top cotton buyers, all in Asia, are flocking to India to secure supplies after fierce storms in the United States, the biggest exporter of the fibre, affected the size and quality of the crop, dealers said. • VW''s Skoda open to partnerships on India low-cost car - CEO Volkswagen''s Skoda division remains open to teaming up with other players to help meet cost targets to build a low-cost car for emerging markets, its chief executive said, after cooperation talks with Tata Motors collapsed. • Germany urges Thyssenkrupp to reach deal with unions over Tata Germany''s Economy Minister urged management at Thyssenkrupp to seek an agreement with its workers over plans to merge the group''s European steel operations with those of Indian peer Tata Steel. • India invites bids to appoint banks, lawyers for Air India sale India has invited bids to appoint two financial advisors and one legal advisor for the privatisation of national carrier Air India and its subsidiaries, the Ministry of Finance said in a newspaper advert on Thursday. • Goldman units to sell up to $110 million stake in Max Financial Goldman Sachs will sell shares worth up to $110 million in India''s Max Financial Services Ltd today, according to a deal term sheet seen by Reuters. • With China in mind, Japan, India agree to deepen defence The leaders of India and Japan agreed on Thursday to deepen defence ties and push for more cooperation with Australia and the United States, as they seek to counter growing Chinese influence across Asia. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • North Korea fires missile over Japan that lands far out in the Pacific North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan''s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean, South Korean and Japanese officials said, further ratcheting up tensions after Pyongyang''s recent test of its most powerful nuclear bomb. • Japan manufacturers'' mood sags amid global uncertainty Japanese manufacturers'' confidence worsened for the first time in four months in September from the previous month''s decade-high level and was expected to fall further, weighed by global uncertainty, a Reuters poll showed. • Trump says immigration deal with Democrats close, without border wall U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was close to a deal with Democratic congressional leaders on protections for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children, astounding fellow Republicans again while alarming conservative supporters. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • The SGX Nifty Futures were at 10,063.00, trading down 0.60 percent from its previous close. • Indian government bonds are likely to fall in early trade, tracking gains in U.S. Treasury yields. Another missile launch by North Korea over Japan will also hurt demand for risk assets in the region. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.57 percent-6.62 percent band. • The Indian rupee will likely edge lower against the dollar, as risk appetite waned after North Korea fired another missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean and U.S. consumer prices accelerated, reviving bets of another Federal Reserve rate increase this year. GLOBAL MARKETS • Rising shares of Boeing pulled the Dow Jones Industrial Average up to a record high on Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell as investors saw higher-than-expected inflation increasing the chances of an interest rate hike. • U.S. stock futures and Asian shares dipped after North Korea fired another missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean, demonstrating Pyongyang''s defiance in the face of intensifying sanctions. • The yen held steady against the dollar, having risen earlier as North Korea fired a missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean, rekindling investor concerns over geopolitical risks. • U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday, with the two-year yield hitting a seven-week peak as domestic consumer prices grew at their briskest pace in seven months, rekindling bets the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates for a third time in 2017. • Oil prices were lower but largely held gains that had prices flirting with multi-month highs, as the cleanup after hurricanes in the United States gathered pace and the outlook for demand took on a firmer tone. • Gold rose to pull further away from a two-week low, after North Korea fired another missile over Japan, triggering the latest round of safe-haven buying in markets while weighing on the dollar. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.05/64.08 September 14 -$208.05 mln $30.72 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.84 pct Month-to-date -$405.32 mln $356.35 mln Year-to-date $6.60 bln $23.50 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.1200 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall/morning-news-call-india-september-15-idINL4N1LW1EN'|'2017-09-15T01:26:00.000+03:00'
'5b3156f670b15433dbf5c21e2cacc352b0a03025'|'ECB fines Banca Popolare di Vicenza for reporting breaches'|' 03 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago ECB fines Banca Popolare di Vicenza for reporting breaches Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Banca Popolare di Vicenza sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi - RC11C8BF2C50 FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank fined Italy’s Banca Popolare di Vicenza 11.2 million euros (£9.88 million) for breaching its reporting and disclosure requirements between 2014 and 2016, it said in a statement on Friday. Although the ECB determined in June that the bank was failing or likely to fail and subsequently withdrew its licence, the sanction is based on a decision adopted in May, predating its failure. “A penalty of 8.7 million was imposed for breaches of quarterly reporting requirements in Q4 2014 and Q1 2015, and for breaches of annual public disclosure requirements in 2014,” the ECB, the euro zone’s top bank supervisor, said. “A penalty of 2.5 million was imposed for a breach of the large exposures limit from 4 December 2015 to 31 March 2016,” it added. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Alison Williams'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-italy-bankbanks/ecb-fines-banca-popolare-di-vicenza-for-reporting-breaches-idUKKCN1BQ1VK'|'2017-09-15T17:02:00.000+03:00'
'4e44501584406de4b1442e5df54c8291fea9e3b6'|'Coffee consolidation percolates as hipsters drink up'|'LONDON/LOS ANGELES, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Nestle’s high-priced purchase of a majority stake in California-based coffee bar chain Blue Bottle this week, highlights how big companies are seeking exposure to fast-growing premium brands driven by millenials.Industry experts are predicting more deals will follow in the highly fragmented coffee market, which provides richer profit margins than mainstream packaged food and drink.Since 2015 there have been nine coffee deals by JAB Holding Co, owned by Europe’s billionaire Reimann family. With brands like Douwe Egberts and Tassimo sitting alongside Blue Bottle rival Intelligentsia, JAB now owns the second-biggest packaged coffee business behind Nestle, owner of Nescafe and Nespresso.“There are certainly going to be further purchases at all levels of the price tier,” said Matthew Barry, beverage analyst at Euromonitor International, adding that any company that is not doing acquisitions risks falling behind.Earlier this month, Italy’s Massimo Zanetti bought a majority stake in Indonesian roaster Caswell’s and in August, Italy’s Lavazza bought a stake in France’s Espresso Service Proximite, its third acquisition in less than two years.In May, Lavazza’s chief executive told Reuters the company could put together more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) for acquisitions.THIRD WAVE Switzerland’s Nestle announced its deal with Blue Bottle late on Thursday. Its few dozen coffee bars are part of the so-called third wave coffee movement in the United States, which emphasises quality beans and expertly-made drinks.Analysts see the deal as evidence that an energized Nestle, under its new chief executive, is taking steps to reconnect with consumers, particularly young ones.“It emphasises the wish to actively work on the portfolio and build on attractive growth areas,” said Patrik Schwendimann, analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank.The deal gives Nestle entrance to high-end bars that are part refreshment and part theatre, with space-age “siphon” or “vacuum” brewers. While niche, these outlets are seen as testing labs for new trends that may eventually go mainstream, such as cold brew, single-origin beans and nitro coffee.High street chains such as Starbucks and Costa are already moving in that direction and a front-row seat could help Nestle innovate more quickly.Nespresso already has a network of shops but Liberum analyst Robert Waldschmidt sees the Blue Bottle deal as being less about retail and more about Nestle getting a premium brand it may sell in packaged form.“I don’t think they’re trying to reinvent themselves as a retailer,” Waldschmidt said. “They could be looking at going a bit more multi-brand given that JAB is the epitome of multi-brand.”It remains to be seen if there is enough demand for such exotic drinks outside major urban markets, or whether expanding too much will hurt the Blue Bottle brand’s cachet. For now, Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue as a standalone entity.“At a national level, there is no evidence of a shift toward independent coffee,” Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said in a recent report on third wave coffee. “Independents are largely limited to the largest urban markets, which, while important to both chains (Starbucks and Costa), contribute a fairly small share of revenues or profits.”She estimated that the top third wave players - which include JAB’s Stumptown and Intelligentsia, Philz, Counter Culture, Blue Bottle and La Colombe Coffee Roasters - together generate just $126 million in revenue across 123 stores.By contrast, Starbucks alone generated $21.3 billion in revenue last year from 25,085 stores globally.BIG MARK-UP Nestle is the leader in a global packaged food and beverage market that has seen growth slow due to cooling emerging markets, increased competition from upstart brands and changing consumer tastes away from processed food.The company, which is under pressure to improve returns from activist investor Third Point, has identified coffee as one of its key priorities for investment.“There’s a big markup on coffee shop coffees,” Liberum’s Waldschmidt said. “Put it all together and you’ve got growth and margin, and in some areas, barriers to entry. Its fragmented so you can consolidate, which usually leads to margins going up.”Nestle’s overall operating margin was 15.3 last year, whereas the margin in its powdered and liquid drinks unit, which includes coffee, was 20.8 percent. ($1 = 0.8375 euros) (Additional reporting by Angelika Gruber in Zurich; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bluebottle-ma-nestle/coffee-consolidation-percolates-as-hipsters-drink-up-idINL2N1LW1D5'|'2017-09-15T17:58:00.000+03:00'
'89d9b6b08ed8578de9b9016a3cc881b15531ad27'|'Take Five: World markets themes for the week ahead'|'September 15, 2017 / 4:03 PM / a day ago Take Five: World markets themes for the week ahead Reuters Staff 10 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A detail from the front of the United States Federal Reserve Board building is shown in Washington October 28, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron LONDON (Reuters) - Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. 1/ FED COMES ALIVE The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected next week to announce plans to begin unwinding its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in its latest step toward monetary policy normalisation nearly a decade after the global financial crisis. A larger question looms, however, over whether the Fed resumes interest rate hikes later this year. While the Fed and most economists see the U.S. economy continuing to plod along in slow-growth mode, the bulk of data describing the economy’s health has surprised to the downside for months as measured by Citigroup’s U.S. Economic Surprise Index. Persistently weak readings of inflation have been a particular conundrum for policymakers vexed by an inability to coax consumer price pressures upward toward their annual growth target of 2 percent. In the last month, however, the margin of downside surprises has narrowed substantially and this week witnessed the first upside surprise on an inflation reading since the spring. Interest rate futures have responded accordingly, and expectations for a December rate hike have risen so far in September. The chance of a quarter-point increase to 1.25 to 1.50 percent in December has climbed to roughly 50 percent from 31 percent in early September, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Traders pare U.S. Dec rate-hike view on weak retail sales data 2/ BOOM-BUST OR BOOM-BOOM? Stocks hovering around record highs during the second-longest bull market in history have for months led to concerns about an overheated market. But on one measure the rally may have some justification. The Boom-Bust Barometer, an indicator of economic health and momentum, shows that stocks have “a far healthier fundamental foundation than most perceive,” according to James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group. The barometer - which measures a spot price of a range of industrials such as copper, steel and lead scrap, divided by unemployment claims, according to Yardeni Research - has been rising steadily with the S&P since the trough in 2009. Paulsen said the market was not necessarily as extended as people think. While investors were primarily concerned about the Fed “taking the punch bowl away,” they should take greater note of a weaker dollar and lower bond yields since year-end, he said. 3/ SCORCHED BY STERLING The British pound has just posted its best week since 2009 as a sharp reassessment of the Bank of England’s interest projections sen those with large bearish bets scrambling to cover. On Thursday, the Bank of England doubled down on its new warning that official interest rates are likely to rise soon. Sharp moves in the currency have a serious impact on all UK assets which have been in thrall to the pound since last year’s shock outcome in the Brexit referendum. Sterling’s rally dealt a blow to UK bluechip stocks with the FTSE 100 slipping more than 2 percent in the last week while yields on short-dated gilts rose to their highest since the Brexit vote. Global fund managers are more “underweight” the UK than any other asset class or geography relative to historical allocations, according to the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of portfolio managers. Sharp, sustained strength in sterling will change the calculus significantly going into the final quarter of the year. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-themes/take-five-world-markets-themes-for-the-week-ahead-idUKKCN1BQ280'|'2017-09-15T20:54:00.000+03:00'
'60f4661ffbbe48bcf090d18aaada0fee93c51b1f'|'Exclusive: AT&T weighs divestiture of Latin American TV assets - sources'|'FILE PHOTO: An AT&T logo is seen at a AT&T building in New York City, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo (Reuters) - AT&T ( T.N ) is evaluating a sale of its pay TV operations in Latin America as it seeks to pay down debt following its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ), people familiar with the matter said on Friday.AT&T is working with a financial adviser to field interest in the assets, which could be valued at more than $8 billion, the people added, asking not to be named because the matter is private.Liberty Global PLC ( LBTYA.O ), Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA and Millicom International Cellular SA ( MICsdb.ST ), a wireless player in Latin America, are some of the companies that could express interest in all or parts of AT&T&rsquo;s Latin American markets, according to the people.AT&T declined to comment. Liberty Global, Telefonica and Millicom could not be reached for comment.Most Latin American countries, with the exception of Venezuela, have stabilized markets such as Brazil’s rallying after struggling with a recession for several years following the end of a decades-long commodities boom.There is no guarantee that AT&T will be successful in selling the business, which includes satellite and cable television services in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and several other countries, the people said. It could still decide to keep the systems, the people added.AT&T is not interested in selling its pay TV business in Mexico, since it has been investing in wireless services in the country, the sources said. It acquired these TV operations as part of its $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV in 2015.AT&T has been reviewing its portfolio to find ways to help pay down its debt load, which will increase to about $180 million once its acquisition of Time Warner closes.AT&T expects the Time Warner acquisition to close by the end of the year. The deal is currently under antitrust review by the U.S. Department of Justice.AT&T&rsquo;s chief executive, Randall Stephenson, said earlier this week at a Goldman Sachs conference that every year the company “monetizes a number of assets that strategically don’t fit and aren’t in the longterm game plan of the business.” The company has also said in the past that it would be open to a strategic combination in the region.In the second quarter, AT&T had 13.6 million total subscribers in Latin America, excluding Mexico, and generated total revenue of $1.4 billion. AT&T owns about 93 percent of Sky Brasil, the largest satellite provider in the region’s biggest economy. It owns PanAmericana, which offers satellite TV services under the DirecTV brand in countries including Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Puerto Rico.AT&T has also been looking to sell its Digital Life home security business, which could fetch close to $1 billion in a sale, Reuters previously reported. [nL2N1L31SA]Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-at-t-m-a-latamdivestiture-exclusive/exclusive-att-weighs-divestiture-of-latin-american-tv-assets-sources-idINKCN1BR008'|'2017-09-15T22:18:00.000+03:00'
'dc1f79279c5aa3346a443a24e689a70818c83d30'|'China''s 2017 steel output to rise 3-5 percent despite mill closures - CISA'|'September 16, 2017 / 9:26 AM / Updated 15 hours ago China''s 2017 steel output to rise 3-5 percent despite mill closures - CISA Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A truck drives past rolls of steel inside the China Steel Corporation factory, in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s steel output is expected to grow 3 percent to 5 percent in 2017 compared with last year, said a trade body official on Saturday, despite the closure of small outdated mills as surging prices prompted larger players to turn out more metal. The world’s largest steel producer will make about 840 million tonnes of crude steel this year, said Qu Xiuli, vice president at China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Last year, the country produced 808 million tonnes of steel. Steel output at member steel firms of the association - each with annual capacity of more than 1 million tonnes - rose 6.8 percent in the first seven months this year, while small steel mills saw a 2 percent drop in production from last year. That comes after Beijing’s crackdown that shut 120 million tonnes of low-tech steel capacity in the first half of this year and a continuing series of environmental inspections in an effort to curb pollution. “The Chinese steel sector is upgrading and the industry concentration ratio is rising,” said Qu. Of the 808 million tonnes of steel produced last year, only about 36 percent was produced by the top 10 largest steel mills in China, and their portion is expected to increase this year. China has been striving to streamline its heavy industries to reduce debt burdens and produce more high value products. Export prices for steel products in the first seven months of the year rose 43.3 percent to $686 a tonne compared to the same period last year, according to CISA. Shanghai benchmark steel rebar prices SRBcv1 gained nearly 50 percent this year, hitting a 4-1/2-year peak at 4,194 yuan (£471) a tonne in early September, as the market was boosted by expectations of tight supply due to rigorous capacity cutbacks and the environmental checks. The price increases have led to booming profits at Chinese steel mills. “The net profits of Chinese steel firms have raised 390 percent in the first seven months this year to over 70 billion yuan. We expect to see at least 100 billion yuan in profits by the end of this year,” said Qu. Reporting by Muyu Xu and Josephine Mason; Editing by Tom Hogue'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-steel/chinas-2017-steel-output-to-rise-3-5-percent-despite-mill-closures-cisa-idUKKCN1BR08M'|'2017-09-16T12:28:00.000+03:00'
'c2347e8944d2c33b58b07b6c8144af2536d7d161'|'Italian minister suggest ''golden power'' will be used on Telecom Italia'|'September 17, 2017 / 10:56 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Italian minister suggest ''golden power'' will be used on Telecom Italia Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Italian Industry Minister Carlo Calenda talks during an interview with Reuters in his office in Rome, Italy November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government is poised to activate its so-called golden power to intervene with strategic companies, Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said at the weekend amid continuing concern over the ownership of Telecom Italia (TIM)( TLIT.MI ). French media group Vivendi’s ( VIV.PA ) control of Italy’s main telecoms provider is being examined by the government in a review seeking to establish whether Vivendi complied with legal obligations when it built its stake. “We are heading towards a period when international economic relations will be tougher. Therefore Italy has to have the ability to be assertive when it needs to defend its own assets,” Calenda told a conference on Saturday. “This will be valid when we finally apply for the first time the golden power,” he added, without mentioning Vivendi by name Government officials are due to meet on Sept. 25 to discuss whether to sanction Vivendi on the grounds that it had failed to inform the prime minister’s office that it had gained de facto control over TIM. Under a “golden power” clause, the government must be told of any change in control or ownership of strategic businesses, including telecoms companies, within 10 days of it taking place. Vivendi is TIM’s top investor with a 24 percent stake, but it has denied that it controls the company. La Repubblica daily said on Saturday that Vivendi is facing a 298 million euro (261.86 million pounds) fine over the issue. However, Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper reported on Sunday that talks were continuing behind the scenes. Some Italian politicians have said TIM’s telecoms network is a core strategic asset and as such should be nationalised. The Telecom Italia row comes against the backdrop of broader tensions between Rome and Paris over industrial cooperation after France blocked Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri from taking over the STX France shipyards. Italian and French ministers are due to meet on Sept. 27 to try to find a solution to the shipyard problem. Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vivendi-telecom-italia-goldenpower/italian-minister-suggest-golden-power-will-be-used-on-telecom-italia-idUKKCN1BS0E1'|'2017-09-17T13:55:00.000+03:00'
'70f01e6c0a2560c2bc905cd6e5620af8be1dcfe0'|'Exclusive - Canada sought to resolve Boeing military, trade disputes at meeting: sources'|'September 15, 2017 / 5:16 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Exclusive - Canada sought to resolve Boeing military, trade disputes at meeting: sources David Ljunggren , Allison Lampert 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Visitors look at models of Boeing aircrafts at the Aviation Expo China 2015, in Beijing, China, in this September 16, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo OTTAWA/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada last month attempted to end a deepening dispute with Boeing Co ( BA.N ) by suggesting it could withdraw a threat not to buy Super Hornet jets if the U.S. firm dropped a trade challenge against Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The informal proposal would have created an unusual link between trade and arms deals, which are typically separated in international negotiations, trade analysts said, and showed the lengths Canada is willing to go to protect Bombardier jobs. Ottawa froze talks on a planned purchase of 18 F-18 Super Hornet jets for more than $5 billion after Boeing in April launched a trade challenge accusing Bombardier of dumping its new CSeries airliners into the U.S. market. Senior Canada government officials and Boeing met last month to discuss the disputes, officials said. One of the sources familiar with the discussions said Ottawa’s proposition to Boeing had been “if we resolve the challenge, that will allow us to resume our discussions on the F-18,” but said Boeing dismissed the idea of linking the two disputes. Boeing walked away with none of the issues resolved, Canada’s ambassador to the United States told reporters this week, without elaborating. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment. Bombardier did not offer an immediate comment. One industry source said Boeing sees the alleged CSeries dumping as a long-term threat to its civilian airliner business and has shown little interest in a compromise, even at the risk of losing the military contract. “The Canadian government is trying to link the F-18 file with the Boeing-Bombardier dispute. The position of Boeing and the U.S. government is that they are not linked,” said a second source directly familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO: A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo The office of Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has overall responsibility for relations with the United States, said it could not confirm the sources’ account. Time is running out for Canada to end the dispute. The U.S. Department of Commerce is due to hand down its initial ruling on Sept. 26 on whether to impose countervailing duties on the C-Series, a decision that could dampen airlines’ demand for the 110-130 seat jets in the key U.S. market. That decision could also boost Boeing’s leverage in any future talks with Canada, though the duty would only potentially apply after a final ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2018. Seattle-based trade lawyer William Perry said he expects heavy duties to be imposed on the C-Series since Commerce overwhelmingly favours the petitioner in these cases. “It will be a hit that hurts,” Perry said. Boeing has accused Bombardier of imitating European rival Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) by trying to muscle into the U.S. market with cut-rate pricing to win a key April 2016 order from Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ). The first source said Canada ideally still wanted to buy the F-18s rather than looking for other options. “(Boeing has) put us in a situation where they’re forcing us to make hard choices ... we can’t do business with someone who is actually killing our industry,” said the source. Bombardier’s president of commercial aviation, Fred Cromer, told reporters this week he would not speculate on the Sept. 26 decision but said the Canadian funding in the CSeries complied with global trade rules. With additional reporting from Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Denny Thomas and Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-canada-exclusive/exclusive-canada-sought-to-resolve-boeing-military-trade-disputes-at-meeting-sources-idUKKCN1BQ2EX'|'2017-09-15T20:16:00.000+03:00'
'691e6ec0422908b7bf9bdd21fb97c75da26f220d'|'Toys ''R'' Us mulls bankruptcy filing: Wall Street Journal'|'September 16, 2017 / 12:43 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Toys ''R'' Us mulls bankruptcy filing: Wall Street Journal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read File Photo - The mostly empty shelves of a Toys "R" Us flagship store in Times Square are seen after it closed permanently in the Manhattan borough of New York December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us Inc could file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks as pressure from skittish suppliers intensifies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company and its restructuring advisers are considering filing for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia, according to the WSJ report. ( on.wsj.com/2h87WOt ) The privately-held toy retailer had previously said it was working with investment bank Lazard Ltd to help address its approximately $5 billion in debt, of which roughly $400 million comes due next year. The potential Chapter 11 filing could be a result of the company’s suppliers tightening trade terms, including holding back on shipments unless the toy retailer is able to make cash payments on delivery, the newspaper reported. Toys ‘R’ Us declined to comment on the report. The move by Toys “R” Us to potentially file for bankruptcy comes at a time when more and more consumers increasingly make purchases from online retailers like Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and avoid visiting brick-and-mortar shops. There have been more than a dozen significant retail bankruptcies this year, but none for retailers as big as Toys “R” Us, which has more than 1,600 stores worldwide. Toys tapped restructuring attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, CNBC reported this month. The company has been saddled with debt since buyout firms KKR & Co L.P. ( KKR.N ) and Bain Capital LP, together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust ( VNO.N ), took Toys “R” Us private for $6.6 billion in 2005. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toys-r-us-bankruptcy/toys-r-us-mulls-bankruptcy-filing-wall-street-journal-idINKCN1BR00I'|'2017-09-15T22:43:00.000+03:00'
'b4fa8b14f5c1866e23260e3d72e8a2eb52fa9bb0'|'Airbus faces lengthy probe, no quick fine - sources'|'September 15, 2017 / 3:04 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Airbus faces lengthy probe, no quick fine - sources Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An Airbus A350-1000 Xwb (back) and an Airbus A321neo are seen on static display during the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Airbus ( AIR.PA ) faces years of investigation by French and UK authorities into allegations of corruption over jet sales, people familiar with the case said on Friday, playing down a newspaper report of a potentially rapid settlement. The London-based Evening Standard reported British and French prosecutors met last month to discuss the terms of a settlement deal known as a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) following a probe into the use of middlemen to sell jetliners. That could result in a “1 billion pound-plus” fine, the report said, but experts said it was premature to talk about a settlement in an inquiry widely expected to drag on for years. The report quoted a source close to Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as saying SFO head David Green hoped to agree a DPA with Airbus before leaving in April next year. The SFO and Airbus declined to comment on the report which comes as questions hover over the SFO’s future, following proposals to fold it into another crime agency. France’s Parquet National Financier (PNF) fraud police were not available to comment. The investigations began after Airbus drew the attention of regulators to inaccurate declarations it had made to Britain’s export credit finance agency over payments to sales agents. The SFO launched its investigation in August 2016, followed seven months later by the PNF, which legal experts say makes it a relatively young investigation for such a complex case. Airbus has said the process may be a long one. One expert said the French investigation could slow down the process as the two agencies co-operate for the first time. Some analysts say the company could nonetheless face a record fine once the proceedings have played out. It cannot enter into negotiations over a DPA but can be offered one at the end of official investigations, depending on its level of cooperation. It has embarked on a sweeping internal investigation, hampering sales efforts and fuelling tensions with third parties whose payments have been frozen. In January, the SFO struck a DPA with Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) forcing the company to pay a record 500 million pound ($680 million) fine for a UK settlement of this type. That followed what was then the SFO’s largest ever investigation. The scope of the Airbus case is widely seen as larger with dozens of sales contracts and over a billion euros worth of business under the spotlight, according to one source. Airbus is meanwhile preparing to hit back in a row with Austria over allegations of fraud in a fighter deal, which targets individuals including Chief Executive Tom Enders. The company is expected to issue a defence in coming days and has not ruled out taking the unusual step of legal action against one of its national customers, sources said. Airbus declined to comment. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-france-sfo/airbus-faces-large-fine-in-corruption-probe-report-idUKKCN1BQ22M'|'2017-09-15T19:04:00.000+03:00'
'b8036dd4c4506bdcbd91c1a05c350ceeeff21797'|'''The Wolf of Wall Street'' producer settles U.S. suit linked to Malaysian fund'|'September 16, 2017 / 4:25 AM / Updated a day ago ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' producer settles U.S. suit linked to Malaysian fund Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Producer Riza Aziz (L-R), cast members Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill and producer Joey McFarland arrive for the U.K. Premiere of "The Wolf of Wall Street" at Leicester Square, in London January 9, 2014. REUTERS/Paul Hackett KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The movie company that made “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and was co-founded by the Malaysian prime minister’s step son, has settled a civil lawsuit brought by the U.S. government to seize assets allegedly bought with money stolen from a Malaysian state fund. Red Granite Pictures announced the settlement in a filing at the federal Los Angeles court on Friday, without revealing any sum. U.S prosecutors, pursuing a kleptocracy asset recovery initiative, had claimed the 2013 film, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was financed by Red Granite using funds stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). “The parties are pleased to inform the court that Red Granite and the government have reached a settlement in principle,” the filing stated. Red Granite has said previously that neither it, or its co-founder Riza Aziz, had done anything wrong. The U.S. Justice Department has lodged dozens of lawsuits in the past two years related to the alleged misappropriation of $4.5 billion from the investment fund, 1MDB. The United States is seeking to seize some $1.7 billion (£1.25 billion) in assets, making it the largest action brought by the department under its kleptocracy asset recovery initiative. FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) billboard at the funds flagship Tun Razak Exchange development in Kuala Lumpur, in this March 1, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Olivia Harris/File Photo The scandal has dogged Prime Minister Najib Razak, who had chaired 1MDB’s advisory board until it was dismantled last year, but he has consistently denied any wrong doing related to the fund. While Najib has not been the subject of any of the lawsuits, a number of his close associates, including step son Riza Aziz, have been named by U.S. investigators. Both U.S. and Malaysian officials have confirmed however, that Najib is the “Malaysian Official Number 1” referred to in Federal Bureau of Investigation reports. Red Granite Pictures provided no details of the settlement, which the filing said remains subject to final documentation and necessary approvals within the government. The settlement also covers claims against Red Granite’s rights and interests in two other pictures, “Daddy’s Home” and “Dumb and Dumber To.” Potential witnesses in 1MDB cases are afraid to speak with U.S. investigators as they fear for their safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said earlier this month. The U.S. lawsuits have also sought to seize a Picasso painting given to American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio and millions of dollars worth of jewellery give to Australian model and actress Miranda Kerr, all allegedly from 1MDB funds. Najib met U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House earlier this week, but both leaders steered clear of addressing the American investigation into the 1MDB scandal. Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Simon cameron-Moore'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-malaysia-scandal-redgranite/the-wolf-of-wall-street-producer-settles-u-s-suit-linked-to-malaysian-fund-idUKKCN1BR04C'|'2017-09-16T07:31:00.000+03:00'
'e5cb5fb4f3933175876565b912db3dddaa694c46'|'China''s Fosun Pharma to buy smaller stake in Indian pharma firm'|'Signs are seen on the headquarters of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group in Shanghai, China, March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group ( 600196.SS ) has agreed to cut the size of the stake it will buy in India’s Gland Pharma to 74 percent, the Chinese drugmaker said on Sunday.It said Gland Pharma’s founding family wanted to retain a higher stake in the Indian firm because of its good performance.Fosun had previously been targetting an 86 percent stake valued at about $1.26 billion. It said in a statement to the stock exchange that the board had approved the new plan, which would involve investment of no more than $1.09 billion.The deal had earlier faced some concerns in India, a source has told Reuters.Under the new terms, Fosun Pharma said it would spend no more than $25 million for the Indian firm’s Enoxaparin prototype sales in the United States, when it gets approval there, cutting the previously proposed amount by half.The firm has also delayed the closing date for the deal to Oct. 3 from Sept. 26.Reporting by Dominique Patton; editing by David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-fosun-pharma-m-a-gland-pharma/chinas-fosun-pharma-to-buy-smaller-stake-in-indian-pharma-firm-idINKCN1BS0FD'|'2017-09-17T09:36:00.000+03:00'
'8ab588abd6cf5e3803797cb0cc9d76a48b45ca97'|'Ant Financial to try again for U.S. approval of MoneyGram deal - source'|'September 16, 2017 / 3:40 AM / Updated 21 hours ago Ant Financial to try again for U.S. approval of MoneyGram deal - source Liana B. Baker 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A logo of Ant Financial is displayed at the Ant Financial event in Hong Kong, China November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/ File Photo (Reuters) - Chinese payments company Ant Financial is planning to resubmit its application for U.S. review of its deal to buy MoneyGram International Inc ( MGI.O ) for $1.2 billion (£883 million), a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Ant Financial and MoneyGram have already refiled for clearance from Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) when they were unable to secure it within an assessment period after the first application, Reuters reported in July, citing sources. “We are not commenting on the CFIUS process, but we are continuing to work with the various regulatory agencies and remain focused on closing the transaction by the end of the year,” the company said in a statement. Ant Financial’s latest attempt for approval would be its third as the maximum time of 75 days for assessing such applications nears completion. CFIUS is a secretive government panel which reviews acquisitions by foreign entities for potential national security risks. A CFIUS refile indicates increased government scrutiny and more deals have been resubmitted to CFIUS since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January. CFIUS had objected to at least nine acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign buyers by July 20, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter said. Ant Financial finalised its deal to buy Dallas-based MoneyGram in April, after it sweetened its bid by over a third to beat a rival offer from U.S.-based Euronet Worldwide Inc ( EEFT.O ). MoneyGram, and CFIUS could not immediately be reached for comment. Ant Financial’s plans were earlier reported by Bloomberg. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and Liana Baker in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman & Simon Cameron-Moore'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-moneygram-intl-m-a-ant-financial/ant-financial-to-try-again-for-u-s-approval-of-moneygram-deal-source-idUKKCN1BR03H'|'2017-09-16T06:40:00.000+03:00'
'50eee971131c2301017f596e08570aba03d0b60a'|'Air Berlin says has received several offers for its assets'|'Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary talks during a news conference in Berlin, Germany, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) has received several offers for its assets which will now be assessed, a spokesman for the carrier told Reuters TV on Friday.Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, filed for insolvency last month after major shareholder Etihad withdrew funding following years of losses.A final decision on buyers for the assets is due on Sept. 25, the day after Germany’s national election and four days later than previously planned.Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-says-has-received-several-offers-for-its-assets-idINKCN1BQ1JO'|'2017-09-15T10:02:00.000+03:00'
'8f4a2de798dd33a3af03c594b5b691fee2fa497b'|'UPDATE 1-Bain says Dell, other tech firms join its bid for Toshiba chip unit'|'* Bain confirms new members in new bid for Toshiba chip unit* Bain revised bid last week* Toshiba says focusing on talks with Bain group (Adds background on chip sale bidding)TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Bain Capital, now in the lead to buy Toshiba Corp’s prized memory chip unit, said on Friday it has brought in Dell Inc and other tech firms as new members of its consortium to bolster its bid.Toshiba said this week it has agreed to focus on selling the world’s No. 2 NAND producer to a group led by Bain and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc but it did not rule out a deal with other suitors including Western Digital.Sources have said that the Bain group also included Apple Inc and the offer was worth 2.4 trillion yen ($22 billion), including a 200 billion yen investment in infrastructure.The U.S. private equity firm said in a statement that in addition to Apple, other members also included Dell, memory product maker Kingston Technology and data storage firm Seagate Technology Plc “who will provide capital in a sign of industry-wide support for an independent Toshiba”.It did not give a breakdown of how much each firm was prepared to invest.Addressing opposition from Toshiba’s joint venture partner Western Digital, which argues any deal will need its consent, Bain said it would honour “all the contractual terms of the Western Digital joint venture”. (Reporting by Junko Fujita, Ritsuko Ando and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting/update-1-bain-says-dell-other-tech-firms-join-its-bid-for-toshiba-chip-unit-idINL4N1LW1UZ'|'2017-09-15T02:16:00.000+03:00'
'86f8105628a8bc1ae9bc61a2df62fe6111c37751'|'ECB must be cautious in exiting extraordinary monetary policy: Schaeuble'|'FILE PHOTO: German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble presents draft budget for 2018 and mid-term plans for state spending until 2021 during a news conference in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a newspaper interview that the European Central Bank needed to be very cautious when ending its ultra-loose monetary policy to prevent a nervous reaction from financial markets.After buying more than 2 trillion euros worth of bonds since 2015, the ECB is expected to announce next month it will slow the pace of its purchases, since economic growth is accelerating and inflation is stable, albeit sluggish.“The exit from extraordinary monetary policy needs to be approached very cautiously so that financial markets do not react over-nervously,” Schaeuble said in an interview with Passauer Neue Presse newspaper.“That’s why this needs to be communicated properly. Central bankers can do that better than politicians,” said Schaeuble, who belongs to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives - the party expected to win a Sept. 24 election.Regarding the ECB’s October meeting, Schaeuble said: “We should have confidence that the ECB will live up to its responsibility.”Schaeuble said the euro zone economy was faring far better than many sceptical observers had thought would be possible several years ago.“In all countries - including Greece - the economy is growing. Disparities in competitiveness are being reduced,” he said.“The extraordinary monetary policy with low interest rates and bond-buying was necessary to overcome the economic crisis,” he added.Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/germany-schaeuble/ecb-must-be-cautious-in-exiting-extraordinary-monetary-policy-schaeuble-idINKCN1BQ015'|'2017-09-15T03:16:00.000+03:00'
'5377c252eb6d44134bb36a9cbbea6c93542ee968'|'Rivalry between Apple and Samsung in smartphones will grow fiercer'|'NEVER shy about hype, on September 12th Apple’s boss, Tim Cook, presented the firm’s latest iPhones to a packed auditorium in its glitzy new headquarters in Cupertino. He made a grand prediction: its new, premium phone, the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”), will “set the path of technology for the next decade”. Set to be released this November, ten years after the first iPhone launched, the iPhone X has new features such as an edge-to-edge OLED screen (a thinner screen that does not use a backlight), wireless charging, facial-recognition technology and a dual-lens camera.On the same day, Samsung, a rival smartphone-maker, held a lower-key event in Seoul. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile business, announced that next year Samsung could reimagine the smartphone entirely and launch a new design with a foldable screen, which can close like a small book. On September 15th its latest premium smartphone, the Galaxy Note 8, will go on sale, boasting many of the features offered by the iPhone X.Both are trying to convince consumers to spend around $1,000 for their new gadgets. Samsung’s new phone will cost $960; Apple’s high-end iPhone X will cost $999, 45% more than the average selling price of an iPhone in 2016. (The iPhone 8, simpler than the X and available for sale in September, will start at $699.) 9 12 18 18 The competition to wow consumers has been intensely fought between Apple and Samsung Electronics for years. They claim a duopoly over the premium part of the smartphone market. Together they control around two-thirds of the global market (Apple claims 44% of smartphone revenues and Samsung 22%; see chart). The two firms have tussled in courts around the world over intellectual property, with Apple accusing Samsung of infringing on its smartphone patents.Last year Apple seized share in premium phones when Samsung struggled with its Galaxy Note 7; its batteries had a habit of overheating, which necessitated a global recall. Samsung’s new phone is expected to win back users. It used to copy Apple’s innovations but is now often ahead on new features, says Werner Goertz of Gartner. Samsung was the first to release an OLED screen, for instance.The rivalry between the two will only grow fiercer (even though Samsung is also among Apple’s most important suppliers of components, and is expected to provide OLED screens and chips for Apple’s latest phones). In rich countries the market for smartphones is maturing: many of the firms’ gains will come from stealing each other’s customers. In emerging markets, especially China, they will compete to persuade consumers to trade up from cheaper phones. Apple globally claims an 82% retention rate, compared with Samsung’s 67%. This is significantly higher than other firms’, especially Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi and OPPO, whose less expensive phones have gained share among Chinese consumers in recent years.Samsung and Apple will fight on three fronts. One is to design a better overall software ecosystem and keep consumers within it. “I don’t know if it’s a smartphone war as much as it is an ecosystem war,” says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, a technology consultancy. Samsung runs on the Android operating system, whose design it does not fully control, whereas Apple has the advantage of complete oversight of its iOS operating system.A second front will be fought over virtual assistants. Apple was the first mobile-phone maker to offer a voice-controlled assistant, called Siri, which it introduced in 2011. Samsung offers one named Bixby. Both have been underwhelming in their capabilities. But Samsung is investing huge sums to change this, while Apple is criticised for underinvesting in Siri.A third battleground in software will be augmented reality (AR), or the projection of digital information onto the physical world. Both Apple and Samsung offer dual-lens cameras, which make it easier to integrate AR functions into apps.There is unlikely to be one winner. Samsung is well hedged; its strong chip and smartphone-components business will insulate the firm if mobile-phone sales slow. Apple lacks this diversity, but its mobile devices project luxury, and its customers are less likely to defect because iOS runs across all their devices. Mr Cook may be right that Apple’s phones will set technology’s direction, but his firm will feel Samsung’s breath on its neck all the way. "Phone tag"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728978-south-korean-firms-galaxy-note-8-takes-iphone-x-rivalry-between-apple-and-samsung?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'7eaf7462504a2dc4aea7599215b585aff66f271c'|'Is Margrethe Vestager championing consumers or her political career?'|'EVEN her enemies admire the bloody-mindedness of Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner in charge of competition policy. Last autumn, not long after she had ordered Apple to pay €13bn ($14.5bn) in back-taxes to Ireland, to the fury of many in America, she flew across the Atlantic on a charm offensive. The Americans were not charmed; Ms Vestager was unmoved. Buckling up for the flight home, she tweeted that she had never felt so European.Since she assumed her current role in November 2014, Ms Vestager has had several high-profile clashes with American tech firms. In May she fined Facebook €110m for misleading EU trustbusters about its takeover of WhatsApp, a messaging service. In June a long-running investigation resulted in a €2.4bn fine on Google for using its search engine to promote its own comparison-shopping service. EU trustbusters have also charged Google with using its Android operating system to promote its mobile-phone apps and services over those of rivals. That investigation continues.Latest updates A positive sign from the bond market Buttonwood’s notebook 32 minutes ago An 3 See all updates Ms Vestager has said the job of agencies like hers is “not to get too cosy with special interests but to have the courage to defend the public interest”. Few would quibble with that. All too often regulators and trustbusters come to see the world as big business sees it, to society’s cost. But a long-standing concern is that the commission acts as prosecutor, judge and executioner in cases against dominant firms. The courts in Europe have been a weak check on its powers in recent years in this regard.That may be changing. Last week the European Court of Justice asked the lower courts to look again at the economic merits of a case against Intel, which in 2009 was fined €1.06bn for abusing its dominant position in chipmaking. But the courts move slowly. Some worry that a number of Ms Vestager’s recent, crowd-pleasing victories over big tech firms may come back to haunt the commission. And by then she might have moved on to a bigger job.Oceans apartTo assess how fair that concern is, it helps to be clear about how competition policy varies between America and Europe. There are three main parts to the job: the control of mergers, the policing of cartels, and checks on “dominant” firms, or those that supply the bulk of a market. Cartel-busting is quite similar in both places. Europe has mimicked the American policy of offering immunity to firms that rat on their fellow price-fixers, for instance. The EU approach to mergers, especially “horizontal” tie-ups between competitors in the same industry, is also a lot like America’s method (though research suggests that merger control has been far more lax there).The big transatlantic gap is in the policing of dominant firms (known in Europe as Article 102 cases, after the relevant passage in the EU treaty). Europe’s trustbusters have been far more likely to worry that a dominant company, of the sort that technology industries tend to produce, will force rivals out of business, leaving consumers facing less choice, higher prices and worse services. Trustbusting in America, in contrast, has taken its cue from the economist Joseph Schumpeter who believed that the promise of monopoly profits is a spur to the innovation and risk-taking that drives economic growth. In this view, the dominance of tech firms is likelier to attract competition than to crush it.Since Ms Vestager took office, a mostly polite difference in philosophy has hardened. Brussels believes the growing power of big tech firms to shape politics, society and the economy requires a counterweight. The battle is of greater urgency, the commission reckons, because the data that tech monopolies have accumulated make it far harder for upstart firms to displace them or keep them in check.Few in Silicon Valley, meanwhile, doubt that competition policy in Europe is anything but thinly veiled protectionism aimed at shielding the region’s old-economy firms from disruption. Challenged on whether she might have tech-envy when it comes to American giants, Ms Vestager resolutely denies a bias. There are Article 102 cases under way against many non-American firms, including Russia’s Gazprom.Even so, she has brought a different approach to competition policy, says Robert McLeod, of MLex, a market-risk agency. Her predecessor, Joaquín Almunia, was more inclined to compromise. He might well have agreed a settlement with Google over the shopping case, insiders say. His predecessor, Neelie Kroes, a Dutch former politician, was bold but tended to follow the advice of her civil servants.Ms Vestager seems to relish a confrontation. Her principles and zeal probably come from her upbringing as the daughter of Lutheran ministers. As Denmark’s deputy prime minister, she regularly upstaged her boss, Helle Thorning-Schmidt. She has a knack of boiling down complex issues to catchy soundbites, such as “Europe is definitely open for business but not for tax evasion.” In some of the battles she has started, tech giants had a case to answer. Facebook’s misdeed, for instance, is not much disputed. The Google Android investigation seems to have merit.But in other headline-grabbing cases, it is not clear how consumer welfare has been much enhanced. The commission said Google abused its dominance of online search to promote its own comparison-shopping service and relegate those of rivals. Yet it did not show, for instance, that consumers were denied a superior service as a consequence. Google said this week that it will appeal against the decision.The benefit to competition from the Apple tax case is harder still to fathom. Under European law, it is illegal for a government to provide a subsidy to an individual firm, known as “state aid”, which gives it an edge over its rivals. At its best, the enforcement of state-aid rules has severed the links between governments and national champions, such as flag-carrying airlines. Very often such firms are loss-making and a burden to the exchequer. Preferential treatment makes it hard for better firms to challenge them—so state-aid rules that cut them loose hugely benefit consumers.Where’s the harm?But the case against Apple does not fit the paradigm. The thrust of the commission’s argument was that Ireland cut a bespoke tax deal with Apple that was not open to other companies, equivalent to state aid. But which firm is the peer against which Apple’s tax affairs should be gauged? How was competition distorted? Where are the chronic inefficiencies? The politics of the case seem clearer than the competition-policy benefits. Big EU states have long been critical of Ireland’s 12.5% rate of corporate tax. But it is a stretch to use state-aid rules to achieve the sort of tax harmonisation that is favoured in Brussels.Many in the competition-policy establishment were deeply dismayed by the Apple decision. Ms Kroes publicly criticised the use of state-aid rules (a commission spokesperson later shot back that this was all too predictable from someone in the pay of Silicon Valley—Ms Kroes is on Uber’s public-policy advisory board). Mr McLeod reckons the judgment will be overturned by the courts.Perhaps Ms Vestager suspects this, too. Her main aim may have been to get the issue of corporate-tax evasion firmly on the agenda. If so, it was a tactical masterstroke. It also raised her personal profile. She is one of the front-runners to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission.Ms Vestager is described by one of her peers as “the most politically effective” trustbuster in recent memory. It is a judgment, admiring and grudging at the same time, that others in the field share. There is admiration that she has raised the profile of competition policy in a way that her dry and technocratic peers and predecessors could not. And there is a grudging acknowledgment that her brand of populist policymaking might be just what is needed to address the growing heft of big firms. But mixing politics with trustbusting so overtly is a dangerous game. The competition directorate’s standing as a neutral arbiter may get damaged in the process.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Big Tech’s nemesis"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728979-she-rich-worlds-most-powerful-trustbuster-margrethe-vestager-championing-consumers-or?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'757462be5b27c15356151d8b9a8987de80dd6f2f'|'Why do European companies bother to hire ex-politicians?'|'THIS month Gerhard Schröder starts a new job. Shareholders in Rosneft, a Russian energy giant with a market value of nearly $60bn, are set to appoint Germany’s ex-chancellor as a board director on September 29th. Russia’s government, Rosneft’s majority-owner, nominated Mr Schröder, who is pals with Vladimir Putin. Despite Western sanctions imposed on the firm after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Mr Schröder’s move is no surprise. He has worked for years with Gazprom, another energy arm of the Russian state, to promote a gas pipeline to western Europe.His ties to Russia win him few friends at home. His successor as Germany’s leader, Angela Merkel, calls his behaviour “not OK”. She also vows to reject offers of “any posts in industry once I am no longer chancellor”. Other politicians are happier to follow Mr Schröder’s example. It emerged last month that a former German president, Christian Wulff (pictured), is also employed by a foreign company. He advises a German arm of a Turkish high-street fashion firm, Yargici, topping up the salary of €236,000 ($282,030) which he gets for being an ex-president. François Fillon, an ex-prime minister of France, became a partner at Tikehau Capital, an asset manager, on September 1st.Latest updates A positive sign from the bond market Buttonwood’s notebook 40 minutes ago An 3 See all updates Cases such as these spread public unease about the revolving door between business and politics and the civil service. The French call it pantouflage . In January a report by Transparency International, an anti-corruption group, assessed the careers of 512 EU politicians who left office in recent years. It found that over half of retired EU commissioners, and 30% of ex-members of the European Parliament, took jobs with companies or with organisations registered on an EU lobby register. Firms such as ArcelorMittal, an Indian-owned steelmaker based in Luxembourg, Uber, an American ride-hailing firm, and Volkswagen, Germany’s scandal-prone car giant, have all hired ex-commissioners.In Britain, too, ex-politicians routinely land sinecures advising funds and banks: Tony Blair is with JPMorgan Chase; his predecessor as prime minister, John Major, advises Credit Suisse; George Osborne, a former chancellor, this year joined up with BlackRock, an American investment firm.Though the firms involved emphasise that they have high ethical standards, activists worry. “Conflicts of interest cannot be ruled out,” said the authors of the Transparency International report. The appointment of José Manuel Barroso, an ex-president of the commission, as chairman of Goldman Sachs International, provoked particularly loud public complaints in July last year. Campaigners say an 18-month ban on politicians taking such jobs should last much longer.Given such attention, do employers gain by hiring the once-powerful? Drawing a line from recruitment to the subsequent performance of a company is tricky. Ex-politicians offer expertise, contacts and—presumably—quiet influence among former colleagues. Tikehau Capital has specified that it plans to use Mr Fillon’s international experience and knowledge of economic issues. Cynics argue that the real targets of such hiring decisions are not ex-politicians, but those still in office. The point of recruitment could be to send a signal to younger politicians that they, too, could land such a job one day, if they play their cards right.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "The point of pantouflage"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728975-month-gerhard-schr-der-starts-new-job-rosneft-why-do-european-companies-bother?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'47885b91d34534b477430bcca31e8a026e79b247'|'Coffee consolidation percolates as hipsters drink up'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:28 PM / a day ago Coffee consolidation percolates as hipsters drink up Martinne Geller , Lisa Baertlein 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nestle’s ( NESN.S ) high-priced purchase of a majority stake in California-based coffee bar chain Blue Bottle this week, highlights how big companies are seeking exposure to fast-growing premium brands driven by millenials. Industry experts are predicting more deals will follow in the highly fragmented coffee market, which provides richer profit margins than mainstream packaged food and drink. Since 2015 there have been nine coffee deals by JAB Holding Co, owned by Europe’s billionaire Reimann family. With brands like Douwe Egberts and Tassimo sitting alongside Blue Bottle rival Intelligentsia, JAB now owns the second-biggest packaged coffee business behind Nestle, owner of Nescafe and Nespresso. “There are certainly going to be further purchases at all levels of the price tier,” said Matthew Barry, beverage analyst at Euromonitor International, adding that any company that is not doing acquisitions risks falling behind. Earlier this month, Italy’s Massimo Zanetti ( MZB.MI ) bought a majority stake in Indonesian roaster Caswell’s and in August, Italy’s Lavazza bought a stake in France’s Espresso Service Proximite, its third acquisition in less than two years. In May, Lavazza’s chief executive told Reuters the company could put together more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) for acquisitions. THIRD WAVE Switzerland’s Nestle announced its deal with Blue Bottle late on Thursday. Its few dozen coffee bars are part of the so-called third wave coffee movement in the United States, which emphasizes quality beans and expertly-made drinks. Analysts see the deal as evidence that an energized Nestle, under its new chief executive, is taking steps to reconnect with consumers, particularly young ones. “It emphasizes the wish to actively work on the portfolio and build on attractive growth areas,” said Patrik Schwendimann, analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank. The deal gives Nestle entrance to high-end bars that are part refreshment and part theater, with space-age “siphon” or “vacuum” brewers. While niche, these outlets are seen as testing labs for new trends that may eventually go mainstream, such as cold brew, single-origin beans and nitro coffee. High street chains such as Starbucks and Costa ( WTB.L ) are already moving in that direction and a front-row seat could help Nestle innovate more quickly. FILE PHOTO - A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Nespresso already has a network of shops but Liberum analyst Robert Waldschmidt sees the Blue Bottle deal as being less about retail and more about Nestle getting a premium brand it may sell in packaged form. “I don’t think they’re trying to reinvent themselves as a retailer,” Waldschmidt said. “They could be looking at going a bit more multi-brand given that JAB is the epitome of multi-brand.” It remains to be seen if there is enough demand for such exotic drinks outside major urban markets, or whether expanding too much will hurt the Blue Bottle brand’s cachet. For now, Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue as a standalone entity. “At a national level, there is no evidence of a shift toward independent coffee,” Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said in a recent report on third wave coffee. “Independents are largely limited to the largest urban markets, which, while important to both chains (Starbucks and Costa), contribute a fairly small share of revenues or profits.” Slideshow (2 Images) She estimated that the top third wave players - which include JAB’s Stumptown and Intelligentsia, Philz, Counter Culture, Blue Bottle and La Colombe Coffee Roasters - together generate just $126 million in revenue across 123 stores. By contrast, Starbucks alone generated $21.3 billion in revenue last year from 25,085 stores globally. BIG MARK-UP Nestle is the leader in a global packaged food and beverage market that has seen growth slow due to cooling emerging markets, increased competition from upstart brands and changing consumer tastes away from processed food. The company, which is under pressure to improve returns from activist investor Third Point, has identified coffee as one of its key priorities for investment. “There’s a big markup on coffee shop coffees,” Liberum’s Waldschmidt said. “Put it all together and you’ve got growth and margin, and in some areas, barriers to entry. Its fragmented so you can consolidate, which usually leads to margins going up.” Nestle’s overall operating margin was 15.3 last year, whereas the margin in its powdered and liquid drinks unit, which includes coffee, was 20.8 percent. ($1 = 0.8375 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bluebottle-m-a-nestle/coffee-consolidation-percolates-as-hipsters-drink-up-idUSKCN1BQ2Q9'|'2017-09-15T23:11:00.000+03:00'
'0971374e3bceb334a65f2500160880d05a57f5ad'|'''Trump Trade'' returns? Small-cap stocks rally on hopes of tax deal'|'FILE PHOTO: A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - With time running out before Congress turns its attention to the 2018 mid-term elections, small-cap stocks are increasingly acting as a bellwether for the market’s expectations that the Trump Administration will reach a deal to significantly cut U.S. corporate tax rates by the end of the year.For the moment at least, they’re reflecting renewed optimism for progress on taxes after months of going no where as persistent bickering in Washington weighed on reform hopes. Small caps are seen as more sensitive to corporate tax cut expectations because, on balance, they bear a heftier relative tax burden than big companies.Since hitting a low for the year on Aug. 21, small-cap stocks have surged 5 percent, nearly double the 3 percent gain of large-cap stocks, as President Donald Trump’s team has renewed its push for a major corporate tax by the end of December.Trump urged Congress to “move fast” on taxes in a tweet Wednesday morning, and later met with a bipartisan group of House members at the White House to discuss a tax deal. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that an outline of a bill will be unveiled during the week of September 25.“You’ve got the potential here to get a tremendous increase in earnings, and it’s all up to what happens in Washington,” said Craig Hodges, a co-portfolio manager of the $800 million Hodges Small Cap fund.While businesses of all sizes would likely benefit if Congress lowers the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent as President Trump has proposed, small companies would see the greatest improvement to their bottom lines.Companies in the benchmark Russell 2000 of small-cap companies pay a median effective tax rate of 31.9 percent, while the larger, multi-national companies in the S&P 500 pay a median effective tax rate of 28 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. The median for the 30 mega-cap stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average is just 23.8 percent.So far, the effects of a major tax bill are not fully priced into the market, said Martin Jarzebowski, portfolio manager of the $593 million Federated Clover Small Cap Value fund, leaving the Russell 2000 sensitive to news out of Washington.“A tax cut is more priced into small-cap growth stocks than value stocks, and that’s where the opportunity lies right now,” he said, adding that he has been increasing his stake in value stocks, such as airlines and local broadcasters, in part because he sees a tax deal passing.The forward price-to-earnings ratio of the Russell 2000 Value index - a measure of companies in industries like financials and materials that traditionally pay higher taxes - has been falling and is now at 20.3, according to Thomson Reuters data. The forward price-to-earnings ratio of the Russell 2000 Growth index - a measure of companies in industries like technology and healthcare, that tend to pay lower taxes because they get more of their revenues overseas - has been rising and now stands at 32.5, close to its 10-year high.‘TRUMP TRADE’ RETURNS?Small-cap stocks have largely tracked investor expectations of the Trump Administration passing business-friendly policies since his surprise victory last November.The benchmark Russell 2000 jumped nearly 14 percent between Election Day and the end of 2016 in anticipation of lower taxes and less regulation of domestic-focused companies.Yet that rally largely stalled over the course of 2017 as the Trump Administration failed to pass major legislation and the dollar tumbled to two and a half year lows. The Russell 2000 is up 5.1 percent for the year, less than half of the 11.5 percent gain in the large-cap S&P 500.Sandy Villere, a co-portfolio manager of the $300 million Villere Balanced Fund, said that he saw some of the move into small-cap stocks as a sign that investors are moving into cheaper assets at a time when the S&P 500 is trading near record highs, rather than a strong signal that the tax bill will pass.“You’re just not looking at the same kind of upside in large-cap stocks right now,” he said.Terri Spath, chief investment officer at Sierra Investment Management, said she remains skeptical that a tax deal will pass. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, for instance, have said that they will want deep cuts to federal spending, a move that Democrats are unlikely to agree to. Yet small-cap stocks remain cheaper relative to the S&P 500, setting the stage for a strong rally if a bill passes, she said.“A tax bill needs the Republicans more than the Democrats,” she said. “If Mitch McConnell can get the job done, or if Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Trump can break log-jams in the next few weeks, the recent rally in small stocks will have another leg up.”Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Dan Burns and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-smallcap/trump-trade-returns-small-cap-stocks-rally-on-hopes-of-tax-deal-idINKCN1BP2O8'|'2017-09-14T21:03:00.000+03:00'
'562bc29f4fb721a67406e0ef5a75fd3d677a0c48'|'Three more cars torched in South African taxi war'|' 05 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Three more cars torched in South African taxi war Reuters Staff 2 Min Read JOHANNESBURG, Sept 14 (Reuters) - A violent feud between South African meter taxi drivers and ride-hailing services Uber and Taxify escalated with another three vehicles torched using petrol bombs, police said on Thursday. Drivers for Uber and Estonian start-up Taxify operating in Johannesburg and capital Pretoria have faced threats and protests from regular taxi operators who accuse the app-based drivers of poaching customers with cheaper fares. One Uber vehicle and two other taxis were torched last week in the upmarket Sandton district and on Wednesday three Taxify vehicles were set alight in the Pretoria suburb of Sunnyside. Police said in one incident on Wednesday a Taxify driver responding to a pick-up request was cornered by a group of eight men who threatened him with violence just as he arrived at the location. “The vehicle was alight after he had alighted from it. Another Taxify vehicle was set on fire at a different location. One of the vehicles was burnt out completely, while the second on had slight damages,” said police Captain Daniel Mavimbela. Mavimbela said the identity of the suspects had yet to be established. More than 6,000 vehicles use the e-hailing Uber application to find customers in South Africa, where the service has grown swiftly as public transport has not kept up with the rising population in sprawling cities. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-violence/three-more-cars-torched-in-south-african-taxi-war-idUSL5N1LV2DC'|'2017-09-14T13:05:00.000+03:00'
'7e386c88bc246426641418111420a5f8bb43d6b4'|'SocGen says time to cut equity risk, warns about market "complacency"'|'September 14, 2017 / 9:10 AM / 18 minutes ago SocGen says time to cut equity risk, warns about market "complacency" Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A view shows the logo on the headquarters of French bank Societe Generale at the financial and business district of La Defense near Paris, France, September 6, 2017. Picture taken September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes LONDON (Reuters) - Investors should cut their exposure to stock markets, France’s Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) said Thursday in a research note warning that high valuations and the upcoming end to ultra loose monetary policies were a cause for concern. “We are worried by the combination of complacency, valuation and simultaneous tightening by the Fed and the ECB”, analysts at the bank wrote, cutting the equity allocation of their multi-asset portfolio from 60 percent to 50 percent. Julien Ponthus, edited by Helen Reid'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stocks-socgen/socgen-says-time-to-cut-equity-risk-warns-about-market-complacency-idUKKCN1BP110'|'2017-09-14T12:10:00.000+03:00'
'0809ffed36eea749c8b12c35fff569d60ca9a6c0'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint retains easing bias as markets eye monetary easing next week'|'By Krisztina Than BUDAPEST, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The forint retained its weakening bias on Thursday, on growing market expectations that the Hungarian central bank could loosen monetary conditions further at its meeting next week in the absence of significant inflationary pressures. Central Europe''s most dovish central bank (NBH), which has kept its easing bias even as the Czech central bank starts hiking interest rates, has said it is ready to loosen policy with unconventional tools. The forint, which has been easing all this week, was trading at 308.40 to the euro at 0839 GMT, down 0.1 percent. Other currencies in the region were flat. "The forint is slowly drifting to the direction which the central bank probably wants to see," one Budapest-based dealer said. "The central bank is very relaxed concerning inflation." He added that markets were widely expecting the bank to announce further steps to ease monetary conditions on Sept. 19. Some analysts said the bank could even surprise markets with a more significant easing than anticipated. While the central bank has said it would keep its main base rate unchanged at a record-low 0.9 percent, some investors expect a cut in its overnight deposit rate further into negative territory from -0.05 percent. "Next week''s central bank meeting could bring a surprise, and we could see stronger than expected monetary easing," Monika Kiss, analyst at brokerage Equilor, said in a note. Negative yields at two consecutive three-month treasury bill auctions in the past 10 days also signalled that investors were betting on a further easing measure. In the Czech Republic, central bank board member Vojtech Benda added to the voices signalling another interest rate hike is coming this year, telling Reuters on Wednesday he could imagine voting for a rate hike in September or November. "(He is) making up a set of three firm hawks in the voting board, plus the governor who seems to be inclined for November," Komercni Banka trader Dalimil Vyskovsky said. The Czechs stepped ahead of others in the European Union by delivering a rate hike in August, its first in almost a decade. The crown showed little reaction, having lost momentum to push firmer beyond the 26 to the euro level, largely due to an overhang of crown positions in the market that had been built up before the central bank abandoned a currency cap in April. Czech bond yields were bid a touch higher. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1040 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.100 26.103 +0.01 3.48% 0 5 % Hungary 308.40 308.17 -0.07% 0.14% forint 00 50 Polish zloty 4.2834 4.2835 +0.00 2.81% % Romanian leu 4.6012 4.6000 -0.03% -1.44% Croatian 7.4795 7.4695 -0.13% 1.01% kuna Serbian 118.84 119.01 +0.14 3.80% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1047.8 1044.3 +0.33 +13.69 2 3 % % Budapest 38261. 38119. +0.37 +19.56 62 09 % % Warsaw 2504.8 2500.1 +0.19 +28.59 3 6 % % Bucharest 8061.3 8040.0 +0.26 +13.78 4 6 % % Ljubljana 802.02 795.69 +0.80 +11.77 % % Zagreb 1838.0 1842.8 -0.26% -7.86% 6 0 Belgrade 727.49 728.96 -0.20% +1.41% Sofia 689.95 689.74 +0.03 +17.65 % % BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.038 -0.038 +068b -3bps ps 5-year 0.043 -0.022 +037b -2bps ps 10-year 0.964 -0.021 +056b -2bps ps Poland 2-year 1.697 -0.011 +241b -1bps ps 5-year 2.564 -0.019 +289b -1bps ps 10-year 3.217 -0.004 +282b +0bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech Rep <PR 0.72 0.85 0.96 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.11 0.12 0.145 0.13 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.755 1.779 1.808 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-forint-retains-easing-bias-as-markets-eye-monetary-easing-next-week-idINL5N1LV24R'|'2017-09-14T07:34:00.000+03:00'
'76955a8c9447da6d585bc20734bb8dbddab285e6'|'European shares weighed down by miners; Munich RE shrugs off warning'|' 36 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago European shares weighed down by miners; Munich RE shrugs off warning Reuters Staff 2 Min Read General view of the Frankfurt stock exchange, Germany, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski MILAN (Reuters) - European shares inched lower in opening deals on Thursday, weighed down by weaker mining stocks, while Munich RE shrugged off a profit warning. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent, with the basic resources sector taking most points off the index as a decline in industrial metals and disappointing data from China hit shares in heavyweight miners Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ), Glencore( GLEN.L ) and BHP Billiton( BLT.L ). Munich RE ( MUVGn.DE ) was up 0.1 percent. The German reinsurance company said it could miss its profit target this year due to losses from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Among outstanding gainers was Next ( NXT.L ) up 8 percent, after the British clothing retailer nudged its full-year sales and profit guidance higher. UK''s FTSE .FTSE fell 0.1 percent ahead of the Bank of England policy meeting later in the day. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, edited by Julien Ponthus'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-weighed-down-by-miners-munich-re-shrugs-off-warning-idUKKCN1BP0SR'|'2017-09-14T10:24:00.000+03:00'
'b4f21a1cda399eaec53a0a3ce44a4e0111eba9d6'|'Chinese online insurer ZhongAn to seek $11 billion valuation in HK IPO - IFR'|'September 14, 2017 / 8:49 AM / 17 minutes ago Chinese online insurer ZhongAn to seek $11 billion valuation in HK IPO: IFR Reuters Staff 1 Min Read HONG KONG (Reuters) - ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd [IPO-ZAOL.HK], China’s first internet-only insurer, plans to seek a valuation of up to $11 billion with its Hong Kong initial public offering, IFR reported on Thursday, citing people close to the deal. The company will offer shares in an indicative range of HK $53.70 to HK$59.70 each, raising up to $1.5 billion in the deal, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. The listing will consist of 15 percent of its enlarged share capital and value the entire company at between $9.9 billion and $11 billion. ZhongAn declined to comment on the details of its IPO. Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu; Writing by Elzio Barreto'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-zhongan-online-ipo-shareissue/chinese-online-insurer-zhongan-to-seek-11-billion-valuation-in-hk-ipo-ifr-idUKKCN1BP0Z2'|'2017-09-14T11:46:00.000+03:00'
'f872d85ec155aa6b6723b22b16ff285edf4a1127'|'ProSiebenSat.1 aims to boost growth at existing businesses - CEO'|'  11:24 AM / Updated 43 minutes ago ProSiebenSat.1 aims to boost growth at existing businesses - CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Germany''s biggest commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG is pictured at their headquarters in Unterfoehring, near Munich February 26, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 ( PSMGn.DE ) aims to increase the share of revenues generated from existing businesses this year rather than from new acquisitions, its chief executive told German weekly Euro am Sonntag. “I think at least half of growth should be organic. That is our goal for 2017,” the paper quoted Thomas Ebeling as saying in an interview published on Saturday. Last year, about two-thirds of ProSieben’s revenue growth came from acquisitions. Nonetheless, Ebeling said ProSieben was still on the lookout for bolt-on acquisitions. “We still aim to buy companies in e-commerce and TV production that complement our existing portfolio in strategically important areas and have high potential for synergies with our TV advertising business,” he said. He reiterated that ProSieben planned to take full ownership of holdings where it did not yet own 100 percent. Ebeling also said ProSieben was still aiming for its streaming platform Maxdome to become profitable in 2018. ProSieben late last month warned that TV advertising revenues in German-language markets would decline in the third quarter and said it may look for external investors, pushing its shares to a four-year low. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-prosieben-media-outlook/prosiebensat-1-aims-to-boost-growth-at-existing-businesses-ceo-idUKKCN1BR0BV'|'2017-09-16T14:26:00.000+03:00'
'8a5584c16b566d75e605727427acbb1da95c51d7'|'Wall Street Week Ahead: Fed meeting could trigger stock sector rotation - Reuters'|'Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. equity investors could rotate out of high-yielding sectors and into stocks of banks, which would benefit from the next leg up in interest rates, after the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting wraps up on Wednesday.If the Fed next week gives a nod to rising inflation or focuses its trimmed-down bond buying on longer-dated bonds as it winds down its balance sheet, there could be a shift around of preferred sectors, investors said.“In the short run financials will benefit,” said Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, if the Fed action pushes long-term rates higher relative to short-term rates.Next week’s meeting is not expected to result in an interest rate increase, but investors will focus on how Fed Chair Janet Yellen characterises recent inflation readings, for clues to the likelihood of a hike in December, as well as on how the U.S. central bank will begin to wind down its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.Inflation has been persistently low but Yellen could dismiss this as transitory and point to recent stronger-than-expected data on consumer prices.Any heightened expectations of a rate increase could fuel a rotation and “will certainly change leadership” among market sectors, favouring financials, industrials and materials, according to Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group in Minneapolis.“It would put pressure on utilities and telecoms” as well as on companies that consistently increase quarterly paybacks to shareholders, he said.Investors typically sell shares of utilities and telecoms as well as high dividend payers when interest rates rise, partly because they lose their appeal as bond proxies since investors can expect similar returns investing in bonds, which are seen as safer assets.So far this year, the S&P 500 banking index .SPXBK is up less than 4 percent, underperforming the 9.2 percent gain in the S&P 500 dividend aristocrats index .SPDAUDP. S&P 500 utilities .SPLRCU are up 12 percent.While the Fed’s expected announcement of the trimming of its balance sheet has been well telegraphed, investors will look for any Fed reveal on its preference for shorter- or longer-dated bonds when it reinvests a portion of its maturing assets.If the focus is on the repurchase of short-term assets, that would likely push the long end of the yield curve higher, driving investors’ attention also to shares of banks, which would theoretically make more money with the help of higher net interest margins, said Morganlander.Banks borrow money short term and lend it out longer term, so a steeper yield curve is seen as positive for their balance sheets.However, long-term yields in the U.S. are not immune to the effect of low-yielding bonds in other developed countries like Germany and Japan.“The general tendency based on global rates will continue to pressure the yield curve,” Morganlander said.BROAD MARKET TO SHRUG While the Fed’s quantitative easing program was a pillar of the U.S. stock market’s march from then-12-year lows on the S&P 500 in 2009 to current record-high levels, winding it down is not expected to produce a major market reaction on the downside.The U.S. central bank is expected to initially trim no more than $10 billion per month from its $4.5 trillion portfolio, with the cap rising each quarter for a year until it hits $50 billion monthly.The slow and steady move would not turn the U.S. central bank into a seller. The Fed would allow assets to mature without reinvesting the totality of those maturing assets, which would trim some $300 billion from the Fed’s portfolio after the first year according to analysts.“It’s going to be run-off, not outright sales, so that in and of itself is a very gradual process,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.“The boldest, the most hawkish case, it is going to take well into the next decade for the balance sheet to get to its ‘new normal’ size,” Hogan said. “Can the market stomach that? My supposition would be yes.”Estimates of where the Fed plans to take its balance sheet range from about $2 trillion to $3 trillion. The Fed’s portfolio was close to $900 billion before the 2007-2009 financial crisis and ballooned to near $4.5 trillion by late 2014, where it has roughly stayed since.(For a graphic on the growth of the Fed''s balance sheet vs. the S&P 500 see: reut.rs/2jssUvS )Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Meredith MazzilliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead/wall-street-week-ahead-fed-meeting-could-trigger-stock-sector-rotation-idINKCN1BQ2T7'|'2017-09-15T19:30:00.000+03:00'
'f3dd0814b64eda4a89ac1434205036d1a99c5f70'|'New hedging rules will make FX traders put up or shut up - every day'|'September 14, 2017 / 12:25 PM / Updated 5 hours ago New hedging rules will make FX traders put up or shut up - every day 6 Min Read U.S. Dollar and Euro notes are seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/Files LONDON (Reuters) - New European Union regulations on foreign exchange trading will make it harder and more expensive to manage currency risk, traders said, especially for large financial counterparties such as hedge funds and insurance companies. The regulations will impose “variation margins” on banks, companies and funds that use currency forwards and other derivatives to hedge exposure to currency swings. That means they will need to put up cash to back their trades every day. Market participants say the rules will make it harder for investors to invest in financial markets, because they will have to set aside a greater chunk of their capital. “The whole European regulation on the increased collateral requirements for currency forwards is a shock to the system, and the impact of this will be particularly felt by the investor community at large,” said James Binny, head of currencies at EMEA at State Street in London. Others say that’s the point: the rules will curtail the kind of reckless trading that culminated in the global financial crisis in 2008 by ensuring some these large players meet daily requirements to track swings in foreign exchange. “The idea behind this is to prevent the next Lehman Brothers and AIGs of the world,” said Phung Pham at Baker & McKenzie’s London derivatives practice, referring to the two giant U.S. financial firms who were trapped in the 2008 crisis. The regulations take effect in January 2018, and counterparties will have to get the necessary documentation in place by then. They will also need to exchange margins on a daily basis and calculate the hedges they need in real time, a tough job for users who have been used to doing this over several days or even weeks. Consequently, traders say, they will not be able to fully exploit market opportunities, posing a fresh challenge when they are already battling outflows. Some industry participants say the new rules will make European cities less attractive as currency-trading hubs. Rules in the United States are much looser. Physically deliverable foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange swaps are not subject to variation margin under the Dodd-Frank reform of Wall Street, according to a briefing note by law firm Macfarlanes LLP. For analysts scratching their head on what the broad market impact will be, separate EU requirements for non-deliverable currency forwards (NDFs) that came into effect earlier this year offer some clues. A global chief operating officer for currencies at a European bank in London said a large chunk of non-deliverable forward transactions are now settled on currency exchanges amid a broader decline in trading volumes. ADDING UP Unlike cash or spot transactions, forwards and other derivatives require a higher capital charge because they are settled at future dates. Investment banks generally offer clients a few days to provide extra capital if currency markets go against them. The new regulations eliminate that cushion. “On a single transaction, the capital is small, but it all adds up, and that limits the firepower available for funds to invest in markets,” said a trader at a hedge fund. SSGA’s Binny said about 35 people were working around the clock in his team to meet the new requirements before the deadline. The rules are set to strengthen risk-management practices at large hedge funds and pension companies. They take a trading view of markets each day, so they are intensive users of derivatives, compared with companies who can show their use is linked to hedging requirements. Even though Britain has voted to leave the EU, law firms say it will adopt the new rules when they go into force next year. Depending on how Brexit negotiations turn out, policymakers may tweak rules in the coming years. That matters, because London is the world’s biggest foreign exchange centre, trading more than $2.4 trillion each day. Cash transactions make up a third of that; the rest are derivatives. Trading in currency forwards and derivatives has grown exponentially in recent years. Companies are buying them to guard against sharp swings in currency markets, such as last October’s sterling flash crash or the euro’s 14 percent surge against the dollar this year. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES The greater capital requirements may lead some small companies not to hedge their currency exposure at all. “For a lot of small companies, moving into a world where they have to collateralize foreign exchange risk, this is a huge step. It is expensive in terms of technology, internal reporting or compliance and so on,” said David Clark, chairman of the Wholesale Markets Brokers’ Association, an industry body. “The worst thing is people would end up saying `I won’t cover my risk.’” Some analysts say the new regulations will drive foreign institutions out of London, leading them to route their trades through other centres such as New York or even Singapore, which are mounting a charm offensive to capture more market share “Large banks will gravitate towards centres where there are not onerous requirements for posting collateral,” said Nick Bradbury, partner at Allen & Overy in London. Additional reporting by Huw Jones; Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/currency-forwards-rules/new-hedging-rules-will-make-fx-traders-put-up-or-shut-up-every-day-idINKCN1BP1KJ'|'2017-09-14T15:23:00.000+03:00'
'3bcb141707dc91f81759773a88a58c382628509f'|'Netherlands to receive LNG cargo from U.S. Sabine Pass plant'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:49 AM / Updated 39 minutes ago Netherlands to receive LNG cargo from U.S. Sabine Pass plant Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Netherlands will receive its second-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment from Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass export facility in the United States on Oct. 6, according to shipping data. The vessel, with a capacity of 166,031 cubic metres, is currently berthed at Sabine Pass, live ship-tracking data shows. The first delivery from Sabine Pass to the Gate terminal in Rotterdam arrived on June 8 aboard the Arctic Discoverer, a Thomson Reuters analyst said. Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/netherlands-lng/netherlands-to-receive-lng-cargo-from-u-s-sabine-pass-plant-idUSL5N1LV14L'|'2017-09-14T09:48:00.000+03:00'
'15d76df2292829fada1b26e9ae063ec20f0e83ee'|'BRIEF-Lightpath Technologies Q4 revenue rose 90 pct to $9 mln'|' 57 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago BRIEF-Lightpath Technologies Q4 revenue rose 90 pct to $9 mln Reuters Staff Sept 14 (Reuters) - Lightpath Technologies Inc * Q4 revenue rose 90 percent to $9.0 million * Lightpath Technologies Inc qtrly earnings per share $0.24 * Lightpath Technologies Inc - 12-month backlog was approximately $9.3 million at June 30, 2017, as compared to $6.6 million at June 30, 2016 Source text: [ bit.ly/2fl73lc ]  '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-lightpath-technologies-q4-revenue/brief-lightpath-technologies-q4-revenue-rose-90-pct-to-9-mln-idUSFWN1LV0PQ'|'2017-09-14T23:55:00.000+03:00'
'7dd920c5938f023d6f4aedcec2846a8c340625e6'|'Corvex firm on investor vote after Energen seeks court ruling'|'(Reuters) - Activist investor Corvex Management LP said it would go ahead with its plan to get Energen Corp’s ( EGN.N ) investors to vote on its proposals and called the company’s decision to seek court’s guidance on Alabama’s shareholder rights law a “distraction”.Corvex, in a letter on Thursday, said the U.S. oil and gas producer''s management was "attempting to hide behind the Court", instead of welcoming shareholder talks and that it would "not rest until shareholders'' voices are heard." ( bit.ly/2xB5A53 )Energen sought the Circuit Court of Jefferson County to adjudicate on whether Corvex’s 10.1 percent stake allowed it to call a special shareholder meeting under Alabama laws, the company said in a filing on Tuesday.Corvex, which has emerged as Energen’s biggest shareholder, has since May waged a public campaign urging the company to sell itself or make changes to its board.Energen said it would not comment beyond its Tuesday filing.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-energen-corvex/corvex-firm-on-investor-vote-after-energen-seeks-court-ruling-idINKCN1BP33H'|'2017-09-14T19:46:00.000+03:00'
'debdd0e361d17d3534a0791154498c83f6c6cd0b'|'UPDATE 1-South Africa''s PPC sees higher offer from Fairfax'|' 25 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago UPDATE 1-South Africa''s PPC sees higher offer from Fairfax Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds quote, details) JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (Reuters) - PPC, South Africa’s biggest cement producer, said on Friday it expected Canada’s Fairfax Africa Investments to raise its 9.2 billion-rand ($700 million) takeover offer. The all-share offer from AfriSam and Fairfax on Sept. 4 valued PPC shares at 5.75 rand but expectations of a higher bid, either from Fairfax or others such as Nigeria’s Dangote Cement, have kept the share price above that level. Asked what would happen if Fairfax raised its offer in a questons-and-answers document posted on its website, it said “this may happen given the low offer price on the table.” On Thursday Dangote Cement, which is controlled by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, said it was interested in buying PPC, which is also the subject of a proposed merger with with local rival AfriSam. If, however, none of the offers from the prospective bidders materialise and if the AfriSam merger doesn’t go ahead, PPC, which has operations in six countries, said it could continue as a standalone business. “PPC is a solid business, a clear market leader with a useful footprint across Africa. Shareholders can be assured that PPC, as a standalone business, is also an attractive value proposition,” the firm said. Shares in PPC were up 1.12 percent at 6.31 rand at 1422 GMT. ($1 = 13.1363 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by David Clarke, Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/ppc-ma-afrisam-fairfax-africa/update-1-south-africas-ppc-sees-higher-offer-from-fairfax-idUSL5N1LW3YA'|'2017-09-15T17:23:00.000+03:00'
'2cf91ad5e96d711578abbf8ed1dc30f8f8a4cbeb'|'Zeitfracht says submits bid for Air Berlin assets'|'September 15, 2017 / 11:02 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Zeitfracht says submits bid for Air Berlin assets Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A poster of Ryanair in favour of the referendum for Berlin''s Tegel airport is pictured in Berlin, Germany, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht said it was submitting an offer for Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) assets that it expects would secure around 1,000 jobs at the insolvent German airline. It said in a statement ahead of the deadline for bids that it was offering to buy Air Berlin’s Leisure Cargo GmbH, which markets air freight capacity, regional unit Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter mbH and maintenance unit Airberlin Technik GmbH. It declined to say how much it was offering to pay for the assets. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/zeitfracht-says-submits-bid-for-air-berlin-assets-idINKCN1BQ1D3'|'2017-09-15T09:02:00.000+03:00'
'88804e03c3a071ae01ef14c34d507849b31c9551'|'Why do European companies bother to hire ex-politicians?'|'THIS month Gerhard Schröder starts a new job. Shareholders in Rosneft, a Russian energy giant with a market value of nearly $60bn, are set to appoint Germany’s ex-chancellor as a board director on September 29th. Russia’s government, Rosneft’s majority-owner, nominated Mr Schröder, who is pals with Vladimir Putin. Despite Western sanctions imposed on the firm after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Mr Schröder’s move is no surprise. He has worked for years with Gazprom, another energy arm of the Russian state, to promote a gas pipeline to western Europe.His ties to Russia win him few friends at home. His successor as Germany’s leader, Angela Merkel, calls his behaviour “not OK”. She also vows to reject offers of “any posts in industry once I am no longer chancellor”. Other politicians are happier to follow Mr Schröder’s example. It emerged last month that a former German president, Christian Wulff (pictured), is also employed by a foreign company. He advises a German arm of a Turkish high-street fashion firm, Yargici, topping up the salary of €236,000 ($282,030) which he gets for being an ex-president. François Fillon, an ex-prime minister of France, became a partner at Tikehau Capital, an asset manager, on September 1st.  13   16   a day ago Foreign   Cases such as these spread public unease about the revolving door between business and politics and the civil service. The French call it pantouflage . In January a report by Transparency International, an anti-corruption group, assessed the careers of 512 EU politicians who left office in recent years. It found that over half of retired EU commissioners, and 30% of ex-members of the European Parliament, took jobs with companies or with organisations registered on an EU lobby register. Firms such as ArcelorMittal, an Indian-owned steelmaker based in Luxembourg, Uber, an American ride-hailing firm, and Volkswagen, Germany’s scandal-prone car giant, have all hired ex-commissioners.In Britain, too, ex-politicians routinely land sinecures advising funds and banks: Tony Blair is with JPMorgan Chase; his predecessor as prime minister, John Major, advises Credit Suisse; George Osborne, a former chancellor, this year joined up with BlackRock, an American investment firm.Though the firms involved emphasise that they have high ethical standards, activists worry. “Conflicts of interest cannot be ruled out,” said the authors of the Transparency International report. The appointment of José Manuel Barroso, an ex-president of the commission, as chairman of Goldman Sachs International, provoked particularly loud public complaints in July last year. Campaigners say an 18-month ban on politicians taking such jobs should last much longer.Given such attention, do employers gain by hiring the once-powerful? Drawing a line from recruitment to the subsequent performance of a company is tricky. Ex-politicians offer expertise, contacts and—presumably—quiet influence among former colleagues. Tikehau Capital has specified that it plans to use Mr Fillon’s international experience and knowledge of economic issues. Cynics argue that the real targets of such hiring decisions are not ex-politicians, but those still in office. The point of recruitment could be to send a signal to younger politicians that they, too, could land such a job one day, if they play their cards right.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "The point of pantouflage"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728975-month-gerhard-schr-der-starts-new-job-rosneft-why-do-european-companies-bother?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'd05a4f6f8f9650ec00519ef35a1874a81f2ff5e4'|'The business of sperm banks'|'BROWSING websites that list sperm donors is weirdly similar to online dating. “Sanford is the total package,” begins one online ad, describing his strong jawline and piercing blue eyes. With a degree in finance and a “charming demeanour”, he is more than a pretty face. You can listen to a voice recording from Sanford himself. If all that wins you over, you can have his baby without ever having to go on a date. For $635, Seattle Sperm Bank (SSB) will post you a vial of his frozen swimmers.The fact that the main customers for many sperm banks are now single women explains the marketing technique. “They tend to be highly educated, impatient and picky,” says Ole Schou, founder of Cryos International, the world’s largest sperm bank, based in Denmark’s second-biggest city, Aarhus. Its website is designed to resemble Match.com, a dating site, because “finding a donor should be as close to finding a natural partner as possible.”Latest updates An   Foreign reserves a day ago See all updates Outside the Cryos office, a steady trickle of young men park their bicycles and head for the donor room, which is equipped with the usual pornographic magazines, a television and an inexplicable cactus. After they hand in their contributions, lab technicians test them and sort them by quality. The samples are labelled, frozen and stored in five large vats of liquid nitrogen at -196°C. Once orders come in they will be shipped to homes, clinics and other sperm banks in over 100 countries.Fertility is a sizeable industry; commercial sperm banks are a crucial and profitable part of it. The global sperm-bank business could be worth nearly $5bn by 2025, according to Grand View Research, a market-research firm in California. Demand has risen strongly. That is partly because people in rich countries are postponing their childbearing years; they struggle to conceive as a result. But an even greater reason is that in more places, it is both legal and increasingly acceptable for lesbian couples and single women to have children. These groups make up 60% and 90% of clients at Cryos and SSB, respectively.As demand rises, politicians and regulators are trying to exert more control. That has created a patchwork of rules that affect sources of both supply and demand. In some countries, such as Britain and the Netherlands, anonymous donation of sperm has been outlawed, contributing to sperm shortages; in others, such as France and Spain, donors must be anonymous. In Canada, donors cannot be paid; in most European countries they can be compensated only for expenses; in America there are no limits on remuneration.As for buyers of sperm, many head for jurisdictions where waiting times and prices are lower or the level of testing or information about the donor greater, or because restrictive rules at home prevent them from receiving donor sperm altogether. In Hong Kong and Switzerland, for example, only married, heterosexual couples are eligible for treatment with donor sperm. In France lesbians and single women are excluded. This legislative hodgepodge represents opportunity for those that can export sperm. Thanks to dry ice, the internet and DHL, good-quality sperm has become highly tradable.Where did you guys gamete?The industry has not always been in the hands of businessmen. For much of the 20th century, infertile couples would see a doctor who would pull his best-looking student from the corridor and use his freshly volunteered sperm to inseminate the woman, recalls Rene Almeling at Yale University. No records were kept. The HIV epidemic of the 1980s ended such shenanigans. Freezing, quarantining and testing both sperm and donors became crucial.Worried about rising costs and legal liability, medical clinics left the business and commercial sperm banks filled the gap. The market has become highly competitive. Many customers need between six and ten vials to conceive, and with lots coming back for siblings, the business is all about the first sell. Cryos’s sales department is bigger than the science lab.Sperm banks can be divided into two groups: those that regard sperm donation as a medical matter and those that do not. Firms such as Cryos are adamant that donation to a healthy woman is not a medical issue. “It takes place millions of times each day without a doctor,” argues Mr Schou. Other sperm banks emphasise clinical expertise. “We provide the highest quality donors for the safest possible babies and happiest families,” says Fredrik Andreasson, chief financial officer of Seattle Sperm Bank, which focuses not just on healthy but on “sellable” donors, such as doctors. It prides itself in accepting only 1% of donors and on testing for more genetic diseases than any other bank.Prices for sperm have roughly doubled over the past decade at several banks. London Sperm Bank now charges £950 ($1,261) per vial. At Cryos the cheapest, anonymous vials start at €40 ($48); the highest quality, with an identifiable donor, extra tests and more information, cost up to €1,600. Customers can gain “exclusive access” by buying out a donor for €12,000-30,000. American banks tend to charge extra for information. Want to see a picture or hear the donor’s voice? That will be $25.For Amy Graves and her partner Claire Harrison, from Britain, information from Cryos about donors was crucial. “As I was going to carry the baby it was important to us that there were similarities between the donor and Claire,” explains Ms Graves. They settled on a man who loved football, like Claire, and martial arts, like Amy, and who shares Claire’s favourite colour (red) and some of her facial features.The commercialisation of sperm, eggs and other human tissue makes many people uneasy. Sperm banks are elusive about profit margins, but if a donor is paid $100 per sample, often split into as many as five vials, sold for $500-1,000 each, margins ought to be healthy even after costs. Yet the non-profit market has failed many people desperate to have children. After Britain started a national sperm bank in 2014, it recruited just eight donors in two years.The industry has challenges. Heterosexual couples are increasingly likely to freeze their own eggs and sperm cells for later; fertility treatments with the poorest sperm are improving. Last year the first steps towards making sex cells out of body cells were detailed in Nature , a science journal. But for the foreseeable future, more sperm banks will be advertising for donors who “have what it takes” and are willing to lend a hand to modern families everywhere.  Business   "Seed capital"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728982-modern-families-and-differing-national-laws-mean-opportunities-companies-business?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'48a84e752b84820569ecd1d24c94270d94175825'|'ECB concerned about bank efforts to avoid regulation - Nouy'|'September 15, 2017 / 6:19 AM / Updated 9 hours ago ECB says banks may try to avoid its supervision after Brexit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read EU and British flags fly outside the European Commission building in London, Britain August 12, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall HELSINKI/TALLIN (Reuters) - European banks might try to exploit loopholes and differences in national rules to get looser regulation or evade European Central Bank rules altogether, particularly after Britain quits the European Union, two ECB regulators warned on Friday. Sabine Lautenschlaeger and Daniele Nouy renewed their calls for closing gaps in European rules that put investment firms and bank branches outside the ECB’s banking supervision. ”In the wake of Brexit, many banks will decide to relocate from the United Kingdom to the euro area,“ Lautenschlaeger, who represents the ECB’s supervisory arm on the executive board, said at the Eurofi symposium in Tallin. ”And they might choose to set up third-country branches. At the same time, investment firms might also relocate. “So I think it would make sense to regulate and supervise them at European level.” Fewer than 10 of 40 banks that do business in the EU from London have applied for an ECB licence to continue operating in the bloc after Britain leaves, Reuters reported last week. Others are looking to set up market units that are supervised by national authorities instead. Speaking earlier in Helsinki, Nouy, the chairwoman of the ECB’s supervisory arm, had said banks may be shifting operations to countries with looser regulation or moving activities into the so-called shadow banking sector. “This is not a movie where a rogue hero happily flouts all the rules to save the world,” Nouy told a conference in Helsinki. “This is about the stability of the banking sector, the prosperity of the economy and the wealth of society as a whole.” Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa; editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-ecb/ecb-concerned-about-bank-efforts-to-avoid-regulation-nouy-idUKKCN1BQ0JY'|'2017-09-15T09:19:00.000+03:00'
'8e0470bdf3293d62ba23ffd610594220762ed449'|'Premier Inn owner quits ethical trade body after union row - Business - The Guardian'|'Premier Inn owner quits ethical trade body after union row Unite union says Whitbread, which also owns Costa Coffee, ignored its attempts to secure access to workers The Unite union sought to talk to staff at Whitbread’s Premier Inn chain. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Rex Features Premier Inn owner quits ethical trade body after union row Unite union says Whitbread, which also owns Costa Coffee, ignored its attempts to secure access to workers View more sharing options Friday 15 September 2017 11.49 BST Last modified on Friday 15 September 2017 12.28 BST The owner of Costa Coffee, Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre has pulled out of the UK’s ethical trade body after a spat with the Unite union over recognition of British workers. The union said attempts to gain access to workers at Whitbread’s Premier Inn chain, in line with core principles of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which is backed by unions, human rights charities such as Oxfam and companies including Marks & Spencer, Tesco and WH Smith, were at first ignored. It said Whitbread then argued that the ETI’s code on freedom of association did not apply to its direct employees in the UK. A spokesperson for Whitbread would not give a reason for its withdrawal from the ETI, just over a year after joining, but said it had “an open policy towards our employees belonging to a union”. JD Wetherspoon boss: EU leaders should take a ''wise-up pill'' on Brexit Read more “Our employees are completely free to talk to a union, to discuss trade unions in the workplace and to invite a union representative to join them at formal meetings. We have a number of unionised team members who are affiliated with a range of different unions,” the company said. In a letter to Whitbread’s chief executive, Alison Brittain, Unite said that the company’s “commitments and obligations” on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining “are not currently being met in any practical sense”. It said: “Unite had high hopes that Whitbread’s membership of the ETI would open the doors to better working conditions and improved union relations in the notoriously anti-union and exploitative UK hospitality industry as the ETI base code, which is founded on the conventions of the International Labour Organisation, includes the right to freedom of association and to bargain collectively. “But our attempts at meaningful negotiation with the company were ignored. We had sought to secure a union access agreement which would have allowed union officials to meet with workers to the benefits of trade union membership and the company’s own human rights policy.” Whitbread said it was “a leader in responsible sourcing within the hospitality industry” and remained “100% committed to ensuring ethical and sustainable practice across our global supply chain”. “Since we joined the ETI in 2016, we have been subject to false allegations from Unite about our employment practices, specifically around our policy towards union membership, and Unite allege that we do not comply with the ETI base code. This is untrue and the ETI have confirmed that we met our obligations as a foundation stage member,” the company said. Peter McAllister, the executive director of the ETI, said: “Like any new member there is a period where we work through what our expectations are and the company’s priorities, based on supply chain needs and tackling relevant issues. We therefore regret that Whitbread chose to leave ETI so soon after joining. “We will continue to try to find ways of working with leading companies and unions to support ethical conditions for vulnerable workers in the UK hospitality sector.” Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/15/premier-inn--ethical-trade-body-unite-union-whitbread'|'2017-09-15T18:49:00.000+03:00'
'27591d7827b9f1bcc014714f2646618ca2271859'|'Showtime is putting out more shows to keep online churn low-CBS CEO'|'  1:58 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Showtime is putting out more shows to keep online churn low: CBS CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Leslie Moonves, Chairman and CEO, CBS Corporation, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (Reuters) - CBS Corp‘s’s Showtime has changed its schedule to produce a new show every three to four weeks to keep viewers hooked on its online video service, CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves told investors at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in New York on Thursday. The New York-based broadcaster said in August that it would have more than 4 million streaming subscribers between its Showtime streaming service and its CBS All Access streaming service by year-end. Reporting by Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cbs-corp-presentation/showtime-is-putting-out-more-shows-to-keep-online-churn-low-cbs-ceo-idUSKCN1BP1YG'|'2017-09-14T16:54:00.000+03:00'
'ee4411f7abfd0677127f5e5343591613aad3e827'|'Ryanair CEO says in process of finalizing Alitalia offer'|'Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary poses for a picture after a news conference in Berlin, Germany, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair ( RYA.I ) is in the process of finalizing a binding offer for Alitalia, which will see it keep the brand, long-haul operations but changing the fleet for short-haul routes, CEO Michael O‘Leary said on Thursday.“We would have to order new planes, whether Boeing or Airbus,” O‘Leary told Reuters, adding that Ryanair preferred to own its fleet, rather than lease planes, as Alitalia does.He said Ryanair hoped to preserve jobs for pilots and crew, although warned they would have to be on new terms in line with Ryanair’s cost base.He added that Ryanair was not interested in bidding for Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) because the process was not transparent, repeating previous accusations that it was a stitch-up designed to make Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) stronger.He said he expected EU competition authorities would demand substantial remedies in the event Lufthansa buys Air Berlin, with the carrier likely to have to give up slots on routes within Germany to preserve competition.Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Caroline Copley '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-ryanair/ryanair-ceo-says-in-process-of-finalizing-alitalia-offer-idINKCN1BP16O'|'2017-09-14T08:10:00.000+03:00'
'eb2555b0f5f201b04dfa995a2292f09b4075aa1f'|'North East still feels pain of Northern Rock demise'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/3c291494-96db-11e7-b83c-9588e51488a0'|'2017-09-16T06:01:00.000+03:00'
'bf68cee56ee53bb8862fe24b92048d76e4ee1d17'|'China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid smuggling claims'|'September 16, 2017 / 4:13 AM / Updated 2 hours ago China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid U.S. probe Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - Zhongwang USA, an investment firm backed by a Chinese aluminum tycoon, and its acquisition target Aleris Corp ( ALSD.PK ) have decided to extend a deadline to complete their merger by two weeks, according to representatives of the two companies. The extension comes amid reports of smuggling allegations made on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice against Liu Zhongtian, majority owner of Zhongwang USA. “We remain in discussions with Zhongwang USA on the pending acquisition of Aleris,” Jason Saragian, a spokesman for the Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminum rolled products, said by email. “To allow those discussions to continue, we have decided to extend our merger agreement through September 29,” Saragian said. The previous deadline lapsed on Friday. A spokeswoman for Zhongwang, an aluminum extruder, confirmed the extension. She later added that the decision to extend the deadline was a “totally separate” issue from the U.S. Department of Justice allegations, which Zhongwang denies. Zhongwang USA is not part of Hong Kong-listed China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd ( 1333.HK ), although Liu heads up both companies. Zhongwang USA announced its intention to buy Aleris in August 2016. However, the deal has not yet been completed, and in June this year, 27 U.S. senators urged the Treasury to reject the sale, calling it a “strategic misstep”. The Wall Street Journal reported that a complaint filed on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice accused an alleged Zhongwang affiliate, Perfectus Aluminum Inc, of evading $1.5 billion in tariffs by illegally importing aluminum into the United States. The Zhongwang spokeswoman said Liu “does not control and is not the beneficial owner of Perfectus, and therefore he is not in a position to comment on issues relating to Perfectus”. “China Zhongwang previously denied the allegations and maintains the same position regarding these ungrounded allegations,” she said. The U.S. Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), meanwhile, welcomed the action. “We want to applaud the Department of Justice’s decision to begin civil proceedings against Zhongwang’s affiliate,” AEC president Jeff Henderson said in a statement. The filing “is the culmination of a concerted effort by the AEC and its members in conjunction with Customs and the Department of Commerce to investigate Zhongwang’s alleged attempts to avoid paying duties,” Henderson said. Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by John Ruwitch & Simon Cameron-Moore '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-aluminum-china/chinas-zhongwang-aleris-extend-merger-deadline-amid-smuggling-claims-idINKCN1BR043'|'2017-09-16T02:13:00.000+03:00'
'1a3ae55b63c3621e1f7dd04d0f0e278d237a9645'|'Letter to my younger self: you will achieve so much, against great odds - Guardian Small Business Network - The Guardian'|'Founder of Hedge and Hog Prints   09.00 BST Last modified on   09.02 BST Dear Pragya, You’re looking at your daughter for the first time and whispering in her ear: “I am going to look after you, and you are going to do amazing things in life”. You never expected to have a baby at 20, but once you realised you were pregnant, you knew you’d never love anyone more. You married early, into a traditional Indian family, where you were supposed to have no opinions and now you’re wondering where your life is heading. Know that you’re a bright spark who will secure her own release. You’ll feel truly happy after re-discovering this creativity of yours. Your husband will call you a renaissance woman You’ll get a scholarship to study in the UK for a PhD in environmental science three years later, and you’ll go despite all the doubts in your mind about leaving your little girl behind with your parents. There won’t be a single night that you don’t cry thinking of her. But your reputation will grow in your field and you’ll work hard to secure a prestigious fellowship so you can bring your daughter to the UK with you. You finally have sole custody but her father says moving her will ruin her life. Know that you’ll prove him wrong. As I write this, she’s now studying at Cambridge University. You did that, with that bloody-mindedness of yours. There have been sacrifices. You’ll live together in a tiny apartment, scrimping and saving. She’s initially unsettled moving to a new country, and adapting to a new culture. You’ll work hard to spend time with her, juggling your job and single parenting, as you progress to a senior academic position. It isn’t easy, and the cracks will begin to appear. You are stressed, overwhelmed, unsupported and bullied at work. You always thought that sort of thing only happened in the playground, not in academia, and surely never to someone as strong as you. You’ll work even harder but it’s never enough. It will break your spirit. Sadly, you have no other option than to quit. Even though you’ve been through so much, you can’t sit at home and do nothing. You start lecturing at US universities remotely, and tutoring students from home. Teaching is cathartic for you. You’ll teach your students to dream big, and to have the courage to chase their dreams. Your success surprises you. You’ll have a long waiting list, with students and parents driving for hours to see you. You have a natural instinct for teaching and mentoring young people. Ever the enterprising type, you’ll always be looking for new challenges. Your background in architecture means you’re often drawing and you’ll create your own stationery for your Scottish-Indian wedding after meeting your second husband, the most wonderful man. You receive so many compliments that you decide to start linocut printmaking, teaching yourself as you go. You tentatively start selling online as Hedge and Hog Prints and are amazed when immediately two sell, and then quickly some more. You’ll feel truly happy after re-discovering this creativity of yours. Your husband will call you a renaissance woman. Letter to my younger self: one day you''ll have to take your hands off the wheel Read more There are still days when you’ll feel lonely, exhausted, depressed. You’ll become a mother again, and bringing up one-year-old twins definitely isn’t easy. You’ll go back to academia and have to juggle a full-time research position, while building your creative business and launching a new social enterprise The Art Tiffin . You’ll become a passionate advocate for creativity and mental health. You’ll work relentlessly, averaging only a couple of hours’ sleep every night. You’ll worry about the strain this puts on your life and be frustrated when you can’t find the time to work. You’ll wonder sometimes why it’s not enough to just be a mother, which is so rewarding in itself. Remember to be gentle with yourself. You’ve built this business because you want something just for yourself and to show your children that resilience is one of the most important qualities they can possess. You want them to go for things without fearing failure. Know that, slowly and steadily, you will rediscover your optimism. As you cuddle your baby girl in your arms, remember that you too will achieve so much, against great odds. It is the belief in yourself that truly matters. Hold onto it. Pragya Pragya Agarwal is the founder of Hedge and Hog Prints . Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/sep/16/letter-to-my-younger-self-pragya-agarwal-hedge-and-hog-prints'|'2017-09-16T16:00:00.000+03:00'
'6d66323a8caf4c2d8d275898b8fd31cf143890b8'|'Pat Albeck obituary - Art and design - The Guardian'|'Friday 15 September 2017 15.37 BST Last modified on Friday 15 September 2017 18.46 BST Pat Albeck, who has died aged 87, was a prolific, gifted designer of printed textiles whose genius for flat pattern also took her into design for ceramics, wallpapers and a whole range of merchandise for the National Trust. Her work looked effortless but this was deceptive. Informed by a prolonged art education, she had an unstoppable appetite for work and a remarkable graphic sensibility. From her bold Apples and Pears fabric pattern, made in 1952 while still a student at the Royal College of Art (RCA), to her 1960s Daisychain design for John Lewis, a bestseller for 15 years and reissued in 2014 for the store’s 150th anniversary, Albeck’s work had enormous popular appeal, much of it entering our homes anonymously, as dress or furnishing fabric or as flat pattern adorning every kind of object. She was an inspiring mentor to younger designers who served informal apprenticeships – including Susan Collier of Collier Campbell and Clare Johnston , until recently professor of textiles at the RCA. In later years her work gained new audiences through commissions from the ceramics manufacturer Emma Bridgewater, her daughter-in-law. Born in Hull, Pat was the youngest of four daughters of Max and Sarah Albeck, both from Zarembi, a small village near Warsaw where Max’s father had been a rabbi. The couple left Poland for London and by 1919 had moved to Hull, where Max set up business as a manufacturing furrier, privately espousing the anarchist cause, a regular subscriber to the journal Freedom . When Pat was three the family moved to a new house in the nearby village of Anlaby, commissioned by her father. Albeck recalled the exterior as “stockbroker Tudor”, but the art deco interior (created by a local stage designer) included abstract murals and rugs, stained glass designed by art students, including a scene of Little Red Riding Hood in Pat’s bedroom, and a garden with crescent moon flowerbeds and early lilac in the greenhouse. Daisychain, a 1960s response to John Lewis’s request for a William Morris-inspired print, was produced in different colourways each year At Beverley high school for girls Pat had an excellent art teacher who focused on pattern-making and calligraphy. She spent four years at Hull College of Arts and Crafts at a time when ex-servicemen were flooding art schools, inspiring in their seriousness and determination and in 1950 won a scholarship to the RCA in London, to study printed textile design. From the start she found art materials inspiring, using all types of paper, often for cut-outs and collage, paints, fine inks applied by brush, and pens – including, by the 60s, felt-tips. Albeck soon emerged as one of the elite fledgling consultant designers produced by the RCA. In 1952 she was included in the show Art for the Factory at the Imperial Institute , the first show put on by the college entirely devoted to industrial design, alongside silversmiths such as David Mellor and Robert Welch , and the furniture designers Ronald Carter and Robert Heritage . Pat Albeck’s Fuchsia With Cherries, 2017, made with cutout paper While she was still a student, her Apples and Pears print was bought as a dress length by Elsbeth Juda , photographer and co-founder of the influential textile and fashion magazine The Ambassador , and Albeck sold a black stripe with a red rose design to Horrockses Fashion (a subsidiary of the textile firm Horrockses, Crewdson & Co). She proved a brilliant designer for Horrockses. The firm’s charming full-skirted dresses, many using Albeck’s textiles, are now collectors’ items. Albeck worked for the company continuously after leaving college, producing a stream of knowing and sharply drawn variations of stripes and flora, with diversions into architecture, including her playful Venice Fish Market, inspired by a 1953 RCA travel scholarship, and her Fruit and Stripe design chosen by Sir Hugh Casson, then head of interior design at the RCA, for his office curtains. In 1954 she married her fellow student Peter Rice, the stage designer , borrowing the weaver Margaret Leischner ’s Morris Minor for a brief honeymoon. In 1958 Albeck left Horrockses, embarking on a highly successful freelance career that included Plum, a wallpaper for Sanderson’s centenaryin 1960, and exquisite patterns for tableware, which took her to Stoke-on-Trent and won her a Council of Industrial Design (now Design Council) award in 1958. The 1960s saw inspirational visits to New York and to Australia, the latter on a Cotton Board scholarship, and the birth of her son, Matthew, in 1962. He was to inspire nursery textiles and wallpapers, and several children’s books. Cavendish Textiles, the production company for John Lewis, became an important client. The popular Daisychain , a response to John Lewis’s request for a William Morris-inspired print, was produced in different colourways each year. She designed dress fabrics for Samuel Sherman’s Dollyrockers range – on his advice she studied the film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, 1964) for its remarkable colour values – and worked for Osman Textiles and Palladio Wallpaper. She also wrote the textbook Printed Textiles, for Oxford University Press (1969). The cats tea towel designed by Pat Albeck for the National Trust in 1990 In the 1970s she began her longstanding association with the National Trust, introduced by her Hammersmith neighbour the artist Mary Fedden , whose cousin Robin Fedden was then the trust’s director. Her work for the organisation included her famous tea towels , whose intricate narrative charm often led them to be framed by purchasers. By the 1980s she was creating whole ranges of co-ordinated products – from table mats to desk accessories – usually inspired by a detail in a specific trust property. Albeck took commissions from her son Matthew Rice’s paper company, and on his marriage to Emma Bridgewater in 1987 continued to design for them both. She began a series of flower paintings in the 80s and 90s, moving on to remarkable cut paper pictures, a selection of which were exhibited at Colefax and Fowler in Pimlico, London, in May this year, to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show. Watching her wield her scissors freehand, fluently cutting out flowers, leaves and fruit, was a remarkable experience. Her love of flowers was further celebrated in her illustrations for Anthony Footit’s Gospel of Wild Flowers (2006). She was busy at her desk until a few days before she died. Albeck and her husband had separate studios at home , first in Hammersmith, after 2000 in Norfolk, and finally in Oxfordshire. After dinner the couple would invariably return to work, obeying the shared mantra “back to the drawing board”, the title of a film and an exhibition celebrating their joint careers held at Keele University last year. Diminutive, sporting striking spectacles, bright-eyed and beautifully and colourfully dressed, Albeck always gave generously – serving on numerous design committees and as external examiner to many schools of art. Her archives are in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s archive of art and design . Peter died in 2015. Albeck is survived by Matthew and by her grandchildren, Lil, Kitty, Margaret and Michael • Judith Patricia Albeck, designer, born 17 March 1930; died 2 September 2017 Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/retail/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/sep/15/pat-albeck-obituary'|'2017-09-15T22:37:00.000+03:00'
'30bedd2d0735dfeb7095ba39c89a246e8e69ef00'|'Equifax''s information, security heads to retire immediately - CNBC, citing DJ'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:47 PM / Updated 11 hours ago Equifax two top technology executives leave company ''effective immediately'' Dustin Volz , Diane Bartz 5 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Equifax ( EFX.N ) said on Friday that it made changes in its top management as part of its review of a massive data breach, with two technology and security executives leaving the company “effective immediately.” The credit-monitoring company announced the changes in a press release that gave its most detailed public response to date of the discovery of the data breach on July 29 and the actions it has since taken. The statement came on a day when Equifax’s share price continued to slide following a week of relentless criticism over its response to the data breach, Lawmakers, regulators and consumers have complained that Equifax’s response to the breach, which exposed sensitive data like Social Security numbers of up to 143 million people, had been slow, inadequate and confusing. Equifax on Friday said that Susan Mauldin, chief security officer, and David Webb, chief information officer, were retiring. The company named Mark Rohrwasser as interim chief information office and Russ Ayres as interim chief security officer, saying in its statement, “The personnel changes are effective immediately.” Rohrwasser has led the company’s international IT operations, and Ayres was a vice president in the IT organisation. The company also confirmed that Mandiant, the threat intelligence arm of the cyber firm FireEye, has been brought on to help investigate the breach. It said Mandiant was brought in on Aug. 2 after Equifax’s security team initially observed “suspicious network traffic” on July 29. The company has hired public relations companies DJE Holdings and McGinn and Company to manage its response to the hack, PR Week reported. Equifax and the two PR firms declined to comment on the report. Equifax’s share prices has fallen by more than a third since the company disclosed the hack on Sept. 7. Shares shed 3.8 percent on Friday to close at $92.98. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has built a reputation as a fierce consumer champion, kicked off a new round of attacks on Equifax on Friday by introducing a bill along with 11 other senators to allow consumers to freeze their credit for free. A credit freeze prevents thieves from applying for a loan using another person’s information. FILE PHOTO - Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo Warren also signalled in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency she helped create in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, that it may require extra powers to ensure closer federal oversight of credit reporting agencies. Warren also wrote letters to Equifax and rival credit monitoring agencies TransUnion ( TRU.N ) and Experian ( EXPN.L ), federal regulators and the Government Accountability Office to see if new federal legislation was needed to protect consumers. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and more than 30 others in a state group investigating the breach acknowledged that Equifax has agreed to give free credit monitoring to hack victims but pressed the company to stop collecting any money to monitor or freeze credit. “Selling a fee-based product that competes with Equifax’s own free offer of credit monitoring services to victims of Equifax’s own data breach is unfair,” Jepsen said. Also on Friday, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate subcommittee on Social Security urged Social Security Administration to consider nullifying its contract with Equifax and consider making the company ineligible for future government contracts. The two senators, Republican Bill Cassidy and Democrat Sherrod Brown, said they were concerned that personal information maintained by the Social Security Administration may also be at risk because the agency worked with Equifax to build its E-Authentication security platform. Equifax has reported that for 2016, state and federal governments accounted for 5 percent of its total revenue of $3.1 billion. 400,000 BRITONS AFFECTED Equifax, which disclosed the breach more than a month after it learned of it on July 29, said at the time that thieves may have stolen the personal information of 143 million Americans in one of the largest hacks ever. The problem is not restricted to the United States. Equifax said on Friday that data on up to 400,000 Britons was stolen in the hack because it was stored in the United States. The data included names, email addresses and telephone numbers but not street addresses or financial data, Equifax said. Canada’s privacy commissioner said on Friday that it has launched an investigation into the data breach. Equifax is still working to determine the number of Canadians affected, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said in a statement. Reporting by Dustin Volz and Diane Bartz; Additional reporting by Chris Sanders, Michelle Price and Jim Finkle; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-equifax-cyber-moves/equifaxs-information-security-heads-to-retire-immediately-cnbc-citing-dj-idUKKCN1BQ2XB'|'2017-09-16T00:47:00.000+03:00'
'72a8ad9d1feec81ecd86c699bbfae4b99a0b9c58'|'PRESS DIGEST -Wall Street Journal - Sept 14'|'September 14, 2017 / 4:23 AM / Updated 43 minutes ago PRESS DIGEST -Wall Street Journal - Sept 14 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 14 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - A group including Apple Inc and Dell Technologies Inc surged to the front in a race to acquire Toshiba Corp''s memory-chip business. Apple and Dell would likely supply debt financing for the Bain Capital''s bid. on.wsj.com/2y0Hzkl - Equifax Inc said hackers exploited a vulnerability with a U.S. website application called Apache Struts in the data breach that affected potentially 143 million Americans. on.wsj.com/2y0bNDJ - Tenet Healthcare Corp, is exploring strategic options including a possible sale of the hospital company. on.wsj.com/2y0hHVF - U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats closed in on a deal to give legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall. on.wsj.com/2y0cddh - Halimah Yacob, 63, has been named Singapore''s first female president. on.wsj.com/2y0i2Yr - Jian Yung, a Chinese-born New Zealand lawmaker has acknowledged he once taught English to Chinese spies, an admission that comes as his party faces a closer-than-expected fight in a general election just 10 days away. on.wsj.com/2y0mbf5 Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-14-idUSL4N1LV25T'|'2017-09-14T12:23:00.000+03:00'
'9dc465a2f8d3e7351b1cbc74623171f26a7b4cf3'|'EU workers drift from Britain just as restaurateurs need them most'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:21 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago EU workers drift from Britain just as restaurateurs need them most Emma Rumney 8 Min Read A EU citizen poses for a photograph in the cafe where he works in London, Britain September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls LONDON (Reuters) - Business is booming for Paul Murphy’s recruitment agency in northwest England. Clients are rolling in with more jobs in restaurants, bars and hotels than ever before, but finding workers to fill them has become tricky. Britain’s vote to leave the EU has complicated life for Murphy. A steady stream of continental Europeans who for years have taken up hundreds of thousands of positions in the hospitality business and other industries has started to dry up. “It’s definitely getting worse. The lead time to fill a chef vacancy at the moment ... could be anything between two and six months,” said Murphy, whose Knight Benton Recruitment agency is based in the small town of Cleator Moor. By contrast finding a chef last year would take two months at most, he told Reuters. Citizens of the remaining European Union states - from Italians and Spanish to Poles and Romanians - face losing their automatic right to live in Britain when it leaves the bloc in March 2019. Murphy believes the government must produce an alternative immigration regime that ensures employers get the workers they need. “Without a proper plan in place, they could crash the economy,” he said. The hospitality sector, like farming and construction, has relied heavily on Europeans, and particularly on people from the poorer ex-communist states which began joining the EU in 2003. Citizens of other EU countries could make up as much as a quarter of the 3 million workers in hospitality, according to a KPMG report based on a survey of British Hospitality Association (BHA) members. That includes 75 percent of waiting staff, 37 percent of housekeepers and 25 percent of chefs. Last June’s referendum has affected both the supply of labor and demand for it. European workers are starting to leave Britain or having second thoughts about coming in the first place, worried about their uncertain status after Brexit. On top of this, the pound has fallen more than 15 percent against the euro and about 21 percent against the Polish zloty since the referendum. That means Europeans’ sterling pay does not stretch nearly so far when they send money home, encouraging them to seek work elsewhere. But Murphy’s clients need more staff. Cleator Moor lies on the edge of the Lake District national park, a top tourist draw. The weak pound has encouraged many Britons to holiday at home and attracted growing numbers of foreign visitors to places like the Lake District. They need feeding and accommodating. BALANCING CONCERNS Smaller firms are particularly affected. Some are paying agencies to recruit for roles they used to fill easily themselves, raising salaries and offering more part-time hours. At a national level, big brands like the Pret a Manger sandwich chain and pizza restaurant group Franco Manca have warned about the impact on their businesses. Hospitality alone accounts for around 4.3 percent of the British economy, the BHA estimates, but the problem is wider. Numerous recruitment and sentiment surveys have suggested that firms across the economy are struggling to fill vacancies. Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has to balance these concerns with those of the many Britons who say they voted for Brexit primarily to clamp down on migration from the EU. A EU citizen poses for a photograph in the cafe where he works in London, Britain September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls The government wants to keep the right of Irish citizens to work in Britain, an arrangement which long pre-dates the EU. But a leaked document last week showed it is considering restricting migration from other EU states to all but the highest skilled workers. The government has said only that it would set out its proposals later this year. Employers fear too hard a line will make matters worse. Already they raised salaries at the fastest pace for two years in August as the fall in EU migration aggravates the labor shortage, according to a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. Hospitality needs to recruit 200,000 people every year to make up for natural staff turnover and power its growth, according to the BHA. Without any new EU migration or an increase in applications from Britons, it estimates the industry could face a shortfall of more than 60,000 jobs every year. SIGNIFICANT DROP Since 2003 the number of people born in other EU states living in Britain has jumped from 1.26 million to 3.68 million in 2017, according to Oxford University’s Migration Observatory. Eastern Europeans accounted for almost all the increase. But that trend has slowed sharply. In the 12 months to March, net migration from all countries was 246,000, down 81,000 from the previous year, official data show. A EU citizen poses for a photograph in the cafe where he works in London, Britain September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls More than half that drop was due to EU citizens leaving and fewer arriving since the Brexit vote. The biggest fall was among citizens of eight eastern European countries. Up-market fast food chain Leon, which runs 52 restaurants mostly in London and southeast England, is feeling the consequences. “What we’ve seen this year, particularly in the last quarter, is a significant drop in applications from EU nationals,” said Marco Reick, the firm’s people director. With staff from other EU states making up around 60 percent of Leon’s 1,000-strong workforce, the firm has responded by splitting full-time roles into part-time positions. While more expensive initially, this makes them more attractive to British candidates who tend to want more casual work. Indian fine-dining restaurant group MW Eat says job applications from EU nationals are down around 80 percent since the referendum. “We’ve had to increase wages by in excess of 10 percent,” said chairman Ranjit Mathrani. Even then, the group is taking on less qualified candidates, raising training costs. As a result, it is having to increase menu prices. NOT ENOUGH Finding British replacements isn’t easy. Mathrani said MW Eat would prefer to hire more locally-born workers, but many see hospitality as an unattractive career choice. On top of that unemployment is its lowest in decades, at 1.46 million people or 4.3 percent of the workforce in the three months to July. Peter Gowers, chief executive of the Travelodge budget hotel group, says there simply aren’t enough available Britons. “Even if the hotel industry recruited virtually every person on the unemployment register there wouldn’t be enough people to fill all the roles needed in the 10 years following Brexit,” he told the Mail on Sunday newspaper. Gowers called on the government to consider a guest worker program to avoid price rises and investment cuts. Other large firms say they have avoided the impact so far. One such is the Gordon Ramsay Group, which operates restaurants under the name of one of Britain’s most outspoken celebrity chefs. CEO Stuart Gillies said that with two thirds of its workforce from other EU states, the firm has brought forward steps to retain staff including offering more flexible shifts. The government’s ambition is to cut annual net migration to “the tens of thousands”. For some employers, the prospect of further falls in migration is unsettling. “That really makes me very uncomfortable, because we’re struggling as it is,” said Reick. Reporting by Emma Rumney; additional reporting by Anjuli Davies; editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-hospitality/eu-workers-drift-from-britain-just-as-restaurateurs-need-them-most-idUKKCN1BP0JI'|'2017-09-14T09:10:00.000+03:00'
'0d2efa4e1a0aa9192626273f43d1b3f8e8a11f64'|'RPT-COLUMN-Rising pound good news for Bank of England, not so much for UK stocks: McGeever'|'  7:04 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago RPT-COLUMN-Rising pound good news for Bank of England, not so much for UK stocks: McGeever Reuters Staff (Repeats column first published on Wednesday) By Jamie McGeever LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Sterling’s bounce back to a one-year high against the dollar this week may be welcome news for the Bank of England, but not for UK stock market investors. The pound’s recovery, which has also seen it reach a six-week peak on a trade-weighted basis, may help cool the bubbling price pressures that have lifted inflation to 2.9 percent, well above the BoE’s 2 percent target. But as far as sterling goes, what’s good news on the inflation-fighting front tends to be bad news for the leading FTSE 100 stock market. The FTSE is one of the most globally exposed major markets in the world, with some 70 percent of its earnings coming from overseas. Bouts of sterling strength within its broad post-referendum decline have corresponded with FTSE underperformance. In late August-early September last year, trade-weighted sterling rose three weeks in a row, and the FTSE fell around 4 percent. In that time, the MSCI World stock market index slipped a more modest 2.5 percent. Other periods of sterling strength since then include: November last year (FTSE -3 percent, MSCI +2 percent); mid-March through end-April this year (FTSE -3 percent, MSCI +1.5 percent); and the last three weeks (FTSE -1 percent, MSCI +2.5 percent). The FTSE’s latest stumble contrasts sharply with the MSCI World’s rally to a record high. Notwithstanding its recent uptick, sterling is still down 15 percent against the euro and 12.5 percent on a trade-weighted basis since the Brexit vote. All else being equal, a 15 percent depreciation in the pound means an instant 15 percent increase in profits for FTSE-listed companies. The pound’s steep Brexit-driven depreciation has minimized the damage done to the FTSE, which regained its poise barely a week after the referendum. But the pound’s sustained weakness since then means an unhedged euro zone-based fund manager holding UK stocks is still under water. The FTSE has underperformed the benchmark Eurostoxx 50 by more than 15 percent in euro terms since the Brexit vote. Sterling’s weakness since last year’s Brexit referendum has caused a headache for BoE policymakers. They have viewed the resulting jump in inflation as transitory, but further exchange rate weakness could change that. It could push inflation above 3 percent, further depress UK workers’ real earnings and squeeze consumer spending. An inflation-containing interest rate hike would be difficult to sell in the European Union’s slowest-growing economy, but more Bank officials would be tempted to pull the trigger. The latest exchange rate fluctuations, together with soft wage growth figures on Wednesday, will no doubt figure prominently at Thursday’s BoE policy meeting, where rates are widely expected to be kept on hold at a record low 0.25 percent. A stabilization or gradual creep higher in sterling’s exchange rate may come as a relief to Mark Carney and Co. at the Bank, but it casts a cloud over the FTSE. Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-sterling-stocks/rpt-column-rising-pound-good-news-for-bank-of-england-not-so-much-for-uk-stocks-mcgeever-idUSL5N1LV1BM'|'2017-09-14T10:02:00.000+03:00'
'fee460c42b644b3b5f8ffe2fb641a627c4d4540f'|'Exclusive: Saudi Arabia plans to launch nuclear power tender next month - sources'|'KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/SEOUL (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is expected to launch a tender process for its first nuclear reactors as early as next month and will reach out to potential vendors from countries including South Korea, France and China, industry sources said.The world’s top oil exporter wants to start construction next year on two plants with a total capacity of up to 2.8 gigawatts, three industry sources said, as it follows Gulf neighbour the United Arab Emirates in seeking atomic energy.This will make it the second country in the Arab world to tap nuclear power as a way to diversify its energy supply for its 32 million population. The UAE’s first plant is expected to come online next year after delays.While a possible multi-billion-dollar Saudi tender would be smaller than those being considered in India and South Africa, Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets and the lack of any anti-nuclear movement in the country could make it one of the strongest prospects for an industry struggling for contracts following the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.“Competition will be fierce,” an industry source said, adding Saudi Arabia was expected to send a Request for Information (RFI) to suppliers in October, marking the official start of the tender process following feasibility studies.Saudi Arabia will likely provide more detail on the plans at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, in Vienna next week, the sources said.The plants are part of long-standing plans to diversify the OPEC member’s energy supply and has received extra momentum as part of its Vision 2030, a sweeping economic reform programme launched last year by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The government agency tasked with the nuclear plans, The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), did not immediately respond to requests for comment.In the longer-term, Saudi Arabia is considering building 17.6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032, KACARE says on its website.That is the equivalent of about 17 standard nuclear reactors making it overall the biggest contract in the world, after South Africa and India.A South Korea-based industry source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed Riyadh was expected to issue the RFI for the first two plants in October to five potential bidders - South Korea, China, France, Russia and Japan.The target is to pour the first concrete of reactor casing in 2018, a Saudi source familiar with the plans said, although nuclear construction timelines frequently face delays.France has spent several years trying to make its case for selling its reactors to the kingdom.A top French minister and chief executives of French utility EDF and reactor builder Areva visited the kingdom in 2013 while a Saudi delegation led by KACARE chief Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani went to Paris in July to discuss Riyadh’s atomic plans.KACARE also discussed feasibility studies to build the first two reactors in the kingdom with Chinese officials in Beijing last month, pan-Arab media reported. Russia’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom has also been in talks with KACARE about Saudi Arabia’s atomic ambitions.They will all face steep competition from U.S., Japanese and South Korean consortia. Westinghouse-Toshiba has deep ties with the Middle East, and a South Korean-led consortium dealt the French a humiliating blow with its surprise win of a $40 billion contract in Abu Dhabi in 2009.The first of four Kepco-built reactors is due to come online next year.Additional reporting by Geert De Clercq in Paris and Stephen Kalin in Riyadh, Writing by Sylvia Westall; editing by Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/saudi-nuclear/exclusive-saudi-arabia-plans-to-launch-nuclear-power-tender-next-month-sources-idINKCN1BP1O9'|'2017-09-14T15:52:00.000+03:00'
'596fefcbe38b68b9c7d5e709ff8a1aec2ce4aca1'|'Merkel can well imagine a European finance minister'|'September 15, 2017 / 12:41 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Merkel can well imagine a European finance minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a news conference in Berlin, Germany, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday she could well imagine a European finance minister but stressed that the creation of such a position would have to be underpinned with reforms of substance. “We certainly need to strengthen the governance of the euro zone ... I have nothing against a European finance minister. I can well imagine that,” she told a joint news conference in Berlin with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. “But what is important to me is that we underpin the slogans - ‘economic government’ and ‘European finance minister’ and ‘budget’ - with substance.” Merkel added that although monetary policy in the euro zone was harmonised, economic cooperation was still “incoherent.” Reporting by Paul Carrel and Noah Barkin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-france/merkel-can-well-imagine-a-european-finance-minister-idUKKCN1BQ1NX'|'2017-09-15T15:41:00.000+03:00'
'965251c6fbb737db6186c321255560d84cbacf94'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 15'|'Sept 15 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Alphabet Inc''s Google started restricting ads that come up when someone searches for addiction treatment on its site. "We found a number of misleading experiences among rehabilitation treatment centers that led to our decision," Google spokeswoman Elisa Greene said in a statement on Thursday. nyti.ms/2wtu8bv- Nestle SA, the Swiss food giant, announced on Thursday that it had bought a majority stake in Blue Bottle. nyti.ms/2h4OllS- Chinese bitcoin exchange BTC China announced on Thursday that it would stop trading by the end of the month, amid a broader crackdown against virtual currencies by the authorities in Beijing. nyti.ms/2flja1J- German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse has agreed to pay 10.5 million euros, or about $12.5 million, in fines to resolve an investigation by German authorities into possible insider trading before its talks to merge with the London Stock Exchange Group Plc became public. nyti.ms/2x3YlQj (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-15-idINL4N1LW24W'|'2017-09-15T02:36:00.000+03:00'
'b3b1e97a96b6db8f506797d11c449af8e12c663e'|'How to protect yourself against the theft of your identity'|'AS IDENTITY theft has proliferated, so has the number of businesses hoping to make money selling protection against it. Companies such as LifeLock, Identity Guard and PrivacyGuard sell products similar to Equifax’s TrustedID Premier identity-theft protection. That was the service Equifax offered to every American with a Social Security number in the aftermath of its big data breach.Those who enroll in TrustedID are promised notification if their information is offered for sale on the internet. Their credit reports with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the “Big Three” credit-reporting agencies (CRAs), are also monitored for suspicious activity, such as the opening of new accounts or failures to pay a bill on time. If such activity is detected, users can “freeze” their Equifax credit reports, ie, make them unavailable to lenders. And TrustedID offers $1m-worth of insurance to compensate users for losses incurred as a result of identity theft. Equifax is offering the service free for a year; typically, such schemes can cost $15-25 a month. 18 Unfortunately, the identity-theft protection offered by these services is more akin to a car alarm than a door lock. Lance Spitzner of SANS Institute, a global information-security training company, points out that credit monitoring does nothing to protect people from identity theft. Once warned, the schemes can help people freeze their credit reports, but, in America, state laws anyway mandate that CRAs provide such freezes upon request. In some states, CRAs are allowed to charge for these freezing services (fees are generally not more than $10).Insurance may help victims of identity theft recover some of their losses. However, Mr Spitzner explains, being a victim is an unpleasant experience whether you have insurance or not. According to his research, undoing identity fraud can take an average of six months and 100 to 200 hours of a person’s time. Complete protection is impossible. Safest is to look after personal information and carefully scrutinise bank and credit-card statements. Of course, companies that gather personal information should guard it with appropriate zeal. But, as recent events have made clear, it would be a foolish consumer who relied on that. Finance and economics "Self defence"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728955-top-tip-keep-eye-your-bank-and-credit-card-statements-how-protect?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'f7a2242d25d392a2d0091d3b6d9096318c227643'|'China magnate, ''Moneyball'' baseball executive eye Barnsley buy'|'September 15, 2017 / 3:22 AM / Updated 6 hours ago China magnate, ''Moneyball'' baseball executive eye Barnsley buy Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Soccer Football - Carabao Cup - Second Round - Barnsley vs Derby County - Oakwell, Barnsley, Britain - September 12, 2017 Barnsley''s Adam Jackson celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates Action Images/Ed Sykes BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - “Moneyball” baseball executive Billy Beane is joining a consortium including Chinese businessman Chien Lee and American investor Paul Conway to acquire English soccer club Barnsley, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Friday. The consortium will pay 20 million pounds for a 98.5 percent stake in the club from current owner Patrick Cryne, who is terminally ill and said to fans he was “living on borrowed time” in a poignant letter earlier this week. Chinese businessman Chien Lee, who is majority shareholder at French top tier club Nice, would become the majority shareholder of the English club if the deals goes through. American businessman Conway is also a director at Nice. Billy Beane, a former American baseball player portrayed by U.S. actor Brad Pitt in the hit movie “Moneyball”, will take a 10 percent stake in the club, the source said. Beane is a minority owner of U.S. baseball team Oakland Athletics. Reuters could not immediately reach Lee, Beane or Barnsley for comment. Chinese investment in European soccer - which boomed last year amid state support - has lost some of its glitz after a crackdown by China’s government on capital outflow amid concern over depreciation of China’s currency and excess capital flight. Authorities have been cracking down so-called “irrational investment”, particularly in sectors such as real estate, entertainment and sports. The club, situated in a former coal-mining town in South Yorkshire, is currently in the second tier of English football, where it has spent most of its 130 years of existence. Reporting by Pei Li in BEIJING and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI, editing by Nick Mulvenney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-china-barnsley/china-magnate-moneyball-baseball-executive-eye-barnsley-buy-idUKKCN1BQ0A9'|'2017-09-15T06:22:00.000+03:00'
'008a09fa6af5e2c36c322b66af500ccd94295c06'|'South Korea''s Hyundai launches new Genesis sports sedan in SUV-driven market'|'Models pose for photographs with a Genesis G70 during its unveiling ceremony in Namyangju, South Korea, September 15, 2017. Hong Ki-won/Yonhap via REUTERS SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co ( 005380.KS ) launched its first new sedan under the premium Genesis marque in Seoul on Friday, hoping to cement the brand’s place in the luxury segment and make up for its lack of a strong SUV line-up.U.S. pop singer Gwen Stefani will perform for about 10,000 people at a gala event to launch the G70, the third sedan to carry the Genesis name but the first to be marketed exclusively under Hyundai Motor’s ( 005380.KS ) fledgling premium brand.Starting from $33,000, the sporty four-door offers bang for the buck as it takes on rivals including affiliate Kia Motor’s ( 000270.KS ) Stinger sedan and BMW’s ( BMWG.DE ) 3 series.But analysts say the G70 will not solve Hyundai’s troubles in the United States, where sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are all the rage and the two previous Genesis-branded sedans failed to take off.“Look at Cadillac, with just one crossover, the brand is struggling in the U.S. It will be much the same story for Genesis until they can get a crossover to market,” said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager at U.S. consultancy AutoPacific.“It’s not because the G70 will be a bad product ... The sedan lineup just doesn’t match consumer demand.”The G70 debuts in South Korea on Friday followed by the United States early next year. Hyundai has not said when it would enter China and Europe, which are dominated by German premium brands.“G70 will pave the way for growth and expansion of the Genesis brand,” Executive Vice President Lee Kwang-guk told a media event.Hyundai Motor expects annual sales of over 60,000 G70 sedans globally.Hyundai has said the Genesis line-up will grow to six by 2021, with the addition of two SUVs and an electric vehicle.Genesis division head Manfred Fitzgerald told reporters that the next Genesis model will be an SUV, without elaborating further.Hyundai’s China sales tumbled more than 60 percent in the second quarter due to its lack of a strong SUV line-up and political tensions between China and South Korea over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.In the United States, SUVs made up 35 percent of Hyundai’s total U.S. sales from January to August this year, far lower than the industry’s 62 percent, according to U.S. researcher Autodata.CRITICAL TEST The Genesis project is being closely watched by Hyundai Vice Chairman and heir apparent Chung Eui-sun, as he prepares to take over the world’s No.5 auto group from his father, 79-year-old Chairman Chung Mong-koo.As the first Genesis model which was not previously sold as a Hyundai, the G70 will be a key test of the two-year-old marque’s ability to survive in a fiercely competitive field.Its chief rival will be Hyundai affiliate Kia’s slightly cheaper Stinger, which shares the same platform as the G70 and launched in late April. Other rivals include BMW’s 3 series, Audi’s ( NSUG.DE ) A4 and Mercedes-Benz’s ( DAIGn.DE ) C-class.Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hyundai-motor-genesis/south-koreas-hyundai-launches-new-genesis-sports-sedan-in-suv-driven-market-idUSKCN1BP34V'|'2017-09-15T01:06:00.000+03:00'
'cd520e63673426f56592a42985da576fb1e14b95'|'Alphabet talks with Lyft about possible investment - source'|'September 15, 2017 / 2:10 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Alphabet talks with Lyft about possible investment: source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A smartphone app for Lyft drivers is seen during a photo opportunity in San Francisco, California February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) is in discussions with Lyft Inc about a possible investment in the ride-hailing company, potentially deepening an existing partnership between the two firms, a person familiar with the talks said on Thursday. An injection of support from one of Silicon Valley’s largest companies could be a boost to Lyft as the No. 2 ride provider battles rival Uber Technologies Inc for market share. It was not immediately clear how large an investment Alphabet might make. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported there was at least some discussion of a $1 billion deal. Alphabet and Lyft declined to comment. In May, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo and Lyft announced a partnership to work together on developing self-driving technology; neither offered many details of the agreement. Recently, Lyft has been in an expansion mode, saying in August that it was available in 40 U.S. states covering 94 percent of the country’s population. Lyft raised $600 million in fresh funding in April, mostly from large global investment funds. The round valued the company at $7.5 billion, up from $5.5 billion at Lyft’s previous financing more than a year earlier. Additional investment could further push off discussion of an initial public offering, which Lyft had planned likely for 2018, according to sources close to the company. Lyft previously planned not to raise any more funding prior to its IPO, the sources said. Alphabet since 2013 has been an investor in Uber through its venture capital arm, known as GV. That relationship, though, became more complicated when Alphabet’s Waymo sued Uber this year for alleged theft of trade secrets. Reporting by Heather Somerville and David Ingram; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-lyft/alphabet-talks-with-lyft-about-possible-investment-source-idUKKCN1BQ06T'|'2017-09-15T04:40:00.000+03:00'
'c8d10e3ce4d69c51d8c295d607613762a0684c95'|'Rivalry between Apple and Samsung in smartphones will grow fiercer'|'NEVER shy about hype, on September 12th Apple’s boss, Tim Cook, presented the firm’s latest iPhones to a packed auditorium in its glitzy new headquarters in Cupertino. He made a grand prediction: its new, premium phone, the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”), will “set the path of technology for the next decade”. Set to be released this November, ten years after the first iPhone launched, the iPhone X has new features such as an edge-to-edge OLED screen (a thinner screen that does not use a backlight), wireless charging, facial-recognition technology and a dual-lens camera.On the same day, Samsung, a rival smartphone-maker, held a lower-key event in Seoul. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile business, announced that next year Samsung could reimagine the smartphone entirely and launch a new design with a foldable screen, which can close like a small book. On September 15th its latest premium smartphone, the Galaxy Note 8, will go on sale, boasting many of the features offered by the iPhone X.Both are trying to convince consumers to spend around $1,000 for their new gadgets. Samsung’s new phone will cost $960; Apple’s high-end iPhone X will cost $999, 45% more than the average selling price of an iPhone in 2016. (The iPhone 8, simpler than the X and available for sale in September, will start at $699.) 18 The competition to wow consumers has been intensely fought between Apple and Samsung Electronics for years. They claim a duopoly over the premium part of the smartphone market. Together they control around two-thirds of the global market (Apple claims 44% of smartphone revenues and Samsung 22%; see chart). The two firms have tussled in courts around the world over intellectual property, with Apple accusing Samsung of infringing on its smartphone patents.Last year Apple seized share in premium phones when Samsung struggled with its Galaxy Note 7; its batteries had a habit of overheating, which necessitated a global recall. Samsung’s new phone is expected to win back users. It used to copy Apple’s innovations but is now often ahead on new features, says Werner Goertz of Gartner. Samsung was the first to release an OLED screen, for instance.The rivalry between the two will only grow fiercer (even though Samsung is also among Apple’s most important suppliers of components, and is expected to provide OLED screens and chips for Apple’s latest phones). In rich countries the market for smartphones is maturing: many of the firms’ gains will come from stealing each other’s customers. In emerging markets, especially China, they will compete to persuade consumers to trade up from cheaper phones. Apple globally claims an 82% retention rate, compared with Samsung’s 67%. This is significantly higher than other firms’, especially Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi and OPPO, whose less expensive phones have gained share among Chinese consumers in recent years.Samsung and Apple will fight on three fronts. One is to design a better overall software ecosystem and keep consumers within it. “I don’t know if it’s a smartphone war as much as it is an ecosystem war,” says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, a technology consultancy. Samsung runs on the Android operating system, whose design it does not fully control, whereas Apple has the advantage of complete oversight of its iOS operating system.A second front will be fought over virtual assistants. Apple was the first mobile-phone maker to offer a voice-controlled assistant, called Siri, which it introduced in 2011. Samsung offers one named Bixby. Both have been underwhelming in their capabilities. But Samsung is investing huge sums to change this, while Apple is criticised for underinvesting in Siri.A third battleground in software will be augmented reality (AR), or the projection of digital information onto the physical world. Both Apple and Samsung offer dual-lens cameras, which make it easier to integrate AR functions into apps.There is unlikely to be one winner. Samsung is well hedged; its strong chip and smartphone-components business will insulate the firm if mobile-phone sales slow. Apple lacks this diversity, but its mobile devices project luxury, and its customers are less likely to defect because iOS runs across all their devices. Mr Cook may be right that Apple’s phones will set technology’s direction, but his firm will feel Samsung’s breath on its neck all the way. Business "Phone tag"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728978-south-korean-firms-galaxy-note-8-takes-iphone-x-rivalry-between-apple-and-samsung?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'9dc03558bc93fab561bde12a726a503c0118fe08'|'New rail routes between China and Europe will change trade patterns'|'ASTANA in Kazakhstan is one of the world’s most remote capitals, surrounded by thousands of kilometres of empty steppe. This summer Astana attempted to launch itself onto the global stage by hosting the World Expo, which closed on September 10th and underwhelmed many attendees. But there are other ways to have an impact. On the city’s north side, away from the Expo’s exhibits, a series of diesel trains, each pulling dozens of containers, roll through the old railway station. Most are heading from China to Europe. Last year over 500,000 tonnes of freight went by train between the two, up from next to nothing before 2013. Airlines and shipping firms are watching things closely.The trains rumbling through Astana result from a Chinese initiative, in tandem with countries like Kazakhstan, to build a “New Silk Road” through Central Asia. The earlier overland routes were once the conduits for most trade between Europe and China and India; they faded into irrelevance when European ships started circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope.  13   16   a day ago Foreign   China has long wanted to develop its inland regions and push industry to “go west”, in order to spread economic growth more evenly. Manufacturers have been loth to shift, in part because of the higher cost of moving goods to ports for export. Developing a rail-freight network to Europe—an important part of China’s “One Belt One Road” policy—opens up a new route to market for its poorest areas. The land route through Central Asia is relatively short. A container ship too large for the Suez canal must make a 24,000km journey to reach Europe. Trains travel no more than 11,000km to reach the same destination.Kazakhstan has spent over 1.1trn tenge ($3.2bn) on upgrading its railway lines and rolling stock since 2011. That includes $250m on the Khorgos Gateway, a dry port at the border with China that lifts containers from Chinese trains onto Kazakh ones to overcome a change in track width (a problem that has stymied previous efforts to build railway routes between Europe and China).Volumes of freight travelling between China and Europe by rail are rising quickly. Between 2013 and 2016 cargo traffic quintupled in weight. In the first half of this year the value of goods travelling by train rose by 144% compared with the same period in 2016. Western firms have been keen to embrace rail freight because it helps them to lower costs, says Ronald Kleijwegt, an expert on the industry. In the case of high-tech electronics, for example, which consumers like to receive quickly, making them on China’s coast and air-freighting them to Europe is extremely pricey.How worried should shipping firms and airlines be? Kazakhstan’s national rail company, KTZ, says it will have capacity for 1.7m containers to pass through the country between Europe and China each year by 2020; that is a tenth of the volume currently carried by sea and air between the two. In the longer term, a full modernisation of the existing main three rail routes from China to Europe could produce 3m containers a year in capacity.But there are reasons to doubt that will happen. For one thing, China plans to stop handing out government subsidies for additional rail-freight capacity from 2020, which will slow the network’s expansion. Sea freight has little to fear in the near term, says Soren Skou, chief executive of Maersk, the world’s biggest container-shipping line. Trains may take away some future growth from ships, he concedes, but not their existing business.Air cargo is more vulnerable. Last year, 180,000 tonnes of cargo travelled on trains to western Europe from China (the remainder was destined for Russia and eastern Europe). That is a small fraction of the 52m tonnes that came by sea, but a big chunk of the 700,000 tonnes that came by air. Much of that air cargo could switch to rail in future, says Mr Kleijwegt, with one important proviso—that Russia would need to lift the retaliatory sanctions it placed in 2014 on imports of Western food, which stop most foodstuffs from travelling by land between Europe and China. That is unlikely for the time being. But it was only a decade ago that people thought the idea of freight trains between Europe and China was a joke, says Mr Kleijwegt—and no one laughs at that any more.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Freight gain"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728981-new-silk-railroad-will-challenge-airlines-and-shipping-firms-new-rail-routes-between-china?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'd5c4aef173cb3a10d73d53bb7354315a1a9fe88e'|'Kaspersky Lab co-founder accepts invitation to testify to U.S. Congress'|'September 14, 2017 / 7:26 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Kaspersky Lab co-founder accepts invitation to testify to U.S. Congress Dustin Volz 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kaspersky Lab, delivers his keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hanna WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eugene Kaspersky, the co-founder and chief executive of Moscow-based anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab, said on Thursday he accepted an invitation to testify to U.S. lawmakers later this month over the security of his company’s products, but that he needed an expedited visa in order to do so. “I appreciate and accept the invitation to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and if I can get an expedited visa, I look forward to publicly addressing the allegations about my company and its products,” Kaspersky said in an email to Reuters. The invitation came a day after the Trump administration told U.S. government agencies to remove Kaspersky Lab products from their networks, saying it was concerned the company was vulnerable to Russian government influence and that using its anti-virus software could jeopardise national security. The committee said on Thursday it invited Kaspersky to testify on Sept. 27. U.S. government and private sector cyber experts were also invited. Kaspersky has repeatedly denied allegations that it is a pawn of the Kremlin or that it conducts espionage on behalf of any government. In an op-ed published by Forbes on Thursday, Eugene Kaspersky defended his company, which he said had been targeted for nearly five years by unsubstantiated rumours that have yielded no proof of any wrongdoing. “I’ve repeatedly offered to meet with government officials, testify before the U.S. Congress, provide the company’s source code for an official audit and discuss any other means to help address any questions the U.S. government has about Kaspersky Lab - whatever it takes, I will do it,” Kaspersky wrote. Reporting by Dustin Volz, additional reporting by Joseph Menn; editing by Phil Berlowitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-security-kaspersky/kaspersky-lab-co-founder-invited-to-testify-to-congress-later-this-month-idUKKCN1BP2UT'|'2017-09-14T23:39:00.000+03:00'
'2757a3395ccbfd4c43f4ce2ce7f80c63de5adfe5'|'China green car pivot will need state support, GM chief says'|'September 15, 2017 / 8:32 AM / Updated 11 hours ago China green car pivot will need state support, GM chief says Reuters Staff 3 Min Read General Motors Chairman & CEO Mary Barra (L) and President of General Motors China Matt Tsien attend a press conference in Shanghai, China September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s big push towards new-energy vehicles (NEV) will require government backing to win over consumers, Mary Barra, chief executive of General Motors Co, said on Friday, amid broader industry concerns over tough NEV quotas in the market. China, the world’s largest auto market, is pushing hard to develop its own green car market, with stringent quotas planned for carmakers and a longer-term aim to ban the production and sale of cars that use traditional fuels. Carmakers, however, worry that targets for electric and hybrid cars may be tough to meet, especially as the government plans to roll back by 2020 subsidies that have supported the market’s rapid growth. “While we are exploring all channels to boost NEV sales, building raw consumer acceptance of NEVs will depend on continued joint effort between the government and automakers,” Barra said at a company event in Shanghai. She added that China’s push did create an opportunity for the U.S. firm, which plans to introduce at least 10 new NEVs for the China market by 2020 and open a battery plant this year with domestic partner SAIC Motor Corp Ltd. Asked about China’s long-term plans to ban traditional gasoline cars - similar to moves in Britain and France - Barra said the shift was pushing GM to invest more in the area: “That’s why we’re investing so heavy in electrification.” General Motors Chairman & CEO Mary Barra attends a press conference in Shanghai, China September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song China has set goals for electric and plug-in hybrid cars to make up at least a fifth of auto sales by 2025, as it combats air pollution and aims to close a competitive gap between newer domestic automakers and global rivals. In July, Reuters reported global makers were urging China to delay and soften planned quotas for NEVs, which they said would be impossible to meet and would hit their business. Slideshow (2 Images) Barra added the firm would work to “the timetable of governments”, but consumers also needed to be convinced. “It’s best when, instead of being mandated, customers are choosing the technology because it meets their needs.” GM’s vehicle sales in China rose 12 percent in August from a year earlier, and are up 0.3 in January-August over 2016. The carmaker and its China joint venture partners sold 3.87 million vehicles in the country in 2016. GM produces vehicles in China through a joint venture with SAIC, the country’s largest automaker, as well as a three-way tie-up with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, formerly known as Wuling Motors. Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-china-autos/china-green-car-pivot-will-need-state-support-gm-chief-says-idUSKCN1BQ0W1'|'2017-09-15T11:30:00.000+03:00'
'cb268eb1653cd9aff189f4db379a2ac611923570'|'BRIEF-FTC staff investigating Equifax data breach'|'September 14, 2017 / 1:38 PM / Updated 3 hours ago FTC probes Equifax; top Democrat likens it to Enron Dustin Volz , Susan Heavey 3 Min Read Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it was investigating Equifax Inc’s ( EFX.N ) massive data breach, a rare public confirmation, as a top Democrat suggested the credit-monitoring company’s corporate leaders might need to resign. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also compared Equifax to Enron, a U.S. energy company that was consumed in scandal after revealing in 2001 that it engaged in widespread accounting fraud. “It’s one of the most egregious examples of corporate malfeasances since Enron,” Schumer said, calling Equifax’s treatment of consumers afterward “disgusting” and its inability to protect data “deeply troubling.” Shares of Equifax have lost nearly a third of their value in the week since the breach was disclosed. They tumbled to a more than two-year low on Thursday after the company confirmed a fixable web server vulnerability was exploited in the hack, but the stock later recovered somewhat. Related Coverage Top Senate Democrat demands Equifax hearings, fixes “The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations,” spokesman Peter Kaplan said in a brief email statement. “However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach.” Schumer said Equifax’s chief executive officer and board might need to resign if the company does not take concrete steps within the next week to protect consumers and agree to testify before lawmakers and federal regulators. FILE PHOTO: Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo “We need to get to the bottom of this - the very bottom, the murky bottom, the dirty bottom,” he added. Equifax CEO Richard Smith has agreed to testify on Oct. 3 before a U.S. House of Representatives panel, the company said Thursday. Confirming what many cyber security experts expected, Equifax said late on Wednesday that hackers used a flaw in its open-source Struts software, distributed by the nonprofit Apache Software Foundation, to break into its systems. A patch for the vulnerability was issued in March, two months before Equifax said hackers began siphoning data. Equifax representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the FTC probe. The company disclosed the breach on Sept. 7, saying thieves may have stolen the personal information of 143 million Americans in one of the largest hacks ever. It learned of the hacking on July 29. Nearly 40 states have joined a probe of Equifax’s handling of the breach. Reporting by Dustin Volz, Susan Heavey, Diane Bartz, Jim Finkle, David Shepardson and Dan Burns; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Von Ahn '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber-ftc/ftc-opens-probe-into-massive-equifax-hack-idUSKCN1BP1VX'|'2017-09-14T16:28:00.000+03:00'
'3b8cc6efb4a4fa80a44bb3709d29679c62607df0'|'Gold falls to lowest in nearly two weeks, U.S. inflation data in focus'|'A customer looks at bangles before purchasing them at a gold showroom in Kochi, April 19, 2013. REUTERS/Sivaram V LONDON (Reuters) - Gold steadied above an earlier two-week low on Thursday as the dollar softened despite strong U.S. consumer inflation data, which could allow further interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve.The U.S. currency was down 0.2 percent against a basket of currencies, having posted its biggest one-day rise in six weeks on Wednesday.The dollar was weaker even though data showed U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August amid a jump in the cost of gasoline and rental accommodation, signs of firming inflation that could allow further monetary policy tightening.Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,324.86 an ounce at 1340 GMT, above an earlier low of $1,315.71, its weakest since Aug. 31.U.S. gold futures for December delivery added 0.02 percent to $1,328.20.With short positioning in the dollar near record levels, any signs that U.S. inflation is picking up could support the case for another rate increase and send the U.S. currency significantly higher, analysts said.“We still expect the Fed to hike rates in December, which the market doesn‘t. That is part of our bullish view on the dollar and in turn our more cautious view on gold,” Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said.The Fed has a 2 percent inflation target, and a series of subdued inflation readings have dampened expectations for further rate rises in the near term.Although in the longer run a more inflationary environment could support gold demand, both a stronger dollar and higher rates would probably weigh on the metal in the near term.“Any uptick in U.S. inflation would be driven by a tightening labour market and a solid economic backdrop, and should be accompanied by rising interest rates by the Fed,” Menke said. “This shouldn’t have a positive impact on gold.”Spot prices hit their highest in more than a year last week at $1,357.54 an ounce on the back of a softer dollar and concerns over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, which knocked stocks sharply lower.Equities, which have since recovered, retreated again on Thursday ahead of the U.S. inflation numbers, and after weaker than expected Chinese fixed-asset investment, factory output and retail sales data - taking some pressure off gold.Trading volumes in the metal were largely thin in Asia overnight, MKS said in a note, as traders awaited the U.S. inflation report.“As we have become accustomed to seeing in recent days, bullion was broadly supported by underlying interest out of China, however unable to make any further headway higher,” it said.Silver was down 0.2 percent at $17.69 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.5 percent at $982.30 an ounce and palladium was 0.7 percent lower at $930.50.Additional reporting by Eric Onstad in London and Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by David Clarke and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious/gold-falls-to-lowest-in-nearly-two-weeks-u-s-inflation-data-in-focus-idINKCN1BP04J'|'2017-09-13T23:23:00.000+03:00'
'bafe4e0ec384ab604b30ec2650f180bfa9d2112f'|'U.S. FTC probes Equifax, top Democrat likens it to Enron'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:27 PM / 7 minutes ago U.S. FTC probes Equifax, top Democrat likens it to Enron Dustin Volz , Susan Heavey 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it was investigating Equifax Inc’s ( EFX.N ) massive data breach, a rare public confirmation, as a top Democrat suggested the credit-monitoring company’s corporate leaders might need to resign. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also compared Equifax to Enron, a U.S. energy company that filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after revelations of a widespread accounting fraud. “It’s one of the most egregious examples of corporate malfeasances since Enron,” Schumer said, calling Equifax’s treatment of consumers afterward “disgusting” and its inability to protect data “deeply troubling.” Equifax shares have lost about a third of their value since the breach was disclosed last week. The stock hit a nearly two-year low earlier on Thursday and was down 3.5 percent at $95.62 in the afternoon after the company confirmed that a fixable web server vulnerability was exploited in the hack. “The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations,” spokesman Peter Kaplan said in a brief email statement. “However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach.” Schumer said Equifax’s chief executive officer and board might need to resign if the company does not take concrete steps within the next week to protect consumers and agree to testify before lawmakers and federal regulators. “We need to get to the bottom of this - the very bottom, the murky bottom, the dirty bottom,” he added. Credit cards, a chain and an open padlock is seen in front of displayed Equifax logo in this illustration taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illutration Equifax CEO Richard Smith has agreed to testify on Oct. 3 before a U.S. House of Representatives panel, the company said Thursday. The FBI has opened an investigation into the breach, and nearly 40 states have joined a probe of Equifax’s handling of the situation. Also on Thursday, at least three bills were introduced in response to the hack. Four Democratic senators, including Ed Markey of Massachusetts, sponsored legislation that would require Equifax and other data brokers be held accountable for errors. “This bill requires data brokers to put in place comprehensive privacy and data security programs so that consumers in Massachusetts and throughout the country do not experience another Equifax,” Markey said. Confirming what many cyber security experts expected, Equifax said late on Wednesday that hackers used a flaw in its open-source Struts software, distributed by the nonprofit Apache Software Foundation, to break into its systems. A patch for the vulnerability was issued in March, two months before Equifax said hackers began siphoning data. Equifax representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the FTC probe. The company has tangled with the FTC at least once over consumers’ efforts to correct errors in credit reports. In 2012, it settled FTC allegations that it had improperly sold data on consumers who were behind on their mortgages. Equifax disclosed the breach on Sept. 7, saying thieves may have stolen the personal information of 143 million Americans in one of the largest hacks ever. It learned of the hacking on July 29. Reporting by Dustin Volz, Susan Heavey, Diane Bartz, Jim Finkle, David Shepardson and Dan Burns; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Von Ahn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-equifax-cyber-ftc/u-s-ftc-probes-equifax-top-democrat-likens-it-to-enron-idUKKCN1BP230'|'2017-09-14T21:26:00.000+03:00'
'b62f61f6c845f6fed28282f6843e6488c3ac1a98'|'Brazil''s JBS holds off succession talk while CEO requests release -source'|'September 14, 2017 / 5:15 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Brazil''s JBS holds off succession talk while CEO requests release: source Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Wesley Batista (R), chief executive of JBS S.A., the world''s largest beef producer, leaves the Federal Police headquarters to give a testimony in the Federal Court in Sao Paulo, Brazil September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The board of Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA will delay discussing replacement of Chief Executive Wesley Batista while it awaits a ruling on a motion to release him from jail on charges of insider trading, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Batista’s lawyers filed a habeas corpus request on Thursday, a day after he was arrested for allegedly selling JBS stock ( JBSS3.SA ) ahead of a plea deal in May, when he and his brother confessed to bribing politicians. That confession hammered the company’s shares. A federal judge is expected to decide on the motion in coming days, said the person, who requested anonymity. That person and another familiar with the matter said a JBS board meeting on Wednesday did not deliberate about CEO succession plans. The company declined to comment. JBS shares gained 4 percent on Thursday, their biggest rise in three weeks, as investors bet the case would bolster an effort by state development bank BNDES to overhaul management. The bank’s investment arm, BNDESPar, which owns 21 percent of JBS, has been pushing for a new CEO with backing from other minority shareholders. It argues that the Batista family, which owns 42 percent of JBS, should not be able to vote on the issue. The dispute was sent to arbitration on Sept. 1. BNDES President Paulo Rabello de Castro said on Thursday that BNDESPar was pushing to replace two board members. He also tempered his remarks on Wednesday that had spurred speculation the bank could sell its JBS stake. Batista’s arrest has accelerated questions about the best candidates to take over JBS, which the CEO and his brother built in recent decades from a regional butcher shop into the world’s largest meatpacker. Two JBS executives are regarded within the company as possible successors to Batista, according to two other people with knowledge of the matter. One is Gilberto Tomazoni, head of operations, who has been a close lieutenant to Batista since joining JBS in 2013. He previously served as vice-president at the Brazilian unit of Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) and chief executive of rival protein powerhouse Sadia until 2009, before a merger creating BRF SA ( BRFS3.SA ). Another candidate is JBS Chairman Tarek Farahat, former Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ) head for Latin America. He joined JBS two years ago to lead a push into the processed foods market. Tomazoni and Farahat declined to comment through JBS press representatives. Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Additional reporting by Aluisio Alves; Editing by Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-jbs/brazils-jbs-holds-off-succession-talk-while-ceo-requests-release-source-idUSKCN1BP2KF'|'2017-09-14T20:10:00.000+03:00'
'71e94a3a1db5ad8ef35916a208ae3a823abeaf94'|'Hedge fund urges EQT to split up after Rice Energy deal'|'(Reuters) - Hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co LP on Thursday urged EQT Corp ( EQT.N ), which is buying Rice Energy Inc ( RICE.N ) in a $6.7 billion deal, to split into two parts after the deal and to speed up efforts to boost the company’s stock price.The move marks a rare activist stance taken by the $40 billion hedge fund and pits it next to activist fund Jana Partners, which is urging EQT to scrap the Rice deal.The letter by D.E. Shaw, which said it owns about 4 percent in EQT shares, is signed by portfolio manager Quentin Koffey, who previously worked at Elliott Management, an activist hedge fund known for agitating at energy companies.In June, EQT said its agreement to buy Rice Energy would create the largest U.S. natural gas producer.The following month, Jana announced a 5.8 percent in the company and said EQT should scrap the deal and separate its pipeline business instead.D.E. Shaw on Thursday said the deal would be dilutive but appeared to accept the Rice acquisition, demanding that EQT quickly lay out plans to split itself into production and midstream units after it closes.The hedge fund also said EQT should merge its midstream, or pipeline, business with Rice’s - a move not currently laid out in the terms of the acquisition.EQT has previously said that after the Rice deal closes, it would address its sum-of-the-parts discount, a sign that the company would entertain the possibility of a break-up. EQT had promised to lay its plan by the end of 2018.Companies that merge and immediately spin off assets can be subject to U.S. tax penalties.On Wednesday night, EQT accelerated that timeline, saying that after the deal closes, it will establish a board committee to explore the discount and will make a decision by the first quarter of 2018.D.E. Shaw also said EQT should appoint board directors with “relevant executive midstream experience.”Additional reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Paul Simao '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-eqt-corp-d-e-shaw/hedge-fund-urges-eqt-to-split-up-after-rice-energy-deal-idINKCN1BP1CC'|'2017-09-14T08:57:00.000+03:00'
'fdbd709831d3b40e4e5c9b6060a260c5557d3302'|'EU court says Ryanair cannot impose Irish law on foreign crew'|'September 14, 2017 / 7:54 AM / an hour ago Ryanair loses EU court battle to keep Irish law for crew abroad Pia Oppel , Julia Fioretti 4 Min Read Ryanair''s Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir LUXEMBOURG/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ryanair ( RYA.I ) lost an EU court battle on Thursday in which the airline had sought to continue forcing cabin crew based outside Ireland to take their disputes to Irish courts, in a case with implications across the low-cost airline sector. The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled in favour of cabin crew based at the Irish carrier’s Charleroi airport in Belgium on the question of which court should decide on their complaint. The employees took the airline to a local court, believing Belgian law would be more favourable to them. Ryanair argued that Irish courts had jurisdiction over their Irish contracts. But a Belgian court in Mons had requested the ECJ’s ruling on whether its own judges had jurisdiction. “The Court (of Justice) points out first of all that, as regards disputes related to employment contracts, the European rules concerning jurisdiction are aimed at protecting the weaker party,” the Luxembourg-based ECJ said in a statement. “Those rules enable inter alia an employee to sue his employer before the courts which he regards as closest to his interests.” Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) have bases all over Europe, including in France, Spain, Italy and Germany, where both planes and crews are stationed. This means crews can return to their home base each night, allowing the airlines to avoid costs involved with overnight rest stops. Ryanair said the ruling would not add to its costs. Its pilots are typically employed on contracts via third-party agencies, while easyJet uses local labour contracts. The Court said the place where a cabin crew’s aircraft is stationed should also be taken into account when determining which court had jurisdiction. Philip von Schoeppenthau, Secretary General of the European Cockpit Association, called the ruling a “landmark” decision that is a “ray of light for the thousands of pilots and cabin crew across Europe who have struggled to find legal protection at the place where they actually work on a daily basis, rather than being forced to seek judicial redress in Ireland”. Ryanair''s Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Schoeppenthau said the Court’s ruling meant all cabin crews in Europe can derive their rights and applicable law from their “Home Base” as a general rule. RYANAIR SEES NO CHANGE TO IRISH CONTRACTS Ryanair said it welcomed the ruling for recognising that the home base of the employee should not be the sole factor in determining which court can hear disputes on labour issues. Ryanair''s Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir “We do not believe this “Mons” ruling will in any way alter our Irish contracts of employment or the union rights which all of our people enjoy under the protection of the Irish Constitution,” Ryanair Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson said. Michael O‘Leary, the company’s Chief Executive, said in Berlin the ruling could give the unions more opportunity to take the airline to court or “challenge whatever kind of provisions we provided in Ireland but ultimately, they cannot and will not be changing the Irish contracts or the structure of the Irish contracts.” “This won’t change Ryanair’s cost base by one cent,” O‘Leary said. The crew involved in the case had employment contracts drawn up under Irish law which said their work was to be regarded as being carried out in Ireland since they were working on Irish-registered aircraft. But Charleroi airport in southern Belgium was designated as their base, meaning they started and ended their working days there and had to reside within an hour of that airport. Ryanair said that Ireland had adopted all EU rules on employment rights and in some cases offered better protection than other EU countries. The case will now go back to the Belgian court, which will make a final decision on the matter. Additional reporting by Victoria Bryan in Berlin; Editing by Alastair Macdonald, Edmund Blair and Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-crew-court/eu-court-says-ryanair-cannot-impose-irish-law-on-foreign-crew-idUKKCN1BP0V6'|'2017-09-14T10:53:00.000+03:00'
'43341785424ca5e5fbdadd7fd64d9cd3eb911d17'|'Nail euro zone problems first, fix institutions later, ministers say'|'  8:02 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Nail euro zone problems first, fix institutions later, ministers say Jan Strupczewski , Francesco Guarascio 6 Min Read Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem attends an European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir TALLINN (Reuters) - The euro zone must identify its problems, then see what changes to its institutions are needed to fix them, euro zone finance ministers said on Friday during informal talks on the future of the single-currency area. The discussions in the Estonian capital of Tallinn follow differing proposals from France, Germany and the European Commission to revamp the institutions of the 19-country euro zone after Britain leaves the European Union in March 2019. The proposals include creating a pan-EU or euro zone finance minister, setting up a separate euro zone budget or reserving a part of the existing EU budget for the currency union, and setting up a euro zone parliament alongside or within the existing EU parliament of all 28 EU members. “I think we should start from the other end,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers, said. “Instead of having a debate mainly about the institutional side, (we should have) a debate about what is lacking in the economic and monetary union, in terms of resilience, competitiveness, solidarity,” he said. “So I think we should start from what the problem is and end with an institutional debate,” Dijsselbloem said. The European Commission on Wednesday backed the idea of a pan-European finance minister in charge of all forms of EU or euro zone financing via the EU budget, not just for the euro zone. In the Commission’s view, the pan-European minister should also preside over the euro zone bailout fund ESM, which is now a separate institution set up by euro zone governments. The ESM itself would be transformed into a European Monetary Fund. The Commission does not want a special euro zone parliament, however, stressing the need for unity among the 27 countries that will remain in the EU after Britain leaves. It called for the countries still outside the euro zone to join quickly. Related Coverage Expansion of euro zone only after it gets stronger - France''s Le Maire DIFFERENT STROKES France has a different view, however. It wants a large, separate euro zone budget financed from taxes, a finance minister specifically for the euro zone and a separate euro zone parliament to which the minister would be accountable. Nor is there agreement on whether all the changes to the euro zone should be done through a separate treaty between governments, or by changing the European Union treaty. The difference is more than just a technicality, because an intergovernmental treaty would be faster, involve only euro zone governments and leave all powers with these governments. Changes through the EU treaty would require more time and mean non-euro zone countries and the European Parliament would have to agree, too. The powers of the new euro zone institutions would be shared with EU institutions, which are sometimes mistrusted by some national governments. Austrian finance minister Hans-Joerg Schelling talks during a Reuters interview in Alpbach, Austria August 30, 2017. Picture taken August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Dominic Ebenbichler French President Emmanuel Macron is to present his views on the future shape of the euro zone on Sept. 26. Euro zone ministers agree that a budget for the single currency area would help counter external shocks which hit just one or a few euro countries, rather than the whole bloc, when all governments can simply increase budget deficits. But there is no agreement on its size, how it should be financed or what it should be spent on. Macron has mentioned such a budget could be several hundred billion euros. The head of the ESM bailout fund, Klaus Regling, suggested a figure of 1-2 percent of euro zone gross national product, which would mean 100-200 billion euros (£88.19 billion - £176.39 billion) . The gap with the expectations of Germany seems to be large because Berlin has signalled it was thinking about a budget in billions of euros, but in single digits. If the euro zone budget were to be part of the overall EU warchest it would have to be much smaller than what France or the ESM are suggesting, because the EU budget itself is around 1 percent of the EU’s gross national income. WHAT TO SPEND IT ON Ideas for spending such money range from using it for investment during economic downturns, to an unemployment insurance fund and to a more general rainy day fund. Such a budget, accompanied by strict adherence to the EU’s fiscal rules, would increase the resilience of the euro zone and make the job of the European Central Bank (ECB) easier. “So the ECB has a stake here... That is something that will make the transmission of our monetary policy smoother,” ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure told a news conference. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, often mentioned as the likely next chairman of euro zone finance ministers after Dijsselbloem steps down in mid-January, said he hoped the euro zone would agree on further integration within a few months. Le Maire said the moment for deciding on the reforms was now, because the economy was growing, France had a reform-minded president and Germany would have a new mandate for changes after the Sept. 24 elections. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble agreed the task of revamping the single currency area was urgent. “It’s about how do we make Europe politically and economically stronger and able to act. How do we do that? That is the urgent task,” he said. Reporting By Jan Strupczewski and Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Larry King and Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-eurogroup-ministers/nail-euro-zone-problems-first-fix-institutions-later-ministers-idUKKCN1BQ0SV'|'2017-09-15T16:36:00.000+03:00'
'ae1d1c9bad6fd9e15b39c6709b1bdf8796a9a16c'|'Lauda to offer ca 100 mln eur with Thomas Cook for Air Berlin parts'|'VIENNA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda plans to offer around 100 million euros ($118.69 million) for parts of insolvent airline Air Berlin together with Thomas Cook’s German carrier Condor, he told ORF radio on Thursday. When asked how much he was willing to pay, Lauda said “It depends very much on how the details are defined, but we are now offering around 100 million (euros).” ($1 = 0.8425 euros) (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla, editing by Kirsti Knolle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/airberlin-lufthansa-lauda/lauda-to-offer-ca-100-mln-eur-with-thomas-cook-for-air-berlin-parts-idINL5N1LV0X4'|'2017-09-14T04:14:00.000+03:00'
'f6743220f5fa0428f65018e03434012dcb826ae4'|'First UK-Belgium power cable sections installed'|' 28 AM / 24 minutes ago First UK-Belgium power cable sections installed Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The first sections of a power cable to run between Britain and Belgium were installed this week and the project is on track to start operations in 2019, increasing the UK’s capacity to send or receive electricity from the continent by 20 percent. Nemo Link, a joint venture between the UK’s National Grid and Belgium’s Elia System Operator, said it had started laying 59 km (37 miles) of a subsea cable in Kent, on the British east coast, while work at the Belgian end would commence next year. Nemo Link is one of several plans to build interconnectors with France, Norway, Denmark and Belgium and its progress should allay industry fears that Britain’s exit from the European Union will dampen such initiatives. The National Grid, owner and operator of much of Britain’s gas and electricity distribution network, voiced concern in January that Brexit could dampen investment as the UK loses its say over EU regulations of networks and power trading. Average UK daytime demand for electricity is about 32 gigawatts, depending on the season, with generation primarily from gas-fired power stations, wind turbines and nuclear plants. Interconnectors to Europe increase Britain’s flexibility to supply consumers with power. “A well-integrated electricity grid is for the benefit of the consumers and the general welfare, as it provides access to cheap, renewable energy anywhere in Europe and allows to export excess energy when necessary,” Elia Chief Executive Chris Peeters said in a statement. Britain plans to build three new cables to France, adding 3.4 GW of capacity to the existing 2 GW, as well as its first interconnector to Norway with 1.4 GW of capacity and to Denmark with 1 GW of capacity, according to UK energy regulator Ofgem. Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Dale Hudson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-power-interconnector-britain/first-uk-belgium-power-cable-sections-installed-idUKKCN1BP18J'|'2017-09-14T13:28:00.000+03:00'
'c2ed61201fb26048dc413e6c38de6dfda26e6265'|'Is Margrethe Vestager championing consumers or her political career?'|'EVEN her enemies admire the bloody-mindedness of Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner in charge of competition policy. Last autumn, not long after she had ordered Apple to pay €13bn ($14.5bn) in back-taxes to Ireland, to the fury of many in America, she flew across the Atlantic on a charm offensive. The Americans were not charmed; Ms Vestager was unmoved. Buckling up for the flight home, she tweeted that she had never felt so European.Since she assumed her current role in November 2014, Ms Vestager has had several high-profile clashes with American tech firms. In May she fined Facebook €110m for misleading EU trustbusters about its takeover of WhatsApp, a messaging service. In June a long-running investigation resulted in a €2.4bn fine on Google for using its search engine to promote its own comparison-shopping service. EU trustbusters have also charged Google with using its Android operating system to promote its mobile-phone apps and services over those of rivals. That investigation continues. 9 12 18 18 Ms Vestager has said the job of agencies like hers is “not to get too cosy with special interests but to have the courage to defend the public interest”. Few would quibble with that. All too often regulators and trustbusters come to see the world as big business sees it, to society’s cost. But a long-standing concern is that the commission acts as prosecutor, judge and executioner in cases against dominant firms. The courts in Europe have been a weak check on its powers in recent years in this regard.That may be changing. Last week the European Court of Justice asked the lower courts to look again at the economic merits of a case against Intel, which in 2009 was fined €1.06bn for abusing its dominant position in chipmaking. But the courts move slowly. Some worry that a number of Ms Vestager’s recent, crowd-pleasing victories over big tech firms may come back to haunt the commission. And by then she might have moved on to a bigger job.Oceans apartTo assess how fair that concern is, it helps to be clear about how competition policy varies between America and Europe. There are three main parts to the job: the control of mergers, the policing of cartels, and checks on “dominant” firms, or those that supply the bulk of a market. Cartel-busting is quite similar in both places. Europe has mimicked the American policy of offering immunity to firms that rat on their fellow price-fixers, for instance. The EU approach to mergers, especially “horizontal” tie-ups between competitors in the same industry, is also a lot like America’s method (though research suggests that merger control has been far more lax there).The big transatlantic gap is in the policing of dominant firms (known in Europe as Article 102 cases, after the relevant passage in the EU treaty). Europe’s trustbusters have been far more likely to worry that a dominant company, of the sort that technology industries tend to produce, will force rivals out of business, leaving consumers facing less choice, higher prices and worse services. Trustbusting in America, in contrast, has taken its cue from the economist Joseph Schumpeter who believed that the promise of monopoly profits is a spur to the innovation and risk-taking that drives economic growth. In this view, the dominance of tech firms is likelier to attract competition than to crush it.Since Ms Vestager took office, a mostly polite difference in philosophy has hardened. Brussels believes the growing power of big tech firms to shape politics, society and the economy requires a counterweight. The battle is of greater urgency, the commission reckons, because the data that tech monopolies have accumulated make it far harder for upstart firms to displace them or keep them in check.Few in Silicon Valley, meanwhile, doubt that competition policy in Europe is anything but thinly veiled protectionism aimed at shielding the region’s old-economy firms from disruption. Challenged on whether she might have tech-envy when it comes to American giants, Ms Vestager resolutely denies a bias. There are Article 102 cases under way against many non-American firms, including Russia’s Gazprom.Even so, she has brought a different approach to competition policy, says Robert McLeod, of MLex, a market-risk agency. Her predecessor, Joaquín Almunia, was more inclined to compromise. He might well have agreed a settlement with Google over the shopping case, insiders say. His predecessor, Neelie Kroes, a Dutch former politician, was bold but tended to follow the advice of her civil servants.Ms Vestager seems to relish a confrontation. Her principles and zeal probably come from her upbringing as the daughter of Lutheran ministers. As Denmark’s deputy prime minister, she regularly upstaged her boss, Helle Thorning-Schmidt. She has a knack of boiling down complex issues to catchy soundbites, such as “Europe is definitely open for business but not for tax evasion.” In some of the battles she has started, tech giants had a case to answer. Facebook’s misdeed, for instance, is not much disputed. The Google Android investigation seems to have merit.But in other headline-grabbing cases, it is not clear how consumer welfare has been much enhanced. The commission said Google abused its dominance of online search to promote its own comparison-shopping service and relegate those of rivals. Yet it did not show, for instance, that consumers were denied a superior service as a consequence. Google said this week that it will appeal against the decision.The benefit to competition from the Apple tax case is harder still to fathom. Under European law, it is illegal for a government to provide a subsidy to an individual firm, known as “state aid”, which gives it an edge over its rivals. At its best, the enforcement of state-aid rules has severed the links between governments and national champions, such as flag-carrying airlines. Very often such firms are loss-making and a burden to the exchequer. Preferential treatment makes it hard for better firms to challenge them—so state-aid rules that cut them loose hugely benefit consumers.Where’s the harm?But the case against Apple does not fit the paradigm. The thrust of the commission’s argument was that Ireland cut a bespoke tax deal with Apple that was not open to other companies, equivalent to state aid. But which firm is the peer against which Apple’s tax affairs should be gauged? How was competition distorted? Where are the chronic inefficiencies? The politics of the case seem clearer than the competition-policy benefits. Big EU states have long been critical of Ireland’s 12.5% rate of corporate tax. But it is a stretch to use state-aid rules to achieve the sort of tax harmonisation that is favoured in Brussels.Many in the competition-policy establishment were deeply dismayed by the Apple decision. Ms Kroes publicly criticised the use of state-aid rules (a commission spokesperson later shot back that this was all too predictable from someone in the pay of Silicon Valley—Ms Kroes is on Uber’s public-policy advisory board). Mr McLeod reckons the judgment will be overturned by the courts.Perhaps Ms Vestager suspects this, too. Her main aim may have been to get the issue of corporate-tax evasion firmly on the agenda. If so, it was a tactical masterstroke. It also raised her personal profile. She is one of the front-runners to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission.Ms Vestager is described by one of her peers as “the most politically effective” trustbuster in recent memory. It is a judgment, admiring and grudging at the same time, that others in the field share. There is admiration that she has raised the profile of competition policy in a way that her dry and technocratic peers and predecessors could not. And there is a grudging acknowledgment that her brand of populist policymaking might be just what is needed to address the growing heft of big firms. But mixing politics with trustbusting so overtly is a dangerous game. The competition directorate’s standing as a neutral arbiter may get damaged in the process. "Big Tech’s nemesis"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728979-she-rich-worlds-most-powerful-trustbuster-margrethe-vestager-championing-consumers-or?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'e57bcb0a680cd7fb2583d569e0fef24f8a4f0be9'|'Rivalry between Apple and Samsung in smartphones will grow fiercer'|'NEVER shy about hype, on September 12th Apple’s boss, Tim Cook, presented the firm’s latest iPhones to a packed auditorium in its glitzy new headquarters in Cupertino. He made a grand prediction: its new, premium phone, the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”), will “set the path of technology for the next decade”. Set to be released this November, ten years after the first iPhone launched, the iPhone X has new features such as an edge-to-edge OLED screen (a thinner screen that does not use a backlight), wireless charging, facial-recognition technology and a dual-lens camera.On the same day, Samsung, a rival smartphone-maker, held a lower-key event in Seoul. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile business, announced that next year Samsung could reimagine the smartphone entirely and launch a new design with a foldable screen, which can close like a small book. On September 15th its latest premium smartphone, the Galaxy Note 8, will go on sale, boasting many of the features offered by the iPhone X.Both are trying to convince consumers to spend around $1,000 for their new gadgets. Samsung’s new phone will cost $960; Apple’s high-end iPhone X will cost $999, 45% more than the average selling price of an iPhone in 2016. (The iPhone 8, simpler than the X and available for sale in September, will start at $699.)  13   16   a day ago Foreign   The competition to wow consumers has been intensely fought between Apple and Samsung Electronics for years. They claim a duopoly over the premium part of the smartphone market. Together they control around two-thirds of the global market (Apple claims 44% of smartphone revenues and Samsung 22%; see chart). The two firms have tussled in courts around the world over intellectual property, with Apple accusing Samsung of infringing on its smartphone patents.Last year Apple seized share in premium phones when Samsung struggled with its Galaxy Note 7; its batteries had a habit of overheating, which necessitated a global recall. Samsung’s new phone is expected to win back users. It used to copy Apple’s innovations but is now often ahead on new features, says Werner Goertz of Gartner. Samsung was the first to release an OLED screen, for instance.The rivalry between the two will only grow fiercer (even though Samsung is also among Apple’s most important suppliers of components, and is expected to provide OLED screens and chips for Apple’s latest phones). In rich countries the market for smartphones is maturing: many of the firms’ gains will come from stealing each other’s customers. In emerging markets, especially China, they will compete to persuade consumers to trade up from cheaper phones. Apple globally claims an 82% retention rate, compared with Samsung’s 67%. This is significantly higher than other firms’, especially Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi and OPPO, whose less expensive phones have gained share among Chinese consumers in recent years.Samsung and Apple will fight on three fronts. One is to design a better overall software ecosystem and keep consumers within it. “I don’t know if it’s a smartphone war as much as it is an ecosystem war,” says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, a technology consultancy. Samsung runs on the Android operating system, whose design it does not fully control, whereas Apple has the advantage of complete oversight of its iOS operating system.A second front will be fought over virtual assistants. Apple was the first mobile-phone maker to offer a voice-controlled assistant, called Siri, which it introduced in 2011. Samsung offers one named Bixby. Both have been underwhelming in their capabilities. But Samsung is investing huge sums to change this, while Apple is criticised for underinvesting in Siri.A third battleground in software will be augmented reality (AR), or the projection of digital information onto the physical world. Both Apple and Samsung offer dual-lens cameras, which make it easier to integrate AR functions into apps.There is unlikely to be one winner. Samsung is well hedged; its strong chip and smartphone-components business will insulate the firm if mobile-phone sales slow. Apple lacks this diversity, but its mobile devices project luxury, and its customers are less likely to defect because iOS runs across all their devices. Mr Cook may be right that Apple’s phones will set technology’s direction, but his firm will feel Samsung’s breath on its neck all the way.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Phone tag"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728978-south-korean-firms-galaxy-note-8-takes-iphone-x-rivalry-between-apple-and-samsung?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'e3acb661865a60ace1b25222483cf36e6159ba67'|'Why do European companies bother to hire ex-politicians?'|'THIS month Gerhard Schröder starts a new job. Shareholders in Rosneft, a Russian energy giant with a market value of nearly $60bn, are set to appoint Germany’s ex-chancellor as a board director on September 29th. Russia’s government, Rosneft’s majority-owner, nominated Mr Schröder, who is pals with Vladimir Putin. Despite Western sanctions imposed on the firm after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Mr Schröder’s move is no surprise. He has worked for years with Gazprom, another energy arm of the Russian state, to promote a gas pipeline to western Europe.His ties to Russia win him few friends at home. His successor as Germany’s leader, Angela Merkel, calls his behaviour “not OK”. She also vows to reject offers of “any posts in industry once I am no longer chancellor”. Other politicians are happier to follow Mr Schröder’s example. It emerged last month that a former German president, Christian Wulff (pictured), is also employed by a foreign company. He advises a German arm of a Turkish high-street fashion firm, Yargici, topping up the salary of €236,000 ($282,030) which he gets for being an ex-president. François Fillon, an ex-prime minister of France, became a partner at Tikehau Capital, an asset manager, on September 1st. 9 12 18 18 Cases such as these spread public unease about the revolving door between business and politics and the civil service. The French call it pantouflage . In January a report by Transparency International, an anti-corruption group, assessed the careers of 512 EU politicians who left office in recent years. It found that over half of retired EU commissioners, and 30% of ex-members of the European Parliament, took jobs with companies or with organisations registered on an EU lobby register. Firms such as ArcelorMittal, an Indian-owned steelmaker based in Luxembourg, Uber, an American ride-hailing firm, and Volkswagen, Germany’s scandal-prone car giant, have all hired ex-commissioners.In Britain, too, ex-politicians routinely land sinecures advising funds and banks: Tony Blair is with JPMorgan Chase; his predecessor as prime minister, John Major, advises Credit Suisse; George Osborne, a former chancellor, this year joined up with BlackRock, an American investment firm.Though the firms involved emphasise that they have high ethical standards, activists worry. “Conflicts of interest cannot be ruled out,” said the authors of the Transparency International report. The appointment of José Manuel Barroso, an ex-president of the commission, as chairman of Goldman Sachs International, provoked particularly loud public complaints in July last year. Campaigners say an 18-month ban on politicians taking such jobs should last much longer.Given such attention, do employers gain by hiring the once-powerful? Drawing a line from recruitment to the subsequent performance of a company is tricky. Ex-politicians offer expertise, contacts and—presumably—quiet influence among former colleagues. Tikehau Capital has specified that it plans to use Mr Fillon’s international experience and knowledge of economic issues. Cynics argue that the real targets of such hiring decisions are not ex-politicians, but those still in office. The point of recruitment could be to send a signal to younger politicians that they, too, could land such a job one day, if they play their cards right. "The point of pantouflage"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728975-month-gerhard-schr-der-starts-new-job-rosneft-why-do-european-companies-bother?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'e17fcf450907000aa7f7b023569fc47c96b903cf'|'GM''s Cruise aims to open self-driving tests to public; timing unclear'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:30 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago GM''s Cruise aims to open self-driving tests to public; timing unclear Peter Henderson 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Warren Transmission Operations Plant in Warren, Michigan October 26, 2015. Photo taken October 26. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - General Motors Co’s self-driving unit, Cruise Automation, is working to open an internal ride-hailing service to people outside the company, aiming to join a small group of autonomous vehicle developers testing their technology with the public. Cruise’s plan for public tests of its cars is at an early stage. Spokesman Milin Mehta declined to discuss a timeline and said regulatory approval would be needed. Cruise declined to comment further on future business plans. The Cruise Anywhere internal ride service uses GM software and currently is limited to San Francisco employees. Alphabet Inc’s self-driving car unit Waymo in May announced plans to test with ride services company Lyft, and Alphabet is now considering an investment in Lyft. GM already has a stake in Lyft and has been planning to test its autonomous cars in the Lyft network. Mehta declined to comment on Lyft. Testing a ride service underscores GM’s ambitions to adapt its business in the face of a potential shift in the car industry from individual ownership to transportation as a service. Cruise’s expanded ride-hailing test to people outside the company would still have human drivers behind the steering wheel to take over as needed, a staple of real-world tests. Expanding the service also requires adding to Cruise’s fleet of autonomous Chevrolet Bolts. Only a few companies are giving self-driving car rides to the public, including Alphabet, Uber Technologies and startup nuTonomy. Urban environments in climates with variable weather present the most difficulty for self-driving cars, which must learn how to navigate traffic jams and “see” in snow and rain. Developers also are testing passengers’ response to a car without a person behind the wheel. Testing a self-driving ride service means that GM is exploring most parts of transportation as a service, including producing cars and self-driving technology, offering car sharing through its Maven service and now trying ride-sharing. Maven already has begun to use its own Gig leasing business to serve drivers for Lyft, Uber and delivery services. Through Gig, Maven can provide GM vehicles directly to drivers who previously leased from Maven through Lyft Express Drive and Uber Vehicle Solutions. Asked last month if GM through Maven aims to create its own ride and delivery service, Maven boss Julia Steyn said, “We are building this out step by step.” (The story corrects to delete reference to other possible cities.) Reporting by Peter Henderson; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-gm-selfdriving/gms-cruise-aims-to-open-self-driving-tests-to-public-timing-unclear-idUKKCN1BQ2SG'|'2017-09-15T23:45:00.000+03:00'
'118d2f11caf4294b22fb10d7c76dc55086d643e9'|'ECB to announce in October plans to reduce quantitative easing; buy bonds through June 2018 - Reuters poll'|'September 15, 2017 / 5:47 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago ECB to announce in October plans to reduce quantitative easing; buy bonds through June 2018 - Reuters poll 5 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski BENGALURU (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will announce in October a six-month extension to its asset purchase programme but will cut how much it buys each month to 40 billion euros from January, a Reuters poll of economists found. The euro zone has been performing stronger recently than at any time since the global financial crisis. That has fueled expectations that the ECB will begin scaling back its quantitative easing (QE) programme after more than two years of bond buying during it which snapped up more than 2 trillion euros worth of mainly government bonds. The Reuters poll of ECB watchers, taken Sept. 11-14, predicted that the resurgence in economic growth will be maintained over the coming year. But inflation is not expected to reach the central bank’s target of close to but just below 2 percent until 2019 at least. Mounting optimism about the euro zone economy has led to a run-up in the euro exchange rate, posing a dilemma for the central bank as it tends to tamp down imported inflation. ECB President Mario Draghi said at his September news conference that the central bank was looking at how to wind down its 60 billion euros of monthly asset purchases and would be ready with a plan by October. While a Reuters poll on Sept 1 also flagged October as the most likely date, economists are now nearly unanimous. Only two of 52 surveyed thought the ECB would wait until December, when the current programme is scheduled to end. The ECB is expected to announce a six-month extension to QE, according to the consensus of 39 economists who answered an additional question, taking the programme through to the end of June. Forecasts ranged from 3-12 months. “The tricky exercise for the ECB is to actually announce that they will continue buying in 2018, but that it will peter out gradually these purchases,” said Peter Vanden Houte, chief euro zone economist at ING Financial Markets. “They have to present it in a way that it is perceived by the markets as dovish instead of hawkish.” But the decision to start scaling back bond purchases soon is also a practical one: It already owns a huge chunk of the euro zone government bond market. “A continuation of QE in unchanged form into 2018, as has been rumoured in some quarters, does not appear to be an option...as bond supply scarcity poses a hard technical constraint on the QE programme,” noted Marius Gero Daheim, senior eurozone strategist at SEB. Asked what will be the ECB’s monthly purchase amount from January, the median response from a similar number of respondents was 40 billion euros, down from the current 60 billion. The range of views was 30-50 billion. Asked when the ECB would close the programme completely, 31 of 33 economists said by the end of next year, including six who said it could be wrapped up in the first half of 2018. The remaining two said the purchases would end sometime in 2019. Most forecasters who were asked if the ECB was right to start unwinding its ultra-easy policy said it should. But the vast majority also said the ECB would not likely do anything with its key interest rates through to the end of next year. FLYING EURO The euro’s rally this year - up over 13 percent against the dollar and hit multi-year highs after the Sept 7 meeting - has some ECB policymakers worried, suggesting the pace of any reduction in QE is likely to be slow. Draghi mentioned the currency’s strength as a concern several times at the September press conference. But ECB board member Benoit Coeure said earlier this week that the euro’s strength may have less of an impact than in the past. A Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists published on Sept. 7 predicted the euro will hold on to most of those gains over the coming year. But they also said if the euro rose another 5 percent, the ECB would become uncomfortable. Economic growth in the current quarter was forecast in the latest Reuters poll at 0.5 percent, up from 0.4 percent predicted last month. Median forecasts show steady 0.4 percent growth through to the end of next year. While economies rarely grow at such a steady rate for that long, the stability in euro zone growth forecasts, which for years were nearly universally pessimistic, is a positive sign. Inflation is forecast to remain well below the ECB’s target until at least 2019, averaging 1.5 percent this year and 1.4 percent next. Only one forecaster had inflation at 2 percent at any point through the end of next year. (For other stories from the Reuters global long-term economic outlook polls package) Polling by Indradip Ghosh and Sujith Pai; Editing by Ross Finley and Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-poll/ecb-to-announce-in-october-plans-to-reduce-quantitative-easing-buy-bonds-through-june-2018-reuters-poll-idUKKCN1BQ0I7'|'2017-09-15T09:06:00.000+03:00'
'3e76167afbc916dc76ae52a212ccd1f874831988'|'Have investors grown too comfortable with North Korea?'|'  1:36 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Have investors grown too comfortable with North Korea? Ritvik Carvalho 5 Min Read Monitors showing TV news on North Korea''s missile launch (R), the Japanese yen''s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar (L and top of blue screen) and Japan''s Niikei share average (bottom of blue screen) are seen at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo, Japan, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai LONDON (Reuters) - North Korea’s latest missile launch has sparked yet another round of international condemnation but in a pattern increasingly playing out in financial markets, investors already seem to have shrugged it off. A closer inspection however, reveals this is not unusual: market reactions to bellicosity from the reclusive nation shows stock market drops, spikes in volatility, gold and the Japanese yen - typical “risk-off” moves - often reverse within a few days, sometimes within hours. The reason? Weapons tests and aggressive rhetoric around the Korean peninsula have never escalated into full-blown conflict, often only culminating in diplomacy and increased sanctions. “Our sense is that investors have grown comfortable with the view that geopolitical tensions invariably result in diplomatic talks, in which case the right trade is to buy any dips,” writes Goldman Sachs head of global credit strategy Charles Himmelberg. “The result is a market psychology that is relatively resistant to the pricing of geopolitical risk.” A Reuters analysis of various “risk-off” moves shows market reactions to tensions in the Korean peninsula have tended not only to reverse more quickly than others, but in most cases register a smaller move compared to those on other risk events. Here are some graphics that show how different asset classes and market measures - stocks, volatility, gold and the Japanese yen - illustrate this phenomenon. 1) GLOBAL STOCKS After the first three North Korean nuclear tests the MSCI World Index recouped its initial losses on the same day. On the fifth and the most recent sixth test, the index posted a positive close just one day after its initial fall. North Korea’s threat to strike the U.S. island of Guam and its fourth nuclear test were the only occasions on which it took longer than a day to recover. The results of the Brexit vote, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Greece’s 2015 debt default all pushed the MSCI World Index .MIWO PUS lower than any of North Korea’s nuclear tests. 2) VOLATILITY A similar pattern plays out in the VIX index .VIX, also known as the market’s “fear gauge”: for the first three nuclear tests by the North, it snapped back to previous levels within two days. The VIX stayed elevated longer in the wake of the 9/11 attacks than North Korea’s latest nuclear test. The highs the VIX hit on 9/11, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Brexit, the 2016 U.S. elections, and the 2015 Greek debt default are all higher than the levels seen on four out of the total of six nuclear tests by North Korea. 3) GOLD A similar pattern can be seen with gold - a preferred safe-haven bid for investors on “risk-off” days. Brexit, the 9/11 attacks, the 2016 U.S. elections and Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy have all caused a higher spike in the metal than any of North Korea’s nuclear tests. Spot gold prices XAU= actually declined on the occasion of the first North Korean nuclear test. 4) JAPANESE YEN Brexit, Fukushima, the U.S. elections, the Lehman collapse and the 9/11 attacks all saw bigger gains for the yen JPY=EBS than on five out of six of North Korea''s nuclear tests. For three out of the North’s six nuclear tests, the yen gave up its “risk-off” gains within two days, and on two of them it gave back gains on the day. But are investors getting too comfortable with the status quo? Economists at Capital Economics reckon a conflict of even a few months on the Korean peninsula could wreak havoc not just on South Korea’s economy but shave points off global growth too, given that South Korea accounts for 2 percent of global GDP. 6) PEAK-TO-TROUGH CHANGE IN WAR-HIT COUNTRY‘S GDP “A 50 percent fall in the value of South Korea’s GDP would directly knock 1 percentage point from global GDP,” economists Gareth Leather and Krystal Tan wrote in a note to clients. They also warn of disruption to global trade flows: “South Korea is heavily integrated into regional and global manufacturing supply-chains, which would be severely disrupted in the event of a major military conflict.” Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles-markets-graphics/have-investors-grown-too-comfortable-with-north-korea-idUKKCN1BQ1SP'|'2017-09-15T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'4fdd808ec9f0a26770ac38c38aac0b7d1a71b140'|'U.S. stock futures drop, yen gains after North Korea''s missile launch'|'September 15, 2017 / 12:47 AM / Updated 33 minutes ago Global stocks ignore North Korea missile test; sterling soars on Bank of England bets Marc Jones 5 Min Read People watch a television broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a missile that flew over Japan''s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean, in Seoul, South Korea, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji LONDON (Reuters) - Shares and other risk assets barely moved and gold fell on Friday as traders paid little attention to the latest missile test by North Korea, shifting their focus to where and when interest rates will go up. London, Frankfurt and Paris were a shade lower and futures pointed to a steady start for Wall Street was after Pyongyang fired a second test missile in as many weeks over Japan, but both regions looked set for their best week since July. The yen was also pushed lower to 111.2 per dollar JPY= in the currency markets, but that too was a continuation of trend. The Japanese currency has seen its biggest fall this week in 10 months while the dollar .DXY is headed for its biggest rise since April, thanks to a revival in U.S. inflation data and bets the Federal Reserve could raise rates again this year after all. “You have risk appetite returning in the markets more generally at the moment, so you have all these forces pushing down the yen,” said Vasileios Gkionakis, global head of FX strategy at UniCredit. Britain''s pound GBP= was the other main standout, rising to a 14-month high of $1.3430 as the Bank of England reiterated that it might soon raise interest rates for the first time in a decade. “If these data trends of reducing slack, rising pay pressure, strengthening household spending and robust global growth continue, the appropriate time for a rise in the Bank Rate might be as early as in the coming months,” Gertjan Vlieghe, normally one of the BoE’s most dovish members, said. Sterling was also on course for its best week in over eight years on a trade-weighted basis and since November 2016 against the euro, which finally looks to have cooled following its surge this year. EURGBP= “If they don’t do it (hike rates) this time, their credibility will be lost completely for the next few years,” Unicredit’s Gkionakis said. Markets expect the BoE to move in November, he added. The BoE signals fed into bond markets, too. Yields pushed up after dipping overnight on the geopolitical tensions. Safe-haven gold XAU= was also heading for its biggest weekly drop since July. [GVD/EUR][GOL/] North Korea’s latest test missile flew over Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido before landing about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) into the Pacific Ocean, which would be far enough to reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, the benchmark for the region, inched up to 0.43 percent to flirt with its biggest weekly rise since late June. Pound coins are seen in this photo illustration taken in Manchester, Britain September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Illustration U.S. yields have also jumped. U.S. Fed funds rate futures FFF8 on Friday were pricing in a roughly 45 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by December, versus around 25 percent at the start of this week. CRYPTO CRUSH U.S. stock futures ESc1 pointed to an almost flat start for the S&P 500, which is on track for a near 1.5 percent rise this week after another run of record highs. [.N] MSCI’s Asia-Pacific share index excluding Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS shed 0.1 percent in reaction to the North Korea missile overnight, though it was still up 0.7 percent on the week. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 gained 0.5 percent and a more than 3 percent jump gave it its best week since November in a directly inverse move to the yen. “There have been reports (for a while) suggesting North Korea is preparing a missile launch, so this was by no means a surprise,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities. “In a way, this seems like something markets have already experienced before, thus producing a limited reaction,” he added. Oil prices largely held the gains that had tested multi-month highs the previous day as the clean-up after hurricanes in the United States meant a firmer tone for demand. [O/R] Brent crude futures LCOc1 traded at $55.66 per barrel, up 0.3 percent on the day and 2.5 percent on the week. They hit a five-month high of $55.99 on Thursday. Elsewhere, bitcoin BTC=BTSP retreated another 6.5 percent after having tumbled 16 percent on Thursday, when Chinese news outlet Yicai reported that China plans to shut down all bitcoin exchanges by the end of September. BTCChina, one of China’s top three exchanges, said on Thursday that it would stop all trading from Sept. 30. The cryptocurrency was down for an eighth consecutive day BTC=BTSP at close to $3,000 and was on track for its worst week since 2013, having slumped almost 30 percent since Monday. Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo, editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/u-s-stock-futures-drop-yen-gains-after-north-koreas-missile-launch-idUKKCN1BQ02M'|'2017-09-15T03:47:00.000+03:00'
'55035e0d45f7d75401228677938749da69184d50'|'London black cabs seek export boost amid Brexit uncertainty'|'September 15, 2017 / 12:29 PM / Updated 4 hours ago London black cabs seek export boost amid Brexit uncertainty Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A London black cab taxi drives past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in late afternoon sunlight in London, Britain, November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), owned by China’s Geely ( 0175.HK ), hopes Brexit negotiations will not jeopardise plans to export 50 percent of the black cabs made in England by 2020, Chief Executive Chris Gubbey told Reuters. “By 2020 we want 50 percent of our manufactured goods to be exported,” Gubbey said in an interview. LEVC opened a new factory in central England in March to produce electric black cabs with the aim of producing about 10,000 vehicles for British and overseas markets. “We’re very keen to see the negotiations proceed in the direction of maintaining the current situation, without additional tariffs,” Gubbey said about efforts between Britain and the European Union to negotiate an amicable separation. “I don’t think anybody has a truly effective plan B.” The company’s business plan depends on maintaining a free flow of goods between its factory in England and other parts of the Geely Group, which includes Volvo cars. “The ability to share the technology from Volvo and its supply base is a big enabler,” Gubbey said. LEVC depends on free trade to keep importing vehicle parts to its UK factory from other markets. “We get approximately a third of components from the UK, a third from the rest of Europe, and about a third from Asia,” Gubbey said, adding that cabs will use components from other Geely group vehicles. German engineering company Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) provides the electric motors, and German auto supplier ZF [ZFF.UL] supplies generators. Some parts come from sister company Volvo and batteries are provided by LG Chem, Gubbey said. “We have a higher European content than with the current vehicle,” Gubbey said. From January, all new cabs in London have to be zero-emissions capable, meaning they cannot be diesel and must be either fully electric or hybrid, according to rules introduced by the mayor of London. Reporting by Edward Taylor; editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-londoncab/london-black-cabs-seek-export-boost-amid-brexit-uncertainty-idUKKCN1BQ1LW'|'2017-09-15T15:29:00.000+03:00'
'9a712973658702e2f93160e8834767b92183e1f5'|'United Technologies merges with Rockwell Collins'|'WHEN passengers board an aircraft, only a few care whether it was built by Airbus or Boeing, two giants that make all the world’s big airliners. Fewer still would recognise the names of the thousands of suppliers that produce the 2m or so parts that go into a modern jet. Surprisingly little of the work is done by Boeing and Airbus. Boeing has outsourced 70% of the parts for its 787 aircraft. The job of assembling Airbus’s A380 superjumbo in its Toulouse factory accounts for only 4% of the work required to make it. The balance of power between aerospace firms and their suppliers is causing ructions.Near hostilities have broken out due to a run of big mergers among parts-makers. On September 4th, United Technologies (UTC), an American conglomerate that makes Pratt & Whitney engines and other aerospace parts, announced that it had agreed to buy Rockwell Collins, an avionics firm, for $30bn. Although it is one of the biggest-ever mergers in the aerospace business, the deal is just the latest in a series of supplier tie-ups this year. In April, Rockwell Collins itself bought B/E Aerospace, a cabin-interiors specialist, for $8.6bn. Two months later Safran, a French maker of engines and landing gear, agreed to buy Zodiac, a specialist in aircraft seats, for $7.7bn.  13   16   a day ago Foreign   As usual, the firms’ bosses pledge that synergies between the businesses will help fund the deals. UTC wants its merger with Rockwell to produce $500m in savings, according to its chief executive, Greg Hayes. But the imperative behind these supplier tie-ups lies elsewhere, in the oodles of profit they make from planemakers. In the past two years, suppliers made profit margins of between 14% and 17%, compared with 9% for planemakers. The main reason for the divergence is that the huge development costs associated with jetliner programmes are borne by planemakers, not their suppliers. And assembling parts is a relatively low value-added activity.Confronted with a shrinking number of new orders, as well as pressure from investors, both Airbus and Boeing are adopting a more aggressive stance towards the suppliers. This means trying to push them into offering much lower prices today, in return for future contracts. But that is not all. By outsourcing the most complex parts of their aircraft, Airbus and Boeing lost control of what turned out to be a highly lucrative market for servicing aircraft, with airlines as customers. Rolls-Royce, a British engine-maker, makes half its sales and all its profits from servicing engines. The pair want this market back if possible. They are trying to make more parts in-house. In July, Boeing set up an avionics subsidiary to make more of its electrical systems itself. Airbus is cutting back its list of suppliers and doing more of its own work.It is in response to this assault that the supply chain is consolidating, says Jim Harris of Bain & Company, a consultancy. Gaining scale gives suppliers clout with their customers and with their own supply chains. The merged UTC and Rockwell will have annual revenues of $62bn, not far off Airbus at $80bn and Boeing at $96bn.Unsurprisingly, Boeing has hit the roof about UTC’s acquisition of Rockwell, and has threatened to lobby regulators to stop the deal on competition grounds. Nor is Airbus happy, particularly as problems with Pratt & Whitney’s engines are holding up the delivery of dozens of its jets. It worries that a merger will distract UTC from resolving the problem. It is rare to see two firms that have long battled each other team up on the same side, but there is little doubt, according to an adviser to Boeing and Airbus, that they both “have the knives out for their suppliers”.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Dogfight in the skies"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728655-aerospace-suppliers-are-merging-fight-back-against-planemakers-united-technologies-merges?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-09T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'ef8f50cd982748b4626f7702b26f794557dcd54c'|'EU plans to raise tax bill of online giants gather momentum'|'September 15, 2017 / 2:41 PM / Updated 6 hours ago EU plans to raise tax bill of online giants gather momentum Francesco Guarascio 4 Min Read Newly appointed French Economy minister Bruno Le Maire, arrives to attend the first cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau TALLINN (Reuters) - Nearly one third of European Union states backed a plan to tax digital multinationals on their turnover, France said on Friday, as the EU weighs a range of other measures to increase the tax bill of companies like Google and Amazon. The moves are part of a growing campaign in the EU to claim tax revenues that online giants are accused of skirting by routing most of their profits to low tax rate states, like Ireland and Luxembourg. “The digital economy should be taxed as the rest of the economy,” the EU commissioner for taxation, Pierre Moscovici, told reporters upon his arrival on Friday to a meeting of euro zone and EU finance ministers in Tallinn, the Estonian capital. A report published on Thursday by influential EU lawmaker Paul Tang estimated that Google ( GOOGL.O ), which has its EU tax residence in Ireland, paid taxes not higher than 0.8 percent of its EU revenues between 2013 and 2015. Facebook ( FB.O ), also based in Ireland, had a ratio as little as 0.1 percent in the same period, while Luxembourg-based Amazon ( AMZN.O ) paid almost nothing as it reported nearly no profits. Facebook ( FB.O ) and Google ( GOOGL.O ) were not immediately available to comment on the proposals when contacted by Reuters. COMPETING PLANS Most of the 28 EU states agree in principle with more effective taxation of digital companies, but differences remain on how to move forward. A plan proposed by France to tax large digital corporations on their turnover, rather than on their profits, is gaining supporters, although still needs technical work. France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told a news conference on Friday that a total of nine countries “formally joined the initiative”. In addition to France, they are Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia and Latvia. A tax on turnover would raise revenues also from companies, like Amazon ( AMZN.O ), that do not report profits, and would be likely applied quickly, a European official said. However, it would need to be made compliant with EU internal market rules. States could also apply it unilaterally, but that would expose them to a higher chance of legal challenges, the official said. Opposition from smaller states would need to be overcome, as countries like Ireland and Luxembourg may lose tax revenues from the new framework. Tax reforms in the EU need unanimity among EU states, a factor that has blocked many overhauls in the past. Estonia, who holds the EU rotating presidency, is pushing for a more structural approach. It wants the EU to agree that a company could be taxed when it is “virtually” present in a country, through a digital platform for instance. At the moment, businesses are taxed only in countries where they have a concrete presence, such as a plant. This change could be introduced in a review of EU rules on the tax base that are under discussion in the Parliament and among EU states. Tang plans to submit an amendment going in that direction. The European Commission, the EU’s executive, said it will present in the coming days a document listing several options for moving forward. A Commission official said the document could propose five or six possible measures, including the French and the Estonian plans. He warned against risks of diverging taxation in EU states and insisted a compromise on a common set of rules should be the objective. The document will be ready for a summit of EU leaders dedicated to digital issues that will be held in Tallinn on Sept. 29, Moscovici said. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio, editing by Robin Emmott '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-ecofin/nine-eu-states-back-plan-to-tax-online-giants-turnover-le-maire-idUKKCN1BQ20B'|'2017-09-15T20:45:00.000+03:00'
'4d511a695c1b3b3d62bf3b6a65b5eaa097e175f5'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. probing titanium sponge imports from Japan, Kazakhstan'|'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether titanium sponge imports from Japan and Kazakhstan are being unfairly dumped in the United States and whether Kazakh producers are receiving unfair subsidies, the department said on Friday.The anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty probes were being initiated following petitions from U.S.-based Titanium Metals Corp, part of Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s Precision Castparts Corp, the department said in a statement.The investigations come amid a larger effort by the Trump administration aimed at helping U.S. companies better compete with imports, including Chinese steel.Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is scheduled to with Trump at the White House on Friday morning, said in the statement his department would make its decision “at the earliest opportunity.”According to the Commerce Department, 2016 imports of titanium sponge from Japan and Kazakhstan were estimated at $144.8 million and $374,000, respectively.Titanium sponge is a porous form of titanium resulting from the first stage of processing the metal for use in the aerospace, electronic, architectural and sports equipment industries.Reporting by Justin Mitchell; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-titaniumsponge/u-s-probing-titanium-sponge-imports-from-japan-kazakhstan-idUSKCN1BQ1MN'|'2017-09-15T16:15:00.000+03:00'
'79b5cca229086e79c13d70d040717e173caffd5b'|'Mazda to make all models hybrid, electric by early 2030s - Kyodo'|'September 15, 2017 / 3:36 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Mazda to make all models hybrid, electric by early 2030s - Kyodo Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Mazda Motor Corp. is displayed at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show in Tokyo, Japan, November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp plans to make all of its vehicles electric-based, including petrol hybrids, by the early 2030s, Japanese media reported on Friday, as more automakers shift strategies to meet tightening global emission regulations. The Japanese automaker plans to use electric motors in all of its models by that time, Kyodo News reported, without citing sources. A Mazda spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. At the moment, Mazda’s line-up does not include any all-battery electric vehicles, though it sells one hybrid model, a version of its Mazda3. The company has said it will introduce electric powertrain technologies including electronic vehicles (EVs) from 2019. To catch up with other larger automakers including Nissan Motor Co, which already market electric cars, Mazda has partnered with Toyota Motor Corp to develop technology. Meanwhile, it has also developed an ultra-efficient petrol engine, which can be used in hybrids, and plans to incorporate that into its cars from 2019. Unveiling the new technology last month, Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai said its gasoline, diesel and electric vehicle technologies would “co-exist” in the future. The automaker, which also specialises in highly-efficient diesel engines, on Thursday launched a new CX-8 model in Japan, which is only available as a diesel model at the moment. Other global automakers are planning to shift away from internal combustion engines towards electrification in the coming years. Volvo Car Group in July said that all of its new models from 2019 would use electric motors, while Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE > earlier this week said it would launch 80 new electric cars across its brands by 2025. (This story was refiled to fix typo in first paragraph) Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mazda-electric/mazda-to-make-hybrid-electric-cars-by-early-2030s-kyodo-idUKKCN1BQ0B2'|'2017-09-15T07:14:00.000+03:00'
'b1f473aa76ccc5368dd0f3b4521c48edb183dfd6'|'UPDATE 1-AIA and Zurich submit separate bids for Australian insurers - sources'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of AIA is displayed at its office in Hong Kong, China February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based insurance giant AIA Group Ltd ( 1299.HK ) has shown interest in buying Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s ( CBA.AX ) insurance business, which is likely to be valued at about $4 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.Separately, Zurich Insurance Group AG ( ZURN.S ) has emerged as the final bidder for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s ( ANZ.AX ) life insurance and wealth business, valued at about $3 billion, the people said.While the official final deadline for offers for fourth-largest Australian lender ANZ’s insurance and wealth business was Friday, there was still a possibility of a few more bids coming in soon, one of the people told Reuters.Australia is an attractive market for foreign insurers such as Zurich and MetLife Inc ( MET.N ) because the population and economy are growing faster than in most other developed markets and the regulatory regime is stable, analysts have said.Local banks’ insurance units have also struggled amid growing competition from the pure-play and large foreign insurance companies and due to new regulations demanding increased capital buffers for their main banking operations.National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ), the country’s No.3 lender by assets, sold its 80 percent stake in its life insurance arm to Japan’s Nippon Life [NPNLI.UL] for A$2.4 billion ($1.9 billion) in a deal that closed late last year.ANZ’s insurance and wealth management unit sale outcome is expected to be announced within a month and CBA’s is expected to take longer as more bidders are expected to join, the people with knowledge of the matter said.But there is no certainty that both transactions will proceed and be completed soon, one of the people said.Representatives at ANZ and CBA, as well as AIA and Zurich, all declined to comment. The people who have knowledge of the two divestment deals declined to be named as they were not allowed to discuss them in public.ANZ’s Australian insurance and wealth business reported a full-year cash profit of A$327 million for the year ended Sept. 30, 2016, down 24 percent from a year earlier, after significant restructuring and software charges.CBA said last month it was in talks to sell its life insurance business, although it did not name any potential buyer and added that the outcome of the negotiations was uncertain.CBA is being sued by Australia’s financial intelligence body over alleged widespread breaches of money laundering and counter terrorism financing laws. It is also facing a separate investigation by two regulatory bodies and a potential class action.Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; additional reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney, Jamie Freed in Singapore and Carolyn Cohn in London; editing by David Clarke and Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-m-a-insurance/aia-and-zurich-submit-bids-for-australian-insurance-assets-sources-idUSKCN1BQ1MB'|'2017-09-15T15:55:00.000+03:00'
'8ab57b16a0e4f0bacf66dcf9758eea2ef728fa58'|'Facebook-backed group to help fund ''Dreamer'' application fees'|'FILE PHOTO: Volunteers help a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient fill out his renewal application during the immigration ministry at Lincoln Methodist Church in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. September 10, 2017. DACA recipients gathered to fill out applications to renew their permit before the October 5 deadline for current beneficiaries. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (Reuters) - FWD.us, a pro-immigration group co-founded by Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, is raising funds to help undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children reapply for a program that shields them from deportation.President Donald Trump on Sept. 5 moved to rescind in March the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which protects immigrants brought into the country illegally by their parents.Such immigrants, known as Dreamers, who have work permits that expire before March can apply to renew them for another two years, if they do so before Oct. 5.But the $495 application fee is an “extraordinary and unexpected expense” for many who are students or low-wage earners, FWD.us said in a statement.FWD.us is working with United We Dream and other lobby groups to raise money for The DACA Renewal Fund operated by ActBlue Charities, an online group with close ties to the Democratic Party.FWD.us was launched in 2013 by Zuckerberg and his Harvard University buddy, entrepreneur Joe Green, to lobby for changes to U.S. immigration policies. It advocates the issuance of more work permits and entrepreneur visas for immigrants who plan to start companies.Technology companies such as Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Facebook have made strong public statements against Trump’s policy and voiced support for employees affected by the change.None of those companies immediately responded to requests for comment.Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-tech/facebook-backed-group-to-help-fund-dreamer-application-fees-idUSKCN1BQ071'|'2017-09-15T04:42:00.000+03:00'
'be1777932f48982e535d4f6665b06f02e85774c0'|'Russia c.bank chief: Inflationary expectations unlikely to reach 4 pct soon'|'MOSCOW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Inflationary expectations in Russia are unlikely to reach 4 percent in the near future, Elvira Nabiullina, the central bank’s governor, told a news briefing.Nabiullina also said that Friday’s decision to cut the key rate by 50 basis points to 8.5 percent was unanimous. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh and Jack Stubbs; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-rates-inflation-expectations/russia-c-bank-chief-inflationary-expectations-unlikely-to-reach-4-pct-soon-idUSR4N1KX054'|'2017-09-15T15:56:00.000+03:00'
'e205340c77c0fea2cc05ca0639441cee44d2f3df'|'Pirelli says initial public offering to run Sept. 18-28'|'Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - Italian tyremaker Pirelli said on Friday market watchdog Consob had approved the prospectus for its initial public offering and the share sale would run from Sept.18 to Sept. 28.Pirelli, which plans to return to the Milan stock market next month, has said it will issue up to 350 million shares within an indicative price range of 6.30-8.30 euros each, giving it a valuation of between 6.3 billion euros ($7.5 billion) and 8.3 billion euros ($9.9 billion).Pirelli’s existing owners, including its controlling shareholder China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), had originally been seeking a valuation of up to 9 billion euros, sources familiar with the matter have said.Pirelli may also issue another 50 million shares to its bankers under an over-allotment option. If that happens, the overall stake sold into the offer would amount to 40 percent of the company’s capital.Reporting by Silvia Aloisi '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo/pirelli-says-initial-public-offering-to-run-sept-18-28-idUSKCN1BQ1R5'|'2017-09-15T21:20:00.000+03:00'
'e9d250ead59ba045743fd984d13bfa301d3bcc86'|'China’s economy losing some steam as investment growth hits 18-year low'|' 36 AM / 26 minutes ago China’s economy losing some steam as investment growth hits 18-year low Kevin Yao , Lusha Zhang 7 Min Read A man works in the Tianye Tolian Heavy Industry Co. factory in Qinhuangdao in the QHD economic development zone, Hebei province, China December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) - China posted a rare flurry of disappointing data on Thursday -- including its slowest growth in investment in nearly 18 years -- suggesting the world’s second-largest economy is finally starting to lose some momentum as borrowing costs rise. Factory output and retail sales also grew less than anticipated, though a rebound in property sales and construction starts is likely to keep China’s overall growth relatively robust and comfortably on target ahead of a key leadership reshuffle next month. “I think the risk (for China) isn’t in the next couple of months but rather the next couple of years,” said Capital Economics’ Julian Evans-Pritchard. “Progress on key structural reforms that really matter, such as boosting the performance of state-owned enterprises, has been quite slow and the structural drags on growth remain quite strong and are real risks.” Analysts had widely expected China’s August data to show industrial output and retail sales growth had accelerated after fading slightly in July, while investment was seen as only marginally softer. That would have fit into a pattern of stronger-than-expected readings from China in the first half of the year and upbeat surveys on August factory activity. A year-long, government-led construction boom has lifted demand and prices for everything from cement to steel to glass, helping offset an expected drag from property cooling measures and a regulatory crackdown on riskier types of financing. But August’s data suggested the strong boost from Beijing’s infrastructure building spree may be starting to fade. Fixed-asset investment, a key growth driver for the world’s second-largest economy, grew 7.8 percent in January-August from a year earlier, the weakest pace since December 1999 and cooling from 8.3 percent in January-July. The main drag appeared to be a slowdown in infrastructure investment due to a significant drop-off in government fiscal spending over the past two months, analysts said. China frontloaded fiscal spending this year to produce rosy growth ahead of the once-in-five-years Communist Party Congress next month, Evans-Pritchard said. But local governments are constrained by annual budgets and have had to pare back spending in the second half of this year, he added. That likely had a knock-on effect on industrial output, which rose 6.0 percent in August on-year, the weakest pace in nine months, statistics bureau data showed. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted output would grow 6.6 percent in August, up from 6.4 percent in July. The statistics bureau said unusually hot and wet weather weighed on industrial output last month, adding that the economy remained on a steady, improving trend. On a monthly basis, output rose nearly half a percent. China’s crackdown on pollution may have also dented industrial output, as Beijing looks to close older, smog-belching mines and factories, said Nie Wen, an economist at Hwabao Trust in Shanghai. Still, economists at Nomura maintained their view that the economy would expand 6.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, easing only slightly from 6.9 percent in the first half. An employee waits for customers at Sun Art Retail Group''s Auchan hypermarket store in Beijing, China, November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo That would keep China on track to easily beat the government’s full-year growth target of around 6.5 percent, even if there is some further softening late in the year. PROPERTY Overall investment may have softened further if not for an unexpected rebound in the property market, which directly affects 40 other business sectors in China. Despite a series of government curbs which have largely succeeded in cooling red-hot housing prices, activity in the property market snapped back in August, possibly as developers turn their focus to smaller cities with fewer restrictions. Property investment, which mainly focuses on residential real estate but also includes commercial and office space, grew 7.8 percent in August on-year, versus 4.8 percent in July, according to Reuters calculations from Thursday’s data. New construction starts measured by floor area, a telling indicator of developers’ confidence, were up 5.3 percent after contracting in July for the first time since last September. Growth of private investment slowed to 6.4 percent in January-August from 6.9 percent in the first seven months of the year, suggesting small- and medium-sized private firms still face challenges in accessing investment-finance. Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China. RETAIL SALES ALSO MISS Retail sales also confounded market expectations, rising 10.1 percent in August on-year, the slowest pace in six months and cooling from 10.4 percent in July. Analysts had expected a slight pick-up in demand. Again, however, sales rose at a decent clip from a month earlier, and shoppers are expected to throng the stores and online sites as usual in October over the long Golden Week holidays. Other data for August released last week was mixed, with imports beating expectations -- pointing to still solid domestic demand, while exports grew less than expected. Producer and consumer inflation quickened more than forecast. Producer prices, particularly for building materials, have surged this year, giving China’s long-ailing and heavily-indebted industrial sector its best profits in years. But some analysts said higher prices may also be skewing the data and exaggerating the strength of its economic recovery. Foreign investment in China has remained tepid, though a sharp rebound in the yuan currency may be a game changer if sustained. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China fell 0.2 percent in the first eight months of 2017 from a year earlier to 547.94 billion yuan (63.38 billion pounds), Commerce Ministry data showed. But for August alone, it rose 9.1 percent. China’s outbound non-financial investment (ODI) slumped 41.8 percent in January-August from a year earlier as authorities continued to crack down on speculative outflows and “irrational” overseas asset purchases which had pressured the yuan. Some acquisitive and high-profile Chinese firms have had to scrap plans for global acquisitions in recent months. Reporting by Kevin Yao and Lusha Zhang; Additional reporting by Yawen Chen; Writing by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-activity/chinas-economy-losing-some-steam-as-investment-growth-hits-18-year-low-idUKKCN1BP0T4'|'2017-09-14T10:26:00.000+03:00'
'f13b3b69189d380c0bfb988bd7bcc698c8aef7e3'|'SoftBank''s Vision Fund considers $500 million investment in ZhongAn IPO - IFR'|'People visit a booth of Zhongan during an exhibition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, October 14, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/Files HONG KONG (Reuters) - SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, is considering a $500 million investment in the Hong Kong initial public offering of ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd, China’s first internet-only insurer, IFR reported on Thursday, citing people close to the deal.The fund is likely to be a so-called cornerstone investor in ZhongAn’s up to $1.5 billion IPO, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. The IPO, the biggest by a financial technology company in the city, is expected to launch as early as Sept. 18.SoftBank and ZhongAn declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.Vision Fund, which has raised over $93 billion to invest in technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics, is backed by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ), Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund and companies including Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Qualcomm ( QCOM.O )Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-zhongan-online-softbank-group/softbanks-vision-fund-considers-500-million-investment-in-zhongan-ipo-ifr-idINKCN1BP0NH'|'2017-09-14T09:27:00.000+03:00'
'77f332a6a49408c43e121a91d51344d790ec5da7'|'PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - Sept 14'|'September 14, 2017 / 4:33 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - Sept 14 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 14 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday blocked a China-backed investor from buying an American semiconductor maker over national security concerns, a rare move that could signal more aggressive scrutiny of China''s deal-making ambitions. nyti.ms/2wrp8E8 - The U.S. federal government moved on Wednesday to wipe from its computer systems any software made by a prominent Russian cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky Lab, that is being investigated by the FBI for possible links to Russian security services. nyti.ms/2fknf6B - Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive who is awaiting sentencing for a fraud conviction, was sent to jail on Wednesday after a federal judge revoked his bail because he had offered $5,000 for a strand of Hillary Clinton''s hair. nyti.ms/2y0f327 - Toshiba Corp said on Wednesday it had agreed to negotiate with a group led by Bain Capital, the American investment firm, that also includes two organizations controlled by the Japanese government. They will seek to strike a deal over Toshiba''s chip business, the world''s second-largest manufacturer of flash memory chips. nyti.ms/2wqTDK8 Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-14-idUSL4N1LV26Q'|'2017-09-14T12:33:00.000+03:00'
'3e696db324918f7fa6f4c2a7308cc8ac883dcee0'|'Toshiba says Western Digital overstates its rights over chip business'|'September 14, 2017 / 4:24 AM / Updated an hour ago Toshiba says Western Digital overstating rights over chip business Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) said its business partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) had been “persistently” overstating its rights over a memory chip unit that the Japanese firm is looking to offload, showing the two remain at loggerheads over the $18 billion sale. The statement from the embattled Japanese conglomerate comes a day after it said it was stepping up talks to sell the unit to a group led by Bain Capital and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ). But it also said it would continue weighing a rival offer from Western Digital. “Toshiba regrets that Western Digital persistently overstates its limited consent rights in public statements,” the Japanese company said in a statement, referring to the U.S. firm’s claim that its consent was required for a sale as it had invested in Toshiba’s semiconductor plant. Western Digital on Wednesday said it was confident of its ability to protect its rights in the joint venture with Toshiba, which is the world’s No.2 producer of NAND memory chips. The two companies had last month entered final-stage talks, aiming to sign a deal and put their legal battle to rest, sources have said. But talks stalled as Toshiba, fearing Western Digital was angling to eventually take over the chip business, sought to limit the U.S. firm’s future stake in the unit, the sources added. In its statement on Thursday, Toshiba reiterated it “expects and is fully committed to completing a sale” by March 2018. Without an agreement to sell the unit soon, it will be difficult for Toshiba to gain by the end of the financial year in March, regulatory approval and hence the funds it needs to cover billions in liabilities at it U.S. nuclear unit. Toshiba is hoping to avoid reporting negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second straight year - a scenario that could knock it off the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-wd/toshiba-says-western-digital-overstates-its-rights-over-chip-business-idUKKCN1BP0D7'|'2017-09-14T07:18:00.000+03:00'
'a8738c03f70c22587ba9e56aaa306a83965b7f7b'|'Miners, financials weigh on FTSE ahead of BoE rate decision'|'  8:49 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago FTSE hits bump on sterling jump after Bank of England rate hike signal Kit Rees 3 Min Read People stand and sit outside the London Stock Exchange in Paternoster Square, London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s top share index dropped to a four-month low on Thursday as sterling surged after the Bank of England signalled that it was likely to raise rates in the coming months, weighing on the FTSE 100’s predominantly dollar-earning constituents. The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended the session 1.1 percent lower at 7,295.39 points, underperforming the broader European market which closed in positive territory. The Bank of England’s policymakers voted to keep rates on hold at a record-low 0.25 percent, and said that the central bank was likely to raise interest rates in the coming months if the economy and price pressures keep growing. Sterling jumped more than 1 percent, putting pressure on big, international firms such as British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) and Diageo ( DGE.L ) which source a large part of their revenues from overseas. The drop in the pound after Britain voted to leave the European Union last June boosted the FTSE 100, as its dollar-earning constituents received an accounting boost when converting their revenues back to pounds. Some investors, however, were more cautious on the outlook for rate hikes. “Given downside risks to global and UK growth as well as to inflation as the impact of sterling depreciation fades over the next few months, I think this hawkish shift will not last,” Anna Stupnytska, global economist at Fidelity International, said. Financials also fell, with HSBC ( HSBA.L ) and Barclays ( BARC.L ) dropping 1.5 percent and 0.9 percent respectively, while mining stocks saw some sizeable declines as the price of copper slid on the back of disappointing data from China. Shares in Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ), BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ), Glencore ( GLEN.L ) and Anglo American ( AAL.L ) were all down between 2.4 percent to 3.4 percent. Morrisons ( MRW.L ), Britain’s No. 4 supermarket, fell about 5 percent after publishing first-half results. British fashion chain Next ( NXT.L ), however, was a bright spot with a 13 percent surge in its shares after it lifted its guidance, saying that it had managed to cushion the inflationary impact of a weak pound. “Next remains a well-invested business that in our view has the operational and cost flexibility to deal with structural pressures posed by online, supported by strong and consistent cash generation,” analysts at Investec said in a note, reiterating their “buy” rating on the stock. Reporting by Julien Ponthus and Kit Rees'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/miners-financials-weigh-on-ftse-ahead-of-boe-rate-decision-idUKKCN1BP0ZB'|'2017-09-14T11:48:00.000+03:00'
'c84375afa9f4afc43b803b849016c7d7befe113a'|'JP Morgan says no plans to take control of Ubisoft despite stake'|'September 14, 2017 / 8:07 AM / Updated 2 hours ago JP Morgan says no plans to take control of Ubisoft despite stake Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Ubisoft booth is shown at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. bank JP Morgan said it had no plans to take control of video games maker Ubisoft, making the statement after a disclosure that it indirectly held about 11 percent of Ubisoft’s shares. France’s AMF markets regulator published a filing on Wednesday showing JP Morgan’s position. Via its indirect holding, the Wall Street bank is Ubisoft’s third-largest shareholder behind media giant Vivendi and Ubisoft’s founding family the Guillemots. The AMF said on Thursday that JP Morgan had written a letter saying it had no strategic plans regarding Ubisoft, and that it had bought various “put” and “call” equity options on Ubisoft with an unnamed client. Vivendi and the Guillemots have been at odds as Vivendi’s repeated attempts to get board representation at Ubisoft have been vehemently opposed by the Guillemots. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ubisoft-ent-jpmorgan/jp-morgan-says-no-plans-to-take-control-of-ubisoft-despite-stake-idINKCN1BP0WA'|'2017-09-14T06:07:00.000+03:00'
'5835a1681debbd9c726461dfd712e71a82f66e60'|'COLUMN-Rising pound good news for Bank of England, not so much for UK stocks: McGeever'|'  7:04 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago COLUMN-Rising pound good news for Bank of England, not so much for UK stocks: McGeever Reuters Staff 4 Min Read (Repeats item that first ran on Wednesday. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Jamie McGeever LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Sterling’s bounce back to a one-year high against the dollar this week may be welcome news for the Bank of England, but not for UK stock market investors. The pound’s recovery, which has also seen it reach a six-week peak on a trade-weighted basis, may help cool the bubbling price pressures that have lifted inflation to 2.9 percent, well above the BoE’s 2 percent target. But as far as sterling goes, what’s good news on the inflation-fighting front tends to be bad news for the leading FTSE 100 stock market. The FTSE is one of the most globally exposed major markets in the world, with some 70 percent of its earnings coming from overseas. Bouts of sterling strength within its broad post-referendum decline have corresponded with FTSE underperformance. In late August-early September last year, trade-weighted sterling rose three weeks in a row, and the FTSE fell around 4 percent. In that time, the MSCI World stock market index slipped a more modest 2.5 percent. Other periods of sterling strength since then include: November last year (FTSE -3 percent, MSCI +2 percent); mid-March through end-April this year (FTSE -3 percent, MSCI +1.5 percent); and the last three weeks (FTSE -1 percent, MSCI +2.5 percent). The FTSE’s latest stumble contrasts sharply with the MSCI World’s rally to a record high. Notwithstanding its recent uptick, sterling is still down 15 percent against the euro and 12.5 percent on a trade-weighted basis since the Brexit vote. All else being equal, a 15 percent depreciation in the pound means an instant 15 percent increase in profits for FTSE-listed companies. The pound’s steep Brexit-driven depreciation has minimized the damage done to the FTSE, which regained its poise barely a week after the referendum. But the pound’s sustained weakness since then means an unhedged euro zone-based fund manager holding UK stocks is still under water. The FTSE has underperformed the benchmark Eurostoxx 50 by more than 15 percent in euro terms since the Brexit vote. Sterling’s weakness since last year’s Brexit referendum has caused a headache for BoE policymakers. They have viewed the resulting jump in inflation as transitory, but further exchange rate weakness could change that. It could push inflation above 3 percent, further depress UK workers’ real earnings and squeeze consumer spending. An inflation-containing interest rate hike would be difficult to sell in the European Union’s slowest-growing economy, but more Bank officials would be tempted to pull the trigger. The latest exchange rate fluctuations, together with soft wage growth figures on Wednesday, will no doubt figure prominently at Thursday’s BoE policy meeting, where rates are widely expected to be kept on hold at a record low 0.25 percent. A stabilization or gradual creep higher in sterling’s exchange rate may come as a relief to Mark Carney and Co. at the Bank, but it casts a cloud over the FTSE. Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-sterling-stocks/column-rising-pound-good-news-for-bank-of-england-not-so-much-for-uk-stocks-mcgeever-idUSL5N1LU496'|'2017-09-14T10:05:00.000+03:00'
'b7025541645a3e94dae4d5bd0d1955f942dc33ed'|'Gasoline, rents boost U.S. consumer inflation; weekly jobless claims fall'|'  1:21 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Gasoline, rents boost U.S. consumer inflation; weekly jobless claims fall Lucia Mutikani 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A "For Rent" sign is posted outside a residential home in Carlsbad, California, U.S. on January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August amid a jump in the cost of gasoline and rental accommodation, signs of firming inflation that could allow further monetary policy tightening from the Federal Reserve this year. Other data on Thursday showed an unexpected drop in the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits last week. Though the data was impacted by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the labour market remains healthy with increasing reports of worker shortages in some industries. The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent last month after edging up 0.1 percent in July. August’s gain was the largest in seven months and lifted the year-on-year increase in the CPI to 1.9 percent from 1.7 percent in July. Economists had forecast the CPI rising 0.3 percent in August and climbing 1.8 percent year-on-year. The Labor Department said Harvey had a “very small effect on survey response rates in August.” Gasoline prices surged 6.3 percent, the biggest gain since January, after being unchanged in July. Further increases are likely in September after Harvey forced temporary closures of refineries. Labor Department officials said it was difficult to say whether the storm, which slammed Texas towards the end of August, impacted on gasoline prices last month. Stripping out the volatile food and energy components, consumer prices increased 0.2 percent in August. That followed four straight monthly increases of 0.1 percent. In the 12 months through August, the so-called core CPI rose 1.7 percent. The year-on-year core CPI has now increased by the same margin for four straight months. CORE CPI PICKS UP While Fed officials are likely to treat the gasoline-driven rise in the CPI as temporary, they could take comfort in the pickup in the monthly core CPI. A note is left on a gas pump in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Cedar Park, Texas, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Khursheed The Fed’s preferred inflation measure is the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy. The annual increase in the core PCE has consistently undershot the U.S. central bank’s 2 percent inflation target since mid-2012. The core PCE rose 1.4 percent in July, the smallest year-on-year increase since December 2015. The dollar rose against a basket on currencies on the CPI data, while prices for U.S. Treasuries fell. U.S. stock index futures extended losses. Economists expect the Fed will announce a plan to start reducing its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities at its Sept. 19-20 policy meeting. Low inflation, despite the labour market being near full employment, is seen causing the Fed to delay raising rates   year until December. In a second report on Thursday, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 for the week ended Sept. 9. Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labour market, for 132 consecutive weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labour market was smaller. Economists had forecast claims rising to 300,000 in the latest week. In addition to high gasoline prices, inflation in August also was lifted by a 0.4 percent increase in the cost of rental accommodation. Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence rose 0.3 percent after advancing by the same margin in July. There were also increases in the cost of food, prescription medication, doctor and hospital visits. Prices for apparel rose last month as did the cost of household furnishings. But the cost of mobile phone services continued to fall as did prices for used cars and trucks. Price wars by mobile phone service providers have contributed to restraining inflation growth. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy/gasoline-rents-boost-u-s-consumer-inflation-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-idUKKCN1BP1TQ'|'2017-09-14T16:20:00.000+03:00'
'16f53209206951df3f280114b729525b4f6bfc8f'|'UPDATE 1-UK investment consultants to face full competition probe'|'(Adds more detail)By Huw JonesLONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Britain’s markets watchdog said on Thursday it has serious concerns about the investment consultancy sector which it had asked the country’s competition authorities to investigate.The Financial Conduct Authority said it was the first time it has referred a case to the Competition and Markets Authority, and the initiative was part of broader efforts by the FCA to improve value for money and transparency in the asset management industry.“We have serious concerns about this market and believe that the CMA is best placed to undertake this work,” Christopher Woolard, the FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition, said in a statement.Aon, Mercer and Willis Towers Watson dominate the sector, advising pension schemes, charities and endowment funds on their investment arrangements.The three have a combined market share of 50-80 percent, the FCA said.Pension trustees were relying heavily on investment consultants, but had limited ability to assess the quality of their advice or compare services, the watchdog added.The regulator said it was also concerned about barriers restricting smaller, newer consultants from taking market share, and that “vertically integrated” business models were creating conflicts of interest.The FCA said in November 2016 it was minded to refer the sector to the competition watchdog, and in June this year added that it was expected to reject a package of undertakings proposed by the three biggest consultants in a bid to head off a full competition probe.Danny Vassiliades, managing director of Punter Southall Investment Consulting, which competes with the biggest three consultants, said the FCA’s referral was good for the industry.“It Several of the undertakings in lieu that were proposed had merit. However, it cannot be right that the future direction, structure and regulation of our industry is driven by its participants. We look forward to the CMA’s findings in due course,” Vassiliades said.Woolard noted that investment consultancy services played a significant role advising pension fund trustees when they were procuring asset management services.“It is important that trustees can be confident they are getting good quality advice and value for money from their investment consultants,” he said.The 12 largest consultants influence investments worth up to 1.6 trillion pounds ($2.1 trillion).$1 = 0.7566 pounds Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-funds-competition/update-1-uk-investment-consultants-to-face-full-competition-probe-idUSL5N1LV10F'|'2017-09-14T09:50:00.000+03:00'
'0b91ba01d4e8d5f82e041912b737e35aac2b65e7'|'Russia says signs out-of-court settlement with Exxon on Sakhalin-1'|'September 14, 2017 / 2:08 PM / Updated 41 minutes ago Russia says signs out-of-court settlement with Exxon on Sakhalin-1 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Exxon Mobil gas station in Denver, Colorado United States July 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and U.S. oil major Exxonmobil ( XOM.N ) have signed an out-of-court settlement agreement regarding a legal dispute over the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, Russia’s finance ministry said in a statement on Thursday. “The sides have reached a mutually beneficial compromise,” the ministry said, adding that the agreement was signed on Sept. 12. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sept. 7 that the dispute had been resolved. Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Andrew Osborn '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-exxon/russia-says-signs-out-of-court-settlement-with-exxon-on-sakhalin-1-idUSKCN1BP1ZC'|'2017-09-14T17:07:00.000+03:00'
'0c2d9df1a0a99192eb14c477ac5a31e1f660c735'|'Pfizer, Astellas prostrate cancer drug clears late-stage trial'|'Sept 14 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc said on Thursday their drug to treat a type of prostrate cancer met the main goal of improving overall survival in a late-stage trial.The oral drug, Xtandi, in combination with an anti-hormone therapy was more successful than an anti-hormone therapy alone in improving overall survival in men with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.The drug is already approved to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/pfizer-trials/pfizer-astellas-prostrate-cancer-drug-clears-late-stage-trial-idUSL4N1LV3OB'|'2017-09-14T12:38:00.000+03:00'
'd003b443b3458179cf571934a95f408c0415c2b0'|'New rail routes between China and Europe will change trade patterns'|'ASTANA in Kazakhstan is one of the world’s most remote capitals, surrounded by thousands of kilometres of empty steppe. This summer Astana attempted to launch itself onto the global stage by hosting the World Expo, which closed on September 10th and underwhelmed many attendees. But there are other ways to have an impact. On the city’s north side, away from the Expo’s exhibits, a series of diesel trains, each pulling dozens of containers, roll through the old railway station. Most are heading from China to Europe. Last year over 500,000 tonnes of freight went by train between the two, up from next to nothing before 2013. Airlines and shipping firms are watching things closely.The trains rumbling through Astana result from a Chinese initiative, in tandem with countries like Kazakhstan, to build a “New Silk Road” through Central Asia. The earlier overland routes were once the conduits for most trade between Europe and China and India; they faded into irrelevance when European ships started circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope. 9 12 18 18 China has long wanted to develop its inland regions and push industry to “go west”, in order to spread economic growth more evenly. Manufacturers have been loth to shift, in part because of the higher cost of moving goods to ports for export. Developing a rail-freight network to Europe—an important part of China’s “One Belt One Road” policy—opens up a new route to market for its poorest areas. The land route through Central Asia is relatively short. A container ship too large for the Suez canal must make a 24,000km journey to reach Europe. Trains travel no more than 11,000km to reach the same destination.Kazakhstan has spent over 1.1trn tenge ($3.2bn) on upgrading its railway lines and rolling stock since 2011. That includes $250m on the Khorgos Gateway, a dry port at the border with China that lifts containers from Chinese trains onto Kazakh ones to overcome a change in track width (a problem that has stymied previous efforts to build railway routes between Europe and China).Volumes of freight travelling between China and Europe by rail are rising quickly. Between 2013 and 2016 cargo traffic quintupled in weight. In the first half of this year the value of goods travelling by train rose by 144% compared with the same period in 2016. Western firms have been keen to embrace rail freight because it helps them to lower costs, says Ronald Kleijwegt, an expert on the industry. In the case of high-tech electronics, for example, which consumers like to receive quickly, making them on China’s coast and air-freighting them to Europe is extremely pricey.How worried should shipping firms and airlines be? Kazakhstan’s national rail company, KTZ, says it will have capacity for 1.7m containers to pass through the country between Europe and China each year by 2020; that is a tenth of the volume currently carried by sea and air between the two. In the longer term, a full modernisation of the existing main three rail routes from China to Europe could produce 3m containers a year in capacity.But there are reasons to doubt that will happen. For one thing, China plans to stop handing out government subsidies for additional rail-freight capacity from 2020, which will slow the network’s expansion. Sea freight has little to fear in the near term, says Soren Skou, chief executive of Maersk, the world’s biggest container-shipping line. Trains may take away some future growth from ships, he concedes, but not their existing business.Air cargo is more vulnerable. Last year, 180,000 tonnes of cargo travelled on trains to western Europe from China (the remainder was destined for Russia and eastern Europe). That is a small fraction of the 52m tonnes that came by sea, but a big chunk of the 700,000 tonnes that came by air. Much of that air cargo could switch to rail in future, says Mr Kleijwegt, with one important proviso—that Russia would need to lift the retaliatory sanctions it placed in 2014 on imports of Western food, which stop most foodstuffs from travelling by land between Europe and China. That is unlikely for the time being. But it was only a decade ago that people thought the idea of freight trains between Europe and China was a joke, says Mr Kleijwegt—and no one laughs at that any more. "Freight gain"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728981-new-silk-railroad-will-challenge-airlines-and-shipping-firms-new-rail-routes-between-china?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'd3b7e02c31285ca352fc12577426779720ed58f2'|'German union attacks Air Berlin administrators for decision delay'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:06 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Air Berlin''s administrator takes in bids from Lufthansa, others Klaus Lauer , Maria Sheahan 4 Min Read A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin is being towed at Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BERLIN (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and several other parties had put in bids for parts of Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) by the deadline of Friday set by the administrator of the insolvent airline which employs more than 8,000 people. Germany’s second-biggest airline after Lufthansa filed for bankruptcy last month after major shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. The country’s coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term in a federal election on Sept. 24, promptly granted the airline a bridging loan of 150 million euros ($179 million) to keep the airline flying during the administration process. “The current status as of the 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) deadline today is that we have received several offers that we will now have to assess in great detail,” a spokesman for Air Berlin told Reuters TV, declining to provide further details. A source close to the negotiations said Friday’s deadline for bids was not set in stone and that any offers made over the coming days would still be taken into account. Most potential investors appear interested primarily in the airline’s roughly 140 aircraft and its airport landing and take-off slots rather than in taking over the business. Related Coverage Factbox: Bids for Air Berlin, Germany''s second-biggest airline Lufthansa made an offer for parts of Air Berlin, a spokesman said, declining to provide more detail. A source familiar with the matter said Lufthansa planned to offer a three-digit millions of euros sum for up to 90 planes, including Austrian holiday airline unit Niki’s fleet and 38 crewed planes it already leases from Air Berlin. European budget airline easyJet ( EZJ.L ), which media reports had said was interested in acquiring up to 40 of Air Berlin’s planes, only confirmed on Friday that it had bid for parts of Air Berlin’s short haul business. “EasyJet has this afternoon submitted a proposal to the overseers of Air Berlin’s insolvency to acquire parts of its short-haul business,” the company said in a statement. “The proposal is consistent with easyJet’s focused, city-based strategy in Germany. However, given a number of uncertainties associated with Air Berlin, there is no certainty at this stage that any transaction will proceed.” Meanwhile former Formula One motor racing world champion Niki Lauda has put in a joint bid with German airline Condor, owned by holiday firm Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ), a spokeswoman for Lauda said. He had told Austrian media that he would make an offer worth around 100 million euros for Niki, an airline he once owned, and 17 Air Berlin aircraft. Thomas Cook declined to comment. Separately German family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht has offered to buy Air Berlin’s cargo marketing platform, its maintenance business and regional unit LGW, which operates 20 Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) aircraft. And aviation industry investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl has offered to buy Air Berlin in its entirety for 500 million euros, to be paid in installments, while China’s LinkGlobal Logistics has asked to be given more time, until Sept. 21, to formulate a bid. A committee of Air Berlin’s creditors is to discuss the bids on Sept. 21 with a final decision on who to sell to pushed back to Sept. 25, the day after Germany’s federal election and four days later than previously planned. German union Verdi, which among others represents cabin crew, criticized the decision by administrators to delay the announcement. “This postponement is at the expense of the workers, who want a decision on their jobs and their future,” Verdi union board member Christine Behle said in a statement on Friday. Air Berlin was forced to cancel flights on two days this week after protesting pilots called in sick. (This version of the story was refiled to correct typographical errors in second and third from last paragraphs) Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, Kirsti Knolle and Alistair Smout; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-unions/german-union-attacks-air-berlin-administrators-for-decision-delay-idUSKCN1BQ0ZH'|'2017-09-15T12:06:00.000+03:00'
'243d0f6e5b64fce8569288041b45678a8932b66d'|'Global LNG giants turn to poor countries for new markets'|'WHEN it comes to liquefied natural gas (LNG), the supermajors have supersized appetites. The likes of Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil and BP make discoveries described as “elephants”; their cost overruns alone can run into the tens of billions of dollars; and projects take the best part of a decade to complete. For years, the industry has demanded fixed, long-term contracts from their customers to justify the size of these megaprojects.The producers also have pretty big problems. They are in the midst of a vast expansion in Australia and elsewhere just as the shale revolution and the start of American LNG exports has brought an unexpected burst of gas onto markets, clobbering prices for the foreseeable future and forcing producers into concessions. Demand in rich countries such as Japan and much of western Europe appears to be in long-term decline.  13   16   a day ago Foreign   At least one big customer, China, is making life easier. Thanks to low prices and government policies favouring gas over coal, its consumption of LNG has shot up by 50% in the past year. But domestic gas production is growing, and within two years it expects to pipe in huge volumes of Russian gas, so it can play suppliers off against each other. India is a more immediate problem. On September 11th its main importer, Petronet LNG, said it had provisionally renegotiated a 20-year supply contract with ExxonMobil that is expected to bring in gas from Australia at lower cost, albeit in larger volumes. It is the second time in two years that India has arm-twisted a producer into offering better terms.The result is that huge LNG producers are increasingly reliant on small developing countries. The International Energy Agency, a body that represents energy consumers, says the number of LNG-importing countries has risen from 15 in 2005 to 39. Imports are rising at their fastest rate since 2011, in part because of demand from these places. Like India, low prices also embolden them to demand concessions. “We have a situation that is wonderful for emerging markets. It’s a buyers’ market,” says Lance Crist of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank.The trouble is, many energy-hungry countries lack the pipeline networks to distribute gas. Nor do they possess the creditworthiness to sign long-term contracts. To tap new markets, the gas giants need to think small, not big. They must recognise that flexibility is vital, analysts say.One way of doing this is to support the development of floating terminals, rather than fixed infrastructure, to bring gas to coastal cities. One model is Excelerate Energy, a Texas-based firm that provides floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), which turn the liquefied hydrocarbons into gas, and pipe it ashore to power plants and local grids. One of its projects (pictured), backed by the IFC, is to supply gas to a coastal town in southeastern Bangladesh, starting next year. Nick Bedford, the firm’s chief financial officer, says the cost to Petrobangla, the state oil company, will be $85m a year, excluding the gas.In contrast, building an onshore regasification plant instead could cost a hefty $1bn, and would commit the country to natural gas for decades, even as the promise of renewable energy becomes more attractive. FSRUs are stimulating smallish pockets of demand around the world. Last year Total, the French supermajor, took a leaf out of Excelerate’s book by agreeing to spearhead an FSRU project in Côte d’Ivoire.Another option is for big oil companies to give financial support for the construction of gas infrastructure in poor countries as a way to foster demand. This week Shell took a step in that direction by announcing that it is exploring a joint project with a Nigerian firm, Shoreline Energy, to bring domestic gas to an area near Lagos. Kola Karim, Shoreline’s boss, said the proposed $300m project would enable Shell to pipe gas into places where the infrastructure is “shot to bits”. But it is a departure from Shell’s core job of producing gas globally.Such ventures may become more widespread if big LNG export projects extend to places like Mozambique and Tanzania, which are starved of fuel domestically. Tisha Schuller of Adamantine Energy, a consultancy, says LNG producers have a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, they want to avoid accusations of fostering an “addiction” to fossil fuels in poor countries with strong renewable-energy potential. On the other hand, reducing energy poverty by supplying gas, which is cleaner than coal and oil, could enhance their reputations. As Western consumers and financiers increasingly turn against fossil fuels, getting that balance right in the developing world will be vital.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Think smaller"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728985-will-lng-reduce-energy-poverty-or-foster-fossil-fuel-addiction-global-lng-giants-turn-poor?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'bf659f6a1f2e1e48b42c86101dfddb88dc34ef52'|'Putting a new face on an American banknote is oddly difficult'|'IT WOULD be hard to find a better example of long-term gridlock in Washington than its treatment of banknotes, whose appearance has essentially been frozen since 1929. The administration of Barack Obama took a half-hearted step towards a new look, proposing the replacement of Alexander Hamilton’s portrait on the $10 bill with a portrait of Harriet Tubman, a former slave who became a civil-war hero.Problems cropped up at once. It seemed ludicrous to scrap the portrait of the one person on a note who helped create America’s financial system. It did not help that he was also the hero of a smash-hit Broadway musical. So the administration decided instead to replace Andrew Jackson, America’s seventh president, on the $20 bill. But by then it was too close to the election to push the change through. 17 President Donald Trump has since lent his support to keeping Jackson. In a recent interview, his treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, made it clear he had little interest in pursuing the change. That is a great pity. Tubman was a remarkable woman who emerged from chains to lead other slaves to freedom. (Like the current administration, she was also a Republican, if in a very different party.)It is also odd that Jackson, of all people, ever appeared on a note backed by the central bank, let alone survived so long. He was a popular president, a successful general and founder of the modern Democratic Party. But as well as the grim aspects of his career—his ownership of slaves and support for the forced relocation of native Americans—his approach to the public finances, though intellectually defensible, makes his use on a note singularly ironic.On taking office, he declared war on what was then the nation’s central bank. He thought it beyond proper congressional oversight and too influential (criticism often made of its successor today). He told Martin Van Buren, later the eighth president: “The bank…is trying to kill me, but I will kill it.” And, unlike current critics of Fed policy, he actually did so, despite objections by Congress, the courts and two of his own treasury secretaries, whom he fired for impeding his attack. What followed was a period when currency was issued by a private bank. That ended when Abraham Lincoln needed to finance the prosecution of the civil war.Thereafter, banknotes initially featured a diverse range of personalities: presidents of course, including Lincoln; but also generals, secretaries of treasury and state, women in allegorical roles (both robed and partially disrobed), children, boats, trains, eagles, bisons and even Martha Washington, America’s first First Lady.The risks of this approach became obvious after the first superintendent of the currency bureau, Spencer Clark, put his own image on a note. Congress then banned the portrayal of living people. But that is a minor constraint, and it is not clear why the process ossified. It has not done so in other countries. Britain, for example, changes notes quite often, introducing this week a new £10 bill featuring Jane Austen, a 19th-century novelist.If one explanation for American banknote conservatism is the political difficulty of making any changes at all, at least there is no urgency to act. The new $20, for example, is not due to be circulated until 2030. By then banknotes may have been superseded entirely and the $20 Tubman bill be no more than a historical curiosity. Finance and economics "No change"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728954-trump-administration-no-hurry-replace-andrew-jackson-harriet?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'4501195877896d8cde08c8fe0b01da5c29fe9c46'|'Lufthansa, others bid for parts of Air Berlin'|'September 15, 2017 / 12:07 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Lufthansa, others bid for parts of Air Berlin Klaus Lauer 4 Min Read German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and several other parties have bid for parts of insolvent Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) by a Friday deadline as administrators look for investors for Germany’s second largest airline. Air Berlin, which employs more than 8,000 people, filed for bankruptcy last month after major shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Germany’s coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term in a federal election on Sept. 24, last month loaned Air Berlin 150 million euros (£132.29 million) to prevent its planes from being grounded. “The current status as of the 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) deadline today is that we have received several offers that we will now have to assess in great detail,” a spokesman for Air Berlin told Reuters TV, declining to provide further details. A source close to the negotiations said Friday’s deadline for bids was not set in stone and that any offers made over the coming days would still be taken into account. Most potential investors appear interested primarily in the airline’s roughly 140 aircraft and its airport landing and take-off slots rather than in taking over the business. Lufthansa made an offer for parts of Air Berlin, a spokesman said, declining to provide more detail. A source told Reuters Lufthansa planned to offer a three-digit million euro sum for up to 90 planes, including Austrian unit Niki’s fleet and 38 crewed planes it already leases from Air Berlin. Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ) is interested in up to 40 planes, according to media reports. Former Formula One world champion Niki Lauda said he would put in a joint bid with German airline Condor, part of holiday firm Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ). Lauda has said he would make an offer worth around 100 million euros for Niki, an airline he once owned, and 17 Air Berlin aircraft. German family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht said it had offered to buy Air Berlin’s cargo marketing platform, its maintenance business and regional unit LGW, which operates 20 Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) aircraft. Aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl and China’s LinkGlobal Logistics have also expressed interest. German daily Handelsblatt reported on Thursday that the former head of utility EnBW ( EBKG.DE ), Utz Claassen, had put up 100 million euros to buy Air Berlin and had pledged an additional 600 million euros in liquidity. A final decision on buyers for the assets has been pushed back to Sept. 25, the day after Germany’s federal election and four days later than previously planned. German union Verdi, which among other represents cabin crew, criticised the decision by administrators to delay the announcement. “This postponement is at the expenses of the workers, who want a decision on their jobs and their future,” Verdi union board member Christine Behle said in a statement on Friday. Air Berlin was forced to cancel flights on two days this week after protesting pilots called in sick. Reporting by Maria Sheahan, Klaus Lauer and Ilona Wissenbach; additional reporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Keith Weir and Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-says-has-received-several-offers-for-its-assets-idUKKCN1BQ1KC'|'2017-09-15T16:02:00.000+03:00'
'ecfda7f4b863045701f2c1bd8c058ae9ed2936e5'|'German union attacks Air Berlin administrators for decision delay'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:07 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Air Berlin''s administrator takes in bids from Lufthansa, others Klaus Lauer , Maria Sheahan 4 Min Read A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin is being towed at Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BERLIN (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and several other parties had put in bids for parts of Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) by the deadline of Friday set by the administrator of the insolvent airline which employs more than 8,000 people. Germany’s second-biggest airline after Lufthansa filed for bankruptcy last month after major shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. The country’s coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term in a federal election on Sept. 24, promptly granted the airline a bridging loan of 150 million euros ($179 million) to keep the airline flying during the administration process. “The current status as of the 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) deadline today is that we have received several offers that we will now have to assess in great detail,” a spokesman for Air Berlin told Reuters TV, declining to provide further details. A source close to the negotiations said Friday’s deadline for bids was not set in stone and that any offers made over the coming days would still be taken into account. Most potential investors appear interested primarily in the airline’s roughly 140 aircraft and its airport landing and take-off slots rather than in taking over the business. Related Coverage Factbox: Bids for Air Berlin, Germany''s second-biggest airline Lufthansa made an offer for parts of Air Berlin, a spokesman said, declining to provide more detail. A source familiar with the matter said Lufthansa planned to offer a three-digit millions of euros sum for up to 90 planes, including Austrian holiday airline unit Niki’s fleet and 38 crewed planes it already leases from Air Berlin. European budget airline easyJet ( EZJ.L ), which media reports had said was interested in acquiring up to 40 of Air Berlin’s planes, only confirmed on Friday that it had bid for parts of Air Berlin’s short haul business. “EasyJet has this afternoon submitted a proposal to the overseers of Air Berlin’s insolvency to acquire parts of its short-haul business,” the company said in a statement. “The proposal is consistent with easyJet’s focused, city-based strategy in Germany. However, given a number of uncertainties associated with Air Berlin, there is no certainty at this stage that any transaction will proceed.” Meanwhile former Formula One motor racing world champion Niki Lauda has put in a joint bid with German airline Condor, owned by holiday firm Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ), a spokeswoman for Lauda said. He had told Austrian media that he would make an offer worth around 100 million euros for Niki, an airline he once owned, and 17 Air Berlin aircraft. Thomas Cook declined to comment. Separately German family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht has offered to buy Air Berlin’s cargo marketing platform, its maintenance business and regional unit LGW, which operates 20 Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) aircraft. And aviation industry investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl has offered to buy Air Berlin in its entirety for 500 million euros, to be paid in installments, while China’s LinkGlobal Logistics has asked to be given more time, until Sept. 21, to formulate a bid. A committee of Air Berlin’s creditors is to discuss the bids on Sept. 21 with a final decision on who to sell to pushed back to Sept. 25, the day after Germany’s federal election and four days later than previously planned. German union Verdi, which among others represents cabin crew, criticized the decision by administrators to delay the announcement. “This postponement is at the expense of the workers, who want a decision on their jobs and their future,” Verdi union board member Christine Behle said in a statement on Friday. Air Berlin was forced to cancel flights on two days this week after protesting pilots called in sick. (This version of the story was refiled to correct typographical errors in second and third from last paragraphs) Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, Kirsti Knolle and Alistair Smout; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-unions/german-union-attacks-air-berlin-administrators-for-decision-delay-idINKCN1BQ0ZH'|'2017-09-15T07:07:00.000+03:00'
'f553d6c9a774b6b0a286da0d17c180bb11fe19f5'|'Venezuela state oil firm''s credit woes spread to U.S. unit Citgo'|'September 15, 2017 / 5:12 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Venezuela state oil firm''s credit woes spread to U.S. unit Citgo Marianna Parraga , Catherine Ngai 6 Min Read People wait for service in a Citgo gas station in Kearny, New Jersey September 24, 2014. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/Files HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Washington’s recent sanctions against Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA have started to ensnare its U.S. unit, Citgo Petroleum, making it harder for the refiner to obtain the credit it needs to purchase crude, according to six traders and banking sources. Fewer oil providers are willing to sell cargoes to Citgo on open credit, instead requiring prepayment or bank letters of credit to supply its 749,000-barrel-per-day refining network, the sources said. Two sources at Canadian suppliers said their companies are no longer allowed to trade with Citgo directly, and have begun selling cargoes through third parties to avoid the credit risk. Citgo’s three U.S. refineries in Illinois, Texas and Louisiana account for about 4 percent of domestic fuel capacity, and are major suppliers of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. If financial troubles raise the cost of obtaining crude, its profits would be squeezed, making the company less competitive. Citgo had remained immune from its parent’s straits until this year. But U.S. sanctions levied in recent months against Venezuelan officials, PDVSA executives and the country’s debt issuance have deterred banks and suppliers from extending even routine credit, the sources said. Citgo’s main crude supplier is Venezuela, but the company also buys U.S. and foreign oil. It has told some providers they can charge more to reflect the added credit risk. “We are now more conservative when dealing with PDVSA or any of its units,” said an executive from a trading firm with a long term business relationship with PDVSA. “Banks that have refused to provide credit have a very rational thinking, they don’t want to be exposed to sanctions. It does not take too much to have banks nervous,” he added. The U.S. government did not intend sanctions to affect existing private credit agreements at Citgo or PDVSA. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in August said “short-term financing for most commercial trade” between the United States and Venezuela, including the petroleum flow, was exempted. Citgo declined to comment. Venezuela’s Economy Vice President Ramon Lobo on Thursday said the government is facing “a series of difficulties” as result of sanctions, which he considered an attempt to push the country to insolvency with a “financial blockade.” RENEGOTIATING SUPPLY DEALS While Citgo was not directly sanctioned in August, it was barred by name from transferring dividends or distributing profits to PDVSA or the Venezuelan government. Citgo has provided nearly $2.5 billion in dividends to its parent company since 2015, according to Fitch Ratings. That restriction raised alarms among its longterm banking and trading partners in the United States. As a result, Citgo is “trying to renegotiate its supply terms,” said a trader from a firm that is requiring Citgo to prepay for purchases. The company is worried about a higher debt default risk as well as the sanctions. Citgo also has other problems. Its Gulf Coast refineries are being forced to buy more crude on the open market to offset a declining flow of oil from PDVSA. From June through August, PDVSA supplied only half the volume of Venezuelan crude it was to send Citgo under a 220,000-bpd supply contract, according to Reuters trade flows data. At the same time, Venezuela increased oil deliveries to Russia’s Rosneft to pay for loans. Even Citgo’s 167,000-bpd Lemont refinery in Illinois, which largely processes Canadian oil, is having trouble retaining credit arrangements with its traditional providers, according to three traders from crude suppliers that are no longer allowed to sell directly to Citgo. In August, Citgo executives traveled to Canada, as they typically do once a year, but this time sought to assure marketers in Calgary that the firm was financially stable. “I don’t think anyone was very convinced,” a source involved in the talks said. SAVED BY THE SWISS Citgo has a long standing agreement to buy oil on preferential terms from Switzerland-based trader Mercuria Energy, without obtaining letters of credit, according to four of the traders. But when Mercuria is unable to provide crude to Citgo, the refiner goes to the spot market, where many of its providers demand prepayment or letters of credit to secure payment within 30 days of every cargo discharge. The sources said traders, refiners and oil firms have been rebuffed in recent weeks after seeking letters of credit from a list of banks suggested by PDVSA and Citgo, which includes Citibank, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, ABN Amro, and Deutsche Bank. “This is not a credit issue, nobody thinks Citgo is unwilling to pay. But banks have to protect themselves from fines, so they typically go beyond what the sanctions require,” said a banker who has been dealing with Venezuela for years. The banks declined to comment on specific clients. Citgo’s attempt to address the credit problems has been to suggest suppliers mark up their prices, three traders said. But that “only transfers the credit risk from the bank to the oil provider,” one of them said. A similar tack was used by PDVSA last year before intermediaries began requiring prepayment. In most cases, cargoes that arrive in Venezuelan ports now wait for weeks before a bank transfer is received. Minister Lobo and traders said PDVSA has started talks to change its preferred currency to euros from dollars for some business relationships, an idea that has failed in previous years. President Nicolas Maduro last week said the OPEC-member could also use China’s yuan, India’s rupees, Russia’s ruble and Japan’s yen. Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Catherine Ngai in New York; additional reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary and Corina Pons in Caracas; Editing by David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/oil-citgo-pete-credit/venezuela-state-oil-firms-credit-woes-spread-to-u-s-unit-citgo-idINKCN1BQ0FY'|'2017-09-15T08:08:00.000+03:00'
'f2d381c74386b73fda7cf30817d0ce369dc98a38'|'Oil and chemical spills from Hurricane Harvey big, but dwarfed by Katrina'|'September 15, 2017 / 11:22 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Oil and chemical spills from Hurricane Harvey big, but dwarfed by Katrina Emily Flitter , Richard Valdmanis 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A car dealership is covered by Hurricane Harvey floodwaters near Houston, Texas, U.S. on August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - More than 22,000 barrels of oil, refined fuels and chemicals spilled at sites across Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, along with millions of cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of tons of other toxic substances, a Reuters review of company reports to the U.S. Coast Guard shows. The spills, clustered around the heart of the U.S. oil industry, together rank among the worst environmental mishaps in the country in years, but fall far short of the roughly 190,000 barrels spilled in Louisiana in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina - the last major storm to take dead aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast. Harvey slammed ashore in Texas on Aug. 26, unleashing record flooding around Houston that destroyed countless homes, displaced around a million people and killed scores. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warned people affected by the storm to avoid floodwaters, saying they could contain bacteria and other dangerous substances, but the agency has so far provided few details about spills. The EPA said earlier this week it was responding to more than a dozen spills in the wake of Harvey, but said it could not immediately provide volume estimates. The U.S. Coast Guard reports showed over 22,000 barrels of crude oil, gasoline, diesel, drilling wastewater, and petrochemicals spilled from refineries, storage terminals and other facilities in the days after the storm. Nearly half of those came from a 10,988-barrel spill of unleaded gasoline from Magellan Midstream Partners’ storage facility in Galena Park, Texas, according to the reports, confirmed by a company official. “We expect clean-up operations to be completed within a few weeks,” the company said in an email on Thursday. Most of the gasoline had been removed, it said, including quantities that spilled offsite and into the Houston Ship Channel, and remaining work was mainly focused on removing contaminated soil. The Coast Guard filings also showed some 365 tons of toxic chemicals like sulfur dioxide, ammonia, toluene, benzene, and carbon monoxide escaped from facilities during the storm. In addition, some 27 million cubic feet (765,000 cubic meters) of natural gas, 1,000 tons of asphalt, and unknown quantities of other substances from more than 200 other incidents also escaped, according to the data. Officials for the Coast Guard and the EPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the filings. As some spill estimates were preliminary, it was too early to assess pollution damage from the storm, said Tom Pelton, a spokesman for environmental advocacy group the Environmental Integrity Project. One company is already raising its spill estimates: Valero Energy Corp told the EPA it probably underestimated the emissions of dangerous chemicals when the roof of a tank at its Houston refinery collapsed in the storm. Katrina caused 190,000 barrels of oil spills along the Louisiana coastline, according to Donald Davis, the administrator of the Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research and Development Program, who presented his findings to the EPA in 2006. Reporting by Emily Flitter and Richard Valdmanis, Editing by Rosalba O''Brien '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-spills/oil-and-chemical-spills-from-hurricane-harvey-big-but-dwarfed-by-katrina-idINKCN1BQ1E8'|'2017-09-15T09:22:00.000+03:00'
'883dc90962624382d022b0220ed517ea59fa9c9f'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint erases 2017 gains as new round of easing looms'|'By Gergely Szakacs BUDAPEST, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The Hungarian forint eased further on Friday, erasing all of its gains made in 2017, as investors positioned for a new round of monetary easing by the National Bank of Hungary next week. At 0806 GMT, the forint traded at 308.97 versus the euro, marginally weaker on the day and turning into the red for the year, underperforming most other central European peers but for the Romanian leu, the region''s laggard. The forint has lost 2 percent of its value since late August after the National Bank of Hungary, the most dovish central bank in the region, raised the prospect of another round of easing to combat what it sees as a benign underlying inflation picture. In a Sept. 11-13 Reuters survey, all of the 17 analysts who gave a projection for next Tuesday''s meeting said the bank would keep its base rate unchanged at a record-low 0.9 percent. But several analysts said it could ease policy further by boosting market liquidity or by cutting its overnight deposit rate further into negative territory from the current -0.05 percent. "With the promise of new unconventional monetary easing, MNB has injected an ''unknown'' into the equation, which stopped long HUF positions in their tracks," analysts at Commerzbank said in a note. "In our view, the forint is unlikely to recover immediately, at least not until visibility on monetary policy has been restored." Economists at Erste Bank said crossing the 200-day moving average opened the door to further losses in the forint towards the 310 mark in the short term. "The expected easing of monetary conditions in Hungary next Tuesday could unlock the remaining value in Hungarian government bonds," said analyst Stephan Imre at RBI. "In the week-to-date, Hungarian government bonds fell across the curve with the front-end and the belly of the curve slipping to all-time lows." The Polish zloty lost 0.16 percent in early trade, pressured by rising risks on the Korean Peninsula. "The risk related to situation in North Korea weighs on the market at the beginning of the day, which could weigh on Polish assets," economists at BZ WBK said in a note. "In the afternoon, we will learn U.S. data that could boost Polish bonds if they surprise to the downside. In the first part of the next week, domestic labour market and industrial output data will be released which, in our view, could put an upside pressure on Polish yields." CEE SNAPSHOT AT 1006 CET MARKETS CURRENCIES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.0770 26.0690 -0.03% 3.57% Hungary forint 308.9700 308.8300 -0.05% -0.05% Polish zloty 4.2830 4.2760 -0.16% 2.82% Romanian leu 4.5985 4.6018 +0.07% -1.38% Croatian kuna 7.4850 7.4834 -0.02% 0.94% Serbian dinar 119.0300 119.0200 -0.01% 3.63% Note: daily change calculated previous close at 1800 from CET STOCKS Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2017 Prague 1045.56 1043.34 +0.21% +13.45% Budapest 38284.72 38243.20 +0.11% +19.63% Warsaw 2512.34 2507.43 +0.20% +28.98% Bucharest 8089.12 8024.04 +0.81% +14.17% Ljubljana 799.66 799.20 +0.06% +11.44% Zagreb 1831.08 1833.82 -0.15% -8.21% Belgrade 725.05 726.70 -0.23% +1.07% Sofia 684.43 683.53 +0.13% +16.71% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech Republic spread 2-year 0.038 -0.016 +075bp -1bps s 5-year -0.009 0 +031bp +1bps s 10-year <CZ10YT=RR 1.001 0.006 +060bp +1bps > s Poland 2-year 1.725 -0.012 +244bp +0bps s 5-year 2.556 -0.003 +287bp +1bps s 10-year <PL10YT=RR 3.206 -0.019 +280bp -1bps > s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interbank Czech Rep <P 0.73 0.88 0.98 0 RIBOR=> Hungary <B 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.12 UBOR=> Poland <W 1.755 1.779 1.808 1.73 IBOR=> Note: FRA Quote: s are for ask prices (Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-forint-erases-2017-gains-as-new-round-of-easing-looms-idINL5N1LW1LE'|'2017-09-15T06:52:00.000+03:00'
'f550650c0003d3f61a248a8574eb6d29867d52ab'|'AXA explores options for European asset management arm: Bloomberg'|'FILE PHOTO: Logos of France''s biggest insurer Axa are seen on a building in Nanterre, near Paris, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo (Reuters) - French insurer AXA ( AXAF.PA ) is reviewing options for its European asset management business, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources close to the matter.AXA, Europe''s second-largest insurer, is looking at either a merger for the business or a joint venture, with Natixis ( CNAT.PA ) said to be among the potential partners, Bloomberg said. ( bloom.bg/2xnCo0r )The company has not made any final decision and could yet retain the business, Bloomberg said.The French insurer said in May that it planned to list its U.S. life insurance and asset management business in 2018 to free up capital and pursue takeover targets elsewhere.A spokesman for AXA declined to comment on the report.Reporting by Philip George in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-axa-sa-asset-management-m-a/axa-explores-options-for-european-asset-management-arm-bloomberg-idUSKCN1BP2NV'|'2017-09-15T01:50:00.000+03:00'
'994d1d0996f2a6bbb8234dbf8389da85f1579f0e'|'Too soon to determine risks of central bank-issued cryptocurrencies - BIS'|'September 17, 2017 / 4:16 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Too soon to determine risks of central bank-issued cryptocurrencies - BIS Jemima Kelly 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - It is too soon to determine whether central banks should issue their own cryptocurrencies, the Bank for International Settlements said on Sunday, as the risks could not yet be fully assessed and the technology underpinning them is still unproven. Central banks already use electronic money - only a very small proportion of their assets are now backed by gold - but this is exchanged in a centralised fashion, across accounts at the central bank. What would be distinctive about a central bank-issued cryptocurrency - rather than just electronic money - would be that this could be exchanged “directly between the payer and the payee without the need for central intermediary”, by means of blockchain technology, BIS said in its latest Quarterly Review. Blockchain technology enables peer-to-peer payments to be made using decentralised cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, by means of a shared ledger that verifies, records and settles transactions in a matter of minutes. “While it seems unlikely that bitcoin or its sisters will displace sovereign currencies, they have demonstrated the ability of the underlying blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT),” BIS said. Publication of the BIS report coincides with a crackdown by China on the cryptocurrency business as it tries to limit risks with consumers piling into a highly speculative market that has grown rapidly this year. RETAIL OR WHOLESALE? The report explores two possibly forms of central bank-issued cryptocurrency: a consumer-facing currency for use in retail transactions, and a wholesale one that would be used by institutions as a “token” currency for digitally settling transactions. BIS concluded that the peer-to-peer nature of the technology meant that a cryptocurrency for consumers could enable the anonymity that cash currently provides. But if that were not seen as important, it said, it was unclear what further benefits it could provide. “Most of the alleged benefits of retail central bank cryptocurrencies can be achieved by giving the public access to accounts at the central bank, something that has been technically feasible for a long time but which central banks have mostly stayed away from,” it said. BIS said that the question of whether or not a central bank should offer a digital alternative to cash was most pressing in a country like Sweden, where cash usage has declined rapidly over the past decade. A retail cryptocurrency could also, if it were to completely replace cash, remove the zero-lower-bound constraint on monetary policy, BIS said, as it would no longer be possible for depositors to avoid negative interest rates by hoarding cash. On the institutional side, a central bank-issued cryptocurrency’s usefulness depended on whether it could reduce settlement times and improve efficiency, BIS said. But that had yet to be proven and would depend on the successful resolution of a number of technical issues. BIS concluded that central banks would probably have to decide on an individual basis whether issuing retail or wholesale central bank cryptocurrencies made sense for them. “In making this decision, central banks will have to consider not only consumer preferences for privacy and possible efficiency gains – in terms of payments, clearing and settlement – but also the risks it may entail for the financial system and the wider economy, as well as any implications for monetary policy,” BIS said. “Some of the risks are currently hard to assess,” it said, adding that very little was known about the resilience such currencies would be able to show to cyber-attacks, for example. Reporting by Jemima Kelly; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bis-report-cryptocurrencies/too-soon-to-determine-risks-of-central-bank-issued-cryptocurrencies-bis-idUKKCN1BS0P4'|'2017-09-17T19:15:00.000+03:00'
'4991cb720e310ff665eea43f15ffcb7d1ad9f17f'|'Ryanair to cancel up to 50 flights per day ''to improve punctuality'''|'September 15, 2017 / 11:54 PM / Updated 21 hours ago Ryanair to cancel up to 50 flights per day ''to improve punctuality'' Conor Humphries 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Ryanair CEO Michael O''Leary attends a news conference in Rome, Italy, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair ( RYA.I ) on Friday announced plans to cancel between 40 and 50 flights per day until the end of October, disrupting hundreds of thousands of journeys, in what it said was a bid to improve its ratio of on-time flights. The cancellations, which begin immediately, are designed “to improve its system-wide punctuality which has fallen below 80 percent in the first two weeks of September,” Ryanair said in a statement, describing the number of delayed flights as “unacceptable” to customers. If the airline cancels 40 flights per day for six weeks at a load factor of 90 percent, approximately 285,000 journeys would be affected. The Dublin-listed budget airline next week celebrates the fourth anniversary of its Always Getting Better campaign, which Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary has described as an effort to stop “unnecessarily pissing people off.” Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers sent emails to the first affected passengers on Friday, giving them the choice of a refund or an alternative flight. The airline said it would waive a 40 euro (35.16 pounds) surcharge normally levied to change flights. A Reuters reporter, whose flight from Dublin to Barcelona on Sept. 18 was cancelled on Friday, was offered a choice of a surcharge of 250 euros to take an earlier flight on Sept. 18 or 60 euros to take a flight on Sept. 19. Ryanair said its on-time ratio in recent weeks had been impacted by air traffic control strikes and weather disruptions. It also said it was trying to deal with a backlog of crew leave, which must be allocated before the end of the year. While it currently calculates crew leave from April to March, regulators are forcing it to calculate it from January to December from the start of next year, it said. Reporting by Conor Humphries, Editing by Rosalba O''Brien'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-cancellation/ryanair-to-cancel-up-to-50-flights-per-day-to-improve-punctuality-idUKKCN1BQ30Z'|'2017-09-16T02:54:00.000+03:00'
'b146aac8c48d07de95a73063514fb76c8ee06dd2'|'China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid smuggling claims'|'BEIJING, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Chinese-owned aluminium firm Zhongwang USA and its acquisition target Aleris Corp have decided to extend a deadline to complete their merger by two weeks, according to representatives of the two companies.The extension comes amid reports of smuggling allegations made this week by the U.S. Department of Justice against Chinese aluminium tycoon Liu Zhongtian, owner of Zhongwang USA.It was not clear if there was link between the complaint filed this week by the Department of Justice and the extension.“We remain in discussions with Zhongwang USA on the pending acquisition of Aleris,” Jason Saragian, a spokesman for the Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminium rolled products, said by email.“To allow those discussions to continue, we have decided to extend our merger agreement through September 29,” Saragian said. The previous deadline lapsed on Friday.A spokeswoman for Zhongwang, an aluminium extruder, confirmed the extension. Zhongwang USA is not part of Hong Kong- listed China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd, although Liu heads up both companies.Zhongwang USA announced its intention to buy Aleris in August 2016. However, the deal has not yet been completed, and in June this year, 27 U.S. senators urged the Treasury to reject the sale, calling it a “strategic misstep”.The Wall Street Journal reported that a complaint filed Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice accused an alleged Zhongwang affiliate, Perfectus Aluminum Inc, of evading $1.5 billion in tariffs by illegally importing aluminium into the United States.Zhongwang has yet to comment on the allegations but the U.S. Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) welcomed the action.“We want to applaud the Department of Justice’s decision to begin civil proceedings against Zhongwang’s affiliate,” AEC president Jeff Henderson said in a statement.The filing “is the culmination of a concerted effort by the AEC and its members in conjunction with Customs and the Department of Commerce to investigate Zhongwang’s alleged attempts to avoid paying duties,” Henderson said. (Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Tom Hogue) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aluminum-china/chinas-zhongwang-aleris-extend-merger-deadline-amid-smuggling-claims-idUSL4N1LX030'|'2017-09-16T12:09:00.000+03:00'
'f4f13d64603edf04cafa8c0ac05a64e693da92dc'|'China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid smuggling claims'|'(Adds Quote: s in paragraphs 9-10)BEIJING, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Zhongwang USA, an investment firm backed by a Chinese aluminium tycoon, and its acquisition target Aleris Corp have decided to extend a deadline to complete their merger by two weeks, according to representatives of the two companies.The extension comes amid reports of smuggling allegations made this week by the U.S. Department of Justice against Liu Zhongtian, majority owner of Zhongwang USA.It was not clear if there was link between the complaint filed this week by the Department of Justice and the extension.“We remain in discussions with Zhongwang USA on the pending acquisition of Aleris,” Jason Saragian, a spokesman for the Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminium rolled products, said by email.“To allow those discussions to continue, we have decided to extend our merger agreement through September 29,” Saragian said. The previous deadline lapsed on Friday.A spokeswoman for Zhongwang, an aluminium extruder, confirmed the extension. Zhongwang USA is not part of Hong Kong- listed China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd, although Liu heads up both companies.Zhongwang USA announced its intention to buy Aleris in August 2016. However, the deal has not yet been completed, and in June this year, 27 U.S. senators urged the Treasury to reject the sale, calling it a “strategic misstep”.The Wall Street Journal reported that a complaint filed on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice accused an alleged Zhongwang affiliate, Perfectus Aluminum Inc, of evading $1.5 billion in tariffs by illegally importing aluminium into the United States.The Zhongwang spokeswoman said Liu “does not control and is not the beneficial owner of Perfectus, and therefore he is not in a position to comment on issues relating to Perfectus”.“China Zhongwang previously denied the allegations and maintains the same position regarding these ungrounded allegations,” she said.The U.S. Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), meanwhile, welcomed the action.“We want to applaud the Department of Justice’s decision to begin civil proceedings against Zhongwang’s affiliate,” AEC president Jeff Henderson said in a statement.The filing “is the culmination of a concerted effort by the AEC and its members in conjunction with Customs and the Department of Commerce to investigate Zhongwang’s alleged attempts to avoid paying duties,” Henderson said. (Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Tom Hogue and John Ruwitch) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-aluminum-china/update-1-chinas-zhongwang-aleris-extend-merger-deadline-amid-smuggling-claims-idINL4N1LX06B'|'2017-09-16T12:34:00.000+03:00'
'30003aca573a396b2ee364dcbdf6b9785a2e51fb'|'Even German carmakers won’t save us from a hard Brexit'|'T here is a shared belief among Leavers and Remainers to the effect that when the Brexit cliff-edge comes into view, London and Brussels will hatch a face-saving compromise.It’s not entirely clear what kind of gleaming alloy can be forged from the fire of claim and counterclaim on either side of the channel, but there should be a way, they think, to cut through the noise and make something solid and lasting that shows neither side is entirely inept.The Leavers are still convinced that German car companies hold all the aces. It is certainly a popular view inside the Department of International Trade, and even in David Davis’s Brexit department.Davis, after all, is the chief negotiator who used his first tour of Europe following the referendum result to taunt local politicians about their lack of influence once the likes of Renault, BMW or VW started making their voices heard.Davis is more hard-boiled than he was when he started, and more realistic that the terms of engagement are more complicated than he had first envisaged. But, ultimately, he falls into the camp that still believes economics will overtake politics in the final straight, allowing his team to extract the kind of business-friendly deal, with an extended transition period, that the CBI is calling for so vociferously this weekend.Many Remainers also believe that economic realities will ultimately decide the outcome. They argue that when Angela Merkel said earlier this year that the unity of Europe was paramount – which meant maintaining the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour within the union’s borders – the German leader’s hard line was largely due to the unrest then evident in much of Europe.The French, Dutch and German general elections lay ahead, the Five Star movement had won big in Italy’s local elections on a platform of quitting the euro, and Poland was becoming an increasingly detached neighbour, receding into a form of Catholic feudalism.Now that all these problems are successfully navigated or out of the way (with the exception of Poland and its government’s moves to control the courts), the “four freedoms” – enshrined in the 1957 Treaty of Rome and reinforced in the Single European Act of 1986, the 1992 Maastricht treaty and the Lisbon treaty of 2007 – can be relaxed, Remainers say.And why not? Merkel is a centre-right politician who has a soft spot for liberal reformers. She believes in prosperity for the greatest number and that free markets are the best way to deliver that goal, tempered by regulation and social safety nets. Surely an EU without Britain is an impediment to achieving her legacy of framing a new and better Europe, not a diminished one?Macron is another leader apparently just waiting for the right moment to throw his weight behind a grand compromise. He too wants to liberalise the EU and be seen as business-friendly. And he wouldn’t want a downturn in GDP to hit France ahead of his re-election campaign in 2022. Paris, like Berlin, enjoys a trade surplus with the UK. Wouldn’t they like it to stay that way?None of these arguments are outlandish. Privately, German car companies are against holding the UK to a hard Brexit. It’s just that the idea economics will win the day appears to ignore all the important messages from those who will influence events.Davis should be the first to recognise that electorates are just as likely to ignore warnings of economic disaster, if the cause is one that suits their political outlook. That’s how Brexit happened in the first place. So why does he think that German business leaders will put trade with the UK above the cohesion of the remaining 27 countries, which serves their purpose much more than keeping borders open with the UK? Carmakers are threatened more by the end of the combustion engine than by Brexit.The French president is pushing to liberalise employment laws in France, it’s true, but his aim is to enhance the free movement of labour, not hand EU countries more levers to limit who can be employed and where. There is enough of that going on already without Brussels giving the green light to hysteria about Lithuanians usurping Belgian workers, or Bulgarian migrants stealing jobs in Italy.Clamping down on free movement wouldn’t fit with attempts to deepen the structures of the EU and make it function more as one country, or at least create a eurozone that becomes more of a unitary entity. That is the Franco-German answer to the long-term repair of the EU’s battered economy. And that is the project that should make Remainers despair.In Paris as much as Berlin, it is clear that workers are happier in Lisbon, Rome and Madrid because they think growth has returned and the liberalising reforms that were the price of EU money have gone away.Macron abhors such short-termism. It solves today’s problems, but only to store up more for tomorrow, especially as Europe slides into old age and looks to its young to pay more tax or accept higher borrowing.The UK’s plan to quit the EU, with cherries picked and borders blocked, is peripheral to this debate. Prepare for a clean Brexit.Topics Economics The Observer Brexit European Union Foreign policy comment'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/16/hard-brexit-even-german-carmakers-cant-save-us'|'2017-09-16T18:00:00.000+03:00'
'6ac0181c90d01fb701bc73ec524093831dc28695'|'Eletrobras may sell distribution units at a loss, source says'|'A view of the headquarters of Brazil''s power company Eletrobras in downtown Rio de Janeiro August 20, 2014. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, the state-owned power holding company that could be privatized as early as next year, will have to take losses to dispose of six power distribution units, a government source with direct knowledge of the process told Reuters.According to the person, the Mining and Energy Ministry is following a recommendation by electricity industry watchdog Aneel to sell the six distribution firms to whichever bidder agrees to raise rates the least.The model implies that the utility known as Eletrobras ( ELET6.SA ) will not get new cash from these assets, also depriving the federal government of much-needed extraordinary proceeds to reduce a growing budget deficit, said the person, who requested anonymity because the discussions are preliminary.Equatorial Energia SA ETQL3.SA, Neoenergia SA and Italy’s Enel SpA ( ENEI.MI ) are considering a possible purchase of some of the distributors, said the person. Investment firms and utility Energisa SA ( ENGI11.SA ) also could be interested, the person added.“It has a lot of interest...with this change, companies have gained additional attractiveness,” said the person, who participated in talks with potential bidders.Eletrobras declined to comment, saying the model of sale for the distributors was still being studied. Equatorial said they do not comment on market rumors. Enel and Neoenergia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The government said on Aug. 21 that it intends to sell control of Eletrobras by June 2018, with the distribution units expected to be sold separately later this year.Mining and Energy Minister Fernando Coelho Filho said this week a model for privatization would be released this month, but sources subsequently told Reuters the plan could be delayed to as late as December.Aneel has studied the possibility of raising the rates by around 10 percent for Eletrobras distributors before privatizing them, with the sale going to whoever accepts the lowest rate within this limit.Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-eletrobras-divestiture/eletrobras-may-sell-distribution-units-at-a-loss-source-says-idINKCN1BQ29Y'|'2017-09-15T14:22:00.000+03:00'
'cb99fcd5598150af55c9922cea18045e75d1d675'|'Morrisons turnaround gathers pace with profit rise'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:14 AM / 2 hours ago Slowing sales growth hits Morrisons shares despite profit jump James Davey 4 Min Read A shopper walks past a branch of the food retailer Morrisons in west London, Britain, January 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket chain Morrisons ( MRW.L ) reported slowing sales growth on Thursday, sending its shares down 5 percent despite rising profit and the CEO’s assertion that its recovery is still on track. Presenting results that showed a seventh straight quarter of underlying sales growth, Chief Executive David Potts said it is making progress in its supermarkets and beyond. Morrisons, which is based in Bradford, northern England, is turning around the performance of its over 500 UK supermarkets while also trying to build a broader business by pursuing capital-light opportunities in online and wholesale markets. That plan has driven a 27 percent rise in the company’s shares over the past year, making it one of the most expensive stocks in the sector on a price/earnings (PE) basis. The shares were down 5 percent at 232 pence by 1042 GMT, with some analysts expressing disappointment that like-for-like sales had risen only 2.6 percent from the second quarter. “The market may feel a little underwhelmed by the lack of clearer targets on the ‘self-help’ opportunity,” added analysts at UBS, which has a “neutral” rating on the stock. A former executive at market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Potts joined Morrisons in 2015 tasked with leading a recovery after Morrisons had been badly hurt by the rise of German discounters Aldi and Lidl in its northern England heartland and mis-steps by previous management. He has delivered a steady improvement in trading, helped by more competitive prices, improved product ranges and availability as well as better customer service. Potts has also overhauled the company’s online strategy through a renegotiated agreement with distributor Ocado ( OCDO.L ) and struck wholesale supply deals with Amazon ( AMZN.O ) and the McColl’s ( MCLSM.L ) convenience chain. ‘BIGGER MARKETS’ FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past a branch of the food retailer Morrisons in west London, Britain, January 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo “So far, so good,” Potts said of the turnaround. “We’re holding our own as we fix our supermarket business and then look ahead to growing into bigger markets,” he told reporters. Morrisons, which trails Tesco, Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ) and Wal-Mart’s ( WMT.N ) Asda in annual sales, made an underlying pre-tax profit of 177 million pounds in the six months to July 30, in line with analysts’ expectations and up nearly 13 percent from the same period last year. Prior to Thursday’s update, analysts’ average forecast for 2017/18 pre-tax profit was 371 million pounds, up 10 percent from the previous year’s result but still a long way from the heady 935 million pound profit achieved in 2011/12. Potts said that 3.9 percent more shoppers visited Morrisons in the six-month period, with turnover up 4.8 percent at 8.42 billion pounds. Morrisons increased its “medium term” target for incremental profit from wholesale, services, interest and online operations to between 75 million pounds and 125 million pounds, from 50-100 million pounds previously. The group forecast total wholesale sales to all its partners would exceed 700 million pounds by the end of 2018 and more than 1 billion pounds “in due course”. Potts said that Morrisons is “learning to manage” inflation as imported food prices are driven higher by a weaker pound. “If we look out past the end of this year I think we can start to see it unwind and we should start to see it taper down,” he said. Morrisons also cut net debt to 932 million pounds -- below its 1 billion pound year-end target -- and raised its interim dividend 5.1 percent to 1.66 pence. Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-morrisons-results/morrisons-turnaround-gathers-pace-with-profit-rise-idUKKCN1BP0KP'|'2017-09-14T09:18:00.000+03:00'
'142c508317531625a2e9fc10398909aee3f5e28d'|'Former F1 champion Niki Lauda eyes parts of Air Berlin'|'F1 - Formula One - British Grand Prix 2017 - Silverstone, Britain - July 14, 2017 Mercedes Formula One team chairman Niki Lauda REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff VIENNA/BERLIN (Reuters) - Three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda said he has partnered with German airline Condor in a bid worth around 100 million euros (89.94 million pounds) for 38 Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) leased aircraft.Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, filed for insolvency last month after major shareholder Etihad withdrew funding following years of losses.Administrators are now seeking investors for the business, with bids due by Friday and a decision planned on Sept. 21.Most potential investors are seen being interested primarily in Air Berlin’s roughly 140 leased aircraft and its airport slots rather than its operating business or employees.Lauda holds 51 percent of a consortium with Thomas Cook subsidiary ( TCG.L ) Condor which will bid for 21 leased Airbus A320 and A321 planes at Air Berlin subsidiary Niki - which Lauda once owned - and 17 Air Berlin aircraft, he told Austrian newspaper Kurier on Wednesday.Asked how much he was willing to pay, Lauda told ORF radio on Thursday: “It depends very much on how the details are defined, but we are now offering around 100 million (euros).”Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser declined to comment. The company has previously said it was looking to play an active role in the Air Berlin process.Two sources close to Condor cautioned however that no joint bid had been submitted. One of them said such an offer was unlikely to materialize.The other source said that Condor remained interested in a double-digit number of planes, including ones for long-haul routes.Austrian-based Niki has lower costs than Air Berlin and earlier this year it took over flying popular routes from Germany to tourist destinations in Spain.Lauda and Condor would face competition from Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline.Lufthansa plans to make an offer for up to 90 planes, including Niki’s fleet and 38 crewed planes it already leases from Air Berlin, a source told Reuters.British budget carrier easyJet ( EZJ.L ) is also reportedly interested in up to 40 planes, previous reports have said. Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday that easyJet was interested in Air Berlin’s regional unit Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (LGW), without specifying its sources.LGW currently operates 20 smaller Bombardier planes and its operating certificate is being changed so that it can fly the A320s used by easyJet, the newspaper said. The British carrier was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.Other interested parties include aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl, who says he has submitted a bid for the whole of Air Berlin, while German family-owned logistics company Zeitfracht and China’s LinkGlobal Logistics have also expressed interest.Air Berlin’s flight operations were disrupted earlier this week after pilots called in sick, in what was seen as a protest about job uncertainty, potentially complicating efforts to rescue the carrier.Management, unions and politicians all called on the pilots to return to work to ensure talks with bidders could be completed. Air Berlin expects normal operations on Thursday, a spokeswoman said.Reporting by Shadia Nasralla, Victoria Bryan and Georgina Prodhan; additional reporting by Alistair Smout in London; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-airberlin-lufthansa-lauda/former-f1-champion-niki-lauda-eyes-parts-of-air-berlin-idINKCN1BP0ZH'|'2017-09-14T06:50:00.000+03:00'
'4663b46ca95067455ff544acadfa65054c869494'|'China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid smuggling claims'|'September 16, 2017 / 4:12 AM / Updated an hour ago China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid smuggling claims Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese-owned aluminium firm Zhongwang USA and its acquisition target Aleris Corp ( ALSD.PK ) have decided to extend a deadline to complete their merger by two weeks, according to representatives of the two companies. The extension comes amid reports of smuggling allegations made this week by the U.S. Department of Justice against Chinese aluminium tycoon Liu Zhongtian, owner of Zhongwang USA. It was not clear if there was link between the complaint filed this week by the Department of Justice and the extension. “We remain in discussions with Zhongwang USA on the pending acquisition of Aleris,” Jason Saragian, a spokesman for the Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminium rolled products, said by email. “To allow those discussions to continue, we have decided to extend our merger agreement through September 29,” Saragian said. The previous deadline lapsed on Friday. A spokeswoman for Zhongwang, an aluminium extruder, confirmed the extension. Zhongwang USA is not part of Hong Kong- listed China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd ( 1333.HK ), although Liu heads up both companies. Zhongwang USA announced its intention to buy Aleris in August 2016. However, the deal has not yet been completed, and in June this year, 27 U.S. senators urged the Treasury to reject the sale, calling it a “strategic misstep”. The Wall Street Journal reported that a complaint filed Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice accused an alleged Zhongwang affiliate, Perfectus Aluminum Inc, of evading $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) in tariffs by illegally importing aluminium into the United States. Zhongwang has yet to comment on the allegations but the U.S. Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) welcomed the action. “We want to applaud the Department of Justice’s decision to begin civil proceedings against Zhongwang’s affiliate,” AEC president Jeff Henderson said in a statement. The filing “is the culmination of a concerted effort by the AEC and its members in conjunction with Customs and the Department of Commerce to investigate Zhongwang’s alleged attempts to avoid paying duties,” Henderson said. Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Tom Hogue'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aluminum-china/chinas-zhongwang-aleris-extend-merger-deadline-amid-smuggling-claims-idUKKCN1BR045'|'2017-09-16T07:13:00.000+03:00'
'4a9d80f4d3f37f0fb11f032a47320028c1b21d7c'|'UPDATE 1-Toys ''R'' Us preparing for possible bankruptcy filing -sources'|'September 16, 2017 / 1:31 AM / Updated 11 hours ago UPDATE 1-Toys ''R'' Us preparing for possible bankruptcy filing -sources Reuters Staff (Recasts with own sourcing) By Jessica DiNapoli Sept 15 (Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us is working to put together a loan to fund its operations in a potential bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday sales season, according to people familiar with the matter. The toy merchant’s move underscores the deep distress rippling through retailers of all sizes as consumers increasingly shop online at sellers such as Amazon.com Inc or go to discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc . A spokeswoman for Toys ‘R’ Us did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The people could not be identified because the bankruptcy plans are not yet public. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the company was considering filing for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia. ( on.wsj.com/2h87WOt ) There have been more than a dozen significant retail bankruptcies this year, but none for retailers as big as Toys ‘R’ Us, which has about $5 billion in debt and more than 1,600 stores worldwide. A loan of several hundred million dollars as part of any possible bankruptcy filing would reassure the chain’s vendors it could pay them for the loads of stuffed animals, action figures and dolls it needs to stock its shelves for the holiday season, the people said. Part of the retailer’s current financial woes stem from vendors demanding tighter repayment terms over fears that Toys ‘R’ Us may file for bankruptcy, the people added. The tighter terms have added to the Wayne, New Jersey-based company’s cash crunch, they said. Toys ‘R’ Us tapped restructuring attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, CNBC reported this month. The retailer had already said it was working with an investment bank to assess options for about $400 million in debt that comes due next year. Buyout firms KKR & Co LP and Bain Capital LP, together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust , took Toys ‘R’ Us private for $6.6 billion in 2005. The deal saddled the company with debt, limiting its ability to revamp its stores and make online shopping easier. Toys ‘R’ Us opened a store in New York City’s Times Square this year to capture more holiday shoppers. (Additional reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/toys-r-us-bankruptcy/update-1-toys-r-us-preparing-for-possible-bankruptcy-filing-sources-idUSL2N1LX015'|'2017-09-16T04:31:00.000+03:00'
'089319c61db77cd69ca6a7b8315bd49dd332b4db'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 15)'|' 25 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 15) Reuters Staff 7 Min Read BRUSSELS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Norwegian-based DNB Bank ASA and Swedish Nordea Bank AB to establish a joint venture concerning their banking activities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (approved Sept. 14) NEW LISTINGS -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept 13/deadline Oct 18/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified) SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26) SEPT 27 -- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27/simplified) SEPT 28 -- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (notified Aug. 24/simplified/deadline Sept. 28) SEPT 29 -- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified) -- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29) -- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29) -- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified) -- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified) OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified) -- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified) OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified) OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified) -- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified) -- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified) -- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4) OCT 5 -- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified) OCT 6 -- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified) OCT 11 -- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified) OCT 12 -- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified) OCT 13 -- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified) -- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13) -- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified) -- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified) OCT 16 -- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16) -- Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified) OCT 17 -- U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17) -- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified) OCT 18 -- German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd’s general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified) OCT 26 -- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7) JAN 8 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 8, 2018 after the Commission opened in-depth investigation) DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17) -- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22) GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idUSL5N1LW4CF'|'2017-09-15T17:24:00.000+03:00'
'59d87197ee857ee4d6c768b5910467ed524813af'|'Energy firms battle startups to wire Europe''s highways for electric cars'|' 11 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Energy firms battle startups to wire Europe''s highways for electric cars Geert De Clercq , Christoph Steitz 7 Min Read An electric car is being charged in a Paris street, France, September 12, 2017. Picture taken September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The battle over how and where Europeans charge their electric cars is expanding from the continent’s cities to its motorways. Power utilities, tech start-ups and oil majors are fighting to establish themselves as the dominant players in the fast-growing business of charging stations – but advances in electric vehicles means where they build them is changing. Refuelling conventional petrol and diesel cars on motorways has long been the domain of the oil companies, which typically have their own networks of filling stations. Several are now talking about setting up high-power charging networks, creating major competition for limited space at motorway service areas. “It is a bit of a landgrab now to win this sector,” said Tim Payne, chief executive of British charging start-up InstaVolt, which has raised 12 million pounds to install 3,000 charge points across Britain by 2020. While the range of electric vehicles (EVs) was less than 100 km (60 miles), Europe’s utilities were happy to help cities and companies install slow and inexpensive charging points at homes, offices and shops, often supported by state subsidies. But Tesla ( TSLA.O ), Porsche ( VOWG_p.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) are now making battery-powered cars with enough range to drive across countries. Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and Volkswagen also announced plans on the eve of this week’s Frankfurt motor show to accelerate their shift to electric cars. Charging infrastructure remains nowhere near it needs to be. “Where is the network of charging points that will be required? Indeed where is the power and the grid?” Ralf Speth, boss of Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover, asked last week. Experts including ChargePoint and Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) are, however, making plans to build pan-European networks of high-voltage fast-charging stations which can refill a battery in less than half an hour instead of overnight. In Britain, InstaVolt is renting land from filling station operators, bringing them additional revenue from the lease as well as the increased traffic to their shops at the sites. It earns a margin by selling power through the chargers. InstaVolt struck a deal in May with ChargePoint, which itself is on a $125 million expansion spree in Europe, to install about 200 of the U.S. group’s ultra-fast chargers close to popular roads across Britain. Related Coverage Factbox: From refueling to recharging: filling up electric vehicles UP FOR GRABS Morgan Stanley estimates that 1-3 million public charging points could be needed in western Europe by 2030, adding that while utilities have natural skills in the new industry, it was too early to determine who will come put on top. “The winning business model is up for grabs,” it said. Today, there are fewer than 100,000 public charging points available in Europe, with only about six percent of them fast, according to the International Energy Agency. Almost none of these is super-fast, a term usually used for charging stations with an output of at least 150 kilowatts. More than three times faster than current-generation chargers, they are now being targeted by those trying to become market leaders. Contenders include Dutch EV-Box, one of Europe’s biggest makers of charging stations, which was snapped up by French utility Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) in March. “We expect hundreds of millions of annual revenue from EV-Box in a few years,” Thierry Lepercq, head of innovation at Engie, told Reuters. He sees Engie’s EV charging revenue growing by a factor of 20 in three to five years. Last year, EV-Box had sales of 16 million euros ($19.1 million). FILE PHOTO: Tesla Supercharger station are seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo EV-Box Chief Executive Kristof Vereenooghe said that unlike most of its competitors EV-Box has been profitable from the start, a claim that makes it stand out in an industry where gaining scale is considered more important for now. That’s why German utility E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), too, announced a strategic partnership with Danish startup CLEVER and said it had the ambition to roll out several hundred ultra-fast charging stations along European motorways. CLEVER, which is owned by a group of Danish utilities and runs charging networks in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, wants to extend its network to France, Britain and Italy with E.ON. The firm, which unlike EV-Box and ChargePoint does not make its own hardware, is also still looking for other partners. “We want to connect cities so that you can easily drive across Europe in an electric vehicle,” CLEVER Chief Executive Casper Kirketerp-Moeller said. TALK LESS, INSTALL MORE Slideshow (6 Images) Among the oil majors, BP ( BP.L ), Shell ( RDSa.L ) and ( TOTF.PA ) have all either announced plans or launched pilot projects for EV charging. Few people, however, expect them to become serious contenders for a business that would effectively curb demand for their chief product: oil. BP did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Shell said it did not make economic sense yet to equip petrol stations fully with EV charging points. “People like Shell and Total talk a lot, but nothing happens. We are putting the grid connection in place,” said Michiel Langezaal, founder and chief executive of Fastned, which has 63 EV charging stations in the Netherlands. Leasing plots of land, the group wants to raise 100 million euros over the next two years to branch out into Germany, Belgium, France and Britain. So far it gets the stations from Swiss ABB ( ABBN.S ) but is also in talks with ChargePoint. Unlike utilities and charging station startups, electric vehicle makers see fast charging networks not as a profit center, but as a loss-leader needed to persuade customers that electric vehicles can drive across continents. That seems to work for some. Tesla, for example, operates a proprietary charging network throughout Europe, mainly in hotels, but it is stretched thinly - in the Ile de France region around Paris it has just a handful of “superchargers”. This year, the group’s market valuation surpassed that of General Motors ( GM.N ), making it the biggest U.S. carmaker by that measure. “Tesla has never been in the black, but had enormous growth,” said Elke Temme, who co-heads the e-mobility unit of Germany’s Innogy ( IGY.DE ). “Going forward, however, the business must pay off.” For a graphic, click here editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-electricity-autos-charging/energy-firms-battle-startups-to-wire-europes-highways-for-electric-cars-idUKKCN1BQ0JG'|'2017-09-15T09:08:00.000+03:00'
'96387fc3dff2d9943a7e923212db4cce294bea29'|'Sterling hits 14-month high above $1.35 as BoE''s Vlieghe signals early hike'|'LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Sterling topped $1.35 for the first time in 14 months as a Bank of England policymaker reiterated that the central bank could raise interest rates in “coming months”.“If these data trends of reducing slack, rising pay pressure, strengthening household spending and robust global growth continue, the appropriate time for a rise in Bank Rate might be as early as in the coming months,” Gertjan Vlieghe said in a speech.The pound, already up half a percent on the day, extended its gains to hit a 14-month high of $1.3551, up over 1 percent on the day on Vlieghe’s comments.It also extended gains versus the euro to trade 0.9 percent higher at 88.07 pence.Britain’s FTSE 100 fell sharply to a session low, last down 0.6 percent, after Vlieghe’s comments propelled sterling higher, weighing on the index’s mainly foreign-earning constituents.UK two-year gilt yields rose to 0.415 percent, their highest since before Britain voted last year to leave the European Union.Germany’s 10-year government bond yields turned positive on the day, following the rise in Gilt yields, at 0.42 percent.The BoE said after a policy meeting on Thursday that it was likely to raise rates in the coming months if price pressures kept growing. (Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; additional reporting by Julien Ponthus and Helen Reid, editing by Nigel Stephenson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-sterling/sterling-hits-14-month-high-above-1-35-as-boes-vlieghe-signals-early-hike-idINL5N1LW1QQ'|'2017-09-15T07:17:00.000+03:00'
'eb1a765c69612762684809134d62415f4b98dd07'|'Alphabet talks with Lyft about possible investment - source'|'September 15, 2017 / 1:40 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago Alphabet talks with Lyft about possible investment - source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Maya Jackson, a Lyft driver from Sacramento, responds to a ride request on her smartphone during a photo opportunity in San Francisco, California February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) is in discussions with Lyft Inc about a possible investment in the ride-hailing company, potentially deepening an existing partnership between the two firms, a person familiar with the talks said on Thursday. An injection of support from one of Silicon Valley’s largest companies could be a boost to Lyft as the No. 2 ride provider battles rival Uber Technologies Inc for market share. It was not immediately clear how large an investment Alphabet might make. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported there was at least some discussion of a $1 billion (746.49 million pounds) deal. Alphabet and Lyft declined to comment. In May, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo and Lyft announced a partnership to work together on developing self-driving technology; neither offered many details of the agreement. Recently, Lyft has been in an expansion mode, saying in August that it was available in 40 U.S. states covering 94 percent of the country’s population. Lyft raised $600 million in fresh funding in April, mostly from large global investment funds. The round valued the company at $7.5 billion, up from $5.5 billion at Lyft’s previous financing more than a year earlier. Additional investment could further push off discussion of an initial public offering, which Lyft had planned likely for 2018, according to sources close to the company. Lyft previously planned not to raise any more funding prior to its IPO, the sources said. Alphabet since 2013 has been an investor in Uber through its venture capital arm, known as GV. That relationship, though, became more complicated when Alphabet’s Waymo sued Uber this year for alleged theft of trade secrets. Reporting by Heather Somerville and David Ingram; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alphabet-lyft/alphabet-talks-with-lyft-about-possible-investment-source-idUKKCN1BQ05Q'|'2017-09-15T04:40:00.000+03:00'
'3db341b994fa66a8678e4ce96c76abfb802a34f1'|'Footwear maker Aerosoles files for bankruptcy'|'Sept 15 (Reuters) - Women’s shoe retailer Aerosoles Group said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest casualty in a struggling retail industry.The company had listed assets of $10 million to $50 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, according to its bankruptcy court filing.Aerosoles’ holding company AGI HoldCo Inc said it would continue to manage its stores and operate its businesses as “debtors in possession”.The company said it would significantly reduce the number of stores as part of the restructuring in an effort to realign the business with the changing marketplace environment.At least a dozen retailers selling apparel, electronics and discount shoes have filed for bankruptcy this year to slash their store count and better compete with e-commerce giants such as Amazon.com Inc.Aerosoles has more than 300 stores around the world including in China, India and Peru.The bankruptcy was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D‘Silva) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/aerosoles-ma-bankruptcy/footwear-maker-aerosoles-files-for-bankruptcy-idINL4N1LW4HZ'|'2017-09-15T11:32:00.000+03:00'
'5da70eacfd5ba78e1e1a4c0659d9ad40de5f1ac4'|'What crackdown? Expect more China deals, bankers say'|'September 15, 2017 / 11:57 AM / Updated an hour ago What crackdown? Expect more China deals, bankers say Reuters Staff 4 Min Read A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China will remain a major source of deals as local firms invest overseas and foreign companies put money into the world’s second-largest economy, despite a government crackdown on splashy acquisitions, bankers and investors said. While new rules to curb irrational spending and outflows have dragged down overseas investments by China’s acquisitive companies this year, versus blockbuster 2016 levels, deals are still being made and 2017 promises to be a year on par with 2015, the sources said over a two-day gathering in Singapore. But the road is not without hurdles as some countries are raising barriers for Chinese buyers. The United States has become more aggressive in limiting investment in key sectors, with President Donald Trump this week blocking a Chinese-backed private equity firm from buying chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor Corp ( LSCC.O ). Partly due to this and Beijing’s curbs, China’s outbound M&A volumes nearly halved in the first six months of 2017, according to Thomson Reuters data. The deals that have come under pressure are in sectors like films, entertainment and sports. However, the “desire for Chinese companies to go out has stayed intact”, said Wei Sun Christianson, China chief executive and Asia Pacific co-chief executive for Morgan Stanley. “There are a lot of very credible buyers. Certainly, there is higher execution risk, but deals do get approved.” Sellers are demanding more guarantees, but many also see Chinese companies as long-term partners who can help promote a global presence, especially in Asia, a major area for investment, several industry participants said. Among Chinese buyers, the most active are those that get Beijing’s blessing by investing in sectors the government is focusing on such as technology and green energy. “If Chinese buyers are clever, have the blessing of government, and focus on non-sensitive sectors - there are good assets out there,” Christianson said. Jing Ulrich, vice chairman of Asia Pacific at JP Morgan Chase, agreed that “the desire of Chinese companies ... to expand overseas continues”. There will be deals from companies pursuing projects associated with Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative to build a modern day “Silk Road”, Ulrich said. Earlier this year, ChemChina bought pesticides and seeds group Syngenta, which was advised by JP Morgan, in what is China’s largest ever outbound deal. The purchase was prompted by Beijing’s desire to use the Swiss firm’s portfolio of top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds to improve domestic agricultural output. More inbound deals are also expected as China welcomes foreign direct investment, investors and bankers said. Any move to ease curbs on majority ownership in many sectors, including financial services, will spur more such deals, they added. The 19th Party Congress this autumn could mark an inflection point for deals involving state-run companies, the sources said. Specific changes could involve broadening the scope of reform of state owned enterprises (SOEs), moving beyond just consolidation and into spin-offs of non-core assets and the restructuring of subsidiaries with undervalued assets. “So far, we have not seen much movement in SOE reform,” said Weijian Shan, chairman and CEO of private equity firm PAG Group. “What we see of interest is the private sector, which is much more scaleable. Ten years ago, it was hard to put in $100 million - today you can easily put in several billion.” Reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques and Anshuman Daga; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-m-a/what-crackdown-expect-more-china-deals-bankers-say-idUKKCN1BQ1H9'|'2017-09-15T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'e3a4e33bc71256842e4ebe484324ff0812c81e54'|'UPDATE 1-Motor racing-McLaren split from Honda and switch to Renault'|'  11:31 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Motor racing-McLaren split from Honda and switch to Renault Reuters Staff * McLaren to end Honda partnership at year end * Former champions agree three-year deal with Renault * Honda to supply Toro Rosso instead * Spanish driver Carlos Sainz moves to Renault for 2018 (Repeats adding link to earlier story) By Abhishek Takle SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Former champions McLaren will swap their Honda engines for Renault ones at the end of the Formula One season after calling time on a troubled three-year partnership marked by frustration and failure. Honda will stay in Formula One, replacing Renault as engine supplier to Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso whose Spanish driver Carlos Sainz moves to the French team on loan for the 2018 season. The major shake-up, announced at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, ends McLaren and Honda’s dream of recreating the glory years of the late 1980s and early 90s when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were dominant. “For a combination of reasons our partnership has not flourished as any of us would have wished,” McLaren executive director Zak Brown said in a statement. “It is certainly not for the want of effort on the part of either Honda or McLaren, but the time has come to move ahead in different directions.” Honda Motor Co. President Takahiro Hachigo expressed regret at a move that had become an open secret, and thanked Formula One’s owners Liberty Media and the governing FIA for their part in the dealmaking with Toro Rosso. “It is unfortunate that we must part ways with McLaren before fulfilling our ambitions, however, we made the decision with a belief that this is the best course of action for each other’s future,” he said. Fernando Alonso, the double world champion whose outbursts at Honda’s shortcomings have become a regular feature of race broadcasts, is expected to stay at McLaren. The 36-year-old Spaniard, who won his world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, was not mentioned in the statements but has made having a competitive engine a key demand. BUBBLE BURST McLaren and Honda revived their partnership at the start of 2015 amid a burst of optimism but that bubble was swiftly pricked. Honda has struggled to catch up with rivals and master the sport’s complex turbo hybrid engine regulations. McLaren are now ninth out of 10 in the constructors’ standings and have scored only 11 points from 13 races. The team founded by the late New Zealander Bruce McLaren have won eight constructors’ championships, 12 drivers’ titles and 182 races but are without a victory since the end of 2012. Owned largely by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Company and Saudi-born businessman Mansour Ojjeh, McLaren have gone through internal upheaval with former boss Ron Dennis forced out last November and Brown brought in. Brown said this month that the choice of engine partners, with Honda contributing more than $100 million a year to McLaren’s budget according to insiders, was one of the biggest decisions the team has had to make. “Fortunately, we have extremely committed shareholders (so) that we can make a sporting decision and deal with the economics,” he said then. Renault engines have powered Red Bull to six wins since the start of the Mercedes-dominated turbo-hybrid era in 2014, most recently with Australian Daniel Ricciardo at this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. McLaren will be hoping to be up there too next year and Renault, who have their own works team, looked forward to the challenge. ”This is a strategic decision,“ said Renault Sport Racing president Jerome Stoll. ”This alliance is not only technical and sporting, but also comes with marketing and communication benefits. “We know that McLaren will push us hard on track and this competition will be to the benefit of all.” The split also removes Honda from the intense and increasingly embarrassing scrutiny the manufacturer has endured. “Honda and Toro Rosso will work as one team to strive for progress and a successful future together,” said Hachigo. [ here ] (Writing by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-singapore-mclaren/update-1-motor-racing-mclaren-split-from-honda-and-switch-to-renault-idUSL4N1LW3Y1'|'2017-09-15T15:40:00.000+03:00'
'3d18d832ed1f47046f34892b95e5896887428d34'|'Labour leaders warn of breakup of Thyssenkrupp - leaflet'|' 04 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Labour leaders warn of breakup of Thyssenkrupp - leaflet Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A worker controls a tapping of a blast furnace at Europe''s largest steel factory of Germany''s industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG in Duisburg, Germany December 6, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Labour representatives warned of the dangers of a break-up of Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ), one of the alternatives to a merger of the German group’s European steel operations with those of Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ). Steel workers will meet in the western city of Bochum on Sept. 22 to demonstrate against the planned joint venture, the preferred option of Thyssenkrupp boss Heinrich Hiesinger. Workers are concerned that thousands of jobs will be lost. Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board is scheduled to discuss the plans a day later, the eve of a German national election. Germany’s economy minister has urged management to consult unions and reach an agreement to protect jobs. In a joint leaflet calling on workers to participate in the demonstrations, Germany’s biggest trade union IG Metall and Thyssenkrupp’s works council said that the company as a whole was at risk. “The merger with Tata is to be decided over our heads, even though we have been warning of the significant risks and consequences for our jobs for more than a year,” the leaflet, reviewed by Reuters, said. “On the other hand there is a risk of a complete breakup of the group with even more dramatic consequences for jobs in all areas. Both scenarios lead to the destruction of jobs.” Unions have not said what kind of restructuring they prefer for Thyssenkrupp’s steel business, saying it was the job of the management board to present options, not theirs. Strategic alternatives include a breakup of the company in a style similar to utility RWE ( RWEG.DE ), which last year carved out and listed its healthy assets on the stock exchange and retained a stake in the new entity, Innogy ( IGY.DE ). Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/labour-leaders-warn-of-breakup-of-thyssenkrupp-leaflet-idUKKCN1BQ1W2'|'2017-09-15T17:04:00.000+03:00'
'b5f23a8e1936cb134edd24e4a0b53673dc2fe927'|'China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid U.S. probe'|'September 16, 2017 / 4:13 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago China''s Zhongwang, Aleris extend merger deadline amid U.S. probe Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - Zhongwang USA, an investment firm backed by a Chinese aluminum tycoon, and its acquisition target Aleris Corp ( ALSD.PK ) have decided to extend a deadline to complete their merger by two weeks, according to representatives of the two companies. The extension comes amid reports of smuggling allegations made on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice against Liu Zhongtian, majority owner of Zhongwang USA. “We remain in discussions with Zhongwang USA on the pending acquisition of Aleris,” Jason Saragian, a spokesman for the Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminum rolled products, said by email. “To allow those discussions to continue, we have decided to extend our merger agreement through September 29,” Saragian said. The previous deadline lapsed on Friday. A spokeswoman for Zhongwang, an aluminum extruder, confirmed the extension. She later added that the decision to extend the deadline was a “totally separate” issue from the U.S. Department of Justice allegations, which Zhongwang denies. Zhongwang USA is not part of Hong Kong-listed China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd ( 1333.HK ), although Liu heads up both companies. Zhongwang USA announced its intention to buy Aleris in August 2016. However, the deal has not yet been completed, and in June this year, 27 U.S. senators urged the Treasury to reject the sale, calling it a “strategic misstep”. The Wall Street Journal reported that a complaint filed on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice accused an alleged Zhongwang affiliate, Perfectus Aluminum Inc, of evading $1.5 billion in tariffs by illegally importing aluminum into the United States. The Zhongwang spokeswoman said Liu “does not control and is not the beneficial owner of Perfectus, and therefore he is not in a position to comment on issues relating to Perfectus”. “China Zhongwang previously denied the allegations and maintains the same position regarding these ungrounded allegations,” she said. The U.S. Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), meanwhile, welcomed the action. “We want to applaud the Department of Justice’s decision to begin civil proceedings against Zhongwang’s affiliate,” AEC president Jeff Henderson said in a statement. The filing “is the culmination of a concerted effort by the AEC and its members in conjunction with Customs and the Department of Commerce to investigate Zhongwang’s alleged attempts to avoid paying duties,” Henderson said. Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by John Ruwitch & Simon Cameron-Moore'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aluminum-china/chinas-zhongwang-aleris-extend-merger-deadline-amid-smuggling-claims-idUKKCN1BR043'|'2017-09-17T06:27:00.000+03:00'
'71af0bfc087570d9ea9e61d1899da0ca4c1e1eb7'|'UPDATE 1-Qatar to buy 24 Typhoon jets from UK''s BAE Systems'|'(Adds UK defence ministry statement, context)DOHA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Qatar’s defence minister has signed a letter of intent to purchase 24 Typhoon jets from British defence group BAE Systems, in a move that could anger other Gulf countries boycotting Doha.Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, suspending air and shipping routes with the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is home to the region’s biggest U.S. military base.“The letter of intent includes the ministry’s intention to purchase 24 modern Typhoon aircraft with all their equipment,” state news agency QNA reported on Sunday.The agreement was signed by Minister of State for Defence Affairs Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah and his British counterpart Michael Fallon, QNA added.“This will be the first major defence contract with Qatar, one of the UK’s strategic partners,” Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement, adding that talks over a deal had taken several years.“We also hope that this will help enhance security within the region across all Gulf allies.”The Eurofighter Typhoon is a joint project between BAE, France’s Airbus and Italy’s Finmeccanica and supports an estimated 40,000 jobs in Britain.Neither statement gave the cost of the combat jet deal. BAE had agreed in 2014 to supply Saudi Arabia with 72 Typhoon jets in a deal worth 4.43 billion pounds ($6 billion).Fallon told a conference in London, on Saturday, the British government will step up efforts to help BAE Systems to sell more Typhoon jets with government-to-government deals.The Typhoon has attracted fewer orders this year than the rival Rafale built by France’s Dassault Aviation, which has agreed deals with Egypt and Qatar.Qatar also signed a deal in June to buy F-15 fighter jets from Boeing Co in the United States for $12 billion and concluded a 5 billion euro ($6 billion) deal with Italy for seven navy vessels.The wealthy Gulf state has been accused by its neighbours of supporting terrorism and meddling with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival in the region. Qatar denies the accusations.The crisis has put the region on edge and prompted Turkey to send troops to Doha in a sign of support. ($1 = 0.7359 pounds) ($1 = 0.8372 euros) (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/qatar-uk-military/update-1-qatar-to-buy-24-typhoon-jets-from-uks-bae-systems-idINL5N1LY0S2'|'2017-09-17T17:18:00.000+03:00'
'165055ea873f11919ca54af56a602a539e191856'|'Batista family members ensnared in Brazil cattle antitrust probe'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A member of Brazil’s billionaire Batista family should be declared guilty for fostering anti-competitive practices in the domestic cattle slaughtering market more than a decade ago, a body at antitrust watchdog Cade recommended on Friday.In a post at the government’s official gazette, the general superintendency of Cade recommended José Batista Jr, the family’s eldest member and a former chief executive officer of what is now JBS SA, and former rival meatpacker Independência SA of rigging the market.Independência went bankrupt almost a decade ago.The superintendency also recommended that the outcome of the antitrust probe against Batista Jr, Friboi Ltda - JBS’s predecessor - and Independência be submitted to prosecutors and police in the state of Mato Grosso.José’s two younger brothers are currently detained for different offenses, including insider trading.Calls to JBS for comment were not immediately answered.Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Gabriela Mello; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-antitrust-jbs/batista-family-members-ensnared-in-brazil-cattle-antitrust-probe-idINL2N1LW0FR'|'2017-09-15T09:02:00.000+03:00'
'9238db7c2ba5c5b662b24c03fa29841091e4ed77'|'France and Italy open to German ECB chief, but not Weidmann - Spiegel'|'September 15, 2017 / 7:43 PM / Updated 9 hours ago France and Italy open to German ECB chief, but not Weidmann: Spiegel Reuters Staff 2 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - France and Italy have signalled to Germany that they are open to a German becoming president of the European Central Bank but not if it is Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann, Der Spiegel reported on Friday. The German magazine said that representatives from France and Italy had informed German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his officials of their position. Paris and Rome fear Weidmann, a long-time critic of the ECB’s quantitative easing programme, would oppose a flexible and pragmatic monetary policy in times of crisis, but Der Spiegel suggested Berlin was unlikely to agree with that view. “We have just one qualified candidate on offer, and it is Weidmann,” it quoted an unnamed source close to the German government as saying. Asked about the report, a spokesman for the German finance ministry, Daniel Fehling, told Reuters: “These are personnel questions. We do not comment on them.” France’s finance ministry also declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, but a French government source said there were no such discussions at this stage. An Italian government spokesman said the Spiegel report was “completely false”. The term of the current ECB president, Italy’s Mario Draghi, expires in late 2019. (The story fixes typo in paragraph 6) Reporting by Tom Sims; Additional reporting by Thomas Escritt in Berlin, Maya Nikolaeva and Michel Rose in Paris, and Gavin Jones in Rome; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-president/france-and-italy-open-to-german-ecb-chief-but-not-weidmann-spiegel-idUKKCN1BQ2OL'|'2017-09-15T22:39:00.000+03:00'
'3af678d39b92489d003eed811a49e65df0591671'|'U.S. stock futures drop, yen gains after North Korea''s missile launch'|'September 14, 2017 / 11:03 PM / Updated an hour ago North Korea missile test leaves stocks unimpressed; yen wilts 5 Min Read A Japan Yen note is seen in this illustration photo taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Traders paid little attention to the latest missile test by North Korea on Friday, with shares and other risk assets barely moving, gold lower and focus rapidly returning to when and where interest rates will go up. London, Frankfurt and Paris were a shade lower after Pyongyang fired a second missile in as many weeks over Japan , but the test had little effect on what was set to be the best week for European stocks .FTEU3 since July. The yen was also pushed lower to 110.7 per dollar JPY= in the currency markets, but that too was a continuation of trend. The Japanese currency has seen its biggest fall this week in 10 months while the dollar .DXY is headed for its biggest rise since April, thanks to a revival in U.S. inflation data and bets the Federal Reserve could raise rates again this year. “You have risk appetite returning in the markets more generally at the moment, so you have all these forces pushing down the yen,” said Vasileios Gkionakis, global head of FX strategy at UniCredit. Britain''s pound GBP= was the other standout, hitting a 14-month high of $1.3430 a day after the Bank of England said it might raise interest rates for the first time in a decade in the "coming months". Sterling was also on course for its best week in over eight years on a trade-weighted basis and since November 2016 against the euro, which finally looks to have cooled following its surge this year. “If these data trends of reducing slack, rising pay pressure, strengthening household spending and robust global growth continue, the appropriate time for a rise in the Bank Rate might be as early as in the coming months,” BoE member Gertjan Vlieghe said on Friday. “If they don’t do it (hike rates) this time, their credibility will be lost completely for the next few years,” Unicredit’s Gkionakis said. Markets expect the BoE to move in November, he added. Government bond yields slipped from the week’s highs as the geopolitical tensions drove investors back into a market they have been leaving all week. Safe-haven gold XAU= was also heading for its biggest weekly drop since July. [GVD/EUR] North Korea’s latest test missile flew over Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido before landing about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) into the Pacific Ocean, which would be far enough to reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, the benchmark for the region, inched down to 0.41 percent, but was still flirting with its biggest weekly rise since late June. An employee of a foreign exchange trading company works near monitors showing TV news on North Korea''s missile launch (top R) and the Japanese yen''s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar (C) and British pound (top L) in Tokyo, Japan, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai U.S. yields have also jumped. U.S. Fed funds rate futures FFF8 on Friday were pricing in a roughly 45 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by December, versus around 25 percent at the start of this week. CRYPTO CRUSH U.S. stock futures ESc1 pointed to a steady start for the S&P 500, which is on track for a near 1.5 percent rise this week after another run of record highs. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific share index excluding Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS shed 0.1 percent in reaction to the North Korea missile overnight, though it was still up 0.7 percent on the week. Slideshow (3 Images) Japan''s Nikkei .N225 gained 0.5 percent and a more than 3 percent jump gave it its best week since November in a directly inverse move to the yen. “There have been reports (for a while) suggesting North Korea is preparing a missile launch, so this was by no means a surprise,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities. “In a way, this seems like something markets have already experienced before, thus producing a limited reaction,” he added. Oil prices were lower on Friday but largely held the gains that had prices testing flirting with multi-month highs the previous day as the clean-up after hurricanes in the United States meant a firmer tone for demand. Brent crude futures LCOc1 traded at $55.14 per barrel, down 0.6 percent on the day but up 2.5 percent on the week. They hit a five-month high of $55.99 on Thursday. Elsewhere, bitcoin BTC=BTSP slipped another 3 percent after having tumbled 16 percent on Thursday, when Chinese news outlet Yicai reported that China plans to shut down all bitcoin exchanges by the end of September. BTCChina, one of China’s top three exchanges, said on Thursday that it would stop all trading from Sept. 30. The cryptocurrency was down for an eighth consecutive day BTC=BTSP at close to $3,000 and was on track for its worst week since 2013, having slumped 25 percent since Monday. Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo, editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/u-s-stock-futures-drop-yen-gains-after-north-koreas-missile-launch-idUKKCN1BP37W'|'2017-09-15T02:00:00.000+03:00'
'ad79a061f9952a90724b41abc29eb618e6e53004'|'BRIEF-Italy''s Gamenet aims to sell at least 35 pct capital in IPO'|'Sept 15 (Reuters) - Italian lottery group Gamenet says:* aims to sell at least 35 percent of its capital in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO)* investors TCP Lux Eurinvest and Intralot Italian Investments will sell part of their stakes in IPO, TCP will keep at least 35 percent shareholding after listing* Banca IMI, Credit Suisse and UniCredit will act as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, Unicredit will act also as sponsor for the listing (Reporting by Milan newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-italys-gamenet-aims-to-sell-at-lea/brief-italys-gamenet-aims-to-sell-at-least-35-pct-capital-in-ipo-idINL5N1LW1LC'|'2017-09-15T06:42:00.000+03:00'
'8ec72c50fae3a0109ba3166e6c8a032792b6fadd'|'Germany urges Thyssenkrupp to reach deal with unions over Tata'|'The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Economy Minister urged management at Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) to seek an agreement with its workers over plans to merge the group’s European steel operations with those of Indian peer Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ).A joint venture with Tata Steel is the preferred option of Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger to restructure the group’s steel business, despite ongoing resistance from labor representatives, who fear thousands of job cuts.“Such an important and strategic corporate decision should be made following intensive consultation and in consensus with labor representatives. So far, the labor side is not convinced by the decision,” said Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries, a member of the Social Democrats.“This leads to uncertainty among employees. That is not good for the company and the workers.”Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board will gather on Sept. 24, the day of Germany’s general elections, to discuss the plan and the company this week said it was possible a memorandum of understanding could be announced this month.Unions will stage protests against the plans in the city of Bochum on Sept. 22.Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/germany-urges-thyssenkrupp-to-reach-deal-with-unions-over-tata-idUSKCN1BP265'|'2017-09-14T23:34:00.000+03:00'
'e0e708c77354d068e10dfcf04702b6c811d9f53e'|'Drug industry on tenterhooks as Maryland price-gouging law nears'|'September 15, 2017 / 11:06 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Drug industry on tenterhooks as Maryland price-gouging law nears Deena Beasley 5 Min Read A pharmacy employee dumps pills into a pill counting machine as she fills a prescription while working at a pharmacy in New York December 23, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (Reuters) - As U.S. consumer outrage grows over prescription drug prices, state authorities and patient advocates in Maryland are preparing to enforce the nation’s first law designed to punish drugmaker price-gouging. The state Attorney General’s office said it will field complaints and investigate “unconscionable increases” in essential generic medicines when the closely watched law takes effect Oct. 1. Drugmakers fear the Maryland law will embolden other states and are seeking a court injunction. Both sides made their arguments on Thursday before a U.S. District Court judge in Baltimore, who could decide on an injunction in the coming days. Anticipating the law will survive the legal challenge, the Attorney General’s office said it is working with health economists at Johns Hopkins University to identify price spikes, which are not made public by drugmakers. Patient advocacy groups are urging consumers to report increased costs for their medicines. Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative will add an option to report price gouging to its website. Pharmaceutical companies have so far dodged stricter federal oversight despite growing outrage over price hikes. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc ( VRX.TO ) raised the price of heart medications Isuprel by about 720 percent and Nitropress by 310 percent, after acquiring them in 2015. Mylan NV ( MYL.O ) raised the price of its life-saving EpiPen six-fold between 2008 and 2016. But states, struggling to cover rising healthcare costs, are taking up the fight. At least 176 bills on pharmaceutical pricing and payment have been introduced this year in 36 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Maryland’s law is the most aggressive legislation to be passed so far, and allows the state to levy fines and order a reversal of price increases. The Association for Accessible Medicines, a generic industry trade group that filed the lawsuit, argues that the law is unconstitutional because it does not define price-gouging and amounts to intervention by an individual state in interstate commerce. “The issue of drug pricing is a national issue ... not something that should be handled piecemeal in 50 different ways,” said Jeff Francer, general counsel for the trade group which represents companies like Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd ( TEVA.TA ) and Novartis AG’s ( NOVN.S ) Sandoz unit. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said that states have a well-defined role to play in policing “unconscionable” business activity against consumers, especially when they have no other recourse. He cited consumer contracts for telephone service, which are non-negotiable. DEFINING GOUGING The measure applies only to older, off-patent drugs. Generic copies of branded products, usually much cheaper than the originals, account for around 89 percent of U.S. prescription volume, but only 26 percent of total drug spending, according to Quintiles IMS Holdings Inc ( Q.N ). But price spikes on some critical treatments have hit consumers hard. The U.S. Government Accountability Office last year found that 315 generic drugs more than doubled in price since 2010. Maryland’s Frosh said the aim is to deter future steep increases. Before the law was passed, drugmakers had suggested setting a minimum increase of 100 percent as a threshold for investigation, but state officials feared that would incentivize price hikes up to that point, according to Frosh’s office. Several states have passed laws requiring drugmakers to disclose price increases, but the Maryland law is one of a few drawing the most attention from the drug industry. Nevada has been sued by two industry trade groups after passing in June a law requiring diabetes drugmakers to justify price increases above a certain amount. Ohio voters next year will decide on a ballot measure requiring drugmakers to offer state groups the same discounts given to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. A similar measure failed in California last year, but the state’s legislature this week approved a drug pricing bill requiring drugmakers to justify price increases over 16 percent in a two-year period. It now goes to the state’s governor for a final decision. “The states have decided to try and deal with this on their own,” said David Gibbons an attorney at Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, which specializes in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Reporting by Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-drugpricing/drug-industry-on-tenterhooks-as-maryland-price-gouging-law-nears-idUSKCN1BQ1E5'|'2017-09-15T14:20:00.000+03:00'
'50dcac8ae0ff985110ba9047126b9d45d3f655cd'|'EU to set out options for heftier online giant tax bills - Moscovici'|'The application icons of Facebook, Twitter and Google are displayed on an iPhone next to an earphone set in this illustration photo taken in Berlin, June 17, 2013. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski TALLINN (Reuters) - The European Commission will prepare in the coming days a list of legal options on how to make digital multinationals, like Google and Facebook, pay more tax, the commissioner responsible for taxation said on Friday.“The digital economy should be taxed as the rest of the economy,” Pierre Moscovici told reporters upon his arrival to a meeting of euro zone and EU finance ministers in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, which will discuss the taxation of the digital economy on a session on Saturday.He said the Commission will present in the coming days “a paper with all options available” to raise the tax bill for online giants, who are accused of paying too little in Europe by redirecting profits to low tax-rate countries, such as Ireland or Luxembourg.The document will be ready for the Sept. 29 summit of EU leaders on digital issues, Moscovici said.Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-eurogroup/eu-to-set-out-options-for-heftier-online-giant-tax-bills-moscovici-idUSKCN1BQ0T5'|'2017-09-15T10:53:00.000+03:00'
'1986c22e660e359f3d4f62d872fcb054a6bcbb78'|'U.S. retail sales post biggest drop in six months'|'September 15, 2017 / 12:35 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Hurricane Harvey slams U.S. retail sales, industrial output 5 Min Read Shoppers walk through Macy''s department store in New York November 20, 2007. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in August and industrial output recorded its biggest drop since 2009 as Hurricane Harvey disrupted activity, suggesting the storm could dent economic growth in the third quarter. Harvey, which lashed Texas in the last week of August, also has impacted the labor market. Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida last weekend, also is likely to hurt the economy, though analysts expect a rebound in the fourth quarter. “The early returns from Harvey are trickling in and the news is not good,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. “Economists are likely marking down third-quarter growth and marking up the fourth quarter.” The Commerce Department said retail sales dropped 0.2 percent last month, the biggest decline in six months as motor vehicle sales tumbled 1.6 percent. Sales of building materials, electronics and appliances as well as clothing also fell. While noting that it could not isolate the impact of Harvey on retail sales, the department said it received indications from companies that the hurricane had “both positive and negative effects on their sales data while others indicated they were not impacted at all.” Though Harvey likely depressed retail sales last month, data for July and June were revised down, suggesting a moderation in consumer spending after brisk growth in the second quarter. Economists had forecast retail sales nudging up 0.1 percent in August. While last month’s drop in motor vehicle sales was the largest in seven months, the replacement of flood-damaged vehicles, especially in the Houston area, is expected to deliver a boost. Overall retail sales increased 3.2 percent in August on a year-on-year basis. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales fell 0.2 percent last month after an unrevised 0.6 percent increase in July. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased at a 3.3 percent annualized rate in the second quarter. That boosted GDP growth to a 3.0percent rate in the April-June period. U.S. stocks inched up to record highs, while prices of U.S. Treasuries slipped. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies .DXY. ‘WALKING WOUNDED’ People line up at a Walmart store that reopened Friday after Tropical Storm Harvey in Port Arthur, Texas, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri In a separate report on Friday, the Federal Reserve said industrial production declined 0.9 percent in August. That was the biggest drop since May 2009 and followed six straight monthly gains. The Fed attributed about 0.75 percentage point of the decline to storm effects that “temporarily curtailed drilling, servicing, and extraction activity for oil and natural gas.” Economists expect industrial output to decline further in September, with Irma likely weighing on utilities. New trucks are shown for sale at a Chevrolet dealership in National City, California, U.S., June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake “Food processing is also going to join the list of the walking wounded because South Florida grows and processes a lot of food,” said Michael Montgomery, a U.S. economist at IHS Markit in Lexington, Massachusetts. Other data from the New York Fed on Friday showed its index of factory activity in New York state remained at lofty levels in September amid strong orders growth, indicating that manufacturing remains on solid ground apart from the storm-related distortions. The weak retail sales and industrial output reports prompted the Atlanta Fed to slash its third-quarter GDP estimate to a 2.2 percent rate from a 3.0 percent pace. The data, however, did little to change expectations that the Fed will announce a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities at its Sept. 19-20 policy meeting. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates again only in December. It has increased borrowing costs twice this year. Despite sluggish wage growth, even as the labor market nears full employment, the fundamentals for consumer spending are solid. In addition to the strong stock market, house prices have continued to rise. Last month, sales at building material stores fell 0.5 percent after surging 0.9 percent in July. Clean-up and rebuilding in the aftermath of Harvey and Irma could buoy sales of building materials in September. Receipts at service stations increased 2.5 percent in August, reflecting higher gasoline prices. Sales at electronics and appliance stores fell 0.7 percent and receipts at clothing stores dropped 1.0 percent after rising 0.5 percent in July. Sales at online retailers declined 1.1 percent in August, the biggest drop since April 2014. That was likely payback following a 1.8 percent surge in July, which was driven by Amazon.com’s ( AMZN.O ) Prime Day promotion. Receipts at restaurants and bars rose 0.3 percent and sales at sporting goods and hobby stores edged up 0.1 percent. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Additional reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-retail/u-s-retail-sales-unexpectedly-fall-in-august-idUSKCN1BQ1N1'|'2017-09-15T15:56:00.000+03:00'
'60a328f14ed2aaa5b389054710c7b05bba88d976'|'Barclays wins end to U.S. litigation over pre-crisis disclosures'|'NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc won the dismissal on Wednesday of U.S. class-action litigation by investors who bought its stock just months before the 2008 global financial crisis, and accused it of concealing its exposure to risky debt and an inability to manage credit risks.U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in Manhattan said investors failed to show that Barclays and underwriters led by Citigroup Inc deceived them when the British bank sold $2.5 billion of American depositary shares in April 2008.Though the shares lost 80 percent of their value by the following March, Crotty said much of that decline could have reflected fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, the bailout of U.S. insurer American International Group Inc, and government capital injections into other British banks.“In such circumstances, the prospect that the plaintiff’s loss was caused by the alleged misrepresentations decreases,” Crotty wrote in a 51-page decision.The decision could end 8-1/2 years of litigation, and remove one hurdle as Chief Executive Jes Staley focuses on scaling back Barclays’ geographic reach, increasing the bank’s emphasis on investment banking, and addressing various regulatory probes, including over the financial crisis.Lawyers for the investors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Barclays spokeswoman Kerrie Cohen declined to comment, as did Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos.The case is one of many accusing big banks of inflating their share prices by hiding or being too slow to fix souring credits on their balance sheets.Barclays wrote off 2.8 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) on subprime mortgages and other risky debt a few months after the ADS offering, and a large capital-raising plan soon followed.But Crotty said Barclays’ disclosures to investors about its capital strength and dealings with British financial regulators were sufficient, as were its disclosures about how further credit market “dislocations” might hurt its finances.“Given these disclosures, a reasonable investor would infer how continued credit market dislocation might reasonably be expected to have a material impact on future revenues,” leaving Barclays “vulnerable to additional write-downs,” Crotty wrote.The judge dismissed other parts of the lawsuit in 2011. A federal appeals court revived the portion about the $2.5 billion ADS offering two years later.The case is In re: Barclays Bank Plc Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-01989. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/barclays-lawsuit/barclays-wins-end-to-u-s-litigation-over-pre-crisis-disclosures-idUSL2N1LU2D6'|'2017-09-14T07:14:00.000+03:00'
'2b07427f136d688ff747ff061cd83ca00e8b4f9e'|'Energy firms battle startups to wire Europe''s highways for electric cars'|'September 15, 2017 / 6:16 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Energy firms battle startups to wire Europe''s highways for electric cars Geert De Clercq , Christoph Steitz 7 Min Read An electric car is being charged in a Paris street, France, September 12, 2017. Picture taken September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The battle over how and where Europeans charge their electric cars is expanding from the continent’s cities to its motorways. Power utilities, tech start-ups and oil majors are fighting to establish themselves as the dominant players in the fast-growing business of charging stations – but advances in electric vehicles means where they build them is changing. Refuelling conventional petrol and diesel cars on motorways has long been the domain of the oil companies, which typically have their own networks of filling stations. Several are now talking about setting up high-power charging networks, creating major competition for limited space at motorway service areas. “It is a bit of a landgrab now to win this sector,” said Tim Payne, chief executive of British charging start-up InstaVolt, which has raised 12 million pounds to install 3,000 charge points across Britain by 2020. While the range of electric vehicles (EVs) was less than 100 km (60 miles), Europe’s utilities were happy to help cities and companies install slow and inexpensive charging points at homes, offices and shops, often supported by state subsidies. But Tesla ( TSLA.O ), Porsche ( VOWG_p.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) are now making battery-powered cars with enough range to drive across countries. Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and Volkswagen also announced plans on the eve of this week’s Frankfurt motor show to accelerate their shift to electric cars. Charging infrastructure remains nowhere near it needs to be. “Where is the network of charging points that will be required? Indeed where is the power and the grid?” Ralf Speth, boss of Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover, asked last week. Experts including ChargePoint and Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) are, however, making plans to build pan-European networks of high-voltage fast-charging stations which can refill a battery in less than half an hour instead of overnight. In Britain, InstaVolt is renting land from filling station operators, bringing them additional revenue from the lease as well as the increased traffic to their shops at the sites. It earns a margin by selling power through the chargers. InstaVolt struck a deal in May with ChargePoint, which itself is on a $125 million expansion spree in Europe, to install about 200 of the U.S. group’s ultra-fast chargers close to popular roads across Britain. Related Coverage Factbox: From refueling to recharging: filling up electric vehicles UP FOR GRABS Morgan Stanley estimates that 1-3 million public charging points could be needed in western Europe by 2030, adding that while utilities have natural skills in the new industry, it was too early to determine who will come put on top. “The winning business model is up for grabs,” it said. Today, there are fewer than 100,000 public charging points available in Europe, with only about six percent of them fast, according to the International Energy Agency. Almost none of these is super-fast, a term usually used for charging stations with an output of at least 150 kilowatts. More than three times faster than current-generation chargers, they are now being targeted by those trying to become market leaders. Contenders include Dutch EV-Box, one of Europe’s biggest makers of charging stations, which was snapped up by French utility Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) in March. “We expect hundreds of millions of annual revenue from EV-Box in a few years,” Thierry Lepercq, head of innovation at Engie, told Reuters. He sees Engie’s EV charging revenue growing by a factor of 20 in three to five years. Last year, EV-Box had sales of 16 million euros ($19.1 million). FILE PHOTO: Tesla Supercharger station are seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo EV-Box Chief Executive Kristof Vereenooghe said that unlike most of its competitors EV-Box has been profitable from the start, a claim that makes it stand out in an industry where gaining scale is considered more important for now. That’s why German utility E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), too, announced a strategic partnership with Danish startup CLEVER and said it had the ambition to roll out several hundred ultra-fast charging stations along European motorways. CLEVER, which is owned by a group of Danish utilities and runs charging networks in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, wants to extend its network to France, Britain and Italy with E.ON. The firm, which unlike EV-Box and ChargePoint does not make its own hardware, is also still looking for other partners. “We want to connect cities so that you can easily drive across Europe in an electric vehicle,” CLEVER Chief Executive Casper Kirketerp-Moeller said. TALK LESS, INSTALL MORE Slideshow (6 Images) Among the oil majors, BP ( BP.L ), Shell ( RDSa.L ) and ( TOTF.PA ) have all either announced plans or launched pilot projects for EV charging. Few people, however, expect them to become serious contenders for a business that would effectively curb demand for their chief product: oil. BP did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Shell said it did not make economic sense yet to equip petrol stations fully with EV charging points. “People like Shell and Total talk a lot, but nothing happens. We are putting the grid connection in place,” said Michiel Langezaal, founder and chief executive of Fastned, which has 63 EV charging stations in the Netherlands. Leasing plots of land, the group wants to raise 100 million euros over the next two years to branch out into Germany, Belgium, France and Britain. So far it gets the stations from Swiss ABB ( ABBN.S ) but is also in talks with ChargePoint. Unlike utilities and charging station startups, electric vehicle makers see fast charging networks not as a profit center, but as a loss-leader needed to persuade customers that electric vehicles can drive across continents. That seems to work for some. Tesla, for example, operates a proprietary charging network throughout Europe, mainly in hotels, but it is stretched thinly - in the Ile de France region around Paris it has just a handful of “superchargers”. This year, the group’s market valuation surpassed that of General Motors ( GM.N ), making it the biggest U.S. carmaker by that measure. “Tesla has never been in the black, but had enormous growth,” said Elke Temme, who co-heads the e-mobility unit of Germany’s Innogy ( IGY.DE ). “Going forward, however, the business must pay off.” For a graphic, click here editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-electricity-autos-charging/energy-firms-battle-startups-to-wire-europes-highways-for-electric-cars-idINKCN1BQ0JG'|'2017-09-15T09:04:00.000+03:00'
'201e45fefae02d7a7a722bf5d902a1553046f25a'|'The business of sperm banks'|'BROWSING websites that list sperm donors is weirdly similar to online dating. “Sanford is the total package,” begins one online ad, describing his strong jawline and piercing blue eyes. With a degree in finance and a “charming demeanour”, he is more than a pretty face. You can listen to a voice recording from Sanford himself. If all that wins you over, you can have his baby without ever having to go on a date. For $635, Seattle Sperm Bank (SSB) will post you a vial of his frozen swimmers.The fact that the main customers for many sperm banks are now single women explains the marketing technique. “They tend to be highly educated, impatient and picky,” says Ole Schou, founder of Cryos International, the world’s largest sperm bank, based in Denmark’s second-biggest city, Aarhus. Its website is designed to resemble Match.com, a dating site, because “finding a donor should be as close to finding a natural partner as possible.”  4   7   13 hours ago Foreign reserves 13   15   Outside the Cryos office, a steady trickle of young men park their bicycles and head for the donor room, which is equipped with the usual pornographic magazines, a television and an inexplicable cactus. After they hand in their contributions, lab technicians test them and sort them by quality. The samples are labelled, frozen and stored in five large vats of liquid nitrogen at -196°C. Once orders come in they will be shipped to homes, clinics and other sperm banks in over 100 countries.Fertility is a sizeable industry; commercial sperm banks are a crucial and profitable part of it. The global sperm-bank business could be worth nearly $5bn by 2025, according to Grand View Research, a market-research firm in California. Demand has risen strongly. That is partly because people in rich countries are postponing their childbearing years; they struggle to conceive as a result. But an even greater reason is that in more places, it is both legal and increasingly acceptable for lesbian couples and single women to have children. These groups make up 60% and 90% of clients at Cryos and SSB, respectively.As demand rises, politicians and regulators are trying to exert more control. That has created a patchwork of rules that affect sources of both supply and demand. In some countries, such as Britain and the Netherlands, anonymous donation of sperm has been outlawed, contributing to sperm shortages; in others, such as France and Spain, donors must be anonymous. In Canada, donors cannot be paid; in most European countries they can be compensated only for expenses; in America there are no limits on remuneration.As for buyers of sperm, many head for jurisdictions where waiting times and prices are lower or the level of testing or information about the donor greater, or because restrictive rules at home prevent them from receiving donor sperm altogether. In Hong Kong and Switzerland, for example, only married, heterosexual couples are eligible for treatment with donor sperm. In France lesbians and single women are excluded. This legislative hodgepodge represents opportunity for those that can export sperm. Thanks to dry ice, the internet and DHL, good-quality sperm has become highly tradable.Where did you guys gamete?The industry has not always been in the hands of businessmen. For much of the 20th century, infertile couples would see a doctor who would pull his best-looking student from the corridor and use his freshly volunteered sperm to inseminate the woman, recalls Rene Almeling at Yale University. No records were kept. The HIV epidemic of the 1980s ended such shenanigans. Freezing, quarantining and testing both sperm and donors became crucial.Worried about rising costs and legal liability, medical clinics left the business and commercial sperm banks filled the gap. The market has become highly competitive. Many customers need between six and ten vials to conceive, and with lots coming back for siblings, the business is all about the first sell. Cryos’s sales department is bigger than the science lab.Sperm banks can be divided into two groups: those that regard sperm donation as a medical matter and those that do not. Firms such as Cryos are adamant that donation to a healthy woman is not a medical issue. “It takes place millions of times each day without a doctor,” argues Mr Schou. Other sperm banks emphasise clinical expertise. “We provide the highest quality donors for the safest possible babies and happiest families,” says Fredrik Andreasson, chief financial officer of Seattle Sperm Bank, which focuses not just on healthy but on “sellable” donors, such as doctors. It prides itself in accepting only 1% of donors and on testing for more genetic diseases than any other bank.Prices for sperm have roughly doubled over the past decade at several banks. London Sperm Bank now charges £950 ($1,261) per vial. At Cryos the cheapest, anonymous vials start at €40 ($48); the highest quality, with an identifiable donor, extra tests and more information, cost up to €1,600. Customers can gain “exclusive access” by buying out a donor for €12,000-30,000. American banks tend to charge extra for information. Want to see a picture or hear the donor’s voice? That will be $25.For Amy Graves and her partner Claire Harrison, from Britain, information from Cryos about donors was crucial. “As I was going to carry the baby it was important to us that there were similarities between the donor and Claire,” explains Ms Graves. They settled on a man who loved football, like Claire, and martial arts, like Amy, and who shares Claire’s favourite colour (red) and some of her facial features.The commercialisation of sperm, eggs and other human tissue makes many people uneasy. Sperm banks are elusive about profit margins, but if a donor is paid $100 per sample, often split into as many as five vials, sold for $500-1,000 each, margins ought to be healthy even after costs. Yet the non-profit market has failed many people desperate to have children. After Britain started a national sperm bank in 2014, it recruited just eight donors in two years.The industry has challenges. Heterosexual couples are increasingly likely to freeze their own eggs and sperm cells for later; fertility treatments with the poorest sperm are improving. Last year the first steps towards making sex cells out of body cells were detailed in Nature , a science journal. But for the foreseeable future, more sperm banks will be advertising for donors who “have what it takes” and are willing to lend a hand to modern families everywhere.  "Seed capital"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728982-modern-families-and-differing-national-laws-mean-opportunities-companies-business?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'd5338d8ea0305ef469ed4d914fc5342ff922cb7b'|'Shoe seller Aerosoles plans bankruptcy -sources'|'NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Women’s shoe retailer Aerosoles Group is planning to file bankruptcy to exit its unprofitable store leases, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.The shoe seller’s bankruptcy will come as soon as this month, said one of the people. Aerosoles, known for its comfortable flats and wedges sold in its own shops and in department stores, plans to remain in business, unlike many other retailers who filed for bankruptcy in recent years and liquidated, said the people.At least a dozen retailers selling apparel, electronics and discount shoes have filed for bankruptcy this year to slash their store count and better compete with e-commerce giants such as Amazon.com Inc.The shoeseller, which has about 80 stores in the United States, plans to move forward after bankruptcy with about a quarter of those locations, the people said. Aerosoles has not made rent payments for September, said one of the people.Edison, New Jersey-based Aerosoles and its private equity owner Palladin Consumer Retail Partners did not return calls or emails seeking comment. The people could not be identified because the company’s plans are not yet public.Reuters reported in July that the company was considering strategic options including a sale or debt restructuring with help from investment bank Piper Jaffray Companies and financial advisory consultant Berkeley Research Group.The company was once part of storied shoemaker Kenneth Cole Productions Inc.In addition to battling e-commerce, Aerosoles has also been challenged in luring shoppers to its stores and website with products that stand out from its competitors, as more of them now offer affordable, comfortable shoes.Aerosoles also has more than 300 stores around the world including in China, India and Peru.Aerosoles competitor Payless ShoeSource Inc emerged from bankruptcy last month after filing this year and closing hundreds of stores. Trendy shoe label Nine West Holdings Inc hired an advisor to find ways to bolster its balance sheet. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/aerosoles-ma-bankruptcy/shoe-seller-aerosoles-plans-bankruptcy-sources-idINL2N1LV1IE'|'2017-09-14T21:12:00.000+03:00'
'692d6838d6c5529176c297fec52a9e429983aa6b'|'The eurozone may be back on its feet. But is Greece?'|'The Observer The eurozone may be back on its feet. But is Greece? Jean-Claude Juncker believes Europe is starting to recover at last. But the picture from the union’s most fallible economy is very mixed French President Emmanuel Macron declared Greece’s prolonged crisis was over in his Athens speech. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters The Observer The eurozone may be back on its feet. But is Greece? Jean-Claude Juncker believes Europe is starting to recover at last. But the picture from the union’s most fallible economy is very mixed View more sharing options Saturday 16 September 2017 16.00 BST Last modified on Sunday 17 September 2017 01.00 BST I s the eurozone on the mend? Jean-Claude Juncker certainly thinks so. The EU president was upbeat in Brussels last week as he gave his annual state-of-the-union address, proclaiming that “the wind is back in Europe’s sails”. Juncker’s optimism appeared to match the view from Greece , the currency bloc’s problem child. In Athens only the previous week, the visiting French president, Emmanuel Macron, had been even more enthusiastic, declaring against the backdrop of the Acropolis that Greece’s prolonged crisis was over, and that therefore Europe’s was too. Macron’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, went further, calling the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, “a real leader [who] works for the common good … a prime minister who works with great courage”. But if progress on Greece’s privatisation programme is anything to go by, the eurozone’s most troubled economy is still in the foothills of recovery. Despite signs of resurgence – at 0.7%, Greece recorded two consecutive quarters of growth this year for the first time since 2006, and made a successful test return to the markets – foreign sell-offs have been plagued by red tape and political resistance. To the delight of many, nonetheless, Tsipras, the man who set Europe ablaze with Marxist ideology and anti-austerity rage back in the heady days of January 2015, is becoming more pragmatic by the day. The 42-year-old’s embrace of the free-market policies he once abhorred was cemented last Sunday, when he announced that he would personally oversee the foreign investment drive now viewed as key to curing the curse of Greece’s unemployment rate. More than a fifth of the country’s working-age adults are out of work. A worker from an Eldorado gold mine in northern Greece protests against the threatened suspension of the company’s investment in Greece, outside the environment ministry in Athens. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images During his annual economic policy speech, before an audience of mostly Chinese investors, the former firebrand promised to create a taskforce with the sole purpose of resolving the bureaucratic hurdles that are often the greatest impediment to business in Greece. Moreover, it was a body he would head. “It is obvious. Our policies have changed radically, ” says Stergios Pitsiorlas, the deputy economy and development minister, whose airy office is visited daily by bankers, hedge-fund managers and industrialists jockeying for bargains. “Being leftwing doesn’t mean you are also a fool. It doesn’t mean, in the words of Lenin, that we are useful idiots. Let’s speak seriously. Those who complain that Greece is being sold off, that Greece will lose out, don’t know what they are talking about.” Tall, bearded and bespectacled, Pitsiorlas is the point man in Athens’s attempt to raise €60bn (£53bn) through privatisations – sales that, increasingly, have become the focus of international creditors keeping the debt-stricken country afloat. In what has been called the most ambitious sell-off in modern European history, assets ranging from public utilities and transport companies to marinas and hotels are up for grabs. But amid growing tensions between foreign investors and government officials – and between European investors and the Chinese – Pitsiorlas also is an exception to the hostility that other ministers in Tsipras’s Syriza-led government are exhibiting to sales many consider to be a crime. On Monday, as problems mounted, tensions worsened dramatically when the Canadian mining company Eldorado Gold threatened to end its €3bn investment in Greece, citing delays in permits from the development ministry. In a move aimed at eliciting maximum embarrassment from the government, it issued the threat less than 48 hours after Tsipras declared that “Grinvestment” had replaced fears of “Grexit” and was now the mot du jour. Violent protests erupted as employees demonstrated outside the ministry in Athens. Eldorado is the country’s biggest foreign investor, and its mines in northern Greece will provide 2,000 jobs. On Tuesday, the country’s transport minister, Christos Spirtzis, upped the ante, delivering a withering indictment of the operational skills of Fraport, a German consortium managing 14 regional airports, many on popular tourist islands, under a 40-year concession. Not only had the consortium not moved ahead with modernisation of the facilities, it had failed to maintain basic standards of cleanliness, he said. “We even have problems with sanitation in the WCs, which are worse than can ever be remembered.” European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was upbeat about the eurozone during his state-of-the-union address. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters The accusation drew a strong rebuke from Fraport, which claimed master plans submitted for infrastructure upgrades had yet to be approved. On Wednesday, as officials rushed to start the process of providing Eldorado with permits, uncertainty over the redevelopment of Athens’s former Hellinikon airport peaked when the powerful Archaeological Council postponed a long-awaited decision over whether the site should be redeveloped at all. At €8bn, it would be Europe’s biggest foreign investment. “What all of these things do is send a terrible message to investors,” Athens’s mayor, Giorgos Kaminis, told the Observer . “The left is usually associated with being progressive, but in this case we are talking about a left that is deeply conservative – state ideologues that don’t really want progress at all.” Weakest eurozone economies on long road to recovery Read more Kaminis will run for the leadership of a new, unified centre-left party that will bridge the space between Syriza and its main opposition, New Democracy. Pasok, Greece’s old social democratic party, is associated exclusively with the country’s economic meltdown and was pulverised when the debt crisis erupted in late 2009. With the ardently pro-European, reform-minded Kaminis believed to be a shoo-in, Tsipras is watching nervously – and, in the process, also shifting ground. Privatisations are central to completion of a new round of bailout negotiations with the EU and International Monetary Fund. Greece’s third, €86bn, rescue programme is due to end next summer and Tsipras has made a clean exit from it, which would herald Athens’s return to the markets, an overarching goal. But hurdles lie ahead. On Friday, eurozone finance ministers warned that continued persecution of the country’s former statistics chief, Andreas Georgiou, could dent international confidence and derail chances of recovery. Officials also raised the prospect of fresh austerity should Greece fail to hit the primary surplus target of 3.5% – a prospect made likely by a huge shortfall in tax revenues. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras is becoming more pragmatic by the day. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images But in a week when the Italians finally took control of Greece’s state-owned train network (acquired by Italy’s own state operator for a paltry €45m) Pitsiorlas is optimistic. He cites the takeover of Piraeus port by the Chinese shipping conglomerate Cosco as an example of what privatisations can bring: “They will make it the biggest port in Europe and that will boost other professions, create thousands of jobs, revitalise shipyards, which they are also looking at, pave the way to better trains, roads and logistic centres, and trigger development and growth.” In five years, he enthuses, Greece will be a very different place, cosmopolitan and vibrant. “There are rules which need to be observed but ultimately everything will be solved,” he insisted, referring to the obstacles Eldorado and others have encountered. “A miracle will happen. There will be huge change … but the state can’t do it alone, the private sector has to be involved.” Ever since Athens’s debt crisis exploded, successive governments – hit by fury over pay cuts, pension reductions and tax rises – have tried to claw back support by resorting to a narrative of recovery and success. With Syriza trailing by as much as 16 percentage points in the polls, Tsipras is proving to be no different, emphasising the seven-point drop in unemployment since 2015, a 7.5% jump in exports and a bumper year for tourism. Problem-plagued foreign investment efforts puncture the narrative, with many believing that recovery can be assured only when the Greek prime minister tackles entrenched resistance among his own hard-left cadre. Youth joblessness is still running at 45%, while the country’s €300bn debt burden is an unsustainable 180% of GDP. But unlike his predecessors, Tsipras has received unprecedented support from fellow EU leaders. They are aware that only a leftist could pass the gruelling austerity asked of Greeks, and are now desperate to prove the point that, far from being in inexorable decline, Europe is bouncing back – with its weakest member still on board. The eurozone strikes back - why Europe is booming again Read more '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/eurozone-back-on-its-feet-but-what-about-greece'|'2017-09-16T18:00:00.000+03:00'
'04e28279f32a145d3aac3cea7c839b6733bf8bcb'|'Nikkei edges up despite N.Korea missile launch as dollar/yen steadies'|'* Nikkei up 0.15 pct, on track for weekly gain of 2.9 pct* N.Korea missile launch not entirely unexpected, reaction calmBy Shinichi SaoshiroTOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average inched up on Friday with the market apparently unruffled by North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, wih the dollar remaining relatively stable against the yen despite Pyongyang’s latest challenge.Prior to the Tokyo financial markets’ open on Friday, North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean, South Korean and Japanese officials said.The Nikkei initially dipped in a knee-jerk reaction soon after the open but pared the losses and last stood at 19,835.43, up 0.15 percent on the day.The index was poised to end 2.9 higher on the week, helped by Wall Street’s surge to record highs and a weaker yen.On Thursday the Nikkei had risen to 19,918.39, its highest level since Aug. 9, rebounding from a four-month low of 19,239.52 set a week ago on North Korea and Hurricane Irma concerns.Pyongyang’s missile launch on Friday capped Japan’s equity markets but was unable to trigger the sort of risk aversion seen last week.“The Nikkei is holding up as currencies have reacted relatively calmly to the missile launch, with dollar/yen back above the 110.00 yen threshold,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.“Also, the missile launch did not catch the market entirely off guard, as North Korea was expected to react after the latest U.N. Security Council sanctions.”The dollar fell to as low as 109.550 yen after North Korea launched the missile but last stood at 110.200, unchanged from late U.S. trade on Thursday.Oil producer Inpex Corp added 1.6 percent after it extended a production sharing agreement with Azerbaijan’s state oil company. The duration of Inpex’s production-sharing agreement on oil fields in Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea sector has been extended by 25 years until 2049.Astellas Pharma Inc advanced 3.3 percent after the company and Pfizer Inc said on Thursday their blockbuster prostate cancer drug met the main goal of a key study that tested it for treating the disease in its early stages.Shares related to bitcoin fell after the cryptocurrency remained volatile after it was reported that China plans to close all bitcoin exchanges by the end of September.Financial information service provider Fisco Ltd, which operates a cryptocurrency exchange, fell 3.4 percent. Remixpoint Inc, which is also engaged in virtual currency trading services, lost 4.9 percent. Caica Inc, a systems company involved in blockchain technology research, dropped 1.5 percent.The broader Topix was 0.15 percent higher at 1,634.63 after setting a two-year high of 1,642.56 on Thursday. '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday/nikkei-edges-up-despite-n-korea-missile-launch-as-dollar-yen-steadies-idINL4N1LW0T0'|'2017-09-14T23:51:00.000+03:00'
'20d5a3950395d3b472034db66fd693e4bed3b8ce'|'Union, Invesco, Schroders to absorb research costs after reform'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Four major asset managers said on Friday they no longer planned to ask clients to pick up the bill for external investment research when new European Union rules come into force in January 2018.Germany’s Union Investment, Britain’s Schroders ( SDR.L ) and U.S. peers Invesco ICZ.N and Janus Henderson ( JHG.N ) had all planned to pass on some or all of the costs to investors in their funds, but since then many of their rivals had said they would fully absorb the costs.BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, on Thursday joined the list of companies that said they would bear research costs when the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, or MiFID-II, comes into force on Jan. 3.The decision by the four managers leaves Amundi as the biggest in a shrinking group of rivals still planning to charge clients for some of all of their external research.Under the rules, asset managers will have to agree a price for all research obtained from brokers and then either pay for it themselves or pass it on to clients. Previously they were given research for free in exchange for trading through the brokers.Related Coverage Factbox: Asset managers'' plans for handling investment research costs under EU''s MiFID-II“Union Investment has decided that it will no longer charge external research costs... and instead will recognize them in its own income statement,” it said in a statement.Union Investment said the decision came after the firm completed several in-house projects to calculate future research costs.“Our objective was that the total amount of future transaction and research costs would not be any higher than they are currently,” Chief Executive Hans Joachim Reinke said.“We therefore anticipate that, following our decision, the total costs for our customers will be lower.”Invesco said last month it preferred to fund payments for external research in a way that involved passing costs on to clients, although it acknowledged legal and regulatory uncertainties and competitive pressure could see that change.On Friday, the company, which manages $876.9 billion in assets across a range of equity, fixed income and other funds, said it had decided to pay for research for Mifid-impacted funds and client accounts from January.“We are committed to ensuring our investment professionals have access to the external research market, which is critical to decision-making and delivering the long term investment excellence our clients have come to expect from Invesco.”Schroders, which already paid for all external research for its quantitative equity and fixed income funds, said it would also now pay for research on its other equity funds, after previously planning to pass the costs on to clients.It also said it was considering applying this approach to other jurisdictions.“While we have met the main research principles of MiFID II for a number of years, we have concluded that we should absorb the cost of research for those clients affected by MiFID II,” Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive, said in a statement.Editing by Keith Weir, '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mifid2-research-union-investment/union-investment-to-absorb-mifid-ii-research-costs-idUSKCN1BQ1KW'|'2017-09-15T20:15:00.000+03:00'
'015cd74ebf93c7384d7a38b1d60976992ce3420f'|'UPDATE 1-France''s Engie gets two bids for coal-fired power plant in Australia -sources'|'* Sale to be decided before year-end - Engie* Energy market uncertainty clouds power plant valuation* Analyst estimates range between $300 mln and $1 bln (Adds banker, Prime Minister comments)By Sonali Paul and Paulina DuranMELBOURNE/SYDNEY, Sept 15 (Reuters) - France’s Engie SA has received final bids from Chinese-owned Alinta Energy and private Australian firm Delta Electricity for its Loy Yang B coal-fired power plant in Australia, two people familiar with the process said on Friday.A final decision on the sale - which some analysts have estimated could fetch as much as $1 billion - is expected before the end of this year, an Engie spokesman said, declining to comment on bids. The people familiar with the matter declined to be identified because the sale process is confidential.Loy Yang B, a 953-megawatt (MW) plant located in Victoria state, is 70 percent owned by Engie and 30 percent owned by Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. Both companies are selling their stakes.Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, owner of Alinta, and Delta Electricity declined to comment. Mitsui had no immediate comment.Coal-fired Loy Yang B is seen as critical to stable power supply in Australia’s eastern states, where households and major businesses have been hit by a string of blackouts over the past year at times of high demand and weak wind power.However, bankers and analysts say valuing the plant has been made more complicated by uncertainty over the national government’s energy policy, which has made power prices volatile and deterred construction of new baseload power stations.As a result of the uncertainty, one banker not involved in the deal said $1 billion might be too big a price for Engie and Mitsui to expect.The sale will be a test of how much the energy market has changed since AGL Energy bought the larger, neighbouring Loy Yang A power plant in 2012 and Bayswater in 2014.Based on prices AGL paid, Loy Yang B would be worth around A$330 million ($265 million). But power prices have surged since then, due to the closure of other coal-fired power plants, creating a shortfall of power to back up intermittent wind energy and made baseload power plants more valuable.At the same time, the Australian government is pushing AGL to extend the life of its Liddell coal-fired plant beyond 2022 to shore up baseload power supply and avert price spikes, which could make the market less profitable for other plants.“The important thing here is that we are doing everything we can to ensure that Australians have reliable and affordable power,” Turnbull told reporters this week after talks with AGL.Engie is being advised by Rothschild.$1 = 1.2505 Australian dollars Reporting by Sonali Paul and Paulina Duran; Additional reporting by Donny Kwok in HONG KONG; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/australia-engie/update-1-frances-engie-gets-two-bids-for-coal-fired-power-plant-in-australia-sources-idINL4N1LW23A'|'2017-09-15T04:17:00.000+03:00'
'bafa5827399364ddcc4d65673a35e3180bf1dd17'|'ECB must be cautious in exiting extraordinary monetary policy - Schaeuble'|'September 15, 2017 / 12:06 AM / Updated 9 hours ago ECB must be cautious in exiting extraordinary monetary policy - Schaeuble Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble presents draft budget for 2018 and mid-term plans for state spending until 2021 during a news conference in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a newspaper interview that the European Central Bank needed to be very cautious when ending its ultra-loose monetary policy to prevent a nervous reaction from financial markets. After buying more than 2 trillion euros (1.78 trillion pounds) worth of bonds since 2015, the ECB is expected to announce next month it will slow the pace of its purchases, since economic growth is accelerating and inflation is stable, albeit sluggish. “The exit from extraordinary monetary policy needs to be approached very cautiously so that financial markets do not react over-nervously,” Schaeuble said in an interview with Passauer Neue Presse newspaper. “That’s why this needs to be communicated properly. Central bankers can do that better than politicians,” said Schaeuble, who belongs to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives - the party expected to win a Sept. 24 election. Regarding the ECB’s October meeting, Schaeuble said: “We should have confidence that the ECB will live up to its responsibility.” Schaeuble said the euro zone economy was faring far better than many sceptical observers had thought would be possible several years ago. “In all countries - including Greece - the economy is growing. Disparities in competitiveness are being reduced,” he said. “The extraordinary monetary policy with low interest rates and bond-buying was necessary to overcome the economic crisis,” he added. Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Toby Chopra '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-schaeuble/ecb-must-be-cautious-in-exiting-extraordinary-monetary-policy-schaeuble-idUKKCN1BQ008'|'2017-09-15T03:06:00.000+03:00'
'8b4de77727aa99ff084b47c4b5c316cc0ba85405'|'Dubai awards $3.9 bln solar energy contract to Shanghai Electric, ACWA Power'|'DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai’s state energy utility awarded a $3.9 billion contract to build and run a 700 megawatt solar power plant to a consortium comprising Shanghai Electric and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, the government said on Saturday.The project will feature a 260-metre (850-foot) tower receiving focused sunlight, the world’s tallest such tower, the government said. The consortium bid to supply electricity to Dubai for 7.3 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour.The first stage of the project is due to be commissioned in late 2020. It is part of the Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Solar Park, a vast complex which is projected to generate 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030.The government aims to use the solar park and other energy sources to increase the share of clean energy in Dubai’s power output to 7 percent by 2020, 25 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2050.Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Robin Pomeroy '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-dubai-solar/dubai-awards-3-9-billion-solar-energy-contract-to-shanghai-electric-acwa-power-idUSKCN1BR0JU'|'2017-09-16T18:29:00.000+03:00'
'd5210cb926d0979d9cf582ffdef1c939fed9f6a6'|'LSE buys further stake in clearing arm LCH'|'  5:44 PM / 3 hours ago LSE buys further stake in clearing arm LCH Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L (LSE) has agreed to buy an additional stake of up to 6.8 percent in its clearing arm LCH from some of its minority shareholders, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. LSE did not disclose the terms of the deals, in a brief statement issued after markets closed. In 2013 LSE acquired a majority stake in LCH Clearnet by paying 15 euros per share. After the deal, LSE was expected to own up to 57.8 percent of the firm, leaving other LCH shareholders with at most 42.2 percent. LSE has committed to invest to drive growth after the collapse of its proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse DBIGn.DE and in August reported a higher first-half profit, partly helped by a strong performance in its clearing business. LCH currently dominates clearing of euro-denominated financial instruments but the future location of euro clearing is uncertain following Britain’s move to leave the European Union. The European Commission has proposed that the EU would help supervise clearing houses like LCH in London after Brexit, with forced relocation of clearing to a euro zone rival such as Eurex only a last resort. LSE said on Wednesday that all shareholders in LCH had been notified of the share sale and that it would in due course confirm its updated shareholding in LCH following the deals. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lse-deals/lse-buys-further-stake-in-clearing-arm-lch-idUKKCN1BO2CD'|'2017-09-13T20:43:00.000+03:00'
'2fa05749b7fe438255be29a7745cba8b64f5d5a9'|'Uber, Waymo clash over key evidence in self-driving trial'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:42 PM / 24 minutes ago Uber, Waymo clash over key evidence in self-driving trial Dan Levine 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An Uber sign is seen in a car in New York, U.S. June 30, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber has asked a U.S. judge to exclude evidence from an upcoming trade-secrets trial about how a former engineer downloaded thousands of confidential files from Alphabet Inc’s Waymo self-driving car unit before eventually joining Uber. Uber’s request was contained in a series of court filings late on Wednesday, in which both companies sought to shape how the high-profile trial will proceed next month. The companies are also disputing whether jurors should hear evidence from Alphabet’s chief legal officer David Drummond, and from Bill Gurley, a prominent Silicon Valley investor. Both Drummond and Gurley have previously served on Uber’s board. Waymo claimed in a lawsuit earlier this year that former engineer Anthony Levandowski downloaded more than 14,000 confidential files before leaving to set up a self-driving truck company, which Uber acquired soon after. Uber denies it used any of Waymo’s trade secrets. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Oct. 10. In a court filing, Uber said it interviewed an Alphabet employee who described the 14,000 files as “low value.” Six of the nine Waymo trade secrets at issue in trial were not contained in the 14,000 files at all, Uber said. Of the remaining three, one is mentioned vaguely, and the other two could easily have been replicated without reference to the downloaded files. FILE PHOTO - The Waymo logo is displayed during the company''s unveil of a self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivan during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid In response, Waymo said jurors should be allowed to decide for themselves how important the materials are. “Both Levandowski and Uber recognised the value of the contents within these stolen documents,” they wrote. Beyond the downloads, Uber said it should be allowed to argue that Waymo brought the lawsuit in bad faith to slow down a competitor. As evidence, Uber wants to tell jurors that Drummond failed to fully disclose Waymo’s self-driving car plans while he served on Uber’s board. Waymo said Drummond did nothing improper, and his actions have no relevance to the trade secret claims in the case. For its part, Waymo wants to cite testimony from Bill Gurley, a Benchmark Capital general partner who served on Uber’s board before resigning earlier this year. Benchmark subsequently sued Uber ex-chief executive, Travis Kalanick, seeking to force him off the company’s board, but that case was moved to arbitration. Gurley testified in a deposition that he would not have approved acquiring Levandowski’s company had he known the facts of Levandowski’s downloads. Uber said Gurley’s testimony is too speculative to allow into evidence. Editing by Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-alphabet-lawsuit/uber-waymo-clash-over-key-evidence-in-self-driving-trial-idUKKCN1BP2RJ'|'2017-09-14T21:42:00.000+03:00'
'b58cda772f2af33a4bc7efa1572f7f4fb3bb20ba'|'AXA explores options for European asset management arm - Bloomberg'|'September 14, 2017 / 5:54 PM / 19 minutes ago AXA explores options for European asset management arm - Bloomberg Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Logos of France''s biggest insurer Axa are seen on a building in Nanterre, near Paris, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo (Reuters) - French insurer AXA ( AXAF.PA ) is reviewing options for its European asset management business, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources close to the matter. AXA, Europe''s second-largest insurer, is looking at either a merger for the business or a joint venture, with Natixis ( CNAT.PA ) said to be among the potential partners, Bloomberg said. ( bloom.bg/2xnCo0r ) The company has not made any final decision and could yet retain the business, Bloomberg said. The French insurer said in May that it planned to list its U.S. life insurance and asset management business in 2018 to free up capital and pursue takeover targets elsewhere. A spokesman for AXA declined to comment on the report. Reporting by Philip George in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-axa-sa-asset-management-m-a/axa-explores-options-for-european-asset-management-arm-bloomberg-idUKKCN1BP2O6'|'2017-09-14T20:54:00.000+03:00'
'ae9ac464b74f503da7dd99e411ff4a1298e2095e'|'Bank of England says ready to act on Brexit banking risks'|'September 13, 2017 / 6:07 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Bank of England says ready to act on Brexit banking risks Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Britain''s Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Jon Cunliffe speaks during the Bank of England''s financial stability report at the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain June 27, 2017. REUTERS/ Jonathan Brady/Pool LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England is taking a close look at financial institutions’ plans to handle Britain’s departure from the European Union and will take action if they pose risks, BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Wednesday. “We are monitoring the plans of the financial institutions in the UK, their plans for how they are going to deal with Brexit. We are also monitoring the plans of all of the European Union firms that operate in the UK,” Cunliffe told broadcaster Sky News in an interview. “And if we start to see financial stability risks coming out of those plans ... then we will take action,” he added. Many banks are starting to implement plans to move some staff and operations out of Britain before the country leaves the European Union in March 2019. Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-boe/bank-of-england-says-ready-to-act-on-brexit-banking-risks-idUKKCN1BO2EY'|'2017-09-13T21:07:00.000+03:00'
'c937c1d5e9b24dd24b4f358412f353c4e7101f2b'|'Barclays wins end to U.S. litigation over pre-crisis disclosures'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:18 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Barclays wins end to U.S. litigation over pre-crisis disclosures Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Barclays sign is seen outside a branch of the bank in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barclays Plc ( BARC.L ) won the dismissal on Wednesday of U.S. class-action litigation by investors who bought its stock just months before the 2008 global financial crisis, and accused it of concealing its exposure to risky debt and an inability to manage credit risks. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in Manhattan said investors failed to show that Barclays and underwriters led by Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) deceived them when the British bank sold $2.5 billion (1.89 billion pounds) of American depositary shares in April 2008. Though the shares lost 80 percent of their value by the following March, Crotty said much of that decline could have reflected fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, the bailout of U.S. insurer American International Group Inc, and government capital injections into other British banks. “In such circumstances, the prospect that the plaintiff’s loss was caused by the alleged misrepresentations decreases,” Crotty wrote in a 51-page decision. The decision could end 8-1/2 years of litigation, and remove one hurdle as Chief Executive Jes Staley focuses on scaling back Barclays’ geographic reach, increasing the bank’s emphasis on investment banking, and addressing various regulatory probes, including over the financial crisis. Lawyers for the investors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Barclays spokeswoman Kerrie Cohen declined to comment, as did Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos. The case is one of many accusing big banks of inflating their share prices by hiding or being too slow to fix souring credits on their balance sheets. Barclays wrote off 2.8 billion pounds on subprime mortgages and other risky debt a few months after the ADS offering, and a large capital-raising plan soon followed. But Crotty said Barclays’ disclosures to investors about its capital strength and dealings with British financial regulators were sufficient, as were its disclosures about how further credit market “dislocations” might hurt its finances. “Given these disclosures, a reasonable investor would infer how continued credit market dislocation might reasonably be expected to have a material impact on future revenues,” leaving Barclays “vulnerable to additional write-downs,” Crotty wrote. The judge dismissed other parts of the lawsuit in 2011. A federal appeals court revived the portion about the $2.5 billion ADS offering two years later. The case is In re: Barclays Bank Plc Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-01989. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barclays-lawsuit/barclays-wins-end-to-u-s-litigation-over-pre-crisis-disclosures-idUKKCN1BO2XG'|'2017-09-14T02:33:00.000+03:00'
'959c980d0ba413d8fa4b846fd19340ed5c6852d6'|'RPT-UPDATE 2-Nestle to brew high-end coffee with Blue Bottle buy'|'(Repeats story first published on Thursday)* Marks foray into U.S. “third wave” coffee market* 2nd deal this month catering to changing tastes* Nestle sales slowed, coffee market consolidatingBy Martinne Geller and Lisa BaertleinLONDON/LOS ANGELES, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Nestle has bought a majority stake in California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, marking a first step by the packaged coffee leader into the hipster world of speciality bars that serve high-end, single-origin and cold brewed coffees.The company behind Nescafe instant coffee and Nespresso brewers announced the purchase of a 68 percent stake of Blue Bottle on Thursday without disclosing financial terms.The price was around $425 million, according to a source familiar with the matter.Like last week’s purchase of Sweet Earth meatless foods, the deal sees the world’s biggest maker of packaged food reaching out to the kind of choosy consumers who are turning away from its mass market brands like Nescafe coffee and Digiorno frozen pizza.It is the fourth deal this year by new chief executive Mark Schneider, an external hire brought in last year to shake up a conservative Swiss company that had missed its sales targets for four years running. Nestle and its multinational peers are fighting slower emerging markets, competition from new brands and a shift in consumer tastes away from processed food.The company is also selling its U.S. confectionery business, which includes brands like Baby Ruth and Butterfinger, as it seeks to transform itself into a “nutrition, health and wellness” company.Nestle, Europe’s biggest company by market value, is under pressure too from activist shareholder Third Point. The U.S. hedge fund announced a $3.5 billion stake in June and pressed Nestle for actions such as a margin target and divesting its 23 percent stake in France’s L‘Oreal.The U.S. market for coffee drinks has retail sales of $2.9 billion, according to Euromonitor International, which forecasts it to reach $4.4 billion by 2021.“Starbucks has for a long time had a virtual lock on this category, but that lead is starting to slip,” said Euromonitor analyst said Matthew Barry.Nestle’s purchase also comes amid consolidation in the so-called third-wave coffee sector in the United States. This market caters to mostly young, urban customers who have grown up on Starbucks but have progressed to more exotic drinks coaxed from hand-operated espresso machines or non-traditional brewers by expert baristas.Rival third-wave chains also include Intelligentsia and Stumptown, which were swept up in the recent coffee acquisition spree by privately held JAB Holdings.SILICON VALLEY BACKING Blue Bottle, known for its exotic, micro-lot coffees, has minimalist-style coffee bars in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo. It expects to have 55 locations by the end of 2017, up from 29 last year.It has raised nearly $121 million in funding from high-profile investors including Twitter co-founder Ev Williams and GV (Google Ventures), according to data from Crunchbase. Other backers include Fidelity Management and Research, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom and Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto.Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue to operate as a standalone entity and current management and employees would retain a minority stake.Third-wave chains are still a niche, but big players have taken notice.Starbucks co-founder and long-time CEO Howard Schultz in April moved into the role of executive chairman to focus on its “Reserve” brand that is adding upscale coffee bars to existing cafes, building new standalone stores and investing in large, ultra high-end roastery and tasting rooms reported to cost as much as $20 million each.Starbucks’ exclusive, small-lot Reserve coffees can cost $50 per 8-ounce bag. Coffee drinks, including those made in glass siphon brewers, can run $10 each.Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bluebottle-ma-nestle/rpt-update-2-nestle-to-brew-high-end-coffee-with-blue-bottle-buy-idINL5N1LW15Z'|'2017-09-15T05:27:00.000+03:00'
'21ac4fb70b08d1484e2f412a4e56d3d47c2df214'|'Brazil''s Temer says new graft charges part of ''irresponsible campaign'''|'  10:53 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago Brazil''s Temer says new graft charges part of ''irresponsible campaign'' Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRASILIA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Michel Temer, shortly after being hit with fresh graft charges on Thursday, said in a written statement that the nation’s top prosecutor is on an “irresponsible campaign” of making allegations to cover his own failures. Temer was charged by Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot with obstruction of justice and racketeering based on the plea-bargain testimony of the owners of the world’s largest meatpacker, JBS SA. They accused Temer of taking bribes in return for political favors and of conspiring to buy the silence of a witness who could implicate the president. (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-temer-denial/brazils-temer-says-new-graft-charges-part-of-irresponsible-campaign-idUSE6N1K405F'|'2017-09-15T01:52:00.000+03:00'
'e9bec252d58853c64d66d4a276abdd18e0f7c00f'|'Top U.S. Senate Democrat demands Equifax hearings, fixes'|' 48 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Top U.S. Senate Democrat demands Equifax hearings, fixes Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate on Thursday called on Equifax officials to testify before the chamber and for the company’s leadership to resign if they do not enact sweeping changes following a massive data breach disclosed last week. U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the credit rating company must take five steps within the next week, including proactively notifying consumers whose sensitive personal information was hacked, provide free credit monitoring services and allowing credit freezes for 10 years. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by David Alexander)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/equifax-cyber-schumer/top-u-s-senate-democrat-demands-equifax-hearings-fixes-idUSL2N1LV0YL'|'2017-09-14T22:48:00.000+03:00'
'e14c0f62ee07efb841594e135e2406ded36e2c61'|'UPDATE 1-Google to launch mobile payment service in India - report'|'September 14, 2017 / 7:27 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Google to launch mobile payment service in India - report Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds Google response) Sept 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google plans to introduce a localised digital payment service in India as early as next week, technology website TechCrunch reported, citing a report from news site The Ken. The payment service, called Google ''Tez'', will offer payment options beyond the existing ones like Google Wallet or Android Pay, the report said. tcrn.ch/2xlXLiO Tez, meaning fast in Hindi, will include support for the government-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and other consumer payment services including Paytm and MobiKwik, according to the report. Google did not comment on the report, but sent a media invite for the launch of a new product for India on Sept. 18. Google, Facebook Inc and WhatsApp Inc were in talks with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to provide UPI-enabled payment on their platforms, the Mint daily had reported in July. The internet giant launched its payment app Android Pay in the United States two years ago. (Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru and Sankalp Phartiyal in Mumbai; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/google-india/update-1-google-to-launch-mobile-payment-service-in-india-report-idUSL4N1LV2VF'|'2017-09-14T10:26:00.000+03:00'
'9e9c07608a82c35c68700a5da65c1591c34f96bf'|'Pension funds to buy majority of Copenhagen Airports in $1.6 billion deal'|'COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A Canadian and a Danish pension fund, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTTP) and ATP, have agreed to buy a 57.7 percent stake in Copenhagen Airports (CPH) from Australia’s Macquarie for about 9.8 billion Danish crowns ($1.57 billion).The transaction depends on approval by the Danish and European Union authorities and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, the parties said in a joint statement.The two funds estimated the offer price would be about 5,700 crowns per share, but said this could fluctuate depending on the date of completion.Shares in the airport company rose as much as 12.3 percent after the announcement to 5,750 crowns per share.Macquarie has invested more than 10 billion crowns during its 12 years of ownership in the company which owns Kastrup airport, the main international airport serving Copenhagen.The Danish state owns 39.2 percent of the firm and Denmark’s Finance Minister Kristian Jensen said on Twitter he was “very satisfied” that the future ownership was clarified and was looking forward to working with the new shareholders.($1 = 6.2576 Danish crowns)Reporting by Teis Jensen; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lufthavne-m-a/pension-funds-to-buy-majority-of-copenhagen-airports-in-1-6-billion-deal-idINKCN1BP0VK'|'2017-09-14T06:00:00.000+03:00'
'4b1076673f5f20c655f722a9f0b77c4bc3359dd4'|'Bank of England to balance Brexit and inflation as it seeks right note on rates'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:05 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Bank of England paves way for first rate hike in a decade David Milliken , William Schomberg 5 Min Read A man speaks on his phone outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England said it was likely to raise interest rates in the coming months if the economy and price pressures keep growing, giving its clearest signal to date that Britain’s first rate hike in a decade is approaching. The BoE said its tolerance for above-target inflation was lessening even if Britain’s departure from the European Union remained a risk. Data this week showed prices rising faster and unemployment falling to a four-decade low. Policymakers voted 7-2 on Thursday to keep rates on hold at a record-low 0.25 percent, as expected. But the new guidance from the BoE pushed sterling to a one-year high against the U.S. dollar. Investors priced in a more than 50 percent chance of a rate hike before the year’s end. The BoE said the economy now looked closer to running at full capacity as employment rose and wages picked up, boosting inflation pressures. If this continued, most of its policymakers felt “some withdrawal of monetary stimulus was likely to be appropriate over the coming months,” it said. Governor Mark Carney said he was among the BoE rate-setters who felt the balance of risks for the economy was shifting away from a Brexit slowdown and towards rising inflation, meaning the chance of a rate hike had “definitely increased”. “I would describe (a rate hike in) November as being live,” Nomura economist George Buckley said. Other economists said they still thought the BoE was in no hurry, given the slowdown in Britain’s economy this year and the doubts about what leaving the EU in 2019 will mean. Related Coverage “We see this as an attempt to shake markets out of their complacency after the failure of previous, subtler, attempts,” Andrew Goodwin, an economist at Oxford Economics, said. BREXIT DILEMMA The Brexit vote has put the BoE in a dilemma. On the one hand, it wants to support the economy through its EU divorce, leaving it behind other central banks raising interest rates such as the U.S. Federal Reserve. But at the same time, it needs to keep a grip on inflation which rose sharply after the Brexit vote weakened the pound. FILE PHOTO - The Bank of England is seen in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay The BoE has previously suggested a rate hike was nearing only to be caught out by surprises in the economy, earning Carney the epithet of “unreliable boyfriend” from a politician. Indeed, the BoE said on Thursday there were “considerable risks” to the outlook, including Brexit. Next week Prime Minister Theresa May is due to give a speech on Brexit and her Conservative Party holds a conference in October. May will also attend an EU summit next month. Economists at Citi said there still hurdles in the way of a rate hike. “If these events pass without significant effect on economic confidence, if inflation exceeds 3 percent in October and if the labour market continues to tighten, a 25 basis-point Bank Rate hike could become a reality for November,” they said. Most economists had been expecting a first rate hike by the BoE only in 2019, according to a Reuters poll last month. BETTER THAN EXPECTED? The BoE said on Thursday that the economy had done a bit better than expected since its policymakers met in August, but it was unclear how sustained any increase in growth might be. Inflation was likely to rise further above its 2 percent target and exceed 3 percent in October, slightly more than previous forecasts, after reaching 2.9 percent last month. Most economists judge that wage growth is still weak at 2.1 percent year-on-year in July. But the BoE surprised many of them, saying pay was rising at an annualised rate of 3 percent when measured over a shorter period. Furthermore, statistical effects might be making pay look too low, it added. The BoE also said there were signs consumer demand might now be picking up after inflation hurt spending earlier this year. And it repeated its warning that Britain could no longer grow as fast as it had in the past without causing excessive inflation. Two policymakers, Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders, voted once again to raise rates to 0.5 percent to reverse the emergency cut made in August 2016 shortly after the Brexit vote. Some analysts had expected BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane to join the dissenters. Gertjan Vlieghe, who was the first MPC member to vote for a rate cut after the Brexit vote, is due to speak on Friday while Carney will make a speech on Monday. Editing by Toby Chopra and Jon Boyle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe/bank-of-england-to-balance-brexit-and-inflation-as-it-seeks-right-note-on-rates-idUKKCN1BO2X2'|'2017-09-14T02:05:00.000+03:00'
'f2215e51707191c3392dad334173cccc0ad6ec6e'|'Retailer Roots Corp files for IPO in Canada'|'(Refiles to add lead underwriters)Sept 13 (Reuters) - Canadian lifestyle retailer Roots Corp said on Wednesday it filed a preliminary prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada for a proposed initial public offering of its common shares.The company, known for its casual wear and leather goods, is controlled by New York-based private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners LP.Roots’ proposed listing follows luxury jacket maker Canada Goose Holdings Inc’s IPO in March. Shares of the company are up nearly 27 percent since its debut.TD Securities, Credit Suisse Securities (Canada) and BMO Capital Markets are serving as lead underwriters.CIBC World Markets, Canaccord Genuity Corp and National Bank Financial are serving as underwriters for the Toronto-based Roots Corp, which has 116 retail stores in Canada and an online business that ships products to 54 countries. (Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/roots-corp-ipo/retailer-roots-corp-files-for-ipo-in-canada-idINL4N1LU5FX'|'2017-09-13T19:56:00.000+03:00'
'33a06ecd8cd74d96440a25b9e5140c6b91c90277'|'A legal vulnerability at the heart of China’s big internet firms'|'COMPANIES’ legal structures are usually mind-numbing fare. But occasionally it is worth pinching yourself and paying attention. Take “variable interest entities” (VIEs), a kind of corporate architecture used mainly by China’s tech firms, including two superstars, Alibaba and Tencent. They go largely unremarked, but VIEs have become incredibly important. Investors outside China have about $1trn invested in firms that use them.Few legal experts think that VIEs are about to collapse, but few expect them to endure, either. One sizeable investor admits loving Chinese tech firms’ businesses while feeling queasy about their legal structures. Like scientists appalled by their monstrous creations, even the lawyers who designed VIEs worry. They are “China’s version of too-big-to-fail”, says one. As well as being spooky, VIEs are another instance of how China’s weak property rights hurt its citizens. 9 12 18 18 What are VIEs? Over 100 companies use them. Since the 1990s private firms have sought to break free of China’s isolated legal and financial systems. Many have done so by forming holding companies in tax havens and listing their shares in New York or Hong Kong. The problem is that they are then usually categorised as “foreign firms” under Chinese rules. That in turn prohibits them from owning assets in some politically sensitive sectors, most notably the internet.The lawyers’ quick fix, first used in 2000, was to shift these sensitive assets, such as operating licences, into special legal entities—VIEs—that are owned by Chinese individuals, usually the firms’ bosses. The companies sign contracts with the VIEs and their individual owners, which the companies say guarantees them control over the VIEs’ assets, sales and profits. Abracadabra!Alibaba, the world’s sixth-most valuable firm, illustrates how it works. It is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and in 2014 listed its shares in New York, but makes 91% of its sales in mainland China. There it owns five big subsidiaries which have contracts with five corresponding VIEs. The VIEs contain licences and domain names and are owned by Jack Ma and Simon Xie, two of Alibaba’s founders. It is as if Facebook were domiciled in Samoa, listed in Shanghai and its website and brand sat in separate legal entities that were the property of Mark Zuckerberg (but which he had agreed to allow Facebook to run and profit from).American regulators allow VIEs if their dangers are disclosed. Although most VIE schemes have worked smoothly, the underlying risks have risen in the past five years. It is unclear if VIEs are even legal in China. The latest annual reports of the ten largest firms that use them all admit to uncertainty about their status. In 2015 a draft reform from the Ministry of Commerce appeared to ban some VIEs, but the initiative has gone nowhere.Meanwhile, VIEs have become more prominent; the total value of companies that use them has soared as China’s internet industry has boomed. The share of firms’ sales generated by their VIEs varies but for most of the ten companies has risen since 2012 (see charts). The inner workings of the VIEs are often in flux. In nine cases, their structure has changed in that period: either the names or number of entities, or the names or stakes of their Chinese owners, have been altered. If they are being honest, most shareholders have little idea what is going on.For investors, there are two risks. First, the VIEs could be ruled illegal, potentially forcing the firms to wind up or sell vital licences and intellectual property in China. The second danger is that VIE owners seek to grab the profits or assets held within. If they refuse to co-operate, die, or fall out of political favour, it is far from clear that firms can enforce VIE contracts in Chinese courts.Yet this manifestly flawed system has endured for two decades. One theory is that managers favour it because it gives them more power—it is hard for outside shareholders to keep track of VIEs. Like their peers in Silicon Valley, who limit voting rights, China’s tech tycoons dislike it when investors call the shots.The bigger question is why China’s government tolerates the set-up. Perhaps it suits high officials to keep the country’s internet bosses on an ambiguous legal footing, so that they toe the line. VIEs could even be a diplomatic tool. In the event of a trade war, a quick way to hurt Americans’ economic interests (along with banning Apple, which makes a fifth of its sales in China) would be to void VIEs, although China’s reputation with all investors would suffer.Unscrambling eggsBut failing to tackle the status quo has wider costs, chief of which is that having internet firms listed abroad means most Chinese citizens cannot invest in the most dynamic bit of their economy. It is easier for a pensioner in Dundee to invest in firms in the world’s most exciting e-commerce market than it is for one in Dalian. Shanghai’s stock exchange is full of stodgy state-backed companies. So far, foreigners have made a capital gain of at least $500bn from China’s internet sector, while locals have been all but shut out. Imagine if Americans could not invest in Apple, Amazon, Facebook or Alphabet. As China’s internet firms get bigger, the unfairness of this will become ever more glaring.VIEs need to be unwound. Some small internet firms have bought back all their shares and delisted in America, then relisted in mainland China, but the cost of this for the big firms would be prohibitive. Alternatively, they could create dual listings in Shanghai or float the shares of their subsidiaries there for locals to invest in. Yet the question of their VIEs’ legality would linger.The enduring answer is for China to relax its foreign-ownership restrictions and open its capital account. Both foreigners and locals could buy into internet firms with a solid legal footing. Whether it does is a test of its appetite for creating an economy based on rules, not fiat. Until then VIEs are the financial equivalent of the “One China” principle that governs China’s relations with Taiwan, which the mainland considers a renegade province—a polite legal fiction that papers over serious problems. Such quick fixes can seem stable. But in the back of your mind there is a rational fear that they could blow up at any time. "The weakest link"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728984-variable-interest-entities-are-their-weakest-link-legal-vulnerability-heart-chinas?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-16T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'4c345044bd3eaab7d7d71cda41074e30f85ce67f'|'U.S. accuses California firm of illegal Chinese aluminum imports -WSJ'|'September 15, 2017 / 2:00 AM / Updated 18 hours ago U.S. accuses California firm of illegal Chinese aluminum imports: WSJ Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Aluminum ingots are piled up at a bonded storage area at the Dagang Terminal of Qingdao Port, in Qingdao, Shandong province June 7, 2014. REUTERS/Fayen Wong/File Photo (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has accused California-based Perfectus Aluminum Inc of illegally importing aluminum from China, evading $1.5 billion in tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a government complaint filed on Thursday. The Justice Department alleges that Perfectus is “effectively owned” and controlled by Liu Zhongtian, founder and chairman of Chinese aluminum firm China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd, and violated a 2010 Commerce Department ban on certain aluminum imports from China, according to the civil complaint seen by the WSJ. ( on.wsj.com/2jsNYlH ) The complaint accuses Perfectus of illegally importing more than 2.1 million aluminum pallets from China into the United States between 2011 and 2014, the WSJ said. The complaint also said the government notified the court that it intends to seize a warehouse in Fontana that is owned by Perfectus as part of a proceeding to seize assets, according to the newspaper. The Justice Department and Perfectus could not be reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the complaint. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-aluminum-china/u-s-accuses-california-firm-of-illegal-chinese-aluminum-imports-wsj-idUSKCN1BQ06H'|'2017-09-15T04:44:00.000+03:00'
'cdd7b4348b14c724ebc11a59ad03b54b25ab988a'|'Lachlan Murdoch makes fresh bid for Australia''s Ten Network'|' 11 AM / a minute ago Lachlan Murdoch makes fresh bid for Australia''s Ten Network Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, 21st Century Fox CEO, arrives at the annual Allen and Co. conference at the Sun Valley, Idaho Resort July 11, 2013. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Lachlan Murdoch’s private company on Friday revised its takeover offer for Australia’s struggling Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ), according to bid documents reviewed by Reuters. The fresh offer, which does not give a total value, escalates the battle for the broadcaster from a legal challenge to an already-agreed buyout from U.S. cable network CBS Corp ( CBS.N ) to a full-scale bidding war. Ten, a ratings laggard which went into administration three months ago following long declines in viewership and advertising revenue, has become an attractive target because of its national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy. The new bid from Murdoch’s company, Illyria, and the private company of his business partner Bruce Gordon, raises the pool of cash payable to unsecured creditors from A$35 million ($28 million) in an offer lodged in June to A$55 million. That is higher than a pool of A$32 million offered by CBS, according to documents released on Monday by Ten’s administrator, KordaMentha. Those documents show CBS, itself Ten’s largest creditor, is prepared to pay at least A$201.1 million in cash for the network. Gordon launched a legal challenge to the CBS takeover earlier this week, delaying a creditors meeting that was set to vote on the buyout. A spokeswoman for Illyria declined to comment and a spokeswoman for Gordon had no immediate comment. CBS declined to comment. A spokesman for Ten’s administrator, KordaMentha had no immediate comment. The new bid follows Australia’s senate overnight overturning decades-old media-ownership rules which would have stymied a Murdoch-Gordon takeover of Ten, as they prevented owning all three media - television, newspaper and radio - in any given city. Gordon, a billionaire, owns a regional television station and Murdoch co-chair’s News Corp ( NWSA.O ), which publishes about two-thirds of the nation’s newspapers. Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/lachlan-murdoch-makes-fresh-bid-for-australias-ten-network-idUKKCN1BQ097'|'2017-09-15T06:39:00.000+03:00'
'9f7418ab82e4e5989dbb999643b2bc2f62b4d32e'|'UPDATE 1-Toys ''R'' Us preparing for possible bankruptcy filing -sources'|'(Recasts with own sourcing)By Jessica DiNapoliSept 15 (Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us is working to put together a loan to fund its operations in a potential bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday sales season, according to people familiar with the matter.The toy merchant’s move underscores the deep distress rippling through retailers of all sizes as consumers increasingly shop online at sellers such as Amazon.com Inc or go to discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc .A spokeswoman for Toys ‘R’ Us did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The people could not be identified because the bankruptcy plans are not yet public. earlier reported that the company was considering filing for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia. ( on.wsj.com/2h87WOt )There have been more than a dozen significant retail bankruptcies this year, but none for retailers as big as Toys ‘R’ Us, which has about $5 billion in debt and more than 1,600 stores worldwide.A loan of several hundred million dollars as part of any possible bankruptcy filing would reassure the chain’s vendors it could pay them for the loads of stuffed animals, action figures and dolls it needs to stock its shelves for the holiday season, the people said.Part of the retailer’s current financial woes stem from vendors demanding tighter repayment terms over fears that Toys ‘R’ Us may file for bankruptcy, the people added. The tighter terms have added to the Wayne, New Jersey-based company’s cash crunch, they said.Toys ‘R’ Us tapped restructuring attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, CNBC reported this month.The retailer had already said it was working with an investment bank to assess options for about $400 million in debt that comes due next year.Buyout firms KKR & Co LP and Bain Capital LP, together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust , took Toys ‘R’ Us private for $6.6 billion in 2005. The deal saddled the company with debt, limiting its ability to revamp its stores and make online shopping easier.Toys ‘R’ Us opened a store in New York City’s Times Square this year to capture more holiday shoppers. (Additional reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toys-r-us-bankruptcy/update-1-toys-r-us-preparing-for-possible-bankruptcy-filing-sources-idINL2N1LX015'|'2017-09-15T23:33:00.000+03:00'
'a3a728ee072f98b5c155b78430282f45f0c28560'|'Daimler invests in fast-charging electric battery firm StoreDot'|'Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel’s StoreDot, which is developing fast-charging battery technology, said on Thursday it raised $60 million in a third round of financing led by the truck division of Germany’s Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ).The funding round also includes Lucion venture capital and financial institutions from Israel and China, as well as existing investors such as Samsung Ventures and Norma Investments, representing Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.Daimler has also joined as a strategic partner to accelerate the adoption of StoreDot’s FlashBattery technology in the electric vehicles market.StoreDot said its batteries, which use nanomaterials and proprietary organic compounds, enable fully charging any electric vehicle in five minutes. Earlier this year StoreDot demonstrated a proof of concept for five-minute charging.“Electrification of trucks is of top priority at Daimler,” said Martin Daum, a member of Daimler’s board of management with responsibility for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses.The latest funding brings StoreDot’s total raised to $108 million.Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-storedot-daimler-fundraising/daimler-invests-in-fast-charging-electric-battery-firm-storedot-idINKCN1BP1I0'|'2017-09-14T09:37:00.000+03:00'
'a8bd74a295ac075f75f82a1aaf18c170f61ae4fe'|'ZhongAn aims to offer life insurance after HK share sale'|'HONG KONG, Sept 17 (Reuters) - ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd plans to add life insurance and other healthcare products to the range of policies China’s first internet-only insurer offers to accelerate its growth after going public in Hong Kong.The company, founded by Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Tencent Chairman Pony Ma and Ping An Insurance Group Chairman Ma Mingzhe also plans to offer its technology to insurers inside and outside of China, it said on Sunday.ZhongAn is offering 199.3 million new shares in an indicative range of HK$53.70 to HK$59.70 each, putting its initial public offering at up to HK$11.9 billion ($1.52 billion). Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp agreed to buy a stake of just below 5 percent in ZhongAn as a cornerstone investor in the IPO, investing about $550 million.“This is a good marriage for the company in the sense that this is a very strategic, visionary investor and they’ve done a lot of study into the company. Softbank is definitely a very strong stamp of approval,” Chief Financial Officer Francis Tang said at a news conference.SoftBank could make the investment through SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, or other affiliates, ZhongAn said.The company plans to use the new funds to bolster its capital base and cope with a 70 percent surge in gross written premiums in the three months ended March 2017, compared with the same period last year.“We are at a fast-pace growth stage, so we want to make sure that we have the sufficient capital because as an insurance company we have to have a strong capital base to do more business,” Tang said. “So when we see more business coming in, we want to make sure this won’t become a bottleneck.”The company has sold more than 8.2 billion policies to some 543 million people since its inception in 2013 in five areas: travel, health, consumer finance, auto and lifestyle consumption, where it started by insuring shipping returns at e-commerce giant Alibaba’s online marketplace.ZhongAn is applying for a license to offer life insurance products, Tang said, without giving an expected timeline for approval. It already offers 262 different types of insurance products and wants to add more within the five core areas.“We can further develop the depth and breadth in each of them,” Tang said. “We’re looking more at the pain points when you conduct your daily activities on the Internet ... what kind of protections do people need? We want to address those.”ZhongAn also plans to earn more in coming years from the sale of its technology to other insurers and partners within China and abroad.“This is how we want to see our expansion, not just outside China, but also inside China,” Tang said.($1 = 7.8188 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Elzio Barreto, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/zhongan-online-ipo/zhongan-aims-to-offer-life-insurance-after-hk-share-sale-idINL4N1LY081'|'2017-09-17T11:57:00.000+03:00'
'c9f20c39cb3ace9afe1456aa9d9a5cc9f8a4778e'|'Patients pay the price when hospital giants hire your private practitioner - Sep. 16, 2017'|'Patients pay the price when hospital giants hire your private practitioner by Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News @CNNMoney September 16, 2017: 10:42 AM ET Sanders vows to introduce ''Medicare for All'' When Dr. Sarah Azad followed her mother into the field of obstetrics eight years ago, she thought she''d be in private practice for the rest of her career. At the time, independent practices abounded in Silicon Valley. "From the time we were young, my mom''s patients loved her. She was a part of their lives. That''s just always how I''ve seen medical care," she said. But over the past decade, she''s watched as doctor after doctor sold their practice and went to work for one of the large hospital systems in town. Today, Azad runs one of the last remaining independent OB-GYN practices in Mountain View. The number of physician practices employed by hospitals increased by 86% from 2012 to 2015, according to a study conducted by Avalere Health for the nonprofit Physicians Advocacy Institute. Dr. Sarah Azad in front of her Silicon Valley practice. A recent study in Health Affairs found that large doctor practices, many owned by hospitals, exceed federal guidelines for market concentration in more than a fifth of the areas studied. But the mergers are typically far too small for federal antitrust authorities to notice. Perhaps nowhere has the trend been more pronounced than in Northern California. As large hospital systems like Sutter Health, Stanford Medicine and UCSF Medical Center gobble up doctor practices, they gain market muscle that pushes costs upward. It''s a key reason why Northern California is now the most expensive place in the country to have a baby. "When you have less competition, prices go up," said Martin Gaynor, a health care economist at Carnegie Mellon University. You have a hard time offering an attractive insurance product [without Sutter] because it''s so big and pervasive. So you don''t have the same negotiating power, and Sutter can extract higher prices." In the San Francisco Bay Area, the reimbursement rate for a vaginal delivery is two to four times higher for physicians who work for large hospital systems than for those who are independent, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of claims data and medical cost calculator results provided by employers to workers. Related: When high deductibles cause even insured patients to postpone care The extra money for physician services goes to the hospital system, and doctors, now on salary, might take home no more than before. In Northern California, Sutter, Stanford and UCSF all mentioned quality as a reason their physician prices are higher. "Sutter Health-affiliated doctor groups consistently rank among California''s highest performers," Dr. Jeffrey Burnich, senior vice president at Sutter Health Medical and Market Networks, wrote in an email. In the long run, "by improving care quality and efficiency, we reduce costs." But in general, research suggests bigger is not necessarily better. Fewer patients of small physician-owned practices, for example, are admitted to the hospital for preventable conditions than those of large hospital-owned practices, according to a 2014 study published in Health Affairs. And a recent paper, also published in Health Affairs, found that high-price physician practices, which cost at least 36% above average, had no better quality than low-cost practices. "All of the evidence that we see shows that the quality in these larger systems is the same or worse," said Kristof Stremikis, associate director for policy at the Pacific Business Group on Health, which represents employers that provide health insurance. Azad says running a practice in one of the most expensive parts of the country is getting harder. "Rent goes up 3% per year. Water and utilities went up 18% last year alone. But seven years later, [the insurers] are still paying me the same amount, despite any efforts to negotiate." Related: As Delaware''s health insurance options shrink, families hold their breath When Azad and a consultant she hired tried reaching out to the insurance companies to ask for higher rates, she said, "One ....responded saying, ''You don''t even have 2% of market share. Basically drop our contract or not — it doesn''t affect us.''" Another insurer told her they couldn''t raise her rates because they had to pay too much to the larger health systems in town, she added. Independent doctors in the Bay Area are reimbursed a median amount of $2,408.45, on average, for a routine vaginal delivery,which includes prenatal and postnatal visits, according to the Kaiser Health News analysis of claims data provided by Amino, a health cost transparency company. That compares with $5,238.13 for the same bundle of services for Stanford physicians and $8,049.84 for doctors employed by UC San Francisco. The Amino database did not contain many claims from doctors employed by Sutter so a reporter also reviewed OB-GYN charges on several insurers'' online cost estimators. The review found that Sutter Health obstetricians are reimbursed about three times more for the same service than independent doctors, or about $6,452 for a vaginal delivery. Fewer Hassle, No More Money For their part, the big Bay Area hospital systems caution against oversimplifying the many factors that go into paying for obstetrical care. A Stanford spokeswoman, Samantha Dorman, said the health system incurred significant costs when it integrated new provider groups. For instance, many were not yet on electronic health records and needed updated equipment. Dorman added that Stanford reduced physician charges a few years ago to be more in line with other practices. Azad with one of her patients. A UCSF spokeswoman said that while the system charges more for physician services, it charges less for other hospital services. Overall, she said, their costs are competitive. Sutter suggested it was not accurate or fair to judge physician price discrepancies on online cost calculators, which Burnich said are inconsistent and often out-of-date. Related: Deep cuts to Medicaid put rural hospitals in the crosshairs Meanwhile, the type of consolidation that Azad has witnessed in Northern California is spreading quickly throughout the country. The most consolidated places like Northern California, Pittsburgh and Boston have become a "poster child of what not to do," said economist Gaynor of Carnegie Mellon. "We should look at places that have consolidated and think about how to avoid that." Kaiser Health News , a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation . Kaiser Health correspondent Sydney Lupkin and senior correspondent Jay Hancock contributed to this report. CNNMoney (Mountain View, Calif. ) First published September 16, 2017: 10:42 AM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/16/news/economy/doctor-consolidation/index.html'|'2017-09-16T18:42:00.000+03:00'
'2734af129acd07fa743038c040c4f7c272a018e5'|'Tesco acquisition target Booker reports second-quarter sales up 1.3 percent'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:22 AM / 6 hours ago Tesco acquisition target Booker reports second-quarter sales up 1.3 percent Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A branded sign is displayed outside of a Booker Wholesale store in London, Britain January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall (Reuters) - British wholesaler Booker Group ( BOK.L ), which has agreed a 3.7 billion pound takeover by Tesco ( TSCO.L ), said its second-quarter like-for-like sales rose 1.3 percent helped by strength in catering and retail supply. Booker said non-tobacco sales grew 6 percent on a like-for-like basis in the 12 weeks to Sept. 8 while tobacco sales fell 9.4 percent, hurt by changes in tobacco legislation. Group sales, including its Budgens and Londis stores, rose by 1.1 percent. Booker said the competition review of the planned merger with Tesco is progressing and it was currently going through the review process with Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA in July referred supermarket group Tesco’s bid for Booker for a detailed investigation, granting a request from the companies to “fast track” the process, which could last up to 24 weeks. As well as supplying convenience chains Budgens and Londis and operating the Makro cash and carry business, Booker serves restaurants such as Wagamama and Carluccio‘s, a fast-growing market segment that Tesco wants to tap. Tesco and Booker rejected suggestions in August that their planned merger would hurt suppliers, saying they should benefit from growth and lower costs as a result of the deal. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-booker-group-outlook/tesco-acquisition-target-booker-reports-second-quarter-sales-up-1-3-percent-idUKKCN1BP0LM'|'2017-09-14T09:21:00.000+03:00'
'c56b13e9f459c4391f16fa0efa32c714cd27ca2e'|'The week in sports: Olympic athletes brush off North Korea threat - Reuters'|'An ice sculpture of the Olympic rings is illuminated during the Pyeongchang Winter Festival, near the venue for the opening and closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji Listen to this week’s Keeping Score podcast:A wrap-up of the week in sports news:Mettle for medals: Recent North Korean missile tests may have rattled world leaders, but Olympic athletes bound for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang , South Korea, this upcoming February say they’re not concerned with growing regional tensions.Marshawn Lynch has accepted your friend request: Facebook has shelled out millions of dollars to air a reality television series about the NFL’s most quotable star , running back Marshawn Lynch. “No Script,” which will begin streaming this month, will include eight 10-to-15-minute episodes featuring Lynch, who currently plays for the Oakland Raiders.Jinx: Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team has the longest winning streak in more than a century, after a nail-biter of a matchup against the Kansas City Royals Thursday that brought them their 22nd consecutive win.David Richard-USA TODAY Sports Check out a roundup of more great Reuters sports photography here.And finally, sports business expert Rick Horrow this week sat down with Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel in space, to talk about how she learned discipline through sports:Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-weekinsports-15sept2017/the-week-in-sports-olympic-athletes-brush-off-north-korea-threat-idUSKCN1BQ2VG'|'2017-09-16T05:37:00.000+03:00'
'966bf81d8117b5208aaa1a91a89f2fdb20e05a92'|'United Tech says working to resolve engine delays to Airbus'|'  7:41 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago United Tech says working to resolve engine delays to Airbus Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Aerospace supplier United Technologies Corp said on Thursday it was working to resolve the issues that led to delays in supplying its Pratt & Whitney engines to European planemaker Airbus SE. Deliveries of the newest member of Airbus’s narrowbody jet family, which generates most of its profits, have been disrupted by delays in engine supply. “It is painful to see so many aircraft on ground. Our first priority is to make sure that we can make the airline that has our engine and use the asset, which, by the way, is performing very well,” United Tech Chief Financial Officer Akhil Johri said at a Morgan Stanley conference. Deliveries and reliability have been hit by teething problems with the newly developed Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine, including the combustion chamber and an engine seal. “We are working right now with Airbus to see whether we want to reallocate or change the mix between engines that go towards new aircraft versus what goes into the lease pool this year...,” Johri said. United Tech, which struck a $30 billion (22.39 billion pounds) deal to buy avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins Inc last week, reaffirmed on Thursday it would deliver between 350 and 400 Pratt & Whitney GTF engines this year. Last month, Airbus raised concern about the deal distracting United Tech from fixing industrial problems that have led to delay in new aircraft deliveries. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Arun Koyyur'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-nl-utc/united-tech-says-working-to-resolve-engine-delays-to-airbus-idUKKCN1BP2VN'|'2017-09-14T22:41:00.000+03:00'
'781b49c3557f5b732ef85d914ebd72e309752f18'|'UK customs model unlikely to achieve frictionless post-Brexit trade'|'September 14, 2017 / 2:19 PM / Updated 5 hours ago UK customs model unlikely to achieve frictionless post-Brexit trade Kylie MacLellan 6 Min Read Jaguar cars ready for export are parked on the dockside at the ABP port in Southampton, Britain August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - At Southampton docks, a top British port for trade with countries outside the EU, the scene is one of frictionless international commerce. It’s a model that business leaders hope will also work well with Europe after Brexit, but fear it won‘t. Cranes lift containers smoothly on and off enormous ships berthed at the quayside while rows of new cars await shipment to destinations including the United States and Asia. There is little sign of the customs border that Britain maintains with most of the world apart from European Union states, thanks to a long-refined system of goods declarations completed electronically as ships plough to and from the country. Less than two percent of goods passing through Southampton, which lies on the south coast of England, are subject to physical checks by customs officials, according to its owner, Associated British Ports. At the moment Britain has no such customs border with the EU, a free-trade area of 28 states, but it is likely to reimpose one when it leaves the bloc in March, 2019. If London and Brussels fail to strike a trade deal, each side will start imposing import duties on each other’s goods. Few people believe the current system for non-EU trade can be replicated for EU goods without disruption at the seaports through which 95 percent of Britain’s international trade moves. That means industry’s wish for minimal extra red-tape, delays and costs after Brexit may not be granted. The government estimates a new, upgraded electronic customs system - due to be introduced just two months before Brexit - will need to process 255 million customs declarations a year, up from 55 million now. “Is a new IT system going to be able to cope with a sudden massive surge in stuff going through? ... It is a highly complex environment and the capacity for glitches is bound to be there,” said Guy Platten, Chief Executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping. The EU is Britain’s largest trading partner, accounting for 44 percent of exports and 53 percent of imports in 2016. Around 180,000 companies which now operate only within the EU face making customs declarations for the first time after Brexit. A study by the Institute for Government found that those declarations could mean a total additional cost of 4 billion to 9 billion pounds. “Costs will be passed on and it is going to impact on the consumer and on prices in the shops in the end,” Platten told Reuters. JUST IN TIME The government has proposed two options for a post-Brexit customs deal with the EU: a “highly streamlined” system using technology to create as frictionless a border as possible, and a new customs partnership removing the need for a customs border - an arrangement that would be particularly hard to negotiate. The first would involve measures such as pre-arrival notifications linked to customs declarations and vehicle registrations so trucks do not have to stop at the border, as well as pre-approved “authorised economic operators” who are given faster clearance. Shipping containers are stacked on a cargo ship in the dock at the ABP port in Southampton, Britain August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Pre-authorisation may work for goods on weeks-long sea voyages like many of those coming into Southampton, which handled international trade worth 71 billion pounds in 2014. But the short length of journeys from continental Europe means there is far less time to process goods before they arrive. Ferries carrying trucks to Dover, Britain’s top port for EU trade, typically take only 90 minutes to arrive from France. For “just-in-time” supply chains, where parts are delivered as they are needed in the production process, even a short delay would have an impact. Perishable goods, such as Dutch flowers or Spanish tomatoes, are particularly at risk. Supermarket group Sainsbury’s has warned that food could be left rotting at the border if supply chains are disrupted by customs checks. Slideshow (16 Images) Finance minister Philip Hammond raised his concerns this week, saying trucks had to roll off ferries immediately and leave the Dover port, allowing the ship to reload and depart again promptly. “Anything that caused delay in vehicles exiting the port, delaying vehicles offloading, would cause significant disruption,” he told a parliamentary committee, adding that the government was looking at contingency arrangements for the event of no deal with the EU. Even spot checks would mean firms could start having to use warehouses in case their goods are among those inspected, possibly adding significant costs to finished products. Southampton owner ABP says it has space to accommodate customs checks at its ports around Britain. However, there are significant physical constraints elsewhere, particularly at Dover, which handled trade worth 69 billion pounds in 2014 and is hemmed in by white chalk cliffs. Asked if the capacity of facilities such as warehousing at British ports is adequate, Hammond replied: “No, it is clearly not.” Around 8,000 EU trucks a day pass through Dover, meaning more than 300 could be stopped if they are checked at a similar rate to non-EU imports -- the government says around four percent are currently subject to customs checks at border entry points. “If they want to do their four percent, then they are going to find somewhere outside the port confines in order to do that,” said James Hookham, Deputy Chief Executive of the Freight Transport Association, which says one hour’s delay at a port adds 15,000 pounds of costs to the trucking industry. The need to get infrastructure in place and train businesses in a new system means phasing the new regime in will be crucial to minimise disruption, said the Chamber of Shipping’s Platten. “To get it all implemented within the next 18 months is going to be almost impossible, so there has to be a long transition period to allow business and the supply chain to adjust to the new reality,” he said. “The nightmare is if nothing is agreed, nothing is done and we have this cut off on March 29, 2019.” Reporting by Kylie MacLellan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-ports/uk-customs-model-unlikely-to-achieve-frictionless-post-brexit-trade-idUKKCN1BP20T'|'2017-09-14T17:40:00.000+03:00'
'd85e428904594405155a1606bf3a980198cb9cb9'|'Trump move to block chipmaker deal bad for America - Xinhua'|'September 16, 2017 / 7:23 AM / Updated 21 hours ago Trump move to block chipmaker deal bad for America - Xinhua Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Lattice Semiconductor logo is seen in this illustration photo September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration SHANGHAI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to block a Chinese-backed firm from buying a U.S.-based chipmaker this week is detrimental to America’s growth and the global economy, China’s state news agency Xinhua said in a commentary on Saturday. Canyon Bridge Capital Partners’ planned $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corp was one of the largest attempted by a Chinese-backed firm in the U.S. microchip sector and was the first announced deal for the buyout fund, which launched last year with a focus on technology investment. U.S. regulatory scrutiny grew after Reuters reported in November that Canyon Bridge was funded partly by capital from China’s central government and had indirect links to its space program. Trump said in an executive order on Wednesday that Lattice and Canyon Bridge “shall take all steps necessary to fully and permanently abandon the proposed transaction” within 30 days. “The move, which is detrimental to both America’s growth and global economic recovery, also runs counter to the mutually-beneficial and win-win nature of China-U.S. relations,” the Xinhua commentary said. Security reviews of investments in sensitive sectors “should not be used as a tool to implement protectionism”, it added, echoing comments by a Commerce Ministry spokesman last week. Citing analysts who said Trump’s decision was made with an eye to the 2018 midterm election, Xinhua called it “penny wise and pound foolish ... It is a short-sighted move to take protectionist measures amid sluggish global growth.” “Chinese investment is not ‘Trojan Horse’ with hidden purposes,” it said. Trump is set to visit China in November. “The two countries need to strengthen dialogue and communication, promote cooperation and exchanges in various fields and properly handle issues of common concerns. Only then can China and the United States push forward the world’s most important bilateral relationship,” Xinhua said. Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by SImon Cameron-Moore'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-trade-commentary/trump-move-to-block-chipmaker-deal-bad-for-america-xinhua-idUSKCN1BR062'|'2017-09-16T10:23:00.000+03:00'
'39ac65e8f3345c66d469a3f2ac92b270989b793a'|'China steel giant Baowu eyeing M&A push: China Daily'|'SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s top steelmaker China Baowu Steel Group, formed in a mega merger last year, has its sights set on more deals with smaller smelters amid a government drive to consolidate the market, the official China Daily reported on Thursday.China is driving a major campaign to rationalize its sprawling state sector from steel to energy as it looks to reduce overcapacity and increase state control of key markets.“We are going to integrate more steel companies to obtain an advantageous scale effect,” Chen Derong, general manager of Baowu Steel, told the newspaper. “We are now actively contacting some target companies for further mergers.”Baowu Steel was formed by a merger between Baoshan Iron and Steel Group (Baosteel) and its smaller rival Wuhan Iron and Steel, which was formally completed in December last year.The merged group is the world’s second-biggest steelmaker, behind only ArcelorMittal ISPA.AS.China aims to put at least 60 percent of the nation’s steel capacity in the hands of its 10 biggest firms by 2025, and has encouraged acquisitions and mergers in the industry for years.“Being a state-owned capital investment company, China Baowu’s output capacity is expected to reach 20 percent of the country’s total through M&A,” Chen added.Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-steel-baowu/china-steel-giant-baowu-eyeing-ma-push-china-daily-idINKCN1BP03L'|'2017-09-13T23:10:00.000+03:00'
'ecd7a2609114efb2276c7ff6fbc4950455978ab5'|'Morgan Stanley to handle mortgage originations in home-loan push -sources'|'Sept 15 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley plans to bring its mortgage origination business in-house to improve customer service and generate more business, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.The change comes ahead of the bank’s third-party provider, PHH Corp, exiting the origination business next year, and as Morgan Stanley makes a bigger push into mortgages.Although it will soon begin handling the early stages of mortgage lending, Morgan Stanley will continue to use PHH for other functions like mortgage servicing, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak to the press.Representatives for Morgan Stanley and PHH declined to comment.Morgan Stanley got into consumer lending more aggressively after finalizing its purchase of the Smith Barney brokerage from Citigroup Inc in 2013. The deal came with a slew of deposits that Morgan Stanley had to start lending out to generate profits.While lending has increased 50 percent over the past four years, largely through securities-based loans, only 2 percent of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management customers have mortgages from the bank.Mortgage originators work directly with borrowers to gather documents, submit loan applications and monitor the time-consuming and paperwork-heavy process through completion. Delays or errors can frustrate borrowers trying to lock in a better rate or buy a home in a hot real estate market.Morgan Stanley executives hope that handling originations in-house will smooth out the process and give the bank a chance to market other products and services to wealthy clients, the sources said.Other lenders including Bank of America Corp have moved away from outsourcing mortgage originations for the same reasons.Morgan Stanley said last year it would review its relationship with PHH when its contract expires in October. The bank is adding the back-office operations and underwriting staff needed for origination functions.Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/morgan-stanley-mortgages/morgan-stanley-to-handle-mortgage-originations-in-home-loan-push-sources-idINL2N1LT1BH'|'2017-09-15T17:08:00.000+03:00'
'3805b87a205ae5c026565bad00f1400840a15a4a'|'Exclusive: Canada sought to resolve Boeing military, trade disputes at meeting - sources'|'  9:35 PM / Updated 13 hours ago Exclusive: Canada sought to resolve Boeing military, trade disputes at meeting - sources David Ljunggren , Allison Lampert 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Visitors look at models of Boeing aircrafts at the Aviation Expo China 2015, in Beijing, China, in this September 16, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo OTTAWA/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada last month attempted to end a deepening dispute with Boeing Co ( BA.N ) by suggesting it could withdraw a threat not to buy Super Hornet jets if the U.S. firm dropped a trade challenge against Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The informal proposal would have created an unusual link between trade and arms deals, which are typically separated in international negotiations, trade analysts said, and showed the lengths Canada is willing to go to protect Bombardier jobs. Ottawa froze talks on a planned purchase of 18 F-18 Super Hornet jets for more than $5 billion after Boeing in April launched a trade challenge accusing Bombardier of dumping its new CSeries airliners into the U.S. market. Senior Canada government officials and Boeing met last month to discuss the disputes, officials said. One of the sources familiar with the discussions said Ottawa’s proposition to Boeing had been “if we resolve the challenge, that will allow us to resume our discussions on the F-18,” but said Boeing dismissed the idea of linking the two disputes. Boeing walked away with none of the issues resolved, Canada’s ambassador to the United States told reporters this week, without elaborating. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment. One industry source said Boeing sees the alleged CSeries dumping as a long-term threat to its civilian airliner business and has shown little interest in a compromise, even at the risk of losing the military contract. “The Canadian government is trying to link the F-18 file with the Boeing-Bombardier dispute. The position of Boeing and the U.S. government is that they are not linked,” said a second source directly familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO: A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo The office of Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has overall responsibility for relations with the United States, said it could not confirm the sources’ account. Time is running out for Canada to end the dispute. The U.S. Department of Commerce is due to hand down its initial ruling on Sept. 26 on whether to impose countervailing duties on the CSeries, a decision that could dampen airlines’ demand for the 110-130 seat jets in the key U.S. market. That decision could also boost Boeing’s leverage in any future talks with Canada, though the duty would only potentially apply after a final ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in 2018. Bombardier spokesman Mike Nadolski said on Friday the company is focussed on the 2018 ruling and noted Boeing did not take part in the Delta competition that the CSeries won. “It’s really hard to see how they are harmed,” he said in an email. Dan Pearson, a former ITC chairman, said it was likely the Commerce Department would determine preliminary duties against Bombardier, giving Boeing leverage in any negotiations. Boeing has accused Bombardier of imitating European rival Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) by trying to muscle into the U.S. market with cut-rate pricing to win a key April 2016 order from Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ). The first source said Canada ideally still wanted to buy the F-18s rather than looking for other options. “(Boeing has) put us in a situation where they’re forcing us to make hard choices ... we can’t do business with someone who is actually killing our industry,” said the source. With additional reporting from Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Denny Thomas and Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-canada-exclusive/exclusive-canada-sought-to-resolve-boeing-military-trade-disputes-at-meeting-sources-idINKCN1BQ2V6'|'2017-09-16T00:18:00.000+03:00'
'fcb62bd6c597a7aca88aa8e7cc3202bfa602a54c'|'BP CEO says renewed Azeri oil field contract profitable at current oil prices'|'September 14, 2017 / 12:16 PM / an hour ago BP sees strong profits in renewed Azeri oil contract Ron Bousso , Dmitry Zhdannikov , Karolin Schaps 3 Min Read BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley addresses the gathering during a media interaction in New Delhi, India, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi LONDON (Reuters) - A deal by BP ( BP.L ) to extend oil production-sharing in Azerbaijan by 25 years is profitable at current oil prices even after paying a signing bonus and cutting foreign companies’ stake in the project, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said. The pact between a BP-led consortium and Azerbaijan to continue developing the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) offshore fields until 2050 comes as the oil and gas company prepares to boost production sharply by the end of the decade. Under the deal, BP and its partners cede part of their stake to Azerbaijan’s national energy company SOCAR and pay the government a $3.6 billion (2.69 billion pounds) signing bonus. BP’s stake falls to 30.37 percent from 35.8 percent but it will remain the operator. The initial agreement, signed in 1994, was dubbed by some as “the contract of the century” for its transformative impact on the Azeri economy. Speaking from Baku, Dudley said in an interview the renewed deal is profitable with oil currently around $55 a barrel and that it remains attractive within BP’s portfolio even as crude prices are not expected to rise sharply this decade. “It is very good, solid economics for everyone involved,” the BP CEO told Reuters on Thursday. “Breakeven is below the current price of oil ... it is competitive in our portfolio, most certainly.” BP, like its peers, has sharply cut spending over the past three years following a drop in oil prices, slashing costs for projects and laying off thousands of employees. “You can only imagine at a time when oil prices have dropped like they have in recent years that we are very selective about where we make our investments,” he said. The London-based company is on track to start production this year at seven major projects around the world, including the giant Eni-operated Zohr gas field in Egypt. “We will see all seven projects come on through 2017 and lay the foundation towards 800,000 barrels per day of new production by 2020,” Dudley said. The new deal structure will lead to a small decrease in the international consortium’s production. Analysts at investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co estimated the new contract would lead to a drop of around 15,000 barrels per day in BP’s 2018 production, which is seen reaching around 3.7 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent per day. BP shares closed virtually unchanged on Thursday. Reporting by Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London and Karolin Schaps in Amsterdam; Editing by Dale Hudson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-azerbaijan-agreement-dudley/bp-ceo-says-renewed-azeri-oil-field-contract-profitable-at-current-oil-prices-idUKKCN1BP1LE'|'2017-09-14T15:15:00.000+03:00'
'5b820b0332ddec2fa0ce8f82089e0cb8266d24f2'|'Daimler drives its electric truck business into the United States'|'September 14, 2017 / 12:42 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Daimler delivers first electric trucks: ''The game has started.'' Joseph White 3 Min Read A new Daimler AG, FUSO battery-powered eCanter urban delivery truck is unveiled during a news conference in New York City, U.S. September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid DETROIT (Reuters) - Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ) on Thursday said United Parcel Service Inc( UPS.N ) will be the first U.S. commercial customer for its new battery-powered eCanter truck, and the company will expand its electric truck production as lower cost, longer-range batteries become available within two to three years. The market for electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks is in its infancy. Manufacturers such as Daimler and Navistar International Corp ( NAV.N ), as well as electric car maker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) and a host of other new entrants, are racing to overcome the challenges of substituting batteries for diesel engines as regulators crack down on carbon dioxide and soot pollution. “The game has started,” Daimler Trucks Asia chief Mark Llistosella told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. The Fuso eCanter is a relatively small urban delivery truck, but Llistosella said larger, Class 7 electric trucks are coming and hinted that Daimler will show a larger electric truck at the Tokyo Motor Show next month. Daimler said at a news conference in New York on Thursday that UPS will deploy three of the eCanter trucks, while four New York based non-profit organizations will get a total of eight electric trucks. The trucks have a range of about 62 miles (100 kms between charges. Daimler is leasing the trucks to UPS, Llistosella said, because within about two years “we know there will be a next level of technology” that will produce batteries with longer range, lower cost and lower weight. Battery costs that are currently about $180 to $200 a kilowatt-hour could drop to about $100 a kilowatt-hour, Llistosella said. “This is the main lever” to move electric commercial trucks to higher sales volumes, he said. A new Daimler AG, FUSO battery-powered eCanter urban delivery truck is unveiled during a news conference in New York City, U.S. September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Daimler is limiting sales of the eCanter to about 500 vehicles for the first two years of production, in anticipation of the improved batteries, Llistosella said. “The market demand is much higher.” Daimler’s Mitsubishi Fuso unit began building eCanter trucks at factories in Portugal and Japan earlier this year. Slideshow (4 Images) Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday that the Silicon Valley company would show off a prototype of an electric semi-trailer truck on Oct. 26 in Hawthorne, California. “Worth seeing this beast in person,” Musk tweeted. “It’s unreal.” Reuters reported last month that Tesla’s semi is expected to offer a range of 200 to 300 miles, far less than the 1,000 miles for some diesel-powered counterparts that U.S. long-haul truckers use. Tesla is also working on self-driving trucks. Reporting by Joseph White; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-electric-truck/daimler-drives-its-electric-truck-business-into-the-united-states-idUSKCN1BP1OH'|'2017-09-14T15:41:00.000+03:00'
'658ced864793e72f900c91b8fdad2c082b44781c'|'Cornerstone On Demand hires advisers to explore options: source'|'(Reuters) - Enterprise software company Cornerstone OnDemand Inc ( CSOD.O ) is working with financial advisers to explore the possibility of a sale and also defend against the activist investors in its stock, according to a source familiar with the matter.Cornerstone is working with Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Centerview Partners on the sale, according to the person, who did not want to be named because the matter is private.A spokeswoman for Cornerstone declined to comment. Goldman Sachs and Centerview could not immediately be reached for comment.Cornerstone shares rose more than 11 percent to $38.90, giving the Santa Monica, California-based company a market capitalization of $2.27 billion after Bloomberg first reported the news on Thursday.Activist investor Praesidium, which in the past has pushed for the sale of enterprise companies such as Tibco, is the fifth-largest shareholder in Cornerstone with a 5.12 percent stake, according to Thomson Reuters data. RGM Capital, another activist hedge fund, is Cornerstone’s seventh-largest shareholder with a 4.12 percent stake.RGM Capital’s managing partner, Robert Moses, wrote a letter to the company in late July urging its board to explore a strategic review and potential sale. RGM and Praesidium could not immediately be reached for comment.Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; additional reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Steve Orlofsky '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cornerst-m-a/cornerstone-on-demand-hires-advisers-to-explore-options-source-idINKCN1BP2RX'|'2017-09-14T16:46:00.000+03:00'
'f2f222cf46dd865567ea6aadefaa8a3f36c83008'|'UK confirms Murdoch''s Sky bid will be examined over broadcasting standards'|'September 14, 2017 / 9:20 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Judge Fox bid for Sky on merits not politics: James Murdoch Paul Sandle , Kate Holton 5 Min Read Tennis - US Open - Mens Final - New York, U.S. - September 10, 2017 - Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel stands before Rafael Nadal of Spain plays against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Segar CAMBRIDGE, England (Reuters) - Britain should judge Rupert Murdoch’s bid for broadcaster Sky ( SKYB.L ) on facts and not politics or risk stifling inward investment after Brexit, his son and fellow executive James Murdoch said on Thursday. Appearing before an audience of media executives hours after the government referred Twenty-First Century Fox’s ( FOXA.O ) $15 billion bid for a detailed investigation, James Murdoch struck a combative tone in defense of his family’s record in building global businesses that span TV, film and news. He was confident, he said, that the country’s independent regulators would assess the deal on its merits and not be swayed by politicians with scores to settle over how his father’s newspapers had treated them over the decades. “Whether or not 30 years ago someone had a grievance about a political position that a newspaper took ... is irrelevant,” Murdoch, who is CEO of Twenty-First Century Fox and chairman of Sky, said at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention. “We have a clock on this now. We are confident it goes through.” The Murdochs returned to buy full control of Sky in December 2016, more than five years after a phone-hacking scandal at their now-defunct News of the World tabloid newspaper sank a previous attempt. Since that failure they have split their company in two, separating the newspapers from the entertainment assets to help to smooth the deal’s passage deal. Related Coverage Backing Sky deal would show UK open after Brexit: James Murdoch But their reputation remains damaged in Britain after a public inquiry revealed close ties between Rupert Murdoch and prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron, creating the impression of a puppet master pulling the strings of the country’s politicians. Theresa May’s government has been much more cautious, referring the bid for lengthy investigations and in one instance ignoring the advice of media regulator Ofcom, which had cleared it on grounds of broadcasting standards. James Murdoch cast himself as apolitical, saying his own opinions did not influence the way he runs a group that made content ranging from The Simpsons cartoon to the award-winning Sky News and movies such as Avatar. “My politics are not an issue here,” he said. “It’s an irony that in the U.S., in some sectors, they think I‘m a raging liberal environmentalist tree hugger, and here I‘m the right-wing demon who is going to Foxify everything.” Asked if he had spoken to the government about a separate investigation into newspaper ethics, he replied: “The government won’t take a meeting with me.” UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Media Secretary Karen Bradley told the same conference that she had referred the deal to the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) to give the public confidence in the regulatory process. “I want (the CMA) to look at the concerns that have been raised. You will see when we publish all the information on this exactly why the referral has been made,” she said. To secure the deal Fox will now need to prove it can uphold broadcasting standards during a six-month review that follows a series of sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits at the Fox News network in the United States. Asked if the Murdochs could be trusted after presiding over scandals at their British newspapers and later at Fox News, James Murdoch said the company had dealt with the problems effectively. He defended his stewardship of Sky, saying that few others had invested as much and over such a long period. He added that the issue of inward investment would become even more important as the country prepares to leave the European Union. “If the UK truly is open for business post-Brexit we’ll look forward to moving through the regulatory review process and this transformative transaction for the UK creative sector becoming an affirmation of that claim,” he said. The government has given the CMA 24 weeks to examine the deal. It will make recommendations, including any possible remedies, to Bradley. “I must then come to a final decision on whether or not the merger can proceed,” Bradley told parliament on Thursday. Sky shares dipped by 0.4 percent to 928.5 pence on Thursday, well below the 10.75 pounds per share offered by the Murdochs for the 61 percent of the company they do not already own. Additional reporting by Michael Holden and Alistair Smout; Editing by Keith Weir and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sky-m-a-fox/uk-confirms-murdochs-sky-bid-will-be-examined-over-broadcasting-standards-idINKCN1BP11T'|'2017-09-14T07:20:00.000+03:00'
'dfa495e75a09ee36f0fe8745fd075183589a2ed0'|'Old Mutual sets deadline for bids for Buxton funds business -sources'|'LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Suitors for Old Mutual’s asset management arm run by veteran British investor Richard Buxton have until Sept. 29 to submit tentative bids for the business, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.Goldman Sachs, which is running the sale of the unit, has given bidders less than three weeks to submit indicative offers as confidential material was only dispatched on Sept. 13, three sources said.Prospective suitors for the business, which is called Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) and sits within Old Mutual Wealth, include private equity funds TA Associates and Hellman & Friedman, according to one of the sources, who added that a host of buyout firms had been invited to run the rule over the unit.Old Mutual is aiming for a price tag of at least 500 million pounds, one of the other sources said. The company declined to comment.Buxton is one of Britain’s star fund managers and joined OMGI from Schroders four years ago, first as head of UK equities before being promoted to chief executive of the business in 2015.The decision to examine a deal for OMGI comes as Anglo-South African insurer and financial services giant Old Mutual presses ahead with an ambitious broader plan to break itself into four separate companies, one of which is Old Mutual Wealth. It plans to list the wealth business on the stock market next year.Old Mutual Wealth said on Sept. 2 that, as part of its plans for a float, it was overhauling its funds arm and that it considered multi-asset investment to be “core”, with Paul Simpson appointed to run that business.Meanwhile, OMGI will focus on single strategy investing under Buxton. Old Mutual Wealth said it would work with OMGI’s management to examine “internal and external structures”.A source told Reuters earlier this month Buxton was eager to strike off on his own and had been in talks with private equity firm TA Associates about a possible management buyout of OMGI.The TA Associates’ approach spurred Old Mutual to hire Goldman Sachs to run a formal sales process for the Buxton business, the source said. ($1 = 0.7469 pounds) (Reporting by Ben Martin and Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/old-mutual-sale/old-mutual-sets-deadline-for-bids-for-buxton-funds-business-sources-idINL5N1LV5PM'|'2017-09-14T15:11:00.000+03:00'
'e5171a8bb45b5ef1c503f5be249f3b9e929b0e1b'|'China moves towards banning the internal combustion engine'|'“A DEFINING moment for the auto industry.” That is how usually restrained analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, described the news that China’s government wants to move towards a ban on gas guzzlers. On September 9th, Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, told an automotive conference in Tianjin, a grimy industrial city near Beijing, that the government is developing a long-term plan to phase out vehicles powered by fossil fuels.The news reverberated around car firms, for which China is the largest market. William Russo of China’s Gao Feng Advisory, a consultancy, who was previously a senior executive at Chrysler, says China is simply far too big to lose out on. “If China says no more fossil-fuel powered cars, global carmakers must follow.”  13   16   a day ago Foreign   No timeline for a ban was suggested. China already has ambitious medium-term goals for automotive efficiency and climate change, including a cap on carbon emissions by 2030. Experts reckon this new ban might come into force around then. It is unclear whether the ban will include only pure-petrol cars or also plug-in hybrids that combine petrol engines with electric motors.Mr Xin’s news came just before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show, a spiritual home of conventional cars. Many attendees were sceptical. Despite much talk about national bans—this year Britain and France have said that by 2040 new cars completely reliant on petrol or diesel will be illegal—no country has passed concrete legislation to implement a ban, some noted. Others saw opportunity. Thierry Bolloré, chief competitive officer at Renault, the French arm of Renault-Nissan, a Franco-Japanese giant, says his firm is well prepared to start making electric vehicles (EVs) in China.Western firms are not going to get things their own way, however. China’s government is getting better at boosting its own EV manufacturers after years of giving out ill-considered subsidies and setting unrealistic sales targets. Local manufacturers have not been able to match the quality and innovation of petrol-fuelled cars produced by Western rivals. But China has advantages when it comes to electrification and connected cars. It has many inventive internet companies, is home to some of the world’s biggest battery producers and is at the centre of electronics manufacturing.BYD, a Chinese automotive firm in which Warren Buffett has a stake, has dramatically improved the quality of its EVs and car batteries, and is making a push abroad. A new generation of inventive, venture-backed EV firms like ThunderPower and Nio are making a splash at global auto shows. The electrification of transport could give Chinese carmakers and suppliers a chance to change from also-rans into champions.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Zooming ahead"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728980-its-government-developing-plan-phase-out-vehicles-powered-fossil-fuels-china-moves?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'6d5ab6c0e70a7b7fcd0a5c77ae33d2e774acf302'|'New rail routes between China and Europe will change trade patterns'|'ASTANA in Kazakhstan is one of the world’s most remote capitals, surrounded by thousands of kilometres of empty steppe. This summer Astana attempted to launch itself onto the global stage by hosting the World Expo, which closed on September 10th and underwhelmed many attendees. But there are other ways to have an impact. On the city’s north side, away from the Expo’s exhibits, a series of diesel trains, each pulling dozens of containers, roll through the old railway station. Most are heading from China to Europe. Last year over 500,000 tonnes of freight went by train between the two, up from next to nothing before 2013. Airlines and shipping firms are watching things closely.The trains rumbling through Astana result from a Chinese initiative, in tandem with countries like Kazakhstan, to build a “New Silk Road” through Central Asia. The earlier overland routes were once the conduits for most trade between Europe and China and India; they faded into irrelevance when European ships started circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope. 17 China has long wanted to develop its inland regions and push industry to “go west”, in order to spread economic growth more evenly. Manufacturers have been loth to shift, in part because of the higher cost of moving goods to ports for export. Developing a rail-freight network to Europe—an important part of China’s “One Belt One Road” policy—opens up a new route to market for its poorest areas. The land route through Central Asia is relatively short. A container ship too large for the Suez canal must make a 24,000km journey to reach Europe. Trains travel no more than 11,000km to reach the same destination.Kazakhstan has spent over 1.1trn tenge ($3.2bn) on upgrading its railway lines and rolling stock since 2011. That includes $250m on the Khorgos Gateway, a dry port at the border with China that lifts containers from Chinese trains onto Kazakh ones to overcome a change in track width (a problem that has stymied previous efforts to build railway routes between Europe and China).Volumes of freight travelling between China and Europe by rail are rising quickly. Between 2013 and 2016 cargo traffic quintupled in weight. In the first half of this year the value of goods travelling by train rose by 144% compared with the same period in 2016. Western firms have been keen to embrace rail freight because it helps them to lower costs, says Ronald Kleijwegt, an expert on the industry. In the case of high-tech electronics, for example, which consumers like to receive quickly, making them on China’s coast and air-freighting them to Europe is extremely pricey.How worried should shipping firms and airlines be? Kazakhstan’s national rail company, KTZ, says it will have capacity for 1.7m containers to pass through the country between Europe and China each year by 2020; that is a tenth of the volume currently carried by sea and air between the two. In the longer term, a full modernisation of the existing main three rail routes from China to Europe could produce 3m containers a year in capacity.But there are reasons to doubt that will happen. For one thing, China plans to stop handing out government subsidies for additional rail-freight capacity from 2020, which will slow the network’s expansion. Sea freight has little to fear in the near term, says Soren Skou, chief executive of Maersk, the world’s biggest container-shipping line. Trains may take away some future growth from ships, he concedes, but not their existing business.Air cargo is more vulnerable. Last year, 180,000 tonnes of cargo travelled on trains to western Europe from China (the remainder was destined for Russia and eastern Europe). That is a small fraction of the 52m tonnes that came by sea, but a big chunk of the 700,000 tonnes that came by air. Much of that air cargo could switch to rail in future, says Mr Kleijwegt, with one important proviso—that Russia would need to lift the retaliatory sanctions it placed in 2014 on imports of Western food, which stop most foodstuffs from travelling by land between Europe and China. That is unlikely for the time being. But it was only a decade ago that people thought the idea of freight trains between Europe and China was a joke, says Mr Kleijwegt—and no one laughs at that any more. Business "Freight gain"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728981-new-silk-railroad-will-challenge-airlines-and-shipping-firms-new-rail-routes-between-china?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'c4c8435d24670a4d1c8534b1061fd237e0097dab'|'Connecticut attorney general, others ask Equifax to stop collecting fees'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Connecticut’s attorney general, and others investigating Equifax Inc’s data breach, which affected some 143 million people, asked the company on Friday to disable links to collect fees for credit monitoring.Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen acknowledged that Equifax has said it would give free credit monitoring to hack victims but asked it to stop collecting money for other credit monitoring. “Selling a fee-based product that competes with Equifax’s own free offer of credit monitoring services to victims of Equifax’s own data breach is unfair, particularly if consumers are not sure if their information was compromised,” he said. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/equifax-cyber-states/connecticut-attorney-general-others-ask-equifax-to-stop-collecting-fees-idUSL2N1LW1K3'|'2017-09-16T02:50:00.000+03:00'
'44f654bcb4ad566c9d6bff2aa6e93a20e50c75d0'|'Less foreign borrowing, longer bonds offset rise in emerging debt levels - BIS'|'September 17, 2017 / 4:10 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Less foreign borrowing, longer bonds offset rise in emerging debt levels - BIS Sujata Rao 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A large-scale shift towards domestically issued and longer-dated bonds in emerging markets has helped build resilience to external shocks despite the increase in overall debt levels, the Bank for International Settlements said. The BIS, an umbrella body for global central banks, has warned in the past that developing world risks were entering a new crisis because of a build-up in debt levels, especially in China. But its latest report found that changes in the composition of debt were a mitigating factor. “Borrowing is mostly done in local currencies, at longer maturities and at fixed rates. Taken together, these trends should help strengthen public finance sustainability by reducing currency mismatches and rollover risks,” the BIS wrote. Its quarterly report released on Sunday said emerging market government debt stood at $11.1 trillion, having doubled since end-2007. Public debt as a share of gross domestic product had risen to 51 percent, 10 percentage points above end-2007 levels. But only 14 percent of the outstanding debt of 23 of the big developing countries was in foreign currency, its data showed, down from 32 percent at the end of 2001. While foreign borrowing still made up about a third of the total in some countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Poland, such issuance has broadly declined. “The fall in the share of FX-linked debt in the early-2000s may have helped shield emerging economies from the global market turbulence of the 2007–09 crisis and its aftermath,” the study added. The BIS also noted that bond tenors had risen steadily across emerging markets, with an average maturity of 7.7 years for its sample set of 23 countries. This is only slightly below the average of eight years in developed countries. It cited Mexico and South Africa as examples of countries that had extended average maturity to eight and 16 years respectively - well above many advanced nations. This is not entirely without risk, however, the BIS warned. Longer maturities mean higher global bond yields - possibly as developed nations exit years of super-easy credit policies - “could have a greater impact than previously on the market value of debt, potentially increasing rollover risks and other adverse feedback mechanisms,” the report added. That is because interest rate rises tend to fuel a bigger drop in the price of longer-dated bonds than in those with shorter maturities. Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bis-emerging-debt/less-foreign-borrowing-longer-bonds-offset-rise-in-emerging-debt-levels-bis-idUKKCN1BS0OU'|'2017-09-17T19:10:00.000+03:00'
'a40672c9cda84b05c4058a34830979fbd13bee75'|'First Capital Securities denies JD.com unit to purchase stake'|'BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese brokerage First Capital Securities Co Ltd ( 002797.SZ ) denied on Sunday that a unit of e-commerce firm JD.com ( JD.O ) was in talks to purchase a 24 percent stake.Reuters reported on Friday that JD Finance was in talks to buy the stake worth about $1.5 billion from First Capital’s top and third-largest shareholders, Bloomage Xinyu Investment and Nengxing Holdings Group.In a stock exchange statement, First Capital said: “Currently there is no situation of JD Finance purchasing 24 percent of shares in First Capital as reported by media.”It added that the two shareholders, who own 15.4 percent and 8.5 percent respectively, had alerted the brokerage in August that they would halt a plan to restructure assets.Sources had told Reuters that the deal was still to be finalized as no agreement had been reached over valuation.Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-first-capital-m-a-jd-com/first-capital-securities-denies-jd-com-unit-to-purchase-stake-idINKCN1BS0DG'|'2017-09-17T08:41:00.000+03:00'
'0a1c396778d5cba88c4d462a076bf08bf15ddea6'|'BlackRock says to absorb research costs under new EU rules'|'September 14, 2017 / 11:48 AM / Updated 38 minutes ago BlackRock says to absorb research costs under new EU rules Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The company logo and trading information for BlackRock is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LONDON (Reuters) - BlackRock ( BLK.N ), the world’s biggest asset manager, said on Thursday that it planned to absorb the costs of external research under new European Union rules due to go live in January 2018. As part of the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, or Mifid II, asset managers will have to agree a price for all research obtained from brokers. Currently most research is given out for free, with brokers recouping the cost through fees on executing trades for fund managers. BlackRock, which employs more than 300 research staff, said it still needed external research to help it deliver the best outcomes for clients. “We are committed to developing our internal capabilities, while ensuring our teams retain access to external research that adds value to the investment process,” the company said in a statement. “From January 2018, any external research costs incurred for MiFID-impacted funds and client accounts will be paid for by BlackRock,” it said. BlackRock joins a growing list of asset managers to confirm they would pay for all research costs themselves rather than pass it on to clients, including Vanguard, Allianz Global Investors and Deutsche Asset Management. Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Rachel Armstrong '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackrock-research-costs/blackrock-says-to-absorb-research-costs-under-new-eu-rules-idUSKCN1BP1J2'|'2017-09-14T14:47:00.000+03:00'
'e4a17443f676d2482e8f779ff41eb08357c7a237'|'Oil prices expected to stay in a range of $50-$60, says BP CEO'|'  12:09 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Oil prices expected to stay in a range of $50-$60, says BP CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley addresses the gathering during a media interaction in New Delhi, India, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices are expected to hold between $50 and $60 a barrel as bloated global stocks fall after a deal between OPEC and other producers to trim output, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said on Thursday. “It was always going to take quite a while for stocks to come down. But for the OPEC and non-OPEC producer agreement, from everything we see, there is broadly compliance in place and stock levels are coming down,” Dudley said in an interview with Reuters. “We don’t expect a spike up in prices nor do we expect a big drop in prices. So we’re all trying to make our way in this world of between $50 and $60 and I would expect that to continue.” The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, are reducing crude output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until next March in an attempt to support prices by cutting a glut of crude oil on world markets. OPEC top producer Saudi Arabia and several other countries have held talks in recent days on a possible extension of the deal. Reporting by Ron Bousso, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-oil/oil-prices-expected-to-stay-in-a-range-of-50-60-says-bp-ceo-idUSKCN1BP1L0'|'2017-09-14T15:06:00.000+03:00'
'7740ba0e1b8fa9e611c5afef6bc59ea0c5fee642'|'A legal vulnerability at the heart of China’s big internet firms'|'COMPANIES’ legal structures are usually mind-numbing fare. But occasionally it is worth pinching yourself and paying attention. Take “variable interest entities” (VIEs), a kind of corporate architecture used mainly by China’s tech firms, including two superstars, Alibaba and Tencent. They go largely unremarked, but VIEs have become incredibly important. Investors outside China have about $1trn invested in firms that use them.Few legal experts think that VIEs are about to collapse, but few expect them to endure, either. One sizeable investor admits loving Chinese tech firms’ businesses while feeling queasy about their legal structures. Like scientists appalled by their monstrous creations, even the lawyers who designed VIEs worry. They are “China’s version of too-big-to-fail”, says one. As well as being spooky, VIEs are another instance of how China’s weak property rights hurt its citizens. 18 What are VIEs? Over 100 companies use them. Since the 1990s private firms have sought to break free of China’s isolated legal and financial systems. Many have done so by forming holding companies in tax havens and listing their shares in New York or Hong Kong. The problem is that they are then usually categorised as “foreign firms” under Chinese rules. That in turn prohibits them from owning assets in some politically sensitive sectors, most notably the internet.The lawyers’ quick fix, first used in 2000, was to shift these sensitive assets, such as operating licences, into special legal entities—VIEs—that are owned by Chinese individuals, usually the firms’ bosses. The companies sign contracts with the VIEs and their individual owners, which the companies say guarantees them control over the VIEs’ assets, sales and profits. Abracadabra!Alibaba, the world’s sixth-most valuable firm, illustrates how it works. It is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and in 2014 listed its shares in New York, but makes 91% of its sales in mainland China. There it owns five big subsidiaries which have contracts with five corresponding VIEs. The VIEs contain licences and domain names and are owned by Jack Ma and Simon Xie, two of Alibaba’s founders. It is as if Facebook were domiciled in Samoa, listed in Shanghai and its website and brand sat in separate legal entities that were the property of Mark Zuckerberg (but which he had agreed to allow Facebook to run and profit from).American regulators allow VIEs if their dangers are disclosed. Although most VIE schemes have worked smoothly, the underlying risks have risen in the past five years. It is unclear if VIEs are even legal in China. The latest annual reports of the ten largest firms that use them all admit to uncertainty about their status. In 2015 a draft reform from the Ministry of Commerce appeared to ban some VIEs, but the initiative has gone nowhere.Meanwhile, VIEs have become more prominent; the total value of companies that use them has soared as China’s internet industry has boomed. The share of firms’ sales generated by their VIEs varies but for most of the ten companies has risen since 2012 (see charts). The inner workings of the VIEs are often in flux. In nine cases, their structure has changed in that period: either the names or number of entities, or the names or stakes of their Chinese owners, have been altered. If they are being honest, most shareholders have little idea what is going on.For investors, there are two risks. First, the VIEs could be ruled illegal, potentially forcing the firms to wind up or sell vital licences and intellectual property in China. The second danger is that VIE owners seek to grab the profits or assets held within. If they refuse to co-operate, die, or fall out of political favour, it is far from clear that firms can enforce VIE contracts in Chinese courts.Yet this manifestly flawed system has endured for two decades. One theory is that managers favour it because it gives them more power—it is hard for outside shareholders to keep track of VIEs. Like their peers in Silicon Valley, who limit voting rights, China’s tech tycoons dislike it when investors call the shots.The bigger question is why China’s government tolerates the set-up. Perhaps it suits high officials to keep the country’s internet bosses on an ambiguous legal footing, so that they toe the line. VIEs could even be a diplomatic tool. In the event of a trade war, a quick way to hurt Americans’ economic interests (along with banning Apple, which makes a fifth of its sales in China) would be to void VIEs, although China’s reputation with all investors would suffer.Unscrambling eggsBut failing to tackle the status quo has wider costs, chief of which is that having internet firms listed abroad means most Chinese citizens cannot invest in the most dynamic bit of their economy. It is easier for a pensioner in Dundee to invest in firms in the world’s most exciting e-commerce market than it is for one in Dalian. Shanghai’s stock exchange is full of stodgy state-backed companies. So far, foreigners have made a capital gain of at least $500bn from China’s internet sector, while locals have been all but shut out. Imagine if Americans could not invest in Apple, Amazon, Facebook or Alphabet. As China’s internet firms get bigger, the unfairness of this will become ever more glaring.VIEs need to be unwound. Some small internet firms have bought back all their shares and delisted in America, then relisted in mainland China, but the cost of this for the big firms would be prohibitive. Alternatively, they could create dual listings in Shanghai or float the shares of their subsidiaries there for locals to invest in. Yet the question of their VIEs’ legality would linger.The enduring answer is for China to relax its foreign-ownership restrictions and open its capital account. Both foreigners and locals could buy into internet firms with a solid legal footing. Whether it does is a test of its appetite for creating an economy based on rules, not fiat. Until then VIEs are the financial equivalent of the “One China” principle that governs China’s relations with Taiwan, which the mainland considers a renegade province—a polite legal fiction that papers over serious problems. Such quick fixes can seem stable. But in the back of your mind there is a rational fear that they could blow up at any time. Business "The weakest link"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21728984-variable-interest-entities-are-their-weakest-link-legal-vulnerability-heart-chinas?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-16T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'a3f0e00514aa3ed2950ca36b3d9b6eface88dd88'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX turns negative as energy, banks drive weakness'|'  1:45 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX turns negative as energy, banks drive weakness Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index turned negative shortly after the open on Friday, as the energy and financial stocks led broad declines. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index fell 27.29 points, or 0.18 percent, to 15,145.43. Consumer discretionary stocks were the lone gainers among the index’s 10 biggest groups. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-turns-negative-as-energy-banks-drive-weakness-idUSL2N1LW0TL'|'2017-09-15T16:42:00.000+03:00'
'39805b79345a68367bc47c4b71bd866dd7f14565'|'Tenet Healthcare hires advisers to explore options: source'|'(Reuters) - Tenet Healthcare Corp ( THC.N ) has hired advisers to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the U.S. hospital operator, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The discussions are in the early stages and there is no guarantee they will lead to a sale, added the person, who could not speak for attribution because the talks are private.Tenet declined to comment.News of the strategic review was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.Last month, Tenet said it would replace longtime Chief Executive Trevor Fetter and members of its board, in response to pressure from its largest shareholder to shake up the hospital company’s management.Tension has been rising between Tenet and Glenview Capital Management, an activist investor that owns 17.8 percent of its stock.Glenview pulled two of its executives from Tenet’s board earlier in August, citing irreconcilable differences over strategy.Shares of Tenet, one of the largest U.S. hospital companies, have lost nearly three-quarters of their value since 2015. The industry has struggled over that period because of fewer patients, rising expenses and high debt.Shares of Tenet closed at around $16 on Wednesday, before rising more than 10 percent after hours.Potential buyers of Tenet would need to contend with the company’s $15 billion debt load, which could be a potential hindrance to private equity acquirers, said an investment banker, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak with the media.Reporting by Carl O''Donnell in New York; Additional reporting by Mike Flaherty and Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-tenet-healthcare-m-a/tenet-healthcare-hires-advisers-to-explore-options-source-idINKCN1BO2QV'|'2017-09-13T19:25:00.000+03:00'
'21d36c192e762ce9e221eba13f32fd9f54611625'|'The role of discipline in science and sports - Reuters'|'The first African American woman to travel to space Mae Jemison discusses her field and the similarities to sports. She spoke recently at an event associated with the LPGA’s Indy Women in Tech Championship. Plus, thoughts on ownership changes in the NBA and the tv ratings for NFL games.Rick Horrow is the CEO of Horrow Sports. As an attorney and consultant, he has been the architect of 100+ deals worth more than $20 billion in sports, performing arts, and other urban infrastructure projects. Horrow pioneered the public/private partnership and infrastructure branding concepts that, to date, have enticed more than $4 billion in corporate funding to cities and development projects. The opinions expressed here and in videos and podcasts hosted by Rick are his alone and do not represent the views of Reuters '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-keepingscore-15sept17/the-role-of-discipline-in-science-and-sports-idUSKCN1BQ2LT'|'2017-09-16T02:51:00.000+03:00'
'9947eba1e32407ac00626bdaabfd17053c66fc8b'|'ECB''s Praet says substantial stimulus still needed'|'September 16, 2017 / 7:10 AM / Updated 18 hours ago ECB''s Praet says substantial stimulus still needed Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Peter Praet speaks during a conference in Brussels, Belgium, May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Substantial monetary stimulus is still needed to bring inflation in the euro zone back to the European Central Bank’s target of almost 2 percent, the ECB’s chief economist said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday. “A substantial stimulus is still necessary,” Peter Praet told Belgian newspaper De Tijd. “Everyone agrees that we have to make sure that the reduction of the stimulus takes place in an orderly manner, without any excessive shocks.” He later added: “If inflation becomes too high, we will react just as ruthlessly as we are now in order to get inflation back on track.” Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Andrew Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-praet/ecbs-praet-says-substantial-stimulus-still-needed-idUKKCN1BR05W'|'2017-09-16T10:04:00.000+03:00'
'e4ebbd634bef5249baae11365d2ec12d6fe6a2ea'|'Coffee consolidation percolates as hipsters drink up'|'September 15, 2017 / 9:28 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Coffee consolidation percolates as hipsters drink up Martinne Geller , Lisa Baertlein 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nestle’s ( NESN.S ) high-priced purchase of a majority stake in California-based coffee bar chain Blue Bottle this week, highlights how big companies are seeking exposure to fast-growing premium brands driven by millenials. Industry experts are predicting more deals will follow in the highly fragmented coffee market, which provides richer profit margins than mainstream packaged food and drink. Since 2015 there have been nine coffee deals by JAB Holding Co, owned by Europe’s billionaire Reimann family. With brands like Douwe Egberts and Tassimo sitting alongside Blue Bottle rival Intelligentsia, JAB now owns the second-biggest packaged coffee business behind Nestle, owner of Nescafe and Nespresso. “There are certainly going to be further purchases at all levels of the price tier,” said Matthew Barry, beverage analyst at Euromonitor International, adding that any company that is not doing acquisitions risks falling behind. Earlier this month, Italy’s Massimo Zanetti ( MZB.MI ) bought a majority stake in Indonesian roaster Caswell’s and in August, Italy’s Lavazza bought a stake in France’s Espresso Service Proximite, its third acquisition in less than two years. In May, Lavazza’s chief executive told Reuters the company could put together more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) for acquisitions. THIRD WAVE Switzerland’s Nestle announced its deal with Blue Bottle late on Thursday. Its few dozen coffee bars are part of the so-called third wave coffee movement in the United States, which emphasizes quality beans and expertly-made drinks. Analysts see the deal as evidence that an energized Nestle, under its new chief executive, is taking steps to reconnect with consumers, particularly young ones. “It emphasizes the wish to actively work on the portfolio and build on attractive growth areas,” said Patrik Schwendimann, analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank. The deal gives Nestle entrance to high-end bars that are part refreshment and part theater, with space-age “siphon” or “vacuum” brewers. While niche, these outlets are seen as testing labs for new trends that may eventually go mainstream, such as cold brew, single-origin beans and nitro coffee. High street chains such as Starbucks and Costa ( WTB.L ) are already moving in that direction and a front-row seat could help Nestle innovate more quickly. FILE PHOTO - A Blue Bottle coffee shop is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Nespresso already has a network of shops but Liberum analyst Robert Waldschmidt sees the Blue Bottle deal as being less about retail and more about Nestle getting a premium brand it may sell in packaged form. “I don’t think they’re trying to reinvent themselves as a retailer,” Waldschmidt said. “They could be looking at going a bit more multi-brand given that JAB is the epitome of multi-brand.” It remains to be seen if there is enough demand for such exotic drinks outside major urban markets, or whether expanding too much will hurt the Blue Bottle brand’s cachet. For now, Nestle said Blue Bottle would continue as a standalone entity. “At a national level, there is no evidence of a shift toward independent coffee,” Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said in a recent report on third wave coffee. “Independents are largely limited to the largest urban markets, which, while important to both chains (Starbucks and Costa), contribute a fairly small share of revenues or profits.” Slideshow (2 Images) She estimated that the top third wave players - which include JAB’s Stumptown and Intelligentsia, Philz, Counter Culture, Blue Bottle and La Colombe Coffee Roasters - together generate just $126 million in revenue across 123 stores. By contrast, Starbucks alone generated $21.3 billion in revenue last year from 25,085 stores globally. BIG MARK-UP Nestle is the leader in a global packaged food and beverage market that has seen growth slow due to cooling emerging markets, increased competition from upstart brands and changing consumer tastes away from processed food. The company, which is under pressure to improve returns from activist investor Third Point, has identified coffee as one of its key priorities for investment. “There’s a big markup on coffee shop coffees,” Liberum’s Waldschmidt said. “Put it all together and you’ve got growth and margin, and in some areas, barriers to entry. Its fragmented so you can consolidate, which usually leads to margins going up.” Nestle’s overall operating margin was 15.3 last year, whereas the margin in its powdered and liquid drinks unit, which includes coffee, was 20.8 percent. ($1 = 0.8375 euros) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bluebottle-m-a-nestle/coffee-consolidation-percolates-as-hipsters-drink-up-idINKCN1BQ2Q9'|'2017-09-15T19:28:00.000+03:00'
'9c24203c33e0073777c8bc6789134343585078b7'|'Diplomatic damage to Qatar economy mounts as insurer closes UAE branch'|'September 18, 2017 / 2:38 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Diplomatic damage to Qatar economy mounts as insurer closes UAE branch Tom Arnold , Saeed Azhar 4 Min Read DUBAI (Reuters) - A Qatari insurance company is closing its branch in Abu Dhabi because authorities there have not renewed its licence, a sign of how the region’s diplomatic crisis is starting to have long-term effects on its economy. Qatar’s stock index also hit a five-year low on Monday because of concerns over the impact of the diplomatic dispute on some of its companies. Qatar Insurance Co ( QINS.QA ) said on Monday its Abu Dhabi branch, open since 2002, would shut because it could not renew its licence. In response, the firm’s share price dropped 2.3 percent; the branch earned gross premiums of about $30 million annually. In the initial weeks after the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Doha on June 5, accusing it of backing terrorism, many long-term investors sat tight, hoping the dispute would be resolved soon and allow normal business to resume. Gulf investors withdrew deposits from Qatari banks and pulled funds out of Doha’s stock market, but with the exception of Qatar Airways, Qatari companies continued to operate in the four Arab states. Now, however, there are indications that the damage to business ties may last for many years, as Qatari firms begin to close operations and sell assets - steps that will be hard to reverse even if the diplomatic crisis ends. “The pull-back by Qatar Insurance is another sign that the fraying of political ties between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours is also damaging economic ties,” said Jason Tuvey, Middle East economist at Capital Economics in London. “The move suggests there is little confidence that relations will improve any time soon, and we could see more Qatari corporates downsize or withdraw their operations in the rest of the region.” COSTS RISING Because of Qatar’s vast wealth - it is the world’s largest natural gas exporter - it is able to cope with the isolation. But it will have to pay higher costs, many of them borne by the government, to do business with the rest of the world, said another analyst monitoring the region. Doha Bank ( DOBK.QA ), Qatar’s fifth-biggest lender, has cut around 10 jobs in the UAE and plans to put some staff in the region on unpaid leave, sources told Reuters last week. Its UAE operation has been in talks to try to sell some of its assets. Last month, major shipping and logistics group Qatar Navigation ( QNNC.QA ) said it was shifting its regional hub from Dubai to the Omani port of Sohar because direct shipments between Jebel Ali and Doha were no longer possible. Companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have not so far announced formal exits from Qatar, but Qatari trade statistics suggest their exports to Doha have plunged since the crisis began. They may also be starting to sell assets in Qatar. A company owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family is seeking to sell Dolphin Tower in Doha, the Qatari headquarters of natural gas supplier Dolphin Energy, sources told Reuters. Previously, many multinational companies in the region used Dubai as a base to do business with Qatar. But because of disruption to shipping and banking links, some are now handling Qatari business out of other centres such as London - a more expensive and time-consuming alternative. An international banker in the Gulf, who declined to be named because of political sensitivities, said the rift between Qatar and its neighbours appeared to be widening as the dispute dragged on. If the crisis worsens, other countries could formally sever financial ties with Qatar, which would deepen Doha’s isolation, he said. “At the moment there are no credit or capital controls, but that is the next one to watch out for.” Writing by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gulf-qatar-business/diplomatic-damage-to-qatar-economy-mounts-as-insurer-closes-uae-branch-idUKKCN1BT1RM'|'2017-09-18T17:38:00.000+03:00'
'3c869b4f39cf0a5e89b1f700253e614dd0ea7724'|'For Merkel, it could take three to tango'|'September 22, 2017 / 7:09 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago For Merkel, it could take three to tango Michael Nienaber 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Election campaign posters show German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) and the leader of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) Christian Lindner in Ribnitz-Damgarten, Germany, September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - At first glance, Germany’s federal election looks like a done deal -- all major polls predict Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives to come in first, a result that should mean no political upheaval in Europe’s biggest economy. But that’s the first glance. The devil will be in the detail of what coalition is likely to come after Sunday’s vote, and with it whether Merkel’s economic policies can remain in situ. Those policies have reigned over booming growth and rising consumer confidence. The status quo, though, will depend to a certain extent on how Merkel’s centre-right CDU/CSU bloc fares compared with her incumbent junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD). The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and others could potentially hold the balance. So a few percentage points will decide Merkel’s coalition options and her policy agenda for the next four years -- with consequences for Berlin’s stance on euro zone integration, tax cuts, state spending and the privatisation of state assets. “It’s all about politics next week -- and that means German politics,” said Andrew Bosomworth, a senior portfolio manager at Pimco, one of the world’s largest bond funds. The base scenario is that Merkel will win the election and remain chancellor for a fourth term. “The big question is with which of the other parties she will team up,” Bosomworth said. Coalition building will be complicated by the fact that the anti-immigration AfD and the socially liberal FDP are forecast this year to easily pass the five percent threshold to enter the Bundestag lower house of parliament after failing in 2013. This means that traditional two-party alliances -- such as a “black-yellow” coalition between Merkel’s conservatives and the FDP or a “red-green” coalition between the centre-left SPD and the Greens -- are likely to fall short of a stable majority. The most likely scenarios are therefore another “grand coalition” between Merkel’s bloc and the SPD -- usually a last resort combination -- or a three-way alliance untested at national level between the conservatives, the FDP and the Greens -- dubbed the “Jamaica coalition” due to the parties’ colours. FILE PHOTO: A defaced election campaign poster of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, with a headshot of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Social Democratic Party (SPD) top candidate Martin Schulz are pictured at a park in Frankfurt, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo Both options would broadly mean a continuation of CDU/CSU’s economic policies, including closer cooperation within the euro zone, sealing more free trade deals and granting minor tax cuts. “If Merkel’s conservatives win as expected, the market reaction is likely to be calm. A Merkel victory is basically priced in,” Bosomworth said. BLACK-YELLOW However, last year’s elections in the United States and Britain showed that pollsters can get it badly wrong. There is also a chance that the conservatives and the FDP could get just enough votes to form a black-yellow coalition. Slideshow (3 Images) Such a scenario could bring some market volatility since the FDP is less open to helping other euro zone countries and its leader has criticised French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to create a joint budget for the single currency bloc. Some investors have even warned that a black-yellow coalition could lead to a renewal of the euro zone debt crisis. Such fears are based on the idea investors could shift their money out of government bonds from southern European countries. Berenberg economist Holger Schmieding, however, reckons this is all exaggerated. “An FDP presence in government would not jeopardise European reforms,” he said. With the FDP calling for privatisation of state assets such as the government’s stakes in Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ), Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) or Deutsche Post ( DPWGn.DE ), a black-yellow coalition scenario is likely to push up some stocks. "The DAX .GDAXI could make a small jump if there should be a majority for black-yellow," said Joerdis Hengelbrock, portfolio manager at Sal. Oppenheim. Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding Merkel’s future coalition partner or partners, investors such as Berkshire Hathaway’s ( BRKa.N ) Warren Buffett are banking on the pastor’s daughter to remain at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy. “Merkel is an extraordinary personality,” Buffett told business daily Handelsblatt. “Germany and the world, from my point of view, need a leadership personality like Angela.” Reporting by Michael Nienaber Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-outlook/for-merkel-it-could-take-three-to-tango-idUKKCN1BX0MA'|'2017-09-22T10:09:00.000+03:00'
'58b39c5f61c363bc7af417b29d5fed10c7056a36'|'Fried chicken to crayfish wraps: Philippines'' Jollibee eyes deals to grow'|'Customers eat at a Jolibee fastfood outlet in Quezon City, metro Manila, Philippines September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao MANILA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Filipino billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong, who has built Jollibee Foods Corp ( JFC.PS ) into a near-4,000 store purveyor of sweet-style spaghetti, burgers and fried chicken, is looking to buy existing brands in mature markets to help fuel future growth.Dominant at home, where Jollibee has 1,000 eponymous stores welcoming diners with its smiling bee logo, Tan now wants to reshape the $5 billion group as a global fast-food company, bankers and fund managers say.Primary targets include the United States and China, where it already has joint ventures, including Dunkin’ Donuts ( DNKN.O ).Tan, 64, said at a company event in July that half of Jollibee’s total sales would come from overseas stores in the next five years. Currently, foreign stores including joint ventures account for 30 percent of sales.This week, people familiar with the matter said Jollibee was considering bidding for Pret A Manger, a UK-based chain selling organic coffee and wholesome sandwiches to office workers. It is still working out a valuation and has not yet decided to bid, the people said.“Jollibee has to keep chasing growth. They own pretty much every large chain in their home market,” said a regional banker who has dealt with the company. “They are definitely not shy when it comes to looking at mature markets.”Ysmael Baysa, Jollibee’s chief finance officer, told Reuters this week that buying new businesses “has always been part of our growth strategy.”Tan started out with two ice cream parlours in the 1970s, and expanded Jollibee rapidly into a fast food chain dubbed “the McDonald’s of the Philippines”. Forbes ranks him as the country’s eighth-wealthiest man.“They see where they could utilize the knowledge and synergies they have,” said Robert Ramos at Unionbank, who helps manage $795 million in funds and holds Jollibee stock. “They are increasing the revenue stream beyond the businesses they have now... They are choosing businesses in line with their core competence.”Customers eat at a Jolibee fastfood outlet in Quezon City, metro Manila, Philippines September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao As discretionary incomes have grown in Asia, the region has become the second-largest fast food market globally after North America.Jollibee has created new domestic brands and has tie-ups with foreign chains. It bought a stake in Highlands Coffee, which outsells Starbucks ( SBUX.O ) in Vietnam, and opened its own outlets in Saudi Arabia and the United States.“PREMIUM CREDIT”Jollibee’s interest in Pret A Manger - which owner Bridgepoint is said to be preparing for a U.S. listing this year - comes just two years after Tan paid around $100 million for a 40 percent stake in U.S.-based chain Smashburger, his biggest overseas deal to date.“If Jollibee wanted to do a $1 billion acquisition, it will have access to capital. It’s very liquid whether overseas or onshore. Jollibee is a premium credit,” said a person close to the company, who was not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.“Jollibee is very clear where they would like to grow: the Philippines, China and the U.S.”In China, the company operates about 400 stores of various brands, including joint ventures.While Jollibee’s original menu is a hit at home and among the diaspora of millions of Filipinos working overseas, it’s a challenge to broaden its appeal to international diners - hence the drive to acquire global brands.Jollibee’s revenue has more than tripled over the past decade to 113.9 billion pesos ($2.2 billion), its net income has jumped to 6.16 billion pesos, powered by strong consumer spending in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and its shares trade at around 242 pesos each, up from 51.50 pesos a decade ago.Other Philippine companies, too, have used their plentiful cash and access to bank credit to make overseas deals, such as Universal Robina Corp’s ( URC.PS ) acquisition of Snackbrands Australia for $462 million last year, and Alliance Global Group’s ( AGI.PS ) earlier $291 million buy of Bodegas Fundador from Beam Suntory.Reporting by Neil-Jerome Morales in MANILA and Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jollibee-strategy/fried-chicken-to-crayfish-wraps-philippines-jollibee-eyes-deals-to-grow-idUSKCN1BX26X'|'2017-09-23T00:42:00.000+03:00'
'79e1f4843fb2b619eb963ca23720be5ae60a5483'|'ZhongAn aims to offer life insurance after HK share sale'|'September 17, 2017 / 1:58 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago ZhongAn aims to offer life insurance after HK share sale Elzio Barreto 3 Min Read HONG KONG, Sept 17 (Reuters) - ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd plans to add life insurance and other healthcare products to the range of policies China’s first internet-only insurer offers to accelerate its growth after going public in Hong Kong. The company, founded by Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Tencent Chairman Pony Ma and Ping An Insurance Group Chairman Ma Mingzhe also plans to offer its technology to insurers inside and outside of China, it said on Sunday. ZhongAn is offering 199.3 million new shares in an indicative range of HK$53.70 to HK$59.70 each, putting its initial public offering at up to HK$11.9 billion ($1.52 billion). Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp agreed to buy a stake of just below 5 percent in ZhongAn as a cornerstone investor in the IPO, investing about $550 million. “This is a good marriage for the company in the sense that this is a very strategic, visionary investor and they’ve done a lot of study into the company. Softbank is definitely a very strong stamp of approval,” Chief Financial Officer Francis Tang said at a news conference. SoftBank could make the investment through SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, or other affiliates, ZhongAn said. The company plans to use the new funds to bolster its capital base and cope with a 70 percent surge in gross written premiums in the three months ended March 2017, compared with the same period last year. “We are at a fast-pace growth stage, so we want to make sure that we have the sufficient capital because as an insurance company we have to have a strong capital base to do more business,” Tang said. “So when we see more business coming in, we want to make sure this won’t become a bottleneck.” The company has sold more than 8.2 billion policies to some 543 million people since its inception in 2013 in five areas: travel, health, consumer finance, auto and lifestyle consumption, where it started by insuring shipping returns at e-commerce giant Alibaba’s online marketplace. ZhongAn is applying for a license to offer life insurance products, Tang said, without giving an expected timeline for approval. It already offers 262 different types of insurance products and wants to add more within the five core areas. “We can further develop the depth and breadth in each of them,” Tang said. “We’re looking more at the pain points when you conduct your daily activities on the Internet ... what kind of protections do people need? We want to address those.” ZhongAn also plans to earn more in coming years from the sale of its technology to other insurers and partners within China and abroad. “This is how we want to see our expansion, not just outside China, but also inside China,” Tang said. ($1 = 7.8188 Hong Kong dollars) Reporting by Elzio Barreto, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/zhongan-online-ipo/zhongan-aims-to-offer-life-insurance-after-hk-share-sale-idUSL4N1LY081'|'2017-09-17T16:57:00.000+03:00'
'e827d7388cd9b961272a805a0d537f92aa4568ac'|'Japan manufacturers'' mood sags amid global uncertainty - Reuters Tankan'|'Reuters TV United States  13 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Japan manufacturers'' mood sags amid global uncertainty: Reuters Tankan Tetsushi Kajimoto , Izumi Nakagawa 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Women walk past a large TV screen showing news about North Korea''s missile launch in Tokyo, Japan, August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturers’ confidence worsened for the first time in four months in September from the previous month’s decade-high level and was expected to fall further, weighed by global uncertainty, a Reuters poll showed. The monthly poll - which tracks the Bank of Japan’s closely watched quarterly tankan - found the service-sector mood had its best reading in more than two years, adding to recent signs of recovery in private consumption. Compared with three months ago, the Reuters Tankan’s sentiment indexes for manufacturers and service sector firms held largely unchanged, pointing to a steady reading in the central bank’s upcoming tankan due on October 2. Firm tankan results would support the BOJ’s upbeat view on Japan’s economy, which is expected to continue moderate growth after posting its sixth straight quarter of expansion through June. The BOJ’s last tankan showed big manufacturers’ business confidence hit its highest level in more than three years in the June quarter. However, the Reuters Tankan sentiment index was seen sliding over the next three months, reflecting uncertainty over the U.S. and Chinese economies - Japan’s key trading partners - as well as risks such as North Korea’s missile launches and nuclear weapons program. FILE PHOTO: Employees of a foreign exchange trading company work in front of monitors showing TV news on North Korea''s threat (R) and the Japanese yen''s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar (L) in Tokyo, Japan, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo “Our domestic clients are being cautious about capital spending due partly to anxiety about future prospects for Abenomics,” wrote a manager of a machinery producer, referring to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reflationary policy. “Capital spending is being put off overseas as well due to uncertainty on the recovery prospects for Europe, America and China.” Another machinery maker wrote in the survey, in which companies respond anonymously: “While special demands for industrial equipment related to smartphones have subsided, sales of home apparatus are seesawing due to the murky global outlook.” A worker walks past a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The sentiment index for manufacturers fell two points to 25 in September in the poll of 548 large- and mid-sized companies, conducted Aug. 30-Sept. 12, in which 268 firms responded. The index was down one point versus June, dragged down by producers of industrial materials such as oil and steel. The Reuters Tankan service-sector index rose five points to 34, marking the best reading since June 2015, led by retailers and information and communications firms. The index has risen one point from three months ago. The manufacturers’ and service-sector indexes were expected to fall to 21 and 28 respectively in December. “The domestic market is dwindling and consumption has not livened up with consumers tightening their purse strings,” a manager at one manufacturer noted. “It will take more time to shake off the deflationary mindset.” Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Eric Meijer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-tankan/japan-manufacturers-mood-sags-amid-global-uncertainty-reuters-tankan-idUKKCN1BP38D'|'2017-09-15T02:07:00.000+03:00'
'6ab6ca0ce18f73b31fcd78f591b68d90b144f6d9'|'BRIEF-Melrose Bancorp says co is authorized to repurchase an additional 130,037 shares'|' 58 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago BRIEF-Melrose Bancorp says co is authorized to repurchase an additional 130,037 shares Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 14 (Reuters) - Melrose Bancorp Inc * Melrose Bancorp Inc - Under expanded repurchase plan, company is authorized to repurchase an additional 130,037 shares - SEC filing Source text: ( bit.ly/2h6GcNP )  '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-melrose-bancorp-says-co-is-authori/brief-melrose-bancorp-says-co-is-authorized-to-repurchase-an-additional-130037-shares-idUSFWN1LV0PY'|'2017-09-14T23:57:00.000+03:00'
'24e5836ad6cfab5fdcfce2978dce4216e4b8decc'|'Swedish central banker worried over Brexit impact on Sweden'|'  6:38 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Swedish central banker worried over Brexit impact on Sweden Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The sign for Sweden''s central bank is pictured in Stockholm, Sweden, August 12, 2016. Picture taken August 12, 2016. REUTERS/Violette Goarant - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s exit from the European Union is a risk for the remaining non-euro zone countries in the European Union and will change the political balance, Swedish central bank Deputy Governor Henry Ohlsson said on Wednesday. Britain is Sweden’s sixth biggest trading partner and the two countries have had a common interest in boosting free trade within the European Union and in keeping a tight rein on the EU budget. Britain has also acted as a balancing force between euro zone heavyweights and those countries - like Sweden - that have chosen not to join the single currency. “The UK is an important trading partner for Sweden, and what happens with the UK economy will affect Sweden,” Ohlsson told reporters after a speech in London. “If Britain leaves, the balance between euro countries and out-countries will change.” Sweden wants Britain’s divorce to be as smooth as possible, but at the same time it has added its voice to those who say that London cannot expect to enjoy all the benefits of membership when it leaves. With little clarity on how London and Brussels will solve issues such as how much Britain will have to pay to meet the budget commitments it has already made, the effects of Brexit are hard to foresee. “It’s a worry for us. We don’t know yet. But there’s a risk there,” Ohlsson said. “We haven’t seen it materialise... things will not only change for the UK. Things might change for the whole European Union and the balance in the European Union will be changed.” Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-sweden/swedish-central-banker-worried-over-brexit-impact-on-sweden-idUKKCN1BO2GJ'|'2017-09-13T21:38:00.000+03:00'
'aa51966c46ea5e175b6c469b2c5973a5901a46eb'|'UPDATE 2-Finnish nuclear project sees delay in getting licence'|'(Adds safety authority‘s, Rosatom comments)By Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas ForsellHELSINKI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A consortium planning to build a new nuclear plant in western Finland said on Monday it was likely to take a year longer than expected to get a construction licence due to delays in providing documents to safety authorities.Finnish-Russian group Fennovoima said it did not expect to get the licence until 2019, but added it was not able to say whether the start of the reactor would be postponed from 2024.Design work by Russia’s Rosatom, the supplier and co-owner of the Hanhikivi 1 project, had been slower than expected, it said.“We will review how this will impact the project schedule with the Russians. I don’t yet have a comment on it,” Fennovoima project director Minna Forsstrom told Reuters.Safety authorities said the project did not have enough planning resources.“The delays in the delivery of documents ... are in our view mainly due to a slower than expected organising of the project, as well as lack of resources in the project management,” the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority said on its website.It added Rosatom had recently moved more employees to Helsinki to address the planning problems.Rosatom said in an email to Reuters it had “mobilised all the resources, tools and experts necessary to be able to prepare the licence documentation on time”.It added the original 2018 deadline was still feasible, although it recognised more time might be required.The project has faced obstacles as many of its original investors have opted out in the past years, including Germany’s E.ON and Swedish metals firm Boliden.Rosatom, which has been stepping up overseas expansion, agreed in 2013 to take a stake in the reactor, and to supply and finance it.The involvement of the state-owned Russian company prompted concerns in Finland after the Ukraine crisis in 2014, but Finland’s parliament nevertheless backed the plan by 115 votes to 74.The project is 66-percent owned by Voimaosakeyhtio SF, which includes more than 50 Finnish regional utilities and other companies. Rosatom holds the remaining 34 percent.In another troubled Finnish nuclear project, the Olkiluoto 3 reactor is expected to begin production almost a decade later than initially planned, and plant supplier Areva and its client, utility TVO, are locked in a dispute over the delays. (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas Forsell; editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/finland-nuclear-fennovoima/update-1-finlands-fennovoima-flags-year-delay-in-reactor-licence-idUSL5N1LZ15D'|'2017-09-18T16:36:00.000+03:00'
'6cbc373e0269d00c60012a7e3ceb591049688caf'|'EU regulators approve RBS plan to help challenger banks'|'September 18, 2017 / 3:49 PM / Updated 2 hours ago EU gives nod to RBS competition plan, lifting state aid curbs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A worker cleans the glass exterior next to the logo of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) bank at a building in Gurugram on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union regulators approved a British plan allowing bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) to support smaller alternative banks with funds totalling around 835 million pounds ($1.1 billion) to encourage competition. The British government struck a deal with the European Commission in July for the plan, after RBS was unable to sell business banking unit Williams & Glyn and failed to meet one of the conditions of its 45 billion pound bailout. The deal is significant for RBS as it ends the bank’s state aid commitments which is considered a major milestone on its path to recovery as well as its ability to pay dividends again. “The package targets a transfer of a 3 percent market share in the UK small- and medium-sized banking market from RBS to challenger banks,” the EU competition enforcer said on Monday. It said the plan involves setting up a “capability and innovation fund” and an “incentivised switching scheme”. RBS said the funds will open in the first half of next year and Chief Executive Ross McEwan welcomed the EU approval, saying it will bring clarity for customers and staff. The state-owned lender had tried and failed to sell Williams & Glyn in efforts to meet EU conditions for its bailout at the height of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-rbs-stateaid/eu-regulators-approve-rbs-plan-to-help-challenger-banks-idUKKCN1BT1XH'|'2017-09-18T18:48:00.000+03:00'
'80a786b8ab9fd63024d41b1bf39e5e13fe06695d'|'French fashion group SMCP moves step closer towards IPO'|'PARIS (Reuters) - SMCP, the French fashion group behind brands such as Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, moved a step closer towards its stock market listing after filing its intentions for an initial public offering with French authorities.SMCP said on Monday that it had filed its registration document with France’s AMF markets watchdog - a formal step towards its planned IPO.SMCP, majority owned by China’s Shandong Ruyi ( 002193.SZ ), also reported higher 2017 first-half sales and earnings. Shandong Ruyi will keep a stake of around 51 percent following SMCP’s stock market listing.It reported a 20 percent rise in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to 73 million euros ($87 million) on sales up 16 percent at 439 million euros.“We are pleased to announce the filing of our registration document with the AMF, which represents the first step of our initial public offering project,” SMCP Chief Executive Daniel Lalonde said.“Our H1 2017 results show a strong increase in our net sales and EBITDA. This success confirms the relevance of our business model and strategy that aims to pursue organic growth, expand our network in our key markets, accelerate on digital, menswear and accessories,” he said.Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot sell dresses priced at around 200 euros in France and operate in what is classified as the accessible luxury market.Buoyant demand among fast-growing middle classes, particularly in countries such as China, has boosted this segment.In August, sources familiar with the matter said that Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), JP Morgan ( JPM.N ) and KKR Capital Markets ( KKR.N ) had been chosen as joint global coordinators for SMCP’s flotation.($1 = 0.8374 euros)Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-smcp-ipo/french-fashion-group-smcp-moves-step-closer-towards-ipo-idINKCN1BT0OG'|'2017-09-18T06:07:00.000+03:00'
'ab65b7bb6d0bbff56cb7a3ea3faa9347fa1d9fc0'|'Barclays wins end to U.S. litigation over pre-crisis disclosures'|'September 13, 2017 / 11:23 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Barclays wins end to U.S. litigation over pre-crisis disclosures Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read The Barclays logo is seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barclays Plc ( BARC.L ) won the dismissal on Wednesday of U.S. class-action litigation by investors who bought its stock just months before the 2008 global financial crisis, and accused it of concealing its exposure to risky debt and an inability to manage credit risks. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in Manhattan said investors failed to show that Barclays and underwriters led by Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) deceived them when the British bank sold $2.5 billion of American depositary shares in April 2008. Though the shares lost 80 percent of their value by the following March, Crotty said much of that decline could have reflected fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, the bailout of U.S. insurer American International Group Inc, and government capital injections into other British banks. “In such circumstances, the prospect that the plaintiff’s loss was caused by the alleged misrepresentations decreases,” Crotty wrote in a 51-page decision. The decision could end 8-1/2 years of litigation, and remove one hurdle as Chief Executive Jes Staley focuses on scaling back Barclays’ geographic reach, increasing the bank’s emphasis on investment banking, and addressing various regulatory probes, including over the financial crisis. Lawyers for the investors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Barclays spokeswoman Kerrie Cohen declined to comment, as did Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos. The case is one of many accusing big banks of inflating their share prices by hiding or being too slow to fix souring credits on their balance sheets. Barclays wrote off 2.8 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) on subprime mortgages and other risky debt a few months after the ADS offering, and a large capital-raising plan soon followed. But Crotty said Barclays’ disclosures to investors about its capital strength and dealings with British financial regulators were sufficient, as were its disclosures about how further credit market “dislocations” might hurt its finances. “Given these disclosures, a reasonable investor would infer how continued credit market dislocation might reasonably be expected to have a material impact on future revenues,” leaving Barclays “vulnerable to additional write-downs,” Crotty wrote. The judge dismissed other parts of the lawsuit in 2011. A federal appeals court revived the portion about the $2.5 billion ADS offering two years later. The case is In re: Barclays Bank Plc Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-01989. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/barclays-lawsuit/barclays-wins-end-to-u-s-litigation-over-pre-crisis-disclosures-idINKCN1BO2XO'|'2017-09-14T02:21:00.000+03:00'
'080208da92bac884e087642bcb28e2fcce882d64'|'BNDES president tempers rhetoric on JBS after fiery tweet'|'The logo of Brazil''s development bank BNDES is pictured outside of the building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The president of Brazilian state development bank BNDES on Thursday dialed back harsh comments he made a day earlier that spurred speculation the bank could sell its stake in JBS SA ( JBSS3.SA ), the world’s biggest meatpacker.After saying on Twitter on Wednesday that it was time for “Brazilians to redeem their investments” in JBS SA, BNDES President Paulo Rabello de Castro said on Thursday that “to redeem does not mean to make a withdrawal and save oneself.”“We will begin to separate people’s wrongdoings from companies’ good deeds,” he said on his verified Twitter account. “To punish crimes but save companies and jobs.”BNDES is involved in a legal dispute with the billionaire Batista family, which owns a controlling stake in JBS and has been fighting the bank’s effort to overhaul management after a major corruption scandal.BNDES Participações SA, the bank’s investment arm, is pushing to remove JBS Chief Executive Wesley Batista with the support of other minority shareholders, after he and his brother confessed to bribing hundreds of politicians.Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-jbs-bndes/bndes-president-tempers-rhetoric-on-jbs-after-fiery-tweet-idUSKCN1BP1Y0'|'2017-09-14T16:48:00.000+03:00'
'f235331ad2d265fbaf0953a7856fc42c34866b8b'|'UK households squeezed again, BoE might make it worse - survey'|'September 17, 2017 / 11:06 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago UK households squeezed again, BoE might make it worse - survey Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British households are feeling the tightest squeeze on their finances in three years and the Bank of England’s signal that it is getting close to raising interest rates is likely to make things worse, a survey showed on Monday. IHS Markit said its monthly Household Finance Index fell to 42.8 in September from 43.4 in August though above a three-year low of 41.6 seen in July. Looking at the third quarter as a whole, the index’s average reading is its lowest since 2014. British households have been pinched by fast-rising inflation since last year’s Brexit vote and weak rises in wages. FILE PHOTO - A man speaks on his phone outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Monday’s survey showed the amount of cash available to spend continued to fall at one of the steepest rates seen over the past three years. “With the Bank of England sounding increasingly eager to start hiking interest rates, the prospect of higher borrowing costs and increased mortgage payments is likely to hit households further,” Tim Moore, a director at IHS Markit, said. FILE PHOTO - Rows of houses are seen in High Wycombe, Britain, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh Last week the BoE said it expected to raise interest rates in the coming months if inflation pressure continued to build, surprising many investors. The IHS Markit survey showed households were also likely to be taken by surprise by the BoE’s change of tone. Only 29 percent of respondents expected a rate rise over the next six months, and just 12 percent before the end of the year, IHS Markit said. The survey of 1,500 people was conducted between Sept. 6 and 11, before the Sept. 14 announcement by the BoE. Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-consumersentiment/uk-households-squeezed-again-boe-might-make-it-worse-survey-idUKKCN1BS0YF'|'2017-09-18T02:06:00.000+03:00'
'51c364046daec6b8149d09dfdff080e8013e8070'|'Pirelli CEO says core shareholders have no plans to sell stakes'|'MILAN, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Neither Italian holding company Camfin nor Russia’s Rosneft have expressed an intention to sell their remaining stakes in Pirelli after the Italian tyre maker returns to the stock market, its CEO said on Monday.Two years after being taken over by state-owned China National Chemical (ChemChina), Pirelli is offering up to 40 percent of its equity capital in an initial public offering on the Milan bourse. It is expected to start trading on Oct. 4.State-owned ChemChina holds 65 percent of Pirelli’s sole shareholder, Italy-based Marco Polo, and will reduce its stake to between 45 percent and 46.7 percent after the IPO, depending on whether a greenshoe option is exercised.Camfin, the holding company of Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, and banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo will see their current stake of around 22 percent of Marco Polo cut to between 10 e 12 percent.Investment fund LTI, linked to Rosneft, will have between 5 percent and 6.6 percent. It has a lock-up period of 180 days after the IPO, shorter than the other two core shareholders, and there is market speculation that it might sell its stake after that expires.Reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Silvia Aloisi, '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/pirelli-ipo/pirelli-ceo-says-core-shareholders-have-no-plans-to-sell-stakes-idINI6N1D100W'|'2017-09-18T08:04:00.000+03:00'
'f0d6f7be02cc1a6411995b78da438c553c9b6a01'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Sept 18'|'Sept 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- China''s online insurer ZhongAn Online Property & Casualty Insurance Ltd ( IPO-ZAOL.HK ) said it plans to raise up to $1.5 billion in an initial public offering that could value the company at around $10 billion. on.wsj.com/2xrLMAx- Northrop Grumman Corp is nearing a deal to buy Orbital ATK Inc in a transaction that could be worth upward of $7.5 billion. on.wsj.com/2f3ziod- The Qatari and British governments have signed an agreement for the potential sale of 24 Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets worth several billion dollars, boosting plane maker BAE Systems. on.wsj.com/2xr0VSt- U.S. President Donald Trump''s top economic adviser is expected to outline the administration''s proposals to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions while restating that its stance on the Paris climate accord has not changed, White House officials said, following signals over the weekend that the United States was exploring ways to remain in the 2015 pact. on.wsj.com/2feyRem- The White House reiterated its position that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un must give up his nuclear weapons, days after President Donald Trump hinted again at a military strike on the North. on.wsj.com/2fdLjLx- Tropical Storm Maria became Hurricane Maria Sunday, and was expected to strengthen during the next two days, becoming a major hurricane by Monday night and threatening the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by midweek, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. on.wsj.com/2fe6NId- A Canadian union failed to reach an agreement on a new contract with General Motors Co and its members will strike, labor leaders said late Sunday. on.wsj.com/2fe4ZPm (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-18-idINL4N1LZ1X5'|'2017-09-18T03:27:00.000+03:00'
'c094adf01e39228b99ef0080903a68a5abe7fd2e'|'DP World to buy Dubai Maritime City, Drydocks World for $405 million'|'DUBAI (Reuters) - DP World ( DPW.DI ) said on Monday that it had entered into a deal to buy two other Dubai state-owned maritime companies for a total of $405 million.The Dubai-based ports operator will acquire Maritime World, the 100 percent owner of Dubai Maritime City, for a purchase consideration of $180 million, and 100 percent of Drydocks World by means of a capital injection of $225 million.Both deals are expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2018, it said.Reporting By Tom Arnold '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-dp-wrld-m-a/dp-world-to-buy-dubai-maritime-city-drydocks-world-for-405-million-idINKCN1BT12X'|'2017-09-18T08:53:00.000+03:00'
'ecb24f95334a728f458b174d14e8c6d9eef92247'|'Connemara Mining chief aims to ride Irish zinc rush'|'  2:08 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Connemara Mining chief aims to ride Irish zinc rush Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Connemara Mining’s ( CON.L ) newly appointed CEO expects fresh drilling this month to kickstart projects in Ireland, where zinc and gold exploration has been revived by a recovery in commodity prices. Patrick Cullen, a geologist with experience at big resource companies including Schlumberger ( SLBG34.SA ) and AngloGold ( ANGJ.J ), returned to his native Ireland to become CEO of London-listed Connemara in August. In the four weeks after his appointment Connemara’s share price rose by about 40 percent and is up 86 percent this year as its main prospects - zinc and gold - have rallied. Cullen said that he aims to take advantage of “a general upsurge in interest in exploration and mining in Ireland, with zinc prices that have reached their highest level in a decade and robust demand for gold”. CMZN3XAU= Drilling was expected this month, he said, to verify the extent of a gold find in Donegal and the company aims to accelerate activity more widely with joint venture partners. Last week Group Eleven, a private company that has announced plans to float in Canada this year, acquired the interest held by Teck Ireland ( TECKb.TO ) in the Stonepark zinc project in Limerick. Connemara holds nearly a quarter of the project and Group Eleven the remaining stake. Cullen said that is positive because he expects Group Eleven to be more active than Teck was in developing Connemara’s flagship zinc property. The site is neighbour to Glencore’s ( GLEN.L ) Pallas Green prospect, one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc projects. Almost no exploration took place during the commodity price crash that ended early last year, but Connemara said that drilling rigs are now working the site. Glencore declined to comment. Apart from zinc and gold, Connemara is investigating Ireland’s lithium potential, attracted by expected demand growth for use in batteries to power electric vehicles. Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-connemaramining-ceo/connemara-mining-chief-aims-to-ride-irish-zinc-rush-idUKKCN1BT1OA'|'2017-09-18T17:07:00.000+03:00'
'61746ae4a9cf9d3d49fae73fe2afdd85c15f9410'|'TREASURIES-Yield curve flattest since July on possible December rate hike'|'* Fed seen as more hawkish than market anticipated * Philly Fed manufacturing index increases By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to two-and-a-half month lows on Thursday as investors adjusted for the likelihood of December interest rate increase, a day after the Federal Reserve struck a more hawkish than expected tone at its September meeting. New economic projections released after the Fed''s two-day policy meeting showed 11 of 16 officials see the "appropriate" level for the federal funds rate, the central bank''s benchmark interest rate, to be in a range between 1.25 percent and 1.50 percent by the end of 2017, one-quarter of a point above the current level. "The meeting was definitely more hawkish than what the market was anticipating," said Mary Ann Hurley, vice president in fixed income trading at D.A. Davidson in Seattle. "We were definitely not pricing in another rate hike for this year," Hurley said. Some traders and investors had expected the Fed to strike a more dovish tone given the potential economic impact of recent severe hurricanes and still sluggish inflation. The U.S. central bank was also seen as potentially slowing its rate hike path to give the market time to absorb reductions in its balance sheet. The Treasury yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds flattened to 92 basis points on Thursday, the lowest level since July 6. Intermediate-dated debt underperformed on the Fed statement as it is more sensitive than longer dated bonds to interest rate increases. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 5/32 in price to yield 2.26 percent, up from 2.24 percent before Wednesday’s Fed statement. Yields briefly rose on Thursday after data showed that manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region accelerated in September amid a surge in new orders. (Reporting by Karen Brettell; editing by Grant McCool) ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-yield-curve-flattest-since-july-on-possible-december-rate-hike-idINL2N1M20UN'|'2017-09-21T11:43:00.000+03:00'
'c5f6f17c0dcb854ff467dd363774b87a7fb0b716'|'Bank stocks stand out as quick winners of Fed''s latest move'|'Sept 20 (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. banks shot to a six-month high on Wednesday afternoon, lifted by a sharp rise in bond yields after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it was likely to raise interest rates again by the end of the year.Amid an otherwise modest equity market response to the Fed’s latest policy announcement, the move up in bank stocks stood out and tracked closely a climb in yields on U.S. Treasury securities.The Fed, as widely expected, left interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its latest two-day policy meeting and announced an October start date for the process of winding down its $4.2 trillion portfolio of bonds.Still, a majority of Fed policy makers projected that they see the U.S. central bank’s benchmark rate rising by a quarter percentage point by year end from its current range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent.U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields rose as much as 2.29 percent, the highest since Aug. 8., while two-year yields rose to the highest since November 2008.That prompted a sector rotation out of stocks like utilities - with the S&P utilities index down 0.8 percent - and into banks. Investors typically sell shares of utilities when interest rates rise, partly because they lose their appeal as bond proxies since investors can expect similar returns investing in bonds.“All the move is beneath the surface,” said Michael Purves, chief global strategist at Weeden & Co. “Banks are up and utilities are down. The interest rate-sensitive (stocks). Banks want that yield curve to be steeper.”The S&P 500 bank index gained more than 0.7 percent to its highest since early March, led by gains of more than 1 percent in a clutch of large regional lenders, including Suntrust Banks Inc, Zions Bancorp, PNC Financial Services, M&T Bank Corp and Regions Financial Corp.PNC shares touched a record $133.69 before closing at $133, up 1.3 percent.Regional banks rely more extensively on loans as a profit source than the country’s largest banks, which also have significant investment banking and securities trading operations. The rise in bond yields augurs for higher real interest rates they can charge customers for loans, which in turn should pad these banks’ bottom lines.Since the election of Donald Trump as president in November 2016, bank shares have outpaced the wider market by a roughly two-to-one margin on optimism that the administration’s pro-business policies would accelerate economic growth and demand for bank credit. The banks index is up more than 32 percent compared with a gain for the wider S&P 500 index of 17 percent. (Reporting by Dan Burns; additional reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-markets/bank-stocks-stand-out-as-quick-winners-of-feds-latest-move-idUSL2N1M12AN'|'2017-09-21T00:00:00.000+03:00'
'2f50bc4a868a1e50d709ec4faacf6bd97e68a6a8'|'P&G shareholders should vote Peltz to board, Glass Lewis says'|' 34 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago P&G shareholders should vote Peltz to board, Glass Lewis says Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co LLC is recommending that Procter & Gamble ( PG.N ) shareholders vote Trian Fund Management LP’s Nelson Peltz to the consumer goods company’s board, Trian said on Friday. Peltz’s experience in the packaged goods and consumer brands industries would add significant heft to P&G’s board, Glass Lewis said in a statement released by Trian. “We believe investors have been afforded ample cause to support Mr. Peltz’s election at this time,” the advisory firm said. Activist hedge fund Trian disclosed a $3.5 billion stake in P&G earlier this year and announced the nomination of its co-founder Peltz to the company’s board. Trian’s campaign represents the largest proxy fight ever against the more than $200 billion consumer products company. P&G has argued that Peltz’s plan to boost shareholder value by organizing the company into three largely autonomous business units would result in higher costs, lower profits and another restructuring that could lead to a breakup of the company. P&G said in a statement on Friday it was disappointed with Glass Lewis’s conclusion. Cincinnati-based P&G’s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for Oct. 10. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-trianfund/pg-shareholders-should-vote-peltz-to-board-glass-lewis-says-idUKKCN1BX1E6'|'2017-09-22T14:23:00.000+03:00'
'8625b776d05df1996b66e945bef4d749b550e8bc'|'Alstom, Siemens in advanced rail tie-up talks: Le Monde'|'A logo is seen on the facade of the main plant of the French engineering giant Alstom SA in Belfort, France, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS/MUNICH (Reuters) - France has nothing against a potential tie-up between German engineering group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) if the deal does not bring job cuts, the French government’s spokesman said on Friday.Earlier on Friday, Le Monde newspaper reported Siemens was in advanced talks to combine its rail activities with Alstom in a deal that could be announced on Sept. 26.“It is important that we can strengthen our industrial sectors ... in partnership with Germany,” government spokesman Christophe Castaner told journalists in response to a question about the tie-up.“There is no concern on the French side when big companies are working together if synergies do not come at the expense of jobs,” he said.Siemens has held tie-up talks with both Alstom and Canadian group Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and had been expected to pick a preferred partner for detailed negotiations within days, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.If the deal with Alstom goes through, Siemens would have a slight majority, 50 percent plus several shares, but Alstom’s French CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge would head the merged company, a source familiar with the transaction told Reuters on Friday.But there was no decision yet for or against Alstom, the source said.“The prospects are better with Alstom,” another source with knowledge of the situation said. “Everything is still open, there’s a lot of movement.”Alstom is in a stronger financial position than Bombardier, the second source said. Bombardier also wants control of the new group which was not acceptable to Siemens while Franco-German politics aligned over a Siemens-Alstom deal, the source said.According to Le Monde, Siemens would contribute rail assets valued at 7 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in return for 45-50 percent stake in Alstom under the deal being studied.The proposed tie-up is also being discussed between French President Emmanuel Macron’s staff and their German counterparts in Angela Merkel’s chancellery, Le Monde reported.Siemens and Alstom both declined to comment.Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris, Alexander Hübner in Munich and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt. Editing by Jane Merriman; Writing by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Leigh Thomas and Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens/alstom-siemens-in-advanced-rail-tie-up-talks-le-monde-idINKCN1BX1L5'|'2017-09-22T10:29:00.000+03:00'
'dcb4ff5b08ca144ca312515b845d0adbb29876c5'|'Northrop Grumman nears deal to purchase Orbital ATK - source'|'September 18, 2017 / 2:38 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago Northrop Grumman nears deal to purchase Orbital ATK - source Jessica Resnick-Ault , Mike Stone 4 Min Read A UAV helicopter build by Northrop Gruman is on deck aboard the soon to be commissioned littoral combat ship USS Coronado during a media tour in Coronado, California April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. defence contractor Northrop Grumman Corp ( NOC.N ) is poised to announce a purchase of missile and rocket maker Orbital ATK Inc ( OA.N ) as soon as Monday, a person familiar with the transaction said on Sunday. The deal would come as the firing of missiles by North Korea in recent months has focused attention on missile defence systems. With Orbital’s stock market value of $6.3 billion and $1.4 billion of long-term debt, the deal’s final value will likely exceed $7.7 billion (5.66 billion pounds). Northrop Grumman declined to comment. Orbital did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Orbital’s rocket motors, missiles and electro-optical countermeasure product lines would enlarge Northrop’s offerings to its largest customer, the U.S. Department of Defense, analyst Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners LLC said in a research note on Sunday. The deal is noteworthy not only because it boosts Northrop’s exposure to missile defence, but also because the company has not bought a large rival in many years. It would also represent a departure from a focus of returning earnings to shareholders. Orbital ATK has contracts with NASA as well as the U.S. Army and the deal would give Northrop more than $4.4 billion in annual revenue according to Orbital’s 2016 financials. Despite infrequent strategic mergers, Northrop has not shied away from bold corporate actions to please investors. In 2011 Northrop spun off its Huntington Ingalls Industries ( HII.N ) shipbuilding business to shareholders. In 2009, it sold its government services business, TASC. Northrop’s last buying spree more than a decade ago included the 2002 purchase of TRW Inc for about $7.8 billion. Based on Friday’s closing stock price, Northrop was valued at $46.5 billion. The acquisition price could exceed $7.5 billion if a typical premium was attached to it, the Wall Street Journal said in a report published earlier on Sunday. Another reason for the deal could be the Pentagon’s efforts to rebuild missiles defenses. The Air Force had asked the defence industry last summer for proposals to replace the ageing nuclear cruise missiles and intercontinental ballistic missile system as the military moved ahead with a costly modernization of its ageing atomic weapons systems. In August, Northrop received a $328 million contract to continue developing a replacement of the ageing Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system for the U.S. Air Force. Northrop is also the prime contractor for the B-21 bomber as well as the maker of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. Orbital is a subcontractor for composite structures on the B-21, and Callan of Capital Alpha Partners said the deal might spark concerns at the Pentagon because of vertical integration within that programme. So far this year Orbital’s stock has increased 25 percent as investors have eyed an increase in U.S. defence spending. Earlier in September, aerospace supplier United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) agreed to buy avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ) in $30 billion deal that would be the largest in the industry’s history. Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-orbital-atk-m-a-northrop-grumman/northrop-grumman-nears-deal-to-purchase-orbital-atk-source-idUKKCN1BT04K'|'2017-09-18T05:38:00.000+03:00'
'e6a5cac2af19cd74556163d3994397b41d8567b9'|'LPC-Big funds lose bite as new investors flood European lev loans'|'LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Europe’s largest CLO managers are losing their influence over Europe’s leveraged loan market as more diverse streams of money flows into the space.Underwriting banks are finding it easier to syndicate a wider range of deals on increasingly aggressive terms after a flood of liquidity from smaller CLO managers, managed accounts and participant banks that are happy to invest in TLB paper.Pension funds and insurance companies are increasingly investing in leveraged loans via managed accounts, attracted by the returns in a low yield environment and the low default rates.The emergence of a wider pool of liquidity has led to less reliance on the biggest fund managers, otherwise known as anchor investors, from banks and sponsors. In some cases, CLOs only account for a mere 30% of liquidity per deal compared to more than double that a couple of years ago.“Three to four years ago you couldn’t do a deal without some of the big five in. I‘m talking Alcentra, Barings, GSO, PGIM and KKR. CSAM are also pretty chunky as are M&G, ICG and CVC. Now the fire power of other funds has increased so the market influence of those bigger funds has waned slightly. More money coming into the sector has diminished the negotiating power of those anchor investors,” a syndicate head said.New players and some of the previously less prominent funds are now able to put in ticket sizes of up €50m-€100m per deal.Excess liquidity has prompted a supply and demand imbalance, leaving the biggest funds to wield less power.The realisation and acceptance that the big managers can walk away from a loan they are displeased with, without having a major impact on the success of a syndication process, has given the big managers less influence over pricing, structure and documentation features.“Anchor investors still have ability to sway a deal but they don’t have the same ability to sit in judgment on the market,” the syndicate head said.A second syndicate head said: “All you have to do is look at documentation now to know that the biggest funds don’t have as much influence.”Despite an increased presence in the market, noone has been able to quantify the precise size of managed account liquidity in Europe, as funds choose to hold their individual firepower close to their chest.“We would love to know the size of the overall managed account market in Europe. We won’t divulge what we hold in managed accounts because we don’t want the banks to know just how much money we have to put to work,” a senior investor said.STRONG SUPPORT The strength of the largest investors is not to be underestimated and when it comes to the larger loans, in excess of €800m, securing the support of anchor investors is still seen as crucial in order to get a deal away.Underwriting banks will need to capture the attention of all the biggest funds in order to syndicate a €2.35bn jumbo loan financing backing private equity groups Bain Capital and Cinven’s buyout of German generic drugmaker Stada.The composition of larger deals could be split 40%-50% CLOs, 40%-50% managed accounts and 5%-10% banks.Yet anywhere up to €500m, the likelihood is that banks will be able to sell down a deal without the largest funds in play.Sub-€500m, the composition of a deal could go up to 60%-70% managed accounts.A new €300m covenant-lite term loan B for Europe’s largest lab operator Synlab reverse flexed to 300bp over Euribor, prior to close on September 12, after a successful syndication process. The order book was around €1bn at a launch price of 325bp over Euribor, but reduced to around half of that once pricing dropped to 300bp as it was too low for CLOs to play, sources said.“While deals will go much better with anchors clamouring for tickets, a medium sized deal can now get done without any of those investors taking part,” the syndicate head said.Anywhere between €500m-€800m and it is expected that at least a couple of anchor investors will be needed to get a deal away successfully.The absence of anchor investors on some deals has left a hole for some of the smaller to mid-sized players to come into a deal and take a more prominent role, encouraging more money into an already liquid market.“On the biggest deals it is hard to ignore the appetite and sentiment of the biggest beasts but there is no reason why smaller deals couldn’t be consumed by the more peripheral players that sometimes have to live off of the scraps,” the syndicate head said.This is creating a new class of increasingly important investors, which are more active in both the primary and secondary loan markets as well as the bond markets too.Some are starting to leverage off their ability to take smaller and perceivably more risky deals to get better allocations on the larger, higher quality ones.Although the smaller deals can get done without the larger funds, ultimately their presence is still important.“It is unlikely that you don’t get any of the really big guys and still have interest from all of the rest -- they are sort of a bellwether for the rest of the market,” the second syndicate head said. (Editing by Christopher Mangham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lev-loans/lpc-big-funds-lose-bite-as-new-investors-flood-european-lev-loans-idINL5N1LZ2CM'|'2017-09-18T09:28:00.000+03:00'
'a4e742ecb4a056d19b38c3ef86ecf17fbfed12ee'|'Petrobras starts sale of fertilizer assets'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Petróleo Brasileiro SA launched on Monday the sale of two fertilizer units, as Brazil’s state-controlled oil company seeks to reduce capital spending and focus on core business segments.In a Monday securities filing, Petrobras said the sales are part of a move to exit fertilizers. The units that have been put on the block include Araucária Nitrogenados SA and Unidade de Fertilizantes-III, or UFN-III, which is 80 percent completed at the moment. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/petrobras-divestiture/petrobras-starts-sale-of-fertilizer-assets-idINL2N1LS0KJ'|'2017-09-11T11:04:00.000+03:00'
'3fb8e7fcc7923d35a735a6e172e653b1d48dd8f4'|'Stock markets vie to host Saudi''s Aramco IPO'|'September 14, 2017 / 10:48 AM / 32 minutes ago Stock markets vie to host Saudi''s Aramco IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Aramco, is set to stage what could be the largest initial public offering in history next year and stock exchanges around the world are competing for the chance to list its shares. A Reuters graphic shows the potential range of the value of Aramco''s listed shares against the average 2016 market capitalisation of listed companies on the various exchanges as well as the advantages and disadvantages to Aramco of each one. Infographic ID: ''2jr9BCY'' Saudi officials have said the company will offer up to 5 percent of Aramco in the IPO. It is expected to list some shares on Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, with the rest on at least one overseas exchange. Among Aramco’s suitors include the New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Toronto stock exchanges. The IPO could raise as much as $100 billion, a large chunk of the $132.5 billion raised globally from IPOs in 2016, according to consultancy EY. Saudi officials have said Aramco could achieve a $2 trillion valuation, though they have not yet released financial information to substantiate that claim, which some analysts have cast doubt on. Listing part of the oil giant is a centrepiece of Vision 2030, a plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil, which is championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; Editing by Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aramco-ipo/stock-markets-vie-to-host-saudis-aramco-ipo-idUKKCN1BP1AP'|'2017-09-14T13:47:00.000+03:00'
'6df69520a51d425dffbc90d21ee6d5971097a1d1'|'Difficult to cut U.S. corporate tax rate below 26 percent: study'|'FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the 9/11 observance at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress would have a hard time slashing the corporate tax rate to below 26 percent, even if they eliminated nearly every business tax preference, according to a study released on Wednesday.The analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, found Republicans might have to expand the federal budget deficit to cut the corporate rate to Trump’s proposed 15 percent or to the 23 percent level sought by leading tax policymakers from Congress and the administration.The corporate income tax rate is now 35 percent, although many companies pay far less than that thanks to abundant loopholes.“There’s a lower boundary on this and it’s much higher than what the president and congressional Republicans say,” said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the center.“The most likely outcome is that they’re not going to reduce corporate taxes as much as they’d like to,” he said.Republicans have vowed to slash business tax rates, saying it would boost economic growth and help create jobs.Eliminating tax breaks are a main focus of closed-door negotiations on Capitol Hill and in the White House.But no policymakers have gone as far as the Tax Policy Center did in its study, measuring the impact of throwing out hundreds of tax breaks, including subsidies for research, alternative energy, fossil fuels and domestic manufacturing.“In a revenue-neutral bill, Congress can’t get the rate below 26 percent even if it eliminates nearly every corporate tax expenditure,” Gleckman said in a blog posting accompanying the study.White House officials and conservatives in Congress, including Senator Ted Cruz, have called for deficit-funded tax cuts as a way to spur economic growth.But analysts warn that expanding the deficit would undermine economic growth by raising the federal debt burden and forcing interest rates higher.Gleckman said policymakers could pay for tax cuts by finding new sources of revenue to compensate for lower rates, rather than expanding the deficit. But Republicans have already rejected revenue-raising options, including a border adjustment import tax and a carbon tax.The study was funded by the nonprofit Peter G. Peterson Foundation.Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-study/difficult-to-cut-u-s-corporate-tax-rate-below-26-percent-study-idUSKCN1BO2S8'|'2017-09-14T00:45:00.000+03:00'
'062941442ed0c8e090ee863bc6071a436433182c'|'Brazil''s BNDES agrees to return $50 bln to govt in 2017 -source'|'The logo of Brazil''s development bank BNDES is pictured outside of the building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian state development bank BNDES agreed to return 50 billion reais ($16.04 billion) to the National Treasury this year as requested by the government, a person with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Wednesday.BNDES president Paulo Rabello de Castro last week said he disagreed with the plan, which also included the transfer of 130 billion reais in 2018 to help reduce government debt.The source, who requested anonymity because the decision has not yet been formally announced, said the amount to be returned in 2018 remains under discussion as the bank is looking for alternative funding sources.BNDES is preparing to return 33 billion reais to the government as early as next week and 17 billion reais in October, the source added.Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said after an event in New York that talks with BNDES were still ongoing.BNDES did not comment.($1 = 3.1177 reais)Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-economy-budget-bndes/brazils-bndes-agrees-to-return-50-billion-to-government-in-2017-source-idUSKCN1BV2QE'|'2017-09-20T21:49:00.000+03:00'
'd00c51206d24cc23ccaa6bc42bb8cf17241ac6c2'|'Australia court upholds appeal against Tabcorp''s $4.9 bln buyout of Tatts'|'The logo for Australian gambling company Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (TAB) is displayed outside a TAB branch in central Sydney, Australia, October 18, 2016. Picture taken October 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian court upheld on Wednesday an appeal against betting firm Tabcorp Holdings Ltd’s ( TAH.AX ) agreed A$6.15 billion ($4.9 billion) buyout of lotteries operator Tatts Group Ltd ( TTS.AX ).Tabcorp and Tatts had billed their third attempt to join since 2006 as a way to create a domestic gambling powerhouse to fend off online rivals like Britain’s William Hill ( WMH.L ) and Ireland’s Paddy Power ( PPB.I ).The deal was cleared in June by the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT), a court-affiliated body, but antitrust regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) appealed the decision.“The court orders that the decision of the tribunal ... be set aside (and) be referred back to the tribunal for further consideration,” three Federal Court judges wrote, adding that they would publish their reasons in five days.The decision marks a potentially time-consuming setback for a deal announced a year earlier which has already been delayed by the ACCC’s court challenge.Representatives of Tabcorp and Tatts were not immediately available for comment.Tabcorp and Tatts took the unusual step of applying to the ACT after the usual arbiter, the ACCC, had raised concerns about the deal.The ACCC then sought a review on the grounds that it believed the ACT had misused certain tests to determine if the deal would hurt competition, and that it had given inappropriate weightings to data about the effects of the takeover.Shares in Tabcorp and Tatts were in a trading halt on Wednesday.Reporting by Byron Kaye and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tatts-group-m-a-tabcorp/australia-court-upholds-appeal-against-tabcorps-4-9-bln-buyout-of-tatts-idUSKCN1BV0JQ'|'2017-09-20T08:40:00.000+03:00'
'485f9fe9609ac2df6e004110b2817478991c4c77'|'Unemployment is biggest risk for business - World Economic Forum survey'|' 06 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Unemployment is biggest risk for business - World Economic Forum survey Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Job Centre Plus sign is seen in central London, Britain July 15, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Unemployment is the biggest risk for businesses globally, according to a World Economic Forum survey of business leaders published on Wednesday. The company executives put unemployment or underemployment as the top risk over the next 10 years, followed by fiscal crises and the failure of national governance, data from the WEF’s Executive Opinion Survey showed. The survey of 12,411 executives across 136 countries provides a backdrop for the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks report published shortly before its annual January meeting in Davos, Switzerland, according to a spokesman for insurance broker Marsh. Marsh is part of Marsh & McLennan ( MMC.N ), which published the data together with Zurich Insurance ( ZURN.S ). “Geopolitical risks and events have led to uncertainties which raise questions about how to manage resilience in uncertain times,” said John Scott, chief risk officer, commercial insurance, at Zurich. For businesses in the North America, East Asia and Pacific regions, the biggest risks were considered to be cyber attacks and asset bubbles. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-world-economic-forum-risk-report/unemployment-is-biggest-risk-for-business-world-economic-forum-survey-idUKKCN1BU2Z0'|'2017-09-20T02:06:00.000+03:00'
'064a4b798c6f526816b0cc88fb7e8db7b1e99f04'|'S&P, Dow set to open at record highs as N.Korea tensions ease'|'Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Wall Street hit new life highs on Monday powered by financials, technology and industrials stocks even as investors await cues from the Federal Reserve on its future path of monetary policy.Shares of the major banks Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were up more than 1 percent.Boeing and Caterpillar rose more than 1 percent, providing the biggest boosts to the Dow, while Nvidia’s near 5 percent increase pushed the Nasdaq higher.The major indexes have been breaking new highs, with the Dow recording its best weekly gains this year and the S&P, its second best.“Market continues to firm up. We could be experiencing what’s known as a robust return environment,” said Ronald Sanchez, chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Company International in New York.A relatively quiet North Korea and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent comments on “peaceful solution” also led investors back to riskier assets.Investor focus will shift to the Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day meeting, which starts on Tuesday.The meeting is unlikely to result in an interest rate increase, but investors will focus on how Fed Chair Janet Yellen views recent inflation readings for clues on the timing of further rate hikes.Persistently weak readings of inflation that have remained below the Fed’s 2 percent target rate have been a concern for policymakers.However, a stronger-than-expected rise in consumer prices in August triggered a more than 50 percent rise in the odds of a December rate hike, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.“The trend in inflation has taken a downtick. I think she (Yellen) will need a little more evidence on the inflation side over the next month or two to have some conviction about moving rates in December,” Sanchez said.The central bank is also expected to announce plans to begin unwinding its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, nearly a decade after the global financial crisis.At 10:59 a.m. ET (1459 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 71.16 points, or 0.32 percent, at 22,339.5, the S&P 500 was up 5.83 points, or 0.233179 percent, at 2,506.06 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 20.94 points, or 0.32 percent, at 6,469.41.Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 0.59 percent gain in the financial index.Financial stocks benefited from a rising U.S. Treasury yields, with the yield on benchmark 10-year notes at 2.222 percent.Among stocks, Orbital ATK jumped 20.69 percent after Northrop Grumman said it would buy the missile and rocket maker for about $7.8 billion in cash. Northrop’s shares inched up 1.54percent.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,723 to 996. On the Nasdaq, 1,851 issues rose and 902 fell.Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/sp-dow-set-to-open-at-record-highs-as-n-korea-tensions-ease-idINKCN1BT1K4'|'2017-09-18T16:13:00.000+03:00'
'62b7a4ffac54986b2223e6545a1f8c8e96fa5f86'|'The eurozone strikes back - why Europe is booming again'|'It was a story few predicted: the eurozone is growing faster than the United States. When Jean-Claude Juncker gave his annual state of the union speech on Wednesday last week, Europe’s booming economy was near the top of his list. Ten years since the crisis struck, “Europe’s economy is finally bouncing back,” the European commission president told MEPs. Detailing the economic resurgence, but also referring to the EU’s newfound unity after Britain’s vote to leave , Juncker declared: “the wind is back in Europe’s sails”.In fact, growth in the 19-country eurozone has quietly outshone the US for the last two years. The latest annualised growth numbers show the single currency bloc growing at 2.3%, compared with 2.2% for the world’s largest economy. Eurozone unemployment has fallen to the lowest level since 2009 , while factories are humming again, with production u p 3.2% on last year .The upturn in fortunes is likely to continue, says James Nixon, chief European economist at consultancy Oxford Economics . “The euro area has done a lot of work over the last decade to get its house in order and also a lot structural reform. That has been an extraordinary, excruciatingly slow process but it is starting to bear fruit.”The eurozone might be doing better, but the crisis has left deep scars and many wounds are far from healed. In France, the economy is expanding at an annualised rate of 1.7%, fuelled by confidence in French president Emmanuel Macron and his reform agenda, but growth continues to lag the eurozone average. Germany’s economy remains solid, but Germans are increasingly worried about inequality and low-wage jobs. Spain has bounced back from the crisis, but inequality is rising and unemployment remains painfully high at 17% - second only to Greece. Italy’s economy is doing better, but worries remain over i ts heavily indebted banks .Weakest eurozone economies on long road to recovery Read moreDespite the rapid pace of job creation, eurozone unemployment remains high (9.1%), worse than the EU average (7.7%) and the US (4.3%). Eurozone economies would need to be expanding faster to generate steeper falls in unemployment, says Cinzia Alcidi, head of economic policy at the Centre for European Policy Studies. “The outlook for the euro area has improved a lot but we are still closer to 2% than 3% [economic growth] so the effect [on unemployment] will be milder and will take more time.”This explains why eurozone watchers are focused on economic reforms. Above all they are looking at whether Macron can succeed in pushing through far-reaching labour reforms to make it easier for small and medium-sized firms to fire workers, thus boosting hiring. French ministers believe such reforms will make it easier for the young and low-qualified to break into the labour market. If France succeeds, pressure is likely to build on Italy to undertake similar measures.“It is possible that, in this framework this could be the start of a decade-long period of expansion, golden years for the euro area,” argues Nixon.European leaders also want to push on with eurozone reforms. Two days after the German elections on 24 September, Macron is expected to set out a detailed blueprint of his ideas, which include a eurozone finance minister and parliament. “Either the eurozone moves from being an imperfect monetary union to a true economic continent, or it could disappear,” finance minister Bruno Le Maire told the Financial Times last week.But there are differences on the detail. “There is a certain alignment in the broad ideas, but... divergences on how to make this happen,” says Alcidi at CEPS. “French ideas could be much more ambitious than Germany could accept,” she says. Differences are likely to emerge over the size of a eurozone budget or what it should be used for.Beyond shoring up the eurozone, the EU is also pressing ahead on trade: the election of Donald Trump on an “America First” ticket helped bring the long-discussed EU-Japan trade deal closer to the finish line . This week Juncker said the commission wanted to start trade talks with Australia and New Zealand - perhaps one in the eye for Brexit dreams of “Canzuk ”, a trading alliance of English-speaking commonwealth countries.“The UK position is looking very, very lonely,” Nixon says. “The UK argument, to a certain extent, has always been that we didn’t want to be part of what looked like a failing club and I always felt that was a very Anglo-Saxon jaundiced way of looking at things [that underestimated] the political commitment to making this fly.”Topics Eurozone The Observer Eurozone crisis Economics Euro Currencies Europe analysis'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/16/the-eurozone-strikes-back-why-europe-is-booming-again'|'2017-09-16T18:00:00.000+03:00'
'1fa9a9c5ac0359de36ae9e1eede94017997db6fd'|'MOVES-Credit Suisse overhauls IBCM top team in Europe'|'  2:34 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago MOVES-Credit Suisse overhauls IBCM top team in Europe Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON, Sept 18 (IFR) - Credit Suisse has appointed Mathew Cestar and Jens Welter co-heads of its investment banking and capital markets (IBCM) business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of a raft of changes at the top of the business. Former IBCM co-head for EMEA Marisa Drew has been appointed head of Credit Suisse’s impact advisory and finance (IAF) department. The new unit will direct and coordinate impact investing, a growing area that aims to create social or environmental change while generating financial return. Drew will report to Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam. Mark Echlin will become UK IBCM chairman after more than three years as the other IBCM co-head of EMEA. Cestar, an experienced leveraged finance banker, will continue to chair Credit Suisse’s credit products commitment and coordinate underwriting activity with the global markets team. Welter keeps his role as co-head of the global consumer products and retail group. Both will stay in London and report to Jim Amine, chief executive of IBCM, according to a memo to staff from Amine, seen by IFR. Henrik Aslaksen, who joined Credit Suisse in April 2016 from Deutsche Bank, has been appointed executive chairman of IBCM EMEA, the memo said. It said Aslaksen will work with Cestar and Welter “on strategy, resource prioritisation and client planning.” Giuseppe Monarchi, who runs media and telecoms in the region, will join the bank’s global leadership team. Among other changes announced in a series of memos was the appointment of Jonathan Moore as head of global credit products for EMEA. Moore has been co-head of the business with Cestar since 2015 and will now take sole charge. He has been at CS since 2001. Other changes in credit products in the region included: -Chris Orr, who is appointed head of European investment grade and emerging markets. He was appointed co-head of investment grade trading in 2013 after joining CS in 2007; -Jonathan Fletcher, appointed head of EMEA investment grade trading, reporting to Orr. -Basil Eggenschwyler, appointed head of leveraged finance trading and sector strategy, where he will lead the leveraged finance strategy with Geoff Drayson, who remains head of leveraged finance sales and co-head of EMEA credit sales. Within global credit products: -Jeff Cohen, appointed as sole global head of leveraged finance capital markets (LFCM); -Mark Walsh will join EMEA global credit products LFCM from IBCM, where he was co-head of the leveraged and acquisition finance group in EMEA; -David Ross is joining Credit Suisse in October to lead the EMEA LFCM group with Walsh. Ross was previously head of leveraged finance capital markets in Europe at Bank of America Merrill Lynch for five years. (Reporting by Steve Slater)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/moves-credit-suisse-overhauls-ibcm-top-t/moves-credit-suisse-overhauls-ibcm-top-team-in-europe-idUSL5N1LZ3YR'|'2017-09-18T17:33:00.000+03:00'
'67046ac2292df668507ac11c2b46790a118f945c'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX notches near 6-week high as energy sector rallies'|' 10 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX notches near 6-week high as energy sector rallies Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index posted its highest closed in nearly six weeks on Monday, led by gains for its heavyweight energy sector, while financials and industrials also gained ground. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 63.64 points, or 0.42 percent, at 15,236.67. Nine of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-close/canada-stocks-tsx-notches-near-6-week-high-as-energy-sector-rallies-idUSL2N1LZ1Q5'|'2017-09-18T23:06:00.000+03:00'
'3e0b3341ada292db1764204abb0dc345e097e355'|'U.S. sells 6-month bills at highest rate since October 2008'|'NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday sold $36 billion of six-month bills at an interest rate of 1.180 percent, the highest level since Oct. 27, 2008 when six-month T-bills were sold at 1.400 percent, Treasury data showed.A week ago, the Treasury sold six-month T-bills at an interest rate of 1.140 percent.The ratio of bids to the amounts of six-month bills offered was 3.21, up from 3.12 last week.The Treasury also auctioned $42 billion of three-month bills at an interest rate of 1.045 percent, matching the level last seen on July 3.The bid-to-cover ratio at the latest three-month bill sale was 3.05, compared with 3.03 the prior week. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Bernadette Baum) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-treasuries/u-s-sells-6-month-bills-at-highest-rate-since-october-2008-idINL2N1LZ13H'|'2017-09-18T14:20:00.000+03:00'
'c26c982148d23ee4371b475d82f076445e719079'|'France''s Latecoere looks out for targets in aerospace consolidation'|'(Reuters) - French aerospace equipment maker Latecoere ( LAEP.PA ) is on the look out for acquisitions so it can expand and win bigger contracts from leading aircraft manufacturers, Chief Executive Officer Yannick Assouad said on Monday.Latecoere, which supplies fuselages and doors to Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and Boeing ( BA.N ), expects consolidation to accelerate after Britain’s GKN ( GKN.L ) acquired Dutch firm Fokker in 2015 and the U.S. firm LMI bought Belgium’s Sonaca.“We have a certain number of targets we are working on but acquisitions are a little bit like fishing: one has to put a lot of lines into water to try and catch a fish,” Assouad said during the presentation of Latecoere’s half-year results.To secure bigger contracts from Airbus and Boeing, Assouad said Latecoere had to demonstrate it had the capacity to generate sufficient cash flow to finance new developments.“And that requires a certain size and ... a very large number of players are too small to reach that,” the chief executive said.Latecoere, which improved its operating margin in the first six months and confirmed its annual guidance, gained 5 percent in Monday trade.Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Michal Aleksandrowicz; Editing by Richard Lough and Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-latecoere-m-a/frances-latecoere-looks-out-for-targets-in-aerospace-consolidation-idINKCN1BT2CX'|'2017-09-18T16:39:00.000+03:00'
'16bc5a2582bfd3fb29818b5e2ba9308b5fc87f26'|'Singapore August exports rise most in six months on electronics, China shipments'|'Idle cranes at the Port of Singapore Authority''s Pasir Panjang container terminal are pictured reflected in a pool of water at dusk in Singapore May 19, 2009. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) surged in August from a year earlier at the strongest pace in six months, led by solid shipments of electronics and robust sales to China.Exports increased 17.0 percent in August from a year earlier, data from the trade agency International Enterprise Singapore showed on Monday. This was the largest year-on-year increase since February.It was also more than the 11.8 percent increase predicted in a Reuters survey.On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports rose 4.5 percent, exceeding the median forecast in the Reuters survey of a 3.1 percent expansion.Shipments to China soared 43.2 percent from a year earlier.Electronics exports, a major driver of shipments in recent months, rose 21.3 percent in August from a year earlier.“Electronics once again proved to be the one of the most important drivers, which might raise concerns about the narrowness of the export story,” Robert Carnell, head of Asia-Pacific research for ING said in a note.The latest export data will help the Monetary Authority of Singapore justify keeping the policy band of the Singapore’s dollar’s nominal effective exchange rate unchanged at its policy decision due in October, rather than provide any cause for tightening, he added.“If the good news continues, and is matched by some stronger consumer spending data, this should become a possibility for 2018,” Carnell said regarding possible policy tightening by the MAS.Singapore and other Asian economies that are highly dependent on trade have gained a big boost this year from an improvement in global demand, particularly for electronics products and components such as semiconductors.While there were worries that Singapore was overly dependent on electronic exports, the economy grew faster than initially estimated in the second quarter thanks to a rebound in services, suggesting a broader and more balanced recovery after a stumble early in 2017.Stronger global trade in general this year has also benefited Singapore, which boasts one of the world’s largest container ports and a global air cargo hub.Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Richard Borsuk '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/singapore-economy-exports/singapore-august-exports-rise-most-in-six-months-on-electronics-china-shipments-idINKCN1BT0DC'|'2017-09-18T08:31:00.000+03:00'
'df7202cb1fbc573d933cce895edec72b031cb914'|'UPDATE 1-ChemChina gave up Pirelli control to show its market friendly face - Pirelli CEO'|'  10:15 AM / a minute ago ChemChina gave up Pirelli control to show its market friendly face: Pirelli CEO Agnieszka Flak , Elisa Anzolin 5 Min Read Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - State-owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) will give up control of Pirelli as part of the Italian tyremaker’s return to the bourse to show Beijing has a market friendly approach to investments in Europe, Pirelli’s chief executive said on Monday. ChemChina took over Pirelli two years ago by taking a 65 percent stake in the holding company controlling the maker of Ferrari racing tyres, which was then de-listed from the Milan bourse. The world’s fifth-largest tyre maker is now coming back on the market with an initial public offer of up to 40 percent of its capital, and the Chinese will have between 45 and 46.7 percent after the sale. Pirelli has long said the Chinese had a hands-off attitude to the company’s management, but their reducing the stake below 50 percent comes at a time of growing wariness over Chinese investments in Europe. Last week, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker proposed limits to China’s ability to buy up companies in infrastructure, hi-tech manufacturing and energy. ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin was recently confirmed as Pirelli’s chairman and there is a strong Chinese presence on the board, but a set of bylaws was agreed to protect Pirelli’s technological know-how and governance. “They (ChemChina) agreed to all the conditions that we put forward on the governance front,” Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera told reporters as the IPO officially kicked off. “They wanted to show that their investment is a financial one and respects the autonomy and responsibility of the management, and above all respects the minorities.” Established in 1872 and one of Italy’s best-known corporate names, Pirelli is expected to start trading on the Milan stock market - where it had traded since 1922 before the de-listing - on Oct. 4. Its IPO price range values Pirelli at between 6.3 billion and 8.3 billion euros - a tad lower than core shareholders had hoped for. Pirelli seeks to raise up to 3.3 billion euros in the IPO, which would make it the second-biggest in Europe this year. The relisting will test demand for a streamlined firm that focuses on high-end consumer tyres for upmarket brands such as Mercedes, Audi and BMW after its less profitable truck and industrial tyre business was folded into a unit of ChemChina. With high-value products expected to account for about 63 percent of revenue by the end of 2020, Pirelli aims to market itself as a top-end industrial player. But while the valuation being sought puts Pirelli above Michelin ( MICP.PA ) and Continental ( CONG.DE ), it falls short of the industry’s most highly valued manufacturer, Finland’s Nokian ( NRE1V.HE ). Pirelli had expected to list in the first half of 2018 but brought forward the plans due to favorable market conditions, reaching an investment grade rating earlier than expected and after executing a series of steps to cut debt. Camfin, the holding company of Tronchetti Provera and banks UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) and Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), will see their stake of around 22 percent cut to between 10 and 12 percent after the IPO. Investment fund LTI, linked to Rosneft, will have between 5 and 6.6 percent. LTI has a lock-up period of 180 days after the IPO, shorter than the other two core shareholders, and there has been strong market speculation that it might sell out after that. However, Tronchetti Provera said on Monday that none of the main investors had expressed a willingness to sell. Pirelli will be included on a newly created bourse index dedicated to key Italian lifestyle companies, which will also feature Ferrari ( RACE.MI ) and drinks maker Campari ( CPRI.MI ). Asked about his own succession, Tronchetti Provera said he already had “an envelope with a name” of who might follow him, adding the person would come from his current team. The 69-year-old executive ruled out extending his own mandate past 2020, saying being in his early 70s was “the right age to watch future developments from the outside”. (The story has been refiled to fix typo in paragraph 4) Additional reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo/pirelli-ceo-says-core-shareholders-have-no-plans-to-sell-stakes-idUSKCN1BT0YB'|'2017-09-18T17:29:00.000+03:00'
'a29f0a5682ae48024880e56ae76225ff8e2aadd1'|'Chipotle slides as customers turn up nose at cheese dip'|'September 18, 2017 / 7:40 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Chipotle slides as customers turn up noses at cheese dip Noel Randewich 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Chipotle Mexican Grill is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill ( CMG.N ) sank more than 3 percent on Monday as customers on social media turned up their noses at the burrito seller’s new “queso” cheese topping. Since the restaurant chain added queso to its menu across the United States last week, Twitter users have widely panned the product, which Chipotle describes as “complex and slightly spicy”. “Chipotle queso is probably the most disappointing thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” tweeted Twitter user @arbythompson on Monday. “Chipotle queso is not good. And I love cheese,” tweeted @Kyle_Ratke. Previously tested in Colorado and Southern California, queso is served as a topping on burritos or as a side dish with chips. It is the company’s latest attempt to attract new customers as well as regulars who fled in recent years following a string of food-borne illness outbreaks. Monday’s decline in Chipotle’s stock is likely a result of negative sentiment about queso on Twitter, said Maxim analyst Stephen Anderson. He called customers’ reactions to queso as “polarizing”. Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold warned against drawing conclusions about queso from reactions viewed on Twitter. “What we are seeing now in terms of social sentiment is very similar to what we saw when we began marketwide tests in Colorado and Southern California, yet we were sufficiently encouraged by those tests – both in terms of sentiment from the research we conducted and business results - to roll out the queso nationwide,” Arnold said in an email. Chipotle’s stock has fallen 60 percent since August 2015, just before norovirus and E.coli outbreaks at some of its outlets drove away customers. Once one of the most beloved restaurant operators on Wall Street, Chipotle’s stock recently traded at lows not seen since early 2013. The stock closed 3.58 percent lower at $301.87. Reporting by Noel Randewich, additional reporting by Peter Henderson,; editing by Diane Craft and Mary Milliken'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chipotle-stocks/chipotle-slides-as-customers-turn-up-nose-at-cheese-dip-idUSKCN1BT2GM'|'2017-09-18T22:40:00.000+03:00'
'7383949af64aae34a9ef0a85465d7120777298f3'|'Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion'|'September 18, 2017 / 1:44 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion Francesca Landini 6 Min Read Guests are seen inside the Italian coffee roasting company Illy Caffe''s flagship store in downtown Milan, Italy September 15 2017. Picture taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca MILAN (Reuters) - Two of Italy’s biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks ( SBUX.O ) is set to begin an invasion next year. Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first Italian store, a ‘Reserve Roasteries’ outlet offering speciality blends and fine food. Another top Italian brand, illycaffe, opened its own luxury cafe close to the Starbucks site in May, in a cosy courtyard in Milan’s most fashionable street. Lavazza, which is opening near the city’s famous La Scala opera house, and illycaffe both deny their moves are a response to a global rival’s impending arrival, a first step in what may become a 200-store expansion. Industry experts suspect it is no coincidence. “Lavazza and illycaffe are the purists of coffee, they want to show they are there when Starbucks arrives,” says Jean-Paul Gaillard, who ran Nespresso for 10 years before founding the Ethical Coffee Company, a Swiss firm selling coffee pods. Milan’s battle of the coffee palaces reflects global competition among major brands to capture a growing market for people who are prepared to pay a premium for quality espresso coffees in upmarket boutique cafes. Nestle ( NESN.S ) last week bought California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, one of the top boutique U.S. chains whose single-origin and cold-brewed coffees have proven popular with hipsters and have made inroads into the Starbucks franchise. JAB Holdings, the investment vehicle of Germany’s Reimann family, has also been buying up independent start-ups selling premium brews around the world, from Europe to the Americas. Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz hopes his company’s arrival in Milan, which he calls the home of the “perfect espresso”, and the inspiration for his Starbucks vision, will show discerning Italian coffee-lovers that “we got it right”. “We are happy to hear about Lavazza’s growth,” said a Starbucks spokesman when asked to comment on Lavazza’s opening. The U.S. chain will open its 2,400-square-metre cafe in late 2018, seeking to attract tourists, young Italians and the business crowd. If the Milan experiment succeeds, Starbucks and its local partner, Antonio Percassi, could open more than 200 stores in Italy over six years, according to Percassi. Some analysts are sceptical that Starbucks can crack a market where espresso typically sells for just one euro ($1.20), a fraction of the price of a Starbucks coffee. People stand outside the Italian coffee roaster Lavazza''s flagship store, set to open in autumn in downtown Milan, Italy September 15 2017. Picture taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca But the local brands are also gambling Italians will spend much more than one euro for a restaurant-style experience: illycaffe charges around three times that for coffee brought to the table. Nestle, JAB Holdings and Starbucks are the three largest players in the global coffee market, followed by several mid-tier players including Lavazza and illycaffe. “As the biggest get bigger, mid-tier companies are in a position where they must either expand or risk being left behind or swallowed up by their massive rivals,” said Matthew Barry, an analyst at market research firm Euromonitor International. Lavazza’s chief executive and some of its family owners will cut a ribbon to launch their cafe, where customers can sip a blend of coffee specifically crafted for the store, taste gourmet food and buy single-origin coffees. Slideshow (5 Images) “The opening of the new flagship store has nothing to do with Starbucks,” a Lavazza spokeswoman said, adding that it was solely aimed at giving people an exclusive Lavazza experience. The group is primarily a roaster and supplier to independent cafes and restaurants rather than a retailer and its new store is a way of boosting brand visibility on the high street. Lavazza went on an acquisition spree three years ago, buying up three coffee suppliers in Europe and Canada, boosting sales to nearly 2 billion euros last year. It has overtaken Starbucks in supermarket sales, Euromonitor International says. Illycaffe sells its coffee both through independent cafes and 230 mono-brand stores, some of them directly owned, in 43 countries, and says it wants to develop the network further, though not via major acquisitions. “The new store wants to be a landmark for the global nomad in search for the real Italian lifestyle experience,” illycaffe said, without commenting on the arrival of Starbucks. Milanese coffee society is divided on whether Starbucks can make its name at the high-end of Italian market, the world’s fourth-largest coffee consumer. “I am curious about Starbucks, I will give it a try when it arrives in Milan,” office worker Giuseppe Gaggiano, 55, said at a small, upmarket independent cafe close to the Starbucks site. However, another customer there, Alberto Paparusso, 31, said he wouldn’t abandon his usual cafe: “I don’t like Starbucks coffee. It’s not worth going there.” (The story corrects spelling of analyst’s surname in para 16.) Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Editing by Mark Bendeich and Philippa Fletcher '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-coffee/coffee-rivals-square-off-in-italy-ahead-of-starbucks-invasion-idUKKCN1BT1MV'|'2017-09-18T16:43:00.000+03:00'
'ba8936592573b9fa8c6889656c03702fb5aaac1c'|'EU to propose stronger monitoring of UK financial firms after Brexit'|'  12:42 PM / Updated 6 hours ago EU to propose stronger monitoring of UK financial firms after Brexit Francesco Guarascio 3 Min Read Storm clouds are seen above the Canary Wharf financial district in London on August 3, 2010. REUTERS/Greg Bos BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to propose on Wednesday stricter controls of foreign financial firms that do business in the EU, a move that would extend European regulators’ supervision over London, Europe’s biggest financial center, after Britain leaves the bloc. The proposal would cover all financial industries that are allowed to operate in the EU under the so-called equivalence regime, a system whereby Brussels grants access to non-EU firms that comply with rules similar to those in the bloc. After Brexit, equivalence is seen as the most likely framework for regulating the activities in the EU of British-based firms, although the country’s financial services sector is pushing for an easier access to the continent’s internal market. Under the draft legislative proposal, seen by Reuters, EU supervisors would increase their monitoring powers for all foreign financial services covered by equivalence decisions. This would complement earlier moves to strengthen checks on specific activities, like clearing, that infuriated Britain. EU regulators would have to regularly monitor foreign financial regulatory regimes and report to the European Commission about possible developments that could require changes or a quick revocation of an equivalence decision. At the moment regular checks are expected only for some financial service industries. Regulators would monitor “regulatory, supervisory, enforcement and market developments” in foreign countries with financial sector regulations equivalent to the EU‘s. EU supervisory authorities could also in some cases request “on-site inspections” as part of coordinated monitoring with foreign regulators, the draft document said. EU watchdogs will be given more staff and money to fulfil these new tasks, the proposal said. The Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority will receive more resources because it will have to monitor more foreign regulatory regimes. The EU has so far adopted decisions that could allow equivalence status for a variety of eligible foreign sectors ranging from credit rating agencies and accounting to investment firms and insurance. The United States, China, Japan, Canada and South Korea are among the countries having reached equivalence agreements with the EU for specific financial sectors. The Commission’s legislative proposal, expected to be published on Wednesday, will need the approval of EU states and European lawmakers. The draft document also set aside earlier ideas for merging the three EU financial sector regulators, which monitor markets, insurers and banks, amid the EU states’ wrangling over which member nation would host one of the three, the European Banking Authority, when it moves from London after Brexit. Under the proposal, the supervisors would see their powers strengthened to monitor EU firms, from funds and insurers to financial technology developers. Their increased costs will in part be met by the industry. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-regulations/eu-to-propose-stronger-monitoring-of-uk-financial-firms-after-brexit-idUKKCN1BU1ML'|'2017-09-19T15:37:00.000+03:00'
'eddfc58e8b9e846a90c61ebe009b8d2ddca6bf5b'|'Carlsberg fund expects high yields from new green investments'|'COPENHAGEN, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Carlsberg Foundation, the main owner of Danish brewer Carlsberg, is investing 500 million Danish crowns ($80 million) in funds that work with water conservation, carbon reduction and sustainable food production.The foundation will announce the investment at the opening ceremony of the New York Climate Week on Monday.“We’re not just doing this to make good, we’re also doing it because it gives good yields,” Flemming Besenbacher, chairman of the foundation and the brewer, told Reuters.The amount includes 175 million crowns in Parvest Aqua, a fund that invests in companies with technologies to clean and save water, expected to give an annual yield of 11.5 percent.“Looking at the world today, water will become a scarce resource, and that’s one reason the Parvest Aqua fund has done so well,” Besenbacher said.The foundation is also investing 175 million and 100 million respectively in the Parvest funds Leaders and SmartFood, and another 50 million crowns in private equity fund Impax New Energy III, which has an expected annual yield of 12-15 percent.The 450 million crowns for the Parvest funds were invested in late May, while the 50 million for the private equity fund will be invested throughout 2017.The foundation has 23.5 billion crowns of its 25.4 billion crowns of investments in Carlsberg where it owns 30.3 percent of the shares and 75.25 percent of the voting rights.Carlsberg, the world’s third-largest brewer, has itself launched a programme to bring down its carbon emission and water usage drastically by 2030.$1 = 6.2277 Danish crowns Reporting by Teis Jensen; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/carlsberg-investment/carlsberg-fund-expects-high-yields-from-new-green-investments-idINL5N1LW3GG'|'2017-09-18T05:33:00.000+03:00'
'8bcf2300501988767c20f05ce34c66696b2fcfd6'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 18)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS NoneNEW LISTINGS -- U.S. company AES Corp and German conglomerate Siemens to acquire joint control of a joint venture (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)-- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES NoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 20 -- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)SEPT 27 -- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27/simplified)SEPT 28 -- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (notified Aug. 24/simplified/deadline Sept. 28)SEPT 29 -- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)-- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)OCT 5 -- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)OCT 6 -- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)OCT 11 -- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)OCT 12 -- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)OCT 13 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept 13/deadline Oct 18/simplified)-- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)OCT 16 -- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)-- Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified)OCT 17 -- U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17)-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)OCT 18 -- German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd’s general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)OCT 26 -- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)JAN 8 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 8, 2018 after the Commission opened in-depth investigation)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)-- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL5N1LZ54E'|'2017-09-18T15:08:00.000+03:00'
'407367d1daa0fc0349cfdb0721343c0c6989f3f8'|'Northrop Grumman to buy missile maker Orbital for $7.8 billion'|'REUTERS - U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp said on Monday it would buy missile and rocket maker Orbital ATK Inc for about $7.8 billion in cash, giving it access to lucrative contracts with NASA and the U.S. Army.The deal, which comes as North Korea tests threatening missiles, will also help Northrop increase its arsenal of missile defense systems and is a rare departure for the company, which has not made a large acquisition in several years. It last bought TRW Inc in 2002 for about $7.8 billion.The acquisition, which would establish Orbital as a new, fourth business sector under Northrop, also comes ahead of a likely jump in demand from the planned upgrades of U.S. ballistic systems.The Air Force last summer called for proposals to replace its aging nuclear cruise missiles and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system as the military moves ahead with a costly modernization of older atomic weapons systems.Northrop’s offer price of $134.50 per Orbital share represents a premium of 22 percent over the stock’s Friday close. Orbital’s shares were trading at $131.75 before the bell.Northrop will assume $1.4 billion in Orbital’s net debt and the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2018.A UAV helicopter build by Northrop Gruman is on deck aboard the soon to be commissioned littoral combat ship USS Coronado during a media tour in Coronado, California April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files Orbital’s main businesses of missile defense, government satellites and the prospect to develop an in-orbit satellite servicing business “clearly make sense” for Northrop, analysts at Stifel said on Sunday following news reports of a potential deal.Orbital is one of two companies hired by NASA to fly cargo to the International Space Station under an initial contract worth up to $3.1 billion.Northrop’s other businesses, such as aerospace systems, mission systems and technology services, provide manned aircraft, electronic warfare systems and network defense services.The two companies’ complementary offerings will help increase efficiency, boost revenue and save costs, Northrop Chief Executive Wes Bush said in a statement.“Given that Northrop already operates in the space field, it is possible that there could be some overlapping activity or increased vertical integration that could prompt regulatory scrutiny,” Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard said in a client note on Monday.On a pro-forma basis, Northrop said it expects 2017 sales of $29.5 billion to $30 billion.Perella Weinberg Partners LP is the financial adviser to Northrop, while Citigroup is advising Orbital.Reporting by Arunima Banerjee and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/orbital-atk-m-a-northrop-grumman/northrop-grumman-to-buy-missile-maker-orbital-for-7-8-billion-idINKCN1BT19H'|'2017-09-18T09:49:00.000+03:00'
'e1a2de4db79b1a1f2d8edbc1a5e9e9044960add0'|'Mexico''s Femsa to sell 5 percent of Heineken, worth 2.5 billion euros'|'The logo of Coca Cola Femsa, the largest Coke bottler in the world, is pictured at its headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Heineken shareholder Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) said on Monday it was planning to sell an approximate 5 percent stake in the world’s second largest brewer, worth 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion).Femsa ( FMSAUBD.MX ), a Mexican bottler and retailer which sold its brewing business to Heineken in 2010 in exchange for shares, said the offer would be aimed at institutional investors outside Mexico.Femsa holds 12.53 percent of Heineken NV ( HEIN.AS ) and also 14.94 percent of Heineken NV parent Heineken Holding ( HEIO.AS ). Overall, this represents an economic interest of 20 percent in the group.The Mexican company did not specify what share of each company it would divest, but said it would retain one seat on the board of directors of Heineken Holding and two on the supervisory board of Heineken NV.L’Arche Green, the company through which the Heineken family exercises control of Heineken Holding, said it would buy back shares worth 200 million euros. The price per share would be determined by Femsa’s offer, it said in a statement.“The participation of L’Arche Green N.V. in the share offering by Femsa underlines the long-term commitment of the Heineken family towards the Heineken company,” said L‘Arche Green, which added that it was advised by Citigroup.After Femsa’s filing, Heineken said it would retain its rights to seats on the boards of Heineken NV and Heineken Holding. Heineken also said Femsa still considered Heineken a positive long-term investment, citing comments by the Mexican firm’s chief executive.In July, Heineken told Femsa’s bottling unit Coca-Cola Femsa ( KOFL.MX ) that it was set to lose its contract to distribute the beer in Brazil. At the time, Femsa executives said talks about dissolving that contract would not affect the larger strategic relationship between the companies.Shares in Femsa were up about 2.0 percent at 175.09 pesos ($9.84) per share at 1445 local time (1945 GMT) on Monday, while Heineken NV shares closed barely changed at 87.59 euros.Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Rosalba O''Brien and Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-femsa-heineken/mexicos-femsa-says-to-offer-2-5-billion-euros-of-heineken-stock-idUSKCN1BT23P'|'2017-09-19T00:51:00.000+03:00'
'a4935eed63a7da7a1cac1000cf789dec7828824e'|'Firm economic growth to ease French budget balancing act - ministers'|'  11:30 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Firm economic growth to ease French budget balancing act: ministers Leigh Thomas 3 Min Read French Minister for Public Action and Accounts Gerald Darmanin leaves the Elysee Palace after the weekly cabinet meeting in Paris, France, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - France’s economic recovery is strong enough for the government to be able to cut spending and the deficit without growth being affected, the budget and finance ministers said on Monday. Budget minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed that the 2018 budget to be presented on Sept. 27, the first of President Emmanuel Macron’s administration, would be based on a growth forecast of 1.7 percent. “In the coming years, it will be 1.7 percent. We hope to do better, but we are exactly in the middle of what economists expect,” Darmanin told BFM TV. Previous governments have faced criticism from economists for basing their budgets and deficit-reduction targets on overly optimistic growth forecasts. Darmanin said that growth for 2017 was also estimated at 1.7 percent - a slight revision upwards from a previous government forecast of 1.6 percent - in what would mark France’s strongest economic performance since 2011. “The recovery is solid and gives us options on reducing public spending,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a joint interview with Darmanin in Le Monde. Consumer and business confidence have reached levels not seen for several years following Macron’s election, as concerns about France’s stubbornly high unemployment have eased a touch. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a joint statement with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (not pictured) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo The government had planned to cut spending next year by 20 billion euros, but a finance ministry source said stronger growth this year and slightly less budget tightening next year meant that figure could be reduced. Cuts in 2018 now looked likely to be closer to 16 billion euros, the source said. Darmanin said the spending cuts would not drag down growth as they coincided with reforms making the economy more competitive and less dependent on state handouts. The government has little choice but to tighten its belt in order to respect promises to reduce the public deficit while it also aims to cut France’s considerable tax burden. Financial daily Les Echos reported late on Monday that the government had revised its budget deficit forecast lower to 2.9 percent of output this year and 2.6 percent next year from an earlier projection of 3.0 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. Although civil service wages are a major expense, Darmanin said the government would reduce headcount among state employees by only 1,600 next year, despite plans to cut the number of public workers by 120,000 over Macron’s five-year term. Civil service unions have called a strike for Oct. 10 over concerns about wages and a welfare tax hike. ($1 = 0.8372 euros) Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Addtional reporting by Yann Le Guernigou and Richard Lough; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-budget/firm-economic-growth-to-ease-french-budget-balancing-act-ministers-idUKKCN1BT17K'|'2017-09-18T22:42:00.000+03:00'
'eb3a52312b35c8953fc3619262fbf51a353d1ba0'|'T-Mobile U.S. explores takeover of Sprint - source'|'  2:22 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago T-Mobile US explores takeover of Sprint: source Liana B. Baker 3 Min Read Smartphones with the logos of T-Mobile and Sprint are seen in front of a Soft Bank logo in this illustration taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations (Reuters) - U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) is exploring taking over rival Sprint Corp ( S.N ) in an all-stock deal, after SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) offered to give up its majority ownership of Sprint, a person familiar with the matter said. The latest negotiations come after Reuters reported earlier this year that Japan’s SoftBank was prepared to give up control of Sprint to clinch a merger with T-Mobile, and only retain a minority stake in the combined company. Sprint and T-Mobile, which is controlled by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG ( DTEGn.DE ), are still weeks away from an agreement, and have not settled on a share exchange ratio or even started performing due diligence on each other, the source added. The companies have agreed, however, that John Legere, T-Mobile’s outspoken chief executive, would run the combined company should there be a deal, according to the source, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential negotiations. Both Sprint and T-Mobile did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sprint’s shares rose 8.2 percent, while T-Mobile’s shares were up nearly 5.3 percent after CNBC first reported on the progress of the talks. Despite potential antitrust risks, investors have long expected a deal between T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless service providers, hoping for cost cuts and other synergies. T-Mobile has been gaining share from larger U.S. competitors AT&T Inc ( T.N ) and Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) in a saturated U.S. wireless market, through network improvements and lower prices. Sprint, which had earlier approached cable company Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) about a potential merger, has now put plans for a bid for Charter on the back burner as it focuses on negotiations with T-Mobile, the source said. French cable mogul Patrick Drahi’s Altice USA Inc ( ATUS.N ), however, is continuing to work on a potential bid for Charter, another source said. Altice declined to comment while Charter did not respond to a request for comment. Last month, Sprint’s chief executive said an announcement on merger talks should come in the “near future.” SoftBank previously abandoned talks to acquire T-Mobile and merge it with Sprint three years ago, amid opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators. That deal would have put SoftBank in control of the merged company, with Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder. Since then, T-Mobile has overtaken Sprint in market capitalization - the company is valued at about $51 billion, while Sprint has a market value of about $34 billion. Additional reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-t-mobile-m-a-sprint/t-mobile-sprint-in-merger-talks-cnbc-idUKKCN1BU1W6'|'2017-09-19T23:21:00.000+03:00'
'66bf47b16131a6686e88af646265d487a957ccf8'|'FedEx to raise shipping rates for some services'|'A package of the FedEx courier delivery services company is pictured in this June 8, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Illustration (Reuters) - Package delivery company FedEx Corp ( FDX.N ) said on Monday it would raise shipping rates for some of its services from Jan. 1.FedEx Express rates will go up by an average of 4.9 percent for U.S. domestic, export and import services, while FedEx One Rate pricing will increase by 3.5 percent.The company said rates of FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery will also rise by an average of 4.9 percent.FedEx Freight and SmartPost shipping rates will also change.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-shippingrates/fedex-to-raise-shipping-rates-for-some-services-idUSKCN1BT2L8'|'2017-09-19T00:06:00.000+03:00'
'64dc84b455c87c3cdd21380a56a614d23aa6789f'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX notches near 6-week high as energy sector rallies'|'TORONTO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index posted its highest closed in nearly six weeks on Monday, led by gains for its heavyweight energy sector, while financials and industrials also gained ground.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 63.64 points, or 0.42 percent, at 15,236.67. Nine of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-close/canada-stocks-tsx-notches-near-6-week-high-as-energy-sector-rallies-idINL2N1LZ1Q5'|'2017-09-18T18:10:00.000+03:00'
'eef191ce77b63557edd87c2b01a538e439133850'|'Fir Tree to push Ultra Petroleum to seek strategic options'|'(Reuters) - Investment firm Fir Tree Partners said on Monday it would immediately begin talks with Ultra Petroleum Corp’s ( UPL.O ) management to pursue strategic alternatives.Fir Tree is the largest shareholder of the natural gas producer, with an 18.5 percent stake as of Sept. 1.Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ultra-ptrlum-fir-tree/fir-tree-to-push-ultra-petroleum-to-seek-strategic-options-idINKCN1BT1DT'|'2017-09-18T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'f312465a9065159008bb2b952353b661fa615d2a'|'Dixon Technologies soars on market debut after $94 million IPO'|'  6:13 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Dixon Technologies soars on market debut after $94 million IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Brokers trade on their computer terminals at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai May 13, 2014. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files REUTERS - Shares of Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd rose as much as 70 percent on their trading debut on Monday as investors bet on the strong outlook for the contract electronics manufacturer that counts some of the leading global names among its clients. The stock was trading at 2,897.45 rupees as of 0531 GMT, 64 percent higher than its IPO issue price of 1,766 rupees. It went as high as 2,999 rupees earlier in the day. The company’s initial public offering (IPO) to raise 6 billion rupees ($93.7 million) had been subscribed nearly 118 times, making it one of the most-subscribed IPOs this year. Dixon Technologies’ healthy order book and tie-ups with companies such as Panasonic Corp and Koninklijke Philips N.V should improve revenue and margins going forward, said Jaikishan Parmar, an equity analyst with Mumbai’s Angel Broking. Road operator Bharat Road Network Ltd, which also listed on Monday after a 6 billion rupee IPO, rose as much as 6.8 percent to 218.9 rupees, compared with the IPO issue price of 205 rupees. Some investors did not like the “complicated structure” through which Bharat Network operates, said Rajnath Yadav, an analyst at local brokerage Choice Broking. The IPO had been subscribed 1.8 times. Strong stock markets have fuelled a surge in equity deals in Asia’s third-largest economy, with IPO proceeds so far this year crossing $3 billion. While last year’s $4 billion fund-raising from IPOs is set to be surpassed, some expect proceeds to even top the record $8.5 billion raked in seven years ago. Capacit‘e Infraproject Ltd’s IPO to raise 4 billion rupees, which closed last Friday, was subscribed 183 times. ($1 = 64.0075 Indian rupees) Reporting By Samantha Kareen Nair, Aby Jose Koilparambil and Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Devidutta Tripathy and Subhranshu Sahu'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/dixon-technologies-listing/dixon-technologies-soars-on-market-debut-after-94-million-ipo-idINKCN1BT0FV'|'2017-09-18T09:13:00.000+03:00'
'cbeaa1f2560cf8e5a3695349ad69a50fc22a63c3'|'France''s Latecoere looks out for targets in aerospace consolidation'|'  6:41 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago France''s Latecoere looks out for targets in aerospace consolidation Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - French aerospace equipment maker Latecoere ( LAEP.PA ) is on the look out for acquisitions so it can expand and win bigger contracts from leading aircraft manufacturers, Chief Executive Officer Yannick Assouad said on Monday. Latecoere, which supplies fuselages and doors to Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and Boeing ( BA.N ), expects consolidation to accelerate after Britain’s GKN ( GKN.L ) acquired Dutch firm Fokker in 2015 and the U.S. firm LMI bought Belgium’s Sonaca. “We have a certain number of targets we are working on but acquisitions are a little bit like fishing: one has to put a lot of lines into water to try and catch a fish,” Assouad said during the presentation of Latecoere’s half-year results. To secure bigger contracts from Airbus and Boeing, Assouad said Latecoere had to demonstrate it had the capacity to generate sufficient cash flow to finance new developments. “And that requires a certain size and ... a very large number of players are too small to reach that,” the chief executive said. Latecoere, which improved its operating margin in the first six months and confirmed its annual guidance, gained 5 percent in Monday trade. Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Michal Aleksandrowicz; Editing by Richard Lough and Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-latecoere-m-a/frances-latecoere-looks-out-for-targets-in-aerospace-consolidation-idUKKCN1BT2D5'|'2017-09-18T21:41:00.000+03:00'
'61b2cd9805d1267a33002a49b5f3a0a8174c91c0'|'Rheinmetall, Rohde & Schwarz form JV to bid for German army deals'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German defense firm Rheinmetall ( RHMG.DE ) and electronics group Rohde & Schwarz have agreed to form a joint venture to bid for German armed forces contracts, Rheinmetall said on Monday.Rheinmetall will hold 74.9 percent and Rohde & Schwarz 25.1 percent in the new company, which plans to bid to modernize the German army’s mobile communications.The army’s entire communication system is due to be modernized in an operation that will see thousands of vehicles retrofitted in the medium term, Rheinmetall said.Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rheinmetall-rohde-schwarz-venture/rheinmetall-rohde-schwarz-form-jv-to-bid-for-german-army-deals-idINKCN1BT0YV'|'2017-09-18T08:23:00.000+03:00'
'b1dbadbb72124435517006c3d629fdab008d4f0c'|'Google to buy part of HTC''s smartphone operations for around $1 billion: source'|'  1:32 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Google bets anew on smartphones, pays $1.1 billion for HTC''s Pixel division Jess Macy Yu , Paresh Dave 5 Min Read TAIPEI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google said it would pay $1.1 billion for the division at Taiwan’s HTC Corp ( 2498.TW ) that develops the U.S. firm’s Pixel smartphones - its second major foray into phone hardware after an earlier costly failure. The all-cash deal will see Google gain 2,000 HTC employees, roughly equivalent to one fifth of the Taiwanese firm’s total workforce. It will also acquire a non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property and the two firms agreed to look at other areas of collaboration in the future. While Google is not acquiring any manufacturing assets, the transaction underscores a ramping up of its ambitions for Android smartphones at a time when consumer and media attention is largely focused on rival Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ). “Google has found it necessary to have its own hardware team to help bring innovations to Android devices, making them competitive versus the iPhone series,” said Mia Huang, analyst at research firm TrendForce. The move is part of a broader and still nascent push into hardware that saw Google hire Rick Osterloh, a former Motorola executive, to run its hardware division last year. It also comes ahead of new product launches on Oct. 4 that are expected to include two Pixel phones and a Chromebook. Pixel smartphones, only launched a year ago, have less than 1 percent market share globally with an estimated 2.8 million shipments, according to research firm IDC. Google will be aiming not to repeat mistakes made when it purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2012. It sold it off to China’s Lenovo Group Ltd ( 0992.HK ) for less than $3 billion two years later after Motorola failed to produce appealing products that could compete with iPhones. This time around, however, the deal price tag is much smaller and the lack of manufacturing facilities also minimizes risk. HTC‘S DECLINE Google’s strategy of licensing Android for free and profiting from embedded services such as search and maps has made Android the dominant mobile operating system with some 89 percent of the global market, according to IDC. But it has long been frustrated by the emergence of many variations of Android and the inconsistent experience that has produced. Pushing its own hardware will likely complicate its relationship with Android licensees, analysts said. Google hardware executive Rick Osterloh (L) shakes hand with HTC CEO Cher Wang during a news conference to announce Google to acquire HTC''s Pixel smartphone division, in Taipei, Taiwan September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu Some analysts also questioned the wisdom of the deal given HTC’s long decline. The Taiwanese firm once sold one in 10 smartphones globally but has seen market share dwindle sharply in the face of competition from Apple, Samsung Electronics Co ( 005930.KS ) and Chinese rivals. “HTC is past its prime in terms of being a leading hardware design house, mainly because of how much it has had to scale back over the years because of declining revenues,” said Ryan Reith, an analyst at IDC. “Unless Google really wants to control hardware for its other businesses like Home and Chromebooks in addition to smartphones, then I don’t see this as being a bet that pays off.” Slideshow (8 Images) For HTC, the deal will allow it to concentrate more on its virtual reality headsets while also reducing development costs. “This will be a sizeable reduction in our R&D expenses. Overall it should be in the ballpark of a 30-40 percent reduction in operating expenses,” HTC Chief Financial Officer Peter Shen told a news conference in Taipei. The Taiwanese firm will continue to run its remaining smartphone business but the sharp downsizing of its mainstay operations has cast some doubt over its longer term future. “HTC can design and produce innovative products but it lacks the deep pockets of the likes of Samsung for marketing promotions and saturation advertising,” said Jake Saunders, an analyst at ABI Research in Singapore. “Competitors in the form of Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and ZTE are snapping at HTC’s heels.” HTC’s worldwide smartphone market share declined to 0.9 percent last year from a peak of 8.8 percent in 2011, according to IDC. HTC shares were on a trading halt on Thursday. The stock has fallen around 94 percent from a peak in 2011, giving the company a market value of around $1.9 billion. Evercore served as financial advisor to HTC while Lazard was Google’s financial advisor. Additional reporting by Lee Chyen Yee and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-htc-m-a-google/google-to-buy-part-of-htcs-smartphone-operations-for-around-1-billion-source-idUSKCN1BW06L'|'2017-09-21T04:31:00.000+03:00'
'103746106855954c8a28b3ae461437ec53259948'|'RPT-Switzerland''s SIX looks at potential $2 bln sale of payments unit -sources'|'(Repeats story from Wednesday, no changes to text)* SIX also reviewing stake sale or IPO - sources* Decision comes amid flurry of payments deals in Europe* Portugal’s SIBS, Germany’s BS Payone also on the blockBy Arno Schuetze, Pamela Barbaglia and Oliver HirtFRANKFURT/LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group has hired JPMorgan to look at options for its payments unit, including a sale worth up to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion), sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.The decision to kick off a strategic review comes amid a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the fragmented payments industry as consumers increasingly switch to card and mobile payments and as regulatory changes promise to open the market to more competition.Several private equity groups have bought payments businesses to merge them with peers while some European companies are currently carrying out strategic reviews or have already hired banks to find new investors amid rising industry valuations.Zurich-based SIX helps process payments and provides debit and credit card terminals to retailers, restaurants and hotels. The annual core earnings of its payments business are about 145 million Swiss francs, a person familiar with the matter said.SIX may still opt for a stock market listing or could decide to sell a minority stake, the sources said.Any sale could fetch a multiple of about 14 times its expected core earnings, people familiar with the industry said.SIX and JPMorgan declined to comment.For decades, payments firms have existed as a backwater in the banking landscape. Usually set up by banks, they enjoyed a cosy relationship with them as customers but had little funds at their disposal to invest in technology.A new European Union directive is set to come into force next year which requires banks to open up their procurement of payments services to third parties.Technology newcomers including Adyen, iZettle, Square and Stripe are among a wave of fintech players who are trying to disrupt the relationship between banks and payment processors to widen options for how merchants are paid.DEAL FRENZY Mastercard kicked off the consolidation in the sector last year with the purchase of UK’s Vocalink and the pace has picked up over the past few months, with a series of deals in recent weeks driving valuations higher.This summer, Portuguese banks have hired Deutsche Bank to review options for their payments firm SIBS, while Germany’s savings banks are looking for a buyer of a minority stake in their BS Payone unit, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.Austrian banks have asked HSBC to kick off a sales process for their payments business Card Complete, the sources said.Sources familiar with the negotiations expect SIBS to reach a valuation of 400-500 million euros in any potential deal, similar in value to BS Payone, which is being marketed by advisor EY Innovalue.Austria’s Card Complete is seen reaping less than half that, they said, but it could whet the appetite of some sector rivals including Germany’s Concardis.Advent and Bain, which bought Concardis earlier this year, have said they want to use the company as a platform for further consolidation.Private equity groups such as Advent, Bain, Warburg Pincus, Blackstone and CVC are expected to participate in the various auctions, the sources said.Concardis was valued at about 700 million euros, representing a multiple of 13 times its expected core earnings, while other deals valued payments firms at more than 18 times.The owners of SIBS, BS Payone, Card Complete and their advisers as well as the potential bidders declined to comment.Separately, buyout funds Hellman & Friedman, Permira and Nordic Capital are currently circling Danish payment services firm Nets.Among the many other deals, U.S. credit card processor Vantiv is buying Britain’s Worldpay, French Ingenico is buying Stockholm-based Bambora and private equity funds Blackstone and CVC have teamed up to buy Britain’s Paysafe while rival Permira has bought a stake in Klarna. ($1 = 0.9614 Swiss francs) (Additional reporting by Francois Murphy, Andrey Khalip, Ben Martin, Eric Auchard; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/six-payment-services-sale/rpt-switzerlands-six-looks-at-potential-2-bln-sale-of-payments-unit-sources-idINL5N1M20ZL'|'2017-09-21T05:03:00.000+03:00'
'80c8bd7a59cf24ec0aa443f1bfb6669038af763a'|'ECB may ask fintech banks to hold bigger buffers'|'September 21, 2017 / 10:46 AM / Updated 8 hours ago ECB may ask fintech banks to hold bigger buffers Reuters Staff 3 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - High-tech banks looking to enter the fintech zone may be asked to hold bigger liquidity and capital buffers due to the unique nature of their risks, the European Central Bank said in draft licensing guidelines on Thursday. Fintech banks may require greater liquidity levels given their volatile, price-sensitive client base, and may need more capital as they enter mature markets with a niche but untested product, requiring an aggressive pricing strategy, the ECB said. The fintech sector, though still relatively small, has been stealing market share from traditional lenders in a variety of sectors from payments to lending, and the ECB has already granted six fintech banking licenses with two applications still pending. Financial technology, or fintech, firms range from those that offer mobile payment apps to digital currencies like bitcoin, and many governments regard the sector as a key source of economic growth. “Online depositors can exhibit price sensitive behaviors, being more likely to withdraw their deposits and switch to a competitor paying higher interest rates,” the ECB said. There is a risk that online deposits accepted by fintech banks are more likely to be volatile and less ‘sticky’ than traditional bank deposits. Most fintech firms will not need an ECB license, however, the central bank said, as their activities are limited and their business does not rely on lending out cash collected through deposits. While fintech banks will have broadly similar licensing rules as traditional banks, they will be mostly innovative start ups, so the ECB may ask shareholders to demonstrate their commitment to fund the company for at least three years. Given the possibility of failure of innovative business ideas, the ECB could also ask fintech banks to draw up plans to wind down the bank in an orderly and solvent manner if need be, the ECB added. The ECB will also ask fintech banks to demonstrate IT competence and possibly appoint an executive in charge of IT, it said. The ECB will collect feedback on the new proposed guidelines until Nov 2. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-fintech-ecb/ecb-may-ask-fintech-banks-to-hold-bigger-buffers-idUSKCN1BW1F7'|'2017-09-21T13:49:00.000+03:00'
'9c4caab5f76a863f6d7e8515c0e79301910d2139'|'WTO says global trade rebounding, protectionism still a risk'|'  9:25 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago WTO says global trade rebounding, protectionism still a risk Tom Miles 2 Min Read A container ship is loaded at a terminal in the harbour of Hamburg, Germany September 23, 2012. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo GENEVA (Reuters) - Global trade is rebounding strongly but risks remain, the World Trade Organization said on Thursday, with commerce expected to grow by 3.6 percent in 2017, well above last year’s 1.3 percent. The forecast marks a sharp upward revision of the WTO’s April estimate, when it foresaw growth of 2.4 percent and in a range of 1.8-3.6 percent, due to a high level of political and economic uncertainty. That range has now been narrowed to 3.2-3.9 percent, based on accelerating economic growth and rising import demand in China and the United States, which spurred trade within Asia. “The improved outlook for trade is welcome news, but substantial risks that threaten the world economy remain in place and could easily undermine any trade recovery,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a statement. A barbed-wire fence is seen in the foreground of containers on a cargo ship at a port in Tokyo November 12, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao “These risks include the possibility that protectionist rhetoric translates into trade restrictive actions, a worrying rise in global geopolitical tensions and a rising economic toll from natural disasters.” However, trade growth was becoming more synchronised across regions than it had been for many years, which could make the current trend self-reinforcing, he said. The fast pace of 2017, which followed a very weak year, is unlikely to be sustained in 2018, with U.S. and euro zone monetary policy expected to tighten and China likely to rein in easy credit to stop its economy from overheating, the WTO said. “All of these factors should contribute to a moderation of trade growth in 2018 to around 3.2 percent (the full range of the estimate being from 1.4 percent to 4.4 percent),” it said. The ratio of trade growth to GDP growth, which traditionally ran at about 2:1 but has slumped to about 1:1 in the decade since the financial crisis, should rise this year, with trade growing 1.3 times faster than the global economy, it said. Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wto-forecast/wto-says-global-trade-rebounding-sees-2017-growth-of-3-6-percent-idUKKCN1BW16P'|'2017-09-21T13:44:00.000+03:00'
'9f1368f6fdb60cafd9c1f2bf437e6be2c1d34131'|'Japanese brewer Asahi ready to spend ''billions of dollars'' on acquisitions'|'Asahi Group Holdings President and COO Akiyoshi Koji poses for a photo with the company''s logo at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asahi Group Holdings ( 2502.T ), Japan’s largest brewer, is ready to spend “billions of dollars” on acquisitions, having spent $11 billion over the past year to acquire beer brands across Europe from Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ).Asahi president Akiyoshi Koji said “bolt-on” acquisitions in Europe, including beer makers and distributors, were a priority, as the company carves out a larger slice of the overseas market to compensate for slow growth at home.He did not specify how much he would spend and did not name potential targets.“If there are big investment opportunities, we can make big investments,” he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.Asahi, maker of Japan’s best-selling beer, Asahi Super Dry, seized a chunk of the European market thanks to back-to-back deals with InBev that completed earlier this year. The deals handed it brands including Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.Any sizeable deal would likely rely on debt, given a cash pile that stands at just under $740 million. But Koji said the company’s leverage was under control, indicating it could tap lenders for more - net debt to core earnings will fall to 3 in 2020, after rising to 4.8 after the European deals.“That’s a normal level,” he said.Expansion will also be organic, as the company prepares to sell Asahi Super Dry draft beer in Britain and Italy from January next year, hoping to carve out a niche as premium beer brand in Europe, and prepares for zero-alcohol sales and to sell canned cocktails, hugely popular in Japan for some time.In Asia, global beer companies are closely watching Vietnam’s plan to sell a majority stake in beer makers Sabeco SAB.HM and Habeco BHN.HM, potentially offering a lucrative portion of the market in a young, beer-loving nation.Koji said Asahi has been studying Sabeco but declined to comment further: “As a growth market, Vietnam is attractive, but our judgment will be based on whether the market fits our premium beer strategy,” he said.Vietnam’s privatization has been protracted, putting off some of the international investors who initially flocked to it.But it’s not all about acquisitions. The 65-year-old career insider who took the top job last year has also been reviewing the company’s asset portfolio, and he said minority investments remained under scrutiny.In June, Asahi said it would sell its 20 percent stake in Chinese brewer Tingyi-Asahi Beverages Holding Co for $612 million.Asahi also has a 20 percent stake in China’s second-largest brewer Tsingtao Brewery Co ( 600600.SS ) ( 0168.HK ). Koji said he could not comment on the Tsingtao stake, noting he plans to make some announcement on the portfolio review by the year end.Asahi, which commands nearly 40 percent share in Japan’s beer market, has been battling changing tastes and a sluggish economy at home, with the beer market shrinking around 1 percent a year in volume terms.The trend is not changing yet, Koji said, despite some indicators of a strengthening economy - but the company will tap Japan’s knack for ‘selective spending’ on premium or highly popular products.“Given this trend, we have to be doing more targeted product development and marketing for different generations and regions,” Koji said.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asahi-group-strategy/japanese-brewer-asahi-ready-to-spend-billions-of-dollars-on-acquisitions-idUSKCN1BW0MA'|'2017-09-21T14:04:00.000+03:00'
'9ce73c1d3055e2d40bbe962caf7912654a7c1f32'|'Lufthansa CEO''s focus is on 38 leased planes in Air Berlin battle'|'A Lufthansa airline logo is pictured in Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 6, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is interested in acquiring as many as 80 planes from rival Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) with its priority on securing planes it already leases, the group’s chief executive said.A creditor committee meets on Thursday afternoon to discuss offers for Air Berlin, which filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding.Lufthansa is competing with several other airlines for parts of Air Berlin, including easyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor, with bidders especially interested in its Niki short-haul business that flies from Germany and Austria to holiday hotspots in Europe.Lufthansa’s focus is on securing the 38 crewed planes it currently leases from the insolvent carrier, plus it would like up to an additional 20 to 40 planes, Carsten Spohr said at a media event late on Wednesday.Spohr said Lufthansa expected that was the most it could take without falling foul of anti-trust concerns and if it isn’t able to get all that it has bid for, it still plans to grow.“The next few days will show whether that growth comes organically via Eurowings or through an Air Berlin transaction,” he said, adding that Lufthansa would need around 3,000 new employees to meet that expansion.The 38 crewed planes Lufthansa leases from Air Berlin currently carry passengers mainly for the group’s budget unit Eurowings, and Lufthansa’s priority is on keeping that operation stable.Eurowings was hit last week, when Air Berlin pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, forcing the cancellation of flights.Ryanair ( RYA.I ) boss Michael O‘Leary has said Lufthansa would have a dominant position on domestic routes following an Air Berlin takeover. But Spohr said that Lufthansa had a 34 percent share of passengers to and from Germany, including transfer passengers, and that was what the authorities would be looking at.Lufthansa is however not interested in Air Berlin’s long-haul routes, with Spohr saying the flagship carrier could grow in that area on its own.After announcing plans to start Eurowings long-haul routes from Duesseldorf this winter, following Air Berlin’s retreat there, the budget unit also intends to offer long-haul flights from Berlin Tegel airport next year, albeit starting with just one route.Spohr also said business so far in 2017 was proving significantly better than the last two years, both of which were record years in terms of financial results.He added that Lufthansa was sticking with a goal of reducing its unit costs this year and said it hoped to sign a wide-ranging deal on pay and conditions with its pilots this month.Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-ceo/lufthansa-ceos-focus-is-on-38-leased-planes-in-air-berlin-battle-idUSKCN1BW29G'|'2017-09-21T23:50:00.000+03:00'
'dd15a53efc43a6a7ea86054bbf8200c464169e94'|'Deutsche Boerse moves to cap executive pay'|'September 21, 2017 / 3:47 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Deutsche Boerse moves to cap executive pay Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The plaque of the Deutsche Boerse AG is pictured at the entrance of the Frankfurt stock exchange February 1, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) said on Thursday it was capping the annual pay packages of its board members at 9.5 million euros (£8.39 million) each, effective from 2017, as it strives to move on from a months-long insider trading crisis. The cap affects all aspects of remuneration - fixed pay, bonuses and pensions. The decision was made at a meeting of the German exchange operator’s supervisory board. Joachim Faber, chairman of the board, said the plan was aimed at “preventing possible and unwanted extremes”, while at the same time remaining competitive. Investors have complained about excessive pay at Deutsche Boerse while shareholders are left footing the bill for a 10.5 million euro settlement over allegations of insider trading. Shareholders have also been angry about a failed merger attempt with London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), which also cost them tens of millions of euros in M&A advisory fees. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-insidertrading/deutsche-boerse-moves-to-cap-pay-amid-insider-trading-crisis-idUKKCN1BW297'|'2017-09-21T20:11:00.000+03:00'
'a045c8e473914921fd36141532b219f8a144815b'|'LPC: Northrop Grumman scores biggest US defense acquisition loan in 6 years'|'FILE PHOTO: The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A, at NASA''s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia October 15, 2016. Bill Ingalls/NASA/Handout via REUTERS NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global defense and security systems company Northrop Grumman is backing its US$9.2bn purchase of aerospace and defense technology company Orbital ATK with an US$8.5bn bridge loan, the largest loan for an acquisition by an investment-grade company in the sector in six years.The 364-day senior unsecured bridge financing, which is initially provided by JP Morgan, will be replaced with a permanent financing prior to the closing of the acquisition.The deal comes just two weeks after aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp said it would buy avionics supplier Rockwell Collins Inc for US$30bn, including Rockwell’s debt, in the sector’s largest-ever merger.Northrop Grumman’s bridge loan tops the US$6.5bn 364-day bridge financing that United Technologies launched September 6 to back its merger - the first loan backing M&A in the investment-grade aerospace arena this year - and is the largest since a US$15bn bridge that United Technologies lined up for its purchase of Goodrich Corp that was announced in September 2011, according to Thomson Reuters LPC.Northrop Grumman is acquiring junk-rated Orbital ATK for around US$7.8bn in cash plus US$1.4bn in assumed net debt.GAINING TRACTION The back-to-back deals help prop up investment-grade lending, which had been subdued much of the year by the ongoing wait for legislative action on US tax, trade and healthcare reform. In the absence of new policies well into the year, however, mergers have been gaining traction, particularly among companies eager to grow by acquisition and expecting little regulatory resistance to their tie-ups.Strategic transactions of companies with complimentary businesses that face few antitrust hurdles “might still prevail regardless of the unknowns in the marketplace,” said one senior banker. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see more, but I’m not expecting it to pick up so much that we have a record year in M&A at this point in the year.”Investment-grade loan issuance overall was down 10% through the end of August at US$479bn, compared with US$532bn in the same period last year, LPC data show. Bridge loan volume in that time was down 21% to US$53bn compared with US$67bn at the same time last year.With its merger, Northrop Grumman gains access to lucrative government contracts, expanding its arsenal of missile defense systems and space rockets, at a time when North Korea is testing threatening missiles and nuclear weapons, Reuters reported. Orbital has contracts with NASA and the US Army.Banks will earn about US$25m in fees for arranging the bridge loan, according to Freeman Consulting Services.“We’re starting to see the deal activity catch up to some of the appetite that’s been telegraphed by the capital markets overall,” said another senior banker.Companies this year have swiftly replaced bridge loans with longer-term permanent financing, pushing to lock in relatively low borrowing costs at a time when demand for corporate bonds remains elevated, bankers have said.Northrop Grumman’s acquisition is expected to close in the first half of next year.The company is rated BBB+ by S&P and Baa1 by Moody’s Investors Service. Northrop Grumman said in a Monday statement that it is committed to maintaining investment-grade ratings and would use its strong cash flow to support debt reduction.The rating agencies warned of a downgrade after the all-cash acquisition was announced.Reporting by Lynn Adler; Editing By Michelle Sierra '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northrop-acquisition-loans/northrop-grumman-scores-biggest-u-s-defense-acquisition-loan-in-six-years-idUSKCN1BT2AR'|'2017-09-18T21:05:00.000+03:00'
'889c5373835c999d7b160d448ec0ce82f2ce9db8'|'to tell 400,000 passengers of cancelled flights after ''mess-up'' - Business'|'Ryanair is to tell 400,000 passengersthat their flight has been cancelled, after it admitted to a “mess-up” on pilot holidays that left 18 million ticket holders wondering if their holiday plans would be ruined.In a hastily arranged Dublin press conference on Monday afternoon amid a passenger revolt and a slump in the company’s share price, the normally combative chief executive Michael O’Leary apologised “unreservedly” for “a mess of our own making”.O’Leary blamed a one-off holiday rostering issue, which if not tackled immediately would send the airline’s on-time punctuality below 50%, adding that it will cost Ryanair about €20m (£18m) in compensation payouts and other costs.Why is Ryanair cancelling flights and what can you do? Read more But in a flash of the arrogance for which he is better known, O’Leary said that travellers vowing never to fly Ryanair again will almost certainly return to the airline because its prices are lower. “Our booking engine is full of passengers who have sworn they will never fly with us again,” he said.Ryanair will cancel 40 to 50 flights every day until 31 October , with the airline promising to focus the cuts on routes where alternative flights are more easily available. For example, it will cancel one flight a day on its Stansted to Dublin route, which operates 12 a day.He said that 75% to 80% of passengers will be re-routed free of charge within a day of their expected departure date, and that compensation of €240 to €400 (£212 to £354) will be paid, depending on the length of the journey. But that will leave as many as 100,000 ticket holders seriously delayed, with possible weekend getaways wrecked.O’Leary said consequential losses, caused when travellers cancel hire cars or hotels, will not be covered by Ryanair. He added that the airline will not book passengers on to rival airlines to get them to their destination on time.“We will not pay for flights on other airlines,” he said. “We cannot afford to pay the high costs of our competitors.”But he admitted the way Ryanair issued its first cancellation warning on Friday had unnecessarily left millions of travellers in the dark. “We did not focus on the concern we were causing to the 18 million passengers flying with us over the next six weeks,” O’Leary said. “I say sorry to them.”Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary described the error as ‘a mess of our own making’. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Many Ryanair customers took to Twitter to express their disgust over how Ryanair was handling passengers who could not know if they were to be cancelled. One user said she feared for her wedding, with 30 Ryanair flights booked for her party, while others said that even if their outbound flight was not cancelled they could not be sure if their inbound flight would be.Initially, Ryanair was making available only lists of cancelled flights up to Wednesday 20 September .Ryanair rejected allegations that the real reason for the cancellations is a shortage of pilots. There have been claims that Ryanair has been haemorrhaging pilots to rival airlines. Norwegian, which is building a new hub in Ryanair’s home airport, Dublin, said: “We can confirm that 140 pilots have joined Norwegian from Ryanair this year. Pilot recruitment is also under way for more pilots for our new Dublin base opening later this year.”Editorial - The Guardian view on Ryanair: the low expectations airline Read more O’Leary disputed Norwegian’s figures - but admitted that Ryanair has begun offering pilots at captain level a €10,000 “signing-on bonus” to join.He also struggled to explain why Ryanair was not aware earlier of rostering problems ahead. “There were some overoptimistic briefings coming from rostering,” he said. He rejected any suggestion he should resign. “This is clearly a mess-up,” he admitted. “But it is my mess-up, and a mess I have to clear up.”Shares in the airline fell by 3% in early trading, knocking more than £500m off its £18bn stock market valuation, although losses were pared back later in the day.O’Leary said he expected to face a compensation bill of €20m plus €5m in operational costs. Analysts at Dublin-based Goodbody Stockbrokers said the final bill was likely to be €34.5m as they marked down Ryanair’s full-year profit forecast by 2.3%.Investor groups said that while Ryanair usually brushes off poor publicity, in this case it could seriously hit the airline.“Ryanair is notorious for not caring about what sort of headlines they get, working on the basis that all publicity is good publicity – but not this time,” said Rebecca O’Keefe of Interactive Investor.“Previously, the carrier was happy to suggest that you get what you pay for and despite negative press lots of flyers embraced the fact that they knew the score and were happy to fly without the frills.“However, the current situation is truly damaging, with flyers left high and dry with last-minute cancellations or apprehensive that they might be affected.”O’Keefe said it was unclear whether the delays were caused by poor planning or a shortage of pilots. “If the former, then it suggests some truly poor processes. If the latter, then we may see wages rise to fill the gaps. Either way, it’s not good news for Ryanair.”Topics Ryanair Airline industry Transport Ireland Europe Air transport news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/ryanair/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/18/ryanair-flight-cancellation-passengers-holiday'|'2017-09-19T02:45:00.000+03:00'
'2a554116bb8d13d8fea1ea1ab31b14d608fc71ab'|'AB Foods raises full-year outlook on strong Primark'|'September 11, 2017 / 7:09 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago AB Foods raises full-year outlook on strong Primark Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A shopper walks past a branch of clothing retailer Primark in London, Britain April 27, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Associated British Foods ( ABF.L ) raised its outlook for full year results on Monday, driven by a strong sales and margin performance from its Primark fashion business. The group, which also has major sugar, grocery, agriculture and ingredients businesses, said it expected to report good growth in adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) in its year to Sept. 16. The group made EPS of 106.2 pence in 2015-16. AB Foods said Primark’s 2016-17 sales were expected to be 13 percent ahead of last year at constant currency, with like-for-like sales up 1 percent. At actual exchange rates, sales were expected to be 20 percent ahead. Primark, which accounts for over half of AB Foods’ profit, performed particularly well in the UK where full-year sales were expected to be 10 percent ahead of last year and market share gains were achieved. Primark’s full-year operating profit margin was forecast to be better than the first half’s 10 percent, ahead of previous guidance. The group said it expected to end the year with net cash of 650 million pounds ($857 million) compared with net debt of 315 million pounds in the previous year. The fashion retailer added 1.5 million square feet of selling space in 2016-17 and plans 1.2 million in 2017-18. Shares in the group, majority owned by the family of Chief Executive George Weston, have increased 19 percent so far this year. They closed Friday at 3,265 pence, valuing the business at 25.9 billion pounds. Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-abf-outlook/ab-foods-raises-full-year-outlook-on-strong-primark-idUKKCN1BM0KD'|'2017-09-11T09:52:00.000+03:00'
'74c5937f1b0f40cbec2b51419a848c9f7451a550'|'ANZ swaps buyer in $1.4 billion Shanghai bank sale; Baosteel in'|'SYDNEY/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation ( ANZ.AX ) said on Monday Baoshan Iron & Steel Co ( 600019.SS ) would buy part of its stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank Co [SHRCB.UL], rather than Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp.ANZ agreed in January to sell its 20 percent stake in Shanghai Rural for A$1.8 billion ($1.44 billion) to China COSCO Shipping Corp and Shanghai Sino-Poland, with each buyer taking 10 percent.“There are no material changes to the financial terms of the sale for ANZ,” ANZ Deputy Chief Executive Officer Graham Hodges said in a statement, which did not give a reason for the changes to the deal.COSCO will still buy its share, the statement said, adding the deal remains subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval.Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. 6000019.SS (Baosteel), China’s largest listed steel mill, said in a separate statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it would buy a 10 percent stake in the Shanghai lender for 4.595 billion yuan ($700.07 million).Baosteel is a major division of China’s biggest steelmaker, China Baowu Steel Group, which was formed last year through the merger of the Shanghai-based steel producer and rival Wuhan Iron and Steel.Baowu, which owns a 52 percent stake in Baosteel, also holds a 22.6 percent stake in New China Life Insurance Co ( 601366.SS ) and shares in China Construction Bank Corp ( 601939.SS ) ( 0939.HK ).Baosteel could not be reached for comment.Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Matthew Miller; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-anz-bank-sale-china/anz-swaps-buyer-in-1-4-billion-shanghai-bank-sale-baosteel-in-idINKCN1BT0XA'|'2017-09-18T08:08:00.000+03:00'
'f7c8e26c7b077aa3bffabe09a11110dafbade407'|'Ford exploring strategic alliance with Mahindra'|'The logo of Mahindra and Mahindra is seen at a showroom in Mumbai, August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co and Indian vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd said on Monday they will launch a new strategic alliance, seeking technology sharing and cost saving in a range of activities from purchasing to development of electric vehicles.The agreement comes with global automakers under pressure as policymakers demand they shift their product lines entirely to electric vehicles over the next two to three decades. At the same time, regional automakers such as Mahindra want access to technology, strong brands and global distribution networks that established companies like Ford can offer.Ford shares rose 0.5 percent Monday. Investors are watching as Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett, who took over in May, has begun to steer the automaker in a different direction.Hackett’s decision to no longer go it alone in India follows a move to hire an outsider to run Ford’s operations in China, and shift production of the Ford Focus for the U.S. market to China, instead of Mexico as previously planned. Hackett has alsolaunched reviews of the company’s luxury brand strategy and self-driving car development.Ford and Mahindra said in a joint announcement they would seek ways to collaborate on a wide range of projects for up to three years. Financial terms were not disclosed.Ford president of global markets, Jim Farley, and Ford’s head of Asia Pacific operations, Peter Fleet, told Reuters on Monday that teams from the companies will start meeting next week to discuss ways to benefit in the short and medium term.“We are focused on the now and near with this initiative. We want to work on the opportunities that are right in front of us,” Farley said.In the shorter term, Ford and Mahindra suggested they could benefit from collaborating on distribution of vehicles in India, pooling purchasing and collaborating on forays into ride services.Longer-term projects could include sharing technology or development efforts for electric vehicles, the companies said. For Ford, the Mahindra deal points to a new strategy for dealing with demands from policymakers in many major markets to phase out petroleum-fueled vehicles in favor of electric cars and trucks.The Ford logo is seen on a car in a park lot in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/Files Ford, like global rivals, faces a challenge because electric vehicles engineered for the United States or Europe are too expensive for Indian or Chinese customers. Policymakers in China and India, as well as some European countries, have signaled they want the industry to phase out diesel and gasoline vehicles over the next two to three decades.By allying with Mahindra, Ford can work with the leader in the emerging low-cost electric vehicle market in India. In China, Ford said last month it would pursue a joint venture with Chinese low-cost electric vehicle maker Zotye.“We will certainly be introducing the companies,” Ford’s Fleet said.India is one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets. Getting more companies to manufacture in India - both for its own market and for export - is critical for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which needs to create millions of new jobs each year as the workforce expands.However, global car makers like Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and General Motors have struggled in India, where nimbler rivals such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor have cornered roughly two-thirds of the market.Turbulence in the Indian economy, and shifts in government policy on vehicle taxes and regulation have further complicated the situation for global automakers. Earlier in September, for example, India’s cabinet approved an increase in the maximum levy on luxury cars and sport utility vehicles to as much as 25 percent - less than two months after deciding on a lower rate of 15 percent as part of the new nationwide goods and services tax.In May, General Motors said it would stop selling cars in India at the end of this year.Mahindra and Ford said their prospective alliance would give Ford access to Mahindra’s distribution network in India while Mahindra would benefit from Ford’s market reach in other developing economies.The U.S. company has already invested more than $2 billion in India and plans to spend more to set up a global engineering center in the southern city of Chennai to help adapt products for the local market and changing consumer trends. India has the second-highest number of Ford employees of any country, company officials said.Ford and Mahindra had a partnership during the 1990s and early 2000s that involved cross share-holdings and was unwound in 2005.Ford is among the top exporters of cars from India and manufactures and exports vehicles and engines from its plants in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Sanand, Gujarat.Additional reporting by Aditi Shah and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Euan Rocha, Greg Mahlich and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ford-motor-mahindra-alliance/ford-exploring-strategic-alliance-with-mahindra-idINKCN1BT0UA'|'2017-09-18T07:30:00.000+03:00'
'37b7e9e801d4c6730cdb1e28e0beb6c12f1ed4d7'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX up as energy stocks rise, gold miners weigh'|'  2:49 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX up as energy stocks rise, gold miners weigh Reuters Staff * TSX up 49.97 points, or 0.33 percent, at 15,223.00 * Eight of the TSX’s 10 main groups move higher TORONTO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose in morning trade on Monday, with gains for its heavyweight energy sector offsetting losses among gold miners. The most influential movers on the index also included Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, which gained 3.6 percent to C$23.61, and Agrium Inc, which was up 3.3 percent to C$132.34. Last week, Canada’s competition watchdog said it would not challenge a proposed merger between the two companies. The energy group climbed 0.7 percent even as oil prices slipped from recent multimonth highs, with Encana Corp up 2.3 percent at C$13.00. At 10:18 a.m. ET (1418 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 49.97 points, or 0.33 percent, at 15,223.00. Eight of the index’s 10 main groups were in positive territory. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners as well as fertilizer companies, added 0.1 percent. The gold mining portion of the group weighed, with Kinross Gold Corp falling 1.9 percent to C$5.77 after saying it would spend more than $1 billion to expand two gold mines. Barrick Gold Corp fell 1.2 percent to C$20.81, and Goldcorp Inc lost 1.2 percent to C$15.95 as prices for bullion hit a 2-1/2-week low ahead of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and as global equities surged. Methanex Corp rose 3.6 percent to C$63.80 after TD raised its price target on the stock. IGM Financial advanced 3.6 percent to C$42.26 after BMO raised its rating to outperform from market perform and increased its target price. A BMO cut on CI Financial Corp to market perform from outperform helped push it down 2.9 percent to C$26.64. The financials group gained 0.2 percent while industrials rose 0.4 percent. Canada’s benchmark stock index notched a gain of more than 1 percent last week. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-up-as-energy-stocks-rise-gold-miners-weigh-idUSL2N1LZ0SF'|'2017-09-18T17:49:00.000+03:00'
'42a2fff916d3aa131799e7582e564838a89db663'|'Australia judge dismisses 21st Century Fox challenge of CBS television buyout'|'FILE PHOTO - The 21st Century Fox logo is seen outside the News Corporation headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two Australian media moguls have lost a court challenge to CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) planned buyout of bankrupt television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ), giving the U.S. media giant a strong upper hand ahead of a creditor vote on Tuesday.CBS, Ten’s biggest creditor, swooped on the TV station after it went into administration three months ago, upending acquisition plans by Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch and business partner Bruce Gordon that had been on hold as they awaited reforms to media ownership laws.The two magnates put in a sweetened offer to counter CBS’ A$201.1 million ($160 million) bid on Friday after the Australian Senate voted to relax ownership rules.But they appear to be very much on the back foot after an Australian judge on Monday rejected arguments that Ten’s administrator, KordaMentha, had mishandled the sale to CBS by not providing sufficient information to creditors about why the CBS deal had been preferred.Justice Ashley Black also said in his ruling for the New South Wales Supreme Court that the U.S. firm should not be blocked from voting at the creditor meeting as to do so would discourage creditors from rescuing viable firms.“For these reasons [the case] should be dismissed,” he said.While Gordon plans to appeal that decision, according to a report by Sky News, CBS appears to be in a formidable position ahead of the meeting on Tuesday which will vote on whether to accept the CBS deal or to consider the revised Murdoch/Gordon bid.Representatives for Gordon and Murdoch were not immediately available for comment. CBS declined to comment.To clinch a deal, CBS which wants a stronger foothold in Australia where it plans to launch its streaming service, must secure majority support from creditors in both value terms and by number.It will easily win in value terms as the U.S. network is owed more than half of Ten’s A$609.1 million in debt. And while the total value of the Murdoch/Gordon bid has not been disclosed, figures for cash owed to creditors have been released and some creditors would still be better off under the CBS deal.By number, hundreds of Ten employees owed pension and leave entitlements, are likely to have a decisive vote. One Ten employee told Reuters that “there’s a fairly strong view supporting the CBS arrangement among the staff.”The employee, who was not authorized to speak on the matter and declined to be identified, said many staff members feared there would be more consolidation under Murdoch with other media assets, leading to more job losses.Although a ratings laggard, Ten’s national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy have made it an attractive buyout target.Murdoch and Gordon, which together own about a fifth of Ten’s shares through their private companies, are widely viewed to have accidentally shot themselves in the foot when they withdrew a debt guarantee in June and tipped the broadcaster in to bankruptcy.That was seen as a maneuver to release Ten from expensive licensing contracts with U.S. studios such as CBS before the magnates followed up with a takeover offer, but instead it allowed the U.S. network to jump in with a bid.Even so, the magnates could mount further legal challenges.“It’s 1-0 to KordaMentha at the moment, but...Murdoch is desperate to get this, not only for financial reasons but for loss of face reasons...I think they really want it,” said independent media analyst Peter Cox.($1 = 1.2503 Australian dollars)Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/australia-judge-dismisses-21st-century-fox-challenge-of-cbs-television-buyout-idUSKCN1BS0YZ'|'2017-09-18T02:51:00.000+03:00'
'80276c4be180018c7af9131fb4e9c23de001fe0e'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 18'|'Sept 18 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 21 points at 7,236.1 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers. * SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell Plc began restarting its 325,700-barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery on Sunday for the first time since it was shut three weeks ago by Tropical Storm Harvey, said sources familiar with plant operations. * BAE SYSTEMS: Qatar''s defence minister has signed a letter of intent to purchase 24 Typhoon jets from British defence group BAE Systems, in a move that could anger other Gulf countries boycotting Doha. * RYANAIR: Ryanair on Friday announced plans to cancel between 40 and 50 flights per day until the end of October, disrupting hundreds of thousands of journeys, in what it said was a bid to improve its ratio of on-time flights. * BREXIT: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson set out his plans for a "glorious" Brexit in a lengthy newspaper article on Saturday that angered colleagues and reignited speculation he would challenge Prime Minister Theresa May for the leadership of the Conservative party. * PETRA DIAMONDS: Tanzanian prosecutors charged two government officials on Friday with economic sabotage after they were accused of undervaluing an export-bound consignment of diamonds seized from a mine majority owned by London-listed Petra Diamonds. * GOLD: Gold slipped to its lowest level in over two weeks on Monday as equities rallied and the dollar firmed, while prospects of monetary policy tightening in the United States ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting also weighed on the metal. * OIL: Oil markets were firm on Monday and remained near multi-month highs reached late last week as the number of U.S. rigs drilling for new production fell and refineries continued to start up after getting knocked out by Hurricane Harvey. * The UK blue chip FTSE 100 index ended the day down 1.1 percent at 7,215.47 points on Friday, as a surging pound hit its largely dollar-earning constituents, with financials shares taking strong losses and only a handful of stocks ending the day in positive territory. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Petra Diamonds Full Year 2017 Earnings Release Dairy Crest Half Year Trading Update DP Poland PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Secure Income REIT Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Ergomed PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Learning Technologies Half Year 2017 Earnings Release City of London Investment Full Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-18-idUSL4N1LZ1Y5'|'2017-09-18T08:37:00.000+03:00'
'5624456902e0dfda5776c87068d106b651737d6a'|'Northrop Grumman nears purchase of Orbital ATK: WSJ'|'FILE PHOTO: A UAV helicopter build by Northrop Gruman is on deck aboard the soon to be commissioned littoral combat ship USS Coronado during a media tour in Coronado, California April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp ( NOC.N ) is poised to announce a purchase of missile and rocket maker Orbital ATK Inc ( OA.N ) as soon as Monday, a person familiar with the transaction said on Sunday.The deal would come as the firing of missiles by North Korea in recent months has focused attention on missile defense systems.With Orbital’s stock market value of $6.3 billion and $1.4 billion of long-term debt, the deal’s final value will likely exceed $7.7 billion.Northrop Grumman declined to comment. Orbital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Orbital’s rocket motors, missiles and electro-optical countermeasure product lines would enlarge Northrop’s offerings to its largest customer, the U.S. Department of Defense, analyst Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners LLC said in a research note on Sunday.The deal is noteworthy not only because it boosts Northrop’s exposure to missile defense, but also because the company has not bought a large rival in many years. It would also represent a departure from a focus of returning earnings to shareholders.Orbital ATK has contracts with NASA as well as the U.S. Army and the deal would give Northrop more than $4.4 billion in annual revenue according to Orbital’s 2016 financials.Despite infrequent strategic mergers, Northrop has not shied away from bold corporate actions to please investors. In 2011 Northrop spun off its Huntington Ingalls Industries ( HII.N ) shipbuilding business to shareholders. In 2009, it sold its government services business, TASC.Northrop’s last buying spree more than a decade ago included the 2002 purchase of TRW Inc for about $7.8 billion.Based on Friday’s closing stock price, Northrop was valued at $46.5 billion. The acquisition price could exceed $7.5 billion if a typical premium was attached to it, the Wall Street Journal said in a report published earlier on Sunday.Another reason for the deal could be the Pentagon’s efforts to rebuild missiles defenses. The Air Force had asked the defense industry last summer for proposals to replace the aging nuclear cruise missiles and intercontinental ballistic missile system as the military moved ahead with a costly modernization of its aging atomic weapons systems.In August, Northrop received a $328 million contract to continue developing a replacement of the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system for the U.S. Air Force.Northrop is also the prime contractor for the B-21 bomber as well as the maker of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle.Orbital is a subcontractor for composite structures on the B-21, and Callan of Capital Alpha Partners said the deal might spark concerns at the Pentagon because of vertical integration within that program.So far this year Orbital’s stock has increased 25 percent as investors have eyed an increase in U.S. defense spending.Earlier in September, aerospace supplier United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) agreed to buy avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ) in $30 billion deal that would be the largest in the industry’s history.Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-orbital-atk-northrop-grumman/northrop-grumman-nears-purchase-of-orbital-atk-wsj-idINKCN1BS0YB'|'2017-09-17T20:47:00.000+03:00'
'd5d0fad8458d2121eb5e9e95c684dbfe835bdee4'|'UPDATE 1-Ford to cut production at five North American vehicle plants'|'(Adds inventory data, employees affected)By Joseph WhiteDETROIT, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday it plans to idle five North American vehicle assembly plants for a total of 10 weeks to reduce inventories of slow-selling models.The plants affected include three assembly plants in the United States and two in Mexico, the company said in a statement. The vehicle models include the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize sedans, the Ford Focus compact car, the Lincoln Continental and Ford Mustang, Ford Fiesta and the Ford Transit van.Ford said the Cuautitlan assembly plant that builds the Fiesta would be idled for three weeks. The Hermosillo, Mexico plant that builds the Fusion and MKZ and the Flat Rock, Michigan, factory that assembles Continentals and Mustangs will be idled for two weeks each. The Michigan Assembly plant that builds the Focus will be idled for one week and the Kansas City assembly line that builds Transit vans will be down for two weeks. Ford did not give dates for the temporary shutdowns.The factories involved employ more than 15,000 people, according to Ford’s website. The company did not say how many of those workers would face temporary layoffs.As of Sept. 1, Ford had 111 days’ worth of unsold Mustangs, 87 days’ supply of Fusions, and a 103 days’ supply of Transit vans, according to Automotive News. Dealers had enough unsold Lincoln Continentals to last 162 days. Automakers aim for 65 to 70 days of inventory of most models.Ford and rival General Motors Co have wrestled most of this year to rein in high inventories of passenger cars as consumers have shifted to buying pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Production cuts slice into revenue, but also could help the automakers avoid deeper price cuts on vehicles they can sell.Reporting By Joe White; Editing by Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ford-motor-production/update-1-ford-to-cut-production-at-five-north-american-vehicle-plants-idINL2N1M022H'|'2017-09-19T18:26:00.000+03:00'
'fd1513f789b7f806a520353617b2aef523b4db4c'|'New York governor says Equifax, other credit reporting companies must register with state'|'September 18, 2017 / 1:47 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Credit reporting companies should register with New York: governor Diane Bartz , Suzanne Barlyn 4 Min Read Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York’s governor announced plans on Monday to require all credit reporting agencies to register with the state, while federal authorities reportedly opened a criminal probe into Equifax Inc ( EFX.N ) executives’ stock sales before the company disclosed a massive data breach. The U.S. Justice Department is looking into whether Equifax Chief Financial Officer John Gamble; Joseph Loughran, president of U.S. information solutions; and Rodolfo Ploder, president of workforce solutions, broke insider trading rules in selling stock after the breach was discovered in July and before it was disclosed in early September, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Shares of Equifax, which have fallen about a third since the hack was announced, slowed their slide on Monday but were down 0.3 percent at $92.69 in midday trading. Equifax has said the executives were unaware of the hack when they sold the stock for $1.8 million. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said he planned to require all credit reporting agencies to register with the state and comply with its cyber security rules. The proposed regulation, ordered after Equifax Inc’s ( EFX.N ) breach exposed sensitive data of up to 143 million people, would take effect in February, a statement from Cuomo said. If the companies do not register, they risk being barred from doing business with financial companies regulated by the state. Cuomo said credit reporting agencies, including TransUnion ( TRU.N ) and Experian Plc ( EXPN.L ), each year would have to report their officers or directors who are responsible for compliance with laws and regulations involving financial services, banking and insurance. The state would also be able to bar a credit reporting agency from doing business there if it is found to engage in “unfair, deceptive or predatory practices,” the statement said. Proposed regulations are typically subject to a period when the public may comment on them before they become final. The Justice Department and the three credit reporting companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. “The Equifax breach was a wakeup call,” Cuomo said in the statement, “and with this action, New York is raising the bar for consumer protections that we hope will be replicated across the nation.” A New York State cyber security regulation, the first of its kind in the United States, took effect on March 1. It requires financial firms to take measures to protect networks and customer data from hackers and disclose cyber events to state regulators. An unknown number of people have struggled to use the Equifax website to get promised free credit monitoring or freezes. Adam Levitin, who teaches at Georgetown University’s law school, tried several times to freeze his account, an action that would bar thieves from illegally applying for credit in his name. The Equifax site would appear to take several screens worth of data but would not finish the process. “I tried again at 1 in the morning, and it went through,” he said. “Equifax has two problems. The first is the data breach, and the second is the customer service problem.” Reporting by Diane Bartz; Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Lisa Von Ahn '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-experian-new-yorkequifax/new-york-governor-says-equifax-other-credit-reporting-companies-must-register-with-state-idUSKCN1BT1NA'|'2017-09-18T16:43:00.000+03:00'
'cb03a9cde9529a1bdf15dac039c99f4908a2bfb1'|'Nvidia hits another record high as AI takes centerstage'|'September 18, 2017 / 3:37 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Nvidia hits another record high as AI takes centerstage Aishwarya Venugopal , Arjun Panchadar 3 Min Read The logo of technology company Nvidia is seen at its headquarters in Santa Clara, California February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (Reuters) - Shares of Nvidia Corp touched a record high for the second straight day on Monday following yet another steep increase in the chipmaker’s price target by a Wall Street analyst. Nvidia’s shares, valued at a low $23.3 in 2015, have since surged to hit a high of $190.10 on Monday, with at least four brokerages setting their price targets at $200 or above. Analysts have focused on the company’s progress in artificial intelligence, in particular. “Our sense is management believes that investors still severely underestimates the impact of AI and the size of the potential market,” Evercore analyst C J Muse wrote in a note on Friday after hosting Nvidia’s management. Nvidia has been rapidly expanding into newer technologies including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and self-driving cars, away from designing graphics-processing chips for which the company was known for. Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Vivek Arya listed Nvidia a “top pick”, basing his view “on (Nvidia‘s) underappreciated transformation from a traditional PC graphics vendor, into a supplier into high-end gaming, enterprise graphics, cloud, accelerated computing and automotive markets,” according to Seeking Alpha. Arya raised his price target on Monday by $25 to $210, the second highest on the Street. Evercore ISI’s whopping $70 price target raise on Friday to $250 is currently the highest. Wall Street is bullish on the stock, with 22 of 38 brokerages having a “buy” recommendation, as per Thomson Reuters data. Twelve have “hold” and 4 have “sell” rating. Broadening its push into AI, Nvidia has been partnering with auto makers to help develop self-driving vehicles. In May, Nvidia announced a partnership with Toyota Motor Corp through which the Japanese car maker would use Nvidia''s AI technology to develop self-driving vehicle systems planned for the next few years. reut.rs/2wB8Qst “NVDA has created an industry standard for AI systems that will be nearly impossible to replicate,” Evercore’s Muse wrote in a note on Friday. Nvidia is also gaining from rising demand for its chips used to process cryptocurrency transactions. However, the company has little room for any missteps. Nvidia’s shares fell last month after the company’s second-quarter revenue in its data center and automotive businesses missed estimates. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nvidia-stock/nvidia-hits-another-record-high-as-ai-takes-centerstage-idUSKCN1BT1W1'|'2017-09-18T18:36:00.000+03:00'
'153cadf90ff674249719d8c27a8665dfd2e007d4'|'China will step up supervision of overseas investment risks - insurance regulator'|'September 18, 2017 / 4:37 AM / Updated an hour ago China will step up supervision of overseas investment risks - insurance regulator Reuters Staff 3 Min Read 100 Yuan notes are seen in this illustration picture in Beijing November 5, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING (Reuters) - China will strengthen its supervision of overseas investment risks and capital flows from insurance funds, the insurance regulator said on Monday, adding that it will urge companies to improve their risk monitoring systems. China has cracked down this year on “irrational” overseas investment which it suspected was one way of disguising capital flight as the yuan currency weakened. While the yuan has staged a sharp turnaround in recent months and outflows have dwindled, authorities have shown no signs of easing their campaign. The state council said in August that China will limit overseas investment in property, hotels, entertainment, sports clubs and film industries. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) will step up supervision over the use of insurance funds, with focus on “chaos” such as irrational stock market fundraising and overseas acquisitions, said Guo Jing, vice head of the finance and accounting department of the CIRC. “The regulator will prevent risks stemming from an excessively rapid growth in overseas investments, via window guidance from authorities and stepped-up information disclosure,” he said. Some overseas investments have been derailed due to heightened official scrutiny. Dalian Wanda Group said last month that it had scrapped plans to buy Nine Elms Square in London, the latest setback for the Chinese conglomerate. The insurance regulator will also urge insurance companies to conduct self-checks on their property investments, said Guo. It will continue to strictly control insurance money from flowing into property markets and prohibit funds to directly or indirectly invest in commercial buildings, added Guo. Guo also said CIRC will prevent risks stemming from peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and internet finance from spilling over onto the insurance industry. Peer-to-peer platforms help link up individual or institutional investors looking to invest their cash with borrowers including small- and medium-enterprises, students and other individuals that need funding. Reporting by Ma Rong and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Writing by Stella Qiu; Editing by Michael Perry and Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-insurance-regulation/china-will-step-up-supervision-of-overseas-investment-risks-insurance-regulator-idUKKCN1BT0AH'|'2017-09-18T07:37:00.000+03:00'
'77dde6e900f3c3eaeb40326f5c2a707ade4d2f10'|'May says will press Trump this week on Bombardier/Boeing spat'|'  5:25 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago UK''s May to press Trump this week on Boeing/Bombardier dispute David Ljunggren 3 Min Read Canada''s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) shakes hands with Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May during a meeting in Trudeau''s office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie OTTAWA (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she would press U.S. President Donald Trump this week about a trade challenge by Boeing Co that could endanger thousands of aerospace jobs in Northern Ireland. May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are worried about Boeing’s move against Bombardier Inc, which is the single largest manufacturing employer in Northern Ireland and Canada’s most important aerospace firm. May raised the issue with Trump in a call earlier this month and told reporters in Ottawa she would do so again this week on the margins of the United Nations. “I will be impressing on him the significance of Bombardier to the United Kingdom ... I want to see a resolution that protects those jobs in Northern Ireland,” she said after talks with Trudeau where both leaders agreed to work together to make the point that Boeing should back down. May’s minority Conservative government depends on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for their majority control of the British parliament. Boeing has accused Bombardier of dumping its new CSeries passenger jet in the U.S. aircraft market, a charge the Canadian firm denies. Canada''s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) shakes hands with Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie A U.S. trade court is due to give a preliminary ruling on Boeing’s complaint on Sept. 25. “I am very happy to be working with Prime Minister May to explain to the American administration how Boeing’s actions are harmful to workers here in Canada,” Trudeau told reporters. Slideshow (6 Images) Trudeau reiterated that Canada would not talk to Boeing about a proposed purchase of 18 F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets until the firm had dropped its challenge. “We won’t do business with a company trying to ... put our aerospace workers out of business,” he said. May sidestepped a question as to whether the two leaders had discussed trying to jointly pressure Boeing by refusing to buy its planes. Canada last month tried to end the dispute by suggesting it could withdraw a threat not to buy the Super Hornets if Boeing withdrew the challenge, sources said, but Boeing rejected the idea. Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by G Crosse'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-canada-britain/uks-may-says-will-press-trump-this-week-on-bombardier-boeing-spat-idUKKCN1BT27C'|'2017-09-18T20:21:00.000+03:00'
'a694e9c29763cd0e1545007203d15c53d40d71b7'|'Sale of ex-Trump aide Scaramucci''s firm on track: executive'|'FILE PHOTO - Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Co-Managing Partner at SkyBridge Capital, speaks during the opening remarks during the SALT conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. on May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Richard Brian/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) - The sale of former White House communications director and investor Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital to a consortium that includes a Chinese buyer is still on track, with the closing date set for month’s end, the firm’s chief investment officer said on Monday.New York-based hedge fund SkyBridge Capital is still waiting for approval from one agency, CIO Ray Nolte said in a video sent to reporters on Monday, without naming the regulator.“We are hopeful that will come through in fairly short order and as soon as it does we will be able to move to the close,” he said.A SkyBridge spokeswoman said the group is waiting for approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.“We are down to one that we are waiting on,” Nolte said about the approval process. Looking ahead to a close, Nolte said it was hard to specify a date but “at this juncture we’d probably be looking at something in September as a targeted closing date.”In May, Scaramucci told Reuters he thought the deal would probably close in June.HNA Capital U.S., a unit of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, and RON Transatlantic EG said in January they had agreed to purchase a majority stake in SkyBridge.By cutting ties to SkyBridge, Scaramucci, a prominent Wall Street hedge fund investor, was paving a path to the White House, which he had hoped to join as an adviser soon after the inauguration.He arrived in July as White House communications director but was fired a week later after an obscenity-laced telephone interview with a New Yorker magazine writer.Additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jeffrey Benkoe '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-skybridge-sale/sale-of-scaramuccis-skybridge-still-on-track-cio-nolte-idINKCN1BT2F5'|'2017-09-18T17:09:00.000+03:00'
'b05e167198cba9a3cc61463503e843e07cf273b1'|'Ryanair, Norwegian Air end talks on flight connections'|'FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair aircraft parks at tarmac of Fraport airport in Frankfurt, Germany, November 2, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo DUBLIN/OSLO (Reuters) - Budget airlines Ryanair ( RYA.I ) and Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) have halted talks on a flight connection agreement, both companies said on Monday.Norwegian Air, which recently agreed a partnership with easyJet ( EZJ.L ) to make its long-distance flights available to easyJet customers, confirmed an earlier statement by Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary that talks with the Irish airline on a similar agreement had ended.“Norwegian welcomes any initiatives that offer passengers smooth, affordable transfers between flights and we are delighted to have entered into partnership with easyJet which was an obvious and natural fit for each airline’s large and growing networks,” Norwegian Air said in a statement to Reuters.“Previous discussions with Ryanair are no longer active,” it said.Earlier on Monday, Ryanair and Norwegian Air disagreed publicly over the number of staff each was poaching from the other.Ryanair has been seeking deals to provide short-haul “feeder flights” to link passengers to routes operated by long-haul carriers and had planned to start serving fellow low-cost operator Norwegian Air earlier this year.The fast-growing budget Scandinavian carrier told Reuters last week that it was still talking to Ryanair about a potential partnership, if Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers was willing to join it.O‘Leary cited concern over Norwegian Air’s financial position as the reason for ending the talks. After similar comments last month, Norwegian Air rejected O‘Leary’s concerns as nonsense that had “no basis in reality.”“I doubt it,” O‘Leary told a news conference on Monday when asked if an agreement with Norwegian Air was still possible.“At this point in time, given our concerns over Norwegian’s financial viability, I think we have brought to an end the discussions with Norwegian. We’re focusing now on our discussions with Air Europa and Aer Lingus ( ICAG.L ).”O‘Leary made the comments as he admitted on Monday to a “cock up” over rostering that led him to cancel flights and disrupt the plans of hundreds of thousands of travelers, wiping over 2 percent off Ryanair’s share price.Ryanair said it was not short of pilots after Norwegian Air said it had hired more than 140 of the Irish airline’s pilots this year.O‘Leary said it had lost less than 100 of its 4,200 pilots and had recruited some from its rival, meaning it could fully crew its peak schedule.Norwegian Air has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan buying more than 200 new fuel-efficient jets, but investors worry its drive to put more passengers on more planes is pushing up costs quickly without producing higher returns.Reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Terje Solsvik in Oslo; Editing by Adrian Croft and Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-cancellation-norweg-air-shut/ryanair-norwegian-air-end-talks-on-flight-connections-idINKCN1BT2GE'|'2017-09-18T17:34:00.000+03:00'
'c7d26c87d184db1a8bc3611afbd65861f303ee6b'|'Spactiv''s IPO subscribed for 80 million euros to date - source close to situation'|'  6:13 PM / Updated 41 minutes ago Spactiv''s IPO subscribed for 80 million euros to date - source close to situation Reuters Staff 1 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - The initial public offering of Italy’s Spactiv has been subscribed for 80 million euros (70.81 million pounds) to date, a source close to the situation said on Monday. The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) said last week it aimed to raise 60-80 million euros in the deal. Reporting by Paola Arosio, editing by Silvia Aloisi'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spactiv-ipo/spactivs-ipo-subscribed-for-80-million-euros-to-date-source-close-to-situation-idUKKCN1BT2B7'|'2017-09-18T21:14:00.000+03:00'
'a3cfc500d719f8e119b9253dd4f7642069c1c7b5'|'Russia to supply 600,000 tonnes of wheat to Venezuela: minister - Reuters'|'FILE PHOTO: Governor of the Krasnodar region Alexander Tkachev delivers a speech during a Cossack parade in the southern city of Krasnodar, Russia April 26, 2014. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will supply around 600,000 tonnes of wheat to Venezuela in the current marketing year ending next June, Russia’s agriculture minister told Reuters, deepening the Kremlin’s support for Venezuela’s troubled economy.Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro agreed a grain supply deal in May, providing a lifeline to the South American country which has faced soaring bread prices in recent years and queuing at bakeries has become common.Russia, which last season did not ship any wheat to Venezuela, had not previously confirmed how much wheat it planned to supply under the deal.The supplies to Venezuela will be carried out as part of commercial contracts between Russian and Venezuelan state companies, Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said in an interview for the Reuters Russia Investment Summit.Pilot batches have already been sent to Venezuela, he said in written answers to Reuters’ questions. Tkachev did not provide further details.Venezuela’s unraveling socialist government is increasingly turning to ally Russia for the cash and credit it needs to survive, according to a Reuters report published last month.Russian state-controlled grain trader United Grain Company previously said that it would supply 300,000 tonnes of grain to Venezuela in 2017/18.Agriculture is not the only sector with which Moscow has been cooperating with Caracas. Venezuela borrowed from Russia in 2011 but failed to keep up with payments on the debt in 2016. Russia wants to find a solution on how Venezuela will fulfill its debt obligations to Moscow by the end of this year, a senior Russian official said in September.BUMPER CROP Russia is widely expected to harvest a record grain crop and become the world’s largest wheat exporter in the 2017/18 season which started on July 1.The bumper harvest has led to bottlenecks at some points in Russia’s transport infrastructure, prompting a search for ways to diversify transport routes.The agriculture ministry has recently proposed providing state subsidies for grain supplies by rail to Russia’s Black Sea ports.Tkachev said these subsidies will cost the budget about 3 billion roubles ($52 million) and will make exports of up to 1.7 million tonnes of grain attractive for suppliers from Siberia, Urals, Volga and Central regions of Russia.“This will allow us to balance domestic prices and ease pressure in those regions which have a long transport leg,” he added.The ministry currently sees Russia’s 2017/18 total grain exports at 44 million tonnes, up 4 million tonnes from the previous estimate, he added.He said there were some bottlenecks in Russia but in general the infrastructure was coping with the current crop.Russia is currently building two grain terminals near the border with China which will add 3 million tonnes and 8 million tonnes, respectively, to total grain export capacity toward 2020, he said.Investors are also considering construction of a grain terminal in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, according to the minister.STATE STOCKS The ministry has been considering exporting 500,000 tonnes of grain from its stockpile to free up storage space in case it needs to accommodate a part of the currently arriving crop, and to reduce budget spending on servicing the stock.“We are waiting for a window when commercial suppliers make a pause and we’re not jostling with each other,” Tkachev said about the timing for the sale.He added that the ministry was keeping its forecast for Russia’s 2017 grain crop unchanged at 110 million tonnes, lower than unofficial analysts’ estimates of around 133 million tonnes.Asked about the reason for this difference, he said there was a risk that Russia’s Volga, North-Western and Urals regions, which had delayed the harvest by 2-3 weeks, would not be able to harvest their grain before the cold weather sets in.Farmers have already harvested 110 million tonnes of grain, before drying and cleaning, from 73 percent of the total area.Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_SummitsReporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/summits'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-grains-tkachev/russia-to-supply-600000-tonnes-of-wheat-to-venezuela-minister-idUSKCN1BT21V'|'2017-09-19T00:31:00.000+03:00'
'e7b226d73917fa195c4f400802f0044776fc7f01'|'Pirelli says initial public offering to run Sept. 18-28'|'Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - Italian tyremaker Pirelli said on Friday market watchdog Consob had approved the prospectus for its initial public offering and the share sale would run from Sept.18 to Sept. 28.Pirelli, which plans to return to the Milan stock market next month, has said it will issue up to 350 million shares within an indicative price range of 6.30-8.30 euros each, giving it a valuation of between 6.3 billion euros ($7.5 billion) and 8.3 billion euros ($9.9 billion).Pirelli’s existing owners, including its controlling shareholder China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), had originally been seeking a valuation of up to 9 billion euros, sources familiar with the matter have said.Pirelli may also issue another 50 million shares to its bankers under an over-allotment option. If that happens, the overall stake sold into the offer would amount to 40 percent of the company’s capital.Reporting by Silvia Aloisi '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo/pirelli-says-initial-public-offering-to-run-sept-18-28-idINKCN1BQ1R5'|'2017-09-15T11:17:00.000+03:00'
'dd13e894f60089879ad1b7decc4cbe199046c2ea'|'Mexico''s Femsa says to offer 2.5 billion euros of Heineken stock'|'The logo of Coca Cola Femsa, the largest Coke bottler in the world, is pictured at its headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Heineken shareholder Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) said on Monday it was planning to sell an approximate 5 percent stake in the world’s second largest brewer, worth 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion).Femsa ( FMSAUBD.MX ), a Mexican bottler and retailer which sold its brewing business to Heineken in 2010 in exchange for shares, said the offer would be aimed at institutional investors outside Mexico.Femsa holds 12.53 percent of Heineken NV ( HEIN.AS ) and also 14.94 percent of Heineken NV parent Heineken Holding ( HEIO.AS ). Overall, this represents an economic interest of 20 percent in the group.The Mexican company did not specify what share of each company it would divest, but said it would retain one seat on the board of directors of Heineken Holding and two on the supervisory board of Heineken NV.L’Arche Green, the company through which the Heineken family exercises control of Heineken Holding, said it would buy back shares worth 200 million euros. The price per share would be determined by Femsa’s offer, it said in a statement.“The participation of L’Arche Green N.V. in the share offering by Femsa underlines the long-term commitment of the Heineken family towards the Heineken company,” said L‘Arche Green, which added that it was advised by Citigroup.After Femsa’s filing, Heineken said it would retain its rights to seats on the boards of Heineken NV and Heineken Holding. Heineken also said Femsa still considered Heineken a positive long-term investment, citing comments by the Mexican firm’s chief executive.In July, Heineken told Femsa’s bottling unit Coca-Cola Femsa ( KOFL.MX ) that it was set to lose its contract to distribute the beer in Brazil. At the time, Femsa executives said talks about dissolving that contract would not affect the larger strategic relationship between the companies.Shares in Femsa were up about 2.0 percent at 175.09 pesos ($9.84) per share at 1445 local time (1945 GMT) on Monday, while Heineken NV shares closed barely changed at 87.59 euros.Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Rosalba O''Brien and Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-femsa-heineken/mexicos-femsa-says-to-offer-2-5-billion-euros-of-heineken-stock-idINKCN1BT23P'|'2017-09-18T14:53:00.000+03:00'
'5cf6104d8fa91bda3dcdf7057572d5eee6c64b50'|'Cisco''s Executive Chairman Chambers not to seek re-election'|'September 18, 2017 / 1:36 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Cisco''s Executive Chairman Chambers not to seek re-election Reuters Staff 1 Min Read John Chambers, Executive Chairman of Cisco, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc ( CSCO.O ) said on Monday that Executive Chairman John Chambers would not seek re-election after his term expires in December. Chambers, who lead the networking gear maker for two decades as its chief executive, became the executive chairman in July 2015. Under his leadership, Cisco’s sales surged to about $48 billion from $1.2 billion in 1995. Cisco’s CEO Chuck Robbins will become the chairman and Chambers, 68, will be given the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in December. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cisco-systems-chairman/ciscos-executive-chairman-chambers-not-to-seek-re-election-idUSKCN1BT1LZ'|'2017-09-18T16:35:00.000+03:00'
'a8bcf3f0fd3fadc307e435bfedb7a0d194c055ef'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Jimmy Choo, Mitsui OSK Lines; Updates IAG, Telia)Sept 18 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday:** U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp said it would buy missile and rocket maker Orbital ATK Inc for about $7.8 billion in cash, giving it access to lucrative contracts with NASA and the U.S. Army.** Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said it would sell the remaining assets in its specialty women’s health business for $1.38 billion in two separate transactions.** Luxury shoemaker Jimmy Choo Plc said its shareholders voted in favour of a $1.2 billion takeover by fashion group Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.** Struggling retailer Sears Canada Inc’s top executive is negotiating a private-equity backed deal that could be valued at more than C$650 million ($533 million), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.** Itron Inc, which makes technology to monitor energy and water usage, said it would buy Silver Spring Networks Inc in a deal valued at about $830 million, to expand its presence in the smart city and smart grid markets.** Brazilian renewable energy company Renova Energia SA has extended the deadline for exclusivity talks with a unit of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management for a capital injection to Oct. 17** AT&T is evaluating a sale of its pay TV operations in Latin America as it seeks to pay down debt following its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc, people familiar with the matter said.** Chinese payments company Ant Financial is planning to resubmit its application for U.S. review of its deal to buy MoneyGram International Inc for $1.2 billion, a source familiar with the matter said.** Zhongwang USA, an investment firm backed by a Chinese aluminium tycoon, and its acquisition target Aleris Corp have decided to extend a deadline to complete their merger by two weeks, according to representatives of the two companies.** Chinese brokerage First Capital Securities Co Ltd denied that a unit of e-commerce firm JD.com was in talks to purchase a 24 percent stake.** Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group is trimming the size of the stake it will buy in India’s Gland Pharma to 74 percent for $1.1 billion, in a bid to salvage the stalled deal that would be the biggest takeover by a Chinese firm in India.** O.G. Oil & Gas Ltd’s Singapore unit intends to buy a 65.7 percent stake in New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd, it said in a notice.** Two Australian media moguls have lost a court challenge to CBS Corp’s planned buyout of bankrupt television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd, giving the U.S. media giant a strong upper hand ahead of a creditor vote.** Wenner Media said it is exploring strategic options for its majority interest in the Rolling Stone magazine, as the New York-based publisher continues to shift from its print media business amid falling ad revenues.** Spanish builder OHL, 51 percent owned by the Villar Mir family, said on Monday it had been in contact with China State Construction Engineering (CSCE) over potentially selling a stake, though no offer or decision had been made.** Major shareholder Kuwait Investment Authority has hired Bank of America as a consultant to conduct feasibility study on potential merger of Kuwait Finance House and Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai reports citing sources.** Kenya’s Nakumatt Supermarkets will merge with local retailer Tuskys to help alleviate a severe cash flow problem that has left it with empty shelves and led to the closure of some outlets, Nakumatt’s managing director said.** Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation said Baoshan Iron & Steel Co would buy part of its stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank Co, rather than Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp.** DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, has agreed to buy two fellow state-owned maritime companies from its parent for $405 million.** Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc is set to revise its agreement to buy some Rite Aid Corp stores, a move that may be enough for the drugstore chain operator to resolve outstanding antitrust concerns, Bloomberg reported.** Jollibee Foods Corp, popular in the Philippines for its sweet-style spaghetti and fried chicken, is exploring a bid for Britain’s Pret A Manger which could value the upscale sandwich chain at over $1 billion, sources familiar with the matter said.** Buyout group Blackstone has tasked Morgan Stanley with finding a buyer for its 45 percent stake in German iconic camera maker Leica, people close to the matter said.** Investment firm Fir Tree Partners said on Monday it would immediately begin talks with Ultra Petroleum Corp’s management to pursue strategic alternatives.** British Airways owner IAG has joined the field of bidders for parts or all of insolvent German airline Air Berlin, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Nordic telecom group Telia Company launched on Monday an offer to sell its remaining direct stake in Turkish operator Turkcell to institutional investors as part of a bid to focus on core markets.** Japan’s leading shipper Mitsui OSK Lines aims to buy at least a 26 percent stake in a floating storage regassification unit (FSRU) in India, a company official said, to boost its exposure in the west coast project of Swan Energy . (Compiled by Roopal Verma and Anirban Paul in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idUSL4N1LZ2ZU'|'2017-09-18T16:37:00.000+03:00'
'6211217825297e5d830af02700c845c9f90207e1'|'European shares edge down with all eyes on the Fed'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:36 AM / Updated an hour ago European shares edge down with all eyes on the Fed Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - Bourses opened slightly lower across Europe on Tuesday as traders awaited clues from the Federal Reserve on its plans to move towards unwinding its $4.2 trillion (3.11 trillion pounds) portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. Despite Wall Street reaching new highs yet again, shares in Europe followed Asia’s overnight caution with the pan-European STOXX index down 0.2 percent. Financials were some of the only stocks trading in positive territory, as monetary tightening typically benefits lenders. The European banking index .SX7P was up 0.2 percent with HSBC ( HSBA.L ) at the top of the list with a 1 percent rise. British online grocer Ocado ( OCDO.L ) topped the index losers’ list with a 5.3 percent fall after the firm reported third-quarter results, saying short-term costs could increase due to investment in a new distribution centre. Shares in Belgium’s Solvay ( SOLB.BR ), which agreed to sell its polyamides business to BASF ( BASFn.DE ) for 1.6 billion euros, declined 0.6 percent. Julien Ponthus '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/european-shares-edge-down-with-all-eyes-on-the-fed-idUKKCN1BU0QT'|'2017-09-19T10:36:00.000+03:00'
'a8254b6b6d70b907bcabf2f327e5e69b6c353c4f'|'Billionaire Ratcliffe seeks British backing for Defender-style 4x4'|'September 19, 2017 / 11:24 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Billionaire Ratcliffe seeks British backing for Defender-style 4x4 Costas Pitas 3 Min Read A man walks past a Land Rover Defender parked on a street in London, Britain, January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - An off-roader modelled on Land Rover’s classic Defender could be rolling off British production lines if the owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos can win government backing for it. Britain’s biggest automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) stopped making the off-roader, known the world over and with famous owners including Queen Elizabeth, in 2016 after 68 years. Ineos [INEOSG.UL] founder, chairman and CEO Jim Ratcliffe said on Tuesday he plans to build 25,000 of the new 4x4s a year, which will be modelled on the Defender as the design is not currently trademarked in Britain. However, a spokesman at JLR ( TAMO.NS ), which plans to build an updated version of the Defender, said the original design has been registered in many countries and a trademark application is currently under way in Britain. If Ratcliffe succeeds in his plans, the automotive arm of Ineos would become one of Britain’s biggest carmakers, with an output more than double that of long-standing small-volume brands such as Aston Martin, McLaren, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Ineos founder and CEO, Jim Ratcliffe (C), visit the Grangemouth shale gas terminal as the first shipment of U.S. shale gas arrives in Scotland, Britain September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne Ratcliffe said he would invest 600 million pounds to begin output of his new off-roader from 2020-21, saying he would prefer to build in Britain but that there are cheaper alternatives in countries such as Germany where the workforce is already trained and Ineos could use existing sites. “We’d have to build new in the UK so to balance that playing field because you’re talking about hundreds of millions to build a facility... it does need some government support,” he said. A woman walks past a Land Rover Defender parked on a street in London, Britain, January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville Ratcliffe identified a number of potential sites in Britain on the east coast, from Scotland down to the northern city of Hull, with a decision due before the end of next year. The investment would also come as a welcome boost to the government as the car industry becomes increasingly concerned that its exports could face tariffs of up to 10 percent and borders checks if Britain leaves the European Union without a free trade deal, risking the viability of factories. Ratcliffe told Reuters that he was confident that politicians would strike a deal which would maintain unfettered trade as both British and EU businesses stand to lose out. “I think common sense will prevail... so I‘m not spending too much time worrying about Brexit,” he said. Editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-autos-ineos/billionaire-ratcliffe-seeks-british-backing-for-defender-style-4x4-idUKKCN1BU1F4'|'2017-09-19T14:24:00.000+03:00'
'0fd80f3d07855d6fad41df6d51d7faea1bab0d1c'|'Canada''s Trudeau says talks on Bombardier dispute will continue'|'Canada''s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reflected on a screen while taking part in a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will continue talks with Washington on settling a dispute between Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) regardless of whether a U.S. trade court next week backs a challenge launched by the American company, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.Trudeau said his government would push back against Boeing, which he accused of trying to put thousands of Canadian aerospace employees out of work.Boeing accuses Bombardier of dumping its new CSeries passenger jet in the U.S. aircraft market, a charge the Canadian firm denies.A U.S. trade court is due to give a preliminary ruling on Boeing’s complaint on Sept. 25.“We have been very actively engaged, both directly with Boeing and with the American administration, including governors, congressmen and women and the administration. We will continue to stand up and defend Canadian jobs,” Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa.Canada''s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie He added that Canada was disappointed that Boeing walked away from negotiations ahead of the preliminary ruling, but said discussions will continue regardless of the ruling.Slideshow (2 Images) Trudeau said on Monday that Canada would not talk to Boeing about a proposed purchase of 18 F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets until the firm had dropped its challenge.Canada last month tried to end the dispute by suggesting it could withdraw a threat not to buy the Super Hornets if Boeing withdrew the challenge, sources said, but Boeing rejected the idea.Trudeau said Canada would consider its options to find an interim solution to equip Canadian forces while the dispute continued.“We have a capability gap, we cannot fulfill our obligations toward both NORAD and NATO at this point, and we need to fix that,” he said.Reporting and writing by Andrea Hopkins and David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-politics-bombardier/canadas-trudeau-says-talks-on-bombardier-dispute-will-continue-idUSKCN1BU20T'|'2017-09-19T17:58:00.000+03:00'
'a2a54166cf42329e3d2c32ff283820c098deb227'|'Russia''s Rosneft clinches gas pipeline deal with Iraq''s Kurdistan'|'September 18, 2017 / 5:00 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago Russia''s Rosneft clinches gas pipeline deal with Iraq''s Kurdistan Dmitry Zhdannikov 3 Min Read LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Russian oil major Rosneft will invest in gas pipelines in Iraq’s Kurdistan, expanding its commitment to the region ahead of its independence vote to help it become a major exporter of gas to Turkey and Europe. Kurdistan has been exporting oil independently from the central government in Baghdad since 2014 and Kremlin-controlled Rosneft joined the list of buyers this year, lending the semi-autonomous region hundreds of millions of dollars in loans guaranteed by future oil sales. Now Rosneft is widening its investments to gas by agreeing to fund a natural gas pipeline in Kurdistan, Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Monday. Two sources close to the deal said the investments would amount to more than $1 billion. Kurdistan is holding an independence vote on Sept. 25 as it seeks to part ways from Baghdad after years of disputes over budget revenues and the sharing of oil exports. Erbil, the seat of the KRG in northern Iraq, needs money to fund the fight against Islamic state and a budget crisis caused by low oil prices. Kurdistan has relied on oil pre-finance deals to improve its fiscal position but has struggled to develop its large gas reserves, which can require more investment to develop on a longer-term scale. The arrival of Rosneft will speed up gas development, which has so far largely been driven by mid-sized companies. For Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly listed oil company by production, the deal is a major boost to its international gas ambitions. Rosneft has long sought to challenge Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly, in supplying gas to Europe. For Turkey, it means the arrival of new supplies for its energy-hungry economy and the potential to become a major centre for gas supplies to Europe. The pipeline’s capacity is expected to handle up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas exports a year, in addition to supplying domestic users. Kurdistan sits on some of the largest untapped gas deposits on Europe’s doorstep. The volumes that Rosneft wants to help Kurdistan supply to export markets are big - they represent 6 percent of total European gas demand and one-sixth of current gas export volumes by Russia - by far the largest supplier of gas to Europe. The pipeline will be constructed in 2019 for Kurdish domestic use, with exports due to begin in 2020. Rosneft has previously loaned money to Kurdistan guaranteed by future oil sales and has also agreed to help the region expand its pipeline infrastructure. Kurdistan is seeking to boost oil exports to one million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this decade from the current 0.65 million bpd. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/kurdistan-rosneft/russias-rosneft-clinches-gas-pipeline-deal-with-iraqs-kurdistan-idUSL5N1LY0TS'|'2017-09-18T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'ac063718ca921f39c07b837c2f5d4bb53cf9da37'|'Russia''s O1 Properties in talks to sell ''significant stake'' to Chinese investor: sources'|'MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s O1 Properties, one of the largest commercial property owners in the country, is in talks with a Chinese investor to sell a stake in the company, three people familiar with the talks said.O1 Properties owns and manages 15 business centers in Moscow with a total value of around $4 billion, according to the company. Businessman Boris Mints and his family own a majority stake in O1 Properties, while global lender Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) is among other shareholders.Two sources said the Mints family is in talks over the sale of a “significant” stake in the company. All three sources declined to name the investor that O1 is in talks with.In reply to a Reuters request for comment, O1 Properties said it is regularly approached by different companies, including foreign ones, that consider investing into the Russian commercial property market.“But there are no talks about specific deals at the moment,” an O1 Properties spokeswoman said.After several years of splashy overseas acquisitions, China has tightened the screws on deals abroad and has leant on banks to reduce lending that helped fuel the buying spree.Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-o1-china/russias-o1-properties-in-talks-to-sell-significant-stake-to-chinese-investor-sources-idINKCN1BU18A'|'2017-09-19T08:19:00.000+03:00'
'ccaba16de3313cfc933aa57ae9dba8ead09ae119'|'Bayer dismisses antitrust concerns about digital farming'|'MONHEIM, Germany (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) said it was unable to propose the sale of any digital farming assets to allay EU concerns about its planned $66 billion takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ).The European Commission last month started an in-depth investigation into the German group’s plan to acquire the U.S. seeds maker.Among its concerns, the regulator took issue with Bayer’s plan to create combined offerings of seeds and pesticides with the help of new digital farming tools, such as connected sensors, software and precision machines.“I fail to see what kind of a remedy there would be in this space. It’s extremely hypothetical in terms of where the overlap actually is,” the head of Bayer’s Crop Science division, Liam Condon, told Reuters on Tuesday, following a press conference on the business.“If it’s considered that is an issue and a remedy is required then we have to discuss what the remedy is. I just don’t have the imagination what that could be.”Condon said Bayer’s approach in digital farming was currently to control plant pests while Monsanto’s focus was on improving yields. The entire industry was still years away from a more universal business model, he added.Bayer has pledged that any future software platform coming from its labs would not per se exclude rivals’ seeds and crop protection products.Analysts, however, say that many in the industry were working on future business models that will lure farmers with a type of money-back guarantee if a digital farming package, complete with predefined seeds and chemicals, does not yield certain harvest levels.Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-monsanto-m-a-bayer-eu/bayer-dismisses-antitrust-concerns-about-digital-farming-idINKCN1BU1HK'|'2017-09-19T09:49:00.000+03:00'
'a86675ad0dce2348b40c2780ee066a821349b7c5'|'Portugal Anacom criticizes proposed takeover of media firm by Altice'|'The logo of cable and mobile telecoms company Altice Group is seen during a news conference in Paris, France, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal’s telecom market watchdog Anacom delivered a blow to takeover plans by Dutch-based Altice for Media Capital, the owner of the TVI television channel, warning it could create serious obstacles to competition and harm consumers.Altice, which owns the country’s largest telecom operator MEO, agreed to buy Media Capital in July from Spain’s Prisa in a 440 million euro deal.Anacom said it submitted its report on the proposed MEO-Media Capital merger to the competition authority, which is yet to rule on the issue and has the power to reject the plan or impose conditions for it to go ahead.Anacom said the proposed terms, which among other things allow the owner to bar its rivals access to its television and radio channels and advertising, “could create significant obstacles to competition in the electronic communications markets”.It also said that Altice had failed to explain the benefits of the proposed merger between its unit MEO and Media Capital.Reporting By Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-media-capital-altice-regulator/portugal-anacom-criticizes-proposed-takeover-of-media-firm-by-altice-idINKCN1BU1H8'|'2017-09-19T09:46:00.000+03:00'
'3a247e47285c53e0fb65553d0e026a67e59547b1'|'Spain''s Telepizza delivers guidance upgrade on rising international sales'|'  6:10 PM / Updated 29 minutes ago Spain''s Telepizza delivers guidance upgrade on rising international sales Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Men throw pizza doughs into the air in front of the bourse during Telepizza''s bourse debut in Madrid, Spain, April 27, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Comas (Reuters) - Spanish restaurant chain Telepizza ( TPZ.MC ) raised several full-year targets on Tuesday despite a dip in first-half core profit, citing rising international sales and growth in deliveries through its digital sales channel in its domestic market. The company raised its outlook for 2017 total sales growth in Spain to 5-6 percent from 4-6 percent and core international total sales growth to 12-14 percent from 9-11 percent. Its target for net new stores in the company’s other main European markets was increased to between 70 and 80 from 60-80, while the lower end of its cash earnings per share (EPS) guidance was raised by 2 cents to 0.32-0.35 euros per share. The pizza delivery company returned to profit in the first half. It made a net profit of 15.4 million euros (13.68 million pounds), against a net loss of 19.3 million euros a year earlier that was attributed to charges linked to its initial public offering (IPO). Core profit (EBITDA) was down 3.5 percent at 34.7 million euros because of higher operating costs, the company said. In the first three months of 2017 the company opened its first stores in the UK. Reporting by Joao Mauricio and Anita Kobylinska; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-telepizza-results/spains-telepizza-delivers-guidance-upgrade-on-rising-international-sales-idUKKCN1BU2GR'|'2017-09-19T21:09:00.000+03:00'
'1b0f51987a3f207ba072bbd75a0f55890a5df7e1'|'Germany''s Knorr-Bremse ponders IPO: Handelsblatt'|'BERLIN (Reuters) - German commercial vehicle brake systems company Knorr-Bremse [STELLG.UL] is considering a stock market listing, Handelsblatt newspaper said on Tuesday, after it dropped its near $700 million bid for Swedish rival Haldex ( HLDX.ST ).The maker of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles is studying “different options” to position the firm for the future, company owner Heinz Hermann Thiele was Quote: d as saying by the business daily newspaper on Tuesday, without elaborating.“The possibility of a stock market flotation is being looked at urgently, we are dealing very intensively with this issue,” Thiele said, adding a decision would be taken in the coming months.The majority of Knorr-Bremse, which employs 25,000 people worldwide and posted 5.5 billion euros ($6.59 billion) of sales last year, should remain in family hands, Handelsblatt Quote: d Thiele as saying.Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-knorr-bremse-ipo/germanys-knorr-bremse-ponders-ipo-handelsblatt-idUSKCN1BU2B4'|'2017-09-20T00:52:00.000+03:00'
'92b651a9fef8906f15357242d196355f144c9c58'|'UPDATE 1-Portugal''s bond yield gap over Italy shrinks to pre-crisis levels'|'* Demand soars for Portugal as country wins back investment rating* Portugal-Italy yield spread tightest since March 2010 at 33 bps* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2BqrBy Abhinav RamnarayanLONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The gap between Portuguese and Italian 10-year government bond yields narrowed on Tuesday to levels not seen since the start of the euro zone debt crisis of 2010-2012.This follows a strong rally in Portuguese debt over the last two sessions after S&P Global became the first major ratings agency to give the country back an investment grade rating on Friday, more than five years after it first sank into junk territory.The rally has seen Portuguese borrowing costs come closer to that of its larger, better-rated south European neighbours, even if it is still the highest yielding of the three.“It reflects the narrowing ratings differential and the fact that some political risk premium is still baked into Italian government bonds,” said ING strategist Martin van Vliet.Portugal’s 10-year government bond yield spread over Italy narrowed to 33.5 basis points, the lowest since March 2010. At the start of the year, that difference was as high as 211 basis points.In absolute terms, Portugal’s 10-year government bond yields dropped 9 basis points to 2.40 percent on Tuesday.Van Vliet said Portugal’s recovery from the euro zone debt crisis - when it needed a bailout from European authorities - is a strong story, but cautioned that it is still a weaker credit than Italy because of its external debt position.Portugal''s outstanding private debt stood at 280 percent of the country''s economic output last year, comprising 178 percent for companies and 103 percent for households. < reut.rs/2xiwTjp >“I think this rally is on speculation that Portugal could now be included in many benchmark indices,” Van Vliet said.Many large bond indexes provided by investment banks only include investment grade borrowers, and inclusion in these usually guarantees a new influx of investors and lower yields.However, many index providers require an investment grade rating from at least two of the three main credit ratings agencies, and Portugal now only has one. It is rated Ba1 by Moody’s and BB+ by Fitch.Portugal was by far the outperformer in bond markets on Tuesday, but other euro zone yields also edged lower on the day ahead of a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, which concludes on Wednesday.The central bank of the world’s biggest economy is expected to provide details on how it will reduce a massive balance sheet run-up through years of post-crisis money printing.This is seen as significant by European investors as the ECB is also expected to tighten policy, possibly by announcing in October its plans for ending its own money-printing scheme.A 2 billion euro sale of German 30-year bonds on Wednesday should show which way investors see this as going - longer-dated bonds are more sensitive to changes in monetary policy.For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarketsReporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds/update-1-portugals-bond-yield-gap-over-italy-shrinks-to-pre-crisis-levels-idINL5N1M00WN'|'2017-09-19T05:59:00.000+03:00'
'fa5b4224f0e98e73dac8340e76c22e239f7f0df3'|'FTSE pauses for breath, Ocado drops'|'  9:00 AM   FTSE inches higher, Ocado drops 3 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - British share indexes advanced on Tuesday as retail stocks gained and cyclical stocks also helped, with investors awaiting further signs of the direction of monetary policy. Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE ended the session up 0.3 percent at 7,275.25 points after a volatile start to trading as investors hesitated ahead of the Fed''s two-day meeting starting later in the day. European bourses were broadly flat. The FTSE was boosted on Monday by Bank of England governor Mark Carney saying interest rates were likely to rise   “In our view the driving variable into the end of the year is likely to be the direction of bond yields,” said equity strategists at JP Morgan. They cut UK equities to underweight on Monday, highlighting a strong inverse correlation between the relative performance of the UK and the direction of bond yields. Related Coverage Financials, which benefit when interest rates are raised, supported the index, with HSBC ( HSBA.L ) and Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) both up around 1 percent, but gains were muted overall. Energy stocks added the most points to the index as oil prices held close to five-month highs. Supermarkets Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ), Morrisons ( MRW.L ), Tesco ( TSCO.L ) and Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ), whose bricks-and-mortar business models have been squeezed by online delivery services like Ocado, were among top FTSE 100 gainers. Sales data from Kantar showed inflation helped boost sales growth for the top supermarkets, with Tesco ( TSCO.L ) coming out on top although its market share was squeezed. Online grocer Ocado ( OCDO.L ) tumbled 2 percent, however, after its third-quarter results revealed rising short-term costs due to a ramp-up in capacity at its Andover distribution centre and investment in a new centre in Erith near London. “Management have guided down full-year EBITDA expectations,” said Bernstein retail analyst Bruno Monteyne. “This is in line with our view that the market under-estimates the margin impact of setting up the new facilities.” Construction and plumbing supplies distributor Ferguson ( FERG.L ) rose 2.3 percent after Citi upgraded the stock to a “buy” and Barclays reiterated its optimism on it. Citi analysts said the shares were good value after recent weak performance, and flagged full-year results on Oct. 3 as a “key catalyst”. Barclays analysts said Ferguson could resist pressure on its business model from online alternatives. “We see Ferguson as being able to match or beat Amazon on the range and availability of products expected by its professional plumber customer base as well as on delivery/collection options,” they said in a note. Reporting by Helen Reid and Kit Rees; editing by Mark Heinrich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-pauses-for-breath-ocado-drops-idUKKCN1BU0ZI'|'2017-09-19T12:00:00.000+03:00'
'2a31bd89b5e4ae44311914c66efbf9ae9f23c61b'|'Rusal in no rush to decide on possible London listing'|'  5:24 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Rusal in no rush to decide on possible London listing Polina Devitt , Anastasia Lyrchikova 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Marked cylindrical aluminium ingots are seen stored at the foundry shop of the Rusal Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter outside the Siberian town of Sayanogorsk, Russia, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian aluminium producer Rusal is in no rush to make a decision on whether to list in London and its decision could depend on Brexit talks, Deputy Chief Executive Oleg Mukhamedshin said. Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer after China’s Hongqiao, is considering cancelling its Paris listing and listing in London where it thinks its shares would be more heavily traded, sources close to the company told Reuters in June. Rusal will remain listed in Paris for now as that would allow it to use a relatively cheap and easy process within the European Union, known as passporting, if it decides to obtain a London listing, Mukhamedshin told the Reuters Russia Investment Summit on Tuesday. The company is monitoring Brexit talks in case the passporting system changes when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019, he added. “That is why we have not decided yet,” he added. “So far, no big decisions are planned.” “All risks, Brexit, need to be evaluated,” he said. Rusal’s shares are listed in Hong Kong, Moscow and Paris but turnover in Paris has been low. Rusal’s free float covers 13 percent of the company’s shares and Mukhamedshin said global turnover in the shares had improved recently to average $20 million a day in August, up from $3 million-$4 million not long ago. Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s En+ Group, which owns 48 percent of Rusal, is planning an initial public offering in London this year and may sell a stake to China’s CEFC, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. Last month, Rusal, also partly owned by trading group Glencore, announced a sharp increase in its dividend payment for 2017 as higher aluminium prices boosted its earnings. According to Mukhamedshin, the next dividend payment is likely to be for the first quarter of 2018. Rusal does not plan any new refinancing or restructuring deals by the end of this year. In 2018, the company should repay about $300 million of its debt and is likely to use its own cash to do that, Mukhamedshin said. Speaking about the company’s development projects, he said Rusal was on track to agree on a $800-million project financing with a syndicate of banks, including state development bank VEB, for its Taishet aluminium smelter, which will resume construction next spring. The first line of this Siberian smelter, with an annual capacity of 430,000 tonnes, will be built by 2020. Rusal is also on track to double the capacity of another Siberian smelter - Boguchansk - to 300,000 tonnes by the end of 2018. Further expansion of these smelters and an upgrade of its Khakas smelter in Siberia remain subject to market conditions. Aluminium prices have risen 23 percent this year and the market needs the new capacity from these smelters as a deficit in the global market is expected to widen to 1.9 million tonnes in 2018 from 1.1 million tonnes this year, Mukhamedshin said. Aluminium is currently trading in London above $2,100 per tonne, and Rusal does not expect it to decline from the current level any time soon as demand is rising. Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits Reporting by Polina Devitt, Anastasia Lyrchikova, Katya Golubkova, Andrew Osborn, Anastasia Teterevleva and Diana Asonova; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-rusal-mukhamedshin/rusal-in-no-rush-to-decide-on-possible-london-listing-idUKKCN1BU2E0'|'2017-09-19T20:24:00.000+03:00'
'e66c97d09e5cbbcfa43b98f669e562e277ffcbaf'|'BRIEF-Kinross Gold says to proceed with Tasiast Phase Two, Round Mountain Phase W expansion projects'|' 14 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago BRIEF-Kinross Gold says to proceed with Tasiast Phase Two, Round Mountain Phase W expansion projects Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 18 (Reuters) - Kinross Gold Corp: * Kinross Gold says to proceed with Tasiast Phase Two and Round Mountain Phase W expansion projects * Kinross - Expect Tasiast Phase Two to increase mill capacity to 30,000 tonnes/day to produce average of about 812,000 gold ounces/year for first 5 yrs * Kinross - Tasiast Phase Two expected to generate free cash flow of $2.2 billion over life of mine; commercial production expected to begin Q3 2020 * Kinross - Expect initial construction for phase two to begin early 2018; expects initial plant, infrastructure capital costs of about $590 million * Kinross Gold - Round Mountain Phase W expected to extend mining by 5 years, increase life-of-mine production by 1.5 million au oz. at one of co’s mines * Kinross - Phase W expected to generate incremental cash flow of $265 million, sustain annual production at average of about 341,000 au oz. Through 2024 * Kinross Gold - expects to finance Tasiast Phase Two, Round Mountain Phase W projects with balance sheet, existing liquidity, operating cash flows  '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-kinross-gold-says-to-proceed-with/brief-kinross-gold-says-to-proceed-with-tasiast-phase-two-round-mountain-phase-w-expansion-projects-idUSB8N1LI02V'|'2017-09-18T16:13:00.000+03:00'
'3859be69a05d583ca8decfe502b5b4e44e13eea4'|'UPDATE 1-Petrobras to sell $2 billion in bonds, replace costlier debt'|'(Adds details on bonds, company''s debt burden, table) SAO PAULO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - State-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA plans to raise $2 billion from the sale of seven- and 10-year securities, replacing more expensive shorter-dated bonds as it seeks to trim a debt burden that is the largest among major oil firms. In a Monday securities filing, Petrobras said it will issue as much as $1 billion each of the new senior unsecured bonds coming due in 2025 and 2028, respectively. A person involved in the deal said Petrobras is offering to pay an interest rate between 5.5 percent and 6 percent for the January 2025 bond, and slightly above 6 percent for the January 2028 bond. Simultaneously, Petrobras has proposed that holders of different notes maturing between 2019 and 2021 either tender their debt or swap it for longer-dated securities. The deadline for the swap and repurchase tenders is 5:00 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) on Sept. 22, the filing said. The transaction, which follows a significant improvement in Brazil''s investment risk profile, underscores how Petrobras has regained the ability to obtain financing, both locally and overseas, amid efforts by Chief Executive Officer Pedro Parente to cut $85 billion of net debt. Over the past week, Petrobras has refinanced over $2 billion in trade finance and other types of loans with local and international lenders, smoothing out looming amortizations through the end of the decade. Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras, Brazil''s largest state-controlled firm, has been forced to sell assets and slash spending as it recovers from the plunge in oil prices and a giant price-fixing, bribery and political kick-back scandal. It has hired the investment-banking units of Bank of America Corp, Banco do Brasil SA, Citigroup Inc, Credit Agricole SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Banco Santander SA to manage the offering. Following is a table with the debt securities that Petrobras seeks to either swap or repurchase through the week. Petrobras has imposed a $500 million limit for the debt repurchase plan. TYPE OF TRANSACTION PRINCIPAL VALUE (OUTSTANDING) SWAP WITH NEW 2025 DEBT (4.875 pct bond $542.535 mln maturing 2020) SWAP WITH NEW 2025 DEBT (5.375 pct bond $5.250 bln maturing 2021) SWAP WITH NEW 2028 DEBT (7.875 pct bond $705.560 mln maturing 2019) SWAP WITH NEW 2028 DEBT (5.75 pct bond $1.165 bln maturing 2020) SWAP WITH NEW 2028 DEBT (8.375 pct bond $6.750 bln maturing 2021) REPURCHASE (7.875 pct bond maturing 2019) $705.560 mln REPURCHASE (4.875 pct bond maturing 2020) $542.535 mln REPURCHASE (5.75 pct bond maturing 2020) $1.165 bln REPURCHASE (5.375 pct bond maturing 2021) $5.250 bln REPURCHASE (8.375 pct bond maturing 2021) $6.750 bln (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/petrobras-bonds/update-1-petrobras-to-sell-2-billion-in-bonds-replace-costlier-debt-idINL2N1LZ0I7'|'2017-09-18T12:04:00.000+03:00'
'46b0b5aac624a66bb61c7805590968172023883a'|'AIA close to buying Commonwealth Bank of Australia''s $4 billion insurance unit - sources'|'September 20, 2017 / 9:37 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago AIA close to buying Commonwealth Bank of Australia''s $4 billion insurance unit: sources Sumeet Chatterjee 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Fortum, the largest electricity distribution operator in the Nordic region, is seen in Espoo, Finland December 12, 2013. Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto via REUTERS/File Photo via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. FINLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN FINLAND. - RC153604A700 HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based insurer AIA Group Ltd ( 1299.HK ) is close to acquiring Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) ( CBA.AX ) insurance business which is likely to be valued at nearly $4 billion, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. An announcement on the transaction is expected to be made as soon as this week, the people said, declining to be named as they were not authorized to talk about it before a public announcement. Spokesmen for AIA and CBA declined to comment. CBA said last month it was in talks to sell its life insurance business, although it did not name any potential buyer and added that the outcome of the negotiations was uncertain. Australia has become an attractive market for foreign insurers since the population and economy are growing faster than in most other developed markets and the regulatory regime is stable, analysts have said. Domestic banks’ insurance units have also struggled amid growing competition from the pure-play and large foreign insurance companies and due to new regulations demanding increased capital buffers for their main banking operations. That’s prompted a sector-wide sell-off of such assets. Reuters reported on Friday that Zurich Insurance Group AG ( ZURN.S ) bid for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s ( ANZ.AX ) life insurance and wealth business, valued at about $3 billion, citing sources who declined to be named as they were not allowed to discuss the deal publicly. National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ), the country’s No.3 lender by assets, sold its 80 percent stake in its life insurance arm to Japan’s Nippon Life NPNLI.UL for A$2.4 billion ($1.9 billion) in a deal that closed late last year. Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cba-m-a-aia-insurance/aia-close-to-buying-commonwealth-bank-of-australias-4-billion-insurance-unit-sources-idUKKCN1BV12S'|'2017-09-20T12:48:00.000+03:00'
'53f34f32ee48c31a21a1098c53723806c59213ec'|'Toshiba says seals $18 billion deal to sell chip unit to Bain Capital group'|'September 20, 2017 / 12:27 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Toshiba says seals $18 billion deal to sell chip unit to Bain Capital group Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Reporters raise their hands for a question during a news conference by Toshiba Corp CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa (not in picture) at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell its prized semiconductor business to a group led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP, a key step in keeping the struggling Japanese conglomerate listed on the Tokyo exchange. Toshiba said in a nighttime announcement through the exchange it had signed a contract for the deal worth about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) (£13.27 billion), the latest and perhaps final twist in a deal that only hours earlier had seen the company leading toward an agreement with its U.S. joint venture partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ). The decision to sell the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND memory chips, first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, was made at a board meeting earlier in the day. Toshiba said the agreement assumed the deal would weather legal challenges raised by Western Digital. A Western Digital spokeswoman said the company did not have an immediate comment. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-sale/toshiba-says-seals-18-billion-deal-to-sell-chip-unit-to-bain-capital-group-idUKKCN1BV1KR'|'2017-09-20T15:28:00.000+03:00'
'434aa27d9d4bd8edf2583a1fa9f485a5eb6459a6'|'Brazil''s telecommunications watchdog to vote against OI SA''s restructuring proposal'|'BRASILIA, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The president of Brazil’s telecommunications watchdog Anatel, Juarez Quadros, said the agency will vote against OI SA’s restructuring proposal at the creditor assembly on Oct. 9.Quadros said the watchdog will vote against the proposal for disagreeing with the inclusion of regulatory fines in the restructuring. (Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-anatel/brazils-telecommunications-watchdog-to-vote-against-oi-sas-restructuring-proposal-idINE6N1LL005'|'2017-09-20T14:21:00.000+03:00'
'e0571611bf783ed3d4595d456a0fc18d6e518b4a'|'UPDATE 1-Jakks Pacific expects 2017 loss due to Toys ''R'' Us bankruptcy'|'(Adds details, updates share price)Sept 20 (Reuters) - Toy maker Jakks Pacific Inc said on Wednesday it expects to report a net loss in fiscal 2017 due to charges related to bankruptcy of the biggest U.S. toy store chain Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.However, Jakks said it does not expect long-term material impact from the bankruptcy, sending its shares up as much as 11.3 percent to $3.15.Jakks said its uninsured claims from Toys ‘R’ Us amount to less than 3 percent of its outstanding receivables as of Sept. 18.The toymaker had reported a net income of $1.2 million in 2016.“2017 continues to present a challenging retail environment, which has now been further disrupted by the Toys ‘R’ Us Chapter 11 filing,” Jakks Chief Executive Stephen Berman said.The toy store chain filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 19, with a $5 billion long-term debt and received a commitment for up to $3.1 billion in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from lenders.“Nevertheless, the announced availability of DIP financing leaves us optimistic that we can resume our relationship with Toys ‘R’ Us as one of its significant suppliers,” Berman said.Jakks shares have fallen 7.2 percent since Sept. 17 on growing concerns about the retailer’s impending bankruptcy filing. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jakks-pacific-outlook/update-1-jakks-pacific-expects-2017-loss-due-to-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-idINL4N1M14PV'|'2017-09-20T16:36:00.000+03:00'
'9452bf6b48a110f61bb51aa1ae541661c51cfaba'|'Poll shows popular support for NAFTA as talks head into 3rd round'|'FILE PHOTO: A NAFTA banner is pictured where the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Mexico City, Mexico September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As negotiators head into the third round of talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, an IPSOS poll published on Thursday showed broad-based support among Americans, Canadians and Mexicans for the 23-year trade pact.Despite repeated attacks against NAFTA by U.S. President Donald Trump, the poll showed that 58 percent of American respondents overall, 79 percent of Mexicans and 74 percent of Canadians support their countries’ participation in one of the world’s biggest trading blocs.NAFTA underpins over $1 trillion a year in trade between the three countries, accounting for 39 percent of Canada’s GDP and 49 percent of Mexico’s but just 5 percent in the case of the United States, the world’s largest economy.The next round of negotiations is scheduled to begin in Ottawa on Saturday.A breakdown of the poll showed that just 27 percent of U.S. respondents between the ages 18 and 35 “strongly support” NAFTA, however, while only 16 percent of Americans 55 years and older strongly support being part of the trade agreement.Some 21 percent of younger Americans believe they have personally benefited from trade under NAFTA compared to 10 percent of older Americans, the poll said.It also showed that Americans overall were substantially less likely than Canadians or Mexicans to say free trade has helped their country.About 35 percent of Americans believe Mexico has benefited the most from NAFTA, according to the poll. That compares with 64 percent of Mexicans and 34 percent of Canadians who believe the United States has gained the most from the agreement.When it comes to renegotiating NAFTA, some 48 percent of Americans and 46 percent of Mexicans said they believed it was a good thing. But just 33 percent of Canadian respondents said revamping the treaty was a good step.A separate Reuters poll of economists showed on Thursday that the Mexican and Canadian economies should survive current NAFTA talks relatively unscathed. [L4N1M04FV]The economists said concerns about damage from the renegotiation may be overblown, with the most likely result of the talks being an updated trilateral agreement after many months or years.In the IPSOS poll, some 59 percent of Canadians said they were confident in their government’s ability to renegotiate NAFTA in Canada’s best interest. That compared with the 50 percent of Americans who said they were confident in the Trump administration’s ability to negotiate in their country’s best interest.Mexicans were more wary, with just 40 percent voicing confidence in their government’s ability to negotiate.If negotiations fail, 50 percent of Americans, 59 percent of Canadians and 60 percent of Mexicans said they would prefer that NAFTA continue in its current form.Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-poll-ipsos/poll-shows-popular-support-for-nafta-as-talks-head-into-third-round-idINKCN1BW2N3'|'2017-09-21T21:02:00.000+03:00'
'5af81d27b3b35b75f6627e45b712f6d0e2a96d86'|'Generic drugmaker Impax Labs in talks to merge with Amneal: WSJ'|'(Reuters) - Impax Laboratories Inc ( IPXL.O ) is in talks to merge with Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.Impax and privately held Amneal are in talks that could yield a transaction next month, according to the WSJ report. ( on.wsj.com/2xxSCV3 )Reuters reported in March that Impax had asked investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it conduct a strategic review, as it tries to cope with a tougher drug pricing environment.Amneal and Impax, which had a market valuation of $1.60 billion as of Wednesday’s close, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-impax-labs-m-a/generic-drugmaker-impax-labs-in-talks-to-merge-with-amneal-wsj-idINKCN1BW2IJ'|'2017-09-21T15:13:00.000+03:00'
'08fd363d6eac6d7bcf2031d3412c345db73e5843'|'Daimler to invest $1 billion in Alabama plant, create over 600 jobs'|'Reuters TV United States   4:04 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Daimler to invest $1 billion in Alabama plant, create over 600 jobs Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Daimler AG sign with raindrops is pictured before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) said it will invest $1 billion to expand its U.S.-based Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama to start building electric sport-utility vehicles there from about 2020. More than 600 new jobs will be created as part of the investment, which includes plans to build a facility in 2018 near the factory in Tuscaloosa to produce batteries for zero-emission vehicles, Daimler said on Thursday, confirming a Reuters story. Stuttgart-based Daimler is joining a rush to add car-making capacity in the world’s most profitable vehicle market that most analysts and industry executives expect to contract moderately over the next several years. Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Tom Sims'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-usa/daimler-to-invest-1-billion-in-alabama-plant-create-over-600-jobs-idUKKCN1BW2AU'|'2017-09-21T19:07:00.000+03:00'
'321fc9a2b66695ccde3ece0aebf1429337cd6442'|'Australia''s Tabcorp to stick with investor meeting date for Tatts merger'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo for Australian gambling company Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (TAB) is displayed outside a TAB branch in central Sydney, Australia, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo (Reuters) - Betting Firm Tabcorp Holdings ( TAH.AX ) said on Thursday it expected to stick to its October 18 date for a shareholder meeting to vote on its acquisition of lottery business Tatts Group ( TTS.AX ), despite a court decision blocking the deal.The A$6.15 billion ($4.93 billion) deal was cleared in June by the Australian Competition Tribunal but the antitrust regulator appealed the decision and won on Wednesday.The deal announced a year ago now faces further delays.($1 = 1.2469 Australian dollars)Reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye and Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-tatts-group-m-a-tabcorp/australias-tabcorp-to-stick-with-investor-meeting-date-for-tatts-merger-idINKCN1BV36O'|'2017-09-20T21:57:00.000+03:00'
'178057e6916fdbe82fb07a6af55d731e405359b8'|'Miner Hochschild on hunt for acquisitions - executive'|'September 20, 2017 / 11:17 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Miner Hochschild on hunt for acquisitions - executive Reuters Staff 1 Min Read AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) - London-based precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc ( HOCM.L ) is looking for opportunities to grow through acquisitions of early-stage projects, the chief executive said on Wednesday. Speaking during a presentation at the mining convention Perumin in southern Peru, Ignacio Bustamante added that the company expects to produce 37 million silver equivalent ounces, up from about 35.5 million last year. Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Sandra Maler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hochschild-min-m-a/miner-hochschild-on-hunt-for-acquisitions-executive-idUKKCN1BV35L'|'2017-09-21T02:18:00.000+03:00'
'64054d3e6ef9365d140f6e1e9fb31c28ebe293e9'|'UPDATE 1-Australia''s Cromwell seeks up to $1.1 bln with Singapore REIT offering -IFR'|'* Units offered in 0.55–0.57 euros range* Forecast yield up to 7.7 pct in fiscal 2018* IPO to be priced Sept. 21, debut Sept. 28 (Adds details on cornerstone investors, pricing and debut dates)HONG KONG, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust, a property trust sponsored by Australia’s Cromwell Property Group, launched on Monday an up to 927 million euros ($1.1 billion) initial public offering in Singapore, IFR reported citing a term sheet of the deal.The base offering for CEREIT, as the trust is called, consists of up to 1.296 billion units in an indicative range of 0.55–0.57 euros each, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. The REIT will also sell up to 334.8 million units to two cornerstone investors, the terms showed.Hillsboro Capital, the private investment holding firm for Philippines billionaire Andrew Tan, agreed to buy 100 million euros worth of units as a cornerstone investor, with U.S. buyout fund Cerberus Capital Management LP buying another 88 million euros worth of units, the term sheet showed.The units’ price is equivalent to a forecast dividend yield of up to 7.7 percent a year for fiscal 2018.At the top end of expectations, CEREIT will be valued at 1.25 billion euros, making it among the largest REITs in Singapore.The IPO will be priced on Sept. 21, with a debut on the Singapore stock exchange on Sept. 28. ($1 = 0.8374 euros) (Reporting by S. Anuradha of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/cromwell-prop-gp-ipo/update-1-australias-cromwell-seeks-up-to-1-1-bln-with-singapore-reit-offering-ifr-idINL4N1LZ1XV'|'2017-09-18T04:09:00.000+03:00'
'825cdb15c587f4f88ab9593a4132422e98d40ab7'|'Fewer hedge fund managers call it quits in 1st-half 2017'|'BOSTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The number of hedge funds closing their doors this year is slowing as investors add new money and performance improves.In the first six months of 2017, 481 hedge funds shut down compared with 530 funds shuttered during the first half of 2016, according to new data from Hedge Fund Research (HFR) released on Monday.This spells good news for the $3.1 trillion hedge fund industry after 1,057 funds went out of business last year, marking the biggest number of liquidations since the financial crisis. The industry currently counts about 8,200 hedge funds in all.Hedge fund investors have complained loudly about hefty fees and poor returns over the last several years and pulled out $70.1 billion in assets last year.But this year, investors are coming back, albeit slowly, having added $1.2 billion in new money since January, HFR data showed. Performance has also improved, with the average fund returning 5.4 percent in the first half, almost the exact figure for all of 2016.During the second quarter, 222 funds shut down compared with 259 in the first quarter of 2017.Notable funds that have gone out of business this year include Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital Management. More recently, John Burbank’s Passport Capital announced plans to shut its long-short equity fund.John Paulson said his Paulson & Co was shutting its long-short equity fund. And now Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management plans to close its multi-strategy master fund, roughly one year after having closed its fixed income fund.While the number of hedge fund closures is down, it remains much larger than the number of new launches, underscoring the difficulty in raising money from investors.In the first half of 2017, 369 new funds opened, compared with 729 in all of 2016 and a record 2,073 funds launched in 2005.Funds launching this year include Brandon Haley’s Holocene Advisors and Ben Melkman’s Light Sky Macro. Also Michael Gelband, the bond chief at Millennium Management, has registered a name for a fund he may launch. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hedgefunds-closures/fewer-hedge-fund-managers-call-it-quits-in-1st-half-2017-idINL2N1LZ1D2'|'2017-09-18T16:28:00.000+03:00'
'b0772a9c46206d00adfb779ed3209b71b24782f7'|'MOVES-Goldman Sachs names new investment banking co-heads for Southeast Asia'|'Sept 18 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs named Udhay Furtado and Harry Naysmith co-heads of its investment banking unit in Southeast Asia, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.Furtado, who joined Goldman Sachs more than a decade ago in Hong Kong, was mostly recently part of the company’s investment banking division in Singapore.Naysmith joined as a senior adviser in 2013, leading Goldman Sachs’ investment banking business in Indonesia.A Goldman Sachs spokeswoman in Hong Kong confirmed the contents of the memo. (Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D‘Couto) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/goldmansachs-moves/moves-goldman-sachs-names-new-investment-banking-co-heads-for-southeast-asia-idINL4N1LZ3MD'|'2017-09-18T12:19:00.000+03:00'
'7744cbb8d2e9e8b541b9fd4b383118e4493c9f8d'|'JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Danske Bank chosen for Nykredit IPO'|'General view of a building of Danish finance institute Nykredit in Copenhagen, November 5, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish mortgage lender Nykredit ( IPO-NYKRD.CO ) and its owner Forenet Nykredit have chosen U.S. banks JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Danske Bank ( DANSKE.CO ) as joint global coordinators for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).Nykredit said in February 2016 it was aiming at an IPO in the following 12 to 24 months. Reuters reported in July that Morgan Stanley was seen as standing a good chance of securing a lead role.Nykredit CEO Michael Rasmussen told Reuters last month that its positive Q2 report showed that the company would be ready for an IPO around March or April next year but that the timing would depend on the market situation.Reporting by Teis Jensen, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nykredit-holding-ipo/jpmorgan-morgan-stanley-and-danske-bank-chosen-for-nykredit-ipo-idINKCN1BU1RH'|'2017-09-19T11:31:00.000+03:00'
'504af162d2c9bc22aa275fe77b8e931a223041a5'|'Toronto Stock Exchange seeks partnerships with Gulf bourses'|'The Toronto Stock Exchange sign is seen in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren DUBAI (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange, which is vying to host Saudi Aramco’s IPO-ARMO.SE overseas listing, is exploring partnerships with bourses in the Gulf to help it tap into energy privatizations there. The exchange, the global leader for oil and gas listings, expects that such collaborations would encourage parallel listings of Middle East companies, said Monica Rovers, head of business development for global energy at Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, part of the TMX Group ( X.TO ).Toronto has similar collaborations with stock exchanges in Oslo and Bogota and is exploring an agreement with Mexico’s stock exchange.“A partnership with a stock exchange in the (Gulf) region is a possibility,” Rovers told Reuters during a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Oman.“There seems to be a new wave of thinking in the Middle East of companies considering privatization and that’s one of the reasons we are here.”She said the cost of listing in Canada was around 30 percent less than in New York, while the time taken to list was also shorter. A well prepared company could list within about three months, she said.Aramco remains the big target, and attracting it would also make Toronto more attractive to Gulf companies.“We are one of the exchanges that would love to have Aramco listed with us and we worked together with a consortium of major Canadian banks and broker-dealers to try to bring that listing to TSX,” Rovers said.Saudi authorities aim to list up to 5 percent of Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100 billion.New York and London are widely seen as the frontrunners in the race to secure the overseas listing, but Toronto, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo are also among contenders to attract a slice.About 10 percent of companies listed in Toronto are from outside Canada and the exchange wants to increase that proportion.Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tmx-grp-mideast-listing/toronto-stock-exchange-seeks-partnerships-with-gulf-bourses-idUSKCN1BU1VO'|'2017-09-19T17:14:00.000+03:00'
'e3f20902595a65bfaf404215f36dc20779c8f090'|'Northrop Grumman to buy missile maker Orbital for $7.8 billion'|'September 18, 2017 / 10:36 AM / Updated an hour ago Northrop Grumman to buy missile maker Orbital for $7.8 billion Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: UAV helicopter build by Northrop Gruman is on deck aboard the soon to be commissioned littoral combat ship USS Coronado during a media tour in Coronado, California April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp ( NOC.N ) said on Monday it would buy missile and rocket maker Orbital ATK Inc ( OA.N ) for about $7.8 billion in cash, giving it access to lucrative contracts with NASA and the U.S. Army. The deal, which comes as North Korea tests threatening missiles, will also help Northrop increase its arsenal of missile defense systems and is a rare departure for the company, which has not made a large acquisition in several years. It last bought TRW Inc in 2002 for about $7.8 billion. The acquisition, which would establish Orbital as a new, fourth business sector under Northrop, also comes ahead of a likely jump in demand from the planned upgrades of U.S. ballistic systems. The Air Force last summer called for proposals to replace its aging nuclear cruise missiles and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system as the military moves ahead with a costly modernization of older atomic weapons systems. Northrop’s offer price of $134.50 per Orbital share represents a premium of 22 percent over the stock’s Friday close. Orbital’s shares were trading at $131.75 before the bell. Northrop will assume $1.4 billion in Orbital’s net debt and the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2018. Orbital’s main businesses of missile defense, government satellites and the prospect to develop an in-orbit satellite servicing business “clearly make sense” for Northrop, analysts at Stifel said on Sunday following news reports of a potential deal. Orbital is one of two companies hired by NASA to fly cargo to the International Space Station under an initial contract worth up to $3.1 billion. Northrop’s other businesses, such as aerospace systems, mission systems and technology services, provide manned aircraft, electronic warfare systems and network defense services. The two companies’ complementary offerings will help increase efficiency, boost revenue and save costs, Northrop Chief Executive Wes Bush said in a statement. “Given that Northrop already operates in the space field, it is possible that there could be some overlapping activity or increased vertical integration that could prompt regulatory scrutiny,” Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard said in a client note on Monday. On a pro-forma basis, Northrop said it expects 2017 sales of $29.5 billion to $30 billion. Perella Weinberg Partners LP is the financial adviser to Northrop, while Citigroup is advising Orbital. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-orbital-atk-m-a-northrop-grumman/northrop-grumman-to-buy-missile-maker-orbital-for-7-8-billion-idUKKCN1BT0ZZ'|'2017-09-18T15:06:00.000+03:00'
'c73a4d427809bb6306f3453c7d2b98ca5b5a36a2'|'Electric London cabs spur reopening of UK aluminium plant'|'September 17, 2017 / 11:15 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Electric London cabs spur reopening of UK aluminium plant Eric Onstad 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Norwegian aluminium components producer Sapa is reopening a British plant to supply material for the country’s first electric vehicle factory that will produce London black cabs. The move is a welcome one for Britain as it negotiates a divorce from the European Union that some fear will dampen investment. Sapa will provide lightweight aluminium from a factory in Wales for the electric taxis, which are due to be launched this year by Chinese company Geely’s ( 0175.HK ) The London Electric Vehicle Company, Sapa said on Monday. Geely opened a new factory in central England in March to produce the electric black cabs. It joins a trend by automakers to mass-produce electric vehicles, spurred on by government crackdowns on emissions, falling battery costs and the increasing range of electric cars. By using aluminium, automakers can achieve weight savings of up to 50 percent compared with steel and improve the energy efficiency of vehicles. Sapa, the world’s biggest aluminium extrusion producer, closed a slew of factories including the Welsh one in 2014 due to excess capacity. Extrusions are formed by forcing heated aluminium through a steel die to create components. “This was the first plant we had to sacrifice, but it is also the first one to be reopened,” John Thuestad, Sapa’s head of extrusions for Europe, told Reuters. “The auto sector is only 15 percent of our (global) business, but it is currently driving the majority of our growth.” Sapa will invest 9.6 million pounds to revive the aluminium plant in Bedwas, Wales, which will produce 148 components and eventually employ 130 workers. The company, owned by Norway’s aluminium group Norsk Hydro ( NHY.OL ), designs and produces products from aluminium for sectors ranging from construction to aerospace and autos. The London Electric Vehicle Company, previously the London Taxi Company, has said it aims to produce about 10,000 vehicles a year for British and overseas markets. From January, all new cabs in London have to be zero-emissions capable, meaning they cannot be diesel and must be either fully electric or hybrid, according to rules introduced by the mayor of London. Sapa already provides aluminium to carmakers in Europe, including Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover ( TAMO.NS ). “Our plant is geared up to support the booming automotive industry in the UK and we see the trend absolutely continuing towards aluminium as a solution for their lightweighting challenges,” said Barnaby Struthers, Sapa’s business development manager in Britain. Reporting by Eric Onstad; editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aluminium-sapa-britain/electric-london-cabs-spur-reopening-of-uk-aluminium-plant-idUKKCN1BS0YP'|'2017-09-18T02:14:00.000+03:00'
'7ca6b5c2a93ec90f0d81d38ef61e82a2c77130f4'|'RPT-Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion'|'  2:09 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago RPT-Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion Reuters Staff (Adds link to coffee industry story, paragraph 8) * Lavazza to open flagship store near Starbucks site * illycaffe already has store in same part of Milan * Starbucks plans first store next year, others may follow By Francesca Landini MILAN, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Two of Italy’s biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks is set to begin an invasion next year. Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first Italian store, a ‘Reserve Roasteries’ outlet offering speciality blends and fine food. Another top Italian brand, illycaffe, opened its own luxury cafe close to the Starbucks site in May, in a cosy courtyard in Milan’s most fashionable street. Lavazza, which is opening near the city’s famous La Scala opera house, and illycaffe both deny their moves are a response to a global rival’s impending arrival, a first step in what may become a 200-store expansion. Industry experts suspect it is no coincidence. “Lavazza and illycaffe are the purists of coffee, they want to show they are there when Starbucks arrives,” says Jean-Paul Gaillard, who ran Nespresso for 10 years before founding the Ethical Coffee Company, a Swiss firm selling coffee pods. Milan’s battle of the coffee palaces reflects global competition among major brands to capture a growing market for people who are prepared to pay a premium for quality espresso coffees in upmarket boutique cafes. Nestle last week bought California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, one of the top boutique U.S. chains whose single-origin and cold-brewed coffees have proven popular with hipsters and have made inroads into the Starbucks franchise. JAB Holdings, the investment vehicle of Germany’s Reimann family, has also been buying up independent start-ups selling premium brews around the world, from Europe to the Americas. Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz hopes his company’s arrival in Milan, which he calls the home of the “perfect espresso”, and the inspiration for his Starbucks vision, will show discerning Italian coffee-lovers that “we got it right”. “We are happy to hear about Lavazza’s growth,” said a Starbucks spokesman when asked to comment on Lavazza’s opening. The U.S. chain will open its 2,400-square-metre cafe in late 2018, seeking to attract tourists, young Italians and the business crowd. If the Milan experiment succeeds, Starbucks and its local partner, Antonio Percassi, could open more than 200 stores in Italy over six years, according to Percassi. Some analysts are sceptical that Starbucks can crack a market where espresso typically sells for just one euro ($1.20), a fraction of the price of a Starbucks coffee. But the local brands are also gambling Italians will spend much more than one euro for a restaurant-style experience: illycaffe charges around three times that for coffee brought to the table. Nestle, JAB Holdings and Starbucks are the three largest players in the global coffee market, followed by several mid-tier players including Lavazza and illycaffe. “As the biggest get bigger, mid-tier companies are in a position where they must either expand or risk being left behind or swallowed up by their massive rivals,” said Matthew Berry, an analyst at market research firm Euromonitor International. Lavazza’s chief executive and some of its family owners will cut a ribbon to launch their cafe, where customers can sip a blend of coffee specifically crafted for the store, taste gourmet food and buy single-origin coffees. “The opening of the new flagship store has nothing to do with Starbucks,” a Lavazza spokeswoman said, adding that it was solely aimed at giving people an exclusive Lavazza experience. The group is primarily a roaster and supplier to independent cafes and restaurants rather than a retailer and its new store is a way of boosting brand visibility on the high street. Lavazza went on an acquisition spree three years ago, buying up three coffee suppliers in Europe and Canada, boosting sales to nearly 2 billion euros last year. It has overtaken Starbucks in supermarket sales, Euromonitor International says. Illycaffe sells its coffee both through independent cafes and 230 mono-brand stores, some of them directly owned, in 43 countries, and says it wants to develop the network further, though not via major acquisitions. “The new store wants to be a landmark for the global nomad in search for the real Italian lifestyle experience,” illycaffe said, without commenting on the arrival of Starbucks. Milanese coffee society is divided on whether Starbucks can make its name at the high-end of Italian market, the world’s fourth-largest coffee consumer. “I am curious about Starbucks, I will give it a try when it arrives in Milan,” office worker Giuseppe Gaggiano, 55, said at a small, upmarket independent cafe close to the Starbucks site. However, another customer there, Alberto Paparusso, 31, said he wouldn’t abandon his usual cafe: “I don’t like Starbucks coffee. It’s not worth going there.” ($1 = 0.8371 euros) (Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Editing by Mark Bendeich and Philippa Fletcher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/italy-coffee/rpt-coffee-rivals-square-off-in-italy-ahead-of-starbucks-invasion-idUSL5N1LZ404'|'2017-09-18T17:08:00.000+03:00'
'7f726c3a9bdafa82523a1254f7c94e53e63714fc'|'Wenner Media explores strategic options for Rolling Stone magazine'|'September 18, 2017 / 3:22 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Wenner Media explores sale of Rolling Stone magazine Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Wenner Media [WENNM.UL] said it is exploring strategic options for its majority interest in the Rolling Stone magazine, as the New York-based publisher continues to shift from its print media business amid falling ad revenues. The company recently sold its two other magazines, Us Weekly and Men’s Journal, highlighting the struggles of the industry as advertising revenues fall in an increasingly competitive online age. Last year, Singapore''s BandLab Technologies bought a 49 percent stake in Rolling Stone. reut.rs/2xJL1nh Rolling Stone, the top brand in music publishing, brings out 12 international editions in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Russia, and says it reaches an audience of over 65 million people. The magazine is also known for edgy reporting typified by correspondents like Matt Taibbi, who skewered Wall Street titans during the global financial crisis, and the late Hunter S. Thompson, originator of the gonzo style of first-person journalism. Wenner Media retained Methuselah Advisors as its financial adviser for the process, it said late Sunday. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-wenner-media-rolling-stone/wenner-media-explores-strategic-options-for-rolling-stone-magazine-idINKCN1BT07B'|'2017-09-18T01:22:00.000+03:00'
'438079366d14691e6c0e7d49fab1bbd9e54a7719'|'Giorgio Armani says successor need not be Italian'|'September 18, 2017 / 3:11 PM / Updated an hour ago Giorgio Armani says successor need not be Italian Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Italian designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause at the end of his Fall/Winter 2006/2007 men''s collection fashion show during Milan Fashion Week January 19, 2006. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Octogenarian fashion designer Giorgio Armani said on Monday the image of his brand might benefit if he picked a successor - who did not necessarily have to be Italian - for when he retired. Now 83 and still running the company he founded in the 1970s, Armani has never made explicit who he would want to take over the reins at Italy’s second-biggest fashion house once he steps down. In a first move aimed at addressing succession issues, Armani last year created a foundation in his name to safeguard the group’s future. In an interview with Italian TV channel RaiNews24 on Monday, Armani said there were people inside the group who could carry on his work. “I have several little heirs,” he said mentioning his two nieces and his nephew and his long-time assistant Pantaleo Dell‘Orco. “(These are) people who could do good things following up on my path.” FILE PHOTO: Italian designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Italy, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo Armani’s nieces Roberta and Silvana both work at the group while their cousin, Andrea Camerana, recently left but is still a board member. Dell‘Orco heads the men’s lines and sits on the foundation’s board. “However, clearly in the world we live in, a heir is important because they have to be somehow visible, must attend evening social occasions and be photographed,” Armani added. There were well-established fashion designers who fit the bill though he would not want to name any. But looking for someone “younger, fresher” would be better, he said. Asked if the person had to be Italian, he said: “It’s not a given. Let’s remember that in the 1970s-1980s, fashion designers were French and they were the ones we followed.” He spoke in London where he showcased the Spring/Summer women’s collection of his younger Emporio Armani brand, returning to the British capital’s fashion week after an 11-year absence with models dressed in billowing, pastel-coloured fabrics. Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, writing by Valentina Za, editing by John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fashion-armani-succession/giorgio-armani-says-successor-need-not-be-italian-idUKKCN1BT1UC'|'2017-09-18T18:14:00.000+03:00'
'd2a5bc7715767d13a087e466ad10cdc3b2f5fe53'|'Pirelli CEO says core shareholders have no plans to sell stakes'|'Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - State-owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) will give up control of Pirelli as part of the Italian tyremaker’s return to the bourse to show Beijing has a market friendly approach to investments in Europe, Pirelli’s chief executive said on Monday.ChemChina took over Pirelli two years ago by taking a 65 percent stake in the holding company controlling the maker of Ferrari racing tyres, which was then de-listed from the Milan bourse.The world’s fifth-largest tyre maker is now coming back on the market with an initial public offer of up to 40 percent of its capital, and the Chinese will have between 45 and 46.7 percent after the sale.Pirelli has long said the Chinese had a hands-off attitude to the company’s management, but their reducing the stake below 50 percent comes at a time of growing wariness over Chinese investments in Europe.Last week, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker proposed limits to China’s ability to buy up companies in infrastructure, hi-tech manufacturing and energy.ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin was recently confirmed as Pirelli’s chairman and there is a strong Chinese presence on the board, but a set of bylaws was agreed to protect Pirelli’s technological know-how and governance.“They (ChemChina) agreed to all the conditions that we put forward on the governance front,” Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera told reporters as the IPO officially kicked off.“They wanted to show that their investment is a financial one and respects the autonomy and responsibility of the management, and above all respects the minorities.”Established in 1872 and one of Italy’s best-known corporate names, Pirelli is expected to start trading on the Milan stock market - where it had traded since 1922 before the de-listing - on Oct. 4.Its IPO price range values Pirelli at between 6.3 billion and 8.3 billion euros - a tad lower than core shareholders had hoped for. Pirelli seeks to raise up to 3.3 billion euros in the IPO, which would make it the second-biggest in Europe this year.The relisting will test demand for a streamlined firm that focuses on high-end consumer tyres for upmarket brands such as Mercedes, Audi and BMW after its less profitable truck and industrial tyre business was folded into a unit of ChemChina.With high-value products expected to account for about 63 percent of revenue by the end of 2020, Pirelli aims to market itself as a top-end industrial player.But while the valuation being sought puts Pirelli above Michelin ( MICP.PA ) and Continental ( CONG.DE ), it falls short of the industry’s most highly valued manufacturer, Finland’s Nokian ( NRE1V.HE ).Pirelli had expected to list in the first half of 2018 but brought forward the plans due to favorable market conditions, reaching an investment grade rating earlier than expected and after executing a series of steps to cut debt.Camfin, the holding company of Tronchetti Provera and banks UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) and Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), will see their stake of around 22 percent cut to between 10 and 12 percent after the IPO.Investment fund LTI, linked to Rosneft, will have between 5 and 6.6 percent. LTI has a lock-up period of 180 days after the IPO, shorter than the other two core shareholders, and there has been strong market speculation that it might sell out after that.However, Tronchetti Provera said on Monday that none of the main investors had expressed a willingness to sell.Pirelli will be included on a newly created bourse index dedicated to key Italian lifestyle companies, which will also feature Ferrari ( RACE.MI ) and drinks maker Campari ( CPRI.MI ).Asked about his own succession, Tronchetti Provera said he already had “an envelope with a name” of who might follow him, adding the person would come from his current team.The 69-year-old executive ruled out extending his own mandate past 2020, saying being in his early 70s was “the right age to watch future developments from the outside”.(The story has been refiled to fix typo in paragraph 4)Additional reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo/pirelli-ceo-says-core-shareholders-have-no-plans-to-sell-stakes-idINKCN1BT0YB'|'2017-09-18T08:18:00.000+03:00'
'496f013d7f458556eeff54fa68635871b7967714'|'Brazil''s Camil delays IPO for six days to add documents'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Camil Alimentos SA, Brazil’s second-largest canned fish producer, decided to delay the pricing of an initial public offering for six more days, in order to make up-to-date financial information available to potential investors.In a statement to markets watchdog CVM, Camil said the new pricing date for the IPO will be Sept. 26, instead of Sept. 20. The company and shareholders including Warburg Pincus LLC expect to raise up to 1.7 billion reais ($542 million) in the offering.$1 = 3.1359 reais Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Flavia Bohone; Editing by Sandra MalerEditing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/camil-alimentos-ipo/brazils-camil-delays-ipo-for-six-days-to-add-documents-idINL2N1M020Q'|'2017-09-19T18:12:00.000+03:00'
'f4a615bf67457f83fa672c651d9e4e76ba7811a8'|'CORRECTED-Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion'|'  1:39 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion Reuters Staff * Lavazza to open flagship store near Starbucks site * illycaffe already has store in same part of Milan * Starbucks plans first store next year, others may follow By Francesca Landini MILAN, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Two of Italy’s biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks is set to begin an invasion next year. Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first Italian store, a ‘Reserve Roasteries’ outlet offering speciality blends and fine food. Another top Italian brand, illycaffe, opened its own luxury cafe close to the Starbucks site in May, in a cosy courtyard in Milan’s most fashionable street. Lavazza, which is opening near the city’s famous La Scala opera house, and illycaffe both deny their moves are a response to a global rival’s impending arrival, a first step in what may become a 200-store expansion. Industry experts suspect it is no coincidence. “Lavazza and illycaffe are the purists of coffee, they want to show they are there when Starbucks arrives,” says Jean-Paul Gaillard, who ran Nespresso for 10 years before founding the Ethical Coffee Company, a Swiss firm selling coffee pods. Milan’s battle of the coffee palaces reflects global competition among major brands to capture a growing market for people who are prepared to pay a premium for quality espresso coffees in upmarket boutique cafes. Nestle last week bought California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, one of the top boutique U.S. chains whose single-origin and cold-brewed coffees have proven popular with hipsters and have made inroads into the Starbucks franchise. JAB Holdings, the investment vehicle of Germany’s Reimann family, has also been buying up independent start-ups selling premium brews around the world, from Europe to the Americas. Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz hopes his company’s arrival in Milan, which he calls the home of the “perfect espresso”, and the inspiration for his Starbucks vision, will show discerning Italian coffee-lovers that “we got it right”. “We are happy to hear about Lavazza’s growth,” said a Starbucks spokesman when asked to comment on Lavazza’s opening. The U.S. chain will open its 2,400-square-metre cafe in late 2018, seeking to attract tourists, young Italians and the business crowd. If the Milan experiment succeeds, Starbucks and its local partner, Antonio Percassi, could open more than 200 stores in Italy over six years, according to Percassi. Some analysts are sceptical that Starbucks can crack a market where espresso typically sells for just one euro ($1.20), a fraction of the price of a Starbucks coffee. But the local brands are also gambling Italians will spend much more than one euro for a restaurant-style experience: illycaffe charges around three times that for coffee brought to the table. Nestle, JAB Holdings and Starbucks are the three largest players in the global coffee market, followed by several mid-tier players including Lavazza and illycaffe. “As the biggest get bigger, mid-tier companies are in a position where they must either expand or risk being left behind or swallowed up by their massive rivals,” said Matthew Berry, an analyst at market research firm Euromonitor International. Lavazza’s chief executive and some of its family owners will cut a ribbon to launch their cafe, where customers can sip a blend of coffee specifically crafted for the store, taste gourmet food and buy single-origin coffees. “The opening of the new flagship store has nothing to do with Starbucks,” a Lavazza spokeswoman said, adding that it was solely aimed at giving people an exclusive Lavazza experience. The group is primarily a roaster and supplier to independent cafes and restaurants rather than a retailer and its new store is a way of boosting brand visibility on the high street. Lavazza went on an acquisition spree three years ago, buying up three coffee suppliers in Europe and Canada, boosting sales to nearly 2 billion euros last year. It has overtaken Starbucks in supermarket sales, Euromonitor International says. Illycaffe sells its coffee both through independent cafes and 230 mono-brand stores, some of them directly owned, in 43 countries, and says it wants to develop the network further, though not via major acquisitions. “The new store wants to be a landmark for the global nomad in search for the real Italian lifestyle experience,” illycaffe said, without commenting on the arrival of Starbucks. Milanese coffee society is divided on whether Starbucks can make its name at the high-end of Italian market, the world’s fourth-largest coffee consumer. “I am curious about Starbucks, I will give it a try when it arrives in Milan,” office worker Giuseppe Gaggiano, 55, said at a small, upmarket independent cafe close to the Starbucks site. However, another customer there, Alberto Paparusso, 31, said he wouldn’t abandon his usual cafe: “I don’t like Starbucks coffee. It’s not worth going there.” ($1 = 0.8371 euros) (Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Editing by Mark Bendeich and Philippa Fletcher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/italy-coffee/coffee-rivals-square-off-in-italy-ahead-of-starbucks-invasion-idUSL4N1LW4XV'|'2017-09-18T18:54:00.000+03:00'
'113a98cfca98cd86e7de73c959a1ba8b8e295db3'|'May says will press Trump this week on Bombardier/Boeing row'|'September 18, 2017 / 5:21 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago May to press Trump this week on Boeing/Bombardier dispute David Ljunggren 3 Min Read Canada''s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May walk in the Hall of Honour on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie OTTAWA (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she would press U.S. President Donald Trump this week about a trade challenge by Boeing Co ( BA.N ) that could endanger thousands of aerospace jobs in Northern Ireland. May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are worried about Boeing’s move against Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), which is the single largest manufacturing employer in Northern Ireland and Canada’s most important aerospace firm. May raised the issue with Trump in a call earlier this month and told reporters in Ottawa she would do so again this week on the margins of the United Nations. “I will be impressing on him the significance of Bombardier to the United Kingdom ... I want to see a resolution that protects those jobs in Northern Ireland,” she said after talks with Trudeau where both leaders agreed to work together to make the point that Boeing should back down. May’s minority Conservative government depends on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for their majority control of the British parliament. Boeing has accused Bombardier of dumping its new CSeries passenger jet in the U.S. aircraft market, a charge the Canadian firm denies. Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May takes part in a meeting with Canada''s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (not pictured) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie A U.S. trade court is due to give a preliminary ruling on Boeing’s complaint on Sept. 25. “I am very happy to be working with Prime Minister May to explain to the American administration how Boeing’s actions are harmful to workers here in Canada,” Trudeau told reporters. Slideshow (2 Images) Trudeau reiterated that Canada would not talk to Boeing about a proposed purchase of 18 F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets until the firm had dropped its challenge. “We won’t do business with a company trying to ... put our aerospace workers out of business,” he said. May sidestepped a question as to whether the two leaders had discussed trying to jointly pressure Boeing by refusing to buy its planes. Canada last month tried to end the dispute by suggesting it could withdraw a threat not to buy the Super Hornets if Boeing withdrew the challenge, sources said, but Boeing rejected the idea. Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by G Crosse'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-canada-britain/may-says-will-press-trump-this-week-on-bombardier-boeing-spat-idUKKCN1BT27M'|'2017-09-18T20:42:00.000+03:00'
'45a1941e9baa7a0d6a7c8eb52d0995ec38b308c3'|'Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst'|'  4:58 PM / Updated an hour ago Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst 2 Min Read The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla ( TSLA.O ) fell from record highs on Tuesday after an analyst warned that the electric car maker may take longer than expected to become profitable. Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois launched coverage of Tesla with an “underperform” rating, helping send shares of the company headed by entrepreneur billionaire Elon Musk down 2.17 percent to $376.74 after closing at a record high the day before. “Achievements to-date and vision are impressive, but we don’t think Tesla’s vertically integrated business model can be scaled up as profitably and quickly as consensus thinks and valuation multiples imply,” Houchois warned in a research note. Houchois’ $280 price target was well below the median analyst price target of $337.50, according to Thomson Reuters data. Musk is counting on the recently launched Model 3, Tesla’s least pricey car, to make the Palo Alto, California company profitable and establish it as the leading electric carmaker ahead of BMW ( BMWG.DE ), General Motors ( GM.N ) and other long-established players. Wall Street’s confidence in Musk has sent Tesla’s stock up 83 percent over the past year to record highs. Skeptics believe Tesla’s aggressive production targets are unrealistic, that Musk is burning through cash too quickly and that the company’s electric cars will be overtaken by larger automakers. Eight analysts recommend buying Tesla’s stock, while another eight recommend selling, and eight others have neutral ratings, according to Thomson Reuters data. That makes Tesla one of the 10 most poorly-rated stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index. Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Diane Craft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stocks/tesla-shares-fall-from-record-high-after-warning-from-analyst-idUKKCN1BU2C1'|'2017-09-19T20:01:00.000+03:00'
'fdaa969df1f51009885cb32db783cf2828053b7d'|'Asia steady after Wall St. notches record highs, dollar holds firm'|'A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose, the dollar gained while U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it expects one more interest rake hike by the end of the year.In its statement, the Fed, as expected, left rates unchanged and also said it would begin in October to reduce its approximately $4.2 trillion in holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities.Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields jumped to their highest levels in six weeks. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR fell 11/32 in price to yield 2.29 percent, up from 2.24 percent before the Fed’s statement and the highest level since Aug. 8.The reaction in the Treasury market “suggests a lot of people maybe weren’t anticipating the Fed would stick with the third rate hike expectation this year. So there’s a little adjustment going on there,” said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Boston.Interest rate futures traders are now pricing in a 72-percent chance of a December rate hike, up from roughly 60 percent before the statement, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.Financial shares added to gains following the statement while utilities declined.Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 7.97 points, or 0.04 percent, to 22,378.77, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.64 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,504.01 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 21.76 points, or 0.34 percent, to 6,439.57.lost 0.09The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 lost 0.18 percent. MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS shed 0.25 percent.Slideshow (2 Images) The dollar index .DXY rose 0.75 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.83 percent to $1.1892.Stocks had been mostly flat ahead of the Fed statement, while the dollar had been trading slightly lower.Earlier, the New Zealand dollar hit its strongest in more than a month at $0.7374 NZD= after a poll showed the ruling National Party regaining a wide lead over the opposition before Saturday''s election.Oil prices were higher. They earlier pared gains after data showed a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories.U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.5 percent to $50.65 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $55.86, up 1.75 percent on the day.Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru, Nigel Stephenson in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Catherine Evans and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-steady-after-wall-st-notches-record-highs-dollar-holds-firm-idUSKCN1BV02L'|'2017-09-20T03:54:00.000+03:00'
'9b95ab00f5763fc8c41151af5e2d3024e8db3b0d'|'Italy watchdog probes Ryanair cancellation chaos'|'People walk to board a Ryanair flight at Stansted Airport, northeast of London, Britain, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s antitrust watchdog said on Wednesday it had opened a probe into thousands of flight cancellations by Ryanair, which it said the low-cost airline could have prevented.Ryanair is bracing for reputational damage and up to 20 million euros ($24 million) in compensation claims after suddenly scrapping flights across Europe over staffing issues.In Italy, where Ryanair carries more passengers a year than any other airline, the antitrust agency is now looking into whether it has violated consumers’ rights. If found at fault, the airline faces a maximum fine of 5 million euros.The cancellations may have been “largely due to foreseen organizational and management reasons ... not random, external causes outside of (the company‘s) control,” the antitrust agency said in a statement.The antitrust agency is also looking into whether Ryanair clearly informed its customers of their rights to compensation.Italian Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said this week customers’ rights had to be protected, adding: “We cannot make allowances for anyone who creates so much inconvenience.”But Delrio said the Irish airline was nonetheless a “healthy” company, and could go ahead with a bid for Italy’s insolvent flag carrier Alitalia, which has received several state bailouts.Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary said last week his firm was finalizing a bid to buy Alitalia.O‘Leary admitted to a “mess up” over the recent wave of cancellations, saying they were caused by a transition to a new system of allocating leave to pilots.He denied suggestions from a pilot group that Ryanair has a deeper problem in hiring and retaining pilots. ($1 = 0.8333 euros)Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-cancellation-italy/italy-watchdog-probes-ryanair-cancellation-chaos-idUSKCN1BV2ED'|'2017-09-20T19:58:00.000+03:00'
'bb33b578f7b3bdc6fc8b76be61cf1c4a07724ddf'|'Employees not yet on board on Thyssenkrupp, Tata merger plans-German minister'|'BERLIN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Wednesday that employees were not yet convinced about plans for Germany’s Thyssenkrupp and India’s Tata Steel to merge and added that all affected parties needed to accept any deal.Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel struck a preliminary deal on Wednesday to merge their European steel operations in a 50-50 joint venture to create the continent’s No.2 steelmaker after ArcelorMittal.“The employees are not yet convinced about this decision and they are very concerned about job losses,” Zypries said in an emailed statement.“It’s not conceivable that there could be a sustainable solution that goes against the will of the employees and the company management needs to know that,” Zypries added. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Michael Nienaber) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-zypries/employees-not-yet-on-board-on-thyssenkrupp-tata-merger-plans-german-minister-idINL5N1M12LO'|'2017-09-20T08:15:00.000+03:00'
'2869633ee4898434810c7d67af4c43ca2a828bd9'|'Australia''s Cromwell seeks up to $1.1 billion with Singapore REIT offering - IFR'|'HONG KONG (Reuters) - Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust, a property trust sponsored by Australia’s Cromwell Property Group ( CMW.AX ), launched on Monday an up to 927 million euros ($1.1 billion) initial public offering in Singapore, IFR reported citing a term sheet of the deal.The base offering for CEREIT, as the trust is called, consists of up to 1.296 billion units in an indicative range of 0.55–0.57 euros each, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. The REIT will also sell up to 334.8 million units to two cornerstone investors, the terms showed.Hillsboro Capital, the private investment holding firm for Philippines billionaire Andrew Tan, agreed to buy 100 million euros worth of units as a cornerstone investor, with U.S. buyout fund Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL] buying another 88 million euros worth of units, the term sheet showed.The units’ price is equivalent to a forecast dividend yield of up to 7.7 percent a year for fiscal 2018.At the top end of expectations, CEREIT will be valued at 1.25 billion euros, making it among the largest REITs in Singapore.The IPO will be priced on Sept. 21, with a debut on the Singapore stock exchange on Sept. 28.($1 = 0.8374 euros)Reporting by S. Anuradha of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cromwell-prop-gp-ipo/australias-cromwell-seeks-up-to-1-1-billion-with-singapore-reit-offering-ifr-idINKCN1BT0NO'|'2017-09-18T06:02:00.000+03:00'
'902a4419de9c5872e3f84dc0b6a3c1bad9aac7a0'|'RPT-Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion'|'(Adds link to coffee industry story, paragraph 8)* Lavazza to open flagship store near Starbucks site* illycaffe already has store in same part of Milan* Starbucks plans first store next year, others may followBy Francesca LandiniMILAN, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Two of Italy’s biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks is set to begin an invasion next year.Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first Italian store, a ‘Reserve Roasteries’ outlet offering speciality blends and fine food.Another top Italian brand, illycaffe, opened its own luxury cafe close to the Starbucks site in May, in a cosy courtyard in Milan’s most fashionable street.Lavazza, which is opening near the city’s famous La Scala opera house, and illycaffe both deny their moves are a response to a global rival’s impending arrival, a first step in what may become a 200-store expansion.Industry experts suspect it is no coincidence.“Lavazza and illycaffe are the purists of coffee, they want to show they are there when Starbucks arrives,” says Jean-Paul Gaillard, who ran Nespresso for 10 years before founding the Ethical Coffee Company, a Swiss firm selling coffee pods.Milan’s battle of the coffee palaces reflects global competition among major brands to capture a growing market for people who are prepared to pay a premium for quality espresso coffees in upmarket boutique cafes.Nestle last week bought California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, one of the top boutique U.S. chains whose single-origin and cold-brewed coffees have proven popular with hipsters and have made inroads into the Starbucks franchise.JAB Holdings, the investment vehicle of Germany’s Reimann family, has also been buying up independent start-ups selling premium brews around the world, from Europe to the Americas.Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz hopes his company’s arrival in Milan, which he calls the home of the “perfect espresso”, and the inspiration for his Starbucks vision, will show discerning Italian coffee-lovers that “we got it right”.“We are happy to hear about Lavazza’s growth,” said a Starbucks spokesman when asked to comment on Lavazza’s opening.The U.S. chain will open its 2,400-square-metre cafe in late 2018, seeking to attract tourists, young Italians and the business crowd. If the Milan experiment succeeds, Starbucks and its local partner, Antonio Percassi, could open more than 200 stores in Italy over six years, according to Percassi.Some analysts are sceptical that Starbucks can crack a market where espresso typically sells for just one euro ($1.20), a fraction of the price of a Starbucks coffee.But the local brands are also gambling Italians will spend much more than one euro for a restaurant-style experience: illycaffe charges around three times that for coffee brought to the table.Nestle, JAB Holdings and Starbucks are the three largest players in the global coffee market, followed by several mid-tier players including Lavazza and illycaffe.“As the biggest get bigger, mid-tier companies are in a position where they must either expand or risk being left behind or swallowed up by their massive rivals,” said Matthew Berry, an analyst at market research firm Euromonitor International.Lavazza’s chief executive and some of its family owners will cut a ribbon to launch their cafe, where customers can sip a blend of coffee specifically crafted for the store, taste gourmet food and buy single-origin coffees.“The opening of the new flagship store has nothing to do with Starbucks,” a Lavazza spokeswoman said, adding that it was solely aimed at giving people an exclusive Lavazza experience.The group is primarily a roaster and supplier to independent cafes and restaurants rather than a retailer and its new store is a way of boosting brand visibility on the high street.Lavazza went on an acquisition spree three years ago, buying up three coffee suppliers in Europe and Canada, boosting sales to nearly 2 billion euros last year. It has overtaken Starbucks in supermarket sales, Euromonitor International says.Illycaffe sells its coffee both through independent cafes and 230 mono-brand stores, some of them directly owned, in 43 countries, and says it wants to develop the network further, though not via major acquisitions.“The new store wants to be a landmark for the global nomad in search for the real Italian lifestyle experience,” illycaffe said, without commenting on the arrival of Starbucks.Milanese coffee society is divided on whether Starbucks can make its name at the high-end of Italian market, the world’s fourth-largest coffee consumer.“I am curious about Starbucks, I will give it a try when it arrives in Milan,” office worker Giuseppe Gaggiano, 55, said at a small, upmarket independent cafe close to the Starbucks site.However, another customer there, Alberto Paparusso, 31, said he wouldn’t abandon his usual cafe: “I don’t like Starbucks coffee. It’s not worth going there.” ($1 = 0.8371 euros) (Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Editing by Mark Bendeich and Philippa Fletcher) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/italy-coffee/rpt-coffee-rivals-square-off-in-italy-ahead-of-starbucks-invasion-idINL5N1LZ404'|'2017-09-18T12:10:00.000+03:00'
'375b2144eb23a06db9f7441aca73655af30b306e'|'Peru farmer sues miner Newmont in U.S. court over alleged abuse'|'  2:45 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Peru farmer sues miner Newmont in U.S. court over alleged abuse Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LIMA (Reuters) - A farmer in Peru is suing Newmont Mining Corp ( NEM.N ) in U.S. federal court, claiming the miner used violence and threats to try to evict her from her home to make way for a gold project, the environmental group representing her said on Tuesday. The lawsuit filed last Thursday by Maxima Acuna and her family in U.S. District Court in Delaware, where Newmont is incorporated, aims to “stop a pattern of harassment” by Newmont and its security personnel in Peru, EarthRights International said. The lawsuit charges the company on counts including battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and seeks damages of at least $75,000 for each affected member of Acuna’s family. Newmont spokesman Omar Jabara said in a statement emailed to Reuters that the company had not yet been officially served notice from either EarthRights International or the court. He said the family has recently “been engaged in direct, good-faith dialogue” with the company. “We encourage them to remain engaged in this process,” Jabara said. Newmonth’s Peruvian unit has previously accused Acuna and her family of illegally occupying land that it said it had lawfully purchased in the 1990s in a highland region where it once hoped to build a $4.8 billion gold mine. Newmont put the gold project, Conga, on hold in 2011 amid violent protests by local farmers worried about its impacts on water supplies. Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-newmont-mining-peru/peru-farmer-sues-miner-newmont-in-u-s-court-over-alleged-abuse-idUSKCN1BU1YC'|'2017-09-19T17:40:00.000+03:00'
'07c23ad327c7a912f8f0a5db4a8c37986f8a1ec1'|'Creditors of Australia''s Ten Network vote in favour of CBS bid'|'September 19, 2017 / 2:22 AM / Updated an hour ago Creditors back CBS''s bid for Australia''s Ten Network Byron Kaye , Tom Westbrook 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Network Ten Pty Ltd is displayed above the company''s headquarters in Sydney, Australia, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Creditors of Australia’s embattled Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ) on Tuesday agreed to a A$209.7 million (123.66 million pounds) buyout from CBS Corp ( CBS.N ), effectively ending a battle for control between the U.S. broadcasting giant and Lachlan Murdoch. Creditors chose CBS at a vote in Sydney after the U.S. company sweetened its offer by A$8.6 million late on Monday, following a counter-offer from Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, and his business partner Bruce Gordon. “The industry is generally excited about having a A$27 billion big brother looking after channel Ten,” administrator Mark Korda told reporters after the meeting, adding CBS overwhelmingly won the vote by value and number. Barring any further legal challenge from Murdoch and Gordon, the deal will be complete once it gains regulatory approval, including from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board. CBS, Ten’s biggest creditor, swooped on the free-to-air network after it went into administration three months ago, elbowing aside an earlier offer from Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) Executive Chairman Murdoch and Gordon. Although a ratings laggard, Ten’s national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy have made it an attractive buyout target. The deal will allow CBS to launch its streaming service in Australia. STAFF RELIEVED FILE PHOTO - The CBS "eye" and logo are seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo CBS took the upper hand in the takeover battle after winning a court challenge from the media moguls on Monday. A Murdoch representative was not immediately available for comment, while a Gordon spokeswoman declined to comment on the outcome of Tuesday’s vote. A CBS spokesman said he expected the deal to complete. CBS was assured of winning the creditors vote by value because the U.S. network is owed more than half of Ten’s A$609.1 million in debt. However it also clinched votes from hundreds of Ten employees, creditors since they are owed pension and leave entitlements, to win the vote by number. After the meeting a Ten employee said they were relieved at the outcome and had feared a Murdoch victory would have led to consolidation with other media assets and newsroom job losses. “Everybody was going to do equal or better under CBS,” said the employee, who asked not to be named because they were not authorised to comment publicly. “Staff were concerned about the impact on the company or the newsroom if the CBS offer was rejected. Staff are more excited about the company under CBS than they are under the other deal.” Reporting by Byron Kaye and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp-shareholders/creditors-of-australias-ten-network-vote-in-favour-of-cbs-bid-idUKKCN1BU05X'|'2017-09-19T05:24:00.000+03:00'
'c69a12dcdea49fb1388b7a74430b0e7ef381e008'|'Exclusive: Toshiba flips back to favoring Western Digital group for chip unit sale - sources'|'September 19, 2017 / 5:37 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Exclusive: Toshiba flips back towards Western Digital group for chip unit sale - sources Kentaro Hamada , Taro Fuse 3 Min Read The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is shifting back toward selling its prized semiconductor unit to a group backed by joint venture partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ), people familiar with the deal said. Just days ago the Japanese firm said it was leaning toward a rival bid for the $18 billion business that includes a South Korean chipmaker. California-based Western Digital made key concessions to assure Toshiba it would not seek future control of the chip business, addressing antitrust concerns, said the sources, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. That had turned the tide away from the bid led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ). Toshiba board members are to meet Wednesday, but it was unclear whether they could reach a decision, after saying last Wednesday the company was accelerating talks with the Hynix group. That announcement marked the third time Toshiba had missed targets to sell the business - the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND memory chips. The company needs the cash to plug a giant hole in its finances left by its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Corp. Toshiba and SK Hynix could not be reached outside business hours. A Western Digital spokesman declined comment. Bain Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Western Digital’s refusal to relinquish future ownership rights in the chip business has hindered a sale, while the rival Hynix-Bain bid was hampered by legal challenges from Western Digital, made on grounds that it would infringe Western Digital’s rights in the venture with Toshiba in central Japan. The U.S. company conceded to giving up voting rights in the NAND memory business, boosting the bid it had sought along with U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) and Japanese government-backed investors including the Innovation Network Corp of Japan. In the latest proposal, worth about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), INCJ would take the lead, including a 300 billion yen equity investment, the sources said. INCJ declined to comment. KKR didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Toshiba needs cash by March to prevent it from being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On top of that, the semiconductor business requires huge amounts of investment, and Toshiba’s chip unit runs the danger of losing its competitive ability as rivals roll out big capital spending plans. ($1 = 111.5700 yen) Reporting by Kentaro Hamada, Taro Fuse and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; editing by William Mallard and John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-sale-exclusive/exclusive-toshiba-flips-back-to-favoring-western-digital-group-for-chip-unit-sale-sources-idUSKCN1BU2EY'|'2017-09-19T20:41:00.000+03:00'
'762b9c7e730815d4bae433c900c31899bf14cf28'|'Justice Department barred from sharing Volkswagen documents: judge'|'September 18, 2017 / 5:22 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Justice Department barred from sharing Volkswagen documents: judge David Shepardson 3 Min Read A VW logo is seen in front of the main building of the Volkswagen brand at the Volkswagen headquarters during a media tour to present Volkswagen''s so called "Blaue Fabrik" (Blue Factory) environmental program, in Wolfsburg, Germany May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal magistrate judge blocked the U.S. Justice Department from sharing with a German law firm 25 million pages of records disclosed by Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) in the government’s diesel emissions investigation. The order, issued late on Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Corley in California, is a win for the world’s largest automaker, which faces 1,600 securities suits in Germany in connection with its diesel emissions scandal. The company turned over the documents as part of prosecutors’ probe of its installing software to hide excess emissions. The suits collectively seek nearly 8.6 billion euros ($10.3 billion) from Volkswagen, according to a court filing. The Justice Department sued VW in Germany in September 2016 over losses in federal government employees’ retirement accounts and retained German law firm GSK Stockmann to represent the U.S. government. It seeks to recover 30.8 million euros ($37 million), as well as interest and legal fees. Lawyers for Volkswagen objected to the Justice Department’s planned transfer of the documents and said if it were successful, all 1,600 plaintiffs would have access to them. VW noted some Volkswagen submissions in Germany became public in the German press days after they were filed. “It is likely that at least some of these documents would also be leaked to the press,” VW lawyer Thomas Liebscher wrote in an affidavit. Judge Corley said that a protective order between Volkswagen and the government bars the sharing of the documents with the Justice Department’s German law firm. Corley said GSK Stockmann cannot use the documents obtained by the department “to end-run around German discovery rules.” The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Volkswagen has agreed to spend as much as $25 billion in the United States to resolve claims from owners and regulators over polluting diesel vehicles and has offered to buy back about 500,000 vehicles. The German automaker in September 2015 admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and in March pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to three felonies in connection with the scandal. In June, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer allowed some claims to proceed by investors who sued Volkswagen in a California court over its diesel emissions scandal. Breyer ruled that Volkswagen and then-Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn intentionally or recklessly understated VW’s financial liabilities since May 2014. But he dismissed claims for financial statements issued before then. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkwagen-emissions/justice-department-barred-from-sharing-volkswagen-documents-judge-idUSKCN1BT27H'|'2017-09-18T20:21:00.000+03:00'
'8f641baa4332270e879cda74c6cf6495abc9b183'|'Why central banks are not hitting their 2% inflation target - Business'|'S ince the summer of 2016, the global economy has been in a period of moderate expansion, with the growth rate accelerating gradually. What has not picked up, at least in the advanced economies, is inflation. The question is why.In the United States, Europe , Japan, and other developed economies, the recent growth acceleration has been driven by an increase in aggregate demand, a result of continued expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, as well as higher business and consumer confidence. That confidence has been driven by a decline in financial and economic risk, together with the containment of geopolitical risks, which, as a result, have so far had little impact on economies and markets.Because stronger demand means less slack in product and labour markets, the recent growth acceleration in the advanced economies would be expected to bring with it a pickup in inflation. Yet core inflation has fallen in the US this year and remains stubbornly low in Europe and Japan. This creates a dilemma for major central banks – beginning with the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank – attempting to phase out unconventional monetary policies: they have secured higher growth, but are still not hitting their target of a 2% annual inflation rate. One possible explanation for the mysterious combination of stronger growth and low inflation is that, in addition to stronger aggregate demand, developed economies have been experiencing positive supply shocks. Such shocks may come in many forms. Globalisation keeps cheap goods and services flowing from China and other emerging markets. Weaker unions and workers’ reduced bargaining power have flattened out the Phillips curve, with low structural unemployment producing little wage inflation. Oil and commodity prices are low or declining. And technological innovations, starting with a new internet revolution, are reducing the costs of goods and services. Standard economic theory suggests that the correct monetary-policy response to such positive supply shocks depends on their persistence. If a shock is temporary, central banks should not react to it; they should normalise monetary policy, because eventually the shock will wear off naturally and, with tighter product and labour markets, inflation will rise. If, however, the shock is permanent, central banks should ease monetary conditions; otherwise, they will never be able to reach their inflation target. This is not news to central banks. The Fed has justified its decision to start normalising rates , despite below-target core inflation, by arguing that the inflation-weakening supply-side shocks are temporary. Likewise, the ECB is preparing to taper its bond purchases in 2018, under the assumption that inflation will rise in due course. If policymakers are incorrect in assuming that the positive supply shocks holding down inflation are temporary, policy normalisation may be the wrong approach, and unconventional policies should be sustained for longer. But it may also mean the opposite: if the shocks are permanent or more persistent than expected, normalisation must be pursued even more quickly, because we have already reached a “new normal” for inflation. This is the view taken by the Bank for International Settlements, which argues that it is time to lower the inflation target from 2% to 0% – the rate that can now be expected, given permanent supply shocks. Trying to achieve 2% inflation in a context of such shocks, the BIS warns, would lead to excessively easy monetary policies, which would put upward pressure on prices of risk assets, and, ultimately, inflate dangerous bubbles. According to this logic, central banks should normalise policy sooner , and at a faster pace, to prevent another financial crisis. Most advanced-country central banks don’t agree with the BIS. They believe that, should asset-price inflation emerge, it can be contained with macroprudential credit policies, rather than monetary policy. Of course, advanced-country central banks hope such asset inflation won’t appear at all, because inflation is being suppressed by temporary supply shocks, and thus will increase as soon as product and labour markets tighten. But, faced with the possibility that today’s low inflation may be caused by permanent supply shocks, they are also unwilling to ease more now. So, even though central banks aren’t willing to give up on their formal 2% inflation target, they are willing to prolong the timeline for achieving it, as they have already done time and again, effectively conceding that inflation may stay low for longer. Otherwise, they would need to sustain for much longer their unconventional monetary policies, including quantitative easing and negative policy rates – an approach with which most central banks (with the possible exception of the Bank of Japan) are not comfortable. This central bank patience risks de-anchoring inflation expectations downward. But continuing for much longer with unconventional monetary policies also carries the risk of undesirable asset-price inflation, excessive credit growth, and bubbles. As long as uncertainty over the causes of low inflation remains, central banks will have to balance these competing risks.• Nouriel Roubini is a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He was a senior economist for international affairs in Bill Clinton’s White House and has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve and the World Bank. © Project Syndicate'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/19/why-central-banks-are-not-hitting-their-2-inflation-target'|'2017-09-19T13:49:00.000+03:00'
'61a876f4135bf81b59c15cbb4e878f7583a97cf5'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX near six-week high as energy leads gains'|'  1:41 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX near six-week high as energy leads gains Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose on Tuesday as energy stocks, buoyed by oil prices near five-month highs, led the index to its highest since August 9. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 33.96 points, or 0.22 percent, to 15,270.63. The technology group was the lone decliner among the index’s 10 key sectors. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-near-six-week-high-as-energy-leads-gains-idUSL2N1M00RS'|'2017-09-19T16:38:00.000+03:00'
'c8b2f60481611eaede823af370f5f786cff0eb1c'|'Elliot boosts stake in Hitachi Kokusai to over 6 percent: filing'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management Corp raised its stake in Hitachi Kokusai Electric ( 6756.T ) to just over 6 percent, a government filing showed, piling up pressure on KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) that has been trying to buy out the Japanese firm.Elliott, a $33 billion multi-strategy hedge fund with an aggressive activist shareholder arm, is known for buying stakes in companies that are in the middle of a takeover and forcing a better deal for shareholders.Only last week, it said it had a more than 5 percent stake in Hitachi Kokusai. According to the latest filing, Elliott now owns 6.1 percent.U.S. buyout firm KKR agreed in April to buy the chip-making equipment and video solutions business from Hitachi Ltd ( 6501.T ) in a deal valuing the unit at about $2.3 billion.But the deal was put on hold last month after a third-party committee said the terms could be disadvantageous to minority shareholders.Hitachi Kokusai shares closed at 2,974 yen on Tuesday, 18.8 percent higher than KKR’s offer price of 2,503 yen ($22.42).(he story has been refiled to correct spelling of Elliott in headline)Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-hitachi-kokusai-m-a-kkr/elliot-boosts-stake-in-hitachi-kokusai-to-over-6-percent-filing-idINKCN1BU156'|'2017-09-19T07:56:00.000+03:00'
'97c7b15763572a2699a06039ce7508737ab52037'|'Central banks must watch for risks as rates rise - Bank of England''s Kohn'|' 51 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Central banks must watch for risks as rates rise: BoE''s Kohn Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Central banks around the world need to watch for the risk that financial firms are caught out by higher interest rates and the scaling back of bond-buying programs, a Bank of England policymaker said on Tuesday. “Macro and micro-prudential policies need to be alert to and anticipate financial stability risks that might arise as rates rise and central bank portfolios stabilize and then decline,” Donald Kohn said in speech. “Stress tests of banks will be an essential tool for spotting risks and building resilience. Particularly as interest rates rise along the yield curve. The curve itself may even twist in unexpected ways, revealing vulnerabilities in asset prices and portfolio choices,” he said. Kohn, a member of the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee which sets financial regulation but not interest rates, was speaking at a conference in Basel, Switzerland. Writing by William Schomberg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-kohn/central-banks-must-watch-for-risks-as-rates-rise-boes-kohn-idUKKCN1BU1I2'|'2017-09-19T14:49:00.000+03:00'
'598b6c168d0fddd28b0e09db28fe4df264327859'|'India regulator orders sharp cut in mobile interconnection fees'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:25 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago India regulator orders sharp cut in mobile interconnection fees Reuters Staff 3 Min Read MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s telecoms regulator has more than halved a fee mobile operators pay each other for calls from one network to another in a move that could hurt leading operators including Bharti Airtel ( BRTI.NS ) and Vodafone’s ( VOD.L ) Indian business. Operators in India do not charge customers for incoming calls, but the carrier from whose network a call originates pays the network that receives the call. The top players with the highest number of subscribers tend to gain from the fees. Vodafone India, the market’s second-biggest carrier, described the move as “retrograde” and said it could affect investment in network coverage in rural areas. “We are disappointed with this decision and are now considering our options,” Vodafone India said in a statement. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) late on Tuesday said that interconnect usage charges (IUC) for mobile calls will be cut to 0.06 rupees (0.0007 pounds) a minute from 0.14 rupees, effective from Oct. 1. It then plans to abolish the fee entirely from the start of 2020. Market newcomer Reliance Jio Infocomm, which has shaken up the sector by offering free calls and cut-price data, is likely to gain from the move. During the consultation process, Jio had questioned the interconnect charges, saying that incumbents had already recovered their investments. Jio, Bharti Airtel and No.3 operator Idea Cellular ( IDEA.NS ) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Cellular Operators Association of India, which counts Bharti, Vodafone and Idea among its members, said that incumbent carriers would take a severe hit from the reduction to interconnect fees. “It’s going to exacerbate the financial condition of the industry,” said the association’s Director General, Rajan Mathews, referring to falling profits and high debt resulting from costly airwave auctions and a brutal price war. That backdrop has already kickstarted sector consolidation, with Vodafone India and Idea having agreed a merger, while smaller carriers Reliance Communications ( RLCM.NS ) and Aircel are combining their mobile operations. Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Devidutta Tripathy and David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-telecoms-interconnectfees/india-regulator-orders-sharp-cut-in-mobile-interconnection-fees-idUKKCN1BU2MP'|'2017-09-19T22:25:00.000+03:00'
'139b7d3c791e2da071200f633af7357552bf0305'|'Adobe reports 25.8 percent rise in quarterly revenue'|'Sept 19 (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc reported a 25.8 percent rise in quarterly revenue, as it added more subscribers to Creative Cloud, a package of software tools, which houses Photoshop.The company’s net income rose to $419.6 million, or 84 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 1, from $270.8 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier.Total revenue rose to $1.84 billion from $1.46 billion. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/adobe-systems-results/adobe-reports-25-8-percent-rise-in-quarterly-revenue-idINL4N1M04T9'|'2017-09-19T18:12:00.000+03:00'
'86abd5890374fdab9cae0fbc00a822949f0b6132'|'Telecom Italia board backs decision to appeal ruling on Vivendi control'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:11 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Telecom Italia board backs decision to appeal ruling on Vivendi control Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Telecom Italia tower is pictured in Rome, Italy, March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) ( TLIT.MI ) said on Tuesday its board backed a decision to appeal a ruling by the Italian market watchdog that stated French group Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) has de facto control over the phone company. TIM’s board met on Tuesday to discuss the matter and a majority of its members voted in favour of appealing the Sept. 13 ruling, the company said in a statement. “While assuring the company’s full compliance with the discipline that such qualification implies, the board has nonetheless confirmed, with a majority vote, the intention to challenge the decision in the qualified court, as already announced,” TIM said in its statement. Vivendi, which denies controlling TIM, is the biggest investor in the Italian company with a 24 percent stake. The Consob ruling has strengthened the Italian government’s hand as it considers using special powers that could trigger asset sales. Reporting by Silvia Aloisi'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-telecomitalia-vivendi/telecom-italia-board-backs-decision-to-appeal-ruling-on-vivendi-control-idUKKCN1BU2LC'|'2017-09-19T22:11:00.000+03:00'
'896428f988549d1c023f89638a5101c100f81578'|'Ocado sales growth edges higher in latest quarter'|'  6:21 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Ocado sales growth edges higher in latest quarter Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Workers pack bags as a conveyer belt transports goods inside the Ocado Customer Fulfilment Centre in Hatfield on the outskirts of London, Britain, April 6, 2016 . REUTERS/Dylan Martinez LONDON (Reuters) - British online grocer Ocado ( OCDO.L ) saw a slight acceleration in retail sales growth in its latest quarter, with growth in the number of orders countering a reduction in average order size. Ocado said retail sales rose 13.1 percent to 312.7 million pounds in the 13 weeks to August 27, its fiscal third quarter, having risen 12.5 percent in its first half. Average orders per week increased 16.0 percent to 254,000 but average order size fell 1.2 percent to 106.25 pounds. Ocado said it was continuing to grow sales at a rate significantly in excess of the average for the industry. Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ocado-outlook/ocado-sales-growth-edges-higher-in-latest-quarter-idUKKCN1BU0KE'|'2017-09-19T09:20:00.000+03:00'
'00c97e508f362b0cf5fe867285c9dd4387cb4dc9'|'Brexit, slowdown: a bleak backdrop for UK shift towards higher rates'|'  4:09 PM   Brexit, slowdown: a bleak backdrop for UK shift towards higher rates William Schomberg , David Milliken 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A shopper checks her shopping list in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England has chosen an unusual time to announce that British interest rates are likely to rise for the first time in more than 10 years. The economy is growing at half its usual pace, retailers are struggling to sell to shoppers whose wages are rising slowly, car sales are falling and the housing market has lost steam. Only employment figures look strong. On top of that, Britain is leaving the European Union in 18 months’ time and the ruling Conservative Party is still split over whether to compromise with Brussels on the exit terms or risk a fight. Even inflation, which has accelerated well above the central bank’s target to nearly 3 percent, offers only a limited justification for higher borrowing costs - most economists believe it is likely to peak soon. So the BoE has taken a risk by saying last week that most members of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) thought a rise was likely   It has long said any increases are likely to be gradual and to a level lower than before the global financial crisis. A first rise of a quarter percentage point would only reverse a cut made after Britons voted for Brexit in June last year and take rates back to a historically very low 0.5 percent, their level for most of the decade since the 2007-09 crisis. But the BoE is now sounding more urgent than before about raising borrowing costs because it believes Brexit is likely to impose a reduced “speed limit” on how fast the economy can grow without pushing up inflation. It worries that Britain, at least initially, will be less open to trade, employers will have fewer workers from EU countries to hire due to a clampdown on immigration and companies are likely to scale back investment. That, along with a push by other central banks away from their own post-crisis emergency stimulus programmes, means it needs to get on with raising rates, Governor Mark Carney said on Monday. Many economists responded to the MPC’s surprise announcement last week by bringing forward their predictions of a first rate rise to its next meeting on Nov. 2. But they are not convinced it’s the right move at this point. “The rationale for the change of our forecast has been driven by the change in the Monetary Policy Committee’s rhetoric, not a change in our assessment of the outlook for the economy, aside from the admittedly very low unemployment rate,” Sam Hill, an economist at RBC Capital Markets, said. BREXIT UNCERTAINTY, RATES UNCERTAINTY At 4.3 percent, unemployment is at its lowest level in more than 40 years and below the 4.5 percent level which the BoE has said would probably generate inflation. But pay growth remains below inflation and there is little sign of a significant pick-up. For supporters of higher rates, waiting for cast-iron evidence that domestic inflation pressures are rising risks leaving things too late. By contrast, Chris Williamson, an economist at IHS Markit, said the signals coming from his firm’s closely-watched surveys of Britain’s services, manufacturing and construction sectors suggest the economy is more in need of a cut than a rise. “How serious the impact of a hike will be will depend on the extent to which lenders see this as a once-and-done hike or the start of the process of material changes in interest rates,” Williamson said. One-off rate moves by the BoE are rare, and financial markets are currently pricing in two increases by mid-2018. Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the Confederation of British Industry, said she expected the BoE to move slowly after making an initial increase. “My sense is that we’re talking about waiting six months to see how things bed down,” she said. “They’ll wait to see how the economy reacts, how investors react and how households react.” Longer-term growth factors, chief among them Brexit, were more important for businesses than the cost of borrowing, she said. Not all business groups are so relaxed. The British Chambers of Commerce, which typically represents smaller firms than the CBI, said it was too soon to raise rates. A quarter-point rise would add little to borrowing costs but any move now could aggravate a fall in business confidence caused by Brexit, BCC economist Suren Thiru said. “A rate rise will signal to businesses that a period of monetary policy tightening is upon us,” he said. “That could influence investment intentions over the next couple of years.” Some economists think the BoE might even have to reverse course and cut rates if its first increase proves too much of a shock to households and businesses, who have grown used to borrowing costs not rising since 2007. A survey by IHS Markit, conducted before last week’s message from the BoE, showed only 29 percent of British households expected a rate rise over the next six months. “It is even possible that the economy reacts negatively to a move later this year and the MPC reconsiders its strategy further ahead,” Philip Shaw, an economist with Investec, said. “Indeed what was already a complex outlook for the British economy and markets has just become cloudier still.”'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy/brexit-slowdown-a-bleak-backdrop-for-uk-shift-towards-higher-rates-idUKKCN1BU278'|'2017-09-19T19:09:00.000+03:00'
'9082313adc0ca59ee70c23c2d0743f79ac5d6f24'|'U.S. housing starts fall for second straight month; outlook murky'|'September 19, 2017 / 12:42 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago U.S. housing starts fall for second straight month; outlook murky Lucia Mutikani 5 Min Read A worker installs a metal roof on the top of a single story family home being built in San Diego, California, U.S., July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake   U.S. homebuilding fell for a second straight month in August as a rebound in the construction of single-family houses was offset by persistent weakness in the volatile multifamily home segment. The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed building permits racing to a seven-month high in August. However, permits for single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the housing market, dropped. The mixed report suggested housing could remain a drag on economic growth in the third quarter. Homebuilding has been treading water for much of this year amid shortages of land and skilled labor as well as rising costs of building materials. Housing starts slipped 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.18 million units, the Commerce Department said. Building permits surged 5.7 percent to a rate of 1.30 million units in August, the highest level since January. The data suggested limited impact on permits from Hurricane Harvey, which lashed Texas in late August and caused unprecedented flooding in Houston. The Commerce Department said the response rate from areas affected by the storm “was not significantly lower.” But homebuilding could slump further in September in the aftermath of Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida. According to Census Bureau data, the areas in Texas and Florida that were devastated by the storms accounted for about 13 percent of permits issued in the nation last year. Though activity could pick up as the hurricane-ravaged communities rebuild, the dearth of labor could curb the pace of increase in homebuilding. A survey Monday showed confidence among homebuilders fell in September amid concerns that the hurricanes could worsen the labor shortages and make building materials more expensive. Economists had forecast housing starts rising to a 1.18 million-unit pace last month. Investment in homebuilding contracted in the second quarter at its steepest pace in nearly seven years. As a result, housing subtracted 0.26 percentage point from second-quarter gross domestic product. Homebuilding rose 1.4 percent in August on a year-on-year basis. Despite the recent weakness, housing continues to be supported by a labor market that is near full employment. In addition, mortgage rates remain close to historic lows. Single-family homebuilding jumped 1.6 percent to a rate of851,000 units in August. Single-family permits, however, fell 1.5 percent to a 800,000-unit pace. With permits lagging starts, single-family homebuilding could decline in the months ahead. Groundbreaking on single-family housing projects has slowed since vaulting to near a 9-1/2-year high in February. MIXED DATA Last month, single-family starts rose in the South and West, but fell in the Midwest and Northeast. Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment tumbled 6.5 percent to a rate of 329,000 units. Multi-family permits vaulted 19.6 percent to a 500,000-unit pace in August. The mixed data is unlikely to change expectations that the Federal Reserve will announce on Wednesday a plan to start unwinding its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Fed officials were scheduled to start a two-day meeting later on Tuesday. The dollar was trading lower against basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. Treasuries rose. U.S. stock futures were slightly higher. In a separate report on Tuesday, the Labor Department said import prices jumped 0.6 percent in August, the biggest gain since January, after dipping 0.1 percent in July. In the 12 months through August, import prices surged 2.1 percent after rising 1.2 percent in July. Last month, prices for imported petroleum raced 4.8 percent after slipping 0.4 percent in July. Import prices excluding petroleum rose 0.3 percent after dipping 0.1 percent the prior month. Import prices excluding petroleum increased 1.0 percent in the 12 months through August. Import prices outside petroleum are rising as the dollar’s rally fades. The dollar has weakened 8.3 percent against the currencies of the United States’ main trading partners this year. The report also showed export prices rose 0.6 percent in August after gaining 0.5 percent in July. They increased 2.3 percent year-on-year after rising 0.9 percent in August. A third report from the Commerce Department showed the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, increased to $123.1 billion in the second quarter from $113.5 billion in the first quarter. That was the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008. Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-housing-starts-fall-for-second-straight-month-idUKKCN1BU1M1'|'2017-09-19T16:31:00.000+03:00'
'baedd83f6e9f243b56347b279951eb6b779efa76'|'Toys ''R'' Us files for bankruptcy protection'|'Sept 18 (Reuters) - Toys “R” Us Inc, the largest U.S. toy store chain, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, the latest sign of turmoil in the retail industry caught in a viselike grip of online shopping and discount chains.The Chapter 11 filing is among the largest ever by a specialty retailer and casts doubt over the future of the company’s approximately 1,600 stores and 64,000 employees. It comes just as Toys “R” Us is gearing up for the holiday shopping season, which accounts for the bulk of its sales.Toys “R” Us filed the petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/toysr-us-bankruptcy/toys-r-us-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-idUSL4N1M01Y3'|'2017-09-19T06:49:00.000+03:00'
'0633e2a906383adb77bc0a853e6186e8eb13ab79'|'Portugal''s bond yield spread over Italy narrows to pre-crisis levels'|'LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The gap between Portuguese and Italian 10-year government bond yields narrowed on Tuesday to levels last seen at the start of the euro zone debt crisis of 2010-2012.This follows a strong rally in Portuguese debt over the last two sessions after S&P Global became the first major ratings agency to give the country back its investment grade status late on Friday.Portugal’s 10-year government bond yield spread over Italy narrowed to 36 basis points, the lowest since March 2010.In absolute terms, Portugal’s 10-year government bond yields dropped 6 basis points to 2.43 percent. (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan, Editing by Sujata Rao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-portugal/portugals-bond-yield-spread-over-italy-narrows-to-pre-crisis-levels-idINL5N1M00UI'|'2017-09-19T04:29:00.000+03:00'
'ed4065b63b845d231b4d91b238bf3de17561669c'|'Kingfisher cautious on second-half prospects'|'September 20, 2017 / 6:25 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Kingfisher cautious on macro backdrop in UK and France Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Signs outside the B&Q and Screwfix stores in Loughborough, Britain March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples LONDON (Reuters) - Kingfisher ( KGF.L ), Europe’s largest home improvement retailer, on Wednesday reported a better-than-expected 1 percent rise in first-half profit but said it was cautious on the second-half economic backdrop in both the UK and France. The firm, which runs B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and elsewhere, said it remained “comfortable” with analysts’ consensus earnings expectations for its full 2017-18 year. Earnings per share (EPS) are seen at 26 pence versus 25.9 pence in 2016-17. Kingfisher made an underlying pretax profit of 440 million pounds in the six months to July 31 - ahead of analysts’ average forecast of 426 million pounds and 436 million pounds made in the same period last year. Total sales rose 4.5 percent to 6.0 billion pounds and the interim dividend was raised 2.5 percent to 3.33 pence. The outcome reflected solid growth at Screwfix and the Polish business, offset by weak French markets and disruption from the group’s restructuring. “We are aware of and are acting on the causes of this disruption, which we are confident will ease,” said Chief Executive Véronique Laury. “We have self-help plans in place to support our overall performance and remain comfortable with full year profit expectations,” she said. Kingfisher is in the second year of a plan to boost annual profit by 500 million pounds from 2021. The plan, costing 800 million pounds over five years to deliver, includes unifying product ranges and improving e-commerce capabilities. “We remain confident in our ability to deliver our five year plan and in the benefits it will generate,” said Laury. Shares in Kingfisher, down 15 percent over the last year, closed on Tuesday at 296.4 pence, valuing the business at 6.5 billion pounds. Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle and Elisabeth O''Leary '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kingfisher-results/kingfisher-cautious-on-second-half-prospects-idUKKCN1BV0M7'|'2017-09-20T09:24:00.000+03:00'
'469713d1644e1b68c42c52430a7cd602915b1827'|'EU proposes to extend its grip on financial sector'|'September 20, 2017 / 10:18 AM / Updated 5 hours ago EU moves to extend grip on financial sector after Brexit Francesco Guarascio 4 Min Read A statue depicting European unity is seen near EU flags outside the European Parliament in Brussels October 12, 2012. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday proposed transferring some powers to oversee the financial sector from national capitals in a move to extend the EU’s grip on the industry as the bloc prepares for the departure of London, its main financial hub. The proposal is part of a broader long-term plan that could lead to common supervision of the European financial sector and widely expand European Union regulators’ clout over foreign firms that operate in the EU. “What we are proposing is a gradual approach,” the commission’s vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said. He said the move was ambitious but realistic. “Eventually we could arrive at a single European capital markets supervisor,” he told a news conference in Brussels. The commission’s proposals need the backing of EU states and lawmakers. EU states have been traditionally reluctant to give away supervisory powers, but the decade-long financial crisis has allowed major changes, with the European Central Bank taking oversight of the euro zone’s largest banks. The strengthening of EU supervision on capital markets was made more urgent by Britain’s vote to leave the EU, which will deprive the EU of its main financial centre in London. “Finance in Europe is changing due to the departure of the UK from the EU,” Dombrovskis said, adding this had increased the need for a convergence of supervisory practices to avoid so-called “regulatory arbitrage”, whereby EU countries try to attract firms from Britain with legal sweeteners. MARKET ACCESS The commission also proposed to further strengthen EU powers over foreign financial firms allowed to operate in the EU when their countries’ legal systems are deemed equivalent to the bloc’s rules. The move is expected to have an impact on Britain-based financial firms after Brexit, as they may be subject to a stricter oversight and higher possible risks of abruptly losing access to the EU market. Among the European industries that, under the proposal, would immediately be subject to direct EU supervision are critical financial benchmarks such as the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), used to price billions of euros worth of derivatives and, in some countries, to determine the interest rates on mortgages. Insurers will also be more strictly supervised by EU regulators in devising their internal models to calculate risks. Regulated funds that are allowed to be sold across the EU, including venture capital funds and long-term investment funds, will also fall directly under the oversight of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which will be beefed up to deal with expanded tasks. The commission shied away from proposing the merger of the other two EU financial regulators, the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Frankfurt-based European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). It had earlier suggested the merger, as the EBA will leave London after Brexit, but opposition from EU states, who are wrangling to host the relocating agency, forced the EU executive to drop the proposal. The ESMA will also be granted powers to directly monitor transaction data in markets. AFME, a lobbying group for the European financial industry, broadly welcomed the plans to increase supervisory convergence but was cautious on data oversight. “The idea of ESMA receiving transaction data directly from market participants is to be supported to the extent it does not lead to additional reporting burden or duplication,” Simon Lewis, AFME Chief Executive, said. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Janet Lawrence '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-markets-regulation/eu-proposes-to-extend-its-grip-on-financial-sector-idUKKCN1BV16T'|'2017-09-20T13:18:00.000+03:00'
'bc7039237efe7c8f86da38b792fd86eb572b0798'|'As Apple slows, fast-moving Chinese rivals gain in wealthy markets'|'September 20, 2017 / 11:47 AM / Updated 3 hours ago As Apple slows, fast-moving Chinese rivals gain in wealthy markets Sijia Jiang , Jeremy Wagstaff 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, introduces the iPhone 8 during a launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Slowing innovation at iPhone maker Apple ( AAPL.O ) gives Asian rivals their best chance yet to conquer developed markets, retailers and consumers say - thanks to better designs and lower prices. Apple last week unveiled new iPhones with wireless charging, an edge-to-edge screen and dual cameras - all features already widely available in phones from China’s Huawei and Oppo, and Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ). While Apple must convince buyers to fork out nearly $1,000 (£737) for its high-end model, challengers are tilting at the luxury market, offering similar features for less money. Chinese vendors, formerly seen as churning out cheap phones with copycat innovation, have upped their quality game and now control nearly half the global mobile market. By cramming high-end features into affordable devices, and using a canny mix of promotion, advertising and retail reach, they have also won over some loyal Apple users. “Huawei is seen as a relevant competitor to Apple and Samsung (by) covering all major price points and placing big investments in marketing and sales,” said a spokeswoman for MediaMarktSaturn, Europe’s biggest electronics retailer. She said Huawei, ZTE ( 000063.SZ ), Lenovo ( 0992.HK ) and TCL 000100.SZ - all Chinese firms - were among the top-10 best-selling smartphones in its stores. Chinese manufacturers’ rapid growth has been fuelled by strong domestic sales, but they now export 40 percent of their smartphones, almost double the number just three years ago, according to CLSA. Huawei, whose smartphone shipments to Europe jumped more than 50 percent in the first half of this year, is poised to overtake Apple as the world’s second-largest vendor. The Chinese firm’s confidence was on show in a short Facebook video ad ahead of its “RealAIphone” launch next month, using a clown to poke fun at Apple’s facial recognition feature that unlocks the new iPhone. Huawei plans to unveil its top-of-the-line Mate 10 phone on Oct. 16, with artificial intelligence-powered features such as instant translation and image recognition. And media reports speculate the phone will have an edge-to-edge screen, and undercut the iPhone on price. Huawei declined to comment. With their growing scale and the flattening of hardware improvements, other Chinese firms are also looking to crack the high-end smartphone market. FILE PHOTO: People walk past a giant advertizing poster of Chinese telecommunications company Huawei at the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Xiaomi, for example, unveiled a full-screen phone this month that features a sleek, all-ceramic ‘unibody’ design and 12-megapixel front camera. The special edition Mi MIX 2 retails for $720. Also, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are working with Qualcomm ( QCOM.O ) to embed ultrasound sensors under smartphone screens to improve the touch function. “Chinese brands with growing scale, access to the same supply chain, rising components buying power, aggressive marketing and value-for-money offerings have stalled Apple’s growth rate and nullified the differentiation points,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint. Apple declined to comment beyond what their executives have said publicly about why they hold off on certain technologies. STILL A BIG GAP Slideshow (3 Images) To be sure, Apple maintains a healthy market share lead over Chinese rivals in the premium segment, and few experts see Apple fans switching from the iPhone X to Huawei’s Mate 10. “The biggest challenge they (Chinese firms) face would be proving to consumers their products and brand are worth paying that much for,” said Xiaohan Tay, an analyst at research firm IDC. “Apple has taken years to build that premium brand image, and Samsung too. If they can pay a little more to purchase an Apple or Samsung phone, most consumers may still continue to do that.” In the $600-plus segment, Apple has 63 percent market share, against just 3 percent for Huawei, and the U.S. firm’s retention rate of around 82 percent, versus Huawei’s 52 percent, suggests it will be tough for Chinese firms to raise their prices, according to UBS. The average selling price of smartphones from the top-3 Chinese makers - Huawei, Oppo and Vivo - is just $248, or two-thirds less than the cheapest iPhone 8. Yet experts say the threat of competition is real, especially as buyers pay more attention to smartphone apps than hardware features. “How much impact would a $1,000 iPhone really have on UX (user experience) of WhatsApp, or YouTube, or Snapchat?” said Sameer Singh, founder of research firm Tech-Thoughts. “The most popular apps being available on both platforms (Apple’s iOS and Google’s ( GOOGL.O ) Android) really makes the experience a bit of a wash, making it harder to justify the price point based just on features. This isn’t all that different from the PC industry 10-20 years ago. At one point, a PC was a PC irrespective of the manufacturer.” Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-iphone-china-analysis/as-apple-slows-fast-moving-chinese-rivals-gain-in-wealthy-markets-idUKKCN1BV1H7'|'2017-09-20T14:46:00.000+03:00'
'2f5ef1a35c7c90181419721e72c53f352a6986d1'|'CORRECTED-Global investors sniff value in Canada''s beaten-down bonds'|'(In last paragraph, corrects Schroders global assets under management to $520.6 billion, not $85 billion)By Fergal SmithTORONTO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Global investors are warming up to Canadian bonds and their newly attractive yields, saying there is a limit to how much the Bank of Canada can diverge from its peers after its two interest rate hikes this year.Canada’s bonds could still lose ground if the central bank tightens monetary policy more than markets currently expect. But the lure of these bonds for global fund managers may be signaling their underperformance versus those of other countries over the last few months will soon fade.Canada’s 10-year yield, which moves inversely to price, has surged nearly three-quarters of 1 percent since June to 3-year highs above 2 percent, even as low inflation and North Korea tensions have weighed on yields of other government bonds like German Bunds and U.S. Treasuries.“I certainly think longer maturity (Canadian) rates offer good value now, especially as a spread versus other markets such as the UK and Germany,” said James Athey, senior investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management in London, which has 583 billion pounds ($791.8 billion) of assets under management.Canada’s benchmark 10-year debt is yielding 1.7 percentage points more than the German equivalent, the biggest difference since August 1995, while there is also a yield advantage when owning shorter-dated Canadian bonds over U.S. Treasuries.That additional yield also translates into better returns for Canada’s corporate bonds. It prompted Geoff Castle, a portfolio manager at PenderFund Capital Management, to switch some holdings from the United States to Canada, such as the purchase of air navigation service operator NAV Canada’s April 2019 bond, which is yielding around 2.10 percent.We are “picking up a higher coupon with a pretty good credit” in a Canadian name, Castle said.The shift to a positive yield spread came as the Bank of Canada raised rates twice in the last three months as the domestic economy accelerated.Money markets are pricing in three more hikes from the Bank of Canada by the end of 2018, outpacing expectations for the Federal Reserve which is the only other major central bank to have raised rates this year.But a faster pace of rate hikes tends to support a country’s currency, which can weigh on exporters as their goods become more expensive to holders of other currencies.There is therefore a view among investors that “the Canadian economy can’t be divorced from its trading partners,” said Scott Lampard, head of global markets at HSBC Bank Canada. “We have seen better buying at these levels” from domestic and international clients.That outlook is reflected in government data showing foreign investment in Canadian bonds hit a record C$23.8 billion ($19.42 billion) in July, although much of that was in foreign currency denominated bonds.“Yields are now approaching a level that, while still susceptible to further rate hikes by the Bank of Canada, are significantly more appropriately valued than six months ago,” said Sunil Shah, a portfolio manager at Aviva Investors, which manages $288 billion in fixed income assets globally.Record high borrowing by Canadian consumers, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and a stronger Canadian dollar will deter “runaway” rate hikes, Shah said.Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane said on Monday that the currency’s strength will be a factor in future rate decisions, which could signal a more gradual approach to tightening.“It is unlikely the Bank of Canada will continue to diverge from other major central banks,” said Angus Sippe, multi-asset fund manager at Schroders, which has $520.6 billion of assets under management. ($1 = 1.2258 Canadian dollars) ($1 = 0.7363 pounds)Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-bonds-investors/global-investors-sniff-value-in-canadas-beaten-down-bonds-idINL2N1M00K6'|'2017-09-20T15:41:00.000+03:00'
'2fd8448ca85f3d59445b87d95c83d3d6da8e9006'|'Norwegian Air still open to flight connection deal with Ryanair: CEO'|'September 21, 2017 / 1:08 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Norwegian Air still open to flight connection deal with Ryanair: CEO Alana Wise 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Norwegian Air Shuttle Chief Executive Bjorn Kjos answers questions during a news briefing in Oslo March 4, 2015. REUTERS/Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix NEW YORK (Reuters) - Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) on Wednesday said it was still open to the possibility of a future flight connection agreement with budget carrier Ryanair ( RYA.I ), just days after the two European rivals ended talks to establish a long-haul flight deal. “We haven’t excluded Ryanair,” Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Kjos told Reuters in New York, praising the short-haul Irish carrier for its presence in smaller markets. Deals with U.S.- and Asia-based low-cost carriers are also likely in Norwegian’s future, Kjos added, as the fast-growing Scandinavian carrier seeks to expand its growing network. Until Monday, Norwegian and Ryanair had been in discussions to reach a flight connection agreement that would give Ryanair’s short-haul customers access to long-haul Norwegian flights. In turn, Norwegian Air passengers would be better connected to the carrier’s hubs. The deal would have been similar to an earlier agreement reached between Norwegian and UK-based easyJet plc ( EZJ.L ). Talks dissolved earlier this week, however, amid accusations by both carriers of staff poaching and public disputes over Norwegian’s financial strength. “Ryanair is very good in the secondary cities ... but have practically no presence in London where we fly - at Gatwick - and no presence at Paris,” Kjos said. “So the main airports that we fly to, easyJet is much stronger. Because they concentrate, like we, on the main airports. Ryanair has for a long time only concentrated on secondary airports.” Reporting by Alana Wise, editing by G Crosse '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-norweg-air-shut-ceo-ryanair-hldgs/norwegian-air-still-open-to-flight-connection-deal-with-ryanair-ceo-idINKCN1BW04X'|'2017-09-20T23:08:00.000+03:00'
'23a098e0fd217d794d43b4c07eb3b3d7ca12dd6b'|'Australia''s CBA to sell life insurance unit to AIA Group for $3 billion'|'September 21, 2017 / 2:26 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Australia''s CBA to sell insurance unit to AIA Group for $3 billion Byron Kaye , Paulina Duran 5 Min Read Pedestrians are reflected in a logo as they walk past a branch of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in Sydney, Australia, October 10, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ) has agreed to sell its life insurance unit to Hong Kong-based AIA Group ( 1299.HK ) for $3.1 billion (2.3 billion pounds), in the biggest Asian buyout of an Australian financial firm. The deal, which ranks among the top 10 insurance M&A in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan, will see AIA acquiring CBA’s life insurance business in Australia and life and health insurance businesses in New Zealand. CBA also flagged a possible wealth management IPO as Australia’s major lenders come under regulatory pressure to achieve “unquestionably strong” capital ratios, driven by concerns about their exposure to foreign borrowing and a frothy property market. The divestment of CBA’s CommInsure insurance business is part of a trend of asset sales across Australia’s banking sector, with a particular focus on insurance as the country’s lenders struggle to cope with growing competition from large foreign firms. For pure-play global insurers including AIA, MetLife ( MET.N ) and Zurich Insurance Group AG ( ZURN.S ), Australia is an attractive market with relatively low life-insurance penetration. It also has a large mortality protection gap - the difference between the amount of life insurance people carry and the amount they need - estimated at $1.1 trillion, which is the fifth-biggest in the Asia-Pacific region. For CBA, the CommInsure sale follows damaging media revelations last year that it had used discredited methods to refuse legitimate payouts, leading to policy cancellations. The scandal was one of a series of crises that has rocked CBA in recent times, culminating in allegations of systemic breaches of money-laundering and terror-financing laws that could expose it to billions of dollars in fines. “CBA has done well selling CommInsure on a good multiple,” Shaw and Partners analyst David Spotswood said in a note to clients, adding it gave the bank “flexibility” in the event of hefty fines stemming from the money-laundering civil case. CBA shares were down 0.4 percent by mid-afternoon, outperforming a broader market decline of 1.2 percent. The stock has dipped about 10 percent since the money-laundering allegations broke on Aug. 3. FILE PHOTO: A bird flies over AIA Tower, named after American International Assurance Co (AIA), in Hong Kong February 27, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo AIA shares were nearly unchanged from their previous close at 0302 GMT. Even after the CBA deal is completed some time next year, the M&A activity in the Australian insurance sector is expected to remain strong. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ) has said it may sell its life insurance and wealth divisions, while Westpac Banking Corp ( WBC.AX ) also has started exploring a possible life insurance sale, according to reports in the Australian media. DIVERSIFICATION The latest transaction comes after National Australia Bank Ltd ( NAB.AX ) sold an 80 percent stake of its life insurance unit to Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance last year. Under the AIA deal, CBA said it would continue to sell life insurance products through its branches on behalf of AIA for 20 years, and customers would keep their existing benefits. The acquisition will help AIA, which had free surplus cash of nearly $11 billion as of end May, diversify its main markets with Hong Kong and China together accounting for about half of new business growth now at the insurer. The deal is AIA’s second-biggest acquisition since it listed in Hong Kong in 2010. It had bought ING Groep’s ( INGA.AS ) Malaysian insurance unit for $1.7 billion in 2010. AIA said in a separate statement the final net cash outflow for the CBA transaction would be about $1.5 billion after taking into account the proceeds from reinsurance agreements and the free surplus within CommInsure Life and Sovereign. CBA also said it was considering spinning off asset management business Colonial First State Global Asset Management in an initial public offering. Colonial has A$219 billion in assets under management. CBA did not give further details about the plan but said its wealth management chief executive, Annabel Spring, would leave the company in December. Additional reporting by Sandhya Sampath in Bengaluru and Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cba-divestiture-aia-group/australias-cba-to-sell-life-insurance-unit-to-aia-group-for-3-billion-idUKKCN1BW08W'|'2017-09-21T05:25:00.000+03:00'
'2910ae2b4999aae3f0f77fe795e40e8f8a65efbf'|'After Boeing deal, Turkish Airlines weighs Airbus order -sources'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:55 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago After Boeing deal, Turkish Airlines weighs Airbus order -sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Turkish Airlines aircrafts are parked at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, February 13, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer PARIS (Reuters) - Turkish Airlines ( THYAO.IS ) has begun talks with Airbus to buy up to 40 A350 jetliners worth $12.4 billion (£9.15 billion) at list prices, hours after striking a similar deal with its U.S. rival Boeing, people familiar with the airline said on Friday. In an announcement coinciding with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly, Boeing said on Thursday the carrier intended to buy 787-9 jets worth $11 billion at list prices. Hours later, Turkish Airlines also sought prices for up to 40 wide-body A350-900 jets, the people said. The airline is one of the world’s fastest-growing carriers and traditionally maintains a balanced fleet. “We never comment on talks that we may or may not be having with our customers,” an Airbus spokesman. Turkish Airlines was not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Tim Hepher, Ceyda Caglayan; Editing by Laurence Frost'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkish-airlines-airbus/after-boeing-deal-turkish-airlines-weighs-airbus-order-sources-idUKKCN1BX1BQ'|'2017-09-22T13:54:00.000+03:00'
'd5ba9f60fafb70c9c262ed09bc66a0e95eb30939'|'Take Five - World markets themes for the week ahead'|'September 22, 2017 / 4:09 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Take Five - World markets themes for the week ahead Reuters Staff 5 Min Read A computer screen showing stock graphs is reflected on glasses in this illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau LONDON (Reuters) - Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. 1/ STRONG QUARTER? NOT HALF It’s the end of the quarter. And what a remarkable quarter it has been. Wall Street and world stocks have climbed to record high after record high, chalking up the longest streak of quarterly gains in two decades. At the same time, volatility has remained anchored at the lowest levels in decades. By some measures, the last few days have been the calmest in U.S. stock market history. Bond markets have also been well behaved, considering many of the world’s major central banks are preparing to shrink their balance sheets. There’s been a little more volatility in FX, with the euro breaking above $1.20 and sterling recovering sharply this month. What does that mean for next week? Potentially some profit-taking and position squaring as investors lock in what they got during the quarter. If that’s the case, some weakness in stocks, bonds, and the euro. 2/ ON A ROLL Sterling has, with a week to go to the end of the third quarter, put in its best performance against the dollar since the second quarter of 2015. The week ending Sept. 9, when the Bank of England began talking about raising interest rates in what would be its first hike in a decade, was the pound’s best in eight years. Recent days were dominated by anticipation of a major speech on Brexit from UK Prime Minister Theresa May. In the event, it did not break much new ground for markets and the pound was slightly lower on the day, raising questions over where the impetus for another move higher in sterling will come from. 3/ SPARE A ROUBLE? After B&N Bank, Russia’s 12th biggest lender, became the latest domino to tumble in the country’s banking sector, markets will be on alert for hints of more trouble. B&N’s bailout request came three weeks after the rescue of Otkritie Bank while earlier, licences were revoked at Yugra bank and Tatfondbank. Investors reckon more banks will fail, stemming from Western sanctions and unbridled expansion before that. That means Russian financials’ shares, down 12 percent this year, may see little respite .MICEXFNL (Broader Russian shares have lost 8 percent). Bonds of afflicted banks have fallen heavily. As a result, private banks’ shares and bonds may stay under pressure ( PSBR.MM ) ( CBOM.MM ). There is also the question of expense - bailouts will be financed through a special fund but costs could be huge, with Otkritie’s capital deficit almost $7 billion and a $6 billion hole likely in B&N’s balance sheet. That’s on top of the $30 billion deposit insurance that’s already been paid to depositors of failed banks. The central bank will sell bonds and hold deposit auctions to finance the rescue. But if the sums are massive, it could fuel inflation - a setback in Russia’s battle against price growth. That would be bad news for the rouble and Russia’s local bonds, which have so far easily withstood the bank malaise. 4/ FOR REAL It used to be that when the Federal Reserve raised rates, Asia’s emerging economies would follow. With the U.S. central bank announcing the final stage of its exit from unconventional policies, policymakers are watching for any evidence of risk aversion. For the moment, though, there are no signs of outflows from the region and there is little pressure to compete for funds with higher rates. Low inflation is a global pandemic and that keeps real interest rates in Asia attractive. In fact, India and Indonesia cut rates in August and could even have room to cut again – perhaps even joined by Thailand. The Thai central bank holds a policy meeting on Sept. 27 5/ IF... Equifax and bitcoin have been much on investors’ minds this month. Fallout from Equifax’s massive data breach, which compromised the social security numbers and other personal information of as many as 143 million Americans, wiped out more than one-third of the company’s market value, sending its shares to a more than 2-1/2-year low. Meanwhile, the price of a bitcoin declined to about $3,000 from a September peak of about $5,100, as Chinese authorities said they would ban trading of the cryptocurrency in their country. Bitcoin has bounced back above $4,000, but Equifax shares, which fell as low as $89.59 from $142.72 before the scandal broke, have rebounded only to about $96. If Equifax shares were priced in bitcoin, they would be worth just 2 cents each. So, as investors enter the final quarter of the year, will Equifax or bitcoin be at the top of managers buy-and-hold list? Compiled by Nigel Stephenson; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-themes/take-five-world-markets-themes-for-the-week-ahead-idUKKCN1BX2A7'|'2017-09-22T19:09:00.000+03:00'
'11ae65bc729c341bc2cbab15b425804562081596'|'Ryanair cancels more than 2,000 flights over the next six weeks'|'RYANAIR, an Irish airline, is known for three things: low fares, the brash way in which Michael O’Leary, its chief executive, advertises them, and its record for sticking to its flight schedules. The last of these is key to its appeal: many businessmen chose Ryanair more for its punctuality than its cheapness. And so the announcement on September 15th that it is cancelling over 2,000 flights between now and the end of October—around 2% of its capacity over the period—is more serious than it may at first seem. Ryanair’s share price fell by more than 5% in the aftermath.The problems began in early September when Ryanair’s on-time record plunged, owing to a pilot shortage. To restore punctuality, it cancelled many flights at short notice; passengers were marooned around Europe. Up to 400,000 people booked on the 2,000 scrapped flights risk missing business trips and holidays. 19 Mr O’Leary says the problems were caused by a change in the way the airline calculates pilots’ leave. The holiday year used to run from April to March, but under pressure from the Irish Aviation Authority Ryanair is adopting the calendar year, as new EU rules require. Ryanair obliged its pilots to take their annual leave between April and December this year. So many are taking their holiday after the summer rush that not enough are available to maintain a full schedule.Other airlines say Ryanair’s woes are also due to pilots leaving for better pay and conditions. Norwegian, a rival low-cost carrier with outsized ambitions, claims to have recruited over 140 Ryanair pilots this year (out of around 4,200 at the Irish carrier). Mr O’Leary denies that the airline has a shortage. But evidence abounds that Ryanair’s crewing problems will substantially lift costs per passenger kilometre. Compensation and lost fares for the cancelled flights will cost €25m ($30m). Ryanair will also need to spend an extra €30m on hiring pilots.The combined cost is a small fraction of Ryanair’s profits of €1.3bn in the year to March. More serious was a less-noticed European Court of Justice ruling on September 14th which decreed that low-cost airlines’ employment disputes with crew must go to local labour courts in all the countries where airlines have bases (Irish labour law is broadly more flexible). Analysts say the firm’s costs may rise by around 5% as a result.Lately Mr O’Leary has been warning of the possible consequences of a British exit from the European Common Aviation Area with no new aviation deal. EU carriers may serve any airport within the bloc, but after Brexit flights between Britain and the remainder of the EU might have to cease. Headlines about stranded passengers could damage British politicians, he claims. This week he used Ryanair’s debacle to return to the theme. “Imagine the problems this week times one thousand,” he said. “That is what a no-deal Brexit will look like.” "Pilot light"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729471-europes-biggest-cheapest-and-most-efficient-airline-stumbles-badly-ryanair-cancels-more?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'1cf04141b0fee502a44a4c91e43338011b54afac'|'Venture capitalists sue Trump administration over foreign entrepreneur rule delay'|'September 19, 2017 / 3:13 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Venture capitalists sue Trump admin over foreign entrepreneur rule delay Reuters Staff 3 Min Read U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. venture capitalists filed suit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, claiming it illegally delayed a policy that would have allowed foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the United States to build their companies. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C. District Court by the National Venture Capital Association, argues that the Trump administration bypassed proper procedures when it delayed the Obama administration’s “International Entrepreneur” rule, due to go into effect in July, which would have allowed some foreign start-up founders to stay in the United States for up to five years to develop their businesses. Instead, in July the Trump administration pushed back implementation to March 2018, and said it was “highly likely” to ultimately rescind the rule. In delaying the program’s start date, the Department of Homeland Security did not engage in the standard “notice and comment” period government agencies go through when changing regulations or an effective date. The DHS argued in July that doing so while the agency was likely to abolish the rule would be contrary to the public interest because it would sow confusion and waste resources and mean the immigration agency would have to expend limited resources to implement the rule. The lawsuit claims that the government’s actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires advance notice of new rules. It asks the court to require the government to begin accepting applications from foreign entrepreneurs. “The process followed by DHS in deciding to delay the effective date of the rule was the polar opposite of the careful, deliberative process DHS used to formulate the rule itself,” the lawsuit argued. A DHS spokesman declined to comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit was joined by several tech start-ups active in the United States that were founded by foreign entrepreneurs who wanted to stay in the country and work with their businesses through the entrepreneur rule but are now unable to. The Obama administration estimated fewer than 3,000 entrepreneurs would be eligible for the program each year. The rule would have applied to start-up founders who own a large portion of their companies. To qualify, the companies have to have already received significant investment from American investors or government grants. Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-immigration-entrepreneurs/venture-capitalists-sue-trump-administration-over-foreign-entrepreneur-rule-delay-idINKCN1BU21L'|'2017-09-19T18:13:00.000+03:00'
'7b973f416bcee4c7626e101e874212480efba629'|'Britain''s Takeover Panel seeks to tighten rules on deals'|'September 19, 2017 / 3:24 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Britain''s Takeover Panel seeks to tighten rules on deals Pamela Barbaglia 3 Min Read A traffic sign is pictured in front of the skyline of the the Canary Wharf financial district in London October 21, 2010. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Takeover Panel wants to introduce a series of changes to its rules to help protect those involved with businesses that are being targeted by potential purchasers. Bidders will need to state their ultimate plans for the merged entity and the repercussions of the deal for the various stakeholders at a much earlier date, in conjunction with their intention to make a firm bid, according to the proposals from the Panel’s Code Committee. Buyers will also need to spell out what will happen to the target’s headquarters and research & development (R&D) operations and whether its entire workforce will be impacted, with potential changes to the mix of skilled and unskilled workers and full time versus part time staff. Such plans -- whether they remain post-offer intentions or legally binding undertakings -- will need to be published in a separate report as part of Britain’s effort to make bidders accountable for what they promise. The proposals, which have been put out for consultation until Oct. 31, have already been welcomed by Business Secretary Greg Clark stressing Britain’s “reputation for being a dependable and confident place in which to do business.” Additionally the new rules say that bidders must wait at least 14 days before announcing their plans to make a firm offer, thus extending the average time for targets to respond. Earlier this year Unilever ( ULVR.L ) boss Paul Polman urged the British government to provide a level playing field for target companies, adding the UK Takeover Code should consider the interests of stakeholders beyond shareholders. Unilever successfully fended off an unsolicited $143 billion (£105.93 billion) takeover attempt by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) in February which sparked concern over the vulnerability of large UK-listed companies once Britain leaves the EU. Prime Minister Theresa May has also pledged to protect critical infrastructure and wants her government to intervene in deals that could affect national security. The government said it will set out further measures in the autumn to safeguard national security, while ensuring the UK remains open to free trade and inward investment. Reporting By Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-takeover-code-m-a/britains-takeover-panel-seeks-to-tighten-rules-on-deals-idUKKCN1BU22L'|'2017-09-19T18:23:00.000+03:00'
'e5ee5eb893d26fa9926a468d6c36f559fd153918'|'T-Mobile, Sprint in merger talks: CNBC'|'Smartphones with the logos of T-Mobile and Sprint are seen in front of a Soft Bank logo in this illustration taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations (Reuters) - U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) is exploring taking over rival Sprint Corp ( S.N ) in an all-stock deal, after SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) offered to give up its majority ownership of Sprint, a person familiar with the matter said.The latest negotiations come after Reuters reported earlier this year that Japan’s SoftBank was prepared to give up control of Sprint to clinch a merger with T-Mobile, and only retain a minority stake in the combined company.Sprint and T-Mobile, which is controlled by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG ( DTEGn.DE ), are still weeks away from an agreement, and have not settled on a share exchange ratio or even started performing due diligence on each other, the source added.The companies have agreed, however, that John Legere, T-Mobile’s outspoken chief executive, would run the combined company should there be a deal, according to the source, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential negotiations.Both Sprint and T-Mobile did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Sprint’s shares rose 8.2 percent, while T-Mobile’s shares were up nearly 5.3 percent after CNBC first reported on the progress of the talks.Despite potential antitrust risks, investors have long expected a deal between T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless service providers, hoping for cost cuts and other synergies.T-Mobile has been gaining share from larger U.S. competitors AT&T Inc ( T.N ) and Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) in a saturated U.S. wireless market, through network improvements and lower prices.Sprint, which had earlier approached cable company Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) about a potential merger, has now put plans for a bid for Charter on the back burner as it focuses on negotiations with T-Mobile, the source said.French cable mogul Patrick Drahi’s Altice USA Inc ( ATUS.N ), however, is continuing to work on a potential bid for Charter, another source said. Altice declined to comment while Charter did not respond to a request for comment.Last month, Sprint’s chief executive said an announcement on merger talks should come in the “near future.”SoftBank previously abandoned talks to acquire T-Mobile and merge it with Sprint three years ago, amid opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators. That deal would have put SoftBank in control of the merged company, with Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder.Since then, T-Mobile has overtaken Sprint in market capitalization - the company is valued at about $51 billion, while Sprint has a market value of about $34 billion.Additional reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-t-mobile-m-a-sprint/t-mobile-sprint-in-merger-talks-cnbc-idINKCN1BU1W6'|'2017-09-19T12:24:00.000+03:00'
'be4c80de2f94b44c55e9abd40a81143edd19b116'|'Bayer says needs more time for Monsanto deal approval'|'  8:17 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Bayer says needs more time for Monsanto deal approval Ludwig Burger 3 Min Read The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo MONHEIM, Germany (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) said on Tuesday it was now likely to be early next year before it can complete its $66 billion (£48.89 billion) deal to acquire U.S. group Monsanto ( MON.N ), later than previously expected. The European Commission has been scrutinising the proposed takeover with a deadline of Jan. 8 but Bayer said in a statement it had asked the regulator for an extension on the investigation to Jan. 22, to which the EU Commission responded by saying it would take a decision shortly. Liam Condon, head of Bayer’s Crop Science division, said: “An anticipated closing of the deal in early 2018 is now more likely than end of 2017.” He also expressed his confidence that the EU would give the green light. However, the company said it could not think of any asset sales which could be made to allay the European Commission’s concerns about what it sees as Bayer’s looming dominance in digital farming. Monsanto logo is displayed on a screen where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S. on May 9, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo The Commission last month started an in-depth investigation of the takeover, saying it was worried about competition in various pesticide and seeds markets. Among a slew of markets where competition was at risk, the EU Commission at the time named Monsanto’s weed killer glyphosate, or Roundup, which competes with Bayer’s glufosinate; vegetable and canola seeds; and licensing of cotton-seed technology to peers. More broadly, it said the deal might slow the race to develop new products, and that the European Union would try to prevent Bayer from becoming too dominant in combined offerings of seeds and pesticides with the help of digital farming tools such as connected sensors, software and precision machines. Bayer, which was making a media presentation on its Crop Science business on Tuesday, also said the division would face volatile global markets for the rest of the year but would slowly return to growth from 2018, including its embattled Brazilian business. Bayer warned in June that poor sales at crop protection distributors in Brazil would full-year hit earnings. Editing by Georgina Prodhan, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-monsanto-m-a-bayer-deadline/bayer-says-needs-more-time-for-monsanto-deal-approval-idUKKCN1BU0UV'|'2017-09-19T11:15:00.000+03:00'
'f91efd1d93f0a0c58ea55ae9279c7224df09bb68'|'Activist builds 15.1 percent Clariant stake, fights Huntsman deal'|' 06 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Activist builds 15.1 percent Clariant stake, fights Huntsman deal Joshua Franklin 3 Min Read The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - The activist investor fighting Clariant’s ( CLN.S ) planned $20 billion merger with Huntsman Corp ( HUN.N ) has built a 15.1 percent stake in the Swiss chemical maker, making it the company’s biggest shareholder. In a letter to Clariant’s board of directors, White Tale Holdings, the vehicle created by investor Keith Meister’s Corvex hedge fund and New York’s 40 North to buy the Clariant shares, maintained its opposition to the Huntsman deal. “Unfortunately, we remain convinced, and increasingly so, that the proposed merger is detrimental to Clariant shareholders,” White Tale said in the letter published on Tuesday. “It both significantly destroys existing Clariant shareholder value and prevents Clariant from pursuing multiple alternative and immediate opportunities to unlock value for its shareholders.” The investor urged Clariant to look at strategic alternatives to the tie-up with Huntsman and said it was open to joining the company’s board. Clariant said in July White Tale Holdings held “in excess of 10 percent” of shares. Clariant and Huntsman in May announced a merger valued at around $20 billion including debt in which Clariant shareholders would hold 52 percent of the combination. They talked up prospects for faster growth for the combined company as rationale for “a merger of equals”. Among other things, they expect about $400 million in annual cost synergies. However, White Tale, which made public its opposition to the deal in July, said around 300 million Swiss francs ($312 million) of these savings could be achieved by Clariant alone through a cost-savings programme. “The terms of the proposed merger significantly undervalue Clariant’s shares while they simultaneously overvalue Huntsman at the peak of its cyclical commodity business cycle,” White Tale said. Clariant was not immediately available for comment. In a newspaper interview published this month, Huntsman Chief Executive Peter Huntsman said shareholders in Clariant and his own company “almost without exception” support their planned merger after learning the rationale for the deal. Two-thirds of Clariant shareholders have to back the deal at an extraordinary general meeting for it to proceed. ($1 = 0.9605 Swiss francs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-huntsman-activist-stake/activist-builds-15-1-percent-clariant-stake-fights-huntsman-deal-idUKKCN1BU0J2'|'2017-09-19T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'b4933cade1a2f9cf292b4ec56200fd7c2122f016'|'MOVES-Standard Chartered names Demir Avigdor managing director'|'  2:02 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago MOVES-Standard Chartered names Demir Avigdor managing director Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 19 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Private Bank, the private banking unit of Standard Chartered Plc, named Demir Avigdor managing director and market head of Africa and Europe, effective Oct. 30. Avigdor, who previously worked at asset management firm UBS Group AG , will report to Ian Gibson, managing director and regional head, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. (Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/standardchartered-moves-demiravigdor/moves-standard-chartered-names-demir-avigdor-managing-director-idUSL4N1M04C2'|'2017-09-19T17:02:00.000+03:00'
'64d9c37ea87a567b062220b6012340e61df8456a'|'Saudi Aramco could disclose accounts early 2018 - sources'|'  2:20 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Saudi Aramco could disclose accounts early 2018 - sources Alex Lawler , Rania El Gamal 5 Min Read Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco will be able to release its audited financial accounts in early 2018 if the government decides on a venue for listing the oil giant''s IPO and finalises several reforms this year, three sources said. (For a graphic on Aramco''s suitors click tmsnrt.rs/2jr9BCY ) It will be the first public earnings disclosure for Aramco and one of the most important internal milestones in preparing for the initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to raise as much as $100 billion (£74.07 billion). The Saudi government has said it wants the sale of five percent of Aramco to take place before the end of 2018. A Saudi government source said the share sale was on track. Releasing the 2015-2017 accounts in the first quarter would be a major step towards sticking to the 2018 goal although the IPO’s timing depends on several external factors, the sources said. “Aramco will have its 2017 results by the first quarter, the audited accounts will be available then, so the IPO could happen after that,” one of the sources said. The sources said internal accountants would send the 2017 accounts to external auditors when they have finished work on them at the beginning of next year. The auditors - named by Aramco as PwC, EY and BCG - have already audited the 2015 and 2016 accounts. They have never been released. The auditors and Aramco would first prepare a report on the accounts for all three years that it could share with a group of prospective large investors. They would then prepare a full prospectus which would be available to all investors. The accounts for 2017 would be done to reflect Saudi’s new taxation system while the two previous years would be done on a pro-forma accounting basis. However, it would make sense to release the accounts only after the government has decided where the listing will take place as different venues use different accounting standards, the sources said. For example, a listing in New York would require the accounts to be prepared according to US GAAP standards whereas IFRS standards would be acceptable for a listing in London, Hong Kong or Singapore. Aramco has so far prepared the accounts according to IFRS standards, but can quickly convert those to U.S. GAAP if the government decides to list in New York, a second source said. DECISION-MAKER The IPO is a centrepiece of Vision 2030, an ambitious reform plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil which is championed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. He has sweeping powers over defence, energy and the economy and is expected to take the final decision about Aramco’s listing venue and the other reforms. The accounts also cannot be finalised until the government has finished the reform of domestic fuel price subsidies. These are currently funded by Aramco. Under the planned reform, the government will pay for the subsidies, the sources said. This would boost Aramco''s valuation and make it more attractive to investors ahead of the IPO as it could mean a higher dividend. The government has also yet to decide on Aramco''s dividend policy.(For a graphic on possible Aramco valuations click tmsnrt.rs/2fH0rkr ) A third source said those decisions need to be taken by the fourth quarter of 2017 to keep the IPO on track: “That would keep the company on track to list by the second half of 2018. Aramco can be ready for next year. The ball is in the government’s court now.” In a statement to Reuters, Aramco said: ”The options review process for the IPO is well underway and on-track. There are no plans to release detailed financial statements in 2017. “It’s important to emphasize that we have been sharing detailed operational and financial performance data with our current shareholder. We will continue this practice with any future shareholders post listing.” The company will run its 2017 accounts under tax arrangements which were revised by the Saudi government to make the company more competitive with listed peers. “Aramco is operating the accounts under the new system internally,” the first source said. The government set a new 50 percent tax rate for the firm in March. Previously, Aramco had paid 85 percent tax, plus a 20 percent royalty levied. The two other sources confirmed the company could be ready to release accounts in early 2018. “Once the financials are ready they can create a confidential information memorandum which they can then take to anchor investors such as sovereign wealth funds and start the bookbuilding with banks,” the second source said. The timing of the IPO will also depend on getting legal and regulatory approval from the jurisdictions it opts to list in. It could also be influenced by the oil price -- currently below $60 per barrel - a price Saudi officials have identified as a good level. Additional reporting by Ron Bousso, Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Anna Willard'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-aramco-ipo/saudi-aramco-could-disclose-accounts-early-2018-sources-idUKKCN1BU1VJ'|'2017-09-19T17:19:00.000+03:00'
'54d9dff58e5efc7095f45cdc1d7bec4f450c9c69'|'Activist has 15.1 percent Clariant stake, fights Huntsman deal'|'  5:39 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Activist lifts Clariant stake, aiming to scuttle Huntsman deal Joshua Franklin , John Miller 5 Min Read The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - The activist investor fighting Clariant’s ( CLN.S ) planned $20 billion (14.82 billion pounds) merger with Huntsman Corp ( HUN.N ) has built a 15.1 percent stake that makes it the biggest shareholder in the Swiss chemicals maker. In a letter to Clariant’s board of directors, White Tale Holdings, a vehicle created by investor Keith Meister’s Corvex hedge fund and New York’s 40 North, underscored its opposition to the Huntsman deal. “Unfortunately, we remain convinced, and increasingly so, that the proposed merger is detrimental to Clariant shareholders,” it said in the letter published on Tuesday. “It both significantly destroys existing Clariant shareholder value and prevents Clariant from pursuing multiple alternative and immediate opportunities to unlock value for its shareholders.” Clariant responded by reaffirming that its board is determined to go ahead with the deal. “The planned merger is the best value-creating option for all stakeholders,” Clariant said in a statement late on Tuesday. The company said the deal would create $3.5 billion of value, largely through cost and tax savings, adding that a further merger update would be released in the coming weeks. White Tale, which said it was open to joining Clariant’s board, said alternatives included a sale of its plastics and coatings unit, which accounts for 43 percent of Clariant’s 5.8 billion Swiss francs (4.46 billion pounds) of annual revenue. Clariant, however, said that a sale of that business at this stage would be “value destructive in view of its significant cash contribution and cost coverage”. Clariant is the latest company to have its plans challenged by an activist investor, with global companies including Nestle NESN.VX and BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) both facing criticism. Clariant shares fell 0.5 percent on Tuesday. Huntsman shares were down 1.5 percent at 1925 GMT. In July Clariant said that White Tale Holdings held “in excess of 10 percent” of its shares. ‘MERGER OF EQUALS’ Clariant and Huntsman in May announced a merger valued at about $20 billion including debt in which Clariant shareholders would hold 52 percent of the combination. They talked up prospects for faster growth for the combined company as rationale for “a merger of equals”. Among other things, they expect about $400 million in annual cost benefits. However, White Tale, which made public its opposition in July, said around 300 million Swiss francs of these savings could be achieved by Clariant alone. “The terms of the proposed merger significantly undervalue Clariant’s shares while they simultaneously overvalue Huntsman at the peak of its cyclical commodity business cycle,” White Tale said. Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Christian Faitz, rejected White Tale’s criticism. “White Tale’s suggestions are naive, in our view,” he said. “Real life in the chemical industry is not planned on a consultant or banker flip chart.” In a newspaper interview published this month, Huntsman Chief Executive Peter Huntsman said shareholders in Clariant and his own company “almost without exception” supported the deal after learning the rationale. Two thirds of Clariant shareholders must back the merger at a special meeting for it to proceed. The date has yet to be set, with Clariant CEO Hariolf Kottmann saying he would only schedule it after regulators approve the deal. At the Swiss company’s last annual shareholder meeting in March, however, investors representing only 53 percent of the share capital voted. At that participation level White Tale would have just shy of 30 percent of the votes and would need only a limited number of allies to halt the deal. However, it is likely turnout at the next meeting will be higher. To that end, Kottmann has been meeting investors, including at the Dorchester Hotel in London this month, to convince them of the transaction’s merits. A person close to the matter said Clariant’s second-largest investor, a group of Bavarian families who hold about 14 percent of the shares, remained “fully supportive” of the merger. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt and Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich; Editing by Michael Shields, Mark Potter and David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-clariant-huntsman-activist-stake/activist-has-15-1-percent-clariant-stake-fights-huntsman-deal-idUKKCN1BU0H4'|'2017-09-19T08:47:00.000+03:00'
'b28503c29627c33fcd35a27be7c31cd6d0471712'|'Exclusive - Google offers to treat rivals equally via auction: sources'|'September 18, 2017 / 11:01 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Exclusive: Google offers to treat rivals equally via auction: sources Foo Yun Chee 3 Min Read The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google ( GOOGL.O ) has offered to display rival comparison shopping sites via an auction, as it aims to stave off further EU antitrust fines, four people familiar with the matter said. Google is under pressure to come up with a big initiative to level the playing field in comparison shopping, but its proposal was roundly criticized by competitors as inadequate, the sources said. EU enforcers see the antitrust case as a benchmark for investigations into other areas dominated by the U.S. search giant such as travel and online mapping. Google has already been fined a record 2.4 billion euros ($2.9 bln) by the European Commission for favoring its own service, and could face millions of euros in fresh fines if it fails to treat rivals and its own service equally. In its proposal submitted to the European Commission on Aug. 29, the company said it would allow competitors to bid for any spot in its shopping section known as Product Listing Ads, the sources said. Since then, Google, whose parent is Alphabet Inc, has sought feedback from four to five competitors, which was overwhelmingly negative, the sources said. The adverse reaction could undermine the U.S. company’s efforts to win over EU antitrust regulators. Three years ago, the world’s most popular internet search engine made a similar offer in an attempt to settle a long-running investigation by the Commission and stave off a fine. That was ultimately rejected following criticism from rivals and discord within the EU executive. Under that proposal, Google would reserve the first two places for its own ads. The new offer would also see Google set a floor price with its own bids minus operating costs. The offer does not address the issues set out by EU competition regulators, the sources said. “This is worse than the commitments,” one of the people said, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. The European Commission said the onus was on Google to comply with its cease and desist order. “It is Google’s sole responsibility to ensure compliance with the Commission antitrust decision, and it is for Google to explain how it intends to do so,” spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said. Google did not respond to a request for comment. UK price comparison site Foundem, whose complaint triggered the EU investigation in 2010, dismissed the auction proposal. “Unless Google is volunteering to break up its general-and specialized-search businesses, the inclusion of Google’s comparison shopping competitors into a new or existing pay-for-placement auction would simply create an additional anti-competitive barrier,” the company said. Google has until Sept. 28 to stop its anti-competitive practices or its parent company Alphabet could be fined up to 5 percent of its average daily worldwide turnover or around $12 million a day, based on Alphabet’s 2016 turnover of $90.3 billion. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-google-antitrust-exclusive/exclusive-google-offers-to-display-rival-sites-via-auction-sources-idUKKCN1BT13Y'|'2017-09-18T18:45:00.000+03:00'
'2924598b70943f0f2b847e713f9e450ae4fc6d03'|'MOVES-Lazard debt restructuring banker returns to Toys R Us'|'Sept 18 (Reuters) - Toys “R” Us Inc has been relying on the debt restructuring advice of investment bank Lazard Ltd as it prepares to file for bankruptcy and now the struggling U.S. toy retailer has decided it wants to bring some of Lazard’s expertise inhouse.Former Toys “R” Us executive Chetan Bhandari has agreed to leave Lazard’s debt restructuring practice, where he works as a managing director, to rejoin the retailer as senior finance director, a Toys “R” Us spokeswoman said on Monday.Companies in distress often seek to hire seasoned debt restructuring professionals so they can better navigate a bankruptcy process and increase their chances of escaping liquidation.Bhandari worked at Toys “R” Us as treasurer and senior vice president from 2014 until early this year, when he joined Lazard.Before joining Toys “R” Us, Bhandari had worked in debt restructuring advisory and leveraged finance roles at GLC Advisors & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS Group AG .Lazard has been advising Toys “R” Us on how to handle its approximately $5 billion debt pile, including $400 million that comes due next year. Toys “R” Us is preparing for a bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday season, sources said last week.Retailers are going through a major downturn, stemming in part from growing competition from ecommerce sites such as Amazon.com Inc.Lazard is working on several of these restructurings, including luxury department store Neiman Marcus Group and shoe and accessories seller Nine West Holdings Inc.Toys “R” Us is the latest in a string of financially distressed companies hiring executives with debt restructuring experience.Claire’s Stores Inc, for example, an accessories retailer for girls and teens, hired Ronald Marshall as CEO last year, after he worked for book seller Borders Group Inc and supermarket chain The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co, both of which filed for bankruptcy.Claire’s completed an out-of-court debt restructuring last year to buy time to help improve its finances. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toysrus-bankruptcy-bhandari/moves-lazard-debt-restructuring-banker-returns-to-toys-r-us-idINL2N1LZ15Q'|'2017-09-18T16:39:00.000+03:00'
'3010df0b3120b696c55dac692b45f1cdcb8bf686'|'Azeri parliament to ratify new deal with BP-led consortium in 2017'|'  12:14 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Azeri parliament to ratify new deal with BP-led consortium in 2017 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A BP logo is seen at a new petrol station on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan’s parliament is expected to ratify an oilfield development contract with a BP ( BP.L )-led consortium before the end of 2017, the head of state oil group SOCAR said on Tuesday. BP and Azerbaijan agreed last week to extend to 2050 the contract to develop the country’s biggest oilfields - Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG), a deal dubbed “the contract of the century” when first signed in 1994 until 2024. The new contract secures large investment in Azerbaijan’s oil sector over decades and a one-off bonus of $3.6 billion (£2.67 billion) for the government, a welcome boost for a country that has struggled with a sharp drop in oil prices in the past three years. “The new contract is expected to be submitted to the parliament before the end of 2017, coming into force after ratification,” Rovnag Abdullayev, president of state-owned energy company SOCAR, told Reuters. He said the main goal of the new contract was to spur interest among SOCAR’s foreign partners in new long-term investments and to secure sustainable exploration of the oilfields. The logo of SOCAR Energy Switzerland is seen on a filling station in Bern, Switzerland May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich “Today our financial and technological resources are much more advanced than back in the 1990s, when the first ”contract of the century“ was negotiated,” Abdullayev said. “That allows Azerbaijan to act independently, having an effect on the final outcome of all negotiations.” Abdullayev said that according to the new contract Azerbaijan’s direct share in profitable oil amounted to 75 percent and the ratio was not subject to any variations from the start until the end of the contract, thus contributing to stability of the national income. Under the new production sharing agreement, SOCAR will increase its share to 25 percent from 11.65 percent, while BP’s stake declines to 30.37 percent from 35.8 percent. BP will remain the operator. Stakes of other firms in the BP-led consortium have also been reduced. Chevron ( CVX.N ) now has 9.57 percent, Inpex ( 1605.T ) 9.31 percent, Statoil ( STL.OL ) 7.27 percent, ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ) 6.79 percent, TPAO 5.73 percent, Itochu ( 8001.T ) 3.65 percent and ONGC Videsh ( ONVI.BO ) 2.31 percent. The ACG fields produce 585,000 barrels per day, accounting for three quarters of the Azerbaijan’s oil output, but production is expected to rise as the partners could invest up to $40 billion in the next 32 years. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-azerbaijan-agreement/azeri-parliament-to-ratify-new-deal-with-bp-led-consortium-in-2017-idUKKCN1BU1K9'|'2017-09-19T15:15:00.000+03:00'
'dedc4ba699e14e1d10246299190891741b39581b'|'Oil major Total buys 23 percent stake in EREN renewables group for 237.5 million euros'|'Striking union workers of French oil giant Total gather in front of the oil refinery to protest the the governments proposed labor law reforms in Donges, France, May 26, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe PARIS (Reuters) - Oil major Total has stepped up its expansion into renewables with investments in solar and wind energy producer EREN RE and energy efficiency firm GreenFlex.Bruised by pressure on oil prices over the last two years, Europe’s biggest oil companies have been intensifying their push into renewable energy to seek new sources of future revenue.Total said it was buying a 23 percent stake in renewables company EREN RE for 237.5 million euros ($285 million), and could later acquire full control of the business.It is also acquiring GreenFlex, which specializes in finding ways to use energy more efficiently and forecasts 2017 revenues of more than 350 million euros.Total did not give a value for that deal, but Philippe Sauquet, president of Total’s gas, renewables and power units, said the group wanted GreenFlex to be the “linchpin of its growth in the energy efficiency industry in Europe.”The EREN and GreenFlex deals also come a month after Total bought Maersk’s oil and gas business in a $7.5 billion deal to boost output at its core division.“EREN RE’s momentum will allow us to accelerate our growth in solar energy and move us into the wind power market,” Sauquet said in a statement.“The agreement with EREN RE is a major step towards our objective of achieving 5 GW (gigawatts) of installed capacity in five years,” he added.Total shares were up 0.5 percent in mid-session trade.“It’s a sensible deal, and Total also has the benefit of paying out a dividend yield of around 5.5 percent,” said Clairinvest fund manager Ion-Marc Valahu, who owns Total shares.Analysts at Jefferies said in a note that Total was withstanding a tricky economic environment and doing well in terms of “rejuvenating” its portfolio.Last year, Total’s start-up ventures unit bought a stake in wind turbines company United Wind, while it also announced plans to install solar panels at 5,000 service stations.Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Additional reporting by Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-eren-m-a-total/oil-major-total-buys-23-percent-stake-in-eren-renewables-group-for-237-5-million-euros-idINKCN1BU0OC'|'2017-09-19T05:06:00.000+03:00'
'4948ee1e3e9a6004b7ebfa583aa4d30df086c09b'|'Overhauling management, Akzo Nobel hires Intertrust CFO De Vries'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:37 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Overhauling management, Akzo Nobel hires Intertrust CFO De Vries Reuters Staff 2 Min Read AMSTERDAM, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel , which rejected a 26 billion euro ($31.2 billion) takeover approach from U.S. rival PPG Industries this year -- has hired a new chief financial officer from financial services group Intertrust. Maarten de Vries, who joined Intertrust only at the start of this year, will move to Akzo, the maker of Dulux paint, on Jan. 1. He replaces its former CFO Maelys Castella, who stepped down 11 days ago due to illness. The move underlines dramatic management changes at both companies, each of which has issued a profit warning since July. De Vries’s appointment follows the resignation of former Akzo Nobel CEO Ton Buechner due to illness in July, while Chairman Antony Burgmans has promised to leave at the end of his term in April. Under Buechner and Burgmans, Akzo fended off PPG, pleasing employees and Dutch politicians but outraging the company’s foreign investor base. On Sept. 9, Akzo warned it would miss 2017 financial targets and announced Castella’s departure. For Intertrust, which provides trust office management and regulatory compliance services, the departure of De Vries follows the announcement by long-term CEO David de Buck that he will not seek reappointment. De Buck’s decision came after a July profit warning that sent shares to record lows. At an August presentation of its second quarter earnings, Intertrust said it had put a freeze on M&A activity until it could fully integrate an earlier acquisition and launched a review of its “capital structure.” Intertrust spokeswoman Marieke Palstra said the departure of De Vries was a personal issue, taking up an opportunity to leave a smaller company for a Dutch blue chip. “Nothing has changed.” since the company’s August update, she said. The company has launched searches for a new CEO and a new CFO. Intertrust shares fell 3 percent to 13.75 euros by 0720 GMT, while Akzo was off 0.2 percent at 78.51 euros. ($1 = 0.8344 euros) (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-intertrust-moves/overhauling-management-akzo-nobel-hires-intertrust-cfo-de-vries-idUSL5N1M0176'|'2017-09-19T15:37:00.000+03:00'
'018acdc6e50096838f6333efba93015263e671dc'|'Ford to cut production at five North American vehicle plants'|'FILE PHOTO: The Ford logo is seen on a car in a park lot in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) said on Tuesday it plans to idle five North American vehicle assembly plants for a total of 10 weeks to reduce inventories of slow-selling models. The plants affected include three assembly plants in the United States and two in Mexico, the company said in a statement. The vehicle models include the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize sedans, the Ford Focus compact car, the Lincoln Continental and Ford Mustang, Ford Fiesta and the Ford Transit van. Ford said the Cuautitlan assembly plant that builds the Fiesta would be idled for three weeks. The Hermosillo, Mexico plant that builds the Fusion and MKZ and the Flat Rock, Michigan, factory that assembles Continentals and Mustangs will be idled for two weeks each. The Michigan Assembly plant that builds the Focus will be idled for one week and the Kansas City assembly line that builds Transit vans will be down for two weeks. Ford did not give dates for the temporary shutdowns. The factories involved employ more than 15,000 people, according to Ford’s website. The company did not say how many of those workers would face temporary layoffs. As of Sept. 1, Ford had 111 days’ worth of unsold Mustangs, 87 days’ supply of Fusions, and a 103 days’ supply of Transit vans, according to Automotive News. Dealers had enough unsold Lincoln Continentals to last 162 days. Automakers aim for 65 to 70 days of inventory of most models. Ford and rival General Motors Co ( GM.N ) have wrestled most of this year to rein in high inventories of passenger cars as consumers have shifted to buying pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Production cuts slice into revenue, but also could help the automakers avoid deeper price cuts on vehicles they can sell. Reporting By Joe White; Editing by Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-production/ford-to-cut-production-at-five-north-american-vehicle-plants-idUSKCN1BU2PS'|'2017-09-19T23:13:00.000+03:00'
'666de3249087cf07bfcffbf68cdf4e30358586ee'|'Teva Pharma to sell some women''s health assets for $1.38 billion'|'A building belonging to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world''s biggest generic drugmaker and Israel''s largest company, is seen in Jerusalem February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd ( TEVA.N ) ( TEVA.TA ) said on Monday it would sell the remaining assets in its specialty women’s health business for $1.38 billion in two separate transactions.Israel-based Teva will use proceeds from these sales, along with those from its recently announced sale of contraceptive brand Paragard, to repay debt, the company said.CVC Capital Partners Fund VI will pay $703 million in cash for a portfolio in Teva’s global women’s health business including contraception, fertility, menopause and osteoporosis products, Teva said.Net sales of these products in 2016 amounted to $258 million.Teva also agreed to sell its Plan B One-Step and its brands of emergency contraception to Foundation Consumer Healthcare for $675 million in cash. Combined annual net sales of these products were $140 million last year.Teva last week said it would sell Paragard to a unit of Cooper Companies Inc ( COO.N ) for $1.1 billion.“Today’s announcement, coupled with the recent announcement of the sale of Paragard for $1.1 billion, demonstrate Teva’s commitment to delivering on our promise to generate net proceeds of at least $2 billion” from the divestitures, said Yitzhak Peterburg, interim chief executive. “With these initial divestitures we have exceeded expectations.”Teva last week poached Lundbeck’s ( LUN.CO ) Kare Schultz as its new chief executive, handing the drugs industry veteran the urgent task of convincing investors of the struggling Israeli firm’s future.An acquisition spree saddled Teva with huge debts, eroding confidence in the world’s largest generics drugmaker, whose stock has halved since early August when it cut its forecasts.Teva has said it plans to pay down $5 billion of debt by year-end and is selling off businesses such as its women’s health business and European oncology and pain unit.The latest transactions are expected to close before the end of 2017.Reporting by Tova Cohen in Tel Aviv and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Steven Scheer and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-teva-pharm-ind-divestiture/teva-pharma-to-sell-some-womens-health-assets-for-1-38-billion-idINKCN1BT1DO'|'2017-09-18T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'd037a08db5bb7b28f0993a5c218547da8977c721'|'Microsoft''s Hotmail and Outlook.com suffer all-day outage in Europe'|'  7:27 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Microsoft''s Hotmail and Outlook.com suffer all-day outage in Europe Eric Auchard 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo is shown on the Microsoft Theatre at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Microsoft’s ( MSFT.O ) free email services Outlook.com and Hotmail suffered an outage across Europe on Monday, preventing users from sending and receiving emails for 12 hours. The outage began at 0720 GMT and continued to affect users across the region nearly 12 hours later, Microsoft said in a blog post on its Office 365 security site. Microsoft said it was working to resolve the glitch and would issue an update later on Monday on the status of its services. “We’re continuing to investigate to determine the source of the issue and to identify service recovery steps,” the firm said. It said the issue involved part of the company’s internet traffic load-balancing system which was gobbling up server capacity despite no apparent increase in user traffic. Outage reports were concentrated in Western Europe and Britain, according to DownDetector.co.uk, an outage reporting site. No other major Microsoft online services appeared to be affected. Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-microsoft-outages/microsofts-hotmail-and-outlook-com-suffer-all-day-outage-in-europe-idUKKCN1BT2FV'|'2017-09-18T22:27:00.000+03:00'
'd1b6133e8d78224ef32ee292e57531ef9ad1a5a4'|'FCA to implement European payments shake-up'|'  11:54 AM / Updated 6 hours ago FCA to implement European payments shake-up Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s financial watchdog said on Tuesday it will implement European Union rules aimed at opening the banking sector to greater competition. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), will also make payments cheaper and more secure. The changes include a requirement for banks to open up their closely-guarded customer data to other firms, which can use it to offer better services, chipping away at banks’ dominance and ability to cross-sell their own products. Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said in a statement that firms should ensure they understand what they need to do to get ready for the new regime. The rule changes will affect banks and building societies as well as payment and e-money institutions, with fintech firms expected to benefit substantially from the changes. PSD2 has to be implemented into national law by January 2018 - more than a year before Britain leaves the European Union. Reporting by Emma Rumney; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-payments/fca-to-implement-european-payments-shake-up-idUKKCN1BU1IC'|'2017-09-19T14:54:00.000+03:00'
'788abe9eb93cfb0a9de61a7628507f93021ad29c'|'Bayer halts non-U.S. sales of its contraceptive implant'|'September 18, 2017 / 11:10 PM / Updated 14 hours ago Bayer halts non-U.S. sales of its contraceptive implant Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer AG said in a statement on its French website that it would stop selling its contraceptive implant, Essure, in countries other than the United States. The company said the decision was taken for commercial reasons and was not linked to a safety or product quality problem. ( bit.ly/2w3vzxD ) The device, which was approved in the United States in 2002, was billed as an alternative to tubal ligation for permanent birth control. The FDA has since received thousands of complaints, including reports of the device breaking or moving and causing injuries. Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-bayer-essure/bayer-halts-non-u-s-sales-of-its-contraceptive-implant-idUKKCN1BT2RD'|'2017-09-19T02:01:00.000+03:00'
'2844034fcaad3b5792979852adcfcfe368281b4b'|'MBDA chief sees Italy keeping missiles stake'|'FILE PHOTO: Antoine Bouvier, CEO of European missile maker MBDA, attends a news conference in Paris March 18, 2014. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS (Reuters) - The head of MBDA expects Italian defense contractor Leonardo to remain a shareholder in the European missiles maker, signaling a potential asset swap between its owners is off the table.The maker of Meteor air-to-air weapons and the Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missile is owned by France’s Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and Britain’s BAE Systems ( BAES.L ), which both have a 37.5 percent stake, and by Leonardo ( LDOF.MI ) with 25 percent.In recent years, Leonardo pondered taking greater control of civil turboprop maker ATR, which it co-owns with Airbus, while Airbus expressed interest in buying out Leonardo at MBDA, prompting periodic discussions over a possible swap.Asked if he believed Leonardo would remain a shareholder, MBDA Chief Executive Antoine Bouvier said: “Yes”.“Nothing is certain, but the fundamentals concerning Italy and Leonardo, as well as MBDA’s involvement in arming Italian platforms, point in that direction,” he added.Bouvier’s comments at a meeting of the French aerospace journalists association further diminish the likelihood of a reorganization of MBDA, following recent signs that Italy wants to keep hold of its stake for strategic reasons.The head of the country’s defense companies association said in June Leonardo would not cut its MBDA stake.MBDA vies with Lockheed Martin ( LMT.N ) of the United States for position as the world’s second largest missiles maker after Raytheon ( RTN.N ), according to industry analysts.It was formed in 2001 through a merger of French, British and Italian interests and later absorbed activities held by Airbus in Germany.Bouvier said he saw no short-term acquisition opportunities in Europe but favored growth through industrial co-operation, having signed a partnership with Romania last month.Italy’s determination to keep a presence in missiles through MBDA leaves unresolved questions over the future of ATR, the world’s largest civil turboprop maker.Airbus and Leonardo disagree over whether to invest in a new turboprop program, a move supported on the Italian side.ATR Chief Executive Christian Scherer said last week it was examining a possible change in legal status from Groupement d‘Interet Economique - a pooling arrangement which favors co-operation but does not post its own profits - to a regular French corporation known as “Societe Anonyme”.Describing such a step as “emancipation,” he suggested it could create some flexibility if the owners decided to raise new funds for a future program or open it up to new industrial shareholders, for example in Asia where ATR sees most growth.“I cannot speak for the shareholders, but before looking at a new program, we need a legal structure that gives us the means to attract new investors and abandon the straightjacket of a private club,” he said.Pressure on ATR to examine its successful but aging portfolio rose this week when Brazil’s Embraer said it was thinking about developing a turboprop.Reporting by Tim Hepher and Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-defence-mbda/mbda-chief-sees-italy-keeping-missiles-stake-idUSKCN1BU1ZD'|'2017-09-19T17:48:00.000+03:00'
'3ad9ad3418bcaaff1513a1182c57102c97ff142a'|'Total working with Brazil agency to clear Amazonas drilling -official'|'  2:34 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Total working with Brazil agency to clear Amazonas drilling -official Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Oil major Total is working with Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama to resolve the last questions regarding the process to obtain a license to drill at Foz do Amazonas area, Maxime Rabilloud, head of Total’s Brazil unit, said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-oil-total/total-working-with-brazil-agency-to-clear-amazonas-drilling-official-idUSE6N1HI02A'|'2017-09-20T17:31:00.000+03:00'
'6d710ae8767c2c51f8970aa80dd9080efa777b5d'|'Asia stocks steady, dollar treads water as investors count down to Fed'|'September 20, 2017 / 12:58 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago Stocks, dollar flat as investors brace for Fed statement Caroline Valetkevitch 3 Min Read A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks and the dollar were steady on Wednesday with investors cautious ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve statement that may give clues on whether the central bank will raise interest rates for a third time this year. MSCI’s World index .MIWD PUS, which tracks stocks in 46 countries, was up 0.1 percent and hit another record, while U.S. Treasuries prices gained slightly. With the Fed due to release its latest policy statement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), caution prevailed. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to announce that it will begin paring its bond holdings, and many analysts and investors expect the reductions may begin in October. While the Fed is expected to hold rates steady, investors are keen to see the Fed’s economic projections and any other signals on whether a rate increase in December is likely. “If they are slightly more dovish in their language, I think you could see a reversal in the banks, but I don’t see a lot of activity,” said Aaron Clark, portfolio manager at GW&K Investment Management. The S&P financial index .SPSY was up 0.2 percent on Wednesday after rising 0.8 percent in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 9.85 points, or 0.04 percent, to 22,380.65, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.67 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,505.98 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 21.10 points, or 0.33 percent, to 6,440.23. Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 lost 0.18 percent. Markets are pricing in a 58-percent probability of the Fed raising rates in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The European Central Bank is widely expected to say next month that it will begin scaling back its asset-purchase stimulus program from January, even though a stronger euro, which dampens inflation, has complicated the outlook. Slideshow (2 Images) The dollar index .DXY fell 0.01 percent, with the euro EUR= unchanged at $1.1992. The New Zealand dollar hit its strongest in more than a month at $0.7374 NZD= after a poll showed the ruling National Party regaining a wide lead over the opposition before Saturday''s election. In the bond market, benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR were last up in 3/32 price to yield 2.232 percent, from 2.243 percent on Tuesday. Oil prices were higher, but pared gains after data showed a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.78 percent to $50.36 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $55.85, up 1.73 percent on the day. Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru, Nigel Stephenson in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Catherine Evans and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-steady-after-wall-st-notches-record-highs-dollar-holds-firm-idUKKCN1BV02L'|'2017-09-20T08:26:00.000+03:00'
'70d2b2e0433ba691cb77783cefc67af659e31522'|'Corrected: Japan exports surge at fastest in nearly four years on global demand'|'A man works between shipping containers at a port in Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Files TOKYO (Reuters) - Booming shipments of cars and electronics in August drove up Japan’s exports at the fastest pace in nearly four years, further evidence that overseas demand is strong enough to support healthy economic growth.The 18.1 percent annual increase in exports was the fastest since November 2013 and handily beat the median estimate for a 14.7 percent annual rise seen in a Reuters poll.August’s export result was well up on July’s 13.4 percent, and marked a ninth straight month of expansion.Export growth is seen likely to continue as the global economy remains on a solid footing, which should underpin policymakers’ confidence in Japan’s economic outlook.The Bank of Japan is expected to keep monetary policy on hold at a meeting ending on Thursday as inflation remains confusingly low despite data pointing to solid economic growth.“This data suggests that overseas demand will drive Japan’s growth in July-September and make up for slight weakness in consumer spending,” said Hiroaki Muto, economist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.“The global economy is healthy, so expect Japan’s exports to accelerate even further.”Japan’s exports rose 10.4 percent by volume in August from a year ago, following a 2.6 percent annual increase in July.Export volumes rose the most since 2010 in August, suggesting that net trade should have started to support growth in the third quarter, Marcel Thieliant, Japan economist at Capital Economics, said in a research note.A pickup in shipments of cars, car parts, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased Japan’s year-on-year exports to the United States in August by 21.8 percent versus an 11.5 percent annual increase in the previous month.The rise in Japan’s exports to the United States in August was the fastest since December 2014, finance ministry data showed.China-bound exports rose 25.8 percent year-on-year in August, faster than a 17.6 percent annual increase in July as Japan shipped more electronic screens panels and plastics.Imports rose 15.2 percent in the year to August, versus the median estimate of an 11.8 percent increase.The trade balance came to a surplus of 113.6 billion yen ($1.02 billion), versus the median estimate of a 93.9 billion yen surplus.Capital Economics’ Thieliant noted, however that: “The surge in the annual growth rates was driven by base effects. In seasonally-adjusted terms, both export and import values rose by a modest 1.2 percent month-on-month.”Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Eric Meijer '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-trade/japan-exports-surge-at-fastest-in-nearly-four-years-on-global-demand-idINKCN1BV038'|'2017-09-19T23:05:00.000+03:00'
'b4146309a7ff6df47ee17bbec964067270cc79ba'|'How $5 billion of debt caught up with Toys ''R'' Us'|'September 20, 2017 / 5:13 AM / Updated an hour ago How $5 billion of debt caught up with Toys ''R'' Us Jessica DiNapoli , Tracy Rucinski 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Consumers leave a Toys R Us store with full shopping carts after shopping on the day dubbed "Black Friday" in Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S., November 25, 2011. REUTERS/Adam Hunger/File Photo (Reuters) - Toys “R” Us Inc has been making $400 million (296 million pounds) in interest payments on its debt every year, largely due to its $6.6 billion leveraged buyout in 2005. This week, it succumbed to its debt burden, leading to the biggest bankruptcy of a U.S. retailer since that of Kmart in 2004. The largest U.S. toy retailer’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday took investors by surprise, given that the company faced no imminent debt maturities and had managed to overcome financial stress in the past by securing concessions from its creditors. But company’s ability to kick the can down the road had been exhausted. The bankruptcy filing was the culmination of an unsuccessful seven-month effort by Toys “R” Us to find relief from its $5.2 billion debt pile, according to bankruptcy court filings and people familiar with the deliberations. The advisers that Toys “R” Us hired to fix its capital structure explored at least two deals with some of its creditors to raise money that would have helped the company stave off bankruptcy before the key holiday shopping season, avoiding a supply chain disruption stemming from vendor fears about repayment, a bankruptcy filing shows. The Wayne, New Jersey-based company’s creditors’ unwillingness to show any more leniency underscores the lack of confidence by investors in the troubled brick-and-mortar retail sector, which has been pummelled by the rise of e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). Toys “R” Us was looking to raise at least $200 million to make it to January, at which point it could work on fixing its entire capital structure, according to court filings. Over the years, Toys “R” Us had been able to win other short-term fixes from creditors, even as its financial performance deteriorated. Once the company realized that it could not secure financing to get through the holiday season, the objective became “let’s get it done as quick as possible so it does not interrupt the holidays,” Toys “R” Us Chief Executive Officer David Brandon told Reuters in an interview. Filing for bankruptcy allowed the company to secure financing to continue to operate its stores. Given that “we successfully obtained our debtor-in-possession financing today, we can assure our lenders that we are in a good position to accept shipments on a normal basis and they have great assurance they will be paid,” Brandon said. FILE PHOTO: People walk past Toys R Us in Times Square the day after Christmas in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., December 26, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo FAILED DEALS Like other retailers that own their stores, Toys “R” Us tried last month to tap its vast real estate portfolio to raise money in a sale-leaseback transaction, according to court filings. Sale-leaseback deals allow retailers to raise cash by selling real estate they own and then renting it back from the new owner. For example, Bon-Ton Stores Inc ( BONT.O ), another retailer in financial distress, completed a similar deal last week, generating $18.9 million to pay down its debt. In an attempt to clinch the sale-leaseback deal, Toys “R” Us negotiated with a key group of creditors holding a portion of the company’s $1 billion term loan, but accounting issues and a tight time frame prevented them from reaching an agreement, according to people familiar with the matter. Toys “R” Us also went to the bondholders of its international affiliates last month for financing it planned to use to fund its U.S. operations, but the terms offered were too expensive, the people said. At that point, Toys “R” Us decided to change tack and initiate preparations for a Chapter 11 filing in September, ahead of the quarterly earnings release on Sept. 26. News reports about the possible bankruptcy on Sept. 6 accelerated bankruptcy preparations, because suppliers to Toys “R” Us curbed their shipments, afraid they might not be repaid, according to the filings. In a sign of the company’s haste, it filed for bankruptcy without a plan of reorganization or a deal with creditors, as is preferred in these circumstances. Toys “R” Us said it plans to keep its stores open through the bankruptcy process, though it remains unclear whether it can emerge from bankruptcy with most of its approximately 1,600 stores still open. On Tuesday, Toys “R” Us Inc received bankruptcy court permission to borrow more than $2 billion to start paying suppliers, so it can stock up on items like Lego building blocks and Barbie dolls for the holiday season. Private equity firms KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) and Bain Capital LP, together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust ( VNO.N ), took Toys “R” Us private in 2005. On Monday, they all supported the company filing for bankruptcy, according to the sources. Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-timeline/how-5-billion-of-debt-caught-up-with-toys-r-us-idUKKCN1BV0GO'|'2017-09-20T08:13:00.000+03:00'
'71017b6373d9ec5c23c859bdfb0947b670f56800'|'French wind power capacity seen overtaking UK, Spain by 2030 - WindEurope'|'September 20, 2017 / 10:58 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago French wind power capacity seen overtaking UK, Spain by 2030 - WindEurope Bate Felix 3 Min Read Power-generating windmill turbines are seen near Port Saint Louis du Rhone, near Marseille, May 7, 2014. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier PARIS (Reuters) - France is set to become Europe’s second biggest generator of electricity from wind power behind Germany by 2030, overtaking the UK and Spain thanks to policies being put in place by the current government, according to an industry association. WindEurope’s chief executive Giles Dickson told a conference in Paris on Wednesday that France’s outlook for offshore and onshore wind power projects was the best in Europe. “France is number four in terms of installed capacity.We estimate that by 2030, thanks to the policies of the current government, France will overtake the United Kingdom and Spain in terms of installed capacity,” Dickson said. He declined to give figures behind the forecast, adding that a detailed forecast for European projects will be published next week. However, he said: “From where we are sitting in Brussels, and looking at what is happening across Europe, the outlook for France is maybe the most positive that we are observing.” The forecast suggested that wind’s share of French electricity generating capacity would be above 25 percent in 2030, and if all goes well, France would become second in Europe behind Germany, Dickson said. French President Emmanuel Macron plans to increase the share of renewable generation in the French electricity mix by launching a tender competition for 26 gigawatts (GW) of renewables capacity during his first term so as to curb France’s dependency on nuclear power. France, a net power exporter in Europe, depends on atomic energy for over 75 percent of its electricity needs. The government plans to reduce that to 50 percent by 2025. However, if France is to meet the target of increasing installed wind capacity to 15 GW by the end of next year, and double current capacity to 26 GW by 2023, it would have to ramp up projects and remove administrative hurdles that have hampered new developments, Olivier Perot, head of French wind lobby FEE, told the conference. Wind electricity production in France amounted to about 11 terrawatt-hours (TWh) in the first half of 2017 and represented about 4.5 percent of French electricity consumption, according to data from the ecology ministry. Installed wind electricity capacity stood at 12.3 GW as of June 30, while projects under construction amounted to 11.6 GW, the data showed. New projects connected to the electricity grid in the first half of 2017 reached 519 megawatts, a 9 percent drop compared with 2016. Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Geert De Clercq, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-windpower/french-wind-power-capacity-seen-overtaking-uk-spain-by-2030-windeurope-idUKKCN1BV1CG'|'2017-09-20T13:58:00.000+03:00'
'36a4917e0196d55c06f7cb48b06fd34ebddf0263'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Russian bank bailout talk hits Moscow financial shares, elsewhere flat pre-Fed'|'September 20, 2017 / 9:07 AM / Updated 5 hours ago EMERGING MARKETS-Russian bank bailout talk hits Moscow financial shares, elsewhere flat pre-Fed Sujata Rao 6 Min Read LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Russia’s bank and financial shares index fell on Wednesday after a lender asked authorities for a bailout, while other emerging assets flatlined, awaiting the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. Emerging stocks traded just off three-year highs and sovereign bond yields have also pulled off multi-year lows, with the Fed expected to announce a decision to start paring bond holdings and provide hints of a possible December rate hike. “The pain move in emerging markets has already been experienced over the past two weeks as we’ve seen a steep rise in the core rates market both in Europe and the U.S.,” Societe Generale analyst Phoenix Kalen said, predicting a “day of consolidation”. “Looking ahead the overall backdrop is still very benign with the gradual pace of normalisation and the well-flagged signals from the (European Central Bank) and Fed,” she added. The Fed meeting overshadowed fresh threats from U.S. President Donald Trump against North Korea, with a flat dollar even allowing the Korean won to strengthen 0.3 percent. Investors are awaiting more news from Russia where the central bank was considering a request to bail out B&N, the country’s 12th largest bank by assets, just three weeks after Otkritie bank was rescued. While Russia’s main equity index was flat, bank shares slipped 0.3 percent to a two-week low. But the losses were offset by a 2 percent rise in Aeroflot which completed a sale of close to 5 percent of its shares. The rouble eased 0.11 percent, staying off three-week lows hit on Tuesday amid general emerging market weakness. “The reality is that there are a few institutions where the funding structure has been very weak – it’s the same situation we saw with Otkritie. They couldn’t hold the balls in the air over time,” said a trader at a Russian brokerage. “The central bank could have acted earlier but now that they’re acting, they’re acting extremely well. There is no panic selling, no move on the rouble, no problems in interbank lending.” South African data showed annual inflation quickening slightly in August to 4.8 percent. The rand firmed 0.2 percent but the data is unlikely to dissuade the central bank from cutting rates on Thursday. “We’re expecting the (central bank) to continue with another 25 basis points cut as inflation has come down quite a bit. Also, it’s quite lacklustre and disappointing news coming out of macro side so the economic data warrants more monetary easing.” SocGen’s Kalen said. The Hungarian forint was flat after the central bank undertook expected policy easing measures on Tuesday, though its bond yields fell after the decision, taking average yields to a new record low around 1.53 percent on JPMorgan’s GBI-EM index. Hungary was the top performer on the index on Tuesday, JPM said. The Mexican peso was flat after touching two-week lows against the dollar following news of damage and fires caused by a deadly earthquake. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 1110.85 +1.22 +0.11 +28.83 Czech Rep 1046.05 -1.46 -0.14 +13.50 Poland 2506.48 +3.67 +0.15 +28.67 Hungary 38128.10 -47.98 -0.13 +19.14 Romania 7922.83 -54.20 -0.68 +11.82 Greece 755.41 -7.45 -0.98 +17.37 Russia 1111.98 +3.27 +0.29 -3.50 South Africa 49533.59 -218.11 -0.44 +12.83 Turkey 05058.10 +140.33 +0.13 +34.45 China 3366.37 +9.52 +0.28 +8.47 India 32434.19 +31.82 +0.10 +21.81 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets/emerging-markets-russian-bank-bailout-talk-hits-moscow-financial-shares-elsewhere-flat-pre-fed-idUSL5N1M11WK'|'2017-09-20T12:05:00.000+03:00'
'cf3d6675fd782be39a7c8386f0f5530f8998ccca'|'Finland''s Fortum in talks to buy Uniper stake from E.ON'|'  9:27 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Finland''s Fortum in talks to buy E.ON''s stake in Uniper Arno Schuetze , Jussi Rosendahl 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Fortum, the largest electricity distribution operator in the Nordic region, is seen in Espoo, Finland December 12, 2013. Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto via REUTERS/File Photo via REUTERS FRANKFURT/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish power company Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) is in advanced talks to buy for 3.8 billion euros (£3.37 billion) German utility E.ON’s remaining stake in Uniper, the power stations and trading business it spun off last year. The news in statements by both Fortum and E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) on Wednesday was greeted with dismay by Uniper ( UN01.DE ), which some analysts said could be broken up by Fortum. State-controlled Fortum is focused on carbon-free power generation, mainly in the Nordic region and Russia, and has been looking for a deal since selling its power distribution grids for 9.3 billion euros in 2014 and 2015. Sources close to the matter told Reuters that Fortum was mainly interested in Uniper’s hydropower plants and interests in Swedish nuclear power stations, and it was already working with a partner that might take on Uniper’s coal-fired plants. “This (announcement) shows there were no optimal deals on the market for Fortum,” said Inderes Equity Research analyst Petri Gostowski, who has a “reduce” rating on Fortum shares. Fortum said it was offering 22 euros a share for E.ON’s 46.65 percent stake in Uniper. Under German takeover rules, it will have to make an offer for the rest of Uniper’s shares if the deal goes through. Related Coverage Uniper says Fortum bid not welcome, not in discussions Fortum said it would launch a voluntary offer in early 2018, but that it was only focused on E.ON’s stake and intended to be a constructive partner to Uniper. “This is not a takeover, it’s a significant investment,” Fortum Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark told a conference call. “We expect that there will be very interesting cooperation possibilities between the two companies.” The potential bid values Uniper at 8.05 billion euros excluding debt, a 4.5 percent premium to Tuesday’s closing price and a 36 percent premium to the share price in May, before talk surfaced of a potential deal. E.ON headquarters in Essen, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen Uniper shares were up 5.8 percent to 22.26 euros at 1415 GMT, signalling investors are hopeful of a higher bid, while Fortum’s stock was up 4 percent and E.ON’s up 3 percent. Asked whether Fortum could sweeten its offer, Lundmark said: “This is very simple. This is the only offer there is.” NOT INTERESTED Uniper was taken aback by the announcements. “This unsolicited takeover offer is clearly not in line with the strategy of Uniper,” its chief executive, Klaus Schaefer, said in a statement. Uniper, with total sales of around 67 billion euros in 2016, operates roughly 40 gigawatts of power plants in Europe and Russia. It has hydroelectric, coal- and gas-fired plants as well as stakes in gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and nuclear plants across Europe, plus energy trading operations. Over the summer, Fortum proposed a full combination of the companies, but Uniper was not interested, Lundmark said. A deal would not change Fortum’s clean energy vision, he added. “We believe that this transaction would be able to speed up the European energy transition ... it is about decarbonisation, which is extremely important,” he said. Plagued by years of falling wholesale power prices, E.ON spun off Uniper to focus on its renewable energy and grids businesses. In May, E.ON said it planned to sell its remaining stake in Uniper soon, with options including a market placing or a sale to a third party. However, it cannot complete a deal on Uniper before next year without incurring a large tax bill. Last month, Uniper raised its dividend and profit forecast for 2017, pushing its share price to the highest since its market debut in September 2016. Additional reporting by Vera Eckert and Tuomas Forsell; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uniper-m-a-fortum/fortum-nears-offer-for-e-ons-uniper-stake-source-idUKKCN1BV127'|'2017-09-20T14:07:00.000+03:00'
'383061d93b47b106691d87450020878951e98acf'|'Carlsberg fund expects high yields from new green investments'|'COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Carlsberg Foundation, the main owner of Danish brewer Carlsberg, is investing 500 million Danish crowns ($80 million) in funds that work with water conservation, carbon reduction and sustainable food production.The foundation will announce the investment at the opening ceremony of the New York Climate Week on Monday.“We’re not just doing this to make good, we’re also doing it because it gives good yields,” Flemming Besenbacher, chairman of the foundation and the brewer, told Reuters.The amount includes 175 million crowns in Parvest Aqua, a fund that invests in companies with technologies to clean and save water, expected to give an annual yield of 11.5 percent.“Looking at the world today, water will become a scarce resource, and that’s one reason the Parvest Aqua fund has done so well,” Besenbacher said.The foundation is also investing 175 million and 100 million respectively in the Parvest funds Leaders and SmartFood, and another 50 million crowns in private equity fund Impax New Energy III, which has an expected annual yield of 12-15 percent.The 450 million crowns for the Parvest funds were invested in late May, while the 50 million for the private equity fund will be invested throughout 2017.The foundation has 23.5 billion crowns of its 25.4 billion crowns of investments in Carlsberg where it owns 30.3 percent of the shares and 75.25 percent of the voting rights.Carlsberg, the world’s third-largest brewer, has itself launched a programme to bring down its carbon emission and water usage drastically by 2030.($1 = 6.2277 Danish crowns)Reporting by Teis Jensen; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-carlsberg-investment/carlsberg-fund-expects-high-yields-from-new-green-investments-idUSKCN1BT0PH'|'2017-09-18T16:16:00.000+03:00'
'c45353b81d7682475c35cc4499e6d82d9c626699'|'Bangladesh sets aside rift with Myanmar to ease rice shortage'|'September 18, 2017 / 2:33 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Bangladesh sets aside rift with Myanmar to ease rice shortage Ruma Paul 3 Min Read DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh is to buy rice from Myanmar, putting aside worsening relations over the Rohingya refugee crisis as the government races to overcome a shortage of the country’s staple food. Normally the world’s fourth biggest rice producer, Bangladesh has become a major importer this year after floods hit its crops, sending domestic rice prices to record highs. The government has already secured deals to buy rice from Vietnam and Cambodia as domestic stocks diminished. “We’ll buy 100,000 tonnes of white rice from Myanmar at $442 a tonne,” its food minister, Qamrul Islam, said on Monday. “It will take some time to complete formalities. Then shipment will start,” he told reporters. Rice is a staple food for Bangladesh’s 160 million people and high prices pose a problem for the government which faces a national election next year. The deal with Myanmar is the first state-to-state rice deal between the two countries, and comes amid increasingly strained relations. More than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing a military offensive in Myanmar have crossed into Bangladesh since Aug. 25. Bangladesh has said all refugees must go home and has also accused Myanmar of repeatedly violating its air space, warning that any more “provocative acts” could have “unwarranted consequences”. Bangladesh recently finalised a deal to import 250,000 tonnes of white rice at $453 a tonne from Cambodia, following a comparatively cheaper deal with Vietnam. It is also engaged in a second round of discussions with Thailand for rice after its initial talks with Bangkok, and India, suffered a setback over high prices. High demand from Bangladesh could further lift Asian rice prices, which hit multi-year highs in recent months after Bangladesh and other countries in South Asia saw their worst monsoon floods in years. Bangladesh seeks to import 1.5 million tonnes of rice in the year to next June. The government also started selling rice at a subsidised rate on Sunday and last month cut a duty on imports of the grain for the second time in two months. However, prices of rice have not budged, a situation largely blamed on hoarding by middlemen. National police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque said on Monday that tough action would be taken against those found hoarding rice in order to later make windfall profits. Bangladesh produces around 34 million tonnes of rice annually but uses almost all its production to feed its population, and often requires imports to cope with shortages caused by floods or droughts. Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bangladesh-rice-myanmar/bangladesh-sets-aside-rift-with-myanmar-to-ease-rice-shortage-idINKCN1BT1QK'|'2017-09-18T17:31:00.000+03:00'
'351d59a1ec1a9cf6a71b539df5f7f9c0f51446b4'|'U.S. existing home sales fall to 12-month low'|'  2:51 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago U.S. home sales hit 12-month low, Harvey weighs on Houston 5 Min Read Construction workers build a single family home in San Diego, California, U.S. February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales fell to their lowest in a year in August as Hurricane Harvey depressed activity in Houston and a perennial shortage of properties on the market sidelined buyers. The third straightly monthly decline in sales reported by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday came on the heels of data on Tuesday showing a drop in homebuilding activity in August. The reports suggest housing will probably weigh on economic growth again in the third quarter. “One of the risks out there for the broader economy is that this house of cards comes tumbling down,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. “The housing sector is the one area of the economy that just never reached a full recovery from the recession.” Existing home sales decreased 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units last month. That was the lowest level since August 2016. The NAR said Harvey, which struck Texas in the last week of August, had resulted in sales in the Houston area falling 25 percent on a year-on-year basis. Stripping out Houston, existing home sales would have been unchanged in August, the Realtors group said. Home resales in the South tumbled 5.7 percent last month. Harvey, and a second hurricane, Irma, which slammed Florida early this month could hurt September home sales. Texas and Florida account for more than 18 percent of existing home sales. Sales lost because of delays in closing contracts will be recouped in 2018. U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data as traders awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is expected to announce a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, accumulated as the Fed sought to stimulate the economy following the 2008 financial crisis. HOUSING STALLING Even before the hurricanes struck, home sales had virtually stalled amid tight inventories that have resulted in home price increases outpacing wage gains. Sales were up 0.2 percent from August 2016. A second report on Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed mortgage applications fell last week “As we continue to process the third-quarter housing data, we are gaining confidence in our view that real residential investment will fall during the quarter,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. Housing subtracted 0.26 percentage point from gross domestic product growth in the second quarter. Builders have blamed shortages of labor and land as well as higher costs of building materials for their inability to ramp up construction. Economists and builders say Harvey and Irma could worsen the housing shortage as scarce labor is pulled toward the rebuilding effort and materials are bid higher. A report on Tuesday showed housing completions tumbling to a 10-month low in August. At the same time single-family home permits fell to a three-month low. These developments suggest housing inventory will remain troublesome for a while. The NAR said the number of homes on the market fell 2.1 percent to 1.88 million units in August. Supply was down 6.5 percent from a year ago. Housing inventory has dropped for 27 straight months on a year-on-year basis. As a result, the median house price increased 5.6 percent from a year ago to $253,500 in August. That was the 66th consecutive month of year-on-year price gains. Annual wage growth has not exceed 2.5 percent this year. Underscoring the strong demand for houses, homes sold in August typically stayed on the market for 30 days. That compared to 36 days a year ago. High house prices as a result of tight inventories are sidelining first-time homebuyers. In August, first-time buyers accounted for 31 percent of transactions, well below the 40 percent share that economists and realtors say is needed for a robust housing market. August’s share of first-time homebuyers was the smallest in a year and was down from 33 percent in July. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-economy/u-s-existing-home-sales-fall-to-12-month-low-idINKCN1BV1Y7'|'2017-09-20T17:49:00.000+03:00'
'7ab4c2cdd05a63b56a08074a7fb5cbbec99c9cc0'|'Uber reviews Asia business amid U.S. bribery probe - source'|' 27 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago Uber reviews Asia business amid U.S. bribery probe - source Reuters Staff 4 Min Read An Uber motorcycle taxi driver waits for customers next to a shopping mall in Jakarta, Indonesia September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc, which is the subject of a U.S. federal probe into whether it broke bribery laws, has started a review of its Asia operations and notified U.S. authorities about payments made by staff to police officers in Indonesia, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The review comes after Uber said in August it was cooperating with a preliminary investigation led by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into whether its managers violated U.S. laws against bribery of foreign officials, specifically the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Uber has hired law firm O‘Melveny & Myers LLP to review its Asia operations. It previously hired the firm to investigate how it obtained the medical records of an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in 2014, Reuters reported in June. Bloomberg first reported Uber''s review of its Asia operations. It said O''Melveny & Myers was examining records of payments made in Asia and interviewing employees. ( bloom.bg/2xdk6PT ) It quoted people with knowledge of the matter as saying that late last year, an Uber employee in Jakarta made multiple, small payments to police on the understanding that Uber would be permitted to continue operating from an office located in a non-business zone. Uber fired the employee and placed the head of the Indonesian business who approved the expense report on a leave of absence, Bloomberg said, citing the sources. The head has since left the company, it reported. Jakarta Police spokesman Argo Yuwono told Reuters there was no investigation into any payments. He also said jurisdiction over location permits resided with the local government, not police. An Uber motorcycle taxi driver rides with a customer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside Uber declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. The U.S. Department of Justice could not be reached for comment outside of regular U.S. business hours. The DOJ is focusing on suspicious activity in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea, Bloomberg reported. Uber’s law firm is also reviewing financial arrangements with Malaysia’s government that may have influenced lawmakers there, it said. Uber’s financial relationship with Malaysian government-linked agencies includes a $30 million investment by the country’s second-largest pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP). Uber also participated in an entrepreneurship programme initiated by the state-backed Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC). The investment and participation were followed by passage of ride-sharing laws in July. KWAP declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. MaGIC said “we strongly refute involvement in any quid-pro-quo arrangements.” The DOJ investigation is the latest in a series of worldwide legal wrangling at Uber, which has also made headlines with allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace and executive misconduct. Last month, Uber appointed Dara Khosrowshahi, who led travel-booking website operator Expedia Inc for 12 years, as chief executive to succeed Travis Kalanick who was ousted in June. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in BENGAURU, Joe Menn in SAN FRANCISCO, Liz Lee in KUALA LUMPUR, Cindy Silviana and Augustinus Beo Da Costa in JAKARTA, Aradhana Aravindan in SINGAPORE; Editing by Leslie Adler and Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-probe-asia/uber-reviews-asia-business-amid-u-s-bribery-probe-source-idUKKCN1BV05D'|'2017-09-20T10:27:00.000+03:00'
'f65f05e57fec6ed75190731f3fb7f2d4dfe0097b'|'Liberty House looks to shore up power supply for Australian steel works'|'September 20, 2017 / 7:50 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Liberty House looks to shore up power supply for Australian steel works Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House Group, poses for a photo at the company''s Dubai office, UAE June 19, 2016. REUTERS/David French MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The family behind Liberty House has agreed to tie-up with an Australian renewable energy firm, looking to beef up electricity supply for the Arrium steel business that the British company recently took over in power-strained South Australia. British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance agreed to buy a 50.1 percent stake in Zen Energy, which up to now has focused on solar power and battery storage for homes and small businesses, for an undisclosed sum. Liberty House is part of the GFG Alliance. The joint venture, to be renamed SIMEC Zen Energy, will work with GFG Alliance’s SIMEC Energy, to develop new large scale energy projects, including solar, battery storage and pumped hydro facilities. “The high cost of energy for Australian consumers is debilitating for the economy and a crying shame for a country so rich in resources,”Gupta said in a statement. Wind energy-dependent South Australia has been hit by power price spikes and a string of blackouts over the past year that shut down industrial operations, including Arrium’s Whyalla plant and top global miner BHP’s Olympic Dam copper mine. The state has taken a number of steps to try to shore up power, including backing construction by Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) of the world’s biggest battery at a wind farm in the state. SIMEC Energy has 600 megawatts of power assets in Britain and is developing a further 400 MW, in biofuels, hydro, tidal, wind and solar. Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-arrium-australia-zen-energy/liberty-house-looks-to-shore-up-power-supply-for-australian-steel-works-idUKKCN1BV0TA'|'2017-09-20T10:50:00.000+03:00'
'99a5333e33297c4b8d75dc9837f6ebc13c80e3c9'|'No concessions from Luxottica, Essilor: EU antitrust regulators'|'September 20, 2017 / 7:08 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Luxottica, Essilor offer no merger concessions to EU regulators Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Luxottica name is reflected in a pair of sunglasses in this photo illustration taken in Rome February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) have not offered any concessions to allay EU antitrust regulators’ concerns over their proposed 46-billion-euro ($55.2 billion) merger, increasing the possibility of a lengthy EU investigation into the deal. Italian eyewear maker Luxottica, which owns brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, and French lens manufacturer Essilor had until Sept. 19 to offer concessions after the EU competition enforcer expressed its reservations about the deal to the companies last week. The European Commission recognises if the parties to a merger have made concessions. However, the filing on its website shows that Luxottica and Essilor had not done so. Unless they managed to appease the Commission at last week’s meeting, it is likely that the regulator will open a full-scale investigation lasting about four months following a preliminary review that ends on Sept. 26. Some companies prefer to offer concessions during this phase after getting a better idea of the regulator’s concerns. The deal, which will combine the world’s largest maker of spectacles with the world’s top lens-maker, Essilor, has triggered worries among retailers and competitors that the merged company may have too great a control of valuable brands and prescription lenses. Both Luxottica and Essilor declined to comment on the EU enforcer’s concerns. U.S. regulators are also examining the deal, which received the green light from New Zealand authorities earlier this month. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris and Valentina Za in Milan; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu/no-concessions-from-luxottica-essilor-eu-antitrust-regulators-idINKCN1BV0Q4'|'2017-09-20T05:08:00.000+03:00'
'294fbe3722062b884ac711051e4250ee6e961605'|'IMF says BOJ should maintain massive stimulus'|'September 22, 2017 / 5:43 AM / Updated 8 hours ago IMF says BOJ should maintain massive stimulus Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man runs past the Bank of Japan (BOJ) building in Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan should maintain its massive monetary stimulus and enhance its communication of how it expects to achieve its 2 percent inflation target, a senior IMF official said on Friday. Odd Per Brekk, the International Monetary Fund’s mission chief for Japan, said the BOJ will likely lag behind the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in normalising monetary policy. “But we think this is appropriate, as monetary policy is focused on domestic conditions and domestic conditions are different among countries and regions,” he said in a seminar. He also said a gradual, steady increase in the sales tax, coupled with steps to curb social security spending, is the most growth-friendly way to achieve medium-term fiscal reform. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-imf-japan/imf-says-boj-should-maintain-massive-stimulus-idUKKCN1BX0FY'|'2017-09-22T08:43:00.000+03:00'
'70158dcc20e7602bc78345379b0f532bc10f24b1'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 22'|'(Adds company news items and futures)Sept 22 (Reuters) - Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 23 points at 7,241.1 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.4 percent ahead of the cash market open.* LAMPRELL: Oil rig builder Lamprell Plc reported a 64.7 percent fall in revenue in the first half of the year and cut its full-year forecast, hurt by lower activity levels across the industry.* RIO TINTO: Flush with cash, Rio Tinto said it would buy back an additional $2.5 billion worth of its shares, dishing out the proceeds from a sale of coal assets earlier than some had expected.* RYANAIR: Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary on Thursday scrambled to placate pilots and reassure investors as the airline’s annual general meeting was dominated by the cancellation of 2,000 flights in a “cock-up” that exposed major staffing issues.* COBHAM: Former Airbus UK President Paul Kahn is set to be appointed to a top sector position at Cobham Plc, helping Chief Executive David Lockwood lead a turnaround of the struggling British defence supplier, two industry sources said.* CAPITA: Capita staff represented by trade union Unite have voted to go on strike for six days from Oct. 5 in protest at changes to the company’s pension scheme, Unite said on Thursday.* GOLD: Gold rebounded from a four-week low on Friday as the latest twist in tensions between the United States and North Korea prompted investors to seek out the safe-haven asset.* OIL: Oil prices were mixed in early Asian trade on Friday as the market waited to see whether major oil producers would extend supply cuts beyond March at a meeting in Vienna later in the day.* The UK blue chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.1 percent lower at 7,263.90 points on Thursday, as concerns about consumption dragged on the index, partly offset by gains among banks after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled that another rate rise was on the cards this year.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsTODAY‘S UK PAPERS> Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/update-1-uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-22-idUSL4N1M32EK'|'2017-09-22T09:30:00.000+03:00'
'a8aba89ec72ededca1ac5b24000ad95a3ff1901a'|'Japan fires up biomass energy, but fuel shortage looms'|'September 22, 2017 / 6:37 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Japan fires up biomass energy, but fuel shortage looms Yuka Obayashi 6 Min Read Collected wooden construction wastes are seen at Eco Green Holdings''s factory which makes wood chips from construction waste in Tokyo, Japan September 7, 2017. Picture taken September 7, 2017 REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - As the sun sets on Japan’s solar energy boom, companies and investors are rushing into wood-burning biomass projects to lock in still-high government subsidies. More than 800 projects have already won government approval, offering 12.4 gigawatts (GW) of capacity -- equal to 12 nuclear power stations and nearly double Japan’s 2030 target for biomass in its basic energy policy. The sheer number of projects has raised questions about how they will all find sufficient fuel, mostly shipped in from countries like Canada and Vietnam, while some experts question the environmental credentials of such large-scale plants. The projects approved to date that use general wood fuel would need the equivalent of up to 60 million tonnes of wood pellets, compared with global output of 24 million tonnes in 2014, said Takanobu Aikawa, a senior researcher at Japan’s Renewable Energy Institute. Other fuels such as local forest thinned woods or palm kernel shells from Indonesia and Malaysia would not make up the shortfall, he said. “There will be a scramble for fuels as countries like China and South Korea are looking to expand biomass power,” he said. Biomass plants generate energy by burning fuels, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They qualify as renewable because plants absorb CO2 as they grow, with a lifespan of years rather than the millions of years needed to make fossil fuels such as coal. RUSHING IN Echoing a similar surge in solar a few years ago, biomass applications jumped before an April rule change that requires an applicant to have a contract with a utility for grid connection, and the rush has continued ahead of a cut in the feed-in-tariff (FIT) on offer for large plants. As with solar, companies that win early approval keep generous FITs for up to 20 years, while late-comers miss out. The solar FIT has been nearly halved since 2012, bringing the sector’s boom to an abrupt halt. Trading houses such as Marubeni Corp ( 8002.T ), Sumitomo Corp ( 8053.T ) and Mitsui & Co ( 8031.T ) have launched new biomass plants this year, while other firms including utilities, forestry and paper makers and construction companies are building or planning new stations. Japan Renewable Energy (JRE), in which Goldman Sachs has a stake, is building its first biomass power station north of Tokyo, adding to solar and wind power plants. “We are looking for other sites to build more biomass stations,” said Osamu Toribuchi, JRE’s general manager. A staff shows wood chips which were produced from construction waste at Eco Green Holdings''s factory in Tokyo, Japan September 7, 2017. Picture taken September 7, 2017 REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Major utilities, such as Chubu Electric Power Co ( 9502.T ), are also looking to co-fire biomass in their coal power plants to help cut emissions. Idemitsu Kosan ( 5019.T ), which supplies coal to utilities, is aiming to sell biomass fuel from next year, senior executive officer Shinichi Naruuchi said. To capitalise on demand, local wood chip makers, traders and refineries are chasing long-term supplies of biomass fuel. Sumitomo Corp bought a 48 percent stake in a Canadian wood pellet maker in July and is looking to invest in a similar company in Australia or New Zealand, said Katsunori Takamitsu, general manager for materials and supplies business development and promotion. Japan’s Eco Green Holdings, which makes wood chips from construction waste, aims to triple its capacity by 2030 to 600,000 tonnes a year, said managing director Hirotaka Terashima. BUBBLE FEARS Collected wooden construction wastes are seen at Eco Green Holdings''s factory which makes wood chips from construction waste in Tokyo, Japan September 7, 2017. Picture taken September 7, 2017 REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon The surge has raised comparisons with the bubble in Japan’s solar sector, the first to take off in the wake of a push to renewables after the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami that virtually shut down the country’s nuclear industry. Japan wants renewables to account for 22-24 percent of its electricity mix by 2030. Solar surged seven-fold in just four years to be about halfway to its 7 pct target, but new projects stalled after the FIT cuts, leading to bankruptcies among small contractors and suppliers. Biomass has a 2030 target of up to 4.6 pct, and reached 1.8 pct by March 2016, mainly plants built before the 2012 FIT. While biomass applications have also shot up, analysts say the higher barriers to entry mean that many projects will simply never be built. “We don’t expect similar confusion to that seen in the solar sector,” Sumitomo’s Takamitsu said. “Only up to 30 percent of the approved capacity is likely to go online given difficulties to secure long-term fuel supply.” Many applicants have neither plans to procure a 20-year feed of imported fuel or consent from utilities to connect to grids which are increasingly congested, industry experts say. Analysts, meanwhile, warn that too big a rush to biomass could be self-defeating. “The FIT is designed to enhance use of cost-effective renewable energy,” said Yukari Takamura, professor at Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Nagoya University. “But if biomass operators use mainly imported fuels, energy costs may remain high and even help destruction of overseas forests.” Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-biomass/japan-fires-up-biomass-energy-but-fuel-shortage-looms-idUKKCN1BX0J0'|'2017-09-22T09:39:00.000+03:00'
'e661cffe3e552ff7dc2f3884adb58e59f49163ef'|'Thyssenkrupp works council softens opposition to Tata Steel deal'|'  9:53 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Thyssenkrupp works council softens opposition to Tata Steel deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp’s ( TKAG.DE ) works council is prepared to consider a merger of the group’s European steel operations with those of Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ), even though it remains opposed to such a move as a way to restructure the business. “Negotiations will be difficult,” Wilhelm Segerath, head of Thyssenkrupp’s works council and member of the group’s supervisory board, told reporters on Tuesday. “We will examine it and if in the end our conditions are fulfilled and the whole unit is debt-free then it’s a possibility.” The works council wants job and plant guarantees and investment pledges. Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board will meet on Sept. 23 to discuss the possible tie-up, which CEO Heinrich Hiesinger says is the best way to take overcapacity out of the market. Labor leaders, however, are concerned it will cost thousands of jobs. Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Georgina Prodhan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-labor/thyssenkrupp-works-council-softens-opposition-to-tata-steel-deal-idUKKCN1BU14O'|'2017-09-19T12:47:00.000+03:00'
'2491741578740c325cde889d1f6428a78297db3f'|'China''s COMAC says signs 130 orders for C919 passenger jet'|'September 19, 2017 / 3:14 AM / Updated 2 hours ago China''s COMAC says signs 130 orders for C919 passenger jet Reuters Staff 1 Min Read China''s home-grown C919 passenger jet lands during its first flight at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, Friday, May 5, 2017. China Daily/via REUTERS BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese plane maker Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL] on Tuesday said it had signed 130 new orders for its C919 passenger jet with four Chinese leasing firms, after the plane took its maiden flight earlier this year. COMAC is leading China’s efforts to become a key player in the global civil aerospace market, threatening the dominance of U.S. and European rivals Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Airbus ( AIR.PA ). COMAC said last year that orders for its older ARJ-21 jet had reached 413 from 19 customers while its larger C919 passenger jet, which completed its long-delayed maiden flight in May, had 24 customers and 600 orders by June. Reporting by Brenda Goh, writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-comac-orders/chinas-comac-says-signs-130-orders-for-c919-passenger-jet-idUKKCN1BU096'|'2017-09-19T06:14:00.000+03:00'
'55eaa14151e586c75a2cdb2fd5e61371851b4449'|'UPDATE 1-Post Holdings to buy Bob Evans Farms for $1.5 bln'|'(Reuters) - Post Holdings Inc ( POST.N ), which makes Honey Bunches of Oats and Grape-Nuts cereals, said on Tuesday it would buy Bob Evans Farms Inc ( BOBE.O ) for about $1.5 billion, adding vegetable-based side dishes and breakfast sausages to its portfolio.Bob Evans shares rose 6.5 percent to $77.67 in afternoon trading, exceeding Post’s offer of $77 per share.The deal comes months after Post agreed to buy British breakfast cereal brand Weetabix for 1.4 billion pounds ($1.8 billion).Bob Evans sells frozen foods such as refrigerated potato, pasta and pork sausages under Bob Evans, Owens, Country Creek and Pineland Farms brands.The company also has a food service business, representing about 35 percent of sales volume.Post, which said it would fund the deal through cash on hand and debt, estimated cost savings of $25 million following the deal.The company said the transaction was expected to close by the end of Post’s second quarter of fiscal 2018.UBS Investment Bank, Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are Post’s financial advisers.J.P. Morgan Securities LLC was the exclusive financial adviser to Bob Evans.Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bob-evans-m-a-post-holdings/post-holdings-to-buy-bob-evans-farms-for-1-5-billion-idUSKCN1BU1HO'|'2017-09-19T15:23:00.000+03:00'
'dd40aeb2b25df7f53c56b311b18cce3388613317'|'UPDATE 1-Avantor debt gets more costly as buyside pushes back'|'(UPDATES throughout)By Davide ScigliuzzoNEW YORK, Sept 19 (IFR) - Wary bond investors are forcing Avantor to pay much more than it wanted for the capital to fund the company’s hotly debated US$6.4bn takeover of much larger rival VWR International.Avantor sharply raised the yields Tuesday on two US dollar bonds and one euro offering by as much as 150bp - a massive increase on the US$4.25bn-equivalent junk-rated offering.Private equity owner New Mountain Capital will saddle the combined company with over US$7bn in debt and increase leverage to 7x - a high level that could well end up being even higher.If the synergies and cost savings outlined in the bond prospectus are omitted, leverage would actually be closer to an eye-watering level of 9x, according to IFR calculations.“Avantor is simply pushing the leverage limits of comfort,” one portfolio manager told IFR.That kind of skepticism forced the hand of Avantor, as the life sciences company raised price talk on the riskiest part of the bond deal to 8.75%-9%.That was roughly 150bp above the low-to-mid 7% figure Avantor had hoped for on its US$2.25bn senior unsecured eight-year note.Talk on the US$1.4bn senior secured seven-year was set at 5.75%-6%, up from low-to-mid 5%. A €500m seven-year is now being marketed at 4.75%-5% from low-to-mid 4%.A PAINFUL DEBT Private equity-led buyouts with high levels of debt can end up being disastrous for the companies concerned, most notably in the case of Toys R Us, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday.Under the weight of a US$5bn debt pile stemming from its 2005 leveraged buyout, the largest US toy chain has struggled to compete against online rivals such as Amazon.New Mountain Capital, founded about two decades ago by Goldman Sachs and Forstmann Little veteran Steven Klinsky, currently has some US$20bn of assets under management.On its website, New Mountain says it emphasizes growth and business-building rather than excessive debt as the best path to high returns.In its Avantor presentation, it said it has never had “write-offs, bankruptcies or business failures” on any of its private-equity investments.The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.But in a sign of the contortions often wrought in such mergers, Avantor - with US$673m of annual sales - is buying a company with nearly seven times that (US$4.6bn).“It is basically David buying Goliath,” said one buyside source who has been closely following the deal. “You just have some question marks about execution.”The US$3.65bn dollar portion of the trade - the second-largest junk bond of the year - is also coming to market at a time when investors are pushing back some on riskier deals.While many junk-rated deals are sailing through the market - a market that has priced more than US$20bn in September so far - lower-rated offerings are sometimes encountering headwinds.“There is insatiable appetite for middle-of-the-fairway, sleep-at-night credits,” said the source.“For names that require more due diligence and credit work, it is harder to figure out what the pricing is. It is a bifurcated market.”Goldman Sachs is lead underwriter on Avantor’s bond offering, which is expected to price on Thursday.Barclays, JP Morgan and Jefferies are also involved in the financing, which includes a US$3bn-equivalent term loan. (Reporting by Davide Scigliuzzo; Addional reporting by Mike Gambale; Editing by Marc Carnegie) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/idINL2N1M00V3'|'2017-09-19T15:22:00.000+03:00'
'e549bf913e01ce673e2ed868dfc79ad0a5d4a735'|'France''s EDF will defend its business position in energy sector review'|'  10:49 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago France''s EDF will defend its business position in energy sector review Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of France''s state-owned electricity company EDF is seen on the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - French state-controlled power group EDF ( EDF.PA ) said on Tuesday that it aimed to defend its business interests as the government looks to review how the country sources its energy. In July, environment minister Nicolas Hulot said France could close as many as 17 reactors by 2025 as it seeks to reduce the share of nuclear power in its electricity mix. The government is due to clarify its position on the matter by the end of 2018, and EDF’s CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said EDF would set out its stall to defend its business plan, including its plans to upgrade various nuclear power sites. “I am convinced that the French state will look to reconcile the various interests concerning the electricity system, regulation, the changes in the energy industry and its own interests as a stakeholder of EDF,” Levy told reporters at a briefing in Paris. France, a net power exporter in Europe, relies on 58 nuclear reactors run by EDF for three-quarters of its electricity. However, it could face a second winter of tight power supply as nuclear reactors undergo a review of hundreds of components and increased scrutiny demanded by the country’s watchdog. Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-edf-environment/frances-edf-will-defend-its-business-position-in-energy-sector-review-idUKKCN1BU1AR'|'2017-09-19T13:50:00.000+03:00'
'9703c38b022b413ca4237fffe66ea072f487c360'|'Germany''s Knorr-Bremse ponders IPO: Handelsblatt'|'BERLIN (Reuters) - German commercial vehicle brake systems company Knorr-Bremse [STELLG.UL] is considering a stock market listing, Handelsblatt newspaper said on Tuesday, after it dropped its near $700 million bid for Swedish rival Haldex ( HLDX.ST ).The maker of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles is studying “different options” to position the firm for the future, company owner Heinz Hermann Thiele was Quote: d as saying by the business daily newspaper on Tuesday, without elaborating.“The possibility of a stock market flotation is being looked at urgently, we are dealing very intensively with this issue,” Thiele said, adding a decision would be taken in the coming months.The majority of Knorr-Bremse, which employs 25,000 people worldwide and posted 5.5 billion euros ($6.59 billion) of sales last year, should remain in family hands, Handelsblatt Quote: d Thiele as saying.Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-knorr-bremse-ipo/germanys-knorr-bremse-ponders-ipo-handelsblatt-idINKCN1BU2B4'|'2017-09-19T14:49:00.000+03:00'
'e83776cef05c780ef0c3527d756fc5d9f1768931'|'French Connection''s profit falls on reduced selling space'|'Reuters TV United States   7:58 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago French Connection''s profit falls on reduced selling space Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A person walks past a French Connection store in London, Britain, 14 March, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay (Reuters) - British fashion retailer French Connection Group Plc ( FCCN.L ) reported a drop in profit for the half-year due to the closure of some of its stores. The owner of the Toast, French Connection and Great Plains brands has been struggling to fend off competition from fast-fashion rivals such as ASOS ( ASOS.L ), Forever 21 and Inditex’s ( ITX.MC ) Zara. It has closed stores and hired new management and design teams as it tries to return to a profit. In March activist investor Gatemore Capital urged the loss-making company to split itself or spin off its Toast brand, among other options. It offloaded its entire stake in July, saying it was not satisfied with the pace of change at the 45-year old retailer. British billionaire Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International ( SPD.L ) took an 11.2 percent stake in French Connection in February, becoming its second-largest shareholder. Sports Direct’s intentions were not clear. French Connection said gross profit for the six months to July 31 fell to 31.1 million pounds from 38.1 million pounds year ago. Revenue came in at 68.1 million pounds, down from 69.2 million pounds year ago. French Connection, which has more than 409 outlets, said it closed seven stores over the last 12 months, reducing its trading space by 10.2 percent. Sales at stores open for more than a year in the UK and Europe were “broadly flat”, it said on Tuesday. However, revenue at its wholesale operation rose 7.2 percent to 29.6 million pounds, with the business returning to growth in UK, Europe and North America. “We have definitely seen momentum build in the first half of the new financial year with improvements across all the divisions despite difficult trading conditions.”, its Chairman and Chief Executive Stephen Marks said, admitting that there is a lot to do before company returns to profitability. French Connection posted its fifth annual loss in a row in March. To boost profitability, the company said it would cherry-pick locations for new store openings, with one store scheduled to open in November in Manchester. French Connection’s current position is a far cry from the heady days of 2004 when the huge success of its FCUK brand boosted the company’s shares to more than 500 pence. The stock has plummeted since and was trading 2.3 percent lower at 43.3 percent by 0735 GMT. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-french-connectn-results/french-connections-profit-falls-on-reduced-selling-space-idUKKCN1BU0TB'|'2017-09-19T10:55:00.000+03:00'
'c64f6ec30d71a79c4b6d9fc070b1f8fd517b2665'|'Saudi Aramco could disclose accounts early 2018 - sources'|'Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco will be able to release its audited financial accounts in early 2018 if the government decides on a venue for listing the oil giant’s IPO and finalizes several reforms this year, three sources said.It will be the first public earnings disclosure for Aramco and one of the most important internal milestones in preparing for the initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to raise as much as $100 billion.The Saudi government has said it wants the sale of five percent of Aramco to take place before the end of 2018. A Saudi government source said the share sale was on track.Releasing the 2015-2017 accounts in the first quarter would be a major step toward sticking to the 2018 goal although the IPO’s timing depends on several external factors, the sources said.“Aramco will have its 2017 results by the first quarter, the audited accounts will be available then, so the IPO could happen after that,” one of the sources said.The sources said internal accountants would send the 2017 accounts to external auditors when they have finished work on them at the beginning of next year. The auditors - named by Aramco as PwC, EY and BCG - have already audited the 2015 and 2016 accounts. They have never been released.The auditors and Aramco would first prepare a report on the accounts for all three years that it could share with a group of prospective large investors. They would then prepare a full prospectus which would be available to all investors.The accounts for 2017 would be done to reflect Saudi’s new taxation system while the two previous years would be done on a pro-forma accounting basis.However, it would make sense to release the accounts only after the government has decided where the listing will take place as different venues use different accounting standards, the sources said.For example, a listing in New York would require the accounts to be prepared according to US GAAP standards whereas IFRS standards would be acceptable for a listing in London, Hong Kong or Singapore.Aramco has so far prepared the accounts according to IFRS standards, but can quickly convert those to U.S. GAAP if the government decides to list in New York, a second source said.Possible Aramco valuations: tmsnrt.rs/2fH0rkrDECISION-MAKER The IPO is a centerpiece of Vision 2030, an ambitious reform plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil which is championed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.He has sweeping powers over defense, energy and the economy and is expected to take the final decision about Aramco’s listing venue and the other reforms.The accounts also cannot be finalized until the government has finished the reform of domestic fuel price subsidies.These are currently funded by Aramco. Under the planned reform, the government will pay for the subsidies, the sources said.This would boost Aramco’s valuation and make it more attractive to investors ahead of the IPO as it could mean a higher dividend. The government has also yet to decide on Aramco’s dividend policy.A third source said those decisions need to be taken by the fourth quarter of 2017 to keep the IPO on track: “That would keep the company on track to list by the second half of 2018. Aramco can be ready for next year. The ball is in the government’s court now.”In a statement to Reuters, Aramco said: ”The options review process for the IPO is well underway and on-track. There are no plans to release detailed financial statements in 2017.“It’s important to emphasize that we have been sharing detailed operational and financial performance data with our current shareholder. We will continue this practice with any future shareholders post listing.”The company will run its 2017 accounts under tax arrangements which were revised by the Saudi government to make the company more competitive with listed peers.“Aramco is operating the accounts under the new system internally,” the first source said.The government set a new 50 percent tax rate for the firm in March. Previously, Aramco had paid 85 percent tax, plus a 20 percent royalty levied.The two other sources confirmed the company could be ready to release accounts in early 2018.“Once the financials are ready they can create a confidential information memorandum which they can then take to anchor investors such as sovereign wealth funds and start the bookbuilding with banks,” the second source said.The timing of the IPO will also depend on getting legal and regulatory approval from the jurisdictions it opts to list in.It could also be influenced by the oil price -- currently below $60 per barrel - a price Saudi officials have identified as a good level.Aramco''s suitors: tmsnrt.rs/2jr9BCYAdditional reporting by Ron Bousso, Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Anna Willard '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo/saudi-aramco-could-disclose-accounts-early-2018-sources-idUSKCN1BU1VM'|'2017-09-19T17:10:00.000+03:00'
'8d8ca0a889a54444daf3efbc139f58bfe84c433d'|'Austrian minister says Airbus settlement still possible in lawsuit'|'September 19, 2017 / 5:57 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Austrian minister says Airbus settlement still possible in lawsuit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A logo of Airbus is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria’s defense minister said on Tuesday he stands by his legal complaint against Airbus ( AIR.PA ) about allegations of fraud over a $2 billion fighter deal but still considers an eventual out-of-court settlement an option. Vienna prosecutors are investigating Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium ( BAES.L ) ( LDOF.MI ) following a complaint by the defense ministry, which is seeking up to 1.1 billion euros, over the 2003 jet purchase. In a submission to the prosecutors on Monday, Airbus denied any wrongdoing and threatened Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil with legal action for disregarding the presumption of innocence in this case. Speaking to OFR radio on Tuesday, Doskozil appeared undaunted in pursuit of a settlement either in or out of court. “Of course we are sticking to our representations of the facts (to prosecutors) and our criminal charge”, the minister said. “It does not matter to me in what way the damage to the tax payer will be repaid eventually, in a settlement outside of court or via a court decision.” Airbus has clashed with other European governments, notably Germany, before, but the row with Austria is unique in its fury. Doskozil said Austria was also preparing a lawsuit based on U.S. rules. One of Austria’s main allegations is that Airbus deceived it about so-called offset deals intended to boost the local economy which were required to agree the purchase. Offset deals, where a defense supplier will select local companies to do some of the work, are a common requirement of governments looking to support domestic skills and technology. Reporting By Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-austria/austrian-minister-says-airbus-settlement-still-possible-in-lawsuit-idUSKCN1BU0I9'|'2017-09-19T08:56:00.000+03:00'
'fa6d6cad370b455573b202a9b69a43bcce71f2ed'|'Energy firms back EU plan for CO2 cap on power subsidies'|'  10:10 AM / a minute ago Energy firms back EU plan for CO2 cap on power subsidies Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The sun rises behind the billowing chimneys of a power station in Berlin, November 27, 2013. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A group of energy firms has backed a disputed plan by EU regulators to attach emissions limits to subsidies for providing back-up power capacity to avert blackouts. The proposal by the European Commission, which would set a cap of 550 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour for new power stations, ruling out less-efficient coal and gas-fired plants, has been fiercely contested by Poland and some other EU member states. It is part of a draft reform of Europe’s electricity market that calls for stricter rules on capacity mechanisms used in countries such as Britain and France to fund power generation that may not be cost-effective or as clean as renewable energy but is needed to guarantee supply during periods of peak demand. In an open letter to the bloc’s environment ministers on Tuesday, the proposal was backed by 22 signatories from energy majors, renewable energy groups and utilities including Eni, Shell, Siemens, Iberdrola, Statoil and Wintershall [WINT.UL]. “Our electricity bills should not support the operation of the most polluting power plants, given that cleaner and more flexible options are available,” the letter said. “This would clearly contradict EU climate and energy policy objectives and would go against the best interest of European consumers.” The bloc’s 28 environment and energy ministers are currently debating the reform for Europe’s power grid after 2020 that aims to help meet its pledge under the Paris climate accord to cut emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels. Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-energy-powerstation/energy-firms-back-eu-plan-for-co2-cap-on-power-subsidies-idUKKCN1BU14X'|'2017-09-19T12:52:00.000+03:00'
'a5ef2947cde088d70428cee7a271343a806ce073'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 20)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (approved Sept. 19)-- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (approved Sept. 19)-- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (approved Sept. 19)-- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (approved Sept. 18)-- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (approved Sept. 18)NEW LISTINGS -- French carmaker Renault to acquire a 25 percent stake in electric car charging services Jedlix (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)-- U.S. life sciences company Avantor to acquire U.S. lab supplies company VWR (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)-- U.S. fashion group Michael Kors to acquire British shoemaker Jimmy Choo (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 22 from Jan. 8 after the companies asked for more time)FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)SEPT 29 -- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)OCT 5 -- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)OCT 6 -- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)OCT 11 -- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)OCT 12 -- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)OCT 13 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept 13/deadline Oct 18/simplified)-- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)OCT 16 -- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)-- Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified)OCT 17 -- U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17)-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)OCT 18 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)-- German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd’s general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)OCT 20 -- U.S. company AES Corp and German conglomerate Siemens to acquire joint control of a joint venture (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)OCT 26 -- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)-- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idUSL5N1M12Y3'|'2017-09-20T13:56:00.000+03:00'
'56cf6b72abce1dad02e35a45814b857e6dcb74ee'|'GRAPHIC-For sizzling markets, questions loom as Fed edges back'|'FILE PHOTO: Flags fly over the Federal Reserve Headquarters on a windy day in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial markets sizzled over the last decade as the Federal Reserve injected $3.5 trillion in new money, with U.S. stocks far and away the biggest beneficiaries of a policy that may yet destabilize things as it is withdrawn over the years to come.The Fed''s unprecedented bond-buying was meant to stabilize the battered U.S. economy in the wake of the 2007-2009 recession. Yet the initial effects of monetary policy are on markets, where the S&P 500 .SPX equity index has nearly quadrupled since its crisis-era nadir in early 2009, logging a string of record highs.The central bank on Tuesday begins a two-day policy meeting at which it is expected to decide to start shedding bonds in October. Advocates of the policy argue it helped cut unemployment by more than half. Detractors however warn it has inflated global asset prices in a way that could cause the next crisis, even while the stock-market bonanza has exacerbated wealth inequality in the United States.Graphic for S&P 500 composite index: tmsnrt.rs/2jAzC2WThe large-scale purchases of Treasury and mortgage bonds were aimed at encouraging risk-taking, including hiring by businesses and investing by individuals, which in turn was to boost economic growth.As the Fed rolled out its three separate rounds of massive purchases, stocks shot up while the dollar sank alongside yields on U.S. debt. Each time these programs came to an end, albeit briefly, these assets retraced some of those steps.The dollar index .DXY, one of the best early indicators of monetary policy decisions over the last decade, soared 27 percent from 2014 to 2016 as the Fed moved to finally lift interest rates from near zero in late 2015.Graphic for U.S. dollar index: tmsnrt.rs/2jE6FDlThe Fed’s plan to raise rates several more times in 2016 was scuttled by an unexpected slowdown overseas that year, prompting the yield on 10-year benchmark Treasury bonds to touch all-time lows as investors flooded into the perceived safety of U.S. debt.Graphic for Ten-year Treasuries: tmsnrt.rs/2jCTC4YThe effects of investors rushing to and from safe investments has rippled well beyond U.S. borders.When the world’s most influential central bank started ramping up its balance sheet and promising to keep U.S. rates near zero for long periods, investors hunting for higher-yielding assets flooded into emerging markets (EM) such as Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia.The so-called “taper tantrum” of 2013, in which markets reacted abruptly to hints of the end of bond-buying, marked the reversal of that trade and hit EM currencies and stocks hard. This same “hot money” phenomenon boosted lower-quality U.S. corporate debt for a time.Emerging markets and corporate bonds: tmsnrt.rs/2jzc6TG(For a full interactive graphic of the effects of Fed bond-buying on the economy and markets, see: tmsnrt.rs/2jxgbbf )Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Dan Burns and Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-markets/for-sizzling-markets-questions-loom-as-fed-edges-back-idUSKCN1BU1U6'|'2017-09-19T17:00:00.000+03:00'
'6c0b2396f3deabbbfd525f4fac554355e6649095'|'MBDA chief sees Italy keeping missiles stake'|'FILE PHOTO: Antoine Bouvier, CEO of European missile maker MBDA, attends a news conference in Paris March 18, 2014. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS (Reuters) - The head of MBDA expects Italian defense contractor Leonardo to remain a shareholder in the European missiles maker, signaling a potential asset swap between its owners is off the table.The maker of Meteor air-to-air weapons and the Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missile is owned by France’s Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and Britain’s BAE Systems ( BAES.L ), which both have a 37.5 percent stake, and by Leonardo ( LDOF.MI ) with 25 percent.In recent years, Leonardo pondered taking greater control of civil turboprop maker ATR, which it co-owns with Airbus, while Airbus expressed interest in buying out Leonardo at MBDA, prompting periodic discussions over a possible swap.Asked if he believed Leonardo would remain a shareholder, MBDA Chief Executive Antoine Bouvier said: “Yes”.“Nothing is certain, but the fundamentals concerning Italy and Leonardo, as well as MBDA’s involvement in arming Italian platforms, point in that direction,” he added.Bouvier’s comments at a meeting of the French aerospace journalists association further diminish the likelihood of a reorganization of MBDA, following recent signs that Italy wants to keep hold of its stake for strategic reasons.The head of the country’s defense companies association said in June Leonardo would not cut its MBDA stake.MBDA vies with Lockheed Martin ( LMT.N ) of the United States for position as the world’s second largest missiles maker after Raytheon ( RTN.N ), according to industry analysts.It was formed in 2001 through a merger of French, British and Italian interests and later absorbed activities held by Airbus in Germany.Bouvier said he saw no short-term acquisition opportunities in Europe but favored growth through industrial co-operation, having signed a partnership with Romania last month.Italy’s determination to keep a presence in missiles through MBDA leaves unresolved questions over the future of ATR, the world’s largest civil turboprop maker.Airbus and Leonardo disagree over whether to invest in a new turboprop program, a move supported on the Italian side.ATR Chief Executive Christian Scherer said last week it was examining a possible change in legal status from Groupement d‘Interet Economique - a pooling arrangement which favors co-operation but does not post its own profits - to a regular French corporation known as “Societe Anonyme”.Describing such a step as “emancipation,” he suggested it could create some flexibility if the owners decided to raise new funds for a future program or open it up to new industrial shareholders, for example in Asia where ATR sees most growth.“I cannot speak for the shareholders, but before looking at a new program, we need a legal structure that gives us the means to attract new investors and abandon the straightjacket of a private club,” he said.Pressure on ATR to examine its successful but aging portfolio rose this week when Brazil’s Embraer said it was thinking about developing a turboprop.Reporting by Tim Hepher and Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-defence-mbda/mbda-chief-sees-italy-keeping-missiles-stake-idINKCN1BU1ZD'|'2017-09-19T12:54:00.000+03:00'
'f729ff5b21acdae094f83ee82c85290e78b875c2'|'China''s CGN bids for stake in Toshiba''s NuGeneration UK plant'|'September 19, 2017 / 4:30 AM / Updated 2 hours ago China''s CGN bids for stake in Toshiba''s NuGeneration UK plant Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A company logo is seen outside the office of NuGen in Whitehaven, Britain February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble HONG KONG (Reuters) - China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) said on Tuesday it is bidding to make an equity investment in Toshiba’s ( 6502.T ) financially troubled NuGeneration (NuGen) nuclear firm in Britain. In a statement to Reuters, the Chinese nuclear giant did not specify the size of the proposed investment. “We are willing to utilise our experience in nuclear design, construction and operation for more than 30 years to support the development of Britain’s nuclear industry,” CGN said in the statement. NuGen, solely owned by Toshiba, is expected to build three nuclear reactors in Moorside, northwest England. Reporting by Julie Zhu; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nugeneration-m-a-cgn/chinas-cgn-bids-for-stake-in-toshibas-nugeneration-uk-plant-idUKKCN1BU0CN'|'2017-09-19T07:31:00.000+03:00'
'85c4d691291876115818c7e9d6b6e3738a763200'|'European business hopes China''s new leadership can cure reform ''promise fatigue'''|'September 19, 2017 / 2:36 AM / Updated 3 hours ago European business hopes China''s new leadership can cure reform ''promise fatigue'' Michael Martina 3 Min Read A flag of the Communist Party of China, made of red scarves by students ahead of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, is seen at a primary school in Linyi, Shandong province, China September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING (Reuters) - A top European business lobby said on Tuesday it hopes the new leadership to emerge from China’s Communist Party meeting will show a commitment to market opening, but that its members were not optimistic and suffering from “promise fatigue”. China’s ruling elite will hold a once-every-five-years congress starting on Oct. 18, at which the Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of power in Chinese politics, will be fitted with a new line-up of leaders under President Xi Jinping. Foreign businesses in China, long critical of what they see as unmet market opening pledges, are eager for Xi to match the anti-protectionism messages he has been delivering to the world with reforms at home. “We hope that the new line-up after the 19th Party Congress will show that there are people in place that are committed to further opening up,” European Union Chamber of Commerce in China President Mats Harborn said. “If you ask our member companies... they are not very optimistic that these changes will happen,” Harborn told reporters in an interview ahead of the chamber’s launch of its annual position paper. A LITANY OF ASSURANCES The chamber said in the paper that companies have been “suffering from accumulated ‘promise fatigue’, having witnessed a litany of assurances over recent years that never quite materialized”. While noting progress in some industries, such as pharmaceuticals, Harborn said Beijing should abolish its myriad foreign investment catalogs and lists of restricted industries for foreign investors, and “let one company law rule the activities of companies in China”. The chamber urged the Chinese government to not rely on “short-term financial incentives” in designated investment zones, and instead focus on creating a predictable and transparent business environment based on rule of law. China says that it is an ideal country for foreign investment, and that foreign companies have benefited greatly from decades of growth in its huge market. But in recent years, Beijing has sought to address slowing growth by promoting innovation in strategic industries, such as information technology and robotics, plans that have riled foreign companies and their governments with their extensive “buy China” requirements. Business groups have warned that China risks a protectionist backlash from Europe and the United States if it doesn’t open up major sectors, such as financial services, healthcare and logistics, in which foreign firms often face far greater restrictions than their Chinese competitors do abroad. Germany, France and Italy welcomed the European Commission’s proposal last week on vetting non-EU investments, having pushed for tighter oversight of foreign acquisitions of sensitive European technology following a rise in such deals by Chinese players. Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Richard Borsuk '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-eu-business/european-business-hopes-chinas-new-leadership-can-cure-reform-promise-fatigue-idUKKCN1BU06R'|'2017-09-19T05:35:00.000+03:00'
'0cdb48ccf97fad69d34cbe456c04a51fa54ea4cd'|'CitiFinancial pays $907,000 for repossessing U.S. military servicemembers’ vehicles'|'  7:18 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago CitiFinancial pays $907,000 for repossessing U.S. military servicemembers'' vehicles Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - CitiFinancial Credit Co, a unit of Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), has agreed to pay $907,000 to resolve allegations that it illegally repossessed 164 cars owned by U.S. military servicemembers without first obtaining the required court orders, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. The settlement resolves a suit filed by the Justice Department in the Northern District of Texas and covers vehicle repossessions that occurred between 2007 and 2010, the department said in a statement. Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-citigroup-loans/citifinancial-pays-907000-for-repossessing-u-s-military-servicemembers-vehicles-idUSKCN1BT2FF'|'2017-09-18T22:13:00.000+03:00'
'c956e09e834652b5e54c960121b7475b39ffad39'|'Argentine online travel unicorn Despegar jumps in U.S. market debut'|'(Reuters) - Shares of Argentina’s Despegar.com Corp ( DESP.N ) rose as much as 12.3 percent in their stock market debut on Wednesday, giving the Expedia Inc-backed ( EXPE.O ) online travel agent a valuation of $1.96 billion.The 12.8 million-share offering was priced at $26 apiece, at the upper end of Despegar’s proposed $23 to $26 per share range, raising about $332 million in proceeds. The stock opened at $29.00 on the New York Stock Exchange and rose to a high of $29.20 in morning trading.Buenos Aires-based Despegar’s billion-dollar valuation makes it one of Latin America’s first online travel “unicorns.”Despegar’s website and mobile app provide airline tickets, travel packages and hotel bookings, catering mainly to Latin American customers. For hotel-booking services outside the region, Despegar depends on U.S.-based Expedia, the world’s No.2 online travel agent.In Brazil, one of Despegar’s biggest markets, the company operates as Decolar.com.Despegar’s IPO comes amid expectations that online travel bookings in Latin America will increase as the region’s middle class population grows and benefits from greater access to smartphones and the internet.Prior to the offering, Expedia owned a 16.4 percent stake in Despegar, which it bought for $270 million in 2015.U.S. hedge fund Tiger Global Management LLC is Despegar’s biggest shareholder with a pre-IPO stake of 57.3 percent stake. General Atlantic Partners is another major investor.Despegar raked in $411.2 million in revenue in 2016, down 2.5 percent from a year earlier, due to fewer transactions and bookings, according to the company’s IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The company reported a profit of $17.8 million for 2016, compared with a loss of $85.3 million a year ago.Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Itau BBA, Cowen, UBS and KeyBanc Capital Markets are the underwriters to the IPO.Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-despegar-ipo/argentine-online-travel-unicorn-despegar-jumps-in-u-s-market-debut-idINKCN1BV1WY'|'2017-09-20T12:30:00.000+03:00'
'5cf0c1be246b59e8d383ea3a3a3910affa3c1075'|'U.S. nuclear reactors face uphill challenge, despite lower emissions'|'September 20, 2017 / 5:13 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago U.S. nuclear reactors face uphill challenge, despite lower emissions Scott DiSavino 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Steam rises from a cooling tower at the Tennessee Valley Authority''s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, 50 miles south of Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. on September 7, 2007. REUTERS/Chris Baltimore/File Photo (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear power industry is facing an uphill battle to hang onto its share of the country’s electricity production, with some projecting a worst-case scenario where half of the nation’s 99 nuclear reactors could shut over the next couple of decades. Nuclear power looked to be on the verge of a renaissance about a decade ago. But a surge in domestic natural gas production, billions of dollars in cost overruns on new projects, Japan’s Fukushima accident in 2011, and multiple plant closures have the industry on its heels again. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) expects nuclear’s percentage of the power mix to drop to 11 percent by 2050 from the current 20 percent, and many reactors to close. A DOE study in August pointed to increased natural gas production as the biggest factor hampering competitiveness in nuclear power. “Up to half of the currently operational nuclear capacity could be at risk of early retirement in the next decade or two due to low power prices and rising costs,” said Dana Lazarus, senior analyst in North American power at PIRA Energy Group, a unit of S&P Global Platts. Nuclear providers believe they should be paid more for electricity they sell because the power is cleaner than natural gas and coal and more reliable than wind and solar. But gas and renewable producers oppose higher payments for nuclear, which they see as an expensive subsidy to an uncompetitive industry. “We’re not seeking a (government) subsidy,” said Joseph Dominguez, head of governmental and regulatory affairs and public policy at top nuclear power producer Exelon ( EXC.N ). “We’re selling a premium product.” The greatest threat is in deregulated states like New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, where providers, known as merchant reactors, compete against gas and renewable power generators. In regulated states, operators recoup expenses through costs passed on to ratepayers. In the past five years, operators have shut six reactors amid stagnant electricity demand and low natural gas and power prices, and plan to shut another six reactors in deregulated states over the next five years, in part because they cannot compete with gas-fired plants. Most states in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest are deregulated. Merchant plants receive the same money for energy they sell as gas-fired and renewable plants, which are less expensive to operate. “There is a lot the federal government could do to assist troubled merchant nuclear reactors ... the question is whether they will do enough, soon enough to make a difference,” said Paul Patterson, energy analyst at Glenrock Associates in New York. The Trump administration is keen to maintain leadership in the industry, which supports an estimated 475,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to the DOE. The August study called for incentives to boost so-called baseload plants, like nuclear and coal, which run continuously to meet minimum power needs as opposed to wind and solar power. FILE PHOTO: Dominion Virginia Power''s North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Virginia, U.S. is pictured in this undated photo. Courtesy Dominion Power/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo The industry appeared on the cusp of a rebound about a decade ago, when new plants were commissioned, including projects in South Carolina and Georgia. They were the first U.S. nuclear construction projects to commence since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. But cost overruns and delays led the owners of South Carolina’s V.C. Summer project to abandon construction in July. Now Southern Co’s ( SO.N ) plant in Vogtle, Georgia is the only nuclear plant currently under construction in the United States. KEY TO EMISSIONS REDUCTION For many states, keeping nuclear plants running is key to long-term efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. New York and Illinois in 2016 established financial credits for nuclear reactors for emissions-free power. The programs, known as zero emissions credits, encourage operators to invest by forcing utilities to buy credits from some nuclear operators. This may stabilize operations in those states for some time, but PIRA’s Lazarus said the solution is a short-term one, and if the rules are not extended, “the plants could be at risk of closure again.” Exelon had threatened to shut some reactors in both states before the credits were introduced. The firm says it plans to shut its money-losing unit at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 2019 unless it gets help from that state. Nuclear operators in other deregulated states are lobbying for credits similar to New York and Illinois. Legislation has been considered in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Ohio, but no bills have been passed. Power generators such as NRG Energy Inc ( NRG.N ), Dynegy Inc ( DYN.N ) and Calpine Corp ( CPN.N ), who run mostly gas-fired power plant fleets, are suing to overturn the New York and Illinois rules and lobbying to prevent more states from establishing similar programs. Exelon is the only company with reactors that qualified for zero emission credits in New York and Illinois. Rather than having states put money in the “hands of a single company,” NRG VP and Deputy General Counsel Abraham Silverman said the right solution is for broader reform of markets involving compensation to certain power generators that provide reliability to the electrical grid. The New York Public Service Commission estimated its nuclear credit program would cost about $2.8 billion over 12 years. But opponents say it will be more expensive. New Yorkers for Fair Energy, a consumer group, called it a “backroom deal,” saying it will cost ratepayers $7.6 billion over 12 years. GRAPHIC - U.S. nuclear generation to fall as reactors retire tmsnrt.rs/2hO2js5 Editing by Simon Webb, Brian Thevenot and Chris Reese'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-closures-analysis/u-s-nuclear-reactors-face-uphill-challenge-despite-lower-emissions-idUKKCN1BV0FY'|'2017-09-20T08:07:00.000+03:00'
'3c160aed4f4c8001df98ad612d3f1cdf43f0eb00'|'Toshiba selects Bain group as buyer of its memory chip business: sources'|'The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind trees at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan October 1, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) agreed on Wednesday to sell its prized semiconductor business to a group led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP, a key step in keeping the struggling Japanese conglomerate listed on the Tokyo exchange.In a last-minute twist to a long and highly contentious auction, Toshiba said in a late-night announcement through the exchange it agreed to sign a contract for the deal worth about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion).The decision to sell the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND memory chips, first reported by Reuters, was made at a board meeting earlier on Wednesday.Late on Tuesday, sources had said Toshiba was leaning towards selling the business to its U.S. joint venture partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ).It’s unclear whether the sale to the Bain Capital-led group will proceed smoothly, as Western Digital has previously initiated legal action against Toshiba, arguing that no deal can be done without its consent due to its position as Toshiba’s joint venture chip partner.Toshiba said the agreement assumes the deal would weather legal challenges raised by Western Digital.A Western Digital spokeswoman said the company did not have an immediate comment.Toshiba said the sale will boost its finances by 740 billion yen after taxes. That would pull it out of negative shareholder equity, a key step it aims to achieve by March to remain listed.Bain Capital has partnered with South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ) and brought in U.S. buyers of Toshiba chips such as Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Dell Inc [DI.UL] to bolster its bid. Memory product maker Kingston Technology and data storage firm Seagate Technology Plc ( STX.O ) are also part of the group.The Toshiba announcement referred to a group with foreign companies, but did not cite SK Hynix. Rather, it said two Japanese state-backed investors - the Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) - were considering a future capital tie-up. Bain had previously invited the two into the group, sources have said.A DBJ spokesman declined comment. The INCJ could not immediately be reached for comment.The make-up of the consortium could spell trouble ahead, said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute.“The large number of stakeholders could complicate decision-making and slow down key investment decisions,” he said, adding the participation of Toshiba clients would also sap the ability of the chips business to negotiate competitively on pricing.Indeed, Toshiba announced the deal more than nine hours after Reuters reported the deal had been reached because, one source said, it was waiting for commitment letters from all the Bain consortium members.Bain’s win has been hard fought as wrangling went down to the wire.Late on Tuesday, the Western Digital-backed consortium, which includes KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ), appeared to be in the lead, but the California-based firm would not agree to limits to any future stake in the chip business that had been demanded by Toshiba, said one person briefed on the matter.Sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak about discussions on the sale.SCRAMBLE FOR FUNDS After a slew of revised bids and changing alliances among suitors, an agreement comes not a moment too soon for Toshiba.It has been under pressure from its lenders to clinch a deal this month to ensure enough time for regulatory reviews so it can finish the sale by the end of the financial year in March.Without a sale, Toshiba won’t have the billions of dollars it needs to plug a hole in its finances caused by its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse, and could be delisted.Also, the semiconductor business requires huge amounts of investment, and Toshiba’s chip unit risks losing its competitive ability as rivals such as Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ) roll out big capital spending plans.Western Digital has already taken its dispute with Toshiba Court of Arbitration to prevent a sale without its consent, and a source with knowledge of the matter has said it is prepared to seek an immediate court injunction should the deal not go its way.The Bain-led group had been chosen in June as preferred bidder, but those talks lapsed as Japanese government investors, who had been part of that consortium, told Toshiba they were reluctant to close a deal with the Western Digital legal challenges still pending.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Taro Fuse and Kentaro Hamada; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, William Mallard and Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/exclusive-toshiba-selects-bain-group-as-buyer-of-its-memory-chip-business-sources-idINKCN1BV0AB'|'2017-09-20T01:28:00.000+03:00'
'99611fba4062bebcbd4c72b2cc3a60219745b31d'|'Jakks Pacific expects 2017 net loss due to Toys ''R'' Us bankruptcy'|'Sept 20 (Reuters) - Toy maker Jakks Pacific Inc said it expects to report a net loss in fiscal 2017 due to charges related to the bankruptcy of Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.Jakks, whose uninsured claims from the retailer amount to less than 3 percent of its outstanding receivables as of Sept. 18, said it does not expect long-term material impact from the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy.Jakks shares were up 9 percent at $3.10 in afternoon trading on Wednesday. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jakks-pacific-outlook/jakks-pacific-expects-2017-net-loss-due-to-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-idINL4N1M14P4'|'2017-09-20T15:51:00.000+03:00'
'7b245bbb92633c600b66981214b7d4d7452e6f75'|'Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion'|'September 18, 2017 / 1:44 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion Francesca Landini 6 Min Read Italian coffee roasting company Illy Caffe''s logo is seen on computer screen inside the flagship store in downtown Milan, Italy September 15 2017. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca MILAN (Reuters) - Two of Italy’s biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks ( SBUX.O ) is set to begin an invasion next year. Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first Italian store, a ‘Reserve Roasteries’ outlet offering speciality blends and fine food. Another top Italian brand, illycaffe, opened its own luxury cafe close to the Starbucks site in May, in a cosy courtyard in Milan’s most fashionable street. Lavazza, which is opening near the city’s famous La Scala opera house, and illycaffe both deny their moves are a response to a global rival’s impending arrival, a first step in what may become a 200-store expansion. Industry experts suspect it is no coincidence. “Lavazza and illycaffe are the purists of coffee, they want to show they are there when Starbucks arrives,” says Jean-Paul Gaillard, who ran Nespresso for 10 years before founding the Ethical Coffee Company, a Swiss firm selling coffee pods. Milan’s battle of the coffee palaces reflects global competition among major brands to capture a growing market for people who are prepared to pay a premium for quality espresso coffees in upmarket boutique cafes. Nestle ( NESN.S ) last week bought California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, one of the top boutique U.S. chains whose single-origin and cold-brewed coffees have proven popular with hipsters and have made inroads into the Starbucks franchise. JAB Holdings, the investment vehicle of Germany’s Reimann family, has also been buying up independent start-ups selling premium brews around the world, from Europe to the Americas. Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz hopes his company’s arrival in Milan, which he calls the home of the “perfect espresso”, and the inspiration for his Starbucks vision, will show discerning Italian coffee-lovers that “we got it right”. “We are happy to hear about Lavazza’s growth,” said a Starbucks spokesman when asked to comment on Lavazza’s opening. The U.S. chain will open its 2,400-square-metre cafe in late 2018, seeking to attract tourists, young Italians and the business crowd. If the Milan experiment succeeds, Starbucks and its local partner, Antonio Percassi, could open more than 200 stores in Italy over six years, according to Percassi. Some analysts are skeptical that Starbucks can crack a market where espresso typically sells for just one euro ($1.20), a fraction of the price of a Starbucks coffee. People stand outside the Italian coffee roaster Lavazza''s flagship store, set to open in autumn in downtown Milan, Italy September 15 2017. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca But the local brands are also gambling Italians will spend much more than one euro for a restaurant-style experience: illycaffe charges around three times that for coffee brought to the table. Nestle, JAB Holdings and Starbucks are the three largest players in the global coffee market, followed by several mid-tier players including Lavazza and illycaffe. “As the biggest get bigger, mid-tier companies are in a position where they must either expand or risk being left behind or swallowed up by their massive rivals,” said Matthew Barry, an analyst at market research firm Euromonitor International. Lavazza’s chief executive and some of its family owners will cut a ribbon to launch their cafe, where customers can sip a blend of coffee specifically crafted for the store, taste gourmet food and buy single-origin coffees. Slideshow (5 Images) “The opening of the new flagship store has nothing to do with Starbucks,” a Lavazza spokeswoman said, adding that it was solely aimed at giving people an exclusive Lavazza experience. The group is primarily a roaster and supplier to independent cafes and restaurants rather than a retailer and its new store is a way of boosting brand visibility on the high street. Lavazza went on an acquisition spree three years ago, buying up three coffee suppliers in Europe and Canada, boosting sales to nearly 2 billion euros last year. It has overtaken Starbucks in supermarket sales, Euromonitor International says. Illycaffe sells its coffee both through independent cafes and 230 mono-brand stores, some of them directly owned, in 43 countries, and says it wants to develop the network further, though not via major acquisitions. “The new store wants to be a landmark for the global nomad in search for the real Italian lifestyle experience,” illycaffe said, without commenting on the arrival of Starbucks. Milanese coffee society is divided on whether Starbucks can make its name at the high-end of Italian market, the world’s fourth-largest coffee consumer. “I am curious about Starbucks, I will give it a try when it arrives in Milan,” office worker Giuseppe Gaggiano, 55, said at a small, upmarket independent cafe close to the Starbucks site. However, another customer there, Alberto Paparusso, 31, said he wouldn’t abandon his usual cafe: “I don’t like Starbucks coffee. It’s not worth going there.” (This version of the story corrects spelling of analyst’s surname in paragraph 16) Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Editing by Mark Bendeich and Philippa Fletcher '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-coffee/coffee-rivals-square-off-in-italy-ahead-of-starbucks-invasion-idUSKCN1BT1MM'|'2017-09-18T16:43:00.000+03:00'
'ffb1ac9dbf78611e9bccd6de6ebe75dcc727ce6e'|'Jimmy Choo shareholders approve Michael Kors takeover'|' 08 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Jimmy Choo shareholders approve Michael Kors takeover Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Products are displayed in the window of the Jimmy Choo store in New York City, U.S., April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Luxury shoemaker Jimmy Choo Plc ( CHOO.L ) on Monday said its shareholders voted in favour of a $1.2 billion takeover by fashion group Michael Kors Holdings Ltd ( KORS.N ). Almost all of the around 318 million votes cast at Jimmy Choo’s general shareholder meeting were in favour of the deal. Michael Kors agreed to buy Jimmy Choo in July. The British shoe company, famous for its stiletto styles, last month reported a near tripling in half-year profits. The deal comes months after rival fashion company Coach ( COH.N ) struck a deal to buy quirky fashion brand Kate Spade & Co KATE.N, a sign that so-called affordable luxury companies are having to look to new markets and customer bases to boost flagging sales. Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jimmy-choo-m-a-michael-kors/jimmy-choo-shareholders-approve-michael-kors-takeover-idUKKCN1BT1ZQ'|'2017-09-18T19:10:00.000+03:00'
'1ff87724d96719727c47048a3072ff0de1cd6d88'|'RPT-GRAPHIC-Take Five: World markets themes for the week ahead'|'(Repeats Friday’s story without changes)LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.1/ FED COMES ALIVE The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected next week to announce plans to begin unwinding its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in its latest step toward monetary policy normalisation nearly a decade after the global financial crisis. A larger question looms, however, over whether the Fed resumes interest rate hikes later this year. While the Fed and most economists see the U.S. economy continuing to plod along in slow-growth mode, the bulk of data describing the economy’s health has surprised to the downside for months as measured by Citigroup’s U.S. Economic Surprise Index. Persistently weak readings of inflation have been a particular conundrum for policymakers vexed by an inability to coax consumer price pressures upward toward their annual growth target of 2 percent. In the last month, however, the margin of downside surprises has narrowed substantially and this week witnessed the first upside surprise on an inflation reading since the spring. Interest rate futures have responded accordingly, and expectations for a December rate hike have risen so far in September. The chance of a quarter-point increase to 1.25 to 1.50 percent in December has climbed to roughly 50 percent from 31 percent in early September, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.* Gasoline, rents boost U.S. consumer inflation; weekly jobless claims fall* MONEY MARKETS-Traders pare U.S. Dec rate-hike view on weak retail sales data2/ BOOM-BUST OR BOOM-BOOM? Stocks hovering around record highs during the second-longest bull market in history have for months led to concerns about an overheated market. But on one measure the rally may have some justification. The Boom-Bust Barometer, an indicator of economic health and momentum, shows that stocks have “a far healthier fundamental foundation than most perceive,” according to James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group. The barometer - which measures a spot price of a range of industrials such as copper, steel and lead scrap, divided by unemployment claims, according to Yardeni Research - has been rising steadily with the S&P since the trough in 2009. Paulsen said the market was not necessarily as extended as people think. While investors were primarily concerned about the Fed “taking the punch bowl away,” they should take greater note of a weaker dollar and lower bond yields since year-end, he said.* ‘Trump Trade’ returns? Small-cap U.S. stocks rally on hope of tax deal3/ SCORCHED BY STERLING The British pound has just posted its best week since 2009 as a sharp reassessment of the Bank of England’s interest projections sen those with large bearish bets scrambling to cover. On Thursday, the Bank of England doubled down on its new warning that official interest rates are likely to rise soon. Sharp moves in the currency have a serious impact on all UK assets which have been in thrall to the pound since last year’s shock outcome in the Brexit referendum. Sterling’s rally dealt a blow to UK bluechip stocks with the FTSE 100 slipping more than 2 percent in thre last week while yields on short-dated gilts rose to their highest since the Brexit vote. Global fund managers are more “underweight” the UK than any other asset class or geography relative to historical allocations, according to the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of portfolio managers. Sharp, sustained strength in sterling will change the calculus significantly going into the final quarter of the year.* Bank of England paves way for first rate hike in a decade* FTSE hits bump on sterling jump after BoE rate hike signal* Sterling burns past $1.34 on BoE rate hike warning4/ BITCOIN IN THE BALANCE After a vertiginous ascent to record highs just below $5,000 early in the month, bitcoin plunged as much as 40 percent in the 12 following days, dipping below $3,000 on Friday. A combination of fears of a crackdown in China, worries that its prise rise had been too sudden, and a warning from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon that bitcoin was a “fraud” and was set to “blow up” drove the sell-off, and hundreds of copycat cryptocurrencies that have sprung up and surged in value in recent months tumbled along with it. But after rumours of Chinese exchange shut-downs were confirmed, traders seem to be getting a case of the “buy the rumour sell the facts”. Bitcoin bounced 20 percent in four hours, and other cryptocurrencies also followed. Focus will now turn to other regulators to see whether they too will take steps to curb trading - no evidence of this has been seen so far. Has the crypto-bubble really burst, or was this just a temporary blip?* Beijing cryptocurrency exchanges told to announce trading halt* Bitcoin exchange BTCChina says to stop trading, sparking further slide* Bitcoin bounces 20 percent after dipping below $3,0005/ KIWI SHAKE-UP As they head into national elections on Sept. 23, New Zealand’s markets are facing major political uncertainty for the first time in a decade and bracing for a shake-up of monetary and economic policy. Opinion polls show the main opposition Labour party has once again grabbed the lead from the incumbent National party. Labour’s platform includes not just a reduction in net immigration but also a change to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) mandate, by ending its sole focus on inflation and adding an employment goal. And if the Nationals do form a government, they are likely to have to seek support from the minor New Zealand First Party, which also wants changes to the RBNZ’s mandate. The kiwi has tumbled from a two-year high of $0.7557 it hit in July, when a Nationals victory was expected, as the polls have turned. It is still up about 4 percent against the U.S. dollar so far in 2017, but the uncertainty around a Labour win – both on expectations of monetary policy being less hawkish on inflation and slower immigration softening growth - could weigh on both the currency and the quite richly valued stock market. The stock index is up 12.8 percent this year and trades at a PE of above 17.* Support for NZ’s Labour Party edges further above National in opinion poll - nS9N15I00I* ANALYSIS-Political risk climbs in NZ markets as Labour leads in poll, Kiwi dollar dented- nL4N1LI03Yreporting by Dan Burns and Megan Davies ibn New York, Vidya Rabganathan in Singapore, Vikram Subhedar and Jemima Kelly in London; Editing by Toby Chopra '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-themes/rpt-graphic-take-five-world-markets-themes-for-the-week-ahead-idINL5N1LW4VQ'|'2017-09-18T03:58:00.000+03:00'
'6a7d7bfc5e6263bec9b30c93d0ac88e143347f4d'|'Mitie may cut 480 jobs as clean up continues'|'September 20, 2017 / 6:47 AM / Updated 30 minutes ago Mitie raises clean-up costs as it cuts 480 jobs Justin George Varghese 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British outsourcing company Mitie Group said it may cut up to 480 jobs as it overhauls its cleaning and engineering divisions, and said costs relating to its turnaround drive are “greater than previously anticipated”. The provider of pest control, cleaning, security and healthcare services is in the midst of a recovery programme after announcing a string of profit warnings, which it blamed on uncertainty surrounding Brexit and rising costs. Mitie shares fell 4.6 percent to a three-month low of 246 pence in early trade. British outsourcing companies such as Mitie, Capita and Carillion have been hit over the past year by rising labour costs and unplanned changes on contracts that were taken on during the financial downturn, often with paper-thin margins. The outsourcer, which employs 53,000 people, has already cut around 200 jobs and there were signs of more to come. Analysts at Jefferies and BofA Merrill Lynch said the rising cost of the clean-up -- now 24 million pounds from an earlier 15 million pounds -- was an issue. “Cost-to-serve and general overhead is running ‘marginally ahead of last year and earlier expectations’ which hints at a softer EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) margin progression,” said Kean Marden, an equity analyst with Jefferies. The company said revenue so far this year was ahead of its expectations and is seen at about 1.1 billion pounds for the first-half of the year, 4 percent ahead of the prior full-year period. The company added that this trend should continue. As part of its overhaul, Mitie has restated its accounts, announced it would appoint a new auditor and sold a loss-making unit. “Transforming a large, diverse business such as Mitie is neither linear nor without challenges, but the programme remains on track. I expect to see the positive impact of our endeavours as we move into the second half of the year,” acting Chief Executive Peter Dickinson said in a statement. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mitie-group-outlook/mitie-may-cut-480-jobs-as-clean-up-continues-idUKKCN1BV0OC'|'2017-09-20T09:47:00.000+03:00'
'b2d0ad523785af5d5d1b8cb03de285f374f11944'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Sept. 20'|'ZURICH, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.2 percent lower at 9,077 points on Wednesday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer .The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks:CLARIANT The Swiss chemicals maker reconfirmed its commitment to its planned merger with Huntsman, saying the deal had a strong strategic rationale, after one of its shareholders repeated its opposition.For more news, clickNOVARTIS Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Wednesday said it had won European Union approval for Rydapt to be used against a mutated form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other rare diseases, adding to U.S. approvals it secured in April.For more news, clickCOMPANY STATEMENTS * UBS may be more at risk from a continued lack of client activity than peers because it’s more dependent on customers trades, the head of its investment banking operations told reporters in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.* Kuehne & Nagel said Sanofi awarded it a logistics contract to manage its warehouse activities in Geel, Belgium. The logistics company will also hold its investor day on Wednesday.* Peach Property Group said it was increasing the target volume for its convertible hybrid bond from 25 million Swiss francs ($26.01 million) up to 59 million francs due to strong demand.* Pax Anlage said it was naming Thomas Hasse Biniasch as its new Chief Executive, effective September 20, replacing Paul-Henri Guinand.* Lalique Group said its group net profit rose to 3 million euros in the first half of 2017, up from 0.6 million euros the luxury goods company reported a year earlier.ECONOMY $1 = 0.9613 Swiss francs Reporting by Zurich newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks/swiss-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-20-idUSL5N1M04LS'|'2017-09-20T07:53:00.000+03:00'
'ee06afde7e096919f99a5f687492f04661c91ef6'|'TREASURIES-Yields rise as investors focus on Fed meeting this week'|'* Fed meeting in focus for rate hike signals * Fed seen likely to announce balance sheet reductions By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury prices fell on Monday as investors focused on the Federal Reserve''s two-day policy meeting this week for signals on whether an additional interest rate hike is likely this year. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to announce at the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday that it will begin paring its massive portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, with the reductions likely to start this year. Less certain is whether the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates again by the end of the year. Interest rate futures traders are pricing in a 57 percent chance of a hike at the December meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. "The key market moving event for this week is the FOMC," said Subadra Rajappa, head of U.S. rates strategy at Societe Generale in New York. "The debate in the market is whether the Fed will be able to raise rates at the December meeting, given the trajectory of inflation." Treasury yields have jumped since data on Thursday showed that U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August, easing concerns that inflation would disappoint with another weak print. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent last month, the largest rise in seven months. "Last week''s CPI number was a step in the right direction. If we maintain this trajectory during the second half of the year, then I think they will be well on their way to hiking in December," Rajappa said. Concerns about North Korean missile tests have also eased, helping yields rise from nine-month lows a little more than a week ago. Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 6/32 in price to yield 2.222 percent. The yield fell to 2.016 percent on Sept. 8, the lowest level since Nov. 10. (Editing by Paul Simao) ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-yields-rise-as-investors-focus-on-fed-meeting-this-week-idINL2N1LZ0MN'|'2017-09-18T11:33:00.000+03:00'
'2e1187086c901e15765aec38ab56b10d4f365f4b'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks at 3-yr highs as tech surge lifts Asian bourses'|'LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A surge in technology stocks helped lift Asian bourses to decade highs and emerging market shares to three-year highs on Monday, tracking gains in developed markets, whilst Friday’s weak U.S. data kept tightening expectations at bay.MSCI’s benchmark emerging equities index rose almost 1 percent with Asian shares ex-Japan up just over 1 percent to highs not seen since late 2007.The gains came after new closing highs on Wall Street on Friday with the Nasdaq setting an intraday record. This fuelled an appetite for Asian technology firms with Samsung Electronics up over 4 percent to a record high and chip maker SK Hynix up 3.2 percent.The South Korean sub-index for electric and electronics shares touched a record intraday level after gaining 2.3 percent. The South Korean bourse leapt 1.4 percent to a six-week peak, its strongest daily performance since early May after no new provocations from nuclear-armed North Korea. The won also firmed 0.5 percent.Indian shares rose 0.8 percent to an all-time high , and Hong Kong shares gained 1.3 percent as property stocks rallied following stronger-than-expected Chinese loan data.Slower Chinese home price growth was also well-received as authorities were seen as less likely to tighten further. China mainland shares rose 0.3 percent, also supported by Friday’s loosening of restrictions on stock index futures trading.Emerging Europe opened strongly with Poland up almost 1 percent and Hungary shares at fresh record highs. South African stocks also rose 0.8 percent.Per Hammarlund, chief emerging markets strategist at SEB, said Friday’s weaker U.S. retail sales and industrial output data was underpinning the complex, as it had convinced markets that easy monetary conditions would continue for some time.“Economic indicators aren’t strong enough to motivate a sharp tightening cycle. It’s driving home the message that it’s going to be a very gradual withdrawal of quantitative easing and markets still aren’t sure of a December hike,” he said.The average yield spread of emerging market sovereign bonds over U.S. Treasuries on the JPMorgan EMBI Global Diversified index narrowed to 286 basis points, a three-year low.But currencies struggled to make headway in the face of a stronger dollar with the South African rand weakening 0.4 percent and the Turkish lira 0.6 percent.China’s yuan also continued to slide after last week’s biggest weekly loss since November.The Hungarian forint weakened 0.2 percent against the euro, trading at its weakest since early July as traders positioned for further unconventional monetary easing by the central bank on Tuesday.The market is also awaiting Polish wage growth data due out later today, in case this surprises on the upside. “The Polish and Hungarian central banks have both been very dovish but you are seeing clear signs of inflation building, so if there is an uptrend they may have to rethink,” said Hammarlund.The Russian rouble was steady after Friday’s expected 50 basis point rate cut by the Russian central bank. It said it would deliver more cuts in the next six months as inflation slows.For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, seeFor TURKISH market report, seeFor RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chgon yearMorgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 1112.79 +10.63 +0.96 +29.05Czech Rep 1050.07 -1.00 -0.10 +13.94Poland 2519.99 +21.67 +0.87 +29.37Hungary 38498.01 +172.08 +0.45 +20.29Romania 8064.99 +51.67 +0.64 +13.83Greece 773.13 -3.07 -0.40 +20.12Russia 1126.57 +3.14 +0.28 -2.24South Africa 49646.79 +372.19 +0.76 +13.09Turkey 07578.47 -163.23 -0.15 +37.68China 3363.22 +9.60 +0.29 +8.36India 32467.60 +194.99 +0.60 +21.94Currencies Latest Prev Local Localclose currency currency% change % changein 2017Czech Rep 26.09 26.09 -0.02 +3.50Poland 4.28 4.28 -0.16 +2.82Hungary 309.43 309.14 -0.09 -0.20Romania 4.60 4.60 +0.03 -1.37Serbia 119.08 118.98 -0.08 +3.59Russia 57.54 57.62 +0.14 +6.47Kazakhstan 340.32 339.47 -0.25 -1.96Ukraine 26.16 26.19 +0.11 +3.21South Africa 13.19 13.15 -0.30 +4.10Kenya 102.90 103.00 +0.10 -0.52Israel 3.53 3.52 -0.24 +9.14Turkey 3.46 3.44 -0.56 +2.05China 6.56 6.55 -0.21 +5.78India 64.06 64.11 +0.08 +6.07Brazil 3.11 3.11 -0.03 +4.64Mexico 17.68 17.66 -0.11 +17.18Debt Index Strip Spd Chg %Rtn IndexSov‘gn Debt EMBIG 308 0 .00 8 07.28 1Reporting by Claire Milhench; graphic by Alexander Winning '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets/emerging-markets-emerging-stocks-at-3-yr-highs-as-tech-surge-lifts-asian-bourses-idINL5N1LZ12J'|'2017-09-18T06:54:00.000+03:00'
'ad4284db60af97229b29fb918c5b51da9f4fa03d'|'Dollar clings near seven-week high vs yen; sterling stands tall'|'September 18, 2017 / 12:28 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Dollar clings near seven-week high versus yen; sterling stands tall Masayuki Kitano 4 Min Read Four thousand U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado November 3, 2009. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar held firm near a seven-week high versus the yen on Monday, supported by recent rises in U.S. Treasury yields, while sterling stood tall, buoyed by growing expectations the Bank of England could raise interest rates soon. The dollar edged up 0.3 percent against the yen to 111.17 yen JPY= , trading within sight of Friday''s peak at 111.33 yen, the dollar''s highest level since late July. While the dollar lost some steam on Friday after data showed an unexpected drop in U.S. retail sales in August, it began the week on firm footing against the yen, following last week’s solid performance. The dollar gained nearly 2.8 percent against the yen last week, buoyed by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields that bolstered the greenback’s appeal, and as data showing a pick up in U.S. consumer prices helped rekindle expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again in December. “We’ve certainly seen some adjustment on the December rate hike probabilities. I think that may carry the day at least until we get into the FOMC,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for Oanda, referring to this week’s Fed policy meeting. The yen’s recent drop against other currencies, such as sterling, has had some spillover impact and lent added support to the dollar versus the yen, traders say. Trading is likely to be thinner than usual on Monday, with Japanese markets closed for a public holiday. Over the next month or so, Japanese politics may become a focal point for currency traders, given indications that Japan is headed for an early election. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering calling a snap election for as early as next month to take advantage of his improved approval ratings and disarray in the main opposition party, government and ruling party sources said on Sunday. Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore, said the fact that the main opposition party is in disarray bodes well for Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party if a snap election is called. The focus for this week is the Fed’s Sept. 19-20 policy meeting. The Fed is seen likely to announce a plan to start shrinking its balance sheet at the meeting, but is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. The euro traded at $1.1939 EUR= , staying below a 2-1/2 year high of $1.2092 set earlier this month. Sterling was firm after having rallied sharply last week on growing bets the Bank of England will raise interest rates soon. On Friday, sterling rose past the $1.36 level for the first time since the Brexit vote, after comments from BoE policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe echoed the central bank’s signal that the first rate increase in a decade could happen in “coming months”. [GBP/] Sterling eased 0.1 percent to $1.3577 GBP=D3 . On Friday, it had risen to as high as $1.3616, the strongest since June 24, 2016. Against the yen, sterling edged up 0.2 percent to 150.91 yen GBPJPY=R, having surged about 5.9 percent last week for its biggest weekly gain versus the Japanese currency since July last year. Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Richard Borsuk '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-forex/dollar-clings-near-seven-week-high-versus-yen-sterling-stands-tall-idUKKCN1BT00T'|'2017-09-18T03:25:00.000+03:00'
'5365245465ebfd6afd99206d7ebfc6aacffd7aea'|'UAE’s Emaar Properties gets $1.5 billion loan from First Abu Dhabi Bank: sources'|'A logo of Dubai''s Emaar Properties is seen at an under-construction building in Dubai, UAE, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai-based Emaar Properties ( EMAR.DU ) obtained a $1.5 billion corporate finance loan from First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.Emaar, which develops residential properties, hotels, entertainment and shopping malls, agreed on the financing after initially holding talks with some of its relationship banks for three bilateral loans of $500 million each.In the end, it chose to obtain a single loan of $1.5 billion with First Abu Dhabi Bank underwriting the whole amount, said the sources, declining to be named as the matter is not yet public.The company, which is also planning an initial public offer of up to 30 percent of its local real estate development business, said earlier on Sunday that in a board meeting scheduled for Sept. 20, it would discuss its entry into a new financing agreement with First Abu Dhabi Bank. It did not specify any terms of the agreement.A spokeswoman for Emaar declined to comment, while First Abu Dhabi Bank did not respond to a request for comment.The loan, with a five-year tenor, pays a margin of 135 basis points over London interbank offered rates, said one of the sources.Given the large size of the facility, it’s possible that First Abu Dhabi Bank will try to sell it down in the secondary market, the sources said.Emaar Properties, builder of the world’s tallest tower, plans to launch the IPO of its local real estate development business by November, its chairman Mohamed Alabbar said in June. First Abu Dhabi Bank is set to have a leading role in arranging the planned IPO together with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, sources told Reuters last month.Editing by Andrew Torchia '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-emaar-properties-loan/uaes-emaar-properties-gets-1-5-billion-loan-from-first-abu-dhabi-bank-sources-idINKCN1BT16A'|'2017-09-18T09:23:00.000+03:00'
'cabee7105b5f130284cb85998dbd5116c387d152'|'Hedge fund Elliott says has strategic goals for Stada'|'September 19, 2017 / 2:36 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago Hedge fund Elliott says has strategic goals for Stada Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at their headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt, Germany, August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Elliott, the activist hedge fund founded by Paul Singer, has strategic goals for German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) but will not press for boardroom changes, Stada said. “The prevalent aim of the investment is implementing strategic objectives where the sale of the shares shall not be excluded,” Elliott told Stada on Sept. 18, according to a regulatory filing published by Stada on Tuesday. Stada said that following Elliott’s acquisition of more than 10 percent of the company’s shares, the fund would not seek changes to Stada’s capital structure but planned to acquire further voting rights over the next 12 months. Bowing to pressure from Elliott, Bain Capital and Cinven offered minority Stada shareholders a marked-up 74.40 euros ($89.08) per share in early September to get full control of the German generic drugmaker. Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Christoph Steitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stada-elliott/hedge-fund-elliott-says-has-strategic-goals-for-stada-idUKKCN1BU1XF'|'2017-09-19T17:35:00.000+03:00'
'fdc7d3ea04f061d1b3986bfbf4df58605e606a2b'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint off lows, Hungarian central bank seen easing'|'* Forint off, but near lows ahead of central bank meeting * Hungarian central bank seen cutting overnight deposit rate * Rate cut should be bigger than 10 bps for an impact-dealers * Central European financial markets are rangebound By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The forint traded off multi-month lows against the euro on Tuesday as investors held their breath ahead of the Hungarian central bank''s (NBH) meeting where it could announce further monetary easing measures. The NBH, the most dovish central bank in the European Union''s eastern wing, has repeatedly indicated it would keep monetary conditions loose, even as the world''s big central banks tighten their own policies. The bank, led by Gyorgy Matolcsy, a key ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban who will face elections next year, will also discuss its quarterly inflation report, and is likely to demonstrate its willingness to boost economic growth. Its meetings earlier this year were "business as usual" due to expectations its base rate could stay unchanged at a record low 0.9 percent for years. But the bank turned even more dovish in the past few weeks and clearly signalled subdued inflation left it room to ease policies through tools other than its main rate. The guidance had softened the forint by Monday to its weakest levels since the end of June near 310 against the euro, from the 28-month high it reached at 301.72 after the bank''s August rate meeting. On Tuesday it traded at 309.2 at 0815 GMT, up by 0.1 percent from Monday''s close, and Hungarian government bonds were steady after a slide in yields in the past weeks. Central European financial asset prices were mostly rangebound. Investors are waiting to see how strong the easing measures will be compared with expectations, traders said. "The striking thing is that the forint has eased so much purely on the basis of market expectations, which are very strong," one Budapest-based currency dealer said. "Now the central bank must exceed the expectations if it wants further market impact," the dealer added. One policy change that most market participants expect is a 10 basis point cut in the overnight deposit rate, which stands at a record-low -0.05 percent. The bank is also expected to set a 150 billion forint limit on its 3-month deposit facility by the end of this year; that would be half of the limit valid for end-September. Such a measure would pump liquidity into interbank markets. "Negative interest rates, that is becoming increasingly rare in the world," one fixed income trader said. "The Hungarian central bank has communicated that it will still maintain that, whatever is going on in the world, and the market seems to accept that they can," the trader added. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1015 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.135 26.126 -0.03% 3.34% 0 0 Hungary 309.20 309.57 +0.12 -0.12% forint 00 00 % Polish zloty 4.2898 4.2891 -0.02% 2.66% Romanian leu 4.6005 4.5987 -0.04% -1.42% Croatian 7.4700 7.4765 +0.09 1.14% kuna % Serbian 118.84 119.00 +0.13 3.80% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1049.7 1049.0 +0.07 +13.9 1 2 % 0% Budapest 38392. 38387. +0.01 +19.9 60 22 % 7% Warsaw 2509.0 2501.7 +0.29 +28.8 1 5 % 0% Bucharest 8017.7 7995.9 +0.27 +13.1 1 7 % 6% Ljubljana 798.23 798.81 -0.07% +11.2 4% Zagreb 1799.8 1796.6 +0.18 -9.78% 0 1 % Belgrade 730.58 731.83 -0.17% +1.84 % Sofia 667.35 669.32 -0.29% +13.8 0% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.11 0.114 +058b +13bp ps s 5-year 0.071 0 +034b +1bps ps 10-year 1.065 -0.009 +061b +0bps ps Poland 2-year 1.767 0.009 +245b +2bps ps 5-year 2.648 0.042 +291b +5bps ps 10-year 3.308 0.033 +285b +4bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.72 0.87 0.97 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.11 0.11 0.13 0.12 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.759 1.786 1.82 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-forint-off-lows-hungarian-central-bank-seen-easing-idINL5N1M01VL'|'2017-09-19T07:14:00.000+03:00'
'1a83c387a17474ce14fe0208cfa632f1d2f3db1c'|'MOVES-Hiscox names ex-British spy chief as cybersecurity adviser'|'  MOVES-Hiscox names ex-British spy chief as cybersecurity adviser Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 20 (Reuters) - UK-based insurance firm Hiscox Ltd named Robert Hannigan, former head of Britain’s spy agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), special adviser on cybersecurity. Hannigan was director at GCHQ till January this year, when he resigned for personal reasons. Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/hiscox-moves-robert-hannigan/moves-hiscox-names-ex-british-spy-chief-as-cybersecurity-adviser-idUSL4N1M13JP'|'2017-09-20T14:06:00.000+03:00'
'9146bda3583ad2e70f6e979655759db87dd5487b'|'Stellar Diamonds seeks to fund first post-Ebola mine in Sierra Leone'|'  2:19 PM / Updated 39 minutes ago Stellar Diamonds seeks to fund first post-Ebola mine in Sierra Leone Barbara Lewis 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A trader holds a four carat diamond worth about US$8,000 in the town of Koidu in eastern Sierra Leone, April 21, 2012. REUTERS/Finbarr O''Reilly /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Stellar Diamonds ( STELD.L ), a London-listed small-cap, is seeking funding for a $45 million (£33.19 million) diamond project in Sierra Leone it says will be the first major mining project since the Ebola crisis rocked the country’s economy. Diamonds and other forms of mining are central to an economy hard hit by the 2015 Ebola epidemic. Trade in diamonds helped to fuel the decade-long conflict that ended in 2002, but since the lifting of a ban on exports in 2003 and strict international rules, the industry says Sierra Leone’s exceptionally high quality diamonds have become a force for good. “This is the first large-scale mining licence to be issued by the government since Ebola, creating up to 1,000 jobs,” Stellar CEO Karl Smithson said in an interview. Initially, Stellar Diamonds planned to buy the diamond prospect through a reverse takeover to acquire acreage from private firm Octea, which already operates Koidu, the biggest diamond mine in Sierra Leone and West Africa. The new project Tongo-Tonguma will be the region’s second biggest, Smithson said. In an environment in which small players can struggle to raise cash following the 2015-16 commodity crash, Smithson abandoned the reverse takeover plan in favour of a revenue-sharing deal. That means Stellar will pay a 9.3 percent gross royalty to Octea, which continues to own the Tonguma prospect, while Stellar keeps the adjacent Tongo acreage and operates both. FILE PHOTO: Rough diamonds worth around US$10,000 sit on a sheet of doodled paper in the office of a Lebanese gem dealer in the town of Koidu in eastern Sierra Leone, March 2, 2012. REUTERS/Simon Akam/File Photo. Between them, Tongo-Tonguma should produce 200,000 carats per year over the 21-year mine life and generate gross revenue of $45 million annually. For a small-cap, the advantage of the deal is it gets rid of the need to raise all the money upfront and means work can begin quickly - Smithson hopes next year. To provide working capital, meanwhile, the company this week announced a share issue and an open offer to minority shareholders to raise roughly 500,000 pounds. Its share price, which was suspended for half a year while the reverse takeover was considered, has fallen more than 50 percent this year. Stellar Diamonds expects to raise cash from a deal agreed earlier this year to sell its assets in Guinea to BDG Capital Limited, although Smithson said the final price would be less than the $2 million figure initially announced. BSG Resources (BSGR) said it could not comment as the Octea deal was still being finalised. The group was founded by Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz, who is now an advisor and not involved in daily business. Editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stellar-leone-diam/stellar-diamonds-seeks-to-fund-first-post-ebola-mine-in-sierra-leone-idUKKCN1BV1TU'|'2017-09-20T17:17:00.000+03:00'
'f57583796f86804bc5667257a62f6b0e75ea0754'|'UPDATE 1-Jakks Pacific expects 2017 loss due to Toys ''R'' Us bankruptcy'|'File Photo - The mostly empty shelves of a Toys "R" Us flagship store in Times Square are seen after it closed permanently in the Manhattan borough of New York December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (Reuters) - Toy maker Jakks Pacific Inc ( JAKK.O ) said on Wednesday it expects to report a net loss in fiscal 2017 due to charges related to bankruptcy of the biggest U.S. toy store chain Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.However, Jakks said it does not expect long-term material impact from the bankruptcy, sending its shares up as much as 11.3 percent to $3.15.Jakks said its uninsured claims from Toys ‘R’ Us amount to less than 3 percent of its outstanding receivables as of Sept. 18.The toymaker had reported a net income of $1.2 million in 2016.“2017 continues to present a challenging retail environment, which has now been further disrupted by the Toys ‘R’ Us Chapter 11 filing,” Jakks Chief Executive Stephen Berman said.The toy store chain filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 19, with a $5 billion long-term debt and received a commitment for up to $3.1 billion in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from lenders.“Nevertheless, the announced availability of DIP financing leaves us optimistic that we can resume our relationship with Toys ‘R’ Us as one of its significant suppliers,” Berman said.Jakks shares have fallen 7.2 percent since Sept. 17 on growing concerns about the retailer’s impending bankruptcy filing.Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jakks-pacific-outlook/jakks-pacific-expects-2017-net-loss-due-to-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-idUSKCN1BV2JW'|'2017-09-20T21:35:00.000+03:00'
'5626c5a54f1a7f8963ee5e67ec522ecec474ee0f'|'Fed conflicted by tepid U.S. inflation, global economic rebound'|'FILE PHOTO - The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is on display in Washington, DC, U.S. on June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but signaled it still expects one more increase by the end of the year despite recent weak inflation readings.New economic projections released after the Fed’s two-day policy meeting showed 11 of 16 officials see the “appropriate” level for the federal funds rate, the central bank’s benchmark interest rate, to be in a range between 1.25 percent and 1.50 percent by the end of 2017.That is one-quarter of a point above the current level. Financial markets were barely moved by the Fed decision and the new economic projections and based on the immediate market reaction it looked as if the Fed was right when it said that the portfolio runoff would be as exciting as “watching paint dry”.“The labor market has continued to strengthen ... economic activity has been rising moderately so far this year,” the Fed said in its policy statement. It added that the near-term risks to the economic outlook remained “roughly balanced” but that inflation was being watched “closely.”The interest rate outlook for next year remained largely unchanged, with three hikes envisioned. But the U.S. central bank slowed the pace of projected monetary tightening from there.It forecasts only two increases in 2019 and one in 2020. It also lowered again its estimated long-term “neutral” interest rate from 3.0 percent to 2.75 percent, reflecting concerns about overall economic vitality.Related Coverage Fed takes balanced approach to trimming U.S. bond holdingsFOMC statement from Sept 19-20 meetingInstant View: Fed keeps rates steady, approves portfolio cuts in OctoberThe Fed, as expected, also said it would begin in October to reduce its approximately $4.2 trillion in holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities by initially cutting up to $10 billion each month from the amount of maturing securities it reinvests.That action will start a gradual reversal of the three rounds of quantitative easing the Fed pursued between 2008 and 2014 to stimulate the economy after the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession.The limit on reinvestment is scheduled to increase by $10 billion every three months to a maximum of $50 billion per month until the central bank’s overall balance sheet falls by perhaps $1 trillion or more in the coming years.The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of currencies .DXY after the release of the Fed’s policy statement. U.S. stocks extended losses while yields on U.S. Treasuries rose slightly.FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET (1830 GMT).BALANCING ACT The policy statement and accompanying projections showed the Fed still in the middle of a balancing act between an economic recovery that has kept U.S. unemployment low and is gaining steam globally and a recent worrying drop in U.S. inflation.Three of the hawkish policymakers appeared to move their expected policy rate down to account for only one more hike by the end of 2017, leaving a core 11 clustered around a likely December increase. The Fed has raised rates twice this year.The Fed noted that the recent hurricanes in the United States would affect economic activity but are “unlikely to materially alter the course of the national economy over the medium term.”Forecasts for economic growth and unemployment into 2018 and beyond were largely unchanged. Gross domestic product is now expected to grow at a rate of 2.4 percent this year, 2.1 percent next year and 2.0 percent in 2019.The unemployment rate is forecast to remain at 4.3 percent this year before falling to 4.1 percent next year and remaining there in 2019.Inflation is expected to remain under the Fed’s 2 percent target through 2018 before hitting it in 2019.There were no dissents in the Fed’s policy decision.(For a graphic on the legacy of the QE era, click tmsnrt.rs/2xh1v4Q )Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao and David Chance '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed/fed-conflicted-by-tepid-u-s-inflation-global-economic-rebound-idINKCN1BV0GJ'|'2017-09-20T08:02:00.000+03:00'
'2725220594c793ea4c50ec8489e59e69e56dd779'|'Aramco says IPO on track after report it is preparing for possible delay'|'September 14, 2017 / 11:16 AM / 10 minutes ago Aramco says IPO on track after report it is preparing for possible delay Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A view shows Saudi Aramco''s Manifa oilfield, Saudi Arabia January 22, 2015. Picture taken January 22, 2015. Saudi Aramco/Handout via REUTERS (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco’s planned initial public offering remains on track, the company said on Thursday, after Bloomberg reported that the oil company is preparing contingency plans for a possible delay by a few months into 2019. Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world’s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange inRiyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in anIPO that could raise $100 billion (£75.72 billion). “The initial public offering of a stake in Saudi Aramco remains on track,” said Aramco in an email. “The IPO process is well under way and Saudi Aramco remains focused on ensuring that all IPO related work is completed to the very highest standards on time.” Bloomberg reported on Wednesday the Saudi government is still aiming for the IPO of the state-owned oil giant in the second half of 2018, but that the timetable is getting increasingly tight for what is likely to be the biggest share sale in history. Aramco has still not chosen an international venue for the listing although New York and London are seen as leading contenders. It has hired advisers for the deal, but has not chosen global coordinators or bookrunners, banking sources have said. Reuters reported last month that Saudi Arabia favours New York for the main foreign listing of Aramco, even though some financial and legal advisers have recommended London, citing people familiar with the matter. Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bangalore, writing by Saeed Azhar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aramco-ipo-delay/aramco-says-ipo-on-track-after-report-it-is-preparing-for-possible-delay-idUKKCN1BP1F5'|'2017-09-14T14:15:00.000+03:00'
'507b96cc59dfb3e086f4bd4ec88d91781a3ce654'|'Uganda signs oil exploration deal with Australia''s Armour Energy'|'Uganda’s Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Irene Muloni (R), poses for a picture with Roger Cressey, CEO of Armour Energy, after signing a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), in Kampala, Uganda, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/James Akena KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda signed an oil exploration deal with Australia’s Armour Energy Limited ( AJQ.AX ) on Thursday, the first under a protracted competitive licensing round launched in 2015.The production-sharing agreement covers Kanywataba block, a 344-square-kilometre (133-square-mile) area in the Albertine rift basin near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said at the signing in the Ugandan capital Kampala.Kanywataba was previously licensed to existing operators, Frances’ Total ( TOTF.PA ), China’s CNOOC ( 0883.HK ), and Britain’s Tullow ( TLW.L ).But the three firms, which now own all of Uganda’s crude discoveries, gave back control of the block to the government in 2012 after explorations failed to find oil.Energy Minister Irene Muloni said low oil prices meant “protracted negotiations” with firms that participated in the licensing round.At the launch of the round, six blocks covering 2,674 square kilometers were offered and 19 firms initially expressed interest.Four - Armour and three Nigerian firms - emerged as winners, and Armour is the first to sign an agreement with the government.Roger Cressey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Armour Energy, speaks to the media after signing a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Uganda''s Ministry of Energy in Kampala, Uganda, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/James Akena Muloni said the cabinet had already approved deals with one of the Nigerian firms, Oranto Petroleum International, and the government expected to sign deals with the company in three weeks’ time.Uganda discovered petroleum in the Albertine basin in 2006. Gross reserves are estimated at 6.5 billion barrels and recoverable oil estimated at between 1.4 billion-1.7 billion barrels.Uganda’s Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Irene Muloni, and Roger Cressey, CEO of Armour Energy, speak to the media before signing a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) in Kampala, Uganda, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/James Akena The first batch of licenses awarded in the early 2000s were handed out on a first come, first served basis.But after the discovery of commercial deposits Uganda enacted new laws to manage the sector. Under those laws exploration licenses must be granted on a competitive basis.Crude production has been repeatedly delayed by tax spats and disagreements over development strategy. It is now expected in 2020 when an export pipeline through neighboring Tanzania is due to be completed.“The exploration and development of oil in Uganda is a very exciting opportunity for us,” Armour’s Chief Executive Roger Cressey told the press conference.Armour’s exploration license is valid for four years.Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Edmund Blair and Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-uganda-oil/uganda-signs-oil-exploration-deal-with-australias-armour-energy-idINKCN1BP1JW'|'2017-09-14T10:00:00.000+03:00'
'1d41c5cf9ff43734d01cac78578234a7a40b2d7b'|'Fiat Chrysler recalls 494,000 pickup trucks for fire risk'|'September 19, 2017 / 5:06 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Fiat Chrysler recalls 494,000 pickup trucks for fire risk Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A screen displays the ticker information for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV at the post where it''s traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCHA.MI ) said Tuesday it will recall 494,000 medium and heavy-duty Ram pickup trucks worldwide because of a water pump that could overheat and potentially cause a fire. The recall includes 2013-2017 model year Ram 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks with 6.7-liter diesel engines, including 443,000 vehicles in the United States. Fiat Chrysler said it is not aware of any injuries related to the issue, but has reports of a small number of fire-related incidents. The company will inspect and potentially replace the water pump. Reporting by David Shepardson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fiat-chrysler-recall/fiat-chrysler-recalls-494000-pickup-trucks-for-fire-risk-idUSKCN1BU2CO'|'2017-09-19T20:05:00.000+03:00'
'4ff5c668c0b1005c55fc25bf893160edb5eaf09b'|'Harvard endowment posts gains, new investment chief not satisfied'|'BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University, which has been retooling the way it invests its $37.1 billion endowment, reported an investment gain on Tuesday but its investment chief called it “disappointing” and said it will take time to improve results.The Ivy League university’s endowment earned 8.1 percent for the fiscal year ended June 30, marking a swing into the black from last year’s 2 percent decline.N.P. Narvekar, Harvard Management Co’s (HMC) chief executive officer who came from Columbia University last year, wrote in a letter to the Harvard community: “Our performance is disappointing and not where it needs to be.”In the letter, Narvekar said the performance illustrates “deep structural problems at Harvard Management Company” that “will require time to overcome.”Gains were fueled by strong returns from public and private equity, and real estate, while the portfolio took mark downs on some parts of its natural resources portfolio, Narvekar said.Within months of arriving at HMC’s Boston-based headquarters, Narvekar abandoned the school’s long-time practice of managing a large chunk of its money internally, something that was unusual in the endowment world.In January he announced plans to lay off roughly half of HMC’s 230-person staff and send the bulk of the money to be invested by outside managers.In his first seven months on the job, Narvekar said he adopted a generalist investment model, hired new staff and shut down internal investment platforms including the equity and relative value units.The credit team is expected to leave HMC and the real estate team is expected to spin out, the letter said, noting that the natural resources portfolio will continue to be managed internally.For years Harvard had operated a silo model where portfolio managers focused on their own areas, conducting research and sometimes duplicating efforts. That pattern, Narvekar wrote, had negative consequences for the portfolio.”It will take a number of years to reposition HMC in order to perform up to our expectations from that point forward,“ he wrote,” adding that his dramatic overhaul will ultimately pay off. “The changes we are making as an organization will produce better returns for Harvard in a more efficient manner over time.”Narvekar, who spent a decade at Columbia, also said the pace of turnover among top staff - Narvekar is the fourth chief executive officer at Harvard Management since 2005 when Jack Meyer left - had unsettled the endowment.He took aim at the endowment’s compensation scheme, which had rankled some alumni for its multimillion-dollar payouts. With Narvekar’s changes, staff will be paid according to how the entire portfolio performs and there will be a look-back period, encouraging the team to focus on medium-term results.Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, editing by Marcy Nicholson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-harvard-university-endowment/harvard-endowment-posts-gains-new-investment-chief-not-satisfied-idUSKCN1BU2KU'|'2017-09-19T22:00:00.000+03:00'
'b73be3a22d73a0c343faf6c9febfafd8fa550c5b'|'Adobe reports 25.8 percent rise in quarterly revenue'|' 13 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Adobe reports 25.8 percent rise in quarterly revenue Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 19 (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc reported a 25.8 percent rise in quarterly revenue, as it added more subscribers to Creative Cloud, a package of software tools, which houses Photoshop. The company’s net income rose to $419.6 million, or 84 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 1, from $270.8 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose to $1.84 billion from $1.46 billion. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/adobe-systems-results/adobe-reports-25-8-percent-rise-in-quarterly-revenue-idUSL4N1M04T9'|'2017-09-19T23:13:00.000+03:00'
'73f4f53e66e71fc80b506a1d7bb70194e754100a'|'Bayer dismisses antitrust concerns about digital farming'|'  11:51 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Bayer dismisses antitrust concerns about digital farming Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo MONHEIM, Germany (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) said it was unable to propose the sale of any digital farming assets to allay EU concerns about its planned $66 billion (£48.89 billion) takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ). The European Commission last month started an in-depth investigation into the German group’s plan to acquire the U.S. seeds maker. Among its concerns, the regulator took issue with Bayer’s plan to create combined offerings of seeds and pesticides with the help of new digital farming tools, such as connected sensors, software and precision machines. “I fail to see what kind of a remedy there would be in this space. It’s extremely hypothetical in terms of where the overlap actually is,” the head of Bayer’s Crop Science division, Liam Condon, told Reuters on Tuesday, following a press conference on the business. “If it’s considered that that is an issue and a remedy is required then we have to discuss what the remedy is. I just don’t have the imagination what that could be.” Condon said Bayer’s approach in digital farming was currently to control plant pests while Monsanto’s focus was on improving yields. The entire industry was still years away from a more universal business model, he added. Bayer has pledged that any future software platform coming from its labs would not per se exclude rivals’ seeds and crop protection products. Analysts, however, say that many in the industry were working on future business models that will lure farmers with a type of money-back guarantee if a digital farming package, complete with predefined seeds and chemicals, does not yield certain harvest levels. Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-monsanto-m-a-bayer-eu/bayer-dismisses-antitrust-concerns-about-digital-farming-idUKKCN1BU1I3'|'2017-09-19T15:27:00.000+03:00'
'950699ddbef82f3c205f4140671c7f9a4ec5b1fa'|'Hedge fund Elliott says has strategic goals for Stada'|'The logo of Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at their headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt, Germany, August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Elliott, the activist hedge fund founded by Paul Singer, has strategic goals for German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) but will not press for boardroom changes, Stada said.“The prevalent aim of the investment is implementing strategic objectives where the sale of the shares shall not be excluded,” Elliott told Stada on Sept. 18, according to a regulatory filing published by Stada on Tuesday.Stada said that following Elliott’s acquisition of more than 10 percent of the company’s shares, the fund would not seek changes to Stada’s capital structure but planned to acquire further voting rights over the next 12 months.Bowing to pressure from Elliott, Bain Capital and Cinven offered minority Stada shareholders a marked-up 74.40 euros ($89.08) per share in early September to get full control of the German generic drugmaker.Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Christoph Steitz '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-elliott/hedge-fund-elliott-says-has-strategic-goals-for-stada-idINKCN1BU1WX'|'2017-09-19T12:34:00.000+03:00'
'272b0f024c6a68ae0d242345836ed4755b14b024'|'BASF boosts nylon business with 1.6 billion euro Solvay deal'|'September 19, 2017 / 8:04 AM / Updated 37 minutes ago BASF boosts nylon business with 1.6 billion euro Solvay deal Georgina Prodhan , Robert-Jan Bartunek 3 Min Read A cyclist rides his bike past the entrance of the BASF plant and former Ciba production site in Schweizerhalle near Basel, Switzerland July 7, 2009. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German chemicals group BASF ( BASFn.DE ) has strengthened its nylon business by agreeing to buy the global polyamide business from Belgian rival Solvay ( SOLB.BR ) for 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion). The acquisition complements BASF’s engineering plastics portfolio and enhance its access to key growth markets in Asia and South America, BASF said on Tuesday . For Solvay, the sale is a further step in its strategy to divest its high-volume product range and focus on specific applications in aerospace, automotive and the oil and gas industry where it can achieve higher margins. The business made sales of 1.32 billion euros last year and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of around 200 million. It has about 2,400 employees. Its main competitors are lycra maker Invista, owned by Koch Industries [KCHIN.UL], and Ascend, owned by SK Capital. With the deal, BASF boosts its activities in nylon, or polyamide 6-6, a heat-resistant engineering plastic that is used in textiles and also industrial parts such as tube fittings, cooling fans and engine air ducts. The German company said it expected the acquisition to contribute to earnings from the first full fiscal year after closing, which is seen in the third quarter of 2018. Solvay said the sale, as well as a stronger euro, would reduce its group core profit growth this year to 6 to 8 percent from a previous forecast for high single-digit growth. It plans to use the proceeds to bring down its debt. “This is probably the last significant move we are making towards transforming the group,” Pascal Juery, a member of Solvay’s executive committee, told reporters on a call. Solvay’s business is in a raw-materials joint venture with Invista, which for more than a year has complicated efforts by Solvay to divest it, sources have said. Solvay and BASF said on Tuesday the joint venture partner had undertaken to support the move. Solvay previously sold its PVC businesses across the globe and completed the divestment of its acetate tow business, a raw material for cigarette filters, this year. Juery said the group planned to keep some high volume businesses such as soda ash to make glass, adding that such units generated a lot of cash. BASF is also the world’s third-largest maker of crop chemicals and has been criticized by some investors for sitting on the sidelines of a flurry of mergers in that area. Shares in both companies were little changed in early trading. ($1 = 0.8351 euros) Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-basf-se-solvay-polyamide/basf-boosts-nylon-business-with-1-6-billion-euro-solvay-deal-idINKCN1BU0UF'|'2017-09-19T06:04:00.000+03:00'
'80fc9eccc86ea8276d84fb0a8ea43529f2cfca5d'|'MOVES-Standard Chartered names Demir Avigdor managing director'|'Sept 19 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Private Bank, the private banking unit of Standard Chartered Plc, named Demir Avigdor managing director and market head of Africa and Europe, effective Oct. 30.Avigdor, who previously worked at asset management firm UBS Group AG , will report to Ian Gibson, managing director and regional head, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. (Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/standardchartered-moves-demiravigdor/moves-standard-chartered-names-demir-avigdor-managing-director-idINL4N1M04C2'|'2017-09-19T12:02:00.000+03:00'
'f2218fcb2c8a125a3a76de397947d47cdf471315'|'Knorr-Bremse hits brakes on bid for Haldex'|'STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - German vehicle brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse has dropped its 5.5 billion crown ($692 million) bid for smaller Swedish rival Haldex ( HLDX.ST ), ending for now a heated bidding process that has lasted more than a year.The Swedish firm’s shares were down 2.6 percent at 103 crowns by 0947 GMT on Tuesday, short of Knorr-Bremse’s cash offer of 125 crowns but still well above the 85 crowns price which prevailed before the bidding war opened in July last year.There had been speculation that former rival suitor ZF Friedrichshafen [ZFF.UL], Haldex’s largest shareholder, could submit a fresh bid if Knorr-Bremse’s offer fell through, but ZF said on Tuesday it currently had no such plans.Haldex has been pursued for more than a year, with Knorr-Bremse left as the sole bidder last October after ZF Friedrichshafen conceded defeat.However, Haldex’s board withdrew its support for Knorr-Bremse’s offer in June, saying regulatory delays were hurting the company and approval by the competition authorities was now unlikely.Knorr-Bremse’s withdrawal comes after the Swedish Securities Council this month rejected Knorr’s request to extend the acceptance period for its bid beyond Sept. 26, virtually eliminating any chance the deal would be approved in time.“The combination of Haldex and Knorr-Bremse would have been our preferred option which was clearly backed by the shareholders of Haldex. However, we will now pursue alternatives,” Knorr-Bremse said in a statement.The attractions of Haldex lie in its expertise in brake systems for road freight trailers, seen as an important part in the development of integrated autonomous driving systems for commercial vehicles.With Knorr-Bremse’s bid now gone, the question is whether other bidders could surface.Haldex Chairman Jorgen Durban told Reuters the firm had not been approached by any new suitors.“I have nothing new to report regarding that. I think that is natural during a situation like this, you wait and see what has happened when the dust has settled,” Durban said.He said the company now needed to focus on the business, but said the board was also thinking of how to keep Haldex strong in the long-term.“That could be to continue as a listed company with stable long-term owners, or that someone buys us. But at the moment we focus on the business.”ZF and Knorr-Bremse are still the largest shareholders of Haldex, with 20 percent and 15 percent respectively.”With respect to our shareholding in Haldex we will act as a responsible shareholder and use all our options now at hand in the best interest of the company and Knorr-Bremse,” Knorr-Bremse said.ZF said it had no plans to submit a new bid.“The situation has not changed for us. We are currently still the largest shareholder. At the moment, we have no reason to submit a new bid for Haldex,” it said.Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-haldex-ab-m-a-knorr-bremse/knorr-bremse-hits-brakes-on-bid-for-haldex-idINKCN1BU16D'|'2017-09-19T08:04:00.000+03:00'
'db293b5a820e9855cd18a4320fc6ca975873aec9'|'Exclusive - UniCredit signals interest in Commerzbank merger to Berlin: sources'|'  2:45 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Exclusive - UniCredit signals interest in Commerzbank merger to Berlin: sources John O''Donnell , Arno Schuetze 2 Min Read The headquarters of UniCredit bank is seen in Milan, Italy, in this February 8, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Italy’s UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) has recently expressed an interest to the German government about merging with state-backed Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ), two people familiar with the matter said, adding that any deal would only come in the medium term. Italy’s largest bank signalled its interest for what would likely be an all-share deal that could come once UniCredit’s turnaround over the next two years is complete, in recent months as it scouts for potential partners in Europe, the sources said. The early expression of interest to the German government, which owns a 15 percent stake in Commerzbank dating back to when it was rescued during the financial crash, lays a foundation for what could be one of Europe’s largest cross-border mergers. For now, however, the contact is at an early stage. One person familiar with the matter said other groups had also expressed interest in Commerzbank to the government. A spokeswoman for UniCredit declined to comment, adding that the Italian bank was focused on its strategic turnaround, while Commerzbank declined to comment. A number of hurdles, including overcoming possible German misgivings about ceding one of the country’s chief lenders to a foreign buyer, would have to be crossed before any deal. “UniCredit has been in touch with the German finance ministry,” said one of the people, adding that while the government was open to a sale, Commerzbank had not shown any interest. Asked whether there had been expressions of interest in the government’s Commerzbank stake, a German finance ministry spokesman declined to comment, saying “officials are contacted by financial investors on a range of issues”. “We have always said that the government does not want to keep its (Commerzbank) stake forever and wants to get a good result for the taxpayer,” he added. Additional reporting by Silvia Aloisi and Gianluca Semeraro; in Milan and Pamela Barbaglia in London; writing by John O''Donnell; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unicredit-merger-commerzbank-exclusiv/exclusive-unicredit-signals-interest-in-commerzbank-merger-to-berlin-sources-idUKKCN1BV1XS'|'2017-09-20T17:45:00.000+03:00'
'26816e766cd92ec203d75d9818382853481cfc37'|'UK''s May says will press Trump this week on Bombardier/Boeing spat'|'  5:19 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago UK''s May says will press Trump this week on Bombardier/Boeing spat Reuters Staff 1 Min Read OTTAWA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she would press U.S. President Donald Trump this week about a trade challenge by Boeing Co that could endanger thousands of Bombardier Inc jobs in Northern Ireland. “I will be impressing on him the significance of Bombardier to the United Kingdom and particularly ... to jobs in Northern Ireland,” she told a news conference in Ottawa after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-britain/uks-may-says-will-press-trump-this-week-on-bombardier-boeing-spat-idUSL2N1LZ0UI'|'2017-09-18T20:17:00.000+03:00'
'94bb90167e81dac6b948eaf82f5ddc2b652f2c07'|'UPDATE 1-ZhongAn to offer life insurance after Hong Kong IPO worth up to $1.5 bln'|'* IPO to open on Monday, final pricing on Thursday* Indicative pricing range of HK$53.70 to HK$59.70/share (Adds IPO timeline and expected market value)By Elzio BarretoHONG KONG, Sept 18 (Reuters) - China’s ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd, the nation’s first internet-only insurer, said it plans to add life insurance and other healthcare products to its range of policies after going public in Hong Kong.ZhongAn, founded by Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Tencent Chairman Pony Ma and Ping An Insurance Group Chairman Ma Mingzhe also plans to offer its technology to insurers inside and outside of China, it said on Sunday.The company is offering 199.3 million new shares in an indicative range of HK$53.70 to HK$59.70 each, putting its initial public offering at up to HK$11.9 billion ($1.5 billion).At the top end of the range, ZhongAn would have a market value of around $11 billion, it said in its prospectus.Final pricing will be decided on Thursday, with its debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange slated for Sept. 28, the company said.Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp agreed to buy a stake of just below 5 percent in ZhongAn as a cornerstone investor in the IPO, investing about $550 million.“This is a good marriage for the company in the sense that this is a very strategic, visionary investor and they’ve done a lot of study into the company. SoftBank is definitely a very strong stamp of approval,” ZhongAn’s Chief Financial Officer Francis Tang said at a news conference.SoftBank could make the investment through SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, or other affiliates, ZhongAn said.The company plans to use the new funds to bolster its capital base and cope with a 70 percent surge in gross written premiums in the three months ended March 2017, compared with the same period last year.“We are at a fast-pace growth stage, so we want to make sure that we have the sufficient capital because as an insurance company we have to have a strong capital base to do more business,” Tang said. “So when we see more business coming in, we want to make sure this won’t become a bottleneck.”The company has sold more than 8.2 billion policies to some 543 million people since its inception in 2013 in five areas: travel, health, consumer finance, auto and lifestyle consumption, where it started by insuring shipping returns at e-commerce giant Alibaba’s online marketplace.ZhongAn is applying for a license to offer life insurance products, Tang said, without giving an expected timeline for approval. It already offers 262 different types of insurance products and wants to add more within the five core areas.“We can further develop the depth and breadth in each of them,” Tang said. “We’re looking more at the pain points when you conduct your daily activities on the Internet ... what kind of protections do people need? We want to address those.”ZhongAn also plans to earn more in coming years from the sale of its technology to other insurers and partners within China and abroad.“This is how we want to see our expansion, not just outside China, but also inside China,” Tang said.($1 = 7.8170 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Louise Heavens and Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/zhongan-online-ipo/update-1-zhongan-to-offer-life-insurance-after-hong-kong-ipo-worth-up-to-1-5-bln-idINL4N1LZ05Q'|'2017-09-18T00:27:00.000+03:00'
'00bf59300e86c3b64084cd7f72ea728ee8771368'|'Australian moguls lose court challenge to CBS''s planned buyout of Ten Network'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Network Ten Pty Ltd is displayed above the company''s headquarters in Sydney, Australia, April 26, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two Australian media moguls have lost a court challenge to CBS Corp’s planned buyout of bankrupt television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd, allowing the CBS deal to be put to a creditor vote on Tuesday.CBS surprised the Australian media establishment when it offered as much as A$201.1 million ($160.96 million) for Ten, which went into administration three months ago after a long-term decline - an offer that was quickly accepted by Ten’s administrator.Media scion Lachlan Murdoch and business partner Bruce Gordon had been widely expected to acquire Ten but their bid had been held up as they waited for reforms to laws on the ownership of multiple types of media assets - reforms that were only voted through by the Australian Senate on Friday.Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman at Twenty-First Century Fox and Gordon submitted a revised offer on Friday, although its total value has not been disclosed.But on Monday, an Australian judge dismissed arguments by lawyers for Gordon and Fox that the administrator, KordaMentha, mishandled the sale because it did not explain to other creditors why it preferred the CBS bid. They had also sought to block CBS, Ten’s biggest creditor, from voting on its own bid at Tuesday’s meeting.“I am not satisfied CBS should be prevented, in advance, from voting at the meeting,” Justice Ashley Black said in his ruling at the New South Wales Supreme Court, adding he was not satisfied that there had been “any deficiencies” in the administrators’ communication with creditors.“For these reasons [the case] should be dismissed,” he said.A spokesman for Kordamentha said that the Tuesday meeting of creditors will also vote on whether to consider the revised bid made by the media moguls.Spokeswomen for Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch had no immediate comment.Although a ratings laggard, Ten’s national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy have made it an attractive buyout target.($1 = 1.2503 Australian dollars)Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/australian-moguls-lose-court-challenge-to-cbss-planned-buyout-of-ten-network-idINKCN1BT06L'|'2017-09-18T06:45:00.000+03:00'
'a91baa9c6471e66dae9e0d5051c01c723ac8700c'|'Oil markets firm on rising refinery demand, falling U.S. rig count'|'September 18, 2017 / 12:38 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Oil edges up on rising refinery demand, falling U.S. rig count Henning Gloystein 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil markets were firm on Monday and remained near multi-month highs hit late last week as the number of U.S. rigs drilling for new production fell and refineries continued to restart after getting knocked out by Hurricane Harvey. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $50.01 per barrel at 0547 GMT, and close to the more than three-month high of $50.50 reached last Thursday. Brent crude futures LCOc1, benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, were at $55.71 a barrel, up 9 cents and not far from the almost five-month high of $55.99 touched on Thursday. “Demand forecasts from OPEC and IEA ... continued to improve sentiment in the market. Refineries are also reporting a much better recovery from the recent hurricanes,” ANZ bank said on Monday. Oil refineries across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean were restarting after being shut due to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which battered the region over the past three weeks. Royal Dutch Shell’s ( RDSa.L ) Deer Park refinery in Texas was among the latest, beginning its restart on Sunday. The plant can process 325,700 barrels per day. The refinery restarts are occurring “as signs emerge of stalling growth in the U.S. shale industry. The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell sharply last week,” ANZ said. U.S. energy firms cut seven oil rigs in the week to Sept. 15, bringing the total to 749, the fewest since June, energy services company Baker Hughes said on Friday. RIG-OL-USA-BHI Despite these signs of a tightening market, analysts warned that distortions from the recent hurricanes made it hard to identify more long-lasting supply and demand fundamentals. “This week’s crude inventories data will almost certainly still show the distortions of Harvey and Irma and significant increases may be looked at by traders as outlier data,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA. Hedge funds and other money managers cut their bullish bets on U.S. crude futures and options in the week to Sept. 12, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission reported on Friday. Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Tom Hogue'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-markets-firm-on-rising-refinery-demand-falling-u-s-rig-count-idUKKCN1BT015'|'2017-09-18T04:20:00.000+03:00'
'72738acdb03b3678bbf78fdcb541ebc3370f238e'|'Mexican peso dips after earthquake hits southern Mexico'|'Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso traded slightly weaker against the dollar on Tuesday after a major 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit the state of Puebla in southern Mexico.At 2:53 p.m. EDT (1853 GMT), the Mexican currency traded at 17.761 pesos per U.S. dollar, down just 0.01 percent on the day, after hitting 17.778 pesos shortly after the news of the quake. (Reporting by Richard Leong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-mexico/mexican-peso-dips-after-earthquake-hits-southern-mexico-idUSL2N1M01RP'|'2017-09-19T21:57:00.000+03:00'
'14c84760af40aa47160542005c4f8e8805974439'|'Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst'|'September 19, 2017 / 4:58 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst 2 Min Read The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla ( TSLA.O ) fell from record highs on Tuesday after an analyst warned that the electric car maker may take longer than expected to become profitable. Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois launched coverage of Tesla with an “underperform” rating, helping send shares of the company headed by entrepreneur billionaire Elon Musk down 2.17 percent to $376.74 after closing at a record high the day before. “Achievements to-date and vision are impressive, but we don’t think Tesla’s vertically integrated business model can be scaled up as profitably and quickly as consensus thinks and valuation multiples imply,” Houchois warned in a research note. Houchois’ $280 price target was well below the median analyst price target of $337.50, according to Thomson Reuters data. Musk is counting on the recently launched Model 3, Tesla’s least pricey car, to make the Palo Alto, California company profitable and establish it as the leading electric carmaker ahead of BMW ( BMWG.DE ), General Motors ( GM.N ) and other long-established players. Wall Street’s confidence in Musk has sent Tesla’s stock up 83 percent over the past year to record highs. Skeptics believe Tesla’s aggressive production targets are unrealistic, that Musk is burning through cash too quickly and that the company’s electric cars will be overtaken by larger automakers. Eight analysts recommend buying Tesla’s stock, while another eight recommend selling, and eight others have neutral ratings, according to Thomson Reuters data. That makes Tesla one of the 10 most poorly-rated stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index. Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Diane Craft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stocks/tesla-shares-fall-from-record-high-after-warning-from-analyst-idUSKCN1BU2C1'|'2017-09-19T19:58:00.000+03:00'
'68fecd05962a5798fd5c89d5c12ff20fdddaafb9'|'European business hopes China''s new leadership can cure reform ''promise fatigue'''|'  2:35 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago European business hopes China''s new leadership can cure reform ''promise fatigue'' Michael Martina 4 Min Read Flags of European Union and China are pictured during the China-EU summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING (Reuters) - A top European business lobby said on Tuesday it hopes the new leadership to emerge from China’s Communist Party meeting will show a commitment to market opening, but that its members were not optimistic and suffering from “promise fatigue”. China’s ruling elite will hold a once-every-five-years congress starting on Oct. 18, at which the Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of power in Chinese politics, will be fitted with a new line-up of leaders under President Xi Jinping. Foreign businesses in China, long critical of what they see as unmet market opening pledges, are eager for Xi to match the anti-protectionism messages he has been delivering to the world with reforms at home. “We hope that the new line-up after the 19th Party Congress will show that there are people in place that are committed to further opening up,” European Union Chamber of Commerce in China President Mats Harborn said. “If you ask our member companies... they are not very optimistic that these changes will happen,” Harborn told reporters in an interview ahead of the chamber’s launch of its annual position paper. “Frustrations and frictions” would follow if China doesn’t show the world that it is serious about opening up, he added on Tuesday at a briefing on the paper. A LITANY OF ASSURANCES Chinese President Xi Jinping waves after holding a press conference at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Fujian province, China September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Fred Dufour/Pool The chamber said in the paper that companies have been “suffering from accumulated ‘promise fatigue’, having witnessed a litany of assurances over recent years that never quite materialised”. China says that it is an ideal country for foreign investment, and that foreign companies have benefited greatly from decades of growth in its huge market. “I personally cannot see why some parties would have an attitude of suspicion toward whether China would continue opening and reforming when it is good for China, its people and the world,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing on Tuesday. Harborn, while noting progress in some industries such as pharmaceuticals, said Beijing should abolish its myriad foreign investment catalogues and lists of restricted industries for foreign investors, and “let one company law rule the activities of companies in China”. The chamber urged the Chinese government to not rely on “short-term financial incentives” in designated investment zones, and instead focus on creating a predictable and transparent business environment based on rule of law. In recent years, Beijing has sought to address slowing growth by promoting innovation in strategic industries, such as information technology and robotics, plans that have riled foreign companies and their governments with their extensive “buy China” requirements. Business groups have warned that China risks a protectionist backlash from Europe and the United States if it doesn’t open up major sectors, such as financial services, healthcare and logistics, in which foreign firms often face far greater restrictions than their Chinese competitors do abroad. Germany, France and Italy welcomed the European Commission’s proposal last week on vetting non-EU investments, having pushed for tighter oversight of foreign acquisitions of sensitive European technology following a rise in such deals by Chinese players. Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Richard Borsuk'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-eu-business/european-business-hopes-chinas-new-leadership-can-cure-reform-promise-fatigue-idUKKCN1BU06L'|'2017-09-19T12:46:00.000+03:00'
'1f7cb256a2dbf692220dc84b2ea1c619f809eb7a'|'Massachusetts sues Equifax for failing to protect state residents'|'September 19, 2017 / 3:30 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Massachusetts sues Equifax as hack concerns spread to Canada Diane Bartz 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against credit reporting firm Equifax Inc ( EFX.N ) following a breach that exposed the personal data of up to 143 million people, including 3 million in the state. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, called the breach a “nightmare” and said credit reporting companies should not profit from monitoring or freezing credit arising from the hack. Equifax said the massive breach of sensitive data, including Social Insurance Numbers, might affect about 100,000 Canadians. Equifax’s share price has fallen by about one-third since it disclosed the data breach, among the largest ever recorded, which included sensitive data like Social Security numbers, on Sept. 7. Equifax shares closed up 0.5 percent at $94.87. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, disgorgement of profits, restitution, costs, and attorneys’ fees. “Equifax needs to pay for its mistakes, make our residents whole, and fix the problem so it never happens again,” Healey said in a statement. Equifax spokesman Wyatt Jefferies declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said in a email that the company wanted to reassure consumers of its focus on helping them to “navigate this situation.” Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell “The Equifax hack is a nightmare,” Sen. Warren said on the Senate floor. “At best, it is a giant hassle. Time on hold with credit reporting agencies. Fees for this service or that service. Confusion about what’s been stolen and what to do about it.” Warren said it was inappropriate for Equifax to collect credit card information with an eye to later charging people for credit monitoring. “No one in this industry should profit from this hack,” she said. Equifax has waived fees for removing and placing security freezes through Nov. 21. Equifax, in its statement issued before Warren’s remarks, said it was aware that consumers were unhappy about glitches on its website and their difficulty in reaching call centers. “We are experiencing a high volume of requests for security freezes,” spokesman Jefferies said, adding that Equifax was working diligently to improve customer service. Hackers broke into Equifax’s database via a section of the company’s website where consumers dispute inaccurate information. On that portal, Equifax maintained consumer names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information on at least 143 million consumers without encrypting it, the Massachusetts complaint says. The data is deemed sensitive because consumers use it to prove creditworthiness when they want to buy homes or cars. But it can also be used by thieves to illegally apply for credit under consumers’ names. The breach and the company’s response to it is being investigated by the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and a group of about 40 state attorneys general. Additionally, Equifax Chief Executive Richard Smith is expected to testify on Oct. 3 before a House of Representatives panel. Equifax said last week that it would likely need to contact fewer than 400,000 British consumers whose personal information might have been accessed in the breach. Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington and Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber/massachusetts-sues-equifax-for-failing-to-protect-state-residents-idUSKCN1BU23F'|'2017-09-19T18:25:00.000+03:00'
'1b002e663793d1440f52c3319030e565ef6c009b'|'Exclusive: Toshiba flips back towards Western Digital group for chip unit sale - sources'|'  5:52 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Exclusive: Toshiba flips back towards Western Digital group for chip unit sale - sources Kentaro Hamada , Taro Fuse 3 Min Read Toshiba''s logo is seen at an industrial area in Kawasaki, Japan, January 16, 2017. Picture taken on January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is shifting back toward selling its prized semiconductor unit to a group backed by joint venture partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ), people familiar with the deal said. Just days ago the Japanese firm said it was leaning toward a rival bid for the $18 billion business that includes a South Korean chipmaker. California-based Western Digital made key concessions to assure Toshiba it would not seek future control of the chip business, addressing antitrust concerns, said the sources, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. That had turned the tide away from the bid led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ). Toshiba board members are to meet Wednesday, but it was unclear whether they could reach a decision, after saying last Wednesday the company was accelerating talks with the Hynix group. That announcement marked the third time Toshiba had missed targets to sell the business - the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND memory chips. The company needs the cash to plug a giant hole in its finances left by its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Corp. Toshiba and SK Hynix could not be reached outside business hours. A Western Digital spokesman declined comment. Bain Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Western Digital’s refusal to relinquish future ownership rights in the chip business has hindered a sale, while the rival Hynix-Bain bid was hampered by legal challenges from Western Digital, made on grounds that it would infringe Western Digital’s rights in the venture with Toshiba in central Japan. The U.S. company conceded to giving up voting rights in the NAND memory business, boosting the bid it had sought along with U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) and Japanese government-backed investors including the Innovation Network Corp of Japan. In the latest proposal, worth about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), INCJ would take the lead, including a 300 billion yen equity investment, the sources said. INCJ declined to comment. KKR didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Toshiba needs cash by March to prevent it from being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On top of that, the semiconductor business requires huge amounts of investment, and Toshiba’s chip unit runs the danger of losing its competitive ability as rivals roll out big capital spending plans. Reporting by Kentaro Hamada, Taro Fuse and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; editing by William Mallard and John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting/exclusive-toshiba-flips-back-to-favouring-western-digital-group-for-chip-unit-sale-sources-idINKCN1BU2FC'|'2017-09-19T21:10:00.000+03:00'
'11d5efba12cdf2b0324b3c1540bd6204b907b7bc'|'Board of world''s biggest meatpacker JBS names founder as new CEO'|'Sept 17 (Reuters) - The board of JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacker, has appointed company founder Jose Batista as its new chief executive, the company said on Sunday.The appointment was made on Saturday night, it said in an emailed statement. Jose Batista, 84, replaces his son, Wesley, who was jailed on Wednesday on allegations of insider trading. (Reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jbs-executive-batista/board-of-worlds-biggest-meatpacker-jbs-names-founder-as-new-ceo-idINS0N1IM005'|'2017-09-17T20:07:00.000+03:00'
'74330aaf90d5f6dfe4de622d72c1917bb6f28837'|'Exclusive: LPC - H.I.G. nears $1 billion deal for Vantage Specialty Chemicals'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - H.I.G. Capital is nearing a deal to re-acquire Vantage Specialty Chemicals, a US manufacturer of natural additives for personal care, food, consumer and industrial end markets, from fellow private equity firm The Jordan Company for around US$1 billion, according to two sources familiar with the matter.A deal could be announced as soon as this week, according to the sources, who asked not be named because the matter is private and negotiations are ongoing.If a sale is successful, it would come as consumers increasingly demand transparency on product ingredients in support of healthier and more environmentally-conscious lifestyle choices, and manufacturers of all stripes attempt to cash in on the behavioral shift.US consumer sales of natural, organic and healthy products are forecasted to grow 64% to US$252bn by 2019 from US$153bn in 2013, according to NEXT Forecast.“The deal is definitely on trend,” a senior banker said. “Everyone today is trying to call their products natural.”Jordan Company declined to comment. H.I.G. did not respond to requests for comment.Recent deal making in the space includes US specialty chemicals company Ashland Global Holdings’ acquisition of Pharmachem Laboratories, a global provider of custom and branded nutritional and nutraceutical ingredients for the food and beverage, flavor, and fragrance industries, for US$660m in May.The purchase price represented a multiple of roughly 10.5 times Pharmachem’s estimated 2017 Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to company filings.Vantage was marketed off about US$97m of annual Ebitda, which translates to a transaction multiple of around 10 times, one of the sources said.The sale would mark the return of Vantage’s ownership to H.I.G., which sold the Illinois-based company to Jordan in 2012. H.I.G. formed Vantage in 2008 through the acquisition of Croda International’s US oleochemical business, and then grew the business through the subsequent roll-ups of Lambent Technologies in 2008 and Lipo Chemicals in 2010.The company most recently purchased oils, ingredients and custom food processing equipment manufacturer Mallet & Company in 2016.Reporting by Andrew Berlin; Editing by Michelle Sierra, Lynn Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-chemicals-lbo-exclusive/lpc-h-i-g-nears-us1-billion-deal-for-vantage-specialty-chemicals-idINKCN1BV1ZM'|'2017-09-20T13:06:00.000+03:00'
'c8d52d7baffeebcbe0ee0ed933b3f010ae8dfab0'|'MOVES-Macquarie strengthens European research team'|'Sept 18 (Reuters) - Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd hired analysts Grant Sporre, Serafino Capoferri, Domenico Santoro and Robert Sage to strengthen its European research team.Sporre was named head of European metals and mining research. He joins from Deutsche Bank, where he held a similar role.Santoro, who was previously a senior partner at research firm Autonomous, will head Macquarie’s European banks research team.Sage, who rejoins Macquarie, will cover the large cap UK banking sector. He was recently a director covering UK banks at investment bank Natixis.Capoferri, who most recently headed iron ore research at consultancy CRU, will join Macquarie’s commodities research team. (Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D‘Couto) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/macquariegroup-moves-grant-sporre/moves-macquarie-strengthens-european-research-team-idINL4N1LZ3XX'|'2017-09-18T13:15:00.000+03:00'
'59bd197017c0f1fd982fa86a1667b9bc3b489c4f'|'Swiss Takeover Board asks China''s HNA to clarify ownership'|'The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss Takeover Board has asked China’s HNA Group to clarify its ownership structure by early next month given apparent changes since its $1.5 billion takeover last year of Swiss aviation services company Gategroup.The takeover watchdog’s website shows it has asked HNA to clear up by Oct. 3 the apparent discrepancies.Privately owned HNA, one of China’s most aggressive dealmakers, in July shook up its shareholding structure with a new, charitable foundation, part of efforts to quash long-standing concerns over its ownership.As China cracks down on showy overseas ventures and high-profile empire builders, pressure has risen on sprawling, fast-growing and acquisitive companies like HNA, which had announced $50 billion of deals over two years, buying stakes in logistics companies, hotels and even Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ).In a notification to HNA and Gategroup, the Swiss Takeover Board pointed out that shareholdings listed in HNA’s prospectus for the Gategroup acquisition differed from recent statements by the group’s top leadership.Citing a story by the Financial Times, the board asked HNA to clarify details of share transactions in the group.A representative for HNA in New York had no immediate comment on the Swiss request.HNA Group is committed to disclosures on future changes of its shareholding structure, the head of the conglomerate’s international unit said on Sept. 8.Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-swiss-hna/swiss-takeover-board-asks-chinas-hna-to-clarify-ownership-idINKCN1BV23X'|'2017-09-20T13:31:00.000+03:00'
'b8d171abe42c6a3b87c0df5fee38574b119687b4'|'Britain''s finance watchdog cuts firms some slack on EU reforms'|'  4:53 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Britain''s finance watchdog cuts firms some slack on EU reforms Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Canary Wharf business district is seen reflected in windows at dusk in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s financial watchdog will not take action against firms that have not complied fully with new European Union trading rules when they come into force in January, a top regulatory official said on Wednesday. But companies will have to show they have taken sufficient steps to meet requirements under the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or MiFID II, Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority, said. Steward’s comments may relieve firms struggling to implement the new rules, which were designed in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial crisis as a means of reforming financial markets and making trading fairer and safer for customers. The European Commission has already delayed the implementation of MiFID II by a year to give firms and regulators more time to comply with it. But with the Jan. 3, 2018 deadline looming, many are still concerned they will not be ready on time. “We will not take a strict liability approach especially given the size, complexity and magnitude of the changes that are required,” Steward said at a conference in London. “This means we have no intention of taking enforcement action against firms for not meeting all requirements straight away where there is evidence they have taken sufficient steps to meet the new obligations by the start-date.” He said the FCA’s “disposition is likely to be different” where firms have made no genuine attempt to be ready or that have deliberately flouted key obligations. The wide-ranging MiFID II reforms will apply to securities markets, investment firms and intermediaries from January 2018. Reporting by Emma Rumney. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-regulation/britains-finance-watchdog-cuts-firms-some-slack-on-eu-reforms-idUKKCN1BV2CY'|'2017-09-20T19:53:00.000+03:00'
'45f8243820d4c872cdee95c0a31d2d8044b244a1'|'Australia''s Seven Group to buy remaining stake in Coates Hire from Carlyle'|'Sept 20 (Reuters) - Australian diversified investment company Seven Group Holdings on Wednesday said it would buy the stake it does not already own in earth-moving equipment provider Coates Hire from Carlyle Group and minority owners for A$513 million ($410.66 million).The company said in a statement that it plans to acquire the 53.3 percent stake it does not own from an affiliate of Carlyle Asia Partners II, a fund managed by private equity firm The Carlyle Group.Seven said the acquisition would increase its fiscal 2017 underlying earnings per share by 15 percent and increase pro-forma core pre-tax profit to A$415 million from A$297 million. ($1 = 1.2492 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Hanna Paul in Bengaluru; editing by Byron Kaye and G Crosse) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/coates-hire-ltd-ma-seven-group/australias-seven-group-to-buy-remaining-stake-in-coates-hire-from-carlyle-idUSL4N1M05JD'|'2017-09-20T06:28:00.000+03:00'
'6168f54803c59c5a536af008f63cbef69a54b050'|'UPDATE 1-Eurowings wins union backing to speed up hiring amid Air Berlin turbulence'|'(Adds union calling for temporary employment company, IAG report)BERLIN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Lufthansa budget unit Eurowings has agreed a deal with the Verdi union that will allow it to hire new cabin crew at short notice from rivals such as bankrupt Air Berlin.Eurowings launched a recruitment drive last month, seeking around 200 pilots and 400 cabin crew qualified to fly and crew A320 planes.Air Berlin also flies A320 planes and so the drive is a chance for staff to get hired without waiting for talks on a carve-up of the carrier to finish.Eurowings, which did not mention Air Berlin staff specifically in its statement, said it had received over 1,000 applications for the positions and had started conducting interviews.On Wednesday, Eurowings plans to hold talks with pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit with the aim of being able to take on captains and first officers at short notice as well, it said.The deal with Verdi, which Eurowings says will take into account applicants’ previous experience, comes after a similar agreement with union UFO, which also represents cabin crew.Workers at Air Berlin, which employs more than 8,000 staff, are currently waiting to see how the airline will be divided up among interested parties, with a final decision expected by a creditors’ committee on September 25.Verdi said on Wednesday it expected a large part of the workforce would not get a new job as part of the sale process. It said it and Air Berlin management had asked for the help of the federal government and three German states to set up a temporary employment company for those staff because Air Berlin could not bear the cost of such a scheme itself.Lufthansa has made an offer for parts of the airline, with one source saying Germany’s largest carrier was interested in up to 90 planes, including Austrian holiday airline unit Niki’s fleet and 38 crewed planes it already leases from Air Berlin.Industry investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl has offered to buy Air Berlin in its entirety while Britain’s easyJet has made a bid for parts of its short-haul business.Former Formula One champion Niki Lauda has bid with German airline Condor, part of Thomas Cook. Lauda has said he is interested in buying back Niki, an airline he set up in 2003.British Airways owner IAG has also joined the fray, sources have told Reuters. German agency dpa-afx reported on Wednesday that IAG was interested in Niki. IAG declined to comment.Meanwhile, German family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht has offered to buy Air Berlin’s cargo marketing platform, its maintenance business and regional unit LGW.Eurowings and Condor are already stepping in to fill some of the gap left by Air Berlin cancellations, setting up new routes to the Caribbean which will begin in November.Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Additional reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-eurowings-jobs/update-1-eurowings-wins-union-backing-to-speed-up-hiring-amid-air-berlin-turbulence-idINL5N1M13G3'|'2017-09-20T10:46:00.000+03:00'
'36ab36f801b65b9eb262ba4e5127f6d29cd70d62'|'John Lewis helped itself to my money and I just can’t get it back - Money'|'Your problems with Anna Tims John Lewis helped itself to my money and I just can’t get it back Partnership card took close to £500 from my account in error, but doesn’t seem bothered about returning it Assured of a refund ... but where is it? Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters Your problems with Anna Tims John Lewis helped itself to my money and I just can’t get it back Partnership card took close to £500 from my account in error, but doesn’t seem bothered about returning it View more sharing options   07.00 BST Last modified on   07.02 BST I have a John Lewis Partnership MasterCard and on my June/July statement I found £465.37 had been debited by the company as an “adjustment” to my account. I queried this and was advised that someone from customer service would get back to me. They didn’t, so I made a complaint via the website. The reply I received said the money had been put into a Barclays account – not much help to me as I don’t have an account with Barclays. I telephoned again and an adviser told me an error had been made and that the £465.37 had been transferred to another client. Again I was assured someone would get back to me; again no one did. I then received a response to my web complaint offering a profuse apology, some compensatory partnership points and a refund if I phoned through my bank details, which it already had as I pay by direct debit. I duly did this and was told the money would take up to four working days to arrive back in my account. Surprise, surprise – four working days later and no refund. Can you sort this out for me? JK, Hextable, Kent This is an extraordinary cock-up by a brand that is supposed to represent quality and reliability. Customers were left upset last autumn when a website revamp caused a technical breakdown, leaving their card direct debits unpaid. John Lewis said it had increased its customer service teams to improve the service, but your experience suggests otherwise. It is worrying enough that the company helped itself to a chunk of your savings, but its seeming insouciance when you attempted to reclaim it is breathtaking. Nor is it any consolation that management calls you the day The Observer gets in touch and finds it is able to action a refund immediately. “We appreciate our error should have been resolved more quickly,” says a spokesperson. “This is something we will address with further training.” It has added an extra £100 as compensation, which you plan to donate to charity. If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/20/john-lewis-partnership-card-took-money-from-account'|'2017-09-20T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'd62bd228d53661bffbdfc1ada6c76f9a4f3ea2b2'|'World stock markets hit fresh record highs - business live - Business - The Guardian'|'6.09pm BST 18:09 European markets close higher Stock markets have begun the week on a positive note, as investors shrugged off any lingering worries about geopolitical tensions and central bank actions.They seemed reassured that there were no further developments in the North Korea situation over the weekend, presumably on the basis that no news is good news. And despite the recent hints from the Bank of England that a UK rate rise could come as soon as November, new comments from Bank governor Mark Carney that any increases were likely to be gradual and limited saw the pound come of its recent highs. This in turn helped lift the FTSE 100, given that a weaker pound benefits exporters.European markets were also caught up in the optimism, while on on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all hit new record highs ahead of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. The final scores showed:The FTSE 100 finished up 37.81 points or 0.52% at 7253.28Germany’s Dax rose 0.32% to 12,559.39 France’s Cac climbed 0.3% to 5229.32 Italy’s FTSE MIB was 0.61% better at 22,364.74 Spain’s Ibex ended up 0.2% at 10,338.4 But in Greece, the Athens market fell 1.99% to 760.79 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently up 0.34% at 22,344 having earlier hit a new peak of 22,355.On that note, it’s time to close for the day. Thanks for all your comments, and we’ll be back tomorrow. Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 4.25pm BST 16:25 Richard PartingtonA sharp fall in migrant workers coming to Britain as a consequence of Brexit could push up wages and cause a spike in inflation in the short term, according to Mark Carney , the governor of the Bank of England, writes my colleague Richard Partington. Setting out his view on inflation days after the Bank’s rate setting panel indicated it could raise the cost of borrowing for the first time in a decade, the governor said the rapid deceleration of migrant labour could lead to shortages for employers, pushing up wage growth and inflation in the short term. However, in the long-term, higher levels of immigration do not have an impact on wages or inflation, he said.In a speech in Washington, he said: “Abrupt decreases in migration could result in shortages in some sectors that have become reliant on migrant labour, and contribute more materially to inflationary pressures.”In the longer-term, “Brexit could therefore ultimately have only a modest impact on prices in general equilibrium.”Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 4.23pm BST 16:23 Carney also warned that a fall in immigration in the wake of Brexit could push up wages and inflation:Abrupt decreases in migration could result in shortages in some sectors that have become reliant on migrant labour, and contribute more materially to inflationary pressures.In addition, the ease with which UK employers have been able to source labour from abroad and move operations offshore as a result of globalisation may have weighed on wage growth – though the size of such contestability effects is difficult to judge. Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 4.11pm BST 16:11 Pound slips as Carney says rate rises likely to be gradual and limited Brexit is likely to push up inflation, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said, as he repeated his view that interest rates were likely to rise in the coming months.But in his 2017 IMF Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture in Washington , he suggested rises would be limited, and he warned of risks to the UK economy.These comments have seen the pound slip back further against the dollar. Down 0.26% earlier, sterling has now fallen 0.54% against the dollar to $1.3518. Against the euro the pound is down 0.65% at €1.1302. Carney said:Any prospective increases in Bank Rate would be expected to be at a gradual pace and to a limited extent, and to be consistent with monetary policy continuing to provide substantial support to the economy. There remain considerable risks to the UK outlook, which include the response of households, businesses and financial markets to developments related to the process of EU withdrawal. The MPC will respond to these developments as they occur insofar as they affect the behaviour of households and businesses, and the outlook for inflation. On Brexit, Reuters reports:Carney, making a speech at the International Monetary Fund’s headquarters in Washington, said the process of globalisation that has led to deeper integration in the world economy in recent decades had pushed down price growth.But Brexit represented the opposite for Britain, at least in the short term, as less openness to foreign markets and workers was likely to push up inflation and reduce productivity, he said.“On balance, the de-integration effects of Brexit can be expected to ... be inflationary,” he said. “At present, the main question concerns the extent to which this adjustment has been brought forward.”...In his speech on Monday, Carney also said Britain was unlikely to immediately offset any weakening of trade ties with its EU partners by striking new trade agreements with other countries.“But Brexit is an example of ‘reculer pour mieux sauter,’” Carney said, using a French expression which means stepping back in order to jump betterUpdated at 4.13pm BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 4.00pm BST 16:00 Bank of England governor Mark Carney is set to give the 2017 Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture, and it can be viewed live here now.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.33pm BST 15:33 US markets continue to fly higher:Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) #MondayMotivation S&P: All-Time HighDow: All-Time HighNasdaq: All-Time HighNYSE: All-Time HighGlobal Dow: All-Time High pic.twitter.com/ynBGMwMtTj September 18, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.20pm BST 15:20 The pound has slipped back against the dollar after last week’s rises in the wake of suggestions of a UK interest rate rise in November.Part of this is due to an uptick in the dollar ahead of this week’s US Federal Reserve meeting, and part to new concerns over Brexit. Sterling is currently 0.26% lower at $1.3556. Paresh Davdra, chief executive of RationalFX, said:The pound has moved lower against its peers ...following its surge on Friday. The pound remained strong over the weekend, still buoyed by investor anticipation of an interest rate rise later this year, but has cooled off as traders turn their attention to Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Europe, this Friday. Despite slipping against the dollar this morning, sterling is still much stronger than the weak levels seen in recent weeks.The pound may have also been weighed down slightly by the renewed political controversy over the ‘Britain will have £350m a week more to spend outside the EU’ claim from Foreign secretary Boris Johnson over the weekend. In the months since the election, political disunity has made traders cautious, therefore any suggestion of dissent within the government could slow the gains the pound could make off of the prospect of a rate rise. With the Prime Minister in Canada to discuss trade deals, analysts will be looking at more political drivers for the pound this week, in addition to data releases.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.07pm BST 15:07 With investors turning their attention to supposedly riskier assets such as shares, there have been some falls among the traditional havens.Gold fell to a two and a half week low of $1311 an ounce while among equities, there are also falls in defensive stocks like tobacco - Imperial Brands is down 2% - and water companies.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.35pm BST 14:35 Wall Street hits new record high Records are indeed being broken on Wall Street in early trading.The Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed to a new peak of 22,332, up more than 0.22%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.13% to a new high of 2,503. Easing tensions over North Korea are playing a part, while investors are awaiting the latest Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.21pm BST 14:21 MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) Looks like more records are on tap https://t.co/QxOldo0gl2 pic.twitter.com/qIp2SzToNK September 18, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.15pm BST 14:15 European markets are holding on to their gains ahead of Wall Street opening shortly.The FTSE 100 is currently up 0.3%, while Germany’s Dax is 0.25% better and France’s Cac has climbed 0.16%.In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is forecast to open around 40 points higher.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.00pm BST 14:00 Lagarde vows to step up corruption fight Over in Washington, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde is promising a new crackdown on corruption. Channelling Captain Renault in Casablanca, Lagarde is telling a Brookings Institution event that no-one should be shocked to learn that some public officials accept bribes, and that some companies are keen to offer them.Citing the “Panama Papers” revelations , Lagarde says the IMF can and will do more to tackle corruption.She warns:As we assist our members in fighting public corruption, we also are committed to looking at transnational private actors who influence public officials. Private actors may help generate corruption through direct means such as bribery, but they also can facilitate corruption through indirect means, such as money laundering and tax evasion. The recent example of the “Panama Papers” highlights the importance of these facilitators, and underscores the pernicious way corruption can quietly spread across borders.Increased transparency and accountability can help reduce corruption, Lagarde, adds, along with strengthening legal institutions to tackle wrongdoers....Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.20pm BST 13:20 MSCI World stocks index over the last two years Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.01pm BST 13:01 The oddest story of the day is that tens of thousands of euros have been found the toilet at a Geneva branch of UBS. The discovery, a few months ago, has baffled Swiss prosecutors - especially as more euros were discovered clogging the pipes of near by restaurants too.Bloomberg has more details .Lucy Meakin (@lucy_meakin) I really want to know why someone flushed thousands of euros down a toilet. It''s got to be great https://t.co/CiV9ZCYW5G by @marabernath September 18, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.44pm BST 12:44 The stock markets are increasingly being driven by greed this week, says CNN:Paul R. La Monica (@LaMonicaBuzz) Futures higher again. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq at all-time highs. @CNNMoney Fear & Greed index shows extreme greed. https://t.co/rqJZ7Ec96a pic.twitter.com/W0hSLZQxbc September 18, 2017 That’s based on a series of metrics, including market volatility and demand for ‘put options’ (a right to sell at a certain price, which would be profitable if shares fell).Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.27pm BST 12:27 The US stock market is expected to hit new highs when trading begins in two hours time. The S&P 500 index is called up 0.2%, extending Friday’s rally, as anxiety over conflict in the Korean peninsula abates.Charalambos Pissouros, senior analyst at IronFX, says:“....as long as the situation does not escalate into military conflict, market participants may continue to place less and less emphasis on North Korean developments.”MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) Dow, S&P 500 line up for fresh records to start the week https://t.co/Fc96UXxCgN September 18, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1 of 2 Newest Newer Older Oldest'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/sep/18/world-stock-markets-record-highs-eurozone-inflation-mark-carney-business-live'|'2017-09-18T15:15:00.000+03:00'
'8a4963bee947103dd1b19c6f741e2cb462fc548c'|'O.G. Oil & Gas intends to buy majority stake in New Zealand Oil & Gas'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - O.G. Oil & Gas Ltd’s Singapore unit intends to buy a 65.7 percent stake in New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd, it said in a notice on Sunday.New Zealand Oil & Gas already had a partial offer from rival Zeta Energy Pte Ltd, which the board had urged shareholders to reject.O.G. proposed payment of NZ$0.77 ($0.55) per share of New Zealand Oil & Gas, valuing the company at NZ$80.7 million ($58.21 million). The board said in a Sept. 15 statement that an informal proposal from O.G. appeared to be the superior offer.Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nz-oil-gas-m-a/o-g-oil-gas-intends-to-buy-majority-stake-in-new-zealand-oil-gas-idINKCN1BS0X2'|'2017-09-17T19:17:00.000+03:00'
'8c6197fe77eea918dbc09f1209fd1ce86f0e3088'|'Toys ''R'' Us mulls bankruptcy filing: Wall Street Journal'|'September 16, 2017 / 12:41 AM / a day ago Toys ''R'' Us mulls bankruptcy filing: Wall Street Journal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read File Photo - The mostly empty shelves of a Toys "R" Us flagship store in Times Square are seen after it closed permanently in the Manhattan borough of New York December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us Inc could file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks as pressure from skittish suppliers intensifies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company and its restructuring advisers are considering filing for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia, according to the WSJ report. ( on.wsj.com/2h87WOt ) The privately-held toy retailer had previously said it was working with investment bank Lazard Ltd to help address its approximately $5 billion in debt, of which roughly $400 million comes due next year. The potential Chapter 11 filing could be a result of the company’s suppliers tightening trade terms, including holding back on shipments unless the toy retailer is able to make cash payments on delivery, the newspaper reported. Toys ‘R’ Us declined to comment on the report. The move by Toys “R” Us to potentially file for bankruptcy comes at a time when more and more consumers increasingly make purchases from online retailers like Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and avoid visiting brick-and-mortar shops. There have been more than a dozen significant retail bankruptcies this year, but none for retailers as big as Toys “R” Us, which has more than 1,600 stores worldwide. Toys tapped restructuring attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, CNBC reported this month. The company has been saddled with debt since buyout firms KKR & Co L.P. ( KKR.N ) and Bain Capital LP, together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust ( VNO.N ), took Toys “R” Us private for $6.6 billion in 2005. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toys-r-us-bankruptcy/toys-r-us-mulls-bankruptcy-filing-wall-street-journal-idUSKCN1BR00I'|'2017-09-16T03:40:00.000+03:00'
'b81fc1208084d21f2dd860cdf4d895c8c716b2de'|'Made.com founder: ''We want to be the new Ikea'' - Guardian Small Business Network'|'How did the concept for Made.com come about? In my first business [the French e-commerce site Myfab, launched in 2007] we were selling everything from fashion to electronics and I saw that our sales of furniture were really taking off. A friend in China who was a furniture manufacturer told me he would sell a sofa for £400 to agents, who would then re-sell it to a wholesaler in Europe, but when it eventually came to the store the price tag was outrageous. The same sofa was selling for £3,000. I saw the opportunity of using the internet to disrupt the supply chain. W hat was the initial reaction to the idea ? If I listened to what people around me said about my idea I would never have started it. This ranged from “Oh it’s never going to happen, it’s too difficult”, to “You’re five or 10 years too early”. But I had this conviction that if you bring furniture down to a third of the price with the same kind of quality and craftsmanship, maybe 100% of the customers won’t switch to buying online, but if 10% of them switch there will be more than enough.Before we arrived, the furniture industry had not changed in 60 yearsHow do you think Made.com has impacted the furniture industry? Before we arrived [Made launched in 2010] the furniture industry had not changed in 50 or 60 years. The last revolution was Ikea, which really changed the way people shop for furniture. It brought functional furniture at a fashionable price and drove them out of town to buy it – but that is quite old now. What we want to do is to be the pioneer of the next trend of how people shop for their home, and really become the alternative to Ikea. We consider ourselves a promoter of great design at affordable prices. We put pressure on the industry to evolve. They caught up of course and there’s competition and so that’s good for business but nonetheless we pioneered this field.Why did you step down as CEO last year? I look at myself more as an entrepreneur than a manager. Today we have more than 400 employees [Made has expanded from the UK to France, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium and announced it is nearing £100m in sales] and it’s something that I feel confident to pass on to a professional manager to manage on my behalf. I’ve stepped down but I’m still a major shareholder at Made. Philippe [Chainieux, the new CEO] has grown to the role and understanding of the business and I trust him entirely. Gradually, when I feel the business can be more independent, I probably will [start a business] again. I have a list of about 30 ideas and I’m working through them.Have you any plans to sell Made.com? I’m not interested in selling the business. In 2015 we secured $60m (£38m) of funding for the business [from Partech Ventures and Fidelity Growth Ventures]. As a business we have always been very cash efficient – so that [£38m investment] is probably enough for the foreseeable future. We’re quite content with what we have so far.What are you proudest of? That I got a really good team together in the beginning. I was lucky enough to partner with Brent [Hoberman] as my mentor, my first investor and my co-founder. I grew up in China and started my first business in France so when I came to the UK I had no connections in this country. Without Brent, I couldn’t possibly know where to find my other investors and recruits.What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned? The importance of delegating. In the early years of Made, we did many things ourselves, not by choice but by necessity because we didn’t have money to hire people. I’m kind of a control freak. I’m so afraid that things would be done badly if I don’t do them. At some point that mentality became an obstacle, so about three years ago I started taking myself out of the process rather than trying to make myself indispensable.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/sep/18/madecom-founder-we-want-to-be-the-new-ikea'|'2017-09-18T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'46d93e008409d635816a7af5b090c84d003c35ba'|'REFILE-UPDATE 1-Brazil''s BNDES wants Batistas out of JBS management after CEO switch'|'(Fixes typo in BNDES in headline)By Rodrigo Viga GaierRIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The family calling the shots at Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA is unfit to run the company, the head of state bank BNDES said on Monday, insisting on new management after the Batista family named a new chief executive at a late Saturday board meeting.In remarks to Reuters, BNDES President Paulo Rabello de Castro condemned a decision taken “in the dead of night” over the weekend to put JBS founder José Batista Sobrinho in charge after his sons were arrested for alleged insider trading.“I see deviousness in what was done,” Rabello said. “A meeting of that magnitude cannot be called at the last minute.”He also said the Batista family, which owns a 42 percent stake in JBS, lacks the sensibility needed for corporate governance.BNDES owns 21 percent of JBS and has led a push by minority shareholders to remove the Batistas from management since Wesley and Joesley Batista, formerly chief executive and chairman, respectively, testified in a plea deal to bribing hundreds of lawmakers.JBS shares slumped 2.7 percent to 8.61 reais in Monday trading, as traders grew wary that a battle between the its two biggest shareholders may distract management from efforts to sell assets, protect margins and reduce debt.The world’s largest meatpacker said in a written statement that its Saturday board meeting was called on Thursday and attended by all board members, who made unanimous decisions.Rabello said he was unaware of the board meeting and criticized a representative for BNDESPar, the bank’s investment arm, for taking part in it.Rabello called for markets watchdog CVM to investigate the “surprise” weekend meeting. BNDESPar has no plans to sell any of the stake it owns in JBS due to the rift, he said.José Batista Sobrinho, 84, the founder of JBS, is retaking the reins of his family’s global meat empire as his sons have become increasingly tangled in the graft investigation.Joesley Batista surrendered to police after recordings suggested he tried to take advantage of prosecutors and conceal details during negotiations that led to a May plea deal. He and his brother also have been accused of dumping JBS shares ahead of that plea deal.The disclosure of their plea bargain testimony, which involved key politicians and led to corruption charges against President Michel Temer, triggered Brazil’s biggest market sell-off in at least a decade.The elder Batista will be closely advised at JBS by top executives including Chief Operating Officer Gilberto Tomazoni; André Nogueira, who heads the JBS USA unit; and Wesley Batista Jr., the 25-year-old son of Wesley Sr., who is the head of JBS USA’s beef division. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing and additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Brad Haynes and Bill Trott) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jbs-ceo/update-1-brazils-bnds-wants-batistas-out-of-jbs-management-after-ceo-switch-idINL2N1LZ0OZ'|'2017-09-18T14:18:00.000+03:00'
'4b9b01bc1d373a4f39774df3a6a9e57f4f328356'|'MOVES-Prudential Financial, Brown Shipley, Angel Island'|'  2:36 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago MOVES-Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, Prudential Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Banco Bradesco SA) Sept 19 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Tuesday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse Group AG named Joe Steffa as global head of securitized products trading, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. GOLDMAN SACHS Goldman Sachs has moved Jeroen Rombouts, one of its most senior foreign exchange bankers, to its investment banking division to co-head corporate derivatives in Europe, Middle East and Africa. BNY MELLON WEALTH MANAGEMENT Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s wealth management arm named Juan Alejandro Ramos as senior wealth director of its Greenwich, Connecticut office. PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC The financial services company named Candace Woods as chief actuary and senior vice president. ASSOCIATION FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS IN EUROPE (AFME) The trade group named Jacqueline Mills head of its Frankfurt Office, effective Oct. 1. BROWN SHIPLEY The wealth manager and private bank appointed Rhona McColl and Andy Bolden to its Edinburgh office. ANGEL ISLAND CAPITAL San Francisco-based investment adviser named Dev Gopalan its chief executive officer. STANDARD CHARTERED PRIVATE BANK The private banking unit of Standard Chartered Plc, named Demir Avigdor managing director and market head of Africa and Europe, effective Oct. 30. BANCO BRADESCO SA Banco Bradesco SA said on Tuesday that André Prado, a longtime head of corporate credit at Brazil’s No. 3 listed bank, resigned from his post. (Compiled by Roopal Verma and Anirban Paul in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves/moves-prudential-financial-brown-shipley-angel-island-idUSL4N1M04DX'|'2017-09-19T17:35:00.000+03:00'
'fd92d1365b68178716e072484ddd1fdab0601012'|'Nigeria, Libya likely to attend OPEC-led panel; Saudi may not -sources'|'September 19, 2017 / 2:03 PM / Updated 32 minutes ago Nigeria, Libya likely to attend OPEC-led panel; Saudi may not -sources Alex Lawler 2 Min Read A TV camera is seen outside the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger LONDON (Reuters) - Nigeria’s oil minister and the head of Libya’s state oil company are likely to attend a joint meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC nations on Friday, two OPEC sources said, to discuss the progress of their deal to limit output. Both countries are exempt from an OPEC-led deal to cut output and their resulting boost to production has weighed on prices LCOc1. This has prompted more talk about including Libya and Nigeria in the pact. Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu is “most likely” to attend Friday’s meeting, one of the sources said, while the second source said that Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp, is also expected to join the meeting. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries aims to clear a global oil supply glut by curbing output by about 1.2 million barrels per day, while Russia and other non-OPEC producers are cutting half as much, until next March. Ministers on a panel monitoring the deal, which comprises Kuwait, Venezuela and Algeria, plus non-OPEC producers Russia and Oman, are scheduled to meet on Friday in Vienna. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who travelled to similar meetings earlier this year, might not attend Friday’s gathering, a source said. Ministers are discussing several options, including an extension of the pact for at least three months and a further supply cut, OPEC member Iraq said on Tuesday. The panel meeting on Friday -- the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which Kuwait chairs -- could make a recommendation on policy to the wider group, which holds its next meeting in November. Reporting by Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal in Dubai; Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-meeting/nigeria-libya-likely-to-attend-opec-led-panel-saudi-may-not-sources-idUKKCN1BU1TM'|'2017-09-19T17:03:00.000+03:00'
'fc5bf576e991fdde3c1d0a2ab7c4b5840fccaaf1'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 14'|'  6:47 AM / Updated 30 minutes ago UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 14 Reuters Staff 4 Min Read (Adds company news, futures) Sept 14 (Reuters) - Britain’s FTSE 100 futures were down 0.18 percent ahead of the cash market open on Thursday. * GVC HOLDINGS: Online gambling firm GVC Holdings, which has expanded rapidly through a series of acquisitions, said it expects core annual earnings to top market estimates after first-half gaming revenue rose. * SPIRE HEALTHCARE: Spire Healthcare said first-half profit slumped 75 percent, hurt by a charge relating to a legal settlement and start-up costs at its new hospital in Nottingham. * BOOKER GROUP: British wholesaler Booker Group, which has agreed a 3.7 billion pound ($4.89 billion) takeover by Tesco TSCO.L, said its second-quarter like-for-like sales rose 1.3 percent helped by strength in catering and retail supply. * OPHIR ENERGY: Oil and natural gas producer Ophir Energy Plc on Thursday reported a 69.5 percent rise in first-half revenue, helped by higher commodity prices. * BRITAIN-FUNDS: Britain’s markets watchdog said it has asked the UK competition authorities to conduct a study into investment consultants, saying it has serious concerns about the sector. * NEXT: British clothing retailer Next nudged its full-year sales and profit guidance higher on Thursday after seeing an improvement in trading in the last three months, helped by demand for its directory business. * MORRISONS: Morrisons, Britain’s No. 4 supermarket, reported a 12.7 percent rise in first-half profit and a seventh straight quarter of underlying sales growth, cementing a turnaround under chief executive David Potts. * THOMAS COOK: Former motor racing driver Niki Lauda plans to offer around 100 million euros ($118.69 million) for parts of insolvent airline Air Berlin together with Thomas Cook’s German carrier Condor, he told ORF radio on Thursday. * GLAXOSMITHKLINE: A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted 11-0 that the safety and efficacy of GlaxoSmithKline’s shingles vaccine warrants approval for its use in adults aged 50 and over. * LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE: London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) has agreed to buy an additional stake of up to 6.8 percent in its clearing arm LCH from some of its minority shareholders, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. * OIL: Oil prices on Thursday held most of their gains of around 2 percent from the previous session, buoyed after the International Energy Agency raised its forecast for growth in global oil demand. * GOLD: Gold edged down on Thursday to its lowest in nearly two weeks on waning risk aversion, and as the dollar steadied ahead of U.S. consumer inflation data that could offer clues on the timing of further interest rate hikes. * BRITAIN-EU: Britain will reject “protectionist” agendas from the European Union in favour of “forward-leaning” proposals when it comes to supervising cross-border financial markets after Brexit, UK finance minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday. * EX-DIVS: No FTSE 100 companies will go ex-dividend on Thursday. * The UK blue chip index closed down 0.28 percent at 7,379 points on Wednesday, as the British currency briefly surged to $1.3329. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY‘S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Harish Bhaskar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/update-1-uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-14-idUSL4N1LV2P7'|'2017-09-14T09:46:00.000+03:00'
'c9c3f09b784925874af390e72f6cf2fef183ad04'|'Lotte Shopping picks Goldman to manage sales of supermarkets in China'|'September 14, 2017 / 8:00 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Lotte Shopping picks Goldman to manage sales of supermarkets in China Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s Lotte Shopping has picked Goldman Sachs to manage the potential sales of its supermarkets in China, an official at the parent group said on Thursday. The official added that it had not been decided whether the retailer would sell all of its supermarkets in China or part of them. Lotte Shopping previously said it was considering selling its supermarkets in China and other options should political tensions between Seoul and Beijing continue next year. Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lotte-shopping-china/lotte-shopping-picks-goldman-to-manage-sales-of-supermarkets-in-china-idUKKCN1BP0VO'|'2017-09-14T10:59:00.000+03:00'
'ba0578797d174267be585df5b83662f045e881c0'|'UK investment consultants to face full competition probe'|'September 14, 2017 / 6:32 AM / 28 minutes ago UK''s pension investment advisers to face full competition probe Huw Jones , Carolyn Cohn 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s competition regulator has launched an investigation into investment consultants following concerns about conflicts of interest in an industry advising on the management of over 1.6 trillion pounds of pension and other funds. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday it has referred its concerns to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full investigation, the first time it has referred a case to the CMA as part of a broader effort to improve value for money and transparency in the asset management industry. Investment consultants advise pension schemes, charities, endowment funds and insurers on their investment strategy and choice of investment managers and funds. Aon ( AON.N ), Mercer and Willis Towers Watson ( WLTW.O ) dominate the sector, with a combined market share of 50-80 percent, the FCA said. “We have serious concerns about this market and believe that the CMA is best placed to undertake this work,” Christopher Woolard, the FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition, said in a statement The CMA said it was launching the investigation following the FCA’s referral, and would complete the probe by March 2019. Britain’s pensions trade body welcomed the investigation, saying some of its members had “expressed concerns about the potential misalignment of incentives in the sector”. Aon, Mercer and Willis Towers Watson said they would cooperate with the CMA investigation. “We hope that the process will help bring clarity and consistency to an industry which has to manage potential conflicts of interest,” Willis said in a statement. Pension trustees were relying heavily on investment consultants, but had limited ability to assess the quality of their advice or compare services, the FCA said. The regulator said it was also concerned about barriers to market entry, preventing smaller, newer consultants from winning business and that “vertically integrated” business models were creating conflicts of interest. As well as helping clients pick which asset classes and funds to invest in, many consultants now also offer to invest the money themselves. This move into so-called ‘fiduciary management’ can mean consultants are in direct competition with other managers they are hired to independently assess. The FCA said in November 2016 it was minded to refer the sector to the competition watchdog, and in June this year added that it was expected to reject a package of undertakings proposed by the big three consultants in a bid to head off a full competition probe. Danny Vassiliades, managing director of smaller rival Punter Southall Investment Consulting, said the FCA’s referral was good for the industry. “Several of the undertakings ... that were proposed had merit. However, it cannot be right that the future direction, structure and regulation of our industry is driven by its participants. We look forward to the CMA’s findings in due course,” Vassiliades said. The FCA was also critical of a culture of the consultants accepting gifts and invitations to sporting and cultural events from asset management companies and its potential impact on the consultants’ closely-watched ratings of funds. ”For some investment consultants in our sample we have found a significant positive association between receiving gifts and/or hospitality and the likelihood of providing a high rating,” the FCA said, adding that it considered this “reasonable grounds for suspecting there is a possible conflict of interest”. “It is important that trustees can be confident they are getting good quality advice and value for money from their investment consultants,” Woolard said. ($1 = 0.7566 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-funds-competition/uk-investment-consultants-to-face-full-competition-probe-idUKKCN1BP0MX'|'2017-09-14T09:53:00.000+03:00'
'7c4931bce9e78c2481b6ccdb66cab9f1c7f01567'|'French fashion group SMCP moves step closer towards IPO'|'September 18, 2017 / 8:05 AM / Updated 37 minutes ago French fashion group SMCP moves step closer towards IPO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - SMCP, the French fashion group behind brands such as Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, moved a step closer towards its stock market listing after filing its intentions for an initial public offering with French authorities. SMCP said on Monday that it had filed its registration document with France’s AMF markets watchdog - a formal step towards its planned IPO. SMCP, majority owned by China’s Shandong Ruyi ( 002193.SZ ), also reported higher 2017 first-half sales and earnings. Shandong Ruyi will keep a stake of around 51 percent following SMCP’s stock market listing. It reported a 20 percent rise in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to 73 million euros ($87 million) on sales up 16 percent at 439 million euros. “We are pleased to announce the filing of our registration document with the AMF, which represents the first step of our initial public offering project,” SMCP Chief Executive Daniel Lalonde said. “Our H1 2017 results show a strong increase in our net sales and EBITDA. This success confirms the relevance of our business model and strategy that aims to pursue organic growth, expand our network in our key markets, accelerate on digital, menswear and accessories,” he said. Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot sell dresses priced at around 200 euros in France and operate in what is classified as the accessible luxury market. Buoyant demand among fast-growing middle classes, particularly in countries such as China, has boosted this segment. In August, sources familiar with the matter said that Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), JP Morgan ( JPM.N ) and KKR Capital Markets ( KKR.N ) had been chosen as joint global coordinators for SMCP’s flotation. ($1 = 0.8374 euros) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-smcp-ipo/french-fashion-group-smcp-moves-step-closer-towards-ipo-idUSKCN1BT0OG'|'2017-09-18T16:05:00.000+03:00'
'202de8ddfa03705f7d7f58bfe3720cb82a56610f'|'Baidu hires Weibo CFO as its finance chief'|'September 18, 2017 / 3:07 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Baidu hires Weibo CFO Herman Yu as finance chief amid AI push Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A smartphone showing the Baidu Browser application is seen in this picture illustration, February 22, 2016. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/Illustration/File Photo SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc said on Monday it had hired the finance chief of Weibo Corp as its chief financial officer, marking a leadership change for the firm as its hones its focus onto artificial intelligence. The appointment of Herman Yu, Weibo’s CFO since 2015, sees Baidu stalwart Jennifer Li step down as CFO after almost a decade in the role to become a senior adviser to Baidu’s top management, the company said in a statement. Baidu is trying to drive a recovery in its fortunes after a string of regulatory investigations last year hit profit. A sharper focus on mobile and artificial intelligence (AI) helped boost the firm in the latest quarter. “I look forward to working with Herman in his new capacity, as Baidu enters the next stage of growth in the AI era,” Baidu Chairman Robin Li said in a statement, citing Yu’s long financial experience with U.S.-listed firms. Baidu has been forced to revamp its business model and focus to keep pace with its main local tech rivals - Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - which are spending billions of dollars expanding into new markets. Li, one of China’s most powerful female tech figures, will remain chief executive of Baidu’s private equity unit Baidu Capital, which focuses on investment opportunities in AI. Yu, who studied in California, has previously worked at Adobe Systems Inc and VeriFone Systems Inc, and sits of the boards of a number Chinese tech-related firms including 58.com Inc and ZTO Express Inc. Weibo, backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and which operates one of China’s most popular microblog platforms, was not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Shubham Kalia in BENGALURU and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Additional reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Christopher Cushing '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-baidu-moves-cfo/baidu-hires-weibo-cfo-as-its-finance-chief-idINKCN1BT06B'|'2017-09-18T05:53:00.000+03:00'
'8b16563c1299ccbb610acf6ea87380ac23698ceb'|'Diageo sees impact on sales from Indian highway liquor ban'|'Reuters TV United States   7:03 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Diageo says Indian highway liquor ban to hurt sales Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The museum room is seen at the Diageo Cardhu distillery in Scotland March 21, 2014. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne (Reuters) - Diageo ( DGE.L ), the maker of Johnnie Walker whiskey and Smirnoff vodka, expects its first-half sales growth to suffer from the timing of Chinese New Year and a ban on selling alcohol near Indian highways, the British company said on Wednesday. India’s top court banned liquor outlets within 500 metres of national and state highways in April, in a move that was expected to hit revenue for liquor makers such as Diageo, the world’s biggest, and French rival Pernod Ricard ( PERP.PA ). Shares in Diageo were down 1.9 percent at 0750 GMT following Wednesday''s trading update ahead its shareholder meeting, making them the top faller on FTSE 100 .FTSE index. “Given that both of these were known about at the time of the full-year results back in July we wonder why it wasn’t pointed out then,” RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note. Pernod, which makes Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka, had warned that the Indian ban would hurt sales in the first half of its 2017-18 fiscal year but did not quantify the likely impact. Diageo’s net sales in India, its largest market in the Asia-Pacific region, rose 2 percent in its last financial year, driven by the popularity of its whiskeys. Despite its concerns about Indian sales and Chinese New Year, Diageo stood by its target for sales growth in the mid single digits and an improvement in its organic operating margin of 175 basis points over the three years to June 2019. “Our expectations on overall performance for the year remain unchanged,” Diageo said. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-diageo-outlook/diageo-sees-impact-on-sales-from-indian-highway-liquor-ban-idUKKCN1BV0Q0'|'2017-09-20T09:56:00.000+03:00'
'c9348785ac954271132321f11477685ac10ebc05'|'No concessions from Luxottica, Essilor - EU antitrust regulators'|'  7:09 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Luxottica, Essilor offer no merger concessions to EU regulators Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Luxottica name is reflected in a pair of sunglasses in this photo illustration taken in Rome February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) have not offered any concessions to allay EU antitrust regulators’ concerns over their proposed 46-billion-euro ($55.2 billion) merger, increasing the possibility of a lengthy EU investigation into the deal. Italian eyewear maker Luxottica, which owns brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, and French lens manufacturer Essilor had until Sept. 19 to offer concessions after the EU competition enforcer expressed its reservations about the deal to the companies last week. The European Commission recognises if the parties to a merger have made concessions. However, the filing on its website shows that Luxottica and Essilor had not done so. Unless they managed to appease the Commission at last week’s meeting, it is likely that the regulator will open a full-scale investigation lasting about four months following a preliminary review that ends on Sept. 26. Some companies prefer to offer concessions during this phase after getting a better idea of the regulator’s concerns. The deal, which will combine the world’s largest maker of spectacles with the world’s top lens-maker, Essilor, has triggered worries among retailers and competitors that the merged company may have too great a control of valuable brands and prescription lenses. Both Luxottica and Essilor declined to comment on the EU enforcer’s concerns. U.S. regulators are also examining the deal, which received the green light from New Zealand authorities earlier this month. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris and Valentina Za in Milan; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu/no-concessions-from-luxottica-essilor-eu-antitrust-regulators-idUKKCN1BV0Q4'|'2017-09-20T10:05:00.000+03:00'
'954e04033152272cabd24682e5087d376fb72aa4'|'CBS raises bid for Australia''s Ten Network: CBS spokesman'|'SYDNEY (Reuters) - Creditors of Australia’s embattled Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ) on Tuesday agreed to a A$209.7 million ($167 million) buyout from CBS Corp ( CBS.N ), effectively ending a battle for control between the U.S. broadcasting giant and Lachlan Murdoch.Creditors chose CBS at a vote in Sydney after the U.S. company sweetened its offer by A$8.6 million late on Monday, following a counter-offer from Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, and his business partner Bruce Gordon.“The industry is generally excited about having a A$27 billion big brother looking after channel Ten,” administrator Mark Korda told reporters after the meeting, adding CBS overwhelmingly won the vote by value and number.Barring any further legal challenge from Murdoch and Gordon, the deal will be complete once it gains regulatory approval, including from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.CBS, Ten’s biggest creditor, swooped on the free-to-air network after it went into administration three months ago, elbowing aside an earlier offer from Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) Executive Chairman Murdoch and Gordon.Related Coverage Creditors of Australia''s Ten Network vote in favor of CBS bidAlthough a ratings laggard, Ten’s national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy have made it an attractive buyout target. The deal will allow CBS to launch its streaming service in Australia.STAFF RELIEVED FILE PHOTO - The logo of Network Ten Pty Ltd is displayed above the company''s headquarters in Sydney, Australia, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo CBS took the upper hand in the takeover battle after winning a court challenge from the media moguls on Monday.A Murdoch representative was not immediately available for comment, while a Gordon spokeswoman declined to comment on the outcome of Tuesday’s vote. A CBS spokesman said he expected the deal to complete.CBS was assured of winning the creditors vote by value because the U.S. network is owed more than half of Ten’s A$609.1 million in debt.However it also clinched votes from hundreds of Ten employees, creditors since they are owed pension and leave entitlements, to win the vote by number.After the meeting a Ten employee said they were relieved at the outcome and had feared a Murdoch victory would have led to consolidation with other media assets and newsroom job losses.“Everybody was going to do equal or better under CBS,” said the employee, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to comment publicly.“Staff were concerned about the impact on the company or the newsroom if the CBS offer was rejected. Staff are more excited about the company under CBS than they are under the other deal.”($1 = 1.2555 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/cbs-raises-bid-for-australias-ten-network-cbs-spokesman-idINKCN1BT2P9'|'2017-09-18T20:25:00.000+03:00'
'fca0c4244b6c4dcc8c75ec0a26dc337366f57154'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks hover at 3-mth high, forint in focus'|'LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Emerging stocks seesawed around three-month lows on Tuesday and currencies were mostly flat, including Hungary’s forint which hit a two-month low against the euro the previous day in expectation of more monetary policy easing.The dollar eased against a basket of currencies before the start of a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is likely to say that it will soon start paring its balance sheet. But with Treasury yields close to one-month highs, emerging assets failed to make much headway.MSCI’s emerging equity index slipped 0.2 percent while average sovereign dollar bond yields over Treasuries widened 1 basis point (bp) to 286 bps, standing just off three-year lows.The focus is on Hungary’s central bank which is expected to leave main interest rates on hold but ease policy by cutting a deposit cap or cutting the -0.05 percent overnight deposit rate deeper into negative territory.It may also signal more delays to meeting inflation targets.Authorities’ dovishness - policymakers said earlier this month they could use unconventional easing tools to meet inflation targets - drove the forint to two-month lows versus the euro, while pushing it down 2 percent against the Polish zloty in the past three weeks .Hungary’s segment of the GBI-EM of local currency bonds has seen yields slump to record lows of around 1.58 percent , about 80 bps below March levels, while stocks have hit successive record highs for year-to-date gains of over 20 percent.“The central bank did reiterate that they would ease policy unconventionally afresh so the forint began to underperform the zloty. That happened because the central bank introduced unknown event risk,” said Tatha Ghose, senior emerging markets economist at Commerzbank.There was also the possibility of an entirely different new easing tool, Ghose said, adding: “That’s a bit unknown and why you have seen the forint underperform the zloty over the past month.”ING Bank predicted the forint would dip below 308 per euro “as the delivery of a cut in the deposit rate would signal to the market that the NBH means business and is indeed not running out of firepower”.“We expect upward pressure on zloty/forint to continue as the cross shows extremely high sensitivity to the NBH policy stance,” the bank’s analysts said.Elsewhere, the South African rand was flat, steadying near one-month lows hit on Monday after the tax agency’s attack on auditor KPMG for withdrawing a report on former finance minister Pravin Gordhan’s investigations into businessmen close to President Jacob Zuma.In Dubai, shares in Dana Gas rose 2.5 percent ahead of the opening of a trial in London over the company’s non-payment of a $700 million sukuk.In bond news, Ukraine raised $3 billion on Monday in its first sovereign debt sale since its 2015 restructuring.For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, seeFor TURKISH market report, seeFor RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chgon yearMorgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 1109.34 -3.58 -0.32 +28.65Czech Rep 1048.31 -0.71 -0.07 +13.75Poland 2508.65 +6.90 +0.28 +28.79Hungary 38309.62 -77.60 -0.20 +19.71Romania 8008.60 +12.63 +0.16 +13.04Greece 755.23 -5.56 -0.73 +17.34Russia 1110.01 -9.13 -0.82 -3.67South Africa 49483.45 -253.09 -0.51 +12.71Turkey 06183.70 -350.90 -0.33 +35.89China 3356.65 -6.20 -0.18 +8.15India 32472.00 +48.24 +0.15 +21.95Currencies Latest Prev Local Localclose currency currency% change % changein 2017Czech Rep 26.11 26.12 +0.03 +3.45Poland 4.29 4.29 +0.04 +2.66Hungary 309.20 309.25 +0.02 -0.12Romania 4.60 4.60 -0.08 -1.40Serbia 118.81 118.90 +0.08 +3.82Russia 58.16 58.08 -0.13 +5.33Kazakhstan 340.87 339.87 -0.29 -2.12Ukraine 26.13 26.11 -0.08 +3.33South Africa 13.32 13.30 -0.14 +3.09Kenya 103.25 103.05 -0.19 -0.85Israel 3.52 3.52 +0.00 +9.27Turkey 3.50 3.49 -0.31 +0.81China 6.58 6.57 -0.18 +5.45India 64.19 64.15 -0.06 +5.85Brazil 3.14 3.14 -0.01 +3.73Mexico 17.80 17.76 -0.21 +16.40Debt Index Strip Spd Chg %Rtn IndexSov‘gn Debt EMBIG 308 1 .02 8 06.70 1All data taken from Reuters at 08:43 GMT. Currency percent change calculated from the daily U.S. close at 2130 GMT.Reporting by Sujata Rao and Claire Milhench; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets/emerging-markets-emerging-stocks-hover-at-3-mth-high-forint-in-focus-idINL5N1M01WG'|'2017-09-19T07:21:00.000+03:00'
'0f34a2660900962b58168fc7055fb9a4ee7e29d0'|'Steinhoff says former JV partner takes dispute to Dutch court'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A former joint venture partner of Steinhoff SHFF.J ( SNHG.DE ) has asked a Dutch court to order an investigation into the South African group’s annual accounts, which Steinhoff said it expected to be dismissed.“The annual accounts of Steinhoff International were established according to all applicable rules and to our best knowledge,” Steinhoff’s Chief Executive Markus Jooste said in statement on Monday.The move comes two days before the spin-off of Steinhoff’s Africa-focused chains and after German prosecutors said last month they were investigating current and former Steinhoff executives for suspected accounting fraud.News of the investigation wiped more than $2 billion off the value of Steinhoff’s shares, which are listed in Germany and Johannesburg.Steinhoff, Europe’s second-largest furniture retailer after IKEA, said at the time that some allegations of fraud stemmed from an unidentified former joint venture partner, with which its subsidiaries were embroiled in litigation.On Monday, it said the petition filed with the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal by OM Handels GmbH and MW Handels GmbH (OM & MW), owned by the former joint venture partner, related to the consolidation of a joint investment in Steinhoff’s books.“Steinhoff has appointed legal and external audit firms in Germany to investigate the matter independently. They have concluded that no evidence exists of any wrongdoing,” Steinhoff said.It did not provide further details on what the joint investment was, when it was made, or what the former partner’s allegations are. It also did not name the former partner.CEO Jooste also said in the statement that allegations brought against Steinhoff by OM & MW were “unfounded” and that its 2016 annual accounts were correct.The Enterprise Chamber in Amsterdam has scheduled a closed-door hearing on the matter for Thursday.Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-steinhoff-intl-probe-netherlands/steinhoff-says-former-jv-partner-takes-dispute-to-dutch-court-idINKCN1BT0YO'|'2017-09-18T08:18:00.000+03:00'
'25e572c7e94087fe1485ab0938c4dacbf38ba1af'|'Shell Deer Park refinery to finish restart this week - sources'|'  6:12 PM / Updated an hour ago Shell Deer Park refinery to finish restart this week - sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A guard stands outside Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell''s first gas station in Mexico City, Mexico September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme HOUSTON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ) plans to complete the restart of its 325,700 barrel per day (bpd) joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery this week, said sources familiar with plant operations. Shell spokesman Ray Fisher said the refinery’s restart after being shut on Aug. 27 by Hurricane Harvey is “progressing as planned.” Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chris Reese'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-storm-harvey-shell-deerpark/shell-deer-park-refinery-to-finish-restart-this-week-sources-idUKKCN1BT2AZ'|'2017-09-18T21:12:00.000+03:00'
'b210799c6f2a21c3d03f65e06994bdc3b56af2af'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX inches higher as banks, energy stocks gain'|'TORONTO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index inched higher in early trade on Monday, helped by gains in heavyweight financial and energy sectors while gold miners weighed.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 6.18 points, or 0.04 percent, at 15,179.21 shortly after the open. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Bernadette Baum) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-inches-higher-as-banks-energy-stocks-gain-idUSL2N1LZ0O8'|'2017-09-18T16:36:00.000+03:00'
'966e2f52567720016f62273ac231954abfa37a75'|'Exclusive - Reuters survey: 10,000 UK finance jobs affected in Brexit''s first wave'|'September 18, 2017 / 12:40 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Reuters survey: 10,000 UK finance jobs affected in Brexit''s first wave Andrew MacAskill , Simon Jessop , Carolyn Cohn 8 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Workers cross London Bridge with the Shard skyscraper seen behind during the morning rush hour in London, Britain, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Around 10,000 finance jobs will be shifted out of Britain or created overseas in the next few years if the UK is denied access to Europe’s single market, according to a Reuters survey of firms employing the bulk of workers in international finance. Frankfurt was by far the most popular destination for the new roles, the survey showed, with Paris a distant second. The results from 123 firms came from the first comprehensive public survey to ask the biggest banks, insurers, asset managers, private equity firms and exchanges in Britain about the specific details of their plans so far in case of a so-called “hard” Brexit. Canvassing was conducted by email and telephone interviews between Aug. 21 and Sept. 15, weeks after companies submitted detailed plans on their Brexit preparations to the Bank of England as required on July 14. The Bank declined to comment on the results of that survey. Nearly half of the companies surveyed told Reuters they would have to move staff or restructure their businesses because of Brexit, which is due to take place in March 2019. Another third said it would have no impact, and the remainder said they were still deciding on their plans or declined to comment. The number of jobs to be moved or created overseas was based on answers from 39 companies employing at least 350,000 people. About 1.1 million people work in Britain’s financial sector. The findings suggest that the first wave of job losses from Brexit may be at the lower end of estimates by industry lobby groups and firms, which could mean London will keep its place as the continent’s top finance center, at least in the short term. Most respondents said bigger moves could be in store in a decade or more, however. “If it is going to happen it won’t be in one big bang,” said a senior executive at one of Europe’s largest banks, which took part in the survey. “There will be a slow drain of jobs from London over a number of years.” The survey also suggests some financial institutions may be delaying decisions, hoping a soft Brexit can be negotiated in talks currently going on in Brussels. BoE Governor Mark Carney has specifically warned companies against that approach, saying it’s important to start planning now. “They would like to think there is going to be a mutually easy way of dealing with financial services across the EU-UK border,” said Andrew Gray, global head of Brexit for financial services at PwC. “So firms are finding it hard to land on precise plans.” London’s future as Europe’s premier financial hub is one of the biggest issues in Brexit talks because the sector is the UK’s biggest source of corporate tax revenue. (For details from the poll, please read) BANKING HIT HARDEST Reuters surveys UK financial services jobs post-Brexit For its survey, Reuters approached 158 of the largest and most internationally focused financial firms in Britain and received responses from all but 35. Those included the 20 investment banks that earned the most fees from investment banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2016, according to Thomson Reuters’ data. Many participants gave only partial answers to the survey questions, however, and some asked not to be named and for their data to be used only in aggregate. The number of workers employed by the 75 organizations who provided their staffing numbers added up to 484,578, the bulk of employees in the internationally focused financial sector. The 39 who gave information on their Brexit staffing plans included many of the companies most likely to be affected by losing the EU financial “passport” mechanism because London is their base to sell services across the EU. The survey indicated 9,777 banking roles would be affected. Many of those would be shifted out of the UK, but some would be new roles in Europe, resulting in a period of duplication, the executives surveyed said. Insurance companies said they planned to move or create about 98 jobs overseas and the asset management sector 311 roles, the survey showed. FILE PHOTO: City workers walk towards St Paul''s Cathedral as they cross the Millennium footbridge during sunrise in London, Britain, January 14, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo U.S. and British banks would see the biggest impact because many use London as their EU investment banking base, which has increased in importance since the 2008 global financial crisis, when banks tried to simplify their international structures into a few main hubs. The impact on Spanish, Italian and Dutch banks was muted because they don’t use London as a hub and have less of a focus on investment banking, the survey showed. Japanese lenders such as Nomura, Daiwa Securities and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group plan to set up subsidiaries in Frankfurt, according to the survey. One said it planned to move about 100 jobs, but asked not to be identified. Bank of America ( BAC.N ) and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), two of the biggest investment banks in London, declined to say how many jobs would be affected. But BofA did say it would pick Dublin as its EU hub if there was a hard Brexit. Most in the financial industry picked Frankfurt as their preferred place to put jobs, with 5,470 roles, most of which are the up to 4,000 anticipated moves from Deutsche Bank. Paris came second with 1,800 roles, of which 1,000 were planned by HSBC ( HSBA.L ). TRUE IMPACT The true impact of Brexit will only become clear in ten or twenty years because most firms are implementing a two-stage contingency plan, senior executives in London said. Slideshow (2 Images) The first phase will involve relatively small numbers to make sure the requisite licenses and infrastructure are in place. The next will require longer-term thinking about what the companies’ European business will look like. The final impact will also depend on the details of the Brexit deal, Europe’s economic growth and whether Frankfurt and Dublin prove to be successful alternatives to London. Previous forecasts for jobs losses in a hard Brexit scenario have ranged from about 30,000 jobs estimated by the Brussels-based Bruegel research group in February to up to 75,000 by Oliver Wyman in October and as many as 232,000 by London Stock Exchange chief executive Xavier Rolet in January. The Bruegel estimate was for a three-year period starting from when divorce proceedings were formally triggered in March, according to Dirk Schoenmaker, an author of the report. The Oliver Wyman forecast is up to 2022. The London Stock Exchange forecast is up to 2024. Some politicians, financiers and academics say bankers have exaggerated the threat to the economy from Brexit. “Brexit presents an inconvenience to their operations but also an opportunity to wrangle tax and rule changes to stay,” according to Robert Jenkins, a professor at London Business School and a former Bank of England policymaker. “They will play this for all it’s worth.” Several banks have heavily scaled back their estimates compared with a year ago. JPMorgan, for example, is currently planning to move fewer than 1,000 roles, whereas before the Brexit referendum the bank had said about 4,000 jobs might be at risk. Paul Venables, the finance director of Hays, the largest recruiter for financial services in the City, said the job market for financial services in London is gradually improving. “Where there’s been a lot of public pronouncements from the banks, we’ve seen very little action, we’re not seeing a large number of jobs go outside of the UK to Europe,” he said. “We’re beginning to see tentative signs of that market returning to normalcy.” (For a graphic on Brexit banks click tmsnrt.rs/2x8CKZq ) Reporting By Andrew MacAskill, Simon Jessop and Carolyn Cohn; additional reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru and Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-jobs-exclusive/reuters-survey-10000-uk-finance-jobs-affected-in-brexits-first-wave-idUKKCN1BT1EU'|'2017-09-18T16:07:00.000+03:00'
'b553724ccfcd0d1ab229ac6a11322c90f11e4a8c'|'Austrian bank BAWAG PSK expects to decide on IPO next week'|'VIENNA/FRANKFURT, Sept 20 (Reuters) - BAWAG PSK, the Austrian bank majority owned by U.S. private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, expects to formally announce next week whether it will go ahead with a share offer, two people familiar with the matter said.Announcing its intention to float would start a process that would lead to a listing a month later, at the end of October, the people said.Sources told Reuters in June that the planned listing in Vienna of a 20-30 percent stake could value Austria’s fourth-biggest lender at up to 5 billion euros ($6 billion).The listing is very likely to go ahead, barring unforeseen circumstances, one person close to the matter said.“There’s no reason to believe that’s not going to be the case, absent something geopolitical or ...some kind of natural disaster,” they said.A BAWAG spokeswoman declined to comment.Reuters reported last month that the listing could take place by the autumn.Cerberus owns 52 percent of BAWAG and GoldenTree Asset Management 40 percent.Rothschild is advising BAWAG’s owners on the share listing. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been named the top global coordinators among a number of banks working on the deal.$1 = 0.8327 euros Reporting by Francois Murphy in Vienna and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bawag-ipo/austrian-bank-bawag-psk-expects-to-decide-on-ipo-next-week-idINL5N1M12HM'|'2017-09-20T09:45:00.000+03:00'
'b54ab7de942d4532eb2457556fa01eeb89913365'|'UK employers'' optimism falls to lowest since Brexit vote: REC'|'September 19, 2017 / 11:33 PM / Updated 7 hours ago UK employers'' optimism falls to lowest since Brexit vote: REC Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British employers are their most pessimistic about the outlook for the economy since last year’s Brexit vote and want clarity about the departure from the European Union, a survey showed on Wednesday. However confidence in hiring and investment remained stable this month, the survey by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, representing recruitment firms, showed. “The political climate isn’t helping the situation. Businesses need clarity in order to plan effectively, and so far the Brexit negotiations have not resolved any of the core issues,” REC chief executive Kevin Green said. With 18 months to go before Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU, little progress has been made in negotiations. British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to give a speech about Brexit on Friday, seen as a bid to put the talks back on track and fill an apparent policy vacuum. She may also seek to reassert her authority, days after foreign minister Boris Johnson laid out his own Brexit vision, challenging her more cautious approach and exposing the fault lines in the government that have added to the uncertainty. Green said he hoped for a quick deal on the status of EU nationals already working in Britain. Britain’s economy slowed in the first half of 2017 as rising inflation, pushed up by the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote, ate into households’ spending power. So far, there has been little sign in official data of an offsetting effect from higher exports or more investment. Open Britain, a pro-EU campaign group, said the survey showed businesses were losing confidence in the government’s plans for Brexit. “Their plan for a crackdown on immigration from Europe will leave employers and our National Health Service short of the workers they need,” Pat McFadden, a Labour Party lawmaker who supports Open Britain, said in a statement released by the group. Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Andrew Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-employers/uk-employers-optimism-falls-to-lowest-since-brexit-vote-rec-idINKCN1BU30H'|'2017-09-20T02:31:00.000+03:00'
'83e0a1f0c53fd0e33b629df11bd9a2ba396f4f2b'|'Australia court upholds appeal against Tabcorp''s $4.9 bln buyout of Tatts'|'The logo for Australian gambling company Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (TAB) is displayed outside a TAB branch in central Sydney, Australia, October 18, 2016. Picture taken October 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian court upheld on Wednesday an appeal against betting firm Tabcorp Holdings Ltd’s ( TAH.AX ) agreed A$6.15 billion ($4.9 billion) buyout of lotteries operator Tatts Group Ltd ( TTS.AX ).Tabcorp and Tatts had billed their third attempt to join since 2006 as a way to create a domestic gambling powerhouse to fend off online rivals like Britain’s William Hill ( WMH.L ) and Ireland’s Paddy Power ( PPB.I ).The deal was cleared in June by the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT), a court-affiliated body, but antitrust regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) appealed the decision.“The court orders that the decision of the tribunal ... be set aside (and) be referred back to the tribunal for further consideration,” three Federal Court judges wrote, adding that they would publish their reasons in five days.The decision marks a potentially time-consuming setback for a deal announced a year earlier which has already been delayed by the ACCC’s court challenge.Representatives of Tabcorp and Tatts were not immediately available for comment.Tabcorp and Tatts took the unusual step of applying to the ACT after the usual arbiter, the ACCC, had raised concerns about the deal.The ACCC then sought a review on the grounds that it believed the ACT had misused certain tests to determine if the deal would hurt competition, and that it had given inappropriate weightings to data about the effects of the takeover.Shares in Tabcorp and Tatts were in a trading halt on Wednesday.Reporting by Byron Kaye and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-tatts-group-m-a-tabcorp/australia-court-upholds-appeal-against-tabcorps-4-9-bln-buyout-of-tatts-idINKCN1BV0JQ'|'2017-09-20T03:50:00.000+03:00'
'428f8e818cfef7b1b8ab02fd0a674c4699eef1bf'|'COLUMN-College savings in 529 plans may be worth less than hoped'|'(The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are her own.)By Gail Marks JarvisCHICAGO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Parents who are counting on savings in 529 plans to pay for college this year or next could be in for an unpleasant surprise.Right when they need the money most to cover costs for tuition and dormitory rooms, they could find their 529 stash has dwindled.The reason: Bonds.Most 529 money for students about to go to college is placed in bonds by fund managers. The idea is to avoid the volatility of the stock market and keep money safe in bonds so families can rely on their savings at the crucial moment when the college bills must be paid. But, while bonds are safer than stocks, there are times when bonds can present losses. And that time could arrive soon if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates as expected this year and next.As expectations for a stronger economy and rising U.S. interest rates arose during the last quarter of 2016, the average mutual fund that invested in a variety of bond types lost 2.89 percent, according to Lipper.Because most 529 plans hold small portions of stock and cash in addition to bonds, these accounts did not lose that much. But with bond funds dominating “age-based” 529 portfolios for students at age 18 or 19, the average lost 0.57 percent in the last quarter of 2016, and many lost about two percent, according to Morningstar.The 529 plans are offered by states and have become a popular way to save for college because parents can put away a little at time for children routinely as they grow up, and money used for college isn’t taxed. Of these, parents tend to prefer the so-called ‘age-based approach’ to investing, in which fund managers invest heavily in stocks to grow money when the children are young. As students approach their college years and can’t afford a loss in the stock market, managers pull away from stocks and invest heavily in bonds and some cash.A 0.57 percent loss, or even a two percent loss in college savings, would be nothing to keep a parent awake at night if their child was young. But when parents are sending a child to college every penny is precious.According to research by Sallie Mae the average family had saved only $16,380 for college in 2016, which wasn’t enough to cover even a single year. Last year parents said their average cost of college was $23,757, and many colleges now run more than $30,000.SEARCH FOR SAFETY As 529s for 18 and 19 year old students lost value, some advisers told parents to move money into the safety of stable value funds, money market funds or CDs, depending on what their state 529s offer. Advisers acknowledge that it is impossible to guess what interest rates will do at any point, but when money needs to be spent that is not the time to risk a bad cycle in either stocks or bonds.“If a 529 goes down and you owe tuition on September 1, that’s when you have to pay,” said Minneapolis financial adviser Gary Greenberg. “You can’t wait. So the question is: Is it worth taking a risk or is enough, enough?”People vary on the risks they are willing to take, said Greenberg. “But too often people stay in these funds without even thinking about it.”Here is why rising interest rates turn bonds into losers: Whenever interest rates are rising, investors are able to buy new bonds that pay higher interest than the old bonds they purchased before rates surged. So the old bonds that are sitting in 529 plans decline in value.Think of it this way: If you had a choice between an old bond paying you two percent interest or a new bond paying three or four percent interest, which would you want? Clearly, people want to earn as much interest as possible, so funds holding onto old, low-yielding bonds suffer losses.With time, a bond fund manager will be able to buy bonds that pay higher interest rates and the fund should recover, but students going to college do not have the luxury of time. They need money instantly, and while some families lost only about two percent during the last quarter of 2016 in 529s, the future could be more harsh if the economy continues to strengthen and the Fed pushes rates higher.To check your 529 bond risks look at what is called “duration.” It estimates how sensitive a fund will be if interest rates change.According to Morningstar, the duration of the average 529 fund for 19-year-olds is 4.32 percent, but many have durations close to six percent, which would make their losses greater.What does that mean for 529 investors? Fidelity Investments notes that if rates were to rise one percent a bond or a bond fund with a five-year duration would lose approximately five percent of its value. (Editing by Lauren Young and Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/column-college-bonds/column-college-savings-in-529-plans-may-be-worth-less-than-hoped-idINL2N1LV27L'|'2017-09-20T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'ba89c2800fc28b7090bdff3b8ab3b8b5b2ae7766'|'Jana claims EQT-Rice Energy deal synergies ''grossly exaggerated'''|'(Reuters) - Activist investor Jana Partners said EQT Corp’s ( EQT.N ) plan to save $2.50 billion after its acquisition of Rice Energy Inc ( RICE.N ) was “grossly exaggerated”, further mounting pressure on the oil and gas producer to abandon the deal.An analysis showed the combination with Rice Energy''s assets would increase the average lateral length of a well by less than 1,000 feet, not the 4,000 feet increase that EQT claimed, Jana said in a letter to EQT''s board on Wednesday. ( bit.ly/2yqa8bH )“Given the massive disparity between EQT’s claims and what our analysis reveals, we are forced to question whether the Board conducted adequate diligence before approving this transaction,” the hedge fund said.Jana, which owns a 5.8 percent stake in EQT, has urged the company to abandon its $6.7 billion acquisition of Rice Energy and spin off its midstream business.Jana’s letter comes just days after hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co LP urged EQT to spilt up its production and midstream units after closing the Rice Energy deal.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eqtcorp-janapartners/jana-claims-eqt-rice-energy-deal-synergies-grossly-exaggerated-idUSKCN1BV2U4'|'2017-09-21T03:54:00.000+03:00'
'b341b1c129c82006e630f4c1c10723d6e548084b'|'UPDATE 1-Apple Watch fails to tick with reviewers due to cellular glitch'|'(Reuters) - Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) on Wednesday conceded its latest smartwatch unveiled a week ago has problems with its most important feature: the ability make phone calls and access data without an iPhone nearby.Several prominent reviewers said Wednesday they could not recommend the device because of cellular data connectivity glitches.The Watch Series 3 starts at $399 and was launched alongside new iPhone models. Unlike previous versions of the watch, it has cellular network connectivity built in.Apple said the watch can experience LTE connectivity problems when it connects to open wi-fi networks that require a login screen, such as at a hotel or a coffee shop.The company is “investigating a fix for a future software release,” Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette told Reuters.Many reviewers such as the New York Times praised the new features and gave generally positive assessments.But several other prominent publications, including the Wall Street Journal and The Verge, recommended against purchasing the new model because the LTE cellular data connectivity did not work as expected.FILE PHOTO: Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about the Apple Watch during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo The mixed reviews weighed on Apple shares, which were down about 2 percent at $155 in afternoon trading."Considering that my Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE (both first and second review units) didn''t function like it was supposed to, I can''t recommend buying it — and paying the monthly cell fee — based on promises," Verge reviewer Lauren Goode wrote. ( bit.ly/2fj8Jiy )Apart from connection issues, some reviewers were disappointed with the drain on the watch’s battery while making calls. Apple had touted up to 18 hours of battery life but said the watch would get only one hour on a cellular phone call.The Wall Street Journal''s Joanna Stern wrote that users "should all hold off until, say, Series X," referring to the latest iPhone X model number. ( on.wsj.com/2w75ZI1 )Gene Munster, a longtime Apple analyst with Loup Ventures, doubted issues with the Series 3 Watch would hurt Apple’s bottom line. “That review takeaway is a negative but is not a surprise. This is the first generation watch with LTE,” he told Reuters.Apple also experienced hiccups with iOS 11, the new operating system the firm released Tuesday.For business users, iOS 11’s Mail application had problems sending mail for Microsoft Exchange and Outlook.com mail accounts.“We’re working closely with Microsoft to resolve the issue and will release a fix soon in an upcoming software update,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told Reuters.Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-watch/apple-watch-fails-to-tick-with-reviewers-due-to-cellular-glitch-idUSKCN1BV2I9'|'2017-09-20T21:33:00.000+03:00'
'199ca3fd7e2a7e55f9a7bc64d0f5ba39f5d96146'|'Toshiba says seals $18 billion deal to sell chip unit to Bain Capital group'|'The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell its prized semiconductor business to a group led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP, a key step in keeping the struggling Japanese conglomerate listed on the Tokyo exchange.Toshiba said in a nighttime announcement through the exchange its board decided to sign a contract for the deal worth about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), the latest and perhaps final twist in a deal that only hours earlier had seen the company leading toward an agreement with its U.S. joint venture partner Western Digital Corp.The decision to sell the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND memory chips, first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, was made at a board meeting earlier in the day.Toshiba said the agreement assumed the deal would weather legal challenges raised by Western Digital. A Western Digital spokeswoman said the company did not have an immediate comment.(The story corrects to show the board decided to sign a contract, not that it had been signed)Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-sale/toshiba-says-seals-18-billion-deal-to-sell-chip-unit-to-bain-capital-group-idUSKCN1BV1KN'|'2017-09-20T15:28:00.000+03:00'
'97c278fae4dede40f4bef2d0897383a556ffbb50'|'No concessions from Luxottica, Essilor: EU antitrust regulators'|'FILE PHOTO - The Luxottica name is reflected in a pair of sunglasses in this photo illustration taken in Rome February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) have not offered any concessions to allay EU antitrust regulators’ concerns over their proposed 46-billion-euro ($55.2 billion) merger, increasing the possibility of a lengthy EU investigation into the deal.Italian eyewear maker Luxottica, which owns brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, and French lens manufacturer Essilor had until Sept. 19 to offer concessions after the EU competition enforcer expressed its reservations about the deal to the companies last week.The European Commission recognises if the parties to a merger have made concessions. However, the filing on its website shows that Luxottica and Essilor had not done so.Unless they managed to appease the Commission at last week’s meeting, it is likely that the regulator will open a full-scale investigation lasting about four months following a preliminary review that ends on Sept. 26.Some companies prefer to offer concessions during this phase after getting a better idea of the regulator’s concerns.The deal, which will combine the world’s largest maker of spectacles with the world’s top lens-maker, Essilor, has triggered worries among retailers and competitors that the merged company may have too great a control of valuable brands and prescription lenses.Both Luxottica and Essilor declined to comment on the EU enforcer’s concerns. U.S. regulators are also examining the deal, which received the green light from New Zealand authorities earlier this month.Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris and Valentina Za in Milan; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu/no-concessions-from-luxottica-essilor-eu-antitrust-regulators-idUSKCN1BV0Q4'|'2017-09-20T15:08:00.000+03:00'
'0bed93eb336933c85b99f4ed7a286a302b8caf94'|'UPDATE 1-Canada''s Unifor union goes on strike at GM''s Ontario plant'|'September 18, 2017 / 4:42 AM / Updated 42 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Canada''s Unifor union goes on strike at GM''s Ontario plant Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Adds background) Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada’s Unifor union said its members at General Motors Co’s CAMI auto assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario are on a strike from 1059 pm local time Sept. 17 as it failed to reach a tentative agreement with the automaker. The union was in talks with GM about the company''s decision to cut 625 jobs and shift some production work to Mexico. bit.ly/2xryYKd The union had blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement and Mexico’s cheaper labor costs for the job losses, which it called unjustified given strong sales of the Chevrolet Equinox crossover and GMC Terrain sport utility vehicle assembled in the southern Ontario plant. Securing jobs was the key to a collective agreement to replace the one expiring in September between GM and its 2,800 CAMI workers, said Unifor president Jerry Dias in February. (Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/gm-canada/update-1-canadas-unifor-union-goes-on-strike-at-gms-ontario-plant-idUSL4N1LZ1PX'|'2017-09-18T07:42:00.000+03:00'
'11997a2d72c373af28771285282889539f8192ae'|'Website suspends Purplebricks reviews page after legal threats'|'  10:34 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Website suspends Purplebricks reviews page after legal threats Alasdair Pal 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s largest independent estate agent reviews site allAgents has removed Purplebricks’ page after the online company questioned the authenticity of critical write-ups. Purplebricks, which is expanding into the United States and Australia, has pitted its no-commission model against Britain’s traditional high street estate agents such as Foxtons and Countrywide. “Due to repeated threats of legal action forcing the removal of content and negative reviews from our website, we have regrettably taken the unprecedented step in suspending the Purplebricks profile page until further notice,” allAgents said. All but one of the reviews allAgents has been asked to remove, around half the total for Purplebricks, gave it the lowest one-star rating. “Purplebricks is proud of its reputation and the quality of the service that it delivers,” the estate agent said on Tuesday. Shares in Purplebricks have risen more than four-fold since it listed in December 2015 and it has made its consistently positive reviews a focus of its earnings reports. AllAgents director Martin McKenzie said he believed the reviews queried by Purplebricks were genuine, and that it uses “stringent checks” including verifying email and IP addresses. “Our business is founded on trust, and we will never let the impartiality of our reviews be compromised in any way,” he said. Reporting by Alasdair Pal; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-purplebricks-grp-reviews/website-suspends-purplebricks-reviews-page-after-legal-threats-idUKKCN1BU19L'|'2017-09-19T13:34:00.000+03:00'
'724cf4a193dc95d1b42228d021b303c8d6845894'|'Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst'|'September 19, 2017 / 5:01 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst 2 Min Read The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla ( TSLA.O ) fell from record highs on Tuesday after an analyst warned that the electric car maker may take longer than expected to become profitable. Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois launched coverage of Tesla with an “underperform” rating, helping send shares of the company headed by entrepreneur billionaire Elon Musk down 2.17 percent to $376.74 after closing at a record high the day before. “Achievements to-date and vision are impressive, but we don’t think Tesla’s vertically integrated business model can be scaled up as profitably and quickly as consensus thinks and valuation multiples imply,” Houchois warned in a research note. Houchois’ $280 price target was well below the median analyst price target of $337.50, according to Thomson Reuters data. Musk is counting on the recently launched Model 3, Tesla’s least pricey car, to make the Palo Alto, California company profitable and establish it as the leading electric carmaker ahead of BMW ( BMWG.DE ), General Motors ( GM.N ) and other long-established players. Wall Street’s confidence in Musk has sent Tesla’s stock up 83 percent over the past year to record highs. Sceptics believe Tesla’s aggressive production targets are unrealistic, that Musk is burning through cash too quickly and that the company’s electric cars will be overtaken by larger automakers. Eight analysts recommend buying Tesla’s stock, while another eight recommend selling, and eight others have neutral ratings, according to Thomson Reuters data. That makes Tesla one of the 10 most poorly-rated stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index. Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Diane Craft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tesla-stocks/tesla-shares-fall-from-record-high-after-warning-from-analyst-idUKKCN1BU2C3'|'2017-09-19T20:01:00.000+03:00'
'48fabc4748a58c30260a7987322a94cf8d5a5b91'|'U.S. housing starts fall for second straight month'|' 40 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago U.S. housing starts fall for second straight month Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A worker installs a metal roof on the top of a single story family home being built in San Diego, California, U.S., July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilding fell for a second straight month in August as a rebound in the construction of single-family houses was offset by persistent weakness in the volatile multifamily home segment. Housing starts slipped 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.18 million units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. July’s sales pace was revised up to 1.19 million units from the previously reported 1.16 million units. Homebuilding has been treading water for much of this year amid shortages of land and skilled labor as well as rising costs of building materials. Building permits surged 5.7 percent to a rate of 1.30 million units in August, the highest level since January. Single-family home permits fell 1.5 percent, while permits for the construction of multi-family homes soared 19.6 percent. The data suggested limited impact on permits from Hurricane Harvey, which lashed Texas in late August and caused unprecedented flooding in Houston. The Commerce Department said the response rate from areas affected by the storm “was not significantly lower.” Starts could slump further in September in the aftermath of Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida. Though activity could pick up as the hurricane-ravaged communities rebuild, the dearth of labor is hobbling homebuilding. A survey Monday showed confidence among homebuilders fell in September amid concerns that the hurricanes could worsen the labor shortages and make building materials more expensive. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising to a 1.18 million-unit pace last month. Investment in homebuilding contracted in the second quarter at its steepest pace in nearly seven years. Housing subtracted 0.26 percentage point from second-quarter gross domestic product. Homebuilding rose 1.4 percent in August on a year-on-year basis. Housing is being supported by a labor market that is near full employment. In addition, mortgage rates remain close to historic lows. Single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the housing market, jumped 1.6 percent to a rate of851,000 units in August. Single-family starts rose in the South and West, but fell in the Midwest and Northeast. Groundbreaking on single-family housing projects has slowed since vaulting to near a 9-1/2-year high in February. Last month, starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment tumbled 6.5 percent to a rate of 329,000 units. Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housingstarts/u-s-housing-starts-fall-for-second-straight-month-idUSKCN1BU1M1'|'2017-09-19T15:32:00.000+03:00'
'bd8e08b73e15f46ef1e0cbddb883ce5346bfc9f0'|'Ryanair offers pilots bonuses in bid to avoid more cancellations'|'  6:13 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Ryanair offers pilots bonuses in bid to avoid more cancellations Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - People board a Ryanair flight at Stansted Airport, northeast of London, Britain, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair ( RYA.I ) has offered senior pilots who agree to work an additional 10 days a bonus of up to 12,000 euros (10,656.88 pounds) in a bid to avoid additional passenger disruption after it cancelled more than 2,000 flights over staffing issues. The Irish airline has been widely criticised by politicians and consumer groups since announcing on Friday plans to cancel between 40 and 50 flights per day in the weeks to Oct. 31. Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary said the cancellations were caused by a transition to a new system of allocating leave to pilots, but he denied suggestions from a pilot group that it has a deeper problem in hiring and retaining pilots. Ryanair on Monday said it was preparing for up to 20 million euros in compensation claims and 5 million euros in lost fares as a result of the cancellations, although analysts estimated the total cost could be higher. It has also brought a wave of bad publicity for an airline which has worked hard over the past few years to improve a reputation for treating passengers badly. A letter sent to pilots on Monday, whose contents were confirmed by Ryanair on Tuesday, offered 12,000 euros gross to captains and 6,000 euros to first officers, to be paid in November 2018. “To avoid further cancellations, we are requesting between 1 and 2 blocks of 5 days from every pilot who has already been assigned their Monday off,” Chief Operations Officer Michael Hickey said in the letter. As well as working 10 additional days, the pilots must fulfil several other conditions, including that the pilots in question fly over 800 hours in the year to Oct. 31, 2018, and have fewer than four unauthorised absences during the period. The pilots must not have resigned before that date, the letter said. Ryanair will also increase the payments that pilots receive when they spend a night away from their home base to 75 euros from 28 euros, the letter said. Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Janet Lawrence'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-cancellation-offer/ryanair-offers-pilots-bonuses-in-bid-to-avoid-more-cancellations-idUKKCN1BU2H1'|'2017-09-19T21:13:00.000+03:00'
'0df41ca7d3b872591c4799aa60dea61b0453c057'|'Investec to review KPMG contract in South Africa'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets  '|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/7d054b14-9c89-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946'|'2017-09-19T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'd779dc0e7662d12a18d7759ccf48c398df3f05b2'|'Microsoft''s Hotmail and Outlook.com suffer all-day outage in Europe'|'  7:29 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Microsoft''s Hotmail and Outlook.com suffer all-day outage in Europe Eric Auchard 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Microsoft logo is shown on the Microsoft Theatre at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Microsoft’s free email services Outlook.com and Hotmail suffered an outage across Europe on Monday, preventing users from sending and receiving emails for 12 hours. The outage began at 0720 GMT and continued to affect users across the region nearly 12 hours later, Microsoft said in a blog post on its Office 365 security site. Microsoft said it was working to resolve the glitch and would issue an update later on Monday on the status of its services. “We’re continuing to investigate to determine the source of the issue and to identify service recovery steps,” the firm said. It said the issue involved part of the company’s internet traffic load-balancing system which was gobbling up server capacity despite no apparent increase in user traffic. Outage reports were concentrated in Western Europe and Britain, according to DownDetector.co.uk, an outage reporting site. No other major Microsoft online services appeared to be affected. Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-outages/microsofts-hotmail-and-outlook-com-suffer-all-day-outage-in-europe-idUSKCN1BT2FY'|'2017-09-18T22:24:00.000+03:00'
'f9317a93501be743f420bd20481254db4ceab946'|'BRIEF-Conversant Intellectual Property Management Inc announces semiconductor memory patent license agreement with Toshiba Corporation'|'  2:10 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago BRIEF-Conversant Intellectual Property Management Inc announces semiconductor memory patent license agreement with Toshiba Corporation Reuters Staff Sept 18 (Reuters) - Conversant Intellectual Property Management Inc * Conversant Intellectual Property Management Inc announces semiconductor memory patent license agreement with toshiba corporation * Conversant Intellectual Property Management Inc - terms of agreement are confidential Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-conversant-intellectual-property-m/brief-conversant-intellectual-property-management-inc-announces-semiconductor-memory-patent-license-agreement-with-toshiba-corporation-idUSFWN1LZ0H9'|'2017-09-18T17:08:00.000+03:00'
'f241f7fa69f146fbb12ee125597863205bb561eb'|'IAG among bidders for Air Berlin - sources'|'  4:03 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago BA owner IAG among bidders for Air Berlin: sources Klaus Lauer , Ilona Wissenbach 2 Min Read A German carrier Air Berlin aircraft is pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - British Airways owner IAG ( ICAG.L ) has joined the field of bidders for parts or all of insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and several other parties had put in bids for parts of Air Berlin by the deadline of Friday set by the insolvency administrator. Air Berlin is Germany’s second-biggest airline after Lufthansa. It employs more than 8,000 people. Most potential investors appear interested primarily in the airline’s roughly 140 aircraft and its airport landing and take-off slots rather than in taking over the business. It could not immediately be learned what parts of Air Berlin IAG has bid for. IAG declined to comment, while officials at Air Berlin were not immediately available to comment. Among the bidders confirmed so far, EasyJet ( EZJ.L ) has said it is targeting parts of Air Berlin’s short haul business. Former Formula One driver Niki Lauda has put in a joint bid with German airline Condor, owned by holiday firm Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ). German family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht has offered to buy Air Berlin’s cargo marketing platform, its maintenance business and regional unit LGW. Aviation industry investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl, for his part, has offered to buy Air Berlin in its entirety, while China’s LinkGlobal Logistics has asked to be given more time to formulate a bid. Additional reporting by Alistair Smout in London; Writing by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Georgina Prodhan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-iag/iag-among-bidders-for-air-berlin-sources-idUKKCN1BT1YU'|'2017-09-18T19:01:00.000+03:00'
'b89115723299c272d1ae4ee52d04adc1e8113d7a'|'China''s Oceanwide hopes to close Genworth deal by year end'|'HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Oceanwide Holdings Co Ltd ( 000046.SZ ) is aiming to close its $2.7 billion acquisition of U.S. insurer Genworth Financial Inc ( GNW.N ) by the end of the year after securing approval from a U.S. government panel, a senior executive said on Tuesday.The two companies in April refiled their application to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government panel that examines foreign acquisitions with regard to national security concerns.The companies refiled the application for the second time in July.Han Xiaosheng, executive director and president of Oceanwide Holdings, told reporters on Tuesday that CFIUS’s approval by the end of next month was difficult, and that the company would try to close the deal by the end of this year.“We are still working on it,” Han said, referring to the Genworth deal. “It could be relatively difficult to receive it (CFIUS approval) by the end of October. Therefore we try to get it by the end of the year.”The deal was earlier expected to close by the middle of the year, but the outlook has been clouded by a more conservative stance taken by CFIUS under President Donald Trump toward Chinese takeovers of U.S. companies.Trump last week prevented a Chinese-backed private equity firm, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, from buying U.S.-based chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor Corp ( LSCC.O ) in a $1.3 billion deal.Oceanwide, a Beijing-based investment firm founded by low-profile but well-connected billionaire Lu Zhiqiang, agreed in October last year to pay $2.7 billion in cash for all Genworth shares.The Chinese company also committed another $1.12 billion to cover Genworth debt maturing in 2018, as well as life insurance claims charges faced by the US firm spun out of General Electric ( GE.N ) in 2004.“The deal is being processed a bit slowly, but there’s no big trouble to reverse it,” Han said. “It’s quite normal that the CFIUS has its own thoughts.”When asked if Oceanwide planned to refile its application with the CFIUS for the third time, the Chinese company executive said that option depended on the pace of the response in the current round.“Genworth is a very important platform for us as there’s a blank in China’s insurance industry, in the long-term care-related business,” he said, adding that the U.S. life insurer could fill that gap with its experience and products.Han said that Oceanwide would use its Hong Kong-listed unit, China Oceanwide International Financial Ltd ( 0952.HK ), as the main platform for its future overseas acquisitions in the financial services sector.(The story has been refiled to remove extraneous text in third paragraph)Reporting by Julie Zhu and Kane Wu; Writing by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Louise Heavens, Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-genworth-fincl-oceanwide-hldg-usa/chinas-oceanwide-hopes-to-close-genworth-deal-by-year-end-idINKCN1BU1K1'|'2017-09-19T10:14:00.000+03:00'
'da1c6df98fc6b54dc317ee51ebf2a9e758d533be'|'Sinclair Pharma first-half sales up 16 percent, sees momentum continuing'|' 34 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Sinclair Pharma first-half sales up 16 percent, sees momentum continuing   (Reuters) - Sinclair Pharma ( SPH.L ) reported a 16 percent rise in first-half revenue on strong demand in Brazil for its aesthetic dermatology products, adding that it expects much higher sales in the second half of the year. The London-listed maker of skin lifting and collagen stimulation treatments and dermal fillers said it expects Brazil to approve the use of anti-wrinkle treatment Ellansé in the first-half of 2018. Brazil has become one of the world’s biggest markets for plastic surgery, with the country’s bulging middle class able to pay for surgery and other aesthetic treatments. Revenue for the six months ended June 30 rose to 20.1 million pounds from 17.3 million pounds a year ago, while its pre-tax loss narrowed to 7.2 million pounds from a loss of 8.6 million pounds a year ago. Sinclair said it saw higher demand in the United States for its other skin treatments, including Silhouette Instalift and Silhouette Soft. Sales from Silhouette Soft rose 20 percent to 7.3 million pounds, while it recorded first-sales for Silhouette InstaLift of 2.3 million pounds. Chief Executive Chris Spooner said the company is confident it will deliver strong sales growth in the second half and an adjusted EBITDA profit for the year ending December 31, 2017. “Strong cost discipline ... combined with top-line growth acceleration in H2 2017 leaves Sinclair well positioned to meet guidance for a swing to adjusted EBITDA profit for FY2017,” said Amy Walker, an analyst at Peel Hunt. Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sinclair-pharma-results/sinclair-pharma-first-half-sales-up-16-percent-sees-momentum-continuing-idUKKCN1BU0QJ'|'2017-09-19T10:33:00.000+03:00'
'024cc409b229e11c3b5e45f77d1688aaab500a71'|'Australia judge dismisses 21st Century Fox challenge against of CBS TV buyout'|'September 17, 2017 / 11:52 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Australian moguls lose court challenge to CBS'' planned buyout of Ten Network Tom Westbrook 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The 21st Century Fox logo is seen outside the News Corporation headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two Australian media moguls have lost a court challenge to CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) planned buyout of bankrupt television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ), giving the U.S. media giant a strong upper hand ahead of a creditor vote on Tuesday. CBS, Ten’s biggest creditor, swooped on the TV station after it went into administration three months ago, upending acquisition plans by Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch and business partner Bruce Gordon that had been on hold as they awaited reforms to media ownership laws. The two magnates put in a sweetened offer to counter CBS’ A$201.1 million ($160 million) bid on Friday after the Australian Senate voted to relax ownership rules. But they appear to be very much on the back foot after an Australian judge on Monday rejected arguments that Ten’s administrator, KordaMentha, had mishandled the sale to CBS by not providing sufficient information to creditors about why the CBS deal had been preferred. Justice Ashley Black also said in his ruling for the New South Wales Supreme Court that the U.S. firm should not be blocked from voting at the creditor meeting as to do so would discourage creditors from rescuing viable firms. “For these reasons [the case] should be dismissed,” he said. While Gordon plans to appeal that decision, according to a report by Sky News, CBS appears to be in a formidable position ahead of the meeting on Tuesday which will vote on whether to accept the CBS deal or to consider the revised Murdoch/Gordon bid. Representatives for Gordon and Murdoch were not immediately available for comment. CBS declined to comment. To clinch a deal, CBS which wants a stronger foothold in Australia where it plans to launch its streaming service, must secure majority support from creditors in both value terms and by number. It will easily win in value terms as the U.S. network is owed more than half of Ten’s A$609.1 million in debt. And while the total value of the Murdoch/Gordon bid has not been disclosed, figures for cash owed to creditors have been released and some creditors would still be better off under the CBS deal. By number, hundreds of Ten employees owed pension and leave entitlements, are likely to have a decisive vote. One Ten employee told Reuters that “there’s a fairly strong view supporting the CBS arrangement among the staff.” The employee, who was not authorized to speak on the matter and declined to be identified, said many staff members feared there would be more consolidation under Murdoch with other media assets, leading to more job losses. Although a ratings laggard, Ten’s national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy have made it an attractive buyout target. Murdoch and Gordon, which together own about a fifth of Ten’s shares through their private companies, are widely viewed to have accidentally shot themselves in the foot when they withdrew a debt guarantee in June and tipped the broadcaster in to bankruptcy. That was seen as a maneuver to release Ten from expensive licensing contracts with U.S. studios such as CBS before the magnates followed up with a takeover offer, but instead it allowed the U.S. network to jump in with a bid. Even so, the magnates could mount further legal challenges. “It’s 1-0 to KordaMentha at the moment, but...Murdoch is desperate to get this, not only for financial reasons but for loss of face reasons...I think they really want it,” said independent media analyst Peter Cox. ($1 = 1.2503 Australian dollars) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/australia-judge-dismisses-21st-century-fox-challenge-of-cbs-television-buyout-idINKCN1BS0YZ'|'2017-09-17T21:52:00.000+03:00'
'85c322e6f4764df02214f42f969414d7668059fc'|'Uniper says Fortum bid not welcome, not in discussions'|'The logo of Uniper SE is seen in its booth at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German energy company Uniper ( UN01.DE ), whose biggest shareholder is E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), on Wednesday said it had not invited a bid by Finnish state-controlled peer Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ).“This unsolicited takeover offer is clearly not in line with the strategy of Uniper as recently reiterated publicly,” Uniper chief executive Klaus Schaefer said in a statement.Uniper said it was not in discussions with Fortum or E.ON about the matter.Separately, Fortum CEO Pekka Lundmark in a call with reporters said the move was “not a takeover but an investment.”(The story corrects to show E.ON is biggest shareholder in Uniper, not majority owner. Fixes spelling of Fortum in first reference.)Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Arno Schuetze and Tom Pfeiffer '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-uniper/uniper-says-fortum-bid-not-welcome-not-in-discusssions-idUSKCN1BV1QX'|'2017-09-20T21:36:00.000+03:00'
'06a3d0345e28e81e8000be93e80b6270775723ce'|'Economists see Bank of England mistake in cutting rates now - Reuters poll'|'  1:53 PM / Updated 37 minutes ago Economists see Bank of England mistake in hiking rates now - Reuters poll Jonathan Cable 5 Min Read A man speaks on his phone outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England will raise interest rates for the first time in a decade at its next meeting, a Reuters poll of economists showed on Wednesday, with a large majority saying such a move would be a mistake. A swathe of economists in the polls completely changed tack from a survey earlier this month after surprisingly hawkish rhetoric from the central bank, which has been giving its strongest signals to date that a hike is on the way. But 35 of 47 economists polled said now was not the time to be increasing borrowing costs. “If we are right on wage growth and domestic inflation pressures it might start to look as though tightening measures may have been a little premature,” said Liz Martins at HSBC, explaining that the recent, modest pickup in wages could be fleeting. Sonali Punhani at Credit Suisse was more emphatic in a client note: “We think a rate hike in November in the backdrop of weak growth, high-currency-generated inflation but weak wage pressures and uncertainty is likely to be a policy mistake.” Britain’s inflation rate has accelerated, mainly because of the fall in sterling’s value since a narrow referendum decision in June 2016 to leave the European Union. But growth has slowed sharply and is running at half the rate of the euro zone. Inflation hit 2.9 percent in August, much quicker than the 2 percent the Bank targets A majority of those polled -- 31 of 50 economists -- now forecast the first BoE rate hike in over a decade on Nov. 2, to 0.50 percent from 0.25 percent. That is in stark contrast to a Reuters poll taken ahead of the Sept. 14 Monetary Policy Committee meeting, in which only three of 59 economists predicted an increase before the end of this year. Even by end-2018 only around a dozen expected one or more rate rises in that survey. “This change is not based on a revised macro outlook as ‘no-change’ remains the only policy action consistent with our growth and inflation forecast,” wrote Fabrice Montagne at Barclays, explaining their sudden forecast change. Last week, the Bank surprised markets by saying most of its policymakers said it likely rates would need to rise in coming months, thoughts repeated by Governor Mark Carney in a speech on Monday. AND AGAIN? There is no consensus on when the BoE will raise rates again. Only half the respondents expect a 25 basis point follow-up hike at some point next year to what would be a reversal of an emergency cut in the months after the European Union referendum. Robert Wood at BofA-ML compared the current situation with the European Central Bank’s fateful decision, then led by President Jean-Claude Trichet, to launch two early hikes against inflation that are now widely agreed as a major policy error. “Aside from the BoE’s history of flip-flopping on guidance that leads us to take any words with a bucket of salt, the BoE seem to us to be panicking as inflation hits a peak just as the ECB did back in 2011,” he said. Credit Suisse’s Punhani echoed that view: “It is by no means our central view but raising rates from the zero lower bound against a backdrop of economic weakness and uncertainty is extremely risky. Ask the ECB.” Wood said “the MPC is probably trying to talk up the currency.” At least for now, that is paying off. Sterling hit its highest rate against the U.S. dollar since the Brexit vote on Friday after MPC member Gertjan Vlieghe, who was considered the BoE’s strongest opponent of a rate hike, also said borrowing costs might rise soon. The turnaround in views comes despite an economy growing at half its usual pace and coincides with a BoE survey that showed no sign wages were likely to grow much more quickly. Retail sales, however, unexpectedly surged in August. Huge uncertainties still surround the country’s scheduled March 2019 departure from the EU. But economists were mostly convinced the Bank wouldn’t need to ease policy before then. Only four of 37 said it would. Other major central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada, have already embarked on a tightening path while the ECB is expected in October to announce plans to reduce its quantitative easing programme. Polling by Rahul Karunakar and Shrutee Sarkar; Editing by Ross Finley/Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-poll/economists-see-bank-of-england-mistake-in-cutting-rates-now-reuters-poll-idUKKCN1BV1T2'|'2017-09-20T16:52:00.000+03:00'
'f16b376e259d473596851877ec4f79feabbea8bb'|'UPDATE 1-Guinea bauxite mining companies resume operations after riots'|'(Adds Quote: , details)CONAKRY, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Bauxite production in the Guinean mining hub of Boke resumed on Monday after deadly riots over electricity cuts had interrupted deliveries since Friday, companies and government officials said.Two people were killed and dozens injured during riots last week in Boke, which has seen waves of unrest this year spurred by a perceived failure of the mining industry to raise living standards in the poor West African country.Operations of the Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB), owned by China’s Winning Shipping Ltd and Shandong Weiqiao, UMS International Ltd and the Guinean state, resumed on Monday after riots interrupted deliveries at its three sites on Friday, General Manager Frederic Bouzigues told Reuters.SMB is one of two major bauxite miners in Guinea and produces around 15 million tonnes of the aluminium ore annually, nearly half of national production.“Our employees were able to reach our different sites this morning and work has started again. We hope to reach our maximum capacity in two or three days,” said Bouzigues.Deliveries by a second producer, Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG), were also disrupted as protesters set up barricades to block the train that runs between its mine and a factory on Saturday, the minister of territorial administration and a company official said.The CBG official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the train started up again around 1:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Monday. CBG is 49 percent owned by the Guinean state and the remainder by Alcoa, Rio Tinto Alcan and Dadco. (Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Edward McAllister and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/guinea-mining/update-1-guinea-bauxite-mining-companies-resume-operations-after-riots-idUSL5N1LZ3BX'|'2017-09-18T16:40:00.000+03:00'
'13bb9276bdbfb8a64b64f72dad27d15405bd9b0a'|'Northrop Grumman nears deal to purchase Orbital - Source'|'NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman Corp neared an agreement to buy Orbital ATK Inc, in a transaction that could be announced as soon as Monday, according to a person familiar with the transaction.Northrop Grumman declined to comment and Orbital did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Wall Street Journal reported the deal earlier on Sunday. (Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/orbital-atk-northrop-grumman/northrop-grumman-nears-deal-to-purchase-orbital-source-idINL2N1LY0QR'|'2017-09-17T20:57:00.000+03:00'
'56797b9a9b1fc207962064cbbe5fecd32f4b363b'|'LPC-Banks line up €430m loan for CVC’s Teva asset buy'|'LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Three banks have lined up around €430m of leveraged loans to back private equity firm CVC Capital Partners’ acquisition of the remaining assets in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ women’s health business, banking sources said.Israel-based Teva said on Monday it would sell the remaining assets in its women’s health business for US$1.38bn.It will use proceeds from these sales, along with those from its recently announced US$1.1bn sale of contraceptive brand Paragard to a unit of Cooper Cos, to repay debt, the company said.Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Jefferies are leading the leveraged loan financing that is expected to include around a €375m term loan as well as undrawn facilities, the sources said.CVC was not immediately available to comment.The loan is unlikely to launch for syndication until November given it is a carve-out from a public company, the sources said.Israel-based Teva, the world’s largest maker of generic drugs, has been looking at divestures to help reduce its US$35bn debt pile. (Editing by Christopher Mangham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/teva-loans/lpc-banks-line-up-430m-loan-for-cvcs-teva-asset-buy-idINL5N1M04TW'|'2017-09-19T12:50:00.000+03:00'
'386c55eee4e7f4e56f7a67b3a0122693a1d24b56'|'Alibaba-backed logistics firm Best slashes proposed U.S. IPO: IFR'|'A man walks in the compound of a distribution hub of the Chinese logistics company Best Inc in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter HONG KONG (Reuters) - Best Inc, a Chinese logistics company backed by Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ), slashed its proposed U.S. initial public offering after receiving tepid response from investors to its initial valuation, IFR reported on Tuesday, citing people close to the deal.The Hangzhou-based company now plans to raise up to $495 million with the sale of 45 million new American Depositary Shares (ADS) in an indicative range of $10-$11 each, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. Best was set to price the IPO on Sept 19.The IPO previously consisted of 53.56 million new shares and 8.54 million existing shares from shareholders offered in a range of $13 to $15 each.Best didn’t immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the new IPO terms.Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Michael Perry '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-best-ipo/alibaba-backed-logistics-firm-best-slashes-proposed-u-s-ipo-ifr-idINKCN1BU0E7'|'2017-09-19T02:59:00.000+03:00'
'429663e83f388e97150e35e056e2e1db2f2c2ace'|'Diageo expects second half to drive full-year growth'|'September 20, 2017 / 6:56 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Diageo expects second half to drive full-year growth 3 Min Read The museum room is seen at the Diageo Cardhu distillery in Scotland March 21, 2014. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne (Reuters) - Diageo ( DGE.L ), the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka, forecast stronger sales and profit growth in the second half of its financial year after a first half affected by negative factors in China and India and higher spending. The world’s biggest spirits maker said earlier on Wednesday that its first-half sales growth would be hurt both by the Chinese New Year falling later than in 2017 and a ban on selling alcohol near Indian highways. Diageo gave the warning in a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting in London on Wednesday, sending its shares down 2 percent and making them the weakest performer on the FTSE 100 Index .FTSE . India’s top court banned liquor outlets within 500 metres of national and state highways in April, in a move that was expected to hit revenue for spirits makers such as Diageo and French rival Pernod Ricard ( PERP.PA ). Diageo, however, stood by its target for sales growth in the mid single digits and an improvement in its organic operating margin of 175 basis points over the three years to June 2019. “Our expectations on overall performance for the year remain unchanged,” Diageo said in the trading update. The company said growth in its operating margin this year would also be weighted towards the second half, following increased spending on its U.S. spirits and Scotch whisky business in the first half. Analysts said it was good that Diageo was investing in its businesses but were disappointed the company had not previously disclosed that the shape of the year’s growth would be affected by the Chinese and Indian factors. “Given that both of these were known about at the time of the full-year results back in July we wonder why it wasn’t pointed out then,” RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note. Liberum analyst Nico von Stackelberg said Diageo’s targets promised a lot in a tough market environment so Wednesday’s warning on sales growth came as a surprise. “Diageo has set expectations high and are guiding that the first half will not be as strong as expected due, in part, to technical reasons,” Stackelberg said, adding that the stronger pound would also weigh, as Diageo makes 90 percent of its sales outside the United Kingdom. Pernod, which makes Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka, had also warned that the Indian ban would hurt sales in the first half of its 2017-18 fiscal year but did not quantify the likely impact. Diageo’s net sales in India, its largest market in the Asia-Pacific region, rose 2 percent in its last financial year that ended on June 30, driven by the popularity of its whiskys. Editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-diageo-outlook/diageo-sees-impact-on-sales-from-indian-highway-liquor-ban-idUKKCN1BV0OZ'|'2017-09-20T14:50:00.000+03:00'
'0346619becbf1de146ab70960ebfe7c4b6b84e6d'|'Pirelli''s IPO books covered on base deal size - bank memo'|'  3:31 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Pirelli''s IPO books covered on base deal size - bank memo Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Pirelli''s tyre is pictured at the headquarters in Milan March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino MILAN (Reuters) - Demand for the initial public offering of Italian tyremaker Pirelli ( PPAMF.PK ) has reached an amount sufficient to cover the base size of the offer on the third day of the share sale, a memo sent by banks to investors said on Wednesday. State owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) took over Pirelli two years ago by taking a 65 percent stake in the holding company controlling the maker of Ferrari racing tyres, which was then de-listed from the Milan bourse. The world’s fifth-largest tyremaker is now coming back on the Milan stock exchange with an IPO of up to 40 percent of its capital. The share offer started on Monday and will end on Sept. 28. Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; writing by Francesca Landini'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pirelli-ipo/pirellis-ipo-books-covered-on-base-deal-size-bank-memo-idUKKCN1BV23Q'|'2017-09-20T18:29:00.000+03:00'
'204a5efcde420c5b6295bb4df948f48b4aed4cd6'|'MOVES-Franklin Templeton names new ETF portfolio manager'|'  3:14 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago MOVES-Franklin Templeton names new ETF portfolio manager Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 20 (Reuters) - Franklin Templeton, a part of investment management firm Franklin Resources Inc, named Louis Hsu as vice president and ETF portfolio manager. Hsu joins from BlackRock where he was vice president in beta strategies and multi-asset strategies. Hsu will report to Dina Ting, vice president and senior portfolio manager for global ETFs. (Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/franklin-templeton-moves-louis-hsu/moves-franklin-templeton-names-new-etf-portfolio-manager-idUSL4N1M14FU'|'2017-09-20T18:13:00.000+03:00'
'a8769056af1c6acd5bff63d05a248712a7c77a65'|'Toshiba says seals $18 billion deal to sell chip unit to Bain Capital group'|'September 20, 2017 / 12:26 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Toshiba says seals $18 billion deal to sell chip unit to Bain Capital group Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell its prized semiconductor business to a group led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP, a key step in keeping the struggling Japanese conglomerate listed on the Tokyo exchange. Toshiba said in a nighttime announcement through the exchange its board decided to sign a contract for the deal worth about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), the latest and perhaps final twist in a deal that only hours earlier had seen the company leading toward an agreement with its U.S. joint venture partner Western Digital Corp. The decision to sell the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND memory chips, first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, was made at a board meeting earlier in the day. Toshiba said the agreement assumed the deal would weather legal challenges raised by Western Digital. A Western Digital spokeswoman said the company did not have an immediate comment. (The story corrects to show the board decided to sign a contract, not that it had been signed) Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-sale/toshiba-says-seals-18-billion-deal-to-sell-chip-unit-to-bain-capital-group-idINKCN1BV1KN'|'2017-09-20T10:26:00.000+03:00'
'fa1fd8c2ffdd9cc043bd0e99a9ba189356c40f0a'|'Russia''s Rosneft clinches gas pipeline deal with Iraq''s Kurdistan'|'September 18, 2017 / 12:44 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago Russia''s Rosneft clinches gas pipeline deal with Iraq''s Kurdistan Dmitry Zhdannikov 4 Min Read The logo of Russia''s oil producer Rosneft is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin LONDON (Reuters) - Russian oil major Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) will invest in gas pipelines in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan, expanding its commitment to the region ahead of an independence referendum to help it become a major exporter of gas to Turkey and Europe. Kurdistan’s parliament approved a plan on Friday to hold a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, ignoring opposition from Baghdad and the wider region as well as Western concerns that the vote could heighten tensions in the region. Kurdistan has been exporting oil independently from Baghdad since 2014 and Kremlin-controlled Rosneft joined the list of buyers this year, lending the region hundreds of millions of dollars in loans guaranteed by future oil sales. Now Rosneft is widening its investments to gas by agreeing to fund a natural gas pipeline in Kurdistan, Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Monday. Two sources close to the deal said the investments would amount to more than $1 billion (738.57 million pounds). Erbil, the seat of the KRG in northern Iraq, needs money to fund the fight against Islamic State and ease a budget crisis caused by low oil prices. Kurdistan has relied on oil pre-finance deals to improve its fiscal position but has struggled to develop its large gas reserves. For Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly listed oil company by production, the deal is a major boost to its international gas ambitions. Rosneft has long sought to challenge Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly, in supplying gas to Europe. For Turkey, it means the arrival of new supplies for its energy-hungry economy and the potential to become a major centre for gas supplies to Europe. The pipeline’s capacity is expected to handle up to 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas exports a year, in addition to supplying domestic users. Kurdistan sits on some of the largest untapped gas deposits on Europe’s doorstep. The volumes that Rosneft wants to help Kurdistan supply to export markets represent 6 percent of total European gas demand and one-sixth of current gas export volumes by Russia, by far the largest supplier of gas to Europe. The pipeline will be constructed in 2019 for Kurdish domestic use, with exports due to begin in 2020. “Successful implementation of the project... will enable Rosneft to play a leading role in the building and expanding Kurdistan Region’s gas transport infrastructure and create synergy with existing projects for development of the oil and gas fields of the five blocks awarded to the company,” Rosneft said. Rosneft secured a deal to develop five fields and has also agreed to help the region expand its oil pipeline infrastructure through which crude is exported via Turkey to global markets. Kurdistan is seeking to boost oil exports to one million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this decade from the current 0.65 million bpd. The statement said Rosneft and the KRG had finished inspecting Kurdistan’s oil export pipelines and Rosneft would soon complete developing final documents for the expansion project. Rosneft agreed to help Kurdistan expand the oil pipeline via so-called monetisation, when investments are repaid via tariffs and oil flows. Kurdish oil production has been mainly led in recent years by mid-sized firms such as Genel ( GENL.L ) and DNO ( DNO.OL ). Larger companies such as Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ) and Chevron ( CVX.N ) are still at the exploratory stage. Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, editing by Louise Heavens and Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kurdistan-rosneft/russias-rosneft-clinches-gas-pipeline-deal-with-iraqs-kurdistan-idUKKCN1BT1G8'|'2017-09-18T15:46:00.000+03:00'
'20de6d9df79d691147005d8a9a57f219123713a0'|'Not such an Easylife when my digital hearing aid fails to charge - Money'|'Several weeks ago we bought a rechargeable digital hearing aid from Easylife. It arrived promptly and worked well on day one, but it would not recharge as instructed. We emailed customer services and were offered a free pickup with a subsequent replacement. We waited in all day in vain. We again contacted it and received an email saying “they had tried to call without success to discuss the pickup”. We then phoned to be told of a 36-minute delay to speak to an agent. In the end it took 47 minutes, and another 20 minutes for the agent to organise another pickup day. Which, of course, turned into another wasted day – nobody came or phoned! We’re at the end of our tether. Can you help? JB, Barrow in Furness Take a look at the online reviews of this mail order firm and you’ll find you’re not the first person to complain about long call waits. The company told us it repeatedly tried to call you; you’re adamant this was not the case.Greg Caplin, the firm’s chief executive, told Money it processes 100,000 orders a month, most without problems. “Unlike many other service companies, our system advises our customers of the wait time, so they can choose to hold or call back when it’s not so busy. The wait time costs us money, so it’s not in our interest to keep anyone waiting longer than necessary.”Happily, the non-charging aid has now been replaced by a different courier.We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/18/easylife-digital-hearing-aid-not-charging'|'2017-09-18T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'ddf122271728417c8167e2baa35e0a11f8be4a06'|'Russia''s Rosneft clinches gas pipeline deal with Iraq''s Kurdistan'|'September 18, 2017 / 5:14 AM / Updated an hour ago Russia''s Rosneft clinches gas pipeline deal with Iraq''s Kurdistan Dmitry Zhdannikov 3 Min Read The logo of Russia''s oil producer Rosneft is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin LONDON (Reuters) - Russian oil major Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) will invest in gas pipelines in Iraq’s Kurdistan, expanding its commitment to the region ahead of its independence vote to help it become a major exporter of gas to Turkey and Europe. Kurdistan has been exporting oil independently from the central government in Baghdad since 2014 and Kremlin-controlled Rosneft joined the list of buyers this year, lending the semi-autonomous region hundreds of millions of dollars in loans guaranteed by future oil sales. Now Rosneft is widening its investments to gas by agreeing to fund a natural gas pipeline in Kurdistan, Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Monday. Two sources close to the deal said the investments would amount to more than $1 billion (735.35 million pounds). Kurdistan is holding an independence vote on Sept. 25 as it seeks to part ways from Baghdad after years of disputes over budget revenues and the sharing of oil exports. Erbil, the seat of the KRG in northern Iraq, needs money to fund the fight against Islamic state and a budget crisis caused by low oil prices. Kurdistan has relied on oil pre-finance deals to improve its fiscal position but has struggled to develop its large gas reserves, which can require more investment to develop on a longer-term scale. The arrival of Rosneft will speed up gas development, which has so far largely been driven by mid-sized companies. For Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly listed oil company by production, the deal is a major boost to its international gas ambitions. Rosneft has long sought to challenge Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly, in supplying gas to Europe. For Turkey, it means the arrival of new supplies for its energy-hungry economy and the potential to become a major centre for gas supplies to Europe. The pipeline’s capacity is expected to handle up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas exports a year, in addition to supplying domestic users. Kurdistan sits on some of the largest untapped gas deposits on Europe’s doorstep. The volumes that Rosneft wants to help Kurdistan supply to export markets are big - they represent 6 percent of total European gas demand and one-sixth of current gas export volumes by Russia - by far the largest supplier of gas to Europe. The pipeline will be constructed in 2019 for Kurdish domestic use, with exports due to begin in 2020. Rosneft has previously loaned money to Kurdistan guaranteed by future oil sales and has also agreed to help the region expand its pipeline infrastructure. Kurdistan is seeking to boost oil exports to one million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this decade from the current 0.65 million bpd. Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kurdistan-rosneft/russias-rosneft-clinches-gas-pipeline-deal-with-iraqs-kurdistan-idUKKCN1BT0CM'|'2017-09-18T08:14:00.000+03:00'
'9f485a7b25604c500d23b35753e872f380bfab9f'|'The value of credit-card points'|'THE value of credit-card points has long been a topic of debate among business travellers. The subject is also picked over online on an impressive number of dedicated blogs and forums. Now it is getting an airing in a different sort of venue: the corruption trial of an American senator.Robert Menendez, a Democratic senator from New Jersey, is facing charges for allegedly doing favours for Salomon Melgen, a Florida-based eye doctor and friend of the lawmaker. Prosecutors say that Mr Melgen was trying to avoid repaying the government $8.9m that he had allegedly overbilled Medicare, the public health-care programme for seniors. And he wanted Mr Menendez’s help in exchange for lavish kickbacks. These included flights in a private jet, stays in a fancy hotel and more than $750,000 in campaign contributions. But at the centre of the third day of the trial last week was the issue of credit-card points. In 2010, Mr Salomon paid for Mr Menendez to stay for three nights at the Park Hyatt Vendome, a five-star hotel in Paris. Mr Menendez’s legal team argued that this does not qualify as a gift because Mr Melgen used American Express Membership Reward points to settle the bill.Gary Leff of View From the Wing, a blog, notes that credit-card points are not considered to be worth anything in dollar terms and do not technically belong to the holder. Mr Menendez’s lawyers argued as much. They claimed that the points had “no intrinsic value”. And so did not need to be reported because they were worth less than the $335 threshold on the senator’s financial disclosure form.But clearly credit-card points do have value, even if it is hard to quantify. And Mr Menendez seems to have known that. In an e-mail to Mr Melgen in 2010, he promised to pay back the cost of the room, nearly 650,000 points, as soon as he had earned enough air miles of his own.However, that time was still a long way off. In 2010, Mr Menendez had accumulated just 58,000 points. At his rate of spending, it would have taken him 30 years to earn enough points to reimburse Mr Melgen, as an executive of American Express testified according to Politico .Moreover, Mr Menendez did not seem terribly committed to settling this debt. Three years after sending the e-mail, the executive testified, Menendez spent about 135,000 American Express points on a high-end barbeque. That was nearly all he had earned in six years, leaving him with just over 1,000 points.Mr Leff argues that the real crime is how poorly Mr Melgen spent his miles. The three-night hotel stay was valued at just under $5,000. That means Melgen redeemed the miles at a value of about three-quarters of a cent per mile. (Air-mile aficionados reckon the going rate is twice as high.) It would have been cheaper for Mr Melgen to spend his cash on the hotel and points on business-class flights. But Mr Melgen probably did not have value on his mind. There were much bigger amounts of money at stake, after all.For now, the debate over the value of credit-card points remains unsettled. But if you want to argue about it, do it in the office or on an online forum. By the time the dispute reaches a courtroom, it may be too late.Previous The Ryanair cancellations Next More business travellers are booking their own trips'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/what-it-s-worth?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-19T00:21:00.000+03:00'
'397e7a9031b8762c2901806a3b4c64d7d138f2ae'|'Italy - Factors to watch on Sept. 19'|'The following factors could affect Italian markets on Tuesday.Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on .ECONOMY Moody’s holds conference on securitisation of Non-Performing Loans in Milan (0700 GMT).Conference on “Good Finance - Beyond Banking Crises - Growth Equality Labour” with Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan in Rome(0800 GMT).Conference on “Industry 4.0: 2017 results and 2018 guidelines” with Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan in Rome (1330 GMT).COMPANIES PIRELLI State-owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) will give up control of Pirelli as part of the Italian tyremaker’s return to the bourse to show Beijing has a market friendly approach to investments in Europe, Pirelli’s chief executive said on Monday.Pirelli’s upcoming listing leaves some long-term questions unanswered. The maker of sleek tyres is seeking to raise up 3.3 billion euros ($4 billion) in an initial public offering in Milan. A shift towards luxury products has boosted sales and margins. But growth targets look ambitious and there is no clarity on who will take over from long-term boss Marco Tronchetti Provera.CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera attends news conference to present an art exhibition preview in Milan (0800 GMT).TELECOM ITALIA The phone group said there was no plan to spin off or sell its fixed line network, which it called strategic for company and its industrial plan.ENI The head of Algeria’s state-run energy group Sonatrach said ENI and Total were in negotiations over large projects, including in field output optimisation, petrochemicals and solar energy at oil and gas fields.TOD‘SArthur Arbesser was appointed creative director at Fay, the clothing brand of luxury group Tod‘s.ATLANTIA Gives results on debt buyback.ALERION Italy’s market regulator Consob has requested the launch of a full takeover offer on Alerion shares at 2.9 euros per share given shareholder accord between Fri-El and Stafil, the regulator said in a statement on its website.CALTAGIRONE EDITORE At the end of the takeover bid on Caltagirone, shares tendered in amounted to 0.3 percent of the offer, the Italian bourse said in a statement.IPO, GIMA TT, IMA The order book for the initial public offering of GIMA TT, a unit of Italy’s IMA Industria Macchine Automatiche, is already covered twice, a source close to the situation said on Monday.IPO, SPACTIV The initial public offering of Italy’s Spactiv has been subscribed for 80 million euros ($95.4 million) to date, a source close to the situation said on Monday.For Italian market data and news, click on codes in brackets:20 biggest gainers (in percentage)20 biggest losers (in percentage)FTSE IT allshare indexFTSE Mib indexFTSE Allstars index...FTSE Mid Cap index....Block tradesStories on Italy IT-LENFor pan-European market data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide FTSEurofirst 300 index DJ STOXX index Top 10 STOXX sectors Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors Top 25 European pct gainers Top 25 European pct losers Main stock markets: Dow Jones Wall Street report Nikkei 225 Tokyo report FTSE 100 London report Xetra DAX Frankfurt market stories CAC-40 Paris market stories... World Indices Reuters survey of world bourse outlook Western European IPO diary European Asset Allocation Reuters News at a Glance: Equities Main currency report: '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/italy-factors-sept-19/italy-factors-to-watch-on-sept-19-idINL5N1LZ3H1'|'2017-09-19T02:00:00.000+03:00'
'838088f85bcb16bdb05010b001de982d789ae2c2'|'Harvard endowment posts gains, new investment chief not satisfied'|'BOSTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Harvard University, which has been retooling the way it invests its $37.1 billion endowment, reported an investment gain on Tuesday but its investment chief called it “disappointing” and said it will take time to improve results.The Ivy League university’s endowment earned 8.1 percent for the fiscal year ended June 30, marking a swing into the black from last year’s 2 percent decline.N.P. Narvekar, Harvard Management Co’s (HMC) chief executive officer who came from Columbia University last year, wrote in a letter to the Harvard community: “Our performance is disappointing and not where it needs to be.”In the letter, Narvekar said the performance illustrates “deep structural problems at Harvard Management Company” that “will require time to overcome.”Gains were fueled by strong returns from public and private equity, and real estate, while the portfolio took mark downs on some parts of its natural resources portfolio, Narvekar said.Within months of arriving at HMC’s Boston-based headquarters, Narvekar abandoned the school’s long-time practice of managing a large chunk of its money internally, something that was unusual in the endowment world.In January he announced plans to lay off roughly half of HMC’s 230-person staff and send the bulk of the money to be invested by outside managers.In his first seven months on the job, Narvekar said he adopted a generalist investment model, hired new staff and shut down internal investment platforms including the equity and relative value units.The credit team is expected to leave HMC and the real estate team is expected to spin out, the letter said, noting that the natural resources portfolio will continue to be managed internally.For years Harvard had operated a silo model where portfolio managers focused on their own areas, conducting research and sometimes duplicating efforts. That pattern, Narvekar wrote, had negative consequences for the portfolio.”It will take a number of years to reposition HMC in order to perform up to our expectations from that point forward,“ he wrote,” adding that his dramatic overhaul will ultimately pay off. “The changes we are making as an organization will produce better returns for Harvard in a more efficient manner over time.”Narvekar, who spent a decade at Columbia, also said the pace of turnover among top staff - Narvekar is the fourth chief executive officer at Harvard Management since 2005 when Jack Meyer left - had unsettled the endowment.He took aim at the endowment’s compensation scheme, which had rankled some alumni for its multimillion-dollar payouts. With Narvekar’s changes, staff will be paid according to how the entire portfolio performs and there will be a look-back period, encouraging the team to focus on medium-term results. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, editing by Marcy Nicholson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/harvard-university-endowment/harvard-endowment-posts-gains-new-investment-chief-not-satisfied-idINL2N1M01IL'|'2017-09-19T17:00:00.000+03:00'
'3791d4e2a6bfc70a815a88e52743b511107491e9'|'Dana Gas sukuk UK trial adjourned until Thursday after injunction'|'  11:27 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Judge tells Dana Gas London trial could go ahead without it Alexander Winning , Davide Barbuscia 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A High Court judge called on Tuesday on Dana Gas ( DANA.AD ) and its creditors to agree on a way for a trial seen as shaping the future of Islamic finance to proceed and said he might complete it regardless of whether all parties were present. George Leggatt adjourned the trial until Thursday after lawyers for Dana Gas said that it was prevented from taking part in the proceedings because of an injunction by a UAE court. Leggatt said before adjourning the trial that it was difficult to foresee what arguments could be advanced before the Sharjah court to prevent the English court from ruling on matters of English law. United Arab Emirates energy producer Dana Gas is seeking to have its sukuk, or Islamic bonds, declared invalid in a case which is being closely watched by investors and banks because it could set a precedent for Islamic finance. Dana Gas said in June that it had received legal advice that its sukuk, which mature at the end of October, were no longer sharia-compliant and were therefore unlawful in the UAE. The case is particularly relevant in the Middle East, where countries and companies have ramped up their issuance of both conventional and Islamic bonds since a slump in oil prices. Lawyers representing Blackrock, which has exposure to Dana Gas bonds, said they wanted the court proceedings in London to go ahead despite Sunday’s UAE court injunction which, they said, had been granted with the “active connivance” of Dana Gas. Leggatt said he was not yet able to make a final judgement on whether Dana Gas had deliberately engineered the injunction. Islamic investments are estimated to total around $2 trillion (£1.48 trillion) in assets and the outcome of the trial could cripple a growing market if other sukuk issuers use it to justify not honouring their obligations because the interpretation of sharia-based financial standards has changed. Unlike conventional bonds, sukuk are investment certificates which follow religious principles that forbid interest payments, instead paying returns linked to an underlying asset. By doing this, sukuk contracts aim to create a link to an underlying economic activity – a key principle in Islamic finance. Dana Gas filed lawsuits in London and Sharjah, in the UAE, to resolve the dispute with its creditors, but they say the company’s real aim is to delay repayment and help its financial position, which has been strained by late payments. The case is being fought in both UK and UAE courts because while the sukuk’s purchase undertaking is regulated by English law, the mudarabah agreement underlying the sukuk is regulated by UAE law. Dana Gas obtained injunctions from UK and UAE courts in June refraining sukuk holders from enforcing claims. Reporting by Alexander Winning in London and Davide Barbuscia in Dubai; Editing by Jason Neely and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dana-gas-sukuk/dana-gas-sukuk-uk-trial-adjourned-until-thursday-after-injunction-idUKKCN1BU1FP'|'2017-09-19T14:27:00.000+03:00'
'151f935cd3474a3e4cfcfdceac67e1fbb5a4f615'|'Insurer XL Group to move EU unit to Ireland from Britain'|'  3:34 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Insurer XL Group to move EU unit to Ireland from Britain Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Insurer XL Group Ltd ( XL.N ) said it would move its European Union insurance company, XL Insurance Company SE, from Britain to Ireland in 2018 in response to the country’s decision to leave the bloc. “Since the referendum announcement we have been clear that our top priority is to provide certainty and consistency of service to our clients and brokers. Moving XL Insurance Company SE to Ireland means we deliver on that commitment,” Chief Executive Officer Mike McGavick said. The Societas Europaea, or SE, structure, makes it relatively easy for a company to move its headquarters. XL Group has had insurance operations in Dublin since 1990, and also set up an Irish domiciled reinsurer in 2006, it said in a statement on Tuesday. XL Group would keep its Catlin Insurance Company and its Lloyd’s of London [SOLYD.UL] operations in Britain, the company said. Insurance Ireland, the representative body for the domestic and international insurance sector in Ireland, welcomed the decision by XL Group. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Carolyn Cohn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-xl-grp/insurer-xl-group-to-move-eu-unit-to-ireland-from-britain-idUKKCN1BU23W'|'2017-09-19T18:34:00.000+03:00'
'3b649c806659745ae7399d1e616f6946dbb5f5ae'|'Norway''s sovereign wealth fund celebrates "stunning" $1 trillion value'|'  7:54 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Norway''s sovereign wealth fund celebrates "stunning" $1 trillion value Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (SWF) CEO Yngve Slyngstad speaks during an interview in Oslo, Norway, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins OSLO (Reuters) - The value of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund officially hit $1 trillion (740 billion pounds) early on Tuesday after outperforming all initial expectations, its manager said in a statement. “I don’t think anyone expected the fund to ever reach $1 trillion when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996,” said Chief Executive Officer Yngve Slyngstad of Norges Bank Investment Management, which operates the fund. “Reaching $1 trillion is a milestone, and the growth in the fund’s market value has been stunning,” he added. A Reuters calculation, based on the fund’s own live valuation on its website, had previously shown the fund hit the trillion-dollar mark on Sept. 12. Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Nerijus Adomaitis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-norway-swf/norways-sovereign-wealth-fund-celebrates-stunning-1-trillion-value-idUKKCN1BU0SS'|'2017-09-19T11:57:00.000+03:00'
'7fd41a2fab8b2896f3a6ffb30b57051cfe2b8784'|'Ryanair, Norwegian Air end talks on flight connections'|'  7:33 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Ryanair, Norwegian Air end talks on flight connections Reuters Staff 3 Min Read DUBLIN/OSLO (Reuters) - Budget airlines Ryanair ( RYA.I ) and Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) have halted talks on a flight connection agreement, both companies said on Monday. Norwegian Air, which recently agreed a partnership with easyJet ( EZJ.L ) to make its long-distance flights available to easyJet customers, confirmed an earlier statement by Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary that talks with the Irish airline on a similar agreement had ended. “Norwegian welcomes any initiatives that offer passengers smooth, affordable transfers between flights and we are delighted to have entered into partnership with easyJet which was an obvious and natural fit for each airline’s large and growing networks,” Norwegian Air said in a statement to Reuters. “Previous discussions with Ryanair are no longer active,” it said. Earlier on Monday, Ryanair and Norwegian Air disagreed publicly over the number of staff each was poaching from the other. Ryanair has been seeking deals to provide short-haul “feeder flights” to link passengers to routes operated by long-haul carriers and had planned to start serving fellow low-cost operator Norwegian Air earlier this year. The fast-growing budget Scandinavian carrier told Reuters last week that it was still talking to Ryanair about a potential partnership, if Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers was willing to join it. O‘Leary cited concern over Norwegian Air’s financial position as the reason for ending the talks. After similar comments last month, Norwegian Air rejected O‘Leary’s concerns as nonsense that had “no basis in reality.” “I doubt it,” O‘Leary told a news conference on Monday when asked if an agreement with Norwegian Air was still possible. “At this point in time, given our concerns over Norwegian’s financial viability, I think we have brought to an end the discussions with Norwegian. We’re focussing now on our discussions with Air Europa and Aer Lingus ( ICAG.L ).” O‘Leary made the comments as he admitted on Monday to a “cock up” over rostering that led him to cancel flights and disrupt the plans of hundreds of thousands of travellers, wiping over 2 percent off Ryanair’s share price. Ryanair said it was not short of pilots after Norwegian Air said it had hired more than 140 of the Irish airline’s pilots this year. O‘Leary said it had lost less than 100 of its 4,200 pilots and had recruited some from its rival, meaning it could fully crew its peak schedule. Norwegian Air has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan buying more than 200 new fuel-efficient jets, but investors worry its drive to put more passengers on more planes is pushing up costs quickly without producing higher returns. Reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Terje Solsvik in Oslo; Editing by Adrian Croft and Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-cancellation-norweg-air-shut/ryanair-norwegian-air-end-talks-on-flight-connections-idUKKCN1BT2G8'|'2017-09-18T22:37:00.000+03:00'
'151bff79251e2866cd4c40322a7a66dc12ebcebd'|'Spain''s OHL in contact with China State on possible buyout'|'A man looks out of a window at the headquarters of Spanish builder OHL in Madrid, Spain, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Comas/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish builder OHL ( OHL.MC ), 51 percent owned by the Villar Mir family, said on Monday it had been in contact with China State Construction Engineering (CSCE) ( 601668.SS ) over potentially selling a stake, though no offer or decision had been made.Online newspaper El Confidencial reported on Monday the Villar Mir family was in advanced talks to sell the company to the state-held Chinese infrastructure group.CSCE has expressed interest in potentially buying a stake in OHL and has requested access to certain documentation for review, OHL said in a statement to the market regulator.The potential deal comes as creditors increase pressure on the Villar Mir company over mounting debts, El Confidencial said, citing unidentified sources close to the talks.Credit Agricole, Santander, HSBC and Deutsche Bank have warned Grupo Villar Mir that the company has short-term debt obligations worth some 500 million euros ($597 million), it said.Villar Mir was not immediately available to comment on the report of creditor pressure.OHL stock reversed earlier gains after confirming the report, falling around 3 percent to 3.4 euros at 1140 GMT.Reporting by Tomas Cobos; Writing by Paul Day; Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ohl-m-a-china/spains-ohl-in-contact-with-china-state-on-possible-buyout-idINKCN1BT195'|'2017-09-18T09:48:00.000+03:00'
'9da20c2bd4edeb332794919b126cab0393c7629a'|'UPDATE 1-Petrobras to sell $2 billion in bonds, replace costlier debt'|'  12:26 PM / Updated 32 minutes ago Petrobras to sell $2 billion in bonds, replace costlier debt Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The logo of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in at Petrobras Paulinia refinery in Paulinia, Brazil July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO (Reuters) - State-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA plans to raise $2 billion from the sale of seven- and 10-year securities, replacing more expensive shorter-dated bonds as it seeks to trim a debt burden that is the largest among major oil firms. In a Monday securities filing, Petrobras said it will issue as much as $1 billion each of the new senior unsecured bonds coming due in 2025 and 2028, respectively. A person involved in the deal said Petrobras is offering to pay an interest rate between 5.5 percent and 6 percent for the January 2025 bond, and slightly above 6 percent for the January 2028 bond. Simultaneously, Petrobras has proposed that holders of different notes maturing between 2019 and 2021 either tender their debt or swap it for longer-dated securities. The deadline for the swap and repurchase tenders is 5:00 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) on Sept. 22, the filing said. The transaction, which follows a significant improvement in Brazil’s investment risk profile, underscores how Petrobras has regained the ability to obtain financing, both locally and overseas, amid efforts by Chief Executive Officer Pedro Parente to cut $85 billion of net debt. Over the past week, Petrobras has refinanced over $2 billion in trade finance and other types of loans with local and international lenders, smoothing out looming amortizations through the end of the decade. Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras , Brazil’s largest state-controlled firm, has been forced to sell assets and slash spending as it recovers from the plunge in oil prices and a giant price-fixing, bribery and political kick-back scandal. It has hired the investment-banking units of Bank of America Corp, Banco do Brasil SA, Citigroup Inc, Credit Agricole SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Banco Santander SA to manage the offering. Following is a table with the debt securities that Petrobras seeks to either swap or repurchase through the week. Petrobras has imposed a $500 million limit for the debt repurchase plan. Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-bonds/petrobras-to-sell-up-to-2-billion-in-debt-repurchase-expensive-bonds-idUSKCN1BT1DJ'|'2017-09-18T17:04:00.000+03:00'
'2898bdfd73241ce7dec8513b6acb4771e1bbe608'|'Pirelli''s IPO books covered on base deal size - bank memo'|'Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MILAN (Reuters) - Demand for the initial public offering of Italian tyremaker Pirelli ( PPAMF.PK ) has reached an amount sufficient to cover the base size of the offer on the third day of the share sale, a memo sent by banks to investors said on Wednesday.State owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) took over Pirelli two years ago by taking a 65 percent stake in the holding company controlling the maker of Ferrari racing tyres, which was then de-listed from the Milan bourse.The world’s fifth-largest tyremaker is now coming back on the Milan stock exchange with an IPO of up to 40 percent of its capital. The share offer started on Monday and will end on Sept. 28.Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; writing by Francesca Landini '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo/pirellis-ipo-books-covered-on-base-deal-size-bank-memo-idUSKCN1BV23T'|'2017-09-20T18:28:00.000+03:00'
'e4e8f4d4fd8afc2f1450867ff2adf1afb0be04e0'|'Bank of England survey shows little sign of UK pay growth improving'|'September 20, 2017 / 8:58 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Bank of England survey shows little sign of UK pay growth improving Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London, August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Pay growth across British companies remains subdued and investment intentions among British services firms weakened further in the last quarter, a Bank of England survey of businesses showed on Wednesday. The figures will be of interest to BoE officials who increasingly see an interest rate hike nearing if the economy and price pressures keep growing. But the BoE’s quarterly report from its own regional representatives pointed to lacklustre wage growth, with pay settlements in British companies generally stuck between 2 percent and 3 percent. The impact of past falls in sterling on consumer goods price inflation appeared to have reached its peak, the survey showed. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Alistair Smout'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-survey/bank-of-england-survey-shows-little-sign-of-uk-pay-growth-improving-idUKKCN1BV0YO'|'2017-09-20T11:58:00.000+03:00'
'041fd6ec8ec862056a731db095521035be5ab73c'|'Wall Street to open flat; unmoved by N.Korea test, U.S. retail sales'|'September 15, 2017 / 1:13 PM / Updated 3 hours ago S&P nears 2,500 as tech stocks rebound Sruthi Shankar 3 Min Read Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 21, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files REUTERS - The three major Wall Street indexes inched up to record highs on Friday, with the S&P approaching the 2,500 mark, as technology stocks bounced back after two days of declines. The technology sector jumped 0.35 percent, powered by an Nvidia-led surge in chipmakers and Apple’s 1.33 percent increase, its first gains since the launch of the new iPhones. The semiconductor index surged 1.6 percent, boosted by Nvidia’s near 6 percent jump to a record high after Evercore ISI raised its price target on the stock. The tech index has been the best performing sector this year, rising more than 25 percent, far outpacing the broader S&P’s 11.5 percent growth. Reports showing an unexpected drop in U.S. retail sales last month and the first drop in industrial output since January, both in part due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey, were also largely shrugged off by the market. “Investors are keeping an eye on the retail sales data, thinking it maybe transitory and are focusing on growth areas such as technology, which is mostly immune to policy decisions in DC and has avoided all the global noise,” said Michael Antonelli, managing director of institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. The indexes have inched up to several records this year, despite setbacks caused by turmoil in the White House, doubts about President Donald Trump’s ability to push through his pro-business reforms, uncertainty over the timing of rate hikes, and lately, tensions over Pyongyang’s missile tests. At 12:40 p.m. ET (1640 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 39.67 points, or 0.18 percent, at 22,243.15 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 16.92 points, or 0.26 percent, at 6,446.00. The S&P 500 was up 1.44 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,497.06. It went tantalizingly close to 2,500, hitting a session high of 2,499.25. Earlier, North Korea fired a second missile in as many weeks over Japan, drawing criticism from global leaders but barely moving shares as investors await the next catalyst - the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Sept. 19-20. “We’re going to remain in this sideways situation for an extended period of time until we get real regulatory reform, real tax reform, some sort of economic push on infrastructure of healthcare,” said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York. Boeing hit a record high, powering the Dow for the second day in a row, after a price target hike from Canaccord Genuity and new orders wins. Among the laggards was Oracle, which sank 6.68 percent, headed for its worst day in more than 4 years, after disappointing forecasts for its profit and cloud business. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,592 to 1,190. On the Nasdaq, 1,611 issues rose and 1,189 fell. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/wall-street-to-open-flat-unmoved-by-n-korea-test-u-s-retail-sales-idINKCN1BQ1QM'|'2017-09-15T16:10:00.000+03:00'
'095e80e2001c7a70c97acff20768333f7a118c4e'|'Business interrupted: hurricane-damaged firms dig in for insurance fight'|'September 15, 2017 / 5:06 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Business interrupted: hurricane-damaged firms dig in for insurance fight Suzanne Barlyn 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A car dealership is covered by Hurricane Harvey floodwaters near Houston, Texas, U.S. on August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Business owners who are trying to get back on track after hurricanes Harvey and Irma now face a different sort of challenge: trying to recoup lost income from their insurers. Exclusions in the fine print of policies, along with waiting periods and disagreements over how to measure a company’s lost income, make business interruption claims among the trickiest in an industry renowned for complexity. “I think the whole thing is a rip-off,” said Thomas Arnold, an optometrist in Sugar Land, Texas. He said his business, Today’s Vision, was shuttered for almost five days after Hurricane Harvey struck because nearby flooding kept employees and patients from getting there. Arnold says he pays $1,083 per month for coverage. But after he filed a claim, he said the U.S. unit of Zurich Insurance Group AG, rejected it because his business was not physically damaged. Zurich does not comment about specific claims, the company said in a statement. It added that business interruption coverage generally requires “direct physical damage” to a property for a payout. It was Arnold’s second disappointing experience with business interruption coverage. He said another insurer denied his claim in 2008 after a nine-day power outage from Hurricane Ike. Devastating storms are hitting the United States with increasing frequency. Risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide predicts losses to all properties from the flooding in Texas alone will be $65 billion to $75 billion, regardless of whether they are insured. (For a graphic on the costliest U.S. hurricanes, see tmsnrt.rs/2f8nowX ) The income lost by shuttered firms makes up a significant chunk of overall losses from a natural disaster and can hobble the pace of a community’s economic and social recovery. Hurricane Katrina in 2005, for example, caused about $25 billion in insured commercial losses, of which $6 billion to $9 billion has been attributed to business interruption, according to information posted on AIR’s website. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)does not offer a business interruption component. The program is largely used by homeowners, but it also covers commercial structures for up to $500,000 in damage, with another $500,000 for the contents. That is why companies able to afford the additional protection of business interruption insurance, usually large and medium-sized firms, often purchase it despite the potential for unsuccessful and drawn-out claims. Big Star Honda, a car dealership in Houston, lost 600 vehicles - 95 percent of its inventory - and was shut for five days after Harvey. Its managers are now girding themselves for a potentially long slog with the firm’s insurance company as the dealership prepares to make a claim on its business interruption policy. “We’re collecting every single invoice that pertains to the hurricane,” said Allen Paul, Houston regional vice president of Ken Garff Automotive Group, which owns the dealership. “I‘m really curious to see how that goes,” he said. The dealership also has a flood policy through the NFIP, but relatively few firms do. As of June 30, 2017, the NFIP had just 264,681 non-residential policies, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the agency that runs the government-backed flood insurance program. That figure covers businesses but could also include churches, private schools and community centers, and is a sliver of the estimated 2.4 million small businesses located in flood-prone Florida alone. NUMBER CRUNCHING Insurers such as Travelers Companies Inc and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc are bracing for a wave of claims from businesses in Texas and Florida. They face a daunting task. The size and scope of the two storms, which pounded the states within two weeks of each other, affected everything from energy refineries to hoteliers. “Insurers are craving information now,” said Allen Melton, Americas Leader of Insurance Claims Services for Ernst & Young LLP. “They want to know how big a claim we are looking at and what the issues are.” The answers to those questions are often difficult for businesses and insurance companies to pinpoint. Both sides often hire their own forensic accountants to comb through profit-and-loss accounts from the current and prior years. It can take months, and sometimes years, for a policyholder to receive monies owed. Insurance brokerage Aon PLC is still working on claims from Hurricane Matthew, which struck South Carolina last October, said Jill Dalton, who leads claims for Aon. Many business owners in the storm-ravaged Florida Keys are not even close to estimating their losses because they cannot get to their properties yet. “When you have property damage, you can pretty much figure out how much it costs to buy nails and a hammer and wood,” said Gary Marchitello, North American Head of Property Broking for Willis Towers Watson PLC. “But reasonable minds can differ about how the business would have done if the loss hadn’t occurred.” Payouts can hinge on factors such as whether a storm hits during a slow season or if a business can make up for lost time in another quarter. Back in Texas, Arnold, the optometrist, is rethinking his coverage. “I‘m going to sit down with my insurer and drastically cut my insurance,” he said. “If my office burns down or a tornado hits it, I want coverage for that,” Arnold said. “But if people come in my office and steal my glasses, I’ll pay for that.” For a graphic on the ten costliest hurricanes for insurers, click tmsnrt.rs/2f8nowX Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Marla Dickerson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-insurance-businesses/business-interrupted-hurricane-damaged-firms-dig-in-for-insurance-fight-idUKKCN1BQ0EY'|'2017-09-15T08:06:00.000+03:00'
'd8585411884024b8de820542db5b9b617b7615d6'|'Pfizer sues Johnson & Johnson over Remicade biosimilar'|'The Pfizer logo is seen at their world headquarters in New York April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo (Reuters) - Drugmaker Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ), saying its rival’s contracts with health insurers for blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Remicade, were anticompetitive and blocked sales of Pfizer’s new biosimilar.Pfizer said in the suit that J&J is offering discounts on its Remicade treatment in exchange for essentially excluding Pfizer’s drug from insurance coverage, keeping it out of the hands of patients.J&J said in an e-mailed statement that the lawsuit was without merit and that the company is competing on value and price.“To date Pfizer has failed to demonstrate sufficient value to patients, providers, payers and employers,” said Scott White, President of Janssen Biotech Inc, a unit of J&J.J&J signed exclusionary contracts with health insurers, hospitals and doctor groups after U.S. regulators approved it as a reasonable substitute for Remicade in 2016, Pfizer said.The contracts with insurers - including UnitedHealth Group ( UNH.N ), Anthem Inc ( ANTM.N ), Aetna Inc ( AET.N ) and Cigna Corp ( CI.N ) - covered about 70 percent of the commercially insured patients in the United States, the lawsuit said.Both Aetna and Anthem declined to comment. Other U.S. insurers contacted for this story did not have an immediate comment.The logo of healthcare company Johnson & Johnson is seen in front of an office building in Zug, Switzerland July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann Remicade is an infused treatment for chronic autoimmune disorders and costs about $4,000 per dose, or $26,000 a year, Pfizer said in the suit. Its Inflectra rival is priced 19 percent lower than that list price.But Pfizer said it has not been able to reach customers because of J&J&rsquo;s anticompetitive actions. The suit comes at a time when insurers, consumers and the U.S. government have pushed for lower drug prices, saying double-digit annual price increases are unsustainable.Biosimilars are intended to be lower cost alternatives to expensive biotech medicines. But because they are made from living cells and it is not possible to make an exact copy of the branded medicine, they are not automatically substituted for the existing branded drug the way a generic drug would be.Pfizer said in the lawsuit that J&J&rsquo;s contracts with many insurers exclusively pay for Remicade and only pay for Inflectra in limited cases where patients “fail first” on Remicade.In return, Pfizer said, J&J pays after-market rebates on both new and existing customers’ Remicade purchases. To make up for the J&J rebates and discounts on this large base of old and new customers, Pfizer said it would need to price Inflectra below its own average variable cost.Pfizer shares were up 1.3 percent, or 45 cents, at $35.90 and J&J shares fell 1.6 percent, or $2.10, to $133.11.The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Divya Grover in Bengaluru; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Nick Zieminski and G Crosse '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pfizer-trial-johnson-johnson/pfizer-sues-johnson-johnson-over-remicade-biosimilar-idUSKCN1BV1S8'|'2017-09-20T16:45:00.000+03:00'
'adb7f28cf533326b19c7cc2c04f21a2fa5893a56'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits six-week high in broad rally ahead of Fed'|'  9:18 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits six-week high in broad rally ahead of Fed Reuters Staff * TSX up 56.3 points, or 0.37 percent, to 15,292.97 * Touches 15,315.27, highest since Aug. 3 * Nine of TSX’s 10 main industry groups rise By Solarina Ho TORONTO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose to six-week highs on Tuesday, buoyed by a broad rally led by financial and energy stocks, as investors cautiously awaited for clues from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its next move. The financial sector, which accounts for about a third of the index’s weight, climbed 0.5 percent. Individual gains within the group were modest, with Royal Bank of Canada adding 0.9 percent to finish at C$92.98. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 56.3 points, or 0.37 percent, to 15,292.97. It touched as high as 15,315.27 during the session, a level not reached since Aug. 3. Of the index’s 10 main groups, utilities were the lone decliners, losing 0.1 percent. “It’s a broad sector rally ... You’ve seen the TSX bounce back from the lows,” said Manash Goswami, senior vice president, portfolio manager at First Asset ETFs. “Heading into tomorrow’s Fed decision, we weren’t doing too much. We’re waiting to see what they’re going to say.” Goswami is not expecting an interest rate increase, but said investors are keen for further guidance from the U.S. central bank on its plans to wind down its huge balance sheet and what the implications may be for the markets. The energy group climbed 0.1 percent as crude prices pulled back from near-five-month highs in advance of U.S. data that is expected to show a build in crude inventories. Inter Pipeline Ltd rose 3.3 percent to C$23.81, while Cenovus Energy Inc advanced 2.1 percent to C$11.48. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.4 percent. Telecoms rose 0.9 percent with Rogers Communications Inc up 1.5 percent to end at C$64.60. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 148 to 97, for a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the upside. (Reporting by Solarina Ho in Toronto; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-hits-six-week-high-in-broad-rally-ahead-of-fed-idUSL2N1M029U'|'2017-09-20T00:18:00.000+03:00'
'627dd5482c97f9d99813a57a2a7d8f3455fbb504'|'Asian shares wobble as investors await Fed meeting for rate clues'|'Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets edged higher on Tuesday and the dollar dipped as investors awaited signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve on when it will hike interest rates again and start shrinking its balance sheet.Wall Street stocks gained slightly, with the Dow climbing to a fresh record, while an index of stocks across the globe also inched higher.Tuesday marks the start of the U.S. central bank’s two-day meeting. The Fed is widely expected to announce on Wednesday that it will begin paring its bond holdings, with reductions likely to start in the coming months.Investors will also be watching for signals that the Fed will raise rates in December, and for any clues on personnel changes as the end of Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s term approaches and after the resignation of Vice Chair Stanley Fischer earlier this month.“The quiet nature of (the market) is in anticipation of the Fed meeting. Janet Yellen has a press conference. That and the statement will perhaps provide some insight into what they’re going to do in terms of deleveraging their balance sheet,” said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.“There’s some concern among investors as to how this will work, and how it will affect long-term rates.”The Fed’s possible move to further roll back stimulus has not stemmed the greenback’s weakness this year as other major central banks are considering steps to either slow their bond purchases or raise interest rates.The dollar had weakened against yen ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly.In the speech, Trump warned that the United States will be forced to “totally destroy” North Korea unless Pyongyang backs down from its nuclear challenge, but the criticism was not enough to spook investors.The greenback was steady at 111.57 yen JPY= , below its eight-week peak of 111.87 set earlier Tuesday.A dollar index .DXY fell 0.14 percent.Weighing on the dollar index earlier was U.S. data showing domestic home construction fell for a second straight month in August.The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 45.56 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,376.91, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.12 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,506.99 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 7.22 points, or 0.11 percent, to 6,461.86.“It’s not a really big move to the upside, (but) stocks still look attractive relative to other investments,” Hellwig said.The S&P 500 and Dow had both hit new peaks on Monday despite some late pressure on big tech stocks.The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed up 0.1 percent, while MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.20 percent.Tokyo''s Nikkei .N225 surged 2 percent to its highest close in more than two years as investors drew confidence from a weakening yen and hopes of a snap election underpinned the market.In the U.S. bond market, prices were near flat. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 4/32 in price to yield 2.2428 percent, from 2.23 percent late on Monday.In energy markets, oil prices retreated from near-five-month highs in advance of data expected to show a build in U.S. crude inventories. Also, refineries were still restarting after recent storm activity.U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 1.06 percent to $49.38 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $54.74, down 0.92 percent on the day.Additional reporting by Marc Jones and John Geddie in London; Editing by Dan Grebler and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asian-shares-wobble-as-investors-await-fed-meeting-for-rate-clues-idUSKCN1BU01R'|'2017-09-19T03:50:00.000+03:00'
'6ccb966380e4ba656463d400d661017ec6df2c04'|'Transaction banking revenues rise 4% in H1'|'LONDON, Sept 19 (IFR) - Global transaction banking revenues rose 4% to US$13.8bn in the first half of this year from a year ago, led by a jump in cash management income in the Americas and Asia, analysis firm Coalition said.Cash management revenues were US$11bn in the first six months of this year, up 7% from a year ago and the highest level since 2011 when Coalition started compiling data.The growth was due to higher volumes as banks accumulated deposits and increased their deposit productivity, Coalition said.Transaction banking, or the collection of “vanilla” services offered by banks to trading partners, is an increasingly important area for banks looking to bring in stable revenues as trading income comes under pressure.The leading banks include Citigroup, HSBC and JP Morgan.But revenues in trade finance, another part of transaction banking, dipped to US$2.8bn in the first half of the year, down 5% from a year ago and the lowest level for at least seven years, Coalition estimated. The fall was due to margin compression, especially in Asia, and a drop in commodities trade finance as clients reduced activities.Revenues for the top 10 banks in transaction banking from the Americas rose 8% from a year ago to US$6bn and in Asia-Pacific they were up 7% to US$3.5bn, but in Europe, Middle East and Africa income was down 2% to US$4.3bn, Coalition said. (Reporting by Steve Slater) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/transaction-banking-revenues-rise-4-in-h/transaction-banking-revenues-rise-4-in-h1-idINL5N1LZ2OV'|'2017-09-18T21:01:00.000+03:00'
'e48d0f488a928c3480bc77513d0e8034c9fd7b6a'|'UPDATE 1-LPC-Banks line up €430m loan for CVC’s Teva asset buy'|'(Add further financing details)By Claire RuckinLONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Three banks have lined up €430m of leveraged loans to back private equity firm CVC Capital Partners’ acquisition of the remaining assets in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ women’s health business, banking sources said.Teva said on Monday it would sell the remaining assets in its women’s health business for US$1.38bn.It will use proceeds from these sales, along with those from its recently announced US$1.1bn sale of contraceptive brand Paragard to a unit of Cooper Cos, to repay debt, the company said.Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Jefferies are leading the leveraged loan financing, with two to three other banks expected to join shortly, the source said.The financing comprises a €375m term loan and a €55m revolving credit facility, the sources said.Leverage is in the high 4s, with a 55% loan-to-value, the sources said.The loan is unlikely to launch for syndication until November given it is a carve-out from a public company, the sources said.Israel-based Teva, the world’s largest maker of generic drugs, has been looking at divestures to help reduce its US$35bn debt pile. (Editing by Christopher Mangham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/teva-loans/update-1-lpc-banks-line-up-430m-loan-for-cvcs-teva-asset-buy-idINL5N1M05CF'|'2017-09-19T14:17:00.000+03:00'
'43d7cd4a369aecb200ab826f90a65b773f553a76'|'M&A advisory Zaoui & Co reports first loss from UK business since 2013'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Zaoui & Co, the London merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory firm set up by investment bankers Michael and Yoel Zaoui, reported a loss in Britain of 1.27 million pounds ($1.72 million) in 2016, its filings to Companies House showed.It was the first time the firm reported a loss from its business in Britain since inception in 2013, the filings showed. However, it did not give a comparative 2015 figure, instead reporting a 8.7 million pound profit in the 18 months to December 2015.The Moroccan-born French brothers, who previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, are among several other experienced bankers to set up small outfits that offer niche expertise and independent advice, taking a different tack to the big banks that tend to sell other services too, like financing.Since 2013, Zaoui & Co has played a role in major deals, such as the $60 billion merger in 2014 of France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim that created the world’s largest cement maker, snatching business from rival advisories and banks.The filings in Britain are only a partial insight into the business, as Zaoui & Co’s parent firm is incorporated in Luxembourg, where results are not published. M&A transactions also take months to complete, so proceeds can be delayed.The company declined to comment.Turnover in 2016 was 3.66 million pounds, down from 17.3 million in the 18 months to the end of 2015, mostly coming from Europe, showing the firm’s reliance on business outside Britain.The Brexit vote “could cause disruptions to and create uncertainty surrounding our business, including affecting our relationships with our existing and future counterparties,” Yoel Zaoui said in a report signed in April, according to the filing.Bigger and more established boutiques firms include Rothschild, Lazard, Centerview Partners and Perella Weinberg, which are all also based in London.Zaoui & Co ranks No. 66 among top advisory firms in Europe so far this year, Thomson Reuters Eikon data show.It advised on the merger of French and British laundry services firms Elis SA ( ELIS.PA ) and Berendsen BRSN.L and the acquisition by Neptune Oil & Gas of a stake in the exploration and production arm of French utility Engie ( ENGIE.PA ).It also worked on French carmaker PSA’s ( PEUP.PA ) purchase of Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors ( GM.N ) and the acquisition by JCDecaux Holding ( JCDX.PA ) of a stake in Eurazeo ( EURA.PA ).Reporting by Clara Denina; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zaoui-m-a/ma-advisory-zaoui-co-reports-first-loss-from-uk-business-since-2013-idUSKCN1BV257'|'2017-09-20T23:49:00.000+03:00'
'4d6dd431bea9a430c8c855286332c557107b9edc'|'Ryanair offers pilots £12,000 bonus to tackle cancelled flights fiasco - Business - The Guardian'|'Ryanair has offered pilots a one-off bonus of up to £12,000 to forfeit holidays, according to a memo seen by the Guardian, as it battles to prevent further flight cancellations caused by a “mess-up” in its rota system .The Irish airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, apologised this week after saying that up to 50 flights a day would be cancelled until 31 October, affecting about 400,000 passengers.Ryanair is now facing fury from customers who fear they will be left out of pocket and has also been warned by the Civil Aviation Authority that it could face penalties for refusing to reroute passengers with rival airlines.Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial news Read more It is also fending off allegations from the Irish pilots’ union that it is making European regulations a scapegoat, rather than acknowledging its own failure to allocate enough pilots for its schedule.Ryanair could face further disruption from industrial action amid reports that pilots were meeting in Dublin and across Europe to discuss the possibility of going on strike.Internal emails seen by the Guardian show that the no-frills airline is scrambling to appease pilots and first officers by offering tax-free bonuses not to take time off.“To avoid further cancellations, we are requesting between one and two blocks of five days from every pilot who has already been assigned their month off,” Ryanair’s chief operations officer, Michael Hickey, told pilots.“In recognition of the impact on you of the need to fly additional days I am implementing the following bonus scheme. All current pilots [...] who remain operating Ryanair aircraft between Sept and 31st October 2018 will receive a once-off €12,000/£12,000 gross bonus for captains and €6,000/£6,000 for first officers in November 2018.”Pilots will not receive the one-off bonus until November next year, an inducement to stay with the company amid reports that many are defecting to Norwegian, which said it had hired 140 pilots from the Irish airline since the start of the year.Ryanair does not disclose salaries, but captains and first officers were offered basic wages of €62,500 and €21,000 respectively in 2015, according to a report in the Irish Times .Pilots and first officers will get the bonus provided they have flown more than 800 hours for Ryanair in the year to 31 October 2018, and complete at least 10 days off during the period, including a block of five days in a row.Ryanair says the problem will last six weeks. This conveniently brings it to the winter schedule''s reduced crewing needsIrish Air Line Pilots'' Association Ryanair said it would also increase the overnight payments that pilots get for working away from their base airport, while staff would also be entitled to normal rates for working days off.Passengers told the Guardian of poor communication from Ryanair that has forced them to miss family events and has left them in fear of financial hardship if they cannot recoup costs such as hotel rooms and replacement flights.Christa, from Brighton, was waiting at Budapest airport for her flight home on Tuesday, a day after she was due to return to the UK.“I received a text message from Ryanair on Friday 15 September about Monday’s flight,” she said. “I phoned them twice and received poor customer service. The staff member was not apologetic for what happened and gave me no reason for the cancellation.”Ryanair has also cancelled flights to Lisbon, leading to anxiety among Manchester United fans who have already bought tickets for their team’s Champions League tie with Benfica on 18 October.Why is Ryanair cancelling flights and what can you do? Read more Leslie Lee, a TV producer living in London, was told by text on the morning of her flight that it had been cancelled, and said she was hundreds of pounds out of pocket after booking an alternative flight with British Airways.“Even though I’ve been offered a partial refund for the unused flight, which cost £70, the cancellation has set me back about £500 and I’m worried that Ryanair won’t compensate me,” she said.O’Leary said on Monday that Ryanair would not “pay for flights on our competitors”, despite EU regulations that it must offer the option if a rival’s flight leaves “significantly sooner” than its own.A spokesperson for the CAA said: ““Ryanair is well aware of these passenger rights and we have sought assurances from the airline on how and when they will provide alternative flights with other airlines.”The spokesperson added that Ryanair would face “enforcement action” if it does not comply.Ryanair has blamed the cancellations on a change in the way Irish airlines interpret European regulations that limit pilots’ flying hours to 900 per calendar year for safety reasons.Airlines regulated by the Irish Aviation Authority have until this year been alone in interpreting the calendar year as running from April to March. This gave the likes of Ryanair an advantage over continental rivals, because it could schedule more flights during the busy summer months, benching pilots in quieter periods.The Irish pilots’ union (IALPA) said Ryanair could not blame the change because “they had at least two seasons’ notice of the new regulations in which to put their house in order.IALPA added: “A separate point of note is Ryanair saying that the problem will last for about six weeks. This conveniently brings them to the winter schedule with its reduced overall crewing requirement, which is further evidence of the real problem being a shortage of flight crew.”The union says more than 700 pilots have left Ryanair this year. Asked about its memo to staff Ryanair, which employs 4,200 pilots, said it did not comment on “rumour or speculation”.Topics Ryanair Airline industry Michael O''Leary news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/19/ryanair-offers-pilots-12000-bonus-to-tackle-cancelled-flights-fiasco'|'2017-09-19T21:08:00.000+03:00'
'd7c9d1388699356e44893ec37ffdcd0d2fc11366'|'Japan exports surge at fastest in nearly four years on global demand'|'September 20, 2017 / 2:08 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Japan exports surge at fastest in nearly four years on global demand Stanley White 3 Min Read Newly manufactured vehicles await export at a port in Yokohama, Japan, January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Booming shipments of cars and electronics in August drove up Japan’s exports at the fastest pace in nearly four years, further evidence that overseas demand is strong enough to support healthy economic growth. The 18.1 percent annual increase in exports was the fastest since November 2013 and handily beat the median estimate for a 14.7 percent annual rise seen in a Reuters poll. August’s export result was well up on July’s 13.4 percent, and marked a ninth straight month of expansion. Export growth is seen likely to continue as the global economy remains on a solid footing, which should underpin policymakers’ confidence in Japan’s economic outlook. The Bank of Japan is expected to keep monetary policy on hold at a meeting ending on Thursday as inflation remains confusingly low despite data pointing to solid economic growth. “This data suggests that overseas demand will drive Japan’s growth in July-September and make up for slight weakness in consumer spending,” said Hiroaki Muto, economist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. “The global economy is healthy, so expect Japan’s exports to accelerate even further.” Japan’s exports rose 10.4 percent by volume in August from a year ago, following a 2.6 percent annual increase in July. Export volumes rose the most since 2010 in August, suggesting that net trade should have started to support growth in the third quarter, Marcel Thieliant, Japan economist at Capital Economics, said in a research note. A pickup in shipments of cars, car parts, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased Japan’s year-on-year exports to the United States in August by 21.8 percent versus an 11.5 percent annual increase in the previous month. The rise in Japan’s exports to the United States in August was the fastest since December 2014, finance ministry data showed. China-bound exports rose 25.8 percent year-on-year in August, faster than a 17.6 percent annual increase in July as Japan shipped more electronic screens panels and plastics. Imports rose 15.2 percent in the year to August, versus the median estimate of an 11.8 percent increase. The trade balance came to a surplus of 113.6 billion yen ($1.02 billion), versus the median estimate of a 93.9 billion yen surplus. Capital Economics’ Thieliant noted, however that: “The surge in the annual growth rates was driven by base effects. In seasonally-adjusted terms, both export and import values rose by a modest 1.2 percent month-on-month.” Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Eric Meijer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-trade/japan-exports-surge-at-fastest-in-nearly-four-years-on-global-demand-idUKKCN1BV066'|'2017-09-20T05:08:00.000+03:00'
'b3112b3b59532e29c99b0ddcb501a1d730c1fd53'|'Singapore''s Poh Tiong Choon Logistics CEO offers to take firm private'|'SINGAPORE, Sept 20 (Reuters) - A consortium led by Poh Tiong Choon Logistics’ chief executive is offering to take over the Singapore-listed firm in a deal that values it at about S$276 million ($205 million), the latest in a trend of management-led buyouts in the city-state.The consortium, which comprises company CEO and Chairman Poh Choon Ann and an affiliate of Tower Capital Asia, a private equity investor, said in a statement it is offering S$1.30 in cash for each share.Poh Tiong Choon, which provides land transportation and warehousing services, will be privatised and delisted after the deal.Similar deals in Singapore include Global Logistic Properties’ takeover by a buyout group backed by its senior executives and ARA Asset Management’s acquisition by a consortium that included its founder.The buyers cited the stock’s low trading liquidity and cost saving from delisting among reasons for the takeover. Insiders control about 54 percent of the company, Thomson Reuters data shows. Last September, some of the company’s substantial shareholders had said they would seek a strategic review of their shares.The offer represents a 1.1 percent discount to the stock’s closing price on Sept. 14, its last full trading day. The consortium said the offer price was at a 32.5 percent premium to its one-month traded average price. Trading was halted on Wednesday morning.The consortium said it had secured irrevocable undertakings from shareholders holding about 66.7 percent of the shares to accept the offer. ($1 = 1.3448 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/poh-tiong-choon-ma/singapores-poh-tiong-choon-logistics-ceo-offers-to-take-firm-private-idINL4N1M12YD'|'2017-09-20T07:39:00.000+03:00'
'116965a9d442bde90ffbd1d721c0b7f407626f6e'|'M&A advisory Zaoui & Co reports first loss from UK business since 2013'|'  3:52 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago M&A advisory Zaoui & Co reports first loss from UK business since 2013 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Zaoui & Co, the London merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory firm set up by investment bankers Michael and Yoel Zaoui, reported a loss in Britain of 1.27 million pounds in 2016, its filings to Companies House showed. It was the first time the firm reported a loss from its business in Britain since inception in 2013, the filings showed. However, it did not give a comparative 2015 figure, instead reporting a 8.7 million pound profit in the 18 months to December 2015. The Moroccan-born French brothers, who previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, are among several other experienced bankers to set up small outfits that offer niche expertise and independent advice, taking a different tack to the big banks that tend to sell other services too, like financing. Since 2013, Zaoui & Co has played a role in major deals, such as the $60 billion (£44.25 billion) merger in 2014 of France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim that created the world’s largest cement maker, snatching business from rival advisories and banks. The filings in Britain are only a partial insight into the business, as Zaoui & Co’s parent firm is incorporated in Luxembourg, where results are not published. M&A transactions also take months to complete, so proceeds can be delayed. The company declined to comment. Turnover in 2016 was 3.66 million pounds, down from 17.3 million in the 18 months to the end of 2015, mostly coming from Europe, showing the firm’s reliance on business outside Britain. The Brexit vote “could cause disruptions to and create uncertainty surrounding our business, including affecting our relationships with our existing and future counterparties,” Yoel Zaoui said in a report signed in April, according to the filing. Bigger and more established boutiques firms include Rothschild, Lazard, Centerview Partners and Perella Weinberg, which are all also based in London. Zaoui & Co ranks No. 66 among top advisory firms in Europe so far this year, Thomson Reuters Eikon data show. It advised on the merger of French and British laundry services firms Elis SA ( ELIS.PA ) and Berendsen BRSN.L and the acquisition by Neptune Oil & Gas of a stake in the exploration and production arm of French utility Engie ( ENGIE.PA ). It also worked on French carmaker PSA’s ( PEUP.PA ) purchase of Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors ( GM.N ) and the acquisition by JCDecaux Holding ( JCDX.PA ) of a stake in Eurazeo ( EURA.PA ). Reporting by Clara Denina; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-zaoui-m-a/ma-advisory-zaoui-co-reports-first-loss-from-uk-business-since-2013-idUKKCN1BV25S'|'2017-09-20T18:52:00.000+03:00'
'4ba2729c9b0a99afaf1e1c6120242a5eec5db4cd'|'UPDATE 1-Australia court upholds appeal against Tabcorp''s $4.9 bln buyout of Tatts'|'* Third attempt by companies at $4.9 bln takeover* Competition tribunal has approved the deal* Federal Court upholds appeal from antitrust regulator (Adds comment from Tabcorp, Tatts and the ACCC, adds shares)By Byron Kaye and Tom WestbrookSYDNEY, Sept 20 (Reuters) - An Australian court upheld on Wednesday an appeal against betting firm Tabcorp Holdings Ltd’s agreed A$6.15 billion ($4.9 billion) buyout of lotteries operator Tatts Group Ltd.Tabcorp and Tatts had billed their third attempt to join since 2006 as a way to create a domestic gambling powerhouse to fend off online rivals like Britain’s William Hill and Ireland’s Paddy Power.The deal was cleared in June by the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT), a court-affiliated body, but antitrust regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) appealed the decision.“The court orders that the decision of the tribunal ... be set aside (and) be referred back to the tribunal for further consideration,” three Federal Court judges wrote, adding that they would publish their reasons in five days.The decision marks a potentially time-consuming setback for a deal announced a year earlier which has already been delayed by the ACCC’s court challenge.Representatives of Tabcorp and Tatts were not immediately available for comment.Tabcorp and Tatts took the unusual step of applying to the ACT after the usual arbiter, the ACCC, had raised concerns about the deal.The ACCC then sought a review on the grounds that it believed the ACT had misused certain tests to determine if the deal would hurt competition, and that it had given inappropriate weightings to data about the effects of the takeover.Shares in Tabcorp and Tatts were in a trading halt on Wednesday.$1 = 1.2473 Australian dollars Reporting by Byron Kaye and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/tatts-group-ma-tabcorp/update-1-australia-court-upholds-appeal-against-tabcorps-4-9-bln-buyout-of-tatts-idINL4N1M127Z'|'2017-09-20T04:13:00.000+03:00'
'2c08293f96a75a735557255944e0d709b2e08893'|'MOVES-Angel Island Capital names Dev Gopalan as CEO'|'  1:41 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago MOVES-Angel Island Capital names Dev Gopalan as CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 19 (Reuters) - San Francisco-based investment adviser Angel Island Capital named Dev Gopalan its chief executive officer. Gopalan, who previously worked at Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, most recently was head of U.S. private credit at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/angelislandcapital-moves-dev-gopalan/moves-angel-island-capital-names-dev-gopalan-as-ceo-idUSL4N1M0486'|'2017-09-19T16:39:00.000+03:00'
'dabb156f3af5665b3c7581a65115703b743960bf'|'Canada''s Trudeau says talks on Bombardier dispute will continue'|'  3:03 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Canada''s Trudeau says talks on Bombardier dispute will continue Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will continue talks with Washington on settling a dispute between Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) regardless of whether a U.S. trade court next week backs a challenge launched by the American company, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. Trudeau also told a news conference that his government would push back against Boeing, which he accused of trying to put thousands of aerospace employee out of work. Boeing says Canada-based Bombardier is trying to dump its new CSeries airliner on the U.S. at unfairly low prices. Reporting by Andrea Hopklins, writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-canada-politics-bombardier/canadas-trudeau-says-talks-on-bombardier-dispute-will-continue-idUKKCN1BU20Q'|'2017-09-19T18:02:00.000+03:00'
'08485f55b2fe2a4b9c1859ae171b3ac631e90fea'|'Government backs tighter rules on takeover of UK companies - Business - The Guardian'|'Bidders for UK stock market listed companies must lay out more detailed plans for their target, including location of its head office and research and development investment, under proposed rules put forward by the takeover watchdog and backed by the government.The new rules, which were published in a consultation document on Tuesday , also give companies, unions and other employee representatives more time to respond to bids in changes which follow the controversial £115bn attempted takeover of Unilever by Kraft Heinz earlier this year. Ahead of the general election in June, the Conservatives promised that deals driven by “aggressive asset-stripping or tax avoidance” would no longer be welcome. Theresa May vowed that bidders would have to be clear about their intentions, and their promises will have to be legally binding. Pukka tea firm vows to stay ethical as PG Tips owner takes it over Read more Her pledge came after unions voiced fears over the 9,000 jobs in Britain that could have been affected by the Unilever deal, with Unite calling for a change to takeover rules that would take more account of employees.Unilever chief executive Paul Polman argued that defending companies needed more time to audit detailed cost-savings set out by their potential owners.The acquisition of Cambridge-based technology firm ARM by Japan’s SoftBank last year also highlighted concerns over the loss of important British technology assets to overseas buyers. Under pressure from the UK government, the Japanese bidder eventually made legal commitments to keep ARM’s headquarters in Cambridge and at least double the UK workforce in the next five years.Greg Clark , the business secretary, welcomed what he called “valuable changes” proposed by the Takeover Panel which he said would “give companies subject to a bid more time to prepare their response”.He also pledged to publish proposals this autumn that address the national security concerns that can arise from foreign investment. He said these would “set out further measures to safeguard national security, while ensuring the UK remains a global champion of free trade and investment”.Under rules introduced in 2011 after the much-criticised takeover of Cadbury by Kraft , which resulted in a factory being closed despite promises to the contrary, bidders must already make clear their plans for the target business, its employees and pension scheme. But bidders’ statements under that rule have often been vague and sometimes misleading, so the panel now wants more specific information on the location and function of a company’s headquarters, plans for research and development and any material changes to the conditions of employment or the balance of skills and functions among management and employees, or redeployment of fixed assets. A statement of these intentions must be made at the time a bidder announces a firm offer to shareholders and any later changes made clear. The new rules stop short of demanding that all plans announced must be legally binding. However, the bidder must say if its plans are merely intentions or a firm undertaking, which it would then have to confirm to had taken place within 12 months of the deal being finalised.Previously the detail of plans for a company being taken over could be delayed until the offer document was posted, potentially 28 days after the formal bid was made. The offer document and intensions of the future for employees, might alternatively have been published on the same day as the formal offer, giving only two weeks for unions or target companies to put forward their views on the deal within a circular which must be sent to shareholders under a set Takeover Panel timetable.Under new rules the offer document cannot be posted until two weeks after the firm offer, unless otherwise agreed by the target company, giving more time for board directors and unions to respond.“What the panel is doing is forcing bidders to crystallise and reveal their plans in greater detail earlier in the process, when they commit to a deal,” said Oliver Lazenby, an expert in corporate law at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. “The panel would say that any considered bidder would have thought about those things anyway and it shouldn’t be a huge inconvenience to include them in a public statement. But it could be argued this is adding further to the burden on bidders particularly in takeovers of distressed companies.”Unite national officer Rhys McCarthy said: “This is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough to address the UK’s woeful takeover rules where the overriding factor is usually how much money can be thrown at shareholders rather than other considerations such as the national interest, jobs and communities.”The Takeover Panel said comments on the planned changes should be filed by 31 October.Topics Mergers and acquisitions Unilever Greg Clark news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/19/takeover-panel-kraft-unilever-bid'|'2017-09-20T02:21:00.000+03:00'
'8a176cc2d9d300d806e94bb4611cdc407893e073'|'DP Eurasia delivers 26 percent core profit growth in first half'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:17 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago DP Eurasia delivers 26 percent core profit growth in first half Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - DP Eurasia, which operates the Domino’s Pizza brand in Turkey and Russia, served up a 26 percent growth in its first-half core earnings, driven by an increase in like-for-like sales and expansion of store networks in its key markets. In its first financial results since its London Stock Exchange listing, DP Eurasia reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 39.4 million Turkish lira (8.3 million pounds) for the first half compared to 31.2 million lira a year before. Its adjusted net result for the first half turned to a loss of 0.8 million lira from a profit of 11 million lira a year ago, impacted by foreign exchange loss of 7.3 million lira. Its shares traded 2 percent higher at 185p in early business in London, down from a listing price of 200p three months ago. DP Eurasia, the largest pizza delivery firm in Turkey and the third biggest in Russia by number of stores, increased its revenue by 39 percent to 289.8 million lira in the first half. Its system stores sales, comprising retail sales in both its corporate and franchised stores, rose by 29 percent to 398.5 million lira. The company, which opened its first store in 1996, currently operates 602 outlets and said is on track to open around 70 stores this year, with 40 slated for Russia. Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dpeurasia-results/dp-eurasia-delivers-26-percent-core-profit-growth-in-first-half-idUKKCN1BU0P6'|'2017-09-19T10:17:00.000+03:00'
'e8b6cff30b8402f6bf87514d1165531a04e017b9'|'UPDATE 1-Shopping surge in August boosts British rate hike bets'|'LONDON (Reuters) - British retail sales unexpectedly surged in August, boosting chances the Bank of England will raise interest rates for the first time in a decade at its next meeting.More downbeat news, however, came from a BoE survey which showed no sign that wages were likely to grow much more quickly, tempering a jump in sterling.The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, meanwhile, said uncertainty about Brexit meant Britain next year will suffer its slowest growth since the financial crisis.The contrasting signals underscored the challenge for the BoE which last week surprised investors by saying it was likely to raise rates in the coming months if the economy and inflation pressures strengthen as expected.That change of gear by the BoE came despite the uncertainty about Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and mixed messages about the strength of the economy.Wednesday’s official data showed a sharp pick-up in monthly sales growth in August, despite inflation pressures that have previously squeezed spending.Retail sales volumes rose 1.0 percent month-on-month, their fastest since April, to give an annual growth of 2.4 percent, both well above the highest forecasts in a Reuters poll.More Britons holidaying at home and more foreign visitors, reflecting the weaker pound since the Brexit vote, could be behind some of the rise, economists said.Shoppers spent heavily on non-essentials, despite rising prices, with strong demand for watches and jeweler.“These latest figures will give further encouragement to the Bank of England to follow up their recent statements on the need to raise interest rates,” Andrew Sentance, a former BoE policymaker who now advises accountants PwC, said.HSBC said market pricing for a quarter-point rate rise on Nov. 2, after the BoE’s next meeting, rose to 65 percent.FILE PHOTO: Shoppers carry bags in London, Britain August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Sterling gained almost a cent against the U.S. dollar GBP= after the data, before later giving back most of its gains.British retail data is frequently volatile on a monthly basis and a separate survey released by the BoE on Wednesday offered a more downbeat picture.Construction and consumer-facing industries were suffering and there were mixed signals on investment, although factory exports and business-to-business services were strong.FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk along Oxford Street in London, Britain December 18, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Pay rises mostly remained at 2-3 percent, below inflation but there were some signs that the worst of the impact on prices of last year’s fall in the pound should start to ease.INFLATION SQUEEZE PEAKING? The loss of disposable income this year caused the weakest first quarter for retail sales since 2010. But companies have reported little slowdown in spending so far.Kingfisher ( KGF.L ), Britain’s biggest home improvements retailer, said sales of expensive power tools and new kitchens had not changed, though it was cautious about the outlook.The OECD said British growth will slow from 1.6 percent this year to 1.0 percent in 2018, weaker than the BoE and most economists expect. It would be the slowest growth since the 2009 recession.The BoE said last week that Brexit as well as longer-term problems mean the pace at which Britain’s economy can grow without generating excessive inflation -- and requiring higher interest rates -- has fallen.HSBC economist Liz Martins said Wednesday’s data raised the chance of stronger than expected growth, making a rate hike in November even more likely.“The Bank sounded comfortable enough about raising rates in November on an assumption of 0.3 percent growth in the third quarter. If the number is higher, then it will be even more.” she said.Reporting by David Milliken and William Schomberg. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-economy-retail/shopping-surge-in-august-boosts-british-rate-hike-bets-idUSKCN1BV148'|'2017-09-20T12:35:00.000+03:00'
'9f81855b555654388f3481b950707d51f6b189fd'|'Airbus opens China A330 plant amid market push'|'  3:48 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Airbus opens China A330 plant amid market push Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A logo of Airbus is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse TIANJIN (Reuters) - Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) on Wednesday opened its Chinese completion plant for A330 jets, with hopes that an increased presence in the world’s fastest growing aviation market would help boost demand for the firm’s profitable but ageing wide-body jets. Europe’s largest aerospace firm marked the opening of center in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin with the delivery of the first A330 jet from the plant to Tianjin Airlines. The center is a joint venture between the Aviation Industry Corporation of China [SASADY.UL] and Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Company [TJFTZ.UL] and was first agreed during a visit by President Xi Jinping to France in 2014. Airbus already has a final assembly line for single-aisle A320 jets in Tianjin, which began operations in 2008. At the center just opened, Airbus will perform tasks such as aircraft painting, cabin installations as well as flight tests on aircraft received from Airbus’ final assembly line in Toulouse, France. Airbus’ main U.S. rival Boeing ( BA.N ), is also ramping up its footprint in the country as it vies for orders. It has said it will build a 737 completion plant in eastern China with planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd [CMAFC.UL]. Reporting by Joseph Campbell in TIANJIN; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-aviation-airbus/airbus-opens-china-a330-plant-amid-market-push-idUKKCN1BV0BV'|'2017-09-20T06:48:00.000+03:00'
'8aae34eead6b0dc3b0413c431e944816e51c4b88'|'Maersk sells oil tankers to owner, opening door to Mitsui'|'September 20, 2017 / 7:43 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Maersk sells oil tankers to owner, opening door to Mitsui Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of the Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. is seen in Tokyo, Japan, February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A.P. Moller-Maersk ( MAERSKb.CO ) has agreed a $1.71 billion deal to sell its oil tanker division to its controlling shareholder, who in turn will enter an ownership consortium with Japan’s Mitsui & Co ( 8031.T ). The Danish conglomerate last year embarked on a restructuring to focus on transport and logistics and last month sold its oil and gas business to Total ( TOTF.PA ) in a $7.45 billion deal. Maersk said it will use the proceeds to reduce debt and that the sale, which it expects to close by next month, will have no impact on its financial guidance for 2017. A.P. Moller Holding, a wholly-owned fund established by the founder of A.P. Moller-Maersk with approximately $20 billion under management, will take ownership of Maersk Tankers through its subsidiary APMH Invest A/S. Maersk said the new owner will establish an ownership consortium for Maersk Tankers’ fleet with Mitsui & Co. and other potential partners, but that A.P. Moller Holding will remain the majority shareholder. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-maersk-tankers/maersk-sells-oil-tankers-to-owner-opening-door-to-mitsui-idINKCN1BV0ST'|'2017-09-20T05:43:00.000+03:00'
'3be1587a6ac36a0663649d7eb2b22e9845c05dcf'|'Juncker''s ideas should inspire member states to form common vision - EU''s Wieser'|'September 19, 2017 / 9:25 PM / Updated 12 hours ago Juncker''s ideas should inspire member states to form common vision - EU''s Wieser Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO Jean-Claude Juncker looks on before addressing the European Parliament during a debate on The State of the European Union in Strasbourg, France, September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann - VIENNA (Reuters) - Jean-Claude Juncker’s reform plan should inspire EU member states to build a common vision for an after-Brexit bloc and not to quarrel about details, Thomas Wieser, the EU official who runs preparations for Eurogroup meetings, said on Tuesday. The head of the European Commission last week challenged German and French ideas of how to revamp the euro zone institutions after Britain leaves the European Union in March 2019, calling for a pan-European finance minister in charge of all forms of EU or euro zone financing via the EU budget. Juncker suggested such a minister should also be the chairman of all euro zone finance ministers and be accountable to the European Parliament. His ideas of expanding the euro zone and deepening its cooperation triggered mixed reactions and lively discussions within the member states. “He (Juncker) addressed the big topics of the next 20, 30 years, but many made the mistake of interpreting it as if (the changes) were to be expected next year,” Wieser said at a panel discussion in Vienna. “I do have the impression that too many quarrel about nitty-gritty details before having discussed the overall issue.” If member states could agree on what they want, it would be much easier to draw up a time table for the next three years, said the president of the Eurogroup working group, which prepares decisions for euro finance ministers. “The real debate is, do we want a centralist, federalist European Union in the future, or a more decentralized bloc, controlled by the individual governments and parliaments?” The European Union government heads should discuss these issues at their meetings in December and March, agree on framework conditions and after that task EU officials to produce concrete reform proposals, Wieser said. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-eurozone/junckers-ideas-should-inspire-member-states-to-form-common-vision-eus-wieser-idUKKCN1BU2UU'|'2017-09-20T00:25:00.000+03:00'
'ad4502fe66b0bfa8ab88ff82a2b7ee3218373d12'|'European stocks tread softly ahead of Fed'|'September 20, 2017 / 7:34 AM / Updated 42 minutes ago European stocks tread softly ahead of Fed Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks continued to trade cautiously in early deals on Wednesday ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day, with energy stocks and miners boosted by a rise in metals and oil prices. The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat in percentage terms, helped by buoyant commodities-related shares, while blue chips were also steady. European banking stocks were in particular focus, with the sector trading flat as investors awaited the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting for clues as to whether a third interest rate hike is on the cards for this year. Banks, which have outperformed the broader market so far this year, are a beneficiary of higher interest rates. Deal-making was also in focus in Europe, with shares in steelmaker Thyssenkrupp rising 5 percent after it struck a preliminary deal with India’s Tata Steel to merge their European steel operations in a 50-50 joint venture. Though individual share price moves on the STOXX 600 were otherwise fairly muted, results spurred a 6.5 percent jump in Britain’s Kingfisher, the biggest gainer, after the home improvement retailer reported better-than-expected profit for the first half. Spanish retailer Inditex fell 2.6 percent, however, after the Zara-owner saw gross margins eroded in the first half due to a strong euro. Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-stocks-tread-softly-ahead-of-fed-idUKKCN1BV0S9'|'2017-09-20T10:24:00.000+03:00'
'2c73b5e580ea31009e565fbf41723d0088e5929c'|'Wall Street lukewarm on Chipotle''s new ''queso'' amid customer scorn'|'  6:49 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Wall Street lukewarm on Chipotle''s new ''queso'' amid customer scorn Lisa Baertlein 4 Min Read Chipotle Mexican Grill''s new "queso" cheese topping pictured in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Noel Randewich LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc’s ( CMG.N ) new “queso” cheese sauce is going over better on Wall Street than on Twitter, where one person called it a “crime against cheese.” Chipotle has been fighting to return to its former industry-leading sales growth since a series of 2015 food-safety lapses that also hammered its share price, which remains down more than 55 percent. Seeking to address the “boredom” cited by “lapsed defectors” who formerly had been frequent visitors to the burrito chain, Chipotle granted diners’ No. 1 request and added queso to menus nationwide on Sept. 12. Some Twitter reviews savaged Chipotle’s queso, calling it “gritty” and “a crime against cheese,” while others dubbed it “tasty.” Since Sept. 12, “we have witnessed shorts covering/trimming exposure, despite the mixed reviews of the recent queso offering,” said Matthew Unterman, director at S3 Partners, a financial analytics firm. Despite investors becoming less bearish on the company, almost 17 percent of Chipotle’s float, or shares available for trade, have been sold short. With more than $1.45 billion at risk betting against the shares, it is the No. 1 short in the restaurant sector, Unterman said. Chipotle’s stock fell slightly earlier this week as Twitter users criticized the orange-colored dip and topping, but they rebounded to trade slightly up for the week at $315.20. “Although we acknowledge reviews of the queso launch have been mixed, we believe queso is off to a respectable start,” Maxim Group analyst Stephen Anderson said in a note. Chipotle Mexican Grill''s new "queso" cheese topping pictured in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Noel Randewich Based on weekly visits to Chipotle’s NEXT test kitchen in Manhattan, which debuted queso this summer, Anderson continues to believe that 10 percent to 15 percent of customers will order it. William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia called queso “a neutral to potentially positive wild card” for Chipotle shares after sales checks at a handful of Chicago restaurants before and after the national launch. Those checks suggested that queso was added to about 30 percent of orders, with about one-third of those sales replacing guacamole, Zackfia said. Research firm M Science analyzed credit card transactions and said Chipotle’s queso test in hundreds of Southern California restaurants appeared to boost sales in the state and, to a lesser extent nationally, during the August test. “The question is whether it lasts,” said Troy Li, an M Science senior analyst. Goldman Sachs analyzed social media “buzz” and said the negative comments “suggest few customers will become repeat consumers” and that queso would have limited benefit to same-store sales during the quarter. Chipotle will begin advertising support for queso next week. Spokesman Chris Arnold said the company continues to see results that back its decision to roll out queso to its roughly 2,300 U.S. restaurants. Billionaire investor William Ackman, Chipotle’s largest shareholder, defended queso on CNBC this week, citing positive reviews from his office mates: “I‘m beginning to believe that Twitter is filled with a bunch of Chipotle short-sellers.” Additional reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chipotle-stocks/wall-street-lukewarm-on-chipotles-new-queso-amid-customer-scorn-idUSKCN1BX2ND'|'2017-09-22T21:47:00.000+03:00'
'53ae79c7e1381391d74dc3ab7e4f6368f9597081'|'Central Asia Metals to buy Lynx Resources for $402.5 million'|'(Reuters) - Kazakhstan-focused copper miner Central Asia Metals ( CAML.L ) said it would buy Bermuda-based Lynx Resources Ltd in a $402.5 million reverse-takeover deal from its owners.The acquisition would be funded by a mix of debt and cash, Central Asian Metals said on Friday.The zinc miner is owned by Bermuda-based fund Orion Co-Investments III L.P. and Swiss PE firm Fusion Capital AG.The deal is expected to be both earnings- and cash-flow-per-share-accretive in the first full year, the company said.Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-caml-m-a-lynx-resources/central-asia-metals-to-buy-lynx-resources-for-402-5-million-idUSKCN1BX0L2'|'2017-09-22T14:57:00.000+03:00'
'ea1718936d09183b477af33e7aaae8fa3b689f6e'|'Airbus eyes China for A380 jumbo amid sluggish global sales'|'September 19, 2017 / 10:05 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Airbus looks to China for A380 jumbo amid sluggish global sales Brenda Goh 4 Min Read Airbus China CEO Eric Chen speaks during a media presentation in Beijing, China, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese airlines could need between 60 and 100 Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A380 jets over the next five or so years as passenger traffic grows, the plane maker’s China head said on Tuesday, amid rising questions over future demand for the super jumbo. Strong demand in China - if translated into orders - would be a major boost for the A380, the world’s biggest jetliner, which has faced sluggish demand as airlines shift focus towards a generation of nimbler, more fuel-efficient long-haul planes such as the A350 and rival Boeing Co’s ( BA.N ) 787. China is the world’s fastest growing aviation market and is a key battleground for Airbus as well as Boeing which recently predicted the country would spend over $1 trillion on planes over the next 20 years. “When I look at the market flow, the passenger flow, route by route and the economics, I‘m fully confident that the Chinese carriers will need a minimum of 60 A380s over the next 5 to 7 years,” Airbus China Head Eric Chen said at an event in Beijing. Airbus has sold five A380s to China Southern Airlines Co Ltd ( 600029.SS ) but has otherwise failed to penetrate the market with the double-decker jet despite its robust demand forecasts. The aircraft manufacturer believes the A380 will come into its own in markets that face booming tourism and congestion like China, but the aircraft has struggled to compete with smaller and more flexible twin-engined models. In July, Airbus signed an agreement to sell 140 A320 and A350 planes to China in a deal worth almost $23 billion. China represents around 22 percent of Airbus global deliveries. Airbus China CEO Eric Chen speaks during a media presentation in Beijing, China, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter “What I can say is that if one airline takes the lead to order a large number of A380s, the others will follow. I would expect a domino effect and I‘m working on it to produce that domino effect that has not happened yet,” Chen said. He admitted though that it would not necessarily be an easy task to win over Chinese buyers. “A lack of confidence to operate the A380, that is something to work on continuously with the airlines in China,” he said. Slideshow (3 Images) Europe’s largest aerospace company will on Wednesday inaugurate a completion and delivery centre for its A330 jet in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. The facility is Airbus’ first for wide-body aircraft outside Europe and is expected to deliver its first A330 aircraft this year. Francois Mery, chief operating officer at Airbus China, said that there was talk of placing more higher-value work in China, as the company has set a target of doubling its industrial cooperation activity in the country to $1 billion by 2020. “It’s not only about the figure, it also about the content,” he said. “They have the ambition of getting into the business, making their own aircraft, they need to develop all kinds of things. And so without being naive, of course we are working with them.” Airbus’ comments came as the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL], which is leading China’s efforts to become a key player in the global civil aerospace market, on Tuesday announced 130 in orders for its C919 jet. Reporting by Brenda Goh, additional reporting by Tim Hepher in PARIS, writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-aviation-airbus/airbus-eyes-china-for-a380-jumbo-amid-sluggish-global-sales-idUSKCN1BU16X'|'2017-09-19T13:05:00.000+03:00'
'7a1ab6581bde72adcd4baa887cd6ed40ca2a6271'|'MOVES-BNY Mellon Wealth Management names new senior wealth director'|'September 19, 2017 / 3:16 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago MOVES-BNY Mellon Wealth Management names new senior wealth director Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s wealth management arm named Juan Alejandro Ramos as senior wealth director of its Greenwich, Connecticut office. Ramos, who previously worked at BofA''s U.S. Trust bank as senior vice president, will report to Managing Director Chris Griffin. ( bit.ly/2ybc5YJ ) (Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bny-mellon-wealth-management-moves-juan/moves-bny-mellon-wealth-management-names-new-senior-wealth-director-idUSL4N1M04I6'|'2017-09-19T18:13:00.000+03:00'
'29302bcab25b4489de00bba9f84c708933700b13'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits six-week high as energy, financials drive gains'|'  2:31 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits six-week high as energy, financials drive gains Reuters Staff * TSX up 42.04 points, or 0.28 percent, to 15,278.71 * TSX at highest since Aug. 9 * Consumer staples only sector lower; energy up 0.7 pct TORONTO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose to six-week highs on Tuesday, led by oil and gas companies, bolstered by oil prices near five-month highs, and by financial stocks. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd rose 0.9 percent to C$40.66, while Cenovus Energy Inc advanced 2.7 percent to C$11.54. The energy group climbed 0.7 percent as crude oil prices traded near five-month highs after key Middle Eastern producers showed they were continuing to comply with output cuts under an OPEC-led deal. The heavily weighted financials group rose 0.3 percent, though individual gains within the sector were modest. At 10:04 a.m. ET (1404 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 42.04 points, or 0.28 percent, to 15,278.71. It touched 15,288.80, its highest since Aug. 9. Of the index’s 10 main groups, only the consumer staples sector was negative, losing 0.1 percent as grocers inched lower. Industrials rose 0.3 percent, with Air Canada stock rising 1.6 percent to C$24.03 after the airline set new financial targets and moved toward launching a rewards program. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.3 percent. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 159 to 79, for a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the upside. (Reporting by Solarina Ho, Editing by Rosalba O‘Brien)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-hits-six-week-high-as-energy-financials-drive-gains-idUSL2N1M00WX'|'2017-09-19T17:28:00.000+03:00'
'89cc47eb3f54444b5bbcafc6b0b96357bae55607'|'Prudence, politics force Fed to begin shedding U.S. bonds'|'  2:16 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Prudence, politics force Fed to begin shedding U.S. bonds Jonathan Spicer 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prudence and politics are driving the U.S. Federal Reserve to trim its $4.5-trillion asset portfolio, which the Fed accumulated to battle the financial crisis even while congressional criticism grew louder over the last decade. The portfolio has swollen from about $900 billion in mid-2008 thanks to three rounds of bond-buying that left the U.S. central bank far and away the world’s largest holder of government and mortgage debt. It is expected on Wednesday to announce a milestone in closing the book on the crisis era: that it will start the process of shedding bonds as soon as October. The Fed’s plan should slowly eat away at both its $2.5-trillion in Treasuries and $1.8-trillion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) over the next few years, drawing the balance sheet down to somewhere in the range of $2.5-$3.5 trillion, according to Fed officials who say there is no need to decide the landing spot now. What''s in the balance sheet?: tmsnrt.rs/2jCpOpb The Fed wants to take advantage of low unemployment and sustained economic growth to clear room in its portfolio in case a future downturn forces it to ramp up purchases again. The same reasoning informed its decision to raise interest rates four times since late 2015, which made the U.S. central bank something of a trail blazer for its international peers that are still struggling to boost inflation and growth. Policy rates: tmsnrt.rs/2jzc8Li The Fed is also responding to years of criticism from Republican members of Congress who say it has overstepped its remit by buying mortgage-backed securities, which stimulates the housing sector but not others. Letting bonds mature now, rather than selling later, could also avoid logging losses on the profit-making portfolio in years to come. “There is no economic reason for shrinking the balance sheet. It’s for political reasons,” Willem Buiter, Citigroup’s global chief economist, said at New York University’s Stern School of Business this month. “The central banks hate visibility, and the size and composition of the balance sheet makes it very difficult.” The Fed aims to only gradually shed bonds and raise rates in part due to below-target inflation. Yet policymakers point to another reason to keep tightening U.S. monetary policy: the loosening of financial conditions this year, in which credit spreads have narrowed, stock prices have soared, and bond yields and the dollar have slipped. U.S. financial conditions: tmsnrt.rs/2jCTN08 Not all measures of corporate credit are robust, however. Bank loans to businesses, which grew by an average of about 10 percent year-over-year for the past five years, have leveled out this year. Total commercial and industrial loans outstanding: tmsnrt.rs/2jAzAbk (For a full interactive graphic of the effects of Fed bond-buying on the economy and markets, see: tmsnrt.rs/2jxgbbf ) Reporting by Jonathan Spicer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-portfolio/prudence-politics-force-fed-to-begin-shedding-u-s-bonds-idUKKCN1BV1VG'|'2017-09-20T17:11:00.000+03:00'
'26a8175e96dad57d4be306c957e704e9ad8d1d66'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Sept 18'|'September 18, 2017 / 4:42 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Sept 18 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ZURICH, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Monday: SWISS RE Chief Executive Christian Mumenthaler told German newspaper Handelsblatt it would be speculative to comment on the financial impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma on its results, after Germany’s Munich Re warned it could miss its profit target this year. Mumenthaler said the company was not seeing anything completely out of the ordinary in the United States and that he is not particularly concerned by “Irma & Co.” For more news, click PILATUS The plane maker will close a production site in the western Chinese city of Chonqing by the end of the year, driven by factors including poor sales and a shortage of available foreign and local workers, Le Temps reported. The company might, however, open another site elsewhere in the country, it added. COMPANY STATEMENTS * Roche said the FDA had requested its phase IB and IB/II Tecentriq study to be placed on partial clinical hold. Based on emerging safety data, the company said the FDA is evaluating all ongoing blood cancer trials involving an anti-PD1/PDL1 medicine in combination with drugs that modulate the immune system. * Valora said it will acquire the German-based food service company BackWerk for approximately 190 million euros ($226.9 million). * Peach Properties said it issued a 25 million Swiss franc hybrid convertible bond. * Burkhalter Holding said its first-half profit fell 8.3 percent to 14.8 million francs and said earnings per share are likely to fall in 2017. ECONOMY The Swiss National Bank is due to give an update on sight deposits at 0800 GMT. $1 = 0.8373 euros Reporting by Zurich newsroom'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks/swiss-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-18-idUSL5N1LW4Y5'|'2017-09-18T07:40:00.000+03:00'
'30094a20f87cb102afe173866f6cd461fe8fe27c'|'UPDATE 2-Ford seeks to revive Indian carmaking alliance with Mahindra'|'  9:30 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Ford, Mahindra alliance reflects pressures on automakers Swati Bhat 5 Min Read The logo of Ford is seen during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co and Indian vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd said on Monday they will launch a new strategic alliance, seeking technology sharing and cost saving in a range of activities from purchasing to development of electric vehicles. The agreement comes with global automakers under pressure as policymakers demand they shift their product lines entirely to electric vehicles over the next two to three decades. At the same time, regional automakers such as Mahindra want access to technology, strong brands and global distribution networks that established companies like Ford can offer. Ford shares rose 0.5 percent Monday. Investors are watching as Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett, who took over in May, has begun to steer the automaker in a different direction. Hackett’s decision to no longer go it alone in India follows a move to hire an outsider to run Ford’s operations in China, and shift production of the Ford Focus for the U.S. market to China, instead of Mexico as previously planned. Hackett has also launched reviews of the company’s luxury brand strategy and self-driving car development. Ford and Mahindra said in a joint announcement they would seek ways to collaborate on a wide range of projects for up to three years. Financial terms were not disclosed. Ford president of global markets, Jim Farley, and Ford’s head of Asia Pacific operations, Peter Fleet, told Reuters on Monday that teams from the companies will start meeting next week to discuss ways to benefit in the short and medium term. “We are focused on the now and near with this initiative. We want to work on the opportunities that are right in front of us,” Farley said. In the shorter term, Ford and Mahindra suggested they could benefit from collaborating on distribution of vehicles in India, pooling purchasing and collaborating on forays into ride services. Longer-term projects could include sharing technology or development efforts for electric vehicles, the companies said. For Ford, the Mahindra deal points to a new strategy for dealing with demands from policymakers in many major markets to phase out petroleum-fueled vehicles in favor of electric cars and trucks. Ford, like global rivals, faces a challenge because electric vehicles engineered for the United States or Europe are too expensive for Indian or Chinese customers. Policymakers in China and India, as well as some European countries, have signaled they want the industry to phase out diesel and gasoline vehicles over the next two to three decades. By allying with Mahindra, Ford can work with the leader in the emerging low-cost electric vehicle market in India. In China, Ford said last month it would pursue a joint venture with Chinese low-cost electric vehicle maker Zotye. “We will certainly be introducing the companies,” Ford’s Fleet said. India is one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets. Getting more companies to manufacture in India - both for its own market and for export - is critical for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which needs to create millions of new jobs each year as the workforce expands. However, global car makers like Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and General Motors have struggled in India, where nimbler rivals such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor have cornered roughly two-thirds of the market. Turbulence in the Indian economy, and shifts in government policy on vehicle taxes and regulation have further complicated the situation for global automakers. Earlier in September, for example, India’s cabinet approved an increase in the maximum levy on luxury cars and sport utility vehicles to as much as 25 percent - less than two months after deciding on a lower rate of 15 percent as part of the new nationwide goods and services tax. In May, General Motors said it would stop selling cars in India at the end of this year. Mahindra and Ford said their prospective alliance would give Ford access to Mahindra’s distribution network in India while Mahindra would benefit from Ford’s market reach in other developing economies. The U.S. company has already invested more than $2 billion in India and plans to spend more to set up a global engineering center in the southern city of Chennai to help adapt products for the local market and changing consumer trends. India has the second-highest number of Ford employees of any country, company officials said. Ford and Mahindra had a partnership during the 1990s and early 2000s that involved cross share-holdings and was unwound in 2005. Ford is among the top exporters of cars from India and manufactures and exports vehicles and engines from its plants in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Sanand, Gujarat. Additional reporting by Aditi Shah and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Euan Rocha, Greg Mahlich and Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-mahindra-alliance/ford-exploring-strategic-alliance-with-indian-automaker-mahindra-idUSKCN1BT0U8'|'2017-09-18T16:11:00.000+03:00'
'13a5383930736c14e81d80ad0ab32736d927c7c8'|'Northrop Grumman scores biggest U.S. defense acquisition loan in six years'|'FILE PHOTO: The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A, at NASA''s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia October 15, 2016. Bill Ingalls/NASA/Handout via REUTERS NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global defense and security systems company Northrop Grumman is backing its US$9.2bn purchase of aerospace and defense technology company Orbital ATK with an US$8.5bn bridge loan, the largest loan for an acquisition by an investment-grade company in the sector in six years.The 364-day senior unsecured bridge financing, which is initially provided by JP Morgan, will be replaced with a permanent financing prior to the closing of the acquisition.The deal comes just two weeks after aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp said it would buy avionics supplier Rockwell Collins Inc for US$30bn, including Rockwell’s debt, in the sector’s largest-ever merger.Northrop Grumman’s bridge loan tops the US$6.5bn 364-day bridge financing that United Technologies launched September 6 to back its merger - the first loan backing M&A in the investment-grade aerospace arena this year - and is the largest since a US$15bn bridge that United Technologies lined up for its purchase of Goodrich Corp that was announced in September 2011, according to Thomson Reuters LPC.Northrop Grumman is acquiring junk-rated Orbital ATK for around US$7.8bn in cash plus US$1.4bn in assumed net debt.GAINING TRACTION The back-to-back deals help prop up investment-grade lending, which had been subdued much of the year by the ongoing wait for legislative action on US tax, trade and healthcare reform. In the absence of new policies well into the year, however, mergers have been gaining traction, particularly among companies eager to grow by acquisition and expecting little regulatory resistance to their tie-ups.Strategic transactions of companies with complimentary businesses that face few antitrust hurdles “might still prevail regardless of the unknowns in the marketplace,” said one senior banker. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see more, but I’m not expecting it to pick up so much that we have a record year in M&A at this point in the year.”Investment-grade loan issuance overall was down 10% through the end of August at US$479bn, compared with US$532bn in the same period last year, LPC data show. Bridge loan volume in that time was down 21% to US$53bn compared with US$67bn at the same time last year.With its merger, Northrop Grumman gains access to lucrative government contracts, expanding its arsenal of missile defense systems and space rockets, at a time when North Korea is testing threatening missiles and nuclear weapons, Reuters reported. Orbital has contracts with NASA and the US Army.Banks will earn about US$25m in fees for arranging the bridge loan, according to Freeman Consulting Services.“We’re starting to see the deal activity catch up to some of the appetite that’s been telegraphed by the capital markets overall,” said another senior banker.Companies this year have swiftly replaced bridge loans with longer-term permanent financing, pushing to lock in relatively low borrowing costs at a time when demand for corporate bonds remains elevated, bankers have said.Northrop Grumman’s acquisition is expected to close in the first half of next year.The company is rated BBB+ by S&P and Baa1 by Moody’s Investors Service. Northrop Grumman said in a Monday statement that it is committed to maintaining investment-grade ratings and would use its strong cash flow to support debt reduction.The rating agencies warned of a downgrade after the all-cash acquisition was announced.Reporting by Lynn Adler; Editing By Michelle Sierra '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-northrop-acquisition-loans/northrop-grumman-scores-biggest-u-s-defense-acquisition-loan-in-six-years-idINKCN1BT2AR'|'2017-09-18T16:09:00.000+03:00'
'641b5ef3a1a6d1d96819f93c12e1d5a1170bfc2e'|'BRIEF-Disney, Chase renew co-brand card relationship'|'  2:56 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago BRIEF-Disney, Chase renew co-brand card relationship Reuters Staff Sept 19 (Reuters) - Chase Card Services: * Disney and Chase renew co-brand card relationship * Says it, Walt Disney Co extended multi-year Disney Visa card, Disney Premier Visa card and Disney Visa debit card programs Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-disney-chase-renew-co-brand-card-r/brief-disney-chase-renew-co-brand-card-relationship-idUSFWN1M00HZ'|'2017-09-19T17:55:00.000+03:00'
'a1a423153784a23ae188eccbe1a8a1aac71e7c9f'|'EDF sees rapid growth in electric car charging business'|'* EU-funded French EV charging network grows quickly* Corri-Door is big part of French motorway charge network* EDF’s EV business Sodetrel sees 50 pct revenue growthBy Geert De ClercqPARIS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - French utility EDF is expecting rapid growth in its electric vehicle charging network and aims to increase the number of its docking stations, an EDF executive said.EDF’s electric mobility business Sodetrel has achieved revenue growth of 50 percent annually in the past three years. It now operates some 4,000 charging points countrywide, mainly in public spaces.Sodetrel’s new Corri-Door fast-charging network along French highways has also grown rapidly. The number of individual charges tripled to 3,000 in August this year from 1,000 in August 2016, Sodetrel CEO Juliette Antoine-Simon said at an EDF strategy presentation on Tuesday.“There are no queues at our charging stations yet, but some of them are highly utilised,” she told reporters.Corri-Door’s 200 fast-charging 50 kilovolt stations are placed at 80 kilometre (50 miles) intervals in petrol stations along French highways and allow an electric vehicle (EV) to be recharged in 20-30 minutes.Antoine-Simon said Corri-Door stations in the Paris area, as well as on major motorways to the south, north and west were used intensively. Sodetrel is looking to increase the number of chargers in busy stations and is considering new locations.The Corri-Door network, built at a cost of 10 million euros ($12 million), is operated by Sodetrel in partnership with Renault, Nissan, BMW and Volkswagen and is a key link in Europe’s EV charging network.All electric car brands, including Tesla, can use Corri-Door and Sodetrel customers also have access to some 50,000 EV charging stations in other European countries.Utilities are competing to build the first pan-European EV charging networks as the range of these cars increases. France’s Engie has bought Dutch EVBox, while Germany’s E.ON partners with Denmark’s CLEVER.Asked whether EDF is also looking to build an EU-wide network, Antoine-Simon said Sodetrel had strong ambitions but would only invest where it saw demand.Corri-Door is the biggest player on French highways as other brands only operate a handful of stations.In terms of charging stations not on the major highways, Sodetrel has a market share of nearly a third of France’s 17,000 public charging stations.It aims to grow that share as it takes over the running of charging stations from construction companies such as Bouygues which build these facilities as part of construction projects but then leave operation to others.Sodetrel operates public charging networks in the cities of Paris, Marseille and Grenoble as well as for regions such as Hauts de France and Seine Maritime.It also operates charging stations for parking lot operator Indigo, in parking lots for IKEA, retailer Auchamps and Paris airports ADP among others. ($1 = 0.8356 euros) (Reporting by Geert De Clercq. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/electricity-autos-edf/edf-sees-rapid-growth-in-electric-car-charging-business-idUSL5N1M056F'|'2017-09-19T21:00:00.000+03:00'
'4a15341b7b06467e3fc1930deee5c75c7217f961'|'Norway''s $1 trillion wealth fund backs Linde-Praxair combination'|'September 19, 2017 / 8:39 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Norway''s $1 trillion wealth fund backs Linde-Praxair deal Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Linde Group logo is seen at company building before the annual news conference in Munich, Germany March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth OSLO (Reuters) - The proposed $74 billion tie-up of German industrial gases group Linde ( LING.DE ) and U.S. peer Praxair ( PX.N ) got a boost on Tuesday when the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund said it was backing the deal. The Norwegian fund, which also said the value of its assets had topped $1 trillion, will vote in favor of four key resolutions proposed by Linde’s management at a Sept. 27 meeting of shareholders, it said. “We support the strategic rationale for the merger ... the proposed business combination is in the best long-term interest of Linde AG shareholders,” Norges Banks Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, said in a statement. NBIM, which only discloses the size of its individual holdings once per year, owned 4.76 percent of Linde’s shares at the start of 2017, worth $1.46 billion, and 1.0 percent of Praxair, valued at $335.6 million. Related Coverage Linde could lower threshold for Praxair exchange offer: Euro magazine “We seek to provide clarity and avoid any potential market speculation about our voting decision,” it said. “Norges Bank Investment Management has tendered all shares held in Linde AG in connection with the business combination.” The value of the Norwegian fund, which owns about 1.3 percent of all globally listed equities and also has large positions in fixed income and real estate, has hit $1 trillion, NBIM confirmed. The Praxair logo is seen during a news conference with Linde in Munich, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle A Reuters calculation, based on the fund’s own live valuation on its website, showed the fund hit the trillion-dollar mark on Sept. 12. Established to save oil and gas revenues for future generations, the fund is now worth about 2.5 times Norway’s annual gross domestic product, against original projections it would peak at 1.3 times GDP in the 2020s. “I don’t think anyone expected the fund to ever reach $1 trillion when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996,” said NBIM Chief Executive Officer Yngve Slyngstad. “Reaching $1 trillion is a milestone, and the growth in the fund’s market value has been stunning,” he added. The milestone was reached partly thanks to a rise in the fund’s dollar value in recent months caused by the dollar’s own decline against other major currencies. Measured in Norwegian crowns, the fund stands at 7.81 trillion, below the 8 trillion crowns it hit in April. Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Nerijus Adomaitis and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-linde-m-a-praxair/norways-1-trillion-wealth-fund-backs-linde-praxair-combination-idINKCN1BU0XO'|'2017-09-19T06:39:00.000+03:00'
'd58cd98d40c5104339061aa7f60c9ca6ba9114ff'|'Telecom Italia board backs decision to appeal ruling on Vivendi control'|'FILE PHOTO: A Telecom Italia tower is pictured in Rome, Italy, March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) ( TLIT.MI ) said on Tuesday its board backed a decision to appeal a ruling by the Italian market watchdog that stated French group Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) has de facto control over the phone company.TIM’s board met on Tuesday to discuss the matter and a majority of its members voted in favor of appealing the Sept. 13 ruling, the company said in a statement.“While assuring the company’s full compliance with the discipline that such qualification implies, the board has nonetheless confirmed, with a majority vote, the intention to challenge the decision in the qualified court, as already announced,” TIM said in its statement.Vivendi, which denies controlling TIM, is the biggest investor in the Italian company with a 24 percent stake.The Consob ruling has strengthened the Italian government’s hand as it considers using special powers that could trigger asset sales.Reporting by Silvia Aloisi '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-telecomitalia-vivendi/telecom-italia-board-backs-decision-to-appeal-ruling-on-vivendi-control-idINKCN1BU2L4'|'2017-09-19T17:07:00.000+03:00'
'c70ef152afdd3b8d0bbf77a215867d368d04da6d'|'U.S. bankruptcy judge says will approve loan for Toys ''R'' Us'|'FILE PHOTO: Consumers leave a Toys R Us store with full shopping carts after shopping on the day dubbed "Black Friday" in Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S., November 25, 2011. REUTERS/Adam Hunger/File Photo WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) - The U.S. Bankruptcy judge overseeing the Chapter 11 of Toys ‘R’ Us said on Tuesday he would approve the company’s request to borrow more than $2 billion to help stabilize the largest U.S. toy chain as it builds inventory for the year-end shopping season. Toys ‘R’ Us filed for bankruptcy Monday, squeezed by online shopping and discount chains. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Nick  '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-judge/u-s-bankruptcy-judge-says-will-approve-loan-for-toys-r-us-idUSKCN1BU2NR'|'2017-09-20T03:39:00.000+03:00'
'497e57fd985d6705a0ab3fe26a65ad2314a224b0'|'UK fishermen see Brexit bonanza, but there''s a catch'|'September 19, 2017 / 6:11 AM / Updated 2 hours ago UK fishermen see Brexit bonanza, but there''s a catch Nigel Hunt , Sybille de La Hamaide 8 Min Read NEWLYN, England/PARIS (Reuters) - For the fishermen of this small port on the toe of England, Britain’s vote to leave the European Union was an answer to their prayers. After 45 years chafing under what they saw as unfair quotas in one of the world’s richest fishing grounds, the UK government would finally, in the lexicon of Brexiteers, “take back control” of British waters. But what Brexit gives with one hand, it can also take away. European fishermen want Brussels to use its trump card - continued access to the essential EU market - in negotiations on how to divvy up the seas. It’s a familiar issue for negotiators hashing out the terms of Britain’s exit due in March 2019. The talks are currently focused on separation but will move to the future relationship, including trade ties, later this year. “From our point of view, if they get free access to the European market, we should also have free access to fish in the British fishing zone,” said Niels Wichmann, head of the Danish Fishermen’s Association. Trade access is vital to Britain because it exports the bulk of the seafood it catches while importing the majority of what it consumes, mostly cod, salmon, tuna, haddock and prawns. Europe imports about 75 percent of the British catch, a cornucopia of 40 species that is too exotic for most domestic consumers, such as the cuttlefish and megrim sole sold every morning at Newlyn’s market in Cornwall. “Previous generations were comfortable and knowledgeable in buying, preparing and cooking seafood, but the current generation of seafood consumers see seafood as a scary protein and tend stick to the same top 5 favourites,” said Richard Watson, analyst at UK seafood industry group Seafish. Cod was the most popular fish in the year to June 16, 2016, at 69,321 tonnes, out of total seafood consumption of 485,691 tonne, according to Seafish data. The group estimates around 90 percent of the cod supply was imported from countries such as Iceland and Norway in 2014, a number not likely to change substantially no matter what terms are agreed on Brexit, especially as the oceans warm up. “Experts in the field report that cod have simply migrated further north to colder waters as sea temperatures have naturally warmed over the past few decades,” Watson said. “This makes it more economical in trip length and fuel costs etc for the Nordic countries to catch.” The UK has been heavily reliant on imports of the species since losing access to the richest fishing grounds in the north Atlantic decades ago after the so-called Cod Wars. Much of the salmon consumed in Britain is farmed in steel cages off the coasts of Scotland, Norway or Iceland, while tuna are generally caught in the Indian Ocean and imported. GAME OVER Britain has said it plans to allow foreign ships to fish in UK waters after Brexit but claims the right to decide the extent of access. The EU will be seeking to maintain something close to the status quo, industry sources say. Any restrictions on EU market access would likely take the form of tariffs, which can be as high as 24 percent on seafood. For European fishermen, losing rights to British waters would have devastating consequences. Sean O‘Donoghue, CEO of Ireland’s largest fishermen’s representative body, Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, said it would be “game over for us”. “We’ve already met (EU lead Brexit negotiator) Michel Barnier as a European Fishing Alliance Group and we got a commitment from him that the wider trade negotiations would not be separate from fisheries ... So far we’ve got some traction on that but we are very concerned, obviously.” Killybegs said about 60 percent of mackerel and 40 percent of Dublin Bay prawns, which together make up about 60 percent of the value of all Irish fish landed in Irish ports, are sourced from UK waters. About a third of the output of France’s northern departments of Normandy, Brittany and Hauts-de-France comes from UK waters. Fishermen on the Boulogne sur Mer based trawler "La Fregate III " prepare to raise fishing nets off the coast of northern France, August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol “Brexit would mean a big loss in revenue for everyone ... The places where we can fish are already limited,” said Jean-Charles Frammery, captain of French boat La Fregate. Revenue for French fishermen would drop by 50 percent and wages by 15 percent if the UK closed its waters, said Hubert Carré, director general at French fishermen’s group CNPMEM. Belgian fishermen get around half their catch from UK waters. “We could go to other parts of the North Sea but it would not be able to fully compensate,” said Sander Meyns, project coordinator at Rederscentrale, the organisation representing Belgium’s fishing industry. Spain gets around the problem by having a Spanish-owned but British-flagged fleet, a legacy of the years before Spain joined the EU, when it invested in Britain to gain access to the bloc’s fishing quotas, the Spanish Confederation of Fisheries (Cepesca) said. The quota system is one of the biggest sources of frustration for British fishermen, who were among the most vocal supporters of the June 2016 vote to leave the EU. For the last 34 years, the Common Fisheries Policy quota has given 84 percent of the cod in the English Channel to France and just 9 percent to Britain, for example, according to Britain’s National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO). Slideshow (9 Images) “Given the EU fleets take about four times as much fish out of UK waters as we take out of EU waters...the expectation is there will be a lot more fish (for UK fisherman),” said NFFO chief executive Barrie Deas. THE SON OF A FISH MERCHANT Barnier, the lead negotiator for the European Union, is a former French agriculture and fisheries minister. Representing UK interests is the senior government minister in charge of fishing, Michael Gove, the son of a fish merchant. So far, neither side has stated a position and there has been no mention of fish in the official negotiating documents. The EU says failure to reach agreements with London will hurt the British economy more than that of the EU. The fishing lobby’s clout may have been strengthened by the outcome of this year’s parliamentary election in Britain -- the ruling Conservatives were able to cling to power after losing seats overall because they gained ground in the important fishing region of north-east Scotland. Some experts believe it may not be the end of the world if Britain loses unrestricted access to Europe. British consumers are already becoming more adventurous about the varieties of fish they eat and this could accelerate that trend, said Craig McAngus, a politics lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. “Clearly it could be cheaper to eat fish that has been caught in the UK than imported from wherever else. I think the market in fish will change,” said McAngus, who is researching UK fisheries post-Brexit. David Stevens, who skippers the “Crystal Sea” boat at Newlyn, saw scope for sales outside the EU. “If they (the EU) decide not to buy British fish, that opens up the rest of the world. That is a very big market,” he told Reuters while repairing his nets. The mood in Newlyn was positive, Stevens said. But he added some were waiting for the results of the EU talks before making investments. “I think fishermen would definitely be looking to invest in boats, modernize them, and get them ready for a post-Brexit future,” he said. Infographic ID: ''2xKmgaH'' Additional reporting by Clotaire Achi and Pascal Rossignol aboard a fishing boat in the English Channel, Lucien Libert in Paris, Padraic Halpin in Dublin, Rodrigo de Miguel Roncal in Madrid and Jacob Gronholt-Pederson in Copenhagen; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-fishing/uk-fishermen-see-brexit-bonanza-but-theres-a-catch-idUKKCN1BU0J6'|'2017-09-19T09:12:00.000+03:00'
'08c34deaa2b20e6c1a21f99b6cb3105b3be2fba6'|'ECB seen keeping option to prolong bond-buying again in 2018 - sources'|'European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/Files FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymakers disagree on whether to set a definitive end-date for their money-printing programme when they meet in October, raising the chance that they will keep open at least the option of prolonging it again, six sources told Reuters.A stubbornly strong euro, with its dampening effect on inflation, is driving a rift among ECB policymakers, the sources on the ECB’s Governing Council with direct knowledge of its thinking said.The split is between ‘hawks’ -- led by richer, northern countries such as Germany -- who are ready to wind down the 2.3 trillion euros bond-purchase programme and ‘doves’ who simply want to reduce its monthly pace, the sources said.This is raising the likelihood that they will seek a compromise solution on Oct. 26, whereby any end-date for purchases would not be set in stone, or that they will put off part of the decision until December, the sources added.The main point of contention is the euro’s continued appreciation against major currencies, which is threatening to curb inflation in the euro zone by making its imports cheaper and exports dearer.The ECB declined to comment. The sources noted that no decision had been made and the debate remained open.Hawks see the currency’s strength as testament to the euro zone’s strong economic growth, while doves fear it reflects weakness in the United States and Britain, two of the bloc’s main economic partners, and fear any significant surge above $1.20, a high set earlier this month, the sources said.“The strength of the euro is the number one problem,” one of the sources said.ECB rate-setters were comforted by last week’s euro zone wage data, and they will be looking at more indicators such as prices and sentiment, until their Oct. 26 meeting to gauge whether inflation is gradually heading towards the ECB’s target of almost 2 percent.But there are factors beyond their control.The prospect of British interest rates rising for the first time in 10 years is giving the ECB some support by boosting the pound against the euro.On the other hand, several policymakers stressed their uncertainty over whether Donald Trump’s U.S. administration will be able to deliver on its pledge to boost the world’s largest economy.This, combined with the massive storms that have hit the United States, was threatening to delay the Federal Reserve’s plans for further rate increases and putting a cap on the dollar exchange rate against the euro.“The main source of uncertainty has to do with U.S. economic policy: to what extent will they be able to deliver,” another source said.OPEN ENDED? In this context, some policymakers were inclined to err on the side of caution and retain the ability to prolong bond purchases again next year if needed.This could be done by keeping parts of the ECB’s long-standing policy message, which says the buys can be extended and expanded if needed to support inflation, the sources said.To keep options open, ECB President Mario Draghi and other policymakers have been talking of a “recalibration” of the programme, rather than “tapering” - the term used by the Fed when it wound down its own quantitative easing (QE) scheme in 2013.“Recalibration is not tapering, it’s open ended,” another source said.In addition, the ECB could push out expectations for its first rate hike, which it has said won’t happen before purchases end, by spreading out its buys over a longer period of time, two sources said.As the ECB is likely to run out of eligible government bonds to buy in some countries, this could be partly achieved by deviating from its pre-set national quotas and buying more corporate bonds, the sources added.Others, however, were more confident about the ability of the euro zone’s economy to hold up without the bond purchases and were still hoping to set an end-date for them, even if that means waiting for the Dec 14 meeting for a decision.They were stressing the diminishing returns of the money printing scheme and its growing side effects in inflating financial and property prices.“If the data confirms (the recovery in inflation), we should put an end-date on the programme,” a source said.Sources had told Reuters earlier this month that two scenarios discussed by rate-setters at the latest meeting involved buying bonds until June or September at a pace of 40 or 20 billion euro per month, down from the current 60 billion euros.Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy-bonds/ecb-seen-keeping-option-to-prolong-bond-buying-again-in-2018-sources-idINKCN1BU1OB'|'2017-09-19T15:57:00.000+03:00'
'82e70fecd3b7afb8d525f2dc11e19d3818c28638'|'Portugal''s bond yield plays catch up with Southern European peers'|'September 19, 2017 / 10:55 AM / Updated 38 minutes ago Portugal''s bond yield plays catch up with Southern European peers Abhinav Ramnarayan 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The gap between Portuguese and Italian 10-year government bond yields narrowed on Tuesday to levels not seen since the start of the euro zone debt crisis of 2010-2012, showing how much investor sentiment towards Portugal has improved this year. As one of the only junk-rated euro zone countries, Portugal has traditionally had much higher borrowing costs than its larger and better-rated southern European peers. Infographic ID: ''2ii2Bqr'' However, a strong rally in Portuguese debt over the last two sessions has accelerated a trend seen in recent months: the country is now catching up with Italy and Spain in the eyes of investors. “It reflects the narrowing ratings differential and the fact that some political risk premium is still baked into Italian government bonds,” said ING strategist Martin van Vliet. Portugal’s bond market received a huge boost when S&P Global became the first major ratings agency to give the country back an investment grade rating on Friday, more than five years after it first sank into junk territory. Portugal’s 10-year government bond yield spread over Italy narrowed to around 34 basis points, the lowest since March 2010. At the start of the year, that difference was as high as 211 basis points. The spread over top-rated Germany was also close to its narrowest level since December 2016 at 198 bps. That spread tightening reflects improved sentiment towards Portugal, which was hit last year by fears it could loose its investment grade rating with smaller ratings agency DBRS that it needed to stay in the European Central Bank’s bond-buying scheme. Portugal’s 10-year bond yield was down 5 basis points at 2.44 percent on Tuesday, continuing to outperform euro zone peers. Van Vliet said Portugal’s recovery from the euro zone debt crisis - when it needed a bailout from European authorities - is strong, but cautioned that it is still a weaker credit than Italy because of its external debt position. Portugal’s outstanding private debt stood at 280 percent of the country’s economic output last year, comprising 178 percent for companies and 103 percent for households. READ MORE: Portugal''s private debt burden undermines recovery “I think this rally is on speculation that Portugal could now be included in many benchmark indices,” Van Vliet said. Many large bond indexes provided by investment banks only include investment grade borrowers, and inclusion in these usually guarantees a new influx of investors and lower yields. However, many index providers require an investment grade rating from at least two of the three main credit ratings agencies, and Portugal now only has one. It is rated Ba1 by Moody’s and BB+ by Fitch. Most bond yields in the bloc were 1-3 bps lower ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, which concludes on Wednesday. The central bank of the world’s biggest economy is expected to provide details on how it will reduce a massive balance sheet run-up through years of post-crisis money printing. This is seen as significant by European investors as the ECB is also expected to tighten policy, possibly by announcing in October its plans for ending its own money-printing scheme. Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Andrew Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-bonds/portugals-bond-yield-plays-catch-up-with-southern-european-peers-idUKKCN1BU1BN'|'2017-09-19T13:55:00.000+03:00'
'c70fe73f093c87c5dca72c25b5fe6a5de6cac2ed'|'Dutch government budget surplus seen in 2017-2018'|'  5:49 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Dutch government budget surplus seen in 2017-2018 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government expects to post a budget surplus this year and next, as the economy of the Netherlands continues to grow at its fastest pace in a decade, a leading forecaster said on Tuesday. The positive outlook accompanied the caretaker government’s 2018 budget, which included spending increases for teachers’ wages, cyber security and policies to lift the income of pensioners and low wage earners. Economic growth will reach 3.3 percent in 2017 and 2.5 percent in 2018, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis said, maintaining forecasts published in August. A budget surplus of 0.6 percent will be achieved in 2017, rising to 0.8 percent next year, the CPB said. Unemployment will dip to 4.9 percent in 2017 and 4.3 percent in 2018, the lowest levels in a decade, with some sectors reporting employment shortages. It was welcome news for caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has been tied up in negotiations to form a new coalition since winning elections on March 15. A one-time 425 million euros (377.43 million pounds) would go toward restoring purchasing power after years of austerity. Around 270 million euros would be used to lift elementary school teachers’ wages and tens of million is earmarked for cyber security. Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-netherlands-economy/dutch-government-budget-surplus-seen-in-2017-2018-idUKKCN1BU2FG'|'2017-09-19T20:49:00.000+03:00'
'7b2678ea3f08b66d64bb4a3427d12f859cca59ed'|'Energy firms battle startups to wire Europe''s highways for electric cars'|'September 15, 2017 / 6:09 AM / Updated 14 hours ago Energy firms battle startups to wire Europe''s highways for electric cars Geert De Clercq , Christoph Steitz 7 Min Read An electric car is being charged in a Paris street, France, September 12, 2017. Picture taken September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The battle over how and where Europeans charge their electric cars is expanding from the continent’s cities to its motorways. Power utilities, tech start-ups and oil majors are fighting to establish themselves as the dominant players in the fast-growing business of charging stations – but advances in electric vehicles means where they build them is changing. Refuelling conventional petrol and diesel cars on motorways has long been the domain of the oil companies, which typically have their own networks of filling stations. Several are now talking about setting up high-power charging networks, creating major competition for limited space at motorway service areas. “It is a bit of a landgrab now to win this sector,” said Tim Payne, chief executive of British charging start-up InstaVolt, which has raised 12 million pounds to install 3,000 charge points across Britain by 2020. While the range of electric vehicles (EVs) was less than 100 km (60 miles), Europe’s utilities were happy to help cities and companies install slow and inexpensive charging points at homes, offices and shops, often supported by state subsidies. But Tesla ( TSLA.O ), Porsche ( VOWG_p.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) are now making battery-powered cars with enough range to drive across countries. Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and Volkswagen also announced plans on the eve of this week’s Frankfurt motor show to accelerate their shift to electric cars. Charging infrastructure remains nowhere near it needs to be. “Where is the network of charging points that will be required? Indeed where is the power and the grid?” Ralf Speth, boss of Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover, asked last week. Experts including ChargePoint and Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) are, however, making plans to build pan-European networks of high-voltage fast-charging stations which can refill a battery in less than half an hour instead of overnight. In Britain, InstaVolt is renting land from filling station operators, bringing them additional revenue from the lease as well as the increased traffic to their shops at the sites. It earns a margin by selling power through the chargers. InstaVolt struck a deal in May with ChargePoint, which itself is on a $125 million expansion spree in Europe, to install about 200 of the U.S. group’s ultra-fast chargers close to popular roads across Britain. Related Coverage Factbox: From refueling to recharging: filling up electric vehicles UP FOR GRABS Morgan Stanley estimates that 1-3 million public charging points could be needed in western Europe by 2030, adding that while utilities have natural skills in the new industry, it was too early to determine who will come put on top. “The winning business model is up for grabs,” it said. Today, there are fewer than 100,000 public charging points available in Europe, with only about six percent of them fast, according to the International Energy Agency. Almost none of these is super-fast, a term usually used for charging stations with an output of at least 150 kilowatts. More than three times faster than current-generation chargers, they are now being targeted by those trying to become market leaders. Contenders include Dutch EV-Box, one of Europe’s biggest makers of charging stations, which was snapped up by French utility Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) in March. “We expect hundreds of millions of annual revenue from EV-Box in a few years,” Thierry Lepercq, head of innovation at Engie, told Reuters. He sees Engie’s EV charging revenue growing by a factor of 20 in three to five years. Last year, EV-Box had sales of 16 million euros ($19.1 million). FILE PHOTO: Tesla Supercharger station are seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo EV-Box Chief Executive Kristof Vereenooghe said that unlike most of its competitors EV-Box has been profitable from the start, a claim that makes it stand out in an industry where gaining scale is considered more important for now. That’s why German utility E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), too, announced a strategic partnership with Danish startup CLEVER and said it had the ambition to roll out several hundred ultra-fast charging stations along European motorways. CLEVER, which is owned by a group of Danish utilities and runs charging networks in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, wants to extend its network to France, Britain and Italy with E.ON. The firm, which unlike EV-Box and ChargePoint does not make its own hardware, is also still looking for other partners. “We want to connect cities so that you can easily drive across Europe in an electric vehicle,” CLEVER Chief Executive Casper Kirketerp-Moeller said. TALK LESS, INSTALL MORE Slideshow (6 Images) Among the oil majors, BP ( BP.L ), Shell ( RDSa.L ) and ( TOTF.PA ) have all either announced plans or launched pilot projects for EV charging. Few people, however, expect them to become serious contenders for a business that would effectively curb demand for their chief product: oil. BP did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Shell said it did not make economic sense yet to equip petrol stations fully with EV charging points. “People like Shell and Total talk a lot, but nothing happens. We are putting the grid connection in place,” said Michiel Langezaal, founder and chief executive of Fastned, which has 63 EV charging stations in the Netherlands. Leasing plots of land, the group wants to raise 100 million euros over the next two years to branch out into Germany, Belgium, France and Britain. So far it gets the stations from Swiss ABB ( ABBN.S ) but is also in talks with ChargePoint. Unlike utilities and charging station startups, electric vehicle makers see fast charging networks not as a profit center, but as a loss-leader needed to persuade customers that electric vehicles can drive across continents. That seems to work for some. Tesla, for example, operates a proprietary charging network throughout Europe, mainly in hotels, but it is stretched thinly - in the Ile de France region around Paris it has just a handful of “superchargers”. This year, the group’s market valuation surpassed that of General Motors ( GM.N ), making it the biggest U.S. carmaker by that measure. “Tesla has never been in the black, but had enormous growth,” said Elke Temme, who co-heads the e-mobility unit of Germany’s Innogy ( IGY.DE ). “Going forward, however, the business must pay off.” For a graphic, click here editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-electricity-autos-charging/energy-firms-battle-startups-to-wire-europes-highways-for-electric-cars-idUSKCN1BQ0JG'|'2017-09-15T09:09:00.000+03:00'
'5b67d7bec44a9b924eec0fd984b778c076e84734'|'The big data breach suffered by Equifax has alarming implications'|'UNTIL something goes wrong, few people give much thought to the surveillance they undergo by credit-reporting agencies (CRAs). Yet these agencies’ business is deeply intrusive: quantifying character. They assign individuals credit scores based on how they previously managed debt. The scores are then sold to lenders. In America, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the “Big Three” CRAs, have gathered credit histories and identifying information for nearly every adult.On September 7th Equifax admitted that something had indeed gone very wrong: hackers had gained access to personal information on about 143m people, mostly Americans. It reported that, from mid-May to July, hackers exploited a vulnerability in its website. The data compromised included Social Security numbers (SSNs), dates of birth and driving-licence numbers, and for 209,000 people, possibly their credit-card numbers as well. Equifax also noted that data about some Britons and Canadians may have been stolen.Latest updates Why Macau is less demanding of democracy than Hong Kong The Economist explains 5 hours ago America’s 15 18 See all updates The theft of SSNs lays people open to several types of fraud. The government assigns them to Americans to monitor contributions to its pension and disability-benefits schemes. Nearly everyone has one and each is unique, so they are a convenient way to confirm identities. Lenders collect them and pass them on to the CRAs. Naturally, identity thieves have uses for them. They could apply for loans in other people’s names, for example, or defraud the taxman, inducing him to send them refunds that belong to others.Given the dire potential consequences, Equifax’s response did little to reassure those affected by the hack. After it became aware of the hacking on July 29th, it took six weeks before letting the public know about it. That three Equifax employees had sold shares in the company after the discovery but before its announcement further dented the company’s reputation. (A spokeswomen for the company reports that the employees, who included Equifax’s chief financial officer, were unaware of the breach when they sold their shares.)After coming clean about the breach, the company put up a website that allows people to check if their information might have been compromised. Customers who enter their names and a portion of their SSNs can learn whether their information may have been accessed by the hackers. Few were reassured when it emerged that, at first, a person entering even a random name and number would receive a response suggesting that his data might have been compromised.Equifax customers have also been offered one year’s free access to Equifax’s own TrustedID service. TrustedID monitors the use of customers’ personal information and insures them for losses of up to $1m caused by identity theft (see article ). But some accused Equifax of enrolling customers in the hope of charging them once the year is up. Others noted that the offer’s terms seemed to preclude users from joining class-action lawsuits against Equifax. Equifax quickly clarified that the terms did not apply to suits related to the data breach. Within days, at least 100 suits had been filed. Equifax also faces scrutiny from Congress, which is to hold two hearings, and several state attorneys general, including New York’s.Markets have already punished Equifax’s share price (see chart), which fell by around 15% on the day after the breach was revealed. Standard & Poor’s, a credit-rating agency, has revised its outlook on Equifax’s BBB-plus rated bonds from stable to negative. Banks and other lenders are reported to be reconsidering their relationships with Equifax, and might move some of their business to its competitors.The breach raises a number of issues. Richard Parris, chief executive of Intercede, a cyber-security company, notes that it is just the latest of many. In 2013 hackers stole the credit-card data of 40m customers at Target, an American retailer. In 2015 the American government revealed that information about millions of employees had been stolen. Like many other experts, Mr Parris fears that data from these different breaches could be combined to create detailed profiles.Another question is whether it makes sense for three large, private CRAs to aggregate so much information when they are vulnerable to such incidents. The use of SSNs for so many purposes unrelated to their original purpose also deserves scrutiny. Finally, there are the inevitable worries about whether financial data are properly protected elsewhere. As Richard Nesbitt, chief executive of the Global Risk Institute (GRI), which advises the financial industry on risk management, points out, if a firm such as Equifax, whose very business is managing data, appears so vulnerable, concerns will mount that nowhere is safe. GRI surveys show that financial institutions have lately changed their views of the most serious danger facing their industry. In 2015 it was “conduct risk/risk culture”. This year’s most acute worry was “cyber/IT risk”.This article appeared in the Finance and economics section of the print edition under the headline "Once more…"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21728956-financial-industry-worries-about-who-next-big-data-breach-suffered?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-14T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'4826cca48743e226d63767b3d8e0d079c2246960'|'U.S.-based money market funds attract nearly $18 bln in week -Lipper'|'  10:58 PM / Updated 38 minutes ago U.S.-based money market funds attract nearly $18 bln in week -Lipper Reuters Staff 1 Min Read NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - U.S. fund investors poured nearly $18 billion into money markets and $1.9 billion into taxable bonds during the latest week, Lipper data showed on Thursday. Stock funds based in the United States posted $410 million in withdrawals during the week ended Sept. 13, the research service’s data showed. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/investment-mutualfunds-lipper/u-s-based-money-market-funds-attract-nearly-18-bln-in-week-lipper-idUSN9N1F900F'|'2017-09-15T01:58:00.000+03:00'
'66a0ef64f983df43fc802219bc2133de95a41399'|'Seattle off menu as Lavazza brews up plans for 15 coffee shops'|'Lavazza coffee flows into cups during the new opening of Lavazza''s flagship coffee store downtown Milan, Italy September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini MILAN (Reuters) - Italy’s largest coffee group Lavazza could open up to 15 stores around the world as it takes on Starbucks, but has no plans to go head-to-head in the U.S. chain’s hometown of Seattle.Lavazza’s top executives opened the family-owned company’s first coffee boutique in the center of Milan on Tuesday, close to where Starbucks ( SBUX.O ) plans to launch its first Italian store, offering specialty blends and fine food, next year.Starbucks and other major coffee brands are trying to capture a growing market for people who are prepared to pay a premium for quality coffees in upmarket boutique cafes.The Lavazza coffee shop near Milan’s famous La Scala opera house, offers not only Italy’s trademark espresso, but also siphon brewed and other types of coffee which are growing in popularity, particularly among younger aficionados.Opening near where Starbucks will inaugurate its coffee palace, is no coincidence, industry experts say.However, Lavazza’s top managers said they do not see the U.S. group as a direct competitor, adding an expansion by Starbucks in China could even be a positive for the Italian firm as it will help shift customers there to coffee from tea.“If this first cafe is successful, we will open between 10 and 15 stores in the world’s biggest cities in coming years,” vice president Marco Lavazza, said, adding the group would focus on Austria, Britain, France, Germany and the United States.“In the U.S. we will likely open in New York... we are not thinking of Seattle,” he said of the west coast city where Starbucks built its first roastery, an upscale outlet that the U.S. chain plans to replicate in 20 cities, including Milan.Reporting by Francesca Landini and Lisa Baertlein; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-coffee-lavazza/seattle-off-menu-as-lavazza-brews-up-plans-for-15-coffee-shops-idUSKCN1BU2CB'|'2017-09-19T19:58:00.000+03:00'
'517e7a4803096d92b07d1eb78ce5d7648f8da25e'|'Bayer says needs more time for Monsanto deal approval'|'  8:13 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Bayer says needs more time for Monsanto deal approval Ludwig Burger 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo MONHEIM, Germany (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) said on Tuesday it was now likely to be early next year before it can complete its $66 billion deal to acquire U.S. group Monsanto ( MON.N ), later than previously expected. The European Commission has been scrutinizing the proposed takeover with a deadline of Jan. 8 but Bayer said in a statement it had asked the regulator for an extension on the investigation to Jan. 22, to which the EU Commission responded by saying it would take a decision shortly. Liam Condon, head of Bayer’s Crop Science division, said: “An anticipated closing of the deal in early 2018 is now more likely than end of 2017.” He also expressed his confidence that the EU would give the green light. Related Coverage Bayer dismisses antitrust concerns about digital farming However, the company said it could not think of any asset sales which could be made to allay the European Commission’s concerns about what it sees as Bayer’s looming dominance in digital farming. The Commission last month started an in-depth investigation of the takeover, saying it was worried about competition in various pesticide and seeds markets. Among a slew of markets where competition was at risk, the EU Commission at the time named Monsanto’s weed killer glyphosate, or Roundup, which competes with Bayer’s glufosinate; vegetable and canola seeds; and licensing of cotton-seed technology to peers. More broadly, it said the deal might slow the race to develop new products, and that the European Union would try to prevent Bayer from becoming too dominant in combined offerings of seeds and pesticides with the help of digital farming tools such as connected sensors, software and precision machines. Bayer, which was making a media presentation on its Crop Science business on Tuesday, also said the division would face volatile global markets for the rest of the year but would slowly return to growth from 2018, including its embattled Brazilian business. Bayer warned in June that poor sales at crop protection distributors in Brazil would full-year hit earnings. Editing by Georgina Prodhan, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-monsanto-m-a-bayer-deadline/bayer-says-needs-more-time-for-monsanto-deal-approval-idUKKCN1BU0V5'|'2017-09-19T18:38:00.000+03:00'
'48254c1442fe421182ddfc6e1c0acfc90e3d7aa7'|'UPDATE 1-Platts plans to publish U.S. crude prices in Asia as imports rise'|'* Platts, Argus vie for U.S.-Asia crude benchmark* Platts plans to publish prices from December (Adds details on Platts and Argus pricing methods)By Florence TanSINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Oil pricing agency S&P Global Platts said on Thursday it planned to publish U.S. crude prices at the close of the Asian trading day starting in December as U.S. exports to the region have risen.The Platts announcement follows the launch last year by rival price agency Argus Media of U.S. Gulf Coast crude prices for the Asia-Pacific. The two companies are competing to establish a benchmark for oil flows on the trade route that has opened up after Washington lifted a decades-old ban on crude exports at the end of 2015.About a third of the United States’ crude exports, or more than 56 million barrels, landed in Asia in the first half of 2017, Platts said in a note on its website.Platts said it plans to publish four U.S. crude prices at the close of Asia’s market at 0830 GMT “to help bring transparency to these markets.” The price Quote: s are for WTI-MEH, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland crude at the Magellan East Houston Terminal (MEH), Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS), Southern Green Canyon and Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) Sour.“The assessments will reflect the price prevailing during the close of the market in Asia, taking into account the rise or fall in the movement of cash WTI from the time of the assessment at the U.S. market close at 2:15 pm Eastern Standard Time, until the Asian close,” Platts said.Platts is seeking feedback from the market by Oct. 13.The company launched the LOOP Sour price Quote: in March this year to mark prices for medium-sour grades of crude produced offshore in the United States and imports for the U.S. gulf coast.Argus publishes prices for WTI Houston, WTI Midland, Mars and LLS in Asia. It adjusts the previous day’s U.S. crude prices using the change in the corresponding WTI futures contract from the U.S. close to the Singapore 4:30 p.m. minute marker.Thomson Reuters, the parent of Reuters news, competes with Platts and Argus in providing news and information to the oil market. (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Richard Pullin and Christian Schmollinger)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-usa-oil/update-1-platts-plans-to-publish-u-s-crude-prices-in-asia-as-imports-rise-idINL4N1M23E0'|'2017-09-21T08:04:00.000+03:00'
'a9478e680be8526db4ad36abc392e2943a5fd560'|'KKR looks to bid in $800 million-plus auction of Britain''s Pure Gym: Sky News'|'(Reuters) - U.S. private equity investment firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) is going to bid in a 600 million-pound-plus ($800 million) auction of Britain’s largest chain of health and fitness clubs, Pure Gym IPO-PGYM.L, according to Sky News.The fund operator KKR is among a group of financial investors that are set to make offers for the fitness chain ahead of a deadline on Thursday, Sky News said. ( bit.ly/2flu2Qu )Pure Gym’s sale comes over a year after it announced, and later canceled a 190 million-pound initial public offer of shares due to “challenging IPO market conditions”.The chain’s major shareholder CCMP Capital Advisors has controlled the chain since 2013 and overseen a period of growth and expansion.Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pure-gym-m-a-kkr/kkr-looks-to-bid-in-800-million-plus-auction-of-britains-pure-gym-sky-news-idINKCN1BW1HY'|'2017-09-21T09:08:00.000+03:00'
'fb0c4bf6cf5e0f709fdbf152b348c8a8ea2cf32a'|'EU eyes solo move to increase tax on online giants, risking U.S. anger'|'  12:30 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago EU eyes solo move to increase tax on online giants, risking U.S. anger Francesco Guarascio 4 Min Read The Google app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it may seek to implement tax reform to raise more revenue from online giants without the backing of the United States and other rich nations, in a move that could spark a new transatlantic dispute. The EU is frustrated at how long it is taking the world’s rich nations to reach a deal on how to tax online firms like Google fairly. These companies on average pay bills in Europe that are less than half of those of other firms. To prevent some smaller EU economies such as Ireland or Luxembourg, which host many foreign online businesses, from blocking the move, the commission is also raising the prospect of using little-known EU rules that would prevent states from vetoing decisions on tax matters. Usually the EU decides on tax issues only with the unanimous support of its 28 members. The commission on Thursday outlined three options for taxes aimed at internet companies that could be agreed upon relatively quickly at the EU level or by a smaller group of EU nations. One was for a tax on the turnover rather than the profits of digital firms, another would put a levy on online ads, and a third would impose a withholding tax on payments to internet firms. In the longer term the EU wants to change existing taxation rights to make sure digital firms with large operations but no physical presence in a given country pay taxes there instead of being allowed to reroute their profits to low-tax jurisdictions. The EU’s preferred option would be for an agreement on this at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which includes the United States and Japan. But “the EU must prepare to act in the absence of adequate global progress,” Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told a news conference in Brussels, saying that a legislative proposal may come next spring. Such a move is likely to upset Washington and other rich nations that are home to many global tech giants. A Facebook logo is pictured at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski In a document setting out the distortions created by the low taxes paid by digital businesses, the commission cited several U.S. firms such as internet retailer Amazon, social media host Facebook, online entertainment firm Netflix and short-term rental website Airbnb. In the report, the commission emphasised that unilateral initiatives taken in the EU would need to be carefully assessed to ensure they are compatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. “We would urge caution against EU-only measures that could run the risk of creating double taxation,” Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a group representing accountants worldwide, said. REMOVING VETOES The EU will first have to reach a compromise agreement among its 28 members by December. Some states have already voiced their opposition to new taxes on digital firms, especially if decided on without a global deal in place. To overcome this, the commission said there was a debate on whether to strip EU countries of their veto rights on tax issues, based on an article in the EU treaties that allows such exceptional action in the event of market distortions. “There is a broader discussion whether we should move to decision-making based on majority also in the area of taxation,” Dombrovskis told reporters. But he added: “Currently we are basing our proposal on current rules which foresee unanimity.” Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker last week evoked another special procedure to move to majority-based rather than unanimous decisions in matters of taxation. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-tax-digital/eu-eyes-solo-move-to-increase-tax-on-online-giants-risking-u-s-anger-idUKKCN1BW1PH'|'2017-09-21T15:29:00.000+03:00'
'12edcf78533f7484c599b9e0301e98b6b55be3cf'|'Billionaire L''Oreal heiress Bettencourt dies aged 94'|'  5:36 PM / a minute ago Billionaire L''Oreal heiress Bettencourt dies aged 94 Reuters Staff 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Liliane Bettencourt (L), heiress to the L''Oreal fortune leaves with Jean-Victor Meyers, her grandson, the L''Oreal-UNESCO prize for women in Paris, France, March 29, 2012. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - French businesswoman and billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, whose family founded L‘Oreal and still owns the largest stake in the cosmetics giant, has died aged 94, her daughter said on Thursday. Bettencourt, listed by Forbes as the world’s richest woman, was the heiress to the beauty and comestics company her father founded a century ago as a maker of hair dye. Her death opens a new phase for L‘Oreal, France’s fourth-largest listed company, altering the relationship it has with key shareholder Nestle ( NESN.S ), the Swiss food company. Bettencourt and her children owned 33 percent of the company. Her daughter Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers said in a statement the family remained committed to L‘Oreal and its management team. “My mother left peacefully,” Bettencourt-Meyers said, adding that she had died during Wednesday night at her home in Paris. “I would like to reiterate, on behalf of our family, our entire commitment and loyalty to L‘Oreal and to renew my confidence in its President Jean-Paul Agon and his teams worldwide.” Agon was appointed chairman and chief executive of L‘Oreal in 2011. Nestle, which owns a little over 23 percent of L‘Oreal, had an agreement with the founding family stipulating that the two parties could not increase their stakes in the cosmetics group during Liliane Bettencourt’s lifetime and for at least six months after her death. The Swiss company has been a major investor since 1974, when Bettencourt entrusted nearly half of her own stake in the firm to Nestle in exchange for a three percent holding in the Swiss company. She took the move out of fear that L‘Oreal might be nationalised if the Socialists came to power in France. Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L''Oreal fortune and her daughter Francoise Bettencourt Meyers arrive for the L''Oreal-UNESCO prize for women in Paris, March 3, 2011. Picture taken March 3, 2011. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Activist hedge fund Third Point recently urged Nestle to sell down its stake. LEGAL BATTLE A Nestle spokeswoman on Thursday did not comment on the company’s stake, only saying: “It’s time to send our sincere condolences to Madame Bettencourt’s family.” FILE PHOTO: Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L''Oreal fortune, attends French designer Franck Sorbier''s Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2011 fashion show in Paris, France, January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo Bettencourt’s net worth was estimated at $39.5 billion earlier this year by Forbes, making her the world’s richest woman and among the 20 wealthiest people in the world. She had been under the guardianship of family members since a court fight - known as the “Bettencourt affair” - ended with a ruling in 2011 that she was incapable of looking after her fortune because she suffered from dementia and had been exploited. The case, which dogged the heiress for years, centred on Francois-Marie Banier, a celebrity photographer who befriended Bettencourt in the 1980s and received lavish gifts from her, including life insurance policies worth $400 million. Another strand of the sprawling case involved allegations of illegal payments by Bettencourt to members of the French government associated with former president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010. Sarkozy was eventually cleared in the case. Paris-born Bettencourt joined her father Eugene Schueller’s firm as an apprentice at the age of 15, mixing cosmetics and labelling bottles of shampoo. She married French politician Andre Bettencourt in 1950 and inherited the family fortune when her father died in 1957. Reporting by Matthias Blamont, Dominique Vidalon, Martinne Geller and Luke Baker; Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Andrew Roche'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-l-oreal-bettencourt/billionaire-loreal-heiress-bettencourt-dies-aged-94-idUKKCN1BW2L1'|'2017-09-21T20:35:00.000+03:00'
'f771544eda78fa3e7e11c21993a9fc674442a9c7'|'Florence declined and London may too, banks warn ahead of May''s speech'|'September 20, 2017 / 11:04 PM / Updated 11 hours ago Florence declined and London may too, banks warn ahead of May''s speech Anjuli Davies , Andrew MacAskill 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A general view of Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) in Florence, Italy March 31, 2017. Picture taken March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is in danger of losing its place in the financial world much in the same way Florence did after its Renaissance heyday, an industry group warned on Thursday. In statement ahead of Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Brexit in the Italian city, TheCityUK, Britain’s most powerful finance lobby said it was “crunch time” for finance firms. READ MORE: Taking back control? May to make high-stakes Brexit speech It cautioned that companies are already moving jobs overseas because of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, and further faltering in Brexit talks will lead to irreversible decisions. After months of talks that have made little progress and deepened rifts in her party, May will on Friday try to put the negotiations on track and reassert her authority in a speech in Florence. That was not lost on TheCityUK. “Florence was once a powerful European financial centre, but lost its position as other better-connected centres arose elsewhere. We don’t want to see the same thing happen to the UK, or indeed to Europe as a whole,” it said. READ MORE: EU moves to extend grip on financial sector after Brexit FILE PHOTO - A view shows the ceiling of the Chapel of the Princes, part of the Medici Chapels at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence October 15, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo The future of London as Europe’s financial centre is one of the biggest issues in the Brexit talks because it is Britain’s largest export sector and biggest source of corporate tax revenue. “For our industry, this really is crunch time,” said Miles Celic, TheCityUK’s chief executive officer. “Many firms are already moving parts of their operations out of the UK and Europe. When they’ve gone, it’s hard to see them coming back.” FILE PHOTO - Flag wavers perform in Santa Croce Square before the Calcio Fiorentino (historic football) semifinal match between Rossi (Red) Santa Maria Novella against Verdi (green) San Giovanni in Florence, Italy, June 10, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi /File Photo Around 10,000 finance jobs will be shifted out of Britain or created overseas in the next few years if the UK is denied access to Europe’s single market, according to a Reuters survey of firms employing the bulk of workers in international finance. Some politicians and financiers say, however, that banks are exaggerating the threat to the economy from Brexit. One of the key demands of the industry is that Britain and the EU negotiate a significant transition period in order for firms to adapt to the new relationship and avoid financial instability. But TheCityUK has warned that little progress has been made on agreeing such an arrangement. Catherine McGuinness, head of policy at the City of London, the local government that administers Europe’s biggest financial centre, told Reuters she is increasingly “despondent” about the lack of progress in the divorce talks. “You can hammer out the best possible deal in the world, but it you take too long about it, you may lose some of the assets that you need to make the best future,” she said. “We really would like to see some progress, putting pragmatism and jobs and the economy above politics and emotion.” Reporting by Anjuli Davies and Andrew MacAskill Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks/florence-declined-and-london-may-too-banks-warn-ahead-of-mays-speech-idUKKCN1BV357'|'2017-09-21T02:07:00.000+03:00'
'b1071cdc642881c0c332e310e8c2d7380c348f45'|'Ryanair CEO says may force pilots to change holiday plans'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:20 AM / Updated an hour ago Ryanair scrambles to please pilots, customers and investors Conor Humphries 5 Min Read A copy of the Ryanair AGM report is seen at the Ryanair AGM in Dublin, Ireland September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary on Thursday scrambled to placate pilots and reassure investors as the airline’s annual general meeting was dominated by the cancellation of 2,000 flights in a “cock-up” that exposed major staffing issues. The often outspoken CEO told investors that no more flights would be cancelled because of rostering issues and that the company’s profit margin would not be affected by the problems that sparked customer outrage and a wave of negative media coverage across Europe. O‘Leary told shareholders he took personal responsibility for the staffing issues and the way the company broke the news to customers, adding that Ryanair’s pilot pay levels may have been too modest in the past. However, he also used the meeting to outline a stick-and-carrot approach to dealing with pilots after some prepared a letter demanding new contracts. “Will there be squabbles with pilots? There may be. They have been happening for about 30 years,” he said. Captains at four under-pressure bases have been offered an extra 10,000 euros ($11,914) a year in addition to an offer of a 12,000 euro bonus for those who work an extra 10 days before the end of the year. “One of the issues we have to deal with is that we may have got pilot pay a little on the low side,” O‘Leary said. PILOTS WARNED Ryanair offers pay rise to some pilots on top of bonus But he also said he was considering forcing pilots to change their holiday plans and warned that any pilot who failed to show up for work as a form of industrial action would be frozen out of pay talks and denied promotion. The Irish airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, faced a wave of anger from customers after its announcement on Friday of plans to cancel between 40 and 50 flights a day until the end of October. O‘Leary said the decision was taken to cancel what amounted to 2 percent of the airline’s total flights to avoid a sharp increase in delays because of a lack of reserve pilots. The rate of Ryanair’s on-time flights has since increased from 65 percent to 91 percent, he said. “It was the right operational decision, but we handled it badly ... we upset and worried 80 million passengers,” O‘Leary added. Passengers on cancelled flights have complained that notice was far to short and that it was difficult to claim compensation. Others said they would not book a Ryanair flight while services were threatened with cancellation. Ryanair CEO Michael O''Leary arrives at the Ryanair AGM in Dublin, Ireland September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne An unusually contrite O‘Leary had held an emergency press conference on Monday to apologise and to publish a list of all affected flights. The airline said the cancellations were because of a change in the way pilot’s annual leave is calculated meant that too many were granted four-week breaks. While the cancellations were required because it was too late to cancel those breaks in September and October, O‘Leary said he may force pilots due leave in November and December to take three week blocks instead of four. Some of the leave may be postponed until next year, he said. Some 1,750 of the airline’s 4,200 pilots had blocks of four-week leave due before the end of the year, he said. Slideshow (8 Images) OFFER REJECTION There are sufficient pilots to staff flights for the rest of the year but reserve crews are “tight”, O‘Leary said, meaning there may not be enough on standby to deal with unforeseen issues and avoid flight delays. O‘Leary denied reports that a significant number of pilots had rejected Ryanair’s bonus pay offer and said that pilots had collectively offered to work an extra 2,500 days since the crisis broke -- the equivalent of 10 days from each of 250 of Ryanair’s 4,200 pilots. A source told Reuters that a letter had been approved by pilots at 17 of 85 Ryanair bases demanding new permanent, contracts under local labour law, though this could not be independently verified by Reuters. “We haven’t been sent anything yet,” O‘Leary said when asked about the letter. “We will not be responding to anonymous circular emails.” The crisis comes shortly after a ruling by the European Court of Justice said that Ryanair’s employment contracts could, under certain circumstances, be challenged in courts outside of Ireland. Some analysts have suggested this could help staff to secure improved conditions. “There will be more oversight of these contracts by local courts,” O‘Leary said of the ruling, “But there will be no changes to those contracts.” Ryanair has said it expects up to 20 million euros (£17.65 million) in compensation claims and 5 million euros in lost fares as a result of the cancellations, though analysts estimated the total cost could be higher. Shares in Ryanair were down 0.6 percent at 16.42 euros at 1334 GMT, having briefly dropped below 16 euros while O‘Leary addressed the meeting. Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-agm/ryanair-ceo-says-may-force-pilots-to-change-holiday-plans-idUKKCN1BW167'|'2017-09-21T12:21:00.000+03:00'
'9602b3c004bf4fb47c8ab20266f50ef3ba63c4e6'|'Australia''s CBA to sell life insurance unit to AIA Group for $3.05 billion'|'FILE PHOTO: A Commonwealth Bank logo adorns an Automatic Tellar Machine (ATM) located in Sydney, Australia, in this picture taken November 12, 2014. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ) said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its life insurance arm to Hong Kong’s AIA Group Ltd ( 1299.HK ) for $3.05 billion, in the biggest Asian buyout of an Australian financial services firm.CBA also flagged a possible wealth management IPO as Australia’s major lenders come under regulatory pressure to boost capital in the face of a frothy property market.The sale of insurance business CommInsure follows damaging media revelations last year that it had used discredited methods to refuse legitimate payouts, leading to policy cancellations.The scandal was one of a series of crises that has rocked CBA in recent times, culminating in allegations of systemic breaches of money-laundering and terror-financing laws that could expose it to billions of dollars in fines.“CBA has done well selling CommInsure on a good multiple,” Shaw and Partners analyst David Spotswood said in a note to clients, adding it gave the bank “flexibility” in the event of hefty fines stemming from the money-laundering civil case.CBA shares rose as much as 0.5 percent in morning trade while the broader Australian market was down 0.7 percent. It was rare respite for CBA shareholders, with the stock down 9 percent since the money-laundering allegations broke on Aug. 3.The CommInsure sale is part of a broader trend of asset sales across Australia’s banking sector. Asian life insurers are potential buyers due to Australia’s growing population and economy, and its stable regulatory regime compared with emerging markets.National Australia Bank Ltd ( NAB.AX ) sold an 80 percent stake of its life insurance unit to Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance Co last year.Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ) has said it may sell its life insurance and wealth divisions, while Westpac Banking Corp ( WBC.AX ) also has started exploring a possible life insurance sale, according to reports in the Australian media.Under the AIA deal, CBA said it would continue to sell life insurance for the world No. 2 life insurer for 20 years, and customers would keep their existing benefits.The Australian lender also said it was considering spinning off asset management business Colonial First State Global Asset Management in an initial public offering. Colonial has A$219 billion in assets under management.CBA did not give further details about the plan but said its wealth management chief executive, Annabel Spring, would leave the company in December.Reporting by Sandhya Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye and Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cba-divestiture-aia-group/australias-cba-to-sell-life-insurance-unit-to-aia-group-for-3-05-billion-idINKCN1BV33B'|'2017-09-20T20:32:00.000+03:00'
'1c51473dd8d1f0b71c389beddb9de6683d4ce33f'|'Google to buy part of HTC''s smartphone operations for around $1 bln -source'|'HONG KONG/TAIPEI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google is set to announce a deal to acquire part of Taiwanese firm HTC Corp’s smartphone operations for about $1 billion, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.The deal will not involve the purchase of a direct stake and HTC will continue to run its remaining smartphone business, the source said, declining to be named as the information has not been publicly announced.HTC said in a filing to the stock exchange that it would hold a news conference at 0200 GMT on the signing of an “important cooperation agreement.” (Reporting by Kane Wu and Jessica Macy Yu; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/htc-ma-google/google-to-buy-part-of-htcs-smartphone-operations-for-around-1-bln-source-idINS7N1KM003'|'2017-09-20T23:31:00.000+03:00'
'f093bfc2e3269a3fb05153e61fa9d14f97702652'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits 14-week high, recoups summer losses in broad rally'|'* TSX up 96.63 points, or 0.63 percent, to 15,389.60* Index touches highest level since June 12* Air Canada soars 10.8 pct; BlackBerry jumps 8.6 pct* Materials the only major group to retreatBy Solarina HoTORONTO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rallied to a 14-week high on Wednesday, propelled by energy and financial stocks, as well as a surge in Air Canada shares after investors cheered the airliner’s outlook.BlackBerry Ltd stock also leaped, adding 8.6 percent to finish at C$12.15 after the company and auto supplier Delphi Automotive Plc announced they were partnering on a software system for self-driving cars. The overall technology group eked out a 0.1 percent gain.Energy stocks jumped 2.5 percent as the sector profited from higher oil prices after Iraq’s oil minister suggested more output cuts were possible. Oil prices were on course for their largest third-quarter gain in 13 years, with the U.S. crude settling at $50.41 a barrel, up 1.9 percent.Canadian Natural Resources rose 2.4 percent to C$41.44, while Encana Corp advanced 4.5 percent to C$13.69.Financial services stocks, which make up an outsized third of the index’s weight, gained 0.7 percent, though individual bank stocks were mostly under 1 percent.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index touched its highest level since June 12, ending up 96.63 points, or 0.63 percent, to 15,389.60 with materials the index’s only major group to lose ground.The index has recouped its summer losses, rebounding 2.7 percent since its trough 1-1/2 weeks ago.“People have come to the conclusion that the Bank of Canada is not raising rates in October and that’s probably also giving the TSX a little bit of a boost,” said Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer, at Sun Life Global Investments.“I do think TSX will give back as the effects of the couple of interest rates that we’ve had this year start to get into the system.”Air Canada stocks soared 10.8 percent to C$25.84 after several analysts raised their target prices and ratings on the airline following its update of its 2018 to 2020 financial goals. The broader industrials group rose 1.3 percent.The materials group lost 0.6 percent, with gold miners the index’s biggest drags. Barrick Gold Corp was down 2 percent at C$20.31, while Kinross Gold Corp gave up 3.6 percent to end at C$5.35.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 161 to 80, for a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the upside.Eleven companies on the index posted a new 52-week highs, while two posted new lows. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-hits-14-week-high-recoups-summer-losses-in-broad-rally-idUSL2N1M12C5'|'2017-09-20T23:57:00.000+03:00'
'c091197848812fea308f40d74552cab2f2dc1b05'|'BRIEF-Goodyear to acquire Ventech Systems from Grenzebach Maschinenbau'|'  7:35 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago BRIEF-Goodyear to acquire Ventech Systems from Grenzebach Maschinenbau Reuters Staff Sept 20 (Reuters) - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co - * Goodyear to acquire Ventech Systems from Grenzebach Maschinenbau * Goodyear Tire & Rubber - Transaction expected to close in Q4; business & technology will be integrated into company’s Goodyear Proactive Solutions business  '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-goodyear-to-acquire-ventech-system/brief-goodyear-to-acquire-ventech-systems-from-grenzebach-maschinenbau-idUSASB0BK9V'|'2017-09-20T10:35:00.000+03:00'
'24ae4868a4b5d316d195a1d1819d1e3b934a474a'|'Sterling weighs on FTSE, while Kingfisher takes flight'|'  9:03 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago Sterling weighs on FTSE, Kingfisher shines Helen Reid 3 Min Read A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - A jump in sterling weighed on Britain’s major share index on Wednesday, after unexpectedly buoyant retail data for August prompted investors to prepare for an interest rate hike by the Bank of England as early as November. With most European stocks trading cautiously ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the FTSE 100 .FTSE ended the day down 0.1 percent as the pound gradually gave back some of its gains. “The FTSE has suffered yet another day of uncertainty and low confidence, with early gains turning the index into the red ahead”, said Joshua Mahony from the online broker IG, while Paris and Frankfurt ended up 0.1 percent each. “The release of a strong batch of retail sales figures did little to boost the index”, (whose companies mainly earn in foreign currencies) the market analyst added. Among stocks, Europe’s biggest home improvement retailer Kingfisher ( KGF.L ) stole the spotlight, jumping 5.6 percent after its first-half profit beat forecasts. Kingfisher’s shares have sunk more than 10 percent so far this year, underperforming the European retail index .SXRP. “The stock has become significantly more attractive from a valuation perspective. Arguably it now discounts much of the group’s struggles,” said analysts at Davy Research. Investors have reacted well to any good news from retailers facing a raft of structural challenges, and Kingfisher’s gains echoed Next’s ( NXT.L ) surge last week after its first-half results exceeded expectations. Babcock ( BAB.L ) made the strongest gain of the index, up 5.7 percent after the defence contractor posted a trading update saying revenue continued to improve. Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.AS ) BP BL.L added the most points to the index, rising 1.2 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. On the other side of the fence, financials were suffering ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement. HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Barclays ( BARC.L ) and Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) were down 0.7 percent, 1.3 percent and 0.6 percent respectively. Among other weights on the index, liquor maker Diageo ( DGE.L ) fell 2.8 percent after saying first-half sales growth could suffer from a ban on selling alcohol near Indian highways, and the timing of Chinese New Year. Reporting by Helen Reid and Julien Ponthus; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Toby Davis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/sterling-weighs-on-ftse-while-kingfisher-takes-flight-idUKKCN1BV0YZ'|'2017-09-20T12:01:00.000+03:00'
'9e0ec98a0cb9293418acdd3f6f45c5c31e78f311'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 20)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Private equity group Triton to take joint control over Dutch mechanical and electrical engineering services provider Unica Groep (approved Sept. 19)-- Swedish real estate company Fastighets AB Balder to buy shares in Serena Properties, jointly owned by Finnish pension fund Varma (approved Sept. 19)-- VCI ventures, a subsidiary of VW credit to acquire joint control of AutoGravity with DA Investments, subsidiary of Daimler (approved Sept. 19)-- German car parts maker Aunde Achter & Ebels GmbH and Bader GmbH and Co to set up a joint venture (approved Sept. 18)-- China Investment Corporation to acquire European warehouse firm Logicor (approved Sept. 18)NEW LISTINGS -- French carmaker Renault to acquire a 25 percent stake in electric car charging services Jedlix (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)-- U.S. life sciences company Avantor to acquire U.S. lab supplies company VWR (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)-- U.S. fashion group Michael Kors to acquire British shoemaker Jimmy Choo (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 22 from Jan. 8 after the companies asked for more time)FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)SEPT 29 -- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica for 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)OCT 5 -- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)OCT 6 -- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)OCT 11 -- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)OCT 12 -- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)OCT 13 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept 13/deadline Oct 18/simplified)-- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)OCT 16 -- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)-- Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified)OCT 17 -- U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17)-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)OCT 18 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)-- German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd’s general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)OCT 20 -- U.S. company AES Corp and German conglomerate Siemens to acquire joint control of a joint venture (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)OCT 26 -- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)-- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL5N1M12Y3'|'2017-09-20T08:56:00.000+03:00'
'2e12e9739474c5d8f997971425fea8665f94d267'|'No proof of bribery in Eurofighter deal: Austrian parliament report'|'The logo of Airbus Group is seen on the company''s headquarters building in Toulouse, Southwestern France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau VIENNA (Reuters) - A parliamentary inquiry into Austria’s $2 billion Eurofighter deal found no indications of bribery or that Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and its partners illegally influenced Austrian politicians, according to the final report on the matter.Lawmakers launched their inquiry in March to check whether politicians might have accepted bribes from the makers of Eurofighter to approve the deal.Vienna prosecutors are pursuing a separate investigation into allegations of fraud against Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium BAES.l based on earlier complaints from the defense ministry, which is seeking up to 1.1 billion euros in compensation.Airbus and the consortium, which includes Britain’s BAE Systems ( BAES.L ) and Italy’s Leonardo ( LDOF.MI ), rejected the accusations as politically motivated and, on Monday, threatened Austria’s defense minister with legal action.Allegations that decision-makers pocketed money for their approval of the Eurofighter deal surfaced almost immediately after the original purchase was agreed in 2003.Legislators investigated a settlement Austria reached with Eurofighter in 2007 to reduce the order to 15 jets from 18 as well as the volume of so-called offset deals meant to provide business for the local economy to 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) from 4 billion. MPs said they did not have enough time to clarify the circumstances of the initial order.Former Defence Minister Norbert Darabos, a Social Democrat who negotiated the settlement with Eurofighter, was one of the politicians strongly criticized for allegedly having allowed Airbus to outwit him.But the parliamentary report said no indications were found “that there would have been unacceptable influence on Darabos and his entourage in the context of the settlement negotiations”.Airbus declined comment on the report.It was not immediately clear if the report would have any impact on the separate criminal investigation.“A parliamentary inquiry is no substitute for the prosecutor and not a criminal court, but it can deliver valuable hints for the prosecutor’s investigation,” said Karlheinz Kopf, who chaired the lawmakers’ inquiry.While dismissing bribery allegations, the report also repeated a Defence Ministry complaint that the Alpine republic appeared to have been “deceived” regarding its partners’ ability to deliver certain jets as initially agreed.It also highlighted findings from a decade ago that Airbus had provided millions of euros in sponsorship money in connection with the Eurofighter deal to a soccer club that is seen as close to Austria’s Social Democrats.The parliamentary report further assessed that Darabos did not liaise sufficiently with other ministries and agencies while negotiating the settlement and was not transparent enough to allow a court audit of the deal.The legislators wound up their investigation earlier than planned because Austria called snap elections for Oct. 15, a year ahead of schedule. Airbus has clashed with other European governments, notably Germany, before, but the row with Austria is unique in its fury.The defense ministry said this week said it was open to an out-of-court settlement with Airbus and the consortium. But if no agreement were possible, it would also consider filing a lawsuit based on U.S. rules.Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Mark Heinrich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-austria-inquiry/no-proof-of-bribery-in-eurofighter-deal-austrian-parliament-report-idUSKCN1BV2EO'|'2017-09-20T20:02:00.000+03:00'
'48ab6f3c303b9b907be7b9c6901c14e3bfcec2fb'|'Reckitt Benckiser chairman to retire in 2018'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:12 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Reckitt Benckiser chairman to retire in 2018 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Reckitt Benckiser Group Chairman Adrian Bellamy will retire at its annual general meeting after 14 years in the post, the British consumer goods maker said on Tuesday. The company usually holds its AGM in May. Christopher Sinclair, who has served on the board since 2015, will take on the role of non-executive chairman at that time, the company said. Sinclair is executive chairman of the board at toymaker Mattel Inc. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-reckitt-benc-grp-chairman/reckitt-benckiser-chairman-to-retire-in-2018-idUKKCN1BU0OS'|'2017-09-19T10:11:00.000+03:00'
'5c8873f280b13ed1af67a0ed1c6831f6df70b36e'|'China online insurer ZhongAn prices Hong Kong IPO at top end, raises $1.5 billion - IFR'|'September 22, 2017 / 4:27 AM / Updated 8 hours ago China online insurer ZhongAn prices Hong Kong IPO at top end, raises $1.5 billion - IFR Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The Zhongan Insurance logo seen in this illustration photo September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration HONG KONG (Reuters) - ZhongAn Online Property & Casualty Insurance Co ( 6060.HK ) priced its IPO at the top of an indicated range, raising $1.5 billion(1.10 billion pounds) in Hong Kong’s biggest ever financial technology stock offering, IFR reported on Friday. China’s first internet-only insurer priced 199.3 million new shares at HK$59.70 ($7.65) each, the top of a HK$53.70-HK$59.70 range said IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. It cited people close to the deal. ZhongAn, founded by Alibaba Group Holding ( BABA.N ) Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Tencent Holdings ( 0700.HK ) Chairman Pony Ma and Ping An Insurance Group Co of China ( 601318.SS ) ( 2318.HK ) Chairman Ma Mingzhe, will debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sept 28. The insurer declined to comment on the pricing of the initial public offering (IPO). Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) agreed to buy a total stake of just under 5 percent for about $550 million in ZhongAn as part of the IPO, the deal’s prospectus showed. The IPO adds to the $7.1 billion of new listings so far in 2017 in Hong Kong, which has been looking to attract more technology and so-called new economy companies to sell shares. It was the biggest IPO in the city since the $1.9 billion listing of China Resources Pharmaceutical Group ( 3320.HK ) last October. ZhongAn plans to add life insurance and other healthcare products to the range of policies it offers to accelerate its growth after the IPO, Chief Financial Officer Francis Tang said on Sunday. It is among several Chinese fintech companies tapping investors to fund expansion as consumers move more of their banking, payments, investing and insurance online. The bulk of such fund-raising has been through private placements. Last year, Ant Financial, the world’s most-valuable fintech company, raised $4.5 billion, in one of the biggest funding rounds for a private internet company, while peer-to-peer lending and wealth management platform Lufax raised $1.2 billion, and JD Finance, the finance subsidiary of online direct sales firm JD.com ( JD.O ), raised $1 billion. Both Ant Financial and Lufax are considering IPOs in Hong Kong, sources previously told Reuters, though the timing for the deals is uncertain. ($1 = 7.8082 Hong Kong dollars) Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-zhongan-ipo/china-online-insurer-zhongan-prices-hk-ipo-at-top-end-raises-1-5-billion-ifr-idUKKCN1BX0C4'|'2017-09-22T07:30:00.000+03:00'
'b5312757b4ee98d193e99102057935dee4d933af'|'BRIEF-Turkish Airlines in talks with Boeing to buy 40 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner'|'September 22, 2017 / 6:52 AM / Updated 6 hours ago BRIEF-Turkish Airlines in talks with Boeing to buy 40 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 22 (Reuters) - TURK HAVA YOLLARI AO: * TURKISH AIRLINES EXPRESSED AN INTENTION TO ORDER 20+20, A TOTAL OF 40 BOEING 787-9 DREAMLINER TO THE AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER TO BE DELIVERED BETWEEN 2019 AND 2023 * THIS INTENTION WAS RAISED BY WIDE BODY AIRCRAFT NEEDS OF TURKISH AIRLINES RESULTING FROM THE FIRM NARROW BODY AIRCRAFT ORDERS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY PLACED * WITH THIS INTENTION OF PURCHASE, NEGOTIATIONS ARE CONTINUING WITH BOEING Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1M30VD'|'2017-09-22T09:49:00.000+03:00'
'981b190097a1467936f2aeb8e341f8216a6e4a48'|'Phillips 66 to sell assets to MLP in $2.4 billion deal'|'September 22, 2017 / 12:04 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Phillips 66 Partners to buy Bakken assets from Phillips 66 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Phillips 66 gas station in Superior, Colorado, U.S., July 27, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Phillips 66 Partners LP ( PSXP.N ) said on Friday it would buy pipeline and other assets from parent Phillips 66 ( PSX.N ) in a $2.4 billion deal that strengthens the master limited partnership’s presence in the prolific Bakken basin. The acquisition, Phillips 66 Partners biggest to-date, sent the company’s shares up 4.8 percent in morning trading, on pace for their best intra-day percentage gain in over a year. The company is acquiring a 25 percent interest in two of the refiner’s pipelines in the Bakken basin - Dakota Access LLC and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company LLC - and a 100 percent interest in the Merey Sweeny LP coke processing unit. The assets include 1,926 combined pipeline miles and 520,000 barrels per day of crude oil capacity, Phillips 66 Partners said on Friday. The deal supports the partnership’s objective of 30 percent distribution growth and its $1.1 billion earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) goal by 2018 end, Morningstar analysts wrote in a note. Phillips 66 Partners last year bought assets supporting Phillips 66’s refineries in New Jersey, Montana, Texas, and Oklahoma in a $1.3 billion deal. MLPs are formed by oil companies to buy and operate midstream assets and distribute excess cash to its investors in the form of tax-deferred dividends. The Partnership plans to fund the deal with debt and $240 million in new units issued to Phillips 66. The deal, which includes debt, is expected to close in early October. Reporting by John Benny; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-phillps-66-ptns-divestiture/phillips-66-partners-to-buy-phillips-66-assets-in-2-4-billion-deal-idINKCN1BX1IX'|'2017-09-22T10:04:00.000+03:00'
'2411a2f135b9cc168dcb074351c148192c24dfc1'|'At smartphone pioneer HTC: a new, or virtual, reality'|'  12:44 PM / Updated 2 hours ago At smartphone pioneer HTC: a new, or virtual, reality Jess Macy Yu , Jeremy Wagstaff 4 Min Read The Google logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a displayed HTC logo in this illustration taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration TAIPEI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - When HTC Corp brought back founder Cher Wang two years ago to turn around the struggling Taiwanese mobile phone maker, investors hoped she could stem a sharp loss in market share to Apple and Samsung Electronics. But the gamble to rebuild the early smartphone pioneer’s reputation failed, as its market share has continued to dwindle - to below 1 percent from closer to 10 percent in 2011. On Thursday, Wang announced HTC was shifting around 2,000 staff, mainly handset engineers, to Alphabet’s Google in a $1.1 billion deal that casts doubts over the company’s longer-term future. “Our main consideration is that our brand will continue,” Chialin Chang, who heads HTC’s mobile business, told reporters. “So our major releases will be as usual. In future, HTC will concentrate not on our portfolio size, but what’s in the portfolio.” Wang, a pioneer in Taiwan’s male-dominated technology industry, founded HTC 20 years ago as a contract manufacturer and established it as a leader, designing and making Microsoft-powered smartphones. It later turned out its own branded phones, but often struggled to translate positive early reviews into strong sales, despite spending heavily on marketing, including a collaboration with “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr for its flagship HTC One phone. It also struggled to carve out a strong consumer brand in a market where Apple and Samsung grew quickly and have since been joined by Chinese rivals such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo. HTC shares have slumped around 90 percent since the company’s 2011 peak. This week’s deal marks a retreat from HTC’s smartphone legacy. “It may take a hard look at its smartphone business ... and think it’s probably better to wind it down as soon as possible rather than for it to drain more cash,” said David Dai, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “If it focuses on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), there’s a much more concrete chance the company turns things around.” The Google logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a displayed HTC logo in this illustration taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration That prospect pushed up HTC shares by their daily maximum of 10 percent on Friday, valuing the company at around $1.7 billion, as some investors hope the Google cash helps HTC focus on its Vive VR headsets and reduce its development costs. HTC Chief Financial Officer Peter Shen said the deal will cut operating costs by 30-40 percent. GLIMMER OF HOPE While the Google cash throws HTC a lifeline for now, it may find it hard to retain staff, analysts said. Slideshow (4 Images) Google has cherry-picked the best people, said a former HTC executive who has spoken to current employees, adding: “It’s hard to see how anyone remaining would be enthusiastic.” “Google’s investment will probably slow, but not stop, HTC’s decline,” said Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics. Even Vive faces tough competition against the likes of Samsung and Sony Corp, which control half the $2 billion global AR and VR headset market. HTC saw flat second-quarter growth, and had 4.4 percent market share after a price reduction. “Vive remains in the red; free cash flow is negative; book value is eroding; and sales growth is decelerating,” JP Morgan analyst Narci Chang said in a note following the Google deal. “Nevertheless... we think HTC might narrow the loss considerably... enough to keep the business afloat and beat the (market) consensus for the next few quarters.” For now, no major VR overhaul has trickled down to staff. “It (Google’s investment) could be (a good thing), but it’s business as usual,” one Vive employee told Reuters. Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-htc-m-a-google/at-smartphone-pioneer-htc-a-new-or-virtual-reality-idINKCN1BX1MN'|'2017-09-22T10:44:00.000+03:00'
'5957eabd33a9b361ab2c7e74d44b51ee0e4314dc'|'Citigroup targets Belt and Road to boost China revenue'|' 11 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Citigroup targets Belt and Road to boost China revenue 4 Min Read A man walks past a branch of Citibank in Beijing, China, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon BEIJING (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) expects to boost its revenue growth in China by tapping into opportunities presented by Beijing’s Belt & Road initiative, the bank’s China chief said. The New York-based lender is one of a handful of global banks promoting its cross-border capabilities to capitalize on President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative. The initiative, unveiled in 2013, aims to bolster China’s global leadership ambitions by building infrastructure and trade links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond. “We’re seeing more and more multinational customers benefiting from Belt and Road, mostly through supplying into the Belt and Road projects, particularly companies in the industrial sector,” Christine Lam, Citigroup’s chief executive for China, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Lam was speaking on the sidelines of a conference hosted by Citigroup in Beijing this week. Rivals HSBC Holdings ( HSBA.L ), Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ), and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) also have promoted their cross-border capital markets and cash management services to leverage Belt and Road opportunities. China is one of eight Asian markets that produce $1 billion or more in revenue for Citigroup. The bank’s local unit reported about $770 million in revenue last year, representing a decline of 10.5 percent, following the sale of its stake in Guangfa Bank. Profits increased about 1 percent to $163 million. Citigroup has banking relationships with more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies in China, Lam said, and provides services in 58 markets in so-called Belt and Road countries. The bank expects to book more revenue from providing services for Belt and Road related activities, including mergers and acquisitions, cash management, trade finance and hedging, Lam said. Most Belt and Road opportunities are financed by government-owned policy and commercial lenders, with China Construction Bank Corp ( 601939.SS )( 0939.HK ) and Bank of China ( 601988.SS )( 3988.HK ) raising billion-dollar funds for future investment. Lam said that Citigroup is also looking to increase service to Chinese state-owned enterprises and other multinationals investing overseas, and has established nine China desks in locations around the world, including Dubai, Nairobi and Kazakhstan. Separately, Lam said that Citigroup has already benefited from ongoing discussions between Washington and Beijing over expanding access to China’s financial markets. In February, Citigroup became the first U.S.-based bank to secure a license to act as a bond settlement agent in China’s interbank bond market, allowing its local unit to compete alongside Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) and BNP Paribas SA ( BNPP.PA ) in the country’s $9 trillion bond market. Reporting By Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Tony Munroe; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-silkroad-citigroup/citigroup-targets-belt-and-road-to-boost-china-revenue-idUKKCN1BX0Y5'|'2017-09-22T12:11:00.000+03:00'
'28352f0d290d57bbb99bd30d2eb3d32980b8eb80'|'Yellen''s stock rises as she leads Fed from crisis-era policy'|'September 22, 2017 / 1:43 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Yellen''s stock rises as she leads Fed from crisis-era policy Jonathan Spicer , Ann Saphir 4 Min Read Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two-day Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From her early days as Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen has been the target of criticism from Republicans worried that the central bank’s massive bond-buying programs and near-zero interest rates engineered by her predecessor would be the ruin of the country. With little more than four months left in her term and questions swirling over whether the White House will ask her to stay on for another four years, Yellen has turned that story around. The Fed has raised rates faster than markets had thought possible this year and, on Wednesday, it announced its $4.5 trillion bond portfolio would begin to shrink in October. All the while, unemployment has plunged to boomtime levels and inflation has remained well in check. Now Yellen’s stock appears to be rising, both among her critics and on a real-money exchange where traders can place bets on who they think will be the next Fed chair. “I‘m glad we are finally at this point - I have been encouraging both privately and publicly the Fed to do this. We’ll see whether it truly is an end to the era,” said U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga, a Republican who has pushed a bill to tie the central bank’s decisions to a monetary policy rule. That Is an idea that Yellen has opposed, saying it would restrict policy options. Still Huizenga, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee and its subcommittee on monetary policy and trade, does not appear to endorse her. “I like her,” he told Reuters. “I would like to just make sure that the White House and president are making a thorough examination (of her record) - not just on a whim of, hey, interest rates are low ...” GUESSING GAME President Donald Trump has given few hints as to whether he will reappoint or replace Yellen before her term ends in early February. There are few signs the appointment process has moved forward at all or that it is a priority for the administration. And on Predictit.org, a financial prediction market for political and financial events where the Fed Chair contracts trade, the stock of former Fed Governor and Wall Street banker Kevin Warsh has also risen. Traders are currently paying 30 cents for contracts that would pay out $1 if Yellen gets the nod; Warsh contracts are going for 30 cents. Warsh was a Fed governor between 2006 and 2011 and criticized the Fed’s bond buying program, saying it would drive inflation sharply higher. That view has been a common thread among mostly conservative economists in their criticism of the Fed under both Ben Bernanke and Yellen. Other possible options include Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president who is Trump’s top economic adviser and who is leading the search for a new chair, and John Taylor, a Stanford University economist and a favourite of congressional Republicans. Cohn’s criticism of Trump’s response to the recent violence in Charlottsville, Virginia, has seen the odds on his appointment fall dramatically TAYLOR STILL ATTRACTIVE “In general, I believe we need more of a hawk than a dove in that position,” said Huizenga, adding he has not formally suggested names nor been asked by the White House. “I would be comfortable with John Taylor.” Cohn’s stock is at 15 cents on Predictit.org, down from the 48 cents it fetched midsummer; Taylor trails along with Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard at 2 cents. Yellen’s appeal is seen as limited by her support for crisis-era financial regulations that Republicans want to roll back. With Vice Chair Stanley Fischer set to retire in mid-October, the Trump administration needs “to come up with two names, not one. ... Perhaps a ticket like Warsh as chair and Hubbard as vice chair has a good chance,” said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist for Barclays, who believes Yellen is unlikely to retain her job. Still, Gapen said, “if you are looking for someone to continue to normalize policy, she would be someone you might want to consider.” Reporting by Ann Saphir in Washington and Jonathan Spicer in New York; Additional reporting by Angelika Gruber in Zurich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed/yellens-stock-rises-as-she-leads-fed-from-crisis-era-policy-idUKKCN1BX04Y'|'2017-09-22T04:31:00.000+03:00'
'7f1b072eff12bf39cce41b0c0484e509b3d4480d'|'Exclusive: T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing deal terms - sources'|'September 22, 2017 / 11:29 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Exclusive: T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing deal terms - sources Greg Roumeliotis , Arno Schuetze 4 Min Read Smartphones with the logos of T-Mobile and Sprint are seen in this illustration taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with Sprint Corp, people familiar with the matter said on Friday, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers. The transaction would significantly consolidate the U.S. telecommunications market and represent the first transformative U.S. merger with significant antitrust risk to be agreed since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January, testing his administration’s appetite for such deals. The development follows more than four months of on-and-off talks this year between the companies, and comes as the telecommunications sector seeks ways to tackle investments in 5G technology that will greatly enhance wireless data transfer speeds. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, which controls Sprint, will own 40 to 50 percent of the combined company, while T-Mobile majority owner Deutsche Telekom will own a majority stake, two of the sources said. Once terms are finalized, due diligence by the two companies will follow and a deal is expected by the end of October, though talks may still fall through, the sources said. A merger would create a business with more than 130 million subscribers, just behind Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc. Revenues would top $70 billion and analysts say there would be massive scope to cut costs. Sprint shares jumped 5 percent in morning trading in New York on Friday to $8.44, giving the company a market capitalization of close to $34 billion. T-Mobile shares were up 1 percent to $64.28, giving that company a market capitalization of around $53 billion. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Sprint and Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. T-Mobile and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son abandoned an earlier attempt to acquire T-Mobile for Sprint in 2014 amid opposition from anti-trust regulators concerned that consumers could lose out. That deal would have put SoftBank in control of the merged company, with Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder. Since then, T-Mobile has outperformed Sprint under Chief Executive John Legere, who the sources said would lead the combined company. Earlier this month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai gave a potential boost to the tie-up when he recommended in a new annual report that for the first time since 2009 the FCC has found there is “effective competition in the marketplace for mobile wireless services.” The FCC is due on Tuesday to vote the annual report on the state of the wireless competition market and Pai may face pushback from Democrats on the commission. Son made headlines in early December when he appeared in the marble lobby of Trump Tower in New York alongside the then president-elect, dressed in a red vest and red tie nearly identical to that of the tycoon turned commander in chief. He was among the first in a series of Asian billionaires and leaders to pay tribute to Trump, who won office in November on a platform that focused on national security and protecting U.S. jobs. Son’s pledge to Trump to invest $50 billion in the United States and create 50,000 jobs was light on details but spoke to the president’s election promise to boost economic growth by making deals with individual companies, rather than through complicated trade deals. Last month, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said an announcement on merger talks should come in the “near future.” Earlier this year, Sprint approached cable company Charter Communications Inc about a potential merger, but quickly abandoned that effort. AT&T is in the process of getting its own transformative deal, its $85.4 billion acquisition of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc approved by U.S. regulators. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Douglas Busvine in Frankfurt, David Shepardson in Washington; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sprint-m-a-tmobile/t-mobile-sprint-close-to-agreeing-deal-terms-sources-say-idINKCN1BX1EY'|'2017-09-22T15:38:00.000+03:00'
'4af7bbb4dc081ecb62bc0b1be23933ffc512f370'|'Facebook lawyer says stock trial cancelled, but no settlement'|'WILMINGTON, Del., Sept 22 (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s trial over a shareholder lawsuit opposing the company’s plans to issue class C stock has not be settled, according to a Friday letter from a Facebook attorney to the Delaware Court of Chancery.The Delaware court said on Friday the trial had been cancelled. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was scheduled to testify at the trial, which had been due to kick off on Tuesday. (Reporting by Tom Hals; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/facebook-stock-trial-letter/facebook-lawyer-says-stock-trial-cancelled-but-no-settlement-idINL2N1M31OT'|'2017-09-22T17:49:00.000+03:00'
'0fb24300c92443f7350d33319227e86cd55e5fad'|'Uber loses its licence to operate in London'|'LONDON (Reuters) - London deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service on Friday and stripped it of its licence to operate from the end of next week in a major blow to the U.S. firm and 3.5 million users in one of the world’s wealthiest cities.The capital’s transport regulator said the Silicon Valley technology giant’s approach and conduct was not fit and proper to hold a private vehicle hire licence and it would not be renewed when it expires on Sept. 30.Uber, which has 40,000 drivers working in the capital, said it would contest the decision. Regulator Transport for London (TfL) said it would let Uber operate until the appeals process is exhausted, which could take months.“Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications,” TfL said.Specifically, TfL cited Uber’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences, background checks on drivers and software called Greyball that could be used to block regulators from gaining full access to the app.“Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice,” said Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London. “We intend to immediately challenge this in the courts.”An online petition against the decision had gathered more than 200,000 signatures within five hours.‘SAFETY THREAT’The loss of the licence comes after a tumultuous few months for Uber, including a string of scandals involving allegations of sexism and bullying at the San Francisco-based start-up that forced out former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick.Uber, which is valued at about $70 billion and whose investors include Goldman Sachs, has faced protests around the world for shaking up long-established taxi markets.The taxi app has also been forced to quit several countries, including Denmark and Hungary, and faced regulatory battles in multiple U.S. states and around the world.London’s traditional black cab drivers have attacked Uber, saying it has undercut safety rules and threatened their livelihoods. Uber has been criticised by unions and lawmakers too and been embroiled in legal battles over workers’ rights.A photo illustration shows the Uber app on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files London police also complained in a letter in April that Uber was either not disclosing, or taking too long to report, serious crimes including sexual assaults and this put the public at risk.Of the 154 allegations of rape or sexual assault made to police in London between February 2015 and February 2016 in which the suspect was a taxi driver, 32 concerned Uber, according to the capital’s police force.Uber said on Friday its drivers passed the same rigorous checks as black cab drivers, it has always followed TfL’s rules on reporting serious incidents and it had a dedicated team that worked closely with London’s police.London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Labour politician who has criticised Uber in the past, said he backed the decision to reject its application for a new licence.Slideshow (2 Images) “It would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security,” he said.HATED BY CABBIES LOVED BY USERS Drivers of London’s black cabs, who have snarled up the city’s streets in protest at the app over the last few years, welcomed Friday’s decision.“Their standards are not up to scratch,” said 71-year-old Walt Burrows, who has driven a black cab for 39 years. “The black cab is an iconic part of London. What you get with a black cab is a metered fare and you know you’re safe.”Uber is likely to come under more fire next week when it appears in court to appeal a verdict that granted two of its drivers rights such as the minimum wage, the latest “gig economy” battle between firms lauding the flexibility enjoyed by self-employed drivers and unions accusing them of exploitation.Uber has, however, announced a series of changes over the last few months to improve conditions for its drivers, including the introduction of in-app tipping and plans to increase some fees.Alongside Uber’s drivers, some of London’s 3.5 million registered users expressed concern as to how TfL’s decision would affect their lives.“It will definitely impact my life,” said 43-year-old event planner Rimi Char, who uses the app at least once a week. “I have got used to the ease and cost effectiveness of using Uber and I’ve always had positive experiences.”One of Uber’s British competitors in London, Addison Lee, is also awaiting a decision from TfL about a longer-term licence. The company declined to comment on Friday.Additional reporting by Michael Holden, Kylie MacLellan, James Davey, Elizabeth O''Leary and Elaine Hardcastle; editing by Keith Weir and David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uber-britain/uber-loses-its-licence-to-operate-in-london-idINKCN1BX14Z'|'2017-09-22T08:13:00.000+03:00'
'3308cac4536e6d819adfb9d48dd14471cded5239'|'Leading Democrat says Equifax gave consumers "confusing and misleading information"'|'  7:01 PM / Updated an hour ago Leading Democrat says Equifax gave consumers ''confusing and misleading information'' Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Credit cards, a chain and an open padlock is seen in front of displayed Equifax logo in this illustration taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illutration WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Tuesday that Equifax was sloppy in allowing itself to be hacked, losing sensitive data on up to 143 million people. “People are outraged, and rightfully so,” she said on the Senate floor, attacking Equifax’s decision to delay disclosing the breach for more than a month. “Equifax gave criminals a 40-day head start to use the information they had stolen while the rest of us were left in the dark,” she said. She also said that Equifax “provided confusing and misleading information about” whether consumers’ sensitive data had been stolen. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber-warren/leading-democrat-says-equifax-gave-consumers-confusing-and-misleading-information-idUSKCN1BU2KR'|'2017-09-19T21:57:00.000+03:00'
'05db118de5113274a67bbfbc155b9a066c4d44c5'|'With new operating system, Apple revamps its money-making App Store'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:10 AM / Updated 9 hours ago With new operating system, Apple revamps its money-making App Store Stephen Nellis 3 Min Read An attendee checks out a new iPhone X during an Apple launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s newest operating system for iPhones and iPads introduces changes to its marketplace for third-party software to satisfy app developers and add new so-called augmented reality apps. The system, called iOS 11, is being released on Tuesday ahead of its two newest phone handsets, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, set to start shipping to customers on Friday and Nov. 3, respectively. The most visible changes will come to App Store. The App Store is the backbone of Apple’s services segment, which brought in $21.5 billion in revenue in the past nine months, a 19 percent increase over the previous year and a bright spot as overall sales grew only 5 percent. The store has been redesigned to give app developers more space for images and text to describe their software. Developers have long grumbled that their software is hard to find in Apple’s store unless users type in the precise name of the app or follow a link to it. “The redesign make it much cleaner and speaks to the pain point of the store: You had so many apps that if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for, it was really hard to find anything,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Creative Strategies. FILE PHOTO: An Apple logo is seen at an Apple store in Pudong, the financial district of Shanghai, China February 29, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo The new store also gives prominent display to games. Games are expected to make up 75 percent of all revenue for Apple’s App Store, according to App Annie, which collects and analyzes market data on mobile apps. Most of that revenue comes in the form of so-called in-app purchases, where gamers make purchases of tokens, gems and other digital items to unlock new parts of the game. “It’s really the gift that keep on giving from the developer perspective,” Milanesi said. But perhaps the biggest change in iOS 11 will the debut of augmented reality apps, or AR, in which digital images float over the real word. Apple has made much of those a capabilities, but an ostensibly minor feature may help AR apps spread: Screen recording. In testing, Adam Debreczeni, maker of an app that lets users see a three-dimensional map of a fitness activity like a bicycle ride or run they’ve gone on, was surprised at how enthusiastically users took to sharing screen recordings of AR apps like his. “I think that’s going to help AR games go viral and get better distribution,” he said. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-iphone/with-new-operating-system-apple-revamps-its-money-making-app-store-idUSKCN1BU0OO'|'2017-09-19T15:10:00.000+03:00'
'0e78ab8a1c45fcdc4f2aea9e5dc272402ae2e860'|'Rivals add Caribbean capacity to fill Air Berlin gaps'|'BERLIN, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Airlines Condor and Eurowings plan to provide flights to the Caribbean from Duesseldorf, meeting demand from Germans seeking winter sunshine after cancellations by insolvent Air Berlin.Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding. It has been forced to scrap long-haul flights from its two bases of Duesseldorf and Berlin after a leasing company asked for its planes to be returned.Condor, part of Britain’s Thomas Cook Group, said it was starting flights to destinations in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Barbados from Duesseldorf from Nov. 1. Condor said it was leasing an A330 plane with crew in order to be able to offer the routes.The cancellation of the Air Berlin routes has left tour operators seeking an airline to take customers on package holidays that have already been booked.“We did all we could to find a solution as quickly as possible to keep holiday traffic in the air,” Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup said in a statement.Lufthansa’s budget unit Eurowings said it would start flights to the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico from Nov. 8, making Duesseldorf only the second airport from which it offers long-haul flights.Eurowings, already the market leader at Duesseldorf with its short-haul routes, currently flies long-haul from Cologne and plans to start intercontinental tourist routes from Munich next year.Both Condor and Lufthansa are among airlines interested in taking on parts of Air Berlin’s business as part of a carve-up of the company.Air Berlin’s slots at Duesseldorf, in Germany’s most populous region, are seen as some of the airline’s most attractive assets for potential bidders.By taking over parts of Air Berlin, bidders could get access to more take-off and landing slots at Duesseldorf, other than the ones already surrendered on the long-haul routes.Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-caribbean/rivals-add-caribbean-capacity-to-fill-air-berlin-gaps-idINL5N1M02VL'|'2017-09-19T09:25:00.000+03:00'
'fc21b6490e188a36d932afd82c573d6f8c7627f0'|'Russian Deputy PM: China''s CEFC in talks to buy into Russia''s En+ - RIA'|'Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich smiles during an interview at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (Reuters) - China’s CEFC has been in talks to buy a stake in Russia’s En+, the RIA news agency Quote: d Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich as saying on Wednesday.China’s conglomerate CEFC was considering investing in En+ as part of the aluminum-to-power conglomerate’s planned IPO, industry sources had told Reuters previously.Dvorkovich also said that China would start receiving 30 million tonnes of oil via the Skovorodino-Mohe pipeline from 2019.Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Vladimir Soldatkin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-china-cefc-en/russian-deputy-pm-chinas-cefc-in-talks-to-buy-into-russias-en-ria-idINKCN1BV1OF'|'2017-09-20T11:15:00.000+03:00'
'09981886646ed9092a7ab6a1aa70e0d81d215fb9'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 20'|'Sept 20 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesKPMG faces client revolt in South Africa on.ft.com/2xfsBrnAlphabet looks for land to build experimental city on.ft.com/2fho1V1Activist group doubles Clariant stake as it seeks to stop merger on.ft.com/2hf5OblTheresa May prepares 20 billion euros EU budget offer on.ft.com/2xdjEB6OverviewAt least three audit contracts were lost by KPMG in South Africa as it faces widespread client reviews after it got involved in a high-profile political scandal involving South Africa’s billionaire Gupta family.In an attempt to prove that a technologically enabled urban environment can improve quality of life, Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc is working on a plan to build a city from the ground up, the executive in charge of its urban innovation business said on Tuesday.The activist investor fighting Clariant AG has increased its stake to 15.1 percent in the Swiss chemicals group and repeated that it demands to drop the $20 billion planned tie-up with Huntsman Corp of the United States.The British government has told German Chancellor Angela Merkel to expect Theresa May to offer this week to fill a post-Brexit European Union budget hole of at least 20 billion euros ($23.98 billion), this week.$1 = 0.8340 euros Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-20-idINL4N1M101B'|'2017-09-19T22:09:00.000+03:00'
'298fa078db6413fb5d17871da87561e73ea0ba5b'|'Tough calls: on the debt crisis frontline with charity StepChange - Money'|'  12.48 BST Last modified on   16.49 BST There is a pause, a moment’s silence and then a deep exhalation before the words finally come. The caller has only been asked her name but it is a big moment, almost like a confession when she finally speaks. Debt is an exhausting secret to keep, but telling a stranger about a problem you can hardly bear to face yourself takes courage. “It can take people a few times to actually speak to someone,” says Becky Mitchell, a team leader for the helpline run by debt charity StepChange . “They call and end up putting the phone down because they are too scared or embarrassed.” The helpline is based at StepChange’s headquarters on the edge of Leeds’s sprawling shopping precinct. With rows of spotless desks and headset-wearing advisers bowed over their computers, it looks like a call centre. But there are no sales targets on white boards and a prominent sign dangling from the ceiling reminds staff: “We know debt. We understand the causes, but most importantly we know the way out.” Jobless and £35,000 in debt: ''I got to the point where I didn’t want to live'' Read more “It’s not a call centre, even though we are using call centre equipment,” says Dominic Hopkins, one of hundreds of helpline advisers answering calls during the Friday lunchtime rush. “If I need to take a break because the last call got to me I can.” Without the experienced ear of a StepChange adviser, each call is like listening to a devastatingly sad radio play. In the first six months of 2017 more than 320,000 people contacted StepChange for support with their debt problem with the average unsecured debt pile rising by more than £110 to £14,367 over that timeframe, as they loaded purchases on to credit and store cards or took out personal loans. The accents change as calls are coming in from all over the country but the problems are the same: the plates they had kept spinning for so long have smashed on the floor and they need help to sort through the pieces. To better understand the underlying causes of Britain’s debt crisis, the Guardian was allowed to listen to calls but not to report any personal details or experiences. For many, the advice handed out by people like Hopkins is the first step towards confronting the financial chaos that has taken over their life, affecting their mental health and in some cases that of their children. An adviser at the StepChange helpline in Leeds. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian The most common reason callers give for their dire straits is a change in circumstance, such as the loss of a job or reduced working hours – a common theme given the prevalence of zero-hours contracts – or illness. Sometimes the crisis is triggered by a domestic emergency such as a broken cooker or washing machine. But sometimes, particularly among the growing number of single parents calling the helpline, the problem is simply that they do not have enough money to live on since their relationship broke down. The replacement of the Child Support Agency with the Child Maintenance Service three years ago put the emphasis on parents agreeing a financial settlement and many callers appear resigned to receiving no financial support from their ex-partner. Often it is the frightening officialdom of a court summons that jolts the caller into action but it can also be the panicked reaction to a bailiff’s knock. Young people worst affected by debt crisis, say charities Read more “One of the more concerning trends is the increased use of enforcement, particularly through the high court, by the water companies,” says Andy Shaw, one of the charity’s debt advice coordinators. “Historically we might have seen cases where clients had got behind with their water bills progressing as far as a county court judgment but no further. The water companies seem to have become more aggressive in their debt collection methods.” After the initial call individuals who want a personal action plan drawn up must call back to have a more detailed conversation so advisers can suggest a course of action, selecting from a list that includes a debt management plan, an individual voluntary arrangement or bankruptcy. At the start of each call, to the optimistic listener, it sounds like the situation might not be too bad as arrears on household essentials such as rent, council tax and utility bills are disclosed. But from then on it just gets messier and messier. Some people haven’t opened letters for months or even years, and as a result small mistakes, such as a parking ticket or traffic violation, have taken on a life of their own in the court system. Staff at StepChange field calls from the public. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian Overdue household bills turn out to be the tip of a debt iceberg and, as the call progresses, the names of lenders change from well-known high street banks and retailers to esoteric brands targeting borrowers with poor credit ratings with high-interest products. The average caller has about six unsecured debts to their name. Some try to keep the tone breezy as they rustle paperwork, glad to be moving forward, but others are close to tears as they pick over their meagre expenditure to figure out ways to reduce their outgoings. Could they stop smoking or only buy clothes for their children? Like the government, StepChange doesn’t have a magic money tree and its advicecan be hard for callers to hear, even if they have asked for it. Loan sharks are circling, says one of UK''s biggest doorstep lenders Read more “Telling someone their only option is bankruptcy – that’s a very difficult conversation,” says Shaw. “Some clients are open – or resigned – to the idea but there are others who haven’t faced up to the their situation. There is still a significant stigma attached to bankruptcy.” “If someone is facing repossession proceedings and you are helping them prepare their budget to take to court for their hearing – you can see they are not going to be able to afford to keep their home and you have to prepare them for that,” adds Shaw. “That is one of the harder aspects of the role.” StepChange advisers report overwhelmingly that callers want to repay their debts yet a 2016 survey of its clients found that nearly a third of those with credit card debts said none of their creditors would help them by freezing interest, charges or enforcement action. Three-fifths of those who were not shown forbearance went on to borrow more to try to cope with their debt problems. “There is good practice from creditors out there and when they forbear – stop charging interest, stop ringing up and cease court action – people start to recover,” says Peter Tutton, head of policy at StepChange. “Without forbearance no one does. They borrow more and pay them by not paying someone else, and so the crisis goes on.” Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/20/tough-calls-on-the-debt-crisis-frontline-with-charity-stepchange'|'2017-09-20T14:48:00.000+03:00'
'1f5f129d58fdd7e29eff71179a538d490fdc40ce'|'UPDATE 1-Ghana''s Cocobod signs $1.3 bln loan for 2017/18 cocoa purchases'|'September 20, 2017 / 2:09 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Ghana''s Cocobod signs $1.3 bln loan for 2017/18 cocoa purchases Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds comments by Cocobod CEO, details) ACCRA, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Ghana’s cocoa industry regulator Cocobod signed a $1.3 billion loan with international banks on Wednesday to fund purchases for the 2017/18 season, due to open early next month, Cocobod’s deputy chief executive said. The world’s second largest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast, Ghana uses loans from international banks every year for bean purchases. In the upcoming season it aims to buy at least 850,000 tonnes from farmers, Cocobod’s Yaw Adu-Ampomah said. The loan, signed in Paris with 25 banks, is smaller than the $1.8 billion secured last year, which ran out early. The deal provides for an additional $200 million to be added if needed. The largest pre-export soft commodity financing facility in sub-Saharan Africa, the loan was oversubscribed by $300 million, Cocobod said. Lead arrangers were Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Standard Bank, Natixis, Cooperative Rabobank, Ghana International Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Ghana is set to produce around 950,000 tonnes of cocoa this year, the most since a record 1 million tonnes in 2010/11. Cocobod will also seek a medium-term loan to fund infrastructure projects, said chief executive Joseph Boahen Aidoo. (Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; editing by Nellie Peyton/Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/ghana-cocoa/update-1-ghanas-cocobod-signs-1-3-bln-loan-for-2017-18-cocoa-purchases-idUSL5N1M13X9'|'2017-09-20T17:09:00.000+03:00'
'a8a145121ff29a44c22a5d2cc8210447e0e8094e'|'Slovakia delays decision to replace Russian fighter jets'|'BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia will postpone a planned fighter jet purchase pending a broader upgrade of its armed forces, the defense minister said on Wednesday, following warnings that such a move could prolong its dependence on Russia.The central European NATO member state has been in talks with several firms about replacing its aging Russian-made MiG-29s.Peter Gajdos mentioned U.S. F-16 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin and Gripen jets made by Sweden’s Saab as options. Neighboring Hungary and the Czech Republic already operate the latter.Slovakia was expected to make decision by the end of this month, but Gajdos said this would be delayed.“We need to modernize the ground forces which are the backbone of our military. While we have been replacing some parts of the air force, the ground forces have not been renewed for decades,” he said.Slovakia is due to spend about 6.5 billion euros ($7.80 billion) by 2030 to modernize its army, the defense ministry said in a strategy document, released last week and to be debated in the first half of 2018.Its spending on defense is due to rise from 1.1 percent of GDP to 1.6 percent in 2020 and 2.0 percent by 2024.Prime Minister Robert Fico said last month Slovakia should pick “European solutions” for the army if it wanted to be part of a more deeply integrated core European Union.Gajdos, from the nationalist, eurosceptic SNS party that forms part of the governing coalition, has faced criticism from both its partners -- Fico’s leftist Smer and the centrist Most party -- that delays in closing the fighter deal could prolong Slovakia’s dependence on Russia.“If the finance ministry and government earmark money for all projects, we are ready to finalize the ongoing negotiations and close the deal” on new jets, Gajdos said.In 2015, Slovakia made a deal to buy nine U.S.-made Black Hawk helicopters to replace its Russian Mi-17 fleet, and signed with Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi for two Spartan C-27J transport aircraft to replace Russian Antonovs the year before.The government already approved a plan to spend 1.2 billion euros ($1.44 billion) to replace its outdated armored personnel carriers in May.Slovakia has a maintenance contract with Russia for its 12 MiG-29s until autumn 2019. If it does not order new jets soon it would need to prolong that, as they would typically take 18-24 months to deliver.“Prolongation of the Mig-29s contract is the plan B, the plan A is the purchase of new jets. I won’t accept any other than a pro-European and pro-Atlantic solution (for their replacement),” Gajdos said.Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova; editing by John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-slovakia-defence/slovakia-delays-decision-to-replace-russian-fighter-jets-idUSKCN1BV22Y'|'2017-09-20T18:21:00.000+03:00'
'2aaf029692f7e2aef9b3d16df07210f726941635'|'U.S. Democrats seek disclosure after Russia-backed political ads'|'  6:59 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago U.S. Democrats seek disclosure after Russia-backed political ads David Ingram 2 Min Read Sept 20 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Federal Election Commission to require transparency for social media advertising after Russians bought U.S. political ads on Facebook Inc in an alleged attempt to influence the 2016 elections. Pressure is mounting on regulators and Silicon Valley companies to open up the opaque world of online political ads and to prevent governments from using them to sway elections or attempt other meddling. “Social media platforms offer the ability to target millions of users based upon a wealth of highly detailed information,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the election commission. “As we have seen, the low cost of reaching these users equips hostile foreign actors with a powerful new tool for disruption of our democratic process.” Some 17 Democrats from the Senate and House of Representatives signed the letter. Facebook, the world’s largest social network, said this month that an operation likely based in Russia spent $100,000 on thousands of Facebook ads promoting divisive messages before and after last year’s U.S. presidential election. Russia has denied meddling in the U.S. election, in which Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. U.S. congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating the allegations. The Federal Election Commission last week sought public comment on possible regulatory changes, and the commission is considering holding a public hearing, with Facebook and other tech companies as invited witnesses. Facebook has said it is working with U.S. authorities who are investigating alleged Russian meddling and also taking steps, such as removing fake accounts, to prevent manipulation of its platform. (Reporting by David Ingram in San Francisco; Editing by Alistair Bell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-russia/u-s-democrats-seek-disclosure-after-russia-backed-political-ads-idUSL2N1M11F6'|'2017-09-20T22:00:00.000+03:00'
'0e7f4e3c74a2f4344f7863d08d48a1bd8155771f'|'Catalent bolsters biopharma business with Cook Pharmica buy'|'(Reuters) - U.S. drug contract manufacturer Catalent Inc ( CTLT.N ) agreed to buy Cook Pharmica LLC for $950 million in cash as the company doubles down on its fast-growing business of supplying biologics to drugmakers.Catalent’s shares fell as much as 2.8 percent to $38.79 on Tuesday, before recovering slightly.The deal is the latest in the consolidating global contract manufacturing industry and comes when drugmakers are outsourcing more of their development and manufacturing to cut costs.Swiss pharmaceutical supplier Lonza Group AG ( LONN.S ) last year said it would buy Capsugel, a U.S. maker of capsules and other drug delivery systems, for $5.5 billion.The deal gives Catalent access to Cook Pharmica’s Bloomington, Indiana facility, which specializes in developing biologics-based drug compounds or products.Share of biologics, or drugs manufactured from living organisms, will account for about 21 percent of the combined entity’s pro-forma revenue, Catalent said on a conference call.Biologics account for about 14 percent of Catalent’s consolidated revenue currently.The acquisition is “pricey, but important”, said Wells Fargo analyst Tim Evans, as it enables Catalent to beef up previously weak areas of manufacturing active ingredients and final dosage forms of biologic drugs.Catalent said it would pay $750 million when the deal closes, expected in the second quarter of the company’s fiscal 2018, and the rest in four annual installments.Cook Pharmica, a unit of medical device maker Cook Group Inc, generated $179 million in revenue for its year ended June 30.The acquisition will add to adjusted net income per share in the first full fiscal year after the deal closes, Catalent said.Catalent said it expects to fund the deal with about $450 million of new debt and $250 million of equity and has obtained financing from Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, RBC Capital Markets and BofA Merrill Lynch.Morgan Stanley is the financial counsel and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP the legal counsel to Catalent.Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cook-pharmica-m-a-catalent/catalent-to-buy-cook-pharmica-for-950-million-idINKCN1BU1I8'|'2017-09-19T09:54:00.000+03:00'
'844f8696260db716f6a53b59af3284880f13dbcf'|'Exclusive - Toshiba flips back to favouring Western Digital group for chip unit sale: sources'|'  5:39 PM / Updated 29 minutes ago Exclusive - Toshiba flips back towards Western Digital group for chip unit sale: sources Kentaro Hamada , Taro Fuse 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Toshiba is seen as a shareholder arrives at Toshiba''s extraordinary shareholders meeting in Chiba, Japan March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is shifting back toward selling its prized semiconductor unit to a group backed by joint venture partner Western Digital Corp, people familiar with the deal said. Just days ago the Japanese firm said it was leaning toward a rival bid for the $18 billion (13.34 billion pounds) business that includes a South Korean chipmaker. California-based Western Digital made key concessions to assure Toshiba it would not seek future control of the chip business, addressing antitrust concerns, said the sources, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. That had turned the tide away from the bid led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc. Toshiba board members are to meet Wednesday, but it was unclear whether they could reach a decision, after saying last Wednesday the company was accelerating talks with the Hynix group. That announcement marked the third time Toshiba had missed targets to sell the business - the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND memory chips. FILE PHOTO - A Western Digital office building under construction is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The company needs the cash to plug a giant hole in its finances left by its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Corp. Toshiba and SK Hynix could not be reached outside business hours. A Western Digital spokesman declined comment. Bain Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Western Digital’s refusal to relinquish future ownership rights in the chip business has hindered a sale, while the rival Hynix-Bain bid was hampered by legal challenges from Western Digital, made on grounds that it would infringe Western Digital’s rights in the venture with Toshiba in central Japan. The U.S. company conceded to giving up voting rights in the NAND memory business, boosting the bid it had sought along with U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP and Japanese government-backed investors including the Innovation Network Corp of Japan. In the latest proposal, worth about 2 trillion yen (13.28 billion pounds) , INCJ would take the lead, including a 300 billion yen equity investment, the sources said. INCJ declined to comment. KKR didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Toshiba needs cash by March to prevent it from being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On top of that, the semiconductor business requires huge amounts of investment, and Toshiba’s chip unit runs the danger of losing its competitive ability as rivals roll out big capital spending plans. Reporting by Kentaro Hamada, Taro Fuse and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; editing by William Mallard and John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-exclusive/toshiba-flips-back-to-favouring-western-digital-group-for-chip-unit-sale-sources-idUKKCN1BU2F0'|'2017-09-19T20:48:00.000+03:00'
'b5d67685e6c3a59f5b3eb3d390c3757ccb9fcefe'|'UPDATE 2-BlackRock CEO Fink says he is committed to gender diversity'|'(Adds Quote: from Fink, paragraphs 2-3; statistics on BlackRock employee diversity, paragraph 4; bylines)By Trevor Hunnicutt and Stephanie KellyNEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Larry Fink on Wednesday said the largest asset manager must mirror its customers in terms of gender, comments that come as the company has become more vocal about shareholder and activist efforts to boost workplace diversity.“The reality is in the world more than 50 percent of household wealth is managed by women,” said Fink, who spoke at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York.“And so if I‘m going to be a mirror of my clients, we are going to need more women in our firm.”BlackRock said this year that 39 percent of its employees are women, and that 43 percent of its total hires in 2016 and 29 percent of those brought on in senior leadership positions last year are women.Investors have increasingly signaled a desire for their savings, including those managed by BlackRock and its rivals, to reflect their values. As a major shareholder in most public companies, BlackRock has also been pressured by activists to back shareholder-fronted propositions and vote against boards to prompt better corporate citizenship.Fink has encouraged executives to adjust their behavior to focus on generating long-term value for shareholders, rather than simply meeting short-term profit targets.Lack of diversity is among the top issues, but Fink said on Wednesday that BlackRock has also seen greater interest from investors in environmental, social and corporate governance issues as a result of the United States potentially leaving the landmark 2015 Paris climate pact.Breaking with prior practice, BlackRock this year publicly disclosed opposition to practices at oil company Exxon Mobil Corp, drugmaker Mylan NV and other firms over climate change, compensation and other policies.BlackRock voted for eight proposals pushing U.S. and Canadian companies to adopt policies to boost their boards’ diversity during the second quarter, the asset manager disclosed in July. It said a lack of diversity could hinder decision-making.BlackRock’s board includes 17 members, four of whom are women. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bloomberg-forum-blackrock/update-1-blackrocks-fink-says-he-is-committed-to-gender-diversity-idINL2N1M112E'|'2017-09-20T14:51:00.000+03:00'
'c21d2abb5dbb5faf0dda3c79de35a37dbec2c9ef'|'TREASURIES-U.S. yield curve flattest since July on possible Dec rate hike'|'(Adds Quote: , outlook; updates prices) * Fed seen as more hawkish than market anticipated * Philly Fed manufacturing index increases * PCE index in focus next week for inflation clues By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to two-and-a-half month lows on Thursday as investors adjusted for the likelihood of a December interest rate increase, a day after the Federal Reserve struck a more-hawkish-than-expected tone at its September meeting. New economic projections released after the Fed''s two-day policy meeting showed 11 of 16 officials see the "appropriate" level for the federal funds rate, the central bank''s benchmark interest rate, to be in a range between 1.25 percent and 1.50 percent by year-end. "The meeting was definitely more hawkish than what the market was anticipating," said Mary Ann Hurley, vice president in fixed income trading at D.A. Davidson in Seattle. "We were definitely not pricing in another rate hike for this year." The yield curve between Treasury five-year notes and 30-year bonds flattened to 92 basis points on Thursday, the lowest level since July 6. Intermediate-dated debt is highly sensitive to interest rate increases, helping them underperform, while longer-dated bonds are influenced by inflation expectations. Some traders and investors had expected the Fed to strike a more dovish tone given the potential economic impact of recent severe hurricanes and still sluggish inflation. The U.S. central bank was also seen as potentially slowing its rate hike path to give the market time to absorb reductions in its balance sheet. Personal income data released on Sept. 29 will be the next major focus for signs of whether inflation is picking up. "I have a hard time seeing how if we don’t get an uptick in the PCE core and some kind of move higher in the real neutral fed funds rate between now and the end of the year, that they’re going to stand pat this year," said Lou Brien, a market strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago. The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, which excludes food and energy prices, is the Fed''s preferred measure of inflation. The Treasury Department saw soft demand for a $11 billion sale of 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) on Thursday, which sold at yields more than 2 basis points higher than they had traded before the auction. Data on Thursday showed that manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region accelerated in September amid a surge in new orders. (Editing by Dan Grebler) ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-u-s-yield-curve-flattest-since-july-on-possible-dec-rate-hike-idINL2N1M21PF'|'2017-09-21T16:28:00.000+03:00'
'29a0df3936398f0f63acbc01e58a5ab000d629d1'|'WTO says global trade rebounding, sees 2017 growth of 3.6 pct'|'  9:33 AM / Updated 8 hours ago WTO says global trade rebounding, protectionism still a risk Tom Miles 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A ferry sails past containers at a cargo terminal in the port of Algeciras, Spain June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo GENEVA (Reuters) - Global trade is rebounding strongly but risks remain, the World Trade Organization said on Thursday, with commerce expected to grow by 3.6 percent in 2017, well above last year’s 1.3 percent. The forecast marks a sharp upward revision of the WTO’s April estimate, when it foresaw growth of 2.4 percent and in a range of 1.8-3.6 percent, due to a high level of political and economic uncertainty. That range has now been narrowed to 3.2-3.9 percent, based on accelerating economic growth and rising import demand in China and the United States, which spurred trade within Asia. “The improved outlook for trade is welcome news, but substantial risks that threaten the world economy remain in place and could easily undermine any trade recovery,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a statement. “These risks include the possibility that protectionist rhetoric translates into trade restrictive actions, a worrying rise in global geopolitical tensions and a rising economic toll from natural disasters.” However, trade growth was becoming more synchronised across regions than it had been for many years, which could make the current trend self-reinforcing, he said. The fast pace of 2017, which followed a very weak year, is unlikely to be sustained in 2018, with U.S. and euro zone monetary policy expected to tighten and China likely to rein in easy credit to stop its economy from overheating, the WTO said. “All of these factors should contribute to a moderation of trade growth in 2018 to around 3.2 percent (the full range of the estimate being from 1.4 percent to 4.4 percent),” it said. The ratio of trade growth to GDP growth, which traditionally ran at about 2:1 but has slumped to about 1:1 in the decade since the financial crisis, should rise this year, with trade growing 1.3 times faster than the global economy, it said. Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/wto-forecast/wto-says-global-trade-rebounding-sees-2017-growth-of-3-6-pct-idINKCN1BW171'|'2017-09-21T12:30:00.000+03:00'
'62c8640ef43e389a41f262f7e283ab823dfdf824'|'Switzerland''s SIX looks at potential $2 billion sale of payments unit: sources'|'FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group has hired JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) to look at options for its payments unit, including a sale worth up to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion), sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.The decision to kick off a strategic review comes amid a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the fragmented payments industry as consumers increasingly switch to card and mobile payments and as regulatory changes promise to open the market to more competition.Several private equity groups have bought payments businesses to merge them with peers while some European companies are currently carrying out strategic reviews or have already hired banks to find new investors amid rising industry valuations.Zurich-based SIX helps process payments and provides debit and credit card terminals to retailers, restaurants and hotels. The annual core earnings of its payments business are about 145 million Swiss francs, a person familiar with the matter said.SIX may still opt for a stock market listing or could decide to sell a minority stake, the sources said.Any sale could fetch a multiple of about 14 times its expected core earnings, people familiar with the industry said.SIX and JPMorgan declined to comment.For decades, payments firms have existed as a backwater in the banking landscape. Usually set up by banks, they enjoyed a cosy relationship with them as customers but had little funds at their disposal to invest in technology.A new European Union directive is set to come into force next year which requires banks to open up their procurement of payments services to third parties.Technology newcomers including Adyen, iZettle, Square and Stripe are among a wave of fintech players who are trying to disrupt the relationship between banks and payment processors to widen options for how merchants are paid.DEAL FRENZY Mastercard kicked off the consolidation in the sector last year with the purchase of UK’s Vocalink and the pace has picked up over the past few months, with a series of deals in recent weeks driving valuations higher.This summer, Portuguese banks have hired Deutsche Bank to review options for their payments firm SIBS, while Germany’s savings banks are looking for a buyer of a minority stake in their BS Payone unit, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.Austrian banks have asked HSBC to kick off a sales process for their payments business Card Complete, the sources said.Sources familiar with the negotiations expect SIBS to reach a valuation of 400-500 million euros in any potential deal, similar in value to BS Payone, which is being marketed by advisor EY Innovalue.Austria’s Card Complete is seen reaping less than half that, they said, but it could whet the appetite of some sector rivals including Germany’s Concardis.Advent and Bain, which bought Concardis earlier this year, have said they want to use the company as a platform for further consolidation.Private equity groups such as Advent, Bain, Warburg Pincus, Blackstone and CVC are expected to participate in the various auctions, the sources said.Concardis was valued at about 700 million euros, representing a multiple of 13 times its expected core earnings, while other deals valued payments firms at more than 18 times.The owners of SIBS, BS Payone, Card Complete and their advisers as well as the potential bidders declined to comment.Separately, buyout funds Hellman & Friedman, Permira and Nordic Capital are currently circling Danish payment services firm Nets ( NETS.CO ).Among the many other deals, U.S. credit card processor Vantiv ( VNTV.N ) is buying Britain’s Worldpay ( WPG.L ), French Ingenico ( INGC.PA ) is buying Stockholm-based Bambora and private equity funds Blackstone and CVC have teamed up to buy Britain’s Paysafe while rival Permira has bought a stake in Klarna.($1 = 0.9614 Swiss francs)Additional reporting by Francois Murphy, Andrey Khalip, Ben Martin, Eric Auchard; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-six-payment-services-sale/switzerlands-six-looks-at-potential-2-billion-sale-of-payments-unit-sources-idINKCN1BV2NG'|'2017-09-20T16:26:00.000+03:00'
'1a62a8c59c804b90b3eb070625cb23e1dd0b2d22'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar extends rebound, Dana Gas down ahead of trial'|'September 20, 2017 / 2:11 PM / Updated 5 hours ago MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar extends rebound, Dana Gas down ahead of trial Reuters Staff * Local, international funds pick up cheap stocks in Doha * Dana Gas loses 1.27 pct DUBAI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Qatar’s stock index extended gains for a second day on Wednesday as local and international funds stepped up buying after a long spell of weakness. The Doha index broke an 11-day losing streak on Tuesday, though the benchmark index is still down 18.5 percent so far this year. It has been hurt by the economic and political boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. “The market has realised Qatar is the most undervalued market in the region. It was bound to bounce back,” said a local fund manager, adding that the banking and petrochemical sectors looked the cheapest. Commercial Bank was the top mover among banks, rising 1.57 percent, followed by Doha Bank, up by 1.45 percent. In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas was down 1.27 percent with about 52 million shares traded, which accounted for roughly 57 percent of the total volume on the exchange. A London High Court judge on Tuesday adjourned a trial on Dana Gas and its creditors until Thursday after a UAE injunction issued last Sunday prevented the company from taking part in the proceedings. The judge said the trial could proceed regardless of whether all parties were present. Shares of Dana had risen 1.3 percent on Tuesday, before the news of the adjournment came. Dubai’s index fell 0.62 percent, dragged down by Shuaa Capital - the worst performer down 2.5 percent - and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, known as du, which lost 1.8 percent. The Saudi index was down 0.43 percent. In Cairo, the index fell 0.25 percent as only six of the top 30 shares made gains. HIGHLIGHTS * The index fell 0.43 percent to 7,319 points. DUBAI * The index fell 0.62 percent to 3,632 points. ABU DHABI * The index fell 0.2 percent to 4,455 points. QATAR * The index rose 0.71 percent to 8,348 points. EGYPT * The index dropped by 0.25 percent to 13,695 points. KUWAIT * The index was down by 0.63 percent to 6,849 points. BAHRAIN * The index climbed 0.41 percent to 1,307 points. OMAN '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks/mideast-stocks-qatar-extends-rebound-dana-gas-down-ahead-of-trial-idUSL5N1M12JE'|'2017-09-20T17:10:00.000+03:00'
'47001694101836266305f238d1a85fd1cd834328'|'China-Russia wide-body C929 jet to rely on western suppliers for systems'|'  10:50 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago China-Russia wide-body C929 jet to rely on western suppliers for systems Brenda Goh 3 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s planned wide-body jet joint venture with Russia will see a higher proportion of work from Chinese suppliers, though for key systems like avionics it will still rely mostly on western manufacturers, the jet’s chief designer said. China has been plowing billions of dollars into developing jets to raise its profile in global aviation and to disrupt the current Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) duopoly, most recently with its C919 narrrowbody aircraft. It has also been vocal about wanting to support local industry. “Western suppliers need not be too worried,” said Chen Yingchun, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s (COMAC‘s) chief designer for the C929 wide-body program with Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. There will be more Chinese contribution to the C929 project, compared with the C919, “but all systems, like signaling, won’t be affected”, Chen said on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Beijing on Wednesday. Overseas suppliers like Honeywell International Inc ( HON.N ) and Safran SA ( SAF.PA ) were instrumental in the making of China’s C919 jet. The plane took its maiden flight in May and 730 orders have been placed to date, mostly by Chinese parties. In the same month, the C929 wide-body joint venture (JV) was set up with am aim to eventually take 10 percent of the global market dominated by the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. The JV partners are currently in the “joint concept design” stage for the C929 and are figuring out how to balance the work share, Chen said. China, at present, is responsible for the plane’s body and tail, he added. The project is on track to seek bids for the engine by year-end, he said. Rolls Royce ( RR.L ) and General Electric ( GE.N ), who also supply wide-body jets, are expected to be contenders, but China is also trying to develop its own version with Russia. Chen also said the JV was looking to build half of the C929 using composite materials, versus C919’s 10 percent, and that talks were underway with European, U.S. and Chinese suppliers who were willing to set up facilities close to COMAC’s Shanghai headquarters to do so. The JV partners aim to complete the C929’s maiden flight and first delivery over 2025-2028. COMAC’s first two passenger plane projects, the ARJ21 and C919, were, however, far behind schedule with the ARJ21 entering service last year, eight years after it took its first flight. A spokesman for COMAC told Reuters the C919 would take its second flight by the end of this year. China is the world’s fastest growing aviation market. U.S. planemaker Boeing expects Chinese airlines to buy more than 7,000 jets worth $1.1 trillion over 20 years as they grow their fleets to meet robust demand for travel. Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-aviation-comac/china-russia-wide-body-c929-jet-to-rely-on-western-suppliers-for-systems-idUSKCN1BV1BC'|'2017-09-20T13:44:00.000+03:00'
'f4be74772282beb5dbcf2392bc24b4446daf482a'|'Kingfisher cautious on second half after profit rise'|'Reuters TV United States September 20, 2017 / 10:14 AM / a few seconds ago Kingfisher cautious on second half after profit rise James Davey 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Kingfisher ( KGF.L ), Europe’s largest home improvement retailer, reported an unexpected rise in first-half profit while taking a cautious view on the second half, given the economic and competitive backdrop in Britain and France. The stronger first-half performance, maintenance of full-year earnings guidance and the group’s assertion that its five year restructuring plan was on track sent its shares as much as 8 percent higher. Prior to Wednesday’s update the stock had fallen 15 percent over the last year on concerns over the scale of the restructuring and the company’s ability to deliver on it. Kingfisher, which runs B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and elsewhere, is two years into a plan to boost annual profit by 500 million pounds ($679 million) from 2021. The plan, costing 800 million pounds over five years to deliver, includes unifying product ranges and improving e-commerce capabilities. Kingfisher also wants to return 600 million pounds to shareholders through share buybacks. Chief Financial Officer Karen Witts said the company’s second-half caution reflected two different dynamics. “The caution in the UK is more around the macro economic backdrop and in France it’s more about the progress that we need to make ourselves,” she told reporters. She said the company had not yet seen any significant change in British consumers’ behavior with regard to spending on ‘big ticket’ items such as kitchens and power tools despite a squeeze on their spending power as inflation rises and wage growth is subdued. Separately on Wednesday official data showed British retail sales unexpectedly surged in August, boosting the chance that the Bank of England will raise interest rates in November. “While the company did outperform already-low expectations, we still see substantial longer-term challenges as it progresses in its 5-year plan,” analysts at Barclays, who have an underweight/neutral stance on the stock, said. Kingfisher said it remained “comfortable” with analysts’ consensus earnings expectations for its full 2017-18 year - earnings per share (EPS) of 26 pence versus 25.9 pence in 2016-17. The group made an underlying pretax profit of 440 million pounds in the six months to July 31 - ahead of analysts’ average forecast of 426 million pounds and 1 percent higher than the 436 million pounds made in the same period last year. Total sales rose 4.5 percent to 6.0 billion pounds and the interim dividend was raised 2.5 percent to 3.33 pence. The outcome reflected solid growth at Screwfix and in Poland, which was offset by weak French markets and disruption from the restructuring, particularly as new product ranges were introduced and old ones cleared. “We ... are acting on the causes of this disruption, which we are confident will ease,” Chief Executive Véronique Laury said. “We have self-help plans in place to support our overall performance and remain comfortable with full-year profit expectations,” she said. Laury dismissed analysts’ suggestions that value could be unlocked by breaking-up Kingfisher rather than restructuring it. “The power of the group is to be together,” she said. Editing by Paul Sandle, Elisabeth O''Leary and Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-kingfisher-results/kingfisher-cautious-on-second-half-after-profit-rise-idUKKCN1BV16D'|'2017-09-20T13:10:00.000+03:00'
'6914c7472ad10ed1e100e58f13186f9a721d1f1b'|'Spain on the backfoot in bid to tackle youth unemployment'|'September 20, 2017 / 5:17 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Spain on the backfoot in bid to tackle youth unemployment 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman enters a government-run employment office in Madrid July 24, 2014. REUTERS/Andrea Comas/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) - Finding a fix for Spain’s youth unemployment crisis was never going to happen overnight. But Spain took so long to jump on some of the help sent its way - namely a jobs scheme bankrolled by Europe - it risks not fully using a golden opportunity to help youngsters scarred by a deep recession, politicians, unions and jobseekers say. With nearly 40 percent of under-25s still out of work, youth unemployment remains the biggest blot on four years of economic recovery that have earned Spain a spot as one of the euro zone’s star performers. Yet a slow start to a European Union youth jobs and training programme has left Spain racing to spend 1.9 billion euros ($2.24 billion) of EU funds as deadlines to use them up near, three years after the financing was first allocated. The sudden splurge has sparked accusations that the money is being wasted on ill-considered training courses and on job-seeker grants that may not induce firms to hire extra staff. Madrid even wants to use the funds as a form of salary top-up for poorly paid youths, though Brussels has questioned whether it complied with programme guidelines and requested tweaks. Spain now appears on track to spend its allocation, but there remains a risk that Brussels will not reimburse all of it. To claim back funds from the EU, it is not enough for Madrid to just disburse cash; it must also show that courses and job placements have been completed by year-end deadlines. Madrid is confident that risk can be avoided, but some job-seekers and opposition politicians say the pace of spending in the meantime is becoming reckless and wasteful. Spain’s Labour Ministry declined to comment for this story. “This has turned into something where the (EU) funds have to be spent come what may, without really looking at whether ... the measures are effective,” said Rocio de Frutos, a former labour inspector and lawmaker for the Socialists, the main opposition to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s People’s Party. Environmental studies graduate Ricardo, 25, said the only courses available under the EU-backed programme in his town of Segovia, in central Spain, were those he didn’t need, like learning English, or were too basic, he said. But he did several anyway to keep himself occupied. “It was completely useless. After going through this I just think this whole thing is a band-aid for a system that is completely sick,” said Ricardo, who declined to give his full name. Spain’s approach to the EU scheme has also exposed broader structural flaws, critics say: a labour framework that is complicated to navigate, hampered by red tape and which offers little by way of tailored training or advice for job-seekers. LOST TIME The stakes for Spain are high. Amid fears that a “lost generation” will remain locked out of the labour market even as a financial and property crisis fade, anger has turned against politicians, in an echo of other countries striken by high employment such as Greece. Spain was the biggest beneficiary of the EU’s Youth Guarantee scheme, which EU leaders agreed on in 2013 and which was initially backed by 6.4 billion euros in funds to get young people into work. A Reuters review of spending data found Spain only distributed a tenth of its 1.9 billion euros allocation for the first 18 months, partly because it struggled to attract suitable recipients and to publicise the scheme through layers of national and regional government. The big spending push began in mid-2016, putting Spain on course to meet terms set by the EU to use up just over 1 billion euros of that allocation by end-2017. But it must spend and account for the remaining 900 million euros by end-2018. Stumbling blocks at a European level are partly to blame for delays to the scheme. States were supposed to give out their money first and then bill the EU - a tall order when Spain was under huge European pressure to slash its public deficit. Spain did not present a single Youth Guarantee bill to the EU between 2014 and 2015, while France, Portugal and Italy had already begun doing so. A source at the ministry said that almost a year of political paralysis in 2016, following two inconclusive elections, had hindered any attempt to amend the Youth Guarantee scheme earlier because the government did not have full powers. A European Commission official said Spain had made a slow start but the programme was now going well there. “We see that joint efforts delivering the Youth Guarantee are now bearing fruit,” the official said. Some of the scheme’s users also praise its benefits. But early hiccups mean some potential jobs never materialised at a critical time, just as Spain was emerging from recession. For a graphic, click here Editing by Mark Bendeich and Peter Millership'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-europe-unemployment/spain-on-the-backfoot-in-bid-to-tackle-youth-unemployment-idUKKCN1BV0GU'|'2017-09-20T08:16:00.000+03:00'
'2c06ab0c33e153eb3bef55a1e387b75db579dbf2'|'Finland''s Fortum says prepares $4.5 billion bid for E.ON''s Uniper stake'|'September 20, 2017 / 10:42 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Finland''s Fortum says prepares $4.5 billion bid for E.ON''s Uniper stake Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Fortum, the largest electricity distribution operator in the Nordic region, is seen in Espoo, Finland December 12, 2013. Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto via REUTERS/File Photo via REUTERS HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland’s largest utility Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) is in advance talks to buy German utility E.ON’s ( EONGn.DE ) 46.7 percent stake in nuclear and fossil energy group Uniper ( UN01.DE ) for 3.76 billion euros (£3.33 billion), the companies said on Wednesday. Fortum is preparing to make a voluntary offer of 22 euros ($26) per share to all Uniper shareholders in early 2018, it said in a statement. Shares in Fortum rose 5 percent while those in Uniper and E.ON were up 4.3 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. Reporting by Tuomas Forsell, editing by Jussi Rosendahl'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uniper-m-a-fortum-eon/finlands-fortum-says-prepares-4-5-billion-bid-for-e-ons-uniper-stake-idUKKCN1BV1AT'|'2017-09-20T13:42:00.000+03:00'
'85074372426a2492c5289f69c7877c4e5ae6b959'|'Bank of England''s McCafferty talks of slowing economy - attendees of business conference'|'September 20, 2017 / 1:13 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Bank of England''s McCafferty talks of slowing economy - attendees of business conference Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Ian McCafferty, Monetary Policy Committee member of the Bank of England speaks during a Reuters interview at the Bank of England in London February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Ian McCafferty talked on Wednesday about a slowing British economy, according to two people who attended a private business conference where he spoke. McCafferty addressed a private event hosted by the Builders Merchants Federation in Hinckley, a town in central England. “Ian McCafferty (BoE) predicts ‘slow-motion economic slowdown’ over next 3yrs, nothing spectacular. Probs about 1.5% growth PA,” attendee, Mark Mallinder, marketing director at EH Smith Builders Merchants, said on Twitter. The BoE last month forecast economic growth of 1.7 percent for 2017 and 1.6 percent in 2018. “Balancing inflation & economic capacity will push interest rates up sooner rather than later predicts Ian McCafferty (BoE),” Mallinder added. Another person who attended the meeting, former member of parliament Andy Sawford, wrote on Twitter about the presentation by McCafferty: “Two trends: growth slowed after Brexit. Clearly seeing inflation.” Reuters could not verify the accuracy of the comments as the event was closed to the press. The Bank of England declined to comment. McCafferty is one of two members of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee who have been voting for an interest rate hike in recent months. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by William Schomberg '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-mccafferty/bank-of-englands-mccafferty-talks-of-slowing-economy-attendees-of-business-conference-idUKKCN1BV1OT'|'2017-09-20T16:15:00.000+03:00'
'9a6a80cc92302daf0b756781a2bb45e58e807a50'|'U.S. home sales hit 12-month low, Harvey weighs on Houston'|'  2:06 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago U.S. home sales hit 12-month low, Harvey weighs on Houston 5 Min Read The setting sun hits Peter Cooper Village, a residential development, in Manhattan August 24, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales fell to their lowest in a year in August as Hurricane Harvey depressed activity in Houston and a perennial shortage of properties on the market sidelined buyers. The third straightly monthly decline in sales reported by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday came on the heels of data on Tuesday showing a drop in homebuilding activity in August. The reports suggest housing will probably weigh on economic growth again in the third quarter. “One of the risks out there for the broader economy is that this house of cards comes tumbling down,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. “The housing sector is the one area of the economy that just never reached a full recovery from the recession.” Existing home sales decreased 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units last month. That was the lowest level since August 2016. The NAR said Harvey, which struck Texas in the last week of August, had resulted in sales in the Houston area falling 25 percent on a year-on-year basis. Stripping out Houston, existing home sales would have been unchanged in August, the Realtors group said. Home resales in the South tumbled 5.7 percent last month. Harvey, and a second hurricane, Irma, which slammed Florida early this month could hurt September home sales. Texas and Florida account for more than 18 percent of existing home sales. Sales lost because of delays in closing contracts will be recouped in 2018. U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data as traders awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is expected to announce a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, accumulated as the Fed sought to stimulate the economy following the 2008 financial crisis. HOUSING STALLING Even before the hurricanes struck, home sales had virtually stalled amid tight inventories that have resulted in home price increases outpacing wage gains. Sales were up 0.2 percent from August 2016. A second report on Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed mortgage applications fell last week “As we continue to process the third-quarter housing data, we are gaining confidence in our view that real residential investment will fall during the quarter,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. Housing subtracted 0.26 percentage point from gross domestic product growth in the second quarter. Builders have blamed shortages of labor and land as well as higher costs of building materials for their inability to ramp up construction. Economists and builders say Harvey and Irma could worsen the housing shortage as scarce labor is pulled toward the rebuilding effort and materials are bid higher. A report on Tuesday showed housing completions tumbling to a 10-month low in August. At the same time single-family home permits fell to a three-month low. These developments suggest housing inventory will remain troublesome for a while. The NAR said the number of homes on the market fell 2.1 percent to 1.88 million units in August. Supply was down 6.5 percent from a year ago. Housing inventory has dropped for 27 straight months on a year-on-year basis. As a result, the median house price increased 5.6 percent from a year ago to $253,500 in August. That was the 66th consecutive month of year-on-year price gains. Annual wage growth has not exceed 2.5 percent this year. Underscoring the strong demand for houses, homes sold in August typically stayed on the market for 30 days. That compared to 36 days a year ago. High house prices as a result of tight inventories are sidelining first-time homebuyers. In August, first-time buyers accounted for 31 percent of transactions, well below the 40 percent share that economists and realtors say is needed for a robust housing market. August’s share of first-time homebuyers was the smallest in a year and was down from 33 percent in July. U.S. home sales: tmsnrt.rs/2ydfvu2'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housing/u-s-existing-home-sales-fall-to-12-month-low-idUKKCN1BV1UR'|'2017-09-20T19:26:00.000+03:00'
'e959e6a357aa12c713a195916c802759c9334f6d'|'UPDATE 1-Arkansas one step away from ban on controversial herbicide use next summer'|'  11:57 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Arkansas one step away from ban on controversial herbicide use next summer Tom Polansek 3 Min Read CHICAGO (Reuters) - Arkansas moved a step closer on Thursday to barring sprayings next summer of an herbicide linked to U.S. crop damage, setting the stage for a potential showdown between the state and chemical maker Monsanto Co. The Arkansas State Plant Board advanced a proposal saying use of dicamba weed killers should be prohibited from April 16 to Oct. 31, 2018, after farmers complained that soybeans and other crops were damaged when the herbicide drifted away from where it was sprayed this summer. The proposal will next head to a legislative subcommittee in Arkansas for final approval, after a public comment period and public hearing, according to a statement from the board. The vote could set off a legal battle between the state and Monsanto, which had filed a petition asking Arkansas agricultural officials to reject the proposed deadline. Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, had warned it may file a lawsuit against the board if it denied the petition. The plant board denied the petition by unanimous vote and will work with legal staff to prepare a response, according to its statement. Chemical companies have blamed the crop damage linked to dicamba weed killers on farmers misusing the chemical. Specialists, though, have said the weed killers are risky because they have a tendency to vaporize and drift across fields, a process known as volatility. High temperatures can increase volatility. Monsanto has said the April 15 cutoff date in Arkansas amounts to a ban on dicamba because the chemical is designed to be sprayed during the summer over genetically engineered crops. The company, along with BASF and DuPont, sell dicamba herbicides under different brand names to be sprayed on top of growing U.S. soybeans and cotton modified by Monsanto to tolerate the weed killer. In July, Arkansas temporarily banned the use and sale of dicamba herbicides after farmers said the chemical was drifting off target. Arkansas previously blocked Monsanto’s dicamba weed killer, called XtendiMax with VaporGrip, because the company did not provide testing data that state officials wanted.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-usa-pesticides-arkansas/arkansas-one-step-away-from-ban-on-controversial-herbicide-use-next-summer-idUSKCN1BW372'|'2017-09-22T02:15:00.000+03:00'
'e8545d89a559ba5a369d381d799003b95869cb35'|'Cementir sells Italian assets to HeidelbergCement for 315 million euros'|'MILAN (Reuters) - Italy’s third-largest cement maker Cementir Holding ( CEMI.MI ) has agreed to sell its domestic assets to Italcementi, owned by Germany’s HeidelbergCement ( HEIG.DE ), it said on Tuesday.Cementir, controlled by the Caltagirone family, said the deal had an enterprise value of 315 million euros ($377 million).The sale will reduce Cementir’s net debt, enabling it “to take opportunities that could arise in the future”, CEO Francesco Caltagirone said in a statement.HeidelbergCement, the world’s biggest maker of aggregates used in concrete and the second-biggest maker of cement, said it expects the purchase to generate at least 25 million euros in annual cost savings by 2020.“We see strong recovery potential in Southern Europe and especially in Italy over the coming years,” the German company’s CEO Bernd Scheifele said. “With this acquisition, we are very well positioned to create value.”The company said that net investments for this year and next will remain unaffected by the acquisition and that it plans to sell non-core assets to offset the purchase.($1 = 0.8351 euros)Reporting by Francesca Landini; Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer in Berlin; Editing by Gavin Jones and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cementir-m-a-heidelbergcement/cementir-sells-italian-assets-to-heidelbergcement-in-315-million-euro-deal-idINKCN1BU2GP'|'2017-09-19T16:07:00.000+03:00'
'023b421e72a6dba34ba9a6b0f93f33917dbdd884'|'Airbus eyes China for A380 jumbo amid sluggish global sales'|'September 19, 2017 / 10:08 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Airbus looks to China for A380 jumbo amid sluggish global sales Brenda Goh 4 Min Read Airbus China CEO Eric Chen speaks during a media presentation in Beijing, China, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese airlines could need between 60 and 100 Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A380 jets over the next five or so years as passenger traffic grows, the plane maker’s China head said on Tuesday, amid rising questions over future demand for the super jumbo. Strong demand in China - if translated into orders - would be a major boost for the A380, the world’s biggest jetliner, which has faced sluggish demand as airlines shift focus towards a generation of nimbler, more fuel-efficient long-haul planes such as the A350 and rival Boeing Co’s ( BA.N ) 787. China is the world’s fastest growing aviation market and is a key battleground for Airbus as well as Boeing which recently predicted the country would spend over $1 trillion on planes over the next 20 years. “When I look at the market flow, the passenger flow, route by route and the economics, I‘m fully confident that the Chinese carriers will need a minimum of 60 A380s over the next 5 to 7 years,” Airbus China Head Eric Chen said at an event in Beijing. Airbus has sold five A380s to China Southern Airlines Co Ltd ( 600029.SS ) but has otherwise failed to penetrate the market with the double-decker jet despite its robust demand forecasts. The aircraft manufacturer believes the A380 will come into its own in markets that face booming tourism and congestion like China, but the aircraft has struggled to compete with smaller and more flexible twin-engined models. In July, Airbus signed an agreement to sell 140 A320 and A350 planes to China in a deal worth almost $23 billion (£17.04 billion). China represents around 22 percent of Airbus global deliveries. Airbus China CEO Eric Chen speaks during a media presentation in Beijing, China, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter “What I can say is that if one airline takes the lead to order a large number of A380s, the others will follow. I would expect a domino effect and I‘m working on it to produce that domino effect that has not happened yet,” Chen said. He admitted though that it would not necessarily be an easy task to win over Chinese buyers. “A lack of confidence to operate the A380, that is something to work on continuously with the airlines in China,” he said. Slideshow (3 Images) Europe’s largest aerospace company will on Wednesday inaugurate a completion and delivery centre for its A330 jet in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. The facility is Airbus’ first for wide-body aircraft outside Europe and is expected to deliver its first A330 aircraft this year. Francois Mery, chief operating officer at Airbus China, said that there was talk of placing more higher-value work in China, as the company has set a target of doubling its industrial cooperation activity in the country to $1 billion by 2020. “It’s not only about the figure, it also about the content,” he said. “They have the ambition of getting into the business, making their own aircraft, they need to develop all kinds of things. And so without being naive, of course we are working with them.” Airbus’ comments came as the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL], which is leading China’s efforts to become a key player in the global civil aerospace market, on Tuesday announced 130 in orders for its C919 jet. Reporting by Brenda Goh, additional reporting by Tim Hepher in PARIS, writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-aviation-airbus/airbus-eyes-china-for-a380-jumbo-amid-sluggish-global-sales-idUKKCN1BU103'|'2017-09-19T13:07:00.000+03:00'
'1f4a70c38a115c62511491b078e80c1432311fd6'|'For sizzling markets, questions loom as Fed edges back'|'September 19, 2017 / 2:09 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago For sizzling markets, questions loom as Fed edges back Jonathan Spicer 4 Min Read The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is displayed in Washington, U.S., June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial markets sizzled over the last decade as the Federal Reserve injected $3.5 trillion (£2.59 trillion) in new money, with U.S. stocks far and away the biggest beneficiaries of a policy that may yet destabilize things as it is withdrawn over the years to come. The Fed''s unprecedented bond-buying was meant to stabilize the battered U.S. economy in the wake of the 2007-2009 recession. Yet the initial effects of monetary policy are on markets, where the S&P 500 .SPX equity index has nearly quadrupled since its crisis-era nadir in early 2009, logging a string of record highs. The central bank on Tuesday begins a two-day policy meeting at which it is expected to decide to start shedding bonds in October. Advocates of the policy argue it helped cut unemployment by more than half. Detractors however warn it has inflated global asset prices in a way that could cause the next crisis, even while the stock-market bonanza has exacerbated wealth inequality in the United States. The large-scale purchases of Treasury and mortgage bonds were aimed at encouraging risk-taking, including hiring by businesses and investing by individuals, which in turn was to boost economic growth. As the Fed rolled out its three separate rounds of massive purchases, stocks shot up while the dollar sank alongside yields on U.S. debt. Each time these programs came to an end, albeit briefly, these assets retraced some of those steps. The dollar index .DXY, one of the best early indicators of monetary policy decisions over the last decade, soared 27 percent from 2014 to 2016 as the Fed moved to finally lift interest rates from near zero in late 2015. The Fed''s plan to raise rates several more times in 2016 was scuttled by an unexpected slowdown overseas that year, prompting the yield on 10-year benchmark Treasury bonds to touch all-time lows as investors flooded into the perceived safety of U.S. debt. The effects of investors rushing to and from safe investments has rippled well beyond U.S. borders. When the world’s most influential central bank started ramping up its balance sheet and promising to keep U.S. rates near zero for long periods, investors hunting for higher-yielding assets flooded into emerging markets (EM) such as Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia. The so-called "taper tantrum" of 2013, in which markets reacted abruptly to hints of the end of bond-buying, marked the reversal of that trade and hit EM currencies and stocks hard. This same "hot money" phenomenon boosted lower-quality U.S. corporate debt for a time.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-markets/for-sizzling-markets-questions-loom-as-fed-edges-back-idUKKCN1BU1UE'|'2017-09-19T17:09:00.000+03:00'
'acbbbba16b001dd958c7a469b468d6529b499f30'|'Global oil stable on lower Saudi exports, but rising U.S. shale output caps market'|'  12:59 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Oil edges off recent high ahead U.S. stock data, OPEC meet David Gaffen 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A customer prepares to fill the tank of her car at a fuel station in Sint Pieters Leeuw December 5, 2014. REUTERS/Yves Herman NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday, retreating from near-five-month highs in advance of data expected to show a build in U.S. crude inventories as imports resume and refineries were still restarting after recent storm activity. The market, however, remained buoyant ahead of Friday’s meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with non-OPEC producers to discuss progress of their 1.8-million barrel per day supply cut deal. OPEC’s second-biggest producer Iraq said that the group was discussing several options for its supply pact, including an extension beyond March and a further output cut. Nigeria and Libya will send representatives to the meeting despite being exempt from the current deal, two OPEC sources said. Rising output from both countries has kept a lid on price gains, prompting suggestions that they could be included in the deal. Brent crude futures were down 45 cents at $55.03 a barrel by 12:26 p.m. EDT (1626 GMT), not far off a five-month high of $55.99. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 38 cents to $49.53. “It feels kind of like positioning ahead of tonight’s report but there’s not a lot of action behind the move,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. Industry group the American Petroleum Institute releases its U.S. weekly oil stock data at 4:30 p.m. EDT, a day ahead of data from the U.S. Energy Department. Analysts forecast crude stocks rose 2.9 million barrels last week, as fuel inventories drew down, which would continue a trend established in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, as imports resumed while refineries were still restarting. Demand for crude is also expected to rebound in coming weeks in the United States, where about one-quarter of U.S. refining capacity was shut due to Harvey, which hit the Gulf Coast in late August. The current threat is Hurricane Maria, now making its way through the Caribbean, but it is not expected to threaten the U.S. Gulf, instead turning north in the Atlantic Ocean. Still, cargoes have been shifted around as the storm could dampen oil demand and disrupt maritime trading. The market has been relatively buoyant since last week, when Brent gained over 3 percent and WTI jumped nearly 5 percent in the week, after the International Energy Agency lifted its 2017 demand outlook and OPEC estimated the world would need more of its crude next year. Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in Amsterdam and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/global-oil-stable-on-lower-saudi-exports-but-rising-u-s-shale-output-caps-market-idUKKCN1BU01Z'|'2017-09-19T03:57:00.000+03:00'
'9f11691ad6943f51572430ffeac276c98a2a480e'|'Asia firms'' sentiment slips on geo-political tensions - Thomson Reuters/INSEAD'|'September 20, 2017 / 4:25 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Asia firms'' sentiment slips on geo-political tensions - Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Suvashree Choudhury 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A passerby looks at a TV screen reporting news about North Korea''s missile launch in Tokyo, Japan September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - Business confidence among Asian companies fell for the first time in three quarters in July-September as escalating geo-political tensions outweighed an improved performance by most economies in the region, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed. The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index .TRIABS, RACSI, representing the six-month outlook of 86 firms, slipped to 69 for the September quarter from 74 three months before. A reading above 50 indicates a positive outlook. While China, India and South Korea led the fall in sentiment in the third quarter, reflecting regional tensions and sluggish growth, most Southeast Asian economies and Australia put in a stable performance, limiting the downside in the overall index. “Companies expressed concerns this quarter about trade and diplomatic tensions not only in the region but also in the world,” said Antonio Fatas, a Singapore-based economics professor at global business school INSEAD. “This brought the index down, in a reflection of cautiousness because of the potential risks that could derail the current state of the economy,” he said. South Korea’s sub-index fell the steepest among its peers in the survey, dropping to 50 from 75 in the previous quarter. The country has been rattled by North Korea’s series of nuclear tests and missile launches, although a war on the Korean peninsula is seen as unlikely. Trade friction with China has also risen over Seoul’s deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to counter the North Korean threat, as Beijing fears the system’s radar can penetrate its territory. China, upon which much of Asia depends for trade, saw its subindex fall to 63, its lowest since the last quarter of 2015. Its gross domestic product rose 6.9 percent in the second quarter but growth is expected to slow on tighter debt regulations. India fell to 63 from 82 in April-June, a level last seen in the second quarter of 2013. Growth at Asia’s third-largest economy slowed to its lowest in three years to 5.7 percent in April-June and is expected to stay muted on a lack of private investment. Australia’s sub-index inched up to 69 from 67 in the June quarter, and Singapore’s rose to 64 from 62. Sentiment climbed the most in Indonesia in the September quarter, with a 17 point jump in its sub-index to 100, its highest since the second quarter of 2013, though the survey pool was small with only three firms participating. The sub-index for three other economies - Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan - remained unchanged over the previous quarter. GRAPHIC: Business sentiment index: tmsnrt.rs/2mnCKQD FILE PHOTO: A worker walks in a container area at a port in Tokyo, Japan January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo STATUS QUO AHEAD? The pace at which global central banks tighten their accommodative monetary policies is set to be one of the biggest factors for Asia business sentiment in the quarters ahead. “More than geo-political tensions, policy normalization by global central banks and firming up of oil prices are a bigger issue for Asian economies,” said Radhika Rao, chief economist at DBS in Singapore. While Canada has already hiked rates twice in recent months and the Bank of England warned of rate hike possibilities, all eyes are now on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday where it is likely to take another step towards policy normalisation. Slideshow (2 Images) But a major shift in business sentiment either way is unlikely. ”The technology-oriented and commodity exporting countries will do well in Asia but overall I expect a status quo in sentiments going ahead, barring a reversal in oil prices,” DBS’s Rao said. The survey showed that while the proportion of respondents with a positive bias fell to 47, the lowest level since the December quarter of 2016, companies which were neutral rose to 45, the highest level since the March quarter of 2016. Sectors including retail, metals, real estate and technology showed bullish trends while others like autos, construction, healthcare and transport were more subdued. Corporates such as survey respondent Kossan Rubber Industries ( KRIB.KL ) of Malaysia cited exchange rates and interest rates as the key risks going ahead. While maintaining that it was cautiously positive, given increasing global demand for gloves, Kossan was worried about “escalating production cost due to higher raw material cost, energy, labour and volatile exchange rate”. GRAPHIC: Biggest perceived risks: tmsnrt.rs/2gU9mL9 Note: Companies surveyed can change from quarter to quarter. PDF of survey: tmsnrt.rs/2xMV1Mq'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-businesssentiment/asia-firms-sentiment-slips-on-geo-political-tensions-thomson-reuters-insead-idUKKCN1BV0DK'|'2017-09-20T07:24:00.000+03:00'
'5b51e7c254ae414e05ef904f86aa63a74bd4a718'|'Innogy CEO says no concrete plans to sell British Npower unit'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Innogy ( IGY.DE ), Germany’s largest energy group by market value, is reviewing its troubled British retail unit Npower but currently has no plans to sell the business, Chief Executive Peter Terium told journalists on Thursday.Innogy in August said Npower, which has been hit by billing issues and stiff retail competition, added 50,000 customers in the second quarter. Yet he still warned the unit would remain in the red this year after slipping to a first-half operating loss. [nL5N1KX0M0]Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Douglas Busvine '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-innogy-investment-britain/innogy-ceo-says-no-concrete-plans-to-sell-british-npower-unit-idUSKCN1BW2AK'|'2017-09-22T00:05:00.000+03:00'
'e2e2bc475fac259e92472b240844bb2fb95daea2'|'Dr Pepper Snapple cuts 2017 profit forecast on resin write-off'|'(Reuters) - Beverage maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc ( DPS.N ) cut its full-year forecast as it expects to take a charge in the third quarter following a default by a company supplying resin to its Mexican operations.Pepper Snapple also said its operations were impacted by hurricanes affecting certain parts of the United States, the Caribbean and the Sept. 19 earthquake in Mexico, but was unable to determine the impact to its results.The company said it had procured enough supplies to cover its resin needs, but expected to write off certain prepaid resin inventory. The default had occurred at the supplier’s resin plant.The write off is expected to impact current-quarter operating income by $7 million to $9 million and profit by $0.03 per share, Pepper Snapple said on Wednesday.Analysts on average expect Pepper Snapple to earn $1.19 per share in the third quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The company cut its 2017 earnings forecast to $4.53-$4.63 per share, from $4.56-$4.66 per share it had estimated in July.Pepper Snapple’s warning comes a few weeks after consumer products maker Newell Brands Inc ( NWL.N ) cut its adjusted profit outlook for the year, citing higher costs due to a shortage of resin used in its products after suppliers shut factories due to hurricanes Harvey and Irma.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dr-pepper-snapp-outlook/dr-pepper-snapple-cuts-2017-profit-forecast-on-resin-write-off-idUSKCN1BV33H'|'2017-09-21T01:34:00.000+03:00'
'2f8ec87ae9329a5dddfcba5ad312905b3efcc651'|'Creditors of Australia''s Ten Network vote in favour of CBS bid'|'SYDNEY, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Creditors of Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd voted in favour of a takeover bid from CBS Corp on Tuesday, a spokesman for Ten’s administrator said.CBS won support from creditors both in value terms and by number, said Michael Smith, a spokesman for administrators KordaMentha. (Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ten-network-ma-cbs-corp-shareholders/creditors-of-australias-ten-network-vote-in-favour-of-cbs-bid-idINS9N1L602B'|'2017-09-19T00:17:00.000+03:00'
'484ce6fc10734216ea66d8a937bd4f58da9268be'|'ECB to launch new reference rate after failed reform'|'  9:24 AM / Updated an hour ago ECB to launch new reference rate after failed reform Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Flags in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) before a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will launch a new overnight reference rate by 2020, it said on Thursday, after an industry-led revamp of the fraud-hit Euribor benchmark failed earlier this year. The unsecured overnight interest rate, which will be a backstop reference rate, will complement existing benchmark rates and be based entirely on reported transactions, the ECB said in a statement. Inter-bank lending rates such as the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) and its London equivalent Libor are used to price billions of euros worth of derivatives and, in some countries, to determine interest rates on mortgages. Central banks and regulators from around the world have been working to develop alternative benchmarks, seeking to reform the current system after allegations of manipulation by commercial banks that distorted reference rates. The ECB acted after a plan to reform Euribor failed earlier this year, with banks complaining that a new transaction-based system would have an excessive impact on rate levels, volatility and transaction volumes. “The interest rate, which would be produced before 2020, would complement existing benchmark rates produced by the private sector and serve as a backstop reference rate,” the ECB statement said. “This interest rate will be based entirely on transactions in euro that are reported by banks in accordance with the ECB’s money market statistical reporting.” The ECB will unveil the key features of the new rate next year, then ask banks to provide feedback. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Mark Heinrich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-rates-reference/ecb-to-develop-new-overnight-reference-rate-idUKKCN1BW16F'|'2017-09-21T12:58:00.000+03:00'
'39246b6e2f0cadf34e0457c08a18e39c8348ebaa'|'Thyssenkrupp won''t be on the hook for Tata Steel pensions - CFO'|'The logo of Thyssen Krupp AG is pictured at the gate one of the ThyssenKrupp steel plant in Duisburg, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay ESSEN, Germany (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp will not be liable for any future funding demands of a new pension scheme sponsored by Tata Steel in Britain, its chief financial officer said, removing a key source of uncertainty in the companies’ planned joint venture.Tata Steel last month received approval to separate itself from the existing British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) through a deal that will cut the scheme’s 15 billion pounds ($20.29 billion) in liabilities.It wants to underwrite a new pension scheme with lower benefits for members, ridding itself of several billions of pounds in retirement liabilities. The pension liabilities were seen as the main hurdle to a merger of its European steel activities with those of Thyssenkrupp.The scheme, a successor to the BSPS dubbed BSPS II, will be sponsored by Tata Steel UK and its Port Talbot plant. Thyssenkrupp Chief Financial Officer Guido Kerkhoff said the scheme would be in surplus.“In case that in the future developments would be that they would be underfunded, then the sponsor would still be Port Talbot, or Tata Steel UK, to overcome this issue,” he told analysts on Wednesday.“But this is ringfenced in the UK, the other companies are not guaranteeing this.”The BSPS II will have a 33 percent stake in Tata Steel UK, which will be a unit of a planned 50-50 European steel joint venture of Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel.($1 = 0.7393 pounds)Reporting by Christoph Steitz. Editing by Andreas Cremer. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-pensions/thyssenkrupp-wont-be-on-the-hook-for-tata-steel-pensions-cfo-idINKCN1BV1VR'|'2017-09-20T17:21:00.000+03:00'
'6d3ea3c399bf869916c38acf30bc01636ff09c0b'|'UK retail sales surge in August, likely to boost BoE rate hike bets'|'September 20, 2017 / 8:33 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Shopping surge in August boosts British rate hike bets David Milliken , William Schomberg 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British retail sales unexpectedly surged in August, boosting chances the Bank of England will raise interest rates for the first time in a decade at its next meeting. More downbeat news, however, came from a BoE survey which showed no sign that wages were likely to grow much more quickly, tempering a jump in sterling. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, meanwhile, said uncertainty about Brexit meant Britain next year will suffer its slowest growth since the financial crisis. The contrasting signals underscored the challenge for the BoE which last week surprised investors by saying it was likely to raise rates in the coming months if the economy and inflation pressures strengthen as expected. That change of gear by the BoE came despite the uncertainty about Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and mixed messages about the strength of the economy. Wednesday’s official data showed a sharp pick-up in monthly sales growth in August, despite inflation pressures that have previously squeezed spending. Retail sales volumes rose 1.0 percent month-on-month, their fastest since April, to give an annual growth of 2.4 percent, both well above the highest forecasts in a Reuters poll. More Britons holidaying at home and more foreign visitors, reflecting the weaker pound since the Brexit vote, could be behind some of the rise, economists said. Shoppers spent heavily on non-essentials, despite rising prices, with strong demand for watches and jewellery. “These latest figures will give further encouragement to the Bank of England to follow up their recent statements on the need to raise interest rates,” Andrew Sentance, a former BoE policymaker who now advises accountants PwC, said. HSBC said market pricing for a quarter-point rate rise on Nov. 2, after the BoE’s next meeting, rose to 65 percent. A shopper pushes a trolley in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall Sterling gained almost a cent against the U.S. dollar GBP= after the data, before later giving back most of its gains. British retail data is frequently volatile on a monthly basis and a separate survey released by the BoE on Wednesday offered a more downbeat picture. Construction and consumer-facing industries were suffering and there were mixed signals on investment, although factory exports and business-to-business services were strong. Pay rises mostly remained at 2-3 percent, below inflation but there were some signs that the worst of the impact on prices of last year’s fall in the pound should start to ease. INFLATION SQUEEZE PEAKING? The loss of disposable income this year caused the weakest first quarter for retail sales since 2010. But companies have reported little slowdown in spending so far. Kingfisher ( KGF.L ), Britain’s biggest home improvements retailer, said sales of expensive power tools and new kitchens had not changed, though it was cautious about the outlook. The OECD said British growth will slow from 1.6 percent this year to 1.0 percent in 2018, weaker than the BoE and most economists expect. It would be the slowest growth since the 2009 recession. The BoE said last week that Brexit as well as longer-term problems mean the pace at which Britain’s economy can grow without generating excessive inflation -- and requiring higher interest rates -- has fallen. HSBC economist Liz Martins said Wednesday’s data raised the chance of stronger than expected growth, making a rate hike in November even more likely. “The Bank sounded comfortable enough about raising rates in November on an assumption of 0.3 percent growth in the third quarter. If the number is higher, then it will be even more.” she said. Reporting by David Milliken and William Schomberg. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail/uk-retail-sales-surge-in-august-likely-to-boost-boe-rate-hike-bets-idUKKCN1BV0WS'|'2017-09-20T11:35:00.000+03:00'
'73b41fb2f6e2beee8e903540775ee9b0310bd47e'|'Scientific Games to buy NYX Gaming for C$775 million'|'(Reuters) - Bally slot machines owner Scientific Games Corp ( SGMS.O ) said it would buy Canada’s NYX Gaming Group Ltd ( NYX.V ) for about C$775 million ($632 million), including debt, expanding its existing digital gaming and online gambling portfolio.Shares of NYX jumped 106 percent to C$2.33 on the Toronto Venture Exchange in early trading on Wednesday. Shares of Scientific Games were little changed at $43.15 on the Nasdaq.Scientific Games will acquire all of the outstandingordinary shares of NYX for C$2.40 per share.The deal comes two months after Scientific Games said it would buy UK-based Red7Mobile, a maker of mobile and desktop casino games for an undisclosed amount.The deal on Wednesday, which will be funded through cash and debt, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, the companies said in a joint statement.Scientific Games said the deal will add to earnings in the first year after closing.Scientific Games had Deutsche Bank Securities as its financial adviser and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, McMillan LLP and Appleby (Guernsey) LLP as legal advisers.NYX had Lazard and Macquarie Capital as financial advisers and Latham & Watkins LLP, Carey Olsen LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP as legal advisers.Reporting by John Benny and Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto, Bernard Orr '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nyx-gaming-group-m-a-scientific-games/scientific-games-to-buy-nyx-gaming-for-c775-million-idINKCN1BV1Q9'|'2017-09-20T11:30:00.000+03:00'
'3e039b4024b51f62a21c7e61acba5a93e8ae42c2'|'Thyssenkrupp, Tata Steel sign European steel merger MoU'|'  4:40 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Thyssenkrupp, Tata Steel agree to forge Europe''s No. 2 steelmaker Christoph Steitz , Promit Mukherjee 5 Min Read ESSEN, Germany/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Sure, Germany’s Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) and India’s Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ) agreed on Wednesday to merge their European steel operations to create the continent’s No.2 steelmaker. The deal, which is preliminary, will help the companies address overcapacity in Europe’s steel market, which faces cheap imports from overseas, subdued construction demand and inefficient legacy plants. The merger will also result in up to 4,000 job cuts, or about 8 percent of the joint workforce. The transaction will not involve any cash, Tata Steel said, adding both groups would contribute debt and liabilities to achieve an equal shareholding and remain long-term investors. “We want to avoid our steel team restructuring itself to death,” Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger told reporters, noting its steel operations would face deeper restructuring needs if they remained part of the group. “No one is able to solve the structural issues in Europe alone. We all suffer from overcapacity and that means that everyone is making the same restructuring efforts,” Hiesinger told broadcaster n-tv. The new joint venture, Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel, will be Europe’s biggest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ) and will be based in Amsterdam. “Excellent news,” tweeted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Tata Steel Europe had been a strain on its parent for a decade, burning through approximately $1 billion (£737.57 million) of cash a year. Related Coverage Thyssenkrupp, Tata Steel merger should not happen at any price - German minister Tata Steel will transfer 2.5 billion euros (£2.22 billion) of debt to the new company and is counting on dividend income from the joint venture to help service its remaining debt, Koushik Chatterjee, a group executive director, told Reuters. That will free up cashflow to allow it to invest to meet growing demand in India, where Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said it will aim to double its manufacturing capacity in five years through plant expansions and acquisitions. Thyssenkrupp shares rose 3.2 percent, bolstered by hopes the joint venture will also ease the burden on its balance sheet, which will be freed from 4 billion euros ($4.8 bln) in mostly pension liabilities. “We believe Thyssenkrupp’s medium-term goal is to completely spin-out steel ops, leaving Thyssenkrupp as a near pure-play capital goods business, and today’s proposed merger structure is attractively ”IPO-able“, in our view,” Jefferies analyst Seth Rosenfeld said in a note, reiterating his “buy” rating. Heinrich Hiesinger, chief executive of ThyssenKrupp AG addresses a news conference in Essen, Germany, September 20, 2017, on the Thyssenkrupp and Indian peer Tata Steel preliminary agreement to combine their European steel operations. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay POSITIVE CATALYST Thyssenkrupp, whose operations span car parts, elevators, construction steel and submarines, is minority-owned by activist shareholder Cevian and has faced calls to split off other parts of the business, most notably its elevator unit. Wednesday’s long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata outlines annual synergies of 400 million-600 million euros. Shares in Tata Steel rose 1.7 percent. Slideshow (6 Images) The company reached a landmark deal last month that will allow it to reduce 15 billion pounds ($20 billion) in British pension liabilities, long seen as the main hurdle in talks that have lasted more than a year and a half. The UK government and unions said they welcomed the merger so long as commitments made by Tata Steel UK to safeguard jobs and extend blast furnace operations at Britain’s largest steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales, were maintained. Roy Rickhuss, chair of the steel coordinating committee representing UK unions Unite, GMB and Community, said the unions recognise the industrial logic of the deal, but will still press Tata to confirm it will invest in the relining of Port Talbot’s blast furnace No. 5. Tata made commitments to safeguard jobs and invest in the Port Talbot steelworks in return for the unions agreeing to close their final salary pension scheme to future accrual. Hans Fischer, Tata Europe’s CEO, said the company was not planning to cut capacity, but to instead focus on higher value products. “We see opportunities to increase or to at least keep the volumes we have today, cause there’s a huge market for high quality steel,” said Fischer. The MoU will be followed by negotiations about the details of the transactions as well as due diligence before a contract can be signed at the beginning of 2018, Thyssenkrupp said. Negotiations with German unions, who have campaigned against the plans and only this week signalled a willingness to consider them, are expected to be tough and tied to far-reaching job and plant guarantees. The deal will require approval of Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board, Tata Steel’s board of directors and European regulators. Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Maytaal Angel in London; Editing by Jason Neely and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-sign-european-steel-merger-mou-idUKKCN1BV0E6'|'2017-09-20T07:40:00.000+03:00'
'15ac0e891c4afdba54fd24a17d41d915936eac1a'|'Oil dips on rising U.S. crude inventories and production'|'September 21, 2017 / 2:00 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Oil settles flat as unease builds ahead of OPEC meeting Dave Gregorio 3 Min Read The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled nearly flat on Thursday, the eve of a meeting of major oil-producing countries in Vienna to discuss whether they will extend production limits that have helped reduce the global crude glut. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers meet on Friday. They will discuss a possible extension of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of supply cuts to support prices and will consider monitoring exports to assess compliance. While many analysts expect extension of the deal beyond next March, many also said prices have risen high enough to tempt countries to boost production beyond agreed levels. “Compliance looks to be a bit of an issue” if prices rise much from current levels, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. U.S. crude futures dipped 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $50.55 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, to end at $56.43 a barrel. Kilduff noted that oil prices have surged more than 15 percent over the last three months as the production cuts, along with strong growth in energy demand, have tightened the global crude market. “I don’t think it’s a sure thing they extend the deal at this meeting anyway,” Kilduff said. The Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery owned by The Carlyle Group is seen at sunset in Philadelphia March 26, 2014. Picture taken March 26, 2014. REUTERS/David M. Parrott/File Photo “Russia took a very long time to get to the compliance levels they were supposed to get to” in the output cut agreement, said Tariq Zahir, a trader with Tyche Capital Advisors in New York. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see them cheat a little bit as we get to the fourth quarter.” He said OPEC’s output cuts have boosted prices enough to encourage higher production elsewhere. U.S. shale production, especially, has been growing to record highs. Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico have pushed up crude inventories as some U.S. refineries have been shut by flooding. U.S. crude production reached 9.51 million bpd last week, up from 8.78 million bpd after Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S. Gulf late August. C-OUT-T-EIA Rising U.S. production is “a reminder to the market that OPEC has a significant problem on its hands from the continued rise in shale output,” Again Capital’s Kilduff said. Front-month Brent futures have risen sharply in recent months, much more than forward prices. This has pushed the price curve for oil futures from contango, signifying an oversupplied market, to backwardation, where the back months are cheaper than the front month contract, indicating a tighter market.<0#LCO:> Brent’s backwardation, initially confined to the contracts nearest expiry, now extends throughout the whole of next year. Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London, Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-dips-on-rising-u-s-crude-inventories-and-production-idUSKCN1BW07Z'|'2017-09-21T04:59:00.000+03:00'
'9ad0684ce5b60733790683930254afe1bb0c7f8b'|'France''s Total sells its Italian gas business to UGI: source'|'The logo of French oil giant Total is pictured at the entrance of the CSTJF Total Research Center in Pau, Soutwestern France, April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS (Reuters) - French oil and gas major Total ( TOTF.PA ) has sold its gas business in Italy, Total Italia Gas, a subsidiary of its Italian joint venture TotalErg, to UGI Corp ( UGI.N ), an industry source said on Friday.The sale is part of a move by the company to sells its assets in the Italian downstream retail market.Total has said it plans to sell TotalErg, a joint venture with ERG ( ERG.MI ) that controls close to 2,600 service stations in Italy and has a market share of around 11 percent.Total and UGI declined to comment.Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Luke Baker and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-totalerg-m-a-ugi/frances-total-sells-its-italian-gas-business-to-ugi-source-idINKCN1BX2G8'|'2017-09-22T15:20:00.000+03:00'
'0443ce2f59e7beb2dfaab24324f5da39bfabaa08'|'Oil dips on rising U.S. crude inventories and production'|'September 21, 2017 / 2:03 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Oil prices slip ahead of key OPEC meeting Christopher Johnson 3 Min Read The Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery owned by The Carlyle Group is seen at sunset in Philadelphia March 26, 2014. Picture taken March 26, 2014. REUTERS/David M. Parrott/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Thursday, giving up some recent gains before a meeting of oil producers that could extend production limits aimed at clearing a glut in supplies that has depressed the market for more than three years. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers meet in Vienna on Friday and are due to consider extending output cuts that began in January. OPEC and its allies have agreed to reduce output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until March 2018 in an attempt to empty inventories. Many analysts now expect them to extend the deal, possibly to the end of next year. “An extension of the agreement or an increase in the cuts may be announced,” said Jeffrey Halley of futures brokerage OANDA. Brent crude oil LCOc1 was down 40 cents at $55.89 a barrel by 1115 GMT. U.S. light crude was 50 cents lower at $50.19. Both contracts have risen more than 15 percent over the last three months as global oil supply has tightened. OPEC’s efforts have been hampered by higher production in some other parts of the world, including the United States, where shale oil production is reaching record highs. Recent hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico have also pushed up crude oil inventories in some parts of the United States as U.S. refineries have been shut by flooding. U.S. commercial crude oil stocks C-STK-T-EIA rose for a third straight week, building by 4.6 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 15 to 472.83 million barrels. U.S. oil production has reached 9.51 million bpd, up from 8.78 million bpd directly after Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S. Gulf Coast. U.S. crude received some support from a strong draw in gasoline stocks by 2.1 million barrels to 216.19 million barrels, traders said. The structure of oil futures prices suggests OPEC production cuts are beginning to have an impact, analysts say. Front-month Brent futures have risen sharply in recent months, much more than forward prices. This has changed the Brent price curve <0#LCO:>, moving it into what traders call “backwardation”, when prices for immediate delivery are higher than prices for later barrels. The shift is seen as an indicator of a tightening market as it encourages the immediate sale of oil rather than holding it in storage. Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-dips-on-rising-u-s-crude-inventories-and-production-idUKKCN1BW07Z'|'2017-09-21T04:55:00.000+03:00'
'a1b5667e8497ecc012613f4634dc81d45c0a5f12'|'Australia''s CBA to sell life insurance unit to AIA Group for $3 billion'|'September 21, 2017 / 3:58 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Australia''s CBA to sell insurance unit to AIA Group for $3 billion Byron Kaye , Paulina Duran 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Commonwealth Bank logo adorns an Automatic Tellar Machine (ATM) located in Sydney, Australia, in this picture taken November 12, 2014. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia has agreed to sell its life insurance unit to Hong Kong-based AIA Group for $3.1 billion, in the biggest Asian buyout of an Australian financial firm. The deal, which ranks among the top 10 insurance M&A in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan, will see AIA acquiring CBA’s life insurance business in Australia and life and health insurance businesses in New Zealand. CBA also flagged a possible wealth management IPO as Australia’s major lenders come under regulatory pressure to achieve “unquestionably strong” capital ratios, driven by concerns about their exposure to foreign borrowing and a frothy property market. The divestment of CBA’s CommInsure insurance business is part of a trend of asset sales across Australia’s banking sector, with a particular focus on insurance as the country’s lenders struggle to cope with growing competition from large foreign firms. For pure-play global insurers including AIA, MetLife and Zurich Insurance Group AG, Australia is an attractive market with relatively low life-insurance penetration. It also has a large mortality protection gap - the difference between the amount of life insurance people carry and the amount they need - estimated at $1.1 trillion, which is the fifth-biggest in the Asia-Pacific region. For CBA, the CommInsure sale follows damaging media revelations last year that it had used discredited methods to refuse legitimate payouts, leading to policy cancellations. The scandal was one of a series of crises that has rocked CBA in recent times, culminating in allegations of systemic breaches of money-laundering and terror-financing laws that could expose it to billions of dollars in fines. “CBA has done well selling CommInsure on a good multiple,” Shaw and Partners analyst David Spotswood said in a note to clients, adding it gave the bank “flexibility” in the event of hefty fines stemming from the money-laundering civil case. CBA shares were down 0.4 percent by mid-afternoon, outperforming a broader market decline of 1.2 percent. The stock has dipped about 10 percent since the money-laundering allegations broke on Aug. 3. AIA shares were nearly unchanged from their previous close at 0302 GMT. FILE PHOTO: A bird flies over AIA Tower, named after American International Assurance Co (AIA), in Hong Kong February 27, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo Even after the CBA deal is completed some time next year, the M&A activity in the Australian insurance sector is expected to remain strong. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has said it may sell its life insurance and wealth divisions, while Westpac Banking Corp also has started exploring a possible life insurance sale, according to reports in the Australian media. DIVERSIFICATION The latest transaction comes after National Australia Bank Ltd sold an 80 percent stake of its life insurance unit to Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance last year. Under the AIA deal, CBA said it would continue to sell life insurance products through its branches on behalf of AIA for 20 years, and customers would keep their existing benefits. The acquisition will help AIA, which had free surplus cash of nearly $11 billion as of end May, diversify its main markets with Hong Kong and China together accounting for about half of new business growth now at the insurer. The deal is AIA’s second-biggest acquisition since it listed in Hong Kong in 2010. It had bought ING Groep’s Malaysian insurance unit for $1.7 billion in 2010. AIA said in a separate statement the final net cash outflow for the CBA transaction would be about $1.5 billion after taking into account the proceeds from reinsurance agreements and the free surplus within CommInsure Life and Sovereign. CBA also said it was considering spinning off asset management business Colonial First State Global Asset Management in an initial public offering. Colonial has A$219 billion in assets under management. CBA did not give further details about the plan but said its wealth management chief executive, Annabel Spring, would leave the company in December. ($1 = 1.2452 Australian dollars) Additional reporting by Sandhya Sampath in Bengaluru and Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/cba-divestiture-aia-group/australias-cba-to-sell-life-insurance-unit-to-aia-group-for-3-billion-idINKCN1BW0DD'|'2017-09-21T06:57:00.000+03:00'
'049296887d6fe880d5e1c0c5ae2d542e71934e01'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar shines, Asia shares slip after Fed signals Dec rate hike'|'September 21, 2017 / 12:56 AM / Updated 8 hours ago GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar shines, Asia shares slip after Fed signals Dec rate hike Reuters Staff * Fed policymakers expect one more rate hike this year * Dollar gains vs other major currencies on rate projections * U.S. 2-yr notes yield hit high since 2008 * Oil prices at highest since April/May on output cut hopes * European shares seen higher on euro’s retreat By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar shone while Asian shares slipped on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a plan to start shrinking its balance sheet and signalled one more rate hike later this year. European shares are expected to benefit from a fall in the euro against the dollar with spread betters looking at a higher opening of 0.5 percent in Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.2 percent as a rise in U.S. bond yields lifted financial shares, while the yen’s fall against the dollar after the Fed’s decision helped exporters. The Bank of Japan, as widely expected, left its policy settings unchanged, with markets awaiting a news conference by its governor later in the day. MSCI’s broadest dollar-denominated index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5 percent, with Australian shares among the hardest hit with fall of 0.8 percent. Major U.S. share indexes recovered quickly from initial losses following the Fed’s announcement, with the S&P 500 ending slightly higher, helped in part by gains in financials and energy shares “While a rate hike is negative, the fact that the Fed’s confidence in the economy is strong enough to expect a rate hike can be taken as supportive of market sentiment,” said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments. The Fed’s view also prompted a rotation from tech shares into financial shares, which benefit from higher interest rates, he added. “In a way, what the Fed did was not much of a surprise. From now, the markets will be focusing on individual earnings rather than macro themes,” said Hisashi Iwama, senior portfolio manager at Asset Management One. As expected, the Fed said it would begin in October to trim its massive holding of U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities acquired in the years after the 2008 financial crisis. The Fed signalled it still expects one more interest rate hike by the end of the year, despite a recent bout of low inflation, but ratcheted down its long-term interest rate forecasts. Fed fund rate futures are now pricing in about a 65 percent chance of a rate hike by December compared to around 50 percent before the latest meeting. Markets expect the Fed move to coincide with revisions of its economic projections. The yield on two-year U.S. Treasury notes jumped to 1.451 percent, its highest level since November 2008 late on Wednesday. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield rose to 2.278 percent, briefly hitting a six-week high of 2.289 percent. “The markets reacted to the Fed quite straightforwardly, with shorter yields rising more than long-dated bond yields. The bond markets have fairly strong conviction that low inflation and low growth will persist,” said Hiroko Iwaki, senior strategist at Mizuho Securities. In the currency market, the rise in Treasury yields boosted the dollar’s attractiveness. The euro dropped to $1.1883 from above $1.20 just before the Fed’s policy announcement. Likewise the dollar jumped to 112.595 yen, a two-month high, from around 111.30. Gold also hit a three-week low of $1,296 per ounce. Oil prices flirted with multi-month highs, despite a rise in U.S. crude inventories, after the Iraqi oil minister said OPEC and its partners were considering extending or deepening output cuts, ahead of the planned meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC nations on Friday. Brent crude futures rose to a five-month high of $56.48 a barrel on Wednesday and last stood at $56.17, down slightly from late U.S. levels. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit a four-month high of $50.79 per barrel and last traded at $50.64, down slightly from the U.S. close on Wednesday. Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-dollar-shines-asia-shares-slip-after-fed-signals-dec-rate-hike-idUSL4N1M2021'|'2017-09-21T09:18:00.000+03:00'
'1bea65c6aadb5b845ac21a885a3f405b102d02ca'|'Norwegian Air''s UK arm can fly transatlantic, boosting its prospects'|'September 23, 2017 / 12:45 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Norwegian Air''s UK arm can fly transatlantic, boosting its prospects Reuters Staff 2 Min Read OSLO (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have granted permission to budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle’s ( NWC.OL ) British subsidiary to fly to and from U.S. cities, a boost to a company trying to crack the transatlantic market by undercutting established rivals. Europe’s third-largest budget airline by passenger numbers after Ryanair ( RYA.I ) and EasyJet( EZJ.L ) could already fly to and from the U.S. on its Norwegian and Irish operating licences. The permit now granted to its British company by the U.S. Department of Transportation allows the airline to expand its operations at London’s Gatwick airport. “With a U.S. foreign carrier permit also now received for NUK (Norwegian UK), Norwegian will be able to establish a seamless operation and more effectively utilise its long-haul fleet,” the company said in a statement on Saturday. Norwegian Air said the decision would mean it would add “thousands more jobs” to the 1,000 pilots and crew already working for the carrier from Gatwick, offer new routes and cheaper fares. It is a boost at a time when the airline is under pressure to control costs and shore up its balance sheet to weather fierce competition. Norwegian Air has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan, buying more than 200 new fuel-efficient jets, yet investors worry its drive to put more passengers on more planes is pushing up costs quickly without producing higher returns. Doubts are creeping in because Norwegian’s fate rests on the still unproven strategy of adapting the success of low-cost short-haul travel to long-haul routes. The firm’s shares are down 26 percent over the past year and have been the subject of heavy short-selling in recent months. Countering those doubts, the airline’s CEO and chairman raised their holdings in the company by 10 percent on Sept. 14. Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Andrew Bolton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-norwegian-air-shuttle-usa/norwegian-airs-uk-arm-can-fly-transatlantic-boosting-its-prospects-idUKKCN1BY0J9'|'2017-09-23T15:45:00.000+03:00'
'affa6dbf7e1341e525d3ae0025481c4203fe66d3'|'Japan PM promises ''daring'' policies to boost economy'|'  1:48 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Japan''s Abe promises ''daring policies'' to boost economy Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech on Japan''s economy and investment-friendly reforms at New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged on Wednesday to implement “daring policies” targeting taxes, the budget and regulations to promote domestic investment as well as promising to push for further corporate governance reforms. Abe, in a speech to investors at the New York Stock Exchange offered no firm details of the promised reforms, but said he was “absolutely” confident his government could deliver changes that would offset a dwindling population and other challenges facing the world’s third-largest economy. “I intend to put forward daring policies unlike any that have come before,” said Abe, who was scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly later on Wednesday. Abe made a plea to investors in the audience to put money into Japan’s equity markets. “I will invest the entirety of my political resources to open up the future of Japan,” he said. While the Nikkei share average .N225 scaled a more than two-year high this week and Japan''s economy has expanded for six straight quarters, Japan under Abe has not achieved price inflation targets and critics say his economic reforms have not gone far enough. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech on Japan''s economy and investment-friendly reforms at New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Abe has faced investor scepticism that “Abenomics” - a mixture of fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and reforms he announced almost five years ago - can alter the outlook for Japan’s economy and new business ventures. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech on Japan''s economy and investment-friendly reforms at New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Abe also said he wanted to create a “regulatory sandbox system” in Japan, allowing entrepreneurs to start new businesses without conforming to existing regulations for a period of time, without offering details. Abe made no comment on an expected snap election in Japan - a decision he had said he would make after returning home from the United States on Friday. Sources have told Reuters that Abe will call for a general election on Oct. 22 to capitalize on a rebound in his approval ratings and disarray in the political opposition. A solid victory would boost Abe’s chances of a third term as ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader in a party election next September, putting him on track to become Japan’s longest-serving premier. Reporting by Nathan Layne and Kevin Krolicki in New York; editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Grant McCool and G Crosse'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-abe/japan-pm-promises-daring-policies-to-boost-economy-idUKKCN1BV1SG'|'2017-09-20T16:48:00.000+03:00'
'b15fac4fb40c2dabd36c2cf193b81039fe4488bf'|'At Deutsche Boerse, time and support dwindle for CEO Kengeter'|'* Board support for Kengeter weakening - source* Vote on $12.6 million settlement not unanimous - source* Move to cap Kengeter’s pay on agenda Thursday - sourcesBy Tom Sims and Andreas FramkeFRANKFURT, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Support for Deutsche Boerse CEO Carsten Kengeter on the exchange group’s supervisory board is weakening as investigations into insider trading allegations drag on, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.Last week, Kengeter won a reprieve when the board of the German company agreed to pay a hefty fine for its role in a disputed share purchase by Kengeter to try to end investigations by the Frankfurt prosecutor.But one member of the 12-strong board voted against the 10.5 million euro ($12.6 million) settlement, the source said. Others only backed it “with clenched fists in their pockets” and with serious reservations about Kengeter, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity because board discussions are private.On Thursday, the board meets again, this time to deliberate ways to cap Kengeter’s pay, according to two people familiar with the matter - in another sign of the pressure on the CEO.A spokesman for Deutsche Boerse declined to comment on last week’s vote or on Thursday’s agenda. He added pressure on Kengeter to step down was “pure speculation”.Kengeter has been under investigation since February, when prosecutors raided his office and apartment looking into his purchase in December 2015 of 4.5 million euros of Deutsche Boerse shares as part of an executive compensation programme.The purchase was made two months before Deutsche Boerse said it was in merger talks with the London Stock Exchange, prompting a sharp rise in the value of the German firm’s shares.The talks later collapsed, but prosecutors wanted to know whether Kengeter was aware of the potential deal when he made his share purchase, which might constitute insider trading.Kengeter has always denied wrongdoing. “Insider trading goes against everything I stand for,” he told shareholders in May.But criticism of the 50 year old, which was already on the rise following the failure of the LSE deal, has picked up as the investigations have dragged on, according to interviews with regulators, investors and Deutsche Boerse employees.MORE INVESTIGATIONS “We can’t recall that there has ever been such severe damage to reputation in the long history of our company,” the group’s works council said in an internal newsletter seen by Reuters.Some shareholders, already irate at the millions of euros in advisory fees for the failed merger, were furious last week when the cost of the settlement deal was announced.“The damage to Deutsche Boerse’s reputation is already immense. Shareholders should not be asked to shoulder more costs now. This approach is not acceptable,” said Union Investment fund manager Ingo Speich.Such criticism is now starting to erode support for Kengeter at the top of the company, the person with knowledge of the matter said, adding Chairman Joachim Faber was also under fire.“Only a comprehensive fresh start on the personnel front can begin to repair the damage,” said the person.The Deutsche Boerse spokesman said pressure on Faber was “pure speculation”.Kengeter’s contract expires at the end of March, and the board has balked at extending it until his name is in the clear.That could take months.A spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor, which has to approve the settlement with Deutsche Boerse, said on Wednesday the case was in the hands of a judge and wouldn’t comment further.Once the judge has ruled on the settlement, German markets watchdog BaFin and the regulator in the state of Hesse that oversees Deutsche Boerse will start their own probes, spokespeople for both regulators have said.“The members of the management board of Deutsche Boerse need to be professionally competent and personally reliable, as stated by law,” said a spokesman for the Hesse economics ministry.$1 = 0.8354 euros Reporting by Tom Sims and Andreas Framke; Additional reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker and John O''Donnell; Editing by John O''Donnell and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deutsche-boerse-insidertrading/at-deutsche-boerse-time-and-support-dwindle-for-ceo-kengeter-idINL5N1M01JY'|'2017-09-20T09:50:00.000+03:00'
'2b9d93e862a6a820e3a1efd5009163120830506c'|'Fed conflicted by tepid U.S. inflation, global economic rebound'|'September 20, 2017 / 5:13 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Fed conflicted by tepid U.S. inflation, global economic rebound Howard Schneider , Ann Saphir 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is on display in Washington, DC, U.S. on June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Caught between a lull in U.S. inflation and a stronger global economy, the Federal Reserve is expected on Wednesday to signal whether it will raise interest rates for a third time this year or back off until prices rise more briskly. The U.S. central bank’s description of inflation in its policy statement as well as fresh economic forecasts from individual policymakers will be the main focus for financial markets amid a recent spate of lukewarm domestic data. The policy statement and projections are due to be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference half an hour later. The Fed also is likely to announce a scheduled reduction of its approximately $4.2 trillion in holdings of bonds and mortgage-backed securities, most of it accumulated in response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. That plan, anticipated by markets and not expected to have much immediate impact, will limit the amount of maturing bonds used each month to purchase new ones. The initial cut in reinvestment will be $10 billion per month, probably beginning in October. Analysts and investors, however, say they will look more intently at policymakers’ forecasts for the end-of-year federal funds rate as an indication of whether a quarter-point increase widely expected in December is likely to occur. Minutes from recent Fed meetings have shown a growing split, with some policymakers saying there is no urgency to raise rates after a drop in inflation, and others arguing the U.S. economy is strong enough to continue “normalizing” monetary policy. The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation was down to 1.4 percent on an annualized basis as of July, well short of its medium-term 2 percent target. “Relative to the June forecasts there may be more participants anticipating no more hikes this year, but we don’t think so many will switch to this view as to bring down the median,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JP Morgan. That would require five of the 16 Fed officials participating in this week’s two-day meeting to shift their rate projections lower to change a median that was 1.375 percent as of June, a quarter point above the current target of around 1.125 percent. Economists and investors are divided over the likely outcome as well, with different analyses of the market price for federal funds futures contracts putting the likelihood of a rate hike in December as low as 43 percent and as high as 56 percent. FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo ‘REAL DESIRE’ Although the Fed has been troubled by the drop in U.S. inflation, Yellen and other officials have attributed it to short-term factors, such as changes in cellphone plan pricing, that should diminish in the coming months. Financial conditions also remain loose across the United States, and long-term interest rates have fallen recently, factors that strengthen the argument that another rate hike would not slow the economy. A higher target rate, meanwhile, would push the Fed further from the zero percent lower bound it has been trying to escape after a decade nurturing the U.S. economy into a post-crisis recovery. Anyone ruling out a December rate increase “is mispricing the real desire on the part of the Fed to continue” normalizing monetary policy despite the dip in inflation, said Jason Celente, senior portfolio manager at Insight Investment. “As long as employment remains robust and conditions don’t deteriorate there is scope and willingness to go ahead,” he said. But with its balance sheet reduction plan operating in the background, the Fed will be putting upward pressure on borrowing costs each month regardless of what it does with its benchmark interest rate. Meanwhile, other central banks, including in the economically resurgent euro zone, may begin tightening policy, leading to more restrictive financial conditions globally. A looming battle at the end of the year over the U.S. government’s debt limit and spending also could further disrupt markets. Scott Anderson, an economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco, believes the Fed will ultimately align with markets that generally expect a slower pace of rate increases. “Rate hikes with quantitative tightening will be a lot of tightening for the markets to digest,” Anderson said. “They might have to scale back on how aggressively they raise rates over the next couple of years.” Interactive graphic - The Legacy of the QE Era tmsnrt.rs/2jxgbbf Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed/fed-conflicted-by-tepid-u-s-inflation-global-economic-rebound-idUKKCN1BV0GJ'|'2017-09-20T08:11:00.000+03:00'
'6e11a14509def8b93888facd77146c81c6364633'|'Cyber attack, hurricane weigh on FedEx quarterly profit'|'Reuters TV United States September 19, 2017 / 8:27 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Cyber attack, hurricane weigh on FedEx quarterly profit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A package of the FedEx courier delivery services company is pictured in this June 8, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Illustration (Reuters) - Package delivery company FedEx Corp ( FDX.N ) on Tuesday reported a lower-than-expected quarterly net profit due to service disruptions from a cyber attack on its Dutch unit, the impact of Hurricane Harvey and higher costs, and also lowered its full-year earnings forecast. Shares of the company, often considered a bellwether for the U.S. economy as are those of rival United Parcel Service Inc ( UPS.N ), dipped more than 2 percent in after-hours trading. The Memphis-based company reported net income for its fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31 of $596 million or $2.19 per share, down more than 16 percent from the year-ago $715 million or $2.65 per share. Excluding one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of $2.51. Wall Street analysts had expected earnings per share of $3.09. FedEx lowered its forecast for fiscal 2018 earnings per diluted share to a range of $11.05 to $11.85, from a previous range of $12.45 to $13.25. Analysts forecast earnings of $13.01 per share for the full year. “The impact of the cyberattack on TNT Express and lower-than-expected results at FedEx Ground reduced our first-quarter earnings,” said FedEx Corp Chief Financial Officer Alan Graf. “We are currently executing plans to mitigate the full-year impact of these issues.” FedEx said the cyber attack cost 79 cents per share and Hurricane Harvey cost 2 cents per share. Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Matthew Lewis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-results/fedex-quarterly-profit-falls-idUKKCN1BU2RG'|'2017-09-19T23:49:00.000+03:00'
'd62c266a56182588b270e8b0e863f0b29941ab62'|'Buffett calls pessimists about United States ''out of their mind'''|'September 20, 2017 / 3:23 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Buffett calls pessimists about United States ''out of their mind'' Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett plays bridge during the Berkshire annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Uncertainty about how the United States will cope with growing tumult in the world has not dampened Warren Buffett’s optimism for the country’s prospects over the long term -- even 100 years into the future. “Whenever I hear people talk pessimistically about this country, I think they’re out of their mind,” Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), said on Tuesday night. Buffett spoke in New York at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of Forbes magazine, and is on the cover of an issue featuring 100 of the world’s greatest living “business minds.” The billionaire has transformed Berkshire since 1965 from a failing textile company into a conglomerate with more than 90 businesses in such sectors as insurance, railroads, energy and retail, and well over $100 billion of stocks. Buffett said he expects the Dow Jones Industrial Average to be “over 1 million” in 100 years, up from Tuesday’s close of 22,370.80. He said that’s not unreasonable, given how the index was roughly 81 a century ago. But he knows he won’t be around to see it happen. “When I hear talking about making it to 100, I get excited,” he said. “I‘m 87.” Buffett said he recently determined that of the 53,364 people in the United States who were at least 100 years old, the ratio of women to men was nearly 5-to-1. “We should start thinking about a sex change,” Buffett said, prompting laughter. Nonetheless, he said long-term investing remains the way to go. He noted that since Forbes created its first list of the 400 richest Americans in 1982 -- Buffett was worth just $250 million then -- some 1,500 different people have been included. All with one thing in common. “You don’t see any short sellers,” he said, referring to people who bet stock prices will fall. “It has been 241 years since Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence,” he said. “Being short America has been a loser’s game. I predict to you it will continue to be a loser’s game.” Forbes’ list of top business minds included people with a variety of backgrounds. Among them were Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) co-founder Bill Gates, Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) founder Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s ( FB.O ) Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, architect Frank Gehry, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and singers Bono and Paul McCartney. Editing by Jacqueline Wong '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-buffett-forbes/buffett-calls-pessimists-about-united-states-out-of-their-mind-idUKKCN1BV0A3'|'2017-09-20T06:27:00.000+03:00'
'75016e7714725ab7dc316d653ddbb57b5c9bbd29'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - September 21'|'Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Special Counsel Robert Mueller has asked the White House for documents about some of U.S. President Donald Trump''s most scrutinized actions since taking office, including the firing of his national security adviser and F.B.I. director, according to White House officials. nyti.ms/2fBnzOq- Less than two weeks after Hurricane Irma, a new storm, Hurricane Maria, made a direct hit on Puerto Rico, knocking out its power grid. nyti.ms/2xooPh9- Alphabet Inc''s Google said late Wednesday it is spending $1.1 billion to hire a team of engineers from the smartphone business of struggling Taiwanese manufacturer HTC Corp in a bid to bring more hardware expertise to its own mobile technology operations. nyti.ms/2xgPHjD- The Securities and Exchange Commission said it was a victim of a computer hack last year in which attackers could have exploited private information for trading purposes. nyti.ms/2wBfh3G- The board of Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp has approved a plan to sell its microchip business to a group of American and Japanese buyers. nyti.ms/2wzr2aC- Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook''s chief operating officer, promised to add more oversight to the company''s automated systems to make sure offensive terms are not used to target ads. nyti.ms/2xhhHUy (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-september-21-idINL4N1M22JE'|'2017-09-21T03:48:00.000+03:00'
'2280ac177193d218f166ef6bd6d5093332e9be26'|'Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts'|'  10:17 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts 7 Min Read Mayor Henrik Halleland stands outside his office in Finnoey, Norway September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Alister Doyle JUDABERG, Norway (Reuters) - The Norwegian island of Finnoey has the highest density of electric cars in the world. The reason? They are exempt from the $6,000 (£4,447)-a-year toll charges for the tunnel to the mainland. There has been a surge in sales of fully electric cars like Teslas ( TSLA.O ) and Nissan ( 7201.T ) Leafs since the tunnel opened in 2009 and they now account for one in five cars on Finnoey, compared with less than 1 in 100 globally. Twenty-nine percent of all new car registrations in Norway were fully electric or plug-in hybrids last year, according to the International Energy Agency, far ahead of the Netherlands in second on 6.4 percent and Sweden in third on 3.4. China had almost 1.5 percent and the United States less than one. State subsidies support sales of electric cars around the world, and Norway has the most electric cars per capita thanks to the most generous handouts. It offers nationwide tax breaks for users of electric cars than can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, plus various local incentives like exemptions from road tolls and parking fees. “Economic incentives work, especially if they are very, very, very strong as in Finnoey,” said former Norwegian central bank governor Svein Gjedrem, who grew up on the western island chain of 3,250 people which is famous for its fish farms and tomatoes. A reliance on state handouts complicates efforts in nations like Britain and France to phase out combustion engines in favour of battery-powered vehicles, which are far costlier, have limited ranges and often have long charging times. It means the technology will have to become significantly cheaper if those governments are to meet pledges to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 without having to hand out crippling levels of subsidies to millions of buyers. A tale of two contrasting Norwegian municipalities - Finnoey and neighbouring Hjelmeland on the mainland - starkly illustrates the power of financial incentives on consumer behaviour. A Finnoey resident driving to work in nearby oil hub Stavanger with an electric car can save 40,000-50,000 crowns ($5,500-$6,500) a year in tunnel tolls compared with drivers of fossil-fuelled cars. Hjelmeland, by contrast, bucks the Norwegian trend by offering no local perks at all for battery-powered cars. Almost one in 10 people on Finnoey have electrics cars, compared with fewer than one in 100 in Hjelmeland, which is much bigger and has a similar population, according to a previously unpublished ranking of all regions from state-run Statistics Norway that was provided to Reuters. “It’s all about the economics, not about ideology,” Wictor Juul, head of administration for the Hjelmeland municipality, said of the contrasting ownership rates. WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS Norway is among the world’s richest countries because of its oil and gas exports - yet even there electric car incentives are being curbed because of the strain on public finances and a faster-than-expected adoption of battery-powered cars. For example, it has just scrapped nationwide directives that parking, transport by state-owned ferries and road tolls should be free for electric vehicles, instead leaving it to local authorities’ discretion. It is also reviewing tax breaks for the most expensive luxury electric cars. So far the reversals have had no apparent impact on sales. “I‘m not too worried,” said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, because other benefits such as an exemption from value-added tax are staying in place. Arne Nordboe recharges his Nissan Leaf electric car in Finnoey, Norway September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Alister Doyle There are, however, examples elsewhere in the world of the consequences of withdrawing electric car benefits. Sales of Nissan Leafs in the U.S. state of Georgia, for instance, plunged after authorities revoked a $5,000 tax break in 2015. Electric car imports to Denmark fell sharply last year, bucking a European trend, after Copenhagen cut subsidies. Sales of Teslas fell to 176 from 2,738 the year before. MUSK LOVES NORWAY In Norway, a Tesla Model S electric sedan costs 636,000 crowns pre-tax, almost double the 320,000 crowns pre-tax cost of an Audi A7 gasoline car, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association says. But the Audi ends up costing more when sold - 697,000 crowns - after an array of taxes led by sales tax (140,000 crowns), carbon dioxide tax (125,000 crowns) and a special tax on the weight of the vehicle (110,000 crowns). Slideshow (2 Images) By contrast, a Tesla buyer is charged only a small fee for end-of-life scrapping and pays 638,000 crowns in total. It’s little wonder that Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in June: “I love Norway, which is the world leader in EV (electric vehicle) adoption!” His company has invested heavily in Norway, for instance with fast charger networks. The Norwegian finance ministry says basic tax breaks totalled about a cumulative 12 billion crowns by the end of 2016. There are now about 140,000 fully electric cars on the road. Britain and France, the only two countries to announce deadlines for phasing out combustion engines, also offer generous subsidies to electric car buyers. Buyers in Britain get a grant of up to 35 percent of the purchase price, while in France someone selling a diesel car and buying electric receives thousands of euros in benefits. Norway’s Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen, part of a minority right-wing government that won re-election on Sept. 11, acknowledged that the country’s subsidies model was expensive. But he predicted advances in the technology would mean electric cars would be competitive in price with combustion engine cars in the early 2020s. His sentiments are echoed in Finnoey by Mayor Henrik Halleland who thinks battery-powered car sales could ultimately survive without large financial incentives. The island’s tunnel toll charges for combustion engines go towards paying the 550 million crown cost of building the tunnel. Once the debt is paid, the tunnel will be free for all. “Electric cars are getting so good that people will buy them anyway,” said Halleland. Still, he now wants electric car owners to pay 50 percent of the rate paid by diesel and gasoline cars. And he’s not planning to buy electric himself, saying he has to keep his combustion engine Mazda to pay the tolls and do his bit to pay off the tunnel. Electric car owners are unapologetic though. “It’s all about political choices,” said Arne Nordboe, a teacher and part-time stand-up comedian who drives a Nissan Leaf. “I think it would be reasonable when electric cars get cheaper and cheaper and more useful, then I can pay more.” Additional reporting by Laurence Frost, Joseph White and Edward Taylor; Editing by Pravin Char'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-electric-analysis/road-to-electric-car-paradise-paved-with-handouts-idUKKCN1BW1AZ'|'2017-09-21T13:16:00.000+03:00'
'd4c572d84551a2a1e6941b13d361decf0b94fb9c'|'Strength in numbers: finding the right partnerships for your business - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Friday 22 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Friday 22 September 2017 11.12 BST Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely business. With long hours and the final say on all decisions, the constant pressure is a lot to bear. As someone who had always worked in charitable organisations and never in a commercial enterprise, I knew when I started my business that I didn’t want to go it alone. My baby food business, Piccolo, was launched with a tiny marketing budget. This had the potential to be a real issue for two reasons – first, we needed to raise awareness quickly, and second, parents obviously want to trust a brand before buying its products for their babies. So we needed a way to secure confidence among our target market. Cat Gazzoli, founder of Piccolo, relied on partnerships with charities and other business to get her brand message out Photograph: Piccolo Combining forces with like-minded companies and individuals has enabled us to thrive where, otherwise, we might flounder. We’ve worked with parenting charity NCT, baby-swimming lesson company Water Babies, post-natal exercise business Buggyfit, and music classes organiser Hartbeeps. We’re also working with the Trussell Trust to set up our One for One initiative, donating food pouches to food banks and charities across the UK with every pouch bought in-store. These relationships have benefited our partners as well as engaging a greater number of people with our message. However, there are a number of challenges and potential pitfalls to taking this approach. You need to get the basics right in order for your business partnership to be mutually beneficial. Pick the right partners For startups, the key to finding business people to partner with is recognising those that share a common purpose with you. There needs to be kinship. Founders are likely to have started their own business based upon a strong commitment to a set of values. It’s crucial to find those that share those same values, whether they are social purpose, environmental awareness or even just a commitment to creating a great product or service. Manage your expectations (and theirs) You need to be open about your capacity to support your partner. Even with common objectives, neither party can expect the other to come to their aid at the drop of a hat. Each company needs to recognise how much in terms of resources are available on each side, and understand that there will be times where one side is working harder on a project than the other. Small businesses aren’t driven by the same, strict commercial objectives as larger corporates, so it’s fundamentally about give and take. Draw up a contract Successful business partnerships can come down to the strength of our personal relationships. You need to have full respect for the people you are partnering with. However, I have been in business long enough to know that relationships sometimes aren’t enough. Be diligent and ask any partners to sign contracts that set out all your aims and objectives. This way, you can both be accountable and avoid any major disagreements down the line. Avoid a bad marriage A business partnership is just like any relationship; if it’s not right, it just won’t work in the long run, and if there’s no natural value alignment, it’s not worth pursuing. That old adage that it takes a village to raise a child applies to business too. It is better to work with people going through the same challenges and combine forces to offer your customers a stronger proposition than if you were to go it alone. Catherine Gazzoli is the founder of baby food startup Piccolo Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/sep/22/strength-in-numbers-finding-the-right-partnerships-for-your-business'|'2017-09-22T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'c64b3ec899b3f9bbf0c0735de07bab7cc1324783'|'Thyssenkrupp to set up working group with unions over Tata Steel merger'|'September 23, 2017 / 10:56 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Thyssenkrupp to set up working group with unions over Tata Steel merger Reuters Staff 3 Min Read The logo of Thyssen Krupp AG is pictured at the gate one of the ThyssenKrupp steel plant in Duisburg, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp AG ( TKAG.DE ) is to set up a joint working group of board members and labour representatives to help implement the plan to merge with Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ), it said in a statement published on Sunday after a supervisory board meeting. The meeting was held after Thyssenkrupp top management’s move this week to sign a memorandum of understanding with Tata Steel for a 50-50 joint venture. If approved, it would create Europe’s second-biggest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), with combined sales of about 15 billion euros. The working group will consist of members of the executive boards of Thyssenkrupp AG, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, which is the unit for the steel activities within the wider group, representatives of Thyssenkrupp’s works councils and the works councils of the steel sites, the statement said. The working group will be headed by Markus Grolms, deputy chairman of the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp AG and Oliver Burkhard, member of the executive board of Thyssenkrupp AG, where he is chief human resources officer, it said. Thyssenkrupp AG Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger depends on the support of labour representatives, who hold half of the 20 seats on the group’s supervisory board and have fiercely opposed the deal with Tata Steel. On Friday, several thousand steel workers took to the streets of Bochum in Germany’s industrial heartland to protest against the deal, which would include up to 4,000 job cuts, about eight percent of the combined workforce. Opposition from Thyssenkrupp’s workforce could mean prolonged negotiations with management and delay any approval of the plan by the supervisory board, scheduled for early next year. If all labour representatives on the supervisory board vote against the plans, its chairman Ulrich Lehner could still push them through with his casting vote but it is Hiesinger’s declared goal to get labour leaders to agree. Meanwhile, Swedish finance investor Cevian, that holds a minority share in Thyssenkrupp, came out in support of Hiesinger’s plan for merging the steel unit with Tata Steel, according to a report in the mass weekly Bild am Sonntag. It quoted a Cevian source as saying, “Splitting off the steel unit means a bigger focus on the (Thyssenkrupp‘s) industrial business.” “If the financial conditions are right, Cevian considers this option (the merger) good.” Thyssenkrupp, whose other operations span car parts, elevators, construction steel and submarines, has faced calls to split off other parts of the business, most notably its elevator unit. Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert; Editing by Andrew Bolton and Stephen Powell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-board/thyssenkrupp-to-set-up-working-group-with-unions-over-tata-steel-merger-idUKKCN1BY0EQ'|'2017-09-23T13:55:00.000+03:00'
'20dc7ba7fe4003423e0380249a1fe15ef4b9a5d7'|'SAP has agreed to buy Gigya for $350 million: Israeli media'|'JERUSALEM (Reuters) - German software group SAP ( SAPG.DE ) has agreed to buy online customer service provider Gigya for about $350 million, Israeli media reported on Sunday.Gigya operates in a field known as customer identity and access management, with a digital platform it says helps companies build relationships with their customers. It is headquartered in California but its founders are from Israel, where it also has offices.Several Israeli financial news outlets reported on the agreement. Gigya and SAP declined to comment on the report.Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sap-se-gigya-m-a/sap-has-agreed-to-buy-gigya-for-350-million-israeli-media-idINKCN1BZ08Z'|'2017-09-24T07:17:00.000+03:00'
'29cc667d4834502915c7133f92c1ab13cf2e845f'|'Small cities benefit as southern China project takes off'|'  1:10 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Small cities benefit as southern China project takes off Clare Jim 5 Min Read Small fishermen''s homes are seen in Daya Bay district next to new buildings under development in Huizhou in China''s Guangdong province, August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Clare Jim HONG KONG (Reuters) - Investors are rushing in to a sleepy city on the southern coast of China thanks to a government policy that has seen tens of billions of dollars earmarked to produce a regional economy that would rival the biggest in the world. China this year kicked off the development of the Greater Bay Area, made up of 11 cities in southern Guangdong province, plus Hong Kong and Macau located in the Pearl River Delta. Real estate consultancy Colliers International estimates the region already has the fifth biggest economy in Asia but that under the development plan will have the fifth biggest economy in the world by 2030, underlining why HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ) ( 0005.HK ) sees the region as one of its major markets globally. The area includes cities such as Shenzhen and Dongguan, which are established tech and manufacturing centres, but the plan is having a dramatic impact on smaller cities in the region that had largely been ignored by developers until now. One such city is Huizhou, which has some of the lowest home prices in the Greater Bay Area and is benefiting from a plan that aims to mimic the likes of Los Angeles, New York or Tokyo in tying together a vast economic region via major road and high speed trains. Dramatic changes in the city of about 4.8 million people, highlight the impact of national policies in China that target specific areas for development. Huizhou’s economic growth accelerated to 7.5 percent in the first six months of this year, higher than the national average of 6.9 percent, while property investment shot up 23 percent, almost three times the rate of the 8.5 percent national average. The local government earmarked the equivalent of $39 billion for infrastructure investment between 2016 and 2020. It aims to build 11 high-speed railway stations – the most of any city in the Greater Bay Area - along with many highways. The goal is to enable travellers to reach top-tier neighbours Shenzhen and Guangzhou within half an hour. “In China, if you want to invest, you go where the national policies go,” said property agent Zhang Guangzi in Daya Bay, an emerging district in Huizhou. A model shows Evergrande Palm Islands development surrounding a golf course in Huiyang district in Huizhou in China''s Guangdong province, August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Clare Jim INVESTORS PILE IN Two years ago, HSBC brought attention to the Greater Bay Area when it announced plans to beef up its presence in the region. The global bank said it would quadruple its staff and increase lending to mid-sized companies in the infrastructure and property sectors. Last month, Chinese developers including Logan Property ( 3380.HK ), Agile Group ( 3383.HK ) and Yuzhou Properties ( 1628.HK ) said at earnings conferences they planned to expand in Huizhou and elsewhere in the Greater Bay Area. Properties under construction and for presale are pictured in Daya Bay district in Huizhou in China''s Guangdong province, August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Clare Jim Property giants Country Garden ( 2007.HK ) and China Evergrande ( 3333.HK ) already own large land banks in Huizhou. And thanks to spillover demand from Shenzhen - where around 60 percent of buyers are from - Huizhou’s supply of new homes is tight. Based on the rate of sales, the city’s housing inventory dropped to six months of supply in 2016 from 30 months in 2015. Much of the demand for new homes in Huizhou comes from people working in Shenzhen. Many owners live in a dormitory provided by an employer in Shenzhen while housing their families in Huizhou. Huizhou’s average home prices are around 10,000 yuan per square metre (sqm), a quarter of other areas near Shenzhen and just a tenth of the cost of central Shenzhen. Facing competition from other areas in the Greater Bay Area, Huizhou has avoided placing restrictions on home purchases, prevalent in many other cities in China where prices have been rising rapidly. More than 80 percent of buyers are from outside the city, agents and developers said. Instead, it has implemented a price ceiling on the sale of new homes since late 2016. If it wasn’t for the ceiling prices would increase, said Huang Min, Country Garden’s Huizhou district marketing general manager. “Prices are suppressed,” Huang said. “There’s large room for prices to grow.” Reporting by Clare Jim: Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Neil Fullick'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-property-huizhou/small-cities-benefit-as-southern-china-project-takes-off-idUKKCN1BZ009'|'2017-09-24T04:09:00.000+03:00'
'6f1bc897b5d39b8c5f94ece7ff1cf16b03d25817'|'Japan Post sets follow-up share sale price at 1,322 yen: filing'|'Japan Post Holdings'' Chief Executive Officer Masatsugu Nagato speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - A government sale of Japan Post Holdings Co ( 6178.T ) stock raised $11 billion in the world’s second-biggest share sale this year, with the postal and financial giant’s attractive dividend yield helping drum up sufficient, albeit subdued, demand.The stock priced at a 2 percent discount to its Monday closing price, compared with an indicative range of a 2-4 percent discount.But underscoring the waning fortunes of the postal giant, which has been criticized for M&A missteps and a lack of clear growth prospects, its coverage ratio slipped when compared with its IPO two years ago. The share sale also priced at a 6 percent discount to its IPO price.Koji Taki, heads of sales at Imamura Securities Co, noted that for domestic retail investors, the postal firm’s dividend yield of about 3.7 percent compared favorably with the average Japanese bank deposit rate of 0.001 percent.“Our customers buy stocks to hold as long-term assets. Japan Post is a stock our conservative customers like,” he said.The value of the deal could later be bumped up to 1.3 trillion yen ($11.6 billion) if an overallotment of shares - to be determined on Wednesday - is fully taken up.The sale, aimed at helping fund reconstruction efforts after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, was the first since the 2015 triple initial public offerings for the postal firm and its two units both of which are major financial firms - Japan Post Bank Co Ltd ( 7182.T ) and Japan Post Insurance Co Ltd ( 7181.T ).The government offered 929 million shares at 1,322 yen, according to a filing by Japan Post, with the offering gaining a coverage ratio of 1.6 times.That compares with a coverage ratio of 5 times for its IPO, according to information from market sources at the time.Similar to the IPO, the bulk of the offering - 76 percent - was allocated to domestic retail investors, with another 20 percent going to overseas investors and the rest to domestic institutional investors.A certain level of demand from institutional investors had been expected, as passively managed funds need to buy Japan Post shares for portfolios that track market benchmark indexes, said investment banking sources involved in the offering.Japan Post has seen a gradual decline in earnings in recent years as the two financial units, which together have nearly 290 trillion yen ($2.6 trillion) in assets and make up about 90 percent of its profits, have been hit by diminishing returns amid an ultra-low interest rate environment.To make up for that, it turned to M&A with little success. It bought Australian logistics firm Toll Holdings Ltd for A$6.5 billion ($4.9 billion) but had to write down much of the acquisition. Talks to buy Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc ( 3231.T ) ended earlier this year after failing to agree terms.Goldman Sachs, Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities were global coordinators for the offering, which is second only to Italian bank UniCredit’s ( CRDI.MI ) $13.7 billion share issue in February for share sales this year.Separately, Japan Post also bought back 100 billion yen worth of its own shares from the government this month.The Japanese government originally flagged some 4 trillion yen in sales of shares in Japan Post firms by the 2022 fiscal year when it first began privatizing the firm. That implies a further 1.2 trillion yen of further share sales sometime in the next five years.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-post-sharesale/japan-post-sets-follow-up-share-sale-price-at-1322-yen-filing-idINKCN1C00LC'|'2017-09-25T05:19:00.000+03:00'
'0aa1c945eb893748541e319cfd6b99f96dd9d922'|'Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel merger set to gain pricing power'|'September 22, 2017 / 1:18 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel merger set to gain pricing power Reuters Staff 5   Thyssen Krupp AG is pictured at the gate one of the ThyssenKrupp steel plant in Duisburg, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp Steel ( TKAG.DE ) and Tata Steel’s ( TISC.NS ) plans to merge in Europe could enable them not just to cut costs but also raise prices, customers and shareholders say. The planned joint venture, announced on Wednesday, would create Europe''s second-largest steel maker, with a market share of about 13 percent, according to data from the companies and the World Steel Association.(For a graphic on Global steel production click tmsnrt.rs/2xRzVMY ) This would make the group, to be named Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel, a distant second to global leader ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), which has a 26 percent share. Although Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel Europe say their client groups are largely complementary, they have significant overlap in the autos industry, their largest market, company data shows. Below are some details on pricing and the joint venture’s potential client structure. PRICING POWER European steel prices, even though volatile and under continued pressure from cheap Chinese imports, have recently stabilised, providing the day-to-day business.(For a graphic on European steel prices click reut.rs/2jQClVN ) Related Coverage Germany steel workers protest over Thyssen-Tata steel merger plan Currently at 530 euros per tonne, European steel prices ST-MBEUDNHRC-MB are still down by about a third compared with their pre-financial crisis peak, but have risen by nearly two-thirds since their most recent record at the end of 2015. They are down about 3 percent in the year-to-date and investors reckon that the further consolidation could support a recovery. “An oligopoly has a different power to set prices than a more fragmented market,” said Thomas Vorlaufer, fund manager at Deka Investment, Thyssenkrupp’s 10th-largest shareholder. “As a result there can be an impact on prices.” Higher prices would mostly hit the automotive industry, which would account for about 40 percent of sales of the combined entity. FILE PHOTO: Waste metal is seen at Tata Steel''s new robotic welding line at their Automotive Service Centre in Wednesfield, Britain, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples/File Photo German luxury carmaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ), a customer of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, Tata Steel Europe and ArcelorMittal, fears that the merger could change things for the worse. “We have a critical view and are concerned over whether the steel market will still function efficiently following a merger,” a spokesman for the company said. A spokesman for Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ), which gets deliveries from Tata Steel Europe, said he did not expect any impact on prices. Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), also clients of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, declined to comment. SOME OVERLAP “Our businesses and those of Tata complement each other well,” Thyssenkrupp said on Wednesday, adding that while it was stronger in the automotive sector, Tata Steel Europe had a bigger exposure to industrial customers. However, automotive is big business for both groups. Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe makes 46 percent of its sales, or 3.51 billion euros (£3.11 billion), from clients in the automotive industry. At Tata Steel Europe, whose customers also include Tata Motors’ ( TAMO.NS ) Jaguar Land Rover, that share is 32 percent, or 166.67 billion Indian rupees ($2.57 billion). There is less overlap in other areas, most notably in manufacturing goods, which accounts for 32 percent of revenues at Tata Steel Europe, and includes business with clients in the engineering sector. Engineering accounts for just 4 percent of sales at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe. The companies say that overlap will not be much of an issue as the proposed joint venture will have three major production sites spread across Europe, enabling it to cover different regions which in turn reduces shipment costs. Thyssenkrupp’s Duisburg plant, for example, sells two-thirds of the steel it produces within a radius of 500 kilometres (311 miles). With annual output of about 12 million tonnes of steel, it would be the joint venture’s biggest plant. Tata Steel Europe’s Ijmuiden plant in the Netherlands, which supplies steel to the packaging sector, ranks second, with 6.9 million tonnes produced in the last financial year. Meanwhile Port Talbot, Britain’s largest steel production site, produced 3.6 million tonnes of liquid steel. Tata Steel earlier this year made commitments to safeguard jobs and investments at the plant for five years in return for an overhaul of its pension scheme. Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt, Maytaal Angel in London, Andreas Cremer in Berlin, Tom Kaeckenhoff in Duesseldorf and Laurence Frost in Paris; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-merger-set-to-gain-pricing-power-idUKKCN1BX1Q3'|'2017-09-22T16:18:00.000+03:00'
'b160883dc3530655ead0d940432d4d4641992b91'|'Ryanair crisis exposes low-cost scramble for senior pilots'|'  4:22 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Ryanair crisis exposes low-cost scramble for senior pilots Conor Humphries , Victoria Bryan 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair plane prepares to land at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo DUBLIN/BERLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair blames an internal “cock up”, but its cancellation of 2,000 flights exposes the struggle that low-cost carriers face as they risk growing faster than their ability to recruit experienced pilots. Junior pilots are readily available, with hundreds unemployed in Britain alone, but Europe’s budget airlines require many extra captains who can take flights without needing lengthy and expensive training, or to accumulate flying hours. Ireland’s Ryanair ( RYA.I ), which has overtaken established carriers to become Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, is hiring around 600 pilots this year, as is Norwegian Air Shuttle( NWC.OL ). For British-based easyJet ( EZJ.L ) the figure is 450 and in all cases these are their highest ever levels of pilot recruitment. “The low cost airlines are arguably more vulnerable to a pilot shortage because of their growth, which is now compounded by their size,” said Gerald Khoo, an analyst with Liberum. “Normally, in a tight labor market I would assume slightly higher staff costs or the airline could trim its capacity growth,” he said. “Not getting the balance right results in the situation we have seen at Ryanair in the past week.” Ryanair has disrupted plans for hundreds of thousands of travelers with the cancellations this month due to the pilot shortage. The carrier put its problems down to too many pilots taking leave at the same time. But the shortages are being felt across an industry where the budget airlines are flying tens of millions more passengers each year, driving an increase in European short-haul capacity of around seven percent. Norwegian is particularly jostling Ryanair for senior talent. Both have Boeing ( BA.N ) fleets, meaning that when pilots defect they fly similar aircraft, lessening training time and expense. Norwegian says it has poached more than 140 pilots from Ryanair; Dublin-based Ryanair puts the number at less than 100. Ryanair is increasing wages for its pilots based in Frankfurt and Berlin in order to steal staff from Air Berlin( AB1.DE ), even though the insolvent German carrier flies Airbus ( AIR.PA ) jets rather than Boeings, making this a more expensive exercise. Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) budget unit Eurowings is also making a bid for Air Berlin’s experienced pilots. Mark Simpson, an analyst with Goodbody Stockbrokers, said he didn’t see a significant risk that Ryanair would have to curb its expansion plans. “This is a pinch they are facing,” he said. “But it hasn’t reached a crisis point.” Aside from Air Berlin, Italy’s Alitalia, Latvia’s Air Baltic and Romania’s Tarom were all struggling and could to shed pilots, easing the shortage, he added. HIGHER GRADES The pressure is being felt acutely in senior roles, according to the British Airline Pilots’ Association, which says around 500 of its more junior members are unemployed. “We’ve seen huge recruitment drives .... in recent years. However, this recruitment tends to be for experienced pilots,” said BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton. Recruitment web site Indeed.com said pilot vacancies in Britain were 60 percent harder to fill than other jobs, as measured by the number of positions still vacant after 60 days. Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary said captains have been targeted since the cancellations with a 10,000 euro sign-on bonus. “We may have got pilot pay a little on the low side,” he told investors at Ryanair’s annual general meeting this week. He insisted the problems were localized and that certain parts of Europe had a surplus of experienced pilots. Ryanair this week also announced wage increases in Dublin, where it says it believes Norwegian Air is trying to hire 40 of its pilots, and in London where it says pilots are being targeted by a number of rivals. A spokesman for Norwegian Air said it saw significant competition for pilots, but was offering competitive conditions and the prospect of flying to destinations in southeast Asia and the United States that Ryanair could not match. EasyJet declined to comment on whether it was struggling to attract senior pilots. JOB SATISFACTION Ryanair is widely regarded to pay competitive wages to senior pilots. Captains earn 150,000-180,000 euros a year, while first officers get 80,000-120,000. But it has been criticized by some current and former staff about working conditions and the way the blunt-speaking O‘Leary talks about his staff. Pilots are often employed via agencies and do not enjoy standard benefits for sick pay, pensions or health insurance. O‘Leary insisted at the AGM he had a good relationship with his pilots, but said: “I would challenge any pilot to explain how this is a difficult job,” expressing doubt that anyone could be fatigued after what he said was a maximum of 18 hours of flying per week. Ryanair gets a rating of 2.4 on employee-review site Glassdoor, against 4.0 for easyJet. ALWAYS GETTING BETTER Four years ago Ryanair was berated by investors for treating its customers badly, forcing a promise from O‘Leary to stop “unnecessarily pissing people off” and launching its successful Always Getting Better customer service drive. But unlike the current crisis, poor customer service never threatened the airline’s core operations. Investors remain skittish, with its shares down 5.5 percent since the crisis broke to close at 16.44 euros on Friday. There are signs that pilots are using the shortage to assert themselves. While Ryanair doesn’t recognize trade unions, staff at a number of bases wrote a joint letter to management with a series of demands including the implementation of permanent local contracts under local employment law. The European Cockpit Association said Ryanair may now have to treat its staff better as well as its customers. “The Always Getting Better program could have been applied to staff too,” ECA Secretary General Philip von Schöppenthau told Reuters. “It would certainly be welcomed by the crew and contribute to the success of the company.” Additional reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord and Terje Solsvik in Oslo and Alistair Smout in London; Writing by Conor Humphries; editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-cancellations/ryanair-crisis-exposes-low-cost-scramble-for-senior-pilots-idUSKCN1BX2BZ'|'2017-09-22T19:22:00.000+03:00'
'a90be528bad7fd54f1b3a0f5cc9f8cb425e5bea5'|'Telekom Austria says harmonising its brands will burden net result'|'  10:48 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Telekom Austria says harmonising its brands will burden net result Reuters Staff 1 Min Read VIENNA, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Telekom Austria Ag said on Wednesday it will gradually roll out its local brand “A1” throughout the group’s operations in different countries and expects the amortisation of local brand values to weigh on its net results until 2019. The Austrian unit of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim’s America Movil , which in addition to its home market operates in seven eastern European countries, said these brands were worth around 350 million euros ($420 million) in total at the end of last year. More than half of the amount, which is not cash-relevant, will be written off by the end of the first quarter of 2018, Telekom Austria said. ($1 = 0.8334 euros) (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Shadia Nasralla)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/telekom-austria-results/telekom-austria-says-harmonising-its-brands-will-burden-net-result-idUSL5N1M12QO'|'2017-09-20T13:46:00.000+03:00'
'3f6dc9b2e1184e87cd62292643484ee2229c11ef'|'Alibaba-backed Best raises $450 million after pricing U.S. IPO at bottom: IFR'|'September 20, 2017 / 2:10 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Alibaba-backed Best raises $450 million after pricing U.S. IPO at bottom: IFR Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of the Chinese logistics company Best Inc is seen outside a local delivery hub in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese logistics firm Best Inc BSTI.N priced its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) at $10 per share, raising $450 million, IFR reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal. The company, backed by Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ), priced the 45 million American depositary shares (ADS) at the bottom of a revised range of $10 to $11 each, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. Best did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the IPO pricing. The company had initially expected a price range of $13 to $15 per ADS and an IPO consisting of 53.56 million new shares and 8.54 million existing shares. Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-best-ipo-pricing/alibaba-backed-best-raises-450-million-after-pricing-u-s-ipo-at-bottom-ifr-idINKCN1BV069'|'2017-09-20T00:10:00.000+03:00'
'b9e3e64ec7400fed425d203b328f98d8658d0edb'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Blackstone, Innogy, Oberbank, Impax Labs, Lufthansa; Updates Siemens)Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:** Alphabet Inc’s Google said it would pay $1.1 billion for the division at Taiwan’s HTC Corp that develops the U.S firm’s Pixel smartphones - its second major foray into phone hardware after an earlier costly failure.** Japan’s Toshiba Corp is locked in last minute discussions over “key issues” with the would-be buyers of its $18 billion memory chip business led by U.S. private equity firm Bain, potentially delaying a formal agreement on the sale.** Siemens is in talks to merge its rail business with that of either Alstom or Bombardier and will pick a preferred partner within days for further negotiations, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Japanese chemical manufacturer Kuraray Co Ltd will buy U.S. firm Calgon Carbon Corp for $1.107 billion, Kuraray said, adding the carbon materials firm as one of its core businesses.** Albertsons Cos Inc, one of America’s biggest supermarket chains, said it would buy meal-kit delivery service Plated, as it looks to attract more customers to its stores amid increased competition.** Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc is doubling down on efforts to find early-stage mining projects to acquire and is open to deposits that depart from its focus on silver and gold, the chief executive said.** Irish building materials firm CRH is to buy U.S. cement maker Ash Grove Cement Co for $3.5 billion, wasting no time in using cash from a major disposal to strengthen its North American business.** Asahi Group Holdings Ltd is ready to spend “billions of dollars” more on acquisitions, after having recently spent $11 billion to acquire beer brands across Europe from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, a top company executive said.** The German government denied a report that it favoured a merger of state-backed Commerzbank with France’s BNP Paribas, saying it was not in negotiations to divest its 15 percent stake in the German lender.** Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group has hired JPMorgan to look at options for its payments unit, including a sale worth up to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion), sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.** Murray Goulburn Co-operative, Australia’s largest milk processor, said it was considering several takeover approaches from suitors interested in acquiring the cooperative as a whole or some of its assets, but it had not received any formal offers.** French publishers La Martiniere Groupe and Media-Participations announced talks over a merger that could create a group with combined revenues of more than 560 million euros ($666 million), in the latest sign of consolidation in the industry.** Blackstone has bought German measuring technology group Schenck Process from private equity investor IK Investment Partners, the groups said.** Innogy, Germany’s largest energy group by market value, is reviewing its troubled British retail unit Npower but currently has no plans to sell the business, Chief Executive Peter Terium told journalists.** Oberbank said it had signed a deal with Iran, enabling it to finance new ventures there and making it one of the first European banks to do so since sanctions were eased.** Impax Laboratories Inc is in talks to merge with privately held Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.** Lufthansa is set to pick up a large part of insolvent rival Air Berlin and easyJet is also still in the running for some assets, two sources familiar with the matter said. (Compiled by Anirban Paul and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1M23XM'|'2017-09-21T08:27:00.000+03:00'
'a87c2686638acb841cb99b40cd43570904b5fe95'|'Singapore sovereign fund GIC takes majority stake in hotel near Tokyo Disney Resort'|' 30 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Singapore sovereign fund GIC takes majority stake in hotel near Tokyo Disney Resort Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TOKYO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte said on Thursday it had acquired a stake of 51 percent in the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel near Tokyo Disney Resort for $464 million, one of its largest investments in Japan in recent years. GIC has bought the hotel with Invincible Investment Corp , a real estate investment trust managed by U.S. buyout firm Fortress Investment Group, in a deal worth $909 million. The hotel, with 1,016 rooms, was owned by Fortress, which has been aggressively investing in hotels in Japan. “Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, with its close proximity to Tokyo Disney Resort, has shown strong and resilient cash-flow,” Lee Kok Sun, chief investment officer for GIC Real Estate, said in a statement. GIC in 2014 bought a Tokyo office tower from a real estate unit of Asian private equity firm PAG in a deal worth 170 billion yen ($1.51 billion). ($1=112.3800 yen) (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/gic-japan/singapore-sovereign-fund-gic-takes-majority-stake-in-hotel-near-tokyo-disney-resort-idUSL4N1M23VK'|'2017-09-21T13:30:00.000+03:00'
'8e8bd8175376741706bc82195992e7462593e591'|'Toshiba prepares to formalise chips sale, even as rejected suitor steps up legal action'|'September 21, 2017 / 2:31 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Toshiba, keen to seal $18 billion chips sale, wrestles with last-minute delays Reuters Staff 4 Min Read Pedestrians walk past a logo of Toshiba Corp outside an electronics retailer in Tokyo September 14, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is locked in last minute discussions over “key issues” with the would-be buyers of its $18 billion (13.4 billion pounds) memory chip business led by U.S. private equity firm Bain, potentially delaying a formal agreement on the sale. Toshiba said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell the prized unit to the Bain consortium, and had been expected to formalise the sale on Thursday. Instead, South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), part of the winning consortium, said talks were still ongoing. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed consortium members were still wrangling over details of their agreement and said commitment letters from all participants were still needed before the sale could be signed formally. “There are some key issues still to be agreed upon in the content approved by Toshiba’s board,” the South Korean chipmaker said in a statement, adding that it would continue talks. Toshiba and Bain did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Adding to uncertainty, jilted suitor and Toshiba joint venture partner Western Digital ( WDC.O ) took fresh legal action overnight, filing new arbitration requests to stop Toshiba investing in a new flash memory production line without its help. Shares in Toshiba reflected the concerns, falling more than 2 percent in late afternoon trade. Struggling to plug a yawning balance sheet hole after a cost blow-out at its now-bankrupt U.S. nuclear business, Toshiba has been trying to sell its chip business since late January. Agreeing the sale of the world’s second-largest producer of NAND flash memory chips brings the group closer to the end of a tangled and fraught process. As late as Tuesday night, sources said Toshiba was leaning towards selling the business to Western Digital. MAJOR UNKNOWNS Bain has partnered with SK Hynix and brought in deep-pocketed U.S. buyers of Toshiba chips such as Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Dell Inc [DI.UL] to bolster its bid. But there are major unknowns, including the outcome of antitrust investigations and the battle with Western Digital. It is unclear how long that process could last, and what impact it would have on the completion of the sale. Industry watchers also said SK Hynix’s participation could prolong antitrust reviews, particularly in China, as Beijing is trying to grow domestic players. The South Korean chipmaker plans to limit its role to financing, but it’s unclear if it hopes to gain a stake in the future. “It’s clear to everyone that this Bain deal will have difficulty succeeding,” said Akira Minamikawa, principal analyst at IHS Markit. The NAND flash memory chips business faces fierce price competition with Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ), he said, and China was likely to join the race. “To survive, Toshiba needs to shift its focus to (flash memory-backed) storage systems for servers rather than selling memory chips alone. And strong players there are Samsung and Western Digital, not (new partner) SK Hynix.” Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Taro Fuse in TOKYO, Joyce Lee in SEOUL; Writing by Clara Ferreira-Marques; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-prepares-to-formalise-chips-sale-even-as-rejected-suitor-steps-up-legal-action-idUKKCN1BW09C'|'2017-09-21T05:31:00.000+03:00'
'bedbb2f27157ec0166ad7744b401c5f83a85439e'|'City''s top official calls for quick Brexit deal to avoid exodus of jobs - Business - The Guardian'|'City''s top official calls for quick Brexit deal to avoid exodus of jobs Catherine McGuinness says posturing over divorce bill is delaying negotiations over transition deal needed by financial sector The City of London. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters City''s top official calls for quick Brexit deal to avoid exodus of jobs Catherine McGuinness says posturing over divorce bill is delaying negotiations over transition deal needed by financial sector View more sharing options Thursday 21 September 2017 12.37 BST Last modified on Thursday 21 September 2017 15.50 BST The City of London’s most senior official has told the government it must move fast with its Brexit negotiations or risk an exodus of jobs and damage to the UK’s financial sector. Before Theresa May’s much-anticipated Brexit speech in Florence on Friday , Catherine McGuinness said posturing over the so-called divorce bill was delaying negotiations over the much-needed transition deal that would prevent the financial sector facing a “cliff-edge” in March 2019, when the UK will leave the EU. A quick deal, she said, might be better than a perfect deal. McGuinness, who chairs the policy and resources committee at the City of London Corporation – the local authority for the heart of the capital’s financial district – warned that this was a critical moment if major insurers, banks and fund managers were to avoid implementing their Brexit contingency plans. Cabinet meets to discuss Theresa May''s Florence speech on Brexit - Politics live Read more She said: “We have to have progress … We’re talking about jobs and the economy and ordinary people.” The corporation is keeping a tally of official announcements from City firms about their contingency arrangements. It currently puts 9,770 roles at risk, with Frankfurt receiving more business than any other EU financial centre. Before the speech, it has been reported that the UK will offer €20bn to fill the hole in the budget of the remaining 27 members. “They need to get on and agree, and in considering what they need to pay, to consider the fact that if you haggle out every last penny you might get the most perfect deal in the world but find you lose more because business has gone unnecessarily and your tax-take has gone down,” she said. The prime minister’s speech has been billed as an attempt “to update on Brexit negotiations so far” and to “underline the government’s wish for a deep and special partnership with the European Union once the UK leaves the EU”. City firms have been instructed by the Bank of England to plan for all eventualities, including a “hard Brexit” where the UK leaves the EU without any transition arrangement. The Bank had demanded details of their plans by 14 July and firms have begun to reveal how they intend to cope. For instance, Amsterdam has been picked for expansion by Royal Bank of Scotland, Dublin by Bank of America and Barclays, and Frankfurt by Morgan Stanley . “This is a critical moment where transition needs to be agreed and if we don’t agree transition … people will have to start making arrangements, implementing the arrangements they have been making,” McGuinness said. Without a transition deal, McGuinness said there would an “unravelling” of the City – which others have described as eco-system of financiers, lawyers and fund managers. But, she said, EU financial centres would not be overall beneficiaries, with New York and Singapore more likely to benefit from London’s loss of business. McGuinness said the transitional deal must maintain the current trading relationship with the EU – a sentiment reflected by the chancellor, Philip Hammond, when he told a House of Lords committee this month that the transitional deal that the government was seeking would “look a lot like the status quo” . She said the City was seeking a bespoke deal once it left the EU, rather than copying other countries’ trading arrangements with the bloc. McGuinness also called for clarity as soon as possible about the status of EU nationals living in the UK. Recent research by the City of London shows that capital’s finance and insurance sectors rely on foreign workers: while 78% of jobs are held by British workers, 13% are from the EU and 9% from elsewhere. “The simple issue [is] people ought to feel welcome in their jobs and we need clarity as soon as we can,” she said, warning that financial firms had told her EU nationals were hesitating in applying for jobs, while those here might be “feeling unwanted and unwelcomed”. There was a need to spell out the status of people living here, she said, because “it’s just not fair”. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/21/city-official-quick-brexit-deal-avoid-exodus-jobs-catherine-mcguinness'|'2017-09-21T19:37:00.000+03:00'
'80803bce7733e7796c157e9f137a0a6a11fc50ff'|'Oil prices slip ahead of key OPEC meeting'|'  1:55 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Oil settles flat as unease builds ahead of OPEC meeting Dave Gregorio 3 Min Read The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured behind a traffic sign at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled nearly flat on Thursday, the eve of a meeting of major oil-producing countries in Vienna to discuss whether they will extend production limits that have helped reduce the global crude glut. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers meet on Friday. They will discuss a possible extension of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of supply cuts to support prices and will consider monitoring exports to assess compliance. While many analysts expect extension of the deal beyond next March, many also said prices have risen high enough to tempt countries to boost production beyond agreed levels. “Compliance looks to be a bit of an issue” if prices rise much from current levels, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. U.S. crude futures dipped 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $50.55 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, to end at $56.43 a barrel. Kilduff noted that oil prices have surged more than 15 percent over the last three months as the production cuts, along with strong growth in energy demand, have tightened the global crude market. “I don’t think it’s a sure thing they extend the deal at this meeting anyway,” Kilduff said. Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, appearing to run out of space to contain a historic supply glut that has hammered prices, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. Picture taken March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Nick Oxford “Russia took a very long time to get to the compliance levels they were supposed to get to” in the output cut agreement, said Tariq Zahir, a trader with Tyche Capital Advisors in New York. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see them cheat a little bit as we get to the fourth quarter.” He said OPEC’s output cuts have boosted prices enough to encourage higher production elsewhere. U.S. shale production, especially, has been growing to record highs. Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico have pushed up crude inventories as some U.S. refineries have been shut by flooding. U.S. crude production reached 9.51 million bpd last week, up from 8.78 million bpd after Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S. Gulf late August. C-OUT-T-EIA Rising U.S. production is “a reminder to the market that OPEC has a significant problem on its hands from the continued rise in shale output,” Again Capital’s Kilduff said. Front-month Brent futures have risen sharply in recent months, much more than forward prices. This has pushed the price curve for oil futures from contango, signifying an oversupplied market, to backwardation, where the back months are cheaper than the front month contract, indicating a tighter market.<0#LCO:> Brent’s backwardation, initially confined to the contracts nearest expiry, now extends throughout the whole of next year. Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London, Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-dips-on-rising-u-s-crude-inventories-and-production-idUKKCN1BW07D'|'2017-09-21T14:53:00.000+03:00'
'422f9f1fe09b4a174c3eed786a2126488cee2bcb'|'Exclusive: Macquarie leapfrogs Goldman to join top tier of commodity banks'|'A pedestrian stands near the logo of Australia''s biggest investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd which adorns a wall on the outside of their Sydney office headquarters in central Sydney, Australia, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray LONDON (Reuters) - Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd has overtaken Goldman Sachs to break into the top three banks for commodities business, having significantly expanded its U.S. energy operations in recent years while rivals cut back.The rise of Macquarie marks a huge shake-up in commodity banking, typically dominated by elite U.S. and European institutions until tough regulations forced withdrawals after the global financial crisis.Macquarie, not burdened by the stiff regulations as an Australian bank, ranked in the top three in terms of revenue from commodities trading and related businesses for the first six months of the year, industry sources said.This is the first time a bank outside the United States or Europe has broken into the top tier in commodities, or any other capital market sector.Macquarie ranked behind Morgan Stanley and Citigroup for the first six months of 2017, but ahead of JP Morgan and Goldman, with the top three averaging $250-$300 million each in commodities revenues, down sharply from the first half of 2016, one source said.Macquarie declined to comment ahead of its half-year results on Sept. 30.The bank reported net trading income in commodities of A$1.16 billion ($921 million) for the financial year to the end of March this year, marking a 66 percent increase in four years.Comparable financial numbers were not available for rivals because most banks do not make public their revenue from commodities, incorporating the sector into a broader category of fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC).Analysts estimate Goldman usually averages around $500 million in commodities revenues for the half year, but that this had slid to $150 million in the first six months of 2017.“As people have dropped by the wayside, such as Barclays, Deutsche Bank and so on, Macquarie have been able to mop up some of that business,” said Seb Walker, partner at banking consultancy Tricumen.“Macquarie is the first ‘Asian’ bank to make the top three in any capital markets product.”Deutsche Bank and Barclays, hit with tough capital requirements during a downturn in commodities, sharply pulled back from the sector in 2013-14, while in the United States the Dodd-Frank law banned proprietary trading by banks, prompting them to curb physical commodity business.MACQUARIE EXPANDS IN U.S. ENERGY “We should expect more growth from Macquarie,” Walker said, noting the bank agreed in June to acquire Cargill’s North American power and gas business.That deal came only months after Macquarie agreed to buy Cargill’s global petroleum business and marked the latest expansion by the bank of its energy franchise.While other banks cut back, Macquarie has boosted its operations to become the largest non-producer marketer of physical gas in North America.Trader Nick O‘Kane built up the bank’s U.S. energy business, starting off with the takeover of Los Angeles-based Cook Inlet Energy Supply in 2005.Cook’s owner had 1/16th Inupiat Eskimo heritage and got guaranteed sales to California utilities which had to purchase 5 percent of natural gas from minorities.In the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009, Macquarie acquired Constellation Energy’s downstream natural gas trading platform, a good example of the bank’s long-term commodity strategy, said a former Macquarie executive.“That investment was at the bottom of a 10-year view from someone who plans to be there for another 10 years where as for some of the European banks it’s a year-to-year proposition.”A banking source in Europe said Macquarie was also canny in taking advantage of its position as a non-U.S. bank.“They use a different funding model to the U.S. banks constrained by regulations, using short-term paper so they can price more aggressively,” he said.CHALLENGER BANKS A wave of banks from Australia, Canada and China are grabbing market share in commodities after many big U.S. and European rivals withdrew or trimmed back, said Amrit Shahani, research director at financial industry analytics firm Coalition.So-called “challenger” banks have boosted their market share in commodities to 28 percent last year from 19 percent in 2014, taking business away from the top 12 global investment banks, he added, declining to discuss individual banks.The Coalition index of top investment banks does not include many of the banks such as Macquarie that are gathering steam in the commodities sector.While Macquarie has been building up its commodities business, usual top dog Goldman Sachs faltered in the second quarter, reporting the weakest commodities results in its history as a public company.Commodities trading among banks had been traditionally dominated by Goldman and Morgan Stanley, joined by JP Morgan and Citigroup and European banks during the commodities boom.At its height, banks’ commodity revenue totaled about $15 billion, but has steadily slid to just over a third of that, totaling around $5.5-$6 billion last year, Shahani said.In the first half of 2017, commodities revenues at the 12 biggest investment banks tumbled 41 percent year-on-year to its lowest since at least 2006, Coalition said this month.“It’s been a very difficult year for the large banks. The question this year is whether the challenger banks can step into their shoes and displace them or will the global banks pop back in the second half,” Shahani said.Additional reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Anjuli Davies, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Fanny Potkin in London; Editing by Veronica Brown and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-commodities-banks-macquarie-exclusive/exclusive-macquarie-leapfrogs-goldman-to-join-top-tier-of-commodity-banks-idUSKCN1BW29K'|'2017-09-21T18:54:00.000+03:00'
'6dfbab6be7e983ed198bf57586c580f331caa2c2'|'Infineon sells plant in Wales to private buyer, jobs secured'|'The logo of semiconductor manufacturer Infineon is seen at its Austrian headquarters in Villach, Austria, August 1, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon Technologies ( IFXGn.DE ) said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to sell a manufacturing site in Wales, disposing of a non-core asset to a private buyer that will keep the plant operating.Munich-based Infineon, a leading maker of chips used in the auto and power sectors, acquired the facility in Newport when it took over International Rectifier in 2014. It said then that the plant would be either sold or closed this year.Terms were not disclosed, but Infineon said in a statement that the transaction would be completed this month. It has also entered into a two-year supply agreement with the buyer, Neptune 6. Upon closing, the buyer will run the site under the name Newport Wafer Fab Ltd.The deal would save the Newport site and the jobs of the people employed there, Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure Ken Skates said in the statement.Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-infineon-technol-plant/infineon-sells-plant-in-wales-to-private-buyer-jobs-secured-idUSKCN1BW1UI'|'2017-09-21T21:30:00.000+03:00'
'b55d9cac9854a6ef8d075885781db308f38472c8'|'Why South Africa can cut rates this week'|' 56 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago Why South Africa can cut rates this week 2 Min Read Illustration photo shows a two-rand coin above a South Africa flag April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - For all its economic troubles, South Africa has managed to keep inflation within its central bank’s target band. The latest numbers on Wednesday confirmed this. As the following graphic shows, inflation has been within the South African Reserve Bank''s 3 to 6 percent band for most of the past five years and is again. After rising above target last year and the early part of 2017, it has now been within target for five consecutive months. That allowed the bank to cut in July and is expected to lead to a repeat performance at least this Thursday. The latest Reuters poll suggests the SARB will cut its benchmark repo interest rate by another 25 basis points, taking it to 6.50 percent. The rest of the economy, in the meantime, could probably do with a monetary boost. As this graphic shows, GDP and unemployment have been heading in opposite -- and adverse -- directions.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-safrica-cpi-graphic/why-south-africa-can-cut-rates-this-week-idUKKCN1BV1ID'|'2017-09-20T14:56:00.000+03:00'
'14f6bb94f3acf6878e40d93c0fa45d1a2b748fd8'|'China commerce ministry says some countries'' unilateralism poses challenge to global trade'|'September 21, 2017 / 2:48 AM / Updated 9 hours ago China hits back at U.S. over trade, says unilateralism is "unprecedented challenge" Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Flags of U.S. and China are placed for a meeting between Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and China''s Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu at the Ministry of Agriculture in Beijing, China June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING (Reuters) - China hit back on Thursday at recent criticism from the United States about its trade practices, saying some countries’ unilateralism is an unprecedented challenge to global trade. Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng also said that foreign and domestic firms are treated equally in China and that foreign firms should not have concerns about investing in China. The comments come amid stepped up pressure on Beijing from Washington over trade and pledges by China to further open its markets to foreign investors. “Some countries’ unilateral actions and calls for unilateralism are an unprecedented challenge to the multilateral trading system,” Gao said. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has begun to launch trade investigations under statutes seldom used in the World Trade Organization (WTO) era, including a “Section 301” probe of China’s intellectual property practices. On Monday, U.S. trade envoy Robert Lighthizer said that China was a threat to the world trading system. “The sheer scale of their coordinated efforts to develop their economy, to subsidise, to create national champions, to force technology transfer, and to distort markets in China and throughout the world is a threat to the world trading system that is unprecedented,” Lighthizer said, according to a transcript of the speech on the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A man walks in a shipping container area at Yangshan Port of Shanghai May 11, 2012. REUTERS/Aly Song Gao defended China’s foreign investment policies, saying it has no laws requiring foreign companies to transfer technology to Chinese firms. “(Any technology transfer) is market-driven behaviour between companies; there is absolutely no government intervention,” said Gao. The commerce ministry on Monday unveiled a four-month crackdown, running from September until the end of 2017, to protect the intellectual property rights of companies with foreign investors. Gao also said China hopes the European Union will maintain an open market and create a good environment for foreign firms, including Chinese companies. China on Monday expressed concern about a proposal by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to limit its ability to buy up European companies in the infrastructure, hi-tech manufacturing and energy industries. “China and the EU are both strong supporters of free trade, and we hope that with the current international trend, both sides can jointly oppose trade and investment protectionism and actively promote facilitation and liberalisation of global investment,” Gao said. A top European business lobby said on Tuesday it hopes the new leadership to emerge from China’s upcoming Communist Party meeting will show a commitment to market opening, but that its members were not optimistic and suffering from “promise fatigue”. Reporting by Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy/china-commerce-ministry-says-some-countries-unilateralism-poses-challenge-to-global-trade-idUKKCN1BW0AE'|'2017-09-21T05:48:00.000+03:00'
'ae87c706bf280f8ef77ba9c7fbdfa51d77e944c3'|'Asian central banks hold their own after Fed signals stimulus rollback'|'  11:07 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Asian central banks hold their own after Fed signals stimulus rollback Marius Zaharia 4 Min Read Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two-day Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts HONG KONG (Reuters) - As the Federal Reserve signals an end to its decade of unconventional monetary stimulus, divergence between the policies of the U.S. and Asian central banks is growing, a stark contrast to an era when regional rate moves closely tracked the United States. The Fed on Wednesday said it would begin to reduce its $4.2 trillion (£3.11 trillion) in holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in October, bought in response to the 2008-09 financial crisis. When the Fed first hinted at this move in 2014, central banks in Indonesia and India followed up with rate hikes. But on Thursday, policymakers in Japan, Philippines and Taiwan held interest rates steady. Indonesia is seen doing just that on Friday with some analysts even calling an outside chance of another cut there after last month’s surprise easing. Stable current account positions in Asia mean policymakers in the region are less concerned about sudden capital flight than they previously were, which has allowed them to focus their policies on economic fundamentals rather than competition for global capital. “There are many structural drivers holding down inflation around the world and we see a benign inflation outlook across Asia. This should keep a friendly monetary policy tone for markets,” said Fan Cheuk Wan, head of investment strategy and advisory for Asia at HSBC Private Banking. “We expect Asian central banks to remain accommodative.” While Asian shares on Thursday fell after the Fed’s meeting, there were no signs of major financial market shocks. Central banks in developed markets, mainly in the West, have turned more hawkish this year as their economies picked up steam. But stimulus withdrawal in these countries is likely to be gradual and sensitive to economic data and market fluctuations, which would support risk appetite. Strong export growth and stable currencies in Asia have attracted funds into the region’s asset markets, which means policymakers have not felt pressure to keep capital onshore through higher interest rates. As a result, Asian central banks are not expected to mirror the Fed rate cycle as closely as in the past. Like Indonesia, India is also seen as potentially cutting rates in coming months. ‘NO AUTOMATIC IMPLICATIONS’ In Japan, the central bank’s new board member, Goushi Kataoka, surprisingly voted against the decision to keep interest rate targets unchanged, arguing the current easing steps were not enough to hit the inflation goal. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda responded by saying U.S. interest rates rises did not demand Japan follows suit. Both the Philippine and Taiwan central banks kept their benchmark rates unchanged with their respective inflation projections showing no meaningful pickup in expected price pressures. In Australia, central bank governor Philip Lowe said interest rates were more likely to go up than down but would stay at record lows for some time as inflation remained weak. Lowe added there were no “automatic implications” from global rate hikes. Markets <0#YIB:> see Australia hiking in June. In Indonesia, 20 out of 26 analysts polled by Reuters predicted the central bank will hold rates at 4.50 percent at its policy meeting on Friday, while the other six saw another 25 basis point cut. Last month, Bank Indonesia (BI) became the second major Asian central bank to cut rates this year after India. Southeast Asia’s largest economy was the only one in the region where second-quarter growth failed to beat expectations. Its predominantly consumption driven economy has struggled to track the export boom seen in neighbouring countries and its inflation is seen trending to the lower end of the central bank’s 3-5 percent target. “BI is poised to follow through with another rate cut in the fourth quarter as inflation continues to ease,” ING senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said. HSBC’s Fan expects a cut in the second quarter next year. Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-economy-cenbank/asian-central-banks-hold-their-own-after-fed-signals-stimulus-rollback-idUKKCN1BW1HW'|'2017-09-21T14:07:00.000+03:00'
'699fdf1b5dcb61cb90bcdba40bab4db577314cc3'|'Wells Fargo CEO due to testify before Senate banking panel Oct. 3'|'FILE PHOTO: Tim Sloan, CEO and President of Wells Fargo & Co., speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wells Fargo ( WFC.N ) Chief Executive Tim Sloan is due to testify before Congress on Oct. 3 as the bank deals with fallout from a sales scandal a year ago that continues to spark new revelations.Sloan will appear before the Senate Banking Committee, which writes rules for his industry, at a hearing titled “Wells Fargo: One Year Later,” the panel said on Thursday.In September 2016, Wells Fargo said its employees may have created more than 2 million accounts without customer approval. Several executives were subsequently fired, but a review also turned up possible abuses with other products such as auto and life insurance.The third-largest U.S. bank has since tried to improve sales practices and restore trust with customers.Last month, Wells Fargo said the unauthorized accounts totaled as many as 3.5 million.“Since last October, we have taken numerous important steps to fix issues, make things right for our customers and build a better bank,” a bank spokesperson told Reuters via email on Thursday.Wells Fargo shares gained 0.57 percent to $54.05 in morning trading.On Aug. 1, the 11 Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee wrote to its Republican Chairman, Mike Crapo, asking that both Sloan and the board of directors be called to testify before the Committee this month.The letter lists nine new developments since Sloan''s predecessor John Stumpf appeared before the Senate Banking Committee in September last year. These included "concerns about the bank retaliating against employees and purposefully concealing evidence from regulators of systemic problems at the bank." reut.rs/2tLsbsvDuring last year’s testimony, Stumpf seemed unprepared under tough questioning from Democrats and Republicans, and Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren accused him of “gutless leadership.” He resigned less than a month later.Warren has repeatedly urged the Federal Reserve to remove all members of the Wells Fargo board of directors who had served during the time the fake accounts were created.Additional reporting by Dan Freed in New York and Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-accounts-sloan/wells-fargo-ceo-due-to-testify-before-senate-banking-panel-october-3-idINKCN1BW1R5'|'2017-09-21T15:40:00.000+03:00'
'6cd218959213881f8d66b11de31dcd21f335a82f'|'Banks boost European bourses after Fed signals December rate hike'|'  7:38 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Banks boost European bourses after Fed signals December rate hike Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - The banking sector drove a strong open for European stocks on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled a likely December rate hike and announced it would begin trimming its balance sheet in October. The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent while euro zone stocks and blue-chips followed suit as the U.S. central bank’s optimism on economic activity stoked renewed enthusiasm for financials and cyclical sectors in Europe. Banks, the biggest gainers from interest rate raises which cushion margins, jumped 1.2 percent to a one-month high on the prospect of the European Central Bank following the U.S. in bringing ultra-loose monetary policy to an end. Analysts have been increasing their earnings expectations for European banks for much of the past 12 months. Commerzbank led gainers, up 3.8 percent as it also got a further boost from a Reuters report that UniCredit approached it for a possible merger, which sent shares up in late trading on Wednesday. Shares in the Italian lender were up 1.3 percent. Merger and acquisition activity continued to drive shares with Irish building materials firm CRH jumping 5 percent, bolstering the construction sector, after it agreed to buy U.S. cement maker Ash Grove Cement Co. Among fallers, troubled British outsourcer Capita slumped 9 percent after first-half revenue slipped and the hunt for a new CEO continued. Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Kit Rees'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/banks-boost-european-bourses-after-fed-signals-december-rate-hike-idUKKCN1BW0WI'|'2017-09-21T10:37:00.000+03:00'
'9b86157a48841479a77b69cc2066e790f9e7a828'|'Brazil rebound boosts LATAM Airlines traffic in August, shares climb'|'SANTIAGO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The passenger volume of carrier LATAM Airlines rose 2.3 percent year-over-year in August, the company said late on Thursday, potentially marking a turning point for demand in Brazil, the largest market for the Santiago-based company.LATAM , Latin America’s largest airline, said Brazilian domestic volume rose 3.4 percent in August, the first positive reading after two years of contraction in a sign of economic recovery after a long recession. In the year through August, Brazil’s passenger volumes were down 6.2 percent.The airline’s shares on the Santiago stock exchange rallied on the news, rising 0.9 percent to 8,997 CLP ($14.41) as of 12:11 p.m. local time (1511 GMT) after earlier surging to 9,020 pesos($14.47), the highest level this year.“We’re seeing growth in the Brazilian market, which contrasts with the decline accumulated up until now, indicating a modest recovery,” Santiago brokerage Bci said in a note on Friday.Last month, a LATAM executive had told investors the company remained “very cautious” on the outlook for Brazilian demand despite the incipient economic recovery.Domestic traffic in the airline’s other major markets, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, grew just 1.5 percent in August.$1 = 623.4300 Chilean pesos Reporting by Antonio de la Jara; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/latam-airlines-brazil/brazil-rebound-boosts-latam-airlines-traffic-in-august-shares-climb-idINL2N1M30TB'|'2017-09-22T13:25:00.000+03:00'
'102506745bbf192bcdbe8a6d4d0f76a3110742ce'|'Turkey''s Pladis eyeing Nestle''s U.S. candy amid expansion plan'|'A worker inspects biscuits on the production line of Pladis'' McVities factory in London Britain, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls. LONDON (Reuters) - Pladis, the Turkish company that owns Godiva chocolate and McVitie’s biscuits, is considering making an offer for Nestle’s ( NESN.S ) U.S. confectionery assets, which could be valued at around $2 billion, as part of its international expansion plans.A bid for Nestle’s U.S. portfolio -- which includes regional mass-market brands such as Butterfinger, Crunch and 100 Grand -- would appear to mark a shift from Pladis’s stated strategy of focusing on the high end of the market, which is performing better than mid-tier brands.“We are looking at Nestle’s confectionery assets in the U.S.,” Chief Executive Cem Karakas told Reuters. “Certainly we haven’t made a decision, but we are looking at it.”Nestle said in June it might sell its U.S. confectionery business, the latest sign of pressure on the North American market following last year’s failed bid by Mondelez International ( MDLZ.O ) for Hershey ( HSY.N ).Pladis, itself born from a string of acquisitions, is not working with external financial advisors on the process, which has also attracted Lemonheads owner Ferrara.Pladis, a subsidiary of Turkey’s Yildiz Holding, is interested in bolt-on acquisitions that give it manufacturing capacity or distribution in particular markets, Karakas said.The global confectionery market will have retail sales of about $102.5 billion this year, according to Euromonitor.Over the past five years, higher-end brands such as Ferrero Rocher, Lindor and Ritter have all grown more than 7 percent, while mass-market brands like Cadbury, Hershey’s and Mars have grown about 3 percent or less.Consumers’ preference for artisanal or quality brands offsets some of the pressure exerted by growing health consciousness and moves away from sugary snacks.BRANCHING OUT A worker inspects biscuits on the production line of Pladis'' McVities factory in London Britain, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls. Pladis is aiming to double its chocolate sales by the end of 2019, and turn Godiva into a 2 billion pound a year brand by 2021.It has been working toward that goal with this year’s supermarket launch of Godiva chocolate bars, in flavors including blood orange, hazelnut and caramel. The move is aimed at expanding the brand away from the luxury boutiques where it has largely been sold.The launch began in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf, followed by the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and China.In the next couple of months, the new bars - which in Britain cost 1.50 pounds ($2) on promotion at supermarket Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ) - will go on sale in Sweden and South Africa.Slideshow (13 Images) Godiva will generate annual supermarket sales of 500 million pounds by 2021, Karakas said, up from about 120 million pounds now. It currently generates about 800 million pounds of sales from boutiques, department stores, duty-free shops and online.Yildiz, Turkey’s largest food group, has since 2007 spent $850 million to buy Godiva, as well as an estimated 2 billion pounds on McVitie’s owner United Biscuits and $221 million on DeMet’s Candy, maker of Flipz chocolate pretzels.Last year, Yildiz combined those assets with its own Ulker ( ULKER.IS ) business to form London-based Pladis, with a view to listing it on the London Stock Exchange in 2020 or 2021.Pladis, which does not include the larger Godiva retail store network, is on track for revenue of 3.2 billion pounds by the end of 2019, up from 2.2 billion pounds last year.“It seems that with a bit of a stretch, we’ll be able to get there,” Karakas said. Pladis has hired a raft of senior managers from diverse industries to infuse the company with new ideas. Karakas is counting on a start-up mentality to accelerate sales.“We are going to accelerate,” he said. “It’s very obvious and very doable.”Sales rose 8 percent in the first half of the year, about twice the industry average, he said. He hopes to end the year with double-digit growth.Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pladis-strategy/turkeys-pladis-eyeing-nestles-u-s-candy-amid-expansion-plan-idINKCN1BX1RQ'|'2017-09-22T11:29:00.000+03:00'
'33a53cf840cc7d634fbf42c6028277a17302f4b0'|'JPMorgan picks Warsaw for new operations center: Polish deputy PM'|'A J.P. Morgan logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase ( JPM.N ) has chosen Warsaw to host a new global operations center that will employ several thousand people over the next couple of years, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday.Possible other contenders to host the center were Budapest and the Polish city of Wroclaw, though Reuters reported in April that Warsaw was the front-runner.It will, among others, employ “people ...with competences such as in data management, risk management, credit risk management, supply chain management,” Morawiecki told Polish public radio.JPMorgan was not immediately available for comment.Poland, the EU’s largest eastern economy, has already established itself as a major offshoring, or near-shoring, site for banks.The estimates of financial services jobs moved from all Western countries to Poland range from 35,000 to 45,000, with Britain’s decision to exit the EU seen accelerating the process. “This is a huge success because this (JPMorgan) is a sort of Mercedes in the financial services sector,” Morawiecki added.Reporting by Marcin Goettig; Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill in LONDON; editing by John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-poland/jpmorgan-picks-warsaw-for-new-operations-center-polish-deputy-pm-idUSKCN1BX1HC'|'2017-09-22T14:46:00.000+03:00'
'd8d225fd252ab56dff855204e2b630701acd90d0'|'Dollar shines, Asia shares slip after Fed signals Dec rate hike'|'  12:58 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago U.S. yield curve flattens, stocks dip; possible December hike in focus Caroline Valetkevitch 4 Min Read A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to a two-and-a-half month low and key world stock markets fell on Thursday, as investors assessed indications from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it may raise interest rates a third time this year. The Fed, as expected, also laid out plans to begin the unwinding of a decade of aggressive monetary stimulus, but took a more hawkish than expected stance at this week’s meeting. “The meeting was definitely more hawkish than what the market was anticipating,” said Mary Ann Hurley, vice president in fixed income trading at D.A. Davidson in Seattle. “We were definitely not pricing in another rate hike for this year,” Hurley said. According to a Reuters poll late Wednesday of Wall Street’s top banks, the Fed will resume rate hikes in December and in 2018 raise borrowing costs three more times. In Asia, the Bank of Japan kept its monetary spigots open at full. The U.S. dollar earlier rose to a two-month high against the yen, while an index that measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of currencies dipped. The Treasury yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds US5US30=TWEB flattened to 92 basis points on Thursday, the lowest level since July 6. Intermediate-dated debt is more sensitive than longer-dated bonds to interest rate increases. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS shed 0.36 percent. U.S. stocks pulled back from their all-time highs, though bank stocks cheered the prospect of higher interest rates which should help their profits. The S&P bank index .SPXBK was up 0.6 percent, adding to Wednesday’s gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 44.73 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,367.86, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 5.96 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,502.28 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 24.84 points, or 0.38 percent, to 6,431.21. Emerging markets shares were lower, with an index of emerging markets .MSCIEF down 0.3 percent. S&P Global became the second major rating agency this year to cut China’s credit score, citing worries about the country’s rising debt levels and the risks that posed for financial stability in the world’s second largest economy. China’s markets were already closed by the time the downgrade came but it kept the pressure on emerging markets stocks. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.7 percent lower. Since the start of 2014, Reuters analysis shows that the big three rating agencies - S&P Global, Moody’s and Fitch - have racked up more than 155 emerging market downgrades between them, which averages out a roughly one a week. The Japanese yen weakened 0.28 percent versus the greenback at 112.55 per dollar. The dollar index .DXY fell 0.28 percent. Gold fell to its lowest in almost four weeks as investors continued to assess the Fed statement. Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.8 percent to $1,290.52 an ounce. U.S. oil prices were down slightly before a meeting of oil producers that could extend production limits. U.S. crude CLcv1 dipped 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $50.55 a barrel, while Brent LCOcv1 was last at $56.08, up 0.27 percent on the day. Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York, Marc Jones in London and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/dollar-shines-asia-shares-slip-after-fed-signals-dec-rate-hike-idUKKCN1BW043'|'2017-09-21T03:59:00.000+03:00'
'ea6f12a76c34024ba9a6e43efc46e6f8b4e8a8ff'|'Rio Tinto to increase share buybacks by $2.5 billion'|'September 21, 2017 / 4:52 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago Rio Tinto to increase share buybacks by $2.5 billion Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Rio Tinto mining company''s logo is photographed at their annual general meeting in Sydney, Australia, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed LONDON (Reuters) - Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.AX ) will buy back an additional $2.5 billion (£1.85 billion) worth of its shares using the proceeds from selling coal assets, the miner said on Thursday. The action brings the total amount of buybacks this year to $4 billion following two previous announcements in February and August. Rio shareholders approved the sale of a number of Australian coal interests to China-backed Yancoal Australia ( YAL.AX ) for $2.69 billion in June and some shareholders at the time called for the money to be used to increase dividends or buy back shares. Rio paid the biggest dividend in its history in August after first-half profit more than doubled. Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rio-tinto-plc-buyback/rio-tinto-to-increase-share-buybacks-by-2-5-billion-idUKKCN1BW2GM'|'2017-09-21T19:51:00.000+03:00'
'f487732454318f8a70291a93f29babffdf99e1ca'|'ECB may ask fintech banks to hold bigger buffers'|'September 21, 2017 / 10:53 AM / Updated an hour ago ECB may ask fintech banks to hold bigger buffers Reuters Staff 3 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - High-tech banks looking to enter the fintech zone may be asked to hold bigger liquidity and capital buffers due to the unique nature of their risks, the European Central Bank said in draft licensing guidelines on Thursday. Fintech banks may require greater liquidity levels given their volatile, price-sensitive client base, and may need more capital as they enter mature markets with a niche but untested product, requiring an aggressive pricing strategy, the ECB said. The fintech sector, though still relatively small, has been stealing market share from traditional lenders in a variety of sectors from payments to lending, and the ECB has already granted six fintech banking licences with two applications still pending. Financial technology, or fintech, firms range from those that offer mobile payment apps to digital currencies like bitcoin, and many governments regard the sector as a key source of economic growth. “Online depositors can exhibit price sensitive behaviours, being more likely to withdraw their deposits and switch to a competitor paying higher interest rates,” the ECB said. There is a risk that online deposits accepted by fintech banks are more likely to be volatile and less ‘sticky’ than traditional bank deposits. Most fintech firms will not need an ECB licence, however, the central bank said, as their activities are limited and their business does not rely on lending out cash collected through deposits. While fintech banks will have broadly similar licensing rules as traditional banks, they will be mostly innovative start ups, so the ECB may ask shareholders to demonstrate their commitment to fund the company for at least three years. Given the possibility of failure of innovative business ideas, the ECB could also ask fintech banks to draw up plans to wind down the bank in an orderly and solvent manner if need be, the ECB added. The ECB will also ask fintech banks to demonstrate IT competence and possibly appoint an executive in charge of IT, it said. The ECB will collect feedback on the new proposed guidelines until Nov 2. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-fintech-ecb/ecb-may-ask-fintech-banks-to-hold-bigger-buffers-idUKKCN1BW1G2'|'2017-09-21T13:52:00.000+03:00'
'74dd885c504fc8ee881d8ffdf3a0fa624fc5f079'|'Norwegian Air still open to flight connection deal with Ryanair - CEO'|'September 20, 2017 / 10:39 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Norwegian Air still open to flight connection deal with Ryanair - CEO Alana Wise 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Norwegian Air Shuttle Chief Executive Bjorn Kjos answers questions during a news briefing in Oslo March 4, 2015. REUTERS/Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix NEW YORK (Reuters) - Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) on Wednesday said it was still open to the possibility of a future flight connection agreement with budget carrier Ryanair ( RYA.I ), just days after the two European rivals ended talks to establish a long-haul flight deal. “We haven’t excluded Ryanair,” Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Kjos told Reuters in New York, praising the short-haul Irish carrier for its presence in smaller markets. Deals with U.S.- and Asia-based low-cost carriers are also likely in Norwegian’s future, Kjos added, as the fast-growing Scandinavian carrier seeks to expand its growing network. Until Monday, Norwegian and Ryanair had been in discussions to reach a flight connection agreement that would give Ryanair’s short-haul customers access to long-haul Norwegian flights. In turn, Norwegian Air passengers would be better connected to the carrier’s hubs. The deal would have been similar to an earlier agreement reached between Norwegian and UK-based easyJet plc ( EZJ.L ). Talks dissolved earlier this week, however, amid accusations by both carriers of staff poaching and public disputes over Norwegian’s financial strength. “Ryanair is very good in the secondary cities ... but have practically no presence in London where we fly - at Gatwick - and no presence at Paris,” Kjos said. “So the main airports that we fly to, easyJet is much stronger. Because they concentrate, like we, on the main airports. Ryanair has for a long time only concentrated on secondary airports.” Reporting by Alana Wise, editing by G Crosse'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-norweg-air-shut-ceo-ryanair-hldgs/norwegian-air-still-open-to-flight-connection-deal-with-ryanair-ceo-idUKKCN1BV33T'|'2017-09-21T01:38:00.000+03:00'
'cf1dbc1e8c1772c4cb25115ebfae13baec0c3ef3'|'S&P cuts China''s credit rating, citing increasing economic, financial risks'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:53 AM / Updated 36 minutes ago S&P downgrades China, says rising debt is stoking economic, financial risks Elias Glenn 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man walks past the hoarding of a construction site in Beijing December 16, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating on Thursday, less than a month ahead of one of the country’s most sensitive political gatherings, citing increasing risks from its rapid build-up of debt. S&P’s one-notch downgrade to A+ from AA- comes as Beijing grapples with the challenges of containing financial risks stemming from years of credit-fueled stimulus needed to meet ambitious government economic growth targets. “The downgrade reflects our assessment that a prolonged period of strong credit growth has increased China’s economic and financial risks,” S&P said in a statement, adding that the ratings outlook was stable. S&P had said in June that there was a “real” chance of a downgrade and that a decision would be made based on whether China is able to move away from a credit-driven growth strategy. The demotion follows a similar move by Moody’s Investors Service in May. While S&P’s move put its China ratings on par with those of Moody’s and Fitch, the timing raised eyebrows just weeks ahead of a twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress (CPC), which will see a key leadership reshuffle and the setting of policy priorities for the next five years. “The downgrade is a timely reminder for the authorities that China needs to bite the bullet on some of the more painful reforms that have been left to last, namely corporate deleveraging and restructuring of state-owned companies,” said Rob Subbaraman, an economist At Nomura in Singapore. “The focus needs to shift from quantity to quality of growth. I hope that later this year China lowers its GDP growth target to 6-6.5 percent, or not have one at all. That would be a positive sign.” Related Coverage S&P downgrades China''s rating, citing increasing economic, financial risks The International Monetary Fund warned earlier this year that China’s credit growth was on a “dangerous trajectory” and called for “decisive action.”, while the Bank for International Settlements said last September that excessive credit growth was signaling a banking crisis in the next three years. While worries about China’s sustained strong credit growth are increasing in some quarters, first-half economic growth of 6.9 percent beat expectations and some analysts said the downgrade would have little impact on financial markets. “The decision was a catch-up with the other two credit agencies, instead of an initiative. Its impact on financial markets would very limited,” said Ken Cheung, senior Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank in Hong Kong. “For those invested in yuan-denominated bonds, they care more about yuan expectations. The downgrade decision is likely to have limited impact on capital inflows as well.” A worker welds reinforcement bars at a site of a highway bridge under construction in Hefei, Anhui province, China September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer China’s stock markets were already closed Thursday when the downgrade was published, and there was little reaction in the yuan. While risks are rising, S&P said that recent efforts by the government to reduce corporate leverage could stabilize conditions in the medium-term. “However, we foresee that credit growth in the next two to three years will remain at levels that will increase financial risks gradually,” S&P said. S&P also lowered China’s short-term rating to A-1 from A-1+. FILE PHOTO: A man walks through a cloud of dust whipped up by wind at the construction site near newly erected office skyscrapers in Beijing, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo “It is in recognition of the reality that, concerns notwithstanding, the authorities are not planning to rein in credit growth in a forceful way,” said Louis Kuijs at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong. MIXED PROGRESS SO FAR Analysts say China’s campaign to reduce financial risks this year has had mixed success so far, and opinions differ widely on whether Beijing is moving quickly enough or decisively enough to avert the risk of a debt crisis down the road. Regulators are making significant inroads in reducing interbank borrowing – perhaps the most pressing risk - and have curbed some riskier types of shadow banking. But analysts agree more comprehensive structural reforms are needed. Though the pace of credit growth may be easing, new bank lending and total social financing may hit fresh records this year and continue to outpace economic growth. A recent Reuters analysis showed corporate debt is growing faster than last year, with few companies using stronger profits to reduce debt. ”China’s credit problem is the biggest problem we have ever seen in any country and probably justifies a lower rating,” said Claire Dissaux, head of global economics and strategy at Millenium Global Investments in London. ”One element that models cannot capture is the strength of institutions such as transparency of regulation of the banking sector and central bank independence. All that is an argument to say China’s rating might still be too good.” Additional reporting by Bangalore newsroom, and John Ruwitch and Winni Zhou in Shanghai; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy/sp-cuts-chinas-credit-rating-citing-increasing-economic-financial-risks-idUKKCN1BW18Z'|'2017-09-21T12:51:00.000+03:00'
'd9360add1e22d62c93efb886cc9837a146d9c580'|'Mitsubishi recalls 89,406 cars in Russia: standards agency'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:44 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Mitsubishi recalls 89,406 cars in Russia: standards agency Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Mitsubishi Motors logo is seen at the Mitsubishi car factory in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s standards watchdog Rosstandart said on Thursday it had been informed that Mitsubishi Motors Corp was recalling 89,406 Mitsubishi ASX cars sold in Russia between July 2010 and January 2016. The cars were being recalled due to a failure in the windshield cleaning system, according to the agency, which said MMS Rus company, the Japanese firm’s Russian representative, had informed it about the recall. Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-autos-mitsubishi-recall/mitsubishi-recalls-89406-cars-in-russia-standards-agency-idUSKCN1BW189'|'2017-09-21T12:42:00.000+03:00'
'db8b266ec2f7ee3a939d7dca7b74a0510763e874'|'Oberbank signs deal to finance Austrian projects in Iran'|'September 21, 2017 / 2:05 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Oberbank signs deal to finance Austrian projects in Iran Reuters Staff 2 Min Read An Oberbank logo is seen at a branch office in Vienna, Austria, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader VIENNA (Reuters) - Oberbank ( OBER.VI ) on Thursday said it had signed a deal with Iran, enabling it to finance new ventures there and making it one of the first European banks to do so since sanctions were eased. The deal Tehran struck in 2015 with six major powers lifted many sanctions against the country in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities and paved the way for international business deals. But many banks have stayed away for fear of inadvertently breaking remaining U.S. sanctions, which could lead to huge fines. U.S. President Donald Trump has created new uncertainties over the U.S. stance toward the Iran nuclear agreement. Trump told reporters this week he had made a decision on what to do about the agreement but would not say what he had decided. Oberbank, Austria’s seventh-biggest bank, with a balance sheet of roughly 20 billion euros ($24 billion), signed the deal at its headquarters in Linz along with representatives from Iran’s central bank and the Finance Ministry. Oberbank’s agreement with Iran covers projects by Austrian companies in Iran lasting more than two years in areas that were previously under sanctions. Oberbank already finances exports to Iran in areas such as food. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oberbank-iran/oberbank-signs-deal-to-finance-austrian-projects-in-iran-idUSKCN1BW1Y5'|'2017-09-21T22:05:00.000+03:00'
'f419f7952a3bbe3f93b787a8f752820fdc784b76'|'Greenpeace boards ship in clean-air protest to stop import of VW diesel cars to UK'|'September 21, 2017 / 10:25 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Greenpeace boards ship in bid to halt delivery of UK-bound VW diesel cars Costas Pitas 3 Min Read A Greenpeace activist tries to unfurl a banner from a lighting tower after activists entered the vehicle park in a protest against Volkswagen diesel vehicles at the port of Sheerness, Britain, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls LONDON (Reuters) - Greenpeace activists boarded a ship arriving in Britain on Thursday to stop the delivery of more than 1,000 Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) cars from Germany while others sought to immobilize vehicles at a port in anti-diesel protests. VW admitted cheating diesel emissions tests in 2015, triggering political and consumer pressure that has caused a slump in sales of diesel cars in major markets, with governments announcing plans to ban vehicles powered by conventional combustion engines. Greenpeace said its volunteers had boarded the ship in the Thames Estuary in an attempt to stop it unloading at the port of Sheerness in the southeast of England. The ship had moved to an anchorage point off the coast of Margate on Thursday afternoon, VW said. Two Greenpeace activists were still on board, having unfurled a banner with the words “Ditch Diesel” alongside an image of a young girl suffering from a respiratory illness, a spokesman for the environmental pressure group said. Other protesters had earlier broken into a vehicle park at Sheerness to stick labels on engines and attempt to immobilize cars by taking the keys, Greenpeace said. Police vehicles are parked as Greenpeace activists unfurl a banner from a lighting tower after activists entered the vehicle park in a protest against Volkswagen diesel vehicles at the port of Sheerness, Britain, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Most have now left but two remain on site, holding several thousand car keys, and will remain there until the ship returns to Germany, a spokesman said. VW confirmed that keys had been removed from some vehicles. The carmaker also said that the majority of the roughly 1,200 cars on the boarded vessel were petrol rather than diesel models and that its vehicles meet stringent European regulations. Slideshow (12 Images) “The diesel vehicles, which are the subject of the protest, meet strict Euro-6 standards,” VW said in a statement. Britain aims to ban the sale of diesel vehicles from 2040 -- replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens -- as part of efforts to improve air quality, but activists said the measures needed to be implemented now. “Diesel cars are toxic – so we’re here to block VW imports on behalf of all of the children who are the most acutely affected by the health impacts,” 38-year-old Janet Barker, who took part in the protest, said in a statement. “The government says we need to wait another 23 years for dirty diesels to be banned. We can’t wait that long.” Editing by Stephen Addison and David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-britain/greenpeace-boards-ship-in-clean-air-protest-to-stop-import-of-volkswagen-diesel-cars-to-uk-idUSKCN1BW1BZ'|'2017-09-21T13:14:00.000+03:00'
'b83dcc74a6b2cf7de5b1c0243fe1b96b5842293e'|'Ryanair offers pay rise to some pilots on top of bonus'|'September 21, 2017 / 10:18 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Ryanair offers pay rise to some pilots on top of bonus Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A copy of the Ryanair AGM report is seen at the Ryanair AGM in Dublin, Ireland September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair will hand pilots at some of its largest bases a 10,000 euro annual pay rise on top of a 12,000 euro bonus offered this week to those who help the airline alleviate a pilot shortage, Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary said on Thursday. Pilots were offered the bonus in exchange for working an additional 10 days to plug a shortage that last week forced Ryanair to cancel more than 2,000 flights in September and October. Pilots at London Stansted, Dublin, Frankfurt and Berlin have now been offered an additional 10,000 euros per year, O‘Leary told a news conference. Similar offers may be made at other airports, but that will depend on whether those bases have a surplus of pilots, he said. Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by Padraic Halpin and Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-agm-offer/ryanair-offers-pay-rise-to-some-pilots-on-top-of-bonus-idUSKCN1BW1C4'|'2017-09-21T13:18:00.000+03:00'
'4fe64b4f1dec9edc44c299d5cdb794e7ff5a1f3c'|'ECB may ask fintech banks to hold bigger buffers'|'  11:14 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago ECB may ask fintech banks to hold bigger buffers Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) (R) is seen next to the famous skyline in Frankfurt, Germany, April 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach /File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - High-tech banks looking to enter the fintech zone may be asked to hold bigger liquidity and capital buffers due to the unique nature of their risks, the European Central Bank said in draft licencing guidelines on Thursday. Fintech banks may require greater liquidity levels given their volatile, price-sensitive client base, and may need more capital as they enter mature markets with a niche but untested product, requiring an aggressive pricing strategy, the ECB said. The fintech sector, though still relatively small, has been stealing market share from traditional lenders in a variety of sectors from payments to lending, and the ECB has already granted six fintech banking licences with two applications still pending. Financial technology, or fintech, firms range from those that offer mobile payment apps to digital currencies like bitcoin, and many governments regard the sector as a key source of economic growth. “Online depositors can exhibit price sensitive behaviours, being more likely to withdraw their deposits and switch to a competitor paying higher interest rates,” the ECB said. There is a risk that online deposits accepted by fintech banks are more likely to be volatile and less ‘sticky’ than traditional bank deposits. Most fintech firms will not need an ECB licence, however, the central bank said, as their activities are limited and their business does not rely on lending out cash collected through deposits. While fintech banks will have broadly similar licencing rules as traditional banks, they will be mostly innovative start ups, so the ECB may ask shareholders to demonstrate their commitment to fund the company for at least three years. Given the possibility of failure of innovative business ideas, the ECB could also ask fintech banks to draw up plans to wind down the bank in an orderly and solvent manner if need be, the ECB added. The ECB will also ask fintech banks to demonstrate IT competence and possibly appoint an executive in charge of IT, it said. The ECB will collect feedback on the new proposed guidelines until Nov 2. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-fintech-ecb/ecb-may-ask-fintech-banks-to-hold-bigger-buffers-idINKCN1BW1I6'|'2017-09-21T14:10:00.000+03:00'
'0fe3a85675e9472f57c0702d522ed4c401683530'|'Alstom shares up 2.4 percent after report Siemens in tie up talks over rail: traders'|'Siemens AG logo is seen during official opening of headquarters in Munich, Germany, June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle MUNICH (Reuters) - Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) is in talks to merge its rail business with that of either Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) or Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and will pick a preferred partner within days for further negotiations, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.Rail mergers have become a trend over the last few years as global companies seek to contain costs and Western ones struggle with competition from China’s state-backed CRRC ( 601766.SS ).The three main rivals to CRRC - Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom - have talked to each other about combining their businesses in various arrangements over the past years.Sources told Reuters in July that Bombardier and Siemens were in the final stages of talks to combine their rail operations.Under an alternative scenario involving Alstom, Siemens would transfer its rail operations to the French group and become a majority shareholder of Alstom, the source told Reuters on Thursday.Shares in Alstom climbed as much as 2.6 percent on news of the talks, first reported by Bloomberg earlier on Thursday. Siemens was up 0.8 percent at 116.90 euros.Siemens declined to comment and officials at Bombardier Transportation in Berlin were not immediately available for comment. An Alstom spokesman said he had no immediate comment.Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Additional reporting by Blandine Henault, Georgina Prodhan and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Richard Lough and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens-railways/alstom-shares-up-2-4-percent-after-report-siemens-in-tie-up-talks-over-rail-traders-idINKCN1BW1PL'|'2017-09-21T10:27:00.000+03:00'
'533ee27379d123d28fbceb97a123bf95c73397ed'|'China to extend transition phase for cross-border retail'|'September 21, 2017 / 1:33 AM / Updated 9 hours ago China to extend transition phase for cross-border retail Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will delay enforcing tougher rules on the country’s fast-growing cross-border retail market until the end of 2018, a boost for global firms that have been tapping the round-about route into the world’s number two economy. Cross border-retail sales - goods either shipped directly to shoppers in China from overseas or from bonded warehouses in free-trade zones within China - are expected to hit 758 billion yuan ($115.4 billion) by 2018, according to data from McKinsey & Co and iResearch. Planned new rules will broadly increase taxes and regulations on products sold via cross-border channels, but Chinese authorities will extend a transition phase for implementation by a year, China’s ruling State Council said late on Wednesday, giving retailers more time to prepare and adapt. The delay of the tougher rules signals broader support from Beijing for cross-border retail. The market has been rattled by see-sawing regulation over the last couple of years, affecting firms shipping popular goods from dairy to health products in countries such as Australia. “We need to enable the healthy development of cross-border e-commerce and speed up the growth of new engines, making the foreign trade sector more adaptive to new circumstances,” the official Xinhua news agency quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying. “The prospect of cross-border e-commerce is very bright.” China sparked widespread confusion among retailers and brands in the cross-border shopping market in 2016 with increased taxes and abrupt bans on some goods. It later rowed back on some measures and introduced a transition period for others. The country will also look to set up more pilot zones with looser restrictions on cross-border trade, Xinhua said, which would follow over a dozen such zones that have been established since 2015. Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-retail/china-to-extend-transition-phase-for-cross-border-retail-idINKCN1BW06J'|'2017-09-21T04:29:00.000+03:00'
'28ae79909e96cb1f1a80b0d740718657ea2994ee'|'Italy hikes growth forecasts, deficit target ahead of election'|'  12:31 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Italy hikes growth forecasts, deficit target ahead of election Giuseppe Fonte 4 Min Read ROME (Reuters) - Italy on Saturday raised its forecasts for economic growth this year and next and said it would cut the budget deficit by less than previously promised. The brighter outlook may help the ruling Democratic Party ahead of national elections early next year if voters notice an improvement in living standards, though Italian growth continues to lag most of its euro zone partners. Gross domestic product (GDP) will rise by 1.5 percent in 2017, the Treasury said, raising its previous projection of 1.1 percent made in April to reflect better than expected data in the first two quarters and buoyant business sentiment. Next year, growth is expected to be 1.5 percent, according to the Treasury’s Economic and Financial Document (DEF), up from the previous forecast of 1.0 percent. “Growth of 1.5 percent is pencilled in also for 2018 and 2019. These are forecasts that some people may regard as too optimistic, but I think they are totally justified,” Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told reporters after a cabinet meeting approved the document. The new forecasts are slightly more upbeat than those made last week by employers’ association Confindustria, which estimates 1.5 percent growth in 2017 and 1.3 percent growth the following year. On Wednesday the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast Italian growth of 1.4 percent this year and 1.2 percent in 2018, compared with euro zone growth of 2.1 percent in 2017 and 1.9 percent in 2018. Despite the strengthening economy, the government of Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni gave itself more spending room ahead of the election by raising the forecast for next year’s budget deficit to 1.6 percent of GDP from 1.2 percent. The deficit would be lower than this year’s goal of 2.1 percent, but the new 2018 target will still need the agreement of the European Commission, which may ask Italy to make more of a deficit-cutting effort. The government will present its 2018 budget next month and it must be approved by parliament by the end of the year. Padoan said that the budget would eliminate so-called “safeguard clauses”, by which the government has promised the EU to either raise sales tax or find alternative means of reducing the deficit. That means the sales tax will not be raised next year. Brussels may not demand too much of Gentiloni ahead of the election, due by May 2018, fearing the rise of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement which leads in most opinion polls and says it would sharply hike the deficit if it wins power. The Commission has allowed Rome to repeatedly raise its deficit targets in recent years, after negotiations that have normally resulted in a compromise. Brussels’ main concern is Italy’s huge public debt, which is the largest in the euro zone after Greece’s and which successive governments have promised to bring down but failed to do so. The DEF set this year’s debt target at 131.6 percent of GDP, slightly down from 132.0 percent last year, and said it would fall next year to 130 percent. editing by Silvia Aloisi and Stephen Powell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-economy-forecasts/italy-hikes-growth-forecast-deficit-target-ahead-of-election-idUKKCN1BY0IX'|'2017-09-23T17:17:00.000+03:00'
'baa69168395c0d9d5acb029458aec7ec4193fb21'|'Airbus in talks to sell Premium Aerotec parts subsidiary - Die Welt'|'September 23, 2017 / 3:14 AM / Updated 10 hours ago Airbus in talks to sell Premium Aerotec parts subsidiary: Die Welt Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) is in talks to sell a part or all of Premium Aerotec, a subsidiary that makes large plane components, Die Welt newspaper reported on Saturday. Airbus has held talks with one possible buyer, the Canadian investor Onex, the German paper said. Premium Aerotec generates about 2 billion euros ($2.39 billion) in revenue and employs 10,000 people, according to its website. It specializes in large and complex aircraft components for Airbus, Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner, the Eurofighter Typhoon and military transporter A400M. “We have been faced with rumors on sales of Premium AEROTEC for more than a decade now. We simply don’t comment on them anymore as a matter of principle,” a spokesman for Airbus said. The sale would enable Airbus to focus on end production in Europe, the United States and China, the paper said. The paper noted that Boeing in 2005 sold a similar unit to Onex, which it owned under the name Spirit Aerosystems and listed publicly. Onex no longer has a stake in Spirit, the paper said. Reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt and Tim Hepher; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-divestiture/airbus-in-talks-to-sell-premium-aerotec-parts-subsidiary-die-welt-idUKKCN1BY040'|'2017-09-23T06:03:00.000+03:00'
'59c6d4942bd316565dea66f2eb0242656ba19111'|'Sprint hired Trump-connected lobbyist amid deal talks'|'September 22, 2017 / 11:41 PM / Updated 11 hours ago Sprint hired Trump-connected lobbyist amid deal talks Ginger Gibson , Diane Bartz 5 Min Read A Sprint sign is seen on top of a Sprint retail store in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sprint Corp ( S.N ) hired a lobbying firm with close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sept. 1, adding to Sprint’s stable of federal lobbyists as it nears a deal to merge with wireless rival T-Mobile US Inc, according to disclosures filed with the U.S. Congress this week. T-Mobile ( TMUS.O ) is close to agreeing to tentative terms on a deal with Sprint that would merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The deal would face multiple regulatory hurdles, needing sign-offs from antitrust regulators and the Federal Communications Commission. Sprint’s new hire, Ballard Partners, will lobby on “general government policies and regulations,” according to the disclosure, which did not include financial details. The firm, founded by Brian Ballard, an early Trump supporter, joins a long list of Sprint in-house and contracted lobbyists. In the first six months of 2017, the wireless provider spent $1.2 million on lobbying in Washington, according to disclosure filings earlier this year. In 2011, the Justice Department and the FCC shot down a deal between AT&T ( T.N ) and T-Mobile USA. In 2014, the regulators told Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank, which owns a majority stake in Sprint, not to seek approval for a deal with T-Mobile USA, which prompted the companies to drop merger talks. The lobbying effort would be difficult since the Sprint-T-Mobile deal would potentially result in massive job cuts at the retail level. T-Mobile has said it expects to have 17,000 retail locations by year-end while Sprint has said it has about 4,500 retail locations. The companies would face serious questions about job cuts from merging retail networks. “Opponents are going to argue why are we helping a German company and a Japanese company do better by laying off thousands of Americans. If I wanted to shoot this merger in the head, that’s how I would do it,” said Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics. Trump met in December with SoftBank’s Son, who pledged a $50 billion investment and 50,000 new U.S. jobs. Son in February said the Japanese firm should benefit from Trump’s promised deregulation of American business. But Trump and T Mobile’s chief executive officer, John Legere, have feuded publicly since 2015. Legere complained about a street drummer outside a Trump hotel, which prompted Trump to call T Mobile’s service “terrible” in a tweet. The companies could also face questions from the Justice Department on the merger’s effect on consumers with pre-paid plans popular with lower-income consumers because they tend to be cheaper and do not require credit checks. Derek Turner, research director for the advocacy group Free Press, estimated the deal would create a pre-paid giant with well over half of the U.S. market. “T-Mobile and Sprint have lower prices, place a greater emphasis on credit check-free plans, and are the top suppliers to the more affordable reseller carriers. This merger will harm all wireless customers, but will bring disproportionate harm upon lower-income users, many of whom rely on T-Mobile and Sprint’s more affordable data services as their only home internet connection,” Turner said. Ballard is a regional vice chair of the Republican National Committee and helps leads the party’s fundraising. A lobbyist listed as the Ballard Partners contact on the Sprint account did not respond to a request for comment. Sprint declined to comment. The transaction would significantly consolidate the U.S. telecommunications market and represent the first transformative U.S. merger with significant antitrust risk since Trump’s inauguration in January. In January, Ballard opened a Washington outpost of his lobbying operation. Susie Wiles, Trump’s Florida campaign manager during the 2016 election, is also a member of the Ballard Partner’s Washington office but is not listed as working for Sprint. Reporting by Ginger Gibson, Diane Bartz; Additional reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Sanders and Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sprint-m-a-tmobile-lobbying/sprint-hired-trump-connected-lobbyist-amid-deal-talks-idINKCN1BX31C'|'2017-09-23T02:38:00.000+03:00'
'bef58725a2d06857a3acfa4428bfde6ec5efa656'|'ADP rejects Ackman''s request to use universal proxy card'|'William ''Bill'' Ackman, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid BOSTON (Reuters) - Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose firm has a 2 percent voting stake in Automatic Data Processing Inc ( ADP.O ), is turning up the heat in his proxy war for the human resources outsourcing company by targeting an often-ignored but influential group of people - retail investors.The activist investor who spends much of his time meeting institutional shareholders in Wall Street boardrooms is now speaking directly to the Main Street investor through video, telephone and television as his proxy fight with ADP intensifies before the company’s annual meeting on Nov. 7.Ackman, 51, began voicing his criticisms of ADP’s performance in late August.Now, his campaign to get himself and two other nominees associated with his Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund elected to the ADP board is taking a tack seldom seen in proxy contests: speaking to the company’s retail investors to win their votes.Individual shareholders hold 28 percent of ADP shares while Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management has a 2 percent voting stake. Ackman’s firm will be able to vote only the shares of common stock.Ackman, known for his presentations of 100-plus pages and hours-long conference calls with analysts, will soon let retail investors who own as little as one share in ADP ask him anything they want. He is planning a conference call on a weekday evening at 8 p.m. that will last as long as it takes, he said. A date has not been set.The usual method of dissident investors like Ackman is only to send letters to retail investors, which often end up in the trash.Earlier on Wednesday, Ackman released a video telling retail investors they hold the key to ADP''s future and should send management a message at the November meeting that the status quo is no longer acceptable. ( here )Ackman in the video describes the company as a great business but one that is underperforming. He said he wants average investors to decide whether a large hedge fund manager like himself would add expertise in the boardroom.TAKING TO THE AIRWAVES ADP has rejected all of Ackman’s critiques and said it does not need his help“ADP’s Board is concerned that Pershing Square’s extreme, swing-for-the-fences proposals and unqualified nominees would disrupt client services and damage relationships, putting ADP – and the value of shareholders’ investments – at significant risk,” a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.Ackman has also taken to the airwaves, appearing on business channel CNBC’s noontime show and with plans to appear on Jim Cramer’s “Mad Money” show which is aimed at mom-and-pop investors.Proxy contests are traditionally decided by institutional investors like Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street with activists like Ackman making their cases behind closed doors.These three mutual fund firms are also the top investors in ADP and Ackman is also appealing to them to vote for him. Some have told him they would like the two sides to iron out their differences.Ackman will also visit proxy voting advisory firm ISS before it makes recommendations on how institutional shareholders may want to vote.But retail shareholders, often ignored in proxy contests because they traditionally back management or do not bother to vote at all, are now featuring prominently in a number of boardroom battles this year.Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz is reaching out to them as part of his campaign to shake up consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ).Similarly, Ackman - who has both won and lost big proxy contests - needs the retail-investor vote at this time.As the proxy contest has gained steam, a war of words is taking hold and Ackman is trying to change the narrative. ADP’s CEO, Carlos Rodriguez, in mid-August referred to Ackman as a “spoiled brat” in a CNBC interview. Ackman later said this upset his mother, who did not raise him as that.While Ackman’s fund is losing money this year, he has earned an average 10.6 percent a year over the life of the fund.Ackman said on Wednesday that to set the record straight, he does not want to control ADP. Rather, he thinks the company - whose shares have gained 22 percent in the last year - can perform better.(This version of the story corrects size and nature of firm’s stake in ADP throughout)Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-adp-ackman/adp-rejects-ackmans-request-to-use-universal-proxy-card-idINKCN1BX2XT'|'2017-09-22T20:06:00.000+03:00'
'c4a19d145df5331ee03cba306ef21a4bc505b125'|'Holiday sales forecasts indicate strong growth for retailers'|'A customer exits after shopping at a Macy''s store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Early holiday sales forecasts are indicating a largely stronger season for retailers than last year, helped by higher online sales and increasing spending power due to a strong labor market.Deloitte said it expects holiday sales to grow 4 percent to 4.5 percent over last year’s shopping season.Less than 11 percent of the $1.04 trillion to $1.05 trillion in total sales is expected to come from ecommerce, the consultancy estimated.Ecommerce sales comprised about 19 percent of total retail sales last year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).The NRF, a group that includes large and small retail business owners, said in January that holiday sales had grown 4 percent last year to $658.3 billion. The industry group is yet to put out its holiday sales forecast for this year.Analytics firm RetailNext forecast 3.8 percent growth in holiday sales, while consulting firm AlixPartners on Wednesday forecast sales to grow 3.5 percent to 4.4 percent.Disposable personal income is expected to grow 3.8 percent to 4.2 percent, from 2 percent last year, Deloitte’s senior U.S. economist, Daniel Bachman, said in a statement.“Consumer confidence remains elevated, the labor market is strong and the personal savings rate should remain stable at its current low level,” he said.Online sales are expected to grow 18-21 percent to $111 billion to $114 billion, according to Deloitte, while RetailNext expects a 14.9 percent jump.Major retailers including Target ( TGT.N ) are set to hire thousands of workers this holiday season to improve customer service on their sales floors and handle the fast-growing use of their stores to fulfill online orders.However, Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ) said on Wednesday it would not hire temporary workers in the holiday season for the second straight year but will offer extra hours to its employees.Deloitte cautioned that the threat of a government debt-ceiling crisis or an increase in savings rate could hamper consumer spending.Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-holidayshopping/holiday-sales-forecasts-indicate-strong-growth-for-retailers-idUSKCN1BV2P6'|'2017-09-20T21:42:00.000+03:00'
'82b5f2f27a7ec79522b2538a59580e4b92d4e25a'|'U.S. expects Madoff $4 billion fund payout to start this year'|'  4:08 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago U.S. expects Madoff $4 billion fund payout to start this year Jonathan Stempel 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Accused swindler Bernard Madoff exits the Manhattan federal court house in New York, U.S. on January 14, 2009. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government expects this year to begin payouts from a $4 billion (£2.95 billion) fund for Bernard Madoff’s victims, ending their nearly nine-year wait to begin recouping losses from his Ponzi scheme. In a letter made public on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said it “recently notified victims whose petitions have been approved and is poised to issue initial distributions from the Assets Forfeiture Fund by the end of 2017.” The undated letter by Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd was addressed to Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan, who had complained to the Justice Department about payout delays. Buchanan’s district is on Florida’s Gulf coast. Payouts from the government fund are expected to go to 35,508 Madoff victims whose total losses exceeded $6.5 billion. Nearly all had invested indirectly with Madoff, such as through “feeder funds,” and roughly three-quarters have received nothing since the Ponzi scheme was uncovered in December 2008. Richard Breeden, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, oversees the government fund, which was set up in November 2013. He was not immediately available on Wednesday to comment. A court-appointed trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Irving Picard, has recouped about $12 billion for Madoff customers, and is awaiting court approval for an additional $687 million payout. [nL2N1LN1RI] Indirect investors are ineligible to recover from the liquidation. Madoff, 79, is serving a 150-year prison term. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-madoff-payout/u-s-expects-madoff-4-billion-fund-payout-to-start-this-year-idUKKCN1BV28O'|'2017-09-20T19:08:00.000+03:00'
'caf9d0827732dc52ef1b0c607f4b756e762af3b8'|'BRIEF-Allegion Plc proposes public offering of senior notes'|' 24 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago BRIEF-Allegion Plc proposes public offering of senior notes Reuters Staff Sept 18 (Reuters) - Allegion Plc * Allegion proposes public offering of senior notes * Intends to use net proceeds from offering to redeem in full its outstanding 5.750% senior notes due 2021 and its outstanding 5.875% senior notes due 2023  '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-allegion-plc-proposes-public-offer/brief-allegion-plc-proposes-public-offering-of-senior-notes-idUSASO0000Z0'|'2017-09-18T16:24:00.000+03:00'
'c863aa360c63a4d5a9a0147adf4f4285cab1c9e6'|'Blackstone buys German measuring firm Schenck'|'FILE PHOTO: The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Buyout group Blackstone has bought German measuring technology group Schenck Process from private equity investor IK Investment Partners, the groups said on Thursday.While a purchase price was not disclosed, two people close to the matter said that the deal valued Schenck at more than 700 million euros ($834 million).Schenck, a former unit of German automotive supplier Duerr AG ( DUEG.DE ), makes factory gear to weigh, filter or dose substances, catering to industries such as mining, construction, chemicals and food processing.Bankers had worked on debt financing of about 500 million euros, equating to 5.5 times Schenck’s expected 2017 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 85 million euros, including undrawn facilities.IK had acquired Schenck at the height of the buyout boom in 2007 from rival HgCapital for 450 million euros and unsuccessfully tried to sell Schenck several times over the last couple of years.Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Georgina ProdhanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-schenck-m-a-blackstone/blackstone-buys-german-measuring-firm-schenck-idINKCN1BW1VZ'|'2017-09-21T11:52:00.000+03:00'
'57ce7705e6e78e1bedeacc6de83613d4c59b05bc'|'UPDATE 1-Anadarko to spend $2.5 billion on massive share buyback'|'HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. oil producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp said on Wednesday it would spend $2.5 billion to buy back its own stock, a plan worth roughly 10 percent of its outstanding shares at current prices.Anadarko, like many U.S. oil producers, has seen its stock languish in 2017 as crude prices have stayed at or below $50 per barrel, depressing profits. Anadarko’s shares have dropped 35 percent since January.In after-hours trading on Wednesday, the company’s stock jumped 3.6 percent to $46.40.Stock buybacks decrease the number of a company’s outstanding shares, boosting earnings per share. They have been controversial among some investors who have pushed for higher dividends instead.Anadarko, which has a 5 cent dividend that is far below peers, said it would spend $1 billion by December on buybacks and the remaining $1.5 billion by the end of next year.“We believe this is a very attractive use of our cash given the value of our assets and the highly accretive nature of this program,” Chief Executive Al Walker said in a statement.The company had $6 billion in cash as of June 30.Anadarko also expects to pump 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year in its Gulf of Mexico operations and end the year pumping a combined 150,000 bpd in the Permian and Denver-Julesburg shale basins, it said.Going into 2018, Anadarko said it should produce substantial cash flow with an average oil price of $50 per barrel.Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-anadarko-petrol-buyback/anadarko-to-spend-2-5-billion-on-massive-share-buyback-idUSKCN1BV2YX'|'2017-09-21T00:01:00.000+03:00'
'ee1a5961d8c547ac2ace0965363e288b8bf235ec'|'French government says investment spending will not affect deficit'|' 47 AM / Updated 40 minutes ago French government says investment spending will not affect deficit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to mark the 500th anniversary of Protestant Reform at the Hotel de Ville City Hall in Paris, France, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS (Reuters) - French government plans to invest 57 billion euro (50.09 billion pounds)over five years will not be a burden on the public deficit, it said on Monday as it outlined a new investment drive. The overall figure is slightly higher than 50 billion euros that President Emmanuel Macron promised during the presidential campaign as a way to modernise the economy. The government said in a statement 20 billion euros is set to go to environment-related areas, 15 billion to professional training, 13 billion euros to supporting innovation and 9 billion to increased use of technology by the government. The plan would not weigh on the deficit because its financing would in part rely on loans, equity investments and a guarantee fund, the statement said. However, it does include 24 billion euros in new funds that have been incorporated into budget plans over the next five years, said economist Jean Pisani-Ferry, who was tasked by the government to come up with the investment plan. Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey; writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Brian Love'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-economy-investment/french-government-says-investment-spending-will-not-affect-deficit-idUKKCN1C011H'|'2017-09-25T12:47:00.000+03:00'
'fb213c164cd789838731b657ab1caaa8299f1257'|'Deloitte hit by cyber attack, says ''very few'' clients impacted'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:56 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Deloitte hit by cyber attack, says ''very few'' clients impacted Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Deloitte Company logo is seen on a commercial tower at Gurugram, on the outskirts of New Delhi August 9, 2012. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Global accountancy firm Deloitte said on Monday it had reviewed its systems following a cyber attack which it said had affected a small number of its clients. A spokeswoman said “only very few clients” were impacted in the hack, which was first reported by Britain’s Guardian newspaper. “No disruption has occurred to client businesses, to Deloitte’s ability to continue to serve clients, or to consumers,” she said. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Michael Holden '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deloitte-cyber-statement/deloitte-says-very-few-clients-impacted-by-cyber-attack-idINKCN1C01XE'|'2017-09-25T16:56:00.000+03:00'
'2fa086c729970b0c2a6003cf49048bb509a00fd4'|'Australia''s Seven West Media says Prime takeover offer falls through'|'SYDNEY (Reuters) - Top Australian television broadcaster Seven West Media Ltd ( SWM.AX ) and smaller Prime Media Group Ltd ( PRT.AX ) said they held takeover talks which ended without a deal, a faltering start to likely media consolidation brought on by deregulation.The talks indicate Australia’s traditional media owners are wasting little time capitalizing on the liberalization of ownership laws to explore deals designed to expand their audience reach and compete harder against new foreign rivals.Shares in Prime, the likely takeover target in any talks with Seven, fell sharply after the companies confirmed discussions had failed to bear fruit.“There was a conceptual proposal received from Prime but ... this did not result in any agreement,” Seven said in a statement, without giving details.Until this month, top-rating free-to-air Seven, about one-third owned by billionaire Kerry Stokes, was banned from buying its A$161 million ($128 million) regional partner Prime because of laws preventing one company from broadcasting to more than 75 percent of a market.But Stokes and other traditional media players won long-sought reforms to the laws last week, allowing them to boost market share through consolidation.“The law just changed last week and it will start a dialogue, but I don’t think anything definitive will happen in the short-term,” said Ashok Desai, associate director at stockbroker CPS Capital Group Pty Ltd.Prime shares were down 7.4 percent and Seven shares were flat by mid-session on Friday, in a slightly higher overall market.Australia’s media landscape has been upturned by the arrival of foreign competitors like Netflix ( NFLX.O ) and advertising juggernauts like Facebook ( FB.O ) and Google ( GOOGL.O ), resulting in declining earnings and job losses.Seven West Media posted an annual loss in August due to a slew of impairments and writedowns in its television and print assets.Additional reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-seven-west-media-m-a-prime-media/australias-seven-west-media-says-prime-takeover-offer-falls-through-idINKCN1BX06T'|'2017-09-22T00:25:00.000+03:00'
'd32ba6c2a2e5889358132874924256b792ca3af5'|'Time Inc in talks to sell assets; warns on third-quarter ad revenue softness'|' 31 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Time Inc in talks to sell assets; warns on third-quarter ad revenue softness Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A supporter holds up a copy of Time Magazine with the cover headline "How Trump Won" during Trump''s speech at a veteran''s rally in Des Moines, Iowa January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Time Inc ( TIME.N ) said on Friday it was looking to sell several assets, including Time Inc UK, and warned it experienced more-than-anticipated softness in both print and advertising revenue during the current quarter. The publisher, which said in April that it would not sell itself, last month announced a fresh cost-cutting programme, targeting $400 million (£295.20 million) in spending cuts. The assets identified for sale include Time Customer Service and a majority stake in the Essence magazine, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The company estimated that the assets marked for divestiture represent about $488 million, or 17 percent of total revenues for the 12-months ended June 30. A sale may be announced as early as the fourth quarter, the company said. The New York-based publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and namesake Time said it experienced softness in both print and advertising revenue during the current quarter relative to the forecast issued during the second-quarter earnings call. Time Inc, which reported a 17 percent fall in second quarter print and other advertising revenues, had said it expected sequential improvement in the third quarter ending Sept. 30. The company’s magazine circulation revenue fell 12 percent in the second quarter ended June 30 and its advertising revenue dipped about 12 percent, as more readers and advertisers shift to digital platforms. The company said on Friday that it expected its cost savings and efficiency initiatives to offset the advertising softness. Separately, the company said it received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requiring it to provide documents relating to certain goodwill and asset impairments and some restructuring and severance costs. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-time-divestiture/time-inc-says-in-talks-to-sell-several-assets-idUKKCN1BX1EU'|'2017-09-22T15:01:00.000+03:00'
'6332f4b846acde3564a41ce14d037a9fab0d2189'|'Fried chicken to crayfish wraps: Philippines'' Jollibee eyes deals to grow'|'Customers eat at a Jolibee fastfood outlet in Quezon City, metro Manila, Philippines September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao MANILA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Filipino billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong, who has built Jollibee Foods Corp ( JFC.PS ) into a near-4,000 store purveyor of sweet-style spaghetti, burgers and fried chicken, is looking to buy existing brands in mature markets to help fuel future growth.Dominant at home, where Jollibee has 1,000 eponymous stores welcoming diners with its smiling bee logo, Tan now wants to reshape the $5 billion group as a global fast-food company, bankers and fund managers say.Primary targets include the United States and China, where it already has joint ventures, including Dunkin’ Donuts ( DNKN.O ).Tan, 64, said at a company event in July that half of Jollibee’s total sales would come from overseas stores in the next five years. Currently, foreign stores including joint ventures account for 30 percent of sales.This week, people familiar with the matter said Jollibee was considering bidding for Pret A Manger, a UK-based chain selling organic coffee and wholesome sandwiches to office workers. It is still working out a valuation and has not yet decided to bid, the people said.“Jollibee has to keep chasing growth. They own pretty much every large chain in their home market,” said a regional banker who has dealt with the company. “They are definitely not shy when it comes to looking at mature markets.”Ysmael Baysa, Jollibee’s chief finance officer, told Reuters this week that buying new businesses “has always been part of our growth strategy.”Tan started out with two ice cream parlours in the 1970s, and expanded Jollibee rapidly into a fast food chain dubbed “the McDonald’s of the Philippines”. Forbes ranks him as the country’s eighth-wealthiest man.“They see where they could utilize the knowledge and synergies they have,” said Robert Ramos at Unionbank, who helps manage $795 million in funds and holds Jollibee stock. “They are increasing the revenue stream beyond the businesses they have now... They are choosing businesses in line with their core competence.”Customers eat at a Jolibee fastfood outlet in Quezon City, metro Manila, Philippines September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao As discretionary incomes have grown in Asia, the region has become the second-largest fast food market globally after North America.Jollibee has created new domestic brands and has tie-ups with foreign chains. It bought a stake in Highlands Coffee, which outsells Starbucks ( SBUX.O ) in Vietnam, and opened its own outlets in Saudi Arabia and the United States.“PREMIUM CREDIT”Jollibee’s interest in Pret A Manger - which owner Bridgepoint is said to be preparing for a U.S. listing this year - comes just two years after Tan paid around $100 million for a 40 percent stake in U.S.-based chain Smashburger, his biggest overseas deal to date.“If Jollibee wanted to do a $1 billion acquisition, it will have access to capital. It’s very liquid whether overseas or onshore. Jollibee is a premium credit,” said a person close to the company, who was not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.“Jollibee is very clear where they would like to grow: the Philippines, China and the U.S.”In China, the company operates about 400 stores of various brands, including joint ventures.While Jollibee’s original menu is a hit at home and among the diaspora of millions of Filipinos working overseas, it’s a challenge to broaden its appeal to international diners - hence the drive to acquire global brands.Jollibee’s revenue has more than tripled over the past decade to 113.9 billion pesos ($2.2 billion), its net income has jumped to 6.16 billion pesos, powered by strong consumer spending in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and its shares trade at around 242 pesos each, up from 51.50 pesos a decade ago.Other Philippine companies, too, have used their plentiful cash and access to bank credit to make overseas deals, such as Universal Robina Corp’s ( URC.PS ) acquisition of Snackbrands Australia for $462 million last year, and Alliance Global Group’s ( AGI.PS ) earlier $291 million buy of Bodegas Fundador from Beam Suntory.Reporting by Neil-Jerome Morales in MANILA and Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-jollibee-strategy/fried-chicken-to-crayfish-wraps-philippines-jollibee-eyes-deals-to-grow-idINKCN1BX26X'|'2017-09-22T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'a62367dfae0da4965e72407ad9d5484d94427dc1'|'TREASURIES-Prices gain on North Korean concerns'|'(Adds next week''s inflation data, updates prices) * North Korean fears pauses bond sell-off * Treasury yield curve flattest since 2007 By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury prices gained on Friday on global concerns about North Korea after it said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean, and as investors closed positions before the weekend. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised on Friday to make U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he called "mentally deranged," pay dearly after Trump warned he would destroy the country if it threatened the United States and its allies. Kim''s statement halted a bond sell-off sparked by the U.S. Federal Reserve taking a more hawkish tone than investors had expected at its September meeting, which concluded on Wednesday. "There''s much less selling in advance of the weekend," said Jim Vogel, an interest rate strategist at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. "This has the initial appearance of not going home with any particular rate views when North Korea and the White House are in a bigger spat than they have been." Benchmark 10-year notes gained 7/32 in price to yield 2.26 percent, down from 2.28 percent on Thursday. The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to its lowest levels since late 2007 overnight, before retracing in the U.S. session, as traders prepared for the likelihood that the U.S. central bank will raise rates in December. New economic projections released after the Fed''s meeting showed 11 of 16 officials see the "appropriate" level for the federal funds rate, the central bank''s benchmark interest rate, at 1.25 percent to 1.50 percent by the end of 2017, one-quarter of a point above the current level. That view comes despite still-sluggish inflation that many investors have viewed as likely to crimp the Fed''s ability to tighten monetary conditions. "There is not a lot of faith that yields can be sustainably higher," said Aaron Kohli, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets in New York. Intermediate-dated debt is highly sensitive to interest rate increases, while longer-dated bonds are influenced by inflation expectations. "The problem comes from the long-term implications of their moves," Kohli said. "What does that say about growth and inflation in the long run? The market''s not very optimistic about that." The yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds flattened to 91.1 basis points, the lowest level since late 2007, before steepening back to 92.3 basis points. Personal income data due next Friday will be the next major focus for signs of whether inflation is picking up. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Richard Chang) ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-prices-gain-on-north-korean-concerns-idINL2N1M31FC'|'2017-09-22T16:49:00.000+03:00'
'ab08eb4882a8cf6a0eaa1572720234f0341e2cdd'|'Troubled Capita confident of outlook, still no CEO'|'  6:37 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Leadership limbo and murky outlook drag down British outsourcer Capita Elisabeth O''Leary 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Capita slumped 13 percent on Thursday after the British outsourcer reported weak first-half results, a murky outlook and no progress in its hunt for a chief executive. Capita, which provides IT-based services for companies looking to cut costs, has issued a series of profit warnings following a slowdown in client decision-making after Brexit and problems with badly-run contracts. On Thursday it said first-half underlying revenue declined 3 percent as it worked its way through difficult contracts and tried to simplify its business. It said it was confident of laying the groundwork for a new CEO, but some of its businesses were not performing as well as expected. Shares in Capita, one of Britain’s biggest employers with more than 70,000 staff, have now fallen 42 percent over the past 12 months. The group operates in over a dozen business sectors from health to retail to transport with services spanning call centres, TV licence management for the BBC, recruitment and technical certification. Half of its more than 4 billion pound annual revenue comes from Britain’s public sector. But the leaden pace of business and political decision-making while the shape of Brexit is settled has shaken Capita as well as peers such as Mitie, G4S and Serco. Capita said it was “pleased” with continuing efforts to find a new CEO to replace Andy Parker, who was at the helm for three years and left the company this month. But until the new head arrives, the company is effectively in strategy limbo. “Capita is trying to become a simpler business, but there is work to be done and it’s clearly taking time,” said Neil Wilson, analyst at ETX Capital. “For example, early adoption of (new accounting standards) and restating last year’s revenues are designed to make comparisons easier. But if anything, the picture looks even muddier.” Some analysts believe that simplifying the business and redirecting strategy will be so tough that the first task of the new boss will be to delay expectations of recovery. The group has said it does not expect its business to recover until 2018, but some are less optimistic. “I expect 2018 to be another transitional year but a lot depends on the CEO,” said Rory McKenzie, analyst at UBS, who has a neutral recommendation on the stock and a target price of 620 pence, versus its current price of around 568 pence. “(Customers’) discretional spending will continue (to be) under pressure and big public contracts will keep getting pushed back,” he added. The British economy is growing at half its usual pace as it grapples with Brexit. Capita said it expects pre-tax profit before significant new contracts and restructuring to rise modestly in the second half, compared to the first half of 2017. Analysts at Stifel said that implied a mid-single-digit cut to forecasts. “A disappointing set of numbers in our view (is) likely to lead to some modest earnings downgrades,” Stifel said. UBS said that a lack of guidance on the outlook beyond 2017 may have spooked investors. Additional reporting by Kate Holton and Paul Sandle; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-capita-results/troubled-capita-confident-of-outlook-still-no-ceo-idUKKCN1BW0PD'|'2017-09-21T09:36:00.000+03:00'
'bc8d2db5a2a242f7605864470916d41c163dfaca'|'Former U.S. Attorney Bharara joins CNN as senior legal analyst'|'FILE PHOTO: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York City, U.S., July 13, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File photo (Reuters) - Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara is joining CNN as a senior legal analyst, a CNN spokesman said on Thursday.Bharara was fired as U.S. Attorney in March by President Donald Trump, after refusing to resign his post when asked to do so by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Bharara joins CNN, a unit of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ), at a time when the cable network faces numerous accusations of being “fake news” from President Trump on Twitter.CNN declined to give further details on Bharara joining the network.The former U.S. Attorney also launched a weekly podcast called “Stay Tuned with Preet” on WNYC, which aired the first episode on Wednesday. Bharara detailed the story of his firing for the first time, including how President Trump initially asked him to remain in his post after the election, and also spoke with former CIA Director Leon Panetta in the episode.Bharara may also address the circumstances of his firing in a book he is expected to publish in January 2019 with publisher Alfred A. Knopf.Shortly after his firing in March, Bharara joined New York University Law School as a distinguished scholar in residence. He said in a statement he will use the opportunity to address issues such as honest government, corporate accountability and criminal and social justice.Time Warner Inc is under review to be acquired by AT&T Inc ( T.N ) in a $85.4 billion deal.Reporting by Sheila Dang; editing by Anna Driver and Dan Grebler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-bharara/former-u-s-attorney-bharara-joins-cnn-as-senior-legal-analyst-idUSKCN1BW2MF'|'2017-09-21T20:51:00.000+03:00'
'31b61cbcb8ebed0f7e78b4982de33479e221f685'|'Blackstone buys German measuring firm Schenck'|'FILE PHOTO: The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Buyout group Blackstone has bought German measuring technology group Schenck Process from private equity investor IK Investment Partners, the groups said on Thursday.While a purchase price was not disclosed, two people close to the matter said that the deal valued Schenck at more than 700 million euros ($834 million).Schenck, a former unit of German automotive supplier Duerr AG ( DUEG.DE ), makes factory gear to weigh, filter or dose substances, catering to industries such as mining, construction, chemicals and food processing.Bankers had worked on debt financing of about 500 million euros, equating to 5.5 times Schenck’s expected 2017 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 85 million euros, including undrawn facilities.IK had acquired Schenck at the height of the buyout boom in 2007 from rival HgCapital for 450 million euros and unsuccessfully tried to sell Schenck several times over the last couple of years.Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Georgina Prodhan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-schenck-m-a-blackstone/blackstone-buys-german-measuring-firm-schenck-idUSKCN1BW1VZ'|'2017-09-21T16:43:00.000+03:00'
'7edd5b4ce25ebfc53baacfe2cff1a2676d7bf81f'|'Mitchells & Butlers sales up despite poor weather'|' 23 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Mitchells & Butlers sales up despite poor weather Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - British pubs group Mitchells & Butlers Plc ( MAB.L ) reported a 2.9 percent rise in sales for the 51-week period to Sept. 16 despite poor weather in recent weeks. The group, whose pubs include Harvester, Toby Carvery and All Bar One, said comparable drink sales in the most recent weeks 8 weeks contracted 1.2 percent, an outcome it blamed on poor weather versus a sunny period a year earlier. The company reiterated its warning that margins for the full year will be below last year due to inflationary cost pressures. (This story was refiled to read Sept. 16, paragraph 1) Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mitchells-butler-outlook/mitchells-butlers-sales-up-despite-poor-weather-idUKKCN1BW0NW'|'2017-09-21T09:32:00.000+03:00'
'5291feb982e20ac2e96eeebf388481546d0a64b4'|'German FinMin denies report it favors Commerzbank-BNP Paribas merger'|'A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank''s annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government denied a report that it favored a merger of state-backed Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) with France’s BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), saying it was not in negotiations to divest its 15 percent stake in the German lender.“The report by WirtschaftsWoche is not correct. There are no negotiations and we have not mandated an investment bank,” the finance ministry said in a statement.It said it was not under time pressure to divest its stake in Commerzbank and reiterated that it aimed for a good result for the taxpayer.The report published by WirtschaftsWoche earlier on Thursday had helped push up shares in Commerzbank by as much as 5 percent to 11.41 euros.The German government would need to get at least 18 euros per Commerzbank share in any sale to avoid a loss on its investment.Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-commerzbank-m-a-bnp-paribas-governmen/german-finmin-denies-report-it-favors-commerzbank-bnp-paribas-merger-idINKCN1BW1N7'|'2017-09-21T09:58:00.000+03:00'
'd4b9ff8a942e053401a09d419d4e1c5eabc28d68'|'Exclusive: Chipmaker GlobalFoundries asks EU to investigate bigger rival TSMC - source'|'The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is seen during an investors'' conference in Taipei, Taiwan April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. electronic chipmaker GlobalFoundries has asked European antitrust regulators to investigate market leader TSMC ( 2330.TW ), accusing the Taiwanese firm of unfair competition, an industry source said on Monday.GlobalFoundries is the closest challenger to Taiwan-based TSMC in the foundry, or contract market for making chips for firms without plants of their own, with slightly smaller rivals being UMC ( 2303.TW ) of Taiwan and SMIC ( 0981.HK ) of China.With TSMC holding 58 percent of the market in 2016, according to market research firm IC Insights, it is the world’s top foundry and is also the third biggest chipmaker by sales behind Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ) and Intel ( INTC.O ).GlobalFoundries has told the European Commission that TSMC is unfairly using loyalty rebates, exclusivity clauses and bundled rebates and even penalties to discourage customers from switching to rivals, the source said.The practices, which go back several years, have affected GlobalFoundries’ ability to compete, the source said, adding that the tactics escalated after a key GlobalFoundries product started to win new customers.TSMC denied the allegations.“Our customers always have the freedom to choose, which we respect greatly, and they choose us because of the value we deliver toward their long-term success,” a spokeswoman said.“Any accusation that TSMC threatens or harms customers isabsolutely baseless, and we will vigorously defend our hard-earned trust and our most valued reputation.”Ten years ago U.S. chipmaker Intel was hit with a 1.06 billion-euro fine, a record at the time, for giving rebates to PC makers in order to force out smaller competitors and GlobalFoundries’ former joint owner AMD ( AMD.O ).Companies can be fined up to 10 percent of their global turnover for breaching EU antitrust rules.EU authorities declined to comment on the claims.“Generally, the Commission monitors possible anti-competitive market practices and abusive conduct. This includes behavior by operators active in the semi-conductor sector,” a spokesman said.GlobalFoundries said in a formal statement that the EU competition authority should be concerned by the existence of a few dominant players in the semiconductor industry.A spokesman said TSMC has “a virtual lock on supply”.“It is prudent for the regulator to monitor behaviors more closely and GlobalFoundries will naturally support regulatory agencies as they take a closer look at this key industrial sector for Europe and the world.”TSMC’s customers include Apple ( AAPL.O ), Qualcomm ( QCOM.O ), Intel, Huawei [HWT.UL], Sony Corp ( 6758.T ) and Texas Instruments ( TXN.O ).GlobalFoundries, which is owned by Mubadala Technology, a unit of Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Development Company [MUDEV.UL], counts Qualcomm, AMD, Broadcom ( AVGO.O ) and STMicroelectronics ( STM.PA ) amongst its customers.Reporting by Foo Yun Chee with additional reporting by Jessica Macy Yu in Taipei; Editing by Eric Auchard, Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-tsmc-globalfoundries-antitrust-exc/exclusive-chipmaker-globalfoundries-asks-eu-to-investigate-bigger-rival-tsmc-source-idUSKCN1BW25D'|'2017-09-21T18:04:00.000+03:00'
'a2bda689902d61eca9c87be0edce8592f1620f1e'|'Nestle to cut up to 450 jobs at Galderma research center in France'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:06 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Nestle to cut jobs at French skin health R&D center Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters entrance building in Vevey, Switzerland February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle plans to cut up to 450 jobs at a Galderma research and development center in southern France, the Swiss company said on Thursday, as it seeks to make the underperforming skin health business more efficient. Galderma, which Nestle took over from its joint venture partner L‘Oreal in 2014, will cut as many as 450 of 550 jobs at its R&D center in Sophia Antipolis near Nice. Vevey-based Nestle is under pressure to improve efficiency and shareholder returns after years of slowing growth and its new Chief Executive Mark Schneider is expected to unveil his strategic priorities at an investor event next week. Skin treatments have been a major part of a push by the world’s largest food maker into higher-growth and more profitable health products to counter a slowdown in its traditional food businesses, which range from KitKat chocolate bars to Perrier water. Last month Nestle said it would close a skin cream factory in Switzerland, with the potential loss of 190 jobs, and shift production elsewhere in response to a slowdown. Prescription medicines are moving away from creams towards injections or products taken orally and this shift is being reflected in changes to R&D, a Nestle spokesman said. Nestle wants to combine development of prescription medicines within a single research center, whose location has yet to be decided, where about 100 of the employees would be able to find a new job with some 300 people likely to leave. Nestle plans to review the French site over the next 12 months to decide whether specific activities can be continued. The company does not break out results for its skin health business separately, but said in July it had lower second-quarter sales volumes and pricing, hurt by a soft performance in China and pressure from generic versions of its medicines. Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz and Angelika Gruber; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nestle-galderma/nestle-to-cut-up-to-450-jobs-at-galderma-research-center-in-france-idUSKCN1BW14S'|'2017-09-21T12:05:00.000+03:00'
'89bc74bda5a4d2cab1bde4cc2bb682e2576249ed'|'PRESS DIGEST- Canada - Sept 21'|'Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** The winds are blowing against Bombardier Inc in its trade war with Boeing Co as some analysts expect a preliminary ruling from the U.S. Department of Commerce early next week to go against the Canadian planemaker. tgam.ca/2hkRjip** A Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey of small-business owners shows strong opposition to the federal government''s proposed tax rules. tgam.ca/2hl06B2** Opposition Members of Parliament are accusing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau of shielding their family assets from the tax hikes they want to impose on small businesses. tgam.ca/2hlk1zZNATIONAL POST ** The stain of bankruptcy protection filings on both sides of the border could confuse Toys R Us ( IPO-TOYS.N ) Canada customers and spook toy suppliers already worried about the debt-plagued U.S. division, industry analysts say. bit.ly/2hkJo4I** Canadian retail landlord First Capital Realty Inc and its partners have hired real estate firm CBRE Group Inc to sell a collection of 19 key urban assets. bit.ly/2hlbkW6Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada/press-digest-canada-sept-21-idINL4N1M244U'|'2017-09-21T08:59:00.000+03:00'
'191d857245c03e1faefb05f99c2cf9e7928e6aee'|'Nikkei slips from 2-year peak after North Korea brandishes H-bomb'|'* Threats of H-bomb tests chill markets* Nikkei up on week, banks biggest winner after Fed* Steel sector weak as crude steel output fallsBy Hideyuki Sano and Ayai Tomisawa Japan’s Nikkei share average slipped from a two-year high on Friday after North Korea threatened to test a hydrogen bomb ratcheting up tensions with the United States and its allies.Still, the market logged its second straight week of gains, led by financial shares, which gained on a rise in U.S. bond yields after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy statement on Wednesday.The Nikkei slipped 0.3 percent to 20,296.45 while the Topix fell 0.3 percent to 1,664.61 with decliners outnumbering gainers by 2-1. reportedly said his country raising anxieties in markets that had been getting used to the country’s missile tests.“The headline about a threatened North Korean nuclear test gave a the market a little shock,” said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities. “Though the market is not expecting immediate military action, it has triggered a profit-taking opportunity since the Nikkei had risen sharply recently.”Still, for the week, the Nikkei was up 1.9 percent after having hit a two-year high of 20,481.27 on the back of strong gains on Wall Street, a weakening yen, and hopes for a snap election.During the week, bank shares rose 4.7 percent, their biggest weekly gains in nine months. Mitsubishi UFJ FG rose 6.2 percent on the week.Investors also rotated to large cap shares from small caps, with the Topix core 30 gaining 2.1 percent while Topix small rose just 0.4 percent, reversing the outperfomance of small cap shares in the past few months.Steel shares eased on Friday, making them the worst weekly performer, after the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said the country’s crude steel output fell 2 percent to 8.73 million tonnes in August from a year earlier due to problems at some mills.Steelmaker shares fell 2.3 percent on Friday, leaving their weekly performance at minus 2.1 percent.JFE Holdings fell 4.7 percent and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal dropped 1.9 percent.Department store operator Matsuya Co stumbled 6.9 percent after the company cut its net profit outlook to 250 million yen ($2.2 million) from a previous forecast of 400 million yen for the March-August period.$1 = 112.11 yen Editing by Richard Pullin and Eric Meijer '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close/nikkei-slips-from-2-year-peak-after-north-korea-brandishes-h-bomb-idUSL4N1M3298'|'2017-09-22T09:54:00.000+03:00'
'c0e83fc40181eef25a4836a77d354858cd152bdb'|'Asia stocks edge lower, focus turns to China markets after ratings cut'|'September 22, 2017 / 12:54 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Asian stocks slip, yen and franc rise as North Korea moots H-bomb test Shinichi Saoshiro 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A statue of a bull is displayed outside the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen October 23, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell and the Japanese yen and Swiss franc gained on Friday after North Korea said it might test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean and escalated a war of words with U.S. President Donald Trump. Spreadbetters expected European stocks to start lower amid a chill in risk appetite, forecasting Britain’s FTSE to open down 0.3 percent, Germany’s DAX to open 0.2 percent and France’s CAC to start 0.05 percent lower. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said on Friday he believes the North could consider a nuclear test on an “unprecedented scale” in the Pacific Ocean, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan handed back earlier gains and was down 0.7 percent. The index rose to a decade high on Tuesday, lifted as Wall Street advanced to record levels, but fell back after the Fed heightened expectations for a third interest rate hike this year. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.9 percent on the latest bout of geopolitical tensions. Australian stocks managed to advance 0.3 percent while Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.4 percent following a rise to a two-year high on Thursday. “The headline about North Korea’s nuclear test gave a little shock to the market,” said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. “Though the market is not expecting that there will be an immediate military action, it has triggered a profit-taking opportunity since the Nikkei had risen sharply recently.” Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.8 percent and Shanghai was down 0.5 percent after S&P Global Ratings downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating on Thursday, less than a month ahead of one of the country’s most sensitive political gatherings, citing increasing risks from its rapid debt build-up. The dollar dropped 0.6 percent to 111.785 yen, pulling away from a two-month high of 112.725 touched on Thursday when U.S. yields spiked on the back of the Fed’s hawkish stance. The 10-year Treasury yield declined about 3 basis points to 2.251 percent as risk aversion favoured government bonds. It had risen for nine consecutive sessions prior, brushing a six-week high of 2.289 percent. Floor traders at work during the launch of Shenzhen Connect at the Hong Kong Exchanges in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip The Swiss franc rose 0.2 percent to 0.9687 franc per dollar. The yen and franc are often sought in time of broader risk aversion. Safe-haven gold ticked up, with spot prices up 0.5 percent at $1,297.11 an ounce, after marking its lowest since Aug. 25 at $1,287.61 in the previous session on a firmer dollar. Apart from geopolitical risks, the focus was on how the region’s markets would fare when the Federal Reserve takes a step towards normalising monetary policy, as it projected on Wednesday following its policy meeting. “It is difficult to pass a verdict on the Fed’s stance until it actually starts its balance sheet reduction and the markets can gauge its effects,” said Kota Hirayama, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo. “Fundamentals continue to support emerging markets including those in Asia, although the Fed’s latest stance did add a layer of uncertainty going forward.” In currencies, the Australian dollar was down 0.1 percent at $0.7926 after sliding 1.2 percent the previous day when Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank does not have to follow a general move globally to raise interest rates. A sharp drop in the price of iron ore, Australia’s main export commodity, to a two-month low, has also weighed on the currency. The New Zealand dollar was down 0.3 percent at $0.7284 on jitters ahead of a hotly-contested general election on Saturday. The euro inched up 0.1 percent to $1.1954 and on track to end the week 0.8 percent lower. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.2 percent at 92.052. Crude oil prices were little changed amid a wait-and-see mood as ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers meet later on Friday to discuss a possible extension of supply cuts. Brent crude was down 0.1 percent at $56.39 a barrel after reaching a five-month high of $56.53 overnight. Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa in Tokyo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets/asia-stocks-edge-lower-focus-turns-to-china-markets-after-ratings-cut-idINKCN1BX02F'|'2017-09-21T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'3fcd552746333b082ba3959ddbb07bb98d1eb95c'|'Huge volumes of data make real-time insurance a possibility'|'EVEN at weddings or whale watches, the buzz of a drone is no longer a surprise. Drone photography is booming. Gartner, a consultancy, says some 174,000 drones will be sold for commercial use around the world this year, and 2.8m to consumers. It is easy to imagine a few might fall out of the sky, causing damage the pilot cannot hope to pay for: crushed wedding cakes, injured spectators and so on. Amid scores of near-misses, several incidents have already occurred. In 2014, for example, a drone filming a triathlon in Australia crashed on a competitor’s head.Clearly, drone-users need insurance. Typically, risks are insured through the payment of an annual premium. Insure4drones, a British specialist, charges £738.86 ($1,000) to cover a DJI Phantom, a bestselling drone, for a year. From October Flock, a London startup, will offer insurance on a flight-by-flight basis, at the push of a button in an app, to any commercial drone-operator in Britain. Cover for amateur pilots will soon follow. Costs will be about £5 per hour of flight, according to Allianz, an underwriter.  6 hours ago “I   7   8   8   17 hours ago Foreign reserves 17 hours ago See all updates Flock’s app relies on a wide range of data. Weather forecasts come from IBM, a computing giant which, having spent over $2bn on The Weather Company in 2015, now offers forecasts to within a few hundred metres, and over a period of minutes. Live information about nearby aircraft is provided by a software company called Snowflake, which tracks aeroplanes around the planet. Flock also considers local topography, such as proximity to churches, hospitals and schools, as well as roads and traffic levels. It also monitors the drone itself, gathering data as it flies to build a risk profile for that machine. All these numbers are crunched when a customer requests insurance through the app. As well as offering a quote, the app tells pilots how to reduce their risks.Allianz then converts Flock’s data-driven risk scores into a price. The attraction for Allianz is acquiring customers cheaply. “Rather than humans sitting and writing business, the algorithm does it on the spot,” says Tom Chamberlain, who manages its aviation underwriting.Conventional insurance works by pooling individual risks and then setting a price for that group—new drivers under 30, say. But that process can be much refined if the objects and people being insured can report to the insurer automatically, and if there is a wealth of data on the external environment. As an ever-growing number of sensors—in phones or watches, drones or cars—gather ever-greater volumes of data, more and more activities can be assessed for real-time risk (though in the absence of pooling, some risks may become prohibitively expensive to insure).Flock is not alone. Verifly, a New York startup, competes with it in America. Root, a car insurer, offers drivers insurance based on their minute-to-minute behaviour behind the wheel. It even offers a discount to Tesla drivers if their car spends plenty of time in autonomous mode. Slice, a San Francisco startup, lets its customers insure their houses and cars for the time they are used on services such as Uber and Airbnb. Trov, also from San Francisco, insures personal possessions for short periods.Flock’s chief executive, Ed Klinger, says that he eventually wants to insure all kinds of future autonomous activities, from taxi rides to rolling delivery pods. He argues that selling insurance through annual premiums is inflexible. It less easily takes advantage of the large volume of live data that can now help estimate the risk posed by a given activity at a given time. For instance, a passenger in an autonomous taxi may be at far lower risk if the trip takes place outside rush hour, or in weather conditions in which the car performs at its best. Firms that dispatch delivery drones might use Flock to calculate the risk for each flight automatically, depending on cargo and address.The business model is in its infancy, but on-demand insurance seems bound to grow. In a world where consumers expect push-button convenience from their services, they will demand the same of the insurance those services rely on.This article appeared in the Finance and economics   "Pay-per-risk"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21729464-drone-insurance-showing-way-huge-volumes-data-make-real-time-insurance?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'da26b01ac1c8fcd0e25efc6761200f7615f8e52a'|'E.ON CFO defends plan to sell Uniper stake to Fortum: BoeZ'|'E.ON headquarters in Essen, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German utility E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) has good reason to try and sell its remaining stake in Uniper, the mainly fossil-fuels based power stations and trading business it spun off last year, to Finland’s Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ), its chief financial officer Marc Spieker said in an interview with Boersenzeitung (BoeZ).News broke this week that talks for Fortum to pay 3.8 billion euros ($4.54 billion) for E.ON’s 47-percent shareholding are advanced but Uniper ( UN01.DE ) responded with dismay, saying the bid was not welcome as it could manage well on its own.“The objective of splitting up our company right from the beginning was to create two separately functioning companies which can and must take their own decisions,” Spieker said.“Fortum has spoken positively about Uniper and its management and declared its intention to be a strategic, constructive investor,” he added.Analysts have said Uniper fears it could be broken up by Fortum, which focuses on carbon-free power.Spieker also said that E.ON was planning to raise its payout ratio beyond the current minimum 65 percent after two successive hikes from 50 percent - first to 60 percent, then to 65 percent - over the past six months.The last increase was “an interim step on the road to a payout ration that can measure up to our relevant competitors”, he said.He also said E.ON, which in first-half 2017 reduced debt to 21.5 billion euros from 26 billion, would continue to cut debt through savings, asset sales and organic growth.“In future, we can grow our power distribution grid business by between three and four percent instead of two to three percent up to now,” he said.Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Andrew Bolton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-e-on-uniper-m-a/e-on-cfo-defends-plan-to-sell-uniper-stake-to-fortum-boez-idINKCN1BY0JT'|'2017-09-23T11:16:00.000+03:00'
'8217edab42941f880b1f8bd19b83eb9d3f5755ac'|'Japan chemical maker Kuraray to buy Calgon Carbon for $1.1 billion'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese chemical manufacturer Kuraray Co Ltd will buy U.S. firm Calgon Carbon Corp for $1.107 billion, Kuraray said on Thursday, adding the carbon materials firm as one of its core businesses.Kuraray said it would buy all of Calgon Carbon’s shares for $21.50 each - a premium of 62.9 percent to the Pittsburgh-based company’s share price on Wednesday of $13.20. Including net debt, the deal is worth over $1.3 billion, the U.S. firm said.Kuraray said it aims to leverage Calgon Carbon’s global presence to expand its carbon materials business in areas including energy and water. The acquisition would speed up innovation and reduce costs, Kuraray said.Calgon Carbon’s products and services include drinking and wastewater purification equipment and ultraviolet light disinfection. It has production and sales bases in seven and 16 countries respectively.Kurarary said it planned to complete the deal - which will be funded by debt and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval - within the year. It will make Calgon Carbon a wholly owned subsidiary, it added.Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/kuraray-calgon-carbon-m-a/japans-kuraray-to-buy-calgon-carbon-for-1-1-billion-idINKCN1BW0VO'|'2017-09-21T05:32:00.000+03:00'
'ea98c95db515907d8af28f3f62c8aac565ddf339'|'German debt agency cuts debt issue volume by 3 bln euros in Q4'|'BERLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Germany’s Federal Finance Agency on Thursday reduced its planned debt issue volume in the fourth quarter by 3 billion euros to 35 billion euros, excluding linkers.The debt agency said it would issue around 31 billion euros of capital market instruments and around 4 billion euros of money market instruments in the period from October to December.“The originally planned Bobl top-up auction of 3 billion euros on Nov. 29 2017 ... will be cancelled,” the agency said.It confirmed that two inflation-linked bonds would be auctioned in the final quarter of the year.The German government has seen an increase in revenues from income and corporate taxes as more workers join the country’s solid labour market and company profits rise.Germany is also benefitting from record-low borrowing costs, partly enabled by the European Central Bank’s ultra-loose monetary policy. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber,; editing by Joseph Nasr) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/germany-debt/german-debt-agency-cuts-debt-issue-volume-by-3-bln-euros-in-q4-idINB4N1KF008'|'2017-09-21T06:02:00.000+03:00'
'b13f4601478158f78549181948c79d89d755bb64'|'From new tax office, Catalonia hopes to grab billions from Madrid'|'September 21, 2017 / 8:15 AM / Updated 6 hours ago From new tax office, Catalonia hopes to grab billions from Madrid Angus Berwick 6 Min Read A couple is reflected on a glass of the Catalan Tax Agency in Barcelona, Spain, September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea BARCELONA (Reuters) - In a glass building overlooking Barcelona’s port, empty desks and computers wait for new workers of Catalonia’s tax agency. As in other Spanish regions, the agency already collects some taxes on wealth, inheritance, gambling and transport. But the regional government has spent 18 million euros (£15.89 million) expanding the agency in the hope that it will gain independence from Madrid in an Oct. 1 vote that the Spanish government considers illegal. From the shiny port office with a 20 year lease, it is hoping to wrestle control of the rest of the region’s finances, claiming billions of euros of income tax and corporate revenue currently going to the Spanish government. Catalonia has increased the agency’s staff by 75 percent to 700 since January and plans to fill the empty desks by the end of the year if the vote goes through. It has also opened a dozen new regional offices. This is Catalonia’s most tangible investment in the institutional infrastructure needed for a fledgling state and highlights its government’s determination to secede. It says it will declare independence within 48 hours of a “yes” vote. It also shows that they are likely to keep pushing for independence, even if they lose the vote. “In a future transition, it would not be acceptable for them to keep our taxes, because they are ours and they keep a lot,” said Catalan Treasury Secretary Josep Lluis Salvado. Madrid has declared the vote unconstitutional so there are widespread doubts about whether Catalonia can even stage a credible vote. It may also not go in the Catalonian government’s favour. Polls show less than half of Catalonia’s 5.5 million voters want self-rule although most want the chance to vote on the issue. It is also not clear that companies would pay up: Barcelona’s business lobby says no private firms would obey Catalan tax demands unless approved by Madrid. But the Spanish government appears to be rattled. On Wednesday police entered the Catalan economy and budget department and the tax office as part of a raid on regional government offices, seizing documents and cutting off phone lines, according to a department official. It was the latest step in Madrid’s campaign to prevent the referendum from going ahead. During the raids, police arrested Salvado, the junior economy minister Josep Maria Jove and three other department officials, the official said. They remain under arrest, the official said. Catalonia’s resolve also worries some investors in Spanish bonds and the tax agency’s expansion suggests an early post-independence flashpoint with Madrid could be a financial one. OLD GRIEVANCE A man is reflected on a glass of the Catalan Tax Agency in Barcelona, Spain, September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea Catalonia, with an economy larger than Portugal‘s, says it receives an unfair redistribution of tax revenues from Madrid. Each year, it pays about 10 billion euros ($12 billion) more in taxes to Madrid than it gets back, or around 5 percent of regional economic output, according to data from the Spanish Treasury. In contrast, Spain’s poorest region, Andalusia, receives almost 8 billion euros more than it pays in. “The money issue is one of the roots of the problem, the feeling that Catalonia is being ripped off,” said Angel Talavera, a Catalan economist at consultancy Oxford Economics. If its agency took over all forms of taxation, it would also collect income, company and value-added taxes, bringing total receipts to 42 billion euros, Salvado said. The agency collected about 3 billion euros last year, according to a spokeswoman for the Catalan economy and budget department. To avoid financial collapse, an independent Catalonia would need those tax revenues, economists say. It has 75 billion euros in public debt, 35 percent of its economic output, one of the highest of all Spain’s regions, and its government bonds are already classified as “junk” by credit rating agencies. Slideshow (7 Images) Investors are growing nervous as the referendum nears: the additional yield that Catalan bonds pay over Spanish short-term debt is at close to a nine-month high of about 300 basis points. The Catalan government last issued a bond in 2012, two years ahead of a previous failed independence referendum. It is not currently considering any bond issues, a spokeswoman said. ‘IT‘S IMPOSSIBLE’ Upon a declaration of independence, Salvado said Catalonia would seek to open talks with Madrid to take over all taxation in phases. It would start in October by pocketing 2.5 billion euros in taxes from about 700 public Catalan firms that currently goes to Madrid. Later, the agency would collect tax from private firms and individuals. It could take years and the agency would need at least another 4,000 employees, Salvado added. “The principal challenge is to make sure the taxpayer does not perceive a change,” he said. Spain’s Treasury has told Catalan businesses that paying taxes to the regional tax agency could constitute a crime. Madrid also took legislative steps last week to prevent the Catalan government from using Spanish public funds to pay for the ballot. “At the moment companies view it as impossible, they don’t consider it,” Jordi Alberich, director of Barcelona-based business association Cercle d’Economia, told Reuters. The Catalan government also lacks the database needed to correctly collect personal income and company taxes, according to Carlos Cruzado, the head of the Spanish Treasury’s workers union. Salvado said the agency had sufficient data on taxpayers’ inheritance and wealth taxes to make a start on taking over other forms of taxation, but they would seek to negotiate access to Spain’s historical tax records. He did not expect a positive response. “The Spanish state is going to use its preferred word - ‘No’.” Additional reporting by Paul Day in Madrid and Abhinav Ramnarayan in London; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Anna Willard '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-politics-catalonia-tax/from-new-tax-office-catalonia-hopes-to-grab-billions-from-madrid-idUKKCN1BW0ZK'|'2017-09-21T11:15:00.000+03:00'
'fbba7994becb42bd63a6fead4856c706df2ee1e3'|'Johnson Matthey to invest 200 million pounds in battery material technology'|' 08 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Johnson Matthey to invest 200 million pounds in battery material technology Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Johnson Matthey said it will invest an initial 200 million pounds in expanding its battery material technology business from 2018, aiming to capitalise on growth in the electric vehicle market. The speciality chemicals company said the overall market “could be (worth) more than $30 billion (in) sales when battery electric vehicle penetration increases to around 10 percent.” Its Clean Air business, which includes autocatalysts, is expected to show “strong single-digit sales growth” in the next two to three years, driven by share gains in European light duty and upcoming tighter legislation, the company said in a statement, released to mark JM’s Capital Markets day. From then on, growth will slow as a move away from light duty diesel engines in Europe and the expansion of the battery electric light duty vehicle market offset growth in Asia and strength in the heavy duty sector in North America, it said. Its programme of increased investment in the health sector, which started three years ago, is expected to deliver double-digit sales growth and substantial margin expansion from 2019/20, it added. The company said in the medium term it targeted a 20 percent compound annual growth rate in its return on invested capital (ROIC), and planned to deliver a progressive dividend policy and mid to high single digit earnings per share growth. It confirmed overall guidance for the full year. “Johnson Matthey has delivered a confident riposte to fears over its terminal growth given the diesel debate at the heart of the investment case,” Morgan Stanley said in a note. “Targets are maintained, new cost cutting has been announced and greater granularity ... has been provided on its EV strategy.” Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-johnsonmatthey-battery/johnson-matthey-to-invest-200-million-pounds-in-battery-material-technology-idUKKCN1BW14Z'|'2017-09-21T12:08:00.000+03:00'
'73183d57df1a041af41a9f09b7f49c2b32bdaca3'|'Russian economy minister sees stable rouble, says level fair - Reuters'|'Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin attends a session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW (Reuters) - The rouble’s exchange rate is close to fundamentally justified levels, Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Friday, having warned earlier this year that it was too strong.Speaking at the annual Reuters Russia Investment Summit, Oreshkin also said he did not expect the currency to fluctuate significantly given the price of oil, Russia’s main export.While households and import-focused companies benefit from a stronger rouble, as it lowers inflation and makes foreign goods cheaper, the oil-dependent economy and budget benefit from a weaker currency since they receive more funds from selling commodities abroad for dollars.“Now we are close to fundamental levels,” Oreshkin said, when asked about the rouble rate.He said gains in the rouble earlier this year were caused by inflows into Russian domestic bonds. Many local borrowers also converted funds raised in Eurobonds into roubles earlier this year.“Plus strong expectations of 55 were building in the market,” Oreshkin said, referring to the rouble rate against the dollar.The rouble hit its weakest ever point of 86 against the dollar RUBUTSTN=MCX in early 2016 before recovering along with oil prices to reach 55.72 in April.The rouble recovery prompted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and other government officials to say the free-floating currency was too strong and led to one of several verbal interventions by Oreshkin.The currency traded around 57.60 versus the dollar on Friday, up 6.5 percent so far this year but still far below levels of around 30 where it traded for several years before Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014.The economy ministry forecasts the rouble at 63 by the end of the year, but Oreshkin said: “With the current oil price I don’t see strong moves in the exchange rate.”Oil prices have gained more than 15 percent in the past three months to trade above $56 a barrel LCOc1, and were steady on Friday, as investors waited to see if producers would back an extension to output cuts beyond March.ANCHORING INFLATION Annual consumer inflation, which reached a high of 17 percent in early 2015 when the rouble was collapsing, rapidly slowed this year, reaching 3.3 percent in August.Now, with it below the targeted level of 4 percent, the central bank faced the increasingly complicated task of keeping the pace of consumer price growth steady, Oreshkin said.“To keep inflation at 4 percent, one should need to understand all the processes and give precise forecasts for 6-12 months ahead,” Oreshkin said.Having reined in inflation, the central bank is still keeping monetary policy tight. It trimmed the key interest rate to 8.5 percent this month and indicated it would bring it down to 6.5-7 percent in 2019.It has also said it still needed to convince households that inflation has slowed from double-digit levels.To quickly anchor such expectations, inflation should hover within a narrow corridor of one percent, Oreshkin said.Analysts and economists polled by Reuters expected full-year inflation at 4.1 percent, and the key interest rate at 8.25 percent by year-end.Additional reporting by Denis Pinchuk, Polina Nikolskaya and Zlata Garasyuta; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/summits'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-economy-rouble/russian-economy-minister-sees-stable-rouble-says-level-fair-idUSKCN1BX1ZY'|'2017-09-22T22:33:00.000+03:00'
'd5bfeac93e27956b800fbc7d959f585712c4365b'|'What if large tech firms were regulated like sewage companies?'|'THREE-QUARTERS of Americans admit that they search the web, send e-mails and check their social-media accounts in the bathroom. That is not the only connection between tech and plumbing. The water and sewage industry offers clues to the vexed question of how to regulate the Silicon Valley “platform” firms, such as Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook. The implications are mildly terrifying for the companies, so any tech tycoons reading this column might want to secure a spare pair of trousers.In America and in Europe a consensus is emerging that big tech firms must be tamed. Their dominance of services such as search and social media gives them huge economic and political clout. The $3trn total market value of America’s five biggest tech firms (Apple and Microsoft are the other two) suggests that investors believe they are among the most powerful firms in history, up there with the East India Company and Standard Oil. 19 Trustbusters in need of instant gratification want to break up the companies, but this might make their services less useful (imagine having ten social-media accounts), and network effects might mean that one of the tiddlers would grow dominant again. Others want tech firms to license their patents for nothing, as AT&T was required to do in 1956. This might create startups tomorrow, but will not stop firms exploiting monopolies today.An alternative is to regulate these companies like utilities—monopolies with high market shares that provide an essential service from which it is expensive for consumers to switch. Here, the water industry is relevant, particularly the concept of a regulated asset base (RAB). It emerged in the 1990s when Britain was privatising its water firms, borrowing elements from American regulation. It is an acronym that few in Silicon Valley are aware of. But from these obscure origins RAB frameworks are now common in Europe and Latin America, used to regulate at least $400bn-worth of power, airport, water and telecoms assets.The idea is that the monopolist’s profits should not exceed the level that a competitive market would allow. That means estimating the cost to an imaginary new entrant of replicating the incumbent’s assets (this is the RAB) and calculating the profits the newcomer would make if its returns matched its cost of capital. The actual monopoly’s earnings should not exceed this amount. Safeguards are added to ensure the utility is run efficiently, keeping costs low. Regulators review the framework every few years.How might utility-style regulation work for Silicon Valley firms? Consider a thought experiment with Facebook. Its 1.3bn users pay nothing, but give it their data and control over the adverts they see. Facebook then sells advertisers targeted access to its users, pulling in $27bn last year. Imagine that the service were “unbundled”, giving users control. All would own their data and could choose whether to sell them to advertisers. They would also have to pay Facebook a fee to compensate it for the cost of creating and operating the network.The big question is how much compensation—profits—Facebook and other firms would deserve if they were treated as utilities. It is possible to get a rough idea. Assume a cost of capital of 12%—a high figure to reflect the risk inherent in tech firms’ models. Estimating their RABs is harder. They have some physical assets such as data centres, but unlike utilities their main resources are not pylons, pipes and property, but software and ideas that they create or acquire by buying rivals. Only some of these intangibles appear on their balance-sheets; the vast sums spent on research and development (R&D) do not. But you can reconfigure their balance-sheets as if all their R&D in the past had been recognised as an asset with a 20-year life. Alphabet and Facebook would have a combined RAB of $160bn. If their returns were capped at 12%, operating profits would fall by 65% and 81% respectively.If their services were unbundled, users would benefit. Using figures from 2016, the average Facebook user would pay $15 a year to the firm for its return on its RAB, but they would pocket $23 from selling advertisers their data and the right to be advertised to. A Google user would pay $37 a year to Google, but collect $45 from advertisers. Those are fairly small sums, but richer users with particularly valuable data could make much more.Bog standardRegulating tech like water would cause an outcry among investors and in Silicon Valley. Yet some of the objections do not stack up. Essential investment would still happen—a guaranteed 12% return is a handsome reward. The firms could invest in new technologies that would remain outside the regulated utility. It would be possible to work out which assets sit abroad and exclude them from the RAB, or to reach arrangements with foreign regulators.This approach would have shortcomings, though. Tech moves at the speed of light compared with conventional utilities. It was only five years ago that investors worried that Facebook would struggle with the shift to mobile phones. Regulators would be clumsy at coping with rapid change. And a RAB methodology would not resolve the incendiary issue of whether tech platforms should be responsible for what they publish.Despite such problems, tech bosses should view regulation as utilities as a long-term risk. They have two defences. First, to bundle their services so tightly that it is impossible for outsiders to isolate the products that are monopolies and work out their profits and assets. Amazon is a master here. It is unclear how much it makes or has invested in e-commerce (where it is dominant), videos (where it is a challenger), or food (where it is a new entrant).The second defence is to lobby Washington. The lesson from America’s veteran oligopolists—airline, telecoms and health-care companies—is that you can manipulate and dance around the regulatory system to ensure high profits. For tech firms, financial obfuscation and cronyism are the most effective ways to ensure their monopoly profits do not go down the drain. "Big tech, big trouble"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729455-being-treated-utilities-big-techs-biggest-long-term-threat-what-if-large-tech-firms-were?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-23T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'bab0a2e4b0ec2a6e95416db5293cc46022b9a43c'|'China sets its sights on dominating sunrise industries'|'IN RECENT days China set the record for the world’s fastest long-distance bullet train, which hurtled between Beijing and Shanghai at 350kph (217mph). This was a triumph of industrial policy as much as of engineering. China’s first high-speed trains started rolling only a decade ago; today the country has 20,000km of high-speed track, more than the rest of the world combined. China could not have built this without a strong government. The state provided funds for research, land for tracks, aid for loss-making railways, subsidies for equipment-makers and, most controversially, incentives for foreign companies to share commercial secrets.High-speed rail is a prime example of the Chinese government’s prowess at identifying priority industries and deploying money and policy tools to nurture them. It inspires awe of what it can accomplish and fear that other countries stand little chance against such a formidable competitor. Yet there have also been big industrial-policy misses, notably the failure to develop strong car manufacturers and semiconductor-makers. China is rolling out a new generation of industrial policies, directed at a range of advanced sectors, raising worries that it will dominate everything from robotics to artificial intelligence. That result is far from preordained.Latest updates Bitcoin   8   8 hours ago California sues Donald Trump over his border wall plan Democracy in America 17 hours ago “I don’t want the last car made in Germany to end up in a museum” Kaffeeklatsch 18 hours ago Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund passes the $1trn mark Graphic detail 20 hours ago A colourful way of bringing attention to South Side Chicago Prospero 20   Industrial policy is a touchy topic. In continental Europe and, especially, Asia, many have faith in the government’s ability to steer companies into industries they might otherwise shun. In America and Britain, faith tends to be supplanted by deep doubts. Governments, after all, have a lousy record in picking winners in fast-evolving markets. Yet most countries try to support some industries, usually through a mixture of infrastructure, tax breaks and research funding. What differs is the stress they lay on such measures.China is unique in the breadth and heft of its industrial policy. For years the government concentrated on modernising what it classified as nine traditional industries such as shipbuilding, steelmaking and petrochemical production. In 2010 seven new strategic industries, from alternative energy to biotechnology, also became targets. And two years ago it announced its “Made in China 2025” scheme, specifying ten sectors, including aerospace, new materials and agricultural equipment, which are now at the heart of its planning. The various plans overlap; cars, for example, have appeared in every iteration. The result is a wide-ranging approach in which the government tries to shape outcomes in important parts of the economy, new and old.The “Made in China” plan, its latest industrial-policy craze, is derived in part from Germany’s “Industry 4.0” model, which focuses on creating a helpful environment through training and policy support but leaves business decisions to companies. China’s version is much more hands-on. By the start of this year, officials had established 1,013 “state-guided funds”, endowed with 5.3trn yuan ($807bn), much of it for “Made in China” industries. In August the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology unveiled a manufacturing-subsidy programme, spread across as many as 62 separate initiatives. Most contentiously, the government has laid out local-content targets for the various “Made in China” sectors (see chart). One plan features hundreds of market-share targets, both at home and abroad. “Clearly, this is no mere domestic exercise,” the EU Chamber of Commerce in China warned in a report this year.The targets also illustrate one of the facets of Chinese industrial policy that has so angered foreign companies and governments: the disguising of state support. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) strictly limits local-content rules. But China’s market-share targets are primarily contained in semi-official documents, such as a blueprint published by the Chinese Academy of Engineering. So the government can claim that these are simply industry reports, not official targets. But in the Chinese system the line between government-backed industry estimates and official guidelines is easily blurred.Similarly, foreigners have long complained that China hides much of its illegal state aid. Since 2011 America has formally requested information about more than 400 unreported Chinese subsidies. “China learned how to game the system,” says Tim Stratford, a former American trade official responsible for dealings with China. “The WTO is not designed to deal effectively with a huge economy that has, as the core of its development strategy, industrial policies across a wide range of sectors.” Frustrations at the WTO’s inadequacy in restraining China have led the American government to look at other mechanisms (see article ).Foreign competitors see China as a well-oiled machine and worry that they will lose business not just in China but around the world. Export powerhouses such as South Korea and Germany feel most exposed (see chart). But in fact the Chinese government’s record in promoting specific industries is patchy. Since the 1970s it has tried to develop semiconductors. But of the $145bn-worth of microchips China consumed in 2015, only a tenth were truly domestic; foreign technology remains superior. The car industry, too, has disappointed. To manufacture in China, foreign firms must take local partners. The government hoped this would lead to knowledge transfers. Instead, local firms, insulated from head-on foreign competition, have milked the joint ventures for profits and innovated little.Moreover, in their zeal, local governments can go overboard. Some worry that “Made in China” sectors will end up facing gluts, like “old” industries where China is now cutting overcapacity, such as steel and coal. The Mercator Institute of China Studies, a Berlin-based research group, counted that, by late 2016, nearly 40 local governments had opened or planned robotics parks. The central government estimates that China will need nearly 150bn yuan-worth of robots over the next few years. According to the Mercator tally, local targets add up to roughly five times as much.Yet when four factors—foreign technology, domestic abilities, market demand and government money—come together, Chinese industrial policy can be ruthlessly effective. The boom in high-speed rail began in 2004 when the government offered lucrative contracts to foreign engineering companies such as Germany’s Siemens and Japan’s Kawasaki so long as they shared their know-how. Some resisted at first, but eventually the lure of China’s vast market won them over, especially when they saw competitors getting a slice of it. With their prodigious engineering skills, born from years of trying to develop high-speed rail themselves, Chinese companies soon absorbed the technology. After a decade of laying tracks on an unprecedented scale, they have improved on it.That success cannot be replicated in all ten of the “Made in China” sectors, not least because foreign companies are more guarded about sharing their secrets. But it would be rash to bet against China’s succeeding in at least a few of them.This article appeared in the Finance and economics section of the print edition under the headline "Biting the bullet"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21729442-its-record-industrial-policy-successes-patchy-china-sets-its-sights?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-23T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'48fd6151b9f8291cc67eff059ca38122152820cc'|'Uber to lose licence to operate in London - Technology - The Guardian'|'Uber Uber stripped of London licence due to lack of corporate responsibility US ride-hailing company to appeal after Transport for London says it is not a ‘fit and proper’ operator View more sharing options Friday 22 September 2017 14.29 BST First published on Friday 22 September 2017 11.11 BST Uber has been stripped of its London licence in a surprise move that dealt a serious blow to one of Silicon Valley’s fastest rising companies and sparked an outcry from a coalition of customers, government ministers and drivers at the ride-hailing company. The firm’s application for a new licence in London was rejected on the basis that the company is not a “fit and proper” private car hire operator. Uber’s cars will not disappear immediately as its current licence expires on 30 September and it plans to challenge the ruling by London’s transport authority in the courts immediately. The hailing app can continue to operate in the capital – where it has 3.5 million users – until the firm has exhausted the appeals process. Uber has 21 days to launch an appeal but can continue to operate until the process expires – which could take months. How will you be affected by Uber losing its licence to operate in London? Read more The decision by the London mayor’s transport body, Transport for London, was backed by Sadiq Khan, employment rights campaigners, and the trade body for the capital’s black-cab drivers, who have been staunch opponents of the US-based company. However, it drew immediate criticism from Uber users, drivers and Greg Hands, the trade secretary. One of Uber’s 40,000 drivers in the capital, James Farrar, who has campaigned for better working conditions at the firm, said TfL’s decision was a “devastating blow”. TfL said it had rejected the company’s application to renew its licence because “Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility” in relation to reporting serious criminal offences, obtaining medical certificates and driver background checks. The licensing body also said it was concerned by Uber’s use of Greyball, software that can be used to block regulatory bodies from gaining full access to its app and undertaking regulatory or law enforcement duties. The decision to remove Uber from one of its biggest markets is the latest blow for a US-based company that has shot to a $70bn (£52bn) valuation since it was founded in 2009 but has been hobbled by opposition from national and municipal governments around the world – including in Italy and Rio de Janeiro – due to concerns over safety or the threat to existing taxi businesses . Andre Spicer, a professor at Cass Business School in London said the decision was a “potentially mortal blow” to Uber, adding: “In the past Uber operated at the edge of the law with new technology as an alibi. Now its rogue business model is proving to be a big liability.” Khan said he fully supported the decision to revoke Uber’s licence, saying all companies needed to “play by the rules”. He said: “I want London to be at the forefront of innovation and new technology and to be a natural home for exciting new companies that help Londoners by providing a better and more affordable service. “However, all companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect – particularly when it comes to the safety of customers.” But Hands, who is also minister for London, said: “At the flick of a pen Sadiq Khan is threatening to put 40,000 people out of work and leave 3.5 million users of Uber stranded. “Uber must address safety concerns and it is important there is a level playing field across the private hire market. “But a blanket ban will cause massive inconvenience to millions of Londoners, all while showing that the Mayor of London is closed to business and innovation.” Sam Gyimah, a Conservative justice minister and MP for East Surrey, said it was “possible to have effective regulation of Uber withoutpenalising the consumers who benefit from more choice and lowerprices”. How will TfL''s decision affect Uber? Read more Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, which represents black-cab drivers, said the mayor had made the right decision. “Since it first came on to our streets Uber has broken the law, exploited its drivers and refused to take responsibility for the safety of passengers. This immoral company has no place on London’s streets,” he said. Uber said in a statement the decision would “show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies”. “3.5 million Londoners who use our app, and more than 40,000 licensed drivers who rely on Uber to make a living, will be astounded by this decision,” the company added. The company wrote to users on Friday asking them to “defend the livelihoods” of its drivers and sign a petition asking the mayor to reverse TfL’s decision. Farrar, a co-claimant in a landmark employment tribunal decision against Uber and chair of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain’s private hire drivers’ branch, said TfL should have stepped in earlier to protect drivers. “To strip Uber of its licence after five years of laissez-faire regulation is a testament to a systemic failure at TfL,” he said. The majority of Uber users responding to a Guardian request for comment opposed the decision to revoke the company’s licence. Helen, from Walthamstow in east London, criticised the decision and said TfL should be working more closely with Uber. “With a lack of staff and police visible [on public transport], I often feel unsafe travelling alone and Uber has given me an affordable alternative to get home safely,” she said. Leo, a wheelchair user, said less than 30% of the tube network was accessible to him and buses were slow. “Uber has been a lifesaver for me. It has got me to visit family at short notice when the nearest accessible station was miles away and the bus took two hours,” he said. Uber is treating its drivers as sweated labour, says report Read more In London, Uber has faced criticism from unions, lawmakers and traditional black-cab drivers over working conditions. Unions including the IWGB and GMB called on TfL to insist Uber guaranteed basic employment rights under the terms of its new five-year licence . Employment rights campaigners said TfL’s decision was a warning shot to so-called gig economy companies, which include apps such as Deliveroo and delivery firms such as Hermes who argue their drivers and riders are self-employed. Frank Field, the Labour MP who led a parliamentary inquiry which found that Uber drivers were treated as Victorian-style “sweated labour” said: “This is a gamechanger for the gig economy. Uber must now respond to TfL’s decision by totally resetting its business model.” Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/22/uber-licence-transport-for-london-tfl'|'2017-09-22T18:21:00.000+03:00'
'b470aeb55aff5d2ded1fe09f2497d7671541c356'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint hits 4-month low, Hungarian bonds defy Fed signal'|'* Zloty also falls as Fed signals balance-sheet tightening * Forint slides on loose Hungarian cbank policy * Hungarian debt yields hesitate near record lows (Recasts with Hungarian T-bill auction, bonds, new comments) By Sandor Peto and Jan Lopatka BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Hungarian government debt yields fell to new record lows and the forint led Central European currencies lower on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled balance-sheet tightening and one more rate hike in 2017. The Fed''s guidance followed monetary easing measures by the Hungarian central bank (NBH), including a cut in its overnight deposit rate deeper into the negative. Tighter Fed policy would make risky assets in emerging markets, including the European Union''s eastern members, relatively less attractive, traders said. The forint hit 4-month lows, piercing the psychological line of 310 per euro. At 1331 GMT it traded at 310.55, down 0.6 percent, while the zloty shed 0.3 percent. But Hungarian debt prices continued to rally as investors gave credit to the NBH''s pledges that it would push yields lower, including longer maturities, traders said. The government sold 12-month Treasury bills at negative yields for the first time ever at an auction on Thursday. Hungary''s 10-year government bond yield was fixed at a new record low of 2.65 percent, down 6 basis points, while Poland''s corresponding yield rose 3 basis points to 3.344 percent. Poland has better credit ratings than Hungary, and Central European economies are powering ahead. But tension between Warsaw and Brussels over the rule of law in Poland has weighed on its asset prices. Societe Generale analyst Régis Chatellier recommended investors sell or "go underweight" on Polish bonds on Wednesday. In a note released on Thursday, Societe strategist Phoenix Kalen said she saw "compelling reasons" for Hungarian long-term bonds to perform very well in the coming months on the NBH''s "willingness to introduce targeted instruments", and its "credibility where yields are concerned". One Budapest-based dealer said the Fed''s tightening would take place over a long period and therefore would not keep the forint weak. "My feeling is that strengthening remains the forint''s natural direction," the dealer added. Hungary''s economic growth is expected to increase to more than 4 percent in the second half of the year, Economy Minister Mihaly Varga told Reuters. Elsewhere, the Czech crown remained steady. Last month the Czechs became the first in the European Union to lift central bank rates since 2012. Foreign investors hold big speculative positions in the crown which could lose value if the shrinking of the Fed''s balance sheet encourages the European Central bank to tighten its own policies, CSOB analysts said in a note. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1531 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.100 26.102 +0.01 3.48% 0 0 % Hungary 310.55 308.55 -0.64% -0.56% forint 00 50 Polish zloty 4.2840 4.2716 -0.29% 2.80% Romanian leu 4.5995 4.5967 -0.06% -1.40% Croatian 7.4810 7.4795 -0.02% 0.99% kuna Serbian 119.12 119.11 -0.01% 3.55% dinar 00 00 Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1049.3 1047.3 +0.19 +13.8 2 1 % 6% Budapest 38139. 38108. +0.08 +19.1 15 04 % 7% Warsaw 2471.7 2499.6 -1.12% +26.8 3 3 9% Bucharest 7904.6 7918.0 -0.17% +11.5 8 5 7% Ljubljana 801.25 801.22 +0.00 +11.6 % 6% Zagreb 1829.9 1821.1 +0.49 -8.26% 7 1 % Belgrade 732.52 728.77 +0.51 +2.11 % % Sofia 681.23 677.65 +0.53 +16.1 % 7% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.05 0.275 +072b +27bp ps s 5-year 0.174 0.059 +043b +4bps ps 10-year 1.134 0.06 +068b +4bps ps Poland 2-year 1.805 0.035 +248b +3bps ps 5-year 2.71 0.038 +297b +2bps ps 10-year 3.355 0.038 +290b +2bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.71 0.86 0.96 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.07 0.09 0.115 0.05 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.76 1.82 1.86 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-forint-hits-4-month-low-hungarian-bonds-defy-fed-signal-idINL5N1M2373'|'2017-09-21T11:57:00.000+03:00'
'dfc4ec4bf0e20b8ed16b655d019fa1276559d7bf'|'Sprint hired Trump-connected lobbyist in early September -filing'|'September 22, 2017 / 5:52 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Sprint hired Trump-connected lobbyist in early September -filing Ginger Gibson 2 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Sprint Corp hired a lobbying firm with close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sept. 1, adding to its stable of federal lobbyists as it nears a deal to merge with wireless rival T-Mobile US Inc, according to disclosures filed with the U.S. Congress this week. Ballard Partners will lobby on “general government policies and regulations,” according to the disclosure, which did not include financial details. The firm founded by Brian Ballard, an early Trump supporter, joins a long list of Sprint in-house and contracted lobbyists. In the first six months of 2017, the wireless provider spent $1.2 million on lobbying in Washington, according to disclosure filings earlier this year. Ballard is a regional vice chair of the Republican National Committee and helps leads the party’s fundraising. A lobbyist listed as the Ballard Partners contact on the Sprint account did not respond to a request for comment. Sprint declined to provide an immediate comment. T-Mobile is close to agreeing to tentative terms on a deal with Sprint that would merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The transaction would significantly consolidate the U.S. telecommunications market and represent the first transformative U.S. merger with significant antitrust risk since Trump’s inauguration in January. Trump has been publicly critical of proposed larger corporate mergers despite boasting he is business friendly. In January, Ballard opened a Washington outpost of his lobbying operation. Susie Wiles, Trump’s Florida campaign manager during the 2016 election, is a also member of the Ballard Partner’s Washington office, but is not listed as working for Sprint. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/sprint-ma-tmobile-lobbying/sprint-hired-trump-connected-lobbyist-in-early-september-filing-idUSL2N1M3138'|'2017-09-22T20:49:00.000+03:00'
'80e73e750483bf01c881211218e30f045736a414'|'Rio Tinto to increase share buybacks by $2.5 billion'|'  4:54 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago Rio Tinto to increase share buybacks by $2.5 billion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Rio Tinto mining company''s logo is photographed at their annual general meeting in Sydney, Australia, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed LONDON/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Flush with cash, Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.AX ) said it would buy back an additional $2.5 billion worth of its shares, dishing out the proceeds from a sale of coal assets earlier than some had expected. The action raises the world no.2 miner’s total buybacks this year to $4 billion following announcements in February and August, as miners benefit from recovering prices and costs reduced by years of cutbacks. Investors have been pressing for greater returns. “It’s not a surprise, but it’s probably a bit earlier than people factored in,” said James Eginton, an analyst at Tribeca Investment Partners, a Rio Tinto shareholder. Rio’s Australian shares rose 1.4 percent on Friday, outpacing gains in rival BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ). Rio shareholders approved the sale of a number of Australian coal interests to China-backed Yancoal Australia ( YAL.AX ) for $2.69 billion in June and some shareholders at the time called for the money to be used to increase dividends or buy back shares. The company is seen in the strongest position among the world’s biggest miners, carrying little debt and raking in cash from its low-cost iron ore operations and possibly more asset sales. “Next year capital returns are probably going to step up,” Eginton said. Rio paid its highest interim dividend in August after first-half profit more than doubled. Reporting by Zandi Shabalala and Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rio-tinto-plc-buyback/rio-tinto-to-increase-share-buybacks-by-2-5-billion-idUKKCN1BW2GI'|'2017-09-22T03:31:00.000+03:00'
'9125f6a49f690d154fe10ef025cfc0f9b47256a6'|'U.S. Commerce chief: U.S. content falling in Mexican, Canadian imports'|'September 22, 2017 / 2:34 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago U.S. Commerce chief: U.S. content falling in Mexican, Canadian imports Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Wilbur Ross, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, answers a question during the Concordia Summit in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday a new study by his department shows that U.S. value-added content is declining for manufactured goods imported from Mexico and Canada, arguing that this required tougher rules of origin in the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a Washington Post opinion piece preview of the report to be released on Friday, Ross said the analysis of recently released OECD trade in value-added data shows a marked decline in U.S. content in automotive imports from Canada and Mexico from 1995 through 2011. The report comes as chief U.S. negotiator John Melle prepares to present new text proposals at the third round of NAFTA talks in Ottawa, where he said “more challenging issues will start taking centre stage.”. Among these are rules of origin, a chapter in which the Trump administration wants more substantial U.S. content in autos, the main source of trade deficits with Canada and Mexico. “If we don’t fix the rules of origin, negotiations on the rest of the agreement will fail to meaningfully shift the trade imbalance,” Ross said in the op-ed. He said the U.S. content of manufactured goods from Canada dropped to 15 percent in 2011 from 21 percent in 1995, a year after NAFTA went into effect. The U.S. content in Mexican manufactured goods fell by more, to 16 percent from 21 percent. At the same time, Ross said the study shows content from non- NAFTA countries was rising over the same period, suggesting the origin rules needed to more tightly restrict NAFTA access benefits. Mexican officials have said that Mexican imports into the United States contain about 40 percent U.S. content. “These data debunk the claim that U.S. content in the form of parts is so high that we shouldn’t worry about headline gross-deficit figures,” Ross said. Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-trade-nafta-ross/u-s-commerce-chief-u-s-content-falling-in-mexican-canadian-imports-idUKKCN1BX07X'|'2017-09-22T05:32:00.000+03:00'
'99533303d45e81d4fe0785d2b2c89941854c02a6'|'Abu Dhabi targets IPOs worth $5 billion ahead of Saudi Aramco'|'  9:35 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Abu Dhabi targets IPOs worth $5 billion ahead of Saudi Aramco Saeed Azhar , Stanley Carvalho 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Employees are seen in the offices at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) headquarters, UAE, April 3, 2013. REUTERS/Ben Job/File Photo DUBAI/ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi is hoping to fast-track at least $5 billion (3.7 billion pounds) of stock market listings by state-backed companies next year before Saudi Aramco’s planned $100 billion IPO dominates investor demand. Like neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi is restructuring its industrial sector, hoping to lure foreign investors with privatisations after lower energy prices depleted its coffers. This could result in at least five large listings including Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc‘s) fuel distribution unit, aluminium-maker EGA, industrial conglomerate Senaat and Abu Dhabi Ports, government and banking sources said. Bankers had pitched for the Abu Dhabi Ports IPO, but no decision has been made and the company has said there are no immediate plans for listing. The IPOs could raise at least $5 billion, several of the sources said, exceeding money raised through listings in the United Arab Emirates over the last five years, according to Thomson Reuters data. A total number of 13 IPOs have raised $4.49 billion since 2012. Bankers said the companies hope to complete their IPOs before Saudi Arabia’s IPO of its crown jewel Saudi Aramco either in late 2018 or early 2019 as part of a wider multi-billion dollar privatisation programme. “The timing for all of this is now and, if at all possible to achieve, ahead of the IPO of Saudi Aramco and the upgrade of MSCI Saudi Arabia to emerging market status,” Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, head of research at First Abu Dhabi Bank, said. Government-owned companies in Abu Dhabi have been told to manage budgets efficiently and control spending and possibly raise their own finances for expansion to make them less reliant on the state, a source close to the government said. “Abu Dhabi is taking bold measures to kickstart the markets and boost investor confidence by pushing government related entities to sell shares and list publicly,” an Abu Dhabi-based senior bank executive who has advised on deals there said. CONSOLIDATION At the same time, Abu Dhabi-based companies spanning sectors such as banking, insurance, services and healthcare are also expected to go through more consolidation, the sources said. Last year Abu Dhabi merged its two sovereign wealth funds, Mubadala and IPIC, while National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank created one of the largest banks in the Middle East and Africa. “When we were a very young country, you could have multiple companies and you basically had to grab your domestic market share. Now it’s time to reach the size, where we need to export our services, export our business,” Sabah al-Binali, a UAE-based investor, said. Abu Dhabi is using tougher economic conditions to push through reforms that would have been harder to implement in previous years, when higher oil prices boosted its revenue. “The good old days of the state bearing the weight of spending and providing subsidies because of rich resources is over. That model is outdated,” an Abu Dhabi-based banker said. “The private sector has to bear the burden too now, something Abu Dhabi has realised.” additional reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emirates-privatisation/abu-dhabi-targets-ipos-worth-5-billion-ahead-of-saudi-aramco-idUKKCN1BV12X'|'2017-09-20T12:34:00.000+03:00'
'2bcf0202c64599c5f6f605f7ba32b80000fc7a9b'|'Icahn''s oil refiner CVR starts unwinding biofuels bet'|'File Photo - Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network''s Neil Cavuto show in New York February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carl Icahn’s refining company CVR Energy ( CVI.N ) has begun buying biofuel credits for the first time in months, a sign the firm is starting to unwind a massive short position in the niche market, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The company has purchased millions of the credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs, since late August, the sources said. But it will need to buy millions more to meet its obligations under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard.“They seem to come in for clips – half a million or a million at a time. Very normal activity,” said one of the sources, a trader who had also been buying the credits in the marketplace and who asked not to be named.The company has spread the purchases among different brokers, a second source said, a strategy that will help keep it from attracting sellers looking to bid up the price.The sources did not say how much CVR purchased or at what price. Some details of its purchases may be revealed when the company discloses its quarterly earnings next month.A CVR spokeswoman declined to comment. Counsel for Carl Icahn did not respond to a request for comment.The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard requires oil refiners to blend increasing volumes of ethanol and other biofuels into gasoline and diesel every year, or to purchase credits from competitors that blend it instead.The regulation also allows refiners to delay their RIN purchases for up to a year, an option that can be attractive to a company that thinks prices will fall.CVR, in which Icahn owns a majority stake, delayed buying credits for much of the past year in hopes prices would come down, building up a company-record $280 million outstanding obligation by the end of June, according to a Reuters review of company filings.The move came as Icahn pressured the Trump administration, as an unpaid adviser to President Donald Trump, to revamp U.S. biofuels policy in a way that shifts the blending burden off refiners like CVR further down the supply chain to terminals.That would have crushed the price of RINs and saved merchant refiners like CVR, Valero Energy Corp ( VLO.N ) and others hundreds of millions of dollars a year.POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY Environmental regulators are preparing to reject the request, however, according to administration sources. Icahn recently resigned his post amid growing concern over his dual role as adviser and investor.CVR’s huge RIN bill comes due in March 2018, which means it has to cover roughly two years of RIN obligations in a span of nine months to meet the federal regulation.It’s a “high stakes RINs strategy,” Barclays analyst Paul Cheng wrote in an August research note, pointing out its purchases could drive up RIN prices. The outstanding cost could be worth $430 million by year-end, Cheng warned.RIN prices climbed to a year-to-date high of 92 cents each last month, well off their near-18-month low of 33 cents that was driven by expectations Icahn’s efforts in Washington would yielding results.Political uncertainty could continue to keep prices high, said Harvard University professor and former Obama administration adviser James Stock. For one thing, traders are awaiting decisions from Washington on whether to impose duties on imported fuel from Argentina and Indonesia and whether to reinstate a $1-per-gallon tax credit for biodiesel.“It’s hard to see how (RIN prices) would come down, but you can see a number of reasons why they’d go up,” Stock said.Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cvr-energy-biofuels/icahns-oil-refiner-cvr-starts-unwinding-biofuels-bet-idUSKCN1BU2H3'|'2017-09-19T21:11:00.000+03:00'
'47288a93147a353b3359d63676e5503af72d5f0b'|'FTSE picks itself up from four-month low'|'  9:00 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago BAE, financials pick FTSE up from four-month low 4 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - The UK’s top share index advanced on Monday, rebounding from the previous session’s four-month low as shares in financials rose and higher oil prices boosted energy shares, while late comments from Bank of England governor Mark Carney helped cement gains. The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 0.5 percent at 7,253.28 points, joining a broader rally in risky assets across European bourses. Last week a surge in sterling to its highest level since the Brexit vote sent the FTSE 100 to its lowest since the end of April, as its predominantly international, dollar-earning firms were hit. On Monday the pound eased back, extending losses after afternoon comments from Bank of England governor Mark Carney reiterating that the central bank would raise rates in the coming months, but adding that hikes would be limited and gradual. Sterling’s slide boosted the FTSE to end at a session high. “The prospect of a softer Brexit and rising expectations of an interest rate hike could lead to a further appreciation of the GBP against the EUR. Conversely, a stronger GBP is weighing on UK equities,” analysts at Credit Suisse Wealth Management said in a note. “We remain negative on UK equities given their high overseas exposure.” Financials, which tend to be more volatile than other sectors, added the most to gains, with shares in HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) and Barclays ( BARC.L ) gaining 0.5 percent to 1.6 percent. Other cyclical sectors, such as energy, also rose, with heavyweights BP ( BP.L ) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) both up 0.7 percent as oil prices hit $50 per barrel. [O/R] Defence firm BAE Systems ( BAES.L ) was among the biggest individual risers, jumping 4.2 percent after Qatar signed a deal to buy 24 Typhoon aircraft from the company. “We believe the market was not expecting a Qatar order for Eurofighter – considering its previous orders for Rafales and F-15 military jets,” analysts at UBS said in a note. “Furthermore we believe the market could now allocate a higher probability for further orders from new/existing customers going forward,” UBS analysts added. Engineering firm GKN ( GKN.L ) was another top gainer, jumping around 3 percent following an upgrade from Exane BNP Paribas to “neutral” from “underperform”, with the broker citing benefits from possible future disposals. Defensive shares including tobacco companies Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) and British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) and precious metals miner Randgold Resources ( RRS.L ) brought up the rear on the FTSE. Among mid-caps a jump in esure''s ( ESUR.L ) shares helped the index .FTMC gain 0.3 percent. Shares in esure soared 6.1 percent following a media report that the insurer’s biggest shareholder Peter Wood was looking to sell his 30.8 percent stake. Shares in Provident Financial ( PFG.L ) fell 5.5 percent, taking their year-to-date losses to 74 percent, fresh from the company’s demotion to the mid-cap index. A trader said its slide could be related to the index change and souring investor sentiment after RBC downgraded the stock last week. Reporting by Kit Rees and Helen Reid; Editing by Andrew Roche'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-picks-itself-up-from-four-month-low-idUKKCN1BT0SJ'|'2017-09-18T11:59:00.000+03:00'
'a5643101f9fe36e8383e0cfc8cbee482138f9aee'|'Justice Department barred from sharing VW documents - judge'|' 23 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Justice Department barred from sharing VW documents - judge David Shepardson 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen (VW) logo covered with dust is seen in Grafenwoehr, Germany, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal magistrate judge blocked the U.S. Justice Department from sharing with a German law firm 25 million pages of records disclosed by Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) in the government’s diesel emissions investigation. The order, issued late on Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Corley in California, is a win for the world’s largest automaker, which faces 1,600 securities suits in Germany in connection with its diesel emissions scandal. The company turned over the documents as part of prosecutors’ probe of its installing software to hide excess emissions. The suits collectively seek nearly 8.6 billion euros ($10.3 billion) from Volkswagen, according to a court filing. The Justice Department sued VW in Germany in September 2016 over losses in federal government employees’ retirement accounts and retained German law firm GSK Stockmann to represent the U.S. government. It seeks to recover 30.8 million euros ($37 million), as well as interest and legal fees. Lawyers for Volkswagen objected to the Justice Department’s planned transfer of the documents and said if it were successful, all 1,600 plaintiffs would have access to them. VW noted some Volkswagen submissions in Germany became public in the German press days after they were filed. “It is likely that at least some of these documents would also be leaked to the press,” VW lawyer Thomas Liebscher wrote in an affidavit. Judge Corley said that a protective order between Volkswagen and the government bars the sharing of the documents with the Justice Department’s German law firm. Corley said GSK Stockmann cannot use the documents obtained by the department “to end-run around German discovery rules.” The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Volkswagen has agreed to spend as much as $25 billion in the United States to resolve claims from owners and regulators over polluting diesel vehicles and has offered to buy back about 500,000 vehicles. The German automaker in September 2015 admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and in March pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to three felonies in connection with the scandal. In June, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer allowed some claims to proceed by investors who sued Volkswagen in a California court over its diesel emissions scandal. Breyer ruled that Volkswagen and then-Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn intentionally or recklessly understated VW’s financial liabilities since May 2014. But he dismissed claims for financial statements issued before then. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkwagen-emissions/justice-department-barred-from-sharing-vw-documents-judge-idUKKCN1BT27U'|'2017-09-18T20:23:00.000+03:00'
'cbaf68491019cd922887f48eac8491e8b4e2c286'|'Deutsche Bank CEO faces board grilling on turnaround progress'|'September 18, 2017 / 3:00 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Deutsche Bank CEO faces board grilling on turnaround progress Tom Sims 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan addresses the bank''s annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Two years into the job as Deutsche Bank’s ( DBKGn.DE ) chief executive, John Cryan faces its board this week amid growing investor frustration over the speed of his turnaround plans. Cryan, along with his top managers, is in Berlin to update chairman Paul Achleitner and the rest of the supervisory board on progress on Deutsche Bank’s most pressing projects, a person familiar with the meeting on Monday and Tuesday said. These include integrating Deutsche Bank’s giant retail arm Postbank and the planned partial listing of its asset management business next year, part of the British CEO’s pledge to focus on Germany after years of rampant and risky growth overseas. Fresh off the plane from a conference in Singapore, Cryan is also expected to brief the board on an overhaul of Deutsche Bank’s investment bank and its plans for Brexit. Under Cryan, Deutsche Bank has been trying to regain its footing after a series of scandals, lawsuits and bets that went wrong pushed it to the brink of collapse last year. Although the bank’s share price has stabilized, its revenue is still declining, heaping the pressure on Cryan. “We need to see progress, otherwise the bank will lose credibility,” one large Deutsche Bank investor told Reuters. “The bank doesn’t have many arrows left in its quiver.” RISKY BABY STEPS Market moves may not be in Cryan’s favour as he seeks to ramp up revenues at Deutsche Bank, which could lead him to consider taking on bigger risks. In July, Deutsche forecast lower full-year revenue and only a modest improvement in earnings after a drop in capital markets trading hit second-quarter sales. And in an interview broadcast on Monday, Cryan signalled that little had changed over the summer. “We do see relatively little volume and volatility in the markets so that weighs a little bit on revenues.” However, he also flagged Deutsche Bank’s appetite for risk is returning as it seeks to get return to growth. “We are encouraging people to take on more risk. Baby steps, but we are taking on more risk. We want to grow the bank.” NEW ERA IN BANKING Germany’s largest lender has also sought to highlight it has turned over a new leaf, with a TV ad campaign last month under the banner: “A new era requires new banking”. And it will soon launch a social media campaign using the hashtag #positiveimpact to stress the good over the bad, something Cryan said the bank has failed to do in the past. But at the forefront of the bank’s revamp is its integration of Postbank, once part of Germany’s postal service, which it bought as Europe’s debt crisis was unfolding. After an unsuccessful attempt to sell it, Cryan opted instead to integrate Postbank with Deutsche Bank’s retail business and details on the elimination of overlap are expected in the coming weeks after Postbank CEO Frank Strauss joined Deutsche’s management board in August. For Brexit, Cryan is planning for a “reasonable worst-case” scenario that predicts that Britain’s deal to leave the European Union will not be favourable for financial services. Deutsche Bank, which has a large presence in London, expects to add new jobs in Frankfurt, where it plans to replicate a structure that is interchangeable with its British operations and evolve as Brexit negotiations unfold. Reporting by Tom Sims, Andreas Framke and Hans Seidenstuecker; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutschebank-strategy/deutsche-bank-ceo-faces-board-grilling-on-turnaround-progress-idUKKCN1BT1TK'|'2017-09-18T18:00:00.000+03:00'
'2ae10b07cc7bb46c1faa3593f4c68b568df85820'|'Hulu''s big Emmy night marks a streaming milestone'|'September 18, 2017 / 4:55 AM / Updated 16 hours ago Hulu''s big Emmy night marks a streaming milestone Lisa Richwine 3 Min Read 69th Primetime Emmy Awards – Photo Room – Los Angeles, California, U.S., 17/09/2017 - Bruce Miller holds his Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "The Handmaid''s Tale". REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Streaming service Hulu made Emmy history on Sunday by becoming the first digital platform to win a top series award with its dystopian saga “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The Hulu series adapted from Margaret Atwood’s 1985 book won best drama, the most prestigious award of the night, and seven other awards including best drama actress for Elisabeth Moss. The recognition at TV’s highest honors was a breakout moment for Hulu, which had failed to win the critical acclaim and buzz generated by Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc as streaming services uprooted traditional Hollywood. “Handmaid’s Tale” triumphed over Netflix’s supernatural thriller “Stranger Things,” NBC’s “This is Us” and others. Overall, longtime Emmy heavyweight HBO won the most awards with 29 wins, even without its mega-hit “Game of Thrones.” The reigning best drama winner was not eligible because it aired too late in the year for consideration. HBO’s “Veep” took home the best comedy trophy for the third straight year, and “Big Little Lies” was named best limited series. “Thank you to HBO for never wavering in your belief in us,” star Nicole Kidman said on stage as she accepted the award for best actress in a limited series. HBO is owned by Time Warner Inc. The prestige and publicity surrounding the Emmys can help networks attract new viewers in a crowded TV marketplace where broadcasters, cable channels and digital platforms are battling for audiences. “Handmaid’s Tale” already has drawn more new subscribers to Hulu than any other original or acquired show, Hulu said at a Television Critics Association event in July. Its creators said Hulu reaped the rewards by taking on a risky proposal. Writer Bruce Miller credited Hulu with supporting a controversial series about a society in which women are forced into sexual servitude. Hulu is owned by traditional media companies Walt Disney Co, 21st Century Fox, Comcast Corp and Time Warner. “There were so many times I presented something or pitched something,” Miller told reporters backstage, “and I was sure they were going to say there was no way you can do that on television.” “They were always enthusiastic and encouraging,” he added. “It’s not an easy show to make. It’s rough stuff. They were brave and committed to making the book into a television show.” Netflix won 20 Emmys including best supporting drama actor for John Lithgow in “The Crown” and best comedy writing “Master of None.” Broadcast network NBC, owned by Comcast, won 15 awards. Its comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live” collected nine. Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Mary Milliken'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-awards-emmys-networks/hulus-big-emmy-night-marks-a-streaming-milestone-idUSKCN1BT0B1'|'2017-09-18T07:43:00.000+03:00'
'810e25d96d4fc32f82ec9bf87b8a8f185b334c85'|'ZhongAn to offer life insurance after Hong Kong IPO worth up to $1.5 billion'|'HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co Ltd [IPO-ZAOL.HK], the nation’s first internet-only insurer, said it plans to add life insurance and other healthcare products to its range of policies after going public in Hong Kong.ZhongAn, founded by Alibaba ( BABA.N ) Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Tencent ( 0700.HK ) Chairman Pony Ma and Ping An Insurance Group ( 2318.HK ) Chairman Ma Mingzhe also plans to offer its technology to insurers inside and outside of China, it said on Sunday.The company is offering 199.3 million new shares in an indicative range of HK$53.70 to HK$59.70 each, putting its initial public offering at up to HK$11.9 billion ($1.5 billion).At the top end of the range, ZhongAn would have a market value of around $11 billion, it said in its prospectus.Final pricing will be decided on Thursday, with its debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange slated for Sept. 28, the company said.Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) agreed to buy a stake of just below 5 percent in ZhongAn as a cornerstone investor in the IPO, investing about $550 million.“This is a good marriage for the company in the sense that this is a very strategic, visionary investor and they’ve done a lot of study into the company. SoftBank is definitely a very strong stamp of approval,” ZhongAn’s Chief Financial Officer Francis Tang said at a news conference.SoftBank could make the investment through SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, or other affiliates, ZhongAn said.The company plans to use the new funds to bolster its capital base and cope with a 70 percent surge in gross written premiums in the three months ended March 2017, compared with the same period last year.“We are at a fast-pace growth stage, so we want to make sure that we have the sufficient capital because as an insurance company we have to have a strong capital base to do more business,” Tang said. “So when we see more business coming in, we want to make sure this won’t become a bottleneck.”The company has sold more than 8.2 billion policies to some 543 million people since its inception in 2013 in five areas: travel, health, consumer finance, auto and lifestyle consumption, where it started by insuring shipping returns at e-commerce giant Alibaba’s online marketplace.ZhongAn is applying for a license to offer life insurance products, Tang said, without giving an expected timeline for approval. It already offers 262 different types of insurance products and wants to add more within the five core areas.“We can further develop the depth and breadth in each of them,” Tang said. “We’re looking more at the pain points when you conduct your daily activities on the Internet ... what kind of protections do people need? We want to address those.”ZhongAn also plans to earn more in coming years from the sale of its technology to other insurers and partners within China and abroad.“This is how we want to see our expansion, not just outside China, but also inside China,” Tang said.($1 = 7.8170 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Louise Heavens and Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-zhongan-online-ipo/zhongan-to-offer-life-insurance-after-hong-kong-ipo-worth-up-to-1-5-billion-idINKCN1BT0LE'|'2017-09-18T05:22:00.000+03:00'
'330ae501218adc3036e630c9e482ec4a334128ae'|'China''s Fosun Pharma to buy smaller stake in India''s Gland Pharma for $1.1 billion'|'September 18, 2017 / 5:23 AM / Updated an hour ago China''s Fosun Pharma to buy smaller stake in India''s Gland Pharma for $1.1 billion Dominique Patton , Zeba Siddiqui 4 Min Read Signs are seen on the headquarters of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group in Shanghai, China, March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo BEIJING/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group ( 600196.SS ) is trimming the size of the stake it will buy in India’s Gland Pharma to 74 percent for $1.1 billion (809 million pounds), in a bid to salvage the stalled deal that would be the biggest takeover by a Chinese firm in India. Fosun Pharma had struck a deal in July last year to buy an 86 percent stake valued at about $1.26 billion in the Indian generic injectable drugmaker, but the deal had raised concerns among some in the Indian government, a source had told Reuters previously. India allows foreign investment of up to 100 percent in its pharmaceutical sector but above 74 percent requires government approval. Two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the Chinese drugmaker had agreed to lower the stake it planned to acquire in Gland to 74 percent, mainly because it sought to get the deal completed more smoothly and faster. Gland is backed by private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ). Fosun said in a statement on Sunday the deal no longer required a nod from India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It said it had already received approval from Chinese regulators and applied for antitrust approval in the United States and India. The Chinese drugmaker added that Gland Pharma’s founding family wanted to retain a bigger holding in the Indian company because of its good performance. Gland managing director Ravi Penmetsa told Reuters some approvals the original deal had received were at risk of expiring. “Now with this new agreement, we won’t have to reapply for those,” he said, adding that he expects the deal to be completed in two weeks. Fosun Pharma’s parent, Fosun International ( 0656.HK ), has been the poster child for China’s decade-long overseas push that saw Chinese bidders spend a record $105 billion on assets ranging from film studios to football clubs in 2016. Best known outside China for its acquisition of French resort chain Club Med, Fosun International was among acquisitive firms that found itself in the cross-hairs of Chinese authorities, sources have said. But its executives said in late August that Fosun would continue to conduct overseas deals and scout for targets in areas including drug manufacturing. Fosun Pharma said in mid-August it was bidding for a stake in U.S. speciality drugmaker Arbor Pharmaceuticals LLC. On Sunday Fosun Pharma said it would spend no more than $25 million to market the Indian company’s enoxaparin blood-thinning drug in the United States, when it obtains approval there, cutting the previously proposed marketing spend by half. In a statement on Sunday, Gland said the deal would allow it to make biosimilars - lucrative copies of biotech drugs - at Fosun’s site and sell them in India. “It won’t happen overnight, but we have started working on it,” Penmetsa said. Penmetsa and his father, P.V.N. Raju, will remain on the Gland board and the current management team will continue to run the company. Reporting by Dominique Patton in BEIJING and Zeba Siddiqui in MUMBAI; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu and Elzio Barreto in HONG KONG; Editing by David Goodman and Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fosun-pharma-m-a-gland-pharma/chinas-fosun-pharma-to-buy-smaller-stake-in-indias-gland-pharma-for-1-1-billion-idUKKCN1BT0D2'|'2017-09-18T08:22:00.000+03:00'
'781fd634c3adc224395a20a87f85d40adc7b5dcb'|'Services group Sodexo sees some impact from euro''s strength'|'September 18, 2017 / 5:58 AM / Updated an hour ago Services group Sodexo sees some impact from euro''s strength Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of French food services and facilities management group Sodexo is seen at the company headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - Sodexo ( EXHO.PA ), a French facilities management and vouchers group, said on Monday there would be some impact on its results from the recent rise in the euro EUR= . “The currency impact on operating profit will remainjust slightly positive, but less than in the first half, given the recent strength of the euro against the U.S. dollar, sterling and the Brazilian real,” Sodexo said in a statement. Sodexo, the world’s second-biggest catering services company after Compass Group ( CPG.L ), confirmed its guidance for operating profit growth at the bottom of an 8-9 percent range for 2017, and announced the completion of the sale of its Vivabox USA arm to Lion Equity Partners. In July, Sodexo cut its full-year sales growth target after a weaker-than-expected performance in the third quarter. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sodexo-outlook/services-group-sodexo-sees-some-impact-from-euros-strength-idUKKCN1BT0F7'|'2017-09-18T08:57:00.000+03:00'
'eb91e197e6d0f6e0d9300ff12a07ca1084a61d09'|'Top U.S. funds took slightly tougher stand on pay, review finds'|'September 18, 2017 / 7:10 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago Top U.S. funds took slightly tougher stand on pay, review finds Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BOSTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Top U.S. asset managers took a slightly tougher line on executive pay in the advisory votes they cast at S&P 500 companies this year, a research firm said on Monday. For the 12 months ended June 30, funds run by BlackRock Inc, Vanguard Group and State Street Corp each supported management recommendations on executive pay about 2 percentage points less frequently than in the same period a year earlier, researcher Proxy Insight said, based on a review of recent securities filings. All three firms still cast their advisory compensation votes in favor of management nearly all the time. BlackRock funds, for instance, supported management on pay 96.4 percent of the time, down from 98.3 percent of the time the prior year and 99.3 percent of the time the previous year. Voting by the other major firms followed a similar pattern. But factored across thousands of fund votes, the results “suggest a structural reduction in investor support for pay at U.S. companies,” Proxy Insight said in a news release. “For the layman it’s not a huge shift, but you can see there are more votes that are going against” management, said Nick Dawson, managing director of Proxy Insight. Representatives from the firms did not immediately comment. Each has previously said they review pay decisions in the context of factors like company performance. A preliminary review by Proxy Insight had already found strong support for executive pay, even as the fund firms broke with management on matters like climate change and boardroom diversity. The median S&P 500 CEO was paid $12.1 million last year, up from $11 million among the same group in the previous year, according to ISS Analytics. Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-funds-compensation/top-u-s-funds-took-slightly-tougher-stand-on-pay-review-finds-idUSL2N1LZ1D7'|'2017-09-18T22:06:00.000+03:00'
'85b4fa4efcb4226f3531ba6273be3412873d0d2c'|'U.S. jobless claims fall; hurricanes still impacting data'|'FILE PHOTO: A man looks over employment opportunities at a jobs center in San Francisco, California, U.S, February 4, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, but the near-term outlook for the labor market was muddied by the continuing impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.Other data on Thursday showed manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region accelerated in September amid a surge in new orders. But hiring by factories slowed and employees worked fewer hours this month compared to August.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended Sept. 16, the Labor Department said. A Labor Department official said Harvey and Irma affected claims for Texas and Florida.With Hurricane Maria lashing Puerto Rico this week, weather will likely continue to affect claims data and potentially hurt job growth in September. Texas and Florida account for about 14 percent of U.S. employment.“The noise will overwhelm any signal in these data for several weeks,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told reporters on Wednesday that “payroll employment may be substantially affected in September” by the storms, but she added that she expected labor market conditions would “strengthen somewhat further.”Yellen made the comments after the U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged but signaled it still anticipated one more rate increase by the end of the year.Last week, unadjusted jobless claims for Texas fell 23,549, the second straight weekly drop, as the effects of Harvey faded. Claims in Texas surged in the wake of storm, which disrupted oil, natural gas and petrochemicals production, leaving some workers temporarily unemployed.Unadjusted claims for Florida rose by only 5,133 last week.FURTHER INCREASES POSSIBLE “It is possible we will see further increases in Florida claims in the coming weeks if the storm hindered people’s ability to file claims immediately,” said Jesse Edgerton, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.Economists had forecast claims rising to 300,000 in the latest week. It was the 133rd straight week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a robust labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller.U.S. stocks were trading lower as investors continued to assess the Fed’s policy statement. Prices for longer-dated U.S. government bonds rose while the dollar .DXY slipped against a basket of currencies.The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 6,000 to 268,750 last week, the highest level since June 2016.The claims data covered the survey period for the nonfarm payrolls portion of September’s employment report.The four-week moving average of claims rose by 28,250 between the August and September survey periods, suggesting a further slowdown in job growth. The economy added 156,000 jobs in August, with the private services sector hiring the smallest number of workers in five months.In a separate report on Thursday, the Philadelphia Fed said its manufacturing activity index for the mid-Atlantic region rose about 5 points to a reading of 23.8 in September. It said almost 39 percent of the firms indicated increases in activity this month while 15 percent reported a decrease.The survey’s measure of new orders jumped to a reading of 29.5 this month from 20.4 in August. The employment index fell to 6.6 from 10.1 in August, but has now remained positive for 10 consecutive months. A measure of the average workweek dropped to a reading of 11.9 from 18.8 last month.Firms were upbeat about the next six months, with nearly 44 percent expecting to raise capital spending. About 55 percent of companies said they expected to increase production in the fourth quarter. The firms planned to boost output by either increasing hiring or the hours of current workers.Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-unemployment/u-s-jobless-claims-fall-hurricanes-still-impacting-data-idUSKCN1BW1Q8'|'2017-09-21T15:32:00.000+03:00'
'c7bac6db741cf39e568a4b037adecec9891b76b6'|'China''s State Grid considering acquisition of Eletrobras distributors'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - State Grid Corp of China [STGRD.UL] is studying whether to acquire electricity distribution subsidiaries that will be sold by Brazil’s state-owned Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA ( ELET3.SA ) by year’s end, an executive at the Chinese firm said on Wednesday.State Grid will consider a bid because is committed to the country in the long term, said Ramon Haddad, vice president of operations for the company in Brazil.Eletrobras, as the company is known, plans to sell the six money-losing distributors. The decision predates the decision by Brazil’s government in August to privatize Eletrobras as a whole.China continues to expand its investments in Brazil with an emphasis on infrastructure and natural resources projects despite a broader crackdown on what Beijing calls “irrational” outbound investment in sectors such as property and entertainment.Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-eletrobras-divestiture-state-grid/chinas-state-grid-considering-acquisition-of-eletrobras-distributors-idINKCN1BV30T'|'2017-09-20T19:32:00.000+03:00'
'fc399ba4f2760a0c2725fbf0404f34833e895df6'|'Obituary: L''Oreal heiress Bettencourt lived with the scent of money'|'FILE PHOTO: Liliane Bettencourt (L), heiress to the L''Oreal fortune leaves with Jean-Victor Meyers, her grandson, the L''Oreal-UNESCO prize for women in Paris, France, March 29, 2012. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Files PARIS (Reuters) - Regularly named France’s richest person and for years the wealthiest woman in the world thanks to her L‘Oreal inheritance, Liliane Bettencourt lived her life surrounded by the scent of money, politics and more than a touch of scandal.The one-time society beauty died in Paris during Wednesday night at the age of 94, her daughter Francoise said in an email. While private to the last, she maintained close ties to three French presidents during her lifetime and was never far from the society pages, which pored over her family relations minutely.For most of her nine decades she was better known for who she was than for what she did, even though her first job, at the age of 15, was as an apprentice in a L‘Oreal factory, mixing cosmetics and labelling bottles of shampoo.The daughter of L‘Oreal founder Eugene Schueller, to whom she was always close, in 1950, at the age of 28, she married Andre Bettencourt, a government minister of the 1960s and 70s under President Charles de Gaulle.During those years, neither Schueller nor Bettencourt were able to shake accusations of pro-Nazi sympathies and anti-Semitism despite their close association with Francois Mitterrand, the former Socialist President.Schueller funded a World War Two pro-collaboration group and Bettencourt wrote anti-Semitic tracts around the same time, although he later joined the French Resistance and said he regretted his earlier writings.Liliane inherited the L‘Oreal empire when her father died in 1957 but running the company fell to Francois Dalle, another friend of Mitterrand‘s, who built the business into the $100 billion company it is today.Famed for its “Because you’re worth it” advertising campaign, L‘Oreal is France’s fourth-largest listed firm.It was after her husband’s death in 2007 that the heiress’ own life took centre stage.She became embroiled in a public fight with her only child, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, when her daughter went to court to accuse photographer and socialite Francois-Marie Banier of taking advantage of her mother’s frailty. Banier denied wrongdoing.The scandal widened to include prominent politicians in 2008, when Bettencourt-Meyers gave police secret recordings of conversations between her mother and her wealth manager, taped by Bettencourt’s former butler.Former President Sarkozy was included in a subsequent probe into whether he exploited Bettencourt’s mental frailty to fund his victorious 2007 election campaign.Although the court dropped the inquiry, “l’Affaire Bettencourt” dogged Sarkozy, who was put under investigation in 2014 on suspicion of using his influence to gain details of the probe. Sarkozy denied any wrongdoing and said the case was political.In October 2011, a court ruled that Bettencourt was suffering from a form of dementia, and awarded the daughter control over her mother’s wealth and income - estimated at 17 billion euros and including about 33 percent of L‘Oreal. Grandson Jean-Victor Meyers was designated to look after her health and physical well-being.L‘Oreal legend has it that Liliane Bettencourt was not much loved by her mother, and certainly she was less than enamoured with her own offspring towards the end of her life.“My daughter could have waited patiently for my death instead of doing all she can to precipitate it,” Bettencourt said in a TV interview recorded in her later years.Reporting by Andrew Callus; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/loreal-bettencourt-obituary/obituary-loreal-heiress-bettencourt-lived-with-the-scent-of-money-idINKCN1BW2L7'|'2017-09-21T20:39:00.000+03:00'
'e0fd38e986cda8a3b1cb5df5715e3294e70e60c0'|'Euro zone consumer confidence rises by more than expected in September'|'  2:14 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Euro zone consumer confidence rises by more than expected in September Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People walk on a shopping street in the southern German town of Konstanz January 17, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone consumer confidence rose by more than expected in September, the European Commission said in its flash estimate on Thursday. The European Commission said confidence among consumers in the 19 countries sharing the euro currency rose to -1.2 from -1.5 in August. Analysts had expected the indicator to remain unchanged from its August reading. In the European Union as a whole, consumer sentiment increased by 0.8 points to -1.5 in September. The Commission’s flash estimate gave no details on why consumers were more optimistic. Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-consumersentiment/euro-zone-consumer-confidence-rises-by-more-than-expected-in-september-idUKKCN1BW1YS'|'2017-09-21T17:13:00.000+03:00'
'3870921a646e50b182f8a4d1f938c31bbaedb740'|'Steinhoff expects Dutch court to reject JV partner petition, decision in two months'|'September 22, 2017 / 7:01 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago Steinhoff expects Dutch court to reject JV partner petition, decision in two months Reuters Staff 2 Min Read JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Steinhoff said it had presented its arguments to a Dutch court and was certain a petition made by a former joint venture partner, seeking a probe into the South African group’s accounts, would be dismissed within the next two months. The firm, also under scrutiny for alleged accounting fraud in Germany, has previously said that legal and external audit firms it had appointed had concluded there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. OM Handels GmbH and MW Handels GmbH, owned by the former JV partner, had filed the petition with the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, asking the court to order a probe into the group’s annual accounts. “Steinhoff ... presented its position to the court and remains confident that the arguments, supported by independent lawyers and legal opinions will lead to the rejection of the petition,” it said in a statement. “The chamber will now deliberate and Steinhoff expects a court decision to be presented within the next two months.” The petition came on the heels of news about German prosecutors investigating some current and former executives from Steinhoff, Europe’s No. 2 furniture retailer after IKEA, for suspected accounting fraud. Earlier this week, Steinhoff’s African unit made its market debut, surging nearly 10 percent, as investors looked past its parent company’s legal wrangles in Europe and piled into the continent’s retail powerhouse. Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-steinhoff-intl-probe-netherlands/steinhoff-expects-dutch-court-to-reject-jv-partner-petition-decision-in-two-months-idUKKCN1BX0LU'|'2017-09-22T10:01:00.000+03:00'
'f8c57274d5363d1b1d68dec5575c297d88cb1bad'|'British lender Close Brothers full-year profit rises 13 percent'|' 32 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago British lender Close Brothers full-year profit rises 13 percent Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British lender Close Brothers Group ( CBRO.L ) reported a 13 percent rise in full-year adjusted operating profit, driven by strength in its banking, asset management and market making divisions. The merchant banking group, which provides loans and wealth management and securities trading services, said adjusted operating profit rose to 264.8 million pounds for the year ended July 31, from 233.6 million pounds a year earlier. “Although current market conditions remain stable overall, the longer-term economic outlook and impact of Brexit on our customers and wider markets remain uncertain,” Close Brothers said in a statement. The company said adjusted operating profit at its banking division rose 9 percent to 243.5 million pounds, with a 7.8 percent rise in loan book to 6.9 billion pounds. Operating profit at market maker Winterflood jumped 47.9 percent to 28.1 million pounds, helped by high levels of retail trading activity throughout the year, the lender said. Adjusted operating profit at Close Brothers’ asset management arm rose 21 percent to 17.4 million pounds. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-close-brothers-results/british-lender-close-brothers-full-year-profit-rises-13-percent-idUKKCN1C10LT'|'2017-09-26T09:33:00.000+03:00'
'327871f14f4f0f4d720dc111ac51ef4284fbfe11'|'Euro hits one-month low after worst day of 2017'|'September 26, 2017 / 12:53 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Euro slips under $1.18 to one-month low as eyes turn to Macron 4 Min Read An illustration picture shows euro coins, April 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - The euro slipped below $1.18 for the first time in over a month on Tuesday after its worst day this year, as investors worried that months of coalition talks in Germany could hit the economy and make closer euro zone integration difficult. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who won a fourth term in elections on Sunday but now faces a tough juggling act to form a government with other parties, on Monday struck a note of caution with respect to French calls for fiscal union. French President Emmanuel Macron, who wants a fundamental overhaul of the European Union’s single currency zone and whose ideas include creating a euro zone budget and a euro zone finance minister, will lay out his plans in a speech in Paris at 1300 GMT. But the results of Germany’s election have forced Merkel to consider a new coalition including the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), a party critical of Macron’s ideas on Europe, and investors are therefore worried the reforms that they would welcome will not end up going through. “The German election was a blow for Macron too frankly, not only Merkel,” said Neil Jones, Mizuho’s head of hedge fund FX sales in London. “EU-wide politics is on the back burner right now, in favor of domestic priorities.” The euro slipped half a percent to as low as $1.1786 EUR= , its weakest since Aug. 25, after falling around 0.9 percent on Monday - its heaviest one-day loss since December. Commerzbank currency strategist Thu Lan Nguyen, in Frankfurt, said hopes for greater euro zone integration had been the main cause of a more than 10 percent appreciation by the euro against the dollar since the first round of France’s presidential election. Euro, Hong Kong dollar, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, British pound and Chinese 100-yuan banknotes are seen in a picture illustration shot January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Illustration/File Photo “The euro has been appreciating since the French elections because of the push by Macron for fiscal union,” she said. “There is some uncertainty (over that) in the market now against the background of the German elections.” The euro faced additional pressure on Monday when European Central Bank President Mario Draghi singled out currency volatility as a source of uncertainty that required monitoring and argued that “ample” ECB accommodation was still needed. YELLEN IN FOCUS The dollar was flat at 111.80 yen JPY= , having earlier dipped against the Japanese currency as worries over North Korea flared up again amid an escalating war of words between it and the United States. The yen made sharp gains versus the greenback on Monday after the North Korean foreign minister said President Donald Trump had declared war on the country and that Pyongyang reserved the right to take countermeasures, including shooting down U.S. bombers even if not in its air space. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies but is heavily skewed toward the euro, hit its highest in four weeks .DXY. Immediate focus was on what views might be expressed by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who is due to speak in Cleveland at 1645 GMT on “inflation, uncertainty, and monetary policy”. New Zealand''s dollar extended the previous day''s slide and was down 0.6 percent at $0.7223 NZD=D4 , having sunk after the country''s National Party won the largest number of votes in Saturday''s election but not enough seats to govern outright. Reporting by Jemima Kelly,; Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo,; Editing by John Stonestreet and Ed Osmond'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-forex/north-korea-risks-lift-yen-euro-struggles-near-four-week-lows-vs-dollar-idUKKCN1C1024'|'2017-09-26T11:31:00.000+03:00'
'5d1e1dfad4176d838d9af998b9df8d59a59ed655'|'Draghi: still too many non-performing loans across eurozone banking system'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/dbe3c142-f9dc-3b07-b159-c7eb1ba276c1'|'2017-09-21T17:36:00.000+03:00'
'e988eab593fb984ac5bc24101221d8b1c19203bc'|'China''s central bank tells banks to stop doing business with N.Korea - sources'|'A Chinese national flag flutters outside the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, in Beijing, April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s central bank has told banks to strictly implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, four sources told Reuters, amid U.S. concerns that Beijing has not been tough enough over Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear tests.Tensions between the United States and North Korea have ratcheted up after the sixth and most powerful nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on Sept. 3 prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose further sanctions last week.Chinese banks have come under scrutiny for their role as a conduit for funds flowing to and from China’s increasingly isolated neighbor.The sources said banks were told to stop providing financial services to new North Korean customers and to wind down loans with existing customers, following tighter sanctions against Pyongyang by the United Nations.The sources said lenders were asked to fully implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea and were warned of the economic losses and reputational risks if they did not do so.Chinese banks received the document on Monday, the sources said.China’s central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.“At present, management of North Korea-related business has become an issue of national-level politics and national security,” according to the document seen by the sources.The document directed banks to explain to any North Korean customers that “our bank is fulfilling our international obligations and implementing United Nations sanctions against North Korea. As such, we refuse to handle any individual loans connected to North Korea.”The document did not specify whether existing North Korean account holders could still deposit or remove money from their accounts.U.S. President Donald Trump ordered new sanctions on Thursday that open the door wider to blacklisting people and entities doing business with North Korea, including its shipping and trade networks, further tightening the screws on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program.Trump stopped short of going after North Korea’s biggest trading partner, China, and praised its central bank for ordering Chinese banks to stop doing business with North Korea.Frustrated that China had not done more to rein in North Korea, the Trump administration considered new sanctions in July on small Chinese banks and other firms doing business with Pyongyang, two senior U.S. officials told Reuters.China’s Big Four state-owned banks have stopped providing financial services to new North Korean clients, Reuters reported last week, with some measures beginning as early as the end of last year.Reporting by the Beijing, Hong Kong and Washington newsrooms; Writing by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-banks-china/chinas-central-bank-tells-banks-to-stop-doing-business-with-north-korea-sources-idINKCN1BW1DL'|'2017-09-21T13:34:00.000+03:00'
'8b20018fb10fce86690bf5d259e0645a008f23e7'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Blackstone, Innogy, Oberbank, Impax Labs, Lufthansa; Updates Siemens)Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:** Alphabet Inc’s Google said it would pay $1.1 billion for the division at Taiwan’s HTC Corp that develops the U.S firm’s Pixel smartphones - its second major foray into phone hardware after an earlier costly failure.** Japan’s Toshiba Corp is locked in last minute discussions over “key issues” with the would-be buyers of its $18 billion memory chip business led by U.S. private equity firm Bain, potentially delaying a formal agreement on the sale.** Siemens is in talks to merge its rail business with that of either Alstom or Bombardier and will pick a preferred partner within days for further negotiations, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Japanese chemical manufacturer Kuraray Co Ltd will buy U.S. firm Calgon Carbon Corp for $1.107 billion, Kuraray said, adding the carbon materials firm as one of its core businesses.** Albertsons Cos Inc, one of America’s biggest supermarket chains, said it would buy meal-kit delivery service Plated, as it looks to attract more customers to its stores amid increased competition.** Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc is doubling down on efforts to find early-stage mining projects to acquire and is open to deposits that depart from its focus on silver and gold, the chief executive said.** Irish building materials firm CRH is to buy U.S. cement maker Ash Grove Cement Co for $3.5 billion, wasting no time in using cash from a major disposal to strengthen its North American business.** Asahi Group Holdings Ltd is ready to spend “billions of dollars” more on acquisitions, after having recently spent $11 billion to acquire beer brands across Europe from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, a top company executive said.** The German government denied a report that it favoured a merger of state-backed Commerzbank with France’s BNP Paribas, saying it was not in negotiations to divest its 15 percent stake in the German lender.** Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group has hired JPMorgan to look at options for its payments unit, including a sale worth up to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion), sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.** Murray Goulburn Co-operative, Australia’s largest milk processor, said it was considering several takeover approaches from suitors interested in acquiring the cooperative as a whole or some of its assets, but it had not received any formal offers.** French publishers La Martiniere Groupe and Media-Participations announced talks over a merger that could create a group with combined revenues of more than 560 million euros ($666 million), in the latest sign of consolidation in the industry.** Blackstone has bought German measuring technology group Schenck Process from private equity investor IK Investment Partners, the groups said.** Innogy, Germany’s largest energy group by market value, is reviewing its troubled British retail unit Npower but currently has no plans to sell the business, Chief Executive Peter Terium told journalists.** Oberbank said it had signed a deal with Iran, enabling it to finance new ventures there and making it one of the first European banks to do so since sanctions were eased.** Impax Laboratories Inc is in talks to merge with privately held Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.** Lufthansa is set to pick up a large part of insolvent rival Air Berlin and easyJet is also still in the running for some assets, two sources familiar with the matter said. (Compiled by Anirban Paul and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idUSL4N1M23XM'|'2017-09-21T13:25:00.000+03:00'
'1be65738c3df92b65d518fb4e2fc7ac987ed91bd'|'Building materials firm CRH to buy Ash Grove Cement in $3.5 billion deal'|'REUTERS - Irish building materials firm CRH Plc said it would buy U.S. cement maker Ash Grove Cement Co in a $3.5 billion deal to expand in North America.Ash Grove said it estimated to be valued in the range of about $449 to $454 per share based on its balance sheet as of June 30.Ash Grove operates cement plants in eight plants in as many U.S. states and owns concrete, aggregates and associated logistics assets across the U.S. midwest. It reported profit before tax of $215 million and gross assets of $2.5 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, CRH said.The deal comes less than a month after CRH said it sold its U.S. distribution business to Beacon Roofing Supply Inc for $2.63 billion in cash to use the proceeds for acquisitions elsewhere.CRH said at the time it was buying German lime and aggregates producer Fels for 600 million euros ($712.9 million).The world’s third-biggest building materials supplier also bought 13 other smaller businesses in the first half of the year.The proposed transaction, expected to close around year-end, will be financed through existing financial resources, CRH said in a statement.J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as financial adviser to Ash Grove and Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom LLP is its legal adviser.($1 = 0.8416 euros)Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ash-grove-cement-m-a-crh/building-materials-firm-crh-to-buy-ash-grove-cement-in-3-5-billion-deal-idINKCN1BW0DF'|'2017-09-21T02:01:00.000+03:00'
'5035699741f1b61f8138b8e441b6d5538fbedd1f'|'Euro zone governments, not the ECB must tackle bubbles: Draghi'|' 57 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Euro zone governments, not the ECB must tackle bubbles: Draghi   European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference following the ECB''s governing council''s interest rate decision in Frankfurt, Germany, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Monetary policy is not the right instrument to address financial imbalances in the euro zone and governments need to rely on their own tools to tackle local issue, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday. “Financial and business cycles can potentially become de-synchronised, meaning that financial imbalances can grow in an environment characterised by relatively muted inflation,” Draghi said in his capacity as the head of the European Systemic Risk Board. “In such an environment, the use of monetary policy is not the right instrument to address financial imbalances, and may lead to substantial deviations of aggregate output and inflation from their desirable levels,” he added. With ECB rates in negative territory, property bubbles have started to develops in some parts of Europe, particularly around big Western European cities. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-draghi/euro-zone-governments-not-the-ecb-must-tackle-bubbles-draghi-idUKKCN1BW1X7'|'2017-09-21T16:55:00.000+03:00'
'c2e87402da78614f4fddac258feb72957b17cd99'|'CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-UK retail sales surge in August, likely to boost BoE rate hike bets'|' 38 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-UK retail sales surge in August, likely to boost BoE rate hike bets Reuters Staff 4 Min Read (Corrects paragraph 6 on likelihood of flat Q3 retail sales, after ONS corrects estimate given to media) By David Milliken LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - British retail sales unexpectedly surged in August, official figures showed on Wednesday, boosting the chance that the Bank of England will raise interest rates in November. Last week the BoE said it was likely to raise interest rates in the coming months if the economy and inflation pressures strengthen as expected. Wednesday''s official data showed a sharp pick-up in monthly sales growth in August to its fastest since April, despite inflation pressures that have previously squeezed spending. Retail sales volumes rose 1.0 percent month-on-month, beating all economists'' forecasts in a Reuters poll, and July''s sales growth was revised up to 0.6 percent. Looking at the three months to August as a whole, which smooths out monthly volatility in the data, sales growth versus the previous three months rose to 1.2 percent from a three-monthly rate of 0.7 percent in July. The ONS said sales would need to fall at least 2.9 percent in September for there to be no third-quarter growth overall. BoE policymakers expect moderate third-quarter retail sales growth as consumer demand shows signs of improving after weakness earlier in the year, though they said it was too soon to tell if it would compensate for weak business investment. Compared with a year earlier, sales in August were up 2.4 percent versus expectations of a 1.1 percent rise. "Within this month''s retail sales we are seeing strong price increases.... However, we are still seeing underlying growth in sales volumes, and with strong growth in non-essential purchases," ONS statistician Kate Davies said. Rising inflation has eaten into British consumers'' disposable income this year, causing the weakest first quarter for retail sales since 2010, as the fall in the pound after last year''s Brexit vote pushed up the cost of the imports. The measure of inflation used in retail sales data rose to an annual rate of 3.2 percent in August, up from 2.7 percent. Looking just at goods sold in non-food stores, inflation was its highest since March 1992. Official data last week showed that wages in the three months to July were 0.4 percent lower in real terms than in 2016, and a survey of households by financial data company Markit reported the biggest squeeze in three years in the three months to September. Private-sector figures had given a mixed message on retail spending in August. The Confederation of British Industry reported the weakest performance since July 2016, while the British Retail Consortium said top-line growth was the fastest so far this year. The BoE expects inflation to peak at just over 3 percent in October, compared with 2.9 percent now, and then fall slowly. British fashion retail firm French Connection Group Plc reported on Tuesday that it had seen momentum build in recent months despite difficult trading conditions. Larger rival Next raised profit forecasts last week and said it expected price rises of no more than 2 percent in the first half of 2018 and none in the second half, if the pound stays stable. The ONS said non-food retailing and online drove retail sales growth in August, at the expense of purchases of food. Growth was partly driven by sales of watches and jewellery. (Reporting by David Milliken and William Schomberg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-economy-retail/corrected-uk-retail-sales-surge-in-august-likely-to-boost-boe-rate-hike-bets-idUSUKLKKED9T'|'2017-09-21T13:38:00.000+03:00'
'5b045aa2bfdb7d6e6ad1b24a7626cf77494489f0'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 21'|'Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesIndian billionaire Anil Agarwal is raising his stake in Anglo American Plc after announcing plans to buy up to 1.5 billion pounds-worth of new shares in the company. ( bit.ly/2fC7V5m )About 480 jobs will be cut at Mitie Group Plc as the struggling outsourcer responds to a series of setbacks including profit warnings, restated accounts, the overhaul of its board and regulatory inquiries. ( bit.ly/2fBRNkp )The GuardianIndia''s Tata Steel Ltd has paved the way for a merger of its European operations with the German steel manufacturer ThyssenKrupp AG, creating Europe''s second largest steel group after ArcelorMittal. ( bit.ly/2fBS4Ut )Bidders for UK stock market listed companies must lay out more detailed plans for their target, including location of its head office and research and development investment, under proposed rules put forward by the takeover watchdog and backed by the government. ( bit.ly/2fCabcN )The TelegraphThe City''s top lobby group has urged Theresa May to get a move on with a Brexit transition deal as she prepares for a landmark speech in Italy on Friday. TheCityUK has slammed the lack of progress made on agreeing a transitional arrangement since the EU referendum and called for urgent action to limit damage to the City. ( bit.ly/2fALmh9 )German energy giant Eon is in talks to sell its stake in the fossil fuel and trading company Uniper to Finnish utility Fortum for 3.8 billion euros ($4.51 billion). ( bit.ly/2fBUu5v )Sky NewsDominic Chappell, the businessman at the helm of BHS when it collapsed last year, has denied charges linked to an investigation by The Pensions Regulator. ( bit.ly/2fBVeHP )The finance director of the Co-operative Bank, John Worth, is to step down weeks after the lender concluded a 700 million pound ($944.58 million) rescue deal designed to secure its long-term future. ( bit.ly/2fzUeDN )The IndependentA London and San Francisco-based cyber security firm, Digital Shadows, has raised $26 million in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures, an early backer of Zoopla and LOVEFilm, to support its expansion into markets such as Asia. ( ind.pn/2fBIJfm )$1 = 0.8418 euros $1 = 0.7411 pounds Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-21-idINL4N1M15XG'|'2017-09-20T21:42:00.000+03:00'
'99144f693fab20f4fce273ce103668b4be4104b3'|'UK Co-Operative Group profit hit by member reward scheme, insurance'|'  7:22 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Co-Operative Group profit hit by member reward scheme, insurance Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A sign hangs outside a branch of the Co-operative bank in central London April 16, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Co-Operative Group, the mutually-owned supermarkets to funeral services group, reported a 48 percent fall in underlying first-half profit, reflecting the cost of a new member reward scheme and a decline in insurance profit. The UK’s biggest mutual group, which also operates legal services, travel and electrical goods retailing businesses, made an underlying pretax profit of 14 million pounds in the 26 weeks to July 1, down from 27 million pounds in the same period last year. Revenues were stable at 4.6 billion pounds, while debt was 680 million pounds. The Co-op nearly collapsed in 2013 after a 1.5 billion-pound funding “hole” was found in its banking operation. It has since recovered, aided by the shift in Britons’ grocery shopping habits towards more frequent trips to smaller convenience stores. The Co-op no longer has a stake in the bank. The Co-op’s strategy is to continue to invest in its businesses, while returning value to its members. It launched a new membership scheme in September last year which rewards both members and local communities. In the first half over half a million new members were recruited, taking active membership to 4.5 million across the UK. Some 29 million pounds was invested in member rewards, with 6 million pounds given to 4,000 local causes. “We can do all this because our businesses have continued to perform in the face of challenging markets,” said Group Chief Executive Steve Murrells, pointing to strong performances from food and funeralcare. Food like-for-like sales increased 3.5 percent, reflecting 14 consecutive quarters of growth, while funeralcare revenues were up 1.2 percent. However, insurance net earned premiums fell 21 percent to 164 million pounds, which the Co-op said was in line with its plans and due to the purchase of additional re-insurance to support its claims position. Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-co-operative-group-results/uk-co-operative-group-profit-hit-by-member-reward-scheme-insurance-idUKKCN1BW0V5'|'2017-09-21T10:22:00.000+03:00'
'e5f192ba32cf474861837303330e4163937a09f4'|'TSB appoints former StanChart finance head Meddings to its board'|'This is an experimental feature. Give us your feedback. Thank you for your feedback. What do you think? I‘ll use it in the future I don‘t think I‘ll use it Please tell us why (optional) Send Feedback TSB has appointed Richard Meddings, a former finance chief at Standard Chartered, as a non-executive director, paving the way for him to become the next chairman of the bank. The UK challenger bank said Mr Meddings, who left Standard Chartered in 2014, brings expertise in retail and business banking as the lender seeks to grow its presence in the SME market next year. Mr Meddings’ appointment places him as a likely successor to Will Samuel, who took on the chairmanship role of TSB in 2014 before it floated on the London Stock Exchange later that year, according to a banker briefed on the plans. TSB, which was then acquired by Spanish lender Sabadell in 2015, has also recruited Dr Stephen Page, a former technology strategist at Accenture, as a non-executive director. TSB is seeking to roll out more digital services once it has completed the creation of a new technology system. The bank, which was split off from Lloyds Banking Group in 2013, has been reliant upon Lloyds’ systems, but is aiming to shift to the new platform in November. Will Samuel, chairman of TSB, said: “Richard is an experienced board director with a deep understanding of UK retail banking both from a consumer and business perspective, and Stephen brings a wealth of technology and digital insight to our non-executive team. “Their expertise will be invaluable as we continue to deliver on TSB’s growth strategy in 2018 and beyond.” Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t copy articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/80d6dafd-2665-3d89-a670-be9277f95440'|'2017-09-21T12:39:00.000+03:00'
'a0b09c9cb0b7f76a506ad81795274207b940cd28'|'Jana claims EQT-Rice Energy deal synergies ''grossly exaggerated'''|'(Reuters) - Activist investor Jana Partners said EQT Corp’s ( EQT.N ) plan to save $2.50 billion after its acquisition of Rice Energy Inc ( RICE.N ) was “grossly exaggerated”, further mounting pressure on the oil and gas producer to abandon the deal.An analysis showed the combination with Rice Energy''s assets would increase the average lateral length of a well by less than 1,000 feet, not the 4,000 feet increase that EQT claimed, Jana said in a letter to EQT''s board on Wednesday. ( bit.ly/2yqa8bH )“Given the massive disparity between EQT’s claims and what our analysis reveals, we are forced to question whether the Board conducted adequate diligence before approving this transaction,” the hedge fund said.Jana, which owns a 5.8 percent stake in EQT, has urged the company to abandon its $6.7 billion acquisition of Rice Energy and spin off its midstream business.Jana’s letter comes just days after hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co LP urged EQT to spilt up its production and midstream units after closing the Rice Energy deal.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-eqtcorp-janapartners/jana-claims-eqt-rice-energy-deal-synergies-grossly-exaggerated-idINKCN1BV2U4'|'2017-09-20T17:56:00.000+03:00'
'927a99bb17c6ebe41883e3b27053b4b20970ab88'|'Maharashtra to begin cane crushing from November 1 - govt sources'|'September 20, 2017 / 12:11 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Maharashtra to start cane crush Nov. 1 - govt sources Rajendra Jadhav 2 Min Read A woman carries a bundle of cut sugarcane on her head as farmers harvest a field outside Gove village in Satara district, about 260km (161 miles) south of Mumbai May 10, 2011. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - Millers in India’s Maharashtra state will start crushing sugarcane from Nov. 1 as heavy rain over the last few days has made it difficult to bring operations forward as hoped, two government officials said on Wednesday. The federal government wanted millers in Maharashtra, the country’s second-biggest sugar producing state, to advance crushing to boost sugar supplies during the current festive season and keep a lid on local prices. “In today’s meeting with the chief minister we have decided to start crushing from Nov. 1, considering heavy rainfall in central Maharashtra in the last few days,” a senior government official who attended the meeting said. Maharashtra’s sugar output in the 2017-18 marketing year which starts on Oct. 1 is expected to rise 75 percent from a year ago to 7.34 million tonnes, the official said. “The area under sugarcane has increased and weather was also good this year,” he said. The state has prohibited the supply of sugarcane to neighbouring states for crushing. Maharashtra’s sugar production slumped 50 percent in the 2016-17 season to 4.18 million tonnes as it suffered from back-to-back droughts. The sharp drop in output has driven India to import the sweetener. India, the world’s biggest sugar consumer, earlier this month allowed imports of 300,000 tonnes of sugar at lower tax rates, on top of 500,000 tonnes of duty free imports allowed in April. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; editing by David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-sugar-maharashtra/maharashtra-to-begin-cane-crushing-from-november-1-govt-sources-idINKCN1BV1J3'|'2017-09-20T15:09:00.000+03:00'
'd6184f21dcb9b03ee0b07fde13cc70bf58cae933'|'Amazon working on ''smart glasses'' as its first wearable device - FT'|'September 20, 2017 / 5:22 AM / Updated 12 hours ago Amazon working on ''smart glasses'' as its first wearable device: FT Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of the web service Amazon is pictured in Mexico City, Mexico on June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is working on its first wearable device - a pair of ‘smart glasses’, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The device, designed like a regular pair of spectacles, will allow Amazon''s digital assistant Alexa to be summoned anytime at all places, the report said, citing people familiar with the plans. bit.ly/2jIMrIq There would be a bone-conduction audio system in the device to allow the wearer to hear Alexa without inserting headphones into his or her ears, according to the report. Amazon was not immediately available to comment on the report outside regular business hours. Earlier this year, Alphabet Inc re-introduced its own wearable glass headset, Google Glass, after discontinuing its production last year. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-glasses/amazon-working-on-smart-glasses-as-its-first-wearable-device-ft-idUSKCN1BV0H0'|'2017-09-20T08:15:00.000+03:00'
'3b1d47849bb9632430dc84aebe4913af7c9e0af4'|'U.S. existing home sales fall to 12-month low'|'  2:58 PM / Updated 40 minutes ago U.S. existing home sales fall to 12-month low Lucia Mutikani 4 Min Read A home for sale sign hangs in front of a house in Oakton, in Virginia March 27, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales fell to their lowest in a year in August as Hurricane Harvey depressed activity in Houston and a perennial shortage of properties on the market sidelined buyers. The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales decreased 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units last month. That was the lowest level since August 2016. July’s sales pace was unrevised at 5.44 million units. Economists had forecast sales rising 0.3 percent to a 5.46 million-unit rate. The NAR said Harvey, which struck Texas in the last week of August, had resulted in sales in Houston declining 25 percent on a year-on-year basis. Stripping out Houston, existing home sales would have been unchanged in August. Home resales in the South tumbled 5.7 percent last month. Harvey, and a second hurricane, Irma, which slammed Florida early this month could hurt September home resales. Texas and Florida account for more than 18 percent of existing home sales. Sales lost because of delays in closing contracts will be recouped in 2018, the Realtors group said. U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data as traders awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is expected to announce a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, accumulated as the Fed sought to stimulate the economy following the 2008 financial crisis. HOUSING STALLING Even before the hurricanes struck, the housing market had been slowing as supply failed to keep up with strong demand. Sales were up 0.2 percent from August 2016. Home sales have virtually stalled this year amid tight inventories that have resulted in home price increases outpacing wage gains. Builders have blamed shortages of labour and land for their inability to ramp up construction. They have also complained about higher costs of building materials. Economists and builders say Harvey and Irma could worsen the housing shortage as scarce labour is pulled toward the rebuilding effort and building materials are bid higher. A report on Tuesday showed housing completions tumbling to a 10-month low in August. At the same time single-family home permits fell to a three-month low. These developments suggest housing inventory will remain troublesome for a while. The NAR said the number of homes on the market fell 2.1 percent to 1.88 million units in August. Supply was down 6.5 percent from a year ago. Housing inventory has dropped for 27 straight months on a year-on-year basis. As a result, the median house price increased 5.6 percent from a year ago to $253,500 in August. That was the 66th consecutive month of year-on-year price gains. Annual wage growth has not exceed 2.5 percent. Pointing to strong demand for houses, existing homes sold in August typically stayed on the market for 30 days. That compared to 36 days a year ago. Demand for housing is being driven by a tight labour market, marked by a 4.4 percent unemployment rate, which is boosting employment opportunities for young Americans. The housing market also remains supported by historically low mortgage rates, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaging 3.78 percent. High house prices as a result of tight inventories are sidelining first-time homebuyers. In August, first-time buyers accounted for 31 percent of transactions, well below the 40 percent share that economists and realtors say is needed for a robust housing market. August’s share of first-time homebuyers was the smallest in a year and was down from 33 percent in July. Sales rose 10.8 percent in the volatile Northeast and climbed 2.4 percent in the Midwest. They dropped 4.8 percent in the West, where the price increases and property shortages have been concentrated. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy/u-s-existing-home-sales-fall-to-12-month-low-idUKKCN1BV1YJ'|'2017-09-20T17:58:00.000+03:00'
'53a43d9dcf7c07683adfec3fc824d27ba0c4d892'|'BOJ set to keep monetary spigot open, political risk looms'|'September 21, 2017 / 1:58 AM / Updated 5 hours ago BOJ keeps to script, but new board member dissents as policy on hold Leika Kihara , Stanley White 5 Min Read A businessman holds an umbrella as he stands near the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - At the Bank of Japan, it was the same old story. The BOJ held monetary settings steady at a policy review on Thursday and asked markets to have faith that inflation will hit its elusive 2 percent goal. But board newcomer, Goushi Kataoka, wasn’t buying it. A vocal advocate of aggressive easing who joined the board in July, Kataoka dissented in an 8-1 vote and argued against the central bank’s view that current policy was sufficient to boost inflation to its target. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, however, played down any suggestion of a fresh rift in the board that could further delay any plan by the central bank to dial back its massive stimulus. Kuroda said he saw nothing wrong with having a dissenter in the board and stressed the BOJ’s resolve to maintain or even ramp up its massive stimulus programme. “Price moves remain weak and there’s still some distance in achieving our price target. The BOJ will continue its powerful monetary easing to achieve 2 percent inflation at the earliest date possible,” Kuroda told a news conference. “We will take further monetary easing steps if necessary.” As widely expected, the BOJ decided to keep its short-term interest rate target at minus 0.1 percent and a pledge to guide 10-year government bond yields around zero percent under its yield curve control (YCC) policy. The BOJ also maintained a loose pledge to keep buying bonds so its holdings increase at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($717.6 billion), diverting from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s plan to steadily pull back from crisis-era measures. Kataoka expressed scepticism about the BOJ’s conviction on hitting 2 percent inflation. “Given excess supply capacity remaining in the capital stock and labour market, monetary easing effects gained from the current yield curve aren’t enough to achieve 2 percent inflation around fiscal 2019,” as projected by the BOJ, Kataoka said in a statement announcing the policy decision. The former economist did not propose lowering rates but said inflation was unlikely to accelerate toward 2 percent from next year, signalling the need for further easing steps to nudge up consumer inflation from current levels of around 0.5 percent. People walk past the Bank of Japan building under construction in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Kataoka and former banker Hitoshi Suzuki, who voted with the majority of the board, replaced former market analysts Takahide Kiuchi and Takehiro Sato, who had voiced doubts on Kuroda’s radical monetary experiment. “Kataoka is on his own for now and hasn’t proposed additional easing. It is a question of whether other board members swing to his side,” said Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. “Kataoka has expressed doubt about the effects of YCC, which will spur some debate about how YCC is managed and could lead to some minor adjustments or talk about additional easing via another channel,” he said. BOJ TO LAG FED Slideshow (2 Images) The announcement came hours after the Fed’s decision to leave interest rate unchanged and a signal it still expects one more increase by the end of the year, which pushed the dollar to a two-month high against the yen. Kuroda said it was “natural” for central banks to take diverging policy paths since inflation expectations were not anchored at 2 percent in Japan, unlike in the United States and Europe where they were moving around that level. Kuroda sidestepped questions on whether an expected snap election in Japan could affect the BOJ’s policies, saying only that the central bank’s chief mandate was to achieve its price target. Government sources have told Reuters premier Shinzo Abe is considering calling a snap election as early as next month and will pledge to use some of the revenue from a scheduled sales tax hike in 2019 to fund spending on education and child care. That would force the government to delay the timing for achieving its fiscal consolidation target, a set-back for Kuroda who has consistently called on the need to get Japan’s tattered fiscal house in order. Some analysts say any delay in fiscal reform could put the central bank under pressure to keep borrowing costs ultra-low for longer than it wants. Kuroda said that while fiscal and tax policies fell under the jurisdiction of the government, restoring fiscal health was the most important aspect of fiscal policy. “Fiscal discipline could affect market trust in Japanese government bonds,” he said. “Theoretically, there’s a risk interest rates may rise if confidence in the Japanese government bond market is eroded.” Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Kim Coghill & Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj/boj-set-to-keep-monetary-spigot-open-political-risk-looms-idUKKCN1BW07N'|'2017-09-21T04:57:00.000+03:00'
'e5ef579160fe5e1445dee02d19945284c66548ac'|'Independence of inquiry into Lloyds Banking Group challenged'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/56c4b870-9d26-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946'|'2017-09-21T06:00:00.000+03:00'
'00ccb9e44cffbc65466903a5de55f6edec4c0389'|'Moody''s downgrades UK''s rating on Brexit and growth fears'|'September 22, 2017 / 9:23 PM / Updated 11 hours ago Moody''s downgrades UK''s rating on Brexit and growth fears William Schomberg , David Milliken 5 Min Read File Photo - The Union Flag and a European Union flag fly near the Elizabeth Tower, housing the Big Ben bell, during the anti-Brexit ''People''s March for Europe'', in Parliament Square in central London, Britain September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Tolga Akmen LONDON (Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Britain’s credit rating on Friday, saying the government’s plans to bring down its heavy debt load had been knocked off course and Brexit would weigh on the economy. A few hours after Prime Minister Theresa May set out plans for new ties with the European Union, Moody’s cut the rating by a further notch to Aa2, underscoring the economic risks that leaving the bloc poses for the world’s fifth-biggest economy. Britain has worked down its budget deficit from about 10 percent of economic output in 2010, shortly after the global financial crisis hammered the country, to 2.3 percent. But Moody’s - which stripped Britain of its top-notch AAA rating in 2013 - said the outlook for public finances had weakened significantly as May’s government softened the austerity drive of former prime minister David Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne. The government hit back, saying Moody’s assessment of the Brexit hit to the economy was “outdated” and that May had set out an “ambitious vision for the UK’s future relationship with the EU” in her speech on Friday. But a Moody’s official said the speech made no difference to the agency’s gloomy long-term view for Britain’s economy. “Having looked at Theresa May’s speech, I don’t think there is anything in there which would in any way make us change our assessment,” Alastair Wilson, managing director of global sovereign risk at Moody‘s, told BBC radio on Saturday. “Over the next few years, we have a lot less confidence that the UK’s government is going to be able to fulfil its plans to bring the debt load back down, and this is an extremely high debt load that the UK has, or to be able to achieve some form of agreement with the EU which retains a substantial share of the rights that membership of the EU grants,” he said. Moody’s verdict will be grim reading for May and her Chancellor Philip Hammond, who is under pressure to spend more in his budget plan, due in November. After seven years of austerity, a recent relaxation of a tight public sector pay cap for police and prison workers was likely to be broadened, Moody’s said. FILE PHOTO: A view of the London skyline shows the City of London financial district, seen from St Paul''s Cathedral in London, Britain February 25, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Furthermore, a deal struck by May with a small political party in Northern Ireland after she lost her parliamentary majority in June’s election and the dropping of plans to review costly pension increases would also weigh on the public purse. “Overall, Moody’s expects spending to be significantly higher than under the government’s current budgetary plans,” Moody’s said. On the tax side, it noted how the government abandoned a controversial plan to raise national insurance contributions for self-employed workers and was reliant on “highly uncertain revenue gains from tackling tax avoidance to fund tax cuts”. As a result, the budget deficit was likely to remain at around 3-3.5 percent of GDP in the coming years, higher than the government’s plans to cut it below 1 percent of GDP by 2021/22. That meant Britain was one of the few big European economies where the public debt ratio was likely to rise, probably peaking at about 93 percent of GDP in 2019, two years later than under the latest government plans. BREXIT HIT At the same time, budget pressures would rise as Britain’s economy slowed due to Brexit, with growth of just 1 percent likely next year, down from 1.8 percent in 2017 and not recovering to its historic trend rate over the coming years. Moody’s said it was no longer confident that Britain would secure a replacement free trade agreement with the EU which substantially mitigated the Brexit hit. The sheer workload of Brexit in the coming years meant the government would struggle to fix Britain’s weak productivity growth, the Achilles heel of the economy, it said. Britain’s government said Moody’s move brought it into line with the other major credit ratings agencies, Fitch and Standard & Poor‘s. Moody’s revised up its outlook on the country to stable from negative, meaning a further downgrade is not imminent. Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru and William Schomberg in London; Editing by David Milliken and Sandra Maler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-moody-s/moodys-downgrades-uks-rating-to-aa2-from-aa1-idUKKCN1BX2WO'|'2017-09-23T00:28:00.000+03:00'
'5235fbabd0b6858c507f8fa494cf9f5ac22ba62c'|'CBFI to buy Imagination Technologies for 550 million pounds'|'(Reuters) - Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, the China-backed buyout fund that was barred last week by U.S. President Donald Trump from buying a U.S. chip maker, said it would purchase British chip designer Imagination Technologies Group Plc ( IMG.L ).The all-cash 550 million pounds ($742.5 million) deal to buy Imagination Technologies is a clear sign that Canyon Bridge is continuing to pursue Western chip makers after its $1.3 billion deal to buy Lattice Semiconductor Corp ( LSCC.O ) in the United States was blocked over U.S. natural security concerns.Canyon Bridge said on Friday it had agreed to pay 182 British pence per Imagination share, contingent on Imagination divesting U.S. chip designer MIPS, which Imagination had bought in 2013, the two companies said in a joint London stock exchange filing.Keeping MIPS would subject Canyon Bridge’s purchase of Imagination Technologies to a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the government panel which rejected its acquisition of Lattice.Imagination said it had agreed to sell MIPS for $65 million to Tallwood Venture Capital, an investment firm with offices in Palo Alto, California, and Wuxi, China. It was not immediately clear whether the divestment would be subject to a CFIUS review.Canyon Bridge was founded with capital originating from China’s central government. It manages about $1.5 billion on behalf of Yitai Capital Ltd, a Chinese state-owned company, according to Friday’s statement.The planned acquisition will not result in any job cuts, the two companies said.Friday’s announcement came three months after Imagination put itself up for sale. Imagination had lost 70 percent of its value after being ditched by its biggest customer Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), in a disappointing end to a once-great European tech success story. Imagination at the moment is in a legal dispute with Apple over royalties.Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-imagntn-tchnlgs-m-a-cbfi/cbfi-to-buy-imagination-technologies-for-550-million-pounds-idINKCN1BX2W2'|'2017-09-22T19:20:00.000+03:00'
'c02b93d65c2afa6afc83c953ccbd655b528a7a18'|'Fed officials in muddle over permanent vs temporary inflation lull'|'  8:25 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Fed officials in muddle over permanent vs temporary inflation lull Howard Schneider 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is on display in Washington, DC, U.S. on June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials with competing views about inflation laid out on Friday the quandary facing U.S. policymakers as they wrestle over whether a recent dip in the pace of price increases is trivial, or the result of global forces that could permanently throw off the Fed’s policy calculus. The resolution of that debate will be critical to whether the Fed proceeds with an expected December rate increase and more hikes next year, or concludes that the inflation “mystery” is evidence of a change in how global prices are set. It is also central to an issue of broad political and economic importance: how low the unemployment rate can fall before rising wages and competition for goods starts pushing price increases to uncomfortable levels. “We are all trying to get a grip on it,” Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said of discussion within the Fed over why an unemployment rate in the low four percent range has not led to greater inflation pressure, as it would under standard theories about the “Phillips Curve” tradeoff between a tight jobs market and rising prices. With the most recent Fed projections showing unemployment falling to 4.1 percent in coming months with inflation still below the Fed’s 2 percent target, Kaplan said he is becoming convinced other forces are at work. It may be global supply chains, he said, or technology giving consumers more pricing power. Either way, he said, the Fed could possibly let unemployment fall further without worrying about inflation rising too fast. The recent projections “tells you people have started to conclude we can run a lower unemployment rate without inflation,” Kaplan said. “Then the question is why. I am putting forward the structural view.” Fed Chair Janet Yellen called the behavior of inflation a “mystery,” though she has generally said she remains convinced tight labor markets will ultimately lead to rising prices. The Fed’s most recent projections showed a solid majority of policymakers expecting to raise rates in December. But the path from there is less clear. Some officials still expect traditional dynamics to emerge if unemployment stays low, and also argue it would be worse for workers if the Fed has to play catch-up and raise rates faster. Kansas City Fed President Esther George said the recent weak inflation readings - the Fed’s preferred measure was most recently 1.4 percent - was no reason for the Fed to back away from a continued gradual pace of rate increases. “It is hard for me to see...any of that is related to weak economic activity,” at a time of low unemployment and still strong consumer confidence, said George, who has long argued that it was time to raise interest rates to more normal levels. The expected gradual pace of rate increases is “appropriate...but we do have to keep moving,” she said. Fed officials, following their regular policy meeting, indicated on Wednesday they are prepared to raise rates again in December and three times next year. Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed/fed-officials-in-muddle-over-permanent-vs-temporary-inflation-lull-idUSKCN1BX2TH'|'2017-09-22T23:24:00.000+03:00'
'f5530a1639f62a41afe5f77b00b0cfc478340bfc'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat on day, heading for 1.9 percent gain on week'|'September 22, 2017 / 1:47 PM / Updated 6 hours ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat on day, heading for 1.9 percent gain on week Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index barely slipped in early trade on Friday but was heading towards a 1.9 percent gain on the week, with banks and gold miners pushing higher as geopolitical tensions boosted demand for bullion. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was last down 3.65 points, or 0.02 percent, at 15,451.27. It closed at its highest level since early June on Thursday. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-flat-on-day-heading-for-1-9-percent-gain-on-week-idUSL2N1M30Q2'|'2017-09-22T16:43:00.000+03:00'
'8908db491f39ebca7e553014532935b334d16995'|'China''s AT&M denies Hitachi Metals trade secrets theft'|' 38 AM / a minute ago China''s AT&M denies Hitachi Metals trade secrets theft Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese firm at the center of allegations made by Hitachi Metals Ltd (HML) and its U.S. unit Metglas on Thursday vehemently denied that it had stolen trade secrets. Advanced Technology & Materials Co Ltd (AT&M) denied the alleged theft and said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that it reserved the right to take legal action to defend its interests in response to any “false allegations.” AT&M was one of five Chinese companies named in a filing to the U.S. International Trade Commission by HML and Metglas, which alleged the Chinese firms had inappropriately obtained trade secrets for making amorphous metals. The information was allegedly passed to the Chinese companies by two former HML employees.. AT&M said it mastered amorphous technology through more than 40 years of “independent innovation, relentless research and a lot of investment.” The company said it had learned of the allegations from media reports and had not yet received formal notification of the charges. The company, describing itself as a subsidiary of the China Iron and Steel Research Institute, which was in turn governed by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac), said it was “fully respectful of and does not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.” The other four firms -- Beijing ZLJG Amorphous Technology Co, Qingdao Yunlu Energy Technology Co, AT&M International Trading and CISRI International Trading -- have yet to make a statement on the allegations. Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-at-m-hitachi-metals/chinas-atm-denies-hitachi-metals-trade-secrets-theft-idUSKCN1BW1DY'|'2017-09-21T13:24:00.000+03:00'
'4e7ee991f707770ba401e7c407e925d6ebd060fb'|'UPDATE 2-Taking aim at food waste, companies plan to simplify expiration labels'|'(Adds reaction)By Sebastien MaloNEW YORK, Sept 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Some of the world’s largest consumer goods companies including Kellogg Co and Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Wednesday they will simplify food expiration labels in an effort to eliminate confusion that contributes to food waste.Standardized labeling will use a single expiration date on perishable items and a single quality indicator for non-perishable items, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) announced.Confusion over expiration labels costs families up to $29 billion annually in the United States alone, according to CGF, which represents some 400 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers from 70 countries.According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, there is enough food to feed the world’s population but one third is wasted.Labels now in use such as “Sell by,” “Use by” and “Best before” were developed beginning in the 1960s to increase consumer safety but have multiplied, Ignacio Gavilan, a CGF spokesman, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.“Now we have the 12 or 15 expressions that we have today,” he said.Since most countries have no laws regulating labeling, its arbitrary use by companies has led to widespread confusion among consumers, experts say.“The tendency of the consumer is if they get confused, they throw it away,” said Gavilan.“There may be two dates and one of them is close, so they just say ‘Well, why risk getting sick?''”Consumers account for some 40 percent of the world’s food waste, Gavilan said.Simplified, consistent date labeling will help companies halve food waste by 2025, said Peter Freedman, CGF managing director.Under the new plan, only two labels - “Best if used by” for non-perishable items and “Use by” for perishable ones - will be used by CGF members by 2020.Feedback, a London-based environmental group, hailed the “level of ambition” shown by Tesco Plc and other companies in the CGF.“Tesco’s announcement marks an important first step in making significant inroads in the global fight against food waste, and we call on all supermarkets to follow suit and reduce supply chain food waste,” said Carina Millstone, Feedback’s executive director, in a statement.The CGF includes most of the world’s consumer goods giants from Campbell Soup to Nestle SA and Unilever Plc.A report last year by ReFED, a non-profit that works with companies to cut food waste, said standardized labeling was one of the most cost-effective ways to address the issue.“This low lying-fruit of date labeling standardization is exactly the type of solution that everyone can agree is fairly low-effort, cost-effective and has a positive impact on reducing consumer confusion which ultimately helps to reduce food waste,” Eva Goulbourne, a ReFED spokeswoman, told the Foundation.The announcement was made at an event held by Champions 12.3, a group established to promote the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of cutting food waste and losses by 2030.Reporting by Sebastien Malo in New York and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru. Editing by Maju Samuel and Ellen Wulfhorst. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women''s rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/food-labeling/update-2-taking-aim-at-food-waste-companies-plan-to-simplify-expiration-labels-idINL5N1M16IY'|'2017-09-20T20:22:00.000+03:00'
'819a224fc24b33f62a3555c6dcc917049ca444c4'|'Futures flat after Fed signals third rate hike this year'|'September 21, 2017 / 11:31 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Wall Street pushed down by rate expectations, North Korea, Apple Sinead Carew 4 Min Read A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes slipped on Thursday as investors braced for a third interest rate hike this year and the United States ordered new sanctions against North Korea. The S&P and the Dow snapped a run of record closing highs and Apple ( AAPL.O ) was the biggest drag on the three major indexes with a 1.7 percent drop on worries about demand for its latest smartphone. Investors increased bets the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise rates again this year after the central bank’s statement on Wednesday and were also assessing its decision to start reducing its roughly $4.2 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. U.S. President Donald Trump opened the door to blacklisting people and entities doing business with North Korea, further tightening the screws on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. “The Fed had investors on edge already. Ratcheting up of North Korea tensions can put investors in a little more of a risk-off mode,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Financial Partners, in Huntersville, NC. However, with the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX closing at its lowest level in nearly two months at 9.67, Peter Cecchini, chief market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York, said the market is not reflecting risks such as U.S.-North Korea tensions and high valuations. The market is “very complacent and very comfortable in its own skin right now and not really concerned about risk much at all,” said Cecchini: “I‘m worried about that.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 53.36 points, or 0.24 percent, to 22,359.23, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 7.64 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,500.6 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 33.35 points, or 0.52 percent, to 6,422.69. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the fall in inflation this year remained a mystery, adding that the central bank was ready to change the interest rate outlook if needed. Investors were pricing in about a 70 percent chance of a December hike, according to CME’s FedWatch tool, up from about 51 percent just prior to the Fed statement. Only two of the 11 major S&P sectors - financials .SPSY and industrials .SPLRCI - were higher, with gains of 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent. The consumer staples index .SPLRCS was the biggest decliner, down 0.97 percent drop. Slideshow (3 Images) Financial stocks have been on a tear in recent days as investors anticipated and then reacted to Fed commentary on rate hikes, which tend to help bank profits. The S&P has risen about 11.7 percent so far this year, helped by strong corporate profits and lingering optimism among some investors that Trump will cut taxes for businesses. This has boosted valuations. The S&P is trading at roughly 17.6 times expected earnings, well above its 10-year average of 14.3, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. “It’s very hard for me to see a tremendous catalyst for the upside, although I also don’t see that massive catalyst to create a crack to the downside,” said Cantor’s Cecchini. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.35-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.24-to-1 ratio favored decliners. About 5.54 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges on ,compared with the 6.03 billion average for the last 20 sessions. Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch and Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/futures-flat-after-fed-signals-third-rate-hike-this-year-idUSKCN1BW1K4'|'2017-09-21T14:29:00.000+03:00'
'e8ff29d3ffa604d7170c8ec664c74afa5a11825f'|'Miner Hochschild boosts hunt for acquisitions - executive'|'  1:06 AM / a few seconds ago Miner Hochschild boosts hunt for acquisitions: executive Teresa Cespedes 2 Min Read AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) - Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc ( HOCM.L ) is doubling down on efforts to find early-stage mining projects to acquire and is open to deposits that depart from its focus on silver and gold, the chief executive said on Wednesday. Speaking at the mining convention Perumin in southern Peru, Ignacio Bustamante said the company was mostly looking at opportunities in mineral-rich countries in the Americas with investor-friendly laws, and mentioned Peru, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Canada and the United States. “We’re looking at several different alternatives at the same time,” Bustamante told journalists after his presentation. “We’ve started to look for opportunities much more strongly than before and hopefully we can nail something down going forward.” Bustamente said Hochschild, listed on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in Lima, Peru, will continue to keep gold and silver as the focus of its business but would not rule out minerals as an “additional component in our portfolio.” Hochschild’s strength is building underground mines with narrow mineral veins and can help exploration companies develop their finds, Bustamante said. Hochschild operates three underground mines in southern Peru and one in southern Argentina. This year the company expects to produce 37 million silver equivalent ounces, up from about 35.5 million last year, Bustamante added. Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Sandra Maler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hochschild-min-m-a/miner-hochschild-boosts-hunt-for-acquisitions-executive-idUKKCN1BW04M'|'2017-09-21T04:00:00.000+03:00'
'54a4521909cb6fa74432f8a0ecdd8fb2e01640f9'|'Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel merger set to gain pricing power'|' 24 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel merger set to gain pricing power Reuters Staff 5 Min Read The ThyssenKrupp AG logo is pictured at an escalator at the ThyssenKrupp headquarters in Essen, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp Steel ( TKAG.DE ) and Tata Steel’s ( TISC.NS ) plans to merge in Europe could enable them not just to cut costs but also raise prices, customers and shareholders say. The planned joint venture, announced on Wednesday, would create Europe’s second-largest steel maker, with a market share of about 13 percent, according to data from the companies and the World Steel Association. This would make the group, to be named Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel, a distant second to global leader ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), which has a 26 percent share. Although Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel Europe say their client groups are largely complementary, they have significant overlap in the autos industry, their largest market, company data shows. Below are some details on pricing and the joint venture’s potential client structure. PRICING POWER European steel prices, even though volatile and under continued pressure from cheap Chinese imports, have recently stabilized, providing the day-to-day business. Currently at 530 euros per tonne, European steel prices ST-MBEUDNHRC-MB are still down by about a third compared with their pre-financial crisis peak, but have risen by nearly two-thirds since their most recent record at the end of 2015. Related Coverage Germany steel workers protest over Thyssen-Tata steel merger plan They are down about 3 percent in the year-to-date and investors reckon that the further consolidation could support a recovery. “An oligopoly has a different power to set prices than a more fragmented market,” said Thomas Vorlaufer, fund manager at Deka Investment, Thyssenkrupp’s 10th-largest shareholder. “As a result there can be an impact on prices.” Higher prices would mostly hit the automotive industry, which would account for about 40 percent of sales of the combined entity. German luxury carmaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ), a customer of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, Tata Steel Europe and ArcelorMittal, fears that the merger could change things for the worse. “We have a critical view and are concerned over whether the steel market will still function efficiently following a merger,” a spokesman for the company said. A spokesman for Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ), which gets deliveries from Tata Steel Europe, said he did not expect any impact on prices. Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), also clients of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, declined to comment. SOME OVERLAP “Our businesses and those of Tata complement each other well,” Thyssenkrupp said on Wednesday, adding that while it was stronger in the automotive sector, Tata Steel Europe had a bigger exposure to industrial customers. However, automotive is big business for both groups. Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe makes 46 percent of its sales, or 3.51 billion euros ($4.21 billion), from clients in the automotive industry. At Tata Steel Europe, whose customers also include Tata Motors’ ( TAMO.NS ) Jaguar Land Rover, that share is 32 percent, or 166.67 billion Indian rupees ($2.57 billion). There is less overlap in other areas, most notably in manufacturing goods, which accounts for 32 percent of revenues at Tata Steel Europe, and includes business with clients in the engineering sector. Engineering accounts for just 4 percent of sales at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe. The companies say that overlap will not be much of an issue as the proposed joint venture will have three major production sites spread across Europe, enabling it to cover different regions which in turn reduces shipment costs. Thyssenkrupp’s Duisburg plant, for example, sells two-thirds of the steel it produces within a radius of 500 kilometers (311 miles). With annual output of about 12 million tonnes of steel, it would be the joint venture’s biggest plant. Tata Steel Europe’s Ijmuiden plant in the Netherlands, which supplies steel to the packaging sector, ranks second, with 6.9 million tonnes produced in the last financial year. Meanwhile Port Talbot, Britain’s largest steel production site, produced 3.6 million tonnes of liquid steel. Tata Steel earlier this year made commitments to safeguard jobs and investments at the plant for five years in return for an overhaul of its pension scheme. Steel production: tmsnrt.rs/2hmOK33 Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt, Maytaal Angel in London, Andreas Cremer in Berlin, Tom Kaeckenhoff in Duesseldorf and Laurence Frost in Paris; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-merger-set-to-gain-pricing-power-idINKCN1BX1R3'|'2017-09-22T11:24:00.000+03:00'
'3dc73003a1c8245cd44da7532d2401a6226be262'|'RBS CEO will enact Brexit plans by March 2018 if no sign of a deal'|'September 22, 2017 / 8:33 AM / Updated 6 hours ago RBS CEO will enact Brexit plans by March 2018 if no sign of a deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman shelters under an umbrella as she walks past a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the City of London, Britain, September 17, 2013. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland Chief Executive Ross McEwan said the company will enact its Brexit plans by the end of March 2018 if no clarity emerges about Britain’s ability to retain access to the European single market when it leaves the EU. The state-owned bank is in discussions with the Dutch central bank to use the Netherlands as its trading base in the European Union once Britain leaves the bloc. “By the end of the first quarter of next year if we don’t know what the banking arrangements with Europe look like we will have to start activating our plans,” McEwan told LBC radio. McEwan said the bank serves 250 large corporates in Europe and has tens of thousands of British customers who are depending on the lender to be able to access Europe’s markets without disruption. Reporting By Andrew MacAskill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-rbs/rbs-ceo-will-enact-brexit-plans-by-march-2018-if-no-sign-of-a-deal-idUKKCN1BX0UO'|'2017-09-22T11:33:00.000+03:00'
'd2d98d37d52f4ca5361cd7bf075b5247cfb4d146'|'Insurer Saga reports 5.5 percent rise in profits'|'  6:45 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago Older Britons take shorter trips in Brexit squeeze - Saga CFO Emma Rumney 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Older Britons are still going on holiday despite a squeeze in incomes but some are opting for shorter or lower-star vacations, over-50s travel and insurance company Saga ( SAGAG.L ) said on Friday as it delivered a 5.5 percent rise in first-half profits. The drop in the pound since the Brexit vote has hit many British consumers’ spending power, but Saga reported solid growth in its travel business on Friday. “What we generally see is that our customers have a budget set, they are going to travel, they may just go on a slightly shorter vacation or potentially at a 3.5 star rather than a 4-star level,” Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Hill told Reuters by phone. Saga, which offers ocean and river cruises, singles holidays and escorted tours, reported an ahead-of-consensus 5.5 percent rise in first-half underlying pre-tax profit to 110 million pounds and announced an 11.1 percent increase in its interim dividend to 3.0 pence per share. The firm is bringing a new cruise ship into its fleet in 2019. Strong demand in the first half of the year has prompted Saga to exercise its option to purchase a second new ship and bring forward its arrival to August 2020, Chief Executive Officer Lance Batchelor told Reuters. Its launch had been pencilled in for early 2021. Analysts at UBS said the new ships were “transformational” for the company’s earnings, reiterating their “buy” rating on the stock. Saga’s profit before tax fell 6.3 percent, however, to 103 million pounds, due to costs associated with refinancing and net fair value losses on derivatives. The firm’s insurance underwriting business also saw a drop in pre-tax profit of 4.7 percent to 46.8 million pounds driven by lower reserve releases. Saga shares were unchanged at 196.7 pence at 0917 GMT, while the FTSE mid-cap index .FTMC was down 0.18 percent. Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Pamela Barbaglia and Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saga-results/insurer-saga-reports-5-5-percent-rise-in-profits-idUKKCN1BX0JP'|'2017-09-22T09:45:00.000+03:00'
'd03b507835c5552709cd535be6e590f33b0215a5'|'Britain''s savings slump might not be so bad - statistics office'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:42 AM / Updated 30 minutes ago Britain''s savings slump might not be so bad - statistics office Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Smiling Union Jack piggy banks are lined up for sale in the window of a souvenir store on Oxford Street in central London January 20, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s rock-bottom household savings problem, which has raised fears about unsustainable debt-fuelled spending, might not be quite so acute after all, according to the country’s statistics office. Figures released earlier this year showed the household savings ratio -- which measures how much money households have to save in relation to their income, after their spending -- reached an all-time low of 1.7 percent at the end of 2016. But new official figures published on Friday raised the ratio in 2015 compared with previous estimates, meaning the fall in savings in the last couple of years might not have been quite as sharp as previously thought. Spending by households is the main driver of Britain’s economy and the fall in the savings ratio, combined with a squeeze on spending power caused by rising inflation and slow wage growth since last year’s Brexit vote, has raised fears of a crunch for consumers. The Office for National Statistics said the savings ratio in 2015 was now believed to be 9.3 percent, up from a previously raised estimate of 8.4 percent and much higher than 6.5 percent logged in Britain’s official accounts. The revision was made after the ONS received new data on dividends paid by self-employed workers to themselves for the period of 1997 to 2015. Payments in 2015 were especially high because dividends were brought forward to beat a tax increase, but the methodology change suggested the fall in savings since then might have been less severe than thought, ONS statistician Katherine Kent said. “This methodology represents an uplift, generally,” she said. British consumer borrowing has been rising at about 10 percent a year, raising concerns at the Bank of England about risks to banks and the broader economy. It said in July it could force banks to hold more capital as an “insurance policy” to protect the wider economy in case the rapid growth in consumer credit turns sour. Writing by William Schomberg Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-savings/britains-savings-slump-might-not-be-so-bad-statistics-office-idUKKCN1BX1A0'|'2017-09-22T13:42:00.000+03:00'
'b07b14e58e2b31526e515c16812ac7ba1baa4370'|'Norwegian Air''s UK arm can fly transatlantic, boosting its prospects'|'  1:10 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Norwegian Air''s UK arm can fly transatlantic, boosting its prospects Reuters Staff 2 Min Read OSLO (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have granted permission to budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle’s British subsidiary to fly to and from U.S. cities, a boost to a company trying to crack the transatlantic market by undercutting established rivals. Europe’s third-largest budget airline by passenger numbers after Ryanair and EasyJet could already fly to and from the U.S. on its Norwegian and Irish operating licenses. The permit now granted to its British company by the U.S. Department of Transportation allows the airline to expand its operations at London’s Gatwick airport. “With a U.S. foreign carrier permit also now received for NUK (Norwegian UK), Norwegian will be able to establish a seamless operation and more effectively utilize its long-haul fleet,” the company said in a statement on Saturday. Norwegian Air said the decision would mean it would add “thousands more jobs” to the 1,000 pilots and crew already working for the carrier from Gatwick, offer new routes and cheaper fares. It is a boost at a time when the airline is under pressure to control costs and shore up its balance sheet to weather fierce competition. Norwegian Air has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan, buying more than 200 new fuel-efficient jets, yet investors worry its drive to put more passengers on more planes is pushing up costs quickly without producing higher returns. Doubts are creeping in because Norwegian’s fate rests on the still unproven strategy of adapting the success of low-cost short-haul travel to long-haul routes. The firm’s shares are down 26 percent over the past year and have been the subject of heavy short-selling in recent months. Countering those doubts, the airline’s CEO and chairman raised their holdings in the company by 10 percent on Sept. 14. Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Andrew Bolton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norwegian-air-shuttle-usa/norwegian-airs-uk-arm-can-fly-transatlantic-boosting-its-prospects-idUSKCN1BY0JN'|'2017-09-23T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'7638a8292fd96a88e183a2c9ce1e62ca054cf0d9'|'Asia steady after Wall Street notches record highs, dollar holds firm'|'  12:56 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago World stocks, dollar flat as investors brace for Fed statement Caroline Valetkevitch 3 Min Read A security guard walks in front of an image of the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, U.S., March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks and the dollar were steady on Wednesday with investors cautious ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve statement that may give clues on whether the central bank will raise interest rates for a third time this year. MSCI’s World index .MIWD PUS, which tracks stocks in 46 countries, was up 0.1 percent and hit another record, while U.S. Treasuries prices gained slightly. With the Fed due to release its latest policy statement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), caution prevailed. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to announce that it will begin paring its bond holdings, and many analysts and investors expect the reductions may begin in October. While the Fed is expected to hold rates steady, investors are keen to see the Fed’s economic projections and any other signals on whether a rate increase in December is likely. “If they are slightly more dovish in their language, I think you could see a reversal in the banks, but I don’t see a lot of activity,” said Aaron Clark, portfolio manager at GW&K Investment Management. The S&P financial index .SPSY was up 0.2 percent on Wednesday after rising 0.8 percent in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 9.85 points, or 0.04 percent, to 22,380.65, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.67 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,505.98 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 21.10 points, or 0.33 percent, to 6,440.23. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 lost 0.18 percent. Markets are pricing in a 58-percent probability of the Fed raising rates in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The European Central Bank is widely expected to say next month that it will begin scaling back its asset-purchase stimulus program from January, even though a stronger euro, which dampens inflation, has complicated the outlook. The dollar index .DXY fell 0.01 percent, with the euro EUR= unchanged at $1.1992. The New Zealand dollar hit its strongest in more than a month at $0.7374 NZD= after a poll showed the ruling National Party regaining a wide lead over the opposition before Saturday''s election. In the bond market, benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR were last up in 3/32 price to yield 2.232 percent, from 2.243 percent on Tuesday. Oil prices were higher, but pared gains after data showed a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.78 percent to $50.36 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $55.85, up 1.73 percent on the day. Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru, Nigel Stephenson in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Catherine Evans and Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/asia-steady-after-wall-street-notches-record-highs-dollar-holds-firm-idUKKCN1BV02G'|'2017-09-20T03:56:00.000+03:00'
'6938cfae1a8c311685d49b6b5e4e7697e6d8cd5b'|'Zurich Insurance taps Savio to replace Foley as N.America head'|'ZURICH, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Zurich Insurance said on Wednesday the president of its North America Alternative Markets unit, Kathleen Savio, will replace Mike Foley as chief executive of Zurich North America.Foley will retire from Zurich after a decade as North America CEO, Zurich said in statement. The change will take effect on Jan. 1. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/zurich-ins-group-moves/zurich-insurance-taps-savio-to-replace-foley-as-n-america-head-idUSFWN1M10QQ'|'2017-09-20T21:42:00.000+03:00'
'bdcdfa16a47fa0d946560fbf906b3b63aa964a65'|'Siemens to decide within days on rail talks with Bombardier or Alstom - source'|'  12:42 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Siemens to pick Alstom or Bombardier for rail talks within days - source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido MUNICH (Reuters) - Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) is in talks to merge its rail business with that of either Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) or Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and will pick a preferred partner within days for further negotiations, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Rail mergers have become a trend over the last few years as global companies seek to contain costs and Western ones struggle with competition from China’s state-backed CRRC ( 601766.SS ). The three main rivals to CRRC - Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom - have talked to each other about combining their businesses in various arrangements over the past years. Sources told Reuters in July that Bombardier and Siemens were in the final stages of talks to combine their rail operations. Under an alternative scenario involving Alstom, Siemens would transfer its rail operations to the French group and become a majority shareholder of Alstom, the source told Reuters on Thursday. Shares in Alstom climbed as much as 2.6 percent on news of the talks, first reported by Bloomberg earlier on Thursday. Siemens was up 0.8 percent at 116.90 euros. Siemens declined to comment and officials at Bombardier Transportation in Berlin were not immediately available for comment. An Alstom spokesman said he had no immediate comment. Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Additional reporting by Blandine Henault, Georgina Prodhan and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Richard Lough and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alstom-m-a-siemens-talks/siemens-to-decide-within-days-on-rail-talks-with-bombardier-or-alstom-source-idUKKCN1BW1R8'|'2017-09-21T15:41:00.000+03:00'
'dba10fd45df3cc393ddbd64f18a038d07344d3c1'|'Swiss shut down ''fake'' E-Coin in latest cryptocurrency crackdown'|'September 19, 2017 / 9:09 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Swiss shut down ''fake'' E-Coin in latest cryptocurrency crackdown Joshua Franklin 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Swiss flag is pictured next to the Jet d''Eau (water fountain), and the Lake Leman from the St-Pierre Cathedrale in Geneva, Switzerland, June 5, 2012. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland’s financial watchdog has closed down what it said was the provider of a fake cryptocurrency and is investigating around a dozen other possible fraud cases, in the latest clamp-down on the risks involving virtual money. The move by the FINMA watchdog comes on the heels of Chinese authorities’ ordering Beijing-based cryptocurrency exchanges to stop trading and immediately notify users of their closure. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, which are issued and usually controlled by their developers and not backed by a central bank, are hailed by their supporters as a fast and efficient way of managing money. But regulators and traditional banks are increasingly concerned about the risks of fraud in the burgeoning online cryptocurrency underworld. JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon last week said Bitcoin, the original and still the biggest cryptocurrency, “is a fraud” and will eventually “blow up”. The QUID PRO QUO Association shut down by FINMA had provided so-called E-Coins for more than a year and had amassed funds of at least 4 million Swiss francs ($4.2 million) from several hundred users, FINMA said in a statement on Tuesday. “This activity is similar to the deposit-taking business of a bank and is illegal unless the company in question holds the relevant financial market license,” FINMA, Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority, said. E-Coin was not like “real cryptocurrencies”, FINMA said, because it was not stored on distributed networks using blockchain technology but was instead kept locally on QUID PRO QUO’s servers. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Zurich-based QUID PRO QUO for comment. FINMA said it had three other companies on its warning list due to suspicious activity in cryptocurrencies, and was conducting 11 investigations into other possible fake virtual currencies. The Swiss finance industry has been looking for new avenues of growth following a weakening of its bank secrecy rules during a global crackdown on tax evasion. The small Swiss canton of Zug, famed for low taxes that have drawn multinational companies, has been trying to turn itself into a hub for virtual currency firms. But the QUID PRO QUO case is an example of the pitfall of investing in the booming but still-murky cryptocurrency world. Of the money users had invested, FINMA said it had so far seized and blocked assets worth around 2 million francs. Initial coin offerings, or ICOs, have fueled a rapid ascent in the value of all cryptocurrencies, from about $17 billion at the start of the year to a record high close to $180 billion at the beginning of September. An ICO is the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors to finance start-up projects. Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Mark Potter and Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-swiss-cryptocurrency/swiss-shut-down-fake-e-coin-in-latest-cryptocurrency-crackdown-idINKCN1BU0ZT'|'2017-09-19T12:24:00.000+03:00'
'809326e981c1e92f4f6b82ea04e2610fd23c9ca8'|'India''s cotton regions forecast to get much needed rain'|'  11:37 AM / Updated 9 hours ago India''s cotton regions forecast to get much needed rain 3 Min Read A farmer harvests cotton in his field at Rangpurda village in Gujarat, October 20, 2015. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Key cotton producing regions in central India are set for a recovery in rainfall levels, the country’s weather office chief told Reuters on Tuesday, easing concerns for farmers who are betting on the fibre amid rising demand. Overall rainfall in the country since June 1 is 6 percent below the long-term average, according to data on the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) website. India’s weather office said in June it expected monsoon rains, which deliver about three-quarters of India’s annual rainfall, to reach 98 percent of the long-term average this year. The monsoon, which stretches from June to September, is critical for India’s 260 million farmers because about half of their land lacks irrigation. Farming accounts for 15 percent of India’s $2 trillion economy and employs more than half of its 1.3 billion people. The total area cultivated during summer was largely flat from a year ago at about 105 million hectares at the end of last week, according to farm ministry data, with cotton planting growing at the fastest pace as oilseeds and pulses planting slowed. However, cotton producing regions in the under-irrigated states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have received below average rainfall, posing a threat to farmers who have increased planting of the fibre on the back of a surge in demand. K.J.Ramesh, chief of the IMD, told Reuters this was set to change. “There have already been signs of recovery,” Ramesh said, adding Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh would see a significant surge in rainfall. Though rainfall in the drought-prone cotton producing regions of Vidarbha and Eastern Madhya Pradesh in central India is still below average, the degree of rainfall deficiency has come down this week. Cotton output in India, the top cotton producing and second largest cotton exporting country, is directly linked to the monsoon, as over 60 percent of the area under cotton cultivation is rain-fed. Demand for cotton produced in India received a boost after fierce storms in the United States resulted in top cotton buyers flocking to Indian markets. Planting of the fibre had risen 19 percent as of Friday compared with the same period last year, farm ministry data showed. Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-monsoon-cotton-forecast/indias-cotton-regions-forecast-to-get-much-needed-rain-idINKCN1BU1GI'|'2017-09-19T14:37:00.000+03:00'
'58edba31d2ee1ac1fe3ea90aa918ef532c1fe388'|'Vattenfall eyes British subsidy auctions for Norfolk offshore wind projects'|' 13 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago Vattenfall eyes British subsidy auctions for Norfolk offshore wind projects Susanna Twidale 2 Min Read Vattenfall logo is seen on its headquaters in Stockholm, Sweden April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall VATN.UL expects to enter its Norfolk wind projects, off the east coast of England, into Britain’s auctions for renewable subsidies, its CEO told Reuters. Vattenfall plans to build two 1.8 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind projects, Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas, which together could power around 2.6 million homes. “We would expect to enter the Norfolk offshore wind projects in the future, but an auction next year would come too soon,” Vattenfall CEO Magnus Hall said in a phone interview. Vattenfall expects to submit a planning application for the Norfolk Vanguard project next month, and said both plants could be generating power by the early to mid-2020s. Britain’s latest subsidy auction cleared earlier this month with a lowest price of 57.50 pounds per megawatt hour, after the cost of offshore wind fell around 50 percent compared with the previous auction in 2015. “If you want to compete you have to be competitive at those levels,” Hall said. Vattenfall is also set to make a decision on whether to extend the life of its Ringhals 3 and 4 nuclear reactors in Sweden in the next few months. Sweden has started a two-year phasing out of its tax on nuclear power production, which many nuclear energy producers, including Vattenfall, said had created losses and halted investments. However, Hall said removing the tax did not automatically make the case for keeping the units open. “The price environment we are operating in is quite challenging, so even if you take out the nuclear tax we must bring down other operational costs,” he said. “The decision is about understanding the economics of keeping the nuclear plant running for the next 20-25 years.” Vattenfall plans to decommission the Ringhals 1 and 2 reactors, while the company has said it would extend the life of its Forsmark 1, 2 and 3 reactors in Sweden. Reporting By Susanna Twidale; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-offshore-windfarm/vattenfall-eyes-british-subsidy-auctions-for-norfolk-offshore-wind-projects-idUKKCN1BU17N'|'2017-09-19T13:13:00.000+03:00'
'2479e4cb8e0b300d1b945a33d77aa40345df3aa3'|'Former GSK CEO and ex-R&D boss move to biotech venture firms'|'  1:41 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Former GSK CEO and ex-R&D boss move to biotech venture firms Reuters Staff 1 Min Read File Photo: Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline’s ( GSK.L ) former chief executive Andrew Witty and its one-time research head Moncef Slaoui both picked up new jobs in the biotech venture capital sector on Tuesday, following a route favored by many ex-pharma executives. Witty, who stepped down as head of Britain’s biggest drugmaker in March, is joining U.S.-based Hatteras Venture Partners, while Slaoui has signed up with European venture firm Medicxi, the companies said in separate statements. At Hatteras, Witty will be working with general partner Bob Ingram, another former CEO of Glaxo. Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gsk-venture/former-gsk-ceo-and-ex-rd-boss-move-to-biotech-venture-firms-idUSKCN1BU1S8'|'2017-09-19T16:35:00.000+03:00'
'0610e7bba592314e241d9d5091c08a91fd20050c'|'Post Holdings to buy Bob Evans Farms for $1.5 billion'|'(Reuters) - Post Holdings Inc ( POST.N ), which makes Honey Bunches of Oats and Grape-Nuts cereals, said on Tuesday it would buy Bob Evans Farms Inc ( BOBE.O ) for about $1.5 billion, adding vegetable-based side dishes and breakfast sausages to its portfolio.Bob Evans shares rose 6.5 percent to $77.67 in afternoon trading, exceeding Post’s offer of $77 per share.The deal comes months after Post agreed to buy British breakfast cereal brand Weetabix for 1.4 billion pounds ($1.8 billion).Bob Evans sells frozen foods such as refrigerated potato, pasta and pork sausages under Bob Evans, Owens, Country Creek and Pineland Farms brands.The company also has a food service business, representing about 35 percent of sales volume.Post, which said it would fund the deal through cash on hand and debt, estimated cost savings of $25 million following the deal.The company said the transaction was expected to close by the end of Post’s second quarter of fiscal 2018.UBS Investment Bank, Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are Post’s financial advisers.J.P. Morgan Securities LLC was the exclusive financial adviser to Bob Evans.Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bob-evans-m-a-post-holdings/post-holdings-to-buy-bob-evans-farms-for-1-5-billion-idINKCN1BU1HO'|'2017-09-19T09:51:00.000+03:00'
'eb1143e562c3c34fde739f5b64f1601ebf7857c6'|'Bank of England''s Carney sees Brexit pushing up inflation, rate rise likely'|'September 18, 2017 / 3:09 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Bank of England''s Carney sees Brexit pushing up inflation, slowing growth Lindsay Dunsmuir 4 Min Read Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney sits before delivering the Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday that Brexit is likely to hurt Britain’s growth prospects in the short term and push up inflation as the country adjusts to life outside the European Union. In a speech that immediately drew criticism from some Brexit supporters who have previously criticised his stance on the EU, Carney warned that Britain would face a cost for reworking its trade relationships. In the short term, the weakening of trade ties with its EU partners would not be offset by new agreements with other countries, he said, as he repeated his argument from last week that interest rates would probably need to rise soon. “This makes Brexit, relative to the experience of the past half century, unique,” Carney said in a speech at the International Monetary Fund’s Washington headquarters. “It will be, at least for a period of time, an example of de-globalisation, not globalisation.” Brexit supporters say the freedom to strike new trade deals is one of the big advantages of leaving the European Union. Diane James, an independent member of the European Parliament who was briefly leader elect of Britain’s anti-EU UKIP party, took aim at Carney. “Mark Carney blaming inflation on Brexit. Does he not realise that QE and ZIRP are the major causes?,” James said on Twitter, referring to the BoE’s stimulus programmes. Carney angered many Brexit supporters before last year’s referendum by saying leaving the EU would probably hurt the economy. Although growth held up immediately after the vote, it has slowed sharply this year. Carney also said that less openness to foreign markets and fewer workers coming to Britain would put upward pressure on inflation and reduce productivity, raising the prospect of higher interest rates ahead. “On balance, the de-integration effects of Brexit can be expected to ... be inflationary,” he said. “At present, the main question concerns the extent to which this adjustment has been brought forward.” Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney sits before delivering the Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Britain’s inflation rate has accelerated this year, due in large part to the fall in the value of the pound since the referendum decision in June 2016 to leave the EU. Prices have risen nearly 3 percent - above the BoE’s 2 percent target - squeezing the spending power of many households and slowing growth in the overall economy. RATE HIKE SIGNAL REPEATED The BoE surprised financial markets last week when it said most of its policymakers thought it was likely that interest rates would need to rise in the coming months, if the economy and price pressures keep growing. Slideshow (5 Images) It was the strongest signal to date that Britain’s first rate increase in a decade is approaching, despite the uncertainties still surrounding the country’s scheduled 2019 departure from the European Union. In his speech on Monday, Carney reiterated that message and said the years of rock-bottom interest rates appeared to be coming to an end as the world economy picked up after the global financial crisis. “The case for a modest monetary tightening is reinforced by the possibility that global r* (equilibrium interest rates) may be rising, meaning that monetary policy has to move in order to stand still,” he said. The pound hit its highest level against the U.S. dollar since the Brexit vote on Friday after another policymaker, Gertjan Vlieghe, who was considered the BoE’s strongest opponent of a rate hike, also said borrowing costs might rise soon. Sterling fell on Monday and after Carney’s speech extended its decline, possibly reflecting the lack of specific comments from Carney on when the BoE might move on rates. The BoE’s next announcement on monetary policy is scheduled for Nov. 2. Until last week, most economists had expected the BoE to wait until 2019 before raising rates, which would have left it on the sidelines as the Federal Reserve continues to raise borrowing costs and the European Central Bank moves towards reducing its stimulus for the euro zone economy. Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imf-g20-carney/bank-of-englands-carney-sees-brexit-pushing-up-inflation-rate-rise-likely-idUKKCN1BT1U2'|'2017-09-18T18:09:00.000+03:00'
'8d50bf5fb3fc3e3b38bc7b188909a418c2e9b793'|'BASF to buy Solvay''s global polyamide business for 1.6 billion euro'|'  5:17 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago BASF boosts nylon business with 1.6 billion euro Solvay deal Georgina Prodhan , Robert-Jan Bartunek 3 Min Read A cyclist rides his bike past the entrance of the BASF plant and former Ciba production site in Schweizerhalle near Basel, Switzerland July 7, 2009. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German chemicals group BASF ( BASFn.DE ) has strengthened its nylon business by agreeing to buy the global polyamide business from Belgian rival Solvay ( SOLB.BR ) for 1.6 billion euros (1.42 billion pounds). The acquisition complements BASF’s engineering plastics portfolio and enhance its access to key growth markets in Asia and South America, BASF said on Tuesday . For Solvay, the sale is a further step in its strategy to divest its high-volume product range and focus on specific applications in aerospace, automotive and the oil and gas industry where it can achieve higher margins. The business made sales of 1.32 billion euros last year and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around 200 million. It has about 2,400 employees. Its main competitors are lycra maker Invista, owned by Koch Industries [KCHIN.UL], and Ascend, owned by SK Capital. With the deal, BASF boosts its activities in nylon, or polyamide 6-6, a heat-resistant engineering plastic that is used in textiles and also industrial parts such as tube fittings, cooling fans and engine air ducts. The German company said it expected the acquisition to contribute to earnings from the first full fiscal year after closing, which is seen in the third quarter of 2018. Solvay said the sale, as well as a stronger euro, would reduce its group core profit growth this year to 6 to 8 percent from a previous forecast for high single-digit growth. It plans to use the proceeds to bring down its debt. “This is probably the last significant move we are making towards transforming the group,” Pascal Juery, a member of Solvay’s executive committee, told reporters on a call. Solvay’s business is in a raw-materials joint venture with Invista, which for more than a year has complicated efforts by Solvay to divest it, sources have said. Solvay and BASF said on Tuesday the joint venture partner had undertaken to support the move. Solvay previously sold its PVC businesses across the globe and completed the divestment of its acetate tow business, a raw material for cigarette filters, this year. Juery said the group planned to keep some high volume businesses such as soda ash to make glass, adding that such units generated a lot of cash. BASF is also the world’s third-largest maker of crop chemicals and has been criticised by some investors for sitting on the sidelines of a flurry of mergers in that area. Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-basf-se-solvay-polyamide/basf-to-buy-solvays-global-polyamide-business-for-1-6-billion-euro-idUKKCN1BU0G0'|'2017-09-19T08:17:00.000+03:00'
'f42650f113eacd64dac1ff6a28875ec2e7826f3d'|'Oil markets firm on rising refinery demand, falling U.S. rig count'|'* U.S. WTI crude near $50 per barrel* U.S. Gulf refineries restarting after Hurricane Harvey* U.S. rig count falls to lowest since JuneBy Henning GloysteinSINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped early on Monday but remained near multi-month highs reached late last week as the count of U.S. rigs drilling for new production fell and refineries continued to start up after having been knocked out by Hurricane Harvey.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $49.83 barrel at 0021 GMT, 6 cents below their last settlement, but still close to the more than three month high of over $50 per barrel briefly reached late last week.Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, were at $55.58 a barrel, down 4 cents but still not far off the almost five-month high of $55.99 from late last week.“Demand forecasts from OPEC and IEA... continued to improve sentiment in the market. Refineries are also reporting a much better recovery from the recent hurricanes,” ANZ bank said on Monday.Oil refineries across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean were restarting after being shut down due to hurricanes Harvey and Irma which both battered the region in the past three weeks.The latest was Royal Dutch Shell’s 325,700-barrel-per-day joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, which was restarting on Sunday.“This comes as signs emerge of stalling growth in the U.S. shale industry. The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell sharply last week,” ANZ said.U.S. energy firms cut seven oil rigs in the week to Sept. 15, bringing the total count down to 749, the least since June, Baker Hughes energy services firm said on Friday. RIG-OL-USA-BHIReporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Michael Perry '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/global-oil/oil-markets-firm-on-rising-refinery-demand-falling-u-s-rig-count-idUSL4N1LZ029'|'2017-09-18T03:27:00.000+03:00'
'4077fe910aa2738d9bb8444e16e3673bfbf22793'|'Australian moguls lose court challenge to CBS''s planned buyout of Ten Network'|'  2:07 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Australian moguls lose court challenge to CBS''s planned buyout of Ten Network Tom Westbrook 3   The logo of Network Ten Pty Ltd is displayed above the company''s headquarters in Sydney, Australia, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two Australian media moguls have lost a court challenge to CBS Corp’s ( CBS.N ) planned buyout of bankrupt television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd ( TEN.AX ), allowing the CBS deal to be put to a creditor vote on Tuesday. CBS surprised the Australian media establishment when it offered as much as A$201.1 million (118.69 million pounds) for Ten, which went into administration three months ago after a long-term decline - an offer that was quickly accepted by Ten’s administrator. Media scion Lachlan Murdoch and business partner Bruce Gordon had been widely expected to acquire Ten but their bid had been held up as they waited for reforms to laws on the ownership of multiple types of media assets - reforms that were only voted through by the Australian Senate on Friday. Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman at Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) and Gordon submitted a revised offer on Friday, although its total value has not been disclosed. But on Monday, an Australian judge dismissed arguments by lawyers for Gordon and Fox that the administrator, KordaMentha, mishandled the sale because it did not explain to other creditors why it preferred the CBS bid. They had also sought to block CBS, Ten’s biggest creditor, from voting on its own bid at Tuesday’s meeting. FILE PHOTO - The CBS "eye" and logo are seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo “I am not satisfied CBS should be prevented, in advance, from voting at the meeting,” Justice Ashley Black said in his ruling at the New South Wales Supreme Court, adding he was not satisfied that there had been “any deficiencies” in the administrators’ communication with creditors. “For these reasons [the case] should be dismissed,” he said. A spokesman for Kordamentha said that the Tuesday meeting of creditors will also vote on whether to consider the revised bid made by the media moguls. Spokeswomen for Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch had no immediate comment. Although a ratings laggard, Ten’s national reach and strong brand recognition in the world’s 12th-largest economy have made it an attractive buyout target. Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ten-network-m-a-cbs-corp/australian-moguls-lose-court-challenge-to-cbss-planned-buyout-of-ten-network-idUKKCN1BT03Y'|'2017-09-18T05:06:00.000+03:00'
'a1924f1a758317b357152aade7e552dbd1c4d25d'|'Germany steel workers protest over Thyssen-Tata steel merger plan'|'Three men wear masks depicting Heinrich Hiesinger, chief executive of ThyssenKrupp AG, during a Thyssenkrupp steel workers protest rally in Bochum, Germany, September 22, 2017, against the planned combination of the group''s European steel operations with those of Tata Steel. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BOCHUM, Germany (Reuters) - Several thousand steelworkers took to the streets of Bochum in Germany’s industrial heartland on Friday to protest against the planned merger of the European steel units of Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) and Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ).Just two days before general elections in Europe’s biggest economy, the demonstrators protested against up to 4,000 job cuts that will be made should the joint venture go ahead. This would be about 8 percent of the combined workforce.Thyssenkrupp and Tata this week said they had signed a memorandum of understanding for a 50-50 joint venture that would create Europe’s second-biggest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), with combined sales of about 15 billion euros ($18 billion).Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger says a joint venture will be the best solution to what he sees as the main issue in Europe’s steel industry - overcapacity - but politicians and labor leaders fear further cuts.“We want guarantees for all employees and locations,” said Detlef Wetzel, deputy supervisory board chairman of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe.Hiesinger depends on the support of labor representatives, which hold half of the 20 seats on the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp AG, and have fiercely opposed the Tata deal.If all of them vote against the deal, the board’s chairman could still push through the plan with his casting vote but it is Hiesinger’s declared goal to get labor leaders on board.Wetzel said he was not overly optimistic after initial talks with Hiesinger and that he expected further cost cuts.“2020 - that’s when things will really get going,” he said, referring to the date when Hiesinger has said a fundamental review of operations would take place after initial cost trimming.German labour Minister Andrea Nahles speaks at a Thyssenkrupp steel workers protest rally in Bochum, Germany, September 22, 2017 against the planned combination of the group''s European steel operations with those of Tata Steel . REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay IG Metall said about 7,000 workers took part in the protest in the Ruhr valley city.Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory will discuss the plans at a meeting on Saturday even though the MoU has already been signed. It will decide on the plans early next year, Thyssenkrupp said on Wednesday.Europe’s steel market has an annual production capacity of about 200 million tonnes, while actual production is about 160 million tonnes.Slideshow (16 Images) “I am not convinced by the merger plans at all. Without guarantees the labor side will not agree to it in the supervisory board,” said German Labour Minister Andrea Nahles, a leading member of the Social Democrats.“You can put that idea right out of your head, Mr Hiesinger.”Opposition from Thyssenkrupp’s workforce could mean prolonger negotiations with management and delay any approval of the plan by the supervisory board. The two steel firms say the would like to close the deal in late 2018.Thyssenkrupp’s management and labor leaders are in for tough negotiations over the next months, before a contract could be signed early next year.“I feel like I’ve been dumped on, screwed over, but I‘m in a combative mood nonetheless,” said Guenter Back, head of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe’s works council.“There is nothing good about this deal. And that’s why we have to reject it.”Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Jon Boyle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-protests/germany-steel-workers-protest-over-thyssen-tata-steel-merger-plan-idINKCN1BX20Y'|'2017-09-22T12:44:00.000+03:00'
'e758a71739cf23db6111958ea5d0bda43949ed7f'|'High-flying HNA Group comes back to earth as scrutiny hits dealmaking'|'FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - HNA Group, the high-flying Chinese conglomerate caught in the cross-sights of Beijing, has hit turbulence as deals stall and scrutiny of its finances and shareholding structure intensifies.Beijing’s clampdown on highly-leveraged foreign investment has led to more regulatory scrutiny around the world, putting the brakes on a remarkable period of growth that saw HNA announce $50 billion of acquisitions in just over two years.New deals have dried up and investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have grown wary of working with the company that has sprawling interests in aviation, logistics and tourism.HNA’s long-term strategy of debt-fueled growth, which peaked with its purchase of stakes in Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Deutsche Bank, is fraying, compounding the company’s problems as it struggles to allay concerns over its opaque shareholding structure.A plan to publicly list Pactera, a Chinese technology services company HNA bought last year, was suspended this month after Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) said the deal failed to meet its internal due diligence requirements.HNA has defended its health, saying it maintains strong working relationships with more than 300 financial institutions and has a healthy line of credit.“A lot of the stuff going on in the media is just perception, and that perception doesn’t accurately reflect our business,” said Guang Yang, chief investment officer of HNA Capital, the company’s financial arm. “Our business continues to be very strong.”HNA bonds have dipped slightly since the extent of Beijing’s crackdown on debt became clear. Two bonds from HNA Group and Hainan Airlines due in 2018, for instance, are being bid at under 99 cents on the dollar, versus around 100 in June.Finance costs have soared to 14.19 billion yuan in the first half of 2017, from 6.47 billion yuan in the year-earlier period, as HNA completed acquisitions and utilized 454.5 billion yuan in credit.Shareholder equity now finances 40 percent of 1.21 trillion yuan in total assets, with the rest coming from borrowed funds, after stakeholders injected 488.5 billion yuan into the company last year.Some western bankers say their ability to work with HNA is limited by lingering questions about the company’s dependence on leverage.“International banks are reluctant to do any new business,” said a senior banker with a European lender, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media. “The regulatory environment has changed.”Brock Silvers, managing director at Kaiyuan Capital in Shanghai, said a main concern for Beijing was “whether HNA’s aggressive financial structure could result in a domino effect through its tightly levered and pledged portfolio, putting Chinese investors and bank capital at risk.”HNA investments controlled by unlisted domestic subsidiaries with little track record and lacking offshore regulatory oversight are a particular concern, bankers say.“Nobody really knows how much leverage they have,” said Andrew Collier, managing director at Orient Capital Research in Hong Kong. “They use all of these off-balance sheet companies to raise a lot of capital.”Another concern for regulators and bankers is the company’s opaque shareholder structure.Last week, the Swiss Takeover Board asked HNA to clarify its ownership by Oct. 3 given apparent changes since its $1.5 billion takeover last year of the aviation services company Gategroup.HNA announced in July that a New York-based foundation controlled by HNA management would act as its largest stakeholder. But the move raised questions about individuals who had been holding the shares previously and their role at HNA.Under the restructured shareholding, a dozen senior executives - led by the founding chairmen Chen Feng and Wang Jian - hold a combined 47.5 percent stake in the group, with the New York foundation and a China-based charity holding the bulk of the rest.FILE PHOTO: A Hainan Airlines plane takes off from the Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Sanya, Hainan province, China, May 1, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo All this comes as the company is undertaking U.S. government reviews for its proposed acquisition of SkyBridge Capital, a hedge fund platform, from Anthony Scaramucci, and a bigger stake in Old Mutual’s U.S. asset management unit.HNA abandoned a bid for Global Eagle Entertainment Inc ( ENT.O ), an in-flight services company, after failing to get U.S. regulatory approval in July.DEBT RISKS HNA’s debt-fueled strategy peaked this year with the Hilton ( HLT.N ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) deals, and buyouts of the U.S. technology provider Ingram Micro and CIT Group’s aircraft leasing business.HNA Group, which controls 19 listed companies, reported that total debt doubled to 717.99 billion yuan at the end of June from the end of 2015. Total assets increased 157 percent to 1.21 trillion yuan.At Bohai Capital Holding Co ( 000415.SZ ), which oversees HNA’s aviation and container leasing businesses, the debt-to-asset ratio reached 87.6 percent, with short-term borrowing of about 34 billion yuan, according to its latest filing.Moody’s Investors Service in September warned that “Bohai’s high leverage, reliance on short-term financing and high debt-funded growth represent a risk.”But it also upgraded its ratings for Bohai’s Avolon airplane leasing unit, expecting the company to “strengthen its financial profile,” citing, among other things, “slower growth as a result of reduced debt-funded acquisitions.”LEVERAGE STRATEGY HNA’s debt-driven growth strategy dates from 2003, when Hainan Airlines, the HNA Group flagship that counted George Soros as an early investor, was battered by the SARS outbreak.”We came up with the idea, why don’t we leverage ourselves,“ HNA’s chief executive, Adam Tan, said in April. ”We can leverage this business” against the “ups and downs” of the airline business.The vehicle was HNA Group, which invested in airlines, airports, tourism, and real estate in China and around the world.Domestic deals have often been backed by guarantees provided by other HNA companies. Abroad, the group started using cross-border standby letters of credit, backing offshore hard-currency debts with onshore cash deposits.More recently, HNA has turned to structured deals like loans guaranteed by acquired assets and share pledges, often combined with hedging strategies, corporate filings show.HNA secured a $3 billion margin loan, for example, to help finance its $6.5 billion Hilton share acquisition, pledging its entire shareholding to a consortium of banks.In August, to acquire stakes in Deutsche Bank and Dufry AG ( DUFN.S ), an airport shop operator, HNA used equity margin financing, backed by an equity collar, a hedging strategy.PUSH BACK Amid all the scrutiny, Yang of HNA Capital said the company was pressing ahead with some deals.HNA this month took control of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany, a $16 million deal. HNA Holding Group Co ( 0521.HK ) is also moving forward with a $1 billion takeover of the Singapore-listed logistics company CWT Ltd ( CWTD.SI )“The company is in great shape,” Tan, the chief executive, said in July. “We’re going to keep on going.”Reporting By Matthew Miller. Umesh Desai contributed reporting.; Editing by Philip McClellan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-conglomerates-hna/high-flying-hna-group-comes-back-to-earth-as-scrutiny-hits-dealmaking-idINKCN1C10K0'|'2017-09-26T04:11:00.000+03:00'
'1042250dfb9ec8924ae36a8f7f9f3fd1eb889e5e'|'JPMorgan picks Warsaw for new operations centre -Polish deputy PM'|'WARSAW, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase has chosen Warsaw to host a new global operations centre that will employ several thousand people over the next couple of years, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday.Possible other contenders to host the centre were Budapest and the Polish city of Wroclaw, though Reuters reported in April that Warsaw was the front-runner.It will, among others, employ “people ...with competences such as in data management, risk management, credit risk management, supply chain management,” Morawiecki told Polish public radio.JPMorgan was not immediately available for comment.Poland, the EU’s largest eastern economy, has already established itself as a major offshoring, or near-shoring, site for banks.The estimates of financial services jobs moved from all Western countries to Poland range from 35,000 to 45,000, with Britain’s decision to exit the EU seen accelerating the process.“This is a huge success because this (JPMorgan) is a sort of Mercedes in the financial services sector,” Morawiecki added. (Reporting by Marcin Goettig; Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill in LONDON; editing by John Stonestreet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-poland/jpmorgan-picks-warsaw-for-new-operations-centre-polish-deputy-pm-idINL5N1M32B0'|'2017-09-22T09:44:00.000+03:00'
'7d315e2a298990d0e0cfb1d2061bb09bb5ac9ef2'|'Time Inc in talks to sell assets; warns on third-quarter ad revenue softness'|'September 22, 2017 / 11:34 AM / Updated an hour ago Time Inc in talks to sell assets; warns on third-quarter ad revenue softness Reuters Staff 3 Min Read File Photo: A man holds up a copy of Time Magazine in Des Moines, Iowa January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Time Inc ( TIME.N ) said on Friday it was looking to sell several assets, including Time Inc UK, and warned it experienced more-than-anticipated softness in both print and advertising revenue during the current quarter. The publisher, which said in April that it would not sell itself, said assets identified for sale include Time Customer Service and a majority stake in the Essence magazine. The assets marked for divestitures represent about $488 million, or 17 percent of total revenue for the 12-months ended June 30, the company said. A sale may be announced as early as the fourth quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. bit.ly/2xkudm5 The New York-based publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and namesake Time said it experienced softness in both print and advertising revenue during the current quarter relative to the forecast issued during the second-quarter earnings call. However, the company re-affirmed its adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) forecast for the full-year to be in the range of $400 million to $414 million. Time Inc, which reported a 17 percent fall in second quarter print and other advertising revenues, had said it expected sequential improvement in the third quarter ending Sept. 30. The company’s magazine circulation revenue fell 12 percent in the second quarter ended June 30 and its advertising revenue dipped about 12 percent, as more readers and advertisers shift to digital platforms. The company said on Friday that it expected its cost savings and other initiatives to offset the softness in advertising. The publisher last month announced a fresh cost-cutting program, targeting $400 million in savings. Separately, the company said it received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requiring it to provide documents relating to certain goodwill and asset impairments and some restructuring and severance costs. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-time-divestiture/time-inc-says-in-talks-to-sell-several-assets-idINKCN1BX1ES'|'2017-09-22T09:34:00.000+03:00'
'9c977aa17acea75238e7f51452d23770697e9c36'|'Financials give FTSE a fillip'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:16 AM / Updated 4 hours ago FTSE edges lower on UK consumer worries as banks gain Kit Rees 3 Min Read A woman walks past the London Stock Exchange building in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Concerns about consumption dragged on Britain’s top share index on Thursday, partly offset by gains among banks after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled that another rate rise was on the cards this year. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index closed 0.1 percent lower at 7,263.90 points, underperforming a positive European market which was boosted by gains among banking stocks. British banks .FTNMX8350 were among the strongest gainers, with Lloyds ( LLOY.L ), Barclays ( BARC.L ) and Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) all up between 1.6 percent to 2.6 percent. Banks have struggled with low interest rates, which has put pressure on their margins. The sector was boosted recently by more hawkish rhetoric from the Bank of England, which said that a rate rise was likely in coming months. Related Coverage Sterling jumps on expectations for Brexit offer from UK PM “The prospect of higher rates in the key US market, and indeed even the possibility of a modest rate rise in the UK, has prompted investors to buy up financial services stocks in hope of better margins and improved profits and dividends”, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG said in a note to clients. Increased expectations of a Fed rate hike boosted the dollar, which in turn weighed on greenback-denominated commodities including copper and gold. Shares in precious metals miners Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ), Randgold Resources ( RRS.L ) and Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) and were all down about 2.3 percent. Households goods and retailers sustained heavy losses as worries for British consumers mount: Kingfisher ( KGF.L ) and Sainsbury ( SBRY.L ) were both down 4.1 percent. Outsourcer Capita ( CPI.L ) was the worst performer in the pan-European STOXX 600 with an 11.6 percent fall after disappointing first half results. Johnson Matthey ( JMAT.L ) posted the best performance with a 14.6 percent rise after confirming guidance for the year and announcing a 200 million pounds investment to capitalise on growth in the electric vehicle market. Deal-making spurred a 2.4 percent jump in CRH’s ( CRH.L ) shares. The building materials maker rose after agreeing to buy U.S. cement maker Ash Grove Cement Co ( ASHG.PK ) in a $3.5 billion (£2.59 billion) deal to expand in North America. “We think the transaction marks a strategic entry into the U.S. cement market at a reasonable price, where CRH currently only has a small presence and will complement its significant aggregates, asphalt and ready mix operations,” analysts at UBS said in a note. Reporting by Kit Rees and Julien Ponthus; Editing by Toby Chopra and John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/financials-give-ftse-a-fillip-idUKKCN1BW15O'|'2017-09-21T12:15:00.000+03:00'
'7866024fe53745bb423f268212e3eea7f550452d'|'Addison Lee seeks appeal of court ruling over courier rights'|' 46 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Addison Lee seeks appeal of court ruling over courier rights   LONDON (Reuters) - Premium car service Addison Lee said on Thursday it had applied to appeal a court decision that ruled a courier deserved workers’ rights such as holiday pay, in a bid to defend the flexible working lauded by employers but criticised by unions. Like taxi app Uber [UBER.UL], Addison Lee operates in the so-called “gig economy”, where most people are self-employed and entitled to only basic protections. Unions and some lawmakers argue they should receive rights such as the minimum wage and holiday entitlement. Addison Lee, best known for its fleet of professional cars, also has around 40 people operating as couriers who transport luxury goods and time-sensitive documents such as contracts. In July, trade union the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain went to court to argue that courier Christopher Gascoigne should be classified as a worker. A judge ruled in their favour in a decision handed down in August. On Thursday, Addison Lee said it would seek to appeal. ”Addison Lee is appealing the decision as the verdict is inconsistent with the law and the evidence that clearly showed that Mr Gascoigne took full advantage of the flexible and fair relationship that we have with cycle couriers,” a spokesman said. Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-addisonlee/addison-lee-seeks-appeal-of-court-ruling-over-courier-rights-idUKKCN1BW23H'|'2017-09-21T17:46:00.000+03:00'
'7618d78ad3cb53d4ab11c04d8ca7031938d71d55'|'Motor racing-F1 working on exhaust microphone to pump up TV volume'|' 47 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Motor racing-F1 working on exhaust microphone to pump up TV volume Alan Baldwin 3 Min Read LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Formula One is working on a microphone that can be attached to a car’s exhaust system to make the sport louder and more ‘visceral’ for television viewers. Engine noise has been a talking point since the quieter, more fuel-efficient 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid power units were introduced in 2014 in place of the raspier and less sophisticated V8 engines. Formula One’s commercial managing director Sean Bratches said more needed to be done for the worldwide audience. “One of the things that we want to amplify going forward are the sounds of the sport, because they are viscerally moving to fans and critically important in all the research that we do,” he told Reuters. Bratches said Australian producer David Hill, a man with a stellar reputation in sports television and broadcast innovation, was involved in that. “He’s working with a German concern to develop a ceramic microphone that we can actually adhere to the exhaust pipe to get the true amplification of sound for fans,” he said, as one example. Older generations of Formula One fans still mourn the passing of the ear-splitting V10 and V12s, although the V10 wail has returned to the racetrack through the introduction of a two-seater programme run by former Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart. Formula One has witnessed a quiet revolution following the takeover of U.S.-owned Liberty Media in January with fresh camera angles, apertures and positioning to create more of a sense of speed. Previously, there was as much of a focus on ensuring track advertising was prominent as on getting the most exciting angles. Hill, a former boss of the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox Sports, has attended several races and is a long-time associate of Formula One chairman and former Fox Broadcasting chief executive Chase Carey. Formula One insiders said the Australian had been working with F1 broadcast operations at Biggin Hill airfield in southern England. A trumpet-like ‘megaphone’ exhaust was tested by teams in 2014 to try to boost noise levels but the experiment was deemed a failure. Formula One faces a decision on what kind of engines to use from 2021, with some calling for a return to simpler, cheaper and louder ones that would allow new manufacturers to come in. Others want to develop the greener technology. Jean Todt, president of the governing FIA, said in March that any attempt by Formula One to turn back the clock would be unacceptable to society. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-sound/motor-racing-f1-working-on-exhaust-microphone-to-pump-up-tv-volume-idUSL4N1M332X'|'2017-09-22T15:47:00.000+03:00'
'59046369543548e96919d3efdce32973e81a9b83'|'Google to buy part of HTC''s smartphone operations for around $1 billion - source'|'  1:31 AM / Updated an hour ago Google bets anew on smartphones, pays $1.1 billion for HTC''s Pixel division Jess Macy Yu , Paresh Dave 5 Min Read TAIPEI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google said it would pay $1.1 billion for the division at Taiwan’s HTC Corp ( 2498.TW ) that develops the U.S. firm’s Pixel smartphones - its second major foray into phone hardware after an earlier costly failure. The all-cash deal will see Google gain 2,000 HTC employees, roughly equivalent to one fifth of the Taiwanese firm’s total workforce. It will also acquire a non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property and the two firms agreed to look at other areas of collaboration in the future. While Google is not acquiring any manufacturing assets, the transaction underscores a ramping up of its ambitions for Android smartphones at a time when consumer and media attention is largely focused on rival Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ). “Google has found it necessary to have its own hardware team to help bring innovations to Android devices, making them competitive versus the iPhone series,” said Mia Huang, analyst at research firm TrendForce. The move is part of a broader and still nascent push into hardware that saw Google hire Rick Osterloh, a former Motorola executive, to run its hardware division last year. It also comes ahead of new product launches on Oct. 4 that are expected to include two Pixel phones and a Chromebook. Pixel smartphones, only launched a year ago, have less than 1 percent market share globally with an estimated 2.8 million shipments, according to research firm IDC. Google will be aiming not to repeat mistakes made when it purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2012. It sold it off to China’s Lenovo Group Ltd ( 0992.HK ) for less than $3 billion two years later after Motorola failed to produce appealing products that could compete with iPhones. This time around, however, the deal price tag is much smaller and the lack of manufacturing facilities also minimizes risk. HTC‘S DECLINE Google’s strategy of licensing Android for free and profiting from embedded services such as search and maps has made Android the dominant mobile operating system with some 89 percent of the global market, according to IDC. But it has long been frustrated by the emergence of many variations of Android and the inconsistent experience that has produced. Pushing its own hardware will likely complicate its relationship with Android licensees, analysts said. Google hardware executive Rick Osterloh (L) shakes hand with HTC CEO Cher Wang during a news conference to announce Google to acquire HTC''s Pixel smartphone division, in Taipei, Taiwan September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu Some analysts also questioned the wisdom of the deal given HTC’s long decline. The Taiwanese firm once sold one in 10 smartphones globally but has seen market share dwindle sharply in the face of competition from Apple, Samsung Electronics Co ( 005930.KS ) and Chinese rivals. “HTC is past its prime in terms of being a leading hardware design house, mainly because of how much it has had to scale back over the years because of declining revenues,” said Ryan Reith, an analyst at IDC. “Unless Google really wants to control hardware for its other businesses like Home and Chromebooks in addition to smartphones, then I don’t see this as being a bet that pays off.” Slideshow (8 Images) For HTC, the deal will allow it to concentrate more on its virtual reality headsets while also reducing development costs. “This will be a sizeable reduction in our R&D expenses. Overall it should be in the ballpark of a 30-40 percent reduction in operating expenses,” HTC Chief Financial Officer Peter Shen told a news conference in Taipei. The Taiwanese firm will continue to run its remaining smartphone business but the sharp downsizing of its mainstay operations has cast some doubt over its longer term future. “HTC can design and produce innovative products but it lacks the deep pockets of the likes of Samsung for marketing promotions and saturation advertising,” said Jake Saunders, an analyst at ABI Research in Singapore. “Competitors in the form of Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and ZTE are snapping at HTC’s heels.” HTC’s worldwide smartphone market share declined to 0.9 percent last year from a peak of 8.8 percent in 2011, according to IDC. HTC shares were on a trading halt on Thursday. The stock has fallen around 94 percent from a peak in 2011, giving the company a market value of around $1.9 billion. Evercore served as financial advisor to HTC while Lazard was Google’s financial advisor. Additional reporting by Lee Chyen Yee and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-htc-m-a-google/google-to-buy-part-of-htcs-smartphone-operations-for-around-1-billion-source-idUKKCN1BW06L'|'2017-09-21T04:53:00.000+03:00'
'1fa94e9c283f63b3429f953fd1639b35bed370a9'|'Daimler joins rush to add more North American auto plants'|'  1:06 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Daimler joins rush to add more North American auto plants Joseph White 4 Min Read Journalists wait for the arrival of Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche before the car maker''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. automakers are facing mounting pressure amid slowing demand in the country, as automakers from Asia and Europe aggressively ramp up vehicle production in North America, including a new investment by Daimler AG( DAIGn.DE ). In the latest move, German automaker Daimler said on Thursday it will spend $1 billion (£741.18 million) to expand its Mercedes Benz operations near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to produce batteries and electric sport utility vehicles that would compete with Silicon Valley electric car maker Tesla Inc’s ( TSLA.O ) models. More than 600 new jobs will be created in Daimler’s plan, which includes building a facility in 2018 near the Tuscaloosa plant to produce batteries for zero-emission vehicles, the carmaker said. It also plans to build a new global logistics centre and new after-sales North American hub. Daimler’s move to produce electric Mercedes Benz vehicles in the United States from about 2020 comes as the automaker has halted U.S. sales of Mercedes Benz diesels under scrutiny by U.S. environmental regulators. The company is joining a rush to add vehicle-making capacity in a U.S. market that most analysts and industry executives expect to contract moderately over the next several years, following record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. Related Coverage Factbox - Carmakers announce $9.5 billion in U.S. investments since Jan Indeed, Detroit’s automakers are already temporarily idling factories and laying off thousands of workers as demand slows for their sedans and luxury cars. Global automakers have come under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to curb imports and hire more workers to build cars and trucks in the country. The burst of investments to expand U.S. vehicle production capacity also reflects intensified competition for market share in the world’s most profitable vehicle market. Rival German luxury automaker BMW AG ( BMWG.DE ) said in June it would expand its U.S. factory in South Carolina, adding 1,000 jobs. Volkswagen AG’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) brand president Herbert Diess told reporters last month the company expects to bring electric SUV production to the United States and could add production at its Tennessee plant. Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) and Mazda Motor Corp ( 7261.T ) said in August they would join forces to build a new U.S. factory capable of producing up to 300,000 vehicles a year, with 4,000 new jobs. Honda Motor Co earlier this week said it would expand production of Accord models at a factory in Ohio. Volvo Cars, the Swedish brand owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group [GEELY.UL], is planning a second production line at a factory in South Carolina that is still under construction, according to people familiar with the plans. Silicon Valley automaker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ), meanwhile, is gearing up to produce as many as 500,000 Model 3 electric cars a year at its factory in Fremont, Calif., in an effort to increase its annual sales more than fivefold. Tesla, like its German rivals, will export some of the new vehicles it plans. But if the company sold 500,000 Model 3’s in the United States, it would become the largest luxury vehicle brand in the market, based on 2016 sales. Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer and David Shepardson; Editing by Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-capacity/daimler-joins-rush-to-add-more-north-american-auto-plants-report-idUKKCN1BW1SX'|'2017-09-21T19:47:00.000+03:00'
'e6791bf0a096787754058290479303a9f46bbdbc'|'UPDATE 1-Generic drugmaker Impax Labs in talks to merge with Amneal - WSJ'|'(Reuters) - Impax Laboratories Inc ( IPXL.O ) is in talks to merge with privately held Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.The generic drugmaker’s shares rose as much as 19.3 pct to $25.70, highest in nearly a year.Impax and Amneal are in talks that could yield a transaction next month, according to the WSJ report.The merger talks come at a time when the largest U.S. retail pharmacies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ) and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc ( WBA.O ), are wielding more leverage when buying generic drugs, accelerating a decline in prices likely to affect drug companies for some time.The pressure is exacerbated as U.S. regulators push for the market entry of more generics to drive down branded drug prices otherwise spiraling out of control.Reuters reported in March that Impax had asked investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it conduct a strategic review.Amneal and Impax, which had a market valuation of $1.60 billion as of Wednesday’s close, declined to comment.Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-impax-labs-m-a/generic-drugmaker-impax-labs-in-talks-to-merge-with-amneal-wsj-idUSKCN1BW2IJ'|'2017-09-21T20:43:00.000+03:00'
'8dbcbcc39df0fbc52ed22e9805a5eeffafcd9527'|'Unilever strikes deal over South African spreads business'|' 25 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Unilever strikes deal over South African spreads business Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) and South African investment holding company Remgro ( REMJ.J ) on Friday announced a 11.9 billion rand (£666.51 million) deal that sees Unilever trade its spreads business in southern Africa for Remgro’s stake in its South African subsidiary. The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods maker said it would acquire Remgro’s 25.75 percent shareholding in its South African subsidiary in exchange for the spreads business in southern Africa and cash of 4.9 billion rand ($371 million). The deal values the spreads business at 7 billion rand ($530 million), representing a multiple of 13.4 times core earnings (EBITDA). The deal is the first step in Unilever’s exit of its shrinking spreads business, a move it promised earlier this year following an unsolicited $143 billion takeover offer from Kraft-Heinz ( KHC.O ). Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-nv-m-a-remgro/unilever-strikes-deal-over-south-african-spreads-business-idUKKCN1BX1Z9'|'2017-09-22T17:24:00.000+03:00'
'4a53882e052fe4159c58b6f754f0ca4772537ad1'|'Behind the veil of Saudi Aramco'|'IF SAUDI ARAMCO is a state within a state in Saudi Arabia, then the blandly named Oil Supply Planning and Scheduling (OSPAS) is its deep state. To enter it, you pass tight security at Aramco’s suburban-style headquarters in Dhahran, in the east of the kingdom. The transition is eye-opening. Suddenly, English is the common tongue even among Saudi “Aramcons”, as its workers are known. Female employees, their faces uncovered, lead meetings of male colleagues. The crisp banter is common to engineers everywhere. A toilet break is called a “pressure-relief” exercise.Deep within, OSPAS is even further removed from the kingdom outside. The few executives with clearance to enter call it the “nerve centre” of the world’s largest oil company. Using 100,000 sensors and data points on wells, pipelines, plants and terminals, it directs every drop of oil and cubic foot of gas that comes out of the kingdom (10% of the world’s oil supply), monitors it on giant screens as it heads to ports and power stations, and tracks oil tankers as they load. Well managers in the desert outback wait daily for OSPAS to tell them what to do. “It’s not just pretty graphics,” an executive says, purring appreciatively over the 70-metre web of data flashing on the wall. 18 Because Aramco has all its “upstream” oil-and-gas operations in one country, it says it can justify investing big sums—and a lot of computer capacity—on such technology, because it helps cut costs. “ExxonMobil operates in 40-plus countries. It just can’t do that,” the executive adds, before apologising lest he appear to bad-mouth a client and partner, one of Aramco’s American founding former shareholders.Such comparisons will become more pertinent as Aramco opens itself up for an initial public offering (IPO). Until recently it was just as cloistered from outside scrutiny as the kingdom itself, giving it more of a mystique than a good reputation. This week it invited The Economist for a visit. It only partially lifted its veil; its finances remain off-limits to everyone except the government, its only shareholder. Affable executives dodge almost every attempt to wheedle out useful ways of comparing the firm with its listed peers (it has no peers, they dissemble).But despite the hermeticism, Aramco has a good tale to tell. Even as its rivals have retrenched owing to low prices, it has stuck to long-term plans, investing heavily in technology, training and the future of oil. Its long-term approach may help explain one mystery. For decades, Saudi Arabia’s declared oil reserves have confounded the industry; since 1989 they have remained suspiciously constant at around 260bn barrels—a dozen times those of Aramco’s nearest listed rival (see chart). As if to rub it in, Aramco says the kingdom has a whopping 400bn further barrels of resources that could one day become reserves.These reserves are under audit ahead of the IPO, and executives are loth to discuss the process. However, they argue that whereas other companies have to go far to find new reserves, Aramco can keep them constant simply by better stewardship of its existing fields. Amin Nasser, the chief executive, says the company’s recovery rates—the share of oil recouped from what is available in a field—average about 50%, but rise as high as 70%, compared with a global average of about 33%. It does this by maintaining the pressure of its wells over the long term through gas re-injection and other means. Raising recovery rates on average to 70% would add 80bn barrels to reserves, an executive says. That is four times ExxonMobil’s latest total.Unlike big listed companies, which scrapped growth plans when the price of oil slumped in 2014-16, Aramco has also been able to keep on investing because of its low costs, Mr Nasser says. Increasing natural-gas output is now the main focus, but it has also raised oil production in some areas. This is visible at the vast Shaybah field in Saudi Arabia’s blisteringly hot Empty Quarter, where Aramco last year upped oil output by 250,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 1m b/d, inaugurated a facility to process natural-gas liquids (pictured on previous page) and laid 650km of new pipelines across a mountain range of red sand dunes. (Aramco also set out to repopulate the surrounding desert with oryx, gazelle and ostrich hunted almost to extinction. They are now reproducing, although the first ostrich eggs to fertilise sadly cooked in the heat.)Its second focus is technology. Whereas some of its peers admit that they squandered the chance to invest in big data during the oil boom before 2014, Aramco has no such regrets. Last year it inaugurated its home-grown “TeraPowers” technology, which uses 1trn pixel-like computational cells to simulate the flow of hydrocarbons through 500m years of geological time, enabling it to model oilfields in granular detail. From Dhahran it can remotely direct drilling of horizontal wells in Shaybah, steering a drill-bit through miles of rock to within a few feet of its target. (Royal Dutch Shell recently boasted of using similar remote-drilling technology in Argentina.) To train young employees in understanding the subsurface, Aramco has a 3D virtual-reality “cave” in Dhahran, which shows the filigree of wells 1,500 metres below the surface of Shaybah, as if from a submarine.Third, as Saudi Arabia’s most attractive employer, Aramco has less difficulty than its Western peers in attracting millennial recruits (born between around 1980 and 1996) who are turning away from the oil and gas industry. It has kept up spending on international scholarships during the slump. It plans to raise the share of women in the workforce from 25% to 40%. Its chief engineer and head of human resources are both female. Saudi labour laws still apply, however: female Aramcons may not stay overnight at an oilfield.Aramcons pride themselves on a Westernised culture handed down from their American forefathers before nationalisation in 1980. This makes them confident they can handle the listing. “From the way [Aramco] was built, from the beginning I would say it was ready for an IPO,” Mr Nasser says. The main change, he adds, will be issuing quarterly results.But that underplays the challenges ahead. For one thing, Aramco is not master of its destiny. The future of the IPO, such as the decision on where and when to list, is in the hands of the government shareholder, represented by Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince. Domestic political tension and external frictions with Qatar risk delaying the IPO until 2019—and further muddying the waters.The potential valuation is also contentious. MBS, as the crown prince is known, has said he believes Aramco is worth $2trn, though many analysts think that is over-ambitious. To improve its chances, the kingdom is leaning toward a listing on the New York Stock Exchange rather than in London, because America has deeper pools of capital. However, that would expose Aramco to legal risks it would prefer to avoid. In order to bring in Chinese investors, the kingdom is also considering issuing some shares in Hong Kong.However strong Aramco may be upstream, its lower-margin refining and petrochemicals divisions will drag down the valuation. Aramco has some intriguing plans to mitigate this, hoping in the next few years to build a plant with new technology to turn crude oil directly into petrochemicals—in essence, leap-frogging refineries. But this is untested.In sum, the IPO is more for the kingdom’s benefit than Aramco’s. It could have drawbacks—exposing the firm to investors with short time horizons or to activists hostile to fossil fuels. But the Aramcons appear determined to make the most of it. Executives argue that oil’s future is bright, even if electric cars and cleaner fuels emerge. Low costs mean there is no danger Saudi oil will become a “sunset industry”, says Mohammed al-Qahtani, head of its upstream division. A listing will make Aramco “the envy of the rest of the world”. "Behind the veil"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729472-biggest-oil-company-has-good-story-tellif-it-can-disentangle-its-image?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'3f50010c751e10453debbea59ce920f223298d61'|'U.S. to present new proposals at next NAFTA talks: negotiator'|'September 21, 2017 / 11:31 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Despite tough talk, Canada seen unlikely to walk away from NAFTA David Ljunggren 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A NAFTA banner is pictured where the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Mexico City, Mexico September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso OTTAWA (Reuters) - Despite Canada’s threats to walk away from NAFTA talks if necessary, its limited success in diversifying exports leaves the nation too reliant on U.S. markets to play hardball, government insiders and trade experts say. Negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States will gather in Ottawa on Saturday for the third round of talks on modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement with many tough items yet to be broached. U.S. President Donald Trump says he will ditch the pact unless major changes in are made. Canada last month suggested it could walk away if the United States pushed to remove a key dispute-settlement mechanism. But insiders say leaving the table remains very much a last-ditch measure for the government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “The desire is 100 percent to modernize ... it is still true to say no deal is better than a bad deal but obviously that would be a pretty extraordinary set of circumstances,” said one person familiar with government thinking. The United States accounts for 75 percent of goods exports from Canada, where firms flourish operating next to the world’s largest economy. Transport costs are low, both nations operate in English and employ the same business practices. If NAFTA ceased to exist, Canadian and Mexican exports would in theory be subject to a 3.5 percent tariff applicable to members of the World Trade Organization. A survey by Export Development Canada last year predicted that under such scenario, Canadian gross domestic product would shrink by 1.9 percent a year and many jobs would be lost. Related Coverage U.S. Commerce chief: U.S. content falling in Mexican, Canadian imports Since NAFTA came into force in 1994, supply chains have become so integrated that borders barely exist, especially for key sectors such as the auto industry. “Is this the most important trade agreement for Canada? Damn right it is,” said Dennis Darby, president and CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, adding that dismantling the deal would be like trying to “unwind a clock”. Mexico, which has a much more tense relationship with Trump than Canada does, is more assertive. While an even greater share of its exports - around 80 percent - go to the United States its officials point out that half of that is not subject to NAFTA rules. Experts say some Mexican firms choose to pay WTO tariffs rather than follow complex procedures to get their goods into the United States duty-free. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray last week told Reuters “there would be no leap into the abyss” if NAFTA vanished and said Mexico would deepen trade with other nations. FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexico''s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer smile as they pose for a photo after addressing the media to close the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada at Secretary of Economy headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico, on September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo ENDURING CONCERN Similar data for Canada was not immediately available, but Canadian exports of softwood lumber, for example, are not covered by NAFTA. The dependence on a single market has worried Canadian governments on and off since the early 1970s, when the Liberal administration of Pierre Trudeau - Justin’s father - tried to boost access to Japan and the European Union. Yet by 2000, the share of Canadian goods exports going to the United States had risen to a staggering 84 percent from 67 percent in 1973. Wilbur Ross, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, answers a question during the Concordia Summit in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon “The major economies outside of North America have trouble taking Canada seriously ... it’s not easy being Canadian,” said Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to Washington who worked on NAFTA. It took Canada the better part of a decade to nail down a free trade deal with the European Union, which went into effect on Thursday. Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says this means Canada will be a market that has preferential access to more than 1.2 billion consumers in 40 nations. “The United States will always remain our largest trading partner because the geography dictates that. It’s been a very fruitful relationship ... but you also have to look at the future,” he said. Whether firms see it that way is another matter. Burney and others have long complained about what they see as a lack of global ambitions. “For many companies, why should they go beyond North America? It’s just there, it’s a big market, it’s easy and why try to go to Europe or Asia? It’s a lot of work and it’s difficult,” said University of Ottawa professor Patrick Leblond, one of Canada’s leading trade experts. Burney said Canada could use more leverage when negotiating with the United States by intensifying efforts to diversify exports to China. “Right now, they (the Americans) think both Mexico and Canada don’t have any other options,” he said. But although the Liberals came to power in 2015 promising to expand trade with China and India, those familiar with the pace of exploratory negotiations say it could take a decade for significant deals to be signed. Additional reporting by Frank Jack Daniel and Adriana Barrera in Mexico City; Editing by Tomasz Janowski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/u-s-to-present-new-proposals-at-next-nafta-talks-negotiator-idUSKCN1BW35V'|'2017-09-22T02:28:00.000+03:00'
'330ff210c55a93b78bb3dd2a1409777d7b736ab2'|'Zuckerberg nixes new Facebook share class after shareholder lawsuit'|'FILE PHOTO: The Facebook application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc Chairman Mark Zuckerberg abandoned plans on Friday to create a new class of company stock with no voting power, which was meant to be a way for Zuckerberg to retain control over the company he founded while fulfilling a pledge to give away his wealth.Zuckerberg on Friday said that he could meet the charity pledge and maintain voting control of Facebook without the change. His decision followed a shareholder lawsuit opposed to the creation of a new class of stock.Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook that the company’s stock had performed well enough that he could fund his philanthropy by selling stock for at least 20 years and still retain voting control of the company. In December 2015 Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, a pediatrician, pledged to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charity.According to court records, Zuckerberg owns more than 400 million shares of Facebook. That would value his holdings at a minimum of $68.2 billion, based on the company’s closing share on Friday of $170.54.Zuckerberg said he wanted to help solve global challenges “like curing all diseases in our children’s lifetime and personalizing education for every student.”Zuckerberg said that over about the next 18 months he planned to sell 35 million to 75 million shares of Facebook, which at Friday’s closing price would raise $13 billion.The decision came as Zuckerberg was scheduled to testify on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, in a shareholder lawsuit seeking to halt the Class C stock plan, which had been approved by shareholders.Sjunde AP-Fonden, a Swedish national pension fund, and The Amalgamated Bank sued last year, saying that Zuckerberg should have to pay for the right to retain control while selling stock.”We brought this case challenging a significant change in Facebook corporate governance, and by agreeing to abandon the reclassification we got everything we could have hoped to get,” said Lee Rudy of shareholder law firm Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check.Rudy said the Class C proposal was rejected by 80 percent of minority shareholders in a vote last year. Zuckerberg controls 60 percent of Facebook’s stockholder vote, which helped carry the proposal.Google, now Alphabet Inc, proposed a similar stock reclassification in 2012, and court records show that Facebook’s general counsel suggested Zuckerberg could use it as a model for Facebook.Google settled with shareholders in a deal that included a $522 million dividend, payable under certain conditions.Withdrawing the share plan comes as Facebook faces pressure over advertisements on the social network and the role they may have played in last year’s U.S. presidential election.President Donald Trump questioned on Friday the company’s decision to overhaul how it handles paid political ads amid investigations into alleged Russian interference in U.S. elections.Reporting by Tom Hals; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-stock-trial/facebook-trial-over-class-c-stock-canceled-delaware-court-idINKCN1BX2PA'|'2017-09-23T01:26:00.000+03:00'
'89a875536098c42d2a29b67b499564f4291b46e2'|'S&P cuts China''s credit rating, citing increasing economic, financial risks'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:54 AM / Updated an hour ago S&P downgrades China, says rising debt is stoking economic, financial risks Elias Glenn 5 Min Read (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating on Thursday, less than a month ahead of one of the country’s most sensitive political gatherings, citing increasing risks from its rapid build-up of debt. S&P’s one-notch downgrade to A+ from AA- comes as Beijing grapples with the challenges of containing financial risks stemming from years of credit-fuelled stimulus to meet ambitious government economic growth targets. “The downgrade reflects our assessment that a prolonged period of strong credit growth has increased China’s economic and financial risks,” S&P said in a statement, adding that the ratings outlook was stable. S&P had said in June there was a “real” chance of a downgrade and a decision would be made based on whether China is able to move away from a credit-driven growth strategy. The demotion follows a similar move by Moody’s Investors Service in May. While S&P’s move put its China ratings on par with those of Moody’s and Fitch, the timing raised eyebrows just weeks ahead of a twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress (CPC), which will see a key leadership reshuffle and the setting of policy priorities for the next five years. “The downgrade is a timely reminder for the authorities that China needs to bite the bullet on some of the more painful reforms that have been left to last, namely corporate deleveraging and restructuring of state-owned companies,” said Rob Subbaraman, an economist at Nomura in Singapore. “The focus needs to shift from quantity to quality of growth. I hope that later this year China lowers its GDP growth target to 6 percent to 6.5 percent, or not have one at all. That would be a positive sign.” The International Monetary Fund warned this year that China’s credit growth was on a “dangerous trajectory” and called for “decisive action”, while the Bank for International Settlements said last September that excessive credit growth was signalling a banking crisis in the next three years. The IMF said in August it expected China’s total non-financial sector debt to rise to almost 300 percent by 2022, up from 242 percent last year. While worries about China’s sustained strong credit growth are increasing in some quarters, first-half economic growth of 6.9 percent beat expectations and some analysts said the downgrade would have little impact on financial markets. “The decision was a catch-up with the other two credit agencies, instead of an initiative. Its impact on financial markets would very limited,” said Ken Cheung, senior Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank in Hong Kong. “For those invested in yuan-denominated bonds, they care more about yuan expectations. The downgrade decision is likely to have limited impact on capital inflows as well.” China’s stock markets had closed Thursday before the downgrade, and there was little reaction in the yuan currency. FILE PHOTO: Buildings are seen against blue sky after the wind dispelled dangerously high levels of air pollution in Beijing, China, December 22, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo While risks are rising, S&P said the government’s recent efforts to reduce corporate leverage could stabilise conditions in the medium term. “However, we foresee that credit growth in the next two to three years will remain at levels that will increase financial risks gradually,” S&P said. S&P also lowered China’s short-term rating to A-1 from A-1+. “It is in recognition of the reality that, concerns notwithstanding, the authorities are not planning to rein in credit growth in a forceful way,” said Louis Kuijs at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong. Indeed, Chinese banks kept the taps open in August, handing out 1.09 trillion yuan ($165.40 billion), and the growth of outstanding loans was higher than expected, at 13.2 percent. MIXED PROGRESS Analysts say China’s campaign to cut financial risks this year has had mixed success, and opinions differ widely on whether Beijing is moving fast enough, or decisively enough, to avert the risk of a debt crisis down the road. Regulators are making significant inroads in reducing interbank borrowing – perhaps the most pressing risk - and have curbed some riskier types of shadow banking. But analysts agree more comprehensive structural reforms are needed. Though the pace of credit growth may be easing, new bank lending and total social financing may hit fresh records this year and continue to outstrip economic growth. A recent Reuters analysis showed corporate debt is growing faster than last year, with few companies using stronger profits to reduce debt. “China’s credit problem is the biggest problem we have ever seen in any country and probably justifies a lower rating,” said Claire Dissaux, head of global economics and strategy at Millennium Global Investments in London. “One element that models cannot capture is the strength of institutions, such as transparency of regulation of the banking sector and central bank independence. All that is an argument to say China’s rating might still be too good.” Related graphic reut.rs/2jNKb2N ($1=6.5902 Chinese yuan renminbi) Additional reporting Kevin Yao in Bejiing, Sujata Rao-Coverley in London, Winni Zhou and John Ruwitch in Shanghai, and the Bangalore newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill and Clarence Fernandez '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy/sp-cuts-chinas-credit-rating-citing-increasing-economic-financial-risks-idINKCN1BW18S'|'2017-09-21T12:50:00.000+03:00'
'd2a3f831798814236053f4a0d62cce863aff6ab0'|'Bitcoin is fiat money, too'|'FINANCIERS with PhDs like to remind each other to “read your Kindleberger". The rare academic who could speak fluently to bureaucrats and normal people, Charles Kindleberger designed the Marshall Plan and wrote vast economic histories worthy of Tolstoy. “Read your Kindleberger” is just a coded way of saying “don’t forget this has all happened before”. So to anyone invested in, mining or building applications for distributed ledger money such as bitcoin or ethereum: read your Kindleberger.Start with A Financial History of Western Europe , in which Kindleberger documents how many times merchants in different centuries figured out clever ways of doing the exact same thing. They made transactions easier, and in the process created new deposits and bills that increased the supply of money. In most cases, the Bürgermeister or the king left these innovations in place, but decided to control the supply of money and credit themselves. It is good for the king to be in charge of his own creditors. But also, it has always been tempting for private finance to create too much money. There is no evidence that money born on a distributed ledger will be clean of this sin.Latest updates Bitcoin   8   8 hours ago California sues Donald Trump over his border wall plan Democracy in America 17 hours ago “I don’t want the last car made in Germany to end up in a museum” Kaffeeklatsch 18 hours ago Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund passes the $1trn mark Graphic detail 20 hours ago A colourful way of bringing attention to South Side Chicago Prospero 20   Distributed ledgers, which borrow private computers from around the world to update the same list of accounts, address one ancient challenge of finance: how to make sure a transaction between two people located far apart is credible to both. Other innovations have done the same. In 1773 banks in England went in on a clearinghouse in London, for example, an improvement on the system of managing separate ledgers with each bank. The banks themselves took in gold coin—cumbersome to carry and verify—then created new money by offering more in loans than the gold they had on deposit. In 1776 Adam Smith described coins as an earth-bound highway, where bank money offered a “waggon-way through the air”. (Quote from Kindleberger. Read your Kindleberger.) Your blogger challenges any bitcoin operator to praise his own disruptions more loftily.Over the next century the “currency school”, which wanted to lock down growth in money, argued with the “banking school”, which wanted ever more waggons in the air. We can’t look back now and say either side definitively won, because this argument cannot ever possibly be won. Creditors and business owners want the supply of money to grow slowly. Debtors and employees want it to grow faster. We might sooner tease out the true nature of the Holy Spirit. Bankers talk about “governance”, ways to ensure private banks and central bankers make sound decisions—so they create just enough money make commerce easier, but not so much that the system collapses through inflation or panics. The developers behind distributed ledgers, however, often talk as if governance is something they are beyond. They are not. Computer code is just a set of rules. Code is governance. And it can change. Take bitcoin: if a supermajority of the computers running the bitcoin distributed ledger run an upgrade, the upgrade becomes the new code. But behind each computer is a human, making decisions. Distributed-ledger developers talk about a consensus-driven model, where you improve the system by bringing everyone on board. So do central bankers. And different humans have different interests. In bitcoin, the people who own the computers verifying transactions—the “miners”—want code that increases fees for miners. People who use bitcoin want code that keeps those fees low. These two sides could not agree, and so in August the bitcoin distributed ledger “forked”—a smaller group of developers created a copy with slightly different rules, called “bitcoin cash”. Everyone who owned one unit of bitcoin also suddenly owned one unit of bitcoin cash. Out of a governance dispute, new money. In mid-September bitcoin traded at about $3900, while bitcoin cash fetched only $500. Cointelegraph, a site for people who trade distributed-ledger currencies, also offers quotes and analysis on currencies called ethereum, ripple and litecoin. You could argue that markets are already deciding which new currencies provide sound money. And in doing so you would join the banking school of 19th-century England, or the people who loosened financial regulation in the late 1990s in America. Your blogger does not believe this argument is wrong, necessarily. But it is not new, and it has failed spectacularly in the past. Distributed ledgers are useful technology, just like banks. As they become a larger part of finance, the temptation to abuse them will be just as great. History instructs that no governance is perfect, and humans are reliably awful.This week Quartz , an online magazine, published an interview with Vitalik Buterin, the 23-year-old founder of ethereum. The currency survived a crisis of credibility after a bug was discovered in 2016, leaving him up all night communicating with ethereum’s users and gathering consensus for action—much like the world’s central bankers a decade ago. He seems thoughtful on the trade-offs of governance, but unaware that anyone has considered them before:In the case of ethereum, if somehow 80% of ethereum’s users just ended up being cryptocurrency speculators, would we then have a social responsibility to start optimizing for that constituency, because that would end up being our constituency? That’s an interesting philosophical question.Yes. It is. Read your Kindleberger. Next The case against shrinking the Fed’s balance-sheet'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2017/09/not-so-novel?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-22T18:06:00.000+03:00'
'8cd0b174b457e7a15422f2660e29380af66a64b5'|'HIGHLIGHTS-British PM May''s main comments on Brexit'|'FLORENCE, Italy, Sept 22 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is setting out her plan for future ties with the European Union in a speech which she hopes will help spur negotiations over the country’s divorce from the bloc.Below are the highlights from her speech:MAY ON UK COURTS REFERRING TO EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE “Over time ... the rights of EU citizens in the UK, and UK citizens overseas will diverge. And I want to incorporate our agreement fully into UK law, and make sure the UK courts can refer directly to it. And when there is uncertainty around underlying EU law, I want the UK courts to be able to take into account the judgements of the European Court of Justice with a view to ensuring consistent interpretation. And on this basis I hope our teams can reach firm agreement quickly.”MAY ON UK NOT FEELING AT HOME IN EU ”Throughout its membership, the United Kingdom has never totally felt at home being in the European Union.”And, perhaps because of our history and geography, the European Union never felt to us like an integral part of our national story, in the way it does to so many elsewhere in Europe. It is a matter of choices.“The profound pooling of sovereignty that is a crucial feature of the European Union permits unprecedentedly deep cooperation which brings benefits but it also means that when countries are in the minority they must sometimes accept decisions they do not want, even affecting domestic matters with no market implications beyond their borders.”MAY ON OPTIMISM ”We are moving through a new and critical period in the history of the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union. The British people have decided to leave the EU and be a global free-trading nation able to chart our own way in the world.“For many, this is an exciting time full of promise. For others it is a worrying one. I look ahead with optimism.”MAY ON WORKING WITH EU ON DEFENCE, SECURITY “Our commitment to the defence and indeed the advance of our shared values is undimmed. Our determination to defend the stability, security and prosperity of our European neighbours and friends remains steadfast.”MAY ON PROGRESS SO FAR IN BREXIT TALKS “We have now conducted three rounds of negotiations and while at times those negotiations have been tough it’s clear that, thanks to the professionalism and diligence of David Davis and Michel Barnier, we have made concrete progress on many important issues.” (Reporting by David Milliken and William Schomberg in LONDON; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-may/highlights-british-pm-mays-main-comments-on-brexit-idINL5N1M33DQ'|'2017-09-22T11:35:00.000+03:00'
'afa5ea7853fedfaa862e5c1fc63168156a1a72e6'|'Japan''s PM Abe considers new corporate tax breaks - sources'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:52 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Japan''s PM Abe considers new corporate tax breaks - sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Japan''s national flag is seen in front of a crane at a construction site at a business district in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering introducing new tax breaks aimed at encouraging companies to boost wages and accelerate capital expenditure to spur economic growth, government and ruling party sources told Reuters on Friday. Abe is arranging to unveil the tax incentives at a news conference on Monday at which he is also expected to announce a snap election next month, the sources said on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to media. Wage increases and greater capital spending are seen playing a crucial role in promoting Abe’s campaign to invest in human resources and enhance innovation on productivity. However, cautious Japanese firms are sitting on a record cash pile and remain hesitant to splurge, keeping the economy back from a virtuous cycle of private sector-led growth. An idea of further lowering the effective corporate tax rate from the current 29.97 percent is also being floated, the sources said. But many in the government doubt it would effectively boost business investment given that many companies are piling up internal reserves, they added. Other government sources have told Reuters Abe will pledge to use some of the revenue from a scheduled sales tax hike in 2019 to fund spending on education and child care. That would force the government to delay the timing for achieving its fiscal consolidation target, a set-back for a country saddled with the world’s heaviest public debt at twice the size of its economy. Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi and Takashi Umekawa; Writing by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-tax/japans-pm-abe-considers-new-corporate-tax-breaks-sources-idUKKCN1BX1BF'|'2017-09-22T13:52:00.000+03:00'
'e6c1b3337b7bbf55b6241f495ec7400371c5a66c'|'Oil prices steady ahead of OPEC meeting on supply cut extension'|'The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices ended nearly 1 percent higher on Friday, close to their highest levels in months, as major producers meeting in Vienna said they may wait until January before deciding whether to extend output curbs beyond the first quarter.“I believe that January is the earliest date when we can actually, credibly speak about the state of the market,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers finished meeting.Other ministers said a decision on extending cuts could be taken in November when OPEC holds its next formal meeting.Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch & Associates in Chicago said delaying a decision allows producers “to leave some arrows in their quiver to throw something bullish at the market at their November meeting” if necessary.He said Brent futures got an additional boost in late trade when Nigeria’s oil minister said in Vienna that his country, which OPEC had exempted from the output cuts, was actually pumping less crude than its agreed cap.Brent crude rose 43 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $56.86, a penny shy of the session high which was also the highest since March.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $50.66 a barrel, up 11 cents or 0.2 percent, within a few cents of its May peak.For the week, Brent posted a gain of 2.2 percent, while WTI was up 1.5 percent.Oil prices have gained more than 15 percent in three months, suggesting OPEC-led output cuts of 1.8 million barrels per day have reduced the global crude glut. Rising demand has also helped balance the market.Tony Headrick, energy market analyst at CHS Hedging LLC in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, said “the market is moving toward balance.”He cited strong demand for distillates, especially European gas oil. This, he said, “is supporting Brent and in turn is supporting U.S. products and WTI as well.”Rising U.S. output has somewhat offset OPEC-led production cuts.The U.S. government reported that crude production rose to 9.51 million bpd last week, resuming output close to levels before Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast in late August. [C-OUT-T-EIA]However, the number of U.S. oil rigs operating, an indicator of future production, fell for the third straight week as a 14-month drilling recovery stalled as companies pared back on spending plans when crude prices were softer.The closely-watched Baker Hughes rig count was on track for a second month of losses in a row and its biggest monthly decline since May 2016.Still, CHS Hedging’s Headrick said “the U.S. oil producer has proven to be very resilient in the face of lower prices. Now that prices are higher, the U.S. producer should continue to press production higher.”During the session, the discount of WTI to Brent futures hit its widest since August, 2015 as U.S. crude was pressured by hurricane damage to U.S. refineries.The spread “could stretch a bit further” but U.S. refinery restarts and growing U.S. exports should eventually lift WTI prices and narrow the spread, Ritterbusch said.Additional reporting by Fanny Potkin in London and Jane Chung in Seoul; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-prices-steady-ahead-of-opec-meeting-on-supply-cut-extension-idUSKCN1BX02D'|'2017-09-22T03:50:00.000+03:00'
'67b05d8e78bf6060aa015789c648b5e4f5b98d86'|'CEE MARKETS-Hungarian bonds extend gains, yields at record lows'|'* Hungarian 10-year yield spread over Bunds is at record lows * CEE assets rangebound, investors await guidance from ECB * German election watched, but unlikely to move CEE markets By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Hungarian government bonds slightly extended their gains on Friday due to expectations that Hungary''s central bank (NBH) will continue to support the market despite a gradual worldwide monetary tightening. The yield on 10-year bonds fell 5 basis points from Thursday''s fixing, to 2.60 percent, its lowest ever level, and its 214 basis point spread over corresponding Bunds was also a record low. The NBH cut its overnight deposit rate deeper into the red on Tuesday and pledged to use further tools to push market interest rates lower along the curve. Investors are recalculating their asset allocations to Hungary and the expectation is quite strong that the NBH could maintain loose conditions for years, even if global interest rates continue to rise, traders said. "Negative short-term yields mean a capital loss and that nudges investments into longer maturities," one Budapest-based trader said. "Hungary''s central bank is going against the grain ... (but) the feeling is that the set-up they have could work and stay stable in the next years." Bond, currency and stock prices in Central Europe''s emerging markets mostly moved little as investors await confirmation from the European Central Bank (ECB) that it will follow the slow tightening signalled by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Elections to be held in Germany, the region''s biggest export market, over the weekend are also being watched. But with Angela Merkel''s conservatives maintaining a strong lead in opinion polls, the outcome is unlikely to unsettle Central European markets, analysts said. "The key thing that investors in the region are waiting for is the guidance the ECB will give in October," said Eszter Gargyan, analyst at Citigroup in Budapest. The forint traded marginally lower at 309.61 at 1015 GMT. The NBH''s dovish signals and measures have knocked it down from 28-month highs beyond 302, and the bank is expected to keep it around 310, easing policy further if the region''s strong growth again lifts the currency, market participants said. "That said, in comparison to the appreciation potential especially in Czech crown, but also in Polish zloty that we see for the fourth quarter, we would clearly favour these currencies over the forint," Raiffeisen analyst Wolfgang Ernst said in a note. "It seems that HGB (Hungarian government bond) yields could even fall further," analyst Stephan Imre added in the same note. CEE SNAPSHOT AT 1152 CET MARKETS CURRENCIES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.0400 26.0665 +0.10% 3.71% Hungary 309.8000 309.7900 +0.00% -0.32% forint Polish zloty 4.2733 4.2756 +0.05% 3.06% Romanian leu 4.5955 4.5990 +0.08% -1.32% Croatian 7.4840 7.4815 -0.03% 0.95% kuna Serbian 119.0900 119.2100 +0.10% 3.58% dinar Note: daily calculated previous close at 1800 CET change from STOCKS Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2017 Prague 1047.79 1047.80 +0.00% +13.69% Budapest 38037.57 38109.21 -0.19% +18.86% Warsaw 2471.60 2468.72 +0.12% +26.88% Bucharest 7849.41 7886.13 -0.47% +10.79% Ljubljana 799.10 801.25 -0.27% +11.36% Zagreb 1825.16 1827.54 -0.13% -8.51% Belgrade 728.36 732.52 -0.57% +1.53% Sofia 678.65 677.65 +0.15% +15.73% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.215 0.011 +046bps +0bps 5-year 0.287 0 +052bps -2bps 10-year <CZ10YT=RR 1.132 -0.05 +067bps -6bps > Poland 2-year 1.796 -0.018 +247bps -3bps 5-year 2.725 -0.011 +296bps -3bps 10-year <PL10YT=RR 3.378 -0.001 +291bps -1bps > FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interban k Czech Rep <P 0.69 0.85 0.93 0 RIBOR=> Hungary <B 0.02 0.08 0.115 0.05 UBOR=> Poland <W 1.762 1.818 1.88 1.73 IBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-hungarian-bonds-extend-gains-yields-at-record-lows-idINL5N1M3216'|'2017-09-22T08:24:00.000+03:00'
'55c97b3c23e463098f39a44cd8a6d2a55341cfe0'|'NAFTA talks intensify; U.S. seen putting off key demand on autos'|'September 23, 2017 / 2:16 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago NAFTA talks intensify; U.S. seen putting off key demand on autos David Ljunggren , Adriana Barrera 3 Min Read A sign is pictured where the third round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie OTTAWA (Reuters) - Talks to update the North American Free Trade Agreement intensified on Saturday although U.S. negotiators looked set to once again withhold proposals for one of the Trump administration’s most challenging issues. Teams from the United States, Mexico and Canada kicked off the third of seven planned rounds of discussions in Ottawa amid warnings from trade experts that time was quickly running out to seal a deal by the end of the year as planned. One key issue is the U.S. desire to strengthen rules of origin for autos, which dictate how much of a vehicle’s components must originate from within North America to qualify for tax free status. The American side did not mention a specific goal in the first two rounds and Canada’s chief NAFTA negotiator on Saturday said he did not think the United States would provide more details during the Ottawa round. “We’re not expecting that, no,” Steve Verheul told reporters, predicting the pace of the talks would nonetheless quicken. According to a schedule of the talks obtained by Reuters, rules of origin will be discussed on Tuesday and Wednesday. A sign is pictured where the third round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie U.S. President Donald Trump wants more U.S. content in autos, citing trade deficits of $64 billion with Mexico and $11 billion with Canada. Trump, who says NAFTA is weighted against his country, has threatened to walk away from the agreement. Flavio Volpe, president of the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said late on Friday he felt it was too early for detailed rule of origin proposals given that U.S. officials were still talking to the domestic industry. A sign is pictured where the third round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie “It’s fine for us if they take a little longer so we all understand what our interests are and we make the right deal. We don’t need an early deal,” he said. U.S. chief negotiator John Melle said ahead of the talks that his team would introduce the difficult provisions in Ottawa talks that are due to last for five days. Another tricky issue is labour, given complaints from U.S. and Canadian unions that Mexico’s low wages give it a manufacturing advantage. The United States is also expected to present proposals on intellectual property and investment, sources with knowledge of discussions said. Other areas of disagreement include dispute settlement mechanisms. Canadian and Mexican officials, as well as U.S. businesses, have already rejected a proposal by Washington to include a five-year sunset provision in the updated agreement, saying it added uncertainty to investment planning. Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Franklin Paul'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-trade-nafta/nafta-talks-intensify-u-s-set-to-unveil-demands-on-key-issues-idUKKCN1BY0MN'|'2017-09-23T22:03:00.000+03:00'
'2b99e3bd21566c72187aab2dc90844d975874ab0'|'Fed officials in muddle over permanent vs temporary inflation lull'|'September 23, 2017 / 12:09 AM / Updated 13 hours ago Fed officials in muddle over permanent vs temporary inflation lull Howard Schneider 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan gestures during a news conference after of the True Economic Talks event in Mexico City, Mexico, July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials with competing views about inflation laid out on Friday the quandary facing U.S. policymakers as they wrestle over whether a recent dip in the pace of price increases is trivial, or the result of global forces that could permanently throw off the Fed’s policy calculus. The resolution of that debate will be critical to whether the Fed proceeds with an expected December rate increase and more hikes next year, or concludes that the inflation “mystery” is evidence of a change in how global prices are set. It is also central to an issue of broad political and economic importance: how low the unemployment rate can fall before rising wages and competition for goods starts pushing price increases to uncomfortable levels. “We are all trying to get a grip on it,” Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said of discussion within the Fed over why an unemployment rate in the low four percent range has not led to greater inflation pressure, as it would under standard theories about the “Phillips Curve” tradeoff between a tight jobs market and rising prices. With the most recent Fed projections showing unemployment falling to 4.1 percent in coming months with inflation still below the Fed’s 2 percent target, Kaplan said he is becoming convinced other forces are at work. It may be global supply chains, he said, or technology giving consumers more pricing power. Either way, he said, the Fed could possibly let unemployment fall further without worrying about inflation rising too fast. The recent projections “tells you people have started to conclude we can run a lower unemployment rate without inflation,” Kaplan said. “Then the question is why. I am putting forward the structural view.” The Federal Reserve Building stands in Washington April 3, 2012. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Fed Chair Janet Yellen called the behaviour of inflation a “mystery,” though she has generally said she remains convinced tight labour markets will ultimately lead to rising prices. The Fed’s most recent projections showed a solid majority of policymakers expecting to raise rates in December. But the path from there is less clear. Some officials still expect traditional dynamics to emerge if unemployment stays low, and also argue it would be worse for workers if the Fed has to play catch-up and raise rates faster. Kansas City Fed President Esther George said the recent weak inflation readings - the Fed’s preferred measure was most recently 1.4 percent - was no reason for the Fed to back away from a continued gradual pace of rate increases. “It is hard for me to see...any of that is related to weak economic activity,” at a time of low unemployment and still strong consumer confidence, said George, who has long argued that it was time to raise interest rates to more normal levels. The expected gradual pace of rate increases is “appropriate...but we do have to keep moving,” she said. Fed officials, following their regular policy meeting, indicated on Wednesday they are prepared to raise rates again in December and three times next year. Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed/fed-officials-in-muddle-over-permanent-vs-temporary-inflation-lull-idUKKCN1BY00E'|'2017-09-23T03:08:00.000+03:00'
'f58f38dae09b44639fbbb5f319934ec056c1c94a'|'ICE delays takeover of London''s silver benchmark to October 2'|'September 21, 2017 / 11:54 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago ICE delays takeover of London''s silver benchmark to October 2 Peter Hobson 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - ICE Benchmark Administration, a unit of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) ( ICE.N ), will take over as operator of London’s silver benchmark on Oct. 2, a week later than planned, the exchange said on Thursday. Two current participants in the benchmark, Swiss bank UBS and China Construction Bank (CCB), are not featured in the line-up of entities taking part in the new benchmark process. ICE said brokers INTL FCStone and electronic traders Jane Street Global Trading would join, adding the delay in taking over the benchmark was to ensure all participants were ready. ICE was selected to run the LBMA Silver Price in July, proposing an electronic auction with central clearing that it said would help to expand participation. More participants could help stabilise the benchmark, which under current administrators Thomson Reuters and CME Group has diverged widely from the spot silver price on a number of occasions due to low volumes and inflexible trading policies. ICE said that from Oct. 2 HSBC ( HSBA.L ), INTL FCStone, Jane Street, JPMorgan ( JPM ), Morgan Stanley ( MS ), Bank of Nova Scotia ( BNS.TO ) and Toronto-Dominion Bank ( TD.TO ) would take part in the silver benchmark. UBS and CCB were forced earlier this year to leave London’s gold benchmark, which is also administered by ICE, because they did not have systems in place to clear trades when ICE introduced clearing to that process. CCB intends to re-enter the gold and silver benchmarks once its issues are resolved, said a source familiar with the matter. UBS is not currently seeking to rejoin, a separate source with knowledge of the matter said. CCB did not respond to a request seeking comment. UBS declined to comment. The two banks are likely to send their business to the benchmark through other participants so volumes will be largely unaffected, said a banking source. “Volumes that need to be settled on the benchmark will find their way to the benchmark,” the source said. “It is not going to drain liquidity.” Several banks that are participants in the gold benchmark but not silver are also expected to join the LBMA Silver Price under ICE, sources said. INTL FCStone and Jane Street were already involved in the gold benchmark. Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), another participant in gold, is reviewing the silver benchmark process with the intention of joining, said a source familiar with the matter. Goldman declined to comment. Other participants in the gold benchmark not currently involved in silver - Bank of China International ( 601988.SS ), Bank of Communications ( 601328.SS ) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) ( 601398.SS ) - did not respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Veronica Brown and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-silver-benchmark/ice-delays-takeover-of-londons-silver-benchmark-to-october-2-idUKKCN1BW1MZ'|'2017-09-21T14:54:00.000+03:00'
'7808d291f8e8ca78a561a3e198659427d7e29390'|'Japanese brewer Asahi ready to spend ''billions of dollars'' on acquisitions'|'Asahi Group Holdings President and COO Akiyoshi Koji poses for a photo with the company''s logo at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asahi Group Holdings ( 2502.T ), Japan’s largest brewer, is ready to spend “billions of dollars” on acquisitions, having spent $11 billion over the past year to acquire beer brands across Europe from Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ).Asahi president Akiyoshi Koji said “bolt-on” acquisitions in Europe, including beer makers and distributors, were a priority, as the company carves out a larger slice of the overseas market to compensate for slow growth at home.He did not specify how much he would spend and did not name potential targets.“If there are big investment opportunities, we can make big investments,” he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.Asahi, maker of Japan’s best-selling beer, Asahi Super Dry, seized a chunk of the European market thanks to back-to-back deals with InBev that completed earlier this year. The deals handed it brands including Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.Any sizeable deal would likely rely on debt, given a cash pile that stands at just under $740 million. But Koji said the company’s leverage was under control, indicating it could tap lenders for more - net debt to core earnings will fall to 3 in 2020, after rising to 4.8 after the European deals.“That’s a normal level,” he said.Expansion will also be organic, as the company prepares to sell Asahi Super Dry draft beer in Britain and Italy from January next year, hoping to carve out a niche as premium beer brand in Europe, and prepares for zero-alcohol sales and to sell canned cocktails, hugely popular in Japan for some time.In Asia, global beer companies are closely watching Vietnam’s plan to sell a majority stake in beer makers Sabeco SAB.HM and Habeco BHN.HM, potentially offering a lucrative portion of the market in a young, beer-loving nation.Koji said Asahi has been studying Sabeco but declined to comment further: “As a growth market, Vietnam is attractive, but our judgment will be based on whether the market fits our premium beer strategy,” he said.Vietnam’s privatization has been protracted, putting off some of the international investors who initially flocked to it.But it’s not all about acquisitions. The 65-year-old career insider who took the top job last year has also been reviewing the company’s asset portfolio, and he said minority investments remained under scrutiny.In June, Asahi said it would sell its 20 percent stake in Chinese brewer Tingyi-Asahi Beverages Holding Co for $612 million.Asahi also has a 20 percent stake in China’s second-largest brewer Tsingtao Brewery Co ( 600600.SS ) ( 0168.HK ). Koji said he could not comment on the Tsingtao stake, noting he plans to make some announcement on the portfolio review by the year end.Asahi, which commands nearly 40 percent share in Japan’s beer market, has been battling changing tastes and a sluggish economy at home, with the beer market shrinking around 1 percent a year in volume terms.The trend is not changing yet, Koji said, despite some indicators of a strengthening economy - but the company will tap Japan’s knack for ‘selective spending’ on premium or highly popular products.“Given this trend, we have to be doing more targeted product development and marketing for different generations and regions,” Koji said.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-asahi-group-strategy/japanese-brewer-asahi-ready-to-spend-billions-of-dollars-on-acquisitions-idINKCN1BW0MA'|'2017-09-21T04:07:00.000+03:00'
'1a366541a955528943baaf46179feb8673662c68'|'Ackman targets retail investors in ADP proxy contest'|'William ''Bill'' Ackman, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid BOSTON (Reuters) - Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose firm owns an 8.3 percent stake in Automatic Data Processing Inc ( ADP.O ), is turning up the heat in his proxy war for the human resources outsourcing company by targeting an often-ignored but influential group of people - retail investors.The activist investor who spends much of his time meeting institutional shareholders in Wall Street boardrooms is now speaking directly to the Main Street investor through video, telephone and television as his proxy fight with ADP intensifies before the company’s annual meeting on Nov. 7.Ackman, 51, began voicing his criticisms of ADP’s performance in late August.Now, his campaign to get himself and two other nominees associated with his Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund elected to the ADP board is taking a tack seldom seen in proxy contests: speaking to the company’s retail investors to win their votes.Individual shareholders hold 28 percent of ADP shares while Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management has an 8.3 percent stake of which only 2 percent is in common stock. Ackman’s firm will be able to vote only the shares of common stock.Ackman, known for his presentations of 100-plus pages and hours-long conference calls with analysts, will soon let retail investors who own as little as one share in ADP ask him anything they want. He is planning a conference call on a weekday evening at 8 p.m. that will last as long as it takes, he said. A date has not been set.The usual method of dissident investors like Ackman is only to send letters to retail investors, which often end up in the trash.Earlier on Wednesday, Ackman released a video telling retail investors they hold the key to ADP''s future and should send management a message at the November meeting that the status quo is no longer acceptable. ( here )Ackman in the video describes the company as a great business but one that is underperforming. He said he wants average investors to decide whether a large hedge fund manager like himself would add expertise in the boardroom.TAKING TO THE AIRWAVES ADP has rejected all of Ackman’s critiques and said it does not need his help“ADP’s Board is concerned that Pershing Square’s extreme, swing-for-the-fences proposals and unqualified nominees would disrupt client services and damage relationships, putting ADP – and the value of shareholders’ investments – at significant risk,” a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.Ackman has also taken to the airwaves, appearing on business channel CNBC’s noontime show and with plans to appear on Jim Cramer’s “Mad Money” show which is aimed at mom-and-pop investors.Proxy contests are traditionally decided by institutional investors like Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street with activists like Ackman making their cases behind closed doors.These three mutual fund firms are also the top investors in ADP and Ackman is also appealing to them to vote for him. Some have told him they would like the two sides to iron out their differences.Ackman will also visit proxy voting advisory firm ISS before it makes recommendations on how institutional shareholders may want to vote.But retail shareholders, often ignored in proxy contests because they traditionally back management or do not bother to vote at all, are now featuring prominently in a number of boardroom battles this year.Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz is reaching out to them as part of his campaign to shake up consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ).Similarly, Ackman - who has both won and lost big proxy contests - needs the retail-investor vote at this time.As the proxy contest has gained steam, a war of words is taking hold and Ackman is trying to change the narrative. ADP’s CEO, Carlos Rodriguez, in mid-August referred to Ackman as a “spoiled brat” in a CNBC interview. Ackman later said this upset his mother, who did not raise him as that.While Ackman’s fund is losing money this year, he has earned an average 10.6 percent a year over the life of the fund.Ackman said on Wednesday that to set the record straight, he does not want to control ADP. Rather, he thinks the company - whose shares have gained 22 percent in the last year - can perform better.Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-adp-ackman/ackman-targets-retail-investors-in-adp-proxy-contest-idINKCN1BV26Q'|'2017-09-20T20:17:00.000+03:00'
'cd72d3c004d127da4126339e59b0fed6f0c35996'|'Western Digital takes legal step to stop Toshiba memory investment'|'FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) filed its latest legal action against joint-venture chip partner Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) for moving to invest in a new flash memory production line without its help, the U.S. company said on Wednesday.The new arbitration requests, filed in the International Court of Arbitration that oversees the companies’ agreement, seeks to stop Toshiba from investing in the so-called Fab 6 facility in Yokkaichi, Japan, unless Western Digital’s subsidiary Sandisk is also allowed to invest.The court, a branch of the International Chamber of Commerce, is an institution for the resolution of international commercial disputes.In a statement in August, Western Digital asserted it had the right to co-invest and had said it was “disappointed” in Toshiba’s decision in August to proceed on its own. On Wednesday, Western Digital said its hand was “forced.”“It is unfortunate that SanDisk is forced to initiate binding arbitration to remedy Toshiba’s retaliatory breach of the (joint-venture) agreement entered into by both SanDisk and Toshiba,” the company said in a statement.Toshiba did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest dispute. It said in August it had tried unsuccessfully to reach agreement with SanDisk on a joint investment and would move forward without SanDisk.The companies have battled for months over Toshiba’s efforts to sell its memory unit to raise cash to plug a hole in its finances caused by its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit, Westinghouse.Toshiba officials said earlier on Wednesday they had sealed a deal to sell the flash memory unit for $18 billion to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP that also included Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), helping to keep the Japanese conglomerate’s listing on the Tokyo stock exchange.Toshiba’s shares were down 1.3 percent to 311 yen in early trading in Tokyo.Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-legal/western-digital-takes-legal-step-to-stop-toshiba-memory-investment-idINKCN1BV368'|'2017-09-20T21:46:00.000+03:00'
'2966f0d12c5e5f961747347eba614d4921f76334'|'Ryanair’s cost-cutting at the traveller’s expense - Letters - Business - The Guardian'|'Ryanair’s cancellation of thousands of flights ( Report , 19 September) doesn’t come as a surprise – it is a classic example of a budget airline cutting costs at the traveller’s expense. There are more travellers than ever booking self-connect flights – 50m worldwide – and this is going to cause mass disruption. Some may experience longer connections and others will have a connection window that leaves them unable to collect their luggage and catch their next flight on time. Some 20m bags are delayed every year at a cost of $2bn to airlines. Ryanair’s mass cancellation will undoubtedly contribute to this figure, and there will be thousands of travel horror stories in the next six weeks. I urge travellers to consider if budget options are truly worthwhile.Adam Ewart Chief executive, Send My Bag  • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters Topics Ryanair Airline industry letters'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/19/ryanairs-cost-cutting-at-the-travellers-expense'|'2017-09-20T01:40:00.000+03:00'
'cc5f823c878080650eeaacd474faed87925771ab'|'British supermarket sales up 3.6 percent in the summer - Kantar Worldpanel'|'  7:41 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago British supermarket sales up 3.6 percent in the summer - Kantar Worldpanel Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Logos are pictured outside a Lidl retail shop in Geneva, Switzerland May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket sales increased by 3.6 percent in the 12 weeks to Sept. 10, largely driven by higher inflation and extending a run of above-3-percent growth to six months, industry data showed on Tuesday. Lidl grew the fastest, with an increase of 19.2 percent taking its share to a record high of 5.3 percent, Kantar Worldpanel said, while growth at rival Aldi was 15.6 percent, resulting in a share of 6.9 percent. Of the “big four” supermarkets, market leader Tesco came out on top, with sales up 2.7 percent, although its share was squeezed by 0.3 percentage points to 27.8 percent. Sainsbury’s sales were up 2.1 percent, Asda rose 1.5 percent and Morrisons was up 2.3 percent, Kantar said. Food inflation was 3.2 percent, compared with 3.3 percent in the previous period. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-grocers-kantar/british-supermarket-sales-up-3-6-percent-in-the-summer-kantar-worldpanel-idUKKCN1BU0R1'|'2017-09-19T10:48:00.000+03:00'
'5a6b214dc30f6d9bf8dfc04598020d88dc26799e'|'Old people, fixed jobs seen dragging down Finland''s next decade growth'|'September 19, 2017 / 11:45 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Old people, fixed jobs seen dragging down Finland''s next decade growth Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People walk in downtown Helsinki, January 2014. REUTERS/Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland’s economy will grow faster than earlier predicted over the next few years, but the ageing population and rigid labour markets will drag it down over the longer term, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Citing recovering exports, the ministry increased its growth projections for 2017, 2018 and 2019. It now expects Finnish GDP to grow 2.9 percent this year, 2.1 percent in 2018 and 1.8 percent in 2019. In June, it had forecast growth of 2.4 percent, 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. But further out, in 2020 and 2021, the ministry said growth would be just 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, and average growth in 2020-2030 would be below 1.5 percent. “This growth sprint will be a temporary one... The general conditions for economic growth have not changed to such an extent as to increase the economy’s growth potential,” senior official Mikko Spolander told a news conference. Finland is recovering from a decade of stagnation sparked among other things by a decline of Nokia’s ( NOKIA.HE ) former phone business and a recession in neighbouring Russia. Nokia was once dominant in Finland, providing 4 percent of its GDP and 20 percent of its exports. Spolander, who is director general of the ministry’s economics department, said the time was right now for further government reforms to boost employment. The centre-right government, led by Prime Minister Juha Sipila, has aimed to boost growth and curb public debt growth by cuts in spending and workers’ benefits, but it has so far struggled to push through major reforms in the economy. The ministry said general government debt would fall slightly below 60 percent by 2021 but said that it would bounce back up afterwards. Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas Forsell. Editing and graphic by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-finland-economy-financeministry/old-people-fixed-jobs-seen-dragging-down-finlands-next-decade-growth-idUKKCN1BU1HA'|'2017-09-19T14:45:00.000+03:00'
'0eabff558b0e6025d6f5cca5b962d7fc061d9ac4'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar slightly off 5-yr low as local traders buy, Saudi worst performer'|'September 19, 2017 / 2:11 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar slightly off 5-yr low as local traders buy, Saudi worst performer Reuters Staff * Qatar snaps 11-session losing streak * Local investors net buyers in Qatar * Dana Gas gains ahead of court hearing * Egypt’s Heliopolis up after local media report on new projects By Celine Aswad DUBAI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Qatar’s stock index came slightly off a five-year low on Tuesday as local funds intensified their buying of those shares, while Saudi Arabia was the region’s worst performer. The Doha index had recorded 11 straight sessions of losses, reflecting a lack of foreign investor confidence in a speedy resolution to the Gulf diplomatic crisis. Local investors, however, have been net buyers for several weeks and on Tuesday they made up roughly three-quarters of the total market turnover, bourse data showed, helping lift the index 0.1 percent higher. Twenty shares rose including Qatar Gas Transport, which added 1.4 percent, and 16 others declined, including Qatar Insurance, which lost 2.5 percent. It had dropped 2.3 percent on Monday after the company said it was closing its Abu Dhabi branch because it had not been able to obtain a licence. In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas rose 1.3 percent ahead of a London High Court hearing on Monday and Tuesday over the validity of its sukuk. Last week Dana dismissed a proposal from bondholders for a restructuring of the $700 million Islamic bond. The main index added 0.3 percent. In neighbouring Dubai, the index fell back 0.2 percent, weighed down by profit-taking on some of the previous session’s top gainers. Theme park operator DXB Entertainments lost 4.1 percent. The Saudi index fell 0.6 percent as 10 of its 12 banking stocks declined including National Commercial Bank , which lost 1.5 percent. At a two-day meeting beginning later on Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady, with investors looking for clues on its anticipated pace of further tightening later this year and next. The market is pricing in an approximately even chance of a hike in December. Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the United States is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. A rate hike is considered positive for banks because it lifts their interest rate margins. In Cairo, the index rebounded 1.0 percent as 20 of the top 30 shares rose. Shares of Heliopolis for Housing climbed 4.3 percent after the local financial Alborsa News said the firm planned to launch three new projects and management had set a sales target of 1.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($85.2 million) for 2018. HIGHLIGHTS * The index fell 0.6 percent to 7,351 points. DUBAI * The index fell 0.2 percent to 3,655 points. ABU DHABI * The index rose 0.3 percent to 4,464 points. QATAR * The index rebounded 0.1 percent to 8,289 points. EGYPT * The index added 1.0 percent for 13,730 points. KUWAIT * The index edged up by 0.04 percent to 6,893 points. BAHRAIN * The index rose 0.3 percent to 1,303 points. OMAN'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks/mideast-stocks-qatar-slightly-off-5-yr-low-as-local-traders-buy-saudi-worst-performer-idUSL5N1M04DS'|'2017-09-19T17:09:00.000+03:00'
'20fcbde6e24b55e99e7381089e3d29ccb4713aaf'|'Twitter reports progress on weeding out users advocating violence'|'FILE PHOTO: People holding mobile phones are silhouetted against a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo in this illustration picture taken September 27, 2013. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) said that its internal controls were allowing it to weed out accounts being used for the “promotion of terrorism” earlier rather than responding to government requests to close them down.U.S. and European governments have been pressuring social media companies including Twitter, Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) and Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google to fight harder against online radicalization, particularly by violent Islamist groups.Twitter said it had removed 299,649 accounts in the first half of this year for the “promotion of terrorism”, a 20 percent decline from the previous six months, although it gave no reason for the drop. Three-quarters of those accounts were suspended before posting their first tweet.Britain’s interior minister, Amber Rudd, used a visit to Silicon Valley last month to ask Facebook, Microsoft ( MSFT.O ), Twitter, and YouTube to step up efforts to remove content that incites militants after four attacks in Britain killed 36 people this year.“Loser terrorists must be dealt with in a much tougher manner. The internet is their main recruitment tool which we must cut off & use better!” U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday after a bombing on a London commuter train.Less than 1 percent of account suspensions were due to government requests, Twitter said, while 95 percent were thanks to the company’s internal efforts to combat radical content with “proprietary tools”, up from 74 percent in its last twice-yearly transparency report.Twitter defines “promotion of terrorism” as actively inciting or promoting violence “associated with internationally recognized terrorist organizations.”The vast majority of notices from governments concerned “abusive behavior”, which includes violent threats, harassment, hateful conduct and impersonation.Twitter said it had removed 935,897 accounts for promotion of terrorism between August 1, 2015 and June 30 this year.The social media platform said in July it had 328 million average monthly active users in the three months to June 30.The European Union has threatened legislation on Internet firms removing illegal content if they do not step up efforts to police what is available on the web.Twitter said it had received about 3 percent more legal requests and court orders to remove content posted by users in the first half of this year than during the last six months of 2016.About 90 percent of those removal requests came from Turkey, Russia, France and Germany.The transparency report showed Turkey was the most active country in seeking the removal of content, accounting for 45 percent of all requests worldwide.Twitter said it had received eight requests from governments to take down content posted by journalists and news organizations in the first half of 2017 but did not act on any of them “because of their political and journalistic nature.”Of the eight, five were court orders or other legal demands from Turkey ordering Twitter to take down content from journalists or news outlets.Turkey detained tens of thousands of people including scores of journalists after a failed coup in July last year. The crackdown by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has for years tried to stamp out what he sees as illegal online activity, has strained relations with NATO allies and raised alarms among civil liberties advocates.Twitter said it filed legal objections to court orders involving Turkish journalists and news outlets wherever possible but none of them had prevailed.Additional reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington; Editing by Keith Weir and Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-suspensions/twitter-reports-progress-on-weeding-out-users-advocating-violence-idUSKCN1BU1SI'|'2017-09-19T16:40:00.000+03:00'
'c177895006f367275bc5a3b0a6f49ad9fb827497'|'Exclusive - Toshiba flips back to favouring Western Digital group for chip unit sale: sources'|'  5:39 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Exclusive - Toshiba flips back to favouring Western Digital group for chip unit sale: sources Kentaro Hamada , Taro Fuse 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Toshiba is seen as a shareholder arrives at Toshiba''s extraordinary shareholders meeting in Chiba, Japan March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is shifting back toward selling its prized semiconductor unit to a group backed by joint venture partner Western Digital Corp, just days after saying it was leaning toward a rival bid including a South Korean chipmaker, people familiar with the deal said in the latest in a series of twists for the critical deal. California-based Western Digital made key concessions to assure Toshiba it wouldn’t seek future control of the chip business, addressing antitrust concerns and turning the tide away from the bid led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP and SK Hynix Inc, said the sources, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. Toshiba board members are to meet Wednesday, but it was unclear whether they could reach any decision, after saying last Wednesday the company was accelerating talks with the Hynix group. That announcement marked the third time Toshiba had missed targets to sell the $18 billion business - the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND memory chips. The company needs the cash to plug a giant hole in its finances from its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Corp. Toshiba and SK Hynix could not be reached outside business hours. A Western Digital spokesman declined comment. Bain Capital didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Kentaro Hamada, Taro Fuse and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; iting by William Mallard'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-chip-exclusive/toshiba-flips-back-to-favouring-western-digital-group-for-chip-unit-sale-sources-idUKKCN1BU2F0'|'2017-09-19T20:40:00.000+03:00'
'79dd84ad5b4df2485dd343819a6d7a992864da60'|'Online matchmaking businesses in India have many ways to woo'|'“IT WAS 2012…I was number 37,” says Ashwini, referring to the badge that was pinned on her shirt pocket. Her task was to go onto the stage and introduce herself to around 70 eligible bachelors and their parents. Families then conferred and, provided caste and religious background proved no obstacle, would approach the event’s moderator asking to meet number 37. At midday girls would wait for prospects to swing by, again with parents on either side. A brief exchange might establish the potential bride’s cooking skills or her intention to work after marriage. If the two sides hit it off, they would exchange copies of their horoscopes. Nearly 50 men lined up to meet Ashwini that day, speed-dating style. No one made the cut. She later married a colleague.Such gatherings form an important part of the wedding industry, worth around $50bn a year, in a country where arranged marriages continue to be the norm. India has 440m millennials—roughly, the generation born between 1980 and 1996—and a further 390m youngsters have been born since 2000, so there are plenty of anguished parents for marriage facilitators to pitch to. KPMG, a consultancy, estimates that out of 107m single men and women, 63m are “active seekers”. For now, only a tenth surf the internet to find a spouse. But the number who do is about to explode, argue executives in the marriage-portal business (India has 2,600 such sites). “After Facebook [took off], people are more open about their lives than ever before, which has had a great knock-on effect,” says Gourav Rakshit of Shaadi.com, one of India’s oldest matrimonial sites. 19 Take Matrimony.com, the country’s biggest online matchmaker, which raised $78m in its initial public offering on September 13th. Its shares began trading this week. It runs 300-odd websites in 15 languages, catering to different castes and religions. It has sites for divorcees, the disabled, the affluent (“Elite Matrimony”) and for those with unfavourable astrological charts, which make it difficult to find a match. All online firms run a “freemium” model: upload your profile at no charge and let an algorithm match horoscope details with potential partners filtered by age, caste, education, income and sometimes (alas) complexion. Or you can pay for features like instant chat or a colourful border around your profile to ensure the algorithm returns you as a top search result.Such a long list of options means that finding a match on the web can be time-consuming and tedious. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” says one suitor. Predictably, many also complain that online profiles often do not reflect reality. Outright fakes remain a scourge. This month a man was arrested in Delhi for extorting over 5m rupees ($77,700) from 15 women by luring them on matrimonial websites. And no amount of artificial intelligence can yet identify what will make two youngsters click.Spouseup, a south Indian startup, is undaunted. It trawls social media to determine a candidate’s personality and recommends matches by calculating a “compatibility score”. Nine-tenths of its 50,000 users are non-resident Indians who usually fly to India for a month or so, scout for partners, settle on one, get hitched and fly back together. For these time-starved travellers, the machine-led scouring “provides an insight that would come from five coffee dates,” says Karthik Iyer, the firm’s founder. Banihal, which is based in Silicon Valley, relies on a long psychometric questionnaire of around 100 questions to match like-minded partners.Real-world complements to online efforts can help secure a match. Some services, such as IITIIMShaadi.com, aimed at people graduating from prestigious universities, also act as conventional wedding-brokers, by meeting prospects on their clients’ behalf. The job is no different from that of a headhunter, says Taksh Gupta, its founder. He charges anywhere between 50,000 and 200,000 rupees for the service. His most recent catch, after a search lasting over two years, was a husband for a 45-year-old woman from a prestigious university who would settle for no less than an Ivy League groom. Matrimony.com, too, has over 400 “relationship managers” and 140 physical outlets.“The opportunity is huge”, enthuses Murugavel Janakiraman, boss of Matrimony.com. Around four-fifths of new customers now come via smartphones, lured by instant alerts about new potential matches and services that match up people in the same town. But the spread of smartphones also brings competition. Casual-dating apps are spreading fast. Tinder, on which decisions about eligibility rarely benefit from parental advice, now counts India as Asia’s largest, fastest-growing market. "Click, meet and marry"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729571-only-tenth-people-seeking-spouse-use-internet-set-rise-online?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'6abbc765c99fa430121a153b23829063a25bc045'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX extends 14-week high as energy, bank stocks rise'|'(Adds portfolio manager comment, updates prices to close)* TSX ends up 65.32 points, or 0.42 percent, at 15,454.92* Half of the TSX’s 10 main groups move higherBy Alastair SharpTORONTO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index extended a 14-week high on Thursday, helped by gains for heavyweight banking and energy stocks.“Technically, everything looks like it’s setting up for a break-out,” said Bryden Teich, a portfolio manager at Avenue Investment Management. “We’ve been trending down and the utility space, energy space, the banks now are all bouncing.”The energy group climbed 1.4 percent, despite oil prices being little changed ahead of a meeting of major oil-producing countries, and financials gained 0.7 percent. Combined, the two groups account for more than half of the index’s weight.Utilities, which had fallen sharply in the wake of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike this month, have recovered somewhat but were down 0.3 percent on the day.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index finished up 65.32 points, or 0.42 percent, at 15,454.92, its highest close since early June.Investors bought into financial stocks, which tend to perform better in a higher rate environment, after the Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday that it may raise U.S. interest rates a third time this year.Teich said the index could add another 5 percent in the remainder of the year if the Bank of Canada refrains from being too aggressive about its own rate hike outlook.Bank of Nova Scotia gained 1.8 percent to C$79.33 while Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s biggest bank by assets, rose 0.7 percent to C$69.01 after it re-entered the Japanese market with a fixed-income sales desk.The materials group, which includes precious and base metal miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.2 percent as gold prices fell after the Fed move and copper and other industrial metals lost ground in the wake of a stronger U.S. dollar.Kinross Gold Corp fell 2.6 percent to C$5.21, and Barrick Gold Corp lost 0.8 percent to C$20.15.Half of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher, with five advancers for every three decliners. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and James Dalgleish)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-extends-14-week-high-as-energy-bank-stocks-rise-idUSL2N1M227Y'|'2017-09-21T23:50:00.000+03:00'
'97136476a87ddc0f6b0ac00fc2621e777fb6ad82'|'Exclusive - Macquarie leapfrogs Goldman to join top tier of commodity banks'|'  3:56 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Exclusive - Macquarie leapfrogs Goldman to join top tier of commodity banks Eric Onstad 6 Min Read A pedestrian walks past the logo of Australia''s biggest investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd which adorns a wall on the outside of their Sydney office headquarters in central Sydney, Australia, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray LONDON (Reuters) - Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd ( MQG.AX ) has overtaken Goldman Sachs to break into the top three banks for commodities business, having significantly expanded its U.S. energy operations in recent years while rivals cut back. The rise of Macquarie marks a huge shake-up in commodity banking, typically dominated by elite U.S. and European institutions until tough regulations forced withdrawals after the global financial crisis. Macquarie, not burdened by the stiff regulations as an Australian bank, ranked in the top three in terms of revenue from commodities trading and related businesses for the first six months of the year, industry sources said. This is the first time a bank outside the United States or Europe has broken into the top tier in commodities, or any other capital market sector. Macquarie ranked behind Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Citigroup ( C.N ) for the first six months of 2017, but ahead of JP Morgan ( JPM.N ) and Goldman ( GS.N ), with the top three averaging $250-$300 million (£185.29 million - £222.35 million) each in commodities revenues, down sharply from the first half of 2016, one source said. Macquarie declined to comment ahead of its half-year results on Sept. 30. The bank reported net trading income in commodities of A$1.16 billion (£678.49 million) for the financial year to the end of March this year, marking a 66 percent increase in four years. Comparable financial numbers were not available for rivals because most banks do not make public their revenue from commodities, incorporating the sector into a broader category of fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC). Analysts estimate Goldman usually averages around $500 million in commodities revenues for the half year, but that this had slid to $150 million in the first six months of 2017. “As people have dropped by the wayside, such as Barclays, Deutsche Bank and so on, Macquarie have been able to mop up some of that business,” said Seb Walker, partner at banking consultancy Tricumen.“Macquarie is the first ‘Asian’ bank to make the top three in any capital markets product.” Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) and Barclays ( BARC.L ), hit with tough capital requirements during a downturn in commodities, sharply pulled back from the sector in 2013-14, while in the United States the Dodd-Frank law banned proprietary trading by banks, prompting them to curb physical commodity business. MACQUARIE EXPANDS IN U.S. ENERGY “We should expect more growth from Macquarie,” Walker said, noting the bank agreed in June to acquire Cargill’s North American power and gas business. That deal came only months after Macquarie agreed to buy Cargill’s global petroleum business and marked the latest expansion by the bank of its energy franchise. While other banks cut back, Macquarie has boosted its operations to become the largest non-producer marketer of physical gas in North America. A Goldman Sachs sign is displayed inside the company''s post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Trader Nick O‘Kane built up the bank’s U.S. energy business, starting off with the takeover of Los Angeles-based Cook Inlet Energy Supply in 2005. Cook’s owner had 1/16th Inupiat Eskimo heritage and got guaranteed sales to California utilities which had to purchase 5 percent of natural gas from minorities. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009, Macquarie acquired Constellation Energy’s downstream natural gas trading platform, a good example of the bank’s long-term commodity strategy, said a former Macquarie executive. “That investment was at the bottom of a 10-year view from someone who plans to be there for another 10 years where as for some of the European banks it’s a year-to-year proposition.” A banking source in Europe said Macquarie was also canny in taking advantage of its position as a non-U.S. bank. “They use a different funding model to the U.S. banks constrained by regulations, using short-term paper so they can price more aggressively,” he said. CHALLENGER BANKS A wave of banks from Australia, Canada and China are grabbing market share in commodities after many big U.S. and European rivals withdrew or trimmed back, said Amrit Shahani, research director at financial industry analytics firm Coalition. So-called “challenger” banks have boosted their market share in commodities to 28 percent last year from 19 percent in 2014, taking business away from the top 12 global investment banks, he added, declining to discuss individual banks. The Coalition index of top investment banks does not include many of the banks such as Macquarie that are gathering steam in the commodities sector. While Macquarie has been building up its commodities business, usual top dog Goldman Sachs faltered in the second quarter, reporting the weakest commodities results in its history as a public company. Commodities trading among banks had been traditionally dominated by Goldman and Morgan Stanley, joined by JP Morgan and Citigroup and European banks during the commodities boom. At its height, banks’ commodity revenue totalled about $15 billion, but has steadily slid to just over a third of that, totalling around $5.5-$6 billion last year, Shahani said. In the first half of 2017, commodities revenues at the 12 biggest investment banks tumbled 41 percent year-on-year to its lowest since at least 2006, Coalition said this month. “It’s been a very difficult year for the large banks. The question this year is whether the challenger banks can step into their shoes and displace them or will the global banks pop back in the second half,” Shahani said. Additional reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Anjuli Davies, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Fanny Potkin in London; Editing by Veronica Brown and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-commodities-banks-macquarie-exclusive/exclusive-macquarie-leapfrogs-goldman-to-join-top-tier-of-commodity-banks-idUKKCN1BW29Y'|'2017-09-21T18:55:00.000+03:00'
'154ee4ec5a92174eddbb3f791f9378f81d6a3abd'|'Japan, U.S. likely to hold economic dialogue Oct. 16 in Washington - source'|' 34 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Japan, U.S. likely to hold economic dialogue Oct. 16 in Washington - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Financial Services of Japan, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and the United States are likely to hold their second economic dialogue on Oct. 16 in Washington, a source familiar with the issue told Reuters on Monday. Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso is expected to skip the Group of 20 finance leaders’ meeting and IMF meeting from Oct. 12 due to an expected general election in Japan, the source also said. Japanese Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Masatsugu Asakawa is expected to attend those meetings. Aso, who also serves as finance minister, and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence held the first economic dialogue in April. Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Writing by Kaori Kaneko'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-aso/japan-u-s-likely-to-hold-economic-dialogue-oct-16-in-washington-source-idUKKCN1C0050'|'2017-09-25T05:40:00.000+03:00'
'9f6cc8ea0d1414dc3dc5b1f9bee8aec6d3cdf5fe'|'Air France formally launches new Joon airline in bid for younger passengers'|'Reuters TV United States  10 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Air France formally launches new Joon airline in bid for younger passengers Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of the French airline compagny Air France is seen in Paris, France, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - Air France ( AIRF.PA ) formally launched on Monday its new “Joon” lower-cost airline, which the company hopes will attract a younger clientele and restore some routes to profitability. Air France said on Monday that Joon would start off by flying to six destinations. Starting from December 1, Joon will fly to four cities in Europe - Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon and Porto. It will then fly to Fortaleza in Brazil and the Seychelles in summer 2018. Joon, which is targeting the ‘Millennials’ generation, will be run by Jean-Michel Mathieu, who has been involved with the project since the start and has held various positions in sales, digital and revenue management within the Air France-KLM group. Air France wants to bring down costs in order to compete better against Gulf carriers on long-haul routes, and against budget carriers on short-haul routes. Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Victoria Bryan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-air-france-klm-joon/air-france-formally-launches-new-joon-airline-in-bid-for-younger-passengers-idUKKCN1C00WA'|'2017-09-25T12:06:00.000+03:00'
'0b0c38bc91cf08120876ed3db2e599e7b21c71b0'|'Japan PM Abe announces $17.8 billion economic stimulus package'|'  2:00 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Japan PM Abe announces $17.8 billion economic stimulus package Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to media at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday ordered his cabinet to compile new economic stimulus measures in a package worth around 2 trillion yen (13.13 billion pounds) by the end of the year. Speaking at a meeting with his top advisory panel, Abe said the package should focus on subsidising education, child-care costs, and on boosting corporate investments to improve productivity. Abe is expected to announce a snap election later on Monday to take advantage of improved ratings and disorganised opposition parties, and the stimulus package could be a way to lure voters during the election campaign. Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-abe-stimulus/japan-abe-to-order-2-trillion-yen-stimulus-package-sources-idUKKCN1C003Y'|'2017-09-25T09:11:00.000+03:00'
'7ed08570b93eb26e1364811ad7b6ad548901bf84'|'France says not worried about Alstom-Siemens tie-up if jobs spared'|'  1:13 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago France approves of Siemens/Alstom tie-up if jobs spared 3 Min Read A Siemens flag waves after the Annual Press Conference in Berlin November 12, 2015. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos PARIS/MUNICH (Reuters) - France has nothing against a potential tie-up between German engineering group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) if the deal does not bring job cuts, the French government’s spokesman said on Friday. Earlier on Friday, Le Monde newspaper reported Siemens was in advanced talks to combine its rail activities with Alstom in a deal that could be announced on Sept. 26. “It is important that we can strengthen our industrial sectors ... in partnership with Germany,” government spokesman Christophe Castaner told journalists in response to a question about the tie-up. “There is no concern on the French side when big companies are working together if synergies do not come at the expense of jobs,” he said. Siemens has held tie-up talks with both Alstom and Canadian group Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and had been expected to pick a preferred partner for detailed negotiations within days, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. If the deal with Alstom goes through, Siemens would have a slight majority, 50 percent plus several shares, but Alstom’s French CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge would head the merged company, a source familiar with the transaction told Reuters on Friday. A scale model of an AGV high speed train with the logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company''s full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes But there was no decision yet for or against Alstom, the source said. “The prospects are better with Alstom,” another source with knowledge of the situation said. “Everything is still open, there’s a lot of movement.” French government spokesman Christophe Castaner leaves after the first cabinet meeting after the summer break, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer Alstom is in a stronger financial position than Bombardier, the second source said. Bombardier also wants control of the new group which was not acceptable to Siemens while Franco-German politics aligned over a Siemens-Alstom deal, the source said. According to Le Monde, Siemens would contribute rail assets valued at 7 billion euros (£6.19 billion) in return for 45-50 percent stake in Alstom under the deal being studied. The proposed tie-up is also being discussed between French President Emmanuel Macron’s staff and their German counterparts in Angela Merkel’s chancellery, Le Monde reported. Siemens and Alstom both declined to comment. Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris, Alexander Hübner in Munich and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt. Editing by Jane Merriman; Writing by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Leigh Thomas and Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alstom-siemens-jobs/france-says-not-worried-about-alstom-siemens-tie-up-if-jobs-spared-idUKKCN1BX1PH'|'2017-09-22T16:12:00.000+03:00'
'4383871a56d19e1cb792667880e036b91b006722'|'FTSE edges down as investors await May''s Brexit speech'|'September 22, 2017 / 8:43 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago Sterling slide sends FTSE to one-week high as Brexit speech disappoints Julien Ponthus , Helen Reid 3 Min Read A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s major share index surged in afternoon trading on Friday as Prime Minister May’s speech in Florence disappointed currency traders, sending the pound sliding. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE jumped 0.6 percent to its highest in a week as sterling slipped, boosting the large-cap companies which mainly earn in foreign currencies. Traders sold sterling as they deemed May’s speech short on detail, and hopes of a plan on how Britain might keep preferential access to the single market were dashed. “If you watch the currency as a barometer of expectations, it hasn’t moved a great deal and that tells you everything you need to know about what the speech has changed, i.e. not very much,” said Ian Williams, strategist at Peel Hunt. “There was not much meat on it, it was all very vague and woolly and doesn’t take us any further than we were,” he added. In her speech May called for a post-Brexit transition period of roughly two years, appealing for a revival to negotiations which have stalled over the question of how much Britain would have to pay to end its EU membership. Banking stocks .FTNMX8350 rose 0.2 percent on the prospect of a transitional period giving financial services more time to unpick complex ties with the bloc’s financial system. Mid-caps .FTMC also rose 0.5 percent. The FTSE has suffered from the pound’s recent gains after the Bank of England signalled an interest rate hike in the coming months. But cross-asset strategists at Societe Generale said the correlation between the blue-chip index and sterling has loosened over the past months, suggesting a weaker pound won’t always boost it. “The threat of Brexit continues to loom large over UK assets,” they said, pointing to slowing consumer spending and household savings rates. On the corporate front, Smiths Group ( SMIN.L ) was the worst performer, down 6 percent after its two biggest businesses John Crane and Smith Medical weighed on revenue growth. Mid-cap Pets at Home ( PETSP.L ) jumped 6.3 percent as analysts at Berenberg said management had a confident capital markets day on Wednesday, confirming the firm’s outlook. Reporting by Julien Ponthus, Helen Reid, Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-edges-down-as-investors-await-mays-brexit-speech-idUKKCN1BX0V6'|'2017-09-22T11:43:00.000+03:00'
'737634291a06a795d517125588e6b67834491408'|'Rhetoric aside, Latin America leaders say Trump listened on Venezuela'|'September 22, 2017 / 5:48 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago Rhetoric aside, Latin America leaders say Trump listened on Venezuela Anthony Boadle 5 Min Read NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Venezuela’s authoritarian government from the podium at the United Nations this week but Latin American leaders say that behind the scenes he listened to them on how best to resolve the delicate regional crisis. Latin American leaders who dined with Trump on Monday on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly said they told him that a military invasion, a threat he casually made last month, would be unacceptable in a region long-sensitive to heavy-handed intervention by Washington. They pressed on him the need for a peaceful transition to democracy in Venezuela and argued against economic sanctions that would deepen its humanitarian crisis, which has already sent tens of thousands fleeing to neighboring countries. “Trump went to the trouble of asking us how best to solve the Venezuelan situation,” Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie, who attended the dinner, told Reuters. “That the United States would consult Latin American counties on what to do is in itself a major step forward.” At the United Nations General Assembly this week, Trump attacked the Socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro for destroying a once-wealthy oil-producing nation. He threatened to increase sanctions if Maduro did not move toward restoring democratic rule. But Trump steered clear of repeating the threat of military action he made on Aug. 11 which alarmed Latin Americans. For many, it conjured memories of the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama that overthrew dictator Manuel Noriega, who died in May after years in prison in the United States and his own country. At least 125 people were killed in Venezuela during four months of protests this year against Maduro, who has resisted calls to bring forward a presidential election and instead set up a legislative superbody to overrule the opposition-led Congress. PRESSURE FOR TALKS While no decisions were taken, the talks between Trump and the presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Panama, and the vice president of Argentina put pressure on Maduro to engage in real negotiations with his opponents instead of using talks to gain time, Latin American leaders said. Brazilian President Michel Temer told reporters after the dinner those present had agreed to ramp up pressure on Venezuela without direct intervention. President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama said the dinner with Trump strengthened an initiative by a dozen Latin American countries and Canada to back a new round of negotiations between Maduro and his opponents. “There will be more pressure to convince Maduro to accept free and democratic elections in 2018,” Varela told Reuters. “We think Maduro is getting the message that change must come.” Purchases of crude and refined products from Venezuela represented 7 percent of total U.S. oil imports in the first half of the year, giving Washington some leverage to push for political change in the South American nation. Yet an oil embargo - which would deprive the Maduro government of its main source of income - was not discussed at the dinner with Trump, several attendees said. Much of Venezuelan oil is heavy in sulfur and used for heating oil and asphalt, but is also refined into gasoline, mainly by U.S. Gulf refiners. Gulf state senators have urged Trump not to ban imports, which would hurt refineries and push up gasoline prices. Colombian foreign minister María Angela Holguin said an oil boycott would only extend the suffering of the Venezuelan people, who are facing shortages of food and medicine. “We have to think of the Venezuelans who would suffer even more if the economic crisis deepens,” she said. Formal negotiations with the opposition are due to begin in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo on Sept. 27 and involve observers from Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua and Bolivia. Argentina’s Faurie said the Maduro government would have to agree to several conditions for talks to be taken seriously, including a calendar for elections monitored by international observers and the release of political prisoners. Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Americas Society, a business forum dedicated to fostering ties between the United States and Latin America, said the talks between Trump and regional leaders sent a clear message to Maduro. “The most important thing that came out of the dinner was the photograph showing the president and the vice president of the United States sitting down with regional leaders to talk about Venezuela,” Farnsworth said. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Additional reporting by Mariana Párraga in Houston; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/latam-trump-venezuela/rhetoric-aside-latin-america-leaders-say-trump-listened-on-venezuela-idUSL2N1M305Q'|'2017-09-22T20:47:00.000+03:00'
'be084722f8c72f806658c282c01cfd16ac6218bd'|'"Debt trap" may paralyse central banks with fear - BIS'|'  9:30 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago "Debt trap" may paralyse central banks with fear - BIS 2 Min Read Euro banknotes are seen in this picture illustration taken in Prague January 21, 2013. REUTERS/David W Cerny LONDON (Reuters) - Central banks are in danger of falling into a “debt trap” where they can’t take needed action for fear of triggering defaults and economic turmoil, a senior Bank for International Settlements (BIS) official said on Friday. In a speech in London, Claudio Borio, the head of the monetary and economic department at the central bank umbrella group, said it may be time for central banks to focus less on inflation and more on financial stability. Low interest rates are encouraging record amounts of borrowing -- as is the asset-buying stimulus employed by many central banks seeking to lift inflation. But such policy in turn makes central banks more nervous about raising interest rates in case it sends their borrowers to the wall and causes a slump in their economies -- known in economic textbooks as a debt trap. “At a minimum, this suggests lengthening the horizon over which it would be desirable to bring inflation back towards target,” for central banks, he said. “It would be desirable to use the additional room for manoeuvre to address the financial cycle more systematically.” “This could improve overall macroeconomic performance and reduce the risk of a ‘debt trap.. A trap could arise if policy ran out of ammunition, and it became harder to raise interest rates,” Borio said. He added that his remarks had been intentionally provocative. “We may need to adjust monetary policy frameworks,” he said, highlighting “the desirability of greater tolerance for deviations of inflation from point targets while putting more weight on financial stability.” Despite all the stimulus from loose monetary policy, inflation has remained stubbornly low in many places. Borio said economists should not overestimate the ability of central banks to fine-tune inflation, especially in the current environment where new technologies, working practices and globalisation are limiting the impact. Reporting by Marc Jones Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bis-debt-trap/debt-trap-may-paralyse-central-banks-with-fear-bis-idUKKCN1BX10E'|'2017-09-22T12:42:00.000+03:00'
'628f5379cb2a3cdbbd6435cd7748fbf9599cc169'|'Infineon sells plant in Wales to private buyer, jobs secured'|'The logo of semiconductor manufacturer Infineon is seen at its Austrian headquarters in Villach, Austria, August 1, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon Technologies ( IFXGn.DE ) said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to sell a manufacturing site in Wales, disposing of a non-core asset to a private buyer that will keep the plant operating.Munich-based Infineon, a leading maker of chips used in the auto and power sectors, acquired the facility in Newport when it took over International Rectifier in 2014. It said then that the plant would be either sold or closed this year.Terms were not disclosed, but Infineon said in a statement that the transaction would be completed this month. It has also entered into a two-year supply agreement with the buyer, Neptune 6. Upon closing, the buyer will run the site under the name Newport Wafer Fab Ltd.The deal would save the Newport site and the jobs of the people employed there, Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure Ken Skates said in the statement.Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-infineon-technol-plant/infineon-sells-plant-in-wales-to-private-buyer-jobs-secured-idINKCN1BW1UI'|'2017-09-21T11:32:00.000+03:00'
'eceadd558f610b9d2266e9b40e938759a6649bc8'|'Google to buy part of HTC''s smartphone operations for around $1 billion : source'|'  1:31 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Google bets anew on smartphones, pays $1.1 billion for HTC''s Pixel division Jess Macy Yu , Paresh Dave 5 Min Read TAIPEI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google said it would pay $1.1 billion for the division at Taiwan’s HTC Corp ( 2498.TW ) that develops the U.S. firm’s Pixel smartphones - its second major foray into phone hardware after an earlier costly failure. The all-cash deal will see Google gain 2,000 HTC employees, roughly equivalent to one fifth of the Taiwanese firm’s total workforce. It will also acquire a non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property and the two firms agreed to look at other areas of collaboration in the future. While Google is not acquiring any manufacturing assets, the transaction underscores a ramping up of its ambitions for Android smartphones at a time when consumer and media attention is largely focused on rival Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ). “Google has found it necessary to have its own hardware team to help bring innovations to Android devices, making them competitive versus the iPhone series,” said Mia Huang, analyst at research firm TrendForce. The move is part of a broader and still nascent push into hardware that saw Google hire Rick Osterloh, a former Motorola executive, to run its hardware division last year. It also comes ahead of new product launches on Oct. 4 that are expected to include two Pixel phones and a Chromebook. Pixel smartphones, only launched a year ago, have less than 1 percent market share globally with an estimated 2.8 million shipments, according to research firm IDC. Google will be aiming not to repeat mistakes made when it purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2012. It sold it off to China’s Lenovo Group Ltd ( 0992.HK ) for less than $3 billion two years later after Motorola failed to produce appealing products that could compete with iPhones. This time around, however, the deal price tag is much smaller and the lack of manufacturing facilities also minimizes risk. HTC‘S DECLINE Google’s strategy of licensing Android for free and profiting from embedded services such as search and maps has made Android the dominant mobile operating system with some 89 percent of the global market, according to IDC. But it has long been frustrated by the emergence of many variations of Android and the inconsistent experience that has produced. Pushing its own hardware will likely complicate its relationship with Android licensees, analysts said. Google hardware executive Rick Osterloh (L) shakes hand with HTC CEO Cher Wang during a news conference to announce Google to acquire HTC''s Pixel smartphone division, in Taipei, Taiwan September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu Some analysts also questioned the wisdom of the deal given HTC’s long decline. The Taiwanese firm once sold one in 10 smartphones globally but has seen market share dwindle sharply in the face of competition from Apple, Samsung Electronics Co ( 005930.KS ) and Chinese rivals. “HTC is past its prime in terms of being a leading hardware design house, mainly because of how much it has had to scale back over the years because of declining revenues,” said Ryan Reith, an analyst at IDC. “Unless Google really wants to control hardware for its other businesses like Home and Chromebooks in addition to smartphones, then I don’t see this as being a bet that pays off.” Slideshow (8 Images) For HTC, the deal will allow it to concentrate more on its virtual reality headsets while also reducing development costs. “This will be a sizeable reduction in our R&D expenses. Overall it should be in the ballpark of a 30-40 percent reduction in operating expenses,” HTC Chief Financial Officer Peter Shen told a news conference in Taipei. The Taiwanese firm will continue to run its remaining smartphone business but the sharp downsizing of its mainstay operations has cast some doubt over its longer term future. “HTC can design and produce innovative products but it lacks the deep pockets of the likes of Samsung for marketing promotions and saturation advertising,” said Jake Saunders, an analyst at ABI Research in Singapore. “Competitors in the form of Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and ZTE are snapping at HTC’s heels.” HTC’s worldwide smartphone market share declined to 0.9 percent last year from a peak of 8.8 percent in 2011, according to IDC. HTC shares were on a trading halt on Thursday. The stock has fallen around 94 percent from a peak in 2011, giving the company a market value of around $1.9 billion. Evercore served as financial advisor to HTC while Lazard was Google’s financial advisor. Additional reporting by Lee Chyen Yee and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-htc-m-a-google/google-to-buy-part-of-htcs-smartphone-operations-for-around-1-billion-source-idINKCN1BW06L'|'2017-09-20T23:31:00.000+03:00'
'bc8ba7f26f3dcf42b0d300fafe8fbd4eae746198'|'Venture fundraising in yuan soars as investors target Chinese tech firms'|'FILE PHOTO: A statue of a bull is displayed outside the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen October 23, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China-focused venture capital funds are increasing their bets on local technology companies and a further opening of Chinese domestic capital markets, raising money in the yuan at the fastest pace in five years.Fund managers have raised 95.8 billion yuan ($14.54 billion) this year through late September in funds denominated in the Chinese currency, which is also known as the renminbi, compared with 56.7 billion yuan in all of 2016. That puts 2017 on pace to be the biggest year since 2012, when 145.8 billion yuan was raised, according to data provider Preqin.There are currently 78 funds looking to raise as much as another 1.15 trillion yuan over the next couple of years, Preqin said, most of it coming from mammoth-sized state-owned entities and so-called government guidance funds, which seek to foster domestic innovation in different industries from advanced engineering and robotics to biotechnology and clean energy.Those include the 350 billion yuan sought by the China Structural Reform Fund, 200 billion yuan targeted by the China State-Owned Capital Venture Investment Fund and a proposed 150 billion yuan for the state-owned Enterprise National Innovation Fund.The enormous size of the fundraising ambitions of the Chinese state-backed funds means it may take some time before they reach their final goals. The China Structural Reform Fund, which was launched in 2016, has raised 20 percent of its registered capital and its president said in an interview with Caixin Global that funding will be completed by the end of 2018.“We’re at the all-time highest of capital-raising high water marks, with a tsunami of government-backed entities seeding incubators, VC funds, locally, provincially, nationally,” said Peter Fuhrman, CEO of China-focused investment bank China First Capital. “China has a lot of money in its government apparatus. It wants to seed innovation and entrepreneurship and this is how it’s doing it.”The surge contrasts with the slowdown in seed financing for start ups in the United States, which is down for the past two years. It also compares with flat growth expected for U.S. venture capital fundraising in 2017, according to estimates from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).CATCHING ENTREPRENEURS Firms such as Lightspeed China Partners, Morningside Venture Capital, GGV Capital and investment and merchant bank Ion Pacific that previously only had U.S. dollar funds are launching their first funds in yuan. Others like Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital China and China Renaissance that have raised funds in both currencies are adding to their yuan cash pile with new funds.Key to those firms is to not lose potential investment opportunities in sectors closed to foreign investors or miss out on investing with the Chinese entrepreneurs who now want to list their companies locally instead of in the United States.“Catching the right entrepreneurs in the ecosystem is our number one priority, so currencies to us are just tools, those are the tools that I need to catch these entrepreneurs,” said Harry Man, partner at Matrix Partners China, which has funds in both currencies. “That’s why if you don’t have RMB in your hand, ultimately you’ll be missing 50 percent of the deals. Then you’ll be forced to raise an RMB fund and that’s why everybody is doing it.”Sequoia Capital China, which backed top Chinese technology firms such as Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ), is looking to raise at least 10 billion yuan for a new fund, while Hillhouse Capital, an early investor in companies including Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ), Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ) and JD.com Inc ( JD.O ), is targeting about 8 billion yuan for its fund, sources told Reuters.The investment management arm of securities firm China Renaissance is also adding to its yuan reserves with a new fund worth about 6 billion yuan, according to a person familiar with the plans who couldn’t be named because details of the fundraising aren’t yet public. Ion Pacific is raising 1 billion yuan for its debut fund in the Chinese currency, while GGV Capital is about to close fundraising for its first yuan-denominated fund.“Some sectors don’t allow foreign investors, so for example, in the culture and media industry you need to apply for certain licenses like video licenses and you need to be a local investor,” said Helen Wong, a partner at Qiming Venture Partners.“Now the IPO window is open for the local stock market, so that encourages a lot of companies to go for a local listing,” she added, in reference to the increase in IPO approvals by regulators in 2017 that is prompting more companies to start preparations to go public. Previously, a slow approval process and long queue of companies waiting for clearance dissuaded many from those plans.The shift would give an added boost to the Shenzhen and Shanghai bourses. China has had 322 new listings this year, raising a combined $22.9 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed. This already surpasses the 252 for all of 2016, even after the country’s securities regulator slowed the number of weekly IPO approvals in May.It could also reduce the influence of the Nasdaq and New York stock exchanges, where many Chinese technology companies previously flocked when they went public.“For the RMB side, you see more companies in restricted sectors like healthcare and media and certain parts of cleantech that needs government support to get started,” said Hans Tung, managing partner at GGV Capital. “You also see companies in the fintech space and a lot of them need a license to operate a business in the financial services industry, so they tend to want to list in China.”Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Martin Howell '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-venturecapital-analysis/venture-fundraising-in-yuan-soars-as-investors-target-chinese-tech-firms-idINKCN1BW35P'|'2017-09-21T21:24:00.000+03:00'
'5844365572b8a5e94068d746f72d31871a36758a'|'Volkswagen chairman doesn''t rule out outsider as next CEO'|'Hans Dieter Poetsch, chairman of the Volkswagen AG supervisory board, addresses a news conference at the headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke HAMBURG (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) has not ruled out breaking with company tradition and appointing an outsider as its next chief executive, Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch said.Current CEO Matthias Mueller, whose contract runs through 2020, has been with the Volkswagen (VW) group for nearly 40 years, including in senior roles at premium divisions Audi ( NSUG.DE ) and Porsche.Several investors criticized his appointment, which came at the height of the German carmaker’s diesel emissions scandal in September 2015, saying it should have hired a new leader from outside the business.In comments emailed to Reuters on Friday, Poetsch said the supervisory board would deal with a successor to Mueller “in due course”.“Of course we are open as far as the outcome is concerned,” he said, in reference to whether a successor could come from outside the company or be a woman.The car industry is going through a period of change, with pressure to reduce pollution and embrace cleaner technologies, as well as autonomous driving, car-sharing and new competitors such as Tesla ( TSLA.O ) and Uber [UBER.UL].The politician expected to win next month’s election in Lower Saxony - VW’s home state and second-biggest shareholder - earlier this month suggested that someone from outside the auto industry should succeed Mueller.Poetsch reaffirmed his support for the 64-year-old CEO, who raised some eyebrows within VW earlier this month with comments about possible asset sales.In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Sept. 7, Mueller said a new team at VW was working to sell assets no longer considered essential and that such businesses could account for up to a fifth of group revenue.However, the most senior member of the carmaker’s ruling Porsche and Piech clan, Wolfgang Porsche, has since spoken out against selling any of VW’s assets, echoing the opposition expressed by VW’s powerful labor unions.VW asked banks earlier this year to examine options for its motorcycle brand Ducati and transmissions maker Renk, including selling the two divisions, sources have said, as it looks to fund a major shift to electric cars and mobility services.“Matthias Mueller, and that’s the view of the entire supervisory board, is the right man,” Poetsch told Reuters.Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-chairman/volkswagen-chairman-doesnt-rule-out-outsider-as-next-ceo-idUSKCN1BX1M1'|'2017-09-22T15:38:00.000+03:00'
'a15035ba5405c97981b1b87a3cc5e177209cac2c'|'Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel merger set to gain pricing power'|'  1:23 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel merger set to gain pricing power Reuters Staff 5 Min Read The ThyssenKrupp AG logo is pictured at an escalator at the ThyssenKrupp headquarters in Essen, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp Steel ( TKAG.DE ) and Tata Steel’s ( TISC.NS ) plans to merge in Europe could enable them not just to cut costs but also raise prices, customers and shareholders say. The planned joint venture, announced on Wednesday, would create Europe’s second-largest steel maker, with a market share of about 13 percent, according to data from the companies and the World Steel Association. This would make the group, to be named Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel, a distant second to global leader ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), which has a 26 percent share. Although Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel Europe say their client groups are largely complementary, they have significant overlap in the autos industry, their largest market, company data shows. Below are some details on pricing and the joint venture’s potential client structure. PRICING POWER European steel prices, even though volatile and under continued pressure from cheap Chinese imports, have recently stabilized, providing the day-to-day business. Currently at 530 euros per tonne, European steel prices ST-MBEUDNHRC-MB are still down by about a third compared with their pre-financial crisis peak, but have risen by nearly two-thirds since their most recent record at the end of 2015. They are down about 3 percent in the year-to-date and investors reckon that the further consolidation could support a recovery. “An oligopoly has a different power to set prices than a more fragmented market,” said Thomas Vorlaufer, fund manager at Deka Investment, Thyssenkrupp’s 10th-largest shareholder. “As a result there can be an impact on prices.” Higher prices would mostly hit the automotive industry, which would account for about 40 percent of sales of the combined entity. German luxury carmaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ), a customer of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, Tata Steel Europe and ArcelorMittal, fears that the merger could change things for the worse. “We have a critical view and are concerned over whether the steel market will still function efficiently following a merger,” a spokesman for the company said. A spokesman for Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ), which gets deliveries from Tata Steel Europe, said he did not expect any impact on prices. Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), also clients of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, declined to comment. SOME OVERLAP “Our businesses and those of Tata complement each other well,” Thyssenkrupp said on Wednesday, adding that while it was stronger in the automotive sector, Tata Steel Europe had a bigger exposure to industrial customers. However, automotive is big business for both groups. Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe makes 46 percent of its sales, or 3.51 billion euros ($4.21 billion), from clients in the automotive industry. At Tata Steel Europe, whose customers also include Tata Motors’ ( TAMO.NS ) Jaguar Land Rover, that share is 32 percent, or 166.67 billion Indian rupees ($2.57 billion). There is less overlap in other areas, most notably in manufacturing goods, which accounts for 32 percent of revenues at Tata Steel Europe, and includes business with clients in the engineering sector. Engineering accounts for just 4 percent of sales at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe. The companies say that overlap will not be much of an issue as the proposed joint venture will have three major production sites spread across Europe, enabling it to cover different regions which in turn reduces shipment costs. Thyssenkrupp’s Duisburg plant, for example, sells two-thirds of the steel it produces within a radius of 500 kilometers (311 miles). With annual output of about 12 million tonnes of steel, it would be the joint venture’s biggest plant. Tata Steel Europe’s Ijmuiden plant in the Netherlands, which supplies steel to the packaging sector, ranks second, with 6.9 million tonnes produced in the last financial year. Meanwhile Port Talbot, Britain’s largest steel production site, produced 3.6 million tonnes of liquid steel. Tata Steel earlier this year made commitments to safeguard jobs and investments at the plant for five years in return for an overhaul of its pension scheme. Steel production: tmsnrt.rs/2hmOK33 Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt, Maytaal Angel in London, Andreas Cremer in Berlin, Tom Kaeckenhoff in Duesseldorf and Laurence Frost in Paris; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-merger-set-to-gain-pricing-power-idUKKCN1BX1R3'|'2017-09-22T16:18:00.000+03:00'
'11ed68f04f2f52caa680ffe5d55e45fc2c69db7a'|'Psychology beats business training when it comes to entrepreneurship'|'MANAGEMENT gurus have chewed over the topic endlessly: is a flair for entrepreneurship something that you are born with, or something that can be taught? In a break with those gurus’ traditions, a group of economists and researchers from the World Bank, the National University of Singapore and Leuphana University in Germany decided that rather than simply cook up a pet theory of their own, they would conduct a controlled experiment.Moreover, instead of choosing subjects from the boardrooms of powerful corporations or among the latest crop of young entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, Francisco Campos and his fellow researchers chose to monitor 1,500 people running small businesses in Togo in West Africa. These are not the sorts of business owners who give TED talks or negotiate billion-dollar mergers. The typical firm had three employees and profits of 94,512 CFA francs ($173) a month. Only about a third kept books, and less than one in 20 had a written budget. 19 Studying lots of small businesses instead of a few big ones allowed the academics to conduct a randomised controlled trial. Usually associated with medical research, these are considered one of the most convincing types of evidence. Participants (in this case firms) are assigned, at random, either to receive “treatment” (in this case, two different sorts of training) or to the control arm, which receives nothing. Recruit enough participants for good and bad luck to even out across the sample, and you can tell, with high confidence, which method—if any—is superior.As they report in Science , the researchers split the businesses into three groups of 500. One group served as the control. Another received a conventional business training in subjects such as accounting and financial management, marketing and human resources. They were also given tips on how to formalise a business. The syllabus came from a course called Business Edge, developed by the International Finance Corporation.The final group was given a course inspired by psychological research, designed to teach personal initiative—things like setting goals, dealing with feedback and persistence in the face of setbacks, all of which are thought to be useful traits in a business owner. The researchers then followed their subjects’ fortunes for the next two-and-a-half years (the experiment began in 2014).An earlier, smaller trial in Uganda had suggested that the psychological training was likely to work well. It did: monthly sales rose by 17% compared with the control group, while profits were up by 30%. It also boosted innovation: recipients came up with more new products than the control group. That suggests that entrepreneurship, or at least some mental habits useful for it, can indeed be taught. More surprising was how poorly the conventional training performed: as far as the researchers could tell, it had no effect at all. Budding entrepreneurs might want to avoid the business shelves and make for the psychology section. "Mind over matter"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729454-among-small-business-owners-togo-least-psychology-beats-business-training-when-it-comes?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'cae1632c75a75abe9fd73a70d1f412fe873ac819'|'Without U.S., 11 nations in TPP inch closer to a deal'|'File Photo: The first session of the three-day Trans Pacific Partnership senior leaders meeting begins in Sydney, Australia August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed TOKYO (Reuters) - The 11 nations remaining in the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the United States withdrew have inched closer to a comprehensive deal, offering hope that major countries can maintain free trade in the face of U.S. protectionism, a negotiator said on Friday.The original 12-member TPP, which aimed to cut trade barriers in some of Asia’s fastest-growing economies, was thrown into limbo in January when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement to prioritize protecting U.S. jobs.Negotiators met for two days in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, to discuss what parts of the original deal they wished to shelve, in a bid to salvage an ambitious vision for a free-trade bloc that originally included the United States.The 11 TPP members agreed to meet again in Japan next month and aim to reach a broad agreement in November at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting set to be held in Vietnam’s central city of Danang.“We made meaningful progress,” Japan’s chief TPP negotiator Kazuyoshi Umemoto, who chaired the two-day meeting, told reporters.“A TPP ministerial meeting is likely to be held on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Danang. Everyone has shown they are working hard to make sure we can achieve the best result possible.”Japan wants to promote free trade by continuing with the TPP 11 deal to counter U.S. protectionism and hopes Washington eventually rethinks Trump’s “America Frist” trade policy.“The basic idea is that we would like the United States to come back as soon as possible, which would mean the original TPP would have to be ratified,” Umemoto said.“We are discussing which parts are to be frozen for an early ratification of TPP 11 until then.”Although the remaining members have voiced continued commitment to the deal, adoption of the pact linking 11 countries with a combined GDP of $12.4 trillion has stalled at times, raising fears that other countries may follow the United States.At the previous meeting in Sydney late in August, Vietnam raised the prospect of changes to labor rights and intellectual property (IP) provisions in the original pact.Vietnam’s desire to shelve the IP provisions around pharmaceutical data is likely to win broad support, as Japanese and New Zealand officials have indicated they back the change.Negotiators also need to decide how to ratify the deal. The original pact required ratification by at least six countries accounting for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic product of members.That condition cannot be fulfilled after the U.S. withdrew and would need to be changed.A free trade deal Japan struck with the European Union in July, after four years of talks, offers hope for eventual resolution of the technical difficulties around TPP 11.Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Stanley White; Editing by Clarence Fernandez '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-tpp-japan/without-u-s-11-nations-in-tpp-inch-closer-to-a-deal-idUSKCN1BX1DY'|'2017-09-22T14:17:00.000+03:00'
'd3c2c1ef79012f657234e8ef2989b6a609d1d6cf'|'Miner Hochschild boosts hunt for acquisitions: executive'|'AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) - Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc ( HOCM.L ) is doubling down on efforts to find early-stage mining projects to acquire and is open to deposits that depart from its focus on silver and gold, the chief executive said on Wednesday.Speaking at the mining convention Perumin in southern Peru, Ignacio Bustamante said the company was mostly looking at opportunities in mineral-rich countries in the Americas with investor-friendly laws, and mentioned Peru, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Canada and the United States.“We’re looking at several different alternatives at the same time,” Bustamante told journalists after his presentation. “We’ve started to look for opportunities much more strongly than before and hopefully we can nail something down going forward.”Bustamente said Hochschild, listed on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in Lima, Peru, will continue to keep gold and silver as the focus of its business but would not rule out minerals as an “additional component in our portfolio.”Hochschild’s strength is building underground mines with narrow mineral veins and can help exploration companies develop their finds, Bustamante said.Hochschild operates three underground mines in southern Peru and one in southern Argentina. This year the company expects to produce 37 million silver equivalent ounces, up from about 35.5 million last year, Bustamante added.Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-hochschild-min-m-a/miner-hochschild-boosts-hunt-for-acquisitions-executive-idINKCN1BW04M'|'2017-09-20T23:06:00.000+03:00'
'5d63f4fced9f447c1d8b447e08ba69e4cdd6916c'|'Lufthansa CEO puts focus on 38 wet lease planes in Air Berlin battle'|'Reuters TV United States September 21, 2017 / 7:03 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Lufthansa CEO''s focus is on 38 leased planes in Air Berlin battle Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr attends the annual shareholders meeting in Hamburg, Germany May 5 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is interested in acquiring as many as 80 planes from rival Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) with its priority on securing planes it already leases, the group’s chief executive said. A creditor committee meets on Thursday afternoon to discuss offers for Air Berlin, which filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding. Lufthansa is competing with several other airlines for parts of Air Berlin, including easyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor, with bidders especially interested in its Niki short-haul business that flies from Germany and Austria to holiday hotspots in Europe. Lufthansa’s focus is on securing the 38 crewed planes it currently leases from the insolvent carrier, plus it would like up to an additional 20 to 40 planes, Carsten Spohr said at a media event late on Wednesday. Spohr said Lufthansa expected that was the most it could take without falling foul of anti-trust concerns and if it isn’t able to get all that it has bid for, it still plans to grow. “The next few days will show whether that growth comes organically via Eurowings or through an Air Berlin transaction,” he said, adding that Lufthansa would need around 3,000 new employees to meet that expansion. FILE PHOTO: Planes of the Lufthansa airline stand on the tarmac in Frankfurt airport, Germany, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo The 38 crewed planes Lufthansa leases from Air Berlin currently carry passengers mainly for the group’s budget unit Eurowings, and Lufthansa’s priority is on keeping that operation stable. Eurowings was hit last week, when Air Berlin pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, forcing the cancellation of flights. FILE PHOTO - An Air Berlin sign is seen at an Air Berlin storage hall in Berlin, Germany, August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo Ryanair ( RYA.I ) boss Michael O‘Leary has said Lufthansa would have a dominant position on domestic routes following an Air Berlin takeover. But Spohr said that Lufthansa had a 34 percent share of passengers to and from Germany, including transfer passengers, and that was what the authorities would be looking at. Lufthansa is however not interested in Air Berlin’s long-haul routes, with Spohr saying the flagship carrier could grow in that area on its own. After announcing plans to start Eurowings long-haul routes from Duesseldorf this winter, following Air Berlin’s retreat there, the budget unit also intends to offer long-haul flights from Berlin Tegel airport next year, albeit starting with just one route. Spohr also said business so far in 2017 was proving significantly better than the last two years, both of which were record years in terms of financial results. He added that Lufthansa was sticking with a goal of reducing its unit costs this year and said it hoped to sign a wide-ranging deal on pay and conditions with its pilots this month. Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-ceo/lufthansa-ceo-puts-focus-on-38-wet-lease-planes-in-air-berlin-battle-idUKKCN1BW0SA'|'2017-09-21T10:02:00.000+03:00'
'c98f15fcf076ee0885be8a4aff0a4489934110bb'|'Oil-patch IOU: Argentina''s late subsidy payments hurt gas producers'|'September 21, 2017 / 5:26 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Oil-patch IOU: Argentina''s late subsidy payments hurt gas producers Luc Cohen 7 Min Read Members of the Fvta Xayen Mapuche community attend a demonstration against oil companies that they claim use their territory to access oil wells near Anelo, Neuquen province, Argentina May 19, 2017. Picture taken on May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Jose Thomes BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina is behind on at least $700 million (519 million pounds) in promised subsidy payments to natural gas producers, hurting oil companies at a time when the government is trying to woo more investment in the nation’s energy sector. The incentives have cost cash-strapped Argentina more than $7 billion since they were implemented in 2013 by former leftist President Cristina Fernandez. The programme, unique in Latin America, is aimed at attracting investment to help boost the country’s declining output and reduce its reliance on imported liquefied natural gas. Payment delays have plagued the programme from its inception, but they have lengthened under President Mauricio Macri, Fernandez’s business-friendly successor. He took office in December 2015 vowing to jumpstart Argentina’s struggling economy and cut a primary fiscal deficit equivalent to more than 5 percent of gross domestic product. “The state does not have the money,” said Daniel Gerold of G&G Energy Consultants in Buenos Aires. “The companies are being patient, but they are clearly concerned because they know perfectly well that there is a significant fiscal problem.” Hardest hit is state-owned YPF SA ( YPFD.BA ), which produces a third of Argentina’s natural gas. It was owed $551 million in unpaid subsidies at the end of the second quarter. The government is supposed to pay the gas subsidies quarterly. But payments to YPF are now 10 months in arrears, YPF Chief Financial Officer Daniel Gonzalez said in an earnings call last month. That is up from a delay of four to five months that Gonzalez reported to investors in August 2015. The lag forced YPF to raise debt in July, Gonzalez said. And it could upend the goal of the heavily-indebted company to become cash-flow neutral this year, according to an analyst covering the company. Argentina’s Pampa Energia ( PAM.BA ) is feeling the squeeze as well. In the second quarter of 2017, the firm recorded 2.4 billion pesos, or $140 million, in uncollected payments, financial statements show. That is up from 1.6 billion pesos (74.2 million pounds) at the end of last year. Pampa did not respond to a request for comment. Two multinational oil majors are also experiencing delays of between four and eight months in receiving their subsidies, two industry sources told Reuters on the condition that the companies not be named. (For a graphic on Argentine gas subsidies, see tmsnrt.rs/2xLGZuC ) A TOUGH SELL The tardy payments underscore the difficult balancing act Macri faces as he tries to shore up Argentina’s shaky finances and polish the nation’s image after a decade of populist, interventionist rule that spooked foreign investors. While he has cut back energy subsidies to families, he has retained the so-called Plan Gas incentive programme for producers. Macri’s administration views the payouts as crucial to attracting oil majors to Argentina, whose high labour costs and difficult logistics are a tough sell in an era of low energy prices. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view is seen of a YPF shale oil drilling rig in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina July 11, 2013 handout photo. REUTERS/Prensa YPF/Handout via Reuters/File photo Natural gas producers would be hard-pressed to find a better deal in terms of price. Argentina’s guaranteed floor of $7.50 per million British thermal units (mBtu) for new production above a set base level is more than double the current price NGc1 of $3.13 per mBtu for October natural gas futures. But the late payments are causing unease among producers already wary of political uncertainty. In a recent letter to Argentina’s Energy Ministry, the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production Chamber, an industry trade group whose members include Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) and BP Plc’s ( BP.L ) Pan American Energy, said the delays “cause great harm” to members and are putting exploration and production activity “at risk”, according to a copy of the document viewed by Reuters. Argentina’s Energy Ministry declined to comment about the letter or the subsidy delays. A spokesman for Macri’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The subsidies were set to expire at the end of 2017. But Macri in January extended them, with some changes, through 2021. The government called the payments “indispensable” to attracting investment in Vaca Muerta, a Belgium-sized shale formation that is critical to Argentina’s aim of closing its energy deficit and becoming a net oil and gas exporter. [nL1N1F00W0] Gustavo Garcia, an economist who has published a paper on the fiscal impact of the programme, said the late payments complicate the government’s goal to boost production. Slideshow (2 Images) “This programme was created so that companies would invest, to give them liquidity,” Garcia said. “Obviously if it is delayed, it is not meeting that objective.” BUDGET BUSTING The lengthening delays come as the government seeks to cut spending and lower Argentina’s fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2018, down from an expected 4 percent this year and 4.6 percent last year. Next year, companies will continue to receive a minimum price of $7.50 per mBtu for increased unconventional production in the western Patagonian province of Neuquen, where Vaca Muerta is located. That price will gradually fall to $6 per mBtu by 2021. The subsidies have led to a modest increase in gas production. The country’s total output rose gradually from as little as 112 billion cubic meters per day in 2014 to 122 billion this year. But it has come at a steep price for taxpayers. The government’s 2016 budget initially included 11.5 billion pesos for the programme ($891 million at the December 2015 exchange rate), but it ended up paying out 43 billion pesos ($2.8 billion). Macri’s government says it inherited 16 billion pesos in unpaid subsidies from the Fernandez administration. Rather than paying those debts in cash, last year it gave oil companies $1.1 billion in bonds at 8 percent annual interest. Economist Garcia said the 2016 subsidy bill was more than the government spent on a popular cash transfer programme for children. “For Argentina, it is a lot,” he said. “They are paying more to oil companies than to the most humble families.” For a graphic, click here Reporting by Luc Cohen; Additional reporting by Juliana Castilla in Buenos Aires; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Marla Dickerson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-argentina-shale-subsidies-analysis/oil-patch-iou-argentinas-late-subsidy-payments-hurt-gas-producers-idUKKCN1BW0IG'|'2017-09-21T08:25:00.000+03:00'
'd13b45f43aeb022fd730abd97a8373b2bda57d68'|'How $5 billion of debt caught up with Toys ''R'' Us'|'(Adds dropped word “the” in third paragraph)By Jessica DiNapoli and Tracy RucinskiSept 20 (Reuters) - Toys “R” Us Inc has been making $400 million in interest payments on its debt every year, largely due to its $6.6 billion leveraged buyout in 2005. This week, it succumbed to its debt burden, leading to the biggest bankruptcy of a U.S. retailer since that of Kmart in 2004.The largest U.S. toy retailer’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday took investors by surprise, given that the company faced no imminent debt maturities and had managed to overcome financial stress in the past by securing concessions from its creditors.But the company’s ability to kick the can down the road had been exhausted. The bankruptcy filing was the culmination of an unsuccessful seven-month effort by Toys “R” Us to find relief from its $5.2 billion debt pile, according to bankruptcy court filings and people familiar with the deliberations.The advisers that Toys “R” Us hired to fix its capital structure explored at least two deals with some of its creditors to raise money that would have helped the company stave off bankruptcy before the key holiday shopping season, avoiding a supply chain disruption stemming from vendor fears about repayment, a bankruptcy filing shows.The Wayne, New Jersey-based company’s creditors’ unwillingness to show any more leniency underscores the lack of confidence by investors in the troubled brick-and-mortar retail sector, which has been pummeled by the rise of e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com Inc.Toys “R” Us was looking to raise at least $200 million to make it to January, at which point it could work on fixing its entire capital structure, according to court filings. Over the years, Toys “R” Us had been able to win other short-term fixes from creditors, even as its financial performance deteriorated.Once the company realized that it could not secure financing to get through the holiday season, the objective became “let’s get it done as quick as possible so it does not interrupt the holidays,” Toys “R” Us Chief Executive Officer David Brandon told Reuters in an interview. Filing for bankruptcy allowed the company to secure financing to continue to operate its stores.Given that “we successfully obtained our debtor-in-possession financing today, we can assure our lenders that we are in a good position to accept shipments on a normal basis and they have great assurance they will be paid,” Brandon said.FAILED DEALS Like other retailers that own their stores, Toys “R” Us tried last month to tap its vast real estate portfolio to raise money in a sale-leaseback transaction, according to court filings. Sale-leaseback deals allow retailers to raise cash by selling real estate they own and then renting it back from the new owner.For example, Bon-Ton Stores Inc, another retailer in financial distress, completed a similar deal last week, generating $18.9 million to pay down its debt.In an attempt to clinch the sale-leaseback deal, Toys “R” Us negotiated with a key group of creditors holding a portion of the company’s $1 billion term loan, but accounting issues and a tight time frame prevented them from reaching an agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.Toys “R” Us also went to the bondholders of its international affiliates last month for financing it planned to use to fund its U.S. operations, but the terms offered were too expensive, the people said.At that point, Toys “R” Us decided to change tack and initiate preparations for a Chapter 11 filing in September, ahead of its quarterly earnings release on Sept. 26. News reports about the possible bankruptcy on Sept. 6 accelerated bankruptcy preparations, because suppliers to Toys “R” Us curbed their shipments, afraid they might not be repaid, according to the filings.In a sign of the company’s haste, it filed for bankruptcy without a plan of reorganization or a deal with creditors, as is preferred in these circumstances. Toys “R” Us said it plans to keep its stores open through the bankruptcy process, though it remains unclear whether it can emerge from bankruptcy with most of its approximately 1,600 stores still open.On Tuesday, Toys “R” Us Inc received bankruptcy court permission to borrow more than $2 billion to start paying suppliers, so it can stock up on items like Lego building blocks and Barbie dolls for the holiday season.Private equity firms KKR & Co LP and Bain Capital LP, together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust, took Toys “R” Us private in 2005. On Monday, they all supported the company filing for bankruptcy, according to the sources. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toys-r-us-bankruptcy-timeline/how-5-billion-of-debt-caught-up-with-toys-r-us-idINL2N1M0227'|'2017-09-20T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'0c694c7b3a2b92bf0dc5d4556f0a45c89e320be6'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 21)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy UK software firm Civica ($1.29 billion) (approved Sept. 20)NEW LISTINGS -- Private equity firm Warburg Pincus and carmaker Tata Motors to jointly acquire Tata Technologies (notified Sept. 20/deadline Oct. 25/simplified)-- Dutch warehouse owner Borealis European Holdings B.V., Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and SSE to acquire joint control of UK energy meter company Maple (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES NoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 26 -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26)SEPT 29 -- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety for $2 billion (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)OCT 2 -- Private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire UK property developer Miller Homes (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)-- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 3 -- German recycling company Remondis to acquireGermany’s TSR Recyling (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3/simplified)OCT 4 -- Italian baby care products provider Artsana to acquire sole control of baby products retailer Italian peer Prenatal Retail Group, which it now jointly controls with Giochi Preziosi (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Japanese car parts maker Denso to acquire Japanese peer Fujitsu Ten (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)OCT 5 -- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)OCT 6 -- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)OCT 11 -- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)OCT 12 -- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)OCT 13 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept 13/deadline Oct 18/simplified)-- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)OCT 16 -- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)-- Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified)OCT 17 -- U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17)-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)OCT 18 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)-- German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd’s general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)OCT 20 -- U.S. life sciences company Avantor to acquire U.S. lab supplies company VWR (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)-- U.S. fashion group Michael Kors to acquire British shoemaker Jimmy Choo (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)-- U.S. company AES Corp and German conglomerate Siemens to acquire joint control of a joint venture (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)OCT 23 -- French carmaker Renault to acquire a 25 percent stake in electric car charging services Jedlix (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)OCT 26 -- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)JAN 22 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 22 from Jan. 8 after the companies asked for more time)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)-- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline suspended on Aug. 22)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL5N1M242J'|'2017-09-21T12:25:00.000+03:00'
'ba0939ea5f33e02954f9b169554bc7b3fcfe654d'|'Stormy weather exposes shortcomings of world''s oil refineries'|'Clouds from Hurricane Harvey are seen in the background as smoke rises from a burn off at an oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Hurricane Harvey’s crippling impact on U.S. oil refinery operations this month and the challenge buyers faced in filling the gap in gasoline supplies has exposed a shortage of spare refining capacity around the globe.Nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity was knocked out by the storm this month, driving U.S. gasoline prices to two-year highs above $2 a gallon. Many plants are still struggling to resume normal operations, prompting other refineries around the world to crank up output to fill the gap.Global refining is considered to be running at its maximum when capacity utilisation is 85.5 percent, the highest level reached in the modern era, BP’s head of refining economics Richard de Caux said.Today the utilisation level is 83 percent, he told the Platts Refining Summit in Brussels, suggesting a very slim buffer.“The spare capacity is not really there,” said Dario Scaffardi, general manager of Italian refiner Saras. “In as much as consumption worldwide is growing, refinery capacity is not long at all.”Spare capacity is needed to meet demand when refineries undergo maintenance or face unexpected outages. Too much in reserve is costly for refiners. But Hurricane Harvey has shown the world may not have enough.Consultant JBC Energy said refiners could process 83 million bpd of crude by the end of 2017. In 2016, BP data showed processing at roughly 80.6 million bpd.Energy consultancy FGE estimates spare global refining capacity, based on official or nameplate numbers, stands at 14 million bpd, down from 18 million bpd earlier this decade.But nameplate figures can be misleading, as they are based on capacity of a refinery when built or refurbished. Many cannot match those levels due to years of underinvestment. So actual spare capacity may only be a fraction of that 14 million bpd.For example, Venezuela’s four refineries have run at record lows this year as they lack spare parts. Plants in Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria have also suffered poor investment for years.At the same time, demand for oil and its products is climbing, led by China and India, and more developed economies.“SILVER AGE”“What we have is good demand growth and, ... whilst there are long lists of refinery projects, not many of them are coming through,” said Steve Sawyer, FGE’s head of refining.Throw Hurricane Harvey into the mix and the shortage in spare capacity becomes increasingly apparent.“Are we going to assume Venezuelan refinery utilisation rates will suddenly jump?” Energy Aspects said. “Or are we going to rely on Nigeria’s dilapidated refineries to fill the gap? None of this capacity is available to the current market.”“The only country with truly spare refining capacity is China, where environmental restrictions have capped runs,” the consultancy said in a note.As a result, Morgan Stanley predicts a “silver age” of profits to the end of the decade for refiners as margins rise.“Refining cycles are historically short and volatile, but there is more visibility than usual, and we expect this strength to continue,” the bank said in a note.It forecast oil refining capacity would increase by 700,000 to 800,000 bpd in 2018, but would be outpaced by demand for oil products rising by 1.4 million bpd.“Refinery crude intake probably needs to increase by (roughly) 1.1 million bpd. Hence, global refining utilisation is set to stay high in 2018, which will underpin margins again next year,” the bank said.It forecast BP’s Refining Marker Margin, a benchmark proxy for profits, would rise from $12.8 a barrel in 2017 to $16 a barrel in 2020.A move to make shippers to use fuel with less sulphur from 2020 will offer further opportunities for refiners to boost margins by supplying more low-sulphur distillates.“With product demand and refining margins this strong, the world needs more refining capacity not less,” said Nevyn Nah, oil products analyst at Energy Aspects in Singapore.Additional reporting by Roslan Khasawneh in Singapore and Jarrett Renshaw in New York; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/oil-refining-capacity/stormy-weather-exposes-shortcomings-of-worlds-oil-refineries-idINKCN1BW1SE'|'2017-09-21T16:07:00.000+03:00'
'14d14bc1b5a6d6dd7f4adc691deb1c51a5831da5'|'Innogy CEO says no concrete plans to sell British Npower unit'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Innogy ( IGY.DE ), Germany’s largest energy group by market value, is reviewing its troubled British retail unit Npower but currently has no plans to sell the business, Chief Executive Peter Terium told journalists on Thursday.Innogy in August said Npower, which has been hit by billing issues and stiff retail competition, added 50,000 customers in the second quarter. Yet he still warned the unit would remain in the red this year after slipping to a first-half operating loss. [nL5N1KX0M0]Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Douglas Busvine '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-innogy-investment-britain/innogy-ceo-says-no-concrete-plans-to-sell-british-npower-unit-idINKCN1BW2AK'|'2017-09-21T14:02:00.000+03:00'
'2c91e5ed3dc9cdc184f47db5893912b39e6386db'|'Australia''s Seven Group to buy remaining stake in Coates Hire from Carlyle'|'(Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group is quitting its decade-long mining services play in Australia through the A$517 million ($414 million) sale of its controlling stake in the highly-leveraged earth-moving equipment provider Coates Hire.Australian media billionaire Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group Holdings ( SVW.AX ) said it would buy the 53.3 percent stake it did not already own in Coates from the U.S. investment firm, sending Seven shares up as much as 10 percent in a slightly lower overall market.Seven, of which Stokes owns three quarters, said it would also assume Coates’s net debts, which total about A$1 billion. It added that it would use the acquisition of Australia’s largest equipment company to boost its industrial services division.If needed, Seven may seek to refinance the debt, as the deal depends on getting approval from its lenders, the company said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.“We have had a long history with the Coates Hire business and believe with the visible market opportunity associated with East Coast infrastructure activity, along with the current performance of the business and management team, the company is extremely well positioned,” said Seven Group CEO Ryan Stokes, Kerry’s son.Diversified investment company Seven Group - which also owns a third of television and magazine company Seven West Media Ltd ( SWM.AX ) - said the deal would increase its fiscal 2017 underlying earnings per share by 15 percent and increase underlying pre-tax profit to A$415 million from A$297 million.It would fund the purchase with existing debt and cash, including proceeds from its sale of WesTrac China.For Carlyle, the deal marks an exit from the Australian mining services sector amid modestly improved conditions, although its plans to float the business remain unfulfilled.Carlyle, Seven Group and minority shareholders bought Coates in 2008, marking Carlyle’s first leveraged acquisition in Australia. Plans to list the company never materialised and instead Coates’s owners used debt markets to refinance the company’s debts.Coates is highly exposed to the resources sector but an increased focus on infrastructure projects has helped offset the decline in revenues in the aftermath of the end of Australia’s mining boom.($1 = 1.2488 Australian dollars)Reporting by Hanna Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-coates-hire-ltd-m-a-seven-group/australias-seven-group-to-buy-remaining-stake-in-coates-hire-from-carlyle-idINKCN1BU2XP'|'2017-09-19T20:30:00.000+03:00'
'0332e071869f60a5850624fa7f1d34af44b2a897'|'PRESS DIGEST -Wall Street Journal - Sept 20'|'September 20, 2017 / 4:35 AM / Updated 4 hours ago PRESS DIGEST -Wall Street Journal - Sept 20 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Sept 20 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Central Mexico was rocked by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that collapsed scores of buildings in Mexico City, killing at least 149 people in a toll that was rising by the hour on Tuesday night. on.wsj.com/2fiIicV - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc received regulatory approval to acquire nearly 2,000 stores from Rite Aid Corp , but only after the number of stores to be purchased in the deal was again trimmed to allay antitrust concerns. on.wsj.com/2fhvBiC - Post Holdings Inc said it plans to buy breakfast-sausage maker Bob Evans Farms Inc for a deal valued at $1.5 billion. on.wsj.com/2fiTSo8 - Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday it will temporarily idle production lines at five North American plants, including three in the U.S. on.wsj.com/2fi80ON - Creditors of Australia''s Ten Network Holdings Ltd accepted an increased offer for the broadcaster from CBS Corp , rejecting a rival proposal from media moguls Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch. on.wsj.com/2fiJmNU - Hurricane Maria, with sustained winds near 160 miles per hour, thrashed the eastern Caribbean on Tuesday, killing at least one person on Guadeloupe and devastating the tiny island nation of Dominica, now heads for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. on.wsj.com/2fhwaZM - U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to annihilate North Korea if the United States has to defend itself or its allies against the Pyongyang regime, delivering the dire warning on Tuesday during his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. on.wsj.com/2fjXo1D - Myanmar''s leader Aung San Suu Kyi said her government would investigate all allegations of human rights abuses in her country, and said Myanmar would allow Rohingya who could prove they had lived in the country to return. on.wsj.com/2xvnMMW Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-20-idUSL4N1M11YI'|'2017-09-20T07:34:00.000+03:00'
'270551abaf1d8cfdee1ae665027d409f97d6c58e'|'Jacobs Technology wins $480 mln U.S. defense contract -Pentagon'|'September 19, 2017 / 9:16 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Jacobs Technology wins $480 mln U.S. defense contract -Pentagon Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Jacobs Technology Inc, a unit of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc, was awarded a U.S. defense contract worth up to $480 million for test, evaluation and certification support services, the Pentagon said in a statement on Tuesday. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by David Alexander) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/jacobs-engr-grp-pentagon/jacobs-technology-wins-480-mln-u-s-defense-contract-pentagon-idUSW1N1LS01B'|'2017-09-20T00:12:00.000+03:00'
'ff1fd2ba93d3a99ceb702261c44c238cb9e821cb'|'At Deutsche Boerse, time and support dwindle for CEO Kengeter'|' 59 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago At Deutsche Boerse, time and support dwindle for CEO Kengeter Tom Sims , Andreas Framke 4 Min Read Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse attends the initial public offering of Scale at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Support for Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) CEO Carsten Kengeter on the exchange group’s supervisory board is weakening as investigations into insider trading allegations drag on, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Last week, Kengeter won a reprieve when the board of the German company agreed to pay a hefty fine for its role in a disputed share purchase by Kengeter to try to end investigations by the Frankfurt prosecutor. But one member of the 12-strong board voted against the 10.5 million euro (£9.31 million) settlement, the source said. Others only backed it “with clenched fists in their pockets” and with serious reservations about Kengeter, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity because board discussions are private. On Thursday, the board meets again, this time to deliberate ways to cap Kengeter’s pay, according to two people familiar with the matter - in another sign of the pressure on the CEO. A spokesman for Deutsche Boerse declined to comment on last week’s vote or on Thursday’s agenda. He added pressure on Kengeter to step down was “pure speculation”. Kengeter has been under investigation since February, when prosecutors raided his office and apartment looking into his purchase in December 2015 of 4.5 million euros of Deutsche Boerse shares as part of an executive compensation programme. The purchase was made two months before Deutsche Boerse said it was in merger talks with the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), prompting a sharp rise in the value of the German firm’s shares. The talks later collapsed, but prosecutors wanted to know whether Kengeter was aware of the potential deal when he made his share purchase, which might constitute insider trading. Kengeter has always denied wrongdoing. “Insider trading goes against everything I stand for,” he told shareholders in May. But criticism of the 50 year old, which was already on the rise following the failure of the LSE deal, has picked up as the investigations have dragged on, according to interviews with regulators, investors and Deutsche Boerse employees. MORE INVESTIGATIONS The German share prize index (DAX) board and the trading room of Frankfurt''s stock exchange (Boerse Frankfurt) are photographed with a circular fisheye lens during afternoon trading session in Frankfurt, Germany, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach “We can’t recall that there has ever been such severe damage to reputation in the long history of our company,” the group’s works council said in an internal newsletter seen by Reuters. Some shareholders, already irate at the millions of euros in advisory fees for the failed merger, were furious last week when the cost of the settlement deal was announced. “The damage to Deutsche Boerse’s reputation is already immense. Shareholders should not be asked to shoulder more costs now. This approach is not acceptable,” said Union Investment fund manager Ingo Speich. Such criticism is now starting to erode support for Kengeter at the top of the company, the person with knowledge of the matter said, adding Chairman Joachim Faber was also under fire. “Only a comprehensive fresh start on the personnel front can begin to repair the damage,” said the person. The Deutsche Boerse spokesman said pressure on Faber was “pure speculation”. Kengeter’s contract expires at the end of March, and the board has balked at extending it until his name is in the clear. That could take months. A spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor, which has to approve the settlement with Deutsche Boerse, said on Wednesday the case was in the hands of a judge and wouldn’t comment further. Once the judge has ruled on the settlement, German markets watchdog BaFin and the regulator in the state of Hesse that oversees Deutsche Boerse will start their own probes, spokespeople for both regulators have said. “The members of the management board of Deutsche Boerse need to be professionally competent and personally reliable, as stated by law,” said a spokesman for the Hesse economics ministry. Reporting by Tom Sims and Andreas Framke; Additional reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker and John O''Donnell; Editing by John O''Donnell and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-insidertrading/at-deutsche-boerse-time-and-support-dwindle-for-ceo-kengeter-idUKKCN1BV1I7'|'2017-09-20T14:58:00.000+03:00'
'87fdef918ecfa76dcaea2164a2df49d069c57173'|'Ex-Akebia employee suspected of insider trading re-arrested'|'FILE PHOTO - Former Akebia Therapeutics Inc employee Schultz Chan enters the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. on July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Nate Raymond/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) - A former Akebia Therapeutics Inc ( AKBA.O ) employee accused of insider trading was re-arrested on Friday after violating a bail condition as a prosecutor who once called him “increasingly unhinged” said he would seek the man’s detention pending trial.Schultz Chan, the former director of biostatistics at the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company, had been free on $250,000 bond since his arrest last year on charges brought by federal prosecutors in Boston.But a federal magistrate judge signed a new arrest warrant for Chan at a probation officer’s request. While the reason was unclear, Chan’s lawyer, Peter Horstmann, cited a condition that Chan report to his probation officer on Tuesday and Fridays.“They can’t abuse my civil rights like this,” Chan told his lawyer before the court hearing began.U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell, who signed the arrest warrant, had imposed that bail condition after prior issues with Chan reporting to his probation officer and warnings to the defendant against not complying with his conditions of release.Cabell had been imposing increasingly tougher bail conditions beginning in July, when prosecutors said that Chan’s wife had booked airline tickets for herself, Chan and their daughter to fly to China.Chan, 54, is now expected to appear before Cabell again on Monday, at which point Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank said prosecutors would seek his detention pretrial.At a hearing in July, Frank had said Chan “seems to be somewhat increasingly unhinged” and had been making threatening comments to the prosecution. Days later, Chan emailed another prosecutor to complain about “lies and frauds” in his case.According to prosecutors, from 2013 to 2015, Chan engaged in an insider trading scheme with a friend at rival drug company Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc, Songjiang Wang.Prosecutors said Wang tipped Chan ahead of announcements by Merrimack about clinical drug trial results, and Chan likewise supplied Wang information ahead of news of positive clinical study results for an Akebia drug.An indictment said Chan also used inside information to trade himself in Akebia stock in 2015.Both men have pleaded not guilty.The case is U.S. v. Chan, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, No. 16-cr-10268.Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insidertrading-akebia/ex-akebia-employee-suspected-of-insider-trading-re-arrested-idUSKCN1BX2X7'|'2017-09-23T00:33:00.000+03:00'
'18c202e9245dc5eac01fe23ef434450420476cdd'|'Oil prices steady ahead of OPEC meeting on supply cut extension'|'Reuters TV United States September 22, 2017 / 12:54 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Oil prices narrowly higher as producers meet on output pact Fanny Potkin 3 Min Read The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger London (Reuters) - Oil prices were narrowly higher on Friday as the market waited to see whether major oil producers would back an extension to output cuts beyond March at a meeting in Vienna. Brent crude futures were at $56.51 a barrel at 0725 GMT, up 6 cents, or 0.11 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 10 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $50.65 per barrel. Some ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and from other producers are set to meet in Vienna at 0900 GMT on Friday to discuss a possible extension of an oil supply cut deal that is aimed at supporting oil prices. An OPEC source told Reuters the meeting had been postponed from 0800 GMT. The ministers from OPEC nations and others led by Russia will discuss a possible extension to an agreement under which producers are cutting output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). They are also expected to discuss the idea of monitoring exports to assess compliance. Goldman Sachs said that talks over extending cuts are “noteworthy but premature”, adding “we believe it is unlikely that the committee will recommend extension of cuts this week.” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, predicted there will be “strong rhetoric but whether or not they will be able to boost oil prices from current high levels is another question”. There will be some focus on whether Nigeria and Libya, who have been exempt from the output cuts, will join any future efforts. The two OPEC members have both been invited to Friday’s meeting. “The market is still split as to whether the meeting will bring fresh supply cuts to the table,” ANZ bank said in a note. “With U.S. stockpiles remaining elevated, a firm signal about lower supply is likely needed for price momentum to remain positive.” Despite the output restraint of OPEC and some non-OPEC producers, and their agreement to extend their cuts to March 2018, increasing U.S. oil production has curbed crude price gains. Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico have also pushed up crude inventories as some U.S. refineries have been shut by flooding. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday reported that U.S. crude production rose to 9.51 million bpd in the week ended Sept.15 from 8.78 million bpd a week earlier. [C-OUT-T-EIA] Reporting by Fanny Potkin in London and Jane Chung in Seoul; eEditing by Christian Schmollinger and Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-prices-steady-ahead-of-opec-meeting-on-supply-cut-extension-idUKKCN1BX02D'|'2017-09-22T03:50:00.000+03:00'
'334e1bb8ac60f1b0447757f8d49603797570e567'|'Marital choices are exacerbating household income inequality'|'“HERE’S what nobody is telling you: Find a husband on campus before you graduate,” wrote Susan Patton, a human-resources consultant, in 2013. In an infamous letter to the editor of Princeton’s student newspaper, Ms Patton warned female students at the university that they will “never again be surrounded by this concentration of men who are worthy of [them]”. Critics responded harshly. Ms Patton recalls that she was branded “a traitor to feminism, a traitor to co-education and an elitist”.Economists might offer yet another critique of Ms Patton’s letter: it was largely unnecessary. It is clear to academics that people tend to marry spouses with similar levels of education. They also know that “assortative mating”, as the practice is called in the jargon, is exacerbating income inequality. In America, Britain, Denmark, Germany and Norway, they have found that household income would be more evenly spread if couples were less keen to marry similar sorts. 18 Less clear, however, is whether or not assortative mating is on the rise. Answering this question is hard, because the ratio of educated men to educated women has shifted over time. That university-educated men are now more likely to marry university-educated women may not show a change in spousal preferences. It may simply reflect the increased number of women with degrees.The latest iteration of the debate comes in a recent paper by Pierre-André Chiappori and Bernard Salanié, of Columbia University, and Yoram Weiss, of Tel Aviv University, which argues that assortative mating is indeed growing. They note that in the mid-20th century households were primarily concerned with divvying up chores. Since then, inventions like the washing machine and frozen food have meant that people can spend less time on housework. At the same time, computers have increased the demand for skilled labour. The authors argue that parents worried about their children’s future now have to focus on raising the brightest youngsters possible, and one of the surest ways to have bright children is to marry a bright spouse. By building an economic model which takes into account these shifting preferences and testing it against census data, the authors conclude that Americans born in 1972 do indeed have a stronger preference for better-educated partners than those born in 1943.One implication of assortative mating is that most estimates of the returns on investment in a university education err on the low side, as they fail to take spouses’ earnings into account. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that the annualised return on investment for a four-year bachelor’s degree in America rose sharply between 1980 and 2000 but has since stabilised at around 15%. Our calculations show that, if a spouse’s income is added to a person’s own, the returns to higher education have increased steadily since 2000, now reaching 18%. Similar patterns hold for both men and women. Gender inequality in lecture halls has faded; household income inequality has widened.This article appeared in the Finance and economics section of the print edition under the headline "Matching theory"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21729465-opposites-dont-attract-marital-choices-are-exacerbating-household-income-inequality?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'3843190a9ac63b5b20ea5b866596a460d79074b3'|'Russia''s B&N Bank balance sheet hole could reach $6 billion'|'September 22, 2017 / 12:21 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Russia''s B&N Bank balance sheet hole could reach $6 billion Elena Fabrichnaya , Polina Devitt 5 Min Read People are seen outside the headquarters of B&N Bank in Moscow, Russia September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s B&N Bank could have a $6 billion (4.4 billion pounds) hole in its balance sheet, the country’s central bank said on Thursday after coming to the aid of the private lender, its second private bank rescue in less than a month. Although this would make the B&N Bank bailout slightly smaller than that of Russia’s biggest private lender, Otkritie Bank ( OFCB.MM ), the rescue has raised questions among investors about central bank supervision and the stability of a banking sector buffeted by an economic downturn and Western sanctions. Otkritie’s shortfall is estimated at $6.9 billion, but market insiders believe that a systemic crisis is unlikely, because the state banks that hold most of Russia’s banking assets are viewed as solid, with the problems confined to a handful of private banks. Central bank deputy governor Vasily Pozdyshev told reporters that, based on a preliminary estimate, B&N Bank and its affiliated lenders would need 250 billion to 350 billion roubles ($6.03 million) in new provisions to cover bad loans. Some of this money was coming from the bank’s shareholders, a holding controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriyev and his family, thereby capping the central bank contribution. The bank’s owners have already set aside additional provisions as requested earlier by the central bank, which cut the bank’s capital by one third and triggered the bailout, but those provisions were not enough, Pozdyshev said. Depending on what the central bank administrators find out about the bank’s assets and liabilities, the regulator could decide to take 100 percent ownership, Pozdyshev said. The central bank has suspended the management role of Mikail Shishkhanov, Gutseriev’s nephew, who was this week appointed chairman of B&N Bank’s board, Pozdyshev said, but did not say who would take over. Shishkhanov said on Thursday that the bank did not have any holes in its capital but only loans which require additional provisions, TASS news agency reported. “We don’t have ‘holes’ in the capital but rather a sense of loans not covered by proper provisions because of the market situation - a lot of borrowers are in bad condition, we estimate from 100 billion roubles to 150 billion (are loans without proper provisions),” he said. Asked if other private banks were at risk, Pozdyshev said they had been reducing their exposure to problem banks over the past few weeks, in some cases at the central bank’s behest. “As a result of this work, to my understanding a domino effect now is absolutely out of the question. Here, there is no risk at all,” Pozdyshev said. PROBLEM ASSETS B&N Bank, Russia’s 12th biggest lender by assets, said on Wednesday it had requested a rescue. Problem loans on the books of banks it had bought during an acquisition spree were too great for it to handle, it said. In July and August, 17 percent of the deposits held in B&N Bank by corporate clients were withdrawn, according to the bank’s own data. Three percent of B&N Bank’s retail deposits were withdrawn over the same period. The withdrawals coincided with media speculation about banking sector stability after the central bank closed down a different lender, Yugra Bank. The central bank said on Thursday it would provide extra capital and become B&N Bank’s main investor, and the rescue would apply to affiliated lender Rost Bank and other banks in the group. There would be no freeze on creditors’ claims, and a so-called bail-in, where creditors loans are converted into shares in the bank, would not be used, it said. BANK STOCKS DOWN The bailout outlined for B&N Bank appeared to closely mirror the rescue under way for Otkritie, which is the biggest in Russia’s history. Banking sector insiders say the Otkritie plan has so far been effective in shoring up the bank. However, Russian financial sector stocks recovered on Thursday, with the composite financial sector stock index .MICEXFNL up 0.2 percent to 7,400 at 1718 GMT, better than the benchmark rouble-traded MICEX index. Russian banks were already under stress from an economic slowdown made worse by Western sanctions, seeing bad debts rise over the past three years. The financial health of some worsened after the central bank forced them to make more rigorous provisions for non-performing loans, while margins have tightened due to lower interest rates. B&N Bank embarked on an expansion drive after 2010, buying several smaller banks before a merger with MDM Bank, one of Russia’s largest lenders, in 2016. ($1 = 58.0741 roubles) Additional reporting by Katya Golubkova, Andrey Ostroukh and Kira Zavyalova; Writing by Christian Lowe; editing by Alexander Smith, Greg Mahlich and Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-banks-b-n-bank-rescue/russias-bn-bank-balance-sheet-hole-could-reach-6-billion-idUKKCN1BX00R'|'2017-09-22T03:11:00.000+03:00'
'8b2da39c0c279e882d35df4b0d7576aa364849bd'|'Europe needs to tackle youth unemployment - Draghi'|'  8:49 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Europe''s youth unemployment poses risk to democracy -Draghi Reuters Staff 3 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference following the ECB''s governing council''s interest rate decision in Frankfurt, Germany, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach DUBLIN (Reuters) - Europe needs to tackle high youth unemployment to safeguard democracy, public trust and growth, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in Dublin on Friday. With almost a fifth of young people out of work, Europe’s ability to innovate may suffer, its cohesion is put at risk and the trust in public institutions could be undermined, Draghi said before a town hall-style meeting with university students. The EU must foster competition and focus on protecting people rather than jobs if they become obsolete. It must also take a bigger role in education that prepares workers for the economic shifts that can displace entire industries, he said. “We have seen how in several countries the weight of the crisis has fallen disproportionately on the young people, leaving a legacy of failed hopes, anger and ultimately mistrust in the values of our society and in the identity of our democracy,” Draghi. “With a large proportion of young people not having any defined role in society, there is a high risk of social cohesion and of trust in public institutions being undermined, with harm for medium-term growth prospects,” he said in a speech that did not discuss current monetary policy. While youth unemployment has fallen steadily for years, it is more than twice as high as the euro zone’s overall rate, taking the biggest toll on countries on the bloc’s periphery. Indeed, over 40 percent of people under 24 in Greece and Spain are unemployed while the rate in Italy is well over 30 percent, Eurostat data shows. “Youth employment and productivity growth create a virtuous circle,” Draghi said. “When firms become more productive they are more likely to employ young people. And when young people have such opportunities, they can capitalise on their skills, adding to productivity growth, which among other benefits for society will lead to higher wages.” “Protracted periods of unemployment can result in ‘scarring’ effects, leading to a greater likelihood of future unemployment, human capital losses and lower earnings,” Draghi said. Reporting by Conor Humphries; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-draghi/europe-needs-to-tackle-youth-unemployment-draghi-idUKKCN1BX0VW'|'2017-09-22T11:50:00.000+03:00'
'953b15a30c8132bf287be7ff1ff5a2a90320b2e5'|'Ryanair CEO says may force pilots to change holiday plans'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:19 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Ryanair scrambles to please pilots, customers and investors Conor Humphries 5 Min Read DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary on Thursday scrambled to placate pilots and reassure investors as the airline’s annual general meeting was dominated by the cancellation of 2,000 flights in a “cock-up” that exposed major staffing issues. The often outspoken CEO told investors that no more flights would be canceled because of rostering issues and that the company’s profit margin would not be affected by the problems that sparked customer outrage and a wave of negative media coverage across Europe. O‘Leary told shareholders he took personal responsibility for the staffing issues and the way the company broke the news to customers, adding that Ryanair’s pilot pay levels may have been too modest in the past. However, he also used the meeting to outline a stick-and-carrot approach to dealing with pilots after some prepared a letter demanding new contracts. “Will there be squabbles with pilots? There may be. They have been happening for about 30 years,” he said. Captains at four under-pressure bases have been offered an extra 10,000 euros ($11,914) a year in addition to an offer of a 12,000 euro bonus for those who work an extra 10 days before the end of the year. “One of the issues we have to deal with is that we may have got pilot pay a little on the low side,” O‘Leary said. PILOTS WARNED But he also said he was considering forcing pilots to change their holiday plans and warned that any pilot who failed to show up for work as a form of industrial action would be frozen out of pay talks and denied promotion. The Irish airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, faced a wave of anger from customers after its announcement on Friday of plans to cancel between 40 and 50 flights a day until the end of October. O‘Leary said the decision was taken to cancel what amounted to 2 percent of the airline’s total flights to avoid a sharp increase in delays because of a lack of reserve pilots. The rate of Ryanair’s on-time flights has since increased from 65 percent to 91 percent, he said. “It was the right operational decision, but we handled it badly ... we upset and worried 80 million passengers,” O‘Leary added. Passengers on canceled flights have complained that notice was far to short and that it was difficult to claim compensation. Others said they would not book a Ryanair flight while services were threatened with cancellation. A copy of the Ryanair AGM report is seen at the Ryanair AGM in Dublin, Ireland September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne An unusually contrite O‘Leary had held an emergency press conference on Monday to apologize and to publish a list of all affected flights. The airline said the cancellations were because of a change in the way pilot’s annual leave is calculated meant that too many were granted four-week breaks. While the cancellations were required because it was too late to cancel those breaks in September and October, O‘Leary said he may force pilots due leave in November and December to take three week blocks instead of four. Some of the leave may be postponed until next year, he said. Some 1,750 of the airline’s 4,200 pilots had blocks of four-week leave due before the end of the year, he said. Slideshow (9 Images) OFFER REJECTION There are sufficient pilots to staff flights for the rest of the year but reserve crews are “tight”, O‘Leary said, meaning there may not be enough on standby to deal with unforeseen issues and avoid flight delays. O‘Leary denied reports that a significant number of pilots had rejected Ryanair’s bonus pay offer and said that pilots had collectively offered to work an extra 2,500 days since the crisis broke -- the equivalent of 10 days from each of 250 of Ryanair’s 4,200 pilots. A source told Reuters that a letter had been approved by pilots at 17 of 85 Ryanair bases demanding new permanent, contracts under local labor law, though this could not be independently verified by Reuters. “We haven’t been sent anything yet,” O‘Leary said when asked about the letter. “We will not be responding to anonymous circular emails.” The crisis comes shortly after a ruling by the European Court of Justice said that Ryanair’s employment contracts could, under certain circumstances, be challenged in courts outside of Ireland. Some analysts have suggested this could help staff to secure improved conditions. “There will be more oversight of these contracts by local courts,” O‘Leary said of the ruling, “But there will be no changes to those contracts.” Ryanair has said it expects up to 20 million euros in compensation claims and 5 million euros in lost fares as a result of the cancellations, though analysts estimated the total cost could be higher. Shares in Ryanair were down 0.6 percent at 16.42 euros at 1334 GMT, having briefly dropped below 16 euros while O‘Leary addressed the meeting. Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-agm/ryanair-ceo-says-may-force-pilots-to-change-holiday-plans-idUSKCN1BW163'|'2017-09-21T12:19:00.000+03:00'
'9ec6b2108eec3e6af05c7747bac61343b0035c89'|'Toys ''R'' Us plans holiday hires including toy demonstrators'|'(Reuters) - Toys “R” Us Inc, the U.S. toy retailer that filed for bankruptcy protection this week, said on Thursday it is hiring part-time seasonal workers to staff its stores for the holidays, including for a new position of toy demonstrator.The move is the clearest sign yet that Toys “R” Us is aiming to capitalize on the key holiday shopping season to emerge from bankruptcy and escape liquidation.The largest U.S. toy chain did not disclose the number of people it planned to hire nationwide, though its announced openings for seasonal jobs in some of the biggest U.S. states exceed 12,000 part-time jobs. The company currently employs approximately 64,000 people.Toys “R” Us said in a statement it would hire additional cashiers, sales associates, stock associates and staff for its warehouses. The toy demonstrator position involves unboxing and playing with toys, allowing kids to try them out.Toys “R” Us has the largest need to hire in the New York City area, followed by Los Angeles and then Groveport, Ohio, at a DHL warehouse it uses to fulfill online orders, the company said.The holidays are the most important selling season for Toys “R” Us, as well as many major retailers, leading to hundreds of thousands of people finding seasonal jobs.Toys “R” Us does not plan to close a “disproportionate” number of its more than 1,600 stores across the United States, and aims to add smaller shops in urban areas including Washington, D.C., Boston and Detroit, the company’s CEO David Brandon said on Wednesday.Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toysrus-hires-holiday/toys-r-us-plans-holiday-hires-including-toy-demonstrators-idUSKCN1BW1A6'|'2017-09-21T13:01:00.000+03:00'
'b5e75bf76829cbfd0d1e9bfc03a116434d1497d7'|'Activist builds 15.1 percent Clariant stake, fights Huntsman deal'|'The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - The activist investor fighting Clariant’s ( CLN.S ) planned $20 billion merger with Huntsman Corp ( HUN.N ) has built a 15.1 percent stake that makes it the biggest shareholder in the Swiss chemicals maker.In a letter to Clariant’s board of directors, White Tale Holdings, a vehicle created by investor Keith Meister’s Corvex hedge fund and New York’s 40 North, underscored its opposition to the Huntsman deal.“Unfortunately, we remain convinced, and increasingly so, that the proposed merger is detrimental to Clariant shareholders,” it said in the letter published on Tuesday.“It both significantly destroys existing Clariant shareholder value and prevents Clariant from pursuing multiple alternative and immediate opportunities to unlock value for its shareholders.”Clariant responded by reaffirming that its board is determined to go ahead with the deal.“The planned merger is the best value-creating option for all stakeholders,” Clariant said in a statement late on Tuesday.The company said the deal would create $3.5 billion of value, largely through cost and tax savings, adding that a further merger update would be released in the coming weeks.White Tale, which said it was open to joining Clariant’s board, said alternatives included a sale of its plastics and coatings unit, which accounts for 43 percent of Clariant’s 5.8 billion Swiss francs ($6 billion) of annual revenue.Clariant, however, said that a sale of that business at this stage would be “value destructive in view of its significant cash contribution and cost coverage”.Clariant is the latest company to have its plans challenged by an activist investor, with global companies including Nestle NESN.VX and BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) both facing criticism.Clariant shares fell 0.5 percent on Tuesday. Huntsman shares were down 1.5 percent at 1925 GMT.In July Clariant said that White Tale Holdings held “in excess of 10 percent” of its shares.‘MERGER OF EQUALS’Clariant and Huntsman in May announced a merger valued at about $20 billion including debt in which Clariant shareholders would hold 52 percent of the combination.They talked up prospects for faster growth for the combined company as rationale for “a merger of equals”. Among other things, they expect about $400 million in annual cost benefits.However, White Tale, which made public its opposition in July, said around 300 million Swiss francs of these savings could be achieved by Clariant alone.“The terms of the proposed merger significantly undervalue Clariant’s shares while they simultaneously overvalue Huntsman at the peak of its cyclical commodity business cycle,” White Tale said.Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Christian Faitz, rejected White Tale’s criticism.“White Tale’s suggestions are naïve, in our view,” he said. “Real life in the chemical industry is not planned on a consultant or banker flip chart.”In a newspaper interview published this month, Huntsman Chief Executive Peter Huntsman said shareholders in Clariant and his own company “almost without exception” supported the deal after learning the rationale.Two thirds of Clariant shareholders must back the merger at a special meeting for it to proceed. The date has yet to be set, with Clariant CEO Hariolf Kottmann saying he would only schedule it after regulators approve the deal.At the Swiss company’s last annual shareholder meeting in March, however, investors representing only 53 percent of the share capital voted.At that participation level White Tale would have just shy of 30 percent of the votes and would need only a limited number of allies to halt the deal.However, it is likely turnout at the next meeting will be higher. To that end, Kottmann has been meeting investors, including at the Dorchester Hotel in London this month, to convince them of the transaction’s merits.A person close to the matter said Clariant’s second-largest investor, a group of Bavarian families who hold about 14 percent of the shares, remained “fully supportive” of the merger.($1 = 0.9604 Swiss francs)Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt and Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich; Editing by Michael Shields, Mark Potter and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-huntsman-activist-stake/activist-builds-15-1-percent-clariant-stake-fights-huntsman-deal-idINKCN1BU0J2'|'2017-09-19T04:06:00.000+03:00'
'95fbe83102cdad15547eb5f3dbd7200078c91397'|'Norway''s $1 trillion wealth fund backs Linde-Praxair deal'|'  8:38 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Norway''s $1 trillion wealth fund backs Linde-Praxair deal Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Linde Group logo is seen at company building before the annual news conference in Munich, Germany March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth OSLO (Reuters) - The proposed $74 billion tie-up of German industrial gases group Linde ( LING.DE ) and U.S. peer Praxair ( PX.N ) got a boost on Tuesday when the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund said it was backing the deal. The Norwegian fund, which also said the value of its assets had topped $1 trillion, will vote in favor of four key resolutions proposed by Linde’s management at a Sept. 27 meeting of shareholders, it said. “We support the strategic rationale for the merger ... the proposed business combination is in the best long-term interest of Linde AG shareholders,” Norges Banks Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, said in a statement. NBIM, which only discloses the size of its individual holdings once per year, owned 4.76 percent of Linde’s shares at the start of 2017, worth $1.46 billion, and 1.0 percent of Praxair, valued at $335.6 million. “We seek to provide clarity and avoid any potential market speculation about our voting decision,” it said. “Norges Bank Investment Management has tendered all shares held in Linde AG in connection with the business combination.” The value of the Norwegian fund, which owns about 1.3 percent of all globally listed equities and also has large positions in fixed income and real estate, has hit $1 trillion, NBIM confirmed. The Praxair logo is seen during a news conference with Linde in Munich, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle A Reuters calculation, based on the fund’s own live valuation on its website, showed the fund hit the trillion-dollar mark on Sept. 12. Established to save oil and gas revenues for future generations, the fund is now worth about 2.5 times Norway’s annual gross domestic product, against original projections it would peak at 1.3 times GDP in the 2020s. “I don’t think anyone expected the fund to ever reach $1 trillion when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996,” said NBIM Chief Executive Officer Yngve Slyngstad. “Reaching $1 trillion is a milestone, and the growth in the fund’s market value has been stunning,” he added. The milestone was reached partly thanks to a rise in the fund’s dollar value in recent months caused by the dollar’s own decline against other major currencies. Measured in Norwegian crowns, the fund stands at 7.81 trillion, below the 8 trillion crowns it hit in April. Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Nerijus Adomaitis and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-linde-m-a-praxair/norways-1-trillion-wealth-fund-backs-linde-praxair-combination-idUKKCN1BU0XO'|'2017-09-19T13:58:00.000+03:00'
'9346a55efcdcd021339ad962fc83db0db5997d78'|'MOVES-Rombouts to co-head Goldman EMEA corporate derivatives'|'September 19, 2017 / 3:46 PM / Updated an hour ago MOVES-Rombouts to co-head Goldman EMEA corporate derivatives Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, Sept 19 (IFR) - Goldman Sachs has moved Jeroen Rombouts, one of its most senior foreign exchange bankers, to its investment banking division to co-head corporate derivatives in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Rombouts will also help drive the FX business globally across the corporate franchise, Goldman said in a memo to staff seen by IFR. He will be co-head in EMEA alongside Alessandro Dusi. Several members of the FX team in securities will also join the financing group. The corporate derivatives business sits in the IBD’s financing group, and includes interest rate, FX, commodities and equity risk management activities. Rombouts is currently head of EMEA FX Sales with oversight of EMEA fixed income, currencies and commodities emerging markets sales and Asia FX sales. Dusi is responsible for equity and fixed income derivative business with corporate clients in EMEA. Both joined Goldman in 2001 and were named partner in 2012. (Reporting by Steve Slater) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/moves-rombouts-to-co-head-goldman-emea-c/moves-rombouts-to-co-head-goldman-emea-corporate-derivatives-idUSL5N1M041E'|'2017-09-19T18:45:00.000+03:00'
'67eac01fe283d90d0fa2001b01279713cb743a5a'|'ECB may keep open option to prolong bond-buying again in 2018 - sources'|'September 19, 2017 / 11:35 AM / Updated 4 hours ago ECB seen keeping option to prolong bond-buying again in 2018 - sources Francesco Canepa , Balazs Koranyi 5 Min Read The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) (R) is seen next to the famous skyline in Frankfurt, Germany, April 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymakers disagree on whether to set a definitive end-date for their money-printing programme when they meet in October, raising the chance that they will keep open at least the option of prolonging it again, six sources told Reuters. A stubbornly strong euro, with its dampening effect on inflation, is driving a rift among ECB policymakers, the sources on the ECB’s Governing Council with direct knowledge of its thinking said. The split is between ‘hawks’ -- led by richer, northern countries such as Germany -- who are ready to wind down the 2.3 trillion euros bond-purchase programme and ‘doves’ who simply want to reduce its monthly pace, the sources said. This is raising the likelihood that they will seek a compromise solution on Oct. 26, whereby any end-date for purchases would not be set in stone, or that they will put off part of the decision until December, the sources added. The main point of contention is the euro’s continued appreciation against major currencies, which is threatening to curb inflation in the euro zone by making its imports cheaper and exports dearer. The ECB declined to comment. The sources noted that no decision had been made and the debate remained open. Hawks see the currency’s strength as testament to the euro zone’s strong economic growth, while doves fear it reflects weakness in the United States and Britain, two of the bloc’s main economic partners, and fear any significant surge above $1.20, a high set earlier this month, the sources said. “The strength of the euro is the number one problem,” one of the sources said. ECB rate-setters were comforted by last week’s euro zone wage data, and they will be looking at more indicators such as prices and sentiment, until their Oct. 26 meeting to gauge whether inflation is gradually heading towards the ECB’s target of almost 2 percent. But there are factors beyond their control. The prospect of British interest rates rising for the first time in 10 years is giving the ECB some support by boosting the pound against the euro. On the other hand, several policymakers stressed their uncertainty over whether Donald Trump’s U.S. administration will be able to deliver on its pledge to boost the world’s largest economy. This, combined with the massive storms that have hit the United States, was threatening to delay the Federal Reserve’s plans for further rate increases and putting a cap on the dollar exchange rate against the euro. “The main source of uncertainty has to do with U.S. economic policy: to what extent will they be able to deliver,” another source said. OPEN ENDED? In this context, some policymakers were inclined to err on the side of caution and retain the ability to prolong bond purchases again next year if needed. This could be done by keeping parts of the ECB’s long-standing policy message, which says the buys can be extended and expanded if needed to support inflation, the sources said. To keep options open, ECB President Mario Draghi and other policymakers have been talking of a “recalibration” of the programme, rather than “tapering” - the term used by the Fed when it wound down its own quantitative easing (QE) scheme in 2013. “Recalibration is not tapering, it’s open ended,” another source said. In addition, the ECB could push out expectations for its first rate hike, which it has said won’t happen before purchases end, by spreading out its buys over a longer period of time, two sources said. As the ECB is likely to run out of eligible government bonds to buy in some countries, this could be partly achieved by deviating from its pre-set national quotas and buying more corporate bonds, the sources added. Others, however, were more confident about the ability of the euro zone’s economy to hold up without the bond purchases and were still hoping to set an end-date for them, even if that means waiting for the Dec 14 meeting for a decision. They were stressing the diminishing returns of the money printing scheme and its growing side effects in inflating financial and property prices. “If the data confirms (the recovery in inflation), we should put an end-date on the programme,” a source said. Sources had told Reuters earlier this month that two scenarios discussed by rate-setters at the latest meeting involved buying bonds until June or September at a pace of 40 or 20 billion euro per month, down from the current 60 billion euros (£53.28 billion). Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-bonds/ecb-may-keep-open-option-to-prolong-bond-buying-again-in-2018-sources-idUKKCN1BU1G6'|'2017-09-19T14:34:00.000+03:00'
'56a5dd89d37b4ac4d4c337e27100a7b2aaf34643'|'Bank of Canada says may issue more ultra-long bonds in coming quarter'|'TORONTO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada said on Thursday that it plans to hold 10 regular bond auctions and one real return auction in the coming quarter, and may also issue ultra-long bonds in November.Strong investor demand for Canada’s sale of ultra-long bonds in August, the first in nearly three years, raises prospects for additional issuance of these bonds over the coming months, strategists and investors say.Source text for Eikon: here (Reporting by Alastair Sharp) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-bonds/bank-of-canada-says-may-issue-more-ultra-long-bonds-in-coming-quarter-idINL2N1M21ZR'|'2017-09-21T17:48:00.000+03:00'
'be9a4bb4a7f801067779196ed997ec5dbedc159e'|'U.S. says Telia settles bribery case, to pay $548.6 mln'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - Swedish telephone company Telia Co has agreed to pay $548.6 million in criminal penalties and a unit agreed to plead guilty to a bribery charge to settle a U.S. probe of the company’s alleged corruption in Uzbekistan, court papers show.The settlement was detailed in papers made public on Thursday and being filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.According to the papers, Telia is entering a three-year deferred prosecution agreement under which it admitted and accepted responsibility for alleged corruption.Its Coscom LLC unit in Uzbekistan is separately pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to violate anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. law, the papers show.In a statement, Telia said it was “very close” to a final settlement with all authorities, including Dutch prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and has already set aside money for the expected financial sanctions.Telia had estimated in April that a resolution related to its Uzbek business might cost about $1 billion.According to U.S. prosecutors, Telia, Coscom and a high-ranking Telia executive conspired to pay an Uzbek government official $331.2 million in bribes in exchange for help in expanding their share of Uzbekistan’s telecommunications market.The payments were made from 2007 to 2010, and the corrupt conduct resulted in $457 million of gains for Stockholm-based Telia, the court papers show.Deferred prosecution agreements allow companies to avoid criminal charges, so long as they comply with the terms.Additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Olof Swahnberg in Stockholm '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-telia-settlement/u-s-says-telia-settles-bribery-case-to-pay-548-6-mln-idUSKCN1BW1XX'|'2017-09-21T22:01:00.000+03:00'
'2bfe98a84828a13681007ef55ab798619783c5a0'|'Lufthansa, others set to pick up Air Berlin assets - sources'|'  5:32 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Lufthansa to land Air Berlin assets - sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Lufthansa Airbus A319 airplane lands at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Roissy, near Paris, July 28, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is set to pick up a large part of insolvent rival Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) is also still in the running for some assets, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Air Berlin’s creditors met on Thursday to discuss offers for Germany’s second largest airline and agreed the carve-up, the sources said. Air Berlin, which has about 8,000 employees and operates 144 mostly leased planes, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding. Lufthansa’s CEO said earlier that the carrier wanted to secure the 38 crewed planes it leases from Air Berlin, and was interested in a further 20-40 short-haul planes. Creditors will hold exclusive negotiations with Lufthansa until Oct. 12, the sources said, which means Air Berlin’s board may not make a final decision on Sept. 25 as had been expected. Other assets will go to easyJet and possibly Thomas Cook’s German leisure airline Condor ( TCG.L ), the sources said. Air Berlin said in a statement its board of directors would review the offers on Sept. 25 and give an update on the process then. The prospect of getting access to Air Berlin’s airport slots, planes and crews had drawn interest from those airlines and other investors, including former Formula One driver Niki Lauda and aviation entrepreneur Hans Rudolf Woehrl. Bidders had been especially interested in Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, which operates short-haul flights from Germany and Austria to tourist hot spots. All the other bidders are now out of the running, one of the sources said. The deadline for bids for its maintenance unit, which has about 850 employees, has been extended to Oct. 6, Air Berlin said. Lufthansa declined to comment further on Thursday evening. EasyJet declined to comment and Condor was not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; writing by Victoria Bryan; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-others-set-to-pick-up-air-berlin-assets-sources-idUKKCN1BW2KN'|'2017-09-21T20:31:00.000+03:00'
'fbb6d0646d2544f70f2a59e8f1c5b4c82bf48810'|'Lufthansa to land Air Berlin assets: sources'|'A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin takes off towards Stuttgart, Germany, from Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is set to pick up a large part of insolvent rival Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) is also still in the running for some assets, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.Air Berlin’s creditors met on Thursday to discuss offers for Germany’s second largest airline and agreed the carve-up, the sources said.Air Berlin, which has about 8,000 employees and operates 144 mostly leased planes, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding.Lufthansa’s CEO said earlier that the carrier wanted to secure the 38 crewed planes it leases from Air Berlin, and was interested in a further 20-40 short-haul planes.Creditors will hold exclusive negotiations with Lufthansa until Oct. 12, the sources said, which means Air Berlin’s board may not make a final decision on Sept. 25 as had been expected.Other assets will go to easyJet and possibly Thomas Cook’s German leisure airline Condor ( TCG.L ), the sources said.Air Berlin said in a statement its board of directors would review the offers on Sept. 25 and give an update on the process then.The prospect of getting access to Air Berlin’s airport slots, planes and crews had drawn interest from those airlines and other investors, including former Formula One driver Niki Lauda and aviation entrepreneur Hans Rudolf Woehrl. [L5N1M215J]Bidders had been especially interested in Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, which operates short-haul flights from Germany and Austria to tourist hot spots.All the other bidders are now out of the running, one of the sources said.The deadline for bids for its maintenance unit, which has about 850 employees, has been extended to Oct. 6, Air Berlin said.Lufthansa declined to comment further on Thursday evening. EasyJet declined to comment and Condor was not immediately available for comment.Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; writing by Victoria Bryan; editing by David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-others-set-to-pick-up-air-berlin-assets-sources-idINKCN1BW2K4'|'2017-09-21T15:29:00.000+03:00'
'c47731d971c93293aae1e95a6442ab0258c61455'|'Carlyle targets first-close of new Asia buyout fund at over $4 billion: sources'|'September 21, 2017 / 10:48 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Carlyle targets first-close of new Asia buyout fund at over $4 billion: sources Sumeet Chatterjee , Kane Wu 3 Min Read A general view of the lobby outside of the Carlyle Group offices in Washington, U.S. May 3, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Carlyle Group ( CG.O ) is targeting the first closing of a new Asia buyout fund within the next couple of months at over $4 billion, three people familiar with the matter said, bulking up in a region that has become a key market for global funds. The U.S. private equity titan’s fundraising is part of its planned $5 billion Asia buyout fund, the people said, which, if completed, would be its biggest capital-raising exercise for Asia. First closing is an important milestone for private equity fundraising because it means the fund has crossed a minimum threshold and could begin making investments. Carlyle co-CEO David Rubenstein said last month during the firm’s earnings call the firm is aiming for first closings of the Asian buyout fund and a similar U.S. fund in the second half of this year, without disclosing the target fund sizes. The company separately continues to raise capital for an Asia growth fund, meant for investing in smaller but high growth companies in major regional economies, one of the people told Reuters. Carlyle declined to comment. The three people declined to be named as the details of the fundraising plans were not public. Global private equity firms are adding cash reserves, or so-called dry powder, in the region, as investors worldwide allocate capital to catch growing market and economic momentum in countries including China and India. Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) is seeking to raise up to $3 billion in its first pan-Asia buyout fund for investments in sectors including high-end manufacturing and healthcare, people familiar with the plan told Reuters in July. KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) closed a new Asia-focused buyout fund in June after raising $9.3 billion, a record for the region. Carlyle has said it aimed to raise $100 billion globally in the next few years. Its total assets under management was $170 billion at the end of the second quarter. Earlier this year, Carlyle merged its Asian buyout and growth teams to target investment opportunities more effectively and to better utilize team expertise, but will continue to make investments from separate funds, the people said. Carlyle plans to boost its investments in Japan through the new Asia buyout fund, even though it has a small country specific fund for that market, one of the people said. The private equity firm started raising its fifth Asia growth fund last year. As per a March disclosure by the International Finance Corp, which became an investor in the fund, the growth fund was targeting $1 billion. The firm’s Asia funds, which since inception have delivered net internal rate of returns in the range of 6 to 18 percent by the second quarter of this year, have invested in firms from sectors including consumer and technology, with a focus on China, its portfolio records show. Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kane Wu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-carlyle-group-asia-fundraising/carlyle-targets-first-close-of-new-asia-buyout-fund-at-over-4-billion-sources-idUSKCN1BW1FP'|'2017-09-21T13:47:00.000+03:00'
'419ae64a04824f6e0ac8cf666c425b3637933366'|'Compass Group CEO Richard Cousins to step down'|'September 21, 2017 / 6:28 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago Compass Group''s long-time CEO Richard Cousins to step down Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Compass Group Plc ( CPG.L ), the world’s biggest catering firm, said long-time chief executive Richard Cousins would step down effective March 31 and would be succeeded by Dominic Blakemore, currently chief operating officer for Europe. Compass shares fell 2.7 percent to a more than two and a half month low and was among the top losers on the UK bluechip index .FTSE . “His strong leadership style and strategic focus has fundamentally crafted the business into a global leader and driven excellent total shareholder returns,” Credit Suisse analysts said, calling his tenure “nothing short of exceptional”. Under Cousins, who took charge in 2006, revenue has nearly doubled, while shares have jumped more than sixfold. Cousins took over the top job from Michael Bailey after a string of profit warnings by the company and a lawsuit alleging that the company was involved in rigging bids for U.N. procurement contracts. The Credit Suisse analysts said that they expect it to be business as usual, while Panmure Gordon & Co analysts called Blakemore “a natural successor.” Compass, which provides meals for office workers, members of the armed forces and school children across the world, reported a 3.9 percent rise in quarterly revenue in July led by strong growth in the United States. Compass, which serves around 5 billion meals each year in more than 50 countries, said Blakemore would become deputy chief executive on Oct. 1 and take over the top position on April 1. He joined the company in 2012 as its chief financial officer. Cousins, 58, will retire from the group on Sept. 30, 2018. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-compass-group-ceo/compass-group-ceo-richard-cousins-to-step-down-idUKKCN1BW0OI'|'2017-09-21T09:27:00.000+03:00'
'86da56cb1ea0ae1a1ba185a02a310d1b05b0f300'|'Mexico''s Pemex says gasoline, diesel supplies guaranteed'|'MEXICO CITY, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Mexico’s state oil company Pemex said in a statement on Wednesday that its installations suffered no significant damage from an earthquake on Tuesday, adding that all its operations were normal.Pemex said that gasoline and diesel supplies are “completely guaranteed” in those states impacted by the quake, adding that there was sufficient inventory at its storage and distribution terminals. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/pemex-quake/mexicos-pemex-says-gasoline-diesel-supplies-guaranteed-idINL2N1M200U'|'2017-09-20T22:23:00.000+03:00'
'e1892198cbd40378d6c2c49cefe3a14f59781c80'|'Corporate debt may take bigger slice of QE pie as ECB tapers'|'  11:44 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Corporate debt may take bigger slice of QE pie as ECB tapers Dhara Ranasinghe , Balazs Koranyi 5 Min Read One Euro coins made of chocolate is displayed in this photo illustration taken in Ljubljana September 11, 2012. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The ECB may consider scaling back purchases of corporate bonds more slowly than those of government debt when it starts tapering its massive stimulus scheme, partly because the bank is nearing self-imposed limits on what it can buy. The European Central Bank has signalled it is ready to pull back from its 2.3 trillion euro (£2.03 trillion) extraordinary stimulus beginning in January 2018 and will start to work out the details at its monthly meeting in October. Many economists expect monthly asset purchases to fall to 40 billion euros ($48 billion) from 60 billion now. But even under this scenario, the ECB is expected to run close to the ceiling on debt it can hold in some countries, including Germany, in the first half of next year. The corporate bond buying programme remains well under its limits by contrast. Some policymakers argue the programme, which has exceeded expectations in both volumes and effectiveness, gets cash to the sectors in greatest need and could be ramped up. “I’ve been a relatively big fan of the corporate sector purchase programme,” ECB rate setter Ardo Hansson told Reuters. “All asset purchases are not created equal. We’re trying to get the enterprises and households to spend or invest a bit more.” “If corporate sector purchases are more effective, as I believe they are, you could push those a little bit harder,” said Hansson, Estonia’s central bank governor. Two other policymakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed a similar view but stressed no decision has been made. The ECB declined to comment. CORPORATE BOND ISSUANCE SURGE The ECB’s quantitative easing programme, launched in March 2015 to boost inflation and economic growth by pinning down borrowing costs in the euro zone, first focused on the biggest and most liquid government bond markets but was extended to include corporate bonds in June last year. Corporate bond issuance has surged, while debt issuance from Germany - the main source for ECB bond buying - has been capped as Berlin takes advantage of a budget surplus to borrow less. The bulk of the purchases remain in government bonds, however. “With a taper, we’re pretty sure what the ECB will end up doing is leave the corporate bond programme unchanged and the tapering all falls on the government bond part,” said Mark Dowding, co-head of investment grade at BlueBay Asset Management. He estimated the ECB buys around 6 billion euros each of corporate bonds and supranational debt and 48 billion euros of government and other bonds every month. “In January, we believe that this will be approximately 6 billion euros of corporate bonds, around 6 billion euros of supranationals and 28 billion euros of government bonds and others to give a total of 40 billion euros,” he said. The ECB can only buy up to 33 percent of each bond issued by a government, agency or region. It can buy up to 50 percent of supranational bonds and 70 percent of corporate or covered bonds, which are guaranteed by a pool of assets. Those limits are unlikely to change in view of the brighter economic conditions in the euro zone. “There’s still a positive movement in corporate bond issuance, which is not necessarily what we’ve seen in government bonds,” said Souheir Asba, credit strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “The ECB only holds 13 percent of the total eligible universe of corporate bonds, compared to their upper limit of 70 percent.” Pictet Wealth Management’s Frederik Ducrozet said if the ECB decided to only scale back government bond purchases to get to 40 billion euros a month, leaving other bond purchases steady at current levels, public sector bond buying would fall to 30.5 billion euros. If it scaled down all its buying proportionally the ECB could wind up the scheme by next September, he said, but maintaining relatively high purchases of corporate bonds would give the ECB up to three more months to December 2018, which many central bankers might find attractive. Adding a new asset class such as stocks was also an option, but policymakers told Reuters this would send the wrong signal to the markets and to the region. Rate setters disagree on whether to set a definitive end-date for the programme when they meet in October, raising the possibility they may want to retain the option of prolonging it again, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Tapering corporate bond buying more slowly “would also help to maintain the stimulus to business investment a little longer,” said Capital Economics European economist Jack Allen. Reporting and graphics by Balazs Koranyi and Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-ecb-bonds-analysis/corporate-debt-may-take-bigger-slice-of-qe-pie-as-ecb-tapers-idUKKCN1BW1LW'|'2017-09-21T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'1c27a90c3c1a82d7fd8c43cdd0200a749ea51b1e'|'Deloitte hit by cyber-attack revealing clients’ secret emails - Business - The Guardian'|'One of the world’s “big four” accountancy firms has been targeted by a sophisticated hack that compromised the confidential emails and plans of some of its blue-chip clients, the Guardian can reveal.Deloitte , which is registered in London and has its global headquarters in New York, was the victim of a cybersecurity attack that went unnoticed for months.One of the largest private firms in the US, which reported a record $37bn (£27.3bn) revenue last year, Deloitte provides auditing, tax consultancy and high-end cybersecurity advice to some of the world’s biggest banks, multinational companies, media enterprises, pharmaceutical firms and government agencies.The Guardian understands Deloitte clients across all of these sectors had material in the company email system that was breached. The companies include household names as well as US government departments.So far, six of Deloitte’s clients have been told their information was “impacted” by the hack. Deloitte’s internal review into the incident is ongoing. The Guardian understands Deloitte discovered the hack in March this year, but it is believed the attackers may have had access to its systems since October or November 2016.The hacker compromised the firm’s global email server through an “administrator’s account” that, in theory, gave them privileged, unrestricted “access to all areas”.The account required only a single password and did not have “two-step“ verification, sources said.Emails to and from Deloitte’s 244,000 staff were stored in the Azure cloud service, which was provided by Microsoft. This is Microsoft’s equivalent to Amazon Web Service and Google’s Cloud Platform.Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. Photograph: Microsoft In addition to emails, the Guardian understands the hackers had potential access to usernames, passwords, IP addresses, architectural diagrams for businesses and health information. Some emails had attachments with sensitive security and design details.The breach is believed to have been US-focused and was regarded as so sensitive that only a handful of Deloitte’s most senior partners and lawyers were informed.The Guardian has been told the internal inquiry into how this happened has been codenamed “Windham”. It has involved specialists trying to map out exactly where the hackers went by analysing the electronic trail of the searches that were made.The team investigating the hack is understood to have been working out of the firm’s offices in Rosslyn, Virginia, where analysts have been reviewing potentially compromised documents for six months.It has yet to establish whether a lone wolf, business rivals or state-sponsored hackers were responsible.Sources said if the hackers had been unable to cover their tracks, it should be possible to see where they went and what they compromised by regenerating their queries. This kind of reverse-engineering is not foolproof, however.A measure of Deloitte’s concern came on 27 April when it hired the US law firm Hogan Lovells on “special assignment” to review what it called “a possible cybersecurity incident”.The Washington-based firm has been retained to provide “legal advice and assistance to Deloitte LLP, the Deloitte Central Entities and other Deloitte Entities” about the potential fallout from the hack.Responding to questions from the Guardian, Deloitte confirmed it had been the victim of a hack but insisted only a small number of its clients had been “impacted”. It would not be drawn on how many of its clients had data made potentially vulnerable by the breach.The Guardian was told an estimated 5m emails were in the ”cloud” and could have been been accessed by the hackers. Deloitte said the number of emails that were at risk was a fraction of this number but declined to elaborate.“In response to a cyber incident, Deloitte implemented its comprehensive security protocol and began an intensive and thorough review including mobilising a team of cybersecurity and confidentiality experts inside and outside of Deloitte,” a spokesman said.“As part of the review, Deloitte has been in contact with the very few clients impacted and notified governmental authorities and regulators. “The review has enabled us to understand what information was at risk and what the hacker actually did, and demonstrated that no disruption has occurred to client businesses, to Deloitte’s ability to continue to serve clients, or to consumers.“We remain deeply committed to ensuring that our cybersecurity defences are best in class, to investing heavily in protecting confidential information and to continually reviewing and enhancing cybersecurity. We will continue to evaluate this matter and take additional steps as required.“Our review enabled us to determine what the hacker did and what information was at risk as a result. That amount is a very small fraction of the amount that has been suggested.”Deloitte declined to say which government authorities and regulators it had informed, or when, or whether it had contacted law enforcement agencies.Though all major companies are targeted by hackers, the breach is a deep embarrassment for Deloitte, which offers potential clients advice on how to manage the risks posed by sophisticated cybersecurity attacks.“Cyber risk is more than a technology or security issue, it is a business risk,” Deloitte tells potential customers on its website.“While today’s fast-paced innovation enables strategic advantage, it also exposes businesses to potential cyber-attack. Embedding best practice cyber behaviours help our clients to minimise the impact on business.”Deloitte has a “CyberIntelligence Centre” to provide clients with “round-the-clock business focussed operational security”.“We monitor and assess the threats specific to your organisation, enabling you to swiftly and effectively mitigate risk and strengthen your cyber resilience,” its website says. “Going beyond the technical feeds, our professionals are able to contextualise the relevant threats, helping determine the risk to your business, your customers and your stakeholders.”In 2012, Deloitte, which has offices all over the world, was ranked the best cybersecurity consultant in the world .Earlier this month, Equifax, the US credit monitoring agency, admitted the personal data of 143 million US customers had been accessed or stolen in a massive hack in May. It has also revealed it was also the victim of an earlier breach in March.About 400,000 people in the UK may have had their information stolen following the cybersecurity breach. The US company said an investigation had revealed that a file containing UK consumer information “may potentially have been accessed”.The data includes names, dates of birth, email addresses and telephone numbers, but does not contain postal addresses, passwords or financial information. Equifax, which is based in Atlanta, discovered the hack in July but only informed consumers last week.Topics Deloitte Accountancy Financial sector Hacking news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/deloitte/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/25/deloitte-hit-by-cyber-attack-revealing-clients-secret-emails'|'2017-09-25T20:00:00.000+03:00'
'e863b03445d12388697a22203693d0859b00e500'|'Fighting for survival in London, Uber says it can improve'|'September 25, 2017 / 8:10 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Fighting for survival in London, Uber says it can improve Costas Pitas 3 Min Read A photo illustration shows the Uber app on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Uber called on Monday for talks with London’s transport regulator as soon as possible and pledged to make improvements in the way it reports serious incidents in a bid to retain its license. On Friday, the British capital’s transport regulator deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its license to operate, which will end this week, citing the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. London police complained earlier this year that Uber, which is backed by Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, was either not disclosing, or taking too long to report, serious crimes including sexual assaults and that this put the public at risk. Asked about the criticism, Uber’s UK Head of Cities apologized about a specific incident and said the firm was working with the Metropolitan police to make improvements to its reporting process. “We’re working with the police to figure out how we can do this in a better way that’s helpful to them,” Fred Jones told BBC radio. But he also called for talks with regulator Transport for London (TfL) to discuss the loss of the firm’s license, which formally ends this week. The firm can continue to operate until the appeals process is exhausted, which is likely to take several months. “It’s just not clear for us what their concerns might be,” said Jones. “Once we understand them we can work with them to figure out what is it that they would like us to do and how can we move forward and I think that’s the important next step,” he said. TfL declined to comment on Monday. But the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, a Labour politician who has criticized the firm in the past, backed TfL’s decision and attacked the Silicon Valley app’s response. “You can’t have it both ways: on the one hand acting in an aggressive manner for all sorts of things but on the other hand brief to journalists that they want to do a deal with TfL,” he told BBC radio. “If you play by the rules you’re welcome in London, if you don‘t, don’t be surprised if TfL takes action against you.” Additional reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Guy Faulconbridge'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-britain/uber-says-not-clear-what-prompted-london-regulator-to-strip-it-of-license-idUKKCN1C00QW'|'2017-09-25T12:24:00.000+03:00'
'596e427c0ff11b6edb0872f1086fa2a78c21f712'|'Exclusive: Toshiba tells banks chip deal delayed as Apple yet to approve'|'  11:46 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Exclusive: Toshiba tells banks chip deal delayed as Apple yet to approve Taro Fuse 2 Min Read A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/Files TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp told its main banks on Monday it has not signed the $18 billion sale of its semiconductor business because Apple Inc, a member of the buyer group, has not agreed on key terms, two people involved in the deal said. The struggling Japanese conglomerate announced on Wednesday that it had chosen a consortium led by U.S. private-equity firm Bain Capital LP to buy the prized chip unit, a move that would end a nine-month sale process and plug a huge hole in Toshiba’s finances, preventing it from being removed from trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But the signing of the deal, initially expected to be the next day, has dragged on, forcing Toshiba to explain the predicament to its bankers on Monday and, the sources told Reuters, ask the lenders to roll over 680 billion yen ($6.1 billion) in credit lines set to expire on Sept 30. The lenders have been demanding that Toshiba sign a definitive agreement as a condition for the funding. A woman looks at the screen of her mobile phone in front of an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song/Files Details of the issues with Apple couldn’t immediately be ascertained. Toshiba said in a statement to Reuters, “While we cannot comment on the detail of the deal procedure, we aim to sign the agreement with the purchaser as early as possible.” Apple didn’t immediately reply to an emailed request for comment. Press representatives for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank, the biggest of Toshiba’s seven main lenders, couldn’t immediately be reached outside office hours. ($1 = 112.0300 yen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting/exclusive-toshiba-tells-banks-chip-deal-delayed-as-apple-yet-to-approve-idINKCN1C01H8'|'2017-09-25T14:47:00.000+03:00'
'7de5c4fa77fa9a77a2a4be7483647bd8fdf190e1'|'TREASURIES-Worries about N.Korea, Germany stoke demand for U.S. bonds'|'* N. Korean foreign ministers escalate geopolitical concerns * Fallout from German election spur safe-haven bids * U.S. to sell $88 bln short- to medium-dated notes * Fed''s Dudley expects continued gradual U.S. rate increases (Updates market action, adds Quote: s) By Richard Leong NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday as concerns about tensions between North Korea and the United States and a surge in support for the far right in Sunday''s German election stoked safe-haven demand for U.S. government bonds. The benchmark 10-year yield posted its biggest single-day drop in over two weeks, holding within its recent range ahead of this week''s $88 billion in short- and medium-term debt supply and a speech on Tuesday from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. On Monday, North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said U.S. President Donald Trump declared war on North Korea and that Pyongyang reserves the right to take countermeasures amid heated rhetoric between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the latter''s nuclear weapons program. "It''s another marker that this won''t cool off," said Robert Tipp, chief market strategist at PGIM Fixed Income in Newark, New Jersey. U.S. bond yields initially fell in step with their German counterparts following a surprisingly weak election result for Germany''s Angela Merkel. A surge in support for the far right stoked concerns about a more hardline stance towards the euro zone. "The German election led to an euro zone bond rally," said Eric Stein, co-director of global income group in Eaton Vance Management in Boston. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down 4 basis points at 2.222 percent. Last Wednesday, the 10-year yield reached 2.289 percent, its highest since Aug. 8, after the Fed signaled it may raise interest rates at its Dec. 12-13 policy meeting. While geopolitical worries returned to the forefront on Monday, traders appeared more focused on this week''s bond supply and what Yellen may hint about a possible December rate increase than on geopolitical concerns. The Treasury Department will sell $26 billion of two-year notes on Tuesday; $34 billion in five-year debt on Wednesday and $28 billion of seven-year notes on Thursday. On Tuesday, Yellen is scheduled to speak on "Prospects for Growth: Reassessing the Fundamentals" at 12:45 p.m. (1645 GMT). Earlier on Monday, New York Fed President William Dudley said the U.S. central bank is on track to gradually raise rates given factors depressing inflation are "fading" and the U.S. economy''s fundamentals are sound. On the other hand, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said the Fed should wait until there are clear signs of faster wage and price growth before hiking rates again. September 25 Monday 2:32PM New York / 1832 GMT Price US T BONDS DEC7 154-28/32 0-25/32 10YR TNotes DEC7 126-20/256 0-88/256 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 1.0075 1.024 -0.005 Six-month bills 1.1675 1.1905 0.006 Two-year note 99-170/256 1.4271 -0.016 Three-year note 99-120/256 1.5587 -0.029 Five-year note 99-2/256 1.8364 -0.035 Seven-year note 98-208/256 2.0597 -0.041 10-year note 100-64/256 2.2216 -0.040 30-year bond 99-188/256 2.763 -0.033 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 26.25 -0.25 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 22.50 0.00 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 8.25 -0.25 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap -3.75 -0.25 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -31.75 -0.50 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-worries-about-n-korea-germany-stoke-demand-for-u-s-bonds-idINL2N1M6181'|'2017-09-25T16:42:00.000+03:00'
'9777b58b6d38e5d6a8cc08105ed3a65458b1e588'|'CICC shares soar on sale of strategic stake to Tencent'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/83e2168a-9e9e-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946'|'2017-09-21T12:01:00.000+03:00'
'508479462ce32349e84d5519d190b0c0ca9e1033'|'Bullish bets on most Asian currencies decline as investors trim risk: Reuters poll'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:09 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Bullish bets on most Asian currencies decline as investors trim risk: Reuters poll 4 Min Read An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration (Reuters) - Investors reduced their long positions on most Asian currencies in the last two weeks, spooked by tensions on the Korean Peninsula and signs that more major central banks are dialing back years of ultra-easy policy, a Reuters poll showed. The poll was conducted from Tuesday to Thursday around the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting. As expected, the Fed said on Wednesday that it would begin slimming down its bloated balance sheet in October, brightening the outlook for the dollar. The Fed also signalled it still expects one more rate increase by the end of the year, despite recent weak inflation readings, helping push the dollar to near two-months highs and eroding the appeal of emerging market assets. KOREA TENSIONS Investors have likely increased short positions on the South Korean won in the last two weeks, according to the poll of 17 analysts, traders and fund managers. Bearishness on the currency rose the most since April. Persistent geopolitical tension in the Korean Peninsula has dampened investor appetite in the region, though knee-jerk selloffs in response to Pyongyang’s repeated sabre-rattling have largely been short-lived on hopes that war can still be avoided. U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in were to hold talks on Thursday over North Korea’s nuclear programme, amid worries that Trump’s harsh statements about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could lead to a miscalculation. Trump said this week the United States may have to “totally destroy” North Korea. MOST EM BULLS ALSO PULLING BACK However, the biggest shift in investor sentiment in the last two weeks was seen in the Chinese yuan. Bullish sentiment towards the yuan fell the most since July, amid speculation that Chinese authorities may be growing concerned about the impact of its rapid climb on exporters and economic growth. The yuan had surged some 7.5 percent against the dollar by early September -- fueled by dollar weakness and a long string of firmer central bank guidance -- but it has pulled back slightly since. Earlier in the month, China’s central bank had scrapped two measures that were put in place to support the yuan when it was under significant selling pressure, suggesting Beijing is now anxious to quash one-way appreciation bets on the yuan as outflows ease. Long positions in the Indian rupee hit lows not touched since January, according to the poll. Investors were the most bullish on the Thai baht as the currency continued to strengthen supported by a strong current account surplus, investor confidence in the economy, and receding concerns over political risk. While most investors expect the the Bank of Thailand to keep its benchmark rates steady at 1.5 percent at its policy meeting next week, ING believes otherwise, expecting the central bank to cut rates at its next meeting. ING says the Bank of Thailand will lose some of its lustre if it does cut rates to support growth after resisting government pressure to ease policy and weaken the baht. Thailand’s central bank said on Monday it had taken action against what it said was “periodic speculation” in the baht as the currency hovered at more than 28-month highs against the U.S. dollar. The Asian currency positioning poll is focused on what analysts and fund managers believe are the current market positions in nine Asian emerging market currencies: the Chinese yuan, South Korean won, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Taiwan dollar, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht. Reporting by Susan Mathew; additional reporting by Christina Martin and Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-forex-emerging/bullish-bets-on-most-asian-currencies-decline-as-investors-trim-risk-reuters-poll-idINKCN1BW14H'|'2017-09-21T12:04:00.000+03:00'
'00ecd45052bc545810a77b94d6006a9ef4c271e2'|'St. Louis approves police body cameras ahead of more protests'|'ST. LOUIS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - St. Louis officials decided on Wednesday to supply police officers with body cameras for a year as the city prepares for a sixth night of protests after a white former police officer was acquitted of killing a black man.The city’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment voted 3-0 to have Axon Enterprise Inc, a police body camera company, supply its 1,200 officers with free software, hardware and training for a year.The equipment would cost $1.2 million if the city decided to keep it after the free year.Axon officials declined to comment.The panel, made up of President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed, Mayor Lyda Krewson and City Comptroller Darlene Green, also voted to ask other companies for estimates on supplying permanent body cameras.“We needed this to heal and we need this for people to feel more confident in our police department,” Reed said during the meeting that, at times, dissolved into a shouting match with residents demanding the board approve the measure.The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department tested body cameras from December 2015 through the beginning of 2016, but city officials decided it was too costly, Reed said.Police will use the cameras under the test program but the police union will have to approve permanent body cameras, Reed said.Cities that have body cameras have found a decrease in the use of force by police officers, fewer complaints against police and more community engagement with police, Reed said.The vote follows five days of protests that included demonstrators clashing with police, breaking windows and destroying property. Riots followed the 2014 shooting of a black teenager by a white officer in nearby Ferguson.The protests are in response to a judge’s decision to find former officer Jason Stockley, 36, not guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Anthony Lamar Smith, 24.An internal police car video that captured Stockley saying he was going to kill Smith during the pursuit was key part in the prosecutors’ case against the former officer.Activists will hold a rally Wednesday to demand police reforms and voice frustration over policing in the city of 315,000 people.Reporting by Brendan O''Brien; Additional reporting by Chris Kenning in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/missouri-crime/st-louis-approves-police-body-cameras-ahead-of-more-protests-idUSL2N1M10P9'|'2017-09-21T01:36:00.000+03:00'
'0fd67aacbb6e8406d843ef679bd1137ccfc25dbe'|'SK Hynix says some key issues on Toshiba chip unit sale still need agreement'|'SEOUL, Sept 21 (Reuters) - SK Hynix Inc, part of the winning consortium for Toshiba Corp’s chip unit, said on Thursday that some key issues still needed to be agreed upon.Toshiba said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell the prized unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital and expectations of a formal signing on Thursday had been high.“There are some key issues still to be agreed upon in the content approved by Toshiba’s board,” the South Korean chipmaker said in a regulatory filing, adding that it would continue with discussions. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-sk-hynix/sk-hynix-says-some-key-issues-on-toshiba-chip-unit-sale-still-need-agreement-idINS6N1HW01J'|'2017-09-21T03:07:00.000+03:00'
'9d3ca9d15d6ac0d9511e55ca4d3343261f848faa'|'Diesel''s disgrace brings hybrids-for-all in race to electrify'|'September 22, 2017 / 3:27 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Diesel''s disgrace brings hybrids-for-all in race to electrify Laurence Frost 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Mercedes car maker Daimler AG presents the new Mercedes S-class models during the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Carmakers squeezed between carbon emissions cuts and falling sales of fuel-efficient diesels have used the Frankfurt auto show to spotlight a future generation of electric cars that will largely come too late to help them out of their bind. But elsewhere at the show, suppliers like Valeo ( VLOF.PA ) and Delphi ( DLPH.N ) are lifting the lid on a quicker fix: affordable 48-volt hybrids. These “mild” hybrids, which add some electric power to existing petrol models without a costly redesign, are now being deployed without fanfare by brands from VW to Volvo. It is diesel’s disgrace and decline, executives and analysts say, that has finally set the stage for mass electrification. While diesel pollution problems became notorious with the Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) test-cheating scandal, the subsequent shift to petrol is bloating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, making the next round of European Union goals harder to meet. “Our view is that 48 volts on a gasoline engine is an alternative to diesel,” said Karin Thorn, vice president for vehicle propulsion at Volvo. “If and when the diesel market is dropping, something else needs to take its place.” Diesels are stalling already, in fact - and weaker second-hand values suggest the slump can only accelerate. An attention-grabbing pledge by the Swedish carmaker to “electrify” its entire range by 2019, initially hailed as a bold step, now looks more like an industry-wide reality. PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ), which had previously seen no need for 48V hybrids, now plans to introduce them “across the board” in response to diesel’s faster-than-expected decline, the Peugeot maker’s programmes chief Patrice Lucas told Reuters. By quadrupling the 12-volt standard in conventional car electrics and allowing a beefed up starter motor to feed extra power to the drivetrain, complementing the combustion engine, carmakers can transform petrol cars into mild hybrids without redesigning the vehicle’s architecture and factory tooling. ENABLING TECHNOLOGY The motor delivers a noticeable torque boost and recovers braking energy to recharge a battery - smaller and cheaper than those required by electric cars or “full” hybrids such as Toyota’s ( 7203.T ) Prius, which typically run at 100-300 volts. Total manufacturing cost comes in 500-1,000 euros (£442-£884) below an equivalent diesel. “It’s the most interesting enabling technology and will comfortably replace diesel,” said Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst. “It can do the job and it’s already cheaper - you don’t have to be an early adopter to buy one.” By 2020, the brokerage expects 48V cars to outpace European sales of full hybrids, including plug-ins that can be recharged with a cable and driven in electric-only mode. By 2025, it predicts, they will equip 55 percent of all cars sold. The technology is surfacing first in luxury cars such as the Mercedes ( DAIGn.DE ) S-Class on show at the Frankfurt event - which runs until Sunday - before trickling down to the mass market, chiefly in Europe and China. Volkswagen’s next Golf, a benchmark in compact cars, will arrive with 48V electrics in 2019, and other models will follow, development chief Frank Welsch told Reuters. “The technology has a lot of potential and will make hybrids more affordable for the masses,” Welsch said. Renault ( RENA.PA ), Japanese affiliate Nissan ( 7201.T ) and Hyundai ( 005380.KS ) are among other mass car manufacturers with 48V in the pipeline. In 2021, the key EU emissions goal drops to 95 grammes of CO2 per kilometre from its current 130 grammes - a challenge exacerbated by the replacement of standard lab tests with on-the-road “real driving emissions” measurements. DIESEL HEADACHE Despite incentives, neither battery technology nor charging infrastructure is ready for the mass electric-car uptake required to put a dent in average emissions by then. The headache is compounded by the decline of diesels, which emit 15-20 percent less CO2 than petrol alternatives. Fortunately, 48V hybrids deliver savings in the same bracket. Their simplicity also lets carmakers adjust their fleet emissions on shorter lead times than typically required to redevelop a drivetrain, which may help to avoid stiff EU fines of 95 euros per excess gramme of CO2, per vehicle sold. Among suppliers, Valeo stands to benefit most with a 40 percent share of mild-hybrid orders, Citi analysts predict. Continental ( CONG.DE ) and Delphi are also well positioned. Paris-based Valeo expects some carmakers to effect more abrupt U-turns than PSA’s - in some cases installing 48V systems without waiting for model facelifts. Innovation director Guillaume Devauchelle declined to name names. “These solutions will become market standards,” Devauchelle said, adding that tougher rules on nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from diesels would deepen their cost disadvantage. Later 48V hybrids will squeeze out more efficiency by shifting the electric motor lower down the transmission, below the engine. Valeo has electrified Magna’s ( MG.TO ) Getrag gearboxes and GKN ( GKN.L ) differentials. “What automakers are finding is they need more than just advanced combustion engines to reach the fleet average reductions,” said Mary Gustanski, Delphi’s engineering boss. The supplier is combining 48V hybrids with cylinder deactivation that cuts engine capacity when less power is required, for additional savings. The system is in development with one European and one Chinese carmaker, Gustanstki said. The coming profusion of 48V cars should outsell pricier, higher-voltage hybrid incumbents such as the Prius, as market projections show - a prospect Toyota takes in its stride. Thanks to a quarter-century of hybrid investments, the Japanese carmaker can meet future CO2 targets with ease, global planning chief Didier Leroy said in Frankfurt. “We’re in a different position,” Leroy said. “We don’t have to rush to find a temporary solution - we don’t need to develop 48V to be competitive.” Reporting by Laurence Frost; Additional reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit, Andreas Cremer in Frankfurt and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Editing by Pravin Char'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-frankfurt-hybrids/diesels-disgrace-brings-hybrids-for-all-in-race-to-electrify-idUKKCN1BX24U'|'2017-09-22T18:27:00.000+03:00'
'e8a4d4992c0e86e5708e79e87ced022155c4d3a2'|'Online matchmaking businesses in India have many ways to woo'|'“IT WAS 2012…I was number 37,” says Ashwini, referring to the badge that was pinned on her shirt pocket. Her task was to go onto the stage and introduce herself to around 70 eligible bachelors and their parents. Families then conferred and, provided caste and religious background proved no obstacle, would approach the event’s moderator asking to meet number 37. At midday girls would wait for prospects to swing by, again with parents on either side. A brief exchange might establish the potential bride’s cooking skills or her intention to work after marriage. If the two sides hit it off, they would exchange copies of their horoscopes. Nearly 50 men lined up to meet Ashwini that day, speed-dating style. No one made the cut. She later married a colleague.Such gatherings form an important part of the wedding industry, worth around $50bn a year, in a country where arranged marriages continue to be the norm. India has 440m millennials—roughly, the generation born between 1980 and 1996—and a further 390m youngsters have been born since 2000, so there are plenty of anguished parents for marriage facilitators to pitch to. KPMG, a consultancy, estimates that out of 107m single men and women, 63m are “active seekers”. For now, only a tenth surf the internet to find a spouse. But the number who do is about to explode, argue executives in the marriage-portal business (India has 2,600 such sites). “After Facebook [took off], people are more open about their lives than ever before, which has had a great knock-on effect,” says Gourav Rakshit of Shaadi.com, one of India’s oldest matrimonial sites. 15 Take Matrimony.com, the country’s biggest online matchmaker, which raised $78m in its initial public offering on September 13th. Its shares began trading this week. It runs 300-odd websites in 15 languages, catering to different castes and religions. It has sites for divorcees, the disabled, the affluent (“Elite Matrimony”) and for those with unfavourable astrological charts, which make it difficult to find a match. All online firms run a “freemium” model: upload your profile at no charge and let an algorithm match horoscope details with potential partners filtered by age, caste, education, income and sometimes (alas) complexion. Or you can pay for features like instant chat or a colourful border around your profile to ensure the algorithm returns you as a top search result.Such a long list of options means that finding a match on the web can be time-consuming and tedious. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” says one suitor. Predictably, many also complain that online profiles often do not reflect reality. Outright fakes remain a scourge. This month a man was arrested in Delhi for extorting over 5m rupees ($77,700) from 15 women by luring them on matrimonial websites. And no amount of artificial intelligence can yet identify what will make two youngsters click.Spouseup, a south Indian startup, is undaunted. It trawls social media to determine a candidate’s personality and recommends matches by calculating a “compatibility score”. Nine-tenths of its 50,000 users are non-resident Indians who usually fly to India for a month or so, scout for partners, settle on one, get hitched and fly back together. For these time-starved travellers, the machine-led scouring “provides an insight that would come from five coffee dates,” says Karthik Iyer, the firm’s founder. Banihal, which is based in Silicon Valley, relies on a long psychometric questionnaire of around 100 questions to match like-minded partners.Real-world complements to online efforts can help secure a match. Some services, such as IITIIMShaadi.com, aimed at people graduating from prestigious universities, also act as conventional wedding-brokers, by meeting prospects on their clients’ behalf. The job is no different from that of a headhunter, says Taksh Gupta, its founder. He charges anywhere between 50,000 and 200,000 rupees for the service. His most recent catch, after a search lasting over two years, was a husband for a 45-year-old woman from a prestigious university who would settle for no less than an Ivy League groom. Matrimony.com, too, has over 400 “relationship managers” and 140 physical outlets.“The opportunity is huge”, enthuses Murugavel Janakiraman, boss of Matrimony.com. Around four-fifths of new customers now come via smartphones, lured by instant alerts about new potential matches and services that match up people in the same town. But the spread of smartphones also brings competition. Casual-dating apps are spreading fast. Tinder, on which decisions about eligibility rarely benefit from parental advice, now counts India as Asia’s largest, fastest-growing market. "Click, meet and marry"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729571-only-tenth-people-seeking-spouse-use-internet-set-rise-online?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'793e9bd10b9f2c082f0ef9c0d67d903ee371f475'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Sept 21'|'  4:41 AM / Updated an hour ago PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Sept 21 Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Alphabet Inc''s Google said it would buy part of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp, including its team that helped develop Google''s flagship Pixel smartphone, for $1.1 billion in cash. on.wsj.com/2xxyzG7 - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosed Wednesday that hackers penetrated its electronic system for storing public-company filings last year and may have traded on the information. on.wsj.com/2xwEdID - Toshiba Corp''s board on Wednesday voted to sell its memory-chip business to a group led by U.S. private-equity firm Bain Capital and includes Apple Inc and Dell Technologies Inc for 2 trillion yen ($17.79 billion). on.wsj.com/2xwv5DW - Pfizer Inc filed suit against Johnson & Johnson , alleging J&J''s "exclusionary contracts" for Remicade with health insurers, hospitals and clinics effectively prevented them from offering Pfizer''s lower-priced copy. on.wsj.com/2xxeOyt - Facebook Inc is adding more human reviewers to oversee its advertising system after a report showed that people could target ads at users interested in anti-Semitic and other hateful topics. on.wsj.com/2xx8eIb - Albertsons Cos is buying the Plated meal-kit service, the first acquisition of a prepared-meals company by a national grocery chain. on.wsj.com/2xwELhF - Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, pounding the U.S. territory with huge waves, massive rain and fierce winds and shutting down the power grid across the entire island of 3.4 million people. on.wsj.com/2xxxIFk - Soldiers, rescue workers and volunteers worked Wednesday to find the living and the dead beneath rubble left by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that destroyed scores of buildings in Mexico''s capital and surrounding states, and killed at least 230 people. on.wsj.com/2xxrrtm ($1 = 112.4200 yen) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-21-idUSL4N1M228G'|'2017-09-21T07:41:00.000+03:00'
'75ba6999ca1765ea111f5eb0c14219d11b41b549'|'UK factory orders grow at weakest rate since April - CBI'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:22 AM / Updated 7 hours ago UK factory orders grow at weakest rate since April - CBI Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A worker attaches a connector to electrical wire on the factory floor of PP Control and Automation near Cannock, Britain, July 6, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON, (Reuters) - British factory orders grew in September at their weakest rate since April, and output growth over the past three months has also slowed, a monthly survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed on Friday. The CBI’s factory order book balance slipped this month to +7 from +13 in August, below expectations in a Reuters poll for the reading to remain unchanged. The CBI said the weakening was largely driven by the food and drink sector. Britain’s economy has slowed this year as the effect of a weaker pound has pushed up inflation and weakened consumer demand, but the Bank of England has said it is likely to raise interest rates at its next meeting on Nov. 2. It hopes stronger exports will help offset weaker business investment and uncertain consumer demand. The export order book balance softened marginally to +10 from +11, while the output balance for the past three months dropped to +17 from +30, its lowest since June, which the CBI said reflected weaker food and drink production. However, all three balances remained well above their long run averages and manufacturers expect a rebound in October. “Manufacturers continue to report solid growth in output, while total order books and export order books are holding firm,” CBI economist Anna Leach said. “Expectations for selling prices were largely in-line with the previous month, but price pressures do appear to have moderated somewhat since earlier in the year,” she added. The results are based on a poll of 429 manufacturers conducted between Aug. 24 and Sept. 14. Reporting by David Milliken, editing by William Schomberg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-manufacturing-cbi/uk-factory-orders-grow-at-weakest-rate-since-april-cbi-idUKKCN1BX14R'|'2017-09-22T13:26:00.000+03:00'
'9ecf8f0e42efed7e11ffd85f3e40d27f4e3d91c6'|'Asia stocks edge lower, focus turns to China markets after ratings cut'|'  12:54 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago North Korea rhetoric heats up, boosting bond prices, yen 4 Min Read Pedestrians pass the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury and gold prices rose while the Japanese yen strengthened on Friday as a fresh exchange of barbs between North Korea and the United States fueled geopolitical jitters. North Korea said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat on Tuesday to destroy the reclusive country. “Big noise out of North Korea will keep today’s trading defensive,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. “While we don’t expect a serious selloff, the geopolitical rhetoric could heat up.” The aversion to risk drove investors into assets considered safer during times of geopolitical turmoil, like the yen, bonds and gold. Gold recovered from a four-week low. Spot gold XAU= added 0.3 percent to $1,295.08 an ounce. The U.S. dollar had scaled a two-month peak of 112.71 against the yen on Thursday, boosted by the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling this week that it was still on track to raise interest rates by the end of the year, and after the Bank of Japan maintained its bond-buying pledge. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.35 percent versus the greenback to 112.10 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.3521, down 0.42 percent on the day. “(The yen) had been significantly under pressure and it’s not totally surprising to see a little bit of a rebound in the yen ahead of the weekend,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. Sterling slipped and Britain’s main stock index climbed after Prime Minister Theresa May laid out plans for the country’s exit from the European Union. May called for Britain to stay in the EU''s single market during a roughly two-year transition out of the EU. The FTSE 100 stock index .FTSE rose 0.6 percent. People walk past an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TREASURIES UP U.S. Treasury prices gained on concerns about conflict with North Korea. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR rose 6/32 in price to yield 2.2587 percent, from 2.278 percent late on Thursday. The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened overnight to its lowest levels since late 2007, before retracing in the U.S. session. In U.S. stocks, uncertainty over the U.S. healthcare bill weighed on insurers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 47.66 points, or 0.21 percent, to 22,311.57, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.58 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,499.02 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 4.73 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,417.97. MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS was flat. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.08 percent. Helping to support the gains in Europe, euro zone businesses ended the third quarter with much stronger growth than predicted, adding to evidence of the region’s newfound dynamism which has spurred strong inflows into European equities this year. Oil prices were mixed as major producers may wait until January before deciding whether to extend their output curbs beyond the first quarter. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.1 percent to $50.50 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $56.27, up 0.32 percent on the day. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets Additional reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York, Helen Reid in London and Sruthi Shankar   Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-stocks-edge-lower-focus-turns-to-china-markets-after-ratings-cut-idUKKCN1BX02H'|'2017-09-22T03:56:00.000+03:00'
'83028d5ef508f2b3c54982b6fdad6195044e0a3d'|'Shares in HTC rise 9.96 percent on Google''s Pixel buyout'|'September 22, 2017 / 1:28 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Shares in HTC rise 9.96 percent on Google''s Pixel buyout Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A 3D printed Android mascot Bugdroid is seen in front of an HTC logo in this illustration taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration TAIPEI (Reuters) - Shares in Taiwanese technology company HTC Corp ( 2498.TW ) rose 9.96 pct in early trading on Friday. HTC Corp announced on Thursday that Alphabet Inc’s Google ( GOOGL.O ) would pay $1.1 billion for the division at HTC that develops the U.S. firm’s Pixel smartphones. Reporting by Jess Macy Yu '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-htc-google/shares-in-htc-rise-9-96-percent-on-googles-pixel-buyout-idINKCN1BX044'|'2017-09-21T23:28:00.000+03:00'
'fc14112cba95adcb717e2f864de6d9b7c38d7c75'|'Citigroup targets Belt and Road to boost China revenue'|'A man walks past a branch of Citibank in Beijing, China, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon BEIJING (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) expects to boost its revenue growth in China by tapping into opportunities presented by Beijing’s Belt & Road initiative, the bank’s China chief said.The New York-based lender is one of a handful of global banks promoting its cross-border capabilities to capitalize on President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative.The initiative, unveiled in 2013, aims to bolster China’s global leadership ambitions by building infrastructure and trade links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond.“We’re seeing more and more multinational customers benefiting from Belt and Road, mostly through supplying into the Belt and Road projects, particularly companies in the industrial sector,” Christine Lam, Citigroup’s chief executive for China, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.Lam was speaking on the sidelines of a conference hosted by Citigroup in Beijing this week.Rivals HSBC Holdings ( HSBA.L ), Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ), and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) also have promoted their cross-border capital markets and cash management services to leverage Belt and Road opportunities.China is one of eight Asian markets that produce $1 billion or more in revenue for Citigroup. The bank’s local unit reported about $770 million in revenue last year, representing a decline of 10.5 percent, following the sale of its stake in Guangfa Bank. Profits increased about 1 percent to $163 million.Citigroup has banking relationships with more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies in China, Lam said, and provides services in 58 markets in so-called Belt and Road countries.The bank expects to book more revenue from providing services for Belt and Road related activities, including mergers and acquisitions, cash management, trade finance and hedging, Lam said.Most Belt and Road opportunities are financed by government-owned policy and commercial lenders, with China Construction Bank Corp ( 601939.SS )( 0939.HK ) and Bank of China ( 601988.SS )( 3988.HK ) raising billion-dollar funds for future investment.Lam said that Citigroup is also looking to increase service to Chinese state-owned enterprises and other multinationals investing overseas, and has established nine China desks in locations around the world, including Dubai, Nairobi and Kazakhstan.Separately, Lam said that Citigroup has already benefited from ongoing discussions between Washington and Beijing over expanding access to China’s financial markets.In February, Citigroup became the first U.S.-based bank to secure a license to act as a bond settlement agent in China’s interbank bond market, allowing its local unit to compete alongside Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) and BNP Paribas SA ( BNPP.PA ) in the country’s $9 trillion bond market.Reporting By Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Tony Munroe; Editing by Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-silkroad-citigroup/citigroup-targets-belt-and-road-to-boost-china-revenue-idUSKCN1BX0XH'|'2017-09-22T12:01:00.000+03:00'
'4e5bb7570c587ced14e3d147a3b4f3c423925d07'|'UPDATE 1-France approves of Siemens/Alstom tie-up if jobs spared'|'September 22, 2017 / 12:28 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Alstom, Siemens in talks to merge rail ops Jean-Baptiste Vey , Alexander Hübner 4 Min Read A logo is seen on the facade of the main plant of the French engineering giant Alstom SA in Belfort, France, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS/MUNICH (Reuters) - French train maker Alstom and German engineering group Siemens said on Friday they were in talks about a tie-up of their rail activities as European companies struggle to cope with competition from China. A deal between Siemens and Alstom would mark the first industrial Franco-German alliance under President Emmanuel Macron as he pushes for greater European economic integration. Rail mergers have become a trend over the last few years as companies seek to contain costs and compete with China’s state-backed CRRC ( 601766.SS ). The French government said it approved of a tie-up between the rail businesses, which have combined sales of nearly 15 billion euros ($6 billion), as long as jobs were not affected. “It is important that we can strengthen our industrial sectors ... in partnership with Germany,” government spokesman Christophe Castaner told journalists. The government took control of a 20 percent voting stake in Alstom as part of a 2014 deal that saw the group sell its energy division to General Electric, snubbing Siemens at the time. It has until October to exercise an option to buy that stake from construction group Bouygues. While the French government looks on the potential deal with a positive eye, it would also closely watch the impact on corporate governance and research and development, a French source said. “It would be a balanced marriage between the French and the Germans, the French government will want to ensure that this balance is maintained,” the source said, adding that combining two businesses would make the group competitive in a wider market. ALSTOM OR BOMBARDIER? Siemens has held discussions with both Alstom and Canadian group Bombardier, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Earlier on Friday, Le Monde newspaper reported Siemens could announce a deal with Alstom as early as Sept. 26. Siemens would contribute to the deal rail assets valued at 7 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in return for a 45-50 percent stake in Alstom, according to that report. A source familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Friday that if the deal with Alstom goes through, Siemens would have a slight majority but Alstom’s French CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge would head the merged company. “The prospects are better with Alstom,” another source with knowledge of the situation said. “Everything is still open, there’s a lot of movement.” Alstom is in a stronger financial position than Bombardier, the second source said. Bombardier also wanted control of the new group which was not acceptable to Siemens. A Bombardier spokesman declined to comment. A Siemens spokesman confirmed talks with Alstom but declined to comment on Bombardier. Alstom and Siemens confirmed talks were under way after the close of financial markets on Friday in Europe. Bombardier’s shares were down 4.6 percent at 1719 GMT in Toronto. “Assuming a solution can be found that both parties can agree to and anti-trust authorities allow the merger to proceed, there would be a significant opportunity to create an even stronger global signaling leader and take out costs,” analysts at Barclays said in a note. Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Bate Felix in Paris, Alexander Hübner in Munich and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt; Writing by Maya Nikolaeva and Leigh Thomas, Editing by Jane Merriman and Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens/alstom-siemens-in-advanced-rail-tie-up-talks-le-monde-idUSKCN1BX1L5'|'2017-09-22T17:16:00.000+03:00'
'54310dd078ba022d947d5d71036d98692f0439da'|'Scientific Games to buy NYX Gaming for C$775 million'|'(Reuters) - Bally slot machines owner Scientific Games Corp ( SGMS.O ) said it would buy Canada’s NYX Gaming Group Ltd ( NYX.V ) for about C$775 million ($632 million), including debt, expanding its existing digital gaming and online gambling portfolio.Shares of NYX jumped 106 percent to C$2.33 on the Toronto Venture Exchange in early trading on Wednesday. Shares of Scientific Games were little changed at $43.15 on the Nasdaq.Scientific Games will acquire all of the outstandingordinary shares of NYX for C$2.40 per share.The deal comes two months after Scientific Games said it would buy UK-based Red7Mobile, a maker of mobile and desktop casino games for an undisclosed amount.The deal on Wednesday, which will be funded through cash and debt, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, the companies said in a joint statement.Scientific Games said the deal will add to earnings in the first year after closing.Scientific Games had Deutsche Bank Securities as its financial adviser and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, McMillan LLP and Appleby (Guernsey) LLP as legal advisers.NYX had Lazard and Macquarie Capital as financial advisers and Latham & Watkins LLP, Carey Olsen LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP as legal advisers.Reporting by John Benny and Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto, Bernard Orr '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nyx-gaming-group-m-a-scientific-games/scientific-games-to-buy-nyx-gaming-for-c775-million-idUSKCN1BV1Q9'|'2017-09-20T16:22:00.000+03:00'
'3b1b426e5d4f424648dbcb1ed97b31b18a029858'|'Unemployment is biggest risk for business: World Economic Forum survey'|'September 19, 2017 / 11:28 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Unemployment is biggest risk for business: World Economic Forum survey Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Unemployment is the biggest risk for businesses globally, according to a World Economic Forum survey of business leaders published on Wednesday. The company executives put unemployment or underemployment as the top risk over the next 10 years, followed by fiscal crises and the failure of national governance, data from the WEF’s Executive Opinion Survey showed. The survey of 12,411 executives across 136 countries provides a backdrop for the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks report published shortly before its annual January meeting in Davos, Switzerland, according to a spokesman for insurance broker Marsh. Marsh is part of Marsh & McLennan ( MMC.N ), which published the data together with Zurich Insurance ( ZURN.S ). “Geopolitical risks and events have led to uncertainties which raise questions about how to manage resilience in uncertain times,” said John Scott, chief risk officer, commercial insurance, at Zurich. For businesses in the North America, East Asia and Pacific regions, the biggest risks were considered to be cyber attacks and asset bubbles. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/world-economic-forum-risk-report/unemployment-is-biggest-risk-for-business-world-economic-forum-survey-idINKCN1BU30B'|'2017-09-20T02:28:00.000+03:00'
'246d2ef2ba77ba4fca6d2c4479d138cfe5e95569'|'Clariant short-sellers squeezed as activist Corvex doubles-down'|'September 20, 2017 / 1:23 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Clariant short-sellers squeezed as activist Corvex doubles-down Simon Jessop , Maiya Keidan 4 Min Read The logo of Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is seen at the company''s headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann LONDON (Reuters) - Hedge funds have trimmed bets on a fall in shares of Clariant ( CLN.S ), just as activist investor Corvex increases pressure on the Swiss chemicals company to ditch a $20 billion M&A deal with rival Huntsman ( HUN.N ). The hedge funds’ action shows some may have been squeezed by a rise in Clariant shares but also potentially points to some scepticism that Corvex will succeed in scuppering the deal. Clariant and Huntsman announced their merger in May valued at about $20 billion, but Corvex, run by New York-based Keith Meister, took a stake in Clariant to try to prevent it going ahead. This week Corvex upped its Clariant stake to 15.1 percent and wrote to the board reiterating its claim that the merger would destroy shareholder value. Clariant’s shares, up around 9 percent since the Huntsman deal was announced, could drop if it falls through. But the Swiss group’s shares have continued to rise since Corvex’s campaign began, helped by other investors’ support for the merger. One London-based hedge fund manager, who bets on corporate events such as M&A deals, said this left funds “shorting” Clariant in a tricky position when trying to assess the likelihood of Corvex succeeding. “(Corvex) doesn’t really have an actionable alternative so far, but 15 percent is starting to be meaningful enough to potentially block it.” In “shorting” a stock, hedge funds borrow the shares for a fee and sell them into the market, hoping the price will fall, at which point they can buy them back and return them to their owner, pocketing the difference in price. After the announcement of the deal in May and Corvex’s opposition in early June, demand to bet on Clariant’s shares falling rose more than 80 times over 14 weeks as more funds looked to join the trade, according to data from industry tracker Astec Analytics. But with Clariant’s shares up almost 3 Swiss francs since early June, a number of funds have closed out around a fifth of open positions, Astec data showed. A relatively wide spread between Clariant’s and Huntsman’s stock prices suggests an 80 percent chance of the deal going through. “There’s been some heavy betting, but it’s come down,” said David Lewis at Astec Analytics. “People who put money on are sitting on a loss of between 0 and 3 Swiss francs.” “It peaked a week ago and 5 million of those shares have closed themselves out again at a loss, as the price has only been going up.” One of those sitting on the sidelines is Michael Wegener, managing partner at Hong Kong-based hedge fund Case Equity Partners. “What I need to get involved is either Corvex to go away and invest in a lower spread/lower risk deal or a credible Clariant suitor actually making a move by tabling a higher valued offer.” Around 250,000 Clariant shares were out on loan on May 22, the day the deal was announced. On July 4, when Corvex came out against the deal, nearly 10 million shares were out on loan, before hitting a peak of more than double that on Sept. 7, the Astec data showed. By Sept. 17, this had fallen to around 16 million shares. At 1000 GMT on Wednesday, Clariant shares were trading at 23.5 Swiss francs, up nearly 9 percent from May 22 and 5 percent from July 20, by which point the bulk of short positions had been added, according to the Astec data. At peak demand to short Clariant, in mid-July, around half of Clariant shares put up for loan to hedge funds by long-term investors such as pension funds were out on loan. By Sept. 17, this had dipped to around 21 percent of available shares, according to Astec. Additional reporting by John Miller in Zurich. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-clariant/clariant-short-sellers-squeezed-as-activist-corvex-doubles-down-idUSKCN1BV1PS'|'2017-09-20T16:18:00.000+03:00'
'c286c9d3e1d6c94867a7648e86b9f28133f5debe'|'Indonesian airline Garuda in talks to delay delivery of 20 planes'|'September 22, 2017 / 4:56 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Indonesian airline Garuda in talks to delay delivery of 20 planes Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A Garuda Indonesia airplane is seen at the Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia, the aircraft maintenance and repair unit of Indonesian flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk, in Tangerang, Indonesia, September 20, 2017. Picture taken September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian flag airline PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk ( GIAA.JK ) said on Friday it is in talks to delay the delivery of 20 Airbus and Boeing planes. Garuda and its budget unit Citilink were supposed to have taken the delivery of the planes during the two years through to 2019, Garuda Chief Executive Officer Pahala Mansury told reporters, without giving a new date for the delivery. “We want to focus on the optimisation of our existing fleet,” Mansury said. Mansury did not disclose the model of the delayed planes, but Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan told Reuters they are made by Airbus and Boeing. Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Christian Schmollinger '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-garuda-planes/indonesian-airline-garuda-in-talks-to-delay-delivery-of-20-planes-idUKKCN1BX0CO'|'2017-09-22T07:55:00.000+03:00'
'cf03e4b90149c0db562e21b5fa0fc0505cc84537'|'Brazil gives BRF nod to export from Mineiros plant after scandal'|' 42 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Brazil gives BRF nod to export from Mineiros plant after scandal   SAO PAULO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture has granted BRF SA, the country’s largest chicken exporter, permission to resume exports from a plant in the state of Goiás that was temporarily closed after a food inspection scandal. In a statement on Friday, BRF said in coming months foreign inspectors should visit the plant in the city of Mineiros to grant final approvals to begin exporting. BRF said the unit, which reopened in April after a nearly month-long closure, produces more than 7 tonnes of food products per month and employs 2,000 people. (Reporting by Ana Mano)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-food-brf/brazil-gives-brf-nod-to-export-from-mineiros-plant-after-scandal-idUSE6N1JV00T'|'2017-09-22T16:40:00.000+03:00'
'db4d16811e6279887145d2d6bb4e38138f18ab07'|'BRIEF-Indonesia to open E. Kalimantan oil and gas block for bidding at earliest - energy minister'|'  BRIEF-Indonesia to open E. Kalimantan oil and gas block for bidding at earliest - energy minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 22 (Reuters) - Indonesia will open an oil and gas block in East Kalimantan for bidding by investors “as soon as possible”, deputy energy minister, Arcandra Tahar said. * The block is currently operated by Chevron, whose contract expires in Oct. 2018 * Chevron said last year that it will not extend its contract. * State energy company Pertamina will not take over the block, Tahar said. (Reporting By Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-indonesia-to-open-e-kalimantan-oil/brief-indonesia-to-open-e-kalimantan-oil-and-gas-block-for-bidding-at-earliest-energy-minister-idUSJ9N1DH01M'|'2017-09-22T10:57:00.000+03:00'
'761c5f0ad1e7e8e8e6142cbb6ed807fda5810159'|'IndyCar races won before green flag drops - Reuters'|'Legendary race car driver Michael Andretti discusses the importance of race preparation and how it contributes to success on the track. He also talks about the Andretti Autosport team and its newest driver Zach Veach. Plus, which American city could be the next one to host the Winter Olympics and the latest on the effort to grow the NFL fan base in the UK.Rick Horrow is the CEO of Horrow Sports. As an attorney and consultant, he has been the architect of 100+ deals worth more than $20 billion in sports, performing arts, and other urban infrastructure projects. Horrow pioneered the public/private partnership and infrastructure branding concepts that, to date, have enticed more than $4 billion in corporate funding to cities and development projects. The opinions expressed here and in videos and podcasts hosted by Rick are his alone and do not represent the views of Reuters.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-keepingscore-22sept17/indycar-races-won-before-green-flag-drops-idUSKCN1BX2GX'|'2017-09-23T01:28:00.000+03:00'
'095884faff042f8efd30fcda45a552e45d903303'|'Flood, fix and flip: Houston housing investors see profit in Harvey''s wake'|'September 22, 2017 / 5:08 AM / Updated an hour ago Flood, fix and flip: Houston housing investors see profit in Harvey''s wake Nick Brown 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Houses are seen partially submerged in flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey in Northwest Houston, Texas, U.S. on August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - Addressing a real estate conference in flood-ravaged Houston this month, longtime investor Ray Sasser detailed his strategy: buy up to 50 flooded homes at deep discounts, then fix and flip them for a hefty profit. Sasser first followed that game plan after Tropical Storm Allison flooded the city in 2001. He bought homes for 30 to 40 percent of their pre-storm value, spent another 15 percent on repairs, and sold many a year later - at full value. The quick recovery surprised him, he said. “This can’t be true,” he recalled thinking at the time. The bet that home prices in hard-hit Houston neighborhoods will fully recover after Hurricane Harvey could be riskier, Sasser and local economists said. But a rush of investors eager to snap up flooded homes reflects broader confidence in the resilience of Houston’s unique metropolitan economy. While the region’s unchecked development has come under fire for exacerbating flooding, it also reflects its core strength: A rare combination of rich job opportunities and low cost of living, driving explosive population growth in America’s energy capital. The surging demand has sustained home prices through four major floods since 2001 and a historic oil price crash starting in 2014. Though Harvey caused far more damage than previous storms, investors such as Sasser see plenty of opportunity in the region’s estimated 268,000 flooded homes. Tara Waggoner, the Houston market manager for brokerage and online listings firm Redfin, said the firm’s local agents were getting about four times the number of calls they usually get from investors. They ranged from individuals looking to buy one flooded house to groups of ten or more pooling their money for a home-buying spree, she said. “You have people with millions of dollars to work with,” she said in an interview days after the storm. “They want to go in, pay cash, get the discount and fix it up to sell.” Sasser, a 35-year veteran Houston home buyer, spoke to about 100 investors who packed into a meeting of the Realty Investment Club of Houston - or RICH, for short. He said he had formed his own construction company to streamline the repair work. His stories riveted less experienced investors such as Brandyn Cottingham, who sees the flood as an opportunity to ramp up his real estate holdings. “In this business you look for distressed property, and we’ve got tons of that right now,” Cottingham said. RICH President Belinda Lopez said she’s gotten calls from sellers eager to make deals. “They say: ‘This is my third flood - I’m done,’” Lopez said. A MILLION NEW RESIDENTS In addition to Harvey and Allison, Houston has taken on rising water from 2008’s Hurricane Ike and the so-called Memorial Day and Tax Day floods of 2015 and 2016. None of the disasters slowed the region’s growth, as development has crawled like ivy across the subtropical plains of southeast Texas, enabled by lax local regulation. Harris County, which includes Houston and many suburbs, has added more than 1 million residents since 2000 and remains the second fastest-growing county in the United States despite a recent oil industry downturn, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. FILE PHOTO: Houses are seen partially submerged in flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey in Northwest Houston, Texas, U.S. on August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo Though housing prices have risen steadily with the influx of demand, the region’s median home price of $230,000 remains well below that of many major U.S. cities. The oil downturn did not crash the local economy or the housing market - as another oil bust did in the 1980s - because Houston has diversified and other sectors continued to add jobs, said economist and University of Houston professor Bill Gilmer. That’s good news for housing investors. Houston homes are expected to stay in high demand even in low-lying areas, and home prices and rents are expected to rise with the sudden plunge of supply and jolt in demand from displaced residents and outside contractors.. There is money to be made, Gilmer said, in places that have flooded multiple times, or where residents are older and “may just want to move on.” Many other homeowners, however, may have little motivation to sell out cheap, said James Gaines, chief economist at the Texas A&M University Real Estate Center. Job losses from Harvey will likely be moderate, and out-of-work residents should find new jobs fairly quickly, putting them in a better position to withstand repair costs, Gaines said. Slideshow (2 Images) “Houston’s not a bad place to live - other than the occasional hurricane,” Gaines said. “It’s had four floods in the last nine years, and very few people have packed up and left.” ‘SUBTLE PSYCHOLOGY’ For investors who are seeking sellers, a big challenge will be talking to flood victims about buying their battered homes. At the RICH investors gathering, Linda Muscarello - who calls herself the Queen of Foreclosure - spoke of the “subtle psychology” of negotiating with struggling homeowners. Waving a bedazzled scepter at her audience, Muscarello advised investors to listen and nod when talking to owners of distressed properties, who can often have unrealistic notions of their ability to afford continued mortgage payments. Many homeowners hit by Harvey did not have flood insurance and may not have the money to rebuild. Muscarello advised investors to talk to homeowners as if there is a chance they can avoid selling – even if the investor’s interest is buying them out. When discussing finances with homeowners unable to afford payments, Muscarello advised asking, “How short are you?” “It’s very important you say it that way,” she explained. “It’s as if you’re still considering helping them to keep their house.” While approaching a distressed homeowner can feel predatory if poorly handled, selling can help homeowners in some situations, especially if the home’s damage is coupled with job loss or damage to a business. “The economic damage was mostly to small business – nail salons, barbershops,” Gaines said. For those business owners, recovery could take two to three years, he said. The big question for homeowners is whether they expect to have steady, long-term income that will let them ride out repairs that may or may not be covered by insurance. If not, Gilmer said, “you might just want to give the keys to someone else.” Additional reporting by Brian Thevenot; Editing by Brian Thevenot '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-housing-investors/flood-fix-and-flip-houston-housing-investors-see-profit-in-harveys-wake-idUKKCN1BX0DA'|'2017-09-22T08:11:00.000+03:00'
'5db50d6f0096eefd35c396e07fd6c4caf48555d2'|'Mitsubishi''s South African Hernic Ferrochrome unit files for bankruptcy protection'|'TOKYO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp on Friday said its South African unit Hernic Ferrochrome Ltd had filed for bankruptcy protection due to financial difficulties amid weaker prices of the alloy.Mitsubishi, which owned a 53.8 percent stake in the ferrochrome company, said it does not expect the move to have any material impact on its consolidated earnings for the year to March 2018. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/mitsubishi-metals-hernic/mitsubishis-south-african-hernic-ferrochrome-unit-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-idINT9N1LL01P'|'2017-09-21T22:59:00.000+03:00'
'375925cf3f654e9dc72410eb86da6968a0ad9f56'|'Plan to ease U.S. firearm export rules may relieve gunmakers facing sales slump'|'September 21, 2017 / 1:51 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Plan to ease U.S. firearm export rules may relieve gunmakers facing sales slump Noel Randewich 4 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - A move by the Trump administration to make it simpler to sell small arms abroad may provide some relief to gun makers American Outdoor Brands and Sturm Ruger & Company in an industry grappling with a deep sales slump since the election of President Donald Trump. Shares of Sturm Ruger & Company and Smith & Wesson-owner American Outdoor Brands surged as much as 18 percent on Tuesday after Reuters reported a potential relaxing of oversight in foreign sales by the Trump administration, although they gave back over 4 percent in the following session. The expected relaxing of rules could increase foreign gun sales by as much as 20 percent, the National Sports Shooting Foundation estimates. As well as the industry’s big players, it may also help small gunsmiths and specialists who are currently required to pay an annual federal fee to export relatively minor amounts of products. However, American Outdoor and Sturm Ruger, the two publicly traded U.S. gun makers, make well below 10 percent of their revenue from foreign sales, according to company filings, which means even a large increase in exports to other countries would have a minor effect on their overall businesses. Still, analysts reacted positively to the plan, initiated but not completed by the Obama administration, to shift oversight of international non-military firearms sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department, which would put the focus more squarely on facilitating trade. “While difficult to estimate the potential financial impact, we believe Smith & Wesson’s iconic brand and products would sell well to international customers,” Craig-Hallum analyst Steven Dyer wrote in a note to clients. The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fears that Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton would win the election and curb gun rights led to record purchases last year, but Trump’s surprise victory has had a reverse effect, with 2017 sales slumping after consumers were no longer worried about new gun control measures. Following Trump’s election, gun stocks became a favorite of short sellers betting they would fall. Even after Tuesday’s rally, American Outdoor Brands remains down 45 percent from before the election. But suggesting that some traders believe gun stocks are near bottom, short interest in American Outdoor Brands has decreased by 43 percent since the end of June to $113 million, while short interest in Sturm Ruger has declined by 12 percent to $226 million, according to S3 Partners, a financial analytics firm. Analysts see other reasons for cautious optimism about gun stocks, although few are prepared to say the recent drop in demand is near finished. Trump promised in April to “come through” for the National Rifle Association in the first address to the group by a sitting president since fellow Republican Ronald Reagan in 1983. Last week, a bill making it less difficult to buy silencers was sent by a congressional committee to the floor of the House of Representatives. Part of the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act, it aims to improve hearing protection for gun owners, according to the committee. Poised to benefit from the new legislation, Sturm Ruger in the past year has ramped up its offering of silencers, while American Outdoor Brands in July bought suppressor maker Gemini Technologies. Those developments, along with Trump’s strong support for the National Rifle Association and opposition to gun control, hint at a changing climate among Washington policymakers that could boost gun makers’ businesses. “These are the first instances in years where you are actually seeing deregulation on a federal level in firearms. If we are shifting an entire regulatory direction, then that’s a big deal,” said Aegis Capital analyst Rommel Dionisio, who recommends buying shares of American Outdoor Brands. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-firearms-stocks/plan-to-ease-u-s-firearm-export-rules-may-relieve-gunmakers-facing-sales-slump-idUSL2N1M02H0'|'2017-09-21T04:50:00.000+03:00'
'3a14ab6c55fca11f08faab53ac149d1a27f08b73'|'Tullow to ramp up TEN output after Ghana, Ivory Coast ruling'|'September 23, 2017 / 1:19 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Tullow to ramp up TEN output after Ghana, Ivory Coast ruling Reuters Staff 1 Min Read DAKAR (Reuters) - Tullow Oil said on Saturday that an international ruling on an ocean boundary between Ghana and Ivory Coast would leave its TEN fields within Ghanaian waters, allowing it to resume new drilling around year end. “Tullow will now work with the Government of Ghana to put in place the necessary permits to allow the restart of development drilling in the TEN fields,” the firm said in a statement sent to reporters. The firm, which leads the TEN project, expects to ramp up output from around 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 80,000 bpd. Reporting by Emma Farge'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ghana-ivorycoast-boundary-tullow/tullow-to-ramp-up-ten-output-after-ghana-ivory-coast-ruling-idUKKCN1BY0K2'|'2017-09-23T16:21:00.000+03:00'
'71545d8240b36321de2f32ba9dc2236e5af5c90e'|'THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE'|'Sept 23 (Reuters) - THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORETHIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST4 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE (Reporting by Sujay Wachasunder) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/this-is-test4-from-amers-please-ignore/this-is-test4-from-amers-please-ignore-idUSL2N1M408Q'|'2017-09-23T11:07:00.000+03:00'
'2c56aca7fe61561eab9458242cb57701caa3dc99'|'NAFTA talks intensify; U.S. set to unveil demands on key issues'|'May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks Reuters TV United States   2:27 PM / a few seconds ago NAFTA talks intensify; U.S. set to unveil demands on key issues David Ljunggren , Lesley Wroughton 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A NAFTA banner is pictured where the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Mexico City, Mexico September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso OTTAWA (Reuters) - Talks to update the North American Free Trade Agreement looked set to intensify on Saturday as U.S. negotiators prepared for the first time to unveil their demands on some of the Trump administration’s most challenging issues. Teams from the United States, Mexico and Canada kicked off the third of seven planned rounds of discussions in Ottawa amid warnings from trade experts that time was quickly running out to seal a deal by the end of the year as planned. “It’s up to the Americans to indicate their precise ideas because they are the ones who want to renegotiate NAFTA,” Andrew Leslie, a legislator from Canada’s ruling Liberal Party and a member of the influential cabinet committee on U.S. relations, told reporters on Friday. U.S. chief negotiator John Melle said ahead of the talks that his team would introduce the difficult provisions in Ottawa talks that are due to last for five days. [nL2N1M22JN] U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding major changes to the 1994 NAFTA deal, which he says is weighted against his country. One tricky issue is labor. U.S. and Canadian unions say Mexico’s low wages give it a manufacturing advantage. The United States is also expected to present text proposals on intellectual property and investment, several sources with knowledge of discussions said. Other areas of disagreement include dispute settlement mechanisms and how much content from NAFTA nations autos should have. Canadian and Mexican officials, as well as U.S. businesses, have already rejected a proposal by Washington to include a five-year sunset provision in the updated agreement, saying it added uncertainty to business investment planning. Canadian government figures are cautious when asked whether the end-December timetable is realistic. “We want, not a quick deal, but we want a good deal and a fair deal,” Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp on Friday. The Trump administration is particularly focused on lowering the U.S. trade deficit and updating rules of origin, which dictate how much of a product’s components must originate from within North America to qualify for tax free status under NAFTA. Trump wants more U.S. content in autos, citing trade deficits of $64 billion with Mexico and $11 billion with Canada. He has threatened to walk away from the agreement unless he gets the changes he wants. [nL2N1M30PB] It was unclear whether the U.S. delegation would be presenting specific proposals on rules of origin in Ottawa. Reporting by David Ljunggren and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/nafta-talks-intensify-u-s-set-to-unveil-demands-on-key-issues-idUKKCN1BY0MV'|'2017-09-23T17:16:00.000+03:00'
'b9d1d6fbbc8e37818177d47a5d1e0dd1778dc188'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Sept 22 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Friday:** General Electric Co has neared the sale of its industrial solutions unit to ABB Ltd for $2.5 billion to $3 billion, Bloomberg reported.** Air Berlin’s creditors have picked German flagship carrier Lufthansa and Britain’s easyJet as possible buyers for the insolvent carrier’s aviation business and will negotiate with them for the next three weeks.** UniCredit has called a shareholder meeting for Dec. 4 to put new governance proposals to the vote, including removing a 5 percent cap on voting rights and allowing the board to select its own candidates to be directors.** Top Australian television broadcaster Seven West Media Ltd and smaller Prime Media Group Ltd said they held takeover talks which ended without a deal, a faltering start to likely media consolidation brought on by deregulation.** Kazakhstan-focused copper miner Central Asia Metals said it would buy Bermuda-based Lynx Resources Ltd in a $402.5 million reverse-takeover deal from its owners.** North Asia private equity firm MBK Partners is preparing a bid to buy language learning business Wall Street English (WSE) from Pearson Plc, the world’s biggest education company, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. (Compiled by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1M33D2'|'2017-09-22T08:14:00.000+03:00'
'5e83dee7b9f0d8304463655aeef5137c49d8c492'|'Bettencourt death stirs speculation about L''Oreal future'|'September 22, 2017 / 7:21 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Bettencourt death stirs speculation about L''Oreal ownership Sarah White , Sudip Kar-Gupta 5 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - The death of billionaire Liliane Bettencourt focused attention on Friday on how L‘Oreal’s founding family and major shareholder Nestle would manage their stakes in the world’s biggest cosmetics firm. Bettencourt, listed by Forbes as the world’s richest woman and heiress to the company started by her father, died at the age of 94, relatives said late on Thursday. Bettencourt’s family owns 33 percent of L‘Oreal. Relatives including her daughter have managed the stake for several years since a court found she was suffering from a form of dementia. Nestle retains a 23 percent stake in the company. The death of the matriarch signals a potential shift in L‘Oreal’s ownership. A 43-year-old agreement between the family and Nestle not to increase their stakes will expire after six months. There were no restrictions on reducing the stakes. “Speculation will now inevitably be re-ignited around Nestle’s intentions towards its L‘Oreal stake,” analysts at Jefferies said. “This holds out the prospect of L‘Oreal either buying in the stake, or perhaps even Nestle buying L‘Oreal outright.” Hopes of change lifted L‘Oreal’s shares 3 percent, making it the best performer on France’s benchmark CAC-40 index. Bettencourt’s only daughter Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, who sits on L‘Oreal’s board with her husband and one son, has said the family remained committed to L‘Oreal and its management. “While the Bettencourt family has reasserted its commitment to the group, Nestle’s position is more in doubt,” said Gregoire Laverne, fund manager at Roche-Brune. Nestle’s stake was worth 23 billion euros (£20.35 billion) before Friday’s share price rise. Questions over Nestle’s investment in L‘Oreal have intensified since June when activist shareholder Third Point disclosed a holding in Nestle and urged the Swiss group to dispose of an investment which is worth more than 10 percent of its own market value. Nestle has long said the stake was strategic and financial and its thinking has not changed, according to a source familiar with the matter. Nestle conveyed its condolences to the Bettencourt family on Friday. Beyond that, a spokeswoman said: “This is not the right time to make any further comment.” FILE PHOTO: Liliane Bettencourt (L), heiress to the L''Oreal fortune leaves with Jean-Victor Meyers, her grandson, the L''Oreal-UNESCO prize for women in Paris, France, March 29, 2012. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo L‘Oreal could not be reached for comment. TANGLED TAKEOVER TALK Over the years there has been speculation that Nestle might try to acquire L‘Oreal outright, but that view is less common now that Nestle reduced its stake from 31 percent in 2014 and loosened the companies’ ties by taking over the Galderma dermatology joint venture they shared. What is more, Nestle has pivoted toward nutrition and health while L‘Oreal is focused on beauty products. “We think a disposal in the medium/long-term is more likely than a takeover,” said analysts at UBS. Nestle’s new chief executive Mark Schneider, who began his role at the turn of the year, will lay out his strategy next week at an investor meeting in London. L‘Oreal being controlled by two large shareholders has helped insulate it from unsolicited takeover bids like the one Unilever received this year which rippled through a packaged goods sector battling slowing growth. Any decline in the influence of the two big investors could make L‘Oreal more vulnerable, an industry banker said on Friday, but noted that its $117 billion market value limited any pool of suitors. L‘Oreal is seen as a willing and able buyer of Nestle’s stake, and could use its 9 percent holding in drugmaker Sanofi, worth about 9.5 billion euros, to fund it. Sanofi shares were up just under 1 percent. Jefferies estimates that if L‘Oreal bought back Nestle’s entire stake in financial year 2018, it would end up with net debt 2.9 times EBITDA, which it called affordable. Earnings per share would rise 10 percent in 2018, and nearly 20 percent in 2019, they added. However, buying all the shares and cancelling them would create complexities. A reduced share count would lift the Bettencourts’ ownership to 43 percent, a level that could force them to launch a takeover bid for the company under French rules, although there are exemptions. One way around that would be for Nestle to do an exchange offer, as suggested by Third Point, in which it would give its shareholders L‘Oreal shares in exchange for their Nestle ones. Third Point declined to comment on Friday. Additional reporting by Martinne Geller in London and Pascale Denis and Blandine Henault in Paris; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-l-oreal-bettencourt-stocks/loreal-shares-climb-after-death-of-bettencourt-idUKKCN1BX0NO'|'2017-09-22T10:54:00.000+03:00'
'35d75426c40beadb89c51d527b45b1e0192a9c2c'|'S&P lowers Hong Kong rating to AA+ following China downgrade'|'September 22, 2017 / 2:30 AM / Updated 8 hours ago S&P lowers Hong Kong rating to AA+ following China downgrade Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A general view of the container terminals at Kwai Chung district in Hong Kong, China May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Standard and Poor’s lowered Hong Kong’s long-term rating from AAA to AA+ on Friday following its earlier downgrade of China’s sovereign rating.”We see very strong institutional and political linkages between China and the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong. “Following the earlier downgrade of the sovereign credit rating on China, we are lowering the rating on Hong Kong to reflect potential spillover risks to the SAR should deleveraging in China prove to be more disruptive than we currently expect,” S&P said in a statement. The rating agency downgraded China from AA- to A+ on Thursday, citing debt risk. S&P changed Hong Kong’s outlook to stable from negative on Friday, and said it expected Hong Kong to “maintain its strong credit metrics across the board in the next two to three years”. Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Eric Meijer '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-s-p-hong-kong/sp-lowers-hong-kong-rating-to-aa-following-china-downgrade-idUKKCN1BX06X'|'2017-09-22T05:30:00.000+03:00'
'328a86cc5cd0425ba576ff04993ca563a4a999e6'|'PE firm MBK Partners preparing bid for Pearson''s $400 million English language unit -sources'|' 15 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago PE firm MBK Partners preparing bid for Pearson''s $400 million English language unit -sources Carol Zhong , Prakash Chakravarti 3 Min Read HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - North Asia private equity firm MBK Partners is preparing a bid to buy language learning business Wall Street English (WSE) from Pearson PLC ( PSON.L ), the world’s biggest education company, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The sale of WSE, widely expected to be valued at about $400 million, comes after Britain’s Pearson raised $1 billion from the sale of a 22 percent stake in publisher Penguin Random House in July. Pearson is looking to rebuild its business after reporting a deep loss last year, and the 173-year-old group has sold off its better-known assets including the Financial Times newspaper and Economist magazine to generate cash. The sale process of WSE is currently in the second round of bidding with a deadline for binding bids next week, two of the people said. A few other private equity firms and strategic investors are also likely to join the bidding, they said. The $400 million value of WSE represents 15 to 20 times the unit’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), one of the people said. The people spoke to Reuters and Basis Point, a Thomson Reuters publication. They declined to be identified as details of the sale are not public. Pearson declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. MBK and WSE did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Pearson announced in February it was exploring a potential partnership for WSE and appointed New York-based boutique investment bank Moelis & Co ( MC.N ) as advisor. Pearson’s involvement with WSE began in 2009 when it bought a network of English language learning centres in China from Wall Street Institute (WSI) for $145 million. It then bought WSI for $92 million from Carlyle and Citi Private Equity the following year. Re-branded as WSE in 2013, the business provides spoken English training for adults at over 400 centres in 27 countries. Pearson - whose offerings include textbooks, school testing, college courses and online degrees around the world - said last month it was cutting 3,000 jobs and slashing dividends to revive its business. Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in LONDON and Carol Zhong and Prakash Chakravarti of Thomson Reuters Basis Point; Additional reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pearson-m-a-mbk/pe-firm-mbk-partners-preparing-bid-for-pearsons-400-million-english-language-unit-sources-idUKKCN1BX0YI'|'2017-09-22T12:15:00.000+03:00'
'4b5382ef92716ec050000665416e9fcc8a2f2c82'|'Japanese brewer Asahi ready to spend "billions" on deals'|'  5:59 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Japanese brewer Asahi ready to spend "billions" on deals Taiga Uranaka , Ritsuko Shimizu 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO : Asahi Group Holdings President and COO Akiyoshi Koji poses for a photo with an Asahi Super Dry beer can at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Asahi Group Holdings ( 2502.T ), Japan’s largest brewer, is ready to spend “billions of dollars” on acquisitions, having spent $11 billion (£8.15 billion) over the past year to acquire beer brands across Europe from Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ). Asahi president Akiyoshi Koji said “bolt-on” acquisitions in Europe, including beer makers and distributors, were a priority, as the company carves out a larger slice of the overseas market to compensate for slow growth at home. He did not specify how much he would spend and did not name potential targets. “If there are big investment opportunities, we can make big investments,” he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Asahi, maker of Japan’s best-selling beer, Asahi Super Dry, seized a chunk of the European market thanks to back-to-back deals with InBev that completed earlier this year. The deals handed it brands including Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell. Any sizeable deal would likely rely on debt, given a cash pile that stands at just under $740 million. But Koji said the company’s leverage was under control, indicating it could tap lenders for more - net debt to core earnings will fall to 3 in 2020, after rising to 4.8 after the European deals. “That’s a normal level,” he said. Expansion will also be organic, as the company prepares to sell Asahi Super Dry draft beer in Britain and Italy from January next year, hoping to carve out a niche as premium beer brand in Europe, and prepares for zero-alcohol sales and to sell canned cocktails, hugely popular in Japan for some time. In Asia, global beer companies are closely watching Vietnam’s plan to sell a majority stake in beer makers Sabeco SAB.HM and Habeco BHN.HM, potentially offering a lucrative portion of the market in a young, beer-loving nation. Koji said Asahi has been studying Sabeco but declined to comment further: “As a growth market, Vietnam is attractive, but our judgement will be based on whether the market fits our premium beer strategy,” he said. Vietnam’s privatisation has been protracted, putting off some of the international investors who initially flocked to it. But it’s not all about acquisitions. The 65-year-old career insider who took the top job last year has also been reviewing the company’s asset portfolio, and he said minority investments remained under scrutiny. In June, Asahi said it would sell its 20 percent stake in Chinese brewer Tingyi-Asahi Beverages Holding Co for $612 million. Asahi also has a 20 percent stake in China’s second-largest brewer Tsingtao Brewery Co ( 600600.SS ) ( 0168.HK ). Koji said he could not comment on the Tsingtao stake, noting he plans to make some announcement on the portfolio review by the year end. Asahi, which commands nearly 40 percent share in Japan’s beer market, has been battling changing tastes and a sluggish economy at home, with the beer market shrinking around 1 percent a year in volume terms. The trend is not changing yet, Koji said, despite some indicators of a strengthening economy - but the company will tap Japan’s knack for ‘selective spending’ on premium or highly popular products. “Given this trend, we have to be doing more targeted product development and marketing for different generations and regions,” Koji said. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asahi-group-strategy/japanese-brewer-asahi-ready-to-spend-billions-of-dollars-on-acquisitions-idUKKCN1BW0LT'|'2017-09-21T13:24:00.000+03:00'
'97af8dc434c4792ae5c5a365b3b140b5fa8509a6'|'EU eyes solo move to increase tax on online giants, risking U.S. anger'|'  12:20 PM / Updated 3 hours ago EU eyes solo move to increase tax on online giants, risking U.S. anger Francesco Guarascio 4 Min Read The Google logo is shown reflected on an adjacent office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it may seek to implement tax reform to raise more revenue from online giants without the backing of the United States and other rich nations, in a move that could spark a new transatlantic dispute. The EU is frustrated at how long it is taking the world’s rich nations to reach a deal on how to tax online firms like Google ( GOOGL.O ) fairly. These companies on average pay bills in Europe that are less than half of those of other firms. To prevent some smaller EU economies such as Ireland or Luxembourg, which host many foreign online businesses, from blocking the move, the commission is also raising the prospect of using little-known EU rules that would prevent states from vetoing decisions on tax matters. Usually the EU decides on tax issues only with the unanimous support of its 28 members. The commission on Thursday outlined three options for taxes aimed at internet companies that could be agreed upon relatively quickly at the EU level or by a smaller group of EU nations. One was for a tax on the turnover rather than the profits of digital firms, another would put a levy on online ads, and a third would impose a withholding tax on payments to internet firms. In the longer term the EU wants to change existing taxation rights to make sure digital firms with large operations but no physical presence in a given country pay taxes there instead of being allowed to reroute their profits to low-tax jurisdictions. The EU’s preferred option would be for an agreement on this at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which includes the United States and Japan. But “the EU must prepare to act in the absence of adequate global progress,” Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told a news conference in Brussels, saying that a legislative proposal may come next spring. Such a move is likely to upset Washington and other rich nations that are home to many global tech giants. The Facebook application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White In a document setting out the distortions created by the low taxes paid by digital businesses, the commission cited several U.S. firms such as internet retailer Amazon ( AMZN.O ), social media host Facebook ( FB.O ), online entertainment firm Netflix ( NFLX.O ) and short-term rental website Airbnb. In the report, the commission emphasized that unilateral initiatives taken in the EU would need to be carefully assessed to ensure they are compatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. “We would urge caution against EU-only measures that could run the risk of creating double taxation,” Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a group representing accountants worldwide, said. The logo of the web service Amazon is pictured in this June 8, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Illustration REMOVING VETOES The EU will first have to reach a compromise agreement among its 28 members by December. Some states have already voiced their opposition to new taxes on digital firms, especially if decided on without a global deal in place. To overcome this, the commission said there was a debate on whether to strip EU countries of their veto rights on tax issues, based on an article in the EU treaties that allows such exceptional action in the event of market distortions. “There is a broader discussion whether we should move to decision-making based on majority also in the area of taxation,” Dombrovskis told reporters. But he added: “Currently we are basing our proposal on current rules which foresee unanimity.” Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker last week evoked another special procedure to move to majority-based rather than unanimous decisions in matters of taxation. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-tax-digital/eu-eyes-solo-move-to-increase-tax-on-online-giants-risking-u-s-anger-idUSKCN1BW1P7'|'2017-09-21T15:23:00.000+03:00'
'9397dfaa3dd5be598cf11da2235be17241b6cd20'|'EU oversight plan draws fire from financial firms and consumers alike'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The European Union’s plans to tighten up its oversight of financial firms have come under attack from industry and consumer groups that fear the move could hit businesses without doing enough to prevent misselling of risky funds.The criticism comes after the European Commission on Wednesday published proposals aimed at ending national supervision of some financial industries in a bid to strengthen the EU’s common market and increase controls over foreign firms that operate in the bloc.The expanded powers to monitor financial companies from non-EU countries could hurt Britain-based firms after the country leaves the EU and also U.S. businesses, which are among the most active foreign firms in the EU market.“The commission’s proposed approach risks closing off Europe to third-country fund managers,” said Paul Schott Stevens, head of the Investment Company Institute, which represents U.S. funds.In particular he criticised the EU’s plan to crack down on fund managers transferring activities to subsidiaries in foreign countries from the EU.The commission, however, said this widespread practice could favour a laxer application of the rules and pose risks to the bloc’s financial stability.But Schott Stevens labelled the move a form of protectionism.“The Commission’s approach is likely to inspire policymakers in regions around the world to reconsider terms of access for European managers to their markets. New rounds of protectionism can only harm markets and investors around the world,” he said.MISSELLING While some industry players saw the EU move as a power grab, consumer groups saw it as too timid. They accused the commission of not doing enough to increase its oversight of the financial sector.“Misselling scandals, unfair commercial practices and the sale of rip-off, complex financial products continue unabated,” said BEUC, a European consumer organisation.It said the EU’s proposed reform was “weak” and it called for EU regulators to have more power to intervene in national markets to protect savers.Misselling scandals have affected several EU countries after new rules on how to wind up failing banks shifted the burden of financial rescues from taxpayers to investors, increasing the risks attached to bonds and other financial products that have been seen as relatively safe.The commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis replied on Thursday, saying that under the proposed rules the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will be able to ban the marketing and selling of financial products “if it sees that efforts of national authorities were inadequate.”Separately, the commission adopted on Thursday two acts to increase the protection of savers when they buy life-insurance policies and similar products. The move will force insurers to provide more information to buyers and to do more to prevent conflicts of interest. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Hugh Lawson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-markets-regulation/eu-oversight-plan-draws-fire-from-financial-firms-and-consumers-alike-idINL5N1M23YO'|'2017-09-21T13:23:00.000+03:00'
'786a0091cb09cd1a9d32aaef1d97acc99b470cfa'|'Japanese brewer Asahi ready to spend "billions of dollars" on acquisitions'|'September 21, 2017 / 6:06 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Japanese brewer Asahi ready to spend ''billions of dollars'' on acquisitions Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Asahi Group Holdings President and COO Akiyoshi Koji poses for a photo with the company''s logo at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asahi Group Holdings Ltd ( 2502.T ) is ready to spend “billions of dollars” more on acquisitions, after having recently spent $11 billion to acquire beer brands across Europe from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV ( ABI.BR ), a top company executive said. Akiyoshi Koji, president of the largest beer maker in Japan, did not give any further details on how much Asahi was looking to spend on acquisitions. “If there are big investment opportunities, we can make big investments,” he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. On possible targets, he said “bolt-on” acquisitions to boost the company’s European businesses, including beer makers and distributors, were a high priority. He did not give names. In Asia, global beer companies are closely watching Vietnam’s plan to sell a majority stake in beer makers Sabeco SAB.HM and Habeco BHN.HM. Koji said Asahi has been studying Sabeco but declined to comment further: “As a growth market, Vietnam is attractive, but our judgment will be based on whether the market fits our premium beer strategy.” Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Himani Sarkar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-asahi-group-strategy/japanese-brewer-asahi-ready-to-spend-billions-of-dollars-on-acquisitions-idUKKCN1BW0MA'|'2017-09-21T08:59:00.000+03:00'
'6cc6519cc64d04387e4b554a44d0249f88de00b3'|'Demand for biofuels is increasing global food prices, says study - Guardian Sustainable Business - The Guardian'|'the palm oil debate Demand for biofuels is increasing global food prices, says study Using crops for fuel is putting pressure on food prices markets says a new analysis, which calls for an end to food-based biofuels A worker on an oil palm plantation in Riau province, Indonesia. The use of palm oil for biodiesel is on the rise. Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images the palm oil debate Demand for biofuels is increasing global food prices, says study Using crops for fuel is putting pressure on food prices markets says a new analysis, which calls for an end to food-based biofuels Supported by @tom_levitt   09.52 BST Demand for biofuels made from food crops, such as palm and rapeseed oil, has led to an increase in global food prices and needs to be curbed, according to a new analysis . There has been a surge in the production of biofuels in Europe and the US since the early 2000s, backed by policies designed to cut use of fossil fuels, such as the first EU biofuel directive in 2003. In the face of criticism about biofuels’ link to rising food prices and deforestation, the EU agreed to cap the use of food-based biofuels at 7% in 2015. The EU is now debating whether to keep this at 7% after 2021 or cut it further, as a number of NGOs are calling for. Last week, the UK agreed to cap its use of food-based biofuels at 4% of UK road fuel next year, dropping to 2% by 2032. The new analysis – commissioned by the NGOs BirdLife and Transport & Environment – backed those calling for an end to the use of food-based biofuels. If the EU cut use of them to zero, it concludes, then global vegetable oils, including palm oil, would be 8% cheaper and global cereal prices 0.6% cheaper by 2030. While concluding that “only a fraction of the feedstock used for biofuel production would find its way to poor food consumers if biofuel mandates were cancelled tomorrow”, report author Dr Chris Malins from the consultancy Cerulogy said: “Reducing demand in Europe for food-based biofuels would take pressure off food commodity markets, resulting, in the short to medium term, in modest reductions in food prices and global poverty rates, and in net global welfare improvements.” MEPs vote to ban the use of palm oil in biofuels Read more Vegetable oil is currently the main feedstock used to produce biofuels within the EU, with palm oil accounting for an estimated 12% of that total. Use of palm oil for biodiesel is also on the rise with 46% of the crop imported into the EU used for biodiesel in 2015. The environmental benefit of using vegetable oils, such as palm and rapeseed oil to produce biodiesel, is also being questioned. A report published in July by The Royal Academy of Engineering said some biofuels, such as diesel made from food crops, have led to more emissions than those produced by the fossil fuels they were meant to replace. Responding to the new analysis, WWF said it only supported biofuels that avoid these types of impacts such as those made from wastes or residues instead of crops. “But we would advocate for their use in hard-to-treat sectors, such as aviation, rather than road transport, which can be and is increasingly rapidly becoming electrified,” a spokesperson said. The EU Commission declined to comment, but continues to dispute the impact of its biofuels policies on global food prices. In its most recent update report on its renewable energy policy it said: ‘Concerning food prices, it should be noted that between 2012 and 2015, prices of agricultural commodities decreased. In 2015, the price of vegetable oils reached its lowest level since 2005… Lower biofuel demand for vegetable oils was among the factors contributing to the fall in oils/fats prices.’ However, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, said biofuels were “having a huge impact on accessibility of food because of price increase, especially in developing countries. Moreover, in developing countries biofuel production is connected with the land grabbing and heavy pesticides use”. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/20/demand-for-biofuels-is-increasing-global-food-prices-says-study'|'2017-09-20T16:52:00.000+03:00'
'd2387104840818b24d84ee4dde5b1be2cfa06149'|'Google close to buying smartphone maker HTC''s assets: Bloomberg'|'The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google is close to acquiring assets of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp ( 2498.TW ), Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.The Taiwan stock exchange said on Wednesday that HTC shares will be halted from Sept. 21 on a pending news announcement. ( bit.ly/2fjiJIL ) ( bloom.bg/2wxDCam )Bloomberg reported last month that the smartphone maker was said to be exploring options that could range from spinning off its virtual reality business to selling itself.Both HTC and Google declined to comment.Reporting by Munsif Vengattil; Editing by Anil D''Silva '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-htc-divestiture/google-close-to-buying-smartphone-maker-htcs-assets-bloomberg-idINKCN1BV2FA'|'2017-09-20T15:11:00.000+03:00'
'cf7f83afc5ae6683ed613950955132e1549bdf3b'|'Indian billionaire Agarwal to buy bigger stake in Anglo American'|'  4:33 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Indian billionaire Agarwal to buy bigger stake in Anglo American Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Volcan Investments, the family trust of the chairman of diversified miner Vedanta ( VED.L ), on Wednesday said it was increasing its stake in Anglo American ( AAL.L ) but did not intend to make a bid for the entire company. In a statement, Volcan said it was increasing its stake by acquiring shares worth between 1.25 billion and 1.5 billion pounds, in addition to the 2 billion pounds spent in March on acquiring a 12.43 percent holding. The additional shares could take the stake up to 20 percent over the next 10 days, a banking source who declined to be named said. Anglo American declined to comment. Following a recovery on the commodity markets, Anglo American’s shares have risen by more than 11 percent this year, building on a nearly 300 percent rally last year, which led gains on the London stock market. “We are encouraged by the performance of Anglo American since our original investment earlier this year,” Volcan said in a statement, adding it remained “an attractive investment for our family trust”. Anil Agarwal has previously stated he has no plans to take over Anglo American, although his family trust is now the second biggest stakeholder after South Africa’s state-owned Public Investment Corporation. Reporting by Barbara Lewis and Clara Denina in London and Sanjeeban Sarkar. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-anglo-vedanta-res-plc/indian-billionaire-agarwal-to-buy-bigger-stake-in-anglo-american-idUKKCN1BV2BB'|'2017-09-20T19:33:00.000+03:00'
'76b76905717fe83eb649a48b747ae7fa62003aa8'|'UK food delivery firm Deliveroo raises $385 million for expansion'|'LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - British takeaway food delivery firm Deliveroo has raised $385 million in new funding, the firm said in a statement on Sunday which set out that the money would help establish operations in new areas of the country and overseas.The firm said the funding round brought its total valuation to more than $2 billion and would allow it to expand into new “towns, cities and countries”, enlarge its technology team, and work with restaurants to develop delivery-only kitchens.Deliveroo operates in over 150 cities across 12 countries.The funding is led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research Company, the company said.“We are excited to see this capital put to use to build out their Editions concept and expand their geographic footprint,” said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund.Like taxi app Uber, which was stripped of its London operating license on Friday, Deliveroo has been criticised by unions who say it is exploiting its staff by not offering basic protections and some riders are pursuing legal action to push for workers’ rights.Deliveroo has previously said it would give its self-employed riders insurance and sick pay if the government changed the law so it could offer some, rather than all, the entitlements enjoyed by workers. (Reporting by William James; Editing by Toby Chopra) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deliveroo-fundraising/uk-food-delivery-firm-deliveroo-raises-385-million-for-expansion-idINL5N1M509C'|'2017-09-24T08:28:00.000+03:00'
'5b8bb6bfac286554cb411de31fffe32cf08afd62'|'Puerto Rico''s fragile economy dealt new blow by Maria'|'September 24, 2017 / 11:17 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Puerto Rico''s fragile economy dealt new blow by Maria Dave Graham , Robin Respaut , Hilary Russ 6 Min Read People arrive to buy gasoline next to a sign reading "There is no gasoline," at a gas station, after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Alvin Baez PUERTO RICO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chan Lo is racing against the clock to save thousands of dollars of supplies at his sushi restaurant in San Juan’s Condado beachfront community. He has roughly $16,000-worth of perishable goods stored in his restaurant Nagoya Sushi & Tiki Bar - in jeopardy as the battered island waits for power and water to be re-established. “I give it about three or four days maximum if the (power) doesn’t come back on and there are no generators available,” he said. “Everything will have to be thrown out.” Puerto Rico’s economy was already fragile before Hurricane Maria barreled into the island, but the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years could inflict heavy damage on the island’s health. Small businesses like Lo’s will be a significant part of the recovery, as they account for 80 percent of all private sector workers, according to a New York Federal Reserve report. And getting energy to them, and to manufacturers and hotels and other engines of the economy will be crucial for the island’s ability to bounce back. After Maria made landfall midweek on the island of 3.4 million people as a major Category 4 hurricane, the storm’s wind and water downed nearly all power and communications. Governor Ricardo Rossello said the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s grid was so severely hit by the storm that it could be months before electricity is restored to all customers. Making matters worse, PREPA has been in bankruptcy since July. Disaster modeler Enki Research estimates damage to the island at $30 billion, with $20 billion in direct physical damage and $10 billion in economic impact. “Puerto Rico is in a precarious state,” said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler at Enki. ‘A MEASURABLE IMPACT’ Puerto Rico has none of the economic might of other places hit hard in this active hurricane season, like the states of Texas and Florida. The island has spent most of the last ten years in recession. Its GDP shrank by more than one percent for seven of the last 10 years through 2016, the poverty rate is over 40 percent and unemployment stands at 10 percent. The chaos unleashed by the breakdown in basic services, a lack of cash and gas shortages has put many businesses into limbo, and the short-term effects are likely to be severe. Some Puerto Ricans are, however, already looking ahead to the economic boost that could be delivered by investment in the recovery. The timeliness of U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds will play into how quickly Puerto Rico gets back on its feet, said S&P Global Ratings analyst David Hitchcock. People line up to buy gasoline at a gas station after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Alvin Baez Meanwhile, the hurricane has pushed back the island’s bankruptcy process. Struggling under $72 billion in debt, Puerto Rico filed the biggest government bankruptcy in U.S. history earlier this year but that is now on the backburner, sources said on Thursday. “This is an island that has been riddled with bad news,” said Jonathan Mondillo, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC, which holds insured Puerto Rican bonds. “It’s going to have a measurable impact on their economy locally.” MANUFACTURING HEART In the aftermath of the storm, businesses both big and small around the island were assessing the damage and putting contingency plans in place. Puerto Rico boasts investments from a number of U.S. multinationals, such as Wal-Mart, Amgen and Eli Lilly. A spokesman for Honeywell International Inc, said the company’s “folks on the ground are making sure everyone’s accounted for and what their needs are ... we’re still assessing the facilities.” People line up to buy gasoline at a gas station after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Alvin Baez Manufacturing is still the heart of Puerto Rico’s economy and any blow to industry could have a significant impact. It makes up nearly 49 percent of the island’s GDP, according to a 2015 report from the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association. But the manufacturing sector is much diminished after the U.S. Congress decided to gradually phase out a 1976 tax credit program. That program ended in 2006, after which many companies left and the island had lost nearly half of its manufacturing jobs by 2014. HIT TO GROWING TOURISM Just as concerning to the island is likely to be the impact Hurricane Maria has caused to tourism - which will be especially hard felt since it was one area of the economy that had been growing. Travel and tourism had grown from 7.3 percent of GDP in 2014 to an estimated 8.4 percent in 2017 and was projected to rise to 10.7 percent by 2027, including direct and indirect spending, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Hotels and resorts were struggling to stay open in the days after the hit. Reynaldo Rey, general manager of the AC Hotel San Juan, said businesses were facing a race against the clock if emergency power supplies and water ran out because generators would only keep hotels operating for a few days. “Everything depends on when the supply lines are re-established,” Rey said. “We risk a complete shutdown.” Raul Brito, 24, a security guard for the state tourism agency in the capital’s upscale Condado neighborhood, said business was now in limbo at the worst time possible. “Companies don’t know if they are going to be able to start up again because they don’t know yet if they will have the money,” he said. Additional reporting in New York by Laila Kearney, Trevor Hunnicutt, Jenn Ablan, David Randall, Bill Berkrot, Caroline Humer, Richa Naidu and Nick Brown in Houston; Writing by Megan Davies; Editing by Mary Milliken'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-storm-maria-puertorico-analysis/puerto-ricos-fragile-economy-dealt-new-blow-by-maria-idUKKCN1BZ0C4'|'2017-09-24T14:06:00.000+03:00'
'35e439d2dc3c8a8cacb584d4ac200e92b020db44'|'Beijing’s battle to control its homegrown tech giants'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/36cd5f2c-94c5-11e7-bdfa-eda243196c2c'|'2017-09-21T20:54:00.000+03:00'
'70294603d3fc51729ca110b040508833f8ecf4b6'|'Daimler joins rush to add more North American auto plants - report'|'Reuters TV United States   1:08 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Daimler joins rush to add more North American auto plants: report Joseph White 4 Min Read Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. automakers are facing mounting pressure amid slowing demand in the country, as Asian and European automakers aggressively ramp up vehicle production in North America, including a new investment by Daimler AG( DAIGn.DE ). In the latest move, German automaker Daimler plans to spend $1 billion to expand its Mercedes Benz assembly plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to produce batteries and electric sport utility vehicles that would compete with Silicon Valley electric car maker Tesla Inc’s ( TSLA.O ) models, according to a person briefed on the matter. The Wall Street Journal reported the investment earlier on Wednesday. Daimler’s move to produce electric Mercedes Benz vehicles in the United States comes as the automaker has halted U.S. sales of Mercedes Benz diesels under scrutiny by U.S. environmental regulators. A Daimler spokeswoman said on Wednesday the company planned a formal announcement about its plans later in the day. Daimler is joining a rush to add vehicle-making capacity in a market that most analysts and industry executives expect to contract moderately over the next several years, following record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. Indeed, Detroit’s automakers are already temporarily idling factories and laying off thousands of workers as demand slows for their sedans and luxury cars. Global automakers have come under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to curb imports and hire more workers to build cars and trucks in the country. The burst of investments to expand U.S. vehicle production capacity also reflects intensified competition for market share in the world’s most profitable vehicle market. Rival German luxury automaker BMW AG ( BMWG.DE ) said in June it would expand its U.S. factory in South Carolina, adding 1,000 jobs. Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp( 7203.T ) and Mazda Motor Corp( 7261.T ) said in August they would join forces to build a new U.S. factory capable of producing up to 300,000 vehicles a year, with 4,000 new jobs. Honda Motor Co earlier this week said it would expand production of Accord models at a factory in Ohio. Volvo Cars, the Swedish brand owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group[GEELY.UL], is planning a second production line at a factory in South Carolina that is still under construction, according to people familiar with the plans. Silicon Valley automaker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ), meanwhile, is gearing up to produce as many as 500,000 Model 3 electric cars a year at its factory in Fremont, Calif., in an effort to increase its annual sales more than fivefold. Tesla, like its German rivals, will export some of the new vehicles it plans. But if the company sold 500,000 Model 3’s in the United States, it would become the largest luxury vehicle brand in the market, based on 2016 sales. Reporting By Joe White; Editing by Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-autos-capacity/daimler-joins-rush-to-add-more-north-american-auto-plants-report-idUKKCN1BW1SV'|'2017-09-21T16:07:00.000+03:00'
'4f15b91dcfac0163a031346b784ac8a355650684'|'Avis, Hertz shares rise but remain in short-seller cross-hairs'|'September 21, 2017 / 5:07 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Avis, Hertz shares rise but remain in short-seller cross-hairs Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Avis Budget Group vehicle rental company is pictured at the International Tourism Trade Fair (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. car-rental companies Avis Budget Group Inc ( CAR.O ) and Hertz Global Holdings Inc ( HTZ.N ) have driven out of the ditch in recent weeks, aided in part by storms that devastated the southern United States. But skeptics remain, including large positions held by short-sellers in both stocks, amid doubts about fundamental aspects of the car-rental business. Brad Lamensdorf, co-manager of the AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF that bets on stock price declines and holds Avis short positions, said Avis faces challenges including balance-sheet leverage and strong competition. “If we were to have a really rough spot in the market, I can’t imagine a worse company to own,” Lamensdorf said. Even with the stock’s recent rise, some remain bullish. Tom Schindler, a portfolio manager at Avis shareholder Diamond Hill Capital Management still sees Avis shares as attractive, noting the company’s potential to buy back more shares. “It’s been a more volatile stock than most,” said Schindler. Both stocks rebounded from multi-year lows in June, with Avis shares up some 80 percent since those lows and Hertz rising 160 percent. Recent company results showed signs pricing could be improving. Now, during a seasonally slow time for rentals when travel tends to dip, the companies could see stronger demand in Texas, Florida and elsewhere after hurricanes Harvey and Irma, analysts said. Car damage stands to benefit Hertz and Avis by raising demand and prices for used vehicles, a potential boon as the companies sell inventory to refresh fleets. “Irma and Harvey, while they have caused destruction, are probably going to create a financial windfall for both the rental car companies,” said John Healy, an analyst with Northcoast Research. FILE PHOTO: The logo of the American car rental company Hertz is seen at the Nantes-Atlantique airport in Bouguenais near Nantes, western France, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo Hertz and Avis are the second- and third-biggest players behind Enterprise in the U.S. rental car market, where 2.3 million cars are available, according to Fundstrat Global Advisors. Fundstrat estimates 500,000 cars were destroyed during Harvey, said managing director Sam Doctor, which “essentially has changed the dynamic because every car that was destroyed in Texas is going to be replaced.” But some have said the gains are overdone. Morgan Stanley last week cut its Hertz stock rating to “underweight”, its same rating as for Avis. Slideshow (2 Images) Avis shares are just over half their value of three years ago, while Hertz shares are less than one-fifth of theirs. Doubts about over-capacity and industry pricing have weighed as have concerns that off-lease cars are flooding the used-car market. The rise of car-sharing companies also make some investors wary. The stocks have drawn high-profile investors. Carl Icahn’s Icahn Associates owns about 35 percent of Hertz, Gabelli Funds owns 8 percent of the company, while Glenview Capital Management owns 9.4 percent of Avis and 6.8 percent of Hertz, according to Thomson Reuters data. Short-sellers held 40 percent of shares outstanding in Avis as of Aug. 30 and 33 percent of Hertz. Hertz short-sellers had $168 million in paper losses in 2017 as of Friday, while Avis shorts are down $104 million, said Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at financial analytics firm S3 Partners. Relative to other stocks, Hertz and Avis have a high likelihood of a short squeeze, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine, in which shares rise as shorts cover bearish bets. “Over the course of the next two quarters, there are going to be positive data points coming out of the car rental names,” said Hamzah Mazari, analyst at Macquarie Research. “You are going to see guys cover their shorts which will continue to help stock performance.” Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; editing by Diane Craft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-car-rental-stocks/avis-hertz-shares-rise-but-remain-in-short-seller-cross-hairs-idUSKCN1BW0H6'|'2017-09-21T08:05:00.000+03:00'
'9a7e08158babeb4d52067ddb88e39c8a2644f1a4'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-Lufthansa CEO''s focus is on 38 leased planes in Air Berlin battle'|'(Repeats story with no change to text)* Air Berlin creditors meet on Thursday* Lufthansa interested in up to around 80 planes in total* Not interested in Air Berlin’s long-haul routesFRANKFURT, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Lufthansa is interested in acquiring as many as 80 planes from rival Air Berlin with its priority on securing planes it already leases, the group’s chief executive said.A creditor committee meets on Thursday afternoon to discuss offers for Air Berlin, which filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding.Lufthansa is competing with several other airlines for parts of Air Berlin, including easyJet and Thomas Cook’s Condor, with bidders especially interested in its Niki short-haul business that flies from Germany and Austria to holiday hotspots in Europe.Lufthansa’s focus is on securing the 38 crewed planes it currently leases from the insolvent carrier, plus it would like up to an additional 20 to 40 planes, Carsten Spohr said at a media event late on Wednesday.Spohr said Lufthansa expected that was the most it could take without falling foul of anti-trust concerns and if it isn’t able to get all that it has bid for, it still plans to grow.“The next few days will show whether that growth comes organically via Eurowings or through an Air Berlin transaction,” he said, adding that Lufthansa would need around 3,000 new employees to meet that expansion.The 38 crewed planes Lufthansa leases from Air Berlin currently carry passengers mainly for the group’s budget unit Eurowings, and Lufthansa’s priority is on keeping that operation stable.Eurowings was hit last week, when Air Berlin pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, forcing the cancellation of flights.Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary has said Lufthansa would have a dominant position on domestic routes following an Air Berlin takeover. But Spohr said that Lufthansa had a 34 percent share of passengers to and from Germany, including transfer passengers, and that was what the authorities would be looking at.Lufthansa is however not interested in Air Berlin’s long-haul routes, with Spohr saying the flagship carrier could grow in that area on its own.After announcing plans to start Eurowings long-haul routes from Duesseldorf this winter, following Air Berlin’s retreat there, the budget unit also intends to offer long-haul flights from Berlin Tegel airport next year, albeit starting with just one route.Spohr also said business so far in 2017 was proving significantly better than the last two years, both of which were record years in terms of financial results.He added that Lufthansa was sticking with a goal of reducing its unit costs this year and said it hoped to sign a wide-ranging deal on pay and conditions with its pilots this month.Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-ceo/rpt-update-1-lufthansa-ceos-focus-is-on-38-leased-planes-in-air-berlin-battle-idINL5N1M24J7'|'2017-09-21T13:43:00.000+03:00'
'32dbe6c7f0fcac607a47e81c16970bccade390f2'|'China''s Baidu launches $1.5 billion autonomous driving fund'|'September 21, 2017 / 6:51 AM / Updated 13 hours ago China''s Baidu launches $1.5 billion autonomous driving fund Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A fleet of vehicles equipped with Baidu’s autonomous driving technologies conduct road testing in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, China in an undated photo. Courtesy of Baidu/Handout via REUTERS BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese search engine Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ) announced a 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) autonomous driving fund on Thursday as part of a wider plan to speed up its technical development and compete with U.S. rivals. The “Apollo Fund” will invest in 100 autonomous driving projects over the next three years, Baidu said in a statement. The fund’s launch coincides with the release of Apollo 1.5, the second generation of the company’s open-source autonomous vehicle software. After years of internal development, Baidu in April decided to open its autonomous driving technology to third parties, a move it hopes will accelerate development and help it compete with U.S. firms Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) and Google project Waymo. In the latest update to its platform, Baidu says partners can access new obstacle perception technology and high-definition maps, among other features. It comes amid a wider reshuffle of Baidu’s corporate strategy as it looks for new profit streams outside its core search business, which lost a large chunk of ad revenue in 2016 following strict new government regulations on medical advertising.[D-REUTERSNEWS-T004/Ied9174a015dc11e69074fc5db8fe171a] Baidu’s Apollo project - named after the NASA moon landing - aims to create technology for completely autonomous cars, which it says will be ready for city roads in China by 2020. It now has 70 partners across several fields in the auto industry, up from 50 in July, it says. Existing partners include microprocessors firm Nvidia Corp ( NVDA.O ) and mapping service TomTom NV. Despite the rapid growth of its partner ecosystem, Baidu has faced challenges negotiating local Chinese regulations, which have previously stopped the company from testing on highways. In July local Beijing police said it was investigating whether the company had broken city traffic rules by testing a driverless car on public roads as part of a demonstration for a press event. Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-baidu-autonomous/chinas-baidu-launches-1-5-billion-autonomous-driving-fund-idUSKCN1BW0QJ'|'2017-09-21T09:51:00.000+03:00'
'e687751ae03a3966755270ff652f4677da42b003'|'UniCredit to propose removal of 5 percent cap on voting rights'|'Reuters TV United States   6:39 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago UniCredit proposes to remove 5 percent cap on voting rights Francesca Landini 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Unicredit bank logo is seen in the old city centre of Siena, Italy June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini MILAN (Reuters) - UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) has called a shareholder meeting for Dec. 4 to put new governance proposals to the vote, including removing a 5 percent cap on voting rights and allowing the board to select its own candidates to be directors. The proposed changes come at a time of renewed merger speculation following a report that Italy’s largest bank by assets told Berlin recently it was interested in eventually merging with state-backed Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ). “This amendment would align UniCredit’s governance with the principle that the voting system be proportional to the capital invested, in line with international best practice,” the bank said in a statement on Thursday about the removal of the 5 percent cap. UniCredit’s CEO Jean-Pierre Mustier, appointed just over a year ago to turn the bank around, announced in December that he wanted to shake up the lender’s governance. In a statement, the bank said it would ask an extraordinary general meeting to give its board the power to present its own list of candidates for election as directors and to remove the limit on voting rights. Shareholders will also be asked to approve the mandatory conversion of the bank’s saving shares into ordinary shares at a conversion ratio of 3.82 ordinary shares for each saving share, plus an additional cash adjustment of 27.25 euros. Scrapping the 5 percent cap will trigger the right for ordinary shareholders to hand back their shares in exchange for money if they choose, the bank said. UniCredit also said it was exploring the feasibility of delisting its shares from the Warsaw stock exchange following the sale of its stake in Polish lender Bank Pekao ( PEO.WA ) In another statement, the bank said it planned to separate its risk management functions from credit related operational functions, creating two different divisions: the Group Risk Management and the Group Lending Office. Editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-unicredit-governance/unicredit-to-propose-removal-of-5-percent-cap-on-voting-rights-idUKKCN1BW2P0'|'2017-09-21T21:34:00.000+03:00'
'ba06830279aebbe7c69bef1130a67d050feb8856'|'The case against shrinking the Fed’s balance sheet'|'AS EXPECTED, the Federal Reserve announced on September 20th that it will soon begin reversing the asset purchases it made during and after the financial crisis. From October, America’s central bank will stop reinvesting all of the money it receives when its assets start to mature. As a result, its $4.5trn balance-sheet will gradually shrink. However, the Fed did not give any clues as to what the endpoint for the balance-sheet should be. This is an important question. There are strong arguments for keeping the balance-sheet large. In fact, it might be better were the Fed not shedding any assets at all. Most commentators view a large balance-sheet, which is the result of quantitative easing (QE), as an extraordinary economic stimulus. Janet Yellen, the Fed’s chair, seems to agree: at a press conference after the Fed announcement, she said the balance-sheet should shrink because the stimulus it provides to the economy is no longer needed. But the claim that the balance-sheet is stimulating the economy is far from an established fact. The theoretical case for it is weak (Ben Bernanke, Mrs Yellen’s predecessor, famously quipped that QE “works in practice, but it doesn’t work in theory”). While most studies have shown that QE brought down long-term interest rates, it may have worked by signalling that the central bank was serious about keeping rates low for a long time, or by lubricating financial markets during the credit crunch. If so, the Fed’s balance-sheet is probably not providing much stimulus to the economy today. Markets have not seemed to react much the Fed’s signals that today’s announcement was coming (see article). Latest updates California sues Donald Trump over his border wall plan Democracy in America 16 minutes ago “I don’t want the last car made in Germany to end up in a museum” Kaffeeklatsch an hour ago Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund passes the $1trn mark Graphic detail 3 hours ago A colourful way of bringing attention to South Side Chicago Prospero 3 hours ago Retail sales, producer prices, wages and exchange rates 11 hours ago Foreign reserves 11 hours ago See all updates How, then, should we think about the right size for the balance-sheet? An alternative way of viewing QE is as an operation that changes the maturity profile of government debt. The Fed hoovers up Treasury bonds, and replaces them with newly-created bank reserves. Those reserves are just a different type of government liability. Just as the Treasury pays interest on bonds it has issued, the Fed pays interest on bank reserves. The Fed and the Treasury both, in practice, represent the same borrower: the federal government. The main difference between the two types of debt is that Fed reserves are perpetual and instantaneously redeemable—in other words, they are money. Treasuries, by contrast, mature at a known date (though their liquidity and safety makes them resemble money). The best size for the Fed’s balance-sheet therefore depends on the best maturity profile for government debt, once the liabilities of the Fed and the Treasury have been combined. If money is more useful than Treasury bills, then the Fed performs a useful service by swapping one for the other. And money is useful. In a paper from 2016, Robin Greenwood, Samuel Hanson and Jeremy Stein argue that abundant bank reserves increase financial stability. They note rampant demand in financial markets for money-like instruments: from 1983 to 2009 one-week Treasury bills yielded, on average, fully 72 basis points less than six-month bills. (For comparison, the difference in yield between a five-year Treasury and a ten-year one is below 50 basis points).The authors argue that when the government fails to satisfy this demand, the private sector steps in, by issuing very short-term debt like asset-backed commercial paper. This threatens financial stability, because such debt tends to be risky. A run on money-market funds, which had gorged on short-term private debt, was central to the meltdown in financial markets in late 2008.So why not create plentiful reserves to fulfil the demand for money? One problem is interest-rate risk. The shorter the maturity profile of government debt, the more painful an unexpected rise in interest rates would be for taxpayers. In practice, this works as follows. To raise interest rates, the Fed must immediately pay more interest on the reserves it has created. Yet it would not receive higher yields on the Treasury securities it owns. So an unexpected rise in interest rates could ultimately threaten the solvency of a central bank with a large balance-sheet. The taxpayer would have to plug the gap.One solution to this problem, discussed by the authors, is a so-called “barbell” structure for government debt. This means a combination of very short-term liabilities, with the associated benefits for financial markets, and very long-term debt, which guards against interest-rate risk. The Fed could implement a barbell structure by buying up medium-dated Treasury bonds, thereby taking them out of the hands of the public. (This is probably better than the Treasury implementing a barbell structure on its own, because short-term Treasuries, unlike reserves, must be reissued frequently at auction.)Unfortunately, the Fed is unlikely to give such considerations much weight. Its large balance-sheet is controversial. Many observers fail to see that its liabilities are another form of government debt, claiming instead that they “distort” the market for Treasuries. Similarly, The Fed’s critics claim the interest it pays on reserves constitutes a subsidy to banks. They fail to note that if banks held Treasuries instead, they would earn interest on those, too.The political power of these worries will help determine the end point for the Fed’s balance-sheet. The Fed will need more assets than it did before the financial crisis, because of increased demand for currency, another central bank liability. There is currently $1.5trn of currency in circulation, up from about $800bn before the financial crisis. Keeping the current system for setting interest rates, which works by saturating banks with reserves and then paying interest on them, would probably require another $1trn of assets. However, the Fed might revert to the system it used before QE, when it controlled rates by keeping reserves scarce and tweaking their supply.Which system is used, and hence the ultimate size of the balance-sheet, is a decision that will probably be taken after President Donald Trump decides whether or not to reappoint Mrs Yellen as chair. It is an important one. Economists since Milton Friedman have noted the benefits of interest-bearing money like bank reserves. The Fed should make sure there is lots of it about.Next Is there a wage growth puzzle in America?'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2017/09/unwinding-qe?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T05:53:00.000+03:00'
'b3298343f8f54467bff8facd4f7c2b166723b1c2'|'Albertsons buys meal-kit delivery provider Plated'|' 42 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Albertsons buys meal-kit delivery provider Plated Reuters Staff   Customers leave an Albertsons grocery store with their purchases in Burbank, California July 17, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser (Reuters) - Albertsons Cos Inc ( ABS.N ), one of America’s biggest supermarket chains, said on Wednesday it would buy meal-kit delivery service Plated, as it looks to attract more customers to its stores amid increased competition. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Albertsons’ expansion into meal kits, which deliver fresh ingredients and recipes to subscribers, comes less than a month after Amazon.com Inc’s ( AMZN.O ) entry into the grocery market with its acquisition of Whole Foods Market. Amazon’s entry is expected to increase pricing pressure on retailers. The Albertsons-Plated deal also comes a few months after Blue Apron Holdings ( APRN.N ) became the first U.S. meal-kit company to go public and as more and more food companies take an interest in the meal-kit delivery industry. Nestle SA ( NESN.S ) led a $77 million investment round in meal-kit company Freshly in June, while Unilever Plc’s venture capital arm ( ULVR.L ) led a $9.2 million investment in organic meal delivery service Sun Basket in May. Amazon is also exploring technology to produce ready-to-eat meals to be delivered through its AmazonFresh service, Reuters reported last month. Albertsons said Plated meal kits would be offered at its store locations, online, and through a variety of distribution options. Plated, launched in 2012, is headquartered in New York and has its distribution centres across the United States, Albertsons said. The service became popular after it was featured on the reality show, “Shark Tank”, in 2014. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-plated-m-a-albertsons-cos/albertsons-buys-meal-kit-delivery-provider-plated-idUKKCN1BV34B'|'2017-09-21T01:45:00.000+03:00'
'909cf31a82f1699353de3a3722a8f9d409b831cd'|'IG Group''s first-quarter revenue jumps on expanding client base'|'  6:25 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago IG Group''s first quarter revenue jumps on expanded client base Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Dealers work on the IG Group trading floor in London, Britain June 30, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall (Reuters) - IG Group Holdings Plc, a British online trading company, on Thursday reported a 21.4 percent rise in revenue to 135.2 million pounds for the quarter ended Aug. 31 helped by an expanded client base. Founded in 1974 as the world’s first spread-betting firm, IG said active clients rose 9 percent and revenue per client rose 11 percent. Its client base grew by 15 percent in the United States and by 5 percent across EMEA. Revenue in the UK, its largest market, rose by 11 percent to 58.8 million pounds on higher revenue per client but client numbers fell. IG a year earlier had seen strong new client inflows due to short-term trading opportunities created by Britain’s June 2016 EU referendum. Markets overall saw increased volatility last year after unexpected outcomes including Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. election and Britain’s decision to leave the EU. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ig-grp-hldgs-results/ig-groups-first-quarter-revenue-jumps-on-expanding-client-base-idUKKCN1BW0O2'|'2017-09-21T09:26:00.000+03:00'
'e20277cb80debe6147887400402dda1b84c495cb'|'Eurowings wins union backing to speed up hiring amid Air Berlin turbulence'|'BERLIN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Lufthansa budget unit Eurowings has agreed a deal with the Verdi union that will allow it to hire new cabin crew at short notice from rivals such as bankrupt Air Berlin.Eurowings launched a recruitment drive last month, seeking around 200 pilots and 400 cabin crew qualified to fly and crew A320 planes.Air Berlin also flies A320 planes and so the drive is a chance for staff to get hired without waiting for talks on a carve-up of the carrier to finish.Eurowings, which did not mention Air Berlin staff specifically in its statement, said it had received over 1,000 applications for the positions and had started conducting interviews.On Wednesday Eurowings plans to hold talks with pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit with the aim of being able to take on captains and first officers at short notice as well, it said.The deal with Verdi, which Eurowings says will take into account applicants’ previous experience, comes after a similar agreement with union UFO, which also represents cabin crew. Workers at Air Berlin, which employs more than 8,000 staff, are currently waiting to see how the airline will be divided up among interested parties, with a final decision expected by a creditors’ committee on September 25.Lufthansa has made an offer for parts of the airline, with one source saying Germany’s largest carrier was interested in up to 90 planes, including Austrian holiday airline unit Niki’s fleet and 38 crewed planes it already leases from Air Berlin.Industry investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl has offered to buy Air Berlin in its entirety while Britain’s easyJet has made a bid for parts of its short-haul business.Former Formula One champion Niki Lauda has teamed in a bid with German airline Condor, part of Thomas Cook. Lauda has said he is interested in buying back Niki, an airline he set up in 2003.British Airways owner IAG has also joined the fray, sources have told Reuters, while German family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht has offered to buy Air Berlin’s cargo marketing platform, its maintenance business and regional unit LGW.Eurowings and Condor are already stepping in to fill some of the gap left by Air Berlin cancellations, setting up new routes to the Caribbean which will begin in November.Reporting by Victoria Bryan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-eurowings-jobs/eurowings-wins-union-backing-to-speed-up-hiring-amid-air-berlin-turbulence-idINL5N1M125Q'|'2017-09-20T08:20:00.000+03:00'
'26fb8dfd2efe40c7b232d35ac0db1072db9ca2c6'|'Appeals court allows Mistry to continue action against Tata Sons'|'Cyrus Mistry speaks to shareholders during the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) annual general meeting in Mumbai, India June 28, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - An appeals court in India ruled on Thursday that former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry can press ahead with a legal battle against the salt-to-software conglomerate that had earlier been dismissed.Mistry, a scion of the wealthy Shapoorji Pallonji family which owns a minority stake in Tata Sons, has been locked in a legal feud with Tata Sons and Tata family patriach Ratan Tata, following his removal as chairman last October.Mistry accuses the company of mismanagement and oppression of minority shareholder interests, charges which Tata denies.Ratan Tata, heads the trusts that own a majority stake in Tata Sons. Mistry’s family firms own an 18.4 percent stake.The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had previously dismissed Mistry’s legal action on the grounds that such cases, brought by investors, require a minimum shareholding criteria to be met.The NCLT had said Mistry did not meet this criteria and declined his request for a waiver. The appeals tribunal though, ruled on Thursday that a waiver ought to have been granted.A lawyer working for the Mistry camp said that in light of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) ruling, they are likely to file an amended case before the NCLT, to put forward grievances that had earlier not received a hearing.Cyrus Mistry smiles during the Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) annual general meeting in Mumbai June 27, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer/Files Cyrus Mistry’s office said the ruling was a “welcome vindication” of his stance.“We will continue to pursue highest standards of corporate governance and demand complete transparency of the group,” the statement said.Tata Sons said the group would examine the ruling and “continue to defend its position at all appropriate legal forums.”“We strongly believe that the allegations made by the petitioners are without basis and incorrect,” a Tata spokesperson said in a statement.Separately, Tata Sons received shareholders’ approval on Thursday to go from being a public limited company to a private limited company, a source with direct knowledge said, a move legal experts say could restrict Mistry from easily selling his Tata shares.Going private would also reduce the disclosure obligations of the company, say lawyers.In a letter dated Sept. 14 to Tata Sons’ board, Mistry described the plan to go private as “yet another act of oppression of the minority shareholders”.Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui and Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/tata-sons-lawsuit-mistry/appeals-court-allows-mistry-to-continue-action-against-tata-sons-idINKCN1BW22R'|'2017-09-21T12:38:00.000+03:00'
'17041496a18e3807f9f3e66be762be1f6fb2a085'|'SK Hynix says some key issues on Toshiba chip unit sale still need agreement'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of SK Hynix is seen at its headquarters in Seongnam, South Korea, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), part of the winning consortium for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) chip unit, said on Thursday that some key issues still needed to be agreed upon.Toshiba said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell the prized unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital and expectations of a formal signing on Thursday had been high.“There are some key issues still to be agreed upon in the content approved by Toshiba’s board,” the South Korean chipmaker said in a regulatory filing, adding that it would continue with discussions.Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-sk-hynix/sk-hynix-says-some-key-issues-on-toshiba-chip-unit-sale-still-need-agreement-idINKCN1BW0I7'|'2017-09-21T03:17:00.000+03:00'
'48e6206bcde0010be77b7084e20b8f602825e05b'|'Siemens to decide within days on rail talks with Bombardier or Alstom: source'|'MUNICH (Reuters) - Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) will decide within days whether to continue negotiations on a potential rail combination with either Canadian group Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) or with French peer Alstom ( ALSO.PA ), a person close to the matter said.In a potential deal with Alstom, Siemens would transfer its rail operations to Alstom and become majority shareholder of Alstom, the source added.Reporting by Alexander Hübner; Writing by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Maria Sheahan '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens-talks/siemens-to-decide-within-days-on-rail-talks-with-bombardier-or-alstom-source-idINKCN1BW1RH'|'2017-09-21T10:47:00.000+03:00'
'4724a9d061c14e30aa579866fb29a5b0920b6e2c'|'Fortum shares knocked as doubts creep in on Uniper deal'|'  10:41 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Fortum shares knocked as doubts creep in on Uniper deal Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Fortum headquarters in Espoo, Finland August 18, 2017. REUTERS/Lefteris Karagiannopoulos HELSINKI (Reuters) - Shares in Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) fell back on Thursday as investors turned doubtful as to whether the Finnish power utility would succeed in buying a near 47 percent stake in German counterpart Uniper ( UN01.DE ) due to Uniper’s opposition to a takeover. Shares in Fortum, which rose 4.2 percent on Wednesday, were down by 4.6 percent at 16.12 euros by 1020 GMT, when Uniper’s shares were up 0.45 percent at 22.40 euros, having risen more than 5 percent on Wednesday to just above the offer price. E.ON’s shares were down 2.2 percent at 9.25 euros, having closed up 3 percent on Wednesday. “As Uniper’s management considers Fortum’s bid ... as hostile, and Fortum acknowledges that it does not expect to gain control of the company in the foreseeable future, we view the proposed transaction as unattractive,” said Handelsbanken analyst Karri Rinta. “My take is that this will fall through. Fortum won’t even buy the minority stake,” he said in cutting his rating on Fortum shares to a “reduce” from “accumulate”. Nordea Bank also lowered its rating for Fortum, to “hold” from “buy”. “An expected break-up scenario must be the reason Uniper is opposed to a merger with Fortum ... the problem is that Uniper’s hydro- and nuclear power assets are not for sale separately,” the bank’s analysts said in a note. Fortum said on Wednesday it was in talks to pay 3.8 billion euros for E.ON’s E.ONGn.DE remaining 46.65 percent stake in Uniper, the power stations and trading business that E.ON spun off last year. If the deal goes through the state-controlled Finnish company must then extend the offer of 22 euros per share to all other shareholders. Uniper, which has interests in nuclear and hydropower electricity generation but also a large number of fossil-fuel power stations, is seen as a difficult strategic fit for Fortum, which is focused on carbon-free power generation. Sources close to the matter said that Fortum was already working with a partner that might take on Uniper’s coal-fired plants. Uniper was taken aback by the news of Fortum’s planned bid, which the German company said was “unsolicited” and “clearly not in line with the strategy of Uniper’s strategy”. Fortum has been hunting for acquisitions ever since it sold its Nordic power distribution grids for 9.3 billion euros and promised two years ago to put the money to better use. “This (the bid for E.ON’s Uniper stake) is a very, very confusing case altogether, with lots of open questions,” said Mika Heikkila, a fund manager at Taaleri, whose fund is a Fortum shareholder. “They must find some use for the money. The price is not too high, but how can they get rid of the assets that they are not interested in?” Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas Forsell; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-stocks/fortum-shares-knocked-as-doubts-creep-in-on-uniper-deal-idUKKCN1BW1ES'|'2017-09-21T13:32:00.000+03:00'
'8cd342c42e5f412a6d205debace390b0fef12ff0'|'Factbox - The Bank of England''s rate-setters and how their votes might change'|'September 21, 2017 / 11:16 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Factbox - The Bank of England''s rate-setters and how their votes might change Reuters Staff 6 Min Read A man walks past a reflection of the Bank of England in a window in the City of London, Britain, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England’s nine interest-rate setters have to decide whether to raise British interest rates for the first time in a decade in six weeks’ time. The BoE surprised markets on Sept. 14 when it said, despite the big uncertainties about Brexit, that most of its policymakers thought a rate hike was likely in the coming months, if underlying inflation pressure continues to grow. The signal came even as the Monetary Policy Committee members voted 7-2 to keep rates at their all-time low of 0.25 percent, meaning at least three of its members will have to switch their vote if the BoE is to raise rates on Nov. 2. Following is a brief description of each of the MPC''s members and their latest comments on the outlook for rates. Infographic ID: ''2eSYykb'' THE SEVEN WHO VOTED TO KEEP RATE UNCHANGED LAST WEEK MARK CARNEY, GOVERNOR - LIKELY TO VOTE FOR A HIKE SOON Since arriving at the BoE more than four years ago, Carney has signalled on previous occasions that a rate hike might be coming, only to be wrong-footed by the economy’s twists and turns. This time, he has sounded more emphatic. Carney said on Sept. 14 that he was one of the majority of MPC members who saw the balance of risks shifting towards inflation and away from weak growth and a hike was likely to be needed in the coming months. “Now, we will take that decision based on the data. I guess that possibility has definitely increased,” he said. BEN BROADBENT, DEPUTY GOVERNOR FOR MONETARY POLICY - LIKELY TO VOTE FOR A HIKE SOON Carney’s number two for interest rates and other measures to help the economy, Broadbent has yet to speak publicly since last week’s surprise announcement. But in August he said a hike would not be a big risk, suggesting he was getting close to changing his vote. “I think there may be some possibility for interest rates to go up a little bit,” he said “One shouldn’t overdo this. If and when it happens there will be a lot of talk about the first rate rise since ‘x’. But it’s just a rate rise and we got perfectly used to rate rises of this size in the past.” ANDY HALDANE, CHIEF ECONOMIST - LIKELY TO VOTE FOR A HIKE SOON Haldane shook up markets in June when he said he was likely to vote for a rate hike in the second half of 2017. Previously, he had been considered one of the strongest supporters of continued record low rates. “Provided the data are still on track, I do think that beginning the process of withdrawing some of the incremental stimulus provided last August would be prudent moving into the second half of the year.” JON CUNLIFFE, DEPUTY GOVERNOR FOR FINANCIAL STABILITY - MIGHT VOTE FOR A RATE HIKE SOON Cunliffe’s expertise lies in bank regulation and he is not known for taking strong individual positions on monetary policy. He is therefore likely to take his lead from Carney although on June 28, in his most recent public comments on rates, he said: “(We) do have to look at what’s happening to domestic inflation pressure, and I think that on the data we have at the moment, gives us a bit of time to see how this evolves.” DAVE RAMSDEN, DEPUTY GOVERNOR FOR MARKETS AND BANKING - VIEW ON RATE OUTLOOK UNKNOWN Ramsden joined the BoE in September having previously worked as the top economic advisor at Britain’s finance ministry. He has made no public comment on the outlook for rates although he voted to keep them on hold last week. He is no stranger to the MPC debates having attended 92 of its meetings in his previous role at the Treasury. GERTJAN VLIEGHE, EXTERNAL MPC MEMBER - MIGHT VOTE FOR A RATE HIKE SOON Vlieghe pushed up the pound by almost as much as the surprise Sept. 14 BoE announcement when, a day later, he suggested that he too was close to voting for a rate hike. Until then, the former hedge fund economist had argued against such a move and was seen as the BoE’s strongest supporter of record-low rates. “If these data trends of reducing slack, rising pay pressure, strengthening household spending and robust global growth continue, the appropriate time for a rise in Bank Rate might be as early as in the coming months,” he said on Sept. 15. SILVANA TENREYRO, EXTERNAL MPC MEMBER - VIEWS ON RATE OUTLOOK UNKNOWN Tenreyro is another newcomer to the MPC which she joined in July. She has voted twice to keep rates on hold and is widely considered to be one of the BoE’s more dovish policymakers based on her previous academic work which highlighted the potential damage to Britain’s economy from Brexit. So far, she has not spoken publicly since joining the BoE. THE TWO WHO HAVE VOTED FOR A HIKE MICHAEL SAUNDERS, EXTERNAL MPC MEMBER - HAS VOTED FOR A RATE HIKE SINCE JUNE Saunders, a former economist with financial services firm Citi, has been in the minority of MPC members voting for a rate hike since June. “I think households should prepare for interest rates to go higher at some point. But if rates do go up, it will be in the context of the economy doing OK and unemployment being low and probably falling,” he said on July 4. IAN MCCAFFERTY, EXTERNAL MPC MEMBER - HAS VOTED FOR A RATE HIKE SINCE JUNE McCafferty has voted on and off for a rate hike over the past three years and is currently the other MPC member, alongside Saunders, who supports a hike to 0.50 percent. “I feel on the balance of monetary policy that there is a need for change. I think this would be justified and would be the prudent thing to do at this stage,” he said on July 4. Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-mpc-factbox/factbox-the-bank-of-englands-rate-setters-and-how-their-votes-might-change-idUKKCN1BW1II'|'2017-09-21T14:16:00.000+03:00'
'1ae5fedb55d593c6c6ccf3e23bd5e24cabbc930a'|'Boeing takes off on a flight of hypocrisy against Bombardier'|'“WE WON’T do business with a company that is busy trying to sue us.” So said an uncharacteristically stern Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, alongside his British counterpart, Theresa May, in Ottawa on September 18th. The two had teamed up to take on Boeing. The giant American aeroplane-maker is pressing Donald Trump’s administration to impose duties on commercial jets made by Canada’s Bombardier. Boeing says its smaller rival is using Canadian government subsidies to sell aircraft to Delta, an American carrier, at below cost price.Few in either country question that Bombardier has had vital financial support from the Canadian and British governments since 2005 for its small jetliner, the C-Series. As the plane’s development costs soared, to $5.4bn, Bombardier struggled to find buyers for it; financial trouble followed. An estimated C$4bn ($3.4bn) in state support, including C$2.8bn in 2015, stopped a nosedive. It was not until 2016 that the aircraft’s future seemed assured, when Delta ordered 75 units. Boeing then accused Bombardier of dumping the jets into America at “absurdly low” prices and asked the Commerce Department to impose countervailing duties. A preliminary ruling is due on September 25th. 18 Aircraft-makers are no strangers to subsidy disputes. Brazil, home to Embraer, which makes a rival to the C-Series, has complained to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about Bombardier. But Boeing is a particularly active litigant, not only against Bombardier but against Airbus, which it says got billions of dollars of cheap loans from the EU. Naturally, Boeing itself got billions of dollars of help (in the form of military contracts) to get off the ground back in the 1950s and 1960s. Nor does it have a plane that competes with the C-Series. “Boeing says it wants a level playing field, but it is not even on the field,” spits Fred Cromer, president of Bombardier Aerospace.That may be problematic, as industries usually need to show “material injury” to gain protection from anti-subsidy duties. Boeing has not made planes the size of the C-Series since 2006, notes Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive, and has no plans to do so. “Instead Boeing offered to lease us second-hand planes built in Brazil,” he says. And when Boeing accused Bombardier of selling its planes to Delta for less than they cost to build, it appeared to forget that it did the same with over 300 of its 787 jets. Furthermore, its estimate of the cost of the C-Series was inflated by looking at only one year early in the production life cycle.Even so, at the Commerce Department Boeing may be pushing on an open door. Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, has imposed countervailing duties on imports ranging from steel plate from South Korea to tool chests from China, and has angered Canada by placing a levy of up to 24% on its softwood lumber.Boeing has reasons to guard against Bombardier. First, it fears encirclement by state-subsidised aircraft makers—not only Airbus and Bombardier, but ambitious state-supported Chinese and Russian producers. Second, Bombardier might grow into another Airbus, a rival Boeing did not take seriously until it was too late. Bombardier could stretch its fuel-efficient C-Series planes to challenge Boeing’s smallest airliner, a big earner for the American firm but based on an old design. “Strangling the baby in the pram may prove rather convenient,” says an adviser close to Boeing.In the meantime, Mr Trudeau and Mrs May are both lobbying Mr Trump on Bombardier’s behalf, and Canada is likely to appeal in the courts and at the WTO. If Boeing gets its way, about 3,500 jobs will be threatened in Quebec, where Canadian politicians are wary of stirring up separatist sentiment, and a further 4,500 in Northern Ireland, where Bombardier is the largest private-sector employer. Mrs May’s Conservative government is propped up by the ten MPs from the province’s Democratic Unionist Party; Bombardier lies in east Belfast, the party’s heartland.Canada has also threatened to cancel a likely $5bn order of military jets from Boeing if the American company prevails against Bombardier; Britain could follow its lead. Several airlines, fearing less competition among planemakers, are unhappy with Boeing’s behaviour and privately threaten to shun its jets if it continues to bully its smaller rival. This may be the trade case that ends up costing Boeing much more than it has to gain. "Aerial bombardment"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729469-row-between-planemakers-has-become-political-boeing-takes-flight-hypocrisy?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'f8e83cb52ae06fb0d443c5d61ffe87be2aee1f19'|'JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Danske Bank chosen for Nykredit IPO'|'General view of a building of Danish finance institute Nykredit in Copenhagen, November 5, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish mortgage lender Nykredit ( IPO-NYKRD.CO ) and its owner Forenet Nykredit have chosen U.S. banks JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Danske Bank ( DANSKE.CO ) as joint global coordinators for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).Nykredit said in February 2016 it was aiming at an IPO in the following 12 to 24 months. Reuters reported in July that Morgan Stanley was seen as standing a good chance of securing a lead role.Nykredit CEO Michael Rasmussen told Reuters last month that its positive Q2 report showed that the company would be ready for an IPO around March or April next year but that the timing would depend on the market situation.Reporting by Teis Jensen, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nykredit-holding-ipo/jpmorgan-morgan-stanley-and-danske-bank-chosen-for-nykredit-ipo-idUSKCN1BU1RH'|'2017-09-19T21:32:00.000+03:00'
'61a949dbf371acaa6a42bc83d2abfedabdd9bd16'|'U.S. bankruptcy judge says will approve loan for Toys ''R'' Us'|'WILMINGTON, Del, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Bankruptcy judge overseeing the Chapter 11 of Toys ‘R’ Us said on Tuesday he would approve the company’s request to borrow more than $2 billion to help stabilize the largest U.S. toy chain as it builds inventory for the year-end shopping season.Toys ‘R’ Us filed for bankruptcy Monday, squeezed by online shopping and discount chains.Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toys-r-us-bankruptcy-judge/u-s-bankruptcy-judge-says-will-approve-loan-for-toys-r-us-idINL2N1M01VW'|'2017-09-19T17:33:00.000+03:00'
'858c5822a01eb908afed6edd2d1b1b5b31438a62'|'Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts'|'  10:23 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle 7 Min Read Mayor Henrik Halleland stands outside his office in Finnoey, Norway September 8, 2017. Picture taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Alister Doyle JUDABERG, Norway (Reuters) - The Norwegian island of Finnoey has the highest density of electric cars in the world. The reason? They are exempt from the $6,000-a-year toll charges for the tunnel to the mainland. There has been a surge in sales of fully electric cars like Teslas ( TSLA.O ) and Nissan ( 7201.T ) Leafs since the tunnel opened in 2009 and they now account for one in five cars on Finnoey, compared with less than 1 in 100 globally. Twenty-nine percent of all new car registrations in Norway were fully electric or plug-in hybrids last year, according to the International Energy Agency, far ahead of the Netherlands in second on 6.4 percent and Sweden in third on 3.4. China had almost 1.5 percent and the United States less than one. State subsidies support sales of electric cars around the world, and Norway has the most electric cars per capita thanks to the most generous handouts. It offers nationwide tax breaks for users of electric cars than can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, plus various local incentives like exemptions from road tolls and parking fees. “Economic incentives work, especially if they are very, very, very strong as in Finnoey,” said former Norwegian central bank governor Svein Gjedrem, who grew up on the western island chain of 3,250 people which is famous for its fish farms and tomatoes. A reliance on state handouts complicates efforts in nations like Britain and France to phase out combustion engines in favor of battery-powered vehicles, which are far costlier, have limited ranges and often have long charging times. It means the technology will have to become significantly cheaper if those governments are to meet pledges to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 without having to hand out crippling levels of subsidies to millions of buyers. A tale of two contrasting Norwegian municipalities - Finnoey and neighboring Hjelmeland on the mainland - starkly illustrates the power of financial incentives on consumer behavior. A Finnoey resident driving to work in nearby oil hub Stavanger with an electric car can save 40,000-50,000 crowns ($5,500-$6,500) a year in tunnel tolls compared with drivers of fossil-fueled cars. Hjelmeland, by contrast, bucks the Norwegian trend by offering no local perks at all for battery-powered cars. Almost one in 10 people on Finnoey have electrics cars, compared with fewer than one in 100 in Hjelmeland, which is much bigger and has a similar population, according to a previously unpublished ranking of all regions from state-run Statistics Norway that was provided to Reuters. “It’s all about the economics, not about ideology,” Wictor Juul, head of administration for the Hjelmeland municipality, said of the contrasting ownership rates. WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS Norway is among the world’s richest countries because of its oil and gas exports - yet even there electric car incentives are being curbed because of the strain on public finances and a faster-than-expected adoption of battery-powered cars. For example, it has just scrapped nationwide directives that parking, transport by state-owned ferries and road tolls should be free for electric vehicles, instead leaving it to local authorities’ discretion. It is also reviewing tax breaks for the most expensive luxury electric cars. So far the reversals have had no apparent impact on sales. “I‘m not too worried,” said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, because other benefits such as an exemption from value-added tax are staying in place. There are, however, examples elsewhere in the world of the consequences of withdrawing electric car benefits. Arne Nordboe recharges his Nissan Leaf electric car in Finnoey, Norway September 8, 2017. Picture taken September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Alister Doyle Sales of Nissan Leafs in the U.S. state of Georgia, for instance, plunged after authorities revoked a $5,000 tax break in 2015. Electric car imports to Denmark fell sharply last year, bucking a European trend, after Copenhagen cut subsidies. Sales of Teslas fell to 176 from 2,738 the year before. MUSK LOVES NORWAY In Norway, a Tesla Model S electric sedan costs 636,000 crowns pre-tax, almost double the 320,000 crowns pre-tax cost of an Audi A7 gasoline car, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association says. But the Audi ends up costing more when sold - 697,000 crowns - after an array of taxes led by sales tax (140,000 crowns), carbon dioxide tax (125,000 crowns) and a special tax on the weight of the vehicle (110,000 crowns). By contrast, a Tesla buyer is charged only a small fee for end-of-life scrapping and pays 638,000 crowns in total. Slideshow (2 Images) It’s little wonder that Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in June: “I love Norway, which is the world leader in EV (electric vehicle) adoption!” His company has invested heavily in Norway, for instance with fast charger networks. The Norwegian finance ministry says basic tax breaks totaled about a cumulative 12 billion crowns by the end of 2016. There are now about 140,000 fully electric cars on the road. Britain and France, the only two countries to announce deadlines for phasing out combustion engines, also offer generous subsidies to electric car buyers. Buyers in Britain get a grant of up to 35 percent of the purchase price, while in France someone selling a diesel car and buying electric receives thousands of euros in benefits. Norway’s Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen, part of a minority right-wing government that won re-election on Sept. 11, acknowledged that the country’s subsidies model was expensive. But he predicted advances in the technology would mean electric cars would be competitive in price with combustion engine cars in the early 2020s. His sentiments are echoed in Finnoey by Mayor Henrik Halleland who thinks battery-powered car sales could ultimately survive without large financial incentives. The island’s tunnel toll charges for combustion engines go toward paying the 550 million crown cost of building the tunnel. Once the debt is paid, the tunnel will be free for all. “Electric cars are getting so good that people will buy them anyway,” said Halleland. Still, he now wants electric car owners to pay 50 percent of the rate paid by diesel and gasoline cars. And he’s not planning to buy electric himself, saying he has to keep his combustion engine Mazda to pay the tolls and do his bit to pay off the tunnel. Electric car owners are unapologetic though. “It’s all about political choices,” said Arne Nordboe, a teacher and part-time stand-up comedian who drives a Nissan Leaf. “I think it would be reasonable when electric cars get cheaper and cheaper and more useful, then I can pay more.” Norway''s electric cars: tmsnrt.rs/2wnEmNs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-autos-electric-analysis/road-to-electric-car-paradise-paved-with-handouts-idUKKCN1BW1AN'|'2017-09-21T13:32:00.000+03:00'
'c99486a1b29a00001e8d7ca373a06324031f27a1'|'Capita staff vote to strike over pension changes - Unite'|' 39 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Capita staff vote to strike over pension changes - Unite   (Reuters) - Capita ( CPI.L ) staff represented by trade union Unite have voted to go on strike for six days from Oct. 5 in protest against changes to the company’s pension scheme, Unite said on Thursday. Capita informed its employees of significant changes to their pension arrangements in June which would result in a “massive cut” in their retirement income, the trade union said. Capita did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-capita-strike/capita-staff-vote-to-strike-over-pension-changes-unite-idUKKCN1BW1VB'|'2017-09-21T16:39:00.000+03:00'
'71c8fee37cbc42cfe1b5237c44542651a20d2dac'|'CapitaLand Commercial to buy Singapore office tower from BlackRock for $1.55 bln'|'SINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Reuters) - CapitaLand Commercial Trust said on Thursday it was buying an office tower in Singapore’s financial district for for S$2.1 billion ($1.55 billion) from BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager.The deal for Asia Square Tower 2 comes a little more than a year after BlackRock sold the larger Tower 1 to the Qatar Investment Authority for $2.5 billion in Singapore''s largest office transaction. ( reut.rs/2fkbeBb )$1 = 1.3523 Singapore dollars Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/capitaland-comm-blackrock-realestate/capitaland-commercial-to-buy-singapore-office-tower-from-blackrock-for-1-55-bln-idUSS7N1A101Z'|'2017-09-21T08:44:00.000+03:00'
'b23763b5594569ad59e41d174fcafa069f3a41d3'|'Daimler to invest $1 billion in Alabama plant, create over 600 jobs'|'The Daimler AG sign with raindrops is pictured before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) said it will invest $1 billion to expand its U.S.-based Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama to start building electric sport-utility vehicles there from about 2020.More than 600 new jobs will be created as part of the investment, which includes plans to build a facility in 2018 near the factory in Tuscaloosa to produce batteries for zero-emission vehicles, Daimler said on Thursday, confirming a Reuters story.Stuttgart-based Daimler is joining a rush to add car-making capacity in the world’s most profitable vehicle market that most analysts and industry executives expect to contract moderately over the next several years.Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Tom Sims '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-usa/daimler-to-invest-1-billion-in-alabama-plant-create-over-600-jobs-idUSKCN1BW2AU'|'2017-09-21T19:12:00.000+03:00'
'88f0eda61e6efaf4c946ffdff6ef9574568ff8c3'|'KKR looks to bid in $800 million-plus auction of Britain''s Pure Gym - Sky News'|'September 21, 2017 / 11:08 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago KKR looks to bid in $800 million-plus auction of Britain''s Pure Gym: Sky News Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - U.S. private equity investment firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) is going to bid in a 600 million-pound-plus ($800 million) auction of Britain’s largest chain of health and fitness clubs, Pure Gym IPO-PGYM.L, according to Sky News. The fund operator KKR is among a group of financial investors that are set to make offers for the fitness chain ahead of a deadline on Thursday, Sky News said. ( bit.ly/2flu2Qu ) Pure Gym’s sale comes over a year after it announced, and later canceled a 190 million-pound initial public offer of shares due to “challenging IPO market conditions”. The chain’s major shareholder CCMP Capital Advisors has controlled the chain since 2013 and overseen a period of growth and expansion. Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-pure-gym-m-a-kkr/kkr-looks-to-bid-in-800-million-plus-auction-of-britains-pure-gym-sky-news-idUKKCN1BW1HY'|'2017-09-21T14:05:00.000+03:00'
'75ba0fd4d022b4e0df8eee60178f5ac9571967d7'|'Central Asia Metals to buy Lynx Resources for $402.5 million'|'(Reuters) - Kazakhstan-focused copper miner Central Asia Metals ( CAML.L ) said it would buy Bermuda-based Lynx Resources Ltd in a $402.5 million reverse-takeover deal from its owners.The acquisition would be funded by a mix of debt and cash, Central Asian Metals said on Friday.The zinc miner is owned by Bermuda-based fund Orion Co-Investments III L.P. and Swiss PE firm Fusion Capital AG.The deal is expected to be both earnings- and cash-flow-per-share-accretive in the first full year, the company said.Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-caml-m-a-lynx-resources/central-asia-metals-to-buy-lynx-resources-for-402-5-million-idINKCN1BX0L2'|'2017-09-22T04:58:00.000+03:00'
'bf9785192805d6ec6a0fd055a3d945df67e99251'|'France''s Total sells its Italian gas business to UGI - source'|'  5:24 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago France''s Total sells its Italian gas business to UGI: source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of French oil giant Total is pictured at the entrance of the CSTJF Total Research Center in Pau, Soutwestern France, April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS (Reuters) - French oil and gas major Total ( TOTF.PA ) has sold its gas business in Italy, Total Italia Gas, a subsidiary of its Italian joint venture TotalErg, to UGI Corp ( UGI.N ), an industry source said on Friday. The sale is part of a move by the company to sells its assets in the Italian downstream retail market. Total has said it plans to sell TotalErg, a joint venture with ERG ( ERG.MI ) that controls close to 2,600 service stations in Italy and has a market share of around 11 percent. Total and UGI declined to comment. Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Luke Baker and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-totalerg-m-a-ugi/frances-total-sells-its-italian-gas-business-to-ugi-source-idUKKCN1BX2G8'|'2017-09-22T20:15:00.000+03:00'
'938ee31bf490669372b3902f83f56f4498700aa0'|'Thyssenkrupp, Tata Steel sign European steel merger MoU'|'September 20, 2017 / 4:38 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Thyssenkrupp, Tata Steel agree to forge Europe''s No. 2 steelmaker 6 Min Read ThyssenKrupp AG headquarters in Essen, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay ESSEN, Germany/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Germany’s Thyssenkrupp and India’s Tata Steel agreed on Wednesday to merge their European steel operations, creating the continent’s No.2 steelmaker with revenues of 15 billion euros ($18 bln). The deal, which is preliminary, will help the companies address overcapacity in Europe’s steel market, which faces cheap imports, subdued construction demand and inefficient legacy plants. The merger will also result in up to 4,000 job cuts, or about 8 percent of the joint workforce. The transaction will not involve any cash, Tata Steel said, adding both groups would contribute debt and liabilities to achieve an equal shareholding and remain long-term investors. “We want to avoid our steel team restructuring itself to death,” Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger told reporters. “No one is able to solve the structural issues in Europe alone. We all suffer from overcapacity and that means that everyone is making the same restructuring efforts,” Hiesinger told broadcaster n-tv. European steel prices are about 35 percent below their pre-financial crisis peak. Wednesday’s long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two steelmakers outlines annual synergies of 400 million-600 million euros, though one top 25 investor in Thyssenkrupp expected synergies to be higher. “The two companies are being very conservative in their estimates,” the investor said. The new joint venture, Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel, will be based in Amsterdam, with core profits estimated at 1.5 billion euros in the first year. “Excellent news,” tweeted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. It will be Europe’s biggest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal, with combined production capacity of 27 million tonnes, giving it 25 percent market share in Europe, versus ArcelorMittal’s 38 percent share. Related Coverage Employees not yet on board on Thyssenkrupp, Tata merger plans - German minister Tata Steel Europe had been a strain on its parent for a decade, burning through approximately $1 billion of cash a year. The Indian parent will transfer 2.5 billion euros of debt to the new company and is counting on dividend income from the joint venture to help service its remaining debt, Koushik Chatterjee, a group executive director, told Reuters. That will free up cashflow to allow Tata Steel to focus on meeting growing demand in India, where Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said it will aim to double its manufacturing capacity in five years through plant expansions and acquisitions. Thyssenkrupp shares closed up 2.4 percent at 25.86 euros, having earlier hit a high of 26.58 euros, bolstered by hopes the joint venture will also ease the burden on its balance sheet, which will be freed of 4 billion euros in mostly pension liabilities. “We believe Thyssenkrupp’s medium-term goal is to completely spin-out steel ops, leaving Thyssenkrupp as a near pure-play capital goods business, and today’s proposed merger structure is attractively ”IPO-able“, in our view,” Jefferies analyst Seth Rosenfeld said in a note, reiterating his “buy” rating. Heinrich Hiesinger, chief executive of ThyssenKrupp AG arrives for a news conference in Essen, Germany, September 20, 2017, on the Thyssenkrupp and Indian peer Tata Steel preliminary agreement to combine their European steel operations. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay POSITIVE CATALYST Thyssenkrupp, whose operations span car parts, elevators, construction steel and submarines, is minority-owned by activist shareholder Cevian and has faced calls to split off other parts of the business, most notably its elevator unit. Cevian declined to comment on the merger, but a source familiar with the matter said it was broadly supportive of Hiesinger’s plan, though it will come down to the nitty gritty of the agreement whether they support it in the end. Shares in Tata Steel closed up 1.7 percent at 687.65 rupees, having earlier hit a high of 691.80 rupees. The company reached a landmark deal last month allowing it to set up a new pension scheme, which will reduce its 15 billion pounds ($20 billion) in British pension liabilities, long seen as the main hurdle in merger talks that lasted more than a year and a half. Thyssenkrupp will not be liable for any future funding demands of a new pension scheme sponsored by Tata Steel UK, its chief financial officer said. Thyssenkrupp AG''s new company logo adorns it''s headquarters in Essen, Germany in this November 19, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/Files The British government and unions said they welcomed the merger so long as commitments made by Tata Steel UK to safeguard jobs and extend blast furnace operations at Britain’s largest steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales, were maintained. Roy Rickhuss, chair of the steel coordinating committee representing UK unions Unite, GMB and Community, said the unions recognised the industrial logic of the deal, but would still press Tata to confirm it will invest in the Port Talbot steelworks, a vital regional employer. Earlier this year, Tata made commitments to safeguard jobs and investments in Port Talbot for five years, in return for the unions agreeing to close their final salary pension scheme to future accrual. Stephen Kinnock, member of parliament for Aberavon, Wales, said he would press Tata to stand by these commitments. Hans Fischer, Tata Europe’s CEO, said the company was not planning to cut capacity, but to instead focus on higher value products, though he declined to give guarantees about jobs or production at Port Talbot post the five year deal. Thyssenkrupp in its statement flagged potential additional synergy savings beyond 2020 from upstream steel capacity adjustments and Jefferies Rosenfeld said he believes these “are most likely at Port Talbot”. “We see opportunities to increase or to at least keep the volumes we have today, because there’s a huge market for high quality steel,” said Fischer. The MoU will be followed by negotiations about the details of the merger as well as due diligence before a contract can be signed at the beginning of 2018, Thyssenkrupp said. Negotiations with German unions, who have campaigned against the plans and only this week signalled a willingness to consider them, are expected to be tough and tied to far-reaching job and plant guarantees. The deal will require approval of Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board, Tata Steel’s board of directors and European regulators. ($1 = 0.8333 euros) Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt, Tom Kaeckenhoff in Essen, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Maytaal Angel, Carolyn Cohn and Maya Keidan in London; Editing by Jason Neely and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel/thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-sign-european-steel-merger-mou-idINKCN1BV0E8'|'2017-09-20T07:38:00.000+03:00'
'bb88a2c755088586a6c7ad33c34fc972722b5e9c'|'Spartak Moscow owner says would not sell the club - Reuters'|'Lukoil Deputy Chief Executive Leonid Fedun attends an interview as part of the Reuters Russia Investment summit in Moscow, Russia September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Olesya Astakhova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Spartak Moscow owner Leonid Fedun said on Wednesday he was finding it increasingly difficult to manage the club but insisted he would not sell it.The Russian central bank’s rescue last month of Otkritie bank, a Spartak sponsor, raised questions about the club’s finances and speculation that Fedun could be forced to reassess his ownership.Fedun, the deputy head of oil giant Lukoil ( LKOH.MM ) and an Otkritie shareholder, said the bank’s situation would not affect the club and its ownership.“I won’t offer Spartak to anyone,” said Fedun at the Reuters Russia Investment Summit.He added, however, that Spartak had garnered interest from investors but that none of them had made any serious proposals.Spartak won their first Russian Premier League title in 16 years last season but are off to a tepid start this year, winning only three of 10 matches.Despite stressing he had no desire to sell the club, Fedun conceded he was finding it increasingly difficult to deal with the psychological pressures of owning one of Russia’s most prestigious teams.“It’s more and more difficult to carry this on my own, first of all from a psychological point of view,” he said.“Two weeks ago everything was fine, you were the hero. After your first loss, they start throwing dirt at you. And it’s very difficult to be constantly stressed for 16 years.”Fedun did not disclose the club’s budget but said it was equivalent to that of the “top two or three teams of England’s Championship”.He said Spartak could not compete with European clubs for the acquisition of elite players because salaries had skyrocketed.“We are witnessing huge inflation in soccer,” he said. “In these conditions, it is impossible to compete with the West with Russian means.”Spartak face Liverpool in their second Champions League Group E match on September 26 in Moscow. They drew Slovenia’s Maribor 1-1 in their opening match last week.Reporting by Olesya Astakhova and Oksana Kobzeva; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Robin PomeroyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/summits'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-sport-soccer-spartak/spartak-moscow-owner-says-would-not-sell-the-club-idUSKCN1BV2KP'|'2017-09-21T02:10:00.000+03:00'
'976ca66438db95a0ac84a1e871dca9ae027ed861'|'Strong euro, economy call for ECB shift away from bond buys: Knot'|'  12:57 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Strong euro, economy call for ECB shift away from bond buys: Knot Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A placard featuring an Euro bank note is seen outside the money museum next to the headquarters of Germany''s federal bank Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt February 4, 2013. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The euro’s appreciation reflects a stronger euro zone economy, supporting calls for the European Central Bank to move away from its unprecedented stimulus policy, ECB rate-setter Klaas Knot said on Wednesday. “The appreciation of the euro should be considered a reflection of the relative strength and stability of the euro area economy,” Knot, the Dutch central bank chief, said at an event in Brussels. “(This is) a clear indicator of the factors that underlie the reduced necessity of continued asset purchases ... supporting the call for a gradual but decisive rebalancing away from non-standard towards traditional instruments of monetary policy,” Knot, considered a hawk on the Governing Council, said. He added the risk of deflation is largely gone and thus the main rationale for central bank asset purchases has disappeared. Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-netherlands/strong-euro-economy-call-for-ecb-shift-away-from-bond-buys-knot-idUKKCN1BV1MK'|'2017-09-20T15:57:00.000+03:00'
'a139c0116664707d90b529007cffd2b7d7560bc8'|'Food companies to standardise date labels'|'Reuters TV United States September 20, 2017 / 4:08 AM / a few seconds ago Food companies to standardize date labels Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - A group of consumer goods makers and retailers including Kellogg Co ( K.N ), Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ), Nestle SA ( NESN.S ) and Unilever Plc ( ULVR.L ) plans to simplify and standardize food date labels to reduce food wastage. The standardized labeling to be put in place would use one expiration date on perishable items and one food quality indicator for non-perishable items, the Consumer Goods Forum said in a statement on Wednesday. The exact wording of the labels would be region specific. Confusion over date labels on food products costs families up to $29 billion annually in the United States alone, according to the forum, which represents some 400 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers from 70 countries. “Simplifying food date labels is an important step forward in preventing food waste, and will help end the confusion related to ‘sell by’ dates,” Maria Fernanda Mejia, Kellogg’s senior vice president, said in the statement. Simplified and consistent date labeling will help companies halve food waste by 2025, said Peter Freedman, managing director of the Consumer Goods Forum. Several food and drink makers including Mondelez International ( MDLZ.O ) and Unilever ( ULVR.L ) are also setting their own standards for ethical sourcing of raw materials, moving away from third-party labels such as Fairtrade. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-food-labeling/food-companies-to-standardize-date-labels-idUKKCN1BV0CN'|'2017-09-20T07:06:00.000+03:00'
'7264e8ef9e5af184e8e70b23222ddce1dde90ff4'|'BRIEF-Select Energy Services announces extension of merger end date'|'Sept 19 (Reuters) - Select Energy Services Inc* Select Energy Services announces extension of merger end date* Select Energy Services - Agreed to extend end date in previously announced agreement and plan of merger from November 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017* Select Energy Services Inc - Select and Rockwater expect merger to close during Q4 of 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-select-energy-services-announces-e/brief-select-energy-services-announces-extension-of-merger-end-date-idINFWN1M00MV'|'2017-09-19T19:34:00.000+03:00'
'1eddb2bdbee3be8cce012f995901a03f1439c4ff'|'Veon must face lawsuit over bribery disclosures: U.S. judge'|'September 19, 2017 / 8:50 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Veon must face lawsuit over bribery disclosures: U.S. judge Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Jean-Yves Charlier, Chief Executive Officer of VEON, attends an event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said Veon Ltd ( VON.AS ) ( VEON.O ) shareholders may pursue much of a lawsuit accusing the multinational phone company once known as VimpelCom of inflating its share price by concealing a bribery scheme in Uzbekistan and overstating its financial controls. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan ruled on Tuesday that shareholders may pursue their proposed class-action claims “in large part.” He rejected Veon’s contentions that the investors failed to show any intent to defraud, or that any inflation in its stock price resulted from improper or inadequate disclosures. “Plaintiffs have adequately alleged that Veon knew facts or had access to information suggesting that its public statements were not accurate,” the judge wrote. VimpelCom admitted in February 2016 to having paid more than $114 million in bribes to a high-ranking Uzbekistan official, and agreed to pay $795 million in penalties to resolve related U.S. and Dutch probes. Carter narrowed the potential class to exclude shareholders who sold VimpelCom shares before March 12, 2014, when the Amsterdam-based company began disclosing regulatory probes, including in connection with its Uzbekistan operations. Veon did not immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours in Amsterdam. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, led by Westway Alliance Corp, did not immediately respond to a similar request. Westway sued on behalf of VimpelCom investors from Dec. 2, 2010, to Nov. 3, 2015. Veon’s major markets include Algeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Russia and Ukraine, as well as Uzbekistan. Shareholders approved the name change in March. The case is In re Veon Ltd Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-08672. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; editing by Marcy Nicholson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-veon-lawsuit/veon-must-face-lawsuit-over-bribery-disclosures-u-s-judge-idUSKCN1BU2T0'|'2017-09-19T23:48:00.000+03:00'
'0ddcf102fff61f314d1e85c0bbe4a157d944c78a'|'RPT-As crisis ebbs, Tsipras promises doubters a new Greece'|'(Repeats Thursday item)* Tsipras has battled Greece’s creditors since winning power* Ceasefire with EU has given him breathing space, for now* Government planning “new Greece” after bailout exit* But voters, lenders, some investors remain sceptical* GRAPHIC - Greek economic snapshot tmsnrt.rs/2byu9SEBy Renee MaltezouATHENS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has found a precious commodity he hopes can help him and the nation turn a corner after years of crisis and austerity -- time.Since taking power in early 2015, he has spent most of his days and nights in firefighting mode, battling Greece’s creditors to renegotiate the harsh terms of a series of bailout deals.Now, though, Tsipras and his ministers have more time at last to function like the government of a normal country, pinning their hopes for recovery from a long depression on more investment and jobs, after negotiating a ceasefire with the European Union and International Monetary Fund in June.Despite scepticism among voters, investors and Greece’s lenders, Tsipras is trying hard to position himself as a post-crisis leader who can steer the country out of the bailout programme next year in time for elections due in 2019.The 43-year-old leftist acknowledged this week that the crisis was not over, but expressed optimism about the rest of his term. “In a year from now ... we will have left the bailout behind and we will have one more year, the most creative of our term, to materialise our plan for a ‘new’ Greece,” he said.Still, two final rounds of negotiations remain before the current bailout deal ends in August 2018. Many Greeks, worn down by austerity policies including pension cuts and tax increases dictated by the creditors, have yet to be convinced. Tsipras’s Syriza party is trailing in the opinion polls.Nevertheless, Tsipras has been using a calm that Greece has rarely enjoyed since 2015, when he was first elected on promises to end austerity, to push through reforms other than those prescribed by the lenders and to schmooze with investors.Foreign direct investment hit a seven-year high in 2016, while Greek bonds and stocks have rallied 12 and 18 percent respectively so far this year. The IMF and the EU forecast the economy will grow by more than two percent both this year and next after the depression wiped a quarter off Greek GDP.For all his pre-election pledges to scrap the bailout, Tsipras has ended up imposing more belt-tightening.At least Greeks are starting to see improvements in long neglected infrastructure, largely funded by the EU. The government has opened two motorways this year, including a link to Patras, a major ferry port for trade with Italy and the rest of the EU. This completed a project that had been stalled for years and replaced one of Greece’s most dangerous roads.The jobless rate has also dropped, but is still the euro zone’s highest.OUT OF THE BASEMENT Until June, when Athens struck the deal with the lenders on reforms and debt relief, the cabinet met infrequently; debate was dominated by the bailout talks and ministers with portfolios not directly connected to them rarely got a word in edgeways, one government official said. Since then ministers have found time to work on bills including education and health reforms.“It’s liberating,” one minister said. Many cabinet colleagues and officials had spent much of the past two years holed up in bailout talks at the Athens Hilton hotel. “You need to emerge from the Hilton basement at some point.”The government has also stepped up private meetings with potential investors, officials said, while Tsipras created a task force this month to free up more projects tangled in red tape.Some investors nevertheless still doubt Tsipras can pull off an economic turnaround.“There is an inconsistency in the message the prime minister is delivering and the actions of the ministries,” George Burns, chief executive of Canadian miner Eldorado Gold Corp, one of Greece’s biggest new foreign investors, told Reuters.Eldorado threatened to halt further investment unless a permit row over its mines in northern Greece was resolved this week. It postponed this after the government granted some licences, but scepticism runs deep among other investors.CLEAN EXIT Tsipras would like to be remembered as the man who restored Greece’s finances and ended international supervision of the economy. He wants the next creditors’ review completed as early as December and to achieve “a clean bailout exit”, without a standby credit line that would come in return for more reforms.Athens made its first bond issue in three years in July and plans at least two more in the next seven months, aiming to fund itself by market borrowing in place of bailout money next year.His conservative predecessor had a similar exit strategy as long ago as 2014 and seemed on course to achieve it. Instead Tsipras beat him and presided over the chaotic summer of 2015, when banks were closed for weeks as the financial system came close to collapse.Tsipras has much political ground to recover. Support for Syriza has crumbled from around 35 percent in 2015 to 16 percent now, leaving it at least six percentage points behind the conservative New Democracy party, which has promised tax cuts.A lot can go wrong as Tsipras tries to turn the political and economic tide. Time may be as much his enemy as his friend. The bailout reviews could derail or drag on for months, leading to renewed crisis. The second such review lasted half a year, and the delays hurt economic activity.For their part, the lenders worry Greece may backtrack on agreed reforms, which would delay the conclusion of the review . Labour reforms that parliament passed during the summer lull were viewed by lenders as backtracking on promises.“The gap between Tsipras’s actions and his words, the shortcoming in his actions, that’s what may trap him,” a person close to the lenders told Reuters, warning that Greece may not manage to regain full market access and conclude the reviews.After two years’ experience of power, the government still struggles to deal with some practical problems. It has been trying for 10 days to contain an oil spill from a tanker which polluted popular beaches near Athens, angering residents.Tsipras has been on a charm offensive, ranging from pep talks at ministries to photo opportunities with investors and young entrepreneurs and trips across the country.Still, the lenders remain cautious. “We fully understand the government’s desire for a clean exit,” the European Central Bank’s mission chief in Greece, Francesco Drudi, said.But he told Proto Thema newspaper: “This will require a lot of effort to convince markets, investors and depositors that the momentum for reform will not abate and that no reversal of actions taken during the programme will occur.”Additional reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Mark Bendeich and David Stamp '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-tsipras/rpt-as-crisis-ebbs-tsipras-promises-doubters-a-new-greece-idINL5N1M23VP'|'2017-09-22T03:33:00.000+03:00'
'590bb184494799a83b39a6db06a11164bcba3422'|'Unilever strikes deal over South African spreads business'|'The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) has agreed a $900 million deal with South African investor Remgro ( REMJ.J ), buying Remgro’s 26 percent stake in its South African subsidiary in exchange for its southern African spreads business and a cash payment.The deal is the first step in Unilever’s broader exit from its shrinking spreads business, a move it promised earlier this year following an unsolicited $143 billion takeover offer from Kraft-Heinz ( KHC.O ).The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods maker, owner of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, said it would buy Remgro’s 25.75 percent shareholding in Unilever South Africa in exchange for the spreads business in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland plus 4.9 billion rand ($371 million) in cash.The deal values the spreads business at 7 billion rand, representing a multiple of 13.4 times core earnings (EBITDA).A recession, unemployment of around 27 percent and weak growth prospects have constrained consumer spending in Africa’s most advanced economy with Unilever rivals Tiger Brands ( TBSJ.J ) and AVI ( AVIJ.J ) reporting slower profit growth.Unilever’s overall spreads and margarine business, which includes brands like Flora, Becel and Country Crock, is expected to fetch about 6 billion pounds. It has been in decline for years, as consumers eat less bread and less margarine, but it has strong profit margins.That makes it attractive for private equity firms, several of which have already been forming bidding consortia, according to sources familiar with the matter.Unilever has said it planned to distribute financial details about the business to prospective buyers by the end of autumn. It hopes to clinch a deal by the end of the year, or in early 2018.Additional reporting by TJ Strydom in Johannesburg; Editing by Mark Potter and Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-unilever-nv-m-a-remgro/unilever-strikes-deal-over-south-african-spreads-business-idINKCN1BX1XB'|'2017-09-22T12:14:00.000+03:00'
'680e8d7e6aeb6757c5a250a6f5cc0567e37b66f0'|'Huge volumes of data make real-time insurance a possibility'|'EVEN at weddings or whale watches, the buzz of a drone is no longer a surprise. Drone photography is booming. Gartner, a consultancy, says some 174,000 drones will be sold for commercial use around the world this year, and 2.8m to consumers. It is easy to imagine a few might fall out of the sky, causing damage the pilot cannot hope to pay for: crushed wedding cakes, injured spectators and so on. Amid scores of near-misses, several incidents have already occurred. In 2014, for example, a drone filming a triathlon in Australia crashed on a competitor’s head.Clearly, drone-users need insurance. Typically, risks are insured through the payment of an annual premium. Insure4drones, a British specialist, charges £738.86 ($1,000) to cover a DJI Phantom, a bestselling drone, for a year. From October Flock, a London startup, will offer insurance on a flight-by-flight basis, at the push of a button in an app, to any commercial drone-operator in Britain. Cover for amateur pilots will soon follow. Costs will be about £5 per hour of flight, according to Allianz, an underwriter. 18 Flock’s app relies on a wide range of data. Weather forecasts come from IBM, a computing giant which, having spent over $2bn on The Weather Company in 2015, now offers forecasts to within a few hundred metres, and over a period of minutes. Live information about nearby aircraft is provided by a software company called Snowflake, which tracks aeroplanes around the planet. Flock also considers local topography, such as proximity to churches, hospitals and schools, as well as roads and traffic levels. It also monitors the drone itself, gathering data as it flies to build a risk profile for that machine. All these numbers are crunched when a customer requests insurance through the app. As well as offering a Quote: , the app tells pilots how to reduce their risks.Allianz then converts Flock’s data-driven risk scores into a price. The attraction for Allianz is acquiring customers cheaply. “Rather than humans sitting and writing business, the algorithm does it on the spot,” says Tom Chamberlain, who manages its aviation underwriting.Conventional insurance works by pooling individual risks and then setting a price for that group—new drivers under 30, say. But that process can be much refined if the objects and people being insured can report to the insurer automatically, and if there is a wealth of data on the external environment. As an ever-growing number of sensors—in phones or watches, drones or cars—gather ever-greater volumes of data, more and more activities can be assessed for real-time risk (though in the absence of pooling, some risks may become prohibitively expensive to insure).Flock is not alone. Verifly, a New York startup, competes with it in America. Root, a car insurer, offers drivers insurance based on their minute-to-minute behaviour behind the wheel. It even offers a discount to Tesla drivers if their car spends plenty of time in autonomous mode. Slice, a San Francisco startup, lets its customers insure their houses and cars for the time they are used on services such as Uber and Airbnb. Trov, also from San Francisco, insures personal possessions for short periods.Flock’s chief executive, Ed Klinger, says that he eventually wants to insure all kinds of future autonomous activities, from taxi rides to rolling delivery pods. He argues that selling insurance through annual premiums is inflexible. It less easily takes advantage of the large volume of live data that can now help estimate the risk posed by a given activity at a given time. For instance, a passenger in an autonomous taxi may be at far lower risk if the trip takes place outside rush hour, or in weather conditions in which the car performs at its best. Firms that dispatch delivery drones might use Flock to calculate the risk for each flight automatically, depending on cargo and address.The business model is in its infancy, but on-demand insurance seems bound to grow. In a world where consumers expect push-button convenience from their services, they will demand the same of the insurance those services rely on.This article appeared in the Finance and economics section of the print edition under the headline "Pay-per-risk"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21729464-drone-insurance-showing-way-huge-volumes-data-make-real-time-insurance?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'b13643a2b93c804cfd2a3135ec5b544a8d74f654'|'Potash Corp hires banks to explore sale of SQM stake - La Tercera'|'September 23, 2017 / 2:38 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Potash Corp hires banks to explore sale of SQM stake: La Tercera Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Cory Potash Corp mine site west of Saskatoon is pictured on November 3, 2010. REUTERS/David Stobbe SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Potash Corporation Of Saskatchewan Inc has hired Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch to explore selling its 32 percent stake in Chile’s Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM) SQM_pb.SN, Chilean paper La Tercera reported on Saturday. Considering a stake sale comes as Potash Corp moves to merge with fellow fertilizer company Agrium Inc, La Tercera reported, without naming sources. Potash Corp and SQM, one of the world’s biggest lithium producers, did not immediately respond to request for comment. Agrium and Potash Corp said on Sept. 7 they were told by regulators in India and China that they need to divest Potash’s offshore interests for their merger to be approved. Reporting by Antonio de la Jara and Caroline Stauffer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-agrium-m-a-potashcorp-sqm/potash-corp-hires-banks-to-explore-sale-of-sqm-stake-la-tercera-idUSKCN1BY0N5'|'2017-09-23T17:13:00.000+03:00'
'9ccbc85be3df954aa82b6521a909cc07dbe54a01'|'Tech stocks sell-off deepens fears of shift away from sector'|'September 25, 2017 / 7:54 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Tech stocks sell-off deepens fears of shift away from sector Noel Randewich 3 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Technology stocks including Facebook ( FB.O ), Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) and Alphabet ( GOOGL.O ) dropped sharply on Monday, increasing worries that the top-performing sector is falling out of favour as investors look elsewhere for cheaper opportunities. Facebook fell 4.6 percent, on track for its worst day in nearly a year and eliminating over $20 billion of its market value, while Microsoft, Apple ( AAPL.O ) and Alphabet each lost more than 1 percent. Those stocks have helped push the S&P 500 information technology index .SPLRCT 23 percent higher in 2017, making it the top performer among the S&P 500’s main sectors. Underscoring growing concerns about a shift in investor focus, a quarter of the 68 stocks in that technology index have seen recent drops of 10 percent or more, which many on Wall Street define as a correction. “There’s definitely some panic out there,” said Wedbush trader Joel Kulina. “Everyone is talking about rotation, it’s becoming one of those buzzwords.” Apple approached correction territory as investors fretted about demand for its newest iPhones. Trading in a range around 18.4 times expected earnings, the S&P 500 information technology index is near its highest since before the 2008 financial crisis, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. “I think we’re seeing more of a rotation out of some hot-flying tech names into small-caps, some of the names that may well benefit from tax cuts,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York. Underperforming the broader market so far in 2017, the S&P 600 small-cap index on Monday was up 0.17 percent and on track to close at a record high. Investors dumped recent tech favourites including Nvidia ( NVDA.O ), down 4.04 percent, and Applied Materials ( AMAT.O ), which lost 3.47 percent. Videogame makers were also hard hit: Activision Blizzard ( ATVI.O ) and Electronic Arts ( EA.O ) both lost more than 3 percent. Stirring investor pessimism, Facebook is grappling with how to handle paid political advertisements following threats by U.S. lawmakers to regulate the world’s largest social network over secretive ads that run during election campaigns. Netflix ( NFLX.O ) lost 5 percent, giving back some of its 43-percent rally in 2017 that valued the stock at 103 times expected earnings. “Any time we get a bit of profit-taking in technology there’s a bit of a follow-on trade, a bit of a herd trade, people look at it and see a place to take profits and rebalance their portfolio into other areas,” said Jason Ware, chief investment officer at Albion Financial in Salt lake City, Utah. Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak and Rodrigo Campos in New York, aeporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-technology-stocks/tech-stocks-sell-off-deepens-fears-of-shift-away-from-sector-idUKKCN1C02SM'|'2017-09-25T22:53:00.000+03:00'
'096d9dccc6f81fb613b7437e7b4ce514a42cdcd4'|'Greece must wrap up review rapidly to start talks on bailout exit - Dijsselbloem'|'  12:40 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Greece must wrap up review rapidly to start talks on bailout exit - Dijsselbloem Lefteris Papadimas , Angeliki Koutantou 4 Min Read Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem attend a news conference at the Finance ministry in Athens, Greece September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece must wrap up an upcoming bailout review quickly to pave the way for a “clean” bailout exit next summer without further conditions beyond standard monitoring, Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Monday. After seven years of austerity and rescue loans amounting to about 270 billion euros ($320 billion), Greece hopes its third, 86 billion-euro bailout will also be its last. Greece too wants a so-called clean exit in August 2018. “We are in full agreement for that -- it should be a clean exit, Greece should become financially independent again and be able take its own political decisions for the future within the family of the Eurogroup,” Dijsselbloem said in a visit to Athens. “There are no further conditions at the end of the programme, no further restrictions,” he said after meeting Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos. Once Greece exits the bailout, it would be monitored by the European Stability Mechanism, a “standard procedure” in place for other member states which also emerged from bailouts, he said. But Dijsselbloem cautioned that Greece was not yet out of the woods, and would need more reforms in the coming years. The euro zone would look into granting it further debt relief. On the stance of Germany, Greece’s main creditor, a day after Angela Merkel secured a fourth term as chancellor, he said that he did not expect Germany’s position to change in Greek bailout negotiations. “I don’t think the German elections will make a lot of difference,” he said. BACK ON TRACK Dijsselbloem last visited Athens in 2015, when Greece’s leftist-led government clashed with its foreign creditors over the terms of its bailout and teetered on the verge of financial collapse. Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem speaks during a news conference with Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos (not pictured) at the Finance ministry in Athens, Greece September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Greece was now “coming back on track,” Dijsselbloem said on Monday, and called on both Athens and its foreign creditors to work towards ensuring the country can stand on its feet. “The end of the programme is the beginning of a new phase and we should do whatever we can ... to make sure that Greece is fully prepared for financial independence,” Dijsselbloem said. But for talks to begin on how Greece can exit its bailout, Athens must conclude a third review of progress made under its programme by the end of this year, he said. As Greece moves towards the end of the bailout, it was also important to establish that Greek banks were “stable and strong,” Dijsselbloem said in an interview with Greek Ska TV. It was up to banking authorities, and chiefly the European Central Bank, to decide how to assess them, he said. “If that can be done with the stress test, that’s fine. If it requires an AQR (asset quality review), so be it.” A source told Reuters on Monday that the ECB may bring forward its stress test of Greek banks next year to ensure there would be plenty of time before the bailout ends to re-capitalize banks, should the exercise uncover any capital shortfall. In meetings with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Dijsselbloem said he would support Greece’s efforts to speed up the review, which is expected to begin next month, until his term expires in January. “In the months that I have, make no mistake that I will be fully committed,” he said. Greece’s second review took more than six months to be completed, often due to disagreements on the country’s fiscal targets, on debt relief, and reforms. “The review is now the next step. It can and should be done before the end of the year,” he said. Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Karolina Tagaris and George Georgiopoulos'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-dijsselbloem/greece-must-wrap-up-review-by-year-end-to-start-talks-on-bailout-exit-dijsselbloem-idUKKCN1C01P2'|'2017-09-25T21:58:00.000+03:00'
'6c6e705ab8df0eb1da4f533a3ff2b5eb2a606f17'|'Oberbank signs deal to finance Austrian projects in Iran'|'An Oberbank logo is seen at a branch office in Vienna, Austria, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader VIENNA (Reuters) - Oberbank ( OBER.VI ) on Thursday said it had signed a deal with Iran, enabling it to finance new ventures there and making it one of the first European banks to do so since sanctions were eased.The deal Tehran struck in 2015 with six major powers lifted many sanctions against the country in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities and paved the way for international business deals.But many banks have stayed away for fear of inadvertently breaking remaining U.S. sanctions, which could lead to huge fines.U.S. President Donald Trump has created new uncertainties over the U.S. stance toward the Iran nuclear agreement. Trump told reporters this week he had made a decision on what to do about the agreement but would not say what he had decided.Oberbank, Austria’s seventh-biggest bank, with a balance sheet of roughly 20 billion euros ($24 billion), signed the deal at its headquarters in Linz along with representatives from Iran’s central bank and the Finance Ministry.Oberbank’s agreement with Iran covers projects by Austrian companies in Iran lasting more than two years in areas that were previously under sanctions. Oberbank already finances exports to Iran in areas such as food.Reporting by Kirsti Knolle. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-oberbank-iran/oberbank-signs-deal-to-finance-austrian-projects-in-iran-idINKCN1BW1Y5'|'2017-09-21T12:03:00.000+03:00'
'2f453a762e65813aadfbaa35289893c63ba331f3'|'Lufthansa CEO''s focus is on 38 leased planes in Air Berlin battle'|'A Lufthansa airline logo is pictured in Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 6, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is interested in acquiring as many as 80 planes from rival Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) with its priority on securing planes it already leases, the group’s chief executive said.A creditor committee meets on Thursday afternoon to discuss offers for Air Berlin, which filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding.Lufthansa is competing with several other airlines for parts of Air Berlin, including easyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor, with bidders especially interested in its Niki short-haul business that flies from Germany and Austria to holiday hotspots in Europe.Lufthansa’s focus is on securing the 38 crewed planes it currently leases from the insolvent carrier, plus it would like up to an additional 20 to 40 planes, Carsten Spohr said at a media event late on Wednesday.Spohr said Lufthansa expected that was the most it could take without falling foul of anti-trust concerns and if it isn’t able to get all that it has bid for, it still plans to grow.“The next few days will show whether that growth comes organically via Eurowings or through an Air Berlin transaction,” he said, adding that Lufthansa would need around 3,000 new employees to meet that expansion.The 38 crewed planes Lufthansa leases from Air Berlin currently carry passengers mainly for the group’s budget unit Eurowings, and Lufthansa’s priority is on keeping that operation stable.Eurowings was hit last week, when Air Berlin pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, forcing the cancellation of flights.Ryanair ( RYA.I ) boss Michael O‘Leary has said Lufthansa would have a dominant position on domestic routes following an Air Berlin takeover. But Spohr said that Lufthansa had a 34 percent share of passengers to and from Germany, including transfer passengers, and that was what the authorities would be looking at.Lufthansa is however not interested in Air Berlin’s long-haul routes, with Spohr saying the flagship carrier could grow in that area on its own.After announcing plans to start Eurowings long-haul routes from Duesseldorf this winter, following Air Berlin’s retreat there, the budget unit also intends to offer long-haul flights from Berlin Tegel airport next year, albeit starting with just one route.Spohr also said business so far in 2017 was proving significantly better than the last two years, both of which were record years in terms of financial results.He added that Lufthansa was sticking with a goal of reducing its unit costs this year and said it hoped to sign a wide-ranging deal on pay and conditions with its pilots this month.Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-ceo/lufthansa-ceos-focus-is-on-38-leased-planes-in-air-berlin-battle-idINKCN1BW29G'|'2017-09-21T13:49:00.000+03:00'
'd36c444133cc22834706b7976dba20899841e2d4'|'UK watchdog to investigate conflicts of interest among pension fund advisers'|'September 21, 2017 / 10:46 AM / Updated an hour ago UK watchdog to investigate conflicts of interest among pension fund advisers Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s competitions watchdog will look into the advice given by consultants to pension schemes and other institutions managing over 1.6 trillion pounds of funds, to see if there are conflicts of interest, it said on Thursday. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will assess whether investment consultants offer a poor level of service and whether difficulties comparing and switching consultants provide little incentive for them to compete for customers. In addition, it will investigate if there are barriers to entry into the investment consultancy sector, it said in a statement providing more detail on the probe it launched last week. The CMA’s investigation follows a referral from the Financial and Conduct Authority, as part of the financial watchdog’s broader effort to improve value for money and transparency in the asset management industry. The CMA probe will be chaired by John Wotton, one of its designated inquiry chairs, the CMA said. “It is extremely important that the investment consultancy sector works effectively for its clients, which include many of the UK’s biggest pension funds,” Wotton said. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-investment-consultants-probe/uk-watchdog-to-investigate-conflicts-of-interest-among-pension-fund-advisers-idUKKCN1BW1FL'|'2017-09-21T13:46:00.000+03:00'
'7f52da9ce59534d49e8e0ca865d23f4f4c06b837'|'Once "kittens" in cyber spy world, Iran gaining hacking prowess -security experts'|'September 20, 2017 / 2:04 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Once "kittens" in cyber spy world, Iran gaining hacking prowess -security experts Reuters Staff * Cyber hackers tied to Iran targets aviation, oil firms * Security firm: APT33 group likely linked to Iran gov’t * FireEye says Iran growing in cyber sophistication * Iran’s nuclear work came under U.S.-Israeli cyber attack By Eric Auchard FRANKFURT, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Hackers likely linked to Iran’s government are behind attacks on Saudi and other Western aerospace and petrochemical firms, signalling a rise in Iranian cyber-spying prowess, U.S. security firm FireEye said on Wednesday. A FireEye report dubbed the new hackers group APT33 and detailed evidence of its activities since 2013 in seeking to steal military and aerospace secrets, while also gearing up for attacks with potential to bring down entire computer networks. Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was not immediately available for comment when contacted by phone by Reuters at the end of the country’s working week. FireEye identified APT33 after it was called in to conduct forensic investigations into cyber attacks on a U.S. aviation organisation, a Saudi business conglomerate with aviation holdings, and a South Korean group with interests in oil refining and petrochemicals. FireEye declined to name the firms. In a separate but related move last week, the U.S. Treasury Department named two Iran-based hacking networks and eight individuals to a U.S. sanctions list, accusing them of taking part in cyber-enabled attacks on the U.S. financial system. FireEye said APT33 was the first state-backed group from Iran to join a list it has compiled over the past decade that identifies campaigns by Chinese, Russian and North Korean cyber spies. APT stands for “Advanced Persistent Threat”. “Iranian fingerprints are all over this campaign, and government fingerprints in particular,” John Hultquist, FireEye’s director of cyber espionage analysis, told Reuters in an interview. “Right now we are seeing a lot of activity that seems to be classic cyber espionage.” Hultquist said APT33 shared some tools with, but appeared to be distinct from, around 15 distinct hacking groups with Iranian ties that security researchers have identified in recent years with names like “Shamoon”, “RocketKitten” and “Charming Kitten”. The Kitten nomenclature reflected the once low level of respect for Iran’s hacking capabilities in the past, some experts have said. FireEye said the attacks against the Saudi and South Korean groups occurred as recently as May and used email credential phishing techniques that involved posting fake job vacancies for Saudi oil jobs to lure corporate victims. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, FireEye Chief Executive Kevin Mandia said Iranian cyber espionage had grown in sophistication since he first spotted Iranians conducting rudimentary attacks on the U.S. State Department in 2008. “They’re good. (They‘ve) got a real capability there,” Mandia said of Iran. In the investigations of attacks on Western companies and governments that FireEye is hired to do, Iran now ranks with China and Russia in terms of frequency, he said. Iran has been scaling up its cyber capacities since the United States and Israel carried out a cyber assault on Iran in 2010, now known as the “Stuxnet” worm, aimed at disabling centrifuges in its nuclear programme, the FireEye CEO noted. Mandia said Iranian cyber tactics operated according to different rules depending on whether it targeted Saudi Arabia, its regional arch-enemy and theological rival, or the United States. “They have different rules of engagement when they are operating in the Middle East; they don’t destroy stuff in the U.S.,” he said. Iranian links include the use of the Farsi language in malware used to mount attacks and the fact that hackers observe the Islamic Republic’s work week - taking Thursdays off, among other evidence. FireEye found some ties between APT33 and the Nasr Institute - which other experts have connected to the Iranian Cyber Army, an offshoot of the Revolutionary Guards - but it has yet to find any links to a specific government agency, Hultquist said. He said APT33 had built a destructive attack capacity into the malware used to infect Western companies, but there was no evidence so far they had activated this tool. However, FireEye believes it is only a matter of time before the group graduates from intelligence gathering to causing lasting damage. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London; editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-cyber/once-kittens-in-cyber-spy-world-iran-gaining-hacking-prowess-security-experts-idUSL5N1M12OJ'|'2017-09-20T17:04:00.000+03:00'
'fa822901380116206c7aedf46ae5546c473721fe'|'After Boeing deal, Turkish Airlines weighs Airbus order: sources'|'The logo of Turkish Airlines (THY) is pictured on the wing of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft after it took off from Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer PARIS (Reuters) - Turkish Airlines ( THYAO.IS ) has begun talks with Airbus to buy up to 40 A350 jetliners worth $12.4 billion at list prices, hours after striking a similar deal with its U.S. rival Boeing, people familiar with the airline said on Friday.In an announcement coinciding with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly, Boeing said on Thursday the carrier intended to buy 787-9 jets worth $11 billion at list prices.Hours later, Turkish Airlines also sought prices for up to 40 wide-body A350-900 jets, the people said. The airline is one of the world’s fastest-growing carriers and traditionally maintains a balanced fleet.“We never comment on talks that we may or may not be having with our customers,” an Airbus spokesman. Turkish Airlines was not immediately available for comment.Reporting by Tim Hepher, Ceyda Caglayan; Editing by Laurence Frost '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-turkish-airlines-airbus/after-boeing-deal-turkish-airlines-weighs-airbus-order-sources-idINKCN1BX189'|'2017-09-22T08:34:00.000+03:00'
'bd67fdaa6fde814e92cfc52c68c2050d072ff1e9'|'METALS-Shanghai metals skid on North Korea tensions, China credit jitters'|'MELBOURNE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Metals soured in Shanghai and London on Friday as investors slashed risk given escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and ongoing jitters about China debt.FUNDAMENTALS * SHFE: In Shanghai, metals fell between 1 percent and 4.5 percent, with the steepest tumble in volatile nickel, which will also face higher trading fees on the Shanghai Futures Exchange from Friday.* LME: In London, frothy lead suffered the worst selling, down nearly 4 percent, while copper fell 1.2 percent to its weakest since mid-August. Investors have surged into metals on prospects of resilient China demand and environmental curbs that cut supply in the world’s biggest producer of metals. Those with highest speculative froth are landing the most heavily.* LME COPPER: LME copper tumbled to its weakest since Aug. 16, touching $6,400, down 1.2 percent.* SHFE COPPER: Shfe copper slid 1.5 percent to 49,640 yuan ($7,543) a tonne.* CONFUSION: “Not sure why so aggressive a move, guess the U.S. sanctions, delayed reaction in metals to FOMC,” said one trader in Hong Kong. “Confused markets I have to say, and on top of that trying to get out of risk when its all one way, only exacerbates the move and creates deeper moves in ever decreasing liquidity.”* N. KOREA: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blasted U.S. President Donald Trump as “mentally deranged” on Friday and vowed to make him pay dearly for threatening to destroy his country, hours after Trump ordered fresh sanctions over Pyongyang’s weapons programmes.* CHINA CREDIT: S&P Global Ratings downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating on Thursday, less than a month ahead of one of the country’s most sensitive political gatherings, citing increasing risks from its rapid build-up of debt.* CHINA FACTORIES: Thousands of small factories in China, making everything from steel to chemicals, are scrambling for access to the country’s clogged rail network as Beijing curbs the use of diesel trucks in an effort to tackle air pollution.* MACQUARIE: Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd has overtaken Goldman Sachs to break into the top three banks for commodities business, having significantly expanded its U.S. energy operations in recent years while rivals cut back.* Asian stocks slipped on Friday but showed signs of steadying as the dust began to settle after the Federal Reserve’s hawkish policy statement, while investors looked to see how Chinese financial markets would react to a downgrade on the nation’s credit rating.DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0645 France GDP final Q20700 France Markit manufacturing PMI flash Sep0730 Germany Markit manufacturing PMI flash Sep0800 Euro zone Markit manufacturing PMI flash Sep1345 U.S. Markit manufacturing PMI flash SepPRICES Three month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tinARBS ($1 = 6.5804 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals/metals-shanghai-metals-skid-on-north-korea-tensions-china-credit-jitters-idINL4N1M31EJ'|'2017-09-22T00:16:00.000+03:00'
'bafbb7a18f9a05a64c7432a092d09ab5b7dd9f5b'|'Exclusive: T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing deal terms - sources'|'  11:23 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Exclusive: T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing on deal terms - sources Greg Roumeliotis , Arno Schuetze 5 Min Read (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with Sprint Corp ( S.N ), people familiar with the matter said on Friday, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers. The transaction would significantly consolidate the U.S. telecommunications market and represent the first transformative U.S. merger with significant antitrust risk to be agreed since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January. The progress toward a deal also indicates that T-Mobile and Sprint believe that the U.S. antitrust enforcement environment has become more favorable since the companies abandoned their previous effort to combine in 2014 amid regulatory concerns. The latest development in the talks between T-Mobile and Sprint comes as the telecommunications sector seeks ways to tackle investments in 5G technology that will greatly enhance wireless data transfer speeds. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ), which controls Sprint, and other Sprint shareholders will own 40 to 50 percent of the combined company, while T-Mobile majority owner Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) and the rest of T-Mobile shareholders will own the majority, the sources said. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son met with Trump late last year and said in February that the Japanese firm should benefit from Trump’s promised deregulation. Once terms are finalized, due diligence by the two companies will follow and a deal is expected by the end of October, though talks may still fall through, the sources said. Related Coverage Sprint hired Trump-connected lobbyist in early September: filing A merger would create a business with more than 130 million subscribers, just behind Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) and AT&T Inc ( T.N ). Revenues would top $70 billion and analysts say there would be massive scope to cut costs. Sprint shares were up 5 percent in afternoon trading in New York on Friday to $8.44, giving the company a market capitalization of close to $34 billion. T-Mobile shares were up 0.4 percent to $63.66, giving that company a market capitalization of around $53 billion. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Sprint and Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. T-Mobile and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. SoftBank’s Son abandoned an earlier attempt to acquire T-Mobile for Sprint in 2014. Under that deal, SoftBank would have been in control of the merged company, with Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder. Smartphones with the logos of T-Mobile and Sprint are seen in this illustration taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Since then, T-Mobile has outperformed Sprint under Chief Executive John Legere, who the sources said would lead the combined company. SON IN TRUMP TOWER Earlier this month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai gave a potential boost to a tie-up when he recommended that the FCC find for the first since 2009 that there is “effective competition in the marketplace for mobile wireless services.” The FCC is set to vote on Tuesday on the proposed annual report on the state of the wireless competition market required by U.S. Congress. Slideshow (4 Images) T-Mobile and Sprint will likely tout planned investments in 5G and their network that would create jobs, though combining operations would also lead to layoffs, said Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics. “They will argue that the track record of T-Mobile and Sprint shows they are vigorous competitors and that this will not cease to be the case after the deal,” said Entner. Son made headlines in early December when he appeared in the marble lobby of Trump Tower in New York alongside the president-elect, dressed in a red vest and red tie nearly identical to that of the tycoon turned commander in chief. He was among the first in a series of Asian billionaires and leaders to pay a congratulatory visit to Trump, who won office in November on a platform that focused on national security and protecting U.S. jobs. Son’s pledge to Trump to invest $50 billion in the United States and create 50,000 jobs was light on details but spoke to the president’s election promise to boost economic growth by making deals with individual companies, rather than through complicated trade deals. Last month, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said an announcement on merger talks should come in the “near future.” Sprint had approached cable company Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) about a potential merger earlier this year, but quickly abandoned that effort. AT&T is in the process of getting its own transformative deal, its $85.4 billion acquisition of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) approved by U.S. regulators. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Douglas Busvine in Frankfurt, David Shepardson in Washington; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sprint-m-a-tmobile-exclusive/exclusive-t-mobile-sprint-close-to-agreeing-deal-terms-sources-idUSKCN1BX1EK'|'2017-09-22T14:23:00.000+03:00'
'c4a89a12f946deeab7301a6865e7955a49c67dc8'|'With new operating system, Apple revamps its money-making App Store'|'September 19, 2017 / 7:11 AM / Updated 37 minutes ago With new operating system, Apple revamps its money-making App Store Stephen Nellis 3 Min Read An attendee checks out a new iPhone X during an Apple launch event in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s newest operating system for iPhones and iPads introduces changes to its marketplace for third-party software to satisfy app developers and add new so-called augmented reality apps. The system, called iOS 11, is being released on Tuesday ahead of its two newest phone handsets, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, set to start shipping to customers on Friday and Nov. 3, respectively. The most visible changes will come to App Store. The App Store is the backbone of Apple’s services segment, which brought in $21.5 billion in revenue in the past nine months, a 19 percent increase over the previous year and a bright spot as overall sales grew only 5 percent. The store has been redesigned to give app developers more space for images and text to describe their software. Developers have long grumbled that their software is hard to find in Apple’s store unless users type in the precise name of the app or follow a link to it. “The redesign make it much cleaner and speaks to the pain point of the store: You had so many apps that if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for, it was really hard to find anything,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Creative Strategies. FILE PHOTO: An Apple logo is seen at an Apple store in Pudong, the financial district of Shanghai, China February 29, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo The new store also gives prominent display to games. Games are expected to make up 75 percent of all revenue for Apple’s App Store, according to App Annie, which collects and analyzes market data on mobile apps. Most of that revenue comes in the form of so-called in-app purchases, where gamers make purchases of tokens, gems and other digital items to unlock new parts of the game. “It’s really the gift that keep on giving from the developer perspective,” Milanesi said. But perhaps the biggest change in iOS 11 will the debut of augmented reality apps, or AR, in which digital images float over the real word. Apple has made much of those a capabilities, but an ostensibly minor feature may help AR apps spread: Screen recording. In testing, Adam Debreczeni, maker of an app that lets users see a three-dimensional map of a fitness activity like a bicycle ride or run they’ve gone on, was surprised at how enthusiastically users took to sharing screen recordings of AR apps like his. “I think that’s going to help AR games go viral and get better distribution,” he said. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-iphone/with-new-operating-system-apple-revamps-its-money-making-app-store-idUKKCN1BU0OO'|'2017-09-19T10:08:00.000+03:00'
'3e63a9802d2ba0739708f8d2ac2f473cbd038c1e'|'Asian shares wobble as investors await Fed meeting for rate clues'|'  12:52 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago World stocks inch up, dollar weakens as Fed focus grows Caroline Valetkevitch 3 Min Read A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets edged higher on Tuesday and the dollar dipped as investors waited for signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve on when it will hike interest rates again and start shrinking its balance sheet. Wall Street stocks gained slightly, with the Dow climbing to a fresh record after the open, while an index of stocks across the globe also inched higher. Tokyo''s Nikkei .N225 surged 2 percent overnight. Elsewhere, stocks took a breather. The U.S. central bank, which begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday, is widely expected to announce on Wednesday that it will begin paring its bond holdings, with reductions likely to start in the coming months. Investors will also be watching for signals that the Fed will raise rates in December, and for any clues on personnel changes as the end of Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s term approaches and after the resignation of Vice Chair Stanley Fischer earlier this month. “If I’d be watching anything, it would be primarily with regard to their plans to raise rates in December, which now the market has a 50-50 odds on,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas. In a speech at the United Nations, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the United States will be forced to “totally destroy” North Korea unless Pyongyang backs down from its nuclear challenge. FILE PHOTO - A businessman looks at a screen displaying a photo of U.S. 100 dollar bank notes in Tokyo April 8, 2013. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The dollar index .DXY fell 0.12 percent. The dollar had stayed weak following U.S. data showing domestic home construction fell for a second straight month in August, rekindling some concerns about the U.S. housing sector. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 26.82 points, or 0.12 percent, to 22,358.17, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.89 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,504.76 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.33 points, or 0.01 percent, to 6,454.97. The S&P 500 and Dow had both hit new peaks on Monday despite some late pressure on big tech stocks. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.08 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.15 percent. In the U.S. bond market, prices were little changed. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 2/32 in price to yield 2.2375 percent, from 2.23 percent late on Monday. In commodity markets, oil prices edged lower. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.2 percent to $49.81 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $55.11, down 0.25 percent on the day. Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Marc Jones and John Geddie in London; Editing by Catherine Evans and Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/asian-shares-wobble-as-investors-await-fed-meeting-for-rate-clues-idUKKCN1BU01P'|'2017-09-19T03:53:00.000+03:00'
'50c1b311ec0567b08024563c69b59ddc7dc91701'|'Brazil drugmaker Blau in talks with banks for IPO -sources'|'  3:02 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Brazil drugmaker Blau in talks with banks for IPO -sources Guillermo Parra-Bernal 3 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Blau Farmacêutica SA, a Brazilian maker of kidney and cancer medicines, is working with banks on an initial public offering aimed at raising money to accelerate an expansion drive across Latin America, three people familiar with the matter said. Blau has discussed underwriting roles with the investment-banking units of Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Safra SA and Morgan Stanley & Co, among others, according to the people. Neither Blau nor the banks have decided on a timetable for the deal, which depends on market conditions, they added. A spokeswoman for Blau, which is controlled by Chief Executive Officer Marcelo Hahn, declined to comment, as did São Paulo-based Itaú and New York-based Morgan Stanley. Press representatives for Safra did not have an immediate comment. Blau’s quest for investor money shows how pharmaceutical deals are gaining steam in a region where demand for medicines is spiking. Biotech investors, who are burning through cash more quickly than ever, are raising money in equity markets in an effort to turn their companies into specialty pharmaceutical firms. In July, Colombia-based Grupo Biotoscana SA and shareholders raised 1.34 billion reais ($427 million) in a São Paulo IPO. In March, Biomm SA raised about 30 million reais in a follow-on offering. In the 12 months through July, there were 21 pharmaceutical-related mergers and acquisitions in Latin America and the Caribbean, alongside two regional pharmaceutical IPOs and two follow-on offerings that raised almost $1 billion over the same period, according to Thomson Reuters data. Founded about three decades ago, Blau last year earned net income of 28.7 million reais and had operational profit of 65 million reais, on revenue of 431 million reais. Profit rose 30 percent from 2015, according to financial statements published on Blau’s website. Based in the Brazilian town of Cotia, west of São Paulo, Blau has nearly 20 plants and production facilities where it has developed more than 100 different types of medicines. Blau currently has units in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay and is bound to open one in Mexico. Blau also exports medicines to Yemen, Azerbaijan, Malaysia and Pakistan, among a number of Asian and Middle East countries. $1 = 3.1356 reais Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/blau-farmacutica-ipo/brazil-drugmaker-blau-in-talks-with-banks-for-ipo-sources-idUSL1N1KW0K5'|'2017-09-19T18:02:00.000+03:00'
'b7efcf9c47b6b94cbfd8b7f8968aedc4eb8f86f5'|'Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst'|'September 19, 2017 / 5:02 PM / Updated an hour ago Tesla shares fall from record high after warning from analyst 2 Min Read The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla ( TSLA.O ) fell from record highs on Tuesday after an analyst warned that the electric car maker may take longer than expected to become profitable. Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois launched coverage of Tesla with an “underperform” rating, helping send shares of the company headed by entrepreneur billionaire Elon Musk down 2.17 percent to $376.74 after closing at a record high the day before. “Achievements to-date and vision are impressive, but we don’t think Tesla’s vertically integrated business model can be scaled up as profitably and quickly as consensus thinks and valuation multiples imply,” Houchois warned in a research note. Houchois’ $280 price target was well below the median analyst price target of $337.50, according to Thomson Reuters data. Musk is counting on the recently launched Model 3, Tesla’s least pricey car, to make the Palo Alto, California company profitable and establish it as the leading electric carmaker ahead of BMW ( BMWG.DE ), General Motors ( GM.N ) and other long-established players. Wall Street’s confidence in Musk has sent Tesla’s stock up 83 percent over the past year to record highs. Skeptics believe Tesla’s aggressive production targets are unrealistic, that Musk is burning through cash too quickly and that the company’s electric cars will be overtaken by larger automakers. Eight analysts recommend buying Tesla’s stock, while another eight recommend selling, and eight others have neutral ratings, according to Thomson Reuters data. That makes Tesla one of the 10 most poorly-rated stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index. Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Diane Craft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stocks/tesla-shares-fall-from-record-high-after-warning-from-analyst-idINKCN1BU2C1'|'2017-09-19T15:02:00.000+03:00'
'93bb93c625447078e23589189a4a3d4afb069118'|'Fortum shares knocked as doubts creep in on Uniper deal'|'FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Fortum headquarters in Espoo, Finland August 18, 2017. REUTERS/Lefteris Karagiannopoulos HELSINKI (Reuters) - Shares in Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) slipped on Thursday on concerns over whether the Finnish power utility would end up with the assets it wanted if it bought a major stake in German counterpart Uniper ( UN01.DE ) from E.ON ( EONGn.DE ).Following media reports on the proposed deal, Fortum and E.ON confirmed on Wednesday that they were in advanced talks for a deal on the 46.65 percent stake in Uniper, priced at 3.8 billion euros.Uniper was taken aback by Fortum’s planned bid, which the German company said was “unsolicited” and “clearly not in line” with its strategy.Uniper, which has interests in nuclear and hydropower electricity generation but also a large number of fossil-fuel power stations, is not seen as an obvious fit for Fortum, which is focused on carbon-free power generation.State-controlled Fortum has been looking for a deal since selling its power distribution grids for 9.3 billion euros in 2014 and 2015.Sources close to the matter told Reuters that Fortum was mainly interested in Uniper’s hydropower plants and interests in Swedish nuclear power stations, and it was already working with a partner that might take on Uniper’s coal-fired plants.Fortum CEO Pekka Lundmark argued on Wednesday that cooperation between Fortum and Uniper “would render significant benefits for all stakeholders”, adding that the move would not change the Finnish firm’s “clean energy” vision.The opposition of Uniper management risks complicating the situation although ultimately there is little they can do to prevent a sale by former owner E.ON.“This is a very, very confusing case altogether, with lots of open questions,” said Mika Heikkila, a fund manager at Taaleri, whose fund is a Fortum shareholder.“They must find some use for the money (from grid divestments). The (offer) price is not too high, but how can they get rid of the assets that they are not interested in?”Shares in Fortum, which rose 4.2 percent on Wednesday, fell 3.5 percent to 16.31 euros on Thursday, while Uniper’s shares rose 1.3 percent to 22.59 euros, having risen more than 5 percent on Wednesday to just above the offer price.“My take is that this will fall through,” said Handelsbanken analyst Karri Rinta, cutting his rating on Fortum shares to a “reduce” from “accumulate”.Nordea Bank also lowered its rating for Fortum, to “hold” from “buy”.“An expected break-up scenario must be the reason Uniper is opposed to a merger with Fortum ... the problem is that Uniper’s hydro and nuclear power assets are not for sale separately,” the bank’s analysts said in a note.If the deal goes through the state-controlled Finnish company must then - due to German law - extend the offer of 22 euros per share to all other shareholders.Editing by Greg Mahlich/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-stocks/fortum-shares-knocked-as-doubts-creep-in-on-uniper-deal-idINKCN1BW1ES'|'2017-09-21T08:42:00.000+03:00'
'9d3f58e8ce50af0c8e86eda433169d6be7a5865e'|'IMF tells France to spell out spending cuts'|' 33 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago IMF tells France to spell out spending cuts   The International Monetary Fund logo is seen during the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas PARIS (Reuters) - France must lose no time spelling out detailed plans to rein in spending, which will make or break President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for overhauling the economy, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. The IMF will scrutinise the government’s 2018 budget due next Wednesday, the first of Macron’s presidency, for details on how it will cut spending and taxes at the same time, IMF France mission chief Christian Mumssen said. “For the overall strategy to work you really need comprehensive spending reforms at all levels of government and you need to move on this very early,” Mumssen said on a conference call presenting an annual in-depth report on France. The government has said it aims to cut spending by 16 billion euros (£14.12 billion) next year as a first instalment in 60 billion euros in savings over the duration of Macron’s five-year term. However, the government also wants to move quickly on easing France’s considerable tax burden starting with tax cuts worth 10 billion euros also next year. Helping to ease the difficult budget balancing act, the government can count on the strongest growth since 2011 with the IMF forecasting the economy would grow 1.6 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year. The government has said that its budget will be based on a growth forecast both this year and next of 1.7 percent. The IMF was less optimistic about the outlook for the public sector deficit, estimating that it would stand at 3.0 percent of economic output both this year and next. For its part, the government said this week it expected a deficit this year of 2.9 percent this year and 2.6 percent in 2018. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Richard Lough'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-imf/imf-tells-france-to-spell-out-spending-cuts-idUKKCN1BW225'|'2017-09-21T17:33:00.000+03:00'
'9c6a8c148c67d5c4d332d79449474a6f2e4a5137'|'Analysis: Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts'|'  10:08 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Analysis: Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle 7   A sign is painted on a parking space for electric cars inside a car park in Hong Kong January 29, 2012. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo JUDABERG, Norway (Reuters) - The Norwegian island of Finnoey has the highest density of electric cars in the world. The reason? They are exempt from the $6,000-a-year toll charges for the tunnel to the mainland. There has been a surge in sales of fully electric cars like Teslas and Nissan Leafs since the tunnel opened in 2009 and they now account for one in five cars on Finnoey, compared with less than 1 in 100 globally. Twenty-nine percent of all new car registrations in Norway were fully electric or plug-in hybrids last year, according to the International Energy Agency, far ahead of the Netherlands in second on 6.4 percent and Sweden in third on 3.4. China had almost 1.5 percent and the United States less than one. State subsidies support sales of electric cars around the world, and Norway has the most electric cars per capita thanks to the most generous handouts. It offers nationwide tax breaks for users of electric cars than can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, plus various local incentives like exemptions from road tolls and parking fees. “Economic incentives work, especially if they are very, very, very strong as in Finnoey,” said former Norwegian central bank governor Svein Gjedrem, who grew up on the western island chain of 3,250 people which is famous for its fish farms and tomatoes. A reliance on state handouts complicates efforts in nations like Britain and France to phase out combustion engines in favour of battery-powered vehicles, which are far costlier, have limited ranges and often have long charging times. It means the technology will have to become significantly cheaper if those governments are to meet pledges to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 without having to hand out crippling levels of subsidies to millions of buyers. A tale of two contrasting Norwegian municipalities - Finnoey and neighbouring Hjelmeland on the mainland - starkly illustrates the power of financial incentives on consumer behaviour. A Finnoey resident driving to work in nearby oil hub Stavanger with an electric car can save 40,000-50,000 crowns ($5,500-$6,500) a year in tunnel tolls compared with drivers of fossil-fuelled cars. Hjelmeland, by contrast, bucks the Norwegian trend by offering no local perks at all for battery-powered cars. Almost one in 10 people on Finnoey have electrics cars, compared with fewer than one in 100 in Hjelmeland, which is much bigger and has a similar population, according to a previously unpublished ranking of all regions from state-run Statistics Norway that was provided to Reuters. “It’s all about the economics, not about ideology,” Wictor Juul, head of administration for the Hjelmeland municipality, said of the contrasting ownership rates. WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS Norway is among the world’s richest countries because of its oil and gas exports - yet even there electric car incentives are being curbed because of the strain on public finances and a faster-than-expected adoption of battery-powered cars. For example, it has just scrapped nationwide directives that parking, transport by state-owned ferries and road tolls should be free for electric vehicles, instead leaving it to local authorities’ discretion. It is also reviewing tax breaks for the most expensive luxury electric cars. So far the reversals have had no apparent impact on sales. “I‘m not too worried,” said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, because other benefits such as an exemption from value-added tax are staying in place. There are, however, examples elsewhere in the world of the consequences of withdrawing electric car benefits. Sales of Nissan Leafs in the U.S. state of Georgia, for instance, plunged after authorities revoked a $5,000 tax break in 2015. Electric car imports to Denmark fell sharply last year, bucking a European trend, after Copenhagen cut subsidies. Sales of Teslas fell to 176 from 2,738 the year before. MUSK LOVES NORWAY In Norway, a Tesla Model S electric sedan costs 636,000 crowns pre-tax, almost double the 320,000 crowns pre-tax cost of an Audi A7 gasoline car, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association says. But the Audi ends up costing more when sold - 697,000 crowns - after an array of taxes led by sales tax (140,000 crowns), carbon dioxide tax (125,000 crowns) and a special tax on the weight of the vehicle (110,000 crowns). By contrast, a Tesla buyer is charged only a small fee for end-of-life scrapping and pays 638,000 crowns in total. It’s little wonder that Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in June: “I love Norway, which is the world leader in EV (electric vehicle) adoption!” His company has invested heavily in Norway, for instance with fast charger networks. The Norwegian finance ministry says basic tax breaks totalled about a cumulative 12 billion crowns by the end of 2016. There are now about 140,000 fully electric cars on the road. Britain and France, the only two countries to announce deadlines for phasing out combustion engines, also offer generous subsidies to electric car buyers. Buyers in Britain get a grant of up to 35 percent of the purchase price, while in France someone selling a diesel car and buying electric receives thousands of euros in benefits. Norway’s Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen, part of a minority right-wing government that won re-election on Sept. 11, acknowledged that the country’s subsidies model was expensive. But he predicted advances in the technology would mean electric cars would be competitive in price with combustion engine cars in the early 2020s. His sentiments are echoed in Finnoey by Mayor Henrik Halleland who thinks battery-powered car sales could ultimately survive without large financial incentives. The island’s tunnel toll charges for combustion engines go towards paying the 550 million crown cost of building the tunnel. Once the debt is paid, the tunnel will be free for all. “Electric cars are getting so good that people will buy them anyway,” said Halleland. Still, he now wants electric car owners to pay 50 percent of the rate paid by diesel and gasoline cars. And he’s not planning to buy electric himself, saying he has to keep his combustion engine Mazda to pay the tolls and do his bit to pay off the tunnel. Electric car owners are unapologetic though. “It’s all about political choices,” said Arne Nordboe, a teacher and part-time stand-up comedian who drives a Nissan Leaf. “I think it would be reasonable when electric cars get cheaper and cheaper and more useful, then I can pay more.” ($1 = 7.8673 Norwegian crowns)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/autos-electric/analysis-road-to-electric-car-paradise-paved-with-handouts-idINKCN1BW1AH'|'2017-09-21T13:04:00.000+03:00'
'ae622e30ccce7b9a1c839a4ab89f039c2fea8a6c'|'Immigrants likely boosting euro zone''s labour force - ECB'|'September 21, 2017 / 4:20 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Immigrants likely boosting euro zone''s labour force - ECB Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Refugees show their skills in metal processing works during a media tour at a workshop for refugees organized by German industrial group Siemens in Berlin, Germany, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Immigrants have made a large contribution to the working-age population of the euro zone since 2013 and are likely also boosting its labour force, particularly in Italy and Germany, the European Central Bank said on Thursday. A huge influx of migrants in the past few years has become a major campaign topic ahead of general elections in Germany and Italy, where some parties say it is exacerbating unemployment in some areas. In a regular report, the ECB said immigrants were likely supporting the size of the euro zone labour force, which includes both employed and unemployed people and contributes to calculations of potential economic growth, but excludes those not looking for work. “Immigration has made a large positive contribution to the working-age population during the recovery, reflecting primarily the inflow of workers from new EU Member States,” the ECB said in its economic bulletin. “In turn, this is likely to also have had a significant impact on the labour force, particularly in Germany and Italy, but also in some smaller euro area economies.” Germany holds a general election at the weekend, while Italians are due to go to the polls next year. Anti-immigration parties have been winning support ratings of 10 percent or more in both countries. The ECB said the labour force had continued to increase throughout the crisis, albeit at a slower pace than before 2007. Spain was a notable exception, however, due to heavy net migration out of the country. Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migration-ecb/immigrants-likely-boosting-euro-zones-labour-force-ecb-idUKKCN1BW2CL'|'2017-09-21T19:35:00.000+03:00'
'd1d793983e096abf5593cb12de6b4f2db1ee8069'|'SK Hynix says some key issues on Toshiba chip unit sale still need agreement'|'September 21, 2017 / 5:14 AM / Updated 9 hours ago SK Hynix says some key issues on Toshiba chip unit sale still need agreement Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of SK Hynix is seen at its headquarters in Seongnam, South Korea, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), part of the winning consortium for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) chip unit, said on Thursday that some key issues still needed to be agreed upon. Toshiba said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell the prized unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital and expectations of a formal signing on Thursday had been high. “There are some key issues still to be agreed upon in the content approved by Toshiba’s board,” the South Korean chipmaker said in a regulatory filing, adding that it would continue with discussions. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-sk-hynix/sk-hynix-says-some-key-issues-on-toshiba-chip-unit-sale-still-need-agreement-idUSKCN1BW0I7'|'2017-09-21T13:14:00.000+03:00'
'ae0a2f4133765c5f7a7905c7b78b5a2d3c7981d0'|'Facebook to add more human review to ad system: COO Sandberg'|'September 20, 2017 / 11:12 PM / Updated 9 hours ago Facebook to add more human review to ad system: COO Sandberg David Ingram 2 Min Read Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg speaks during the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) will add “more human review and oversight” to its ad-buying system, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said on Wednesday, responding to rising criticism that automated processes have allowed people to buy discriminatory ads. Sandberg said in a post on her Facebook page the company would have more manual review of the targeting options it gives advertisers, a change that she said would strengthen the system after a report Facebook had allowed advertisers to market to self-described “Jew haters.” ProPublica, a non-profit news organisation based in New York, reported last week that it was possible to buy Facebook ads targeted to people who, on their Facebook profiles, had listed anti-Semitic topics in their field of study or work. Once people put those phrases on their Facebook profiles, the topics automatically migrated onto the company’s advertising platform, as if they were education or job data that would be useful to marketers. Facebook temporarily disabled some targeting capabilities last week in response to the ProPublica investigation. Sandberg, who is Jewish, said in her post: “The fact that hateful terms were even offered as options was totally inappropriate and a fail on our part.” Facebook should have discovered the unintended feature on its own, Sandberg added. The company would create a program to encourage people on Facebook to report potential abuses of its ads system directly to the company, she said. U.S. lawmakers have separately criticized Facebook for allowing Russian operatives to buy U.S. political ads before and after the 2016 elections. Sandberg’s post did not mention the alleged Russian ads. Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Tom Brown'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/facebook-advertising/facebook-to-add-more-human-review-to-ad-system-coo-sandberg-idINKCN1BV359'|'2017-09-21T02:08:00.000+03:00'
'3d98f5325d8e10f0a433845726a04398824d4338'|'Russia’s central bank nationalises B&N Bank'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/14d03e8f-bf96-3dc8-80a6-73a8e5a79156'|'2017-09-21T09:57:00.000+03:00'
'0938597db409bf2445ef38abae2285905f5246fb'|'UK posts smallest August budget deficit in 10 years, sale tax revenues strong'|'  8:37 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Boost for Hammond as UK posts smallest August budget deficit in 10 years 4 Min Read Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond leaves 11 Downing Street in London, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Britain unexpectedly posted its smallest budget deficit for any August since 2007, helped by record sales tax revenues that could give Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond room to relax his grip on spending in an upcoming budget. The deficit in August stood at 5.7 billion pounds, down 18 percent compared with the same month last year, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday, citing figures that exclude state-controlled banks. The shortfall for August was smaller than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists that had pointed to a much larger deficit of 7.1 billion pounds. August’s strong performance followed an unexpected surplus in July, a relief for Hammond who is under pressure to loosen spending constraints when he announces budget plans in November. With almost half of the financial year complete, Hammond looks on track to undershoot the 58 billion pound borrowing target for 2017/18 set by Britain’s official budget forecaster. “All of this suggests that the chancellor should have room for some easing of austerity in his budget in November,” said John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC. Last week, Prime Minister Theresa May agreed to ease seven years of public sector pay caps, but only modestly and only for police and prison guards. The government also faces calls for more spending on the health service, housing, infrastructure and a further relaxation of the pay cap for public sector workers. The finance ministry said it had made substantial progress in cutting the deficit but the national debt was still too high. Analysts have said they expect 2017/18 to be a difficult financial year, in part because of a slowing economy after last year’s Brexit vote. But value-added tax receipts rose 5.6 percent to 11.6 billion pounds in August, the highest for that month on record. The VAT figures, based on forecasts for the coming three months, could be another sign that consumer spending is holding up despite rising inflation and weak wage growth. Corporation tax revenues fell 4 percent compared with August 2016, however, and were flat for the financial year so far. While government debt interest payments dipped in August, they were still up 17 percent in the year to date, pushed up by the post-Brexit vote rise in inflation. Around a third of British government bonds are linked to inflation. A move by the Bank of England to raise interest rates in November -- something it signalled was likely last week -- could increase debt payments further. Britain has been struggling to fix its public finances since the deficit surged to around 10 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 after the financial crisis. Since then it has been cut steadily, to 2.3 percent of GDP in the 2016/17 financial year which ended in March, its smallest since before the global financial crisis. But the deficit is expected to widen again to 2.9 percent of GDP this year when Hammond will have fewer one-off factors to help him than last year. Hammond has not committed to balance the budget until the middle of the next decade, giving him flexibility to slow the pace of deficit reduction if needed to support the economy through Britain’s departure from the European Union. But JPMorgan economist Allan Monks warned that if the official budget forecaster strikes as gloomy a tone about Britain’s economic prospects after Brexit as BoE Governor Mark Carney did last week, this could limit Hammond’s room for manoeuvre in coming years. Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-budget/uk-posts-smallest-august-budget-deficit-in-10-years-sale-tax-revenues-strong-idUKKCN1BW11Q'|'2017-09-21T11:37:00.000+03:00'
'57c1ec96ec888e0b505078ca1a020726ad8b97f1'|'Russia to nationalise big private lender B'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/574b5408-9ea6-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946'|'2017-09-21T13:16:00.000+03:00'
'eb14c0ad8d3cf0ef9f9915e4ff5fb6ee78915cca'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil rate future yields fall on rate-cutting bets'|'By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Yields paid on Brazilian interest-rate futures fell on Thursday as traders bet the central bank could cut rates below 7 percent after it reduced inflation forecasts for this year and the next. In its quarterly inflation report, the central bank forecast inflation at 3.2 percent in 2017 and 4.3 percent in 2018, down from 3.3 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively, even as it revised upward its estimate for economic growth this year. Soon afterward, a report showed inflation undershot analysts'' expectations in mid-September and held near an 18-year low, suggesting the central bank will take its time to halt rate cuts. Yields paid on interest-rate future contracts indicated growing bets that the central bank will cut the benchmark Selic rate by 75 basis points next month to 7.50 percent, with bets on a smaller 50 basis-point reduction nearly fading away. Rate futures indicated the Selic would likely fall as low as 7 percent, an all-time low, but bets that it could drop even lower began to stir. Economists at BofA-ML cut their forecasts for the Selic at the end of the rate-cutting cycle to 6.5 percent from 7 percent, adding that they could remain low for longer. Currencies in the region mostly weakened, extending the previous day''s losses following the Federal Reserve policy statement. The Fed on Wednesday signaled it still expects to raise interest rates by the end of the year despite a recent bout of low inflation, which could potentially drain funds away from high-yielding emerging markets. Currencies of Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia slipped between 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent. Still, strategists at BNP Paribas recommended clients use the opportunity to purchase the Brazilian real, saying U.S. rates are likely to remain low in the long term. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1720 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily YTD pct pct change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1,108.80 -0.29 28.97 MSCI LatAm 2,983.92 -0.55 28.19 Brazil Bovespa 75,659.73 -0.45 25.62 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 50,478.11 0.23 10.59 Chile IPSA 5,261.90 0.39 26.75 Chile IGPA 26,265.83 0.45 26.68 Argentina MerVal 24,496.87 0.67 44.80 Colombia IGBC 11,090.10 0.1 9.50 Venezuela IBC 424,399.34 -0.32 1238.58 Currencies Latest Daily YTD pct pct change change Brazil real 3.1342 -0.17 3.67 Mexico peso 17.8395 -0.39 16.28 Chile peso 624.32 -0.44 7.43 Colombia peso 2,913.26 -0.79 3.03 Peru sol 3.247 0.03 5.14 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.2700 -0.43 -8.08 Argentina peso (parallel) 17.93 0.22 -6.19 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Dan Grebler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam/emerging-markets-brazil-rate-future-yields-fall-on-rate-cutting-bets-idINL2N1M21HG'|'2017-09-21T15:14:00.000+03:00'
'dc1b4cfafde4f3138a8d5a3b4e4f6adc9999572d'|'What is at stake for Uber in U.S. bribery probe?'|'September 21, 2017 / 5:12 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago What is at stake for Uber in U.S. bribery probe? David Ingram 5 Min Read The logo of Uber is seen on an iPad, during a news conference to announce Uber resumes ride-hailing service, in Taipei, Taiwan April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. bribery investigation at ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] will likely go on for a year or more and could lead to snowballing legal and compliance costs if lawyers find systemic problems. Uber, which is the subject of a U.S. probe into whether it paid bribes oversees, has started a review of its Asia operations and notified U.S. authorities about payments made by staff to police officers in Indonesia, a person familiar with the matter has told Reuters. The following explains the possible fallout for the company. What is under investigation? Uber said in August that it was cooperating with a preliminary investigation led by the U.S. Department of Justice into whether its managers violated a 1977 anti-bribery law, known as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The law bars U.S. companies and some other entities from paying bribes to foreign government officials to obtain business. The bulk of the investigative work may be handled by O‘Melveny & Myers, a large law firm that represents Uber and is conducting an internal probe. The law firm is expected to turn over its findings to the Justice Department, which would then weigh charges or a settlement with Uber. How much money is at stake? There is a wide range for the potential financial impact on Uber. The company will have to pay O‘Melveny & Myers and any other lawyers it hires. It may need to increase its spending on compliance training for employees. One measure of how high costs can go: Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ), which has faced a massive and prolonged FCPA investigation of its operations abroad, says it has spent $865 million on FCPA- and compliance-related expenses over the past five and a half years, according to Mike Koehler, a law professor at Southern Illinois University who writes about the FCPA. Companies often sign agreements and pay penalties to the Justice Department or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to close investigations. The settlement amounts can range from under $1 million to the record $800 million agreed to between Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ) and U.S. authorities in 2008. Various factors go into the calculations, including ability to pay and level of cooperation with the U.S. government. How long does it take? A company might wrap up an FCPA investigation within a year if the matter is confined to one country or is otherwise an isolated example of wrongdoing. Examples abound, though, of probes that went on for much longer. Cosmetics seller Avon Products Inc ( AVP.N ) launched an investigation of its China operations in 2008; six years later, it agreed to plead guilty under the FCPA and pay the U.S. government $135 million. What non-monetary penalties are involved? The FCPA is a criminal statute, meaning that individuals could be charged and, if they are found guilty, sent to prison for violations. That has been rare. In cases of significant wrongdoing, U.S. authorities generally seek the appointment of a monitor - a person from outside the company, often a lawyer, who serves as a watchdog to prevent recidivism. The monitor may be given wide access to employees and documents and the authority to issue recommendations, which the business has to accept unless it is able to persuade the government otherwise. How much of a distraction can it be? This depends on the scope of the investigation, but an FCPA probe can cause turmoil within companies. Lawyers will seek interviews with employees and pore over documents such as expense reports. Memos may go out company-wide telling people to preserve records. Companies also must assess risk differently and be more careful, knowing they will face scrutiny from U.S. authorities for any further potential wrongdoing. They may be more cautious, for example, when entering a risky local market where bribery is common - a serious consideration for a company like Uber that wants to expand aggressively abroad. Reporting by David Ingram in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-corruption/qa-what-is-at-stake-for-uber-in-u-s-bribery-probe-idUKKCN1BW0HH'|'2017-09-21T08:11:00.000+03:00'
'cca7957579ea203502a2f9318475a1f496c79d33'|'Oil rises after Iraq signals possible OPEC cut extension'|'September 20, 2017 / 12:45 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil set for strongest third quarter since 2004, Iraq hints at OPEC extension Julia Simon 3 Min Read A pump attendant fills the tank of a vehicle at a Gazpromneft petrol station in Moscow, Russia, March 11, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose was on course for its largest third-quarter gain in 13 years as prices rose on Wednesday after the Iraqi oil minister said that OPEC and its partners are considering extending or deepening output cuts aimed at reducing a global supply glut. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 48 cents at $55.62 a barrel by 1020 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose 54 cents to $50.02. The oil price is on course for a rise of 15.5 percent this quarter, which would make this year''s performance the strongest for the third quarter since 2004. “An improving macroeconomic backdrop should spur oil demand growth over the next couple of quarters, and if OPEC increases its adherence to production cuts, higher prices will come,” ANZ Research said in a note. “All things being equal, we still expect oil prices to test new highs (for 2017) by the end of the year.” The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers are considering a range of options, including an extension of cuts, but it is premature to decide on what to do beyond the agreement’s expiry in March, Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi told an energy conference on Tuesday. OPEC and non-OPEC producers including Russia have agreed to reduce output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until March to reduce global oil inventories and support prices. Some producers think the pact should be extended for three or four months, others want it to run until the end of 2018, while some, including Ecuador and Iraq, think there should be another round of supply cuts, al-Luaibi said. Analysts, however, doubt that such an extension would have much of an impact on the overall oil market. “I can’t see the market tightening unless OPEC cuts output further next year,” said Commerzbank strategist Carsten Fritsch. Georgi Slavov, head of research at commodities brokerage Marex Spectron said he does not expect demand for crude oil to rise significantly in the final quarter of this year, which means supply would have to be restricted even more tightly. U.S. crude stocks rose last week while gasoline and distillate stocks decreased, according to the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday. Crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week to Sept. 15 to 470.3 million, compared with expectations of a 3.5 million barrel increase. The U.S. Department of Energy releases official data on inventories and refinery activity later on Wednesday. Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in LONDON, Aaron Sheldrick in TOKYO and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-rises-after-iraq-signals-possible-opec-cut-extension-idUKKCN1BV01M'|'2017-09-20T03:44:00.000+03:00'
'0bffdf4877e5bc33d05260933824135b18dd8832'|'Exclusive: Chipmaker GlobalFoundries asks EU to investigate bigger rival TSMC - source'|'September 21, 2017 / 3:07 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Exclusive: Chipmaker GlobalFoundries asks EU to investigate bigger rival TSMC - source Foo Yun Chee 3 Min Read The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is seen during an investors'' conference in Taipei, Taiwan April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. electronic chipmaker GlobalFoundries has asked European antitrust regulators to investigate market leader TSMC, accusing the Taiwanese firm of unfair competition, an industry source said on Monday. GlobalFoundries is the closest challenger to Taiwan-based TSMC in the foundry, or contract market for making chips for firms without plants of their own, with slightly smaller rivals being UMC of Taiwan and SMIC of China. With TSMC holding 58 percent of the market in 2016, according to market research firm IC Insights, it is the world’s top foundry and is also the third biggest chipmaker by sales behind Samsung Electronics and Intel. GlobalFoundries has told the European Commission that TSMC is unfairly using loyalty rebates, exclusivity clauses and bundled rebates and even penalties to discourage customers from switching to rivals, the source said. The practices, which go back several years, have affected GlobalFoundries’ ability to compete, the source said, adding that the tactics escalated after a key GlobalFoundries product started to win new customers. TSMC denied the allegations. “Our customers always have the freedom to choose, which we respect greatly, and they choose us because of the value we deliver toward their long-term success,” a spokeswoman said. “Any accusation that TSMC threatens or harms customers isabsolutely baseless, and we will vigorously defend our hard-earned trust and our most valued reputation.” Ten years ago U.S. chipmaker Intel was hit with a 1.06 billion-euro fine, a record at the time, for giving rebates to PC makers in order to force out smaller competitors and GlobalFoundries’ former joint owner AMD. Companies can be fined up to 10 percent of their global turnover for breaching EU antitrust rules. EU authorities declined to comment on the claims. “Generally, the Commission monitors possible anti-competitive market practices and abusive conduct. This includes behaviour by operators active in the semi-conductor sector,” a spokesman said. GlobalFoundries said in a formal statement that the EU competition authority should be concerned by the existence of a few dominant players in the semiconductor industry. A spokesman said TSMC has “a virtual lock on supply”. “It is prudent for the regulator to monitor behaviours more closely and GlobalFoundries will naturally support regulatory agencies as they take a closer look at this key industrial sector for Europe and the world.” TSMC’s customers include Apple, Qualcomm, Intel, Huawei [HWT.UL], Sony Corp and Texas Instruments. GlobalFoundries, which is owned by Mubadala Technology, a unit of Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Development Company [MUDEV.UL], counts Qualcomm, AMD, Broadcom and STMicroelectronics amongst its customers. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee with additional reporting by Jessica Macy Yu in Taipei; Editing by Eric Auchard, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-tsmc-globalfoundries-antitrust-exc/exclusive-chipmaker-globalfoundries-asks-eu-to-investigate-bigger-rival-tsmc-source-idUKKCN1BW25B'|'2017-09-21T18:06:00.000+03:00'
'86c4d5ce0d59b413950da5e0152ec6468849568e'|'Toys ''R'' Us plans holiday hires including toy demonstrators'|'Sept 21 (Reuters) - Toys “R” Us Inc, the U.S. toy retailer that filed for bankruptcy protection this week, said on Thursday it is hiring part-time seasonal workers to staff its stores for the holidays, including for a new position of toy demonstrator.The move is the clearest sign yet that Toys “R” Us is aiming to capitalize on the key holiday shopping season to emerge from bankruptcy and escape liquidation.The largest U.S. toy chain did not disclose the number of people it planned to hire nationwide, though its announced openings for seasonal jobs in some of the biggest U.S. states exceed 12,000 part-time jobs. The company currently employs approximately 64,000 people.Toys “R” Us said in a statement it would hire additional cashiers, sales associates, stock associates and staff for its warehouses. The toy demonstrator position involves unboxing and playing with toys, allowing kids to try them out.Toys “R” Us has the largest need to hire in the New York City area, followed by Los Angeles and then Groveport, Ohio, at a DHL warehouse it uses to fulfill online orders, the company said.The holidays are the most important selling season for Toys “R” Us, as well as many major retailers, leading to hundreds of thousands of people finding seasonal jobs.Toys “R” Us does not plan to close a “disproportionate” number of its more than 1,600 stores across the United States, and aims to add smaller shops in urban areas including Washington, D.C., Boston and Detroit, the company’s CEO David Brandon said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toysrus-hires-holiday/toys-r-us-plans-holiday-hires-including-toy-demonstrators-idINL2N1M12ME'|'2017-09-21T08:03:00.000+03:00'
'4c1bcaec8929978de4bfe8ff507845837071264e'|'Deutsche Boerse moves to cap pay amid insider trading crisis'|'  3:59 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Deutsche Boerse moves to cap pay amid insider trading crisis Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The plaque of the Deutsche Boerse AG is pictured at the entrance of the Frankfurt stock exchange February 1, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) said on Thursday that it was capping executive pay for board members at 9.5 million euros ($11.3 million) a year effective from 2017. The decision was made at a meeting of the German exchange operator’s supervisory board and comes as the company settles allegations of insider trading. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Georgina Prodhan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-insidertrading/deutsche-boerse-moves-to-cap-pay-amid-insider-trading-crisis-idUKKCN1BW2AE'|'2017-09-21T18:47:00.000+03:00'
'86be330c95661cabf9fb9a763f5411b39f2b1525'|'U.S. jobless claims fall; hurricanes still impacting data'|'  12:39 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago U.S. jobless claims fall; hurricanes still impacting data Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A job seeker fills out an application at a job fair at the Denver Workforce Center in Denver, Colorado, U.S. February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/Files WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, but the data continued to be influenced by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, muddying the labor market picture in the near term. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended Sept. 16, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 fewer applications than previously reported. A Labor Department official said Harvey and Irma affected claims for Texas and Florida. Unadjusted claims for Texas decreased 23,549 last week, the second straight weekly drop. Claims in Texas surged in the wake of Harvey, which disrupted oil, natural gas and petrochemical production, leaving some workers temporarily unemployed. Unadjusted claims for Florida rose 5,133 last week. In addition, the Labor Department estimated claims for South Carolina and the Virgin Islands last week. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 300,000 in the latest week. It was the 133rd straight week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a robust labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 6,000 to 268,750 last week. The claims data covered the survey period for the nonfarm payrolls portion of September’s employment report. There are fears that the disruption caused by Harvey and Irma could restrain job growth in September. Texas and Florida account for about 14 percent of U.S. employment. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told reporters on Wednesday that “payroll employment may be substantially affected in September” by the storms, but she added that she expected labor market conditions would strengthen somewhat further out. Yellen made the comments after the U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged but signaled it still anticipated one more increase by the end of the year. The four-week moving average of claims rose 28,250 between the August and September survey periods, suggesting a further slowdown in job growth. The economy added 156,000 jobs in August, with the private services sector hiring the smallest number of workers in five months. Thursday’s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 44,000 to 1.98 million in the week ended Sept. 9. The so-called continuing claims have now been below the 2 million mark for 23 straight weeks, pointing to diminishing labor market slack. The four-week moving average of continuing claims climbed 6,500 to 1.95 million, remaining below the 2 million mark for the 21st consecutive week. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-unemployment/u-s-jobless-claims-fall-hurricanes-still-impacting-data-idINKCN1BW1QI'|'2017-09-21T15:36:00.000+03:00'
'520e86634587acdb2e86e4586fe09f5b304f5d4d'|'French public deficit to rise to EU limit in 2019, Les Echos says'|'September 20, 2017 / 8:18 PM / Updated an hour ago French public deficit to rise to EU limit in 2019, Les Echos says Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid PARIS (Reuters) - France’s public-sector deficit is set to climb back to an EU limit of three percent of economic output in 2019 after two years below it, the newspaper Les Echos reported on Wednesday. The government, which presents its first budget under President Emmanuel Macron’s administration next Wednesday, said this week that the deficit would fall from 2.9 percent of gross domestic product this year to 2.6 percent next year. Les Echos reported that the deficit would increase again to 3.0 percent 2019 when an existing payroll-tax-credit scheme is transformed into a permanent cut in companies charges. The spike has been widely expected, although previously the government had been counting on a deficit of 2.9 percent. However, afterwards the deficit should resume its downward trend and stand at 1.5 percent in 2020, Les Echoes reported. The Finance Ministry was not immediately available to comment on the report. Reporting by Leigh Thomas, editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-budget/french-public-deficit-to-rise-to-eu-limit-in-2019-les-echos-says-idUKKCN1BV2V6'|'2017-09-20T23:09:00.000+03:00'
'a7b4565e2b3913e3f6793ce9301c45b11ed19bdf'|'P&G shareholders should vote Peltz to board, Glass Lewis says'|' 18 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago P&G shareholders should vote Peltz to board, Glass Lewis says Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 22 (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co LLC is recommending that Procter & Gamble shareholders vote Trian Fund Management LP’s Nelson Peltz to the consumer goods company’s board, Trian said on Friday. Peltz’s experience in the packaged goods and consumer brands industries would add significant heft to P&G’s board, Glass Lewis said in a statement released by Trian. “We believe investors have been afforded ample cause to support Mr. Peltz’s election at this time,” the advisory firm said. Activist hedge fund Trian disclosed a $3.5 billion stake in P&G earlier this year and announced the nomination of its co-founder Peltz to the company’s board. Trian’s campaign represents the the largest proxy fight ever against the more than $200 billion consumer products company. P&G has argued that Peltz’s plan to boost shareholder value by organizing the company into three largely autonomous business units would result in higher costs, lower profits and another restructuring that could lead to a breakup of the company. P&G said in a statement on Friday it was disappointed with Glass Lewis’s conclusion. Cincinnati-based P&G’s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for Oct. 10. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/procter-gamble-trianfund/pg-shareholders-should-vote-peltz-to-board-glass-lewis-says-idUSL4N1M33II'|'2017-09-22T14:18:00.000+03:00'
'64643f4c89a97a81393312111c74063e9f492d2c'|'U.S. corn ethanol producers aim to out-pump competitors'|'September 22, 2017 / 5:47 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago U.S. corn ethanol producers aim to out-pump competitors Michael Hirtzer 4 Min Read CHICAGO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. ethanol makers, taking advantage of low corn prices, are ramping up production and expanding capacity to try to squeeze less-efficient competitors out of an overcrowded market. The ethanol industry, which for years bolstered corn prices and U.S. farming, faces saturated domestic demand and lost exports as trade wars bite into the global market. But U.S. producers have added more capacity in 2017 than in any of the previous six years and hit record output levels - and there is more to come. “There’s only two speeds - there’s full throttle or off,” said Randall Doyal, chief executive officer of Al-Corn Clean Fuel in Minnesota. His company, which accounts for about 1 percent of total U.S. ethanol production, is three months ahead of schedule to double annual capacity to 120 million gallons by early 2018. “We are going to oversupply the market,” he said. Since 2007, nearly every gallon of gasoline sold in the United States is mixed with about 10 percent ethanol as part of a mandate enacted to reduce dependence on foreign oil and boost use of renewable fuels. Doyal said the expansion would increase fixed costs only slightly, enabling more profit per unit from higher volumes. The top U.S. ethanol producer, Archer Daniels Midland Co , is also wielding its volume power. “We’ll probably run our plants to maximize yield,” Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano said last month on a conference call with analysts. ADM can produce about 1.8 billion gallons annually - more than total U.S. exports last year. The United States currently has production potential of about 16.3 billion to 16.4 billion gallons a year, according to producers and analysts, up from roughly 15.2 billion in 2016. That is more than enough to cover the call from the domestic market, which should be about 15 billion gallons in 2018, according to requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency. Production hit 1.060 million barrels a day (44.52 million gallons) at the end of August, close to the all-time high touched at the end of January. THIN MARGINS, HIGHER YIELDS Average margins in the top ethanol state of Iowa hit a 2017 high of 30 cents a gallon in August. That was less than a third of the record highs seen in late 2014, despite corn prices near one-year lows. Efficiencies have boosted yields only slightly, to 2.91 gallons from a bushel of corn from 2.84 gallons last year, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. Exports, which sucked up much of the oversupply last year at 1.17 billion gallons, were up 30 percent in the first seven months of this year to 803 million gallons. But now that outlet is under threat after Brazil and China - the second- and third-biggest importers in 2016 after longtime No. 1 buyer Canada - slapped on tariffs. China’s imports plunged to 53,000 gallons through the end of July from 146 million gallons in the same period of 2016 after tariff hikes in January, while Brazil set a limit on tax-free imports on Sept. 1. “Added capacity for the industry will have to lean heavily on exports, and that’s why the Brazil decision is so damaging,” said Scott Irwin, agricultural economist for the University of Illinois. Those that can, continue to ramp up output. No. 2 ethanol maker POET LLC, which can make nearly 1.6 billion gallons, is spending $120 million to expand an Ohio plant to 150 million gallons from 70 million gallons by late 2018. Ring-Neck Energy & Feed LLC is pouring concrete for a $140 million plant in South Dakota and Tharaldson Ethanol of North Dakota has a $3.4 million expansion funded in part with a $341,000 federal grant. Those that cannot expand could face closure, said John Christianson of consultancy Christianson & Associates. “There’s a laggard group that hasn’t had the ability to improve themselves,” he said, declining to name specific companies. “If we produce too much... there’s a bottom group that runs out of cash and they will shut down.” Reporting by Michael Hirtzer in Chicago; Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-ethanol-expansion/u-s-corn-ethanol-producers-aim-to-out-pump-competitors-idUSL2N1M12IZ'|'2017-09-22T20:45:00.000+03:00'
'665e63953eca72a96933ca4b30e449580e1d4033'|'Euro zone businesses end the third quarter on a high note'|'September 22, 2017 / 8:09 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Euro zone businesses end the third quarter on a high note Jonathan Cable 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Employees of German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz make final adjustments at the end of the Mercedes A class (A-Klasse) production line at the factory in Rastatt, Germany, January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Euro zone private businesses ended the third quarter with much stronger growth than predicted, bolstered by manufacturers, who had their best month since early 2011, a survey showed on Friday. That growth, alongside rising inflationary pressures, is likely to increase expectations the European Central Bank will announce plans next month to reduce its monthly spending on quantitative easing. IHS Markit’s euro zone Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for September, seen as a good guide to economic growth, bounced to 56.7 from August’s 55.7, comfortably above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction. September’s reading was above all expectations in a Reuters poll, which had forecast a dip to 55.5. “It was a super manufacturing performance. We are well-placed for a strong fourth quarter as well ... in this broad-based upswing,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. Williamson said the PMI pointed to third-quarter growth of 0.7 percent, faster than the median forecast in a Reuters poll last week for 0.5 percent. The upturn came despite businesses increasing prices at one of the fastest rates this year. The output price index rose to 52.6 from 52.1. A PMI covering manufacturers soared to 58.2 from 57.4, confounding expectations for a fall to 57.1 and chalking up its highest reading since February 2011. An index measuring output rose to a 6 1/2-year high of 59.5 from 58.3. Suggesting the solid pace would be maintained next month, factories built up a surplus of orders at the steepest rate in the sub-index’s 15-year history. The backlogs of work index was 57.8, compared with August’s 57.1. “Firms are scrambling to expand capacity as fast as possible to meet order-book growth and rising backlogs is presenting them with huge problems,” Williamson said. Companies in the bloc’s dominant service industry also had a much better month than expected - their PMI rose to 55.6. A Reuters poll had predicted no change from August’s 54.7. With activity thriving and new orders flooding in, their optimism also increased. The business expectations index jumped to 66.1 from 64.0. Editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-pmi/euro-zone-businesses-end-the-third-quarter-on-a-high-note-idUKKCN1BX0SJ'|'2017-09-22T11:08:00.000+03:00'
'f0aa23851f37f842b6a38ae77e481bacb20283f4'|'More detail needed in racial minorities data - Letters'|'The raw truth of the Guardian report on minorities ( Minorities report: it’s still snowy white at the pinnacle , 25 September) is undeniable. But to make progress we need much more grainy detail than we have. What are “the positions of most power”? Are they all in the public sector or large corporations rather than in corner grocery shops or small or medium sized enterprises (chemist shops)?We also need a breakdown of black and minority ethnic groups by their constituent groups. South Asians are reputed to prefer private sector jobs or self-employment rather than public sector or private corporate sector jobs. Are these positions of power?We know that in educational achievements – A-level results, for example – south Asian and Chinese students do better than white and African-Caribbean groups. Do income differences reflect the same gap as the number of people in upper ranks? Are we mixing up class and race? After all, gender discrimination is colour blind. More data and more analysis, please.Meghnad DesaiLabour, House of Lords• Don’t be so hard on the black and minority ethnic groups in Britain. They seem to be doing pretty well from what the survey you report shows ( Only 3% of UK’s most powerful are from ethnic minorities , 25 September). The “fact” that 3.4% of the UK’s most powerful are from ethnic groups is pretty amazing; I put fact in Quote: s because this report is based on a survey of just 1,049 people across 39 categories.But it is hardly surprising that not many are at the top when you know that people in the BAME group account for just 13% of the total population, and almost all of them have been in the UK for less than 50 years. In addition, roughly half of them had English as their second language, so few of the first arrivals will have had higher education of any sort. And even the second generation has only been in the world of higher education and work in the past 20-30 years, so it’s a bit much to expect them to have risen to the top already.This is especially so since most of these top jobs require high academic qualifications, although I agree that many of the “professions” are virtually closed shops to most British people not from the same public school/Oxbridge trough. Now there’s an issue we could change.David ReedLondon• The UK’s ethnic minorities are radically under-represented in positions of power and influence. How much worse, then, is the vast over-representation of white people in the UK (about 87%) compared with the 18% of whites in the world’s population. Should something be done? Perhaps also worrying is the disproportionately large number of non-whites compared with whites in the world – or the vast number of US Americans compared with Estonians.I raise those points to remind us how we need to reflect far more on which disproportions matter. To demand “equal opportunities for all” is rather glib when it focuses on some minorities within UK borders, ignores those outside and also ignores vast numbers within the UK who, through poverty, upbringing or biology, have little chance of making use of opportunities, even if they were available.Peter CaveLondon• Er… I don’t want a more ethnically diverse power elite; I don’t want a power elite, period.Ian WatsonBrixham, Devon• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/lettersTopics British identity and society Race issues Economics Social mobility Work & careers Higher education letters'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/25/more-detail-needed-in-racial-minorities-data'|'2017-09-25T20:48:00.000+03:00'
'faf1ae0c9078baec812bbd036def3bf79911d761'|'Assured Guaranty says ready to help Hartford city avoid bankruptcy'|'Sept 25 (Reuters) - Securities insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd said on Monday it is willing to issue Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, a general obligation bond that could help the city avoid filing for bankruptcy.Hartford would likely seek to file for bankruptcy if the state does not have a budget in place in 60 days, Mayor Luke Bronin had warned earlier this month.Assured Guaranty said it had it had met with the leadership of Hartford, members of the governor’s staff, and other state and local representatives about the city’s fiscal challenges.The Bermuda-based company said the general obligation (GO) bond refinancing “takes advantage of new state legislation and reduces and levels the city’s annual GO bond debt service over the next 15 years.”Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hartford-finances-assured-guaranty/assured-guaranty-says-ready-to-help-hartford-city-avoid-bankruptcy-idINL4N1M6453'|'2017-09-25T10:41:00.000+03:00'
'fc91e491492bc76fc8ba0ba976322babdfa4040c'|'Credit Agricole to move European government bonds trading to Paris this month'|'Reuters TV United States September 25, 2017 / 7:36 AM / a minute ago Credit Agricole to move European govt bonds trading to Paris this month Abhinav Ramnarayan 1 Min Read A logo is pictured on a Credit Agricole bank branch in Paris, France, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau LONDON (Reuters) - Credit Agricole is to move its European government bonds trading platform from London to Paris in September 2017, a spokeswoman for the bank told Reuters. “To achieve critical mass, Credit Agricole CIB has decided to concentrate its euro flow rates market making capabilities in Paris,” said the spokeswoman. “Therefore the European government bonds trading platform currently based in London will be relocated, as of September 2017, to Credit Agricole CIB in Paris where it will be positioned at the heart of our euro swaps, repo and inflation focused activities,” she said. French bankers have pledged to create 1,000 jobs in Paris as part of a plan to shift their operations out of London once Britain leaves the European Union. However, despite efforts by the French government to attract London banks after Brexit, international banks so far have mostly chosen Frankfurt as their EU hub. Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan, Additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva, Editing by Carolyn Cohn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-credit-agricole/credit-agricole-to-move-european-govt-bonds-trading-to-paris-this-month-idUKKCN1C00MZ'|'2017-09-25T10:24:00.000+03:00'
'709e5e971cf3928cb571993b7645ec9a5921d4be'|'Walt Disney threatens to pull ESPN, ABC from Optimum'|'September 25, 2017 / 4:12 AM / Updated an hour ago Walt Disney threatens to pull ESPN, ABC from Optimum Jarrett Renshaw 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The water tank of The Walt Disney Co Studios is pictured in Burbank, California February 5, 2014. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ) has threatened to pull its programming from the fourth largest U.S. cable distributor, Altice USA, if the two parties cannot reach a deal before the end of the month, the cable company said on Sunday. New York-based Altice ( ATUS.N ), which is owned by a European conglomerate and is better known as Optimum, said Disney had asked it for “hundreds of millions of dollars” in new fees to be able to continue carrying ESPN and ABC, even as ratings suffer. The two parties have been working on a new contract to replace the one that expires at the end of the month, and Walt Disney has warned customers that its channels will go dark on Oct. 1 if a new deal is not worked out, according to media reports. “We are always working hard to negotiate carriage agreements that reflect the best interest of all our customers. We want to carry ESPN and its sister networks, including ABC and Disney, at a reasonable rate and have already offered an increase in retransmission fees and sports programming costs,” Altice said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Sunday. The majority of Altice’s customers live in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and parts of Pennsylvania. The company has said it had an obligation to warn customers about the loss of programming and disagreed with Altice’s characterization of the fee increase, according to media reports. “Our contract with Altice is due to expire soon, so we have a responsibility to make our viewers aware of the potential loss of our programming,” a Disney spokeswoman said in a statement. “We remain fully committed to reaching a deal and are hopeful we can do so.” Disputes between cable companies and media groups over the cost of carrying channels are common, but the dispute marks the first time a cable company has pushed back at increased fees for ESPN, the most popular sports network. The typical customer pays $160 or more each month for service to Altice, she said. Altice charges its customers $34, which is more than 15 times the amount Disney is seeking for the market’s most watched station, WABC, she added. Altice said the request for “exorbitant fee increases” came even as viewership had been declining and that Disney now wanted to force customers who do not receive ESPN to pay for it anyway. High fees are to blame for rising cable bills, Altice said, adding that ESPN was already the most expensive basic cable channel in history. ESPN carries live sports, such as “Monday Night Football,” and is believed to be less exposed to the cord-cutting culture that has left cable providers losing customers. Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Peter Cooney and Sunil Nair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-walt-disney-altice-usa-cable/walt-disney-threatens-to-pull-espn-abc-from-optimum-idUKKCN1C00A2'|'2017-09-25T07:12:00.000+03:00'
'46e2f5c016a2b5b6f0caab80aefe15f4b925e82a'|'CBFI to buy Imagination Technologies for 550 mln stg'|'September 22, 2017 / 9:18 PM / Updated 13 hours ago China-backed fund shunned by Trump to buy British chip maker Koh Gui Qing 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, the China-backed buyout fund that was barred last week by U.S. President Donald Trump from buying a U.S. chip maker, said it would purchase British chip designer Imagination Technologies Group Plc ( IMG.L ). The all-cash 550 million pounds ($742.5 million) deal to buy Imagination showed Canyon Bridge remained focused on investing in Western chip makers after its $1.3 billion deal to buy Lattice Semiconductor Corp ( LSCC.O ) in the United States was blocked over U.S. natural security concerns. Canyon Bridge said on Friday it had agreed to pay 182 British pence per Imagination share, a near 42 percent premium to Imagination’s closing price on Friday. But the purchase is contingent on Imagination divesting U.S. chip designer MIPS, which Imagination had bought in 2013, the two companies said in a joint London stock exchange filing, adding that the takeover would not result in job cuts. Keeping MIPS would subject Canyon Bridge’s purchase of Imagination to a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the government panel which rejected its acquisition of Lattice. Imagination said it had agreed to sell MIPS for $65 million to Tallwood Venture Capital, an investment firm with offices in Palo Alto, California, and Wuxi, southern China. It was not immediately clear whether the divestment would be subject to a CFIUS review. Canyon Bridge was founded with capital originating from China’s central government and had indirect links to Beijing’s space program. It currently manages about $1.5 billion on behalf of Yitai Capital Ltd, a Chinese state-owned company, according to Friday’s statement. Imagination, whose graphics power Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) iPhone, licenses graphics and video-processing technology to semiconductor companies. But shares in the once-great European tech success story hit the skids in April when Apple, its biggest customer, said it would stop using its graphics technology in its new products, causing Imagination shares to crash 70 percent. The two firms are in a legal dispute over royalties at the moment. Lattice, on the other hand, makes chips known as field-programmable gate arrays, which let companies put their own software on silicon chips for different uses. It does not sell chips to the U.S. military, but its two biggest rivals - Xilinx ( XLNX.O ) and Intel Corp’s ( INTC.O ) Altera - make chips that are used in military technology. Following Trump’s decision to bar Canyon Bridge from buying Lattice, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the move reflected concerns about the transfer of intellectual property, Beijing’s role in the deal, the importance of semiconductor supply chain integrity to the U.S. government, and the U.S. government’s use of Lattice products. Canyon Bridge’s investment focus complements China’s efforts to move its manufacturers up the value chain and create innovative and competitive global conglomerates. In the past two years, the Chinese government has set aside at least 350 billion yuan ($53.11 billion) to invest in new technologies. Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imagntn-tchnlgs-m-a-cbfi/cbfi-to-buy-imagination-technologies-for-550-million-pounds-idUSKCN1BX2W2'|'2017-09-23T00:12:00.000+03:00'
'95d97578c0143fb6e612254ffca4cae59e1d7a88'|'METALS--Shanghai, London metals skid on N.Korea tensions, China credit jitters'|'  METALS--Shanghai, London metals skid on N.Korea tensions, China credit jitters Reuters Staff 5 Min Read (Adds detail and updates prices) By Melanie Burton MELBOURNE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Metals in Shanghai and London tumbled on Friday as investors slashed risk given escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and ongoing jitters about China debt after a ratings downgrade. "Metals have had quite a rally in the past few months and have done so much faster than fundamentals would suggest they should," said analyst Amy Li of National Australia Bank in Melbourne. A combination of factors had led to the sell-off, Li said, among them, rising geo-political tension with North Korea, expectations for a more aggressive interest rate rise cycle in the United States, and to a smaller extent, the ongoing credit concerns in China. "I would say this is a pullback from the very, very bullish position we have seen in the past few months." FUNDAMENTALS * SHFE: In Shanghai, metals slumped between 1 percent and 6 percent, with the steepest tumble in nickel, which hit limit down as higher trading fees on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) came into play. * LME: In London, lead and nickel both plunged 4 percent. Investors had surged into metals on prospects of resilient China demand and environmental curbs that have cut into supply. LME zinc and aluminium both fell by more than 2 percent. * LME COPPER: LME copper tumbled to its lowest since Aug. 16, touching $6,366 a tonne, before trimming losses to $6,409, as of 0740 GMT. * SHFE COPPER: The most-active ShFE copper futures slid 1.5 percent to 49,630 yuan ($7,532) a tonne. * CONFUSION: "Not sure why so aggressive a move, guess the U.S. sanctions, delayed reaction in metals to FOMC," said one trader in Hong Kong. "Confused markets I have to say, and on top of that trying to get out of risk when its all one way only exacerbates the move and creates deeper moves in ever decreasing liquidity." * N. KOREA: China called on all parties on Friday to exercise restraint after North Korea''s foreign minister was quoted as saying he believes the North could consider conducting a hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific Ocean. * CHINA CREDIT: S&P Global Ratings downgraded China''s long-term sovereign credit rating on Thursday, less than a month ahead of one of the country''s most sensitive political gatherings, citing increasing risks from its rapid build-up of debt. * CHINA FACTORIES: Thousands of small factories in China, making everything from steel to chemicals, are scrambling for access to the country''s clogged rail network as Beijing curbs the use of diesel trucks in an effort to tackle air pollution. * MACQUARIE: Australia''s Macquarie Group Ltd has overtaken Goldman Sachs to break into the top three banks for commodities business, having significantly expanded its U.S. energy operations in recent years while rivals cut back. * COMING UP: Germany Markit Mfg PMI flash Sep at 0730 GMT PRICES 0731 GMT Three month LME copper 6409.5 Most active ShFE copper 49610 Three month LME aluminium 2130 Most active ShFE aluminium 16400 Three month LME zinc 3028 Most active ShFE zinc 24675 Three month LME lead 2419.5 Most active ShFE lead 20225 Three month LME nickel 10565 Most active ShFE nickel 0 Three month LME tin 20440 Most active ShFE tin 144180 LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 255.44 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 86.28 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 866.12 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 284.56 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 1791.62 ($1 = 6.5894 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals/metals-shanghai-london-metals-skid-on-n-korea-tensions-china-credit-jitters-idUSL4N1M32OQ'|'2017-09-22T10:54:00.000+03:00'
'7400ff0b1ff97ecab07dd558f8b27ab60fc93348'|'Lamprell''s revenue falls 65 percent, cuts full-year forecast'|'  6:25 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Lamprell cuts full-year forecast, sees muted revenue growth Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Oil rig builder Lamprell Plc ( LAM.L ) cut its full-year forecast and said it did not expect revenue growth from potential contract awards until 2019 as lower activity levels continued to plague the industry. The company said it expected revenue for 2017 to be in the range of $370 million (272.52 million pounds) to $390 million, as it saw continuing low levels of walk-in work. Lamprell had forecast full-year revenue to be in the lower half of the $400 million-$500 million range in March. Lamprell said it did not expect any potential improvement in market conditions to impact its business in 2018 due to the lag between improved market conditions and project awards in its business streams. The company expects 2018 revenue to be 10 percent lower than 2017. Lamprell said in March that it expected a recovery in activity in 2018. However, the company said its bid pipeline rose to $3.1 billion at the end of June from $2.5 billion at the end of December, on higher bidding activity in its core markets and new strategic initiatives in the renewable sector. Lamprell, like its peers, has been cutting costs as oil explorers have slashed spending and cancelled contracts to counter weak oil prices. Lamprell, which runs three rig building yards in the UAE, said revenue fell 64.7 percent to $159.2 million in the first half of the year. Lamprell eked out a profit of $1.1 million from continuing operations in the period, compared with a loss of $4.4 million, a year ago. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lamprell-results/lamprells-revenue-falls-65-percent-cuts-full-year-forecast-idUKKCN1BX0I9'|'2017-09-22T09:25:00.000+03:00'
'0b31b1e52ed3c8019134ffc8426b9220d64a744f'|'TREASURIES-Prices gain on North Korean concerns'|'* North Korean fears pauses bond selloff * Treasury yield curve flattest since 2007 By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury prices gained on Friday on concerns about conflict with North Korea, which said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean, and as investors closed positions before the weekend. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised on Friday to make a "mentally deranged" Donald Trump pay dearly for his threats, after the U.S. president vowed to destroy the country. The threat halted a bond selloff sparked by the Federal Reserve taking a more hawkish tone than investors had expected at its September meeting, which concluded on Wednesday. “There’s much less selling in advance of the weekend,” said Jim Vogel, an interest rate strategist at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. “This has the initial appearance of not going home with any particular rate views when North Korea and the White House are in a bigger spat than they have been.” Benchmark 10-year notes gained 9/32 in price to yield 2.25 percent, down from 2.28 percent on Thursday. The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to its lowest levels since late 2007 overnight, before retracing in the U.S. session, as traders prepared for the likelihood that the U.S. central bank will raise rates in December. New economic projections released after the Fed''s meeting showed 11 of 16 officials see the "appropriate" level for the federal funds rate, the central bank''s benchmark interest rate, to be in a range between 1.25 percent and 1.50 percent by the end of 2017, one-quarter of a point above the current level. That view comes despite still-sluggish inflation that many investors have viewed as likely to crimp the Fed’s ability to tighten monetary conditions. "There is not a lot of faith that yields can be sustainably higher," said Aaron Kohli, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets in New York. Intermediate-dated debt is highly sensitive to interest rate increases, while longer-dated bonds are influenced by inflation expectations. “The problem comes from the long-term implications of their moves … what does that say about growth and inflation in the long run? The market’s not very optimistic about that,” Kohli said. The yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds flattened to 91.1 basis points, the lowest level since late 2007, before steepening back to 92.3 basis points. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-prices-gain-on-north-korean-concerns-idINL2N1M30OE'|'2017-09-22T11:44:00.000+03:00'
'fd600cb818ce2ddb636da9cf2032f3cfe8cbcb1e'|'Exclusive - T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing deal terms: sources'|'September 22, 2017 / 11:24 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Exclusive: T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing on deal terms - sources Greg Roumeliotis , Arno Schuetze 5 Min Read Smartphones with the logos of T-Mobile and Sprint are seen in this illustration taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with Sprint Corp ( S.N ), people familiar with the matter said on Friday, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers. The transaction would significantly consolidate the U.S. telecommunications market and represent the first transformative U.S. merger with significant antitrust risk to be agreed since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January, testing his administration’s appetite for such deals. The development follows more than four months of on-and-off talks this year between the companies, and comes as the telecommunications sector seeks ways to tackle investments in 5G technology that will greatly enhance wireless data transfer speeds. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ), which controls Sprint, will own 40 to 50 percent of the combined company, while T-Mobile majority owner Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) will own a majority stake, two of the sources said. Once terms are finalized, due diligence by the two companies will follow and a deal is expected by the end of October, though talks may still fall through, the sources said. A merger would create a business with more than 130 million subscribers, just behind Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) and AT&T Inc ( T.N ). Revenues would top $70 billion and analysts say there would be massive scope to cut costs. Sprint shares jumped 5 percent in morning trading in New York on Friday to $8.44, giving the company a market capitalization of close to $34 billion. T-Mobile shares were up 1 percent to $64.28, giving that company a market capitalization of around $53 billion. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Sprint and Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. T-Mobile and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son abandoned an earlier attempt to acquire T-Mobile for Sprint in 2014 amid opposition from anti-trust regulators concerned that consumers could lose out. Smartphones with the logos of T-Mobile and Sprint are seen in this illustration taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration That deal would have put SoftBank in control of the merged company, with Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder. Since then, T-Mobile has outperformed Sprint under Chief Executive John Legere, who the sources said would lead the combined company. Earlier this month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai gave a potential boost to the tie-up when he recommended in a new annual report that for the first time since 2009 the FCC has found there is “effective competition in the marketplace for mobile wireless services.” Slideshow (3 Images) The FCC is due on Tuesday to vote the annual report on the state of the wireless competition market and Pai may face pushback from Democrats on the commission. Son made headlines in early December when he appeared in the marble lobby of Trump Tower in New York alongside the then president-elect, dressed in a red vest and red tie nearly identical to that of the tycoon turned commander in chief. He was among the first in a series of Asian billionaires and leaders to pay tribute to Trump, who won office in November on a platform that focused on national security and protecting U.S. jobs. Son’s pledge to Trump to invest $50 billion in the United States and create 50,000 jobs was light on details but spoke to the president’s election promise to boost economic growth by making deals with individual companies, rather than through complicated trade deals. Last month, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said an announcement on merger talks should come in the “near future.” Earlier this year, Sprint approached cable company Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) about a potential merger, but quickly abandoned that effort. AT&T is in the process of getting its own transformative deal, its $85.4 billion acquisition of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) approved by U.S. regulators. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Douglas Busvine in Frankfurt, David Shepardson in Washington; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sprint-m-a-tmobile-exclusive/exclusive-t-mobile-sprint-close-to-agreeing-deal-terms-sources-idUKKCN1BX1EK'|'2017-09-22T14:25:00.000+03:00'
'9dfff64618e5e502cc1aebb30c6b800e240b28d7'|'Indonesian airline Garuda in talks to delay delivery of 20 planes'|'JAKARTA, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Indonesian flag airline PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk said on Friday it is in talks to delay the delivery of 20 Airbus and Boeing planes.Garuda and its budget unit Citilink were supposed to have taken the delivery of the planes during the two years through to 2019, Garuda Chief Executive Officer Pahala Mansury told reporters, without giving a new date for the delivery.“We want to focus on the optimisation of our existing fleet,” Mansury said.Mansury did not disclose the model of the delayed planes, but Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan told Reuters they are made by Airbus and Boeing. (Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/garuda-planes/indonesian-airline-garuda-in-talks-to-delay-delivery-of-20-planes-idUSJ9N1K1009'|'2017-09-22T07:50:00.000+03:00'
'acbcdbffcae9843dda0b6d295c928f61c1de1d2a'|'ECB warns Balkans over increased use of the euro'|'  7:43 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago ECB warns Balkans over increased use of the euro Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The increasing use of the euro in the Balkans is a serious policy challenge for the region as it could hinder monetary policy and may put the economy at risk due to exchange rate shifts, European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure said on Friday. “A high degree of foreign currency use also has serious drawbacks,” Coeure said in Sarajevo. “Unofficial euroisation also impedes monetary policy transmission and may limit the overall room for manoeuvre of monetary policy.” “Households and firms may suddenly no longer be able to service their foreign currency-denominated debt, creating credit risk for banks,” Coeure said, mentioning Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Francesco Canepa'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-balkans-euro-ecb/ecb-warns-balkans-over-increased-use-of-the-euro-idUKKCN1BX0Q2'|'2017-09-22T10:43:00.000+03:00'
'0e8636553b4c1030f5de5e43331263293c9ec5cd'|'L''Oreal shares climb after death of Bettencourt'|'Fearing far-right surge, Merkel tells Germans to vote Spain Spooked by Catalonia, EU rallies behind Madrid May seeks Florentine renaissance for Brexit talks Reuters TV United States September 22, 2017 / 7:28 AM / a minute ago L''Oreal shares climb after death of Bettencourt Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of French cosmetics group L''Oreal is seen on the company''s building in Clichy, near Paris February 12, 2015. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in cosmetics group L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ) rose on Friday after the death of 94-year old billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, who had the largest stake in the company and whose passing may alter the ties between L‘Oreal and Nestle ( NESN.S ). L''Oreal shares were up around 5 percent in early session trading, the best performer on France''s benchmark CAC-40 index .FCHI and on the pan-European STOXX 600 index . Bettencourt’s family owns 33 percent of L‘Oreal. Her daughter Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, who sits on L‘Oreal’s board along with her own son, said in a statement that the family remained committed to L‘Oreal and its management team. Nestle, which owns just over 23 percent of L‘Oreal, had agreed with the founding family that the two parties could not increase their stakes during Liliane Bettencourt’s lifetime and for at least six months after her death. “Speculation will now inevitably be re-ignited around Nestle’s intentions towards its L‘Oreal stake,” analysts at Jefferies wrote in a research note. “This holds out the prospect of L‘Oreal either buying in the stake, or perhaps even Nestle buying L‘Oreal outright.” Nestle shares were up 1.1 percent while shares in healthcare company Sanofi ( SASY.PA ), in which L‘Oreal also has a 9 percent stake, also advanced by around 1 percent. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Laurence Frost'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-l-oreal-bettencourt-stocks/loreal-shares-climb-after-death-of-bettencourt-idUKKCN1BX0O0'|'2017-09-22T10:20:00.000+03:00'
'3494ea0ac022aff1518f23ab596abe49a9be396e'|'Wacker Chemie expects U.S. polysilicon plant to be out of action for months'|'  3:41 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Wacker Chemie expects U.S. polysilicon plant to be out of action for months Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Company sign of Wacker Chemie AG is pictured in the south-east Bavarian town of Burghausen April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo BERLIN/MUNICH (Reuters) - German specialty chemicals group Wacker Chemie’s ( WCHG.DE ) polysilicon plant in Charleston, Tennessee, is likely to remain out of commission for several months after an explosion this month, it said on Wednesday. The $2.5 billion U.S. plant, Wacker’s biggest single investment, was completed only last year and accounted for about a quarter of the group’s annual production of polysilicon, which is used to make solar cells. “Production will not start until a thorough inspection is completed and it is certain that the facility is safe,” said Tobias Brandis, global president of Wacker’s polysilicon division. “From today’s perspective, restarting will take several months.” Chief Executive Rudolf Staudigl said on Wednesday that the roughly 60,000 tonnes of capacity at Wacker’s two German polysilicon plants is enough to fulfill all existing contracts. In addition, the company has built up stocks “in significant volumes” in recent months, he said. The explosion on Sept. 7 was caused by an unspecified technical defect that led to a leak of hydrogen that subsequently caught fire, Wacker said. Two workers were injured in the explosion and taken to hospital. Wacker said both were released the same day. CEO Staudigl said that the financial impact of the explosion would be limited because insurers would compensate Wacker for both physical damage to the plant and lost production. “We do not need to change our profit forecast because of this,” Staudigl said. Wacker aims to post 2017 operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of between 900 million euros ($1.1 billion) and 935 million euros. (This version of the story was corrected to show the plant accounts for about a quarter, not 5 percent, of Wacker’s annual polysilicon production, in second paragraph) Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Alexander Huebner; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wacker-chemie-usa/wacker-chemie-expects-u-s-polysilicon-plant-to-be-out-of-action-for-months-idUSKCN1BV24P'|'2017-09-20T18:37:00.000+03:00'
'00de8d6492895fc14d2276e5cca819c6265ecac2'|'Jobless and £35,000 in debt: ''I got to the point where I didn’t want to live'' - Money'|'  12.49 BST Last modified on   16.50 BST When the Birmingham substance misuse service was handed from the local NHS trust to a charity, Carol Rice lost her job amid cost-cutting, just as she was facing deeper debt problems. The 59-year-old single mother of three had been helping recovering drug addicts and had a second job to try to make ends meet. Tough calls: on the debt crisis frontline with charity StepChange Read more Eventually, she hit rock bottom, and turned to Christians Against Poverty, a charity specialising in debt and poverty, in a last-ditch effort to deal with her mounting money problems. At one point, she says, credit card debts, car finance and a mortgage made her fear coming home because there could be a mountain of unpaid bills and repayment demands on the doormat. Carol says she got in debt to help her children through university. She took out payday loans, which pushed her even deeper into the red. At her lowest point, Carol owed £35,000. She lost weight, was unable to pay to fix the heating for 18 months and saw almost all of her income swallowed by interest payments that far outstripped the amount she initially borrowed. Britain’s 5.1 million public sector workers have been subject to a 1% cap on annual pay increases since 2010, which the TUC estimates has led to some staff seeing a cut in real earnings of as much as £4,400. Theresa May has pledged to break the rule for police and prison officers, although faces sharp criticism for not going far enough. Explaining her situation, in a church building on the outskirts of Birmingham city centre, Carol recalls: “I was crying all the time. I got to the point where I didn’t want to live, I didn’t want to be here. And I can still remember that feeling. “You get a loan, get another loan. All your wages are going out to pay the loans, you’ve got very little left. In the end I couldn’t get loans.” Young people worst affected by debt crisis, say charities Read more Without a job, her house was repossessed by the mortgage company even as she tried to sell it. However, Owen O’Brien, a local debt adviser at the religious charity – which supports people with debt problems across the country – helped her to deal with the debt repayment demands and organise payment plans. Carol’s son helped her to find CAP after returning home from university to find his mother struggling to cope with problem debts. “This is real life. If my son hadn’t have come home, I wouldn’t be here,” she said. With the help from Owen, she is now debt-free and living in a private rented flat not far from her old home in south Birmingham. While on benefits seeking work, she is planning to volunteer for CAP to share her experience with others. She said: “I’ve had a lot of prayer and feel at peace now. I can walk down the street not feeling bad; forgive myself for getting into this mess. I never could have imagined that it would have happened.” Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/20/jobless-debt-nhs-payday-loans'|'2017-09-20T14:49:00.000+03:00'
'f943f6aa51e1777ba0ddde6df1c80755425b6885'|'Fed''s Williams sees calm market reaction to balance sheet unwind'|'  11:24 AM / a minute ago Fed''s Williams sees calm market reaction to balance sheet unwind John Revill , Joshua Franklin 4 Min Read President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, John Williams, gestures as he addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - U.S. central banker John Williams said on Friday he does not expect any market turbulence as the Fed gets under way with reducing the huge balance sheet built during its campaign to stimulate the U.S. economy. “I don’t anticipate any sudden or large effects on rates or spreads or things like that as we normalize,” Williams, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, told reporters in Zurich. “Obviously we’ve talked about this endlessly. We’ve announced it and the markets have taken totally taken this in stride. But it’s still an open question as we actually implement this next month and over the next several years - ‘how will markets react?’ We’ll obviously be following that very carefully.” Normalization was the key theme at the Fed, said Williams. The Fed said on Wednesday it would begin the years-long process of trimming its $4.5 trillion in assets, most of them amassed to encourage investment and growth in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis and recession. It also signaled it will likely raise rates again later this year and three more times next year, despite low inflation that has surprised policymakers and has traders convinced the Fed will need to slow its pace of rate hikes. Williams said the Fed could indeed increase rates again this year and three more times next year, but the exact timing was not important, with a gradual increase in interest rates now under way. Provided the U.S. economy continues to progress and inflation was on track to reach the Fed’s 2 percent goal, “I would ascribe to a gradual pace of rate increases, which assuming all that’s happening, could have another rate increase this year and three next year,” Williams said. President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, John Williams, addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann “But honestly … the exact timing of that is not that important. I think the overall view that we would be raising rates gradually over the next two years and getting back to a normal level is the one I think I have a lot more confidence in.” Eventually the Fed would reach a “new normal” of a Fed Funds rate of 2.5 percent, Williams said. “My view, based on a lot of research people have done including my own work on this, is that the normal Federal funds rate is likely to be around 2.5 percent,” Williams said. Slideshow (4 Images) “Obviously, the pace at which that happens and exactly the contour of that will depend on how the economy progresses but that’s my baseline case at this point.” Interest rates rather than bond buying would become the primary tool of Fed monetary policy in future, Williams said, with the bank also having room to cut them if the U.S. economy hit difficulties. It was also imperative for the vacancies on the Fed to be filled “sooner rather than later”, Williams said. There will soon be four places to fill on the Fed when Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer retires in October. U.S. President Donald Trump has also not yet said if he will nominate Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for a second term, with her current term due to end next February. “It is an important issue to have the vacancies filled... When you only have half the board that is stretching them very thinly in terms of their responsibilities,” said Williams. “My only plea would be they fill these positions sooner rather than later.” Reporting by John Revill and Joshua Franklin, Editing by Michael Shields and Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fed-williams/feds-williams-sees-calm-market-reaction-to-balance-sheet-unwind-idUKKCN1BX1EE'|'2017-09-22T15:21:00.000+03:00'
'4feb6fa99967b17b034619b9fd4c3eed8762869b'|'OPEC panel to discuss export monitoring, oil pact extension'|'September 22, 2017 / 9:28 AM / Updated 2 hours ago OPEC says winning battle to end oil glut Alex Lawler , Shadia Nasralla 4 Min Read The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/Files VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC and other oil producers are clearing a glut that has weighed on crude prices for three years and may wait until January before deciding whether to extend their output curbs beyond the first quarter of 2018, ministers said on Friday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and several other producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of 2017, helping lift oil prices by 15 percent in the past three months. OPEC and its allies have been considering extending the deal beyond the end of March when it is due to expire. Russia’s energy minister said no decision was expected before January, although other ministers suggested such a decision could be taken before the end of this year. “I think we can return to this issue not earlier than January next year,” Russia’s Alexander Novak said when asked about a timeline for any decision on extending the pact to curb supplies. Speaking after Friday’s meeting of oil ministers in Vienna, he also said OPEC and the other producers needed to continue working closely together well into 2018. “We need not only to keep up the pace but continue our coordinated joint actions in full, but also work out a strategy for the future, to which we will stick starting from April 2018,” he said, adding oil demand was rising at a “high pace”. Other ministers said a decision on extending cuts could be taken in November when OPEC holds its next formal meeting. “In November, we’re going to take decisions,” Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino told reporters, adding the group was “evaluating all the options” including an extension to the pact. Benchmark Brent crude is now trading at more than $56 a barrel, although it is still half the level it was in mid-2014. MARKET REBALANCING Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chaired Friday’s meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, said supply cuts were helping cut global crude inventories to their five-year average, OPEC’s stated target. “Since our last meeting in July, the oil market has markedly improved,” Marzouq said as he opened the Vienna gathering. “The market is now evidently well on its way towards rebalancing.” He said there were a “number of positives” in the market, including stock levels in industrialised OECD states in August that were 170 million barrels above the five-year average, down from 340 million barrels in January. He also said oil in floating storage was falling and cited a shift of benchmark Brent prices into backwardation, a market condition in which it is more attractive to sell oil immediately rather than keeping it stored. This indicates tighter supplies. The Kuwaiti minister also said the ministerial monitoring group would continue watching production data, but would also propose a review of export data as well. OPEC officials have said exports have a more direct impact on the international supply than production. The supply pact sets production limits for participating OPEC and non-OPEC states but puts no restrictions on export levels, so some producers have been able to keep exports relatively high by dipping into their stored reserves. In addition, rising crude prices have encouraged U.S. shale oil producers to ramp up output, a further reason why the drawdown on global inventories has taken longer than expected. Ministers from Libya and Nigeria, both OPEC members but exempted from supply curbs as their oil industries recover from years of unrest, were invited to Friday’s meeting. The Kuwaiti minister said the two nations would contribute to supply cut deal once their production stabilises. Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Vladimir Soldatkin and Shadia Nasralla; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/opec-meeting/opec-panel-to-discuss-export-monitoring-oil-pact-extension-idINKCN1BX107'|'2017-09-22T12:27:00.000+03:00'
'079793feec1023626ccddcbb5e89f26506d43b24'|'For Merkel, it could take three to tango'|'September 22, 2017 / 7:08 AM / Updated 7 hours ago For Merkel, it could take three to tango Michael Nienaber 5 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - At first glance, Germany’s federal election looks like a done deal -- all major polls predict Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives to come in first, a result that should mean no political upheaval in Europe’s biggest economy. But that’s the first glance. The devil will be in the detail of what coalition is likely to come after Sunday’s vote, and with it whether Merkel’s economic policies can remain in situ. Those policies have reigned over booming growth and rising consumer confidence. The status quo, though, will depend to a certain extent on how Merkel’s centre-right CDU/CSU bloc fares compared with her incumbent junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD). The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and others could potentially hold the balance. So a few percentage points will decide Merkel’s coalition options and her policy agenda for the next four years -- with consequences for Berlin’s stance on euro zone integration, tax cuts, state spending and the privatization of state assets. “It’s all about politics next week -- and that means German politics,” said Andrew Bosomworth, a senior portfolio manager at Pimco, one of the world’s largest bond funds. The base scenario is that Merkel will win the election and remain chancellor for a fourth term. “The big question is with which of the other parties she will team up,” Bosomworth said. Coalition building will be complicated by the fact that the anti-immigration AfD and the socially liberal FDP are forecast this year to easily pass the five percent threshold to enter the Bundestag lower house of parliament after failing in 2013. This means that traditional two-party alliances -- such as a “black-yellow” coalition between Merkel’s conservatives and the FDP or a “red-green” coalition between the centre-left SPD and the Greens -- are likely to fall short of a stable majority. The most likely scenarios are therefore another “grand coalition” between Merkel’s bloc and the SPD -- usually a last resort combination -- or a three-way alliance untested at national level between the conservatives, the FDP and the Greens -- dubbed the “Jamaica coalition” due to the parties’ colors. FILE PHOTO: Election campaign posters show German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) and the leader of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) Christian Lindner in Ribnitz-Damgarten, Germany, September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Both options would broadly mean a continuation of CDU/CSU’s economic policies, including closer cooperation within the euro zone, sealing more free trade deals and granting minor tax cuts. “If Merkel’s conservatives win as expected, the market reaction is likely to be calm. A Merkel victory is basically priced in,” Bosomworth said. BLACK-YELLOW However, last year’s elections in the United States and Britain showed that pollsters can get it badly wrong. There is also a chance that the conservatives and the FDP could get just enough votes to form a black-yellow coalition. Slideshow (3 Images) Such a scenario could bring some market volatility since the FDP is less open to helping other euro zone countries and its leader has criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to create a joint budget for the single currency bloc. Some investors have even warned that a black-yellow coalition could lead to a renewal of the euro zone debt crisis. Such fears are based on the idea investors could shift their money out of government bonds from southern European countries. Berenberg economist Holger Schmieding, however, reckons this is all exaggerated. “An FDP presence in government would not jeopardize European reforms,” he said. With the FDP calling for privatization of state assets such as the government’s stakes in Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ), Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) or Deutsche Post ( DPWGn.DE ), a black-yellow coalition scenario is likely to push up some stocks. "The DAX .GDAXI could make a small jump if there should be a majority for black-yellow," said Joerdis Hengelbrock, portfolio manager at Sal. Oppenheim. Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding Merkel’s future coalition partner or partners, investors such as Berkshire Hathaway’s ( BRKa.N ) Warren Buffett are banking on the pastor’s daughter to remain at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy. “Merkel is an extraordinary personality,” Buffett told business daily Handelsblatt. “Germany and the world, from my point of view, need a leadership personality like Angela.” Reporting by Michael Nienaber Editing by Jeremy Gaunt '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-outlook/for-merkel-it-could-take-three-to-tango-idUKKCN1BX0LW'|'2017-09-22T10:09:00.000+03:00'
'6b35b16a15fabb9948f4bd8086c09f26d35b4069'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat on day, heads for 1.9 pct gain on week'|'September 22, 2017 / 2:27 PM / Updated 2 hours ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat on day, heads for 1.9 pct gain on week Reuters Staff (Adds details on specific stocks, updates prices) * TSX down 1.42 points, or 0.01 percent, at 15,453.50 * Six of the TSX’s 10 main groups were higher TORONTO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index was flat on Friday but on track for a 1.9 percent gain on the week as financial stocks pushed higher and a bid for bullion on rising tension between North Korea and the United States boosted gold miners. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.2 percent, while the financials group also gained 0.2 percent. Kirkland Lake Gold rose 1.2 percent to C$16.31 after National Bank of Canada started coverage on the stock with an outperform rating. Tahoe Resources gained 2.8 percent to C$7.09 after the miner increased its 2017 gold production outlook and cut its spending plans. Gold prices recovered from a four-week low on a bid for safety as North Korea said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy the reclusive country. At 10:15 a.m. ET (1415 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 1.42 points, or 0.01 percent, at 15,453.50, with six of its 10 main groups lower. It closed at its highest level since early June on Thursday. Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.5 percent to C$79.30 while finance company ECN Capital Corp jumped 4.5 percent to C$3.94 after closing a deal to acquire Service Finance Holdings and as Credit Suisse raised its view on the stock to “outperform” from “neutral”. Air Canada pushed 2.5 percent higher to C$27.06 as investors bought into its plan to expand routes and cut some prices to compete against low-cost new entrants. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-flat-on-day-heads-for-1-9-pct-gain-on-week-idUSL2N1M30TH'|'2017-09-22T17:24:00.000+03:00'
'6966a9bd73d2c91f4b2f3e3dae256986ccfab131'|'U.S. Commerce study argues for tougher NAFTA origin rules'|'September 22, 2017 / 2:03 PM / Updated 7 hours ago U.S. Commerce study argues for tougher NAFTA origin rules David Lawder 4 Min Read A NAFTA banner is pictured where the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Mexico City, Mexico September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seeking to bolster its case for tougher rules of origin in the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Trump administration released a new study on Friday that shows U.S. value-added content is declining for manufactured goods imported from Mexico and Canada. The Commerce Department analysis of recently released OECD trade in value-added data found that U.S. content in automotive imports from Mexico declined to 18.1 percent in 2011 from 26.5 percent in 1995. U.S. content in automotive imports from Canada declined to 26.4 percent from 34.9 percent over the same period. At the same time, automotive value added content from non-NAFTA countries in Mexican auto imports rose to 29.5 percent from 13.2 percent. China has seen the fastest growth in that component, to 5.8 percent in 2011 from a scant 0.3 percent in 1995. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has frequently criticized NAFTA’s rules of origin as a “back door” for Chinese auto parts to enter the United States through Mexico and Canada and that the trade pact’s benefits needed to be restricted to its members. The report comes as chief U.S. negotiator John Melle prepares to present new text proposals at the third round of NAFTA talks in Ottawa starting on Saturday, where he said “more challenging issues will start taking center stage.” These are expected to include rules of origin, a chapter in which the Trump administration wants more substantial U.S. content in autos, the main source of the $64-billion trade deficit with Mexico and the $11-billion deficit with Canada. “If we don’t fix the rules of origin, negotiations on the rest of the agreement will fail to meaningfully shift the trade imbalance,” Ross said in an opinion piece about the study published in the Washington Post. The administration has not yet revealed its rules of origin targets, but some auto industry lobbyists and executives expect the Trump administration to seek a regional automotive content requirement of 70 percent or more, and a U.S.-specific content requirement of at least 35 percent. Overall, the study found that the U.S. content of manufactured goods from Canada dropped to 15 percent in 2011 from 21 percent in 1995, a year after NAFTA went into effect. The U.S. content in Mexican manufactured goods fell by more, to 16 percent from 21 percent. At the same time, Ross said the study shows content from non-NAFTA countries was rising over the same period, suggesting the origin rules needed to more tightly restrict NAFTA access benefits. Mexican officials have said that Mexican imports into the United States contain an average of 40 percent U.S. content, arguing that the United States benefits from stronger economic integration with Mexico. “These data debunk the claim that U.S. content in the form of parts is so high that we shouldn’t worry about headline gross-deficit figures,” Ross said in his op-ed. The study also singled out rising non-NAFTA content in basic metals imports from Mexico and Canada, pointing to possible demands for tighter origin rules governing these products. Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-content/u-s-commerce-study-argues-for-tougher-nafta-origin-rules-idUSKCN1BX1W6'|'2017-09-22T17:03:00.000+03:00'
'e162868152601c410adcd286a1f3a3fabe296beb'|'Rohingya crisis dents Myanmar hopes of Western investment boom'|'  12:17 AM / Updated an hour ago Rohingya crisis dents Myanmar hopes of Western investment boom Yimou Lee , Marius Zaharia 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees walk on a muddy path at Thaingkhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox''s Bazar, Bangladesh, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo YANGON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - When officials from Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon toured six European countries in June, they were hoping to drum up investment in transport, energy and education. Instead, they were bombarded with questions about the country’s treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority, who have long complained of persecution by the Buddhist majority in the oil-rich, ethnically divided, western state of Rakhine. “In each of every country, that issue was always brought up,” Hlaing Maw Oo, secretary of Yangon City Development Committee, told Reuters after the 16-day trip. The situation in Rakhine has worsened dramatically since then, with more than 400,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh to escape a military counterinsurgency offensive the United Nations has described as “ethnic cleansing”. Western trade and investment in Myanmar is small, but there were hopes that a series of reforms this year would prise open an economy stunted by international sanctions and decades of mismanagement under military rule. With most sanctions now lifted, an expected flood of Western money was seen as a key dividend from the transition to civilian rule under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Regional diplomats saw it balancing China’s growing influence over its neighbour. But Suu Kyi has been beset by international criticism for saying little about human rights abuses against the Rohingya, and lawyers, consultants and lobbyists say the European and U.S. companies that had been circling are now wary of the reputational risks of investing in the country. Louis Yeung, managing principal of Yangon-based investment firm Faircap Partners, said one of his business partners – a listed, U.S.-based food and beverage company - decided to hold off its plan to enter the Myanmar market for three to five years, citing factors including slower-than-expected reforms and the Rohingya crisis. “Their conclusion is that it wasn’t the right time for them,” he said. “They want to see more traction from the government and Rakhine is not helpful.” ON HOLD The pressure has been growing in recent months, even on existing investors, with rights group AFD International calling on foreign firms to stop investing in Myanmar. A small group of investors in U.S. oil major Chevron ( CVX.N ) filed an unsuccessful motion at its annual general meeting urging it to pull out of its production sharing contract with a state-run firm to explore for oil and gas, while Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor ( TEL.OL ), which runs a mobile network in Myanmar, issued a statement calling for human rights protection. Chevron declined to comment on its investment in Myanmar, while Telenor did not respond to several requests for comment. Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, said last week his delegation postponed a visit to Myanmar indefinitely, saying the human rights situation “does not allow a fruitful discussion on a potential EU-Myanmar investment agreement”. Khin Aung Tun, vice-chairman of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, told Reuters global firms planning to hold conferences in Myanmar were now considering other locations. “People were just starting to see Myanmar as a ‘good news’ story,” said Dane Chamorro, head of South East Asia at Control Risks, a global risk consultancy. “Now you can imagine a boardroom in which someone mentions Myanmar and someone else says ‘hold on, I’ve just seen something on Myanmar on TV: villages burned down, refugees, etc’.” In an interview published in Nikkei Asia Review on Thursday, Suu Kyi acknowledged it was “natural” for foreign investors to be concerned, but repeated her view that economic development was the key to solving poor Rakhine’s long-standing problems. “So investments would actually help make the situation better,” she said. IN CHINA‘S ORBIT Myanmar’s $70 billion economy should be a strong investment proposition for Western firms. It boasts large oil and gas reserves and natural resources such as rubies, jade and timber. Wages are low and its youthful population of more than 50 million is eager for retail and manufacturing jobs. In April, Myanmar passed a long-awaited investment law, simplifying procedures and granting foreign investors equal treatment to the locals. A game-changing law allowing foreigners to buy stakes in local firms is expected later this year. “The investment conditions were improving,” said Dustin Daugherty, ASEAN lead for business intelligence at Dezan Shira & Associates, a consultancy for foreign investors in Asia. Myanmar’s economy may not suffer much, however, if Western firms shun the country - or even if their governments were to reimpose some sanctions, although that appears unlikely for now. Suu Kyi has sought to deepen relations with China at a time when Beijing is keen to push projects that fit with its “Belt and Road” initiative, which aims to stimulate trade by investment in infrastructure throughout Asia and beyond. Myanmar trades with China as much as it does with its next four biggest partners: Singapore, Thailand, Japan and India. None of that top five participated in previous sanctions. Trade with the United States is only about $400 million and U.S. investment is just 0.5 percent of the total. Europe accounts for around a 10th of investment, while China and Hong Kong make up more than a third, and Singapore and Thailand another third. Than Aung Kyaw, Deputy Director General of Myanmar’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, told Reuters European investors might have “second thoughts”, but he expected Asian investors to stay put. China is already in talks to sell electricity to energy-hungry Myanmar and pushing for preferential access to a strategic port on the Bay of Bengal. In April, the two countries reached an agreement on an oil pipeline that pumps oil across Myanmar to southwest China. “It is going to feed Aung San Suu Kyi straight into the hands of (Chinese President) Xi Jinping,” said John Blaxland, director at the ANU Southeast Asia Institute and head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. For a graphic, click here Reporting by Yimou Lee in Yangon and Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Shoon Naing and Wa Lone in Yangon; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Alex Richardson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-myanmar-rohingya-investment/rohingya-crisis-dents-myanmar-hopes-of-western-investment-boom-idUKKCN1BX00X'|'2017-09-22T10:48:00.000+03:00'
'a187341c2bc57b58438067ef7cc8da67c03d6dfd'|'End to Libor won''t affect SNB''s monetary policy - Moser'|' 04 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago End to Libor won''t affect SNB''s monetary policy: Moser John Revill 3 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - An end to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) will challenge the private sector but will not hinder the Swiss National Bank’s ability to conduct monetary policy, deputy governing board member Dewet Moser said. Libor, a daily rate in a range of currencies, is based on submissions from banks of interest rates they believe they would be charged by others for borrowing money. Around 6 trillion Swiss francs ($6.20 trillion) worth of contracts use Libor as a benchmark, making it by far the most important interest rate for the Swiss economy. But the measure is on the way out after banks were fined billions of dollars for trying to manipulate it. Turnover in the unsecured money market, the basis for Libor, also has decreased to record low levels for all currencies, Moser said. “Despite all the measures that have been taken, it seems impossible to re-establish the Libor as a credible, robust and resilient benchmark,” Moser said in remarks prepared for a conference in Zurich on Friday. The SNB conducts monetary policy by steering interest rates in the Swiss franc money market, telling the market in what range it intends to keep three-month Swiss franc Libor. The target range is one of the three elements of the SNB’s monetary policy strategy, along with its definition of price stability and the conditional inflation forecast, Moser said. ”Central banks are capable of controlling the level of short-term interest rates in a variety of ways,“ he said. ”In particular, the policy stance is not tied to the existence of a specific reference rate. This is also the case for the SNB. ”Thus, a discontinuation of the Libor would neither affect our monetary policy stance nor our ability to ensure price stability.” The SNB is looking at alternative benchmarks, including SARON, the Swiss Average Rate Overnight for secured loans. The central bank would continue to support market participants in the rate benchmark transition process, Moser said. “But in the end, market participants themselves are responsible for choosing alternative rates and ensuring a timely transition,” he said. ($1 = 0.9685 Swiss francs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-snb-libor/end-to-libor-wont-affect-snbs-monetary-policy-moser-idUKKCN1BX0XR'|'2017-09-22T12:04:00.000+03:00'
'32221a8ca3a151b149513cfc003e61ef6b2360a8'|'EU regulators to rule on ArcelorMittal''s buy of Ilva by October 26'|'  1:34 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago EU regulators to rule on ArcelorMittal''s buy of Ilva by October 26 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Workers stand near the logo of ArcelorMittal, the world''s largest producer of steel, at the steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU competition regulators will decide by Oct. 26 whether to clear Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal’s ( MT.AS ) acquisition of Italian steel plant Ilva, the European Commission said on Friday. The world’s largest steelmaker sought EU approval for the deal with the Italian state-controlled plant on Sept. 21, a filing on the EU website showed. The Commission can clear the deal with or without conditions or open a full-scale investigation if the companies fail to allay possible competition concerns. Earlier this month, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager told Reuters that it was a tricky case but the signs were good because of good cooperation with Italian authorities. The Italian government has backed the deal between ArcelorMittal and Europe’s biggest steel plant by output capacity, which has a serious pollution issue. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ilva-m-a-arcelormitta-eu/eu-regulators-to-rule-on-arcelormittals-buy-of-ilva-by-october-26-idUKKCN1BX1S0'|'2017-09-22T16:33:00.000+03:00'
'405b912822b701b30b2f1ca6940541697e8a15a6'|'Big technology firms are newly in the hot seat at home'|'ANTITRUST, privacy, hate speech—whenever the European Union tries to rein in tech giants, Americans accuse it of protectionism. That argument has always been simplistic, but now it is harder to make; scarcely a week passes in Washington when companies like Apple and Google are not in politicians’ crosshairs.The latest target is Facebook. Earlier this month the firm revealed that 470 accounts that appeared to be controlled from Russia had bought advertisements worth a total of $100,000 on the social network between June 2015 and May 2017. Alex Stamos, Facebook’s chief security officer, said they aimed at “amplifying divisive social and political messages”. 15 This was the first time Facebook had acknowledged that Russia may have used the social network, leading the team of Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible links between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government, to issue a search warrant to get further details. Now the Senate’s intelligence committee has asked Facebook executives to testify at a public hearing. Some in Washington want to force Facebook to disclose who is behind political advertisements.Another initiative reached the hearing stage on September 19th. The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) is aimed at stopping online services from hosting sex-trafficking advertisements—in particular Backpage.com, a site notorious for such ads. It was set in motion by an affecting documentary, “I am Jane Doe”, which chronicles the legal battles waged by sex-trafficking victims against Backpage.com.But SESTA is also bad news for Google, which is still reeling from being made responsible for the firing in August of Barry Lynn, a prominent critic of big tech companies, from the New America Foundation, a Washington think-tank which the firm supports. Google worries, as many experts do, that SESTA will undercut section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a statute that largely exempts online firms from liability for their users’ actions and which is a big reason why the internet has been a fountain of innovation. Google cannot oppose the legislation openly because it would be seen as defending sex traffickers.The bill also plays into the hands of some of Google’s foes, who may be happy to see it weakened. Oracle, a software firm, has come out in support of SESTA. Google has fallen out with its Silicon Valley neighbour over Android, its mobile operating system; the two are now involved in a billion-dollar intellectual-property battle. Media types and academics are again discussing ways of reining in big tech companies. The authors of two critical books—“Move Fast and Break Things” by Jonathan Taplin and “World Without Mind” by Franklin Foer—are a media scholar and a former magazine editor, respectively. Luigi Zingales and Guy Rolnik, both of the University of Chicago, have called for legislation to reallocate the ownership of data created on social media to users.The question is whether the tech backlash will result in new laws, beyond (perhaps) SESTA. Big antitrust investigations still appear far off. The nominee for antitrust chief at the Department of Justice, Makan Delrahim, yet to be confirmed, seems most interested in protecting American firms from “discriminatory antitrust enforcement” abroad, not in attacking monopoly power at home. Much will depend on how the companies react. They need to do more than invest heavily in lobbying. Instead they should strengthen their infrastructure for policing their platforms and be much more transparent, argues Nick Sinai, a lecturer at Harvard University and an investor at Insight Venture Partners.The GAFA, as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple are collectively called, also have good arguments on their side. If they are dominant, it is chiefly because consumers like their products. The four giants are an important engine of the American economy. That is why it would come as a surprise if America is ever as eager as the rest of the world to cut the giants down to size. "America’s turn"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729466-stop-enabling-sex-traffickers-act-could-fundamentally-change-internet-big-technology?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'52baf750f1fcba6cefbeb1afa2426a7e8ff766e2'|'Exclusive - Greece considers bond swap as looks to bailout exit: sources'|'September 20, 2017 / 6:57 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Exclusive: Greece considers bond swap as looks to bailout exit - sources Lefteris Papadimas 4 Min Read Greek flags are displayed for sale for one Euro at a shop in central in Athens, Greece July 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece is considering swapping 20 small bond issues for four or five new ones, government sources said, as it prepares to exit its international bailout and resume normal financing operations The country has been surviving on rescue funds since 2010 and is anxious to draw a line under its bailout phase next year. The government is considering a swap that would consolidate the secondary market into a few benchmark issues, replacing 20 separate bonds with a face value of around 32 billion euros, said officials familiar with the proposal. “We are planning to proceed with some debt management actions ... to improve liquidity and tradeability,” one senior government official said. Officials said the move was still under discussion and did not say when it might happen, adding that bondholders had yet to be sounded out. The 20 bonds were issued in 2012 in a voluntary scheme whereby private bondholders took a 53.5 percent haircut - or value reduction -- on their investments. It was the world’s biggest debt restructuring involving bonds with a total face value of 206 billion euros. Major holders included banks and pensions funds in Greece and abroad. Two years later in 2014, Greece made two forays as part of a plan to regain full bond market access. MODEST BUT SIGNIFICANT This time the plan is more modest but would represent a major step toward for bigger debt issues. Greece issued a five-year bond in July, and investors that bought the new bond are already making a profit of about 1.5 percent since the beginning of the year. Greece’s borrowing costs GR10YT=TWEB have fallen sharply this year back to pre-crisis levels, as investors see the prospect further bailouts diminishing as well as signs of economic improvement. But liquidity remains a problem, and a fully functioning bond market is part of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ plan to boost Greece’s financial independence and build a financial cushion. Athens is keen to convince markets it can stand alone after its third, 86 billion euro, bailout expires in August 2018, and wants to conclude one of the final progress reviews of the program as early as December. Greece and its lenders agreed in June to create a cash buffer of about 9 billion euros ($10.75 billion) from unused bailout funds by August. BUFFER BOOST Another senior official told Reuters the buffer would be boosted to as much as 14 billion euros by about 5 billion euros raised through new bond issues and other cash management actions. “We want to create a buffer of about 12-14 billion euros for the nine-to-12 month period after the end of the third bailout,” the official said. “It will ... show that we will be able to service our needs at least until mid-2019, in an adverse scenario.” Athens wants to issue at least two new bonds by the end of the third bailout in August 2018, the officials said, without disclosing the timings or maturities. “Our plan is for two or three new issues right after the completion of the third review.... If market conditions are favorable, this might come earlier,” one of the officials said. Athens hopes an expanded financial buffer will help pave the way for a clean bailout exit, without the need for a precautionary credit line from its EU lenders which would come with more strings attached, the officials said. Greece has received about 270 billion euros in bailout loans since its debt crisis erupted in 2010 and has drawn down about 40 billion from its current bailout. It does not face big redemptions until 2022. ($1 = 0.8375 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-debt/exclusive-greece-considers-bond-swap-as-looks-to-bailout-exit-sources-idUKKCN1BV2PN'|'2017-09-20T21:55:00.000+03:00'
'eecf67a710f37d1e54daa4c199f453372bf49773'|'Carlyle targets first-close of new Asia buyout fund at over $4 billion: sources'|'A general view of the lobby outside of the Carlyle Group offices in Washington, U.S. May 3, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Carlyle Group ( CG.O ) is targeting the first closing of a new Asia buyout fund within the next couple of months at over $4 billion, three people familiar with the matter said, bulking up in a region that has become a key market for global funds.The U.S. private equity titan’s fundraising is part of its planned $5 billion Asia buyout fund, the people said, which, if completed, would be its biggest capital-raising exercise for Asia.First closing is an important milestone for private equity fundraising because it means the fund has crossed a minimum threshold and could begin making investments.Carlyle co-CEO David Rubenstein said last month during the firm’s earnings call the firm is aiming for first closings of the Asian buyout fund and a similar U.S. fund in the second half of this year, without disclosing the target fund sizes.The company separately continues to raise capital for an Asia growth fund, meant for investing in smaller but high growth companies in major regional economies, one of the people told Reuters.Carlyle declined to comment. The three people declined to be named as the details of the fundraising plans were not public.Global private equity firms are adding cash reserves, or so-called dry powder, in the region, as investors worldwide allocate capital to catch growing market and economic momentum in countries including China and India.Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) is seeking to raise up to $3 billion in its first pan-Asia buyout fund for investments in sectors including high-end manufacturing and healthcare, people familiar with the plan told Reuters in July.KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) closed a new Asia-focused buyout fund in June after raising $9.3 billion, a record for the region.Carlyle has said it aimed to raise $100 billion globally in the next few years.Its total assets under management was $170 billion at the end of the second quarter.Earlier this year, Carlyle merged its Asian buyout and growth teams to target investment opportunities more effectively and to better utilize team expertise, but will continue to make investments from separate funds, the people said.Carlyle plans to boost its investments in Japan through the new Asia buyout fund, even though it has a small country specific fund for that market, one of the people said.The private equity firm started raising its fifth Asia growth fund last year. As per a March disclosure by the International Finance Corp, which became an investor in the fund, the growth fund was targeting $1 billion.The firm’s Asia funds, which since inception have delivered net internal rate of returns in the range of 6 to 18 percent by the second quarter of this year, have invested in firms from sectors including consumer and technology, with a focus on China, its portfolio records show.Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kane Wu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-carlyle-group-asia-fundraising/carlyle-targets-first-close-of-new-asia-buyout-fund-at-over-4-billion-sources-idINKCN1BW1FP'|'2017-09-21T08:48:00.000+03:00'
'f15814feb21f1dcac19e98bff87c651ad1a5c308'|'Uber stripped of its licence to operate in London'|'A taxi drives past the London Eye in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - London stripped Uber on Friday of its license to operate from the end of next week in a huge blow to the taxi service and 3.5 million users in one of the world’s wealthiest cities.The capital’s transport authority said the Silicon Valley technology giant was not fit and proper to hold a private vehicle hire license and it would not be renewed when it expires on Sept. 30.Uber, whose 40,000 drivers in London account for a third of private vehicles hired, said it would contest the decision and regulator Transport for London (TfL) will let it operate until the appeals process is exhausted.”Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications,“ TfL said. ”TfL must also be satisfied that an operator is fit and proper to hold a license.Specifically, TfL cited Uber’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences, background checks on drivers and software called Greyball that could be used to block regulators from gaining full access to the app.“Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice,” said Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London. “We intend to immediately challenge this in the courts.”The loss of the license comes after a tumultuous few months for Uber, including a string of scandals involving allegations of sexism and bullying at the San Francisco-based start-up that forced out former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick.Related Coverage Factbox: Uber operates in more than 90 European cities, despite legal battlesUber says London decision to strip it of license does not affect UberEATSUber, which is valued at about $70 billion and whose investors include Goldman Sachs, has faced protests around the world for shaking up long-established taxi markets.The taxi app has also been forced to quit several countries, including Denmark and Hungary, and faced regulatory battles in multiple U.S. states and around the world.HATED BY CABBIES LOVED BY USERS London’s traditional black cab drivers have attacked Uber, saying it has undercut safety rules and threatened their livelihoods. Uber has been criticized by unions and lawmakers too and been embroiled in legal battles over workers’ rights.A photo illustration shows the Uber app on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville London police also complained in a letter published that Uber was either not disclosing, or taking too long, to report serious crimes including sexual assaults and this put the public at risk.Uber said then its drivers passed the same rigorous checks as black cab drivers and it has always followed TfL’s rules on reporting serious incidents and it had a dedicated team that worked closely with London’s police.London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Labour politician who has criticized Uber in the past, said he backed the decision to reject its application for a new license.Slideshow (8 Images) “It would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security,” he said.Drivers of London’s black cabs, who have snarled up the city’s streets in protest at the app over the last few years, welcomed Friday’s decision.“Their standards are not up to scratch,” said 71-year-old Walt Burrows, who has driven a black cab for 39 years. “The black cab is an iconic part of London. What you get with a black cab is a metered fare and you know you’re safe.”Uber is likely to come under more fire next week when it appears in court to appeal a verdict that granted two of its drivers rights such as the minimum wage, the latest “gig economy” battle between firms lauding the flexibility enjoyed by self-employed drivers and unions accusing them of exploitation.Uber has, however, announced a series of changes over the last few months to improve conditions for its drivers, including the introduction of in-app tipping and plans to increase some fees.Alongside Uber’s drivers, some of London’s 3.5 million registered users expressed concern as to how TfL’s decision would affect their lives.“It will definitely impact my life,” said 43-year-old event planner Rimi Char, who users the app at least once a week. “I have got used to the ease and cost effectiveness of using Uber and I’ve always had positive experiences.”One of Uber’s British competitors in London, Addison Lee, is also awaiting a decision from TfL about a longer-term license. The company declined to comment on Friday.Additional reporting by Michael Holden, Kylie MacLellan, James Davey, Elizaabeth O''Leary and Elaine Hardcastle; editing by Guy Faulconbridge/David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-uber-britain/uber-loses-its-license-to-operate-in-london-idINKCN1BX151'|'2017-09-22T13:18:00.000+03:00'
'8982a02299774f0c687788e3472fe461569adcbd'|'Factbox - How is the UK economy doing versus Bank of England expectations?'|'  1:40 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago Factbox - How is the UK economy doing versus Bank of England expectations? David Milliken 5 Min Read A man stands outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England has said that the interest rate hike it is likely to make “in the coming months” depends on whether inflation pressures continue to build and the economy moves nearer to growing at full capacity. Below is a summary of what the BoE has said it is expecting to see in the British economy, how the economy has been performing and when the next key data releases are due. INFLATION What the BoE said: the central bank, which has a target of 2 percent inflation, said on Sept. 14 that consumer price growth will reach slightly above 3 percent in October, taking it to its highest since March 2012. What has happened: In August the CPI rose to 2.9 percent in August from 2.6 percent in July. Many private-sector economists think it will hit 3 percent or slightly higher soon before easing back. The official inflation reading for September is due on Oct. 17, two weeks before the BoE’s next rates announcement on Nov. 2. WAGES What the BoE said: In August the BoE forecast that annual wage growth would be 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, rising to 3.0 percent in the same period of 2018. What has happened: Wage growth during the three months to July was a bit stronger than the BoE expected at 2.1 percent year-on-year. The BoE said some of this strength was due to bonuses. Also, private-sector pay excluding bonuses measured over a shorter time frame was growing at an annualised rate of 3 percent, in line with the BoE’s expectations. A BoE survey has shown companies plan to offer pay deals in the 2-3 percent range, while a separate survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development gave a lower 2 percent average for the private sector. The official wage growth data for the three months to August are due to be published on Oct. 18. ECONOMIC GROWTH What the BoE said: Preliminary data is likely to show gross domestic product grew by 0.3 percent in the third quarter, the same slow quarterly growth as in the previous three months. But growth might be stronger due to improving consumer demand, it said. What has happened: Financial data company Markit said its July and August purchasing managers’ indices pointed to 0.3 percent growth. However, robust official retail sales figures in the three months to August have raised the prospect of a stronger performance. The preliminary official reading for GDP in the third quarter will be published on Oct. 25. UNEMPLOYMENT What the BoE said: the central bank forecast in August that unemployment would average 4.4 percent in the last three months of 2017 before rising slightly to 4.5 percent in 2018 and 2019, while labour force participation for over 16s would remain steady at 63.5 percent What has happened: Unemployment fell faster than forecast, dropping to 4.3 percent of the workforce in the three months to July from 4.4 percent in the second quarter. That is below the 4.5 percent level that the BoE has previously said could be a trigger for higher inflation. Labour force participation rose to 63.7 percent in June, its joint highest level since 2008. The next official unemployment data are due on Oct. 18. WHAT ARE FINANCIAL MARKETS SAYING? Shortly before the BoE’s Sept. 14 meeting, when it made its surprise announcement, investors were not pricing in an interest rate rise until late 2018. Economists polled by Reuters were even more sceptical - they had expected no rate rise until 2019. Sterling was at what was then a one-year high against the dollar GBP= of $1.3328 the day before the meeting, and was at around 90 pence against the euro EURGBP=D3 having weakened in the previous days to an 11-month low of 93 pence. After the BoE announcement, financial markets brought forward their bets on when the rate hike would come and they are now pricing in a 65 percent chance of a hike at the Nov. 2 meeting. Most economists also see a hike then. Sterling hit its highest level against the U.S dollar since the 2016 Brexit vote, reaching $1.3659 on Sept. 20, and it has recovered to 87.75 pence against the euro. Editing by William Schomberg/Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-economy-factbox/factbox-how-is-the-uk-economy-doing-versus-bank-of-england-expectations-idUKKCN1BX1SK'|'2017-09-22T16:39:00.000+03:00'
'6374d6f3cb48d5ee50dd0640067fdfad3ed93e60'|'Futures slightly lower as U.S.-North Korea tensions escalate'|'  11:45 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Wall Street edges up, shaking off healthcare, North Korea worries Sinead Carew 4 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed slightly higher on Friday even though Apple was a drag, as worries about Washington’s latest healthcare legislation proposal eased and investors shrugged off concerns about North Korea. Investors in the broader market were also encouraged by a jump in the Russell 2000 small-cap index, which ended with a record high close. After a volatile day the S&P’s healthcare sector ended 0.1 percent higher as insurance stocks regained ground after Republican Senator John McCain said he opposed his Republican peers’ latest effort to replace President Barack Obama’s healthcare law. The S&P technology sector managed to eke out a small gain as investors had more appetite for risk even with a decline of 1 percent in Apple ( AAPL.O ) shares on muted reactions to the iPhone maker’s latest product launch. “The removal of the healthcare overhang, the fact the North Korea market impact is dwindling and the move in the Russell 2000 has all the smart investors thinking that the grind higher continues,” said Michael Antonelli, managing director, institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 9.64 points, or 0.04 percent, to 22,349.59, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.62 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,502.22 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 4.23 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,426.92. Some investors moved to safe-haven assets such as gold, after North Korea said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy the reclusive country. But others felt that the market would cope with the ongoing stand-off between the countries, which has been ratcheting up in recent months. “If you cry wolf enough it loses its impact in the end,” Antonelli said. Five of the 11 major S&P sectors ended the day lower and utilities .SPLRCU led the decliners with a 0.7 percent loss. After falling as much as 0.5 percent, the healthcare sector .SPXHC ended 0.08 percent higher. Earlier in the day concern about the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill had wreaked havoc with insurers’ stocks. UnitedHealth ( UNH.N ) closed down 1.1 percent after falling as much as 3.6 percent earlier in the day. The small telecom services index .SPLRCL, with only four stocks, was the biggest percentage gainer with a 1.4 percent rise on consolidation speculation while the energy index .SPNY rose 0.5 percent as oil futures settled higher. [O/R] T-Mobile ( TMUS.O ) gained 1 percent after Reuters reported that the cellphone network operator was close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with Sprint ( S.N ), whose shares jumped 6.1 percent. The report also pushed up bigger rivals Verizon Communications ( VZ.N ) and AT&T Inc ( T.N ), which could benefit from having one less competitor. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.82-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.91-to-1 ratio favored advancers. About 5.26 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges compared with the 6.03 billion average for the last 20 sessions. Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/futures-slightly-lower-as-u-s-north-korea-tensions-escalate-idUSKCN1BX1H5'|'2017-09-22T14:45:00.000+03:00'
'1a95fac8377ce7ee050befb83dd82f89083793dd'|'GE nears sale of its industrial unit to ABB - Bloomberg'|'Sept 22 (Reuters) - General Electric Co has neared the sale of its industrial solutions unit to ABB Ltd for $2.5 billion to $3 billion, Bloomberg reported on Friday.Reuters reported in August that General Electric had resumed negotiations to sell its industrial solutions business to ABB.The companies are likely to announce an agreement by next week, Bloomberg reported citing sources. bloom.bg/2fg3V9WABB does not "comment on market rumours," a company spokesman said. GE was not immediately available for comment. bloom.bg/2fg3V9W (Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ge-divestiture-abb/ge-nears-sale-of-its-industrial-unit-to-abb-bloomberg-idINL4N1M33C4'|'2017-09-22T08:08:00.000+03:00'
'9c6764d43cbac0ab037702ee4b9ddab7bc86e3fc'|'Sterling slips on UK PM''s Brexit speech'|'  2:38 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Sterling slips on UK PM''s Brexit speech Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A British ten pound banknote is seen in a photo illustration taken March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Illustration/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling slipped and Britain’s main FTSE 100 stock index climbed on Friday, as Prime Minister Theresa May gave a closely watched speech in Italy laying out her plans for Britain’s exit from the European Union. The pound slipped to as low as $1.3488 GBP=D3 during the speech, down from around $1.3550 before May began speaking. It recovered to around $1.3550 by 1430 GMT. May said Britain would honour its budget commitments made during the period of its EU’s membership, and she proposed a two-year transition period. She also said Britain could do better than membership of the European Economic Area or a Canada-style free trade agreement. “Smoke and mirrors from PM May isn’t fooling the FX market: PM May is trying to change the perspective...(but) negotiations are ongoing and constructive rhetoric is unlikely to be a catalyst for further strong gains in sterling,” said ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold. Minutes before the speech, sterling had fallen around 30 ticks on a report in the Telegraph newspaper that May would raise the possibility of Britain leaving the EU before March 2019. May said in answer to a question that Britain would leave at the end of March 2019. Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE jumped 0.7 percent to the week''s high as the weaker pound boosted its mainly foreign-earning constituents. Mid-caps .FTMC also gained 0.4 percent, and banks .FTNMX8350 hit a session high, up 0.3 percent. British government bond futures FLGcv1 briefly rallied by around 15 ticks to a two-day high during the speech, before paring gains to trade at around the level they were before she started. Reporting by Jemima Kelly, Ritvik Carvalho, Helen Reid and David Milliken, editing by Nigel Stephenson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-markets/sterling-slips-on-uk-pms-brexit-speech-idUKKCN1BX20O'|'2017-09-22T17:39:00.000+03:00'
'11548109e57399a10c2bef11d4aaf69c19f48ed9'|'French second-quarter GDP grew by 0.5 percent, boosted by more consumer spending'|'September 22, 2017 / 6:52 AM / Updated 6 hours ago French second-quarter GDP grew by 0.5 percent, boosted by more consumer spending Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A view shows the skyline with the Eiffel Tower that is seen in the distance, in Paris, France, September 1, 2017. Picture taken September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS (Reuters) - France’s second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.5 percent compared to the previous quarter, in line with earlier official estimates, as higher consumer spending buoyed the overall economy, the national statistics agency said. The GDP growth of 0.5 percent was the third consecutive quarter that the economy had expanded by that amount, according to statistics body INSEE. INSEE also said on Friday that French corporate profit margins increased slightly over the second quarter. INSEE has forecast economic growth in France this year of 1.6 percent, the strongest since 2011, as foreign trade proves less of a drag and the unemployment rate falls. The OECD also raised this week its forecast for France’s 2017 economic growth, revising it up to 1.7 percent from 1.3 percent previously. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Laurence Frost '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-gdp/french-second-quarter-gdp-grew-by-0-5-percent-boosted-by-more-consumer-spending-idUKKCN1BX0KG'|'2017-09-22T09:51:00.000+03:00'
'607f5ac676ffbfc849f600e5bed6b2e560dac4d7'|'Behind the veil of Saudi Aramco'|'IF SAUDI ARAMCO is a state within a state in Saudi Arabia, then the blandly named Oil Supply Planning and Scheduling (OSPAS) is its deep state. To enter it, you pass tight security at Aramco’s suburban-style headquarters in Dhahran, in the east of the kingdom. The transition is eye-opening. Suddenly, English is the common tongue even among Saudi “Aramcons”, as its workers are known. Female employees, their faces uncovered, lead meetings of male colleagues. The crisp banter is common to engineers everywhere. A toilet break is called a “pressure-relief” exercise.Deep within, OSPAS is even further removed from the kingdom outside. The few executives with clearance to enter call it the “nerve centre” of the world’s largest oil company. Using 100,000 sensors and data points on wells, pipelines, plants and terminals, it directs every drop of oil and cubic foot of gas that comes out of the kingdom (10% of the world’s oil supply), monitors it on giant screens as it heads to ports and power stations, and tracks oil tankers as they load. Well managers in the desert outback wait daily for OSPAS to tell them what to do. “It’s not just pretty graphics,” an executive says, purring appreciatively over the 70-metre web of data flashing on the wall. 16 Because Aramco has all its “upstream” oil-and-gas operations in one country, it says it can justify investing big sums—and a lot of computer capacity—on such technology, because it helps cut costs. “ExxonMobil operates in 40-plus countries. It just can’t do that,” the executive adds, before apologising lest he appear to bad-mouth a client and partner, one of Aramco’s American founding former shareholders.Such comparisons will become more pertinent as Aramco opens itself up for an initial public offering (IPO). Until recently it was just as cloistered from outside scrutiny as the kingdom itself, giving it more of a mystique than a good reputation. This week it invited The Economist for a visit. It only partially lifted its veil; its finances remain off-limits to everyone except the government, its only shareholder. Affable executives dodge almost every attempt to wheedle out useful ways of comparing the firm with its listed peers (it has no peers, they dissemble).But despite the hermeticism, Aramco has a good tale to tell. Even as its rivals have retrenched owing to low prices, it has stuck to long-term plans, investing heavily in technology, training and the future of oil. Its long-term approach may help explain one mystery. For decades, Saudi Arabia’s declared oil reserves have confounded the industry; since 1989 they have remained suspiciously constant at around 260bn barrels—a dozen times those of Aramco’s nearest listed rival (see chart). As if to rub it in, Aramco says the kingdom has a whopping 400bn further barrels of resources that could one day become reserves.These reserves are under audit ahead of the IPO, and executives are loth to discuss the process. However, they argue that whereas other companies have to go far to find new reserves, Aramco can keep them constant simply by better stewardship of its existing fields. Amin Nasser, the chief executive, says the company’s recovery rates—the share of oil recouped from what is available in a field—average about 50%, but rise as high as 70%, compared with a global average of about 33%. It does this by maintaining the pressure of its wells over the long term through gas re-injection and other means. Raising recovery rates on average to 70% would add 80bn barrels to reserves, an executive says. That is four times ExxonMobil’s latest total.Unlike big listed companies, which scrapped growth plans when the price of oil slumped in 2014-16, Aramco has also been able to keep on investing because of its low costs, Mr Nasser says. Increasing natural-gas output is now the main focus, but it has also raised oil production in some areas. This is visible at the vast Shaybah field in Saudi Arabia’s blisteringly hot Empty Quarter, where Aramco last year upped oil output by 250,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 1m b/d, inaugurated a facility to process natural-gas liquids (pictured on previous page) and laid 650km of new pipelines across a mountain range of red sand dunes. (Aramco also set out to repopulate the surrounding desert with oryx, gazelle and ostrich hunted almost to extinction. They are now reproducing, although the first ostrich eggs to fertilise sadly cooked in the heat.)Its second focus is technology. Whereas some of its peers admit that they squandered the chance to invest in big data during the oil boom before 2014, Aramco has no such regrets. Last year it inaugurated its home-grown “TeraPowers” technology, which uses 1trn pixel-like computational cells to simulate the flow of hydrocarbons through 500m years of geological time, enabling it to model oilfields in granular detail. From Dhahran it can remotely direct drilling of horizontal wells in Shaybah, steering a drill-bit through miles of rock to within a few feet of its target. (Royal Dutch Shell recently boasted of using similar remote-drilling technology in Argentina.) To train young employees in understanding the subsurface, Aramco has a 3D virtual-reality “cave” in Dhahran, which shows the filigree of wells 1,500 metres below the surface of Shaybah, as if from a submarine.Third, as Saudi Arabia’s most attractive employer, Aramco has less difficulty than its Western peers in attracting millennial recruits (born between around 1980 and 1996) who are turning away from the oil and gas industry. It has kept up spending on international scholarships during the slump. It plans to raise the share of women in the workforce from 25% to 40%. Its chief engineer and head of human resources are both female. Saudi labour laws still apply, however: female Aramcons may not stay overnight at an oilfield.Aramcons pride themselves on a Westernised culture handed down from their American forefathers before nationalisation in 1980. This makes them confident they can handle the listing. “From the way [Aramco] was built, from the beginning I would say it was ready for an IPO,” Mr Nasser says. The main change, he adds, will be issuing quarterly results.But that underplays the challenges ahead. For one thing, Aramco is not master of its destiny. The future of the IPO, such as the decision on where and when to list, is in the hands of the government shareholder, represented by Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince. Domestic political tension and external frictions with Qatar risk delaying the IPO until 2019—and further muddying the waters.The potential valuation is also contentious. MBS, as the crown prince is known, has said he believes Aramco is worth $2trn, though many analysts think that is over-ambitious. To improve its chances, the kingdom is leaning toward a listing on the New York Stock Exchange rather than in London, because America has deeper pools of capital. However, that would expose Aramco to legal risks it would prefer to avoid. In order to bring in Chinese investors, the kingdom is also considering issuing some shares in Hong Kong.However strong Aramco may be upstream, its lower-margin refining and petrochemicals divisions will drag down the valuation. Aramco has some intriguing plans to mitigate this, hoping in the next few years to build a plant with new technology to turn crude oil directly into petrochemicals—in essence, leap-frogging refineries. But this is untested.In sum, the IPO is more for the kingdom’s benefit than Aramco’s. It could have drawbacks—exposing the firm to investors with short time horizons or to activists hostile to fossil fuels. But the Aramcons appear determined to make the most of it. Executives argue that oil’s future is bright, even if electric cars and cleaner fuels emerge. Low costs mean there is no danger Saudi oil will become a “sunset industry”, says Mohammed al-Qahtani, head of its upstream division. A listing will make Aramco “the envy of the rest of the world”. "Behind the veil"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729472-biggest-oil-company-has-good-story-tellif-it-can-disentangle-its-image?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'0028905818e40f89dd72ece2d6e288147a68cbef'|'THIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE'|'Sept 23 (Reuters) - THIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORETHIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORETHIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST2 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE Reporting by Sujay Wachasunder '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/this-is-test2-from-amers-please-ignore/this-is-test2-from-amers-please-ignore-idUSL2N1M408O'|'2017-09-23T11:03:00.000+03:00'
'7967eff157eb7f89c63cdda65eff4200dd9b8946'|'Fidget spinners and squishies: some Toys ''R'' Us toymakers cut ties'|'The Toys R Us logo is seen in this illustration photo September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration (Reuters) - This summer, toy supplier Product Launchers delivered 100,000 specially ordered DC Comics fidget spinners to Toys ‘R’ Us, unaware that the biggest U.S. toy store chain was in financial trouble.Now Product Launchers, which supplies other novelty items like squishies from five toymakers to Toy ‘R’ Us, expects it will not be paid for the $500,000 fidget spinner order and other items following the chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Sept. 19, Product Launchers Chief Executive Linda Parry Murphy told Reuters.“These toymakers were very reliant on Toys ‘R’ Us. It’s their primary account, or the account that they were leaning on to make inroads in the toy industry, looking at the long term down the road,” Parry Murphy said.“But we’ve made a decision not to sell to Toys moving forward.”Meanwhile Barbie maker Mattel Inc ( MAT.O ), toy and board game company Hasbro Inc ( HAS.O ) and other large vendors like Lego could get full payment after Toys ‘R’ Us asked a bankruptcy judge to approve $325 million of special financing to pay top suppliers owed before the Chapter 11 filing.The unequal vendor treatment is not unusual in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but it shows the tough decisions vendors face when retailers file for bankruptcy, as dozens have in recent years, succumbing to competition on price and convenience from Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ).The beneficiaries of the financing package are still unknown, but smaller vendors like Product Launchers do not expect to make the list. Its claim tops $1 million but the amount is well below the $2.5 million to $135 million listed as Toys ‘R’ Us’ 50 largest claims.Toy ‘R’ Us declined to comment on specifics about its relationship with Product Launchers or its other vendors.Toys ‘R’ Us spokeswoman Nicole Hayes said in an email: “So far, we have seen great support from our vendors and look forward to continuing working with them for many years to come.”She said the company will rely on $2 billion in new financing to fund operations.TOUGH CHOICES Hundreds of vendors have faced similar concerns in their dealings with bankrupt retailers such as Sports Authority and hhgregg, which ended up going out of business. Toys ‘R’ Us is an extraordinary case, retail consultants said, because of the large number of toy vendors it relies on to fill its big-box stores.Typically in bankruptcy proceedings, even small vendors like Product Launchers can expect to receive payment for orders made after a bankruptcy filing, but not for past-due bills. As a result, Product Launchers is ending ties with the toy chain.“We’ve taken down all connections to them,” said Parry Murphy. “I would rather focus on retailers that have strong financials and that we have a good comfort level about doing long-term business with.”At this point, she thinks Toys ‘R’ Us is too far behind the curve to catch up with deep-pocketed competitors like Amazon and Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ).HOT ITEMS The loss of Product Launchers and other vendors, coming on the verge of the holiday season when Toys ‘R’ Us generates about 40 percent of annual sales, shows one of the risks facing the big toy retailer during bankruptcy.If consumers discover the chain is not stocking a hot seasonal item, they will not visit its stores or website, Toys ‘R’ Us said in court filings.Toys ‘R’ Us relies on hundreds of small vendors to give its stores the appearance of plenty.“Your store won’t be attractive with just Mattel and Lego,” said Israel Shaked of the Michel-Shaked Group consultancy.Retail specialists agreed that the 2017 holiday season could determine the fate of many brick-and-mortar retailers that have struggled to remain relevant in a growing era of e-commerce.“This holiday season will be a true litmus test for the in-store experience,” said bankruptcy lawyer Corali Lopez-Castro. “The products have to be exciting and worthy of visiting the store or online. But really you want people in the store. That’s where they can pick up the widget, the Lego, and the Barbie.”Toys ‘R’ Us’ success in retaining vendors likely will hinge on confidence in its turnaround plan, dubbed “Project Sunrise,” which envisions improved and integrated online and in-store shopping experiences.Michael Araten, the chief executive of creative construction company K‘NEX, is optimistic.“The potential upside is massive,” Araten said, adding that Toys ‘R’ Us would emerge from bankruptcy a “nimbler and stronger company that delights kids for generations.”Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; additional reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-analysis/fidget-spinners-and-squishies-some-toys-r-us-toymakers-cut-ties-idUSKCN1BZ0BW'|'2017-09-24T14:12:00.000+03:00'
'30f92a2b8278f4bee8cdbe4ed565df587fa471b5'|'SAP has agreed to buy Gigya for $350 million - Israeli media'|'September 24, 2017 / 9:17 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago SAP has agreed to buy Gigya for $350 million - Israeli media Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JERUSALEM (Reuters) - German software group SAP ( SAPG.DE ) has agreed to buy online customer service provider Gigya for about $350 million (£259.3 million), Israeli media reported on Sunday. Gigya operates in a field known as customer identity and access management, with a digital platform it says helps companies build relationships with their customers. It is headquartered in California but its founders are from Israel, where it also has offices. Several Israeli financial news outlets reported on the agreement. Gigya and SAP declined to comment on the report. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sap-se-gigya-m-a/sap-has-agreed-to-buy-gigya-for-350-million-israeli-media-idUKKCN1BZ091'|'2017-09-24T12:17:00.000+03:00'
'050c48c19c9d2d65287a316249f11340d85a19fa'|'UPDATE 1-Potash Corp hires banks to explore sale of SQM stake - paper'|'(Adds Potash corp response)SANTIAGO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Potash Corporation Of Saskatchewan Inc has hired Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch to explore selling its 32 percent stake in Chile’s Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM), Chilean paper La Tercera reported on Saturday.Considering a stake sale comes as Potash Corp moves to merge with fellow fertilizer company Agrium Inc, La Tercera reported, without naming sources.Agrium and Potash Corp said on Sept. 7 they were told by regulators in India and China that they need to divest Potash’s offshore interests for their merger to be approved.Potash Corp spokesman Randy Burton said it would be inappropriate to speculate on divestitures or any other conditions and terms.SQM, one of the world’s biggest lithium producers, did not respond to request for comment. (Reporting by Antonio de la Jara and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Marguerita Choy) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/agrium-ma-potashcorp-sqm/update-1-potash-corp-hires-banks-to-explore-sale-of-sqm-stake-paper-idUSL2N1M42A9'|'2017-09-24T01:22:00.000+03:00'
'b6b8f7895406fa229304de6a2f53fd23a0b33697'|'Investors wary as Tanzania moves to assert more control over mines'|'  7:12 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Investors wary as Tanzania moves to assert more control over mines Katharine Houreld , Zandi Shabalala 7 Min Read Tanzanian government officials look at a consignment of diamonds seized at the airport in Dar es Salaam Tanzania, September 9, 2017. Picture taken September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer NAIROBI/LONDON (Reuters) - New laws and a crackdown on mining firms in Tanzania has slowed fresh investment in what has long been seen as one of Africa’s brightest mining prospects as companies assess the consequences of government efforts to claim a bigger slice of the pie. Takeover bids and exploration plans have been canceled and workers laid off. The share prices of many firms listed in Australia, Britain, South Africa and Canada with interests in Tanzania have halved as the value of their investments tumble. The tumult follows the passage of three laws in July that, among other things, hike taxes on mineral exports, mandate a higher government stake in some mining operations and force the construction of local smelters to bring Tanzania higher up the mining food chain. The regulations aim to stamp out what President John Magufuli, nicknamed “the Bulldozer”, has called years of corrupt practices and tax evasion that have robbed the country of revenue from a sector accounting for about four percent of GDP. Many of the changes were first suggested by the political opposition and have proved wildly popular with voters in Tanzania, where GDP per capita is still only $880. International investors are not happy, however, especially because the details remain unclear. Magufuli fired the minister of mining in May and he has not been replaced. Junior explorer Manas Resources expected to complete its acquisition of the Victoria Gold Project from Cienega Sarl by early 2018, but the company told Reuters it may run out of time if there is no clarity soon. “Because of the changes in legislation and the time being taken to implement new regulations, the sector has slowed down to a point where it is impacting exploration activities and our capacity to finalise the deal,” said Manas CEO Phil Reese. The director of one minerals company said he is shutting his Tanzanian office because he believes the laws will make it illegal for him to recoup the cost of his many unsuccessful exploration projects against the few successful ones, and require him to share his valuable geological data with the government for free. “There will be no nickel and gold exploration in Tanzania for the foreseeable future,” the head of another company said. Both men asked not to be named to avoid jeopardizing their relations with the government. One mining services company said it had laid off more than 50 employees in the last 18 months. EXPORT BANS The first serious blow to mining companies this year came in March, when Tanzania banned the export of gold and copper ore over a tax dispute with the country’s biggest gold miner, London-listed Acacia, and to encourage the construction of domestic smelters. The government says Acacia, majority-owned by Barrick Gold, owes $190 billion in tax, penalties and interest for the period between 2000 and 2017. But miners say it would be impossible for listed and independently audited companies to hide billions of dollars in extra revenue. They also argue Tanzania does not produce enough ore to make building a smelter commercially viable. Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, the country is also a source of graphite, diamonds, tanzanite and rare earth minerals. Under the new regulations, the government can force mining and energy companies to renegotiate contracts to give the state at least 16 percent in projects, rising to 50 percent in some cases, and raise export royalties. The move is not so unusual in Africa. South Africa in June raised the threshold for black ownership in miners to 30 percent. FILE PHOTO: Tanzania''s President John Pombe Magufuli addresses members of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi Party (CCM) at the party''s sub-head office on Lumumba road in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania October 30, 2015. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman/File Photo Increasing shares of royalties is also part of a wider global trend that could lead to permanently higher prices, one mining CEO said, asking not to be identified. The Philippines, the world’s top nickel supplier, and Brazil, which produces gold, copper, tin and bauxite, are making the same push. “If all the governments want more of a share, commodities prices will reflect that,” the CEO said. “But if it’s just one government, they might get a bigger share of nothing.” Miners say the problem in Tanzania is that the laws, passed in less than a week, were pushed through without consultation. They also say it is still unclear how they will be applied - if, for example, the 16 percent will apply only to precious metals or also industrial minerals such as graphite. The mining commission that will oversee the regulations has yet to be formed. A ministry official, who asked not to be named, said it’s not clear when it will start work. Slideshow (2 Images) MINING DEALS TAKE A HIT Bigger miners can draw on cash reserves to weather the sudden changes, but junior miners are more vulnerable to investor jitters because funders are quicker to pull out when project capital injections are smaller. London-based Tremont Investment immediately canceled a bid for Australia’s Cradle Resources after the laws were passed. Shanta Gold canceled a takeover bid for Helio Resource Corp. shortly thereafter, also citing the laws. The shares of gold miner Orecorp, whose only other asset is an exploration project in Mauritania, are down 72 percent since March. Junior miner Kibo Mining has seen little impact because in addition to gold exploration, it is developing a coal mine to fuel Tanzania’s first coal-fired power station. Increasing government ownership was sound and warranted, Kibo Mining CEO Louis Coetzee told Reuters, but he lamented the “questionable methodology” of the process. The government recently has shifted its attention from precious metals to precious stones, announcing on Sept. 20 that the military would build walls and checkpoints around tanzanite mines and the central bank would buy the stones. A parliamentary inquiry team had said on Sept. 7 that it had uncovered massive smuggling of the blue-violet gemstone. On the same day, the government confiscated a consignment of diamonds from a mine majority-owned by Petra Diamonds after accusing the firm of under-declaring the value of the stones by around half. Petra denies the charge. Minerals companies and mining analysts said Tanzania could overplay its hand. “Minerals may not be mobile but the capital that funds the mines is,” said Ben Gargett, head of PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia-Africa practice. “Investors are saying, ‘On our risk radar, Tanzania has just gone a lot further down on the list.''” (For a graphic on ''Miners in Tanzania vs. AU mining index'' click reut.rs/2jEzQpH ) Additional reporting by Fumbuka Ng''wanakilala in Dar es Salaam; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tanzania-mining/investors-wary-as-tanzania-moves-to-assert-more-control-over-mines-idUSKCN1BZ066'|'2017-09-24T10:00:00.000+03:00'
'197a7aac6f6e5e302d163b36088f24414d7d085c'|'Airbus in talks to sell Premium Aerotec parts subsidiary: Die Welt'|'September 23, 2017 / 3:15 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Airbus in talks to sell Premium Aerotec parts subsidiary: Die Welt Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) is in talks to sell a part or all of Premium Aerotec, a subsidiary that makes large plane components, Die Welt newspaper reported on Saturday. Airbus has held talks with one possible buyer, the Canadian investor Onex, the German paper said. Premium Aerotec generates about 2 billion euros ($2.39 billion) in revenue and employs 10,000 people, according to its website. It specializes in large and complex aircraft components for Airbus, Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner, the Eurofighter Typhoon and military transporter A400M. “We have been faced with rumors on sales of Premium AEROTEC for more than a decade now. We simply don’t comment on them anymore as a matter of principle,” a spokesman for Airbus said. The sale would enable Airbus to focus on end production in Europe, the United States and China, the paper said. The paper noted that Boeing in 2005 sold a similar unit to Onex, which it owned under the name Spirit Aerosystems and listed publicly. Onex no longer has a stake in Spirit, the paper said. Reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt and Tim Hepher; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-divestiture/airbus-in-talks-to-sell-premium-aerotec-parts-subsidiary-die-welt-idINKCN1BY040'|'2017-09-23T01:15:00.000+03:00'
'66810d20dcd8599f69702e442632ba6fb82fb952'|'Ryanair’s mass cancellations are a problem of its own making'|'WHEN Ryanair convinced many of its pilots to take fewer holidays during peak summer-travel season, it probably thought it was being clever. But poor planning and a bit of bad luck have left the airline with a shortage of working pilots, many of whom have now taken time off, for the autumn. The shortfall has forced Ryanair to cancel some 2,100 flights starting on September 16th and continuing through October.Ryanair’s woes were caused in part by a change in the way the airline determines employee leave. Previously, Ryanair counted holidays in the year from April. In 2016, under pressure from the Irish Aviation Authority, Ryanair adopted the calendar year instead. As part of the transition, it needed to allow its employees to take the entirety of their leave between April and December of this year, leaving it with a staff shortage. As a result, the airline will probably have to scrap around 50 flights every day until the end of October. an hour 2 hours ago Tadeusz This has left customers annoyed and Ryanair with a public-relations problem. Some early flights were cancelled with little notice. And Ryanair was slow to release a detailed schedule of cancellations. Until it did so on Monday, passengers who had booked flights during the affected period were unsure if they would have to change their travel plans.Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s boss, said in a press release on Monday that the cancellations were a “mess of our own making”. Ryanair has tried to resolve the situation by finding customers other flights and by providing them with EU-mandated compensation. The Financial Times reports that the airline is likely to incur expenses of €20m ($24m) and will forego €5m in profits.Ryanair claims to have no overall shortage of pilots and it says similar cancellations will not occur next year. This has not prevented speculation that the company may have deeper problems. Norwegian Air, another low-cost airline, says it poached more than 140 pilots from its rival. Ryanair itself has begun to offer signing-on bonuses to attract qualified crewmembers. If this new plan works as well as Ryanair’s holiday strategy, expect it soon to have too many pilots.Next The value of credit-card points'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/pilot-light?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-19T19:48:00.000+03:00'
'8f485ae880bf21c8d438ae3433beac9033f2ba80'|'Drax promotes finance head Will Gardiner as next CEO'|'  6:33 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Drax chief executive Dorothy Thompson to step down Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - British power producer Drax ( DRX.L ) said chief executive Dorothy Thompson will step down after 12 years in the role. The company’s current finance chief Will Gardiner will succeed Dorothy Thompson who will step down from the post and leave the group at the end of 2017. Shares of the company, which owns the UK’s largest power station, fell 1.5 percent in early trading. Drax is speeding up plans to convert its units to gas. Under pressure from government plans to close all coal plants by 2025, Drax has increasingly turned to burning compressed wood pellets, or biomass. The company will begin the process of appointing a new chief financial officer and will also review the option of making an appointment on an interim basis, it said on Thursday. Reporting by Rahul B and Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-drax-group-ceo/drax-promotes-finance-head-will-gardiner-as-next-ceo-idUKKCN1BW0OX'|'2017-09-21T09:33:00.000+03:00'
'6b4b295b49a6c8f2ecef01d3d71653e802a2c52f'|'Daimler joins rush to add more North American auto plants: report'|'Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. automakers are facing mounting pressure amid slowing demand in the country, as automakers from Asia and Europe aggressively ramp up vehicle production in North America, including a new investment by Daimler AG( DAIGn.DE ).In the latest move, German automaker Daimler said on Thursday it will spend $1 billion to expand its Mercedes Benz operations near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to produce batteries and electric sport utility vehicles that would compete with Silicon Valley electric car maker Tesla Inc’s ( TSLA.O ) models.More than 600 new jobs will be created in Daimler’s plan, which includes building a facility in 2018 near the Tuscaloosa plant to produce batteries for zero-emission vehicles, the carmaker said. It also plans to build a new global logistics center and new after-sales North American hub.Daimler’s move to produce electric Mercedes Benz vehicles in the United States from about 2020 comes as the automaker has halted U.S. sales of Mercedes Benz diesels under scrutiny by U.S. environmental regulators.The company is joining a rush to add vehicle-making capacity in a U.S. market that most analysts and industry executives expect to contract moderately over the next several years, following record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016.Related Coverage Factbox: Carmakers announce $9.5 billion in U.S. investments since JanuaryIndeed, Detroit’s automakers are already temporarily idling factories and laying off thousands of workers as demand slows for their sedans and luxury cars.Global automakers have come under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to curb imports and hire more workers to build cars and trucks in the country.The burst of investments to expand U.S. vehicle production capacity also reflects intensified competition for market share in the world’s most profitable vehicle market.Rival German luxury automaker BMW AG ( BMWG.DE ) said in June it would expand its U.S. factory in South Carolina, adding 1,000 jobs.Volkswagen AG’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) brand president Herbert Diess told reporters last month the company expects to bring electric SUV production to the United States and could add production at its Tennessee plant.Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp( 7203.T ) and Mazda Motor Corp( 7261.T ) said in August they would join forces to build a new U.S. factory capable of producing up to 300,000 vehicles a year, with 4,000 new jobs.Honda Motor Co earlier this week said it would expand production of Accord models at a factory in Ohio.Volvo Cars, the Swedish brand owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group[GEELY.UL], is planning a second production line at a factory in South Carolina that is still under construction, according to people familiar with the plans.Silicon Valley automaker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ), meanwhile, is gearing up to produce as many as 500,000 Model 3 electric cars a year at its factory in Fremont, Calif., in an effort to increase its annual sales more than fivefold.Tesla, like its German rivals, will export some of the new vehicles it plans. But if the company sold 500,000 Model 3’s in the United States, it would become the largest luxury vehicle brand in the market, based on 2016 sales.Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer and David Shepardson; Editing by Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-capacity/daimler-joins-rush-to-add-more-north-american-auto-plants-report-idUSKCN1BW1SV'|'2017-09-21T16:05:00.000+03:00'
'ad4a3d792d114eefe28357d9bec4fe742a238d03'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as energy and financials lead, investors await Fed'|'  1:48 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as energy and financials lead, investors await Fed Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday, as energy and financial stocks led gains, with investors waiting for the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for clues on its next monetary policy move. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 35.17 points, or 0.23 percent, to 15,328.14. Seven of the index’s key sectors advanced. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-rises-as-energy-and-financials-lead-investors-await-fed-idUSL2N1M10RN'|'2017-09-20T16:46:00.000+03:00'
'8ad0571b6cc7fcfbb95c9e561c6e88463e8368fd'|'Air Berlin says on way to securing jobs with Lufthansa, easyJet bids'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:01 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Air Berlin says on way to securing jobs with Lufthansa, easyJet bids Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A330-223 aircraft of German carrier AirBerlin takes off towards New York, U.S., from Duesseldorf airport, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) said there were good prospects for repayyment of a government loan and for 80 percent of its staff if bids for parts of its business from Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) can be completed. Air Berlin, which has around 8,000 employees, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad said it would stop providing funding. Germany’s second largest airline said last week its creditors had picked Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) as possible buyers for parts of its business and would negotiate with them until Oct. 12. It said on Monday that Lufthansa’s bid was for units including leisure airline Niki and regional carrier LGW plus other parts, while easyJet had bid for parts of the fleet. “We are on the way to giving around 80 percent of our colleagues a good chance of getting new jobs with the bidders,” Air Berlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann said in a statement. Air Berlin said the parties had agreed not to disclose the purchase price they had offered. Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Maria Sheahan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-says-on-way-to-securing-jobs-with-lufthansa-easyjet-bids-idUKKCN1C01RK'|'2017-09-25T16:01:00.000+03:00'
'7bd3b3b45975c7f9600d210851db49ad23ae76da'|'DR Horton cuts cash flow forecast 50 percent due to hurricanes'|'FILE PHOTO: A house built by the D.R. Horton company is seen for sale in Arvada, Colorado January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - D.R. Horton Inc ( DHI.N ), the No.1 U.S. homebuilder, drastically cut its 2017 forecast for cash flow from operations due to delays caused by the recent hurricanes, becoming the second homebuilder to say natural disasters have hurt operations.The company’s shares were down 3.7 percent at $35.52 in light premarket trading on Monday.D.R. Horton, which mainly sells single-family homes, said it expected about $150 million of cash flow from operations, down from its previous forecast of about $300 million.The company said it did not expect the recent hurricanes to hurt its preliminary 2018 forecast.Earlier this month, the No.2 U.S. homebuilder Lennar Corp ( LEN.N ) said it expected hundreds of home deliveries in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to be delayed because of Hurricane Irma that ravaged the Atlantic coast.D.R. Horton also said it expected backlog conversion to be about 85 percent for the current quarter ending Sept. 30. The company had forecast a range of 88 percent to 90 percent.Fort Worth, Texas-based D.R. Horton said it expected selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of homebuilding revenues to be about 8.6 percent, compared to a previous forecast of 8.3 percent to 8.4 percent.While demand for housing remains robust, there is an acute shortage of homes for sale partly due to a lack of labor, which has weighed on the housing market for about two years.Harvey and Irma could worsen the housing shortage as scarce labor is being used for the rebuilding efforts and materials are bid higher.Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean and the United States and followed Harvey, which killed more than 80 people when it struck Texas in late August and caused massive flooding in Houston.D.R. Horton said at a RBC Capital Markets conference this month that Texas accounts for about 25 percent of the total number of homes that it sells, while Florida is about 20 percent.Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Bernard Orr '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dr-horton-outlook/dr-horton-cuts-cash-flow-forecast-50-percent-due-to-hurricanes-idUSKCN1C01GS'|'2017-09-25T14:41:00.000+03:00'
'dd48d7c9833091b0bd871b16c67bba6ed5b00432'|'Genuine Parts to buy European peer in $2 billion deal'|'September 25, 2017 / 11:25 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Genuine Parts to enter European market with $2 billion deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Genuine Parts Co ( GPC.N ), one of the leading U.S. car parts distributors, announced its foray into the European market on Monday with a deal to buy peer Alliance Automotive Group for about $2 billion, including debt. With the move, Genuine Parts will compete directly with LKQ Corp LKQ.N, the No.1 automotive parts distributor by gross billings in the 68-billion-euro ($80.8 billion) European light vehicle aftermarket. Genuine Parts’ shares, down nearly 8 percent since the beginning of the year, were up 7.1 percent at $94.26 in morning trade. Other big players in the European light vehicle aftermarket include UK-based Parts Alliance and Poland-based Inter Cars CARP.WA. London-headquartered Alliance Automotive distributes parts for light and commercial vehicles in France, Germany and the UK. It has 7,500 employees and more than 1,800 company-owned stores and affiliated outlets in Europe. “At the distributor level, AAG’s markets represent approximately 47 percent of the total European light vehicle aftermarket,” providing Genuine Parts an “attractive” entry into Europe, Jefferies analyst Bret Jordan said. Alliance Automotive is expected to have revenue of about $1.7 billion this year, said Genuine Parts, which itself is expected to generate about $15.95 billion in 2017 revenue, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Atlanta-based Genuine Parts, which operates about 7,300 stores, is also present in the Canadian, Mexican and Australasian markets, but gets more than 80 percent of its annual revenue from the United States. Genuine Parts will buy Alliance Automotive from its co-founders and private equity funds managed by Blackstone ( BX.N ). The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017, will add 65 to 70 cents per share to Genuine Parts’ adjusted earnings in 2018, the company said. JPMorgan advised Genuine Parts on the deal, while Lazard and UBS advised Alliance Automotive. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alliance-automotive-m-a-genuine-parts/genuine-parts-to-buy-european-rival-in-2-billion-deal-idINKCN1C01ED'|'2017-09-25T09:25:00.000+03:00'
'c8e07b6b20e497d8d54ab2d7eb300ad9d07ed93b'|'A celebrity listing crashes Japanese exchange''s party'|'September 23, 2017 / 11:22 PM / Updated an hour ago A celebrity listing crashes Japanese exchange''s party Yoshiyuki Osada , Marika Tsuji 5 Min Read The logo of Valu, web-based virtual exchange where people can raise bitcoins by ''listing themselves'', is seen at their compnay office in Tokyo, Japan July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) - On Japan’s newest exchange, fame can pay off. That may not be so great for investors though. Last month, Hikaru, a Japanese YouTube star so famous he can go by a single stage name, listed himself on Valu, a platform for people to raise money, often for personal projects or businesses, by essentially selling shares in themselves. Unlike many crowdsourcing sites, which are platforms for people or businesses to raise money online from large groups of individuals, the exchange also allows the trading of those who list their “Valus” on the exchange. That means that prices can rise and fall. And rise and fall Hikaru did. Soon after listing, Hikaru, whose YouTube channel boasts 2.6 million subscribers, soared on the market as his fans dived in. But then, just a week after going public, Hikaru and two friends, who go by the stage names Ikkun and Raphael, cashed out, according to officials from the exchange. That made his Valu drop precipitously, prompting howls of outrage on the Internet. “I was a fan of Hikaru so I bought his ”Valu“ partly to support him and this is what happened,” said one tweet from someone calling themselves Hikaru Valu Victim. “I want my money back.” Hikaru said in a video that he and his friends had been competing to make the most money off the exchange. Many people listing on the exchange often cite altruistic aims for doing so - like one person raising funds for a project to encourage young people to move to rural Japan. But Hikaru has said that he listed on the exchange just to get attention. He apologized for the move that may have ended his career, but noted that his actions did not constitute wrongdoing under the rules of the exchange. Those rules just say that members should not post untrue or deceptive information. There is also nothing illegal about driving up Valus and cashing in, since they are not considered a financial product by the Financial Services Agency. An official from the watchdog said it had been watching the Valu exchange, but would only advise it to inform investors that listings did not require financial disclosure. Since the Hikaru debacle, Valu has added restrictions on the frequency of trading to prevent similar occurrences. Hikaru and his two fellow YouTubers did not respond to requests for comment. VAZ Inc, a company that represents Japanese YouTubers, including Hikaru and his two friends, said the star and friends made a total profit of about 50 million yen ($444,000) in bitcoins, the currency of the exchange. Employees work at the company office running Valu, web-based virtual exchange where people can raise bitcoins by ''listing themselves'' in Tokyo, Japan July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato He bought back an unspecified number of Valus in an effort to make amends, he said on Twitter, which VAZ and the exchange confirmed. But his Valus never recovered their highs. His shares, which hit a peak of 0.090 bitcoin, or around $387, before he sold out, tanked to as low as 0.0075 bitcoin. They last stood at 0.014 bitcoin on Friday, or about $50 at the current bitcoin rate. The exchange declined to comment on how much his supporters lost. The incident was a rude awakening for Valu, which was launched this summer and has so far attracted about 60,000 members. Fund raisers sell Valus to the members, who are free to buy and sell their stakes. Valu’s operator, a subsidiary of a company called Party Co, makes clear in its rules that listings have no intrinsic value. Slideshow (3 Images) There are also no requirements for reporting results, or any other information. There are no voting rights, or dividends. That means the sole basis for rising shares is speculation. “What Valus represent is a big question,” said Makoto Sakuma, a researcher at NLI Research Institute. “Despite their name, Valus have little economic fundamental value.” Party Co says buying Valus should be seen as a donation or show of support rather than an investment. “Our service can directly support people in any places across the globe,” said Kohei Ogawa, president of Valu Inc. Kenta Toshima, 30, listed himself on the exchange to raise funds for equipment for a project to help rehabilitate elderly people with virtual reality. He said he had raised about 200,000 yen from about 40 people within a few weeks after listing himself. The exchange’s operators say they will keep going. But the backlash against Hikaru appears to have taken its toll on the YouTuber. In early September, Hikaru posted a video in which he appeared with Ikkun and Raphael, and said he would halt his YouTubing activities. ($1 = 112.64 yen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-exchange-people/a-celebrity-listing-crashes-japanese-exchanges-party-idUKKCN1BY10S'|'2017-09-24T02:18:00.000+03:00'
'1e4629d17475ed3dfe4f5a246147f22812397857'|'Macron puts fiscal credibility on the line with first budget'|'Reuters TV United States  30 PM / a minute ago Macron puts fiscal credibility on the line with first budget Yann Le Guernigou , Leigh Thomas 3 Min Read French President Emmanuel Macron waits for a guest at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS (Reuters) - When Emmanuel Macron’s government delivers the first budget of his presidency on Wednesday, it must convince France’s European partners it is serious about cutting spending while reassuring voters they do not face austerity. To be taken seriously by Germany and other euro zone countries, Macron has to map out a credible path for getting France’s finances permanently in line with EU rules, after his predecessors flouted them for a decade. Macron is expected to lay out his much-awaited vision for deepening integration among euro zone countries on Tuesday, the eve of the budget presentation and only two days after Germany’s election. “If France wants to convince Germany to move toward greater integration at the European level, President Macron must show that France can fulfill its commitment,” Societe Generale economists wrote in a research note. The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday Macron’s success in overhauling the economy would hinge on reining in government spending, the highest among developed countries at over 56 percent of gross domestic product. The government this week scaled down its planned budget cuts for next year to 16 billion euros ($19.15 billion) from 20 billion euros. Tax revenues are expected to be higher than previously thought thanks to a slightly better growth outlook. The government also needs to keep voters from getting anxious about spending cuts as it pushes through its reform agenda. Ten billion euros in tax cuts next year will dull the impact of spending cuts on reducing the overall public deficit. The government expects to get the deficit below the three-percent-of-GDP threshold set by EU rules this and next year, but not mainly by spending restraint. Most of the reduction in the overall public sector deficit will come from a growing surplus on the social security accounts, a government document obtained by Reuters showed. France has violated the three-percent rule every year since 2007. The government said this week it expected a public sector deficit of 2.9 percent in 2017, falling to 2.6 percent in 2018, thanks in part to better growth prospects. A budget in line with the European limit for two years would set France up to exit the EU’s excessive deficit procedure. While ministries in charge of education, the police and the environment will see budget increases, the government has flagged cuts to the 40 billion-euro budget for housing support as well as on infrastructure and subsidized jobs. So far it has not committed to any hard and fast numbers on cuts, ensuring that the budget will be closely scrutinized by France’s EU partners. Editing by Andrew Roche'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-budget/macron-puts-fiscal-credibility-on-the-line-with-first-budget-idUKKCN1BX1ZU'|'2017-09-22T17:08:00.000+03:00'
'9edf3e1d7d1e4a827c762f9513489892deb75989'|'China''s deleveraging to be much more gradual than expected in next few years -S'|'September 22, 2017 / 2:52 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago S&P says downgraded China as credit growth still too fast 6 Min Read A laborer works on a glass roof in Shanghai, China August 22, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s attempts to reduce risks from its rapid buildup in debt are not working as quickly as expected and credit growth is still too fast, S&P Global Ratings said on Friday, a day after it downgraded the country’s sovereign credit rating. While S&P warned in June that a cut may be on the cards, it said it decided to make the call after concluding that China’s “de-risking” drive that started early this year was having less of an impact on credit growth than initially expected. “Despite the fact that the government has shown greater resolve to implement the deleveraging policy, we continue to see overall credit in the corporate sector to stay at a 9 percent point,” Kim Eng Tan, an S&P senior director of sovereign ratings, said in a conference call to discuss the one-notch downgrade to A+ from AA-. “We’ve now come to the conclusion that while we do expect some deleveraging in the next few years, this is likely to be much more gradual than we thought could have been the case early this year.” China’s finance ministry said the downgrade was “a wrong decision” that ignored the economic fundamentals and development potential of the world’s second-largest economy. “China is able to maintain the stability of its financial systems through cautious lending, improved government supervision and credit risk controls,” it said on its website. S&P’s move put its rating in line with those of Moody’s and Fitch, though the timing raised eyebrows as it came just weeks ahead of one of the country’s most politically sensitive events, the twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress (CPC). S&P does not have a set schedule to review China’s credit ratings, Tan said. “As part of our ongoing surveillance we do meet with the government and have calls with them. All these were done in the past few months,” he told Reuters by phone later on Friday. But S&P is obliged to make a call “when the data points to one direction or another”, Tan said. Related Coverage “Unfortunately it comes close to the Congress.” KEY DEBT MEASUREMENT Tan said broader lending by all financial institutions, excluding equity fund-raising, has started to rise after growing by a steady 12-13 percent in the last few years. “That was the key metric we look at...we believe while this growth of aggregate debt financing could come down somewhat over the next few years, it’s not likely to come down very sharply.” Indeed, China’s new bank lending and total social financing (TSF), a broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, look set to hit record highs again this year. “One of the things that we do look for is more than just stabilization of financial risks, but actual decline or moderation in financial risks,” Tan said. To be sure, China’s economic growth has unexpectedly accelerated this year, racing ahead at 6.9 percent in the first half, but much of the impetus has come from record bank lending in 2016, a property boom and sharply higher government stimulus in the form of an infrastructure spending spree. While the crackdown on riskier lending has pushed up borrowing costs from corporate loans to mortgages, it has not yet dampened growth as many China watchers predicted. DON‘T WORRY? The head of a government research institute said on Friday that China’s rising debt is not a big concern since it funds infrastructure and urban development, which support future economic growth. “China’s debt sustainability is different form Western countries and other developing countries...if you just look at the size of debt, the debt-to-GDP ratio, and reach a conclusion on the credit rating, it’s very one-sided,” Liu Shangxi, head of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences under the Ministry of Finance, told a news conference. But the International Monetary Fund warned this year that China’s credit growth was on a “dangerous trajectory” and called for “decisive action”, while the Bank for International Settlements said last September that excessive credit growth was signalling a banking crisis in the next three years. The IMF said in August it expected China’s total non-financial sector debt to rise to almost 300 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022, up from 242 percent last year. The IMF and others have called on China to drop its focus on growth targets, which add pressure to take on more debt. “From our perspective, as long as any growth target cannot be obtained without very strong credit growth, that is something that will weaken the credit support for the government,” S&P’s Tan told Reuters. DEBT BATTLE HAS MIXED SUCCESS SO FAR Analysts say China’s campaign to cut financial risks this year has had mixed success so far, and opinions differ widely on whether Beijing is moving fast enough, or decisively enough, to avert a debt crisis down the road. Regulators appear to be making significant inroads in reducing interbank borrowing – perhaps the most pressing risk - and have curbed some riskier types of shadow banking. But analysts agree more comprehensive structural reforms are needed. Though the pace of credit growth may be easing by some measures, it continues to outpace economic growth. Moreover, a recent Reuters analysis showed corporate debt is growing faster than last year, with few companies using stronger profits to reduce debt. “There has actually been some progress recently in tackling credit risks, particularly in reining in the activities of the ‘shadow’ banking sector (and) broad credit growth has slowed,” Capital Economics said in a research note. “But it continues to rise relative to GDP so the overall trend remains deeply unhealthy.” Reporting by Yawen Chen, Stella Qiu, Elias Glenn and Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-s-p/chinas-deleveraging-to-be-much-more-gradual-than-expected-in-next-few-years-sp-idUKKCN1BX08B'|'2017-09-22T05:53:00.000+03:00'
'f937ae7ea9fa458998b6d5b10936d94ce9159267'|'Exclusive - Volkswagen moves to secure cobalt supplies in shift to electric cars'|'  1:25 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Exclusive: VW moves to secure cobalt supplies in shift to electric cars Pratima Desai 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An electric Volkswagen car is plugged into a recharging point in central London, Britain November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Germany’s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is moving to secure long-term supplies of cobalt, a vital component of rechargeable batteries, as the group accelerates its ambitious shift to electric cars. Cobalt industry sources told Reuters that VW, the world’s largest automaker, has asked producers to submit proposals on supplying the material for up to 10 years from 2019. Volkswagen, which decided on the strategic shift to electric vehicles (EVs) after it was engulfed in the “dieselgate” scandal, plans to invest more than 20 billion euros ($24 billion) in zero-emission vehicles by 2030 to challenge pioneer Tesla ( TSLA.O ) in creating a mass market. The company, which aims to make up to three million EVs a year by 2025, wants all the cobalt tender proposals submitted by the end of September. “The tender doesn’t actually tell you how much cobalt they want. They tell you how many EVs they want to make, you have to work out the cobalt content yourself,” one cobalt industry source said. Volkswagen did not respond to Reuters questions on the details of the tender but noted that the group would need more than 150 gigawatt hours of battery capacity annually by 2025 for its electric vehicles. This would mean major purchases of necessary materials. “The procurement project is one of the largest in the history of the automotive industry, with a total order volume of over 50 billion euros,” it said in a statement. “That will meet the Group’s needs for the first wave of e-mobility.” Demand for cobalt is expected to soar in the coming years due to the electric vehicle revolution as governments around the world crack down on pollution. Volkswagen is under particular pressure as it had been slow to embrace electric cars and self-driving technology until admitting two years ago to cheating on U.S. diesel emissions tests. Battery and auto manufacturers need to sign multi-year deals to secure supplies of raw materials including cobalt and lithium. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces roughly 65 percent of global cobalt supplies estimated at around 100,000 tonnes this year. Canada, China, Russia, Australia and Zambia are also major sources. At the company level, the market is dominated by Glencore ( GLEN.L ), which produced more than 28,000 tonnes last year. Reuters recently reported that Glencore had signed a major deal to sell up to 20,000 tonnes of cobalt products to a Chinese firm, a move that would help Volkswagen secure car batteries for its shift to electric vehicles. MISUNDERSTANDING? A VW logo is seen in front of the main building of the Volkswagen brand at the Volkswagen headquarters during a media tour to present Volkswagen''s so called "Blaue Fabrik" (Blue Factory) environmental program, in Wolfsburg, Germany May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer According to the cobalt industry sources, Volkswagen said wanted all contracts agreed by the end of the year. Electric vehicles use rechargeable batteries containing cobalt, a byproduct of copper and nickel output, which boosts energy density and extends battery life. This allows automakers to offer guarantees between eight and 10 years. The Volkswagen tender specifies the chemistry for the battery will initially be six parts nickel, two parts cobalt and two parts manganese or 6:2:2, but that it could at some stage switch to 8:1:1. “They want a fixed price, which won’t work for people who need security and they want to reserve the right to not take metal they don’t need,” another cobalt source said. “They want producers to take all the risks ... they want an option at low prices, for long maturities at zero cost.” Cobalt metal COB-CATH-LON is around $30 a lb, its highest since October 2008 and up from less than $10 in December 2015. Volkswagen has said that by 2025 it would roll out 80 new electric car models across the group, which also includes the Audi, Seat, Skoda and Porsche brands, up from a previous goal of 30. It wants to offer an electric version of each of its 300 group models by 2030. Analysts estimate each battery uses between 8-12 kg of cobalt. That would mean VW will need 24-36 million kg a year for three million EVs, which at current prices would total $1.6-$2.4 billion. The sources said the wording of the tender suggests it will probably have also gone to lithium producers, chemical producers and battery makers. “There’s a section on sustainability... asking what processes are in place to make sure the cobalt does not come from child labour in the DRC,” one said. Child labour is a reference to artisanal mining in places such as the DRC, where individuals mine independently to produce metal, often illegally and under poor health and safety conditions. UBS expects global sales of electric vehicles in 2025 to reach 14.2 million units or 13.7 percent of the total from under one million units and less than one percent this year. Analysts at CRU Group forecast the battery sector will need more than 75,000 tonnes of cobalt a year by 2025, up from around 41,000 tonnes this year. ($1 = 0.8351 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-cobalt-evs-exclusive/exclusive-vw-moves-to-secure-cobalt-supplies-in-shift-to-electric-cars-idUKKCN1BX1RE'|'2017-09-22T16:28:00.000+03:00'
'225305e0b163ccc1108ad7ad14f99353fbe97cd3'|'UK debt crisis and the onward march of neoliberalism - Letters'|'The debt crisis Larry Elliott predicts (Borrowed time: Threadneedle Street is right to fear a bubble , 19 September), is the result of our failure to resolve the financial crisis of 2008. The credit crunch demonstrated that western economies were living beyond their means and that there was too much money and too much debt in the system. The required solution was for creditors to give up a considerable portion of their wealth, and return living space to debtors. Significant austerity was unavoidable.Governments chose quantitative easing instead, which allowed the wealthy to get out of cash and into assets, retaining or regaining any loss caused by the crash. The rest of us had to bear the brunt of austerity: cuts in benefits, the erosion of full-time jobs, the rise of the gig economy and increases in rents. Additional debt, funded by the liquidity of quantitative easing, enabled millions temporarily to retain a semblance of normal living: but the unequal distribution of wealth has not gone away.The only way out of a credit crunch is for creditors to write off debts and rebalance international economies. The only source of funds that could finance such an economy to recover is the surplus money accumulated by the rich during the boom. A debt jubilee is mandatory. The 2008 crisis won’t be over till it’s over.Martin London Henllan, Denbighshire • Thank you, Owen Jones. A very neat analysis of why neoliberalism is a “broken economic model” ( The Tories can’t fix the debt crisis: their beliefs caused it , 21 September). So where is the all-out attack on the ultimate neoliberal move, the Canada–European Union free trade deal (Ceta), just passed provisionally on the same day? Ceta has been called the back door to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Global Justice Now has argued that “the only winners from this deal will be the big corporations who will be getting a raft of new powers that enable them to sue governments, have enormous influence to weaken important protections on the food we eat and lock in the privatisation of vital public services like the NHS”. That is only half of the story and, as War on Want point out, “Key elements of our public services have been bargained away without a shred of public debate.”More than 3.4 million of us across Europe submitted a European citizens’ initiative to stop TTIP and Ceta in 2014. This was refused by the commission. On 10 July this year however that refusal was annulled by the general court of the EU and the commission has now decided to register the ECI. This means that a new initiative, requiring one million signatures within one year, will oblige the commission to react within three months and explain their decisions. The trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, is on record as saying that she did not take her mandate from the people. So where does she take it from? In the negotiations leading to the TTIP deal, held in strict secrecy behind closed doors, the EU commission met with corporate lobbyists 92% of the time, just 8% with public interest groups. Has everyone forgotten?John Airs Liverpool • The UK is on the precipice of a consumer credit crisis, a situation so severe that the Financial Conduct Authority is now urging action from the government ( Report , 19 September). But if we are waiting for a government revolution on this then we may be disappointed. The government machine is not known for its dynamism. The catalyst for change needs to start in the workplace with employers understanding the needs and pressures of their employees. There is now an estimated £200bn in unsecured consumer credit held by British households and an imminent threat of an interest rate rise. That is truly frightening.Employers need to support and educate their employees on their financial health or risk having swaths of stressed employees bogged down in debt unable to concentrate on the job and driving productivity down. This is a very real issue. Recent research showed 65% of employees want financial support in the workplace with a worryingly low 7% of employers actually providing it. Employees are clearly crying out for support in this area, and those employers that hear and respond to this will be the ones that reap rewards in terms of happier, more productive employees.David Dodd Consulting director, Thomsons Online Benefits • Beginning in 2011, the DWP has created a black hole of destitution into which it forces an ever increasing number of debtors. It starts with a benefit sanction for a minor offence. That normally stops the income needed for food and fuel for one or three months. It is a worse punishment than a fine for shoplifting imposed by magistrates, which has to be proportionate and leave enough money for food. Debts pile up while there is no income to pay them off. Meanwhile the local authority threatens eviction for rent arrears and prison for council tax arrears. The bailiffs call to enforce council tax arrears, and a fine for not paying a TV licence, adding their huge fees to arrears and court costs. At the end of three months our now destitute friend is back on the jobcentre treadmill trying to pay off the debts from £73.10 a week JSA. He is forced to take a zero-hours contract. He is transferred to universal credit which pays £0.01 into his bank to last a month in which his employer provides no work. The health and wellbeing of the poorest UK tenants is being damaged by acts of parliament containing these serial abuses of power.Rev Paul Nicolson Taxpayers Against Poverty • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters Topics Borrowing & debt Financial crisis Austerity Economics TTIP Quantitative easing letters'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/21/uk-debt-crisis-and-the-onward-march-of-neoliberalism'|'2017-09-22T02:39:00.000+03:00'
'11ae317887428c120836e8e43f61b2c186f1fccb'|'Euro zone growth gaining momentum but inflation subdued - ECB Bulletin'|' 10 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Euro zone growth gaining momentum but inflation subdued - ECB Bulletin Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are pictured during protest training organised by "NoG20 Rhein-Main" in Frankfurt, Germany June 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Euro zone economic growth is gaining momentum and the rapid fall in the unemployment rate is encouraging but inflation has yet to show convincing signs of a sustained upward trend, requiring continued stimulus, the European Central Bank said on Thursday. The firming of the euro also presents a source of risk for inflation because it implies a moderation of price pressures, requiring monitoring, the ECB said in a regular economic bulletin that was largely consistent with its statement after this month’s interest rate decision. The ECB earlier this month left its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged but said it would discuss “recalibration” next month, a signal taken by markets as confirmation that the bank would curb its stimulus from next year, given strong growth and a waning threat of deflation. “The swift decline in euro area unemployment is particularly encouraging against a background of increasing labour supply,” the ECB added. “Nevertheless, broader measures of unemployment suggest that slack is still elevated in many euro area labour markets.” Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-bulletin/euro-zone-growth-gaining-momentum-but-inflation-subdued-ecb-bulletin-idUKKCN1BW0YX'|'2017-09-21T11:10:00.000+03:00'
'fc67bb3096d982c75068bae87ea357f204a47c17'|'BlackRock''s Fink says he is committed to gender parity'|'  3:06 PM / a few seconds ago BlackRock CEO Fink says he is committed to gender diversity Trevor Hunnicutt , Stephanie Kelly 3 Min Read Larry Fink, Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, takes part in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in New York, U.S., February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) Chief Executive Larry Fink on Wednesday said the largest asset manager must mirror its customers in terms of gender, comments that come as the company has become more vocal about shareholder and activist efforts to boost workplace diversity. “The reality is in the world more than 50 percent of household wealth is managed by women,” said Fink, who spoke at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York. “And so if I‘m going to be a mirror of my clients, we are going to need more women in our firm.” BlackRock said this year that 39 percent of its employees are women, and that 43 percent of its total hires in 2016 and 29 percent of those brought on in senior leadership positions last year are women. Investors have increasingly signaled a desire for their savings, including those managed by BlackRock and its rivals, to reflect their values. As a major shareholder in most public companies, BlackRock has also been pressured by activists to back shareholder-fronted propositions and vote against boards to prompt better corporate citizenship. Fink has encouraged executives to adjust their behavior to focus on generating long-term value for shareholders, rather than simply meeting short-term profit targets. Lack of diversity is among the top issues, but Fink said on Wednesday that BlackRock has also seen greater interest from investors in environmental, social and corporate governance issues as a result of the United States potentially leaving the landmark 2015 Paris climate pact. Breaking with prior practice, BlackRock this year publicly disclosed opposition to practices at oil company Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ), drugmaker Mylan NV ( MYL.O ) and other firms over climate change, compensation and other policies. BlackRock voted for eight proposals pushing U.S. and Canadian companies to adopt policies to boost their boards’ diversity during the second quarter, the asset manager disclosed in July. It said a lack of diversity could hinder decision-making. BlackRock’s board includes 17 members, four of whom are women. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bloomberg-forum-blackrock/blackrocks-fink-says-he-is-committed-to-gender-parity-idUSKCN1BV206'|'2017-09-20T18:02:00.000+03:00'
'723cac5543e82ed298195b97ee63a043ba24bfe4'|'Alten feels chill from British bank and oil spending freeze'|'September 20, 2017 / 1:24 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago Alten feels chill from British bank and oil spending freeze Michal Aleksandrowicz , Alan Charlish 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Alten ( LTEN.PA ) said financial services and oil and gas clients in Britain held back on new spending in the first half, as a fall in margins at the French technology and engineering consultancy sent its stock nearly 7 percent lower. Britain’s financial sector, the biggest in the European Union, has been left guessing by the country’s vote to leave the bloc, while the oil and gas industry has been hit by oil prices, which are more than 50 percent down from their 2014 highs. “Some of them [UK clients] amongst the banking sector have decided to delay or to freeze some investments,” Alten’s Chief Financial Officer Bruno Benoliel told Reuters on Wednesday, adding it had not seen banks investing more in other countries. Alten’s revenue in the first six months from the UK, which accounts for around 4 percent of the total, fell by 11 percent, with the its oil and gas subsidiary having the biggest impact with revenue falling by 30 percent in the first half, he said. However, Alten expects its oil and gas business to decrease by 20 percent in 2017, with some stabilisation during the third quarter after hitting a low a the end of July. MARGINS HURT STOCK Alten said on Tuesday operating profit from activity rose 4.6 percent to 92.6 million euros in the first half, but the operating margin from activity fell to 9.4 percent from 10.2 percent. “Operating margin is a bit lower, mainly because of fewer working days, but the profitability of the company remains satisfactory,” Benoliel said. Gilbert Dupont analysts said Alten would not achieve a double-digit margin for the full year, but nevertheless maintained their “accumulate” rating on the stock. The Gilbert Dupont analysts also pointed to the evolution of the company’s mix, with the lower-margin automobile segment currently outperforming. Benoliel said Alten expects organic growth for its automobile business of 17-19 percent in 2017 and around 10 percent organic growth for aerospace. He added that the company was confident of achieving better full-year organic revenue growth than last year. Reporting by Michal Aleksandrowicz and Alan Charlish; additional reporting by Camille Raynaud; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alten-britain/alten-feels-chill-from-british-bank-and-oil-spending-freeze-idUKKCN1BV1Q7'|'2017-09-20T16:24:00.000+03:00'
'f93ca768708fff430c9e36f1a118879d721bf2b1'|'Finland''s Fortum in talks to buy E.ON''s remaining stake in Uniper'|'  9:25 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Finland''s Fortum in talks to buy E.ON''s remaining stake in Uniper Arno Schuetze , Jussi Rosendahl 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Fortum, the largest electricity distribution operator in the Nordic region, is seen in Espoo, Finland December 12, 2013. Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto via REUTERS/File Photo via REUTERS FRANKFURT/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland’s Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) is in advanced talks to buy for 3.8 billion euros ($4.6 billion) German utility E.ON’s ( EONGn.DE ) remaining stake in Uniper ( UN01.DE ), the power stations and trading business which it spun off last year. Fortum said in a joint statement that it was offering to pay 22 euros a share for the 46.65 percent stake in Uniper and has not set a minimum acceptance threshold. Shares in Uniper were up 6.6 percent at 22.21 euros at 1210 GMT, when Fortum’s share price was up 6 percent at 17.21 euros and E.ON was up 3.4 percent at 9.50 euros. Under Germany’s takeover rules if Fortum strikes a deal with E.ON it would then have to make an offer for the rest of the company, which could be launched in early 2018. E.ON cannot complete the deal to sell its Uniper shares before next year without incurring a large tax bill. Given the lack of a substantial takeover premium for Uniper, the prospects of Fortum taking full control are unclear, a source close to the deal said, although Fortum is mainly interested in Uniper’s hydropower plants and interests in Swedish nuclear power stations. “As Fortum is happy for Uniper to be independent, we think they will be content even with a 51 percent ownership and will not sweeten the deal further,” analysts at Bernstein said in a note to clients. While Fortum could buy the whole company it is already working with a partner who may take on its coal-fired plants and other assets, another source close to the matter said. “Fortum would focus on being an active, supportive and reliable shareholder of Uniper and a constructive strategic partner to Uniper, its management and employees,” Fortum said. The potential bid values Uniper at 8.05 billion euros excluding debt, a 4.5 percent premium to Tuesday’s closing share price and a 36 percent premium to the share price in May, before a deal with Fortum was in prospect. Uniper, with total sales of around 67 billion euros in 2016, operates hydroelectric, coal- and gas-fired plants and holds stakes in gas pipelines, LNG terminals and nuclear plants across Europe. State-controlled Fortum, which is focused on Nordic and Russian markets, has been looking for mergers and acquisitions for years following its sale for 9.3 billion euros of its power distribution grids, but has so far announced only relatively small investments. Last month, Uniper raised its dividend and profit forecast for 2017, pushing its share price to a record high since its market debut in September 2016. Plagued by years of falling wholesale power prices, E.ON had spun off Uniper - which operates roughly 40 gigawatts of power plants in Europe and Russia - to focus on its renewable energy and grids business. Wholesale prices have, however, picked up markedly from record lows set last year, with Germany’s benchmark contract for delivery in 2018 TRDEBYZ8 up more than 40 percent over the past 12 months, partly driven by the closure of excess capacity across Europe. E.ON Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen said in May the group planned to sell its remaining stake in Uniper soon, with options including a market placing or a sale to a third party. (This version of the story corrects typographical error in spelling of ‘E.ON’ in headline) Additional reporting by Vera Eckert and Tuomas Forsell; Editing by Jason Neely, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum/fortum-nears-offer-for-e-ons-uniper-stake-source-idUKKCN1BV11Y'|'2017-09-20T15:23:00.000+03:00'
'14664929ba44c1160954ee1ce027b04beb058ee5'|'Greece to stay on supervision post bailout, Eurogroup chief tells paper'|'September 23, 2017 / 8:43 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Greece to stay on supervision post bailout, Eurogroup chief tells paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem arrives at Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will remain under supervision after it exits its current bailout programme next year, the head of the group of euro zone finance ministers told a Greek newspaper on Saturday. Greece aims to exit its 86-billion-euro (£76.1 billion) bailout, its third since its debt crisis exploded in 2010, in August next year. By then, Athens hopes to have fully returned to market financing. “In all cases we have applied supervision after the completion of support programmes, as happened in Ireland, Spain, Cyprus,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem told Ta Nea newspaper. “We will have a supervision programme for Greece as well, especially when there are outstanding loans with long maturities,” he was quoted as saying. Dijsselbloem is expected in Athens on Monday to meet Greek officials, including Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos. Tsakalotos has said he does not expect Greece to need a precautionary credit line from its official lenders when it exits its bailout next year. “The common goal of the Greek government and its European partners must be that August 2018 will be the end of the (bailout) programme. We must ensure that Greece will be fully prepared,” Dijsselbloem told the paper. He said Greece’s economy is faring better after a deep, multi-year recession but reforms should continue for the remainder of the bailout programme and after August 2018. “The chronic and structural problems were among the crucial factors that led Greece to the crisis,” Dijsselbloem said. Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-bailout-dijsselbloem/greece-to-stay-on-supervision-post-bailout-eurogroup-chief-tells-paper-idUKKCN1BY08I'|'2017-09-23T11:43:00.000+03:00'
'41f6837a25713e2d961bf95afa37120bbb8d6377'|'BMW to build new 8 series at German Dingolfing plant from 2018'|'May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks Reuters TV United States   10:11 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago BMW to build new 8 series at German Dingolfing plant from 2018 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A BMW logo is seen at a car dealership in Vienna, Austria, May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader BERLIN (Reuters) - Carmaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ) plans to build its new 8 series model at its plant in the southern German town of Dingolfing from 2018, strengthening the site’s role in the production of premium models in addition to electric vehicle components. The plant currently makes BMW’s 3 to 7 series models and expects to beat its record annual output of 369,000 vehicles this year, BMW said in a statement on Saturday. It reiterated that its new electric, autonomous iNEXT model was to be built at Dingolfing from 2021, and that the plant will be involved in the supply of electric motor, components and a battery for the electric MINI to be built in Oxford. “And that is certainly not the end of it,” Andreas Wendt, head of the plant, said in a statement. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bmw-dingolfing/bmw-to-build-new-8-series-at-german-dingolfing-plant-from-2018-idUKKCN1BX2ZB'|'2017-09-23T01:02:00.000+03:00'
'71d0c0b48bb795d442195e9b0170361ab80f3104'|'Italy hikes growth forecast, deficit target ahead of election'|'September 23, 2017 / 12:47 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Italy hikes growth forecast, deficit target ahead of election Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Italian flag waves in front of The "Altare della Patria" also known as "Vittoriano" downtown Rome, Italy, March 23, 2016. REUTES/ Stefano Rellandini ROME (Reuters) - Italy on Saturday raised its forecasts for economic growth this year and next and said it would cut the budget deficit by less than previously promised. The brighter outlook may help the ruling Democratic Party ahead of national elections early next year if voters notice an improvement in living standards, though Italian growth continues to lag most of its euro zone partners. Gross domestic product (GDP) will rise by 1.5 percent in 2017, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said, raising its previous projection of 1.1 percent made in April to reflect better than expected data in the first two quarters and buoyant business sentiment. Next year, the economy will also grow by 1.5 percent, Padoan said after a cabinet meeting approved the Treasury’s Economic and Financial Document (DEF), up from the previous forecast of 1.0 percent. The deficit to GDP target for 2018 was raised to 1.6 percent from 1.2 percent previously, Padoan said. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Gavin Jones, editing by Silvia Aloisi'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-economy-forecasts/italy-hikes-growth-forecast-deficit-target-ahead-of-election-idUKKCN1BY0JF'|'2017-09-23T15:31:00.000+03:00'
'f68f6c869c2243d2759254583455c34686b15c23'|'London Dana Gas sukuk trial to go ahead despite UAE injunction -judge'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:58 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago London Dana Gas sukuk trial to go ahead despite UAE injunction -judge Alexander Winning 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A London High Court trial on the validity of a $700 million (£516.61 million) sukuk issued by the UAE’s Dana Gas ( DANA.AD ) will go ahead on Monday despite a UAE court injunction preventing the gas company and some of its creditors from taking part. Dana Gas said in June that it would not redeem its outstanding sukuk, or Islamic bonds, on the grounds that due to changes in interpretation of Islamic finance they’re no longer sharia-compliant and therefore unlawful in the UAE. It started proceedings in British and UAE courts because while the purchase undertaking, part of the bond contract, is regulated by English law, the mudarabah agreement underlying the sukuk structure is regulated by UAE law. The case has attracted the attention of the $2 trillion global Islamic finance industry because it could set a precedent for sukuk issuers to refuse to redeem their paper based on changes in the religious permissibility of the debt instrument. The British trial started on Tuesday but a last-minute anti-suit injunction obtained by some Dana Gas shareholders from the Sharjah court in the UAE prevented Dana Gas and the legal representatives of some of its creditors from participating. After several delays this week, British Judge George Leggatt ruled on Friday that the trial would continue next week, allowing BlackRock, which has some exposure to Dana Gas’ Islamic bonds, to present its case to the court on the enforceability of the purchase undertaking. He said the case would then adjourn until October 12 to see if the UAE court in Sharjah kept the injunction in place. The judge said Dana Gas bears a degree of responsibility for its inability to take part in the British proceedings. The company did not oppose the anti-suit injunction sought by Dana Gas shareholders in Sharjah when the shareholders filed their application, merely lodging a written memorandum about it. The judge acknowledged however that Dana Gas had appealed to the Sharjah court this week to have the injunction amended. Leggatt said there was no guarantee when a ruling on Dana Gas’ appeal against the anti-suit injunction would be made and whether the appeal would be successful. However, if the UAE court maintained the injunction, the judge said he could go straight to a ruling in the case without the participation of Dana Gas, basing his ruling on written submissions. This would be a last resort, said Leggatt, adding however that fairness for the defendants also needed to be considered. Reporting by Alexander Winning, writing by Davide Barbuscia; editing by Jason Neely and Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dana-gas-sukuk-trial/london-dana-gas-sukuk-trial-to-proceed-despite-uae-injunction-judge-idUKKCN1BX1C3'|'2017-09-22T15:12:00.000+03:00'
'ab07708b63cb7f976d73d5551c57bd1c89e06867'|'Toys “R” Us files for bankruptcy'|'ASK young American parents about Toys “R” Us and they are likely to be able to sing a jingle from their childhood: “I don’t wanna grow up, ’cause maybe if I did, I couldn’t be a Toys “R” Us kid”. For children of the 1980s, Toys “R” Us was a mecca at the strip mall, an awe-inspiring array of dolls, trucks, board games, bikes, art supplies and much more. Many of them noticed when on September 18th, the chain filed for bankruptcy.Dave Brandon, the company’s chief executive, emphasised that shops would carry on operating as usual and claimed that Toys “R” Us was at the start of a new, brighter era. “These are the right steps to ensure that the iconic Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brands live on for many generations,” he declared. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy, many analysts agree, is a sensible way to deal with the chain’s $5bn of long-term debt. So Toys “R” Us is not dead. But its future is hardly certain. 19 The company’s tale in many ways typifies the ailments of American bricks-and-mortar retailing. Its woes began in the 1990s, as big-box stores grew both in number and in size. Walmart’s vast selection meant parents could buy a toy in the same place where they picked up milk.Then came e-commerce. Toys are particularly suitable for online shopping. Unlike a dress, they do not need to be tried on for size, and unlike a peach they do not need to be felt for ripeness. Those of prime toy-buying age, parents with young children, are busy. Women aged 25-44 spend almost as much time shopping as they do eating and drinking. Given the choice of buying a train set online or in a store, particularly when a toy shop can transform even the calmest child into an insatiable lunatic, many parents opt to buy online. Amazon makes that extraordinarily convenient. The result is that many former Toys “R” Us kids have no interest in being Toys “R” Us parents. Cowen, a financial-services firm, expects 41% of toys and games in America to be purchased online this year, about twice the proportion sourced from the internet in 2009.Toys “R” Us also suffers from other common ills. The first is a heavy burden of debt. Three private-equity firms bought Toys “R” Us in 2005 in a leveraged buyout, adding substantially to its borrowings; it pays around $400m a year in interest costs, even as it tries to compete with Amazon. It also has $400m in secured and unsecured debt maturing next year. Many expected a bankruptcy, but the filing, just ahead of the vital holiday selling season, underlines how squeezed the firm has become. Two other retailers—Payless ShoeSource, a 61-year-old discount shoe-seller from Kansas, and Gymboree, which began selling children’s clothing in 1986—are among those that declared bankruptcy this year after being backed by private-equity firms that left them similarly weighed down.Second, Toys “R” Us has not helped itself. Like many department-store chains, its inventory has been painfully slow to adapt to changing trends. Sales of fidget spinners, a toy that has become ubiquitous in the past year, for instance, got twirling online first. Nor is it clear whether its strategy of trying to lure families to its shops with live events, such as music classes for children, will work.Like so many other retailers, Toys “R” Us is striving to build its business online. That has been bumpy work. In 2000, back when Amazon was still trying to move beyond selling books, Toys “R” Us joined with the e-commerce giant to manage online toy sales. Four years later it sued Amazon, arguing that the e-tailer had broken the terms of their agreement. In 2006 a judge agreed, but 11 years on that victory gives scant solace. "State of play"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21729375-rise-e-commerce-did-americas-former-favourite-toys-r-us-files-bankruptcy?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-23T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'309c0a3167e87e3d4bea0017f23e72fdedb5eb03'|'Aldi UK profit falls for third straight year'|'September 25, 2017 / 6:17 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Aldi sticks with UK expansion despite profit fall James Davey 3 Min Read A woman browses the special buys section at the Aldi store in Atherstone, Britain February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples LONDON (Reuters) - Aldi is pressing on with its expansion in Britain despite a third straight year of falling profits there, the German discount supermarket group said on Monday, signalling no let up in the pressure on UK rivals. The rise of privately-owned budget chains Aldi and Lidl has transformed the competitive landscape of UK food retailing over the last decade, driving down the returns of Britain’s big four players - market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ), Asda ( WMT.N ) and Morrisons ( MRW.L ). The big four have been fighting back by cutting their own prices, reducing multi-buy promotions and improving service. For 2016, Aldi UK and Ireland reported a 13.5 percent rise in sales to a record 8.74 billion pounds . But operating profit fell 17 percent to 211.3 million pounds, reflecting its strategy of maintaining a price gap over larger rivals as well as investment in infrastructure - mainly a large store opening programme. “The owners of our business see such a huge potential for future growth in the UK market,” Matthew Barnes, chief executive of Aldi UK, told reporters. Discount supermarkets still account for a much smaller share of the UK market than in Germany. “Our investment in the UK is ramped-up if anything,” Barnes said, noting 450 million pounds was invested in stores and distribution centres in 2016 and 459 million pounds was planned in 2017. Barnes added future capital expenditure plans were “entirely unaffected” by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. He said the German parent, Aldi Sud, was “very happy” with the UK performance in 2016 despite a fall in the operating profit margin to 2.42 percent from 3.3 percent in 2015. “Our owners very much see that (margin decline) in the context of long term growth,” he said. “It’s about investing for the future, it’s not about working quarter to quarter and delivering short term gains to our shareholders.” Analysts at Barclays said lower profit margins at Aldi would be read as a positive for Britain’s big four grocers. “The lower that margins go – and the more the company has to invest in refurbishments – the sooner the point will be reached when store openings start to diminish,” they said. Aldi, which in February overtook the Co-operative ( 42TE.L ) to become Britain’s fifth biggest supermarket, currently trades from 726 UK stores, giving it a UK grocery market share of 6.9 percent, according to researcher Kantar Worldpanel. It plans to have over 1,000 stores by 2022. Aldi said like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new space, were “strongly positive” during 2016 and had accelerated in 2017. “The fact that more and more customers walk through our doors every day of the week gives us the confidence to carry on investing,” said Barnes. Editing by Paul Sandle and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aldi-results/aldi-uk-profit-falls-for-third-straight-year-idUKKCN1C00H2'|'2017-09-25T09:18:00.000+03:00'
'e3827facf6c7f7d4aaf6516ae8ebc28006811455'|'Southeast Asian e-commerce firm Sea says applies for NYSE listing'|'SINGAPORE, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian e-commerce startup Sea Ltd said on Saturday it has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed listing on the New York Stock Exchange.Goldman Sachs (Asia), Morgan Stanley & Co International and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) are joint bookrunners for the proposed initial public offering of its American depositary shares, the company said in a statement.The number of shares on offer and the price range have not yet been determined, said Sea, formerly known as Garena, which was valued at $3.75 billion after a March 2016 funding round.The company, which also provides digital payments and online gaming services, raised $550 million in May for an undisclosed valuation. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Paul Tait)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sea-ipo/southeast-asian-e-commerce-firm-sea-says-applies-for-nyse-listing-idINL4N1M402X'|'2017-09-22T23:55:00.000+03:00'
'5567d79565b908c01ee8bcd195c4e72b1c3dda19'|'Thyssenkrupp to set up working group with unions over Tata Steel merger'|'September 23, 2017 / 11:07 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Thyssenkrupp to set up working group with unions over Tata Steel merger Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A man wears a helmet with glasses attached during a Thyssenkrupp steel workers protest rally in Bochum, Germany, September 22, 2017, against the planned combination of the group''s European steel operations with those of Tata Steel. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp AG ( TKAG.DE ) is to set up a joint working group of board members and labor representatives to help implement the plan to merge with Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ), it said in a statement on Saturday, issued after a supervisory board meeting. The meeting was held after Thyssenkrupp top management’s move this week to sign a memorandum of understanding with Tata Steel for a 50-50 joint venture. If approved, it would create Europe’s second-biggest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), with combined sales of about 15 billion euros ($17.93 billion). The working group will consist of members of the executive boards of Thyssenkrupp AG, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, which is the unit for the steel activities within the wider group, representatives of Thyssenkrupp’s works councils and the works councils of the steel sites, the statement said. The working group will be headed by Markus Grolms, deputy chairman of the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp AG and Oliver Burkhard, member of the executive board of Thyssenkrupp AG, where he is chief human resources officer, it said. Thyssenkrupp AG Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger depends on the support of labor representatives, who hold half of the 20 seats on the group’s supervisory board and have fiercely opposed the deal with Tata Steel. On Friday, several thousand steel workers took to the streets of Bochum in Germany’s industrial heartland to protest against the deal, which would include up to 4,000 job cuts, about 8 percent of the combined workforce. Opposition from Thyssenkrupp’s workforce could mean prolonged negotiations with management and delay any approval of the plan by the supervisory board, scheduled for early next year. If all labor representatives on the supervisory board vote against the plans, its chairman Ulrich Lehner could still push them through with his casting vote but it is Hiesinger’s declared goal to get labor leaders to agree. Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert; Editing by Andrew Bolton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-tata-steel-board/thyssenkrupp-to-set-up-working-group-with-unions-over-tata-steel-merger-idUKKCN1BY0EX'|'2017-09-23T13:55:00.000+03:00'
'3046c28e88484fbcf4f9e7ff25088c5f79b83bcf'|'Lufthansa offering to pay 200 million euros for Air Berlin: BamS'|'FILE PHOTO: Planes of the Lufthansa airline stand on the tarmac in Frankfurt airport, Germany, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is offering to pay 200 million euros ($239 million) to buy its insolvent smaller rival Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) and is prepared to pay up to 100 million euros to meet operating costs to keep the airline going in the interim, newspaper Bild am Sonntag (BamS) said on Sunday.Citing sources close to the proceedings, the paper said that there could be three months between signing a purchasing contract and implementing the transaction because the German and European competition authorities would first need to vet any deal, BamS said.On filing for insolvency last month the Berlin government promptly granted Air Berlin a 150 million-euro bridging loan to keep the airline flying for three months.On Thursday Air Berlin’s creditor committee said it would talk to Lufthansa and Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ) as possible buyers for the carrier’s aviation business, giving three weeks for negotiations.Sources familiar with the matter said last week Lufthansa was bidding a three-digit millions sum with the offer covering Air Berlin, its leisure airline Niki and regional subsidiary Luftfahrt Gesellschaft Walter.Lufthansa itself has only said it has made an offer for parts of Air Berlin.BamS also said its sources had said next week Air Berlin would have to return planes used on its long haul routes to two companies it leases aircraft from.Reporting by Vera Eckert; '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-offering-to-pay-200-million-euros-for-air-berlin-bams-idINKCN1BY10C'|'2017-09-23T20:28:00.000+03:00'
'833cc8e26cbce35aecd0e33be3c21c381af28b23'|'Scrap plan for new banking tax, London financiers tells UK opposition party'|'  11:37 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Scrap plan for new banking tax, London financiers tells UK opposition party Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A view of the City of London and Canary Wharf. July 7, 2017. REUTERS/John Sibley /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - A financial transaction tax proposed by Britain’s opposition Labour Party would risk the competitiveness of London’s financial centre, the City of London Corporation said on Sunday, calling for the proposal to be scrapped. The leftist Labour Party, which is holding its annual conference in southern English town of Brighton, has advocated a so-called ‘Robin Hood’ tax to levy charges on bond and derivative trades. It says the tax could raise 4.7 billion pounds to fund higher public spending. But the City of London Corporation, the body which administers policy in the central London financial district, criticised the policy. “A financial transactions tax, however described, would be a unilateral policy which would weaken our hand and undermine our competitiveness,” said the corporation’s Policy Chairman, Catherine McGuinness. Labour lost a general election in 2017, and one is not scheduled until 2022, but Labour is banking on Prime Minister Theresa May’s government falling sooner and has briefed financial institutions on its plan in recent months. On the first main day of his party’s conference, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was asked about his approach to taxation said: “I don’t think I‘m worried about taxing the super rich and the super wealthy.” “The objective surely has to be stronger economic base for everybody in this country and dealing with the waste of poverty and inequality,” he told the BBC. Reporting by William James; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-politics-labour-financial/scrap-plan-for-new-banking-tax-london-financiers-tells-uk-opposition-party-idUKKCN1BZ0CM'|'2017-09-24T14:40:00.000+03:00'
'c374949498e89d7248521e7ca063825b2c9d17e8'|'Australia''s Pepper Group says KKR ups takeover offer - Reuters'|'September 25, 2017 / 12:14 AM / Updated 3 hours ago KKR lifts bid for Australia''s Pepper to $543 million to appease shareholder Byron Kaye 2 Min Read (Reuters) - KKR & Co LP has added a small sweetener to its bid for Australia’s Pepper Group, caving to a demand from the non-bank lender’s biggest shareholder and bringing the deal value to A$682 million ($543 million). With the new offer, which sent Pepper’s shares surging, the U.S. buyout firm gains a slice of Australia’s A$1.7 trillion mortgage market while investors will be able to cash in at a 42 percent premium to its IPO price two years earlier. KKR announced a special dividend of 10 cents per share on Monday - appeasing Perpetual Investments Ltd, Pepper’s top shareholder with a 14.7 percent stake, which had said it was unhappy with the A$657 million offer the lender had agreed to in August. “It’s clear we were vocal, that we felt the initial bid undervalued the company,” said Anthony Aboud, a portfolio manager at Perpetual. “This has been a decent investment for us. KKR have got it at a decent price and we’ve been trying to get as much as we possibly could.” Pepper shares rose 4.6 percent to A$3.66 by mid-session, just below the sweetened offer price of A$3.70. That compares with its 2015 IPO price of A$2.60. Pepper’s loan book jumped 36 percent in 2016, compared with the banking sector’s 6.5 percent credit growth, as big banks backed off riskier lending in response to regulators’ concerns about ballooning household debt. Although the non-bank lender is seen as exposed to a possible housing correction, Australians are generally viewed as good creditors who will cut back elsewhere to meet their mortgage payments. Pepper’s shareholders will vote on the increased offer at a meeting on Nov. 15. Reporting by Byron Kaye; Additional reporting by Hanna Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pepper-group-m-a-kkr/australias-pepper-group-says-kkr-ups-takeover-offer-idINKCN1C000G'|'2017-09-24T22:14:00.000+03:00'
'a18bc27a7377e74bb7f4fd19932f2d7a0c635e33'|'Zurich Insurance taps Savio to replace Foley as N.America head'|'ZURICH, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Zurich Insurance said on Wednesday the president of its North America Alternative Markets unit, Kathleen Savio, will replace Mike Foley as chief executive of Zurich North America.Foley will retire from Zurich after a decade as North America CEO, Zurich said in statement. The change will take effect on Jan. 1. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/zurich-ins-group-moves/zurich-insurance-taps-savio-to-replace-foley-as-n-america-head-idINFWN1M10QQ'|'2017-09-20T16:42:00.000+03:00'
'bcc7a25b3475a7617147e4b9d1fa18d951be2324'|'OPEC panel to discuss export monitoring, oil pact extension'|'September 22, 2017 / 8:10 AM / Updated 4 hours ago OPEC says winning battle to end oil glut Alex Lawler , Shadia Nasralla 4 Min Read Austrian police officers guard the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC and other oil producers are clearing a glut that has weighed on crude prices for three years and may wait until January before deciding whether to extend their output curbs beyond the first quarter of 2018, ministers said on Friday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and several other producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of 2017, helping lift oil prices by 15 percent in the past three months. OPEC and its allies have been considering extending the deal beyond the end of March when it is due to expire. Russia’s energy minister said no decision was expected before January, although other ministers suggested such a decision could be taken before the end of this year. “I think we can return to this issue not earlier than January next year,” Russia’s Alexander Novak said when asked about a timeline for any decision on extending the pact to curb supplies. Speaking after Friday’s meeting of oil ministers in Vienna, he also said OPEC and the other producers needed to continue working closely together well into 2018. “We need not only to keep up the pace but continue our coordinated joint actions in full, but also work out a strategy for the future, to which we will stick starting from April 2018,” he said, adding oil demand was rising at a “high pace”. Other ministers said a decision on extending cuts could be taken in November when OPEC holds its next formal meeting. “In November, we’re going to take decisions,” Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino told reporters, adding the group was “evaluating all the options” including an extension to the pact. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 is now trading at more than $56 a barrel, although it is still half the level it was in mid-2014. People walk past the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in front of its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger MARKET REBALANCING Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chaired Friday’s meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, said supply cuts were helping cut global crude inventories to their five-year average, OPEC’s stated target. “Since our last meeting in July, the oil market has markedly improved,” Marzouq said as he opened the Vienna gathering. “The market is now evidently well on its way towards rebalancing.” He said there were a “number of positives” in the market, including stock levels in industrialised OECD states in August that were 170 million barrels above the five-year average, down from 340 million barrels in January. Slideshow (6 Images) He also said oil in floating storage was falling and cited a shift of benchmark Brent prices into backwardation, a market condition in which it is more attractive to sell oil immediately rather than keeping it stored. This indicates tighter supplies. The Kuwaiti minister also said the ministerial monitoring group would continue watching production data, but would also propose a review of export data as well. OPEC officials have said exports have a more direct impact on the international supply than production. The supply pact sets production limits for participating OPEC and non-OPEC states but puts no restrictions on export levels, so some producers have been able to keep exports relatively high by dipping into their stored reserves. In addition, rising crude prices have encouraged U.S. shale oil producers to ramp up output, a further reason why the drawdown on global inventories has taken longer than expected. Ministers from Libya and Nigeria, both OPEC members but exempted from supply curbs as their oil industries recover from years of unrest, were invited to Friday’s meeting. The Kuwaiti minister said the two nations would contribute to supply cut deal once their production stabilises. Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Vladimir Soldatkin and Shadia Nasralla; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-meeting/opec-panel-to-discuss-export-monitoring-oil-pact-extension-idUKKCN1BX0T6'|'2017-09-22T11:10:00.000+03:00'
'37eb2b2868f0b61081e7d470695234d238342ca5'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 21'|'Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesIndian billionaire Anil Agarwal is raising his stake in Anglo American Plc after announcing plans to buy up to 1.5 billion pounds-worth of new shares in the company. ( bit.ly/2fC7V5m )About 480 jobs will be cut at Mitie Group Plc as the struggling outsourcer responds to a series of setbacks including profit warnings, restated accounts, the overhaul of its board and regulatory inquiries. ( bit.ly/2fBRNkp )The GuardianIndia''s Tata Steel Ltd has paved the way for a merger of its European operations with the German steel manufacturer ThyssenKrupp AG, creating Europe''s second largest steel group after ArcelorMittal. ( bit.ly/2fBS4Ut )Bidders for UK stock market listed companies must lay out more detailed plans for their target, including location of its head office and research and development investment, under proposed rules put forward by the takeover watchdog and backed by the government. ( bit.ly/2fCabcN )The TelegraphThe City''s top lobby group has urged Theresa May to get a move on with a Brexit transition deal as she prepares for a landmark speech in Italy on Friday. TheCityUK has slammed the lack of progress made on agreeing a transitional arrangement since the EU referendum and called for urgent action to limit damage to the City. ( bit.ly/2fALmh9 )German energy giant Eon is in talks to sell its stake in the fossil fuel and trading company Uniper to Finnish utility Fortum for 3.8 billion euros ($4.51 billion). ( bit.ly/2fBUu5v )Sky NewsDominic Chappell, the businessman at the helm of BHS when it collapsed last year, has denied charges linked to an investigation by The Pensions Regulator. ( bit.ly/2fBVeHP )The finance director of the Co-operative Bank, John Worth, is to step down weeks after the lender concluded a 700 million pound ($944.58 million) rescue deal designed to secure its long-term future. ( bit.ly/2fzUeDN )The IndependentA London and San Francisco-based cyber security firm, Digital Shadows, has raised $26 million in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures, an early backer of Zoopla and LOVEFilm, to support its expansion into markets such as Asia. ( ind.pn/2fBIJfm )$1 = 0.8418 euros $1 = 0.7411 pounds Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-21-idUSL4N1M15XG'|'2017-09-21T02:42:00.000+03:00'
'bf1db8620aa67bded53015e4be256e5fb63d3378'|'E.ON CFO defends plan to sell Uniper stake to Fortum - BoeZ'|'September 23, 2017 / 1:15 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago E.ON CFO defends plan to sell Uniper stake to Fortum: BoeZ 2 Min Read E.ON headquarters in Essen, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German utility E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) has good reason to try and sell its remaining stake in Uniper, the mainly fossil-fuels based power stations and trading business it spun off last year, to Finland’s Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ), its chief financial officer Marc Spieker said in an interview with Boersenzeitung (BoeZ). News broke this week that talks for Fortum to pay 3.8 billion euros ($4.54 billion) for E.ON’s 47-percent shareholding are advanced but Uniper ( UN01.DE ) responded with dismay, saying the bid was not welcome as it could manage well on its own. “The objective of splitting up our company right from the beginning was to create two separately functioning companies which can and must take their own decisions,” Spieker said. “Fortum has spoken positively about Uniper and its management and declared its intention to be a strategic, constructive investor,” he added. Analysts have said Uniper fears it could be broken up by Fortum, which focuses on carbon-free power. Spieker also said that E.ON was planning to raise its payout ratio beyond the current minimum 65 percent after two successive hikes from 50 percent - first to 60 percent, then to 65 percent - over the past six months. The last increase was “an interim step on the road to a payout ration that can measure up to our relevant competitors”, he said. He also said E.ON, which in first-half 2017 reduced debt to 21.5 billion euros from 26 billion, would continue to cut debt through savings, asset sales and organic growth. “In future, we can grow our power distribution grid business by between three and four percent instead of two to three percent up to now,” he said. Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Andrew Bolton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-e-on-uniper-m-a/e-on-cfo-defends-plan-to-sell-uniper-stake-to-fortum-boez-idUKKCN1BY0JT'|'2017-09-23T15:59:00.000+03:00'
'59ed02be279ec91fcaec43590458daab35f24c8c'|'Sleep pods are becoming increasingly common at airports'|'IN THEORY, overnight air travel should be wonderfully convenient. Instead of booking a hotel for the night and losing a day, travellers simply sleep while they fly. In reality, sleeping on a plane is hard, and at an airport tougher still. The chairs in terminals, nobody’s idea of comfort to begin with, tend to have armrests that make splaying out unfeasible. Even in business-class lounges, travellers contort themselves into impossible shapes to pretend that workspace desks are actually beds.But soon there may be less need for such acrobatics. Sleep pods are coming to more and more airports. Last month, Washington Dulles International put out a call for proposals for a company to provide “a quiet and comfortable place within the airport to sleep, relax, or work while waiting to board a flight”. Mexico City’s airport has just added sleep pods with a space-age design for $30 a night. YotelAir, which offers pods in Amsterdam, London and Paris, is a touch more expensive at $42 for four hours. Dearer still is Minute Suites, which has operations in three American airports with a fourth coming later this year. Its prices start at $32 an hour. NapCity, which is yet to sign its first lease, will charge $45 for the first hour and a slightly lower rate after that. The concept is not new. Japan opened its first capsule hotels in the late 1970s. But today sleep pods seem to be on the verge of conquering Western airports. And they have taken on a distinctly Western style, leaving behind the Asian model—often little more than a mattress and the minimum requisite space for a human body. Some have televisions and charging stations and sell items such as toothbrushes.That is great news for flyers. But the bigger question for the future of sleep pods is whether they make sense for airports.One concern may be revenue. Airports generally take a cut of the money that retailers in the terminal make. That is by no means pocket change. The founder of one capsule hotel company told Bloomberg that a single seat in a restaurant can generate $20,000 a year. It is unclear whether sleeping pods, even the most-compact of which take up the space of a couple of restaurant seats, will generate returns that big. And so airports may think twice before giving up room to them.Airports also may be wary of creating new competition for nearby hotels. They enjoy a good relationship with these hotels, which offer lodging for airline crews and stranded passengers, and send shuttles to and from the airports. Hoteliers would surely balk if airports cosied up to their cheaper and more-convenient rivals.But travellers are willing to do a lot for a good night’s sleep. Take, for example, the new bus service that runs from Los Angeles to San Francisco, which Gulliver recently reported on . It goes out of its way to take longer so that passengers can get eight hours of rest. Whether airports will be equally willing to let its customers get some shut-eye remains to be seen.Next Ryanair’s mass cancellations are a problem of its own making'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/getting-some-shut-eye?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-22T23:07:00.000+03:00'
'1c8d8f9273ef503b49fd65e53f2e74c418f0f91b'|'ADP rejects Ackman''s request to use universal proxy card'|'Sept 22 (Reuters) - Automatic Data Processing Inc rejected billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman’s request to use a universal proxy card during the human resources outsourcing company’s annual shareholder meeting.Switching to the universal voting card process from the customary voting process in electing board members would result in "significant risks of confusion and disenfranchisement", ADP said in a letter to Ackman on Friday. ( bit.ly/2ywirms )In a separate filing on Friday, ADP said a review of the activist investor''s three nominees, including Ackman, showed they would not "bring additive skills or experience" to the company. ( bit.ly/2fFQT67 )ADP shareholders are expected to elect new board members at the company’s annual meeting on Nov. 7.Ackman, whose hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management owns an 8.3 percent stake in ADP, spoke to retail investors on Wednesday, asking the less affluent but hugely influential group to help him win a proxy contest with the company.Pershing Square did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/adp-ackman/adp-rejects-ackmans-request-to-use-universal-proxy-card-idINL4N1M34Y5'|'2017-09-22T19:46:00.000+03:00'
'e9a6d99156fad93b7ed2b1ed5fefe3fc95bea943'|'UPDATE 1-Arison in deal to sell 49 pct of Bank Hapoalim''s major shareholder'|'(Adds comment from Arison, details, background, share reaction)TEL AVIV, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Billionaire Shari Arison has signed a non-binding agreement to sell 49 percent of Arison Holdings, through which she holds a controlling 20 percent stake in Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, to financial institutions in North America.Arison’s 20 percent share in Hapoalim, Israel’s biggest bank, is valued at 6.5 billion shekels ($1.9 billion).The price will be calculated according to Arison Holdings’ equity, based on a valuation for Hapoalim of 24.82 shekels a share, Arison Holdings said on Sunday. Arison said there was no certainty that a deal, which requires approval from the Bank of Israel, will be completed.The potential buyers - two financial institutions and one investment group - do not yet have any strategic investments in Israel. They would enter the controlling shareholder group in Hapoalim as long-term strategic investors.“Once the transaction will be completed, we will act together with our new partners, and with the bank’s management and employees, to enhance responsible long-term growth, for the benefit of all stakeholders, customers, and the Israeli market,” Arison Holdings said in a statement.The Arison family has controlled Hapoalim for two decades. Arison’s father Ted, who made his fortune as founder of Carnival Cruise Line, was part of a consortium that bought control of the bank from the government. Arison, Israel’s wealthiest woman, has since bought out her partners.Hapoalim’s shares were up 1.8 percent at 24.55 shekels at midday in Tel Aviv.Hapoalim is embroiled in an investigation by U.S. authorities regarding suspected tax evasion by the bank’s U.S. clients. ($1 = 3.4913 shekels) (Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Steven Scheer and Toby Chopra) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bank-hapoalim-arison/update-1-arison-in-deal-to-sell-49-pct-of-bank-hapoalims-major-shareholder-idINL5N1M505Q'|'2017-09-24T07:19:00.000+03:00'
'ceacc6a1c4d22ac23c50cce0eb3d70a9368cd4fe'|'Australia''s east faces gas shortfall in 2018, 2019 - market operator'|'MELBOURNE, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Eastern Australia faces a gas shortfall that could be as high as as 17 percent of market demand in 2018, the nation’s energy market operator said on Monday in a report that could lead the government to curb gas exports.“Based on the most recent information from industry, together with AEMO’s forecast demand, gas supply remains tight in eastern and south-eastern Australia in 2018 and 2019, and there remains a risk of a supply shortfall,” Australian Energy Market Operator Chief Executive Audrey Zibelman said in a statement. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/australia-gas/australias-east-faces-gas-shortfall-in-2018-2019-market-operator-idINL4N1M61F4'|'2017-09-25T00:25:00.000+03:00'
'ddd82952e5a6a28c7445646c979667fc4f2c1206'|'Assured Guaranty says ready to help Hartford city avoid bankruptcy'|'  12:41 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Assured Guaranty says ready to help Hartford city avoid bankruptcy Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 25 (Reuters) - Securities insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd said on Monday it is willing to issue Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, a general obligation bond that could help the city avoid filing for bankruptcy. Hartford would likely seek to file for bankruptcy if the state does not have a budget in place in 60 days, Mayor Luke Bronin had warned earlier this month. Assured Guaranty said it had it had met with the leadership of Hartford, members of the governor’s staff, and other state and local representatives about the city’s fiscal challenges. The Bermuda-based company said the general obligation (GO) bond refinancing “takes advantage of new state legislation and reduces and levels the city’s annual GO bond debt service over the next 15 years.” Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/hartford-finances-assured-guaranty/assured-guaranty-says-ready-to-help-hartford-city-avoid-bankruptcy-idUSL4N1M6453'|'2017-09-25T15:41:00.000+03:00'
'36f883c7291277d450986d493c57eac9a255e537'|'Talks continuing with Shell about Iraq''s Majnoon oil field, oil minister says'|'September 24, 2017 / 10:54 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Talks continuing with Shell about Iraq''s Majnoon oil field, oil minister says Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A view of Iraq''s Majnoon oilfield in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad, October 6, 2013. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Sunday talks are continuing with Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) on the Majnoon oil field that the company is said to be seeking to quit. “There are still negotiations, things are not clear,” Luaibi told a news conference in Baghdad. “We haven’t initiated talks with other companies.” A letter signed by Luaibi, dated Aug. 23 and seen by Reuters, gave approval for Shell to quit Majnoon, a major oilfield near Basra which started production in 2014. Industry sources told Reuters last year that Shell was considering selling out of its oil fields in Iraq as part of its global $30 billion asset disposal programme. Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-oil-field/talks-continuing-with-shell-about-iraqs-majnoon-oil-field-oil-minister-says-idUKKCN1BZ0BB'|'2017-09-24T13:53:00.000+03:00'
'64193b60a0372df9bd67b3b2ef6537f6d7e9d2e7'|'A private solution for China’s zombie company problem? Unlikely'|'May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks May sets out transition plan in bid to unlock Brexit talks Reuters TV United States September 23, 2017 / 11:28 PM / a few seconds ago A private solution for China’s zombie company problem? Unlikely Julie Zhu , Sumeet Chatterjee 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An employee sits at the reception of the headquarters building of China Life insurance in Beijing, China, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s latest push to revive its bloated state-owned sector is set to pick up pace this year, with bankers and investors expecting possible spin-offs and asset sales to follow a key Communist Party Congress in October. But the effort is likely to only involve a limited role for private money, even as Beijing has been promoting it as crucial for reforming state-owned enterprises (SOEs), according to people familiar with China’s plans. Beijing would likely lean on cash-rich SOEs like China Life Insurance ( 601628.SS ) and Citic Group Corporation to bail out the largest of the struggling companies, the people said. They cited China Life stepping in to help China Unicom ( 0762.HK ) raise $12 billion last month. A limited role for private capital would raise questions about the depth of any overhaul of the SOEs. China hopes to speed up the reforms in order to meet ambitious economic growth targets and manage its corporate debt burden. “The current model allows winners, companies doing better, to partially own those doing worse,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis. “In other words, this is a reshuffling of profit, loss among SOEs to a large extent.” China Life is in talks with China Three Gorges New Energy, a unit of the country’s top hydropower developer, according to sources familiar with the matter. They said it could also be critical to others in line for so-called mixed ownership, the injection of private capital into state enterprises. Those companies include China Southern Power Grid, China State Shipbuilding Corp and China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Corporation.. China Life and Citic Group did not respond to requests for comment. China’s state-run companies dominate the country’s key industries, from banking to insurance, energy, and telecoms. They retain an edge over their private rivals in investing both locally and overseas, in part thanks to easier financing. But they also produce lower returns than their private counterparts and account for the biggest proportion of the bad loans on the books of the country’s banks. The fund raising by Unicom, a state-owned telecoms group, had sparked hopes for the mixed ownership effort, as outlined in a 2015 government plan. The partial privatization of Unicom in August, involving 14 investors, including the tech giants Alibaba ( BABA.N ) and Tencent ( 0700.HK ), was welcomed by markets. But, as Beijing balanced the need for cash with the need for control, China Life ended up with a 10.6 percent stake in the company, nearly a third of the total sold. New investors, including China Life, were given three of 15 board seats. “For the SOE reforms to really take off, the ownership of these companies should be truly diversified both in terms of equity holding as well as governance,” said a Beijing-based lawyer who works with the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning body, and private companies. FILE PHOTO: Company logos of China Unicom are displayed at a news conference during the company''s announcement of its annual results in Hong Kong, China March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo “That will be difficult to achieve: there is no incentive for private enterprises to invest in most of these state-owned firms,” said the lawyer, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. “So it will be basically a case of using one SOE’s cash balance to try and revive another.” The NDRC and SASAC did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. CAPITAL RAISING, BY INVITATION Private capital is still expected to play an increasing role. Responding to stagnating foreign direct investment and even a possible decline this year, China said last month that it would become more open to international investors - its latest statement about opening up to foreign cash. FILE PHOTO: A logo on the CITIC Building is pictured next to a construction site in Beijing, China June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo That includes areas like banking, insurance and securities, where foreign ownership limitations have long grated on overseas companies trying to penetrate the China market. And bankers - with one eye on next month’s Party Congress - expect the post-October wave of state enterprise reform to be more than just tie-ups. It could, some said, extend to smaller sales of unwanted, undervalued assets that may be more attractive to private investors, if they are allowed control. The Party Congress “will be a very important inflection point,” Wei Sun Christianson, China chief executive and Asia Pacific co-chief executive for Morgan Stanley, said at a conference this month, referring to possible sales or spin-offs in the aftermath. “All of that creates opportunities for investors.” For now, the playing field is favoring the likes of China Life. China Three Gorges New Energy, its next likely investment, according to the people familiar with the matter, is planning to raise about $1.5 billion from new investors. Other potential investors in China Three Gorges, the next enterprise to receive outside cash, are also state-backed – and there is tepid interest from private investors in the company, said one of the people who has knowledge of the process. We “will actively participate in the next round of mixed-ownership reforms,” China Life’s chairman, Yang Mingsheng, said at an earnings news conference last month. But while some mixed-ownership candidates hold little appeal for private cash, some private players will be considering more than just returns when they weigh their role in China’s reform push. “In China, you can’t always think about how to make money,” said one private investor who joined Unicom’s fundraising drive. “You also need to take part in such reforms to show your support for the government’s policy.” Reporting by Julie Zhu and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Philip McClellan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-soe-reforms-analysis/a-private-solution-for-chinas-zombie-company-problem-unlikely-idUKKCN1BY10Q'|'2017-09-24T02:13:00.000+03:00'
'5be6e4a92455edd08a6c52db722b90b38d77dac5'|'Ghanaian subsidiaries of Tigo, Bharti Airtel cleared for potential merger'|'September 23, 2017 / 6:10 PM / Updated 30 minutes ago Ghanaian subsidiaries of Tigo, Bharti Airtel cleared for potential merger Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) regulator granted conditional approval for a merger between the local operations of Millicom’s Tigo and Bharti Airtel ( BRTI.NS ), a notice to employees of the subsidiaries said. The two networks agreed in March to combine their operations based on equal ownership and governance rights. It is the first such joint venture proposed in Ghana’s highly competitive telecom sector. Put together, the new entity would become Ghana’s second largest mobile operator serving around 10 million subscribers with revenues close to $300 million. South Africa’s MTN (MTNJ.J) is leading mobile operator in Ghana, followed by Britain’s Vodafone ( VOD.L ). Others are Globacom of Nigeria and Sudan’s Sudatel Expresso. “Kindly note that on Thursday, Sept. 14, we received a conditional approval from the National Communications Authority on the planned Tigo Ghana and Airtel Ghana merger,” according to a notice to Airtel and Tigo employees seen by Reuters. It did not provide details of the conditions set in the approval but added that further information would be shared once discussion around the approval is closed. Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Stephen Powell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ghana-telecom/ghanaian-subsidiaries-of-tigo-bharti-airtel-cleared-for-potential-merger-idUKKCN1BY0VN'|'2017-09-23T21:10:00.000+03:00'
'f7818cc4a501bf2e6d380944a968b8661c1fcaba'|'UK food delivery firm Deliveroo raises $385 million for expansion'|'September 24, 2017 / 10:32 AM / Updated 3 hours ago UK food delivery firm Deliveroo raises $385 million for expansion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A cyclist delivers food for Deliveroo in London, Britain, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - British takeaway food delivery firm Deliveroo has raised $385 million in new funding, the firm said in a statement on Sunday which set out that the money would help establish operations in new areas of the country and overseas. The firm said the funding round brought its total valuation to more than $2 billion and would allow it to expand into new “towns, cities and countries”, enlarge its technology team, and work with restaurants to develop delivery-only kitchens. Deliveroo operates in over 150 cities across 12 countries. The funding is led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research Company, the company said. “We are excited to see this capital put to use to build out their Editions concept and expand their geographic footprint,” said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund. Like taxi app Uber, which was stripped of its London operating license on Friday, Deliveroo has been criticized by unions who say it is exploiting its staff by not offering basic protections and some riders are pursuing legal action to push for workers’ rights. Deliveroo has previously said it would give its self-employed riders insurance and sick pay if the government changed the law so it could offer some, rather than all, the entitlements enjoyed by workers. Reporting by William James; Editing by Toby Chopra '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deliveroo-fundraising/uk-food-delivery-firm-deliveroo-raises-385-million-for-expansion-idUKKCN1BZ0AN'|'2017-09-24T13:29:00.000+03:00'
'a9ee2f93aa5b2c93a59bb91673add9dba8cb0185'|'French state bank BPI to fund projects in Iran, CEO tells paper'|'September 24, 2017 / 11:16 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago French state bank BPI to fund projects in Iran, CEO tells paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of French Public Investment Bank (BPI) is seen on the BPI headquarters at Maisons-Alfort near Paris March 16, 2015. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - Bpifrance, the country’s state investment bank, will finance investment projects of French companies in Iran from 2018, granting up to 500 million euros ($598 million) in annual credits, its CEO said in a newspaper interview on Sunday. “Excluding a force majeure case, we will be on their side in early 2018. We are the only French bank that can do it without risking U.S. sanctions for a possible breach of remaining embargo rules,” Nicolas Dufourcq told Le Journal du Dimanche. The deal Iran struck in 2015 with six major powers lifted many sanctions against the country in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities and paved the way for international business deals. But many banks have stayed away for fear of inadvertently breaking remaining U.S. sanctions, which could lead to huge fines. Because the BPI has no operations abroad, notably in the United States, it is not exposed to possible fines for U.S. sanctions breaches. U.S. President Donald Trump has created new uncertainties over the U.S. stance towards the Iran nuclear agreement. Trump told reporters this week that he had made a decision on what to do about the agreement but would not say what he had decided. Several Franco-Iranian deals were announced during Iran President Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to Paris in January last year. These included a joint venture between carmakers PSA Peugeot Citroen ( PEUP.PA ) and Iran Khodro as well as plans for Iran to buy Airbus ( AIR.PA ) aircraft to update its ageing fleet. There were also deals in the oil, shipping, health, agriculture and water sectors. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-bpi-iran/french-state-bank-bpi-to-fund-projects-in-iran-ceo-tells-paper-idUKKCN1BZ0C2'|'2017-09-24T14:16:00.000+03:00'
'6612d927079711820d5d9d0d0f8a6dd12f965f06'|'Lufthansa offering to pay 200 mln euros for Air Berlin - BamS'|'FRANKFURT, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Lufthansa is offering to pay 200 million euros ($239 million) to buy its insolvent smaller rival Air Berlin and is prepared to pay up to 100 million euros to meet operating costs to keep the airline going in the interim, newspaper Bild am Sonntag (BamS) said on Sunday.Citing sources close to the proceedings, the paper said that there could be three months between signing a purchasing contract and implementing the transaction because the German and European competition authorities would first need to vet any deal, BamS said.On filing for insolvency last month the Berlin government promptly granted Air Berlin a 150 million-euro bridging loan to keep the airline flying for three months. On Thursday Air Berlin’s creditor committee said it would talk to Lufthansa and Britain’s easyJet as possible buyers for the carrier’s aviation business, giving three weeks for negotiations.Sources familiar with the matter said last week Lufthansa was bidding a three-digit millions sum with the offer covering Air Berlin, its leisure airline Niki and regional subsidiary Luftfahrt Gesellschaft Walter.Lufthansa itself has only said it has made an offer for parts of Air Berlin.BamS also said its sources had said next week Air Berlin would have to return planes used on its long haul routes to two companies it leases aircraft from. ($1 = 0.8367 euros)Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-offering-to-pay-200-mln-euros-for-air-berlin-bams-idUSL5N1M40M7'|'2017-09-24T01:01:00.000+03:00'
'c87068b719101ecf3d287aa0e8e443aec5aaf6f8'|'China stock regulator vows crackdown on capital market misbehaviour'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:46 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago China stock regulator vows crackdown on capital market misbehaviour Reuters Staff 1 Min Read An investor is seen in front of an electronic screen showing stock information at a brokerage house in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, September 12, 2016.China Daily/via REUTERS SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s top securities regulator has vowed to crack down hard on misbehaviour including market manipulation, insider trading and collusion with “big crocodiles” in the country’s capital markets. In a statement on Friday on its website, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said its chairman, Liu Shiyu made the comments at a recent internal meeting. Liu, also said regulators should nip illegal activities in the bud, with zero tolerance, according to CSRC. The statement did not say when Liu, who did not identify any of the “big crocodiles”, made his vow to crack down on misbehaviour. Separately, CSRC said on Friday it would simplify disclosure rules regarding corporate restructurings in a bid to shorten the period of share suspensions. Foreign investors have long complained that Chinese companies tend to suspend their share trading for too long a time. Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Richard Borsuk'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-stocks-regulator/china-stock-regulator-vows-crackdown-on-capital-market-misbehaviour-idUKKCN1BX1AN'|'2017-09-22T13:45:00.000+03:00'
'3c93f168fbcd0d3b9c9abdc6b88ed2b43be42a24'|'EU seeks more protection for Uber-style jobs'|'Johnson opposes adopting any new EU rules during Brexit transition Johnson opposes adopting any new EU rules during Brexit transition Johnson opposes adopting any new EU rules during Brexit transition Reuters TV United States September 24, 2017 / 3:54 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago EU seeks more protection for Uber-style jobs 4 Min Read The Uber logo is seen on a screen in Singapore August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission wants more social protection and rights for casual workers, such as those in the “gig economy”, and others with non-standard contracts to try to tackle growing social inequality. The Commission’s consultation document on these plans, seen by Reuters, is part of a broader reworking of the EU’s economic priorities, after pressure from populist forces that accuse Brussels of having pursued ultra-liberal policies to the detriment of workers. The document proposes a substantial review of EU’s social rights that could partly limit workers’ flexibility and reduce the growing insecurity caused by new types of jobs offered by firms like Uber [UBER.UL] and food-delivery service Deliveroo. Brussels is proposing to extend full social protection and other forms of security to all workers, including those on very short-term, part-time and zero-hour contracts who in some EU member countries have lower safeguards. Most EU workers have full-time, permanent contracts, but a growing number of people, especially the young, have jobs with ultra-flexible working hours, no regular pay and fewer employment protections. They accounted for more than one third of the total workforce in the 28-country bloc in 2015 and that share is growing, the commission said in the consultation paper to be presented on Monday. Most of these employees have to work under these conditions in absence of alternatives, the document said. Non-standard workers tend to have lower levels of social and health security and some new contracts, such as casual or voucher-based work, are even more worrying, the commission’s document said. FILE PHOTO: A cyclist rides a bicyle as he delivers food for Deliveroo, an example of the emergence of what is known as the ''gig economy'', in Paris, France, April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo The Commission’s proposals could raise costs for companies like Uber, which is already facing legal disputes in several EU countries and has not had its license renewed in London.. CASUAL? The Commission is proposing that workers should be properly informed about the conditions of their employment and should be given explanations by their employers for not having a permanent contract after a few years in the same job. Casual workers should also be entitled to a minimum number of guaranteed hours “after a predefined continuous period,” the Commission said. But the enhanced protection would not be applicable to self-employed workers, which could provide a loophole for employers such as Uber and Deliveroo. Uber says its drivers are self-employed, although in Britain this categorization has recently been challenged by the government. Other non-standard work contracts, such as paid traineeships and temporary agency work, are also under the Commission’s scrutiny as they “continue to present challenges from the point of view of job security and adequate working conditions,” the consultation document said. To reduce abuses linked to these forms of contracts, Brussels wants to introduce a maximum duration of employee probation. The Commission will initially discuss its plans with trade unions and employers, followed by legislative proposals. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-workers-gigeconomy/eu-seeks-more-protection-for-uber-style-jobs-idUKKCN1BZ0OU'|'2017-09-24T18:50:00.000+03:00'
'd9a7ae57bce194dd23b3b7c61fe0d845f701c190'|'Uber ready to make concessions to reverse London licence decision - paper'|'September 23, 2017 / 9:44 PM / Updated 15 hours ago Uber ready to make concessions to reverse London licence decision - paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A photo illustration shows the Uber app on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. taxi firm Uber is prepared to make concessions as it seeks to reverse a decision by London authorities not to renew its licence in the city, which represents a potentially big blow for the fast-growing company, a newspaper reported. The Sunday Times also quoted sources close to London’s transport body as saying the move was encouraging and suggested the possibility of talks. “While we haven’t been asked to make any changes, we’d like to know what we can do,” Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London, told the newspaper. “But that requires a dialogue we sadly haven’t been able to have recently.” A spokesman for Transport for London (TfL) declined to comment. The Sunday Times said Uber’s concessions were likely to involve passenger safety and benefits for its drivers, possible limits on working hours to improve road safety and holiday pay. TfL stunned the powerful U.S. start-up on Friday when it deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service for safety reasons and stripped it of its licence from Sept. 30, although the company can continue to operate while it appeals. The regulator cited failures to report serious criminal offences, conduct sufficient background checks on drivers and other safety issues. Uber responded by urging users in London to sign a petition that said the city authorities had “caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice”. The move echoed Uber’s strategy in disputes with other cities. By 2200 GMT on Saturday, more than 600,000 people had signed although it was not clear how many of them were in London. A spokesman for Uber said around 20,000 Uber drivers had emailed the city’s mayor directly to object to the decision. Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Paul Simao'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-britain-report/uber-ready-to-make-concessions-to-reverse-london-licence-decision-paper-idUKKCN1BY0ZK'|'2017-09-24T01:38:00.000+03:00'
'f8be03f4a54da96954ce9a2fde09ea983e56ce0c'|'The foolproof way you can stop ID fraud - Money'|'I dentity theft has reached epidemic levels, but a retired GCHQ worker has taken matters into his own hands, literally, with what he claims is a foolproof way of beating fraudsters. Jamie Jamieson uses his thumbprint to protect himself from ID thieves and suggests anyone worried about falling victim to this crime should follow his example.His system costs nothing and is low-tech; it has also received a partial endorsement from one of the UK’s leading experts on credit reporting.For 13 years now, the 69-year-old has added his thumbprint to any application for credit, whether it’s a mobile phone contract, credit card, loan or mortgage. Crucially, he has also put a note on his credit file that states that if his signature is required for any financial product or service, it must be authenticated by his thumbprint. Any application for credit in his name that doesn’t carry his thumbprint must be turned down by the lender, the note says.“If modern technology isn’t working, why not use something as simple as this?” says Jamieson, who worked at the government’s monitoring agency for 25 years. “I and others using the system have never fallen victim to ID theft.”There are several advantages to this method, he says. If someone steals his identity and uses it to fraudulently take out a loan or credit card in his name, he can hold the lender responsible. If there was no thumbprint on the application the lender should not have granted it and it would be 100% the lender’s problem, he says. That’s because credit providers are required to read such notes on people’s credit files when they make an application. So they can’t plead ignorance.If there was a thumbprint on the paperwork and it was not Jamieson’s, it would be easy for him to prove as such. And, of course, it means anyone trying to get a loan in his name would have to give their own thumbprint. Would a fraudster, when confronted with a demand for a print, really provide it, given that it could be passed to the police? There is a UK-wide database called IDENT1 that contains millions of fingerprints of people who have come into contact with the police, which officers investigating crimes are able to search to see if they can get a match.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jamie Jamieson, a former GCHQ worker, has added his thumbprint to his credit file. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian There is a downside to the scheme, however: it could delay genuine credit applications. But if you don’t apply for much credit you may feel this is a price worth paying.Although Jamieson’s idea might sound a little off-the-wall, it’s fair to say that the country’s top financial security experts have yet to find a way to stem the rising tide of ID theft. Last month the UK’s fraud prevention service, Cifas , revealed that during the first six months of this year there were a record 89,000 cases of identity fraud , which typically involves criminals pretending to be individuals in order to buy items or take out financial products in their name. The true figure is almost certainly higher, as some people are too embarrassed to admit they have been scammed.The figures show a sharp rise in identity fraudsters applying for loans, with 11,499 recorded incidents in the six-month period. That is 54% up on the same period last year.Cifas says: “We have seen identity fraud attempts increase year on year and they are now reaching epidemic levels.” Victims often do not realise they have been targeted until a bill arrives for something they didn’t buy or they have problems with their credit rating.Jamieson came up with the thumbprint idea in 2004 after being inspired by a scheme in Inverness and other locations in the early 2000s, a few years before the introduction of chip and pin technology in shops and restaurants. The Inverness thumbprint signature scheme was designed to deter card and cheque fraud, and more than 300 businesses in the Scottish city signed up. People paying for goods with a card or cheque were asked to provide their “thumbprint signature” on the till receipt or the cheque (an ink-less gel was used so it didn’t leave a mark). It was hugely successful: the local police reported that in six months the number of incidents involving card fraud had fallen by 84%, while cheque fraud was down 71%. But the move to chip and pin arguably removed the need for such an initiative.Jamieson, who lives in Scarborough, adapted that idea for his scheme. He latched on to the “notice of correction” which is a short statement people can add to their credit report. It is usually put on to explain something – for example, it might say that you missed a credit card payment, but it was a one-off because you had been made redundant. And anyone can add a notice of correction saying their thumbprint is required on credit applications.It’s workable if you’re not ‘credit active’ ... it does have merits in certain circumstancesNeil Munroe, credit expert Jamieson wrote a notice of correction to that effect (see box) and sent it to the three main credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax and Callcredit – which added it to the reports they hold on him. In 2007 Equifax gave his initiative its backing, but Jamieson says: “Credit reference agencies and financial institutions should be publicising this. It doesn’t prove you are who you say you are instantly, but it deters someone from pretending to be you. It can prove your innocence while helping to detect a thief. And it acts as a warning to banks and lenders of a possible fraud attempt.”Neil Munroe, an expert on credit reporting, says: “It’s workable if you’re not ‘credit active’. That’s where Jamieson is coming from, he wants to protect himself. I wouldn’t necessarily advocate it for everyone, but it does have merits in certain circumstances.”So what are the downsides? The biggest is that if there is a notice of correction on your credit file, a credit application has to be processed manually. Experian says of Jamieson’s scheme: “The industry generally doesn’t recommend this, particularly with the prominence of online applications.” It says that adding a fingerprint request means applications can’t be processed automatically, so they are referred to an individual to be manually reviewed, thereby prolonging the process. However, Experian suggests that if someone has recently been a victim of identity fraud, or there is a high risk of them being defrauded, they could add a notice of correction password to their credit report.Munroe believes the thumbprint scheme might not be suitable for people who make a lot of applications or younger customers who want credit quickly. However, Jamieson says it doesn’t always cause delays. When he took out a mobile phone contract at Carphone Warehouse a couple of years ago, the credit provider, which must have seen his note, asked to speak to him on the shop’s phone. He signed and thumbprinted the credit agreement there and then, which was accepted. “Would you do that in a shop if you were using stolen information?” he says.Writing a notice for your file Facebook Twitter Pinterest Using a thumbprint for all credit applications could protect you from fraudsters. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian Jamieson sent a notice of correction to the three main credit reference agencies. It states: “I, Jamie Jamieson, of [his address], do hereby declare that when my signature is required for any financial product or service, I will authenticate it with my thumbprint. Failure by me to comply with this direction should result in the service or product being withheld. Any application without a thumbprint should be considered fraudulent. I will inform you in writing, signed and thumbprinted, of any changes to this notice of correction.”To follow his example you should include your full name, address, date of birth and contact details. You may be able to submit the notice online or via email. Experian , Equifax and Callcredit also have postal addresses.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/23/foolproof-way-to-stop-id-fraud-credit-file-thumbprint'|'2017-09-23T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'400e9aa61c7054e553468cb6c46ec997e2b8004c'|'UPDATE 1-Chevron to invest $4 billion to boost Permian Basin output'|'* Chevron plans to boost its Permian output to over 400,000 bpd* Expects that to happen over next few years (Adds comment, detail)SINGAPORE, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Oil major Chevron Corp will next year invest around $4 billion to ramp up its crude production in the Permian Basin area of the United States, a company executive said on Monday.Ryan Krogmeier, Chevron’s vice president of crude supply and trading, told the S&P Global Platts APPEC conference in Singapore that the company would increase its output from the Permian Basin, largely situated in Texas and New Mexico, to over 400,000 barrels per day over the next few years.“We will be investing roughly $4 billion, next year, of capital in the Permian Basin, and we plan to grow production over the next several years to well in excess of 400,000 bpd,” he said.Chevron expects crude oil output from all producers operating in Permian to rise by 1.4 million bpd in 2020, from 2.4 million bpd at present.“The Permian is the powerhouse (of U.S. crude output growth),” Krogmeier added. (Reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Richard Pullin and Joseph Radford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-oil-appec-permian/update-1-chevron-to-invest-4-billion-to-boost-permian-basin-output-idINL4N1M62WD'|'2017-09-25T06:25:00.000+03:00'
'e3e14507899aff78e7f1567b8e5b1f627cf6ccd5'|'Siemens likely to pick Alstom for rail merger on Tuesday -sources'|' 40 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Siemens likely to pick Alstom for rail merger on Tuesday: sources Alexander Hübner , Georgina Prodhan 2 Min Read A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido MUNICH/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) is likely to decide on Tuesday to pursue a rail merger with French rival Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) rather than Canada’s Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. “I think Alstom will make it,” one of the people said on Monday. The second person said the Siemens supervisory board would decide the matter on Tuesday, also describing Alstom as the frontrunner. Siemens is expected to hold just over 50 percent of the shares in the intended joint venture, while the chief executive would come from Alstom. A Siemens spokesman declined to comment on the possible merger, which would create a business with combined sales of nearly 15 billion euros ($18 billion). Alstom was not immediately available to comment. The decision would be a blow for planes-and-trains maker Bombardier, which faces a separate battle this week to protect aerospace jobs in Quebec and Northern Ireland amid a subsidy row with Boeing ( BA.N ). Bombardier shares fell sharply on Friday after a report that Siemens was in advanced talks with Alstom. Siemens shares were up 0.4 percent by 1026 GMT (5.26 a.m ET) on Monday, while Alstom shares were up 0.7 percent. Additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Arno Schuetze and Victoria Bryan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens/siemens-likely-to-pick-alstom-for-rail-merger-on-tuesday-sources-idUKKCN1C017K'|'2017-09-25T13:24:00.000+03:00'
'5c4646796a0b3a3e932eaa6009294515e907de46'|'Siemens likely to pick Alstom for rail merger on Tuesday -sources'|'MUNICH/FRANKFURT, Sept 25 (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens is likely to decide on Tuesday to pursue a rail merger with French rival Alstom rather than Canada’s Bombardier, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.“I think Alstom will make it,” one of the people said on Monday. The second person said the Siemens supervisory board would decide the matter on Tuesday, also describing Alstom as the frontrunner.A Siemens spokesman declined to comment on the matter, while Alstom was not immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Arno Schuetze)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/alstom-siemens/siemens-likely-to-pick-alstom-for-rail-merger-on-tuesday-sources-idINF9N1LL00L'|'2017-09-25T08:24:00.000+03:00'
'9154b8fde7f749335d3be7d4f846f1b743ea1784'|'French state bank BPI to fund projects in Iran, CEO tells paper'|'PARIS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Bpifrance, the country’s state investment bank, will finance investment projects of French companies in Iran from 2018, granting up to 500 million euros ($598 million) in annual credits, its CEO said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.“Excluding a force majeure case, we will be on their side in early 2018. We are the only French bank that can do it without risking U.S. sanctions for a posssible breach of remaining embargo rules,” Nicolas Dufourcq told Le Journal du Dimanche.The deal Iran struck in 2015 with six major powers lifted many sanctions against the country in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities and paved the way for international business deals.But many banks have stayed away for fear of inadvertently breaking remaining U.S. sanctions, which could lead to huge fines.Because the BPI has no operations abroad, notably in the United States, it is not exposed to possible fines for U.S. sanctions breaches.U.S. President Donald Trump has created new uncertainties over the U.S. stance towards the Iran nuclear agreement. Trump told reporters this week that he had made a decision on what to do about the agreement but would not say what he had decided.Several Franco-Iranian deals were announced during Iran President Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to Paris in January last year. These included a joint venture between carmakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Iran Khodro as well as plans for Iran to buy Airbus aircraft to update its ageing fleet.There were also deals in the oil, shipping, health, agriculture and water sectors. ($1 = 0.8367 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by David Goodman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/france-bpi-iran/french-state-bank-bpi-to-fund-projects-in-iran-ceo-tells-paper-idINL5N1M50A7'|'2017-09-24T09:04:00.000+03:00'
'c46cfcb7948d8066bd78fd2861d993ca98115844'|'ECB''s Weidmann says should be no veto on nationality of Draghi''s successor'|'September 24, 2017 / 2:09 PM / Updated 2 hours ago ECB''s Weidmann says should be no veto on nationality of Draghi''s successor Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann gives a speech at the German Banking Congress in Berlin, Germany, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann, touted as a possible successor to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi when his term expires in 2019, said on Sunday there should be no veto on the ECB’s next boss based on nationality. In an interview broadcast by Italian state television RAI, the German central banker was asked about comments by former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, who recently said it would be a “disaster” if Weidmann took Draghi’s job. “I did not know that. But could you imagine what would be Italy’s reaction if in Germany someone said `absolutely no way’ to the appointment of an Italian at the helm of the ECB?” Weidmann said. “The same would apply in the case of a Greek or a Belgian colleague. If we start excluding certain countries ... well, that is not the idea of Europe that I have in mind and it would certainly not strengthen the image of the EU and of the euro.” The 49-year-old Weidmann has been president of Germany’s central bank since May 2011 and his term is due to end in April 2019. Draghi, an Italian national, has been at the helm of the ECB since November 2011 and his term expires at the end of October 2019. Der Spiegel reported earlier this month that France and Italy had signaled they were open to a German becoming head of the ECB, but not Weidmann, who has often criticized Draghi’s quantitative-easing program. Paris and Rome fear he would oppose the same kind of ultra-loose monetary policy if he were in charge, according to Der Siegel. Reporting by Silvia Aloisi '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-weidmann-succession/ecbs-weidmann-says-should-be-no-veto-on-nationality-of-draghis-successor-idUKKCN1BZ0HA'|'2017-09-24T17:01:00.000+03:00'
'df02dbe29d4fadb47039a898cd613ae3dc55205f'|'Smiths profit rises on strength in security scanners unit'|' 19 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Smiths profit rises on strength in security scanners unit   Engineering conglomerate Smiths Group Plc ( SMIN.L ) posted a 17 percent rise in full-year pre-tax profit on Friday, helped by growth in its security scanners business. Smiths Group, a provider of hospital equipment, industrial services and sensors to detect explosives, said pre-tax profit rose to 528 million pounds for the year ended July 31 from 451 million pounds a year ago. The FTSE 100 company’s revenue rose 11 percent to 3.28 billion pounds. Analysts were expecting revenue of 3.296 billion pounds, according to company-compiled estimates. ($1 = 0.7359 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-smiths-group-results/british-engineer-smiths-profit-rises-on-strength-in-security-scanners-unit-idUKKCN1BX0HS'|'2017-09-22T09:21:00.000+03:00'
'fe90bd11334b586156c99ef430cd95aa6ce4b9d9'|'Venture fundraising in yuan soars as investors target Chinese tech firms'|'  11:19 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Venture fundraising in yuan soars as investors target Chinese tech firms Elzio Barreto 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A statue of a bull is displayed outside the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen October 23, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China-focused venture capital funds are increasing their bets on local technology companies and a further opening of Chinese domestic capital markets, raising money in the yuan at the fastest pace in five years. Fund managers have raised 95.8 billion yuan ($14.54 billion) this year through late September in funds denominated in the Chinese currency, which is also known as the renminbi, compared with 56.7 billion yuan in all of 2016. That puts 2017 on pace to be the biggest year since 2012, when 145.8 billion yuan was raised, according to data provider Preqin. There are currently 78 funds looking to raise as much as another 1.15 trillion yuan over the next couple of years, Preqin said, most of it coming from mammoth-sized state-owned entities and so-called government guidance funds, which seek to foster domestic innovation in different industries from advanced engineering and robotics to biotechnology and clean energy. Those include the 350 billion yuan sought by the China Structural Reform Fund, 200 billion yuan targeted by the China State-Owned Capital Venture Investment Fund and a proposed 150 billion yuan for the state-owned Enterprise National Innovation Fund. The enormous size of the fundraising ambitions of the Chinese state-backed funds means it may take some time before they reach their final goals. The China Structural Reform Fund, which was launched in 2016, has raised 20 percent of its registered capital and its president said in an interview with Caixin Global that funding will be completed by the end of 2018. “We’re at the all-time highest of capital-raising high water marks, with a tsunami of government-backed entities seeding incubators, VC funds, locally, provincially, nationally,” said Peter Fuhrman, CEO of China-focused investment bank China First Capital. “China has a lot of money in its government apparatus. It wants to seed innovation and entrepreneurship and this is how it’s doing it.” The surge contrasts with the slowdown in seed financing for start ups in the United States, which is down for the past two years. It also compares with flat growth expected for U.S. venture capital fundraising in 2017, according to estimates from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). CATCHING ENTREPRENEURS Firms such as Lightspeed China Partners, Morningside Venture Capital, GGV Capital and investment and merchant bank Ion Pacific that previously only had U.S. dollar funds are launching their first funds in yuan. Others like Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital China and China Renaissance that have raised funds in both currencies are adding to their yuan cash pile with new funds. Key to those firms is to not lose potential investment opportunities in sectors closed to foreign investors or miss out on investing with the Chinese entrepreneurs who now want to list their companies locally instead of in the United States. “Catching the right entrepreneurs in the ecosystem is our number one priority, so currencies to us are just tools, those are the tools that I need to catch these entrepreneurs,” said Harry Man, partner at Matrix Partners China, which has funds in both currencies. “That’s why if you don’t have RMB in your hand, ultimately you’ll be missing 50 percent of the deals. Then you’ll be forced to raise an RMB fund and that’s why everybody is doing it.” Sequoia Capital China, which backed top Chinese technology firms such as Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ), is looking to raise at least 10 billion yuan for a new fund, while Hillhouse Capital, an early investor in companies including Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ), Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ) and JD.com Inc ( JD.O ), is targeting about 8 billion yuan for its fund, sources told Reuters. The investment management arm of securities firm China Renaissance is also adding to its yuan reserves with a new fund worth about 6 billion yuan, according to a person familiar with the plans who couldn’t be named because details of the fundraising aren’t yet public. Ion Pacific is raising 1 billion yuan for its debut fund in the Chinese currency, while GGV Capital is about to close fundraising for its first yuan-denominated fund. “Some sectors don’t allow foreign investors, so for example, in the culture and media industry you need to apply for certain licenses like video licenses and you need to be a local investor,” said Helen Wong, a partner at Qiming Venture Partners. “Now the IPO window is open for the local stock market, so that encourages a lot of companies to go for a local listing,” she added, in reference to the increase in IPO approvals by regulators in 2017 that is prompting more companies to start preparations to go public. Previously, a slow approval process and long queue of companies waiting for clearance dissuaded many from those plans. The shift would give an added boost to the Shenzhen and Shanghai bourses. China has had 322 new listings this year, raising a combined $22.9 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed. This already surpasses the 252 for all of 2016, even after the country’s securities regulator slowed the number of weekly IPO approvals in May. It could also reduce the influence of the Nasdaq and New York stock exchanges, where many Chinese technology companies previously flocked when they went public. “For the RMB side, you see more companies in restricted sectors like healthcare and media and certain parts of cleantech that needs government support to get started,” said Hans Tung, managing partner at GGV Capital. “You also see companies in the fintech space and a lot of them need a license to operate a business in the financial services industry, so they tend to want to list in China.” ($1 = 6.5880 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Martin Howell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-venturecapital-analysis/venture-fundraising-in-yuan-soars-as-investors-target-chinese-tech-firms-idUKKCN1BW35F'|'2017-09-22T02:20:00.000+03:00'
'a62ad72127ed8488fea7fec45fc3eb364f017c46'|'Air Berlin says on way to securing jobs with Lufthansa, easyJet bids'|'BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) hopes to conclude talks with Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) on a carve-up of its assets by the middle of next month as it races to secure jobs and keep flying.Air Berlin, which has around 8,000 employees, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad said it would stop providing funding.The German government stepped in with a 150 million euro ($178 million) loan, due to last until the end of October, to prevent the airline being grounded so that talks could be held on selling its assets.Lufthansa has bid for units including leisure airline Niki and regional carrier LGW plus around 13 A320 jets, while easyJet ( EZJ.L ) has bid for 27-30 planes, Air Berlin administrator Frank Kebekus said on Monday. Talks will run until Oct 12.Related Coverage Securing jobs must be top priority for Air Berlin: German ministerThose two bids, beating out rivals such as British Airways parent IAG ( ICAG.L ), Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor and other investors, offered the best prospects financially and in terms of securing jobs for Air Berlin’s 8,000 staff, he said.Lufthansa has said it will need 3,000 new employees to grow as a result of the gap left by the Air Berlin insolvency.Its budget unit Eurowings on Monday extended a recruitment drive, saying it now had over 1,000 open positions, including for 300 pilots, 500 cabin crew and more than 200 ground staff jobs.Trustee Lucas Floether (L-R) and Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of insolvent German airline Air Berlin hold a news conference in Berlin, Germany September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos EasyJet’s offer also involves crews and slots associated with the 27-30 planes, including a large share of Air Berlin’s slots and crews at Berlin Tegel airport, Air Berlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann said. EasyJet currently flies from Schoenefeld airport in Berlin.A source has said Lufthansa’s bid is for around 200 million euros ($237 million), plus a further 100 million to meet operating costs during a transition phase.Slideshow (5 Images) Air Berlin said the parties had agreed not to disclose financial details but that the bidders had put forward proposals on financing the winter flight plan from the end of October. It hopes the EU will approve the carve-up by the end of the year.Lufthansa shares hit 23.485 euros on Monday, their highest level since early 2001, on hopes it would pick up some of Air Berlin’s most attractive assets and strengthen its position in Germany.Speaking as union Verdi staged a demonstration outside, blowing whistles and waving placards, Winkelmann said Air Berlin was “fighting for every job.”Administrator Frank Kebekus said flight operations had to be kept stable to bring talks to a successful conclusion, repeating comments made after the airline’s operations were hit by a wave of sickness-related absences among pilots this month.However, Air Berlin said Monday it was halting long-haul flights from Oct 15 after lessors recalled planes. It is also stopping flights from Munich to Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn from Sept. 29 and said more would follow.Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-says-on-way-to-securing-jobs-with-lufthansa-easyjet-bids-idINKCN1C01T8'|'2017-09-25T11:20:00.000+03:00'
'98498b707bffbe8c3e6cf838c8d488e9e79fe88c'|'Bombardier slides on likely Siemens-Alstom deal; awaits Boeing ruling'|'TORONTO (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) shares extended their recent losses to hit a four-month low on Monday following a report that the train and plane maker likely will lose out to Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) in a rail deal with Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ).The Canadian train maker had been reported this summer to be in the final stages of talks with Siemens to combine their rail operations, a deal that would have given Bombardier added heft to compete with China’s CRRC Corp Ltd ( 601766.SS ).Bombardier’s stock fell as much as 8.1 percent to hit its lowest since May 18 at C$2.05 in Toronto.Sources have told Reuters that Siemens sees Alstom as more financially stable than Bombardier and that the Canadian company also would have wanted to have control over a transportation joint venture, which Siemens was reluctant to cede.If Siemens merges with Alstom, “that’s going to create a very powerful global competitor (for Bombardier) with better scale, a better balance sheet,” said Lorne Steinberg, president, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc in Montreal.“It throws into question the viability of (the transportation) division with Bombardier ... which has historically suffered from low margins to begin with,” Steinberg added.The company is also awaiting a U.S. trade court’s preliminary ruling, expected to be made public on Tuesday, on Boeing Co’s ( BA.N ) complaint that Bombardier is dumping its new CSeries passenger jet in the U.S. aircraft market.Reporting by Solarina Ho and Fergal Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bombardier-hot/bombardier-slides-on-likely-siemens-alstom-deal-awaits-boeing-ruling-idUSKCN1C01Y7'|'2017-09-25T22:04:00.000+03:00'
'350f2db0188e611d0ce5b1f57f63a8bbdf96082b'|'SAP to buy customer management software firm Gigya'|'  5:29 PM / Updated 3 hours ago SAP to buy customer management software firm Gigya Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: SAP headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - SAP ( SAPG.DE ), Europe’s biggest technology company, has agreed to buy U.S.-Israeli customer identity software company Gigya to strengthen its position in the booming market for online customer relationship marketing, the company said on Sunday. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will tie together Gigya’s user identity access and management platform with SAP’s Hybris customer profile data-matching software so businesses can market services to online customers. Several Israeli media put a purchase price on the deal of $350 million for Gigya, which was founded in Israel in 2006 before relocating its headquarters to Silicon Valley. Both companies declined to comment on price of the deal. Gigya software enables companies to manage customer marketing profiles and preferences, while giving consumers themselves the power to opt-in and give their consent, helping users to keep control of their data at all times, SAP said. The acquisition beefs up SAP’s ability to help companies doing business in Europe to comply with privacy regulations such as the EU’s upcoming General Data Protection Regulation. Gigya currently manages 1.3 billion customer identity profiles. “Major independent analyst firms, most recently Forrester Research, have positioned Gigya as a top vendor in this field,” SAP said in a statement announcing the deal. Forrester ranks Gigya as leader in the niche field of user identity management against rivals such as Salesforce ( CRM.N ), Ping Identity, Auth0 and Microsoft ( MSFT.O ), singling Gigya out for its more intuitive user interface and security. It counts 700 big businesses as users, including half of the top 100 U.S. web properties, and European brands such as retailer ASOS ( ASOS.L ), pharmaceutical maker Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ), cosmetics firm L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ) and airline KLM ( AIRF.PA ), according to Gigya. Gigya will be incorporated into SAP’s Hybris marketing business, which offers so-called “ommichannel” integration that allows businesses to keep tabs on customers whether they shop in stores, online or on their phones, SAP said. Since 2013, Gigya has been a partner of Hybris, which SAP acquired the same year. The transaction is expected to close in the final quarter of 2017, subject to regulatory approval, SAP said. Reporting by Eric Auchard, Vera Eckert and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen and Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sap-se-gigya-m-a/sap-to-buy-data-specialist-gigya-idUKKCN1BZ0SW'|'2017-09-24T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'15700f205432110c0b04c68e9db66a4ba2c030d8'|'Rohingya crisis dents Myanmar hopes of Western investment boom'|'FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees walk on a muddy path at Thaingkhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox''s Bazar, Bangladesh, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo YANGON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - When officials from Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon toured six European countries in June, they were hoping to drum up investment in transport, energy and education.Instead, they were bombarded with questions about the country’s treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority, who have long complained of persecution by the Buddhist majority in the oil-rich, ethnically divided, western state of Rakhine.“In each of every country, that issue was always brought up,” Hlaing Maw Oo, secretary of Yangon City Development Committee, told Reuters after the 16-day trip.The situation in Rakhine has worsened dramatically since then, with more than 400,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh to escape a military counterinsurgency offensive the United Nations has described as “ethnic cleansing”.Western trade and investment in Myanmar is small, but there were hopes that a series of reforms this year would prise open an economy stunted by international sanctions and decades of mismanagement under military rule.With most sanctions now lifted, an expected flood of Western money was seen as a key dividend from the transition to civilian rule under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Regional diplomats saw it balancing China’s growing influence over its neighbour.But Suu Kyi has been beset by international criticism for saying little about human rights abuses against the Rohingya, and lawyers, consultants and lobbyists say the European and U.S. companies that had been circling are now wary of the reputational risks of investing in the country.Louis Yeung, managing principal of Yangon-based investment firm Faircap Partners, said one of his business partners – a listed, U.S.-based food and beverage company - decided to hold off its plan to enter the Myanmar market for three to five years, citing factors including slower-than-expected reforms and the Rohingya crisis.“Their conclusion is that it wasn’t the right time for them,” he said. “They want to see more traction from the government and Rakhine is not helpful.”ON HOLD The pressure has been growing in recent months, even on existing investors, with rights group AFD International calling on foreign firms to stop investing in Myanmar.A small group of investors in U.S. oil major Chevron ( CVX.N ) filed an unsuccessful motion at its annual general meeting urging it to pull out of its production sharing contract with a state-run firm to explore for oil and gas, while Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor ( TEL.OL ), which runs a mobile network in Myanmar, issued a statement calling for human rights protection.Chevron declined to comment on its investment in Myanmar, while Telenor did not respond to several requests for comment.Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, said last week his delegation postponed a visit to Myanmar indefinitely, saying the human rights situation “does not allow a fruitful discussion on a potential EU-Myanmar investment agreement”.Khin Aung Tun, vice-chairman of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, told Reuters global firms planning to hold conferences in Myanmar were now considering other locations.“People were just starting to see Myanmar as a ‘good news’ story,” said Dane Chamorro, head of South East Asia at Control Risks, a global risk consultancy.“Now you can imagine a boardroom in which someone mentions Myanmar and someone else says ‘hold on, I’ve just seen something on Myanmar on TV: villages burned down, refugees, etc’.”In an interview published in Nikkei Asia Review on Thursday, Suu Kyi acknowledged it was “natural” for foreign investors to be concerned, but repeated her view that economic development was the key to solving poor Rakhine’s long-standing problems.“So investments would actually help make the situation better,” she said.IN CHINA‘S ORBITMyanmar’s $70 billion economy should be a strong investment proposition for Western firms. It boasts large oil and gas reserves and natural resources such as rubies, jade and timber. Wages are low and its youthful population of more than 50 million is eager for retail and manufacturing jobs.In April, Myanmar passed a long-awaited investment law, simplifying procedures and granting foreign investors equal treatment to the locals. A game-changing law allowing foreigners to buy stakes in local firms is expected later this year.“The investment conditions were improving,” said Dustin Daugherty, ASEAN lead for business intelligence at Dezan Shira & Associates, a consultancy for foreign investors in Asia.Myanmar’s economy may not suffer much, however, if Western firms shun the country - or even if their governments were to reimpose some sanctions, although that appears unlikely for now.Suu Kyi has sought to deepen relations with China at a time when Beijing is keen to push projects that fit with its “Belt and Road” initiative, which aims to stimulate trade by investment in infrastructure throughout Asia and beyond.Myanmar trades with China as much as it does with its next four biggest partners: Singapore, Thailand, Japan and India. None of that top five participated in previous sanctions.Trade with the United States is only about $400 million and U.S. investment is just 0.5 percent of the total. Europe accounts for around a 10th of investment, while China and Hong Kong make up more than a third, and Singapore and Thailand another third.Than Aung Kyaw, Deputy Director General of Myanmar’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, told Reuters European investors might have “second thoughts”, but he expected Asian investors to stay put.China is already in talks to sell electricity to energy-hungry Myanmar and pushing for preferential access to a strategic port on the Bay of Bengal. In April, the two countries reached an agreement on an oil pipeline that pumps oil across Myanmar to southwest China.“It is going to feed Aung San Suu Kyi straight into the hands of (Chinese President) Xi Jinping,” said John Blaxland, director at the ANU Southeast Asia Institute and head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.For a graphic on investment in Myanmar click tmsnrt.rs/2xWqBaOReporting by Yimou Lee in Yangon and Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Shoon Naing and Wa Lone in Yangon; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Alex Richardson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-investment/rohingya-crisis-dents-myanmar-hopes-of-western-investment-boom-idINKCN1BX00V'|'2017-09-22T03:24:00.000+03:00'
'2bdf3184bd35615e6cf5d81b293da28ed037839e'|'Flood, fix and flip: Houston housing investors see profit in Harvey''s wake'|'September 22, 2017 / 5:09 AM / a few seconds ago Flood, fix and flip: Houston housing investors see profit in Harvey''s wake Nick Brown 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Houses are seen partially submerged in flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey in Northwest Houston, Texas, U.S. on August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - Addressing a real estate conference in flood-ravaged Houston this month, longtime investor Ray Sasser detailed his strategy: buy up to 50 flooded homes at deep discounts, then fix and flip them for a hefty profit. Sasser first followed that game plan after Tropical Storm Allison flooded the city in 2001. He bought homes for 30 to 40 percent of their pre-storm value, spent another 15 percent on repairs, and sold many a year later - at full value. The quick recovery surprised him, he said. “This can’t be true,” he recalled thinking at the time. The bet that home prices in hard-hit Houston neighbourhoods will fully recover after Hurricane Harvey could be riskier, Sasser and local economists said. But a rush of investors eager to snap up flooded homes reflects broader confidence in the resilience of Houston’s unique metropolitan economy. While the region’s unchecked development has come under fire for exacerbating flooding, it also reflects its core strength: A rare combination of rich job opportunities and low cost of living, driving explosive population growth in America’s energy capital. The surging demand has sustained home prices through four major floods since 2001 and a historic oil price crash starting in 2014. Though Harvey caused far more damage than previous storms, investors such as Sasser see plenty of opportunity in the region’s estimated 268,000 flooded homes. Tara Waggoner, the Houston market manager for brokerage and online listings firm Redfin, said the firm’s local agents were getting about four times the number of calls they usually get from investors. They ranged from individuals looking to buy one flooded house to groups of ten or more pooling their money for a home-buying spree, she said. “You have people with millions of dollars to work with,” she said in an interview days after the storm. “They want to go in, pay cash, get the discount and fix it up to sell.” Sasser, a 35-year veteran Houston home buyer, spoke to about 100 investors who packed into a meeting of the Realty Investment Club of Houston - or RICH, for short. He said he had formed his own construction company to streamline the repair work. His stories riveted less experienced investors such as Brandyn Cottingham, who sees the flood as an opportunity to ramp up his real estate holdings. “In this business you look for distressed property, and we’ve got tons of that right now,” Cottingham said. RICH President Belinda Lopez said she’s gotten calls from sellers eager to make deals. “They say: ‘This is my third flood - I’m done,’” Lopez said. A MILLION NEW RESIDENTS In addition to Harvey and Allison, Houston has taken on rising water from 2008’s Hurricane Ike and the so-called Memorial Day and Tax Day floods of 2015 and 2016. None of the disasters slowed the region’s growth, as development has crawled like ivy across the subtropical plains of southeast Texas, enabled by lax local regulation. Harris County, which includes Houston and many suburbs, has added more than 1 million residents since 2000 and remains the second fastest-growing county in the United States despite a recent oil industry downturn, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. FILE PHOTO: Houses are seen partially submerged in flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey in Northwest Houston, Texas, U.S. on August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo Though housing prices have risen steadily with the influx of demand, the region’s median home price of $230,000 remains well below that of many major U.S. cities. The oil downturn did not crash the local economy or the housing market - as another oil bust did in the 1980s - because Houston has diversified and other sectors continued to add jobs, said economist and University of Houston professor Bill Gilmer. That’s good news for housing investors. Houston homes are expected to stay in high demand even in low-lying areas, and home prices and rents are expected to rise with the sudden plunge of supply and jolt in demand from displaced residents and outside contractors.. There is money to be made, Gilmer said, in places that have flooded multiple times, or where residents are older and “may just want to move on.” Many other homeowners, however, may have little motivation to sell out cheap, said James Gaines, chief economist at the Texas A&M University Real Estate Center. Job losses from Harvey will likely be moderate, and out-of-work residents should find new jobs fairly quickly, putting them in a better position to withstand repair costs, Gaines said. Slideshow (2 Images) “Houston’s not a bad place to live - other than the occasional hurricane,” Gaines said. “It’s had four floods in the last nine years, and very few people have packed up and left.” ‘SUBTLE PSYCHOLOGY’ For investors who are seeking sellers, a big challenge will be talking to flood victims about buying their battered homes. At the RICH investors gathering, Linda Muscarello - who calls herself the Queen of Foreclosure - spoke of the “subtle psychology” of negotiating with struggling homeowners. Waving a bedazzled sceptre at her audience, Muscarello advised investors to listen and nod when talking to owners of distressed properties, who can often have unrealistic notions of their ability to afford continued mortgage payments. Many homeowners hit by Harvey did not have flood insurance and may not have the money to rebuild. Muscarello advised investors to talk to homeowners as if there is a chance they can avoid selling – even if the investor’s interest is buying them out. When discussing finances with homeowners unable to afford payments, Muscarello advised asking, “How short are you?” “It’s very important you say it that way,” she explained. “It’s as if you’re still considering helping them to keep their house.” While approaching a distressed homeowner can feel predatory if poorly handled, selling can help homeowners in some situations, especially if the home’s damage is coupled with job loss or damage to a business. “The economic damage was mostly to small business – nail salons, barbershops,” Gaines said. For those business owners, recovery could take two to three years, he said. The big question for homeowners is whether they expect to have steady, long-term income that will let them ride out repairs that may or may not be covered by insurance. If not, Gilmer said, “you might just want to give the keys to someone else.”   Brian Thevenot; Editing by Brian Thevenot'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-storm-harvey-housing-investors/flood-fix-and-flip-houston-housing-investors-see-profit-in-harveys-wake-idUSKCN1BX0EA'|'2017-09-22T08:04:00.000+03:00'
'b914169dc578d47d93f9e13da8eec9aa3e1d3b6e'|'European shares steady before German vote as North Korea tensions weigh'|'  7:32 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago European shares steady before German vote as North Korea tensions weigh Danilo Masoni 4 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN (Reuters) - European shares steadied on Friday amid fresh tensions over North Korea but remained near recent highs ahead of this weekend’s general election in Germany, where conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to win a fourth term. L‘Oreal was one of the few bright spots on market talk about possible ownership changes at the cosmetics giant. L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ) rose as much as 6.7 percent after billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, whose family founded the firm and still owns the largest stake in it, died. Traders said her death could fuel talk that Nestle ( NESN.S ) could consider selling its stake in L‘Oreal, which in turn may look at selling its holding in Sanofi ( SASY.PA ). Both Sanofi and Nestle rose around 1 percent. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1 percent by 0805 GMT. Miners .SXPP were the biggest sectoral faller, down 1.4 percent, as escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and China’s rating downgrade hit metal prices. North Korea said on Friday it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy the reclusive country. Among top fallers on the STOXX were London-listed miners BHP Billiton BHP.L, Anglo American ( AAL.L ) and Glencore ( GLEN.L ), which dragged UK''s FTSE .FTSE down 0.2 percent. Germany''s blue chip DAX index .GDAXI was little changed, close to a two-month high on the last trading day before the general election in Europe''s biggest economy. The DAX has outperformed euro zone peers over the past four years to hit a record high in June and there are expectations that a victory of Merkel could further support the country’s equities, regardless of the makeup of her coalition. Yet some investors believe that German stocks, especially industrials like carmakers, are too highly priced and could be severely hit by a possible correction in key export market China on the back of a growing pile of debt. “The risks in a lot of the German companies are being under appreciated,” Luiz Sauerbronn, who helps manage $30 billion at global investment advisory firm Brandes Investment Partners. Sauerbronn however said he was more optimistic about prospects for European equities as a whole given their attractive relative valuations versus the U.S. and sees opportunities in British grocers or European oil companies. Among German blue chips, utilities RWE ( RWEG.DE ) and E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), which are seen sensitive to possible policy changes in their country following the vote, rose 0.7 and 0.6 percent. Among other top movers on Friday was British engineer Smiths Group Plc ( SMIN.L ). Its shares fell 3.9 percent after full-year revenue growth fell short of analyst expectations even though its pretax profit rose 17 percent helped by growth in its security scanners business. Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Jon Boyle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/north-korea-tension-weighs-on-european-shares-but-loreal-rallies-idUKKCN1BX0OP'|'2017-09-22T11:27:00.000+03:00'
'03ffc189241a578166ad47034e198378e17e7c0c'|'At smartphone pioneer HTC - a new, or virtual, reality'|'  12:49 PM / Updated 40 minutes ago At smartphone pioneer HTC - a new, or virtual, reality Jess Macy Yu , Jeremy Wagstaff 4 Min Read The Google logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a displayed HTC logo in this illustration taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration TAIPEI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - When HTC Corp ( 2497.TW ) brought back founder Cher Wang two years ago to turn around the struggling Taiwanese mobile phone maker, investors hoped she could stem a sharp loss in market share to Apple ( AAPL.O ) and Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ). But the gamble to rebuild the early smartphone pioneer’s reputation failed, as its market share has continued to dwindle - to below 1 percent from closer to 10 percent in 2011. On Thursday, Wang announced HTC was shifting around 2,000 staff, mainly handset engineers, to Alphabet’s Google ( GOOGL.O ) in a $1.1 billion (£811.81 million) deal that casts doubts over the company’s longer-term future. “Our main consideration is that our brand will continue,” Chialin Chang, who heads HTC’s mobile business, told reporters. “So our major releases will be as usual. In future, HTC will concentrate not on our portfolio size, but what’s in the portfolio.” Wang, a pioneer in Taiwan’s male-dominated technology industry, founded HTC 20 years ago as a contract manufacturer and established it as a leader, designing and making Microsoft-powered ( MSFT.O ) smartphones. It later turned out its own branded phones, but often struggled to translate positive early reviews into strong sales, despite spending heavily on marketing, including a collaboration with “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr for its flagship HTC One phone. It also struggled to carve out a strong consumer brand in a market where Apple and Samsung grew quickly and have since been joined by Chinese rivals such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo. HTC shares have slumped around 90 percent since the company’s 2011 peak. This week’s deal marks a retreat from HTC’s smartphone legacy. “It may take a hard look at its smartphone business ... and think it’s probably better to wind it down as soon as possible rather than for it to drain more cash,” said David Dai, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “If it focuses on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), there’s a much more concrete chance the company turns things around.” The Google logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a displayed HTC logo in this illustration taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration That prospect pushed up HTC shares by their daily maximum of 10 percent on Friday, valuing the company at around $1.7 billion, as some investors hope the Google cash helps HTC focus on its Vive VR headsets and reduce its development costs. HTC Chief Financial Officer Peter Shen said the deal will cut operating costs by 30-40 percent. GLIMMER OF HOPE While the Google cash throws HTC a lifeline for now, it may find it hard to retain staff, analysts said. Slideshow (4 Images) Google has cherry-picked the best people, said a former HTC executive who has spoken to current employees, adding: “It’s hard to see how anyone remaining would be enthusiastic.” “Google’s investment will probably slow, but not stop, HTC’s decline,” said Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics. Even Vive faces tough competition against the likes of Samsung and Sony Corp ( 6758.T ), which control half the $2 billion global AR and VR headset market. HTC saw flat second-quarter growth, and had 4.4 percent market share after a price reduction. “Vive remains in the red; free cash flow is negative; book value is eroding; and sales growth is decelerating,” JP Morgan analyst Narci Chang said in a note following the Google deal. “Nevertheless... we think HTC might narrow the loss considerably... enough to keep the business afloat and beat the (market) consensus for the next few quarters.” For now, no major VR overhaul has trickled down to staff. “It (Google’s investment) could be (a good thing), but it’s business as usual,” one Vive employee told Reuters. Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-htc-m-a-google/at-smartphone-pioneer-htc-a-new-or-virtual-reality-idUKKCN1BX1MY'|'2017-09-22T15:51:00.000+03:00'
'2155f04f7187407bf58b43c5c37229203e2cd88b'|'GE nears sale of its industrial unit to ABB: Bloomberg'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:24 AM / Updated 7 hours ago GE nears sale of its industrial unit to ABB: Bloomberg Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of General Electric Co. is pictured at the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, on May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril (Reuters) - General Electric Co ( GE.N ) is nearing a deal to sell its industrial solutions unit to Swiss engineering company ABB Ltd ( ABBN.S ) in a deal valued at $2.5 billion to $3 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The companies are likely to announce an agreement by next week, the report said on Friday. A company spokesman for ABB said the company does not “comment on market rumors.” GE was not immediately available for comment. GE resumed negotiations to sell its industrial solutions business to ABB after John Flannery, who became CEO on Aug.1, decided to continue to divest the industrial conglomerate’s non-core assets, Reuters had reported. GE has been reviewing its portfolio after divesting its finance, appliances and NBCUniversal units in recent years. The company has also been under pressure from Nelson Peltz’s activist hedge fund Trian Fund Management LP to cut costs and focus on its core industrial businesses. Earlier this year, GE agreed to sell its industrial water treatment business to French waste and water group Suez SA ( SEVI.PA ) and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec for 3.2 billion euros ($3.4 billion). GE’s shares were marginally up at $24.96 in very light premarket trading. Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ge-divestiture-abb/ge-nears-sale-of-its-industrial-unit-to-abb-bloomberg-idINKCN1BX168'|'2017-09-22T08:24:00.000+03:00'
'cb26239b3ca04414bc7dbb70d13de84e1003a717'|'Despite tough talk, Canada seen unlikely to walk away from NAFTA'|'September 21, 2017 / 11:29 PM / Updated an hour ago Despite tough talk, Canada seen unlikely to walk away from NAFTA David Ljunggren 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A NAFTA banner is pictured where the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Mexico City, Mexico September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso OTTAWA (Reuters) - Despite Canada’s threats to walk away from NAFTA talks if necessary, its limited success in diversifying exports leaves the nation too reliant on U.S. markets to play hardball, government insiders and trade experts say. Negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States will gather in Ottawa on Saturday for the third round of talks on modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement with many tough items yet to be broached. U.S. President Donald Trump says he will ditch the pact unless major changes in are made. Canada last month suggested it could walk away if the United States pushed to remove a key dispute-settlement mechanism. But insiders say leaving the table remains very much a last-ditch measure for the government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “The desire is 100 percent to modernize ... it is still true to say no deal is better than a bad deal but obviously that would be a pretty extraordinary set of circumstances,” said one person familiar with government thinking. The United States accounts for 75 percent of goods exports from Canada, where firms flourish operating next to the world’s largest economy. Transport costs are low, both nations operate in English and employ the same business practices. If NAFTA ceased to exist, Canadian and Mexican exports would in theory be subject to a 3.5 percent tariff applicable to members of the World Trade Organization. A survey by Export Development Canada last year predicted that under such scenario, Canadian gross domestic product would shrink by 1.9 percent a year and many jobs would be lost. Related Coverage U.S. Commerce chief: U.S. content falling in Mexican, Canadian imports Since NAFTA came into force in 1994, supply chains have become so integrated that borders barely exist, especially for key sectors such as the auto industry. “Is this the most important trade agreement for Canada? Damn right it is,” said Dennis Darby, president and CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, adding that dismantling the deal would be like trying to “unwind a clock”. Mexico, which has a much more tense relationship with Trump than Canada does, is more assertive. While an even greater share of its exports - around 80 percent - go to the United States its officials point out that half of that is not subject to NAFTA rules. Experts say some Mexican firms choose to pay WTO tariffs rather than follow complex procedures to get their goods into the United States duty-free. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray last week told Reuters “there would be no leap into the abyss” if NAFTA vanished and said Mexico would deepen trade with other nations. FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexico''s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer smile as they pose for a photo after addressing the media to close the second round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada at Secretary of Economy headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico, on September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo ENDURING CONCERN Similar data for Canada was not immediately available, but Canadian exports of softwood lumber, for example, are not covered by NAFTA. The dependence on a single market has worried Canadian governments on and off since the early 1970s, when the Liberal administration of Pierre Trudeau - Justin’s father - tried to boost access to Japan and the European Union. Yet by 2000, the share of Canadian goods exports going to the United States had risen to a staggering 84 percent from 67 percent in 1973. Wilbur Ross, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, answers a question during the Concordia Summit in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon “The major economies outside of North America have trouble taking Canada seriously ... it’s not easy being Canadian,” said Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to Washington who worked on NAFTA. It took Canada the better part of a decade to nail down a free trade deal with the European Union, which went into effect on Thursday. Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says this means Canada will be a market that has preferential access to more than 1.2 billion consumers in 40 nations. “The United States will always remain our largest trading partner because the geography dictates that. It’s been a very fruitful relationship ... but you also have to look at the future,” he said. Whether firms see it that way is another matter. Burney and others have long complained about what they see as a lack of global ambitions. “For many companies, why should they go beyond North America? It’s just there, it’s a big market, it’s easy and why try to go to Europe or Asia? It’s a lot of work and it’s difficult,” said University of Ottawa professor Patrick Leblond, one of Canada’s leading trade experts. Burney said Canada could use more leverage when negotiating with the United States by intensifying efforts to diversify exports to China. “Right now, they (the Americans) think both Mexico and Canada don’t have any other options,” he said. But although the Liberals came to power in 2015 promising to expand trade with China and India, those familiar with the pace of exploratory negotiations say it could take a decade for significant deals to be signed. Additional reporting by Frank Jack Daniel and Adriana Barrera in Mexico City; Editing by Tomasz Janowski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/u-s-to-present-new-proposals-at-next-nafta-talks-negotiator-idUKKCN1BW35V'|'2017-09-22T08:05:00.000+03:00'
'8bff85a6f5062a7a6176802c9d380a16f9069baf'|'Uber ready to make concessions to reverse London license decision: paper'|'September 23, 2017 / 9:42 PM / Updated 15 hours ago Uber ready to make concessions to reverse London license decision: paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A photo illustration shows the Uber app on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. taxi firm Uber is prepared to make concessions as it seeks to reverse a decision by London authorities not to renew its license in the city, which represents a potentially big blow for the fast-growing company, a newspaper reported. The Sunday Times also quoted sources close to London’s transport body as saying the move was encouraging and suggested the possibility of talks. “While we haven’t been asked to make any changes, we’d like to know what we can do,” Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London, told the newspaper. “But that requires a dialogue we sadly haven’t been able to have recently.” A spokesman for Transport for London (TfL) declined to comment. The Sunday Times said Uber’s concessions were likely to involve passenger safety and benefits for its drivers, possible limits on working hours to improve road safety and holiday pay. TfL stunned the powerful U.S. start-up on Friday when it deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service for safety reasons and stripped it of its license from Sept. 30, although the company can continue to operate while it appeals. The regulator cited failures to report serious criminal offences, conduct sufficient background checks on drivers and other safety issues. Uber responded by urging users in London to sign a petition that said the city authorities had “caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice”. The move echoed Uber’s strategy in disputes with other cities. By 2200 GMT on Saturday, more than 600,000 people had signed although it was not clear how many of them were in London. A spokesman for Uber said around 20,000 Uber drivers had emailed the city’s mayor directly to object to the decision. Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Paul Simao'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-britain-report/uber-ready-to-make-concessions-to-reverse-london-license-decision-paper-idUSKCN1BY0ZJ'|'2017-09-24T00:42:00.000+03:00'
'5e6e9fb4f1202ad26dce51ffd0120439173df804'|'Illinois to sell $6.75 bln of bonds by year-end'|'CHICAGO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Illinois will sell $6 billion of bonds in October to shrink the state’s unpaid bill backlog that hit a record $16 billion this week, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget said on Friday.The state also plans to sell up to $750 million of bonds in December to fund capital projects, according to the announcement.Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/illinois-bonds/illinois-to-sell-6-75-bln-of-bonds-by-year-end-idINL2N1M31WZ'|'2017-09-22T19:05:00.000+03:00'
'aa143534a11b22841f3de879e6706bb9ea2b80b2'|'Australia''s Pepper Group says KKR ups takeover offer'|'(Reuters) - KKR & Co LP has added a small sweetener to its bid for Australia’s Pepper Group, caving to a demand from the non-bank lender’s biggest shareholder and bringing the deal value to A$682 million ($543 million).With the new offer, which sent Pepper’s shares surging, the U.S. buyout firm gains a slice of Australia’s A$1.7 trillion mortgage market while investors will be able to cash in at a 42 percent premium to its IPO price two years earlier.KKR announced a special dividend of 10 cents per share on Monday - appeasing Perpetual Investments Ltd, Pepper’s top shareholder with a 14.7 percent stake, which had said it was unhappy with the A$657 million offer the lender had agreed to in August.“It’s clear we were vocal, that we felt the initial bid undervalued the company,” said Anthony Aboud, a portfolio manager at Perpetual.“This has been a decent investment for us. KKR have got it at a decent price and we’ve been trying to get as much as we possibly could.”Pepper shares rose 4.6 percent to A$3.66 by mid-session, just below the sweetened offer price of A$3.70. That compares with its 2015 IPO price of A$2.60.Pepper’s loan book jumped 36 percent in 2016, compared with the banking sector’s 6.5 percent credit growth, as big banks backed off riskier lending in response to regulators’ concerns about ballooning household debt.Although the non-bank lender is seen as exposed to a possible housing correction, Australians are generally viewed as good creditors who will cut back elsewhere to meet their mortgage payments.Pepper’s shareholders will vote on the increased offer at a meeting on Nov. 15.Reporting by Byron Kaye; Additional reporting by Hanna Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pepper-group-m-a-kkr/australias-pepper-group-says-kkr-ups-takeover-offer-idUSKCN1C000G'|'2017-09-25T03:11:00.000+03:00'
'50e4828f6beb559118ac5a478b5d18bddfce207f'|'BOJ''s Kuroda warns North Korea a key risk to global outlook'|'  7:51 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago BOJ''s Kuroda warns North Korea a key risk to global outlook Leika Kihara 3 Min Read Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai OSAKA (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned that escalating tensions in North Korea were among risks to an otherwise brightening global economic outlook, stressing that the central bank was closely watching the impact on markets and Japan’s economy. Kuroda also defended the BOJ’s 2 percent inflation target, considered by many analysts as too ambitious, saying the bank can help keep long-term currency moves stable by setting its price goal at a level equivalent to other central banks. “Our main scenario is for global growth to accelerate moderately. But we’ll continue to closely watch how developments in North Korea could affect markets and Japan’s economy,” Kuroda said in a meeting with business leaders in Osaka, western Japan, on Monday. “The BOJ is ready to take appropriate action as needed,” he said without elaborating on specific measures. As with other central banks, the BOJ’s first line of defense against major economic and market shocks would be to offer unlimited amounts of liquidity via market operations. Japan’s economy expanded at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent in April-June, marking the longest streak of expansion in 11 years, on robust exports and a pick-up in consumption. But inflation has hovered around 0.5 percent, well below the BOJ’s 2 percent target, as companies remain wary of raising prices for fear of scaring away cost-sensitive households. Kuroda said it was “unrealistic” to bring up Japan’s inflation target to around 3 or 4 percent, an idea floated by some U.S. academics as a way to heighten inflation expectations. But he said the BOJ should maintain its 2 percent target, a level deemed a global standard, to keep the yen’s moves stable against other currencies. “Foreign exchange rates fluctuate due to various factors in the short run. But their moves reflect inflation differentials between countries in the long run,” Kuroda said. Kuroda also said there was a shared agreement among Group of 20 major economies that currency rates ought to move stably, reflecting economic fundamentals. Kuroda praised Japanese companies for making various efforts, such as streamlining operations through automation, to cope with a tightening job market that was pushing up labor costs. But he said there were limits to how much businesses can absorb rising labor costs without increasing wages and prices. “There appears to be some signs of change in companies’ price-setting behavior,” he said. While such changes are not broad-based yet, it could spread across Japan if the economy continues to expand and make households more accepting of price hikes, he said. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim & Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj/bojs-kuroda-warns-north-korea-a-key-risk-to-global-outlook-idUKKCN1C00OQ'|'2017-09-25T10:45:00.000+03:00'
'5700b42bd8bcedb348b729834e63bd5aa88a2521'|'UPDATE 3-U.S. Senate opposition to Obamacare repeal bill grows'|'* Treasury secretary says vote “going to be very close”* One more Republican “no” vote could doom effort (Adds Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, stock market impact)By Richard CowanWASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A proposal by U.S. Republicans to repeal and replace the Obamacare health insurance program suffered serious new setbacks within the party on Sunday, when Senator Ted Cruz expressed his opposition and Senator Susan Collins dug in with strong criticism of the legislation.Two other Republican senators, John McCain and Rand Paul, already said last week they would vote against the so-called Graham-Cassidy bill. One more “no” vote among Republicans would effectively kill the party’s latest effort in their seven-year mission to overturn Obamacare, while dealing a new blow to President Donald Trump.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has said he “intends” to put the bill up for a vote this week, but he has withheld public comment over the past few days as some of his rank-and-file Republicans abandoned Trump.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union,” reflected the uncertainty in the battle.“It is going to be very close. I hope it passes,” he said.Phil Novack, a spokesman for Cruz, confirmed that the Republican senator said at an event in Texas: “Right now, they don’t have my vote, and I don’t think they have (Senator) Mike Lee’s vote, either.”Lee is a conservative Republican and close ally of Cruz. A spokesman for Lee said the senator wanted “some technical changes” to the legislation, but did not provide details. “We haven’t committed to anything yet,” Conn Carroll said in an email.Politico reported that Cruz complained that the latest Obamacare repeal bill did not address his concerns about bringing down the costs of healthcare.On Friday, news of McCain’s opposition sent shares of health insurance companies up. Centene ended 1.6 percent higher and Humana closed up 0.2 percent.Trump has pressured his fellow Republicans for quick passage on what would be his first victory on major legislation. All Democrats are expected to vote against it.COLLINS SUPPORT IN DOUBT But Collins, perhaps the most moderate of Republican senators, appeared poised to oppose her party’s latest replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act, former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement.She, along with McCain and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, voted in July against an earlier version of Obamacare repeal.“It is very difficult for me to envision a scenario where I would end up voting for this bill,” Collins said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, two days after saying she was “leaning against” the legislation.Collins said her concerns centered on the impact the legislation would have on the federal Medicaid program, which helps disabled children and low-income elderly people get healthcare.The Senate, which Republicans control by 52-48, faces a Saturday deadline for deciding on the bill under an expiring rule that lets the healthcare proposal pass with just a simple majority in the 100-member chamber, instead of the 60-vote threshold needed for most legislation.Paul, interviewed on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” attacked the centerpiece of the Republican bill that would have the federal government basically turn the health insurance system over to states in the form of “block grants.”“They could remove the block grants from it, and we can vote on what we actually agree on,” Paul said. “I can’t in good conscience vote to keep all the spending.”Some key Senate Republicans were still pushing to forge ahead.Senator Lindsey Graham, who is leading the charge on the latest version of Obamacare repeal, told ABC he believed he would have the votes to pass the legislation.“The only way you know how people will vote is you have the vote,” he said.Graham did not detail the path he sees to victory. (Reporting by Richard Cowan and Valerie Volcovici; Additional reporting by Sarah Lynch; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-healthcare/update-1-u-s-senate-opposition-to-obamacare-repeal-bill-grows-idINL2N1M50DV'|'2017-09-24T14:59:00.000+03:00'
'e0c6884338c5a5ffd40877ab3c67524eec60c277'|'BaFin critical of Deutsche Boerse insider trading settlement - source'|'September 22, 2017 / 12:13 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago BaFin critical of Deutsche Boerse insider trading settlement - source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The German share prize index (DAX) board and the trading room of Frankfurt''s stock exchange (Boerse Frankfurt) are photographed with a circular fisheye lens during afternoon trading session in Frankfurt, Germany, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s financial regulator BaFin has taken a critical view of a settlement between Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) and Frankfurt prosecutors to clear up a months-long insider trading case, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. The stance is a blow to efforts by the exchange operator and its CEO to move on from the case, which has cast a shadow over the company since February. Neither Deutsche Boerse nor the Frankfurt public prosecutor would comment. A court in Frankfurt handling the case said it was not aware of a position by BaFin. The news was first reported by Bloomberg. Shares in Deutsche Boerse were down 2.6 percent at 1215 GMT, the biggest loser on the DAX share index of the nation’s largest companies. At issue is a 4.5 million euro purchase of Deutsche Boerse shares made by CEO Carsten Kengeter in December 2015, two months before Deutsche Boerse announced that it was in merger talks with London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), which sparked an investigation of possible insider trading. Last week, Deutsche Boerse agreed to demands to settle the case with prosecutors for 10.5 million euros (£9.29 million). Kengeter would also pay 500,000 euros in a personal settlement. That settlement is now in the hands of a judge, whose final ruling will be influenced by BaFin’s input. The negative stance from BaFin suggests that the judge may not approve the settlement. Reporting by Tom Sims and Andreas Framke; Additional reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker; Editing by Kathrin Jones, Victoria Bryan and Maria Sheahan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-insidertrading/bafin-critical-of-deutsche-boerse-insider-trading-settlement-source-idUKKCN1BX1JF'|'2017-09-22T15:45:00.000+03:00'
'efb656edfc53de824368adbfdc9cbfe6c3f2c501'|'Ryanair crisis exposes low-cost scramble for senior pilots'|'September 22, 2017 / 4:24 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Ryanair crisis exposes low-cost scramble for senior pilots Conor Humphries , Victoria Bryan 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair plane prepares to land at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo DUBLIN/BERLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair blames an internal “cock up”, but its cancellation of 2,000 flights exposes the struggle that low-cost carriers face as they risk growing faster than their ability to recruit experienced pilots. Junior pilots are readily available, with hundreds unemployed in Britain alone, but Europe’s budget airlines require many extra captains who can take flights without needing lengthy and expensive training, or to accumulate flying hours. Ireland’s Ryanair ( RYA.I ), which has overtaken established carriers to become Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, is hiring around 600 pilots this year, as is Norwegian Air Shuttle( NWC.OL ). For British-based easyJet ( EZJ.L ) the figure is 450 and in all cases these are their highest ever levels of pilot recruitment. “The low cost airlines are arguably more vulnerable to a pilot shortage because of their growth, which is now compounded by their size,” said Gerald Khoo, an analyst with Liberum. “Normally, in a tight labour market I would assume slightly higher staff costs or the airline could trim its capacity growth,” he said. “Not getting the balance right results in the situation we have seen at Ryanair in the past week.” Ryanair has disrupted plans for hundreds of thousands of travellers with the cancellations this month due to the pilot shortage. The carrier put its problems down to too many pilots taking leave at the same time. But the shortages are being felt across an industry where the budget airlines are flying tens of millions more passengers each year, driving an increase in European short-haul capacity of around seven percent. Norwegian is particularly jostling Ryanair for senior talent. Both have Boeing ( BA.N ) fleets, meaning that when pilots defect they fly similar aircraft, lessening training time and expense. Norwegian says it has poached more than 140 pilots from Ryanair; Dublin-based Ryanair puts the number at less than 100. Ryanair is increasing wages for its pilots based in Frankfurt and Berlin in order to steal staff from Air Berlin( AB1.DE ), even though the insolvent German carrier flies Airbus ( AIR.PA ) jets rather than Boeings, making this a more expensive exercise. Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) budget unit Eurowings is also making a bid for Air Berlin’s experienced pilots. Mark Simpson, an analyst with Goodbody Stockbrokers, said he didn’t see a significant risk that Ryanair would have to curb its expansion plans. “This is a pinch they are facing,” he said. “But it hasn’t reached a crisis point.” Aside from Air Berlin, Italy’s Alitalia, Latvia’s Air Baltic and Romania’s Tarom were all struggling and could to shed pilots, easing the shortage, he added. HIGHER GRADES The pressure is being felt acutely in senior roles, according to the British Airline Pilots’ Association, which says around 500 of its more junior members are unemployed. “We’ve seen huge recruitment drives .... in recent years. However, this recruitment tends to be for experienced pilots,” said BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton. Recruitment web site Indeed.com said pilot vacancies in Britain were 60 percent harder to fill than other jobs, as measured by the number of positions still vacant after 60 days. Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary said captains have been targeted since the cancellations with a 10,000 euro sign-on bonus. “We may have got pilot pay a little on the low side,” he told investors at Ryanair’s annual general meeting this week. He insisted the problems were localised and that certain parts of Europe had a surplus of experienced pilots. Ryanair this week also announced wage increases in Dublin, where it says it believes Norwegian Air is trying to hire 40 of its pilots, and in London where it says pilots are being targeted by a number of rivals. A spokesman for Norwegian Air said it saw significant competition for pilots, but was offering competitive conditions and the prospect of flying to destinations in southeast Asia and the United States that Ryanair could not match. EasyJet declined to comment on whether it was struggling to attract senior pilots. JOB SATISFACTION Ryanair is widely regarded to pay competitive wages to senior pilots. Captains earn 150,000-180,000 euros a year, while first officers get 80,000-120,000. But it has been criticised by some current and former staff about working conditions and the way the blunt-speaking O‘Leary talks about his staff. Pilots are often employed via agencies and do not enjoy standard benefits for sick pay, pensions or health insurance. O‘Leary insisted at the AGM he had a good relationship with his pilots, but said: “I would challenge any pilot to explain how this is a difficult job,” expressing doubt that anyone could be fatigued after what he said was a maximum of 18 hours of flying per week. Ryanair gets a rating of 2.4 on employee-review site Glassdoor, against 4.0 for easyJet. ALWAYS GETTING BETTER Four years ago Ryanair was berated by investors for treating its customers badly, forcing a promise from O‘Leary to stop “unnecessarily pissing people off” and launching its successful Always Getting Better customer service drive. But unlike the current crisis, poor customer service never threatened the airline’s core operations. Investors remain skittish, with its shares down 5.5 percent since the crisis broke to close at 16.44 euros on Friday. There are signs that pilots are using the shortage to assert themselves. While Ryanair doesn’t recognise trade unions, staff at a number of bases wrote a joint letter to management with a series of demands including the implementation of permanent local contracts under local employment law. The European Cockpit Association said Ryanair may now have to treat its staff better as well as its customers. “The Always Getting Better programme could have been applied to staff too,” ECA Secretary General Philip von Schöppenthau told Reuters. “It would certainly be welcomed by the crew and contribute to the success of the company.”   Ole Petter Skonnord and Terje Solsvik in Oslo and Alistair Smout in London; Writing by Conor Humphries; editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-cancellations/ryanair-crisis-exposes-low-cost-scramble-for-senior-pilots-idUKKCN1BX2C1'|'2017-09-22T19:23:00.000+03:00'
'6a7661ee578d64d4de25de8878d3b1b2b8789128'|'Shares in HTC rise 9.96 percent on Google''s Pixel buyout'|'A 3D printed Android mascot Bugdroid is seen in front of an HTC logo in this illustration taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration TAIPEI (Reuters) - Shares in Taiwanese technology company HTC Corp ( 2498.TW ) rose 9.96 pct in early trading on Friday.HTC Corp announced on Thursday that Alphabet Inc’s Google ( GOOGL.O ) would pay $1.1 billion for the division at HTC that develops the U.S. firm’s Pixel smartphones.Reporting by Jess Macy YuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-htc-google/shares-in-htc-rise-9-96-percent-on-googles-pixel-buyout-idUSKCN1BX044'|'2017-09-22T04:25:00.000+03:00'
'a16e52c64a67d4af1f940c6c693c1488b1b4ecfb'|'China Telecom mulls participating in Brazil''s Oi capital plan'|'RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - China Telecom Ltd could participate in a plan to inject fresh capital into Oi SA, the Brazilian phone carrier under bankruptcy protection, a senior executive at the Brazilian firm said on Friday.Ricardo Malavazi Martins, Oi’s chief financial officer, said at the sidelines of an event in Rio de Janeiro that both companies signed a confidentiality agreement about the plan. Oi’s management has proposed to inject up to 8 billion reais ($2.6 billion) worth of new capital into the company, so help it emerge faster from bankruptcy protection.$1 = 3.1237 reais Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-china-telecom/china-telecom-mulls-participating-in-brazils-oi-capital-plan-idINL2N1M30UG'|'2017-09-22T12:44:00.000+03:00'
'e2c5297c2fa1f4b285b1e3119110d49115863c2b'|'South Africa''s business lobby group suspends KPMG over Gupta scandal'|'The offices of auditors KMPG are seen in Cape Town, South Africa, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African law enforcement agencies should investigate KPMG [KPMG.UL] after the global auditor sacked its local leadership over work done for business friends of President Jacob Zuma, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday.KPMG is the latest international firm to become embroiled in factional battles within South Africa’s political establishment.The dismissal of its top management in the country last week followed an internal investigation which found work it did for firms owned by the Gupta family, a trio of businessmen accused by a watchdog of improperly influencing the award of government contracts, “fell considerably short” of KPMG’s standards.KPMG is already being investigated by the country’s Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors for its work for the Gupta firms and several South African companies are reconsidering their use of the firm.Gigaba called on companies and other stakeholders to join hands and “(root) out bad elements” that undermine the South African economy.Related Coverage South Africa''s Gigaba calls for criminal probe into KPMG“It is therefore, warranted and critical that the relevant law enforcements and bodies such as the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors look into this matter to identify and sanction those responsible for any wrong-doing,” Gigaba said in a statement.Gigaba also called on all government departments to consider reviewing their work with KPMG to ensure “their audit processes have not been compromised.”The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition, on Friday said it will review KPMG’s contracts in the more than 30 municipalities it runs, while lobby group Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) suspended KPMG’s membership on Friday, citing the “gravity” of its conduct over the auditor’s work for Gupta firms.“BLSA recognizes the considerable steps announced by KPMG to change its leadership and commence a process of cultural change,” it said in a statement. “It cannot, however, look past the gravity of their conduct which is completely inconsistent with the values of BLSA.”BLSA’s move is another blow for the local arm of KPMG, which has already lost at least three clients due to the scandal, while large companies that include Barclays Africa ( BGAJ.J ) and Investec ( INLJ.J ) are reviewing their ties with the firm.Meanwhile South Africa’s second largest bullion miner Gold Fields ( GFIJ.J ) said on Friday KPMG would for now continue to serve as its external auditor.KPMG is the third global firm to face questions about its work for the Indian-born Gupta brothers.Consulting giant McKinsey is being investigated by South Africa’s parliamentary committee on public enterprises, and the British-based public relations agency Bell Pottinger collapsed this month following a scandal over a racially-charged political campaign it ran for the Guptas in South Africa.The Guptas and Zuma deny wrongdoing and say they are victims of a politically motivated witch-hunt. The Guptas and their companies have not been charged with any crime.Europe’s largest software company SAP ( SAPG.DE ) in July also launched an investigation into allegations that it was involved in a government bribery scheme.SAP on Friday announced it will provide an update on the investigation during the last week of October this year.“We are acutely aware that we owe South Africa answers,” Adaire Fox Martin, a member of SAP’s executive board, said in a statement.Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and TJ Strydom; Editing by Joe Brock and Toby Chopra '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kpmg-safrica/south-africas-business-lobby-group-suspends-kpmg-over-gupta-scandal-idUSKCN1BX17D'|'2017-09-22T13:28:00.000+03:00'
'9600d12629aac0a3abfd35d7ef52380384830045'|'Norwegian Air''s UK arm can fly transatlantic, boosting its prospects - Reuters'|'OSLO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have granted permission to budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle’s British subsidiary to fly to and from U.S. cities, a boost to a company trying to crack the transatlantic market by undercutting established rivals.Europe’s third-largest budget airline by passenger numbers after Ryanair and EasyJet could already fly to and from the U.S. on its Norwegian and Irish operating licences.The permit now granted to its British company by the U.S. Department of Transportation allows the airline to expand its operations at London’s Gatwick airport.“With a U.S. foreign carrier permit also now received for NUK (Norwegian UK), Norwegian will be able to establish a seamless operation and more effectively utilise its long-haul fleet,” the company said in a statement on Saturday.Norwegian Air said the decision would mean it would add “thousands more jobs” to the 1,000 pilots and crew already working for the carrier from Gatwick, offer new routes and cheaper fares.It is a boost at a time when the airline is under pressure to control costs and shore up its balance sheet to weather fierce competition.Norwegian Air has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan, buying more than 200 new fuel-efficient jets, yet investors worry its drive to put more passengers on more planes is pushing up costs quickly without producing higher returns.Doubts are creeping in because Norwegian’s fate rests on the still unproven strategy of adapting the success of low-cost short-haul travel to long-haul routes.The firm’s shares are down 26 percent over the past year and have been the subject of heavy short-selling in recent months.Countering those doubts, the airline’s CEO and chairman raised their holdings in the company by 10 percent on Sept. 14.Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Andrew Bolton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/norwegian-air-shuttle-usa/norwegian-airs-uk-arm-can-fly-transatlantic-boosting-its-prospects-idINL5N1M40AD'|'2017-09-23T10:42:00.000+03:00'
'0dbb788e9c2c494f52f407f5f5453fa32600bdbc'|'Allergan sets $2 billion share buyback; CFO to retire'|'  11:54 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago Allergan sets $2 billion share buyback; CFO to retire Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Allergan logo is seen in this photo illustration November 23, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Allergan Plc ( AGN.N ) on Monday authorized a $2 billion buyback of its shares and said its Chief Financial Officer Tessa Hilado would retire. Allergan said it had begun the search for a new finance chief. Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-allergan-buyback/allergan-sets-2-billion-share-buyback-cfo-to-retire-idUKKCN1C01I8'|'2017-09-25T14:52:00.000+03:00'
'37fa6eb552bff3c35170901e805ccf9da329e5e2'|'The Guardian view on Labour’s economic plans: pricey - Editorial'|'I n a conference speech stuffed with more crowd-titillating plums than the proverbial pudding, John McDonnell betrayed a confidence in the Labour party’s prospects of power that he may come to regret. But however much Conservatives make hay with the cost implications of what even his friends would regard as a wildly ambitious economic agenda, the shadow chancellor put one new and important policy on the table: the huge and continuing cost of private finance initiatives (PFIs).For more than 20 years, successive administrations have depended on what are essentially hire purchase deals to buy new schools, hospitals and prisons. In 2006, the peak year, contracts were signed for more than 70 projects worth more than £7bn. The deals allowed long-overdue renewal of the public infrastructure, but at a cost that is now eating into the sustainability of the services they were built to provide. Mr McDonnell was – it soon emerged – exaggerating when he told an ecstatic conference that Labour would take them all back in house (a project with an incalculable price tag), but the party is right to pledge to try to find ways of cutting the cost.PFIs, where government departments or local authorities sign a contract with an independent operator to build and maintain an asset and then pay an annual charge for the service over the contract lifetime (sometimes as much as 40 years), have always had their detractors; but the renewal of the fabric of public services seemed a powerful rebuttal. Now, if the bailiffs are not quite at the door, research from the Centre for Health and the Public Interest based on Treasury data, has set out the eye-watering cost: in the NHS alone, by 2022, nearly £1bn will go – merely on interest payments – to the handful of companies that own the hospitals. That’s a fifth of the extra cash announced for the NHS in 2015 – and it goes in the main to offshore companies that do not pay UK tax.The National Audit Office warned in 2009 that many of these deals were risky and sometimes unjustifiable. The Commons public accounts committee long since called them unsustainable . So it has proved. In the past six years, these asset-holding companies have taken from public service budgets profits of more than £800m, half of which has been paid out in dividends to shareholders. Recent Treasury figures put the capital investment value of current private finance deals at £58bn; yet there are outstanding cash commitments of £232bn – nearly four times their original value. The MP Stella Creasy is right when she calls the companies behind them “legal loan sharks”: this is low-risk borrowing backed with government guarantees. Yet – until now – the allure of off-balance-sheet spending in an age of spending restraint has remained hard to resist.Labour is right to call a halt. But unpicking existing deals won’t be easy. One or two smaller projects have been successfully taken back into the public sector. But there are more than 700 separate contracts , each to be dealt with separately. Labour’s plans for individual examination of each against a set of criteria, and potential nationalisation with compensation set by parliament, have to be set against the continuing need to persuade the markets to lend the government money.Labour’s success in persuading voters that there is an alternative has been a vital part of its appeal. The broad vision of a redistributive economy that treats workers fairly, rebuilds infrastructure and rebalances finance towards greater productivity underlies the sense of possibility that permeates the buoyant Brighton mood. The party is slowly gaining ground in public esteem as an alternative government. Monday’s Guardian-ICM poll shows Jeremy Corbyn overhauling Theresa May on a growing number of voters’ concerns. But on the economy, Brexit, immigration and security the Tories remain comfortably ahead. Mr McDonnell relishes challenging economic orthodoxy. But as it stands his policy seems unlikely to survive an election campaign.Topics Labour conference 2017 Opinion John McDonnell Economic policy Public finance Economics Stella Creasy editorials'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/25/the-guardian-view-on-labours-economic-plans-pricey'|'2017-09-25T20:49:00.000+03:00'
'9dd45471a48262c30eaff625d25dff17234e193b'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Dana Gas down as London sukuk trial to resume, Qatar up'|'* Dana Gas court case to resume on Monday* North Korea tensions weigh on market generally* Egypt blue-chip index down but broad index rises* Qatar posts fourth straight session of gains* Saudi market closed for public holidayBy Celine AswadDUBAI, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Shares of Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas fell sharply on Sunday after news that a London court hearing on its maturing sukuk issue would resume, while Qatar’s bourse bucked a general downtrend in the region.After several delays last week, a London High Court trial on the validity of $700 million of sukuk issued by Dana will go ahead on Monday. Dana said in June it would not repay holders of its Islamic bond, or sukuk, because it had become invalid under United Arab Emirates law.The case is being fought in UAE and British courts, and sukuk holders have been hoping the London court will produce a ruling that effectively shuts down Dana’s legal campaign in both jurisdictions. The uncertainty knocked Dana’s shares 5.1 percent lower on Sunday.“When creditors and shareholders are at odds in a legal hearing, this sends a bad signal,” said a regional fund manager.Escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States weighed on Gulf markets in general, dragging the Abu Dhabi index 0.3 percent lower.The Dubai index fell 0.9 percent as 27 shares declined including Emaar Properties, which lost 1.6 percent. Only seven stocks rose.Shares favoured by foreign funds weighed on Egypt’s blue-chip index, which fell 0.6 percent; Global Telecom Holding lost 2.0 percent. But the broader EGX100 index added 0.7 percent.Qatar’s index rose 0.4 percent as local and other regional investors were net buyers, bourse data showed, although the latter group accounted for only a very small fraction of Sunday’s market turnover.The Qatari index gained for a fourth straight day, suggesting it may have bottomed after a steep slide due to the decision of four Arab states in June to cut ties with Doha.Most banking shares rose on Sunday; Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan added 2.4 percent.The Saudi Arabian and Omani were closed for public holidays on Sunday.HIGHLIGHTS DUBAI * The index fell 0.9 percent to 3,600 points.ABU DHABI * The index declined 0.3 percent to 4,440 points.QATAR * The index rose 0.4 percent to 8,396 points.EGYPT * The index fell 0.6 percent to 13,607 points.KUWAIT * The index dropped 0.8 percent to 6,795 points.BAHRAIN * The index edged down 0.3 percent to 1,304 points. (Editing by Andrew Torchia/Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks/mideast-stocks-dana-gas-down-as-london-sukuk-trial-to-resume-qatar-up-idUSL5N1M50DW'|'2017-09-24T16:48:00.000+03:00'
'8cc6bdac7842d14080bc1b848614d2a4fb8fff0d'|'FINRA orders Morgan Stanley to pay $13 million in fines, restitution'|'September 25, 2017 / 2:48 PM / Updated an hour ago FINRA orders Morgan Stanley to pay $13 million in fines, restitution Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on the company''s world headquarters in New York, U.S. April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said on Monday it ordered Wall Street investment bank and securities brokerage Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) to pay $13 million in fines and restitution to clients for inadequately supervising certain short-term trades. FINRA, the securities industry’s self-regulator, said that between January 2012 and June 2015 hundreds of Morgan Stanley brokers advised thousands of clients to sell unit investment trusts before the product had matured and to roll the product over into a new one. Unit investment trusts, like mutual funds and closed-end funds, pay investors a return based on how the trust’s investments perform, and they are designed to be held for a certain amount of time after which they close. By selling an investor’s position in the trust early and rolling it over into a new trust, the client may pay higher sales charges over time, which FINRA said raises questions about how suitable the move is for the investor. The regulator pointed to some instances where Morgan Stanley brokers sold clients’ unit investment trusts less than 100 days before the fund’s end, and rolled the money over into new trusts. FINRA also found the brokerage did not adequately train supervisors to recognize unsuitable short-term training, and did not have a proper system in place to detect and stop the orders before execution. The regulator fined Morgan Stanley $3.25 million, and ordered that it pay clients $9.78 million in restitution. Morgan Stanley consented to FINRA’s findings but did not admit or deny the charges. In a statement from Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Margaret Draper the firm said it was pleased to cooperate with FINRA and that the matter was resolved. Morgan Stanley interviewed more than 65 employees as part of a firm-wide investigation into the accusations, FINRA said. Reporting By Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Andrea Ricci '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morgan-stanley-finra-fine/finra-orders-morgan-stanley-to-pay-13-million-in-fines-restitution-idUSKCN1C023T'|'2017-09-25T17:47:00.000+03:00'
'91b45359363487ce2df88e9070a94101145505bd'|'ECB''s Costa says risk-handling brings side effects'|' 09 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago ECB''s Costa says risk-handling brings side effects Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa reads a statement in Lisbon August 3, 2014. REUTERS/Hugo Correia LISBON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should always manage risk with its eyes set on preserving financial and monetary stability, but it has to accept side effects that can potentially impact policy sustainability, Bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa said. Costa, who is also an ECB governing council member, told a conference on risk management on Monday the difficult choices and trade-offs in deciding on the central bank strategy “will not go away in the future, because they will present (themselves) in managing the balance sheet.” “The art of the central bank is to deal with risk without losing the two goals: financial stability and monetary stability. If we are able to do that, we need to accept some collateral effects ... the price to pay in order to get these two main objectives,” he said. In deciding on their policies, “central banks need to consider not only the overall impact of those policies but also possible implications on their sustainability,” he said, warning also that “failure to deliver can cause serious and long lasting reputation damage”. Reporting By Sergio Goncales, writing by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-costa/ecbs-costa-says-risk-handling-brings-side-effects-idUKKCN1C01BY'|'2017-09-25T14:07:00.000+03:00'
'dd9f9c72254f35faa56704e9053876ebc5178520'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 25'|'Sept 25 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 9 points at 7,301.4 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers * SHELL: Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Sunday talks are continuing with Royal Dutch Shell on the Majnoon oil field that the company is said to be seeking to quit. * RBS: Some RBS shareholders, who lost most of their money after a credit crisis-era rights issue, could receive less than a quarter of their settlement after litigation costs, according to a letter seen by Reuters. * SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and Santos face curbs on exporting gas from Australia''s east coast in 2018 if they fail to plug a projected local supply shortfall, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned on Monday. * DELIVEROO: British food delivery company Deliveroo has raised $385 million in private funding, it said on Sunday, as it prepares for expansion to help it compete with publicly traded rivals such as Delivery Hero and Just Eat . * BRITAIN BANKS: Optimism about the business environment among Britain''s financial services firms declined again in the third quarter of this year, the longest run of falling sentiment since the global financial crisis, according to a survey published on Monday. * GOLD: Gold prices dropped on Monday, and hovered around one-month lows hit last week, weighed down by a firm U.S. dollar and as concerns over the Korean peninsula eased over the weekend. * OIL: Oil prices stood little changed on Monday, keeping most of their gains from the previous session to hold near their highest levels in months, as major producers meeting in Vienna said the market was well on its way towards rebalancing. * The UK blue chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.6 percent lower at 7,310.64 points on Friday, as index surged in afternoon trading as Prime Minister May''s speech in Florence disappointed currency traders, sending the pound sliding. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Trinity Exploration and Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Production Pennon Group PLC Trading Statement Release Amerisur Resources PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-25-idUSL4N1M622G'|'2017-09-25T08:08:00.000+03:00'
'00a83c8764c5a041901e380cd08800dc2734b28b'|'Alarmed by AfD rise, German industry urges swift coalition-building'|'September 24, 2017 / 9:26 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Alarmed by AfD rise, German industry urges swift coalition-building Michael Nienaber , Gernot Heller 3 Min Read Joerg Meuthen (R), leader of the anti-immigration party Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) reacts next to top candidates Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland (L) after first exit polls in the German general election (Bundestagswahl) in Berlin, Germany, September 24, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BERLIN (Reuters) - Leading industry associations urged Germany’s biggest parties to start coalition negotiations quickly following Sunday’s parliamentary election and form a stable government to avert damage to Germany’s business environment. Centre-right chancellor Angela Merkel won her fourth consecutive election, but will have to build an uneasy coalition after her conservatives haemorrhaged support in the face of a surge by the far-right AfD party. “Our companies need clear signals. Now it’s all about averting damage to Germany as a place to do business,” said Dieter Kempf, president of the BDI industry association. “In the election campaign, politicians debated much too often about the past and much too little about the future,” Kempf said, referring to criticism of Merkel’s decision in 2015 to leave Germany’s borders open for roughly a million refugees. In a clear jibe against the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which entered the party as the third-largest bloc with around 13 percent, Kempf said: “The retreat into nationalism is no alternative for our country. We need massive investments in Germany in view of the run-down roads, inadequate digital infrastructure and many shortcomings in education.” The DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce called on the next government to massively increase investments, not least to tackle growing discontent. “In these difficult times, we need a stable government and a coalition agreement that focuses on investment and the key issues of the future - infrastructure, education, research and innovation,” DIHK President Eric Schweitzer said. “Such investments are also important for social cohesion.” The BDA employers’ association called on the main parties to counter the rise of the AfD by paying close attention to voters’ needs. “The AfD in the German parliament is damaging our country,” BDA leader Ingo Kramer said. “The other parties now have the task of cornering the AfD in direct parliamentary debate.” Kramer added: “It is time to expose the dull and nationalist slogans for what they are: an attack on everything that has made our country strong and liveable.” '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-election-economy/alarmed-by-afd-rise-german-industry-urges-swift-coalition-building-idUKKCN1BZ10L'|'2017-09-25T00:25:00.000+03:00'
'10800bf474ad598c962807df36399bf7e189abbb'|'Turkey''s Pladis eyeing Nestle''s U.S. candy amid expansion plan'|'  1:31 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Turkey''s Pladis eyeing Nestle''s U.S. candy amid expansion plan Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A worker inspects biscuits on the production line of Pladis'' McVities factory in London Britain, September 19, 2017. Picture taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls. LONDON (Reuters) - Pladis, the Turkish company that owns Godiva chocolate and McVitie’s biscuits, is considering making an offer for Nestle’s ( NESN.S ) U.S. confectionery assets, which could be valued at around $2 billion (£1.48 billion), as part of its international expansion plans. “We are looking at Nestle’s confectionery assets in the U.S.,” Chief Executive Cem Karakas told Reuters. “Certainly we haven’t made a decision, but we are looking at it.” Pladis, itself born from a string of acquisitions, is not working with external financial advisors on the process, which has also attracted Lemonheads owner Ferrara. A bid for Nestle’s U.S. portfolio -- which includes regional mass-market brands such as Butterfinger, Crunch and 100 Grand -- would appear to be a shift from Pladis’s stated strategy of focusing on the high end of the market, which is performing better than mid-tier brands. Nestle in June said it might sell its U.S. confectionery business, the latest evidence of pressure on the North American market following last year’s failed bid by Mondelez International ( MDLZ.O ) for Hershey ( HSY.N ). Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pladis-strategy/turkeys-pladis-eyeing-nestles-u-s-candy-amid-expansion-plan-idUKKCN1BX1RW'|'2017-09-22T16:31:00.000+03:00'
'e782771579a8f0136a64e26eef2da7ce1e896285'|'Alstom, Siemens in advanced rail tie-up talks - Le Monde'|'  12:28 PM / a minute ago Alstom, Siemens in advanced rail tie-up talks: Le Monde Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A logo is seen on the facade of the main plant of the French engineering giant Alstom SA in Belfort, France, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS (Reuters) - German engineering giant Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) is in advanced talks to combine its rail activities with France’s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) in a deal that could be announced on Sept. 26, Le Monde reported on Friday. Siemens would contribute rail assets valued at 7 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in return for 45-50 percent stake in Alstom under the deal being studied, the French daily said, citing unnamed sources. Siemens and Alstom both declined to comment. The proposed tie-up is also being discussed between French President Emmanuel Macron’s staff and their German counterparts in Angela Merkel’s chancellery, Le Monde reported. Siemens has held tie-up talks with both Alstom and Canada’s Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and had been expected to pick a preferred partner for detailed negotiations, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Luke Baker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens/alstom-siemens-in-advanced-rail-tie-up-talks-le-monde-idUKKCN1BX1L5'|'2017-09-22T15:26:00.000+03:00'
'4f682ce0bb876ead7d8b6241b3af1be6b1d8de6c'|'Time Inc says in talks to sell several assets'|'  11:31 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Time Inc in talks to sell assets; warns on third-quarter ad revenue softness Reuters Staff 3 Min Read File Photo: A man holds up a copy of Time Magazine in Des Moines, Iowa January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Time Inc ( TIME.N ) said on Friday it was looking to sell several assets, including Time Inc UK, and warned it experienced more-than-anticipated softness in both print and advertising revenue during the current quarter. The publisher, which said in April that it would not sell itself, said assets identified for sale include Time Customer Service and a majority stake in the Essence magazine. The assets marked for divestitures represent about $488 million, or 17 percent of total revenue for the 12-months ended June 30, the company said. A sale may be announced as early as the fourth quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. bit.ly/2xkudm5 The New York-based publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and namesake Time said it experienced softness in both print and advertising revenue during the current quarter relative to the forecast issued during the second-quarter earnings call. However, the company re-affirmed its adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) forecast for the full-year to be in the range of $400 million to $414 million. Time Inc, which reported a 17 percent fall in second quarter print and other advertising revenues, had said it expected sequential improvement in the third quarter ending Sept. 30. The company’s magazine circulation revenue fell 12 percent in the second quarter ended June 30 and its advertising revenue dipped about 12 percent, as more readers and advertisers shift to digital platforms. The company said on Friday that it expected its cost savings and other initiatives to offset the softness in advertising. The publisher last month announced a fresh cost-cutting program, targeting $400 million in savings. Separately, the company said it received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requiring it to provide documents relating to certain goodwill and asset impairments and some restructuring and severance costs. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-time-divestiture/time-inc-says-in-talks-to-sell-several-assets-idUSKCN1BX1ES'|'2017-09-22T14:19:00.000+03:00'
'c0e27a81d4c84d1a71200a8b50079b89be1a4f0d'|'Euro and kiwi slip on political news, Asia shares track Wall Street'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:01 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Euro, kiwi slip on political uncertainties, Asia shares fall Shinichi Saoshiro 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - People walk past an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro slipped on Monday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term but faced a fractured parliament as support for the far-right surged, while Asian shares pulled back, weighed by concerns about China’s economy. The New Zealand dollar also took a hit as the Pacific country’s ruling National Party won the largest number votes in a weekend election but failed to secure a ruling majority, with a protracted period of coalition building now a possibility. The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.1930 EUR= , putting more distance between a 2-1/2-year high of $1.2092 reached on Sept. 8, when a European Central Bank policy meeting left currency bulls optimistic the ECB would begin tapering its big stimulus programme. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS handed back earlier modest gains and was last down 0.35 percent with losses across the regions weighing. Two years after Merkel left German borders open to more than 1 million migrants, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) stunned the establishment by becoming the first far-right party to enter parliament in more than half a century. “The market reacted by selling the euro on the possibility of Merkel running into difficulties in forging a coalition. The euro, however, was already losing support from the European Central Bank’s monetary policy theme and appeared to be on its way lower,” said Daisuke Karakama, chief market economist at Mizuho Bank in Tokyo. “The election outcome in Germany showed the country was no longer a special presence in Europe amid growing support for populism and the far right.” In New Zealand, the kiwi, the world 11th most-traded currency, was down 1 percent at $0.7270 NZD=D4 . It was at a 1-1/2-month high of $0.7435 as recently as Sept. 20, when speculation for a comfortable ruling party win had boosted the currency. “While there are a few different scenarios and some potentially testy issues to negotiate, ultimately the political landscape appears as though it will remain relatively centralist and we are reasonably agnostic on what it all means,” wrote economists at ANZ. Chinese stocks remained shaky after falling towards the end of last week following the Federal Reserve’s hawkish policy stance and S&P’s downgrade of China’s sovereign rating. FILE PHOTO: A picture illustration of Euro banknotes taken in central Bosnian town of Zenica, April 26, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic /File Photo Hong Kong''s Hang Seng .HSI was down 0.8 percent and Shanghai .SSEC slipped 0.3 percent after a number of Chinese cities rolled out new cubs to further slow home property sales. South Korea''s KOSPI .KS11 shed 0.4 percent while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 bucked the trend and rose 0.6 percent thanks to the yen''s weakening against the dollar. The S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC closed slightly higher on Friday as worries about the Graham-Cassidy proposal to reform U.S. health insurance eased and investors shrugged off concerns about North Korea. [.N] FILE PHOTO: A New Zealand Dollar note is seen in this picture illustration June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo The pound inched up after sliding on Friday, when British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to give any concrete details for how Britain might retain preferential access to Europe’s single market after Brexit. Sterling was up 0.2 percent at $1.3528 GBP=D3 after losing 0.6 percent on Friday. Its peers’ troubles lifted the dollar, with its index against a basket of six major currencies up 0.1 percent at 92.257 .DXY. The greenback added 0.3 percent at 112.320 yen JPY= , reversing losses suffered on Friday when the exchange of insults between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea heated up, sapping broader risk appetite. Oil prices consolidated after surging on Friday, when OPEC and other oil producers said they were clearing a glut that has weighed on crude prices and may wait until January before deciding whether to extend their output curbs beyond the first quarter of 2018. [O/R] Brent crude futures LCOc1 was down 0.1 percent at $56.80 a barrel, not far from a 6-1/2-month high of $56.91 set on Friday. U.S. crude CLc1 lost 0.2 percent to $50.57 a barrel. Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Eric Meijer and Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/euro-and-kiwi-slip-on-political-news-asia-shares-track-wall-street-idUKKCN1C0023'|'2017-09-25T04:01:00.000+03:00'
'b480a22e3763c6dd14f7c5f9e0a52c6a8e406c98'|'AIG to restructure into three new units, marking CEO''s first big move'|'American International Group Inc. (AIG) headquarters seen on the day of the companyÕs 2017 annual shareholder meeting at 175 Water Street, New York, U.S., June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Suzanne Barlyn/Files REUTERS - American International Group Inc said on Monday it will reorganize into three new business units and will no longer have separate commercial and consumer units, marking the first significant move by new Chief Executive Brian Duperreault.Under the new structure, AIG will have a general insurance unit, a life and retirement unit and a standalone technology unit. Two of those businesses will be led by longtime Duperreault colleagues whom he recruited to AIG in July.The shakeup marks Duperreault’s first major action after taking the helm of the company in May after former CEO Peter Hancock stepped down, citing a lack of confidence from the board and investors.Widely seen as a turnaround expert, 70-year-old Duperreault has said he wants to grow AIG’s businesses. AIG’s stock has underperformed rivals and the broader market for nearly a decade.Peter Zaffino, former head of Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc’s brokerage business, whom Duperreault previously named as AIG’s chief operating officer, will be CEO of AIG’s general insurance unit.The new life and retirement unit will be headed by Kevin Hogan, who has a long AIG history and most recently ran the insurer’s consumer insurance unit.Seraina Macia, former head of Hamilton USA, the North American arm of Duperreault’s former company, Hamilton Insurance Group Ltd, will be CEO of the technology unit, AIG said.AIG agreed to buy Hamilton USA for $110 million in May.Rob Schimek, CEO of AIG’s commercial unit, will leave the company at the end of October, AIG said.The restructuring ”better aligns with how investors actually prefer to analyze AIG,” said Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Meyer Shields.AIG said it expects its year-end financial reporting to reflect the new structure, which will also be aligned with its incentive and performance management plans.The reorganization comes as the insurer is trying to convince U.S. regulators to shed its “systemically important financial institution” label, which triggers stricter oversight and greater capital requirements.AIG received the label after it received $182 billion in a government bailout during the financial crisis.Since the crisis, AIG has sold dozens of businesses, including two Asian life insurance operations and one of the world’s biggest aircraft leasing businesses.It recently sold a mortgage-insurance unit. It remains the largest commercial insurer in the United States and Canada.Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Bill Rigby '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/aig-restructure/aig-to-restructure-operations-into-three-business-units-idINKCN1C01J2'|'2017-09-25T16:35:00.000+03:00'
'bbffd9de6169a2363e08dcbb56682d17dbb3e689'|'ABB buys GE unit for $2.6 billion to boost North American business'|'  5:25 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago ABB buys GE business for $2.6 billion in bet it can boost margins Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB is seen in Baden, Switzerland June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Power grids maker ABB is buying General Electric’s Industrial Solutions business for $2.6 billion on a bet that it can improve lackluster margins at the unit over the next five years, the Swiss engineering company said on Monday. Zurich-based ABB sees potential for cost synergies of $200 million annually after five years with the deal, which includes terms for long-term use of GE’s brand. In 2016, Industrial Solutions had sales of about $2.7 billion, with an operating margin of some 8 percent. ABB is wagering on being able to cut costs and boost profitability at the Georgia-based GE business, whose operating earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) as a percentage of sales is only about half the 15 percent of ABB’s comparable Electrification Products division. Initially, combining with GE’s unit will reduce Electrification Products’ margins to below ABB’s target of 15-19 percent, although ABB aims to return to that level by 2020, it said. “Together with the GE Industrial Solutions team, we will execute our well-established plans in a disciplined way to bring this business as part of the global ABB family back to peer performance,” ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer said in a statement. Products made by the GE unit include circuit breakers, switchgear and power supply equipment used for facilities including data centers. GE had resumed negotiations to sell the business to ABB after the U.S. industrial conglomerate moderated its price expectations, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in August. Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-abb-ge-industrial-solutions/abb-buys-ge-unit-for-2-6-billion-to-boost-north-american-business-idUKKCN1C00DW'|'2017-09-25T08:23:00.000+03:00'
'bdf700077c77d86d89cc73a5e77930c1d58e03d4'|'Qatar to accept four Airbus A350s it previously canceled: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350 is pictured at the ILA Berlin Air Show in Schoenefeld, south of Berlin, Germany, May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch LONDON (Reuters) - Qatar Airways plans to take delivery of four Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A350 airliners that it previously cancelled over aerospace supplier problems, industry sources told Reuters.A deal has been reached allowing the four planes, still in Qatar Airways colours and parked in Toulouse, France, to be delivered “in the near future,” one of the sources said.Qatar Airways could not be reached for comment.An Airbus spokesman said: “It is our customers’ privilege to comment on their next deliveries”.The cancellation of the four jets in July had dented the Airbus order book and left it with a headache over what to do with inventory worth $1.2 billion at list prices.Reversing the cancellation will spare Airbus millions of dollars in charges to convert the cabins for another airline and means the order for 4 jets could be re-posted to Airbus’s list of sales for the A350, of which Qatar is the largest customer.Reporting by Tim Hepher, Alexander Cornwell; editing by Luke Baker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-aircraft-airbus/qatar-to-accept-four-airbus-a350s-it-previously-canceled-sources-idUSKCN1C01NY'|'2017-09-25T15:32:00.000+03:00'
'7f89584a42468f7665484146ca284981849922c0'|'India''s food grain output from summer crop seen down 3 percent'|'FILE PHOTO: A labourer carries vegetable oil packets on a tricycle as a man stands in front of his shop selling food grains, at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s food grain production from summer-sown crops is likely to fall 2.8 percent in 2017/18 from a year ago to 134.67 million tonnes on lower rice output, the government said on Monday.Production of summer-sown rice is estimated to fall 2 percent to 94.48 million tonnes, while production of pulses could drop 7.5 percent to 8.71 million tonnes, the government said in a statement.Cotton output could fall to 32.27 million bales from 33 million bales a year ago despite a rise in the crop area.(1 Indian bale = 170 kg)Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Malini MenonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-crops-output/indias-food-grain-output-from-summer-crop-seen-down-3-percent-idINKCN1C00VI'|'2017-09-25T12:14:00.000+03:00'
'7a10ee65ae348ab4445faa7a87567299db9a8722'|'Lufthansa Chairman Mayrhuber steps down, to be replaced by Kley'|'  1:52 PM / Updated 40 minutes ago Lufthansa Chairman Mayrhuber steps down, to be replaced by Kley Reuters Staff 1   Former Lufthansa Chief Executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber waves during their general meeting in Cologne May 7, 2013. Mayrhuber is back in the running to become supervisory board chairman of Lufthansa, Germany''s biggest airline, after overcoming shareholder opposition to his candidacy. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender BERLIN (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) said on Monday its supervisory board Chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber had resigned, six months before the end of his term, and would be replaced by Karl-Ludwig Kley. “In the interest of continuous development and a forward looking development, I have resigned from my mandate so that Karl-Ludwig Kley can assume the position as Chairman,” Mayrhuber, who has been with Lufthansa for more than 40 years and became its Chief Executive in 2003, said in a statement. Kley, 66, was Lufthansa’s finance chief for eight years through 2006 before joining drugs and chemicals group Merck KGaA ( MRCG.DE ). He has been a member of Lufthansa’s supervisory board since 2013. (This version of the story repeats to attach to alert) Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Arno Schuetze'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lufthansa-chairman/lufthansa-chairman-mayrhuber-steps-down-to-be-replaced-by-kley-idUKKCN1C01WO'|'2017-09-25T16:56:00.000+03:00'
'4598c3d89014802cb3b1ee8ab7b0106ef8abf469'|'UK regulator rejects Labour call for credit card cap'|' 43 PM / a few seconds ago UK regulator rejects Labour call for credit card cap Huw Jones , Andrew MacAskill , Anjuli Davies   Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, speaks during a "Reuters Newsmaker" interview at the Reuters offices in London, Britain, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s financial watchdog rejected calls to cap interest rates charged on credit cards on Monday, saying that planned measures to help people avoid excessive debt should be given time to work. “We are not there at the moment,” Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, said in response to calls from Britain’s Labour opposition party for a cap on interest payments on consumer credit card debt. Bailey told the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit that the watchdog has been doing a “lot of work” on consumer credit cards and was finalizing measures following public consultation. “Our general approach is look, we would rather like to see what the effect of those measures is,” Bailey said at the Reuters office in London. The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee, on which Bailey sits, told British banks on Monday they will collectively need to find an extra 10 billion pounds in capital to cover potential losses from consumer credit, a sector which has seen heady growth. Related Coverage No European banks have asked for UK licenses as Brexit looms Most economists expect the BoE to raise interest rates to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent in November, which would increase pressure on people with large credit card debts. Bailey said the focus of the FCA was on people who are unable to pay down their credit cards in a timely way. The watchdog renewed a cap on the very high interest rates charged on payday loans in July, and now faces pressure to introduce a similar cap on credit cards. “An interest rate cap in some parts of (the) credit market would not work because the credit is not structured in a way that lends itself to a cap. The most obvious case is rent-to-own, where it would not work,” Bailey said. “I am concerned we don’t choke off all access to credit.” Credit has a role to play for those in the “gig economy”, where income is erratic, as it can help smooth out earnings, Bailey said, while social housing usually needs furnishing when people move in and therefore credit is needed to buy appliances. “Cutting them off has consequences. Leaving them in the hands of payday loans has consequences,” Bailey said. The FCA’s CEO said he was no rush to intervene in the car financing sector where “personal contract purchase” or PCP loans offered by the financing arms of automakers, a model common in the United States, have increased rapidly in Britain. Under PCPs, the customer pays a fraction of the car’s price as a deposit, and then regular monthly installments, with the ability to buy the car at a price agreed at the start. “I am not persuaded that per se the structural shift in car credit in this country towards PCP is a bad thing,” Bailey said. Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits Reporting by Huw Jones, Anjuli Davies and Andrew MacAskill, editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-summit-regulation-bailey/uk-regulator-rejects-labour-call-for-credit-card-cap-idUKKCN1C01V9'|'2017-09-25T16:39:00.000+03:00'
'61bb8b2b14d17c800666e1c5019504c2860160ce'|'IAG CEO confirms bid for Air Berlin, sees it going to Lufthansa'|'September 25, 2017 / 9:13 AM / Updated 5 hours ago IAG CEO confirms bid for Air Berlin, sees it going to Lufthansa Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - An Air Berlin sign is seen at an Air Berlin storage hall in Berlin, Germany, August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - British Airways parent IAG put in a bid for part of insolvent German airline Air Berlin but expects it will go mainly to Lufthansa, CEO Willie Walsh said at a conference in Barcelona. Air Berlin, which filed for insolvency in August, said last week its creditors had picked Lufthansa and easyJet as possible buyers and would negotiate with them for until Oct 12. “We put in a binding bid for part of Air Berlin, but I don’t think it comes as any surprise that Lufthansa is going to get it,” Walsh was quoted as saying at the World Routes conference. “From every angle, it looks like it was designed to facilitate Lufthansa but we’ll wait and see. We haven’t heard anything official yet,” he further said. A spokeswoman for IAG confirmed the comments, which were reported by the conference website. A large part of Air Berlin’s assets look set to go to Lufthansa, which is bidding around 200 million euros ($238 million) for units including leisure airline Niki and regional carrier LGW, a source has said. Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr said last week the carrier was interested in up to 78 planes, with the focus on 38 crewed aircraft it already leases from Air Berlin. Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Ludwig Burger '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-iag/iag-ceo-confirms-bid-for-air-berlin-sees-it-going-to-lufthansa-idUKKCN1C00XH'|'2017-09-25T12:09:00.000+03:00'
'0d6f855371ada24cc38b252215048ebf0d217782'|'Fed needs to see prices rise before next rate hike, Evans says'|'September 25, 2017 / 4:45 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Fed needs to see prices rise before next rate hike, Evans says Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans speaks during a meeting in Madrid, Spain, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should wait until there are clear signs that American paychecks and prices are rising before raising interest rates again, a U.S. central banker said Monday, warning that moving too fast would be a policy “misstep.” Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans, who votes this year on monetary policy, said he broadly agrees with his colleagues who believe rates should rise gradually to about 2.7 percent over the next two years or so, from the current range of between 1 percent and 1.25 percent. But he said inflation, running at 1.4 percent by the Fed’s preferred gauge, is too low, and voiced concerns that low inflation expectations will keep it from rising toward the Fed’s 2-percent inflation goal. “We need to see clear signs of building wage and price pressures before taking the next step in removing accommodation,” Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids. “A gradual and cautious approach continues to be the appropriate strategy.” His comments stood in stark contrast to the confident tone adopted by William Dudley, chief of the New York Fed, who earlier Monday said inflation weakness is fading. [nL2N1M60GR] The Fed has raised interest rates twice this year, and last week policymakers pointed to one more rate hike this year and three next year. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said such increases are justified by improvements in the labor market and the conviction that inflation will return to 2 percent by 2019. [nTLAKKEDBK] Evans said he is less optimistic about inflation. Returning inflation to 2-percent over the medium term, he said, calls for policies that generate at least the possibility inflation could exceed 2 percent. “We should avoid taking policy steps that could be misread as a lack of concern over the inflation outlook,” said Evans. “In my view, that would be a policy misstep that would further delay achieving our inflation objective.” Related Coverage '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-evans/fed-needs-to-see-prices-rise-before-next-rate-hike-evans-says-idUSKCN1C02EC'|'2017-09-25T20:00:00.000+03:00'
'50e8e8e614f5b64f2febf5e670f70d02593c2c64'|'Oil holds gains as producers say market rebalancing'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:25 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil holds gains as producers say market rebalancing Osamu Tsukimori 3 Min Read A gas station worker pumps gas into a car at a gas station of the state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices stood little changed on Monday, keeping most of their gains from the previous session to hold near their highest levels in months, as major producers meeting in Vienna said the market was well on its way towards rebalancing. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and several other producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day since the start of 2017, helping lift oil prices by about 15 percent in the past three months. Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chaired Friday’s meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, said supply cuts were helping cut global crude inventories to their five-year average, OPEC’s stated target. London Brent crude for November delivery was down 3 cents at $56.83 a barrel by 0304 GMT, near the highest since March. U.S. crude for November delivery was down 8 cents at $50.58, having risen 0.2 percent on Friday. Russia’s energy minister said no decision on extending output curbs beyond the end of March was expected before January, although other ministers suggested such a decision could be taken before the end of this year. “There is still ample time to decide for producers whether to extend output curbs beyond March,” said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting in Tokyo. “Oil is relatively underpriced compared with other markets, but any steep rise would be offset by rising shale oil production.” Attempts to curb supply have faced rising U.S. shale oil output. U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil rigs operating for a third week in a row as a 14-month drilling recovery stalled as companies pared back on spending plans. Hedge funds boosted bullish wagers on U.S. crude oil to the highest level in one month, data showed. Elsewhere, Nigeria is pumping below its agreed output cap, its oil minister said. Oil also came under pressure from the dollar’s rise against euro after Germany’s election showed surging support for a far-right party that left Chancellor Angela Merkel scrambling to form a governing coalition. Markets were also nervously eyeing developments in North Korea. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Sunday said President Donald Trump wants to avoid nuclear war with North Korea and “will do everything we can” to avoid conflict. Trump has dialed up the rhetoric against North Korea over the weekend, warning the country’s foreign minister that he and leader Kim Jong Un “won’t be around much longer,” as Pyongyang staged a major anti-U.S. rally. Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-holds-gains-as-producers-say-market-rebalancing-idUKKCN1C002U'|'2017-09-25T04:19:00.000+03:00'
'a6c8359d55244d535b657e16845537701b5df98c'|'Apple shares flirt with correction territory'|'SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc dipped on Monday and flirted with correction territory following a report that the company had told suppliers to scale back shipments of parts for its upcoming iPhone X.Digitimes, citing unnamed sources, reported that Apple suppliers were shipping just 40 percent of the components originally ordered for the premium phone, which goes on sale in early November.That added to concerns on Wall Street about demand for Apple’s new devices after the launch on Friday of the iPhone 8, a less expensive model than the iPhone X, drew smaller crowds than previous launches.Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Some investors saw the tepid iPhone 8 debut as a sign that customers were holding out for the iPhone X, which boasts an edge-to-edge display and will sell in the United States for $999.Amid a broad selloff in technology shares on Monday, Apple’s stock was last down 0.7 percent. It earlier fell as much as 1.8 percent, bringing its loss since a record high on Sept. 1 to 9 percent.Many investors define a correction as a 10 percent decline. A stock in correction may be viewed as either a buying opportunity or as likely to fall further.“I’d buy Apple in this pullback,” said Wedbush trader Joel Kulina. “It’s a high-priced product but super high end.”While the number of people queuing up outside Apple stores has dropped over the past several years with many buyers choosing to shop online, the weak turnout for the latest iPhone has partly been due to poor reviews.Apple’s stock recently traded at 13.8 times expected earnings, its lowest valuation since February, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.Over the past two years, Apple’s average forward price-to-earnings ratio has been 12.6. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/apple-stocks/apple-shares-flirt-with-correction-territory-idINL2N1M61AA'|'2017-09-25T16:31:00.000+03:00'
'94ac4797c997b37f2530c51ed10311dc60a6a3a2'|'UPDATE 2-Billionaire Arison to bring in partners for Bank Hapoalim stake'|'FILE PHOTO: Shari Arison smiles during a visit to a community project in Jerusalem March 20, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Billionaire Shari Arison has signed a non-binding agreement to bring on board three North American financial institutions to share her controlling interest in Bank Hapoalim ( POLI.TA ), Israel’s biggest bank.Arison is in a preliminary agreement to sell 49 percent of Arison Holdings, through which she holds a controlling 20 percent stake in Hapoalim that is valued at 6.5 billion shekels ($1.9 billion).The price will be calculated according to Arison Holdings’ equity, based on a valuation for Hapoalim of 24.82 shekels per share, Arison Holdings said on Sunday. Arison said there was no certainty that a deal, which requires approval from the Bank of Israel, will be completed.The potential buyers -- two financial institutions and one investment group -- do not yet have any strategic investments in Israel. They would enter the controlling shareholder group in Hapoalim as long-term strategic investors.“Once the transaction will be completed, we will act together with our new partners, and with the bank’s management and employees, to enhance responsible long-term growth for the benefit of all stakeholders, customers and the Israeli market,” Arison Holdings said in a statement.The Bank of Israel, the country’s banking regulator, has a positive initial impression of the investors and sees the deal as an indication of trust in the Israeli banking system, said sources who are close to the matter.The central bank declined to comment.The Arison family has controlled Hapoalim for two decades. Arison’s father, Ted, who made his fortune as founder of Carnival Cruise Line, was part of a consortium that bought control of the bank from the government. Arison, Israel’s wealthiest woman, has since bought out her partners.Shares in Hapoalim, which is the subject of an investigation by U.S. authorities over possible tax evasion by the bank’s U.S. clients, were up 1.8 percent at 24.57 shekels in afternoon trading in Tel Aviv.Reporting by Tova Cohen and Steven Scheer; Editing by Toby Chopra and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bank-hapoalim-arison/billionaire-arison-to-bring-in-partners-for-bank-hapoalim-stake-idUSKCN1BZ0DR'|'2017-09-24T15:45:00.000+03:00'
'be7e09fade9a5134e50f9dd1f5f377a3c3aa20fe'|'Uber says will appeal decision to strip it of licence to operate in London'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:38 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Uber says will appeal decision to strip it of licence to operate in London Reuters Staff 1 Min Read An electronic billboard advertising Uber is seen in front of an office block in London, Britain, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Uber said it would challenge a decision by London’s transport regulator on Friday to strip it of its licence to operate from the end of the month. Transport for London said Uber, whose licence expires on Sept. 30, would be allowed to continue to operate while the appeals process was exhausted. “Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice,” Uber said in a statement. “We intend to immediately challenge this in the courts.” Reporting by Michael Holden and Costas Pitas, writing by Kylie MacLellan, editing by Elizabeth Piper '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uber-britain-appeal/uber-says-will-appeal-decision-to-strip-it-of-licence-to-operate-in-london-idINKCN1BX19A'|'2017-09-22T13:37:00.000+03:00'
'a1d1e89fda8f6969200ae84544a8958855dacd0d'|'What if large tech firms were regulated like sewage companies?'|'THREE-QUARTERS of Americans admit that they search the web, send e-mails and check their social-media accounts in the bathroom. That is not the only connection between tech and plumbing. The water and sewage industry offers clues to the vexed question of how to regulate the Silicon Valley “platform” firms, such as Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook. The implications are mildly terrifying for the companies, so any tech tycoons reading this column might want to secure a spare pair of trousers.In America and in Europe a consensus is emerging that big tech firms must be tamed. Their dominance of services such as search and social media gives them huge economic and political clout. The $3trn total market value of America’s five biggest tech firms (Apple and Microsoft are the other two) suggests that investors believe they are among the most powerful firms in history, up there with the East India Company and Standard Oil. 16 Trustbusters in need of instant gratification want to break up the companies, but this might make their services less useful (imagine having ten social-media accounts), and network effects might mean that one of the tiddlers would grow dominant again. Others want tech firms to license their patents for nothing, as AT&T was required to do in 1956. This might create startups tomorrow, but will not stop firms exploiting monopolies today.An alternative is to regulate these companies like utilities—monopolies with high market shares that provide an essential service from which it is expensive for consumers to switch. Here, the water industry is relevant, particularly the concept of a regulated asset base (RAB). It emerged in the 1990s when Britain was privatising its water firms, borrowing elements from American regulation. It is an acronym that few in Silicon Valley are aware of. But from these obscure origins RAB frameworks are now common in Europe and Latin America, used to regulate at least $400bn-worth of power, airport, water and telecoms assets.The idea is that the monopolist’s profits should not exceed the level that a competitive market would allow. That means estimating the cost to an imaginary new entrant of replicating the incumbent’s assets (this is the RAB) and calculating the profits the newcomer would make if its returns matched its cost of capital. The actual monopoly’s earnings should not exceed this amount. Safeguards are added to ensure the utility is run efficiently, keeping costs low. Regulators review the framework every few years.How might utility-style regulation work for Silicon Valley firms? Consider a thought experiment with Facebook. Its 1.3bn users pay nothing, but give it their data and control over the adverts they see. Facebook then sells advertisers targeted access to its users, pulling in $27bn last year. Imagine that the service were “unbundled”, giving users control. All would own their data and could choose whether to sell them to advertisers. They would also have to pay Facebook a fee to compensate it for the cost of creating and operating the network.The big question is how much compensation—profits—Facebook and other firms would deserve if they were treated as utilities. It is possible to get a rough idea. Assume a cost of capital of 12%—a high figure to reflect the risk inherent in tech firms’ models. Estimating their RABs is harder. They have some physical assets such as data centres, but unlike utilities their main resources are not pylons, pipes and property, but software and ideas that they create or acquire by buying rivals. Only some of these intangibles appear on their balance-sheets; the vast sums spent on research and development (R&D) do not. But you can reconfigure their balance-sheets as if all their R&D in the past had been recognised as an asset with a 20-year life. Alphabet and Facebook would have a combined RAB of $160bn. If their returns were capped at 12%, operating profits would fall by 65% and 81% respectively.If their services were unbundled, users would benefit. Using figures from 2016, the average Facebook user would pay $15 a year to the firm for its return on its RAB, but they would pocket $23 from selling advertisers their data and the right to be advertised to. A Google user would pay $37 a year to Google, but collect $45 from advertisers. Those are fairly small sums, but richer users with particularly valuable data could make much more.Bog standardRegulating tech like water would cause an outcry among investors and in Silicon Valley. Yet some of the objections do not stack up. Essential investment would still happen—a guaranteed 12% return is a handsome reward. The firms could invest in new technologies that would remain outside the regulated utility. It would be possible to work out which assets sit abroad and exclude them from the RAB, or to reach arrangements with foreign regulators.This approach would have shortcomings, though. Tech moves at the speed of light compared with conventional utilities. It was only five years ago that investors worried that Facebook would struggle with the shift to mobile phones. Regulators would be clumsy at coping with rapid change. And a RAB methodology would not resolve the incendiary issue of whether tech platforms should be responsible for what they publish.Despite such problems, tech bosses should view regulation as utilities as a long-term risk. They have two defences. First, to bundle their services so tightly that it is impossible for outsiders to isolate the products that are monopolies and work out their profits and assets. Amazon is a master here. It is unclear how much it makes or has invested in e-commerce (where it is dominant), videos (where it is a challenger), or food (where it is a new entrant).The second defence is to lobby Washington. The lesson from America’s veteran oligopolists—airline, telecoms and health-care companies—is that you can manipulate and dance around the regulatory system to ensure high profits. For tech firms, financial obfuscation and cronyism are the most effective ways to ensure their monopoly profits do not go down the drain. "Big tech, big trouble"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729455-being-treated-utilities-big-techs-biggest-long-term-threat-what-if-large-tech-firms-were?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-23T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'f2829ebff15eb6f3e54c1ab4b1aec5baba4ba8c5'|'Apple''s iPhone 8 launch in Sydney sees bleak turnout'|'September 22, 2017 / 2:00 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Apple''s iPhone 8 sees muted launch in Asia Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Staff members applaud customers as they arrive to purchase Apple''s new iPhone 8 after it goes on sale at an Apple Store in Shanghai, China September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song SYDNEY/TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) launch of iPhone 8 kicked off in a less lively mood in Asia, versus previous debuts, as fans held out for the premium iPhone X due out in early November. Hundreds of people usually gather at Apple’s Sydney city store with queues winding down the town’s main street, George Street, when there is a new product release. But there were fewer than 30 people lining up before the store opened on Friday, according to a Reuters witness. While the number of people queuing up outside Apple stores have dropped over the years with many opting for online purchases, the weak turnout for the latest iPhone has partly been due to poor reviews. Mazen Kourouche, who was first in queue after lining up 11 days outside the store so he could buy and review the product on YouTube, said there were modest refinements. “(It) is pretty similar to the iPhone 7 but it shoots 4k 60 frames per second and it’s got a new glass back instead of the metal which is apparently more durable,” he told Reuters. “There aren’t too many new features to this one.” In China, a loyal Apple customer said the improved camera was one of the reasons she purchased the new device. Apple customers camp outside of Sydney''s flagship Apple store on the first day the iPhone 8 went on sale in Sydney, Australia, September 22, 2017. AAP/Joel Carrett/via REUTERS “I waited until midnight to watch the launch event with my boyfriend to learn what’s new with this iPhone. Its photograph function is pretty good. So I think I must change with no hesitation,” said 29-year-old consumer Ta Na in Shanghai. Mentions of iPhone 8 and iPhone X on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo, an indicator of consumer interest, were less than levels seen before the previous two launches. Slideshow (9 Images) Poor reviews of the iPhone 8, which comes 10 years after Apple released the first version of the revolutionary phone, drove down shares of the company to near two-month lows of $152.75 on Thursday, as investors worried pre-orders for the device had come in well below previous launches. The iPhone 8 will only cater to those who want a new version but do not want to pay a hefty $999 for the iPhone X, said iTWire.com’s technology editor Alex Zaharov-Reutt, who did not line up for the launch. The iPhone X is a glass and stainless steel device with an edge-to-edge display that Chief Executive Tim Cook has called “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone”. “I think it’ll be more lively with more people with the iPhone X,” said Ray Yokoyama, after buying an iPhone 8 in Tokyo. Reporting by Paulina Duran, Jill Gralow and James Redmayne in SYDNEY, Teppei Kasai in TOKYO, Jiang Xihao in SHANGHAI, Joyce Zhou in Beijing, and Pak Yiu in Hong Kong; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-iphone/apples-iphone-8-launch-in-sydney-sees-bleak-turnout-idUKKCN1BX05Y'|'2017-09-22T05:06:00.000+03:00'
'4991b746c707673e367f1a12a717c5b428053571'|'Petrobras, Sete Brasil pick mediator in legal dispute'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - State-controlled oil producer Petróleo Brasileiro SA and Sete Brasil Participações SA have agreed to choose a mediator for a legal dispute that forced the rig leaser to seek creditor protection against 18 billion reais ($5.7 billion) of debt.In a Thursday securities filing, Petrobras said Gustavo Binenbojm had been picked by both parties to mediate the dispute. Founded in 2008 to fill the world’s biggest deep-water drilling fleet order, Sete Brasil had to file for bankruptcy protection last year after efforts to secure a long-term contract with Petrobras failed.The tussle between Petrobras and Sete Brasil’s management and shareholders has forced the rig leaser’s creditors to write off some of the 15 billion reais in loans they extended to Sete Brasil. ($1 = 3.1373 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Marguerita Choy) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sete-brasil-restructuring/petrobras-sete-brasil-pick-mediator-in-legal-dispute-idINL2N1M22DP'|'2017-09-21T19:50:00.000+03:00'
'8d48d6de7ad7192c14c0a7da34bec87476b580cd'|'German economy to grow robustly in third quarter, finance minister says'|'September 20, 2017 / 10:07 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago German economy to grow robustly in third quarter, finance minister says Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schauble attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) - The German economy weakened at the start of the third quarter after a strong performance in the first half of the year, but indicators suggest its solid growth will continue, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. Europe’s biggest economy is enjoying a consumer-led upswing, propelled by record-high employment, rising real wages and low borrowing costs - conditions that are likely to help Chancellor Angela Merkel win a fourth term in a federal election on Sunday. The Finance Ministry, controlled by Merkel’s conservatives and their veteran lawmaker Wolfgang Schaeuble, said in its monthly report that the economy lost some momentum at the beginning of the third quarter. “But recent economic data indicate that the solid upswing will continue also in the third quarter,” the ministry said, adding that business morale remained high and German exporters were expected to benefit from a global economic recovery. The German economy grew 0.7 percent on the quarter in the first three months of the year and 0.6 percent from April to June, driven by increased household and state spending as well as higher investments in buildings and machinery. A string of economic data in the past weeks had painted a mixed picture of the economy, with unemployment falling further and the mood among German investors improving. But retail sales, industrial orders and manufacturing output disappointed in July. The ministry said that macroeconomic fundamentals remained favourable and domestic demand would continue to drive growth, pointing to rising employment and wages. The economic upturn is boosting tax income as more people join the labour market, shoppers spend and companies can increase their profits. From January to August, tax revenues of the federal government and the 16 regional states rose 4.1 percent year-on-year, the ministry said. That is slightly more than the projected rise of 3.9 percent for the whole year. Rising revenue has enabled Merkel’s government to spend more on roads and bridges, faster internet, social housing and integration of refugees, without taking on new debt. This means Schaeuble can stick to his cherished but internationally criticised goal of a balanced budget -- also known as ‘Schwarze Null’ or black zero. Reporting by Michael Nienaber, editing by Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy/german-economy-to-grow-robustly-in-third-quarter-finance-minister-says-idUKKCN1BV32C'|'2017-09-21T01:08:00.000+03:00'
'694a04410b9606d8a882edf5d9d9de24f63e406d'|'Japan''s Kuraray to buy Calgon Carbon for $1.1 billion'|'  7:29 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago Japan''s Kuraray to buy Calgon Carbon for $1.1 billion Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese chemical manufacturer Kuraray Co Ltd will buy U.S. activated carbon firm Calgon Carbon Corp for $1.107 billion (821.2 million pounds), Kuraray said on Thursday, adding the carbon materials firm as one of its core businesses. Kuraray said it would buy all of Calgon Carbon’s shares for $21.50 each, making the Pittsburgh-based company a wholly-owned subsidiary. It said it planned to complete the debt-funded acquisition - which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval - within the year. Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kuraray-calgon-carbon-m-a/japans-kuraray-to-buy-calgon-carbon-for-1-1-billion-idUKKCN1BW0VS'|'2017-09-21T10:29:00.000+03:00'
'982630fc1e2d609be5463d18144cce5a0f82f97b'|'Western Digital takes legal step to stop Toshiba memory investment'|'September 21, 2017 / 1:02 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Western Digital takes legal step to stop Toshiba memory investment Stephen Nellis 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) filed its latest legal action against joint-venture chip partner Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) for moving to invest in a new flash memory production line without its help, the U.S. company said on Wednesday. The new arbitration requests, filed in the International Court of Arbitration that oversees the companies’ agreement, seeks to stop Toshiba from investing in the so-called Fab 6 facility in Yokkaichi, Japan, unless Western Digital’s subsidiary Sandisk is also allowed to invest. The court, a branch of the International Chamber of Commerce, is an institution for the resolution of international commercial disputes. In a statement in August, Western Digital asserted it had the right to co-invest and had said it was “disappointed” in Toshiba’s decision in August to proceed on its own. On Wednesday, Western Digital said its hand was “forced.” “It is unfortunate that SanDisk is forced to initiate binding arbitration to remedy Toshiba’s retaliatory breach of the (joint-venture) agreement entered into by both SanDisk and Toshiba,” the company said in a statement. Toshiba did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest dispute. It said in August it had tried unsuccessfully to reach agreement with SanDisk on a joint investment and would move forward without SanDisk. The companies have battled for months over Toshiba’s efforts to sell its memory unit to raise cash to plug a hole in its finances caused by its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit, Westinghouse. Toshiba officials said earlier on Wednesday they had sealed a deal to sell the flash memory unit for $18 billion to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP that also included Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), helping to keep the Japanese conglomerate’s listing on the Tokyo stock exchange. Toshiba’s shares were down 1.3 percent to 311 yen in early trading in Tokyo. Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-westerndigital/western-digital-takes-legal-step-to-stop-toshiba-memory-investment-idINKCN1BW04G'|'2017-09-20T23:02:00.000+03:00'
'deb373541fe49c515c8cb3ef38ed429ce3a6af0d'|'BlackRock CEO Fink says he is committed to gender diversity'|'Reuters TV United States September 20, 2017 / 3:06 PM / Updated 2 hours ago BlackRock CEO Fink says he is committed to gender diversity Trevor Hunnicutt , Stephanie Kelly 3 Min Read Larry Fink, Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, takes part in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in New York, U.S., February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) Chief Executive Larry Fink on Wednesday said the largest asset manager must mirror its customers in terms of gender, comments that come as the company has become more vocal about shareholder and activist efforts to boost workplace diversity. “The reality is in the world more than 50 percent of household wealth is managed by women,” said Fink, who spoke at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York. “And so if I‘m going to be a mirror of my clients, we are going to need more women in our firm.” BlackRock said this year that 39 percent of its employees are women, and that 43 percent of its total hires in 2016 and 29 percent of those brought on in senior leadership positions last year are women. Investors have increasingly signaled a desire for their savings, including those managed by BlackRock and its rivals, to reflect their values. As a major shareholder in most public companies, BlackRock has also been pressured by activists to back shareholder-fronted propositions and vote against boards to prompt better corporate citizenship. Fink has encouraged executives to adjust their behavior to focus on generating long-term value for shareholders, rather than simply meeting short-term profit targets. Lack of diversity is among the top issues, but Fink said on Wednesday that BlackRock has also seen greater interest from investors in environmental, social and corporate governance issues as a result of the United States potentially leaving the landmark 2015 Paris climate pact. Breaking with prior practice, BlackRock this year publicly disclosed opposition to practices at oil company Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ), drugmaker Mylan NV ( MYL.O ) and other firms over climate change, compensation and other policies. BlackRock voted for eight proposals pushing U.S. and Canadian companies to adopt policies to boost their boards’ diversity during the second quarter, the asset manager disclosed in July. It said a lack of diversity could hinder decision-making. BlackRock’s board includes 17 members, four of whom are women. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bloomberg-forum-blackrock/blackrocks-fink-says-he-is-committed-to-gender-parity-idUKKCN1BV206'|'2017-09-20T21:56:00.000+03:00'
'ff5a033358800ae551660197263e5ef7d95d5509'|'Exclusive: Toshiba tells banks chip deal delayed as Apple yet to approve'|'FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) told its main banks on Monday it has not signed the $18 billion sale of its semiconductor business because Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), a member of the buyer group, has not agreed on key terms, two people involved in the deal said.The struggling Japanese conglomerate announced last Wednesday it had chosen a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP to buy the prized chip unit - a move that would end a nine-month sale process and plug a vast hole in Toshiba’s finances, preventing it from being removed from trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.But the signing of the deal to sell the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND memory chips, initially expected the following day, has dragged on, forcing Toshiba to explain the predicament to its bankers on Monday, the people said.They told Reuters that Toshiba asked the lenders to roll over 680 billion yen ($6.1 billion) in credit lines set to expire on Sept. 30.The lenders have been demanding that Toshiba sign a definitive agreement with the Bain-led group, which also involves South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), as a condition for the funding.Details of the issues with Apple couldn’t immediately be ascertained.Toshiba said in a statement to Reuters: “While we cannot comment on the detail of the deal procedure, we aim to sign the agreement with the purchaser as early as possible.”Apple didn’t immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.Press representatives for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank, the biggest of Toshiba’s seven main lenders, couldn’t immediately be reached outside office hours.Apple, which is considering investing in the unit through preferred shares, has not submitted the necessary commitment letter, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks were private.The consortium also has not received approval from the lenders on 600 billion yen ($5.4 billion) in financing for the sale, due to legal challenges posed by unsuccessful bidder and joint-venture partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ), the people said.California-based Western Digital has taken Toshiba to court to stop any sale without its consent.Reporting by Taro Fuse; Writing by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard and Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-exclusive/exclusive-toshiba-tells-banks-chip-deal-delayed-as-apple-yet-to-approve-idUSKCN1C01GE'|'2017-09-25T14:38:00.000+03:00'
'dcec786072fbc84559aa520a1d79f74ecd434014'|'ECB becoming more confident about inflation rebound: Draghi'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:22 PM / Updated 2 hours ago ECB''s Draghi warns against hasty policy moves Reuters Staff 3 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is growing increasingly confident that inflation will rise back to its target, but patience is still needed, not least to make sure the economic recovery lasts, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Monday. Draghi singled out currency volatility as a source of uncertainty that required monitoring and argued that “ample” ECB accommodation was still needed, because a premature and hasty move could unravel its work. “Overall, we are becoming more confident that inflation will eventually head to levels in line with our inflation aim, but we also know that a very substantial degree of monetary accommodation is still needed for the upward inflation path to materialize,” Draghi said. “We also have to be sensitive to the danger of not halting a recovery through hasty monetary-policy decision making,” Draghi told the European Parliament’s committee on economic affairs in Brussels. “We can’t afford hasty moves.” Related Coverage ECB may bring forward Greek bank stress test next year With the euro zone economy now growing for the 17th straight quarter, the ECB is expected to wind down its stimulus efforts, starting next year, even if inflation looks to remain below the bank’s near 2 percent target for years to come. Indeed, policymakers speaking to Reuters said that the debate is now about the details of the policy shift, such as whether to keep its quantitative easing program open-ended or whether to signal an intent to phase out bond purchases. But any change is likely to be incremental. Many policymakers are arguing for a gradualist approach to stop the euro from gaining too much. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi arrives to address the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir ”We still see some uncertainties with respect to the medium-term inflation outlook,“ Draghi said. ”Most notably, the recent volatility in the exchange rate represents a source of uncertainty which requires monitoring. “We therefore need to be patient and persistent.” Draghi also noted the effectiveness of the ECB’s corporate bond purchases, arguing that they have lowered borrowing costs across the board, helping small and medium-sized businesses gain access to cheaper funding. His support for corporate bond purchases may bolster calls to keep them going even if government bond buying is scaled back next year. Launched two and a half years ago, the ECB’s 2.3 trillion- euro bond-purchase scheme has depressed borrowing costs and helped revive spending and growth with the bloc creating over 7 million jobs since the worst days of Europe’s debt crisis. But inflation has been unexpectedly slow to respond, leaving the ECB with a dilemma. Keeping price growth just below 2 percent is its sole mandate; inflation was last at 1.5 percent. But much of its firepower has been exhausted, and the inflation shortfall is at least partly outside its control. That has led policymakers to call for giving inflation more time, accepting that lifting prices will take several years longer than initially hoped. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa Editing by Jeremy Gaunt, Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-draghi/ecb-becoming-more-confident-about-inflation-rebound-draghi-idUKKCN1C01TL'|'2017-09-25T16:11:00.000+03:00'
'65bfe3b107626dca29e1cb5162d1faf56f07a74b'|'Air France KLM to launch Brazil hub, sees signs of recovery'|'  1:05 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Air France KLM to launch Brazil hub, sees signs of recovery Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Air France KLM SA has teamed up with peer Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes SA to launch a hub in Brazil’s northeastern region, as signs of a recovery in travel demand in the South American country are gradually materializing. Air France KLM and Gol said the new hub will be located in the city of Fortaleza, from where the French-Dutch giant carrier will operate five flights a week, executives said at an event in Sao Paulo on Monday. Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/air-france-klm-brazil/air-france-klm-to-launch-brazil-hub-sees-signs-of-recovery-idUSL2N1M60HO'|'2017-09-25T16:01:00.000+03:00'
'598841703e83a4c93f83c6a01320a7e08b95f87a'|'Tiffany names Roger Farah as chairman'|'September 21, 2017 / 9:18 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Tiffany names Roger Farah as chairman in latest management shakeup Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO -- The logo of U.S. jeweller Tiffany & Co. is seen at a store at the Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo (Reuters) - Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co ( TIF.N ) on Thursday named Roger Farah as chairman, the latest management shakeup where outsiders have been brought in to give the iconic company a new look. Farah, 64, was one of the three directors that Tiffany had agreed to add to its board, bowing to pressure from activist investor Jana Partners in February. Jana is Tiffany’s third-largest shareholder with a 4.47 percent stake, according to Thomson Reuters data. In July, Tiffany named former Bulgari SpA executive Alessandro Bogliolo to its top job. Tiffany’s move to target younger customers has been paying off. The company, known for its solitaire engagement rings, posted better-than-expected sales and profit in the latest reported quarter helped by demand for bracelets, necklaces and branded jewelry. Farah replaces Michael Kowalski who will remain with the company as a director. Farah has previously worked at Ralph Lauren Corp ( RL.N ) and was the co-chief executive of luxury brand Tory Burch. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-tiffany-chairman/tiffany-names-roger-farah-as-chairman-idINKCN1BW2ZE'|'2017-09-21T19:18:00.000+03:00'
'3d82967d4faa59f2d916ea7a8ae82221be653e0a'|'Asia firms'' sentiment slips on geo-political tensions: Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey'|'FILE PHOTO: A passerby looks at a TV screen reporting news about North Korea''s missile launch in Tokyo, Japan September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - Business confidence among Asian companies fell for the first time in three quarters in July-September as escalating geo-political tensions outweighed an improved performance by most economies in the region, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index .TRIABS, RACSI, representing the six-month outlook of 86 firms, slipped to 69 for the September quarter from 74 three months before. The decline was the first drop from a previous quarter since the final quarter of 2016. A reading above 50 indicates a positive outlook.While China, India and South Korea led the fall in sentiment in the third quarter, reflecting regional tensions and sluggish growth, most Southeast Asian economies and Australia put in a stable performance, limiting the downside in the overall index.“Companies expressed concerns this quarter about trade and diplomatic tensions not only in the region but also in the world,” said Antonio Fatas, a Singapore-based economics professor at global business school INSEAD.“This brought the index down, in a reflection of cautiousness because of the potential risks that could derail the current state of the economy,” he said.South Korea’s sub-index fell the steepest among its peers in the survey, dropping to 50 from 75 in the previous quarter. The country has been rattled by North Korea’s series of nuclear tests and missile launches, although a war on the Korean peninsula is seen as unlikely.Trade friction with China has also risen over Seoul’s deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to counter the North Korean threat, as Beijing fears the system’s radar can penetrate its territory.China, upon which much of Asia depends for trade, saw its subindex fall to 63, its lowest since the last quarter of 2015. Its gross domestic product rose 6.9 percent in the second quarter but growth is expected to slow on tighter debt regulations.India fell to 63 from 82 in April-June, a level last seen in the second quarter of 2013. Growth at Asia’s third-largest economy slowed to its lowest in three years to 5.7 percent in April-June and is expected to stay muted on a lack of private investment.Australia’s sub-index inched up to 69 from 67 in the June quarter, and Singapore’s rose to 64 from 62. Sentiment climbed the most in Indonesia in the September quarter, with a 17 point jump in its sub-index to 100, its highest since the second quarter of 2013, though the survey pool was small with only three firms participating.The sub-index for three other economies - Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan - remained unchanged over the previous quarter.GRAPHIC: Business sentiment index: tmsnrt.rs/2mnCKQDFILE PHOTO: A worker walks in a container area at a port in Tokyo, Japan January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo STATUS QUO AHEAD? The pace at which global central banks tighten their accommodative monetary policies is set to be one of the biggest factors for Asia business sentiment in the quarters ahead.“More than geo-political tensions, policy normalization by global central banks and firming up of oil prices are a bigger issue for Asian economies,” said Radhika Rao, chief economist at DBS in Singapore.While Canada has already hiked rates twice in recent months and the Bank of England warned of rate hike possibilities, all eyes are now on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday where it is likely to take another step toward policy normalization.Slideshow (2 Images) But a major shift in business sentiment either way is unlikely.”The technology-oriented and commodity exporting countries will do well in Asia but overall I expect a status quo in sentiments going ahead, barring a reversal in oil prices,” DBS’s Rao said.The survey showed that while the proportion of respondents with a positive bias fell to 47, the lowest level since the December quarter of 2016, companies which were neutral rose to 45, the highest level since the March quarter of 2016.Sectors including retail, metals, real estate and technology showed bullish trends while others like autos, construction, healthcare and transport were more subdued.Corporates such as survey respondent Kossan Rubber Industries ( KRIB.KL ) of Malaysia cited exchange rates and interest rates as the key risks going ahead. While maintaining that it was cautiously positive, given increasing global demand for gloves, Kossan was worried about “escalating production cost due to higher raw material cost, energy, labor and volatile exchange rate”.GRAPHIC: Biggest perceived risks: tmsnrt.rs/2gU9mL9Note: Companies surveyed can change from quarter to quarter.PDF of survey: tmsnrt.rs/2xMV1MqReporting by Suvashree Choudhury; Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes in New Delhi; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-asia-businesssentiment/asia-firms-sentiment-slips-on-geo-political-tensions-thomson-reuters-insead-idINKCN1BV0DF'|'2017-09-20T07:15:00.000+03:00'
'84a00112d8b0ac99904ed52a776f240c8cd3988f'|'Fed conflicted by weak U.S. inflation, global economic rebound'|'  5:11 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Fed conflicted by weak U.S. inflation, global economic rebound Howard Schneider , Ann Saphir 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is on display in Washington, DC, U.S. on June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Caught between a lull in U.S. inflation and a stronger global economy, the Federal Reserve is expected on Wednesday to signal whether it will raise interest rates for a third time this year or back off until prices rise more briskly.(For a graphic of The Legacy of the QE Era click tmsnrt.rs/2jxgbbf ) The U.S. central bank’s description of inflation in its policy statement as well as fresh economic forecasts from individual policymakers will be the main focus for financial markets amid a recent spate of lukewarm domestic data. The Fed’s two-day policy meeting resumed at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) as planned, with a policy statement and projections due to be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference half an hour later. Bond and stock markets were little changed in early trading and the dollar .DXY was largely flat against a basket of currencies. The Fed also is likely to announce a scheduled reduction of its approximately $4.2 trillion in holdings of bonds and mortgage-backed securities, most of it accumulated in response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. That plan, anticipated by markets and not expected to have much immediate impact, will limit the amount of maturing bonds used each month to purchase new ones. The initial cut in reinvestment will be $10 billion (£7.38 billion) per month, probably beginning in October. Analysts and investors, however, say they will look more intently at policymakers’ forecasts for the end-of-year federal funds rate as an indication of whether a quarter-point increase widely expected in December is likely to occur. Minutes from recent Fed meetings have shown a growing split, with some policymakers saying there is no urgency to raise rates after a drop in inflation, and others arguing the U.S. economy is strong enough to continue “normalizing” monetary policy. The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation was down to 1.4 percent on an annualised basis as of July, well short of its medium-term 2 percent target. “Relative to the June forecasts there may be more participants anticipating no more hikes this year, but we don’t think so many will switch to this view as to bring down the median,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JP Morgan. That would require five of the 16 Fed officials participating in this week’s meeting to shift their rate projections lower to change a median that was 1.375 percent as of June, a quarter point above the current target of around 1.125 percent. FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Economists and investors are divided over the likely outcome as well, with different analyses of the market price for federal funds futures contracts putting the likelihood of a rate hike in December as low as 43 percent and as high as 56 percent. ‘REAL DESIRE’ Although the Fed has been troubled by the drop in U.S. inflation, Yellen and other officials have attributed it to short-term factors, such as changes in cellphone plan pricing, that should diminish in the coming months. Financial conditions also remain loose across the United States, and long-term interest rates have fallen recently, factors that strengthen the argument that another rate hike would not slow the economy. A higher target rate, meanwhile, would push the Fed further from the zero percent lower bound it has been trying to escape after a decade nurturing the U.S. economy into a post-crisis recovery. Anyone ruling out a December rate increase “is mispricing the real desire on the part of the Fed to continue” normalizing monetary policy despite the dip in inflation, said Jason Celente, senior portfolio manager at Insight Investment. “As long as employment remains robust and conditions don’t deteriorate there is scope and willingness to go ahead,” he said. But with its balance sheet reduction plan operating in the background, the Fed will be putting upward pressure on borrowing costs each month regardless of what it does with its benchmark interest rate. Meanwhile, other central banks, including in the economically resurgent euro zone, may begin tightening policy, leading to more restrictive financial conditions globally. A looming battle at the end of the year over the U.S. government’s debt limit and spending also could further disrupt markets. Scott Anderson, an economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco, believes the Fed will ultimately align with markets that generally expect a slower pace of rate increases. “Rate hikes with quantitative tightening will be a lot of tightening for the markets to digest,” Anderson said. “They might have to scale back on how aggressively they raise rates over the next couple of years.” Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed/fed-conflicted-by-tepid-u-s-inflation-global-economic-rebound-idUKKCN1BV0G0'|'2017-09-20T17:48:00.000+03:00'
'ddc9701b39ee978f935a611f6eb9125b711a65a6'|'Nielsen sues comScore to block new TV ratings service'|'September 22, 2017 / 9:02 PM / Updated 19 hours ago Nielsen sues comScore to block new TV ratings service Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nielsen Holdings Plc ( NLSN.N ) filed a lawsuit on Friday to stop comScore Inc ( SCOR.PK ) from using its technology to launch a competing service for measuring television audiences. In a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Nielsen is seeking an injunction to stop the launch of comScore’s Extended TV service, which it said would incorporate its proprietary Portable People Meter data. ComScore declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the matter was being addressed through binding arbitration. The dispute arose from Nielsen’s 2013 purchase of Arbitron Inc, which was completed after those companies promised federal regulators to preserve competition for “cross-platform” services measuring both television and online viewership. Nielsen, based in New York, said it contracted in 2014 to let its Reston, Virginia-based rival use Portable People Meter data to measure both TV and online audiences. But it said that contract forbade using the data for “individual, stand-alone services,” which it said include Extended TV. Nielsen said it has several large contracts up for renewal, and would suffer “irreparable harm to its business through [the] loss of important customers and decreased market share” if comScore launched Extended TV, perhaps by the end of 2017. According to the complaint, Nielsen has filed for arbitration as required by the contract to establish comScore’s alleged breach, but is entitled to seek a court-ordered injunction before the arbitration is resolved. In an Aug. 8 letter attached to the complaint, a lawyer for comScore said Extended TV qualifies as a “cross-platform” service, and is “not limited to linear TV estimates as it measures content across multiple platforms, including but not limited to television, online, mobile, tablets, etc.” The case is Nielsen Holdings Plc v comScore Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 17-07235. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by Marcy Nicholson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-comscore-lawsuit-nielsen-holdings/nielsen-sues-comscore-to-block-new-tv-ratings-service-idUSKCN1BX2V4'|'2017-09-22T23:50:00.000+03:00'
'f087c8988e876d636c0c1bcd21d626fc6c26db04'|'Tamar partners say gas shutdown will not have major sales impact'|'JERUSALEM, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A shutdown at Israel’s Tamar natural gas field caused by a cracked pipe is not expected to have a significant impact on quarterly revenue, and the problem will likely be resolved this week, the partners behind the project said on Sunday.The stoppage, however, will take a toll on the country’s power stations, which have been forced to turn to more expensive fuels to generate electricity.Production at Tamar, Israel’s sole commercial field, was halted on Thursday when a crack in an exhaust pipe was discovered during routine maintenance work by operator Noble Energy.The partners in the project, which alongside Noble include Delek Drilling, Tamar Petroleum, Isramco Negev and Alon Natural Gas Exploration, say there are no safety or environmental risks.The shutdown will lead to a loss in sales of about 0.1 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas, or about $3.5 million in revenue after royalty and tax payments, the companies said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.“The failure is not expected to have a significant impact on the partnership’s revenue from gas sales in the third and fourth quarters,” they said.Tamar in the first half of 2017 produced about 4.9 bcm of gas. It is responsible for the majority of Israel’s power generation and also exports to Jordan.State-owned Israel Electric Corp, the country’s main utility, said power production remained stable, but it has been forced to use imported liquefied natural gas, diesel and fuel oil “which have a significantly higher cost” than the Tamar gas. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/israel-natgas/tamar-partners-say-gas-shutdown-will-not-have-major-sales-impact-idINL5N1M5027'|'2017-09-24T05:04:00.000+03:00'
'2330f9fcde3a0ccabda7e2a1cfaedb31bd2521c4'|'Payment firm Nets receives $5.3 billion takeover bid from Hellman & Friedman'|'COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Payments firm Nets ( NETS.CO ) on Monday welcomed a 33.1 billion Danish crown ($5.3 billion) bid from U.S. firm Hellman & Friedman, marking what could be one of the largest European private equity takeovers in recent years.Nets said in July it had been approached by potential buyers as the payments industry sees a wave of deals, with consumers switching to card and mobile payments and regulatory changes promising to open up the fragmented market.The Danish firm was taken public in Copenhagen a year ago and was valued at 30 billion crowns, or 150 crowns per share, double what Advent International, Bain Capital and Danish pension fund ATP had paid for it two years earlier.The European payments industry is consolidating quickly and other recent takeover targets have included Worldpay ( WPG.L ) and Paysafe ( PAYS.L ).Potential buyers for Nets had included both industrial players as well as private equity firms, the company’s deputy chairman, Jeff Gravenhorst, told a press conference.Analysts had identified France’s Worldline ( WLN.PA ) as one industrial player that could benefit from synergies with Nets.“We see an opportunity under private partnership to harness the expertise from the Nordic region – which is one of the most dynamic – and have the financial flexibility to examine consolidation,” Patrick Healy, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Hellman & Friedman, told Reuters.Hellman & Friedman’s offer of 165 crowns per share represents a 27 percent premium to Nets’ share price as of June 30, before Nets said it had been approached by potential buyers.The price on offer from the U.S. buyout firm implies a valuation for Nets of 13 times 2018 enterprise-value-to-EBITDA, in line with the sector average, UBS wrote in a research note.Nets shares rose 6.4 percent to 161.90 crowns on Monday.The biggest issuer of Denmark’s most widely used debit card said shareholders representing 46 percent of its share capital had agreed to accept the offer, including Advent and Bain who still hold 39.9 percent of the shares.“ATTRACTIVE VALUE”A deal will require acceptance of shareholders representing 90 percent of Nets’ capital and following a deal Bain and Advent have agreed to maintain a 16 percent stake in Nets.“We believe the offer represents attractive value to Nets’ shareholders,” Nets chairman Inge Hansen said in a statement, adding that Hellman & Friedman had approached it in June.The offer equals a 27 percent premium to the closing price on 30 June 2017, the day before Nets confirmed it had received takeover approaches.Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are leading a debt financing backing the buyout and are set to be joined by other banks shortly, banking sources said.The financing is expected to be denominated in a mixture of dollars, euros and local currency, the sources added.Reuters earlier reported that Hellman & Friedman along with Permira [PERM.UL] and Nordic Capital had all completed due diligence on Nets.Nets’ shares shed nearly 30 percent of their value over the six months following the listing in September last year, but jumped back close to the IPO price in early July when Nets said it had been approached by potential buyers.J.P. Morgan and Nordea have advised Nets.Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, additional reporting by Dasha Afanasieva and Claire Ruckin in London, Thyagaraju Adinarayan and Pawel Goraj in Gdynia, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; editing by Louise Heavens and Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nets-m-a-hellman-friedman/payment-firm-nets-receives-5-3-billion-takeover-bid-from-hellman-friedman-idINKCN1C00OZ'|'2017-09-25T05:54:00.000+03:00'
'860e97246ca253085b690ce7ac7b9a90917054ec'|'EU seeks more protection for Uber-style jobs'|'The Uber logo is seen on a screen in Singapore August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission wants more social protection and rights for casual workers, such as those in the “gig economy”, and others with non-standard contracts to try to tackle growing social inequality.The Commission’s consultation document on these plans, seen by Reuters, is part of a broader reworking of the EU’s economic priorities, after pressure from populist forces that accuse Brussels of having pursued ultra-liberal policies to the detriment of workers.The document proposes a substantial review of EU’s social rights that could partly limit workers’ flexibility and reduce the growing insecurity caused by new types of jobs offered by firms like Uber [UBER.UL] and food-delivery service Deliveroo.Brussels is proposing to extend full social protection and other forms of security to all workers, including those on very short-term, part-time and zero-hour contracts who in some EU member countries have lower safeguards.Most EU workers have full-time, permanent contracts, but a growing number of people, especially the young, have jobs with ultra-flexible working hours, no regular pay and fewer employment protections.They accounted for more than one third of the total workforce in the 28-country bloc in 2015 and that share is growing, the commission said in the consultation paper to be presented on Monday.Most of these employees have to work under these conditions in absence of alternatives, the document said.Non-standard workers tend to have lower levels of social and health security and some new contracts, such as casual or voucher-based work, are even more worrying, the commission’s document said.FILE PHOTO: A cyclist rides a bicyle as he delivers food for Deliveroo, an example of the emergence of what is known as the ''gig economy'', in Paris, France, April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo The Commission’s proposals could raise costs for companies like Uber, which is already facing legal disputes in several EU countries and has not had its license renewed in London..CASUAL? The Commission is proposing that workers should be properly informed about the conditions of their employment and should be given explanations by their employers for not having a permanent contract after a few years in the same job.Casual workers should also be entitled to a minimum number of guaranteed hours “after a predefined continuous period,” the Commission said.But the enhanced protection would not be applicable to self-employed workers, which could provide a loophole for employers such as Uber and Deliveroo.Uber says its drivers are self-employed, although in Britain this categorization has recently been challenged by the government.Other non-standard work contracts, such as paid traineeships and temporary agency work, are also under the Commission’s scrutiny as they “continue to present challenges from the point of view of job security and adequate working conditions,” the consultation document said.To reduce abuses linked to these forms of contracts, Brussels wants to introduce a maximum duration of employee probation.The Commission will initially discuss its plans with trade unions and employers, followed by legislative proposals.Reporting by Francesco Guarascio. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-workers-gigeconomy/eu-seeks-more-protection-for-uber-style-jobs-idUSKCN1BZ0OU'|'2017-09-24T18:54:00.000+03:00'
'77298b321386f0256b9f8ed8ed70cb7ea5eccba5'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil''s Camil may cut IPO price tag, sources say'|'(Adds Camil declining to comment)By Guillermo Parra-BernalSAO PAULO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian food producer Camil Alimentos SA is considering cutting the suggested price range for its initial public offering on Tuesday by almost 15 percent due to weak investor demand, two people with knowledge of the plan said.One of the people said lowering the suggested price range to between 9 reais and 11 reais from between 10.5 reais and 12.5 reais would “be enough to stop the investor pushback.” The same person said that, at 10.5 reais, the stock on offer for the IPO remained above firm bids.Some investors who considered participating in the deal told Reuters last week that the stock looked expensive at the original price range. Camil and shareholders including Warburg Pincus LLC aimed to raise up to 1.7 billion reais ($542 million) in the offering at the top of the original range.Camil’s media officials declined to comment on Monday, citing restrictions ahead of the IPO pricing. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Additional reporting by Bruno Federowski in São Paulo; Editing by Paul Simao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/camil-alimentos-ipo/update-1-brazils-camil-may-cut-ipo-price-tag-sources-say-idINL2N1M60P0'|'2017-09-25T12:35:00.000+03:00'
'a3dab30bb820b67c35dc168dfd1aa51bd916ef54'|'Benchmark JGBs steady; muted reaction to snap election hopes'|'TOKYO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Benchmark Japanese government bonds were steady on Monday, with the market having a muted reaction to the possibility of additional stimulus steps after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s expected announcement of a snap election.Abe plans to announce the snap election later in the day, and the polls are expected to be held on Oct. 22.He ordered his cabinet on Monday to compile new economic stimulus measures in a package worth around 2 trillion yen ($17.80 billion) by the year-end.The 10-year cash JGB yield was flat at 0.020 percent in afternoon trade.The 10-year JGB futures contract finished down 0.01 point at 150.84.The two-year JGB yield was flat at minus 0.140 percent after earlier inching half a basis point lower to minus 0.145 percent.“The U.S. two-year zone has also coincidentally been very strong recently, due to U.S. monetary policy, though we cannot say that this has had a direct effect on its Japanese counterpart,” said Ayako Sera, senior market economist, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust.The yield on two-year U.S. Treasury notes jumped to 1.451 percent on Wednesday last week, its highest level since November 2008, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a plan to start shrinking its balance sheet and signalled one more rate hike later this year.In the superlong zone, the 20-year JGB yield added half a basis point to 0.545 percent, and the 30-year JGB yield also inched half a basis point higher to 0.820 percent.The Bank of Japan did not tweak its JGB purchase amounts in its buying operations on Monday. It offered to buy 280 billion yen of one- to three-year JGBs, 300 billion yen of three- to five-year JGBs, and 410 billion yen of five- to 10-year JGBs, all in line with amounts at its previous operations in those zones.Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the BOJ can help keep long-term currency moves stable by aiming for 2 percent inflation, a level many other central banks have set as their price targets.“Foreign exchange rates fluctuate due to various factors in the short run. But their moves reflect inflation differentials between countries in the long run,” Kuroda said in a speech to business leaders in Osaka, western Japan.Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds/benchmark-jgbs-steady-muted-reaction-to-snap-election-hopes-idINL4N1M628C'|'2017-09-25T04:24:00.000+03:00'
'623046d0b68373cbbc2665884016d3826a2f73dc'|'Unilever to buy majority stake in Carver Korea for $2.9 billion - Seoul Economic Daily'|'September 25, 2017 / 5:20 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Unilever to buy Carver Korea for $2.7 billion Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid SEOUL (Reuters) - Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) has agreed to buy cosmetics firm Carver Korea for 2.27 billion euros ($2.7 billion/2 billion pounds) from Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital and the company’s founder as it expands its beauty and personal care business. The Anglo-Dutch company announced the deal on Monday, saying Carver was the fastest-growing skincare business in South Korea, through sales of its A.H.C brand. Unilever said the range includes “Eye Cream for Face”, along with essences, toners, moisturisers, masks, and sun protection. Bain and Goldman Sachs jointly bought a roughly 60 percent majority stake in Carver for around $500 million last year, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Carver Korea, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs were not available for immediate comment. Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Kane Wu; editing by Edwina Gibbs and Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carverkorea-unilever-nv/unilever-to-buy-majority-stake-in-carver-korea-for-2-9-billion-seoul-economic-daily-idUKKCN1C00DE'|'2017-09-25T08:20:00.000+03:00'
'e66d2857a2a1dd513da650f77ab93bc28d5eff14'|'RPT-As crisis ebbs, Tsipras promises doubters a new Greece'|'* Tsipras has battled Greece’s creditors since winning power * Ceasefire with EU has given him breathing space, for now * Government planning “new Greece” after bailout exit * But voters, lenders, some investors remain sceptical * GRAPHIC - Greek economic snapshot tmsnrt.rs/2byu9SE By Renee Maltezou ATHENS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has found a precious commodity he hopes can help him and the nation turn a corner after years of crisis and austerity -- time. Since taking power in early 2015, he has spent most of his days and nights in firefighting mode, battling Greece’s creditors to renegotiate the harsh terms of a series of bailout deals. Now, though, Tsipras and his ministers have more time at last to function like the government of a normal country, pinning their hopes for recovery from a long depression on more investment and jobs, after negotiating a ceasefire with the European Union and International Monetary Fund in June. Despite scepticism among voters, investors and Greece’s lenders, Tsipras is trying hard to position himself as a post-crisis leader who can steer the country out of the bailout programme next year in time for elections due in 2019. The 43-year-old leftist acknowledged this week that the crisis was not over, but expressed optimism about the rest of his term. “In a year from now ... we will have left the bailout behind and we will have one more year, the most creative of our term, to materialise our plan for a ‘new’ Greece,” he said. Still, two final rounds of negotiations remain before the current bailout deal ends in August 2018. Many Greeks, worn down by austerity policies including pension cuts and tax increases dictated by the creditors, have yet to be convinced. Tsipras’s Syriza party is trailing in the opinion polls. Nevertheless, Tsipras has been using a calm that Greece has rarely enjoyed since 2015, when he was first elected on promises to end austerity, to push through reforms other than those prescribed by the lenders and to schmooze with investors. Foreign direct investment hit a seven-year high in 2016, while Greek bonds and stocks have rallied 12 and 18 percent respectively so far this year. The IMF and the EU forecast the economy will grow by more than two percent both this year and next after the depression wiped a quarter off Greek GDP. For all his pre-election pledges to scrap the bailout, Tsipras has ended up imposing more belt-tightening. At least Greeks are starting to see improvements in long neglected infrastructure, largely funded by the EU. The government has opened two motorways this year, including a link to Patras, a major ferry port for trade with Italy and the rest of the EU. This completed a project that had been stalled for years and replaced one of Greece’s most dangerous roads. The jobless rate has also dropped, but is still the euro zone’s highest. OUT OF THE BASEMENT Until June, when Athens struck the deal with the lenders on reforms and debt relief, the cabinet met infrequently; debate was dominated by the bailout talks and ministers with portfolios not directly connected to them rarely got a word in edgeways, one government official said. Since then ministers have found time to work on bills including education and health reforms. “It’s liberating,” one minister said. Many cabinet colleagues and officials had spent much of the past two years holed up in bailout talks at the Athens Hilton hotel. “You need to emerge from the Hilton basement at some point.” The government has also stepped up private meetings with potential investors, officials said, while Tsipras created a task force this month to free up more projects tangled in red tape. Some investors nevertheless still doubt Tsipras can pull off an economic turnaround. “There is an inconsistency in the message the prime minister is delivering and the actions of the ministries,” George Burns, chief executive of Canadian miner Eldorado Gold Corp, one of Greece’s biggest new foreign investors, told Reuters. Eldorado threatened to halt further investment unless a permit row over its mines in northern Greece was resolved this week. It postponed this after the government granted some licences, but scepticism runs deep among other investors. CLEAN EXIT Tsipras would like to be remembered as the man who restored Greece’s finances and ended international supervision of the economy. He wants the next creditors’ review completed as early as December and to achieve “a clean bailout exit”, without a standby credit line that would come in return for more reforms. Athens made its first bond issue in three years in July and plans at least two more in the next seven months, aiming to fund itself by market borrowing in place of bailout money next year. His conservative predecessor had a similar exit strategy as long ago as 2014 and seemed on course to achieve it. Instead Tsipras beat him and presided over the chaotic summer of 2015, when banks were closed for weeks as the financial system came close to collapse. Tsipras has much political ground to recover. Support for Syriza has crumbled from around 35 percent in 2015 to 16 percent now, leaving it at least six percentage points behind the conservative New Democracy party, which has promised tax cuts. A lot can go wrong as Tsipras tries to turn the political and economic tide. Time may be as much his enemy as his friend. The bailout reviews could derail or drag on for months, leading to renewed crisis. The second such review lasted half a year, and the delays hurt economic activity. For their part, the lenders worry Greece may backtrack on agreed reforms, which would delay the conclusion of the review . Labour reforms that parliament passed during the summer lull were viewed by lenders as backtracking on promises. “The gap between Tsipras’s actions and his words, the shortcoming in his actions, that’s what may trap him,” a person close to the lenders told Reuters, warning that Greece may not manage to regain full market access and conclude the reviews. After two years’ experience of power, the government still struggles to deal with some practical problems. It has been trying for 10 days to contain an oil spill from a tanker which polluted popular beaches near Athens, angering residents. Tsipras has been on a charm offensive, ranging from pep talks at ministries to photo opportunities with investors and young entrepreneurs and trips across the country. Still, the lenders remain cautious. “We fully understand the government’s desire for a clean exit,” the European Central Bank’s mission chief in Greece, Francesco Drudi, said. But he told Proto Thema newspaper: “This will require a lot of effort to convince markets, investors and depositors that the momentum for reform will not abate and that no reversal of actions taken during the programme will occur.” Additional reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Mark Bendeich and David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-tsipras/rpt-as-crisis-ebbs-tsipras-promises-doubters-a-new-greece-idUSL5N1M23VP'|'2017-09-22T13:32:00.000+03:00'
'de45a4bdcf64909b2745fc9dda7d6f5b2afaaf17'|'Gold companies take a shine to China''s Silk Road'|'TIANJIN, China Sept 24 (Reuters) - As far as China’s miners are concerned, the modern-day Silk Road is paved with gold.Buoyed by a 15 percent rise in the gold price this year, Chinese mining executives in Tianjin this weekend were talking up their ambitions for overseas expansion.In doing so they embraced Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, now being promulgated around the world as the Belt and Road Initiative, the geographical scope of which has not been precisely defined.Song Xin, CEO of China National Gold Group Corp, told a session of the China Mining conference on Saturday that his company would “intensify exploration and capital allocation in Belt and Road countries”, which he said account for 80 percent of global gold consumption.China National Gold has mandated its Canada-based subsidiary China Gold International Resources Corp, with making overseas acquisitions.On China’s doorstep, in Mongolia and Central Asia, the company could deploy its proprietary technology for hard-to-extract reserves, Song said, calling on other Belt and Road countries to “enjoy the benefits” of mineral wealth together.Investment in overseas gold projects is also a platform to promote the internationalisation of the yuan, he added.Another state-run Chinese gold miner, Zijin Mining Group Co , is already generating half of its revenues abroad, said executive director George Fang.Having embarked on a “go global” strategy in 2005, the company already has projects in three countries along the ancient Silk Road, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, Fang said on Sunday.Based in Fujian in southeast China, the starting point of the ancient maritime Silk Road, Zijin is also active in South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Peru, he added.Following Zijin’s lead, Shandong Gold Mining Co in April took a 50 percent stake in Barrick Gold’s Veladero mine in Argentina.Emboldened by the moves of its peers, another Shandong miner, Zhaojin Mining Industry Co, has set a three-to five-year horizon to set out along the Silk Road and establish an overseas presence, according to its president, Li Xiuchen.But he warned that the lessons learned from the environmental crackdown on mining practices within China should be applied overseas.“If we cannot adhere to the environmental protection standards, we will not be able to do business there,” Li said. (Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by David Goodman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-metals-gold/gold-companies-take-a-shine-to-chinas-silk-road-idINL4N1M5089'|'2017-09-24T14:09:00.000+03:00'
'f2a71577ceb06c0bf9a471e3987fa63fb0e4e987'|'British banks'' pessimism in worst run since financial crisis'|'September 24, 2017 / 11:08 PM / Updated 2 hours ago British banks'' pessimism in worst run since financial crisis Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A view of the City of London and Canary Wharf. July 7, 2017. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Optimism about the business environment among Britain’s financial services firms declined again in the third quarter of this year, the longest run of falling sentiment since the global financial crisis, according to a survey published on Monday. The latest quarterly survey of 94 financial services firms by business lobby CBI and consultancy PwC found sentiment about Britain’s overall business climate deteriorating, with banks and building societies especially pessimistic. Confidence in the financial services sector - Britain’s biggest source of corporate tax revenue and largest export sector - has now declined in six of the last seven quarters. “While demand in the sector is expected to hold up in the near term, we can’t ignore the fact that optimism has dropped in almost every quarter for the past two years,” said Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist. The uncertainty about Britain’s future trading relationship with the European Union continued to weigh on the industry. Britain will have to negotiate new trading terms with the EU and it is unlikely banks will retain access to sell their services and serve clients across the economic bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May called on Friday for Britain to stay in the European Union’s single market during a roughly two-year transition out of the EU while offering concessions on a divorce deal as she appealed for a revival of Brexit negotiations. But the job market was broadly stable in the last quarter and firms are expected to step up the pace of hiring over the coming quarter, the survey showed. Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-banks-outlook/british-banks-pessimism-in-worst-run-since-financial-crisis-idUKKCN1BZ13C'|'2017-09-25T02:08:00.000+03:00'
'a59d4b6535f02847311f4b35aa85f4062d040063'|'Britain''s Deliveroo raises $385 million for food fight'|'September 24, 2017 / 10:29 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Britain''s Deliveroo raises $385 million for food fight Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A rider for food delivery company Deliveroo cycles down a sidewalk in Sydney, Australia, September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed LONDON (Reuters) - British food delivery company Deliveroo has raised $385 million in private funding, it said on Sunday, as it prepares for expansion to help it compete with publicly traded rivals such as Delivery Hero ( DHER.DE ) and Just Eat ( JE.L ). The funding values the business at more than $2 billion and will allow Deliveroo to enter new markets, enlarge its technology team and expand its concept of delivery-only restaurants run out of centralised kitchens it operates, the company said. The number of Deliveroo locations has risen by 60 percent over the past year and it now operates in more than 150 cities in 12 countries, a spokesman said. He declined to comment on its next expansion moves. Besides Britain, where it operates in 60 cities and towns, it also offers food delivery in eight European countries, Australia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. It’s closest rival is the Foodora unit of Germany’s Delivery Hero. The new investment in Deliveroo is led by funds associated with T. Rowe Price Associates and Fidelity Management & Research, the company said. Existing investors DST Global, General Catalyst, Index Ventures and Accel Partners are also making follow-on investments, increasing their positions in the company, Deliveroo said. “There is a lot of room to rethink how we eat,” said Martin Mignot, a partner at venture capital firm Index Ventures, which has invested in four previous Deliveroo funding rounds. The company has raised $474.6 million since it’s founding in 2012, according to venture funding data from Crunchbase. Like taxi app Uber UBER.UL, which was stripped of its London operating license on Friday, Deliveroo has been criticised by unions that say it is exploiting staff by not offering basic protections. Some of its delivery riders are pursuing legal action to push for workers’ rights. Deliveroo has previously said it would give its self-employed riders insurance and sick pay if the government changed the law so that it could offer some, rather than all, the entitlements enjoyed by full-time staff members. Deliveroo increased revenue by more than 600 percent last year while operating losses mounted, albeit at a slower rate, parent company Roofoods said in a Sept. 20 regulatory filing. Revenue grew to 128.56 million pounds but delivery costs and administrative expenses resulted in an operating loss of 141.05 million pounds, up 367 percent year on year, it said in a filing with UK Companies House. Though the company trumpeted a $2 billion-plus valuation, that remains less than half those of its listed rivals. Delivery Hero’s market capitalisation is 5.95 billion euros (5.27 billion pounds) while UK-based Just Eat’s valuation is 4.66 billion pounds Reporting by William James in London and Eric Auchard in Frankfurt; Editing by Toby Chopra and David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deliveroo-fundraising/uk-food-delivery-firm-deliveroo-raises-385-million-for-expansion-idUKKCN1BZ0AL'|'2017-09-24T18:01:00.000+03:00'
'd2ba1c782fc57a0b5d915cb60f6867cb64cf3f0f'|'Iraqi government asks foreign countries to stop oil trade with Kurdistan'|'BAGHDAD, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Iraq on Sunday urged foreign countries to stop importing crude directly from its autonomous Kurdistan region and to restrict oil trading to the central government.The call, published in statement from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office, came in retaliation for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s plan to hold a referendum on independence on Monday.The central government’s statement seems to be directed primarily at Turkey, the transit country for all the crude produced in Kurdistan. The crude is taken by pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean coast for export.Baghdad “asks the neighbouring countries and the countries of the world to deal exclusively with the federal government of Iraq in regards to entry posts and oil,” the statement said.The Iraqi government has always opposed independent sales of crude by the KRG, and tried on many occasions to block Kurdish oil shipments. Long-standing disputes over land and oil resources are among the main reasons cited by the KRG to ask for independence.Iraqi Kurdistan produces around 650,000 barrels per day of crude from its fields, including around 150,000 from the disputed areas of Kirkuk.The region’s production volumes represent 15 percent of total Iraqi output and around 0.7 percent of global oil production. The KRG aspires to raise production to over 1 million barrels per day by the end of this decade.Kurdish oil production has been dominated by mid-sized oil companies such as Genel, DNO, Gulf Keystone and Dana Gas. Major oil companies such as Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Rosneft also have projects in Kurdistan but they are mostly at an exploration stage.However, Rosneft, Russia’s state oil major, has lent over $1 billion to the KRG guaranteed by oil sales and committed a total of $4 billion to various projects in Kurdistan. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli, editing by Larry King) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-kurd-referendum-oil/kurds-stick-with-independence-vote-never-going-back-to-baghdad-barzani-idUSL5N1M50GV'|'2017-09-24T22:46:00.000+03:00'
'd86bfbba608a709c0e291b51c31bc562da5697fa'|'Alstom, Siemens shares slip as rail deal looms'|'September 26, 2017 / 9:39 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Alstom, Siemens shares slip as rail deal looms Reuters Staff 4 Min Read A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in Alstom and Siemens slipped on Tuesday, amid concern over political fallout in France from a mooted multibillion-dollar merger of their rail assets, a move that could give Siemens the upper hand. Alstom shares initially rose but then surrendered those gains, with the stock down 0.1 percent in early session trading and Siemens falling a similar amount. Alstom shares had rallied strongly in earlier sessions on anticipation of a deal. Siemens is expected to decide on Tuesday to pursue a transaction with Alstom rather than Canada’s Bombardier, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Siemens and Alstom are strong in high-speed intercity trains with their ICE and TGV models. Siemens is also the leader in signalling technology, while Bombardier - whose transportation headquarters are in Berlin - is stronger in commuter and light-rail trains. Major train and rail technology groups active in Europe have been looking at combining their businesses as larger Chinese state-backed rival CRRC embarks on a global expansion drive. A Franco-German deal between Siemens and Alstom would also have political ramifications, since the French government has a 20 percent stake in Alstom. Several politicians and French trade union activists expressed concerns over France losing control of its TGV high-speed train – a symbol of national pride that has highlighted French engineering skill – and possible job losses. “The problem is that at the end of the day, it would likely be a Siemens company, although we still need clarification on the capital structure,” said Prime Partners fund manager Francois Savary, whose firm holds some Siemens shares. The logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company''s full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes French right-wing politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan criticised the likely deal on Tuesday as being more favourable for Germany rather than France, as did far-right politician Nicolas Bay, the National Front’s secretary general. “The Franco-German partnership must not result in the eradication of French industry!” Bay said on Twitter. Eric Woerth, of the right-wing Republicans’ party, voiced similar views on his Twitter account. “Is this now the end of Alstom? Will TGV become German? Why does the government accept such an imbalance?” A tie-up between the two companies - aimed at creating a European champion in the railway sector similar to Airbus in aviation - would represent a reconciliation of sorts between Siemens and Alstom. Alstom snubbed the German company in 2014 to sell its energy division to General Electric in a deal that also saw Paris take a 20 percent stake in Alstom, under a temporary agreement with construction group Bouygues. Siemens Mobility is expected to be merged into Alstom, in which Siemens would hold 50 percent plus one share, while the chief executive would be Alstom’s current boss Henri-Poupart Lafarge. “We suggest that, if they participate, value creation would be limited for Siemens but material for Alstom,” said Exane BNP Paribas analysts, upgrading their rating on Alstom to “neutral” from “underweight”. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Sarah White and Jon Boyle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/alstom-siemens-stocks/alstom-siemens-shares-slip-as-rail-deal-looms-idINKCN1C111B'|'2017-09-26T07:39:00.000+03:00'
'1fb71b1252771b7b8a8772d8a47ecfa41e5aa8b4'|'LPC-€365m of leveraged loans hit secondary market in BWICs sale'|'LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Bids are due on two portfolios of loans totalling €365m from CQS and ICG in Europe’s secondary loan market as sellers tap into investor liquidity to get best execution on portfolio credits and free up space to invest in new deals, banking sources said.CQS is selling a €200m portfolio of loans via a Bids Wanted In Competition (BWIC) process and bids are due on September 26, the sources said.The BWIC comprises 50 names and has an average bid of 99.5 percent of face value, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data.Some of the larger positions include €8.5m of Dutch ports services company HES Beheer; €8.5m German measuring technology group Schenck Process; €8.1m of German publisher Springer; €8.3m of French loan insurance broker CEP; €7m of German rehabilitation clinics group Median Kliniken; €7m of UK cinema operator; and €7m of Italian telecom firm Wind.Elsewhere ICG is selling a €165m portfolio via a BWIC, comprising 26 names across a number of tranches and bids are due by September 27, the sources said.ICG’s portfolio has an average bid of 99.04 percent of face value, TRLPC data shows.Some of the larger positions include €13.4m of Swiss medical diagnostics company Unilabs; €12.6m of Danish packaging group Faerch Group; €11.2m of Premier Lotteries Ireland; £11m of UK healthcare firm ICS; and €10m of French veterinary pharmaceuticals firm Ceva.CQS and ICG were not immediately available to comment.BWICs have been a popular way for a number of investors to offload paper in an effort to free up cash that can then be invested in new deals in the buoyant primary market.The auction process is an attractive way for sellers to exit positions as they capture a lot of attention from traders and investors who tend to put their highest offers out there in an attempt to outbid the competition.While BWIC sellers are currently competing with an extremely busy primary market, they are hoping cash rich investors will be attracted to buying chunky positions in credits which may not be easily available to buy outside of a BWIC process.Some of the paper being sold is also attractive as it has higher yields and better documentation than new paper being offered in the primary market.Sellers are also opting to sell before a perceived softening of the secondary market as it gets flooded with new paper as deals from primary close and free to trade.“Maybe the funds want to clear out names to make room for primary or make the most of secondary before it gets impacted by a load of primary deals allocating. In three weeks time people may have more time for secondary but it could be a softer market. Secondary is strong right now so why not make most it,” a trader said. (Editing by Christopher Mangham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bwics-loans/lpc-365m-of-leveraged-loans-hit-secondary-market-in-bwics-sale-idINL8N1M74KS'|'2017-09-26T12:42:00.000+03:00'
'5eba54f09f969c6664dececf79e93cfddab97744'|'BHP, world''s largest miner, says 2017 is ''tipping point'' for electric cars'|'September 26, 2017 / 5:39 AM / Updated an hour ago BHP, world''s largest miner, says 2017 is ''tipping point'' for electric cars Clara Ferreira-Marques , Gavin Maguire 4 Min Read SINGAPORE (Reuters) - This year looks set to be the “tipping point” for electric cars, Arnoud Balhuizen, chief commercial officer at global miner BHP ( BLT.L ) said on Tuesday, with the impact for raw materials producers to be felt first in the metals market, and only later in oil. “In September 2016 we published a blog and we set the question - could 2017 be the year of the electric vehicle revolution?” said Balhuizen, a company veteran who runs BHP’s commercial strategy, procurement and marketing from Singapore. “The answer is yes...2017 is the revolution year we have been speaking about. And copper is the metal of the future.” Europe has begun a dramatic shift away from the internal combustion engine, although, globally, there are only roughly 1 million electric cars out of a global fleet of closer to 1.1 billion. BHP forecasts that could rise to 140 million vehicles by 2035, a forecast it says is on ‘the greener’ end. “The reality is a mid-sized electric vehicle still needs subsidies to compete... so a lot will depend on batteries, on policy, on infrastructure,” Balhuizen said. Electric cars are expected to soon cost the same as traditional vehicles - as early as next year by some estimates. But governments are also getting on board, with China’s subsidies leading the way and Britain becoming the latest country to announce its all-electric ambitions in July. Balhuizen said he expected the electric vehicle boom would be felt - for producers - first in copper, where supply will struggle to match increased demand. The world’s top mines are aging and there have been no major discoveries in two decades. The market, he said, may have underestimated the impact on the red metal: fully electric vehicles require four times as much copper as cars that run on combustion engines. BHP, Balhuizen said, is well-placed, with assets like Escondida and Spence in Chile, and Olympic Dam in Australia. BHP said last month it was spending $2.5 billion to extend the life of the Spence mine in northern Chile by more than 50 years. For oil, though, the impact of the electric car boom may take longer to be felt. BHP''s Chief Commercial Officer Arnoud Balhuizen speaks at Reuters office in Singapore September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su Balhuizen said in the nearer term, over the next 10 to 15 years, improvements in the internal combustion engine will be a more significant drag on demand. BELT, ROAD China’s efforts to build a new Silk Road are another major factor influencing commodities demand in the near term, and BHP estimates the impact on steel alone at 150 million tonnes of new demand, Balhuizen said, mostly to be used in structures and reinforced concrete. Spending could top $1.3 trillion. BHP''s Chief Commercial Officer Arnoud Balhuizen speaks at Reuters office in Singapore September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Pedja Stanisic China produced just over 800 million tonnes of steel in 2016. There is little question Asia requires more spending on infrastructure - the Asian Development Bank estimates that Asia requires $26 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2030. Per year, that is more than double current spending, BHP said. Belt and Road, as the giant initiative is known, is a “tremendous opportunity”, he said, acknowledging that there was a risk that big slogans may struggle to translate to profit. Along with the rest of the commodities universe, BHP has benefited from rising prices over recent months - copper, for example is close to three-year highs, boosting cashflows. The return of growth has not turned BHP away from its push for efficiencies, Balhuizen said, including with instruments like blockchain, although the focus remains on easier wins like e-documentation. But efficiencies will not mean further reducing the portfolio of commodities for now, he said, brushing off criticism from some investors over BHP’s oil assets. “The diversity of our portfolio does create value. We get better credit ratings, we get a lower cost of debt,” he said, pointing to applications in potash of techniques honed in oil. “It is very tangible, very clear.” Reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques and Gavin Maguire; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-strategy/bhp-worlds-largest-miner-says-2017-is-tipping-point-for-electric-cars-idUSKCN1C10HO'|'2017-09-26T08:37:00.000+03:00'
'af2d8742123142936391e9dd732d2e277b0e086d'|'BNP Paribas subject of full-scale Rwanda probe in France'|' 30 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago BNP Paribas subject of full-scale Rwanda probe in France Reuters Staff 1   The logo of BNP Paribas bank is pictured on an office building in Nantes, France, July 21, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe PARIS (Reuters) - French judicial investigators have opened a full-scale inquiry into allegations of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an official at the public prosecutor’s office said on Monday. BNP Paribas bank, accused by non-governmental organisations of complicity over a transfer of $1.3 million (961,182.99 pounds) to an arms dealer, said the move was expected and not a surprise. “This in no way constitutes a new development,” a BNP spokeswoman said. The full-scale inquiry follows a preliminary investigation that began earlier this year, when three non-government organisations filed a complaint on the matter. In France, the opening of a full-scale inquiry does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to a trial. It does imply that investigators believe the complaint or information gleaned during initial inquiries merits further investigation. Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Brian Love'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rwanda-bnpparibas-inquiry/bnp-paribas-subject-of-full-scale-rwanda-probe-in-france-idUKKCN1C016D'|'2017-09-25T13:29:00.000+03:00'
'bd5016513fccb0af90dbcd1828009fa672214d26'|'Singapore''s softer August inflation signals no change to policy'|'FILE PHOTO - A Singapore one dollar coin rests on top of Singapore two dollar notes in this April 13, 2010 photo illustration. REUTERS/Tim Chong/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore’s annual headline consumer price index rose more slowly than forecast in August, reinforcing expectations the central bank will keep policy unchanged at its review in October despite brighter economic growth prospects this year.The all-items CPI in August rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier. That was slower than the median forecast in a Reuters poll of a 0.6 percent rise. In July, all-items CPI rose 0.6 percent from a year earlier.The moderation in all-items CPI inflation largely reflected a fall in private road transport inflation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a joint statement on Monday.That, together with a moderation in food and retail inflation, more than offset a smaller decline in the cost of accommodation, they said.Private road transportation inflation in August eased to 2.6 percent from a year earlier, versus 3.5 percent in July. The cost of accommodation fell 3.9 percent in August, a smaller decline than the 4.1 percent drop seen in July.Singapore’s annual core inflation gauge, which excludes changes in the cost of accommodation and private road transport, rose 1.4 percent in August after rising 1.6 percent in July. The median forecast in a Reuters poll called for a 1.6 percent rise.“It falls neatly within MAS expectations, there’s no big surprise here,” said Francis Tan, an economist for United Overseas Bank, adding that MAS is likely to keep its monetary policy unchanged at its policy review due in October.“It may be time that they start normalising in April next year, following other countries who are doing it,” he added.Singapore and other Asian economies that are highly dependent on trade have gained a big boost this year from an improvement in global demand, particularly for electronics products and components such as semiconductors.Still, there has been little sign of any broad pick-up in demand-driven inflationary pressures, and most analysts say the central bank is unlikely to be in any hurry to tighten monetary policy.“The inflation data once again confirms that weak domestic demand is weighing on the pricing power of the corporate sector and that there is little reason for the Monetary Authority of Singapore to relinquish its currently neutral exchange rate policy stance,” Sanjay Mathur, chief economist for Southeast Asia and India at ANZ, Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Jacqueline Wong '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/singapore-economy-inflation/singapore-august-all-items-cpi-up-0-4-percent-slower-than-expected-idINKCN1C00JR'|'2017-09-25T04:49:00.000+03:00'
'2915cc089d0c87bbe0e516294893d59fedd7eb99'|'EU states agree to end excessive deficit procedure for Greece'|' 06 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago EU states agree to end excessive deficit procedure for Greece Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Greek national flags and a European Union flag flutter outside a shop in central Athens, Greece July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union states decided on Monday to close disciplinary procedures against Greece over its excessive deficit after improvements in Greece’s fiscal position, confirming the country’s recovery is on the right track. EU states backed a recommendation by the European Commission to end the excessive deficit procedure. “After many years of severe difficulties, Greece’s finances are in much better shape. Today’s decision is therefore welcome”, Estonia’s finance minister Toomas Toniste said in a statement. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece/eu-states-agree-to-end-excessive-deficit-procedure-for-greece-idUKKCN1C00VS'|'2017-09-25T11:59:00.000+03:00'
'9e5310a13da3622e692200928a4632d5c4e5aac6'|'The £230-a-year marriage allowance you could be missing out on - Money'|'Tax credits The £230-a-year marriage allowance you could be missing out on The tax allowance came into effect in April 2015 and so far £1.3bn hasn’t been claimed – but applying online is easy Fgures obtained from HMRC show that the take-up of the marriage allowance is ‘shockingly low’. Photograph: Alamy Tax credits The £230-a-year marriage allowance you could be missing out on The tax allowance came into effect in April 2015 and so far £1.3bn hasn’t been claimed – but applying online is easy View more sharing options Saturday 23 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Saturday 23 September 2017 08.36 BST I s there £662 out there with your name on it? Two million couples have failed to claim their share of £1.3bn of marriage allowance cash, it has emerged. Yet getting hold of this money – much of which would be sent to you in the form of a cheque – is simple and takes just a few minutes, so every couple should check whether they might be eligible. That’s the message from the former pensions minister Steve Webb, who says: “Given the pressure on household finances at the moment, it’s vital that people claim the money that is theirs to be had.” He says figures he has obtained from HMRC show that the take-up of the marriage allowance is “shockingly low”. It’s perhaps something that passed a lot of people by, but in the December 2013 autumn statement the then-chancellor, George Osborne, announced that the government would be introducing a transferable tax allowance for married couples and civil partners. Called the marriage allowance, this tax break took effect in April 2015 , and the government said at the time that more than four million married couples and 15,000 civil partnerships stood to benefit. Ministers said it would help them save up to £212 a year – though that figure has since risen to £230. They added that this was about acknowledging that “it is families who raise our children, look after our old and keep our country going”. I would encourage every married couple to check whether they might be eligible, including for the past two years Steve Webb The marriage allowance is specifically designed for couples where one partner pays standard rate income tax and the other is a non-taxpayer. You can claim it provided the following apply: you are married or in a civil partnership; one partner in the couple doesn’t earn anything at all or their income is £11,500 or less in 2017-18; and the other partner’s income is between £11,501 and £45,000 in 2017-18 – or £43,000 if you are in Scotland. If you are eligible, the lower earner can transfer any unused tax-free allowance of up to 10% of the value of the full personal allowance (ie, £1,150 in 2017-18, because the personal allowance is currently £11,500) to their higher-earning partner. This reduces their tax by up to £230 in the current tax year. What’s more, you can backdate your claim to include any tax year since 5 April 2015 during which you were eligible for the allowance. A couple who claimed now for 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 stand to gain to the tune of £662, points out Webb, who is now the director of policy at the mutual insurer Royal London. The good news is that any money for previous tax years is likely to be paid in the form of a cheque. Webb has just received a freedom of information response from HMRC that he says confirms just how poor the take-up of the allowance has been. The government estimated that 4.2 million couples stood to gain. But the response from HMRC dated 5 September confirms that only 2.2 million have claimed the tax break, including claims made so far in 2017-18. That suggests about two million more couples could still benefit. Assuming that each of these took advantage of the ability to backdate to 2015-16, that would produce a total tax saving to consumers of just over £1.3bn. Webb says: “Even in its third year of operation, around two million couples who could benefit from the marriage allowance are not doing so. When family finances are so tight, I would encourage every married couple to check whether they might be eligible, including for the past two years, as they could qualify for a useful lump sum as well as a reduction in their ongoing tax bill.” We’re over our wedding budget – how can we cut costs? Read more The government has said applying online is simple and can be done at gov.uk/apply-marriage-allowance . The non-taxpayer has to apply and will need their own and their partner’s national insurance numbers. They will also need a way to prove their identity (eg, the last four digits of the account that their child benefit, tax credits or pension are paid into, or their passport number and expiry date). HMRC will typically give the recipient partner their extra allowance either by changing their tax code or via the self-assessment tax system. The lower earner’s personal allowance will transfer automatically to their partner every year until one of them cancels the allowance or their circumstances change – for example, because of divorce or death. Meanwhile, if you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you might benefit more as a couple by applying for the married couple’s allowance instead. This could reduce your tax bill by between £326 and £844.50 a year. You can claim this allowance if all the following apply: you are married or in a civil partnership; you are living with your spouse/civil partner; and one of you was born before 6 April 1935. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/23/230-pounds-marriage-allowance-hasnt-been-claimed'|'2017-09-23T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'4c4c50dc5b48d8410e943fe68193157ab3ec487b'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. FDA declines to approve J&J arthritis drug'|'FILE PHOTO: A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declined to approve Johnson & Johnson’s rheumatoid arthritis drug sirukumab, saying additional clinical data is needed to further evaluate its safety, the company said on Friday.The FDA’s decision is in keeping with an advisory panel’s recommendation in August that the FDA reject the drug. Panelists were concerned about an imbalance in the number of deaths in patients taking sirukumab compared with those taking a placebo.The most common causes of death were major heart problems, infection and malignancies.“We are disappointed by this development as we feel the data accumulated to date support the efficacy and safety of sirukumab,” said Dr. Newman Yeilding, head of immunology at J&J&rsquo;s Janssen subsidiary. He added that the company is seeking to “gain a full understanding of FDA requirements for U.S. approval” and plans to have a follow-up discussion with the agency.Sirukumab blocks a cytokine in the body known as interleukin 6 that can contribute to the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder that affects more than 23 million people worldwide.Other drugs in the same class include Roche Holding AG’s Actemra and Sanofi SA and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc’s Kevzara.Analysts on average had expected sirukumab, which would be known as Plivensia if ultimately approved, to generate annual global sales of $426 million by 2020.J&J originally developed sirukumab with GlaxoSmithKline Plc but GSK recently said it would end the program and return all rights to J&J. GSK had rights to the drug in North, Central and South America.In April the FDA declined to approve a rheumatoid arthritis drug made by Eli Lilly and Co and partner Incyte Corp, saying additional clinical data was needed to determine the most appropriate doses of the drug, baricitinib, and to further characterize safety concerns.Baricitinib belongs to a class of drugs known as Jak inhibitors that include Pfizer Inc’s Xeljanz and AbbVie Inc’s Humira.Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and James DalgleishOur '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-arthritis/u-s-fda-declines-to-approve-jj-arthritis-drug-idUSKCN1BX2UY'|'2017-09-22T23:55:00.000+03:00'
'403dd095bcc1f600a243ac06165e5fc0b7c19dae'|'Exclusive - T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing deal terms: sources'|' 25 AM / Updated 30 minutes ago Exclusive - T-Mobile, Sprint close to agreeing deal terms: sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Smartphones with the logos of T-Mobile and Sprint are seen in this illustration taken September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with peer Sprint Corp ( S.N ), people familiar with the matter said, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ), which controls Sprint, will own between 40 and 50 percent of the combined company, two of the sources said on Friday. T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) would own a majority stake in the merged company, the sources added. Once the deal term sheet has been finalised, due diligence by the two companies will follow and a deal is expected by the end of October, though it is still possible that the talks may end unsuccessfully, the sources said. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Sprint declined to comment, while T-Mobile, SoftBank and Deutsche Telelok did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London and Douglas Busvine in Frankfurt; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sprint-m-a-tmobile-exclusive/exclusive-t-mobile-sprint-close-to-agreeing-deal-terms-sources-idUKKCN1BX1EM'|'2017-09-22T14:25:00.000+03:00'
'0b6c54cc27730ad6682298fa2d129cc653a81686'|'Ping An Insurance buying 10 percent stake in Japan drugmaker Tsumura $244 million'|'Company logo of Ping An Insurance Group is shown at a news conference following the company''s announcement of its annual results in Hong Kong, China in this March 16, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese drugmaker Tsumura & Co ( 4540.T ) said on Friday Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd ( 601318.SS ) ( 2318.HK ) will become its biggest shareholder by acquiring a 10 percent stake for 27.3 billion yen ($243.7 million).Tsumura is well known in Japan as a prescription drugmaker specialized in “kampo” herbal medicine, which traces its roots back to China.In a statement, Tsumura, which has annual revenue of about $980 million, said it will place newly issued shares and treasury stock to Ping An for 3,559.5 yen a share, a 9.4 percent discount to Friday’s closing price.The deal is set to close on Oct. 13, the company said.Tsumura said the two companies are planning to set up joint ventures in procurement of herbal medicine materials, production and sales of traditional Chinese medicine in China.The Japanese company said it relies on imports from China for about 80 percent of herbal medicine materials, and that securing stable procurement is becoming critical as growing demand for kampo and Chinese medicine have driven up prices of herbal materials.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ping-an-ins-tsumura/ping-an-insurance-buying-10-percent-stake-in-japan-drugmaker-tsumura-for-244-million-idINKCN1BX11T'|'2017-09-22T07:44:00.000+03:00'
'b8f84af43a0f7f70bb0dee8f9167e04d27e60024'|'Head of G4S immigration unit at centre of abuse scandal quits'|'  6:26 PM / Updated 34 minutes ago Head of G4S immigration unit at centre of abuse scandal quits Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - The head of a G4S-run immigration unit in Britain at the centre of allegations of bullying and abuse, has resigned, the outsourcing company said on Friday. G4S said Ben Saunders, director of the immigration removal centre near Gatwick Airport in southeast England, would be replaced on an interim basis by Lee Hanford from Monday, Sept. 25, pending the appointment of a permanent successor. British lawmakers accused G4S last week of repeated failures of detainee welfare safeguards and whistleblowing mechanisms at the immigration centre, after physical and verbal abuse by guards was revealed in a BBC documentary. G4S, contracted by the British government to run the Brook House centre, earlier this month suspended 10 members of staff, three of whom have now been sacked, for abusive behaviour following the documentary. Police are also investigating. Earlier this year an investigation at the G4S-run Medway Secure Training Centre resulted in allegations of abuse and mistreatment of youngsters. The centre is now run by the government’s National Offender Management Service. Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g4s-investigation/head-of-g4s-immigration-unit-at-centre-of-abuse-scandal-quits-idUKKCN1BX2LW'|'2017-09-22T21:27:00.000+03:00'
'4b60a1b3afd7751218805b6155e2ca106a59741e'|'France''s Total sells its Italian gas business to UGI: source'|'The logo of French oil giant Total is pictured at the entrance of the CSTJF Total Research Center in Pau, Soutwestern France, April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS (Reuters) - French oil and gas major Total ( TOTF.PA ) has sold its gas business in Italy, Total Italia Gas, a subsidiary of its Italian joint venture TotalErg, to UGI Corp ( UGI.N ), an industry source said on Friday.The sale is part of a move by the company to sells its assets in the Italian downstream retail market.Total has said it plans to sell TotalErg, a joint venture with ERG ( ERG.MI ) that controls close to 2,600 service stations in Italy and has a market share of around 11 percent.Total and UGI declined to comment.Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Luke Baker and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-totalerg-m-a-ugi/frances-total-sells-its-italian-gas-business-to-ugi-source-idUSKCN1BX2G8'|'2017-09-23T01:22:00.000+03:00'
'ee9efa28345d004e92fba7835e7fc86085a55af7'|'Yellen''s stock rises as she leads Fed from crisis-era policy'|'Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two-day Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From her early days as Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen has been the target of criticism from Republicans worried that the central bank’s massive bond-buying programs and near-zero interest rates engineered by her predecessor would be the ruin of the country.With little more than four months left in her term and questions swirling over whether the White House will ask her to stay on for another four years, Yellen has turned that story around.The Fed has raised rates faster than markets had thought possible this year and, on Wednesday, it announced its $4.5 trillion bond portfolio would begin to shrink in October. All the while, unemployment has plunged to boomtime levels and inflation has remained well in check.Now Yellen’s stock appears to be rising, both among her critics and on a real-money exchange where traders can place bets on who they think will be the next Fed chair.“I‘m glad we are finally at this point - I have been encouraging both privately and publicly the Fed to do this. We’ll see whether it truly is an end to the era,” said U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga, a Republican who has pushed a bill to tie the central bank’s decisions to a monetary policy rule.That Is an idea that Yellen has opposed, saying it would restrict policy options.Still Huizenga, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee and its subcommittee on monetary policy and trade, does not appear to endorse her.“I like her,” he told Reuters. “I would like to just make sure that the White House and president are making a thorough examination (of her record) - not just on a whim of, hey, interest rates are low ...”GUESSING GAME President Donald Trump has given few hints as to whether he will reappoint or replace Yellen before her term ends in early February. There are few signs the appointment process has moved forward at all or that it is a priority for the administration.And on Predictit.org, a financial prediction market for political and financial events where the Fed Chair contracts trade, the stock of former Fed Governor and Wall Street banker Kevin Warsh has also risen. Traders are currently paying 30 cents for contracts that would pay out $1 if Yellen gets the nod; Warsh contracts are going for 30 cents.Warsh was a Fed governor between 2006 and 2011 and criticized the Fed’s bond buying program, saying it would drive inflation sharply higher. That view has been a common thread among mostly conservative economists in their criticism of the Fed under both Ben Bernanke and Yellen.Other possible options include Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president who is Trump’s top economic adviser and who is leading the search for a new chair, and John Taylor, a Stanford University economist and a favorite of congressional Republicans.Cohn’s criticism of Trump’s response to the recent violence in Charlottsville, Virginia, has seen the odds on his appointment fall dramaticallyTAYLOR STILL ATTRACTIVE “In general, I believe we need more of a hawk than a dove in that position,” said Huizenga, adding he has not formally suggested names nor been asked by the White House. “I would be comfortable with John Taylor.”Cohn’s stock is at 15 cents on Predictit.org, down from the 48 cents it fetched midsummer; Taylor trails along with Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard at 2 cents.Yellen’s appeal is seen as limited by her support for crisis-era financial regulations that Republicans want to roll back.With Vice Chair Stanley Fischer set to retire in mid-October, the Trump administration needs “to come up with two names, not one. ... Perhaps a ticket like Warsh as chair and Hubbard as vice chair has a good chance,” said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist for Barclays, who believes Yellen is unlikely to retain her job.Still, Gapen said, “if you are looking for someone to continue to normalize policy, she would be someone you might want to consider.”Reporting by Ann Saphir in Washington and Jonathan Spicer in New York; Additional reporting by Angelika Gruber in Zurich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed/yellens-stock-rises-as-she-leads-fed-from-crisis-era-policy-idINKCN1BW2LT'|'2017-09-21T20:45:00.000+03:00'
'12eec861e4bdb16861ca189cbbbe6fe4894a0258'|'Generic drugmaker Impax Labs in talks to merge with Amneal - WSJ'|'Sept 21 (Reuters) - Impax Laboratories Inc is in talks to merge with Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.Impax and privately held Amneal are in talks that could yield a transaction next month, according to the WSJ report. ( on.wsj.com/2xxSCV3 )Reuters reported in March that Impax had asked investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it conduct a strategic review, as it tries to cope with a tougher drug pricing environment.Amneal and Impax, which had a market valuation of $1.60 billion as of Wednesday’s close, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/impax-labs-ma/generic-drugmaker-impax-labs-in-talks-to-merge-with-amneal-wsj-idINL4N1M254T'|'2017-09-21T14:58:00.000+03:00'
'2551edd4f9367183b5e06b576d0316e3097f43b3'|'Lufthansa CEO puts focus on 38 wet lease planes in Air Berlin battle'|'FRANKFURT, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Lufthansa’s bid for Air Berlin assets is focused on securing the 38 crewed planes it currently leases from the insolvent carrier and it is interested in a further 20 to 40 planes, Lufthansa’s chief executive said.Those 38 planes currently carry about 1,000 passengers a day, mainly for the group’s budget unit Eurowings, and Lufthansa’s priority is on keeping that operation stable, Carsten Spohr said at a media event late on Wednesday.Eurowings was hit last week, when Air Berlin pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers, forcing the cancellation of flights.Spohr said Lufthansa also expected it could grow its short-haul operations by another 20 to 40 planes without falling foul of anti-trust concerns due to the expected exit of Air Berlin from the market.“The next few days will show whether that growth comes organically via Eurowings or through an Air Berlin transaction,” he said, adding that Lufthansa would need around 3,000 new employees as it seeks to build on its market share following the exit of Air Berlin.Lufthansa is however not interested in Air Berlin’s long-haul routes however, with Spohr saying the flagship carrier could grow in that area on its own.After announcing plans to start Eurowings long-haul routes from Duesseldorf this winter, following Air Berlin’s retreat there, the budget unit also intends to offer long-haul flights from Berlin Tegel airport next year, albeit starting with just one route.Spohr also said business so far in 2017 was proving significantly better than the last two years, both of which were record years in terms of financial results.He added that Lufthansa was sticking with a goal of reducing its unit costs this year and said it hoped to sign a wide-ranging deal on pay and conditions with its pilots this month. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa-ceo/lufthansa-ceo-puts-focus-on-38-wet-lease-planes-in-air-berlin-battle-idINF9N10302C'|'2017-09-21T05:03:00.000+03:00'
'244947358db8f4147b9e1c2ee9368f38aba530bd'|'BRIEF-Telia settles U.S. bribery case'|'  1:36 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago BRIEF-Telia settles U.S. bribery case Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 21 (Reuters) - TELIA ADMITS, ACCEPTS AND ACKNOWLEDGES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALLEGED WRONGDOING, ACCORDING TO THE DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENT DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENT SAYS IT RUNS FOR THREE YEARS Telia co enters deferred prosecution agreement with u.s. Department of justice, to pay $548.6 mln monetary penalties -- court filing U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SAYS TELIA‘S UZBEKISTAN SUBSIDIARY, COSCOM, IS ENTERING A RELATED GUILTY PLEA U.S. ACCUSED TELIA OF CONSPIRING TO VIOLATE ANTI-BRIBERY PROVISIONS OF FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/telia-brief/brief-telia-settles-u-s-bribery-case-idUSL2N1M20VX'|'2017-09-21T16:36:00.000+03:00'
'b68e81ab1b41160a1a536cb253fcb0213a7a9973'|'Banks won''t be allowed to do business with both U.S. and North Korea: Mnuchin'|'Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin walks through the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that banks doing business in North Korea would not be allowed to also operate in the United States under a new sanctions order aimed at thwarting Pyongyang’s nuclear and missiles program.“No bank in any country should be used to facilitate Kim Jong Un’s destructive behaviour,” Mnuchin told reporters, referring to North Korea’s leader. “Foreign financial institutions are now on notice that going forward they can choose to do business with the United States or with North Korea, but not both.”Mnuchin said any sanctions issued under the new executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday would be forward-looking and not target past behaviour.Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Mohammad Zargham '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/northkorea-missiles-usa-mnuchin/banks-wont-be-allowed-to-do-business-with-both-u-s-and-north-korea-mnuchin-idINKCN1BW2S3'|'2017-09-21T22:24:00.000+03:00'
'8f86a58bcd01b71439d151727b2136e6ce8549eb'|'Alibaba-backed Best seeks last-mile logistics growth after IPO: CEO'|'FILE PHOTO - A man rides an electric scooter past a distribution hub of the Chinese logistics company Best Inc in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Best Inc BSTI.N, flush with $450 million from a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), is broadening its scope in so-called last-mile logistics in China as a key strand of its growth strategy, its chief executive told Reuters.Best, backed by e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ), plans to use its IPO windfall to add to its 315,000 convenience stores that can both accept and distribute packages from and to individuals, Johnny Chou said in an interview.Best, like peers such as ZTO Express Inc ( ZTO.N ), is capitalizing on a surge in demand for logistics services fueled by an e-commerce boom, particularly in China but also in the populous and fast-growing region of Southeast Asia.“Last-mile services are an essential and firm part of our strategy,” Chou said, noting that many logistics firms deliver between distribution centers and not to addressees.Best debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with its stock rising as much as 19 percent above its IPO price before closing up 5.2 percent. Chou said Best is not concerned about short-term stock valuation, but the first-day gains were good to reward investors who bought into Best’s future.“At the end of the day, it’s a moment in time. We have a plan and it’s working out,” Chou said.As well as China, Best has warehouses in the U.S. states of California and Delaware, plus Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan. It aims to use its experience buying smaller logistics peers and warehouse robotics firms to grow its business and expand into new areas as well as markets such as Southeast Asia.“It’s a market with great potential, with a large population, and e-commerce growth is very high; and with very fragmented supply chain and logistics services,” Chou said. “We will get into this market.”Best initially targeted an IPO worth up to $932 million, but slashed the number and price of shares on sale due to limited interest from investors burned by the underperformance of comparable IPOs and unease over Best’s valuation.The IPO was nevertheless the biggest by a Chinese firm in the United States since ZTO raised $1.4 billion in October. ZTO’s stock has traded below its IPO price since debuting and is currently down 23 percent.“We looked where we are now – at an inflection (point) – with margins improving and everything improving, we thought with the advisors that the initial range we had set was very reasonable,” Chou said.“People believe in our future and vision, but they want to make sure that in investing they will see the returns. We want them to back us up and we want them to be our long-term partners. That’s why we changed (the price range).”Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Christopher Cushing '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-best-listing-debut/alibaba-backed-best-seeks-last-mile-logistics-growth-after-ipo-ceo-idINKCN1BW13E'|'2017-09-21T06:53:00.000+03:00'
'20ca1b6a237355645f9bd49bc478946e80c0e017'|'UPDATE 1-GlobalFoundries says no commitment from Tesla on chip deal'|'(Adds comments from GlobalFoundries spokesperson, updates share prices)Sept 21 (Reuters) - GlobalFoundries, which fabricates chips for Advanced Micro Devices Inc, said on Thursday that Tesla had not committed to working with it on any autonomous driving technology or product, contradicting an earlier media report.CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Tesla was working with AMD to develop its own artificial intelligence chip for self-driving cars.The report said GlobalFoundries Chief Executive Sanjay Jha’s company was working directly with Tesla.“Tesla has not committed to working with us on any autonomous driving technology or product,” the spokesperson said in an email on Thursday.Tesla’s Model S, Model X and Model 3 vehicles use Nvidia Corp’s products for their self-driving capabilities.The spokesperson for GlobalFoundries said that Jha’s comments at the GlobalFoundries Technology Conference were not reported accurately.The spokesperson said that in his presentation, Jha simply cited that companies like Apple, Google and Tesla are examples of companies showing interest in working closely with Silicon Valley companies to differentiate their offerings.Shares of rival chip producer Nvidia, which fell as much as 4.7 percent on Thursday morning, pared some of its losses and were down 2.9 percent.Shares of AMD and Tesla were marginally lower. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/tesla-chips/update-1-globalfoundries-says-no-commitment-from-tesla-on-chip-deal-idINL4N1M24XV'|'2017-09-21T13:33:00.000+03:00'
'63b8d2d977bf0519658c85cbe615c839afeb0caa'|'German business morale clouds unexpectedly before election'|'BERLIN (Reuters) - German business confidence deteriorated unexpectedly in the weeks before Sunday’s federal election, a survey showed on Monday, suggesting that a consumption-led upswing in Europe’s largest economy could lose momentum in coming months.The Munich-based Ifo economic institute said its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, edged down to 115.2 from 115.9 in August. The reading compared with a Reuters consensus forecast for a value of 116.0.The Ifo survey was conducted in the three weeks before the election in which Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term but looks set to change coalition partners, meaning the indicator does not take into account the election outcome.The drop in Ifo’s headline figure was due to managers taking a more downbeat assessment of the current business situation as well as a more clouded business outlook for the next six months.“We suspect that a more likely cause of the decline is the recent strength of the euro, rather than political uncertainty,” Capital Economics analyst Stephen Brown said.A sector breakdown of the Ifo figures showed the main drag came from manufacturing and wholesaling while sentiment improved against the trend in construction and retailing.“In construction the index broke last month’s record,” Ifo said. A growing population, increased job security and record-low interest rates are fuelling a property boom in Germany.Higher state spending on roads, bridges and social housing - also to accommodate an influx of more than one million migrants since 2015 - is giving the sector an additional push.“STILL PERPLEXED”Ifo’s chief economist Klaus Wohlrabe said Sunday’s election outcome could stoke uncertainty among business.“At the moment people are still perplexed,” Wohlrabe told Reuters, adding that a so-called “Jamaica” coalition between Merkel’s conservatives with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens would be difficult to achieve.Wohlrabe said that new elections could not be excluded given the difficulty of forming a new government: “So uncertainty can certainly spread.”He added that the German economy would probably be weaker in the third quarter than the first two, but overall 2017 would be a very good year.The German economy grew 0.7 percent on the quarter in the first three months of the year and 0.6 percent from April to June, driven by increased household and state spending as well as higher investment in buildings and machinery.The Ifo index contrasted with last week’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) that showed Germany’s private sector expanding at the fastest pace in almost six-and-a-half years in September.The BDI industry association has said it expected the economy to grow by more than 2 percent this year adjusted for calendar effects, which would be the strongest pace in six years.Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/germany-economy-ifo/german-business-morale-clouds-unexpectedly-before-election-idINKCN1C00XS'|'2017-09-25T08:19:00.000+03:00'
'48b3c9e39f8d15f5a5ed866f7a461af74e546f0e'|'Unilever to buy majority stake in Carver Korea for $2.9 billion - Seoul Economic Daily'|'FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid /File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - Unilever has agreed to buy cosmetics firm Carver Korea for 2.27 billion euros ($2.71 billion) from Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital and the company’s founder as it expands its beauty and personal care business.The Anglo-Dutch company announced the deal on Monday, saying Carver was the fastest-growing skincare business in South Korea, through sales of its A.H.C brand.Unilever said the range includes “Eye Cream for Face”, along with essences, toners, moisturizers, masks, and sun protection.Bain and Goldman Sachs jointly bought a roughly 60 percent majority stake in Carver for around $500 million last year, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.Carver Korea, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs were not available for immediate comment.Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Kane Wu; editing by Edwina Gibbs and Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-carverkorea-unilever-nv/unilever-to-buy-majority-stake-in-carver-korea-for-2-9-billion-seoul-economic-daily-idINKCN1C00D3'|'2017-09-25T03:15:00.000+03:00'
'58c428d5e4cff6b512b69483f3a388fafdeb0c2f'|'U.S. jobless claims fall; hurricanes still affecting data'|'  12:33 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago U.S. jobless claims fall; hurricanes still affecting data Lucia Mutikani 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man looks over employment opportunities at a jobs center in San Francisco, California, U.S, February 4, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, but the near-term outlook for the labor market was muddied by the continuing impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Other data on Thursday showed manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region accelerated in September amid a surge in new orders. But hiring by factories slowed and employees worked fewer hours this month compared to August. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended Sept. 16, the Labor Department said. A Labor Department official said Harvey and Irma affected claims for Texas and Florida. Unadjusted claims for Texas fell 23,549 last week, the second straight weekly drop. Claims in Texas surged in the wake of Harvey, which disrupted oil, natural gas and petrochemicals production, leaving some workers temporarily unemployed. Unadjusted claims for Florida rose 5,133 last week. In addition, the Labor Department estimated claims for South Carolina and the Virgin Islands last week. Economists had forecast claims rising to 300,000 in the latest week. It was the 133rd straight week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a robust labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 6,000 to 268,750 last week. Prices of U.S. Treasuries pared gains after the data and the dollar was .DXY weaker against a basket of currencies. U.S. stock index futures were trading lower. The claims data covered the survey period for the non-farm payrolls portion of September’s employment report. There are fears the disruption caused by Harvey and Irma could restrain job growth in September. Texas and Florida account for about 14 percent of U.S. employment. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told reporters on Wednesday that “payroll employment may be substantially affected in September” by the storms, but she added that she expected labor market conditions would strengthen somewhat further out. Yellen made the comments after the U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged but signaled it still anticipated one more rate increase by the end of the year. The four-week moving average of claims rose 28,250 between the August and September survey periods, suggesting a further slowdown in job growth. The economy added 156,000 jobs in August, with the private services sector hiring the smallest number of workers in five months. In a separate report on Thursday, the Philadelphia Fed said its manufacturing activity index for the mid-Atlantic region increased about 5 points to a reading of 23.8 in September. It said almost 39 percent of the firms indicated increases in activity this month while 15 percent reported a decrease. Firms reported a jump in new orders. The survey’s employment index fell to a reading of 6.6, but has remained positive for 10 consecutive months. A measure of the average workweek dropped to a reading of 11.9 from 18.8 in August. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-unemployment/u-s-jobless-claims-fall-hurricanes-still-impacting-data-idUKKCN1BW1Q8'|'2017-09-21T16:15:00.000+03:00'
'c223b78898da02b07c20c49aa9c79b4286727d1e'|'Toshiba prepares to formalize chips sale, even as rejected suitor steps up legal action'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is locked in last minute discussions over “key issues” with the would-be buyers of its $18 billion memory chip business led by U.S. private equity firm Bain, potentially delaying a formal agreement on the sale.Toshiba said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell the prized unit to the Bain consortium, and had been expected to formalize the sale on Thursday.Instead, South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), part of the winning consortium, said talks were still ongoing. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed consortium members were still wrangling over details of their agreement and said commitment letters from all participants were still needed before the sale could be signed formally.“There are some key issues still to be agreed upon in the content approved by Toshiba’s board,” the South Korean chipmaker said in a statement, adding that it would continue talks.Toshiba and Bain did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Adding to uncertainty, jilted suitor and Toshiba joint venture partner Western Digital ( WDC.O ) took fresh legal action overnight, filing new arbitration requests to stop Toshiba investing in a new flash memory production line without its help.Related Coverage SK Hynix says some key issues on Toshiba chip unit sale still need agreementShares in Toshiba reflected the concerns, falling more than 2 percent in late afternoon trade.Struggling to plug a yawning balance sheet hole after a cost blow-out at its now-bankrupt U.S. nuclear business, Toshiba has been trying to sell its chip business since late January.Agreeing the sale of the world’s second-largest producer of NAND flash memory chips brings the group closer to the end of a tangled and fraught process.FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/Illustration/File Photo As late as Tuesday night, sources said Toshiba was leaning towards selling the business to Western Digital.MAJOR UNKNOWNS Bain has partnered with SK Hynix and brought in deep-pocketed U.S. buyers of Toshiba chips such as Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Dell Inc [DI.UL] to bolster its bid.But there are major unknowns, including the outcome of antitrust investigations and the battle with Western Digital.It is unclear how long that process could last, and what impact it would have on the completion of the sale.Industry watchers also said SK Hynix’s participation could prolong antitrust reviews, particularly in China, as Beijing is trying to grow domestic players. The South Korean chipmaker plans to limit its role to financing, but it’s unclear if it hopes to gain a stake in the future.“It’s clear to everyone that this Bain deal will have difficulty succeeding,” said Akira Minamikawa, principal analyst at IHS Markit.The NAND flash memory chips business faces fierce price competition with Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ), he said, and China was likely to join the race.“To survive, Toshiba needs to shift its focus to (flash memory-backed) storage systems for servers rather than selling memory chips alone. And strong players there are Samsung and Western Digital, not (new partner) SK Hynix.”Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Taro Fuse in TOKYO, Joyce Lee in SEOUL; Writing by Clara Ferreira-Marques; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-prepares-to-formalize-chips-sale-even-as-rejected-suitor-steps-up-legal-action-idINKCN1BW08R'|'2017-09-21T00:16:00.000+03:00'
'bbb8c2284664a2e803b3a9b8f30ee416ce372f5b'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint hits 4-month low after Fed tightening signal'|'* Forint, zloty fall as Fed signals balance sheet tightening * Forint hits 4-month low on loose Hungarian cbank policy * Hungarian debt yields hesitate near record lows By Sandor Peto and Jan Lopatka BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Central Europe''s most liquid currencies, the forint and the zloty fell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled balance sheet tightening and one more rate hike in 2017. "Tighter policy by the Fed cuts liquidity in the world and affects risk assets like emerging markets," one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. The forint''s reaction was the biggest in the region after the Hungarian central bank (NBH) announced further monetary easing measures on Tuesday, going against a global trend of tightening. The forint pierced the psychological line at 310 against the euro, and fell to 310.43 by 0813 GMT, down 0.6 percent, hitting 4-month lows. The region''s most liquid unit, the zloty, shed 0.4 percent to trade at 4.289 per euro. Hungary''s 12-month Treasury bill auction, its first debt sale since Tuesday''s NBH meeting, is expected to generate strong demand despite the forint weakening, traders said. The NBH cut its overnight deposit rate deeper into the negative on Tuesday and pledged liquidity measures to push long-term government debt yields lower. Its decisions pushed yields to record lows in maturities up to 10 years by Wednesday and the BUBOR interbank interest rates into the negative for the first time ever in the shortest, overnight and one-week maturities. Yields did not decline further on Thursday. "The news that the Fed will tighten its balance sheet causes some uncertainty, but we will see how long that will last," one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. The NBH''s easing measures have increased the forint''s volatility. The Fed''s comments alone would not justify a big fall as monetary tightening in the United States will be gradual and extended over years, one currency dealer said, "My feeling is that strengthening remains the forint''s natural direction," the dealer added, referring to a big trade deficit and robust economic growth in Central Europe. Elsewhere, the Czech crown remained almost steady, trading at 26.11 against the euro. Last month the Czechs became the first in the European Union to lift central bank rates since 2012, and may continue to tighten policy further later this year. Foreign investors hold tens of billions of euros worth of speculative positions in the crown which could lose value if the shrinking of the Fed''s balance sheet also encourages the European Central bank to tighten its own policies, CSOB analysts said in a note. In stock markets, a one percent fall in copper prices in London led to a 2.6 percent plunge in the shares of Polish copper producer KGHM and that helped Warsaw''s bluechip index fall 0.7 percent. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1019 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.110 26.102 -0.03% 3.44% 0 0 Hungary 310.43 308.55 -0.60% -0.52% forint 00 50 Polish zloty 4.2890 4.2716 -0.41% 2.68% Romanian leu 4.5985 4.5967 -0.04% -1.38% Croatian 7.4830 7.4795 -0.05% 0.96% kuna Serbian 119.10 119.11 +0.01 3.57% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1047.7 1047.3 +0.04 +13.6 6 1 % 9% Budapest 38158. 38108. +0.13 +19.2 99 04 % 4% Warsaw 2481.5 2499.6 -0.72% +27.3 1 3 9% Bucharest 7908.2 7918.0 -0.12% +11.6 6 5 2% Ljubljana 801.92 801.22 +0.09 +11.7 % 5% Zagreb 1830.4 1821.1 +0.52 -8.24% 9 1 % Belgrade 731.81 728.77 +0.42 +2.01 % % Sofia 682.96 677.65 +0.78 +16.4 % 6% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.11 0 +056b -2bps ps 5-year 0.237 0 +048b -4bps ps 10-year 1.093 0.019 +062b -2bps ps Poland 2-year 1.805 0.032 +247b +2bps ps 5-year 2.71 0.022 +295b -1bps ps 10-year 3.371 0.041 +290b +1bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.68 0.83 0.92 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.07 0.09 0.12 0.06 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.76 1.792 1.84 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-forint-hits-4-month-low-after-fed-tightening-signal-idINL5N1M21TV'|'2017-09-21T07:13:00.000+03:00'
'274b1601eef36a0f6deefb748786ae966449427a'|'Air Berlin races to clinch deal with Lufthansa, easyJet'|'BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) hopes to conclude talks with Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) on a carve-up of its assets by the middle of next month as it races to secure jobs and keep flying.Air Berlin, which has around 8,000 employees, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad said it would stop providing funding.The German government stepped in with a 150 million euro ($178 million) loan, due to last until the end of October, to prevent the airline being grounded so that talks could be held on selling its assets.Lufthansa has bid for units including leisure airline Niki and regional carrier LGW plus around 13 A320 jets, while easyJet ( EZJ.L ) has bid for 27-30 planes, Air Berlin administrator Frank Kebekus said on Monday. Talks will run until Oct 12.Related Coverage Securing jobs must be top priority for Air Berlin: German ministerThose two bids, beating out rivals such as British Airways parent IAG ( ICAG.L ), Thomas Cook’s ( TCG.L ) Condor and other investors, offered the best prospects financially and in terms of securing jobs for Air Berlin’s 8,000 staff, he said.Lufthansa has said it will need 3,000 new employees to grow as a result of the gap left by the Air Berlin insolvency.Its budget unit Eurowings on Monday extended a recruitment drive, saying it now had over 1,000 open positions, including for 300 pilots, 500 cabin crew and more than 200 ground staff jobs.Trustee Lucas Floether (L-R) and Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of insolvent German airline Air Berlin hold a news conference in Berlin, Germany September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos EasyJet’s offer also involves crews and slots associated with the 27-30 planes, including a large share of Air Berlin’s slots and crews at Berlin Tegel airport, Air Berlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann said. EasyJet currently flies from Schoenefeld airport in Berlin.A source has said Lufthansa’s bid is for around 200 million euros ($237 million), plus a further 100 million to meet operating costs during a transition phase.Slideshow (5 Images) Air Berlin said the parties had agreed not to disclose financial details but that the bidders had put forward proposals on financing the winter flight plan from the end of October. It hopes the EU will approve the carve-up by the end of the year.Lufthansa shares hit 23.485 euros on Monday, their highest level since early 2001, on hopes it would pick up some of Air Berlin’s most attractive assets and strengthen its position in Germany.Speaking as union Verdi staged a demonstration outside, blowing whistles and waving placards, Winkelmann said Air Berlin was “fighting for every job.”Administrator Frank Kebekus said flight operations had to be kept stable to bring talks to a successful conclusion, repeating comments made after the airline’s operations were hit by a wave of sickness-related absences among pilots this month.However, Air Berlin said Monday it was halting long-haul flights from Oct 15 after lessors recalled planes. It is also stopping flights from Munich to Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn from Sept. 29 and said more would follow.Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-says-on-way-to-securing-jobs-with-lufthansa-easyjet-bids-idUSKCN1C01T8'|'2017-09-25T21:17:00.000+03:00'
'e63a3747c0a9fd29cde9e63c597e90c08e63ef05'|'Unilever steps up beauty push with $2.7 billion Carver Korea deal'|'  5:15 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Unilever steps up beauty push with $2.7 billion Carver Korea deal Hyunjoo Jin , Martinne Geller 4 Min Read SEOUL/LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever ( ULVR.L )( UNc.AS ) has agreed to pay 2.27 billion euros ($2.71 billion) to buy fast-growing cosmetics company Carver Korea in its latest move to build a global beauty business. The purchase from Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital and Carver’s founder follows a string of smaller skincare and cosmetics deals as the Anglo-Dutch pivots away from slower-growth food. The deal announced on Monday gives Unilever what it said is the fastest-growing skincare business in South Korea through its AHC brand of anti-ageing creams, moisturisers and other skin products. Carver also provides a strong foothold in North Asia, the world’s largest skincare market, Unilever said. “Unilever continues to build a portfolio of niche brands in premium beauty to capture opportunities in high-margin dynamic categories,” said Ildiko Szalai, analyst at Euromonitor International, which says the South Korean beauty and personal care market has grown faster than the global average over the past five years. Korean beauty brands are in huge demand throughout Asia and have attracted investors including LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) and Estee Lauder ( EL.N ) over the past couple of years. Monday’s deal comes even though political tensions between China and South Korea have dented earnings of many South Korean cosmetics businesses. Chinese tourists have been big buyers of South Korean cosmetics but China this year banned group tours to the country over Seoul’s decision to deploy an anti-missile system to counter North Korean threats. VALUATION JUMP FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid /File Photo Bain and Goldman Sachs jointly bought about 60 percent of Carver for roughly $500 million last year, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. That would have valued the whole company at $833 million, less than a third of what Unilever is paying, but Carver’s net profit nearly quadrupled last year to $117 million, from $32 million in 2015, public filings show. Unilever said that Carver’s 2016 sales were 321 million euros ($381 million) with core profit of 137 million euros. Based on that figure, Unilever paid 16.6 times EBITDA, in line with home and personal care deals over the past decade. Unilever is working hard to boost its performance after an unexpected takeover bid by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) in February. It has since raised its margin target, announced a share buyback and a plan to sell its shrinking margarine and spreads business. The company had already been trying to become more reliant on bath, body and beauty products, which tend to have higher growth and margins than food. To that end, it has bought a string of higher-end cosmetics and skincare companies including Murad, Dermalogica, REN and Kate Somerville. Bain and Goldman held 60.39 percent of Carver at the end of 2016, while its founder Lee Sang-rok held a 35 percent stake. Carver Korea, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs were not available for immediate comment. Additional reporting by Kane Wu in Seoul; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-carverkorea-unilever-nv/unilever-to-buy-majority-stake-in-carver-korea-for-2-9-billion-seoul-economic-daily-idUKKCN1C00D3'|'2017-09-25T15:33:00.000+03:00'
'bd60b4d43c8dc9c8bae510a9daae908e13456942'|'Carmakers, coal plants seen suffering if Greens join German coalition'|'Reuters TV United States  51 AM / a minute ago Carmakers, coal plants seen suffering if Greens join German coalition Reuters Staff 2   Cars and trucks are stuck in a traffic jam near Irschenberg, Germany July 28, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The emergence of the Greens as likely powerbrokers in a future German government coalition could spell bad news for the country’s struggling car and coal power industries. Following Sunday’s general election, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), said it would go into opposition, meaning she is now likely to seek a deal with the Free Democrats and Greens. Coalition talks are sure to be highly complex, but could see the Greens pressing their key policies on the energy and autos sectors, which are already grappling with Germany’s shift away of nuclear power and a diesel emissions scandal, respectively. Among their policies, the Greens hope to ban the sale of new combustion-engine cars from 2030 - a decade earlier than plans already outlined in France and Britain. “On the whole, the Greens pursue more ambitious goals and a more radical response to the diesel scandal,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note on Monday. The Greens are also calling for a quick phasing out of coal power plants and their complete closure by 2030. Shares in carmakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) were down 0.1-0.7 percent on Monday, while those in RWE - which operates 15.25 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired plants in Germany, 38 percent of its total European capacity - fell 4.1 percent to a six-week low. Analysts at Jefferies, however, were skeptical coal plants could be phased out as quickly as desired by the Greens, saying the 2030 deadline would withdraw capacity currently providing about half of the country’s total electricity generation. “Even if we assume that half of the market share gap is filled by the existing gas capacity in such a scenario, Germany will have to build an additional 130 GW of renewables to balance the market ... We struggle to add the maths in such a scenario,” they wrote in a research note. Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-election-utilities/carmakers-coal-plants-seen-suffering-if-greens-join-german-coalition-idUKKCN1C0199'|'2017-09-25T13:47:00.000+03:00'
'45b13f3f0954fc64862fc12865f3e0b18127154b'|'Genuine Parts to buy European peer in $2 billion deal'|'September 25, 2017 / 11:18 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Genuine Parts to buy European peer in $2 billion deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Genuine Parts Co ( GPC.N ), a U.S.-based automotive replacement parts distributor, said on Monday it would buy European peer Alliance Automotive Group in a deal valued at about $2 billion (1.48 billion pounds), including debt. The deal will provide Genuine Parts entry into the European market, where Alliance Automotive is the second largest parts distributor, the company said. Alliance Automotive distributes parts for light and commercial vehicle in France, Germany and the UK. It has 7,500 employees and over 1,800 company-owned stores and affiliated outlets in Europe. The London-based company is expected to generate gross revenue of about $1.7 billion in 2017, said Genuine Parts, which itself is expected to earn about $15.95 billion in 2017 revenue, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Genuine Parts is also present in the Canadian, Mexican and Australasian markets, but gets more than 80 percent of its annual revenue from the United States. Genuine Parts will buy Alliance Automotive from its co-founders and private equity funds managed by Blackstone ( BX.N ). The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017, will add 65-70 cents per share to Genuine Parts’ adjusted earnings in 2018. J.P. Morgan advised Genuine Parts on the deal, while Lazard and UBS advised Alliance Automotive. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Savio D''Souza'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alliance-automotive-m-a-genuine-parts/genuine-parts-to-buy-european-rival-in-2-billion-deal-idUKKCN1C01D8'|'2017-09-25T14:46:00.000+03:00'
'ca9d5d6986176eb62d816691b9f59d24784a12e8'|'Air Berlin says on way to securing jobs with Lufthansa, easyJet bids'|'  1:32 PM / Updated 34 minutes ago Air Berlin says on way to securing jobs with Lufthansa, easyJet bids Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Trustee Lucas Floether (L-R), Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of insolvent German airline Air Berlin hold a news conference in Berlin, Germany September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) said there were good prospects of repaying a government loan and for 80 percent of its staff to secure jobs if bids for parts of its business from Lufthansa and easyJet go ahead. Air Berlin, which has around 8,000 employees, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad said it would stop providing funding. The German government stepped in with a 150 million euro (131.81 million pounds) loan to prevent the airline being grounded so that talks could be held on selling its assets. Germany’s second largest airline said on Monday that Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) bid was for units including leisure airline Niki and regional carrier LGW plus other parts, while easyJet ( EZJ.L ) had bid for parts of the fleet. Related Coverage Air Berlin says easyJet interested in 27-30 planes “We are on the way to giving around 80 percent of our colleagues a good chance of new jobs with the bidders,” Air Berlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann said in a statement. Talks are due to continue until Oct 12. A source has said Lufthansa’s bid is for around 200 million euros ($237 million), plus a further 100 million to meet operating costs during a transition phase. FILE PHOTO: A Lufthansa aircraft is parked next to two aircrafts of German carrier AirBerlin at Duesseldorf airport in Duesseldorf, Germany, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay Air Berlin said the parties had agreed not to disclose the purchase price. It hopes the EU will approve the carve-up by the end of the year. Administrator Frank Kebekus said flight operations had to be kept stable to bring talks to a successful conclusion, repeating comments made after the airline’s operations were hit by a wave of sickness-related absences among pilots earlier this month. Slideshow (4 Images) However, Air Berlin said Monday it was halting long-haul flights from Oct 15 after lessors recalled planes. It is also stopping flights from Munich to Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn from Sept. 29 and said more would follow. Lufthansa shares hit 23.485 euros on Monday, their highest level since early 2001, on hopes it would pick up some of Air Berlin’s most attractive assets and strengthen its position in Germany. IAG also made a binding bid for part of Air Berlin but boss Willie Walsh said he expected it would go to Lufthansa. Lufthansa has said it expects to take on 3,000 new employees to grow as a result of the gap left by the Air Berlin insolvency. Lufthansa’s budget unit Eurowings on Monday extended a recruitment drive, saying it now had over 1,000 open positions, including for 300 pilots, 500 cabin crew and more than 200 ground staff jobs. Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-says-on-way-to-securing-jobs-with-lufthansa-easyjet-bids-idUKKCN1C01UX'|'2017-09-25T17:30:00.000+03:00'
'7c997a1680e10d661a17b41f148c6576653ecfe9'|'Dudley sees Fed rate hikes; inflation weakness ''fading'''|'  12:37 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Dudley sees Fed rate hikes; inflation weakness ''fading'' Jonathan Spicer 3   William C. Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York speaks during a panel discussion at The Bank of England in London, Britain, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is on track to gradually raise interest rates given the recent inflation weakness is fading and the U.S. economy’s fundamentals are sound, an influential Fed policymaker said on Monday, reinforcing the central bank’s confident tone. New York Fed President William Dudley, among the first U.S. central bankers to speak publicly since a decision last week to hold rates steady for now, cited the soft dollar and strong overseas growth among the reasons he expects slightly above-average U.S. economic activity and a long-sought rise in wages. “With a firmer import price trend and the fading of effects from a number of temporary, idiosyncratic factors, I expect inflation will rise and stabilize around the (Fed‘s) 2 percent objective over the medium term,” he told students and professors at Onondaga Community College. “In response, the Federal Reserve will likely continue to remove monetary policy accommodation gradually,” added Dudley, a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen and a permanent voter on monetary policy. Dudley’s comments were similar to his speech earlier this month, and reinforced the growing expectation that the Fed is set to raise rates for a third time this year in December. That notion was driven home by Fed forecasts published last week, when the central bank held rates but announced the beginning of a long process of shedding bonds it accumulated to boost the economy. Still, others at the Fed are less anxious to tighten policy in the face of price readings that have sagged since February, despite strong jobs growth. Futures traders give a December rate hike about a 55-percent probability, according to Reuters data. Dudley nodded to the three devastating hurricanes that have struck parts of the U.S. south and the Caribbean, noting their effects will likely make it more difficult to interpret economic data in coming months. He said, though, that the effects would likely be short-lived and noted that such events tend to boost economic activity as rebuilding gets underway. In a speech focused on workforce development, he said the Fed, which is tasked with achieving maximum sustainable employment, “cannot declare success if we have people who want to work but lack the skills to fill available jobs.” Yet he noted that the Fed’s tool kit is limited and best works to provide incentives for firms to invest and grow. “There are greater incentives for businesses to invest in labour-saving technologies” and the labour market improves, he said. “Investment spending should also benefit from a better international outlook and improvement in U.S. trade competitiveness caused by the dollar’s recent weakness.” Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-dudley/dudley-sees-fed-rate-hikes-as-u-s-inflation-weakness-fades-idUKKCN1C01OD'|'2017-09-25T16:13:00.000+03:00'
'00b6dec53e31109078481e2cb3e5d50a66d19251'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 25'|'Sept 25 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesUber launches effort to save crucial London market on.ft.com/2fLfneDThree former Tesco executives due to stand trial on.ft.com/2fKZKUlCorbyn camp blocks conference Brexit vote on.ft.com/2fKJ67fLabour promises to cap interest payments on credit cards on.ft.com/2fJB4ePOverviewUber Technologies Inc said it was willing to discuss how to better support police investigations and to strengthen official reporting procedures for private hire companies, in an attempt to resolve the issues that prompted Transport for London to revoke its licence to operate in London.In one of the most high-profile prosecutions ever brought by the Serious Fraud Office, three former Tesco Plc will stand trial on Monday for their alleged role in an accounting scandal in which Tesco was found to have inflated its profit by 326 million pounds ($440 million) in 2014.UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of making Labour a “laughing stock” by an MP from his party after Corbyn used his support group Momentum to prevent delegates at the annual conference from getting a vote on Brexit — even as he claimed to be making the party more democratic.The Labour Party’s John McDonnell will on Monday introduce a policy to put a cap on credit card interest payments to tackle Britain’s debt crisis, a measure that would be similar to restrictions imposed on payday lenders by the Financial Conduct Authority.$1 = 0.7406 pounds Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-25-idUSL4N1M600B'|'2017-09-25T03:09:00.000+03:00'
'334a613fd0e80516fddd8bde5a4c9ba7b11565e3'|'Dudley sees Fed rate hikes as U.S. inflation weakness fades'|'Reuters TV United States   12:41 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago Dudley sees Fed rate hikes as U.S. inflation weakness fades Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: William Dudley, President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, answers a question, after addressing the Indian businessmen at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai, India May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is on track to gradually raise interest rates given factors depressing inflation are “fading” and the U.S. economy’s fundamentals are sound, an influential Fed policymaker said on Monday. New York Fed President William Dudley, among the first U.S. central bankers to speak publicly since their decision last week to hold rates steady for now, cited the soft dollar and strong overseas growth among the reasons he expects slightly above-average U.S. economic activity and a long-sought rise in wages. “With a firmer import price trend and the fading of effects from a number of temporary, idiosyncratic factors, I expect inflation will rise and stabilize around the (Fed‘s) 2 percent objective over the medium term,” he told students and professors at Onondaga Community College. “In response, the Federal Reserve will likely continue to remove monetary policy accommodation gradually,” added Dudley, a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen and a permanent voter on monetary policy. Dudley’s comments were similar to his speech earlier this month, and reinforced the growing expectation that the Fed is set to raise rates for a third time this year in December. That notion was driven home by Fed policymakers’ forecasts published last week. Dudley nodded to the three devastating hurricanes that have struck parts of the U.S. south and Caribbean, noting their effects will likely make it more difficult to interpret economic data in coming months. He said, though, that the effects would likely be short-lived and noted that such events tend to boost economic activity as rebuilding gets underway. Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-dudley/dudley-sees-fed-rate-hikes-as-u-s-inflation-weakness-fades-idUKKCN1C01ON'|'2017-09-25T15:37:00.000+03:00'
'c64cf4cf89b5e9ac87bd4078f3543942e89d3d3e'|'Japan Abe to order 2 trillion yen stimulus package - sources'|'September 25, 2017 / 2:10 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Japan Abe to order $17.8 billion stimulus package - sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviews the honour guard before a meeting with Japan Self-Defense Force''s senior members at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan, September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will order cabinet ministers on Monday to compile a stimulus package worth around 2 trillion yen ($17.80 billion) to increase spending on child care and education, two government sources told Reuters. Abe is expected to announce a snap election on Monday to take advantage of improved ratings and disorganized opposition parties, and the stimulus package could be a way to lure voters during the election campaign. However, Abe has drawn criticism that he is using the election to distract voters from two cronyism scandals that rattled his government earlier this year. Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi; Writing by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-abe-stimulus/japan-abe-to-order-17-8-billion-stimulus-package-sources-idUKKCN1C004A'|'2017-09-25T05:00:00.000+03:00'
'72984db96f900aef635db6946243d32eaa693de5'|'Toshiba tells banks chip deal delayed as Apple yet to approve'|'  11:44 AM / Updated 36 minutes ago Toshiba tells banks chip deal delayed as Apple yet to approve Taro Fuse 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo - RC12E6FEB940 TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) told its main banks on Monday it has not signed the $18 billion sale of its semiconductor business because Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), a member of the buyer group, has not agreed on key terms, two people involved in the deal said. The struggling Japanese conglomerate announced last Wednesday it had chosen a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP to buy the prized chip unit - a move that would end a nine-month sale process and plug a vast hole in Toshiba’s finances, preventing it from being removed from trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But the signing of the deal to sell the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND memory chips, initially expected the following day, has dragged on, forcing Toshiba to explain the predicament to its bankers on Monday, the people said. They told Reuters that Toshiba asked the lenders to roll over 680 billion yen (4.50 billion pounds)in credit lines set to expire on Sept. 30. The lenders have been demanding that Toshiba sign a definitive agreement with the Bain-led group, which also involves South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), as a condition for the funding. Details of the issues with Apple couldn’t immediately be ascertained. Toshiba said in a statement to Reuters: “While we cannot comment on the detail of the deal procedure, we aim to sign the agreement with the purchaser as early as possible.” Apple didn’t immediately reply to an emailed request for comment. Press representatives for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank, the biggest of Toshiba’s seven main lenders, couldn’t immediately be reached outside office hours. Apple, which is considering investing in the unit through preferred shares, has not submitted the necessary commitment letter, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks were private. The consortium also has not received approval from the lenders on 600 billion yen ($5.4 billion) in financing for the sale, due to legal challenges posed by unsuccessful bidder and joint-venture partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ), the people said. California-based Western Digital has taken Toshiba to court to stop any sale without its consent. Reporting by Taro Fuse; Writing by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard and Ian Geoghegan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-exclusive/exclusive-toshiba-tells-banks-chip-deal-delayed-as-apple-yet-to-approve-idUKKCN1C01GB'|'2017-09-25T15:06:00.000+03:00'
'c96b135f4a456183f626f44c7d5a29bb4703db1f'|'Australia to push through tougher rules for bank executives'|'Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison speaks to the press at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, May 9, 2017 on the day Australia''s federal budget is unveiled. AAP/Dean Lewins/via REUTERS Sydney (Reuters) - Australia’s prudential regulator should be given powers as soon as October to cap bank executives’ salaries, delay their bonuses and drive them out of the industry if they were guilty of wrongdoing, Treasurer Scott Morrison said on Monday.The government is pushing ahead with tougher rules for banks after a series of scandals undermined public confidence in the sector, including alleged breaches of money-laundering laws by Commonwealth Bank of Australia.The proposals, first announced in May and set in motion on Friday, open another front in the government’s campaign to reign in the powerful banks, which are still reeling from a levy on deposits announced earlier this year and face mounting regulatory pressure to boost capital.“I know the banks don’t want many of the elements of this legislation but I‘m not about to give them three months to make the case as to why they shouldn’t be in there,” Morrison told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).“They are going in, I‘m not mucking around.”He was responding to the banking lobby’s complaints that the government had failed to properly consult about the new rules.“This is not good public policy making,” Australian Bankers Association Chief Executive Anna Bligh told the ABC, saying banks should not be singled out.Australia’s biggest banks - CBA, National Australia Bank Ltd, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corp - have gone through a tumultuous period peppered with allegations of misleading financial advice, insurance fraud and interest-rate rigging.Policy-makers have sought to reassure the public they are holding the banks to account, and on Friday unveiled new powers over executive pay to be handed to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in October.COST OF BUSINESS Atlas Funds Management Chief Investment Officer Hugh Dive, who invests in bank shares, said investors were not deterred by the prospect of greater regulation.“It’s a consequence of operating in Australia where you have a oligopoly of four banks, and they are all are getting very good profits,” he told Reuters.The scandals have fuelled calls for a broad judicial inquiry into Australia’s banking system, which could recommend greater regulation or even criminal charges. While the proposal has the backing of the opposition Labor Party, the conservative Liberal-led government says a so-called Royal Commission is unnecessary.The major banks on Sunday scrapped an unpopular fee for non-customers who withdraw cash from their ATMs, a move seen by analysts as an attempt to win favour with the public after months of negative headlines.“This move appears to be driven by a desire to improve public opinion of the bank sector,” Deutsche Bank analyst Anthony Hoo said in a note, adding the cost to the banks would be negligible.($1 = 1.2569 Australian dollars)Reporting by Paulina Duran in SYDNEY. Additional reporting by Colin Packham.; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/australia-banks/australia-to-push-through-tougher-rules-for-bank-executives-idINKCN1C00YH'|'2017-09-25T12:21:00.000+03:00'
'2df7ce21e443fd37e4f17c3932711dc41b1fe020'|'LPC: Banks provide $710 million of loans for Vantage Specialty LBO'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - H.I.G. Capital has lined up US$710m of loans to help fund its roughly US$1bn leveraged re-purchase of US natural additives producer Vantage Specialty Chemicals, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The loans will include a US$75m revolving credit facility, a US$465m secured term loan with a first priority claim and a US$170m secured term loan with a second priority claim, the sources said.The buyout marks the return of Vantage’s ownership to H.I.G., which sold the Illinois-based company to current private equity owner The Jordan Company in 2012.Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies are providing the debt, according to a September 20 press release. Morgan Stanley will lead syndication, which will launch in October, the sources added.The financing will bring the company’s leverage to around 6.5 times. That’s above the six times cap that US regulators adopted in their leveraged lending guidelines in 2013, noting that debt amounts above that level raise concerns for most industries.Morgan Stanley, RBC and Jefferies declined to comment. H.I.G. did not respond to requests for comment.H.I.G. is paying US$950m for Vantage, translating to an enterprise value multiple of about 10 times the US$97m of annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, used to market the company, the sources said. The transaction will be capitalized with around US$315m of equity, including a minority stake that will be rolled over by Jordan.The valuation is in line with Ashland Global Holding’s recent acquisition of Pharmachem Laboratories.In May, the US specialty chemicals company bought Pharmachem, a global provider of custom and branded nutritional and nutraceutical ingredients for the food and beverage, flavor, and fragrance industries, for US$660m.The purchase price represented a multiple of roughly 10.5 times Pharmachem’s estimated 2017 Ebitda, according to company filings.HEALTHIER CHOICES The growing M&A activity in the space of late comes as consumers increasingly demand transparency on product ingredients in support of healthier and more environmentally-conscious lifestyle choices, and manufacturers seek to cash in on the behavioral shift.US consumer sales of natural, organic and healthy products are forecasted to grow 64% to US$252bn by 2019 from US$153bn in 2013, according to NEXT Forecast.Vantage, which serves personal care, food, consumer and industrial end markets, was formed by H.I.G. in 2008 through the acquisition of Croda International’s US oleochemical business and scaled through subsequent roll-ups of Lambent Technologies in 2008 and Lipo Chemicals in 2010.The company most recently purchased oils, ingredients and custom food processing equipment manufacturer Mallet & Company in 2016.Reporting by Andrew Berlin; Editing By Michelle Sierra, Lynn Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chemicals-lbo/lpc-banks-provide-710-million-of-loans-for-vantage-specialty-lbo-idUSKCN1C02PC'|'2017-09-26T02:52:00.000+03:00'
'4062489cdf68d66506657e882a82c225eac28934'|'Uber rival Lyft met London transport officials - documents show'|'An illuminated sign appears in a Lyft ride-hailing car in Los Angeles, California, U.S. September 21, 2017. Picture taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Lyft, Uber’s closest U.S. rival in the taxi-hailing business, met repeatedly with officials from London’s transport regulator over the past year, a sign it may be targeting the city for international expansion.Transport for London (TfL), which oversees taxi and private hire car operators, published details of the meetings with Lyft executives in response to a UK government freedom of information request in July.If Lyft enters the London market Uber would face its first well-funded competitor in Europe when it is trying to overturn a decision by TfL not to renew its licence. Lyft has raised around $2.6 billion in financing, including an investment round of $600 million in April, according to funding tracker Crunchbase.Lyft’s investors include automaker General Motors ( GM.N ).London’s transport regulator on Friday said it would not renew Uber’s licence to operate, citing the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers.Lyft has already signalled it is looking at expansion outside the United States. Chief Executive Logan Green told the Associated Press in August that Lyft planned to go international “in the not too distant future”.A Lyft spokeswoman declined to comment on the timing of any expansion moves or the nature of Lyft meetings with London officials. It now operates ride services in more than 600 cities, covering as much as 95 percent of the U.S. population.Four TfL officials met with Lyft’s Chief Strategy Officer Raj Kapoor and Michael Masserman, its director of international government relations, in December 2016. Three unnamed members of the Greater London Authority were also present, according to TfL documents. Lyft presented details of its business model in that meeting.Subsequent follow-up-conversations took place between TfL’s Director of Transport Innovation Michael Hurwitz and Lyft executives Kapoor and Masserman over the phone in December and in January, TfL documents showed.This was followed by another meeting between the three in New York in March.“We regularly talk to companies around the world about innovation that could improve transport in London,” Hurwitz, said in a statement.Reporting by Eric Auchard and Costas Pitas. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uber-britain-lyft/uber-rival-lyft-met-london-transport-officials-documents-show-idINKCN1C02TH'|'2017-09-25T18:12:00.000+03:00'
'6de06a7904faea3c85873a2c610bcff3d5ac7e33'|'Oil holds gains as producers say market rebalancing'|'  1:19 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil holds gains as producers say market rebalancing Osamu Tsukimori 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices came under pressure from a strong dollar, but kept most of their gains from the previous session as major producers meeting in Vienna said the market was well on its way towards rebalancing. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and several other producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of 2017, helping lift oil prices by about 15 percent in the past three months. Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chaired Friday’s meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, said output curbs were helping cut global crude inventories to their five-year average, OPEC’s stated target. London Brent crude for November delivery LCOc1 was down 8 cents at $56.78 a barrel by 0614 GMT, near the highest since March. U.S. crude for November delivery CLc1 was down 15 cents at $50.51, but not far off recent four-month highs. The dollar index .DXY was up 0.2 percent against a basket of currencies. The euro slipped after Germany’s election showed surging support for a far-right party that left Chancellor Angela Merkel scrambling to form a governing coalition. [USD/] Russia’s energy minister said no decision on extending output curbs beyond the end of March was expected before January, although other ministers suggested such a decision could be taken before the end of this year. A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen during a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger Iran expects to maintain overall crude and condensate exports at around 2.6 million bpd for the rest of 2017, a senior official in the nation’s state oil company said, while the UAE’s energy minister said its compliance to supply cuts was 100 percent. Nigeria is pumping below its agreed output cap, its oil minister said. “Oil is relatively underpriced compared with other markets, but any steep rise would be offset by rising shale oil production,” said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting in Tokyo. Production curbs have faced rising U.S. shale oil output. U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil rigs operating for a third week as a 14-month drilling recovery stalled. Markets were also eyeing developments in North Korea. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Sunday said President Donald Trump wants to avoid nuclear war with North Korea and “will do everything we can” to avoid conflict. The WTI crude front month discount to the same month of Brent futures CL-LCO1=R hit $6.28, the widest since August 2015, as U.S. crude was pressured by hurricane damage to U.S. refineries. Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin and Joseph Radford'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-holds-gains-as-producers-say-market-rebalancing-idUKKCN1C002P'|'2017-09-25T10:10:00.000+03:00'
'6e95ae562971fe29131c574b099e453d09ae65d4'|'France not worried about anti-trust review of possible Siemens-Alstom deal - source'|'PARIS (Reuters) - France is not worried about an anti-trust review of an expected rail merger between German industrial group Siemens and France’s Alstom, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.Siemens is likely to decide on Tuesday to pursue a multibillion-dollar deal with Alstom rather than Canada’s Bombardier, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier.One of the sticking points of the potential deal could be anti-trust approval by the European Commission, analysts have said.“The French authorities are not worried. There may be some technical adjustments to be made ... The analysis shows that it would not block it,” the source said. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-alstom-siemens/france-not-worried-about-anti-trust-review-of-possible-siemens-alstom-deal-source-idUSKCN1C02FF'|'2017-09-25T19:40:00.000+03:00'
'a7c705c9e7a52ebf09b581daee9c565a5b05c250'|'CBFI to buy Imagination Technologies for 550 million pounds'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:04 PM / Updated 12 hours ago China-backed fund shunned by Trump to buy British chip maker Koh Gui Qing 4 Min Read The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay (Reuters) - Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, the China-backed buyout fund that was barred last week by U.S. President Donald Trump from buying a U.S. chip maker, said it would purchase British chip designer Imagination Technologies Group Plc. The all-cash 550 million pounds deal to buy Imagination showed Canyon Bridge remained focused on investing in Western chip makers after its $1.3 billion deal to buy Lattice Semiconductor Corp in the United States was blocked over U.S. natural security concerns. Canyon Bridge said on Friday it had agreed to pay 182 British pence per Imagination share, a near 42 percent premium to Imagination’s closing price on Friday. But the purchase is contingent on Imagination divesting U.S. chip designer MIPS, which Imagination had bought in 2013, the two companies said in a joint London stock exchange filing, adding that the takeover would not result in job cuts. Keeping MIPS would subject Canyon Bridge’s purchase of Imagination to a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the government panel which rejected its acquisition of Lattice. Imagination said it had agreed to sell MIPS for $65 million to Tallwood Venture Capital, an investment firm with offices in Palo Alto, California, and Wuxi, southern China. It was not immediately clear whether the divestment would be subject to a CFIUS review. Canyon Bridge was founded with capital originating from China’s central government and had indirect links to Beijing’s space program. It currently manages about $1.5 billion on behalf of Yitai Capital Ltd, a Chinese state-owned company, according to Friday’s statement. Imagination, whose graphics power Apple Inc’s iPhone, licenses graphics and video-processing technology to semiconductor companies. But shares in the once-great European tech success story hit the skids in April when Apple, its biggest customer, said it would stop using its graphics technology in its new products, causing Imagination shares to crash 70 percent. The two firms are in a legal dispute over royalties at the moment. Lattice, on the other hand, makes chips known as field-programmable gate arrays, which let companies put their own software on silicon chips for different uses. It does not sell chips to the U.S. military, but its two biggest rivals - Xilinx and Intel Corp’s Altera - make chips that are used in military technology. Following Trump’s decision to bar Canyon Bridge from buying Lattice, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the move reflected concerns about the transfer of intellectual property, Beijing’s role in the deal, the importance of semiconductor supply chain integrity to the U.S. government, and the U.S. government’s use of Lattice products. Canyon Bridge’s investment focus complements China’s efforts to move its manufacturers up the value chain and create innovative and competitive global conglomerates. In the past two years, the Chinese government has set aside at least 350 billion yuan ($53.11 billion) to invest in new technologies. Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imagntn-tchnlgs-m-a-cbfi/cbfi-to-buy-imagination-technologies-for-550-million-pounds-idUKKCN1BX2YZ'|'2017-09-23T01:05:00.000+03:00'
'5b39609829286e43c2af9a81f34be1fabd5389c0'|'RPT-Half a million sign petition supporting Uber in London'|'September 23, 2017 / 1:06 PM / Updated 7 hours ago RPT-Half a million sign petition supporting Uber in London Reuters Staff (Repeats with no changes to text) By Paresh Dave and William Schomberg SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Half a million people have signed an online petition in under 24 hours backing Uber’s bid to stay on roads of London, showing the company is turning to its tried-and-tested tactic of asking customers for help when it locks horns with regulators. London’s transport authorities stunned the powerful start-up on Friday when they deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service for safety reasons and stripped it of its license from next week, although it can continue to operate while it appeals. The regulator cited Uber’s failure to report serious criminal offices, conduct sufficient background checks on drivers and other safety issues, threatening the U.S. firm’s presence in one of the world’s wealthiest cities. Uber immediately emailed users in London and urged them to sign a petition that said the city authorities had “caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice”. By 1200 GMT on Saturday, more than 515,000 people had signed in support of Uber. It counted 3.5 million active users in London in the past three months. Even if many tourists are probably included in the total, the figure represents a potential political force of commuters who face long journeys between their home and offices and who use Uber as a cheaper alternative to other taxi firms. Turning to users for help is one of the first steps in Uber’s playbook. In Jakarta, Budapest, Toronto and Portland it asked riders to sign petitions and built online tools to contact lawmakers to show their support. Regulators have at least partly relented in Portland, Toronto and Jakarta, but Budapest remains a work in progress. Uber now faces a showdown with London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, who this month said he wouldn’t let his teenage daughters use cabs like Uber on their own over fears for their safety. Khan, a leading figure in the opposition Labour Party, said on Friday: “All private-hire operators in London need to play by the rules. The safety and security of Londoners must come first.” As mayor, Khan is chairman of Transport for London, the regulator which stripped Uber of its license. London’s decision is the first major challenge for new Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over from co-founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick. He was forced out after internal and external investigations into sexual harassment complaints, the thwarting of government inquiries and potential bribery. NEW REGIME? So far, Khosrowshahi has adopted a softer tone to the company’s crisis in London than his ousted predecessor did when faced with similar problems. “Dear London: we (are) far from perfect” Khosrowshahi tweeted on Friday. But he noted that 40,000 drivers and millions of riders were dependent on the service. “Please work with us to make things right.” The early signs of Khosrowshahi’s strategy suggest he is likely to follow earlier game plans, said Bradley Tusk, an Uber investor who advised on policy in New York City for the company. “A lot of people rely on it, so there’s going to be a lot of fertile ground to mobilise,” Tusk said. “If real people are angry, it’s a lot harder for regulators.” However, while Uber has been ready to turn to make campaigns personal in the past, Khosrowshahi may take a more moderate tone, by temperament and necessity. In New York City, Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C., Uber hired political ad agencies and consultants and blasted political leaders for supporting measures that could eliminate jobs and worsen traffic. During a stand-off in New York City in 2015, Uber named a mock feature on its app after the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, and used it to warn users that a regulatory proposal he backed could increase waits for rides. Kalanick issued tweets criticizing opponents, including an all-capitalized message saying “WATCH THIS!” which linked to a video that suggested the mayor was obstructing social progress. “They have a lot more scrutiny on them now,” said Reed Galen, a political consultant who worked with Uber on a campaign in Austin, Texas. “Going with the old idea of punching the local leader in the nose, that strategy doesn’t work when you’ve had the issues Uber has had.” Khosrowshahi’s statements Friday were an “absolutely different take,” Galen said. In an internal email seen by Reuters, Khosrowshahi said there was a “high cost” to having a bad reputation. He described it as “critical” that employees “act with integrity in everything we do, and learn how to be a better partner to every city we operate in.” WAITING GAME For a company known for the speed of its growth, Uber has shown patience when needed. It has long treated tussles with government as inevitable challenges, but ones it sees as temporary setbacks. Uber has suspended its services for months in some markets, including Alaska and Texas. But it’s been able to return within a year or two in most cases by working out new rules or turning to higher authorities such as courts and state governments. The efforts have a cost. Uber and rival Lyft Inc together spent more than $10 million on a failed ballot-box campaign in Austin and millions more on lobbying elsewhere in Texas. Uber continues to engage in a cat-and-mouse game with city officials in many of the 600 plus cities in which it operates. It suspended services in July in Finland but plans to re-enter Helsinki next year after the country passed a law de-regulating taxi services. Whether Uber continues such tactics - for instance, seeking action from Britain’s parliament to supersede London authorities - is unclear. But Tusk said he would be surprised if Uber was not already in touch with members of parliament. In a sign of early political opposition to London’s move, Greg Hands, the minister for London in Britain’s Conservative government, hit out at what he called a “blanket ban” on Uber. “At the flick of a pen Sadiq Khan is threatening to put 40,000 people out of work and leave 3.5 million users of Uber stranded,” Hands tweeted late on Friday. “Once again the actions of Labour leave ordinary working people (to) pay the price for it.” Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt; Editing by Peter Henderson and Andrew Bolton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uber-britain-playbook/rpt-half-a-million-sign-petition-supporting-uber-in-london-idUSL5N1M40D7'|'2017-09-23T16:06:00.000+03:00'
'50c2d08ba2a143744648f9127ce98f09070ecd47'|'Nikkei rises on weak yen, stimulus hopes; exporters shine'|'September 25, 2017 / 6:44 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Nikkei rises on weak yen, stimulus hopes; exporters shine Reuters Staff * Buying supports before shares go ex-dividend on Wed * SoftBank rises on news T-Mobile and Sprint close to tentative terms on merger * PM Abe expected to announce snap election on Monday By Lisa Twaronite and Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Monday as a weaker yen lifted exporters, while expectations of economic stimulus measures after an election next month supported overall sentiment. As the end of Japan’s fiscal first half looms on Sept. 30 for a majority of listed companies, the market was also underpinned by investors buying up stocks before they go ex-dividend on Wednesday. The Nikkei ended up 0.5 percent at 20,397.58 after adding 1.9 percent last week and hitting a two-year high of 20,481.27 on the back of strong gains in U.S. stocks and a weakening yen, as well as election hopes. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce on Monday that he will call an election next month to take advantage of his improved ratings and opposition party disarray. Abe ordered his cabinet on Monday to compile new economic stimulus measures by year-end in a package worth around 2 trillion yen ($17.80 billion). A weekend survey by the Nikkei business daily showed 44 percent of voters planned to vote for Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) versus 8 percent for the main opposition Democratic Party. “According to the Nikkei polls, it seems we can expect an LDP victory, so the election is a mostly supportive factor rather than a worrying factor for markets,” said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities. Exporters were steady as the dollar gained 0.2 percent to 112.25 yen. Ketene Corp and TDK Corp both surged 2 percent and Advantest Corp climbed 1.3 percent. SoftBank Group Corp rose 0.8 percent and was the third most-traded stock by turnover after sources told Reuters that T-Mobile US Inc is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with Sprint Corp, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers. SoftBank, which controls Sprint, and other Sprint shareholders will own 40 to 50 percent of the combined company, while T-Mobile majority owner Deutsche Telekom and the T-Mobile shareholders will own a majority, the sources said. The broader Topix gained 0.5 percent to 1,672.82. Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Eric Meijer & Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close/nikkei-rises-on-weak-yen-stimulus-hopes-exporters-shine-idUSL4N1M62GI'|'2017-09-25T14:44:00.000+03:00'
'0023c46be0d5a7b31f64b66bc4d502d8e49c8f9b'|'STX deal possible at France/Italy summit on Wednesday: Macron''s office'|'FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron, attends a visit on MSC Meraviglia cruise ship at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe PARIS (Reuters) - France and Italy could reach a deal over the STX France shipyards at a meeting of the two countries’ leaders on Wednesday, an official at French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.France clashed with Italy in July after ordering a “temporary” nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which Italian state-owned Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) and another Italian investor had agreed to buy a 54.6 percent stake.France took the decision after Fincantieri, which had agreed to buy the majority stake from STX’s former South Korean owners, rejected a French government proposal of 50-50 ownership.France has proposed extending co-operation to the field of naval defense, in which its Naval Group military shipyard - formerly known as DCNS - is an important player.The French government is also keen to preserve jobs at the STX Saint-Nazaire site on France’s Atlantic Coast.Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Brian Love '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a/stx-deal-possible-at-france-italy-summit-on-wednesday-macrons-office-idINKCN1C01DO'|'2017-09-25T09:20:00.000+03:00'
'4dbf5602b5c3129099bd3c8d2a3d84eac18d9472'|'Zuckerberg nixes new Facebook share class after shareholder lawsuit'|'  7:21 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Zuckerberg nixes new Facebook share class after shareholder lawsuit 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Facebook application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc Chairman Mark Zuckerberg abandoned plans on Friday to create a new class of company stock with no voting power, which was meant to be a way for Zuckerberg to retain control over the company he founded while fulfilling a pledge to give away his wealth. Zuckerberg on Friday said that he could meet the charity pledge and maintain voting control of Facebook without the change. His decision followed a shareholder lawsuit opposed to the creation of a new class of stock. Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook that the company’s stock had performed well enough that he could fund his philanthropy by selling stock for at least 20 years and still retain voting control of the company. In December 2015 Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, a pediatrician, pledged to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charity. According to court records, Zuckerberg owns more than 400 million shares of Facebook. That would value his holdings at a minimum of $68.2 billion, based on the company’s closing share on Friday of $170.54. Zuckerberg said he wanted to help solve global challenges “like curing all diseases in our children’s lifetime and personalizing education for every student.” Zuckerberg said that over about the next 18 months he planned to sell 35 million to 75 million shares of Facebook, which at Friday’s closing price would raise $13 billion. The decision came as Zuckerberg was scheduled to testify on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, in a shareholder lawsuit seeking to halt the Class C stock plan, which had been approved by shareholders. Sjunde AP-Fonden, a Swedish national pension fund, and The Amalgamated Bank sued last year, saying that Zuckerberg should have to pay for the right to retain control while selling stock. ”We brought this case challenging a significant change in Facebook corporate governance, and by agreeing to abandon the reclassification we got everything we could have hoped to get,” said Lee Rudy of shareholder law firm Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check. Rudy said the Class C proposal was rejected by 80 percent of minority shareholders in a vote last year. Zuckerberg controls 60 percent of Facebook’s stockholder vote, which helped carry the proposal. Google, now Alphabet Inc, proposed a similar stock reclassification in 2012, and court records show that Facebook’s general counsel suggested Zuckerberg could use it as a model for Facebook. Google settled with shareholders in a deal that included a $522 million dividend, payable under certain conditions. Withdrawing the share plan comes as Facebook faces pressure over advertisements on the social network and the role they may have played in last year’s U.S. presidential election. President Donald Trump questioned on Friday the company’s decision to overhaul how it handles paid political ads amid investigations into alleged Russian interference in U.S. elections. Reporting by Tom Hals; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-stock-trial/facebook-trial-over-class-c-stock-canceled-delaware-court-idUKKCN1BX2PA'|'2017-09-23T01:26:00.000+03:00'
'baab2901602d2eb120c0ce81367b91d53bb8b388'|'UPDATE 1-Southeast Asian online services firm Sea applies for NYSE listing'|'* Proposes to list American depositary shares* Says number of shares, price range not yet determined (Adds details from filing)By Aradhana AravindanSINGAPORE, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia’s Sea Ltd, which provides e-commerce and digital payments services, is eyeing a $1 billion offering of new shares in aggregate in a proposed IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a document it has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Goldman Sachs (Asia), Morgan Stanley & Co International and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) are joint bookrunners for the proposed initial public offering of its American depositary shares, the Singapore-based company said in a statement on Saturday.The number of shares on offer and the price range have not yet been determined, said Sea, formerly known as Garena, which was valued at $3.75 billion after a March 2016 funding round.The company, which also provides online gaming services, raised $550 million in May for an undisclosed valuation. The company counts Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore as its key markets.SeaTown Holdings, a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, and Malaysian state investor Khazanah Nasional Bhd are among its investors.Southeast Asia is becoming a new battleground for e-commerce and financial technology companies that are hoping to grab a piece of the market of 600 million people where only a fraction of total retail sales are currently conducted online.Consultancy Frost and Sullivan forecasts online product sales in Southeast Asia to grow to $71 billion by 2021 from $16 billion in 2016. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Paul Tait and Muralikumar Anantharaman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sea-ipo/update-1-southeast-asian-online-services-firm-sea-applies-for-nyse-listing-idINL4N1M408L'|'2017-09-23T07:26:00.000+03:00'
'6661cd340397d96e28cc901800d6d909ca07193a'|'Allergan boosts shares with $2 billion buyback'|'September 25, 2017 / 11:50 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Allergan boosts shares with $2 billion buyback Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Allergan logo is seen in this photo illustration November 23, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Allergan Plc ( AGN.N ) on Monday authorized a $2 billion buyback of its common stock, sending its shares up after a week of disappointing news on its drug development pipeline. Allergan shares have fallen by around a fifth in value since late July but were up nearly 4 percent in morning trading on Monday. The company also said its Chief Financial Officer Tessa Hilado, 53, would retire. The planned stock buyback follows Allergan’s completion of a separate $15 billion repurchase, and after the company reported mixed trial data for its experimental treatment of NASH liver fibrosis. Allergan on Friday also received a “refusal to file” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an expanded approval for its Vraylar drug to treat symptoms associated with schizophrenia in adults. Allergan said it had begun to search for a new finance chief, but declined to provide further comment on Hilado’s departure. Analysts at Bernstein, based on discussions with Allergan’s investor relations team, said Hilado’s departure was her personal decision and should not be viewed as suggesting “issues this year or 2018.” Hilado did not have broad support among Allergan investors and her exit would not be a “particularly strong negative,” they added. Hilado joined Allergan in 2014 and will continue in her current role until a successor is named. Allergan, which said it was committed to boosting its dividend payout annually, also backed its 2017 financial guidance and its commitment to pay down $3.75 billion of debt in 2018. The drugmaker had $30.24 billion in current and long-term debt and capital leases as of June 30. “While the CFO’s departure may create greater uncertainty, we take the company’s reaffirmation of 2017 guidance and third quarter revenue projections as offsetting positives,” Wells Fargo analyst David Maris said. Reporting by Manas Mishra and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-allergan-buyback/allergan-sets-2-billion-share-buyback-cfo-to-retire-idINKCN1C01I8'|'2017-09-25T09:50:00.000+03:00'
'4d96fe3fb756d418ee2fbd898adc1b0101017c24'|'Permian basin output to rise by 1.4 million bpd in 2020 – Chevron'|'  7:54 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Permian basin output to rise by 1.4 million bpd in 2020 – Chevron Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SINGAPORE, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Crude oil production from the Permian basin in the United States is expected to rise by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, from 2.4 million bpd at present, a Chevron executive said on Monday. “The Permian is the power house (of U.S. crude output growth),” Ryan Krogmeier, Chevron’s vice president of crude supply and trading, told the S&P Global Platts APPEC conference in Singapore. Reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/asia-oil-appec-permian/permian-basin-output-to-rise-by-1-4-million-bpd-in-2020-chevron-idUSL4N1M62RT'|'2017-09-25T10:51:00.000+03:00'
'3b03191374083c5d8a903426dcbccd71cc3f2717'|'Euro, New Zealand dollar both sideswiped by political uncertainty'|'September 24, 2017 / 9:15 PM / Updated an hour ago Euro, NZ dollar both sideswiped by political uncertainty Wayne Cole 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An one euro coin and an one Swiss franc coin are seen on a one hundred Swiss franc note, in this picture illustration taken in Zurich August 8, 2011. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo SYDNEY/TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro slipped in early Asian trading on Monday after Germany’s election showed surging support for a far-right party that left Chancellor Angela Merkel scrambling to form a governing coalition. The euro EUR= was trading down 0.3 percent at $1.1922 and could test support around $1.1860 as liquidity picked up through the session. Merkel did win a fourth term in office on Sunday but will have to build an uneasy coalition to form a government after her conservatives haemorrhaged support in the face of a surge by the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD). Despite winning the most votes, Merkel’s bloc slumped to its worst result since 1949 and her current Social Democrat coalition partners said they would go into opposition after tumbling to 20.7 percent in projections, a post-war low. “Probably the most significant announcement following the election was that the current junior coalition partner, SPD, immediately announced it would go into opposition,” said Peter Schaffrik, global macro strategist at RBC Europe in London. “With the withdrawal (from a grand coalition) by the SPD, we think the only realistic option left is a coalition of Merkel’s CDU/CSU, the Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens - dubbed ‘Jamaica coalition - due to the colors of the three blocks (black/yellow/green),” he added. Political uncertainty also took a toll on the New Zealand dollar after no single party won a majority in an election over the weekend. The New Zealand currency NZD=D4 dropped 0.7 percent to $0.7285, though it found chart support at $0.7280 for now. The ruling National Party won the largest number votes in the election, but neither of the major parties won enough seats to gain a majority in parliament, forcing a round of coalition building that could last days or weeks Sterling was steady for the moment at $1.3486 GBP=D4 after falling on Friday when ratings agency Moody''s downgraded Britain''s credit rating, saying government plans to bring down debt had been knocked off course and Brexit would weigh on the economy. A few hours after Prime Minister Theresa May set out plans for new ties with the European Union, Moody’s cut the rating to Aa2, underscoring the economic risks that leaving the bloc poses for the world’s fifth-biggest economy. May failed to give any concrete details for how Britain might retain preferential access to Europe’s single market in her speech. The yen weakened 0.4 percent to 112.36 yen JPY= per dollar, helped by renewed hope for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s economic stimulus as he is expected to announce a snap election, to be held on October 22. A weekend survey by the Nikkei business daily showed 44 percent of voters planned to vote for Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) versus 8 percent for the main opposition Democratic Party. “It’s easier for traders to start the week by selling the yen given expected resolution of the parliament and so on. But I would suspect a lot of election related stuff is already priced in and the yen would have limited downside,” said Kyosuke Suzuki, director of foreign exchange at Societe Generale in Tokyo. Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in TOKYO; Editing by Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-forex/euro-nz-dollar-both-sideswiped-by-political-uncertainty-idUKKCN1BZ10B'|'2017-09-25T00:01:00.000+03:00'
'54f87c8b0b1a4c70ea223e705783421e4d79dd8a'|'German car parts retailer Stahlgruber put up for sale - sources'|'FRANKFURT/LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The owners of German car parts retailer Stahlgruber have selected second-round bidders for the company as bankers prepare debt packages for a deal that could value it at more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), people close to the matter said.Family-owned Stahlgruber is expected to fetch a valuation of up to 10-11 times the company’s expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 120 million euros, the sources said.U.S. peer LKQ, private equity group Bain, which owns competitor Autodis Group, as well as buyout firms Apax, EQT and Advent have made it to the second round of the auction, they said, adding final bids are due around early November.Munich-based Stahlgruber was founded in 1923 as a retailer of screws and small metal parts, but soon diversified into car parts such as its Tip Top branded tyre repair gear.Bankers are working on debt packages of 600-720 million euros to help finance a potential buyout, or 720-840 million including undrawn facilities, they said.Senior and junior leveraged loans as well as high yield bonds are being considered, they added.Stahlgruber and the bidders declined to comment.The company, which last year posted 1.5 billion euros in sales, had said in late August that it was considering options including a possible sale. It is working with Deutsche Bank on the topic. ($1 = 0.8416 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Claire Ruckin; Editing by Georgina Prodhan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/stahlgruber-sale/german-car-parts-retailer-stahlgruber-put-up-for-sale-sources-idINL8N1M64OE'|'2017-09-25T12:35:00.000+03:00'
'712877e902acd71242d775b79225efc69c77843a'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Sept 25'|'ZURICH, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.3 percent lower at 9,113 points on Monday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer .Here are some of the main factors that may affect Swiss stocks:ABB ABB has agreed to buy GE’s Industrial Solutions business for $2.6 billion to strengthen its number-two global position in electrificationShares indicated 0.8 percent higherROCHE Immunotherapy Tecentriq has won European Union approval for treating advanced lung and bladder cancer, the Swiss drugmaker said.For more news seeSWATCH The watch group posted “very positive” sales growth in September, continuing an upward trend since midyear, Chief Executive Nick Hayek told the Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper.CLARIANT The speciality chemicals maker ruled out trying to change the ratio of shares it would control in a merged entity with Huntsman Corp, Schweiz am Wochenende cited a spokesman as saying, noting the partners’ binding merger agreement would not allow this.The Sonntagszeitung newspaper said a special shareholders meeting needed to approve the planned merger would likely take place between November and January, citing company comments to analysts.AXPO Power group Axpo is placed to raise extra capital within 12 months, Chief Executive Andrew Walo tells the Finanz und Witschaft newspaper. “We are keeping our options open to address various interested parties ranging from the existing owners up to the broad public via a public listing,” he is Quote: d as saying.WALTER MEIER The heating, ventilation and cooling group expects to make a profit this year and plans a steady dividend, Chief Executive Martin Kaufmann told the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.COMPANY STATEMENTS * Dufry said it won a new concession contract to operate two new duty free stores at the Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport.* Aryzta said it had agreed a 1.8 billion euro credit facility, said underlying full-year net profit decreased by 42.5 percent to 179.0 mln euros, and estimated FY18 EBITDA would be broadly in line with FY17 given the range of internal and external challengesECONOMY Swiss voters rejected raising women’s retirement age to 65 in a referendum on Sunday on shoring up the wealthy nation’s pension system as a wave of Baby Boomers stops working.Weekly data on sight deposits at the Swiss National Bank due at 0800 GMTSecond-quarter balance of payments data due at 0700 GMTReporting by Zurich newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks/swiss-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-25-idUSL5N1M33QX'|'2017-09-25T07:32:00.000+03:00'
'99606b702e4b2b9ce27060b3c1de915eee3f931c'|'Australia to push through tougher rules for bank executives'|'September 25, 2017 / 2:47 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Australia to push through tougher rules for bank executives Paulina Duran , Colin Packham 2 Min Read Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison speaks to the press at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, May 9, 2017. AAP/Dean Lewins/via REUTERS Sydney (Reuters) - Australia’s prudential regulator should be given powers as soon as October to cap bank executives’ salaries, delay their bonuses and drive them out of the industry if they were guilty of wrongdoing, Treasurer Scott Morrison said on Monday. The government is pushing ahead with tougher rules for banks after a series of scandals undermined public confidence in the sector, including alleged breaches of money-laundering laws by Commonwealth Bank of Australia. While the Australian Bankers Association says the proposed changes are being rushed through with insufficient consultation, Morrison said he was not prepared to wait. “I know the banks don’t want many of the elements of this legislation but I‘m not about to give them three months to make the case as to why they shouldn’t be in there,” Morrison told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “They are going in, I‘m not mucking around.” Australia’s biggest banks have gone through a tumultuous period peppered with allegations of misleading financial advice, insurance fraud and interest-rate rigging. The country’s biggest lender by market capitalization, Commonwealth Bank, is facing billions of dollars in fines over allegations of systemic breaches of money-laundering and terror-financing laws. Policy-makers have sought to reassure the public they are holding the banks to account, and on Friday unveiled new powers over executive pay to be handed to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in October. The banking scandals have fueled calls for a broad judicial inquiry into Australia’s banking system, which could recommend greater regulation or even criminal charges. But the Treasurer said on Monday that a so-called Royal Commission was not necessary, although it has the strong backing of the public and the opposition Labor Party. Reporting by Paulina Duran in SYDNEY. Additional reporting by Colin Packham.; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-banks/australia-to-push-through-tougher-rules-for-bank-executives-idUKKCN1C005Q'|'2017-09-25T05:39:00.000+03:00'
'7837cfc747aac68f7d776ce6b7ae1adb2a327e78'|'Oil prices to rise to $60 as OPEC likely to extend cuts - former Saudi adviser'|'September 26, 2017 / 5:48 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Oil prices to rise to $60 as OPEC likely to extend cuts - former Saudi adviser Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen during a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices may rise to $60 a barrel by the end of this year or by early 2018 as OPEC and non-OPEC producers are expected to extend supply cuts beyond March, while oil inventories continue to decline, a former Saudi energy ministry official said in a speech Washington on Monday. “With the current arrangement and commitment of major producers, and their willingness to adjust and extend the agreement, I believe as commercial oil stocks continue to contract, oil prices will gradually increase. We even might hit $60 per barrel before the end of this year or the beginning of next year,” Ibrahim al-Muhanna said, according to a transcript of the speech received by Reuters. Global commercial stocks are being drawn down gradually, more slowly than initially hoped, and oil demand is growing by more than 1.5 million barrels per day this year, with robust growth forecast for next year, Muhanna said. “Some market analysts have argued that once the agreement ends, the producers will flood the market with new supplies but this view is shortsighted. After all, it is in the best interest of producers to create a soft landing and not disrupt the market’s newfound balance,” he said. Muhanna, who spoke at an industry event in Washington, is now an independent consultant after recently retiring as an adviser to the Saudi Energy Ministry. Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Tom Hogue '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-oil-opec/oil-prices-to-rise-to-60-as-opec-likely-to-extend-cuts-former-saudi-adviser-idUKKCN1C10IM'|'2017-09-26T08:47:00.000+03:00'
'eec5839dea41ee91f68fceed1c7162c9c9252165'|'U.S. Commerce Secretary Ross tells China to guarantee fair treatment for U.S. firms'|'BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said China needed to “guarantee fair and reciprocal treatment for U.S. firms” as he tried to strike an upbeat tone on a visit to Beijing amid trade tensions between the two countries.Ross told Premier Li Keqiang on Monday that the United States hoped for “very good deliverables” when U.S. President Donald Trump visits China, likely in November.In a statement on Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said that Ross had also pressed China on the “need to rebalance bilateral trade and investment relations” and urged it to take “meaningful action” on trade issues.“Secretary Ross once again continued to stress the need for concrete action to address the concerns of U.S. businesses, and that the U.S. would take action to defend American workers and businesses if cooperative efforts bear no fruit,” the department said.China committed to further market opening and welcomed participation by U.S. firms, with both sides supporting talks to resolve trade frictions, it said.Ross met with senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Wang Yang, who handles an annual U.S.-China economic dialogue, and He Lifeng, the head of China’s state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission.China’s relationship with the United States has been strained by the Trump administration’s criticism of China’s trade practices and by demands that Beijing do more to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons and missiles programmes.Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump met for the first time in person at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida in April. Trump has since played up his personal relationship with Xi, even as he kept up his criticism of China over North Korea and trade.The two sides launched a 100-day economic plan at that meeting, including some industry-specific announcements such as the resumption of American beef sales in China. But U.S. business groups have expressed disappointment that the talks have not yielded more progress in getting China to loosen restrictions on foreign investment in many sectors.“If the kind of trade relations China and the United States have are only beneficial to the Chinese side, then U.S. companies would not continue to do so much business in China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing.Ross’s trip to China to “prepare the ground” for Trump’s visit comes after the U.S. administration earlier this month blocked a Chinese-backed private equity firm from buying a U.S.-based chipmaker.In August, Trump authorised an inquiry into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property - the first direct trade measure by his administration against Beijing. China has called that move “irresponsible”.Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Nick Macfie '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-china-usa-trade/u-s-commerce-secretary-ross-tells-china-to-guarantee-fair-treatment-for-u-s-firms-idUSKCN1C12CC'|'2017-09-27T00:35:00.000+03:00'
'80a8dfdaba089560322706cc7cf058e5050c785b'|'Chinese deals topped U.S. security reviews in 2015: Treasury report'|'September 21, 2017 / 1:31 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Chinese deals topped U.S. security reviews in 2015: Treasury report David Lawder 3 Min Read U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin gestures during a news briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., to announce sanctions against Venezuela, August 25, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Proposed Chinese acquisitions of American companies led U.S. government national security reviews in 2015 for the fourth year in a row, the Treasury Department said in a report released on Wednesday. The Treasury’s latest annual report for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, showed that Chinese transactions accounted for 29 of the 143 deals reviewed in 2015, the most recent year for which data has been made available. CFIUS, a secretive interagency panel chaired by the Treasury, reviewed 24 Chinese transactions in 2014, 21 in 2013 and 23 in 2012. The Treasury report did not identify the specific acquisitions reviewed. Canada was second in 2015 CFIUS reviews, with 22 transactions, followed by Britain with 19 and Japan with 12. The report showed that 66 transactions, or 46 percent, went to full investigations in 2015, compared with 51 deals, or 35 percent, going to full investigations in 2014. Chinese acquisitions of U.S. companies have increased in volume and value since 2015 and have come under increasing scrutiny. There were 87 announced acquisitions of U.S. companies by Chinese firms in 2017 through late July, compared with 77 deals in the corresponding period of 2016. Reuters reported that CFIUS had objected to at least nine deals from foreign buyers so far this year. U.S. President Donald Trump last week blocked a Chinese-backed private-equity firm from buying U.S. chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor Corp ( LSCC.O ) after a CFIUS review, sending a strong signal to Beijing his administration would oppose deals that involve potential military applications. In the latest report, the Treasury said there were no presidential decisions to block proposed acquisitions in 2015 but that 13 proposed transaction were withdrawn. Three of those were abandoned after CFIUS informed the involved parties that it was unable to identify measures that would resolve national security concerns, or offered terms that the parties chose not to accept. Transaction parties that withdrew review notices filed new ones in eight cases in 2015 and one case in 2016, the Treasury said. Mitigation measures were adopted on 11 of the 143 transactions to resolve national security concerns. Manufacturing accounted for 68 of the CFIUS reviews in 2015, with computer and electronic manufacturing accounting for 33 of those, according to the Treasury report, reflecting China’s drive to acquire sophisticated semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities. Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-cfius/chinese-deals-topped-u-s-security-reviews-in-2015-treasury-report-idINKCN1BW063'|'2017-09-21T04:27:00.000+03:00'
'9d186ceab939f1594ddb257343ef7855b79d9b10'|'Uber says not clear what prompted London regulator to strip it of licence'|'  8:08 AM / Updated an hour ago Uber says not clear what prompted London regulator to strip it of licence Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Uber said on Monday it was not clear what concerns London’s transport regulator had for stripping it of its licence as the taxi app battles to keep operating in one of the world’s wealthiest cities. On Friday, the British capital’s regulator deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its licence to operate, which will end this week, citing the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. “Sitting down with TfL (Transport for London) representatives as soon as possible would be the most helpful thing to really understand their concerns to work out what they are,” Uber’s UK Head of Cities Fred Jones told BBC radio. “It’s just not clear for us what their concerns might be.” (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uber-britain/uber-says-not-clear-what-prompted-london-regulator-to-strip-it-of-licence-idUSS8N1LT005'|'2017-09-25T11:08:00.000+03:00'
'750ea2c4133de8232ee2d5121df55ecaad3f9593'|'Siemens likely to pick Alstom for rail merger - sources'|'  10:25 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Siemens likely to pick Alstom for rail merger - sources Alexander Hübner , Georgina Prodhan 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido MUNICH/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) is likely to decide on Tuesday to pursue a multibillion-dollar rail merger with French rival Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) rather than Canada’s Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The three major European train and rail technology groups have been looking at combining their businesses as larger Chinese state-backed rival CRRC ( 601766.SS ) embarks on a global expansion. “I think Alstom will make it,” one of the people said on Monday. The second person said the Siemens’ supervisory board would decide the matter on Tuesday, also describing Alstom as the frontrunner. A Siemens spokesman declined to comment, as did Bombardier. Alstom was not immediately available to comment. The Franco-German deal would come just as plans by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron for closer integration may be undermined by Merkel’s weak showing in Sunday’s national election. It would also represent a reconciliation of sorts between Siemens and Alstom, which snubbed the German company in 2014 to sell its energy division to General Electric ( GE.N ) in a deal that also saw Paris take a 20 percent stake in Alstom. Siemens is expected to hold just over 50 percent of the shares in the intended joint venture, while the chief executive would come from Alstom. The combined business would have sales of about 15 billion euros (13.18 billion pounds). That compares with CRRC’s sales of 230 billion yuan (25.70 billion pounds)and market value of $40 billion (29.57 billion pounds). The decision would be a blow for planes-and-trains maker Bombardier, which faces a separate battle this week to protect aerospace jobs in Quebec and Northern Ireland amid a subsidy row with Boeing ( BA.N ). Bombardier shares fell sharply on Friday after a report that Siemens was in advanced talks with Alstom. Siemens shares were up 0.6 percent by 1105 GMT on Monday, while Alstom shares were up 0.2 percent. Additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Tim Hepher in Paris and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Arno Schuetze, Victoria Bryan and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alstom-siemens/siemens-likely-to-pick-alstom-for-rail-merger-on-tuesday-sources-idUKKCN1C015S'|'2017-09-25T14:29:00.000+03:00'
'c39ffae952285ccff839168c0690090943b0fc0e'|'FTSE hits bump as banks fall; Imagination Tech flies'|'September 25, 2017 / 9:18 AM / Updated an hour ago Britain''s FTSE hits bump as banks fall; Imagination Tech flies Kit Rees 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A sign displays the crest and name of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - The UK’s top share index pulled away from a one-week high on Monday as losses among heavyweight financials and commodities-linked sectors weighed. Small cap Imagination Tech soared after a buyout fund agreed to buy the chip designer. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index fell 0.1 percent to 7,301.29 points, underperforming a slightly positive European market following the result of the German general election. While Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office, the result pointed to a potentially fragile coalition. Falls among British financials such as HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Barclays ( BARC.L ) and Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) took the most points off the index as investors scaled back their exposure to risky assets. Cyclical mining stocks also pulled back, with Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ), Anglo American ( AAL.L ) and BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) all down more than 1 percent due to a weaker copper price. Oil heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and BP ( BP.L ) reversed earlier losses after Brent crude oil prices rose to their highest level since July 2015. Recent strength in sterling and a more hawkish tone from the Bank of England have put pressure on UK equities, as the more internationally-exposed blue chips had benefited from an accounting boost thanks to a plunge in the pound in the immediate aftermath of last year’s Brexit vote. “We are underweight UK equities against European equities at the moment which is largely due to what we are seeing (as) a convergence in earnings growth,” Maximilian Kunkel, Chief Investment Officer for Germany, UBS Wealth Management, said. “We’ve recently seen very, very strong earnings growth in the UK largely helped by the weakness of the pound, and relatively strong local growth also – we think that that is going to revert,” Kunkel added. Among individual stock moves, a price target cut from Jefferies weighed on shares in Mediclinic ( MDCM.L ), which fell around 5 percent, with analysts saying that they expected Mediclinic’s upcoming update to disappoint the market. Moves were more pronounced among smaller UK firms, with shares in mid cap Tullow Oil ( TLW.L ) jumping 7.1 percent after the oil producer said that expected to resume drilling at its TEN fields following an international ruling on an ocean boundary between Ghana and Ivory Coast. Imagination Technologies ( IMG.L ) scored its best day since June 2009, shooting 28 percent higher after Canyon Bridge Capital Partners said that it would buy the British firm. Imagination Technologies saw its shares slump more than 60 percent earlier this year after it was ditched by Apple APPL.O, its biggest customer. “The bid price of 182p looks a good outcome considering the underlying business is structurally unprofitable without Apple royalties,” analysts at Investec said in a note. Reporting by Kit Rees, additional reporting by Danilo Masoni,editing by Jeremy Gaunt '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-hits-bump-as-banks-fall-imagination-tech-flies-idUKKCN1C00XY'|'2017-09-25T12:18:00.000+03:00'
'81d7c481e7f80da4f2add3840d1e296285d7b0cd'|'Alstom to pay special dividend in Siemens rail merger: sources'|'MUNICH/PARIS (Reuters) - French transportation and manufacturing group Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) plans to pay its shareholders a special dividend if a deal to merge with Siemens’ ( SIEGn.DE ) rail business goes through, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.The special dividend would even out the value of Siemens and Alstom, which has too much cash on its balance sheet, to smooth the intended 50-50 joint venture, one of the people said.“Will there be a special dividend? Yes,” said the second person.Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens-dividend/alstom-to-pay-special-dividend-in-siemens-rail-merger-sources-idUSKCN1C112Q'|'2017-09-26T17:47:00.000+03:00'
'b701df3fa4c852f391b7824d25caa45f0e09a032'|'Delivery Hero first-half revenue rises 66 percent; adjusted losses narrow'|'  6:06 AM / Updated 39 minutes ago Germany''s Delivery Hero serves up revenue leap, slimmer losses 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The Delivery Hero headquarters is pictured in Berlin, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Delivery Hero ( DHER.DE ), the world’s largest online takeaway food delivery company, reported a 66 percent jump in first-half revenue and sharply narrower losses, after slightly slowing its expansion with a focus on breaking even in 2018. First-half revenue reached 246.5 million euros (217.03 million pounds), while the adjusted margin on core earnings narrowed to a loss of 18 percent from a loss of 47 percent a year earlier. “We achieved a good balance between strong growth and moving closer towards profitability,” Chief Executive Niklas Oestberg said in a statement. Delivery Hero said it expected revenue of 530-540 million for the full year, slightly above analysts’ consensus forecast of around 531 million euros and in the face of headwinds from converting results from other regions into a stronger euros. The full-year adjusted margin on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is expected to improve to minus 15-17 percent. It reiterated its plans to break even and then turn profitable by at least December 2018. “We are committed to full year profitability in ‘19,” Oestberg told journalists on a conference call. The first-half revenue growth suggested a slowdown in the second quarter from 90 percent growth in the first quarter, based on previously published figures. However, on a like-for-like basis the company said second-quarter revenue growth accelerated to 49 percent from 46 percent in the first quarter. The company operates in more than 40 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and Asia. It saw double-digit first-half revenue growth in all of its regions. Oestberg said based on results reported by rivals, Delivery Hero had increased share in all its markets. In the first half, it faced heavy marketing spending in its home market Germany by Dutch rival Takeaway.com’s ( TKWY.AS ) Liferando.de unit. ”In markets where we do compete with someone, we have been taking market (share), regardless of whether we make money or not,“ he said. ”I am also very happy with Germany ... we had a good growth in Q2 (second quarter). Delivery Hero was the fourth online food delivery firm to go public in recent years, following U.S.-based GrubHub ( GRUB.N ), Britain’s Just Eat ( JE.L ) and Takeaway.com, all of which have seen their share prices soar. Its shares are up nearly 30 percent since its initial public offering in late June. The stock closed up 3.85 percent at 33.75 euros in Frankfurt trading on Tuesday. A fifth online food delivery firm, privately held UK-based Deliveroo, recently raised $385 million in new funding at a $2 billion valuation. Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-delivery-hero-results/delivery-hero-first-half-revenue-rises-66-percent-adjusted-losses-narrow-idUKKCN1C10JO'|'2017-09-26T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'd734a3b6d70f860a9d2c464c16758a2bcbafc8ed'|'Oil hits 26-month high on supply fears – business live - Business'|'German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose election win has been complicated by the rise in support for AfD. Photograph: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Graeme Wearden (until 2pm) and Nick Fletcher Tuesday 26 September 2017 15.33 BST First published on Tuesday 26 September 2017 08.18 BST Key events Show 3.07pm BST 15:07 US consumer confidence dips in September 2.47pm BST 14:47 Wall Street opens higher 11.28am BST 11:28 Catalan independence push also pulls euro down 12.37pm BST 12:37 Bombardier workers await US court ruling 12.22pm BST 12:22 Brexit dashboard: Pound stronger, but wage squeeze continues 11.00am BST 11:00 Pound hits 10-week high against struggling euro 10.31am BST 10:31 UK consumer credit slows as savings suffer Live feed Show 3.33pm BST 15:33 Oil prices have fallen from their highs after profit takers moved in. Brent crude had risen to more than $59 a barrel, its highest level since July 2015, on a combination of growing demand, Opec production cuts and Turkey’s threat to shut the pipeline that runs from Northern Iraq through Turkey to the port of Ceyhan.But it has slipped back just over 1% to $58.39 as investors decided to cash in some of their gains.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.07pm BST 15:07 US consumer confidence dips in September American consumers were less confident in September than the previous month, partly due to the impact of the recent hurricanes.The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index came in at 119.8 this month, below the expected level of 120. It was also below August’s figure of 120.4, itself revised down from 122.9. Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the board, said:Consumer confidence decreased slightly in September after a marginal improvement in August. Confidence in Texas and Florida, however, decreased considerably, as these two states were the most severely impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Despite the slight downtick in confidence, consumers’ assessment of current conditions remains quite favorable and their expectations for the short-term suggest the economy will continue expanding at its current pace.Photograph: Conference Board Updated at 3.10pm BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.47pm BST 14:47 Wall Street opens higher US markets have moved ahead at the start of trading, as technology stocks recovered from Monday’s falls.But investors remained nervous amid the continuing tensions between North Korea and the US. So the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 50 points or 0.23% while the S&P 500 opened 0.16% higher and the Nasdaq Composite 0.37%.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.35pm BST 14:35 Back with oil, and the latest surge may not continued but the market may now be better balanced, says Andrew Kenningham at Capital Economics:The latest rise in oil prices reflects concerns about Kurdish supply and hopes for another extension of OPEC’s output cuts, neither of which may have a lasting influence on prices. But the oil market has become better balanced over the past year, suggesting that prices should remain fairly stable...There are several reasons for the recent rise in prices. Most significantly, the underlying demand and supply for oil have been coming into balance over the past year or so. There has been a steady increase in demand as global growth has picked up. And the increase in supply has been constrained by the OPEC-led production cuts, for which compliance has continued to be surprisingly good.More recently, leading OPEC members have hinted that they may extend their production cuts of 1.8 million bpd beyond March 2018. This in turn is partly a response to oil stocks not dropping back as rapidly as OPEC members had hoped, due to a surge in oil production by Nigeria, Libya and the US. And prices jumped in the past day or so due to yesterday’s unofficial referendum on independence in the Kurdish region of Iraq and Turkey’s threat to close the pipeline for Kurdish oil exports. Iraq’s Kurdish region produces around 650,000 bpd, the bulk of which goes through Turkey. We suspect that the latest surge in oil prices marks the end of an upward trend. Admittedly, some kind of deal to extend the OPEC cuts is now likely, but it is not a done deal as there are several obstacles to be overcome...And Turkey is unlikely to block Kurdish oil exports unless tensions in the region escalate dramatically. Looking further ahead, it seems likely that oil prices will be fairly stable in the coming years. Not only are global demand and supply now better balanced, but several “automatic stabilisers” should take effect. A significant increase in prices would lead to higher shale production and weaker OPEC compliance, and a significant decrease may well prompt OPEC to reinforce its agreement to restrict supply. Our forecast remains for Brent crude to end this year and next at $57pb and $55pb respectively. Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.31pm BST 14:31 Over in the US, the boss of credit reporting agency Equifax is leaving after a data breach which exposed personal data of 143m Americans. Richard Smith is stepping down as chief executive after 12 years in the top job. The company’s management had come under fire for lax security and its response to the hacking, which took place in May.Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA Updated at 2.32pm BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.59pm BST 13:59 Helena SmithOver in Greece, bank shares have suffered an alarming plunge, reports Helena Smith in Athens. Shares have been sliding since the IMF announced that it wanted to conduct a bank asset review as part of a third bailout compliance review with Greece.The prospect of multiple stress tests would further highlight Greek lenders’ huge non-performing loan problem.This fear was reinforced yesterday when European Central Bank president Mario Draghi hinted that the Single Supervisory Mechanism may front-load stress tests for Greek banks , once again raising the prospect that banks would need more capital.Shares have fallen further on news that banks will float fresh plans to reduce NPLs early next month.Shares in Alpha Bank, Attica Bank and Piraeus Bank have all tumbled by at least 10%, while National Bank of Greece has lost over 6%.The biggest fallers on the Greek stock market today Photograph: Thomson Reuters Updated at 2.01pm BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.46pm BST 13:46 The spectre of shrinkflation is stalking through the UK economy again today - and this time Jaffa Cakes are the victims. Manufacturer McVities is facing a revolt after reducing the number of Jaffa Cakes in each pack from 12 to just 10. Fans of the orange-centred snack are outraged Angela Minto (@angelahpjc) Shocking news. Why would you ever need LESS Jaffa cakes?? https://t.co/04OqV03Shf September 26, 2017 McVities are trying to calm the storm (which the BBC have seen fit to dub ‘Jaffa Quake’...), insisting that wholesale prices have also been cut.A spokesperson also insists that the firm haven’t done a Toblerone and messed around with the sizing, saying:“There is no change in the size, shape or weight of individual cakes in the McVitie’s Jaffa Cake range.”But, there are reports that some shops are selling the new downsized Jaffa Cakes at the old price! It’s turning into the biggest Jaffa Cake row since the British taxman tried to prove they were actually biscuits .The drop in the pound has driven up the cost of sugar, chocolate and flour for UK producers, so this may not be the last example of shrinkflation. Still, Jaffa Cake fans who can’t cope with less than a dozen in one sitting could always make their own...How to make the perfect jaffa cakes Read more Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.57pm BST 12:57 The Unite union is urging the UK government to raise its efforts to protect jobs at Bombardier’s Belfast factory.Assistant general secretary Tony Burke says Bombardier workers are “holding their breath” ahead of today’s ruling on the trade dispute with Boeing .Burke adds:“The prime minister and the government need to make it clear to Trump they will not stand back and watch our members jobs and our communities threatened like this.“Mrs May needs to stand up for our members in the aerospace industry and for decent jobs and for manufacturing in the U.K.”More here:US authorities to deliver verdict on Bombardier-Boeing trade dispute Read more Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.37pm BST 12:37 Bombardier workers await US court ruling Henry McDonaldThe Bombardier Aerospace plant in Belfast. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire is currently meeting the Unite union in Belfast to hear their fears over a legal ruling in the United States that could put thousands of jobs in peril at the Bombardier aerospace factory in the east of the city. Unite and the 4,000 plus workforce at the East Belfast plant are waiting anxiously for news on a ruling in the United States over claims by rival plane-maker Boeing that Bombardier received anti-competitive state support in Canada.Boeing’s legal action, which the US Department of Commerce and US International Trade Commission will adjudicate on later on Tuesday, relates to Bombardier winning a contract to make the wings for Delta Airlines C-Series aircraft.The wings are constructed in Bombardier’s Belfast base.Unite told The Guardian the union will remind Secretary of State Brokenshire that the UK government has extensive contracts with Boeing in particular for purchasing military aircraft from the American aerospace giant.The union wants the Cabinet in London to apply greater pressure on Boeing to end its legal action against its rival. Boeing has argued that a £750 million support grant to Bombardier from the Quebec regional government in Canada two years ago that rescued the company from bankruptcy breaks US anti-competition laws and is tantamount to illegal state support for their rival.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.22pm BST 12:22 Brexit dashboard: Pound stronger, but wage squeeze continues The Guardian’s latest Brexit dashboard has just been launched, showing how the UK economy is faring since last June’s EU referendum. This month, the dashboard shows that the pound has recovered to its highest levels since the vote, but that hasn’t stopped inflation hitting four-year highs.Here’s the full piece:How has the Brexit vote affected the UK economy? September verdict Read more So with real wages still falling, former Bank of England policymaker David Blanchflower argues that this is no time to raise borrowing costs.The Guardian (@guardian) Bank warned not to raise interest rates amid squeeze on households https://t.co/Xd1LdhInkB September 26, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.12pm BST 12:12 The euro has fallen sharply this week against the Swiss franc, as well as the US dollar and the pound.Piotr Bujak , chief economist at PKO Bank Polski , has tweeted the details:Piotr Bujak (@pbujak) Outcome of German elections (deeper European integration in doubt) and risk-off related to NKorea drive down #EURUSD and #EURCHF . pic.twitter.com/ptEzEXm2z4 September 26, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1 of 2 Newest Newer Older Oldest Topics Business Business live Stock markets Oil Commodities  '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/sep/26/oil-26-month-high-brent-crude-supply-fears-business-live'|'2017-09-26T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'fe5ce6dcd2c1cf2381133da006bba144fa09387e'|'New index to help investors gauge food diversity'|'September 25, 2017 / 11:03 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago New index to help investors gauge food diversity Ana Ionova 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - An EU-funded index measuring biodiversity in food production is expected to be launched next year, giving investors a benchmark for assessing how companies and governments are making food systems more resilient to climate change. Investing in food species such as drought-tolerant Ethiopian durum wheat or the frost-resistant Andean grain canahua can make food supply chains more resistant to climate shocks, according to research published on Tuesday by Bioversity International. Pre-agricultural societies used about 7,000 edible plant species but modern food systems rely on just 30 varieties to feed the world, and the most common crops make up just 2 percent of material stored in gene banks. Reliance on just a handful of species increases the risk of supply shocks as droughts, rising temperatures and unpredictable weather events become more common, according to the study by Bioversity International, a global research organisation. Its new research will form the basis of the European Commission-funded Agrobiodiversity Index, which is expected to be launched in late 2018 and will include concrete criteria for measuring progress towards greater agrobiodiversity. “The use of biodiversity can be incentivised by market mechanisms,” said Roberto Ridolfi from the European Commission’s International Cooperation and Development department. “In the future, little by little, it will become good practice in the stock market.” The mechanism will rank companies based on their efforts to advance biodiversity and can be used by governments to measure their own agricultural initiatives. Peru, for example, is considering using it to evaluate its agrobiodiversity programme. The study says global food production must become more diverse and include species that are not widely grown now but could be better equipped to withstand hostile climates and disease. Canahua, a little-known grain from the Andes in South America, has a higher threshold for frost than the more common quinoa, while the To‘o banana from Papua New Guinea could be more resilient to disease than the standard Cavendish variety. “What we see is that a lot of mainstream crops can be quite vulnerable to climate and pests and diseases,” said Ann Tutwiler, director general at Bioversity International. “In part, because many of them come from a narrow genetic base.” Diversification could also help fight malnutrition globally by bringing little-known but highly nutritious foods into the mainstream. For instance, the To‘o banana has far more vitamin A than the type commonly grown now. Reporting by Ana Ionova; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-agriculture-diversity-index/new-index-to-help-investors-gauge-food-diversity-idUKKCN1C032K'|'2017-09-26T02:03:00.000+03:00'
'8e28c233da2a3a6d1f2f706f0525f801e2d1e742'|'Time Inc says in talks to sell several assets'|' 29 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Time Inc says in talks to sell several assets Reuters Staff 1 Min Read File Photo: A man holds up a copy of Time Magazine in Des Moines, Iowa January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Magazine publisher Time Inc said it was looking to sell several assets, including Time Inc UK, Time Customer Service and a majority stake in the Essence magazine. The sale processes were at various stages and the company has not entered into any definitive agreement, Time said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The New York-based publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and namesake Time also said it experienced softness in both print and advertising revenue during the current quarter relative to the forecast provided during the second-quarter earnings call. The company’s magazine circulation revenue fell 12 percent in the second quarter ended June 30 and its advertising revenue dipped about 12 percent, as readers and advertisers shift to digital platforms. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-time-divestiture/time-inc-says-in-talks-to-sell-several-assets-idUKKCN1BX1ES'|'2017-09-22T14:30:00.000+03:00'
'1b72d9dc295d23e82adadac88a5279490528f55e'|'Ryanair cancels more than 2,000 flights over the next six weeks'|'RYANAIR, an Irish airline, is known for three things: low fares, the brash way in which Michael O’Leary, its chief executive, advertises them, and its record for sticking to its flight schedules. The last of these is key to its appeal: many businessmen chose Ryanair more for its punctuality than its cheapness. And so the announcement on September 15th that it is cancelling over 2,000 flights between now and the end of October—around 2% of its capacity over the period—is more serious than it may at first seem. Ryanair’s share price fell by more than 5% in the aftermath.The problems began in early September when Ryanair’s on-time record plunged, owing to a pilot shortage. To restore punctuality, it cancelled many flights at short notice; passengers were marooned around Europe. Up to 400,000 people booked on the 2,000 scrapped flights risk missing business trips and holidays. 15 Mr O’Leary says the problems were caused by a change in the way the airline calculates pilots’ leave. The holiday year used to run from April to March, but under pressure from the Irish Aviation Authority Ryanair is adopting the calendar year, as new EU rules require. Ryanair obliged its pilots to take their annual leave between April and December this year. So many are taking their holiday after the summer rush that not enough are available to maintain a full schedule.Other airlines say Ryanair’s woes are also due to pilots leaving for better pay and conditions. Norwegian, a rival low-cost carrier with outsized ambitions, claims to have recruited over 140 Ryanair pilots this year (out of around 4,200 at the Irish carrier). Mr O’Leary denies that the airline has a shortage. But evidence abounds that Ryanair’s crewing problems will substantially lift costs per passenger kilometre. Compensation and lost fares for the cancelled flights will cost €25m ($30m). Ryanair will also need to spend an extra €30m on hiring pilots.The combined cost is a small fraction of Ryanair’s profits of €1.3bn in the year to March. More serious was a less-noticed European Court of Justice ruling on September 14th which decreed that low-cost airlines’ employment disputes with crew must go to local labour courts in all the countries where airlines have bases (Irish labour law is broadly more flexible). Analysts say the firm’s costs may rise by around 5% as a result.Lately Mr O’Leary has been warning of the possible consequences of a British exit from the European Common Aviation Area with no new aviation deal. EU carriers may serve any airport within the bloc, but after Brexit flights between Britain and the remainder of the EU might have to cease. Headlines about stranded passengers could damage British politicians, he claims. This week he used Ryanair’s debacle to return to the theme. “Imagine the problems this week times one thousand,” he said. “That is what a no-deal Brexit will look like.” "Pilot light"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729471-europes-biggest-cheapest-and-most-efficient-airline-stumbles-badly-ryanair-cancels-more?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'd22fc4b8d33fdbcebaecca7c32942b1f17fc1204'|'South Africa''s finance minister calls for criminal probe into KPMG'|'  1:05 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago South Africa''s finance minister calls for criminal probe into KPMG Reuters Staff 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The offices of auditors KPMG are seen in Cape Town, South Africa, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File photo JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African law enforcement agencies should investigate KPMG [KPMG.UL] after the global auditor sacked its local leadership over work done for business friends of President Jacob Zuma, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday. KPMG is the latest international firm to become embroiled in factional battles within South Africa’s political establishment. The dismissal of its top management in the country last week followed an internal investigation which found work it did for firms owned by the Gupta family, a trio of businessmen accused by a watchdog of improperly influencing the award of government contracts, “fell considerably short” of KPMG’s standards. KPMG is already being investigated by the country’s Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors for its work for the Gupta firms and several South African companies are reconsidering their use of the firm. Gigaba called on companies and other stakeholders to join hands and “(root) out bad elements” that undermine the South African economy. “It is therefore, warranted and critical that the relevant law enforcements and bodies such as the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors look into this matter to identify and sanction those responsible for any wrong-doing,” Gigaba said in a statement. Gigaba also called on all government departments to consider reviewing their work with KPMG to ensure “their audit processes have not been compromised.” The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition, on Friday said it will review KPMG’s contracts in the more than 30 municipalities it runs, while lobby group Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) suspended KPMG’s membership on Friday, citing the “gravity” of its conduct over the auditor’s work for Gupta firms. “BLSA recognises the considerable steps announced by KPMG to change its leadership and commence a process of cultural change,” it said in a statement. “It cannot, however, look past the gravity of their conduct which is completely inconsistent with the values of BLSA.” BLSA’s move is another blow for the local arm of KPMG, which has already lost at least three clients due to the scandal, while large companies that include Barclays Africa ( BGAJ.J ) and Investec ( INLJ.J ) are reviewing their ties with the firm. KPMG International said on Friday it would approach a senior legal figure to conduct an independent investigation into the work its South African firm did for the Guptas. “The investigation will determine if there is any evidence to suggest KPMG South Africa partners or staff were complicit in illegal activities by the Gupta family and their businesses,” KPMG International Chairman John Veihmeyer said in a statement. The investigation will also look into whether there were any failings or collusion in the work performed in compiling a report for the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The document, alleging the creation of an illegal “rogue unit” at SARS, has been used as ammunition to dismiss or discredit senior employees at the tax service. Meanwhile South Africa’s second largest bullion miner Gold Fields ( GFIJ.J ) said on Friday KPMG would for now continue to serve as its external auditor. KPMG is the third global firm to face questions about its work for the Indian-born Gupta brothers. Consulting giant McKinsey is being investigated by South Africa’s parliamentary committee on public enterprises, and the British-based public relations agency Bell Pottinger collapsed this month following a scandal over a racially-charged political campaign it ran for the Guptas in South Africa. The Guptas and Zuma deny wrongdoing and say they are victims of a politically motivated witch-hunt. The Guptas and their companies have not been charged with any crime. Europe’s largest software company SAP ( SAPG.DE ) in July also launched an investigation into allegations that it was involved in a government bribery scheme. SAP on Friday announced it will provide an update on the investigation during the last week of October this year. “We are acutely aware that we owe South Africa answers,” Adaire Fox Martin, a member of SAP’s executive board, said in a statement. Reporting by TJ Strydom and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Joe Brock and Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kpmg-safrica/south-africas-finmin-calls-for-criminal-probe-into-kpmg-idUKKCN1BX1OD'|'2017-09-22T23:53:00.000+03:00'
'7668ac9d812f2507c0a528a0f6eda13f9aa7e1ec'|'ABB buys GE unit for $2.6 bln to boost North American business'|'The logo of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB is seen in front of a logo of General Electric in Baden, Switzerland September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - Power grids maker ABB is buying General Electric’s Industrial Solutions business for $2.6 billion in a bet it can improve the division’s lackluster margins over the next five years, the Swiss engineering company said on Monday.Zurich-based ABB sees potential for annual cost benefits of $200 million with the deal, which includes an agreement for long-term use of GE’s brand and a strategic partnership. In 2016, the GE business had sales of $2.7 billion.The GE products include circuit breakers, switchgear, components for lighting control and power supply equipment for facilities including data centers. ABB’s portfolio includes similar products.ABB is seeking to better penetrate the North American market and gain access to GE’s larger installed base of electrical installations worldwide.ABB said the business had been “an unloved child” and pledged to upgrade aging products with its own technology to help arrest a declining U.S. market share.ABB is suspending its $3 billion share buyback program as part of the deal, which will bolster its position as the second-biggest supplier of electrical components behind France’s Schneider Electric.ABB is also wagering on being able to cut costs and boost profitability at the Georgia-based GE unit.“The key rationale of the integration is, first we will make this business better. And then afterwards, we will make this business bigger and better,” said ABB Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer.ABB expects integration costs of $400 million.FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB is seen in Baden, Switzerland June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo The GE unit’s operating earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) are just 6 percent of sales, less than half the 15 percent operating margin at ABB’s comparable Electrification Products division.Spiesshofer said he agreed to the transaction only after striking a supply partnership where ABB and GE will increase buying and selling from each another.“Without that, the economics wouldn’t have worked,” he told reporters on a call. “With the supply partnership, the economics at the price of 0.9 times revenue is working.”GE has been under pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management to sell assets and focus on higher-margin businesses.Some analysts said the price was surprisingly high given the GE business’s low profitability.“GE Industrial Solutions isn’t in top shape, so ABB has its work cut out for it,” said Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Richard Frei.ABB said it would finance the deal -- likely its last for some time -- with cash and did not need to raise equity capital. Its shares were little changed in early trading.GE had resumed negotiations to sell the business to ABB after moderating its price expectations, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in August.Credit Suisse and Dyal Co acted as financial advisers to ABB, and Davis Polk & Wardwell provided legal counsel.Editing by Michael Shields; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-abb-ge-industrial-solutions/abb-buys-ge-unit-for-2-6-billion-to-boost-north-american-business-idUSKCN1C00DW'|'2017-09-25T08:20:00.000+03:00'
'668ca8f6cfc4a3b7b12deb83200c5f708bccb465'|'MOVES-Aviva Investors makes two appointments to multi-asset team'|'  12:41 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago MOVES-Aviva Investors makes two appointments to multi-asset team Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 25 (Reuters) - Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of Aviva Plc, appointed Harriet Reeves as multi-asset strategist and Iain MacCormick as multi-asset implementation manager. Reeves previously worked as an an analyst at Comac Capital and Nomura. MacCormick joined Aviva’s implementation team from Standard Life Investments. (Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/avivainvestors-moves-harrietreeves/moves-aviva-investors-makes-two-appointments-to-multi-asset-team-idUSL4N1M647O'|'2017-09-25T15:40:00.000+03:00'
'1b452c66ea447a4f6651d9069b5b5619fb60f0e4'|'UPDATE 1-Technical fault grounds flights at Sydney airport'|'(Includes issue being resolved, adds Qantas, Airservices Quote: s)SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Flights were briefly prevented from taking off and landing at Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal on Monday during the peak morning travel period due to a technical fault with an air traffic control system.The issue had been resolved, the airport said on its official Twitter feed, but officials said travellers faced delays as a result of the outage.Government air traffic controller Airservices Australia said in a statement that it had experienced a “technical issue which is affecting arriving and departing aircraft at Sydney Airport”.ASA gave no further details but boards at the airport listed flights as “delayed due to ATC radar failure.”“Our technicians are currently working to rectify the situation,” ASA said.Qantas Airways Ltd, the country’s biggest carrier, said in a statement posted on its website that there were “significant delays at Sydney Airport affecting all airlines” without giving more detail.A spokesman later said in an email that “things are starting to flow again but still some delays”.Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd, the country’s No. 2 carrier, was also affected.“Due to an issue with Air Traffic Control at Sydney Airport earlier today, some Virgin Australia flights may be impacted. We are working to have all guests on their way as quickly and safely as possible,” it said in a statement.Hundreds of passengers were expected to face delays as the technical glitch hit during the Monday morning peak travel window and one of the first days of a two-week school vacation period.Sydney Airport said in a message posted to its official Twitter feed that the “issue has now been resolved”. (Reporting by Jane Wardell and Byron Kaye; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/australia-airport/update-1-technical-fault-grounds-flights-at-sydney-airport-idINL4N1M50GC'|'2017-09-24T21:14:00.000+03:00'
'42f7f15e7bbadce65bde8fcc3bb50dd254615df0'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX ends flat but climbs 1.9 pct on the week'|'(Adds portfolio manager Quote: s, details throughout; updates prices to close)* TSX ends down 0.69 point at 15,454.23* Index climbs 1.9 percent on the week* Seven of the TSX’s 10 main groups end lowerBy Fergal SmithTORONTO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index was flat on Friday but ended the week up 1.9 percent as the heavyweight financials group gained ground, offsetting losses for telecom shares.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 0.69 of a point at 15,454.23, one day after posting its highest close since early June. For the week it advanced 1.9 percent.“We have got our head above water,” said John Kinsey, portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities. “I think it is a little bit of catch-up on our part.”The index has gained just 1.1 percent this year, held back by lower oil prices and a stronger Canadian dollar, which squeeze profit margins for the country’s many commodity producers.That leaves the TSX lagging many other major markets, including the S&P 500, which has climbed 11.8 percent.The loonie has retreated this week after a Bank of Canada policymaker said the currency’s strength will be a factor in future interest rate decisions. But data on Friday showing a pick-up in inflation in August still left the central bank with room to raise rates again.The financials group, which tends to benefit from higher rates, gained 0.3 percent on Friday to reach its highest since April.Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.5 percent to C$79.72 while finance company ECN Capital Corp jumped 5.0 percent to C$3.96 after closing a deal to acquire Service Finance Holdings.Air Canada pushed 4.2 percent higher to C$27.51 as investors bought into its plan to expand routes and cut some prices to compete against low-cost new entrants.The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.7 percent, as gold stocks climbed.Gold prices recovered from a four-week low on a bid for safety as North Korea said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy the reclusive country.But seven of the index’s 10 main groups ended lower, including losses for defensive sectors, such as telecoms and utilities, which tend to underperform as rates rise.The telecoms group ended 0.8 percent lower, with Rogers Communications Inc declining 1.3 percent to C$63.73.The energy group dipped 0.1 percent even as oil prices ended close to their highest in months. Major producers meeting in Vienna said they may wait until January before deciding whether to extend output curbs beyond the first quarter. (Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-ends-flat-but-climbs-1-9-pct-on-the-week-idUSL2N1M31VV'|'2017-09-22T23:52:00.000+03:00'
'dee941ca8db10562d1b8bde86fd27fb0061a66ee'|'Investor group seeks probe into SEC hack, urges data rules delay'|'September 22, 2017 / 10:15 PM / Updated 12 hours ago Investor group seeks probe into SEC hack, urges data rules delay Michelle Price 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are seen in Washington,U.S., on July 6, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A global investor group on Friday called for an independent investigation into a cyber breach at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and urged the regulator to delay new data-gathering rules until it could assure investors that its computer systems were secure. Wall Street’s top regulator came under fire on Thursday after admitting hackers had breached its database of corporate announcements in 2016 and might have used it for insider trading. The Investment Company Institute (ICI), which represents over 95 million U.S. shareholders, wants the SEC to clear up concerns about its cyber defenses before requiring funds to submit monthly performance data to the regulator, Paul Schott Stevens, the group’s chief executive, told Reuters in a phone interview. “What the SEC breach now makes very clear is precisely what we were concerned about - that market-sensitive information of that nature can be exploited to the disadvantage of millions and millions of investors,” Stevens said. ICI, whose members hold $20 trillion plus in assets, has raised concerns about how the SEC safeguarded industry data it gathers since 2015. “I‘m certain there will be a full inquiry by the Government of Accountability Office - and there should be, so we understand exactly what happened here,” Stevens said. In a July report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a congressional watchdog, criticized the SEC for failing to fully protect its computer networks from cyber attacks and recommended a slew of improvements. Some of recommendations it had made in previous reports had still not been implemented, it noted. Former SEC Chair Mary Jo White, in office when the hack occurred, told Reuters in 2016 that cyber security posed the biggest risk to the U.S. financial system. Her successor, Jay Clayton, uncovered the full extent of the hack after launching a review of the SEC’s cyber security standards earlier this year. “Some recommendations the GAO made haven’t yet been implemented. There’s obviously a failure here of some kind. That’s why we’re so glad Chairman Clayton has moved to address this,” said Stevens. The SEC declined to comment. New reporting rules which start to come into force in December would require funds for the first time to confidentially file complete monthly portfolio holdings with the SEC, data which the ICI has said could easily be used for insider trading if obtained by hackers. “Until that information security environment has been established, funds should continue to collect data quarterly, not monthly information, as quarterly data is not nearly as sensitive,” said Stevens. The SEC disclosure came two weeks after credit-reporting company Equifax Inc said a breach had exposed sensitive personal of data up to 143 million U.S. customers. This followed last year’s cyber attack on SWIFT, the global bank messaging system. Stevens said rules governing the disclosure of such breaches should be tighter for both public and private organizations. “That disclosure obligation fixes the mind on need to fix the breach in the first instance.” Reporting by Michelle Price; editing by Richard Chang and Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sec-cyber-funds/investor-group-seeks-probe-into-sec-hack-urges-data-rules-delay-idINKCN1BX2ZD'|'2017-09-23T01:30:00.000+03:00'
'12dfde82c23ff37d85d6b0a57e570e3f18e74c28'|'Half a million sign petition supporting Uber in London'|'September 23, 2017 / 12:37 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Uber, reviving old tactic, is backed by more than 500,000 in London row 7 Min Read A taxi drives past the London Eye in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON (Reuters) - Half a million people have signed an online petition in under 24 hours backing Uber’s bid to stay on the roads of London, showing the company is turning to its tried-and-tested tactic of asking customers for help when it locks horns with regulators. London’s transport authorities stunned the powerful U.S. start-up on Friday when they deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service for safety reasons and stripped it of its license from Sept. 30, although it can operate while it appeals. The regulator cited failures to report serious criminal offences, conduct sufficient background checks on drivers and other safety issues, threatening the U.S. firm’s presence in one of the world’s wealthiest cities. Uber immediately urged users in London to sign a petition that said the city authorities had “caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice”. By 1400 GMT on Saturday, nearly 540,000 people had signed although it was not clear how many of them were in London. Uber counted 3.5 million active users in London in the past three months. Even if many tourists are probably included in the total, the figure represents a potential political force of commuters who face long journeys between their home and offices and who use Uber as a cheaper alternative to other taxi firms. Turning to users for help is one of the first steps in Uber’s playbook. In Jakarta, Budapest, Toronto and Portland it asked riders to sign petitions and built online tools to contact lawmakers to show their support. Regulators have at least partly relented in Portland, Toronto and Jakarta, but Budapest remains a work in progress. Uber now faces a showdown with London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, who this month said he wouldn’t let his teenage daughters use cabs like Uber on their own over fears for their safety. Khan, a leading figure in Britain’s opposition Labour Party, said on Saturday he had sympathy with Uber drivers and customers. “But their anger really should be directed at Uber,” Khan said in a statement. “They have let down their drivers and customers by failing, in the view of TfL, to act as a fit and proper operator.” But he also suggested that Uber might eventually be allowed to continue operating in London. “I want to be absolutely clear that there is a place in London for all private hire companies that play by the rules,” Khan said. “I suspect it will take some time before this situation with Uber fully plays out.” As mayor, Khan is chairman of Transport for London, the regulator which stripped Uber of its license. London’s decision is the first major challenge for new Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over from co-founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick. He was forced out after internal and external investigations into sexual harassment complaints, the thwarting of government inquiries and potential bribery. NEW REGIME? So far, Khosrowshahi has adopted a softer tone to the crisis in London than his predecessor did in similar situations. “Dear London: we (are) far from perfect” Khosrowshahi tweeted on Friday. But he noted that 40,000 drivers and millions of riders were dependent on the service. “Please work with us to make things right.” A photo illustration shows the Uber app on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville Khosrowshahi appeared to be following earlier game plans, said Bradley Tusk, an Uber investor who advised on policy in New York City for the company. “A lot of people rely on it, so there’s going to be a lot of fertile ground to mobilise,” Tusk said. “If real people are angry, it’s a lot harder for regulators.” But while Uber has been ready to make campaigns personal in the past, Khosrowshahi may take a more moderate tone. In New York City, Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C., Uber hired political ad agencies and consultants and blasted political leaders for supporting measures that could eliminate jobs and worsen traffic. During a stand-off in New York City in 2015, Uber named a mock feature on its app after the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, and used it to warn that a regulatory proposal he backed could increase waits for rides. Kalanick issued tweets criticizing opponents, including an all-capitalized message saying “WATCH THIS!” which linked to a video that suggested the mayor was obstructing social progress. Slideshow (2 Images) “They have a lot more scrutiny on them now,” said Reed Galen, a political consultant who worked with Uber on a campaign in Austin. “Going with the old idea of punching the local leader in the nose, that strategy doesn’t work when you’ve had the issues Uber has had.” Khosrowshahi’s statements on Friday were an “absolutely different take”, Galen said. In an internal email seen by Reuters, Khosrowshahi said there was a “high cost” to having a bad reputation. He described it as “critical” that employees “act with integrity in everything we do, and learn how to be a better partner to every city we operate in”. WAITING GAME For a company known for the speed of its growth, Uber has shown patience when needed. It has long treated tussles with government as inevitable challenges, but ones it sees as temporary setbacks. Uber has suspended its services for months in some markets, including Alaska and Texas. But it’s been able to return within a year or two in most cases by working out new rules or turning to higher authorities such as courts and state governments. The efforts have a cost. Uber and rival Lyft Inc together spent more than $10 million on a failed ballot-box campaign in Austin and millions more on lobbying elsewhere in Texas. Uber continues to engage in a cat-and-mouse game with city officials in many of the 600 plus cities in which it operates. It suspended services in July in Finland but plans to re-enter Helsinki next year after a law was passed de-regulating taxi services. Whether Uber continues such tactics is unclear. But Tusk said Uber was probably already in touch with members of Britain’s parliament. In a sign of early political opposition to London’s move, Greg Hands, the minister for London in the Conservative government, hit out at what he called a “blanket ban” on Uber. “At the flick of a pen Sadiq Khan is threatening to put 40,000 people out of work and leave 3.5 million users of Uber stranded,” Hands tweeted late on Friday. “Once again the actions of Labour leave ordinary working people (to) pay the price for it.” Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt; Editing by Peter Henderson and Andrew Bolton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-britain-playbook/half-a-million-sign-petition-supporting-uber-in-london-idUKKCN1BY0IZ'|'2017-09-23T15:26:00.000+03:00'
'092c3e20fd45245de8f1935b5f3c1d4917f75076'|'Thyssenkrupp raises 1.4 billion euros via share sale'|'  6:33 PM / Updated an hour ago Thyssenkrupp raises 1.4 billion euros via share sale Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A sunflower is seen in front of the ThyssenKrupp AG headquarters in Essen, Germany, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BERLIN (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp AG ( TKAG.DE ) raised almost 1.4 billion euros (1.23 billion pounds) from institutional investors on Monday in a share sale to bolster its balance sheet ahead of a planned merger with India’s Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ). The two firms agreed last week to combine their European steel operations in a move to create the continent’s second-largest steelmaker with revenues of about 15 billion euros. Thyssenkrupp issued 56,593,794 new no-par-value bearer shares to obtain “the financial leeway to support organic growth” in its industrial goods business, the Essen, Germany-based steelmaker said. At a price of 24.3 euros, below Monday’s closing price of 24.7 euros, the share sale raised 1.38 billion euros, the company said. With the new Thyssenkrupp-Tata Steel joint venture not expected to start operations until late 2018, it will take “some time” for the positive effects of the transaction to filter through, Chief Executive Officer Heinrich Hiesinger said. “We will use that time to strengthen our industrial goods businesses right away,” he said. If approved, the new joint venture would create Europe’s second-biggest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal ( MT.AS ), with combined sales of about 15 billion euros. Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Mark Potter and Tom Brown'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-funding/thyssenkrupp-to-raise-capital-ahead-of-tata-deal-idUKKCN1C02JO'|'2017-09-26T00:18:00.000+03:00'
'061d31c077c1054d55853048be4404c2752b1735'|'Red-hot ticket - Business flocks to hear UK opposition Labour Party'|'September 26, 2017 / 1:57 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Red-hot ticket - Business flocks to hear Labour Party William James 6 Min Read Attendees walk up a branded staircase at the Labour Party Conference venue in Brighton, Britain, September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) - Labour’s annual conference is proving a hot ticket for businesses keen to get to know the opposition party again after its left-wing conversion proved popular with voters and edged it closer to power. A sell-out business seminar, competition for prime exhibition stalls and a surge in demand for commercial passes: executives and lobbyists have made the journey down to the south English coast to hear more about Labour’s policy agenda. But, with the increased presence, which includes tech firm Google who skipped the 2016 event, comes increased scrutiny and pressure on the party to listen and adapt policies, many of which are at odds with the free markets firms often want. “Business has realised that Labour may form the next government and has re-engaged,” said Tony Langham, Chief Executive of city communications firm Lansons which decided to hold a business reception at the Labour conference to meet client demand for engagement with the party. “After the shambles of the last two years, Labour conference was much more useful for business this year ... Labour said more on specific policy and shadow ministers were more accessible and open.” Labour said 2,757 business representing 1,800 companies were attending, more than double the number that came to the party’s 2016 conference. The jump in interest has been triggered by June’s snap election which Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May called to try to increase her majority at Labour’s expense and win a mandate for making a clean break with the European Union. It was Labour, written off by pundits before the vote as a failed left-wing experiment led by an unsuitable socialist, which made gains. The party’s plan to end austerity, nationalise industries and borrow to invest in public services captured the imagination of voters and reduced May to a minority government. Led by veteran campaigner Jeremy Corbyn, Labour has closed an opinion poll gap of more than 20 points in the last six months to stand roughly level with the Conservatives. A Survation poll on Tuesday showed Labour would be the largest party in parliament, albeit short of an outright majority, if a vote were held now. That, and the prospect that internal Conservative Party divisions over Brexit which could bring down May’s government, have made Labour a viable alternative. “(The election) has helped. We’ve always been engaged with the small- to medium-sized businesses, but I think big business is starting to recognise us,” said Ajay Nehra, vice-president of Labour Business, an affiliated Labour Party group focussed on developing business policy. “Microsoft and Google are here, we’re actually talking to them.” Attendees talk beside a Google digital workshop stand at the Labour Party Conference venue in Brighton, Britain, September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville Neither Microsoft nor Google were available for comment. PRESSURE TO DELIVER Labour said demand for stands at the conference hall, used by businesses and other organisations to promote their agenda, outstripped supply by 20 percent, and extra stalls had to be added, snaking down corridors leading off the main venue. Four were sold the day after the June election. That is in stark contrast to the 2016 event when the party was struggling to manage internal ideological divisions caused by Corbyn’s decision to shift the party back towards its socialist roots and abandon the pro-business centrist platform that underpinned ex-leader Tony Blair’s three election wins. Slideshow (6 Images) “It was as if it received a shot of adrenaline,” said Eric Bush, a representative from the Cayman Islands who attends party conferences to gather intelligence and help manage the British Overseas Territory’s relationship with London’s political class. “Members of Parliament, Peers, delegates and exhibitors all seemed happy to be at the conference this year with a renewed hope of moving from the opposition to becoming the government.” But, while having a realistic shot at government and a clearer political identity that has attracted the attention of business, Corbyn’s Labour has not been met with universal enthusiasm in the siderooms and bars of Brighton’s seafront hotels, where most of the informal lobbying takes place. Fresh plans to take control of billions of pounds of privately-funded public infrastructure contracts, cap credit card interest rate charges and take a more hands-on approach to the financial sector have set businesses on edge. “When you get to wholesale state intervention, when you get to conversations about sector-by-sector nationalisation, about tearing up government contracts - that can’t be done unilaterally,” Josh Hardie, deputy director general of policy and campaigns at the CBI business body, told Reuters. “You’ve got to sit down and talk to business because frankly they’re the people on the ground who understand what is going to happen day-to-day in their operations.” And, while the swagger of a strong election result and an influx of young voters has provided a more upbeat political outlook for the party, some business delegates complained it has not resulted in a more collaborative or transparent approach. “Sometimes it’s like a random fishing expedition trying to find the right person to talk to who can actually feed your ideas in... There’s no process,” said one business representative in Brighton who asked not to be named. “Getting policy detail can be like trying to nail jelly to a wall ... you worry you’re wasting your time.” Reporting by William James; Editing by Peter Graff '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-politics-labour-business/red-hot-ticket-business-flocks-to-hear-uk-opposition-labour-party-idUKKCN1C11UZ'|'2017-09-26T16:57:00.000+03:00'
'583d0e84e321903604e51be78c3fc2c81c3b1f05'|'CEE MARKETS-Hungary''s forint recovers, bond rally loses steam'|'* Forint is recovers from its lowest in five months * Hungarian debt rally loses steam as forint slumps * Hungary offers deal to replace dollar bonds with euro debt * Politics weigh on zloty, leu * Czech central bank may raise rates again By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Hungary''s forint regained some ground on Tuesday but remains near five-month lows after the country''s central bank further loosened monetary policy last week. The central bank has lowered its inflation forecasts, cut interest rates, pledged liquidity-boosting measures and held a foreign-exchange swap auction on Monday to provide banks with forint liquidity. Those measures combined to cause the forint to fall on Monday. The slide ended on Tuesday, with the currency inching up 0.1 percent to 311.25 by 1003 GMT. A bond rally petered out as the currency weakened. On Tuesday, the government held its first three-month Treasury bill auction since the measures. The sale drew solid demand, despite negative yields at Hungary''s last bill auctions . The Hungarian state debt agency on Tuesday also announced a deal to buy back dollar-denominated bonds and replace them with longer-dated euro bonds, days after a similar deal by Slovenia. With the forint''s 310 resistance broken, 315 could be the next target, but the euro has been overbought, Erste analysts said in a note. "Thus testing back the 308-310 range is possible, before the 315 level gets in reach," they said. In general, Central Europe''s economic growth and subdued inflation have help buoy its assets, although political risks weigh on the zloty and the leu. Inflation has risen above targets only in the Czech Republic. A Reuters poll showed most analysts expect the Czech central bank to raise interest rates either at its meeting on Wednesday or, more likely, in November. But a large number of outstanding long positions is keeping investors cautious, and the crown remains on the weak side of 26 to the euro. September inflation figures due in Poland on Friday will be a key indicator of about regional inflation trends. The zloty eased slightly, after some jitters on Monday when Polish President Andrzej Duda presented proposals for an overhaul of the judiciary system. Earlier, he had vetoed government bills on the judiciary reform, which had raised worries over the rule of law in Poland. Duda''s own proposals may maintain tension with the European Union over the issue. The leu traded a shade weaker, at the 4.6 psychological line against the euro as the issue of corruption kept Romanian politics boiling. The government has asked Deputy Prime Minister Sevil Shhaideh and Rovana Plumb, the minister in charge of European funds, not to resign despite corruption charges. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1203 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.065 26.054 -0.04% 3.61% 0 5 Hungary 311.25 311.51 +0.08 -0.78% forint 00 00 % Polish zloty 4.2855 4.2806 -0.11% 2.76% Romanian leu 4.6000 4.5989 -0.02% -1.41% Croatian 7.4900 7.4835 -0.09% 0.87% kuna Serbian 119.35 119.30 -0.04% 3.35% dinar 00 00 Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1043.8 1041.4 +0.22 +13.2 2 9 % 6% Budapest 38066. 38107. -0.11% +18.9 75 87 5% Warsaw 2442.6 2453.1 -0.43% +25.4 1 5 0% Bucharest 7927.9 7888.6 +0.50 +11.9 4 4 % 0% Ljubljana 803.12 802.66 +0.06 +11.9 % 2% Zagreb 1820.0 1819.3 +0.04 -8.76% 5 6 % Belgrade 722.59 724.02 -0.20% +0.73 % Sofia 686.30 680.87 +0.80 +17.0 % 3% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.078 0.023 +078b +3bps ps 5-year 0.239 0.052 +055b +5bps ps 10-year 1.096 -0.01 +070b -1bps ps Poland 2-year 1.693 0.006 +240b +2bps ps 5-year 2.646 0.016 +295b +2bps ps 10-year 3.304 0.016 +290b +2bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.73 0.85 0.94 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.07 0.08 0.12 0.04 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.77 1.81 1.87 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-hungarys-forint-recovers-bond-rally-loses-steam-idINL8N1M71UY'|'2017-09-26T08:14:00.000+03:00'
'7f705097a63e274c97dcce0252ef6b6de5a031be'|'Veteran Silicon Valley venture capital firm raises $1.5 billion fund'|'SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Silicon Valley venture capital firm IVP on Tuesday announced the close of a $1.5 billion fund, the latest in a string of massive new venture funds that are appearing as global investors scramble for a piece of the tech boom.The firm, which was founded in 1980, plans to use the new cash for investments for late-stage, high-growth startups enterprise software, cloud computing, cyber security and social media markets, said Jules Maltz, general partner at IVP, in an interview on Friday.“This gets us back to doing what we love doing, which is backing late-stage companies,” Maltz said. “We can celebrate a little bit but then we have to get back to business and finding new companies.”With the fund, the firm’s 16th, IVP has now raised a cumulative $7 billion in venture capital. In the past, IVP has invested in the likes of Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ), Snapchat parent Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), Dropbox and Slack.The new cash comes as more venture firms raise funds of more than $1 billion, including Greylock Partners, Sapphire Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, which this year raised a $3.3 billion fund.IVP chose to limit the size of the fund so it could continue to focus its investments on companies that have about 50 employees and are generating more than $10 million in revenue but have not yet become “unicorns,” which are startups with valuations of more than $1 billion, Maltz said.“We don’t want to get too big as a fund that we have to do $50 million-minimum investments,” Maltz said. “We’ve seen other firms raise so much capital that it changes their investment strategies.”The fund comes during a tumultuous year for the venture capital and tech industries as they deal with sexism scandals that have resulted in the ouster of notable investors and executives at firms like Ignition Partners and startups like Uber and SoFi. Maltz said IVP is hoping to spend more capital on female entrepreneurs and bring more diversity to venture and tech.“More diverse teams and more diverse boards lead to better company performance,” Maltz said. “Our returns are based on performance. We believe investing in diversity will enhance our returns.”Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venture-ivp/veteran-silicon-valley-venture-capital-firm-raises-1-5-billion-fund-idUSKCN1C11CG'|'2017-09-26T19:13:00.000+03:00'
'48134e0e11998f098421f2d56f89babf87763686'|'ECB may bring forward Greek bank stress test next year'|' 55 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago ECB may bring forward Greek bank stress test next year Reuters Staff 2 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank may bring forward its stress test of Greek banks next year, finalising data well before Greece is due to exit its three-year, 86 billion euro international bailout. A source told Reuters on Monday the test could be finalised in early May to ensure there would be plenty of time before the end of the bailout in August to recapitalise banks, should the exercise uncover any capital shortfall. The International Monetary Fund has been pushing for a fresh asset quality check at Greek banks, possibly as part of a bailout review that is slated to start soon, a suggestion the ECB, which supervises top Greek banks, has firmly rejected. But ECB President Mario Draghi, speaking to members of the European Parliament, hinted on Monday that the ECB is willing to exercise some flexibility with its timeline. “The SSM (Single Supervisory Mechanism) will take its decision with full independence,” Draghi said. “What the SSM plans to do next year is to have a stress test, possibly frontloading the stress test, and basically the SSM sent a letter to the IMF concerning exactly this expected line of action,” Draghi said. The source added that the ECB’s supervisory arm has not made a decision. Although no timeline has been published for EU-wide 2018 stress test, the last exercise was completed in late July. A similar end date for Greek banks this year would not leave enough time to fix potential problems. Greek banks have been recapitalised three times since the debt crisis exploded in 2010 but are still burdened by 100-plus billion euros of soured debt. Greece and its lenders hope that full market access will have been restored by the programme’s end next August so Greece will not need a fourth bailout and will be in a position to rely on market financing. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Additional reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-banks-ecb/ecb-may-bring-forward-greek-bank-stress-test-next-year-idUKKCN1C02GR'|'2017-09-25T19:54:00.000+03:00'
'3239179290dc7a486ac3ade867d39b2bf2fb77ff'|'Air Berlin says on way to securing jobs with Lufthansa, easyJet bids'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:19 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Air Berlin says on way to securing jobs with Lufthansa, easyJet bids Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Trustee Lucas Floether (L-R) and Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of insolvent German airline Air Berlin hold a news conference in Berlin, Germany September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos BERLIN (Reuters) - Insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) said there were good prospects of repaying a government loan and for 80 percent of its staff to secure jobs if bids for parts of its business from Lufthansa and easyJet go ahead. Air Berlin, which has around 8,000 employees, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad said it would stop providing funding. The German government stepped in with a 150 million euro ($178.2 million) loan to prevent the airline being grounded so that talks could be held on selling its assets. Germany’s second largest airline said on Monday that Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) bid was for units including leisure airline Niki and regional carrier LGW plus other parts, while easyJet ( EZJ.L ) had bid for parts of the fleet. Related Coverage Securing jobs must be top priority for Air Berlin: German minister “We are on the way to giving around 80 percent of our colleagues a good chance of new jobs with the bidders,” Air Berlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann said in a statement. Talks are due to continue until Oct 12. A source has said Lufthansa’s bid is for around 200 million euros ($237 million), plus a further 100 million to meet operating costs during a transition phase. Employees of insolvent German airline Air Berlin protest before an Air Berlin news conference in Berlin, Germany September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos Air Berlin said the parties had agreed not to disclose the purchase price. It hopes the EU will approve the carve-up by the end of the year. Administrator Frank Kebekus said flight operations had to be kept stable to bring talks to a successful conclusion, repeating comments made after the airline’s operations were hit by a wave of sickness-related absences among pilots earlier this month. Slideshow (4 Images) However, Air Berlin said Monday it was halting long-haul flights from Oct 15 after lessors recalled planes. It is also stopping flights from Munich to Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn from Sept. 29 and said more would follow. Lufthansa shares hit 23.485 euros on Monday, their highest level since early 2001, on hopes it would pick up some of Air Berlin’s most attractive assets and strengthen its position in Germany. IAG also made a binding bid for part of Air Berlin but boss Willie Walsh said he expected it would go to Lufthansa. Lufthansa has said it expects to take on 3,000 new employees to grow as a result of the gap left by the Air Berlin insolvency. Lufthansa’s budget unit Eurowings on Monday extended a recruitment drive, saying it now had over 1,000 open positions, including for 300 pilots, 500 cabin crew and more than 200 ground staff jobs. Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/air-berlin-says-on-way-to-securing-jobs-with-lufthansa-easyjet-bids-idUKKCN1C01T8'|'2017-09-25T17:30:00.000+03:00'
'816cee04f367af328fa35302adafe071b519b51d'|'Oaktree''s CEO sees room to invest in India, China ''more aggressively'''|'HONG KONG, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Oaktree Capital Group LLC sees opportunities to invest “more aggressively” in Chinese and Indian distressed debt as the legal and regulatory systems of the countries develop, Chief Executive Jay Wintrob said on Monday.“These are countries where the legal system, the bankruptcy code, the sanctimony of the rule of law are still under development, in a very positive way, by the way, especially in China,” Wintrob said at a news conference.“As those institutions develop and the predictability of the outcomes, their willingness to uphold the priority of creditors vis-à-vis one another, you will see more opportunities to invest, to invest more aggressively.”The company has invested in Chinese non-performing loans (NPLs), Japanese equities as well as Australian private equity and distressed debt, and was looking to make inroads in India. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/oaktree-cap-grp-asia/oaktrees-ceo-sees-room-to-invest-in-india-china-more-aggressively-idUSL4N1M61DO'|'2017-09-25T07:54:00.000+03:00'
'21b0707a74e706b05fb534591fe68955a48f11e3'|'UBS CEO sees room for banking M&A in Italy and Europe'|'FILE PHOTO: CEO Sergio Ermotti of Swiss bank UBS awaits the annual shareholder meeting in Basel, Switzerland May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann MILAN (Reuters) - There is room for consolidation in the banking sector both in Italy and in Europe, UBS ( UBSG.S ) Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said on Tuesday, adding political and regulatory authorities would support the process.“Political and regulatory willingness (to allow banking mergers) are coming,” Ermotti told a banking conference in Milan organized by Bloomberg.Attending the same event, Mediobanca ( MDBI.MI ) CEO Alberto Nagel said he saw room for consolidation “not now, but in 18 months” among Tier 2 banks, while Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) Chairman Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said banking consolidation in Italy “had to happen” because the market there was too fragmented.Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; writing by Francesca Landini '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-banks-ubs-ceo/ubs-ceo-sees-room-for-banking-ma-in-italy-and-europe-idUSKCN1C112E'|'2017-09-26T17:44:00.000+03:00'
'9a43da7474e54cc6b01f57ed2b469f1953a537cc'|'Global banks sharpen focus on yuan offerings as China''s Silk Road fuels demand'|'September 26, 2017 / 8:00 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Global banks sharpen focus on yuan offerings as China''s Silk Road fuels demand Sumeet Chatterjee 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: HSBC headquarters is seen at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Global banks including Citigroup ( C.N ) and HSBC ( HSBA.L ) are boosting their staff and presence for offerings in yuan -- from capital market solutions to hedging -- as China’s drive to build a modern Silk Road fuels demand. The push rides on hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping’s policy of building a Silk Road to expand global trade and influence of China will accelerate the internationalisation of yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB). The Chinese currency’s ranking as a world payment currency fell to sixth in June from fifth two years ago, according to industry tracker SWIFT, as capital outflow curbs take some shine off the yuan. However, bankers believe Chinese firms’ aggressive expansion in countries from Vietnam to Belgium could reverse this trend as such businesses demand products and services denominated in their home currency. “As our clients increase their operations across the BRI (Belt and Road) countries ... we are seeing a pick-up in demand for RMB,” said Rajesh Mehta, Citi’s Asia Pacific treasury and trade solutions head. Citi is planning to add 25 staff to work in eight key trade corridors over the next one year under the Belt and Road programme, some of them redeployed from other parts of Asia Pacific to South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan and Hong Kong. Its yuan-linked services include trade finance, hedging, cash management, and capital markets solutions in most of the 58 markets across the Belt and Road countries. It also has nine China-specific business desks along the Silk Road corridor. FILE PHOTO: People walk past a branch of Citibank in Beijing, China, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Unveiled in 2013, the Belt and Road project is aimed at connecting China’s economy by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Central Asia, and beyond to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Chinese acquisitions in the 68 countries officially linked to the initiative are soaring and totalled $33 billion (£24.5 billion) in the year to mid-August, surpassing the $31 billion tally for all of 2016. Standard Chartered has set up a “core team” in China for Belt and Road projects, and is also building a team of “corridor bankers” along the main Belt and Road trading routes including in Europe, said its global head of RMB solutions Carmen Ling. Although HSBC and other global banks have used the Silk Road in advertising and speak enthusiastically of leveraging the network, analysts say foreign banks would find it harder to compete with Chinese banks for yuan loans due to higher costs of funding. Therefore, global banks are expected to vie for a bigger share of the yuan-denominated fee income-based products and services by beefing up their expertise and resources in that segment, they said. To tap that, HSBC, which makes more than half of its profits in Asia, is relying on its 24 China-dedicated business desks across the globe and has started hiring Chinese-speaking staff in client facing teams in Europe. “The majority of the capital and trade transactions are in U.S. dollars along the Belt and Road corridor now, but we are now seeing a pickup in usage of RMB,” said Vina Cheung, global head of RMB internationalisation at HSBC. “We are hiring in the way we have right resources to support that growth.” Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Additional reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Sam Holmes '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-silkroad-banks/global-banks-sharpen-focus-on-yuan-offerings-as-chinas-silk-road-fuels-demand-idUKKCN1C10T9'|'2017-09-26T11:00:00.000+03:00'
'80fade11e675acbd8be123818adf0f1f0eb236e4'|'Major companies pledge $300 mln to boost U.S. youth computer science'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A group of major companies led by the technology industry announced plans Tuesday to commit more than $300 million over five years to boost computer science programs among younger students.Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc , Microsoft Corp, and Salesforce.com Inc announced in Detroit they are committing $50 million for kindergarten through 12th grade educational efforts, the Internet Association, a trade group representing tech companies that helped organize the effort said.Lockheed Martin Corp agreed to commit $25 million, Accenture more than $10 million, General Motors Co $10 million and Pluralsight $10 million, the group said.“It’s essential that the public and private sectors work together to ensure all American students have the opportunity to learn computer science and take part in the fastest growing sector of our economy,” Michael Beckerman, who heads the Internet Association, said.White House advisor Ivanka Trump said in a statement that given the growing role of technology across all sectors of American industry, it was vital that students became fluent in coding and computer science.According to Code.org, a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, there are more than 500,000 open computing jobs, but only 50,000 computer science graduates each year. Less than half of schools in the U.S. offer computer science courses.Microsoft said Tuesday the number of unfilled computing jobs was expected to be over 1.7 million jobs by the end of next year.On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an order directing the Education Department to set a goal of devoting at least $200 million per year in grant funds toward improving computer science for younger students, but did not identify a funding source for the grants. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-computers/major-companies-pledge-300-mln-to-boost-u-s-youth-computer-science-idINL2N1M712L'|'2017-09-26T13:45:00.000+03:00'
'797c3ea1537c8fe85a9ee02557a53529bd94142b'|'At U.N., Britain to push internet firms to remove extremist content quicker'|'September 20, 2017 / 4:02 AM / Updated an hour ago At U.N., Britain to push internet firms to remove extremist content quicker Michelle Nichols 3 Min Read UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The leaders of Britain, France and Italy will push social media companies on Wednesday to remove “terrorist content” from the internet within one to two hours of it appearing because they say that is the period when most material is spread. British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni will raise the issue at an event on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. Twitter Inc, Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc’s Google are among the companies due to attend, the British U.N. mission said. The European Union has threatened legislation if they do not step up efforts to police what is available on the web. The British U.N. mission said May will welcome progress, but urge companies to go “further and faster” to stop groups like Islamic State spreading material that promotes extremism or shows how to make bombs or attack pedestrians with vehicles. “Terrorist groups are aware that links to their propaganda are being removed more quickly, and are placing a greater emphasis on disseminating content at speed in order to stay ahead,” May plans to tell the event. “Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online, and developing technological solutions which prevent it being uploaded in the first place,” she will say. Responding to pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks, key firms created the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in June to share technical solutions for removing extremist content and work more with counter-terrorism experts. Twitter said it had removed 299,649 accounts in the first half of this year for the “promotion of terrorism”, a 20 percent decline from the previous six months, although it gave no reason for the drop. Three-quarters of those accounts were suspended before posting their first tweet. May said ahead of Wednesday’s event: “We need a fundamental shift in the scale and nature of our response – both from industry and governments – if we are to match the evolving nature of terrorists’ use of the internet.” (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Tait)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/internet-extremists/at-u-n-britain-to-push-internet-firms-to-remove-extremist-content-quicker-idUSL2N1M104X'|'2017-09-20T07:01:00.000+03:00'
'840e1283295baac9a1f4125603a9384f92f0aaa3'|'Glencore strikes multi-year purchase deal with Angola LNG'|'  11:24 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Glencore strikes multi-year purchase deal with Angola LNG Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann LONDON (Reuters) - Trading house Glencore ( GLEN.L ) is to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Angola LNG over a multi-year period, adding to similar recent deals between the producer and traders including Vitol [VITOLV.UL]. Angola LNG on Wednesday said the deal was another step towards building its sales book with the most important players in the LNG market. Last month it sold LNG to Vitol over a multi-year period and also entered a sales deal with the trading arm of Germany’s RWE ( RWEG.DE ). Until recently, Angola has been selling all of its LNG via competitive tenders in the spot market, partly because a previous plan to ship LNG to the United States fell through because of the U.S. shale gas boom. Concerns over the Angola LNG plant’s reliability as well as limitations on feed gas supplies from offshore fields also prevented the Chevron-led project from previously locking in an LNG sales deal. Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; Editing by David Goodman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-angola-glencore-lng/glencore-strikes-multi-year-purchase-deal-with-angola-lng-idUKKCN1BV1EY'|'2017-09-20T14:24:00.000+03:00'
'3d8e8ca355686e217f9b0ef1197ac87e81ff3f92'|'Euro zone catches up with U.S. as global growth gets more in sync - OECD'|'  9:08 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Euro zone catches up with U.S. as global growth gets more in sync - OECD Leigh Thomas 3 Min Read The skyline with its characteristic banking towers is pictured during sun down after a sunny spring day in Frankfurt, Germany, April 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach PARIS (Reuters) - Growth rates among the world’s major economies are synchronising at levels not seen in years as the euro zone catches up with United States, the OECD said on Wednesday in an update of its forecasts. The global economy is set for growth this year of 3.5 percent before reaching 3.7 percent next year, up marginally from estimates in June and the best rate since 2011, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said. “We’ve got some short-term momentum, it’s become broad-based and one way to measure that is to look around the world and see nobody is contracting for the first time since 2008,” OECD chief economist Catherine Mann said. “We know that a synchronised upturn is an important signal for businesses to invest,” Mann told Reuters in an interview. The Paris-based policy forum raised its outlook for euro zone growth this year to 2.1 percent, up from 1.8 percent the last time the OECD issued forecasts and putting it on par with the United States, whose forecast of 2.1 percent was unchanged. Erstwhile euro zone laggards France and Italy were among the main drivers for this brighter outlook. French growth this year was revised up to 1.7 percent from 1.3 percent previously, while Italian growth was bumped up to 1.4 percent from 1.0 percent. Not even a 13-percent increase in the euro’s strength against the dollar since the start of the year would knock back euro zone growth as firm global demand drove exports, Mann said. BRITAIN OUTCLASSED BY EURO ZONE Outclassed by a resurgent euro zone, Britain would lag all major economies with growth of only 1.6 percent this year - no better nor worse than estimated in June - as it struggled to get to grips with its exit from the European Union. On monetary policy, the OECD said the U.S Federal Reserve should stick to gradually raising interest rates and soon start reining in its balance sheet. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank should keep trimming its assets purchases before phasing out its negative interest rates. But central banks would need a strategy rethink if exuberant financial markets stumbled and inflation targets continued to prove elusive. Among the major economies not within the 35-nation OECD, India was a rarity in seeing its estimates cut. India’s growth estimate was cut to 6.7 percent from 7.3 percent previously, due to the impact of reforms on goods and services tax. China, on the other hand, was looking stronger with its growth revised up to 6.8 percent for 2017 and 6.6 percent for 2018. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oecd-economy/euro-zone-catches-up-with-u-s-as-global-growth-gets-more-in-sync-oecd-idUKKCN1BV0ZG'|'2017-09-20T12:08:00.000+03:00'
'8b522530c14525b52b83fd10ffaff36205c6b7f9'|'Uniper CEO slams ''hostile'' Fortum offer, rejected bid in July'|'DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German energy group Uniper ( UN01.DE ) views as “hostile” last week’s takeover approach by Finnish peer Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ), its chief executive said on Monday, adding it came after a previous bid that Uniper rejected after a careful examination.“This is a hostile push from Fortum,” Klaus Schaefer said in his first interview after Fortum last week said it was in advanced talks to buy E.ON’s ( EONGn.DE ) 46.65 percent in Uniper for 22 euros per share, or 3.8 billion euros ($4.52 billion).Schaefer said this was the second attempt by Fortum to buy Uniper following a 19 euros-per-share bid in late July for the whole group.Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-oyj/uniper-ceo-slams-hostile-fortum-offer-rejected-bid-in-july-idINKCN1C0229'|'2017-09-25T12:40:00.000+03:00'
'11832e476e109627edd86850638b86f30ee1045f'|'Louis Dreyfus shareholders agree to arbitration over stake sale: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: Olympique de Marseille''s majority owner, billionaire businesswoman Margarita Louis-Dreyfus attends a news conference in the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille, France, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Laurenson AMSTERDAM/PARIS (Reuters) - Family shareholders of commodity trader Louis Dreyfus [AKIRAU.UL] have agreed to arbitration talks to settle a long-running dispute over a share sale, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.The tussle concerns an attempt by minority shareholders to sell nearly 17 percent of the group’s holding firm to Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who took over the 166-year-old trading house after her husband died in 2009 and controls around 80 percent of the business.The matter is significant for the group, which had sales of $50 billion in 2016, as it could force the majority shareholder to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase the shares, after a period of falling profits for Louis Dreyfus and other traders of agricultural goods.The minority shareholders asked in September 2015 to sell 16.6 percent of Louis Dreyfus Holding B.V., under a long-term agreement giving them an option to sell shares to Russian-born Margarita Louis-Dreyfus. However, the parties have disagreed over the valuation of the stake.Louis Dreyfus Holding lost a court case in Amsterdam seeking to block the appointment of an arbitration expert at the International Chamber of Commerce.An appeal by Louis Dreyfus against that decision had been due to be heard last Friday but was canceled, a court official said.“Louis Dreyfus has withdrawn the case and an expert has been appointed (for arbitration),” said a source speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement is confidential. “The case is finished.”Louis Dreyfus Holding agreed to pay legal fees to cover the court proceedings, the source said.All shareholders either declined comment or could not be reached for comment. The lawyers representing the parties and the International Chamber of Commerce, which will oversee the arbitration proceedings, declined to comment.VALUATION The terms of the put option held by the minority shareholders states that they should receive the highest of either the equity value of the shares based on the holding firm’s latest financial report, or fair market value determined by an expert.Louis Dreyfus Holding’s most recent annual report indicates total equity of $4.92 billion, which would value a 16.6 percent stake at about $817 million.The Louis Dreyfus commodities trading group in 2016 reported a second year of lower core profits but said it expected restructuring to help its results this year.Margarita Louis-Dreyfus married Robert Louis-Dreyfus in 1992 and the couple had three sons. She took over as chairman of the company, founded in eastern France in 1851, after he died of leukemia.Additional reporting by Christine Prentice in New York; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-louisdreyfus-shareholders/louis-dreyfus-shareholders-agree-to-arbitration-over-stake-sale-sources-idINKCN1C119S'|'2017-09-26T09:06:00.000+03:00'
'c0a3562ae641e4b648f7cc4bf682f3580a70b617'|'Former Airbus UK chief Paul Kahn joins Cobham in senior role'|'September 26, 2017 / 6:30 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Former Airbus UK chief Paul Kahn joins Cobham in senior role Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Paul Kahn, former President of Airbus Group UK attends the Confederation of British Industry''s (CBI) annual conference in London, November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON (Reuters) - British defence supplier Cobham ( COB.L ) on Tuesday named Paul Kahn, the former Airbus UK boss, as president of its communications and connectivity sector. Cobham said Kahn, who stepped down as head of Airbus UK in July as part of a corporate shake-up, will take up his new job on Oct. 2. Michel Emelianoff, who currently holds the role, will leave Cobham by the end of the calendar year, following a handover period. Reuters reported on Sept. 21 that Kahn was set to join Cobham to help Chief Executive David Lockwood lead a turnaround of the firm. Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cobham-moves/former-airbus-uk-chief-paul-kahn-joins-cobham-in-senior-role-idUKKCN1C10LG'|'2017-09-26T09:30:00.000+03:00'
'de3f464354b165b1b3414a630f33dbc608a5f111'|'BOJ July minutes - Board members seek to stay with current framework'|'September 26, 2017 / 12:14 AM / Updated 8 hours ago BOJ wants to stick with current policy, faces growing doubts Stanley White 2 Min Read A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan policymakers said they should stick with their current policy framework and had reason to be optimistic about consumer prices because measures of inflation expectations have stopped falling, minutes of the central bank’s July 19-20 meeting showed on Tuesday. The BOJ kept monetary policy on hold at the meeting in July but pushed back the timing of its inflation target for the sixth time since Governor Haruhiko Kuroda launched quantitative easing in 2013. Policymakers’ optimism about achieving their inflation target is unlikely to quell concern that BOJ needs to change its policy stance because it has so far failed to boost prices. “Most members shared the view that, although the recent developments in CPI had been relatively weak, the year-on-year rate of change was likely to continue on an uptrend and increase toward 2 percent, mainly on the back of the improvement in the output gap and the rise in medium- to long-term inflation expectations,” the minutes said. A few members argued Japan’s jobless rate and output gap needed to improve even further to build the economic momentum needed to reach the BOJ’s 2 percent inflation target, the minutes showed. The BOJ now expects inflation to reach 2 percent sometime in the fiscal year ending in March 2020. The BOJ has postponed the price target timeframe six times since Kuroda launched his massive asset-buying programme in 2013. The BOJ will publish new forecasts at its next meeting ending Oct. 31. The central bank could come under pressure to either ease policy further or come up with a new framework if it were to push back the timing of its price target yet again. At a subsequent meeting on Sept. 20-21, one new member on the BOJ’s board opposed the central bank’s decision to keep monetary policy on hold, arguing that the current framework was not sufficient to generate inflation. Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Eric Meijer '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-minutes/boj-july-minutes-board-members-seek-to-stay-with-current-framework-idUKKCN1C100G'|'2017-09-26T03:14:00.000+03:00'
'1bca7382a91efe553b83d355fcf501d65f23e067'|'Brexit blues drive EU bank watchdog''s London staff for exit'|'Chairperson of European Banking Authority (EBA) Andrea Enria attends a debate with the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 26, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union’s London-based banking watchdog has lost nearly a tenth of its staff in just two months as fewer people apply for jobs and more leave because of Brexit.From its base in Canary Wharf, one of London’s two main business districts, the European Banking Authority is responsible for fleshing out the bloc’s banking laws.The EU will decide in November where the EBA’s new home will be after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019 and its chair Andrea Enria hopes this will finally lift the uncertainty which has hung over the agency since last year’s Brexit vote.“We have not received the same amount of job applications that we used to receive,” Enria told the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit in London.“What is concerning me the most now is that we are seeing a pick-up in exits from the authority. Since the beginning of July we have had 15 exits, which is 8 percent of our staff.”Rather than wait to see which of eight EU states wins the trophy of housing the EBA, some staff are already leaving for the private sector.Finding staff in a “shrinking pool” has also become harder for the EBA as banking regulators across Europe are recruiting to handle a deluge of licence applications by banks which are having to relocate some operations due to Brexit.“We have had a few cases in which we have been unable to close positively the selection process, but in general the quality of applications remains very high and we have managed to fill most vacancies in a satisfactory way,” Enria said.“The impact is still manageable.”EBA employs 185 people and a decision in November would allow Enria to “better understand” staff intentions and launch a recruitment process to create a reserve list to ensure a smooth transition to the new location, even if more people leave.“Also, we need sufficient time between the decision and its actual execution, to reduce as much as possible the impact on the staff and to manage a rather complex procedure to select the new office space,” said Enria, whose term ends in 2021.There is also a battle among EU states to be the new home of the European Medicines Agency when it too must leave its base a few metres away from the EBA after Brexit.The drugs watchdog said on Tuesday it could lose up to 70 percent of staff if politicians pick the wrong new home for it.Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/summit-regulation-enria-relocation/brexit-blues-drive-eu-bank-watchdogs-london-staff-for-exit-idINKCN1C12FX'|'2017-09-26T20:04:00.000+03:00'
'825add2d8b96dec89dec8c62d476992b92d43874'|'Nestle sets formal margin goal, confirms growth target'|'September 26, 2017 / 5:31 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Nestle targets profit margin to satisfy investor hunger Martinne Geller , Silke Koltrowitz 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Nestle CEO Ulf Mark Schneider (L) attends the Nestle shareholders meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle ( NESN.S ) set a profit margin target for the first time on Tuesday, responding to an industry slowdown and pressure from activist investor Third Point for greater near-term returns from the world’s largest packaged food company. Shares in Nestle rose 1.8 percent as the market applauded a plan shareholders said struck a balance between profit and growth, while allowing the Swiss company to invest in an uncertain future in which smaller brands are able to gain scale quickly and more shopping gets done online. Investors were looking for Nestle’s new chief executive Mark Schneider to demonstrate that it has a strong strategy to improve performance following four years of missing sales targets as the food sector’s growth cools. While many multinationals turned to cost-cutting, inspired by industry-leading margins at Kraft-Heinz ( KHC.O ), Nestle and rival Unilever ( ULVR.L ) had argued that cutting too deep to deliver margin growth is a short-term solution. But Unilever altered its stance after February’s unexpected takeover bid from Kraft-Heinz, adopting a margin target of 20 percent by 2020 and Nestle has now moved in that direction, setting a margin target of 17.5 to 18.5 percent by 2020, up from 16 percent in 2016. U.S. activist hedge fund Third Point, which in June revealed it had a $3.5 billion (2.60 billion pounds) Nestle stake, had urged it to target 18-20 percent. “The pace of change has picked up. We need to execute faster than before,” Schneider said at his first investor seminar since becoming CEO in January. “Things will change but the way we approach business will not change.” “This company got, for a reason, to the leadership position it has today, and it is hell-bent on not losing it,” he said. Related Coverage The German and American dual citizen repeated Nestle’s goal to reach mid-single digit organic sales growth by 2020, likening pursuing sales and margin growth to “going for a run and a diet at the same time”. It was unlikely the new margin target would be followed by another higher one, he added. “While the targets offered for margins and sales growth didn’t set our pulse racing, we felt there was some proper rigour behind those targets,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets, who were already factoring in a margin of 17.6 percent by 2020, said, adding they were sticking to an “outperform” rating and an 83 Swiss francs price target. Thomas Russo, a Nestle shareholder for more than 30 years whose firm has a stake worth more than $1 billion, said the target was enough to quieten calls for change. FILE PHOTO: Kit Kat chocolate bars are pictured in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo “It gives them the ability to stay at work without having the distraction of whether they’ll concede a margin guidance, but at the same time not burden themselves from making the kind of bold investments that are required to deliver long-term value,” Russo, of Gardner Russo & Gardner, said. Not all shareholders think Nestle needs to follow the extreme cost-cutting that has earned Kraft Heinz and Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ) margins higher than peers. ”Nestle has done a good job being Nestle. It doesn’t need to be 3G,” Mark Grammer, portfolio manager at Toronto-based Gluskin Sheff, said, referring to 3G Capital, which controls both companies. Grammer has held Nestle shares for over 20 years, but did not disclose the size of the stake. ‘GREAT JOB’ FILE PHOTO - A Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo The investor day in central London was highly anticipated given the track record of Schneider, Nestle’s first external CEO in nearly a century, and the arrival of Third Point, which is known for campaigns at other companies. Third Point declined to comment on Nestle’s target, but did compliment its executives, saying a lot of work went into the presentations. “You did a great job,” its head Dan Loeb told Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger. Nestle said strong cash generation would let it spread its share buyback programme of up to 20 billion Swiss francs ($21 billion) evenly over three years. It had earlier said it would be backloaded to 2019 and 2020 to preserve cash for M&A. In recent months Nestle has bought into U.S. food delivery business Freshly, Sweet Earth meatless food and Blue Bottle Coffee and Schneider said it would keep identifying opportunities as well making divestments. He noted that 10 percent of Nestle’s group sales could be ripe for portfolio adjustment, while confirming Nestle remains committed to frozen food and saying Nestle’s view on its 23 percent stake in L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ), worth more than 23 billion euros, had not changed. Third Point called for the company to sell its stake and last week’s death of L‘Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt rekindled speculation of changes. Nestle has identified four areas which already account for 53 percent of sales - coffee, pet care, infant nutrition and bottled water - as key areas for investment. It will also pursue consumer healthcare, in an effort to expand in pharmacies and drug stores and boost margins. Editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir/Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nestle-investors/nestle-sets-formal-margin-goal-confirms-growth-target-idUKKCN1C10GS'|'2017-09-26T08:31:00.000+03:00'
'0b0f6daa21db63b37752d94014386a429281f5e5'|'Disney tests new store design as shoppers go online'|'  7:07 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago Disney tests new store design as shoppers go online Lisa Richwine 3 Min Read Mickey Mouse themed items are pictured at a Disney Store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ) is testing the first major redesign of its retail stores in seven years, adding interactive experiences and live streams of theme park parades to lure consumers tempted by online shopping. The world’s largest entertainment company also is launching a new shopping website on Tuesday, executives said in interviews. It is another response to the decline in visits to brick-and-mortar stores across the retail industry. Sales of toys, clothing and other merchandise are one way Disney generates revenue from its popular characters and inspires loyalty among fans. Disney’s physical stores are an important part of those sales. ”We knew we needed to elevate and improve the experiences that we have both in stores and online as retail is changing,” Paul Gainer, executive vice president of Disney retail, said in an interview at one of the two California locations testing the new approach. Mickey Mouse themed items are pictured at a Disney Store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Disney has grown and shrunk its network of retail stores over the years, and at one point sold off its U.S. and Canadian locations. It bought the stores back in 2008 and now operates 340 retail stores around the world. In the newly designed stores, kids can battle Darth Vader on a giant video screen, or interact with other characters from the Disney, Pixar, “Star Wars” and Marvel franchises. Store employees can tailor experiences for children celebrating a birthday, a good report card or another milestone. The same screen will show live feeds of parades at Disney theme parks. Slideshow (12 Images) The revamped stores feature a smaller collection of products, with employees and signs directing shoppers to a much broader array for all ages on Disney’s website. The online selection at shopDisney.com includes new products for adults from luxury brands such as Coach Inc ( COH.N ) and Ethan Allen Interiors ( ETH.N ), and more of the exclusive items sold at Disney’s theme parks. The stores and website have been designed to highlight Disney’s four major franchises. The idea is being tested at the two California stores as well as in Nagoya, Japan, and Shanghai. Locations in Munich and Miami will be redesigned later this year. The retail spaces also have a new look that includes lower fixtures that make them feel more open. Disney’s retail stores are part of its consumer products and interactive division, which generated $1.4 billion in operating income in the nine months through July 1, or 11 percent of the company’s total. Disney does not provide details on store revenue. Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-disney-stores/disney-tests-new-store-design-as-shoppers-go-online-idUSKCN1C10NR'|'2017-09-26T10:05:00.000+03:00'
'cb037290b7e5452245a1359864d90f14aafc1b68'|'Thomas Cook enters into hotel partnership with LMEY, outlook unchanged'|'Reuters TV United States September 26, 2017 / 6:30 AM / a few seconds ago Thomas Cook enters into hotel partnership with LMEY, outlook unchanged Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Tour operator Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ) said on Tuesday it had entered into a strategic partnership with Switzerland’s LMEY Investments to grow its own-brand hotel portfolio, as it confirmed its full-year outlook. The partnership follows an alliance with Expedia ( EXPE.O ) to make the online travel company its preferred provider of hotels for certain holiday sales. Thomas Cook also said that its Chief Financial Officer Michael Healy had decided to retire, and would be replaced by director of financial reporting Bill Scott. The company said that summer trading was closing out as expected and its full-year earnings outlook was unchanged. Reporting by Alistair Smout, Editing by Paul Sandle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thomas-cook-grp-outlook/thomas-cook-enters-into-hotel-partnership-with-lmey-outlook-unchanged-idUKKCN1C10LI'|'2017-09-26T09:24:00.000+03:00'
'66d40e693aadf41a5f1684e7b062cc7415220ede'|'ADB keeps Asia 2017 growth outlook at 5.9 percent, flags risks from Fed unwinding'|'September 26, 2017 / 1:58 AM / Updated 7 hours ago ADB keeps Asia 2017 growth outlook at 5.9 percent, flags risks from Fed unwinding Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Cranes are seen on top of a skyscraper that is under construction in Beijing, China August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter MANILA (Reuters) - Developing Asia is on track to grow faster this year and next, the Asian Development Bank said on Tuesday, buoyed by a pick-up in world trade and China’s expansion, but it flagged risks from tightening U.S. monetary policy. Developing Asia is expected to grow by 5.9 and 5.8 percent in 2017 and 2018, respectively, the Manila-based lender said. That is unchanged from its July estimates, but higher than the 5.7 percent forecast it gave for both years in its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) released in April. China is expected to grow 6.7 percent this year and 6.4 percent next year, the ADB said, unchanged from its July estimates. “Growth prospects for developing Asia are looking up, bolstered by a revival in world trade and strong momentum in PRC(China),” ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada in a statement after the bank updated its 2017 outlook. Sawada said developing Asia should take advantage of favorable short-term economic prospects to invest in infrastructure, improve productivity and maintain sound economic policies to lift long-term growth. However, the ADB trimmed its growth forecast for South Asia to 6.7 percent this year and 7.0 percent next year, compared with estimates of 7.0 percent and 7.2 percent made in July. India’s growth was seen at 7.0 percent and 7.4 percent for this year and next, weaker than the July forecasts of 7.4 percent and 7.6 percent. Southeast Asia’s economy will grow 5.0 percent this year and 5.1 percent next year, stronger than July forecasts of 4.8 percent and 5.0 percent. Still, the ADB said regional policymakers need to brace for potential capital outflows and higher borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve begins the unwinding of a decade of aggressive monetary stimulus and continues to raise interest rates. “Because long-term interest rates in many Asian economies are closely linked to those in the U.S., policymakers need to strengthen their financial positions further and monitor debt levels and asset prices,” the ADB said. The ADB said Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan could benefit from a boost in accommodative policy, but intensifying inflationary pressures make the case for stimulus in the Philippines and South Korea less clear. Inflation in the region was forecast to be slightly slower at 2.4 percent this year and 2.9 percent next year, compared with the 2.6 percent and 3.0 percent estimated in July. Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-asia-economy-adb/adb-keeps-asia-2017-growth-outlook-at-5-9-percent-flags-risks-from-fed-unwinding-idUKKCN1C105O'|'2017-09-26T04:50:00.000+03:00'
'2ffb54b84627cd0ac1d690060af91b83af02aac6'|'Equifax CEO retires following massive cyber attack'|'(Reuters) - Equifax Inc ( EFX.N ) said on Tuesday that Chief Executive Richard Smith would leave the company and forgo this year’s bonus as criticism mounts over a massive cyber attack that has plunged the credit-monitoring firm into crisis.Smith’s departure is the latest development following Equifax’s Sept. 7 disclosure of the breach, which has prompted investigations by multiple federal and state agencies, including a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice.Some observers said the move was a positive first step, though several U.S. senators looking into the cyber attack said the departure failed to remedy damage to the up to 143 million Americans whose data was compromised.“A failure of this magnitude must have consequences,” said Paul Rosenzweig, a former Department of Homeland Security official who advises companies on cyber security. “If the Equifax CEO had retained his job, cyber security would be seen as a joke everywhere in corporate America.”Equifax said in a regulatory filing that it might claw back some of Smith’s compensation for this year, depending on results of the board’s investigation into the breach, which the Atlanta-based company has said occurred between mid-May and July.Smith is still eligible for $18.4 million in retirement benefits, regardless of the results of the internal probe.The company’s statement said that Smith, 57, had retired, though he and company representatives did not respond to requests to elaborate on the reason for his departure.“At this critical juncture, I believe it is in the best interests of the company to have new leadership to move the company forward,” Smith was Quote: d as saying in the statement.The breach has already prompted the departures of Equifax’s chief information officer and chief security officer, which were disclosed on Sept. 15.Some corporate governance experts said the board’s probe into the attack could lead to more changes at the helm of the company.“The board of directors and leadership has to figure out how much damage has been caused and what needs to be done. Maybe someone on the board needs to be removed,” said Brent Longnecker, head of compensation and corporate-governance consulting firm Longnecker & Associates.Equifax shares were down 0.7 percent in midday trade. They have fallen around 30 percent, losing about $4.5 billion in market value since the attack was disclosed amid criticism from consumers, politicians and security experts over the company’s response to the hack.Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/Files It is rare, but not unprecedented for a CEO to depart following a massive hack. Target Corp ( TGT.N ) CEO Gregg Steinhafel left the retailer in 2014 after a high-profile breach that exposed credit cards and data on tens of millions of shoppers.In this case, Equifax and Smith agreed to let company defer decisions related to “any obligations or benefits” owed to him until the board’s review of the breach is complete.Smith last year earned $14.96 million in total compensation.HEARINGS The company named Paulino do Rego Barros, 61, who was most recently president of Equifax’s Asia-Pacific operations, as interim CEO. Board member Mark Feidler was appointed non-executive chairman.Smith has been called to testify at several congressional hearings. Several lawmakers, including Democratic U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown said they still expected Smith to appear.“The American public deserves answers about what went wrong at Equifax and what the company plans to do going forward,” Warren said in a statement.A U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee spokeswoman said Smith would still testify at an Oct. 3 hearing. A Senate Banking Committee spokeswoman said that panel’s plans to hear from Smith on Oct. 4 have not changed.An Equifax spokeswoman said the company would continue to cooperate with lawmakers.Democratic Senator Mark Warner said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that the situation at Equifax was a “travesty” and Smith’s departure did not do enough to remedy the harm suffered by consumers.“I question if Equifax even has the right to continue providing these services,” said Warner, who co-chairs the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus.Three Equifax executives, including the chief financial officer, are also under fire for selling $1.8 million in stock three days after the company said it detected the breach on July 29.Equifax has said its executives were not aware of the breach when they sold their stock.Reporting by John McCrank in New York, Dustin Volz in Washinton; Additional reporting by Diane Bartz and Pete Schroeder in Washington, Ross Kerber in Boston, Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar, Meredith Mazzilli and Jim Finkle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/equifax-cyber-ceo/equifax-ceo-retires-following-massive-cyber-attack-idINKCN1C11PL'|'2017-09-26T16:11:00.000+03:00'
'c5d95623b68eba0b11544fe1c5408d1d34303b08'|'Russia''s En+ could launch IPO this week -sources'|'September 24, 2017 / 1:09 PM / Updated 40 minutes ago Russia''s En+ could launch IPO as soon as September 28 - sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - En+ Group, which manages Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s aluminium and hydropower businesses, could launch its initial public offering (IPO) as soon as Sept. 28, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. En+ owns assets in metals and energy, including a 48 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed Russian aluminium producer Rusal ( 0486.HK ), which is a big consumer of hydroelectricity produced by companies owned by En+. Preparation for an intention-to-float announcement, which usually starts the public marketing phase of an IPO, is well under way, one of the sources said, adding that a delay was still possible, subject to final decision. En+ declined to comment. Sources told Reuters in April that the initial valuation of the business would be up to $10 billion, a level some in the industry have said is too ambitious. En+ aims to raise about $1.5 billion from the possible IPO in London, Deripaska said in June. This is now more likely to be $1 billion, two of the sources said. China’s CEFC is considering investing in En+ as part of the IPO, industry sources told Reuters this month. (The story has been refiled to clarify the possible date of IPO launch in the headline.) Reporting by Clara Denina in London, Katya Golubkova and Polina Devitt in Moscow; Additional reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-en-ipo/russias-en-could-launch-ipo-this-week-sources-idUKKCN1BZ0DT'|'2017-09-24T16:09:00.000+03:00'
'e542a9f07efffbe221853dbcf0c7a57f7124620b'|'FINRA orders Morgan Stanley to pay $13 million in fines, restitution'|'Reuters TV United States   2:51 PM / a few seconds ago FINRA orders Morgan Stanley to pay $13 million in fines, restitution Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on the company''s world headquarters in New York, U.S. April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said on Monday it ordered Wall Street investment bank and securities brokerage Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) to pay $13 million in fines and restitution to clients for inadequately supervising certain short-term trades. FINRA, the securities industry’s self-regulator, said that between January 2012 and June 2015 hundreds of Morgan Stanley brokers advised thousands of clients to sell unit investment trusts before the product had matured and to roll the product over into a new one. Unit investment trusts, like mutual funds and closed-end funds, pay investors a return based on how the trust’s investments perform, and they are designed to be held for a certain amount of time after which they close. By selling an investor’s position in the trust early and rolling it over into a new trust, the client may pay higher sales charges over time, which FINRA said raises questions about how suitable the move is for the investor. The regulator pointed to some instances where Morgan Stanley brokers sold clients’ unit investment trusts less than 100 days before the fund’s end, and rolled the money over into new trusts. FINRA also found the brokerage did not adequately train supervisors to recognize unsuitable short-term training, and did not have a proper system in place to detect and stop the orders before execution. The regulator fined Morgan Stanley $3.25 million, and ordered that it pay clients $9.78 million in restitution. Morgan Stanley consented to FINRA’s findings but did not admit or deny the charges. In a statement from Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Margaret Draper the firm said it was pleased to cooperate with FINRA and that the matter was resolved. Morgan Stanley interviewed more than 65 employees as part of a firm-wide investigation into the accusations, FINRA said. Reporting By Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-morgan-stanley-finra-fine/finra-orders-morgan-stanley-to-pay-13-million-in-fines-restitution-idUKKCN1C023T'|'2017-09-25T17:45:00.000+03:00'
'e592ac20a14791d7317be7700d47939d9e1235b6'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint eases ahead of cbank swap tender; zloty hit by reform fears'|'By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The forint and zloty eased slightly on Monday ahead of a central bank (NBH) liquidity tender in Budapest and on worries over Poland''s judicial reforms, which have been criticised by European Union partners. Polish President Andrzej Duda is set to unveil his own proposals on Monday, which may be different from previously announced government plans, and a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels could add to pressure over measures that critics say will damage the rule of law in Poland. While equities mostly eased in Central Europe, traders did not see any significant impact from elections in Germany, the region''s biggest export market and a key power in the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in Sunday''s vote but will face tough coalition talks and harsh opposition criticism after support for the far-right surged. "That is not a reason for happiness, but overall there was no huge surprise and the euro/dollar cross has not changed much either," one fixed-income trader said in Budapest. "As long as there is no huge trouble about the coalition talks, any big impact is unlikely." The Hungarian forint tested four-month lows against the euro and was trading at 310.40 by 0838 GMT. In the short-term it could fall as low as 312, down from last-month''s 28-month highs beyond 302, another dealer said. The key factor is the monetary easing measures announced by the NBH last week, when it also cut its inflation forecasts, the dealer said. The measures, including a cut in the central bank''s overnight deposit rate, have pushed Hungarian debt yields to record lows, and short-term market interest rates to negative territory. The bank could pump further forint liquidity into domestic markets through its foreign exchange swap tenders on Monday. "The key thing is the one-year swaps amount ... If it is high, the yield on three-year bonds may fall to 0.35 percent from 0.4 in the secondary market now," the fixed-income trader said. The zloty eased by 0.1 percent to 4.2724 versus the euro. "Given the uncertain political situation in the country and in Germany, in the short term there is a risk of a slight increase in the EURPLN (zloty weakening)," ING analysts said in a note, adding that the currency could firm in the longer term. The Czech crown was steady at 26.036 against the euro ahead of the Czech central bank''s meeting on Wednesday. "The bank will wait on a further interest rate rise until November forecasts," CSOB analysts said in a note. "However, nobody will be left in doubt that further rate increases are really around the corner in light of fast economic and wage growth." CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1038 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.036 26.039 +0.01 3.73% 0 0 % Hungary 310.40 309.88 -0.17% -0.51% forint 00 00 Polish zloty 4.2724 4.2673 -0.12% 3.08% Romanian leu 4.5955 4.5983 +0.06 -1.32% % Croatian 7.4850 7.4845 -0.01% 0.94% kuna Serbian 119.55 119.40 -0.13% 3.18% dinar 00 00 Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1044.2 1046.5 -0.22% +13.3 4 1 1% Budapest 38118. 38178. -0.16% +19.1 49 63 1% Warsaw 2474.3 2480.7 -0.26% +27.0 8 3 3% Bucharest 7852.3 7848.1 +0.05 +10.8 8 0 % 3% Ljubljana 796.41 799.42 -0.38% +10.9 8% Zagreb 1823.1 1829.4 -0.34% -8.61% 5 2 Belgrade 725.66 725.19 +0.06 +1.16 % % Sofia 676.90 678.65 -0.26% +15.4 3% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.056 0.282 +074b +28bp ps s 5-year 0.227 0 +050b +1bps ps 10-year 1.126 0 +069b +2bps ps Poland 2-year 1.754 -0.038 +244b -4bps ps 5-year 2.647 -0.016 +292b +0bps ps 10-year 3.319 -0.023 +288b -1bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.69 0.85 0.94 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.02 0.09 0.12 0.05 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.77 1.79 1.87 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-forint-eases-ahead-of-cbank-swap-tender-zloty-hit-by-reform-fears-idINL8N1M61WX'|'2017-09-25T07:54:00.000+03:00'
'ccc3e128ae9f5125d3fcd4e2c056eda9ea808774'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Sept 25'|'ZURICH, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Here are some of the main factors that may affect Swiss stocks on Monday:ABB ABB has agreed to buy GE’s Industrial Solutions business for $2.6 billion to strengthen its number-two global position in electrificationROCHE Immunotherapy Tecentriq has won European Union approval for treating advanced lung and bladder cancer, the Swiss drugmaker said.For more news seeSWATCH The watch group posted “very positive” sales growth in September, continuing an upward trend since midyear, Chief Executive Nick Hayek told the Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper.CLARIANT The speciality chemicals maker ruled out trying to change the ratio of shares it would control in a merged entity with Huntsman Corp, Schweiz am Wochende cited a spokesman as saying, noting the partners’ binding merger agreement would not allow this.The Sonntagszeitung newspaper said a special shareholders meeting needed to approve the planned merger would likely take place between November and January, citing company comments to analysts.AXPO Power group Axpo is placed to raise extra capital within 12 months, Chief Executive Andrew Walo tells the Finanz und Witschaft newspaper. “We are keeping our options open to address various interested parties ranging from the existing owners up to the broad public via a public listing,” he is Quote: d as saying.WALTER MEIER The heating, ventilation and cooling group expects to make a profit this year and plans a steady dividend, Chief Executive Martin Kaufmann told the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.COMPANY STATEMENTS * Dufry said it won a new concession contract to operate two new duty free stores at the Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport.* Aryzta said it had agreed a 1.8 billion euro credit facility, said underlying full-year net profit decreased by 42.5 percent to 179.0 mln euros, and estimated FY18 EBITDA would be broadly in line with FY17 given the range of internal and external challengesECONOMY Swiss voters rejected raising women’s retirement age to 65 in a referendum on Sunday on shoring up the wealthy nation’s pension system as a wave of Baby Boomers stops working.Weekly data on sight deposits at the Swiss National Bank due at 0800 GMTSecond-quarter balance of payments data due at 0700 GMTReporting by Zurich newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks/swiss-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-25-idINL5N1M33QX'|'2017-09-25T02:34:00.000+03:00'
'27f7f862d7c076c28d7589debd3001033f7784e4'|'ECB''s Draghi growing confident about inflation rebound'|'European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is growing increasingly confident that inflation will rise back to its target, but patience is still needed, not least to make sure the economic recovery lasts, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Monday.Draghi singled out currency volatility as a source of uncertainty that required monitoring and argued that “ample” ECB accommodation was still needed, because a premature and hasty move could unravel its work.“Overall, we are becoming more confident that inflation will eventually head to levels in line with our inflation aim, but we also know that a very substantial degree of monetary accommodation is still needed for the upward inflation path to materialize,” Draghi said.“We also have to be sensitive to the danger of not halting a recovery through hasty monetary-policy decision making,” Draghi told the European Parliament’s committee on economic affairs in Brussels. “We can’t afford hasty moves.”Related Coverage ECB has ''comfortable margin'' before negative rate hurts lendingECB may bring forward Greek bank stress test next yearWith the euro zone economy now growing for the 17th straight quarter, the ECB is expected to wind down its stimulus efforts, starting next year, even if inflation looks to remain below the bank’s near 2 percent target for years to come.Indeed, policymakers speaking to Reuters said that the debate is now about the details of the policy shift, such as whether to keep its quantitative easing program open-ended or whether to signal an intent to phase out bond purchases.But any change is likely to be incremental. Many policymakers are arguing for a gradualist approach to stop the euro from gaining too much.European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi arrives to address the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir ”We still see some uncertainties with respect to the medium-term inflation outlook,“ Draghi said. ”Most notably, the recent volatility in the exchange rate represents a source of uncertainty which requires monitoring.“We therefore need to be patient and persistent.”Draghi also noted the effectiveness of the ECB’s corporate bond purchases, arguing that they have lowered borrowing costs across the board, helping small and medium-sized businesses gain access to cheaper funding.His support for corporate bond purchases may bolster calls to keep them going even if government bond buying is scaled back next year.Launched two and a half years ago, the ECB’s 2.3 trillion- euro bond-purchase scheme has depressed borrowing costs and helped revive spending and growth with the bloc creating over 7 million jobs since the worst days of Europe’s debt crisis.But inflation has been unexpectedly slow to respond, leaving the ECB with a dilemma. Keeping price growth just below 2 percent is its sole mandate; inflation was last at 1.5 percent.But much of its firepower has been exhausted, and the inflation shortfall is at least partly outside its control. That has led policymakers to call for giving inflation more time, accepting that lifting prices will take several years longer than initially hoped.Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa Editing by Jeremy Gaunt, Larry King '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-draghi/ecb-becoming-more-confident-about-inflation-rebound-draghi-idINKCN1C01TL'|'2017-09-25T16:38:00.000+03:00'
'0a1ccf76833ef3a3251fe64f9d448b8010b97f11'|'Bombardier slides on likely Siemens-Alstom deal; awaits Boeing ruling'|'TORONTO (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) shares extended their recent losses to hit a four-month low on Monday, following news that the train and plane maker likely will lose out to Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) in a rail deal with Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ).The company is also awaiting a U.S. trade court’s preliminary ruling, due on Monday, on Boeing’s complaint that Bombardier is dumping its new CSeries passenger jet in the U.S. aircraft market.Bombardier’s stock was down 3.1 percent at C$2.16 in Toronto.Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bombardier-hot/bombardier-slides-on-likely-siemens-alstom-deal-awaits-boeing-ruling-idINKCN1C01Y7'|'2017-09-25T12:05:00.000+03:00'
'6105405b266be9d2dcbfa54959945a33431a55a9'|'Arison in deal to sell 49 percent of Bank Hapoalim''s major shareholder'|'September 24, 2017 / 6:48 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Arison in deal to sell 49 percent of Bank Hapoalim''s major shareholder Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Shari Arison smiles during a visit to a community project in Jerusalem March 20, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Billionaire Shari Arison has signed a non-binding agreement to sell 49 percent of Arison Holdings, through which she holds a controlling 20 percent stake in Israel’s Bank Hapoalim ( POLI.TA ), to financial institutions in North America. Arison’s 20 percent share in Hapoalim, Israel’s biggest bank, is valued at 6.5 billion shekels (£1.3 billion). The price will be based on Arison Holdings’ equity based on a valuation for Hapoalim of 24.82 shekels a share, Arison Holdings said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Sunday. Arison said there was no certainty that a deal, which requires approval from the Bank of Israel, will be completed. Hapoalim’s shares closed at 24.13 shekels on Tuesday, the last day of trading before a Jewish holiday. Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Steven Scheer '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bank-hapoalim-arison/arison-in-deal-to-sell-49-percent-of-bank-hapoalims-major-shareholder-idUKKCN1BZ05Y'|'2017-09-24T09:49:00.000+03:00'
'8fc28d6892ffa69f30fbada855b4bea1beb50478'|'Uber ready to make concessions to reverse London licence decision-paper - Reuters'|'LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. taxi firm Uber is prepared to make concessions in order to reverse a decision by London authorities not to renew the company’s licence in the city, a newspaper reported.The Sunday Times said the concessions were likely to involve passenger safety and benefits for Uber’s drivers, possibly limits on working hours to improve road safety and holiday pay.“While we haven’t been asked to make any changes, we’d like to know what we can do,” Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London, told the newspaper. “But that requires a dialogue we sadly haven’t been able to have recently.”The Sunday Times Quote: d sources close to London’s transport body as saying the move was encouraging and suggested the possibility of talks. (Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Marguerita Choy)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uber-britain-report/uber-ready-to-make-concessions-to-reverse-london-licence-decision-paper-idINL5N1M40RN'|'2017-09-23T19:33:00.000+03:00'
'09818ea3d21c9be50bbebe6ada5a557f6c8616a5'|'Alibaba raising stake in Cainiao to majority, investing $15 billion to grow logistics'|'September 26, 2017 / 4:24 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago Alibaba takes control of logistics business, pledges $15 bln to expand network Kane Wu , Cate Cadell 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A logo of Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd is seen outside its industrial park in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ) has taken control of logistics unit Cainiao and pledged to spend 100 billion yuan (11.23 billion pounds)over five years to build out a global logistics network, underscoring aggressive expansion plans overseas. Alibaba will invest 5.3 billion yuan to boost its stake in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network to 51 percent from 47 percent, giving it direct control over the loss-making affiliate, suggesting a rough valuation of Cainiao at around $20 billion. The announcement comes as Alibaba rapidly expands its e-commerce and logistics network abroad to diversify its consumer base, including newly announced direct sales channels in counties around Southeast Asia. “Our commitment to Cainiao and additional investment in logistics demonstrate Alibaba’s commitment to building the most-efficient logistic network in China and around the world,” Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement on Tuesday. Cainiao was the focus of an investigation last year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into Alibaba’s accounting practices. Alibaba, which will gain an extra seat on Cainiao’s board giving it four out of a total seven seats, added that more shares were issued in the funding round to other investors. It did not give details about the other issuances, which would impact Cainiao’s valuation. The investment also signals Alibaba’s intention to boost control over China’s domestic warehousing and delivery market, increasingly competitive as firms seek to make use of troves of logistics data about the country’s Internet-savvy shoppers. FILE PHOTO - Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, speaks during 2017 Global Smart Logistics Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer The firm, headed by billionaire magnate Jack Ma, said that the longer-term $15 billion investment would be used to develop its data technology and improve its warehousing and delivery. The battle to control logistics networks in China has at times created tensions between e-commerce and delivery firms. In June major logistics company SF Holding cut ties with Cainiao, which provides logistics support directly to Alibaba’s top e-commerce platform Taobao. SF Holding claimed Alibaba had requested data unrelated to an existing partnership agreement. Alibaba denied the claims. Chinese logistics firms have also attracted billions of dollars from equity investors, though many have faced challenges with recent public listings. Shares of ZTO Express Inc ( ZTO.N ), which raised $1.4 billion from a New York IPO last October, are down 22 percent from the listing price to-date. Best Inc BSTI.N, a Chinese delivery firm backed by Alibaba, raised under half of what it had initially intended to in a U.S. IPO last week. A person close to Alibaba, who asked not to be named, said Cainiao was not currently considering an IPO. Alibaba and Cainiao declined to comment. Alibaba co-founded Cainiao in 2013, with partners including department store owner Intime Group, conglomerate Fosun Group and a handful of logistics companies. It oversees roughly 57 million deliveries a day. Reporting by Kane Wu in HONG KONG and Cate Cadell in BEIJING; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alibaba-cainiao-investment/alibaba-raising-stake-in-cainiao-to-majority-investing-15-billion-to-grow-logistics-idUKKCN1C10CE'|'2017-09-26T07:23:00.000+03:00'
'642794e8bc1a3fcf9147ed4f175390e40f589ebd'|'UPDATE 1-Russian shoe retailer Obuv Rossii plans Moscow IPO'|'* Could raise around $100 million to fund expansion - source* Revives plan shelved for almost four years* Adds to growing number of Russian firms seeking listings (Adds context, details, CEO Quote: )By Olga PopovaMOSCOW, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Russian shoe retailer Obuv Rossii plans to list shares in an initial public offering (IPO) in Moscow to raise funds for expansion, it said on Tuesday, in a further sign of recovery in the country’s new issues market.A growing number of Russian companies are looking to raise funds via share sales as the country’s economy recovers and foreign investors make a cautious return to Russian assets despite Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.A financial market source told Reuters on Monday the company planned to raise over $100 million.It would be the first flotation by a Russian company since gold producer Polyus’s $879 million share sale in June.Russia’s gross domestic product is projected to grow around 2 percent this year, with the economy seen firmly on track to recover from weak oil prices and the initial impact of Western sanctions.Obuv Rossii, which says it is the largest mid-price retailer in Russia’s shoe market, plans to list around 40 percent of its increased share capital on the Moscow Stock Exchange, it said, reviving a plan shelved since 2013.Russian gold producer GV Gold also said this month it planned to list shares in 2018, while En+ Group, which manages tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s aluminium and hydropower businesses, may launch its IPO in the coming days.Obuv Rossii, which has more than 500 stores across Russia, gave no date for its planned IPO.“Our key strategic goal is to continue organic growth and to double store count within three years, further strengthening our leadership in the mid-price segment...,” Anton Titov, the chief executive officer and main shareholder, said in a statement.Obuv Rossii said it would also use the proceeds from the deal to develop its distribution and supply chain. The company turned over 10 billion roubles ($174 million) in revenues and made core earnings (EBITDA) of 2.5 billion roubles in 2016.Russian financial group BCS as well as Citigroup, Renaissance Capital and Sberbank’s unit Sberbank CIB are acting as joint global coordinators and bookrunners in connection with the offering.$1 = 57.5574 roubles Reporting by Olga Popova; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-obuvrossii-ipo/update-1-russian-shoe-retailer-obuv-rossii-plans-moscow-ipo-idINL8N1M71ZB'|'2017-09-26T09:08:00.000+03:00'
'6687d639b950189452ebb6b7bcf00653396922ac'|'Private equity may win in U.S. Republicans'' tax plan'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to close the “carried interest” tax break that benefits some of Wall Street’s wealthiest financiers could be defanged if his administration proceeds with an exemption for certain firms.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently hinted at a possible exemption to allow partners of financial firms that “create jobs” to continue taking advantage of the tax break.Any change is far off as Republican tax reform efforts are moving slowly. But if the carried-interest loophole is closed with an exemption for “job creators,” the likely winners will include private equity and venture capital firms, experts said.A “framework” of Republican tax goals is set to be released on Wednesday. The plan’s authors are discussing the carried interest tax break, but it is not clear if language on it will be included in the framework, lobbyists said.Carried interest is a share of an investment fund’s profits – typically about 20 percent beyond the return guaranteed to investors – that goes to the general partners of private equity, venture capital and hedge funds.Under current law, high-income fund partners pay the long-term capital gains rate of 20 percent on their carried interest income, instead of the 39.6 percent individual tax rate that applies to the ordinary wage income of high earners.Critics say this tax break is unfair because it lets fund managers pay the low capital gains tax rate on much of their income. Fund managers say they take risks to generate the profits that produce carried interest so they should be allowed to pay the lower tax.Former Democratic President Barack Obama targeted the carried interest loophole but never closed it. Government estimates show it will cost the federal budget at least $20 billion over the next decade.Carried interest represents a large portion of many fund managers’ incomes. For years they have employed Washington lobbyists to help defend the tax break.A Treasury spokesman did not respond to requests to comment on the administration’s plans for carried interest.Mnuchin’s remarks about job creators are widely seen as directed at private equity, venture capital and real estate funds, six lobbyists and tax experts told Reuters.‘GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER’Trump pledged during his populist presidential campaign to close the carried-interest loophole, saying hedge fund managers were “paper pushers” who were “getting away with murder.”Mnuchin, speaking at an event in Kentucky in August alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said the Trump administration still planned to “close the loophole for hedge funds.”“What we are focused on is there are many other types of funds that do create jobs and we want to make sure we don’t discourage investment,” Mnuchin said, according to media reports.When it comes to carried interest, distinctions among different kinds of funds are important.Fast-moving hedge funds typically hold assets for short periods. So they normally gain little from the carried-interest loophole, which levies long-term capital gains rates on assets held for at least a year.Only about a fifth of the tax break’s gains go to hedge funds, estimated University of San Diego School of Law Professor Victor Fleischer.About half the gains from the tax break go to private equity and venture capital funds, which typically invest with longer-time horizons, often in corporate turn-arounds and start-ups.Fleischer said it would be an “empty gesture” to close the carried interest loophole, but exempt private equity and other firms. “The real money here is in the big private equity funds,” he said. “It’s a joke to say that they’ve closed the loophole if most of the people who benefit from it continue to use it.”Delineating clearly which kinds firms should and should not benefit from the tax break would be difficult.“The first reaction of any self-respecting tax geek is ‘How are you going to draw that line?,''” said Donald Marron, an economist with the Urban Institute, a think tank. “The second response will be ‘How will people ... game that line?''” (Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-tax-carriedinterest/private-equity-may-win-in-u-s-republicans-tax-plan-idINL2N1M60SE'|'2017-09-26T16:07:00.000+03:00'
'ef281ac31b8bfa2af0dbbc6138db0008a93662be'|'Alstom shares advance as Siemens deal draws nearer'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company''s full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/Files MUNICH/PARIS (Reuters) - Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) are expected to announce a deal merging their rail operations on Tuesday, a Franco-German industrial breakthrough for President Emmanuel Macron but a move already riling opposition politicians.Macron’s centrist government has said it supports efforts to strengthen French industry through partnerships with German firms as long as jobs are safeguarded. The French state owns around 20 percent of Alstom.Siemens is expected to announce the rail deal with Alstom on Tuesday rather than pursuing an alternative with Canada’s Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The agreement is likely to see Siemens Mobility merged into Alstom, in which Siemens would hold 50 percent plus one share, while the chief executive would be Alstom’s current boss Henri-Poupart Lafarge.Major train makers in Europe are under increasing pressure to combine their businesses as much-larger Chinese state-backed rival CRRC ( 601766.SS ) embarks on a global expansion.Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said he believed the scale of CRRC left little room for regulators to oppose a deal.“It always depends, but the facts are that there is a dominant player,” he told Reuters in an interview in New York.Siemens and Alstom are strong in high-speed intercity trains with their ICE and TGV models. Siemens is also the leader in signaling technology, while Bombardier - whose transportation headquarters are in Berlin - is stronger in commuter and light-rail trains.Related Coverage Alstom to pay special dividend in Siemens rail merger: sourcesFactbox: Keeping a Siemens-Alstom rail alliance on trackSiemens stands to gain control of Alstom’s main business, since all of Alstom’s divisions deal with the railways and transportation industries.A special dividend would even out the value of Siemens and Alstom, which has too much cash on its balance sheet, to smooth the intended 50-50 joint venture, one of the sources said.“Will there be a special dividend? Yes,” said the second person.Siemens’ mobility division reported operating profit of 678 million euros ($800 million) in its last financial year, a margin of 8.7 percent of sales and a 15 percent increase on the prior year.Alstom posted adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) of 421 million euros in its most recent annual earnings, a margin of 5.8 percent and also a 15 percent rise.FILE PHOTO: A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido SIGNS OF BACKLASH While the French government has made comments backing the deal, several opposition politicians and French trade union activists expressed concerns.Their worries center on France losing control of its TGV high-speed train – a symbol of national pride that has highlighted French engineering skill – and possible job losses.French right-wing politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan criticized the likely deal on Tuesday as being more favorable to Germany than France, as did far-right politician Nicolas Bay, the National Front’s secretary general, who said on Twitter that it could result in the “eradication of French industry”.Eric Woerth, a member of the right-wing Republicans’ party, voiced similar views on his Twitter account.“Is this now the end of Alstom? Will TGV become German? Why does the government accept such an imbalance?”Last week, the French government’s spokesman said France was not worried about an Alstom-Siemens tie-up provided that jobs were protected. One source said France had no concerns over any anti-trust issues emanating from it.A branch of the CFDT trade union representing Alstom workers wrote on Twitter: “Macron abandoned Alstom to GE and he’s now abandoning them to Siemens.” Macron served as economy minister for two years from August 2014.A tie-up between the two companies - aimed at creating a European champion in the railway sector similar to Airbus ( AIR.PA ) in aviation - would represent a reconciliation of sorts between Siemens and Alstom.Alstom snubbed the German company in 2014 to sell its energy division to General Electric ( GE.N ) in a deal that also saw Paris take a 20 percent stake in Alstom, under a temporary agreement with construction group Bouygues ( BOUY.PA ).Analysts at Exane BNP Paribas raised their rating on Alstom to “neutral” from “underweight” noting a deal offered better growth prospects than remaining a standalone company.“We suggest that, if they participate, value creation would be limited for Siemens but material for Alstom,” the Exane BNP Paribas analysts wrote.“Aside from the M&A (mergers and acquisition) angle, we believe that commercially, this year will be relatively muted for Alstom. With no large contracts in sight, pressure on free cash flow should intensify due to lack of downpayments received.”Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Cyril Altmeyer; Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Maya Nikolaeva and Alwyn Scott; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens-stocks/alstom-shares-advance-as-siemens-deal-draws-nearer-idINKCN1C10PG'|'2017-09-26T05:23:00.000+03:00'
'19569f6a4dfa2765a7365a01b67fe3346ad22ee9'|'Lufthansa board approves plans to grow Eurowings'|'  1:03 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Lufthansa board approves plans to grow Eurowings Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BERLIN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Lufthansa’s supervisory board has approved plans by the airline to invest in up to 61 additional planes for its Eurowings budget arm, seeking to fill the gap left by insolvent German rival Air Berlin . The investment in purchasing and leasing 41 A320 single aisle jets and 20 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 planes will total around 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) and is partly dependent on a successful conclusion of talks to take over assets from Air Berlin, Lufthansa said on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.8479 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Arno Schuetze)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-board-approves-plans-to-grow-eurowings-idUSFWN1M70F1'|'2017-09-26T16:03:00.000+03:00'
'f8c8f36a8d72870742b36b0e0400f480685744aa'|'Column: U.S. crude exports to Asia may shake up global oil pricing - Russell'|'September 26, 2017 / 6:51 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Column: U.S. crude exports to Asia may shake up global oil pricing - Russell Clyde Russell 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO -- Dump trucks are parked near crude oil tanks at Kinder Morgan''s North 40 terminal expansion construction project in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada November 13, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The great disruptor that is U.S. shale oil is coming to Asia, as refiners in the energy-hungry region look to expand and diversify their sources of crude, and the consequences will likely go well beyond a shift in oil trade flows. It should come as no surprise that rising oil output in the United States would find its way to the region that is the world’s fastest-growing consumer of the fuel, but perhaps the rapid pace of the shift has caught some in the market off-guard. Crude oil exports to Asia from the United States are still relatively small-scale, with Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts estimating flows of around 261,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first eight months of the year. However, this is about 10 times what they were in the same period last year. Major buyer China has gone from taking just one cargo of under 1 million barrels in the January-August period in 2016 to buying about 115,000 bpd from the United States so far this year. It’s also likely that U.S. shale oil exports will rise sharply in the next couple of years as production grows rapidly. In one of the major U.S. shale plays, the Permian Basin, output is expected to surge to 2.9 million bpd by next year from the current 2.4 million, Ryan Krogmeier, vice president of crude supply and trading at Chevron, told the S&P Global Platts Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference in Singapore on Monday. Much of this production will be exported as U.S. refiners along the Gulf Coast aren’t capable of processing more light crude, having been set up to deal more with heavier and sour grades from offshore Gulf of Mexico platforms and imports from the Middle East. That leaves Asia as the clearing house for U.S. crude. But there are several factors that have to work together to ensure that U.S. crude does actually flow east. The first, and most important, is that U.S. crude has to remain at a significant discount to similar grades, given the higher loading and shipping costs. U.S. shale crude is largely priced against West Texas Intermediate (WTI), while the other light grades that typically move to Asia, such as crude from Angola and Nigeria, are priced against Brent, often described as the global benchmark. The spread between the two grades has widened recently, with Brent closing at $59.02 a barrel on Monday, a premium of $6.80 to the closing trade for WTI. Equipment used to process carbon dioxide, crude oil and water is seen at an Occidental Petroleum Corp enhanced oil recovery project in Hobbs, New Mexico, U.S. on May 3, 2017. Picture taken on May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder Effectively investors are taking the view that there is still surplus crude in the United States, home of WTI, while the market for Brent is starting to tighten as efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers start to drain global inventories. WTI DISCOUNT TO REMAIN The current discount of WTI certainly makes it profitable for traders to ship U.S. crude to Asia. If enough cargoes are booked, it should in theory boost the price of WTI relative to Brent. However, there is a limit to how much WTI can rise relative to Brent before sending U.S. crude to the East is no longer economically viable. Estimating that level is obviously an inexact science, but its worth noting that the two biggest months for U.S. crude arrivals in Asia this year were April and June. In both cases, the discount of WTI to Brent was wider about six to eight weeks ahead of those months, suggesting that traders need a gap of around $5 a barrel to make the trade profitable. This implies that WTI will have to remain in a structural discount to Brent is order to clear rising U.S. crude supplies. Of course, this level is far from fixed or permanent. It could easily be lower in coming years as the United States builds out infrastructure that would allow for crude exports to be loaded directly onto the largest oil tankers, rather than medium-sized carriers as is currently the case at many export ports. The other major implication is that WTI is going to become considerably more important in pricing decisions among Asia crude buyers. If Asian refiners seeking light crudes can buy at prices linked to WTI, that may be far more attractive than looking at crudes priced against Brent. This could mean that producers who use Brent as a benchmark will have to offer greater discounts in order to compete in Asia against U.S. crudes. While WTI would have a long way to go before supplanting Brent as the global benchmark, it may well make inroads in Asia and become more attractive to market participants in the region as a tool for hedging and price discovery. Editing by Kenneth Maxwell '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/column-russell-crude-asia/column-u-s-crude-exports-to-asia-may-shake-up-global-oil-pricing-russell-idINKCN1C10M2'|'2017-09-26T04:51:00.000+03:00'
'f36ec6b7f24a54adf0b84e930c954c2ba904e278'|'Alstom and Siemens rail deal stirs French political passions'|'September 26, 2017 / 7:22 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Alstom and Siemens rail deal stirs French political passions Alexander Hübner , Cyril Altmeyer 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company''s full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/Files MUNICH/PARIS (Reuters) - Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) are expected to announce a deal merging their rail operations on Tuesday, a Franco-German industrial breakthrough for President Emmanuel Macron but a move already riling opposition politicians. Macron’s centrist government has said it supports efforts to strengthen French industry through partnerships with German firms as long as jobs are safeguarded. The French state owns around 20 percent of Alstom. Siemens is expected to announce the rail deal with Alstom on Tuesday rather than pursuing an alternative with Canada’s Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The agreement is likely to see Siemens Mobility merged into Alstom, in which Siemens would hold 50 percent plus one share, while the chief executive would be Alstom’s current boss Henri-Poupart Lafarge. Major train makers in Europe are under increasing pressure to combine their businesses as much-larger Chinese state-backed rival CRRC ( 601766.SS ) embarks on a global expansion. Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said he believed the scale of CRRC left little room for regulators to oppose a deal. “It always depends, but the facts are that there is a dominant player,” he told Reuters in an interview in New York. Siemens and Alstom are strong in high-speed intercity trains with their ICE and TGV models. Siemens is also the leader in signaling technology, while Bombardier - whose transportation headquarters are in Berlin - is stronger in commuter and light-rail trains. Related Coverage Factbox: Keeping a Siemens-Alstom rail alliance on track Siemens stands to gain control of Alstom’s main business, since all of Alstom’s divisions deal with the railways and transportation industries. A special dividend would even out the value of Siemens and Alstom, which has too much cash on its balance sheet, to smooth the intended 50-50 joint venture, one of the sources said. “Will there be a special dividend? Yes,” said the second person. Siemens’ mobility division reported operating profit of 678 million euros ($800 million) in its last financial year, a margin of 8.7 percent of sales and a 15 percent increase on the prior year. Alstom posted adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) of 421 million euros in its most recent annual earnings, a margin of 5.8 percent and also a 15 percent rise. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido SIGNS OF BACKLASH While the French government has made comments backing the deal, several opposition politicians and French trade union activists expressed concerns. Their worries center on France losing control of its TGV high-speed train – a symbol of national pride that has highlighted French engineering skill – and possible job losses. French right-wing politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan criticized the likely deal on Tuesday as being more favorable to Germany than France, as did far-right politician Nicolas Bay, the National Front’s secretary general, who said on Twitter that it could result in the “eradication of French industry”. Eric Woerth, a member of the right-wing Republicans’ party, voiced similar views on his Twitter account. “Is this now the end of Alstom? Will TGV become German? Why does the government accept such an imbalance?” Last week, the French government’s spokesman said France was not worried about an Alstom-Siemens tie-up provided that jobs were protected. One source said France had no concerns over any anti-trust issues emanating from it. A branch of the CFDT trade union representing Alstom workers wrote on Twitter: “Macron abandoned Alstom to GE and he’s now abandoning them to Siemens.” Macron served as economy minister for two years from August 2014. A tie-up between the two companies - aimed at creating a European champion in the railway sector similar to Airbus ( AIR.PA ) in aviation - would represent a reconciliation of sorts between Siemens and Alstom. Alstom snubbed the German company in 2014 to sell its energy division to General Electric ( GE.N ) in a deal that also saw Paris take a 20 percent stake in Alstom, under a temporary agreement with construction group Bouygues ( BOUY.PA ). Analysts at Exane BNP Paribas raised their rating on Alstom to “neutral” from “underweight” noting a deal offered better growth prospects than remaining a standalone company. “We suggest that, if they participate, value creation would be limited for Siemens but material for Alstom,” the Exane BNP Paribas analysts wrote. “Aside from the M&A (mergers and acquisition) angle, we believe that commercially, this year will be relatively muted for Alstom. With no large contracts in sight, pressure on free cash flow should intensify due to lack of downpayments received.” Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Cyril Altmeyer; Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Maya Nikolaeva and Alwyn Scott; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens-stocks/alstom-shares-advance-as-siemens-deal-draws-nearer-idUSKCN1C10PG'|'2017-09-26T16:05:00.000+03:00'
'b66f1d85182d76e2099d22a91ef09be339275af6'|'Bombardier shares leap 14 percent ahead of U.S. trade court ruling'|'Reuters TV United States September 26, 2017 / 7:11 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Bombardier shares leap 14 percent ahead of U.S. trade court ruling Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Bombardier factory is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) rose as much as 13.6 percent on Tuesday ahead of a U.S. trade court’s preliminary ruling on Boeing Co’s ( BA.N ) CSeries aircraft dumping complaint. The jump in Bombardier’s shares also comes after Reuters reported on Tuesday that the planemaker aims to close deals with Chinese airlines in coming months and is in talks with the country’s three biggest airlines. Bombardier’s shares, which have clawed back steep falls over the past two sessions, were last up 11.7 percent at C$2.39. It is the biggest one-day gain for the stock since February 2016. Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/bombardier-stocks/bombardier-shares-leap-14-percent-ahead-of-u-s-trade-court-ruling-idUKKCN1C12RH'|'2017-09-26T22:07:00.000+03:00'
'0cc7c71ebebc84122579178b65da1189b022d716'|'EU to investigate $54 billion Luxottica, Essilor deal'|'FILE PHOTO: The Luxottica name is reflected in a pair of sunglasses in this photo illustration taken in Rome February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/Illustration/File Photo BRUSSELS/MILAN (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will investigate whether the planned 46-billion-euro ($54 billion) merger of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor could drive out rivals from the market or push up prices.The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation on Tuesday, saying the deal involving the two companies, both top-ranked in their sectors, may reduce competition in ophthalmic lenses and eyewear.The move came after Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) declined to offer concessions in a preliminary review. Reuters reported on Sept. 11 that the competition enforcer had expressed worries about the deal to the companies.The Commission said it would decide by Feb. 12 whether to clear the deal, but the two companies reaffirmed their goal of closing the merger at around the end of the year.“Both companies ... will closely cooperate with the European Commission to fully demonstrate the rationale of the proposed combination,” they said in a joint statement.A key regulatory concern is the possibility that the merged company might persuade opticians to buy eyewear and lenses as a package, leveraging on Luxottica’s strong brand portfolio which includes Ray Ban and Persol as well as licensed names such as Chanel and Armani.Luciano Di Via, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance and head of antitrust affairs for Italy, said the Commission would seek to verify that Luxottica’s rivals retained full access to the lens market and Essilor’s competitors had full access to the market for frames.“The final outcome will hinge to a large extent on concessions the two companies make to offset any foreclosure risks,” he said.“Usually in situations such as this, behavioural remedies are requested, the Commission may demand commitments from the two companies in terms of commercial practices, a request to sell certain assets is more unlikely.”The 95 billion-euro eyewear industry is seen expanding steadily as the world’s population age and awareness of sun damage grows among middle classes in emerging countries.“Half of Europeans wear glasses and almost all of us will need vision correction one day,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.“We need to carefully assess whether the proposed merger would lead to higher prices or reduced choices for opticians and ultimately consumers.”The merger has already been approved by the competition authorities in several countries including India, Japan, New Zealand. It still needs clearance in North America, the biggest market for both companies.Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu/eu-to-investigate-54-billion-luxottica-essilor-deal-idINKCN1C12PT'|'2017-09-26T21:49:00.000+03:00'
'0c9f15760673469a1504b61464fb872295bfd29d'|'U.S. slaps duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing subsidy complaint'|'September 26, 2017 / 10:38 PM / Updated 2 hours ago U.S. slaps steep duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing complaint Allison Lampert , Alwyn Scott 6 Min Read A model of Bombardier C Series aeroplane is seen in the Bombardier offices in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne MONTREAL/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier Inc’s ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries jets after rival Boeing Co ( BA.N ) accused Canada of unfairly subsidizing the aircraft, a move likely to strain trade relations between the neighbors. The department said it imposed a steep 219.63 percent countervailing duty on Bombardier’s new commercial jets after it made a preliminary finding of subsidization. Boeing has complained the 110-to-130 seat aircraft were dumped below cost in the U.S. market last year while benefiting from unfair subsidies. An April 2016 order for 75 CSeries jets from Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ) stemmed from the same harmful sales practices European rival Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) employed to win business in the 1990s, according to Boeing. The Commerce Department’s penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favour in a final decision expected in 2018. “We strongly disagree with the Commerce Department’s preliminary decision,” Bombardier said in a statement, calling the magnitude of the proposed U.S. duty “absurd.” Commerce’s announcement and accompanying fact sheet on the preliminary duty order did not provide any rationale or methodology for how it calculated the 220 percent duty. The CSeries starts at $79.5 million (59.13 million pounds), according to list prices, but carriers usually receive discounts of about 50 percent. If imposed, the duties would more than triple the cost of a CSeries aircraft sold in the U.S. to about $61 million per plane, based on Boeing’s assertion that Delta received the planes for $19 million each. Bombardier has disputed the $19 million sales figure. There are not that many Commerce countervailing orders that are this high, but it is lower than the 256 percent final duties slapped on Chinese cold-rolled steel last year. Related Coverage Bombardier calls proposed 220 percent U.S duty on CSeries jets ''absurd'' The timing is awkward because Canada and the United States are in a three-way negotiation involving Mexico to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement.. A source familiar with the Canadian government’s thinking said the Boeing trade dispute was “separate” from the NAFTA talks. “This in no way is part of our conversation” the source said. “People should not read too much into this piece today.” The spat between Boeing and Bombardier has snowballed into a bigger fight this month when British Prime Minister Theresa May asked President Donald Trump to intervene in the dispute to help protect jobs in Northern Ireland, where Bombardier is the largest manufacturing employer.. A model of Bombardier C Series aeroplane is seen in the Bombardier offices in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne The United States has also faced opposition from a handful of American carriers and elected officials over potential U.S. job losses. Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland said Bombardier CSeries components are supplied by American companies that support almost 23,000 jobs in U.S. states, including Connecticut, Florida and New Jersey. “This is clearly aimed at eliminating Bombardier’s C Series aircraft from the U.S. market,” Freeland said. She added that Canada strongly disagrees with the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. Boeing said in a statement that the dispute “has everything to do with maintaining a level playing field and ensuring that aerospace companies abide by trade agreements.” Bombardier’s was unwilling to swallow the extra cost for airlines if the United States slaps duties on its CSeries jet, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Bombardier factory is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne “We are confident...no U.S. manufacturer is at risk because neither Boeing nor any other U.S. manufacturer makes any 100-110 seat aircraft that competes with the CS100,” Delta said in a statement. Duties could chill U.S. sales of the fuel-efficient CSeries, raising concerns over future orders and jobs in Canada and the United Kingdom. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had put his government’s planned purchase of Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets on hold because of the trade dispute, saying it could not “do business with a company that’s busy trying to sue us and put our aerospace workers out of business.” ‘NOT A SLAM DUNK’ Boeing has argued that the military sale to the Canadian government and its petition against Bombardier are not linked. But the U.S. jetmaker has said the CSeries would not exist without hundreds of millions of dollars in launch aid from the governments of Canada and Britain, or a $2.5 billion equity infusion from the province of Quebec and its largest pension fund in 2015. To win its case before the ITC, Boeing must prove it was harmed by Bombardier’s sales practices, despite not using one of its own jets to compete for the Delta order, Dan Pearson, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank in Washington, said before Tuesday’s announcement. “This (ITC case) cannot be a slam dunk,” said Pearson, a former ITC chairman. “I‘m having a hard time figuring out how Boeing was harmed by this.” Canada has pushed to settle the dispute. But one industry source said Boeing, which could gain some leverage with the Commerce Department’s initial decision in its favour, sees the possible CSeries dumping as a long-term threat to its civilian airliner business. Bombardier stock has fallen about 15 percent over the past month on uncertainty around the duties and a rail venture. On Tuesday, Bombardier missed out an opportunity to strike a rail deal with Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ), when the German company decided to combine its rail operations with French group Alstom ( ALSO.PA ). Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Alwyn Scott in New York; Additional reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Tim Hepher in London; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Peter Cooney and Grant McCool'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier/u-s-slaps-duties-on-bombardier-jets-after-boeing-subsidy-complaint-idUKKCN1C138U'|'2017-09-27T02:07:00.000+03:00'
'c6aa06a22260dcf2a8022c9c91acc3350d2245fc'|'Beach Energy to buy gas assets from Origin for $1.25 billion'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Australian energy company Origin is pictured in Melbourne, Australia, July 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File photo (Reuters) - Australia’s Beach Energy ( BPT.AX ) has agreed to buy gas assets from Origin Energy Ltd ( ORG.AX ) for $1.25 billion in a deal that will more than double the oil and gas producer’s output and step up its exposure to a tight energy market in eastern Australia.The deal will triple Beach’s oil and gas reserves, transforming a company valued at A$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) that has long been focused on one basin in central Australia to give it a foothold across Australia and New Zealand, onshore and offshore.At the same time, it has locked in gas sales to Origin from the Lattice Energy business it is acquiring at higher prices than it averaged in the year to June 2017, serving a market that is likely to see gas demand soar for power plants.Origin, Australia’s top energy retailer, spun off the gas assets into a separate arm last year, aiming to sell or float the business to help it cut debt which it had taken on to build the Australia Pacific LNG project.Beach Chief Executive Matt Kay said that besides expanding the company’s output and reserves, the deal offered certainty of cashflow from the gas sales agreements, which stretch out to 2033.“The combined business is a cash cow which is robust to the downside,” Kay told investors on a conference call.Beach plans to fund the acquisition through a A$301 million entitlement offer to shareholders and new debt facilities, which it expects to be able to pay down within three years.While analysts congratulated Kay on the deal, they were busy trying to work out the confidential pricing on the gas contracts to evaluate how good an acquisition Beach had made.“It’s too early to say. Everyone’s trying to crunch the same numbers,” said Stephen Butel, an analyst at Platypus Asset Management.Beach said only that the sales were priced at higher than the average of A$6.10 a gigajoule that its gas fetched last year and would switch to market pricing, potentially substantially higher, within four years.Origin was equally happy with securing gas long term in a tight market.“We’re very comfortable with the pricing that’s in those agreements, and they’re effectively market prices,” Origin Chief Executive Frank Calabria told reporters.Origin said proceeds from the Lattice sale put it on track to cut net debt to below A$7 billion by June 30, 2018.The losing bidder for Lattice Energy was private equity-backed Questus Energy, people familiar with the transaction said.Reporting by Hanna Paul in Bengaluru and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-origin-energy-sale-beach-energy/beach-energy-to-buy-gas-assets-from-origin-for-1-25-billion-idINKCN1C300R'|'2017-09-27T22:06:00.000+03:00'
'787701ef5188b1469eea0aad43969ea428601513'|'Britain''s easyJet aims for electric short-haul flights'|'Reuters TV United States September 27, 2017 / 12:59 PM / a minute ago Britain''s easyJet aims for electric short-haul flights Alistair Smout 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An EasyJet aircraft is ready for take off at Cointrin airport in Geneva, Switzerland, June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse LONDON (Reuters) - British budget airline easyJet ( EZJ.L ) could be flying electric passenger jets on short-haul routes within a decade in a push to cut plane pollution, the company said on Wednesday. The airline said in March it would partner with U.S. startup Wright Electric to develop electric passenger jets and is aiming for planes with a range of up to 335 miles (540 km), which could fly about 20 percent of easyJet’s routes. EasyJet said its support for electric planes was part of a broader strategy to reduce carbon and nitrous oxide emissions in the aviation sector, following the lead taken by the rail and automotive industries. “For the first time, our industry can envisage a future which isn’t wholly reliant on jet fuel and its harmful CO2 and NOX emissions,” CEO Carolyn McCall said in a statement. The airline is already targeting a 10 percent cut in emissions per passenger per kilometer by 2022 by using more fuel-efficient jets, such as the new Airbus A320neo. The airline has two so far and 98 are on order for delivery by August 2022. Fuel is one of the biggest costs for airlines and they have been investing in ways to reduce the amount they use, including by buying new aircraft with more fuel-efficient engines. Airlines such as Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), Air France-KLM ( AIRF.PA ) and Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL] have also been researching alternative fuels. Airbus ( AIR.PA ) has been developing electric planes and flew its two-seater E-Fan across the channel in 2015, but it expects hybrid fuel systems to come in first for commercial jets - until the batteries needed for electric-only planes become lighter. EasyJet also said it was partnering with French company Safran ( SAF.PA ) to trial a zero-emissions taxiing system for its aircraft, while electric tugs will be introduced at Gatwick. Peter Duffy, easyJet’s chief commercial officer, told reporters at London’s Gatwick airport that new technologies could “entirely remove the use of carbon fuels and noise from all our airport operations”. British Airways ( ICAG.L ) said this week it was now using remote-controlled electric tugs to push its short-haul aircraft away from departure gates. Investors and analysts were also focused on an easyJet capital markets day being held at Gatwick. While easyJet was not providing any trading updates, analysts at broker Goodbody said, “despite this, we still think the market will be pleasantly surprised by details behind the group’s ancillary revenue streams and innovation on this front”. One such move to boost revenues is a trial of inflight entertainment, which will be introduced on five aircraft in easyJet’s Swiss operations in autumn. Rather than seat-back screens, the system will allow customers to watch TV shows on their own devices, a model used by others including Lufthansa’s Eurowings ( LHAG.DE ). EasyJet said the service would earn the airline extra revenue, despite being free for the customer to use. Reporting by Alistair Smout; additional reporting by Victoria Bryan; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-easyjet-strategy/britains-easyjet-aims-for-electric-short-haul-flights-idUKKCN1C21O6'|'2017-09-27T15:46:00.000+03:00'
'55afff325437deb38767e10c41e2fe76a41d2cac'|'PRESS DIGEST -Wall Street Journal - Sept 27'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- U.S. Senators criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission''s new leader, Jay Clayton, at a hearing on Tuesday for how the agency handled a 2016 breach of its cornerstone system for storing market-moving information. on.wsj.com/2fP9zjY- Equifax Inc moved to take concrete action over its massive hack ahead of congressional hearings next week, announcing on Tuesday that Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Smith would step aside. on.wsj.com/2xDbnWS- An investor group including U.S. private-equity firm TPG Capital is looking to sell its controlling stake in one of Indonesia''s oldest finance companies, BFI Finance Indonesia , in a deal that could value the company at about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. on.wsj.com/2xzMvgX- Republicans are reconsidering their plans to cut individual income tax rates for the highest-earning households to 35 percent, as they gear up to release a blueprint on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the discussions. on.wsj.com/2xymDBW- Twitter Inc on Tuesday said it would begin testing a new limit of 280 characters, double its current limit, as a concession to users who have been clamoring for changes to the short-messaging service. on.wsj.com/2wSc8w9- Uber Technologies Inc said it may cease operations in the Canadian province of Quebec in protest of more stringent training rules for drivers there. on.wsj.com/2frqR6qCompiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-sept-27-idINL4N1M821S'|'2017-09-27T03:03:00.000+03:00'
'9460cd19a381755759bcb979eb8700dbcac56796'|'Changing inflation dynamics a serious problem: ECB''s Constancio'|' 50 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Changing inflation dynamics a serious problem: ECB''s Constancio Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A tourist information sign is seen next to the euro sign landmark outside the former head quarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, July 17, 2015. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The weakening relationship between consumer prices and real activity could make controlling inflation either more costly or more difficult, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio said on Friday. “The apparent disconnect between inflation and economic slack seems to have made interpreting and controlling inflation dynamics more difficult, with significant consequences for the conduct of monetary policy,” Constancio said in a speech. “From a policymaker’s perspective, such an apparent breakdown is serious,” he said, arguing that fighting high inflation would have a bigger drag on the real economy, while a fight against low inflation would test the limits of policy tools, given the massive stimulus required. He argued that low wage growth in advanced economies is puzzling given relatively robust growth, and a big headache since it is a necessary component in lifting inflation back to target. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-constancio/changing-inflation-dynamics-a-serious-problem-ecbs-constancio-idUKKCN1BX1HO'|'2017-09-22T14:50:00.000+03:00'
'5f50ee6ea37e1b57474feab42d5dff0021c82092'|'Exclusive - Volkswagen moves to secure cobalt supplies in shift to electric cars'|'  1:28 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Exclusive - Volkswagen moves to secure cobalt supplies in shift to electric cars Pratima Desai 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An electric Volkswagen car is plugged into a recharging point in central London, Britain November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Germany’s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is moving to secure long-term supplies of cobalt, a vital component of rechargeable batteries, as the group accelerates its ambitious shift to electric cars. Cobalt industry sources told Reuters that VW, the world’s largest automaker, has asked producers to submit proposals on supplying the material for up to 10 years from 2019. Volkswagen, which decided on the strategic shift to electric vehicles (EVs) after it was engulfed in the “dieselgate” scandal, plans to invest more than 20 billion euros (£17.70 billion) in zero-emission vehicles by 2030 to challenge pioneer Tesla ( TSLA.O ) in creating a mass market. The company, which aims to make up to three million EVs a year by 2025, wants all the cobalt tender proposals submitted by the end of September. “The tender doesn’t actually tell you how much cobalt they want. They tell you how many EVs they want to make, you have to work out the cobalt content yourself,” one cobalt industry source said. Volkswagen did not respond to Reuters questions on the details of the tender but noted that the group would need more than 150 gigawatt hours of battery capacity annually by 2025 for its electric vehicles. This would mean major purchases of necessary materials. “The procurement project is one of the largest in the history of the automotive industry, with a total order volume of over 50 billion euros,” it said in a statement. “That will meet the Group’s needs for the first wave of e-mobility.” Demand for cobalt is expected to soar in the coming years due to the electric vehicle revolution as governments around the world crack down on pollution. Volkswagen is under particular pressure as it had been slow to embrace electric cars and self-driving technology until admitting two years ago to cheating on U.S. diesel emissions tests. Battery and auto manufacturers need to sign multi-year deals to secure supplies of raw materials including cobalt and lithium. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces roughly 65 percent of global cobalt supplies estimated at around 100,000 tonnes this year. Canada, China, Russia, Australia and Zambia are also major sources. At the company level, the market is dominated by Glencore ( GLEN.L ), which produced more than 28,000 tonnes last year. Reuters recently reported that Glencore had signed a major deal to sell up to 20,000 tonnes of cobalt products to a Chinese firm, a move that would help Volkswagen secure car batteries for its shift to electric vehicles. MISUNDERSTANDING? According to the cobalt industry sources, Volkswagen said wanted all contracts agreed by the end of the year. Electric vehicles use rechargeable batteries containing cobalt, a byproduct of copper and nickel output, which boosts energy density and extends battery life. This allows automakers to offer guarantees between eight and 10 years. The Volkswagen tender specifies the chemistry for the battery will initially be six parts nickel, two parts cobalt and two parts manganese or 6:2:2, but that it could at some stage switch to 8:1:1. “They want a fixed price, which won’t work for people who need security and they want to reserve the right to not take metal they don’t need,” another cobalt source said. “They want producers to take all the risks ... they want an option at low prices, for long maturities at zero cost.” Cobalt metal COB-CATH-LON is around $30 a lb, its highest since October 2008 and up from less than $10 in December 2015. Volkswagen has said that by 2025 it would roll out 80 new electric car models across the group, which also includes the Audi, Seat, Skoda and Porsche brands, up from a previous goal of 30. It wants to offer an electric version of each of its 300 group models by 2030. Analysts estimate each battery uses between 8-12 kg of cobalt. That would mean VW will need 24-36 million kg a year for three million EVs, which at current prices would total $1.6-$2.4 billion (£1.18 billion - £1.77 billion). The sources said the wording of the tender suggests it will probably have also gone to lithium producers, chemical producers and battery makers. “There’s a section on sustainability... asking what processes are in place to make sure the cobalt does not come from child labour in the DRC,” one said. Child labour is a reference to artisanal mining in places such as the DRC, where individuals mine independently to produce metal, often illegally and under poor health and safety conditions. UBS expects global sales of electric vehicles in 2025 to reach 14.2 million units or 13.7 percent of the total from under one million units and less than one percent this year. Analysts at CRU Group forecast the battery sector will need more than 75,000 tonnes of cobalt a year by 2025, up from around 41,000 tonnes this year. Reporting by Pratima Desai; Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Veronica Brown and David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-cobalt-evs-exclusive/exclusive-volkswagen-moves-to-secure-cobalt-supplies-in-shift-to-electric-cars-idUKKCN1BX1RC'|'2017-09-22T16:28:00.000+03:00'
'e45d476786ca802f4c921b450de4c6f6ccec5639'|'Brazil''s Rumo plans $829 million share offer to cut debt'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Rumo SA plans to sell as much as 2.63 billion reais ($829 million) in new shares as the Brazilian transportation and logistics company aims to reduce a heavy debt burden.The board of Rumo approved the sale of 220 million new common shares in a restricted-efforts offering, according to a Friday securities filing. Affiliate Cosan Logística SA also approved a capital increase of 750 million reais that their parent company, Cosan Ltd, will fully fund.The decision to raise money from investors comes as analysts expect Rumo’s third-quarter results to be the strongest ever, but speculation of an offering led the company’s shares to lag behind Brazil’s main stock index over the past month. Rumo expects to price the offering on Oct. 4.About 4.4 billion reais of Rumo’s debt will be due through the end of the decade, on top of a planned 4 billion reais in planned investments in that time. The company hired Banco Bradesco SA, Morgan Stanley & Co, Banco Santander Brasil SA and Banco do Brasil SA to manage the offering, the filing said.Cosan, a holding company with interests in infrastructure, sugar and ethanol and logistics, has struggled to reduce Rumo’s debt burden in recent years. Analysts estimate that a capital increase similar in size to the stock offering could help reduce net debt to less than three times annual operational earnings.Shares of Curitiba, Brazil-based Rumo have risen just 0.6 percent in the past month, while the Bovespa index has rallied 8 percent. However, Rumo is up 69 percent this year on expectations about soaring annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.The stock sale will be in the form of a restricted-efforts offering, which exempts the company from having to request registration of the plan with securities industry watchdog CVM. Only qualified investors can participate in such offerings, which cannot be marketed through road shows or the media.$1 = 3.1377 reais Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Gabriela Mello; Additional reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/rumo-sa-issue/brazils-rumo-plans-829-million-share-offer-to-cut-debt-idINL2N1M30E0'|'2017-09-22T10:24:00.000+03:00'
'af34d78fd618b6ceb10790d15f311c14c7388d18'|'Julius Baer hires UBS''s Bartholet as chief risk officer'|'September 22, 2017 / 5:41 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Julius Baer hires UBS''s Bartholet as chief risk officer Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Swiss private bank Julius Baer is pictured on the company''s branch in Lausanne, Switzerland, November 13, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Julius Baer ( BAER.S ) said on Friday it has appointed Oliver Bartholet as chief risk officer, replacing Bernhard Hodler who will serve as deputy to Chief Executive Boris Collardi. Bartholet, currently head of legal group regulatory and governance at UBS ( UBSG.S ), will take the new role effective April 1, 2018, the Zurich-based bank said in a statement. The appointment marks Julius Baer’s third executive board change this year after it announced replacements for Latin America head Gustavo Raitzin and Jan Bielinski as chief communications officer. Reporting by Joshua Franklin, editing by John Revill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-julius-baer-moves/julius-baer-hires-ubss-bartholet-as-chief-risk-officer-idUKKCN1BX0FL'|'2017-09-22T08:40:00.000+03:00'
'e4b4ed06f4e03f07f352c39f89221274f4004107'|'Boeing takes off on a flight of hypocrisy against Bombardier'|'“WE WON’T do business with a company that is busy trying to sue us.” So said an uncharacteristically stern Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, alongside his British counterpart, Theresa May, in Ottawa on September 18th. The two had teamed up to take on Boeing. The giant American aeroplane-maker is pressing Donald Trump’s administration to impose duties on commercial jets made by Canada’s Bombardier. Boeing says its smaller rival is using Canadian government subsidies to sell aircraft to Delta, an American carrier, at below cost price.Few in either country question that Bombardier has had vital financial support from the Canadian and British governments since 2005 for its small jetliner, the C-Series. As the plane’s development costs soared, to $5.4bn, Bombardier struggled to find buyers for it; financial trouble followed. An estimated C$4bn ($3.4bn) in state support, including C$2.8bn in 2015, stopped a nosedive. It was not until 2016 that the aircraft’s future seemed assured, when Delta ordered 75 units. Boeing then accused Bombardier of dumping the jets into America at “absurdly low” prices and asked the Commerce Department to impose countervailing duties. A preliminary ruling is due on September 25th. 15 Aircraft-makers are no strangers to subsidy disputes. Brazil, home to Embraer, which makes a rival to the C-Series, has complained to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about Bombardier. But Boeing is a particularly active litigant, not only against Bombardier but against Airbus, which it says got billions of dollars of cheap loans from the EU. Naturally, Boeing itself got billions of dollars of help (in the form of military contracts) to get off the ground back in the 1950s and 1960s. Nor does it have a plane that competes with the C-Series. “Boeing says it wants a level playing field, but it is not even on the field,” spits Fred Cromer, president of Bombardier Aerospace.That may be problematic, as industries usually need to show “material injury” to gain protection from anti-subsidy duties. Boeing has not made planes the size of the C-Series since 2006, notes Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive, and has no plans to do so. “Instead Boeing offered to lease us second-hand planes built in Brazil,” he says. And when Boeing accused Bombardier of selling its planes to Delta for less than they cost to build, it appeared to forget that it did the same with over 300 of its 787 jets. Furthermore, its estimate of the cost of the C-Series was inflated by looking at only one year early in the production life cycle.Even so, at the Commerce Department Boeing may be pushing on an open door. Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, has imposed countervailing duties on imports ranging from steel plate from South Korea to tool chests from China, and has angered Canada by placing a levy of up to 24% on its softwood lumber.Boeing has reasons to guard against Bombardier. First, it fears encirclement by state-subsidised aircraft makers—not only Airbus and Bombardier, but ambitious state-supported Chinese and Russian producers. Second, Bombardier might grow into another Airbus, a rival Boeing did not take seriously until it was too late. Bombardier could stretch its fuel-efficient C-Series planes to challenge Boeing’s smallest airliner, a big earner for the American firm but based on an old design. “Strangling the baby in the pram may prove rather convenient,” says an adviser close to Boeing.In the meantime, Mr Trudeau and Mrs May are both lobbying Mr Trump on Bombardier’s behalf, and Canada is likely to appeal in the courts and at the WTO. If Boeing gets its way, about 3,500 jobs will be threatened in Quebec, where Canadian politicians are wary of stirring up separatist sentiment, and a further 4,500 in Northern Ireland, where Bombardier is the largest private-sector employer. Mrs May’s Conservative government is propped up by the ten MPs from the province’s Democratic Unionist Party; Bombardier lies in east Belfast, the party’s heartland.Canada has also threatened to cancel a likely $5bn order of military jets from Boeing if the American company prevails against Bombardier; Britain could follow its lead. Several airlines, fearing less competition among planemakers, are unhappy with Boeing’s behaviour and privately threaten to shun its jets if it continues to bully its smaller rival. This may be the trade case that ends up costing Boeing much more than it has to gain. "Aerial bombardment"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729469-row-between-planemakers-has-become-political-boeing-takes-flight-hypocrisy?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'29af8f993ca7a9295ff89de9f852add87ecde1c0'|'What if large tech firms were regulated like sewage companies?'|'THREE-QUARTERS of Americans admit that they search the web, send e-mails and check their social-media accounts in the bathroom. That is not the only connection between tech and plumbing. The water and sewage industry offers clues to the vexed question of how to regulate the Silicon Valley “platform” firms, such as Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook. The implications are mildly terrifying for the companies, so any tech tycoons reading this column might want to secure a spare pair of trousers.In America and in Europe a consensus is emerging that big tech firms must be tamed. Their dominance of services such as search and social media gives them huge economic and political clout. The $3trn total market value of America’s five biggest tech firms (Apple and Microsoft are the other two) suggests that investors believe they are among the most powerful firms in history, up there with the East India Company and Standard Oil.Latest updates Bitcoin   8   8 hours ago California sues Donald Trump over his border wall plan Democracy in America 17 hours ago “I don’t want the last car made in Germany to end up in a museum” Kaffeeklatsch 18 hours ago Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund passes the $1trn mark Graphic detail 20 hours ago A colourful way of bringing attention to South Side Chicago Prospero 20   Trustbusters in need of instant gratification want to break up the companies, but this might make their services less useful (imagine having ten social-media accounts), and network effects might mean that one of the tiddlers would grow dominant again. Others want tech firms to license their patents for nothing, as AT&T was required to do in 1956. This might create startups tomorrow, but will not stop firms exploiting monopolies today.An alternative is to regulate these companies like utilities—monopolies with high market shares that provide an essential service from which it is expensive for consumers to switch. Here, the water industry is relevant, particularly the concept of a regulated asset base (RAB). It emerged in the 1990s when Britain was privatising its water firms, borrowing elements from American regulation. It is an acronym that few in Silicon Valley are aware of. But from these obscure origins RAB frameworks are now common in Europe and Latin America, used to regulate at least $400bn-worth of power, airport, water and telecoms assets.The idea is that the monopolist’s profits should not exceed the level that a competitive market would allow. That means estimating the cost to an imaginary new entrant of replicating the incumbent’s assets (this is the RAB) and calculating the profits the newcomer would make if its returns matched its cost of capital. The actual monopoly’s earnings should not exceed this amount. Safeguards are added to ensure the utility is run efficiently, keeping costs low. Regulators review the framework every few years.How might utility-style regulation work for Silicon Valley firms? Consider a thought experiment with Facebook. Its 1.3bn users pay nothing, but give it their data and control over the adverts they see. Facebook then sells advertisers targeted access to its users, pulling in $27bn last year. Imagine that the service were “unbundled”, giving users control. All would own their data and could choose whether to sell them to advertisers. They would also have to pay Facebook a fee to compensate it for the cost of creating and operating the network.The big question is how much compensation—profits—Facebook and other firms would deserve if they were treated as utilities. It is possible to get a rough idea. Assume a cost of capital of 12%—a high figure to reflect the risk inherent in tech firms’ models. Estimating their RABs is harder. They have some physical assets such as data centres, but unlike utilities their main resources are not pylons, pipes and property, but software and ideas that they create or acquire by buying rivals. Only some of these intangibles appear on their balance-sheets; the vast sums spent on research and development (R&D) do not. But you can reconfigure their balance-sheets as if all their R&D in the past had been recognised as an asset with a 20-year life. Alphabet and Facebook would have a combined RAB of $160bn. If their returns were capped at 12%, operating profits would fall by 65% and 81% respectively.If their services were unbundled, users would benefit. Using figures from 2016, the average Facebook user would pay $15 a year to the firm for its return on its RAB, but they would pocket $23 from selling advertisers their data and the right to be advertised to. A Google user would pay $37 a year to Google, but collect $45 from advertisers. Those are fairly small sums, but richer users with particularly valuable data could make much more.Bog standardRegulating tech like water would cause an outcry among investors and in Silicon Valley. Yet some of the objections do not stack up. Essential investment would still happen—a guaranteed 12% return is a handsome reward. The firms could invest in new technologies that would remain outside the regulated utility. It would be possible to work out which assets sit abroad and exclude them from the RAB, or to reach arrangements with foreign regulators.This approach would have shortcomings, though. Tech moves at the speed of light compared with conventional utilities. It was only five years ago that investors worried that Facebook would struggle with the shift to mobile phones. Regulators would be clumsy at coping with rapid change. And a RAB methodology would not resolve the incendiary issue of whether tech platforms should be responsible for what they publish.Despite such problems, tech bosses should view regulation as utilities as a long-term risk. They have two defences. First, to bundle their services so tightly that it is impossible for outsiders to isolate the products that are monopolies and work out their profits and assets. Amazon is a master here. It is unclear how much it makes or has invested in e-commerce (where it is dominant), videos (where it is a challenger), or food (where it is a new entrant).The second defence is to lobby Washington. The lesson from America’s veteran oligopolists—airline, telecoms and health-care companies—is that you can manipulate and dance around the regulatory system to ensure high profits. For tech firms, financial obfuscation and cronyism are the most effective ways to ensure their monopoly profits do not go down the drain.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Big tech, big trouble"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729455-being-treated-utilities-big-techs-biggest-long-term-threat-what-if-large-tech-firms-were?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-23T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'1b568bb06b53208bf6db72a84440c3572cbb4999'|'Telia settles U.S., European bribery probes for $965.8 million'|'  6:49 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Telia settles U.S., European bribery probes for $965.8 million Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - Telia Co ( TELIA.ST ) agreed to pay $965.8 million (711.45 million pounds) to settle U.S. and European criminal and civil charges that the Swedish phone company paid bribes to win business in Uzbekistan. Thursday’s settlements, including an Uzbek unit’s guilty plea to a bribery charge, resolve probes by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Dutch prosecutors of the Stockholm-based company. Telia’s U.S. criminal settlement is the first major resolution of a foreign bribery case under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) since Donald Trump, who has called that statute a “horrible law,” entered the White House. More than half of the payout, $548.6 million, represents criminal penalties. Telia said the accords resolve all known corruption-related investigations of the company, although Swedish prosecutors are still investigating possible misconduct by individuals. “Today’s settlement brings an end to an unfortunate chapter in Telia Company’s history,” Chief Executive Johan Dennelind said. Authorities said Telia and its Coscom LLC unit in Uzbekistan conspired to pay an Uzbek government official $331.2 million in bribes from 2007 to 2010 for help in entering and expanding their share of the country’s telecommunications market. The SEC said bribes were funnelled through payments for sham lobbying and consulting services to a company controlled by the official, who in December 2007 was given a 26 percent stake in a holding company for Coscom. Authorities said the corruption enabled Telia to reap more than $457 million of illegal gains and $2.5 billion of revenue. Telia agreed to enter a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department, while Coscom pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the FCPA. Deferred prosecution agreements let companies avoid criminal charges so long as they comply with the terms. According to Telia’s agreement, the company will monitor and where necessary improve its compliance program and internal controls, and has already terminated everyone involved in the misconduct, as well as their supervisors. “The company deeply regrets its historical conduct engaged in by former management,” David Stuart, a lawyer for Telia, told U.S. District Judge George Daniels at a hearing in Manhattan. Telia had estimated in April that the settlements might cost about $1 billion. In February 2016, Amsterdam-based VimpelCom, now called Veon Ltd ( VON.AS ), reached $795 million in settlements to resolve U.S. and Dutch bribery probes related to Uzbekistan. Founded in 1853, Telia has a presence in 14 countries and in Europe has mobile, broadband, TV and fixed-line operations in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Brendan Pierson in in New York; and Johannes Hellstrom, Anna Ringstrom and Olof Swahnberg in Stockholm; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-telia-company-settlement/telia-settles-u-s-european-bribery-probes-for-965-8-million-idUKKCN1BW2PX'|'2017-09-21T21:49:00.000+03:00'
'8506c39646eefefcca4f801c8b8266de0db02d22'|'Cuts to social services and increased tax revenue deliver reduced budget deficit - Business'|'Cuts to social services and increased tax revenue deliver reduced budget deficit Treasurer Scott Morrison says ‘cautious and wise’ approach to finances is helping Australia maintain its credit rating Scott Morrison welcomed the cut in social services of more than $5bn as the ‘biggest contributor’ to the deficit reduction. Photograph: Daniel Munoz/AAP Cuts to social services and increased tax revenue deliver reduced budget deficit Treasurer Scott Morrison says ‘cautious and wise’ approach to finances is helping Australia maintain its credit rating View more sharing options Tuesday 26 September 2017 06.27 BST Last modified on Tuesday 26 September 2017 07.01 BST A multibillion-dollar cut to spending on social services and higher-than-expected tax revenue have helped the government deliver a smaller budget deficit than forecast for 2016-17. The treasurer, Scott Morrison , said the smaller deficit illustrated the Coalition had been taking a “cautious and wise” approach to the nation’s finances, helping Australia maintain its credit rating. But Labor says the result is more “good luck than good policy”, with $4bn in extra revenue coming from a better-than-forecast tax take. NDIS rollout targets in doubt because of lack of resourcing, Allan Fels says Read more Treasury officials released the final budget outcome for the 2016-17 budget on Tuesday, showing an underlying cash deficit of $33.2bn for last financial year. The Turnbull government had been expecting a deficit of $37.6bn, so it has welcomed the $4.4bn overestimate. Figures show the budget benefited from higher-than-estimated tax receipts (worth $2bn) and non-tax receipts ($2.1bn) last financial year, and lower-than-expected government payments ($1.2bn), which were also partly offset by higher net Future Fund earnings ($860m). Company tax receipts last year were $590m higher than estimated; GST receipts were $569m higher; receipts from superannuation fund taxes were $488m higher; and excise and duty receipts were $197m higher, among others. But the Coalition has also pursued more than $5bn in cuts to spending on social services since last year’s budget, and has brought government payments down by $1.2bn more than expected. Payments under the National Disability Insurance Scheme were $866m lower that expected last year, due to a more gradual transition of participants into the NDIS than estimated and underutilisation of capital expenditure. Payments across a range of employment services programs were $205m lower, reflecting lower-than-expected demand for wage subsidies and activities supported by the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme and the Job Commitment Bonus. Payments under the student payments program were $138m lower, reflecting lower-than-expected number of students receiving income support. Payments for the management of illegal maritime arrivals (IMA) were hundreds of millions of dollars lower, reflecting lower-than-expected costs under the Onshore Compliance and Detention program ($154m) and the IMA Offshore Management program ($102m). Federal budget 2017: the 10 graphs you need to see - Greg Jericho Read more The decreases in spending were partially offset by the provision for underspends in the contingency reserve and higher-than-expected payments under the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme ($1.2bn), primarily the result of an increased uptake of medicines. Morrison welcomed the cut in spending on social services, saying it helped the Coalition hold the line on spending. “Payments have come in at 25% of GDP,” he said on Tuesday. “The biggest contributor to what we’ve been able to achieve on the spending side has been a reduction in payments on social services of more than $5bn from when we first announced that position on budget night in 2016. “Since 2013-14, we’ve been holding the line on expenditure. “At the time of our government’s first [budget] in 2013-14, payments for 2016-17 were estimated to be at $447bn. The final budget outcome is at $439bn for that year now. Labor’s finance spokesman, Jim Chalmers, said the government’s “minor” improvement in the budget is more about “good luck than good policy”. Earlier this month, Morrison claimed there were better days ahead for Australia’s economy after new figures showed an annual growth rate of 1.8%, thanks to a strong pick-up in economic activity in the June quarter. He said the pick-up in growth was consistent with economic developments in the US and Britain, and showed the economy was moving towards “balanced growth”. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/26/cuts-to-social-services-and-increased-tax-revenue-deliver-reduced-budget-defcit'|'2017-09-26T13:27:00.000+03:00'
'36f0cc21fda797831e5feea78e7644fb0eecd9bf'|'SAP to buy data specialist Gigya - Reuters'|'September 24, 2017 / 5:28 PM / Updated an hour ago SAP to buy customer management software firm Gigya Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: SAP headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - SAP ( SAPG.DE ), Europe’s biggest technology company, has agreed to buy U.S.-Israeli customer identity software company Gigya to strengthen its position in the booming market for online customer relationship marketing, the company said on Sunday. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will tie together Gigya’s user identity access and management platform with SAP’s Hybris customer profile data-matching software so businesses can market services to online customers. Several Israeli media put a purchase price on the deal of $350 million for Gigya, which was founded in Israel in 2006 before relocating its headquarters to Silicon Valley. Both companies declined to comment on price of the deal. Gigya software enables companies to manage customer marketing profiles and preferences, while giving consumers themselves the power to opt-in and give their consent, helping users to keep control of their data at all times, SAP said. The acquisition beefs up SAP’s ability to help companies doing business in Europe to comply with privacy regulations such as the EU’s upcoming General Data Protection Regulation. Gigya currently manages 1.3 billion customer identity profiles. “Major independent analyst firms, most recently Forrester Research, have positioned Gigya as a top vendor in this field,” SAP said in a statement announcing the deal. Forrester ranks Gigya as leader in the niche field of user identity management against rivals such as Salesforce ( CRM.N ), Ping Identity, Auth0 and Microsoft ( MSFT.O ), singling Gigya out for its more intuitive user interface and security. It counts 700 big businesses as users, including half of the top 100 U.S. web properties, and European brands such as retailer ASOS ( ASOS.L ), pharmaceutical maker Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ), cosmetics firm L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ) and airline KLM ( AIRF.PA ), according to Gigya. Gigya will be incorporated into SAP’s Hybris marketing business, which offers so-called “ommichannel” integration that allows businesses to keep tabs on customers whether they shop in stores, online or on their phones, SAP said. Since 2013, Gigya has been a partner of Hybris, which SAP acquired the same year. The transaction is expected to close in the final quarter of 2017, subject to regulatory approval, SAP said. Reporting by Eric Auchard, Vera Eckert and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen and Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sap-se-gigya-m-a/sap-to-buy-data-specialist-gigya-idINKCN1BZ0SW'|'2017-09-24T15:28:00.000+03:00'
'6df9db9f80ace580ce6830224a431fc3c0bafbe0'|'Air France targets younger crowd with lower-cost unit Joon'|' 54 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Air France targets younger crowd with lower-cost unit Joon Cyril Altmeyer 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - Air France ( AIRF.PA ) formally launched on Monday its new “Joon” lower-cost airline, which the company hopes will attract a younger clientele and restore some routes to profitability. Air France said on Monday that Joon would start off by flying to six destinations. Starting from December 1, Joon will fly to four cities in Europe - Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon and Porto. It will then fly to Fortaleza in Brazil and the Seychelles from the end of March 2018. Single fares to the European cities will start from 39 euros, while fares to Brazil and the Seychelles will range from 249-299 euros respectively. Joon will be hiring 1,000 cabin crew staff between now and 2020, Air France chief executive Franck Terner told reporters. The airline will initially use A340 aircraft on long-haul routes and switch to more modern A350 planes from 2019. Joon, which is targeting the ‘Millennials’ generation, will be run by Jean-Michel Mathieu, who has been involved with the project since the start and has held various positions in sales, digital and revenue management within the Air France-KLM group. Air France wants to bring down costs in order to compete better against Gulf carriers on long-haul routes, and against budget carriers on short-haul routes. Other airlines stepping up their low-cost offerings include British Airways’ owner IAG ( ICAG.L ), Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) Eurowings and Canada’s WestJet ( WJA.TO ), while problems at Ryanair ( RYA.I ) have also highlighted the fight for passengers in the sector. In July, Air France-KLM offered optimism on pricing for the rest of the year, after good travel demand resulted in better than expected second-quarter profit. Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Victoria Bryan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-france-klm-joon/air-france-targets-younger-crowd-with-lower-cost-unit-joon-idUKKCN1C0123'|'2017-09-25T12:54:00.000+03:00'
'bcd3f9d42497fcd7ef1a48a4118786fbac847977'|'P&G, Peltz vie for small investor votes in biggest-ever proxy fight'|' 15 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago P&G, Peltz vie for small investor votes in biggest-ever proxy fight Michael Flaherty 7 Min Read Tom Neubecker is pictured at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. on September 21, 2017. Courtesy Tom Neubecker/Handout via REUTERS NEW YORK (Reuters) - The largest corporate proxy fight in history, between Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ) and activist investor Nelson Peltz, may ultimately be decided by small shareholders like Tom Neubecker. The Cincinnati retiree is among the company’s vast army of individual stock owners that collectively hold about 40 percent of the consumer goods giant, a much higher proportion than at most big companies. The majority of votes for or against the nomination of Peltz, chief executive and founding partner of Trian Partners, to P&G’s board will be cast by massive index investors such as Vanguard Group Inc and BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ). But small shareholders could tip the balance in a tight vote. As a result, both P&G and Trian are spending unprecedented amounts of money and effort courting Neubecker and his fellow retail holders; by email, old-fashioned paper mail and even social media. Like most individual shareholders who vote in corporate elections, Neubecker is backing management. “A lot of us have the fear that if Peltz is successful, he will break up the company and cut back retiree benefits,” said Neubecker, 66, who keeps tabs on the P&G proxy fight through an email group called “PNGeezers,” made up of around 2,000 company retirees. Opposition from shareholders like Neubecker represents an uphill struggle for Trian, which wants to streamline the maker of Crest toothpaste and Gillette razors into three autonomous units, which the fund says will allow the company to react faster to market changes. P&G, with a market value of $235 billion, has rejected that idea, saying its recent global reorganization is already creating value. Trian, where Peltz is CEO and co-founder, disclosed a $3.5 billion stake in P&G in February. The firm nominated Peltz to the board in July and put forward its strategic plan last month. P&G rejected the election of Peltz to the board as an unnecessary disruption. Trian has said it is not seeking to break up P&G or cut pension benefits. Nevertheless, Neubecker said he already voted online in favor of his former employer, ahead of P&G’s Oct. 10 annual meeting when the final votes will be counted. Out of six small P&G investors contacted by Reuters, four said they would vote with management. EVERY VOTE MATTERS Trian lost a proxy fight against industrial conglomerate DuPont in 2015, which the fund blamed on failing to win over large index funds and small investors. DuPont “clearly did a better job with the retail shareholder,” Peltz told reporters after the vote. This time around, with even more small investors in play, Trian does not want to make the same mistake. Neubecker said he has seen several ads on his Facebook feed that link to Trian’s “Revitalize P&G” website and to videos of Peltz and former P&G Chief Financial Officer Clayton Daley, who is advising Trian. The video of Peltz features him sitting in Trian’s Park Avenue, New York City headquarters, discussing P&G’s future, gripping a Trian-labeled coffee mug that reads “Sales up, expenses down.” In response, P&G has called upon more than a century of product marketing experience with its own “Vote Blue” campaign. One YouTube video begins with an image of P&G’s blue logo and a banner proclaiming “Every Single Vote Matters!”. A narrator and series of slick images offer step-by-step instructions, ending by asking viewers to vote for the blue proxy card and to throw Trian’s white card in the recycling bin. DELUGE OF PAPER It is not yet clear how effective the campaigns will be. “Social media can definitely get you closer to the retail shareholder in a proxy fight,” said Waheed Hassan at Alliance Advisors, which consults companies on mergers and proxy fights. Grabbing shareholders’ attention and getting them to vote is a massive undertaking. Retail investors own 40 percent of P&G’s stock, or 1.1 billion shares, according to the company, more than DuPont’s entire outstanding shares at the time of its proxy fight. P&G’s larger-than-normal retail base is due, in part, to long-running stock-based incentive plans for employees and the attraction of its well-known brand names for “mom and pop” investors. Of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, P&G has the fifth-largest retail investor base, according to data from research firm Proxy Insight, which tallied retail and insider holdings of each company. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, with a large portion of insider holdings, tops that list. To reach retail investors, P&G has dispatched at least five mailings while Trian has sent at least three since the campaign started last month. “The intent of both sides is very clear,” said Frank Rhodes, 84, who retired from P&G in 1989 and lives in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, a short drive from the company’s Cincinnati, Ohio headquarters. “I just don’t understand why they’re sending all of this mail.” Since August, Rhodes and his wife, who also worked at P&G, have received hundreds of pages of proxy materials and more than 30 blue and white proxy cards - thanks to multiple stock accounts within the family. Rhodes, who mailed in his vote for management, said he has also received a Facebook message and two phone calls from each side. GETTING OUT EARLY Trian was first to get its proxy materials cleared by securities regulators, in July, giving it a slight head start on its campaign and the right to use a white proxy voting card, a color usually offered by management. The white card may appeal to retail investors, who often side with a company out of a sense of loyalty, and could even be mistaken for the P&G card, proxy experts said. “There is some strategic importance to the white card, so in that sense, Trian did kind of pick P&G’s pocket,” said Damien Park of advisory firm Hedge Fund Solutions. Trian hit the Cincinnati media circuit early too, with Peltz giving interviews late in August, just prior to P&G’s rollout of CEO David Taylor to the local press. Both sides have to keep the pressure on until the end of the fight as shareholders can submit as many voting cards as they want but only the last one counts. Shareholder John Lame, who worked in P&G’s finance department, said he voted online for Trian, swayed by Peltz’s industry experience. ”Around one-third of the retail vote could change in the next few weeks,” said Lame, now CEO of Lenox Wealth Management in Cincinnati, which manages the money of around 250 area families. “As Trian has now made its case, people are saying, ‘These guys make sense.''” Reporting by Michael Flaherty in New York; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Bill Rigby'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-trian-investors/pg-peltz-vie-for-small-investor-votes-in-biggest-ever-proxy-fight-idUKKCN1C01CW'|'2017-09-25T14:10:00.000+03:00'
'174e9369ee6872cf8e048b861ded05b6ecb088b1'|'Lufthansa seen offering to pay 200 million euros for Air Berlin assets - source'|'September 23, 2017 / 10:18 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago Lufthansa seen offering to pay 200 million euros for Air Berlin assets - source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Planes of the Lufthansa airline stand on the tarmac in Frankfurt airport, Germany, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) bid price of 200 million euros (177.18 million pounds) to buy assets from insolvent Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) plus 100 million euros to meet operating costs is roughly correct, a source familiar with the talks said on Sunday. The newspaper Bild am Sonntag earlier reported the figures, citing sources close to the proceedings. The newspaper said that there could be three months between signing a purchasing contract and implementing the transaction because German and European competition authorities would need to vet any deal. After it filed for insolvency last month the Berlin government granted Air Berlin a 150-million-euro bridging loan to keep the airline flying for three months. On Thursday Air Berlin’s creditor committee said it would talk to Lufthansa and Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ) as possible buyers for the carrier’s assets, giving three weeks for negotiations. The source told Reuters that slots at Duesseldorf airport are among the assets that Lufthansa and easyJet both want. Sources familiar with the matter said last week that Lufthansa was bidding a three-digit-million sum with the offer covering parts of Air Berlin, its leisure subsidiary Niki and regional unit Luftfahrt Gesellschaft Walter. Lufthansa itself has only said it has made an offer for parts of Air Berlin. Reporting by Vera Eckert and Ilona Wissenbach, editing by Sabine Wollrab and XXX'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-offering-to-pay-200-million-euros-for-air-berlin-bams-idUKKCN1BY0ZZ'|'2017-09-24T14:01:00.000+03:00'
'eb1b98dde9a2c4ba85ee39c75bcb08733eb1ed6c'|'A private solution for China’s zombie company problem? Unlikely'|'September 23, 2017 / 11:27 PM / Updated 18 hours ago A private solution for China’s zombie company problem? Unlikely Julie Zhu , Sumeet Chatterjee 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An employee sits at the reception of the headquarters building of China Life insurance in Beijing, China, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s latest push to revive its bloated state-owned sector is set to pick up pace this year, with bankers and investors expecting possible spin-offs and asset sales to follow a key Communist Party Congress in October. But the effort is likely to only involve a limited role for private money, even as Beijing has been promoting it as crucial for reforming state-owned enterprises (SOEs), according to people familiar with China’s plans. Beijing would likely lean on cash-rich SOEs like China Life Insurance ( 601628.SS ) and Citic Group Corporation to bail out the largest of the struggling companies, the people said. They cited China Life stepping in to help China Unicom ( 0762.HK ) raise $12 billion last month. A limited role for private capital would raise questions about the depth of any overhaul of the SOEs. China hopes to speed up the reforms in order to meet ambitious economic growth targets and manage its corporate debt burden. “The current model allows winners, companies doing better, to partially own those doing worse,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis. “In other words, this is a reshuffling of profit, loss among SOEs to a large extent.” China Life is in talks with China Three Gorges New Energy, a unit of the country’s top hydropower developer, according to sources familiar with the matter. They said it could also be critical to others in line for so-called mixed ownership, the injection of private capital into state enterprises. Those companies include China Southern Power Grid, China State Shipbuilding Corp and China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Corporation.. China Life and Citic Group did not respond to requests for comment. China’s state-run companies dominate the country’s key industries, from banking to insurance, energy, and telecoms. They retain an edge over their private rivals in investing both locally and overseas, in part thanks to easier financing. But they also produce lower returns than their private counterparts and account for the biggest proportion of the bad loans on the books of the country’s banks. The fund raising by Unicom, a state-owned telecoms group, had sparked hopes for the mixed ownership effort, as outlined in a 2015 government plan. The partial privatization of Unicom in August, involving 14 investors, including the tech giants Alibaba ( BABA.N ) and Tencent ( 0700.HK ), was welcomed by markets. But, as Beijing balanced the need for cash with the need for control, China Life ended up with a 10.6 percent stake in the company, nearly a third of the total sold. New investors, including China Life, were given three of 15 board seats. “For the SOE reforms to really take off, the ownership of these companies should be truly diversified both in terms of equity holding as well as governance,” said a Beijing-based lawyer who works with the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning body, and private companies. FILE PHOTO: Company logos of China Unicom are displayed at a news conference during the company''s announcement of its annual results in Hong Kong, China March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo “That will be difficult to achieve: there is no incentive for private enterprises to invest in most of these state-owned firms,” said the lawyer, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. “So it will be basically a case of using one SOE’s cash balance to try and revive another.” The NDRC and SASAC did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. CAPITAL RAISING, BY INVITATION Private capital is still expected to play an increasing role. Responding to stagnating foreign direct investment and even a possible decline this year, China said last month that it would become more open to international investors - its latest statement about opening up to foreign cash. FILE PHOTO: A logo on the CITIC Building is pictured next to a construction site in Beijing, China June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo That includes areas like banking, insurance and securities, where foreign ownership limitations have long grated on overseas companies trying to penetrate the China market. And bankers - with one eye on next month’s Party Congress - expect the post-October wave of state enterprise reform to be more than just tie-ups. It could, some said, extend to smaller sales of unwanted, undervalued assets that may be more attractive to private investors, if they are allowed control. The Party Congress “will be a very important inflection point,” Wei Sun Christianson, China chief executive and Asia Pacific co-chief executive for Morgan Stanley, said at a conference this month, referring to possible sales or spin-offs in the aftermath. “All of that creates opportunities for investors.” For now, the playing field is favoring the likes of China Life. China Three Gorges New Energy, its next likely investment, according to the people familiar with the matter, is planning to raise about $1.5 billion from new investors. Other potential investors in China Three Gorges, the next enterprise to receive outside cash, are also state-backed – and there is tepid interest from private investors in the company, said one of the people who has knowledge of the process. We “will actively participate in the next round of mixed-ownership reforms,” China Life’s chairman, Yang Mingsheng, said at an earnings news conference last month. But while some mixed-ownership candidates hold little appeal for private cash, some private players will be considering more than just returns when they weigh their role in China’s reform push. “In China, you can’t always think about how to make money,” said one private investor who joined Unicom’s fundraising drive. “You also need to take part in such reforms to show your support for the government’s policy.” Reporting by Julie Zhu and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Philip McClellan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-soe-reforms-analysis/a-private-solution-for-chinas-zombie-company-problem-unlikely-idUSKCN1BY10Q'|'2017-09-24T02:26:00.000+03:00'
'69e2305c12efd83a72136cb0055e9f11427ec35d'|'Russia''s En+ could launch IPO as soon as Sept 28 - sources'|'September 24, 2017 / 1:44 PM / Updated 37 minutes ago Russia''s En+ could launch IPO as soon as Sept 28 - sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - En+ Group, which manages Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s aluminium and hydropower businesses, could launch its initial public offering (IPO) as soon as Sept. 28, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. En+ owns assets in metals and energy, including a 48 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed Russian aluminium producer Rusal, which is a big consumer of hydroelectricity produced by companies owned by En+. Preparation for an intention-to-float announcement, which usually starts the public marketing phase of an IPO, is well under way, one of the sources said, adding that a delay was still possible, subject to final decision. En+ declined to comment. Sources told Reuters in April that the initial valuation of the business would be up to $10 billion, a level some in the industry have said is too ambitious. En+ aims to raise about $1.5 billion from the possible IPO in London, Deripaska said in June. This is now more likely to be $1 billion, two of the sources said. China’s CEFC is considering investing in En+ as part of the IPO, industry sources told Reuters this month. Reporting by Clara Denina in London, Katya Golubkova and Polina Devitt in Moscow; Additional reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-en-ipo/russias-en-could-launch-ipo-as-soon-as-sept-28-sources-idINKCN1BZ0EE'|'2017-09-24T16:41:00.000+03:00'
'e072b9960b016ecfec3c369d25d203be5e5ae7a1'|'Amazon affiliate to buy 1.79 billion-rupee stake in Indian retailer Shoppers Stop'|'  3:09 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Amazon affiliate to buy 1.79 billion-rupee stake in Indian retailer Shoppers Stop Reuters Staff 1   Employees of Amazon India are seen behind a glass bearing the company''s logo inside its office in Bengaluru, India, August 14, 2015. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - An affiliate of Amazon.com Inc has agreed to buy a 1.79 billion-rupee (£20.4 million) stake in Indian retailer Shoppers Stop Ltd, the Indian company said in a filing. Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC, a foreign portfolio investor, will subscribe to about 4.4 million shares, equivalent to an about 5 percent stake, in the Indian retailer at 407.78 rupees apiece on a preferential basis, Shoppers Stop told the stock exchanges late on Saturday. On Friday, Shoppers Stop shares had closed 3 percent lower at 418.10 rupees on the National Stock Exchange. The Amazon affiliate will not take a board position, Shoppers Stop, which operates large department stores and other retail outlets, said in the filing. Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shoppers-stop-stake-amazon-com/amazon-affiliate-to-buy-1-79-billion-rupee-stake-in-indian-retailer-shoppers-stop-idUKKCN1BZ01U'|'2017-09-24T06:09:00.000+03:00'
'7b4b7fe7468d8532aaa135c5d06f76087af0aeee'|'UPDATE 1-EU to investigate $54 bln Luxottica, Essilor deal'|'(Adds details, shares)By Foo Yun CheeBRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will investigate whether the proposed 46-billion-euro ($54 billion) merger of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lenses maker Essilor will push up prices and drive out rivals from the market.The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation on Tuesday, saying the deal involving the two companies, both top-ranked in their sectors, may reduce competition in ophthalmic lenses and eyewear.The move came after the companies declined to offer concessions in a preliminary review. Reuters reported on Sept. 11 that the competition enforcer had expressed worries about the deal to the companies.Luxottica shares fell 1.4 percent to 46.86 euros in late trading, while Essilor’s declined 1.3 percent to 103.35 euros.European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the deal could affect a huge number of people.“Half of Europeans wear glasses and almost all of us will need vision correction one day. Therefore we need to carefully assess whether the proposed merger would lead to higher prices or reduced choices for opticians and ultimately consumers,” she said.Key concerns include the possibility that the merged company may persuade opticians to buy eyewear and lenses as a package and exclude rival eyewear suppliers competing for ophthalmic lenses.The Commission will decide by Feb. 12 whether to clear the deal. Luxottica owns brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley. Essilor competes with Hoya, Carl Zeiss and Bausch & Lomb.$1 = 0.8490 euros Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Julia Fioretti and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/luxottica-group-ma-essilor-eu/update-1-eu-to-investigate-54-bln-luxottica-essilor-deal-idINL8N1M74T5'|'2017-09-26T13:40:00.000+03:00'
'6dfd8fd4f30152094b2c0db3bebebaca43e6c43c'|'Apple shares flirt with correction territory'|'September 25, 2017 / 6:36 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Apple shares flirt with correction territory Noel Randewich 2 Min Read A woman looks at the screen of her mobile phone in front of an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc dipped on Monday and flirted with correction territory following a report that the company had told suppliers to scale back shipments of parts for its upcoming iPhone X. Digitimes, citing unnamed sources, reported that Apple suppliers were shipping just 40 percent of the components originally ordered for the premium phone, which goes on sale in early November. That added to concerns on Wall Street about demand for Apple’s new devices after the launch on Friday of the iPhone 8, a less expensive model than the iPhone X, drew smaller crowds than previous launches. Apple declined to comment. Some investors saw the tepid iPhone 8 debut as a sign that customers were holding out for the iPhone X, which boasts an edge-to-edge display and will sell in the United States for $999. Amid a broad selloff in technology shares on Monday, Apple’s stock finished down 0.9 percent. It earlier fell as much as 1.8 percent, bringing its loss since a record high on Sept. 1 to 9 percent. Many investors define a correction as a 10 percent decline. A stock in correction may be viewed as either a buying opportunity or as likely to fall further. “I’d buy Apple in this pullback,” said Wedbush trader Joel Kulina. “It’s a high-priced product but super high-end.” While the number of people lining up outside Apple stores has dropped over the past several years with many buyers choosing to shop online, the weak turnout for the latest iPhone has partly been due to poor reviews. Apple’s stock recently traded at 13.8 times expected earnings, its lowest valuation since February, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. Over the past two years, Apple’s average forward price-to-earnings ratio has been 12.6. Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-stocks/apple-shares-flirt-with-correction-territory-idUKKCN1C02OA'|'2017-09-26T02:50:00.000+03:00'
'58c4277ef59557b9bcf01950b19c17639059ec3b'|'Australia returns funds to China from money-laundering swoops'|'September 26, 2017 / 2:31 AM / Updated 36 minutes ago Australia returns funds to China from money-laundering swoops Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia has returned around A$215,000 (126,114 pounds) to China in funds it has seized from money laundering cases as the two countries agreed on Tuesday to beef up efforts to crack down on financial crime. Australia has been working with China’s “Operation Fox Hunt” to snare suspected corrupt officials who have fled overseas or hidden assets offshore. A handful of the 100 top suspects wanted by Beijing are living in Australia. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said the payment demonstrated that Australia was a “hostile environment for criminals seeking to hide their illegally-obtained assets.” However, the returned money is tiny compared to the A$4.8 billion in Chinese direct investment into Australia in 2016. Colvin was in Beijing for talks with the Ministry of Public Security. The two countries have set up a joint working group to combat financial crime and money-laundering and track down assets linked to the proceeds of crime in both countries. Australian police said the group was the first of its kind with China and would extend the reach of Fox Hunt. They also plan to formalise future cooperation on a range of crime types, including terrorism, that could impact security in both countries. China outbound investment has dropped this year as Beijing has clamped down on capital outflows, looking to curb “irrational” investment in property and other sectors. Australia is among the favoured destinations for Chinese buying housing and commercial property offshore. Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Jane Wardell and Michael Perry'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-china-moneylaundering/australia-returns-funds-to-china-from-money-laundering-swoops-idUKKCN1C107Q'|'2017-09-26T05:31:00.000+03:00'
'8de4de53278f0b10149ab2bb5c635533ec9f04f9'|'India to decide Oct-March borrowing at Sept. 28 meeting - finmin source'|'September 26, 2017 / 7:07 AM / Updated 5 hours ago India to decide Oct-March borrowing at Sept. 28 meeting - finmin source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will decide its October-March government borrowing amount on Thursday, a finance ministry official said on Tuesday. The government has said it will borrow 3.72 trillion rupees ($56.92 billion) via bonds during April-September, comprising 64 percent of its full-year borrowing. However, market participants expect the government to borrow more than the estimated amount in the second half of the fiscal year ending March, given its plans for fiscal stimulus to boost the economy which will entail higher-than-budgeted spending. ($1 = 65.3500 Indian rupees) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-govt-borrowings/india-to-decide-oct-march-borrowing-at-sept-28-meeting-finmin-source-idINKCN1C10O1'|'2017-09-26T10:06:00.000+03:00'
'b8db2028d0860e9d1e25e8b66a5561477183d64a'|'Australia PM says to curb LNG exports if producers do not fill shortfall'|'MELBOURNE, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said his government will curb liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in 2018 if the three gas export plants on the east coast fail to fill a projected shortfall, which is bigger than previously expected.“If we are not able to receive the assurances from the industry to our satisfaction and that of the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission), then we will impose those export controls,” Turnbull told reporters following a meeting with top ministers and the competition watchdog.Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Tom Hogue '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/australia-gas-government/australia-pm-says-to-curb-lng-exports-if-producers-do-not-fill-shortfall-idUSM0N1HP01D'|'2017-09-25T06:23:00.000+03:00'
'c5ebdda18402709d605c1bc8732b4a6cc332adb1'|'LPC: Banks provide $710 million of loans for Vantage Specialty LBO'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - H.I.G. Capital has lined up US$710m of loans to help fund its roughly US$1bn leveraged re-purchase of US natural additives producer Vantage Specialty Chemicals, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The loans will include a US$75m revolving credit facility, a US$465m secured term loan with a first priority claim and a US$170m secured term loan with a second priority claim, the sources said.The buyout marks the return of Vantage’s ownership to H.I.G., which sold the Illinois-based company to current private equity owner The Jordan Company in 2012.Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies are providing the debt, according to a September 20 press release. Morgan Stanley will lead syndication, which will launch in October, the sources added.The financing will bring the company’s leverage to around 6.5 times. That’s above the six times cap that US regulators adopted in their leveraged lending guidelines in 2013, noting that debt amounts above that level raise concerns for most industries.Morgan Stanley, RBC and Jefferies declined to comment. H.I.G. did not respond to requests for comment.H.I.G. is paying US$950m for Vantage, translating to an enterprise value multiple of about 10 times the US$97m of annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, used to market the company, the sources said. The transaction will be capitalized with around US$315m of equity, including a minority stake that will be rolled over by Jordan.The valuation is in line with Ashland Global Holding’s recent acquisition of Pharmachem Laboratories.In May, the US specialty chemicals company bought Pharmachem, a global provider of custom and branded nutritional and nutraceutical ingredients for the food and beverage, flavor, and fragrance industries, for US$660m.The purchase price represented a multiple of roughly 10.5 times Pharmachem’s estimated 2017 Ebitda, according to company filings.HEALTHIER CHOICES The growing M&A activity in the space of late comes as consumers increasingly demand transparency on product ingredients in support of healthier and more environmentally-conscious lifestyle choices, and manufacturers seek to cash in on the behavioral shift.US consumer sales of natural, organic and healthy products are forecasted to grow 64% to US$252bn by 2019 from US$153bn in 2013, according to NEXT Forecast.Vantage, which serves personal care, food, consumer and industrial end markets, was formed by H.I.G. in 2008 through the acquisition of Croda International’s US oleochemical business and scaled through subsequent roll-ups of Lambent Technologies in 2008 and Lipo Chemicals in 2010.The company most recently purchased oils, ingredients and custom food processing equipment manufacturer Mallet & Company in 2016.Reporting by Andrew Berlin; Editing By Michelle Sierra, Lynn Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-chemicals-lbo/lpc-banks-provide-710-million-of-loans-for-vantage-specialty-lbo-idINKCN1C02PC'|'2017-09-25T16:52:00.000+03:00'
'1ed5416a3b8efecc66f2285b3e892aa46d31de0c'|'PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - Sept 26'|'Sept 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Unilever on Monday announced plans to buy Carver Korea, an Asian skin care specialist, for 2.27 billion euros ($2.69 billion). nyti.ms/2xCgBSK- China has largely blocked messaging app WhatsApp, the latest move by Beijing to step up surveillance ahead of a big Communist Party gathering next month. nyti.ms/2ypohVX- Swiss engineering firm ABB Ltd said on Monday it would buy General Electric Co''s business that provides circuit breakers and other electrical equipment for industry for $2.6 billion. nyti.ms/2xHNeik- Uber''s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, apologized in an open letter on Monday for the company''s "mistakes," after the transport authority for London said last week that it would not renew the ride-hailing service''s license to operate in the city. nyti.ms/2y4Zdan- Exxon Mobil Corp announced a program on Monday to reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from its oil and natural gas production and pipeline operations across the United States. nyti.ms/2fmxJ4S$1 = 0.8434 euros Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-26-idINL4N1M720F'|'2017-09-26T02:34:00.000+03:00'
'60acd7ee4e057399a87906f6ead1302c1a1661f6'|'Qatar to accept 4 Airbus A350s it previously cancelled - sources'|'Reuters TV United States September 25, 2017 / 12:36 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Qatar to accept four Airbus A350s it previously canceled: sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350 is pictured at the ILA Berlin Air Show in Schoenefeld, south of Berlin, Germany, May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch LONDON (Reuters) - Qatar Airways plans to take delivery of four Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A350 airliners that it previously canceled over aerospace supplier problems, industry sources told Reuters. A deal over the four aircraft has been reached allowing the four planes, still in Qatar colors and parked in Toulouse, to be delivered “in the near future,” one of the sources said. Qatar Airways could not be reached for comment. An Airbus spokesman said: “It is our customers’ privilege to comment on their next deliveries”. The cancellation of the four jets in July had dented the Airbus order book and left it with a headache over what to do with inventory worth $1.2 billion at list prices. Reporting by Tim Hepher, Alexander Cornwell; editing by Luke Baker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-aircraft-airbus/qatar-to-accept-four-airbus-a350s-it-previously-canceled-sources-idUKKCN1C01NY'|'2017-09-25T15:28:00.000+03:00'
'40e774c5964c014048c3d98f0224e1e7923a9662'|'ECB becoming more confident about inflation rebound: Draghi'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:12 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago ECB''s Draghi warns against hasty policy moves Reuters Staff 3 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is growing increasingly confident that inflation will rise back to its target, but patience is still needed, not least to make sure the economic recovery lasts, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Monday. Draghi singled out currency volatility as a source of uncertainty that required monitoring and argued that “ample” ECB accommodation was still needed, because a premature and hasty move could unravel its work. “Overall, we are becoming more confident that inflation will eventually head to levels in line with our inflation aim, but we also know that a very substantial degree of monetary accommodation is still needed for the upward inflation path to materialise,” Draghi said. “We also have to be sensitive to the danger of not halting a recovery through hasty monetary-policy decision making,” Draghi told the European Parliament’s committee on economic affairs in Brussels. “We can’t afford hasty moves.” With the euro zone economy now growing for the 17th straight quarter, the ECB is expected to wind down its stimulus efforts, starting next year, even if inflation looks to remain below the bank’s near 2 percent target for years to come. Indeed, policymakers speaking to Reuters said that the debate is now about the details of the policy shift, such as whether to keep its quantitative easing programme open-ended or whether to signal an intent to phase out bond purchases. But any change is likely to be incremental. Many policymakers are arguing for a gradualist approach to stop the euro from gaining too much. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir ”We still see some uncertainties with respect to the medium-term inflation outlook,“ Draghi said. ”Most notably, the recent volatility in the exchange rate represents a source of uncertainty which requires monitoring. “We therefore need to be patient and persistent.” European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Draghi also noted the effectiveness of the ECB’s corporate bond purchases, arguing that they have lowered borrowing costs across the board, helping small and medium-sized businesses gain access to cheaper funding. His support for corporate bond purchases may bolster calls to keep them going even if government bond buying is scaled back next year. Launched two and a half years ago, the ECB’s 2.3 trillion- euro bond-purchase scheme has depressed borrowing costs and helped revive spending and growth with the bloc creating over 7 million jobs since the worst days of Europe’s debt crisis. But inflation has been unexpectedly slow to respond, leaving the ECB with a dilemma. Keeping price growth just below 2 percent is its sole mandate; inflation was last at 1.5 percent. But much of its firepower has been exhausted, and the inflation shortfall is at least partly outside its control. That has led policymakers to call for giving inflation more time, accepting that lifting prices will take several years longer than initially hoped. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa Editing by Jeremy Gaunt, Larry King'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-draghi/ecb-becoming-more-confident-about-inflation-rebound-draghi-idUKKCN1C01SV'|'2017-09-25T16:11:00.000+03:00'
'8c41a5d240a7fbeac4b6ad8c361e7c0d41d54dfa'|'UPDATE 1-Democratic senator lifts hold on Trump antitrust nominee -aide'|'(Adds context about nomination, who is running Antitrust Division)By Diane BartzWASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has lifted her hold on President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, a move that will allow the Senate to vote to confirm Makan Delrahim, a senior Republican aide said on Friday.Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, had met with Delrahim early in September where she pressed him about her concerns about lobbying and political interference in antitrust.Delrahim, a veteran of the Justice Department and a lobbyist, has been nominated to be assistant attorney general. It was not immediately clear when the vote would go forward.The president took an usually long time nominating Delrahim, finally naming him in late March. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved him in June, and sent his nomination to the full Senate.In the interim, the Justice Department Antitrust Division is being run by Andrew Finch, who will become a deputy to Delrahim once he is in place.Warren’s office and Delrahim did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the hold being lifted.Senator Orrin Hatch, a member of the Judiciary Committee and a Utah Republican, has worked with Warren and others to address concerns about Delrahim’s nomination, Hatch’s office said in a statement.Warren had been concerned about Trump attempting to exert political influence on antitrust decisions. As a candidate, Trump had said he would oppose AT&T Inc’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc, owner of CNN and one of the country’s largest film and television companies.Delrahim said in his confirmation hearing in May that on his watch, the division’s merger reviews would be free from any political influence. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by G Crosse and Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-antitrust-congress/update-1-democratic-senator-lifts-hold-on-trump-antitrust-nominee-aide-idINL2N1M3240'|'2017-09-22T20:50:00.000+03:00'
'3649850a4f0ec01faa917cb7e276fe581155ad2a'|'Kinder Morgan Canada ordered to stop some work on pipeline expansion'|'CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Canada’s energy regulator has ordered Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd to stop some work on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, after a public company blog post showed it had been conducting activities that had “not yet been approved.”In a letter sent on Friday, the National Energy Board (NEB) said Kinder Morgan has started work along the pipeline portion of the project, which the company is not yet allowed to do, and that it has to stop. The letter was filed to the NEB’s website.Kinder Morgan Canada, a division of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The C$7.4 billion ($5.9 billion) project, which would twin the current Trans Mountain pipeline, faces opposition from environmental and aboriginal groups and the provincial government of British Columbia, through which the pipeline passes.While the project has federal approval, work on the pipeline itself cannot begin until the NEB determines its precise route, a process that has no firm conclusion date. The regulator has so far granted permission only for work on a coastal marine terminal, whose capacity needs to be increased to handle the extra crude from the expansion.Kinder Morgan Canada has not yet responded to the NEB, a spokesman for the regulator said on Tuesday.The company has blogged frequently about its efforts to engage communities along the pipeline route and actions for the environment.In a post this month, it wrote about installing devices to deter fish from spawning around construction areas for the project. The post included plans to install similar devices at another 21 sites.The NEB wrote to the company: ”Based on the information available to the board, it appears as though Trans Mountain is in violation of one or both of subsections ... of the NEB Act.The letter did not mention any penalties or deadline for compliance.The Trans Mountain expansion would nearly triple the capacity of the existing pipeline from Canada’s oil heartland of Alberta to the west coast.Canadian crude producers say their landlocked product needs more pipeline capacity to fetch better prices. Those opposing the project say they are concerned about its potential impact on climate change and increased possibility of spills.A legal challenge that could overturn Trans Mountain’s approval will be heard next week in Vancouver. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-kinder-morgan-cn-construction/kinder-morgan-canada-ordered-to-stop-some-work-on-pipeline-expansion-idINL2N1M70VR'|'2017-09-26T13:41:00.000+03:00'
'7e346cbd441323356a9c8a4ea053d127cb14db69'|'Bombardier shares leap 14 percent ahead of U.S. trade court ruling'|'  7:09 PM / Updated an hour ago Bombardier shares leap 14 percent ahead of U.S. trade court ruling Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Bombardier factory is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) rose as much as 13.6 percent on Tuesday ahead of a U.S. trade court’s preliminary ruling on Boeing Co’s ( BA.N ) CSeries aircraft dumping complaint. The jump in Bombardier’s shares also comes after Reuters reported on Tuesday that the planemaker aims to close deals with Chinese airlines in coming months and is in talks with the country’s three biggest airlines. Bombardier’s shares, which have clawed back steep falls over the past two sessions, were last up 11.7 percent at C$2.39. It is the biggest one-day gain for the stock since February 2016. Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bombardier-stocks/bombardier-shares-leap-14-percent-ahead-of-u-s-trade-court-ruling-idUSKCN1C12RH'|'2017-09-26T22:08:00.000+03:00'
'bdacd8180e4da8308b564322ffda724e502e40ff'|'Asian shares droop, yen gains as Korean tensions rise'|'  12:55 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Stocks waffle amid North Korea jitters, dollar gains Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of world stocks fell on Tuesday and the euro dropped to its lowest level in about a month as investors pulled back from trades that have worked for most of 2017 in the face of continued political uncertainty around the globe. The S&P 500 finished little changed as U.S. tech stocks rebounded from their sharpest single-day selloff in five weeks. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.30 percent as shares in Asia and emerging markets declined. North Korea has boosted defenses on its east coast, a South Korean lawmaker said, after the North said U.S. President Donald Trump had declared war. The latest U.S.-North Korea development came as market participants were still reckoning with the German election, in which Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term but her party was weakened by a surge in far-right support. “The market has really been reacting to a combination of the North Korea news and its global impact and the election in Germany,” said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey. “This has been a low-volatility market and this is really the only significant news we have had lately.” The dollar hit a month high after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen before it pared its gains. Yellen said the U.S. central bank needs to continue gradual rate hikes despite broad uncertainty about the path of inflation. Chances of a hike at the Fed’s December meeting rose to 78 percent from 72 percent late last week, according to the CME Group. “Investors should be looking out for a December hike given we don’t know what happens to the Fed chair position next year,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago. Yellen “probably wants to be able to, knowing anyone new in that role might not feel comfortable tightening the first month.” On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.77 points, or 0.05 percent, to 22,284.32, the S&P 500 gained 0.18 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,496.84 and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.57 points, or 0.15 percent, to 6,380.16. The tech sector gained 0.4 percent. Apple shares rose 1.7 percent after four sessions of declines. Monitors showing TV news on North Korea''s missile launch (R), the Japanese yen''s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar (L and top of blue screen) and Japan''s Niikei share average (bottom of blue screen) are seen at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo, Japan, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai “We have gotten a little bit of a reversal from yesterday,” said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.03 percent. Nestle shares climbed 1.8 percent as the world’s largest packaged food company set a profit margin target for the first time. In currencies, the euro fell as worry grew about political fallout in Germany and other euro zone countries. Investors have shifted their focus to the euro zone’s growing political divides in places such as Spain and Italy after the German election, said Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at WorldWide Markets in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. “The European problems are structural and political and deep,” Trevisani said. The euro was down 0.51 percent to $1.1785. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.42 percent. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 5/32 in price to yield 2.2357 percent, from 2.22 percent late on Monday. Oil prices fell after investors took profit following a rally to 26-month highs spurred largely by threats from Turkey to cut crude exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region. U.S. crude fell 0.63 percent to $51.89 per barrel and Brent was last at $57.86, down 0.98 percent on the day. Spot gold dropped 1.1 percent to $1,295.60 an ounce. Additional by Chuck Mikolajczak and Dion Rabouin in New York, Marc Jones in London; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asian-shares-droop-yen-gains-as-korean-tensions-rise-idUSKCN1C102E'|'2017-09-26T03:58:00.000+03:00'
'cb8cc5bee00cef9493b0b357b8bd2621138a98b8'|'European shares open lower after Wall Street tech selloff, Korean tensions'|'  7:49   European shares open lower after Wall Street tech selloff, Korean tensions Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares opened lower on Tuesday after a selloff in technology shares on Wall Street and amid tensions over Korea, while investors awaited further clues on whether U.S. interest rates will rise in December. Hints on the future trajectory of rates could emerge after market close (1645 GMT) when Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gives a speech on inflation and monetary policy in Ohio. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.1 percent with most European bourses and sectors in negative territory. Energy .SXEP outperformed, boosted 0.6 percent by a rise in oil prices that followed a threat by Turkey to cut crude flows from Iraqi Kurdistan. Sabre-rattling over Korea also kept a lid on gains after Pyongyang accused Washington of declaring war, though the impact of the escalating rhetoric remained modest. “Let’s hope this all stays cartoon-ish”, analysts at Rabobank bank said in a morning note. reporting by Julien Ponthus; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/european-shares-open-lower-after-wall-street-tech-selloff-korean-tensions-idUKKCN1C10SD'|'2017-09-26T10:49:00.000+03:00'
'f7c02a9583aece4c371da79c1029be5b6dfcfe1c'|'Abu Dhabi''s Etihad appoints ex-British defence official as group CEO'|' 37 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Abu Dhabi''s Etihad appoints ex-British defence official as group CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A plane of Etihad Airways company is seen at Minsk international airport near the village of Slabada, Belarus, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/File Photo DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Aviation Group appointed Tony Douglas, previously a senior official at Britain’s Ministry of Defence, as chief executive, the airline conglomerate said on Thursday. Douglas replaces veteran Australian CEO James Hogan, who over 10 years developed Etihad Airways into an aggressive rival to Dubai’s Emirates and Qatar Airways. Etihad had announced in January that Hogan planned to step down. Douglas, who headed the British ministry’s defence equipment and support department, responsible for procuring and supporting equipment and services for the armed forces, will join Etihad in January. Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-etihad-airways-ceo/abu-dhabis-etihad-appoints-ex-british-defence-official-as-group-ceo-idUKKCN1C30S3'|'2017-09-28T10:37:00.000+03:00'
'06e271aec400dacc6b1de1dcd3913a435b3c4eb7'|'JPMorgan scores partial win in $1.5 billion GM bankruptcy dispute'|'September 26, 2017 / 8:29 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago JPMorgan scores partial win in $1.5 billion GM bankruptcy dispute Tom Hals 3 Min Read A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) scored a partial victory on Tuesday in a long-running dispute over the repayment of a $1.5 billion (1.12 billion pounds)loan it made to General Motors’ bankrupt predecessor, known as ‘Old GM’. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan sided with the bank against Old GM’s unsecured creditors, who have been trying to claw back the money, finding that most assets securing the loan, like robots and conveyor belts, were “fixtures” covered by a JPMorgan lien. Unsecured creditors had hoped to convince Glenn the assets were not covered by the lien, which would have cleared the way for them to try to recoup money that Old GM repaid to the bank. JPMorgan said it was reviewing the ruling. A lawyer for unsecured creditors declined to comment. In addition to determining if the assets were fixtures, Glenn was also asked to determine the value of the equipment. The judge rejected the bank’s proposed valuation, although he also rejected the valuation method proposed by unsecured creditors. The legal fight stretches back to 2006, when JPMorgan loaned GM $1.5 billion and received a lien on GM assets. Due to a paperwork error, a lien was invalidated in 2008, but other liens remained on fixtures in a multiple GM locations covering 200,000 pieces of equipment. Glenn was only asked to rule on a representative subset of 40 assets that was subject of a two-week trial this year that culminated with Tuesday’s ruling. The parties will now take Glenn’s ruling and begin mediated talks to settle the dispute. The judge urged them to settle the matter out of court. “With over 200,000 assets remaining in dispute, in the event the Court is required to make individual determinations on each of these 200,000 assets, cars very well might be flying around Mars by the time the dispute is fully adjudicated,” he wrote in his 196-page ruling. GM’s predecessor filed for bankruptcy in 2009, beset by a deep U.S. recession, an enormous debtload, high labour costs and outdated car models. Many assets were acquired and removed from bankruptcy by General Motors Co ( GM.N ). Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; editing by Diane Craft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-generalmotors-bankruptcy-ruling/jpmorgan-scores-partial-win-in-1-5-billion-gm-bankruptcy-dispute-idUKKCN1C12YY'|'2017-09-26T23:29:00.000+03:00'
'5f157ea28189cc2360750a7f921e175b6b0c000c'|'China-backed fund clear to buy Imagination after rival interest ends'|'  10:24 AM / Updated an hour ago China-backed fund clear to buy Imagination after rival interest ends Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay - LONDON (Reuters) - Imagination Technologies ( IMG.L ), the British chip designer selling itself to a China-backed buyout fund, said on Wednesday another potential buyer had ruled itself out, removing a potential hurdle to the 550 million pound ($737 million) deal. The sale to Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, announced on Friday, is contingent on Imagination offloading its MIPS processor technology in a separate $65 million deal to Tallwood Venture Capital. Imagination said the MIPS sale could now go ahead without a shareholder vote after the unnamed third-party was no longer involved in the wider sale process. “Imagination has now received confirmation that the relevant party is no longer actively considering making an offer for Imagination,” the company said. “Accordingly, the sale of MIPS does not require shareholder approval.” Imagination put itself up for sale after Apple ( AAPL.O ), its biggest customer, said it was developing its own graphics and video processing technology, sending shares in the British company down 70 percent. Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imagination-tech-m-a-mips/china-backed-fund-clear-to-buy-imagination-after-rival-interest-ends-idUKKCN1C216F'|'2017-09-27T13:24:00.000+03:00'
'706ddcbfcde214f331d4a22917caad365134e5ea'|'Financier Lynn Tilton defeats SEC fraud charges'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:06 PM / Updated an hour ago Financier Lynn Tilton defeats U.S. SEC fraud charges Nate Raymond 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: New York financier Lynn Tilton, (C) founder of private equity firm Patriarch Partners, exits the U.S. District courthouse with her lawyer Randy Mastro (R) in New York City, U.S., November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suffered a defeat on Wednesday, as a judge said it failed to prove private equity fund manager Lynn Tilton defrauded investors by hiding the poor performance of assets underlying three debt funds. SEC Administrative Law Judge Carol Fox Foelak dismissed the charges against Tilton, the founder of New York-based Patriarch Partners who is known as the Diva of Distressed for taking over troubled companies. The SEC’s enforcement division in 2015 accused Tilton of defrauding investors in the three so-called Zohar collateralized loan obligation funds, which raised $2.5 billion to make loans to distressed companies. At trial, the SEC alleged Tilton misled investors by directing the valuations of assets underlying the Zohar funds remain unchanged despite their poor performance in order to avoid the loss of $200 million in management fees. But Foelak ruled that while Tilton and Patriach did not make it easy for her sophisticated investors to find information, “they also did not conceal - omit to state - material information.” The ruling marked a major setback for the SEC’s enforcement division, which had sought to force Tilton and Patriarch Partners to pay at least $200 million and be barred from the securities industry. “I am heartened to finally be able to put to rest the rumors and innuendo that have cast a dark shadow on me and my business for so long,” Tilton said in a statement. An SEC spokeswoman declined to comment. Known for her flashy outfits, Tilton has portrayed herself as a hard-charging female executive in a male-dominated field. In 2000, she founded Patriarch, which counts among its portfolio companies MD Helicopters. Wednesday’s ruling came after a trial that ended in November. The trial took place after Tilton unsuccessfully sued to block what she called an unconstitutional proceeding before an SEC in-house judge. Her case was one of several where defendants objected to the SEC’s use of administrative proceedings, which became more common after the 2010 Dodd-Frank law gave the agency the power to bring more cases in-house. Randy Mastro, a lawyer for Tilton, in an interview said the ruling vindicated his client. “We have said all along that Lynn Tilton was innocent of these charges, that she was falsely accused and that we would prove it at trial,” he said. “Now we’ve done just that.” Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Clive McKeef and Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-tilton/financier-lynn-tilton-defeats-sec-fraud-charges-idUSKCN1C230V'|'2017-09-28T00:05:00.000+03:00'
'a9a7e48d0ee29bcb6b1f03736058905df8502303'|'Fidget spinners and squishies - some Toys ''R'' Us toymakers cut ties'|'Johnson opposes adopting any new EU rules during Brexit transition Johnson opposes adopting any new EU rules during Brexit transition Johnson opposes adopting any new EU rules during Brexit transition Reuters TV United States September 24, 2017 / 11:14 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Fidget spinners and squishies: some Toys ''R'' Us toymakers cut ties 5 Min Read The Toys R Us logo is seen in this illustration photo September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration (Reuters) - This summer, toy supplier Product Launchers delivered 100,000 specially ordered DC Comics fidget spinners to Toys ‘R’ Us, unaware that the biggest U.S. toy store chain was in financial trouble. Now Product Launchers, which supplies other novelty items like squishies from five toymakers to Toy ‘R’ Us, expects it will not be paid for the $500,000 fidget spinner order and other items following the chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Sept. 19, Product Launchers Chief Executive Linda Parry Murphy told Reuters. “These toymakers were very reliant on Toys ‘R’ Us. It’s their primary account, or the account that they were leaning on to make inroads in the toy industry, looking at the long term down the road,” Parry Murphy said. “But we’ve made a decision not to sell to Toys moving forward.” Meanwhile Barbie maker Mattel Inc ( MAT.O ), toy and board game company Hasbro Inc ( HAS.O ) and other large vendors like Lego could get full payment after Toys ‘R’ Us asked a bankruptcy judge to approve $325 million of special financing to pay top suppliers owed before the Chapter 11 filing. The unequal vendor treatment is not unusual in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but it shows the tough decisions vendors face when retailers file for bankruptcy, as dozens have in recent years, succumbing to competition on price and convenience from Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). The beneficiaries of the financing package are still unknown, but smaller vendors like Product Launchers do not expect to make the list. Its claim tops $1 million but the amount is well below the $2.5 million to $135 million listed as Toys ‘R’ Us’ 50 largest claims. Toy ‘R’ Us declined to comment on specifics about its relationship with Product Launchers or its other vendors. Toys ‘R’ Us spokeswoman Nicole Hayes said in an email: “So far, we have seen great support from our vendors and look forward to continuing working with them for many years to come.” She said the company will rely on $2 billion in new financing to fund operations. TOUGH CHOICES Hundreds of vendors have faced similar concerns in their dealings with bankrupt retailers such as Sports Authority and hhgregg, which ended up going out of business. Toys ‘R’ Us is an extraordinary case, retail consultants said, because of the large number of toy vendors it relies on to fill its big-box stores. Typically in bankruptcy proceedings, even small vendors like Product Launchers can expect to receive payment for orders made after a bankruptcy filing, but not for past-due bills. As a result, Product Launchers is ending ties with the toy chain. “We’ve taken down all connections to them,” said Parry Murphy. “I would rather focus on retailers that have strong financials and that we have a good comfort level about doing long-term business with.” At this point, she thinks Toys ‘R’ Us is too far behind the curve to catch up with deep-pocketed competitors like Amazon and Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ). HOT ITEMS The loss of Product Launchers and other vendors, coming on the verge of the holiday season when Toys ‘R’ Us generates about 40 percent of annual sales, shows one of the risks facing the big toy retailer during bankruptcy. If consumers discover the chain is not stocking a hot seasonal item, they will not visit its stores or website, Toys ‘R’ Us said in court filings. Toys ‘R’ Us relies on hundreds of small vendors to give its stores the appearance of plenty. “Your store won’t be attractive with just Mattel and Lego,” said Israel Shaked of the Michel-Shaked Group consultancy. Retail specialists agreed that the 2017 holiday season could determine the fate of many brick-and-mortar retailers that have struggled to remain relevant in a growing era of e-commerce. “This holiday season will be a true litmus test for the in-store experience,” said bankruptcy lawyer Corali Lopez-Castro. “The products have to be exciting and worthy of visiting the store or online. But really you want people in the store. That’s where they can pick up the widget, the Lego, and the Barbie.” Toys ‘R’ Us’ success in retaining vendors likely will hinge on confidence in its turnaround plan, dubbed “Project Sunrise,” which envisions improved and integrated online and in-store shopping experiences. Michael Araten, the chief executive of creative construction company K‘NEX, is optimistic. “The potential upside is massive,” Araten said, adding that Toys ‘R’ Us would emerge from bankruptcy a “nimbler and stronger company that delights kids for generations.” Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; additional reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-analysis/fidget-spinners-and-squishies-some-toys-r-us-toymakers-cut-ties-idUKKCN1BZ0BW'|'2017-09-24T14:08:00.000+03:00'
'f8989b8238182725ca5cd5747c70e1e4612e46af'|'Lufthansa offering to pay 200 million euros for Air Berlin - BamS'|'September 23, 2017 / 10:28 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Lufthansa offering to pay 200 million euros for Air Berlin: BamS Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Planes of the Lufthansa airline stand on the tarmac in Frankfurt airport, Germany, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is offering to pay 200 million euros ($239 million) to buy its insolvent smaller rival Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ) and is prepared to pay up to 100 million euros to meet operating costs to keep the airline going in the interim, newspaper Bild am Sonntag (BamS) said on Sunday. Citing sources close to the proceedings, the paper said that there could be three months between signing a purchasing contract and implementing the transaction because the German and European competition authorities would first need to vet any deal, BamS said. On filing for insolvency last month the Berlin government promptly granted Air Berlin a 150 million-euro bridging loan to keep the airline flying for three months. On Thursday Air Berlin’s creditor committee said it would talk to Lufthansa and Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ) as possible buyers for the carrier’s aviation business, giving three weeks for negotiations. Sources familiar with the matter said last week Lufthansa was bidding a three-digit millions sum with the offer covering Air Berlin, its leisure airline Niki and regional subsidiary Luftfahrt Gesellschaft Walter. Lufthansa itself has only said it has made an offer for parts of Air Berlin. BamS also said its sources had said next week Air Berlin would have to return planes used on its long haul routes to two companies it leases aircraft from. Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-offering-to-pay-200-million-euros-for-air-berlin-bams-idUKKCN1BY10C'|'2017-09-24T01:18:00.000+03:00'
'8992a53656d33ac6ac6487f3075eebc8eb8ed25d'|'UPDATE 1-Western Digital takes legal step to stop Toshiba memory investment'|'September 20, 2017 / 11:45 PM / Updated 12 hours ago Western Digital takes legal step to stop Toshiba memory investment Stephen Nellis 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital Corporation hard drive is pictured here in Encinitas, California April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) filed its latest legal action against joint-venture chip partner Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) for moving to invest in a new flash memory production line without its help, the U.S. company said on Wednesday. The new arbitration requests, filed in the International Court of Arbitration that oversees the companies’ agreement, seeks to stop Toshiba from investing in the so-called Fab 6 facility in Yokkaichi, Japan, unless Western Digital’s subsidiary Sandisk is also allowed to invest. The court, a branch of the International Chamber of Commerce, is an institution for the resolution of international commercial disputes. In a statement in August, Western Digital asserted it had the right to co-invest and had said it was “disappointed” in Toshiba’s decision in August to proceed on its own. On Wednesday, Western Digital said its hand was “forced.” “It is unfortunate that SanDisk is forced to initiate binding arbitration to remedy Toshiba’s retaliatory breach of the (joint-venture) agreement entered into by both SanDisk and Toshiba,” the company said in a statement. Toshiba did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest dispute. It said in August it had tried unsuccessfully to reach agreement with SanDisk on a joint investment and would move forward without SanDisk. The companies have battled for months over Toshiba’s efforts to sell its memory unit to raise cash to plug a hole in its finances caused by its bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit, Westinghouse. Toshiba officials said earlier on Wednesday they had sealed a deal to sell the flash memory unit for $18 billion to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP that also included Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), helping to keep the Japanese conglomerate’s listing on the Tokyo stock exchange. Toshiba’s shares were down 1.3 percent to 311 yen in early trading in Tokyo. Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-legal/western-digital-takes-legal-step-to-stop-toshiba-memory-investment-idUSKCN1BV368'|'2017-09-21T02:42:00.000+03:00'
'84bfc34e6182f34f3537e4b9e987442b9334c247'|'Apple-backed group to buy Toshiba chip business for $18 billion 21,'|'Apple-backed group to buy Toshiba chip business for $18 billion by Sherisse Pham @Sherisse September 21, 2017: 12:00 AM ET Toshiba: Fall of a Japanese icon Toshiba is selling its prized memory chip business for $18 billion to a group of buyers that includes Apple. The Japanese conglomerate is offloading major assets to try to deal with a crippling financial crisis. The memory chip business is its crown jewel, which has attracted interest from major tech companies like Taiwan''s Foxconn. But after a messy, months-long bidding process, Toshiba has picked a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital and backed financially by Apple ( AAPL , Tech30 ) , Dell ( DVMT ) and other U.S. and Japanese firms. It wasn''t immediately clear how much of the 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) will come from Apple, which uses memory chips for iPhones, tablets and other devices. Multiple reports suggested its stake in the bid would be significant, but the company declined to comment. Other U.S. tech companies putting money into the deal include flash memory product maker Kingston ( KINS ) and data storage firm Seagate ( STX ) , according to Bain. Their willingness to support the deal highlights the importance of Toshiba''s chip business to the global tech industry. Related: Japan Inc. aims to bail out Toshiba by buying chip business The bidding process had been plagued by fears in Japan that the valuable technology could end up under foreign control.A tentative earlier deal for the chip business, which didn''t pan out, was led by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a state-backed fund. Thenew arrangement will still have Japanese backing. Toshiba itself will put 350 billion yen ($3.1 billion) into the special company that''s being formed to buy its chip unit. And the INCJ and the Development Bank of Japan may also invest at a later date. Toshiba said limited control from non-Japanese companies and the ability of the memory chip business to maintain its independence were among the reasons for choosing the Bain-led bid. Related: Toshiba: Too big to fail? The agreement may not be the end of the saga, however. The Bain group fended off a challenge from U.S. data storage firm Western Digital, whose subsidiary SanDisk has a joint venture with Toshiba. But Western Digital is still trying to block the deal. SanDisk filed new proceedings against Toshiba in international courts Wednesday, calling the deal a "retaliatory breach" of the joint venture agreement. Toshiba shares dipped 4% in Tokyo on Thursday morning. Toshiba''s woes deepen: U.S. firm tries to block key part of survival plan Toshiba is selling the memory chip business get out from under a massive financial crisis threatening its very survival. The collapse of its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year , cost the storied Japanese company some $6.4 billion. The loss forced Toshiba to report a negative net worth for the fiscal year that ended in March. If it doesn''t turn things around by the end of this fiscal year, its shares will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. CNNMoney (Hong Kong) First published September 21, 2017: 12:00 AM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/21/technology/toshiba-memory-chips-business/index.html'|'2017-09-21T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'b7a249fc13d93d2e22a0e4332c9d2f32e89096bb'|'Tesla working with AMD to develop chip for self-driving car - CNBC'|'September 20, 2017 / 8:57 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Tesla working with AMD to develop chip for self-driving car - CNBC Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Tesla Supercharger station is shown in Cabazon, California, U.S. May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Sam Mircovich/File Photo (Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) is working with Advanced Micro Devices Inc ( AMD.O ) to develop its own artificial intelligence chip for self-driving cars, CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. AMD spin-off GlobalFoundries Inc Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said his company is working directly with Tesla, according to the CNBC report. GlobalFoundries, which fabricates chips, has a wafer supply agreement in place with AMD. Tesla isn’t completely going it alone in chip development, according to the source, and will build on top of AMD intellectual property, CNBC reported. More than 50 people are working on the project under Jim Keller, a longtime chip architect and the head of Autopilot hardware and software of Tesla, according to the report. AMD shares were up 2.2 percent in extended trading. Tesla, AMD, and GlobalFoundries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tesla-chips/tesla-working-with-amd-to-develop-chip-for-self-driving-car-cnbc-idUKKCN1BV2YJ'|'2017-09-20T23:57:00.000+03:00'
'9c48c4b27ae4d7f5d52e9fc13925bd9edf2fa98e'|'House Finance Committee delves into unusual Equifax options trades -CNBC'|'FILE PHOTO: Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The House Financial Services Committee is seeking information about certain Equifax Inc ( EFX.N ) options trades made weeks before the credit reporting company disclosed a data breach, according to CNBC report on Wednesday.Equifax options drew an unusually large trade less than three weeks before Sept. 7, when Equifax disclosed that personal details of as many as 143 million U.S. consumers were accessed by hackers between mid-May and July.On Aug. 21, 2,500 put contracts betting on Equifax shares dipping below $135 by Sept. 15 traded for a total price of about $181,000.By end of trading on Sept. 8, these puts were worth about $2.6 million, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert data.Buying of put options conveys the right to sell shares at a fixed price in the future and indicates a bearish bias, while selling puts would imply a bullish outlook.While the size of the trade was far in excess of the stock’s average daily trading volume at that time of less than 50 contracts a day, it was not immediately clear whether the trader bought or sold these options.A lawyer for the committee has reached out to traders, looking for a possible explanation for the spike in options trading, according to an unnamed source familiar with the inquiry, the CNBC report said.The committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Options activity has been known to spike before the public announcement of information that moves stock prices, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has in the past announced enforcement action for alleged insider trading involving options.A spokeswoman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment.Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Additional reporting by Patrick Rucker in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber-options/house-finance-committee-delves-into-unusual-equifax-options-trades-cnbc-idUSKCN1BV2Z0'|'2017-09-21T00:03:00.000+03:00'
'11589900398dcdde22c3935fdec93ba08bcb74d9'|'Paragon to reorganise business lines'|' 50 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Paragon to reorganise business lines Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Paragon Group of Companies ( PARA.L ) said on Thursday it was reorganising its business lines to accelerate its transformation into a diversified banking group and improve efficiency. The group will be renamed Paragon Banking Group and its lending and operating activities, together with its loan portfolios, will be managed by Paragon Bank. This follows the sale of some of the group’s holding interests, including investments in Paragon Finance, to Paragon Bank. The reorganisation is expected to make Paragon Bank “consistently profitable” with no need for periodic capital injections from the holding company. “This revised organisational structure and the financial efficiency from aligning the vast majority of the group’s business lines under the bank will help optimise funding and capital over time,” said Paragon CEO Nigel Terrington. Reporting By Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-paragon-group/paragon-to-reorganise-business-lines-idUKKCN1BW0QF'|'2017-09-21T09:50:00.000+03:00'
'99ed960b0dae5e63ea934d8fe8fc1bccdba530c2'|'UPDATE 3-Telia settles U.S., European bribery probes for $965.8 mln'|'September 21, 2017 / 6:39 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago UPDATE 3-Telia settles U.S., European bribery probes for $965.8 mln Reuters Staff 4 Min Read (Adds total amount of settlements, resolution of Dutch and U.S. SEC probes, CEO statement, details from court hearing, byline) By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Telia Co agreed to pay $965.8 million to settle U.S. and European criminal and civil charges that the Swedish phone company paid bribes to win business in Uzbekistan. Thursday’s settlements, including an Uzbek unit’s guilty plea to a bribery charge, resolve probes by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Dutch prosecutors of the Stockholm-based company. Telia’s U.S. criminal settlement is the first major resolution of a foreign bribery case under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) since Donald Trump, who has called that statute a “horrible law,” entered the White House. More than half of the payout, $548.6 million, represents criminal penalties. Telia said the accords resolve all known corruption-related investigations of the company, although Swedish prosecutors are still investigating possible misconduct by individuals. “Today’s settlement brings an end to an unfortunate chapter in Telia Company’s history,” Chief Executive Johan Dennelind said. Authorities said Telia and its Coscom LLC unit in Uzbekistan conspired to pay an Uzbek government official $331.2 million in bribes from 2007 to 2010 for help in entering and expanding their share of the country’s telecommunications market. The SEC said bribes were funneled through payments for sham lobbying and consulting services to a company controlled by the official, who in December 2007 was given a 26 percent stake in a holding company for Coscom. Authorities said the corruption enabled Telia to reap more than $457 million of illegal gains and $2.5 billion of revenue. Telia agreed to enter a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department, while Coscom pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the FCPA. Deferred prosecution agreements let companies avoid criminal charges so long as they comply with the terms. According to Telia’s agreement, the company will monitor and where necessary improve its compliance program and internal controls, and has already terminated everyone involved in the misconduct, as well as their supervisors. “The company deeply regrets its historical conduct engaged in by former management,” David Stuart, a lawyer for Telia, told U.S. District Judge George Daniels at a hearing in Manhattan. Telia had estimated in April that the settlements might cost about $1 billion. In February 2016, Amsterdam-based VimpelCom, now called Veon Ltd, reached $795 million in settlements to resolve U.S. and Dutch bribery probes related to Uzbekistan. Founded in 1853, Telia has a presence in 14 countries and in Europe has mobile, broadband, TV and fixed-line operations in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Brendan Pierson in in New York; and Johannes Hellstrom, Anna Ringstrom and Olof Swahnberg in Stockholm; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/telia-company-settlement/update-3-telia-settles-u-s-european-bribery-probes-for-965-8-mln-idUSL2N1M21NX'|'2017-09-21T21:38:00.000+03:00'
'b94cfb78fdd0142b9aac1eb645d6301d043fcde4'|'Kier posts 3.5 percent rise in full-year profit'|'  6:16 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Kier posts 3.5 percent rise in full-year profit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British construction and services company Kier Group ( KIE.L ) reported a 3.5 percent rise in full-year profit on Thursday as its acquisition of engineering services provider McNicholas boosted the order book. Kier’s order book was worth about 9.5 billion pounds at the end of June, up from 8.9 billion pounds at the end of December. The company raised its full-year dividend per share by 5 percent to 67.5 pence and said it was confident of achieving double-digit profit growth in percentage terms on average each year to 2020. The company, whose activities range from building power stations to outsourcing work for local councils, said underlying operating profit rose to 146 million pounds in the year to June 30, from 141 million pounds a year ago. A sharp decline in the construction activity in July underscored the British economy’s sluggishness as it prepares to exit the European Union. Kier warned in March that Brexit was causing delay in major UK infrastructure projects from tower blocks to new roads. Peers such as Capita ( CPI.L ), Mitie ( MTO.L ), Interserve ( IRV.L ) and Carillion ( CLLN.L ) have all reported tougher trading in UK since the June 2016 Brexit referendum, with unplanned changes escalating costs on past contracts. Kier, meanwhile, is expected to benefit from the work done for the $24 billion Hinkley nuclear power project, via its joint venture with Bam Nuttall. Reporting by Esha Vaish and Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kier-group-results/kier-reports-3-5-percent-rise-in-full-year-profit-idUKKCN1BW0N4'|'2017-09-21T09:56:00.000+03:00'
'0bbb5a0f310e3a70436379e123943c0ce1800e58'|'Western Digital to seek injunction to block Toshiba''s $18 billion chip unit sale'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) said on Tuesday it will seek an injunction to block the sale of Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) prized semiconductor business to a rival group, upping the ante in an acrimonious battle with its chip venture partner.The latest legal action by the U.S. firm, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s main chip plant, comes in the wake of the Japanese conglomerate’s decision last week to sell the unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ).The $18 billion agreement with the Bain group is, however, still unsigned, with Toshiba telling its main banks this week that Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), a member of the consortium and an important client, had yet to agree to key terms.Western Digital’s injunction is being sought with the International Court of Arbitration, where the California-based company, which argues no deal can be done without its consent, initiated proceedings against its partner earlier this year.A panel of three arbitrators may be formed as early as this week and a decision on the injunction could come late this year before any deal closes, a source familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. A final ruling on the dispute is not expected before 2019.The contentious auction has underscored how high the stakes are, as rival suitors, the Japanese government and Toshiba’s creditor banks all squabble over the world’s second biggest producer of NAND memory chips.For Toshiba, a signed deal would come not a moment too soon as it needs to raise billions of dollars to cover liabilities arising from its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse before the end of the financial year in March. If it fails to do that, it could be delisted.Even if Toshiba manages to sign the deal with the Bain group imminently, it is still cutting it fine as regulatory reviews usually take at least six months.FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo STAKES HIGH Western Digital said in a statement that Toshiba’s decision had been disappointing, given that it had made major concessions. These included giving up its participation in the consortium it was part of, leaving KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) and a state-backed fund, the Innovation Network of Japan (INCJ), as the main investors. It also gave up on a plan to take a future equity stake.It said it was vehemently opposed to a Bain deal, arguing that the inclusion of SK Hynix, a rival chipmaker, heightens the risk of technology leaks and introduces the risk that the deal may not clear regulatory reviews, unlike the KKR/INCJ bid which does not include a chipmaker.Toshiba declined to comment.Western Digital, one of world’s leading makers of hard disc drives, paid some $16 billion last year to acquire SanDisk, Toshiba’s chip joint venture partner since 2000. It sees chips as a key pillar of growth and is desperate to keep the business out of the hands of rival chipmakers.Just last week, Western Digital filed a fresh arbitration request seeking to stop Toshiba from investing in a new chip facility in Yokkaichi, Japan, unless SanDisk was also allowed to invest.Toshiba said in August it decided to invest in the new line without Western Digital as they “failed to reach agreement” on joint investment.Western Digital previously sought an injunction from a California state court to block any sale of the chip unit without its consent. The court ordered Toshiba in July to give Western Digital two weeks’ notice before any deal is closed.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Sam Nussey; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-to-seek-injunction-to-block-toshibas-18-billion-chip-unit-sale-idINKCN1C10Y7'|'2017-09-26T07:06:00.000+03:00'
'69441a66dc73be664484d28d3c2823b5706623b6'|'U.S. 2-year note sells at highest yield since 2008'|'NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $26 billion of two-year fixed-rate notes at a yield of 1.462 percent, the highest level at a two-year auction since October 2008 prior to the Federal Reserve’s adoption of near-zero interest rates.The ratio of bids to the amount of notes offered was 2.88, compared with 2.86 at the previous two-year auction in August, Treasury data showed. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by W Simon) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-treasury-auction/u-s-2-year-note-sells-at-highest-yield-since-2008-idINL2N1M71FM'|'2017-09-26T15:21:00.000+03:00'
'1270b3b20f28d54baf1b8a9292aba96fce4fd8cb'|'State sales of banking shares spur Eurozone equities'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/cc840950-9fc2-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946'|'2017-09-24T22:40:00.000+03:00'
'10a158e535ed12160648cbaa9f088083e4e94b45'|'Reuters Summit: Bank of England expects 130 firms to apply for UK licences ahead of Brexit'|'  1:19 PM / Updated 33 minutes ago Reuters Summit: Bank of England expects 130 firms to apply for UK licences ahead of Brexit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A plaque depicting Britannia is seen on the outside of the Bank of England in the City of London February 4, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England expects 130 financial firms from across Europe to apply for licences to continue operating in Britain after Brexit, its Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Tuesday. Woods, who head’s the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority, also told the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit that he will have to decide by Christmas if branches of EU financial firms in London must convert into subsidiaries and be directly supervised by the PRA. Woods was summarising over 400 responses to his call for banks to spell out their plans if Britain leaves the EU in March 2019 without new trading arrangements or a transition deal in place. The “outbounds” or UK based banks who want to maintain links with customers elsewhere in the EU, are more advanced in their thinking than the “inbounds”, or banks based elsewhere in the EU who want to continue serving UK customers, Woods said. “We are having to push the inbounds to move on with their thinking,” Woods said. “I think we are likely to see at least 130 applications to be authorised here in the UK. It’s significant stretch, but I think we can do that,” Woods added. Woods said earlier this year that branches of EU banks in London might have to apply to become subsidiaries, a costly exercise that involves building up a buffer of capital and reserves locally. Branches rely on capital held by their parent and are mainly supervised by their home regulator. Woods said on Tuesday he has two or three months left before deciding on branch conversions - barring news in coming weeks of a transition deal agreed by the EU as well as Britain. “Broadly, come Christmas time, we will need to move into a different mode of receiving applications,” Woods said. It would be “unwise” to rely on a transition agreement happening until there was some sense that the EU was also in favour of one, he said. Reporting by Rachel Armstrong, Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/summit-regulation-woods/reuters-summit-bank-of-england-expects-130-firms-to-apply-for-uk-licences-ahead-of-brexit-idINKCN1C11PZ'|'2017-09-26T11:19:00.000+03:00'
'743732731c88ebad2da3e1c5323ea598a2755275'|'Gambling group Novomatic puts flotation plans on hold'|'The logo of Austrian gambling group Novomatic is seen at a building in Vienna, Austria, April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader FRANKFURT/VIENNA (Reuters) - Gambling technology group Novomatic [NVMTC.UL] said it has put plans for an initial public offering on hold due to uncertainty over new regulation in one of its most important markets, Germany.The Austrian firm had been expected to publish its intention to float on the Frankfurt stock exchange this week, but said it is no longer targeting a 2017 listing, declining to elaborate.The IPO was seen valuing the company, which makes slot machines and is also the largest operator of gambling halls and casinos in Germany, Italy and Britain, at more than 5 billion euros, which would make it one of the largest listings of an Austrian company in years.New rules in Germany mean gambling halls need to be 100-500 meters apart from each other, and each can only hold one license to host up to 12 gambling machines. Novomatic has a market share of 53 percent in the country.“The implementation of the new German regulation is filtering through more slowly than expected and it is difficult for investors to fully assess the effect on Novomatic’s business,” said a person close to the matter.The company took a more bearish view on its expected earnings and would have had to present a new set of figures to the analysts, who have worked out how to value the company, another person said.“It was effectively a profit warning,” that person said.Added to this, the acquisition of Australian peer Ainsworth ( AGI.AX ), which is expected to contribute 50 million euros ($59 million) in annual core earnings, has not yet been completed, the first source added.Novomatic, owned by the family of its billionaire founder Johann Graf, has been on a shopping spree in recent years. The Ainsworth purchase gave it access to the important U.S. market last year, where it is targeting a market share in slot machines of more than 10 percent.Novomatic generates around 40 percent of its sales from gambling equipment, the rest stemming from operating gambling halls. Online activities only account for a small percentage of sales as internet gambling is illegal in many countries, and Novomatic does not circumvent such rules by launching websites in Russia or China.Novomatic reported a 29 percent drop in first-half net profit on Aug. 30, citing tax hikes in Italy and Austria and preparations for regulatory changes in Germany.Peers such as Aristocrat ( ALL.AX ), IGT ( IGT.N ) and Scientific Games ( SGMS.O ) specializing in gambling equipment trade at 7-14 times their expected core earnings.Novomatic was not expected to reach a valuation of 10 or more times its expected core earnings, one of the people close to the matter said.Last year, Novomatic posted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 589 million euros.Novomatic has said that while it expects the number of gambling machines to drop by 25-30 percent in Germany in coming years due to the new rules, it expects usage rates to rise.Additional reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Louise Heavens/Mark Heinrich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-novomatic-ipo/gambling-group-novomatic-puts-flotation-plans-on-hold-idINKCN1C11IB'|'2017-09-26T10:06:00.000+03:00'
'408e9c77907948a8b4ee5d91781b3e7e80b80258'|'Finland''s Fortum makes 22 euro/share bid for German utility Uniper'|'  5:04 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Finland''s Fortum makes 22 euro/share bid for German utility Uniper Reuters Staff 1   Fortum logo is pictured on the biomass combined heat and power plant in Jelgava, Latvia February 3, 2014. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Finnish power company Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) has launched a full takeover bid for Uniper ( UN01.DE ), the power stations and energy trading business part-owned by German utility E.ON ( EONGn.DE ). E.ON said the Finnish suitor would make a public takeover offer to all Uniper shareholders of 22 euros (19.29 pounds) per share in cash and that E.ON was supporting the bid. The companies said last week that Fortum was in advanced talks to buy for 3.8 billion euros, or 22 euros per share, E.ON’s 46.65 percent stake in Uniper. The offer will not have a minimum acceptance condition, they added. Reporting by Ludwig Burger. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uniper-m-a-fortum-bid/finlands-fortum-makes-22-euro-share-bid-for-german-utility-uniper-idUKKCN1C12FT'|'2017-09-26T20:04:00.000+03:00'
'17e9e07d2d18b73bf2801626e60cb0eb51691f83'|'Toyota to invest $373.8 million in five U.S. plants'|'FILE PHOTO: A 2016 Toyota Prius hybrid is seen at the Washington Auto Show in Washington January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) said on Tuesday it would invest $373.8 million in five manufacturing plants in the United States to produce its first American-made hybrid powertrain, as it looks to build more vehicles in the market which it sells.The automaker said the investment would also be used to roll out Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) strategy at its Alabama plant, an initiative that aims to reduce the cost of developing new vehicles, partly by using more common components. ( reut.rs/2yr9Twv )The company would also start production of hybrid vehicle transmissions at its Buffalo, West Virginia facility and expand its 2.5-liter engine capacity at Georgetown, Kentucky, Toyota said.“This latest wave of investment represents our efforts to localize production of hybrid powertrains to the U.S.,” said Jeff Moore, senior vice resident, manufacturing.Toyota will modify its plant in Jackson, Tennessee to accommodate production of vehicle transmissions while its Huntsville, Alabama plant would undergo an upgrade enabling it to build engines complementing its strategy, the company said.The projects are set to begin this year and would be operational in 2020, Japan’s biggest auto company said.In January, Toyota’s North America CEO Jim Lentz said the company would invest $10 billion in the United States over the next five years to meet demand and upgrade plants to build more fuel-efficient models.(Corrects paragraph 3 to say Buffalo, West Virginia, not Wyoming.)Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-powertrain/toyota-to-invest-373-8-million-in-five-u-s-plants-idUSKCN1C126U'|'2017-09-26T19:01:00.000+03:00'
'f047276ce00e2f9d0c90d08ae626016ff7c6a635'|'Boeing sees growth in demand for airplanes in Southeast Asia'|'September 22, 2017 / 4:00 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Boeing sees growth in demand for airplanes in Southeast Asia Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An aircraft flies over a Boeing 777-300ER airplane of China Airlines during the 51st Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, June 16, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo (Reuters) - Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said it sees demand for new airplanes worth $650 billion in Southeast Asia over the next two decades. The world’s biggest plane maker projected a demand for 4,210 new airplanes in the region over the next 20 years, adding it saw annual traffic growth in Southeast Asia at 6.2 percent. Single-aisle airplanes, like the 737 MAX, would account for more than 70 percent of new deliveries, Boeing said in a statement on Thursday. The low-cost business model would further continue to be a driver of traffic growth in Southeast Asia, it noted. The company sees worldwide demand at 41,030 new airplanes over the next two decades. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-aviation-boeing/boeing-sees-growth-in-demand-for-airplanes-in-southeast-asia-idUKKCN1BX0B9'|'2017-09-22T07:00:00.000+03:00'
'3388911f51f557319a1c5367b8e7dfd55164fd42'|'North Korea tension weighs on European shares but L''Oreal rallies'|'  7:38 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago North Korea tension weighs on European shares but L''Oreal rallies Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN (Reuters) - European shares fell in early deals on Friday on fresh tension on the North Korean front, while L‘Oreal rallied in Paris on talk about possible ownership changes at the cosmetics giant. L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ) rose more than 4 percent after billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, whose family founded the firm and still owns the largest stake in it, died. Traders said her death could fuel talk that Nestle ( NESN.S ) could consider selling its stake in L‘Oreal, which in turn may look at selling its holding in Sanofi ( SASY.PA ). The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2 percent by 0716 GMT. Miners .SXPP were the biggest sectoral faller, down 1.4 percent, as escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and China’s rating downgrade hit metal prices. North Korea said on Friday it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy the reclusive country. Among other regional benchmarks, Germany''s DAX .GDAXI declined 0.1 percent, still close to 2-month high on the last day before an election that is expected to see Chancellor Angela Merkel emerge as winner. UK''s FTSE .FTSE fell 0.3 percent. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, edited by Julien Ponthus'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/north-korea-tension-weighs-on-european-shares-but-loreal-rallies-idUKKCN1BX0PB'|'2017-09-22T10:32:00.000+03:00'
'3196ef2470cf74c1e262011df1d0f91c39cb8e11'|'Big technology firms are newly in the hot seat at home'|'ANTITRUST, privacy, hate speech—whenever the European Union tries to rein in tech giants, Americans accuse it of protectionism. That argument has always been simplistic, but now it is harder to make; scarcely a week passes in Washington when companies like Apple and Google are not in politicians’ crosshairs.The latest target is Facebook. Earlier this month the firm revealed that 470 accounts that appeared to be controlled from Russia had bought advertisements worth a total of $100,000 on the social network between June 2015 and May 2017. Alex Stamos, Facebook’s chief security officer, said they aimed at “amplifying divisive social and political messages”. 19 This was the first time Facebook had acknowledged that Russia may have used the social network, leading the team of Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible links between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government, to issue a search warrant to get further details. Now the Senate’s intelligence committee has asked Facebook executives to testify at a public hearing. Some in Washington want to force Facebook to disclose who is behind political advertisements.Another initiative reached the hearing stage on September 19th. The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) is aimed at stopping online services from hosting sex-trafficking advertisements—in particular Backpage.com, a site notorious for such ads. It was set in motion by an affecting documentary, “I am Jane Doe”, which chronicles the legal battles waged by sex-trafficking victims against Backpage.com.But SESTA is also bad news for Google, which is still reeling from being made responsible for the firing in August of Barry Lynn, a prominent critic of big tech companies, from the New America Foundation, a Washington think-tank which the firm supports. Google worries, as many experts do, that SESTA will undercut section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a statute that largely exempts online firms from liability for their users’ actions and which is a big reason why the internet has been a fountain of innovation. Google cannot oppose the legislation openly because it would be seen as defending sex traffickers.The bill also plays into the hands of some of Google’s foes, who may be happy to see it weakened. Oracle, a software firm, has come out in support of SESTA. Google has fallen out with its Silicon Valley neighbour over Android, its mobile operating system; the two are now involved in a billion-dollar intellectual-property battle. Media types and academics are again discussing ways of reining in big tech companies. The authors of two critical books—“Move Fast and Break Things” by Jonathan Taplin and “World Without Mind” by Franklin Foer—are a media scholar and a former magazine editor, respectively. Luigi Zingales and Guy Rolnik, both of the University of Chicago, have called for legislation to reallocate the ownership of data created on social media to users.The question is whether the tech backlash will result in new laws, beyond (perhaps) SESTA. Big antitrust investigations still appear far off. The nominee for antitrust chief at the Department of Justice, Makan Delrahim, yet to be confirmed, seems most interested in protecting American firms from “discriminatory antitrust enforcement” abroad, not in attacking monopoly power at home. Much will depend on how the companies react. They need to do more than invest heavily in lobbying. Instead they should strengthen their infrastructure for policing their platforms and be much more transparent, argues Nick Sinai, a lecturer at Harvard University and an investor at Insight Venture Partners.The GAFA, as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple are collectively called, also have good arguments on their side. If they are dominant, it is chiefly because consumers like their products. The four giants are an important engine of the American economy. That is why it would come as a surprise if America is ever as eager as the rest of the world to cut the giants down to size. "America’s turn"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729466-stop-enabling-sex-traffickers-act-could-fundamentally-change-internet-big-technology?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-21T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'c08bb979acf7ac6eb2c99c62b490c8be59823f84'|'UPDATE 1-Western Digital to seek injunction to block Toshiba''s $18 bln chip unit sale'|'* Injunction sought at International Court of Arbitration* Toshiba has picked rival Bain-led group as winner of auction* Agreement with Bain group still unsigned as of Tuesday (Adds comments from Western Digital, no comment from Toshiba)By Makiko Yamazaki and Sam NusseyTOKYO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp said on Tuesday it will seek an injunction to block the sale of Toshiba Corp’s prized semiconductor business to a rival group, upping the ante in an acrimonious battle with its chip venture partner.The latest legal action by the U.S. firm, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s main chip plant, comes in the wake of the Japanese conglomerate’s decision last week to sell the unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix.The $18 billion agreement with the Bain group is, however, still unsigned, with Toshiba telling its main banks this week that Apple Inc, a member of the consortium and an important client, had yet to agree to key terms.Western Digital’s injunction is being sought with the International Court of Arbitration, where the California-based company, which argues no deal can be done without its consent, initiated proceedings against its partner earlier this year.A panel of three arbitrators may be formed as early as this week and a decision on the injunction could come late this year before any deal closes, a source familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the mattter. A final ruling on the dispute is not expected before 2019.The contentious auction has underscored how high the stakes are, as rival suitors, the Japanese government and Toshiba’s creditor banks all squabble over the world’s second biggest producer of NAND memory chips.For Toshiba, a signed deal would come not a moment too soon as it needs to raise billions of dollars to cover liabilities arising from its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse before the end of the financial year in March. If it fails to do that, it could be delisted.Even if Toshiba manages to sign the deal with the Bain group imminently, it is still cutting it fine as regulatory reviews usually take at least six months.STAKES HIGH Western Digital said in a statement that Toshiba’s decision had been disappointing, given that it had made major concessions. These included giving up its participation in the consortium it was part of, leaving KKR & Co and a state-backed fund, the Innovation Network of Japan (INCJ), as the main investors. It also gave up on a plan to take a future equity stake.It said it was vehemently opposed to a Bain deal, arguing that the inclusion of SK Hynix, a rival chipmaker, heightens the risk of technology leaks and introduces the risk that the deal may not clear regulatory reviews, unlike the KKR/INCJ bid which does not include a chipmaker.Toshiba declined to comment.Western Digital, one of world’s leading makers of hard disk drives, paid some $16 billion last year to acquire SanDisk, Toshiba’s chip joint venture partner since 2000. It sees chips as a key pillar of growth and is desperate to keep the business out of the hands of rival chipmakers.Just last week, Western Digital filed a fresh arbitration request seeking to stop Toshiba from investing in a new chip facility in Yokkaichi, Japan, unless SanDisk was also allowed to invest.Toshiba said in August it decided to invest in the new line without Western Digital as they “failed to reach agreement” on joint investment.Western Digital previously sought an injunction from a California state court to block any sale of the chip unit without its consent. The court ordered Toshiba in July to give Western Digital two weeks’ notice before any deal is closed. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Sam Nussey; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting/update-1-western-digital-to-seek-injunction-to-block-toshibas-18-bln-chip-unit-sale-idINL4N1M73KK'|'2017-09-26T09:10:00.000+03:00'
'ff487f056e648a6f32152c4203f6eeb47cbcae25'|'BRIEF-Federal Realty Investment Trust announces pricing of $150 mln 5 pct cumulative redeemable preferred share offering'|'Sept 25 (Reuters) - Federal Realty Investment Trust* Federal Realty Investment Trust announces pricing of $150 million 5.000% cumulative redeemable preferred share offering* Federal Realty Investment Trust - Priced an underwritten public offering of 6 million depositary shares at $25.00 per depositary share Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-federal-realty-investment-trust-an/brief-federal-realty-investment-trust-announces-pricing-of-150-mln-5-pct-cumulative-redeemable-preferred-share-offering-idINASB0BKU4'|'2017-09-25T20:02:00.000+03:00'
'0acc1a426c90decf24cd9d373aaeb90b95c173ad'|'Alibaba takes control of logistics business, pledges $15 billion to expand network'|'  4:17 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Alibaba takes control of logistics business, pledges $15 billion to expand network Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A logo of Alibaba Group is pictured at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, October 14, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group announced it will invest 100 billion yuan ($15.12 billion) over five years to build a global logistics network and also take control of a $20 billion unit, underpinning an aggressive overseas expansion. Alibaba is investing 5.3 billion yuan in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network to boost its stake to 51 percent from 47 percent. The investment would value Cainiao, a joint venture of top Chinese logistics firms, at around $20 billion.“Our commitment to Cainiao and additional investment in logistics demonstrate Alibaba’s commitment to building the most-efficient logistic network in China and around the world,” Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement on Tuesday. The announcement comes as Alibaba is rapidly expanding its e-commerce and logistics network abroad, including newly announced direct sales channels in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, facilitated by a $2 billion investment in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group. Alibaba’s latest investment in Cainiao also signals its intention to boost control over the domestic warehousing and delivery market, which has become increasingly competitive as firms seek to capitalize on logistics data assets. In June top logistics firm SF Holding Co cut ties with the Cainiao coalition, which provides logistics support directly to Alibaba’s top e-commerce platform Taobao, claiming Alibaba had requested data unrelated to the existing partnership agreement. Alibaba denied the claims. Alibaba said on Tuesday the $15 billion investment will be used to develop its data technology and improve its warehousing and delivery development. Alibaba subscribed to new shares of Cainiao to boost its stake to a majority, according to a person close to the e-commerce firm. Alibaba will gain a new board seat in Cainiao, and will represent four out of a total seven seats. Despite attracting billions of dollars from equity investors, Chinese logistic firms haven’t fared well in recent public listings. Shares of ZTO Express Inc, which raised $1.4 billion from its New York IPO last October in the largest U.S. offering by any Chinese company since Alibaba in 2014, are down 22 percent from the listing price. And Best Inc, a Chinese delivery firm backed by Alibaba, raised $450 million in a U.S. IPO last week, nearly half of what it had initially intended to raise. Cainiao is not currently considering any IPO, the person said. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alibaba co-founded Cainiao in 2013, with partners including department store owner Intime Group, conglomerate Fosun Group and a few logistics companies. It oversees roughly 57 million deliveries a day. Reporting by Kane Wu and Cate Cadell; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-cainiao-investment/alibaba-raising-stake-in-cainiao-to-majority-investing-15-billion-to-grow-logistics-idUKKCN1C10C2'|'2017-09-26T09:01:00.000+03:00'
'beefbe76ce6be8f2de409de8523b22387070abb8'|'Britain''s growing debt problem demands a fresh set of eyes - Phillip Inman - Money - The Guardian'|'It’s a sad economic choice: accept the need for mounting debts just to achieve moderate growth or crack down on borrowing and get no growth at all.When there are queues at food banks and child poverty is on the rise , it might seem irresponsible to choose between reckless growth and sober stagnation. Neither option does the poorest any favours, but that appears to be the main dilemma for central bank policymakers.The US Federal Reserve and Bank of England think they can have it both ways. Not for the first time, they argue that clever regulation of the financial sector can allow for a rise in borrowing to spur moderate growth, without the risks associated with this strategy.Other state bodies are not getting involved in the debate, instead focusing narrowly on an agenda set by the government and accepting the regulators’ assurances that they are on top of the situation.Other agencies of the state that participate in this debate refuse to question the tradeoff. Instead they focus narrowly on an agenda set by the government and accept the assurances of the regulators that clever people in positions of seniority are on top of the situation.Among the bodies that sit on the sidelines is the Office for Budget Responsibility , Britain’s independent economic forecasting body. You might think that from its title it would have a moral duty to question the roots of the government’s economic planning. You would be wrong. The OBR makes forecasts showing us the path for interest rates, inflation, employment, wages, business investment and tax receipts based on the Treasury’s plans, however crazy they might be.The organisation was the creation of the Treasury; more particularly it was the creation of the then chancellor, George Osborne , and it was not designed to question his policies. This situation became stark in the last years of Osborne’s tenure as he manipulated his tax and spending plans to conjure a smooth path of deficit reduction, knowing the OBR would be forced to follow his lead and simply calculate the impact of Treasury policies.The UK''s debt crisis – in figures Read more More recently, the OBR has found itself in hot water over the basis of its forecasts using the budget plans of Osborne’s successor, Philip Hammond .When it was first created in 2010, the OBR adopted the Treasury view that austerity would have very little impact on potential for economic growth. It predicted a surge in business investment and jobs as if the economy was about to bounce back from a medium-sized recession and not the worst financial crash in a century.For several years, its reports repeated the same nonsense that wages would soar and annual inflation return to the Bank’s target of 2%, without any regard for what was obvious from just looking around. In this respect it followed the Treasury, many of the economists in the largest City banks and, most importantly, the Bank of England.After a few years the OBR realised this wasn’t happening and changed its tune. Rather than businesses borrowing to invest, consumers would borrow to spend. However, without inflation-busting wage rises, the money would need to come from somewhere, and that somewhere would be loans. More than that, the consumer would borrow so much on mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts and car loans that total household borrowing would soar above the 2007 level by 2020, the OBR predicted.Things changed for a while in 2015 after oil prices dived, almost out of the blue. The dramatic fall in the cost of a barrel of oil meant that inflation fell to zero and suddenly lacklustre wage rises of barely 2% became a real boost.Yet this only accelerated another trend missed by the OBR. Hidden beneath the averages for household debt was the propensity for middle-income households, and especially those where the main wage earners were more than 50 years old, to take the benefit of ultra-low interest rates and real income rises to pay down their mortgages. They spent some of the gain from lower interest rates, but from 2009 onwards they were also embarking on their own austerity programme.Better late than never, the OBR adopted a new methodology for calculating household debt. Overnight the trend for rising household debt weakened. It was no longer going to rise to credit crunch levels. This was shown most starkly in the OBR forecast conducted for the budget in March.At the time this re-evaluation was widely welcomed. No longer would Britain’s growth be built on a mountain of debt. That would be comforting, however, if the average household debt figure was representative of most households.Unfortunately, a large minority of households, many of them living in rented accommodation, are caught in a spiral of unsecured debt that has already sent the total for the UK above £200bn and, according to the OBR, will send it soaring further until it reaches a new peak as a ratio of GDP as soon as 2020.As part of the OBR’s re-evaluation of mortgage debt, the forecaster found that its overall debt figures more generally failed to add up.There are four main creditors and debtors in any economy. They are households, companies, the government and foreign investors. At any one time these elements are supposed to be in balance. So if households are spending more than their income would allow, they must be borrowing the balance and another group must be lending.For the last couple of years the OBR’s figures haven’t added up. Businesses have not stepped in to borrow now that households have cut back. The government has eased back on austerity and the deficit with foreign investors has moderated, but not enough to make up the difference.The OBR blames the discrepancy on official statistics, which also fail to balance. Yet, while this may be true, it is not hard to see why opposition politicians and more thoughtful Tories believe the OBR is not up to the task of offering an unbiased, critical view of where the Treasury is taking us.''They just kept topping it up'' – how one credit card user fell £28,000 in debt Read more There needs to be a broader, in-depth examination of where the economy is going , especially when the averages for debt, wages and household wealth disguise more than they reveal.The path chosen by the Treasury is not without huge risks. But the only one it highlights is the risk of higher government borrowing. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England since 2013, made reference to the persistent and large borrowing from abroad in a speech last year when he warned that Brexit could test “the kindness of strangers”. That was ignored, leaving Britain’s current-account deficit, which is the largest in the G7 nations, to be factored into the next five-year forecast.Andrew Bailey, the boss of the main financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, is concerned that significant numbers of families are drowning in debt . Is anyone listening? Not if the OBR forecast for soaring unsecured personal debt is anything to go by. Their warnings are not enough. The Labour MPs Frank Field and Rachel Reeves, who head the work and pensions and business select committees, have called for an independent commission to examine Britain’s growing debt problem. Parliament should heed this call and insist one is convened.Topics Borrowing & debt Britain''s debt timebomb Office for Budget Responsibility Economic policy George Osborne Philip Hammond comment'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/24/britains-growing-debt-problem-obr-figures-economy-in-depth-examination'|'2017-09-24T22:39:00.000+03:00'
'0bad48afbc49c95dba51602b9a6d5c7805a53415'|'AA has been a bit of a car crash - can it get back on the road? - Business - The Guardian'|'  The AA has been a bit of a car crash recently, and this week investors will be hoping for signs that it is getting back on the road. Over the summer the roadside recovery group fired executive chairman Bob Mackenzie for “gross misconduct” after an alleged altercation with another director. However Mackenzie’s son maintains his father left because of ill health. The dispute reportedly revolved around a possible disposal of the AA’s insurance business, which Mackenzie opposed. It later transpired that there had been early talks between the AA and insurance group Hastings about a deal, but these had now ended. Further partnerships are a possibility, and more details could emerge at Tuesday’s interim figures from acting chief executive Simon Breakwell. Analysts at Cenkos said the proposed deal with Hastings “does highlight the value of the AA’s insurance broking business (which has a circa 2% market share in new motor insurance policies and a 3% share in home insurance), but keep in mind that roadside assistance remains the biggest division by far (2017 earnings were £365m from roadside assistance and £76m from insurance) and we continue to think that despite the shambolic headlines around Bob Mackenzie’s dismissal, operating performance remains robust.” How to shore up a wobbly Carillion Another company with problems is construction and support services company Carillion . In July, it issued a profit warning, blaming a Brexit-related slowdown in orders, scrapped its dividend and said Richard Howson was stepping down as chief executive but would become chief operating officer. Apart from causing a share price crash of nearly 40%, the news prompted talk in the City that the company could find itself in need of a cash call of around £500m to cut its debt mountain. Then, earlier this month, it said finance chief Zafar Khan had left after nine months in the role and Howson was departing the company completely. This also caused surprise, coming as it did not long before next Friday’s half-year results. UBS analysts said: “While we think a credible recapitalisation and turnaround requires a new management team, the changes raise some questions: the timing is somewhat odd with results due to be reported on 29 September.” Analysts believe a restructuring of Carillion’s debt will wait until after Friday’s figures and any news on strategic developments. The last year has been far from easy for PZ PZ Cussons is a strange beast, with a strong presence in various personal care, electricals and food businesses in Africa – particularly in Nigeria – and a number of global brands including Carex and Imperial Leather. The company is due to give a trading update on Wednesday but it is the annual meeting on the same day that has corporate governance specialist Pirc in a lather. The advisory group is recommending shareholders vote against the company’s remuneration policy. It says the company’s incentive scheme could give chief executive Alex Kanellis a maximum potential award of 300% of salary, which Pirc describes as “excessive”. It is also unhappy that “upside discretion may be used by the [remuneration] committee when determining severance payments.” On the trading front, the company had to cope with foreign exchange problems in its African businesses last year but Investec believes this year should be better: “2017 threw several curve balls at PZ Cussons, but the business coped admirably, delivering a solid pre-tax profit … While we do not believe 2018 will show any significant underlying economic improvement, we do not expect a recurrence of the level of disruption the group had to contend with last year.” Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/24/aa-insurance-deal-interim-figures-mackenzie'|'2017-09-24T14:22:00.000+03:00'
'fe2f1c71b917e6712ce01e66e3d3dee757cce596'|'Investors wary as Tanzania moves to assert more control over mines'|'September 24, 2017 / 7:02 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago Investors wary as Tanzania moves to assert more control over mines Katharine Houreld , Zandi Shabalala 7 Min Read NAIROBI/LONDON (Reuters) - New laws and a crackdown on mining firms in Tanzania has slowed fresh investment in what has long been seen as one of Africa’s brightest mining prospects as companies assess the consequences of government efforts to claim a bigger slice of the pie. Takeover bids and exploration plans have been cancelled and workers laid off. The share prices of many firms listed in Australia, Britain, South Africa and Canada with interests in Tanzania have halved as the value of their investments tumble. The tumult follows the passage of three laws in July that, among other things, hike taxes on mineral exports, mandate a higher government stake in some mining operations and force the construction of local smelters to bring Tanzania higher up the mining food chain. The regulations aim to stamp out what President John Magufuli, nicknamed “the Bulldozer”, has called years of corrupt practices and tax evasion that have robbed the country of revenue from a sector accounting for about four percent of GDP. Many of the changes were first suggested by the political opposition and have proved wildly popular with voters in Tanzania, where GDP per capita is still only $880. International investors are not happy, however, especially because the details remain unclear. Magufuli fired the minister of mining in May and he has not been replaced. Junior explorer Manas Resources ( MSR.AX ) expected to complete its acquisition of the Victoria Gold Project from Cienega Sarl by early 2018, but the company told Reuters it may run out of time if there is no clarity soon. “Because of the changes in legislation and the time being taken to implement new regulations, the sector has slowed down to a point where it is impacting exploration activities and our capacity to finalise the deal,” said Manas CEO Phil Reese. The director of one minerals company said he is shutting his Tanzanian office because he believes the laws will make it illegal for him to recoup the cost of his many unsuccessful exploration projects against the few successful ones, and require him to share his valuable geological data with the government for free. “There will be no nickel and gold exploration in Tanzania for the foreseeable future,” the head of another company said. Both men asked not to be named to avoid jeopardising their relations with the government. One mining services company said it had laid off more than 50 employees in the last 18 months. Miners in Tanzania vs AU mining index - reut.rs/2jEzQpH EXPORT BANS The first serious blow to mining companies this year came in March, when Tanzania banned the export of gold and copper ore over a tax dispute with the country’s biggest gold miner, London-listed Acacia ( ACAA.L ), and to encourage the construction of domestic smelters. The government says Acacia, majority-owned by Barrick Gold ( ABX.TO ), owes $190 billion in tax, penalties and interest for the period between 2000 and 2017. But miners say it would be impossible for listed and independently audited companies to hide billions of dollars in extra revenue. They also argue Tanzania does not produce enough ore to make building a smelter commercially viable. Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, the country is also a source of graphite, diamonds, tanzanite and rare earth minerals. Under the new regulations, the government can force mining and energy companies to renegotiate contracts to give the state at least 16 percent in projects, rising to 50 percent in some cases, and raise export royalties. The move is not so unusual in Africa. South Africa in June raised the threshold for black ownership in miners to 30 percent. Increasing shares of royalties is also part of a wider global trend that could lead to permanently higher prices, one mining CEO said, asking not to be identified. The Philippines, the world’s top nickel supplier, and Brazil, which produces gold, copper, tin and bauxite, are making the same push. “If all the governments want more of a share, commodities prices will reflect that,” the CEO said. “But if it’s just one government, they might get a bigger share of nothing.” Miners say the problem in Tanzania is that the laws, passed in less than a week, were pushed through without consultation. They also say it is still unclear how they will be applied - if, for example, the 16 percent will apply only to precious metals or also industrial minerals such as graphite. The mining commission that will oversee the regulations has yet to be formed. A ministry official, who asked not to be named, said it’s not clear when it will start work. MINING DEALS TAKE A HIT Bigger miners can draw on cash reserves to weather the sudden changes, but junior miners are more vulnerable to investor jitters because funders are quicker to pull out when project capital injections are smaller. London-based Tremont Investment immediately cancelled a bid for Australia’s Cradle Resources ( CXX.AX ) after the laws were passed. Shanta Gold ( SHAN.L ) cancelled a takeover bid for Helio Resource Corp. ( HRC.V ) shortly thereafter, also citing the laws. The shares of gold miner Orecorp ( ORR.AX ), whose only other asset is an exploration project in Mauritania, are down 72 percent since March. Junior miner Kibo Mining ( KIBO.L ) has seen little impact because in addition to gold exploration, it is developing a coal mine to fuel Tanzania’s first coal-fired power station. Increasing government ownership was sound and warranted, Kibo Mining CEO Louis Coetzee told Reuters, but he lamented the “questionable methodology” of the process. The government recently has shifted its attention from precious metals to precious stones, announcing on Sept. 20 that the military would build walls and checkpoints around tanzanite mines and the central bank would buy the stones. A parliamentary inquiry team had said on Sept. 7 that it had uncovered massive smuggling of the blue-violet gemstone. On the same day, the government confiscated a consignment of diamonds from a mine majority-owned by Petra Diamonds ( PDL.L ) after accusing the firm of under-declaring the value of the stones by around half. Petra denies the charge. Minerals companies and mining analysts said Tanzania could overplay its hand. “Minerals may not be mobile but the capital that funds the mines is,” said Ben Gargett, head of PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia-Africa practice. “Investors are saying, ‘On our risk radar, Tanzania has just gone a lot further down on the list.''” Additional reporting by Fumbuka Ng''wanakilala in Dar es Salaam; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tanzania-mining/investors-wary-as-tanzania-moves-to-assert-more-control-over-mines-idUKKCN1BZ064'|'2017-09-24T10:02:00.000+03:00'
'7b902b742db3efabd309de0c30658f3c25084eb5'|'Genuine Parts to buy European rival in $2 billion deal'|'  11:23 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago Genuine Parts to buy European rival in $2 billion deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - U.S. automotive replacement parts distributor Genuine Parts Co ( GPC.N ) said on Monday it would buy European rival Alliance Automotive Group in a deal valued at about $2 billion, including debt. Genuine Parts will buy Alliance Automotive from private equity funds managed by Blackstone ( BX.N ) and Alliance Automotive’s co-founders, the company said. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alliance-automotive-m-a-genuine-parts/genuine-parts-to-buy-european-rival-in-2-billion-deal-idUKKCN1C01ED'|'2017-09-25T14:17:00.000+03:00'
'1b22738a57bc0cec23fb479398482bee4d8e4343'|'BHP, world''s largest miner, says 2017 is ''tipping point'' for electric cars'|'Reuters TV United States September 26, 2017 / 5:38 AM / Updated an hour ago BHP, world''s largest miner, says 2017 is ''tipping point'' for electric cars 4 Min Read BHP''s Chief Commercial Officer Arnoud Balhuizen speaks at Reuters office in Singapore September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su SINGAPORE (Reuters) - This year looks set to be the “tipping point” for electric cars, Arnoud Balhuizen, chief commercial officer at global miner BHP ( BLT.L ) said on Tuesday, with the impact for raw materials producers to be felt first in the metals market, and only later in oil. “In September 2016 we published a blog and we set the question - could 2017 be the year of the electric vehicle revolution?” said Balhuizen, a company veteran who runs BHP’s commercial strategy, procurement and marketing from Singapore. “The answer is yes...2017 is the revolution year we have been speaking about. And copper is the metal of the future.” Europe has begun a dramatic shift away from the internal combustion engine, although, globally, there are only roughly 1 million electric cars out of a global fleet of closer to 1.1 billion. BHP forecasts that could rise to 140 million vehicles by 2035, a forecast it says is on ‘the greener’ end. “The reality is a mid-sized electric vehicle still needs subsidies to compete... so a lot will depend on batteries, on policy, on infrastructure,” Balhuizen said. Electric cars are expected to soon cost the same as traditional vehicles - as early as next year by some estimates. But governments are also getting on board, with China’s subsidies leading the way and Britain becoming the latest country to announce its all-electric ambitions in July. Balhuizen said he expected the electric vehicle boom would be felt - for producers - first in copper, where supply will struggle to match increased demand. The world’s top mines are aging and there have been no major discoveries in two decades. The market, he said, may have underestimated the impact on the red metal: fully electric vehicles require four times as much copper as cars that run on combustion engines. BHP, Balhuizen said, is well-placed, with assets like Escondida and Spence in Chile, and Olympic Dam in Australia. BHP said last month it was spending $2.5 billion to extend the life of the Spence mine in northern Chile by more than 50 years. For oil, though, the impact of the electric car boom may take longer to be felt. BHP''s Chief Commercial Officer Arnoud Balhuizen speaks at Reuters office in Singapore September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Pedja Stanisic Balhuizen said in the nearer term, over the next 10 to 15 years, improvements in the internal combustion engine will be a more significant drag on demand. BELT, ROAD China’s efforts to build a new Silk Road are another major factor influencing commodities demand in the near term, and BHP estimates the impact on steel alone at 150 million tonnes of new demand, Balhuizen said, mostly to be used in structures and reinforced concrete. Spending could top $1.3 trillion. China produced just over 800 million tonnes of steel in 2016. There is little question Asia requires more spending on infrastructure - the Asian Development Bank estimates that Asia requires $26 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2030. Per year, that is more than double current spending, BHP said. Belt and Road, as the giant initiative is known, is a “tremendous opportunity”, he said, acknowledging that there was a risk that big slogans may struggle to translate to profit. Along with the rest of the commodities universe, BHP has benefited from rising prices over recent months - copper, for example is close to three-year highs, boosting cashflows. The return of growth has not turned BHP away from its push for efficiencies, Balhuizen said, including with instruments like blockchain, although the focus remains on easier wins like e-documentation. But efficiencies will not mean further reducing the portfolio of commodities for now, he said, brushing off criticism from some investors over BHP’s oil assets. “The diversity of our portfolio does create value. We get better credit ratings, we get a lower cost of debt,” he said, pointing to applications in potash of techniques honed in oil. “It is very tangible, very clear.” Reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques and Gavin Maguire; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-strategy/bhp-worlds-largest-miner-says-2017-is-tipping-point-for-electric-cars-idUKKCN1C10HO'|'2017-09-26T08:32:00.000+03:00'
'984398abe4267177fdfe777cdabc90cf64b5c3ef'|'Bank of England expects 130 firms to apply for UK licences ahead of Brexit'|'  12:34 PM / Updated an hour ago Bank of England braced for 130 licence applications before Brexit Rachel Armstrong , Huw Jones , Andrew MacAskill 4 Min Read Sam Woods head of Britain''s Prudential Regulation Authority poses for a portrait in his office in London, September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England expects 130 financial firms from across Europe to apply for licences to continue operating in Britain after Brexit, its Deputy Governor Sam Woods said. As head of the Prudential Regulation Authority, Woods said that he will also have to decide by Christmas if branches of European Union financial firms in London must convert to subsidiaries and be directly supervised by the PRA. Woods had more than 400 responses to his call for banks to spell out their plans if Britain leaves the EU in March 2019 without new trading arrangements or a transition deal in place. Of these, the “outbounds” or UK based banks who want to maintain links with customers elsewhere in the EU, are more advanced in their thinking than the “inbounds”, or banks based elsewhere in the EU who want to continue serving UK customers. “We are having to push the inbounds to move on with their thinking,” Woods told the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit. “We are likely to see at least 130 applications to be authorised here in the UK. It’s (a) significant stretch, but I think we can do that,” Woods added on Tuesday. Woods said earlier this year that branches of EU banks in London might have to apply to become subsidiaries, a costly exercise that involves building up capital and reserves locally. Related Coverage UK banks might become test bed in fight against cyber attacks Branches rely on capital held by their parent and are mainly supervised by their home regulator. Woods said on Tuesday he has two or three months left before deciding on branch conversions - barring news in coming weeks of a transition deal agreed by the EU as well as Britain. “Broadly, come Christmas time, we will need to move into a different mode of receiving applications,” Woods said. FILE PHOTO - A man talks on a mobile phone as people walk past the Bank of England, in London, Britain September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner It would be “unwise” to rely on a transition agreement happening until there was some sense that the EU was also in favour of one, he said. Woods expects London will continue to be one of the world’s largest financial centres in the coming decades after some politicians and economists predicted the City will lose its pre-eminent status as a global hub for finance because of Brexit. He agreed with the findings of a Reuters survey published last week that around 10,000 finance jobs will be shifted out of Britain or created overseas in the next few years in the initial wave, if the UK is denied access to Europe’s single market. “Your survey seemed to be about right,” he said. “The numbers I have are possibly slightly lower, but in that space.” However, he said bigger moves could be in store in the future depending on the outcome of the negotiations and how finance companies adapt to building out operations overseas. Woods said any new trading relationship with Europe would likely avoid Britain being a “rule taker” or having to copy the bloc’s rules into UK law as a basis for retaining market access. “It would be very unwise for us to run a major financial centre without any say over the rules,” he said, adding that there will also be no attempts to deregulate either. Woods also said that British banks are on course to introduce new rules designed to protect their domestic retail customers from riskier parts of their operations by 2019. Some large banks have been lobbying for more time, saying Brexit has made the separation more complex and costly. Woods said at the moment banks were at a “peak” of implementing the new rules, adding it was “hard surgery” for them but that it was “so far, so good”. Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits Reporting by Rachel Armstrong, Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill; editing by Jane Merriman and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-summit-regulation-woods/bank-of-england-expects-130-firms-to-apply-for-uk-licences-ahead-of-brexit-idUKKCN1C11L4'|'2017-09-26T15:43:00.000+03:00'
'c7fe57cca2859f19b7fc70be3c275f3434d81153'|'McDonald’s wages a food fight in India'|'IN MOST ways the McDonald’s outlet in Jangpura, a gentrifying neighbourhood in south Delhi, looks like one anywhere else, with bright displays, plastic seating and a familiar menu. But this week a disconcerting sign warns that “unpredictable” conditions have affected tomato supplies; none are available. Not bad though for a store that McDonald’s has been trying to close since September 6th. Over a third of its 400 or so outlets in India were supposed to shut their doors then—yet nearly all are still slinging McSpicy Paneers to customers.War rages between McDonald’s India and Vikram Bakshi of Connaught Place Restaurants Limited (CPRL), who first brought the American chain to India in 1996 as a local partner in a 50-50 joint venture, starting in Delhi (along with another franchisee, Hardcastle Restaurants, which went into the southern and western states). Over the next two decades, Mr Bakshi expanded in the north and east. In 2008 McDonald’s tried to buy out Mr Bakshi’s share for $7m, but he had evidence from an accounting firm that his stake was worth $331m. 15 From his upstairs office in a residential colony near the Jangpura store, Mr Bakshi has been giving hell to the world’s biggest restaurant chain. In 2013 McDonald’s had him ousted as CPRL’s managing director. He sued to be reinstated, then sued to have his stake revalued, and again to keep control of 169 branches without interference from the mother ship.When McDonald’s tried to take him to the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in December 2013, he complained of “oppression and mismanagement” to an Indian national tribunal and won a reprieve; only in 2016 did another Indian court allow the chain’s case to proceed to the LCIA. Mr Bakshi is now trying his luck with an appeal to yet another court, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. The battle illustrates multinationals’ worst fears about India, from the instability built into the joint-venture model to the ease of stymieing legal judgments.The prospects for McDonald’s in India look appealing, thanks to expanding middle classes. But Mr Bakshi’s chain all but ceased growing since he crossed swords with the golden arches. He shows no signs of giving up. Now his hope is that the appellate tribunal will find in his favour on the LCIA case after a hearing due on October 25th.Meanwhile, McDonald’s seems to be taking matters into its own hands and squeezing Mr Bakshi’s suppliers. Jangpura’s ketchup comes from Cremica Food Industries in Punjab. Cremica stopped shipping to CPRL in August (it will not say why). Over the approaching holiday weekend of Dussehra, a Hindu festival, the restaurants should see their heaviest footfall of the year. McDonald’s worst fear must be that Mr Bakshi will find a way to carry on for months or years using its brand. But no tomato, then no ketchup. These are formidable weapons. "Not lovin’ it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729783-vikram-bakshi-keeps-foiling-mcdonalds-indias-courts-mcdonalds-wages-food-fight-india?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'4ca38bbd9200cdc1c41b92663ef0d3922ae3d94d'|'Bombardier, Siemens rail merger de-railed by control issues - sources'|'September 28, 2017 / 9:44 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Bombardier, Siemens rail merger de-railed by control issues: sources Arno Schuetze , Allison Lampert 5 Min Read A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido FRANKFURT/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada’s Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) missed out on a merger of its rail unit with Germany’s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) because of a reluctance by Siemens to cede control of its business, allowing France’s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) to clinch a deal with the German firm, with help from new French president Macron, three sources close to the negotiations told Reuters. Siemens and Alstom announced a merger of their train manufacturing operations on Tuesday, leaving Bombardier competing in a market dominated by China’s state-owned CRRC Corp ( 601766.SS ), the world’s largest train maker. The combined Siemens and Alstom group will become the second biggest. The deal gave Siemens 50 percent in the new group, plus a few shares of the joint venture, while Alstom will supply Henri Poupart-Lafarge as chief executive. In the talks between Bombardier and Siemens, both “wanted to be in the driver seat”, complicating the negotiations, one of the sources said. Another source said Siemens felt uncomfortable with Bombardier’s nearly $9 billion debt, adding the Canadian company’s financial woes caused “big headaches” at Siemens. Bombardier, which considered bankruptcy in 2015, has received more than $1 billion in federal and provincial government aid since 2015. The Siemens-Alstom deal also had the blessings of French politicians, despite France losing control of the manufacture of its high-speed TGV train, a symbol of national pride that has highlighted French engineering skill, the people added. Siemens and Alstom declined comment. Bombardier declined to comment on the deal but said it “has the scale, the technology and the people to compete and win in any competitive landscape.” A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Sources declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential. SIEMENS SAW ALSTOM AS BETTER FIT Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom had been exploring rail joint ventures since 2015 to withstand the global advance of China’s CRRC Corp, and the talks between Bombardier and Siemens initially gained traction. Early this year, Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser made the decision to enter into talks with Bombardier after deciding the chances of concluding a deal with Alstom were slim, citing political obstacles and a traditionally hostile relationship between the two firms going back decades, the people said. Those factors led Siemen’s Kaeser to instead pursue a deal with Bombardier and, by early August, people familiar with the matter said, the two companies were close to agreement. The deal had the support of one of Bombardier’s biggest shareholders, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, whose Chief Executive Michael Sabia has said consolidation is necessary to enable North American and European operators to compete with China’s CRRC.. Caisse did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A deal between Bombardier and Siemens would have created two separate joint ventures, with Bombardier taking a stake of over 50 percent in the rolling stock operations and Siemens taking a roughly 80 percent stake in the higher-margin signaling technology business, sources told Reuters in July. While Siemens had been happy to give up the majority of its rolling stock business it was unwilling to relinquish control of its signaling business which is the biggest in Europe and its executives made clear they would not compromise, the sources said. In contrast, a deal between Siemens and Alstom proved to be easier, the sources said, as Alstom was already the European leader in rolling stock and Siemens the leader in signaling. Alstom re-emerged in July as a potential alternative partner for Siemens with French President Emmanuel Macron and Finance Minister Bruce Le Maire fearing Alstom could be left on the sidelines putting French jobs at risk. Crucially, they were prepared to support a deal even if it meant France losing control of high-speed TGV train making. “Macron and Alstom didn’t not want to be left out. They wanted (to create) an Airbus of rail,” said one source familiar with the talks. Additional reporting by Cyril Altmeyerhenzien in Paris and Alexander Huebner in Frankfurt; Writing by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Denny Thomas and Clive McKeef'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bombardier-siemens/bombardier-siemens-rail-merger-de-railed-by-control-issues-sources-idUKKCN1C33AB'|'2017-09-29T00:43:00.000+03:00'
'7dd4716964e298096f4b50fca4f27e6072b5d29d'|'Belfast workers caught in crosshairs of Boeing-Bombardier battle'|' 49 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago Belfast workers caught in crosshairs of Boeing-Bombardier battle 6 Min Read The Bombardier factory is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne BELFAST (Reuters) - Yards from what is left of the giant Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, the remaining jewel in Northern Ireland’s industrial crown - a cutting-edge Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) wing factory - is under threat from a far-off trade war. The United States on Tuesday imposed a preliminary 220 percent duty on Bombardier’s CSeries next-generation passenger jet after rival Boeing ( BA.N ) complained of unfair subsidies, dealing a major blow to the Canadian company’s flagship project. The dispute has ramifications far beyond the docklands and livelihoods of Bombardier’s 4,200 workers in Belfast, with U.S President Donald Trump’s relations with Canada, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s parliamentary majority and prospects for a British post-Brexit trade deal with Washington also at stake. “This will be a hammer blow if this stops in any way the CSeries program, because the CSeries is the future of Belfast,” said Davy Thompson, who represents the plant’s workers for the Unite trade union. He described the decision as “unbelievable.” The fate of the workers, he fears, is being whirled about in a geopolitical storm. “We’re hoping Belfast won’t be collateral damage,” he said. The Commerce Department penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favor in a final decision expected in 2018. Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, says it is upholding trade rules and is not trying to damage the CSeries. PILLAR OF THE ECONOMY The Bombardier plant is by far the most important manufacturer left in Belfast, which was one of the world’s great industrial cities when the Titanic set sail as the largest ocean-liner a century ago. After the slow collapse of British shipbuilding and the bloody three-decade conflict between Irish nationalists who wanted Northern Ireland to unite with Ireland and unionists who wanted it to remain British, only a handful of small industrial manufacturers remain. The plant - which Bombardier bought from Short Brothers, the world’s oldest planemaker, in 1989 - has been a pillar of Belfast’s economy for decades, putting locals through multi-year apprenticeships. Thousands more jobs across Northern Ireland depend on supplying the plant. “You can’t overstate the significance of Bombardier to our regional economy,” said local parliamentarian Gavin Robinson. “It’s the largest high-tech manufacturer in Northern Ireland. But it’s the main part of our aerospace, defense and security industry as well.” Around 1,000 of the plant’s employees work on carbon fiber wings for the CSeries using a fabrication method perfected in Belfast, which allows Bombardier to go from raw material to finished wing on one site. “It’s the only plant in the world where the details are made on the same site that they are assembled,” engineer Mark Braniff told Reuters in the vast hall that houses the assembly line, as a worker nearby checked an upright wing for imperfections. A man works on a C Series aeroplane wing in the Bombardier factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne “The likes of Airbus and Boeing would fly parts in from 1,000 miles away and screw them together.” The new system allows Bombardier technicians to quickly and cheaply shape a flexible carbon fabric before infusing it with resin, rather than using a pre-made material. The finished wings are sailed from Belfast harbor for assembly in Canada. While the resin-infusion process is not yet ready for the volumes used by the world’s largest manufacturers, it could lay the foundation for cheaper and faster ways to build the kind of composites essential to improve fuel efficiency in the world’s passenger fleet. Other manufacturers, such as Boeing, are looking at the technology, but so far no-one else is using it on this scale. UNIONIST BASTION The plant is of particular significance to Northern Ireland’s mainly protestant unionist community who long provided the vast majority of workers in Shorts and the neighboring Harland & Wolff shipyards, which built the Titanic. Located in overwhelmingly protestant East Belfast, the plant still employs more Protestants than Catholics even after decades of equality programs. That means the plant and its workers is central to Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party, the Democratic Unionist Party, which is propping up Theresa May’s government after a poor showing for her Conservatives in the last election. “The UK government understands very much what is at stake here and the importance of the CSeries program,” said Haley Dunne, Director of Public Affairs at Bombardier in Northern Ireland. Locals have been hoping that May’s dependence on the DUP will ensure she acts decisively to protect the plant. “I‘m not sure we would have had as much traction as quickly had we not been in the position we are in,” said Gavin Robinson, the local member of parliament for the DUP. That optimism was bolstered on Wednesday when Britain’s defense secretary warned the U.S. ruling could jeopardize Boeing’s relationship with Britain, one of its biggest overseas defense clients. “Boeing has significant defense contracts with us and still expects to win further contracts. Boeing wants and we want a long term partnership but that has to be two-way,” Michael Fallon told reporters at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. May, who said she was “bitterly disappointed” by the Bombardier ruling, will have to balance placating the DUP with the need to secure an advantageous trade deal with the United States for when Britain leaves the EU in 2019, however. “We have a weak government coming out of Brexit who need to have trade deals in place in a couple of years,” said Unite’s Thompson. “We want them to be firm for UK workers and as strong as possible when dealing with Boeing,” he said. “We don’t want Belfast to be the casualty in all of this.” Additional reporting by Amanda Ferguson; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier-belfast/belfast-workers-caught-in-crosshairs-of-boeing-bombardier-battle-idUSKCN1C21N0'|'2017-09-27T15:43:00.000+03:00'
'e6a2b8ba62647bf841e3326fa0b7655ebf063014'|'Belfast workers caught in crosshairs of Boeing-Bombardier battle'|'  12:59 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Belfast workers caught in crosshairs of Boeing-Bombardier battle 6 Min Read The Bombardier factory is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne BELFAST (Reuters) - Yards from what is left of the giant Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, the remaining jewel in Northern Ireland’s industrial crown - a cutting-edge Bombardier wing factory - is under threat from a far-off trade war. The United States on Tuesday imposed a preliminary 220 percent duty on Bombardier’s CSeries next-generation passenger jet after rival Boeing complained of unfair subsidies, dealing a major blow to the Canadian company’s flagship project. The dispute has ramifications far beyond the docklands and livelihoods of Bombardier’s 4,200 workers in Belfast, with U.S President Donald Trump’s relations with Canada, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s parliamentary majority and prospects for a British post-Brexit trade deal with Washington also at stake. “This will be a hammer blow if this stops in any way the CSeries programme, because the CSeries is the future of Belfast,” said Davy Thompson, who represents the plant’s workers for the Unite trade union. He described the decision as “unbelievable.” The fate of the workers, he fears, is being whirled about in a geopolitical storm. “We’re hoping Belfast won’t be collateral damage,” he said. The Commerce Department penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favour in a final decision expected in 2018. Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, says it is upholding trade rules and is not trying to damage the CSeries. PILLAR OF THE ECONOMY The Bombardier plant is by far the most important manufacturer left in Belfast, which was one of the world’s great industrial cities when the Titanic set sail as the largest ocean-liner a century ago. After the slow collapse of British shipbuilding and the bloody three-decade conflict between Irish nationalists who wanted Northern Ireland to unite with Ireland and unionists who wanted it to remain British, only a handful of small industrial manufacturers remain. The plant - which Bombardier bought from Short Brothers, the world’s oldest planemaker, in 1989 - has been a pillar of Belfast’s economy for decades, putting locals through multi-year apprenticeships. Thousands more jobs across Northern Ireland depend on supplying the plant. “You can’t overstate the significance of Bombardier to our regional economy,” said local parliamentarian Gavin Robinson. “It’s the largest high-tech manufacturer in Northern Ireland. But it’s the main part of our aerospace, defence and security industry as well.” Around 1,000 of the plant’s employees work on carbon fibre wings for the CSeries using a fabrication method perfected in Belfast, which allows Bombardier to go from raw material to finished wing on one site. “It’s the only plant in the world where the details are made on the same site that they are assembled,” engineer Mark Braniff told Reuters in the vast hall that houses the assembly line, as a worker nearby checked an upright wing for imperfections. “The likes of Airbus and Boeing would fly parts in from 1,000 miles away and screw them together.” The new system allows Bombardier technicians to quickly and cheaply shape a flexible carbon fabric before infusing it with resin, rather than using a pre-made material. The finished wings are sailed from Belfast harbour for assembly in Canada. While the resin-infusion process is not yet ready for the volumes used by the world’s largest manufacturers, it could lay the foundation for cheaper and faster ways to build the kind of composites essential to improve fuel efficiency in the world’s passenger fleet. Other manufacturers, such as Boeing, are looking at the technology, but so far no-one else is using it on this scale. UNIONIST BASTION The plant is of particular significance to Northern Ireland’s mainly protestant unionist community who long provided the vast majority of workers in Shorts and the neighbouring Harland & Wolff shipyards, which built the Titanic. Located in overwhelmingly protestant East Belfast, the plant still employs more Protestants than Catholics even after decades of equality programmes. That means the plant and its workers is central to Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party, the Democratic Unionist Party, which is propping up Theresa May’s government after a poor showing for her Conservatives in the last election. “The UK government understands very much what is at stake here and the importance of the CSeries programme,” said Haley Dunne, Director of Public Affairs at Bombardier in Northern Ireland. Locals have been hoping that May’s dependence on the DUP will ensure she acts decisively to protect the plant. “I‘m not sure we would have had as much traction as quickly had we not been in the position we are in,” said Gavin Robinson, the local member of parliament for the DUP. That optimism was bolstered on Wednesday when Britain’s defence secretary warned the U.S. ruling could jeopardise Boeing’s relationship with Britain, one of its biggest overseas defence clients. “Boeing has significant defence contracts with us and still expects to win further contracts. Boeing wants and we want a long term partnership but that has to be two-way,” Michael Fallon told reporters at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. May, who said she was “bitterly disappointed” by the Bombardier ruling, will have to balance placating the DUP with the need to secure an advantageous trade deal with the United States for when Britain leaves the EU in 2019, however. “We have a weak government coming out of Brexit who need to have trade deals in place in a couple of years,” said Unite’s Thompson. “We want them to be firm for UK workers and as strong as possible when dealing with Boeing,” he said. “We don’t want Belfast to be the casualty in all of this.” Additional reporting by Amanda Ferguson; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-belfast/belfast-workers-caught-in-crosshairs-of-boeing-bombardier-battle-idINKCN1C21MO'|'2017-09-27T15:55:00.000+03:00'
'37037c67d1bd5d119ad67eb2fbdac09dde562604'|'Pimco to back Novo Banco debt deal at Friday vote - source'|'* Holders of short-dated bonds likely to back vote - source* Holders of longer-dated debt could scupper deal - sourceBy Simon Jessop, Andrei Khalip and Christopher SpinkLONDON/LISBON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Major Novo Banco bondholder Pimco plans to support a restructuring deal at the state-rescued Portuguese lender in a vote this Friday, though the bank could still struggle to get the necessary backing, a source familiar with the matter said.The agreed sale of Novo Banco to U.S. fund Lone Star hinges on investors agreeing to sell back bonds at a discount in the so-called liability management exercise (LME) that runs until Monday.Novo Banco was the “good bank” carved out of the remains of Banco Espirito Santo (BES) in 2014, which collapsed under a mountain of bad debt.Ratings agency Moody’s warned last week a failure of the sale to Lone Star could lead to higher losses for senior bondholders than the LME itself.Pimco and other holders of Novo Banco’s shorter-term debt are now likely to accept the deal after months of wrangling.“When the terms came out, I think, in principle, most of the people in the front-end bonds were reasonably pleased,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Another source said Pimco had enough bonds and clout with other bondholders to block the LME.Pimco’s support for the deal has no bearing on a lawsuit it and other asset managers have launched over losses of some 2 billion euros on bonds transferred from Novo Banco back to the failed lender BES.A spokeswoman for Pimco declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.Holders of the longer-dated debt, however, are less inclined to agree to the deal as the terms offered to them are not as attractive, the first source said.“There’s still a question mark (on the vote passing). There are a lot of retail guys in the long-dated bonds, so I guess those guys may be more inclined to participate, but I don’t know about the hedge funds in there; it’s less obvious for them.”If the vote fails to get 75 percent backing from bondholders, options could include accepting a lower level of participation and asking bondholders or others to put new equity into the bank or winding it down, the source said.“(This) would be kind of crazy, but it’s also possible ... sometimes those decisions can be arbitrary and not impossible, in Europe.” (Additional reporting by Axel Bugge in Lisbon; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/novo-banco-investors-bonds/pimco-to-back-novo-banco-debt-deal-at-friday-vote-source-idINL8N1M85EU'|'2017-09-27T15:44:00.000+03:00'
'c5afa7f40c518428cf8457f9071da1d6cf8b68c9'|'Essilor, Luxottica say to co-operate with EU on planned merger'|'PARIS (Reuters) - Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) and Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) said they planned to co-operate with the European Commission to ensure their planned merger goes ahead, after EU anti-trust regulators said they would investigate the proposed 46 billion euro ($54 billion) deal.“The companies reaffirm the objective to close the transaction around the end of the year, in co-operation with the relevant authorities,” Essilor and Luxottica said in a joint statement.Earlier, EU antitrust regulators said they would investigate whether the proposed merger of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lenses maker Essilor would push up prices and drive out rivals from the market.Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor/essilor-luxottica-say-to-co-operate-with-eu-on-planned-merger-idINKCN1C12CI'|'2017-09-26T14:36:00.000+03:00'
'c0ac4cdee9302a7521b9430885836b7b2b6fed55'|'Eyeing Air Berlin, Lufthansa board backs extra investment for Eurowings'|'September 26, 2017 / 3:13 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Eyeing Air Berlin, Lufthansa board backs extra investment for Eurowings Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A330 belonging to Lufthansa''s low-cost brand Eurowings taxis on tarmac before its first long-haul flight to Havana, Cuba, at Cologne-Bonn airport, Germany, November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay BERLIN (Reuters) - Lufthansa’s ( LHAG.DE ) supervisory board approved plans to invest 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in up to 61 additional planes to expand its Eurowings budget business after German rival Air Berlin was declared insolvent. Air Berlin’s creditors have selected Lufthansa and British budget carrier easyJet ( EZJ.L ) to negotiate over a carve-up of its assets. The Lufthansa investment is set to be used for the purchase and lease of 41 A320 ( AIR.PA ) single aisle jets and 20 Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) Dash 8 Q400 planes, Lufthansa said. Those planes will likely come from Air Berlin, with Lufthansa saying the purchase or lease of the planes is “partly dependent” on a successful conclusion of talks to take over assets from Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ). Lufthansa has made an offer for Air Berlin’s holiday airline Niki, which flies 21 A320 family jets, regional unit Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter, which flies 20 Dash 8 turboprops, plus some additional A320 planes, Air Berlin’s administrator said on Monday. Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr said last week that even if Lufthansa were unsuccessful with the Air Berlin bid, it would still expand Eurowings on its own. Lufthansa has bid around 200 million euros for parts of Air Berlin, plus offer another 100 million euros to meet operating costs during a transition phase, a source has said. Air Berlin, however, does not own its planes, but instead rents them from leasing companies, meaning any investor has to fund the planes separately. Lufthansa has already purchased 20 A320 planes from Air Berlin as part of a lease deal agreed last year. Currently 33 crewed Air Berlin planes fly for Eurowings under the deal. Lufthansa expects to need an additional 3,000 staff for Eurowings as a result of the expansion. “We have a big opportunity to take a decisive step forward with Eurowings in Europe. The supervisory and management boards have agreed that we should seize this opportunity,” Spohr said in the statement. The investment in Eurowings, which comes on top of Lufthansa’s planned capital expenditure of 2.7 billion euros this year, will be funded from available liquidity. Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Arno Schuetze/Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa/eyeing-air-berlin-lufthansa-board-backs-extra-investment-for-eurowings-idUSKCN1C122N'|'2017-09-26T18:12:00.000+03:00'
'ec403efc6ad8cac053ddbc7e38f74f2ce0c6d292'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Updates Commercial Bank)Sept 26 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1930 GMT on Tuesday:** Western Digital Corp said it will seek an injunction to block the sale of Toshiba Corp’s prized semiconductor business to a rival group, upping the ante in an acrimonious battle with its chip venture partner.** French transportation and manufacturing group Alstom plans to pay its shareholders a special dividend if a deal to merge with Siemens’ rail business goes through, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Siemens and Alstom are expected to announce a deal merging their rail operations on Tuesday, a Franco-German industrial breakthrough for President Emmanuel Macron, but a move already riling opposition politicians.** Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said the carrier plans to expand its fleet, stepping up orders for Boeing Co aircraft and accepting four Airbus aircraft that it had cancelled in July because of delays due to supplier problems.** American International Group Inc said it will reorganize into three new units and will no longer have separate commercial and consumer businesses, marking the first major strategic move by new Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault.** Brazil’s second largest utility Cemig, or Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais, launched a last-ditch attempt to try to retain control of at least one of the four hydroelectric dams the federal government wants to privatize in an auction on Wednesday. It plans to sell as many as 200 million new shares to raise up to 1 billion reais ($316.6 million) to financially strengthen the company controlled by the state of Minas Gerais.** The world’s largest pork supplier WH Group Ltd said on Tuesday its Smithfield Foods Inc unit would buy two packaged meats manufacturers in Romania, further expanding the Chinese group’s operations in Europe.** U.S. private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co LLC is seeking a buyer for a 20 percent stake in mid-sized Japanese lender Shinsei Bank, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. The stake is worth about 100 billion yen ($895 million) based on current share prices.** HNA Group Co, one of the most acquisitive Chinese buyers of overseas assets, will keep investing in the United States, one of its key overseas markets, the conglomerate’s chief executive officer, Adam Tan, said.** Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group announced it will invest 100 billion yuan ($15.12 billion) over five years to build a global logistics network and also take control of a $20 billion unit, underpinning an aggressive overseas expansion. Alibaba is investing 5.3 billion yuan in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network to boost its stake to 51 percent from 47 percent.** CVC Capital Partners and other private equity owners are exploring options for generic drugmaker Alvogen, including a sale, which could be valued at about $4 billion, Bloomberg reported.** Swiss engineering group ABB has joined Northvolt’s project to build Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery factory in Sweden to cater for expected demand growth for electric cars.** Japan Airlines (JAL) and Hawaiian Airlines will start code-sharing in March, the two carriers said.** Tour operator Thomas Cook has formed a strategic partnership with LMEY Investments to grow its own-brand hotel portfolio, as it confirmed its full-year outlook.** Thyssenkrupp raised almost 1.4 billion euros ($1.7 billion) from institutional investors to help fund the industrial goods businesses that will stay with the firm after the planned merger of its steel operations with Tata Steel next year.** Activist investor Cevian took part in Thyssenkrupp’s 1.38 billion euro ($1.6 billion) share sale, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. With a stake of about 18 percent, Cevian is Thyssenkrupp’s second-largest shareholder.** O1 Properties, one of Russia’s largest commercial property owners, is in talks with China’s second largest property developer by sales Vanke Group, about a potential stake sale, a source close to the talks told Reuters.** Finnish energy group Fortum ruled out forced layoffs at Uniper in case of a successful acquisition of E.ON’s 46.65 percent stake in the group, its chief executive told a German newspaper.** Qatari’s third-biggest lender, Commercial Bank, is in talks to sell its $217 million stake in Abu Dhabi-listed United Arab Bank, joining several Qatari companies exiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to a widening Gulf rift.** France’s Total has agreed to pay $1 million for an option to buy a 25 percent stake in an oil exploration block offshore Guyana, its first foray into an area close to where ExxonMobil made one of the largest discoveries of the last decade.** An Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund plans to sell the executive-jet business of Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace to a state-backed Chinese consortium in a deal that is now under scrutiny by Rome, a source familiar with the matter said.** Wanda Hotel Development Co Ltd said it would buy Wanda Hotel Management (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd from a unit of its controlling shareholder Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. Ltd for HK$878 million ($112.4 million).Compiled by Sanjana Shivdas and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1M73FS'|'2017-09-26T07:58:00.000+03:00'
'830547c06f2b223f90be7251f0ce50357436f2cf'|'Qatar Airways chief wants to expand fleet, look for U.S. investments'|'  8:36 PM / Updated 34 minutes ago Qatar Airways chief wants to expand fleet, look for U.S. investments Rachel Nielsen 1 Min Read Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker speaks to reporters after unveiling a commemorative signing wall in support of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha, Qata, July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon EVERETT, Wash. (Reuters) - Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said on Monday that the carrier plans to expand its fleet, buying four Boeing Co ( BA.N ) 777-300 aircraft for its passenger fleet and accepting four Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A350 aircraft that it had rejected in July. Speaking at an event in which he formally accepted delivery of Qatar Airways’ first Boeing 747-8 freighter, Al Baker said the plan to take the four Airbus planes “is definite.” He added he will be “concluding an agreement shortly, for which I will be flying to Toulouse from here,” referring to the Airbus site. Reuters reported earlier on Monday that Qatar would take the Airbus jets. Al Baker separately told CNBC that he is still looking for investments in the United States, despite being rebuffed when Qatar made a proposal to buy a stake of up to 4.75 percent in American Airlines Group ( AAL.O ). Reporting by Rachel Nielsen; Editing by Joe White and Matthew Lewis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-qatar/qatar-airways-chief-wants-to-expand-fleet-look-for-u-s-investments-idUKKCN1C02US'|'2017-09-25T23:35:00.000+03:00'
'fd69eb03c027349c4ae0f54744b3e2f2c6b8b1f6'|'Brazil miner Votorantim Metais files for New York, Toronto IPO'|'FILE PHOTO: The main entrance of a Votorantim plant, Brazil''s largest diversified industrial group, is pictured in the city of Votorantim, Brazil, April 10, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO/TORONTO (Reuters) - Brazil-based mining company Votorantim Metais Holding SA filed on Thursday for an initial public offering in New York and Toronto, to tap into a wide base of investors betting on a long-term recovery in zinc, copper, lead and silver prices.Parent holding company Votorantim SA, Brazil’s largest diversified industrial group, is selling an undisclosed stake in the cross-border listing of VM Holding SA, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. VM Holding will be renamed as Nexa Resources SA and be domiciled in Luxembourg, the filing said.Other terms of the IPO, including size or a suggested price tag range, were not unveiled in the filing.Reuters first reported the plan on April 10, and said on July 12 that the base metals producer - which mines for zinc, copper and lead in Brazil and Peru - was planning a $750 million offering valuing the company at $4 billion.People familiar with the transaction told Reuters at the time that parent holding company Votorantim will use proceeds from the miner known as VMH to invest in other, high-return business areas. The IPO could take place between September and December, the people said at the time.The IPO should help Votorantim Chief Executive Officer João Miranda, who has spearheaded rapid growth in VMH despite volatility in metal prices, to cut the group’s debt of about 15 billion reais ($4.8 billion).Votorantim and VMH hired the investment-banking units of JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), Credit Suisse Group AG ( CSGN.S ), BMO Financial Group, Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ), Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), Bank of Nova Scotia ( BNS.TO ), Banco Bradesco SA ( BBDC4.SA ) and Credicorp Ltd ( BAP.LM ).With a presence in Brazil and Peru, where it holds a majority stake in Cia Minera Milpo SA MIL.LM, VMH operates five industrial compounds in Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais, and in Cajamarquilla in Peru. VMH also has sales offices in Houston and Luxembourg.Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo and John Tilak in Toronto; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-votorantim-metais-ipo/brazil-miner-votorantim-metais-files-for-new-york-toronto-ipo-idINKCN1BW2NR'|'2017-09-21T16:14:00.000+03:00'
'817ca212a4d44beb0f2ad3285d18072539eac62a'|'India considering $7.7 billion stimulus spending in 2017/18: government sources'|'September 21, 2017 / 11:38 AM / Updated 2 hours ago India considering $7.7 billion stimulus spending in 2017/18: government sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A man buys lemons at a market in Ahmedabad, India, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Indian government is considering a plan to loosen the fiscal deficit target so that it could spend an additional 500 billion rupees ($7.7 billion) in the financial year ending in March 2018, two government sources said on Thursday. Both the officials declined to be named as the plan, aimed at reviving economic growth, is still to be made public. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government was looking for ways to lift economic growth, which slipped to a three-year low of 5.7 percent in the quarter to end-June. Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-economy-deficit/india-considering-7-7-billion-stimulus-spending-in-2017-18-government-sources-idINKCN1BW1LO'|'2017-09-21T14:37:00.000+03:00'
'57f3df6071b01166ece727ceba256aa433e40414'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 21'|'Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesRyanair pilots reject £12,000 incentive to fly on days off. on.ft.com/2hiSyijBritain to invest £65m in U.S. neutrino project on.ft.com/2wzMkVJDigby Jones claims £15,000 expenses for non-speaking Lords role on.ft.com/2xp7swFEx-Barclays chief to expand bank technology service into Asia on.ft.com/2yeSUgrOverviewRyanair Holdings Plc pilots have dismissed an offer of a 12,000-pound ($16,184) payment to waive days off and stay for a year with the business, a move that could compound serious rota problems at the airline.The UK is to invest 65 million pounds in a U.S. mega-physics project designed to investigate neutrinos, mysterious subatomic particles that pervade the universe.Former CBI head Digby Jones is facing questions over his value to the House of Lords after claiming 15,000 pounds of expenses and allowances in a period when he did not speak in any debates or ask any questions.Antony Jenkins, the former Barclays Plc chief executive, is planning to expand his bank technology service into Asia after gaining backing from Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance Co Ltd and consultancy firm Oliver Wyman. ($1 = 0.7415 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-21-idUSL4N1M201E'|'2017-09-21T03:10:00.000+03:00'
'8512bfbe29913ca85fbf46dfad849f093986ecd1'|'UK willing to pay 20 billion euros for Brexit transition for single market access - BBC'|'  3:22 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago UK willing to pay 20 billion euros for Brexit transition for single market access - BBC Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A demonstrator waves European Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Friday Britain is willing to pay 20 billion euros (17.70 billion pounds) to the European Union during a post-Brexit transition period, but only if it has access to the bloc’s single market, the BBC’s political editor reported. May, who is weakened after losing her party’s majority in a June election, is due to make a speech in Italy setting out her vision for future ties with the EU. Earlier on Thursday she briefed her top ministers on the speech. “UK willing to pay 20 billion euros during transition period but only if we have access to single market and some form of customs union,” Laura Kuenssberg said on Twitter, citing a government source. She added that this would not cover long term liabilities, so the eventual total bill for leaving the bloc could be far higher. Reporting by Kate Holton, Writing by Kylie MacLellan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-transition/uk-willing-to-pay-20-billion-euros-for-brexit-transition-for-single-market-access-bbc-idUKKCN1BW26H'|'2017-09-21T18:21:00.000+03:00'
'6c37b472db716a62fbef8fd55a6b301573459216'|'UPDATE 1-ConAgra tops profit estimates after limiting discounts'|'(Reuters) - Conagra Brands Inc ( CAG.N ), which makes Reddi-Wip whipped cream and Chef Boyardee pasta, reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, as the packaged food maker’s efforts to cut back on discounts lifted margins.Shares of the company, which also beat revenue estimates, rose 2.2 percent to $34.06 in morning trading on Thursday.Conagra has been revamping its business that has struggled with customers move away from packaged foods and toward fresh foods that are seen as healthier.The company has beefed up its portfolio by adding protein-rich products and food with fewer artificial ingredients, while it has exited underperforming brands and raised prices on popular products such as Banquet’s frozen meals, which were previously sold at $1.“In what has been a very challenging environment for food manufacturers, and after General Mills disappointed last week, we think investors will see today’s results as a bit of a relief,” J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman wrote in a note.Rival General Mills ( GIS.N ) posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit last week as demand fell for its Yoplait yogurt and Fiber One cereal.Net income attributable to Conagra fell to $152.5 million, or 37 cents per share, in the first quarter ended Aug. 27, from $186.2 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier.Profit was dented as the company paid additional fees to stock its brands such as PAM and P.F. Chang’s Home Menu at more supermarkets.Excluding one-time items, Conagra earned 46 cents per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of 40 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The company said adjusted gross margin increased 26 basis points to 29.2 percent.Net sales fell 4.8 percent to $1.80 billion, hurt by weak demand for Conagra’s grocery and snacks products. Analysts had expected $1.79 billion.Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-conagra-brands-results/conagras-profit-dips-18-percent-idUSKCN1C31JV'|'2017-09-28T15:14:00.000+03:00'
'e6a5f1086daa49050edfa8e654ee02f3d132627d'|'Uber to withdraw from Quebec - CBC News'|'September 26, 2017 / 1:12 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Uber says it will pull out of Canada''s Quebec province 3 Min Read The Uber logo is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay TORONTO (Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Tuesday it will stop operating in the Canadian province of Quebec next month, pulling out to avoid following tough new regulations announced last week. Uber is withdrawing from Canada’s second-most populous province as it also battles a decision to strip the company of its license to operate in London, the latest in a series of regulatory attacks on Uber as new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi seeks to rebuild the company’s image. Uber’s Quebec general manager, Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, said the company would cease operations in the province on Oct. 14. Uber employs more than 50 office workers in the province, where more than 10,000 drivers have worked for the company, he said. The company left room to reverse its decision, calling on the government to reconsider regulations announced on Friday that tightened up the rules of a pilot project that had let Uber operate since October last year. “We’re asking the government to renew the pilot project and let’s sit down and find a solution to this,” Guillemette said. A spokesman for Quebec’s transport minister said the province would not budge on new rules requiring drivers to undergo 35 hours of training and to have their criminal background checks validated by Quebec police instead of third parties. During the pilot, Uber drivers were ticketed for not identifying their vehicles, driving cars that were too old, and accepting rides hailed off the street, while some were also found to have criminal records, said Mathieu Gaudreault, spokesman for Laurent Lessard, Quebec’s minister for transportation. “We can negotiate with them, but not on the basis of those two things,” Gaudreault said. He said Uber had paid the province around C$7 million (4.22 million pounds) in fees during the pilot which would fund efforts to modernise the province’s taxi industry. Taxi operators have opposed Uber’s presence in Quebec, sometimes blocking traffic during protests in Montreal. The move affects Quebec cities including Montreal, the country’s second-largest city, and Quebec City. It does not affect operations in other Canadian cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. Uber does not operate in Vancouver or Winnipeg, due to a lack of provincial regulation in the provinces of British Colombia and Manitoba, respectively. Uber rival Lyft, which operates only in the United States at present, has started exploring a move north of the border. Its lobbyists have met several times with municipal officials in Toronto, according to city records. Additional reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jim Finkle and Matthew Lewis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-quebec/uber-to-withdraw-from-quebec-cbc-news-idUKKCN1C11PS'|'2017-09-26T16:12:00.000+03:00'
'df6c79be26b01e687d9930d140bf5dceffc110c9'|'Card Factory profit hit by weak pound and rising costs'|'  6:39 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Card Factory profit hit by weak pound and rising costs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British greeting cards retailer Card Factory Plc ( CARDC.L ) reported a 14 percent drop in first-half profit due to a weaker pound and rising wage costs, sending its shares sharply lower on Tuesday. The retailer, which went public in 2014, said pretax profit fell 14.1 percent to 23.2 million pounds, hurt by rising costs after the government raised the minimum wage. The company said that its full-year profit will “reflect a continuation of some of the headwinds identified in the first half.” Shares in mid-cap fell 14 percent to 307 pence and were poised for their worst daily loss since listing on the London Stock Exchange. The Chancellor in November raised the minimum wage to 7.50 pounds from 7.20 pounds, taking the edge off a benefits squeeze for low earners. The company said profit was also hurt by a weaker pound as about half of the company’s annual costs of its goods come from products sourced in U.S. dollars. However, revenue for the six months to July at stores open for more than a year rose 3.1 percent. Card Factory said it would also pay a special dividend of 15 pence. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-card-factory-results/card-factory-to-pay-special-dividend-after-first-half-sales-rises-idUKKCN1C10M4'|'2017-09-26T10:41:00.000+03:00'
'4694e5af8496b30168671a54196203ec44c4da50'|'Motoring group AA''s interim core profit flat, appoints CEO'|'September 26, 2017 / 6:43 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Motoring group AA appoints CEO as it lowers profit forecast Emma Rumney 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An AA recovery vehicle drives along the M6 motorway near Knutsford, northern England, April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British motoring group AA ( AAAA.L ) said on Tuesday acting Chief Executive Simon Breakwell will remain in the role permanently while lowering its full-year profit forecast as it seeks to stabilise the business after firing its executive chairman last month. Shares in the roadside recovery and motor insurance services company fell 9.3 percent to 152 pence by 0850 GMT to be the biggest mid-cap faller. Bob Mackenzie’s sudden dismissal in August from his roles as both chief executive and chairman and the news that costs related to an “erratic work load”, particularly in June and July, had dragged on profits hit shares in AA. AA cut its forecast for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the full-year ending January 2018 to 390-395 million pounds. The company had lowered its profit forecast to be “broadly in line” with last year’s 403 million pounds on Aug. 1, when it dismissed Mackenzie for gross misconduct. Hedge funds AQR Capital Management, GLG Partners and Miura Global Management all held outstanding short positions in AA on Monday, according to filings with the British regulator, suggesting they were positioned for a fall in the stock price. Veteran investor Neil Woodford’s firm Woodford Investment Management owns 13 percent of AA after increasing its stake on Aug. 1, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon. Core profit for the half-year ending July 31 was flat at 193 million pounds. The firm said planned capital expenditure would increase by 35 million pounds more than expected due to delays to an IT transformation. Analysts at Jefferies said that while Breakwell’s appointment was welcome, earnings per share downgrades and increased capital spending were not. “We remain concerned that the business cannot generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy both debt and equity holders,” they added. A trader who declined to be named told Reuters that delays to restructuring and increased spending were concerns. Speaking to Reuters by telephone, Breakwell said there was “nothing fundamentally wrong” with the business. “The business is strong and stable and pretty robust,” he said, adding it would invest in its insurance business and look carefully at how to create a distinctive service for customers. A merger with insurer Hastings ( HSTG.L ) was discussed for “less than a minute” by AA’s board, Breakwell said. The two companies previously said they held preliminary merger talks during the summer, but Hastings said these had ended. The firm maintained its interim dividend at 3.6 pence per share. Additional reporting by Maiya Keidan, Alasdair Pal, Tricia Wright and Carolyn Cohn; editing by Rachel Armstrong and Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aa-results/motoring-group-aas-interim-core-profit-flat-appoints-ceo-idUKKCN1C10MF'|'2017-09-26T09:43:00.000+03:00'
'7aba2e780230d5a2e72db4cfef42351c08b15f89'|'Seagate to give $1.25 billion of $18 billion deal to buy Toshiba chip unit'|'A Seagate Tech external computer hard drive is shown in this photo illustration in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) - Seagate Technology PLC said on Thursday it would contribute up to $1.25 billion toward the purchase of Toshiba Corp’s chip unit by a consortium led by Bain Capital LP.Toshiba said earlier in the day it had signed an $18 billion deal to sell the unit to the group, overcoming a key - albeit not its last - hurdle as it scrambles for funds to stave off a potential delisting.Seagate also said it expects to enter into a long-term supply agreement with the unit, Toshiba Memory Corp.Besides Seagate, Bain’s consortium includes Apple Inc, South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, Dell Inc [DI.UL] and Kingston Technology.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-seagate-tech/seagate-to-give-1-25-billion-of-18-billion-deal-to-buy-toshiba-chip-unit-idINKCN1C3164'|'2017-09-28T07:52:00.000+03:00'
'2464e31f7f328787d957956c6eead20e66e40a5f'|'Brexit may force banks to raise additional capital buffers- EU watchdog'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Banks in the European Union face large capital gaps if the bloc and Britain do not agree on how to treat their loss-absorbing debt after Brexit, the head of the EU banking watchdog said on Friday.Under new banking rules meant to reduce taxpayers’ costs in banking crisis, EU lenders are required to issue a sufficient amount of debt that would be written down, or bailed-in, to absorb losses if they fail.The European Banking Authority estimated that 276 billion euros ($326 billion) of debt will have to be issued by banks in the EU to meet the regulatory targets, warning that markets may find it difficult to absorb it.Brexit may make things more complicated.Most banks in the EU have issued loss-absorbing capital under British law, which could make it not compliant with EU rules on bank rescues in the event of a hard Brexit, Andrea Enria told a banking conference in Brussels.“What will happen to these instruments if the UK becomes a third country? Banks need to start thinking about that and authorities need to prepare,” Enria said.Regulators face this problem for all bank debt issued under foreign jurisdictions that, in the absence of mutual recognition agreements, may not allow it to be wiped out to rescue a bank.With Brexit the headache would be exponentially bigger because most EU banks’ debt is currently issued under British law.Part of this debt, known as MREL, is short-term and will be paid back before Britain leaves the bloc in 2019, but the longer-term liabilities are likely to remain pending after Brexit, Enria told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.Without a deal on how to treat them, banks may not be able to use them to absorb losses and would in turn be obliged to issue new MREL debt.Enria said that contractual clauses may need to be inserted into debt contracts to address this uncertainty. “Or banks should rather issue (debt) under different law,” he said.$1 = 0.8461 euros Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Gareth Jones '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-banks-britain-debt/brexit-may-force-banks-to-raise-additional-capital-buffers-eu-watchdog-idINL8N1MA4AI'|'2017-09-29T11:39:00.000+03:00'
'6b2db3b3a610aeab1275d45691d6fee854eb05b6'|'Apple sees sharp increase in U.S. national security requests'|'September 29, 2017 / 12:45 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Apple sees sharp increase in U.S. national security requests Stephen Nellis 3 Min Read A 3D printed Apple logo is seen in front of a displayed cyber code in this illustration taken March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (Reuters) - Apple Inc has received more than three times as many national-security related requests from the U.S. government in the first half of this year versus a year ago, according to a company report on Thursday. Apple said it had received between 13,250 and 13,499 national security requests affecting between 9,000 and 9,249 users. That compares with a range of 2,750 and 2,999 requests affecting between 2,000 and 2,249 users in the first half of 2016. ( apple.co/2xO5fLM ) The requests come in the form of so-called National Security Letters, or NSLs, and requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Apple and other companies report ranges because government rules prevent disclosing precise numbers. Apple declined to comment beyond the figures it released. The disclosures are voluntary, and firms like Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc have yet to report any figures for 2017. In the past, those companies have issued more detailed reports, for example separating FISA requests and NSLs. The government requires they wait six months to report that level of information. It was not immediately clear what drove the increase in requests to Apple. But Andrew Crocker, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that the number of government requests to technology companies has been increasing since 2014, when data first started to become available as part of a settlement between technology firms and the government. “There’s not a huge track record here, but you can start to make a simple graph. The trend does seem to be upward,” Crocker said. Crocker also said the higher requests to Apple could represent it coming in line with its peers. Despite Apple’s huge user base - it has sold more than 1.2 billion iPhones - the number of requests to it had been relatively low compared with firms like Google or Microsoft. National security letters are a type of government subpoena for communications data sent to service providers. They are usually issued with a gag order, meaning the target is often unaware that records are being accessed, and they do not require a warrant. Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-national-security/apple-sees-sharp-increase-in-u-s-national-security-requests-idUKKCN1C402S'|'2017-09-29T03:43:00.000+03:00'
'ca2bc79918239ef84026ec73b8d91c8260e01896'|'Japan finance minister - Need new time frame to hit budget-balancing goal'|'  2:09   Need new time frame to hit budget-balancing goal: Japan Finance Minister Reuters Staff 1   Japan''s Finance Minister Taro Aso (C) arrives at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that the government would need to craft a new time frame for achieving its budget-balancing goal, currently set at fiscal 2020/21. He made the remarks a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he would redirect some revenue from a planned sales tax hike in 2019 to child care and education rather than paying back public debt. Abe admitted that would make it difficult to meet the government’s aim of balancing the budget - excluding debt-servicing costs and new bond sales - by the year ending in March 2021. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Aso also said it was worth considering measures to encourage companies to spend their cash pile on boosting wages and capital expenditure. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-aso/need-new-time-frame-to-hit-budget-balancing-goal-japan-finance-minister-idUKKCN1C106C'|'2017-09-26T05:02:00.000+03:00'
'5ed7f6505517557547c5d5212229e2be5bd7a0c3'|'James Dyson to build electric car by 2020'|'  3:53 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Inventor James Dyson aims for electric car launch by 2020 Paul Sandle 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured on an electric car charging station at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse LONDON (Reuters) - James Dyson, the billionaire British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, said on Tuesday his company was working on developing an electric car to be launched by 2020. Dyson said he was spending 2 billion pounds to exploit his namesake company’s expertise in solid-state battery technology and electric motors to be found in his innovative vacuum cleaners and other products like bladeless fans and air purifiers. “Battery technology is very important to Dyson, electric motors are very important to Dyson, environmental control is very important to us,” Dyson, aged 71, said at his company’s flagship shop on London’s Oxford Street. “I have been developing these technologies consistently because I could see that one day we could do a car.” Dyson said a 400-strong team of engineers had already spent 2-1/2 years working on the hitherto secret car project in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. However, the car itself still has to be designed and the choice of battery to be finalised. The company was backing solid-state rather than the lithium ion technology used in existing electric vehicles because it was safer, the batteries would not overheat, were quicker to charge and potentially more powerful, he said. Dyson said his ambition to go it alone was driven by the car industry’s dismissal of an idea he had of applying his cyclonic technology that revolutionised vacuum cleaners to handle diesel emissions in car exhaust systems in the 1990s. “We are not a johnny-come-lately onto the scene of electric cars,” he said. “It has been my ambition since 1998 when I was rejected by the industry, which has happily gone on making polluting diesel engines, and governments have gone on allowing it.” There had already been clues that Dyson was working on a car. His company has been hiring executives from Aston Martin and last year the government said in a report it was helping to fund development work on an electric vehicle at the firm, although the entry was quickly changed. Dyson said he was coming clean now because it was becoming harder to talk to subcontractors, government and potential new employees. FAR EAST MARKET But the car does not yet have a design nor a chassis, he said, and the company had not yet decided where it will be made, beyond ruling out working with the big car companies. ”Wherever we make the battery, we’ll make the car, that’s logical,“ he said. ”So we want to be near our suppliers, we want to be in a place that welcomes us and is friendly to us, and where it is logistically most sensible. “And we see a very large market for this car in the Far East.” Dyson gave no details of the concept for the vehicle, beyond saying it would not be like anything else already on the market. “There’s no point in doing one that looks like everyone else‘s,” he said, adding that it would not be a sports car and it would not be “a very cheap” car. Dyson, who was a prominent backer of the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, has been able to fund the project through the profits of his holding company. The Weybourne Group reported a 55 percent rise in pretax profit to 473 million pounds in 2016 on revenue of 2.53 billion pounds, according to accounts filed earlier this month. On Tuesday Dyson told his workforce, which includes more than 1,000 engineers, that the company finally had the opportunity to bring all its technologies together into a single product. “Competition for new technology in the automotive industry is fierce and we must do everything we can to keep the specifics of our vehicle confidential,” he said in an email. Writing by Paul Sandle and Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-dyson/james-dyson-to-build-electric-car-by-2020-idUKKCN1C126W'|'2017-09-26T18:57:00.000+03:00'
'43b860a028e1cf612399877488f91774609a75d8'|'Nestle says approach to L''Oreal stake unchanged'|'ZURICH, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Nestle said on Tuesday its approach to its 23 percent stake in French cosmetics firm L‘Oreal was unchanged after the death of L‘Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt last week triggered speculation of an ownership shake-up.“Our approach to the L‘Oreal investment is currently not changing,” Chief Executive Mark Schneider told investors at the food group’s investor seminar in London after offering condolences to the Bettencourt family.Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Michael Shields '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/nestle-investors-loreal/nestle-says-approach-to-loreal-stake-unchanged-idINZ8N1J9008'|'2017-09-26T07:23:00.000+03:00'
'7a1dae65c262e470d6188061a007af17f9dfc1ac'|'Siemens CEO says globalism is the best response to German election'|'  8:48 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Siemens CEO says globalism is the best response to German election Alwyn Scott 3 Min Read Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser arrives for a news conference before the company''s annual shareholders meeting in Munich, southern Germany, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of German industrial manufacturer Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ) said on Monday that Germany’s weekend election, in which the national populist Alternative for Germany party gained seats in the Bundestag, should be met with increased globalism by wealthy democracies. Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said millions will lose jobs as companies make greater use of the internet, even as new jobs are created. That trend, coupled with rising opposition to immigrants by those losing out as industry shifts to new technology, has sounded a warning that calls for action, he said. “We need to show leadership by showing people what are the changes, why is that important that we help people from other countries if they are in need,” Kaeser said. “That is specifically addressed to refugees. I think especially Germany and its arc of history should have a very clear understanding and sensitivity about those matters.” Kaeser said it was important to explain that “all our wealth and all our export power has also come by the fact that other nations were willing to see us. This is very important. Since yesterday I have actually decided to be even more outgoing and explain to people why openness and global understanding and tolerance is good for the world.” Kaeser, who was in New York for a CEO conference, made no specific recommendations, saying: ”Just going out more and communicating and explaining it better than we obviously used to.” Germany’s election on Sunday secured Chancellor Angela Merkel a fourth term, but with a much-weakened coalition. What is often referred to as the internet of things, which makes industrial equipment run more efficiently using computer analytics, will hurt older workers who lack the necessary skills, Kaeser said. Young workers “will be fine. It’s much more about those millions to be retrained and prepared for the new age of working,” he said. ”I believe for Germany (the election) has been the right sign for the right time,“ Kaeser said. ”So that we change course, we explain better to our people how important it is to be a free country who is open for the world, who also understands that there is a duty we have to fulfill out of our wealth but also out of our history. ”I am actually very positive that we can turn that around before it’s too late.” Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-siemens-ceo-interview/siemens-ceo-says-globalism-is-the-best-response-to-german-election-idUKKCN1C02VG'|'2017-09-25T23:47:00.000+03:00'
'fe34676b5dc0e31b3899c7432fb5a8c3fa8771e5'|'Hedge fund Paulson & Co calls for joint shareholder action vs gold miners'|'Sept 26 (Reuters) - New York-based Paulson & Co, led by longtime gold bull John Paulson, called on Tuesday for the world’s biggest investors in gold-mining stocks to form a coalition to tackle miners’ “dreadful” performance as it launched a blistering attack on the industry’s track record.Speaking at the Denver Gold Forum, the industry’s top annual event, Paulson & Co partner Marcelo Kim said the hedge fund was looking for fellow founding members for a body to speak out on issues including high executive pay, cozy board appointments and value-destroying mergers and acquisitions.Such a group “finally gives gold investors a real voice”, Kim said.The “council” would focus solely on the gold sector, issuing vote recommendations to shareholders on issues including company takeovers and CEO pay, Kim said.Average total shareholder returns from gold mining investments, including world No.1 producer Barrick Gold Corp , are a negative 65 percent since 2010 over a period when the chief executives of 13 of the largest companies have cumulatively received $550 million in pay, Kim said.In that time, the gold price rose by 20 percent and the price of oil, a major input cost for gold miners, fell by 28 percent, he said. Since 2010, the industry has written off $85 billion due to overpaying for acquisitions and massive cost overruns on mine builds, he said.Canadian Kinross Gold wrote off nearly the entire $7.1 billion it paid for acquiring Red Back Mining in 2010. In 2013, Barrick halted the development of its Pascua-Lama project in South America after spending $5 billion.Shareholders have no one to blame but themselves for rubber stamping mergers, CEO pay packages and board appointments, Kim said, adding that there was little industry engagement with company boards or activism.Shareholders “behave like sheep being led to slaughter,” he said.Instead shareholders must demand accountability from companies, insist that company pay, especially for CEOs, be aligned with shareholder returns and boot out poorly performing CEOs and boards.Boards must also have more shareholder representation, he said, adding that Paulson had recently secured board positions at Midas Gold Corp and International Tower Hill Mines Ltd, two recent Paulson investments. (Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/mining-gold-paulson/hedge-fund-paulson-co-calls-for-joint-shareholder-action-vs-gold-miners-idINL2N1M713O'|'2017-09-26T16:32:00.000+03:00'
'af98a15fd1f5662ea78e6a20e6ba18b79046ea8c'|'UPDATE 1-Cruise operator Carnival''s profit beats on higher ticket prices'|'(Adds details; updates share)Sept 26 (Reuters) - Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise operator, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by an uptick in ticket prices and higher spending by passengers on board its ships.The company’s shares were up 4.1 percent at $66.11 in morning trading.Carnival’s efforts to promote on-board experiences to travelers helped drive a five percent rise in cruise ticket pricing, Carnival’s Chief Executive Arnold Donald said in a statement.The Miami, Florida-based company said temporary port closures due to hurricanes led to voyage disruptions, resulting in an estimated 10 cents to 12 cents drop in earnings in the fourth quarter.“Hurricane disruption compounded by Maria has led to much more disruption and uncertainty in the near term than the cruise industry has seen from hurricane seasons previously,” UBS analyst Robin Farley said in a pre-earnings note.Net revenue yields, a closely watched metric that measures spending per available berth, rose 5.5 percent in the third quarter on a constant currency basis.Revenue rose 8.2 percent to $5.52 billion. Analysts on average had expected $5.39 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The company’s net income, however, fell to $1.33 billion, or $1.83 per share, in the third quarter ended Aug. 31, from $1.42 billion, or $1.93 per share, a year earlier.A $392 million charge related to the write down of some assets in Australia impacted net income in the reporting quarter, Carnival said.Excluding one-time items, Carnival earned $2.29 per share, topping the analysts’ average estimate by 9 cents.The company now expects adjusted earnings for the year ending November to range between $3.64 and $3.74 per share, up from its prior forecast of $3.60 to $3.70 per share. (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/carnival-corp-results/update-1-cruise-operator-carnivals-profit-beats-on-higher-ticket-prices-idINL4N1M74EK'|'2017-09-26T12:24:00.000+03:00'
'8e79585b6920b9524393af5a63297cd1dd6522f1'|'TREASURIES-U.S. yields rise before Yellen speech, two-year supply'|'* U.S. to sell $26 bln two-year notes at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) * Fed''s Yellen to speak at 12:45 p.m. (1645 GMT) * Trump offers hints on tax plan, raises borrowing concerns (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments) By Richard Leong NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and a $26 billion sale of two-year notes, which kicks off this week''s $88 billion short- and medium-dated government debt supply. Traders were waiting to hear whether Yellen will reinforce the notion the central bank will consider raising rates at its Dec. 12-13 policy meeting even as inflation remains below its 2-percent goal, analysts said. "It seems unlikely that Chair Yellen’s tone and core views will have changed dramatically from Wednesday’s FOMC press conference," NatWest strategists wrote in a research note. Investors were also preparing for the upcoming supply of two-year Treasuries at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT). Yellen is scheduled to speak at 12:45 p.m. (1645 GMT) about "Inflation, Uncertainty, and Monetary Policy" at the National Association for Business Economics'' annual conference in Cleveland. Last Wednesday, the policy making Federal Open Market Committee left the door open for another rate increase in December and said it will begin to reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet in October. The rise in U.S. yields was stoked further by remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump who said and lawmakers were working to pass a big tax cut for the middle class. Traders had no details on the plan, but speculated it might raise the federal deficit and increase government borrowing. "It should be positive for risky assets and negative for Treasuries," said Larry Milstein, head of government and agency trading at R.W. Pressprich & Co. in New York. "Frankly, there is a lot of skepticism until we see the details." At 11:49 a.m. (1549 GMT), the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was up nearly 2 basis points at 2.237 percent, while the 30-year bond yield increased over 2 basis points to 2.782 percent. Bond yields declined on Monday on safe-haven demand due to tensions between North Korea and the United States and surging support for the far right in Sunday''s German election. Several other Fed officials are set to speak publicly, including Fed Governor Lael Brainard, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic. In "when-issue" activity, traders expected the two-year note issue to sell at a yield of 1.458 percent, which would be highest yield since October 2008, Tradeweb data showed. September 26 Tuesday 11:51AM New York / 1551 GMT Price US T BONDS DEC7 154-17/32 -0-12/32 10YR TNotes DEC7 125-240/256 -0-32/25 6 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 1.05 1.0674 0.043 Six-month bills 1.1675 1.1908 0.000 Two-year note 99-162/256 1.4439 0.017 Three-year note 99-108/256 1.5751 0.016 Five-year note 98-236/256 1.8549 0.019 Seven-year note 98-180/256 2.0769 0.017 10-year note 100-28/256 2.2375 0.017 30-year bond 99-92/256 2.7816 0.023 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 26.00 -0.50 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 22.25 -0.25 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 8.00 -0.50 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap -4.25 -0.50 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -32.50 -0.50 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Susan Thomas and David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-u-s-yields-rise-before-yellen-speech-two-year-supply-idINL2N1M715C'|'2017-09-26T14:06:00.000+03:00'
'e495710377e1b07c3054e36d797ea6c11605fa50'|'Nestle sets formal margin goal, confirms growth target'|'September 26, 2017 / 5:35 AM / Updated an hour ago Nestle targets profit margin to satisfy investor hunger 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Kit Kat chocolate bars are pictured in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle ( NESN.S ) set a profit margin target for the first time on Tuesday, responding to an industry slowdown and pressure from activist investor Third Point for greater near-term returns from the world’s largest packaged food company. Shares in Nestle rose 1.8 percent as the market applauded a plan shareholders said struck a balance between profit and growth, while allowing the Swiss company to invest in an uncertain future in which smaller brands are able to gain scale quickly and more shopping gets done online. Investors were looking for Nestle’s new chief executive Mark Schneider to demonstrate that it has a strong strategy to improve performance following four years of missing sales targets as the food sector’s growth cools. While many multinationals turned to cost-cutting, inspired by industry-leading margins at Kraft-Heinz ( KHC.O ), Nestle and rival Unilever ( ULVR.L ) had argued that cutting too deep to deliver margin growth is a short-term solution. But Unilever altered its stance after February’s unexpected takeover bid from Kraft-Heinz, adopting a margin target of 20 percent by 2020 and Nestle has now moved in that direction, setting a margin target of 17.5 to 18.5 percent by 2020, up from 16 percent in 2016. U.S. activist hedge fund Third Point, which in June revealed it had a $3.5 billion Nestle stake, had urged it to target 18-20 percent. “The pace of change has picked up. We need to execute faster than before,” Schneider said at his first investor seminar since becoming CEO in January. “Things will change but the way we approach business will not change.” “This company got, for a reason, to the leadership position it has today, and it is hell-bent on not losing it,” he said. Related Coverage The German and American dual citizen repeated Nestle’s goal to reach mid-single digit organic sales growth by 2020, likening pursuing sales and margin growth to “going for a run and a diet at the same time”. It was unlikely the new margin target would be followed by another higher one, he added. “While the targets offered for margins and sales growth didn’t set our pulse racing, we felt there was some proper rigour behind those targets,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets, who were already factoring in a margin of 17.6 percent by 2020, said, adding they were sticking to an “outperform” rating and an 83 Swiss francs price target. Thomas Russo, a Nestle shareholder for more than 30 years whose firm has a stake worth more than $1 billion, said the target was enough to quieten calls for change. FILE PHOTO - A Nestle logo is pictured on the company headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo “It gives them the ability to stay at work without having the distraction of whether they’ll concede a margin guidance, but at the same time not burden themselves from making the kind of bold investments that are required to deliver long-term value,” Russo, of Gardner Russo & Gardner, said. Not all shareholders think Nestle needs to follow the extreme cost-cutting that has earned Kraft Heinz and Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ) margins higher than peers. ”Nestle has done a good job being Nestle. It doesn’t need to be 3G,” Mark Grammer, portfolio manager at Toronto-based Gluskin Sheff, said, referring to 3G Capital, which controls both companies. Grammer has held Nestle shares for over 20 years, but did not disclose the size of the stake. ‘GREAT JOB’ The investor day in central London was highly anticipated given the track record of Schneider, Nestle’s first external CEO in nearly a century, and the arrival of Third Point, which is known for campaigns at other companies. Third Point declined to comment on Nestle’s target, but did compliment its executives, saying a lot of work went into the presentations. “You did a great job,” its head Dan Loeb told Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger. Nestle said strong cash generation would let it spread its share buyback programme of up to 20 billion Swiss francs ($21 billion) evenly over three years. It had earlier said it would be backloaded to 2019 and 2020 to preserve cash for M&A. In recent months Nestle has bought into U.S. food delivery business Freshly, Sweet Earth meatless food and Blue Bottle Coffee and Schneider said it would keep identifying opportunities as well making divestments. He noted that 10 percent of Nestle’s group sales could be ripe for portfolio adjustment, while confirming Nestle remains committed to frozen food and saying Nestle’s view on its 23 percent stake in L‘Oreal ( OREP.PA ), worth more than 23 billion euros, had not changed. Third Point called for the company to sell its stake and last week’s death of L‘Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt rekindled speculation of changes. Nestle has identified four areas which already account for 53 percent of sales - coffee, pet care, infant nutrition and bottled water - as key areas for investment. It will also pursue consumer healthcare, in an effort to expand in pharmacies and drug stores and boost margins. Editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nestle-investors/nestle-sets-formal-margin-goal-confirms-growth-target-idUSKCN1C10H0'|'2017-09-26T08:33:00.000+03:00'
'18b28aa6d5c83119889a4459665722aef01c8dcf'|'JPMorgan to hire more than 3,000 people in new operations centre in Poland'|'Reuters TV United States September 26, 2017 / 7:13 AM / Updated 5 hours ago JPMorgan to hire more than 3,000 people in new operations center in Poland Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase ( JPM.N ) plans to hire more than 3,000 people in its new global operations center in the next three years, Polish Development Ministry said on Tuesday. Last week Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that JPMorgan Chase picked Warsaw for the new center. Possible other contenders to host the center were Budapest and the Polish city of Wroclaw, though Reuters reported in April that Warsaw was the front-runner. Reporting by Marcin Goclowski; Writing by Agnieszka Barteczko '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-poland/jpmorgan-to-hire-more-than-3000-people-in-new-operations-center-in-poland-idUKKCN1C10OJ'|'2017-09-26T10:08:00.000+03:00'
'846c7b32e35d9e20ab37f9af6a7a53fae0b7461d'|'Oil stocks stem losses on FTSE'|'September 26, 2017 / 9:22 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil stocks, BAT stem financials-driven losses on FTSE 100 Kit Rees 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A sign displays the crest and name of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - The UK’s top share index fell for a second day on Tuesday, although a rise in oil prices lifted energy stocks and a broker upgrade gave support to British American Tobacco. Britain''s blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index fell 0.2 percent to 7,285.74 points, weighed down by financials, while mid caps .FTMC slipped 0.3 percent on sharp, results-driven falls. The broader oil & gas index .FTNMX0530, which has lost around 4 percent so far this year, added 0.5 percent as Brent crude touched its highest level in more than two years, before easing back on profit taking. Shares in Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) rose around 0.8 percent, while Tullow Oil ( TLW.L ) added 1.3 percent. Oil firms have been hit hard this year by stubbornly low oil prices and concerns around developments in electric cars and cleaner fuels. “There are indeed the beginnings of the effect that these oil supply changes were meant to bring about, they’re finally starting to feed through,” Ken Odeluga, market analyst at City Index, said. “Oil companies have made huge progress in terms of cost cuts, efficiency, deleveraging, but on the other hand we’ve had a really anaemic oil price trend,” Odeluga added. British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) rose 1.4 percent, reversing earlier losses, helped by a an upgrade to outperform from analysts at Cowen and Company. Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s surprise announcement in late July that it was contemplating new rules around nicotine content, BAT shares have fallen 13 percent. “We view current levels as appropriate to begin building a position,” said Cowen and Company. British mid caps .FTMC saw some sizeable moves following results, with shares in Card Factory ( CARDC.L ), AA ( AAAA.L ) and Close Brothers ( CBRO.L ) registering falls of between 6.4 percent and 18.3 percent. British greeting cards retailer Card Factory saw its first-half profit drop 14 percent and flagged the impact from a fall in the pound and rising wage costs. A warning about a more competitive environment weighed on lender Close Brothers, which also cited Brexit as a source of uncertainty. In AA’s case, a plan to ramp-up capex spending sent its shares lower, despite its results slightly beating expectations. “We remain concerned that the business cannot generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy both debt and equity holders,” analysts at Jefferies said in a note. Reporting by Kit Rees; additional reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/oil-stocks-stem-losses-on-ftse-100-idUKKCN1C10ZV'|'2017-09-26T12:31:00.000+03:00'
'231c826baedefeb296442e9833b028b396b94de2'|'Oil markets take a breather after jump the day before'|'September 26, 2017 / 1:08 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil rises to 26-month high; Turkey threatens to cut Kurdistan oil pipeline 3 Min Read A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices took a breather on Tuesday after Brent crude earlier rose to a 26-month high, supported by Turkey’s threat to cut crude flows from Iraq’s Kurdistan region to the outside world. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Monday to cut off the pipeline that carries oil exports from northern Iraq, intensifying pressure on the Kurdish autonomous region over its independence referendum. The pipeline to Turkey’s port of Ceyhan usually pumps between 500,000 and 600,000 barrels per day (bpd). The loss of this supply combined with the 1.8 million bpd of supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers has raised concerns of tighter supply. The Iraqi government said it will not hold talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government about the results of the referendum, which is expected to show a comfortable majority in favour of independence after the results are announced in about 72 hours. “The high compliance of producers in jointly curbing output as well as the news of (Turkey’s response to) the referendum helped oil prices,” said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting in Tokyo. Related Coverage ''Surprisingly'' strong oil demand growth puts market re-balancing on track - executives London Brent crude for November delivery LCOc1 was up 1 cent at $59.03 a barrel by 0621 GMT after settling up 3.8 percent on Monday. Earlier it rose to $59.49, the highest since July 10, 2015. U.S. crude for November delivery CLc1 was down 10 cents at $52.12, after hitting $52.43, a five-month high. Brent has jumped from just over $55 a barrel a week ago, as OPEC and non-OPEC producers confirmed the market was well on its way towards rebalancing, while oil inventories declined. However, other analysts were cautious of further price gains because of higher oil output from the United States. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that production from wells in shale formations will rise for a 10th month in a row in October. “With oil this high, shale oil output will accelerate, capping oil prices,” said a Tokyo-based oil analyst who declined to be identified. U.S. crude prices have lagged behind Brent’s gains amid a large oversupply exacerbated by Hurricane Harvey, which forced the closure of nearly 25 percent of U.S. refining capacity. The spread between WTI and Brent futures CL-LCO1=R widened to $7.17, its steepest since August 2015. U.S. crude inventories likely rose by 2.3 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed ahead of data by American Petroleum Institute (API). [EIA/S] [API/S] Gasoline stockpiles likely fell by 1 million barrels, while distillate inventories, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, were forecast to fall by 2.5 million barrels. The API is scheduled to release its weekly data at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Christian Schmollinger '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-markets-take-a-breather-after-jump-the-day-before-idUKKCN1C1038'|'2017-09-26T04:07:00.000+03:00'
'4ad099fcf70a560def80bf39596bb8d41b7f2d09'|'Uber to withdraw from Quebec: CBC News'|'September 26, 2017 / 1:13 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Uber says it will pull out of Canada''s Quebec province Alastair Sharp , Anna Mehler Paperny 3 Min Read A photo illustration shows the Uber app logo displayed on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville TORONTO (Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Tuesday it will stop operating in the Canadian province of Quebec next month, pulling out to avoid following tough new regulations announced last week. Uber is withdrawing from Canada’s second-most populous province as it also battles a decision to strip the company of its license to operate in London, the latest in a series of regulatory attacks on Uber as new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi seeks to rebuild the company’s image. Uber’s Quebec general manager, Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, said the company would cease operations in the province on Oct. 14. Uber employs more than 50 office workers in the province, where more than 10,000 drivers have worked for the company, he said. The company left room to reverse its decision, calling on the government to reconsider regulations announced on Friday that tightened up the rules of a pilot project that had let Uber operate since October last year. “We’re asking the government to renew the pilot project and let’s sit down and find a solution to this,” Guillemette said. A spokesman for Quebec’s transport minister said the province would not budge on new rules requiring drivers to undergo 35 hours of training and to have their criminal background checks validated by Quebec police instead of third parties. During the pilot, Uber drivers were ticketed for not identifying their vehicles, driving cars that were too old, and accepting rides hailed off the street, while some were also found to have criminal records, said Mathieu Gaudreault, spokesman for Laurent Lessard, Quebec’s minister for transportation. “We can negotiate with them, but not on the basis of those two things,” Gaudreault said. He said Uber had paid the province around C$7 million ($5.68 million) in fees during the pilot which would fund efforts to modernize the province’s taxi industry. Taxi operators have opposed Uber’s presence in Quebec, sometimes blocking traffic during protests in Montreal. The move affects Quebec cities including Montreal, the country’s second-largest city, and Quebec City. It does not affect operations in other Canadian cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. Uber does not operate in Vancouver or Winnipeg, due to a lack of provincial regulation in the provinces of British Colombia and Manitoba, respectively. Uber rival Lyft, which operates only in the United States at present, has started exploring a move north of the border. Its lobbyists have met several times with municipal officials in Toronto, according to city records. Additional reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jim Finkle and Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-quebec/uber-to-withdraw-from-quebec-cbc-news-idUSKCN1C11PR'|'2017-09-26T16:11:00.000+03:00'
'4b5a5cad39bbfc843d12bed8162ca078ea114f12'|'UPDATE 1-ABB teams up with Northvolt on Europe''s biggest battery plant'|'The logo of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB is seen in front of a logo of General Electric in Baden, Switzerland September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swiss engineering group ABB ( ABBN.S ) has joined Northvolt’s project to build Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery factory in Sweden to cater for expected demand growth for electric cars.Northvolt aims to reduce reliance on batteries from China and South Korea as European carmakers come under increasing pressure to cut vehicle emissions. Batteries are the biggest single cost of an electric car and VW ( VOWG_p.DE ) has called for the creation of a European supplier to compete with dominant Asian players such as Panasonic ( 6752.T ), LG Chem ( 051910.KS ) and China’s CATL.The agreement between ABB and Northvolt covers a supply and technology partnership as well as collaboration on research and product development. ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) will support the initial phase of the project with a 10 million euro ($11.8 million) investment, it said.Former Tesla ( TSLA.O ) executive Peter Carlsson’s Northvolt wants the Swedish plant to rival the scale of the U.S. electric carmaker’s Gigafactory in the Nevada desert, targeting annual cell production equivalent to 32 gigawatt-hours by 2023.The factory is expected to start production in 2020. A demonstration line will be ready by 2019, ABB said in a statement.Carlsson’s vision comes against the backdrop of automakers such as BMW ( BMWG.DE ), Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), VW and Renault-Nissan ( RENA.PA )( 7201.T ) all planning a rapid ramp-up in electric car production in the coming years.VW, for instance, plans to invest more than 20 billion euros in zero-emission vehicles by 2030 to challenge pioneer Tesla in creating a mass market.Carlsson told a press conference on Tuesday that between 80 million euros and 100 million euros is needed to fund the Swedish factory’s pre-production line. That represents the first tranche of a total $4 billion in fundraising targeted in March.More deals are expected in the near future, Carlsson said on Tuesday. “I can’t say exactly when we will announce them, but we are in a number of different parallel discussions,” he said.ABB intends to supply robotics, automation and electrification solutions for the project.Northvolt has been considering two Swedish cities -- Vasteras and Skelleftea -- for the factory’s location and is expected to announce its decision in mid-October.Reporting by Michael Shields and Johannes Hellstrom; Editing by David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-abb-northvolt/abb-teams-up-with-northvolt-on-europes-biggest-battery-plant-idUSKCN1C1123'|'2017-09-26T12:23:00.000+03:00'
'67699eef5e2363cfa05668c8d10a6b1e58020fb9'|'FDA pours cold water on PTC Therapeutics'' Duchenne application'|'Sept 26 (Reuters) - PTC Therapeutics Inc has not supplied persuasive evidence that its experimental drug to treat a form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy is effective, a preliminary review by scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded.The review, posted on the FDA’s website on Tuesday, said data to establish the effectiveness of the drug, ataluren, “are not persuasive.”The FDA’s comments come two days ahead of a meeting of outside advisors who will discuss ataluren. The agency has asked its advisors to decide whether or not the drug is effective or whether the data is inconclusive.The FDA is not obliged to follow the recommendation of its advisors but typically does. (Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ptc-therapeutics-fda/fda-pours-cold-water-on-ptc-therapeutics-duchenne-application-idINL2N1M70KZ'|'2017-09-26T11:19:00.000+03:00'
'b27e1bdf247abd4d44342c8dc7d4f9e26fa03a17'|'Q&A-Keeping a Siemens-Alstom rail alliance on track'|'PARIS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Germany’s Siemens is likely to pursue a multi-billion-dollar merger of its rail business with France’s Alstom, with the boards of the two expected to decide on a deal on Tuesday.The following summary of the logic being put forward for a merger and the potential risks involved is based on information from sources familiar with the situation and media reports.IS SIEMENS AT THE CONTROLS? Siemens Mobility, the rail and infrastructure division of the German conglomerate, is expected to be merged into Alstom, with Siemens left holding 50 percent plus one share.The combined company would have 15 billion euros ($18 billion) in sales of trains, track-signalling systems and rail services, enabling it to better compete with international rivals, especially from China’s state-backed CRRC.MERGER OF EQUALS? The French authorities, who are pushing for the deal, want the terms to be ‘balanced’. As part of the current discussions, the headquarters would be in France, the new entity’s chairman would be chosen by Siemens and its chief executive would be Alstom’s CEO. Siemens would also name 6 out of 11 board members.HOW MUCH POLITICAL RISK? A deal would mark the first industrial Franco-German alliance under French President Emmanuel Macron as he pushes for greater European economic integration.However, political opponents are already putting pressure on the government, criticising it for surrendering TGV, France’s much-beloved high-speed train. Allowing a French champion to come under German control is unacceptable for some in France.Macron’s approval ratings have been sliding and the Siemens deal could exacerbate that. Macron has stepped in to block other takeovers where other national champions were involved, raising questions about why he has not done so for Alstom.UNION DEMANDS MET? To avoid political and social opposition in France, Alstom and Siemens are negotiating a deal to protect jobs there for at least four years. Alstom has one train-making plant in Germany and Siemens has none in France. Would such a deal be enough to ease concerns among French unions who are already alarmed by Macron’s labour reforms. They sent a letter to Macron last week requesting more clarity on the state’s strategy for Alstom.FRENCH STATE EXIT? The French state will not use its option expiring in October to buy out the 20 percent of Alstom owned by telecoms group Bouygues, sources have told Reuters. The option cleared the way in 2014 for an agreed tie-up between Alstom and General Electric. If France does not exercise the option, it would leave Bouygues as the largest shareholder in Alstom with 28.3 percent, a stake that would be diluted by half under the Siemens deal.BOUYGUES AMBIVALENCE? Bouygues bought the stake in Alstom in 2006 when the train maker was rescued by the government. Since then, Bouygues has signalled that Alstom has become a non-strategic asset. It is not clear whether they decide to retain or sell it. The board of Bouygues is also due to meet on Tuesday.COMPETITION HURDLES? The deal would have to be approved by European Union antitrust regulators, which could take a long time and require disposing of some assets to ensure competition is maintained.Although French authorities say they are not worried about this, anti-trust approval for a deal involving the “Big Three” -- Siemens, Alstom and Canada’s Bombardier -- has always been cited as a concern by Alstom’s CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Barclays analysts said.But Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said he believed the scale of CRRC left little room for regulators to oppose a deal. “It always depends, but the facts are that there is a dominant player,” he told Reuters. ($1 = 0.8479 euros)Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Gwenaelle Barzic, Cyril Altmeyer, Gilles Guillaume and Maya Nikolaeva in Paris; Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt and Alexander Huebner in Munich; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/alstom-siemens/qa-keeping-a-siemens-alstom-rail-alliance-on-the-rails-idINL8N1M65EW'|'2017-09-26T10:29:00.000+03:00'
'3baeb138946211972d9478d5ee83f76bd5518d5f'|'Oil holds gains as producers say market rebalancing'|'A gas station worker pumps gas into a car at a gas station of the state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices hit a more than two-year high on Monday after major producers said the global market was on its way toward rebalancing, while Turkey threatened to cut oil flows from Iraq’s Kurdistan region toward its ports.The November Brent crude futures contract was up $1.51, or 2.5 percent, at $58.37 a barrel by 11:33 a.m. EDT, its highest since July, 2015.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery rose $1.02, or 2 percent, to $51.68 a barrel, close to highs last seen in May.“It’s all driven by the idea is that the production cut is starting to work and the rebalance is underway,” said Gene McGillian, director of market research at Tradition Energy in New York.Even as both contracts rallied, concerns about U.S. production growth weighed on WTI, widening the spread between the two, he said.The discount of the WTI to Brent futures widened to $6.61, the widest since August 2015.Turkey has said it could cut off a pipeline that carries oil from northern Iraq to the global market, putting more pressure on the Kurdish autonomous region over its independence referendum.The Iraqi government does not recognize the referendum and has called on foreign countries to stop importing Kurdish crude oil.“If this boycott call proves successful, a good 500,000 fewer barrels of crude oil per day would reach the market,” Commerzbank said in a note.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and several other producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of 2017, helping to lift oil prices by about 15 percent in the past three months.Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chaired Friday’s meeting in Vienna of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, said output curbs were helping to cut global crude inventories to their five-year average, OPEC’s stated target.Russia’s energy minister said no decision on extending output curbs beyond the end of March was expected before January, although other ministers suggested such a decision could be taken before the end of this year.Iran expects to maintain overall crude and condensate exports at around 2.6 million bpd for the rest of 2017, a senior official from the country’s state oil company said.The energy minister from the United Arab Emirates said the country’s compliance with OPEC’s supply cuts was 100 percent.Nigeria is pumping below its agreed output cap, its oil minister said. [nD5N1HP014]Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo and Fanny Potkin in London; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-holds-gains-as-producers-say-market-rebalancing-idUSKCN1C002U'|'2017-09-25T04:23:00.000+03:00'
'263649a413be6b1f6cfe66406f3b5d3a881bfa4c'|'UK inventor James Dyson to launch electric car by 2020'|'September 26, 2017 / 4:46 PM / a minute ago UK inventor James Dyson to launch electric car by 2020 Paul Sandle 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - James Dyson, billionaire inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, said on Tuesday his company was building an electric car which will launch by 2020, the latest firm to challenge traditional carmakers in a burgeoning market. Tesla has already shaken up the sector around the world and Dyson said it would now spend 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) on solid-state battery technology and vehicle design. Dyson had been developing new battery and electric motor technology for its vacuum cleaners and other products for the past 20 years, he said. “Battery technology is very important to Dyson, electric motors are very important to Dyson, environmental control is very important to us,” Dyson, aged 71, said at his company’s flagship shop on London’s Oxford Street. “I have been developing these technologies consistently because I could see that one day we could do a car.” Dyson told staff in an email that the company finally had the opportunity to bring all its technologies together into a single product. “Competition for new technology in the automotive industry is fierce and we must do everything we can to keep the specifics of our vehicle confidential,” he added. Dyson said a 400-strong team of engineers had already spent 2-1/2 years working on the secret project in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, developing the batteries that will power the in-house designed electric motor for the car. The firm has yet to decide on where the vehicle would be manufactured, although it has ruled out working with any existing auto companies, Dyson said. Last year, the government said in a report it was helping to fund a new battery electric vehicle at the firm, which will secure 174 million pounds ($233 million) of investment in the area and create over 500 jobs. The entry was quickly changed and Dyson declined to comment at the time in a sign of the secrecy shrouding the project. Dyson said the firm needed to make the announcement on Tuesday because it was becoming hard to talk to subcontractors, government and potential new employees. Writing by Paul Sandle and Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-dyson/uk-inventor-james-dyson-to-launch-electric-car-by-2020-idUKKCN1C12D4'|'2017-09-26T19:17:00.000+03:00'
'b916265ceaf1ecc3634dc257c8dbe62f84114aec'|'U.S. files antitrust lawsuit against Parker-Hannifin takeover: source'|'September 26, 2017 / 6:51 PM / Updated 5 hours ago U.S. files antitrust lawsuit against Parker-Hannifin takeover Diane Bartz 2 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging Parker-Hannifin Corp’s ( PH.N ) purchase of Clarcor Inc, which closed in February. The lawsuit, brought in U.S. district court in Delaware, was filed out of concern that the $4.3 billion transaction would mean higher prices, worse service or less innovation in the market for aviation fuel filtration systems and products. The department asked the court to order Parker-Hannifin to sell part of its aviation filtration business on grounds that it and Clarcor had been the only two U.S. manufacturers of the filtration products. Parker-Hannifin, whose motion and control systems are used in a variety of industries, announced the deal to buy Clarcor in December. The Justice Department said its review of the deal was hampered by Parker-Hannifin’s failure to provide documents or data that the Antitrust Division requested. The company also refused to refrain from integrating Clarcor’s fuel filtration business into Parker-Hannifin‘s, the department said. Parker-Hannifin had announced on Jan. 18 that the antitrust “waiting period” had expired the previous day. This usually means that any antitrust enforcers’ concerns are resolved. “Parker-Hannifin’s acquisition of its only U.S. rival for these types of aviation fuel filtration products has effectively created a monopoly in these critical safety products,” Andrew Finch, the acting head of the Justice Department Antitrust Division, said in a statement. Parker-Hannifin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its shares ended regular trading on Tuesday down 1.6 percent at $173.97. Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Susan Thomas and Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-clarcor-m-a-parker-hannifin/u-s-files-antitrust-lawsuit-against-parker-hannifin-over-merger-source-idINKCN1C12PN'|'2017-09-26T16:51:00.000+03:00'
'17d13debe7776b9aabf5c04b9b26a68deca40823'|'RPT-Planes, trains and automobiles: Lazada''s logistics battle to win SE Asia'|'* Southeast Asian logistics pose unique challenges * Lazada expanding footprint to cut costs, improve services * Plans to add 5-6 more warehouses next year * Experimenting with delivery modes, offline pick-up * Has over 100 partners in delivery, cross-border logistics By Aradhana Aravindan and Clara Ferreira-Marques SINGAPORE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia is on the verge of a logistics “boom” thanks to e-commerce, but will require huge investment in cities and last-mile networks to cope, says Pierre Poignant, the man behind the systems that keep Alibaba-owned Lazada moving. Poignant, chief operating officer, said the Singapore-based marketplace, for its part, would continue to bet on delivery and other partnerships as demand grows. It already works with more than 100 companies in delivery and cross-border logistics, from Ninjavan in Singapore to ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek in Jakarta. But it will expand its footprint to cut costs and improve services, with smaller local hubs closer to customers, as well as a major warehouse it can use in Malaysia for goods that move less often. Lazada, with 130,000 merchants on its platform, has 14 warehouses and over 2 million square feet of space - and plans to open another five to six warehouses next year. It also has 130 smaller distribution centres. “Logistics in Southeast Asia is going to look very different from the rest of the world. It is hard to believe one player can do everything,” Poignant said in an interview. “The distance from Aceh to Papua (in Indonesia) is bigger than the distance from Miami to Seattle. People don’t realise.” Already the world’s fourth-largest internet market, Southeast Asia is expanding at a rate of almost four million users a month, making it the fastest growing e-commerce market globally, according to a 2016 report co-authored by Google. But while there are key growth engines - a young population of active mobile users and a patchy local retail network - there are also major challenges, as companies like Lazada try to conquer a region made up of thousands of islands, with poor roads and traffic-clogged cities. Some regions have no formal system for home addresses, Poignant said, complicating deliveries, returns and even payment - more than half of transactions are still settled in cash. That leads to experiments, combining online purchases with offline pick-up in malls, as in Singapore - or in Indonesia, where Lazada handles a bulk of the last-mile delivery itself, using three-wheeled electric vehicles for bigger parcels. Cars and vans are too slow in traffic, Poignant said. TAKING THE LEAD Amazon and others, including local players, have not failed to notice the region’s potential: Amazon is using Singapore as its beachhead, while China’s second largest e-commerce company JD.com is making Thailand its point of departure, partnering with the country’s largest retailer, Central Group. But Poignant argues Lazada’s experience is hard to beat. “When it comes to logistics we are developing a distinct competitive advantage. We are the only ones to have this open network approach - combining our own infrastructure and partners,” Poignant said. “Setting up a logistics network is a complex, long process.” Critical to keeping the advantage is also data, and Lazada is linking up with fast-moving goods producers like Unilever, to turn knowledge into target sales. Alibaba bought into Lazada last year in an effort to seek growth outside China. The $1 billion deal in April 2016 was Alibaba’s largest overseas deal and it raised its stake to over 80 percent this year. Last November, Lazada bought Singapore online grocer Redmart, a purchase that it hopes will help it crack cold storage and expand groceries into the rest of the region, though there is no concrete plan yet, Poignant said. “One of the reasons why we acquired RedMart is that groceries is a very specific set of skills that you need to develop,” Poignant said. “We have the ambition to develop this category across the region.” Reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques and Aradhana Aravindan in SINGAPORE; Additional reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng in BANGKOK; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/lazada-strategy/rpt-planes-trains-and-automobiles-lazadas-logistics-battle-to-win-se-asia-idUSL4N1MA32G'|'2017-09-29T10:56:00.000+03:00'
'f566615dc3cb747322b85a21f8b789b9fea5c28b'|'Citigroup to pay a fine for swap data reporting violations -U.S. CFTC'|' 54 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Citigroup to pay a fine for swap data reporting violations -U.S. CFTC Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Citigroup office is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 19, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) has agreed to pay a $550,000 (406,654.34 pounds) penalty for swap data reporting violations and improve such reporting, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said in a statement on Monday. The CFTC said Citibank and London-based Citigroup Global Markets had failed to properly report Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) information for swap transactions and failed to correct errors in such data, among other charges, adding that the company had cooperated with the investigation. Writing by Susan Heavey'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-citigroup-cftc/citigroup-to-pay-a-fine-for-swap-data-reporting-violations-u-s-cftc-idUKKCN1C02FP'|'2017-09-25T19:50:00.000+03:00'
'bf5fd85c6541a1a8e35886c4111e4fca65b1bdc8'|'''Come with an open mind'': the people who live at work - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Tuesday 26 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Tuesday 26 September 2017 11.33 BST When 26-year-old Australian Adam Saez moved to London a little over a year ago, he had the idea of launching a fitness app inspired by his job as a personal trainer. Not knowing anyone in the city, he looked online for a flatshare and stumbled across the Collective, a communal living property company. Now, 14 months later, he’s settled into his co-living space and is moving forward with his business idea. Rohan Silva: we need a union for entrepreneurs Read more The building he lives in has almost 550 residents and mainly offers tiny rooms with en-suite bathroom facilities and shared kitchens. Saez uses the larger communal spaces, like the library, the garden hangout, the co-working office or the café. He admits it is easy to spend a lot of time there. His fitness app is progressing – aided by the offers of help from coders and web designers he lives alongside. “I’ve probably saved thousands of pounds just by speaking to people here,” he says, explaining that those who run the Collective emphasise the chance to meet people at the events they run. It’s all about swapping skills; so far he’s bartered fitness training and meal plans for project management advice, plus he’s hired an app programmer to get his idea ready to launch. It is still relatively early days for co-living – a form of city living that borrows from the start-up oriented, share-and-share-alike model of co-working but that provides living quarters too. There are a few co-living places open already in the capital and more in the pipeline, while property developer Allied London has plans to develop co-living space in Manchester city centre as well. ''Most people are only in their living space 30% of the day. So, do we need a 52 square metre flat?'' Tom Teatum, Noiascape The idea might sound positively hellish to some: who wants to live so close to work, and the all angst that comes with it? But for many small business owners who are already putting in long hours followed by arduous commutes – and paying rent for both their home and office – it’s not hard to see the appeal. The laundry room at a WeLive co-living space. Photograph: WeWork/Lauren Kallen “Our plan is to remove some of the friction and inefficiencies of living in the city,” says Tom Teatum, an architect who founded Noiascape with his brother. The company currently has several plans to adapt London buildings into “mixed-use” living spaces for rent. He explains: “We looked at how people were spending their time and most people are only in their living space 20–30% of the day. So, do we need a 52-square-metre flat? Technology has enabled more flexibility with work at the same time, so we thought about choreographing them better and putting them together, we call it ‘city in a building’.” As well as taking cues from established co-working offices in major cities, the origins of co-living lie in travel. Many co-living spaces originally sprung up to cater to people living the digital nomad lifestyle while exploring the world. There is even a database, CoWoLi.com, for travelling entrepreneurs to find working and living accommodation. Lydia Lee, a career coach from Vancouver, set up her own business after travelling to Bali, where she initially worked from a co-working space called Hubud. “It was an amazing place to meet people. I always encourage people who are new to it to join a co-working space, or another local co-living space like Project Getaway, to meet new people and find their feet,” says Lee. Lydia Lee, career coach. Photograph: Carlina Teteris Lee says the image of the people living in these kinds of places as exclusively young isn’t quite right. She herself is in her 30s, and has made friends with people of different ages and people with families doing the same thing. “It’s romanticised a lot, but actually sometimes it helps to be older and have life experience – because you do actually have to work.” This idea of throwing yourself into a work project, such as a new business, can inspire the decision to try co-living. As well as the potential to make life simpler, it offers immersion in something for six months to a year. If you have some time, and some savings, there are options ranging from a cruise around the world where you can busy yourself networking, with Nomad Cruise , to a co-living hotel such as Zoku in Amsterdam – both effectively upmarket versions of backpacking for people running their own businesses. Jim DeCiccio, who founded Sunniva Coffee with his brothers last year, says co-living offers a motivating environment. He lives in a New York City apartment run by WeLive, part of WeWork – one of the biggest players in co-working offices. “I like the vibe here, everybody is welcoming, and everybody collaborates and hustles. It helps you persevere,” says DeCiccio. That kind of buzzing atmosphere, surrounded by colleagues and other people working, can be off-putting for some, however. Grant Powell ran his own small businesses before becoming a managing director for Central Working (a co-working office) but lives in a co-living space separately (Fizzy Living), saying he would find it too difficult to relax if they were under one roof. “I love living in a co-living apartment block because of the community, but even if I could I wouldn’t want to work here too. At work you have to have difficult conversations with people, you have to negotiate sometimes, and I would want space from all of that in the evening.” Apartments run by WeLive in the US and the Collective in London come completely furnished, even with bed linen as well as pots, and pans, and are regularly cleaned, so they are, perhaps, pitched at people who are planning to drop in and then leave. “We’ve only been open for 18 months, so it’s too early to tell how long people will settle here,” says the Collective’s community manager, Ed Thomas. He’s keen to stress, though, that they are residents who have the kinds of jobs that make them likely to stay for a while – nurses, teachers, lawyers and so on – and are not just “nomads”. He says the demographic does skew towards younger people, freelancers and entrepreneurs, however, and the average age is 28. Saez says that he has even seen small groups of people from the same business move in – employees and employer – but hasn’t witnessed any falling out yet. “We’ve only had people ask to move into a different apartment once or twice,” Thomas says. “It’s not for everyone: you have to come in with an open mind,” Saez adds. “If you want to learn from people, and go to events, it offers a community that might take longer to build up otherwise.” Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/sep/26/living-in-the-office-the-people-who-opt-for-co-living'|'2017-09-26T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'b414d4227f1627cac58911ad48967e20af9b4279'|'Ex-HSBC currency chief''s motives debated as U.S. fraud trial starts'|'Reuters TV United States September 25, 2017 / 5:22 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Ex-HSBC currency chief''s motives debated as U.S. fraud trial starts Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Mark Johnson, a British citizen who at the time of his arrest was HSBC''s global head of foreign exchange cash trading, exits following a hearing at the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. on August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former top HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ) executive threw his Scottish client “under the bus” by using his knowledge of its large planned currency transaction to do his own trading first, a U.S. prosecutor said on Monday at the start of a closely-watched trial. But a lawyer for defendant Mark Johnson countered that the 28-year industry veteran with an “unblemished” record cheated no one, and that “everything he did was open.” Johnson, the former head of HSBC’s global foreign exchange cash trading desk, is the first banker to be tried in the United States on currency rigging charges, following worldwide investigations into the roughly $5.1 trillion-a-day market. The probes have led to about $10 billion in fines against several banks and the firing of dozens of traders. Johnson’s trial in Brooklyn, New York, is expected to last four weeks. Prosecutors said Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy Plc ( CNE.L ) hired Johnson and fellow HSBC executive Stuart Scott in 2011 to convert $3.5 billion into British pounds sterling as it prepared to sell an Indian subsidiary. But prosecutors said Johnson and Scott first bought British pounds for HSBC’s own accounts, driving up the price and reaping a roughly $8 million profit in a classic case of “front-running.” In her opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Elbert said Johnson even knew Cairn had been falsely told a “Russian name” had been bidding sterling higher. FILE PHOTO: Mark Johnson, a British citizen who at the time of his arrest was HSBC''s global head of foreign exchange cash trading, exits with his lawyer, Frank Wohl (L) following a hearing at the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. on August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo “When Johnson heard about the deal, all he saw were dollar signs,” Elbert said. “He threw his client under the bus, to make more and more money.” Johnson’s lawyer Frank Wohl said his client was looking out for Cairn’s interests, not to wring “every last nickel” from the company. He also said the alleged improper profit had not appeared out of line, likening it to an automobile dealer making $20 from selling a $10,000 car. “In order to understand this case, you have to understand Mark Johnson’s world,” Wohl told jurors. “You can’t just snip out a few words here and there, and ignore the rest.” Johnson, a British citizen, has pleaded not guilty to 10 wire fraud and conspiracy charges, following his July 2016 arrest at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Scott, HSBC’s former head of cash trading for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was arrested in June in Britain. U.S. authorities want him extradited. At least four others have been criminally charged in connection with the U.S. currency probe. One pleaded guilty, and three pleaded not guilty. The case is U.S. v. Johnson et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 16-cr-00457. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-usa-crime/ex-hsbc-currency-chiefs-motives-debated-as-u-s-fraud-trial-starts-idUKKCN1C02J7'|'2017-09-25T20:18:00.000+03:00'
'17c6c9eedc56686ea2850aa77cc6aa1e8d82ec56'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 26)'|'BRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS NoneNEW LISTINGS -- French carmaker Renault to acquire a 29 percent stake in electric car smart charging services provider Jedlix, which is now jointly controlled by Dutch renewable energy company Eneco Groep (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor to merge (notified Aug. 22/deadline extended to Feb. 12 from Sept. 26 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation)FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE SEPT 29 -- Irish agribusiness company ABP Food Group to acquire an additional stake in Linden Foods Limited, active in the slaughtering and processing of beef and ovine animals (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)-- 3M to buy Johnson Controls’ safety gear unit Scott Safety (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29)OCT 2 -- Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd to indirectly acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based heat and water sub-metering company the ista group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified)OCT 4 -- Private equity firm KKR and U.S. pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance to acquire indirectly joint control of U.S. pharmaceutical services provider PharMerica (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)-- U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co to acquire U.S. peer C R Bard Inc (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)OCT 5 -- Australian investment firm IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Singapore shipping terminal operator PSA International Pte Ltd to jointly acquire Turkish terminal operator Mersin (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)OCT 6 -- Japanese healthcare company Konica Minolta to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified)OCT 11 -- French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to acquire joint control of German office building owner Horizon Development GmbH (notified Sept. 6/deadline Oct. 11/simplified)OCT 12 -- Dutch property developer Unibail Rodamco and German real estate fund Commerz Real Investmentgeseelschaft to jointly acquire Czech shopping centre owner CGI Metropole (notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 12/simplified)OCT 13 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept 13/deadline Oct 18/simplified)-- Mirova Core Infrastructure, COMSA and Dutch fund manager PGGM to acquire joint control of Mircom Concesiones de Infraestructuras (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Italian infrastructure group Atlantia to acquire Spanish rival Abertis (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13)-- Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell to acquire indirect joint control of natural gas producer Crestwood Permian Basin LLC which is now solely controlled by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)-- Private equity firms Blackstone, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Cambourne Life Investment Pte Ltd to acquire joint control of UK insurer Rothesay Ho1dCo UK Ltd (notified Sept. 8/deadline Oct. 13/simplified)OCT 16 -- Swiss food company Nestle to acquire sole control of Beverage Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestle and the Coca-Cola Co (notified Oct. 11/deadline Oct. 16)-- Private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Spanish insulation materials maker Ursa Insulation (notified Sept. 11/deadline Oct. 16/simplified)OCT 17 -- U.S. specialty material company Celanese and private equity firm Blackstone to combine their cellulose acetate tow units under a new joint venture (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 17)-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire communications services company Williams Lea (notified Sept. 12/deadline Oct. 17/simplified)OCT 18 -- Bermuda-headquartered reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd to acquire UK insurer Novae (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)-- German insurer Allianz to acquire UK financial services group Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd’s general insurance businesses (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)OCT 20 -- U.S. life sciences company Avantor to acquire U.S. lab supplies company VWR (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)-- U.S. fashion group Michael Kors to acquire British shoemaker Jimmy Choo (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)-- U.S. company AES Corp and German conglomerate Siemens to acquire joint control of a joint venture (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)OCT 23 -- Dutch warehouse owner Borealis European Holdings B.V., Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and SSE to acquire joint control of UK energy meter company Maple (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)-- French carmaker Renault to acquire a 25 percent stake in electric car charging services Jedlix (notified Sept. 18/deadline Oct. 23/simplified)OCT 24 -- U.S. company Platinum Equity Group to acquire UK aerospace distributor Pattonair Holdings Ltd (notified Sept. 19/deadline Oct. 24/simplified)-- UK energy company Greenergy to acquire fuel supplier Inver Energy Ltd (notified Sept. 19/deadline Oct. 24)OCT 25 -- Jacobs Engineering Group to acquire technical consulting services provider CH2M Hill Companies (notified Sept. 20/deadline Oct. 25/simplified)-- Private equity firm Warburg Pincus and carmaker Tata Motors to jointly acquire Tata Technologies (notified Sept. 20/deadline Oct. 25/simplified)OCT 26 -- Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal to acquire Italian steel plant (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)-- French car parts maker Valeo to acquire German clutch maker FTE Automotive(notified Sept. 7/deadline Oct. 26/commitments submitted Sept. 7)JAN 22 -- German industrial group Bayer to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto (notified June 30/deadline extended to Jan. 22 from Jan. 8 after the companies asked for more time)DEADLINE SUSPENDED -- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline suspended from Aug. 17)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma/eu-mergers-and-takeovers-idINL8N1M75G4'|'2017-09-26T14:31:00.000+03:00'
'6f08e3d6a1f675984e25db8dc884799c23b915d1'|'BUZZ- As indices move to fresh records, DJI still stale'|'  1:01 PM / in 11 minutes BUZZ- As indices move to fresh records, DJI still stale Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ** Mixed picture this week in terms of new index highs, with DJ Industrials struggling to leap over its chart hurdles ** Indeed, on approach of month-end/qtr-end, S&P 500, DJ Transports NY Composite, and Russell 2000 , have all moved to fresh records ** This, while DJI, Nasdaq Composite, and Nasdaq 100 have yet to confirm the push ** SPX leading sector YTD, tech, also shy of its all-time high, drag on Nasdaq; this with Apple down nearly 7 pct MTD ** Boeing still having biggest positive influence on DJI in 2017, about a qtr of the index’s YTD gain, but recent AAPL weakness also a drag on the Dow; IBM still having biggest negative impact YTD ** Once DJI’s recent winning streaks ended Sept 20, it has lagged ** That said, DJI only 0.17 pct from its Sept 21 intraday high (22419.51). Chart: reut.rs/2ybQraI ** However, 22395.59 Fibo projection tough to overwhelm, while daily MACD rolling under resistance line from late 2016 ** DJI close above 22419.51, with MACD breakout, can suggest further run with next Fibo projs 22718.94/23044.17, though just 1.5-3.0 pct above Thurs close ** Below Sept 25 low (22219.11), clear MACD failure, can instead see DJI threaten rising 50-DMA (now 21972.69), even mid-Aug trough (21600.34) before attempt to resume advance'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/buzz-as-indices-move-to-fresh-records-dj/buzz-as-indices-move-to-fresh-records-dji-still-stale-idUSL2N1MA0IU'|'2017-09-29T16:01:00.000+03:00'
'0af37744d8d43ac7213f0ec6e4746642d3bd311d'|'VW takes new 2.5 billion euro hit for modifying diesel vehicles in U.S.'|'September 29, 2017 / 7:29 AM / Updated an hour ago VW''s Dieselgate bill hits $30 billion after another charge Jan Schwartz , Victoria Bryan 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen logo is pictured at Volkswagen''s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo HAMBURG/BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is taking another $3 billion charge to fix diesel engines in the United States, lifting the total bill for its emissions-test cheating scandal to around $30 billion. The German group is struggling to put the two-year-old “Dieselgate” scandal behind it, and working to transform itself into a maker of mass-market electric cars. On Thursday, Munich prosecutors said they had arrested a former Porsche management board member, the first top executive within the group to be detained amid a widening probe into cheating at VW’s Audi ( NSUG.DE ) brand. VW’s growing financial woes and Wolfgang Hatz’s arrest were also discussed on Friday at a regular meeting of the carmaker’s supervisory board, one person familiar with the matter said. VW shares fell as much as 3 percent on Friday, as traders and analysts expressed dismay that the company was still booking charges for “Dieselgate”. Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said the news was unexpected and unwelcome, “not only from an earnings and cash flow perspective but also with respect to the credibility of management”. VW, Europe’s biggest automaker, admitted in September 2015 that it had used illegal software to cheat U.S. diesel emissions tests, sparking the biggest business crisis in its 80-year history. Before Friday, it had set aside 22.6 billion euros ($26.7 billion) to cover costs such as fines and vehicle refits. FIXES HARDER THAN EXPECTED Last year, VW agreed with U.S. authorities to spend up to $15.3 billion to buy back or fix up to 475,000 2.0-litre polluting diesel cars. On Friday, VW said it was setting aside an additional 2.5 billion euros ($3.0 billion) as hardware fixes for the models were proving tougher than expected and would take significantly longer. Ellinghorst said the complications would amount to 5,200 euros per car. “We have to do more with the hardware,” a VW spokesman said. In Europe, where only a software update is required for the 8.5 million affected cars, plus a minor component integration for about 3.7 million 1.6-litre vehicles included in that number, fixes are running smoothly, the spokesman added. The additional provision will be reflected in third-quarter results due on Oct. 27, VW said. Ellinghorst, who has an “outperform” rating on VW shares, expects the company to report third-quarter group earnings before tax and interest of 4.04 billion euros. At 1340 GMT, VW shares were down 0.4 percent at 137.80 euros. They fell as low as 86.36 euros in the immediate aftermath of the cheating revelations, from pre-scandal levels over 160 euros. As recently as Sept. 11, chief executive Matthias Mueller had maintained in an interview with Reuters that provisions made to date would suffice. “It has now become clear that we need to do more,” a spokesman said on Friday, without elaborating. “WHAT MAY BE NEXT?” VW said in September 2015 that around 11 million vehicles worldwide could be using software capable of cheating emissions tests. Audi, its luxury division, admitted two months later that about 83,000 vehicles with 3.0-litre V6 diesel engines were also fitted with an auxiliary control device deemed illegal in the U.S. BNP Paribas analyst Stuart Pearson said he has provided for another 1 billion euro charge to hit VW’s fourth-quarter results because of outstanding technical fixes for the 3.0-litre Audis. “Investors will understandably worry what else may be next,” he said. He also said the extra time needed to fix VW’s 2.0-litre models meant increased depreciation of the cars being bought back, which also need to be fixed for resale. With Dieselgate costs rising and management’s credibility weakened by Friday’s announcement, analysts said VW now had a more acute need to accelerate a restructuring or sell some assets. “In order to keep our constructive stance on the stock we need to see management taking action regarding the group structure over the coming months,” Ellinghorst said. Separately, Porsche SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), which owns a 30.8 percent stake in VW and tracks its earnings, said the new provision would also affect its results, but stuck to the wide range for its expected 2017 post-tax profit of 2.1-3.1 billion euros. Reporting by Jan Schwartz and Andreas Cremer; Additional reporting by Hakan Ersen; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan, Mark Potter and Kevin Liffey '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions/vw-takes-new-2-5-billion-euro-hit-for-modifying-diesel-vehicles-in-u-s-idUSKCN1C40RJ'|'2017-09-29T10:30:00.000+03:00'
'1ce83918b646562b9d07d75fdb2b28e791817722'|'High-flying HNA Group comes back to earth as scrutiny hits dealmaking'|'* Chinese crackdown on debt raises red flags globally* Financing costs soaring to pay for acquisitions* Some investment banks shun HNA over opaque leadershipBy Matthew MillerBEIJING, Sept 26 (Reuters) - HNA Group, the high-flying Chinese conglomerate caught in the cross-sights of Beijing, has hit turbulence as deals stall and scrutiny of its finances and shareholding structure intensifies.Beijing’s clampdown on highly-leveraged foreign investment has led to more regulatory scrutiny around the world, putting the brakes on a remarkable period of growth that saw HNA announce $50 billion of acquisitions in just over two years.New deals have dried up and investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have grown wary of working with the company that has sprawling interests in aviation, logistics and tourism.HNA’s long-term strategy of debt-fuelled growth, which peaked with its purchase of stakes in Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Deutsche Bank, is fraying, compounding the company’s problems as it struggles to allay concerns over its opaque shareholding structure.A plan to publicly list Pactera, a Chinese technology services company HNA bought last year, was suspended this month after Goldman Sachs said the deal failed to meet its internal due diligence requirements.HNA has defended its health, saying it maintains strong working relationships with more than 300 financial institutions and has a healthy line of credit.“A lot of the stuff going on in the media is just perception, and that perception doesn’t accurately reflect our business,” said Guang Yang, chief investment officer of HNA Capital, the company’s financial arm. “Our business continues to be very strong.”HNA bonds have dipped slightly since the extent of Beijing’s crackdown on debt became clear. Two bonds from HNA Group and Hainan Airlines due in 2018, for instance, are being bid at under 99 cents on the dollar, versus around 100 in June.Finance costs have soared to 14.19 billion yuan in the first half of 2017, from 6.47 billion yuan in the year-earlier period, as HNA completed acquisitions and utilized 454.5 billion yuan in credit.Shareholder equity now finances 40 percent of 1.21 trillion yuan in total assets, with the rest coming from borrowed funds, after stakeholders injected 488.5 billion yuan into the company last year.Some western bankers say their ability to work with HNA is limited by lingering questions about the company’s dependence on leverage.“International banks are reluctant to do any new business,” said a senior banker with a European lender, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media. “The regulatory environment has changed.”Brock Silvers, managing director at Kaiyuan Capital in Shanghai, said a main concern for Beijing was “whether HNA’s aggressive financial structure could result in a domino effect through its tightly levered and pledged portfolio, putting Chinese investors and bank capital at risk.”HNA investments controlled by unlisted domestic subsidiaries with little track record and lacking offshore regulatory oversight are a particular concern, bankers say.“Nobody really knows how much leverage they have,” said Andrew Collier, managing director at Orient Capital Research in Hong Kong. “They use all of these off-balance sheet companies to raise a lot of capital.”Another concern for regulators and bankers is the company’s opaque shareholder structure.Last week, the Swiss Takeover Board asked HNA to clarify its ownership by Oct. 3 given apparent changes since its $1.5 billion takeover last year of the aviation services company Gategroup.HNA announced in July that a New York-based foundation controlled by HNA management would act as its largest stakeholder. But the move raised questions about individuals who had been holding the shares previously and their role at HNA.Under the restructured shareholding, a dozen senior executives - led by the founding chairmen Chen Feng and Wang Jian - hold a combined 47.5 percent stake in the group, with the New York foundation and a China-based charity holding the bulk of the rest.All this comes as the company is undertaking U.S. government reviews for its proposed acquisition of SkyBridge Capital, a hedge fund platform, from Anthony Scaramucci, and a bigger stake in Old Mutual’s U.S. asset management unit.HNA abandoned a bid for Global Eagle Entertainment Inc , an in-flight services company, after failing to get U.S. regulatory approval in July.DEBT RISKS HNA’s debt-fueled strategy peaked this year with the Hilton and Deutsche Bank deals, and buyouts of the U.S. technology provider Ingram Micro and CIT Group’s aircraft leasing business.HNA Group, which controls 19 listed companies, reported that total debt doubled to 717.99 billion yuan at the end of June from the end of 2015. Total assets increased 157 percent to 1.21 trillion yuan.At Bohai Capital Holding Co, which oversees HNA’s aviation and container leasing businesses, the debt-to-asset ratio reached 87.6 percent, with short-term borrowing of about 34 billion yuan, according to its latest filing.Moody’s Investors Service in September warned that “Bohai’s high leverage, reliance on short-term financing and high debt-funded growth represent a risk.”But it also upgraded its ratings for Bohai’s Avolon airplane leasing unit, expecting the company to “strengthen its financial profile,” citing, among other things, “slower growth as a result of reduced debt-funded acquisitions.”LEVERAGE STRATEGY HNA’s debt-driven growth strategy dates from 2003, when Hainan Airlines, the HNA Group flagship that counted George Soros as an early investor, was battered by the SARS outbreak.”We came up with the idea, why don’t we leverage ourselves,“ HNA’s chief executive, Adam Tan, said in April. ”We can leverage this business” against the “ups and downs” of the airline business.The vehicle was HNA Group, which invested in airlines, airports, tourism, and real estate in China and around the world.Domestic deals have often been backed by guarantees provided by other HNA companies. Abroad, the group started using cross-border standby letters of credit, backing offshore hard-currency debts with onshore cash deposits.More recently, HNA has turned to structured deals like loans guaranteed by acquired assets and share pledges, often combined with hedging strategies, corporate filings show.HNA secured a $3 billion margin loan, for example, to help finance its $6.5 billion Hilton share acquisition, pledging its entire shareholding to a consortium of banks.In August, to acquire stakes in Deutsche Bank and Dufry AG , an airport shop operator, HNA used equity margin financing, backed by an equity collar, a hedging strategy.PUSH BACK Amid all the scrutiny, Yang of HNA Capital said the company was pressing ahead with some deals.HNA this month took control of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany, a $16 million deal. HNA Holding Group Co is also moving forward with a $1 billion takeover of the Singapore-listed logistics company CWT Ltd“The company is in great shape,” Tan, the chief executive, said in July. “We’re going to keep on going.” (Reporting By Matthew Miller. Umesh Desai contributed reporting.; Editing by Philip McClellan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-conglomerates-hna/high-flying-hna-group-comes-back-to-earth-as-scrutiny-hits-dealmaking-idINL4N1LS1MQ'|'2017-09-26T03:52:00.000+03:00'
'0c4065775ac1ba3b1b6e8051ec510a72155fe60f'|'Western Digital to seek injunction to block Toshiba''s $18 billion chip unit sale'|'  9:09 AM / Updated an hour ago Western Digital to seek injunction to block Toshiba''s $18 billion chip unit sale Makiko Yamazaki , Sam Nussey 4 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp said on Tuesday it will seek an injunction to block the sale of Toshiba Corp’s prized semiconductor business to a rival group, upping the ante in an acrimonious battle with its chip venture partner. The latest legal action by the U.S. firm, which jointly invests in Toshiba’s main chip plant, comes in the wake of the Japanese conglomerate’s decision last week to sell the unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix. The $18 billion (13.36 billion pounds) agreement with the Bain group is, however, still unsigned, with Toshiba telling its main banks this week that Apple Inc, a member of the consortium and an important client, had yet to agree to key terms. Western Digital’s injunction is being sought with the International Court of Arbitration, where the California-based company, which argues no deal can be done without its consent, initiated proceedings against its partner earlier this year. A panel of three arbitrators may be formed as early as this week and a decision on the injunction could come late this year before any deal closes, a source familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. A final ruling on the dispute is not expected before 2019. The contentious auction has underscored how high the stakes are, as rival suitors, the Japanese government and Toshiba’s creditor banks all squabble over the world’s second biggest producer of NAND memory chips. For Toshiba, a signed deal would come not a moment too soon as it needs to raise billions of dollars to cover liabilities arising from its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse before the end of the financial year in March. If it fails to do that, it could be delisted. Even if Toshiba manages to sign the deal with the Bain group imminently, it is still cutting it fine as regulatory reviews usually take at least six months. FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building under construction is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo STAKES HIGH Western Digital said in a statement that Toshiba’s decision had been disappointing, given that it had made major concessions. These included giving up its participation in the consortium it was part of, leaving KKR & Co and a state-backed fund, the Innovation Network of Japan (INCJ), as the main investors. It also gave up on a plan to take a future equity stake. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo It said it was vehemently opposed to a Bain deal, arguing that the inclusion of SK Hynix, a rival chipmaker, heightens the risk of technology leaks and introduces the risk that the deal may not clear regulatory reviews, unlike the KKR/INCJ bid which does not include a chipmaker. Toshiba declined to comment. Western Digital, one of world’s leading makers of hard disk drives, paid some $16 billion last year to acquire SanDisk, Toshiba’s chip joint venture partner since 2000. It sees chips as a key pillar of growth and is desperate to keep the business out of the hands of rival chipmakers. Just last week, Western Digital filed a fresh arbitration request seeking to stop Toshiba from investing in a new chip facility in Yokkaichi, Japan, unless SanDisk was also allowed to invest. Toshiba said in August it decided to invest in the new line without Western Digital as they “failed to reach agreement” on joint investment. Western Digital previously sought an injunction from a California state court to block any sale of the chip unit without its consent. The court ordered Toshiba in July to give Western Digital two weeks’ notice before any deal is closed. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Sam Nussey; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting/western-digital-to-seek-injunction-to-block-toshibas-18-billion-chip-unit-sale-idUKKCN1C10YJ'|'2017-09-26T12:11:00.000+03:00'
'11f3d5f863b6342f6fbab0d4543de52951aa8a62'|'CORRECTED-OFFICIAL-MOVES-Franklin Templeton names David Whitehair head of defined contribution, UK'|'(Corrects paragraph 1 and headline after company clarifies David Whitehair is the head of defined contribution in the UK, not globally)Sept 26 (Reuters) - Franklin Templeton Investments, part of investment management firm Franklin Resources Inc, appointed David Whitehair as head of its defined contribution business in the UK.Whitehair previously worked at Fidelity International as a senior business development manager. (Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/franklintempletoninvestments-moves-david/moves-franklin-templeton-names-david-whitehair-head-of-defined-contribution-idINL4N1M73OS'|'2017-09-26T09:29:00.000+03:00'
'b520957d6820f3fe19eb6f070571f75d0957198e'|'Mitsubishi recalls 63,154 cars in Russia: Russian watchdog'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:11 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Mitsubishi recalls 63,154 cars in Russia: Russian watchdog Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Logos of Mitsubishi Motors Corp are seen on packages of toy cars at a showroom of the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s standards watchdog Rosstandart said on Thursday it had been informed Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp ( 7211.T ) was recalling 63,154 Galant and Pajero cars sold in Russia between November 2006 and February 2016. The cars are being recalled because of possible issues with their air bags, the regulator said in a statement. Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-mitsubishimotors-recall/mitsubishi-recalls-63154-cars-in-russia-russian-watchdog-idUSKCN1C31N8'|'2017-09-28T15:10:00.000+03:00'
'cd738d8e66a4db20b2ca3e6591cc50b28287c2ad'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures edge up ahead of central bank''s economic report'|' 33 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures edge up ahead of central bank''s economic report Reuters Staff 4 Min Read Sept 27 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock exchange futures inched higher on Wednesday ahead of the Bank of Canada’s economic progress report and as the United States prepares to outline a new tax plan. Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz will also hold a press conference at 12:00 p.m. ET (1600 GMT), his first since two back-to-back rate hikes, and investors will be looking for clues as to how aggressively the central bank may tighten from here. Across the border, President Donald Trump will call for slashing tax rates on businesses and the wealthy as part of the new plan, which, if passed, would be his first significant legislative win since taking office in January. December futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.07 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were up 0.06 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.14 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.2 percent. Canada’s main stock index retreated broadly on Tuesday from its highest close in four months in the previous session, as cooling commodity prices weighed on mining and oil stocks. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) TOP STORIES Britain is bitterly disappointed by a U.S. decision to slap duties on a Boeing competitor’s jets, Prime Minister Theresa May said, promising to fight for thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland that the ruling puts at risk. Frontera Energy Corp is seeking to declare force majeure due to protests by Amazonian tribes in Peru that have halted its operations in the country’s biggest oil block, Peru’s energy regulator Perupetro said Tuesday. The United States on Tuesday unveiled draft text on labor standards during the negotiations on modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement as top officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico joined talks in Ottawa. ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Freshii Inc: RBC cuts target price to C$8 from C$12 Gran Tierra Energy Inc: Eight Capital cuts target price to C$5.25 from C$6.50 COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1,292.3; -0.72 pct US crude: $51.95; +0.13 percent Brent crude: $58.19; -0.43 percent LME 3-month copper: $6488; +1.17 percent U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY 0830 Build permits r number mm for Aug: Prior 1.3 mln 0830 Build permits r change mm for Aug: Prior 5.7 pct 0830 Durable goods for Aug: Expected 1.0 pct; Prior -6.8 pct 0830 Durables ex-transport for Aug: Expected 0.2 pct; Prior 0.6 pct 0830 Durables ex-defense mm for Aug: Prior -7.8 pct 0830 Nondefe cap ex-air for Aug: Expected 0.3 pct; Prior 1.0 pct 1000 Pending Homes Index for Aug: Prior 109.1 1000 Pending sales change mm Aug: Expected -0.5 pct; Prior -0.8 pct FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1 = C$1.24) (Reporting by Pathikrit Bandyopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-futures-edge-up-ahead-of-central-banks-economic-report-idUSL4N1M83HR'|'2017-09-27T14:32:00.000+03:00'
'06af0aaecc3bef6179bfcc4b46c8246c8aafcf27'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 27'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesThe finance director of Northgate Plc has been sacked after he was convicted of assault. Northgate said in a statement that Paddy Gallagher, 54, had been "summarily dismissed due to his conviction for the summary offence of common assault." bit.ly/2wV0r3jThe ousted boss of Airbus UK has landed at British aerospace company Cobham Plc. Paul Kahn was forced out of the Franco-German planemaker in the summer after less than three years in the job in a barely disguised falling out over Brexit and the future of Airbus''s substantial interests in the United Kingdom. bit.ly/2fqVtoDThe GuardianThe former boss and chief operating officer of Afren, a London-listed oil and gas exploration business, are to be charged with criminal offences in relation to an alleged 45 million euros ($53.05 million) fraud that led to the collapse of the 2 billion euro company. bit.ly/2wka3VwThe chief executive of embattled credit agency Equifax Inc announced his retirement on Tuesday, in the wake of a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of 143 million people. bit.ly/2huDVvXThe TelegraphBritish Steel has emerged from UK''s steel crisis with its first international acquisition, less than 18 months after Tata Steel abandoned the troubled business. bit.ly/2xuXuuxUber Technologies Inc is looking to hire a UK chairman, just a week after being stripped of its licence to operate in London and as arch-rival Lyft eyes a move into the market. bit.ly/2xKyhMsSky NewsThousands of jobs could be at risk in Northern Ireland after a U.S. adjudication against the aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Inc. bit.ly/2fPvlV1Sky News has learnt that a committee established by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association will follow up an earlier report by warning that the current system with thousands of smaller defined benefit schemes operating independently is "placing the retirement savings of millions...at risk". bit.ly/2wj9OKEThe IndependentA London-based female Uber driver has issued sex discrimination proceedings against the ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc, claiming it unfairly disadvantages women who work for the group. ind.pn/2wSE5E7Dyson has confirmed it will launch a battery-powered electric car in 2020. The vacuum cleaner company, which will spend 2 billion euros on the project, says its vehicles will be "radical and different". ind.pn/2wjePCJ$1 = 0.8483 euros Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-27-idINL4N1M75VX'|'2017-09-26T22:12:00.000+03:00'
'7264f11ef87e6675aeb59b131e8d6e764441cd2c'|'Financier Lynn Tilton defeats U.S. SEC fraud charges'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suffered a high-profile defeat on Wednesday, as a judge said it failed to prove that private equity chief Lynn Tilton defrauded investors by hiding the poor performance of assets underlying three debt funds.SEC Administrative Law Judge Carol Fox Foelak dismissed the charges against Tilton, the founder of New York-based Patriarch Partners who is known as the “Diva of Distressed” for taking over troubled companies. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sec-tilton/financier-lynn-tilton-defeats-u-s-sec-fraud-charges-idINL2N1M82CU'|'2017-09-27T19:01:00.000+03:00'
'aa2f68fdcfab7b0392d3402918fc6da598e3822c'|'High-flying HNA Group comes back to earth as scrutiny hits dealmaking'|'  6:12 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago High-flying HNA Group comes back to earth as scrutiny hits dealmaking Matthew Miller 8 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - HNA Group, the high-flying Chinese conglomerate caught in the cross-sights of Beijing, has hit turbulence as deals stall and scrutiny of its finances and shareholding structure intensifies. Beijing’s clampdown on highly-leveraged foreign investment has led to more regulatory scrutiny around the world, putting the brakes on a remarkable period of growth that saw HNA announce $50 billion of acquisitions in just over two years. New deals have dried up and investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have grown wary of working with the company that has sprawling interests in aviation, logistics and tourism. HNA’s long-term strategy of debt-fueled growth, which peaked with its purchase of stakes in Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Deutsche Bank, is fraying, compounding the company’s problems as it struggles to allay concerns over its opaque shareholding structure. A plan to publicly list Pactera, a Chinese technology services company HNA bought last year, was suspended this month after Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) said the deal failed to meet its internal due diligence requirements. HNA has defended its health, saying it maintains strong working relationships with more than 300 financial institutions and has a healthy line of credit. “A lot of the stuff going on in the media is just perception, and that perception doesn’t accurately reflect our business,” said Guang Yang, chief investment officer of HNA Capital, the company’s financial arm. “Our business continues to be very strong.” HNA bonds have dipped slightly since the extent of Beijing’s crackdown on debt became clear. Two bonds from HNA Group and Hainan Airlines due in 2018, for instance, are being bid at under 99 cents on the dollar, versus around 100 in June. Finance costs have soared to 14.19 billion yuan in the first half of 2017, from 6.47 billion yuan in the year-earlier period, as HNA completed acquisitions and utilized 454.5 billion yuan in credit. Shareholder equity now finances 40 percent of 1.21 trillion yuan in total assets, with the rest coming from borrowed funds, after stakeholders injected 488.5 billion yuan into the company last year. Some western bankers say their ability to work with HNA is limited by lingering questions about the company’s dependence on leverage. “International banks are reluctant to do any new business,” said a senior banker with a European lender, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media. “The regulatory environment has changed.” Brock Silvers, managing director at Kaiyuan Capital in Shanghai, said a main concern for Beijing was “whether HNA’s aggressive financial structure could result in a domino effect through its tightly levered and pledged portfolio, putting Chinese investors and bank capital at risk.” HNA investments controlled by unlisted domestic subsidiaries with little track record and lacking offshore regulatory oversight are a particular concern, bankers say. “Nobody really knows how much leverage they have,” said Andrew Collier, managing director at Orient Capital Research in Hong Kong. “They use all of these off-balance sheet companies to raise a lot of capital.” Another concern for regulators and bankers is the company’s opaque shareholder structure. Last week, the Swiss Takeover Board asked HNA to clarify its ownership by Oct. 3 given apparent changes since its $1.5 billion takeover last year of the aviation services company Gategroup. HNA announced in July that a New York-based foundation controlled by HNA management would act as its largest stakeholder. But the move raised questions about individuals who had been holding the shares previously and their role at HNA. Under the restructured shareholding, a dozen senior executives - led by the founding chairmen Chen Feng and Wang Jian - hold a combined 47.5 percent stake in the group, with the New York foundation and a China-based charity holding the bulk of the rest. FILE PHOTO: A Hainan Airlines plane takes off from the Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Sanya, Hainan province, China, May 1, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo All this comes as the company is undertaking U.S. government reviews for its proposed acquisition of SkyBridge Capital, a hedge fund platform, from Anthony Scaramucci, and a bigger stake in Old Mutual’s U.S. asset management unit. HNA abandoned a bid for Global Eagle Entertainment Inc ( ENT.O ), an in-flight services company, after failing to get U.S. regulatory approval in July. DEBT RISKS HNA’s debt-fueled strategy peaked this year with the Hilton ( HLT.N ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) deals, and buyouts of the U.S. technology provider Ingram Micro and CIT Group’s aircraft leasing business. HNA Group, which controls 19 listed companies, reported that total debt doubled to 717.99 billion yuan at the end of June from the end of 2015. Total assets increased 157 percent to 1.21 trillion yuan. At Bohai Capital Holding Co ( 000415.SZ ), which oversees HNA’s aviation and container leasing businesses, the debt-to-asset ratio reached 87.6 percent, with short-term borrowing of about 34 billion yuan, according to its latest filing. Moody’s Investors Service in September warned that “Bohai’s high leverage, reliance on short-term financing and high debt-funded growth represent a risk.” But it also upgraded its ratings for Bohai’s Avolon airplane leasing unit, expecting the company to “strengthen its financial profile,” citing, among other things, “slower growth as a result of reduced debt-funded acquisitions.” LEVERAGE STRATEGY HNA’s debt-driven growth strategy dates from 2003, when Hainan Airlines, the HNA Group flagship that counted George Soros as an early investor, was battered by the SARS outbreak. ”We came up with the idea, why don’t we leverage ourselves,“ HNA’s chief executive, Adam Tan, said in April. ”We can leverage this business” against the “ups and downs” of the airline business. The vehicle was HNA Group, which invested in airlines, airports, tourism, and real estate in China and around the world. Domestic deals have often been backed by guarantees provided by other HNA companies. Abroad, the group started using cross-border standby letters of credit, backing offshore hard-currency debts with onshore cash deposits. More recently, HNA has turned to structured deals like loans guaranteed by acquired assets and share pledges, often combined with hedging strategies, corporate filings show. HNA secured a $3 billion margin loan, for example, to help finance its $6.5 billion Hilton share acquisition, pledging its entire shareholding to a consortium of banks. In August, to acquire stakes in Deutsche Bank and Dufry AG ( DUFN.S ), an airport shop operator, HNA used equity margin financing, backed by an equity collar, a hedging strategy. PUSH BACK Amid all the scrutiny, Yang of HNA Capital said the company was pressing ahead with some deals. HNA this month took control of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany, a $16 million deal. HNA Holding Group Co ( 0521.HK ) is also moving forward with a $1 billion takeover of the Singapore-listed logistics company CWT Ltd ( CWTD.SI ) “The company is in great shape,” Tan, the chief executive, said in July. “We’re going to keep on going.” Reporting By Matthew Miller. Umesh Desai contributed reporting.; Editing by Philip McClellan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-conglomerates-hna/high-flying-hna-group-comes-back-to-earth-as-scrutiny-hits-dealmaking-idUKKCN1C10K0'|'2017-09-26T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'7b8c17ba54a76fe22b21bae4d03dab7732b6b90b'|'NFL, FACEBOOK INC SIGN DEAL TO SHOW GAME HIGHLIGHTS ON FACEBOOK'|'  1:08 PM / Updated 8 hours ago NFL signs deal to put game highlights on Facebook David Ingram , Jessica Toonkel 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A U.S. flag is displayed at Gillette Stadium before a game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs in Foxborough, Massachusetts, U.S. on September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Football League and Facebook Inc have signed a deal to bring NFL game recaps and highlights to the world’s largest social network, culminating years of talks, the NFL said on Tuesday. The deal comes with both parties at strategic turning points, as Facebook seeks to add more video to attract viewers and the NFL tries to follow eyeballs from traditional television to social media. Facebook has expressed interest in live-streaming NFL games on Thursday nights, including this year when it lost out to Amazon.com Inc. Amazon.com broadcasts its first Thursday night game this week. The deal between the NFL and Facebook will not include live games but will cover official NFL video highlights from all regular season games as well as the playoffs and the Super Bowl, the NFL said in a statement. Some NFL Films, documentary-style productions made by the league, will also be included. FILE PHOTO: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the Facebook F8 conference in San Francisco, California, U.S. on April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo The agreement is effective immediately worldwide, the NFL said, and is for two years, a source familiar with the deal said. Other terms, such as possible advertising, were not disclosed. “We have millions of fans on Facebook, and they continue to demonstrate an incredible appetite for NFL content,” Hans Schroeder, chief operating officer of NFL Media, said in a statement. FILE PHOTO: Los Angeles Rams players take the field before a NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports/File Photo Other media outlets have NFL-themed shows. Twitter Inc streams pre-game coverage. The league-owned NFL Network broadcasts a nightly program. Facebook, though, is the biggest social network with some 2 billion monthly users worldwide. Its NFL videos will appear on Watch, the recently overhauled Facebook video tab. Facebook hopes the deal will enable “active NFL fan communities on Facebook to watch and debate the top storylines from each week,” Dan Reed, Facebook’s head of global sports partnerships, said in a statement. Facebook Watch already includes one NFL-related program: a reality show on football player Mashawn Lynch for which Facebook is paying Time Warner Inc’s Bleacher Report millions of dollars. Reporting by David Ingram and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-nfl/nfl-signs-deal-to-put-game-highlights-on-facebook-idUSKCN1C11OY'|'2017-09-26T16:00:00.000+03:00'
'264c2b45eab44eb2761986c673bd109d5e9f4b36'|'Thomas Cook enters into hotel partnership with LMEY, outlook unchanged'|'  6:24 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Thomas Cook enters into hotel partnership with Swiss LMEY Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Tour operator Thomas Cook has formed a strategic partnership with LMEY Investments to grow its own-brand hotel portfolio, as it confirmed its full-year outlook. As part of the deal, Thomas Cook acquired a 42 percent stake in Aldiana, a German tour operator and hotel management firm, from the Swiss-based hotel development company. Thomas Cook Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser said the acquisition was a significant step in the firm’s strategy to expand its range of own-brand hotels. “The development of a strong portfolio of own-brand hotels is absolutely key to our success,” Fankhauser said in a statement. “Our new strategic partnership with LMEY, with its proven track record of identifying and redeveloping highly successful properties in sun and beach locations, gives us the perfect launch pad to accelerate this critical part of our strategy.” Thomas Cook operates or franchises over 180 hotels in 17 countries, with 11 new hotels added this summer. Rival TUI is also investing more into its own hotel portfolio, including setting up its own brand TUI Blue. The partnership follows an alliance with Expedia to make the online travel company its preferred provider of hotels for holiday sales that are not in Thomas Cook’s own-brand offering. Thomas Cook also said that its Chief Financial Officer Michael Healy had decided to retire, and would be replaced by director of financial reporting Bill Scott. The company said that summer trading was ending as expected and its full-year earnings outlook was unchanged. Thomas Cook said its summer season was 91 percent sold, which is 2 percent more than the same time last year, and that sales to Spain remained level with last year despite a highly competitive market. Shares were up 0.6 percent at 121.7 pence at 0745 GMT. Thomas Cook also said its German airline Condor, with bookings up 12 percent, was benefitting from the uncertainty surrounding the fate of Air Berlin, which filed for insolvency in August. Condor was among those interested in bidding for Air Berlin assets to shore up its position in Germany, but Air Berlin’s creditors have instead opted to hold talks with Lufthansa and easyJet. Reporting by Alistair Smout; Additional reporting by Victoria Bryan in Berlin; Editing by Paul Sandle/Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thomas-cook-grp-outlook/thomas-cook-enters-into-hotel-partnership-with-lmey-outlook-unchanged-idUKKCN1C10KL'|'2017-09-26T09:24:00.000+03:00'
'8b6e741868737370724ed3bb2826e24ed74f6923'|'JPMorgan to hire more than 3,000 people in new operations center in Poland'|'September 26, 2017 / 7:11 AM / Updated 7 hours ago JPMorgan to hire more than 3,000 people in new operations center in Poland Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase ( JPM.N ) plans to hire more than 3,000 people in its new global operations center in the next three years, Polish Development Ministry said on Tuesday. Last week Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that JPMorgan Chase picked Warsaw for the new center. Possible other contenders to host the center were Budapest and the Polish city of Wroclaw, though Reuters reported in April that Warsaw was the front-runner. Reporting by Marcin Goclowski; Writing by Agnieszka Barteczko '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-poland/jpmorgan-to-hire-more-than-3000-people-in-new-operations-center-in-poland-idUSKCN1C10OJ'|'2017-09-26T10:11:00.000+03:00'
'96a15a7276d87caa0a291a6abde9099963b8a692'|'Delivery Hero first-half revenue rises 66 percent; adjusted losses narrow'|'Reuters TV United States   6:08 AM / Updated an hour ago Germany''s Delivery Hero serves up revenue leap, slimmer losses Eric Auchard 3 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Delivery Hero ( DHER.DE ), the world’s largest online takeaway food delivery company, reported a 66 percent jump in first-half revenue and sharply narrower losses, after slightly slowing its expansion with a focus on breaking even in 2018. First-half revenue reached 246.5 million euros ($291.8 million), while the adjusted margin on core earnings narrowed to a loss of 18 percent from a loss of 47 percent a year earlier. “We achieved a good balance between strong growth and moving closer towards profitability,” Chief Executive Niklas Oestberg said in a statement. Delivery Hero said it expected revenue of 530-540 million for the full year, slightly above analysts’ consensus forecast of around 531 million euros and in the face of headwinds from converting results from other regions into a stronger euros. The full-year adjusted margin on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is expected to improve to minus 15-17 percent. It reiterated its plans to break even and then turn profitable by at least December 2018. “We are committed to full year profitability in ‘19,” Oestberg told journalists on a conference call. The first-half revenue growth suggested a slowdown in the second quarter from 90 percent growth in the first quarter, based on previously published figures. However, on a like-for-like basis the company said second-quarter revenue growth accelerated to 49 percent from 46 percent in the first quarter. The company operates in more than 40 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and Asia. It saw double-digit first-half revenue growth in all of its regions. Oestberg said based on results reported by rivals, Delivery Hero had increased share in all its markets. In the first half, it faced heavy marketing spending in its home market Germany by Dutch rival Takeaway.com’s ( TKWY.AS ) Liferando.de unit. ”In markets where we do compete with someone, we have been taking market (share), regardless of whether we make money or not,“ he said. ”I am also very happy with Germany ... we had a good growth in Q2 (second quarter). Delivery Hero was the fourth online food delivery firm to go public in recent years, following U.S.-based GrubHub ( GRUB.N ), Britain’s Just Eat ( JE.L ) and Takeaway.com, all of which have seen their share prices soar. Its shares are up nearly 30 percent since its initial public offering in late June. The stock closed up 3.85 percent at 33.75 euros in Frankfurt trading on Tuesday. A fifth online food delivery firm, privately held UK-based Deliveroo, recently raised $385 million in new funding at a $2 billion valuation. Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-delivery-hero-results/delivery-hero-h1-revenue-rises-66-pct-adjusted-losses-narrow-idUSKCN1C10JQ'|'2017-09-26T14:08:00.000+03:00'
'348543a643227d34bb9934fb2ec5d6037b6df9b5'|'Naspers buys half of Rocket''s stake in Delivery Hero'|'FILE PHOTO - The Delivery Hero headquarters is pictured in Berlin, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch JOHANNESBURG/BERLIN (Reuters) - South African media firm Naspers ( NPNJn.J ) increased its investment in online food takeaway firm Delivery Hero ( DHER.DE ) on Thursday, buying half the stake of e-commerce investor Rocket Internet ( RKET.DE ) for 660 million euros ($775 mln).The move comes as Rocket Internet, which built up and invested in dozens of businesses from fashion e-commerce to food delivery, tries to optimize its portfolio after its share price has performed poorly since it listed in 2014.Naspers first took a stake in Delivery Hero in May when the German firm issued new shares a month before it went public. On Thursday, Rocket said it was selling half its 26 percent stake to Naspers.The move takes Naspers’ stake in Delivery Hero to 23.6 percent. Naspers Chief Executive Bob van Dijk said the investment underlined his confidence in the firm’s prospects, particularly in developing markets.FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a banner at the shareholder meeting of Rocket Internet, a German venture capital group in Berlin, Germany, June 23, 2015. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo “Many markets have experienced significant traction already, but we believe the potential is far greater in high-growth markets than that observed in the West,” he said in a statement.Rocket Internet shares were up 1.4 percent by 0709 GMT, while Delivery Hero was down 0.6 percent.Delivery Hero, the world’s largest online takeaway food delivery company, reported a 66 percent jump in first-half revenue and sharply narrower losses on Wednesday, after slightly slowing its expansion with a focus on breaking even in 2018.On Thursday, Rocket Internet reported that aggregate revenue for its leading start-ups rose 29 percent to 1.24 billion euros in the first half, while the adjusted loss before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization was 161 million euros, down from 204 million a year ago.Rocket said its meal kit delivery company HelloFresh, which has been considering an initial public offering, saw net revenue rise 49 percent to 435 million euros, while its loss rose slightly to 47 million euros.Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Ludwig Burger and Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rocket-internet-results/rocket-internet-start-ups-narrow-losses-in-first-half-idINKCN1C30KE'|'2017-09-28T04:27:00.000+03:00'
'ef4258b5c5d034da4ad93ff7013cedb8b0bbc858'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds A2A)Sept 29 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Friday:** German drugs and pesticides group Bayer said it had further reduced to just under 25 percent its holding in Covestro, the plastics producer which it demerged in 2015, by selling a 6.9 percent stake for 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).** Activist group Avaaz stepped up its battle to stop Rupert Murdoch buying Sky, launching a legal challenge to the regulator’s view that the pay-TV group would still be a “fit and proper” owner of a broadcasting licence if the deal goes ahead.** The Chinese owner of former European soccer champions AC Milan is looking for one or more investors to share the financial burden, less than six months after buying the loss-making Italian club, two sources said.** The owner of Japanese restaurant chain Genki Sushi Co will buy a one-third stake in bigger rival Sushiro Global Holdings Ltd from private equity firm Permira , a person with direct knowledge of the deal said.** British insurer Aviva said it had agreed to sell its Italian joint venture to Banco BPM for 265 million euros ($313.26 million) in cash.** Carlyle Group LP signed a definitive agreement to sell Klenk Holz AG, its German building materials unit, to Binderholz GmbH, the private equity firm said.** Investors looking to buy at least 51 percent of the property unit of French hotel group AccorHotels are due to submit their letters of intent in October, French daily Les Echos said.** Norwegian utility Statkraft has acquired a 50 percent stake in German energy retailer enQu, the two firms announced in a joint statement.** Italy’s biggest regional utility A2A said on Friday a court in Montenegro had annulled a decision to seize its stake in power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) . ($1 = 0.8460 euros) (Compiled by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1MA3F3'|'2017-09-29T08:30:00.000+03:00'
'ce6869e22c046ed7468fae44bda6c669a755feb3'|'Fed''s Yellen says gradual hikes should continue, despite weak inflation'|'September 26, 2017 / 4:52 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Fed''s Yellen says gradual hikes should continue, despite weak inflation Howard Schneider , Ann Saphir 5 Min Read Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two-day Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve needs to continue gradual rate hikes despite broad uncertainty about the path of inflation, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday in remarks that acknowledged the central bank’s struggles to forecast one of its key policy objectives. It is possible, Yellen said, that the Fed may have “misspecified” its models for inflation, and “misjudged” key facts like the underlying strength of the labour market and whether inflation expectations are as stable as they seem. While there is not enough evidence of a major shift in inflation dynamics for the Fed to yet pull back from its plan to gradually raise rates, she said the central bank needed to remain open to that possibility. Recent low inflation “likely reflects factors whose influence should fade over time,” Yellen said in a 37-page address to the National Association for Business Economics. Despite “many uncertainties” around how inflation is behaving, Yellen said it nevertheless “would be imprudent to keep monetary policy on hold until inflation is back to 2 percent.” “Without further modest increases in the federal funds rate over time, there is a risk that the labour market could eventually become overheated, potentially creating an inflationary problem down the road that might be difficult to overcome without triggering a recession,” she said. Yellen’s remarks attempt to resolve a debate that has split members of the central bank among those worried that inflation may be permanently anchored below the Fed’s 2 percent target because of structural changes in the global economy, and those who feel it is only a matter of time before tight labour markets lead wages and prices to rise. She did not provide a definite answer, pointing to the fact that in current forecasts there was a 30 percent chance inflation could range anywhere from one percent to 3 percent, vastly different outcomes either of which could rewrite the Fed’s policy approach. But she did make clear that, as a matter of managing risks, the Fed still feels a gradual pace of rate hikes remains the base case. Kevin Logan, chief U.S. economist at HSBC Securities, in New York, said her message is that “they’re not really sure” whether the weak inflation is transitory but that “nonetheless policy is accommodative.” “The gradual approach means that, even if they are wrong on inflation it won’t be a big mistake. That’s the message they are trying to convey.” The dollar first shot up then retreated after Yellen’s comments, reflecting uncertainty about her message. Treasury yields and stocks edged slightly higher. INFLATION DEBATE Yellen walked systematically through many of the main arguments in favour of a structural change in inflation, and largely discounted them. There was not yet “empirical support” for the theory that global trade, worldwide supply chains, and other forces were holding down U.S. prices, she said. Fed calculations are that cyclical slack in the labour market was now having a “negligible” impact on recent low inflation readings, compared to things like oil price and other changes that will fade over time. And some aspects of the labour market that appeared weak, such as the still-elevated number of part-time workers, may reflect permanent changes in the workforce, and not cyclical factors, Yellen said. There were many uncertainties, however, and downward pressure on inflation could prove unexpectedly persistent. “My colleagues and I may have misjudged the strength of the labour market, the degree to which longer-run inflation expectations are consistent with our inflation objective, or even the fundamental forces driving inflation,” possibilities which the Fed needs to examine over time and change the course of policy if needed. But for now the Fed “continues to anticipate that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, inflation will rise and stabilize at around 2 percent over the medium term,” she said. “We should be wary of moving too gradually.” Reporting by Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-yellen/feds-yellen-says-gradual-hikes-should-continue-despite-weak-inflation-idUKKCN1C12EI'|'2017-09-26T20:26:00.000+03:00'
'64a576894d47f445e6f05fe38dc801763445c0c6'|'Facebook, Google bound to change handling of politics ads - marketing executives'|'  10:13 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Facebook, Google bound to change handling of politics ads - marketing executives David Ingram   Facebook logo is seen at a start-up companies gathering at Paris'' Station F in Paris, France on January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File   Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have little choice but to rein in internet political ads in the face of growing U.S. government pressure, a panel of advertising consultants and executives said on Monday. Speaking at a trade conference, the marketers seized on allegations that Russian operatives bought U.S. political ads on Facebook as evidence that the sector cannot go on being unregulated. “I think there will be more scrutiny, and there better be more self-regulation. Otherwise, I think regulation will be coming,” Brent McGoldrick, a political ad consultant and a Republican, said at Advertising Week New York. Last week, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg vowed to do more to deter governments from using Facebook to manipulate elections in other countries, after the company disclosed $100,000 in Russian ad purchases in the months before and after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The 3,000 ads included some that highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women, as well as others that showed a deep understanding of U.S. social divides, the Washington Post reported on Monday. Facebook shares ended down 4.5 percent on Monday, closing at $162.87, as some investors worried the tech sector had become too expensive. FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S., August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Zuckerberg has also unveiled sweeping changes to how his company handles political ads, saying it would make them visible to all users regardless of whom the ads target. Andrew Capone, senior vice president of NCC Media, a cable trade group, joked on Monday’s panel that during the 2016 election campaign, “Facebook took in over 300 million rubles - I‘m sorry, dollars.” McGoldrick said on the panel: “If I were Facebook and Google and everyone else, I would be developing a code of conduct and a set of criteria. They may already exist, but obviously it’s not either robust enough or transparent enough.” Google has said it has no evidence on its ad platform of a Russian propaganda campaign like the one Facebook found. The two Silicon Valley firms are set to take a combined 63 percent of the U.S. market this year, according to research firm eMarketer. Though Facebook and Google have for years resisted regulation of political ads, congressional investigators and U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller have helped to change the situation, said Jefrey Pollock, president of public relations firm Global Strategy Group. “Things change with a subpoena,” Pollock, a Democrat, said as part of the panel. Reporting by David Ingram in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-alphabet/facebook-google-bound-to-change-handling-of-politics-ads-marketing-executives-idUKKCN1C030E'|'2017-09-26T01:13:00.000+03:00'
'6dedd9383ce74f69bb2b7acdc8a253fe9858f42e'|'A “right to repair” movement tools up'|'AS DEVICES go, smartphones and tractors are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. And an owner of a chain of mobile-device repair shops and a farmer of corn and soyabeans do not usually have much in common. But Jason DeWater and Guy Mills are upset for the same reason. “Even we can no longer fix the home button of an iPhone,” says Mr DeWater, a former musician who has turned his hobby of tinkering into a business based in Omaha, Nebraska. “If we had a problem with our John Deere, we could fix it ourselves. No longer,” explains Mr Mills whose farm in Ansley, a three-hour drive to the west, spreads over nearly 4,000 acres.Messrs DeWater and Mills have more and more company. It includes not just fellow repairmen and farmers, but owners of all kinds of gear, including washing machines, coffee makers and even toys. All are becoming exceedingly difficult to fix—which has given rise to a movement fighting for a “right to repair”. In America the movement has already managed to get relevant bills on the agenda of legislatures in a dozen states, including Nebraska. Across the Atlantic, the European Parliament recently passed a motion calling for regulation to force manufacturers to make their products more easily repairable.Some types of gear, such as photocopiers and medical equipment, have always been hard to mend because of their internal complexity. But what has been the exception is now becoming the rule, says Nabil Nasr of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Even a John Deere tractor comes with millions of lines of software code, controlling everything from the engine to the armrests. Mobile devices, for their part, are getting ever more densely packed to make them smaller and able to accommodate new components. When iFixit, a website for repair information, analysed Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8, which started shipping on September 15th, it found that the device was mainly held together with glue. This gets rid of fasteners, but makes repairs more difficult. 16 Manufacturers are also increasingly erecting less tangible barriers to mending. Leased equipment and devices under warranty have always been out of bounds, but firms now regularly ban tinkering with a product’s software. In its “License Agreement for John Deere Embedded Software”, for instance, the company retains ownership of the software programs. It also refers to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a controversial piece of legislation that makes it illegal for customers to circumvent copy protection. But dodging it can be necessary to develop diagnostic tools for electronic devices.Firms also withhold technical information, proprietary repair tools and spare parts. Mr DeWater has to rely on manuals from iFixit, on self-made tools and on refurbished or copied parts. He can also tap into a global network of repair shops which exchange information about how to fix the latest mobile devices. “We sometimes even ship a device to China if we know that a shop there can fix it,” he says.In the future, repairability is likely to become even more of an issue, says Kyle Wiens, iFixit’s chief executive. Not only do firms want customers to use authorised dealers, but a growing number of products are also no longer stand-alone devices, but rather delivery vehicles for services that generate additional revenues. Smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo are a case in point. The e-commerce giant may even lose money with the device, but it helps to sell other products and collects reams of data about users. These can be used for additional services or to target advertising.Strings attachedSimilarly, wearable technology such as fitness trackers would be much more expensive to consumers if manufacturers did not believe they could monetise the data they collect. If owners could easily tinker with such devices, that could sever the profitable links between product, service and data, which may make manufacturers’ guard them even more jealously.In their defence, firms say that restricting repairs, whether by individual consumers or businesses, helps protect their intellectual property and works on behalf of buyers. Apple, for instance, wants to ensure that consumers do not get hurt by breaking glass from badly installed screens, for instance. If Apple alone can replace the home button, it is to stop hackers from getting familiar with the system that reads people’s fingerprints to unlock the phone. Highlighting the dangers, researchers in Israel recently managed to fit smartphones with booby-trapped screens, which could be used to log keyboard input and install malicious apps.Yet the lack of repairability has large drawbacks. Authorised dealers are often far-flung, much more expensive than independent ones and often cannot fix a problem. Barring owners from tinkering also limits innovation. Many inventions in farming equipment, such as circular irrigation systems, were pioneered by farmers. And not being able to easily mend a device, says Mark Schaffer, a manufacturing consultant, contributes to a problem that already plagues many markets, as more products, from smartphones to washing machines, are thrown away rather than repaired, adding to waste and pollution. The share of new appliances sold to replace defective ones (as opposed to first-time purchases) in Germany increased from 3.5% in 2004 to 8.3% in 2012, according to the Öko-Institut, a think-tank. Washing machines, in particular, are hard to fix. The most common problem is that their bearings fail; when these are sealed away in the drum, repairers cannot access them.To reverse the trend, but also to defend its industry’s turf, the Repair Association, a lobby group funded by repair shops as well as by environmental organisations and other charities, wants states in America to pass “right to repair” laws. These would require firms in all industries to provide consumers and independent repair shops with the same service documentation, tools and spare parts that they make available to authorised service providers. The hope is that once an important state passes such a law, the country will follow—as was the case in the car industry after Massachusetts in 2012 passed a right-to-repair law for cars that led to a national memorandum of understanding between carmakers and repair shops.If no bill has been passed yet, it is because the Repair Association has faced stiff resistance from manufacturers. Apple’s strategy here is two-pronged. It has sent a lobbyist to Nebraska, who reportedly warned local politicians that the legislation would make armies of hackers relocate to the state. At the same time, it has made (largely symbolic) concessions—in June it announced that it would send 400 screen-fixing machines to authorised repair shops, so they no longer have to send broken iPhones to central repair facilities. It is also investing in technology that makes it easier to recycle its products, such as Liam, a robot for disassembling iPhones.Whether such moves will take some steam out of the right-to-repair movement remains to be seen. More likely, it will gather pace. In France, with its penchant for regulation, “planned obsolescence”, meaning designing a product for a limited lifespan, is already an offence punishable by up to €300,000 ($354,000) or up to 5% of the maker’s average annual French sales, whichever is higher. Manufacturers must also tell buyers how long their products are likely to last. The government hopes that both rules will push firms to make devices easier to repair.Spanner in the worksThe global assault on repairability highlights a bigger problem, says Jason Schultz of New York University: what it means to own things in the digital age. Together with Aaron Perzanowski of Case Western Reserve University, he has written a book, “The End of Ownership”, which describes the many ways in which firms now limit what people can do with the stuff they buy, in particularly the digital sort. “Owners” are often not allowed to resell it, transfer it to another devices or mash it up with other digital goods.Companies have even started to limit what buyers can do with physical goods. Tesla, for example, does not allow its self-driving cars to be used to make money with ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft (apparently because the firm plans soon to launch its own such service, called “Tesla Network”). It will be interesting to see what happens if Tesla takes steps to enforce this anti-Uber rule.At any rate, the watering down of ownership appears to hit a nerve both on the left and the right. “Repair isn’t a partisan issue,” says Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association, pointing out that the right-to-repair bills have both Republican and Democrat sponsors in most states. The two Nebraskans, Messrs DeWater and Mr Wills, give an idea of why this may be. One, a liberal, sees the livelihood of repair shops endangered by big corporations. To the other, more conservative, not being able to repair his tractor amounts to an attack on the “very idea of private property”. Together they make a powerful coalition. "If it’s broken, you can’t fix it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729744-tractors-smartphones-mending-things-getting-ever-harder-right-repair-movement?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'543e41fec1fd6aa9eb23bbd6c8b7d754ecc4b549'|'American entrepreneurship is flourishing, if you know where to look'|'AT FIRST glance, it seems that America’s economy is losing its mojo. Many economists, most notably Robert Gordon of Northwestern University, have lamented that productivity growth seems to be anaemic when compared with earlier golden eras (see Free exchange ). A gloomy chorus of business leaders has echoed what media outlets have by now turned into a mantra, that American entrepreneurship is in steady decline. Surely America’s overall competitiveness, then, is plummeting?The answer from one influential think-tank, the World Economic Forum (WEF), is no. In its latest update to its long-running annual ranking of global economic competitiveness, published on September 27th, America rose from third place to second, ranking below only Switzerland. 16 This is partly because poor economic policies and weak productivity growth are bedevilling rivals such as China and Europe. Yet glaring American weaknesses, such as fraying infrastructure and fractured politics, are outweighed in the WEF analysis by the country’s strengths in areas like business sophistication and technological readiness. And aside from market size, the variable on which America still outscores other rich countries the most is its culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.Hand-wringing about a crisis in business formation relies on official data showing that fewer new firms are being started than in the past. The latest figures, released on September 20th, show that there were 414,000 firms that were less than a year old in 2015 (the latest available year), compared with an average of 511,000 in the decade before the financial crisis. Still, not every new firm is equal—some entrepreneurs want to create the next Tesla, not open another bodega. Of the roughly 4.4m firms created in the last ten years, about 30,000 can be described as gazelles, or young, high-growth companies, according to the Kauffman Foundation, another think-tank that is known for its work on entrepreneurship. These firms have a disproportionate impact on job creation and innovation. They pack a powerful punch.A forthcoming report from the Kauffman Foundation finds that high-growth entrepreneurship has rebounded in America from the trough induced by the global financial crisis and is now rocketing (see chart). These experts scrutinise three things: how quickly startups grew in their first five years; the share of firms scaling up past 50 employees by their tenth year; and the prevalence of “fast growth” firms with at least 20% annualised growth over three years (and $2m or more in revenues).The analysis also reveals that such gazelles are found in unexpected places. Consider ProviderTrust, a health-tech startup. The firm has developed a novel software-as-a-service offering that helps health-care firms track people’s professional credentials and licences efficiently. Because states do not typically share timely information about disciplinary actions taken against health-care workers, footloose rogues can create a costly regulatory headache for unwitting new employers in another state. The company has been growing at a rate of over 60% a year since its founding in 2010; revenues should reach $10m this year.Or look at Root Insurance, America’s first mobile-only insurance firm, which is increasing downloads of its app by nearly 50% month over month. It uses actual driving data to set insurance rates for all of its customers, and offers discounts to drivers for using the self-driving mode of their Tesla car. Alex Timm, its chief executive, explains that data collected via its customers’ mobiles proves that people are much safer when the car does the driving. His firm even punishes drivers for texting and driving, which it discovers by analysing the micro-vibrations of smartphones.These gazelles are found not in Silicon Valley or Boston but, respectively, in Nashville and Columbus. Other overlooked cities in the American heartland are also hotspots of high-growth entrepreneurship (see map). Mark Kvamme of Drive Capital, a venture-capital (VC) fund based in Ohio, points to Indianapolis as a rising technology hub: ExactTarget, a local software-marketing startup, was acquired in 2013 by Salesforce, a Californian software giant, for $2.5bn. “Luring talent away from Silicon Valley and Seattle is getting much easier,” says Mr Kvamme, a native Californian who left Sequoia Capital, a top Silicon Valley VC fund, to found Drive.Steve Case of Revolution, an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist (in 1985 he co-founded what later became America Online), calls this the “rise of the rest”. Having observed this trend on periodic bus tours across America, during which he encourages (and sometimes invests in) many local entrepreneurs, he thinks three factors are fuelling it. Barriers to entry have fallen, especially for technology companies. Access to risk capital for startups, including through crowdfunding, is no longer limited to the two coasts. Local governments are increasingly supporting training schemes, accelerators and other bits of soft infrastructure that greatly boost startups’ chances of success.Challenged on whether high-growth entrepreneurship can really be spread like jam across America, Mr Case acknowledges there is value to clustering. He insists, however, that nearly three-quarters of all VC money need not go to just California, Massachusetts and New York. “Spreading this to 30 cities”, he reckons, “would transform America.” "Gazelles in the heartland"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729781-high-growth-kind-has-rebounded-sharply-lows-after-great-recession-american?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'f7163bffaa8d31b1401bf4a2c27ceda62e17019f'|'China''s bitcoin market alive and well as traders defy crackdown'|' 26 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago China''s bitcoin market alive and well as traders defy crackdown Brenda Goh 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Bitcoin (virtual currency) coin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration/File Photo SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Weeks after Beijing banned fundraising through token launches and ordered some bitcoin exchanges to shut, casting a chill over the cryptocurrency industry, traders say that the market is far from dead. While several exchanges have announced that they will close by the end of this month, traders have now moved to buy and sell bitcoin directly with each other on peer-to-peer marketplaces and messenger apps. Industry insiders say some overseas-based initial coin offerings (ICOs) are still being marketed. Although the crackdown has dissuaded large swathes of less-experienced investors from participating in the trade, market participants point to the limits Chinese regulators ultimately face in controlling the industry, where many users are anonymous and difficult to track. In the short-run, the crackdown has also created an arbitrage opportunity for investors, with the price of bitcoin in China now trading at a discount to overseas exchanges. “They can’t set rules to stop me from investing in what I want to invest in. They say you are protecting me, but as long as I think this is good, they have no way to intervene,” said a Chinese bitcoin investor named Victor, who declined to give his full name citing current sensitivities. “I can do over-the-counter trades or I’ll go offshore...My wallet is my wallet. I’ve never registered my identification card.” The Chinese government on Sept. 4 ordered ICOs to cease and soon after ordered some cryptocurrency exchanges to shut. Over 15 exchanges, including the three largest players OkCoin, Huobi and BTCChina, have since announced that they will close their mainland businesses by the end of September. While the clampdown caused the bitcoin price in China to tumble as much as 8 percent on the day of the announcement, it has since recovered to 24,101 yuan (£2,699.22) on Chinese exchange Huobi. On U.S. exchange Bitstamp, it BTC=BTSP currently trades at $4,205. FILE PHOTO: An attendant holds a bitcoin sign during the opening of Hong Kong''s first bitcoin retail store February 28, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo Trading has spiked generally on peer-to-peer marketplaces, according to data website Coindance. On OTC platform LocalBitcoins, China trading volumes more than doubled in the week starting Sept. 16 from the previous week to 74 million yuan. It hit an all-time-high in the week starting Sept. 23, reaching 115 million yuan in trades. Volumes on Paxful, another smaller marketplace, also jumped to 1.7 million in the week beginning Sept. 23, up from 351,102 in the previous week, Coindance data showed. FILE PHOTO: A bitcoin sign is held in Hong Kong February 28, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo Michael Foster, co-founder of localethereum.com, an over-the-counter marketplace for ethereum trading, said mainland China users accounted for a fifth of its 5,000 signups since it opened for registrations on Tuesday. “The fact that bitcoin is still being traded is an indication that China isn’t looking to eliminate them, but reposition things in a way to have better control over them,” said Marshall Swatt, the founder of New York-based Coinsetter, a bitcoin exchange acquired by larger peer San Francisco-based Kraken in 2016. Other Chinese cryptocurrency players said traders were also moving away from using Tencent’s WeChat app, to encrypted messenger app Telegram to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Some said they were still seeing overseas-based ICOs being marketed in China. The Sept. 4 shutdown of ICOs stipulated that Chinese citizens were not allowed to invest in ICOs. Overseas ICOs have been returning money on a voluntary basis. “The trend of digital currency transactions moving offshore is inevitable,” Zeng Danhua, the co-author of a bitcoin investment guide, told a television programme filmed by Chinese financial news outlet Yicai on Wednesday. “The regulators may have needed to shut the platforms to guard against financial risks, and there may be a bitcoin bubble, but its investment value persists.” Additional reporting by Andrew Galbraith, Alexandra Harney and the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-bitcoin/chinas-bitcoin-market-alive-and-well-as-traders-defy-crackdown-idUKKCN1C40R5'|'2017-09-29T10:25:00.000+03:00'
'91bdcb85bf096d25f02f1f98b6d1018f55d6994f'|'Bank of England governor gives fresh hint interest rates will rise - Business - The Guardian'|'Economic growth (GDP) UK GDP growth weakest since 2013 and slower than previously thought ONS revised data reveals rising consumer debt, shrinking services sector and worsening foreign trade as Bank of England hints at rate rise The Office for National Statistics says the UK’s services sector is showing signs of contracting. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images Economic growth (GDP) UK GDP growth weakest since 2013 and slower than previously thought ONS revised data reveals rising consumer debt, shrinking services sector and worsening foreign trade as Bank of England hints at rate rise   17.09 BST First published   11.52 BST The UK economy grew at a slower pace than previously thought in July, with fresh warning signals pointing to weaker growth as the Bank of England prepares to raise the cost of borrowing for the first time in a decade. Britain recorded its weakest annual growth rate since 2013 in the three months to the end of June, according to revised figures published on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) . The country’s services sector showed signs of contracting, while the UK’s trading position with the rest of the world also deteriorated. The figures come as new Bank of England data showed consumers continuing to borrow using personal loans, credit cards and car finance at a rate almost five times that of the growth in earnings. Consumer credit increased by 9.8% in the year to August and now stands at £203bn – a level unseen since the financial crisis. The ONS found that the amount being set aside as savings rose to 5.4% of disposable income in the three months to June – although this remains well below the near-10% average for the last 50 years. The figure for the three months to March was revised up to 3.8% from 1.7%. Debt charities are becoming increasingly alarmed, seeing more people turning to them for help. “Millions of people’s household finances are on a knife edge, with nearly 9 million people in the UK having had to rely on credit to cover essential household bills in the last year,” said Peter Tutton at the StepChange debt charity. Threadneedle Street could use a rate increase from 0.25% to 0.5% – signalled for as early as November – to prick the growth in debt levels. Mark Carney , the Bank’s governor, warned on Friday of a “pocket of consumer debt” he wants to target. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme , the governor said consumer lending is “getting a little frothy and should be addressed”. He also took a more upbeat view on the economy, with the unemployment rate at a 42-year low and robust retail sales figures among the factors swaying the Bank’s outlook. Carney said the Bank was ready to raise the cost of borrowing should the economy continue to show signs of strengthening. “All the indications are that it is – in the relatively near term you can expect that interest rates will increase,” he said. “We are talking about just easing a bit off the accelerator to keep with the speed limit of the economy. So interest rate increases when they come – when and if they come – will be to a limited extent and in a gradual way.” However, official data published soon after Carney spoke showed year-on-year GDP growth slowed to 1.5% in the second quarter from 1.8% in the first three months of the year, against an expectation among City economists that there would be no change. The quarterly growth rate for the three months to June stood unchanged at 0.3%. Graph Figures for the UK’s trading position, also published on Friday, showed the current account deficit – a measure of Britain’s trade and investment income with the rest of the world – unexpectedly widened by £900m in the three months to June, to £23.2bn. As a share of GDP, the deficit widened to 4.6% in the second quarter from 4.4% in the first three months of the year. While less than the 6.5% recorded just before the Brexit referendum, the figure is still much greater than the 60-year average of 1.3%. Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at the consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The risk of a hard Brexit still threatens to sap overseas’ investors enthusiasm for UK assets. Higher interest rates likely will boost sterling, exacerbating the current account deficit and increasing financial stability risks.” Meanwhile, July figures for the country’s services sector, which makes up about 80% of the economy, showed a 0.2% decline on the previous month. Darren Morgan of the ONS said: “There was a notable slowdown in growth in the first half of 2017. The often buoyant services sector was the only area to grow in the second quarter.” The figures will be disappointing for Philip Hammond, as the chancellor prepares to deliver his autumn budget in November. The data will limit his wriggle room and also come at a time when the risks to the economy increase as the UK prepares to leave the EU. Bank warned not to raise interest rates amid squeeze on households Read more Carney has repeatedly warned that the UK relies on the “kindness of strangers” through its current account deficit – referring to the need for foreign investors to buy UK sovereign debt in order to plug the deficit – at a time when the risks to trade and investment facing the country are increasing. Chris Williamson, the chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: “It would be unprecedented for the central bank to tighten policy with the data pointing to such anaemic economic growth. However, policymakers continue to fuel expectations that interest rates will rise soon in response to higher-than-expected inflation.” Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/29/bank-of-england-interest-rates-rise-mark-carney-ons-uk'|'2017-09-29T18:52:00.000+03:00'
'ddf3068753310257e50c7aee341be80f65c7196d'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures little changed after July GDP data'|'  Updated 6 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures little changed after July GDP data Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Updates after July GDP data) Sept 29 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada’s main stock index were little changed on Friday after data showed the economy paused in July following eight consecutive months of growth. Declines in oil extraction and the manufacturing sector hit Canada’s gross domestic product, which was unchanged in July and missed economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent increase. December futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.15 percent at 8:55 a.m. ET. Canada’s main stock index was little changed on Thursday, squeezing out only a modest gain, with a strong rally in BlackBerry Ltd and Bombardier Inc offsetting a slide in energy issues. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were down 0.13 percent at 8:55 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.07 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.11 percent. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) TOP STORIES Dave McKay, the CEO of Royal Bank of Canada, on Thursday pushed back on a suggestion by JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that bitcoin is a fraud, though he said the cryptocurrency needs monitoring. ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Blackberry Ltd: RBC raises target price to $10.50 from $9.50 Sandstorm Gold Ltd: Canaccord Genuity raises target price to C$10 FROM C$9.5 COMMODITIES AT 9:00 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1288.9; +0.26 percent US crude: $51.53; -0.06 percent Brent crude: $57.32; -0.16 percent LME 3-month copper: $6533; +0.17 percent U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON FRIDAY 0945 Chicago PMI for Sep: Expected 58.5; Prior 58.9 1000 U Mich Sentiment Final for Sep: Expected 95.3; Prior 95.3 1000 U Mich Conditions Final for Sep: Expected 113.7; Prior 113.9 1000 U Mich Expectations Final for Sep: Expected 83.2; Prior 83.4 1000 U Mich 1-year inflation Final for Sep: Prior 2.7 pct 1000 U Mich 5-year inflation final for Sep: Prior 2.6 pct FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-futures-little-changed-after-july-gdp-data-idUSL4N1MA4FX'|'2017-09-29T16:13:00.000+03:00'
'0d92178dd21dac22a7297440baf38f29ab824f66'|'Portfolio career in the arts? You''ll spend hours defending what you do - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Hi, my name is Caimh, and I have a portfolio career problem. There should be a support group for people like me. I am a comedian, novelist, stadium announcer and writer for TV. Experience has taught me, when asked what I do for a living, lying is definitely the best way to go. There are only so many times a taxi driver can ask “have I heard of you?” before you start telling them you work in IT. Even lying has its drawbacks – I had to swap barbers when my face appeared on a poster for a show in their window.My own mother is inherently distrustful of my collection of employments. In Irish Mammy logic, having four jobs means that none of them can be going very well. To be fair, my mother’s concerns are shared by every financial institution in Britain, and I myself have wondered if life might be easier if I still worked in IT. I got my first hint of the troubles ahead when, just after going full-time as a comedian, I ended up talking to a bank’s India-based call centre. Standup comedy is now becoming more popular there, but at the time, the lovely fella honestly had no idea what my job was. After 20 minutes of explanation, I think the closest we’d got was somewhere between preacher and village idiot. Bored with nine-to-five? Eight ways to build a portfolio career Read more Getting a mortgage was a nightmare – despite the fact we had a 60% deposit. You’re not misreading that – we had tremendous trouble getting a bank to be a minority shareholder in our home. I was asked to list all of the children’s TV shows I’ve written for, only to be told by the woman on the other end that she’d not heard of any of them. I asked to be transferred to an eight year old who would be able to verify my story. I feel sorry for the plumber who rang up next and was presumably asked if he’d unclogged any toilets she’d be familiar with. Eventually we did get a mortgage, based entirely on my partner’s job in marketing. Marketing is a proper thing that people who work for banks have heard of.Worse than the banks are insurance companies. Standup comics, actors and writers reportedly already have among the highest car insurance premiums of any occupations in Britain. You could ring up and say you were a ram-raider and get a more favourable response. We’ve all heard the stories of the waitress whose car insurance was found to be null and void because she had started serving behind the bar and had, therefore, misrepresented her job. So every year, I spend several hours explaining my portfolio career to bored call centre workers who could not care less. “Which job will you make the most money out of in the next year?” they ask. To which I reply merrily, “I have no idea, psychic readings are one of the few areas of the entertainment industry I’m not currently working in.”To be fair to the banks and insurance companies, I guess they’re guilty of the same problem that affects all big organisations – a fear of the unusual. I experienced the same thing with traditional publishing. Crime books sell well, but funny ones? Not so much, they said. Getting dismissed without anyone ever actually reading my manuscript got my back up, which is why I have added publishing company owner to my CV. I’m happy to report that readers are considerably more adventurous than traditional publishers, to the tune of 20,000 sales and counting. Even that process wasn’t without its problems. It took two months for me to verify who I was to my bank’s satisfaction. The fact that said financial institution currently holds my mortgage made this all the more frustrating. I’m pretty sure if I stopped making the payments they’d remember who I was very quickly. They say if you do a job you love, you never work a day in your life. Whoever “they” are has clearly never had to get car insurance or a mortgage while they were self-employed. In my experience, it’s nothing but hard work.Caimh McDonnell is a standup comedian and author of Angels in the Moonlight . Topics Guardian Small Business Network Entrepreneurs Comedy Insurance Careers Mortgages blogposts'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/sep/29/portfolio-career-comedy-caimh-mcdonnell'|'2017-09-29T12:00:00.000+03:00'
'196adb8aace72d18997b2edf056d86be6f637f5a'|'Children are showing the kind of entrepreneurial spirit we mustn’t ignore - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Guardian Small Business Network Children are showing the kind of entrepreneurial spirit we mustn’t ignore Nearly half of British kids are starting side businesses to boost their pocket money. Former Dragons’ Den investor Sarah Willingham makes the case for teaching enterprise at school Teachers often don’t have the time, support or knowledge to teach money management at school. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo Guardian Small Business Network Children are showing the kind of entrepreneurial spirit we mustn’t ignore Nearly half of British kids are starting side businesses to boost their pocket money. Former Dragons’ Den investor Sarah Willingham makes the case for teaching enterprise at school View more sharing options Entrepreneur and ex-Dragons'' Den investor Wednesday 27 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Wednesday 27 September 2017 10.50 BST A few months ago, the world heard about teenager Nathan John-Baptiste, who built a £50,000-a-year tuck shop empire from the boys’ toilets . Dubbed the Wolf of Walthamstow, the schoolboy had 11 employees working across three schools before his operation was shut down. It’s entrepreneurial spirit we don’t expect to see in children. But it’s not as rare as you might think. Why don''t universities better prepare students for self-employment? Read more I’m fronting a campaign by cloud accounting software company Xero that has found while children as young as seven receive an average of £570 a year from pocket money and gifts, nearly half of them go on to earn more from side businesses. From selling old toys on eBay to cleaning their neighbour’s cars, it’s a remarkable start for the third of British kids (32%) who say they would like to be a business owner themselves when they grow up. Sarah Willingham When child entrepreneurs came into the Den it was always a big moment. Last year 15-year-old Arminder Singh Dhillon came in with his mum to pitch Boot Buddy , his own invention that cleans muddy boots and shoes. He walked away with £60,000 from Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden and Touker Suleyman – the youngest ever entrepreneur to receive investment in the Den. But while kids are clearly savvy when it comes to earning money, it seems they aren’t so shrewd when it comes to saving their earnings. The Xero research found that half of parents (49%) admit their children understand the ideaof saving, but rarely do it. With poor cashflow management cited as the reason why two thirds of small businesses (65%) fail in the first five years of trading, and 27% of small business owners admitting (pdf) they don’t keep proper track of the time and materials spent on a client’s assignment, it’s more important than ever to instill budgeting and cashflow sense in our entrepreneurs of the future. Meet the teenagers taking the business world by storm Read more I think it’s vital to teach children an understanding of good money management as soon as they start handling it themselves. Every school should teach enterprise – it is so relevant to every aspect of life. Sadly, in UK, many teachers don’t have the time, support or knowledge to discuss money management with the kids. Something else always takes priority. But it is vital to teach these skills to our children. As this research shows, our relationship with money is set as early as seven years old. Starting a business has certainly become a more acceptable career choice than it used to be, but we need to teach our children how to realise this burning ambition. It’s good to get started young – when I was 11, I delivered 181 papers for £1.81 (1p per paper) and was earning £1 an hour in a local cafe at 13. While I quickly learned there were better ways to make money, that work ethic has never left me. I have no idea whether my children will choose to become entrepreneurs – they certainly talk about it – but my job is to equip them with as many tools as possible to make the right decisions when the time comes. Shouldn’t all of our children have that chance? Saah Willingham is an entrepreneur and ex-Dragon’s Den investor. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/sep/27/children-entrepreneurial-spirit-sarah-willingham'|'2017-09-27T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'26acfc2b118f7858668fef27a6ec0b22522fd274'|'UK new car output drops again as Brexit worries weigh - SMMT'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:12 PM / Updated 2 hours ago UK new car output drops again as Brexit worries weigh - SMMT Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Workers assemble cars at the plant for the Mini range of cars in Cowley, near Oxford, Britain June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Leon Neal/Pool LONDON (Reuters) - British car production fell again in August, reflecting the impact of uncertainties about Brexit on Europe’s second-largest car market, an industry body said on Thursday. Overall production fell in August by an annual 5.3 percent to 103,232 units, hit by weaker demand at home and abroad, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. In the first eight months of the year, output was down nearly 2 percent at 1.106 million units, mostly due to weaker sales in the British market. The drop-off follows two years of record demand. “The continuation of the longer-term downward trend in domestic demand is a concern for production across the UK,” SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said. “So it is vital for the future health of this sector that the current uncertainty around Brexit is removed and consumer and business confidence restored.” Britain’s car industry relies heavily on complex supply chains often involving other European Union countries and which could be affected by Brexit. In August, production for British customers fell by 4.4 percent as the domestic market shrank for the seventh month this year, while 5.6 percent fewer cars were made for export. The SMMT said in July its long-held target of increasing full-year production to just under 2 million units in 2020 was in doubt, in large part because of Brexit-related uncertainty. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by William Schomberg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-autos/uk-new-car-output-drops-again-as-brexit-worries-weigh-smmt-idUKKCN1C2398'|'2017-09-28T02:14:00.000+03:00'
'2bc94bfe8052303e366156d14449098d4b853837'|'MOVES-UBS names Bruce MacKenzie managing director in EMEA LCM'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - UBS Group AG said it appointed Bruce MacKenzie as managing director of its leveraged capital markets (LCM) operations in EMEA.MacKenzie will report to David Slade, global co-head of leveraged finance, and will focus on loans and high yield bonds.MacKenzie joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was European head of LCM, and before than was with Deutsche Bank for a decade. (Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas; Editing by Savio D‘Souza) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ubs-moves-brucemackenzie/moves-ubs-names-bruce-mackenzie-managing-director-in-emea-lcm-idINL4N1M84BV'|'2017-09-27T12:25:00.000+03:00'
'b84193615f70fa936d4535f4bae83d77aa3497ec'|'Fidelity chairman says no need for an IPO: Bloomberg TV interview'|'September 27, 2017 / 1:23 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Fidelity chairman says no need for IPO: Bloomberg Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO -- Abigail Johnson attends the Boston College Chief Executives'' Club of Boston luncheon in Boston, Massachusetts November 29, 2011. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments does not need to do an initial public offering to raise capital, Chairman Abigail Johnson said in a Bloomberg Television interview that aired on Wednesday. Johnson, the third generation of her family to run the Boston-based mutual fund group, said Fidelity does not need the capital that an initial public offering would bring. She made her remarks in a rare interview on Bloomberg’s “The David Rubenstein Show.” Johnson said investment bankers often pitched her father on the idea of taking Fidelity public. “We don’t need the capital is the first thing that he would say,” Johnson said. She added that staying private allows Fidelity to have more flexibility while not needing to explain quarterly results to a broad audience. “Returns matter a lot,” Johnson said. “It’s our capital.” But she said that having consistent quarterly returns is not as important when you’re running a company for long-term results. Johnson succeeded her father, Edward C. Johnson III, as chairman last year. Her grandfather started the company in the 1940s after he became bored working as an attorney and wanted to pursue his passion for investing money, she recounted. Fidelity manages about $2.5 trillion in assets and is best known for its stable of actively managed mutual funds that include the $100 billion-plus Contrafund ( FCNTX.O ). Over the past decade, Fidelity’s actively managed funds have been hemorrhaging assets as investors sought lower-cost, passively managed index and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Over the past year, Fidelity’s actively managed funds have suffered nearly $56 billion in net withdrawals, according to data from Morningstar Inc. But Fidelity’s passive investment products, including ETFs, have recorded $44 billion in net deposits over the past year as it expanded offerings that are as cheap or cheaper than rivals, according to Morningstar. Vanguard Group remains the dominant force in the U.S. fund industry, with about $4 trillion in assets under management. About $328 billion in net deposits flowed into Vanguard passive investment funds over the past year, according to Morningstar. Johnson, who has worked at Fidelity for nearly 30 years, said clients want low fees, good service and high returns. She said during the interview that one challenge in running a large, established company is getting employees to look beyond the horizon for the next new thing. “When everyone is running the machine and it’s all working, there’s a tendency to look at the short term and focus on incremental opportunities and not look ahead to the really big opportunities,” Johnson said. Reporting by Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Scott Malone and Jeffrey Benkoe '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fidelity-johnson/fidelity-chairman-says-no-need-for-an-ipo-bloomberg-tv-interview-idUSKCN1C21RC'|'2017-09-27T16:22:00.000+03:00'
'5966075f6d042f9f1e264fa08b2b1a177b41d7b3'|'US Senate confirms Delrahim to head Justice Department''s Antitrust Division'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm Makan Delrahim to head the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, which will decide the fate of deals like AT&T Inc’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Inc and the merger of Bayer AG and Monsanto Co .The Senate voted 73 to 21 to confirm Delrahim. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-congress-delrahim/us-senate-confirms-delrahim-to-head-justice-departments-antitrust-division-idINL2N1M82H5'|'2017-09-27T19:41:00.000+03:00'
'5fb68b3306f97116bb4886ad5aca725d64a76ad9'|'Bank of America will continue share buybacks, CEO says'|'September 27, 2017 / 2:03 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Bank of America will continue share buybacks, CEO says Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Bank of America Corporation attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) will continue to favor share buybacks over a dividend increase to avoid putting itself in a position where it may have to reduce the dividend in the future, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said at a conference in London on Wednesday. “Our stock’s a good buy and we’ll continue to buy it until the cows come home,” he said. While not explicitly stated in any rule, regulators have made it clear to banks that their dividend payout should not exceed 30 percent of earnings. Bank of America expects to return $14.2 billion to shareholders in 2017, with the majority of that coming via share buybacks, according to a presentation earlier this month by Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio. That compares to $6.6 billion in 2016. Bank of America shares were up 2.2 percent in early trading on Wednesday. Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bank-of-america-conference-ceo/bank-of-america-will-continue-share-buybacks-ceo-says-idINKCN1C21WY'|'2017-09-27T12:03:00.000+03:00'
'b04b231da04492d67c6f75a5464a08f27eaf4448'|'Special Report - Drowning in grain: How Big Ag sowed seeds of a profit-slashing glut'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:17 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Special Report - Drowning in grain: How Big Ag sowed seeds of a profit-slashing glut Rod Nickel 17 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Combines harvest wheat on the Stephen and Brian Vandervalk farm near Fort MacLeod,, Alberta, September 26, 2011. Wheat is the most important cereal in the world. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo CARMAN, Manitoba (Reuters) - On Canada’s fertile Prairies, dominated by the yellows and golds of canola and wheat, summers are too short to grow corn on a major scale. But Monsanto Co ( MON.N ) is working to develop what it hopes will be North America’s fastest-maturing corn, allowing farmers to grow more in Western Canada and other inhospitable climates, such as Ukraine. The seed and chemical giant projects that western Canadian corn plantings could multiply 20 times to 10 million acres by 2025 - adding some 1.1 billion bushels, or nearly 3 percent to current global production. The question, amid historically high supplies and low grain prices, is whether the world really needs more corn. A global grains glut is now in its fourth year, with supplies bloated by favourable weather, increasingly high-tech farm practices and tougher plant breeds. The bin-busting harvests of cheap corn, wheat and soybeans are undermining the business models of the world’s largest agriculture firms and the farmers who use their products and services. Some analysts say the firms have effectively innovated their way into a stubbornly oversupplied market. Never has the world produced so much more food than can be consumed in one season. World ending stocks of total grains - the leftover supplies before a new harvest - have climbed for four straight years and are poised to reach a record 638 million tonnes in 2016/17, according to USDA data. Farmers and agriculture firms could once count on periodic bouts of crop-destroying weather to tame gluts and drive up prices. But genetically modified crops that repel plant-chewing insects, withstand lethal chemicals and mature faster have made the trend toward oversupply more resistant to traditional boom-and-bust agrarian cycles, experts say. Another key factor: China - the world’s second-biggest corn grower - adopted stockpiling policies a decade ago when crop supplies ran thin, resulting in greater production than the world needs. “I think the norm is where we are now,” said Bryan Agbabian, director of agriculture equities at Allianz Global Investors. Allianz investors seem to agree: The value of two agriculture equity funds that Agbabian manages fell to $300 million (224.03 million pounds) this year from $800 million in 2011 as crop prices slid, he said. Abundant supplies have helped lower food prices across the world, but the benefit to consumers and impoverished nations is muted by several factors, including problems with corruption and distribution of food in developing regions, said Sylvain Charlebois, professor of food distribution and policy at Canada’s Dalhousie University. The bumper harvests may actually harm poor communities more than they benefit their residents in food savings because lower prices depress farm incomes in the same areas, said John Baffes, a senior economist at the World Bank. Even as farmers reap bountiful harvests, U.S. net farm incomes this year will total $63.4 billion - about half of their earnings in 2013, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast. Lower incomes mean farmers cannot spend as much on seed, fertiliser and machinery, extending their pain to firms across the agriculture sector. Potash Corp of Saskatchewan ( POT.TO ), the world’s biggest fertiliser company by capacity, closed its newest potash mine last year, eliminating more than 400 jobs, and has seen its U.S.-listed shares fall by nearly half since the beginning of 2015. The drop erased $14 billion in value, and left Potash seeking to merge with rival Agrium Inc ( AGU.TO ). With profits under pressure, seed and chemical companies are scrambling to consolidate. Monsanto’s annual profit in 2016 was its smallest in six years. It agreed last year to combine with Bayer AG ( BAYGn.DE ), which would create the world’s largest integrated pesticide and seed company if the deal closes next year. Grain handler Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) said this summer it would cut costs, and left the door open to selling itself after posting a 34 percent drop in quarterly earnings. Bunge CEO Soren Schroder sought to reassure investors in May by saying all that was needed to trim supplies was one bad stretch of weather in the U.S. Midwest. But the glut pervades many major farming regions, making it unlikely that drought or floods in one region could wipe out the mounting global surplus. Even with dry conditions in North America, Europe and Australia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that this year will bring the second-biggest global corn, wheat and soybean harvests ever. Bunge’s Schroder made his comment about bad weather less than three weeks before confirming an informal merger approach from commodities giant Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ). “When prices tanked, farmers were no longer willing to pay more” for seed and chemicals, said Jonas Oxgaard, analyst at investment management firm Bernstein. “The mergers are absolutely driven by oversupply because their growth is gone.” Monsanto spokeswoman Trish Jordan said the company believes demand growth still justifies corn expansion, and she disputed the notion that crop science advances are backfiring on agricultural technology firms. Monsanto rival DowDuPont Inc ( DWDP.N ) is making the same bet and currently sells the shortest-season field corn in North America, maturing in 70 days, spokesman Ali Aziz said. Success in the lab and the field, however, has contributed to oversupply and may continue to sustain it, said Oxgaard, the Bernstein analyst. “It’s somewhat the seed companies’ fault - they keep breeding better and better seeds every year,” he said. DARWIN, SEX AND CORN Charles Darwin helped plant the seeds of the grain glut. The biologist and evolution theorist showed in the late 1800s that cross-fertilization of plants - in which sex cells are fused between crop varieties of the same species - creates a more vigorous breed than those that are self-fertilized. His work and others’ influenced successive generations of crop scientists and led to the development of hybrid corn, said Stephen Moose, a professor specializing in crop genetics at University of Illinois. U.S. farmers started planting the first significant acres of hybrid corn in the 1930s, and by 1950 it made up nearly all the corn seeded in the United States. Yields exploded. Farmers who reaped 20.5 bushels of corn per acre in 1930 harvested an average of 38.2 bushels in 1950, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Further hybrid breeding breakthroughs generated corn with leaves that grow more erect, allowing farmers to sow it more densely without starving plants of sunlight. Yields first topped 100 bushels per acre in 1978. After conventional breeding breakthroughs became harder to find, corn gained new vigour through the 1990s with genetic modification. In 1996, U.S. regulators approved corn that was genetically engineered to produce bug-killing proteins, accomplished by inserting a bacterium hostile to the corn borer insect into the plant genome. Before the end of the 1990s, corn able to resist weed-killing chemical glufosinate or Monsanto’s glyphosate hit the market. Those modified varieties and others that followed proved pivotal in generating the abundant corn crops that have since become commonplace, Moose said. “In the seed industry, it stimulated a whole other round of investment,” Moose said. In the 20 years since GMO corn reached U.S. farms, yields jumped another 37 percent to a record 174.6 bushels per acre last year. Some experts believe the expansion of corn yields may soon hit a ceiling. The crop may be nearing the natural limit of its production potential, and crop yields will likely plateau in the next decade, based on how plants convert light to food and their ability to recover from heat, said Ken Cassman, agronomy professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Technology has also provided better defences against pests. Syngenta AG’s ( SYNN.S ) Viptera and Duracade traits, used to control worms and beetles, launched in 2010 and 2013. SmartStax corn seed, introduced by Monsanto and Dow in 2009, brought twin benefits of insect protection and herbicide tolerance, said Paul Bertels, vice-president of production and sustainability at U.S.-based National Corn Growers Association. FILE PHOTO: Wheat is dumped into a grain truck for transport on the Stephen and Brian Vandervalk farm near Fort MacLeod, Alberta, September 26, 2011. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo The breakthroughs in seed and pesticide technologies have not come without problems. Monsanto is now embroiled in a controversy over dicamba, a big-selling chemical designed to kill weeds that harm Monsanto’s genetically modified crops. Many U.S. farmers say dicamba has drifted from its intended fields, damaging plants that are not resistant to the chemical. Monsanto believes the main causes of drifting are errors by farmers and applicators in deploying the herbicide, company spokeswoman Charla Lord said. GROWING CORN IN ALASKA As it grew stronger, corn grew faster. Corn that required 120 days to mature in the U.S. Corn Belt during the 1960s now needs only 105 to 115 days. Farmers in northern North Dakota plant and harvest corn in 80 days, and have doubled the state’s production in five years. Fast corn is now stirring even the imaginations of researchers in the far north. University of Alaska Fairbanks horticulture professor Meriam Karlsson grew hundreds of corn plants in the Arctic state in 2015. The plants, germinated in a greenhouse before they were transplanted outside, grew from a short-season garden corn variety that matured in less than 60 days. Corn rose only four to five feet, allowing plants to spend maximum energy on growing ears, rather than leaves and stalks. Karlsson had expected few corn plants to survive in Fairbanks - less than 120 miles (190 kilometres) from the Arctic Circle. “It’s much more adaptable than I expected,“ she said. ”Amazing what breeding can do. It was kind of exciting that you could do it.” The lure of technology comes down to money for farmers. Even with Chicago corn futures down more than 50 percent from their 2012 record high, the high-yielding crop offers one of the strongest returns to Canadian farmers, generating profits per acre four times that of canola, based on average prices and costs, said National Bank analyst Greg Colman. As corn spreads across the Canadian Prairies, those robust yields are winning farmers over, said Dan Wright, Monsanto Canada’s lead for corn and soybeans. Slideshow (9 Images) “Once you harvest corn at 140 or 180 bushels, it’s something you want to do again,” he said. While corn compares nicely to some crops, it offers U.S. farmers marginal returns at current prices, Bernstein’s Oxgaard said. Switching to other crops is not easy in areas like the U.S. Midwest, where farmers traditionally swing between corn and soybeans, and have invested in costly equipment to grow them. GLUT TRACES ROOTS TO SHORTAGE The problems of plenty were on nobody’s mind less than a decade ago. In 2008, a dramatic food price run-up stirred riots from Haiti to Egypt. Four years later, the U.S. Midwest, the engine of the global corn and soybean growing machine, suffered its worst drought in decades, opening gaping cracks in the soil and withering crops. Chicago corn and soybean futures Cv1 Sv1 hit record highs as U.S. production fell to multi-year lows. But high prices proved the cure for high prices. Farmers in traditionally less productive corn-growing countries such as Russia, Argentina and Brazil expanded corn output to seize bigger profits. U.S. farming quickly rebounded, reaping record corn harvests in three of the next four years. New corn varieties have made global production more balanced than ever, with 12 countries producing at least 10 million tonnes of corn annually, up from 10 before the drought. Even if U.S. or Brazilian corn crops suffered major weather damage, the world would still have the expanding Black Sea corn region to tap, not to mention China’s enormous supplies, said Bertels, of the U.S. corn growers association. China’s stockpiling policies, enacted in 2007 when corn supplies were tight, also stimulated oversupply. Aiming for self-sufficiency in grains, Beijing bought virtually the entire domestic crop each year and paid farmers as much as 60 percent more than global prices. The programme stuffed Chinese warehouses with some 250 million tonnes of corn by the time Beijing scrapped it last year. China is now boosting incentives for farmers to switch to soybeans from corn. “The world’s corn is mainly in China,” said Li Qiang, chief consultant at Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd. He said it will take three to four years for stocks to reach a “normal” level of around 40-50 million tonnes. The Black Sea region, made up of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, has become a disruptive force with rapidly expanding exports. Moscow aims to drive grain production to 150 million tonnes by 2030 from 117 million in 2016 after increasing storage and export capacity in ports in the last couple of years. Glut conditions are expected to ease modestly this year, amid dry conditions in China and the United States, but supplies are still so large that prices remain weak. OVERSUPPLY OF EVERYTHING In northern North Dakota, an expanding frontier for corn and soybeans, Paul Thomas started dabbling in both crops about a decade ago on his farm near Minot, seeking higher returns than wheat. Both are now among his biggest crops, including short-season Monsanto corn varieties that have only been available for a couple of years. Profits may be tougher for Thomas to eke out this year due to dry weather and soft prices, but he shrugs off the struggle. “We’re very capable of producing a large amount of bushels given an economic incentive,” he said. “If we end up over-producing, then we shift to one that’s more in need. That’s just the way agriculture works.” Thomas acknowledged, however, that the traditional dynamic may be changing in this current glut. “I don’t know any single crop that isn’t in oversupply,” he said. Seeding equipment is becoming more precise, and increasingly cost-conscious farmers are applying fertiliser and chemicals more intelligently, said Al Mussell, head of research at Canadian think tank Agri-Food Economic Systems. Monsanto projects that corn will become by the mid-2020s one of the biggest crops produced in Canada, which is an agriculture-exporting powerhouse in canola, wheat, oats and pork. Soybeans are also spreading across Canada. Farmers seeded a record high 7.3 million acres in 2017, up 75 percent in five years. On Monsanto’s research farm in Carman, Manitoba, the next target is marketing a corn variety that matures in 70 days within the next two years. After that: an even quicker plant to snatch DowDuPont’s claim to North America’s fastest corn. It is ambitious but realistic, said Kelly Boddy, manager of Monsanto’s research farm. “Wind the clock back a few years,” he said, “and breeders wouldn’t have thought it possible.” Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Additional reporting by Polina Devitt in Moscow; Michael Hirtzer in Chicago and Dominique Patton and Jo Mason in Beijing; Editing by Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-grains-supply-special-report/special-report-drowning-in-grain-how-big-ag-sowed-seeds-of-a-profit-slashing-glut-idUKKCN1C21CW'|'2017-09-27T15:45:00.000+03:00'
'7f75b788238f24dc2f7cb9de5d524cc454872400'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - September 25'|'Sept 25 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a new ban on entry to the U.S. that applies a range of restrictions on nationals from eight countries, including new targets Chad, North Korea and Venezuela. on.wsj.com/2fpx1ay- Uber Technologies Inc is pushing to meet the London regulator which on Friday said it would refuse to reissue the ride-hailing company''s operating license there. on.wsj.com/2xpal19- Two investment funds are calling for new leadership at Tuesday Morning Corp, the latest in a series of activist campaigns targeting chief executives. on.wsj.com/2xpjsPq- Chancellor Angela Merkel''s conservative alliance won the German election, but a steep drop in its support and an anti-immigrant party''s surge signaled political turbulence ahead for Europe''s largest economy. on.wsj.com/2frWa4G- Donald Trump''s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has used a personal email account to correspond with colleagues in the White House, his attorney confirmed on Sunday. on.wsj.com/2fri6fY- Senate Republican leaders appeared to face a difficult path to reviving their repeal of the Affordable Care Act, after Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she could not envision voting for the bill. on.wsj.com/2wMeLzPCompiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj/press-digest-wall-street-journal-september-25-idUSL4N1M620N'|'2017-09-25T07:53:00.000+03:00'
'2cb6bfb85a8455c3ea6736954fc02f8013311880'|'Nets welcomes $5.3 billion takeover bid by Hellman & Friedman'|'  9:36 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Nets welcomes $5.3 billion takeover bid by Hellman & Friedman Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen 3 Min Read COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Payments firm Nets ( NETS.CO ) on Monday welcomed a 33.1 billion Danish crown (3.91 billion pounds) bid from U.S. firm Hellman & Friedman, marking what could be one of the largest European private equity takeovers in recent years. Nets said in July it had been approached by potential buyers as the industry sees a wave of deals, with consumers switching to card and mobile payments and regulatory changes promising to open up the fragmented market. The Danish firm was taken public in Copenhagen a year ago and was valued at 30 billion crowns, or 150 crowns per share, double what Advent International, Bain Capital and Danish pension fund ATP had paid for it two years earlier. Other recent takeover targets have included Worldpay ( WPG.L ) and Paysafe ( PAYS.L ). “We see an opportunity under private partnership to harness the expertise from the Nordic region – which is one of the most dynamic – and have the financial flexibility to examine consolidation,” Patrick Healy, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Hellman & Friedman, told Reuters. The price would imply a valuation for Nets of 13 times 2018 enterprise-value-to-EBITDA, in line with the sector average, UBS wrote in a research note. Hellman & Friedman’s offer of 165 crowns per share represents a 27 percent premium to Nets’ share price as of June 30, before Nets said it had been approached by potential buyers. Nets shares rose 6.4 percent on Monday. The biggest issuer of Denmark’s most widely used debit card said shareholders representing 46 percent of its share capital had agreed to accept the offer, including Advent and Bain who still hold 39.9 percent of the shares. “We believe the offer represents attractive value to Nets’ shareholders,” Nets chairman Inge Hansen said in a statement. “Hellman & Friedman approached us in June, following which we received a number of other expressions of interest and held discussions with selected parties,” she said. Reuters earlier reported that Hellman & Friedman along with Permira [PERM.UL] and Nordic Capital had all completed due diligence on Nets. Nets’ shares shed nearly 30 percent of their value over the six months following the listing in September last year, but jumped back close to the IPO price in early July when Nets said it had been approached by potential buyers. J.P. Morgan has advised Nets. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, additional reporting by Dashe Afanasieva in London, Thyagaraju Adinarayan and Pawel Goraj in Gdynia, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; editing by Louise Heavens and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nets-m-a-hellman-friedman/nets-welcomes-5-3-billion-takeover-bid-by-hellman-friedman-idUKKCN1C00ZV'|'2017-09-25T12:36:00.000+03:00'
'03b9afd95d34be6978ec2efbeda05fc094e74b8f'|'Imperial Brands says on track, working on Palmer & Harvey rescue'|'  6:36 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago Imperial Brands says on track, working on Palmer & Harvey rescue Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - View of a sign outside the Imperial Tobacco Seita cigarette plant in Carquefou, near Nantes, April 15, 2014. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British tobacco group Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) said on Thursday it would meet profit expectations for the year ended on Sept. 30 after its volumes outperformed the industry in the second half. The company, which makes West and Davidoff cigarettes, also said it was working with other stakeholders on a rescue deal for British wholesaler Palmer & Harvey. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imperial-brands-outlook/imperial-brands-says-on-track-working-on-palmer-harvey-rescue-idUKKCN1C30KW'|'2017-09-28T09:33:00.000+03:00'
'3f3179dea30b71c3483a461e7064334fd271a183'|'Lonza CFO sees in-house growth, not takeovers, to grow drug services'|'The logo of Lonza is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, December 15, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - A dearth of suitable targets may prompt acquisitive Swiss drug ingredients maker Lonza ( LONN.S ) to expand its new drug product services business on its own, not via takeovers, Chief Financial Officer Rodolfo Savitzky told Reuters.Last year, Lonza poached Roche’s ( ROG.S ) biologics supply head, Hanns-Christian Mahler, to lead the unit whose “one-stop” services for pharmaceuticals companies include drug formulation development, analysis and quality control.Savitzky acknowledged Mahler’s portfolio still lacks “fill-and-finish” activities, among the final steps in the drug manufacturing process for sophisticated biological medicines. While not ruling out takeovers, he said a lack of targets could mean Lonza builds the business in-house.“At the end of the day, we could still acquire companies... but they are not for sale,” Savitzky said in an interview on the sidelines of a Finanz und Wirtschaft M&A event on Thursday.“But this is an area where, because we have the supply chain, we can just integrate one step further.”Also, risks associated with fill-and-finish -- for instance, U.S. regulators in February flagged issues at a Pfizer ( PFE.N ) U.S. contract manufacturing site, delaying drugs for clients like Novartis ( NOVN.S ) -- make Lonza leery of buying problems.“You need to acquire somebody who is absolutely bullet proof,” he said.Lonza is fresh off an acquisition spree, having bought U.S.-based Capsugel for $5.5 billion and InterHealth Nutraceuticals for $300 million last year, deals that boosted its debt to 2.8 times operating profit.Savitzky, who joined Lonza from Novartis in 2015, is now taking a breather on large M&A and said he would rejoin the fray only after completing the Capsugel integration and trimming the debt ratio to pre-takeover levels.“Any additional big transaction will only happen once these two things are well under way -- we’re hoping 2019,” he said.Shares in Lonza, added to the benchmark Swiss Market Index .SSMI this year, rose 0.7 percent by 1330 GMT. They are up around 53 percent this year, near an all-time high of 258.30 francs.SHARP DIP On Wednesday, however, they dipped sharply, with investors taking profits amid concern that consensus estimates were high. Lonza gives its next performance update on Oct. 26.Asked about the drop, Savitzky said he was “confident” of achieving Lonza’s 2017 and mid-term targets.Those foresee high-single-digit sales growth this year, with revenue hitting 7.5 billion Swiss francs ($7.71 billion), a 30 percent core operating margin and a return on net operating assets of 35 percent by 2022.“I feel very confident about where we are going,” Savitzky said. “We confirm categorically that the outlook we have given for 2017 we will achieve, and we confirm categorically the mid-term guidance.”Editing by Michael Shields '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lonza-m-a/lonza-cfo-sees-in-house-growth-not-takeovers-to-grow-drug-services-idUSKCN1C320N'|'2017-09-28T16:56:00.000+03:00'
'f011085249af44ee5fc8e2bcc169c2eb6f1cd46f'|'Ryanair extends flight cancellations, cuts fleet plans, growth forecasts'|'Reuters TV United States September 27, 2017 / 12:54 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Grounded: Ryanair cancels flights of another 400,000 customers Padraic Halpin , Victoria Bryan 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair plane prepares to land at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo DUBLIN/BERLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair canceled the flights of another 400,000 customers and scrapped a bid for Alitalia on Wednesday, in a plan to keep its pilots on side and draw a line under its rostering fiasco. Just last week Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary had said no more flights would be canceled due to pilot rostering issues that caused the grounding of over 2,000 flights in September and October, hitting the airline’s share price and reputation. But on Wednesday the airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, said it would cancel flights for around 400,000 passengers in addition to 300,000 impacted by earlier travel cancellations. In a lengthy statement addressing customers, pilots and shareholders, Ryanair said the move would minimize flight delays and would mean an earlier threat to force pilots to reschedule holidays would not be carried out. In order to “eliminate all management distractions”, Ryanair also pulled out of the bidding for struggling Italian airline Alitalia, less than two weeks after O‘Leary said it was in the process of finalizing a binding offer. “It appears they have taken stock and decided to nip this in the bud,” independent aviation consultant John Strickland said. “It’s a thorough, comprehensive plan to make sure they get this battleship back on track and ensure it can continue to grow. By coming out with this detailed information, it shows Ryanair is not trying to push this under the carpet.” Shares in Ryanair jumped after it said the plan would eliminate “all risk” of further cancellations and that it would not alter its 1.4 billion to 1.45 billion euro profit forecast for the financial year ending March 31. Shares in Ryanair, which fell by over 4 percent last week, closed 3.4 percent higher. RARE GROWTH PLAN CUT Ryanair blamed the original cancellations on a backlog of staff leave and outlined a carrot-and-stick approach last week, offering some pilots pay increases and cash incentives to work extra days but also saying others may have to postpone leave. It said on Wednesday that the reduced schedule would mean it would not need pilots to give up one week of their annual leave from November and that the slower growth of the airline would create a large surplus of standby pilots. Some Ryanair pilots have in recent weeks been encouraging each other to band together to take advantage of increased demand for experienced pilots – especially among low-cost carriers - to force management to improve conditions. The decision to fly 25 fewer aircraft from November and 10 fewer from April 2018, will “provide stability to pilot rosters,” Ryanair said. The 34 routes affected during the winter season include some UK domestic routes between London and Scotland, plus its only domestic route in Germany between Berlin and Cologne, where a gap in the market will soon be left by the insolvency of German carrier Air Berlin. The airline cut its expected passenger volumes to 129 million from 131 million and to 138 million from 142 million in the following 12 months to March 2019. Average fares are also expected to be slightly lower over the next two months as it promotes seat sales, it added. O‘Leary, who has taken personal responsibility for the “cock-up”, apologized to those disrupted by the cancellations and said all customers have been emailed with the offer of an exchange or refund and an additional 40 euro voucher for each flight, to be used before March. Analysts welcomed Ryanair’s decision not to pursue its interest in Alitalia. Ryanair’s plans could have added around 90 Alitalia planes, including long-haul. “Ryanair’s decision not to pursue the Alitalia bid is a relief, as this was always likely to be a big distraction from its core focus,” said Jonathan Wober, analyst at CAPA-Centre for Aviation. “Ryanair will recover from this,” he said. Additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Belfast; Editing by Keith Weir and Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-hldgs-cancellations/ryanair-extends-flight-cancellations-cuts-fleet-plans-growth-forecasts-idUKKCN1C21NU'|'2017-09-27T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'1462b955a502939e02ff24cbed5b64b801d193db'|'U.S. slaps duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing subsidy complaint'|'MONTREAL/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jets after rival Boeing Co accused Canada of unfairly subsidizing the aircraft, a move likely to strain trade relations between the neighbors.The department said it imposed a steep 219.63 percent countervailing duty on Bombardier’s new commercial jets after it made a preliminary finding of subsidization. Boeing has complained the 110-to-130 seat aircraft were dumped below cost in the U.S. market last year while benefiting from unfair subsidies.An April 2016 order for 75 CSeries jets from Delta Air Lines stemmed from the same harmful sales practices European rival Airbus SE employed to win business in the 1990s, according to Boeing.The Commerce Department’s penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favor in a final decision expected in 2018.“We strongly disagree with the Commerce Department’s preliminary decision,” Bombardier said in a statement, calling the magnitude of the proposed U.S. duty “absurd.”Commerce’s announcement and accompanying fact sheet on the preliminary duty order did not provide any rationale or methodology for how it calculated the 220 percent duty.The CSeries starts at $79.5 million, according to list prices, but carriers usually receive discounts of about 50 percent.If imposed, the duties would more than triple the cost of a CSeries aircraft sold in the U.S. to about $61 million per plane, based on Boeing’s assertion that Delta received the planes for $19 million each. Bombardier has disputed the $19 million sales figure.There are not that many Commerce countervailing orders that are this high, but it is lower than the 256 percent final duties slapped on Chinese cold-rolled steel last year.The timing is awkward because Canada and the United States are in a three-way negotiation involving Mexico to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement..A source familiar with the Canadian government’s thinking said the Boeing trade dispute was “separate” from the NAFTA talks.“This in no way is part of our conversation” the source said. “People should not read too much into this piece today.”The spat between Boeing and Bombardier has snowballed into a bigger fight this month when British Prime Minister Theresa May asked President Donald Trump to intervene in the dispute to help protect jobs in Northern Ireland, where Bombardier is the largest manufacturing employer..The Bombardier factory is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne The United States has also faced opposition from a handful of American carriers and elected officials over potential U.S. job losses.Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland said Bombardier CSeries components are supplied by American companies that support almost 23,000 jobs in U.S. states, including Connecticut, Florida and New Jersey.“This is clearly aimed at eliminating Bombardier’s C Series aircraft from the U.S. market,” Freeland said. She added that Canada strongly disagrees with the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations.Boeing said in a statement that the dispute “has everything to do with maintaining a level playing field and ensuring that aerospace companies abide by trade agreements.”Bombardier’s was unwilling to swallow the extra cost for airlines if the United States slaps duties on its CSeries jet, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.“We are confident...no U.S. manufacturer is at risk because neither Boeing nor any other U.S. manufacturer makes any 100-110 seat aircraft that competes with the CS100,” Delta said in a statement.Duties could chill U.S. sales of the fuel-efficient CSeries, raising concerns over future orders and jobs in Canada and the United Kingdom.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had put his government’s planned purchase of Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets on hold because of the trade dispute, saying it could not “do business with a company that’s busy trying to sue us and put our aerospace workers out of business.”‘NOT A SLAM DUNK’Boeing has argued that the military sale to the Canadian government and its petition against Bombardier are not linked. But the U.S. jetmaker has said the CSeries would not exist without hundreds of millions of dollars in launch aid from the governments of Canada and Britain, or a $2.5 billion equity infusion from the province of Quebec and its largest pension fund in 2015.To win its case before the ITC, Boeing must prove it was harmed by Bombardier’s sales practices, despite not using one of its own jets to compete for the Delta order, Dan Pearson, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank in Washington, said before Tuesday’s announcement.“This (ITC case) cannot be a slam dunk,” said Pearson, a former ITC chairman. “I‘m having a hard time figuring out how Boeing was harmed by this.”Canada has pushed to settle the dispute. But one industry source said Boeing, which could gain some leverage with the Commerce Department’s initial decision in its favor, sees the possible CSeries dumping as a long-term threat to its civilian airliner business.Bombardier stock has fallen about 15 percent over the past month on uncertainty around the duties and a rail venture. On Tuesday, Bombardier missed out an opportunity to strike a rail deal with Siemens, when the German company decided to combine its rail operations with French group Alstom.Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Alwyn Scott in New York; Additional reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Tim Hepher in London; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Peter Cooney and Grant McCool '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier/u-s-slaps-duties-on-bombardier-jets-after-boeing-subsidy-complaint-idUSKCN1C138W'|'2017-09-27T01:57:00.000+03:00'
'f0ff5ee7392ec19ed742e55aa9b02690046a501c'|'Britain''s Petra gets Tanzania''s nod to resume diamond exports'|'September 27, 2017 / 4:07 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Britain''s Petra gets Tanzania''s nod to resume diamond exports Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A visitor holds a 17 carat diamond at a Petra Diamonds mine in Cullinan, outside Pretoria, January 22, 2009. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (Reuters) - London-listed Petra Diamonds Ltd ( PDL.L ) said on Wednesday it had received authorisation from the Tanzanian government to resume diamond exports and sales from the Williamson mine, lifting its shares from two-year lows. The company said the timing and process for the next diamond export to the company’s office in Antwerp and the sale would be finalised between the company and the government. The shares closed 12.2 percent higher at 64.80 pence, after the stock had fallen on Tuesday to its lowest since late 2015. Petra said no resolution had been reached over the 71,654.45 carat shipment from the Williamson mine that was blocked for export this month. New laws and a crackdown on mining firms in Tanzania has slowed fresh investment in what has long been seen as one of Africa’s brightest mining prospects as firms assess the government’s efforts to secure a bigger take from the sector. Tanzania passed three laws in July that, among other things, hike taxes on mineral exports, mandate a higher government stake in some mining operations and force the construction of local smelters to add more value to the country’s mining industry. The regulations aim to stamp out what President John Magufuli has called years of corrupt practices and tax evasion which he said has robbed the country of revenue from a sector accounting for about 4 percent of GDP. On Sept.7, the government confiscated a consignment of diamonds from a mine majority-owned by Petra after accusing the firm of under-declaring the value of the stones by about half. Petra had denied the charge. Tanzania’s push for a higher stake in projects has hurt London-listed mining companies, such as Acacia ( ACAA.L ) and Shanta Gold ( SHAN.L ). Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft and Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-petra-diamonds-tanzania/britains-petra-gets-tanzanias-nod-to-resume-diamond-exports-idUKKCN1C22AK'|'2017-09-27T19:05:00.000+03:00'
'9131f52fa7df6e6d0df4bb6454a6f70c25b2c275'|'Pimco Total Return Bond Fund, since Gross exit, outperforms most peers'|'  9:59 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Pimco Total Return Bond Fund, since Gross exit, outperforms most peers Jennifer Ablan 3 Min Read NEW YORK, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Three years after Bill Gross shocked the financial world by exiting Pacific Investment Management Co and ending his reign over Pimco Total Return Bond (PTTRX) fund, investors who stuck with the bond fund have come out ahead of those at most of its rivals. Alas, many did not wait around. Pimco Total Return, once the world’s largest bond fund, was taken over by Scott Mather, Mark Kiesel and Mihir Worah. Since then, it has returned an average 3.34 percent annually in the three years through Sept. 26, topping 88 percent of its Morningstar peer category. But the fund, which Gross had managed from 1987 until he resigned on Sept. 26, 2014 from the investment firm he co-founded, remains only about one-fourth as large as it was in April 2013, when assets under management peaked at $292.9 billion. There are signs the heavy outflows may have subsided. Investors in August added $348 million of new cash into the fund, not including reinvested dividends, bringing its assets under management to $74.7 billion as of Aug. 31. Assets dipped slightly to $74.5 billion as of Sept. 26. “Despite the fund having a strong record, retail and institutional investors can have long memories and are less likely to return quickly to a fund they sold due to departed fund manager,” said Todd Rosenbluth, director of fund research at New-York based CFRA. “While the asset bleeding has slowed, net new inflows have not materialized.” For its part, the Pimco Unconstrained Bond Fund (PFIUX) - taken over by Marc Seidner from Gross - has also posted solid returns. Its average annual returns in the three years through Sept. 26 were 3.11 percent, better than 68 percent of its Morningstar peer category. Even there, however, assets under management have shrunk to $3.6 billion as of Sept. 26 from $18.3 billion three years ago. Gross ran that fund for nine months, from December 2013 until his departure from Pimco. He now runs a similar fund for Janus Henderson Investors. “Pimco’s Total Return and Unconstrained Bond strategies have been able to generate attractive returns even during challenging periods in the bond market by diversifying their portfolios and cultivating the best ideas generated by Pimco’s more than 220 portfolio managers,” a Pimco spokeswoman told Reuters on Wednesday. Pimco, which had $1.61 trillion in assets under management overall as of June 30, is owned by German insurer Allianz SE . (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/funds-pimco/pimco-total-return-bond-fund-since-gross-exit-outperforms-most-peers-idUSL2N1M82IS'|'2017-09-28T05:59:00.000+03:00'
'6ec75ecbedbcb3ce474a972b267a8e255d9fe830'|'China says intellectual property rights crackdown not reaction to other countries'' probes'|'  2:58 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago China says intellectual property rights crackdown not reaction to other countries'' probes Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that its months-long crackdown on intellectual property rights violations was not a response to probes by other countries. Protection of intellectual property rights is important to China, ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing. Earlier this month, the ministry said China had launched a campaign targeting theft of business secrets and knock offs of well-known brands, and had taken steps to protect copyrighted material. Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-trade-ip/china-says-intellectual-property-rights-crackdown-not-reaction-to-other-countries-probes-idUKKCN1C308T'|'2017-09-28T05:58:00.000+03:00'
'ae2116cfa98d72e310121002d46ae5f235787682'|'Shell explores electric vehicle charging, energy management businesses'|' 31 AM / in 20 minutes Shell explores electric vehicle charging, energy management businesses Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Staff members work at the booth of Royal Dutch Shell at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) is working on developing new energy technologies like ‘smart’ electric vehicle charging and models to reduce customers’ energy use, the head of the oil company’s new energies division is set to say on Thursday. Shell intends to invest up to $1 billion (£747.2 million) a year through its New Energies division by the end of the decade as the oil company adjusts to an energy market that is moving towards more electrification, decentralised energy use and cleaner fuels. Investment bank Goldman Sachs has predicted that oil demand could peak as early as 2024 due to the roll out of electric vehicles, lower economic growth, plus rising fuel prices. Against this backdrop, Shell is starting to ramp up involvement in technologies that are changing the market. “The exciting challenge for New Energies is turning these possibilities into commercial successes,” Shell’s Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president of New Energies, will say in a speech in Amsterdam on Thursday. He will say the company was already starting to provide fast-charging for electric vehicles at its petrol stations and that it is also working on developing ‘smart charging’ to help even out demand on the electricity grid. “We are also co-developing models to help customers manage their energy use better,” he will say. Shell’s New Energies division is also involved in building offshore wind farms and in installing solar panels at its own sites. Reporting by Karolin Schaps. Editing by Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-newenergies/shell-explores-electric-vehicle-charging-energy-management-businesses-idUKKCN1C30RI'|'2017-09-28T10:30:00.000+03:00'
'04202aad139efab0015cb3d2ff9ffefaad5fd5a2'|'BIC shaves 2017 sales growth forecast on tough U.S. razor market'|'The BIC logo is seen at the BIC ballpoint pens factory in Montevrain, France, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (Reuters) - Ballpoint pens and razor maker BIC ( BICP.PA ) cut its 2017 sales forecast on Friday, blaming a worse than expected performance in the United States and weak Latin American markets.The shaver market in the U.S., where BIC competes with Wilkinson Sword-maker Edgewell Personal Care ( EPC.N ) and Gillette, has seen pricing pressure intensify as a result of direct-to-consumer online sales and aggressive loyalty programmes.The total United States wet shave market is down 9.1 percent in value on a year-to-date basis, according to market research firm IRI.BIC, which also makes lighters, said it now expected underlying net sales growth to be slightly below two percent this year, compared with a previous forecast of between three and four percent.“The U.S. shaver market...is undergoing tremendous competitive pressure and disruption all year,” Chief Operating Officer Gonzalve Bich said during a call.“Private label pressure, driven by Edgewell, continues in retail.”However, Bich said that BIC had not made any “major revisions” to its pricing in the United States.In the United States, the lighter market was affected by several major customers reducing inventories, the company said in a statement.Although BIC had predicted lower consumption in Brazil, the decline was larger than expected, which led retailers to cut inventories.The company reiterated its forecast for a decline of less than 100 basis points in the margin on its normalized income from operations.Reporting by Camille Raynaud and Alan Charlish; Editing by Mark Potter and Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bic-results/bic-shaves-2017-sales-growth-forecast-on-tough-u-s-razor-market-idUSKCN1C42RS'|'2017-09-30T02:49:00.000+03:00'
'89cd07dd052ba0035411ae496542239afe39cc2a'|'Austrian bank BAWAG PSK planning Vienna IPO'|'  7:17 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Austrian bank BAWAG PSK planning Vienna IPO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read VIENNA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Lender BAWAG PSK, majority owned by U.S. private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, plans an initial public offering in Vienna that could be Austria’s biggest in a decade. Sources told Reuters in June that the planned listing of a 20-30 percent stake could value Austria’s fourth-biggest lender at up to 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion). “BAWAG Group AG, the holding company of BAWAG PSK, plans an initial public offering and the listing of its shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange,” the bank said in a statement. It did not specify a size or a price range. $1 = 0.8506 euros Reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bawag-ipo/austrian-bank-bawag-psk-planning-vienna-ipo-idUSV9N1IZ00B'|'2017-09-27T10:16:00.000+03:00'
'e34625921614ac93e8ff7e773e1b17ba5146b212'|'Nippon Life in talks to buy minority stake in TCW: sources'|'September 27, 2017 / 5:33 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Nippon Life in talks for stake in U.S. fund manager TCW: sources Taiga Uranaka 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a branch of Japanese life insurer Nippon Life Insurance Company, also known as Nissay, in Tokyo July 23, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s biggest private-sector life insurer, Nippon Life Insurance Co, is in talks to buy a minority stake in U.S. investment company TCW Group, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Wednesday. The Nikkei business daily reported Nippon Life was in talks to take a 20 to 30 percent stake in TCW from Carlyle Group, which owns about 60 percent, adding it aimed to close the deal by year-end. The sources said the talks were in the early stages and specifics of the deal had yet to be determined, including how big a stake Nippon Life would buy. They declined to be identified because the talks were not public. Headquartered in Los Angeles, TCW provides products in fixed income, equities, emerging markets and alternative investments. It had $196.9 billion in assets under management as of the end of June. Nippon Life and rival Japanese insurers have been hit by diminishing returns from investment in Japanese government bonds and other securities amid the Bank of Japan’s massive stimulus measures, prompting them to seek riskier but higher-yield assets. In an interview earlier this year, Nippon Life President Yoshinobu Tsutsui said his company was looking for acquisition opportunities for overseas asset management companies and life insurers. Spokesmen for both Nippon Life and TCW declined to comment. Carlyle officials were not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nippon-life-ins-tcw/nippon-life-in-talks-to-buy-minority-stake-in-tcw-sources-idINKCN1C20E8'|'2017-09-27T03:33:00.000+03:00'
'3f4368ac8ed3ef1af86d48a8a2bead049a9d176f'|'Quebec, Britain threaten retaliation after Bombardier tariffs'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:43 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Bombardier overshadows NAFTA talks as Quebec, Britain threaten retaliation Allison Lampert , Amanda Ferguson 5 Min Read A model of Bombardier C Series aeroplane is seen in the Bombardier offices in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne MONTREAL/BELFAST (Reuters) - Stiff U.S. duties imposed on Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jet sparked retaliation threats from Britain and Canada’s Quebec province on Wednesday as the dispute, which may affect thousands of jobs, overshadowed North American trade talks. The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties of 220 percent on the jets, which could effectively shut Bombardier out of the U.S. market if upheld, after rival Boeing Co launched a trade challenge accusing Canada of unfairly subsidizing the aircraft. The topic loomed large at North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks in Ottawa where the countries acknowledged relations between Washington and Ottawa had become strained over the U.S. action. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said she raised the issue with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. He told reporters: “I‘m not saying it doesn’t have an effect on relationships - it does - but not on this negotiation.” The duties, which came on the same day Bombardier was left out of a rail tie-up, sent its shares and bond prices lower. The shares initially fell 14 percent before regaining ground to end down 7.5 percent at C$2.10. Many of its junk-rated bonds also fell, according to MarketAxess data. “This puts a cloud over the company with regard to the CSeries,” said Bryden Teich, portfolio manager at Avenue Investment Management. “As long as there’s this uncertainty, it will affect the share price.” The duties create “a level playing field in the aerospace market,” said another rival, Brazil’s Embraer, which welcomed the move. Bombardier is a major employer in Quebec, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals say they need to win extra seats in an election set for October 2019. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard called on Ottawa to ensure that “not a bolt, not a part, not a plane from Boeing” be allowed into Canada until the dispute had been resolved. “Boeing may have won a battle but, let me tell you, the war is far from over. And we will win,” Couillard told reporters, describing the duties as an attack. Boeing, in a statement, reiterated it was not attacking Canada and the issue was a commercial dispute with Bombardier. In Ottawa, Trudeau said the government was “disappointed and ... will continue to fight for good Canadian jobs.” He has previously said Canada will not go ahead with plans to buy 18 Boeing F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets unless the challenge is dropped. FILE PHOTO: A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo Canadian Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne described it as a deplorable decision and one which shows that Boeing is not a “trustworthy partner.” “Our message to the Americans is to tell them that this decision will also have an impact on American suppliers and jobs in the United States,” he added. BROADENING TRADE BATTLE The Boeing-Bombardier spat has snowballed into a bigger trade battle. Bombardier is a major employer in Northern Ireland, where a handful of legislators is keeping British Prime Minister Theresa May’s minority Conservative government in power. Britain told Boeing on Wednesday that it could lose out on British defense contracts because of the dispute. May said in a tweet that she was “bitterly disappointed” by the ruling. Boeing said it was committed to Britain. The duties on Bombardier mark the second U.S. trade action against Canadian companies since President Donald Trump took office. Earlier this year, the United States imposed preliminary anti-subsidy duties on Canadian softwood lumber. Boeing launched its challenge in April, alleging Bombardier had dumped airliners on the U.S. market when it struck a deal for 75 CSeries planes with Delta Air Lines Inc. Delta’s CEO on Wednesday said Boeing’s challenge was “absurd” and predicted the duties would not be made permanent when Commerce reaches a final decision next year. Bombardier, which considered bankruptcy in 2015 and is undertaking a five-year plan to improve performance and margins, is still grappling with nearly $9 billion in debt. The company also got snubbed by Siemens AG on Tuesday, which opted to merge with France’s Alstom instead. Bombardier may need to raise more equity to support a capital-intensive business, according to Lorne Steinberg, president of Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc in Montreal. Writing by David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny and Nichola Saminather in Toronto and Leah Schnurr in Ottawa; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Matthew Lewis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier/quebec-britain-threaten-retaliation-after-bombardier-tariffs-idUKKCN1C22PX'|'2017-09-27T21:43:00.000+03:00'
'd36ccd9a3d5c5b31d06a436c4eec6e1f9edce75c'|'Little-known U.S. trade commission faces test in Boeing-Bombardier case'|'  10:28 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Little-known U.S. trade commission faces test in Boeing-Bombardier case David Lawder 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A combination photo of a Boeing 737 MAX Before the opening of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France, June 16, 2017, and shareholders line up to view Bombardier''s CS300 aircraft following their annual general meeting in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/Christinne Muschi/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The best hope for shielding Canada’s Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) and its CSeries jetliner customers from massive trade duties imposed by the Trump administration is a little-known commission tucked away next to an expressway in Southwest Washington, DC. The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties of 220 percent on the jets, which could effectively shut Bombardier out of the U.S. market if upheld, after rival Boeing Co ( BA.N ) launched a trade challenge accusing Canada of unfairly subsidizing the aircraft. The U.S. International Trade Commission could effectively throw out the Commerce Department’s anti-subsidy duties against Bombardier if it finds that Boeing did not suffer the injuries it has alleged. The case is outside the parameters of disputes normally handled by the ITC and could test the bipartisan panel’s ability to withstand political pressure, U.S. trade experts say. The preliminary duties imposed by Commerce were far above the 79 percent sought by Boeing and more in line with duties against Chinese state-owned enterprises. The department has more leeway in determining duties against nonmarket economies such as China. “This should be seen in the context of an administration that really likes protectionism, so the higher, the better,” former ITC chairman Dan Pearson said of Commerce duty finding against Bombardier. “They decided to pile it on.” The ITC has rarely ever heard an aircraft case and not one of this magnitude. Normally, the commission deals with trade enforcement cases where a pattern of below-market pricing and injury has been well-established, such as through a flood of dumped imports and lost revenue or closed factories, such as in the steel sector. “It’s very far out of the norm. You’re deciding this case on the basis of zero imports,” said Georgetown University law professor Jennifer Hillman, a former ITC commissioner and World Trade Organization Appellate Body member. In the Boeing-Bombardier case, the aircraft in question have not been imported into the United States yet - only ordered by U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ). A key question the ITC will need to answer is whether the 108-133 seat CS100 competes directly with Boeing’s 737-700, which seats 126-149 passengers. Bombardier and Delta argue that Boeing did not offer the 737 for the Delta order. But the larger 130-160 seat CS300, for which Delta holds options, is closer to the capacity of Boeing’s 138-172 seat 737 MAX7 jetliner, according to literature from both companies. The ITC is normally seen as immune from political influence, with a total of six commissioners who are equally split between Democrats and Republicans. However, the panel currently has only four members, who are scrambling to cope with a bigger workload this year. The Commerce Department notes in its press releases that it has launched 48 percent more anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations under the Trump administration this year compared with last year. A PANEL OF SPECIALISTS All the commissioners are seasoned trade lawyers appointed by former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Chair Rhonda Schmidtlein, a Democrat, and two other commissioners have experience working at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, while Republican David Johanson was the international trade counsel with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. President Donald Trump has nominated Jason Kearns, a USTR veteran who is now trade counsel to Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, to the ITC for a term expiring in 2024, but no confirmation hearing has been scheduled yet. Kearns had been previously nominated by Obama late last year. Pearson, a trade consultant who recently left the libertarian Cato Institute, said the commissioners will hear arguments from Boeing that he believes will be “pushing the limits” of the ITC’s authority. Past aircraft trade dispute cases have been brought to the World Trade Organization, including years-long fights between Boeing and European rival Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) and Bombardier and Brazilian rival Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ). “This is outside the normal way of dealing with trade friction in the aircraft sector, where all of the major producers have gotten subsidies,” said Chad Bown, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “It kind of escalates the need for a grand bargain between companies and countries to limit international aircraft subsidies.” Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Matthew Lewis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-commission-analysis/little-known-u-s-trade-commission-faces-test-in-boeing-bombardier-case-idUKKCN1C236V'|'2017-09-28T01:28:00.000+03:00'
'69307d6e69818f589177ab8e8e2c19a016b32d3b'|'Rich would benefit most from Trump tax cut plan - policy group'|'  7:37 PM / Updated an hour ago Rich would benefit most from Trump tax cut plan - policy group David Morgan 5 Min Read U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on proposed changes to the U.S. tax code at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wealthiest Americans would benefit the most from President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts while many upper middle-income people would face higher taxes, independent experts said on Friday in the first detailed analysis of the plan. A U.S. Senate panel took Trump’s proposal, announced on Wednesday, a step forward by unveiling a budget plan for the coming fiscal year that acknowledges lost revenues from tax cuts, while Trump pressed ahead with selling the plan to the public. A report from the non-profit Washington-based Tax Policy Centre found that in 2018, about 12 percent of taxpayers would face a tax increase of roughly $1,800 on average. That includes more than a third of taxpayers making between about $150,000 and $300,000, mainly because most itemized deductions would be repealed including for state and local taxes, it said. Its analysis showed that the Republican tax proposal would fuel the growing federal deficit, providing $5.99 trillion in tax cuts while reducing federal revenues by a net $2.4 trillion in the next 10 years. Trump, who promised major tax cuts as a candidate, has called his proposal “a miracle for the middle class,”but the report concluded it would provide middle-income taxpayers uneven tax relief. In 2018, all income groups would see their average taxes fall, but some taxpayers in each group would face tax increases, it found. Taxpayers in the top 1 percent of incomes - above $730,000 - would receive about 50 percent of the total tax benefit from the tax overhaul, with their after-tax income forecast to increase an average of 8.5 percent, the group said. “The biggest share of people with increased taxes will be ... people who might be considered upper-middle-income people, high-income professionals, people whose income is between $150,000 and $300,000 in a year in 2017,” Tax Policy Centre co-director Eric Toder said. The bottom 95 percent of taxpayers could expect a tax cut of 0.5 to 1.2 percent, according to the analysis. The proposed tax cuts for corporations and small businesses would reduce federal revenue by $2.6 trillion over a decade and largely would benefit high-income taxpayers, it said. Trump, a real estate mogul-turned-politician, had pledged that the tax plan would not benefit the rich, himself included. U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on proposed changes to the U.S. tax code at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst BUDGET RESOLUTION The budget resolution released by the Senate Budget Committee, which would pave the way for Republicans to avoid potential Democratic procedural moves to block it, builds in $1.5 trillion in reduced revenue from tax cuts over the next decade. The White House and Republicans in Congress aim to have the tax proposal passed by the end of the year. Republicans control the White House, the Senate and both chambers of Congress. The resolution is vital to plans by the Republicans to move tax legislation through the Senate, which they control by a slim 52-48 majority, using a parliamentary process that lets them pass legislation without a customary 60-vote threshold that would necessitate some Democratic support. The proposal calls for slashing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, the small business rate to 25 percent from 39.6 percent and the top individual rate to 35 percent from 39.6 percent. Democrats call the tax plan a giveaway to the rich and corporations that would balloon the federal deficit. “The Senate Republican budget is the clearest sign yet that Republicans are intent on pursuing a tax plan that would blow a huge hole in the deficit and stack up debt, leading to cuts in programs that middle-class Americans rely on,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Trump talked up the tax proposal during a speech on Friday to the National Association of Manufacturers business lobbying group in Washington, calling it “a giant, beautiful, massive -- the biggest ever in our country -- tax cut.” “The biggest winners will be everyday working families, as jobs start pouring into our country,” Trump said. The U.S. national debt stands at about $20 trillion and the proposal provided few details on how to offset the federal revenues that would be lost with the tax cuts. Trump has failed to secure passage of any major legislation since taking office in January, with a healthcare overhaul collapsing in the Senate, money to build his promised wall along the border with Mexico failing to materialise and infrastructure spending legislation never getting off the ground. Reporting by David Morgan; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Makini Brice; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Alistair Bell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-tax/rich-would-benefit-most-from-trump-tax-cut-plan-policy-group-idUKKCN1C42TU'|'2017-09-29T22:36:00.000+03:00'
'5ba0518896482b1ba7a6e93354452d5c85ff345c'|'Carillion shares soar after report Middle East buyer eyeing company'|'September 27, 2017 / 7:17 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Britain''s Carillion lifted by Middle East bid report Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Carillion sign is seen in Manchester, Britain July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo (Reuters) - Takeover speculation drove Carillion ( CLLN.L ) shares almost 20 percent higher on Wednesday after a London newspaper reported that a Middle Eastern firm was preparing a bid for the struggling construction and support services company. A spokeswoman said Carillion did not comment on "market speculation" in response to a City A.M. report on Tuesday which said a Middle Eastern construction group planned to submit a letter of intent for a takeover. ( bit.ly/2fraUwK ) Carillion, whose market capitalization has dropped to 200 million pounds ($268 million) from a peak of 1.67 billion pounds a decade ago, is set to report first-half results on Friday. City A.M. reported that the potential buyer would wait to analyze Carillion’s results and the state of its finances before tabling any bid. Shares in Carillion have fallen nearly 75 percent since mid-July when it booked an 845 million pound writedown on construction contracts and announced the departure of its chief executive. Carillion’s troubles have been compounded by its debt and pension obligations, as well as problems collecting cash. The company said in July its first half average net debt was 695 million pounds, while its pension deficit net of tax was 587 million pounds. Carillion is selling non-core businesses and has suspended its dividend to try to reduce its debt burden. Winning new contracts had become harder as spending in the Middle East adjusted to lower oil prices, and the firm had also experienced some delays in British public spending decisions since Britain voted to leave the European Union. Carillion has said it will focus on rail and property services as it seeks to turn itself around. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-carillion-m-a/carillion-shares-soar-after-report-middle-east-buyer-eyeing-company-idUKKCN1C20L1'|'2017-09-27T10:13:00.000+03:00'
'21e0cb60a30705e21c3aa7d72c4f7ff2934c5473'|'Amazon announces new Echo devices, voice aide Alexa coming to BMW'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:37 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Amazon announces new Echo devices, voice aide Alexa coming to BMW Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Amazon.com''s logo is seen at Amazon Japan''s office building in Tokyo, Japan, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo SEATTLE (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday announced a new version of its voice-controlled Echo device and a second device tailored for phone calls, the Echo Connect. The world’s largest online retailer said the Echo Connect would launch later this year in the United States. Amazon also said that its voice aide Alexa, which powers the Echo devices and competes with Apple Inc’s Siri, would be available in some BMW cars starting in the middle of next year. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Seattle; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-alexa/amazon-announces-new-echo-devices-voice-aide-alexa-coming-to-bmw-idUKKCN1C22P7'|'2017-09-27T21:11:00.000+03:00'
'7e72e9f1c027bbede42b8699230904ebe0604c9d'|'Israel''s Elbit Systems wins $300 mln deal in Asia-Pacific'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:07 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Israel''s Elbit Systems wins $300 mln deal in Asia-Pacific Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TEL AVIV, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Israeli defence electronics firm Elbit Systems Ltd said on Wednesday it won a contract worth about $300 million for the supply of command and control systems to a customer in Asia-Pacific. The project will be carried out over the next three years, Elbit said in a statement. It did not name the customer. (Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/elbit-systems-contract/israels-elbit-systems-wins-300-mln-deal-in-asia-pacific-idUSL8N1M80PX'|'2017-09-27T09:05:00.000+03:00'
'648b2f059439a31179b6bc131235beecc3499061'|'Former Tesco executives pressured staff ''to cook books'', court told'|'FILE PHOTO: The head office of Tesco is seen in Cheshunt, in southern England January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Three former executives of Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco abused their positions of trust to encourage the manipulation of profit figures, lied to auditors and misled the stock market, prosecutors told a London court on Friday. The senior executives were “cooking the books” to support Tesco’s share price and secure huge compensation packages, and “bullied and coerced” subordinates into compliance, lead prosecutor Sasha Wass told London’s Southwark Crown Court. Christopher Bush, 51, who was managing director of Tesco UK; Carl Rogberg, 50, who was UK finance director; and John Scouler, 49, who was UK food commercial director, all deny charges of fraud and false accounting.The charges follow Tesco’s announcement in 2014 that its profit forecast had been overstated - a statement that saw its shares tumble and plunged the company into the worst crisis in its near 100-year history. The company suspended eight senior members of staff, including Bush, Rogberg and Scouler.Wass told the jury the case centred on two statements made by Tesco to the stock market in 2014.In the first, the firm published a trading update on Aug. 29 in which it downgraded its financial guidance.In the second, on Sept. 22, Tesco said it had found a 250 million pound ($335 million) over-statement of its expected profit, mainly due to booking commercial deals with suppliers too early.Wass said the three defendants encouraged the manipulation of profit figures and “pressured others working under their control to conduct themselves in such a way that the stock market was ultimately misled”.“The three defendants on trial are not the foot soldiers,” she told the jury. “The defendants in this case are the generals in a position of trust and had huge compensation packages to safeguard the financial health of Tesco.”Tesco’s auditors PwC were “misled and lied to,” Wass added.She told the jury a key witness at the trial would be Amit Soni, who worked in Tesco’s finance department and reported to Rogberg. Soni exposed the size of the hole in Tesco’s accounts, prompting an emergency review by new group Chief Executive Dave Lewis and the second statement to the stock exchange, Wass said.The estimated profit over-statement, identified three weeks after Lewis took over as CEO from Phil Clarke, was later raised to 263 million pounds. Clarke had been fired due to the company’s poor performance.No charges have been brought against Clarke.The trial is expected to last until Christmas.($1 = 0.7469 pounds)Reporting by James Davey; Writing by Paul Sandle; Editing by Keith Weir and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-tesco-fraud/former-tesco-executives-pressured-staff-to-cook-books-court-told-idINKCN1C42PE'|'2017-09-29T21:12:00.000+03:00'
'69582040903ddccde7fa5f6e3d6104837cb830bf'|'China''s Great Wall secures lithium supply with Pilbara deal'|'SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China automaker Great Wall Motor Co Ltd ( 601633.SS )( 2333.HK ) will take a 3.5 percent stake in Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals Ltd ( PLS.AX ), the firm said late on Thursday, helping shore up supply of a key mineral for electric vehicles.China on Thursday said carmakers would need to hit a quota for new energy vehicles by 2019, part of a major push by the world’s biggest auto market to phase out petrol cars and shift toward pure electric and plug-in hybrids.Great Wall said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange it would take the equity interest in Pilbara for around A$28 million ($22 million) via a wholly-owned subsidiary Billion Sunny Development Ltd.Pilbara owns the Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum project south of Port Hedland in Western Australia, which is expected to begin production in the first half of 2018.The deal would help Great Wall secure supplies of a mineral key for developing electric vehicles. China, keen to combat pollution and close a competitive gap with global rivals, wants to set aggressive goals for electric and plug-in hybrid cars to make up at least a fifth of Chinese auto sales by 2025.Great Wall has also agreed an off-take deal with Pilbara for 75,000 tonnes a year of spodumene concentrate - a source of lithium - for the second stage of Pilgangoora’s development, set to begin in 2020, the firms said.Great Wall also has the option to secure a further 75,000 tonnes a year of the mineral if it provides Pilbara with $50 million of debt financing for the project’s expansion.“(The deal) highlights the strategic importance for the global automotive sector of securing access to large scale, consistent, high quality sources of battery raw materials in low-risk jurisdictions,” Pilbara chief executive Ken Brinsden said in a statement.Great Wall’s shares were suspended from trading on Friday. Pilbara’s shares jumped 16 percent to their highest level in over a year.Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-great-wall-motor-pilbara/chinas-great-wall-secures-lithium-supply-with-pilbara-deal-idINKCN1C40JY'|'2017-09-29T04:24:00.000+03:00'
'23cc66d60880a50513a9c6a400758670263e096d'|'EU farm protectionism threatens deal with South American bloc'|'  1:01 AM / in 5 minutes EU farm protectionism threatens deal with South American bloc Anthony Boadle 3 Min Read BRASILIA (Reuters) - European Union nations led by France and Ireland have proposed postponing a farm trade offer to South America’s Mercosur bloc until rules are agreed to avoid unfair competition, diplomats said on Thursday, creating a potential obstacle to a deal. In a letter to the European Commission, the countries said they were particularly vulnerable to imports of beef, ethanol, sugar and poultry from Mercosur and said an EU offer of import quotas would be “untimely” until a “level playing field” could be agreed. The EU farm offer was due to be delivered next week during negotiations in Brasilia. Resolution of the differences over agriculture is crucial if the two sides are to reach a political framework accord by the end of the year, which is Mercosur’s goal. The letter seen by Reuters seeking a postponement was signed by Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. A counter letter pressing for the EU to make a farm offer next week was signed on Thursday by Germany, Italy, Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Spain Portugal and the Czech Republic, a European diplomat in Brasilia said. “The last stretch of the negotiations will be difficult,” the diplomat said on condition he not be named. Another European diplomat said negotiations, that have dragged on for 18 years, are at a crucial stage. “If the deal doesn’t get done now, based on where Argentina and Brazil and Europe are politically, it may never get done,” the diplomat said. Previous rounds of talks have left out discussion of beef, sugar and ethanol imports from Mercosur, but Brazil and Argentina would not sign any deal if they are left out now. Argentina’s government warned that there would be no deal this year if the EU farm offer was not forthcoming. “We expect the European Union to takes its farm offer to Brasilia next week, so we can start the final stage of negotiations,” Horacio Reyser, secretary of international economic relations at the foreign ministry, told reporters. “Clearly, if the agricultural negotiation is excluded there will be no deal at the end of the year,” he said. Mercosur groups Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The stop-start-stop negotiations with the EU began in 1999 but have faced resistances on either side, to open up to South American farm products and to European manufactured goods. Both sides said earlier this year the chances of completing a deal had increased with the arrival of a protectionist U.S. president in the White House. Reporting by Anthony Boadle in Brasilia and Caroline Stauffer and Maximiliano Rizzi in Buenos Aires; Editing by Andrew Hay'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-trade-mercosur-eu/eu-farm-protectionism-threatens-deal-with-south-american-bloc-idUKKCN1C4048'|'2017-09-29T04:01:00.000+03:00'
'25a457bd2fff49b90a8f54da566ee829c1ad9898'|'Nomura, RBS lose bid to overturn $839 million mortgage bond award'|'  7:59 PM / in 40 minutes Nomura, RBS lose bid to overturn $839 million mortgage bond award Brendan Pierson 3 Min Read The logo of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) bank is seen reflected in the windows of a branch of the bank in the City of London financial district in London September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nomura Holdings Inc ( 8604.T ) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc ( RBS.L ) lost a U.S. court appeal on Thursday to overturn an order requiring them to pay $839 million for making false statements while selling mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae ( FNMA.PK ) and Freddie Mac( FMCC.PK ). The two banks had challenged the 2015 award on multiple grounds, including that the loss of the securities’ value was largely caused not by any false statements, but by the broader financial crisis in 2008. A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York, however, rejected that and other arguments. “Defendants may not hide behind a market downturn that is in part their own making simply because their conduct was a relatively small part of the problem,” Circuit Judge Richard Wesley wrote on behalf of the panel. Representatives of Nomura and RBS declined to comment. RBS, which underwrote but did not sponsor securities at issue in the case, said in an August filing with U.S. securities regulators that it would seek to have Nomura indemnify it for its losses. The award stems from a 2011 lawsuit brought against Nomura and RBS by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2011. The FHFA has acted as conservator of mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since their 2008 takeover by the federal government after the collapse of the U.S. housing market. A Nomura logo is pictured at their office in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri The lawsuit was one of 18 brought by the FHFA that year over some $200 billion (148.77 billion pounds) in mortgage-backed securities that banks sold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. All the other lawsuits have been settled. The FHFA has recovered more than $23 billion from the settlements, including $5.5 billion from RBS in a different lawsuit, $5.83 billion from Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) and $4 billion from JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ). Following a non-jury trial, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in 2015 ruled against Nomura, which sponsored $2 billion of securities sold to Fannie and Freddie, and RBS, which underwrote four of the deals. She ruled that the offering documents for the securities did not correctly describe the underlying mortgages and ordered the banks to pay $806 million. The banks later agreed to pay another $33 million for costs and attorneys’ fees, subject to the outcome of their appeal. The case is Federal Housing Finance Agency v. Nomura Holding America Inc et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-1872. (This version of the story has been refiled to add judge’s first name in fourth paragraph) Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nomura-lawsuit/nomura-rbs-lose-bid-to-overturn-839-million-mortgage-bond-award-idUKKCN1C330H'|'2017-09-28T23:18:00.000+03:00'
'ba829479ed337bfedc125c96fb92003c51d75ce7'|'Fortum to launch $9.5 billion bid for German utility Uniper'|'  6:48 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago Fortum to launch $9.5 billion bid for German utility Uniper Christoph Steitz , Jussi Rosendahl 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Fortum, the largest electricity distribution operator in the Nordic region, is seen in Espoo, Finland December 12, 2013. Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto via REUTERS/File Photo via REUTERS FRANKFURT/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish power utility Fortum will launch an 8.05 billion-euro ($9.5 billion) takeover bid for Uniper, the power stations operator and energy trading business partly-owned by German utility E.ON, it said on Tuesday. It will offer 22 euros per share in cash, the primary aim being to acquire for 3.76 billion euros E.ON’s remaining 46.65 percent stake in Uniper, which was demerged from E.ON last year. Uniper, with total sales of around 67 billion euros in 2016, operates roughly 40 gigawatts of power plants in Europe and Russia. It has hydroelectric, coal- and gas-fired plants as well as stakes in gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and nuclear plants across Europe, plus energy trading operations. “This investment will strengthen the position of both companies to advance Europe’s energy transition. I believe that all stakeholders will benefit,” Fortum Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark told Reuters by phone. But sources close to the matter have said that Fortum is mainly interested in Uniper’s hydropower plants and interests in Swedish nuclear power stations and has already been working with a partner that might take on Uniper’s coal-fired plants. Following media reports on the proposed deal, Fortum and E.ON confirmed last week that they were in advanced talks over Uniper. E.ON cannot sell its own stake before 2018, as this would trigger a hefty tax payment, and therefore it has the right to tender its own Uniper stake for the same price early next year. If it opts not to, Fortum can sell to E.ON any Uniper shares by then already acquired and, on top, would get compensation from E.ON that amounts to at least 20 percent of the equity value of its Uniper stake, or 752 million euros. Under German takeover rules, Fortum has to make a bid for the whole of Uniper as E.ON’s stake is above a critical 30 percent hurdle. The offer is unconditional on a minimum acceptance level. DIALOGUE Although Fortum tried to acquire the whole group already in July, Lundmark vowed that the company was not planning a takeover, or restructuring, this time. “This deal has been signed with E.ON, and it automatically leads to the tender offer. We are totally satisfied with the E.ON stake, we are not targeting a control or a merger.” “Financially, the investment alone is very justified...This is significant, when thinking of our own ability to pay dividends.” Uniper chief executive Klaus Schaefer told Reuters on Monday he viewed Fortum’s approach as hostile, saw no strategic fit and voiced doubts about how Fortum would fund a deal. Lundmark regretted that he didn’t have time to discuss with Uniper before media reports on the deal forced Fortum and E.ON to go public with it last week. “I understand him (Schaefer) very well... But since we apparently are becoming a major shareholder in the company, I hope we can start a good dialogue.” “We are not hostile at all. We intend to be a long-term investor and we take our responsibility very seriously,” Lundmark said, adding that Fortum had no intention to push for forced redundancies at Uniper, or to change its corporate seat from Dusseldorf. Uniper published a press release after the news, saying its management board would analyse and assess the offer. Fortum said its bid of 22 euros a share offered a 36 percent premium to the price that prevailed before speculation on a potential transaction surfaced in May. Earlier on Tuesday, Uniper shares closed 1.2 percent higher at 23.33 euros. State-controlled Fortum is focused on carbon-free power generation, mainly in the Nordic region and Russia, and has been looking for a deal since selling its power distribution grids for 9.3 billion euros in 2014 and 2015. ($1 = 0.8477 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uniper-m-a-fortum-oyj-bid/fortum-to-launch-9-5-billion-bid-for-german-utility-uniper-idINKCN1C20IQ'|'2017-09-27T09:48:00.000+03:00'
'8b7c9290bf55ea5ebd8e8fdab115cd59ce8ce91e'|'UPDATE 1-Financier Lynn Tilton defeats U.S. SEC fraud charges'|'(Adds comment from Lynn Tilton, background)By Nate RaymondSept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suffered a defeat on Wednesday, as a judge said it failed to prove private equity fund manager Lynn Tilton defrauded investors by hiding the poor performance of assets underlying three debt funds.SEC Administrative Law Judge Carol Fox Foelak dismissed the charges against Tilton, the founder of New York-based Patriarch Partners who is known as the Diva of Distressed for taking over troubled companies.The SEC’s enforcement division in 2015 accused Tilton of defrauding investors in the three so-called Zohar collateralized loan obligation funds, which raised $2.5 billion to make loans to distressed companies.At trial, the SEC alleged Tilton misled investors by directing the valuations of assets underlying the Zohar funds remain unchanged despite their poor performance in order to avoid the loss of $200 million in management fees.But Foelak ruled that while Tilton and Patriach did not make it easy for her sophisticated investors to find information, “they also did not conceal - omit to state - material information.”The ruling marked a major setback for the SEC’s enforcement division, which had sought to force Tilton and Patriarch Partners to pay at least $200 million and be barred from the securities industry.“I am heartened to finally be able to put to rest the rumors and innuendo that have cast a dark shadow on me and my business for so long,” Tilton said in a statement.An SEC spokeswoman declined to comment.Known for her flashy outfits, Tilton has portrayed herself as a hard-charging female executive in a male-dominated field. In 2000, she founded Patriarch, which counts among its portfolio companies MD Helicopters.Wednesday’s ruling came after a trial that ended in November. The trial took place after Tilton unsuccessfully sued to block what she called an unconstitutional proceeding before an SEC in-house judge.Her case was one of several where defendants objected to the SEC’s use of administrative proceedings, which became more common after the 2010 Dodd-Frank law gave the agency the power to bring more cases in-house.Randy Mastro, a lawyer for Tilton, in an interview said the ruling vindicated his client.“We have said all along that Lynn Tilton was innocent of these charges, that she was falsely accused and that we would prove it at trial,” he said. “Now we’ve done just that.” (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Clive McKeef and Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sec-tilton/update-1-financier-lynn-tilton-defeats-u-s-sec-fraud-charges-idINL2N1M82FG'|'2017-09-27T19:31:00.000+03:00'
'515235afd7ddc71596bfb9f529df7b762ddb54bf'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 27'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesThe finance director of Northgate Plc has been sacked after he was convicted of assault. Northgate said in a statement that Paddy Gallagher, 54, had been "summarily dismissed due to his conviction for the summary offence of common assault." bit.ly/2wV0r3jThe ousted boss of Airbus UK has landed at British aerospace company Cobham Plc. Paul Kahn was forced out of the Franco-German planemaker in the summer after less than three years in the job in a barely disguised falling out over Brexit and the future of Airbus''s substantial interests in the United Kingdom. bit.ly/2fqVtoDThe GuardianThe former boss and chief operating officer of Afren, a London-listed oil and gas exploration business, are to be charged with criminal offences in relation to an alleged 45 million euros ($53.05 million) fraud that led to the collapse of the 2 billion euro company. bit.ly/2wka3VwThe chief executive of embattled credit agency Equifax Inc announced his retirement on Tuesday, in the wake of a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of 143 million people. bit.ly/2huDVvXThe TelegraphBritish Steel has emerged from UK''s steel crisis with its first international acquisition, less than 18 months after Tata Steel abandoned the troubled business. bit.ly/2xuXuuxUber Technologies Inc is looking to hire a UK chairman, just a week after being stripped of its licence to operate in London and as arch-rival Lyft eyes a move into the market. bit.ly/2xKyhMsSky NewsThousands of jobs could be at risk in Northern Ireland after a U.S. adjudication against the aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Inc. bit.ly/2fPvlV1Sky News has learnt that a committee established by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association will follow up an earlier report by warning that the current system with thousands of smaller defined benefit schemes operating independently is "placing the retirement savings of millions...at risk". bit.ly/2wj9OKEThe IndependentA London-based female Uber driver has issued sex discrimination proceedings against the ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc, claiming it unfairly disadvantages women who work for the group. ind.pn/2wSE5E7Dyson has confirmed it will launch a battery-powered electric car in 2020. The vacuum cleaner company, which will spend 2 billion euros on the project, says its vehicles will be "radical and different". ind.pn/2wjePCJ$1 = 0.8483 euros Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-27-idUSL4N1M75VX'|'2017-09-27T03:09:00.000+03:00'
'ff92e72a1dcc75d312b2e7b0819e08b9dbf6c984'|'Fed''s Brainard: Labour market disparities reducing U.S. economy''s potential'|'FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard speaks at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The uneven distribution of employment in the U.S. economy is curbing the nation’s long-run potential growth, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said on Tuesday, as she urged the central bank to undertake more research to help diminish inequality.“To the extent that disparities in income and wealth across race, ethnicity, gender, or geography reflect such disparities in opportunity...the disadvantaged groups will underinvest in education or business endeavours, and potential growth will fall short of the levels it might otherwise attain,” Brainard said at a Fed research conference on disparities in the labour market held in Washington.In a speech entitled “Why persistent employment disparities matter for the economy’s health,” Brainard also said that high levels of income and wealth inequality could impact consumer spending.U.S. central bank policymakers have in recent months broadened their policy debates to include such issues with Brainard in particular studying why communities get left behind.Gauging how many currently unemployed people are ready to rejoin the labour force and just how deeply dislocation is being felt in certain communities is seen as particularly important to assess how much more employment can increase.Also on Tuesday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen visited a manufacturing training centre at a community college in Cleveland, Ohio, where she spoke with students being trained to use drill presses, precision measuring tools and other equipment.They included teenagers and young adults working their way up from baggage claim and grocery jobs as well as middle-aged workers reentering the workforce.STEEP BARRIERS In her remarks, Brainard noted that unemployment rates were almost double for African Americans compared to whites but also that the jobless rate gap for adult black men compared to adult white men was at its smallest since data began to be collected in the 1970s.“It seems likely that racial differences in unemployment rates will continue to shrink if the overall unemployment rate falls further,” she said.The nation’s unemployment rate currently stands at 4.4 percent, near what many economists believe to be full employment. One of the debates at the Federal Reserve is how much slack is left in the labour market before inflation will be sparked. The Fed has raised interest rates twice this year.Elsewhere, Brainard said that the disproportionate accumulation of wealth in urban areas since the recession along with historically low levels of migration across county and state lines could be one reason for the economic disadvantage of rural populations.Other factors included the loss of industry through globalization and automation and an increase in opiod use.Recognising that the Fed has limited policy options to address the barriers that contribute to labour market disparities, Brainard nonetheless said it was still central to the Fed’s mission.“Understanding these barriers and efforts to address them is vital in assessing maximum employment as well as potential growth,” Brainard said.Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Additional reporting by Howard Schneider in Cleveland, Ohio; Editing by Andrea Ricci '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-brainard/feds-brainard-labour-market-disparities-reducing-u-s-economys-potential-idINKCN1C12UM'|'2017-09-26T17:51:00.000+03:00'
'5fe5a16e3ad4a8d9689112a9cab72ca0b3f7302b'|'Exclusive - Lyft close to selecting IPO adviser: sources'|'  9:03 AM / in 22 minutes Exclusive: Lyft close to selecting IPO adviser - sources Liana B. Baker 4 Min Read An illuminated sign appears in a Lyft ride-hailing car in Los Angeles, California, U.S. September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Lyft Inc is close to hiring an initial public offering (IPO) advisory firm, in the first concrete step by the second biggest U.S. ride service company to become publicly listed, according to people familiar with the matter. Lyft’s IPO preparations come as its larger competitor, Uber Technologies Inc, is attempting to recover from a range of scandals. In August, Uber’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi set a new tentative timeline for Uber’s IPO of between 18 and 36 months. An IPO would offer Lyft access to capital beyond its traditional route of private investments. The San Francisco-based company has been in discussions this month with Google owner Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) about securing an investment, Reuters has reported. The IPO advisory firm will help Lyft’s management select underwriters and plan the offering, which could come as early as next year, the sources said this week, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. The timing of the plans could still change, the sources added. The ride-hailing company has already finished the interviews for picking the IPO advisory firm and is expected to make a decision shortly, the sources said. IPO advisory firms work independently from the investment banks and do not sell shares in an IPO. Lyft declined to comment. Top investment banks face a dilemma with regards to whether they should be underwriters on Lyft’s IPO, since many of them, such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), are already lenders to its chief rival Uber. A bank that aligns itself with Lyft could potentially find itself shut out from a much larger IPO by Uber down the road. VALUATIONS Like Uber, Lyft offers a mobile app that enables passengers to request rides on their smartphones. It was founded in 2012 by technology entrepreneurs John Zimmer and Logan Green, three years after Uber. Lyft was valued at $7.5 billion in its latest funding round in April, when it raised $600 million in fresh funding from investors such as private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ). This $7.5 billion valuation was up from $5.5 billion more than a year earlier, in a fundraising round in which General Motors Co ( GM.N ) participated. Uber, which was valued at $68 billion in its last funding round, is the largest private company backed by venture capitalists in the world. Uber and Lyft have been losing money as they compete at all costs to grow their user base with low fares for customers and incentives for drivers. Both IPOs would test investor tolerance for a lack of profitability when it comes to iconic technology unicorns. Many such companies have chosen to remain private because of concerns that an IPO would assign them a lower valuation than their latest fundraising round. Snapchat owner Snap Inc’s ( SNAP.N ) $3.4 billion IPO earlier this year was the largest by a U.S. technology company in three years, although its shares have since underperformed, as its quarterly earnings have fallen short of analyst expectations. Lyft said last month it was available in 40 states and reached 94 percent of the U.S. population. Unlike Uber, its service is so far only available in the United States. Lyft formed a self-driving car division over the summer and has announced partnerships with companies such as Ford Motor Co ( F.N ). Uber has also continued to expand, despite a series of setbacks, including allegations of sexual harassment from a former employee, a video that was released of co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick harshly berating a driver, a lawsuit from Alphabet’s self-driving car unit accusing Uber of stealing intellectual property, and a succession of executive departures. Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-lyft-ipo-exclusive/exclusive-lyft-close-to-selecting-ipo-adviser-sources-idUKKCN1C3114'|'2017-09-28T12:03:00.000+03:00'
'1862c398efaae99da6fd65d7c5e34c12bbe1af9e'|'Becton Dickinson offers EU concessions over $24 billion Bard deal'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:22 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Becton Dickinson offers EU concessions over $24 billion Bard deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co ( BDX.N ) has offered concessions to address EU antitrust concerns over its $24 billion bid for U.S. peer Bard ( BCR.N ), the European Commission said on Thursday. The deal, announced in April, is the latest in the medical device sector as companies seek to offset slowing revenue growth, consolidation among healthcare providers and rising pressure from customers to hold down treatment costs. Becton Dickinson submitted its concessions on Sept. 27, a filing on the EU competition authority showed. It did not provide details, in line with its policy. Companies typically offer to give rivals access to key technologies or sell off overlapping units to ease regulatory concerns. The Commission extended its deadline for a decision to Oct. 18 from Oct. 4. It can demand more concessions or open a full-scale investigation of about four months if the companies fail to allay its concerns. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bard-m-a-becton-eu/becton-dickinson-offers-eu-concessions-over-24-billion-bard-deal-idINKCN1C319L'|'2017-09-28T08:22:00.000+03:00'
'5ad2fcac935b5c594b049355dcbbcc05c21a01cf'|'Pound rises on EU''s Barnier saying "considerable progress" in Brexit talks'|'  11:19 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Pound rises on EU''s Barnier saying "considerable progress" in Brexit talks Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Pound coins are seen in this photo illustration taken in Manchester, Britain September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s pound climbed to the day’s highs against a weakening dollar on Thursday, after the European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said “considerable progress” had been made on Brexit talks. Sterling had earlier been trading lower on the day, hit by a broadly resurgent dollar .DXY as well as Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s saying that the bank could not by itself nullify the negative effects of Brexit on the economy. But it turned higher as the dollar came off the day’s highs, and after Barnier said the two sides of the Brexit negotiations - Britain and the EU - had “had a constructive week”, though despite progress they were “not there yet”. “Sterling (is rallying) on the ”considerable progress“ comments regarding Brexit talks,” said Mizuho’s head of hedge fund FX sales Neil Jones. Sterling strengthened to $1.3425 GBP=D3 , having earlier dipped to a two-week low of $1.3344. That left it 0.3 percent higher on the day. Britain''s FTSE .FTSE dipped after Barnier spoke, last down 0.3 percent while the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 .FTMC also fell slightly to trade flat. Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Additional reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Saikat Chatterjee'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-markets-sterling/pound-rises-on-eus-barnier-saying-considerable-progress-in-brexit-talks-idUKKCN1C31GE'|'2017-09-28T14:19:00.000+03:00'
'6a8a7b56226947f0368653db35861b2d913e271b'|'UPDATE 2-A decade on from disaster, Austrian bank BAWAG plans IPO'|'  8:10 AM / Updated an hour ago A decade on from disaster, Austrian bank BAWAG plans IPO Francois Murphy 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman holding an umbrella passes the headquarters of Austrian lender BAWAG PSK in Vienna, Austria, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria’s former trade union bank BAWAG [CCMLPB.UL] is planning a stock market debut later this year to set the seal on a decade-long recovery from its near collapse in a fraud scandal. The initial public offering (IPO) looks set to be the country’s largest for at least 10 years, and would provide an opportunity for its majority owner, U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, to cash in on its investment. Sources close to the matter told Reuters in June the listing of a 20-30 percent stake could value Austria’s fourth-biggest lender at up to 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion). BAWAG had to be bailed out in 2006 when it narrowly escaped a bank run after being sued by creditors of collapsed U.S. futures trader Refco, a BAWAG affiliate. It was then sold to Cerberus [CBS.UL] and other investors for 3.2 billion euros. Following investigations into the scandal, a Vienna court sentenced nine people to prison in 2008, including a former BAWAG CEO, for their role in causing losses of as much as 1.7 billion euros at the bank in failed bets on risky derivative investments held in off-balance sheet vehicles. BAWAG has since been turned around through strict cost controls, including a deal to share some of Austrian Post’s ( POST.VI ) branches that is coming up for review as the bank focuses increasingly on online services. Moody’s upgraded BAWAG in April to A2, its highest rating for an Austrian bank, citing the lender’s high profitability and improving capitalization. “Our planned listing will be a major milestone for BAWAG Group and our existing shareholders,” Chief Executive Anas Abuzaakouk said in a statement announcing the IPO, a day after Austrian gambling firm Novomatic ditched its own listing plan. “Today BAWAG Group stands as one of the best capitalized and largest banks in Austria ... with a number of growth opportunities,” he later added. ACQUISITIONS Wednesday’s announcement formally launches the IPO process, which usually takes about a month. On timing, BAWAG said only that if market conditions permitted, the listing was expected to take place in the fourth quarter. Telekom Austria ( TELA.VI ) raised 1.2 billion euros in an IPO in 2000, Raiffeisen Bank International ( RBIV.VI ) raised 1.1 billion euros in 2005 and construction firm Strabag ( STRV.VI ) raised 1.3 billion euros in 2007, shortly before the global financial crisis hit and put the brakes on company listings. Unlike larger Austrian banks such as Erste Group ( ERST.VI ) and Raiffeisen, BAWAG has not turned to the less developed economies of eastern Europe in its quest for growth. Instead, it has focused on Austria, Switzerland and Germany, which it refers to as the DACH region and where it sees room for consolidation. It signed an agreement in July to buy German regional lender Suedwestbank and said on Wednesday other German targets were part of a “decent” acquisitions pipeline. “We don’t comment on the different levels or stages of transactions that we’re at but we think it’s a pretty robust pipeline as far as opportunities across the DACH region (are concerned), which means Germany in particular and then Austria as well,” Abuzaakouk told reporters. BAWAG, founded in 1922 as the Austrian workers’ bank, said it was aiming to increase pretax profit by 5 percent a year and to pay 50 percent of its net profit to shareholders. It also expects to have more than 1 billion euros in excess capital available for acquisitions or expanding its existing business through 2020, and any money left over from that would also be paid to shareholders after an annual review, it said. Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bawag-ipo/austrian-bank-bawag-to-list-shares-in-vienna-idUSKCN1C20RS'|'2017-09-27T14:46:00.000+03:00'
'5eb3da80dd5368b8f5962433fcc928fe6bba1b82'|'Samsung scion Jay Y. Lee set to begin appeal'|'  7:27 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Samsung scion Jay Y. Lee set to begin appeal Joyce Lee 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Samsung Group chief, Jay Y. Lee arrives at the office of the independent counsel team in Seoul, South Korea, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee on Thursday will begin an appeal of his five-year jail term for corruption, in a case highlighting South Korea’s issues with the family-run conglomerates that dominate the economy. A lower court last month convicted the 49-year-old Lee, heir to the Samsung Group and one of Asia’s largest technology companies, of bribing former president Park Geun-hye to help strengthen Lee’s control of the crown jewel in the conglomerate, Samsung Electronics. Park is also under trial over allegations of abuse of power and bribery. At Thursday’s hearing, the Seoul High Court will set the order of witnesses and evidence for the appeal trial, which is expected to begin in mid-October. Since Lee filed for appeal late last month, the appellate court is likely to try to rule by next January, as under Korean law, he can only be kept in detention a maximum of four months while the court considers his appeal. Whichever side loses is likely to appeal again to the Supreme Court. Four other Samsung executives were also convicted in the lower court in the bribery case. NEW LAWYERS Lee’s legal team has added new lawyers for the appeal, including former Seoul Central District Court chief and new lead counsel Lee In-jae. Earlier this month, the defense team laid out its strategy submitted in hundreds of pages of arguments to the High Court. The defense is expected to question the lower court’s logic that Lee expected Park’s help in “succession operations,” which the court defined as all actions Samsung affiliates took “to strengthen Lee’s control of Samsung Electronics.” Lee’s defense has argued there was no such thing as “succession operations” and actions such as a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates was taken for the companies’ own perceived profit. The lower court ruled that while Lee never asked for Park’s help directly, the fact that the merger did help cement Lee’s control over Samsung Electronics “implied” he was asking for the president’s help. BRIBE DEFINITION Another defense argument turns on whether there was in fact a bribe as defined under South Korean law, which says only civil servants come under the statute. Lee was found guilty of providing financial support for former president Park’s close friend and confidante, who was not a civil servant. The lower court found that Samsung provided financial support to entities backed by Park’s friend Choi Soon-sil, including 7.2 billion won ($6.4 million) to sponsor the equestrian career of Choi’s daughter. The court said this was a straightforward case of bribery as “it can be considered the same as she (Park) herself receiving it.” Lee’s defense is expected to argue no evidence exists to back that assertion. Lee’s defense counsel at law firm Bae, Kim & Lee LLC declined comment. Lee testified during the trial he had limited knowledge and authority over business decisions in affiliates except Samsung Electronics and related tech affiliates, which took up about 90 percent of his work. His lower court trial began after Park was impeached, but before her successor, President Moon Jae-in, a liberal critic of the conglomerates known as chaebol, was elected in a special presidential vote in May. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Bill Tarrant'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-lee/samsung-scion-jay-y-lee-set-to-begin-appeal-idUKKCN1C20MT'|'2017-09-27T10:21:00.000+03:00'
'1f5e612c5c75221aea7d32b8ee0842a378ab2e4a'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Sept 27'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesUber searching for new UK chairman as it appeals London ruling on.ft.com/2fPdJZiUBS warns on ''significant'' shift out of UK by March on.ft.com/2fPAJqSLabour votes through rules to tackle anti-Semitism on.ft.com/2fQbQLXTusk welcomes end of ''have cake and eat it'' Brexit strategy on.ft.com/2fQqN0kOverviewUber Technologies Inc has hired headhunters to look for a new UK chairman who can help repair its relations with regulators in one of its top European markets, according to a person close to the company.The head of UBS Group AG’s investment bank, Andrea Orcel, called for quick agreement on a Brexit transition deal and warned that if such a decision is not agreed by March, there will be a “significant” shift out of UK.Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party voted to bring disciplinary measures against any members found to be anti-Semitic, but activists said more action was needed to show that the party is serious about confronting the problem.European Council President Donald Tusk said that Britain has finally abandoned its “have cake and eat it” strategy for Brexit negotiations, although he warned that more work had to be done to produce a breakthrough in talks. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-sept-27-idUSL4N1M800O'|'2017-09-27T03:05:00.000+03:00'
'894cef7e33aee0a8ae0e1a8cb2e210c5fe473404'|'Japan Aug retail sales rise 1.7 percent year-on-year'|'FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at shoes on sale at an outlet store in Tokyo''s shopping district, Japan, December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese retail sales rose 1.7 percent in August from a year earlier, compared with a median market forecast for a 2.6 percent increase, government data showed on Friday.For details click on PREVIEWTo view full tables, go to the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry at: hereReporting by Izumi Nakagawa; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-retail/japan-aug-retail-sales-rise-1-7-percent-year-on-year-idINKCN1C400B'|'2017-09-28T22:09:00.000+03:00'
'8a0836374ccfb317214923af8ac70aebd188a577'|'FTSE rises as sterling retreats, set for monthly loss'|'  9:08 AM / in an hour FTSE lags Europe in September 3 Min Read Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s FTSE signed off September with a monthly loss on Friday, underperforming continental peers in a month that saw sterling shoot to its highest level since the Brexit vote. The FTSE 100 .FTSE index ended Friday''s session 0.7 percent higher at 7,372.76 points, however, as GDP data showing that UK growth slowed to a four-year low in the second quarter put pressure on sterling on the day. While the disappointing GDP data stoked doubts as to whether the Bank of England would raise rates at its next meeting in November, recent hawkish rhetoric from the central bank has supported the pound. This has hampered British blue chips, many of which source their revenues overseas. The FTSE posted a loss of nearly 1 percent for September. Sterling slumped in the immediate aftermath of the June 2016 Brexit vote to leave the European Union, which gave dollar-earners an accounting-related boost. “The rebound in sterling has acted as a bit of a drag on the UK benchmark”, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said, noting the symmetry with the pound, which is on track for its best month against the dollar since 2013. Analysts have also pointed out that investor sentiment regarding the UK market has soured. Societe Generale, for instance, has cut its UK position in its multi-asset portfolio to zero. On the day, financials, consumer stocks and miners contributed the most to gains. Glencore ( GLEN.L ), Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ), BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) and Anglo American ( AAL.L ) were up between 0.7 and 2.6 percent. Oil majors were in positive territory as oil prices boosted the sector, with Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and BP ( BP.L ) both up 0.3 percent. Both Brent and U.S. crude are set to chalk up another weekly gain as investors bet that efforts to cut a global glut are working and that the demand outlook is improving. [O/R] ITV ( ITV.L ) was the biggest individual gainer, rising more than 3.5 percent after Barclays raised its rating on the stock to “overweight” and said advertising was improving in the UK. Insurer Beazley BEZG.L jumped 4.3 percent after it reckoned its losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and a series of earthquakes in Mexico would reduce its 2017 earnings by about $150 million, less than analysts had earlier expected. Among smaller stocks, British construction and support services group Carillion ( CLLN.L ) plunged 20 percent after it warned it expected full-year results to be lower than market forecasts, as it booked a further provision relating to services contracts. Reporting by Julien Ponthus and Kit Rees; Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-rises-as-sterling-retreats-set-for-monthly-loss-idUKKCN1C413Y'|'2017-09-29T12:07:00.000+03:00'
'1a34e4f95cb503d470537e05be2ace075fb545ed'|'Bank of England''s Haldane says pay signs encouraging - Sky News'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:23 PM / Updated 9 hours ago BoE''s Haldane - pay signs encouraging, rate hike would be good news Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Pound notes and coins are seen inside a cash register in a bar in Manchester, Britain September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane said he saw encouraging signs of pay growth and any increase in interest rates should be seen as a “good news story” for Britain’s economy, Sky News quoted him as saying on Wednesday. Haldane also said he was among of the majority of BoE rate-setters who, at their meeting this month, felt that Britain’s first interest rate hike in a decade might be needed in the coming months. “In the September minutes in particular, a majority of the committee - of which I am one - said that we could be nearing the point where a reduction in some degree of monetary stimulus might be warranted in the coming months,” Haldane said. “And let’s be clear here: for me that would be a good news story. This would be interest rates getting back to normal, even if the new normal is different to the old normal,” he said. The BoE last raised interest rates in 2007, shortly before the global financial crisis. It cut them last year after the shock Brexit vote and until recently most economists had not expected a hike until 2019. But the central bank surprised markets this month when it said most of its policymakers thought a hike would be needed soon, if inflation pressure continued to build. Investors and economists now think rates are likely to rise to 0.50 percent from 0.25 percent as soon as Nov. 2, at the end of the BoE’s next meeting. Haldane told Sky that the squeeze on British living standards, caused by rising inflation and weak wage growth, was likely to ease in the coming months. “I think the signs are more encouraging on the pay front than they have been for some little while,” he said. “Higher pay needs to be paid for... so I hope we might be nearing the end of the tunnel on both pay and productivity.” At its last meeting, the nine-strong MPC voted 7-2 to keep rates at 0.25 percent, with Haldane siding with the majority. But he has been seen as one of the BoE policymakers most likely to back a rate hike after he said in June that he expected to change his vote in the second half of 2017. Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-haldane/bank-of-englands-haldane-says-pay-signs-encouraging-sky-news-idUKKCN1C2320'|'2017-09-28T00:23:00.000+03:00'
'0bb15622581573463a6320ab41988c265a1de3f3'|'UBS warns on ‘significant’ shift out of UK by March'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/6c404c5a-a2cb-11e7-b797-b61809486fe2'|'2017-09-26T19:25:00.000+03:00'
'593a30531da78f38716e0f5ec438093380f09738'|'Nikkei falls to 1-1/2 week lows on ex-dividend impact'|'  6:57 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Nikkei falls to 1-1/2 week lows on ex-dividend impact Reuters Staff * Ex-dividend adjustments seen around 130 points * Topix volume lowest since August 2012 * Toyota, Nissan, Mizuho FG lower By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks fell to 1-1/2-week lows on Wednesday as ex-dividend share price adjustments dented high yielders such as automakers, offsetting gains in tech firms which tracked strength in their U.S. counterparts. The Nikkei dropped 0.3 percent, or 63.14 points, to 20,267.05, the weakest level since Sept. 15, moving away from a two-year high of 20,481.27 hit last week. About 130 points were cut from the Nikkei by the ex-dividend price adjustment, according to market participants. High-yielding stocks including automakers, railway operators as well as banks and securities firms underperformed. “The Nikkei would have been stronger today without an ex-dividend effect,” said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities. “The Japanese market’s sentiment itself is positive helped by a weaker yen after Yellen’s comments.” U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the Fed needs to continue gradual rate hikes despite uncertainty about the path of inflation. The dollar was at 112.27 yen, bouncing back from Tuesday’s low of 111.50. The broader Topix shed 0.5 percent to 1,664.43. Volume was thin, with only 1.2 billion shares changing hands, the lowest level since August 27, 2012. Toyota Motor Corp dropped 1.0 percent, Nissan Motor Co shed 2.6 percent, West Japan Railway Co declined 1.9 percent, while Mizuho Financial Group fell 1.4 percent and Daiwa Securities Group tumbled 1.7 percent. Some tech shares outperformed the overall market, with Advantest Corp surging 2.0 percent and Panasonic Corp gaining 0.8 percent. Elsewhere, agricultural chemical maker Nihon Nohyaku tumbled 4.3 percent after it cut its operating profit outlook to 3.1 billion yen from its previously forecast 3.9 billion yen for the year ending September. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close/nikkei-falls-to-1-1-2-week-lows-on-ex-dividend-impact-idUSL4N1M82K4'|'2017-09-27T09:57:00.000+03:00'
'81b057c6159fb078df1607d01d393c15efc52c38'|'UPDATE 1-Austrian bank BAWAG to list shares in Vienna'|'  7:50 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Austrian bank BAWAG to list shares in Vienna Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds detail, background) VIENNA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Austrian bank BAWAG, majority owned by U.S. private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, has announced its plan to hold an initial public offering (IPO) in Vienna that could be Austria’s biggest in a decade. Sources told Reuters in June that the listing of a 20-30 percent stake could value Austria’s fourth-biggest lender at up to 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion). The formerly trade union-owned bank had to be bailed out in 2006 when it narrowly escaped a bank run after being sued by creditors of collapsed U.S. futures trader Refco. “BAWAG Group AG, the holding company of BAWAG PSK, plans an initial public offering and the listing of its shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange,” the bank said in a statement. Wednesday’s announcement formally launches the IPO process, which usually takes about a month. On timing, BAWAG said only that if market conditions permit it, the listing was expected to take place in the fourth quarter. Telekom Austria raised 1.2 billion euros in an IPO in 2000, Raiffeisen Bank International raised 1.1 billion euros in 2005 and construction firm Strabag raised 1.3 billion euros in 2007, shortly before the global financial crisis hit and put the brakes on company listings. ($1 = 0.8506 euros) (Reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/bawag-ipo/update-1-austrian-bank-bawag-to-list-shares-in-vienna-idUSL8N1M81BL'|'2017-09-27T15:50:00.000+03:00'
'e52ef5e39b2a35b82e219ec2e7bc3d858facc7dd'|'TREASURIES-U.S. yields rise as Yellen repeats view on slow rate hikes'|'* Fed Yellen sees gradual U.S. rate hikes despite low inflation * U.S. 2-year note sold at highest yield in nearly 9 years * Trump offers hints on tax plan, raises borrowing concerns (New throughout, updates yields, prices, market activity and comments) By Richard Leong NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen stuck to the view that the central bank remains on track for gradual interest rate increases even as inflation remains below its 2 percent goal. The notion of higher rates caused investors at the two-year Treasury note auction to demand the highest yields in nearly nine years, kicking off this week''s $88 billion short- and medium-dated government debt supply on a soft note. The rise in U.S. yields was stoked further when U.S. President Donald Trump said he and lawmakers were working to pass a big tax cut for the middle class. Traders had no details, but speculated the plan might raise the federal deficit and increase government borrowing. Yellen "repeated that inflation being low as transitory and the Fed is on a gradual pace of rate hikes," said Brian Daingerfield, macro strategist at NatWest Markets in Stamford, Connecticut. Last Wednesday, the policy making Federal Open Market Committee left the door open for another rate increase in December and said it will begin to reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet in October. Despite "many uncertainties" around how inflation is behaving, it nevertheless "would be imprudent to keep monetary policy on hold until inflation is back to 2 percent," Yellen said in a speech at the National Association for Business Economics'' annual conference in Cleveland. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was up almost 2 basis points at 2.239 percent after recording a 4 basis-point fall on Monday, which was the biggest in more than two weeks. The two-year yield which rises with traders'' expectations of higher short-term rates, touched 1.456 percent, the highest since October 2008. The Treasury Department sold $26 billion of two-year notes at a yield of 1.462 percent, the highest in nearly nine years. Bond yields declined on Monday on safe-haven demand due to tensions between North Korea and the United States and surging support for the far right in Sunday''s German election. Overall yields have held in a narrow trading range since falling near 2 percent in earlier September. "In the big picture, nothing has changed," said Bill Merz, head of fixed-income research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. With global economic growth improving and major central banks still providing ample liquidity, "we are comfortable with taking risk," Merz said. "We have an underweight in fixed income and an overweight in stocks." September 26 Tuesday 3:33PM New York / 1933 GMT Price US T BONDS DEC7 154-18/32 -0-11/32 10YR TNotes DEC7 125-236/256 -0-36/25 6 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 1.05 1.0674 0.043 Six-month bills 1.17 1.1933 0.002 Two-year note 99-162/256 1.4439 0.017 Three-year note 99-108/256 1.5751 0.016 Five-year note 98-230/256 1.86 0.024 Seven-year note 98-172/256 2.0818 0.022 10-year note 100-24/256 2.2392 0.019 30-year bond 99-104/256 2.7793 0.020 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 26.75 0.25 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 23.00 0.50 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 8.00 -0.50 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap -4.00 -0.25 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -32.50 -0.50 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Susan Thomas and David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-u-s-yields-rise-as-yellen-repeats-view-on-slow-rate-hikes-idINL2N1M71JV'|'2017-09-26T17:41:00.000+03:00'
'8b42ab1ca1f85a4a14ba8d615eb96009496c5838'|'Siemens CEO says picked Alstom for financial strength, CEO'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:07 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Siemens CEO says picked Alstom for financial strength, CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser gestures during the annual news conference in Munich, Germany November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens chose France’s Alstom over Canada’s Bombardier for a rail joint venture because of its sound finances and its management team, Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said on Wednesday. “I must say I‘m really glad to have won him over,” Kaeser said of Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, who will lead the new business, helping to counter criticism that France is giving up control of another national industrial icon. “It was a remarkable cooperation between two, obviously competitive, units,” he added on a conference call with analysts, referring to the negotiation process. Sources had told Reuters that Siemens was close to an agreement with train and plane group Bombardier but that talks were tough due to Bombardier’s weak finances and desire to control any joint venture. Kaeser declined to comment on any talks with Bombardier but pointed to Alstom’s strong balance sheet. “Newco is going to be a very financially strong company,” he said. Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Christoph Steitz '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens-bombardier/siemens-ceo-says-picked-alstom-for-financial-strength-ceo-idINKCN1C20WL'|'2017-09-27T07:07:00.000+03:00'
'6dac2c40e16cf2b8ee473934622354f15b87b614'|'FTSE supported by weaker pound and financials'|'  8:44 AM / Updated 7 hours ago FTSE supported by weaker pound and financials Danilo Masoni 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall MILAN (Reuters) - The UK''s top share index snapped two days of losses on Wednesday as some export-oriented companies found support in a weaker pound GBP=D3 and financial stocks were led higher by Standard Chartered after a broker upgrade. Gains were driven by a return of risk appetite ahead of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump with details of his plans to reduce corporate tax, which helped offset recent weakness due to growing geopolitical worries. Britain''s blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 0.3 percent at 7,308.50 points by 0820 GMT, underpinned by strength among financials and materials stocks, while mid-caps .FTMC , which benefit less from a weakening pound, were flat. “Softer pound translates into a better FTSE-appetite in London, although the overall lack of enthusiasm across the equity markets could limit gains,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Market Analyst at London Capital Group. After hitting record highs in May thanks to the weakness in the pound that followed Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, the FTSE has started to lose ground. Sterling has strengthened as the Bank of England has turned more hawkish. The FTSE is still up more than 2 percent so far this year but has underperformed the broader pan-European STOXX 600 index, as some brokers have turned more bearish on British equities. Among financials, which provided the biggest uplift to the FTSE on Wednesday, Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) rose 2.8 percent after Investec upgraded the stock to hold from sell. It said that after a 15-percent drop in the last two months, it was time to close short positions. “We see this as largely a ‘dawning of reality’ in relation to a continuing weak revenue performance (and outlook), with a little ‘overshoot’ seemingly driven by fresh geopolitical concerns. We remain cautious on the stock, but ... we advise closing short positions,” they said in a note. Gains in miners also buoyed the FTSE, with Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore all up more than 1.5 percent, as copper rose for the first time in the past six sessions. [MET/L] Pearson ( PSON.L ) rose 1.5 percent after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “underperform”, saying a change in strategy at the group, which is cutting jobs and dividends to revive its business, should help shares recover. WPP ( WPP.L ), which has fallen 24 percent since the start due to the deterioration of its advertising outlook, fell 1.2 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to “equal-weight” saying an early revival of confidence in the group’s business model appeared unlikely. Among small caps, Carillion ( CLLN.L ) was an outstanding gainer, up 18.3 percent after a media report said “at least one” Middle Eastern construction company was preparing an offer for the troubled British outsourcer. Carillion shares have lost three quarters of their value this year. Reporting by Danilo Masoni; editing by Andrew Roche'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-supported-by-weaker-pound-and-financials-idUKKCN1C20UL'|'2017-09-27T11:43:00.000+03:00'
'13574585e96e51970575bd629a5b61e4c7354a33'|'Delphi CEO says Aptiv, Delphi Tech can thrive on their own'|'  10:21 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Delphi CEO says Aptiv, Delphi Tech can thrive on their own Joseph White 3 Min Read DETROIT (Reuters) - Delphi Automotive Plc ( DLPH.N ) Chief Executive Kevin Clark said on Wednesday the company’s two post split-up parts, to be called Aptiv and Delphi Technologies, can thrive on their own and that there was no strategy to seek buyers. Clark, in a meeting with investors, said Aptiv PLC, the name announced earlier on Wednesday for Delphi’s $12 billion a year electronics and self-driving car technology business, expects to grow faster than the auto market, and generate $2 billion to $2.5 billion in operating cash flow by 2020. Delphi’s $4.5 billion a year internal combustion powertrain technology business will be named Delphi Technologies, and should generate about $700 million a year in operating cash flow by 2020, the company told investors. “We are two separate companies that will stand on our own,” Clark told reporters during a call. Delphi has a partnership with chip maker Intel to develop systems to enable self-driving cars. Intel has a market capitalization roughly six times Delphi’s and recently acquired Mobileye NV, a supplier of automotive camera vision software. Intel is “a very strategic supplier of Delphi‘s,” Clark said. That partnership “doesn’t necessarily have to mean a financial investment of one party into another,” he said. Aptiv, which will trade under the symbol APTV, will design and produce electronic systems, advanced safety technology and integrate the hardware and software for self-driving cars. The market for what the industry defines as Level 4 or 5 systems that enable vehicles to drive themselves in most situations will be mainly driven by mobility on demand services, such as ride hailing, through 2025, Clark said. Aptiv expects to generate about $300 million in revenue from Level 4 or Level 5 autonomous driving systems in 2025, he said. Demand for systems that allow cars to pilot themselves on limited access highways or in traffic jams, with a driver ready to take control, will grow more rapidly over the next seven years. Aptiv’s revenue from so-called Level 1, 2 and 3 automation will grow to $1.8 billion a year from $500 million today, Clark said. Delphi shares fell about 4 percent in trading on Wednesday. The company’s stock is up 47 percent for the year to date. Clark will become CEO of Aptiv. Delphi Technologies, which will trade under the symbol DLPH, includes businesses that generated about $4.5 billion in revenue last year. The spinoff will take place in March 2018, Delphi said. Reporting By Joe White; Editing by Susan Thomas and Tom Brown'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-delphi-name/delphi-ceo-says-aptiv-delphi-tech-can-thrive-on-their-own-idUKKCN1C2368'|'2017-09-28T01:21:00.000+03:00'
'705dd52bef6c1603f73ad0329632e2abb3f56787'|'RBI to keep rates steady in October, cut growth forecast: Reuters poll'|'  6:44 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago RBI to keep rates steady in October, cut growth forecast: Reuters poll Vivek Mishra , Anu Bararia 3 Min Read A security personnel member stands guard at the entrance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) headquarters in Mumbai, India, August 2, 2017. Picture taken August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo BENGALURU (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India will hold policy steady at its Oct. 4 meeting, and well past next year, amid weak economic growth and signs inflation may soon overshoot its target, a Reuters poll found. Asia’s third-largest economy started losing momentum after the government scrapped 86 percent of currency in circulation late last year, hurting demand in India’s cash-reliant economy, and the slowdown was compounded by the implementation of a new tax system. In August, despite a neutral policy bias, India’s central bank cut the key policy rate after lowering its economic growth forecast in June to 7.3 percent from 7.4 percent for the current fiscal year. The latest poll of 60 economists showed although the RBI will hold its key repo rate at a seven-year low of 6 percent next week, it will downgrade its growth forecast again following disruptions caused by the new tax. Introduced July 1, the national tax system caused confusion over product pricing and pushed activity in India’s private sector into contraction. Economic growth slowed to a three-year low last quarter, prompting some economists to lower their outlook. “RBI has already been highlighting downside risks to growth, and that bias should now crystallize in the updated forecasts,” said Abhishek Upadhyay, economist at ICICI Securities PD. However, lacklustre growth and inflation hovering below the RBI’s 4 percent medium-term target - annual retail inflation was 3.36 percent in August - would not be enough to drive the RBI into action, economists said. Nearly two-thirds of forecasters who answered an extra question said there was a chance consumer inflation would overshoot the RBI’s medium-term target this fiscal year and medians suggest the Bank would hold policy until at least April 2019, the end of the forecast horizon. The reverse repo rate is expected to be left at 5.75 percent across the same period. However, not all economists are convinced the RBI will keep policy rates unchanged. Credit Agricole CIB, Geojit Financial Services and Trust Capital predict a 25 basis point trim in the repo rate next week. Over a quarter of economists polled expect a cut by year-end. “Growth is below the central bank’s expectations and they will react to that by their easing policy stance as strong annual growth is not achievable after what happened in the first quarter of this fiscal year,” said Darius Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole CIB. “So in order to stimulate aggregate demand, they will lower nominal rates and the time to do this is running out as inflation is rebounding.” Additional reporting by Sujith Pai, Polling by Shaloo Shrivastava and Mumal Rathore; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-policy-rates/rbi-to-keep-rates-steady-in-october-cut-growth-forecast-reuters-poll-idINKCN1C20I6'|'2017-09-27T09:43:00.000+03:00'
'ee4e9466d863601bc2f069201a1cce53002d23ad'|'UPDATE 1-Russian bank provisions enough for $92 bln bad loans - c.bank'|'(Adds Quote: , details, background)MOSCOW, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Russia’s banking sector is carrying bad loans of 5.3 trillion roubles ($92 billion), which accounts for less than 10 percent of the sector’s outstanding loans, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina told Rossiya-24 TV on Friday.Russian banks, private ones in particular, are under close scrutiny after the central bank took over two players, Otkritie and B&N Bank, in less than a month.Nabiullina told the state TV that around 70 percent of bad loans are covered by provisions, which the central bank considers as ‘sufficient’ and posing no concerns for the banking system in general.“These are figures which have been in place for many years before... We don’t see problems here... Yes, there are problems in the banking sector but this one (bad loans estimate) does not pose a systemic risk,” she said.Two thirds of bad loans had been taken out by companies and one third by households, Nabiullina said.The central bank governor added that the central bank would like to sell Otkritie and B&N and was considering arranging initial public offerings for the troubled private lenders once they are back on their feet.Nabiullina reiterated that the rescue of the two banks did not pose a risk of higher inflation. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh and Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-banks-cenbank-loans/update-1-russian-bank-provisions-enough-for-92-bln-bad-loans-c-bank-idINL8N1MA3B2'|'2017-09-29T10:31:00.000+03:00'
'1d32781d10bc1bc04f8a9e14c26f9026c33df686'|'U.S. Senate panel unveils budget plan paving way for Trump tax cuts'|'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wealthiest Americans would benefit the most from President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts while many upper middle-income people would face higher taxes, independent experts said on Friday in the first detailed analysis of the plan.A U.S. Senate panel took Trump’s proposal, announced on Wednesday, a step forward by unveiling a budget plan for the coming fiscal year that acknowledges lost revenues from tax cuts, while Trump pressed ahead with selling the plan to the public.A report from the non-profit Washington-based Tax Policy Center found that in 2018, about 12 percent of taxpayers would face a tax increase of roughly $1,800 on average.That includes more than a third of taxpayers making between about $150,000 and $300,000, mainly because most itemized deductions would be repealed including for state and local taxes, it said.Its analysis showed that the Republican tax proposal would fuel the growing federal deficit, providing $5.99 trillion in tax cuts while reducing federal revenues by a net $2.4 trillion in the next 10 years.Trump, who promised major tax cuts as a candidate, has called his proposal “a miracle for the middle class,” but the report concluded it would provide middle-income taxpayers uneven tax relief. In 2018, all income groups would see their average taxes fall, but some taxpayers in each group would face tax increases, it found.Taxpayers in the top 1 percent of incomes - above $730,000 - would receive about 50 percent of the total tax benefit from the tax overhaul, with their after-tax income forecast to increase an average of 8.5 percent, the group said.“The biggest share of people with increased taxes will be ... people who might be considered upper-middle-income people, high-income professionals, people whose income is between $150,000 and $300,000 in a year in 2017,” Tax Policy Center co-director Eric Toder said.The bottom 95 percent of taxpayers could expect a tax cut of 0.5 to 1.2 percent, according to the analysis.The proposed tax cuts for corporations and small businesses would reduce federal revenue by $2.6 trillion over a decade and largely would benefit high-income taxpayers, it said.Trump, a real estate mogul-turned-politician, had pledged that the tax plan would not benefit the rich, himself included.BUDGET RESOLUTION The budget resolution released by the Senate Budget Committee, which would pave the way for Republicans to avoid potential Democratic procedural moves to block it, builds in $1.5 trillion in reduced revenue from tax cuts over the next decade.The White House and Republicans in Congress aim to have the tax proposal passed by the end of the year. Republicans control the White House, the Senate and both chambers of Congress.The resolution is vital to plans by the Republicans to move tax legislation through the Senate, which they control by a slim 52-48 majority, using a parliamentary process that lets them pass legislation without a customary 60-vote threshold that would necessitate some Democratic support.The proposal calls for slashing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, the small business rate to 25 percent from 39.6 percent and the top individual rate to 35 percent from 39.6 percent.Democrats call the tax plan a giveaway to the rich and corporations that would balloon the federal deficit.“The Senate Republican budget is the clearest sign yet that Republicans are intent on pursuing a tax plan that would blow a huge hole in the deficit and stack up debt, leading to cuts in programs that middle-class Americans rely on,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck SchumerTrump talked up the tax proposal during a speech on Friday to the National Association of Manufacturers business lobbying group in Washington, calling it “a giant, beautiful, massive -- the biggest ever in our country -- tax cut.”“The biggest winners will be everyday working families, as jobs start pouring into our country,” Trump said.The U.S. national debt stands at about $20 trillion and the proposal provided few details on how to offset the federal revenues that would be lost with the tax cuts.Trump has failed to secure passage of any major legislation since taking office in January, with a healthcare overhaul collapsing in the Senate, money to build his promised wall along the border with Mexico failing to materialize and infrastructure spending legislation never getting off the ground.Reporting by David Morgan; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Makini Brice; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Alistair Bell '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-tax/u-s-senate-panel-unveils-budget-plan-paving-way-for-trump-tax-cuts-idINKCN1C42O7'|'2017-09-29T21:00:00.000+03:00'
'84b31a63d1ecf939326ad6176deda1fdcde2b1c9'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'  10:29 AM / in 28 minutes Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Adds Morgan Stanley, Brookfield Asset Management, Credit Agricole) Sept 29 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday: ** Morgan Stanley has agreed to buy commercial real estate credit platform Mesa West Capital LLC, the firm said. ** Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA and a subsidiary plan to exit their controlling stake in Brazilian renewable power company Renova Energia SA as Brookfield Asset Management Inc considers raising a takeover bid more than initially expected, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. ** Italy solved one of its remaining banking headaches on Friday as France’s Credit Agricole agreed to take over three small ailing banks for 130 million euros ($153 million). ** German drugs and pesticides group Bayer said it had further reduced to just under 25 percent its holding in Covestro, the plastics producer which it demerged in 2015, by selling a 6.9 percent stake for 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). ** Activist group Avaaz stepped up its battle to stop Rupert Murdoch buying Sky, launching a legal challenge to the regulator’s view that the pay-TV group would still be a “fit and proper” owner of a broadcasting licence if the deal goes ahead. ** The Chinese owner of former European soccer champions AC Milan is looking for one or more investors to share the financial burden, less than six months after buying the loss-making Italian club, two sources said. ** The owner of Japanese restaurant chain Genki Sushi Co will buy a one-third stake in bigger rival Sushiro Global Holdings Ltd from private equity firm Permira , a person with direct knowledge of the deal said. ** British insurer Aviva said it had agreed to sell its Italian joint venture to Banco BPM for 265 million euros ($313.26 million) in cash. ** Carlyle Group LP signed a definitive agreement to sell Klenk Holz AG, its German building materials unit, to Binderholz GmbH, the private equity firm said. ** Investors looking to buy at least 51 percent of the property unit of French hotel group AccorHotels are due to submit their letters of intent in October, French daily Les Echos said. ** Norwegian utility Statkraft has acquired a 50 percent stake in German energy retailer enQu, the two firms announced in a joint statement. ** Italy’s biggest regional utility A2A said on Friday a court in Montenegro had annulled a decision to seize its stake in power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) . (Compiled by Sanjana Shivdas and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idUSL4N1MA3F3'|'2017-09-29T16:41:00.000+03:00'
'cb142046031918ef29eaf0bc14b670f7d77998ba'|'ECB''s inflation objective should be symmetrical - Liikanen'|'September 28, 2017 / 8:08 AM / a few seconds ago ECB''s inflation objective should be symmetrical: Liikanen Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Erkki Liikanen speaks during a press briefing in Helsinki, Finland March 15, 2012. REUTERS/Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto HELSINKI (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should fight high and low inflation with equal vigor, Finnish central bank chief Erkki Liikanen said on Thursday, suggesting he had little tolerance for any eventual inflation overshoot. Liikanen’s comments are in contrast with arguments from some policy doves who say that after a lengthy period of low inflation, the ECB could accept a modest target overshoot as it should take a longer view and make up for ‘lost’ inflation. Indeed, the ECB has undershot its almost 2 percent inflation objective for nearly five years and will continue to miss at least until the end of the decade, its September staff projections show. “The ECB’s policy target is symmetrical,” Liikanen, who sits on the ECB’s rate setting Governing Council, said in prepared remarks for a news conference. “It is of equal importance to act effectively on inflation levels that are above or below the price stability objective.” Rate-setters will decide this autumn, likely in October, whether to curb stimulus from next year with policy hawks, such as Germany, calling for a relatively quick end to asset purchases even as doves make the case for only incremental withdrawal of support. Liikanen said that given steady euro zone growth and a favorable outlook, inflation will slowly return the ECB’s target, even if price growth has so far been unsatisfactory. “A very substantial degree of monetary accommodation is still needed in the euro area for underlying inflationary pressures to gradually build up,” Liikanen said, echoing ECB President Mario Draghi’s policy statement following the September rate meeting. Singling out China among top risks, Liikanen said that a bigger slowdown could have global repercussions. “The global weight of the advanced economies has decreased,” Liikanen said. “A stronger-than-forecast deceleration in China’s debt-driven growth would weaken confidence globally and significantly dampen growth.” Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Toby Chopra'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-liikanen/ecbs-inflation-objective-should-be-symmetrical-liikanen-idUKKCN1C30VN'|'2017-09-28T11:04:00.000+03:00'
'6cc0f05d7180cb8b59370a7772bf5ca324f2c19e'|'UPDATE 1-Apple sees sharp increase in U.S. national security requests'|'(Adds Google’s request figures in paragraph 6)By Stephen NellisSept 28 (Reuters) - Apple Inc has received more than four times as many national-security related requests from the U.S. government in the first half of this year versus a year ago, according to a company report on Thursday.Apple said it had received between 13,250 and 13,499 national security requests affecting between 9,000 and 9,249 users. That compares with a range of 2,750 and 2,999 requests affecting between 2,000 and 2,249 users in the first half of 2016. ( apple.co/2xO5fLM )The requests come in the form of so-called National Security Letters, or NSLs, and requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Apple and other companies report ranges because government rules prevent disclosing precise numbers.Apple declined to comment beyond the figures it released.The disclosures are voluntary, and firms like Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc have yet to report any figures for 2017. In the past, those companies have issued more detailed reports, for example separating FISA requests and NSLs. The government requires they wait six months to report that level of information.Alphabet Inc''s Google said it had received between 0 and 499 National Security Letters requesting information on between 1,000 and 1,499 user accounts in the first half of 2017. A year previously, the number of requests was the same but the government asked about only 500 to 999 accounts, according to Google''s transparency report. Its 2017 FISA request numbers were not yet available. ( bit.ly/2k8lDBL )It was not immediately clear what drove the increase in requests to Apple. But Andrew Crocker, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that the number of government requests to technology companies has been increasing since 2014, when data first started to become available as part of a settlement between technology firms and the government.“There’s not a huge track record here, but you can start to make a simple graph. The trend does seem to be upward,” Crocker said.Crocker also said the higher requests to Apple could represent it coming in line with its peers. Despite Apple’s huge user base - it has sold more than 1.2 billion iPhones - the number of requests to it had been relatively low compared with firms like Google or Microsoft.National security letters are a type of government subpoena for communications data sent to service providers. They are usually issued with a gag order, meaning the target is often unaware that records are being accessed, and they do not require a warrant.Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/apple-national-security/update-1-apple-sees-sharp-increase-in-u-s-national-security-requests-idINL2N1MA02Q'|'2017-09-28T23:39:00.000+03:00'
'6cefacd8bffbd61bc9d4c804c2915bbbf7a7126a'|'Nikkei edges down but on track for small quarterly gain'|'* Weaker yen underpinned shares in September* Investors warily watch Japanese political developmentsBy Lisa TwaroniteTOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average edged down on Friday but was on track for a solid monthly gain, buoyed by a weaker yen.The Nikkei was down 0.3 percent at 20,305.04 points at the end of morning trading.It was up marginally on the week, but posted a solid 3.4 percent rise in September. It rose 1.4 percent in the quarter, taking its gain so far in 2017 to 6.2 percent.“Month-end is having an impact here, and I don’t think you should be interpreting too much into the market being down today,” said Stefan Worrall, director of Japan equity sales at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.“The domestic focus may be adding to some caution at the end of the month, and the end of the quarter,” he said.Upbeat economic data early on Friday underpinned sentiment and kept losses in check.Japan’s core inflation picked up in August, though it remained well below the central bnak’s target, industrial output rose more than expected and demand for labour remained at its strongest in over 40 years in a further sign of solid momentum in the world’s third-largest economy.A weaker yen also gave Japanese stocks a tailwind in September. The dollar gained 2.5 percent against the yen in the month.Investors were wary of political developments ahead of a snap lower house election called by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was apparently calculating that it would consolidate another term for his Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition even if it reduced its lower house dominance to a simple majority.But a fledgling party led by popular Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike was gaining momentum ahead of the Oct. 22 election, as the biggest opposition Democratic Party said on Thursday that it would step aside to let its candidates run under her conservative, reformist banner.Genki Sushi Co jumped 5.8 percent. The owner of the restaurant chain will buy a one-third stake in bigger rival Sushiro Global Holdings Ltd from private equity firm Permira, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said. Sushiro shares rose 4.6 percent.Toshiba Corp’s shares gained 2.6 percent, after it said on Thursday that it had signed an $18 billion deal to sell its chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP, overcoming a key hurdle as it scrambles for funds to stave off a potential delisting.Japan’s Tokyo Electron Device Ltd shares rose 5.2 percent after scaling their highest peak since October 2007, after the company hiked its group forecasts.Shares of Koito Manufacturing Co fell 6.2 percent, after the company trimmed its full-year group outlook.Japan’s Kose Corp shares were 2.5 percent higher. The cosmetics company is on track to post about a 40 percent jump in its April-September operating profit, to around 26 billion yen ($230.93 million), Nikkei reported.The broader Topix was down 0.3 percent at 1,670.76, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was 0.3 percent lower at 14,754.55. (Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday/nikkei-edges-down-but-on-track-for-small-quarterly-gain-idUSL4N1MA1OM'|'2017-09-29T11:20:00.000+03:00'
'b33258a1de12a6571864329c7b017dcfc58e7e6d'|'Central bank purge deepens doubts over Russia''s ''pocket bank'' phenomenon'|'FILE PHOTO: A man walks past the logo of Russian bank Otkritie in Moscow, Russia August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) - The failure of two big Russian lenders within a month has cast doubt on how much longer a phenomenon of the post-Soviet financial system, the “pocket bank”, can last.The practice of conglomerates running their own banks grew out of the early days of Russian capitalism in the 1990s. But with authorities now purging a sector beset by bad debts, owners are trying to get rid of their remaining pocket banks and finding few willing buyers, if any.Big businesses that emerged from the rubble of the Soviet Union set up these in-house banks to provide themselves with funding because the financial sector was so underdeveloped following seven decades of communism.Today they make up only a handful of the top 50 Russian lenders by assets but some have extensive financial links with other banks. Where the authorities sense a risk to the wider financial system, they are stepping in.Over the past month, the central bank has bailed out Otkritie Bank and B&N Bank, whose problems were at least partly linked to their being part of conglomerates.A third bank, Yugra, which was part of a real estate-to-oil business empire and regarded as less of a systemic risk, had its license withdrawn earlier this year. While savers were reimbursed by the central bank, its demise caused market concerns about the banking sector’s stability.A financial market source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the spate of banks in difficulties is “a systemic issue lingering from the past when owners were lending to their own business”.“The banking business itself is not profitable. It’s like an avalanche which is waiting to happen: there is no movement, no one is buying assets,” said the source.REMNANT OF THE 90S Nearly three decades after the emergence of pocket banks, it is becoming less beneficial for conglomerates to own them.The lenders are saddled with bad debt that has been accumulating since the 2008 global economic crisis and the parent groups are in some cases struggling too. On top of this, the central bank has imposed more stringent rules on related party lending which cancel out many advantages of a pocket bank.“There are different central bank requirements regarding additional provisions on related parties - this makes such a business model not so attractive from an economic point of view,” Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev told Reuters in an interview last week.Some owners have already got out, including Leonid Fedun, vice-president of oil company Lukoil ( LKOH.MM ), who co-owned Petrocommerce bank.“We got rid of Petrocommerce as we did not want to deal with non-core businesses. We were step-by-step getting rid of our financial business which was a remnant of the 1990s, when it was essential to do it,” Fedun told Reuters last week.Ironically, the buyer was Otkritie and under the deal Fedun ended up with a 4 percent stake in the group before the bailout. Fedun has turned his back on the banking business. “There is neither the desire nor the skills to return to it,” he said.CAPITAL PRESSURE Life became harder for the pocket banks in January when the central bank introduced new rules on related-party lending. These limit a bank’s exposure to its shareholders to 20 percent of its capital. Loans to a single borrower or group of connected borrowers are capped at 25 percent.The more capital banks have to set aside to comply with these rules, the less scope they have for issuing loans, pressuring margins.Vasily Pozdyshev, deputy central bank governor, described banks’ practice of lending to businesses linked to their own shareholders as the “the birth trauma of the Russian banking system”.“We are fixing this problem,” he said. “We are going to toughen things up.”Mikail Shishkhanov, the main shareholder in B&N Bank, said the tighter rules had contributed to the bank’s problems.“Nobody could have supposed that the central bank would become the way it is now, that is strict and consistent,” Shishkhanov told Vedomosti business daily. The new rules, he said in an interview published this week, “have hit private Russian banks hard”.B&N is a part of the Safmar group with over 2 trillion roubles’ ($34 billion) worth of assets ranging from oil and coal to pension funds. Shishkhanov has said that Safmar, which is controlled by his uncle’s family, will transfer some assets to B&N to cut the amount of state funds needed for the bailout.RISKY APPROACH Toxic property loans have been particularly problematic. Growth in real estate prices stalled after the 2008-9 global financial crisis, forcing some developers into bankruptcy. Banks took over buildings that were offered as collateral on the loans, but have struggled to sell them.Safmar is trying to sell 900 property assets worth around $400 million, including Russia’s only completed building designed by the late celebrity architect Zaha Hadid.Two real estate sources said the portfolio comprised assets that Safmar acquired when its businesses rescued struggling Russian banks and inherited their loan books, including physical assets that had been seized from borrowers in default.DRAGGING ON SMALL BUSINESS Market players say the central bank purge will generally make the sector healthier, but it is creating difficulties for some small and medium-sized business customers.Alexander Moynov, who heads the Russian business of South Korea’s Kia Motors ( 000270.KS ), said one Kia dealer is facing a liquidity shortage after it failed to secure refinancing from Otkritie before the central bank stepped in.Moynov told Reuters some dealers could not get loans from the big state banks because they are too small, so they are turning to more aggressive private banks.“We are feeling changes at Otkritie, not massively but some dealers are suffering. For example, there is one dealer lacking 150 million roubles.”For graphic on Russia''s top banks click: hereAdditional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, Elena Fabrichnaya, Andrey Ostroukh, Olga Sichkar, Oksana Kobzeva, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Stolyarov, Anastasia Teterevleva, Kira Zavyalova, Anastasia Lyrchikova and Jack Stubbs; editing by David Stamp '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-banks/central-bank-purge-deepens-doubts-over-russias-pocket-bank-phenomenon-idUSKCN1C31ZE'|'2017-09-28T21:54:00.000+03:00'
'addad435a3eacba0af2ecc5edd16c77bda1b142c'|'Wealthy financiers could gain from Trump''s proposed tax cut for small businesses'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:03 AM / Updated an hour ago Wealthy financiers could gain from Trump''s proposed tax cut for small businesses Amanda Becker 4 Min Read U.S. President Donald Trump arrives aboard Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) - High-income Wall Street financiers could be unintended winners from a section of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax-cut plan that is meant to help mostly small, “mom-and-pop” businesses. Trump called on Wednesday for a new “pass-through” tax rate of 25 percent that could mean big savings for owners of sole proprietorships and partnerships who now pay 39.6 percent. But it could also mean a windfall for partners in private-equity, venture-capital and hedge funds, unless Congress can figure out a way to block them from taking advantage of the new rate. Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, said Democrats supported a pass-through rate for small businesses, such as “a cleaner, a garage, a restaurant.” He said Trump’s plan, however, would create “a whole new set of wealthy individuals being able to dodge their taxes through this new provision.” At issue is the taxation of the roughly 95 percent of American businesses that are not public corporations. Non-public pass-through businesses, such as sole proprietorships, limited liability companies and partnerships, pay no income tax themselves. Instead their profits “pass through” directly to their owners, who pay tax on them at the individual tax rates. Related Coverage White House''s Cohn says now sees more than 3 percent growth to pay for tax plan A small fraction of those business owners pay the top individual tax rate of 39.6 percent, higher than the current top corporate income tax rate of 35 percent. Those business owners have long complained that the disparity is unfair, especially in view of the fact that many multinationals pay much less than the 35 percent statutory corporate tax rate by exploiting abundant loopholes and tax breaks available to large, global corporations. Republicans have been eager to address the issue. Trump’s plan proposes a new tax rate of 25 percent for the pass-through income of “small and family-owned businesses.” The problem, according to the plan’s critics, is that financial entities such as private-equity, venture-capital and hedge funds are all partnerships whose wealthy partners would see substantial tax savings on large portions of their income unless congressional tax writers find a way to exclude them. ‘GOOD’ VERSUS ‘BAD’ PASS-THROUGH INCOME The White House document that spelled out Trump’s plan signaled that the administration was aware of the potential problem but would leave addressing it up to Congress. The document said: “The framework contemplates that the (congressional tax) committees will adopt measures to prevent the recharacterization of personal income into business income to prevent wealthy individuals from avoiding the top personal tax rate.” Trump’s plan also proposes cutting the top corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent and cutting the top individual tax rate to 35 percent from 39.6 percent. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said two weeks ago that the administration would ensure partners at services firms such as accounting, law and financial firms would not benefit from a new, lower pass-through rate. A Treasury Department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the pass-through rate or plans to exempt certain categories of firms. Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, a liberal advocacy group, said the idea that a new pass-through rate would help small business was “simply a hoax.” Tax experts said it would be difficult for congressional tax writers to exempt partners at services firms from using the new pass-through rate. “There has always been talk of how to carve out ‘good’ pass-through income from ‘bad’ pass-through income. The problem is it’s exceedingly hard to do and there is no way to draw clear lines that won’t be manipulated,” said Seth Hanlon with the Center for American Progress, a liberal group. Victor Fleischer, a law professor at the University of San Diego, agreed it would be “challenging.” “Still, I think it can probably be done,” Fleischer said. Reporting by Amanda Becker; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-passthrough/wealthy-financiers-could-gain-from-trumps-proposed-tax-cut-for-small-businesses-idUSKCN1C3175'|'2017-09-28T13:03:00.000+03:00'
'3e6214c1ff164c580753f91209cb385145c8c738'|'Whitney Tilson to shut hedge fund, blames market ''complacency'''|'Sept 28 (Reuters) - Whitney Tilson is closing his hedge fund Kase Capital, and will return capital to investors, he said in a letter to clients.Tilson cited “high prices and complacency that currently prevail in the market” as main reasons for shutting down his fund.“Historically, I have invested in high-quality, safe stocks at good prices as well as lower-quality ones at distressed prices,” Tilson wrote to clients on Sunday.“... However, my favorite safe stocks (like Berkshire Hathaway and Mondelez) don’t feel cheap, and my favorite cheap stocks (like Hertz and Spirit Airlines ) don’t feel safe. Hence, my decision to shut down.”Kase Capital follows a spate of other notable funds that have gone out of business this year, including Eric Mindich''s Eton Park Capital Management, and John Burbank''s Passport Capital, which recently announced plans to shut its long-short equity fund. reut.rs/2fuEDoITilson was in a two-year-long headlock with Lumber Liquidators Inc, accusing the retailer of selling flooring laced with cancer-causing materials.The scandal prompted Lumber’s chief executive, Robert Lynch, to step down in May 2015.Tilson reaped millions from his bet against Lumber, whose shares were down 90 percent at one point. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/kase-capital-closure/whitney-tilson-to-shut-hedge-fund-blames-market-complacency-idINL4N1M952X'|'2017-09-28T14:09:00.000+03:00'
'50a9fdce491893bbb17097c2a16b273a9b45b342'|'Tea and Tiananmen: Inside China''s new censorship machine'|' 44 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Tea and Tiananmen: Inside China''s new censorship machine Cate Cadell , Pei Li 8 Min Read TIANJIN, China, Sept 29 (Reuters) - In a glass tower in a trendy part of China’s eastern city of Tianjin, hundreds of young men and women sit in front of computer screens, scouring the Internet for videos and messages that run counter to Communist Party doctrine. References to President Xi Jinping are scrutinized. As are funny nicknames for state leaders. And any mention of the Tiananmen protests in 1989 is immediately excised, as is sexual innuendo and violent content. Welcome to China’s new world of online censorship, where Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” meets Silicon Valley start-up. The young censors in the Tianjin office – or “auditors” – work for Beijing ByteDance Technology Co, better known as Toutiao, a popular and fast-growing news feed app. Surrounded by noodle restaurants and construction sites, the Wisdom Mountain Twin Towers, where the censors do their work, don’t exactly look Orwellian. Workers scan into bright offices using iPads. There are team building sessions typical of start-ups the world over. And the dress code is casual. “Our corporate culture is really good; every afternoon, for example, we get together for tea,” said one censor at the Toutiao office. A “horizontal” management structure means “ordinary employees can send messages about their issues straight to the CEO”. The censor added: “Overall the firm is seen as a cool place to work.” Toutiao’s Tianjin “auditing” centre is at the heart of a vast Chinese censorship effort that is growing fast as official scrutiny of online content intensifies. According to figures released by the state media outlet Beijing News, China had roughly 2 million online content monitors in government departments and private companies in 2013. Academics estimate that number has since risen sharply. The government has been tightening control over videos, chat platforms and social media ahead of a Communist Party congress in October at which Xi is expected to bolster his leadership. Under Xi, the government has stepped up efforts to control discourse online as a growing array of web platforms give people new channels for self-expression. “They control a lot already but are really cleaning up for the Party congress,” said Lokman Tsui, a journalism professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He said the clampdown would last well beyond the congress and was having a widespread “chilling effect”. Companies like Toutiao are responding, hiring armies of workers to police videos, blogs and news articles available to its 120 million users across China. “We had about 30-40 employees two years ago; now we have nearly a thousand reviewing and auditing,” said the Toutiao censor, who, like other censors Reuters spoke to, asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic. A guard and receptionist at the building said the Tianjin office had expanded rapidly. “Everyone here is doing auditing work,” the receptionist said. “One year ago there was one floor, now we have ten.” Toutiao, which Reuters reported last month was raising at least $2 billion in a new funding round that would value it at around $20 billion, said it had been expanding its teams rapidly, including in content “auditing.” “We have invested in developing sophisticated AI analytical tools and stringent content management processes to weed out low quality and fake content,” the company said in a statement, referring to artificial intelligence. The company declined to say how many censors it employed. LOVE NEWS, POLITICALLY SAVVY? Reuters spoke to four Toutiao censors and four other staff, who described the company’s censorship work, which they said spiked during periods of activity by the country’s political leaders. The censors rotate between day and night shifts; the peak time for censoring content is from 6pm to 9pm. Workers review videos, users’ posts and news, rooting out political criticism. They also target topics ranging from violence and drug addiction to extramarital affairs and religious cults, all of which were blacklisted in lengthy guidelines issued in June. “You can’t have anything that is too vulgar, too violent, too bloody, or anything that makes people feel disgusted,” said a second Toutiao censor based in Beijing, where the company has its headquarters. “There’s no set rules; more it’s the discretionary judgment of those on duty.” Some topics are particularly sensitive - anything to do with President Xi is automatically flagged by computers. Others are totally off limits. The “6.4 tank event” - a reference to the date of the crackdown on student protests in Tiananmen Square - and “various nicknames for state leaders” are automatically blocked, the censors said. Most of the censors said they were doing a public service. ”There is a lot of evil and pollution on the internet that people don’t see, and we are helping protect people, a third Toutiao censor said in Tianjin. But the efforts of the censors are often met with intense vitriol online by those whose posts are removed and others who decry the growing censorship in China. “Looking for my friends’ posts, I find they’ve all been erased,” one Weibo user posted under the handle “Jue Nian”. “I‘m afraid in a few years that history will have been rewritten so many times there’ll be no space for opposing points of view.” PARTY TIES Beijing has tightened rules this year for Internet companies to self-censor content on their platforms, and has fined web giants like Tencent Holdings Ltd, Baidu Inc and Weibo Corp for not doing enough to clean up content. In-house censors work separately from government censors, who operate within state media and local propaganda units and liaise with private companies. Weibo and Tencent, which operates the popular chat platform WeChat, did not respond to requests for comment. Baidu declined to comment, but pointed to a statement from August saying it was committed to dealing with malicious information on its platforms. Zhang Lijun, chairman of the online news and video portal V1 Group, said between 20-30 percent of his company’s labour costs went on content auditors - a necessary business expenditure. “Without doubt you need to maintain close ties with the ruling Party,” Zhang said. “Party building, setting up Party units properly, these can ensure your news goes out smoothly and keeps your business operations safe.” ARTIFICIAL AND HUMAN INTELLIGENCE The Beijing-based censor said Toutiao used artificial intelligence systems to censor content, though these don’t always understand the tone of posts. “We are training the AI. They are not as smart. Hopefully they will learn to handle all this eventually.” For now, though, real humans are still in demand. An advertisement Toutiao posted on Tianjin Foreign Studies University’s career page for students this month sought 100 fresh graduates to work in “content audit”, earning between 4,000-6,000 yuan ($611-$917) per month. Successful candidates need to “love news and current affairs” but also be “politically savvy” and “understand the laws and regulations governing Internet supervision”. One advertisement, for a “forum auditor” posted on the recruitment site Lagou.com in September, said the person would be responsible for working with direction from China’s powerful Internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China. The CAC did not respondent to requests for comment. Most postings are for young graduates, generally seen as more receptive to the job’s demands. “People who have just graduated from college are clean like a white piece of paper, and will accept our corporate culture more easily,” said one Tianjin censor. ($1 = 6.5452 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Cate Cadell and Pei Li; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Philip McClellan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/china-congress-censorship/tea-and-tiananmen-inside-chinas-new-censorship-machine-idUSL4N1LW25C'|'2017-09-29T08:44:00.000+03:00'
'c3bfc20b6adf5bb114bf88190bb8cae9b84c392f'|'Telecom Italia is target of any possible fine by Italy over Vivendi control - sources'|'September 29, 2017 / 6:53 AM / in 7 minutes Telecom Italia is target of any possible fine by Italy over Vivendi control - sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Telecom Italia tower is pictured in Rome, Italy, March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo ROME/MILAN (Reuters) - The process Italy has launched and which could lead to a fine for failure to notify the government of Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) assuming de facto control of Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) is against the Italian phone group, government sources said. It was previously assumed that any fine that could emerge from the investigation would fall on French media group Vivendi and not Telecom Italia (TIM). Vivendi, TIM’s top shareholder with a 24 percent stake, has repeatedly denied controlling Italy’s biggest phone group. Vivendi declined to comment. A Telecom Italia source said the company reiterated its position that there was no need for any notification because it had never made any changes regarding control of the company and its network. Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri, Agnieszka Flak and Stefano Rebaudo'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-telecomitalia-vivendi-fine/telecom-italia-is-target-of-any-possible-fine-by-italy-over-vivendi-control-sources-idUKKCN1C40NP'|'2017-09-29T09:52:00.000+03:00'
'3b119e1b27a563fe1c977d01c5ab6df19ade1897'|'EU to investigate $54 billion Luxottica, Essilor deal'|'September 26, 2017 / 3:05 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago EU to investigate $54 billion Luxottica, Essilor deal Foo Yun Chee , Valentina Za 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Sunglasses from Ray Ban, a Luxottica owned brand, are on display at an optician shop in Hanau, Germany, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BRUSSELS/MILAN (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will investigate whether the planned 46-billion-euro ($54 billion) merger of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor could drive out rivals from the market or push up prices. The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation on Tuesday, saying the deal involving the two companies, both top-ranked in their sectors, may reduce competition in ophthalmic lenses and eyewear. The move came after Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) declined to offer concessions in a preliminary review. Reuters reported on Sept. 11 that the competition enforcer had expressed worries about the deal to the companies. The Commission said it would decide by Feb. 12 whether to clear the deal, but the two companies reaffirmed their goal of closing the merger at around the end of the year. Related Coverage Essilor, Luxottica say to co-operate with EU on planned merger “Both companies ... will closely cooperate with the European Commission to fully demonstrate the rationale of the proposed combination,” they said in a joint statement. A key regulatory concern is the possibility that the merged company might persuade opticians to buy eyewear and lenses as a package, leveraging on Luxottica’s strong brand portfolio which includes Ray Ban and Persol as well as licensed names such as Chanel and Armani. Luciano Di Via, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance and head of antitrust affairs for Italy, said the Commission would seek to verify that Luxottica’s rivals retained full access to the lens market and Essilor’s competitors had full access to the market for frames. “The final outcome will hinge to a large extent on concessions the two companies make to offset any foreclosure risks,” he said. “Usually in situations such as this, behavioural remedies are requested, the Commission may demand commitments from the two companies in terms of commercial practices, a request to sell certain assets is more unlikely.” The 95 billion-euro eyewear industry is seen expanding steadily as the world’s population age and awareness of sun damage grows among middle classes in emerging countries. “Half of Europeans wear glasses and almost all of us will need vision correction one day,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. “We need to carefully assess whether the proposed merger would lead to higher prices or reduced choices for opticians and ultimately consumers.” The merger has already been approved by the competition authorities in several countries including India, Japan, New Zealand. It still needs clearance in North America, the biggest market for both companies. Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu/eu-regulators-to-investigate-54-billion-luxottica-essilor-deal-idUKKCN1C121W'|'2017-09-26T21:22:00.000+03:00'
'130232cc0eb2f1852d8f6cd87e2f3d02768a3f83'|'Equifax CEO retires following massive cyber attack'|'September 26, 2017 / 1:18 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Equifax CEO departs, forgoes bonus after massive data breach Dustin Volz , John McCrank 5 Min Read (Reuters) - Equifax Inc ( EFX.N ) said on Tuesday that Chief Executive Richard Smith would leave the company and forgo this year’s bonus as criticism mounts over a massive cyber attack that has plunged the credit-monitoring firm into crisis. Smith’s departure is the latest development following Equifax’s Sept. 7 disclosure of the breach, which has prompted investigations by multiple federal and state agencies, including a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice. Some observers said the move was a positive first step, though several U.S. senators looking into the cyber attack said the departure failed to remedy damage to the up to 143 million Americans whose data was compromised. “A failure of this magnitude must have consequences,” said Paul Rosenzweig, a former Department of Homeland Security official who advises companies on cyber security. “If the Equifax CEO had retained his job, cyber security would be seen as a joke everywhere in corporate America.” Equifax said in a regulatory filing that it might claw back some of Smith’s compensation for this year, depending on results of the board’s investigation into the breach, which the Atlanta-based company has said occurred between mid-May and July. Smith is still eligible for $18.4 million in retirement benefits, regardless of the results of the internal probe. The company’s statement said that Smith, 57, had retired, though he and company representatives did not respond to requests to elaborate on the reason for his departure. “At this critical juncture, I believe it is in the best interests of the company to have new leadership to move the company forward,” Smith was quoted as saying in the statement. The breach has already prompted the departures of Equifax’s chief information officer and chief security officer, which were disclosed on Sept. 15. Some corporate governance experts said the board’s probe into the attack could lead to more changes at the helm of the company. “The board of directors and leadership has to figure out how much damage has been caused and what needs to be done. Maybe someone on the board needs to be removed,” said Brent Longnecker, head of compensation and corporate-governance consulting firm Longnecker & Associates. Equifax shares were down 0.7 percent in midday trade. They have fallen around 30 percent, losing about $4.5 billion in market value since the attack was disclosed amid criticism from consumers, politicians and security experts over the company’s response to the hack. The logo and trading information for Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. are displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson It is rare, but not unprecedented for a CEO to depart following a massive hack. Target Corp ( TGT.N ) CEO Gregg Steinhafel left the retailer in 2014 after a high-profile breach that exposed credit cards and data on tens of millions of shoppers. In this case, Equifax and Smith agreed to let company defer decisions related to “any obligations or benefits” owed to him until the board’s review of the breach is complete. Smith last year earned $14.96 million in total compensation. HEARINGS The company named Paulino do Rego Barros, 61, who was most recently president of Equifax’s Asia-Pacific operations, as interim CEO. Board member Mark Feidler was appointed non-executive chairman. Smith has been called to testify at several congressional hearings. Several lawmakers, including Democratic U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown said they still expected Smith to appear. “The American public deserves answers about what went wrong at Equifax and what the company plans to do going forward,” Warren said in a statement. A U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee spokeswoman said Smith would still testify at an Oct. 3 hearing. A Senate Banking Committee spokeswoman said that panel’s plans to hear from Smith on Oct. 4 have not changed. An Equifax spokeswoman said the company would continue to cooperate with lawmakers. Democratic Senator Mark Warner said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that the situation at Equifax was a “travesty” and Smith’s departure did not do enough to remedy the harm suffered by consumers. “I question if Equifax even has the right to continue providing these services,” said Warner, who co-chairs the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus. Three Equifax executives, including the chief financial officer, are also under fire for selling $1.8 million in stock three days after the company said it detected the breach on July 29. Equifax has said its executives were not aware of the breach when they sold their stock. Reporting by John McCrank in New York, Dustin Volz in Washinton; Additional reporting by Diane Bartz and Pete Schroeder in Washington, Ross Kerber in Boston, Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar, Meredith Mazzilli and Jim Finkle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber-ceo/equifax-ceo-retires-following-massive-cyber-attack-idUKKCN1C11Q9'|'2017-09-26T16:17:00.000+03:00'
'300b6e75968017f57cddaa60348f7e4170c3d518'|'Carney says UK on track for rate hike in relatively near term'|'  7:45 AM / Updated 4 hours ago UK on track for rate hike in ''relatively near term'' - Carney William Schomberg , Estelle Shirbon 3 Min Read Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England listens as Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at attend an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bank''s independence, in the City of London, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday that Britain’s economy was on track for the central bank to start raising record-low interest rates in the “relatively near term.” “What we have said, that if the economy continues on the track that it’s been on, and all indications are that it is, in the relatively near term we can expect that interest rates would increase somewhat,” Carney told BBC radio. The British central bank surprised markets just over two weeks ago when it said most of its policymakers thought the first rate hike in more than a decade would be needed “in the coming months,” if inflation pressure continued to build. Carney has previously said he was one of those policymakers. Related Coverage Bank of England''s Carney says inflation pressures likely to last Most economists now expect the BoE to raise its Bank Rate to 0.50 percent from 0.25 percent on Nov. 2, at the end of its next policy meeting. Britain’s economy slowed sharply in early 2017 as the Brexit vote pushed up inflation, weighing on spending by consumers, and slowed investment by companies. But the BoE thinks that Britain’s departure from the European Union is likely to mean the economy will not be able grow as fast as before without pushing up inflation as the number of migrant workers coming to the country slows and companies hold off on spending to increase capacity. Carney said such constraints represented a lower Brexit “speed limit” for the economy and meant the BoE had to think now about raising rates. “If the speed limit has slowed and we’re in a position where we’ve used up a lot of the capacity in this economy ... it means that we should be thinking about, and we are open about this, we’re thinking about taking our foot a bit off the accelerator,” he told the BBC radio. Asked whether that meant a rate hike in November, Carney said: “I think the indication that the MPC has given is about as clear an indication as one can expect.” “Interest rate increases when and if they come will be to a limited extent and gradual,” Carney said, echoing many previous statements from the Bank. The BoE cut interest rates to a record low of 0.25 percent in August last year, shortly after the Brexit vote, and most economists think that the kind of gradual increases it has talked about are unlikely to put a lot of strain on the economy. Asked about borrowing levels, Carney said there was no overall debt bubble in Britain but he repeated the BoE’s position that it was worried about “a pocket of risk” in consumer debt that has been growing at about 10 percent a year. “We think banks have been giving too much credit ... and not been as disciplined as they should be in their under-writing standards and their pricing on this debt,” he said. “We’re worried about this shift from what has been responsible lending to reckless lending ... It’s early stage ... but some of it is getting a little frothy and should be addressed.” Reporting by William Schomberg and Estelle Shirbon, editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-carney/carney-says-uk-on-track-for-rate-hike-in-relatively-near-term-idUKKCN1C40U3'|'2017-09-29T10:46:00.000+03:00'
'50be9b2c9399f0b87a5c48b940f58592b6cea73b'|'Japan August industrial output rises 2.1 percent month-on-month'|'FILE PHOTO: A worker walks among steel rods at a steel collection facility in Tokyo, Japan, October 30, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s industrial output rose 2.1 percent in August from the previous month, preliminary government data showed on Friday.The reading compared with the median estimate of a 1.9 percent increase in a Reuters poll of economists, and followed a 0.8 percent decline in July.Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expect output to fall 1.9 percent in September and rise 3.5 percent in October.Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chris Gallagher '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-output/japan-august-industrial-output-rises-2-1-percent-month-on-month-idINKCN1C400H'|'2017-09-28T22:09:00.000+03:00'
'77781e8afe894933b2192a633d361f91c8c3c9bf'|'U.S. drillers add oil rigs for first week since mid-August -Baker Hughes'|'(Reuters) - U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for the first week in seven after a 14-month drilling recovery stalled in August as crude prices were on track for their strongest third quarter in 10 years.The U.S. oil rig count, however, is down for the second month in a row and posted its biggest monthly and quarterly declines since the second quarter of 2016.Drillers added six oil rigs in the week to Sept. 29, bringing the total count up to 750, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.The rig count, an early indicator of future output, is still higher than the 425 active oil rigs a year ago as energy companies pursued ambitious spending programs for 2017.For the month of September, the rig count fell by nine, after dropping by seven in August.This is the first consecutive monthly reduction since May 2016, after which the drilling recovery took off because of higher oil prices.The rig count also dropped by six in the third quarter, the first decline over a three-month period since the second quarter of 2016.U.S. crude futures have risen to around $52 per barrel this week due to supply concerns, including a global producer’s deal to curb output.Crude prices were up over 9 percent so far this month, the biggest monthly increase since April 2016, after declining in five of the past six months, including a near 6 percent drop in August as rising U.S. output helped to add to a global glut.In spite of higher oil prices, Total SA this week adjusted its capital expenditure plans for 2017 to $14 billion, the low end of its previous $14-$15 billion range.Although several exploration and production (E&P) companies have trimmed their investments for this year due to the drop in crude prices, they still planned to spend much more this year than last year.Analysts at Simmons & Co, energy specialists at U.S. investment bank Piper Jaffray, this week revised higher its forecast for the total oil and gas rig count, now expecting it to rise to an average of 973 in 2017, 1,004 in 2018 and 1,084 in 2019. Last week, it forecast 881 in 2017, 959 in 2018 and 1,114 in 2019.That compares with 861 oil and gas rigs so far in 2017, 509 in 2016 and 978 in 2015.Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rigs-baker-hughes/u-s-drillers-add-oil-rigs-for-first-week-since-mid-august-baker-hughes-idUSKCN1C42LP'|'2017-09-29T20:21:00.000+03:00'
'7fb6252f6b140b4eb89cf18e5ad230a06c6e6273'|'YRC freight terminal in Puerto Rico resumes limited operations'|'(Reuters) - YRC Worldwide Inc said on Friday its freight terminal in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico has resumed limited operations and is working to provide service to customers as soon as possible.The company’s YRC Freight unit told customers in a service alert that damage, power outages, road closures, and fuel shortages due to Hurricane Maria have thrown off sailing schedules to and from San Juan, and port capacity was limited.Due to these problems, YRC said shipments will likely not follow normal schedules and delays in transit are possible.Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-maria-yrc-worldwide/yrc-freight-terminal-in-puerto-rico-resumes-limited-operations-idUSKCN1C4266'|'2017-09-29T17:39:00.000+03:00'
'73b7c263947ec2f8cb7e210866779b027a96dce2'|'Dollar takes breather after rally; focus on Trump tax plan, Fed outlook'|'  1:39 AM / in 40 minutes Dollar takes breather after rally; focus on Trump tax plan, Fed outlook Masayuki Kitano 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Sheets of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on the five-dollar bill currency are inspected through a magnifying glass at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar inched higher against a basket of major currencies on Friday, having pulled back from one-month highs set this week as investors pondered the Trump administration’s tax plan and the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.1 percent to 93.155 .DXY, languishing below Thursday’s peak of 93.666, its highest level since Aug. 18. For the week, the dollar index has gained 1.1 percent, putting it on track for its biggest weekly gain since December. The dollar rose this week on renewed hopes for U.S. tax reforms, as well as comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that stressed the need for gradual interest rate hikes. Traders are probably taking profits in the wake of the dollar’s rally, said Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for Oanda in Singapore. “It’s also the realisation that we’ve been down this tax reform road before, and I don’t think it’s going to be easy... There’s going to be a lot of back and forth, a lot of squabbling,” Innes added. U.S. President Donald Trump proposed on Wednesday the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades, calling for tax cuts for most Americans. Against the yen, the dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 112.57 yen JPY= . On Wednesday, the dollar had reached a 2-1/2 month high of 113.26 yen. Later on Friday, investors will turn their focus to U.S. economic data including the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for August. The euro held steady at $1.1786 EUR= , having pulled up from Wednesday''s trough of $1.1717, the common currency''s lowest level in more than a month. The common currency has rallied 12 percent against the dollar so far this year as worries about the rise of anti-establishment political forces in Europe faded while expectations rose for tapering the European Central Bank’s stimulus. The euro, however, has been weighed down this week after the results of elections in Germany on Sunday. Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office but will have to build an uneasy coalition to form a government. Sterling eased 0.1 percent to $1.3425 GBP=D3 . On Thursday, it had gained 0.4 percent, after Britain''s Brexit secretary said "considerable progress" had been made in talks and the EU''s chief negotiator praised a "new dynamic" from the prime minister. Reporting by Masayuki Kitano'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-forex/dollar-takes-breather-after-rally-focus-on-trump-tax-plan-fed-outlook-idUKKCN1C406R'|'2017-09-29T04:39:00.000+03:00'
'a26aed8b6e7ca47754fc061b763be6f76f2ff1be'|'Musk shrinks SpaceX Mars rocket to cut costs'|'ADELAIDE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk on Friday outlined ambitious plans for a manned mission to Mars and a rocket capable of carrying passengers from one continent to another on Earth.SpaceX plans its first trip to the red planet in 2022, carrying only cargo, to be followed by a manned mission in 2024, Musk, who runs the company and electric luxury car company Tesla Inc, said at a conference in Adelaide.NASA’s first human mission to Mars is expected about a decade later.Musk, the chief executive and lead designer of Space Exploration Technologies, said SpaceX has shrunk the size of the rocket ship it is developing to go to Mars, aiming to start construction on the first spaceship in the first half of next year.As for the intercontinental passenger rocket - a concept familiar to science fiction fans - Musk said, “If you build a ship that’s capable of going to Mars, what if you take that same ship and go from one place to another on Earth? We looked at that and the results are quite interesting.”He then showed the conference audience a video of images of a rocket taking off in New York City and landing in various places around the world, with words on the screen showing flight times of less than an hour between any two cities on opposite sides of the world. A New York-to-Shanghai trip could be done in 39 minutes, for example.Musk had previously planned to use a suite of space vehicles to support the colonization of Mars, beginning with an unmanned capsule called Red Dragon in 2018, but he said SpaceX is now focused on a single, slimmer and shorter rocket instead.The rocket would be partially reusable and capable of flight directly from Earth to Mars, could still carry 100 passengers, and could also be used for fast transport on Earth, Musk said.Elon Musk, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and lead designer of SpaceX, and also CEO and co-founder of Tesla, reacts as a screen displays a depiction of a human colony on the planet Mars during a presentation at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, September 29, 2017. AAP/Morgan Sette/via REUTERS Musk’s SpaceX is one of several ventures that have said they want to open up space routes to Mars.Lockheed Martin Corp announced separate plans for a manned Mars journey on Friday, unveiling concept drawings of a “base camp” space station orbiting Mars and landing craft that would carry four astronauts to the planet’s surface.Slideshow (2 Images) “We know its cold, it’s pretty inhospitable, so we start with the robots and then we go down with these landers,” Rob Chambers, Lockheed’s director of human space flight strategy, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview.Chambers gave no date, but the planned mission would be a joint expedition with NASA, which aims to reach Mars during the 2030s.Mars is typically 140 million miles (225 million km) from Earth, and landing the first humans there, after what traditionally has been seen as a six- to nine-month journey, is an extremely ambitious goal.SpaceX, which Musk founded with the aim of colonizing Mars, is one of several private and government-funded ventures vying to put people and cargo on the red planet, and other destinations beyond Earth’s orbit.Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is also designing a heavy-lift vehicle called New Armstrong that will be capable of Mars transport.Russia and China are each preparing for manned missions to the moon, and Russia has agreed to work with NASA planning a “deep space gateway” space station in lunar orbit, which would serve as a staging post for future missions.Reporting by Sonali Paul and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Jonathan Oatis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-mars/musk-shrinks-spacex-mars-rocket-to-cut-costs-idUSKCN1C40MF'|'2017-09-29T09:37:00.000+03:00'
'42ed165f74ae69f29081de050815d69ffc60899c'|'JGBs bounce back after BOJ purchase draws limited selling'|'TOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond prices rebounded on Friday, following a big decline in the previous session, after the Bank of Japan’s bond purchase showed limited selling interest and as U.S. bonds stabilised.The 10-year JGB yield dropped 0.5 basis point to 0.060 percent, while the price of benchmark December futures rose 0.09 point to 150.35, a day after it posted the biggest loss in three months.The market calmed down as many Japanese investors stayed on the sidelines on the last day of their financial half-year.The BOJ’s bond buying attracted limited selling despite the market’s fall the previous day. The central bank’s buying of 200 billion yen ($1.77 billion) worth 10-25 year bonds drew offers at 2.5 times that amount, compared with 3.7 times on Wednesday.Its buying of bonds with more than 25 years to maturity saw selling of 3.1 times the BOJ’s 100 billion yen bids, a lower ratio than three previous occasions.The 20-year yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.580 percent , while the 30-year yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.865 percent.The market showed no reaction to a barrage of Japanese economic data released in the morning. Core consumer inflation in August was 0.7 percent, in line with market expectations. ($1 = 112.6800 yen) (Reporting by Tokyo Markets Team; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds/jgbs-bounce-back-after-boj-purchase-draws-limited-selling-idINL4N1MA2D4'|'2017-09-29T04:23:00.000+03:00'
'be5e050abd38f7d0ab23303b3a8a2c629d3c3a9e'|'Government sticks to 2017/18 gross market borrowing target: finance ministry source'|'  11:52 AM / in 7 hours India sticks to 2017/18 borrowing target, open to extra bond sales 3 Min Read An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s government on Thursday stuck to its budgeted market borrowing target for the fiscal year ending in March 2018 but held out the possibility of selling additional bonds to fund any new spending. An economic slowdown following the launch of a nationwide Goods and Service Tax (GST) in July have put federal revenues under pressure, raising worries that New Delhi will struggle to trim its fiscal deficit. Separately, the Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday it would raise the foreign investment limits for government bonds by 80 billion rupees to 2.5 trillion rupees for the October-December quarter. The action came after current quotas were almost fully exhausted amid strong buying by foreign investors, as India offers high yields at a time of globally low interest rates. In February, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had budgeted to raise 5.8 trillion rupees ($88.57 billion) in 2017/18 via bond sales to bridge the fiscal deficit of 3.2 percent of GDP. However, the deficit has already crossed 92 percent of the full-year target. Adding to the concern, GST collections fell 3.6 percent in August from July. Yet, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said that New Delhi would leave the full-year borrowing target intact and sell bonds worth 2.08 trillion rupees ($31.77 billion) between October and March. “We do not foresee extra borrowing at this point in time, but we are conscious there may be a possibility,” Garg told reporters after a meeting with central bank officials. A street side restaurant owner holds a bundle of Indian currency notes as he stands outside his restaurant in New Delhi, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/Files ADDITIONAL BOND SALES? Growth in Asia’s third-largest economy slowed to a three-year low of 5.7 percent in the quarter that ended in June. The slowdown has given the opposition Congress party an opening to regain political ground against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, although the next general election is not due until 2019. Some government officials including one of Modi’s top policy advisers have called for stepping up government spending even at the risk of busting the fiscal deficit target. Relaxing the deficit target, however, runs the risk of inviting a censure from credit ratings agencies and could also make foreign investors wary. They have continued to buy into Indian debt, despite recent strong selling in equities, with net purchases of $23 billion so far this year. While Garg remained non-committal on extra government spending, he said state-run companies would spend an additional 250 billion rupees in the current fiscal year. Government officials told Reuters last week that they were contemplating spending up to 500 billion rupees more to halt the slowdown, which could widen the federal fiscal deficit by as much as 50 basis points to 3.7 percent. “At this moment we are going as per our programme,” Garg said. “But we have to be conscious that there may be a possibility...then we will plan for the additional borrowing.” ($1 = 65.4650 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-government-borrowings/government-sticks-to-2017-18-gross-market-borrowing-target-finance-ministry-source-idINKCN1C31KF'|'2017-09-28T14:50:00.000+03:00'
'c4165ad9ad3c270deb5a75b5d3b938fad493860e'|'Stocks, bond yields, dollar up after Trump tax plan'|'  1:07 AM / 5 minutes ago Stocks, bond yields, dollar up after Trump tax plan Hideyuki Sano 5 Min Read A man looks at an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average outside a brokerage at a business district in Tokyo, Japan August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were firm on Thursday while U.S. bond yields and the dollar held sizable gains made the previous day after President Donald Trump proposed the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades. The dollar also drew support from strong U.S. durable goods orders data that cemented expectations the Federal Reserve is on course to raise interest rates for the third time this year in December. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 rose 0.5 percent while MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was little changed in early trade. On Wall Street, small-cap shares, seen as benefiting the most from the proposed tax cuts, soared. Russel 2000 small-cap index notched a record high, rising 1.9 percent for its biggest one-day gain in almost six months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.25 percent while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.41 percent. “The fact that Trump made the tax proposal was seen as a step forward,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities. Trump offered to lower corporate income tax rates, cut taxes for small businesses and reduce the top income tax rate for individuals. The proposal faces an uphill battle in Congress, however, with Trump’s own party divided, and the plan already prompting criticism that it favors the rich and companies and could add trillions of dollars to the deficit. “It is hard to expect this proposal to pass the Congress smoothly. We have to pay attention to how the Republicans will view this,” said Takafumi Yamawaki, chief fixed income strategist at J.P. Morgan Securities. “It is possible that the net fiscal deficit spending will be smaller than what the stock markets expect,” he added. In the currency market, as the dollar broadly gained, the euro EUR= hit a six-week low of $1.1717 on Wednesday and last traded at $1.1752, having shed 1.7 percent so far this week. The dollar also shot up to a 2-1/2-month high of 113.26 yen JPY= the previous day and was last fetching 112.78 yen. The Canadian dollar extended its losses, suffering its biggest drop in eight months on Wednesday, after Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz dampened expectations for further interest rate hikes this year. The Canadian unit CAD=D4 fell to C$1.2484 to the U.S. dollar, its lowest in a month. The dollar strengthened against many other emerging market currencies while gold XAU= hit a one-month low of $1,281.5 per ounce. U.S. bond yields also jumped with two-year notes yield US2YT=RR rising to a nine-year high of 1.483 percent in anticipation of a rate hike in December. Comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen that the Fed needs to continue with gradual rate hikes have cemented expectations for a year-end policy tightening. New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in August, helping to boost optimism on the U.S. economy. Yields on longer-dated bonds also soared as Trump’s tax proposal stoked worries about fiscal deterioration. U.S. municipal bonds were also sold for the same reason. The 10-year yield rose to 2.316 percent US10YT=RR, its highest in almost two months compared with 2.229 percent late on Tuesday while the 30-year bond yield US30YT=RR climbed 9 basis points, the biggest one-day rise in almost seven months, to 2.87 percent. Oil prices hovered a tad below their peaks hit earlier this week as the market consolidated after a strong rally this month. Brent LCOc1 futures traded at $57.71 a barrel, down from Tuesday’s 26-month peak of $59.49. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 fetched $52.11 per barrel, just below Tuesday’s five-month high of $52.43 after oil stockpiles in the world’s top consumer unexpectedly drew down, with refiners coming back online following Hurricane Harvey last month. Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/global-stocks-bond-yields-dollar-up-after-trump-tax-plan-idUKKCN1C303P'|'2017-09-28T04:05:00.000+03:00'
'd5e4471ad72f6e48202a43a36756d8e85de981cb'|'Playboy founder Hugh Hefner dies'|'September 28, 2017 / 3:31 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago Playboy founder Hugh Hefner dies at age 91 Bill Trott 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, twirls a napkin during a performance by Dr. John and the Lower 911 at the 30th annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California June 14, 2008. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo (Reuters) - Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who helped usher in the 1960s sexual revolution with his groundbreaking men’s magazine and built a business empire around his libertine lifestyle, died on Wednesday at the age of 91, Playboy Enterprises said. Hefner, once called the “prophet of pop hedonism” by Time magazine, peacefully passed away at his home, Playboy Enterprises said in a statement. Hefner was sometimes characterized as an oversexed Peter Pan as he kept a harem of young blondes that numbered as many as seven at his legendary Playboy Mansion. This was chronicled in “The Girls Next Door,” a TV reality show that aired from 2005 through 2010. He said that thanks to the impotency-fighting drug Viagra he continued exercising his libido into his 80s. “I‘m never going to grow up,” Hefner said in a CNN interview when he was 82. “Staying young is what it is all about for me. Holding on to the boy and long ago I decided that age really didn’t matter and as long as the ladies ... feel the same way, that’s fine with me.” Hefner settled down somewhat in 2012 at age 86 when he took Crystal Harris, who was 60 years younger, as his third wife. He said his swinging lifestyle might have been a reaction to growing up in a repressed family where affection was rarely exhibited. His so-called stunted childhood led to a multi-million-dollar enterprise that centered on naked women but also espoused Hefner’s “Playboy philosophy” based on romance, style and the casting off of mainstream mores. That philosophy came to life at the legendary parties in his mansions - first in his native Chicago, then in Los Angeles’ exclusive Holmby Hills neighborhood - where legions of male celebrities swarmed to mingle with beautiful young women. Long before the Internet made nudity ubiquitous, Hefner faced obscenity charges in 1963 for publishing and circulating photos of disrobed celebrities and aspiring stars but he was acquitted. Related Coverage Factbox: Seven facts about Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner Hefner created Playboy as the first stylish glossy men’s magazine and in addition to nude fold-outs, it had intellectual appeal with top writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Joyce Carol Oates, Vladimir Nabokov, James Baldwin and Alex Haley for men who liked to say they did not buy the magazine just for the pictures. In-depth interviews with historic figures such as Fidel Castro, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and John Lennon also were featured regularly. “I’ve never thought of Playboy quite frankly as a sex magazine,” Hefner told CNN in 2002. “I always thought of it as a lifestyle magazine in which sex was one important ingredient.” Hefner proved to be a genius at branding. The magazine’s rabbit silhouette became one of the best known logos in the world and the “bunny” waitresses in his Playboy nightclubs were instantly recognizable in their low-cut bathing suit-style uniforms with bow ties, puffy cotton tails and pert rabbit ears. Hef, as he began calling himself in high school, also was a living logo for Playboy, presiding over his realm in silk pajamas and a smoking jacket while puffing on a pipe. FILE PHOTO - Hugh Hefner, 81, founder of Playboy magazine and the Playboy Jazz Festival, poses at a news conference which was held to announce the artists performing at the 30th Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, California in this February 27, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo “What I created came out of my own adolescent dreams of fantasies,” he told CNN. “I was trying to redefine what it meant to be a young, urban unattached male.” After writing copy for Esquire magazine, Hefner married and worked in the circulation department of Children’s Activities magazine when he began plotting what would become Playboy magazine. The first issue came out in December 1953 - featuring nude photos of actress Marilyn Monroe - and was a hit. As the magazine took off, it was attacked from the right because of the nudity and from the left by feminists who said it reduced women to sex objects. Hefner once declared sex to be “the primary motivating factor in the course of human history” and, using that as a business model Playboy flourished during the sexual revolution and into the 1970s with monthly circulation hitting 7 million. Slideshow (10 Images) He ran into trouble in the 1980s with competition from Penthouse and Hustler - magazines that had much more explicit photos - and Playboy’s social impact faded considerably by the 21st century. The Playboy Clubs closed in 1991 but would be partially revived. After suffering a minor stroke in 1985, Hefner made daughter Christie chief executive officer of Playboy Enterprises and she gave the business a makeover before stepping down in 2009. Hefner’s son, Cooper, who was nearly 40 years younger than Christie, assumed a major role in the company in 2014. “My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom,” Cooper said in a statement, according to posts on social media. Playboy magazine, starting with its March 2016 issue, did away with full frontal nudity in a rebranding that would have been unimaginable in the publication’s heyday. Playboy resumed nudity a year later as Hefner’s son Cooper announced a new philosophy for the company. In August 2016, one of Hefner’s neighbors, a private equity investor, announced he had bought the Playboy mansion for $100 million with the understanding Hefner could stay there until he died. Before Playboy, Hefner married Millie Williams in 1949 and they divorced in 1959, starting a period in which he became the ultimate bachelor. The many women who shared his round, motorized, vibrating bed included models who posed in his magazine and in 1989 he married one of them, Playmate of the Year Kimberly Conrad. They had two sons but Hefner’s experiment with traditional domesticity ended in divorce after 10 years. Conrad moved into a home next to Hefner so he could stay close to their sons. In 2008 after one of his girlfriends, Holly Madison, broke up with Hefner, he said he had hoped to spend the rest of his life with her. Shortly afterward he added 19-year-old twins to his group before turning to marriage again with Harris. Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru,; Brendan O''Brien in Milwaukee and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Michael Perry'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-playboy-hefner/playboy-founder-hugh-hefner-dies-idUKKCN1C30AS'|'2017-09-28T06:32:00.000+03:00'
'165f6bcea7dd6fbb22c172f95a3b9120bcf851f6'|'China''s COMAC says C919 jet completed second test flight'|'September 28, 2017 / 5:36 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago China''s COMAC says C919 jet completed second test flight Brenda Goh 4 Min Read China''s domestically developed C919 passenger jet is seen during its second test flight near Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China September 28, 2017. China Daily via REUTERS SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s domestically developed C919 passenger jet completed its second test flight on Thursday, the jet’s maker said, but the duration and near five-month gap since its first flight have raised questions over whether its latest delivery target can be met. The narrow-body C919, which will compete with Boeing Co’s ( BA.N ) 737 and the Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) A320, is a symbol of China’s ambition to muscle into a global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next 20 years. However, the program has faced lengthy delays and missed its original target of delivery to customers by 2016 - a date reportedly pushed back to 2020. Sales to date have been restricted largely to its home market because it has yet to be certified by regulators in the United States and Europe. Thursday’s flight was the second for the initial C919 test model, whose maiden flight was on May 5. The second of six planned test aircraft, which achieved power-on of its systems in July, has yet to fly. Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL] said the plane reached an altitude of 10,000 feet during a flight that took off from Shanghai’s Pudong Airport at 07:22 a.m. (2322 GMT) and landed at 10:08 a.m. “Various elements of the test flight, including with the raising/lowering of the landing gear, were all completed smoothly,” COMAC said in a statement. China''s domestically developed C919 passenger jet takes off on its second test flight at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China September 28, 2017. China Daily via REUTERS The 166-minute flight time was more than double the maiden flight of 80 minutes, but 54 minutes shorter than plans detailed in an article published by state-backed news website ThePaper.cn earlier on Thursday. COMAC did not immediately reply to questions from Reuters on whether the flight was shorter than planned. Bradley Perrett, a veteran China watcher and reporter at Aviation Week, said the five-month interval between the aircraft’s two flights was “extraordinary” and COMAC’s reported delivery target of 2020 appeared not to be firm. “The conclusion must be that COMAC was not really ready for flight testing in May,” Perrett said in an article published on Wednesday. “A common view is that the C919 was put into the air so early for strictly political reasons, although there is no suggestion that doing so was unsafe.” Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Industries Ltd’s ( 7011.T ), Mitsubishi Regional Jet - Japan’s first passenger aircraft - took its second flight eight days after it first flew in 2015 while the gap between the first and second flight for the Airbus A350 was five days, Perrett said. Strongly backed by China’s government, COMAC has so far announced orders for 730 C919 planes from 27 customers, many of which are Chinese leasing companies. Though billed as homemade, the C919 relies on overseas technology from firms including General Electric Co ( GE.N ), France’s Safran SA ( SAF.PA ), Honeywell International Inc ( HON.N ) and United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ). COMAC also said its ARJ21 regional jet was in the air at the same time as the C919 on Thursday, marking the first time two types of domestically made passenger jets have taken to China’s skies simultaneously. Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed and Adam Jourdan; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-aviation-comac/chinas-comac-says-c919-jet-completes-2nd-test-flight-idUSKCN1C30H3'|'2017-09-28T10:55:00.000+03:00'
'2e0e5eb0c2ff254c03242880548cd5ccd02f4d46'|'HSBC plans to poach customers from rivals with new app'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/a1eaa94e-a376-11e7-b797-b61809486fe2'|'2017-09-28T02:05:00.000+03:00'
'4ca52b99876291391a15a9b91d6409b0acceb79a'|'Asian stocks, bond yields, dollar up after Trump tax plan'|'  1:05 AM / in 29 minutes Dollar, bond yields rise on Trump tax plan; Asia stocks fall Hideyuki Sano 5 Min Read People walk past an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average outside a brokerage at a business district in Tokyo, Japan August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar and U.S. bond yields rose on Thursday after President Donald Trump proposed the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades and as strong U.S. economic data supported the case for a Federal Reserve rate hike later this year. The dollar’s strength pressured many emerging market currencies and bonds, helping drag down MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS 0.4 percent to one-month lows. South Korean 10-year yields hit a 2-year high. In contrast, Japan''s Nikkei .N225 rose 0.55 percent, taking cues from gains on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.25 percent while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.41 percent. Small-cap U.S. shares, seen as benefiting the most from the proposed tax cuts, soared, with the Russel 2000 small-cap index notching a record high, rising 1.9 percent for its biggest one-day gain in almost six months. “The fact that Trump made the tax proposal was seen as a step forward,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities. Trump offered to lower corporate income tax rates, cut taxes for small businesses and reduce the top income tax rate for individuals. Also helping to boost the dollar, the plan included lower one-time low tax rates for companies to repatriate profits accumulated overseas, which analysts say would lead to a temporary phase of sizable dollar buying. European stock futures suggested gains for those markets too, with FTSE futures FFIc1 up 0.18 percent and German DAX futures FDXc1 up 0.25 percent. Trump’s tax proposal faces an uphill battle in Congress, however, with his own party divided, and the plan already prompting criticism that it favours companies and the rich and could add trillions of dollars to the national debt. “It is hard to expect this proposal to pass the Congress smoothly. We have to pay attention to how the Republicans will view this,” said Takafumi Yamawaki, chief fixed income strategist at J.P. Morgan Securities. “It is possible that the net fiscal spending will be smaller than what the stock markets expect,” he added. The euro EUR= hit a six-week low of $1.1717 on Wednesday as the dollar broadly gained, and last traded at $1.1722, having shed 1.9 percent so far this week. The dollar shot up to a 2-1/2-month high of 113.26 yen JPY= the previous day before stepping back to 113.08 yen Thursday. The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 extended its losses, suffering its biggest drop in eight months on Wednesday, after Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz dampened expectations for further interest rate hikes this year. Canada’s loonie > fell to C$1.2469 to the U.S. dollar, its lowest in a month. The dollar strengthened against many emerging market currencies while gold XAU= hit a one-month low of $1,281.5 per ounce. “I don’t see any changes to growth stories in emerging economies so I would assume selling in them will prove temporary, unless yields in the developed world keep rising sharply,” said a senior currency trader at a major Japanese bank. U.S. bond yields jumped with the yield on two-year notes US2YT=RR rising to a nine-year high of 1.49 percent in anticipation of a rate rise in December. Comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen that the Fed needs to continue with gradual rate hikes have cemented expectations for policy tightening by year-end. New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods grew more than expected in August, helping to boost optimism in the U.S. economy’s outlook. Yields on longer-dated bonds soared as Trump’s tax proposal stoked worries about fiscal deterioration. U.S. municipal bonds were also sold for the same reason. The 10-year yield rose to 2.357 percent US10YT=RR, its highest in more than two months, compared to this week’s low of 2.214 percent while the 30-year bond yield US30YT=RR climbed to 2.901 percent after having risen 9 basis points on Wednesday - the biggest one-day rise in almost seven months. Japanese yields rose in tandem with benchmark 10-year futures 2JGBv1 set for their biggest fall in three months, partly driven by expectation of fiscal easing after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election expected on Oct.22. Oil prices hovered a tad below the peaks hit earlier this week as the market consolidated after a strong rally this month. Brent LCOc1 futures traded at $57.78 a barrel, down from Tuesday’s 26-month peak of $59.49. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 fetched $52.05 per barrel, below Tuesday’s five-month high of $52.43 after oil stockpiles in the world’s top consumer unexpectedly drew down, with refiners coming back online following Hurricane Harvey last month. Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Eric Meijer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/stocks-bond-yields-dollar-up-after-trump-tax-plan-idUKKCN1C303J'|'2017-09-28T06:11:00.000+03:00'
'cb81cadf9178df1404453f0e20e78f829ea50919'|'Japan Post share sale raises $11.5 billion including overallotment'|'FILE PHOTO: Japan Post''s logo is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government said it has raised 1.3 trillion yen ($11.5 billion) from its sale of Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd stock, including shares sold in the overallotment portion of the deal that was determined on Wednesday.The offering was the world’s second-biggest share sale so far this year, after Italian bank UniCredit SpA’s $13.7 billion sale in February.Japan Post priced its offer on Monday at 1,322 yen a share, a discount of 2 percent to that day’s closing share price. That compared with an indicative range of 2 percent to 4 percent.The total offering was determined on Wednesday after the number of shares set aside to cover additional demand was fixed.Domestic retail investors were allocated 76 percent of the offering, overseas investors 20 percent and domestic institutional investors 4 percent, lead underwriters said.A coverage ratio, or demand for shares offered, was about 1.3 times for domestic retail investors, around 2.5 for overseas investors and about 1.5 for domestic institutional investors, Thomson Reuters DealWatch reported.In addition to the public offering, Japan Post bought back its own shares worth 100 billion yen from the government, bringing total proceeds to the national coffer to 1.4 trillion yen.The government has said it aims to raise about some 4 trillion yen in sales of shares in Japan Post firms by the 2022 fiscal year to help fund reconstruction of areas devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.That implies a further 1.2 trillion yen of share sales sometime in the next five years.Domestic retail investors, who made up the bulk of buyers, see the owner of ubiquitous post offices as a safe alternative to saving money at banks, analysts said.Lead underwriters said Japan Post’s relatively high dividend yield - 3.7 percent against the benchmark Nikkei average’s 1.7 - makes the stock an attractive choice for high-street investors.“It’s better than bank deposits,” said Shigeto Kobayashi, a 73-year-old retiree attending a seminar on the offering, hosted by brokerage houses in Tokyo earlier this month.“Anyway, the government is the big shareholder, so there are little risks of bankruptcy,” he said.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Christopher Cushing '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-post-sharesale/japan-post-share-sale-raises-11-5-billion-including-overallotment-idINKCN1C20TG'|'2017-09-27T06:32:00.000+03:00'
'd9bcfe6dae3879a77ec09c69bd7a55cc42832865'|'Fortum to launch $9.5 billion bid for German utility Uniper'|'FRANKFURT/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish power utility Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) will launch an 8.05 billion-euro ($9.5 billion) takeover bid for Uniper ( UN01.DE ), the power stations operator and energy trading business partly-owned by German utility E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), it said on Tuesday.It will offer 22 euros per share in cash, the primary aim being to acquire for 3.76 billion euros E.ON’s remaining 46.65 percent stake in Uniper, which was demerged from E.ON last year.Uniper, with total sales of around 67 billion euros in 2016, operates roughly 40 gigawatts of power plants in Europe and Russia. It has hydroelectric, coal- and gas-fired plants as well as stakes in gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and nuclear plants across Europe, plus energy trading operations.“This investment will strengthen the position of both companies to advance Europe’s energy transition. I believe that all stakeholders will benefit,” Fortum Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark told Reuters by phone.But sources close to the matter have said that Fortum is mainly interested in Uniper’s hydropower plants and interests in Swedish nuclear power stations and has already been working with a partner that might take on Uniper’s coal-fired plants.Following media reports on the proposed deal, Fortum and E.ON confirmed last week that they were in advanced talks over Uniper.E.ON cannot sell its own stake before 2018, as this would trigger a hefty tax payment, and therefore it has the right to tender its own Uniper stake for the same price early next year.If it opts not to, Fortum can sell to E.ON any Uniper shares by then already acquired and, on top, would get compensation from E.ON that amounts to at least 20 percent of the equity value of its Uniper stake, or 752 million euros.Under German takeover rules, Fortum has to make a bid for the whole of Uniper as E.ON’s stake is above a critical 30 percent hurdle. The offer is unconditional on a minimum acceptance level.DIALOGUE Fortum CEO Pekka Lundmark talks to reporters at Fortum headquarters in Espoo, Finland, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Jussi Rosendahl Although Fortum tried to acquire the whole group already in July, Lundmark vowed that the company was not planning a takeover, or restructuring, this time.“This deal has been signed with E.ON, and it automatically leads to the tender offer. We are totally satisfied with the E.ON stake, we are not targeting a control or a merger.”“Financially, the investment alone is very justified...This is significant, when thinking of our own ability to pay dividends.”Uniper chief executive Klaus Schaefer told Reuters on Monday he viewed Fortum’s approach as hostile, saw no strategic fit and voiced doubts about how Fortum would fund a deal.FILE PHOTO: Fortum logo is pictured on the biomass combined heat and power plant in Jelgava, Latvia February 3, 2014. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo Lundmark regretted that he didn’t have time to discuss with Uniper before media reports on the deal forced Fortum and E.ON to go public with it last week.“I understand him (Schaefer) very well... But since we apparently are becoming a major shareholder in the company, I hope we can start a good dialogue.”“We are not hostile at all. We intend to be a long-term investor and we take our responsibility very seriously,” Lundmark said, adding that Fortum had no intention to push for forced redundancies at Uniper, or to change its corporate seat from Dusseldorf.Uniper published a press release after the news, saying its management board would analyse and assess the offer.Fortum said its bid of 22 euros a share offered a 36 percent premium to the price that prevailed before speculation on a potential transaction surfaced in May.Earlier on Tuesday, Uniper shares closed 1.2 percent higher at 23.33 euros.State-controlled Fortum is focused on carbon-free power generation, mainly in the Nordic region and Russia, and has been looking for a deal since selling its power distribution grids for 9.3 billion euros in 2014 and 2015.Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Jane Merriman, Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-bid/fortum-to-launch-9-5-billion-bid-for-german-utility-uniper-idUSKCN1C12VS'|'2017-09-27T04:00:00.000+03:00'
'64c6833fc49323a4b5ded6076a2db43d4d08f568'|'German prosecutors launch tax probe against UBS clients'|'September 27, 2017 / 12:10 PM / Updated 4 hours ago German prosecutors launch tax probe against UBS clients Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen on a building in Zurich, February 13, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Buholzer/File Photo DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Wednesday said they have launched an investigation against clients of Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S ) in Germany on grounds of suspected tax evasion. As part of the probe, premises were being searched by up to 130 prosecutors and tax investigators, the Bochum prosecutors said. German magazine WirtschaftsWoche had earlier reported the searches. A database containing details on 2,000 UBS clients, which was bought by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, forms the basis of the investigation, the prosecutors said. Over the past years, the bank has been a regular target of German tax investigators, who have repeatedly bought CDs with client data. In 2014, UBS paid around 300 million euros ($352 million) to settle claims by authorities in Bochum that it helped wealthy Germans dodge taxes. Since then, the focus of tax investigators has shifted from the bank to its clients. UBS said in a statement it did not comment on ongoing investigations but it had largely completed a compliance program with clients based in Europe. “The bank was among the first in the industry to take this step requiring documentation of tax disclosure by its clients,” the bank said, adding its business fully complied with the law. Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Additional reporting by Joshua Franklin; Writing by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Christoph Steitz '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ubs-group-tax-probe/german-prosecutors-launch-tax-probe-against-ubs-clients-idUSKCN1C21J3'|'2017-09-27T15:10:00.000+03:00'
'41a3db46ebfa6e58868d88884eccb541f6b68f8b'|'UPDATE 1-Pimco Total Return Bond Fund, since Gross exit, outperforms most peers'|'(Adds cash inflow figures in paragraphs 12-14)By Jennifer AblanNEW YORK, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Three years after Bill Gross shocked the financial world by exiting Pacific Investment Management Co and ending his reign over the Pimco Total Return Bond (PTTRX) fund, investors who stuck with the bond fund have come out ahead of those at most of its rivals.Alas, many did not wait around.Pimco Total Return, once the world’s largest bond fund, was taken over by Scott Mather, Mark Kiesel and Mihir Worah. Since then, it has returned an average 3.34 percent annually in the three years through Sept. 26, topping 88 percent of its Morningstar peer category.But the fund, which Gross had managed from 1987 until he resigned on Sept. 26, 2014 from the investment firm he co-founded, remains only about one-fourth as large as it was in April 2013, when assets under management peaked at $292.9 billion.There are signs the heavy outflows may have subsided.Investors in August added $348 million of new cash into the fund, not including reinvested dividends, bringing its assets under management to $74.7 billion as of Aug. 31. Assets dipped slightly to $74.5 billion as of Sept. 26.“Despite the fund having a strong record, retail and institutional investors can have long memories and are less likely to return quickly to a fund they sold due to a departed fund manager,” said Todd Rosenbluth, director of fund research at New-York based CFRA. “While the asset bleeding has slowed, net new inflows have not materialized.”For its part, the Pimco Unconstrained Bond Fund (PFIUX) - taken over by Marc Seidner from Gross - has also posted solid returns. Its average annual returns in the three years through Sept. 26 were 3.11 percent, better than 68 percent of its Morningstar peer category.Even there, however, assets under management have shrunk to $3.6 billion as of Sept. 26 from $18.3 billion three years ago.Gross ran that fund for nine months, from December 2013 until his departure from Pimco. He now runs a similar fund for Janus Henderson Investors.“Pimco’s Total Return and Unconstrained Bond strategies have been able to generate attractive returns even during challenging periods in the bond market by diversifying their portfolios and cultivating the best ideas generated by Pimco’s more than 220 portfolio managers,” a Pimco spokeswoman told Reuters on Wednesday.Yet the slow-moving cash inflows into Pimco Total Return and Unconstrained Bond come as fund investors have been mostly shunning risk in the third quarter, preferring bonds to equities despite historically low bond yields and flat quarter-to-date bond returns.Bond funds have hauled in $82.2 billion this quarter, the sixth time in the past eight quarters that inflows topped $50 billion, according to TrimTabs Investment Research.Returns on bond funds are up just 2.3 percent year-to-date, while global equity funds have popped 18.9 percent and U.S. equity funds are up 11.5 percent, according to Trim Tabs.Pimco, which had $1.61 trillion in assets under management overall as of June 30, is owned by German insurer Allianz SE . (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/funds-pimco/update-1-pimco-total-return-bond-fund-since-gross-exit-outperforms-most-peers-idINL2N1M82N7'|'2017-09-27T20:46:00.000+03:00'
'0d9b385c46b7fa76b42ab5ddf21b1ad0770e0494'|'British drivers to defend employment rights at Uber tribunal'|'September 28, 2017 / 7:41 AM / Updated an hour ago British drivers to defend employment rights at Uber tribunal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Uber logo is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Two drivers were set to defend a British tribunal decision giving them workers’ rights at Uber [UBER.UL] on Thursday, the latest threat to the taxi app’s business model which is battling to keep its licence in London. The pair successfully argued last year that the Silicon Valley firm exerted significant control over them to provide an on-demand taxi service and had responsibilities in terms of the working rights it provides. “Uber’s a transportation services company marketing itself to customers as giving a uniform experience and pricing of what it means ‘to take an Uber’,” the General Secretary of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, which is representing the drivers, Jason Moyer-Lee told Reuters. “In order to deliver their service it has to hire workers. They’re workers rather than in business on their own account,” he said. Uber said at the tribunal on Wednesday that its drivers were self-employed, like those at long-standing rivals. The self-employed in Britain are entitled to only basic protections such as health and safety, but those deemed to be workers receive benefits such as the minimum wage, paid holidays and rest breaks. The tribunal is due to end on Thursday with the judge unlikely to deliver a decision for several weeks. Last week London stripped the San Francisco-based business of its licence to operate, citing the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences, although its 40,000 drivers will still provide rides until an appeals process ends, which could take several months. Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-britain-appeal/british-drivers-to-defend-employment-rights-at-uber-tribunal-idUKKCN1C30SP'|'2017-09-28T10:41:00.000+03:00'
'bc495f21b2b3d1c3b227390cf033df3047583d95'|'US investors to list Austrian bank Bawag on Vienna exchange'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/1c9fdaf2-a38f-11e7-9e4f-7f5e6a7c98a2'|'2017-09-27T18:42:00.000+03:00'
'95fc1084f0ab22c95e19e7d44b78c018a8dfe03e'|'Global markets: Dollar, yields rise on hawkish Yellen; Asian shares still weak'|'Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar climbed to a one-month high on Wednesday as bets firmed for an U.S. interest rate hike in December, while world stocks edged up as Republicans rolled out their U.S. tax reform plan.U.S. Treasury yields rose to months- and years-long highs, fueled by a stronger-than-expected reading on durable goods orders that suggested inflation may be picking up.Republicans in the U.S. Congress and the White House called for slashing tax rates on businesses and the wealthy, as part of a new tax plan that offers few details about how to pay for tax cuts without expanding the federal deficit.“Unveiling the plan is one thing, and getting it passed is another,” said Victor Jones, director of trading at TD Ameritrade.Bets on a near-term interest rate increase firmed following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who said on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank needs to continue gradual rate hikes despite broad uncertainty about the path of inflation.Perceived chances of a hike at the Fed’s December meeting rose to 83 percent from 72 percent on Monday, according to the CME Group.The hawkish rate sentiment helped fuel gains in U.S. financial shares, which gained 1 percent. The S&P 500 tech sector rose 0.7 percent, helped by a 7.6 percent surge in shares of Micron Technology after the chipmaker’s quarterly report.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.08 points, or 0.07 percent, to 22,299.4, the S&P 500 gained 3.12 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,499.96 and the Nasdaq Composite added 37.69 points, or 0.59 percent, to 6,417.85.“The renewed interest in technology coupled with the likelihood of higher interest rates spurring an interest in financials, then the news on tax reform progressing, are all positive catalysts,” said Alan Lancz, president of investment advisory firm Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc. in Toledo, Ohio.The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.42 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.03 percent.European banks rose 2 percent and hit their highest in seven weeks.The dollar index rose 0.4 percent, with the euro down 0.41 percent to $1.1743.“It really is an extension of the rally kicked off by the Fed last week,” said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist, at TD Securities in New York, referring to its meeting where the Fed signaled it may raise rates for a third time this year.Data showed new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in August, pointing to strength in the economy despite an anticipated drag to growth from hurricanes Harvey and Irma.Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 19/32 in price to yield 2.2961 percent, from 2.229 percent late on Tuesday.Yields on the 2-year note, the most sensitive to expectations of rate increases by the Fed, rose to 1.483 percent, the highest since November 2008.U.S. crude rose 0.4 percent to $52.10 per barrel while Brent was last at $57.93, down 0.9 percent on the day.Spot gold dropped 0.5 percent to $1,286.83 an ounce.Additional reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Dion Rabouin in New York, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Nigel Stephenson in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson and James Dalgleish '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/dollar-yields-rise-on-hawkish-yellen-asian-shares-still-weak-idINKCN1C201Y'|'2017-09-27T03:36:00.000+03:00'
'3c313c7a1cc1c754531d1291fa07e74cab7e1a06'|'UPDATE 1-Qatar Airways chief wants to expand fleet, look for U.S. investments'|'(Adds background on Qatar-Airbus plane deal, comments by Qatar Airways CEO, background on dispute over U.S. market access)By Rachel NielsenEVERETT, Wash., Sept 25 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said on Monday the carrier plans to expand its fleet, stepping up orders for Boeing Co aircraft and accepting four Airbus aircraft that it had cancelled in July because of delays due to supplier problems.Al Baker, who spoke at an event in which he formally accepted delivery of Qatar Airways’ first Boeing 747-8 freighter, disclosed plans to acquire the four 777-300 aircraft, which can accommodate up to 396 passengers depending on the seating configuration.In addition, Qatar Airways will order all 60 of the Boeing 737 airplanes for which it signed a letter of intent last year, he said.Al Baker said in an interview that all of Qatar’s options and purchase rights for the narrowbody jets “will be exercised.” In June, Qatar Airways confirmed an order for 20 Boeing 737 jets and said at the time it was waiting on next steps in its possible expansions in Italy and India before deciding whether to exercise further options.Last year, Qatar Airways signed a letter of intent for as many as 60 narrowbody 737 jets, worth $6.9 billion at list prices.Qatar Airways has pressed efforts to expand despite a trade dispute with U.S. airlines that have accused the Middle Eastern carrier of improperly relying on government subsidies. Qatar Airways has also had to contend with fallout from a boycott against Qatar by four Arab nations that cut ties in June.Al Baker said the plan to take the four Airbus planes “is definite.” He added he will be “concluding an agreement shortly, for which I will be flying to Toulouse from here,” referring to the Airbus site. Reuters reported earlier on Monday that Qatar would take the Airbus jets.Al Baker separately told CNBC that he is still looking for investments in the United States, despite being rebuffed when Qatar made a proposal to buy a stake of up to 4.75 percent in American Airlines Group.Al Baker had sharp words for U.S. airline rivals Delta Air Lines Inc, United Continental Holdings Inc and American Airlines, which are lobbying the Trump administration to curtail Qatar’s access to the United States market, citing unfair subsidies.The U.S. carriers should “just shut up and mind their own business,” Al Baker said at the Boeing event news conference. (Reporting by Rachel Nielsen; Editing by Joe White and Matthew Lewis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-qatar/update-1-qatar-airways-chief-wants-to-expand-fleet-look-for-u-s-investments-idINL2N1M61P2'|'2017-09-25T19:25:00.000+03:00'
'711fc8108fc155c72473ae6208a655de2ab580fa'|'Bombardier would not pick up tab for duties on CSeries jet - sources'|'  9:40 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Bombardier would not pick up tab for duties on CSeries jet - sources Tim Hepher , Allison Lampert 4 Min Read A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse LONDON/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada’s Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) is unwilling to swallow the extra cost for airlines if the United States slaps duties on its CSeries jet and is keen to press ahead with the deal that provoked a North American trade spat, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The stance gathered momentum as the United States prepared to issue a preliminary ruling on whether Bombardier used subsidies to bankroll a sale of 75 new jets to Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ), which U.S. rival Boeing Co ( BA.N ) claims took place at unrealistically low prices. Tuesday’s expected ruling is one step in a process that could lead to U.S. import duties being levied on the CSeries, forcing Delta and other potential U.S. customers to pay millions more for each jet, on top of the agreed purchase price. That has prompted some aerospace analysts to speculate the deal could fall through unless Bombardier agrees to soften the blow for Delta, whose support for the CSeries rescued a programme beset by delays and cost overruns. Although Bombardier cannot legally skirt the measure by agreeing to pay any duty directly on Delta’s behalf, trade lawyers say it could technically import the jets itself through a local subsidiary in a way that would be neutral for Delta. But doing so could significantly depress the net amount Bombardier receives and could be seen as legitimising Boeing’s complaint on prices, which Bombardier has rejected. “The economics won’t make sense,” a person familiar with the company’s thinking said this week. Secondly, Bombardier would not readily allow Delta to walk away from the deal because it might risk other buyers asking for an “out” which could prompt an unravelling of its commercial recovery plan. “Delta may ask to cancel; Bombardier will say no,” another person familiar with the case predicted. None of the sources agreed to be named because of the matter’s sensitivity. LEGAL FIGHT Bombardier’s decision to tough it out seems designed to encourage Delta to take up cudgels against Boeing and the U.S. government. It could have ramifications for the large jet market where the same airline is expected to choose between Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) and Boeing for a big single-aisle jet order in the coming year. “I think they (Delta) will send a signal and look closely at Airbus,” said Teal Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia. Delta has said it wants the CSeries soon, but has not said how it will respond if forced to pay potentially large duties. A Delta spokesman said it was too early to comment. People close to the case said it could lead to months if not years of contractual and legal wrangling, with Bombardier likely to appeal any negative finding and Canada ready to take the case to the World Trade Organisation in the absence of a settlement. “I think it will go to legal territory whatever the number (in import duties) because Canada wants to make it a point of principle,” one of the people familiar with Bombardier’s thinking said. But many of the legal options are covered in dust. Industry veterans say it is the first time in memory duties have been considered on aircraft, following a 1980 agreement to free aircraft trade among 32 of the world’s leading trading powers. How this plays out could depend on the size of any import duty. A small duty might allow all sides to declare victory and let Bombardier and Delta negotiate a smooth delivery of the planes, but many analysts say a hefty import fee is more likely. Seattle-based trade lawyer Bill Perry said Bombardier could appeal, but only after a final decision is made by the U.S. International Trade Commission next February. Delta or any nominated importer would still have to pay duties as cash deposits during that process, he said. Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Matthew Lewis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-delta/bombardier-would-not-pick-up-tab-for-duties-on-cseries-jet-sources-idUKKCN1C135Z'|'2017-09-27T00:40:00.000+03:00'
'29f27777136cacc77c3fc8cb9d5da066da4e5201'|'UPDATE 1-Austrian bank BAWAG to list shares in Vienna'|'(Adds detail, background)VIENNA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Austrian bank BAWAG, majority owned by U.S. private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, has announced its plan to hold an initial public offering (IPO) in Vienna that could be Austria’s biggest in a decade.Sources told Reuters in June that the listing of a 20-30 percent stake could value Austria’s fourth-biggest lender at up to 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion).The formerly trade union-owned bank had to be bailed out in 2006 when it narrowly escaped a bank run after being sued by creditors of collapsed U.S. futures trader Refco.“BAWAG Group AG, the holding company of BAWAG PSK, plans an initial public offering and the listing of its shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange,” the bank said in a statement.Wednesday’s announcement formally launches the IPO process, which usually takes about a month. On timing, BAWAG said only that if market conditions permit it, the listing was expected to take place in the fourth quarter.Telekom Austria raised 1.2 billion euros in an IPO in 2000, Raiffeisen Bank International raised 1.1 billion euros in 2005 and construction firm Strabag raised 1.3 billion euros in 2007, shortly before the global financial crisis hit and put the brakes on company listings. ($1 = 0.8506 euros) (Reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bawag-ipo/update-1-austrian-bank-bawag-to-list-shares-in-vienna-idINL8N1M81BL'|'2017-09-27T05:52:00.000+03:00'
'72082fc9ddc7aee093955edc0c9deae60d7ee297'|'China''s CEFC wins preliminary government approval for Rosneft deal: sources'|'FILE PHOTO - The shadow of a worker is seen next to a logo of Russia''s Rosneft oil company at the central processing facility of the Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Privately-run conglomerate CEFC China Energy has obtained preliminary state approval for its proposed $9.1 billion investment in Russian oil major Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ), three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.CEFC said earlier this month it will buy a 14.16 percent stake in Rosneft from a consortium of Glencore ( GLEN.L ) and the Qatar Investment Authority, strengthening energy ties between Moscow and Beijing.The approval was received just about a week after the deal was announced, the sources said.“It’s a preliminary approval from the NDRC which means the government gave the in-principle go-ahead for the deal,” said an industry executive with direct knowledge of the government decision. NDRC, or the National Development and Reform Commission, is China’s top economic planner.“The preliminary approval means the government sees the strategic significance of this deal and shall lend its backing in financing.”The government, including the State Council, or Cabinet, is expected to give final approval unless there are “material errors” during the process of proceeding with this transaction, said the executive and a second source briefed by CEFC on the matter.Both NDRC and CEFC did not immediately comment.CEFC China Energy has grown in recent years from a niche oil trader into a $25 billion sprawling energy and financial conglomerate with strong political ties and a rare contract to store part of China’s state oil reserve.CEFC has long held overseas expansion ambitions and grabbed the spotlight in the Rosneft deal at a time when larger state-run peers like Sinopec Group have shifted gears from rapid expansion to divestment.A stake in Rosneft will allow China, the world’s top energy consumer and crude oil buyer, to boost cooperation with the world’s top oil producer.CEFC has tapped China Development Bank and Russian lender VTB to help fund the Rosneft deal, banking and company source said. CDB, a Chinese policy bank, has long supported CEFC and is its biggest lender.Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Jiang Yan and Carol Zhong in Hong Kong; Editing by Kim Coghill and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cefc-acquisition-rosneft/chinas-cefc-wins-preliminary-government-approval-for-rosneft-deal-sources-idINKCN1C20XV'|'2017-09-27T07:13:00.000+03:00'
'f1cd6274f88d7e0c7b8307a948106154ff468adb'|'Oversized European banking sector likely to shrink - ECB''s Nouy'|'September 27, 2017 / 7:33 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Oversized European banking sector likely to shrink: ECB''s Nouy Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Daniele Nouy, chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, speaks at a Thomson Reuters newsmaker event at Canary Wharf in London November 28, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe’s bank sector has grown too big and may need to shrink, possibly through mergers or failures, Daniele Nouy, the European Central Bank’s top bank supervisor said on Wednesday. ”All in all, it seems that the European banking sector might indeed have become too much of a good thing,“ Nouy said. ”And we can see at least one of the health issues related to this – many banks in the euro area do not earn their cost of capital. “It seems that there are too many banks competing for customers,” Nouy added. “There is a good chance that the banking sector will indeed shrink” Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-ecb/oversized-european-banking-sector-likely-to-shrink-ecbs-nouy-idUKKCN1C20O5'|'2017-09-27T10:27:00.000+03:00'
'd9e64e4c5e818f9ba760fa00cd2ed649e8219869'|'U.S. slaps duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing subsidy complaint'|'September 26, 2017 / 10:41 PM / Updated an hour ago U.S. slaps steep duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing complaint 6 Min Read The Bombardier factory is seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne MONTREAL/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jets after rival Boeing Co accused Canada of unfairly subsidizing the aircraft, a move likely to strain trade relations between the neighbors. The department said it imposed a steep 219.63 percent countervailing duty on Bombardier’s new commercial jets after it made a preliminary finding of subsidization. Boeing has complained the 110-to-130 seat aircraft were dumped below cost in the U.S. market last year while benefiting from unfair subsidies. An April 2016 order for 75 CSeries jets from Delta Air Lines stemmed from the same harmful sales practices European rival Airbus SE employed to win business in the 1990s, according to Boeing. The Commerce Department’s penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favor in a final decision expected in 2018. “We strongly disagree with the Commerce Department’s preliminary decision,” Bombardier said in a statement, calling the magnitude of the proposed U.S. duty “absurd.” Commerce’s announcement and accompanying fact sheet on the preliminary duty order did not provide any rationale or methodology for how it calculated the 220 percent duty. The CSeries starts at $79.5 million, according to list prices, but carriers usually receive discounts of about 50 percent. If imposed, the duties would more than triple the cost of a CSeries aircraft sold in the U.S. to about $61 million per plane, based on Boeing’s assertion that Delta received the planes for $19 million each. Bombardier has disputed the $19 million sales figure. There are not that many Commerce countervailing orders that are this high, but it is lower than the 256 percent final duties slapped on Chinese cold-rolled steel last year. Related Coverage Northern Ireland''s DUP says will fight to keep Bombardier Belfast open The timing is awkward because Canada and the United States are in a three-way negotiation involving Mexico to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement.. A source familiar with the Canadian government’s thinking said the Boeing trade dispute was “separate” from the NAFTA talks. “This in no way is part of our conversation” the source said. “People should not read too much into this piece today.” The spat between Boeing and Bombardier has snowballed into a bigger fight this month when British Prime Minister Theresa May asked President Donald Trump to intervene in the dispute to help protect jobs in Northern Ireland, where Bombardier is the largest manufacturing employer.. The United States has also faced opposition from a handful of American carriers and elected officials over potential U.S. job losses. Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland said Bombardier CSeries components are supplied by American companies that support almost 23,000 jobs in U.S. states, including Connecticut, Florida and New Jersey. “This is clearly aimed at eliminating Bombardier’s C Series aircraft from the U.S. market,” Freeland said. She added that Canada strongly disagrees with the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. Boeing said in a statement that the dispute “has everything to do with maintaining a level playing field and ensuring that aerospace companies abide by trade agreements.” Bombardier’s was unwilling to swallow the extra cost for airlines if the United States slaps duties on its CSeries jet, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. “We are confident...no U.S. manufacturer is at risk because neither Boeing nor any other U.S. manufacturer makes any 100-110 seat aircraft that competes with the CS100,” Delta said in a statement. Duties could chill U.S. sales of the fuel-efficient CSeries, raising concerns over future orders and jobs in Canada and the United Kingdom. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had put his government’s planned purchase of Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets on hold because of the trade dispute, saying it could not “do business with a company that’s busy trying to sue us and put our aerospace workers out of business.” ‘NOT A SLAM DUNK’ Boeing has argued that the military sale to the Canadian government and its petition against Bombardier are not linked. But the U.S. jetmaker has said the CSeries would not exist without hundreds of millions of dollars in launch aid from the governments of Canada and Britain, or a $2.5 billion equity infusion from the province of Quebec and its largest pension fund in 2015. To win its case before the ITC, Boeing must prove it was harmed by Bombardier’s sales practices, despite not using one of its own jets to compete for the Delta order, Dan Pearson, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank in Washington, said before Tuesday’s announcement. “This (ITC case) cannot be a slam dunk,” said Pearson, a former ITC chairman. “I‘m having a hard time figuring out how Boeing was harmed by this.” Canada has pushed to settle the dispute. But one industry source said Boeing, which could gain some leverage with the Commerce Department’s initial decision in its favor, sees the possible CSeries dumping as a long-term threat to its civilian airliner business. Bombardier stock has fallen about 15 percent over the past month on uncertainty around the duties and a rail venture. On Tuesday, Bombardier missed out an opportunity to strike a rail deal with Siemens, when the German company decided to combine its rail operations with French group Alstom. Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Alwyn Scott in New York; Additional reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Tim Hepher in London; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Peter Cooney and Grant McCool '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier/u-s-slaps-duties-on-bombardier-jets-after-boeing-subsidy-complaint-idUKKCN1C138W'|'2017-09-27T02:16:00.000+03:00'
'c56877a9d244b9769ec71b789b335b93428225c7'|'From Chinese giants to new frontiers - emerging dollar bond sales boom'|'September 27, 2017 / 10:33 AM / Updated 28 minutes ago From Chinese giants to new frontiers - emerging dollar bond sales boom Claire Milhench 4 Min Read The image of United States President George Washington is seen on an engraving plate for a US one dollar bill at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington November 14, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron LONDON (Reuters) - Frontier economies including Tajikistan and Iraq along with credit-hungry Asian firms led emerging market borrowing in the July-September quarter, as 2017 shapes up to be another record year for debt sales. Stronger economic growth in the developing world and sizeable inflows into bond funds have left asset managers eager for new high-yielding paper, encouraging less frequent issuers to test the market’s appetite. “It’s a bit of a Goldilocks scenario for EM issuance,” said Regis Chatellier, sovereign credit analyst at Societe Generale. “For a lot of countries, they don’t know what tomorrow will look like and they would rather issue now.” The U.S. Federal Reserve has signalled one more rate rise by end-2017, but subdued inflation means it is likely to tighten gradually, maintaining a benign backdrop for emerging market borrowers. Third quarter issuance was running at around $108.3 billion (80.84 billion pounds)at Sept. 20, according to Thomson Reuters data, taking the year-to-date total to $471.9 billion. This was well up on the $370.7 billion raised in the first three quarters of 2016, with some issues still in the pipeline for the current month including a triple-tranche dollar offering from Saudi Arabia that could top $10 billion. Governments from developing countries raised some $17.7 billion in debt between July and September, TR data showed, with Africa, Middle East and Central Asia accounting for 40 percent. JPMorgan analysts said they expected a record year for emerging sovereign issuance of around $142.5 billion. ‘HAPPY TO LEND’ Among unusual third-quarter deals was a debut $500 million bond from Tajikistan, the poorest country in the former Soviet Union, which attracted bids of over $4 billion. Iraq issued a $1 billion bond for its first deal in more than a decade and Ukraine sold a $3 billion bond, its first since a 2015 debt restructuring. Gabon also issued for the first time since 2015, following African peers Senegal and Ivory Coast to the market. “The market is now happy to lend to any issuer pretty much,” Chatellier said. Many deals have enjoyed huge order books from fund managers flush with cash. Year-to-date, emerging market bond funds have attracted $64.6 billion, according to EPFR Global data, with hard currency funds accounting for $35.6 billion. Net inflows over the same 2016 period totalled $36.6 billion, of which hard currency funds attracted $22.1 billion. Debt sales from emerging market companies totalled $92 billion so far in the third quarter, taking the year-to-date total to $342.5 billion. Asian corporates accounted for 44 percent of issuance and China alone 27 percent. Chinese state-run oil company Sinopec this month sold a four-tranche $3.25 billion bond, following a $3.4 billion deal in April. “It’s all about China once again,” said Guy Stear, co-head of fixed income research at Societe Generale in Paris. “EM companies outside China have tried to stabilise or reduce their dependence on the dollar market and Chinese companies have happily wandered into the breach.” JPMorgan said it had revised up its 2017 corporate supply forecast to $440 billion from $380 billion. Ranko Milic, head of CEEMEA debt capital markets at UBS, said companies were still keen to borrow while conditions were supportive. “Base rates in dollars are slowly creeping up but are still very low, so the yields on offer are still very attractive,” he said. But some new deals were pricing at very tight yields, especially for those companies known to investors, Milic said, citing the examples of Russian steelmaker NLMK and KazTransGas, which both came at around 4 percent. “Given the search for yields, when a Tajikistan comes at low 7s or Ukraine at 7-3/8 – that’s where the interest really comes in,” Milic said. Reporting by Claire Milhench; editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emerging-bonds-issue/from-chinese-giants-to-new-frontiers-emerging-dollar-bond-sales-boom-idUKKCN1C217I'|'2017-09-27T13:33:00.000+03:00'
'e84c561091858bfdcaef63f250471fab8d7fab8b'|'Brazil''s Oi mulls increasing size of capital plan, paper reports'|'September 27, 2017 / 12:00 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Brazil''s Oi mulls increasing size of capital plan, paper reports Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO -- The logo of Brazil''s largest fixed-line telecoms group Oi is seen inside a shop in Sao Paulo October 2, 2013. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Management at Oi SA ( OIBR4.SA ) will propose that the board of the debt-laden Brazilian phone carrier increase a planned capital injection to 9 billion reais ($2.8 billion) in an effort to emerge from bankruptcy protection faster, O Estado de S. Paulo reported on Wednesday. Minority shareholder Nelson Tanure, who holds a 6.5 percent voting stake through the Société Mondiale fund, has convinced a group of six investment firms to inject additional capital in Oi, Estado reported, without identifying its sources. The initial plan was for 8 billion reais. Solus Alternative Asset Management LLC, Centerbridge Partners LLC and Silver Point Capital LLC are among the funds, according to Estado. Management will present the new plan later on Wednesday, Estado reported. Oi did not comment, while efforts to contact the funds were unsuccessful. Oi’s in-court reorganization, which remains Brazil’s largest bankruptcy protection case to date, has been marked by a series of disputes between creditors and shareholders over the fate of Brazil’s No. 4 wireless carrier. ($1 = 3.1670 reais) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring/brazils-oi-mulls-increasing-size-of-capital-plan-paper-reports-idUSKCN1C21IJ'|'2017-09-27T15:00:00.000+03:00'
'e7cdf725f3d191b333593452cc931c94b1d5784e'|'CEE MARKETS-Zloty rebounds from multi-month low ahead of CPI data'|'* Zloty hits 6-1/2-month low o/night, rebounds on Friday * Polish CPI data may help zloty * Polish, Hungarian bonds firm again after earlier retreat * Crown tests 26 level vs euro again, rate hike seen By Sandor Peto and Marcin Goclowski BUDAPEST/WARSAW, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The zloty rebounded from 6-1/2-month lows against the euro as a dollar rally was losing steam in global markets and data due later on Friday are seen showing a rise in Polish inflation. The zloty and the forint, Central Europe''s most liquid currencies, got sold off this week as investors flocked into the dollar after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Local factors also helped the currencies fall to multi-month lows this week, mainly new Polish proposals for judiciary reform which had angered the European Commission, and a new round of monetary easing measures in Budapest. On Friday, the forint traded flat at 311.18 against the euro at 0843 GMT, while the zloty gained 0.2 percent to 4.308. Poland is due to release flash inflation figures for September at 1200 GMT. Polish flash inflation data often provide investors with good indications about the regionwide inflation trend. Analysts expect annual inflation to pick up to 2 percent, from 1.8 percent in August. The zloty could remain under pressure from politics and this week''s rise in market interest rates in developed markets, but "it might get some help from the September inflation figures," KBC analysts said in a note. "They can temporary turn market attention to the NBP (Polish central bank) policy, which could be seen as too dovish," they added. Most analysts do not expect the bank to start to lift interest rates before late next year. Despite worries within the bank over negative zloty real interest rates and a tight labour market, the inflation data are unlikely to have any significant influence, ING analysts said in a note. "Tolerance for surprise in terms of higher activity growth or salaries is high, while, by now, we do not observe that it significantly translates into an inflationary pressure," they said. BZ WBK analysts did not rule out further zloty losses, if Thursday''s lows around 4.33 get broken, but global markets could stabilize soon, and "positive fundamentals of Polish economy will encourage investors to utilize recent zloty''s depreciation to purchase Polish currency," they said in a note. Hungarian government bonds, which reversed a rally after the Yellen comments, firmed again on Friday, with yields dropping by a few basis points, in tandem with Polish bonds. Elsewhere, the crown was testing 26 against the euro, the highs it reached on the day of its Aug 3. rate hike, the first in the European Union since 2012. The Czech central bank kept rates on hold at its meeting on Wednesday, but its comments retained strong expectations for a further rate hike at its next meeting in November. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1043 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.020 26.039 +0.07 3.79% 0 0 % Hungary 311.18 311.13 -0.02% -0.76% forint 00 00 Polish zloty 4.3080 4.3154 +0.17 2.23% % Romanian leu 4.6000 4.6030 +0.07 -1.41% % Croatian 7.4940 7.4915 -0.03% 0.82% kuna Serbian 118.99 119.25 +0.22 3.66% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1045.8 1043.6 +0.21 +13.4 9 8 % 9% Budapest 37597. 37191. +1.09 +17.4 17 65 % 8% Warsaw 2440.5 2427.0 +0.56 +25.2 7 4 % 9% Bucharest 7918.5 7934.6 -0.20% +11.7 7 3 6% Ljubljana 797.68 800.48 -0.35% +11.1 6% Zagreb 1813.1 1821.3 -0.45% -9.11% 3 2 Belgrade 721.97 723.17 -0.17% +0.64 % Sofia 690.63 689.37 +0.18 +17.7 % 7% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.157 -0.039 +086b -4bps ps 5-year 0.252 0.004 +053b +3bps ps 10-year 1.225 -0.003 +077b +2bps ps Poland 2-year 1.722 -0.001 +242b +0bps ps 5-year 2.676 -0.014 +296b +1bps ps 10-year 3.354 -0.013 +290b +1bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.74 0.89 1.01 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.07 0.1 0.15 0.04 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.77 1.81 1.87 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-zloty-rebounds-from-multi-month-low-ahead-of-cpi-data-idINL8N1MA26N'|'2017-09-29T07:34:00.000+03:00'
'cf0538edc89416d03e32cd9af6ab9f115a8c58bb'|'Golden getaway: cost, safety prompt more Chinese tourists to stay closer to home'|'  1:05 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Golden getaway: cost, safety prompt more Chinese tourists to stay closer to home Reuters Staff * China domestic trips up 13.5 pct in H1, outbound up 5.1 pct * Chinese drive global tourism mkt, spent $261 bln last year * Better transport links, tourist spots luring people back home By Adam Jourdan SHANGHAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - As China’s army of tourists prepares for next week’s ‘Golden Week’ vacation, the hottest destinations aren’t Paris, New York or Tokyo. Instead, a cooling economy means holidaymakers are staying closer to home - on the beaches of Sanya or the peaks of far-western Yunnan. Chinese travellers - who spent $261 billion overseas last year - are increasingly opting for ‘staycations’, a boon for domestic tourism operators, but a challenge for retailers and hotel chains tapping into Chinese demand abroad. The country’s tourists made 2.54 billion trips in China in the first half of this year, up 13.5 percent from 2016, far outstripping an outbound market that has slowed as consumers tighten their belts amid recent economic wobbles. “This Golden Week, we prefer to travel domestically,” said Tian Haiqin, a 50-year-old Beijing housewife who said cost, jet lag and language barriers were the main reasons for staying at home. “It’s quite expensive to travel abroad, not only to far Western countries, but also around Asia.” Tian said she plans to spend around 20,000 yuan ($3,000) a week for her and her son to stay in a resort in the eastern city of Hangzhou, known for its scenic lakes and surrounding hills. She’s not alone. Around 710 million Chinese will make trips in the country for the National Day holiday, according to estimates from travel agent Ctrip.com International. Some 6 million will travel abroad. The holiday break - one of the world’s biggest mass movements of people - gives a snapshot of China’s big-spending tourists, who can make, or break, the fortunes of hotel chains, duty-free stores, cruise firms and brands. Tong Yiling, Asia analyst at BMI Research, said the domestic tourism sector had seen a “rapid improvement” in competitiveness, with improved transport links and big investment in tourist sites. Better marketing about local travel destinations and the impact of tighter capital controls to deter Chinese from taking money abroad were also having an effect. Many are looking to cash in on the domestic trend. Walt Disney Co’s Shanghai park saw over 10 million visitors in its first year, while Fosun International’s Club Med has opened hotels in Guilin, island getaway Sanya and skiing resorts in the northeast. SECURITY WORRIES Some overseas destinations have taken a hit over security concerns, industry insiders said. Attacks in Europe, instability on the Korean peninsula and political uncertainty in the United States have weighed on tourist demand. “I think one of the most important reasons why people like to travel within this country is because of lots of unexpected incidents such as terrorist attacks in recent years,” said an official surnamed Zhou at travel company Leyou. “People feel it could be very dangerous to travel overseas.” Visitor numbers to South Korea, normally a popular destination for Chinese, dropped more than 60 percent in August against 2016 due to a political row between Beijing and Seoul over South Korea’s installation of a missile defence system. To be sure, China’s outbound tourism spending is still growing. A report from CLSA in July estimated Chinese tourists would spend $429 billion overseas by 2021. But growth is slowing. Outbound travel was up just over 5 percent last year, down from close to 30 percent growth in 2010, according to BMI Research. Beijing has helped, opening duty-free zones around the country and cracking down on dishonest local tour operators. A boom in local “adventure” tours has also helped lure younger millennial tourists to domestic travel. “Compared with outbound travel, domestic travel has been greater in size and growth rate for the first several months of this year,” Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agent, said in written comments to Reuters. Outbound tourism, meanwhile, is in a “new normal of steady, slow-to-moderate growth”, with tighter shopping budgets “curbing” the rise in spending overseas, it said. Even last year, luxury brands LVMH and Burberry flagged lower Chinese tourist spending overseas. BMI’s Tong pointed to several areas of China’s tourism market that should grow fastest in the next few years: historic sites, theme parks and countryside farmhouse getaways, which the government is promoting to boost rural incomes. Many Chinese, though, still look to escape the holiday rush that can see huge crowds at train stations and tourism hotspots. Yu Yongyi, 22, has booked a trip to Vietnam, to add to holidays he has made to Spain, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. “Most of the time I’ll go abroad for holidays because the price of flights is getting lower,” said Yu, head of marketing for start-up Eniutrip. “So it’s often cheaper to go abroad than to stay at home.” $1 = 6.6566 Chinese yuan renminbi Reporting by Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI, with additional reporting by Shanghai and Beijing Newsrooms; Editing by Ian Geoghegan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/china-tourism/golden-getaway-cost-safety-prompt-more-chinese-tourists-to-stay-closer-to-home-idUSL4N1M91MV'|'2017-09-29T16:05:00.000+03:00'
'898f2621d392ccd96f2b15915a6853faa029679e'|'Japan reappoints giant pension fund GPIF chief Takahashi'|'Norihiro Takahashi, new head of Japan''s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, April 1, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government on Friday said it has reappointed Norihiro Takahashi as chief of the world’s largest pension fund, Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF).Takahashi, 59, was first appointed as the head of the $1.3 trillion fund in April last year. He is a former executive at Norinchukin Bank, a major Japanese global institutional investor, and has expertise in fixed income management.His new term begins on Oct. 1 and runs through March 2020.In 2014, GPIF made a historic shift by cutting its reliance on domestic bonds and increasing weightings of riskier assets in response to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to promote a risk-taking investment approach.In the fiscal first quarter ended in June, GPIF rebounded from a loss in the previous year and posted a 3.54 percent return on its investments.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Takashi Umekawa '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-gpif/japan-reappoints-giant-pension-fund-gpif-chief-takahashi-idINKCN1C40DF'|'2017-09-29T07:46:00.000+03:00'
'e65e4d6a49ad10a26d3577b1970d64fb81d3b9c4'|'Whole Foods says taprooms, restaurants hacked'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:36 PM / in 14 hours Whole Foods says taprooms, restaurants hacked Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People pass by a Whole Foods store in New York City, U.S., August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc’s ( AMZN.O ) Whole Foods Market on Thursday said payment card information has been stolen from taprooms, restaurants and other venues located within some of its stores. The upscale grocer, which Amazon recently purchased for $13.7 billion, said it uses a different point-of-sale system for its roughly 450 U.S. stores. That system was not involved in the data hack, the company said. Whole Foods said the Amazon.com systems do not connect to the affected systems at Whole Foods and that Amazon.com transactions also were not involved. More than 40 Whole Foods stores sell beer on tap. The company did not immediately say how many restaurants are in its stores. Whole Foods said it has launched an investigation into the hack, obtained the help of a leading cyber security forensics firm, contacted law enforcement, and is taking appropriate measures to address the issue. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-cyber/whole-foods-says-taprooms-restaurants-hacked-idUSKCN1C33DF'|'2017-09-29T01:36:00.000+03:00'
'230da56904caa7294b6556952bb75b565da496cc'|'Equifax board launches review of executive stock sales after data breach - letter'|'  4:43 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Equifax board launches review of executive stock sales after data breach - letter David Shepardson 3   Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Equifax Inc told the U.S. House of Representatives in a letter made public on Friday that its board of directors formed a special committee to review stock sales by company executives weeks before the credit-reporting service disclosed a massive data breach. Three senior executives including the company’s chief financial officer sold $1.8 million (1.34 million pounds) in shares three days after the company learned on July 29 hackers had breached personal data for up to 143 million Americans. Equifax announced the breach publicly more than a month later, on Sept. 7. The news sparked public outcry, government investigations, a sharp drop in its share price and a management shake-up. Equifax lawyer Theodore Hester said in a letter dated Thursday to members of Congress announcing the review that the company “takes these matters seriously” and has retained lawyers. In response to questions about whether the stock sales violated insider trading laws, Equifax has said the executives did not know about the breach when making their sales, which were not prearranged. The company did not immediately comment Friday. According to regulatory filings, Chief Financial Officer John W. Gamble Jr sold shares on Aug. 1 for $946,000, while Joseph Loughran III, president of U.S. Information Solutions, sold $584,000 in stock on the same day. Rodolfo Ploder, president of Equifax’s Workforce Solutions business, sold $250,000 worth of stock on Aug. 2. Equifax stock was down 28 cents at $106.10 on Friday, a decline of more than 25 percent from early September. The breach has prompted investigations by multiple federal and state agencies, including a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice. Earlier this week, the Atlanta-based company said Chief Executive Richard Smith would leave and forgo this year’s bonus. Congressional committees plan hearings next week with Smith. Equifax said in a regulatory filing that it might claw back some of Smith’s compensation for this year, depending on results of the board’s investigation into the breach, which the company has said occurred between mid-May and July. The breach has already prompted the departures of Equifax’s chief information officer and chief security officer. The hack, among the largest ever recorded, was especially alarming due to the richness of the information exposed, which included names, birthdays, addresses and Social Security and driver’s license numbers, cyber researchers said. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-equifax-cyber/equifax-board-forms-panel-to-look-into-executives-stock-sales-bloomberg-idUKKCN1C42IM'|'2017-09-29T21:15:00.000+03:00'
'53ff0b8a62f4de6d5c70bff7e0c5c51837cd5cb2'|'Nike''s road to recovery in North America likely a long one'|'September 27, 2017 / 12:44 PM / Updated 14 hours ago Nike''s road to recovery in North America likely a long one 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Nike Running store is pictured in Pasadena, California U.S., March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (Reuters) - Nike Inc’s ( NKE.N ) fight to claw back market share in an intensifying U.S. sneaker price war is still some way off bearing fruit, analysts said on Wednesday, a day after the sportswear giant reported its weakest quarterly sales growth in nearly seven years. At least nine brokerages cut their price targets on the stock after Nike warned of a further fall in revenue in its biggest market following a 3 percent drop in the first quarter that was its first outright decline in 2-1/2 years. Nike shares fell as much as 5 percent to $51.03 in morning trading, its lowest since mid June, and pulled down shares of rival Under Armour Inc ( UAA.N ). Nike''s stock was also the top percentage loser on the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI on Wednesday. Analysts from some of the world’s major brokerages remain upbeat on the company’s plans to invest in a variety of different distribution channels but say it will happen too slowly to offset the growing battle for market share. European rival Adidas AG ( ADSGn.DE ) has continued to snap at Nike’s heels, even if the latter’s North American business is still more than three times larger. Both face growing competition from others including Under Armour Inc ( UAA.N ). “We are seeing price points on Nike, Adidas and Under Armour product that we never thought possible in N.America,” Cowen & Co analyst John Kernan wrote in a note, cutting his price target on the stock to $50 from $53. U.S. sports good chains have been shutting stores and cutting prices as fewer shoppers visit malls and online shopping grows. Nike still gets about 70 percent of its revenue from retail customers but has been investing heavily in e-commerce, partnering with Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and offering heavy discounts on its own website. Tuesday’s results showed a 6 percent rise in inventories, which suggests the company is building up more stock to sell through online channels but may also indicate lower sales through traditional outlets. Gross margins fell 1.8 percent to 43.7 percent, pointing to greater discounting in a market Nike warned would shrink overall in the current quarter as more stores shut. “We expect challenges to remain in North America for at least several more quarters,” Moody’s analyst Mike Zuccaro said. J.P. Morgan analysts said they expected the sales picture likely to get worse before getting better. The spate of price target cuts by brokers lowered its median price target to $61.74, down 2.7 percent from just a month ago, Thomson Reuters data shows. Sentiment on the stock has been steady for three months, with 21 “buy” or higher ratings, 14 “hold” and 2 “sell”, the data shows. Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser was the most bearish on the stock after the results, cutting his price target by $7 to $47. “Ultimately, we believe Nike’s U.S. business will get back on track, but we are unsure how long it will take as we don’t believe solutions are fully in place,” Poser said. Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Patrick Graham and Arun Koyyur '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nike-results-research/nikes-road-to-recovery-in-north-america-likely-a-long-one-idUSKCN1C21LY'|'2017-09-27T15:44:00.000+03:00'
'95c2a383d1d5e6ef82001b26ecc035234bb2761c'|'CEE MARKETS-Crown jumps on hike talk, forint and zloty weakest for months'|'* Crown hits strongest levels since Aug 3 Czech rate hike * Expectations strengthen for hike at Wednesday''s Czech meeting * Dollar strength knocks forint, zloty to multi-month lows * Government bonds retreat after rally, tracking European trend By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The Czech crown hit 7-week highs against the euro due on some expectation for a rate hike at the Czech central bank''s (CNB) meeting on Wednesday, bucking a fall in the Polish zloty and Hungarian forint to multi-month lows. The Czechs have Central Europe''s lowest inflation target at 2 percent and their price index has exceeded that level. The CNB is also more sensitive than regional peers to hawkish signals from big central banks in the world, mainly the European Central Bank. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that the Fed needs to continue rate hikes despite uncertainty about inflation. The dollar jumped and its strength caused selling in the most liquid currencies in the European Union''s emerging economies. The zloty touched 6-month lows against the euro beyond 4.3, to recover to 4.2985 by 0819 GMT. The forint touched its weakest level in almost five months at 311.95. The crown touched its strongest level against the euro since Aug. 3, when the CNB became the first EU bank to lift its interest rates since 2012, and is expected to increase its 0.25 percent main rate further to defend its inflation goal. A Reuters poll showed early this week that only 5 out of 16 analysts expected a hike for Wednesday. But 10 projected a 25 basis point rise at the next meeting in November when it may see more clearly concerning local economic trends and ECB policies. Expectations have strengthened that the hike could come as soon as on Wednesday. "A few expect a hike (again) today," one dealer said. While Central Europe''s robust economic growth has helped its assets this year, the rising appetite for the dollar weighs on regional currencies with local negative factors. In Hungary, the central bank announced new monetary easing measures just last week. In Poland, President Andrzej Duda announced proposals earlier this week about judicial reforms and Poland''s plans for the reform have fuelled tension with Brussels and some EU capitals. While regional stocks mostly rose mildly, tracking Western Europe''s main bourses, government bonds joined a fall of debt prices across Europe, with Hungarian yields reversing a decline to record lows. Poland''s and Hungary''s 10-year bond yields rose 3-4 basis points to 3.34 and 2.48 percent, respectively. Demand for bonds at a Czech auction on Wednesday "will be reasonable, despite the risk of rate hike, and especially demand for the shortest paper can be boosted by recent massive T-Bills redemptions", Komercni Banka traders said in a note. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1019 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.018 26.038 +0.08 3.80% 0 5 % Hungary 311.50 311.37 -0.04% -0.86% forint 00 00 Polish zloty 4.2985 4.2860 -0.29% 2.45% Romanian leu 4.6005 4.5997 -0.02% -1.42% Croatian 7.5000 7.4905 -0.13% 0.73% kuna Serbian 119.25 119.52 +0.23 3.44% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1043.9 1042.5 +0.14 +13.2 9 0 % 8% Budapest 37436. 37319. +0.32 +16.9 99 24 % 8% Warsaw 2451.7 2443.3 +0.34 +25.8 6 4 % 7% Bucharest 7986.9 7942.5 +0.56 +12.7 0 0 % 3% Ljubljana 797.29 799.82 -0.32% +11.1 1% Zagreb 1811.4 1812.3 -0.05% -9.20% 1 2 Belgrade 718.41 723.64 -0.72% +0.14 % Sofia 680.70 683.35 -0.39% +16.0 8% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.095 0.322 +078b +31bp ps s 5-year 0.284 0.119 +057b +10bp ps s 10-year 1.157 -0.025 +071b -6bps ps Poland 2-year 1.712 0.016 +240b +0bps ps 5-year 2.682 0.031 +297b +1bps ps 10-year 3.347 0.037 +290b +0bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.72 0.85 0.96 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.07 0.1 0.13 0.04 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.763 1.819 1.872 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-crown-jumps-on-hike-talk-forint-and-zloty-weakest-for-months-idINL8N1M81UQ'|'2017-09-27T07:07:00.000+03:00'
'b1e38198396c1dea578abf74f9ed52f18c2b0496'|'Carillion shares soar after report Middle East buyer eyeing company'|'FILE PHOTO: A Carillion sign is seen in Manchester, Britain July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo (Reuters) - Shares in Carillion opened up 19.4 percent on Wednesday after a media report said a Middle Eastern construction company is preparing an offer for the struggling construction and support services company.City A.M. newspaper cited a source after market close on Tuesday that final touches were being put to a bid, adding that the suitor plans to submit a letter of intent for a takeover offer. ( bit.ly/2fraUwK )Carillion did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The company has lost nearly 75 percent of its market value since mid-July when it booked an 845 million pound ($1.13 billion) writedown on problematic construction contracts and announced the departure of its chief executive.Carillion’s troubles have been compounded by its debt pile and pension obligations and trouble collecting cash from clients.Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-carillion-m-a/carillion-shares-soar-after-report-middle-east-buyer-eyeing-company-idINKCN1C20L1'|'2017-09-27T05:13:00.000+03:00'
'eb127d4a35896676b871754739a83cc2399c3bea'|'Child urges bankruptcy judge to prevent Toys ''R'' Us chain from closing'|'September 26, 2017 / 9:47 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Child urges bankruptcy judge to prevent Toys ''R'' Us chain from closing 2 Min Read The Toys R Us logo is seen in this illustration photo September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The thought of Toys ‘R’ Us closing stores due to its recent bankruptcy filing is too much for one nine-year-old to bear, according to court papers. In a handwritten letter entered on Monday in the bankruptcy docket of the largest U.S. toy store chain, the child argued store closings “will be bad for kids” and would leave them “very unhappy.” The retailer’s stores are special for children, who “would rather be promised a trip to Toy ‘R’ Us than any other store,” the child said in the letter to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips, who is overseeing the bankruptcy case. The letter identifies the child only as Andrew. The child’s last name was blacked out. The letter was entered into the Toys ‘R’ Us docket like any other document, Phillips’ judicial assistant told Reuters. Toys ‘R’ Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month to restructure $5 billion of its long-term debt. It did not, however, file with plans for store closures as has been typical of many retailers that have sought to restructure or liquidate in court in recent years. Reporting by Jim Christie'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toysrus-bankruptcy-child/child-urges-bankruptcy-judge-to-prevent-toys-r-us-chain-from-closing-idUKKCN1C136M'|'2017-09-27T00:46:00.000+03:00'
'67b414b4be45b0a4196b1e06c72eb21fc5a0a49d'|'Facebook and the meaning of share ownership'|'ONE group of Facebook friends that Mark Zuckerberg recently decided were not worth hanging out with were its public shareholders, who expected to cross-examine him (via a lawyer) on September 26th in a Delaware court. At issue would have been Mr Zuckerberg’s plans to refashion the social-media firm’s share-ownership structure more in his favour.There is not a scintilla of doubt over who controls Facebook. Not only does Mr Zuckerberg, its founder, serve as its CEO and chairman; owning 16% of its shares, he controls 60% of the voting authority through a special class of stock with ten times normal voting rights. A year ago, Mr Zuckerberg decided he would like to sell a large slug of his holdings (worth $74bn) without diluting control. The firm made a plan to distribute non-voting shares enabling him to reduce his economic interest to 3% without affecting control.  14   15   15   That prompted litigation. Shareholder votes can be directly meaningful on many issues, including management pay and acquisitions, and indirectly meaningful, too, because these votes require the release of often important information, says Stuart Grant, a lawyer. He sued Facebook and Mr Zuckerberg on behalf of two of the company’s large investors for a breach of fiduciary duty. But shortly before the trial Mr Zuckerberg dropped the plan, posting on Facebook that he believed he had sufficient control regardless. He also probably wanted to avoid an extra fight amid controversy over Russians using Facebook to meddle in America’s presidential election.There was a time when ideas surrounding shareholder “democracy” created a vocal constituency for each share equating to one vote on corporate matters. This was a matter of contractual agreement under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange’s rise to pre-eminence in the early twentieth century was tied to listing standards that enhanced investor confidence. But its authority has since withered away. It now offers no opinion on the subject of multiple share classes other than that they are permitted by its primary regulator, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Indeed, because the SEC does not block the issuance of non-voting shares, Mr Zuckerberg could well have won the case.The NASDAQ, where Facebook is listed, defends multiple classes on principle, arguing that a share need only reflect an economic participation. Various structures are acceptable as long as shareholders know what they are buying, notably at the time of a public offering. If rules were tightened, it believes, firms would forgo listing altogether for less pernickety private markets.Whatever merits this argument has, it does not quite cover the Facebook case: the change was to be made after the firm had gone public. Other firms have been taking a similar approach to their shares, either limiting investor voting rights, such as Under Armour, a clothing manufacturer, or offering shares with none, such as Snap, another social-media firm. But poor results at both firms have raised doubts about investors’ tolerance for buying into similarly-structured offerings.Yet it does not amount to a meaningful mood shift on multiple share classes. If Airbnb, a home-sharing giant, wants them if it goes public, for instance, it will likely prevail; then others will. If a line is being drawn, it is not by regulators, but index-providers. Standard & Poor’s and FTSE Russell both said in July they would restrict firms with multiple share classes from their benchmark indices; MSCI is weighing a similar move. So future offerings may be defined not by exchanges or regulators, but by entities that merely describe collections of firms. Until then, shares of common stock, to use a precise though rarely used term, may have less and less in common.  "Social classes"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729813-multiple-class-share-structures-are-controversial-are-probably-here-stay-facebook-and?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'8dee20b1325a4154db986f6f4b5811dd0c077b9e'|'FDA approves Abbott''s blood glucose monitoring device'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:54 PM / Updated 7 hours ago FDA approves Abbott''s blood glucose monitoring device Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Abbott Laboratories’ glucose monitoring device for adults with diabetes, allowing millions of people to track their blood sugar levels without having to prick their fingers. Abbott''s FreeStyle Libre Flash reduces the need for fingerstick testing, which is painful and inconvenient, by using a small sensor wire that is inserted below the skin to continuously measure and monitor glucose levels. The device can be worn for up to 10 days. ( bit.ly/2xxbrbt ) Chicago-based Abbott’s shares were trading up about 2 percent at $53.25 after the bell on Wednesday. Traditionally, diabetes patients measured their glucose levels nearly a dozen times a day by pricking their finger tips for blood samples. Nowadays, advanced continuous glucose monitoring devices, such as DexCom Inc’s G5 Mobile and Medtronic Plc’s iPRO2 Professional, which have sensors to measure glucose readings are used. However, these devices require fingertip calibration two to four times a day for optimal accuracy. DexCom’s shares were down 14.4 percent at $57.78, while Medtronic’s stock rose marginally in after-market trading. Most diabetes patients do not measure glucose as often as they should because of the discomfort caused by these kinds of tests, Jared Watkin, senior vice president of Abbott’s Diabetes Care unit told Reuters. According to studies, the majority of people with diabetes test glucose levels less than three times a day, Abbott said. Abbott’s device, however, is a long-lasting glucose sensor, which does not require fingerstick calibrations to ensure its accuracy. Abbott already has a continuous glucose monitoring device called FreeStyle Libre Pro in the United States, which helps measure patients’ glucose levels for up to 14 days, but requires a physician’s assistance. Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay; Editing by Martina D''Couto '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/abbott-fda-diabetes/fda-approves-abbotts-blood-glucose-monitoring-device-idUSL4N1M84EI'|'2017-09-28T05:54:00.000+03:00'
'b7b8964cf118f243973731457d4ca740b644c852'|'Australia Myer''s top shareholder seeks share register, stirs M&A talk'|'FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk outside a Myer department store, Australia''s largest department store operator, in Sydney, Australia, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed SYDNEY (Reuters) - Myer Holdings’ ( MYR.AX ) largest shareholder asked the company for a full list of its owners, spurring takeover speculation and sending shares of Australia’s biggest department store operator soaring nearly 7 percent on Wednesday.Premier Investments, chaired by Australian billionaire Solomon Lew, asked for the shareholders’ list in a statement and said it would “consider writing to Myer’s members in relation to any resolutions proposed at Myer’s AGM this year”.Investors interpreted the move as a push for board representation, and as a possible precursor to a full takeover of the troubled but stalwart retailer.“That’s always the undercurrent that’s sitting there,” said Mathan Somasundaram, a market strategist at stockbroker Blue Ocean Equities.“Or potentially is he going to put pressure to get either himself or someone else on the board - the market probably thinks, one way or another, he’s going to get some changes.”Premier, of which Lew owns almost a third via his private company, announced in March it bought a 10.8 percent stake in Myer and said then it had no immediate plans to make a takeover bid.Myer shares enjoyed their largest daily rise in six months, hitting a two-month high of A$0.80 ($0.6278), while the broader market edged lower.A Myer spokesman had no comment. Under Australian law it must provide the share registry list to Premier within seven days.Lew, a veteran of the fashion retailing industry, has previously used shareholdings to gain leverage in takeover situations, extracting a premium for his slice of Country Road from South Africa’s Woolworths ( WHLJ.J ) in 2014, because he held a blocking stake in their takeover target, David Jones.Announcing a modest increase in Premier’s annual profit on Monday, Lew took aim at Myer during a conference call with journalists and said he was “bitterly disappointed” at a 37 percent drop in the company’s share price since March.Myer, once mighty and a household name in Australia, has struggled against seemingly unstoppable competition from online rivals and has become a favored target of short-sellers.It posted earlier this month its lowest annual profit since listing and said sales so far this year were underwhelming.Last week, Myer appointed Garry Hounsell as its deputy chairman and said he will be nominated as the chairman, after Paul McClintock retires. Hounsell’s election will come up for consideration at Myer’s annual general meeting in November.Premier shares hit an over three-month low before paring some of the losses to close 2 percent lower.Reporting by Tom Westbrook in SYDNEY and Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myer-m-a-premier-inv/australia-myers-top-shareholder-seeks-share-register-stirs-ma-talk-idUSKCN1C218M'|'2017-09-27T18:50:00.000+03:00'
'1addb450f7d61c3ba0a5acbfecfd6246bddaf3f7'|'Exclusive - SEC hackers accessed authentic data used by companies in tests: sources'|'September 25, 2017 / 10:41 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Exclusive - SEC hackers accessed authentic data used by companies in tests: sources Sarah N. Lynch , Joseph Menn 6 Min Read A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hackers breached the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s computer system last year by taking advantage of companies that used authentic financial data when they were testing the agency’s corporate filing system, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service have since launched an investigation into a 2016 hack into the SEC‘S EDGAR system, several of those people said. The sources spoke anonymously because it is not a public investigation. The SEC’s EDGAR system is a crucial network used by companies to file earnings reports and other material information. Spokesmen for the FBI, the Secret Service and the SEC all declined to comment, saying they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. The breach occurred in October 2016 and was detected that same month. The attack appeared to have been routed through a server in Eastern Europe, according to an internal government memo describing the incident, which was seen by Reuters. There was no evidence at the time that data had been improperly retrieved, according to one source familiar with the matter, and the issue was handled internally by the SEC’s Office of Information Technology. Only after the SEC’s Enforcement Division detected a pattern of suspicious trading ahead of company public disclosures did officials go back to the agency’s technology staff and ask if some companies were using authentic data when they were testing the EDGAR system, one of the people said. The person said that “not many companies” had submitted real data that is believed to have been hacked. The test process “is for people to submit test filings to ensure that they format correctly and don’t have submission errors,” the person said. ”They normally use that right before they file their normal reports. They are supposed to use dummy data,“ the person said. ”However, it is still supposed to be protected the same way in case they do something stupid. A couple companies did, and it wasn’t protected properly.” SEC CHAIR TO CONFIRM PROBE SEC Chairman Jay Clayton will confirm the enforcement division’s ongoing investigation when he testifies Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee, according to prepared testimony reviewed by Reuters. He has also asked the SEC’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the intrusion itself, the scope of non-public information that was stolen and how the SEC responded to the incident, which he said was properly reported to the Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team. The FBI’s investigation, which is being led out of New Jersey, is focusing specifically on the trading activity in connection with the breach, according to several sources. One possibility the FBI is considering is that the SEC breach was connected to a group of hackers that intercepted electronic corporate press releases in a previous case which the FBI in New Jersey helped investigate, several of the sources said. In that case, federal prosecutors in the New York borough of Brooklyn and New Jersey, as well as the SEC, charged an alliance of stock traders and suspected computer hackers based in the United States and Ukraine. Clayton, who was installed as chairman in May, only learned of the 2016 breach in August through the enforcement investigation. SEC Commissioners Kara Stein and Mike Piwowar, who are the only other two sitting members of the agency at the moment, also only learned of it recently. Some SEC enforcement attorneys not involved in the matter learned about it when they read it in the newspaper, sources said. The delay in disclosing the hack and the months-long gap between uncovering it and discovering the potential insider trading are particularly embarrassing for an agency that has pushed companies to bolster their cyber capabilities and which investigates companies for failing to disclose breaches to investors faster. While no company has ever been charged for flawed disclosures, the SEC has previously brought charges against brokerage firms over poor cyber security practices. The SEC has experienced other cyber incidents in recent months. Between October 2016 and April 2017, the SEC documented a variety of various cyber security incidents, according to one source familiar with the matter. Reuters was not immediately able to ascertain the nature of all of the incidents, though the source said several involved EDGAR. In one other case that was not related to EDGAR, a server being set up for SEC use had not been updated to fix known vulnerabilities, one person familiar with the matter said. The SEC detected unauthorized communications from it. The FBI watched the traffic, which was early signalling or “beaconing” rather than the export of important information, and the hole was closed. In that case, the signal from the beacon was sent to a server in Ukraine, the person added. The SEC has been criticized for its cyber defences. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security detected 5 “critical” vulnerabilities that needed to be fixed when it scanned a sample of the agency’s computers and devices the week of Jan. 23. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sec-cyber-exclusive/exclusive-sec-hackers-accessed-authentic-data-used-by-companies-in-tests-sources-idUKKCN1C031A'|'2017-09-26T01:40:00.000+03:00'
'9d15354919881f43fc032b878b9cb9d11035ca28'|'Offers for AccorHotels'' property unit stake seen in October: report'|'PARIS (Reuters) - Investors looking to buy at least 51 percent of the property unit of French hotel group AccorHotels ( ACCP.PA ) are due to submit their letters of intent in October, French daily Les Echos said on Friday.French asset manager Amundi ( AMUN.PA ), U.S. property group Colony North Star ( CLNS.N ), Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have been in the running for several months though other contenders could join the race, the paper said, without citing its sources.AccorHotels declined to comment while Amundi, Colony North Star, GIC and PIF could not be immediately reached for comment.In June, AccorHotels boss Sebastien Bazin told shareholders his group was in “extremely active” discussions with potential investors over the property unit and that he hoped to seal a deal by autumn or the end of the year.The plan is aimed at giving AccorHotels, Europe’s largest hotel group, greater financial leeway to speed up growth and better fight the rising challenges of companies such as Airbnb or online travel agents such as Expedia EPE.O.At the June meeting, AccorHotels shareholders had approved plans to turn the HotelInvest property business, worth 6.6 billion euros, into a separate entity to be known as AccorInvest prior to selling part of its capital to institutional investors.Bazin had said he was confident AccorInvest, which has some 960 hotels in 26 countries and employs 40,000 people, could be worth more than 10 billion euros in the longer-term.Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Leigh Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-accorhotels-investors/offers-for-accorhotels-property-unit-stake-seen-in-october-report-idINKCN1C412N'|'2017-09-29T06:54:00.000+03:00'
'2871e568ae833f9002e011e9d52a33d758ee3da3'|'Senate poised to repeal new rule allowing consumer class actions'|' 18 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Senate poised to repeal new rule allowing consumer class actions 3 Min Read A woman walks by the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts   The U.S. Senate will soon likely vote to kill a new ban on banks and credit card companies requiring customers to surrender their right to sue in order to open accounts, according to aides, lobbyists and activists. Once Republican lawmakers either pass or abandon their latest effort to redo healthcare, which could happen as early as Tuesday evening, they will take up a resolution to kill a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule finalized in July, according to multiple lobbyists. The resolution passed the House of Representatives last month. The rule says financial companies must allow customers to participate in class actions, lawsuits where people alleging the same wrong band together to cover litigation costs, and cannot force them to only settle disputes in closed-door arbitration. Republicans are optimistic they can carry the resolution over the simple-majority threshold required by the Congressional Review Act, lobbyists said. After that, a signature from President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, will nullify the rule and bar the CFPB from ever enacting a similar regulation. Republicans are working to ensure they have the votes. The party has a slim margin in the Senate, so it cannot lose two more votes because Republican Senator Lindsay Graham has said he will vote against it, and the Democrats are solidly opposed. Since a 2011 Supreme Court decision allowing the practice, almost every U.S. company has included “mandatory arbitration” clauses in contracts for services from nursing homes to mobile phones. Companies say class actions only benefit lawyers and arbitration provides greater settlement awards. The clauses are prevalent in the Trump family’s businesses, according to a recent survey by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. Trump hotels, golf clubs and winery all require customers to sign away rights to join class actions. The CFPB began drafting the rule under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Rule supporters cast arbitration as a secretive process stacked against victims where arbitrators are frequently on company payrolls. They say the rule restores victims’ constitutional rights. Equifax Inc ( EFX.N ) ignited outrage by initially including arbitration clauses in free credit monitoring it offered to victims of a massive hack it suffered. Democrats hope that anger will fuel opposition to the resolution. Republicans Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who frequently break party ranks, and freshman Senator Jack Kennedy, are under pressure to vote to repeal the rule, progressive and consumer groups say. Party leaders also want to ensure Republican Senator Luther Strange, in a Tuesday election in his home state, and Republican Senator John McCain, undergoing cancer treatment, are present to cast votes. Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Pete Schroeder; Editing by Phil Berlowitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-consumers-arbitration/senate-poised-to-repeal-new-rule-allowing-consumer-class-actions-idUSKCN1C12MA'|'2017-09-26T21:18:00.000+03:00'
'e50c1c14388c42a72db55c8a45e76de5eba95485'|'Fortum CEO rules out forced layoffs at Uniper in case of deal - WAZ'|'September 26, 2017 / 11:03 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Fortum CEO rules out forced layoffs at Uniper in case of deal: WAZ Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Fortum CEO Pekka Lundmark listens during an interview at company headquarters in Espoo, Finland, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Tuomas Forsell FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Finnish energy group Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) ruled out forced layoffs at Uniper ( UN01.DE ) in case of a successful acquisition of E.ON’s ( EONGn.DE ) 46.65 percent stake in the group, its chief executive told a German newspaper. There would be “no compulsory layoffs or a relocation of the Duesseldorf headquarters”, Pekka Lundmark told Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung in remarks published on Tuesday. “If the investment works out there won’t be consequences for the employees of Uniper.” The remarks come a day after Uniper boss Klaus Schaefer described as “hostile” an attempt by Fortum to buy the stake currently held by E.ON, which would automatically trigger a takeover offer for the whole group. Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Arno Schuetze'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-oyj/fortum-ceo-rules-out-forced-layoffs-at-uniper-in-case-of-deal-waz-idUKKCN1C11B8'|'2017-09-26T13:58:00.000+03:00'
'308113ed798fd6539d4d38433303e4087fe4b9ef'|'Macron looks to stamp ''non'' on banker-style jobless payouts'|'  5:07 AM / Updated 44 minutes ago Macron looks to stamp ''non'' on banker-style jobless payouts Leigh Thomas 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a joint statement with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (not pictured) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - When the global financial crisis erupted in 2008, some expat French bankers who lost their jobs in London returned home to collect unemployment benefits of more than 7,000 euros (£6,153) a month. Though an extreme example of French welfare generosity, the maximum jobless payout of 7,130 euros a month for two years -- or three if you are near retirement -- is a stark reminder of why President Emmanuel Macron wants to overhaul the system. Having pushed through changes to France’s 3,000-page labour rule book this month, the 39-year-old president, a former investment banker himself, is looking to take on the opaque world of unemployment insurance in the weeks ahead. The aim is to spur those who lose their jobs to get back to work more quickly and fill France’s growing number of vacancies, part of what Macron terms “an unprecedented transformation of our social model and economy”. Apart from the Communist-rooted CGT, most unions have not bothered to demonstrate against the labour law and the few demonstrations there have been - including by truckers on Monday - have struggled to get media attention. But Macron knows unemployment benefit changes are likely to encounter stronger protests, and also infuriate employers. While usually on opposite sides of debate, France’s unions and employers are both protective of their decades-old grip over a system worth billions of euros which they manage. “We don’t want this to become an attack on joint management because we think we have shown we can manage unemployment insurance,” said Michel Beaugas, head of labour policy at Force Ouvriere, France’s third largest union. The government has little control over how much and for how long the unemployed receive benefits, which are negotiated by unions and employers every two to three years. Macron wants to bring the benefits fund, known by its acronym Unedic, under state control, arguing that the government should have “more than a word to say” since it guarantees the fund’s 30.5 billion euros of debt. For the unions, retaining a say in how Unedic is managed is equivalent to staying relevant. Membership is already among the lowest in the developed world and declining and the labour reforms have weakened their power to negotiate for employees. Though employer federations feel less threatened, they too are reluctant to see the system slip from their grasp. “Since workers and employers pay in contributions for unemployment, I prefer that we keep it under our control,” said Pierre Gattaz, head of the employers’ federation, Medef. HOW GENEROUS Examples of generous benefits for laid-off bankers may grab headlines, but they are more the exception than the rule. Those covered by Unedic -- which insures 2.8 million people out of a total jobless pool of 3.5 million -- get benefits worth 67 percent of their previous income, slightly below the average of 69 percent across the European Union, according to a study by the French Treasury published in December. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, June 3, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo Moreover, almost all of their benefit income comes from jobless insurance, while many other countries offset lower benefits with separate allotments of aid, like family allowances in Britain or tax exemptions in Germany, the Treasury said. Though France stands out for its maximum jobless benefit of 7,130 euros per month before tax, the average gross payout is a more modest 1,200 euros, according to the state employment agency, known as Pole Emploi. The main problem is that incentives are not structured towards getting people back to work quickly, with most payments running for up to 24 months, longer than all other EU countries except Belgium and the Netherlands, the Treasury said. High unemployment -- France’s jobless rate has stood above nine percent for six years, although it is showing signs of a decline -- rather than careless generosity is the main cause of Unedic’s 3.6 billion euro shortfall, experts say. France unemployment - reut.rs/2jXeYdm FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech after signing documents in front of the media to promulgate a new labour bill in his office at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo Unedic expects the gap to narrow rapidly in the coming years as the economy picks up jobs are created. And if Unedic weren’t required to finance two-thirds of the state employment agency’s budget -- an annual cost of 3.3 billion euros -- it would already be close to breaking even. MAN WITH A PLAN Unions and employers are anxious to see what Macron has up his sleeve when it comes to unemployment benefits, with only broad indications since May’s election of reform plans. During the campaign, Macron said he would extend coverage to entrepreneurs and the self-employed, while workers would get the right to resign every five years and retain benefits. In exchange he wants to tighten the rules, stopping benefits if a person turns down more than two good job offers. Furthermore, Macron wants to change the way France spends nearly 32 billion euros a year on professional training, fixing a system that appears to be failing, with many companies saying they cannot find qualified workers. He wants to streamline the current raft of training schemes, which the state audit office has warned encourages fraud due to their complexity and opacity. Although employers, exasperated that they can’t find qualified workers, are open to change, unions are wary they will once again have to give in to seeing their influence diluted. “What we want is that the government leaves it to us to negotiate both unemployment benefits and professional training,” Force Ouvriere’s Beaugas said. Macron and the government disagree, setting the stage for a battle of wills involving labour unrest in the weeks ahead. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Luke Baker and'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-reform-benefits/macron-looks-to-stamp-non-on-banker-style-jobless-payouts-idUKKCN1C10EL'|'2017-09-26T08:07:00.000+03:00'
'351b3692bcb3e2b16d8759e439322bebf0210127'|'United Utilities sees higher first-half profit, revenue'|' 28 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago United Utilities sees higher first-half profit, revenue Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - United Utilities Group Plc ( UU.L ) said it expects underlying operating profit and revenue for the first half of the year to be higher, helped by regulatory changes. The water utility, which supplies and treats water in north-western UK, forecast revenue to rise just under 3 percent in the six months ending Sept. 30. United Utilities also said it expects total regulatory capital investment to be about 800 million pounds, compared with the 804 million pounds it spent last year. Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar and Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-united-ut-grp-results/united-utilities-sees-higher-first-half-profit-revenue-idUKKCN1C10KN'|'2017-09-26T09:28:00.000+03:00'
'6bdce6b2c1a5b10ce1fbd30f82ef59a6d743d38c'|'Online auctions of Boeing 747s reflect shifts in the air-travel industry'|'FOR many aeroplane enthusiasts, buying a Boeing 747 is the stuff of dreams. The “Queen of the Skies” is an icon from the golden age of air travel, a period the 1960s and 1970s when the industry was at its most glamorous. And owning one would be like having a little piece of aviation history.Last week that dream shifted slightly closer to reality, albeit only for well-heeled fans. Three Boeing 747s went up for auction on Taboo, China’s equivalent of eBay. The seller is a state court in Shenzhen, which seized the planes when Jade Cargo International, an airline, went bust in 2012. At first, state officials tried to flog the planes offline at private auctions. But after six failed attempts, they opened the sale up to public bids. Offers currently range from 122m yuan ($18.5m) to 135m yuan.Latest updates An evening with Momentum at the Labour Party conference Bagehot''s notebook 3 hours ago Picking a fund manager? The odds aren''t great Buttonwood’s notebook 3 hours ago The American embassy building in London is a modernist classic Prospero 5 hours ago Online auctions of Boeing 747s reflect shifts in the air-travel industry Gulliver 5 hours ago Why the referendum on Catalan independence is illegal The Economist explains 10 This is not the first time one of the planes has been auctioned online. Last year Concord Aerospace, a Florida-based firm which buys and sells plane parts, offered a decommissioned 747 on eBay. Because the engines had been removed, the suggested starting bid was a mere $300,000. Even so, the plane did not sell. That is largely because the cost of shipping would have been many times higher than the auction price, explains Mert Balta, Concord Aerospace’s founder.The fact that 747s are ending up on online auction sites is a sign of their waning appeal. Their share of worldwide available seat miles—a measure of total seat capacity and mileage—is tumbling. Both United Airlines and Delta are planning to fly their last scheduled 747 flights by the end of this year.One reason for this is the 747’s inefficiency. They are heavier than most of the smaller, twin-engine models and so burn more fuel. On a trip between New York and Los Angeles, for instance, a 747 will consume 30% more fuel per passenger than the smaller, twin-engine Airbus A320. When oil prices soared in the late-1990s and early-2000s, the 747 became even more expensive to fly.Another reason is changing patterns in flight schedules, as Gulliver has previously noted . When the popularity of flying started to boom in the 1980s, airlines began to offer a greater range of take-off times to travellers. More flights on smaller planes became the norm, rather than a handful on the big 747s.Though fans may bemoan the loss of an iconic aircraft, some 747s have been given a new lease of life in their retirement. One was transformed into a noodle restaurant in South Korea (though that too later went bust). Another has been converted into Jumbo Stay, a hostel near Stockholm airport in Sweden. Mr Balta even has plans to turn the fuselage of his 747 into caravans and houses. The Queen of the Skies may be grounded, but she has not been consigned to the scrapheap just yet.Next Sleep pods are becoming increasingly common at airports'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/boeing-boeing?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-26T17:42:00.000+03:00'
'b3281214b77fc8089669db70e33ba642961e29c0'|'France, Italy agree ownership split on STX France shipyards: Le Monde'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:28 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Fincantieri to take control of STX, resolving shipyard row: source Giselda Vagnoni 3 Min Read The logo of STX is seen during a press conference at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, western France, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe LYON, France (Reuters) - Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) will take effective control of STX France under shared ownership, an Italian government source said on Wednesday, ending a dispute that has soured bilateral relations. France had angered Italy by ordering a “temporary” nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy 55 percent. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday he hoped it would now be possible to form a European-scale naval defense firm, on a par with the rail engineering leader created on Tuesday in a tie-up between another French firm - Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) - and Germany’s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ). Resolving the row over the future of the French shipyard was high on the agenda for French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. They will meet in Lyon later on Wednesday, a day after Macron offered an ambitious vision for European renewal, calling for the EU to work more closely on defense and immigration and for the euro zone to have its own budget. Fincantieri had agreed in May to pay 79.5 million euros ($93.4 million) for a majority stake in STX France, which was being sold following the collapse of South Korean parent STX. But amid concerns about jobs and the firm’s strategic importance, Paris backtracked on that deal in July. Under the agreement, expected to be formally announced by Macron and Gentiloni, Fincantieri will take 51 percent of STX, though 1 percentage point of the holding will be in the form of shares lent to Fincantieri by France, the Italian source said. Paris has a right to demand back that 1 percent stake under certain circumstances, the source said. But it was unclear what would happen with the ownership of STX if it chose to do so. Fincantieri will have the right to pick four members of STX’s eight-member board, including the chief executive and chairman, added the Italian government source. The chairman will have a casting vote. STX’s Saint-Nazaire yard is the only one big enough in France to build aircraft carriers and other large warships. “I hope that in the naval sector, without wishing to give away anything that might arrive this evening, we can also move towards a world giant in terms of industrial, naval construction - on a European scale,” Le Maire told reporters, reiterating his support for the tie-up between Siemens and Alstom. Additional reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Brian Love and John Stonestreet '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-france-italy-summit-stx/france-italy-agree-ownership-split-on-stx-france-shipyards-le-monde-idINKCN1C20ZF'|'2017-09-27T07:28:00.000+03:00'
'b4d821d8378b68d7fb14be3f8a01e557402034e5'|'A little help from ''Mr Bags''? Prada plays catch-up online in China'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:15 PM / Updated 6 hours ago A little help from ''Mr Bags''? Prada plays catch-up online in China Pei Li , Giulia Segreti 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A model displays a creation from the Prada Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo/File Photo BEIJING/MILAN (Reuters) - At Prada’s ( 1913.HK ) Spring/Summer 2018 show in Milan last week in a warehouse papered with giant pop-art comic strips, one name in the coveted front row stood out: Tao Liang, otherwise known as Chinese blogger ‘Mr Bags’. His presence alongside Vogue’s Anna Wintour and Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni is a sign of Prada’s efforts to turn around its business with a focus on the digital sphere - where it has lost ground to rivals including Kering’s ( PRTP.PA ) Gucci. And nowhere is a revival more critical than in China, which accounts for close to a third of all global luxury sales. Crucially, Chinese luxury buyers tend to be younger than elsewhere, and online influencers like ‘Mr Bags’ carry real clout. Prada, whose profits and sales have been sliding, is playing catch-up with rivals like Louis Vuitton ( LVMH.PA ), Fendi and even the more affordable luxury brands like Coach ( COH.N ). All have raced ahead, forging tie-ups with bloggers and online stars who draw in Asia’s smartphone-obsessed youth. While online influencers are a force globally, in China, bloggers like ‘Mr Bags’, ‘Gogoboi’ or ‘FreshBoy’ can have tens of millions of followers, and an outsized say on shopping trends. “The key opinion leaders (KOLs) in China are very powerful. They can promote a product to an extent that no counterparts in Europe can match,” said Chinese fashion blogger Yang Dong, who has called Prada the “depressed teenager” of luxury brands. Yang said Prada’s issue in the market was not its design. “When other brands roll out new products, they first come to China weeks in advance and get Internet celebrities and KOLs to lead the trend,” he said. “If Prada doesn’t put its marketing focus on China, it will lose more ground.” Prada, which appointed a new global digital director, Chiara Tosato, in March, is starting to catch on. Tosato said earlier this month the fashion house would look to drive online sales globally - a change from 2014, when CEO Patrizio Bertelli said it would focus on physical stores. Prada will this year complete the roll-out of its e-commerce platform in key markets including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Russia. It’s already active in Europe and the United States. Prada declined to comment for this article. RISKS AND REWARDS To be sure, an online presence won’t solve other issues like too many shops, and customers can feel some tie-ups make the brand less aspirational. Online buyers can also be more fickle. Yet Prada’s modest online sales target, including sales through e-tailer partners, is for 5 percent of its total by end-2018. For smaller, luxury outerwear maker Moncler ( MONC.MI ), it’s 6 percent this year - meaning it’s already reaping the data dividends that come with online sales. The power of China’s online stars means they are impossible to ignore in a country where hundreds of millions of people use microblogs such as Weibo ( WB.O ). FILE PHOTO: Italian designer Miuccia Prada acknowledges the applause at the end of her Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo Top fashion blogger ‘Gogoboi’ has more than 7 million followers there. ‘Mr Bags’ has a more modest 3 million, but is seen as a leading influencer when it comes to accessories. “When a new bag comes out, probably it doesn’t get much attention. But when a fashion blogger or celebrity carries it, it’s suddenly out of stock,” said Yang Lei, a Chinese online shopping agent selling luxury goods back to China. And Prada needs that support. Even as its China sales recovered slightly in the first half of this year, to 302 million euros ($359 million), Prada’s global profits fell 18 percent, after a 2016 bottom line that was its lowest since its 2011 initial public offering. Gucci, meanwhile, has seen its sales jump. Of course, slow-to-digital was not Prada’s only issue. It also opened more stores than its mega-brand rivals and failed to spot the power of high-margin casualwear. A Reuters analysis of Weibo shows Prada far behind Coach, Gucci and Louis Vuitton in terms of celebrity tie-ups and endorsements online. The brand has 309,000 followers on the popular platform - around a tenth of what Coach can boast. Unlike some rivals, Prada has steered clear of creating limited edition capsule collections in collaboration with influencers. In contrast, a young, fringe Chinese rap group told Reuters they were in talks with Coach over a tie-up - a sign that even potential future stars are being tapped. “The power of digital is a critical part of our global transformation plan ... we are always seeking innovative ways to leverage social platforms,” a Coach spokesperson told Reuters, adding that partnering with Chinese actress Tiffany Tang and singer Timmy Xu “is one way we are working with KOLs to build emotional bonds with our consumers.” Prada is finally following, albeit cautiously. “Prada works with influencers in different regions including Asia, but will push into this more and increase collaborations,” a person familiar with its plans told Reuters, noting Prada is “not obsessed” with collaboration and doesn’t want to dilute its brand. Alongside ‘Mr Bags’ in Milan last week, Prada also hosted Filipino fashion blogger ‘BryanBoy’, Hong Kong actress Tina Leung, South Korean model Irene Kim and Singaporean designer Yoyo Cao. Prada has also done pop-up stores focused on Asia, aiming at millennial shoppers. That push could help reach consumers like Xu Dan, a 28-year-old business development worker in Beijing, who says she reads all ‘Mr Bags’ posts: “I trust these bloggers’ sensitivity to fashion.” Not everyone will be easy to move. Akane Kishi, a 29-year-old human resources worker shopping in Tokyo, said Prada had just not kept up. “I often see Fendi on Instagram and think I want to buy that one, in that color,” she said. Reporting by Pei Li in BEIJING and Giulia Segreti in MILAN, with additional reporting by Sam Nussey and Chenhui Peh in TOKYO, Claudia Cristoferi in MILAN and Farah Master in HONG KONG; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-prada-strategy-analysis/a-little-help-from-mr-bags-prada-plays-catch-up-online-in-china-idUSKCN1C31NY'|'2017-09-28T15:14:00.000+03:00'
'c265178c4cfa93f7e3ec735f0b888c39decbec24'|'Motorists left high and dry by AutoEurope if they are delayed - Money'|'T hree readers who booked holiday car hire through the online broker AutoEurope turned up at the rental desk to find that not only had their vehicle been given to someone else, but they also were not entitled to their money back.EC of Mitcham, Surrey, paid AutoEurope £401 to hire a car from a rental firm called Fox in Turkey. Her flight to Dalaman was two hours late and when she arrived at the airport rental desk she was told her contract had been cancelled and was non-refundable.“I rang AutoEurope and was told that the terms and conditions stated that the car could not be held if a customer was more than an hour late and there was nothing they could do about it. I had no choice but to find a last-minute alternative. And because the cost was high and my budget low, I could hire a car only for three days instead of three weeks. I am a single mother and had been saving up for this holiday for three years, but it was spoiled because of AutoEurope’s unreasonable T&Cs.”Londoner FH also used AutoEurope to hire a car on the Greek island of Kefalonia. The vehicle, provided by hire firm Green Motion, cost £318.“When I filled out the booking form I had to give the flight number and estimated time of arrival. I put down British summer time by mistake, which was two hours behind Greek time. When we arrived at the airport hire desk we were told the car had been held for an hour and that no other car was available. We had to get a taxi to our destination, which cost us £50. All AutoEurope offered to do was organise another car that, if I wanted it immediately, would cost £2,700, or £700 if I could wait a week. Two days later I found an alternative provider myself and paid £300.”FoS from London booked an Alamo car via AutoEurope for a holiday in France and pre-paid £159. He and his wife were delayed on their journey and arrived at the rental desk at Avignon TGV train station two hours later than planned. He was told the booking was invalid and that he would have to fork out for a new booking if he wanted a car.“The terms and conditions on the hire voucher state that ‘Auto Europe does not refund any unused days if the customer does not show up, shows up late or returns the vehicle early’. Nowhere was it specified what ‘late’ meant. Although the voucher stated that the T&Cs would ‘vary by country’ there was no link to Alamo’s T&Cs. Its website does not provide T&Cs, nor does it mention that customers will lose their money if they arrive later than the specified booking time.”This essential caveat is not mentioned in the pick-up information on the rental voucher, nor under “Important notice to make your car rental a smooth experience”. Only in the small print on the third page does it state that unused days are not refunded if a customer shows up late and you are not referred to the supplier’s T&Cs to find out what “late” means.Legally, the vagueness and the lack of prominence of such key information could make it unenforceable. AutoEurope tells me it’s difficult to find T&Cs that fit with the hundreds of suppliers it deals with worldwide, and that even the same brand names operate differently across countries.“The term ‘late’ is hard to define without going into great detail,” says a spokesperson. “The general industry standard is to hold on to the car for two hours. If the client’s flight number is provided on the booking it is also standard for the rental company to check flight delays before selling the car to another client.”Some companies, such as Green Motion and Alamo, only receive the booking money from AutoEurope once the customer collects the car, which means they are more likely to hire it out to someone else to avoid being left out of pocket if the original customer is late.After being contacted by The Observer , AutoEurope has decided that it could be more sensitive to circumstances when a customer is only a couple of hours late, so it has refunded all three rental fees in full, plus FH’s taxi fare.The company also says that it is taking legal advice on how to make its T&Cs clearer.When collecting a car from an airport always include your flight number in the booking so the hire company will know if you are delayed. If you are held up for any other reason, phone to tell it your new arrival time so your car is held for you.If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.Topics Motoring Your problems with Anna Tims Consumer rights Consumer affairs features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/27/autoeurope-car-hire-customers-turned-away'|'2017-09-27T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'6dcdf2e9de5bcbe1ac01aa062bc5198344a2c98e'|'Alstom to pay special dividend in Siemens rail merger: sources'|'MUNICH/PARIS (Reuters) - French transportation and manufacturing group Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) plans to pay its shareholders a special dividend if a deal to merge with Siemens’ ( SIEGn.DE ) rail business goes through, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.The special dividend would even out the value of Siemens and Alstom, which has too much cash on its balance sheet, to smooth the intended 50-50 joint venture, one of the people said.“Will there be a special dividend? Yes,” said the second person.Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-siemens-dividend/alstom-to-pay-special-dividend-in-siemens-rail-merger-sources-idINKCN1C112Q'|'2017-09-26T07:48:00.000+03:00'
'd6817bfce18cda07f7275ef178d0b337e6145fc5'|'Fortum CEO rules out forced layoffs at Uniper in case of deal: WAZ'|'FILE PHOTO: Fortum CEO Pekka Lundmark listens during an interview at company headquarters in Espoo, Finland, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Tuomas Forsell FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Finnish energy group Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) ruled out forced layoffs at Uniper ( UN01.DE ) in case of a successful acquisition of E.ON’s ( EONGn.DE ) 46.65 percent stake in the group, its chief executive told a German newspaper.There would be “no compulsory layoffs or a relocation of the Duesseldorf headquarters”, Pekka Lundmark told Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung in remarks published on Tuesday. “If the investment works out there won’t be consequences for the employees of Uniper.”The remarks come a day after Uniper boss Klaus Schaefer described as “hostile” an attempt by Fortum to buy the stake currently held by E.ON, which would automatically trigger a takeover offer for the whole group.Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-oyj/fortum-ceo-rules-out-forced-layoffs-at-uniper-in-case-of-deal-waz-idUSKCN1C11B8'|'2017-09-26T19:03:00.000+03:00'
'1ed48c6546cb8ddfbb12d989b39e3a69caddd211'|'May says Uber''s London ban ''disproportionate'' - BBC'|'September 28, 2017 / 6:32 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago British PM May says Uber''s London ban ''disproportionate'': BBC Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A message on the Uber app is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said the London transport regulator’s decision to strip Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] of its license to operate in the capital was “disproportionate” and has put thousands of jobs at risk, according to a BBC report on Thursday. Regulator Transport for London said last Friday that the U.S.-based taxi firm’s approach and conduct was not fit and proper to hold a private vehicle hire license and it would not be renewed when it expires on Sept. 30. "I want to see a level playing field. I think a blanket ban is disproportionate," May said in her interview with the BBC. bbc.in/2fv3c52 Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-britain-theresa-may/british-pm-may-says-ubers-london-ban-disproportionate-bbc-idUKKCN1C32S8'|'2017-09-28T21:32:00.000+03:00'
'454ac683d4a2478ca04601f49b334d1949268988'|'Greek recovery to strengthen, quick bailout review a must - Bank of Greece chief'|'  7:32 PM / Updated 40 minutes ago Greek recovery to strengthen, quick bailout review a must - Bank of Greece chief George Georgiopoulos 3 Min Read File photo: Yannis Stournaras speaks during an interview with Reuters at the bank''s headquarters in Athens, Greece, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s economy is recovering after a deep recession and growth is set to pick up in the next two years, the head of its central bank said on Thursday, urging a speedy conclusion to its next bailout review to avoid a new cycle of uncertainty. “The Greek economy is currently on a growth track. It is now safe to predict that economic activity will continue to pick up at a stronger pace in the near term,” Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras told the British-Hellenic chamber of commerce. In 2017 as a whole, gross domestic product was projected to grow by about 1.7 percent, he said, while in 2018 and 2019, growth will quicken to 2.4 and 2.7 percent, respectively, driven by rising investment, consumption and exports. Greece’s economy expanded 0.5 percent in the April-June quarter, growing for the second straight quarter, driven by gains in exports and higher government spending. The gradual recovery, which follows a deep recession that saw the economy shrink by a quarter and drove unemployment to record highs, is boosting hopes that Athens will be able to emerge successfully from years of bailouts next August. Greece’s leftist-led government, which faces a third review of its bailout, is forecasting 1.8 percent growth this year. The review is expected to start in October. Stournaras, who is also a European Central Bank Governing Council member, said the central bank’s forecasts were based on the assumption Greece’s reforms and privatisations programme “will be implemented consistently and according to schedule.” He urged a speedy conclusion of the bailout performance review, warning that delays, as was the case with the first and second reviews, must be avoided. Delays could trigger a new cycle of uncertainty, leading to the suspension of investment plans and undermining the economy’s growth momentum. “This would weaken the prospects for sustainable access of the Greek sovereign to international capital markets after the end of the (bailout) programme in August 2018,” Stournaras said. He cited the euro’s appreciation as a potential external risk. “A further rise in the euro exchange rate from current levels could negatively affect goods exports as well as tourism receipts, dampening the economic growth outlook and slowing the pace of exiting the crisis,” he said. The central banker also urged the country’s banks to step up efforts to shrink their portfolios of bad loans, underlining that the reduction targets they have agreed for 2018 and 2019 are more ambitious than those for this year. Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-economy/greek-economys-recovery-to-strengthen-ecbs-stournaras-idUKKCN1C32XK'|'2017-09-28T23:28:00.000+03:00'
'd963aa74b8c2be0005c24a626b02ea611be2cc28'|'Saudi Arabia to widen foreign investment access again in 2017 -CMA chairman'|'September 29, 2017 / 3:18 PM / in 3 hours Saudi Arabia to widen foreign investment access again in 2017 -CMA chairman Reuters Staff * Saudi Arabia plans to update QFI programme in 2017 * Riyadh to release new M&A, listing rules in one-two months * New rules to make it easier to issue debt securities * Tadawul ready for Aramco IPO except foreign exchange links By Dasha Afanasieva and Pamela Barbaglia LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia plans to further open up its stock market to foreign investors later this year as it seeks to become an international capital markets hub, Mohammed Abdullah Elkuwaiz, chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) told Reuters on Friday. Qualified foreign institutions (QFIs) were allowed to begin investing directly in Saudi stocks in 2015 and qualification requirements were eased late last year. “We are likely to follow up with a version three (of the QFI programme) and maybe a version four shortly thereafter by continuing to deregulate foreign investor access,” said Elkuwaiz, who became chairman of the body in August. “Our expectation is we continue the same cycle. Thereabouts every year we would expect a re-release.” As part of Vision 2030, an ambitious reform plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil, Saudi Arabia is trying to develop, open up and grow its capital markets. The CMA has been revising rules to help the Saudi market enter international equity indexes, which would bring more foreign money. New listing rules to be announced in the next month or two alongside new M&A rules will have an emphasis on driving debt issuance. “It is part of the re-review of the issuing and listing rules of Saudi was both oriented towards making it easier to issue and list securities in general and specifically to make it much easier to issue and list debt securities,” he said. Elkuwaiz said lot of the disclosure and offering requirements will be waived for publicly-traded companies which have already gone through much of the process for their equity listings. Regulation on the creation of special purpose entities (SPE) to house assets for debt will allow the CMA to approve and license SPEs to stimulate debt activity. NEW LISTINGS Around five or six companies from a range of sectors have pending applications with the CMA to join the main equity market and the NOMU market, a parallel market Saudi Arabia recently launched for small and medium enterprises, Elkuwaiz said, and there are 25-30 mandates with banks for listings further down the line, all from Saudi companies. “We are having very early discussions with non Saudi issuers who would like to tap into Saudi investors,” Elkuwaiz said. He said it was reasonable to expect foreign company listings from mid-2018. Elkuwaiz said Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange was ready for any size of listing of state oil giant Saudi Aramco ( IPO-ARMO.SE ), and the only outstanding issue is the alignment of the exchange with any others where Aramco securities may be listed. Saudi authorities aim to list around 5 percent of Aramco by the end of 2018 on both the Tadawul and one or more international markets, with London, New York and Hong Kong in the running. The initial public offering (IPO) is the centrepiece of the Vision 2030, championed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman who is expected to take the final decision about Aramco’s listing venue. “The only missing piece is if there is a decision to have a dual listing and if the market for that dual listing is identified and the structure of that listing is identified, there may be some additional incremental work that’s needed,” he said. “That’s the only missing piece.” (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/saudi-arabia-capital-markets-regulator/saudi-arabia-to-widen-foreign-investment-access-again-in-2017-cma-chairman-idINL8N1MA3OW'|'2017-09-29T13:18:00.000+03:00'
'db1b83ae936255720b96121477a34c061a875152'|'American entrepreneurship is flourishing, if you know where to look'|'AT FIRST glance, it seems that America’s economy is losing its mojo. Many economists, most notably Robert Gordon of Northwestern University, have lamented that productivity growth seems to be anaemic when compared with earlier golden eras (see Free exchange ). A gloomy chorus of business leaders has echoed what media outlets have by now turned into a mantra, that American entrepreneurship is in steady decline. Surely America’s overall competitiveness, then, is plummeting?The answer from one influential think-tank, the World Economic Forum (WEF), is no. In its latest update to its long-running annual ranking of global economic competitiveness, published on September 27th, America rose from third place to second, ranking below only Switzerland.  15   15   15   This is partly because poor economic policies and weak productivity growth are bedevilling rivals such as China and Europe. Yet glaring American weaknesses, such as fraying infrastructure and fractured politics, are outweighed in the WEF analysis by the country’s strengths in areas like business sophistication and technological readiness. And aside from market size, the variable on which America still outscores other rich countries the most is its culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.Hand-wringing about a crisis in business formation relies on official data showing that fewer new firms are being started than in the past. The latest figures, released on September 20th, show that there were 414,000 firms that were less than a year old in 2015 (the latest available year), compared with an average of 511,000 in the decade before the financial crisis. Still, not every new firm is equal—some entrepreneurs want to create the next Tesla, not open another bodega. Of the roughly 4.4m firms created in the last ten years, about 30,000 can be described as gazelles, or young, high-growth companies, according to the Kauffman Foundation, another think-tank that is known for its work on entrepreneurship. These firms have a disproportionate impact on job creation and innovation. They pack a powerful punch.A forthcoming report from the Kauffman Foundation finds that high-growth entrepreneurship has rebounded in America from the trough induced by the global financial crisis and is now rocketing (see chart). These experts scrutinise three things: how quickly startups grew in their first five years; the share of firms scaling up past 50 employees by their tenth year; and the prevalence of “fast growth” firms with at least 20% annualised growth over three years (and $2m or more in revenues).The analysis also reveals that such gazelles are found in unexpected places. Consider ProviderTrust, a health-tech startup. The firm has developed a novel software-as-a-service offering that helps health-care firms track people’s professional credentials and licences efficiently. Because states do not typically share timely information about disciplinary actions taken against health-care workers, footloose rogues can create a costly regulatory headache for unwitting new employers in another state. The company has been growing at a rate of over 60% a year since its founding in 2010; revenues should reach $10m this year. Or look at Root Insurance, America’s first mobile-only insurance firm, which is increasing downloads of its app by nearly 50% month over month. It uses actual driving data to set insurance rates for all of its customers, and offers discounts to drivers for using the self-driving mode of their Tesla car. Alex Timm, its chief executive, explains that data collected via its customers’ mobiles proves that people are much safer when the car does the driving. His firm even punishes drivers for texting and driving, which it discovers by analysing the micro-vibrations of smartphones.These gazelles are found not in Silicon Valley or Boston but, respectively, in Nashville and Columbus. Other overlooked cities in the American heartland are also hotspots of high-growth entrepreneurship (see map). Mark Kvamme of Drive Capital, a venture-capital (VC) fund based in Ohio, points to Indianapolis as a rising technology hub: ExactTarget, a local software-marketing startup, was acquired in 2013 by Salesforce, a Californian software giant, for $2.5bn. “Luring talent away from Silicon Valley and Seattle is getting much easier,” says Mr Kvamme, a native Californian who left Sequoia Capital, a top Silicon Valley VC fund, to found Drive.Steve Case of Revolution, an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist (in 1985 he co-founded what later became America Online), calls this the “rise of the rest”. Having observed this trend on periodic bus tours across America, during which he encourages (and sometimes invests in) many local entrepreneurs, he thinks three factors are fuelling it. Barriers to entry have fallen, especially for technology companies. Access to risk capital for startups, including through crowdfunding, is no longer limited to the two coasts. Local governments are increasingly supporting training schemes, accelerators and other bits of soft infrastructure that greatly boost startups’ chances of success.Challenged on whether high-growth entrepreneurship can really be spread like jam across America, Mr Case acknowledges there is value to clustering. He insists, however, that nearly three-quarters of all VC money need not go to just California, Massachusetts and New York. “Spreading this to 30 cities”, he reckons, “would transform America.”  "Gazelles in the heartland"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729781-high-growth-kind-has-rebounded-sharply-lows-after-great-recession-american?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'06beb1841384d588e65c528eaf3bffae764d85af'|'Japan''s Genki Sushi, Sushiro to merge - source'|'  2:17 AM / in 8 minutes Japan''s Genki Sushi, Sushiro to merge - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of sushi restaurant chain Sushiro, operated by Akindo Sushiro Co., is displayed outside the restaurant in Kawaguchi, Saitama prefecture, Japan May 14, 2016. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) - The owner of Japan’s restaurant chain Genki Sushi Co ( 9828.T ) will buy a one-third stake in bigger rival Sushiro Global Holdings Ltd ( 3563.T ) from private equity firm Permira [PERM.UL], a person with direct knowledge of the deal said. Permira, which bought Sushiro in 2012, will sell the stake to Genki Sushi owner Shinmei Co, said the person, asking not to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to media. Shinmei will merge Sushiro with Genki Sushi, the person said. A Permira official declined to comment on the sale, which was first reported by the Nikkei business daily on Friday. Sushiro and Genki Sushi said in separate statements they were discussing the reported transaction at a board meeting on Friday. Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-sushi-m-a/japans-genki-sushi-sushiro-to-merge-source-idUKKCN1C4083'|'2017-09-29T05:17:00.000+03:00'
'833ed143e40b0a56a4bd8c5d2c0300e7a144cc92'|'Russian banking sector has $92 bln of bad loans - cenbank chief'|'MOSCOW, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Russia’s banking sector is carrying bad loans worth 5.3 trillion roubles ($91.60 billion), which accounts for around 10 percent of the sector’s outstanding loans, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday.Two thirds of bad loans had been taken out by companies and one third by households, Nabiullina said in comments to state TV channel Rossiya 24.Nabiullina also said that the central bank would like to sell recently rescued Otkritie Bank and B&N Bank to investors and was considering organising initial public offerings for the troubled private lenders.She also said that the rescue of the two banks did not pose a risk of higher inflation. ($1 = 57.8599 roubles) (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-banks-cenbank-loans/russian-banking-sector-has-92-bln-of-bad-loans-cenbank-chief-idINR4N1M102L'|'2017-09-29T07:10:00.000+03:00'
'9c72ee7fa7569a22598b520fc38f1d041362e016'|'Exclusive: Brazil soy trader offers assets to CHS, Bunge in bankruptcy case - sources'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian soy trader Seara Industria has offered logistics assets to creditors including U.S. trader Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) and U.S. agricultural cooperative CHS Inc ( CHSCP.O ) in a bid to resolve bankruptcy proceedings, according to two people involved in the matter.Seara Industria & Comercio de Produtos Agropecuarios Ltda, one of Brazil’s 10 biggest commodity trading firms, filed for bankruptcy protection in April to restructure 2.1 billion reais ($667 million) in debt.In July, an appeals judge granted a motion to halt the case while court-appointed forensic accountants investigated creditors’ allegations that the company had falsified financial statements, according to six people and court documents seen by Reuters.In a bid to resolve the bankruptcy process, Seara Industria proposed an out-of-court settlement with creditors last week, according to two of the people, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of talks.The proposal under discussion involves giving its grains port and transshipment terminals to the agricultural traders, the people said.Seara Industria told Reuters that the accusations of fraud were false and that it had appealed the decision to suspend its bankruptcy protection proceedings. It declined to comment on a possible out-of-court deal.CHS, the largest creditor of Seara, had at one point engaged in talks to buy the company, said two people with knowledge of talks. A press representative for CHS confirmed that it is a creditor of Seara Industria but said it “does not comment on active investigations.”Seara Industria is also discussing an investment from China’s Shanghai Pengxin Group Co to cover payments to financial creditors such as Credit Suisse, Rabobank and Citigroup ( C.N ), one of the people said. Pengxin did not respond to a request for comment. Seara declined to comment.Last year, Pengxin bought two grain traders in Brazil as part of a push by Chinese companies to secure long-term food supplies.Seara Industria owes $218 million to CHS, the largest U.S. agricultural cooperative, the court documents showed.Dutch lender Rabobank Groep NV [RABOVR.UL] is owed about $82 million; Switzerland’s Credit Suisse Group AG ( CSGN.S ) $15 million; and commodities trader Bunge’s Brazilian subsidiary Bunge Alimentos SA is owed $18 million, according to the documents.Credit Suisse, Bunge and Rabobank declined to comment.The documents from Brazil’s Fourth Federal Regional Court also showed that financial data that Seara Industria presented to Credit Suisse before the bankruptcy protection filing differed from the company’s 2016 earnings statement.Seara Industria told Reuters that the documents sent to Credit Suisse were only preliminary.A judge in the case found “strong evidence that the data do not reflect the company’s real situation,” according to the court ruling in July that suspended bankruptcy protection proceedings.Documents attached to the request to suspend bankruptcy proceedings also showed that a unit of U.S. investment firm Corrum Capital Management LLC has alleged that soy commercially pledged by Seara Industria “disappeared from warehouses.”Asked about this allegation, a lawyer for Seara, Assione Santos, said some of the company’s clients did not receive the grain they had the right to by contract due to a fall in grains production in Brazil in 2016 after a drought.Corrum, which is also a creditor of Seara, declined to comment.State-owned Banco do Brasil SA ( BBAS3.SA ) alleged in a court complaint that the Zanin family, owner of Seara Industria, had defrauded creditors and it asked for liquidation of the company.According to court documents, the company transferred two apartments that it had owned to the family and wired 40 million reais from company accounts before filing for bankruptcy protection.Seara’s lawyer Santos told Reuters that the transfer of the apartments was not illegal. He said the 40 million reais was a payment to the owner of Seara, Santo Zanin Neto, to acquire his personal stakes in the logistics terminals and to pay for shipments of corn that he sold to the company.The proposal for an out-of-court agreement would require Seara Industria to relinquish most of its assets, including a soy processing plant, warehouses, three logistics terminals and a port terminal in Paranaguá, two sources said.The terminals are considered valuable because they allow for grain shipments by rail from Mato Grosso to the southern port of Paranaguá. The terminals have long-term contracts with Brazilian logistics company Rumo ( RAIL3.SA ).($1 = 3.15 Brazilian reais)Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Brad Haynes, and Daniel Flynn '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-seara-ind-e-com-bankruptcy/exclusive-brazil-soy-trader-offers-assets-to-chs-bunge-in-bankruptcy-case-sources-idINKCN1C12RL'|'2017-09-26T17:16:00.000+03:00'
'2dde098b733291620c389724c26373d14e32a9d0'|'UK pay settlements stick at 2 percent, no pick-up seen: XpertHR'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:12 PM / Updated 10 hours ago UK pay settlements stick at 2 percent, no pick-up seen: XpertHR Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Major British employers gave staff an average 2 percent annual pay rise in the three months to the end of August, a sub-inflation rate that has been unchanged since the end of last year, pay analysts XpertHR said on Thursday. A pick-up in wage growth is unlikely soon as employers remain cautious in the face of political uncertainty following the Brexit vote, XpertHR said. “Overall restraint remains across the economy and workers face a continued period of below-inflation pay increases,” XpertHR analyst Sheila Atwood said. By contrast, the Bank of England expects wage growth to rise, prompting most of its policymakers to say that they are likely to vote “in the coming months” to raise interest rates for the first time in over a decade. Weak productivity and a rise in low-paid jobs have weighed on wage growth in Britain since the 2008 financial crisis while higher inflation, caused largely by last year’s Brexit vote, has put further pressure on households. Wage growth was particularly low in the public sector, where the government continued to impose a 1 percent pay cap on most workers although the government said this month it would relax the cap for police and prison workers. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by William Schomberg '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-wages/uk-pay-settlements-stick-at-2-percent-no-pick-up-seen-xperthr-idINKCN1C2396'|'2017-09-27T21:12:00.000+03:00'
'43e13fb7eea98899fba203b54dbe8e720dd8d690'|'U.S. trade body will probe Sharp-Hisense patent dispute'|' 28 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago U.S. trade body will probe Sharp-Hisense patent dispute Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A view of the Hisense booth during the 2017 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Steve Marcus WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission has agreed to probe certain Wi-Fi enabled devices and their parts after Japan’s Sharp Corp accused China’s Hisense Group Co Ltd of infringing its patents, the body said on Wednesday. The investigation, which Sharp requested in August, marks an escalation of a dispute between the two electronics makers. Sharp, which had licensed Hisense to use the brand to sell televisions in the United States, sued the Chinese state-owned firm for putting the Sharp name on what it has called low-quality TVs. Sharp is owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, often referred to as Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker. Sharp, which had reduced its overseas TV business, now sees that as a growth driver and has said it would re-enter the U.S. market with a high-end TV brand. Companies often sue in court to win monetary damages, and at the International Trade Commission to block the import of products infringing on a U.S. patent. The commission said it would announce a target date for completing the probe within 45 days. Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Eric Walsh and Richard Chang'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sharp-hisense/u-s-trade-body-will-probe-sharp-hisense-patent-dispute-idUKKCN1C232K'|'2017-09-28T00:27:00.000+03:00'
'003c5edd698c421ef04c83d12762b65b831552c3'|'EU to propose new tax rules for online sector in 2018: Juncker'|'President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker listens at a news conference during the European Union Tallinn Digital Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins TALLINN (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose new rules next year to ensure that the online sector pays its fair share of taxes, its president Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday.Critics say online firms such as Google ( GOOGL.O ) or Facebook ( FB.O ) pay too little tax in the EU by routing profits to low-rate countries such as Luxembourg or Ireland. The EU has threatened to move ahead alone rather than wait for the world’s rich nations to find an accord.“We are of the opinion that in the digital sector, tax has to be paid where it is due, be it online or be it offline,” Juncker told a news conference after a summit of EU leaders in Estonia.“The Commission will propose next year new rules on fair and effective taxation that provides legal certainty and a level playing field for all,” he added.Not all EU countries agree on how the digital sector should be taxed, but Juncker said he believed they would reach a deal.Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop and Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-summit-digital-juncker/eu-to-propose-new-tax-rules-for-online-sector-in-2018-juncker-idUSKCN1C428R'|'2017-09-29T18:21:00.000+03:00'
'3b72d0abbdc6150e0335a8734718c753153e9ed6'|'GRAPHIC-Catalan bonds and stocks slump on referendum alarm'|'(Changes title of linked graphic 2)By Abhinav Ramnarayan and Helen ReidLONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Catalan bonds and stocks were finally showing signs of selling pressure as the region prepared to hold an independence referendum and Madrid said it would prevent it going ahead.Broader bond markets have been unaffected, but assets more closely connected to the region have come under late pressure in the days leading up to the Sunday vote.The gap between Catalan bonds maturing in February 2020 and the Spanish equivalent was close to its widest all year, at around 300 basis points.Shares in Catalonia-headquartered banks Banco Sabadell and Caixabank have seesawed in recent weeks.On Friday they fell in early trading, before recovering ground as Spain’s IBEX turned positive.Spanish government bonds have been fairly resilient, their performance largely in line with Southern European and higher-rated peers, while there has been no hint of a flight-to-safety bid for German Bunds, traders said.Catalan separatists have urged supporters to defy Spanish efforts to block the referendum, calling for peaceful turnouts at polling stations that police have been ordered to keep shut.“At the moment, there is no significant market impact from the tensions, but if the Catalan police and the Spanish police are standing there in front of the polling stations and discussing whether to block the station or not, this will be an issue,” said DZ Bank strategist Sebastian Fellechner.Editing by Andrew RocheOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/spain-politics-catalonia-markets/graphic-catalan-bonds-and-stocks-slump-on-referendum-alarm-idINL8N1MA1H2'|'2017-09-29T11:20:00.000+03:00'
'326ddc2e919840649668365cfe918bdd310d16ad'|'German exporters unfazed by stronger euro, car sector less upbeat - Ifo'|'FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A Hapag Lloyd containership is loaded at the shipping terminal Altenwerder in the harbour of Hamburg, Germany August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German exporters have become more optimistic about their business prospects as soaring demand from other euro zone countries helps offset worries about the strengthening currency, the Ifo economic institute said on Wednesday.“The strong euro cannot cloud the good mood among exporters at the moment. The most important driver for German exports remains the euro zone,” Ifo head Clemens Fuest said.Ifo’s indicator for export expectations rose to 18.7 points in September from 18.2 in the previous month, with managers from nearly all industrial sectors giving a more upbeat outlook.“Only the automobile industry had to cope with a noticeable damper. At the moment there are hardly any opportunities for export growth,” Fuest said.Germany’s car industry, which is the country’s biggest exporter and employs some 800,000 people, is engulfed in an emissions scandal.European Union and German antitrust regulators are also investigating whether Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler held secret meetings to discuss suppliers, prices and standards to the disadvantage of foreign carmakers.Ifo’s latest data on export expectations followed the institute’s broader and closely watched monthly survey on business confidence on Monday, which showed an unexpected drop in the weeks before the Sept. 24 federal election.Merkel’s conservatives remained the largest parliamentary bloc after Sunday’s vote but bled support to the far-right. With coalition talks set to start, her only realistic option now is a tricky tie-up with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the environmentalist Greens.Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Catherine Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/germany-economy-exports/german-exporters-unfazed-by-stronger-euro-car-sector-less-upbeat-ifo-idINKCN1C20SW'|'2017-09-27T06:32:00.000+03:00'
'a7d56521a853972daf83b751f5b9e919b1d8b11d'|'France, Italy agree ownership split on STX France shipyards - Le Monde'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:33 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago France, Italy agree ownership split on STX France shipyards - Le Monde Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of STX is seen during a press conference at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, western France, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - The French and Italian governments have agreed on a 50/50 percent ownership deal of the STX France shipyards, but with a clause giving France the right to take control if needed, Le Monde newspaper reported. Le Monde reported, citing an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, that France could raise its stake to 51 percent if there was a problem with Italian company Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ), which looks set to buy the stake in STX France. An official at Macron’s office had said earlier this week that France and Italy could reach a deal over the STX France shipyards at a meeting on Wednesday. France had clashed with Italy in July after ordering a “temporary” nationalisation of STX, cancelling a deal in which Italian state-owned Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy a 54.6 percent stake. The French government is also keen to preserve jobs at the STX Saint-Nazaire site on France’s Atlantic Coast. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Brian Love'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-italy-summit-stx/france-italy-agree-ownership-split-on-stx-france-shipyards-le-monde-idUKKCN1C20ZT'|'2017-09-27T12:32:00.000+03:00'
'b02862b5019d64ff2a2d144ec9aac5b5d14d4e74'|'Theresa May ''bitterly disappointed'' as Bombardier jets hit by huge US trade tariff - business live'|'Close Skip to main content The Guardian - Back to home become a supporter subscribe find a job jobs news opinion sport arts life All sections news headlines world news UK news science cities global development tech business environment obituaries opinion opinion home the guardian view columnists cartoons opinion videos letters sport sport home football rugby union cricket tennis cycling F1 golf US sports arts culture home books music tv & radio art & design film games classical stage life lifestyle home fashion food recipes love & sex health & fitness home & garden women family travel money What term do you want to search? Search with google become a supporter subscribe Sign in/up my account Comment activity Edit profile Email preferences Change password Sign out International edition INT edition: switch to the UK edition UK switch to the US edition US switch to the Australia edition AU switch to the INT jobs dating holidays the guardian app video podcasts pictures newsletters today''s paper the observer digital archive crosswords Facebook Twitter jobs dating holidays business economics banking money markets eurozone b2b more sign in Comment activity Edit profile Email preferences Change password Sign out become a supporter subscribe search jobs dating more from the guardian: dating jobs change edition: switch to the UK edition switch to the US edition switch to the AU edition International edition switch to the UK edition switch to the US edition switch to the Australia edition The Guardian - Back to home home › business › markets eurozone economics banking retail home UK world sport football opinion culture business selected lifestyle fashion environment tech travel browse all sections close Business Business live UK government threatens retaliation against Boeing in Bombardier tariff row - as it happened Canadian aircraft maker, which employs 4,000 people in Northern Ireland, suffers major blow after US imposes punitive 219% levyDefence minister says relationship with Boeing could suffer Labour: May was complacent and criminally negligent Introduction: Bombardier hit with 219% tariff on sales to Delta Boeing claimed Canadian plane maker had unfair subsidiesTheresa May: Bitterly disappointing decision Bombardier: Tariff is absurd, and we’ll fight it Updated A Bombardier CSeries jet. Photograph: Paul Chiasson/AP Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Graeme Wearden (until 2.15) and Nick Fletcher Wednesday 27 September 2017 18.05 BST First published on Wednesday 27 September 2017 08.05 BST Key events Show 5.19pm BST 17:19 European markets edge higher 3.46pm BST 15:46 US crude stocks fall but gasoline rises 2.30pm BST 14:30 Boeing hits out at Bombardier''s "weak product" 2.23pm BST 14:23 Schäuble to quit as German finance minister - reports 2.11pm BST 14:11 Lunchtime reading: UK tiptoes down Global Competitive league 1.44pm BST 13:44 Corbyn: May must act to save thousands of jobs 1.24pm BST 13:24 Ryanair forced to cancel more flights Live feed Show 6.05pm BST 18:05 The day has been dominated by the ructions following the US decision to slap 219% tariffs on Bombardier , the result of a dispute with rival Boeing. Here’s our latest report:The government has warned aircraft manufacturer Boeing it could lose UK defence contracts over its part in a US decision to slap punitive tariffs of 219% on rival Bombardier , in a dispute that threatens to sour trade relations between London and Washington .Theresa May said she was “bitterly disappointed” by the move to impose a tariff on sales of Bombardier’s C-Series passenger jet, which threatens at least 1,000 manufacturing jobs in Northern Ireland.Michael Fallon, the UK defence secretary, stepped up the government’s rhetoric, warning that Boeing’s assault on Bombardier “could jeopardise” its chances of securing government contracts.The business secretary, Greg Clark, joined the chorus of disapproval, branding the ruling “unjustified” and vowing to work with Canada - where Bombardier is based - to get it overturned.The backlash follows an interim decision by the US Department of Commerce, which agreed with Boeing’s case that Bombardier received unfair, anti-competitive state support from the Quebec regional government, including a £740m bailout. Bombardier, which has also received £113m in repayable funding from the UK government, called the decision “absurd and divorced from the reality about the financing of multibillion-dollar aircraft programmes”.The full story is here:UK warns Boeing it could lose contracts over Bombardier dispute Read more On that note, it’s time to close for the day. Thanks for all your comments, and we’ll be back tomorrow. Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 5.43pm BST 17:43 Here’s our full report on Wolfgang Schäuble’s departure from his role as German finance minister:German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble to be Bundestag speaker Read more Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 5.35pm BST 17:35 Here’s Foster’s tweet on her talks with Theresa May over Bombardier jobs:Arlene Foster (@DUPleader) Spoke with PM about next steps & the need to work together on this issue. Pleased she gave commitment to work with me to secure Belfast jobs https://t.co/rOw1VRo3Tn September 27, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 5.23pm BST 17:23 Arlene Foster, the leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists, has said UK prime minister Theresa May has given a commitment to work to secure jobs in Belfast following the Bombardier row.The DUP of course have an important position in UK politics, given they are now propping up May’s government in Westminster.Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) DUP leader Arlene Foster says Prime Minister Theresa May has given her commitment to work to secure Belfast jobs in the Bombardier disputeSeptember 27, 2017 Updated at 5.25pm BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 5.19pm BST 17:19 European markets edge higher Donald Trump’s proposed US tax reforms have given some support to markets, but investors remain to be fully convinced the US president will be able to pass these latest plans given his legislative difficulties so far in his term.Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said:While the headlines are sure to focus on the tax cuts for rich individuals, the market focus will no doubt centre on the planned corporate tax cut which has the potential to sharply impact profitability throughout the market. With a hawkish Yellen and the prospect of a US economic boom, it comes as no surprise that the dollar has been a big outperformer of late.While the prospect of lower taxes promise a bounty for stocks, it is worth noting that Trump has yet to deliver on any major policies given the constant rebuttals from the Republican dominated Congress. There is a good chance that these tax reforms are going to be as difficult to pass at the health reforms, with issues such as the controversial border adjustment tax likely to provide significant hurdles along the way.There is also some notable caution thanks to the continuing concerns about the tensions between the US and North Korea. Even so, European markets managed to end the day in positive territory. The final scores showed:The FTSE 100 finished 27.77 points or 0.38% higher at 7313.51 Germany’s Dax rose 0.41% to 12,657.41 France’s Cac closed up 0.25% at 5281.96 Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.85% to 22,622.19 Spain’s Ibex ended 1.76% ahead at 10,368.9 But in Greece, the Athens market dipped 0.5% to 736.64 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently flat on the day.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 4.37pm BST 16:37 Over to German politics again, and if the Greek government is celebrating the prospect of Wolfgang Schäuble leaving as finance minister, the joy may be short-lived. ING says:Carsten Brzeski (@carstenbrzeski) If FDP takes finance ministry, Greece might eventually regret Schäuble''s exit. Debt relief after bailout even trickier.September 27, 2017 Updated at 4.39pm BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 4.32pm BST 16:32 UK defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon has ruled out cancelling existing orders with Boeing over the Bombardier dispute. But he pointedly added that there were other contracts which Boeing was expected to bid for in the future.Earlier Fallon told reporters in Belfast that the UK’s current relationship with Boeing could be damaged by the row and even suggested the UK might decline to buy Boeing products in future.Now he has told Reuters the UK would not cancel orders from Boeing for nine P-8 spy planes and 50 Apache helicopters but added: “We know they will be back at the door.”Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 4.13pm BST 16:13 Here’s the statement from Boeing , courtesy of the Press Association:We have heard and understand the concerns from the Prime Minister and the Government about Bombardier workers in Northern Ireland. Boeing is committed to the UK and values the partnership, which stretches back almost 80 years.The company has doubled its direct employment in the UK since 2011 and tripled its spending with more than 250 companies in the UK supply chain over the same period, to 2.1 billion in 2016.More than 18,700 jobs in the UK are at Boeing or in the company’s tier one supply chain. Earlier this month Boeing broke ground for its first factory in Europe, in Sheffield.We are pleased to work with our partners, including the British Government, and provide such a vote of confidence in the UK. Any claimed economic threat to Bombardier is due to the weakness of its product in the marketplace, which explains its desperate action that prompted the ITC case due to Bombardier’s decision to violate US trade rules.Boeing welcomes competition and Bombardier can sell its aircraft anywhere in the world. But sales must be made according to globally-accepted trade rules.We believe that global trade only works if everyone abides by the same rules of the road, and that’s a principle that ultimately creates the greatest value for Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and our respective aerospace industries.Boeing’s petition to the International Trade Commission seeks to restore a level playing field in the US single-aisle airplane market. Boeing had to take action as subsidised competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.46pm BST 15:46 US crude stocks fall but gasoline rises With US refineries restarting after the closures caused by Hurricane Harvey, crude stocks fell by 1.8m barrels last week, compared to expectations of a 3.4m increase.But gasoline stocks rose by 1.1m barrels, rather than the 750,000 fall expected.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.37pm BST 15:37 More on the dollar. Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said:A better than expected durable goods order reading, and the prospect of Trump’s tax speech this evening, allowed the dollar to maintain its post-Yellen growth this Wednesday.Ahead of Trump’s appearance in Indiana details have been leaked about his proposed tax plan, the headlines being a lowering of the corporate rate from 35% to 20%, and a reduction to the top income tax rate from 39.6% to 35%.The Republicans want to push through these tax reforms in part to distract from their complete and utter failure at repealing Obamacare. They face myriad obstacles, however, not least a Democratic Party who’ll be keen to hammer home the point that the proposed changes favour the country’s wealthiest members, something that might not go down well with the President’s key base of support.Regardless, the prospect of progress on one of Trump’s market-wooing election promises has helped the dollar keep hold of most of its daily growth. The greenback was further shored up by a decent durable goods order figure, which came in at 1.7% against the 1.0% forecast and the miserable -6.8% the month previous.This all meant cable was pinned back at $1.34 after a 0.3% fall, with the euro suffering a 0.6% drop, taking the weary currency to a fresh, sub $1.175 one month nadir. Against the yen, which has been shaken in recent weeks by the North Korea situation, the dollar found even greater success, briefly hitting a 10 week peak of ¥113.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.34pm BST 15:34 Ryanair is back in the headlines with its latest cancellations, and affected passengers are already having to rethink their plans. Henry McDonald writes:There is more airplane-related trouble for Northern Ireland on top of the Boeing versus Bomdardier battle and it comes in the shape of Rynair.The budget airline has announced on Wednesday afternoon that it is suspending its Belfast to Gatwick route from November to March. The Belfast-Gatwick route is Ryanair’s most popular airlink to Britain in Northern Ireland.Among those affected by the four month cancellation of flights is former Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon who tweeted today that her flight had been cancelled. A West Belfast choral society from the parish of St Agnes’s will have to change their 60th anniversary bash in London in November.And here is a list of the affected routes:cancellations Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.31pm BST 15:31 Back with Bombardier , and Ulster Unionist peer Lord Empey, vice chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Aerospace, has slammed Boeing for “bully boy tactics” and said the disputed subsidy was in fact a loan:The launch aid that was provided to Bombardier which came via Treasury is repayable on the basis of royalties from sales so it is effectively a loan. Throughout my time as DETI and DEL Minister I am content that all transactions with Bombardier were consistent with EU State Aid rules.In the United States both cities and states give very substantial tax incentives and breaks to Boeing and other manufacturers. The majority of the C Series aircraft, by value, is actually produced in the US like the engine and avionics to name but two.What I see the core of this dispute being, given that Boeing did not even tender for the Delta Airlines contract, is an attempt by Boeing – and in Europe, Airbus – to suffocate Bombardier. It is bully boy tactics.The manufacturing of the C Series sees a dramatic increase in efficiency and a reduction in fuel consumption that would mean when oil prices rise the plane becomes much more significant. It is not the current version of the plane that is the target – it is the long term project and what flows from it that has got Boeing in particular so aggravated.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.14pm BST 15:14 In the markets, shares are edging higher but investors remain cautious thanks to the continuing tensions between North Korea and the US and ahead of Donald Trump’s latest tax proposals.The dollar is moving higher following the hints from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that US interest rates could rise again as early as December. In turn that has helped lift European markets as a weaker pound and euro gives a boost to exporters.The FTSE 100 is currently up 0.44%, Germany’s Dax is 0.57% higher and France’s Cac has climbed 0.34%.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is 0.13% better. Earlier US durable goods orders climbed by 1.7% in August, better than the 1% analysts had been expecting.Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, said:A sense of anticipation can be felt across the financial markets ahead of President Trump’s tax proposal in Indiana later today. Although some information has been leaked that corporate tax may be lowered to 20% from 35%, market players are still likely to closely scrutinise the speech for further details on tax reforms. If legislation is passed this year, this should boost sentiment towards the US economy and support the Dollar further.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.56pm BST 14:56 Back with the reports that Wolfgang Schäuble is stepping down as German finance minister:Carsten Brzeski (@carstenbrzeski) Schaeuble as president of parliament means exit from finance ministry by 24 October, at the latest. Far before coalition talks will be over. https://t.co/GMr8dGZE8m September 27, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1 of 5 Newest Newer Older Oldest Topics Business Business live Bombardier Trade policy Boeing Theresa May'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/sep/27/theresa-may-bitterly-disappointed-bombardier-trade-tariff-imf-world-economy-business-live'|'2017-09-27T15:23:00.000+03:00'
'0884eb38de2e3d3fd7df030db490265b19e766c6'|'Italy''s Fincantieri to take control of France''s STX, ending shipyard row'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of STX is seen during a press conference at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, western France, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe LYON, France (Reuters) - Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) will take effective control of STX France under a shared ownership agreement, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, ending a dispute that had soured bilateral ties.France angered Italy in July by ordering a “temporary” nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy 55 percent of the firm, based in Saint-Nazaire in western France.On the back of Wednesday’s deal, which will see Fincantieri effectively holding a 51 percent stake in STX France, Paris and Rome will explore the creation of a Franco-Italian naval defense group, merging French military shipyards company Naval Group with Fincantieri, Macron’s office said.The two countries hope outlines of that deal can be struck by June 2018, creating a pan-European naval defense champion akin to the combined rail engineering group created on Tuesday via the near 50/50 tie-up between France’s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) and Germany’s Siemens Mobility ( SIEGn.DE ).France sees the creation of European champions as crucial to warding off the threat posed by industrial powers in China and the United States. The STX deal comes a day after Macron offered an ambitious vision for European renewal, calling on the continent to forge deeper cooperation.While Macron, who took office barely five months ago, initially appeared determined to protect French strategic assets at all costs, the deals between Alstom and Siemens and now Fincantieri and STX suggest he is willing to see French control diluted if it opens the way for a bigger European champion.Under the terms of Wednesday’s agreement, Fincantieri will take a 50 percent stake in STX. The French state will hold 34.34 percent, Naval Group 10 percent, STX staff 2 percent and STX local suppliers 3.66 percent.FILE PHOTO: A view of Fincantieri shipyard is seen in Monfalcone near Trieste, in northest Italy, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi In order for Fincantieri to take effective control, the French state will lend it a one percent stake. Paris will have the right to demand the holding back if Fincantieri does not honor commitments on jobs, governance or intellectual property.Before Macron’s July intervention, Fincantieri had agreed in May to pay 79.5 million euros ($93.4 million) for a majority stake in STX France, which was being sold following the collapse of South Korean parent STX.But amid concerns about jobs and the firm’s strategic importance, Paris backtracked on that deal.An Italian Treasury source said Fincantieri had secured a better deal this time as it would now hold a 51 percent stake and not 48 percent.“Now it is possible to work on a 50-50 partnership in the civil and military ship building industry,” the source said, referring to the plans for a wider naval defense partnership.Naval Group, formerly DCNS, designs and produces France’s submarines and surface ships. The company is owned by the French state, while French defense company Thales ( TCFP.PA ) holds a 35 percent stake.STX’s Saint-Nazaire yard is the only one big enough in France to build aircraft carriers and other large warships, making it a strategic national asset.“I hope that in the naval sector, without wishing to give away anything that might arrive this evening, we can also move towards a world giant in terms of industrial, naval construction - on a European scale,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters earlier on Wednesday, reiterating his support for the tie-up between Siemens and Alstom.Additional reporting by Valentina Za, Jean Baptiste Vey, Gwenaelle Barzic,; Editing by John Stonestreet and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a-fincantieri/italys-fincantieri-to-take-control-of-frances-stx-ending-shipyard-row-idINKCN1C22NZ'|'2017-09-27T16:25:00.000+03:00'
'3a18c3f304911106b173390bd15648423b3a6c34'|'Disney, Altice extend deadline to resolve programming dispute'|'  5:16 PM / in 16 minutes Disney, Altice extend deadline to resolve programing dispute Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: ESPN logo and building are shown in down town Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The deadline for an agreement on what cable operator Altice USA pays to carry Walt Disney Co’s ESPN, ABC, the Disney Channel and other networks has been extended to Sunday from Saturday due to the Yom Kippur holiday, a person familiar with the situation said. If no deal is reached, 3.1 million subscribers to Altice’s Optimum cable service in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania could face a Disney network programing blackout. The Yom Kippur religious holiday begins on Friday evening and ends on Saturday evening. Both sides are under pressure from cord-cutting, or dropping of pay television, as audiences flock to cheaper streaming services that emerged in the past decade. ESPN, Disney’s most important network, has been losing subscribers, and its ratings have fallen. That has cut into revenue from cable operators, which pay a monthly fee for each subscriber. Disney is looking to increase its per-subscriber fees to help offset revenue declines, while Altice USA says the programing is too expensive. Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-disney-altice/disney-altice-extend-deadline-to-resolve-programing-dispute-idUSKCN1C42KZ'|'2017-09-29T20:12:00.000+03:00'
'0fdb019e8fdaaa76475c7d99423d46a654d063b3'|'From algae to yeast: the quest to find an alternative to palm oil - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'Friday 29 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Friday 29 September 2017 11.35 BST W hen green cleaning company Ecover announced the launch of a new laundry liquid containing an oil made from algae, as an alternative to the palm oil used in most detergents, it wasn’t prepared for the backlash. The problem? The algae producing the oil were genetically modified. “We put everything on hold,” says Tom Domen, global head of long-term innovation at Ecover, following reactions to the 2014 product trial. Environmental groups Friends of the Earth and Grain were among 17 organisations to sign an open letter calling on the company to “reconsider the false solution of using ingredients derived from the new genetic engineering”. For Ecover it was a lesson learned. “We had quite detailed conversations with all our stakeholders,” says Domen, “for which the main outcome was that we were a bit clearer on how we would go about deciding on responsible innovation ... and what the principles for use are when going off with more controversial technologies.” Ecover adopting algae-based laundry liquid to cut palm oil use Read more Ecover’s experience highlights just some of the difficulties of finding a viable palm oil alternative. The vegetable oil is ubiquitous in consumer products from food to detergent, prized for its properties including a high melting point and its relative cheapness. But it also comes with hefty environmental and social impacts . This has led companies and scientists to seek sustainable alternatives, whether that’s other vegetable oils, such as rapeseed or coconut , or more hi-tech options. The problem many come up against is that palm oil is not only cheap but also more productive than a lot of other vegetable oils. But the quest continues. Last month, scientists in Abu Dhabi announced that they had been working with a species of alga , found abundantly across the UAE, that naturally produce large quantities of palmitic acid – the fatty acid that is a major component in palm oil. Isolated alga growing in a petri dish Photograph: NYU Abu Dhabi “It could potentially be a good substitute for many of the uses of palm oil,” says Kourosh Salehi-Ashtiani, associate professor of biology at New York University in Abu Dhabi. The bonus of the algae he says, is that they can grow in fresh or salt water, “that means you don’t need to waste freshwater and you can grow it, if you want to scale up, in desert areas for instance.” The algae that the lab is working on have not been genetically modified, and “it naturally makes a lot of oil” says Salehi-Ashtiani. To use it on an industrial scale, he says, genetic screening – testing algae to identify those strains that are most productive – might be needed. As for cost, no figures are available at this stage, he adds, but this will depend on growing location. He acknowledges palm oil is cheap but “cheap isn’t necessarily good, and people who are informed don’t necessarily go for cheap”. It is early days for the project. The lab is only growing the algae “one litre at a time, max – and usually it’s not even that,” he says. “It’s got potential, absolutely yes, can I say that for sure it will be successful? You have to do the work to find out.” Lab members from NYU AD, Salehi-Ashtiani is centre. Photograph: Sarah Daakour/NYU AD Dr Chris Chuck, at the University of Bath, is further down the line in the race to find a workable palm oil alternative but with a different organism. Yeast. The yeast – Metschnikowia pulcherrima – produces an oil with similar properties to palm oil and can grow with any feedstock. This could be anything from municipal waste to supermarket waste or agricultural residue. “We’re not looking at growing a specific crop on agricultural land to feed our process, it really is using the residues from other food production,” says Chuck. Funded with a £4m government grant, the team is establishing how to scale up production, and calculating how sustainable it can be. Three companies are working with Chuck’s team on the project and he is seeking private equity investment. Only once they are producing thousands of litres will they have a better idea of cost, he says. “Palm oil itself is a pretty volatile market, but it retails at anything between $500 to $1,200 (£370–£890) [a tonne] ... We would be looking at that $1,000-a-tonne end, that’s where we’d want to be.” University of Bath chemical engineers are working on developing an alternative to palm oil from yeast. Photograph: Nic Delves-Broughton/ University/PA The question is whether people would be prepared to pay more for products without palm oil. Chuck says it’s hard to know how much of a “green boost” the yeast product would give, but says he has had “so much interest from companies all over the world wanting this sustainable alternative”. He hopes the project will reach commercialisation stage in two to four years, but sees two main obstacles. One is getting the product through the approvals process of the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Union, which he predicts will be “expensive and time-consuming”. The other is scaling up, “making sure we can still produce a very high quantity of oil at that scale and that the product quality is the same”. Herein lies a key problem in the search for an innovative alternative to palm oil, says Greenpeace chief scientist Doug Parr. While any alternative to palm oil, and vegetable oil more generally, is to be welcomed, he says, “I think you have to be quite beady eyed about the challenges of getting from the lab to commercial production, and particularly commercial production on the sort of scale that’s going to impact the palm oil industry.” There isn’t a solution around the corner to solve the negative impacts of palm oil, says Parr, and while this research is to be encouraged, he says: “We shouldn’t imagine for a moment there is a sort of ‘get out of jail free’ card for the tricky corporate and political transition that needs to be taking place in countries where palm oil is a major damager of important forests.” As for Ecover, Domen says the company has been looking at alternatives to palm oil made from waste sources, although he wouldn’t be drawn on what these sources might be and how far along the project was. Would they rethink algae if it could produce oil without being genetically modified? Absolutely, he says, subject to asking all the right questions. “Technology is evolving very fast, I am quite hopeful we will get to something in the next two to three years.” Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/29/algae-yeast-quest-to-find-alternative-to-palm-oil'|'2017-09-29T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'089833f19a842f3ea8e08914c5f645cc5c6a0395'|'U.S. second-quarter GDP growth revised up to 3.1 percent'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:41 PM / Updated 4 hours ago U.S. economy accelerates in second quarter; hurricanes expected to slow growth Lucia Mutikani 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Customers shop at a Whole Foods store in New York City, U.S., August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy expanded a bit faster than previously estimated in the second quarter, recording its quickest rate of growth in more than two years, but the momentum likely slowed in the third quarter due to the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the April-June period, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate on Thursday. The upward revision from the 3.0 percent rate of growth reported last month reflected a rise in inventory investment. “The destruction caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the resulting disruption ... are expected to be a drag on third-quarter growth,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Michigan. “Nonetheless, the economy remains on track.” Economic growth last quarter was the quickest since the first quarter of 2015 and followed a 1.2 percent pace in the January-March period. Economists estimate that Harvey and Irma, which struck Texas and Florida, could cut as much as six-tenths of a percentage point from GDP growth in the third quarter. Harvey was blamed for much of the decline in retail sales, industrial production, homebuilding and home sales in August. Further weakness is anticipated in September because of Irma. Rebuilding efforts are, however, expected to boost GDP growth in the fourth quarter and in early 2018. Signs of increasing inventory investment by businesses could soften the storms’ punch to the economy. In a separate report on Thursday, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories jumped 1.0 percent in August after rising 0.6 percent in July. Inventories at retailers shot up 0.7 percent after being unchanged in July. The department also said the goods trade deficit fell 1.4 percent to $62.9 billion in August. That leaves an upside risk to growth estimates for the July-September quarter, which are below 2.5 percent. “The data available so far suggest that the firming in real inventory accumulation between second quarter and third quarter could be significant and could add over a full percentage point to growth in the third quarter,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. Harvey and Irma continue to impact the labor market and are expected to cut into job growth this month. In a third report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 272,000 for the week ended Sept. 23. Still, the labor market remains strong. Claims have now been below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a robust labor market, for 134 straight weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. Economists had expected that the second-quarter GDP growth rate would be unrevised at 3.0 percent. Prices for longer-dated U.S. Treasuries were trading lower and the dollar .DXY slipped against a basket of currencies. Stocks on Wall Street were mixed. ROBUST CONSUMER SPENDING With GDP accelerating in the second quarter, the economy grew 2.1 percent in the first half of 2017. Even so, economists believe growth this year will fall short of President Donald Trump’s ambitious 3.0 percent target. Trump on Wednesday proposed the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades, including lowering the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent and implementing a new 25 percent tax rate for pass-through businesses such as partnerships to boost the economy. But the plan gave few details on how the tax cuts, which could cost about $1.5 trillion over a decade, would be paid for without increasing the budget deficit. That sets up what is likely to be a bruising battle in the U.S. Congress. “The plan’s price tag would also result in an increase in the national debt, which could make it difficult to pass as is. Odds are the proposal will be scaled back,” said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in Westchester, Pennsylvania. Growth in consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, was unrevised at a 3.3 percent rate in the second quarter as an increase in spending on services was offset by a downward revision to durable goods outlays. Amid robust consumer spending, businesses accumulated a bit more inventory than previously reported to meet the strong demand. Inventory investment added just over one-tenth of a percentage point to GDP growth in the second quarter. It was previously reported to have been neutral. Growth in business spending on equipment was unchanged at a rate of 8.8 percent, the fastest pace in nearly two years. Investment on nonresidential structures was revised to show it increasing at a 7.0 percent pace, up from the previously reported 6.2 percent rate. There were minor revisions to government spending, exports and imports. Investment in homebuilding was weaker than previously reported, with outlays falling at a 7.3 percent rate rather than at a 6.5 percent pace.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-gdp/u-s-second-quarter-gdp-growth-revised-up-to-3-1-percent-idUSKCN1C31QR'|'2017-09-28T15:40:00.000+03:00'
'21a03d0c7ad45890b62c408930465928b6928bf8'|'''Biggest ever'' EU budget overhang casts shadow on Brexit bill'|'September 28, 2017 / 7:13 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago ''Biggest ever'' EU budget overhang casts shadow on Brexit bill Francesco Guarascio 3 Min Read An EU flag is waved near the Houses of Parliament in central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The overhang of delayed payments yet to be made from the EU budget reached its highest ever level last year, the EU auditor said on Thursday, highlighting an ominous turn as Britain haggles over its Brexit bill. The 28 current member states, including Britain, committed to pay nearly 1 trillion euros (892.59 billion pounds) over the period between 2014 and 2020, the current EU budgetary period. But delays in some of the projects and programmes that draw down those funds mean that a hefty 239 billion euros remains unspent. Known by the French term “reste a liquider” or RAL, this overhang pushes into the next seven-year budget. But EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that Britain is refusing to settle bills beyond 2020. Prime Minister Theresa May made that concession to pay beyond Brexit in March 2019 only last Friday in a speech in Florence aimed at unblocking talks. Barnier insists Britain will owe a share of all outstanding obligations the Union has entered into while Britain has been a member. Some of those may not be paid out for years. Publishing its annual report on Union finances, the European Court of Auditors warned that “the total payments the EU is committed to making from future budgets were higher than ever”. It urged officials to make a priority of clearing the backlog, which stood at 217 billion euros at the end of 2015. But it rose by 10 percent over the course of last year. Calculating a British share of the reste a liquider could be one of the toughest tasks for negotiators. Typically Britain has contributed around 15 percent of the EU’s receipts. Brussels has estimated the total “Brexit bill” could be around 60 billion euros -- a figure dismissed by May’s government as outrageous. Part of that sum, due in March 2019, would include roughly 20 billion euros for the 2019 and 2020 budget years. But if Britain stays in the single market for a transition over that period, it may not have to pay those amounts up front. However, the EU will still want Britain to pay a share of the reste a liquider beyond 2020, as well as funds to cover, for example, the future pensions of EU staff who have earned pension rights during the by then 46 years of British EU membership. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Matthew Mpoke Bigg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-budget/biggest-ever-eu-budget-overhang-casts-shadow-on-brexit-bill-idUKKCN1C32UY'|'2017-09-28T22:12:00.000+03:00'
'd84bb6f5e6d24bd233e73d50c7d4335744bbce3c'|'World needs new offshore oil investments to avoid shortages - Hess'|'September 28, 2017 / 6:24 PM / in 7 minutes World needs new offshore oil investments to avoid shortages - Hess Rod Nickel 3 Min Read HOUSTON (Reuters) - Higher investments in offshore oil production are critical to avoiding a supply squeeze by 2020, as expanding shale output will not match projected demand increases in the next few years, U.S. oil producer Hess Corp ( HES.N ) said on Thursday. The past four years of low oil prices have major producers pulling back on needed offshore investment, and the gap between supply and demand should help prices rebound, Hess Chief Operating Officer Greg Hill said at an energy conference at Rice University’s Baker Institute. “The world is going to have to invest in more than shale,” said Hill, whose company has projects in offshore Guyana, Gulf of Mexico, and Gulf of Thailand. Expanded offshore production “will play a critical role in avoiding another supply shock.” U.S. shale production, which is up 29 percent so far this year benefiting from greater efficiencies and lower service costs, has largely frustrated efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to tame a global glut that has halved oil prices since 2014. Energy producers are focused on investing in shale areas such as Texas’ Permian Basin because of shorter-term payback and lower risk fields, said Bobby Tudor, chairman of investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, who addressed the same conference. “You don’t drill a dry hole in the Permian,” Tudor said. “You dig lots of dry holes offshore.” Signs of stronger demand recently have begun to take the pressure off prices. [O/R] The International Energy Agency said this month that a global crude surplus was starting to shrink. Hess in July posted a bigger than expected second quarter loss as its oil production slipped. It recently suffered some production hits from Hurricane Harvey. Hess’s third quarter per share profit is expected to fall 18 percent to $1.33, according to Thomson Reuters data. While deepwater projects require significantly higher capital expenditures than conventional or shale production, those costs are declining as the industry gains greater efficiencies, Hill said. There is the potential for deepwater drilling costs to shrink by as much as half from new technologies such as those that anticipate mechanical failures, said Jean-Francois Poupeau, executive vice president at Schlumberger NV ( SLB.N ), the world’s biggest oilfield services firm by revenue, who also spoke at the conference. Reporting by Rod Nickel in Houston; editing by Gary McWilliams and David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-oil-conference/world-needs-new-offshore-oil-investments-to-avoid-shortages-hess-idUKKCN1C32R5'|'2017-09-28T21:24:00.000+03:00'
'67e97fa36c424a515c93b0d45faa24d1ad16d389'|'Uber seeks UK chairman as threats to its business mount'|' 16 AM / Updated 13 hours ago Uber seeks UK chairman as threats to its business mount Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Uber logo is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Taxi hailing app Uber [UBER.UL] said on Wednesday it had hired a headhunter to fill a new position of UK chairman, as part of a process which began weeks before London’s transport authority stripped it of its licence. The non-executive position would bolster the taxi app just as it fights to retain its licence in the British capital and battles to preserve its business model at an employment tribunal over workers’ rights. Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by David Milliken'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-britain-chairman/uber-seeks-uk-chairman-as-threats-to-its-business-mount-idUKKCN1C20LG'|'2017-09-27T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'7a881d0119eab1c86b11aec73a73d9a494deaaed'|'MOVES-Bank of America names leaders for new European hub'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp named former CFO Bruce Thompson as the new leader of its European global banking and markets operations to be based in Dublin, according to a company memo from Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag.Thompson, a vice chairman at Bank of America, will continue to report to Montag, and will be moving to Dublin in the coming months, according to the memo, the contents of which were confirmed by a spokeswoman.Bank of America said in July it had selected Dublin as the base for its banking and markets operations in Europe as Britain prepares to exit the European Union.Anne Finucane, also vice chairman and like Thompson a member of Bank of America’s 14-person executive management team, will chair the new European bank board once it is established pending regulatory approval, the memo states.The bank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa President Alex Wilmot-Sitwell will remain in that role, while chairing the board of the Dublin-based broker-dealer operations.The bank is also looking to lease more office space in Paris, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bank-of-america-moves/moves-bank-of-america-names-leaders-for-new-european-hub-idINL2N1M81Q9'|'2017-09-27T16:10:00.000+03:00'
'cc921f08a36bf1e63240225ff5dc1929a2edcbbc'|'EU regulators fine Scania 880 million euros for truckmakers cartel'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:37 AM / Updated an hour ago VW''s truckmaker Scania fined $1 billion for price fixing Foo Yun Chee 3 Min Read European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference announcing the EU regulators fined Scania 880 million euros (771.18 million pounds) for taking part in a truckmakers cartel, in Brussels, Belgium September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Swedish truckmaker Scania was hit with an 880 million euro ($1 billion) fine by the EU on Wednesday for taking part in a 14-year price fixing cartel, boosting the total fine for the firms involved to a record 3.8 billion euros. The European Commission said Scania, owned by German carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), colluded with five others in the industry as they fixed vehicle prices to enable them to pass the costs of required environmental improvements on to customers to avoid hurting their own profits. In July, Volkswagen’s MAN, Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), Volvo ( VOLVb.ST ), Iveco ( CNHI.MI ) and DAF ( PCAR.O ) admitted to taking part in the cartel in return for a 10 percent cut in their fines, with the combined penalty coming to 2.9 billion euros. Scania did not settle. Scania said on Wednesday it would challenge the Commission’s decision in court. “We have not entered an agreement on price fixing with other manufacturers, nor have we delayed the introduction of new more efficient engines,” the company said. Scania’s fine is the second highest for a company involved in a cartel after Daimler’s 1 billion euro penalty. MAN escaped a fine as it blew the whistle on the cartel. The logo of Swedish truck maker Scania is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer The companies made more than nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks sold in Europe. “Instead of colluding on pricing, the truck manufacturers should have been competing against each other - also on environmental improvements,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. The previous highest penalty for a cartel was 1.41 billion euros handed out to TV and computer monitor tube makers in 2012. The Commission said its investigation did not reveal any links between the truckmakers cartel and allegations of carmakers cheating on emissions control testing. However, Vestager said several carmakers were currently cooperating with the regulator in an unrelated case following complaints about meetings between VW, Porsche, Audi ( NSUG.DE ), BMW ( BMWG.DE ) and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler to discuss suppliers, prices and standards, which may be illegal. “We have received leniency applications, so we have started to look into it as a matter of priority. One of the important things is that it’s an alleged cartel, so we don’t know,” she told a news conference. (Removes extraneous word in second paragraph.) Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Andreas Cremer in Frankfurt; editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-scania-cartel/eu-regulators-fine-scania-880-million-euros-for-truckmakers-cartel-idUSKCN1C20ZX'|'2017-09-27T12:35:00.000+03:00'
'491e06fb80886d9ebb597f1e779d6478fc6ce7dc'|'France backs Siemens-Alstom rail deal despite job fears'|'Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, shakes hands with Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser (L) at a news conference to announce their deal to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion, in Paris, France, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Investors welcomed a merger of the rail businesses of Germany’s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and France’s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ), billed as creating a European champion, but French unions and politicians said France was giving Germany control and risking jobs.The tie-up, set to help the companies counter the rise of China’s state-owned CRRC 601776.SS, represents an industrial win for French President Emmanuel Macron, who is proposing sweeping reforms for Europe, including deeper trade cooperation.French and German leaders have for years called for the creation of “European champions” such as Airbus ( AIR.PA ) to capitalize on the strengths of Europe’s single market and create the scale needed to compete with U.S. and Asian rivals. Yet talks have often stumbled as politicians seek to protect jobs and retain national influence over an industrial sector.But this may be changing. In another sign of France’s willingness to make concessions on the ownership of strategic interests, an Italian government source said shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) was poised to take effective control of shipyard group STX France, ending a lengthy dispute.On the railway deal, France’s finance ministry said it had secured a commitment from Siemens to safeguard Alstom’s French manufacturing plants and jobs for a four-year period after the deal closes. A German trade union said they had got the same guarantees.But unions in France accused the government of neglecting strategic interests. “It is bound to bring a restructuring and no doubt the culling of hundreds of jobs,” said Olivier Kohler, a trade union official in the eastern French town of Belfort, where Alstom makes the high-speed TGV trains.Pascal Novelin, a CGT unionist said: “Transport in France is a strategic asset and they’re selling it off. No industry is safe.”Under the deal, Siemens will have a small majority of the Paris-based and listed combination, which promises eventual annual cost savings of 470 million euros ($552 million) a year, while Alstom boss Henri Poupart-Lafarge will become its CEO.Related Coverage Siemens-Alstom rail merger deal includes four-year plant guaranteesSiemens CEO says picked Alstom for financial strength, CEOFactbox: How Siemens and Alstom rail stack up against the competitionWhile Joe Kaeser, CEO of Siemens, acknowledged there would be job losses, he said they would be in support functions such as human resources rather than in engineering.“Of course there will be redundancies, that’s part of the synergies,” told a news conference.Alstom shares jumped as much as 8.5 percent and Siemens rose 2 percent as analysts focused on the cost savings. They closed up 4.2 and 1.2 percent respectively.COST SYNERGIES Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, attends a news conference with Siemens CEO to announce their deal to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion, in Paris, France, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe “What makes this deal attractive are the targeted cost synergies,” wrote Barclays analyst James Stettler, who rates Alstom “overweight” and Siemens “neutral”. But Deutsche Bank analysts said the targeted annual synergies looked “overly ambitious”. They estimated 230 million euros of synergies and said the economies of scale in train production were not significant and that politicians would try to protect jobs in France and Germany.Deutsche Bank kept a “hold” rating on Alstom shares.The deal sidelines Canadian transportation group Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), which also held talks with Siemens, sources have said.Bombardier said it was always open to “strategic options” but also said: “We do not need to merge with another major player to maintain our leadership position in the rail business.”Slideshow (8 Images) Its shares fell 8 percent to 2.09 Canadian dollars.ANTI-TRUST QUESTIONS Siemens will control Siemens Alstom, with 50 percent of the combination plus a few symbolic shares. It will also get warrants allowing it to eventually acquire another 2 percent.Alstom’s shareholders, meanwhile, are set to receive two special dividends from the tie-up.The Siemens and Alstom transport businesses have combined sales of 15.3 billion euros and earnings before interest and tax of 1.2 billion euros, raising questions over whether the deal could fall foul of European anti-trust regulations.But Alstom’s Poupart-Lafarge said the two had done their homework, adding he was confident of finding a solution.“Of course this is a large deal so no surprise it will be looked quite closely by the European Commission,” he said.BNP Paribas SA ( BNPP.PA ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) advised Siemens, while Rothschild [ROT.UL] and JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) advised Alstom on the deal.Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Richard Lough and Allison Lampert; Writing by Richard Lough; editing by Alexander Smith and Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens/france-backs-siemens-alstom-rail-deal-despite-job-fears-idINKCN1C2168'|'2017-09-27T08:22:00.000+03:00'
'1fb1e9d2012b38cb943dfdc85662e87fcc77e8e1'|'Twitter to test 280-character tweets, busting old limit'|'  9:20 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago Twitter to test 280-character tweets, busting old limit David Ingram 3 Min Read The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The days of Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) limiting messages to 140 characters, a signature of the social network since its launch in 2006, may be numbered. Twitter said on Tuesday that it would begin a test with a random sample of users allowing them to send tweets that are as long as 280 characters, double the existing cap, in most languages around the world. The San Francisco-based company has stood by its short messages as a defining characteristic - like chirps from a bird, which is the company logo - even as users found ways around the limit, such as posting photos of text. In a blog post on Tuesday, Twitter said its emphasis on brevity would never change but that it had been wondering whether people could express themselves easily enough, hurting the service’s popularity. “Trying to cram your thoughts into a Tweet - we’ve all been there, and it’s a pain,” Twitter project manager Aliza Rosen and senior software engineer Ikuhiro Ihara said in the post. The employees acknowledged some users may have an “emotional attachment” to the current limit. A man reads tweets on his phone in front of a displayed Twitter logo in Bordeaux, southwestern France, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/Illustration/File Photo News reports in January 2016 said that Twitter was running internal tests for longer tweets and considering a limit as high as 10,000 characters. Though Twitter is ubiquitous in media because of frequent use by U.S. President Donald Trump and many celebrities, the company has struggled financially. For the second quarter, it reported a loss of $116 million and zero growth in the number of users, at 328 million people. Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) has 2 billion users. A higher character limit was inspired by how people use Twitter when writing in Chinese, Japanese and Korean, the company said. Characters in those languages can often express more than Roman characters can, meaning those users already, in effect, have a higher limit. They also use Twitter more often. “In all markets, when people don’t have to cram their thoughts into 140 characters and actually have some to spare, we see more people Tweeting,” the two employees wrote. The test of 280 characters will run for an unspecified number of weeks in all languages except Chinese, Japanese and Korean, Twitter said. The company declined to say how many people would be included in the test. The 140-character limit originated from the use of SMS text messages. Twitter’s founders, including Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, wanted a limit just below the SMS cap of 160 characters. Reporting by David Ingram in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-twitter-character-limit/twitter-to-test-280-character-tweets-busting-old-limit-idUKKCN1C1343'|'2017-09-27T00:20:00.000+03:00'
'4623adcb3519582852bf16f59fa27f7fc4f0f2e6'|'Ex-UBS metals trader indicted over alleged metals price rigging'|' 15 PM / a few seconds ago Ex-UBS metals trader indicted over alleged metals price rigging Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - A former senior precious metals trader at UBS Group AG has been indicted on a criminal conspiracy charge over his alleged role in rigging prices by placing “spoof” trades. In a one-count indictment made public on Wednesday, Andre Flotron was accused of conspiring from July 2008 to November 2013 to place orders for precious metal futures contracts that he intended to cancel before they could be executed. Authorities believe such activity can enable traders to conduct real trades that would benefit illegally from artificial price movements caused by spoof orders. Flotron had been accused in a Sept. 12 criminal complaint of the additional crimes of wire fraud, commodities fraud and spoofing, as well as conspiracy, court papers show. The Swiss citizen was arrested two weeks ago in New Jersey, and later released on $4 million bond, court records show. “We were pleased with the decision to release Mr. Flotron on bail and we look forward to defending the case until he is fully exonerated,” Flotron’s lawyer Marc Mukasey said in an email on Wednesday. The case was built in part with help from a UBS trader who said Flotron taught him how to place spoof orders. In one illustration, the indictment said Flotron on Oct. 14, 2013 allegedly placed a real order to buy five gold futures contracts at a price of $1,284.80, and a spoof order less than a second later to sell 55 contracts at a price of $1,285.10. Flotron began trading metals at UBS in 1999, and was put on leave in early 2014 after working for the bank in Zurich and Stamford, Connecticut. UBS was not accused of wrongdoing. The indictment is dated Sept. 26. In May 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice immunized UBS from possible criminal prosecution over metals price-rigging as part of a settlement in which the bank pleaded guilty to manipulating Libor and other benchmark interest rates. The case is U.S. v. Flotron, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 17-cr-00220. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ubs-trader/ex-ubs-metals-trader-indicted-over-alleged-metals-price-rigging-idUSKCN1C235M'|'2017-09-28T01:11:00.000+03:00'
'433f71728b70d7f90dbf5eb8c51114a18dcdb826'|'Brazil''s Camil Alimentos IPO raises $417 mln'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Brazilian food producer Camil Alimentos SA and shareholders raised 1.32 billion reais ($416.8 million) in a initial public offering on Tuesday, after cutting a suggested price range by almost 15 percent to reignite investor demand.The IPO priced at nine reais per share, the company said in a securities filing.The company sold new shares worth 369 million reais, while shareholders led by Warburg Pincus LLC sold 950.6 million reais in existing shares.$1 = 3.1670 reais Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/camilalimentos-ipo/brazils-camil-alimentos-ipo-raises-417-mln-idINL2N1M71WP'|'2017-09-26T21:57:00.000+03:00'
'9904dfa4a2c60154e22510e5b46f19bd0ace7ef7'|'Trump''s tax plan to propose deep U.S. rate cuts, lacks revenue details'|'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump proposed on Wednesday the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades, calling for tax cuts for most Americans, but prompting criticism that the plan favors business and the rich and could add trillions of dollars to the deficit.The proposal drew a swift, skeptical response from Senator Bob Corker, a leading Republican “fiscal hawk,” who vowed not to vote for any federal tax package financed with borrowed money.“What I can tell you is that I’m not about to vote for any bill that increases our deficit, period,” Corker, who said on Tuesday he would not seek re-election in 2018, told reporters.Trump said his tax plan was aimed at helping working people, creating jobs and making the tax code simpler and fairer. But it faces an uphill battle in the U.S. Congress with Trump’s own Republican Party divided over it and Democrats hostile.The plan would lower corporate and small-business income tax rates, reduce the top income tax rate for high-earning American individuals and scrap some popular tax breaks, including one that benefits people in high-tax states dominated by Democrats.Forged during months of talks among Trump’s aides and top congressional Republicans, the plan contained few details on how to pay for the tax cuts without expanding the budget deficit and adding to the nation’s $20 trillion national debt.The plan still must be turned into legislation, which was not expected until after Congress makes progress on the fiscal 2018 budget, perhaps in October. It must then be debated by the Republican-led congressional tax-writing committees.Analysts were skeptical that Congress could approve a tax bill this year, but that is what Republicans hope to achieve so they can enter next year’s congressional election campaigns with at least one legislative achievement to show for 2017.Financial markets rallied on the plan’s unveiling, an event long anticipated by traders betting that stocks would benefit from both faster economic growth and inflation.TRUMP IN INDIANA Related Coverage Trump says he will not negotiate on 20 percent corporate tax rateFactbox: Trump on Twitter (Sept 27) - Filibuster rule, Facebook, tax reformTrump says unnamed country plans to build, expand five U.S. auto plantsAt an event in Indianapolis, Trump called the plan the largest tax cut in U.S. history. “We want tax reform that is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-worker, pro-family and, yes, tax reform that is pro-American,” he said.The real estate mogul-turned-politician, who promised big tax cuts as a candidate, told reporters he personally would not gain financially from the proposal.“I think there’s very little benefit for people of wealth,” said Trump, who unlike many of his White House predecessors, has refused to make public his own tax returns.Republicans have produced no major legislative successes since Trump took office in January, even though they control the White House and both chambers of Congress. Their top legislative priority, overhauling the U.S. healthcare system, collapsed again in the Senate on Tuesday.A comprehensive rewrite of the U.S. tax code has eluded previous presidents and Congress for decades. The last one was passed in 1986 under Republican President Ronald Reagan.Trump’s plan falls short of the sweeping, bipartisan package crafted by Reagan and congressional Democrats, analysts said.U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on proposed changes to the U.S. tax code at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst The White House said that, under the proposal, typical middle-class families would have less income subject to federal tax. Trump said the first $12,000 earned by an individual and the first $24,000 by a married couple would be tax-free.The plan would lower the top individual tax rate, paid by the nation’s top earners, to 35 percent from 39.6 percent.It would lower the top corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from the current 35 percent. The existing rate is high globally, but many U.S.-based multinationals pay much less than the headline rate because of abundant loopholes and tax breaks.DEMOCRATS SKEPTICAL Trump has appealed to Democrats to back the plan, although they were not consulted in drafting it.Republicans hold a thin 52-48 Senate majority and may need some Democratic support to win passage. But Democrats said the plan would expand the federal deficit in order to deliver tax cuts to wealthy Americans rather than the middle-class families that Trump and Republicans say they are trying to help.“If this framework is all about the middle class, then Trump Tower is middle-class housing,” said Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the tax law-writing Senate Finance Committee.Republican Kevin Brady, chairman of the tax-writing House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, said he expected tax legislation to be passed by the end of this year.The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington-based policy group, estimated on Wednesday the plan contained about $5.8 trillion of total tax cuts over a decade and would have a net cost of $2.2 trillion through 2027.Analysts have warned huge tax cuts would balloon the deficit if economic growth projected by Republicans to offset the costs fails to materialize amid rising interest rates.‘PASS-THROUGH’ RATEThe plan would set a new 25 percent tax rate for “pass-through” businesses, which are usually small, private enterprises, such as partnerships and sole proprietorships. They represent about 95 percent of all U.S. businesses.Under current law, the profits of those companies “pass through” directly to their owners and are taxed as personal income, often at the top 39.6 percent individual income rate.Cutting that to 25 percent could mean big tax savings for small-business owners, but also be vulnerable to abuse by other individuals and companies, analysts said.Republicans proposed eliminating some tax deductions. They did not target the popular ones for mortgage interest and charitable giving, but called for scrapping the one for state and local tax payments. That could especially hurt people in high-tax states like California and New York.In a step to simplify tax returns, the plan would shrink the current seven tax brackets to three: 12 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent. That would raise the bottom tax rate on low-earning Americans to 12 percent from 10 percent, but analysts said other parts of the plan would still mean a net tax cut.Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu and Amanda Becker; Writing by Will Dunham and Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax/trumps-tax-plan-to-propose-deep-u-s-rate-cuts-lacks-revenue-details-idINKCN1C213M'|'2017-09-27T15:32:00.000+03:00'
'605f112a400ef9446c9ad84d376c30923a2a278f'|'Financials support European shares as H&M tumbles after results'|' 34 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Financials support European shares as H&M tumbles after results Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN (Reuters) - European shares were little changed in opening deals on Thursday as gains in financial stocks provided support, while fashion group H&M ( HMb.ST ) fell after underwhelming results. The heavyweight banking sector .SX7P rose 0.7 percent to fresh seven week highs, buoyed by expectations of monetary policy tightening following hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen earlier this week. Banking gains helped offset declines among basic resources stocks .SXPP on the back of weaker copper prices. [MET/L] By 0715 GMT the pan-European STOXX 600 index was little changed, hovering just below the 2 month highs hit in the previous session in anticipation of the big tax overhaul proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. H&M was the biggest loser on the STOXX, down more than 5 percent. The Swedish company reported a marginally smaller fall than expected in quarterly pretax profit and said sales had slowed somewhat toward the end of September. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Kit Rees'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/financials-support-european-shares-as-hm-tumbles-after-results-idUKKCN1C30RY'|'2017-09-28T10:33:00.000+03:00'
'ec2ed5f4b174f2f296991c23bb670b34dbe2ef10'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX ends up with banks; Bombardier falls after tariff hit'|'  9:24 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX ends up with banks; Bombardier falls after tariff hit Reuters Staff * TSX up 135.54 points, or 0.88 percent, to 15,609.66 * All of TSX’s 10 main groups move higher By Ethan Lou Sept 27 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index closed higher on Wednesday despite a sharp drop in Bombardier Inc shares after the plane and train maker was hit by a steep U.S. tariff, as heavyweight financial stocks moved higher. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index finished up 135.54 points, or 0.88 percent, at 15,609.66. The index was at its highest since May. Bombardier closed down 7.5 percent at C$2.10 after opening at its lowest since December 2016 following the U.S. Commerce Department’s decision to slap preliminary anti-subsidy duties on its CSeries jets. Britain and the Canadian province of Quebec, where Bombardier employs thousands, have threatened retaliation. On the positive side, all of the index’s 10 main groups were higher. The financials group, which accounts for more than a third of the index’s weight, gained 1.1 percent as bond yields broadly rose and Canadian National Railway Co advanced 2.2 percent to C$103.60. “The Canadian stock market, which has been dreadful, awful, throw-up-worthy the whole year, is maybe starting to come to life,” said Barry Schwartz, vice president and portfolio manager at Baskin Financial Services. “There’s significant upside still to be had with the Canadian banks.” The energy group climbed 0.9 percent, helped by a stronger price of oil and lower Canadian dollar. The loonie retreated after a speech by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, who said there is no predetermined path for Canadian interest rates, suggesting a third rate hike is not imminent. The Canadian dollar weakened to a near four-week low at C$1.2453 to the U.S. dollar, or 80.30 U.S. cents, after the speech and markets trimmed the perceived chances of a hike next month to 36.4 percent. Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices rallied, after crude stockpiles unexpectedly drew down with refiners coming back online following Hurricane Harvey last month. The West Texas Intermediate benchmark settled up 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, per barrel at $52.14. The industrials group rose 1.1 percent. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.2 percent. Tahoe Resources fell 11.35 percent to C$6.25 after it said Guatemala’s Supreme Court declined to act on renewing its export credential. Ski-Doo maker BRP Inc lost 7.8 percent to C$41.65 after announcing a bought deal secondary offering. (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-ends-up-with-banks-bombardier-falls-after-tariff-hit-idUSL2N1M82C7'|'2017-09-28T00:22:00.000+03:00'
'fc9dba1a947df4baad6a1f1106b6356c9722cacc'|'UPDATE 1-Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus sees better signs as H1 profits rise'|'PARIS (Reuters) - Louis Dreyfus [AKIRAU.UL], one of the world’s top grain trading firms, pointed to improved signs for its commodity trading activities as it posted higher first-half profits in the face of a continuation of high staple crops supplies.Along with its peers, Louis Dreyfus has been overhauling its businesses as margins for buying, selling and shipping agricultural goods have been eroded by large stockpiles and reduced price volatility.The trading house reported on Thursday group first-half net profits of $160 million, up from $135 million a year ago, while its segment operating profits also rose to $602 million, from $546 million last year.Net sales advanced 18 percent to $27.7 billion, supported by an 8 percent rise in volumes that reflected the release of inventory from 2016, it added.An improving economic climate and restructuring at its business units had helped, although markets were still burdened with high inventories while there was a relatively weak performance at its grain division, Louis Dreyfus said.“We are starting to see renewed optimism, most notably in Europe, but still recognize the need for flexibility to adjust our geographic and operational footprint,” chief executive Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena said in a results statement.The group cited generally good profitability, driven by its ‘Merchandising’ segment that saw operating profits rise to $250 million from $195 million, including improved profits in cotton.Its so-called ‘Value Chain’ branch saw stable operating profits, at $352 million against $351 million a year earlier. Better results in oilseeds and rice contrasted with a weak performance in grains, lower results in juice and a slow start to the year in sugar due to unclear market trends, it said.Louis Dreyfus, which in April said it expected restructuring to help results in 2017 after a two-year drop in core profits, did not give an outlook for the rest of the year.It recently sold its African fertilizer activity and plans to sell stakes in several other businesses.The group also reported a $30 million gain from the sale of a stake in Brazilian joint venture, which boosted overall first-half net income.The struggling grain division has seen a shakeup in personnel, with global head David Ohayon resigning last month together with several other traders in Europe.Louis Dreyfus is part of the so-called ‘ABCD’ quartet of global grain trading giants, which also includes Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge Ltd and Cargill [CARG.UL].On Wednesday, Cargill reported a 14 percent rise in quarterly profit, as strong demand for beef helped offset weaker results for grain origination and processing.Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-louisdreyfus-results/commodity-trader-louis-dreyfus-sees-better-signs-as-first-half-profits-rise-idUSKCN1C31UO'|'2017-09-28T16:08:00.000+03:00'
'ca9272a21d73b6634c8ce3106e6eac4148a83ab6'|'China''s Weibo looks to reward citizen censors with iPhones, tablets'|' 01 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago China''s Weibo looks to reward citizen censors with iPhones, tablets Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Sina Weibo''s booth is pictured at the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) 2017 in Beijing, China April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese social media firm Weibo Corp ( WB.O ) is looking to recruit citizen censors to help weed out sensitive content on its platform, rewarding those who report the highest numbers of offending posts with iPhones and tablets. The platform posted a statement on Wednesday saying it was looking for an initial 1,000 “Weibo supervisors” as part of a programme overseen by the Beijing arm of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s top Internet watchdog. The CAC on Monday fined Weibo along with rival tech giants Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ) and Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ) for failing to properly censor illegal content on its site, including political articles and social commentary as well as violence, fake news and nudity. Chinese authorities and tech firms are stepping up censorship controls before the 19th National Congress next month, a major leadership event held once every five years where President Xi Jinping is expected to consolidate power. Successful applicants to Weibo’s new programme must flag over 200 posts each month to receive a stipend of 200 yuan (22.45 pounds). The 10 supervisors who report the most posts per month will receive prizes such as Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) iPhones it added. Weibo, a microblogging service similar to Twitter, is China’s second most popular social media platform after Tencent’s messaging app WeChat, and has been singled out by authorities over illegal content several times this year. The firm’s U.S.-listed stock dropped sharply in June when its video service was ordered by the CAC to briefly suspend services for “failing to promote core socialist values”. The company said at the time it would work to promote more mainstream ideas as part of a comprehensive overhaul. Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-weibo-censorship/chinas-weibo-looks-to-reward-citizen-censors-with-iphones-tablets-idUKKCN1C21AF'|'2017-09-27T14:01:00.000+03:00'
'44eec6424f7f8b220b31c35f03327d7470f9ce74'|'Spreadbetting firm Plus500 sees full-year results ahead of market expectations'|'  6:39 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Spreadbetting firm Plus500 sees full-year results ahead of market expectations Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British spreadbetting firm Plus500 Ltd ( PLUSP.L ) said on Wednesday that full-year revenue and profits would be ahead of market expectations. Analysts expect revenue of $335.72 million, with core earnings of $184 million for the year ending Dec. 31, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Plus500 reported revenue of $327.9 million and core earnings of $151 million in 2016. The company, which provides an online trading platform for retail customers to trade contracts for differences (CFDs), doubled its first-half 2017 core earnings and said in August that 2017 results would significantly exceed its expectations. CFDs allow people to bet on moves in share prices without having to buy the underlying stock. However, regulators have been moving to tighten controls on the fast-growing 3.5 billion pound ($4.70 billion) spreadbetting industry. Plus500, whose rivals include CMC Markets ( CMCX.L ) and IG Group ( IGG.L ), is scheduled to report third quarter results on Oct. 31. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-plus500-outlook/spreadbetting-firm-plus500-sees-full-year-results-ahead-of-market-expectations-idUKKCN1C20HY'|'2017-09-27T09:39:00.000+03:00'
'd334cb896221dd02cf6f63b6ad952d7f8bd50f3d'|'Chevron may miss mid-October target to close sale of Bangladesh gas fields: sources'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chevron Corp is seen in its booth at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo DHAKA/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chevron Corp may miss its mid-October target for closing the agreed $2 billion sale of its natural gas assets in Bangladesh to a Chinese consortium as Dhaka weighs the prospect of a counterbid, people with knowledge of the matter said.The U.S. oil major agreed in April to sell its three Bangladesh gas fields to Himalaya Energy, comprising state-run Chinese oil trader Zhenhua Oil and a government investment platform, CNIC Corp. Chevron had planned to close the sale, part of non-core asset disposals, around mid-October.But Bangladesh’s state oil and gas firm Petrobangla claims it has the first right of refusal in the sale. A government official who declined to be identified said Dhaka remains undecided over whether to back a counterbid amid doubts on whether Petrobangla has the expertise to run the fields, or the funds to make future investments.“The deal looks very uncertain as the deadline for closing...is in about two weeks’ time,” said a Beijing-based Chinese oil executive with knowledge of the deal’s status.“Chevron may need to decide then whether it wants to extend the deadline, or to reassess its strategy in Bangladesh,” the executive said. He declined to be identified because of company policy.Chevron declined to comment on Reuters’ questions regarding the asset sale’s progress.The offshore gas fields - Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar - have average net daily output of 720 million cubic feet of gas and 3,000 barrels of condensate, or liquid hydrocarbon produced with gas. Chevron sells the entire output to Petrobangla under a production sharing contract and most of the fuel is used to generate electricity for the country.When asked by Reuters early this month, Petrobangla’s chairman, Abul Mansur Md. Faizullah, said a decision on a potential counterbid was pending. He declined to provide further details.Financial sources familiar with Petrobangla said earlier in September the Bangladesh firm was tapping banks with a view to potentially funding a counterbid.Meanwhile the government was waiting for a final asset assessment by consultancy Wood Mackenzie before making a decision, according to a Petrobangla official.“As per production sharing contract, Chevron has no right to transfer its shares without permission,” said the official, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to media.“They (Chevron) never officially informed us about the deal with a Chinese company. We came to know only from media,” the official said.Chevron didn’t say whether it had informed Petrobangla on its plans for the gas fields before the sale was agreed.A spokesman at China’s Zhenhua Oil said that his company has been “actively communicating” with Chevron and Dhaka. He said the Chinese government gave its nod to the acquisition shortly after the deal was agreed.For Zhenhua Oil, among the smallest state-run Chinese oil and gas firms, the Bangladesh assets would provide a much-need addition to its reserve base. A completed deal would also mark the first major Chinese energy investment in the South Asian nation, where China is vying with India and Japan for influence.Reporting by Ruma Paul in DHAKA and Chen Aizhu in BEIJING; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-gas-sale/chevron-may-miss-mid-october-target-to-close-sale-of-bangladesh-gas-fields-sources-idINKCN1C20H9'|'2017-09-27T04:32:00.000+03:00'
'f19d824c1fd373bf89869620fd22b1486de5ff87'|'Boeing says committed to UK, listened to concerns over Northern Ireland jobs'|'  1:54 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Boeing says committed to UK, listened to concerns over Northern Ireland jobs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, April 24, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young/Files BELFAST (Reuters) - Boeing said on Wednesday it had listened to Britain’s concerns about jobs in Northern Ireland after it won the first round of a trade battle with Canada’s Bombardier, the region’s biggest manufacturer. A spokesman said the U.S. aerospace giant remained committed to Britain after UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon warned Boeing it could lose out on UK defence contracts because of its dispute with its Canadian rival. The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier’s CSeries jets after Boeing accused Canada of unfairly subsidising the aircraft. “We have heard and understand the concerns from the prime minister and the government about Bombardier workers in Northern Ireland. Boeing is committed to the UK and values the partnership, which stretches back almost 80 years,” the spokesman for Boeing UK said by email. The company has doubled its direct employment in the UK since 2011 and tripled its spending, he said. “Any claimed economic threat to Bombardier is due to the weakness of its product in the marketplace,” he added. Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Victoria Bryan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier/boeing-says-committed-to-uk-listened-to-concerns-over-northern-ireland-jobs-idINKCN1C21VU'|'2017-09-27T16:52:00.000+03:00'
'cd08ea158f5a0fa6485bb3603aa9f3389f7c0833'|'Rocket Internet start-ups narrow losses in first half'|' 26 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Rocket Internet start-ups narrow losses in first half   The logo of of Rocket Internet, a German venture capital group is pictured in this September 24, 2014 illustration photo. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German e-commerce investor Rocket Internet reported that its leading start-ups narrowed their losses in the first half of 2017, while revenue growth picked up slightly to 29 percent. Aggregate revenue rose 29 percent to 1.24 billion euros (1.27 billion pounds) in the first half, while the adjusted loss before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation was 161 million euros, down from 204 million a year ago. Rocket said meal kit delivery company HelloFresh, which has been considering an initial public offering, saw net revenue rise 49 percent to 435 million euros, while its loss rose slightly to 47 million euros. Rocket said in a separate statement it agreed to sell a 13 percent stake in Delivery Hero to global entertainment group Naspers for 660 million euros in cash, cutting its stake to 13 percent. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Ludwig Burger'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rocket-internet-results/rocket-internet-start-ups-narrow-losses-in-first-half-idUKKCN1C30KJ'|'2017-09-28T09:26:00.000+03:00'
'fb605a42ff982f2f4ffffc2e8a10eb7084d6f5e9'|'German prosecutors launch tax probe against UBS clients'|'Corbyn says Labour ready for government myanmar Eating leaves to survive in Myanmar''s ''ethnic cleansing'' zone Corbyn says Labour ready for government Reuters TV United States   12:14 PM / a few seconds ago German prosecutors launch tax probe against UBS clients Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen on a building in Zurich, February 13, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Buholzer/File Photo DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Wednesday said they have launched an investigation against clients of Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S ) in Germany on grounds of suspected tax evasion. As part of the probe, premises are being searched by up to 130 prosecutors and tax investigators, the Bochum prosecutors said. German magazine WirtschaftsWoche had earlier reported the searches. A database containing details on 2,000 UBS clients, which was bought by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, forms the basis of the investigation, the prosecutors said. UBS had no immediate comment. Over the past years, the bank has been a regular target of German tax investigators, which have repeatedly bought CDs with client data. In 2014, UBS paid 300 million euros ($352 million) to settle claims by German authorities that it helped wealthy Germans to dodge taxes. Since then, the focus of tax investigators has shifted from the bank to its clients. Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Christoph Steitz'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ubs-group-tax-probe/german-prosecutors-launch-tax-probe-against-ubs-clients-idUKKCN1C21J3'|'2017-09-27T15:01:00.000+03:00'
'5e77a2c6a389500767f29933aec4d5b38cc766cb'|'India needs to double refining capacity by 2040 to meet fuel demand growth'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:47 AM / Updated 8 hours ago India needs to double refining capacity by 2040 to meet fuel demand growth Jessica Jaganathan , Roslan Khasawneh 3 Min Read REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: An oil refinery of Essar Oil, which runs India''s second biggest private sector refinery, is pictured in Vadinar in the western state of Gujarat, India, October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India needs to double its refining capacity by 2040 to meet rising fuel demand as an expanding middle class buys more passenger vehicles and its economy grows, a top refinery official said on Wednesday. India’s refining capacity must increase to 465 million tonnes by 2040, from about 230 million tonnes currently, and investments are already being made, said Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Indian Oil Corp’s executive director of operations. The major drivers for India’s fuel demand growth will be the continued robust sales of passenger vehicles, substitution of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a cooking fuel, growing urbanization and the country’s demand for infrastructure and consumer goods, he told the S&P Global Platts APPEC conference in Singapore. “It’s a very robust economy which is developing very fast and ...oil will continue to be the dominant force of the transportation fuels in the years and decades to come,” said Vaidya from the country’s top refiner. Transport fuels, which currently make up about 40 percent of fuel demand in the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, will increase that share to 55 percent by 2040, becoming the main driver of growth, he added. “This is the aspirational population we have in India where everyone wants to own a vehicle or own a car,” he said. In the short term, India’s gasoline demand is expected to continue to grow at about 9 percent next year, similar to this year’s growth, Vaidya told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference. The recent implementation of a goods and services tax and demonetization are unlikely to dent fuel demand in the longer term, said B. Anand, chief executive officer of private Indian refiner Essar Oil Ltd. “What we have seen in the last two three quarters is that there have been general headwinds in terms of the process of demonetization and the impacts around the implementation of GST,” he said. “But despite all the headwinds, the underlying story of India continues to grow as a country which has got huge demand for energy (as well as its) positive reforms and the underlying demographics all going for it.” Apart from demand for gasoline in passenger cars, India’s appetite for jet fuel is also expected to grow as the country upgrades airport infrastructure and plans to build about 200 new airports in the next 10 years, Anand added. Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan and Roslan Khasawneh; additional reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-oil-appec-india/india-needs-to-double-refining-capacity-by-2040-to-meet-fuel-demand-growth-idINKCN1C211K'|'2017-09-27T12:47:00.000+03:00'
'3c13945aa04958568e19d5ad1ff96f482e4cbdc9'|'UK pay settlements stick at 2 percent, no pick-up seen - XpertHR'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:06 PM / Updated 2 hours ago UK pay settlements stick at 2 percent, no pick-up seen - XpertHR Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A pedestrian walks past an employment centre in London August 17, 2011. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Major British employers gave staff an average 2 percent annual pay rise in the three months to the end of August, a sub-inflation rate that has been unchanged since the end of last year, pay analysts XpertHR said on Thursday. A pick-up in wage growth is unlikely soon as employers remain cautious in the face of political uncertainty following the Brexit vote, XpertHR said. “Overall restraint remains across the economy and workers face a continued period of below-inflation pay increases,” XpertHR analyst Sheila Atwood said. By contrast, the Bank of England expects wage growth to rise, prompting most of its policymakers to say that they are likely to vote “in the coming months” to raise interest rates for the first time in over a decade. Weak productivity and a rise in low-paid jobs have weighed on wage growth in Britain since the 2008 financial crisis while higher inflation, caused largely by last year’s Brexit vote, has put further pressure on households. Wage growth was particularly low in the public sector, where the government continued to impose a 1 percent pay cap on most workers although the government said this month it would relax the cap for police and prison workers. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by William Schomberg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-wages/uk-pay-settlements-stick-at-2-percent-no-pick-up-seen-xperthr-idUKKCN1C238U'|'2017-09-28T02:07:00.000+03:00'
'5cd482024dd71e8c7e989daf0324be6c6a0c9cab'|'Offers for AccorHotels'' property unit stake seen in October: report'|'PARIS (Reuters) - Investors looking to buy at least 51 percent of the property unit of French hotel group AccorHotels ( ACCP.PA ) are due to submit their letters of intent in October, French daily Les Echos said on Friday.French asset manager Amundi ( AMUN.PA ), U.S. property group Colony North Star ( CLNS.N ), Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have been in the running for several months though other contenders could join the race, the paper said, without citing its sources.AccorHotels declined to comment while Amundi, Colony North Star, GIC and PIF could not be immediately reached for comment.In June, AccorHotels boss Sebastien Bazin told shareholders his group was in “extremely active” discussions with potential investors over the property unit and that he hoped to seal a deal by autumn or the end of the year.The plan is aimed at giving AccorHotels, Europe’s largest hotel group, greater financial leeway to speed up growth and better fight the rising challenges of companies such as Airbnb or online travel agents such as Expedia EPE.O.At the June meeting, AccorHotels shareholders had approved plans to turn the HotelInvest property business, worth 6.6 billion euros, into a separate entity to be known as AccorInvest prior to selling part of its capital to institutional investors.Bazin had said he was confident AccorInvest, which has some 960 hotels in 26 countries and employs 40,000 people, could be worth more than 10 billion euros in the longer-term.Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Leigh Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-accorhotels-investors/offers-for-accorhotels-property-unit-stake-seen-in-october-report-idUSKCN1C412N'|'2017-09-29T16:56:00.000+03:00'
'10057128dcb6aaeab37a1917e4b2908366cd84da'|'Japan Post to invest funds from future group share sales for growth: CEO'|'FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past an advertisement board of Japan Post at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Post Holdings ( 6178.T ) will use proceeds from future share sales of its financial units on growth measures including on acquisitions, rather than giving money back to shareholders, its CEO said on Friday.The postal and financial giant has been criticized for M&A missteps and a lack of clear growth prospects. Its $11.5 billion share sale earlier this week brought those concerns to the fore, though investors like its attractive dividend yield.“As a going concern, we would like to use the money on investments,” CEO Masatsugu Nagato said at a news conference when asked what Japan Post will do with the money after eventually selling stakes in its bank and insurance units.Currently, Japan Post holds 74 percent in Japan Post Bank ( 7182.T ) and 89 percent in Japan Post Insurance ( 7181.T ). Japan Post is required by law to eventually sell down its stake in the two units, though no specific time frame is set.Nagato said he could not comment on the timing of the sale. He did not specify any acquisition targets or detail investment plans.Japan Post and its two units made unprecedented three-way initial public offerings in 2015 as part of Japan’s last large-scale privatization.The Japanese government said this week it has raised 1.3 trillion yen ($11.5 billion) from its sale of Japan Post stock. As a result of the offering, the government’s stake in Japan Post will be less than 60 percent.The offering was the world’s second-biggest share sale so far this year, after Italian bank UniCredit Spa’s ( CRDI.MI ) $13.7 billion sale in February.Japan Post has a dividend yield of 3.7 percent, against the benchmark Nikkei average''s .N225 1.7 percent.“It’s hard for me to say, but the postal business is not destined to grow, so but we need something attractive for investors,” Nagato said. “For the time being, we have to use dividend as an effective way” to lure investors, he said.One bright spot is the parcel delivery business, which has been seeing a sharp rise in volume thanks to strong growth in e-commerce.Japan Post said on Friday its parcel delivery volume jumped 27 percent year-on-year in August, while its traditional mail volume declined 4.1 percent.But Japan’s parcel delivery industry has been hit by labor shortage, pushing up costs for Japan Post and its rivals such as Yamato Holdings Co ( 9064.T ).“Our system has not been able to catch up with the sharp rise in e-commerce and tight labor markets and our frontline staff’s working condition has deteriorated as a result,” Yamato President Masaki Yamauchi told a news conference on Thursday while announcing its new business strategy.Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-post-strategy/japan-post-to-invest-funds-from-future-group-share-sales-for-growth-ceo-idINKCN1C41D6'|'2017-09-29T08:24:00.000+03:00'
'a1d0f4683c11c3ffb18ac52e28b63e3fd87cd973'|'France''s Orange CEO sees little prospects for pan-European mergers - Les Echos'|'September 28, 2017 / 9:07 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago France''s Orange CEO sees little prospects for pan-European mergers: Les Echos Reuters Staff 2 Min Read French telecom operator Orange Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard attends a shareholders meeting in Paris, France, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - The chief executive of French telecoms company Orange said he did not see at present opportunities for large pan-European mergers and ruled out buying a stake in media group Vivendi, according to remarks published on Thursday. French and German leaders have for years called for the creation of “European champions” such as Airbus to capitalize on the strengths of Europe’s single market and create the scale needed to compete with U.S. and Asian rivals. The comments by Stephane Richard come after investors welcomed a merger of the rail businesses of Germany’s Siemens and France’s Alstom, billed as creating a European champion. “I looked at all possibilities, both of great European marriages: Franco-German, Franco-Spanish,” Richard told Les Echos newspaper. “I do not see today a project that creates value and is achievable. Current political, economic and social conditions do not allow it.” When asked about a hypothetical tie-up with fellow French operator Bouygues or Vivendi, Richard appeared to close the door to both options. “Bouygues is following a policy of lone development. In the short term, there is little scope for rapprochement,” he said. “For Vivendi, there is no discussion. Vivendi is a mix of content, some of which, like music, are not relevant to Orange. Vivendi owns 25 percent of Telecom Italia but we are not interested in taking them back.” Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-orange/frances-orange-ceo-sees-little-prospects-for-pan-european-mergers-les-echos-idUKKCN1C336C'|'2017-09-29T00:05:00.000+03:00'
'aa1ff1f78bc049649a164eeea36f539a2d19fd24'|'U.S. consumer spending barely rises; core inflation moderates'|'A woman shops for groceries at a Whole Foods supermarket in New York May 18, 2010. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/Files WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending barely rose in August likely as Hurricane Harvey weighed on auto sales and annual inflation increased at its slowest pace since late 2015, pointing to a moderation in economic growth in the third quarter.The weak report from the Commerce Department on Friday did little to change expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in December. Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the Fed needed to continue gradual rate hikes despite uncertainty about the path of inflation.Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, edged up 0.1 percent last month also as unseasonably mild temperatures in some parts of the country reduced demand for utilities. That followed an unrevised 0.3 percent increase in July.August’s gain in consumer spending was in line with economists’ expectations. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending slipped 0.1 percent in August, the first drop since January.The government said the data reflected the effects of Hurricane Harvey. However, it could not separately quantify the total impact of Harvey on the data. It said it made adjustments to estimates where source data were not yet available or did not fully reflect the effects of the storm.The dollar fell to a session low against a basket of currencies after the data, while prices for U.S. Treasuries rose.The report was the latest suggestion that Harvey, together with Hurricane Irma, would dent economic growth in the third quarter. The economy grew at a brisk 3.1 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, with consumers doing the heavy lifting.Harvey, which tore through Texas in late August, has undercut industrial production, homebuilding and home sales. Further declines are expected after Irma slammed Florida in early September.Economists estimate the storms could slice off as much as six-tenths of a percentage point from third-quarter GDP growth. However, a pick-up in output is expected in the fourth quarter as communities ravaged by the hurricanes rebuild.TAME INFLATION Inflation remained benign in August, with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy rising 0.1 percent. The so-called core PCE has advanced by the same margin for four straight months.As a result, the annual increase in the core PCE price index slowed to 1.3 percent in August after advancing 1.4 percent in July. That was the smallest year-on-year increase since November 2015. The core PCE is the Fed’s preferred inflation measure and has a 2 percent target.The U.S. central bank signaled last week it anticipated one more interest rate increase by the end of the year. It has increased borrowing costs twice this year. Financial markets were pricing a roughly 71 percent probability of an interest rate hike in December, compared with 76 percent earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool.Consumer spending last month was held back by a 1.1 percent decline in outlays on long-lasting goods. The Commerce Department said spending on new motor vehicles was the leading contributor to the drop in the so-called durable goods.Auto manufacturers reported that Hurricane Harvey had impacted on sales in the last week of August.Harvey also probably impacted on income in August.Personal income rose 0.2 percent last month after increasing 0.3 percent in July. Wages were unchanged after increasing 0.5 percent in July.Savings fell to $522.9 billion in August, the lowest level since December 2016, from $524.8 billion in the prior month.Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-spending/u-s-consumer-spending-barely-rises-core-inflation-moderates-idINKCN1C41TS'|'2017-09-29T15:59:00.000+03:00'
'3c8d4a5d44a323b054059956537a90abaa7d65df'|'German retail sales unexpectedly drop on the month in August'|'  6:40 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago German retail sales unexpectedly drop on the month in August Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man walks at the LP12 Mall of Berlin shopping mall in Berlin, Germany, March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales unexpectedly fell on the month in August and posted a smaller increase on the year than forecast, data showed on Friday, putting a slight dampener on hopes that a consumer-led upswing will continue full-steam ahead. The volatile indicator, which is often subject to revision, showed retail sales in Europe’s largest economy decreased by 0.4 percent on the month in real terms, the Federal Statistics Office said. That compared with the Reuters consensus forecast for a 0.5 percent rise and followed a 1.2 percent drop in July. On the year, retail sales jumped by 2.8 percent, matching the previous month’s increase but undershooting a Reuters consensus forecast for an increase of 3.2 percent. Traditionally thrifty Germans have helped private consumption displace exports as the main driver of growth thanks to record-high employment, increased job security, rising real wages and ultra-low borrowing costs. The retails data comes after a GfK survey published on Thursday showed the cheerful mood among German shoppers clouding unexpectedly heading into October. But the outlook for the economy remains bright overall, with institutes on Thursday hiking their growth forecasts for this year and next to 1.9 percent and 2 percent respectively. Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Paul Carrel'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/germany-economy-retail/german-retail-sales-unexpectedly-drop-on-the-month-in-august-idINKCN1C40L6'|'2017-09-29T04:40:00.000+03:00'
'328d31fa6801b02e11ca86319b5fe10ee5118cdf'|'Honeywell ups dividend, seeks to avoid aerospace spinoff'|'(Reuters) - U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc ( HON.N ) announced plans to increase its annual divided by 12 percent on Friday as it resists pressure from investors to part with its aerospace unit.Sources told Reuters the company was now not planning to spin off its largest single business and would sell only some limited assets, potentially including its production of turbochargers for cars.Activist investor Daniel Loeb and his hedge fund Third Point LLC have argued Honeywell is undervalued compared to peers in industrial automation and that spinning off all of the aerospace business would create $20 billion in shareholder value.Honeywell, whose shares were little changed in morning trading, said in a statement it was increasing its regular cash dividend by 12 percent as of the fourth quarter but declined to comment further on any plans to sell assets.The company publishes third quarter results in mid-October.The aerospace business, Honeywell’s biggest, makes turbochargers for cars as well as auxiliary power units and engines for aircraft made by Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), Textron Inc ( TXT.N ) and General Dynamics Corp ( GD.N ), among other products.Third Point has argued that weak sales for the segment as a whole are a drag on the company’s valuationUp to Thursday''s close, Honeywell''s stock had risen about 21.4 percent this year, outperforming the 12.1 percent increase in the S&P 500 index .SPX .Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; editing by Patrick GrahamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-honeywell-intl-spinoff/honeywell-ups-dividend-seeks-to-avoid-aerospace-spinoff-idINKCN1C4254'|'2017-09-29T12:39:00.000+03:00'
'ad841318dfc1403dda631bc2e28fa8c05872f2c6'|'Only miracles can move Brexit talks forward by October, EU tells Britain'|'The Union Flag and a European Union flag fly near the Elizabeth Tower, housing the Big Ben bell, during the anti-Brexit ''People''s March for Europe'', in Parliament Square in central London, Britain September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Tolga Akmen TALLINN (Reuters) - Only “miracles” can move Brexit talks far enough to fulfil Britain’s hopes of launching discussions next month on its future ties with the European Union, the head of the European Commission said on Friday.Prime Minister Theresa May has been hoping to use an informal EU meeting in the Estonian capital Tallinn to harness what she describes as renewed goodwill over Brexit to push the talks beyond the terms of the divorce, now just 18 months away.Britain had aimed to make a breakthrough at a summit in Brussels on Oct. 19-20. Two years have been set aside for the Brexit talks and Britain risks crashing out of the 28-state bloc on March 29, 2019, without a deal on future trade terms.But Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU executive and long a bogeyman for Britain’s eurosceptic press, said the first stage of talks on the rights of expatriates, the border with EU member Ireland and the financial settlement when Britain leaves had not gone far enough.“By the end of October, we will not have sufficient progress,” Juncker told reporters in Tallinn, a day after his chief negotiator ended the last round of Brexit talks.“At the end of this week, I am saying that there will be no sufficient progress from now until October unless miracles will happen.”Related Coverage Citi applies for Paris broker-dealer licence post-BrexitHis words were echoed by other leaders, with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also saying both sides would need “a small miracle” to make the required progress before the October summit. Irish leader Leo Varadkar said it was “still very evident that there’s more work to be done”.Their words will be a blow for May, who wants to move quickly on to discussion of the future trade relationship and a transitional arrangement -- part of the deal Britain says is needed before any kind of financial settlement can be agreed.In Tallinn, May sidestepped questions over whether she was confident of the October deadline.NEW TONE After three months of talks which have become bogged down in a spat over the divorce bill, the British prime minister tried to reset the tone with a speech a week ago in Florence.She had hoped to speak directly to EU leaders and reassure them Britain was not picking unnecessary fights, going as far as to make concessions on the future role of the European Court of Justice and on the Brexit bill.“I made that speech to give momentum to the talks and I think we have seen that being shown in the talks that have taken place this week, and further progress has been made,” May said on Friday morning.Pressing her case, she met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the summit and repeated her pledge for Britain to be “the strongest friend and partner to the EU” after Brexit, her spokeswoman said.“The PM pointed to the commitment made in her Florence speech to incorporate the agreement reached on citizens’ rights fully into UK law and make sure the UK courts can refer directly to it,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.In a morning visit to Estonia’s Tapa military base, where 800 British troops are deployed as part of NATO’s efforts to defend against a newly assertive Russia, May said Britain was “unconditionally committed” to protecting Europe after Brexit.By focusing on defence, May wants to show that Britain has something to offer its European neighbours. She will say she is ready to share British expertise -- including through the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) -- to help EU nations build up their own cybersecurity capability.That, she hopes, could bolster her argument on the Brexit talks, and coax the EU into making concessions.“A week ago I gave a speech in Florence which set out how we have made good progress so far, I thought we could make further progress and moving on to looking at the future deep and special relationship and partnership that we want to build with the European Union when the UK has left the EU,” she said after meeting the British troops.“I set out what I thought was the future deep and special partnership we can build with the EU, and I look for the speech that I set out for that being reciprocated in proposals that the EU will come forward with.”Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Catherine Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu/only-miracles-can-move-brexit-talks-forward-by-october-eu-tells-britain-idINKCN1C41IC'|'2017-09-29T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'2836a20db3a1563567d24479c64bec5d45fe6be4'|'Chinese border trading hub struggles with housing glut as North Korea ties fray'|'FILE PHOTO - A general view shows the unfinished New Yalu River bridge that was designed to connect China''s Dandong New Zone, Liaoning province, and North Korea''s Sinuiju, September 11, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo DANDONG, China (Reuters) - International sanctions on North Korea have helped sustain a housing glut in China’s border city of Dandong, through which most trade with the North flows, in contrast to falling inventories in much of the rest of China, sales data showed.Dandong, with a population of around 860,000, has accumulated more unsold housing inventory than much larger cities, including Nanjing with a population of 8.2 million, Hangzhou at 9.2 million and Shenzhen with 11.9 million.Based on sales trends over the past six months, it will take Dandong 28.8 months to work through its current inventory overhang - the longest of 80 cities analysed by Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute.“North Korea’s constant talk of war has meant Dandong property prices have never gone up,” said local resident Xiao Tengfei, who along with other family members purchased several apartments in Dandong’s New Zone seven years ago.Plans for the New Zone, some 15 kilometres from the existing city centre, included a sports centre, concert hall, a hospital and enough high-end real estate developments to house 400,000 new residents.City planners developed the New Zone, expecting trade and tourism with the north to boom. But in its latest round of sanctions in response to North Korea’s rapidly advancing missile and nuclear programme, Beijing has ordered North Korean-owned businesses in China to close by January. China is North Korea’s main trading partner and many of those businesses are in Dandong.Xiao said she never moved in when her building was finished in 2013 due to a lack of surrounding facilities and was now struggling to find buyers to offload her investment.“My money has been tied up in here for years now.”BRIDGE TO NOWHERE The Downing One residential project is seen in the Dandong New Zone, in Dandong, Liaoning province, China September 28, 2017. Picture taken September 28, 2017. REUTERS/ Philip Wen The Dandong New Zone was planned in anticipation of the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge, connecting Dandong with Sinuiju in North Korea, and was expected to help bring investment through jointly-run free trade zones.Costing 2.2 billion yuan ($330.37 million) to build and slated to open in November 2015, the dual-carriageway bridge today sits abandoned. The North Korean side of it ends abruptly in a field of dirt and overgrown grass. [nL3N1BN010]Similarly, construction has halted at the New Zone’s half-finished concert hall and hospital. The gleaming new sport centre, while completed, is barely used, locals said.A city plan for the Dandong New Zone, 15 kilometers from the city centre, is displayed in a sales center, in Dandong, Liaoning province, China September 28, 2017. Picture taken September 28, 2017. REUTERS/ Philip Wen Housing inventories in Dandong have remained stubbornly high since doubling in the space of two years to more than 4 million sq m - the rough equivalent of 44,000 homes - in late 2015.The glut has meant Dandong homeowners and investors have failed to ride a housing boom in the rest of China.With tighter restrictions on property purchases across the country’s top-tier cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, buyers have turned to smaller so-called third and fourth-tier cities, in many instances sending prices up by double-digit percentages.But in Dandong, prices for new homes rose just 1.9 percent in August from a year earlier. That compares with the average price increase of 8.3 percent among all the 70 major cities surveyed by the National Bureau of Statistics.Staff at six property sales centres that Reuters visited in Dandong’s city centre and New Zone, however, tried to put an optimistic face on the drab market.“The market is fine right now and these two months are probably the lowest point in terms of (China‘s) relations with North Korea,” said one sales manager at a development offering sweeping views across the Yalu River into North Korea. “It will only get better from here.”($1 = 6.6591 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Philip Wen in Dandong; Additional reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Bill Tarrant '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/northkorea-missiles-china-property/chinese-border-trading-hub-struggles-with-housing-glut-as-north-korea-ties-fray-idINKCN1C41BS'|'2017-09-29T08:20:00.000+03:00'
'3ca0818a22a7f47d464997bad008ef1b8f192ff7'|'UPDATE 1-Eight U.S. banks given extra year to submit ''living wills'' -Fed'|'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight of the largest U.S. banks and 82 foreign banks will have an extra year to submit their so-called living wills outlining how they would be unwound in the event of bankruptcy, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.The extension granted by the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) forms part of a broader effort by financial regulators to ease onerous post-crisis regulations under Republican President Donald Trump’s pro-growth agenda.“The agencies continue to explore ways to improve the resolution planning process and believe it is worthwhile to consider extending the cycle for living will submissions from annual to once every two years. Today’s action is a step towards that end,” the Fed said in a statement.The eight large domestic banks will have until July 1, 2019 to file their plans, while the 82 foreign banks will have until Dec. 31, 2018.The eight U.S. banks granted the extension are Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ), Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ), JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), State Street Corp ( STT.N ), Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp ( BK.N ).Under the Dodd-Frank reform act, the largest U.S. banks must present plans that explain how they would be unwound in the case of a financial crisis without shaking the broader global financial system.The regulators are currently reviewing plans submitted by the big eight banks on July 1. The extension will not affect the review process, the Fed said.Banks have long argued that the annual cycle for submitting living wills - which can comprise thousands of pages - is too onerous.In a June 12 report outlining Trump’s financial de-regulatory reform agenda, the U.S. Treasury recommended extending the cycle to two years, revising the threshold for banks that must submit living wills, and increasing the transparency of guidance regulators feedback on to banks on the plans.Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Michelle Price and Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-bankruptcy/eight-u-s-banks-given-extra-year-to-submit-living-wills-fed-idUSKCN1C33A8'|'2017-09-29T00:32:00.000+03:00'
'9fe49793562cce4cde4716dcd82dee4f1092f16e'|'BRIEF-Whole Foods Market says recently received information regarding unauthorized access of payment card information used at certain venues'|'Sept 28 (Reuters) -* Whole Foods Market says recently received information regarding unauthorized access of payment card information used at certain venues* When Whole Foods Market learned of this, co launched investigation and contacted law enforcement, taking appropriate measures to address the issue Source text - bit.ly/2fwqRlE (Bengaluru Newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-whole-foods-market-says-recently-r/brief-whole-foods-market-says-recently-received-information-regarding-unauthorized-access-of-payment-card-information-used-at-certain-venues-idUSFWN1M90XO'|'2017-09-29T00:07:00.000+03:00'
'b7dac062f6992b51524d0c584cdc129574b6f1ec'|'Asia shares recuperate after rough week, dollar in better health'|'  12:54 AM / in 4 minutes Asia shares recuperate after rough week, dollar in better health Wayne Cole 5 Min Read A man stands in front of electronic boards showing stock prices and exchange rate between Japanese Yen and U.S dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares regained some poise on Friday after a tough week in which the gathering risk of a U.S. rate rise lifted Treasury yields toward nine-year highs and boosted borrowing costs across the region. Activity was mainly confined to book-squaring for the end of the month and quarter, and moves in markets were modest at best. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS inched up 0.2 percent, but was still down a sizable 2 percent for the week so far. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 was off 0.2 percent, though South Korea .KS11 managed to recoup 0.5 percent. Shanghai shares .SSEC firmed 0.3 percent but were flat on the week. Many markets in the region have been cold-shouldered this week as investors priced in a greater probability of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve in December. Fed funds futures <0#FF:> imply around a 73 percent chance of a move at the Dec. 12-13 policy meeting. As a result, yields on two-year Treasuries US2YT=RR reached a near nine-year top before settling at 1.46 percent on Friday. They had been as low as 1.254 percent early in September. Adding to the upward pressure was President Donald Trump’s proposals for steep tax cuts which, if passed, could benefit U.S. corporations’ profit margins. The plan, however, lacked any detail on how it might be paid for and faced much opposition in Congress. “As tax negotiations intensify, significant procedural, fiscal and political constraints are likely to become apparent,” cautioned Richard Franulovich, an analyst at Westpac, while noting the economic benefits of the plan were also in doubt. “The size of the tax cut is simply too large to be realistic and repealing deductions will prove politically difficult.” Still, a tax cut that made U.S. equities more attractive while lifting the dollar and Treasury yields would likely prove negative for emerging markets, particularly those that relied heavily on foreign investment. [EMRG/FRX] The risk alone was enough to rattle share, bond and currency markets in Asia on Thursday, and they will remain vulnerable to headlines on the tax package as it moves through Congress. DOLLAR REPRIEVE The jump in Treasury yields proved a much-needed tonic for the U.S. dollar. Against a basket of currencies the dollar index .DXY was up 0.14 percent on Friday at 93.217, to hold gains of 1.1 percent this week. The euro EUR= hovered at $1.1778, having bounced from a six-week trough of $1.1715, but was still down 1.5 percent for the week so far. If it remains there, that would be the largest weekly loss since November 2016. The dollar was also on track for its third week of gains on the Japanese yen at 112.66 JPY= , just off a peak of 113.26. On Wall Street, the Dow .DJI had ended Thursday with a minor gain of 0.18 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX added 0.12 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC was flat. [.N] All three were at or near record highs, stirring concerns about rich valuations. The forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) on the S&P stood at 17.9 compared with its long-term average of 15.1, while the forward P/E on the Russell is 26.3 against an average of 21.3. Important data on inflation from the European Union and the United States are due later in the session, along with economic growth figures in Canada. ECONG7 Early readings on Chinese manufacturing are out on Saturday ahead of a week-long holiday in the Asian giant. The EU also faces more political uncertainty on Sunday when Catalan separatists are set to defy Spanish efforts to block an independence referendum. In commodity markets, oil prices were near to chalking up another weekly gain as investors wagered that efforts to cut a global glut are working and the demand outlook is improving. Brent LCOc1 was 24 cents higher at $57.65 a barrel, heading for a fifth weekly climb and a 10-percent gain for September. U.S. crude CLc1 rose 1 cent to $51.57 a barrel. [O/R] Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-shares-recuperate-after-rough-week-dollar-firm-idUKKCN1C403K'|'2017-09-29T06:28:00.000+03:00'
'7b5ff40acc121e3a70fde4f0a217b5ee11f5e65e'|'Brazil''s BRF says South Korea okays Brazil pork imports -statement'|' 05 PM / in 7 minutes Brazil''s BRF says South Korea okays Brazil pork imports -statement Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Brazilian food company BRF SA said on Friday that for the first time in history domestic meat producers will be allowed to sell pork to South Korea, citing a list divulged by the Asian importer a day earlier. All meatpackers cleared to supply the South Korean market are based in Santa Catarina state, including BRF’s Campos Novos plant, BRF said in a statement. Per capita pork consumption in South Korea is 40 kilograms per year, and the country is among the world’s largest pork importers. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brf-exports/brazils-brf-says-south-korea-okays-brazil-pork-imports-statement-idUSE6N1JV011'|'2017-09-29T17:03:00.000+03:00'
'079784496075d1f6f8119a9853cf0a206865c5da'|'Dollar set for best weekly gain in 2017; focus on Trump tax plan, Fed outlook'|'September 29, 2017 / 1:40 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Dollar set for best weekly gain in 2017; focus on Trump tax plan, Fed outlook 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar inched higher against a basket of major currencies on Friday and was on track for its biggest weekly gain so far this year as investors pondered the Trump administration’s tax plan and the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. The dollar index edged up 0.1 percent to 93.211 .DXY. While that was down from Thursday’s near six-week high of 93.666, the index has still risen 1.1 percent this week, putting it on track for its biggest weekly gain since December. The dollar has risen on renewed hopes for U.S. tax reform, as well as comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that stressed the need for gradual interest rate hikes. Profit-taking and caution about political hurdles facing the U.S. tax plan seem to be tempering the dollar’s momentum, said Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for Oanda in Singapore. “We’ve been down this tax reform road before, and I don’t think it’s going to be easy... There’s going to be a lot of back and forth, a lot of squabbling,” Innes said. The White House struggled on Thursday to defend its new tax plan against criticism that it would help the rich at the expense of lower classes, as Republicans in Congress prepared to move ahead with actual legislation. President Donald Trump had unveiled a plan on Wednesday that calls for lower tax rates for businesses and individuals as part of a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. tax code. Against the yen, the dollar edged up 0.3 percent to 112.66 yen JPY= . On Wednesday, the dollar had reached a 2-1/2 month high of 113.26 yen, buoyed by a rise in U.S. bond yields. Later on Friday, investors will turn their focus to U.S. economic data, including the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for August. One focus for next week is U.S. job data due on Oct. 6. “The immediate focus would be whether the market can look through the data volatility in the U.S.,” said Sim Moh Siong, FX strategist for Bank of Singapore, adding that the nonfarm payroll data is likely to reflect the effects from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.1777 EUR= , but remained above Wednesday''s trough of $1.1717, the common currency''s lowest level in more than a month. The common currency has rallied nearly 12 percent against the dollar so far this year as worries about the rise of anti-establishment political forces in Europe faded while expectations rose for tapering the European Central Bank’s stimulus. The euro, however, has been weighed down this week after the results of elections in Germany on Sunday. Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office but will have to build an uneasy coalition to form a government. Sterling eased 0.2 percent to $1.3418 GBP=D3 . On Thursday, it had gained 0.4 percent, after Britain’s Brexit secretary said “considerable progress” had been made in talks and the EU’s chief negotiator praised a “new dynamic” from the prime minister. Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-forex/dollar-takes-breather-after-rally-focus-on-trump-tax-plan-fed-outlook-idUKKCN1C406P'|'2017-09-29T08:36:00.000+03:00'
'5fca7f1b92173ed902805dd585e14c5b88a2f94c'|'Toshiba signs deal to sell chip unit to Bain-led group for $18 billion'|'FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp said on Thursday it had signed an $18 billion deal to sell its chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP, overcoming a key - albeit not its last - hurdle as it scrambles for funds to stave off a potential delisting.The sale of the unit - the world’s second biggest producer of NAND chips - was agreed last week after a tortuous auction process but the signing was delayed because consortium member Apple Inc demanded new terms on chip supply, sources familiar with the matter have said.The deal will see Toshiba reinvest in the unit and together with Hoya Corp, a medical technology firm that also makes parts for chip devices, Japanese firms will hold more than 50 percent of the business - a keen wish of the Japanese government.A Japanese state-backed fund and bank have also expressed their interest in investing in the future subject to certain conditions, Toshiba said in a statement.“With this deal, a lot of risks for Toshiba have disappeared. It can go back to being a normal company,” said Hideki Yasuda at Ace Research Institute.Pressure from the Japanese government, changing alliances among suitors and a slew of revised bids has drawn out the auction over nine months - heightening the risk that the deal may not close before the end of Japan’s financial year in March as regulatory reviews usually take at least six months.If the deal does not close before then, Toshiba - hurt by liabilities at is now bankrupt nuclear unit Westinghouse - is likely to end a second consecutive year in negative net worth, putting pressure on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to strip it of its listing status.The sale also faces legal challenges from Western Digital, Toshiba’s chip venture partner and rejected suitor, which is seeking an injunction to block any deal that does not have its consent.Western Digital, one of world’s leading makers of hard disk drives, paid some $16 billion last year to acquire SanDisk, Toshiba’s chip joint venture partner since 2000. It sees chips as a key pillar of growth and is desperate to keep the business out of the hands of rival chipmakers.In addition to Apple, Bain’s consortium includes South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, as well as Dell Inc [DI.UL], Seagate Technology Plc and Kingston Technology.Under the deal, Toshiba will hold 40.2 percent of voting rights in the chip unit and Hoya Corp will own 9.9 percent, while other members will hold a combined 49.9 percent, according to SK Hynix.In a move to address anti-trust concerns that may come up in a regulatory review. Toshiba said SK Hynix would be firewalled from accessing proprietary information that belonged to the chip unit and would not be permitted to own more than 15 percent of voting rights for 10 years.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-signs-deal-to-sell-chip-unit-to-bain-led-group-for-18-billion-idINKCN1C30P1'|'2017-09-28T10:03:00.000+03:00'
'03a6c9656b38c8f6ee0a58c62072133820efbbd0'|'Nike''s road to recovery in North America likely a long one'|'The logo of Nike (NKE) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo REUTERS - Nike Inc’s fight to claw back in an intensifying U.S. sneaker price war is still some way off bearing fruit, analysts said on Wednesday, a day after the sportswear giant reported its weakest quarterly sales growth in nearly seven years.At least nine brokerages cut their price targets on the stock Nike warned of a further fall in revenue in its biggest market following a 3 percent drop in the first quarter that was its first outright decline in 2-1/2 years.Nike shares were set to open around 4 percent down at $51.75 on Wednesday, their lowest since June.Analysts from some of the world’s major brokerages remain upbeat on the company’s plans to invest in a variety of different distribution channels but say it will happen too slowly to offset the growing battle for market share.European rival Adidas AG has continued to snap at Nike’s heels, even if the latter’s North American business is still more than three times larger. Both face growing competition from others including Under Armour Inc.“We are seeing price points on Nike, Adidas and Under Armour product that we never thought possible in N.America,” Cowen & Co analyst John Kernan wrote in a note, cutting his price target on the stock to $50 from $53.U.S. sports good chains have been shutting stores and cutting prices as fewer shoppers visit malls and online shopping grows.Nike still gets about 70 percent of its revenue from retail customers but has been investing heavily in e-commerce, partnering with Amazon.com Inc and offering heavy discounts on its own website.Tuesday’s results showed a 6 percent rise in inventories, which suggests the company is building up more stock to sell through online channels but may also indicate lower sales through traditional outlets.Gross margins fell 1.8 percent to 43.7 percent, pointing to greater discounting in a market Nike warned would shrink overall in the current quarter as more stores shut.“We expect challenges to remain in North America for at least several more quarters,” Moody’s analyst Mike Zuccaro said. J.P. Morgan analysts said they expected the sales picture likely to get worse before getting better.The spate of price target cuts by brokers lowered its median price target to $61.74, down 2.7 percent from just a month ago, Thomson Reuters data shows. Sentiment on the stock has been steady for three months, with 21 “buy” or higher ratings, 14 “hold” and 2 “sell”, the data shows.Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser was the most bearish on the stock after the results, cutting his price target by $7 to $47.“Ultimately, we believe Nike’s U.S. business will get back on track, but we are unsure how long it will take as we don’t believe solutions are fully in place,” Poser said.Editing by Patrick Graham '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/nike-results-research/nikes-road-to-recovery-in-north-america-likely-a-long-one-idINKCN1C21LI'|'2017-09-27T15:35:00.000+03:00'
'c83ea80205ca341a2bbfd4e417caac42fe097c5c'|'UPDATE 1-Honeywell ups dividend, seeks to avoid aerospace spinoff'|'A logo of Honeywell is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (Reuters) - U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc ( HON.N ) announced plans to increase its annual divided by 12 percent on Friday as it resists pressure from investors to part with its aerospace unit.Sources told Reuters the company was now not planning to spin off its largest single business and would sell only some limited assets, potentially including its production of turbochargers for cars.Activist investor Daniel Loeb and his hedge fund Third Point LLC have argued Honeywell is undervalued compared to peers in industrial automation and that spinning off all of the aerospace business would create $20 billion in shareholder value.Honeywell, whose shares were little changed in morning trading, said in a statement it was increasing its regular cash dividend to $2.98 per common share, from $2.66 per common share, as of the fourth quarter but declined to comment further on any plans to sell assets.The company publishes third quarter results in mid-October.The aerospace business, Honeywell’s biggest, makes turbochargers for cars as well as auxiliary power units and engines for aircraft made by Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), Textron Inc ( TXT.N ) and General Dynamics Corp ( GD.N ), among other products.Third Point has argued that weak sales for the segment as a whole are a drag on the company’s valuation.Up to Thursday''s close, Honeywell''s stock had risen about 21.4 percent this year, outperforming the 12.1 percent increase in the S&P 500 index .SPX .Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; editing by Patrick Graham '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-honeywell-intl-spinoff/honeywell-ups-dividend-seeks-to-avoid-aerospace-spinoff-idUSKCN1C4254'|'2017-09-29T17:35:00.000+03:00'
'2159dde132b8cdc0b98dc124a2f05b6e64f2fd2c'|'Rivigo is helping the Indian truck-driving industry out of a jam'|'THERE are 36 gradations in India’s archaic caste system, from the priestly to the supposedly untouchable. And then, somewhere below that, are the long-haul truck-drivers. Plying the subcontinent’s potholed highways for weeks at a time, few can settle into anything like a home life. Their marriage prospects are grim; venereal diseases and sore backs from sleeping in cramped cabs are but two occupational hazards. Despite an oversupplied national job market, the industry has struggled to attract the roughly 1m new drivers it needs each year to keep everything from Amazon packages to car parts moving. Can technology help?To fend off shortages, most truck owners have done precisely what economists suggest, which is to increase pay. Drivers can now command nearly 40,000 rupees ($610) a month, a decent white-collar wage—and not far from double the level of trucker pay just three years ago. Rivigo, a startup based in Gurgaon, an industrial city near Delhi, is using a different road map. Since its founding in 2014, it has set up a network of 70 “pitstops” across India, each around 200-300km down the road from each other. From those, it organises a pan-India relay system, where drivers ply the four- to five-hour journey from their “home” station to the next. They then drive back to their starting point in another vehicle, and clock off in time to make it home for supper most nights. Another colleague is then responsible for driving the load to the next waypoint, and so on. Administering this logistical ballet is no simple task. Clever software predicts precisely when trucks will arrive and leave pit-stops and which petrol stations they might refuel at most cheaply. A trip from Bangalore to Delhi takes eight different legs. But by keeping the truck on the road more or less permanently, it takes a mere 44 hours to cover the distance of 2,200km, compared with the 96 hours a conventional trucker would take once rest breaks, meals and so on are factored in.Rivigo claims it has no trouble hiring drivers for the roughly 2,500 trucks it now owns and operates. At a pitstop two hours south of Delhi, Naresh Kumar, a “pilot”, as Rivigo dubs its drivers, says he misses little from his decade of pan-India trucking before he joined the company two years ago. “From being home once or twice a month, I’m now home most nights,” he says. Because most of Rivigo’s driving staff live near pitstops in rural areas between cities, it can pay them much less than truckers who live in cities and command an urban-dweller’s premium. Its monthly salaries are nearer the 23,000 rupee mark.In one way Rivigo’s approach is unusual for a startup. It is busy accumulating assets—those pitstop facilities and trucks—at a time when asset-light platforms matching service users with existing asset-owners are all the rage. Deepak Garg, the founder, had originally mulled launching an “Uber for trucking”; as a former McKinsey management consultant, he might be expected to. But the plethora of small-time operators running anything from one to 20 trucks didn’t bite. “Their problem wasn’t demand, it was finding drivers,” he says.Rivigo may yet go down an Uber-like road. Mr Garg says that within a few years he wants Rivigo to be out of the business of owning its own trucks, and focused instead on organising the relay for whichever trucking firm wishes to participate in it. The pitstop network, he says, cost a mere $30m to set up, a fraction of the $115m it has raised from investors such as Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners, two private-equity firms. Rumours are swirling of a whopping $200m investment round led by SoftBank, a Japanese telecoms and internet group, which would turn Rivigo into a rare business-to-business “unicorn” startup valued at over $1bn.Such a lofty valuation raises the possibility of far more competition. The concept of a relay is hardly new: the Pony Express used it to deliver mail in the American West before the advent of the telegraph. If relay is 15% cheaper than conventional trucking, as Mr Garg claims, others will cotton on. Rivigo has sped to an annual revenue of nearly $200m in just three years. DHL, a global logistics firm, has mulled a similar approach in India. Conversely, Mr Garg thinks his “relay as a service” concept might have applications in other parts of India’s logistics markets—or overseas.First, Rivigo will have to navigate transformation in India’s domestic logistics industry, which is worth around $300bn a year. A newly-introduced goods-and-services tax has unified what were 29 disparate states into a single market for the first time. While companies tended to need a warehouse in each state, most are now looking at fewer, bigger locations instead. That will mean larger trucks, longer journeys and less time stuck at internal borders (or paying bribes to speed through).Investors are ploughing money into the sector, and some new firms may tread on Rivigo’s toes. The opportunity is large, and growing, for spending on logistics is increasing at roughly double the pace of growth in GDP, which even in a bad year means double-digit increases. Mr Garg speaks of the efficiencies of the relay system with evangelical zeal. Will other firms pick up the baton? "The Indian pony express"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729811-its-pit-stops-and-relay-system-could-elevate-low-status-truck-drivers-rivigo-helping?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'fb48b7322ec96501d4f760d48bc2dac5e65983fc'|'Toyota, Mazda set up venture to develop electric cars'|'TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp said on Thursday they were forming a joint venture to develop electric cars, seeking to catch up with global rivals in the market for battery-operated vehicles.Toyota said in a statement they would set up a company with Denso Corp, Toyota’s biggest supplier, which will develop a range of electric cars, including minivehicles, passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks.Toyota will take a 90 percent stake in the company, called the EV Common Architecture Spirit Co Ltd, while Mazda and Denso will each take a 5 percent stake. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toyota-electric-vehicles-mazda/toyota-mazda-set-up-venture-to-develop-electric-cars-idINT9N1KW00U'|'2017-09-28T02:57:00.000+03:00'
'9984868637dcd8395022e1e38917f517a521613e'|'Spire Healthcare appoints Justin Ash as CEO'|'  3:19 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Spire Healthcare appoints Justin Ash as CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s second-largest healthcare firm Spire Healthcare Group Plc ( SPI.L ) on Wednesday appointed former Oasis Healthcare CEO Justin Ash as its chief executive officer. The company, which runs 39 private hospitals across Britain, said Ash will take up his duties on Oct. 30. Current interim CEO Simon Gordon will revert to his role of chief financial officer. Earlier this month, Spire decided to settle claims relating to actions of former breast surgeon Ian Paterson, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in May for carrying out unnecessary operations on 10 patients. The company said it would set up a fund, to be paid for by Spire and Paterson’s insurers, to compensate 750 patients who were wrongly diagnosed. Spire said its contribution to the fund would be 27.2 million pounds ($36.42 million). Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spire-healthcare-ceo/spire-healthcare-appoints-justin-ash-as-ceo-idUKKCN1C2268'|'2017-09-27T18:19:00.000+03:00'
'92ae41f29817906eaf2bc67ab3554d96108cac59'|'Twitter to test 280-character tweets, busting old limit'|'September 26, 2017 / 9:04 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Twitter to test 280-character tweets, busting old limit David Ingram 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - The days of Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) limiting messages to 140 characters, a signature of the social network since its launch in 2006, may be numbered. Twitter said on Tuesday that it would begin a test with a random sample of users allowing them to send tweets that are as long as 280 characters, double the existing cap, in most languages around the world. The San Francisco-based company has stood by its short messages as a defining characteristic - like chirps from a bird, which is the company logo - even as users found ways around the limit, such as posting photos of text. In a blog post on Tuesday, Twitter said its emphasis on brevity would never change but that it had been wondering whether people could express themselves easily enough, hurting the service’s popularity. “Trying to cram your thoughts into a Tweet - we’ve all been there, and it’s a pain,” Twitter project manager Aliza Rosen and senior software engineer Ikuhiro Ihara said in the post. The employees acknowledged some users may have an “emotional attachment” to the current limit. FILE PHOTO: People holding mobile phones are silhouetted against a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo in this illustration picture taken September 27, 2013. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo News reports in January 2016 said that Twitter was running internal tests for longer tweets and considering a limit as high as 10,000 characters. Though Twitter is ubiquitous in media because of frequent use by U.S. President Donald Trump and many celebrities, the company has struggled financially. For the second quarter, it reported a loss of $116 million and zero growth in the number of users, at 328 million people. Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) has 2 billion users. Slideshow (2 Images) A higher character limit was inspired by how people use Twitter when writing in Chinese, Japanese and Korean, the company said. Characters in those languages can often express more than Roman characters can, meaning those users already, in effect, have a higher limit. They also use Twitter more often. “In all markets, when people don’t have to cram their thoughts into 140 characters and actually have some to spare, we see more people Tweeting,” the two employees wrote. The test of 280 characters will run for an unspecified number of weeks in all languages except Chinese, Japanese and Korean, Twitter said. The company declined to say how many people would be included in the test. The 140-character limit originated from the use of SMS text messages. Twitter’s founders, including Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, wanted a limit just below the SMS cap of 160 characters. Reporting by David Ingram in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-character-limit/twitter-to-test-280-character-tweets-busting-old-limit-idUSKCN1C132A'|'2017-09-27T00:00:00.000+03:00'
'a29d06604c2c2f31b0f4ab252b08d9ec0ae1b647'|'Ford, Lyft will partner to deploy self-driving cars'|'September 27, 2017 / 4:08 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Ford, Lyft will partner to deploy self-driving cars Joseph White 3 Min Read An illuminated sign appears in a Lyft ride-hailing car in Los Angeles, California, U.S. September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it will collaborate with Lyft to deploy Ford self-driving vehicles on the ride services company’s network in large numbers by 2021. Ford and Lyft teams will begin working together to design software to allow Ford vehicles to communicate with Lyft’s smartphone apps. Ford self-driving test vehicles will be connected to Lyft’s network, but at first, customers will not be able to use them, Sherif Marakby, Ford’s vice president for autonomous vehicles and electrification, told Reuters. Ford will put human-driven vehicles on Lyft’s network. He did not say when Ford and Lyft expect to offer the first rides in self-driving cars. “We’re not building prototypes for the sake of building prototypes,” Marakby said, adding Ford intends to ultimately put thousands of self-driving vehicles in use. Ford’s new Chief Executive Jim Hackett is scheduled to meet with investors on Tuesday to outline the Dearborn, Mich. automaker’s strategy for boosting profitability. Ford shares are down 1.65 percent so far this year, while Detroit rival General Motors Co’s shares have risen 15.6 percent, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV shares are up 71 percent. Hackett’s plans to compete for revenue from mobility services, which include car sharing and ride-hailing, will be one area of focus for investors. The Lyft partnership fills in a piece of the puzzle. Ford also is testing delivery services using self-driving vehicles and a van shuttle service. The self-driving vehicles Ford will deploy through Lyft will use software developed by Argo AI, a company in which Ford is investing $1 billion over the next five years. The company has said it will invest $700 million in a factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, to make it capable of building electric and self driving vehicles. Lyft has said it will offer an open platform for companies to deploy self-driving vehicles on its network, and has partnerships with self driving vehicle technology startup Drive.ai and Alphabet Inc’s Waymo self driving car unit. GM has a 9 percent stake in Lyft, acquired for $500 million in January 2016. “Our relationship with GM has always been a non-exclusive relationship,” Raj Kapoor, Lyft’s chief strategy officer, told Reuters. GM is also assembling the assets necessary to launch its own ride services using self-driving cars, building its Maven car-sharing unit and preparing to launch mass production of autonomous Chevrolet Bolt electric cars at a factory in suburban Detroit. Reporting By Joseph White; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-lyft/ford-lyft-will-partner-to-deploy-self-driving-cars-idUKKCN1C209L'|'2017-09-27T07:06:00.000+03:00'
'3bb37987265222d5c4feb32df6113fd84449cc8b'|'CORRECTED-Apple sees sharp increase in U.S. national security requests'|'(Corrects “more than three times as many” in paragraph 1 to “more than four times as many”)By Stephen NellisSept 28 (Reuters) - Apple Inc has received more than four times as many national-security related requests from the U.S. government in the first half of this year versus a year ago, according to a company report on Thursday.Apple said it had received between 13,250 and 13,499 national security requests affecting between 9,000 and 9,249 users. That compares with a range of 2,750 and 2,999 requests affecting between 2,000 and 2,249 users in the first half of 2016. ( apple.co/2xO5fLM )The requests come in the form of so-called National Security Letters, or NSLs, and requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Apple and other companies report ranges because government rules prevent disclosing precise numbers.Apple declined to comment beyond the figures it released.The disclosures are voluntary, and firms like Microsoft Corp , Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc have yet to report any figures for 2017. In the past, those companies have issued more detailed reports, for example separating FISA requests and NSLs. The government requires they wait six months to report that level of information.It was not immediately clear what drove the increase in requests to Apple. But Andrew Crocker, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that the number of government requests to technology companies has been increasing since 2014, when data first started to become available as part of a settlement between technology firms and the government.“There’s not a huge track record here, but you can start to make a simple graph. The trend does seem to be upward,” Crocker said.Crocker also said the higher requests to Apple could represent it coming in line with its peers. Despite Apple’s huge user base - it has sold more than 1.2 billion iPhones - the number of requests to it had been relatively low compared with firms like Google or Microsoft.National security letters are a type of government subpoena for communications data sent to service providers. They are usually issued with a gag order, meaning the target is often unaware that records are being accessed, and they do not require a warrant.Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/apple-national-security/apple-sees-sharp-increase-in-u-s-national-security-requests-idUSL2N1M9295'|'2017-09-29T04:20:00.000+03:00'
'3fce6ba4295c85e45c0d5f999535bafd0b5ce20e'|'U.S., EU fines on banks'' for misconduct to top $400 bln by 2020 - report'|'FILE PHOTO: A picture illustration of U.S. dollar, Swiss franc, British pound and Euro bank notes January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Regulators in the United States and Europe have imposed $342 billion of fines on banks since 2009 for misconduct, including violation of anti-money laundering rules, and that is likely to top $400 billion by 2020, a research report said on Wednesday.Pending cases involving missteps in the US mortgage market in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis and a fresh penalty on mostly regional banks for anti-money laundering breaches would result in a surge in fines over the next few years, Quinlan and Associates said.The Hong Kong-based financial services consultancy estimated bad behaviour had erased $850 billion in profits for the top 50 global banks since the 2008 financial crisis in the form of write-downs, trading losses, fines and higher compliance costs.The bulk of the new regulatory fines would be against regional banks, including some Chinese banks, that have lagged their global peers in bolstering investments on compliance to combat money laundering, its CEO Benjamin Quinlan said.Among regional banks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia is battling allegations of systemic breaches of money-laundering and terror-financing laws that could expose it to billions of dollars in fines.Spain is investigating the European management of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as part of a widening probe into alleged laundering through the Chinese banking giant’s Madrid branch.“Notwithstanding the massive scale of fines that have been handed out to the banking industry to-date, we believe the bloodbath is far from over,” the report said, adding the banks have failed to drive cultural change to deal with misconduct.Know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) processes became a key focus globally after some large global banks were hit with hefty fines in 2012, and triggered a flurry of initiatives across the banking sector to boost compliance.Major international banks are now spending between $900 million and $1.3 billion a year on financial crime compliance, according to analysis by corporate governance recruitment firm Barclay Simpson.“Despite the potential scale-back of some recent regulatory reforms in the US, we anticipate that AML, in particular, will remain a key enforcement priority, given ongoing concerns over terrorism across the globe.”Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/banks-regulator-fines/u-s-eu-fines-on-banks-for-misconduct-to-top-400-bln-by-2020-report-idINKCN1C210D'|'2017-09-27T12:38:00.000+03:00'
'3d675892eaec4fb02551a818d69489c808b7b74c'|'UPDATE 1-Italy''s Pirelli expected to price IPO at 6.5 euros a share - source'|'  1:17 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Italy''s Pirelli expected to price IPO at 6.5 euros a share - source Reuters Staff (Adds details, context) By Elisa Anzolin MILAN, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Italian tyremaker Pirelli is expected to price its initial public share offering (IPO) at 6.5 euros per share, at the lower end of an already narrowed range, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Books for the share sale were due to close at 1200 GMT. At 6.5 euros per share, Pirelli, which is offering up to 40 percent of its shares, would be valued at 6.5 billion euros ($7.66 billion) - well below a maximum valuation of 8.3 billion euros initially targeted when the offer opened last week. Established in 1872 and one of Italy’s best-known corporate names, Pirelli is expected to return to the Milan stock exchange on Oct. 4 in one of the biggest IPOs in Europe this year. The sale of shares in the maker of tyres for Formula One races and upmarket brands such as Mercedes, Audi and BMW will raise between 2.3 and 2.6 billion euros for the current owners depending on whether its bankers exercise an over-allotment option in the offer. The world’s fifth-largest tyremaker was de-listed in 2015 from the Milan bourse, where it had traded since 1922, following a takeover led by state-owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina). The re-listing will test demand for a streamlined firm that focuses on high-end tyres for the consumer market after its less profitable truck and industrial tyre business was folded into a unit of ChemChina. Bankers involved in the IPO had initially set a price range of 6.3 euros to 8.3 euros per share for the offer, already slightly lower than core investors had hoped for. That range was narrowed to between 6.5-6.7 euros per share on Wednesday, reflecting investors’ concerns over Pirelli’s debt pile, complex governance structure and risk that one of the existing minority shareholders could sell out once a lock-up period expires. PREMIUM TYRES ChemChina took over Pirelli two years ago by acquiring a 65 percent stake in Marco Polo, the holding company controlling the tyre maker. It will remain by far the biggest shareholder after the IPO with a stake of just under 50 percent. Pirelli boss Marco Tronchetti Provera and banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo hold around 22 percent of Marco Polo via their holding company Camfin and will see that stake cut to between 10 and 12 percent. The rest is held by investment fund LTI, linked to Russia’s Rosneft, which will drop to 5 and 6.6 percent after the share sale. Pirelli is more profitable than France’s Michelin and Germany’s Continental, but its core profit margin of around 20 percent lags that of high-end Finnish rival Nokian , which stands at nearly 30 percent. Through its focus on premium tyres, which it expects to account for 63 percent of sales by 2020, Pirelli is less exposed to economic downturns than in the past because that segment has proven less cyclical. But others, such as South Korea’s Hankook, have followed suit, intensifying competition in that market. Pirelli’s targeted average revenue growth of at least 9 percent per year between 2016 and 2020 is doable but ambitious, according to analysts. Some have also raised concern about its heavy debt load as well as management succession, with long-standing CEO Tronchetti Provera set to retire after 2020. A question mark also remains over the role the Chinese will play at the company after the IPO, although Pirelli has repeatedly said ChemChina has taken a passive approach to its management. ($1 = 0.8495 euros) (Writing by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/pirelli-ipo-price/update-1-italys-pirelli-expected-to-price-ipo-at-6-5-euros-a-share-source-idUSL8N1M93P0'|'2017-09-28T16:16:00.000+03:00'
'6c85d88970ad4b8e5d79321fd59c819b5e51c36e'|'NY regulator says Equifax making progress on post-breach issues'|' 54 PM / a few seconds ago NY regulator says Equifax making progress on post-breach issues John McCrank 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - Equifax has been cooperating with regulators on issues resulting from the credit reporting agency’s massive data breach and has addressed many of them, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office said on Thursday. Schneiderman was one of several state attorneys general to launch formal investigations of Equifax after the firm disclosed on Sept. 7 that cyber-criminals had hacked its systems and accessed sensitive information on up to 143 million Americans more than a month earlier. The regulator had a long list of complaints on how the firm handled the hack and its aftermath. The issues included the delay in notifying consumers of the breach, a forced arbitration clause in Equifax’s free credit monitoring contracts and its failure to provide Spanish-language customer service to affected consumers. “Following conversations with our office, Equifax has addressed all of those issues,” Clark Russell, deputy bureau chief of the state regulator’s Bureau of Internet and Technology, said in prepared remarks to a New York State Senate Consumer Protection hearing. He also noted that Equifax agreed to provide consumers the ability to lock and unlock their credit file for life at no charge. But the facts behind the hack are still unfolding, Maria Vullo, superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS), told the same hearing. “It simply is unacceptable for a company that profits from consumers’ private information to fail to have adequate protections,” she said. The DFS recently issued a subpoena to Equifax demanding more information about the breach. It has proposed including credit-reporting agencies in its landmark cybersecurity regulation, along with all regulated financial services institutions. The regulation would require Equifax, along with rival firms Experian and TransUnion, to have adequate controls in place to protect their information systems and to report known cyber breaches within 72 hours, among other things. Reporting by John McCrank; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber/ny-regulator-says-equifax-making-progress-on-post-breach-issues-idUKKCN1C330S'|'2017-09-28T22:54:00.000+03:00'
'c59cdd474e528dd1f483a4ebde462d621be7a488'|'Ford''s Welsh engine plant to lose JLR business in 2020'|'Reuters TV United States September 28, 2017 / 10:18 AM / in 8 hours Ford''s Welsh engine plant to lose JLR business in 2020 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Ford logo is seen on a car in a park lot in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will stop sourcing petrol engines from Ford’s ( F.N ) plant in Bridgend, Wales, after ending its current contract earlier than expected in 2020, creating uncertainty over around 750 jobs. “We have informed our unions that Jaguar Land Rover intends to end our petrol engine supply arrangement slightly earlier than expected in late 2020,” Ford said in a statement. “Given our long-established and successful relationship in the delivery of world-class engines, this is disappointing news for the Ford Bridgend Engine Plant.” JLR is ending the long-standing relationship in September 2020, three months earlier than planned, a source close to the arrangements said. Around 750 workers, about half of the plant’s total, are dedicated to JLR production, the source said. Ford said it would “continue to look at other high technology opportunities for Bridgend in the future.” JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors ( TAMO.NS ), opened a new engine plant in England’s West Midlands in 2014, and in 2015 announced a plan to double its size, taking total investment to about 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion). The company said that in line with its contract it had served the required three years notice to Ford for the supply of the 6 and 8 cylinder petrol engines from its Bridgend plant. “Ford has been, and remains, an important strategic supplier to Jaguar Land Rover under an agreement which was negotiated to support our business until the end of the decade,” it said. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-jaguarlandrover-britain/fords-welsh-engine-plant-to-lose-jlr-business-in-2020-idUKKCN1C318X'|'2017-09-28T14:05:00.000+03:00'
'aaaa4c10887adcac7c9e1962d407879f83dde805'|'Angry Birds maker Rovio valued at $1 billion in IPO'|'Advertisement of Rovio''s initial public offering seen in the street in Helsinki, Finland September 20, 2017. Picture taken Septemer 20, 2017. REUTERS/Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish mobile games studio Rovio Entertainment Ltd priced its initial public offering (IPO) at the top end of the initial range on Thursday, giving it a market value of 896 million euros ($1.06 billion) before its market debut on Friday.Rovio, whose games have been downloaded 3.7 billion times, announced its long-awaited IPO this month, saying it aimed to boost growth and take part in gaming industry consolidation.The price was set at 11.50 euros per share, compared with the initial range of 10.25-11.50 euros, the company said in a statement.Rovio raised 30 million euros in the offering, with approximately 458 million euros going to its major owners, including Trema International and venture capital firms Accel Partners and Atomico.“In the IPO, Rovio received gross proceeds ... that will be used to support Rovio’s growth strategy. We also believe that the listing will strengthen Rovio’s brand recognition and brand awareness ... and thus enhances Rovio’s competitiveness,” Chairman Mika Ihamuotila said in a statement.Rovio grew rapidly after the original “Angry Birds” game was launched in 2009, but was slow to respond to a shift to freely available mobile games that make revenue from in-game purchases.The company booked an operating loss and cut a third of its staff in 2015. However, sales are now recovering on the back of the 2016 release of 3D movie “Angry Birds”, as well as new games.In the first half of this year, Rovio’s sales almost doubled from a year earlier to 153 million euros, while core profit increased to 42 million euros from 11 million a year earlier.Reporting by Tuomas Forsell; Editing by Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rovio-ipo-price/angry-birds-maker-rovio-valued-at-1-billion-in-ipo-idUSKCN1C31ZT'|'2017-09-28T21:55:00.000+03:00'
'ca5ac11550605888964d36d6f12dc2cd5a3a041b'|'IK Investment Partners to sell cleantech firm Evac to Bridgepoint'|'STOCKHOLM, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Private equity firm IK Investment Partners said on Thursday it was selling Finnish cleantech firm Evac to private equity funds managed by Bridgepoint.* Evac sells friendly waste and wastewater collection and treatment systems for the marine, offshore and building industries* IK’s VII Fund acquired Evac in December 2014* IK says: “In the course of the Fund’s ownership Evac has achieved strong growth, with company turnover increasing by 55% exceeding MEUR 100 for the first time in the company’s history”* Says financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed* Says completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals* Danske Bank, Carnegie, Alantra acted as financial advisors for IK, Roschier was legal advisor, Roland Berger did strategic vendor due diligence, while EY did financial vendor due diligence* Link to statement: here (Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ik-ma-evac/ik-investment-partners-to-sell-cleantech-firm-evac-to-bridgepoint-idINL8N1M91HW'|'2017-09-28T05:37:00.000+03:00'
'29ed2e6c7314384c1b175a227fca19ffbee81877'|'Brent oil edges up, near 26-month high amid supply concerns'|'FILE PHOTO: An aerial view is seen of a YPF shale oil drilling rig in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina July 11, 2013 handout photo. REUTERS/Prensa YPF/Handout via Reuters/File photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brent prices fell on Wednesday while U.S. crude rallied, after oil stockpiles in the world’s top consumer unexpectedly drew down with refiners coming back online following Hurricane Harvey last month.Brent LCOc1 slipped from 26-month highs to settle down 54 cents, or nearly 1 percent, at $57.90 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 ended 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, higher at $52.14 but stayed below five-month highs. The market was hurt by strength in the dollar, which often moves in the inverse direction of oil prices.U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell 1.8 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Department said, versus forecasts for a 3.4 million-barrel build. [EIA/S]The crude draw supported oil prices, but gasoline stocks surprisingly rose and stocks of distillates were down by less than anticipated.“The crude number was definitely supportive but we’re a little bit overbought, and the diesel figure wasn’t bullish, and the dollar is keeping us back,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI jumped 5.4 percentage points to 88.6 percent of total capacity, the highest since Harvey hit on Aug. 25, after most facilities had come back online.The effects of that storm, as well as Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida earlier this month, may dampen demand for some time, potentially increasing gasoline inventories while crude stocks fall thanks to renewed refining activity.Oil prices have been supported by output curbs by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers, although U.S. crude has lagged behind Brent amid concerns that U.S. production-growth could stoke oversupply.U.S. crude production rose to 9.55 million barrels per day last week, higher than before Harvey hit the Gulf Coast, data showed.With Brent futures commanding their highest premium over WTI WTCLc1-LCOc1 in more than two years, U.S. crude has become increasingly competitive in foreign markets and exports hit a record of 1.5 million bpd last week, according to data.“Seeing exports of U.S. produced crude that large would pose a threat to the level that the Brent-WTI premium can go,” said Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.Diesel exports were also rising, in part because lower U.S. crude prices boosts margins for U.S. refiners compared with those in Europe.The dollar was higher, getting a boost from the nascent push for tax reform in Washington, D.C.Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London and Fergus Jensen in Jakarta; Editing by David Gregorio and Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil/brent-oil-edges-up-near-26-month-high-amid-supply-concerns-idINKCN1C208I'|'2017-09-27T06:56:00.000+03:00'
'8199280f20eb2818bf50aee37ab62362b7d29f86'|'EU watchdog alert to any fixing over Brexit insurance permits'|'September 27, 2017 / 1:17 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago EU watchdog alert to any fixing over Brexit insurance permits Huw Jones , Carolyn Cohn 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - London-based insurers applying for licenses to operate in the European Union after Brexit will be scrutinized for any attempts to game the system, the bloc’s insurance watchdog said. Insurance specialists say some insurers have been shopping around for jurisdictions which are less strict when it comes to “reinsuring” or outsourcing the insurance risk back to London or another non-EU jurisdiction. More than 20 insurance firms with operations in Britain, including Lloyd’s of London, RSA ( RSA.L ) and Chubb ( CB.N ), have so far announced plans to open EU hubs to maintain links with customers there after the UK leaves in March 2019. Gabriel Bernardino, who chairs the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), told the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit that while many firms have announced plans, licenses have not yet been issued for many of them. EIOPA, which writes rules for insurers across the EU, published Brexit licensing guidelines or “opinion” in July aimed at stopping national regulators from undercutting each other to attract insurers from Britain. “EIOPA is going to monitor how national authorities adhere to the guidance we have given by our Opinion,” Bernardino said, adding that it had already identified differing practices during the preparatory talks between regulators and firms. EIOPA said that in 2016 some 80 UK-based insurance firms were operating under EU rules allowing them to provide life and non-life services across the bloc, with more expected to announce plans for EU hubs supervised by local regulators. “We expect to see a number of firms indicating their preferences,” Bernardino said. Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest specialist insurance market, has said it will hire up to 20 people for its EU subsidiary in Brussels, while other insurers told Reuters in a recent survey they would hire 10 or less for their EU hubs. EIOPA guidance says that at least 10 percent of insurance business should be kept within the new EU jurisdiction to avoid “fronting” or setting up a letter-box firm where governance and risk management functions remain elsewhere. “We see the 10 percent reference of business being retained as a good referential,” Bernardino said. “What matters is the formal authorization process. We are looking at each case, each situation and are in dialogue with the national authorities,” he added. EIOPA has no formal powers to stop a national regulator issuing a license unless it can show that EU insurance law is being broken, but Bernardino does not expect it to come to that. “We believe we will not arrive at such a situation.” Reporting by Huw Jones and Carolyn Cohn; editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-summit-regulation-bernardino/eu-watchdog-alert-to-any-fixing-over-brexit-insurance-permits-idUKKCN1C21QM'|'2017-09-27T16:13:00.000+03:00'
'2532498227144141486cfe25864fe4a92c472a5a'|'UK regulator gives Ryanair deadline to inform passengers of rights'|'  11:34 AM / in an hour Aviation regulator CAA says Ryanair ''capitulates'' to pressure on passengers'' rights Conor Humphries 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People walk to board a Ryanair flight at Stansted Airport, northeast of London, Britain, September 7, 2017. Picture taken September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs DUBLIN (Reuters) - Britain’s aviation regulator said on Friday that Ryanair ( RYA.I ) had “capitulated” to pressure to inform passengers hit by flight cancellations of their rights, and would keep pushing the airline to fully compensate them. More than 700,000 passengers due to fly between September and March have been hit by a recent wave of flight cancellations caused by a shortage of Ryanair pilots. Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had said the airline failed to properly inform customers and had given it until 1600 GMT on Friday to explain their rights to be re-routed on rival airlines and compensated for some out-of-pocket expenses. Ryanair met the deadline, by putting a notice on the main page of its website explaining how passengers could be compensated under European Union law. “It appears that Ryanair has now capitulated,” CAA Chief Executive Andrew Haines said in a statement on Friday, after the regulator had warned the airline on Thursday to deliver “action, not words”. Haines said the CAA would now keep up pressure on the Irish airline. “We will review their position in detail and monitor this situation to ensure that passengers get what they are entitled to in practice,” he said in the statement. FILE PHOTO: Ryanair CEO Michael O''Leary arrives at the Ryanair AGM in Dublin, Ireland September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo A Ryanair spokesman said the airline’s notice on its website had met aviation authorities’ demands in full. “We apologise again sincerely for the disruption and inconvenience our rostering failure has caused some of our customers,” Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer said in the notice. He said all passengers had been given a 40 euro (35.10 pounds) travel voucher per affected flight and that he hoped all compensation under EU rules would be processed by the end of October. Ryanair said in a press release that the move was made to comply with the Irish Commission for Aviation Regulation rather than the CAA, but said the demands of the two organisations were the same. The CAA did not say what action it would take if Ryanair did not comply, but it has the power to take court action against carriers that fail to comply with consumer rights laws. Senior politicians weighed in behind regulators on Friday with Britain’s Aviation Minister Martin Callanan and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar both calling on Ryanair to fulfil its obligations. Ryanair said it had enough pilots for the flights in question but that the cancellations were required as it did not have enough to provide back-up service in the event of disruption. It said the cancellations accounted for a small percentage of its total flight schedule. Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Adrian Croft and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-cancellation/uk-regulator-gives-ryanair-deadline-to-inform-passengers-of-rights-idUKKCN1C41MI'|'2017-09-29T14:38:00.000+03:00'
'cdfb65d63a250609fe2defec5dfbd6c099c32934'|'Italy launches process for possible fine of Vivendi over TIM control: source'|'The Vivendi logo is pictured at the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate headquarters in Paris, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - Italy began a process on Thursday that could end with French media group Vivendi ( VIV.MI ) being fined for failing to notify Rome that it had de facto control over Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ), an Italian government source said.Vivendi denies that its 24 percent holding in the Italian phone group has given it effective control of the company.An Italian government panel met on Thursday to conclude its investigation, which began last month, and “launched the process for the possible application of the fine,” the source said, without indicating how much it might amount to.A Telecom Italia source said the company reiterated its position that there was no need for any notification because Vivendi still did not have de facto control over the company.A Vivendi spokesman declined to comment.Reporting by Massimiliano Di Giorgio and John Irish, writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-italy-vivendi-fine/italy-launches-process-for-possible-fine-of-vivendi-over-tim-control-source-idINKCN1C32W7'|'2017-09-28T17:23:00.000+03:00'
'c1b0b386593e5daa101abbf8d7f840c23af32b06'|'China regulator approves UPS, SF Holding joint venture'|' 00 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago China regulator OKs joint venture of UPS, SF Holding Nick Carey 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: United Parcel Service air craft are being loaded with air containers full of packages bound for their final destination at the UPS Worldport All Points International Hub during the peak delivery month in Louisville, Kentucky, December 3, 2015. REUTERS/John Sommers II/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc ( UPS.N ) and Chinese express delivery company SF Holding ( 002352.SZ ) said on Thursday they have received approval from Chinese regulators for an international package delivery services joint venture. The two companies have been working together since 2015 and announced their planned alliance “to collaborate on development and provision of international delivery services” back in May. With approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce, the firms said in a statement that they will initially provide package delivery services from China to the United States, which will be expanded to other countries. The venture will combine SF’s 13,000 service points in 331 cities in China with UPS’ global network spanning 220 countries. “UPS has an aggressive multi-year growth plan in China,” Ross McCullough, president of UPS’ Asia Pacific unit, said in the statement. “Aligning our two networks will increase our market presence by connecting China’s consumers and manufacturers to the U.S. and around the world.” SF Holdings, parent company of SF Express, is often called China’s answer to UPS rival FedEx Corp ( FDX.N ), and is the dominant package delivery company within China. It also delivers to more than a dozen countries, including the United States and Japan. “The establishment of this joint venture boosts global expansion of Chinese enterprises beyond local borders,” Alan Wong, SF group vice president, said in the press release. UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and has operated in China since 1988. It has more than 200 flights per week to and from its Chinese hubs. Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and W Simon'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-united-parcel-sfholding-china/china-regulator-approves-ups-sf-holding-joint-venture-idUSKCN1C31TB'|'2017-09-28T15:55:00.000+03:00'
'4a5052a94da68008f36007788a8dfd2b0228b52e'|'China''s third quarter growth slips but still solid, commodity reversal a big risk - Beige Book survey'|'  10:10 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago China''s third quarter growth slips but still solid, commodity reversal a big risk - Beige Book survey Reuters Staff 4 Min Read People buy vegetables at a fresh food market in Beijing, China June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s economic growth likely slipped in the third quarter but was still in far better shape than last year, a private survey showed on Wednesday, while adding that major risks are looming for 2018. Profits at Chinese firms are much healthier and hiring remains robust, but a five-quarter boom in commodities which has stoked growth has begun to reverse, according to the quarterly survey of thousands of Chinese firms by China Beige Book International (CBB). “While growth eased almost across the board quarter-on-quarter, the economy boasts a number of success stories,” CBB said in its report. “The worry is not how the economy is faring now, but where it is headed. Beneath substantial accomplishments lies a potentially darker story for 2018.” While the survey painted a picture of still solid economic growth, it pointed to a number of major risks including a continued over-reliance on cheap, easy credit and “old” growth drivers such as manufacturing and property. China’s commodity prices have soared this year thanks to a government-led construction boom and official announcements of capacity cuts, which have revived the fortunes of its long-ailing “smokestack” industries such as steel. But CBB said China’s capacity cuts are largely a myth, with firms in its survey reporting that capacity and output are still on the rise. ”It was demand and hot money inflows that kept prices rising in commodities, not capacity cuts as many analysts would have you believe. Neither trend was sustainable and now demand has clearly sputtered.” Chinese iron ore futures had tumbled 22 percent as of Tuesday after hitting a high of over 600 yuan a tonne in August, reflecting oversupply concerns as global miners ramp up output while near-term steel demand in China looks to be at risk. CBB also cautioned about the prevailing market view that China’s growth has so far proved largely resilient to government efforts to clamp down on riskier forms of lending and slow a rapid increase in debt. “The mistake is that deleveraging hasn’t gotten off the ground,” it said, adding that borrowing by Chinese companies was the second-highest in four years in the third quarter while lending rates fell after rising in the previous quarter. “It is a serious error to believe the current, impressive level of corporate performance is occurring despite true deleveraging,” CBB said. “If 2018 sees actual tightening, it will be far more traumatic to firms than most analysts realize.” S&P downgraded China’s sovereign credit rating last week, saying the government’s campaign to reduce debt risks is not working as quickly as expected and credit growth is still too fast. REBALANCING MAY BE SLOWER, MORE UNEVEN The CBB report also pointed to challenges in Beijing’s long-standing goal of rebalancing the economy to make it more reliant on consumption and less on traditional growth engines such as manufacturing. Manufacturing has outperformed, and has been the healthiest part of the economy for the past year, CBB said, with solid domestic orders and capital expenditure figures trailing only the property sector. But the services and retail sectors both slowed more than manufacturing in the third quarter, the survey showed, without giving more details. “The results certainly aren’t terrible, but they hardly support the notion that services and retail are primed to lead the next decade of growth.” China will report September data and third-quarter growth figures in mid-October. First-half GDP growth accelerated at a forecast-beating pace of 6.9 percent. Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-beigebook/chinas-third-quarter-growth-slips-but-still-solid-commodity-reversal-a-big-risk-beige-book-survey-idUKKCN1C137C'|'2017-09-27T01:10:00.000+03:00'
'e3ea75b506bc33abb1bbb251126e535810c9757e'|'Northern Ireland''s DUP says will fight to keep Bombardier Belfast open'|'  7:35 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Northern Ireland''s DUP says will fight to keep Bombardier Belfast open Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland’s biggest political party said it would do everything it could to keep Bombardier’s plant in Belfast open after the U.S. government slapped tariffs on the firm’s CSeries jet which is partly made in the province. “It is critical for Belfast,” Jeffrey Donaldson, a senior lawmaker in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), told BBC Radio on Wednesday. “This would have devastating consequences on our economy if the factory were to close and we’re going to do everything we can to ensure that doesn’t happen.” British Prime Minister Theresa May’s minority Conservative government depends on backing from the DUP for their control of the British parliament. Bombardier is the single largest manufacturing employer in Northern Ireland. (Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Estelle Shirbon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-donaldson/northern-irelands-dup-says-will-fight-to-keep-bombardier-belfast-open-idUSL9N1JJ011'|'2017-09-27T15:35:00.000+03:00'
'c0b690060c19688073e3370be1d5dd13a675a2f0'|'Uber seeks UK chairman as threats to its business mount'|'  7:15 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Uber seeks UK chairman as threats to its business mount Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Taxi hailing app Uber said on Wednesday it had hired a headhunter to fill a new position of UK chairman, as part of a process which began weeks before London’s transport authority stripped it of its licence. The non-executive position would bolster the taxi app just as it fights to retain its licence in the British capital and battles to preserve its business model at an employment tribunal over workers’ rights. (Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by David Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uber-britain-chairman/uber-seeks-uk-chairman-as-threats-to-its-business-mount-idUSL9N1JN059'|'2017-09-27T10:15:00.000+03:00'
'48ee02373174b7cc3bbb63f0a7209a0e4090cec3'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Sept 29'|'Sept 29 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Chevron Corp on Thursday said Michael Wirth, a career Chevron employee with long experience in pipelines and refineries, will succeed John Watson as chairman and chief executive in February. nyti.ms/2xKgWCW- Flights were delayed and travelers struggled to check in at airports around the world on Thursday after a software program Altea, used by several major airlines went down. nyti.ms/2fvNSF8- Rovio Entertainment Ltd, the company behind the Angry Birds empire, was valued at about $1 billion as it prepared to go public on Friday. nyti.ms/2xOiuw4- Toshiba Corp said it had signed a deal to sell 60 percent of the microchip unit to a group of international investors that includes Bain Capital and Apple Inc. The deal will net Toshiba about $14 billion. nyti.ms/2fBloNW- New legislation backed by Australia''s governing Liberal party would eliminate restrictions separating broadcast media from print media and would allow media companies to own more outlets in a city. nyti.ms/2ycvtZd (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt/press-digest-new-york-times-business-news-sept-29-idINL4N1MA220'|'2017-09-29T02:55:00.000+03:00'
'b8efc39e4b87c2822bc8a1221a42f2ec5209f2a4'|'Bombardier, Siemens rail merger de-railed by control issues-sources'|'September 28, 2017 / 9:44 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Bombardier, Siemens rail merger de-railed by control issues-sources Arno Schuetze , Allison Lampert 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An employee works on a new regional transport train at the Bombardier plant in Crespin, near Valenciennes, northern France, October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo FRANKFURT/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada’s Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) missed out on a merger of its rail unit with Germany’s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) because of a reluctance by Siemens to cede control of its business, allowing France’s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) to clinch a deal with the German firm, with help from new French president Macron, three sources close to the negotiations told Reuters. Siemens and Alstom announced a merger of their train manufacturing operations on Tuesday, leaving Bombardier competing in a market dominated by China’s state-owned CRRC Corp ( 601766.SS ), the world’s largest train maker. The combined Siemens and Alstom group will become the second biggest. The deal gave Siemens 50 percent in the new group, plus a few shares of the joint venture, while Alstom will supply Henri Poupart-Lafarge as chief executive. In the talks between Bombardier and Siemens, both “wanted to be in the driver seat”, complicating the negotiations, one of the sources said. Another source said Siemens felt uncomfortable with Bombardier’s nearly $9 billion debt, adding the Canadian company’s financial woes caused “big headaches” at Siemens. Bombardier, which considered bankruptcy in 2015, has received more than $1 billion in federal and provincial government aid since 2015. The Siemens-Alstom deal also had the blessings of French politicians, despite France losing control of the manufacture of its high-speed TGV train, a symbol of national pride that has highlighted French engineering skill, the people added. Siemens and Alstom declined comment. Bombardier declined to comment on the deal but said it “has the scale, the technology and the people to compete and win in any competitive landscape.” Sources declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential. SIEMENS SAW ALSTOM AS BETTER FIT Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom had been exploring rail joint ventures since 2015 to withstand the global advance of China’s CRRC Corp, and the talks between Bombardier and Siemens initially gained traction. Early this year, Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser made the decision to enter into talks with Bombardier after deciding the chances of concluding a deal with Alstom were slim, citing political obstacles and a traditionally hostile relationship between the two firms going back decades, the people said. Those factors led Siemen’s Kaeser to instead pursue a deal with Bombardier and, by early August, people familiar with the matter said, the two companies were close to agreement. The deal had the support of one of Bombardier’s biggest shareholders, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, whose Chief Executive Michael Sabia has said consolidation is necessary to enable North American and European operators to compete with China’s CRRC.. Caisse did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A deal between Bombardier and Siemens would have created two separate joint ventures, with Bombardier taking a stake of over 50 percent in the rolling stock operations and Siemens taking a roughly 80 percent stake in the higher-margin signalling technology business, sources told Reuters in July. While Siemens had been happy to give up the majority of its rolling stock business it was unwilling to relinquish control of its signalling business which is the biggest in Europe and its executives made clear they would not compromise, the sources said. In contrast, a deal between Siemens and Alstom proved to be easier, the sources said, as Alstom was already the European leader in rolling stock and Siemens the leader in signalling. Alstom re-emerged in July as a potential alternative partner for Siemens with French President Emmanuel Macron and Finance Minister Bruce Le Maire fearing Alstom could be left on the sidelines putting French jobs at risk. Crucially, they were prepared to support a deal even if it meant France losing control of high-speed TGV train making. “Macron and Alstom didn’t not want to be left out. They wanted (to create) an Airbus of rail,” said one source familiar with the talks. Additional reporting by Cyril Altmeyerhenzien in Paris and Alexander Huebner in Frankfurt; Writing by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Denny Thomas and Clive McKeef '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bombardier-siemens/bombardier-siemens-rail-merger-de-railed-by-control-issues-sources-idINKCN1C33A6'|'2017-09-29T00:44:00.000+03:00'
'b9165361d6ea6c66f86e3fa835aca6c8ad897a83'|'EU ambassador urges China to match anti-protectionism talk with reform'|'EU Ambassador to China Hans Dietmar Schweisgut attends a news conference at the Delegation of the European Union to China in Beijing May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) - Europe hopes China’s upcoming Communist Party Congress will help to speed up the country’s market reforms, the European Union’s ambassador to China said, calling Chinese criticism of an EU plan to screen foreign investment “unreasonable”.European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker earlier this month proposed an EU-wide investment screening mechanism amid growing concern in Europe about acquisitions by Chinese state-controlled or state-financed companies.China’s Foreign Ministry has expressed concern over the plan, saying the losses from such “trade and investment protectionism” would outweigh the gains.It is “somewhat unreasonable that the EU is accused of protectionist tendencies” when Chinese regulations restrict foreign investment in industries that remain open in Europe, Ambassador Hans Dietmar Schweisgut said in an article published on the website of the EU Delegation to China late on Thursday.“Chinese investors have been able to buy 100 percent stakes in EU car companies, banks or other key industries, while this would be impossible for European companies to do in China due to market access restrictions and forced joint-venture requirements,” Schweisgut said.“There is clearly a lack of reciprocity here, which cannot go on indefinitely,” he said.Schweisgut noted that EU investment in China is now decreasing.“This should be of major concern to China since European investors bring employment, tax-revenue, innovation and high-tech,” he said.“We hope that China’s forthcoming 19th Party Congress will speed up implementation of market-oriented reforms, bringing China’s policies into line with its vision of an open, rules-based and fair global economy,” Schweisgut said.China’s ruling elite will hold a once-every-five-years congress starting on Oct. 18, at which the Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of power in Chinese politics, will see a new line-up of leaders under President Xi Jinping.Xi has repeatedly extolled the virtues of free and open trade to international audiences, but foreign business groups in China harangue Beijing for not matching Xi’s anti-protectionism messages with reforms at home.The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China has said that its member companies are suffering from “promise fatigue” and are not optimistic about Chinese leaders advancing market openings after the congress.Reporting by Michael Martina '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-eu-business/eu-ambassador-urges-china-to-match-anti-protectionism-talk-with-reform-idINKCN1C40G4'|'2017-09-29T09:50:00.000+03:00'
'e83ee1465c41e1f2949551dd12e47be160015522'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX little changed as BlackBerry, Bombardier offset broader losses'|'September 28, 2017 / 2:57 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX little changed as BlackBerry, Bombardier offset broader losses Reuters Staff * TSX up 0.17 points to 15,609.83 * BlackBerry surges 13.9 pct; Bombardier up 6.7 pct * Metro down 2.8 pct, Jean Coutu down 1.3 pct TORONTO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index held steady on Thursday as broader declines were offset by a strong rally in BlackBerry Ltd and Bombardier Inc stocks. BlackBerry reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results on record sales for its closely watched software unit, sending its shares surging 13.9 percent to C$13.13. BlackBerry was the most influential driver on the positive side for the index and also helped lift the technology sector by 1.1 percent. Bombardier Inc rebounded from sharp losses in the previous session after the company was dealt major setbacks in its aerospace and rail units. The shares advanced 6.7 percent to C$2.24. The overall industrials group remain unchanged. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International fell 4.9 percent to C$17.08, pushing the healthcare group down 1.3 percent. Metro Inc gave back some of Wednesday’s rally following news it was in talks to buy pharmacy chain Jean Coutu for $3.6 billion. Metro was down 2.8 percent at C$42.40, while Jean Coutu was down 1.3 percent at C$24.23. At 10:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 0.17 point to 15,609.83. Many of the index’s 10 main groups were little changed. The energy group seesawed throughout the morning and was last down 0.3 percent. Energy stocks lost steam as crude oil prices pared early gains, with U.S. crude prices up 0.5 percent to $52.38 a barrel after climbing as much as 1.5 percent earlier. Advancing issues outnumbered declines on the TSX by 145 to 100, for a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the upside. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-little-changed-as-blackberry-bombardier-offset-broader-losses-idUSL2N1M9100'|'2017-09-28T17:56:00.000+03:00'
'34c9d13ba09bb324801e207fbab061c568ccf58c'|'Britain''s May defends free markets and debt reduction'|'Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May walks out of 10 Dowining Street to welcome Ireland''s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in London, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May will defend free markets and fiscal prudence on Thursday, a day after opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn told her to step aside and said his left-wing ideas now represented the political mainstream.May will tell a conference hosted by the Bank of England that appropriately regulated free markets are essential to boost living standards, and that her government intends to cut public debt without raising taxes significantly.“A free market economy ... is unquestionably the best, and indeed the only sustainable means of increasing the living standards of everyone,” May will say, according to an extract of her speech provided by the government.Living standards, however, have fallen since May’s Conservatives came to power in 2010, due to years of meagre wage growth and bouts of high inflation - including a current one caused by last year’s vote to leave the European Union.May lost her parliamentary majority after calling an early election in June, and now relies on Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to stay in government.Corbyn told his Labour Party’s annual conference on Wednesday that they were “on the threshold of power”, roughly level with the Conservatives in opinion polls.CORE VALUES He is the party’s most left-wing leader since the early 1980s - earlier this week his finance spokesman proposed nationalising privately-funded infrastructure, capping credit card interest payments and squeezing more tax from big business.May is responding with an appeal to what many Conservatives see as their pro-business, fiscally prudent core values before her party’s annual conference next week.“Unfunded borrowing and significantly higher levels of taxation would damage our economy, threaten jobs, and hurt working people,” she will say.Credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its assessment of Britain’s ability to service its debts last Friday due to concerns that Brexit would hurt growth and that the government was finding it harder to keep spending under control.May, who began her career at the Bank of England, did not touch on monetary policy in the speech extracts provided, in contrast to last year when she told her party conference that the BoE’s low interest rates had “bad side effects”.BoE Governor Mark Carney subsequently said he did not “take instruction” from politicians. More recently, most BoE policymakers have decided the time is now approaching to start to raise interest rates for the first time in a decade.Thursday’s conference is being held to mark 20 years of operational independence for the BoE.Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Andrew Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-politics-may/britains-may-defends-free-markets-and-debt-reduction-idINKCN1C232W'|'2017-09-27T19:32:00.000+03:00'
'3b1ebd44b423f2199fa68e7f0d79d6888904fb12'|'Macron reforms are encouraging, ECB chief economist says - Les Echos'|'  8:55 PM / in 9 minutes Macron reforms are encouraging, ECB chief economist says - Les Echos Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Peter Praet speaks during a conference in Brussels, Belgium, May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European reform proposals put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron are bold and encouraging, even if they are yet to be implemented, European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet told French newspaper Les Echos in an interview. “This is no longer the policy of small steps; this time the bar has been set very high,” Praet was quoted on Thursday as saying. “Now the reforms need to be implemented and supported by the public.” “We can also pay tribute to having the courage to carry out reforms while the recovery is under way and the efforts no longer seem absolutely essential,” said Praet, who has often called on euro zone governments to embark on structural reforms that could lift the bloc’s potential growth. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-reforms-ecb/macron-reforms-are-encouraging-ecb-chief-economist-says-les-echos-idUKKCN1C335C'|'2017-09-28T23:49:00.000+03:00'
'8269d91ddc5a5967cb16165c8b55d7434b8ecd04'|'UPDATE 2-Reliance''s buyback option on latest iPhones may boost Apple''s India presence'|'  9:14 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Reliance''s buyback option on latest iPhones may boost Apple''s India presence Reuters Staff 5 Min Read (Corrects paragraph 10 and 2nd bullet point to say at Reliance and Jio stores in 900 cities across India, from 900 Reliance and Jio stores across India) * Buyback deal on iPhone 8, 8 plus and iPhone X * Deal to give Apple access to Reliance, Jio retail stores in 900 cities * Reliance targeting 500 mln customers with its low-cost JioPhone By Sankalp Phartiyal and Promit Mukherjee NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - India’s Reliance said on Friday that customers of its Jio telecoms unit who buy the latest Apple iPhone models from partner stores could sell them back in a year at a guaranteed price, a move that could help the U.S. tech firm expand in India. The offer, which comes during the Indian festive season when discretionary spending typically rises, assures customers buying iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X models through Jio that they will get back 70 percent of the cost after a year of use. Apart from possibly lifting Apple sales in India, the move could also draw more high-paying customers to the Jio network. Cupertino, California-based Apple is keen to sell more iPhones in India, one of the world’s biggest smartphone markets, but the high cost of its handsets has kept higher-end iPhones in particular out of the reach of hundreds of millions of Indians. The deal with Reliance, an oil-to-telecoms conglomerate, is Apple’s latest attempt to grow in India’s competitive smartphone market, similar to the way it boosted sales in countries like the United States by partnering with network operators to subsidise the cost of the phone. At 64,000 rupees ($980) the upfront cost of the iPhone 8 is still high however, and some remain sceptical that a buyback offer will do much to boost Apple’s market share in India where iPhone users can already easily resell old iPhones for 50 to 60 percent of their cost in the second-hand market. “Older and more affordable iPhones will still make for a bulk of Apple’s sales in India,” said Tarun Pathak, analyst at tech research firm Counterpoint. “People want their phones but not necessarily the latest and the most expensive ones.” This is the first time such a hefty buyback offer has been made for an iPhone in India, Akash Ambani, the son of India’s richest man, Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, said in Mumbai on Friday when unveiling the deal. “We’re excited to be building so many new relationships in India,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a brief pre-recorded video. For Apple, growing in India is crucial as growth slows at home and in China. The deal will place Apple’s iPhones in Reliance and Jio retail stores in 900 cities across India, giving the company a chance to boost its meagre 3 percent market share and close the gap with market leader Samsung Electronics . DATA GAME For Reliance, this is the first time the company is offering such a hefty buyback price in a bid to win over high-spending Apple fans whose hunger for data, the company hopes, will boost revenues. The offer, which will likely boost Reliance’s average revenue per user, will be available to Jio customers who buy the iPhone and subscribe to its 799 rupees ($12.22) monthly package for 12 months. By comparison, the industry’s monthly average revenue per user was just 80 rupees in the quarter ended-June, according to recent regulatory data. While there is no penalty for downgrading to a cheaper plan or leaving the contract mid-way through, customers who do so will lose out on the buyback offer. This is unlike contract deals in some Western countries where the total cost of a phone is subsidised and there is a penalty for dropping contracts mid-way. With the Apple deal at the high end of the spectrum, Jio is also working to woo cost-conscious aspirational smartphone buyers at the lower end with a $23 4G phone that blurs the line between a smartphone and a traditional feature phone. The company, which has signed on 128 million users in less than a year via cut-price deals, is now eyeing between 250-300 million customers in the next two years, a source has told Reuters. (Writing by Aditi Shah; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/reliance-apple/update-1-reliance-offers-its-jio-customers-buyback-option-on-latest-iphones-idUSL4N1MA2TP'|'2017-09-29T17:37:00.000+03:00'
'dd9796f6e5fe34e479e781cc50de96d819d0586d'|'Investors pull $9.7 bln from stock funds during week -Lipper'|' 49 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Investors pull $9.7 bln from stock funds during week -Lipper Reuters Staff 1 Min Read NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Investors pulled $9.7 billion from U.S.-based stock funds during the latest week, marking the largest withdrawals from those funds since June, Lipper data showed on Thursday. Money market funds pulled in $16.1 billion during the seven days through Sept. 27, the research service’s data showed. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/investment-mutualfunds-lipper/investors-pull-9-7-bln-from-stock-funds-during-week-lipper-idUSN9N1F900H'|'2017-09-29T00:47:00.000+03:00'
'cc682764eea6a83400e368f6c3ac2f312621674b'|'UPDATE 1-Cemig to exit Brazil''s Renova as Brookfield signals higher bid, sources say'|'(Adds background on Renova, additional comments from sources)By Guillermo Parra-BernalSept 29 (Reuters) - Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA and a subsidiary plan to exit their controlling stake in Brazilian renewable power company Renova Energia SA as Brookfield Asset Management Inc considers raising a takeover bid more than initially expected, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.According to the people, who requested anonymity because the talks remain private, Brookfield would offer Cemig and subsidiary Light SA the equivalent of 11.75 reais ($3.72) per unit of Renova. Each Renova unit consists of one common and two preferred shares.Reuters reported on Sept. 19 that Brookfield was considering proposing to buy each unit of Renova at 11.25 reais to persuade both shareholders into selling their combined 64.4 percent stake. One of the people said Cemig, Brazil’s No. 3 power utility, and Light wanted at least 12.25 reais per unit.Brookfield, Cemig and Light did not have immediate comments.Getting the nod from both Cemig and Light would enable Canada-based Brookfield to take control of Renova more assertively and expand faster in Brazil’s renewable power industry, one source said. The people said Brookfield emissaries would make a formal proposal for Renova within days.If the improved proposal materializes into a formal bid, Brookfield would spend about 1.05 billion reais ($332.3 million to win control of Renova, one of the people said. Brookfield could either pump an extra 800 million reais into Renova or take the company private, Reuters reported on Sept. 8.Renova, which was founded in 2001, has struggled with a severe cash crunch over the past couple of years. Its financing conditions worsened significantly when a partnership with SunEdison Inc collapsed weeks before that company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.Exiting Renova could also help Cemig to speed up the refinancing of nearly 4 billion reais of debt maturing this year. Chief Financial Officer Adezio Lima said in August that a partial or full sale of Cemig and Light’s stakes in Renova could take up to 60 days.$1 = 3.1640 reais Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/renova-energia-ma-brookfield-asset/update-1-cemig-to-exit-brazils-renova-as-brookfield-signals-higher-bid-sources-say-idINL2N1MA145'|'2017-09-29T14:02:00.000+03:00'
'1f3cd22c12a81490d1b82616c3c9a8577c41f473'|'Israeli court says will not dismiss suit against Tamar partners'|'  12:16 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Israeli court says will not dismiss suit against Tamar partners Reuters Staff 2 Min Read JERUSALEM, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday said it would not dismiss a class-action suit against the partners in the Tamar natural gas field regarding the price of gas in a major supply deal. Shares in the Tamar consortium tumbled after the decision, with Delek Drilling down 3.4 percent, Isramco Negev down 1.8 percent and Tamar Petroleum off 1.7 percent in Tel Aviv. The case refers to a 15-year deal signed with state-owned utility Israel Electric Corp before the field came online in 2013. According to a court document, IEC committed to buy a minimum of 42 billion cubic meters of gas a year at a base price of $5.042 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). A 2014 class-action suit claimed the Tamar partners took advantage of having the country’s only gas field to secure a price more than double what was acceptable, the court said. After the Supreme Court rejected their petition to dismiss the suit and sent it back to a district court, the Tamar partners said in a statement they are still certain the case will ultimately be thrown out. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/israel-natgas-court/israeli-court-says-will-not-dismiss-suit-against-tamar-partners-idUSL8N1M93WB'|'2017-09-28T15:16:00.000+03:00'
'7ac9ca1668986daedb37f7b3586e69894598720c'|'Online auctions of Boeing 747s reflect shifts in the air-travel industry'|'FOR many aeroplane enthusiasts, buying a Boeing 747 is the stuff of dreams. The “Queen of the Skies” is an icon from the golden age of air travel, a period the 1960s and 1970s when the industry was at its most glamorous. And owning one would be like having a little piece of aviation history.Last week that dream shifted slightly closer to reality, albeit only for well-heeled fans. Three Boeing 747s went up for auction on Taobao, China’s equivalent of eBay. The seller is a state court in Shenzhen, which seized the planes when Jade Cargo International, an airline, went bust in 2012. At first, state officials tried to flog the planes offline at private auctions. But after six failed attempts, they opened the sale up to public bids. Offers currently range from 122m yuan ($18.5m) to 135m yuan. This is not the first time one of the planes has been auctioned online. Last year Concord Aerospace, a Florida-based firm which buys and sells plane parts, offered a decommissioned 747 on eBay. Because the engines had been removed, the suggested starting bid was a mere $300,000. Even so, the plane did not sell. That is largely because the cost of shipping would have been many times higher than the auction price, explains Mert Balta, Concord Aerospace’s founder.The fact that 747s are ending up on online auction sites is a sign of their waning appeal. Their share of worldwide available seat miles—a measure of total seat capacity and mileage—is tumbling. Both United Airlines and Delta are planning to fly their last scheduled 747 flights by the end of this year.One reason for this is the 747’s inefficiency. They are heavier than most of the smaller, twin-engine models and so burn more fuel. On a trip between New York and Los Angeles, for instance, a 747 will consume 30% more fuel per passenger than the smaller, twin-engine Airbus A320. When oil prices soared in the late-1990s and early-2000s, the 747 became even more expensive to fly.Another reason is changing patterns in flight schedules, as Gulliver has previously noted . When the popularity of flying started to boom in the 1980s, airlines began to offer a greater range of take-off times to travellers. More flights on smaller planes became the norm, rather than a handful on the big 747s.Though fans may bemoan the loss of an iconic aircraft, some 747s have been given a new lease of life in their retirement. One was transformed into a noodle restaurant in South Korea (though that too later went bust). Another has been converted into Jumbo Stay, a hostel near Stockholm airport in Sweden. Mr Balta even has plans to turn the fuselage of his 747 into caravans and houses. The Queen of the Skies may be grounded, but she has not been consigned to the scrapheap just yet.Correction (September 26th, 2017): A previous version of this post referred to China''s auction website as Taboo instead of Taobao. This has now been corrected and autocorrect has been disabled on our computers. Apologies.Next Sleep pods are becoming increasingly common at airports'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/09/boeing-boeing?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-26T21:42:00.000+03:00'
'8d356b24a2d9bb4bebc5c83b3c81853a34f4824e'|'RBC CEO McKay says AI helping to curb credit card fraud'|'  10:28 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago RBC''s CEO says AI helping to curb credit card fraud Matt Scuffham 2 Min Read Royal Bank of Canada CEO David McKay speaks with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler at a Reuters Newsmaker event "Big Banks Embrace Tech" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Gary He TORONTO (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada’s ( RY.TO ) chief executive, Dave McKay, said on Thursday that artificial intelligence (AI) is helping the bank reduce credit card fraud, and the bank expects to use blockchain technology in its loyalty programs next year. McKay said at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler that the bank is spending over C$10 million ($8.04 million) a year on artificial intelligence. McKay said there is a scarcity of talent in AI globally, which means that RBC has to spend a significant amount to attract people with specialist knowledge. RBC, Canada’s biggest bank, has set up an AI research center in Toronto with 35 staff to conduct pure research with massive data that the bank possesses. The researchers are helping to predict customer behaviors. McKay said he expects competition to emerge from non-bank companies in the money-moving side of the business as barriers to banking are coming down. Asked about a remark earlier this month by Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), that cryptocurrency bitcoin is a fraud, McKay said it should be monitored but said that bitcoin “doesn’t misrepresent what it is.” RBC is also experimenting with blockchain to help move payments between its U.S. and Canadian banks, Reuters reported separately. Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rbc-mcckay-reutersnewsmaker/rbc-ceo-mckay-says-ai-helping-to-curb-credit-card-fraud-idUKKCN1C33CO'|'2017-09-29T01:28:00.000+03:00'
'd9660b9c04d1fe3c97633ee2c39709c14b175b19'|'Japan consumer prices rise for 8th month, welcome sign for BOJ''s goal'|'September 28, 2017 / 11:46 PM / in 20 minutes Japan consumer prices rise for eighth month, welcome sign for BOJ''s goal Leika Kihara 2   A woman looks at t-shirts in a clothing retail store at Ginza shopping district in Tokyo April 25, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s core consumer prices rose 0.7 percent in August from a year earlier, marking the eighth straight month of annual gains, in an encouraging sign for a central bank struggling to meet its 2 percent inflation target. The rise in the nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, matched a median market forecast and followed a 0.5 percent gain in July. Core consumer prices in Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, were up 0.5 percent in September from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast. Japan’s economy expanded at an annualised 2.5 percent in the second quarter as consumer and company spending picked up. But price and wage growth remain weak with firms still wary of passing more of their profits to employees, forcing the BOJ to push back the timing for reaching its price target six times since deploying a massive stimulus programme in 2013. The BOJ now expects inflation to hit 2 percent in the fiscal year ending in March 2020, arguing that a tightening job market and solid economic growth will gradually push up prices. Related Coverage'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy/japan-consumer-prices-rise-for-8th-month-welcome-sign-for-bojs-goal-idUKKCN1C33GP'|'2017-09-29T02:46:00.000+03:00'
'5d2c7c860281883e1364e103b92237897a7e16f7'|'Hartford bond insurers hire long-time public finance turnaround pro'|'NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Bond insurers for the city of Hartford, Connecticut’s cash-strapped capital city, have hired a financial advisor with decades of experience working with the state’s most distressed municipalities.Assured Guaranty Ltd and Build America Mutual Assurance Company (BAM), which together insure at least $414 million of the city’s roughly $530 million of debt, hired Robert Lamb, who founded Lamont Financial Services Corp in 1987, Lamb confirmed to Reuters on Thursday.Lamb was tapped by the state to help West Haven and Waterbury, where the state appointed financial oversight boards in 1992 and 2001, respectively.In those cities, Lamb said he created a credit “that we could use to fund a deficit, and use that as a baseline for turning the city around.”Governor Dannel Malloy has proposed a fiscal oversight board for Hartford, where city officials have said they will seek approval for a bankruptcy filing if they do not get enough state aid.But the state itself is mired in a budget impasse that could delay or slash monetary aid to municipalities. That threat grew on Thursday with Malloy’s veto of a Republican-backed budget, putting the state closer to severe automatic spending cuts on Oct. 1.Earlier this week, Assured Guaranty and BAM offered to help relieve Hartford’s mounting annual debt service payments by refinancing existing bonds.Currently, the city is to pay about $48 million in fiscal 2019, but the costs are on course to rise significantly in several following years.The proposed refinancing could create breathing room for the city by leveling out debt payments to $40 million annually for the next 15 years under a new state law.Such a “scoop and toss” refinancing would also extend the full term of the bonds from 20 years to 30 years. (Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/hartford-finances-insurers/hartford-bond-insurers-hire-long-time-public-finance-turnaround-pro-idUSL2N1M928E'|'2017-09-29T00:40:00.000+03:00'
'0e1499279874e0a5346cd44ae1be0b0d65be69a3'|'Trump met former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh on potential Fed chairman job - source'|'Kevin Warsh, Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Files WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump met with former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to discuss potentially being nominated as Fed chairman, a source familiar with the meeting said on Friday.The White House would not confirm the topic of the conversation, saying only that the president met on Monday with Warsh at the White House.Trump is considering a variety of choices to replace current Fed Chair Janet Yellen, whose term on the Fed expires on Jan. 31.Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-fed/trump-met-former-fed-governor-kevin-warsh-on-potential-fed-chairman-job-source-idINKCN1C421Q'|'2017-09-29T17:17:00.000+03:00'
'e8e2ad7c8dd7f05024de75ed2fc6d4a8ada0e702'|'MOVES-Maersk Oil CEO to step down after Total takeover'|'COPENHAGEN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Maersk Oil, Gretchen Watkins, will leave the company when Total’s acquisition of the company has been completed, Maersk said Wednesday.Watkins joined Maersk Oil as Chief Operating Officer in January 2014 and took the role of CEO in October last year. Prior to joining Maersk Oil, she had worked at Marathon Oil and BP.Total agreed last month to buy the oil and gas business of A.P. Moller-Maersk for $7.45 billion, strengthening the French major’s operations in the North Sea.The current COO at Maersk Oil, Martin Rune Pedersen, will become vice president of Total’s operations in Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, Maersk said.Troels Albrechtsen, who is Chief Technology Officer of Maersk Oil, will be appointed vice president for a technical centre that Total will establish in Copenhagen, the Danish firm added. (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Terje Solsvik) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/maersk-moves/moves-maersk-oil-ceo-to-step-down-after-total-takeover-idINL8N1M81N0'|'2017-09-27T06:23:00.000+03:00'
'e2c1a9954f7b3294a31b11e678c02ea7cb43c22b'|'Goldman Sachs, Brexit and a Japanese digital cash initiative'|'Banks Goldman Sachs, Brexit and a Japanese digital cash initiative Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss Goldman Sachs as it falls down the rankings, the latest thinking on banks and Brexit and a new digital cash initiative in Japan. Save to myFT Presented by Patrick Jenkins and produced by Fiona Symon Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Banking Weekly from the Financial Times with me, Patrick Jenkins. Joining me in the studio today is Martin Arnold, our banking editor. And down the line from Frankfurt, we have Laura Noonan, our investment banking correspondent. This week, we''ll be taking a look at Goldman Sachs as it falls down the rankings. Secondly, a look at the latest Brexit evidence, as banks start to think about decamping from London. And finally, Japan and the new digital cash initiative being launched by Japan''s banks. First, though, to that tale about Goldman Sachs. Laura, you''ve been looking at the numbers from data provider Coalition, and Goldman''s not doing as well as it traditionally has. Tell us exactly what''s going on. Yeah, so Coalition has compiled lead tables every six months, where basically they look at the positions of the 10 biggest investment banks in the world when it comes to both their investment banking slash advisory businesses, and also includes their sales and trading, [INAUDIBLE] fixed income and equity sales and trading. Goldman Sachs has traditionally dominated the rankings since they were established 10 years ago, but now they''ve actually just fallen to their lowest ever position. So over the first half of this year, Goldman Sachs came joint third. So they''re now joint third and on par with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and they''re behind both JPMorgan and Citigroup. That is the worst that they have ever been. We all know that Goldman hasn''t had a great start to the year, and very poor results for the first and the second quarter, largely because of issues in their fixed income businesses. So this basically shows how their poor performance in the first half of the year has really affected their market positioning. And this is probably an impossible question to answer, but do we think this is just a blip? I think probably naturally Goldman Sachs will have a bigger investment bank than Bank of America Merrill Lynch, so I think they are going to rebound somewhat. But I guess it shows that they don''t have a God-given right to be number one or number two, which is where they have been traditionally. So I think they will definitely be in the top two, top three going forward, but it shows that they are as vulnerable to bouncing up and down as anybody else is. OK. Well, we''ll keep monitoring that. Obviously, the next six monthly data will be even more interesting than usual to look at. Let''s move on to the second tale. And staying with you, Laura, because there''s a couple of bits of news that have emerged lately around Brexit planning. Particularly last week, you and I were involved in reporting the news from the so-called Chevening summit. This was a gathering at Boris Johnson''s country residence, where senior politicians met senior business figures, including representatives of the city of London. And there was an initiative launched there on the regulatory front. Tell us first about that, and then we can put it in the context of some of the more recent news this week. Yeah, so one of the things which they discussed was recently, everyone''s been fighting for equivalence. And the idea is that after the UK leaves the EU, they will try and have a regime here for banks and for financial institutions which is roughly the same as the one in the EU. That would give them equivalence, and that would enable them to continue doing some business with the EU [INAUDIBLE] the UK. Now, what happened at this meeting was that the authorities in [INAUDIBLE] in particular floated the idea that, instead of equivalence, you might have something different, which would give the UK a competitive edge. So rather than the UK just trying to be the same as the EU, they would try to be better, more attractive to institutions. He also said that it might be possible to have an exact standstill for the duration of the transition period, so that the UK would effectively have the status quo for the transition period, but then at the end of it it would move to a new and better model. It''s fair to say there were very mixed reactions in the room. I mean, everyone would like the idea of having a status quo and having exactly identical conditions for as long as possible, because certainly a two to three-year transition period where the UK remains within the single market would be attractive. In terms of the second part, and going for non-equivalence thereafter, banks in particular were pretty unenthused by this idea, because if you think about what''s happening in the overall global banking regime, it''s all about global convergence. So the idea that the UK would then try to be an advantageous location for banks, so they would try to push less hard on certain things, that isn''t actually something banks want. Banks want equivalence. They want to be part of the global convergence. And they think that they would get quite a hard time from their international regulators if the UK was seen as being an easy territory on some of these things. So they were trying to discourage the UK from this race to the bottom approach. And what they want is the UK to be as closely aligned as is possible, unless you have some truly bonkers regulation coming out of the EU. That''s the only situation where, if the EU were to do something totally mad, it would be advantageous for the UK not to actually follow that. But I mean, as things stand, I think the view for most financial services is that they would like the UK to very closely mirror what the EU does, rather than trying to move outside that. Well, that whole way of thinking dovetails interestingly with the formal paper that was launched today, actually, from [? Mark ?] [? Hoban, ?] the former city minister, who is now the head of a regulator lobby group in the city, a paper which actually we reported on a couple of months ago ahead of the official launch, which is basically a blueprint for a kind of alternative to equivalence, a kind of-- a mutual recognition system. Now, it''s not clear whether exactly that thinking chimes with what Lord Hill, the former EU commissioner, spoke about at Chevening. Maybe it will. Maybe we are going to see all of this coming together. But we''ll have to keep watching this space for many months to come, I suspect. I think it is worth bearing in mind that banks can''t afford to sit and watch this space for too long. They are taking decisions in real time, and have to take them on the basis that this isn''t all going to work out too nicely. This week, we saw JPMorgan announcing 2 and 1/2 thousand jobs for Warsaw. Those are jobs which, in another environment, may have actually gone, some of them, to some of the lower cost parts of the UK. So I think we''re not going to know how it evolves for some time. But in the interim, banks are going to be voting with their feet. Very good. Thanks for joining us from Frankfurt, Laura. [MUSIC PLAYING] So let''s move on to our third topic. Martin is with us. And he''s just back from Japan, looking slightly weary. But you had a selection of interesting meetings there, Martin, I think, including one with Yasuhiro Sato, the chief executive of Mizuho Financial, with whom you were talking about this digital cash initiative that Japan''s banks are going in for. Yeah. So I started off asking Mr. Sato what the digital currencies were aiming to achieve. The banks are looking to develop various kinds of digital currencies. And the furthest advanced is so-called J-coin initiative. It''s not really a cryptocurrency. It''s not blockchain-related. It''s an electronic cash system, really, that would use smartphones and allow people to transfer money and pay for goods in stores using QR codes. But it''s an electric form of cash that would try to wean the Japanese society off of its strong attachment to cash, which is unusually high. 70% of all transactions in Japan, which is highly unusual for a developed economy. The average for developed economies is about 30%. And particularly surprising for Japan, which you think of as a technologically advanced economy. I suppose there''s a bit of a parallel with the media industry, as we''ve seen at the FT with our new owners, Nikkei. They''re a very newspaper-based organisation, as opposed to digital format. Yeah, indeed. And the parallel there with the banking system definitely holds true, from what I saw and what I heard talking to people who live in Tokyo. Japanese banks are quite far behind in terms of their digital offerings. For instance, I heard that it costs businesses more to have an online bank account, rather than operate through branches. So that doesn''t make very much sense economically. But that''s the case. So this is the Japanese banks trying to catch up. They see the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games as the opportunity to showcase some of their digital capabilities. But the other motivating factor for them, interestingly, is the threat of the Chinese, and in particular Alipay, the payments arm of Alibaba, the huge e-commerce group in China. And Alipay recently started providing some of its services in metropolitan areas, like Tokyo and other cities. And that''s a real worry to the Japanese banks. They are particularly presenting this to their own regulators and saying there''s a danger here of some of the data on Japanese consumers being taken back to China by Alipay. So they feel like they need to keep control of the data. So if they can have an electric currency, whether it be a smartphone-based app or MUFG, which is the biggest bank in the country, is actually working on a blockchain-based digital coin, which they currently call the MUFG coin, and they''re testing that with their own staff. Either way, if they can get people to spend money using that rather than Alipay or Apple Pay or some of the other digital wallets that are out there, that would allow the banks to keep control of the data. And I think that''s where the real battleground is. So Martin, it''s a basic question, but what is actually different between what the Japanese banks are planning in this area and the kind of services that we''re used to in the UK, for example, where you just transfer money between bank accounts or do payments online through apps? It''s smartphone-based. So many of the payments that we do in the UK are using contactless cards. Contactless cards are very popular here. The Japanese banks, what they''re looking to do is to leapfrog cards and go straight to a digital currency, which would mean on your smartphone you load up with J-coins, for instance, which basically you buy for yen, and they''re convertible on a one to one basis into yen from your bank account. And then you can pay for things in stores or pay your friends with the J-coins. So they''re transferable between banks, with retailers. They have full transferability. What''s so different about that compared to just being able to do that with pounds or with yen? Well, you could do some of that with, say, Apple Pay in the UK, but you can''t do it with any of the bank apps that we have at the moment in the UK. You can do it with a contactless card, but then you''re doing it on the card system. So then retailers have to pay fees. So it''s more expensive, whereas there wouldn''t be fees for this. This would be a cheaper and more efficient way of doing it. Is this unique? I think it''s pretty unique. There are other examples of banks coming up with their own coins, either on blockchain or otherwise. And there are lots of central banks around the world that are examining the possibility of putting the fiat currencies, their national currencies, onto some kind of blockchain system, whereby those currencies could be spent directly by people with a claim directly on the central bank, rather than, in a way, disintermediating the commercial banks. So there''s lots of innovation in this space, and lots people are looking at this possibility of making cash digital for some of the benefits that I mentioned, which are lower cost, higher speed of settlement, and more efficient, really, systems than cash or even cards, which are what most people use in most countries. Well that''s it for this week. All that''s left me to do is to thank Martin here, and also Laura in Frankfurt. Thank you for listening, too. Remember, you can keep up-to-date with all of the latest banking stories at ft.com/banking. Banking Weekly was produced by Fiona Simon. Until next week, goodbye. [MUSIC PLAYING]'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/video/0415378a-1961-489e-971c-6c0a241dfbc7'|'2017-09-27T20:17:00.000+03:00'
'35e1effc5316c41b09c60a89b71c3c490ab7fc88'|'BOJ''s Kuroda - Japan''s economic expansion broadening'|' 50 AM / in 30 minutes BOJ''s Kuroda - Japan''s economic expansion broadening Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday the country’s economic expansion is broadening and likely to be highly sustainable. But he reiterated the BOJ’s commitment to maintain its massive stimulus programme with inflation distant from its 2 percent target. “Despite an expanding economy, prices continue to hover on a weak note,” Kuroda said in a speech at an annual meeting of securities firms. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj/bojs-kuroda-japans-economic-expansion-broadening-idUKKCN1C30NN'|'2017-09-28T09:49:00.000+03:00'
'be9fed6fb03733ca61b7cf3d48232098c7538329'|'Abbott wins U.S. antitrust approval to buy Alere with conditions'|'  5:49 PM / in 44 minutes Abbott wins U.S. antitrust approval to buy Alere with conditions Diane Bartz 3 Min Read Traders gather at the booth that trades Abbott Laboratories on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, December 10, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Alere Inc on condition that it sell two point-of-care medical testing businesses, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday. Canada also announced on Thursday that it had approved the proposed transaction on similar terms. Alere’s shares were up 3.5 percent at $50.61 in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday while Abbott was up 3 percent at $53.72. Abbott first offered to buy Alere in February 2016, but the deal ran into trouble because of issues related to the diagnostic maker’s accounting and sales practices. The company finally agreed to buy Alere in April for about $5.3 billion, down from an initial $5.8 billion offer. Alere also agreed Thursday to pay more than $13 million to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it committed accounting fraud and made improper payments to foreign officials. To win the U.S. antitrust approval, the FTC required Abbott to sell two types of point-of-care medical testing device businesses, which can be used in doctors’ offices, hospitals and homes. The companies agreed to divest a blood gas testing system that measures the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood and a cardiac marker system used to determine quickly if a patient is having a heart attack or congestive heart failure. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft will buy the blood gas testing business, as well as two Alere facilities in Ottawa. Quidel Corp will buy the heart function testing system business as well as an Alere facility in San Diego. The deal will help Abbott expand in point-of-care diagnostic testing, a market that is growing as physicians increasingly adopt rapid tests that speed up treatment. Point-of-care tests provide results to doctors in a matter of minutes and can be conducted in the physician’s office, an ambulance or even at home. Alere makes tests for infections such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and dengue. Last year, Abbott agreed sell its medical optics division to Johnson & Johnson for $4.3 billion, and closed its $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical this January. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Steve Orlofsky'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alere-m-a/abbott-wins-u-s-antitrust-approval-to-buy-alere-with-conditions-idINKCN1C32OE'|'2017-09-28T15:49:00.000+03:00'
'37a9501daf3cd34de615060d31feefcdff4f4ef6'|'Brent oil eases but remains in sight of 2015 highs'|'  2:58 AM / Updated 38 minutes ago Brent slips from 2015 peaks, U.S. crude up on inventory draw David Gaffen 3 Min Read An offshore oil platform is seen at the Bouri Oil Field off the coast of Libya August 3, 2015. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brent prices fell on Wednesday while U.S. crude rallied, after crude stockpiles in the world’s top oil consumer unexpectedly drew down with refiners coming back online following Hurricane Harvey last month. Brent LCOc1 slipped from 26-month highs to settle down 54 cents, or nearly 1 percent, at $57.90 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 ended 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, higher at $52.14 but stayed below five-month highs. U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell 1.8 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Department said, versus forecasts for a 3.4 million-barrel build. [EIA/S] The crude draw supported oil prices, but gasoline stocks surprisingly rose and stocks of distillates were down by less than anticipated. “Gains in WTI oil prices will be capped because of recovering oil production in the U.S.,” said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy’s Global Gas Analytics in London. Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI jumped 5.4 percentage points to 88.6 percent of total capacity, the highest rate since Harvey hit on Aug. 25, government data showed, as most facilities have come back online. The effects of that storm, as well as Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida earlier this month, may dampen demand for some time, potentially increasing gasoline inventories while crude stocks are drawn down thanks to renewed refining activity. Oil prices have been supported by output curbs by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers, although U.S. crude has lagged behind Brent amid concerns that U.S. production-growth could stoke oversupply. U.S. crude production rose to 9.55 million barrels per day last week, higher than levels before Harvey hit the Gulf Coast, data showed. With Brent futures commanding their highest premium over WTI WTCLc1-LCOc1 in more than two years, U.S. crude has become increasingly competitive in foreign markets and exports hit a record of 1.5 million bpd last week, according to data. “Seeing exports of U.S. produced crude that large would pose a threat to the level that the Brent-WTI premium can go,” said Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. Diesel exports were also rising, in part because lower U.S. crude prices boosts margins for U.S. refiners compared with those in Europe. Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London and Fergus Jensen in Jakarta; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/brent-oil-edges-up-near-26-month-high-amid-supply-concerns-idUKKCN1C2073'|'2017-09-27T12:03:00.000+03:00'
'fa313efee621b3d61bfd8b8dea7d809c09dacd94'|'Equifax, other credit-reporting firms, face onsite monitors - watchdog'|'Reuters TV United States   8:35 PM / a minute ago Equifax, other credit-reporting firms, face onsite monitors: watchdog Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo (Reuters) - Credit-reporting firms will be subject to stricter regulatory monitoring following the massive data breach that Equifax Inc disclosed this month, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said on Wednesday. The CFPB is working with the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) on a new regulatory framework that includes onsite monitors at the three big credit-reporting firms, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, Director Richard Cordray told CNBC. “The old days of just doing what they want and being subject to lawsuits now and then are over,” Cordray said. “There has to be a scheme of preventive monitoring in place. They are going to have to accept that. They are going to have to welcome it. They are going to have to be very forthcoming.” The Equifax hack compromised the personal data of up to 143 million Americans and has prompted a number of investigations by regulators and lawmakers, including the DFS, which recently issued a subpoena to Equifax demanding it provide more information about the breach. The CFPB will also have to work with Congress to put in place a better framework on data security, Cordray said. Reporting by John McCrank in New York'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber-cfpb/equifax-other-credit-reporting-firms-face-onsite-monitors-watchdog-idUKKCN1C22YA'|'2017-09-27T23:31:00.000+03:00'
'1ad3445d45d3b3a631f8e2a41c117863f6bb35d7'|'Suez Canal chief says Mercedes-Benz to establish new facility in economic zone'|'  7:33 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Suez Canal chief says Mercedes-Benz to establish new facility in economic zone Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Mercedes-Benz sign is seen reflected on a building in Warsaw, Poland July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh CAIRO (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz is set to return to Egypt with a 50,000 square meter distribution facility in the new economic zone near the Suez Canal, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mohab Mamish said on Tuesday. The Suez Canal Economic Zone, a mega-project launched in 2015 to create an international hub for global manufacturers along the canal, is expected to eventually make up about a third of the country’s economy. A Mercedes spokesperson was not immediately able to comment on the agreement about a distribution centre -- although she said no decision had been taken about starting local production of passenger cars in Egypt. “Mercedes is continuously examining conditions in all markets and regions with a view to market growth and sales prospects and adjusts it’s market strategy accordingly,” the spokesperson said. Mamish said the new facility it would also be a logistical redistribution centre that will service local and regional markets. He was speaking at a news conference following a meeting attended by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and the company’s regional director. Egypt has been on a drive to reform the economy and lure back foreign investors who fled after the 2011 uprising. It enacted a new investment code which is expected to boost badly needed investment by cutting bureaucracy, especially for starting projects, and providing more incentives to investors looking to put money into Egypt. The zone will be eligible for these new incentives. Mercedes-Benz ended local production of passenger cars in Egypt in 2015 over fears that free trade agreements the country signed with the EU would make assembly not profitable in the long run. Reporting by Momen Abdel Khalek and Nadine Awadalla in Cairo Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Andreas Cremer Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-daimler-egypt/suez-canal-chief-says-mercedes-benz-to-establish-new-facility-in-economic-zone-idUKKCN1C12TG'|'2017-09-26T22:32:00.000+03:00'
'30cb26204c147b8355df7afd2a5373a165f088f7'|'China September factory activity seen growing at slightly slower pace'|'September 28, 2017 / 5:23 AM / in 12 minutes China September factory activity seen growing at slightly slower pace Reuters Staff 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker jokes and beckons at her colleague as she rolls away carts of unused tools between rows of spinning machine at a factory owned by Hong Kong''s Novetex Textiles Limited in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, China December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Venus Wu/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s factories likely cranked up activity for the 14th straight month in September as the country’s year-long building boom and higher prices generate hearty profits, though the pace of growth may have eased slightly from August. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) on Sunday is expected to come in at 51.5 for September, dipping marginally from August’s 51.7, according to a median forecast of 24 economists polled by Reuters. The 50-mark divides expansion from contraction on a monthly basis. China’s manufacturers are reporting robust earnings, fuelled by a government-led infrastructure spending spree, stronger factory-gate prices and a recovery in exports. Profit growth at Chinese industrial firms accelerated in August at the fastest monthly pace in four years due to higher commodity prices, data showed on Wednesday. Steel mills, in particular, continue to run at full tilt to cash in on fat profit margins and build up inventories ahead of expected government curbs on production to reduce choking air pollution over the winter.[IRONORE/] Worries about a sharp drop in demand in coming months have seen China iron ore futures plunge more than 20 percent since August, though steel prices have continued to rise. MOMENTUM Bolstered by manufacturing and a hot property market, China’s economy grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first half of 2017, and looks set to easily meet the government’s full-year target of around 6.5 percent. But there are signs that momentum is slowly starting to fade. August data from industrial output to investment and retail sales was softer than expected, which many analysts attributed to a rise in borrowing costs this year as the government tries to reduce the risks from a rapid build-up in debt. A flurry of government measures to cool soaring housing prices also appear to be tempering break-neck growth in the property sector, a key economic driver, though underlying demand for homes remains healthy. Still, China watchers can’t agree on how much progress the government is making in its overall debt “derisking” battle, and the extent to which it may be impacting the broader economy. S&P last week downgraded China’s sovereign credit rating, saying the government’s deleveraging drive has progressed slower than expected, leading to higher economic and financial risks. A “Beige Book” survey of thousands of Chinese firms by China Beige Book International (CBB) pointed to a continued over-reliance on cheap, easy credit. “It is a serious error to believe the current, impressive level of corporate performance is occurring despite true deleveraging,” CBB said, adding that borrowing by Chinese companies was the second-highest in four years in the third quarter while lending rates fell after rising in the previous quarter. “If 2018 sees actual tightening, it will be far more traumatic to firms than most analysts realise.” The focus is now on the upcoming Communist Party Congress in mid-October, a once-every-five-years meeting where new leaders are appointed and the government’s key political and economic initiatives are laid out, though details are usually not announced until much later. If growth does start to cool amid the tightening cycle, markets will be looking for signs that the government is comfortable with a slower pace of expansion, rather than jump in with more debt-fueled stimulus as it has often done in the past. Economists expect the findings of a private survey on China’s factory activity on Monday will be similar to the official reading, pointing to softer growth but not a sharp slump. They predict the private Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ index (PMI) will dip slightly to 51.5 in September from 51.6 in August. The official PMI survey and the Caixin PMI will be published on Sept. 30, along with a similar official survey covering the services sector. Caixin’s services PMI will be released on Oct. 9. Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-pmi/china-september-factory-activity-seen-growing-at-slightly-slower-pace-idUKKCN1C30GF'|'2017-09-28T08:23:00.000+03:00'
'804432fd787574c59e199f3f3c3b321826743aab'|'Japan consumer prices rise for eight month, welcome sign for BOJ''s goal'|'September 29, 2017 / 12:04 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Japan''s inflation, labour demand and factory output signal solid economic recovery Leika Kihara , Stanley White 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Coins and banknotes that are used for change are seen in a bamboo basket at a greengrocer in Tokyo August 22, 2013. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s core inflation accelerated in August, industrial output rose more than expected and demand for labour remained at its strongest in over 40 years in a further sign of solid momentum in the world’s third-largest economy. The flurry of data should bolster optimism about the outlook for growth, though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to call a snap election has raised some uncertainty over economic policy. There was also some uneasiness about monetary policy after a summary of the Bank of Japan’s most recent meeting showed one board member wanted an expansion of stimulus as consumer prices remain distant from the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target. Nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 0.7 percent, matching a median market forecast. It was the eighth straight month of gains in the index, and followed a 0.5 percent rise in July. “Prices are rising gradually. Exports are supporting output and domestic demand doesn’t look too bad,” said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute. “As long as Abe remains in power, we will see a continuation of his policies, but it all depends on the election.” Indeed, demand for labour remains at the strongest level since 1974 with data showing the jobs-applicants ratio held steady at 1.52 in August. Industrial output also rose a larger-than-expected 2.1 percent in August from the previous month as manufacturers of construction equipment, autos, and electronic parts produced more goods. Manufacturers surveyed by the government expect output to fall 1.9 percent in September and then expand by 3.5 percent in October. Politics, however, added a layer of uncertainty over the outlook for growth, with inflation still well behind the BOJ’s target. FILE PHOTO: People are reflected in a shop window as they walk along a street in Tokyo, Japan, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo Abe on Thursday dissolved the lower house and called a snap election for Oct. 22. Initially, his ruling coalition looked certain to retain its majority. However, the outcome has been thrown into doubt because the largest opposition party has abandoned the election and will allow its members to run for a newly formed party that may be more popular with voters. The summary of the BOJ’s rate review this month did not identify who spoke or what specific measures were proposed. However, the central bank’s announcement after its Sept. 20-21 meeting showed board newcomer Goushi Kataoka, a vocal advocate of aggressive easing, dissented to the BOJ’s decision to leave policy unchanged, saying it is insufficient to meet the 2 percent inflation target. Japan’s economy expanded at an annualised 2.5 percent in the second quarter as consumer and company spending picked up. But price and wage growth remain weak with firms still wary of passing more of their profits to employees, forcing the BOJ to push back the timing for reaching its price target six times since deploying a massive stimulus programme in 2013. The BOJ now expects inflation to hit 2 percent in the fiscal year ending in March 2020, arguing that a tightening job market and solid economic growth will gradually push up prices. Friday’s data also showed core consumer prices in Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, were up 0.5 percent in September from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast. Household spending rose 0.6 percent in August from a year earlier in price-adjusted real terms, but this was below the median estimate of a 1.0 percent increase and suggests that consumer spending is slowing slightly after a strong performance in April-June quarter. “I‘m not pessimistic on consumption,” said Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. “The labour market is tight and disposable income is rising. Consumer spending can remain on firm footing.” Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy/japan-consumer-prices-rise-for-eight-month-welcome-sign-for-bojs-goal-idINKCN1C33HI'|'2017-09-28T22:04:00.000+03:00'
'503ece646f1ba66eb9f9985dfb269febdc319437'|'Yandex, Russia’s biggest technology company, celebrates 20 years'|'ARKADY VOLOZH, the bearded co-founder of Yandex, Russia’s largest search engine, bristles at his company being branded the “Google of Russia”. Far from emulating the American firm, Yandex launched in 1997, a full year before Google, he points out. More crucially, the moniker poorly describes what Yandex offers today, which is a group of products and services that includes taxis, shopping, payments, music and education. “Really we’re the Silicon Valley of Russia,” says Mikhail Parakhin, Yandex’s chief technology officer.That may only be a slight overstatement. Yandex’s Russian presence is immense; it accounts for just over half of the search market and 61% of online advertising, and its sites attract over 60m visitors each month. Like American tech giants, it is also expanding its offline logistical capabilities, signing recent deals with Uber, a ride-hailing firm, and with Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, to build out its transportation and e-commerce businesses.  15   15   15   Yandex doubled down on its home market, which accounts for 92% of its revenues, after a failed foray into Turkey soon after listing on NASDAQ in 2011 (when it raised $1.3bn). “You either go global in one service which you feel good about, or you focus on one market and do it really well,” says Mr Volozh. Russia already has Europe’s largest base of internet users—some 87m people—yet penetration rates are low at 71%. Along with the space to grow, however, comes the risk that Yandex’s activities attract greater political scrutiny. President Vladimir Putin paid a visit on September 21st, around its 20th anniversary, having criticised the company in past years.Its early lead online came thanks to technology that responded to local needs. The Yandex search algorithm processed Russian language requests better than early versions of international competitors, for example. Mapping software that displayed real-time traffic proved immensely popular, especially among drivers on Moscow’s highly congested roads.There were also challenges. As Russia fell into recession in 2014, profits began tumbling; the depreciation of the rouble in late 2014 hit especially hard, as a large chunk of Yandex’s costs are in foreign currency. Google began eating away at its search business by dominating the fast-growing mobile market on Android devices. But as macroeconomic conditions have improved, investors crept back.A victory against Google in a Russian antitrust court this year (the American firm must stop requiring Android phone makers to install its apps and services and instead offer Android users a choice of default search engine) as well as signs of successful diversification beyond search have pushed Yandex’s shares up by some 50% in the past year. Investors are particularly bullish on its taxi business. In July Yandex agreed a $3.7bn merger with Uber, which effectively ceded the Russian market after a costly price war. Yandex will take a controlling 59.3% stake in the new enterprise. A second joint venture is in the works with Sberbank, which aims to transform Yandex’s price-comparison platform into a fully-fledged e-commerce business.Other initiatives support Yandex’s vision of itself as the hub of Russia’s digital economy. A new machine learning-powered virtual assistant, Alisa, aims to conquer the Russian-language sphere, where Amazon’s Alexa does not operate and Apple’s Siri can be spotty. An early version that used Russian literary classics as a training data set was scrapped because it was so depressing, says Mr Parakhin. “You had the feeling that after it stops talking it’ll go and commit suicide!” But a revamped model will launch in October, voiced by the actress who dubbed the Russian version of “Her” in Spike Jonze’s hit film.As for politics, the firm has long trod a tightrope, drawing the Kremlin’s ire over its mobile-payment system, which opposition politicians have used for fundraising, and its popular news aggregator, which serves up stories based on an algorithm rather than the interests of the authorities. In 2014, as tensions between Russia and the West intensified over the annexation of Crimea, Mr Putin declared the internet a “CIA project” and singled out Yandex for being susceptible to foreign influence. The company’s stock promptly fell 5%.Since then, Yandex has made overtures to the authorities. Its maps now show Crimea as part of Russia, for example. This spring, Alexei Navalny, leader of the opposition, accused Yandex of manipulating news results to exclude mention of mass protests he led (Yandex has denied the charges). On his visit to the firm, Mr Putin watched a demonstration of Yandex’s self-driving car and chatted with Alisa. Inside Yandex’s glass-walled offices, among its talented young employees, Russia’s future must have looked bright.  "Silicon Valley by the Moskva"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729779-search-giant-thriving-faces-political-pressures-yandex-russias-biggest-technology?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'dd1f94faca4f63505f77d6eb764bf800c3a0cf81'|'Cenovus Energy files for $7.5 billion mixed shelf offering'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:19 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Cenovus Energy files for $7.5 billion mixed shelf offering Reuters Staff 1 Min Read President and CEO Brian Ferguson of Cenovus Energy addresses shareholders during the company''s annual general meeting in Calgary, Alberta, April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Todd Korol CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas producer Cenovus Energy ( CVE.TO ) filed a mixed shelf offering for $7.5 billion with Canada and U.S. regulators on Thursday, although the company said it currently has no plans to issue more debt or equity. In a mixed shelf a company may sell securities in one or more separate offerings without filing a prospectus for each one. The filing does not necessarily mean the securities will be sold. Cenovus spokesman Reg Curren said the filing is a “corporate housekeeping measure” that updates the company’s existing prospectus for a $5 billion mixed shelf offering, which expires next year. It means the company will be able to cover existing debt and equity commitments related to its $13.3 billion purchase of ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) assets, which closed earlier this year, and provides extra capacity for spending over the next 25 months, Curren said. Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cenovus-energy-securities/cenovus-energy-files-for-7-5-billion-mixed-shelf-offering-idINKCN1C33C2'|'2017-09-28T20:19:00.000+03:00'
'ea9135f503341578e9da065f3977dbe8d3cb55d4'|'Global Markets: Dollar, bond yields rise after Trump tax plan; Asia stocks down'|'September 28, 2017 / 1:06 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Global Markets: Trump tax plan sends dollar, bond yields higher Marc Jones 5 Min Read A man walks past an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar and global borrowing costs rose on Thursday after President Donald Trump proposed the biggest shake-up of the U.S. tax system in three decades and strong data supported the case for another Federal Reserve rate hike later this year. The dollar’s strength pressured many emerging market currencies and commodities, but Europe’s main stock markets gave Trump’s blueprint the cautious thumbs up after Wall Street and Japan’s Nikkei had gained overnight. Banks rose 0.7 percent to fresh seven week highs, though that was partly offset as miners struggled and as underwhelming results from one of Europe’s biggest fashion chains, H&M, weighed on retailers. The prospect of higher U.S. debt levels and expectations for another Fed hike had sent 10-year Treasury yields to their highest since mid-July, with the 2-10 year yield curve steepening to its highest in a month. The week’s dollar rally continued, meantime. Its gains were most marked against Japan’s yen, where it probed above 113 yen. Traders also eyed the jump in Japan’s 10-year government bond yield toward levels where the Bank of Japan would be expected to buy bonds to maintain its zero percent target for long-term rates. Euro/dollar meanwhile held just above $1.17, with European benchmark bond yields climbing in the slipstream of Treasuries too. The 10-year TransAtlantic yield gap between U.S. and German debt widened to 185 basis points however, which was its widest since early July. “The market had given up on the Trump reflation trade and this is coming back with a bit more detail on tax plans,” said Commerzbank analyst Rainer Guntermann. “At the same time, this gives the Fed more ammunition to hike rates in the coming months.” Emerging markets were the big losers from the dollar and Treasury yield spike higher. MSCI’s emerging markets equity index was down 0.6 percent and was on course for its sixth straight daily decline. If it holds it would be the index’s longest losing streak since May 2016 and it is also down almost 4 percent in the last 10 days. TAXING TIMES Trump’s tax plan offered to lower corporate income tax rates, cut taxes for small businesses and reduce the top income tax rate for individuals. Also helping to boost the dollar, the plan included lower one-time low tax rates for companies to repatriate profits accumulated overseas, which analysts say would lead to a temporary phase of sizable dollar buying. Others noted though it could be an uphill battle to get the changes approved. “It is hard to expect this proposal to pass the Congress smoothly.” Takafumi Yamawaki, chief fixed income strategist at J.P. Morgan Securities. “We have to pay attention to how the Republicans will view this,” he added “It is possible that the net fiscal spending will be smaller than what the stock markets expect.” For now though that seemed too far away to worry about. The euro hit a six-week low of $1.1717 as the dollar broadly gained, and last traded at $1.1729, having shed 1.9 percent so far this week. There was also data in play. German inflation figures were already dribbling in while economists were also waiting for euro zone wide economic confidence readings due at 0900 GMT. YIELDS The greenback did check back against the yen easing off to 112.82 yen to the dollar having hit a 2-1/2-month high of 113.26 yen the previous day. The Canadian dollar extended its losses though, after suffering its biggest drop in eight months on Wednesday, after Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz dampened expectations for further interest rate hikes this year. Canada’s loonie was last at C$1.2483 to the U.S. dollar, having early slid to its lowest in a month. U.S. bond yields jumped with the yield on two-year notes rising to a nine-year high of 1.49 percent in anticipation of a rate rise in December. Comments earlier in the week from Fed Chair Janet Yellen that the U.S. central bank needs to continue with gradual rate hikes have cemented expectations for policy tightening by year-end. New orders data on Wednesday for key U.S.-made capital goods also grew more than expected, helping to boost optimism in the U.S. economy’s outlook. The 10-year yield rose as far as 2.357 percent, its highest in more than two months, while the 30-year bond yield climbed to 2.901 percent having seen its biggest one-day rise in almost seven months. Commodities prices were also dented by the revitalised dollar. Brent eased to $57.61 a barrel, down from Tuesday’s 26-month peak of $59.49, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fetched $52.05 per barrel having struck five-month high of $52.43 also on Tuesday. Gold which is often regarded as a safe-haven but an asset which has little to offer when inflation is rising, fell to a more than one-month low of $1,278.36 per ounce though industrial metals like copper edged higher. Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-stocks-bond-yields-dollar-up-after-trump-tax-plan-idINKCN1C303N'|'2017-09-27T23:06:00.000+03:00'
'fe383fd3529dcc688cb008f45f48e971ce3506de'|'Deutsche Bank in $190 million currency-rigging settlement'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay $190 million to settle U.S. litigation accusing it of rigging prices in the roughly $5.1 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market. The German lender is the 15th of 16 banks to settle the private investor litigation, for a total payout of $2.31 billion. Only Credit Suisse Group AG has not settled. Deutsche Bank’s preliminary settlement was detailed in filings on Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval. The bank denied wrongdoing. Troy Gravitt, a Deutsche Bank spokesman, declined to comment, as did Credit Suisse spokeswoman Nicole Sharp. Investors accused banks of conspiring to manipulate key currency benchmark rates, including the WM/Reuters Closing Spot Rates, or the Fix, by sharing confidential orders and trade information to coordinate their strategies. Manipulation was allegedly done through chat rooms with such names as “The Cartel” and “The Mafia,” and tactics known as “front running,” “banging the close” and “painting the screen.” The litigation followed worldwide currency-rigging probes resulting in about $10 billion in fines for several large banks. On Friday, the U.S. Federal Reserve fined HSBC Holdings Plc $175 million for failing to properly monitor currency traders. Deutsche Bank’s settlement is the 5th largest in the investor litigation, after settlements of $402 million with Citigroup, $384 million with Barclays, $285 million with HSBC, and $255 million with Royal Bank of Scotland. The investors’ law firms, Scott & Scott and Hausfeld LLP, called the Deutsche Bank accord “more than reasonable” given that the bank had “fewer indicia of liability” than others. Other banks that settled are Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered and UBS. U.S. prosecutors have separately brought criminal charges related to currency rigging against six traders. One, Mark Johnson, who once led HSBC’s global foreign exchange cash trading desk, went on trial this week in Brooklyn, New York, on wire fraud and conspiracy charges. The case is In re: Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-07789. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-deutschebank-forex-settlement/deutsche-bank-in-190-mln-currency-rigging-settlement-idUSKCN1C42KF'|'2017-09-29T19:53:00.000+03:00'
'0cbb1fe0a8536d4d499ea9d267b9be524238ef3a'|'Rivigo is helping the Indian truck-driving industry out of a jam'|'THERE are 36 gradations in India’s archaic caste system, from the priestly to the supposedly untouchable. And then, somewhere below that, are the long-haul truck-drivers. Plying the subcontinent’s potholed highways for weeks at a time, few can settle into anything like a home life. Their marriage prospects are grim; venereal diseases and sore backs from sleeping in cramped cabs are but two occupational hazards. Despite an oversupplied national job market, the industry has struggled to attract the roughly 1m new drivers it needs each year to keep everything from Amazon packages to car parts moving. Can technology help?To fend off shortages, most truck owners have done precisely what economists suggest, which is to increase pay. Drivers can now command nearly 40,000 rupees ($610) a month, a decent white-collar wage—and not far from double the level of trucker pay just three years ago. Rivigo, a startup based in Gurgaon, an industrial city near Delhi, is using a different road map. Since its founding in 2014, it has set up a network of 70 “pitstops” across India, each around 200-300km down the road from each other. From those, it organises a pan-India relay system, where drivers ply the four- to five-hour journey from their “home” station to the next. They then drive back to their starting point in another vehicle, and clock off in time to make it home for supper most nights. Another colleague is then responsible for driving the load to the next waypoint, and so on. 16 Administering this logistical ballet is no simple task. Clever software predicts precisely when trucks will arrive and leave pit-stops and which petrol stations they might refuel at most cheaply. A trip from Bangalore to Delhi takes eight different legs. But by keeping the truck on the road more or less permanently, it takes a mere 44 hours to cover the distance of 2,200km, compared with the 96 hours a conventional trucker would take once rest breaks, meals and so on are factored in.Rivigo claims it has no trouble hiring drivers for the roughly 2,500 trucks it now owns and operates. At a pitstop two hours south of Delhi, Naresh Kumar, a “pilot”, as Rivigo dubs its drivers, says he misses little from his decade of pan-India trucking before he joined the company two years ago. “From being home once or twice a month, I’m now home most nights,” he says. Because most of Rivigo’s driving staff live near pitstops in rural areas between cities, it can pay them much less than truckers who live in cities and command an urban-dweller’s premium. Its monthly salaries are nearer the 23,000 rupee mark.In one way Rivigo’s approach is unusual for a startup. It is busy accumulating assets—those pitstop facilities and trucks—at a time when asset-light platforms matching service users with existing asset-owners are all the rage. Deepak Garg, the founder, had originally mulled launching an “Uber for trucking”; as a former McKinsey management consultant, he might be expected to. But the plethora of small-time operators running anything from one to 20 trucks didn’t bite. “Their problem wasn’t demand, it was finding drivers,” he says.Rivigo may yet go down an Uber-like road. Mr Garg says that within a few years he wants Rivigo to be out of the business of owning its own trucks, and focused instead on organising the relay for whichever trucking firm wishes to participate in it. The pitstop network, he says, cost a mere $30m to set up, a fraction of the $115m it has raised from investors such as Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners, two private-equity firms. Rumours are swirling of a whopping $200m investment round led by SoftBank, a Japanese telecoms and internet group, which would turn Rivigo into a rare business-to-business “unicorn” startup valued at over $1bn.Such a lofty valuation raises the possibility of far more competition. The concept of a relay is hardly new: the Pony Express used it to deliver mail in the American West before the advent of the telegraph. If relay is 15% cheaper than conventional trucking, as Mr Garg claims, others will cotton on. Rivigo has sped to an annual revenue of nearly $200m in just three years. DHL, a global logistics firm, has mulled a similar approach in India. Conversely, Mr Garg thinks his “relay as a service” concept might have applications in other parts of India’s logistics markets—or overseas.First, Rivigo will have to navigate transformation in India’s domestic logistics industry, which is worth around $300bn a year. A newly-introduced goods-and-services tax has unified what were 29 disparate states into a single market for the first time. While companies tended to need a warehouse in each state, most are now looking at fewer, bigger locations instead. That will mean larger trucks, longer journeys and less time stuck at internal borders (or paying bribes to speed through).Investors are ploughing money into the sector, and some new firms may tread on Rivigo’s toes. The opportunity is large, and growing, for spending on logistics is increasing at roughly double the pace of growth in GDP, which even in a bad year means double-digit increases. Mr Garg speaks of the efficiencies of the relay system with evangelical zeal. Will other firms pick up the baton? "The Indian pony express"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729811-its-pit-stops-and-relay-system-could-elevate-low-status-truck-drivers-rivigo-helping?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'c7f75fdf9f50bc06b87f30e9a32011e1e7d8aaa4'|'French government sees EU credibility in reach with 2018 budget'|' 23 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago French government sees EU credibility in reach with 2018 budget Leigh Thomas 3   French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire attends a news conference on a report on French economy at the Bercy Finance ministry in Paris, France, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS (Reuters) - The French government presented tax and spending cuts on Wednesday in its first budget under President Emmanuel Macron, assuring it would restore France’s fiscal credibility in Europe. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France had to seize the opportunity presented by firm growth, expected this and next year at a six-year high of 1.7 percent, to bring its public deficit in line with EU rules for the first time since 2007. The Finance Ministry forecast the deficit would fall below the EU-limit of three percent of output this year with a shortfall of 2.9 percent in 2017 before dropping to 2.6 percent in 2018. With two years below the three-percent threshold, Le Maire said France was on course to exit an EU excessive deficit procedure it has faced since 2009 for falling short of the European deficit limit. Macron needs to show France to be fiscally responsible if he is to persuade Berlin and other European capitals to rally behind his drive to overhaul the euro zone - a quest complicated by Germany’s election result on Sunday. Related Coverage France to reimburse 1.6 billion euros debt owed to EDF in 2018: government source “In order to recover our credibility in Europe, we have to respect our European commitments,” Le Maire told journalists as he presented the budget. “We are the last country in Europe with Spain subject to an excessive deficit procedure,” he added, speaking a day after Macron outlined an ambitious vision for European renewal. Though the headline deficit respects the EU rules, the sailing is unlikely to be all smooth with France’s EU partners. Paris will have to reassure that a spike in the deficit to 3.0 percent in 2019 will be temporary as an existing payroll tax credit scheme is transformed into a permanent cut in corporate charges that year. France’s independent fiscal watchdog has also warned that progress bringing down the underlying structural deficit, which excludes the impact of swings in the business cycle, will fall short of EU requirements. “We are going to convince the European Commission - I hope - that our structural effort is reasonable in light of spending cuts and economic reforms,” Le Marie said. Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin said that budget savings would reach 16 billion euros ($18.8 billion), scaled down from 20 billion euros as originally planned by the government. Le Maire said that the budget was not all about rigor with six billion euros in tax cuts for households and four billion euros for companies. “The French need to know that we are determined to reduce their taxes,” Le Maire said. Stronger than expected economic growth this year is offering the government some breathing space, generating better tax revenues than originally budgeted. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Richard Lough'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-budget/french-government-sees-eu-credibility-in-reach-with-2018-budget-idUKKCN1C21DC'|'2017-09-27T14:04:00.000+03:00'
'cbdb8c456e83ff8971b31f23dd584cb83145ab96'|'Special Report - Drowning in grain: How Big Ag sowed seeds of a profit-slashing glut'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:14 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Special Report: Drowning in grain - How Big Ag sowed seeds of a profit-slashing glut Rod Nickel 16 Min Read Paul Gregoire, an Agronomic Research Specialist with Monsanto, examines corn on Monsanto''s research farm near Carman, Manitoba, Canada August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Zachary Prong CARMAN, Manitoba (Reuters) - On Canada’s fertile Prairies, dominated by the yellows and golds of canola and wheat, summers are too short to grow corn on a major scale. But Monsanto Co ( MON.N ) is working to develop what it hopes will be North America’s fastest-maturing corn, allowing farmers to grow more in Western Canada and other inhospitable climates, such as Ukraine. The seed and chemical giant projects that western Canadian corn plantings could multiply 20 times to 10 million acres by 2025 - adding some 1.1 billion bushels, or nearly 3 percent to current global production. The question, amid historically high supplies and low grain prices, is whether the world really needs more corn. A global grains glut is now in its fourth year, with supplies bloated by favorable weather, increasingly high-tech farm practices and tougher plant breeds. The bin-busting harvests of cheap corn, wheat and soybeans are undermining the business models of the world’s largest agriculture firms and the farmers who use their products and services. Some analysts say the firms have effectively innovated their way into a stubbornly oversupplied market. Never has the world produced so much more food than can be consumed in one season. World ending stocks of total grains - the leftover supplies before a new harvest - have climbed for four straight years and are poised to reach a record 638 million tonnes in 2016/17, according to USDA data. Farmers and agriculture firms could once count on periodic bouts of crop-destroying weather to tame gluts and drive up prices. But genetically modified crops that repel plant-chewing insects, withstand lethal chemicals and mature faster have made the trend toward oversupply more resistant to traditional boom-and-bust agrarian cycles, experts say. Another key factor: China - the world’s second-biggest corn grower - adopted stockpiling policies a decade ago when crop supplies ran thin, resulting in greater production than the world needs. “I think the norm is where we are now,” said Bryan Agbabian, director of agriculture equities at Allianz Global Investors. Allianz investors seem to agree: The value of two agriculture equity funds that Agbabian manages fell to $300 million this year from $800 million in 2011 as crop prices slid, he said. Abundant supplies have helped lower food prices across the world, but the benefit to consumers and impoverished nations is muted by several factors, including problems with corruption and distribution of food in developing regions, said Sylvain Charlebois, professor of food distribution and policy at Canada’s Dalhousie University. The bumper harvests may actually harm poor communities more than they benefit their residents in food savings because lower prices depress farm incomes in the same areas, said John Baffes, a senior economist at the World Bank. Even as farmers reap bountiful harvests, U.S. net farm incomes this year will total $63.4 billion - about half of their earnings in 2013, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast. Lower incomes mean farmers cannot spend as much on seed, fertilizer and machinery, extending their pain to firms across the agriculture sector. Potash Corp of Saskatchewan ( POT.TO ), the world’s biggest fertilizer company by capacity, closed its newest potash mine last year, eliminating more than 400 jobs, and has seen its U.S.-listed shares fall by nearly half since the beginning of 2015. The drop erased $14 billion in value, and left Potash seeking to merge with rival Agrium Inc ( AGU.TO ). With profits under pressure, seed and chemical companies are scrambling to consolidate. Monsanto’s annual profit in 2016 was its smallest in six years. It agreed last year to combine with Bayer AG ( BAYGn.DE ), which would create the world’s largest integrated pesticide and seed company if the deal closes next year. Grain handler Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) said this summer it would cut costs, and left the door open to selling itself after posting a 34 percent drop in quarterly earnings. Bunge CEO Soren Schroder sought to reassure investors in May by saying all that was needed to trim supplies was one bad stretch of weather in the U.S. Midwest. But the glut pervades many major farming regions, making it unlikely that drought or floods in one region could wipe out the mounting global surplus. Even with dry conditions in North America, Europe and Australia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that this year will bring the second-biggest global corn, wheat and soybean harvests ever. Bunge’s Schroder made his comment about bad weather less than three weeks before confirming an informal merger approach from commodities giant Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ). “When prices tanked, farmers were no longer willing to pay more” for seed and chemicals, said Jonas Oxgaard, analyst at investment management firm Bernstein. “The mergers are absolutely driven by oversupply because their growth is gone.” Monsanto spokeswoman Trish Jordan said the company believes demand growth still justifies corn expansion, and she disputed the notion that crop science advances are backfiring on agricultural technology firms. Monsanto rival DowDuPont Inc ( DWDP.N ) is making the same bet and currently sells the shortest-season field corn in North America, maturing in 70 days, spokesman Ali Aziz said. Success in the lab and the field, however, has contributed to oversupply and may continue to sustain it, said Oxgaard, the Bernstein analyst. “It’s somewhat the seed companies’ fault - they keep breeding better and better seeds every year,” he said. (Exploding crop yields eat into farm profits, click tmsnrt.rs/2y4zIGw ) (Grains glut guts global prices, click tmsnrt.rs/2y2Ushz ) DARWIN, SEX AND CORN Charles Darwin helped plant the seeds of the grain glut. The biologist and evolution theorist showed in the late 1800s that cross-fertilization of plants - in which sex cells are fused between crop varieties of the same species - creates a more vigorous breed than those that are self-fertilized. His work and others’ influenced successive generations of crop scientists and led to the development of hybrid corn, said Stephen Moose, a professor specializing in crop genetics at University of Illinois. U.S. farmers started planting the first significant acres of hybrid corn in the 1930s, and by 1950 it made up nearly all the corn seeded in the United States. Yields exploded. Farmers who reaped 20.5 bushels of corn per acre in 1930 harvested an average of 38.2 bushels in 1950, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Further hybrid breeding breakthroughs generated corn with leaves that grow more erect, allowing farmers to sow it more densely without starving plants of sunlight. Yields first topped 100 bushels per acre in 1978. After conventional breeding breakthroughs became harder to find, corn gained new vigor through the 1990s with genetic modification. In 1996, U.S. regulators approved corn that was genetically engineered to produce bug-killing proteins, accomplished by inserting a bacterium hostile to the corn borer insect into the plant genome. Before the end of the 1990s, corn able to resist weed-killing chemical glufosinate or Monsanto’s glyphosate hit the market. Those modified varieties and others that followed proved pivotal in generating the abundant corn crops that have since become commonplace, Moose said. “In the seed industry, it stimulated a whole other round of investment,” Moose said. In the 20 years since GMO corn reached U.S. farms, yields jumped another 37 percent to a record 174.6 bushels per acre last year. Some experts believe the expansion of corn yields may soon hit a ceiling. The crop may be nearing the natural limit of its production potential, and crop yields will likely plateau in the next decade, based on how plants convert light to food and their ability to recover from heat, said Ken Cassman, agronomy professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Technology has also provided better defenses against pests. Connor Murray, a research associate with Monsanto, examines a corn tassel on Monsanto''s research farm near Carman, Manitoba, Canada August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Zachary Prong Syngenta AG’s ( SYNN.S ) Viptera and Duracade traits, used to control worms and beetles, launched in 2010 and 2013. SmartStax corn seed, introduced by Monsanto and Dow in 2009, brought twin benefits of insect protection and herbicide tolerance, said Paul Bertels, vice-president of production and sustainability at U.S.-based National Corn Growers Association. The breakthroughs in seed and pesticide technologies have not come without problems. Monsanto is now embroiled in a controversy over dicamba, a big-selling chemical designed to kill weeds that harm Monsanto’s genetically modified crops. Many U.S. farmers say dicamba has drifted from its intended fields, damaging plants that are not resistant to the chemical. Monsanto believes the main causes of drifting are errors by farmers and applicators in deploying the herbicide, company spokeswoman Charla Lord said. GROWING CORN IN ALASKA As it grew stronger, corn grew faster. Corn that required 120 days to mature in the U.S. Corn Belt during the 1960s now needs only 105 to 115 days. Farmers in northern North Dakota plant and harvest corn in 80 days, and have doubled the state’s production in five years. Fast corn is now stirring even the imaginations of researchers in the far north. University of Alaska Fairbanks horticulture professor Meriam Karlsson grew hundreds of corn plants in the Arctic state in 2015. The plants, germinated in a greenhouse before they were transplanted outside, grew from a short-season garden corn variety that matured in less than 60 days. Corn rose only four to five feet, allowing plants to spend maximum energy on growing ears, rather than leaves and stalks. Karlsson had expected few corn plants to survive in Fairbanks - less than 120 miles (190 kilometers) from the Arctic Circle. “It’s much more adaptable than I expected,“ she said. ”Amazing what breeding can do. It was kind of exciting that you could do it.” The lure of technology comes down to money for farmers. Even with Chicago corn futures down more than 50 percent from their 2012 record high, the high-yielding crop offers one of the strongest returns to Canadian farmers, generating profits per acre four times that of canola, based on average prices and costs, said National Bank analyst Greg Colman. As corn spreads across the Canadian Prairies, those robust yields are winning farmers over, said Dan Wright, Monsanto Canada’s lead for corn and soybeans. “Once you harvest corn at 140 or 180 bushels, it’s something you want to do again,” he said. Slideshow (6 Images) While corn compares nicely to some crops, it offers U.S. farmers marginal returns at current prices, Bernstein’s Oxgaard said. Switching to other crops is not easy in areas like the U.S. Midwest, where farmers traditionally swing between corn and soybeans, and have invested in costly equipment to grow them. GLUT TRACES ROOTS TO SHORTAGE The problems of plenty were on nobody’s mind less than a decade ago. In 2008, a dramatic food price run-up stirred riots from Haiti to Egypt. Four years later, the U.S. Midwest, the engine of the global corn and soybean growing machine, suffered its worst drought in decades, opening gaping cracks in the soil and withering crops. Chicago corn and soybean futures Cv1 Sv1 hit record highs as U.S. production fell to multi-year lows. But high prices proved the cure for high prices. Farmers in traditionally less productive corn-growing countries such as Russia, Argentina and Brazil expanded corn output to seize bigger profits. U.S. farming quickly rebounded, reaping record corn harvests in three of the next four years. New corn varieties have made global production more balanced than ever, with 12 countries producing at least 10 million tonnes of corn annually, up from 10 before the drought. Even if U.S. or Brazilian corn crops suffered major weather damage, the world would still have the expanding Black Sea corn region to tap, not to mention China’s enormous supplies, said Bertels, of the U.S. corn growers association. China’s stockpiling policies, enacted in 2007 when corn supplies were tight, also stimulated oversupply. Aiming for self-sufficiency in grains, Beijing bought virtually the entire domestic crop each year and paid farmers as much as 60 percent more than global prices. The program stuffed Chinese warehouses with some 250 million tonnes of corn by the time Beijing scrapped it last year. China is now boosting incentives for farmers to switch to soybeans from corn. “The world’s corn is mainly in China,” said Li Qiang, chief consultant at Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd. He said it will take three to four years for stocks to reach a “normal” level of around 40-50 million tonnes. The Black Sea region, made up of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, has become a disruptive force with rapidly expanding exports. Moscow aims to drive grain production to 150 million tonnes by 2030 from 117 million in 2016 after increasing storage and export capacity in ports in the last couple of years. Glut conditions are expected to ease modestly this year, amid dry conditions in China and the United States, but supplies are still so large that prices remain weak. OVERSUPPLY OF EVERYTHING In northern North Dakota, an expanding frontier for corn and soybeans, Paul Thomas started dabbling in both crops about a decade ago on his farm near Minot, seeking higher returns than wheat. Both are now among his biggest crops, including short-season Monsanto corn varieties that have only been available for a couple of years. Profits may be tougher for Thomas to eke out this year due to dry weather and soft prices, but he shrugs off the struggle. “We’re very capable of producing a large amount of bushels given an economic incentive,” he said. “If we end up over-producing, then we shift to one that’s more in need. That’s just the way agriculture works.” Thomas acknowledged, however, that the traditional dynamic may be changing in this current glut. “I don’t know any single crop that isn’t in oversupply,” he said. Seeding equipment is becoming more precise, and increasingly cost-conscious farmers are applying fertilizer and chemicals more intelligently, said Al Mussell, head of research at Canadian think tank Agri-Food Economic Systems. Monsanto projects that corn will become by the mid-2020s one of the biggest crops produced in Canada, which is an agriculture-exporting powerhouse in canola, wheat, oats and pork. Soybeans are also spreading across Canada. Farmers seeded a record high 7.3 million acres in 2017, up 75 percent in five years. On Monsanto’s research farm in Carman, Manitoba, the next target is marketing a corn variety that matures in 70 days within the next two years. After that: an even quicker plant to snatch DowDuPont’s claim to North America’s fastest corn. It is ambitious but realistic, said Kelly Boddy, manager of Monsanto’s research farm. “Wind the clock back a few years,” he said, “and breeders wouldn’t have thought it possible.” Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Additional reporting by Polina Devitt in Moscow; Michael Hirtzer in Chicago and Dominique Patton and Jo Mason in Beijing; Editing by Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-grains-supply-special-report/special-report-drowning-in-grain-how-big-ag-sowed-seeds-of-a-profit-slashing-glut-idUKKCN1C21AR'|'2017-09-27T14:55:00.000+03:00'
'142960aa487e313117aae5e58b17227aa1eeb242'|'Chubb estimates after-tax losses of up to $1.28 bln from Harvey, Irma'|'  8:52 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Chubb estimates after-tax losses of up to $1.28 billion from Harvey, Irma Reuters Staff 1 Min Read An upside down boat resting on a house is pictured following Hurricane Irma in Big Pine Key, Florida, U.S., September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (Reuters) - U.S. property and casualty insurer Chubb Ltd ( CB.N ) on Wednesday estimated after-tax losses of up to $1.28 billion from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The company said it expects insured losses of about $520 million from Harvey and $640 million to $760 million from Irma after tax. “The catastrophes we have experienced in the last five weeks, including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and the earthquakes in Mexico, have been significant events, causing both a tragic loss of life and considerable property and infrastructure damage,” CEO Evan Greenberg said in a statement. Rival Allstate Corp ( ALL.N ) last week estimated pre-tax catastrophe losses of $593 million, net of reinsurance recoveries, for August. Reporting by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chubb-lts-outlook-storm/chubb-estimates-after-tax-losses-of-up-to-1-28-billion-from-harvey-irma-idUSKCN1C22ZS'|'2017-09-27T23:49:00.000+03:00'
'd6fcfbbfbaa5c615bc40df212b5aa1435db3cda0'|'New Uber CEO to meet London transport boss next Tuesday'|'September 29, 2017 / 8:21 AM / in 2 hours New Uber CEO to meet London transport boss over licence battle Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - CEO of Expedia, Inc. Dara Khosrowshahi attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho July 13, 2012. Reuters/Jim Urquhart LONDON (Reuters) - Dara Khosrowshahi, the new chief executive of Uber Technologies, will meet the head of the London Transport system next Tuesday as the Silicon Valley giant steps up the fight to regain its licence in the British capital. Regulator Transport for London (TfL) stunned the taxi-app company last week when it said it would not renew its licence which expires on Saturday due to the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. Uber, which is valued at about $70 billion and whose investors include Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), has vowed to appeal. It was given a boost on Thursday when British Prime Minister Theresa May said the decision was “disproportionate”. “Our new CEO is looking forward to meeting with the commissioner next week,” an Uber spokesman said. The Uber logo is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay “As he said on Monday, we want to work with London to make things right.” Khosrowshahi, who is less than a month into his new job, will meet Transport Commissioner Mike Brown. TFL also confirmed the meeting would take place. The dispute in Britain, one of Uber’s most important global markets, is one of many to confront the new chief executive, who has been brought in to try to clean up the company’s reputation as aggressive and unapologetic, following a string of scandals. Khosrowshahi has already apologised to Londoners for Uber’s mistakes in a break with the company’s usual combative tone. Uber can continue to operate until the appeals process is exhausted, which could take months. Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-britain/new-uber-ceo-to-meet-london-transport-boss-next-tuesday-idUKKCN1C40YU'|'2017-09-29T11:23:00.000+03:00'
'673f243475ef62f69b944755b38953eef32e5eac'|'Invesco agrees to buy Guggenheim Investments'' ETF business for $1.2 bln'|'  10:49 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Invesco agrees to buy Guggenheim Investments'' ETF business for $1.2 bln Jennifer Ablan , Trevor Hunnicutt 2 Min Read NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Invesco Ltd said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Guggenheim Investments’ exchange-traded funds (ETF) business, which includes $36.7 billion of assets under management as of Aug. 31. Under terms of the definitive agreement, Invesco, the world’s fourth largest ETF manager, will acquire Guggenheim Investments’ ETF business for $1.2 billion in cash. The transaction will be funded with a combination of cash and debt. With the addition, Invesco’s ETF assets under management would total more than $196 billion globally, based on both firms’ ETF assets as of Aug. 31. “This combination will further strengthen our market share and position by providing greater access to key channels and expanding the scale and relevance of our global ETF business,” Dan Draper, global head of ETFs at Invesco said in a statement. “The addition builds on our existing self-indexing capability and brings the highly popular BulletShares(®) ETFs, both of which will further strengthen our ability to help clients achieve their investment objectives.” The sale comes as Guggenheim faces questions about its executive leadership, including the fate of its chief executive officer, Mark Walter, as well as clients’ questioning recent changes in its sales group. Guggenheim’s global chief investment officer, Scott Minerd, earlier this month told Reuters that he is focused on growing the firm, which as of June 30 had $290 billion under management. Jerry Miller, president of Guggenheim Investments, said in a statement of the agreement with Invesco: “We believe that today’s transaction paves the way for future growth by allowing us to sharpen our focus on core strengths including active portfolio management - across both our institutional strategies and in our retail businesses.” (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/funds-invesco-guggenheim/invesco-agrees-to-buy-guggenheim-investments-etf-business-for-1-2-bln-idUSL2N1M92DY'|'2017-09-29T01:50:00.000+03:00'
'012d2149f8d94f77e5f0593050cd93e8429b852d'|'Morning News Call - India, September 29'|'(India Morning Newsletter will not be published on Monday, October 2, as markets are closed for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.) To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Indiabulls Real Estate annual general meeting in New Delhi. 10:00 am: Harvard, NITI Aayog & NIPFP organize Symposium on “Building Financial Systems of the 21st Century” in New Delhi. 10:00 am: Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, BSNL Chairman Anupam Shrivastav, Vodafone India Vice President Deepankar Ghosal, Cisco India Director Sandeep Arora at India Mobile Congress 2017 in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: HDFC Bank Digital Bank Country Head Nitin Chugh at launch of center for digital excellence in Mumbai. 12:00 pm: DLF annual general meeting in Gurugram. 1:30 pm: Maruti Suzuki India MD Kenichi Ayukawa and Suzuki Motorcycle MD Satoshi Uchida at ECSTAR launch in New Delhi. 2:30 pm: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to launch additional Mumbai suburban train services in Mumbai. 3:00 pm: Telecom Commission meeting in New Delhi. 3:30 pm: Just Dial annual general meeting in Mumbai. 5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. LIVECHAT - WEEKAHEAD . Reuters EMEA markets editor Mike Dolan discusses the upcoming week''s main market inflection points at 3:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS • India sticks to 2017/18 borrowing target, open to extra bond sales India''s federal government on Thursday stuck to its budgeted market borrowing target for the fiscal year ending in March 2018 but held out the possibility of selling additional bonds to fund any new spending. • India says GE diesel locomotive factory on track, but to pursue electrification General Electric''s plan to build a diesel locomotive factory in eastern India is proceeding as planned, the nation''s railways minister said on Thursday, aiming to allay the U.S. firm''s concerns that India was unilaterally making changes to the contract. • RBI increases foreign investment limits for debt India''s central bank said on Thursday it would raise the foreign investment limits for government bonds by 80 billion rupees to 2.5 trillion rupees for the October-December quarter, after current quotas had been almost fully exhausted. • Ford''s Welsh engine plant to lose JLR business in 2020 Jaguar Land Rover will stop sourcing petrol engines from Ford''s plant in Bridgend, Wales, after ending its current contract earlier than expected in 2020, creating uncertainty over around 750 jobs. • MAS Financial Services IPO to open on October 6 Indian non-banking financial company MAS Financial Services Ltd''s initial public offering of shares to raise up to 4.6 billion rupees will run from October 6 to October 10, according to a public notice issued on Thursday. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • White House battles critics over tax plan as lawmakers prepare to act The White House struggled on Thursday to defend its new tax plan against criticism that it would help the rich at the expense of lower classes, as Republicans in Congress prepared to move ahead with actual legislation. • China sets 2019 deadline for automakers to meet green-car sales targets China has set a deadline of 2019 to impose tough new sales targets for electric plug-in and hybrids vehicles, slightly relaxing an earlier plan to launch the rules from next year that had left global automakers worried about being able to comply. • Japan''s inflation, labour demand and factory output signal solid economic recovery Japan''s core inflation accelerated in August, industrial output rose more than expected and demand for labour remained at its strongest in over 40 years in a further sign of solid momentum in the world''s third-largest economy. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • The SGX Nifty Futures were at 9,769.00, trading up 0.3 percent from its previous close. • Indian government bonds are likely to edge higher in early trade as the federal government’s borrowing plan for the second half of the fiscal year was along expected lines. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.60 percent-6.66 percent band. • The Indian rupee will likely edge higher against the dollar on expectations of capital inflows after the nation’s central bank raised the limit for foreign investments in government debt. GLOBAL MARKETS • Wall Street edged higher on Thursday, as the S&P 500 eked out a record on gains in McDonald''s and healthcare names, while investors continued to hope President Donald Trump will be able to make progress on tax reform. • Asian shares tried to regain some poise after a tough week in which the gathering risk of a U.S. rate rise lifted Treasury yields toward nine-year highs and boosted borrowing costs across the region. • The dollar inched higher against a basket of major currencies on Friday, having pulled back from one-month highs set this week as investors pondered the Trump administration''s tax plan and the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. • The yield spread between shorter and longer-dated U.S. Treasuries grew on Thursday in the aftermath of a tax plan that raised concerns about faster growth in the federal deficit and borrowing. • Oil prices rose, with both Brent and U.S. crude set to chalk up another weekly gain as investors bet that efforts to cut a global glut are working and that the demand outlook is improving. • Gold prices held steady just above the previous session''s six-week low, supported by a weaker dollar, but remained on course for their biggest monthly fall this year. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 65.51/65.54 September 28 -$813.93 mln -$164.73 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.96 pct Month-to-date -$1.11 bln $75.77 mln Year-to-date $5.90 bln $23.22 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 65.4600 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall/morning-news-call-india-september-29-idUSL4N1MA1GN'|'2017-09-29T11:20:00.000+03:00'
'4fabde66588338e08416f137b652c4be66033a45'|'Morgan Stanley buys real estate credit platform Mesa West'|'The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on the company''s world headquarters in New York, U.S. April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) has agreed to buy commercial real estate credit platform Mesa West Capital LLC, the firm said on Friday.The move adds $5 billion in assets under management to Morgan Stanley’s investment management business, a unit that CEO James Gorman has said he is looking to grow substantially in the coming years.Investment management, led by former Morgan Stanley capital markets executive Dan Simkowitz, had $435 billion in assets under management as of June 30 and represents about 7 percent of Morgan Stanley’s overall revenue.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Besides acquisitions, the investment management group is launching new funds as it seeks to grow.Morgan Stanley is raising a new fund from clients that will invest in niche assets, Reuters reported in July. It has begun to raise capital for other funds as well, focusing on Asian companies and sustainable investments.At a financials conference in June, Gorman said 2017 was “sprinkling the seeds” for growth in investment management which may pay off in the next three years.He also said Morgan Stanley wasn’t “clamoring to do deals” but could add scale in fixed income and alternative assets.Businesses like wealth and investment management are considered more stable sources of revenue than trading, where profits can swing wildly each quarter.But the popularity of passive investments like exchange-traded-funds has put pressure on the asset management industry to lower fees and to build out other areas like private equity and real estate.Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morgan-stanley-investment-mangement/morgan-stanley-buys-real-estate-credit-platform-mesa-west-idUSKCN1C424O'|'2017-09-29T17:32:00.000+03:00'
'98edb2ae16412054853ecdb89a2e82254b7879a0'|'Metro Inc in talks to buy Jean Coutu for $3.6 billion'|'(Reuters) - Metro Inc ( MRU.TO ), Canada’s third-biggest food retailer said on Wednesday it was in talks to buy pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group ( PJCa.TO ) in a deal that values the company at C$4.5 billion ($3.62 billion), sending shares of the target surging to multi-year highs.Jean Coutu operates drugstores in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario, and it acquired a generic drug maker in 2007. Metro operates more than 600 food stores across Canada.Montreal-based Metro is offering C$24.50 per share for the Varennes, Québec-based Jean Coutu, the companies said in a statement. That represents a 6.1 percent premium to Jean Coutu’s price before a trading halt.Jean Coutu shares jumped as much as 6.8 percent to their highest level since April 2015 after the announcement. They were trading up 4.9 percent at C$24.24 at 17:43 GMT.Metro shares advanced as much as 5.8 percent, their biggest intraday gain since April, to C$42.41.Metro’s offer consists of 75 percent in cash and 25 percent in its shares, the companies said in a statement.The Coutu family has said it will support the deal, according to the statement.The news comes at a challenging time for both Quebec-based companies, as competition ramps up among food retailers and provincial regulations over drug pricing weigh on pharmaceuticals.Quebec in July announced a deal with generic drug manufacturers to cut costs for the province that analysts said would hurt the profitability of Jean Coutu’s generic drug manufacturing division.The industry is also under pressure since Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) made its push into grocery business with the $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods Market, stoking fears that brutal market share battles will intensify..Amazon.com Inc.’s announcement in August that it would cut prices on a range of goods at it completes its acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc. has weighed on brick-and-mortar retailers already trying to navigate falling sales as customers continue to move online.Metro’s Chief Executive Officer Eric La Fleche alluded to the “challenging environment marked by strong competition and continued food price deflation” in its third-quarter earnings statement in August. The retailer still managed to post a 3.7 percent increase in net earnings.Metro bought a majority stake in Montreal-based meal kit maker MissFresh in August.Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru and Nichola Saminather in Toronto; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-jeancoutu-m-a-metroinc/metro-inc-in-talks-to-buy-jean-coutu-for-3-6-billion-idINKCN1C22HO'|'2017-09-27T15:10:00.000+03:00'
'03a608c215ac5fd05c65ed156dba6f0884024abf'|'Asian shares rise ahead of U.S. tax plan; dollar near one-month high'|'September 27, 2017 / 3:53 AM / in 8 hours Global markets: U.S. rate hike bets lift dollar, bond yields; stocks gain Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar on Wednesday climbed to a one-month high against a basket of currencies, while financial stocks and Treasury yields rose after strong economic data helped boost expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike in December. U.S. small-cap stocks rallied on the expectation of lower taxes, tallying their biggest single-day gain since March. President Donald Trump proposed the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades, offering to cut taxes for most Americans but prompting criticism that the plan favours the rich and companies and could add trillions of dollars to the deficit. “For the first time since we have had Trump and the administration in office, it looks like there is incrementally more of a possibility of tax reform going through that would actually be meaningful,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GlobAlt Investments in Atlanta, Georgia. Bets on another interest rate hike before the year ends firmed following Tuesday comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who said the U.S. central bank needs to continue gradual rate hikes despite broad uncertainty about the path of inflation. Data showed new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in August, pointing to strength in the economy despite an anticipated drag to growth from massive hurricanes. Perceived chances of a hike at the Fed’s December meeting hovered around 80 percent on Wednesday from 72 percent on Monday, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The hawkish rate sentiment helped fuel S&P 500 financial shares .SPSY, which gained 1.3 percent. The S&P 500 tech sector .SPLRCT rose 1.1 percent, helped by an 8.5 percent surge in shares of Micron Technology ( MU.O ) after the chipmaker’s better-than-expected quarterly earnings report. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 56.39 points, or 0.25 percent, to 22,340.71, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 10.2 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,507.04 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 73.10 points, or 1.15 percent, to 6,453.26. “The renewed interest in technology coupled with the likelihood of higher interest rates spurring an interest in financials, then the news on tax reform progressing, are all positive catalysts” for U.S. equities, said Alan Lancz, president of investment advisory firm Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc in Toledo, Ohio. FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo The Russell 2000 small-cap index rose 1.9 percent and hit a record high. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.40 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.17 percent. European banks .SX7P rose 2 percent and hit their highest in seven weeks. DOLLAR RALLIES The dollar index .DXY rose 0.5 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.37 percent to $1.17470. “It really is an extension of the rally kicked off by the Fed last week,” said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York, referring to the Fed’s meeting where it signalled it may raise rates for a third time this year. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 21/32 in price to yield 2.3032 percent, from 2.229 percent late on Tuesday. Yields on the 2-year note US2YT=RR rose to as high as 1.483 percent, the highest since November 2008. Brent crude futures slipped from 26-month highs, while U.S. crude rallied, after crude stockpiles in the world’s top oil consumer unexpectedly drew down with refiners coming back online following Hurricane Harvey last month. U.S. crude CLc1 rose 0.33 percent to $52.05 per barrel while Brent LCOcv1 was last at $57.70, down 1.27 percent on the day. Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.8 percent to $1,283.07 an ounce. Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, Rodrigo Campos, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Dion Rabouin in New York and Nigel Stephenson in London; Editing by James Dalgleish and Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets/asian-shares-rise-ahead-of-u-s-tax-plan-dollar-near-one-month-high-idINKCN1C208R'|'2017-09-27T06:52:00.000+03:00'
'461d162d093e7a2e9fb574da0bc3433be15eac90'|'Detroit Three''s to lose dominance of North American auto output in 2017: IHS'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:38 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Detroit Three''s to lose dominance of North American auto output in 2017: IHS 3 Min Read Ford Motor World Headquarters is seen in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook DETROIT (Reuters) - North American vehicle production by the unionized Detroit Three automakers will fall behind the combined North American output of Tesla Inc and automakers from Europe and Asia for the first time this year, IHS Markit forecast on Wednesday. In 2017, the Detroit Three could build 8.6 million vehicles in North America, while Tesla and foreign automakers build 8.7 million, IHS Markit analyst Joe Langley said on Wednesday. By 2024, the gap will widen, with Asian and European automakers and Tesla combining to build about 9.8 million vehicles in North America. General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and the North American operations of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will combine to build 8.1 million vehicles, down 6 percent from this year. Mexico is on track to increase its share of North American vehicle production, Langley said, moving to 4.5 million vehicles a year by 2024 from about 4 million vehicles currently. General Motors world headquarters are seen before GM CEO Mary Barra addresses the media ahead of the start of GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook The milestone for the growth of Tesla and foreign automakers in North America comes as the Trump administration is pushing to limit imports of vehicles from Mexico in negotiations to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement. The declining share of North American vehicle production for the Detroit automakers also challenges U.S. and Canadian unions that represent their workers. Canadian workers are on strike at a GM factory in Ontario to protest the automaker’s decision to cut jobs and move to Mexico some production of sport utility models built there. Foreign automakers over the past year have announced plans for a wave of new or expanded plants in North America, while Tesla is ramping up to build as many as 500,000 cars a year at its plant in Fremont, Calif. Often referred to as “transplants,” the foreign-owned factories are poised to become the mainstream of the North American auto industry. Automakers are increasingly using factories in China or Mexico to build vehicles that used to be assembled solely in the United States, Langley said. He cited as an example Ford’s decision to shift production of the Focus small car for North America to a Chinese assembly plant. Reporting By Joseph White; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-production/detroit-threes-to-lose-dominance-of-north-american-auto-output-in-2017-ihs-idUSKCN1C22PD'|'2017-09-27T21:37:00.000+03:00'
'51f5e3a328f41445bd4b841ff537a821f77f1d49'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises with banks; Bombardier falls after tariff hit'|'* TSX up 39.13 points, or 0.25 percent, at 15,513.25* Six of the TSX’s 10 main groups move higherTORONTO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday despite a sharp drop in Bombardier Inc after the plane and train maker was hit by a steep U.S. tariff, as heavyweight financial stocks moved higher.The index was at its highest since June.Bombardier was last down 11 percent at C$2.02 after opening at its lowest point since December 2016 following the U.S. Commerce Department’s decision to slap preliminary anti-subsidy duties on its CSeries jets.The company also lost out as Siemens AG and Alstom SA agreed to merge their rail operations. Bombardier had also held talks with Siemens, sources have said.On the positive side, the financials group, which accounts for more than a third of the index’s weight, gained 0.6 percent as bond yields broadly rose and Canadian National Railway Co advanced 1.3 percent to C$102.68.Investors were awaiting a speech by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz for clues as to how aggressively the bank may tighten rates from here.At 10:28 a.m. ET (1428 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 39.13 points, or 0.25 percent, at 15,513.25, with six of its 10 main groups in positive territory.Tahoe Resources fell 8.5 percent to C$6.45 after it said Guatemala’s Supreme Court declined to act on renewing its export credential.Ski-Doo maker BRP Inc lost 7.5 percent to C$41.79 after announcing a bought deal secondary offering. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Frances Kerry) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-rises-with-banks-bombardier-falls-after-tariff-hit-idINL2N1M811D'|'2017-09-27T12:49:00.000+03:00'
'eaee475e7ac505db107f55ee05e4a9d9bb5a5d5f'|'Vivendi''s role in Telecom Italia not discussed at Italy-France summit - minister'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:22 PM / Updated 40 minutes ago Vivendi''s role in Telecom Italia not discussed at Italy-France summit - minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Vivendi logo at the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo LYON, France (Reuters) - French media group Vivendi’s ( VIV.PA ) role in Italy’s telephone group Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) was not discussed on Wednesday at a summit between the French and Italian governments, Italian Industry Minister Carlo Calenda told reporters. Rome is considering sanctioning Vivendi, saying the company built a controlling stake in Telecom Italia without informing the government, in contravention of state rules. Vivendi denies that its 24 percent holding has given it effective control. “I never even raised the issue,” Calenda told reporters on the sidelines of the summit. Calenda also said that any future talks about naval military shipbuilding would have to involve Italy’s Leonardo ( LDOF.MI ) and France’s Thales ( TCFP.PA ). Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, writing by Steve Scherer; Editing by Crispian Balmer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vivendi-telecom-italia-italy-france/vivendis-role-in-telecom-italia-not-discussed-at-italy-france-summit-minister-idUKKCN1C22NP'|'2017-09-27T21:21:00.000+03:00'
'c459553e56b78dc291a23c4b393afc732bd75e16'|'Siemens, Alstom join forces to create European rail champion'|'September 26, 2017 / 8:18 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Siemens, Alstom join forces to create European rail champion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A scale model of a TGV high speed train with the logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company''s full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes /File Photo FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens and French rival Alstom agreed on Tuesday to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion to better withstand the international advance of Chinese state-owned CRRC. Siemens will own 50 percent of the joint venture, the companies said, while Alstom will supply Henri Poupart-Lafarge as chief executive, helping to counter criticism that France is giving up control of another national industrial icon. Annual synergies are estimated at 470 million euros (412.05 million pounds) in year four after the closing of the deal, a joint statement published on Alstom’s website showed. “This Franco-German merger of equals sends a strong signal in many ways. We put the European idea to work and together with our friends at Alstom, we are creating a new European champion in the rail industry for the long term,” said Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser. The deal is a blow to Canadian transportation group Bombardier, which also held talks with Siemens, sources have said, and which faces a separate battle this week to protect jobs in Quebec and Northern Ireland. The Siemens and Alstom transport businesses, which span the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signalling and rail technology, had combined sales of about 15 billion euros ($18 billion) in their last fiscal years, . Related Coverage'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alstom-m-a-siemens-statement/siemens-alstom-join-forces-to-create-european-rail-champion-idUKKCN1C12XI'|'2017-09-26T23:18:00.000+03:00'
'5abab3281cba1ede9ba10006dbb335e0c314a481'|'African Gold Group, Hummingbird to jointly develop Malian gold'|'LONDON (Reuters) - African Gold Group ( AGG.V ) and Hummingbird Resources ( HUMR.L ) on Wednesday said they had conditionally agreed on an $6.4 million deal for Hummingbird to operate the Kobada Gold Project in Mali.In two separate statements, African Gold Group said it was selling a 19.99 percent stake to Hummingbird Resources for 8 million Canadian dollars ($6.44 million) and at the same time would allow Hummingbird to acquire half of the Kobada project.“Hummingbird provides us the financial capacity to develop the Kobada Gold Project and we are also gaining a partner with an operational presence in Mali,” said Stephan Theron, Chief Executive Officer of AGG.Hummingbird said the deal would give it the right to operate the Kobada mine and would enable it to increase annual gold production to more than 150,000 ounces by year by around 2020.The plan is to truck concentrate to Kobada for processing at Hummingbird’s Yanfolila project, which is scheduled to produce its first gold in December.“This high-grade concentrate would have a material increase to our annual production rates and could add up to an additional 50,000 ounces per annum to our existing average life of mine production of 107,000 ounces,” Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird said.Betts told Reuters this month he was looking for opportunities to offset depreciation of assets as Hummingbird brings online the Yanfolila project in Mali.Reporting by Barbara Lewis in London and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hummingbird-agg/african-gold-group-hummingbird-to-jointly-develop-malian-gold-idUSKCN1C22KD'|'2017-09-28T01:44:00.000+03:00'
'63e4ea096797f7257466a78f7e8927e6017b7204'|'U.S.-Israeli digital content firm Playbuzz raises $35 million'|'TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Playbuzz, a U.S.-Israeli platform for distributing online content, has raised $35 million in funding led by Viola Growth with participation from existing investors including Walt Disney Co, Saban Ventures, 83North and Carmel Ventures.The round brings total funds raised to $66 million.Playbuzz said on Wednesday it will use the investment to expand its branded content business, which creates, distributes and measures advertising campaigns.Playbuzz is used by tens of thousands of publishers such as Time, ESPN, BBC and the Daily Telegraph to create long-form, interactive articles to boost audience engagement.It was founded in 2012 by Shaul Olmert, the son of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, and Tom Pachys.Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-playbuzz-fundraising/u-s-israeli-digital-content-firm-playbuzz-raises-35-million-idINKCN1C21K9'|'2017-09-27T10:19:00.000+03:00'
'f79199e3f0e2a245f09690fe0fbd002ba0d8c111'|'REFILE-Lufthansa, Austrian cancel Erbil flights at weekend'|'  2:26 PM / in 8 minutes CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-Lufthansa, Austrian cancel Erbil flights at weekend Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Corrects last paragraph to say Lufthansa flies to Erbil twice a week, not once a week) BERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines will be cancelling flights to Erbil this weekend, falling into line with other foreign carriers, a spokesman for Lufthansa Group said on Friday. “Due to the current airspace closure for Erbil by the Iraqi central government, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines flights will be cancelled starting Saturday, 30 September 2017 until Sunday 1 October 2017,” he said. The ban, imposed after the Baghdad government retaliated against a vote for independence that has drawn opposition from foreign powers, was set to come into force at 6.00 p.m (1500 GMT) on Friday. Lufthansa flies to Erbil twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays, while Austrian flies daily. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Douglas Busvine)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-kurds-flights/lufthansa-austria-cancel-erbil-flights-at-weekend-idUSFWN1MA0MU'|'2017-09-29T17:32:00.000+03:00'
'99b8af6529a05505725e90e5a667ff1e4c6cc5c9'|'WTO opens panel on Canada''s Bombardier subsidies: Brazil ministry'|'FIE LPHOTO: A model of Bombardier C Series aeroplane is seen in the Bombardier offices in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne BRASILIA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization opened a dispute settlement panel on Friday to rule on Brazil’s complaint that Canada has hurt its commercial jet industry by subsidizing Bombardier Inc’s ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries jets, the Brazilian foreign ministry said.The chief executive of Bombardier’s Brazilian rival Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ) told Reuters on Wednesday that a U.S. decision to slap steep anti-subsidy duties on the CSeries should bolster Brazil’s case at the WTO.Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-canada-wto/wto-opens-panel-on-canadas-bombardier-subsidies-brazil-ministry-idUSKCN1C41YL'|'2017-09-29T16:50:00.000+03:00'
'6053fb9edbb2f17226417bb25fc111705a0f4de6'|'Planes, trains and automobiles: Lazada''s logistics battle to win SE Asia'|'September 29, 2017 / 7:54 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago Planes, trains and automobiles: Lazada''s logistics battle to win SE Asia Reuters Staff * Southeast Asian logistics pose unique challenges * Lazada expanding footprint to cut costs, improve services * Plans to add 5-6 more warehouses next year * Experimenting with delivery modes, offline pick-up * Has over 100 partners in delivery, cross-border logistics By Aradhana Aravindan and Clara Ferreira-Marques SINGAPORE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia is on the verge of a logistics “boom” thanks to e-commerce, but will require huge investment in cities and last-mile networks to cope, says Pierre Poignant, the man behind the systems that keep Alibaba-owned Lazada moving. Poignant, chief operating officer, said the Singapore-based marketplace, for its part, would continue to bet on delivery and other partnerships as demand grows. It already works with more than 100 companies in delivery and cross-border logistics, from Ninjavan in Singapore to ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek in Jakarta. But it will expand its footprint to cut costs and improve services, with smaller local hubs closer to customers, as well as a major warehouse it can use in Malaysia for goods that move less often. Lazada, with 130,000 merchants on its platform, has 14 warehouses and over 2 million square feet of space - and plans to open another five to six warehouses next year. It also has 130 smaller distribution centres. “Logistics in Southeast Asia is going to look very different from the rest of the world. It is hard to believe one player can do everything,” Poignant said in an interview. “The distance from Aceh to Papua (in Indonesia) is bigger than the distance from Miami to Seattle. People don’t realise.” Already the world’s fourth-largest internet market, Southeast Asia is expanding at a rate of almost four million users a month, making it the fastest growing e-commerce market globally, according to a 2016 report co-authored by Google. But while there are key growth engines - a young population of active mobile users and a patchy local retail network - there are also major challenges, as companies like Lazada try to conquer a region made up of thousands of islands, with poor roads and traffic-clogged cities. Some regions have no formal system for home addresses, Poignant said, complicating deliveries, returns and even payment - more than half of transactions are still settled in cash. That leads to experiments, combining online purchases with offline pick-up in malls, as in Singapore - or in Indonesia, where Lazada handles a bulk of the last-mile delivery itself, using three-wheeled electric vehicles for bigger parcels. Cars and vans are too slow in traffic, Poignant said. TAKING THE LEAD Amazon and others, including local players, have not failed to notice the region’s potential: Amazon is using Singapore as its beachhead, while China’s second largest e-commerce company JD.com is making Thailand its point of departure, partnering with the country’s largest retailer, Central Group. But Poignant argues Lazada’s experience is hard to beat. “When it comes to logistics we are developing a distinct competitive advantage. We are the only ones to have this open network approach - combining our own infrastructure and partners,” Poignant said. “Setting up a logistics network is a complex, long process.” Critical to keeping the advantage is also data, and Lazada is linking up with fast-moving goods producers like Unilever, to turn knowledge into target sales. Alibaba bought into Lazada last year in an effort to seek growth outside China. The $1 billion deal in April 2016 was Alibaba’s largest overseas deal and it raised its stake to over 80 percent this year. Last November, Lazada bought Singapore online grocer Redmart, a purchase that it hopes will help it crack cold storage and expand groceries into the rest of the region, though there is no concrete plan yet, Poignant said. “One of the reasons why we acquired RedMart is that groceries is a very specific set of skills that you need to develop,” Poignant said. “We have the ambition to develop this category across the region.” Reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques and Aradhana Aravindan in SINGAPORE; Additional reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng in BANGKOK; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/lazada-strategy/planes-trains-and-automobiles-lazadas-logistics-battle-to-win-se-asia-idUSL8N1M906S'|'2017-09-29T10:56:00.000+03:00'
'4bb42fe9958ebf4443a57ff36ffe0fe81cb40cb1'|'State Bank of Pakistan keeps key rate at 5.75 percent'|'A currency exchange trader counts money at his office in Islamabad November 26, 2012. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood/Files ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan’s central bank held its main policy interest rate unchanged at 5.75 percent on Friday, citing steadily rising economic growth and low inflation.“The macroeconomic environment remains conducive to growth without impacting headline inflation,” the State Bank of PakistanPakistan’s $300 billion economy expanded 5.3 percent in 2016/2017 (July-June), hitting the fastest pace in a decade, but the State Bank said growth should edge higher in the next fiscal year.“Based on current projections of agriculture sector growth, GDP growth is likely to reach the annual target of 6.0 percent for FY18 leading to an improved capacity to accommodate rising domestic demand,” the bank said.Average consumer price inflation is “expected to remain well below FY18 target of 6.0 percent”, the State Bank added.The bank warned that rising exports, foreign direct investment and remittances were not enough to offset a sharp jump in imports, including petroleum products and machinery for infrastructure projects as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.With foreign reserves dwindling, some analysts are warning Pakistan might need an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout to avert a balance of payments crisis akin to the one it suffered in 2013, when it also sought IMF help.The bank in July suggested weakening the rupee to ease current account pressures but Finance Minister Ishaq Dar slapped down that idea.In its latest statement, the State Bank said Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and external account pressures would be helped by structural reforms to improve trade competitiveness, something foreign donors have long advocated.Analysts doubt any meaningful reforms will take place before the next general elections, due in mid-2018.Reporting by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Asif Shahzad and Clarence Fernandez '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/pakistan-rates/state-bank-of-pakistan-keeps-key-rate-at-5-75-percent-idINKCN1C41WC'|'2017-09-29T11:35:00.000+03:00'
'cfa1d04997ce16aaca0ae78329f2453462673292'|'A “right to repair” movement tools up'|'AS DEVICES go, smartphones and tractors are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. And an owner of a chain of mobile-device repair shops and a farmer of corn and soyabeans do not usually have much in common. But Jason DeWater and Guy Mills are upset for the same reason. “Even we can no longer fix the home button of an iPhone,” says Mr DeWater, a former musician who has turned his hobby of tinkering into a business based in Omaha, Nebraska. “If we had a problem with our John Deere, we could fix it ourselves. No longer,” explains Mr Mills whose farm in Ansley, a three-hour drive to the west, spreads over nearly 4,000 acres.Messrs DeWater and Mills have more and more company. It includes not just fellow repairmen and farmers, but owners of all kinds of gear, including washing machines, coffee makers and even toys. All are becoming exceedingly difficult to fix—which has given rise to a movement fighting for a “right to repair”. In America the movement has already managed to get relevant bills on the agenda of legislatures in a dozen states, including Nebraska. Across the Atlantic, the European Parliament recently passed a motion calling for regulation to force manufacturers to make their products more easily repairable.Some types of gear, such as photocopiers and medical equipment, have always been hard to mend because of their internal complexity. But what has been the exception is now becoming the rule, says Nabil Nasr of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Even a John Deere tractor comes with millions of lines of software code, controlling everything from the engine to the armrests. Mobile devices, for their part, are getting ever more densely packed to make them smaller and able to accommodate new components. When iFixit, a website for repair information, analysed Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8, which started shipping on September 15th, it found that the device was mainly held together with glue. This gets rid of fasteners, but makes repairs more difficult.  14   15   15   Manufacturers are also increasingly erecting less tangible barriers to mending. Leased equipment and devices under warranty have always been out of bounds, but firms now regularly ban tinkering with a product’s software. In its “License Agreement for John Deere Embedded Software”, for instance, the company retains ownership of the software programs. It also refers to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a controversial piece of legislation that makes it illegal for customers to circumvent copy protection. But dodging it can be necessary to develop diagnostic tools for electronic devices.Firms also withhold technical information, proprietary repair tools and spare parts. Mr DeWater has to rely on manuals from iFixit, on self-made tools and on refurbished or copied parts. He can also tap into a global network of repair shops which exchange information about how to fix the latest mobile devices. “We sometimes even ship a device to China if we know that a shop there can fix it,” he says.In the future, repairability is likely to become even more of an issue, says Kyle Wiens, iFixit’s chief executive. Not only do firms want customers to use authorised dealers, but a growing number of products are also no longer stand-alone devices, but rather delivery vehicles for services that generate additional revenues. Smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo are a case in point. The e-commerce giant may even lose money with the device, but it helps to sell other products and collects reams of data about users. These can be used for additional services or to target advertising.Strings attachedSimilarly, wearable technology such as fitness trackers would be much more expensive to consumers if manufacturers did not believe they could monetise the data they collect. If owners could easily tinker with such devices, that could sever the profitable links between product, service and data, which may make manufacturers’ guard them even more jealously.In their defence, firms say that restricting repairs, whether by individual consumers or businesses, helps protect their intellectual property and works on behalf of buyers. Apple, for instance, wants to ensure that consumers do not get hurt by breaking glass from badly installed screens, for instance. If Apple alone can replace the home button, it is to stop hackers from getting familiar with the system that reads people’s fingerprints to unlock the phone. Highlighting the dangers, researchers in Israel recently managed to fit smartphones with booby-trapped screens, which could be used to log keyboard input and install malicious apps.Yet the lack of repairability has large drawbacks. Authorised dealers are often far-flung, much more expensive than independent ones and often cannot fix a problem. Barring owners from tinkering also limits innovation. Many inventions in farming equipment, such as circular irrigation systems, were pioneered by farmers. And not being able to easily mend a device, says Mark Schaffer, a manufacturing consultant, contributes to a problem that already plagues many markets, as more products, from smartphones to washing machines, are thrown away rather than repaired, adding to waste and pollution. The share of new appliances sold to replace defective ones (as opposed to first-time purchases) in Germany increased from 3.5% in 2004 to 8.3% in 2012, according to the Öko-Institut, a think-tank. Washing machines, in particular, are hard to fix. The most common problem is that their bearings fail; when these are sealed away in the drum, repairers cannot access them.To reverse the trend, but also to defend its industry’s turf, the Repair Association, a lobby group funded by repair shops as well as by environmental organisations and other charities, wants states in America to pass “right to repair” laws. These would require firms in all industries to provide consumers and independent repair shops with the same service documentation, tools and spare parts that they make available to authorised service providers. The hope is that once an important state passes such a law, the country will follow—as was the case in the car industry after Massachusetts in 2012 passed a right-to-repair law for cars that led to a national memorandum of understanding between carmakers and repair shops.If no bill has been passed yet, it is because the Repair Association has faced stiff resistance from manufacturers. Apple’s strategy here is two-pronged. It has sent a lobbyist to Nebraska, who reportedly warned local politicians that the legislation would make armies of hackers relocate to the state. At the same time, it has made (largely symbolic) concessions—in June it announced that it would send 400 screen-fixing machines to authorised repair shops, so they no longer have to send broken iPhones to central repair facilities. It is also investing in technology that makes it easier to recycle its products, such as Liam, a robot for disassembling iPhones.Whether such moves will take some steam out of the right-to-repair movement remains to be seen. More likely, it will gather pace. In France, with its penchant for regulation, “planned obsolescence”, meaning designing a product for a limited lifespan, is already an offence punishable by up to €300,000 ($354,000) or up to 5% of the maker’s average annual French sales, whichever is higher. Manufacturers must also tell buyers how long their products are likely to last. The government hopes that both rules will push firms to make devices easier to repair.Spanner in the worksThe global assault on repairability highlights a bigger problem, says Jason Schultz of New York University: what it means to own things in the digital age. Together with Aaron Perzanowski of Case Western Reserve University, he has written a book, “The End of Ownership”, which describes the many ways in which firms now limit what people can do with the stuff they buy, in particularly the digital sort. “Owners” are often not allowed to resell it, transfer it to another devices or mash it up with other digital goods.Companies have even started to limit what buyers can do with physical goods. Tesla, for example, does not allow its self-driving cars to be used to make money with ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft (apparently because the firm plans soon to launch its own such service, called “Tesla Network”). It will be interesting to see what happens if Tesla takes steps to enforce this anti-Uber rule.At any rate, the watering down of ownership appears to hit a nerve both on the left and the right. “Repair isn’t a partisan issue,” says Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association, pointing out that the right-to-repair bills have both Republican and Democrat sponsors in most states. The two Nebraskans, Messrs DeWater and Mr Wills, give an idea of why this may be. One, a liberal, sees the livelihood of repair shops endangered by big corporations. To the other, more conservative, not being able to repair his tractor amounts to an attack on the “very idea of private property”. Together they make a powerful coalition.  "If it’s broken, you can’t fix it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729744-tractors-smartphones-mending-things-getting-ever-harder-right-repair-movement?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'4fe4fc83d99e3bfd25bbaf1ab859847647bdd66c'|'A shareholder pact is rocked by Liliane Bettencourt’s death'|'DEATH does not end all uncertainties. News that Liliane Bettencourt, a glamorous 94-year-old Parisian heiress, died on September 20th has provoked a flurry of investor speculation over L’Oréal, the world’s biggest cosmetics company. She had held a controlling stake in the firm her father, an inventor of hair dyes, founded in 1909. Its market value has since grown to be a whisker short of €100bn ($117bn).Her death brings few immediate consequences. An Alzheimer’s sufferer, she had been declared legally unfit to manage her concerns. That followed a scandal, made public in 2010 after her butler secretly recorded politicians, lawyers and friends as they bilked her for millions of euros. The case still haunts Nicolas Sarkozy, an ex-president. He seethed in October that opponents had stymied his return to politics by repeating allegations he profited from the “sordid Bettencourt affair” (he was cleared of charges over it in 2013). 16 One nurse of Ms Bettencourt likened her household to a “basket of crabs”, as staff and others battled to pinch her wealth. The drama eased in the past six years after her daughter took control of the family assets, including the one-third stake in L’Oréal. The family affirmed, on September 21st, their “entire commitment and loyalty to L’Oréal” and its chief executive, Jean-Paul Agon.That suggests no big changes are looming at the firm, which is considered a fleuron , or ornament, of France’s corporate scene. It is certainly flourishing under Mr Agon. L’Oréal’s share price has almost doubled in the past five years. It earned strong operating profits of €4.5bn last year, on sales of €26bn, and expects that profits this year should reach a record 18% of sales.Investors are watching one matter closely—whether relations now change with Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company. It holds a 23.2% stake in L’Oréal, the result of a deal Ms Bettencourt struck in the 1970s to fend off Socialist politicians she feared could nationalise the family firm. Recurrent speculation suggests that Nestlé, which reduced its stake once already, could divest entirely—or might decide to bid for L’Oréal outright. The deal lets either side increase ownership of L’Oréal only six months after Ms Bettencourt’s death.In the event, the news came just before Nestlé’s newish chief executive, Ulf Mark Schneider, was due to offer his plans to investors for the first time, on September 26th. Shareholders have long quipped that the seller of Nescafé, KitKats and Purina pet food has grown stale and lament its loss of market share to fresher rivals. Pressure has risen further after an activist hedge fund, Third Point, in June said it had bought a $3.5bn stake in Nestlé.Mr Schneider set a goal of achieving profit margins of 17.5% to 18.5% by 2020, speeding up share buy-backs and lifting sales of fast-growing products (mostly caffeine-related). The activists wanted all that, but he bluntly refused their demand also to sell the L’Oréal stake, which they say has no part in the firm’s strategy. Mr Schneider retorted that the stake constitutes a “fabulous” investment, generating an average of 12% annual returns in the past 42 years.Politics would probably not get in the way of buying L’Oréal outright. France’s strongly pro-European president, Emmanuel Macron, would struggle to oppose a purely European takeover. And other conglomerates show an appetite for beauty. Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch behemoth, is shifting its portfolio from food to faster-growing categories such as shampoo and skin creams. On September 25th it said it will buy Carver Korea, a Korean beauty firm, for €2.27bn.Yet for Nestlé, taking over L’Oréal would be a financial stretch, and looks impossible without the Bettencourts’ agreement. They show no sign of wanting to sell. The French firm might be willing to do the opposite, buying out the Nestlé investment, for example if it raised funds by selling its own €10bn stake in Sanofi, France’s biggest drugmaker. The domino effect of undoing the Nestlé-L’Oréal pact might mean even more uncertainties ahead. "Because it’s worth it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729805-nestl-s-ties-worlds-biggest-beauty-company-come-under-review-shareholder-pact?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'853fa059ce0d530585a21ab9fee9da2e768b6db3'|'China will boost imports to make trade structure more balanced - commerce ministry'|'  2:57 AM / in 16 minutes China will boost imports to make trade structure more balanced: commerce ministry Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A container is carried away from a cargo ship at Tianjin Port, in northern China February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China will boost imports to make its trade structure more balanced, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday in Beijing. China runs a massive trade surplus and has been accused by other countries of restricting access to its markets in order to protect domestic industry. Reporting by Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy/china-will-boost-imports-to-make-trade-structure-more-balanced-commerce-ministry-idUKKCN1C3083'|'2017-09-28T05:52:00.000+03:00'
'8f58fdb76eb3bf56a519d0346030731c0554688c'|'Brent oil edges up, near 26-month high amid supply concerns'|'September 27, 2017 / 2:59 AM / a minute ago Brent oil eases but remains in sight of 2015 highs Amanda Cooper 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, U.S., on May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder LONDON (Reuters) - Brent oil eased on Wednesday following a report of a possible increase in Nigerian exports, but an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories helped keep the price within sight of this week’s 26-month highs. Turkey’s repeated threat to cut oil exports from the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq pushed the price close to $60 a barrel on Monday for the first time since June 2015. Brent November crude futures LCOc1 were down 14 cents at $58.30 a barrel at 0832 GMT, while U.S. crude for November delivery CLc1 edged up 11 cents to $51.99. Traders and analysts said a report from pricing agency Platts that a force majeure on exports of Bonny Light crude, scheduled to be 161,000 barrels per day (bpd) this month, could be lifted “very soon” was behind the loss in Brent. However, Brent is set for a 22 percent gain in the third quarter of this year, its largest rise in the period between July and September since 2004, thanks in part to coordinated output cuts. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and 11 rival producers, including Russia, have committed to output cuts of 1.8 million bpd between January 2017 and March 2018 to help global supply align with demand. Brent futures are commanding their highest premium over U.S. crude in more than two years, partly because of the quick production response by U.S. shale producers to any uptick in price. “There’s pretty strong upward momentum at the moment,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, referring to a better-than-expected near-term outlook for the supply balance. U.S. crude stocks fell by 761,000 barrels last week as refineries boosted production, while gasoline inventories increased, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday, in contrast with market expectations. U.S. crude inventories were forecast to rise for a fourth straight week, a Reuters poll had shown. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release official inventory data at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT). Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday repeated a threat to cut off the pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 bpd of crude from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan in retaliation for an independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan. “All the ingredients are now there for a flare-up in regional tensions with Iran also weighing in on the matter,” PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said. Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in JAKARTA; Editing by Dale Hudson '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/brent-oil-edges-up-near-26-month-high-amid-supply-concerns-idUKKCN1C207D'|'2017-09-27T05:59:00.000+03:00'
'5a63a56000805f65471d9c98e299b7187069336d'|'Boohoo raises full-year forecast after jump in first-half profit'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:20 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Margin pressure dents Boohoo shares despite profit rise Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Concerns over margin pressure at British online fashion retailer Boohoo ( BOOH.L ) sent its high-flying shares down as much as 10 percent on Wednesday, despite increased profit and an upgrade of its full-year revenue forecast. Boohoo, which sells own-brand clothing, shoes and accessories online to a core market of 16 to 30-year-olds, has been a star UK stock market performer over the last year, with its shares rising 165 percent. But the stock was down 8.5 percent at 258.8 pence by 0824 GMT, with analysts highlighting some margin pressure as Boohoo invests in pricing, promotions and advertising to grow its share of the market. Boohoo said it made a pretax profit of 20.3 million pounds in the six months to Aug. 31, up 41 percent, on revenue up 106 percent at 262.9 million pounds. It said revenue growth for the full 2017-18 year was now expected to be around 80 percent, up from a forecast in June of around 60 percent. But it also expects group adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins to be between 9 percent and 10 percent, compared with June’s forecast of “around 10 percent”. “Any weakness today represents a buying opportunity as Boohoo looks on track to deliver (over) 1 billion pounds in revenues within 2-3 years,” said analysts at Peel Hunt, who have a “buy” rating on the stock. Boohoo and online rivals such as ASOS ( ASOS.L ) are bucking a challenging backdrop for consumers in Britain as inflation rises faster than wages. They are winning share from traditional high street retailers, benefiting from the increasing popularity of smartphone e-commerce and their extensive use of social media. In the first half Boohoo benefited from revenue growth across all regions and the increasing popularity of the PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal brands purchased at the beginning of the year. “The strong performance in the first half-year and our expectations for the second half have given us confidence to raise guidance for the full year,” said joint chief executives Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane. Reporting by James Davey, editing by Louise Heavens'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boohoo-results/boohoo-raises-full-year-forecast-after-jump-in-first-half-profit-idUKKCN1C20GX'|'2017-09-27T09:20:00.000+03:00'
'dba8ee931e9f074199ceb97f857af5f4a5b774e0'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 0930 GMT on Wednesday:** German industrial group Siemens AG and French rival Alstom SA agreed to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion to better withstand the international advance of China’s state-owned CRRC Corp Ltd .** French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday said he hoped Europe could create a leading naval company similar to the one formed by the railway operations tie-up between Alstom and, as he reiterated his support for the Alstom and Siemens transaction.** Finnish power utility Fortum will launch an 8.05 billion-euro ($9.5 billion) takeover bid for Uniper , the power stations operator and energy trading business partly-owned by German utility E.ON, it said on Tuesday.** The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging Parker-Hannifin Corp’s purchase of Clarcor Inc, which closed in February.** Saudi Arabia’s Bahri, the world’s largest owner and operator of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), aims to start operating its joint venture with French logistics firm Bollore by the end of the year, an executive told Reuters.** China-backed coal miner Yancoal Australia Ltd said on Wednesday it had exercised its option to buy a 29 percent stake in the Warkworth operation from Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp for $230 million.** Boeing Co will invest $33 million for a majority stake in a joint venture with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China that will oversee the U.S. planemaker’s new 737 completion plant in China, the China Daily reported.** Ford Motor Co said it will collaborate with Lyft to deploy Ford self-driving vehicles on the ride services company’s network in large numbers by 2021.** A department of Vietnam’s finance ministry suggested transferring responsibility for the privatisation of brewers Sabeco and Habeco if the trade ministry does not publish sale prospectuses by the end of the month.** Planemaker Bombardier Inc aims to close deals with Chinese airlines in upcoming months and is in talks with the country’s three biggest airlines, a senior Bombardier executive said on Tuesday.** Mandarin Oriental International Ltd said it will not sell The Excelsior hotel for the time being as bids for one of Hong Kong’s most anticipated commercial real estate sales this year were too low.** Japan’s biggest private-sector life insurer, Nippon Life Insurance Co, is in talks to buy a minority stake in U.S. investment company TCW Group, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said.** Chevron Corp may miss its mid-October target for closing the agreed $2 billion sale of its natural gas assets in Bangladesh to a Chinese consortium as Dhaka weighs the prospect of a counterbid, people with knowledge of the matter said.** Pacific Commerce, the trading arm of refiner Shandong Dongming Petrochemical, has purchased 66 percent more crude oil in 2017 than last year, both for its own system and for other independent Chinese refiners, a Dongming senior executive said.** Exchange group Nasdaq Inc and Nordic financial services group SEB have teamed up to test a blockchain-based mutual fund trading platform for the Swedish market in an effort to simplify and make the process faster.** South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc said its board had approved its participation in a consortium led by Bain Capital that plans to purchase Toshiba Corp’s memory chip unit for 2 trillion yen ($17.7 billion).** Rossium, the investment vehicle which controls Russian lender Credit Bank of Moscow among other assets, may buy the bank’s three subordinated Eurobonds, it said.** Saudi Aramco’s trading arm will start trading non-Saudi crude oil to mainly feed its international joint ventures as the world’s largest oil exporter seeks to optimise profits, industry sources familiar with the move said.** Japan’s government said it had raised a total 1.3 trillion yen ($11.5 billion) from its sale of Japan Post Holdings Co <6178.T stock> - including shares sold in the overallotment portion of the deal that was determined on Wednesday.** Privately-run conglomerate CEFC China Energy has obtained preliminary state approval for its proposed $9.1 billion investment in Russian oil major Rosneft. just about a week after the deal was announced, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. (Compiled by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idINL4N1M839R'|'2017-09-27T07:32:00.000+03:00'
'599424488db3ec50182bf0fec6d9e1fc404f7eb0'|'Puerto Rico creditors call for necessary assistance for ''speedy recovery'''|'NEW YORK, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A group of creditors holding Puerto Rico COFINA bonds said on Wednesday that they hoped the island receives the necessary humanitarian and governmental assistance to allow it a “speedy recovery” and to ultimately “strengthen the island’s infrastructure for the long term.”Puerto Rico, which filed the largest-ever U.S. government bankruptcy in May, is struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria which hit last week. Much of the island remains inaccessible, communication is difficult and fuel is in short supply.Since Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy, creditor groups have litigated fiercely over who has first claim on the island’s limited cash. Specifically, holders of some $17 billion in so-called COFINA debt, backed by sales tax revenue, are locked in a lawsuit with owners of $18 billion in general obligation bonds who claim entitlement to all island revenues, sales tax included.Reporting by Nick Brown and Megan Davies; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-puertorico-cofina/puerto-rico-creditors-call-for-necessary-assistance-for-speedy-recovery-idINL2N1M81RU'|'2017-09-27T16:19:00.000+03:00'
'3615638f2bb32f90c3f2e549ce1b743713a06797'|'France backs Siemens-Alstom rail deal despite job fears'|'Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, shakes hands with Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser (L) at a news conference to announce their deal to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion, in Paris, France, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Investors welcomed a merger of the rail businesses of Germany’s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and France’s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ), billed as creating a European champion, but French unions and politicians said France was giving Germany control and risking jobs.The tie-up, set to help the companies counter the rise of China’s state-owned CRRC 601776.SS, represents an industrial win for French President Emmanuel Macron, who is proposing sweeping reforms for Europe, including deeper trade cooperation.French and German leaders have for years called for the creation of “European champions” such as Airbus ( AIR.PA ) to capitalize on the strengths of Europe’s single market and create the scale needed to compete with U.S. and Asian rivals. Yet talks have often stumbled as politicians seek to protect jobs and retain national influence over an industrial sector.But this may be changing. In another sign of France’s willingness to make concessions on the ownership of strategic interests, an Italian government source said shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) was poised to take effective control of shipyard group STX France, ending a lengthy dispute.On the railway deal, France’s finance ministry said it had secured a commitment from Siemens to safeguard Alstom’s French manufacturing plants and jobs for a four-year period after the deal closes. A German trade union said they had got the same guarantees.But unions in France accused the government of neglecting strategic interests. “It is bound to bring a restructuring and no doubt the culling of hundreds of jobs,” said Olivier Kohler, a trade union official in the eastern French town of Belfort, where Alstom makes the high-speed TGV trains.Pascal Novelin, a CGT unionist said: “Transport in France is a strategic asset and they’re selling it off. No industry is safe.”Under the deal, Siemens will have a small majority of the Paris-based and listed combination, which promises eventual annual cost savings of 470 million euros ($552 million) a year, while Alstom boss Henri Poupart-Lafarge will become its CEO.Related Coverage Siemens-Alstom rail merger deal includes four-year plant guaranteesSiemens CEO says picked Alstom for financial strength, CEOFactbox: How Siemens and Alstom rail stack up against the competitionWhile Joe Kaeser, CEO of Siemens, acknowledged there would be job losses, he said they would be in support functions such as human resources rather than in engineering.“Of course there will be redundancies, that’s part of the synergies,” told a news conference.Alstom shares jumped as much as 8.5 percent and Siemens rose 2 percent as analysts focused on the cost savings. They closed up 4.2 and 1.2 percent respectively.COST SYNERGIES Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, attends a news conference with Siemens CEO to announce their deal to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion, in Paris, France, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe “What makes this deal attractive are the targeted cost synergies,” wrote Barclays analyst James Stettler, who rates Alstom “overweight” and Siemens “neutral”. But Deutsche Bank analysts said the targeted annual synergies looked “overly ambitious”. They estimated 230 million euros of synergies and said the economies of scale in train production were not significant and that politicians would try to protect jobs in France and Germany.Deutsche Bank kept a “hold” rating on Alstom shares.The deal sidelines Canadian transportation group Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), which also held talks with Siemens, sources have said.Bombardier said it was always open to “strategic options” but also said: “We do not need to merge with another major player to maintain our leadership position in the rail business.”Slideshow (8 Images) Its shares fell 8 percent to 2.09 Canadian dollars.ANTI-TRUST QUESTIONS Siemens will control Siemens Alstom, with 50 percent of the combination plus a few symbolic shares. It will also get warrants allowing it to eventually acquire another 2 percent.Alstom’s shareholders, meanwhile, are set to receive two special dividends from the tie-up.The Siemens and Alstom transport businesses have combined sales of 15.3 billion euros and earnings before interest and tax of 1.2 billion euros, raising questions over whether the deal could fall foul of European anti-trust regulations.But Alstom’s Poupart-Lafarge said the two had done their homework, adding he was confident of finding a solution.“Of course this is a large deal so no surprise it will be looked quite closely by the European Commission,” he said.BNP Paribas SA ( BNPP.PA ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) advised Siemens, while Rothschild [ROT.UL] and JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) advised Alstom on the deal.Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Richard Lough and Allison Lampert; Writing by Richard Lough; editing by Alexander Smith and Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens/france-backs-siemens-alstom-rail-deal-despite-job-fears-idUSKCN1C2168'|'2017-09-27T13:27:00.000+03:00'
'56da8a732eb7c457d918e981b994f75c1a4d6c58'|'Toshiba signs deal to sell chip unit to Bain-led group for $18 billion'|'  7:03 AM / Updated 44 minutes ago Toshiba $18 billion sale of chip unit finally signed, legal challenges remain Makiko Yamazaki 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp said on Thursday it had signed an $18 billion deal to sell its chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP, overcoming a key - albeit not its last - hurdle as it scrambles for funds to stave off a potential delisting. The sale of the unit - the world’s second biggest producer of NAND chips - was agreed last week after a tortuous auction process but the signing was delayed because consortium member Apple Inc demanded new terms on chip supply, sources familiar with the matter have said. The deal will see Toshiba reinvest in the unit and together with Hoya Corp, a medical technology firm that also makes parts for chip devices, Japanese firms will hold more than 50 percent of the business - a keen wish of the Japanese government. A Japanese state-backed fund and bank have also expressed their interest in investing in the future subject to certain conditions, Toshiba said in a statement. “With this deal, a lot of risks for Toshiba have disappeared. It can go back to being a normal company,” said Hideki Yasuda at Ace Research Institute. Pressure from the Japanese government, changing alliances among suitors and a slew of revised bids has drawn out the auction over nine months - heightening the risk that the deal may not close before the end of Japan’s financial year in March as regulatory reviews usually take at least six months. If the deal does not close before then, Toshiba - hurt by liabilities at is now bankrupt nuclear unit Westinghouse - is likely to end a second consecutive year in negative net worth, putting pressure on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to strip it of its listing status. The sale also faces legal challenges from Western Digital, Toshiba’s chip venture partner and rejected suitor, which is seeking an injunction to block any deal that does not have its consent. Western Digital, one of world’s leading makers of hard disk drives, paid some $16 billion last year to acquire SanDisk, Toshiba’s chip joint venture partner since 2000. It sees chips as a key pillar of growth and is desperate to keep the business out of the hands of rival chipmakers. In addition to Apple, Bain’s consortium includes South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, as well as Dell Inc [DI.UL], Seagate Technology Plc and Kingston Technology. Under the deal, Toshiba will hold 40.2 percent of voting rights in the chip unit and Hoya Corp will own 9.9 percent, while other members will hold a combined 49.9 percent, according to SK Hynix. In a move to address anti-trust concerns that may come up in a regulatory review. Toshiba said SK Hynix would be firewalled from accessing proprietary information that belonged to the chip unit and would not be permitted to own more than 15 percent of voting rights for 10 years. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-signs-deal-to-sell-chip-unit-to-bain-led-group-for-18-billion-idUSKCN1C30P1'|'2017-09-28T10:03:00.000+03:00'
'3e53c26a270f821bb0fc82a86854d951fc1d8e32'|'Brazil''s Petrobras board approves listing fuel distribution arm'|'SAO PAULO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The board of Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA voted to list its fuel distribution unit on the São Paulo Stock Exchange, according to a securities filing on Thursday.Petrobras will sell a 25 percent to 40 percent stake in BR Distribuidora, as the unit is known, the filing said. The transaction is subject to approval by regulators. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bernadette Baum) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/petrobras-divestiture-br-distribuidora/brazils-petrobras-board-approves-listing-fuel-distribution-arm-idINE6N1KX01X'|'2017-09-28T10:14:00.000+03:00'
'ff8b4883233ab01598d1794d9f079868113f86df'|'Suit specialist Moss Bros reports solid first-half profit growth'|'  6:35 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago Suit specialist Moss Bros reports solid first-half profit growth Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Formalwear specialist Moss Bros Group Plc ( MOSB.L ) reported a rise in comparable sales for the first half and said early responses to its autumn and winter ranges had been positive. The company, which owns about 125 stores across the UK, said on Thursday that group like-for-like sales for Jan. 29 to July 29 rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier, with sales growth from retail and e-commerce channels outpacing that of its clothing hire business. Profit before tax for the period rose 15.7 percent to 4.2 million pounds and revenue came in 4.3 percent higher at 66.6 million pounds. On current trading, the company, which is known for its black tie suits, said early responses to its 2017 autumn and winter ranges had been positive and comparable retail sales for the first eight weeks to Sept. 23 were up 3.5 percent. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-moss-bros-grp-results/suit-specialist-moss-bros-reports-solid-first-half-profit-growth-idUKKCN1C30M2'|'2017-09-28T09:35:00.000+03:00'
'0c281aa6420715d139ac31ee233ddf18e996ea67'|'Nike''s quarterly profit beats on strong China demand'|'September 26, 2017 / 9:07 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Nike''s quarterly profit beats on strong China demand Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Nike (NKE) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo (Reuters) - Nike Inc ( NKE.N ) reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, as the world’s largest footwear maker benefited from strong demand in China, its third-biggest market, and cost cuts. Nike, which has celebrity endorsements from NBA players such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, has also been quick to expand its direct-to-consumer presence by testing a pilot program with Amazon ( AMZN.O ) and Facebook’s ( FB.O ) Instagram, and sprucing up its revenue from China through revamped stores and increased online efforts with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s ( BABA.N ) Tmall. The company’s sales in China rose 9 percent in the first quarter ended Aug. 31. Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike in June said it would cut 2 percent of its global workforce and cut about a quarter of its shoe styles in a bid to become nimbler in the face of intensifying competition from Germany-based Adidas AG ( ADSGn.DE ) and Puma SE ( PUMG.DE ). Nike’s selling, general and administrative expenses fell 1 percent to $2.9 billion (2.16 billion pounds) in the first quarter. The company’s net income fell to $950 million, or 57 cents per share, in the quarter, from $1.25 billion, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Nike earned 57 cents per share, handily beating analysts’ average estimate of 48 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose marginally to $9.07 billion, but missed the average analyst estimate of $9.08 billion. Shares of the Dow component were flat at $53.65 in after-market trading on Tuesday. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nike-results/nikes-quarterly-profit-beats-on-strong-china-demand-idUKKCN1C1333'|'2017-09-27T00:06:00.000+03:00'
'ed809d845a99fca115227faeb89699efa2f009a1'|'France, Italy strike deal on STX France shipyards'|'The logo of STX is seen during a press conference at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, western France, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe PARIS (Reuters) - France and Italy agreed a deal on Wednesday giving Italy’s Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) effective control over French shipbuilding firm STX France under shared ownership and strict conditions, ending a dispute that had soured bilateral relations.The two countries also announced their intention to study, by June 2018, a possible merger of French military shipyards company Naval Group with Fincantieri, the French Presidency said, confirming a Reuters report.Under Wednesday’s agreement, Fincantieri will take 50 percent of STX, the French state 34.34 percent, Naval Group 10 percent, STX staff 2 percent and STX local suppliers 3.66 percent.In order for STX to get effective control at 51 percent, the French state will lend it a one percent stake.Paris has, however, a right to demand back that 1 percent stake if Fincantieri does not honor commitments on employment, governance or intellectual property.Naval Group, formerly DCNS, designs and produces France’s submarines and surface ships. The company is owned by the French state while French defense company Thales ( TCFP.PA ) owns a 35 percent stake in the company.France had angered Italy by ordering a “temporary” nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy 55 percent.Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Gwenaelle Barzic, Writing by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Richard Lough '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-italy-summit-stx/france-italy-agree-ownership-split-on-stx-france-shipyards-le-monde-idUSKCN1C20ZF'|'2017-09-27T17:30:00.000+03:00'
'2966619ee26b65d261bd4752dd31242f0e49bab2'|'UPDATE 1-Russia accuses CNN International of violating Russian media law'|'(Adds details, Russian foreign ministry statement, context)MOSCOW, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Russia’s communications regulator on Friday accused U.S. TV channel CNN International of violating Russian media law and said it had summoned the broadcaster’s representatives in connection with the matter.Earlier this week, the Russian foreign ministry accused Washington of putting unwarranted pressure on the U.S operations of Kremlin-backed media outlet RT, and warned that Moscow could take tit-for-tat measures.The communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement on its website that it would look at warning CNN about the alleged violations, which it said also breached the terms of its broadcast licence.It did not say what breaches of Russian laws the U.S. broadcaster had made, adding it would continue its “systematic monitoring” of foreign mass media outlets registered in Russia.Asked if the regulator’s move was politically motivated, Roskomnadzor head Alexander Zharov, was Quote: d by Interfax news agency as saying: “I don’t work in a political agency. I work in a regulatory service.”Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday the U.S. authorities were demanding that Russian state-controlled broadcaster Russia Today (RT) be registered as a “foreign agent” in the United States.She said that move endangered the safety of the channel’s staff, because it included an obligation to disclose their personal data. “In the atmosphere of a witch hunt unfolding in the United States, this may present a real threat,” she said.She said that any move made against Russian media working in the United States “will get a tit-for-tat response”.“And who it falls on, this should be easy for Washington to work out. The clock is ticking,” she said at a weekly briefing on Thursday. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Christian Lowe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-usa-cnn/update-1-russia-accuses-cnn-international-of-violating-russian-media-law-idINL8N1MA1OL'|'2017-09-29T07:40:00.000+03:00'
'678c7764eae3a9fc65cf689904615f757f599a5f'|'Federal Reserve says fined HSBC $175 million for unsafe forex trades'|'FILE PHOTO: A branch of HSBC Bank is pictured in Cairo, Egypt July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Friday fined HSBC Holdings PLC ( HSBA.L ) $175 million for “unsafe and unsound practices” in its foreign exchange trading business, the latest in a series of fines for banks’ failures to prevent market manipulation.HSBC failed to monitor chatrooms where traders swapped information about investment positions, the U.S. central bank said, echoing findings by other regulators investigating the $5 trillion-a-day forex market.“The board levied the fine for deficiencies in HSBC’s oversight of and internal controls over FX traders,” the Fed said in a statement.The fine follows others of more than $4.3 billion levied by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority on six banks including HSBC in November 2014.“We are pleased to have resolved this matter,” a spokesman for HSBC in London said by phone.Authorities accused dealers of sharing confidential information about client orders and coordinating trades to boost their own profits. The foreign exchange benchmark they allegedly manipulated is used by asset managers and corporate treasurers to value their holdings.The Fed’s enforcement action also requires HSBC to improve its controls and compliance risk management concerning the firm’s FX trading, the Fed said.Reporting by Patrick Rucker; additional reporting by Lawrence White in London; editing by G Crosse and Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-fed-fine/federal-reserve-says-fined-hsbc-175-million-for-unsafe-forex-trades-idUSKCN1C4283'|'2017-09-29T18:12:00.000+03:00'
'9a2e7319059d4b6f34c8c96ac5efbab20bdcb507'|'Beazley sees earnings hit of about $150 million from hurricanes, Mexico earthquakes'|' 54 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago Beazley sees earnings hit of about $150 million from hurricanes, Mexico earthquakes   (Reuters) - Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley Plc BEZG.L estimated losses from Atlantic hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and a series of earthquakes in Mexico would reduce its 2017 earnings by about $150 million (£112 million). The insurer’s early estimates point to aggregate net cost from the hurricanes and earthquakes of between $175-$275 million, it said on Friday. Beazley said it would provide a further update on Nov. 9, adding there is still significant uncertainty surrounding the cost of these events. Insurers and reinsurers are counting the costs of Harvey, which lashed Texas causing flooding that put it on the scale of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storms on record, which ravaged several islands in the northern Caribbean, before barrelling into Florida’s Gulf Coast. Most recently, Maria, the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. island territory of Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years, knocked out the territory’s entire power grid, unleashing severe flooding and causing widespread heavy damage. Lloyd’s of London [SOLYD.UL] said on Thursday that it expects net losses of $4.5 billion from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which analysts said would eat into the insurer’s capital and hit its profitability. Modelling firm RMS estimates total insured losses from Harvey and Irma of up to $80 billion and $15-30 billion of losses from Hurricane Maria. Additionally, rival modelling firm AIR Worldwide earlier this week estimated insured losses for Maria of $40-$85 billion. Beazley’s warning follows a host of similar announcements from insurers and reinsurers. Underwriter Hiscox ( HSX.L ) estimated it would face net claims of about $150 million from Hurricane Harvey and said it has yet to determine losses from Hurricane Irma. German reinsurer Hannover Re ( HNRGn.DE ) said it could miss its 2017 profit target, its first such warning since the 2008 financial crisis, following rival Munich Re ( MUVGn.DE ) which was the first major reinsurer to flag a hit to earnings from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. U.S. property and casualty insurer Chubb Ltd ( CB.N ) on estimated after-tax losses of up to $1.28 billion from hurricanes Harvey and Irma and Allstate Corp ( ALL.N ) estimated pre-tax catastrophe losses of $593 million, net of reinsurance recoveries, for August. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain   Rachel Armstrong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-beazley-outlook/beazley-sees-earnings-hit-of-about-150-mln-from-hurricanes-mexico-earthquakes-idUKKCN1C40NR'|'2017-09-29T09:55:00.000+03:00'
'be36b186ea0af3e741955a9c3fb10a388340b1b7'|'Honeywell ups dividend, CNBC says aerospace spinoff on ice'|'  1:40 PM / in 33 minutes Honeywell ups dividend, CNBC says aerospace spinoff on ice Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 29 (Reuters) - U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc will increase its annual divided by 12 percent as of the fourth quarter of this year, the company said on Friday, as it resists pressure from investors to part with its aerospace unit. Separately, CNBC cited sources as saying that the company would not now spin off the aerospace unit, as activist investor Daniel Loeb and his hedge fund Third Point LLC have demanded. Honeywell was not immediately reachable for comment. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/honeywell-intl-spinoff/honeywell-ups-dividend-cnbc-says-aerospace-spinoff-on-ice-idUSL4N1MA4LE'|'2017-09-29T16:40:00.000+03:00'
'593b4354d99fca0dc4696923d3f30c4e80cebe57'|'Twitter briefing to U.S. congressional investigators disappointing -Senator Warner'|'  8:44 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Twitter briefing to U.S. congressional investigators disappointing -Senator Warner Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Mark Warner, top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said on Thursday he was deeply disappointed by the lack of information Twitter provided at a briefing for congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the U.S. election. He said the Twitter briefing was mostly derivative of a presentation earlier this month given by Facebook and lacked thoroughness. “Their response was, frankly, inadequate on almost every level,” Warner told reporters. (Reporting by Dustin Volz; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-russia-warner/twitter-briefing-to-u-s-congressional-investigators-disappointing-senator-warner-idUSW1N1M304A'|'2017-09-28T23:42:00.000+03:00'
'ccfd4ff4a9ed907d2cc1054b484e94d675750141'|'Italy launches process for possible fine of Vivendi over TIM control - source'|' 22 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Italy launches process for possible fine of Vivendi over TIM control: source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Vivendi logo is pictured at the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate headquarters in Paris, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - Italy began a process on Thursday that could end with French media group Vivendi ( VIV.MI ) being fined for failing to notify Rome that it had de facto control over Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ), an Italian government source said. Vivendi denies that its 24 percent holding in the Italian phone group has given it effective control of the company. An Italian government panel met on Thursday to conclude its investigation, which began last month, and “launched the process for the possible application of the fine,” the source said, without indicating how much it might amount to. A Telecom Italia source said the company reiterated its position that there was no need for any notification because Vivendi still did not have de facto control over the company. A Vivendi spokesman declined to comment. Reporting by Massimiliano Di Giorgio and John Irish, writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-vivendi-fine/italy-launches-process-for-possible-fine-of-vivendi-over-tim-control-source-idUKKCN1C32W7'|'2017-09-28T21:47:00.000+03:00'
'a76829cd12cb4912b5603a083f94f3783032b4ae'|'Who’s afraid of disruption?'|'LAST week Schumpeter met two tech tycoons who control businesses in total worth $600bn. In both cases the mayhem around them was what you would expect if Beyoncé hit town, minus the musical talent and looks. Hotel floors were locked down by the official secret service; the corridors were crammed with lines of petitioners and in one case a Wall Street boss gatecrashed the room in order to hug his idol.The message from both titans—you ain’t seen nothing yet—was imperious. Over the next decade, they say, conventional industries will face an onslaught from tech competitors wielding vast financial resources, new technologies and massive reserves of data. It is a view that has swept through traditional firms’ boardrooms, too, where enthusing about virtual reality and singing the praises of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s boss, is almost obligatory. The notion of disruption, with its promise to destroy the status quo and then renew it, is the most fashionable idea in global business since the craze for emerging markets over a decade ago. 15 Yet there is a puzzle at the heart of the orthodoxy. Few bosses, in public or in private, expect their own firms to decline, and hardly any American companies are valued by investors as if their profits will fall. The tech revolution, it seems, will be momentous, but harmless, with no corporate victims. Something does not add up.If disruption is defined as conventional firms being clobbered by digital ones, there is certainly some of it about. This month Toys “R” Us went bankrupt, joining many clothing and hardware retailers felled by e-commerce. On August 23rd shares in WPP, an advertising firm, slumped after it said clients were cutting spending partly because of technological change. A few days later Amazon closed its acquisition of Whole Foods, a food retailer, and cut its high prices, spreading fear in the supermarket industry’s aisles.At least six conventional industries have been eviscerated by digital innovation in the past two decades—music, video-renting, books, taxis, newspapers and clothes retailing. In financial terms the survivors are shadows of their former selves. The New York Times Company’s profits are 67% below their peak. It is a similar story at Barnes & Noble (76%) and Universal Music (about 40%).But these firms and their peers were never large. In 1997, when Mark Zuckerberg was 13 years old and the six industries were in their prime, they accounted for 2% of the profits of the S&P 500 index of big American firms. The toll that digital disruption has taken so far on overall earnings is thus tiny. Across America’s economy profits are high and stable relative to GDP.If technological disruption was about to inflict a new and more devastating blow on traditional firms, you would expect to see lots of them with miserly valuations, as investors discounted a slump in their profits. Yet such firms are uncommon. Only about 40 companies in the S&P 500 have a price-earnings ratio of less than 12, which is a sign of imminent decline. That is similar to the share two decades ago and half the number of ten years ago.Only two industries are priced for devastation. General Motors and Ford are valued at just seven times profits. Investors expect Tesla, a manufacturer of electric cars, to steal market share, and ride-sharing firms to cut demand for cars. Airlines are dirt cheap but that is because the market frets about a price war and the chance of tighter antitrust regulation, not about disruption.Many industries that you might imagine to be directly in the crosshairs of Silicon Valley are expected to plod along happily. Consider television, where Amazon, Netflix, YouTube and Apple are pouring money into buying and making new shows. There are certainly worries about consumers cutting the cable-TV cord, but the incumbent cable firms and content producers are in aggregate valued on 20 times profits, implying cash flows will continue to rise. Likewise, hotel companies, rather than being wiped out by Airbnb and throttled by online travel agents, enjoy similar perky valuations to those they had ten years ago.The list goes on. The credit-card giants, Visa and MasterCard, are on a roll, and are together worth almost as much as Amazon: there is little sign of disruption by digital-payments firms. From stodgy banks (facing a putative threat from fintech) to electric utilities (which might be disrupted by batteries and smart grids) it is a similar story: valuations imply that investors are relaxed. Even food retail’s giant sitting duck, Walmart, is forecast to see pre-tax profits increase by a cumulative 6% over the next three years.A different kind of digital accommodationInvestors appear to be assuming an accommodation between big tech and the rest of big business, not a bloody showdown. The five largest tech firms (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft) have valuations that suggest their combined share of total corporate profits will rise from 7% now to 13% in a decade. They are expected to keep near-monopolies for decades in products that attract huge public interest, such as search and social media. But they are not expected to lay waste to America Inc.That is reasonable. Many incumbent industries have high barriers to entry. Two of the largest, banking and health care, are surrounded by a mesh of regulation. And existing big firms have raised their game. Most giants, from Walmart to General Electric, have digital or e-commerce divisions. America’s incumbents spend five times more on research and development than the five big technology companies do.But it is possible that the present balancing act may topple over. Either tech breakthroughs or deregulation could make it easier for tech firms to compete against conventional ones. If the tech boom becomes a bubble, there will be pressure on tech bosses to lower the hurdle rates they use for new projects and invest much more heavily in old industries. If they are rational, they will resist the temptation, but when you are holed up in a hotel room surrounded by admirers it can be easy to lose perspective. "Uneasy accommodation"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729769-business-world-obsessed-digital-disruption-it-has-had-little-impact?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'50e66f1efee054028416a7496c1181db76c083b6'|'Facebook and the meaning of share ownership'|'ONE group of Facebook friends that Mark Zuckerberg recently decided were not worth hanging out with were its public shareholders, who expected to cross-examine him (via a lawyer) on September 26th in a Delaware court. At issue would have been Mr Zuckerberg’s plans to refashion the social-media firm’s share-ownership structure more in his favour.There is not a scintilla of doubt over who controls Facebook. Not only does Mr Zuckerberg, its founder, serve as its CEO and chairman; owning 16% of its shares, he controls 60% of the voting authority through a special class of stock with ten times normal voting rights. A year ago, Mr Zuckerberg decided he would like to sell a large slug of his holdings (worth $74bn) without diluting control. The firm made a plan to distribute non-voting shares enabling him to reduce his economic interest to 3% without affecting control. 15 That prompted litigation. Shareholder votes can be directly meaningful on many issues, including management pay and acquisitions, and indirectly meaningful, too, because these votes require the release of often important information, says Stuart Grant, a lawyer. He sued Facebook and Mr Zuckerberg on behalf of two of the company’s large investors for a breach of fiduciary duty. But shortly before the trial Mr Zuckerberg dropped the plan, posting on Facebook that he believed he had sufficient control regardless. He also probably wanted to avoid an extra fight amid controversy over Russians using Facebook to meddle in America’s presidential election.There was a time when ideas surrounding shareholder “democracy” created a vocal constituency for each share equating to one vote on corporate matters. This was a matter of contractual agreement under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange’s rise to pre-eminence in the early twentieth century was tied to listing standards that enhanced investor confidence. But its authority has since withered away. It now offers no opinion on the subject of multiple share classes other than that they are permitted by its primary regulator, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Indeed, because the SEC does not block the issuance of non-voting shares, Mr Zuckerberg could well have won the case.The NASDAQ, where Facebook is listed, defends multiple classes on principle, arguing that a share need only reflect an economic participation. Various structures are acceptable as long as shareholders know what they are buying, notably at the time of a public offering. If rules were tightened, it believes, firms would forgo listing altogether for less pernickety private markets.Whatever merits this argument has, it does not quite cover the Facebook case: the change was to be made after the firm had gone public. Other firms have been taking a similar approach to their shares, either limiting investor voting rights, such as Under Armour, a clothing manufacturer, or offering shares with none, such as Snap, another social-media firm. But poor results at both firms have raised doubts about investors’ tolerance for buying into similarly-structured offerings.Yet it does not amount to a meaningful mood shift on multiple share classes. If Airbnb, a home-sharing giant, wants them if it goes public, for instance, it will likely prevail; then others will. If a line is being drawn, it is not by regulators, but index-providers. Standard & Poor’s and FTSE Russell both said in July they would restrict firms with multiple share classes from their benchmark indices; MSCI is weighing a similar move. So future offerings may be defined not by exchanges or regulators, but by entities that merely describe collections of firms. Until then, shares of common stock, to use a precise though rarely used term, may have less and less in common. "Social classes"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729813-multiple-class-share-structures-are-controversial-are-probably-here-stay-facebook-and?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'477e7d98f0b07da732284769a1e10f457531eced'|'Facebook''s Zuckerberg defends company after critical Trump tweet'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:22 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Facebook''s Zuckerberg defends company after critical Trump tweet Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s ( FB.O ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday defended his company’s role in U.S. elections and rejected assertions in a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump that the social network was against him. Zuckerberg has been on the defensive for weeks over revelations that Russian agents bought ads on Facebook and created fake accounts to inflame political tensions in the United States ahead of the 2016 presidential vote. In a Facebook post on Wednesday Zuckerberg said both Trump and liberals were upset about ideas and content on Facebook during the campaign. “That’s what running a platform for all ideas looks like,” Zuckerberg said on Wednesday. Zuckerburg noted that the 2016 campaign was the first in the United States where the internet was a primary way candidates communicated and said the ability of candidates and voters to interact was a good thing. FILE PHOTO - Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the Alumni Exercises following the 366th Commencement Exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder He also pointed to “get out the vote” efforts that had spurred almost 2 million people to register to vote. In the same post, Zuckerberg said he regretted saying after the election that it was “crazy” to think that misinformation on Facebook changed the outcome of the election, adding that the comment was “dismissive.” Earlier on Wednesday, Trump’s tweet criticized Facebook as “anti-Trump” and suggested the company could have colluded with other media outlets that opposed him. Facebook is part of investigations both houses of Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller are conducting into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Facebook on Wednesday was asked to testify before two separate Congressional committees. It is not clear whether Zuckerberg or other executives will appear. Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-trump/facebooks-zuckerberg-defends-company-after-critical-trump-tweet-idUSKCN1C239M'|'2017-09-28T02:22:00.000+03:00'
'52bb5e0d931001b99228717c3eeb206331375255'|'Greek economy''s recovery to strengthen - ECB''s Stournaras'|' 34 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Greek economy''s recovery to strengthen- ECB''s Stournaras Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Governor of the Central Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras speaks during an interview with Reuters at the bank''s headquarters in Athens, Greece, November 8, 2016. Picture taken November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s economy is recovering after a deep recession and growth is set to pick up in the next two years, the head of its central bank said on Thursday, urging a speedy conclusion of a bailout review to avoid a new cycle of uncertainty. “The Greek economy is currently on a growth track. It is now safe to predict that economic activity will continue to pick up at a stronger pace in the near term,” Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras told the British-Hellenic chamber of commerce. In 2017 as a whole, gross domestic product was projected to grow by about 1.7 percent, he said, while in 2018 and 2019, growth will quicken to 2.4 and 2.7 percent, respectively, driven by rising investment, consumption and exports. Stournaras, also a European Central Bank Governing Council member, said the central bank’s forecasts were based on the assumption Greece’s reforms and privatizations programme “will be implemented consistently and according to schedule.” Reporting by George Georgiopoulos'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-greece-economy/greek-economys-recovery-to-strengthen-ecbs-stournaras-idUKKCN1C32XV'|'2017-09-28T22:32:00.000+03:00'
'103b2a67b6e73f03c8e519acdb4b69404b6ba72b'|'Child urges bankruptcy judge to prevent Toys ''R'' Us chain from closing'|'SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The thought of Toys ‘R’ Us closing stores due to its recent bankruptcy filing is too much for one nine-year-old to bear, according to court papers.In a handwritten letter entered on Monday in the bankruptcy docket of the largest U.S. toy store chain, the child argued store closings “will be bad for kids” and would leave them “very unhappy.”The retailer’s stores are special for children, who “would rather be promised a trip to Toy ‘R’ Us than any other store,” the child said in the letter to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips, who is overseeing the bankruptcy case.The letter identifies the child only as Andrew. The child’s last name was blacked out.The letter was entered into the Toys ‘R’ Us docket like any other document, Phillips’ judicial assistant told Reuters.Toys ‘R’ Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month to restructure $5 billion of its long-term debt. It did not, however, file with plans for store closures as has been typical of many retailers that have sought to restructure or liquidate in court in recent years. (Reporting by Jim Christie) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/toysrus-bankruptcy-child/child-urges-bankruptcy-judge-to-prevent-toys-r-us-chain-from-closing-idINL2N1M725R'|'2017-09-26T19:11:00.000+03:00'
'08eefd3e57742276b98920324f6b7ba5f93ac4c9'|'Must be the mountain air: yet again, Swiss have world''s most competitive economy'|'September 26, 2017 / 10:09 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Must be the mountain air: yet again, Swiss have world''s most competitive economy Tom Miles , Marina Depetris 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Swiss flag is pictured next to the Jet d''Eau (water fountain), and the Lake Leman from the St-Pierre Cathedrale in Geneva, Switzerland, June 5, 2012. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo GENEVA (Reuters) - Switzerland is the world’s most competitive economy for a ninth straight year, the Geneva-based World Economic Forum said on Wednesday. Since suffering a rare blip in 2008, when it was nudged into second place by the United States, the Swiss economy has maintained an efficient but unshakeable grip on the top spot in the WEF annual ranking . WEF economist Thierry Geiger said Switzerland had a virtuous circle of infrastructure, institutions and education, but at the heart of its success was the way it created and used talent. “That is really the secret of Switzerland, this ability to innovate, supported by a whole range of enabling factors,” he said. However, after almost a decade at the top, Switzerland is at risk from complacency and populism. The ageing population could undermine the innovation miracle by shutting the door to foreign talent in one of the referendums that make Swiss law, he said. “We see a proliferation of such referendums on everything, some of them are kind of dangerous, they could really endanger and jeopardise Switzerland’s prosperity,” Geiger said. FILE PHOTO: Vehicles are seen on the A9 motorway overlooking Lake Leman in Chardonne near Vevey, Switzerland May 28, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse The World Economic Forum, the same organisation that runs the Davos meeting of global powerbrokers each January, bases its rankings on a dozen drivers of competitiveness and a survey of business leaders. “Global competitiveness will be more and more defined by the innovative capacity of a country,” Klaus Schwab, WEF founder and executive chairman, said in a statement. Besides Switzerland, the top 10 remained the same as a year ago, although there was some shuffling of the order. The United States climbed over Singapore into second place, and Hong Kong jumped three places to sixth, leapfrogging Japan in ninth spot Britain slipped one place to eighth. It has not yet dropped in the rankings because of its Brexit negotiations with the European Union but it is expected to do so, the WEF said. China inched up one place to 27th, well ahead of 38th-ranked Russia and India, which was in 40th position. The wooden spoon went to Yemen, a poor country further devastated by civil war, economic collapse, cholera and near-famine conditions, which was in 137th place. Reporting by Tom Miles and Marina Depretis Editing by Jeremy Gaunt. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-economy-competitiveness/must-be-the-mountain-air-yet-again-swiss-have-worlds-most-competitive-economy-idUKKCN1C137X'|'2017-09-27T01:15:00.000+03:00'
'79fd556658a8b550aa0f4a1ba3b8425d232ed7ec'|'LPC: Low rates, improving economy ignite US syndicated lending'|'  3:05 PM / in 10 minutes LPC: Low rates, improving economy ignite US syndicated lending Lynn Adler 5 Min Read NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A burst of loans to highly indebted companies to cut borrowing costs and acquire corporate targets while interest rates remain low boosted US syndicated lending by 24% to an all-time high for any nine-month period, charting a course toward a record issuance year. The torrent of leveraged loans to low-rated borrowers came just as more high-quality corporations - unwilling to wait any longer for new US tax or trade policies before merging with complementary businesses while money is cheap – also propped up investment-grade lending. Total US$1.75trn syndicated loan issuance this year is up from US$1.41trn in the same nine months of last year, according to Thomson Reuters LPC. A typical fourth-quarter lending pace would lead full-year volume to surpass the prior record US$2.14trn set in 2013. The slow but steady economic growth, along with gradually rising interest rates and the US administration’s new focus on slashing taxes, should keep the lending machine open for refinancings and acquisitions, bankers agree. “The markets are robust and people are hungry for new business,” said one senior banker. “People are optimistic that there will be more large corporate M&A activity, LBOs (leveraged buyouts) and M&A in the middle market as well.” A Republican outline on Wednesday for long-awaited tax system reform stirred market optimism, after repeated efforts to overhaul healthcare policy failed this year. The prospect for lower tax rates could stimulate more corporate dealmaking, although bankers said the proposal was light on specifics regarding key matters of interest cost deductibility and repatriating cash held overseas. “If they can get tax reform done, then there is hope they can get the debt ceiling and other things done which should provide market stability and, frankly, more certainty for business decisions,” said Jonathan DeSimone, managing director at Bain Capital Credit. “That said, there are no real details on the interest side – and until you know what the interest deduction looks like it’s only a starting point until, or if, something on the President’s desk is signed.” LEVERAGING DEMAND Underlying the leveraged loan spurt has been an unquenched investor thirst for floating-rate assets when interest rates are expected to go up. Leveraged lending spiked by 65% in the first nine months to about US$994bn from US$601bn a year earlier. Third-quarter issuance of US$242bn was up 10% from the year-ago quarter. Collateralized Loan Obligation funds, the largest buyers of leveraged loans, have issued about US$80bn so far this year, a 74% spike from US$46bn in the same period a year ago. Even with minor net selling since late August, retail investors have poured US$16.6bn into loan mutual and exchange traded funds this year, according to Thomson Reuters Lipper. Loans for supplies retailer Staples Inc’s delivery business buyout by Sycamore Partners, and for a large dividend payment by software security firm McAfee, were among the varied roster that also featured waves of repricings to sweeten borrower terms. “For the leveraged loan market, the main theme has been a much more stable market than people anticipated,” said Art de Pena, managing director and head of distribution, trading and agency for MUFG’s syndications group. “Concerns about geopolitical issues and US political rhetoric have not really affected the market.” With this flood of issuance, encouraged by ongoing appetite for higher-yielding investments, buyer protections have eroded. The US$541bn of so-called covenant-lite leveraged loans issued so far this year is 161% greater than the US$207bn in the same period last year. “There’s been increasing weakness in loan term sheets, in covenants and the terms that loans are issued under,” said Michael Nechamkin, senior portfolio manager and co-chief investment officer at Octagon Credit Investors. “Borrowers have more flexibility than they’ve ever had in the past.“ LIFTOFF Lending to top quality companies has been more episodic. A jet stream of aerospace and defense transactions boosted third-quarter activity versus a year earlier, helping minimize the impact of first-half lending. Investment-grade lending is now down more around 7% year-to-date. Bankers said volume could near last year’s pace as more companies in a slow-growing economy look to expand by making acquisitions. Some of the biggest loans announced in the third quarter backed big mergers by United Technologies and Rockwell Collins as well as by Northrop Grumman and Orbital ATK. These two combinations helped drive US aerospace and defense M&A this year to a record, according to Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence. “There comes a point where you need to go on with your business and worry about market share and profitability and product extensions or reductions, and you can’t necessarily wait much longer,” said de Pena. (Reporting by Lynn Adler; Editing By Jon Methven, Michelle Sierra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/3q-lending/lpc-low-rates-improving-economy-ignite-us-syndicated-lending-idUSL2N1MA0OQ'|'2017-09-29T18:04:00.000+03:00'
'd9752a01a196906b38b36f5001f23af897694426'|'A shareholder pact is rocked by Liliane Bettencourt’s death'|'DEATH does not end all uncertainties. News that Liliane Bettencourt, a glamorous 94-year-old Parisian heiress, died on September 20th has provoked a flurry of investor speculation over L’Oréal, the world’s biggest cosmetics company. She had held a controlling stake in the firm her father, an inventor of hair dyes, founded in 1909. Its market value has since grown to be a whisker short of €100bn ($117bn).Her death brings few immediate consequences. An Alzheimer’s sufferer, she had been declared legally unfit to manage her concerns. That followed a scandal, made public in 2010 after her butler secretly recorded politicians, lawyers and friends as they bilked her for millions of euros. The case still haunts Nicolas Sarkozy, an ex-president. He seethed in October that opponents had stymied his return to politics by repeating allegations he profited from the “sordid Bettencourt affair” (he was cleared of charges over it in 2013).  15   15   15   One nurse of Ms Bettencourt likened her household to a “basket of crabs”, as staff and others battled to pinch her wealth. The drama eased in the past six years after her daughter took control of the family assets, including the one-third stake in L’Oréal. The family affirmed, on September 21st, their “entire commitment and loyalty to L’Oréal” and its chief executive, Jean-Paul Agon.That suggests no big changes are looming at the firm, which is considered a fleuron , or ornament, of France’s corporate scene. It is certainly flourishing under Mr Agon. L’Oréal’s share price has almost doubled in the past five years. It earned strong operating profits of €4.5bn last year, on sales of €26bn, and expects that profits this year should reach a record 18% of sales.Investors are watching one matter closely—whether relations now change with Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company. It holds a 23.2% stake in L’Oréal, the result of a deal Ms Bettencourt struck in the 1970s to fend off Socialist politicians she feared could nationalise the family firm. Recurrent speculation suggests that Nestlé, which reduced its stake once already, could divest entirely—or might decide to bid for L’Oréal outright. The deal lets either side increase ownership of L’Oréal only six months after Ms Bettencourt’s death.In the event, the news came just before Nestlé’s newish chief executive, Ulf Mark Schneider, was due to offer his plans to investors for the first time, on September 26th. Shareholders have long quipped that the seller of Nescafé, KitKats and Purina pet food has grown stale and lament its loss of market share to fresher rivals. Pressure has risen further after an activist hedge fund, Third Point, in June said it had bought a $3.5bn stake in Nestlé.Mr Schneider set a goal of achieving profit margins of 17.5% to 18.5% by 2020, speeding up share buy-backs and lifting sales of fast-growing products (mostly caffeine-related). The activists wanted all that, but he bluntly refused their demand also to sell the L’Oréal stake, which they say has no part in the firm’s strategy. Mr Schneider retorted that the stake constitutes a “fabulous” investment, generating an average of 12% annual returns in the past 42 years.Politics would probably not get in the way of buying L’Oréal outright. France’s strongly pro-European president, Emmanuel Macron, would struggle to oppose a purely European takeover. And other conglomerates show an appetite for beauty. Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch behemoth, is shifting its portfolio from food to faster-growing categories such as shampoo and skin creams. On September 25th it said it will buy Carver Korea, a Korean beauty firm, for €2.27bn. Yet for Nestlé, taking over L’Oréal would be a financial stretch, and looks impossible without the Bettencourts’ agreement. They show no sign of wanting to sell. The French firm might be willing to do the opposite, buying out the Nestlé investment, for example if it raised funds by selling its own €10bn stake in Sanofi, France’s biggest drugmaker. The domino effect of undoing the Nestlé-L’Oréal pact might mean even more uncertainties ahead.  "Because it’s worth it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729805-nestl-s-ties-worlds-biggest-beauty-company-come-under-review-shareholder-pact?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'ce64c70aa1f363e2c1363b1efd68e30c2f9445cc'|'China''s COMAC says C919 jet completes second test flight'|'September 28, 2017 / 5:36 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago China''s COMAC says C919 jet completes second test flight Brenda Goh 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A model of C919 passenger jet by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) is displayed at Aviation Expo China 2017 in Beijing, China September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s domestically developed C919 passenger jet completed its second test flight on Thursday, the jet’s maker said, but there were questions about its duration and on the near five-month gap between the two test flights. The narrow-body aircraft, which will compete with Boeing’s ( BA.N ) 737 and the Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A320, is a symbol of China’s ambitions to muscle into a global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next 20 years. It first flew on May 5 after numerous delays. “The plane has made a smooth return,” a spokesman for its manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL], told Reuters. COMAC said the plane flew up to 10,000 feet after taking off from Shanghai’s Pudong Airport at 07:22 a.m. (2322GMT). It landed at 10:08 a.m. COMAC said, a flight time of 166 minutes. In comparison, its maiden flight was 80-minutes long. “The interval between the C919’s first two flights is extraordinary,” said Bradley Perrett, a veteran China watcher and reporter at Aviation Week in an article on Wednesday. “The conclusion must be that COMAC was not really ready for flight testing in May... A common view is that the C919 was put into the air so early for strictly political reasons, although there is no suggestion that doing so was unsafe,” he said. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet, Japan’s first passenger aircraft, took its second flight eight days after it first flew in 2015 while the gap between the first and second flight for the Airbus A350 was five days, Perrett said. A report published earlier on Thursday by state-backed news website ThePaper.cn said that the C919 was expected to fly between 07:20 a.m. and return at about 11 a.m. COMAC did not immediately reply to questions on whether the flight was shorter than expected. Strongly backed by Beijing, the C919 has so far announced orders for 730 planes from 27 customers, many of which are Chinese leasing companies. Last week, Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) Financial Leasing Co Ltd became the first customer to make a second order for the C919 jet. Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-aviation-comac/chinas-comac-says-c919-jet-completes-second-test-flight-idUKKCN1C30HA'|'2017-09-28T08:36:00.000+03:00'
'4a05f33220b634b7d378df328311a0358ae506f9'|'JPMorgan scores partial win in $1.5 billion GM bankruptcy dispute'|'A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) scored a partial victory on Tuesday in a long-running dispute over the repayment of a $1.5 billion loan it made to General Motors’ bankrupt predecessor, known as ‘Old GM’.U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan sided with the bank against Old GM’s unsecured creditors, who have been trying to claw back the money, finding that most assets securing the loan, like robots and conveyor belts, were “fixtures” covered by a JPMorgan lien.Unsecured creditors had hoped to convince Glenn the assets were not covered by the lien, which would have cleared the way for them to try to recoup money that Old GM repaid to the bank.JPMorgan said it was reviewing the ruling. A lawyer for unsecured creditors declined to comment.In addition to determining if the assets were fixtures, Glenn was also asked to determine the value of the equipment. The judge rejected the bank’s proposed valuation, although he also rejected the valuation method proposed by unsecured creditors.The legal fight stretches back to 2006, when JPMorgan loaned GM $1.5 billion and received a lien on GM assets.Due to a paperwork error, a lien was invalidated in 2008, but other liens remained on fixtures in a multiple GM locations covering 200,000 pieces of equipment.Glenn was only asked to rule on a representative subset of 40 assets that was subject of a two-week trial this year that culminated with Tuesday’s ruling.The parties will now take Glenn’s ruling and begin mediated talks to settle the dispute.The judge urged them to settle the matter out of court.“With over 200,000 assets remaining in dispute, in the event the Court is required to make individual determinations on each of these 200,000 assets, cars very well might be flying around Mars by the time the dispute is fully adjudicated,” he wrote in his 196-page ruling.GM’s predecessor filed for bankruptcy in 2009, beset by a deep U.S. recession, an enormous debtload, high labor costs and outdated car models.Many assets were acquired and removed from bankruptcy by General Motors Co ( GM.N ).Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; editing by Diane Craft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-generalmotors-bankruptcy-ruling/jpmorgan-scores-partial-win-in-1-5-billion-gm-bankruptcy-dispute-idUSKCN1C12YM'|'2017-09-26T23:26:00.000+03:00'
'dea56711937a06d219903a2ba232201c3b828d41'|'UK retail sales growth spikes higher in September - CBI'|'September 27, 2017 / 10:06 AM / Updated an hour ago UK retail sales growth spikes higher in September - CBI Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Shoppers are reflected in a shop window as they walk along Oxford Street in London, Britain, December 21, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - British retail sales growth unexpectedly surged to a two-year high during the first part of this month, industry data showed, potentially giving the Bank of England confidence to raise interest rates as soon as November. The Confederation of British Industry said on Wednesday that its retail sales balance jumped to +42 in September from a reading of -10 in August, the highest since September 2015 and far above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. British consumers have been squeezed this year by higher inflation triggered by the plunge in the pound after last year’s Brexit vote. But the Bank of England said earlier this month there were some signs consumer demand might be picking up, though it was too soon to tell if this would offset weak business investment. FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk along Oxford Street in London, Britain December 18, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Most BoE policymakers have said they expect to back a first rate rise in more than a decade in the coming months if the economy and inflation pressures grow as they expect, and economists think this will come as soon as the BoE’s next meeting on Nov. 2. The CBI survey showed that retailers expect strong sales growth to continue into October, with the highest month-ahead expectations since the start of the year. FILE PHOTO: A Confederation of British Industry (CBI) logo is seen during their annual conference in London, Britain November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville However, CBI economist Anna Leach urged caution. “Inflation continues to squeeze household budgets, and with the pressure on incomes set to persist, retailers will continue to face a challenging environment,” she said. The BoE expects inflation to exceed 3 percent in October, and only to fall slowly over the next couple of years. The central bank does expect wage growth to pick up, though so far there is limited evidence of a rise. British retail sales volumes recorded their biggest monthly gain since April last month, according to official data last week, although year-on-year sales growth remained well below levels seen last year at 2.4 percent.. Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Polina Ivanova; uk.economics@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 5109 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail/uk-retail-sales-growth-spikes-higher-in-september-cbi-idUKKCN1C2144'|'2017-09-27T13:06:00.000+03:00'
'63c18c53b147594ec425db2f2b756132a97b3eb0'|'Google to treat shopping rivals equally, in line with EU order'|'September 27, 2017 / 4:10 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Google to treat shopping rivals equally, in line with EU order Foo Yun Chee 3 Min Read Signage is seen at a Google digital workshop stand at the Labour Party Conference venue in Brighton, Britain, September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google ( GOOGL.O ) will treat its own shopping service the same as rivals when they bid for ads at the top of a search page, the company said on Wednesday, as it seeks to comply with an EU antitrust order and stave off fresh fines. The European Commission slapped a record 2.4-billion-euro ($2.8 billion) fine on the world’s most popular internet search engine in June and told the firm to stop favouring its shopping service. Google, a unit of U.S. firm Alphabet, has until Sept. 28 to halt this anti-competitive practice or face a penalty up to 5 percent of its average daily worldwide turnover. The company said competitors would be able to bid for ads in the shopping box via an auction, confirming a Reuters report on Sept. 18. “We’re giving comparison shopping services the same opportunity to show shopping ads from merchants on Google’s search results pages as we give to Google Shopping,” spokesman Al Verney said. “Google Shopping will compete on equal terms and will operate as if it were a separate business, participating in the auction in the same way as everyone else,” he said. The changes will go into effect on Thursday and apply only in Europe. The shopping service will operate as an independent unit, with one team working with competing sites and another with merchants, and subjected to regulatory monitoring. The EU competition authority said it had hired auditor KPMG and marketing firm Mavens to help with the task. “It would be premature at this stage for the Commission to take any definite positions on Google’s plans. As (European Competition) Commissioner Vestager said, ‘this issue will remain on our desks for some time’,” Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said. Lobby group FairSearch, whose members include Google rivals such as British shopping comparison site Foundem and U.S. travel site TripAdvisor ( TRIP.O ), said it would keep a close eye on developments. “We will be watching closely to see if this remedy ends the abuse so that consumers get the best prices and most relevant results, and competitors have an opportunity to innovate,” its lawyer Thomas Vinje said. About a dozen rivals out of an estimated 200 to 300 comparison shopping services in Europe have already provided feeds to Google. Several have criticised the proposal for not addressing the regulatory concerns. Deutsche Bank analysts estimate the European product listing ads (PLAs) business should generate between $4 billion to $5 billion in 2017, representing about 5 percent of the company’s total ad revenue. Analyst Lloyd Walmsley estimated that if Google was forced to make changes, it could lop 30 percent off of these revenues, or about 1-2 percent of Alphabet’s total revenue. Google is also under EU fire over its smartphone operating system Android, as well as its AdSense for Search platform. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt; Editing by Edmund Blair and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-google-antitrust/google-says-will-treat-comparison-shopping-rivals-equally-idUKKCN1C22BI'|'2017-09-27T20:13:00.000+03:00'
'690e9b3de67b09cc366d9df67141900b077cda84'|'Nike posts slowest quarterly sales growth in nearly seven years'|'Reuters TV United States September 26, 2017 / 8:27 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Nike posts slowest quarterly sales growth in nearly 7 years Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Nike (NKE) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo (Reuters) - Nike Inc ( NKE.N ) posted its slowest quarterly sales growth in nearly seven years in the face of intensifying competition from Adidas AG ( ADSGn.DE ) and said it expects a further drop in revenue from North America. Shares of the Dow component were trading down 3.7 percent at $51.71 after the bell on Tuesday. Nike is battling pressures on many fronts - in North America a reinvigorated Adidas has taken market share, while athleisure, a decade-long trend that saw shoppers wear sports apparel for formal and informal occasions, has been fading. Certain retailers may respond to the weak demand in North America through door closures and potential discontinuities, which could lead to contraction of revenue in the market in the current quarter, Nike said on a post-earnings call. Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike also said it expects its second-quarter revenue to grow in the low single-digit percentage range. Bankruptcies from Sports Authority and Sports Chalet earlier in the year have seen Nike’s distribution channels weaken and those that remain - sporting goods retailers such as Finish Line Inc ( FINL.O ) and Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc ( DKS.N ) - have called out sharp falls in store visits and the need to cut prices to battle online competition. Finish Line, earlier this year, had also pointed out a lack of innovation in shoe styles in the market from footwear makers to have dampened demand. Nike’s gross margins fell 1.8 percent to 43.7 percent, while inventory was up 6 percent in the first quarter ended Aug. 31, driven by higher off-price sales. Revenue from North America, the company’s largest revenue contributor, fell 3 percent - its first decline in more than 10 quarters. However, Nike said it banked on international sales to meet its mid single-digit revenue growth target for the year. Sales from Greater China rose 9 percent and revenue from the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region grew 4 percent in the quarter. Total revenue rose marginally to $9.07 billion, while Nike said it earned 57 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $9.08 billion and earnings of 48 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Martina D''Couto'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-nike-results/nikes-quarterly-profit-drops-24-percent-idUKKCN1C12YV'|'2017-09-27T00:57:00.000+03:00'
'6af2da5bf63840ae6dd51ceed278626bc410a455'|'As Ryanair cancellations mount, UK regulator urges ''action, not words'''|'Toshiba''s $18 billion sale of chip unit finally signed Autos Toyota to form electric car technology venture with Mazda May defends free markets Reuters TV United States   9:17 AM / in 2 minutes As Ryanair cancellations mount, UK regulator urges ''action, not words'' Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair plane prepares to land at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo (Reuters) - Ryanair ( RYA.I ), Europe’s busiest airline, was warned to deliver “action, not words” by British aviation authorities on Thursday after it failed to inform 400,000 customers of their full rights regarding canceled flights through Christmas. Ryanair has more than doubled its unprecedented cancellations since last week, with cuts now affecting more than 700,000 customers over the next five months. Ryanair has denied it has a pilots shortage and has blamed the wave of cancellations on pilot rostering problems. The UK Civil Aviation Authority rebuked the Irish budget airline for providing “misleading information” after it offered affected customers refunds or alternative Ryanair flights. The rules oblige Ryanair to also offer customers flights on other airlines if there is no suitable Ryanair service available. The CAA also accused Ryanair of failing to inform passengers about its obligation to cover additional expenses incurred because of a canceled flight, such as hotels and meals. “We will be meeting with the CAA and will comply fully with whatever requirements they ask us to,” Ryanair said in a statement on Thursday. Ryanair headquarters building is seen in Dublin, Ireland September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne CAA CEO Andrew Haines told Sky News on Thursday that the CAA was “furious” with Ryanair and that the regulator wanted to see “action, not words”. LAST WEEK Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary last week sought to address the airline’s problems with a first wave of 315,000 cancellations. He told investors then that the impact would be less than 25 million euros and that Ryanair was finalising a bid for struggling Italian carrier Alitalia. On Wednesday, that cost figure doubled and Ryanair abruptly dropped its planned Alitalia bid. “We’ve made it clear their behavior is unacceptable... It’s only when we get to steps of court action very often that they are prepared to comply with the law,” the CAA’s Haines said. The CAA has the power to seek legal undertakings from operators to make sure they comply with consumer rights law and to take court action if they fail to do so. Ryanair shares were down 2 percent on Thursday. The stock gained more than 3 percent on Wednesday as analysts welcomed the company’s plan to restrict growth this winter and its decision to drop its planned bid for Alitalia. Reporting by Victoria Bryan; editing by Jason Neely'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-cancellation/as-ryanair-cancellations-mount-uk-regulator-urges-action-not-words-idUKKCN1C312O'|'2017-09-28T12:15:00.000+03:00'
'252725101d8a59e92da7f93cc127a34317323130'|'Exclusive: Lyft close to selecting IPO adviser - sources'|' 04 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Exclusive: Lyft close to selecting IPO adviser - sources Liana B. Baker 4 Min Read An illuminated sign appears in a Lyft ride-hailing car in Los Angeles, California, U.S. September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Lyft Inc is close to hiring an initial public offering (IPO) advisory firm, in the first concrete step by the second biggest U.S. ride service company to become publicly listed, according to people familiar with the matter. Lyft’s IPO preparations come as its larger competitor, Uber Technologies Inc, is attempting to recover from a range of scandals. In August, Uber’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi set a new tentative timeline for Uber’s IPO of between 18 and 36 months. An IPO would offer Lyft access to capital beyond its traditional route of private investments. The San Francisco-based company has been in discussions this month with Google owner Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) about securing an investment, Reuters has reported. The IPO advisory firm will help Lyft’s management select underwriters and plan the offering, which could come as early as next year, the sources said this week, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. The timing of the plans could still change, the sources added. The ride-hailing company has already finished the interviews for picking the IPO advisory firm and is expected to make a decision shortly, the sources said. IPO advisory firms work independently from the investment banks and do not sell shares in an IPO. Lyft declined to comment. Top investment banks face a dilemma with regards to whether they should be underwriters on Lyft’s IPO, since many of them, such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), are already lenders to its chief rival Uber. A bank that aligns itself with Lyft could potentially find itself shut out from a much larger IPO by Uber down the road. VALUATIONS Like Uber, Lyft offers a mobile app that enables passengers to request rides on their smartphones. It was founded in 2012 by technology entrepreneurs John Zimmer and Logan Green, three years after Uber. Lyft was valued at $7.5 billion in its latest funding round in April, when it raised $600 million in fresh funding from investors such as private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ). This $7.5 billion valuation was up from $5.5 billion more than a year earlier, in a fundraising round in which General Motors Co ( GM.N ) participated. Uber, which was valued at $68 billion in its last funding round, is the largest private company backed by venture capitalists in the world. Uber and Lyft have been losing money as they compete at all costs to grow their user base with low fares for customers and incentives for drivers. Both IPOs would test investor tolerance for a lack of profitability when it comes to iconic technology unicorns. Many such companies have chosen to remain private because of concerns that an IPO would assign them a lower valuation than their latest fundraising round. Snapchat owner Snap Inc’s ( SNAP.N ) $3.4 billion IPO earlier this year was the largest by a U.S. technology company in three years, although its shares have since underperformed, as its quarterly earnings have fallen short of analyst expectations. Lyft said last month it was available in 40 states and reached 94 percent of the U.S. population. Unlike Uber, its service is so far only available in the United States. Lyft formed a self-driving car division over the summer and has announced partnerships with companies such as Ford Motor Co ( F.N ). Uber has also continued to expand, despite a series of setbacks, including allegations of sexual harassment from a former employee, a video that was released of co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick harshly berating a driver, a lawsuit from Alphabet’s self-driving car unit accusing Uber of stealing intellectual property, and a succession of executive departures. Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lyft-ipo-exclusive/exclusive-lyft-close-to-selecting-ipo-adviser-sources-idUSKCN1C3114'|'2017-09-28T12:03:00.000+03:00'
'8900524de5b5719fe01bf456bf3becbe8c66738d'|'WGC to form panel to set up spot gold bourse in India'|'A salesperson attends to a customer (not pictured) inside a jewellery showroom, during Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold-buying festival, in Mumbai, India April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - The World Gold Council (WGC) plans to form a committee soon to help set up India’s first spot gold exchange within 12 to 18 months, a senior official of the industry body said on Thursday.A dedicated exchange for physical gold is expected to pave the way for standard gold pricing practices in India, apart from bringing in transparency into a market which sees large cash transactions.“We will be taking lead in forming the committee, which will have all the stakeholders,” Somasundaram PR, managing director of the WGC’s Indian operations, told Reuters.The committee, which is likely to be formed in the December quarter, will not set up the exchange. It will provide guidance in setting up the exchange, he said, while releasing a WGC report highlighting the need for a dedicated spot gold exchange in the country.In 2015, Indian government had floated the idea of setting up a national gold exchange.India’s push for an exchange follows the gold monetisation and sovereign bond schemes launched in last few years, designed to mobilise the country’s gold hoard and reduce imports of the precious metal that weighs on the country’s trade deficit.The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) currently offer gold futures contracts in India, but do not have a platform for physical trade.A physical exchange would enable jewellers, retailers, refiners and banks to trade over a regulated platform, the WGC report said.China, world’s top gold consumer, runs such a bourse where gold, both domestically produced and imported, can be bought and sold.Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Vyas MohanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-gold-exchange/wgc-to-form-panel-to-set-up-spot-gold-bourse-in-india-idINKCN1C30W2'|'2017-09-28T11:12:00.000+03:00'
'7880851f59d95745f2853d9e6b5ab0c3ed87efb2'|'CEE MARKETS-Bond yields rise ahead of Hungarian auction on dollar strength'|'* Bond yields up, tracking U.S. and euro zone peers * Hungary expected to sell bonds at higher yields at auction * Forint, zloty trade near multi-month lows vs euro * Czech crown stays near 26/euro in international trade By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Central European government bonds and currencies eased on Thursday as U.S. tax-reform plans announced on Wednesday underpinned the dollar and cut appetite for assets in emerging markets. The dollar''s strength, also helped by hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, have weighed on Central Europe''s most liquid currencies, the zloty and the forint, this week. They have also been weakened by measures to ease monetary policy that Hungary took last week and by concern over new Polish proposals for its judiciary reform, which has soured Warsaw''s relations with some major European capitals. Both currencies traded near multi-month lows, with the forint shedding 0.2 percent to 311.71 against the euro by 09833 GMT. The zloty, after a heavy beating on Wednesday, was steady at 4.3175, staying weaker than the 4.3 psychological line. Government bond yields in the region tracked their U.S. and euro zone peers higher. Hungary''s 10-year yield rose 9 basis points from Wednesday''s fixing to 2.58 percent. Poland''s comparable yield rose 2 basis points to 3.371 percent. That reversed a rally in Hungary where the central bank''s pledge for measures to boost demand for government debt had pushed down yields to record lows. At the increased yields, the government is likely to sell 3-, 5- and 10-year bonds easily at an auction on Thursday, traders said. Demand for the shortest maturity could suffer, though, because the debt agency AKK told traders on Wednesday that it had suspended holding buyback auctions for an indefinite time, traders said. "The bonds will be sold at the increased yields," one trader said. "The U.S. tax package, however, creates uncertainty as investors are considering now if the plans overwrite expectations about monetary policies," one trader said. Czech markets were closed for a national holiday on Thursday. The crown was steady at 26.036 against the euro at 0851 GMT. On Wednesday, the Czech central bank voted by a slim margin against raising interest rates further, disappointing some investors. Many still expect the bank to increase interest rates at its next meeting in November. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1033 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.036 26.028 -0.03% 3.73% 0 5 Hungary 311.71 311.16 -0.18% -0.93% forint 00 00 Polish zloty 4.3175 4.3194 +0.04 2.00% % Romanian leu 4.5990 4.5963 -0.06% -1.39% Croatian 7.5020 7.5015 -0.01% 0.71% kuna Serbian 119.31 119.46 +0.13 3.39% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1043.6 1042.5 +0.11 +13.2 8 0 % 5% Budapest 37449. 37244. +0.55 +17.0 07 30 % 2% Warsaw 2435.5 2433.8 +0.07 +25.0 0 2 % 3% Bucharest 7908.1 7914.2 -0.08% +11.6 6 4 2% Ljubljana 800.51 798.30 +0.28 +11.5 % 6% Zagreb 1799.5 1804.0 -0.25% -9.79% 8 3 Belgrade 723.41 721.17 +0.31 +0.84 % % Sofia 686.40 684.12 +0.33 +17.0 % 5% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.196 0.424 +088b +41bp ps s 5-year 0.246 -0.002 +049b -3bps ps 10-year 1.148 -0.081 +066b -11bps ps Poland 2-year 1.745 0.018 +243b +1bps ps 5-year 2.714 0.042 +296b +1bps ps 10-year 3.394 0.023 +290b +0bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep <PR 0.73 0.88 1 0 IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.04 BOR=> Poland <WI 1.764 1.825 1.881 1.73 BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-bond-yields-rise-ahead-of-hungarian-auction-on-dollar-strength-idINL8N1M9215'|'2017-09-28T07:22:00.000+03:00'
'0a199d1eecc96c2c5aa4495de45ffd1d86628e5d'|'Vietnam court sentences to death PetroVietnam ex-chairman in mass trial'|' 43 AM / in 36 minutes Vietnam court sentences to death PetroVietnam ex-chairman in mass trial Kham Nguyen 2 Min Read HANOI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A Vietnam court sentenced to death a former chairman of state -run PetroVietnam on Friday after finding him guilty in the mass trial of 51 officials and bankers accused of graft and mismanagement that led to losses of $69 million. The ex-PetroVietnam chairman Nguyen Xuan Son was the second of the accused to be sentenced as the People’s Court of Hanoi began delivering its verdict in the long running trial. The court had earlier in the day sentenced tycoon Ha Van Tham, founder of Ocean Group’s banking unit, Ocean Bank, to life imprisonment, having found him guilty of charges ranging from embezzlement to abuse of power. Dozens of other banking and energy officials were also sentenced to jail terms. The mass trial is a result of the tougher stance on corruption taken by the ruling Communist Party since Vietnam’s security establishment emerged stronger from a power struggle last year in which ex-Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung lost out. (Additional reporting and writing by Mi Nguyen; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/vietnam-security/vietnam-court-sentences-to-death-petrovietnam-ex-chairman-in-mass-trial-idUSL4N1MA1XP'|'2017-09-29T08:43:00.000+03:00'
'8f948809db31c720d81a73c12a7777adef9ef3c1'|'Carillion warns on full-year results, makes further provision'|'September 29, 2017 / 6:32 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Debt-laden Carillion weighs share sale after warning again on results 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Carillion sign is seen in Manchester, Britain July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo - RC132EC060F0 (Reuters) - Britain’s Carillion ( CLLN.L ) made its second profit warning this year and said it may need to sell shares to shore up its balance sheet, dealing a fresh blow to the construction and support services group’s already weakened shares. Debt-laden Carillion booked an 845 million pound (845.00 million pounds) writedown on problematic construction contracts in July, prompting the departure of its chief executive and its shares to lose nearly two-thirds of their value. On Friday it said it had made an additional 200 million pound provision relating to services contracts, following a review of its business. Keith Cochrane, Carillion’s interim CEO, said it had no specific timeline or size for any potential share sale. “All we’re doing is we’re flagging that (a raise) is something we might need to do in the future. But our major priority is the focus on both disposals and how to drive a meaningful reduction in net debt,” he told Reuters. Analysts expect Carillion to have to raise new funds to shore up its balance sheet, although uncertainty over its contracts, its debts and its pensions obligations have raised questions over the value of the company. Carillion’s shares were down 10.5 percent to 57.5 pence at 0920 GMT on Friday, cutting its market capitalisation to around 240 million pounds. The group’s stock had risen earlier this week after a London newspaper reported that a Middle Eastern buyer was considering making a bid. Cochrane declined to comment when asked whether Carillion would be open to a sale of the business or whether the group was considering a sale of its Middle East operations. “We believe that the business could have an enterprise value of 1.6 billion pounds,” Liberum analysts wrote in a client note. Kier ( KIE.L ) and Balfour Beatty ( BALF.L ), which Carillion tried to buy in the past, have all but ruled out bids for the company. “TOO COMPLEX” After the financial crisis, British building firms bid for long-running, fixed-price contracts to keep work coming in. But these have since caused problems for most in the sector. Carillion, Interserve ( IRV.L ), Mitie ( MTO.L ) and Capita ( CPI.L ) have been hit over the past year by rising labour costs and contracts have got more expensive to deliver. “Carillion has become too complex. It has been a business that has too many layers of management from top to bottom,” Cochrane said, adding that there was a “lack of oversight”. He said the aim of a cost cutting programme was to become “more agile” and efficient and the company would look at further redundancies in addition to 340 job cuts already underway. Cochrane said the group was making process with appointing a permanent CEO. Carillion, which has recently won work for Britain’s new high speed rail link, said that its 2017 revenue was expected to be between 4.6 billion and 4.8 billion pounds, down from a previous expectation of 4.8 billion to 5 billion pounds. Full-year average net debt was expected to be between 825 million and 850 million pounds, it said, announcing measures to boost its balance sheet including raising 300 million pounds from asset disposals and an 80 million pound reduction in its pension deficit. “Whilst there are many good businesses within Carillion, we remain wary given the many balance sheet uncertainties,” Peel Hunt analyst Andrew Nussey wrote in a client note. Nussey cut his underlying full-year pretax profit expectation to 110 million pounds from 135 million pounds and forecast that Carillion would need to raise more than 500 million pounds from fresh equity or potential disposals. Carillion said on Sept 11. that its chief financial officer Zafar Khan was leaving and would be replaced by Emma Mercer, the finance head of its UK construction business. (This version of the story has been refiled to remove graph in the fourth paragraph.) Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carillion-results/carillion-warns-on-full-year-results-makes-further-provision-idUKKCN1C40LE'|'2017-09-29T09:32:00.000+03:00'
'cf91dbf4eb4692a4cb94d47f4b88cb1c00ae5cb1'|'Kellogg names Nature''s Bounty exec Steven Cahillane as CEO'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:53 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago Kellogg''s CEO Bryant steps down, Nature''s Bounty exec to take over Gayathree Ganesan 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Boxes of Kellogg''s cereal are stacked in a supermarket in New York in this April 29, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo (Reuters) - Kellogg Co ( K.N ) replaced chief executive John Bryant with food industry veteran Steven Cahillane on Thursday as the world’s largest cereal maker continues efforts to halt two-and-a-half years of declining sales. Kellogg, like other packaged food makers, has been struggling with falling demand as consumers shift to healthier alternatives, and in Bryant’s near seven-year tenure, the company has cut jobs and sought to streamline production to bolster profits. But his zero-based budgeting plan - which requires expenses to be justified for each new period - has also seen sales decline steadily since the start of 2015. “Given the suddenness of the announcement, many investors this morning have asked whether his (Bryant‘s) retirement was his own choice,” J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman said in a client note. Consultants, who know the industry well, indicated that Kellogg was not happy with its performance and the board wanted to make a change, Goldman added. Bryant’s retirement also comes nearly two months after a distribution model overhaul of Kellogg’s U.S. snacks unit to supply through warehouses rather than direct-to-store. Kellogg’s shares have risen nearly 24 percent since 51-year-old Bryant joined the company. The Cheez-It cracker maker on Thursday also reaffirmed a full-year 2017 forecast for a 3 percent decline in currency-neutral comparable net sales this year and earnings of $3.97-4.03 per share. Cahillane, 52, who will be paid an annual base salary of $1.3 million in his role as Kellogg’s CEO, which takes effect on Oct. 2, most recently served as chief executive at Nature’s Bounty and has held senior roles in Coca-Cola Co ( KO.N ) and Anheuser Busch Inbev NV ( ABI.BR ). The Corn Flakes maker’s shares were marginally down at $62.81 in afternoon trading on Thursday. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza, Patrick Graham and Martina D''Couto '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kellogg-ceo/kellogg-names-natures-bounty-exec-steven-cahillane-as-ceo-idUSKCN1C31SN'|'2017-09-28T15:52:00.000+03:00'
'f363b87dafb8a200c05f62ab0c7faab3e1af5914'|'Bank of America Merrill Lynch names Dublin leadership team'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/61965c73-ec9f-3bf1-aed3-16a361e7d844'|'2017-09-27T19:56:00.000+03:00'
'd76f1d2445443a7fea5c889dd856573fc7a16a06'|'Toshiba signs deal to sell chip unit to Bain-led group for $18 billion'|'  6:59 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Toshiba $18 billion sale of chip unit finally signed, legal challenges remain Makiko Yamazaki 4 Min Read The logo of the Bain Capital is screened next to Managing Director Yuji Sugimoto at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) said on Thursday it had signed an $18 billion (13.47 billion pounds) deal to sell its chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP, overcoming a key - albeit not its last - hurdle as it scrambles for funds to stave off a potential delisting. The sale of the unit - the world’s second biggest producer of NAND chips - was agreed last week after a tortuous auction process but the signing was delayed because consortium member Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) demanded new terms on chip supply, sources familiar with the matter have said. The deal will see Toshiba reinvest in the unit and together with Hoya Corp ( 7741.T ), a medical technology firm that also makes parts for chip devices, Japanese firms will hold more than 50 percent of the business - a keen wish of the Japanese government. A Japanese state-backed fund and bank have also expressed their interest in investing in the future subject to certain conditions, Toshiba said in a statement. “With this deal, a lot of risks for Toshiba have disappeared. It can go back to being a normal company,” said Hideki Yasuda at Ace Research Institute. Pressure from the Japanese government, changing alliances among suitors and a slew of revised bids has drawn out the auction over nine months - heightening the risk that the deal may not close before the end of Japan’s financial year in March as regulatory reviews usually take at least six months. Bain Capital Managing Director Yuji Sugimoto attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon If the deal does not close before then, Toshiba - hurt by liabilities at is now bankrupt nuclear unit Westinghouse - is likely to end a second consecutive year in negative net worth, putting pressure on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to strip it of its listing status. The sale also faces legal challenges from Western Digital ( WDC.O ), Toshiba’s chip venture partner and rejected suitor, which is seeking an injunction to block any deal that does not have its consent. Slideshow (2 Images) Western Digital, one of world’s leading makers of hard disk drives, paid some $16 billion last year to acquire SanDisk, Toshiba’s chip joint venture partner since 2000. It sees chips as a key pillar of growth and is desperate to keep the business out of the hands of rival chipmakers. In addition to Apple, Bain’s consortium includes South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ), as well as Dell Inc [DI.UL], Seagate Technology Plc ( STX.O ) and Kingston Technology. Under the deal, Toshiba will hold 40.2 percent of voting rights in the chip unit and Hoya Corp will own 9.9 percent, while other members will hold a combined 49.9 percent, according to SK Hynix. In a move to address anti-trust concerns that may come up in a regulatory review. Toshiba said SK Hynix would be firewalled from accessing proprietary information that belonged to the chip unit and would not be permitted to own more than 15 percent of voting rights for 10 years. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting/toshiba-signs-deal-to-sell-chip-unit-to-bain-led-group-for-18-billion-idUKKCN1C30OL'|'2017-09-28T09:59:00.000+03:00'
'f8bc8560a270f5ae12855082b1426d2005e24b3d'|'EU regulators push banks to adopt diversity targets'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/cb115c00-6d52-33da-af5f-8d7f34050d39'|'2017-09-26T16:18:00.000+03:00'
'a21f293cf092865b4104a842769394ea36827740'|'EU considers greater protection for savers after run on Banco Popular'|'  7:40 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago EU considers greater protection for savers after run on Banco Popular 4 Min Read A woman leaves a Banco Popular branch in Madrid, Spain, June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers are considering changing the rules on bank rescues to ensure bondholders’ investments are used to prop up a failing lender ahead of savers’ deposits, EU officials said. The discussions follow a decision by EU regulators to shut down Spanish bank Banco Popular in June after a run on its deposits fuelled by fears that depositors’ money could be used to rescue the lender. But the proposed changes could expose investors who hold bonds issued by banks to higher risks should they run into trouble, and generally push up yields on lenders’ senior debt, making it more expensive for them to raise funds. Any changes agreed by the European Parliament would have to be approved by governments of the bloc’s members states. One EU official, who declined to be named, said Italy and Portugal opposed the idea, fearing it would make it harder for banks in the countries to increase their capital reserves to levels required under EU rules, an EU official said. During the global financial crisis, taxpayers in a number of EU countries had to fund bailouts for banks which came close to collapse. Since then, the bloc has tightened capital adequacy stipulations and introduced “bail-in” rules, under which shareholders, bondholders and depositors would bear responsibility for funding future bank rescues before taxpayers. Banco Popular’s liquidity crisis was partly prompted by the new EU rules that allow regulators to wipe out uninsured savings, deposits above 100,000 euros (88,013.72 pounds). To prevent panicking depositors from hastily withdrawing money in the next bank crisis, lawmakers are discussing changes that would increase the level of protection given to savers, making them the last to be hit in a future rescue. Under current rules, uninsured depositors have the same level of protection as holders of senior debt. “Conferring a priority ranking on all deposits is expected to enhance the implementation of the bail-in tool,” said a proposal prepared by Ernest Urtasun, a Spanish Greens member of the European Parliament. The document said this would lower the risk of contagion - the kind of loss of investors’ confidence which spread rapidly from market to market during the crisis. The document seeks to amend a legislative proposal by the European Commission on the ranking of unsecured creditors in bank rescues. This adds a new category of liabilities that would be hit before depositors and after shareholders and junior creditors. Two EU officials familiar with talks on the issue said the amendment could be approved by mid-October by the parliament’s economic committee. But, as a compromise, states could be given discretion on how to treat depositors. “Discussions are still ongoing and all options are open,” one official said. Italy and Portugal are against increasing depositors’ protection, fearing a negative impact on bondholders, the EU official said, adding that other states may also oppose the move. In Italy, retail investors often hold much of a bank’s senior debt, and the government has faced mass protests when it imposed losses on bondholders during bank rescues. In the recent rescue of two small banks from the Veneto region, the government managed to win EU approval to use taxpayers’ money rather than involve senior bondholders in a bail-in as part of a rescue package. An Italian official in Brussels declined to comment. The shutdown of Banco Popular prompted debate among EU regulators on whether to exclude depositors from bail-ins altogether, but this bolder option has lost ground as it would leave banks without sufficient capital to be wiped out in a rescue. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by David Stamp'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-banks/eu-considers-greater-protection-for-savers-after-run-on-banco-popular-idUKKCN1C22TU'|'2017-09-27T22:39:00.000+03:00'
'd332e512373ebaf0b1f51656f0e3ad9b0b96d0e3'|'RPT-Central bank purge deepens doubts over Russia''s pocket bank phenomenon'|'(Repeats Thursday item)* Conglomerates founded pocket banks to fund their interests* But tougher banking regulation making life harder* Three such banks got into trouble in past three months* Owners trying to quit banking but buyers scarce* GRAPHIC - Russia''s top banks tmsnrt.rs/2jXIz6mBy Katya GolubkovaMOSCOW, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The failure of two big Russian lenders within a month has cast doubt on how much longer a phenomenon of the post-Soviet financial system, the “pocket bank”, can last.The practice of conglomerates running their own banks grew out of the early days of Russian capitalism in the 1990s. But with authorities now purging a sector beset by bad debts, owners are trying to get rid of their remaining pocket banks and finding few willing buyers, if any.Big businesses that emerged from the rubble of the Soviet Union set up these in-house banks to provide themselves with funding because the financial sector was so underdeveloped following seven decades of communism.Today they make up only a handful of the top 50 Russian lenders by assets but some have extensive financial links with other banks. Where the authorities sense a risk to the wider financial system, they are stepping in.Over the past month, the central bank has bailed out Otkritie Bank and B&N Bank, whose problems were at least partly linked to their being part of conglomerates.A third bank, Yugra, which was part of a real estate-to-oil business empire and regarded as less of a systemic risk, had its licence withdrawn earlier this year. While savers were reimbursed by the central bank, its demise caused market concerns about the banking sector’s stability.A financial market source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the spate of banks in difficulties is “a systemic issue lingering from the past when owners were lending to their own business”.“The banking business itself is not profitable. It’s like an avalanche which is waiting to happen: there is no movement, no one is buying assets,” said the source.REMNANT OF THE 90S Nearly three decades after the emergence of pocket banks, it is becoming less beneficial for conglomerates to own them.The lenders are saddled with bad debt that has been accumulating since the 2008 global economic crisis and the parent groups are in some cases struggling too. On top of this, the central bank has imposed more stringent rules on related party lending which cancel out many advantages of a pocket bank.“There are different central bank requirements regarding additional provisions on related parties - this makes such a business model not so attractive from an economic point of view,” Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev told Reuters in an interview last week.Some owners have already got out, including Leonid Fedun, vice-president of oil company Lukoil, who co-owned Petrocommerce bank.“We got rid of Petrocommerce as we did not want to deal with non-core businesses. We were step-by-step getting rid of our financial business which was a remnant of the 1990s, when it was essential to do it,” Fedun told Reuters last week.Ironically, the buyer was Otkritie and under the deal Fedun ended up with a 4 percent stake in the group before the bailout. Fedun has turned his back on the banking business. “There is neither the desire nor the skills to return to it,” he said.CAPITAL PRESSURE Life became harder for the pocket banks in January when the central bank introduced new rules on related-party lending. These limit a bank’s exposure to its shareholders to 20 percent of its capital. Loans to a single borrower or group of connected borrowers are capped at 25 percent.The more capital banks have to set aside to comply with these rules, the less scope they have for issuing loans, pressuring margins.Vasily Pozdyshev, deputy central bank governor, described banks’ practice of lending to businesses linked to their own shareholders as the “the birth trauma of the Russian banking system”.“We are fixing this problem,” he said. “We are going to toughen things up.”Mikail Shishkhanov, the main shareholder in B&N Bank, said the tighter rules had contributed to the bank’s problems.“Nobody could have supposed that the central bank would become the way it is now, that is strict and consistent,” Shishkhanov told Vedomosti business daily. The new rules, he said in an interview published this week, “have hit private Russian banks hard”.B&N is a part of the Safmar group with over 2 trillion roubles’ ($34 billion) worth of assets ranging from oil and coal to pension funds. Shishkhanov has said that Safmar, which is controlled by his uncle’s family, will transfer some assets to B&N to cut the amount of state funds needed for the bailout.RISKY APPROACH Toxic property loans have been particularly problematic. Growth in real estate prices stalled after the 2008-9 global financial crisis, forcing some developers into bankruptcy. Banks took over buildings that were offered as collateral on the loans, but have struggled to sell them.Safmar is trying to sell 900 property assets worth around $400 million, including Russia’s only completed building designed by the late celebrity architect Zaha Hadid.Two real estate sources said the portfolio comprised assets that Safmar acquired when its businesses rescued struggling Russian banks and inherited their loan books, including physical assets that had been seized from borrowers in default.DRAGGING ON SMALL BUSINESS Market players say the central bank purge will generally make the sector healthier, but it is creating difficulties for some small and medium-sized business customers.Alexander Moynov, who heads the Russian business of South Korea’s Kia Motors, said one Kia dealer is facing a liquidity shortage after it failed to secure refinancing from Otkritie before the central bank stepped in.Moynov told Reuters some dealers could not get loans from the big state banks because they are too small, so they are turning to more aggressive private banks.“We are feeling changes at Otkritie, not massively but some dealers are suffering. For example, there is one dealer lacking 150 million roubles.” ($1 = 58.1157 roubles)Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, Elena Fabrichnaya, Andrey Ostroukh, Olga Sichkar, Oksana Kobzeva, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Stolyarov, Anastasia Teterevleva, Kira Zavyalova, Anastasia Lyrchikova and Jack Stubbs; editing by David Stamp '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-banks/rpt-central-bank-purge-deepens-doubts-over-russias-pocket-bank-phenomenon-idINL8N1M94OV'|'2017-09-29T03:30:00.000+03:00'
'0c4e04ff46d731ecd06824bbdca945e4be660fae'|'Malaysia''s PNB looks to sell two British properties'|' 20 AM / Updated 28 minutes ago Malaysia''s PNB looks to sell two British properties Reuters Staff 1 Min Read KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s largest government-linked fund management firm, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), is considering selling two properties in Britain in what would be its first divestment of foreign real estate assets. PNB said the commercial properties at 1 Silk Street and 90 High Holborn in London had matured and it wanted to maximise returns while demand for British real estate was strong. It bought the properties in 2012 for a reported 350 million pounds and 140 million pounds, respectively. Malaysian state-owned funds such as PNB, the Employees Provident Fund and Retirement Fund Inc forayed into Britain’s property market in 2010-2013, before the Malaysian economy and ringgit weakened. Any sales of their foreign properties could suggest a redeployment of funds to Malaysia. PNB has another three commercial properties in Britain and one in Australia. Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-malaysia-pnb/malaysias-pnb-looks-to-sell-two-british-properties-idUKKCN1C40Q3'|'2017-09-29T10:20:00.000+03:00'
'2dbed704d7d345ba938ab19b8399b4cbb3081e1c'|'Bombardier, Siemens rail merger de-railed by control issues-sources'|'A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido FRANKFURT/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada’s Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) missed out on a merger of its rail unit with Germany’s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) because of a reluctance by Siemens to cede control of its business, allowing France’s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) to clinch a deal with the German firm, with help from new French president Macron, three sources close to the negotiations told Reuters.Siemens and Alstom announced a merger of their train manufacturing operations on Tuesday, leaving Bombardier competing in a market dominated by China’s state-owned CRRC Corp ( 601766.SS ), the world’s largest train maker. The combined Siemens and Alstom group will become the second biggest.The deal gave Siemens 50 percent in the new group, plus a few shares of the joint venture, while Alstom will supply Henri Poupart-Lafarge as chief executive.In the talks between Bombardier and Siemens, both “wanted to be in the driver seat”, complicating the negotiations, one of the sources said.Another source said Siemens felt uncomfortable with Bombardier’s nearly $9 billion debt, adding the Canadian company’s financial woes caused “big headaches” at Siemens.Bombardier, which considered bankruptcy in 2015, has received more than $1 billion in federal and provincial government aid since 2015.The Siemens-Alstom deal also had the blessings of French politicians, despite France losing control of the manufacture of its high-speed TGV train, a symbol of national pride that has highlighted French engineering skill, the people added.Siemens and Alstom declined comment.Bombardier declined to comment on the deal but said it “has the scale, the technology and the people to compete and win in any competitive landscape.”A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Sources declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential.SIEMENS SAW ALSTOM AS BETTER FIT Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom had been exploring rail joint ventures since 2015 to withstand the global advance of China’s CRRC Corp, and the talks between Bombardier and Siemens initially gained traction.Early this year, Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser made the decision to enter into talks with Bombardier after deciding the chances of concluding a deal with Alstom were slim, citing political obstacles and a traditionally hostile relationship between the two firms going back decades, the people said.Those factors led Siemen’s Kaeser to instead pursue a deal with Bombardier and, by early August, people familiar with the matter said, the two companies were close to agreement.The deal had the support of one of Bombardier’s biggest shareholders, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, whose Chief Executive Michael Sabia has said consolidation is necessary to enable North American and European operators to compete with China’s CRRC..Caisse did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A deal between Bombardier and Siemens would have created two separate joint ventures, with Bombardier taking a stake of over 50 percent in the rolling stock operations and Siemens taking a roughly 80 percent stake in the higher-margin signaling technology business, sources told Reuters in July. While Siemens had been happy to give up the majority of its rolling stock business it was unwilling to relinquish control of its signaling business which is the biggest in Europe and its executives made clear they would not compromise, the sources said.In contrast, a deal between Siemens and Alstom proved to be easier, the sources said, as Alstom was already the European leader in rolling stock and Siemens the leader in signaling.Alstom re-emerged in July as a potential alternative partner for Siemens with French President Emmanuel Macron and Finance Minister Bruce Le Maire fearing Alstom could be left on the sidelines putting French jobs at risk. Crucially, they were prepared to support a deal even if it meant France losing control of high-speed TGV train making.“Macron and Alstom didn’t not want to be left out. They wanted (to create) an Airbus of rail,” said one source familiar with the talks.Additional reporting by Cyril Altmeyerhenzien in Paris and Alexander Huebner in Frankfurt; Writing by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Denny Thomas and Clive McKeef '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bombardier-siemens/bombardier-siemens-rail-merger-de-railed-by-control-issues-sources-idUSKCN1C33AB'|'2017-09-29T00:36:00.000+03:00'
'f1d3f3c987f521b2d6f4a3b1704dc0d9e02ca4a6'|'UPDATE 1-Equifax board launches review of executive stock sales after data breach -letter'|'  6:00 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Equifax board launches review of executive stock sales after data breach -letter Reuters Staff (Adds details from letter, no immediate Equifax comment) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Equifax Inc told the U.S. House of Representatives in a letter made public on Friday that its board of directors formed a special committee to review stock sales by company executives weeks before the credit-reporting service disclosed a massive data breach. Three senior executives including the company’s chief financial officer sold $1.8 million in shares three days after the company learned on July 29 hackers had breached personal data for up to 143 million Americans. Equifax announced the breach publicly more than a month later, on Sept. 7. The news sparked public outcry, government investigations, a sharp drop in its share price and a management shake-up. Equifax lawyer Theodore Hester said in a letter dated Thursday to members of Congress announcing the review that the company “takes these matters seriously” and has retained lawyers. In response to questions about whether the stock sales violated insider trading laws, Equifax has said the executives did not know about the breach when making their sales, which were not prearranged. The company did not immediately comment Friday. According to regulatory filings, Chief Financial Officer John W. Gamble Jr sold shares on Aug. 1 for $946,000, while Joseph Loughran III, president of U.S. Information Solutions, sold $584,000 in stock on the same day. Rodolfo Ploder, president of Equifax’s Workforce Solutions business, sold $250,000 worth of stock on Aug. 2. Equifax stock was down 28 cents at $106.10 on Friday, a decline of more than 25 percent from early September. The breach has prompted investigations by multiple federal and state agencies, including a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice. Earlier this week, the Atlanta-based company said Chief Executive Richard Smith would leave and forgo this year’s bonus. Congressional committees plan hearings next week with Smith. Equifax said in a regulatory filing that it might claw back some of Smith’s compensation for this year, depending on results of the board’s investigation into the breach, which the company has said occurred between mid-May and July. The breach has already prompted the departures of Equifax’s chief information officer and chief security officer. The hack, among the largest ever recorded, was especially alarming due to the richness of the information exposed, which included names, birthdays, addresses and Social Security and driver’s license numbers, cyber researchers said. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/equifax-cyber/update-1-equifax-board-launches-review-of-executive-stock-sales-after-data-breach-letter-idUSL2N1MA1DX'|'2017-09-29T20:59:00.000+03:00'
'9112897575807bf6593cdd119f8a10be0c7747a8'|'UK consumer confidence inches up to 4-month high in September: GfK'|'September 28, 2017 / 11:14 PM / Updated 13 hours ago UK consumer confidence inches up to 4-month high in September: GfK Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A shopper is reflected on the window of a store in London, Britain, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo (Reuters) - Confidence among British consumers unexpectedly edged up to a four-month high in September, although they became gloomier about the state of their finances, a monthly GfK survey showed. Market research firm GfK’s monthly consumer sentiment index edged up to -9 in September from -10, against predictions for a fall to -11 in a Reuters poll of economists. The figures may hearten Bank of England officials who have signalled that an interest rate hike is nearing, so long as Britain’s economy continues to grow and price pressures keep rising. Economic growth figures due at 0830 GMT will offer more detail on how Britain’s economy capped off the first half of 2017. GfK said consumer morale rose for the second month in a row, although still remained below levels seen before Prime Minister Theresa May lost her parliamentary majority in an election in June. Other indicators of the health of Britain’s consumer economy have picked up, such as gauges of retail sales. “Consumers are still spending out there, and have repeatedly defied predictions of a downturn since last year’s Brexit vote,” GfK’s Head of Market Dynamics Joe Staton said. The value of sterling plunged after the UK’s decision to leave the European Union last year, pushing up inflation. Weak has further dented household budgets. “It’s live now, pay later,” Staton said. “But how long can it last?” Separately, Lloyds Bank said its gauge of business confidence rose by 6 points to 23 percent, with economic optimism indicators also on the up. Though edging up over the last month, economic optimism among companies is still at the second lowest level this year, Lloyds said. Reporting by Polina Ivanova, editing by Andy Bruce; andy.bruce@thomsonreuters.com; +442075423484; Reuters Messaging: andy.bruce.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-economy-consumersentiment/uk-consumer-confidence-inches-up-to-4-month-high-in-september-gfk-idINKCN1C33F1'|'2017-09-28T21:14:00.000+03:00'
'd434c739bcc39f7a58b4cefbfa9c5c7763b8ae61'|'LIVE REUTERS NEWSMAKER - Interview with Royal Bank of Canada CEO, David McKay'|'Sept 28 (Reuters) - Tune in now to watch live: reut.rs/2fy9gwCThe Reuters Newsmaker is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:30 EDT / 21:30 GMT. Royal Bank of Canada CEO, David McKay, joins Reuters Editor-in-Chief, Steve Adler, to discuss how financial institutions are approaching artificial intelligence and blockchain, with particular focus on how these disruptive technologies will affect consumer platforms.NOTE - There may be some latency when viewing live video streams. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/live-reuters-newsmaker-interview-with-ro/live-reuters-newsmaker-interview-with-royal-bank-of-canada-ceo-david-mckay-idUSL8N1M96BG'|'2017-09-29T00:25:00.000+03:00'
'51fae40e5b60796c56afd9f465c01142373ef648'|'What I wish I could tell my boss: ''You worked me like a machine'' - Guardian Careers'|'What I wish I could tell my boss What I wish I could tell my boss: ''You worked me like a machine'' The investment banker: working 20-hour days made me feel like a piece of gum that has been chewed up and mangled ‘I felt like a piece of gum that had been chewed up and mangled.’ Photograph: Joel Sartore/Getty Images/National Geographic Creative What I wish I could tell my boss What I wish I could tell my boss: ''You worked me like a machine'' The investment banker: working 20-hour days made me feel like a piece of gum that has been chewed up and mangled View more sharing options Friday 29 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Friday 29 September 2017 07.01 BST W hen I worked for you as part of a prestigious team at an investment bank, it never occurred to me to complain. There were long hours and a complete work-life imbalance, but I loved the good salary, the rush and the sense of achievement I got from structuring exotic deals. I was committed. Even when I witnessed the breakdown of a fellow associate who worked for you, the penny didn’t drop. I felt proud to be the last person standing – the last rich person standing. And we were mocked if we came across as “too soft” – so we had no sympathy. We had all been hardened to pressure. The truth is that working 20-hour days, 120-hour weeks and being on-call 24/7 can make you feel like a piece of gum that has been chewed up and mangled. You are exhausted. You can’t sleep – you don’t have time to sleep – and you are constantly jittery and on edge. When I mentioned this to my boss, they said: “Good! This means we’re training you well.” You worked me like a machine, but to you this was normal. You didn’t care – because I was working on projects that would earn you a bonus. The physical and mental health of your team wasn’t an issue. But there comes a time when all machines break. After four years of exhausting, well-paid work, my survival instinct finally kicked in. My body was collapsing. I was desperate for rest and nutrition. So I stopped listening to you. I began arriving to work later than usual and I even started taking time to eat a proper breakfast and lunch. I worked overtime, but I left before late evening and started turning off my phone at weekends. I caught up on sleep. The more I took care of myself, the more normal I began to feel and the better my work became. It was around this time that you became angry with me not making myself available at weekends. You would shout and scream that if I didn’t work harder, I would miss out on my bonus. You also dumped work on me at all hours and then disappeared for unexplained absences during the day. Meanwhile, my work was improving. It was during one of these disappearances that the head of the team promoted me to a higher position. That Monday morning when I walked into the office at 8:30am, you started screaming at me: “Don’t you casually say hello to me when you walk in at 8:30am!” I replied: “I am no longer part of your team. I have begun to do a handover as requested by our boss. Is there anything else I can help you with?” You were completely speechless. But still something wasn’t right. A year after getting my promotion I realised that even working in a new team team and keeping reasonable hours wasn’t enough. I hated spending my life making the rich richer. So I quit that job to do something I had always wanted to do: theatre. I want to thank you for treating me like a mangled piece of gum, because your hardened attitude helped me to realise life is too short to live for money. Would you like to write an anonymous letter to your boss for this series? Get in touch by emailing Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2017/sep/29/what-i-wish-i-could-tell-my-boss-you-worked-me-like-a-machine'|'2017-09-29T14:00:00.000+03:00'
'8e88d500fe77da921666dcd2c50dc90d6eef1fbb'|'H&M third quarter pretax profit just tops forecast'|' 15 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Price cuts to clear summer stock fray H&M margins Reuters   Balloons with the logo of Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) are pictured at its newly opened store in central Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Fashion retailer H&M ( HMb.ST ) reported a 20 percent fall in quarterly profit on Thursday as summer discounts hurt margins, while sales slowed towards the end of this month. The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer after Zara owner Inditex ( ITX.MC ) has been struggling to keep up with rapid changes to its retail market as competition intensifies and young shoppers move online. Pretax profit for the three months to Aug. 31 fell 20 percent to 5.02 billion Swedish crowns (£460 million). Analysts had expected a fall of 21 percent, according to a Reuters poll. Shares in H&M were down 4.6 percent at 0710 GMT, taking a year-to-date fall to 15.8 percent. “The fashion retail sector is growing and is in a period of extensive and rapid change as a result of ongoing digitalisation,” CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement. “Our growing online sales did not fully compensate for reduced footfall to stores in several of our established markets, which has resulted in our total sales development not reaching our targets so far this year.” The company has said this month that markdowns to shift piled-up unsold garments were much larger than usual, and it said on Thursday its gross margin shrank to 51.4 percent from 54.0 percent. Markdowns in relation to sales grew 2.8 percentage points. However, despite the extra effort to clear the shelves ahead of autumn, inventories were up 8 percent at the end of the quarter. H&M said it saw great potential to achieve lower inventory levels in future thanks to faster lead times for fashion items, more efficient supply chains and more in-season purchases. The firm said that after a good start, sales in September had somewhat towards the end of the month. It did not, as it usually does, provide a preliminary sales figure. It said it now planned a net increase of stores in the year of 385, down from previous guidance for around 400. Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard/Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h-m-results/hm-third-quarter-pretax-profit-just-tops-forecast-idUKKCN1C30JP'|'2017-09-28T09:15:00.000+03:00'
'ca0aaebcaa4b9cc8c88f3370fe3f7e824cc3f461'|'5 things we still don''t know about the Republican tax plan 28,'|'5 things we still don''t know about the Republican tax plan by Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney September 28, 2017: 12:16 PM ET Inside the GOP''s tax blueprint President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress are finally moving to tax reform. Despite promises to the contrary, they may be hung up on it for a good long while. The "unified framework" released Wednesday doesn''t reveal nearly enough about what a final tax reform package would look like. It represents only a general agreement among six negotiators from the Trump administration, the Senate and the House. The real work on tax reform will start now as the two tax-writing committees on Capitol Hill separately negotiate provisions, craft legislation and then try to resolve their differences. "The hardest part lies ahead," said John Gimigliano, principal-in-charge of federal tax legislative and regulatory services at KPMG. "Congress still needs to figure out how to make the math work, both politically and procedurally, and then needs to convert that to legislation." Translation: Tax writers need to decide on a million details large and small, most of which are politically fraught. And the process could take months. Or longer. There''s a reason that the last time Congress fully overhauled the tax code, Reagan was president. Here are five major issues that still must be worked out: 1. How much will tax reform add to deficits This decision will first fall to the budget committees, which set the budget blueprint for the next year. Chances are very good they will allow tax reform to add to deficits since many Republicans who normally rail against the debt have said they''d be okay with tax cuts that add to it. The question is how much. On the Senate side, two key members of the Senate Budget Committee agreed to $1.5 trillion in increased deficits over a decade. It''s not clear how that will fly in the House. Until there''s an agreement, "the rest of this is almost an academic exercise. You cannot slice up the pie if you do not know the size of the pie," said Chris Krueger, senior policy analyst at Cowen Washington Research Group. 2. How will lawmakers pay for trillions in tax cuts Lawmakers are likely to offset at least a portion of the revenue loss by eliminating or curtailing of lots of tax breaks, including some sacred cows. But deciding on so-called pay-fors can be like political suicide for lawmakers since several may greatly benefit their states'' industries and their other constituents. "One company''s loophole is another''s business model," Krueger said. What''s more, there really aren''t that many breaks that if repealed would bring in a ton of revenue. The biggest (and one of the oldest) on the individual side is the state and local tax deduction . Eliminating it could raise more than $1 trillion over a decade. But there will be a lot of pushback from state and local governments and Republicans and Democrats living in high tax districts. 3. How much income will apply to each income tax rate The framework calls for there to be just three individual tax rates: 12%, 25% and 35%. That''s down from seven rates today: 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 25% and 39.6%. But the blue print is silent on how much income applies to each of those rates. And that will matter a lot when it comes to determining how people''s tax bills would change. 4. Will tax reform really not raise taxes on the middle class Advocates of the blueprint, including President Trump, promise that reform will offer middle class tax relief and keep the tax code at least as progressive as it is today. That is, it will not shift any of the tax burden from the rich to everyone else. That will be a tough balance to strike given some of the proposals that Republicans have made almost exclusively benefit the wealthy, like repealing the estate tax and lowering the top individual rate to 35%. But the blueprint does say lawmakers can add a fourth top rate above the 35% if they need to. If so, the question then becomes how high. 5. How to prevent gaming The framework recommends lowering the top tax rate on passthrough business income to 25%, well below the 35% rate it proposes for individual income. Pass-through businesses pass their profits onto owners and shareholders who report them and pay tax on them through their personal tax returns. But the 10-point gap between the proposed pass-through rate and the ordinary wage income rate could tempt a lot of people to recharacterize their paychecks as profits to get the lower rate. So lawmakers have to write rules to prevent that kind of gaming. Problem is, those rules are hard to develop and even harder to enforce. Plus, they would complicate the code at a time when lawmakers say they want to simplify it. CNNMoney (New York) First published September 28, 2017: 8:41 AM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/28/news/economy/tax-reform-bills/index.html'|'2017-09-28T16:41:00.000+03:00'
'85df3dcc1ac9be1bf23d16a664c41be350a01112'|'Telecom Italia picks former Vivendi top executive Genish as CEO'|'Telecom Italia new logo is seen at the headquarter in Rozzano neighbourhood of Milan, Italy, May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) picked a former top manager at Vivendi ( VIV.PA ), Amos Genish, as its new chief executive on Thursday, cementing the French media group’s authority over Italy’s biggest phone company.Deputy Chairman Giuseppe Recchi will remain responsible for all assets associated with national security and defense, including international wholesale unit Sparkle, in a move aimed at soothing concerns in Rome, where Telecom Italia is considered a strategic company.Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Silvia Aloisi '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-telecomitalia-vivendi-ceo/telecom-italia-picks-former-vivendi-top-executive-genish-as-ceo-idUSKCN1C32M0'|'2017-09-29T01:20:00.000+03:00'
'204bd00cb4e838cf5abc7d0a2419c9b2947bb9c7'|'Toyota, Mazda set up venture to develop electric cars'|'  4:55 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago CORRECTED-Toyota, Mazda set up venture to develop electric cars Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Correct Mazda’s stock code in paragraph 1) TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp said on Thursday they were forming a joint venture to develop electric cars, seeking to catch up with global rivals in the market for battery-operated vehicles. Toyota said in a statement they would set up a company with Denso Corp, Toyota’s biggest supplier, which will develop a range of electric cars, including minivehicles, passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks. Toyota will take a 90 percent stake in the company, called the EV Common Architecture Spirit Co Ltd, while Mazda and Denso will each take a 5 percent stake. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/toyota-electric-vehicles-mazda/toyota-mazda-set-up-venture-to-develop-electric-cars-idUST9N1KW00U'|'2017-09-28T07:55:00.000+03:00'
'e1b81f3c698913ead1a20391d30ae2a37fa3f5cb'|'Russia''s En+ plans to announce IPO next week: three sources'|'Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska attends the 7th annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in Moscow, Russia, October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW (Reuters) - En+ Group, which manages Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s aluminium and hydropower businesses, plans to announce next week the launch of its initial public offering (IPO), three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.En+ previously planned to announce its intention to float (ITF) as early as Sept. 28, financial market sources told Reuters last week, provided that all preparations were done on time.En+ is now planning the announcement for the second part of next week, according to the three sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. One of the three sources said the timing could still change.Asked about the timing of the announcement, En+ declined to comment.En+ aims to raise about $1.5 billion from the possible IPO, Deripaska said in June. Sources familiar with the deal told Reuters earlier this year that En+ planned to list shares both in London and MoscowEn+ owns assets in metals and energy, including a 48 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed Russian aluminium producer Rusal ( 0486.HK ), which is a big consumer of hydroelectricity produced by companies owned by En+.China’s CEFC is considering investing in En+ as part of the IPO, industry sources told Reuters this month. CEFC said at the time it had no immediate comment.Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Christian Lowe '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-en-ipo/russias-en-plans-to-announce-ipo-next-week-three-sources-idINKCN1C31O9'|'2017-09-28T10:18:00.000+03:00'
'65c97b3e2961caa59fe8a064de9c52aa66fd079a'|'Millionaires'' wealth reached record $63.5 trillion globally in 2016: study'|'FILE PHOTO: Luxury boats are seen in the bay of Monaco, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - The number of millionaires in the world rose by nearly 8 percent last year to an all-time high of around 16.5 million people, with record total wealth of $63.5 trillion, according to a report by global consultancy firm Capgemini.The wealth of high net worth individuals (HNWI) -- which Capgemini defines as those with investable assets of $1 million or more, excluding the primary residence, collectibles and consumables -- rose 8.2 percent on the year in 2016 and is on track to surpass $100 trillion by 2025.Some 1.15 million people became millionaires last year, the report said.The United States, Japan, Germany and China boast the highest numbers and together make up for almost two-thirds of the total.In the United States, their ranks rose to 4.8 million from 4.46 million, while the number of millionaires in China rose to 1.13 million from just over 1 million.The Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America contributed equally to the rise in wealth, with Russia, Brazil and Canada reversing course from declines a year ago, the report showed.Russia, helped by a rebound in its stock market, saw both the number of its millionaires and their wealth grow by about 20 percent.France overtook Britain in the top five in terms of the number of millionaires, helped by a recovery in real estate, while Sweden knocked Singapore -- which saw a decline in its equity markets -- out of top 25.Surveys on the millionaires’ financial asset holdings show they held 31.1 percent in equities in the second quarter of 2017, compared with 24.8 percent in 2016.Fixed income held steady at 18 percent, while cash grew to 27.3 percent from 23.5 percent.Alternative investments, such as hedge funds, derivatives, foreign currency, commodities and private equity, fell to 9.7 percent from 15.7 percent.The report did not dive into the reasons for the reallocation, but stronger global growth, coupled with hefty liquidity after years of unprecedented stimulus by global central banks, have pushed stock markets around the world to record highs.On the other hand, investors are wary of geopolitical risks, with tensions growing between the United States and North Korea, and are uncertain about the consequences the U.S. Federal Reserve’s exit from unconventional stimulus might have on economies and markets.Millionaires saw a 24.3 percent return on average on investment portfolios overseen by wealth managers.Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-wealth/millionaires-wealth-reached-record-63-5-trillion-globally-in-2016-study-idINKCN1C30L8'|'2017-09-28T09:35:00.000+03:00'
'f5c7d0a550e84cb2c953b2709430c86120e548d4'|'French and Benelux stocks-Factors to watch on Sept. 28'|'Sept 28 (Reuters) - Below are company-related news and stories from French and Benelux media which could have an impact on the region’s markets or individual stocks.ABN AMRO Dutch bank ABN Amro said on Wednesday it had issued 1.0 billion euro of additional tier 1 capital.AIR FRANCE KLM French airlines operator Air France KLM said on Wednesday the completion of a capital increase reserved to China Eastern Airlines and Delta Air Lines had been approved.DIRECT ENERGIE French energy provider Direct Energie reported on Wednesday a 20.1 percent hike in its current operating income for the first half of the year and confirmed its 2017 objectives.EDF French electricity group EDF announced on Wednesday together with Ardian having acquired a further 26.7 percent stake in Geosel.ICADE French real estate investment company Icade announced on Wednesday that its 56.5 percent owned subsidiary Icade Santé had acquired two new clinics for a total value of 83 million euros.JCDECAUX French advertising company JCDecaux announced on Wednesday it had entered Bahrain with an exclusive 10-year advertising contract for the new Bahrain International Airport.STX FRANCE Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri will take effective control of STX France under a shared ownership agreement, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, ending a dispute that had soured bilateral ties.VIVENDI French media group Vivendi’s role in Italy’s telephone group Telecom Italia was not discussed on Wednesday at a summit between the French and Italian governments, Italian Industry Minister Carlo Calenda told reporters.Pan-European market data: European Equities speed guide FTSE Eurotop 300 index DJ STOXX index Top 10 STOXX sectors Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors Top 25 European pct gainers Top 25 European pct losers Main stock markets: Dow Jones Wall Street report Nikkei 225 Tokyo report FTSE 100 London report Xetra DAX Frankfurt items CAC-40 Paris items World Indices Reuters survey of world bourse outlook European Asset Allocation Reuters News at a glance: Top News Equities Main oil report Main currency report '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/france-benelux-markets/french-and-benelux-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-28-idINL8N1M868M'|'2017-09-28T02:32:00.000+03:00'
'b6158c6fa4f67c76019e6dc14809b16c8c318e04'|'Indian mutual funds may get nod for trading in commodity derivatives in 6 months'|'September 26, 2017 / 9:08 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Indian mutual funds may get nod for trading in commodity derivatives in 6 months Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A broker looks at a computer screen as he talks on a phone at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai December 3, 2012. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s capital markets regulator is likely to allow mutual funds to trade in commodity derivatives and a decision is expected within six months, a senior official said on Tuesday. Such a move would help deepen the market and provide hedging opportunities to large companies that trade overseas due to limited liquidity at local exchanges. Portfolio management services and foreign trading houses that export or import from India could also be allowed to participate in commodity futures, said S.K. Mohanty, an executive director with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. “The participation (of mutual funds) is in an advanced stage of examination,” Mohanty told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference. “We have taken the feedback. On the basis of that we will finalise the regulatory mechanism,” he said. Asia’s third-biggest economy allowed commodity futures trading in 2003, but has so far kept out foreign investors, banks and mutual funds, among others. In June, SEBI for the first time allowed institutional investors to trade in commodity derivatives as it said hedge funds registered as category III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) can invest in the segment. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Devidutta Tripathy and Subhranshu Sahu '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-sebi-commodities/indian-mutual-funds-may-get-nod-for-trading-in-commodity-derivatives-in-6-months-idINKCN1C10Y3'|'2017-09-26T12:07:00.000+03:00'
'badbff2061ffecc91e25d0aee2562cb0860956d9'|'Trump cites progress after NFL''s Cowboys, Cardinals skirt anthem protest'|' 35 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago Trump cites progress after NFL''s Cowboys, Cardinals skirt anthem protest Reuters Staff 3 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday applauded two National Football League teams that largely steered clear of controversy by standing for the national anthem at Monday night’s game, even as players protested in other ways. At the match-up in Phoenix, the Dallas Cowboys linked arms and knelt on the playing field, then stood for the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Arizona Cardinals players also joined arms but did not kneel. “But while Dallas dropped to its knees as a team, they all stood up for our National Anthem. Big progress being made-we all love our country!” Trump wrote in a series of early-morning posts on Twitter, continuing his war of words with the multibillion dollar NFL. “Ratings for NFL football are way down except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!” he added. It was the latest salvo from Trump, a former reality television show host and political neophyte who took office in January, after he ignited the fight with the players in the biggest-grossing U.S. pro sports league last week. On Friday, he told a political rally that any protesting player was a “son of a bitch” who should be fired, and urged a boycott of NFL games, touching off protests by dozens of players, coaches and some owners before games on Sunday. Kneeling during the anthem began last year when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand to protest police shootings of African-Americans. Several players have made similar gestures, saying their actions are a call for social justice and protected by the American right to free speech, not a slight against the country or its flag. Critics, including Trump, have said it is disrespectful. Trump’s verbal assault may play well with his conservative base at a time when the Republican president is grappling with North Korea’s nuclear threats, a humanitarian crisis in hurricane-struck Puerto Rico, an investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and a healthcare struggle in Congress. The weekend controversy so far appeared to have a mixed impact on televised games. CBS Corp said overall viewership of its broadcasts were higher on Sunday while NBC, owned by Comcast Corp, said viewership was down. Fox, owned by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, also reported lower viewership, CNN reported. Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-sports/trump-cites-progress-after-nfls-cowboys-cardinals-skirt-anthem-protest-idUSL2N1M70GN'|'2017-09-26T15:35:00.000+03:00'
'b19af65561ee08bcac25539f7227af6837dd7759'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus sees better signs as H1 profits rise'|' 10 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago RPT-UPDATE 1-Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus sees better signs as H1 profits rise Reuters Staff * First-half net and operating profits rose * Sales boosted by higher volumes * CEO sees “renewed optimism” after two-year trough * Weaker performance at grains arm * Sugar division hit by tough market By Gus Trompiz PARIS, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Louis Dreyfus, one of the world’s top grain trading firms, pointed to improved signs for its commodity trading activities as it posted higher first-half profits in the face of a continuation of high staple crops supplies. Along with its peers, Louis Dreyfus has been overhauling its businesses as margins for buying, selling and shipping agricultural goods have been eroded by large stockpiles and reduced price volatility. The trading house reported on Thursday group first-half net profits of $160 million, up from $135 million a year ago, while its segment operating profits also rose to $602 million, from $546 million last year. Net sales advanced 18 percent to $27.7 billion, supported by an 8 percent rise in volumes that reflected the release of inventory from 2016, it added. An improving economic climate and restructuring at its business units had helped, although markets were still burdened with high inventories while there was a relatively weak performance at its grain division, Louis Dreyfus said. “We are starting to see renewed optimism, most notably in Europe, but still recognise the need for flexibility to adjust our geographic and operational footprint,” chief executive Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena said in a results statement. The group cited generally good profitability, driven by its ‘Merchandising’ segment that saw operating profits rise to $250 million from $195 million, including improved profits in cotton. Its so-called ‘Value Chain’ branch saw stable operating profits, at $352 million against $351 million a year earlier. Better results in oilseeds and rice contrasted with a weak performance in grains, lower results in juice and a slow start to the year in sugar due to unclear market trends, it said. Louis Dreyfus, which in April said it expected restructuring to help results in 2017 after a two-year drop in core profits, did not give an outlook for the rest of the year. It recently sold its African fertiliser activity and plans to sell stakes in several other businesses. The group also reported a $30 million gain from the sale of a stake in Brazilian joint venture, which boosted overall first-half net income. The struggling grain division has seen a shakeup in personnel, with global head David Ohayon resigning last month together with several other traders in Europe. Louis Dreyfus is part of the so-called ‘ABCD’ quartet of global grain trading giants, which also includes Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge Ltd and Cargill. On Wednesday, Cargill reported a 14 percent rise in quarterly profit, as strong demand for beef helped offset weaker results for grain origination and processing. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/louisdreyfus-results/rpt-update-1-commodity-trader-louis-dreyfus-sees-better-signs-as-h1-profits-rise-idUSL8N1M94ER'|'2017-09-28T16:09:00.000+03:00'
'31fbd2f1106e80a4eece1721be33c6a0db3ee529'|'Lawsuit accuses Kmart of copying Halloween banana costume'|'September 27, 2017 / 3:53 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Lawsuit accuses Kmart of copying Halloween banana costume A Kmart department store is seen in Killeen, Texas, U.S., January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Khursheed (Reuters) - This lawsuit is bananas. Kmart Corp has been sued by a New Jersey company that accused the retailer of ripping off its full-body banana costume design for its “Totally Ghoul” banana men’s Halloween costumes. Rasta Imposta is seeking unspecified damages from Kmart and its parent, Sears Holdings Corp ( SHLD.O ), for unfair competition and copyright infringement, in a complaint filed on Wednesday with the federal court in Camden, New Jersey. Kmart did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Halloween is big business for retailers and costume providers. U.S. shoppers are expected this year to spend $3.4 billion on costumes alone for the Oct. 31 holiday, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. According to the complaint, Kmart decided last week to stop buying Rasta Imposta’s “humorous” Halloween costumes, which it had done every year since 2008. The Runnemede, New Jersey-based plaintiff said Kmart began sales of knockoff banana costumes in August, saying it had found another vendor to provide “that item,” and in doing so infringed its 2010 “Banana Design” copyright. Kmart’s costume “has the same shape as the Banana Design, the ends of the banana are placed similarly, the vertical lines running down the middle of the banana are placed similarly, the one-piece costume is worn on the body the same way as the Banana Design, and the cut out holes are similar,” the complaint said. “Rasta Imposta has suffered significant financial harm and irreparable harm to its reputation as a result of Kmart’s conduct,” it added. Kmart was selling its Totally Ghoul banana costume on its website on Wednesday for $23.99, a $6 savings, with an additional 10 percent off for entering the code “KBOO.” The case is Silvertop Associates Inc d/b/a Rasta Imposta v Kmart Corp et al, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 17-07499. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-kmart-banana-lawsuit/lawsuit-accuses-kmart-of-copying-halloween-banana-costume-idUSKCN1C228P'|'2017-09-27T18:53:00.000+03:00'
'ac79a27b4004255e6d9e689038f448b0639546d2'|'U.S. core capital goods data underscores economy''s strength'|'  12:38 PM / Updated 5 hours ago U.S. core capital goods data underscores economy''s strength Lucia Mutikani 4 Min Read Technicians build LEAP engines for jetliners at a new, highly automated General Electric (GE) factory in Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. on March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in August and shipments maintained their upward trend, pointing to underlying strength in the economy despite an anticipated drag on growth from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The signs of an acceleration in business spending on equipment bolstered prospects of a December interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, boosting the dollar and pushing up the yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury note to its highest level since 2008. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 0.9 percent last month after an upwardly revised 1.1 percent gain in July. “The manufacturing sector appears to be a bright spot in the U.S. economy,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. Economists had forecast orders of these so-called core capital goods increasing 0.3 percent last month following a previously reported 1.0 percent jump in July. Core capital goods orders surged 3.3 percent year-on-year. Shipments of core capital goods rose 0.7 percent after advancing 1.1 percent in July. Core capital goods shipments are used to calculate equipment spending in the government’s gross domestic product measurement. The Commerce Department said it was unable to isolate the effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on the data. Harvey, which devastated parts of Texas, has hurt August retail sales, industrial production, homebuilding and home sales. Related Coverage U.S. pending home sales drop 2.6 percent in August Irma, which struck Florida early this month, is expected to further hold down housing activity. That was flagged by a report on Wednesday from the National Association of Realtors showing that contracts to buy previously owned homes dropped 2.6 percent in August to a 19-month low. As a result, the storms are expected to cut into third-quarter economic growth. Third-quarter GDP growth estimates are below a 2.5 percent annualized rate. The economy grew at a 3.0 percent pace in the second quarter. The Federal Reserve last week signaled it expected to raise rates for the third time this year. Most economists expect the rate hike will be in December. The dollar raced to a more than one-month high against a basket of currencies on the data. Prices for U.S. Treasuries fell, with the yield on the interest-rate sensitive two-year note hitting its highest level since November 2008. U.S. stocks were trading mostly higher. STRONG BUSINESS INVESTMENT Business investment on equipment has been buoyed by the energy sector, where oil and gas drilling has rebounded after declining in the wake of a collapse in crude oil prices. Spending could get a further boost from plans by President Donald Trump to slash taxes and overhaul the tax code. Trump and Republicans in the U.S. Congress are proposing a 20 percent corporate income tax rate, a new 25 percent tax rate for pass-through businesses such as partnerships, and a reduced 35 percent top income tax rate for individual Americans. Trump is expected to unveil the plan later on Wednesday. Business spending on equipment added almost half-a-percentage point to GDP in the third quarter, the most in nearly two years. That is supporting manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 percent of the U.S. economy. “Business equipment investment is on track for a big rise in the third quarter,” said Michael Pearce, a U.S. economist at Capital Economics in New York. Last month, orders for machinery, primary metals, computers and electronic products as well as transportation equipment increased. Overall orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft meant to last three years or more, rebounded 1.7 percent last month as bookings for transportation equipment jumped 4.9 percent. Durable goods orders fell 6.8 percent in July. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-durablegoods/u-s-core-capital-goods-orders-rise-more-than-expected-idUSKCN1C21LM'|'2017-09-27T16:09:00.000+03:00'
'adef0dcd2b03d5421953f8a1d98f56fcb9d47508'|'VW takes new 2.5 billion euro hit for modifying diesel vehicles in U.S.'|'September 29, 2017 / 7:31 AM / Updated 7 hours ago VW''s Dieselgate bill hits $30 billion after another charge Jan Schwartz , Victoria Bryan 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A U.S. flag flutters in the wind above a Volkswagen dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo HAMBURG/BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is taking another $3 billion charge to fix diesel engines in the United States, lifting the total bill for its emissions-test cheating scandal to around $30 billion (22.43 billion pounds). The German group is struggling to put the two-year-old “Dieselgate” scandal behind it, and working to transform itself into a maker of mass-market electric cars. On Thursday, Munich prosecutors said they had arrested a former Porsche management board member, the first top executive within the group to be detained amid a widening probe into cheating at VW’s Audi ( NSUG.DE ) brand. VW’s growing financial woes and Wolfgang Hatz’s arrest were also discussed on Friday at a regular meeting of the carmaker’s supervisory board, one person familiar with the matter said. VW shares fell as much as 3 percent on Friday, as traders and analysts expressed dismay that the company was still booking charges for “Dieselgate”. Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said the news was unexpected and unwelcome, “not only from an earnings and cash flow perspective but also with respect to the credibility of management”. VW, Europe’s biggest automaker, admitted in September 2015 that it had used illegal software to cheat U.S. diesel emissions tests, sparking the biggest business crisis in its 80-year history. Before Friday, it had set aside 22.6 billion euros ($26.7 billion) to cover costs such as fines and vehicle refits. FIXES HARDER THAN EXPECTED Volkswagen says European diesel fixes running smoothly Last year, VW agreed with U.S. authorities to spend up to $15.3 billion to buy back or fix up to 475,000 2.0-litre polluting diesel cars. On Friday, VW said it was setting aside an additional 2.5 billion euros ($3.0 billion) as hardware fixes for the models were proving tougher than expected and would take significantly longer. Ellinghorst said the complications would amount to 5,200 euros per car. “We have to do more with the hardware,” a VW spokesman said. In Europe, where only a software update is required for the 8.5 million affected cars, plus a minor component integration for about 3.7 million 1.6-litre vehicles included in that number, fixes are running smoothly, the spokesman added. The additional provision will be reflected in third-quarter results due on Oct. 27, VW said. Ellinghorst, who has an “outperform” rating on VW shares, expects the company to report third-quarter group earnings before tax and interest of 4.04 billion euros. At 1340 GMT, VW shares were down 0.4 percent at 137.80 euros. They fell as low as 86.36 euros in the immediate aftermath of the cheating revelations, from pre-scandal levels over 160 euros. As recently as Sept. 11, chief executive Matthias Mueller had maintained in an interview with Reuters that provisions made to date would suffice. “It has now become clear that we need to do more,” a spokesman said on Friday, without elaborating. “WHAT MAY BE NEXT?” VW said in September 2015 that around 11 million vehicles worldwide could be using software capable of cheating emissions tests. Audi, its luxury division, admitted two months later that about 83,000 vehicles with 3.0-litre V6 diesel engines were also fitted with an auxiliary control device deemed illegal in the U.S. BNP Paribas analyst Stuart Pearson said he has provided for another 1 billion euro charge to hit VW’s fourth-quarter results because of outstanding technical fixes for the 3.0-litre Audis. “Investors will understandably worry what else may be next,” he said. He also said the extra time needed to fix VW’s 2.0-litre models meant increased depreciation of the cars being bought back, which also need to be fixed for resale. With Dieselgate costs rising and management’s credibility weakened by Friday’s announcement, analysts said VW now had a more acute need to accelerate a restructuring or sell some assets. “In order to keep our constructive stance on the stock we need to see management taking action regarding the group structure over the coming months,” Ellinghorst said. Separately, Porsche SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), which owns a 30.8 percent stake in VW and tracks its earnings, said the new provision would also affect its results, but stuck to the wide range for its expected 2017 post-tax profit of 2.1-3.1 billion euros. Reporting by Jan Schwartz and Andreas Cremer; Additional reporting by Hakan Ersen; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan, Mark Potter and Kevin Liffey '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions/vw-takes-new-2-5-billion-euro-hit-for-modifying-diesel-vehicles-in-u-s-idUKKCN1C40RN'|'2017-09-29T10:32:00.000+03:00'
'bc4cd6aa42ad2c7b14c466d012bb3ad81b9d1ada'|'Asian lending crashes to five-year low'|'September 29, 2017 / 6:29 AM / in 9 hours Asian lending crashes to five-year low Prakash Chakravarti , Chien Mi Wong 6 Min Read HONG KONG, Sept 29 (TRLPC) - Syndicated lending in Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, hit a five-year low of US$292.47bn for the first nine months of 2017, 19.55% lower than the same period last year as more borrowers turned to the bond market and China’s curbs on overseas acquisitions dented volume. A third-quarter total of US$72.49bn from 210 deals is the lowest quarterly tally in Asia for seven years and is 37.31% lower than US$115.64bn at the same time last year. “G3 bond market issuance has increased this year from Asia, due to low benchmark rates and search for yield by investors. On the other hand, loan activity has seen a decline, leading to a volume shift from loans to bonds,” said Ashish Sharma, head of Asia Pacific loan syndication for Credit Suisse. Asian companies locked in low borrowing costs in Asia’s bond markets, driving record issuance in G3 currencies, in anticipation of a rise in interest rates following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to start unwinding its quantitative easing programme. At US$303.47bn for the year-to-date, bond issuance in G3 currencies have already eclipsed Asia Pacific’s previous full-year record of US$293.07bn raised in 2016, according to Thomson Reuters data. In contrast, China’s clampdown on outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and a weaker domestic economy is starting to hit loan volume. Lending to China in the first nine months is 36% lower at US$76.62bn compared to a year earlier as the mainland suffered the sharpest slowdown of any major country in the region. “M&A volume seems to have dropped mainly because of the impact of the regulatory restrictions on Chinese acquirers eyeing assets overseas,” said Benjamin Ng, head of debt syndicate and acquisition financing, Asia Pacific, at Citigroup. Excluding Japan, China is Asia’s biggest market and still accounted for 26% of regional loan volume in the first three quarters of 2017 despite the drop. In the same period last year, China’s share of the regional lending activity was 32%. In the third quarter, neighbouring Hong Kong eclipsed the mainland with a 25% share, the biggest in regional lending as buyout activity picked up. Low dealflow and abundant liquidity continued to put pressure on Asian corporate loan pricing, as highlighted by Indian companies that frequently tap the market. Indian Oil Corp mandated Scotiabank to lead a US$300m five-year loan in late August with all-in pricing of 93bp, undercutting the company’s last similar loan in June that was priced at 95bp and closed after a poor response. “The challenge with India is that we have seen a lot of spread compression and that’s because there are not enough new deals,” said Siong Ooi, co-head of debt capital markets for loans and bonds at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Chinese companies are also able to access lower pricing. State-owned Zhejiang Energy International Ltd launched a US$300m three-year debut loan in July, which pays a top-level all-in pricing of 100bp – a level that is expected to find few takers, according to bankers. BUYOUT BOOST Event-driven financing boosted Hong Kong’s volume in the third quarter, including a jumbo HK$28bn (US$3.6bn) leveraged buyout loan backing the privatisation of shoe retailer Belle International Holdings Ltd that was the territory’s largest buyout. A consortium comprising Chinese private equity firms CDH Investments and Hillhouse Capital Group along with the shoemaker’s executives took the company private in a HK$53.1bn deal. Another US$900m-equivalent LBO backing the acquisition of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s fixed-line phone unit, Hutchison Global Communications Ltd, had a positive reception from lenders. The deal set the stage for a bigger US$4.10bn loan backing the mammoth S$16bn (US$11.9bn) LBO of Global Logistic Properties Ltd, Asia’s biggest warehouse operator. GLP’s privatisation also involved Chinese sponsors and HGC’s deal was the first LBO in Asia for investment manager I Squared Capital. The two deals for Belle and GLP are the biggest Asian buyouts of the year so far amid a constant flow of event-driven financings. Australia’s active buyout financing market continues to drive developments with the arrival of unitranche structures. US alternative investment firm Highbridge Capital underwrote a A$650m (US$516m) six-year unitranche financing backing iNova Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty Ltd’s US$930m-equivalent buyout by private equity firms Carlyle Group and Pacific Equity Partners. In September another A$250m six-year unitranche backing private equity giant KKR’s acquisition of Laser Clinics Australia Pty Ltd closed as a club deal, adding to an unusually active run of Australian leveraged loans. “Institutional non-bank investors have started becoming more active in senior LBO loans,” Sharma said. Despite a steady flow of LBO loans, only US$27.68bn of volume from 51 deals backing Asian M&A activity were completed in the first nine months, compared with US$55bn from 57 financings in the same period in 2016. The M&A loans tally for the three quarters of 2017 is lower than US$21.74bn of similar loans completed in the third quarter of 2016 alone, which included a US$12.7bn bridge financing backing state-owned China National Chemical Corp’s acquisition of Swiss seeds and pesticides company Syngenta AG. China’s curbs on capital outflows and outbound M&A are taking a toll on event-driven financings, after the government banned deals of more than US$1bn that were outside of the core business of a Chinese buyer. Bankers still see lending opportunities with increased volume and enquiries across the region. ”Private equity firms have been active in various parts of Asia, which has improved the prospects for leveraged buyouts and related financing,” Ng said. (Reporting By Prakash Chakravarti and Chien Mi Wong; Editing by Tessa Walsh and Steve Garton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/asiapac-loans/asian-lending-crashes-to-five-year-low-idUSL4N1MA254'|'2017-09-29T09:27:00.000+03:00'
'b6c041ac22ccadf52a8cbfcf7ce15e17b65cb933'|'UK regulator weighs temporary licences for overseas groups after Brexit'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/b3c7f1f8-a515-11e7-b797-b61809486fe2'|'2017-09-29T19:03:00.000+03:00'
'1ea037aa8b7ea8df48a5911c1b44d31b3d520cfb'|'French PM says would closely watch any attempt to change L''Oreal ownership'|'French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe delivers a speech to open a transport mobility forum in Paris, France, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - France’s prime minister said on Thursday he would look very carefully at any attempted ownership change at L‘Oreal especially if an international investor sought to buy the world’s biggest cosmetics firm.The death of billionaire Liliane Bettencourt on Sept. 21 has focused attention on how L‘Oreal’s founding family and major shareholder Nestle ( NESN.S ) would manage their stakes in the company.Bettencourt’s family owns 33 percent of L‘Oreal. Relatives including her daughter have managed the stake for several years since a court found she was suffering from a form of dementia.Nestle retains a 23 percent stake in the company. It has said it has no intention to sell its stake.“We will be attentive,” Edouard Philippe told France 2 television when asked how he would react if the company were to be subject to an overseas bid.“I don’t know if it can be described as a strategic asset,” he said. “Without a doubt it’s an extremely important asset so I will be very mindful.”In the wake of Bettencourt’s death, a 43-year-old agreement between the family and Nestle not to increase their stakes will expire after six months. There were no restrictions on reducing the stakes.Bettencourt’s only daughter, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, who sits on L‘Oreal’s board with her husband and one son, has said the family remained committed to L‘Oreal and its management.Reporting by John Irish and Jean-Baptiste Vey; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-l-oreal-bettencourt-ownership/french-pm-says-would-closely-watch-any-attempt-to-change-loreal-ownership-idINKCN1C333A'|'2017-09-28T18:18:00.000+03:00'
'fd86f2734e27198e2541fe21c687a8452cc70882'|'Toyota, Mazda, Denso to form electric vehicle venture - sources'|'  2:14 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Toyota to form electric car technology venture with Mazda Naomi Tajitsu , Maki Shiraki 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Mazda Motor''s logo is pictured at its news conference in Tokyo, Japan August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) is establishing a new venture to develop electric vehicle technology with partner Mazda Motor Corp ( 7261.T ), seeking to catch up with rivals in an increasingly frenetic race to produce more battery-powered cars. Policymakers in key markets like China are aggressively pushing a shift to electric cars over the next two to three decades, pressuring traditional automakers to crank up their electric vehicle (EV) plans - just as declining battery costs enable more power to be packed into cars. Toyota said in a statement the new company will develop technology for a range of electric cars, including minivehicles, passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks. Related Coverage Toyota, Mazda, Denso to form electric vehicle JV - sources Toyota will take a 90 percent stake in the joint venture, called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co Ltd, while Mazda and Denso Corp ( 6902.T ), Toyota’s biggest supplier, will each take a 5 percent stake. FILE PHOTO: A Toyota RAV4 EV car with a Tesla battery is seen at the sixth annual Alternative Transportation Expo and Conference (AltCar) in Santa Monica, California September 29, 2011. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo The plans build on a partnership announced in August when Japan’s biggest automaker agreed to take a 5 percent stake in Mazda and two said they would jointly develop affordable electric vehicle technologies. After years of focussing on bringing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the market, Toyota last year set up a division to develop electric cars which is led by President Akio Toyoda, and said it plans to introduce EVs in China in the coming years. Neither Toyota nor Mazda market fully electric passenger cars at the moment. Toyota has cited affordability and the limited range of battery-operated cars as obstacles to the mass popularisation so far. Mazda has an R&D budget a fraction of Toyota‘s, which has made it difficult to develop electric cars on its own. Even so, it has said it plans to launch EVs in 2020. Shares in Mazda were up 3 percent after the announcement, while those in Denso were up 1.5 percent. Toyota shares were flat. Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Naomi Tajitsu; Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toyota-electric-vehicles/toyota-mazda-denso-to-form-electric-vehicle-jv-nhk-idUKKCN1C306X'|'2017-09-28T05:54:00.000+03:00'
'0da40f071479d0ebbd88da9b934fd5fd437b40f7'|'Speed over safety? China''s food delivery industry warned over accidents'|'Driver Lei Wentao of the Chinese express parcel delivery firm Shentong (STO) Express rides his cargo tricycle in Beijing, China, August 29, 2017. Picture taken August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING (Reuters) - A scooter driver in a bright blue jacket on a food delivery run dashes across a busy intersection slick with rain, hits a turning car and is hurled along the tarmac in a video posted by Chinese police warning that couriers should slow down.China’s home delivery boom, powered by an estimated three million couriers, most of them riding quiet electric scooters or boxy three-wheelers, has triggered a surge in road accidents, prompting warnings from police and complaints from drivers who say they feel pressure to put speed before safety.“Accidents happen all the time at rush hour. I have a friend who was hit by a car and could not work for two months,” said a food courier in Beijing surnamed Zhang, declining to give his full name.The number of users of China’s online food delivery market, dominated by services backed by technology giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd, surged 41.6 percent to 300 million in the first half of 2017, according to a report by the state-controlled China Internet Network Information Center.After 76 injuries and deaths involving food delivery drivers in Shanghai were recorded in the first half of 2017 alone, police called in China’s largest food delivery companies in late August to warn them to improve safety standards.Drivers from China’s two largest food delivery companies, Meituan-Dianping and Ele.me, were responsible for about a quarter of all the incidents, the Shanghai police said.The news sparked a countrywide reaction as city police and state media came out to chastise the industry for accidents.Police in the eastern city of Nanjing met with food delivery companies on Sept 20 after couriers were involved in more than 3,000 accidents in the first half of 2017, over 90 percent of which were deemed their fault, state media reported.The official Legal Daily urged authorities to “mobilise the masses” to use phone cameras to catch offenders and punish their employers, identified by distinctively coloured uniforms.A spokesman for Meituan, whose drivers wear a fluorescent yellow, said that the company has safety training for drivers and conducted more than 300 driver training courses in July. He said there was a 13.6 percent drop in traffic incidents in the following month.A spokeswoman for Ele.me said it tells drivers that “safety is first, speed is second” and that the company recently launched a system to track traffic violations by drivers, as well as offering rewards to onlookers who report incidents.NEED FOR SPEED China’s drivers are rarely mugged or shot - a risk facing their counterparts in parts of the United States and some other countries - but they often suffer injuries on the country’s hectic city roads.Driver Lei Wentao of the Chinese express parcel delivery firm Shentong (STO) Express rides his cargo tricycle in Beijing, China, August 29, 2017. Picture taken August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Suen While drivers typically take the blame for accidents, labour activists and numerous drivers said incentives make speed a necessity.The Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, which tracks labour action in China, said couriers are increasingly airing their grievances, staging protests and strikes to demand better wages and accident insurance.Drivers can face fines for late deliveries or poor customer ratings, the drivers said, adding that companies do not always provide insurance or coverage for accidents. Companies say drivers are covered by public and third party liability insurance.Food delivery drivers told Reuters that they are expected to do up to 40 deliveries in one 10-to-12-hour shift, usually with a time limit of under half an hour per delivery. Being on time and getting good reviews from customers can mean an extra 5 yuan (0.75 U.S. cents) or so per delivery.Slideshow (4 Images) Couriers are also usually not hired directly by the companies that design the ordering software. Instead, they work freelance or for third party companies, leaving them without direct contracts with the platform operators.In August, dozens of Meituan drivers staged a strike in the southern city of Yixing to complain about pay and injury compensation, showing off their scab-covered legs and using hand-written equations to show how a build up of fines for late deliveries can eat into their salaries.The vast majority of drivers are migrant workers under the age of 26 who send most of their income home to support their families, according to a 2016 report by Meituan-dianping.“Food delivery platforms’ management needs to become more humane,” the official People’s Daily newspaper said in a recent commentary. “Switch from an operating model that only seeks speed to one that only seeks stability... don’t let delivery drivers risk their lives delivering meals.”An Ele.me spokeswoman acknowledged that “balancing delivery speed and traffic safety is indeed very hard”, adding that the company is working to use artificial intelligence to optimize routes and monitor drivers.Criticism has mostly targeted food delivery companies as their drivers face greater time pressure and have less well-defined routes than those delivering other packages.But the wider delivery industry also has its problems.Niu Hongqiang, 23, a driver from Hebei province working for a package delivery company in Beijing said that the safety training he received was “useless.”“When something goes wrong, it goes wrong in a big way.”Reporting by Christian Shepherd, Thomas Suen and Cate Cadell; Editing by Tony Munroe and Martin Howell '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-delivery-accidents/insight-speed-over-safety-chinas-food-delivery-industry-warned-over-accidents-idINKCN1C30JA'|'2017-09-28T09:13:00.000+03:00'
'd7d4c0b8598ac3eeea9b61db6d9d7c1d0a2bcf56'|'Tensions grow over US small bank compliance plans'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/7f84a6a2-a3ad-11e7-b797-b61809486fe2'|'2017-09-28T01:54:00.000+03:00'
'c9d03596c0e92ca0c7f019e5a5e5345b96c7dda3'|'Microsoft search engine Bing to focus on PC search market - CEO'|'  10:18 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Microsoft search engine Bing to focus on PC search market - CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said on Wednesday the company’s search engine, Bing, will focus on expanding in the PC search market after losing its deal with Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) Siri. “Bing is a big business growing at a strong double-digit rate, and we see a significant opportunity for us even on the PC side,” Nadella said at a Reuters newsmaker event in New York. Earlier this week, Apple said it would replace Bing as its default search engine for Siri on iOS and Spotlight on Mac with Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google. Reporting by Angela Moon and Salvador Rodriguez; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-microsoft-nadella-reuters-newsmaker/microsoft-search-engine-bing-to-focus-on-pc-search-market-ceo-idUKKCN1C2360'|'2017-09-28T01:18:00.000+03:00'
'cf1aea7bc030150d0b1e9df6f76c25f052a86544'|'Austrian bank BAWAG PSK planning Vienna IPO'|'VIENNA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Lender BAWAG PSK, majority owned by U.S. private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, plans an initial public offering in Vienna that could be Austria’s biggest in a decade.Sources told Reuters in June that the planned listing of a 20-30 percent stake could value Austria’s fourth-biggest lender at up to 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion).“BAWAG Group AG, the holding company of BAWAG PSK, plans an initial public offering and the listing of its shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange,” the bank said in a statement. It did not specify a size or a price range.$1 = 0.8506 euros Reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Jason Neely '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bawag-ipo/austrian-bank-bawag-psk-planning-vienna-ipo-idINV9N1IZ00B'|'2017-09-27T05:17:00.000+03:00'
'25936ff963467ff00d58c02c41a82028d43017c2'|'Fiat Chrysler to take part in settlement talks over diesel emissions'|'September 27, 2017 / 7:00 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Fiat Chrysler to engage in settlement talks over diesel emissions David Shepardson 3 Min Read A screen displays the ticker information for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV at the post where it''s traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will engage in settlement talks with lawyers representing vehicle owners suing the automaker over excess diesel emissions in Washington on Oct. 12, a court-appointed settlement adviser said Wednesday. In May, the U.S. Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler, accusing the company of illegally using software that led to excess emissions in nearly 104,000 U.S. diesel vehicles sold since 2014. It also faces numerous lawsuits from owners of those vehicles. German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH [ROBG.UL], which develops diesel vehicle systems, has also been sued by U.S. vehicle owners and will take part in the settlement talks next month, settlement master Ken Feinberg said in court. The government will not participate in the talks, Feinberg said. In July, Fiat Chrysler won approval from federal and California regulators on Friday to sell 2017 diesel vehicles after it came under scrutiny for alleged excess emissions in older diesel models. A Fiat Chrysler lawyer, Robert Giuffra, said in court the company was confident of being able to use updated emissions software in the 2017 vehicles as the basis of a fix to address agencies’ concerns over 2014-2016 Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles. Giuffra said the engine and emissions controls were identical in the older vehicles to those in the 2017 models. Justice Department lawyer Leigh Rende said the federal government and California were near agreement on a testing plan with the company to see if the fix will work. The government and company must obtain representative vehicles to test as well, she said. Regulators have said that the older Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles had undisclosed emissions controls that allowed vehicles to emit excess pollution during normal driving. The company has denied wrongdoing, saying there was never an attempt to create software to cheat emissions rules. Fiat Chrysler’s emissions case came after Volkswagen AG’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) diesel emissions scandal prompted increased industry scrutiny. The German automaker pleaded guilty in March to having intentionally cheated on emissions tests for vehicles it sold since 2009 Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to $25 billion (18.65 billion pounds) to address claims from U.S. owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers, and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. Regulators are also investigating emissions in Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles, but have yet to take any action. Daimler withdrew a request for approval to sell its 2017 Mercedes-Benz diesel models in the United States in May. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiatchrysler-emissions/fiat-chrysler-to-take-part-in-settlement-talks-over-diesel-emissions-idUKKCN1C22R7'|'2017-09-27T22:00:00.000+03:00'
'd873a2c8c88163378a6a7cc28ec466101113830f'|'Siemens CEO says picked Alstom for financial strength, CEO'|'September 27, 2017 / 9:05 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Siemens CEO says picked Alstom for financial strength, CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser gestures during the annual news conference in Munich, Germany November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens chose France’s Alstom over Canada’s Bombardier for a rail joint venture because of its sound finances and its management team, Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said on Wednesday. “I must say I‘m really glad to have won him over,” Kaeser said of Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, who will lead the new business, helping to counter criticism that France is giving up control of another national industrial icon. “It was a remarkable cooperation between two, obviously competitive, units,” he added on a conference call with analysts, referring to the negotiation process. Sources had told Reuters that Siemens was close to an agreement with train and plane group Bombardier but that talks were tough due to Bombardier’s weak finances and desire to control any joint venture. Kaeser declined to comment on any talks with Bombardier but pointed to Alstom’s strong balance sheet. “Newco is going to be a very financially strong company,” he said. Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Christoph Steitz '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens-bombardier/siemens-ceo-says-picked-alstom-for-financial-strength-ceo-idUSKCN1C20WL'|'2017-09-27T12:04:00.000+03:00'
'659ac4157d30a21cc52f024e79f22ff4f31acb9e'|'Brazil''s top prosecutor says committed to ''Car Wash'' probe'|'Brazil''s Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge gestures during a session of the Supreme Court to decide the fate of a second accusation against the President in Brasilia, Brazil September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s new Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge said on Tuesday she is committed to continuing the sprawling “Car Wash” corruption investigation that has implicated dozens of Brazilian politicians, including President Michel Temer.In her first news conference since taking office on Sept. 18, Dodge declined to comment on charges filed against Temer by her predecessor Rodrigo Janot, but she said she could not withdraw them.Janot charged Temer with obstruction of justice and being a member of a criminal organization days before leaving office based on plea bargain testimony by the owners of meatpacker JBS SA. Janot had to revoke that plea deal after evidence emerged of crimes committed by the witnesses.Dodge, however, told reporters that the revoking of a plea deal did not erase the evidence provided.The lower house of Congress, which has the authority to decide whether a president should stand trial, began to discuss the new charges on Tuesday and is expected to block them as it did last month with an earlier graft charge brought against Temer for allegedly accepting bribes paid by JBS.Dodge said the Supreme Court must decide whether the Federal Police can also negotiate plea bargains with criminals, an authority currently limited to prosecutors who have opposed sharing the function with the police.Plea bargains have been instrumental for prosecutors in the uncovering of a massive network of bribes and political kickbacks in Brazil’s largest corruption scandal.“I am sure that the Supreme Court will hand down a ruling that will turn this into an valuable tool,” she said.Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Sandra Maler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption/brazils-top-prosecutor-says-committed-to-car-wash-probe-idUSKCN1C132L'|'2017-09-26T23:57:00.000+03:00'
'f503b279e0ee79e0e72d4c765755bca5541ad70b'|'Boeing to invest $33 million in JV with COMAC for China plant - China Daily'|'September 27, 2017 / 12:01 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Boeing to invest $33 million in joint venture with COMAC for China plant: China Daily Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of Boeing (BA) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Boeing Co ( BA.N ) will invest $33 million for a majority stake in a joint venture with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) that will oversee the U.S. planemaker’s new 737 completion plant in China, the China Daily reported. The firms had signed an agreement to set up the joint venture with registered capital of $55 million, the state-run newspaper said on Wednesday. Boeing would take a 60 percent share, while COMAC would invest $40 million for the remainder. Construction of the factory in the eastern city of Zhoushan began in May. It would install interiors and paint liveries. Boeing had not previously disclosed how much it would invest in its first overseas completion and delivery center outside the United States. It aims to deliver 100 planes a year. The China Daily, citing COMAC, added that the Chinese planemaker would participate in the completion tasks with Boeing employees, but how the two sides would share the work was still unknown. The delivery center would be owned by Boeing. Boeing and its European rival Airbus ( AIR.PA ) are expanding their footprint in China as they vie for orders in the world’s fastest growing aviation market. Airbus last week opened its Chinese completion plant for A330 jets in the eastern city of Tianjin. Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-china-plant/boeing-to-invest-33-million-in-joint-venture-with-comac-for-china-plant-china-daily-idUKKCN1C13DA'|'2017-09-27T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'6b0412344e029513f8d5a7e2f49c4a69b672f785'|'China regulator approves UPS, SF Holding joint venture'|'FILE PHOTO: United Parcel Service air craft are being loaded with air containers full of packages bound for their final destination at the UPS Worldport All Points International Hub during the peak delivery month in Louisville, Kentucky, December 3, 2015. REUTERS/John Sommers II/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc ( UPS.N ) and Chinese express delivery company SF Holding ( 002352.SZ ) said on Thursday they have received approval from Chinese regulators for an international package delivery services joint venture.The two companies have been working together since 2015 and announced their planned alliance “to collaborate on development and provision of international delivery services” back in May.With approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce, the firms said in a statement that they will initially provide package delivery services from China to the United States, which will be expanded to other countries.The venture will combine SF’s 13,000 service points in 331 cities in China with UPS’ global network spanning 220 countries.“UPS has an aggressive multi-year growth plan in China,” Ross McCullough, president of UPS’ Asia Pacific unit, said in the statement. “Aligning our two networks will increase our market presence by connecting China’s consumers and manufacturers to the U.S. and around the world.”SF Holdings, parent company of SF Express, is often called China’s answer to UPS rival FedEx Corp ( FDX.N ), and is the dominant package delivery company within China. It also delivers to more than a dozen countries, including the United States and Japan.“The establishment of this joint venture boosts global expansion of Chinese enterprises beyond local borders,” Alan Wong, SF group vice president, said in the press release.UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and has operated in China since 1988. It has more than 200 flights per week to and from its Chinese hubs.Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and W Simon '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-united-parcel-sfholding-china/china-regulator-approves-ups-sf-holding-joint-venture-idINKCN1C31TB'|'2017-09-28T11:02:00.000+03:00'
'240667438f20a4ff6dc4b6b513f35eef78821aef'|'The Guardian view on Brexit and the Bank: the challenge of populism - Editorial'|'B ank of England independence, announced just five days after Labour’s 1997 landslide victory, was a tightly kept secret of the kind that Gordon Brown made his trademark. Yet it was almost at once accepted as the last, critical piece of a framework to protect the UK economy from the inflationary tendencies of weak governments on a par with joining the European Community 25 years previously. Today, at a conference marking the 20th anniversary of his coup, Mr Brown added another claim to its significance as a force for stability: only the discipline of independence had enabled him to keep sterling out of the eurozone.But like other speakers both before and after him at today’s conference, the former chancellor warned that just as the post-crash recession had played a significant role in Brexit, so might it undermine the case for Bank independence: the argument for taking back control could just as easily be extended to the power of the Bank to set interest rates, and with consequences as devastating. Mr Brown suggested that the answer to economic populism might be to set up a strategic oversight group that included Treasury officials as well as Bank economists. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank, suggested it was a bigger challenge . The threat was a response to “QE, nationalism, and loss of trust in globalisation”. No central bank could stop Brexit making the UK poorer. Independence is not the same as omnipotence: the challenge it faces comes from events far beyond its control.Like most other policy proposals that have emerged this conference season, this conversation underlines just how far the crash and a decade of austerity have transformed democratic possibilities . At the same conference, Theresa May set out her defence of the free market in what was claimed to be a rebuttal of the vision Jeremy Corbyn articulated in Brighton. But in truth, while she hardly shares his entire analysis of Thatcherite economics, both the prime minister and the Labour leader each envisage a retreat from free markets by expanding the role of the state in the economy and making corporate governance more accountable. As  Mr Corbyn rightly claimed in Brighton , the centre of gravity has moved well to the left of where it has been since the 1980s. They may have very different ideas about the scale; but the direction of travel is the same. The next election may be decided by which of the two party leaders has the better measure of the public mood.Yet as Mr Carney pointed out, the cost of Brexit – the very shock to the status quo that has given both of them the licence to think afresh – will also have powerful implications for what is economically possible. As if to illustrate the point, as he spoke in London, in Brussels David Davis, the Dexeu minister, and Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, reported back on the latest round of talks between the EU and the UK. Hopes that Mrs May’s Florence speech last week would act as a laxative on the process were optimistic: the complex negotiations on mutual protection for citizens’ rights, the Irish border or the exit bill have inched forward but the chances of the October council of ministers authorising progression to phase two of the talks, the substantive ones on the future relationship between the UK and the EU, seem no more likely than a week ago.Other events in Northern Ireland have already reminded Mrs May how tough the world will be beyond the EU. In her speech at the Bank, the prime minister suggested that she might block imports from Boeing in retaliation for the US aircraft manufacturer’s demand for 220% tariffs on parts imported by its parent company in Canada from Bombardier in Belfast. Clearly even a special relationship with the US president is no guarantee of favourable treatment. But there is a message here for Mr Corbyn’s view of the post-Brexit world too: Boeing is objecting to British subsidies to Bombardier of just the kind he appears to think are impossible in the EU. As the row over Bombardier demonstrates, they are perfectly possible; and so is tit-for-tat retaliation from non-EU trading partners. Clearly, whatever the claims of the leave camp – reiterated at the launch of a new free trade thinktank on Wednesday – Brexit is a recipe not for an outward-looking global Britain but an inward-looking, nationalist, protectionist one. This is the tension between rhetoric and reality that will permeate the Conservative party conference next week. It is the fundamental division in cabinet. For 15 months, the real cost of Brexit has been ducked. It is time to come clean.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/28/the-guardian-view-on-brexit-and-the-bank-the-challenge-of-populism'|'2017-09-28T21:16:00.000+03:00'
'fa9db0e4296a629d1107c8e76488490e63ad3ca6'|'Makers of fast-acting opioids will have to pay for training - FDA'|'  8:50 PM / a minute ago Makers of fast-acting opioids will have to pay for training: FDA Michael Erman 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Dr. Scott Gottlieb testifies before a Senate Health Education Labor and Pension Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S. April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein NEW YORK (Reuters) - Makers of fast-acting opioids will have to fund voluntary training for healthcare professionals who prescribe the drugs, including education on safe prescribing practices and non-opioid alternatives, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Thursday. The FDA sent letters to 74 manufacturers of immediate-release opioids, notifying them that they will have to fund the development of courses for doctors, nurses and pharmacists, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. President Donald Trump and Gottlieb have promised to reduce opioid abuse in the United States, which has become a public health crisis that kills more than 100 Americans daily. Makers of extended-release and long-acting formulations of the painkillers, which are more easily abused, are already required to pay for the training. While the training will be offered as voluntary continuing education for healthcare professionals, the agency is also considering some form of mandatory education on opioids. About 90 percent of all opioid pain medications prescribed in the United State - around 160 million prescriptions a year - are for the fast-acting formulations, the FDA said. The FDA asked Endo International Inc to pull its long-lasting opioid painkiller, Opana ER, from the market in June, after a panel of advisers concluded that the drug’s benefits did not outweigh the risks of misuse. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in more than 33,000 U.S. deaths in 2015, the latest year for which data is available, and estimates show the death rate has continued rising. On Thursday, Washington state sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to file a lawsuit seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for the opioid addiction crisis. Reporting by Michael Erman; editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-opioids/makers-of-fast-acting-opioids-will-have-to-pay-for-training-fda-idUSKCN1C3356'|'2017-09-28T23:44:00.000+03:00'
'9290929ce1496f647c56c7ae30f6400845636fe2'|'Typical U.S. family earning $100,000 to get $1,000 tax cut under Trump plan: aide'|'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A typical U.S. family with two children earning $100,000 a year can expect a tax cut of $1,000 under President Donald Trump’s proposed tax overhaul, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said on Thursday.Cohn also told reporters at the White House that the repeal of estate tax and alternative minimum tax would be immediate under the proposal.Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-tax-cohn/typical-u-s-family-earning-100000-to-get-1000-tax-cut-under-trump-plan-aide-idINKCN1C32WM'|'2017-09-28T17:28:00.000+03:00'
'd5ad81310d8254b4a16ba02695507c2de5ab7a8b'|'Active fund managers ride tech stocks to best performance since 2009'|'September 26, 2017 / 7:24 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Active fund managers ride tech stocks to best performance since 2009 David Randall 3 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson NEW YORK (Reuters) - An overweight position in technology stocks like Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) is helping more active fund managers beat their benchmarks than at any point since 2009. The performance comes as the managers battle passive index funds and exchange traded funds that have grown popular with investors. Approximately 52 percent of active fund managers are beating their respective benchmarks this year, the highest relative performance since nearly 55 percent eight years ago, according to Lipper data. Last year, only 26 percent of fund managers were able to beat their benchmarks, the worst performance for the industry in more than a decade. This year’s outperformance is powered largely by growth funds, with the average large-cap growth fund beating the 11.7 percent gain in the benchmark S&P 500 for the year to date by 3 percentage points. Among the most common overweight positions held by mutual fund managers include Facebook, Google, PayPal Holdings Inc ( PYPL.O ) and Visa Inc ( V.N ), all of which are up by 20 percent or more this year, according to Goldman Sachs. The jump in technology stocks is also helping put the average long/short equity hedge fund on pace for the best performance since 2009, with more funds concentrating their assets in companies such as Ebay Inc ( EBAY.O ), whose shares are up 28 percent for the year to date. “Funds continue to rely on just a few stocks to drive performance,” Goldman Sachs noted, with the average fund holding nearly 70 percent of its assets in its 10 largest positions, a level of concentration near record highs reached in early 2016. While mutual fund managers are putting up their best performance numbers in nearly a decade, it may not be enough to stop the flow of assets to passive index funds or exchange traded funds, said Todd Rosenbluth, director of fund research at New York-based CFRA. Financial advisors are increasingly looking at annual fees as much as performance numbers, making it more difficult for higher-cost active fund managers to draw assets, he said. In July alone, investors put $10.8 billion into U.S. passive equity funds, up from $9.3 billion the month before, and pulled $19.6 billion out of funds run by traditional stockpickers, according to Morningstar data. “Some of the money is leaving regardless of performance and is more tied to lower fees and shifting business models” among financial advisors, Rosenbluth said. “An advisor who has shifted away from active management to lower-cost passive funds is unlikely to come back due to 9 months of performance success.” Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and; Andrew Hay'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-funds-active-managers/active-fund-managers-ride-tech-stocks-to-best-performance-since-2009-idUSKCN1C12SP'|'2017-09-26T22:16:00.000+03:00'
'b923ac2f222f903306e0d3f3816b9ffe738b9dea'|'Asian shares rise ahead of U.S. tax plan; dollar near one-month high'|'  12:42 AM / Updated 33 minutes ago Asian shares rise ahead of U.S. tax plan; dollar near one-month high Swati Pandey 4 Min Read People walk past an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Wednesday as investors hoped for progress on major tax reform in the United States, while the dollar hovered near one-month highs on growing expectations of a U.S. interest rate increase in December. The administration and Republicans in Congress are due to outline a tax plan on Wednesday. If passed, it would be the first significant legislative victory for U.S. President Donald Trump since taking office in January. It would also be a win for Wall Street as corporate tax cuts would potentially boost profits, while a tax amnesty on offshore cash holdings could fuel more buybacks and thus share values. “We’re now seeing some embryonic prospects of a tax reform in the United States which is a much bigger issue for the markets than the Federal Reserve,” said Ray Attrill, Sydney-based global head of forex strategy at National Australia Bank. “Our view has been the market had moved from applying a Trump-premium from November-December to applying Trump-discount due to his inability to pass any major reforms. A meaningful tax reform could serve to reduce some of that discount.” Analysts said the U.S. tech space will be one to watch as it has mountains of cash that could be brought back for share buybacks and dividends. Wall Street ended mostly flat on Tuesday, but the tech sector gained 0.4 percent, with Apple shares rising 1.7 percent after four sessions of declines. [.N] On Wednesday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 percent, after falling for four straight days to a three-week trough. Japan’s Nikkei was off 0.5 percent, with some stocks trading ex-dividend, while Australia’s main index eased 0.3 percent. FED FIRMS ON DEC HIKE In currencies, the dollar index last stood at 93.06 from 93.286 touched on Tuesday, the highest since Aug. 31. Markets were put on notice by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen who used a Tuesday speech to warn it would be “imprudent” to keep policy on hold until inflation is back to 2 percent. She said the U.S. central bank “should also be wary of moving too gradually” on rates. Atlanta Fed chair Raphael Bostin also talked up the prospect of a December rate hike. The dollar also climbed on the yen to loiter near a 2-1/2 month high at 112.39, helped by rising U.S. Treasury yields. The yield on 2-year Treasury notes, which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 1.4590 percent, a level not seen since October 2008. The euro was near more than one-month lows at $1.1788 as investors faced weeks of political horse-trading in Germany before a new government could be formed. Spot gold was a touch firmer, but still near one-month lows at $1,295.25, while copper edged 0.3 percent higher from a six-week trough. Crude oil prices popped up on Wednesday after the weekly API inventory report showed a 761,000 barrel build-up in crude inventories, which suggests downside risks to consensus estimate of a 2.52 million barrel build in an official report due later in the day, analysts said. U.S. crude climbed 26 cents to $52.14 per barrel, while Brent added 21 cents to $58.65. Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Wayne Cole, Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/dollar-yields-rise-on-hawkish-yellen-asian-shares-still-weak-idUKKCN1C201Y'|'2017-09-27T06:45:00.000+03:00'
'6438f9d16c807f7c53084690ffe1445dbe177585'|'UPDATE 2-Cemig to exit Brazil''s Renova as Brookfield hints at higher bid: sources'|'(Adds share performance in paragraph 4)By Guillermo Parra-BernalSAO PAULO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA and a subsidiary plan to exit their controlling stake in Brazilian renewable power company Renova Energia SA as Brookfield Asset Management Inc considers raising a takeover bid more than initially expected, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.According to the people, who requested anonymity because the talks remain private, Brookfield would offer Cemig and subsidiary Light SA the equivalent of 11.75 reais ($3.72) per unit of Renova. Each Renova unit consists of one common and two preferred shares.Reuters reported on Sept. 19 that Brookfield was considering proposing to buy each unit of Renova at 11.25 reais to persuade both shareholders into selling their combined 64.4 percent stake. One of the people said Cemig, Brazil’s No. 3 power utility, and Light wanted at least 12.25 reais per unit.Units of Renova had their biggest jump in a week, adding as much as 8.9 percent to 8.50 reais. The stock is up 26 percent this year.Brookfield declined to comment. Cemig and Light did not have immediate comments.Getting the nod from both Cemig and Light would enable Canada-based Brookfield to take control of Renova more assertively and expand faster in Brazil’s renewable power industry, one source said. The people said Brookfield emissaries would make a formal proposal for Renova within days.If the improved proposal materializes into a formal bid, Brookfield would spend about 1.05 billion reais ($332.3 million to win control of Renova, one of the people said. Brookfield could either pump an extra 800 million reais into Renova or take the company private, Reuters reported on Sept. 8.Renova, which was founded in 2001, has struggled with a severe cash crunch over the past couple of years. Its financing conditions worsened significantly when a partnership with SunEdison Inc collapsed weeks before that company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.Exiting Renova could also help Cemig to speed up the refinancing of nearly 4 billion reais of debt maturing this year. Chief Financial Officer Adezio Lima said in August that a partial or full sale of Cemig and Light’s stakes in Renova could take up to 60 days. ($1 = 3.1640 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/renova-energia-ma-brookfield-asset/update-1-cemig-to-exit-brazils-renova-as-brookfield-signals-higher-bid-sources-say-idUSL2N1MA145'|'2017-09-29T20:09:00.000+03:00'
'5ecb9be4afed431a30bf6a2e19d4b3be7aff621d'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 29'|'Sept 29 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesPalmer & Harvey is close to striking a takeover deal with Carlyle, the U.S. buyout firm, after securing emergency funding from two of its main suppliers. bit.ly/2fvLo9OBT Group Plc could be forced to stump up an extra 2 billion pounds ($2.69 billion) over the next two years to reduce its growing pension deficit, posing a cashflow problem for the telecom group, a leading credit rating agency has warned. bit.ly/2xFnj8GThe GuardianThe British manufacturer Brompton has embarked on an unprecedented recall of nearly 150,000 of its folding bikes over concerns about faulty axles. bit.ly/2ywyEHhLloyd''s of London, the world''s biggest insurance market, has started paying out the first of $4.5 billion of claims related to tropical storm Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which wreaked havoc in the southern U.S. and Caribbean. bit.ly/2yvVUVTThe TelegraphThe future of Ford Motor Co''s Bridgend plant has been thrown into further doubt after luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover revealed it was bringing forward the end of a contract to produce engines at the Welsh site. bit.ly/2xB1xp6Theresa May said Transport for London''s decision to stop Uber Technologies Inc operating in the capital has "damaged lives" and called the ban "disproportionate". bit.ly/2k4PL0wSky NewsPension trustees at Carillion Plc the crisis-hit construction group, have called in the world''s largest audit firm to advise them amid a massive financial restructuring. bit.ly/2ydlYZOThe head of UK''s aviation regulator has told Sky News that he takes a promise by Ryanair Holding Plc to meet its obligations over mass flight cancellations "with a pinch of salt". bit.ly/2k4QiQ4The IndependentRoyal Mail Plc is seeking to employ 20,000 temporary workers to help sort the Christmas post and manage an increasing amount of online Christmas shopping, the company has said. ind.pn/2yKZ6OyNearly a third of all UK electricity came from renewable sources in the second quarter of this year, setting a new record for clean energy generation, the government said. ind.pn/2fBcqAb ($1 = 0.7448 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-sept-29-idINL4N1MA01K'|'2017-09-28T22:15:00.000+03:00'
'b2c4d4120d5db34cf54a042b493a97e34569440f'|'Suez Canal chief says Mercedes-Benz to establish new facility in economic zone'|'September 26, 2017 / 7:20 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Suez Canal chief says Mercedes-Benz to establish new facility in economic zone Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Mercedes-Benz sign is seen reflected on a building in Warsaw, Poland July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh CAIRO (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz is set to return to Egypt with a 50,000 square meter distribution facility in the new economic zone near the Suez Canal, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mohab Mamish said on Tuesday. The Suez Canal Economic Zone, a mega-project launched in 2015 to create an international hub for global manufacturers along the canal, is expected to eventually make up about a third of the country’s economy. A Mercedes spokesperson was not immediately able to comment on the agreement about a distribution center -- although she said no decision had been taken about starting local production of passenger cars in Egypt. “Mercedes is continuously examining conditions in all markets and regions with a view to market growth and sales prospects and adjusts it’s market strategy accordingly,” the spokesperson said. Mamish said the new facility it would also be a logistical redistribution center that will service local and regional markets. He was speaking at a news conference following a meeting attended by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and the company’s regional director. Egypt has been on a drive to reform the economy and lure back foreign investors who fled after the 2011 uprising. It enacted a new investment code which is expected to boost badly needed investment by cutting bureaucracy, especially for starting projects, and providing more incentives to investors looking to put money into Egypt. The zone will be eligible for these new incentives. Mercedes-Benz ended local production of passenger cars in Egypt in 2015 over fears that free trade agreements the country signed with the EU would make assembly not profitable in the long run. Reporting by Momen Abdel Khalek and Nadine Awadalla in Cairo Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Andreas Cremer Editing by Jeremy Gaunt'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-egypt/suez-canal-chief-says-mercedes-benz-to-establish-new-facility-in-economic-zone-idUSKCN1C12RX'|'2017-09-26T22:19:00.000+03:00'
'f76921a55358781250c23fe649781dee59fc820c'|'EU regulators to investigate $54 billion Luxottica, Essilor deal'|'FILE PHOTO: Sunglasses from Ray Ban, a Luxottica owned brand, are on display at an optician shop in Hanau, Germany, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will investigate whether the proposed 46-billion-euro ($54 billion) merger of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and French lenses maker Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) will push up prices and drive out rivals from the market.The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation on Tuesday, saying the deal involving the two companies, both top-ranked in their sectors, may reduce competition in ophthalmic lenses and eyewear.The move came after the companies declined to offer concessions in a preliminary review. Reuters reported on Sept. 11 that the competition enforcer had expressed worries about the deal to the companies.Luxottica shares fell 1.4 percent to 46.86 euros in late trading, while Essilor’s declined 1.3 percent to 103.35 euros.European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the deal could affect a huge number of people.“Half of Europeans wear glasses and almost all of us will need vision correction one day. Therefore we need to carefully assess whether the proposed merger would lead to higher prices or reduced choices for opticians and ultimately consumers,” she said.Key concerns include the possibility that the merged company may persuade opticians to buy eyewear and lenses as a package and exclude rival eyewear suppliers competing for ophthalmic lenses.The Commission will decide by Feb. 12 whether to clear the deal. Luxottica owns brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley. Essilor competes with Hoya ( 7741.T ), Carl Zeiss [CZTOP.UL] and Bausch & Lomb [WPRISB.UL].Related Coverage Essilor, Luxottica say to co-operate with EU on planned mergerReporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Julia Fioretti and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-group-m-a-essilor-eu/eu-regulators-to-investigate-54-billion-luxottica-essilor-deal-idINKCN1C121W'|'2017-09-26T13:06:00.000+03:00'
'6d9ab441bc1eeb0dedc670e6c61f4ac2f99ad3b5'|'Lufthansa board approves plans to grow Eurowings'|'BERLIN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Lufthansa’s supervisory board has approved plans by the airline to invest in up to 61 additional planes for its Eurowings budget arm, seeking to fill the gap left by insolvent German rival Air Berlin .The investment in purchasing and leasing 41 A320 single aisle jets and 20 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 planes will total around 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) and is partly dependent on a successful conclusion of talks to take over assets from Air Berlin, Lufthansa said on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.8479 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Arno Schuetze) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-berlin-lufthansa/lufthansa-board-approves-plans-to-grow-eurowings-idINFWN1M70F1'|'2017-09-26T11:04:00.000+03:00'
'2623c37b57bd2f91814569f490ac9fbc2dc161b0'|'U.S. hones in on NAFTA labor, investment as top officials join talks'|'  1:32 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago U.S. homes in on labor, investment as top officials join talks Lesley Wroughton , Adriana Barrera 5 Min Read A sign is pictured where the third round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada is taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie OTTAWA (Reuters) - Top officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico join negotiations on modernizing NAFTA in Ottawa on Tuesday where the U.S. is expected to present draft text on issues such as labor, investment and intellectual property. Labor leaders of the two wealthier NAFTA nations say laxer labor standards and lower pay in Mexico have swelled corporate profits at the expense of Canadian and U.S. workers, making the issue one of the major battles of the NAFTA talks. Officials with knowledge of the U.S. proposal said it would not detail wage levels for workers. Mexican business leaders have argued that workers’ rights and pay is an internal issue for each country to resolve. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo will join the talks later on Tuesday. A joint statement on the Ottawa round is expected at 2:30 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday. The next round will be held in Washington around Oct. 11. The countries are rushing to reach an agreement by the end of the year before Mexico’s presidential campaign begins, a deadline that former trade negotiators have said is unrealistic. USTR spokeswoman Emily Davis said the negotiations were “progressing at an unprecedented pace” with the U.S. presenting text in 27 NAFTA chapters in the five weeks since talks began. Related Coverage U.S. NAFTA proposal ensures enforceable provisions on labor: USTR Canadian and Mexican officials, however, have complained that the U.S. side has been slow to present proposals on the biggest issues which are likely to take time to negotiate. David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, on Tuesday expressed optimism the talks would succeed, saying negotiators would not succumb to panic as they continued making progress a little bit at a time. “The one thing I will predict with 100-percent certainty is that before all of this is over, there will be some drama,” he said in remarks after a speech in Toronto. Chief U.S. negotiator John Melle said last week the U.S. side will present new text proposals in the current round where he said “more challenging issues will start taking center stage.” Asked by reporters in Ottawa about the lack of specific proposals on key issues, Melle said, “We’ve been working very hard so I don’t see a problem.” The thorniest issue in the talks, NAFTA’s rules of origin that determine how much of a product needs to originate in the NAFTA region, will be discussed on Tuesday, according to a copy of the agenda obtained by Reuters, but the United States has still to present its demands on the issue. The Trump administration wants more substantial U.S. content in autos, the main source of the $64-billion trade deficit with Mexico and the $11-billion deficit with Canada. The United States is expected to partially unveil new text on a NAFTA chapter on investment but will not elaborate on changes to an investor state dispute mechanism that allows an investor from a NAFTA country to sue a member government. BETTER STANDARDS In a Sept. 25 letter to Lighthizer, Jerry Dias, president of Canada’s UNIFOR labor union, called for enforceable labor rules under NAFTA and expressed concern that the U.S. proposal closely resembled text outlined in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact, which Trump withdrew from. Dias said the TPP language had “major limitations” and was recently tested in a complaint by the United States against Guatemala’s labor rights under the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA-DR. “That language was just tested and the (U.S.) lost, so you would now think they’d propose language to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” said Dias. He said he had seen the Canadian proposal on labor standards, which referred to “fair compensation” for workers and underscored the importance of free collective bargaining. U.S. Congressman Sandy Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, who was in Ottawa at the weekend, cautioned on Monday that Democrats would not support a revised NAFTA agreement without “dramatic change” in Mexico’s labor standards. “Mexico’s so called ‘comparative advantage’ not only condemns numerous Mexican workers to working in or near poverty, but it lowers wages and rips away jobs from workers in the United States, especially in the auto industry,” he told the Council on Foreign Relations. Additional reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/u-s-hones-in-on-nafta-labor-investment-as-top-officials-join-talks-idUSKCN1C11S8'|'2017-09-26T16:31:00.000+03:00'
'3527011544e8288500faae326db66a0fc4b5d083'|'Louis Dreyfus fund management unit to wind down'|'September 26, 2017 / 7:28 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Louis Dreyfus fund management unit to wind down Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Commodity fund manager Edesia Asset Management, a unit of commodity trading house Louis Dreyfus Holding, said on Tuesday it would wind down all fund management activities by Dec. 31 as it focuses on core physical operations. “In challenging market conditions, our flagship products have generated cumulative net returns of 42 percent and 70 percent respectively since inception,” said Ian McIntosh, CEO of Edesia Asset Management B.V. ”We anticipate the net asset values at closure of the funds to be at or close to the highest point in their history.” Edesia Asset Management, formerly known as Louis Dreyfus Investment Group (Commodities) B.V., was established in 2008 and manages more than $1.4 billion in assets. Reporting by Simon Jessop and Maiya Keidan; editing by Carolyn Cohn'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-louisdreyfus-edesia/louis-dreyfus-fund-management-unit-to-wind-down-idUKKCN1C10Q5'|'2017-09-26T10:28:00.000+03:00'
'd4bed266a66ff278a43fb011f99ba1024cafe0df'|'Asian shares droop, yen gains as Korean tensions rise'|'September 26, 2017 / 12:57 AM / Updated an hour ago Asian shares wilt, yen firms as Korean tensions rise Lisa Twaronite 5 Min Read Monitors showing TV news on North Korea''s missile launch (R), the Japanese yen''s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar (L and top of blue screen) and Japan''s Niikei share average (bottom of blue screen) are seen at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo, Japan, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares withered on Tuesday and the yen firmed against the backdrop of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and as investors awaited fresh signals about the U.S. monetary policy outlook. Futures suggested a subdued start to the European trading day, with the Eurostoxx 50 and FTSE futures both down 0.1 percent and DAX futures down 0.2 percent MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6 percent, following tech-focused losses on Wall Street. The risk-averse mood increased the appeal of safe-haven government debt, with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes edging down to 2.218 percent from its U.S. close on Monday of 2.220 percent. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak later on Tuesday (1645 GMT) on “Prospects for Growth: Reassessing the Fundamentals”. Investors will be parsing her words for clues on whether the U.S. central bank will stick to its plan to raise interest rates in December. “If the U.S. is going to increase its policy rate as soon as December, that is going to support the dollar, but the situation is complicated by the North Korean tensions,” said Harumi Taguchi, principal economist at IHS Markit in Tokyo. “Even if Yellen says something positive for the markets, it might just be offset by the geopolitical risks,” she said. North Korea’s foreign minister said on Monday that a weekend tweet by President Donald Trump counted as a declaration of war on North Korea and that Pyongyang reserved the right to take countermeasures, including shooting down U.S. bombers even if they are not in its air space. North Korea has been moving airplanes and boosting defenses on its east coast after the United States dispatched B-1B bombers to the Korean peninsula over the weekend, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s spy agency. Australian shares were down 0.2 percent, while South Korean shares slid 0.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock index finished 0.3 percent lower, pressured by a stronger yen. “In addition to North Korea, the stronger yen is affecting shares today, and there’s also Apple’s poor performance, after the report that it told suppliers to reduce parts shipments,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Apple Inc shed 0.9 percent on Monday after it was reported the company had told suppliers to scale back shipments of parts for its upcoming iPhone X. The dollar dropped 0.1 percent against the yen to 111.61, well shy of last week’s two-month high of 112.725. The yen tends to benefit during times of risk aversion due to Japan’s net creditor status and the expectation that Japanese investors would repatriate assets when facing a crisis. The euro steadied after tumbling on Monday following a severely diminished election victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel that was accompanied by a surge in support for the far right. Support for Merkel’s conservatives unexpectedly slumped to its lowest since 1949 and the Social Democrats, partners in the outgoing coalition, said they would go into opposition. The single currency was flat on the day at $1.1848, while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down slightly at 92.634. On Monday, New York Fed President William Dudley said the U.S. central bank is on track to gradually raise rates given factors depressing inflation are “fading” and the U.S. economy’s fundamentals are sound. But Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said the Fed should wait until there are clear signs of faster wage and price growth before hiking rates again. Crude oil prices took a breather after soaring more than 3 percent on Monday, as major producers said the global market was on its way to rebalancing while Turkey threatened to cut oil flows from Iraq’s Kurdistan region to its ports. U.S. crude dipped 0.2 percent to $52.14 a barrel, after touching its highest levels since April. Brent crude rose slightly to $59.04, after scaling its highest peak since July 2015. Gold was slightly higher after the heightened Korean tensions helped push it up more than 1 percent overnight. Spot gold added 0.1 percent to $1,311.10 per ounce. Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asian-shares-droop-yen-gains-as-korean-tensions-rise-idUKKCN1C102E'|'2017-09-26T03:56:00.000+03:00'
'a8bf2fb6c5d219d19fad6adee986db07087840a5'|'France welcomes Siemens/Alstom deal, says will protect jobs'|'PARIS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday the French government welcomed the planned rail operations tie-up between Siemens and Alstom , which he said would protect French jobs.“Notably, Siemens has formally committed to: locating the headquarters and listing of the group in France, putting the head of Alstom in charge of the new entity, the preservation of jobs and French industrial sites, and maintaining investments for research and development in France,” Le Maire’s office said a statement.France would not exercise its option to buy out Alstom shares from Bouygues, the finance ministry said, adding that the Siemens-Alstom deal highlighted France’s desire to strengthen European industry. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Richard Lough) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/alstom-ma-siemens-france/france-welcomes-siemens-alstom-deal-says-will-protect-jobs-idINP6N1LT012'|'2017-09-26T18:36:00.000+03:00'
'0b9dfe92cb76413ff972ef11261ec2f537f78001'|'Brazil agriculture ministry says fresh beef exports to U.S. may resume in October'|'September 27, 2017 / 7:10 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Brazil agriculture ministry says fresh beef exports to U.S. may resume in October Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The ban on fresh Brazilian beef exports to the United States could be lifted in October, Brazil’s agriculture ministry said late on Tuesday. The ban, implemented in June, would end after the United States finishes its current evaluation of documents sent in response to questions raised in a U.S. veterinary mission to Brazil earlier this year, according to a statement on the ministry’s website. The United States accounts for 3 percent of Brazil’s fresh beef exports annually, but is seen as a leader in food safety standards with other countries often taking cues. The predicted end to the ban comes after Washington informed Brasilia that it would allow thermoprocessed meat exports from five plants to resume, according to the ministry. “We received information that processed beef was cleared,” Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said, according to the statement. “We hope that very soon, we will also be able to clear fresh beef.” Brazil exported $150.7 million worth of processed beef to the United States in the year through August, or 15,769 tonnes, according to data from the Abiec industry group. Following a meeting with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue shortly after the ban came into effect, Maggi had predicted that the embargo could be lifted in 30 to 60 days, dates which have since passed. The United States said previously there is no timeline for lifting the ban. Brazil in March unveiled a probe accusing meatpackers of bribing inspectors, leading many countries to temporarily suspend Brazil meat imports. Most have since lifted the bans. The United States stepped up inspections after the probe and cancelled one establishment’s exporting license in connection with it, Abiec said, before instituting a broader ban. The United States accounted for 5.3 percent of Brazil’s total fresh and processed beef exports last year, Abiec data show. Brazil has since pledged to tighten food safety inspections and hired more inspectors. (This version of the story corrects to 15,769 tonnes of processed beef exports worth $150.7 million, not 30,031 tonnes worth $211.2 million as originally reported by Abiec in paragraph 6) Reporting by Jake Spring and Ana Mano, editing by G Crosse'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-brazil-beef/brazil-agriculture-ministry-says-fresh-beef-exports-to-u-s-may-resume-in-october-idUKKCN1C22RI'|'2017-09-27T23:58:00.000+03:00'
'9aa3908adec931ef14417d9e87eb1d972dd22469'|'France''s Dassault Systemes to buy Exa Corp in $400 million deal'|'PARIS (Reuters) - French software company Dassault Systemes ( DAST.PA ) has agreed to buy U.S. peer Exa Corp ( EXA.O ) in a deal valued at about $400 million, which Dassault said would boost its range of products for clients.Exa said Dassault’s offer valued it at about $400 million, or $24.25 per share - a premium of about 43 percent compared to Exa’s closing stock price of about $17 on Wednesday.“With Exa’s valuable application knowledge in transportation and mobility and other industry verticals, we will accelerate our delivery of industry solution experiences to benefit our existing and future customers,” Dassault Systemes Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Charles said in a statement.Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-exa-m-a-dassault/frances-dassault-systemes-to-buy-exa-corp-in-400-million-deal-idINKCN1C30H7'|'2017-09-28T03:37:00.000+03:00'
'198b46139c24c2cf8b696ca04717d889c9299b3e'|'UBS CEO sees room for banking M&A in Italy and Europe'|' 31 AM / a minute ago UBS CEO sees room for banking M&A in Italy and Europe Reuters Staff 1   CEO Sergio Ermotti of Swiss bank UBS awaits the annual shareholder meeting in Basel, Switzerland May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann MILAN (Reuters) - There is room for consolidation in the banking sector both in Italy and in Europe, UBS ( UBSG.S ) Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said on Tuesday, adding political and regulatory authorities would support the process. “Political and regulatory willingness (to allow banking mergers) are coming,” Ermotti told a banking conference in Milan organised by Bloomberg. Attending the same event, Mediobanca ( MDBI.MI ) CEO Alberto Nagel said he saw room for consolidation “not now, but in 18 months” among Tier 2 banks, while Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) Chairman Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said banking consolidation in Italy “had to happen” because the market there was too fragmented. Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; writing by Francesca Landini'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-banks-ubs-ceo/ubs-ceo-sees-room-for-banking-ma-in-italy-and-europe-idUKKCN1C110T'|'2017-09-26T12:31:00.000+03:00'
'a461a0965b8cba3bed853f2f033b319b2c38c1c7'|'Oil extends gains; Turkey threatens to cut oil flow'|'September 26, 2017 / 4:19 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil near 26-month high as Turkey threatens to choke Kurdish exports Ahmad Ghaddar 3 Min Read An Israeli gas platform is seen in the Mediterranean sea August 1, 2014. To match Insight ISRAEL-TURKEY/GAS REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Brent oil prices hovered near 26-month highs, supported by Turkey’s threat to cut crude exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region as well as signs that market rebalancing is accelerating. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Monday to cut off the pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 barrels of crude per day from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, intensifying pressure on the Kurdish autonomous region over its independence referendum. The loss of this supply, combined with the 1.8 million bpd of supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers, has raised concerns of tighter supply. The Iraqi government said it will not hold talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government about the results of the referendum, which is expected to show a comfortable majority in favour of independence after the results are announced later this week. “Although there was plenty of price-bullish news making headlines yesterday, undoubtedly the biggest factor was the referendum in the Kurdistan region of Iraq,” analysts at Vienna-based JBC Energy said in a note. Brent crude futures LCOc1 slipped 17 cents to $58.85 a barrel by 0820 GMT, having earlier hit $59.49, the highest since July 2015 and more than 34 percent above the 2017 low. U.S. crude WTI futures CLc1 eased 10 cents to $52.12 a barrel, after hitting a five-month high of $52.43 a barrel. Top oil executives gathered at the S&P Global Platts APPEC conference in Singapore said strong oil demand this year was accelerating market rebalancing and helping inventory drawdowns. “Global demand growth is way higher than what we have observed in the last couple of years, coming somewhere close to 1.6 to 1.7 million barrels per day and is driven by distillates”, said Janet Kong, BP’s chief executive officer, supply and trading, Eastern Hemisphere. OPEC and non-OPEC producers meeting in Vienna last week said the market was well on its way towards rebalancing. However, other analysts were sceptical about further price gains due to higher oil output from the United States. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that production from wells in shale formations will rise for a 10th month in a row in October. U.S. shale producers’ ability to ramp up output as later-dated crude prices strengthen will keep price volatility low, said Jeffrey Currie, Goldman Sachs’ head of global commodities research. Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo, editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-extends-gains-turkey-threatens-to-cut-oil-flow-idUKKCN1C103A'|'2017-09-26T07:04:00.000+03:00'
'aacef69207a5f7252f5f3fd8b4a7ec4c380be8c6'|'Austrian bank BAWAG to list shares in Vienna'|'FILE PHOTO: A woman holding an umbrella passes the headquarters of Austrian lender BAWAG PSK in Vienna, Austria, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria’s former trade union bank BAWAG [CCMLPB.UL] is planning a stock market debut later this year to set the seal on a decade-long recovery from its near collapse in a fraud scandal.The initial public offering (IPO) looks set to be the country’s largest for at least 10 years, and would provide an opportunity for its majority owner, U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, to cash in on its investment.Sources close to the matter told Reuters in June the listing of a 20-30 percent stake could value Austria’s fourth-biggest lender at up to 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion).BAWAG had to be bailed out in 2006 when it narrowly escaped a bank run after being sued by creditors of collapsed U.S. futures trader Refco, a BAWAG affiliate. It was then sold to Cerberus [CBS.UL] and other investors for 3.2 billion euros.Following investigations into the scandal, a Vienna court sentenced nine people to prison in 2008, including a former BAWAG CEO, for their role in causing losses of as much as 1.7 billion euros at the bank in failed bets on risky derivative investments held in off-balance sheet vehicles.BAWAG has since been turned around through strict cost controls, including a deal to share some of Austrian Post’s ( POST.VI ) branches that is coming up for review as the bank focuses increasingly on online services.Moody’s upgraded BAWAG in April to A2, its highest rating for an Austrian bank, citing the lender’s high profitability and improving capitalization.“Our planned listing will be a major milestone for BAWAG Group and our existing shareholders,” Chief Executive Anas Abuzaakouk said in a statement announcing the IPO, a day after Austrian gambling firm Novomatic ditched its own listing plan.“Today BAWAG Group stands as one of the best capitalized and largest banks in Austria ... with a number of growth opportunities,” he later added.ACQUISITIONS Wednesday’s announcement formally launches the IPO process, which usually takes about a month. On timing, BAWAG said only that if market conditions permitted, the listing was expected to take place in the fourth quarter.Telekom Austria ( TELA.VI ) raised 1.2 billion euros in an IPO in 2000, Raiffeisen Bank International ( RBIV.VI ) raised 1.1 billion euros in 2005 and construction firm Strabag ( STRV.VI ) raised 1.3 billion euros in 2007, shortly before the global financial crisis hit and put the brakes on company listings.Unlike larger Austrian banks such as Erste Group ( ERST.VI ) and Raiffeisen, BAWAG has not turned to the less developed economies of eastern Europe in its quest for growth. Instead, it has focused on Austria, Switzerland and Germany, which it refers to as the DACH region and where it sees room for consolidation.It signed an agreement in July to buy German regional lender Suedwestbank and said on Wednesday other German targets were part of a “decent” acquisitions pipeline.“We don’t comment on the different levels or stages of transactions that we’re at but we think it’s a pretty robust pipeline as far as opportunities across the DACH region (are concerned), which means Germany in particular and then Austria as well,” Abuzaakouk told reporters.BAWAG, founded in 1922 as the Austrian workers’ bank, said it was aiming to increase pretax profit by 5 percent a year and to pay 50 percent of its net profit to shareholders.It also expects to have more than 1 billion euros in excess capital available for acquisitions or expanding its existing business through 2020, and any money left over from that would also be paid to shareholders after an annual review, it said.Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bawag-ipo/austrian-bank-bawag-to-list-shares-in-vienna-idINKCN1C20RS'|'2017-09-27T06:08:00.000+03:00'
'bd453336dac10c7585a95d45f757a3ba97eca879'|'Bank of America looking for more office space in Paris after Brexit: source'|'FILE PHOTO: Two ATMs are pictured at a Bank of America location in Pasadena, California, U.S., September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Bank of America ( BAC.N ) is looking to lease more office space in Paris as the bank prepares to expand its operations in the French capital to cope with the impact of Britain’s exit from the European Union, according to two sources familiar with the matter.International banks are planning to build up outposts in the EU to ensure they can continue to serve clients if their London operations lose the ability to operate across the bloc once Britain leaves in March 2019.There is fierce competition between Paris, Frankfurt and other European cities to woo international banks’ City of London operations as they consider where to shift EU-related business.Bank of America has already announced that Dublin will be the new base for its European Union operations and that it will remain its legal headquarters in the EU.One of the sources said Bank of America was looking to move some of the investment bank activities, such as bond and equity trading to Paris, however, no final decision has been made.The bank declined to comment.If Bank of America selects Paris that would mark a long-coveted victory for the new French government that has stepped up efforts to attract London banks to Paris after the election of Emmanuel Macron as French president.Macron has vowed to overhaul the labor market and simplify the French tax and pension systems.The largest global banks, asset managers and insurers in London plan to shift or create about 10,000 new roles overseas in the next few years if the UK is denied access to Europe’s single market, according to a Reuters survey published last week.Frankfurt is so far the most popular destination for the new roles finance jobs, with Paris a distant second, according to the survey.HSBC, and French banks, such as Societe Generale and Credit Agricole, are among other banks that are planning to move staff to Paris after Brexit.But many other large lenders have been deterred by a perception of France as a country of high taxes and strict labor laws, according to executives.However, the French capital retains advantages over rival cities.For example, the Paris region is comparable to London in size and boasts a rich cultural offering, major banks, insurers and asset managers and large corporate clients.Bank of America when announcing that it was selecting Dublin as its EU base in July said that some roles would also move to other EU locations.Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva in Paris; Editing by Louise Heavens '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-baml/bank-of-america-looking-for-more-office-space-in-paris-after-brexit-source-idUSKCN1C21LE'|'2017-09-27T15:42:00.000+03:00'
'60157f6a73f7ce0243567c75166a4aa35a10d956'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 27'|'(Adds company news items, futures)Sept 27 (Reuters) - Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 5 points lower on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.37 percent ahead of the cash market open.* BOOHOO: British online fashion retailer Boohoo raised its full-year revenue outlook for the second time in four months as it reported a 41 percent rise in first-half profit.* PLUS500: British spreadbetting firm Plus500 Ltd said on Wednesday that full-year revenue and profits would be ahead of market expectations.* YANCOAL AUSTRALIA: China-backed coal miner Yancoal Australia Ltd said on Wednesday it had exercised its option to buy a 29 percent stake in the Warkworth operation from Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp for $230 million. The project had been part of a bidding war between Yancoal and commodity trader Glencore Plc* ENECO: A commission representing shareholders in Dutch energy company Eneco NV on Tuesday criticised the company’s management for trying to influence its sale process. Potential bidders include Shell and Fortum , among others.* UBER: Uber is expected to tell a British employment appeal tribunal on Wednesday that its drivers are self-employed and not workers entitled to a range of extra benefits, less than a week after the firm was told it would lose its London licence.* SHELL: A large fire in an electrical substation shut Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 227,586-barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery on Tuesday night, said sources familiar with plant operations.* DYSON: James Dyson, the billionaire British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, said on Tuesday his company was working on developing an electric car to be launched by 2020.* GOLD: Gold was largely unchanged on Wednesday after falling over one percent in the previous session on hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, while lingering North Korea worries supported prices.* OIL: Brent oil prices rose on Wednesday, hovering around a 26-month high hit in the previous session, after U.S. data showed an unexpected drop in crude stocks as refineries boosted output and amid threats from Turkey to cut crude exports from Iraq.* The UK blue chip index closed 0.2 percent lower at 7,285.74 points on Tuesday, although a rise in oil prices lifted energy stocks and a broker upgrade gave support to British American Tobacco.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsTODAY‘S UK PAPERS> Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/update-1-uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-sept-27-idUSL4N1M82G2'|'2017-09-27T09:38:00.000+03:00'
'40292199cea896ca06dabead6c8f22f521011a0e'|'Pirelli deflates peak IPO valuation by 19 percent: document'|'Formula One - F1 - Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, Russia - 29/04/17 - Pirelli tyres on display in paddock area. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RC1E3A8B6F20 MILAN (Reuters) - Italian tiremaker Pirelli has lowered the maximum valuation it can achieve in its initial public offering by 19 percent to 6.7 billion euros ($7.9 billion), a notice to investors reviewed by Reuters showed on Wednesday.Pirelli now plans to price its shares at between 6.5 and 6.7 euros each, compared with an initial guidance of between 6.3 and 8.30 euros a share.The IPO, in which Pirelli is offering up to 40 percent of its capital, is fully covered within the tightened price range and books are expected to close on Thursday at 1200 GMT, the memo showed. The final price is expected to be announced on Friday.At the narrowed range, Pirelli is set to raise up to 2.68 billion euros through the IPO, including the additional greenshoe option.Established in 1872 and one of Italy’s best-known corporate names, Pirelli is expected to return to the Milan stock exchange on Oct. 4.The world’s fifth-largest tiremaker had traded on the same exchange since 1922 before it was de-listed in 2015 following a takeover by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina).State-owned ChemChina took over Pirelli two years ago by acquiring a 65 percent stake in the holding company controlling the maker of tires for Formula One motor racing teams and upmarket brands such as Mercedes ( DAIGn.DE ), Audi and BMW ( BMWG.DE ).The relisting will test demand for a streamlined firm that focuses on high-end consumer tires after its less profitable truck and industrial tire business was folded into a unit of ChemChina.Writing by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-pirelli-ipo-range/pirelli-cuts-top-ipo-valuation-by-19-percent-document-idINKCN1C2173'|'2017-09-27T08:32:00.000+03:00'
'4839bce8fc09bba42bca6d222df0b4d2e175e457'|'Investors approve Entertainment One management pay resolutions'|'  5:32 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Investors approve Entertainment One management pay resolutions Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s maker of children’s TV show Peppa Pig, Entertainment One Ltd ( ETO.L ), received just enough support to pass a string of resolutions regarding management pay at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday. Resolutions such as the directors remuneration report, the director’s remuneration policy, amendments to the long-term incentive plan passed with votes for the resolutions ranging between 52.64-61.81 percent of the total votes cast at the meeting. Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ent-one-agm/investors-approve-entertainment-one-management-pay-resolutions-idUKKCN1C22JV'|'2017-09-27T20:32:00.000+03:00'
'b46255eb7a7237765e4517256c7151c1665e7da3'|'Electronics industry drives 2016 industrial robot sales - IFR'|'  6:52 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Electronics industry drives 2016 industrial robot sales - IFR Reuters Staff 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Robots assemble Renault and Nissan automobiles on the production line at the Renault SA car factory in Flins, near Paris, France, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Global sales of industrial robots rose by 16 percent in 2016, driven by the electronics industry, and are expected to rise faster in 2017, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) said on Wednesday. The world market was worth $13.1 billion (9.77 billion pounds), an increase of 18 percent, or an estimated $40 billion including software, peripherals and systems engineering. Electronics accounted for almost as many shipments as the automotive industry, which has driven industrial robot sales since the 1970s, as robots become smaller, cheaper and more precise while demand soars for batteries, chips and displays. Sales to the electrical and electronics industry jumped 41 percent to 91,300 units, while sales to the automotive industry rose 6 percent to 103,300 units, or 35 percent of total sales of 294,312 units. The IFR said it expected global robot installations to increase by at least 18 percent this year, and at least 15 percent annually between 2018 and 2020. Future drivers of demand would be the industrial internet that links real-life factories with virtual reality, collaborative robots that can work alongside humans, and machine learning and artificial intelligence, it said. Tom Riley, manager of Robotech strategies at AXA Investment Managers, with more than 2 billion euros ($2.35 billion) under management, said the increasing intelligence of systems that control robotics provides fruitful ground for investment. “The expanding range of applications of robotics and automation technology continues to support a robust growth rate,” he told Reuters. China, the world’s biggest robot market with about 30 percent of the global sales, saw shipments rise 27 percent. FILE PHOTO: Robots work on the production line at AkzoNobel''s new paint factory in Ashington, Britain September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble “China and Korea are already dominated by consumer electronics in terms of units,” Gudrun Litzenberger, general secretary of the Frankfurt-based IFR, told a news conference. South Korea, the second-biggest market, saw a rise of 8 percent. With 2,145 robots for every 10,000 employees in manufacturing industries, so-called robot density has almost doubled from 2009 and is the highest in the world. “Huge projects aimed at manufacturing batteries for hybrid and electro cars might be the reason for this high increase in robot density,” the IFR said. Samsung SDI ( 006400.KS ), LG Chem ( 051910.KS ) and SK Innovation ( 096770.KS ) are among those racing to mass-produce long-distance car batteries as countries around the world led by China push a shift to electric mobility. Japanese robot sales rebounded last year to rise 10 percent. Japan continues to dominate among industrial robot makers, with only Swiss ABB ( ABBN.S ) and Germany’s Kuka ( KU2G.DE ) in the league of Fanuc ( 6954.T ), Yaskawa ( 6506.T ), Kawasaki ( 3045.T ) or Nachi ( 6474.T ). In the United States, robot installations rose 14 percent. The IFR said U.S. growth continued to be driven by a desire to keep manufacturing at home or bring it back from overseas through increased automation and competitiveness. In Germany, home to major carmakers Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), BMW BMW.DE and Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), robot shipments more or less stagnated. Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Adrian Croft'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-robotics-industrial-statistics/electronics-industry-drives-2016-industrial-robot-sales-ifr-idUKKCN1C22QL'|'2017-09-27T22:03:00.000+03:00'
'1da1e2933fd2332242217ab7e3a68cb24cf361d0'|'Monsanto set on keeping Intacta after Bayer tie-up: executive'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:13 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Monsanto set on keeping Intacta after Bayer tie-up: executive Ana Mano 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Monsanto''s research farm is pictured near Carman, Manitoba, Canada on August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Zachary Prong/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Monsanto Co ( MON.N ) is set on keeping rights to its Intacta RR2 IPRO genetically modified soybean technology as the U.S. seeds company negotiates its takeover by Bayer AG ( BAYGn.DE ) with global antitrust authorities, a senior executive said on Thursday. The $66 billion deal, announced in September 2016, would create the world’s largest integrated pesticides and seeds company. Opponents of the deal have asked Brazil’s anti-monopoly watchdog Cade to block it or force divestments including Monsanto’s Intacta RR2 IPRO seed technology and Bayer’s glufosinate ammonium herbicides. Brazilian, U.S. and European regulators are working together to ensure that the transaction does not threaten competition. “We are very confident we will maintain the Intacta technology in the new organization,” Rodrigo Santos, Monsanto’s chief executive for South America, told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event in São Paulo. “Though working in collaboration, each authority will announce an autonomous decision.” Bayer is leading talks with regulators to approve the takeover, Santos said, dismissing the prospect of market concentration that would justify tough conditions for approval. Bayer, a drugs and pesticides company, has pledged to divest businesses with up to $1.6 billion in annual sales if required by antitrust regulators. The companies hope to close the deal by the end of 2017. A representative for Bayer did not provide an immediate comment. Santos’ remarks underscore the hurdle the deal faces in Brazil, Monsanto’s most important market after the United States. Soy and cotton farmers as well as seed producers have formally told Cade they oppose the unconditional approval of the deal. Soy farmers asked Brazil to force the sale of Monsanto’s registration, patents and brands associated with Intacta, Cade filings shows. They also called for the sale of Monsanto plant breeding firm Agroeste Sementes SA and Bayer’s Credenz. Cade declined to comment. The deal will also impact cotton growers, who claim the two companies will control 14 out of 15 genetically modified cotton seed technologies available in Brazil, said Rachel Mendonça, a partner at Mendonça e Nogueira Advogados, which represents three industry groups opposing the deal. Santos declined to comment on specific complaints, adding that Bayer was committed to working with authorities to resolve any competition issues arising from the transaction. Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-monsanto-m-a-bayer-brazil/monsanto-set-on-keeping-intacta-after-bayer-tie-up-executive-idINKCN1C33BO'|'2017-09-28T20:13:00.000+03:00'
'72db2325597cc0e3875e1b6df33d5a8380d6368e'|'Macron reforms are encouraging, ECB chief economist says - Les Echos'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European reform proposals put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron are bold and encouraging, even if they are yet to be implemented, European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet told French newspaper Les Echos in an interview.“This is no longer the policy of small steps; this time the bar has been set very high,” Praet was Quote: d on Thursday as saying. “Now the reforms need to be implemented and supported by the public.”“We can also pay tribute to having the courage to carry out reforms while the recovery is under way and the efforts no longer seem absolutely essential,” said Praet, who has often called on euro zone governments to embark on structural reforms that could lift the bloc’s potential growth.Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/france-reforms-ecb/macron-reforms-are-encouraging-ecb-chief-economist-says-les-echos-idINKCN1C3360'|'2017-09-28T19:04:00.000+03:00'
'bb0d2ace93289c6ded4902a5209f1bb586d8d304'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX turns positive, buoyed by BlackBerry, oils'|'  1:45 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX turns positive, buoyed by BlackBerry, oils Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index turned positive shortly after the open, driven higher by better-than-expected results from BlackBerry Ltd and buoyant energy stocks amid higher crude prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 10.91 points, or 0.07 percent, to 15,620.57 shortly after the open. Half of the index’s 10 key groups were in positive territory. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-turns-positive-buoyed-by-blackberry-oils-idUSL2N1M90T1'|'2017-09-28T21:45:00.000+03:00'
'403abb1b041aa8db7a98c90cbda055931e431663'|'In defence of People’s Quantitative Easing - Letters'|'Two comments on my letter concerning the use of People’s Quantitative Easing to buy out PFI (27 September) in your paper on 28 September require a response.Martin Wheatcroft says that the Bank of England reserve deposits of our clearing banks, which is where most QE funds are now located, have interest paid on them, meaning that People’s QE is not costless, and that cost could rise, considerably. He makes three mistakes. First, interest is only paid by Bank of England discretion. It could withdraw or limit it. Second, he quotes nominal and not inflation-adjusted interest rates, and it is adjusted rates that matter overall for People’s QE because they indicate the real cost. Third, he assumes UK interest rates will rise without QE being unwound, and that is exceptionally unlikely. His scenario will not come to pass: if rates were as high as he suggests there would be no QE-generated funds in the Bank of England on which interest would be due.Tim Worstall also makes a mistake. He says big business does not use gilts for cash management. That’s true if nominal ownership of long-term funds is taken into account. But that’s because big business only makes use of these gilts overnight, when the massive “repo” market, which places the cash of these companies on deposit while the world sleeps, makes extensive use of, and is entirely dependent upon, the availability of government-backed gilts to make that market work.My critics are making use of highly selective and unrealistic evidence. I stand by my arguments. Professor Richard Murphy Professor of practice in international political economy, City, University of London; Director, Tax Research UK • I have never been a chartered accountant, but I am a gardener. The dispute between Richard Murphy and Martin Wheatcroft over “People’s QE” seems to me to turn on the question of who tends and who owns the magic money tree garden, the chancellor of the exchequer or the governor of the Bank of England. The magic money that funds quantitative easing, once in circulation, effectively redeems the debt (the “promise to pay the bearer” is met). At that point the paper debt becomes pure fiction, the waters muddied only by the question of which part of the state apparatus, the government or its putatively independent central bank, ultimately owns it. Just as the government sets the Bank’s remit, it can – if necessary, through act of parliament – instruct it to write off the debt.Richard Middleton Crossmichael, Dumfries and Galloway • It is eight years since the British government initiated its policy of quantitative easing, and at long last it is being discussed in an informed way in the letters page. A qualitative easing in my misgivings is now under way.Ivor Morgan Lincoln • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters Topics Quantitative easing Interest rates Bank of England Economics letters'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/28/in-defence-of-peoples-quantitative-easing'|'2017-09-28T20:47:00.000+03:00'
'8ac2ca963b7187a131b59ecebb648af3c10c6f95'|'TREASURIES-U.S. yield curve steepens as tax plan spurs borrowing concerns'|'* U.S. sells $28 bln seven-year notes to strong demand * U.S. 10-year yield breaks above 200-day moving average * U.S. 2-year yield subsides from near nine-year high (Updates market action, adds Quote: ) By Richard Leong NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The yield spread between shorter and longer-dated U.S. Treasuries grew on Thursday in the aftermath of a tax plan that raised concerns about faster growth in the federal deficit and borrowing. The two-year Treasury yield reached a near nine-year high and the 10-year yield hit an 11-week peak before they retreated on bargain-hunting and strong demand at a $28 billion auction of seven-year notes, which was the final part of this week''s $88 billon fixed-rate debt supply. "Much of the move has been about the tax rollout," said Bruno Braizinha, interest rate strategist at SG Corporate & Investment Banking in New York. "Based on recent history like healthcare reform, it may be a disappointment." On Wednesday, President Donald Trump proposed steep tax cuts for most Americans and businesses, but provided scant details on how to offset them without adding to the country''s $20 trillion in national debt. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was 2.309 percent, unchanged from Wednesday. It reached 2.359 percent earlier on Thursday, the highest since July 13, and traded above its 200-day moving average for the first time since Aug. 1, Reuters data showed. The two-year yield retreated from near nine-year highs tied to bets the Federal Reserve would raise short-term interest rates in December. It ended at 1.455 percent, down 2.7 basis points after hitting 1.499 percent earlier on Thursday, which was the highest since November 2008. On Tuesday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank is on track to raise rates further even as inflation remains below its 2 percent goal. Federal funds futures implied traders saw a 73 percent chance the Fed would raise rates at its Dec. 12-13 policy meeting, lower than 78 percent late Wednesday, according to CME Group''s FedWatch program. Proposed tax cuts from Washington in a bid to boost business activity and consumer spending is seen as one of the factors that could further steepen the U.S. yield curve in the coming months, analysts said. The spread between two-year and 10-year yields widened to as much as 87 basis points, which was last seen in Aug. 23, before finishing at 85 basis points. Possible rate increases or reduced bond purchases from other major foreign central banks may further stoke the rise in longer-dated bond yields faster than short-dated ones. "We are in a bear steepening environment over the next couple months," Braizinha said. September 28 Thursday 3:15PM New York / 1915 GMT Price US T BONDS DEC7 152-23/32 -0-7/32 10YR TNotes DEC7 125-136/256 0-24/256 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 1.04 1.0572 -0.008 Six-month bills 1.17 1.1933 -0.003 Two-year note 99-216/256 1.4547 -0.027 Three-year note 99-104/256 1.5809 -0.024 Five-year note 99-228/256 1.8981 -0.021 Seven-year note 98-96/256 2.1287 -0.009 10-year note 99-116/256 2.3121 0.003 30-year bond 97-152/256 2.8704 0.008 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 25.50 0.75 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 23.50 0.00 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 7.75 -0.25 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap -4.00 0.25 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -32.75 0.50 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler and Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds/treasuries-u-s-yield-curve-steepens-as-tax-plan-spurs-borrowing-concerns-idINL2N1M91N6'|'2017-09-28T17:29:00.000+03:00'
'1e6f31a2c4818eec68ba1ceeb2e568530d62ccde'|'Exclusive: Activist Snow Park builds stake in Cedar Realty Trust - sources'|'(Reuters) - Snow Park Capital Partners LP has built a stake in retail-focused real estate investment trust Cedar Realty Trust Inc ( CDR.N ) and is urging it to explore strategic options, including a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter.The talks between Snow Park, an activist hedge fund, and Cedar are at an early stage, and it is unclear if Cedar will decide to conduct a strategic review or consider a challenge to the company’s board, the sources said this week.The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is not public. Cedar and Snow Park did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Reporting by Carl O''Donnell in New York; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-cedar-realty-activist-snow-park-capit/exclusive-activist-snow-park-builds-stake-in-cedar-realty-trust-sources-idINKCN1C42UU'|'2017-09-29T17:45:00.000+03:00'
'f84c04deb84fc8ac525d0fadbc6e2df2dc7e6527'|'Insurance market Lloyd''s of London pre-tax profit drops 16 percent'|' 32 AM / in 29 minutes Lloyd''s of London pre-tax profit drops 16 percent Reuters   A doorman looks out as workers walk in the rain past the Lloyd''s of London building in the City of London, Britain, January 7, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - LLoyd’s of London SOLYD.UL reported a 16 percent fall in half-year pre-tax profit on Thursday, and faces a challenging end to 2017 given it is still to take into account the impact of hurricanes in the Caribbean and United States. The unlisted company, which forms the world’s largest specialist insurance market, said it made 1.22 billion pounds in profit before tax in the six months to the end of June, down from 1.46 billion pounds a year earlier. Its return on capital worsened to 8.9 pct from 11.7 pct. Gross premiums rose to 18.9 billion pounds compared to 16.3 billion pounds last year, and its combined ratio - a measure of profitability - improved to 96.9 pct from 98 pct in 2016 a year ago. Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting profitability in which a level below 100 percent indicates a profit. Lloyd’s of London Chief Executive Inga Beale said the results reflected the challenging conditions that have shaped the sector over recent years. These include pressure on pricing from excess capital and low interest rates. While the firm described the first six months of the year as a “relatively benign loss period”, it highlighted a series of powerful hurricanes that had recently ripped through the Caribbean and the U.S, causing catastrophic damage to property and infrastructure. “The market is assessing claims and starting to make payments that will help local communities and get businesses back on their feet as quickly as possible,” Beale said. Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Rachel Armstrong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloydsof-london-results/insurance-market-lloyds-of-london-pre-tax-profit-drops-16-percent-idUKKCN1C30LG'|'2017-09-28T09:32:00.000+03:00'
'80f85531a4f68a8dc2f0d63393d9ca9401730883'|'Wizz Air in record recruitment drive as budget airlines scramble for pilots'|'  3:23 PM / in 3 hours Wizz Air in record recruitment drive as budget airlines scramble for pilots Reuters Staff 2   Wizz Air Airbus 320 aircraft lands at the Chopin International Airport in Warsaw, Poland May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - S1BETFTKPZAA LONDON (Reuters) - Budget airline Wizz Air ( WIZZ.L ) joined rivals in a pilot recruitment drive on Thursday, its biggest ever hiring spree, as Ireland’s Ryanair ( RYA.I ) continued to grapple with the shortage of pilots on its rosters. Ryanair, Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) and easyJet ( EZJ.L ) are all recruiting hundreds of pilots this year, with competition especially fierce for experienced crew. Hungary-based WIZZ said it was seeking to recruit over 1,300 new cabin crew, including around 400 pilots, before it takes delivery of 21 new Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, which are due to arrive by the end of 2018. Ryanair has so far cancelled flights of 700,000 customers after pilot rostering issues left it short-staffed. Having offered some pilots pay rises and cash incentives, it backtracked on a plan to ask others to postpone leave on Wednesday. A spokesman for WIZZ said that the airline was looking to attract a mixture of new and experienced pilots. WIZZ said it would offer the “option of several guaranteed working patterns for its pilots”, saying that first officers and captains could commute or relocate to any of the 28 operational bases across 15 European countries. They would also receive “attractive compensation and benefits packages”, the company said. Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wizz-air-hldgs-jobs/wizz-air-in-record-recruitment-drive-as-budget-airlines-scramble-for-pilots-idUKKCN1C32A2'|'2017-09-28T18:23:00.000+03:00'
'd429361feed49b844ec1cc7a80abc86732f4412c'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks in worst losing streak since May 2016'|'LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Emerging equities hit one-month lows on Thursday, set for their longest losing streak since May last year, and Turkey’s lira and South Africa’s rand touched multi-month lows as the dollar and U.S. yields rose.A 0.6 percent fall in MSCI’s emerging stocks index extended the benchmark’s sell-off into a sixth straight session. The dollar powered to near one-month highs and U.S. 10-year bond yields to near two-month highs.U.S. assets have strengthened after the Federal Reserve signalled further interest rate rises and on hopes that tax reform proposals from President Donald Trump will strengthen the economy.Trump has offered to lower corporate income tax rates, cut taxes for small businesses and reduce the top rate for high-earning individuals. Per Hammarlund, chief emerging markets strategist at SEB, said the package was “more aggressive” than the market had anticipated.“The market is over-reacting – he will have a tough time getting everything through Congress,” he said, adding tax reform was as controversial as healthcare reform in the world’s largest economy.New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased by more than expected in August, strengthening the case for another rate rise before year-end.Hong Kong shares were among the biggest laggards, down 0.8 percent, while Taiwan and Russia lost 0.3 percent and South Africa slipped 0.4 percent.Currencies also took a pounding with China’s yuan weakening over 0.4 percent to the lowest in more than a month against the dollar, having lost more than 3 percent of its value since hitting a 21-month high in early August.The lira dipped to 2-1/2 month lows before recovering to trade flat, following a vote for independence by the Kurdish population in Iraq that investors fear may inflame separatist tensions in Turkey.Hammarlund said that while the dollar and Treasury yields were the main factors driving down emerging currencies, the threat of military intervention was a contributing factor for the lira.“That does worry the market as it would be ill-advised for Turkey to intervene – it could really stir domestic violence as well,” he said.Turkey’s 2030 dollar bond fell another 0.7 cents according to Tradeweb, plumbing a 2-1/2 month low, with the 2034 and 2036 issues slipping around 0.5 cents.The rand touched its weakest since mid-May before also rebounding to trade flat. Thousands marched on Wednesday in anti-corruption protests organised by unions.The Mexican peso hit its lowest since early July, with concerns that NAFTA trade negotiations could run into 2018, beyond an end-December deadline designed to skirt Mexico’s presidential election campaign.Mexico’s central bank is expected to hold rates at 7 percent at its meeting on Thursday, amid signs that inflation is starting to fall.South Korea’s won fell 0.26 percent to a seven-week low, with the government expecting more provocations from North Korea in coming weeks, and the Russian rouble fell 0.2 percent to a one-month low, pressured by an oil price slide.Hungary’s forint continued to struggle against the euro in the wake of further monetary easing, weakening 0.2 percent to near five-month lows.In international bond markets, Saudi Arabia completed a $12.5 billion triple-tranche Eurobond sale.Egypt approved a eurobond programme worth around $7 billion for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, state media reported, with the next sale expected before the end of 2017.For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, seeFor TURKISH market report, seeFor RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chgon yearMorgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 1072.44 -6.13 -0.57 +24.37Czech Rep 1043.68 +1.18 +0.11 +13.25Poland 2437.08 +3.26 +0.13 +25.11Hungary 37415.28 +170.98 +0.46 +16.91Romania 7918.76 +4.52 +0.06 +11.77Greece 756.10 +19.46 +2.64 +17.47Russia 1122.29 -4.65 -0.41 -2.61South Africa 48773.25 -245.00 -0.50 +11.10Turkey 02119.30 +901.01 +0.89 +30.69China 3340.12 -5.16 -0.15 +7.62India 31157.13 -2.68 -0.01 +17.02Currencies Latest Prev Local Localclose currency currency% change % changein 2017Czech Rep 26.05 26.03 -0.05 +3.69Poland 4.32 4.32 +0.12 +1.99Hungary 311.49 311.23 -0.08 -0.86Romania 4.60 4.60 -0.02 -1.34Serbia 119.35 119.33 -0.02 +3.35Russia 58.26 58.19 -0.13 +5.15Kazakhstan 340.65 340.22 -0.13 -2.05Ukraine 26.54 26.47 -0.26 +1.73South Africa 13.58 13.58 -0.02 +1.08Kenya 103.20 103.30 +0.10 -0.80Israel 3.53 3.54 +0.22 +9.00Turkey 3.58 3.58 +0.01 -1.38China 6.67 6.64 -0.42 +4.13India 65.63 65.71 +0.13 +3.53Brazil 3.19 3.19 -0.00 +1.89Mexico 18.21 18.20 -0.01 +13.78Debt Index Strip Spd Chg %Rtn IndexSov‘gn Debt EMBIG 310 -3 .02 8 01.27 1Reporting by Claire Milhench; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets/emerging-markets-emerging-stocks-in-worst-losing-streak-since-may-2016-idINL8N1M915J'|'2017-09-28T07:23:00.000+03:00'
'af943bcf08b90bc68ca422cc652b5f2166fb9bcc'|'RBC''s CEO pushes back on suggestion bitcoin is a fraud'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:28 PM / in 15 minutes RBC''s CEO pushes back on suggestion bitcoin is a fraud Matt Scuffham 3 Min Read TORONTO (Reuters) - The chief executive of Canada’s biggest lender on Thursday pushed back on a suggestion by JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that bitcoin is a fraud, though he said the cryptocurrency needs monitoring. Speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto, Dave McKay, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada, said: ”Has Bitcoin misrepresented what it is? No. “What it’s solving is a way to avoid detection in moving money in our society and transferring value from one person to another,” McKay said. “I think where Jamie is probably coming from is it’s helping evade the supervision of moving money and from that perspective it needs to be monitored.” While banks have largely steered clear of bitcoin since it emerged following the financial crisis, the virtual currency is supported by a range of people, including technology enthusiasts, libertarians sceptical of government monetary policy and speculators attracted by its price swings. Dimon earlier this month said that the currency “will not work” and said he would fire any JP Morgan staff who traded it. McKay said that if RBC staff were trading bitcoin, he would “probably ask them to stop.” RBC, however, is researching how it can utilize the distribution ledger technology that underpins bitcoin, called blockchain. RBC earlier told Reuters that it was experimenting with blockchain to help move payments between its U.S. and Canadian banks. Royal Bank of Canada CEO David McKay speaks with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler at a Reuters Newsmaker event "Big Banks Embrace Tech" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Gary He McKay said RBC is planning to use blockchain technology in its loyalty programs next year, the first time it has been used in a customer-facing application. He said the bank would initially use the technology in less risky areas where customers’ money would not be put at risk. “Loyalty is something where if there is an error or a problem we could recreate loyalty systems without impact on people’s real money,” he said, adding that blockchain could improve the speed at which people can join loyalty programs, particularly merchants. Slideshow (5 Images) AI INVESTMENT McKay said the bank is spending over C$10 million ($8 million) a year on artificial intelligence (AI), which can be used to predict customer behaviour and help reduce problems like credit card fraud. RBC has set up an AI research centre in Toronto with a staff of 35 to conduct pure research with massive data that the bank possesses. However, McKay said there is a scarcity of talent in AI globally, which means that RBC has to spend a significant amount to attract people with specialist knowledge. McKay said he expects competition to emerge from non-bank companies, particularly in the money-moving side of the business. “If you have a mass consumer franchise with a strong brand and lots of data about that consumer I think the barriers to banking are coming down to the point where I expect there to be competitors,” he said. Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rbc-mcckay-reutersnewsmaker/rbc-ceo-mckay-says-ai-helping-to-curb-credit-card-fraud-idUKKCN1C33CS'|'2017-09-29T03:39:00.000+03:00'
'89e1c65fee747447f24b73db180d6120c6fc740b'|'S&P says China''s debt growth to slow over next five years but remain elevated'|'September 29, 2017 / 8:14 AM / Updated 10 hours ago S&P says China''s debt growth to slow over next five years but remain elevated Reuters Staff 3 Min Read An advertisement poster promoting China''s renminbi (RMB) or yuan , U.S. dollar and Euro exchange services is seen outside at foreign exchange store in Hong Kong, China August 13, 2015. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings, which cut China’s sovereign credit rating earlier this month, said in a report on Friday that the country’s debt growth will slow over the next five years, though it will remain at levels that could cause financial stress. The ratings agency downgraded China by one notch on Sept. 21 to A+ from AA-, citing mounting economic and financial risks from a prolonged period of strong credit growth. China’s debt could rise 77 percent to 302 trillion yuan ($45 trillion) over 2017-2021, though the pace of growth is slowing, S&P said in a report titled “China’s Credit Growth: A Slowing But Still Aggressive Rhino”. “Our base-case projection is that China’s average credit growth will drop a third to 12 percent annually for 2017-2021,” said S&P analyst Terry Chan. “Despite this slowdown, the rate is still above our projection for nominal gross domestic product, implying that the system’s high credit risks could still incrementally increase. Therein lies the danger.” S&P said after the downgrade that China’s attempts so far this year to reduce risks from its rapid build-up in debt were not working as quickly as expected. But it said in its latest report that efforts to curb the surging leverage of state-owned enterprises and local government financing entities should start to bear fruit. The country’s economic planner said on Monday that China will focus on lowering leverage ratios among state-owned firms and winding down of “zombie firms” to reduce leverage ratios and control debt risks. S&P, in a separate report published on Friday, said China’s ambitions to tackle high corporate debt have had only tentative results so far, most likely due to a lack of specific targets and time-frames on debt reduction. Other analysts say more comprehensive structural reforms are needed. Much of the corporate debt in China is held by state firms, which are often bloated and less efficient than private companies and have easier access to ample cheap credit. The International Monetary Fund warned this year that China’s credit growth was on a “dangerous trajectory” and called for “decisive action”. ($1 = 6.6710 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-debt-s-p/sp-says-chinas-debt-growth-to-slow-over-next-five-years-but-remain-elevated-idINKCN1C40X0'|'2017-09-29T11:14:00.000+03:00'
'2b4d872e018dec35db47494277a065e75aabfe40'|'U.S. slaps duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing subsidy complaint'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties on CSeries jets made by Bombardier Inc after rival Boeing Co claimed the aircraft were unfairly subsidized by Canada.The department imposed a 219.63 percent countervailing duty on Bombardier’s new commercial jets after it made a preliminary finding of subsidization. Boeing has complained the 110-to-130 seat aircraft, which have not yet been imported into the United States, were dumped below cost in the U.S. market last year while benefiting from unfair subsidies. (Reporting by Eric Beech) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier/u-s-slaps-duties-on-bombardier-jets-after-boeing-subsidy-complaint-idUSW1N1M303L'|'2017-09-27T01:35:00.000+03:00'
'ee4ab2b3aaa604f8f0fd880f3f151c8af9bea018'|'China''s industrial profits jump most in four years on commodity price surge'|'September 27, 2017 / 5:09 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago China''s industrial profits jump most in four years on commodity price surge Reuters Staff 4 Min Read A labourer looks at steel coils next to a production line of Dongbei Special Steel Group Co., Ltd., in Dalian, Liaoning province September 27, 2013. REUTERS/China Daily BEIJING (Reuters) - Profits at China’s industrial companies rose the most in four years in August as commodities prices surged, thanks to a government-backed construction boom that is helping Beijing trim high levels of corporate debt without tripping up the economy. The upbeat earnings report is another sweetener for authorities as China focuses on stripping out financial risks from years of credit-fueled growth and keeping the economy on a steady footing ahead of a crucial party gathering next month. Profits in August jumped 24 percent year-on-year to 672 billion yuan (75.39 billion pounds), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday, marking the biggest percentage gain for a single month since August 2013. Annual profit growth was 16.5 percent in July. “The figures are really positive - they show China’s efforts to cut down on overcapcity is working well,” said Iris Pang, Greater China Economist at ING bank in Hong Kong. Crucially, Pang said that Beijing is also making headway in reducing debt risks. “When you close down overcapacity factories, you are also deleveraging to an extent.” The robust industrial earnings growth in August was driven by higher prices, particularly in sectors such as oil, steel and electronics, He Ping of the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. He estimated that surging prices contributed nearly one third of the new profits last month. A year-long, government-led construction boom has fuelled demand and prices for building materials, while China’s push to cut excess capacity in heavy industries and its war on pollution has also appeared to intensify a short-term supply shortage and higher prices. LOOMING RISKS For the first eight months this year, the firms notched up profits of 4.92 trillion yuan, an increase of 21.6 percent year-on-year, picking up slightly from the 21.2 percent annual growth in the January-July period. The earnings data by sector, however, highlights the uneven nature of profit growth. Earnings in the mining industry soared 5.9 times from a year earlier, coal mining enjoyed a 960 percent jump and manufacturing saw an 18.6 percent boost. Sectors such as electricity, gas and water production however saw their profits plunge 22.6 percent. A private survey of thousands of Chinese firms by China Beige Book International (CBB) noted major risks are looming for 2018, with a reversal in the commodity boom being one of the top worries. “It was demand and hot money inflows that kept prices rising. Neither was sustainable and now demand has clearly sputtered,” it said. Profits at China’s state-owned industrial firms, often debt-laden, were up 46.3 percent at 1.08 trillion yuan in January-August, compared with a 44.2 percent rise in the first seven months. But earnings for all SOEs for August alone were only up 4.3 percent on-year, Reuters calculations show. A raft of August data back analysts’ expectations for the economy to slow over coming months, as efforts by policymakers to clamp down on debt risks and defuse a property market bubble have raised financing costs and generally tightened monetary conditions. S&P Global Ratings downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating last Thursday, citing increasing risks from its rapid build-up debt. Chinese industrial firms’ liabilities at the end of August were 6.4 percent higher than at the same point last year. Still, after a robust first-half growth is expected to easily meet the government’s 6.5 percent target for this year in a welcome sign for Beijing ahead of a Communist Party Congress (CPC), which will see a key leadership reshuffle and the setting of policy priorities for the next five years. “We are bullish on China’s growth,” ING’s Pang said. “It’s not just capacity cuts that are boosting prices. Demand is quite strong too.” Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Yawen Chen; Additional Reporting by Min Zhang; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-industrial-profits/chinas-industrial-profits-jump-most-in-four-years-on-commodity-price-surge-idUKKCN1C20CT'|'2017-09-27T08:09:00.000+03:00'
'40d7b545b8ccd5a0b8ce911b7103c0c2126eb6e0'|'Ryanair extends flight cancellations, cuts fleet plans, growth forecasts'|'  12:39 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Grounded - Ryanair cancels flights of another 400,000 customers 4 Min Read Ryanair headquarters building is seen in Dublin, Ireland September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN/BERLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair cancelled the flights of another 400,000 customers and scrapped a bid for Alitalia on Wednesday, in a plan to keep its pilots on side and draw a line under its rostering fiasco. Just last week Ryanair boss Michael O‘Leary had said no more flights would be cancelled due to pilot rostering issues that caused the grounding of over 2,000 flights in September and October, hitting the airline’s share price and reputation. But on Wednesday the airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, said it would cancel flights for around 400,000 passengers in addition to 300,000 impacted by earlier travel cancellations. In a lengthy statement addressing customers, pilots and shareholders, Ryanair said the move would minimise flight delays and would mean an earlier threat to force pilots to reschedule holidays would not be carried out. In order to “eliminate all management distractions”, Ryanair also pulled out of the bidding for struggling Italian airline Alitalia, less than two weeks after O‘Leary said it was in the process of finalising a binding offer. “It appears they have taken stock and decided to nip this in the bud,” independent aviation consultant John Strickland said. “It’s a thorough, comprehensive plan to make sure they get this battleship back on track and ensure it can continue to grow. By coming out with this detailed information, it shows Ryanair is not trying to push this under the carpet.” Shares in Ryanair jumped after it said the plan would eliminate “all risk” of further cancellations and that it would not alter its 1.4 billion to 1.45 billion euro (1.27 billion pounds) profit forecast for the financial year ending March 31. Shares in Ryanair, which fell by over 4 percent last week, closed 3.4 percent higher. RARE GROWTH PLAN CUT Ryanair blamed the original cancellations on a backlog of staff leave and outlined a carrot-and-stick approach last week, offering some pilots pay increases and cash incentives to work extra days but also saying others may have to postpone leave. It said on Wednesday that the reduced schedule would mean it would not need pilots to give up one week of their annual leave from November and that the slower growth of the airline would create a large surplus of standby pilots. Some Ryanair pilots have in recent weeks been encouraging each other to band together to take advantage of increased demand for experienced pilots – especially among low-cost carriers - to force management to improve conditions. The decision to fly 25 fewer aircraft from November and 10 fewer from April 2018, will “provide stability to pilot rosters,” Ryanair said. The 34 routes affected during the winter season include some UK domestic routes between London and Scotland, plus its only domestic route in Germany between Berlin and Cologne, where a gap in the market will soon be left by the insolvency of German carrier Air Berlin. The airline cut its expected passenger volumes to 129 million from 131 million and to 138 million from 142 million in the following 12 months to March 2019. Average fares are also expected to be slightly lower over the next two months as it promotes seat sales, it added. O‘Leary, who has taken personal responsibility for the “cock-up”, apologised to those disrupted by the cancellations and said all customers have been emailed with the offer of an exchange or refund and an additional 40 euro voucher for each flight, to be used before March. Analysts welcomed Ryanair’s decision not to pursue its interest in Alitalia. Ryanair’s plans could have added around 90 Alitalia planes, including long-haul. “Ryanair’s decision not to pursue the Alitalia bid is a relief, as this was always likely to be a big distraction from its core focus,” said Jonathan Wober, analyst at CAPA-Centre for Aviation. “Ryanair will recover from this,” he said. Additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Belfast; Editing by Keith Weir and Elaine Hardcastle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-hldgs-cancellations/ryanair-extends-flight-cancellations-cuts-fleet-plans-growth-forecasts-idUKKCN1C21LQ'|'2017-09-27T15:39:00.000+03:00'
'7782941b05ba0509e6f21b8e53bdf8e669b720c3'|'U.S. slaps duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing subsidy complaint'|'September 26, 2017 / 11:22 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Bombardier in talks for C-Series deals with Chinese carriers - exec Brenda Goh 4 Min Read A model of Bombardier C Series aeroplane is seen in the Bombardier offices in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Planemaker Bombardier Inc aims to close deals with Chinese airlines in upcoming months and is in talks with the country’s three biggest airlines, a senior Bombardier executive said on Tuesday. Marc Meloche, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft’s head of structured finance, said in an interview the planemaker was also in discussions with leasing businesses on purchasing its C-Series plane. He spoke to Reuters while in China. Meloche said he hoped the deals could be announced during a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to China next month. “Prime Minister Trudeau is coming to China next month so there is optimism that Bombardier will be among those able to announce deals on that trip,” he said. In Ottawa, a Canadian government official said Trudeau would not be going to China in October. Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to Canada, told an Ottawa reception on Tuesday evening that Trudeau would visit China “in the near future”, according to a speech posted on China’s Canadian embassy website on Wednesday. Officials familiar with the visit said it was likely to take place in December. Canadian government officials have previously said Trudeau is expected to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vietnam on Nov. 11-12. Asked about the comment by the Canadian government official on Trudeau’s travel, a Bombardier spokesman in Montreal did not offer an immediate comment. Meloche added that China’s interest is high. “Bombardier is talking to all three big Chinese airlines, as well as many regional (players) and startups. All are very interested in the Bombardier C-Series,” he said. Bombardier is pushing hard for orders in China, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, at a time when it faces threats to U.S. sales of the C-Series single-aisle jet because of a trade dispute with U.S. rival Boeing Co. The U.S. government on Tuesday slapped steep preliminary anti-subsidy duties on sales of C-Series jets over that dispute. The C-Series competes with some aircraft made by Brazil’s Embraer SA, as well as the smallest planes made by Boeing and Airbus. Meloche also said that several Chinese lessors, many of which were looking at sale-and-leaseback opportunities, had issued term sheets in support of C-Series deliveries. New rules requiring Chinese airline startups to operate at least 25 smaller-city hopper jets before graduating to bigger aircraft have also fuelled hopes of Chinese demand for C-Series jets. While current C-Series models accommodate 110 to 130 seats, above China’s 100-seat limit for regional jets, Meloche said Bombardier can make adjustments to meet the requirements. He also said Bombardier could expand its activities at China’s Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, which already makes part of the fuselage for its C-series and Q-series aircraft. But unlike Boeing and Airbus, which are expanding production facilities in China, he said Bombardier had not discussed the possibility of a separate aircraft plant in the country. Additional Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by David Goodman, Matthew Lewis and Muralikumar Anantharaman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier/u-s-slaps-duties-on-bombardier-jets-after-boeing-subsidy-complaint-idINKCN1C13BG'|'2017-09-27T02:16:00.000+03:00'
'dc8cd9aa9ec51683ebc2ac047ab23dfc0ff24809'|'Greek bank shares surge on bad loan optimism from IMF official'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/8c87571c-a44a-11e7-9e4f-7f5e6a7c98a2'|'2017-09-28T17:55:00.000+03:00'
'aa0c35999170bab6e652ab69303d9ad72553db1b'|'Carlyle mandates Goldman Sachs to sell stake in Turkey''s Penti: sources'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:27 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Carlyle mandates Goldman Sachs to sell stake in Turkey''s Penti: sources Ebru Tuncay 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A general view of the lobby outside of the Carlyle Group offices in Washington, U.S. May 3, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo ISTANBUL (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group ( CG.O ) is looking to sell its 30 percent stake in Turkish lingerie and swimwear retailer Penti and has mandated Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) to advise on the sale, three people familiar with the matter said. The potential deal comes as appetite for Turkish assets has recovered after last year’s failed coup. Despite chronic political worries, investors remain keen for companies that tap into Turkey’s young, fast-growing population. Penti’s founders, who retained 70 percent of the company after Carlyle bought its stake in 2012, are also looking to sell down their holding and have also mandated Goldman Sachs as adviser, two of the people said. Penti, which has more than 400 stores and a presence in some 30 countries, sells hosiery, swimsuits and lingerie. The company said it was not considering a share sale, but confirmed it had mandated Goldman Sachs and London-based Dome Group to advise on investment opportunities. “As of today, Penti has not taken any decision on an acquisition, stake sale, merger or a decision to initiate these processes,” it said. “However, the company mandated Goldman Sachs and Dome Group to research market conditions and evaluate possible investment opportunities.” Spokesmen for both Carlyle and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. While the due diligence has not yet started, private equity firms Turkven and Actera have both expressed interest in a potential acquisition, two of the sources said. Turkven and Actera were not immediately available for comment. DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND Once seen as a star emerging market, Turkey has lost some of its lustre thanks to concerns about politics under President Tayyip Erdogan, an increasingly authoritarian leader frequently at odds with the West. Erdogan has cracked down on opponents following last year’s failed coup. More than 150,000 people in the civil service, police, military and private sector have been sacked or suspended and some 50,000 jailed. Asset seizures since the crackdown have also given investors pause. The government says such measures are necessary, given its multiple security threats. For some, at least, those concerns have been trumped by Turkey’s enviable demographics. Its population of 80 million is the youngest in Europe and, thanks to rising disposable incomes, keen to spend on smartphones, designer trainers and handbags. In June, jeans maker Mavi Giyim listed in Istanbul after a $334 million initial public offering. Its shares have surged 16 percent since. Carlyle’s 30 percent stake in Penti was worth around $100 million at the time of the transaction in 2012, according to a separate source familiar with that deal. Penti had revenue of 600 million lira ($168 million) and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 95 million lira, and is expected to reach 700 million lira of revenue this year, the source said. Last year Carlyle exited Turkish private school operator Bahcesehir Koleji and in 2014 exited an investment in Turkish health-care provider Medical Park. Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by David Dolan and Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-penti-m-a-carlyle-group/carlyle-mandates-goldman-sachs-to-sell-stake-in-turkeys-penti-sources-idINKCN1C31P3'|'2017-09-28T10:27:00.000+03:00'
'0716a3c7bb21ec77dce3bee301c0d64bc8b04a20'|'UK nuclear authority gives notice on ending CFP''s Magnox contract'|' 23 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago UK nuclear authority gives notice on ending CFP''s Magnox contract Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has now given notice of termination to Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP) for its management and decommissioning of the country’s 12 Magnox nuclear power reactors and research sites, it said on Friday. Effective from Sept. 1 the notice ends CFP’s contract on Aug. 31, 2019, as already expected. CFP - a joint venture between British firm Cavendish Nuclear, a subsidiary of Babcock International ( BAB.L ), and U.S. company Fluor Inc. ( FLR.N ) - was awarded the contract in 2014. The 13.5-year contract was divided into two phases, with the first phase lasting 6.5 years and valued at more than $3.6 billion (£2.6 billion), according to Fluor’s website. But in March this year, the government said there was a “mismatch” between the work specified in the contract and the work that actually needed to be done. At that time Babcock International said the decision to bring the contract to an end in 2019 was taken despite the “high standard” of CFP’s performance. In a statement then, Magnox managing director Kenny Douglas said Cavendish Nuclear and Fluor were disappointed they could not execute on the full scope of the existing contract. “However, we remain fully committed to supporting the Magnox staff and the NDA in delivering further successes against the programme until the official termination at the end of August 2019,” he added. The 12 Magnox sites include the Wylfa nuclear plant in Wales, which closed in 2015, the Dungeness A plant in Kent, which stopped generating power in 2006, and the Hinkley Point A plant in Somerset, which closed in 2000. Together with the Calder Hall reactor in Sellafield, they were Britain’s first generation of nuclear power plants. “NDA and CFP have reached agreement on the work to be performed on the sites during the contract’s remaining two years, as well as the arrangements and agreed state in which CFP will leave the sites at the end of the contract,” the NDA said in a statement on Friday. “The NDA continues to believe that this is the best course of action for the taxpayer, removing the legal risk and ensuring the continued safe, secure operations of the sites,” it added. No details were immediately available on who will be awarded the contract after CFP. Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Greg Mahlich'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-nuclear/uk-nuclear-authority-gives-notice-on-ending-cfps-magnox-contract-idUKKCN1C40QN'|'2017-09-29T10:23:00.000+03:00'
'37a1389f2756cdf59867f762e9e611b53e41a76d'|'Tesla''s big battery races to keep South Australia''s lights on'|'  3:32 AM / in 9 minutes Tesla''s big battery races to keep South Australia''s lights on Sonali Paul 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Tesla charging station is seen in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson ADELAIDE (Reuters) - One year after the state of South Australia suffered a major blackout, construction has started on building the world’s biggest battery to help keep the lights on in Australia’s most wind-dependent state. Tesla ( TSLA.O ) won a bid in July to build a 129 megawatt hour (MWh) battery and the state is counting on it to be ready by the start of the southern summer in December when electricity demand begins to peak. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, currently visiting South Australia for a space conference, vowed to install it within 100 days of signing a grid connection agreement or give it to the state for free. “Construction at the site is already well underway,” South Australia Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis told Reuters. “The batteries are on track to be operational by December 1.” Last year’s state-wide blackout was blamed by opponents of renewable energy on the state’s rush to embrace wind and solar, and fuelled a backlash that has split Australia’s conservative federal government and led to renewed calls to support coal-fired power. South Australia hopes the Tesla battery will forestall further blackouts, but Australia’s Treasurer Scott Morrison says it is just a “Hollywood solution” that is not solving the bigger problem of how to supply power when the wind isn’t blowing. Analysts have estimated the battery, which will be tied to a wind farm run by France’s Neoen, should cost around $750 to $950 per kilowatt, or up to $95 million. Musk said in July the cost to Tesla would be “$50 million or more” if it failed to deliver the project on time. The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned the country faces a very tight power market this summer, following the closure of one Australia’s biggest coal-fired power stations in the neighbouring state of Victoria. “The battery has a very useful role to play in the South Australian electricity system at the moment,” said Sydney-based energy analyst David Leitch at ITK Services Australia, adding it was valuable insurance against the much heavier costs of another blackout. The state’s biggest power user, global miner BHP’s Olympic Dam copper mine, alone lost $105 million last year when it was shut for two weeks by the blackout, wiping out the mine’s annual profit. The battery has been designed to help cover temporary dips in wind power, say for 15 minutes, or help control frequency on the grid at times when gas-fired plants are unable to help balance generation and power demand. “What they’re trying to do is buy a little bit of time for other systems to respond to fluctuations,” said Bikal Pokharel, an analyst with energy consultants Wood Mackenzie in Singapore. Transmission company ElectraNet said it was still working to develop the grid connection agreement for the Tesla/Neoen project. Neoen declined to comment on the timeframe. Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-power-tesla/teslas-big-battery-races-to-keep-south-australias-lights-on-idUKKCN1C40AF'|'2017-09-29T06:31:00.000+03:00'
'39f517fc5359287bab4bcd9a27adeb11a6fb08c0'|'Whole Foods says taprooms, restaurants hacked'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:36 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Whole Foods says taprooms, restaurants hacked Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc’s ( AMZN.O ) Whole Foods Market on Thursday said payment card information has been stolen from taprooms, restaurants and other venues located within some of its stores. The upscale grocer, which Amazon recently purchased for $13.7 billion, said it uses a different point-of-sale system for its roughly 450 U.S. stores. That system was not involved in the data hack, the company said. Whole Foods said the Amazon.com systems do not connect to the affected systems at Whole Foods and that Amazon.com transactions also were not involved. More than 40 Whole Foods stores sell beer on tap. The company did not immediately say how many restaurants are in its stores. Whole Foods said it has launched an investigation into the hack, obtained the help of a leading cyber security forensics firm, contacted law enforcement, and is taking appropriate measures to address the issue. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-amazon-com-cyber/whole-foods-says-taprooms-restaurants-hacked-idUKKCN1C33DB'|'2017-09-29T01:36:00.000+03:00'
'24d668eff780653be1d408be4b895c9b8996cd4f'|'Germany asks for Boeing fighter data as weighs order options'|'The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, April 24, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has asked the U.S. military for classified data on two Boeing fighter jets as it looks to replace its ageing Tornado warplanes from 2025, giving a boost to the U.S. company locked in a trade dispute with Canada and Britain.A letter sent by the German defence ministry’s planning division, reviewed by Reuters, said it had identified Boeing’s F-15 and F/A-18E/F fighters as potential candidates to replace the Tornado jets, which entered service in 1981.A classified briefing is expected to take place in mid-November, following a similar briefing provided by U.S. officials about the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet in July. [nL1N1K206B]The ministry has said it is also seeking information from European aerospace giant Airbus, which builds the Eurofighter Typhoon along with Britain’s BAE Systems and Italy’s Leonardo.The development is a boost for Boeing at a time when it is under fire from Canada and Britain after its complaint prompted the United States to impose a preliminary 220-percent duty on CSeries jets built by Bombardier. [nL2N1M80SO]Boeing said it was working with the U.S. government to provide the information that Germany had requested.Germany, due to decide in mid-2018 about how to replace the Tornado planes, announced plans in July to build a European fighter jet together with France. But the new jet is unlikely to be available by 2025, when Germany’s fleet of Tornado fighters are slated to start going out of service.Sources familiar with the process said Germany was pursuing a two-pronged approach under which it would buy an existing fighter to replace the Tornado, while working with France on a new European jet to replace its Eurofighters at a later point.Analysts said the Tornado replacement order could be worth tens of billions of dollars, although Germany is still reviewing how many jets to buy and at what pace.The letter said a formal request for information about the pricing and availability of all three U.S. fighter jets was being compiled and would be issued by the end of the month.BOEING UNDER FIRE Britain told Boeing this week that future defence contracts could be in jeopardy because of its trade dispute with Canada’s Bombardier, noting that U.S. tariffs would put up to 4,200 jobs at risk at a plant in the British province of Northern Ireland that makes the CSeries jet’s carbon wings. [nL8N1M80WQ]Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also said he will not go ahead with plans to buy 18 Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet jets unless the dispute is dropped. [nL2N1M80SO]Any move by Germany to buy a U.S. warplane could run into political resistance from strong labour unions and Airbus, which has also raised concerns about the ministry’s plans to choose between two U.S. helicopters for its heavy lift programme.Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and Italy - key NATO allies of Germany - are already buying the F-35 fighter jet to replace their current aircraft, and other European countries such as Switzerland, Belgium and Finland are also looking at purchasing the fifth-generation warplane at time when tensions with Russia are running high.Military sources say buying a U.S. jet could make sense for Germany given technical challenges with the Eurofighter.Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-fighter-germany/germany-asks-for-boeing-fighter-data-as-weighs-order-options-idINKCN1C41U0'|'2017-09-29T16:00:00.000+03:00'
'9962ff53547ee28e96ddb37fefec594623b61c34'|'White House battles critics over tax plan as lawmakers prepare to act'|'September 28, 2017 / 9:48 PM / Updated 9 hours ago White House battles critics over tax plan as lawmakers prepare to act David Morgan 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House struggled on Thursday to defend its new tax plan against criticism that it would help the rich at the expense of lower classes, as Republicans in Congress prepared to move ahead with actual legislation. A day after President Donald Trump unveiled the plan and called it “a miracle for the middle class,” White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said he could not guarantee that all middle-class Americans would see their tax bills decline. “I cannot guarantee that. You could find me someone in the country that their taxes may not go down,” Cohn told reporters at a White House briefing. Cohn said that taxes may not decline for some, “maybe one person,” but insisted that the middle class would benefit. “Our tax plan is aimed at making sure that we give middle class Americans a tax cut,” Cohn told reporters. “That is what we are spending all of our time on doing, and we’ve got lots of tools at our disposal to make sure we do that and that’s what we’re going to do.” The Trump plan’s tax cuts for businesses and individuals would reduce federal revenues by more than $5 trillion over a decade, according to independent analysts. The United States is already $20 trillion in debt and the Republican plan, while very specific on tax cuts, provided few details on how to offset the federal revenues that would be lost if the U.S. Congress were to approve Trump’s proposals. Some critics said the plan may need to be pared back if Congress cannot agree on $4 trillion in offsets. It calls for slashing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, the small business rate to 25 percent from 39.6 percent and the top individual rate to 35 percent from 39.6 percent. The Trump administration did not assign income levels to their proposed tax brackets. Every year, the Internal Revenue Service adjusts tax provisions for inflation to avoid people and businesses suddenly finding themselves in a different tax bracket. U.S. President Donald Trump arrives aboard Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst The plan also has raised concerns among some critics about how it would effect the U.S. income gap between rich and poor. Democrats blasted the plan as a giveaway to the wealthy and businesses, despite Trump’s assurances that the rich would not benefit. Critics have zeroed in on Republican plans to raise the lowest individual tax bracket to 12 percent from 10 percent. Representative Kevin Brady, Republican chairman of the tax-writing House of Representative Ways and Means Committee, dismissed the criticism as false. “The 10 percent bracket today goes to zero,” Brady told a audience at the Heritage Foundation think tank. “Those of modest income, the poor and middle class, are better off.” But before they can unveil actual tax reform legislation, the House and Senate will have to adopt a fiscal year 2018 budget resolution containing a procedural tool called “reconciliation,” which is vital if Republicans intend to move a tax bill through the Senate without support. Until this week, the budget resolution drive was embroiled in House Republican infighting. But House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black told Reuters on Friday that she expected the measure to be approved in an Oct. 5 vote. “We’re going to absolutely have the votes,” said Black, a Republican. “People are excited about tax reform.” Lawmakers will face a fight to eliminate $4 trillion in tax deductions, loopholes and other “base broadeners”, including tax breaks that will be defended by interest groups and lobbyists. “This is going to make healthcare look like a simple thing to do,” Senator Bob Corker, a fiscal hawk, said a day after the latest Senate push to replace Obamacare collapsed. Corker said the plan’s goals may not be achievable if lawmakers cannot agree on enough base broadeners. Republicans are aiming to have tax reform signed into law before January. Independent analysts believe they could enact legislation sometime in the first half of 2018. Reporting by David Morgan; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Grant McCool '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax/white-house-battles-critics-over-tax-plan-as-lawmakers-prepare-to-act-idUSKCN1C33AN'|'2017-09-29T00:47:00.000+03:00'
'869a8031e211553ad7457c11130513abd1ac896e'|'French PM says would closely watch any attempt to change L''Oreal ownership'|'  8:17 PM / Updated an hour ago French PM says would closely watch any attempt to change L''Oreal ownership Reuters Staff 2 Min Read French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe delivers a speech to open a transport mobility forum in Paris, France, September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - France’s prime minister said on Thursday he would look very carefully at any attempted ownership change at L‘Oreal especially if an international investor sought to buy the world’s biggest cosmetics firm. The death of billionaire Liliane Bettencourt on Sept. 21 has focused attention on how L‘Oreal’s founding family and major shareholder Nestle ( NESN.S ) would manage their stakes in the company. Bettencourt’s family owns 33 percent of L‘Oreal. Relatives including her daughter have managed the stake for several years since a court found she was suffering from a form of dementia. Nestle retains a 23 percent stake in the company. It has said it has no intention to sell its stake. “We will be attentive,” Edouard Philippe told France 2 television when asked how he would react if the company were to be subject to an overseas bid. “I don’t know if it can be described as a strategic asset,” he said. “Without a doubt it’s an extremely important asset so I will be very mindful.” In the wake of Bettencourt’s death, a 43-year-old agreement between the family and Nestle not to increase their stakes will expire after six months. There were no restrictions on reducing the stakes. Bettencourt’s only daughter, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, who sits on L‘Oreal’s board with her husband and one son, has said the family remained committed to L‘Oreal and its management. Reporting by John Irish and Jean-Baptiste Vey; Editing by Hugh Lawson'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-l-oreal-bettencourt-ownership/french-pm-says-would-closely-watch-any-attempt-to-change-loreal-ownership-idUKKCN1C333A'|'2017-09-28T23:16:00.000+03:00'
'6a36d78421de1f5106b6a0803320e01264c914f2'|'Cargill Q1 profit rises 14 pct'|'  1:13 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Cargill Q1 profit rises 14 pct Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sept 27 (Reuters) - Global commodities trader Cargill Inc reported a 14 percent rise in its quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by strong demand for beef and poultry. The privately held company said net income rose to $973 million in the first quarter ended August 31, from $852 million, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Cargill reported quarterly net income of $888 million, up from $827 million a year earlier. Revenue came in at $27.3 billion, slightly up from the $27.1 billion a year earlier. (Reporting by Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/cargill-inc-results/cargill-q1-profit-rises-14-pct-idUSL4N1M83ZZ'|'2017-09-27T16:12:00.000+03:00'
'56deeaa5b3d642314c16d8a14aaa7ca32261fabb'|'China-backed Yancoal Australia exercises option to up stake in coal mine'|'  11:02 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago China-backed Yancoal Australia exercises option to up stake in coal mine Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - China-backed coal miner Yancoal Australia Ltd ( YAL.AX ) said on Wednesday it had exercised its option to buy a 29 percent stake in the Warkworth operation from Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp ( 8058.T ) for $230 million(171.07 million pounds). The agreement brings Yancoal’s stake in the Warkworth project to about 85 percent, it said in a statement. The project, which was part of a bidding war between Yancoal and commodity trader Glencore PLC ( GLEN.L ), was snatched up by Yancoal earlier this year as part of its acquisition of Rio Tinto’s ( RIO.AX ) Coal & Allied unit. Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye and James Dalgleish'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mitsubishi-m-a-yancoal/china-backed-yancoal-australia-exercises-option-to-up-stake-in-coal-mine-idUKKCN1C139X'|'2017-09-27T02:02:00.000+03:00'
'f09371bf715d719d7128acfd7d34593290232b22'|'China mulls Yangtze river curbs during Congress, pushing up chemical prices'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:46 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago China mulls Yangtze river curbs during Congress, pushing up chemical prices Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Ships sail on the Yangtze river near Shanghai November 5, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China is considering restricting traffic carrying some chemicals along the Yangtze River as a security measure ahead of next month’s Communist Party Congress, triggering a rally in prices as industrial buyers scramble to secure raw materials. The Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) said in a statement last week that it may bring in restrictions from Oct. 11 until Oct. 28, but had not yet made a formal decision. The agency said it had issued an internal document, but gave no further details. Traders said the document outlined possible curbs on the loading and unloading of some potentially hazardous or inflammable chemicals at ports along China’s longest river. The MSA referred queries to the Ministry of Transport, which did not respond to a request for comment. Traders said they had been informed of the safety crackdown by their logistics suppliers, who had read the internal document as formal instructions for the Congress, which occurs once every five years and will start in Beijing on Oct. 18. Chinese authorities often crack down on safety ahead of and during the Congress in an effort to prevent incidents that might distract attention from the political gathering. Ports that could be affected include the world’s biggest liquid chemical port, Zhangjiagang, about 100 km (60 miles) from Shanghai, as well as major ports in Jiangyin, Taicang and Changzhou which serve petrochemical companies, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Salmon Lee. “This has led to ... a spike in spot prices for some products as players rush to bring forward loading/unloading dates, or buy more spot material to cover any possible shortfall,” he said in a note. The rush to deliver cargos may have been exaggerated by the week-long National Day Golden Week holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 when shipping will slow. Many buyers have requested suppliers to ship between the end of September and early October, rather than later in October, said Lee. Spot prices of monoethylene glycol (MEG), used to make polyester and antifreeze, jumped to $950 per tonne this week on a CFR China basis, from $910 to $920 a week ago, Wood Mackenzie said. Benzene prices rose to $835 per tonne on an FOB basis this week, from $800 a week ago, it said. “Many market participants cannot fathom a de facto month-long pause to the petrochemical business in industrial-rich Jiangsu province and one of the key manufacturing bases in China,” said Lee. Reporting by Josephine Mason, Meng Meng, Muyu Xu and Stella Qiu; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-congress-ports/china-mulls-yangtze-river-curbs-during-congress-pushing-up-chemical-prices-idUKKCN1C20IK'|'2017-09-27T09:46:00.000+03:00'
'f43c3c6f966528f884a8f93623aa2531cc6fae20'|'China may soon set date for ban on new petrol, diesel cars - expert'|' 40 PM / a few seconds ago China may soon set date for ban on new petrol, diesel cars: expert Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FUSCHL AM SEE, Austria (Reuters) - China may join Britain and France in banning new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 and could set an earlier deadline, the secretary-general of the World Energy Council (WEC) said. The Asian nation, which has been blighted by pollution, is the world’s largest car market. A government announcement on a decision to ban new cars powered by fossil fuels by 2040 or earlier was “very likely within the next few months,” said WEC Secretary-General Christoph Frei at an energy conference in Austria. “This would be a revolution for the auto industry,” he said. A senior Chinese official said this month the country had begun studying when to ban the production and sale of cars using traditional fuels. He did not give a timeline for an announcement. China is targeting 35 million vehicle sales by 2025 and wants new energy vehicles (NEVs) to make up at least one-fifth of that total, the Industry Ministry said in April. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Edmund Blair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-autos-wec/china-may-soon-set-date-for-ban-on-new-petrol-diesel-cars-expert-idUKKCN1C22OP'|'2017-09-27T21:20:00.000+03:00'
'bc32d2896d81ae80776a2240944c42037ff71489'|'Dollar, yields rise on hawkish Yellen; Asian shares still weak'|'  12:41 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Rate-hike bets buoy dollar, Treasury yields; stocks tick up Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two-day Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bets firmed on Wednesday for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike in December, boosting the dollar to a one-month high against a basket of currencies, and lifting financial stocks and Treasury yields. A stronger-than-expected reading on durable goods orders also pulled Treasury yields higher as it suggested inflation may be picking up. Republicans in the U.S. Congress and the White House called for slashing tax rates on businesses and the wealthy as part of a new tax plan that offers few details about how to pay for tax cuts without expanding the federal deficit. “While I think there is optimism, time will tell us how much of an impact that (tax reform) will have on the market,” said Victor Jones, director of trading at TD Ameritrade. Bets on another interest rate hike at the Fed before the year ends firmed following Tuesday comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who said the U.S. central bank needs to continue gradual rate hikes despite broad uncertainty about the path of inflation. Perceived chances of a hike at the Fed’s December meeting rose to 83 percent from 72 percent on Monday, according to the CME Group’s Fedwatch tool. The hawkish rate sentiment helped fuel gains in S&P 500 financial shares, which gained 1.6 percent. The S&P 500 tech sector rose 0.9 percent, helped by an 8.1 percent surge in shares of Micron Technology after the chipmaker’s better-than-expected quarterly earnings report. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.95 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,303.27, the S&P 500 gained 5.21 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,502.05 and the Nasdaq Composite added 56.62 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,436.78. “The renewed interest in technology coupled with the likelihood of higher interest rates spurring an interest in financials, then the news on tax reform progressing, are all positive catalysts” for U.S. equities, said Alan Lancz, president of investment advisory firm Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc in Toledo, Ohio. U.S. small caps rallied on the expectation of lower taxes. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.6 percent and was on track for its largest one-day gain in six weeks. The index also hit a record intraday high. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.4 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.1 percent. FILE PHOTO - Pedestrians leave and enter the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall European banks rose 2 percent and hit their highest in seven weeks. DOLLAR RALLIES The dollar index rose 0.4 percent, with the euro down 0.3 percent to $1.1760. “It really is an extension of the rally kicked off by the Fed last week,” said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York, referring to the Fed’s meeting where it signaled it may raise rates for a third time this year. Data showed new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in August, pointing to strength in the economy despite an anticipated drag to growth from massive hurricanes. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 22/32 in price to yield 2.305 percent, from 2.229 percent late on Tuesday. Yields on the 2-year note rose to as high as 1.483 percent, the highest since November 2008. Brent crude futures slipped from 26-month highs, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose after stockpiles unexpectedly fell as refiners in the Golf Coast were coming back online following hurricane-related outages. U.S. crude rose 0.39 percent to $52.08 per barrel while Brent was last at $57.74, down 1.2 percent on the day. Spot gold dropped 0.6 percent to $1,285.60 an ounce. (For a graphic on ''Euro zone stocks, DAX and euro'' click reut.rs/2jZKtDA ) (For a graphic on ''World FX rates in 2017'' click tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh ) Additional reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Dion Rabouin in New York, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Nigel Stephenson in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson and James Dalgleish'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/dollar-yields-rise-on-hawkish-yellen-asian-shares-still-weak-idUKKCN1C2026'|'2017-09-27T03:41:00.000+03:00'
'52405f995ae48da1828cb6f97a35f712312cb742'|'UPDATE 1-British PM May says bitterly disappointed by U.S. Bombardier ruling'|'September 27, 2017 / 7:02 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago UPDATE 2-"Bitterly disappointed" by Bombardier ruling, Britain chides Boeing Reuters Staff * United States imposes 220 percent duty on CSeries jets * PM May says ‘bitterly disappointed’ by initial ruling * Says will work to protect Northern Irish jobs * Ally DUP says plant is critical for Belfast * Britain says Boeing’s position not justified (Recasts, adds details) By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Britain is bitterly disappointed by a U.S. decision to slap duties on Bombardier jets, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday, promising to protect thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland that the ruling puts at risk. The London government said Boeing’s stance was unjustified and not the sort of position it would expect of a long-term partner. May had asked U.S. President Donald Trump to help find a solution to a trade dispute between Bombardier and its U.S. competitor, but the U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday imposed an anti-subsidy 219.63-percent duty on the jets. Though a preliminary decision, it dismayed Canada, where Bombardier is based, and adds to pressure on May. Her government is propped up by a small party in Northern Ireland and views the United States as its closest ally as Britain moves towards exiting the European Union in 2019. “Bitterly disappointed by initial Bombardier ruling,” May said on Twitter. “The government will continue to work with the company to protect vital jobs for Northern Ireland.” The ruling threatens 4,200 jobs at a Bombardier plant in the UK province that makes the new CSeries 110-to-130 seat jets. Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, accuses Bombardier of dumping the CSeries jet in the U.S. market and says the aircraft is being unfairly subsidised by Canada, a charge Bombardier denies. The U.S. Commerce Department said it imposed a 219.63 percent countervailing duty on Bombardier’s new commercial jets after it made a preliminary finding of subsidisation. Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada strongly disagreed with the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of Canadian large civil aircraft. ‘DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES’ While juggling Brexit talks, May had lobbied the United States hard and intervened personally with Trump, who has made ‘America First’ a theme of his administration, to get one of the titans of U.S. industry to back off. But the decision increases domestic pressure on May just as she tries to kickstart divorce talks with the EU. After losing her majority in a snap election in June, May is dependent on the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in parliament. The DUP said it would fight to keep the Belfast plant, Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing employer, open. Bombardier makes carbon wings for the CSeries CS100 and CS300 there. “It is critical for Belfast,” Jeffrey Donaldson, a senior lawmaker in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), told BBC Radio. “This would have devastating consequences on our economy if the factory were to close and we’re going to do everything we can to ensure that doesn’t happen.” The row comes weeks after Boeing began construction of its first European parts manufacturing site in Sheffield, northern England. Boeing says it employs 2,200 people in the United Kingdom, its third largest supply base after the United States and Japan. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper in Brighton; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-britain/update-1-british-pm-may-says-bitterly-disappointed-by-u-s-bombardier-ruling-idUSL8N1M80WQ'|'2017-09-27T10:02:00.000+03:00'
'4a493dd80d696c9c6ad7a000191760f8a25d9301'|'Active fund managers ride tech stocks to best performance since 2009'|'  7:44 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Active fund managers ride tech stocks to best performance since 2009 David Randall 3 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson NEW YORK (Reuters) - An overweight position in technology stocks like Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) is helping more active fund managers beat their benchmarks than at any point since 2009. The performance comes as the managers battle passive index funds and exchange traded funds that have grown popular with investors. Approximately 52 percent of active fund managers are beating their respective benchmarks this year, the highest relative performance since nearly 55 percent eight years ago, according to Lipper data. Last year, only 26 percent of fund managers were able to beat their benchmarks, the worst performance for the industry in more than a decade. This year’s outperformance is powered largely by growth funds, with the average large-cap growth fund beating the 11.7 percent gain in the benchmark S&P 500 for the year to date by 3 percentage points. Among the most common overweight positions held by mutual fund managers include Facebook, Google, PayPal Holdings Inc ( PYPL.O ) and Visa Inc ( V.N ), all of which are up by 20 percent or more this year, according to Goldman Sachs. The jump in technology stocks is also helping put the average long/short equity hedge fund on pace for the best performance since 2009, with more funds concentrating their assets in companies such as Ebay Inc ( EBAY.O ), whose shares are up 28 percent for the year to date. “Funds continue to rely on just a few stocks to drive performance,” Goldman Sachs noted, with the average fund holding nearly 70 percent of its assets in its 10 largest positions, a level of concentration near record highs reached in early 2016. While mutual fund managers are putting up their best performance numbers in nearly a decade, it may not be enough to stop the flow of assets to passive index funds or exchange traded funds, said Todd Rosenbluth, director of fund research at New York-based CFRA. Financial advisors are increasingly looking at annual fees as much as performance numbers, making it more difficult for higher-cost active fund managers to draw assets, he said. In July alone, investors put $10.8 billion into U.S. passive equity funds, up from $9.3 billion (6.92 billion pounds) the month before, and pulled $19.6 billion out of funds run by traditional stockpickers, according to Morningstar data. “Some of the money is leaving regardless of performance and is more tied to lower fees and shifting business models” among financial advisors, Rosenbluth said. “An advisor who has shifted away from active management to lower-cost passive funds is unlikely to come back due to 9 months of performance success.” Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and; Andrew Hay'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-funds-active-managers/active-fund-managers-ride-tech-stocks-to-best-performance-since-2009-idUKKCN1C12U3'|'2017-09-26T22:44:00.000+03:00'
'0f768fab2ecb56ae34f34df86f713f689aa23f58'|'Uber to tell UK employment tribunal it operates just like rivals'|'  1:52 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Uber to tell UK employment tribunal it operates just like rivals Costas Pitas 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A photo illustration shows the Uber app logo displayed on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain October 28, 2016. This logo has been updated and is no longer in use. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Illustration/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Uber will defend its business model at a British employment tribunal on Wednesday arguing its drivers are self-employed and work the same way as those at long-established local taxi firms, according to a court document. The U.S. firm is appealing against a tribunal ruling last year that it should treat two of its drivers as workers, which would entitle them to the minimum wage and paid holidays. That verdict could affect thousands of firms in Britain in the so-called gig economy where people work for various employers at the same time without fixed contracts, giving both sides more flexibility. Such practices have been criticised by some unions and workers as exploitative and the Silicon Valley giant will try to distance itself in its appeal from being branded a gig economy company. The hearing comes five days after London’s transport regulator stripped Uber of its licence, judging the company unfit to run a taxi service because of its approach to reporting serious crimes and background checks. Uber will be allowed to operate in London until the licence appeal process is exhausted, which could take several months. The Employment Appeal Tribunal case kicking off on Wednesday will look to place Uber’s business model within the definitions used in Britain to categorise the relationship between companies and people that work for them. The self-employed are only entitled to basic rights in the workplace, such as healthy and safety. Those deemed to be workers also receive the minimum wage, paid holidays and rest breaks, among other benefits. Those in a third category, called employees, receive those entitlements as well as other perks such as statutory sick pay and maternity or paternity leave. According to the documents, Uber will argue its drivers are not workers but rather that its app acts as an agent hooking up self-employed drivers with clients, in a kind of relationship that existed long before the “gig economy”. “The tribunal will be aware of the public, press and political attention recently attracted by concerns over the ‘gig economy’,” Uber will say according to an outline of their argument seen by Reuters. “In fact ... the position of drivers who use the app is materially identical to the (familiar and long-established) position of self-employed private hire drivers who operate under the auspices of traditional minicab firms.” Minicabs, or private hire vehicles, sprung up in Britain more than 50 years ago. Minicabs cannot be hailed in the street like traditional taxis, but can be booked for specific times and places via a registered office with a call or via the internet. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, which is representing the two Uber drivers, argues they should be treated as workers, entitling them to minimum pay of at least 7.50 pounds ($10) per hour for those over 25. Last year, the two drivers successfully argued that Uber exerted significant control over them to provide an on-demand taxi service and the firm therefore had responsibilities in terms of workers’ rights. The case will be heard on Wednesday and Thursday with a verdict unlikely to be given immediately. ($1 = 0.7441 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-britain-tribunal/uber-to-tell-uk-employment-tribunal-it-operates-just-like-rivals-idUKKCN1C11UI'|'2017-09-26T16:53:00.000+03:00'
'da3f1520bf9216fe89660443a65b55b403e5e1c4'|'US STOCKS-N. Korea concerns to weigh on Wall St; tech recovers'|'  11:52 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Wall St. ends flat after Yellen; tech shares bounce Chuck Mikolajczak 4 Min Read A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended flat on Tuesday and the Nasdaq posted modest gains as technology shares bounced from sharp losses in the prior session and comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen boosted expectations of a December rate hike. Yellen said the Fed needs to continue gradual rate hikes and it would be imprudent to leave rates on hold until inflation reached the Fed’s 2-percent target. Earlier in the session, Atlanta Fed Chief Raphael Bostic, a non-voting member this year, said he would want “clear evidence” that prices were firming before committing to another rate increase, but did not rule out another hike in 2017. Chances of a rate hike in December rose to 78 percent from about 40 percent a month ago, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. “Investors should be looking out for a December hike given we don’t know what happens to the Fed chair position next year. (Yellen), probably wants to be able to, knowing anyone new in that role might not feel comfortable tightening the first month,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago. Economic data showed U.S consumer confidence fell in September while home sales dropped to an eight-month low in August due to the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 10.05 points, or 0.05 percent, to 22,286.04, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.23 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,496.89 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 9.57 points, or 0.15 percent, to 6,380.16. Technology .SPLRCT, up 0.4 percent, was the best performing major sector, recovering somewhat from losses in the prior session. Tech shares suffered their worst one-day drop in five weeks on Monday as concerns over tensions with North Korea prompted investors to book profits in what has been the best performing sector this year. Apple ( AAPL.O ) rose 1.72 percent after four straight sessions of losses to help prop up the three major indexes, after Raymond James boosted its price target on the iPhone maker to $180 from $170. “It is a little bit of a relief knowing perhaps investors still believe in buying the dips even after the Fed’s announcement of reduced balance sheet purchases,” said Ablin. President Donald Trump warned North Korea any U.S. military option would be “devastating” for Pyongyang, but said the use of force was not Washington’s first option to deal with the North’s ballistic and nuclear weapons program. Darden Restaurants ( DRI.N ) slumped 6.53 percent after the Olive Garden parent said it expected the negative effects on sales and earnings from Hurricane Irma to be about double that from Hurricane Harvey. Red Hat ( RHT.N ) rose climbed 4.09 percent after the Linux distributor’s quarterly profit came in above estimates and the company raised its full-year forecast. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.31-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.35-to-1 ratio favored advancers. About 5.81 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the 5.96 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/futures-flat-as-yellens-speech-awaited-idUSKCN1C11GQ'|'2017-09-26T16:02:00.000+03:00'
'1be457eb7c5458c425f162101d3786cbd3b16928'|'Japan August household spending rises 0.6 percent vs. a year ago'|'TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese household spending rose 0.6 percent in August from a year earlier in price-adjusted real terms, government data showed on Friday, versus economists’ median estimate of a 1.0 percent increase.For details click on PREVIEWTo view the full tables, go to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at: hereReporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chris Gallagher '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-spending/japan-august-household-spending-rises-0-6-percent-vs-a-year-ago-idINKCN1C33GR'|'2017-09-28T21:49:00.000+03:00'
'32d3811b9e8fdde6341684196100f9796fca5ef2'|'BlackRock pitches for shareholder protection as Asia bourses weigh dual-class listings - Reuters'|'  6:19 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago BlackRock pitches for shareholder protection as Asia bourses weigh dual-class listings Elzio Barreto , Sumeet Chatterjee 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Pru Bennett, Blackrock''s head of corporate governance and responsible investment for Asia Pacific, speaks during the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit in Hong Kong, China, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong and Singapore bourses need to introduce shareholder protection measures if they allow companies with dual-classes of shares to list, BlackRock Inc’s ( BLK.N ) head of investment stewardship for Asia Pacific said on Tuesday. Hit by dwindling new listings and a growing number of Asian startups listing in the United States, both Singapore Exchange Ltd ( SGXL.SI ) and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd ( 0388.HK ) have proposed new rules to allow companies to sell shares with different voting rights. Introducing those changes may not help attract prospective initial public offering (IPO) candidates, mainly technology startups that choose New York, Pru Bennett told the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, was among several institutional investors opposing those changes in Hong Kong and Singapore as concerns grow that corporate governance in Asia Pacific would take a further hit. “It’s the right thing for the exchanges to review what they’re doing to make sure they’re relevant and attracting the right companies and that they have some diversity amongst the listed companies on their boards,” Bennett said at her office in Hong Kong. “We are not supporters of weighted voting rights or dual class shares. We think it potentially detracts from shareholder rights.” The proposals come years after Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group ( BABA.N ) and search company Baidu ( BIDU.O ) picked New York over Hong Kong, while more recently Singapore lost a $1 billion listing from homegrown e-commerce and digital payment firm Sea Ltd to the Big Apple. “There are many reasons the companies, particularly Chinese internet companies, list in the U.S. Dual class shares, weighted voting rights is a component of that, but I‘m not convinced that it’s the main reason,” Bennett said. The number of public activist campaigns in Asia almost doubled in the first half of 2017 from levels seen in 2013 and 2014, with 38 companies facing calls from investors for greater transparency or fairer treatment to minority shareholders, according to research firm Activist Insight. Despite that initial jump, the level of activity is forecast to decline to 65 for all of 2017 from the record 78 campaigns in 2016, it added. PREDATORS Shareholder activism from investors such as U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management Corp and others would continue in coming years in Asia, Bennett said. But a major surge was unlikely because several companies in local markets in the region were controlled by a small number of large shareholders, reducing the likelihood of success in activist campaigns, she added. With 17 companies facing public campaigns, Japan took the lead among Asian countries, and it could remain a top market for activists. “When you’ve got an incompetent board that’s a bit of a magnet for someone to come in and try to make changes because incompetent boards generally don’t make as good decisions as a competent board,” Bennett said about issues in Japan. “It’s a bit like when you’re in Africa and you see the gazelles running and the slow one at the back gets eaten by the lion.” Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits Reporting by Elzio Barreto and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/summits'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-summit-regulation-blackrock/blackrock-pitches-for-shareholder-protection-as-asia-bourses-weigh-dual-class-listings-idUSKCN1C10KD'|'2017-09-26T14:19:00.000+03:00'
'2abb49b2b6c13dfd4a3d7938969f7cd938f9b522'|'Munich prosecutors arrest second Audi employee in emissions probe'|'Audi cars are parked in front of the company''s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth MUNICH (Reuters) - Munich prosecutors said they had arrested a second suspect in connection with an emissions scandal at carmaker Audi and have widened the number of suspects in their investigation.Prosecutors have also searched personal premises, a spokeswoman said on Thursday, adding that corporate locations were not part of the raid.Audi has no knowledge of the arrest and continues to cooperate with authorities, a spokesman said. The arrest was first reported on Thursday by business newspaper Handelsblatt.Audi admitted in November 2015, two months after parent Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) diesel emissions scandal broke, that its 3.0 liter V6 diesel engines were fitted with an auxiliary control device deemed illegal in the United States.In March Munich prosecutors searched offices at the carmaker’s Ingolstadt base, where about 44,000 workers are employed, and the premises of Jones Day, a U.S. law firm hired by VW to lead an investigation into the emissions scandal.Four months later the U.S. Justice Department said it had charged a former Audi manager with directing employees at the company to design software to cheat U.S. emissions tests in thousands of Audi diesel cars.The former Audi manager, Italian citizen Giovanni Pamio, was subsequently arrested by Munich prosecutors on suspicion of fraud and false advertising in connection with the carmaker’s emissions scandal. Pamio remains in custody pending ongoing German investigations and an extradition request by U.S. authorities.Reporting by Joern Poltz; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Douglas Busvine and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-audi-emissions-arrest/munich-prosecutors-arrest-second-audi-employee-in-emissions-probe-idUSKCN1C31Q3'|'2017-09-28T15:27:00.000+03:00'
'4951e76f02d6005ec4fcade5843d09053a019385'|'Grayscale says NYSE Arca withdraws application to list bitcoin Trust'|'Sept 27 (Reuters) - Grayscale Investments LLC, which launched the Bitcoin Investment Trust in 2013, said NYSE Arca withdrew the application pending before the Securities and Exchange Commission to list the Trust shares.SEC denied two similar “Rule 19b-4” applications in March to bring to market a first-of-its-kind product tracking bitcoin, the digital currency.Grayscale said it intends to continue its dialogue with the SEC. prn.to/2wXiKJWThe withdrawal will not affect the Trust’s quotation on the OTCQX, it said.Bitcoin can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government.NYSE was not immediately reachable for comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bitcoin-etp/grayscale-says-nyse-arca-withdraws-application-to-list-bitcoin-trust-idINL4N1M91VM'|'2017-09-28T02:11:00.000+03:00'
'7bff98996e2550774a4abada575202102a4ad083'|'Pimco to back Novo Banco debt deal at Friday vote - source'|'September 27, 2017 / 6:19 PM / Updated 32 minutes ago Pimco to back Novo Banco debt deal at Friday vote - source Simon Jessop , Andrei Khalip , Christopher Spink 3 Min Read The offices of Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO) are shown in Newport Beach, California August 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake LONDON/LISBON (Reuters) - Major Novo Banco bondholder Pimco plans to support a restructuring deal at the state-rescued Portuguese lender in a vote this Friday, though the bank could still struggle to get the necessary backing, a source familiar with the matter said. The agreed sale of Novo Banco to U.S. fund Lone Star hinges on investors agreeing to sell back bonds at a discount in the so-called liability management exercise (LME) that runs until Monday. Novo Banco was the “good bank” carved out of the remains of Banco Espirito Santo (BES) in 2014, which collapsed under a mountain of bad debt. Ratings agency Moody’s warned last week a failure of the sale to Lone Star could lead to higher losses for senior bondholders than the LME itself. Pimco and other holders of Novo Banco’s shorter-term debt are now likely to accept the deal after months of wrangling. “When the terms came out, I think, in principle, most of the people in the front-end bonds were reasonably pleased,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another source said Pimco had enough bonds and clout with other bondholders to block the LME. Pimco’s support for the deal has no bearing on a lawsuit it and other asset managers have launched over losses of some 2 billion euros on bonds transferred from Novo Banco back to the failed lender BES. A spokeswoman for Pimco declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Holders of the longer-dated debt, however, are less inclined to agree to the deal as the terms offered to them are not as attractive, the first source said. “There’s still a question mark (on the vote passing). There are a lot of retail guys in the long-dated bonds, so I guess those guys may be more inclined to participate, but I don’t know about the hedge funds in there; it’s less obvious for them.” If the vote fails to get 75 percent backing from bondholders, options could include accepting a lower level of participation and asking bondholders or others to put new equity into the bank or winding it down, the source said. “(This) would be kind of crazy, but it’s also possible ... sometimes those decisions can be arbitrary and not impossible, in Europe.” Additional reporting by Axel Bugge in Lisbon; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Mark Potter'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-novo-banco-investors-bonds/pimco-to-back-novo-banco-debt-deal-at-friday-vote-source-idUKKCN1C22N4'|'2017-09-27T21:19:00.000+03:00'
'e916937fa022617df8b27aa28faa2627082aeb8f'|'Britain warns Boeing it might miss out on business over Bombardier row'|'  6:36 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Britain warns Boeing it might miss out on business over Bombardier row Amanda Ferguson , Tim Hepher 6 Min Read BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain told U.S. planemaker Boeing on Wednesday that it could lose out on future British defense contracts because of its dispute with Canadian rival Bombardier which has put 4,200 jobs at risk in Northern Ireland. The U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday imposed a 220-percent duty on Bombardier’s ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries jets, whose wings are made at a plant in Belfast, following a complaint by Boeing ( BA.N ) which accuses Canada of unfairly subsidizing Bombardier. The ruling is a political headache for Britain’s minority Conservative government, which relies on support from a Northern Irish party to stay in power. It also undermines the government’s assurances to Britons that free trade and London’s close ties with Washington will be pillars of Britain’s prosperity and global influence after it leaves the European Union in 2019. “This is not the behavior we expect from Boeing and it could indeed jeopardize our future relationship with them,” British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told reporters in Belfast. “Boeing wants and we want a long-term partnership but that has to be two-way.” Fallon later ruled out cancelling existing orders with Boeing for nine P-8 spy planes and 50 Apache helicopters, but added the U.S. firm was seeking other UK contracts. “We know they will be back at the door,” he told Reuters. Bombardier is the largest manufacturing employer in Northern Ireland, which is the poorest of the United Kingdom’s four parts and is mired in political difficulties after emerging from decades of armed sectarian conflict. “Bitterly disappointed by initial Bombardier ruling,” said British Prime Minister Theresa May, who had personally asked U.S. President Donald Trump to help resolve the dispute. “The government will continue to work with the company to protect vital jobs for Northern Ireland,” she said on Twitter. Boeing said in a statement it was committed to the UK, but gave no indication that it might change tack in the dispute. Related Coverage Belfast workers caught in crosshairs of Boeing-Bombardier battle “We have heard and understand the concerns from the Prime Minister and the Government about Bombardier workers in Northern Ireland,” the statement said. Boeing said that since 2011 it had tripled its spending in the United Kingdom to 2.1 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) in 2016, while the firm and its suppliers accounted for more than 18,700 UK jobs. “DOES NOT BODE WELL” FOR BREXIT The row has come at a bad time for May, who was severely weakened by her party’s poor showing in an election in June and who has been struggling to contain infighting within her top team over Brexit. Manufacturing Northern Ireland, an industry group, said the row was an ominous sign of the difficulties Britain could face after leaving the EU. “What we could be witnessing is the fundamental difference between being a fully-fledged member of an internal market and a junior partner in a free trade agreement,” it said. A model of Bombardier C Series aeroplane is seen in the Bombardier offices in Belfast, Northern Ireland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne “This does not bode well for the UK’s plan to be a leader in global free trade nor indeed ambitions of a free trade agreement with the EU which cannot match the benefit we currently enjoy as part of the EU’s Single Market.” At the Bombardier plant in Belfast, workers were nervous about what impact the dispute could have on their livelihoods. “Nobody knows how it will end up,” said aircraft fitter George Burnside, 56, who has worked for Bombardier for 27 years. “I am concerned. I was shocked at the size of the tariff.” The U.S. penalty will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favor. A final decision is expected early in 2018. British Business Secretary Greg Clark said he was confident the initial Department of Commerce ruling would be overturned. But Boeing conceded no ground, accusing Bombardier of illegally dumping its products in the U.S. single-aisle airplane market out of desperation. “Any claimed economic threat to Bombardier is due to the weakness of its product in the marketplace,” said Boeing. “SABRE-RATTLING” Arlene Foster, leader of the DUP, the Northern Irish party that is propping up May’s minority government, signaled she would put pressure on May to act. “Everyone realizes how important Bombardier is to Northern Ireland and we will use our influence with our government to make sure that continues,” she told Sky News. However, London’s options in fighting Bombardier’s corner may be limited because of the importance of Boeing to its defense industry. Boeing says the United Kingdom is its third largest supply base after the United States and Japan. It has recently begun constructing its first European parts manufacturing site in Sheffield, northern England. Britain’s armed forces have deployed Chinook helicopters, the C-17 transport plane and the E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and command post. A UK defense official told Reuters one of the potential future contracts Boeing would be bidding for was a relatively small data services deal. British defense analyst Howard Wheeldon said it was unlikely that Britain would pursue any reprisals against Boeing. “I think there is a lot of saber-rattling, but in practical terms it is not on,” he said when asked whether Britain could cancel or reduce Boeing defense orders. “They can play politics, but can’t actually walk away from what they need and have committed to buying from Boeing.” ($1 = 0.7467 pounds) Additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Belfast, Padraic Halpin in Dublin, Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Holton and Michael Holden in London; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier-britain/uk-disappointed-with-u-s-bombardier-ruling-says-boeing-role-unjustified-idUKKCN1C20HH'|'2017-09-27T18:41:00.000+03:00'
'6766586f0d6475bc97a2e536d481e79be0a64f6b'|'Britain''s Diploma Plc CEO Bruce Thompson to retire'|'  6:56 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Britain''s Diploma Plc CEO Bruce Thompson to retire Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - British industrial component maker Diploma Plc ( DPLM.L ) said its longstanding Chief Executive Bruce Thompson would retire next year. The company, a supplier of components for Formula 1 cars, said Thompson planned to retire before the end of September 2018 and it was looking for a replacement. Thompson, who became CEO in 1996, has led a major restructuring of the group, divesting its three traditional core businesses, the company said. Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-diploma-ceo/britains-diploma-plc-ceo-bruce-thompson-to-retire-idUKKCN1C20JE'|'2017-09-27T09:56:00.000+03:00'
'c345d4d2e015053b5bd3e213f6a8c7b4c175f75d'|'Europe has strongest third quarter for share listings since 2014'|'LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Proceeds from European initial public offerings (IPO) reached $7.7 billion in the three months ending September, up 45 percent compared with last year and the highest since 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data.Unusually low volatility, strong equity markets and improving global economic growth outlook boosted equity issuance in Europe and globally in 2017 so far after a dismal 2016.Equity offerings rose 21 percent to $572 billion globally in the year-to-date.”There’s money available and relative stability in the market, alongside attractive valuations for vendors,” Tom Johnson, head of equity capital markets (ECM), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Barclays, said.The biggest equity issue of the quarter and second biggest this year was the $11.5 billion share sale in Japan Post . Banco Santander’s 7 billion euro ($8.24 billion) capital raising to buy Popular was the second biggest equity raising of the quarter.“We expect the ECM activity in the financial sector in EMEA over the coming months to be driven mainly by sale-downs in government owned institutions such the ones that have been completed recently, and capital rising exercises as a result of consolidation and M&A,” said Javier Martinez-Piqueras, the UBS head of ECM in the region.The IPO of Switzerland’s Landis+Gyr Group AG was the biggest of the quarter globally and the biggest in Switzerland for 11 years. This also helped to boost European volumes.Landis+Gyr’s shares have fallen to about 71.45 Swiss francs ($73.36) from their 78 franc issue price, highlighting that buoyant equity markets are no guarantee for IPO investors.British IPO proceeds lagged behind Europe, rising 7 percent year-to-date. But bankers expected an improvement in the final quarter. Total U.K. equity capital raising proceeds increased 1.8 percent to $28 billion this year so far, compared to a weak 2016.Brexit has led to a slowdown in the British economy, with growth of just 1 percent likely next year, down from 1.8 percent in 2017 and no recovery to its historic trend rate over the coming years, credit rating agency Moody’s said last week.Uncertainty over whether Britain can secure a replacement trade deal with the EU has further darkened the economic outlook.“UK corporate activity has been low year to date but there’s a cohort of issuers who didn’t want to test the market before but now are pushing on with their plans” Martin Thorneycroft, head of ECM for EMEA at Morgan Stanley.The U.S. investment bank was the top underwriter globally thanks to leading in global follow-on offerings.“Investor demand is out there and the uncertainty is not going to dissipate soon anyway,” Thorneycroft said.Multi-billion pound masts company Arqiva is among the British companies considering a listing. It has hired advisers for a listing but a sales process is still active, sources said.Utilities firm Verastar, insurance company Sabre, supermarket supplier Bakkavor are among the other British firms looking to float in the coming quarters.Bankers are upbeat on these prospective London floats, but also think that investors may be wary of companies which are exposed to the British consumer.“We have a much larger UK IPO pipeline for the second half compared to the first half and there’s no reason to believe the investors are not going to be there for good companies,” Barclays’ Johnson said.“It’s fair to say that they are likely to scrutinise the more domestically focused assets carefully.”$1 = 0.9740 Swiss francs $1 = 0.8496 euros Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-equity-deals/europe-has-strongest-third-quarter-for-share-listings-since-2014-idINL8N1M736R'|'2017-09-28T21:03:00.000+03:00'
'58e33ebfff6420be81018544070ddde1c3245825'|'UPDATE 1-UK nuclear authority gives notice on ending CFP''s Magnox contract'|'September 29, 2017 / 7:21 AM / in 14 minutes UPDATE 1-UK nuclear authority gives notice on ending CFP''s Magnox contract Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Adds further details, including contract value) LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has now given notice of termination to Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP) for its management and decommissioning of the country’s 12 Magnox nuclear power reactors and research sites, it said on Friday. Effective from Sept. 1 the notice ends CFP’s contract on Aug. 31, 2019, as already expected. CFP - a joint venture between British firm Cavendish Nuclear, a subsidiary of Babcock International, and U.S. company Fluor Inc. - was awarded the contract in 2014. The 13.5-year contract was divided into two phases, with the first phase lasting 6.5 years and valued at more than $3.6 billion, according to Fluor’s website. But in March this year, the government said there was a “mismatch” between the work specified in the contract and the work that actually needed to be done. At that time Babcock International said the decision to bring the contract to an end in 2019 was taken despite the “high standard” of CFP’s performance. In a statement then, Magnox managing director Kenny Douglas said Cavendish Nuclear and Fluor were disappointed they could not execute on the full scope of the existing contract. “However, we remain fully committed to supporting the Magnox staff and the NDA in delivering further successes against the programme until the official termination at the end of August 2019,” he added. The 12 Magnox sites include the Wylfa nuclear plant in Wales, which closed in 2015, the Dungeness A plant in Kent, which stopped generating power in 2006, and the Hinkley Point A plant in Somerset, which closed in 2000. Together with the Calder Hall reactor in Sellafield, they were Britain’s first generation of nuclear power plants. “NDA and CFP have reached agreement on the work to be performed on the sites during the contract’s remaining two years, as well as the arrangements and agreed state in which CFP will leave the sites at the end of the contract,” the NDA said in a statement on Friday. “The NDA continues to believe that this is the best course of action for the taxpayer, removing the legal risk and ensuring the continued safe, secure operations of the sites,” it added. No details were immediately available on who will be awarded the contract after CFP. (Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-nuclear/update-1-uk-nuclear-authority-gives-notice-on-ending-cfps-magnox-contract-idUSL8N1MA156'|'2017-09-29T10:20:00.000+03:00'
'4c2b6d0e77b6d6d590775fa24ca93b5ed8d8b6b5'|'Investors push U.S. shale firms to separate executive pay from drilling'|'FILE PHOTO: Dead sunflowers stand in a field near dormant oil drilling rigs which have been stacked in Dickinson, North Dakota January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Cullen/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - Activist investors are taking aim at U.S. shale producers, the companies most responsible for turning the nation into a global energy powerhouse, pushing them to stop rewarding executives for spending billions of dollars on new wells when crude prices are depressed.U.S. crude output has surged past 9 million barrels a day largely because of the shale sector, whose output this year is up 27.5 percent. The gains are fueled by a boost of about 50 percent in capital spending, benefiting executives come bonus time but crimping shareholder returns. Investors want the higher spending to go to dividends and buybacks, not more drilling.The shift they are seeking could dampen spending on new wells, chilling a shale boom that has benefited U.S. motorists and consumers. It could help the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers who are trying to drain a global crude surplus. Booming U.S. shale production has largely thwarted OPEC output cuts aimed at lifting prices. Low oil prices, in turn, have hurt shareholder returns. [O/R]Activists point to the lopsided split between pay and returns. The 10 biggest U.S. shale producers paid their chief executives $2.2 billion over the past decade despite shareholder returns of 1.7 percent. These companies include Apache Corp and Devon Energy Corp.Contrast this with Exxon Mobil Corp and other integrated oil companies that produce, transport and refine oil all over the globe. These companies as a group paid their executives a total of $600 million during the same period and achieved a stronger 3.5 percent return, according to analysts at Evercore ISI.Paying executives to produce more oil and gas has encouraged drilling. U.S. shale output this year averaged nearly 6.1 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 4.5 million bpd a year ago, according to U.S. government data.The broader oil industry’s returns have not even approached the performance of the S&P 500, which delivered a 7.4 percent total return for the past decade. The split widened this year, with shares of shale producers down 20 percent or more and the S&P 500 up about 16.7 percent.VALUE DESTRUCTION Some investors have had enough and begun to put money only into companies that compensate leaders for returns.“Management teams have been rewarded far too long for destroying value,” said Todd Heltman of wealth manager Neuberger Berman, the seventh-largest investor in shale producer Cabot Oil & Gas Corp, a company whose executive pay policy emphasizes shareholder returns. “Now, there’s a paradigm shift happening.”EQT Corp is among those feeling the heat. Hedge fund Jana Partners LLC attacked the shale company’s $6.7 billion bid for rival Rice Energy Inc in part over the potential for its executives to get a $130 million windfall by doubling its natural gas output. In September, EQT agreed to remove that bonus and focus pay more on efficiency and cost, not production.“It has always been EQT’s philosophy to align its compensation programs with shareholder value creation,” said EQT spokeswoman Natalie Cox.Hedge fund SailingStone Capital Partners LLC last year prodded Range Resources Corp to add two directors with compensation experience. Range also agreed to meet annually with shareholders to discuss executive pay, and add a drilling rate of return metric to its executive compensation calculation.“We believe Range’s approach creates a strong alignment of both long and short-term incentives with the creation of shareholder value,” Range spokesman Michael Mackin said.SailingStone declined to comment.The more companies acquiesce to investors’ demands, the more pressure on their peers to follow.FILE PHOTO: A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo “We believe the industry is on the cusp of a gradual, long overdue shift to returns-focused investing,” said Tim Rezvan, an oil industry analyst with Mizuho Securities.‘FERTILE GROUND’But change will not come easy. Companies will expand production despite low returns to collect cash flow needed to pay debt and other expenses, said analysts, and as long as executives are paid to produce, they will.Shale executives continue to earn higher pay despite mixed records. Noble Energy Inc paid Chief Executive David Stover $10.1 million last year, up 40 percent from 2015 even as the company’s TSR ranked last among peers chosen by the company’s board and reported in regulatory filings.SandRidge Energy Inc gave CEO James Bennett an 86 percent pay boost for 2016, awarding him $18.8 million in the year the company exited bankruptcy protection.Noble Energy referred requests for comment to a regulatory filing in which it said Stover’s pay encouraged “the continued achievement of short- and long-term goals necessary for stockholder value creation.”SandRidge did not respond to requests for comment.Companies like Cabot that have put returns at the forefront of pay decisions have delivered better performance. Its shares are up more than eight-fold since moving away from a production-heavy model in 2004.Among Cabot’s shareholder-friendly policies: executive share awards vest after three years compared to peers that allow immediate vesting or at most a year. That encourages managers to focus on long-term goals. The company also puts the most emphasis on cost controls when calculating executive pay.Cabot’s return on capital employed is forecast to be 8.6 percent this year - more than triple most of its peers, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.Cabot did not respond to requests for comment.Shares of other shale producers that have Cabot-like compensation plans, including EOG Resources Inc and Cimarex Energy Co, also have outperformed rivals.“This is a core part of who we are as a company, always thinking about our investors’ money,” said Tom Jorden, Cimarex’s chief executive.Investors say that sentiment is rare in the industry. If more followed suit, the urge to maximize production could eventually lessen, boosting shareholder returns.“This is fertile ground for activist investors,” said Scott Nyquist, a senior partner in the oil and gas practice at consultancy McKinsey & Co. “They’ll keep pushing until more and more companies link compensation to returns.”For a graphic on investors push U.S. shale producers to swap executive pay formula click tmsnrt.rs/2y8Kz26Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Gary McWilliams and David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-compensation/investors-push-u-s-shale-firms-to-separate-executive-pay-from-drilling-idUSKCN1C42RZ'|'2017-09-30T02:50:00.000+03:00'
'2a86f21bf4dcd4609943f910a7ec8b05e4e3aa1d'|'Looming election may be nail in coffin for Japan''s fiscal reform'|'September 29, 2017 / 4:40 AM / Updated 13 hours ago Looming election may be nail in coffin for Japan''s fiscal reform Leika Kihara , Tetsushi Kajimoto 6 Min Read Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, head of Japan''s Party of Hope, attends a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Even as a new party under a populist female leader scrambles the outlook for Japan’s general election next month, one thing is clear: the winner will loosen a grip on the government’s runaway debt as lawmakers forego higher taxes or boost spending. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to use the revenue from a planned sales-tax hike not to pay down debt but to spend more on education and other popular programmers. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, whose “Party of Hope” is challenging Abe’s ruling coalition by effectively absorbing Japan’s largest opposition party, wants to put off the tax hike altogether. “Japan has yet to emerge from deflation as consumption, which makes up a large portion of the economy, remains weak,” she told a briefing on Thursday, criticising Abe for doing little to prop up household income. The debate is shifting to how much more to spend and in what areas, rather than on what is acceptable within the limits set by Japan’s public debt, which at well over twice the size of its economy is the biggest among industrialised nations. “Regardless of who wins, there will be increased spending because that’s how you win votes,” said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute. “Very few lawmakers call for fiscal reform,” Haji added. “That may be fine now, but there’s no telling when loss of market trust in Japan’s finances could trigger a spike in bond yields.” Japan’s ballooning public debt has not bothered the bond market much so far, as investors trust the country can repay public debt with its huge current account surplus and abundant domestic savings. But the long-term risk is that snowballing social security spending for a fast-ageing population will strain government finances, making it more vulnerable to a sudden spike in borrowing costs that would hurt the economy. Japanese government bond (JGB) prices tumbled on Thursday, with the benchmark futures posting their biggest fall in three months, as investors braced for bigger spending. WHITHER THE THREE ARROWS? Abe came into office in 2012 vowing to eradicate two decades of economic stagnation with “Abenomics” -- his three policy arrows of fiscal spending, monetary stimulus and structural reforms. While the fiscal and monetary support reflated the economy, critics say Abe has made little progress on structural reforms. In announcing a snap election for Oct. 22, Abe said he will proceed with the sales tax hike in 2019 but divert more proceeds to education and child care, and less on debt payment. He acknowledged it was now “impossible” to fulfill his promise to balance the budget -- excluding debt service and new bond sales -- by March 2021 as planned. Finance Minister Taro Aso said Japan will delay the timing for meeting the target by several years, with a new deadline to be set by the middle of next year. “What’s worrying is that the delay (in achieving the fiscal target) would make it impossible for the government to put the brakes on spiraling fiscal spending,” said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. “The government may resort to bigger fiscal stimulus if a pull-back in demand after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games pushes the economy into a downturn.” Finance ministry officials charged with drafting the state budget are relieved Abe will proceed with the tax hike, but stress the need to set a new deadline to keep spending in check. “It’s a good thing that the premier has stuck with a primary balance goal, even with a delay,” a senior ministry official said. “Japan’s fiscal discipline will remain intact as long as we set a new timeframe.” FISCAL DISCIPLINE Koike’s new party, on the other hand, calls for freezing the sales tax hike, makes no mention of balancing the budget and proposes boosting “wise spending” - without giving details. “An opposition win would mean even bigger spending and a collapse of Japan’s fiscal discipline,” said a ruling party lawmaker close to Abe. Critics say the Bank of Japan’s ultra-easy policy is partly to blame for a lack of discipline in Japan’s fiscal spending. Politicians so far are paying no price for being lax about spending because the BOJ pins the 10-year bond yield at zero, essentially letting the government borrow for free. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda says his bank isn’t printing money to bankroll public debt. But some policymakers worry that the central bank could be forced to maintain its ultra-easy policy for longer than it wants, for fear that slowing its bond buying could trigger a spike in bond yields and push up government borrowing costs. “Once the economy slumps, there will be demands for more fiscal spending. Lawmakers may pressure the BOJ to keep its monetary spigot open,” said a former BOJ executive who retains close contact with incumbent policymakers. Rating agency S&P says Abe’s decision to ditch the fiscal target timeframe won’t affect Japan’s sovereign debt ratings. But Kim Eng Tan, senior director of sovereign ratings at S&P in Singapore, warns against complacency. “I have no real concern right now about delaying the primary budget target,” he said. “However, it does prolong the period in which finances are at risk to a sudden increase in interest rates.” Additional reporting by Stanley White and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Bill Tarrant '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-election-budget/looming-election-may-be-nail-in-coffin-for-japans-fiscal-reform-idINKCN1C40D6'|'2017-09-29T07:39:00.000+03:00'
'3395f15b3f280d56839709cc309355bd267bce32'|'UK consumer credit picks up in August as Carney points to lending risks - BoE'|'  8:47 AM / Updated 7 hours ago UK consumer credit picks up in August as Carney points to lending risks - BoE Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney listens to Vice-chair of the US Federal Reserve Stanley Fischer speaks at the Bank of England conference ''Independence 20 Years On'' at the Fishmonger''s Hall in London, Britain, September 28 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner LONDON (Reuters) - Consumer lending in Britain rebounded in August and rose by the largest amount in three months, Bank of England figures showed on Friday, shortly after Governor Mark Carney said banks had been lending too much. Consumer credit increased by 1.583 billion pounds last month, compared with a rise of 1.166 billion pounds in July. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of 1.35 billion pounds. Earlier on Friday Carney said there was no overall debt bubble in Britain but that the BoE was worried about “a pocket of risk” in consumer debt that has been growing at about 10 percent a year. “We think banks have been giving too much credit ... and not been as disciplined as they should be in their under-writing standards and their pricing on this debt,” he told BBC radio. Consumer lending was 9.8 percent higher in August than a year ago, Friday’s figures showed, the same growth rate as in July. The BoE said on Monday that British banks have underestimated risks from their lending to consumers and need to hold an extra 10 billion pounds of capital to guard against the risk of future losses. A man talks on a mobile phone as people walk past the Bank of England, in London, Britain September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner Other figures from the BoE showed Britain’s housing market slowed last month. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase fell to 66,580 from 68,452 in July, below economists’ forecasts of a drop to 68,000 in a Reuters poll. Still, August’s fall put mortgage approvals roughly in line with the BoE’s expectation that they will average around 66,000 a month over coming quarters. Figures this week from industry group UK Finance showed growth in consumer credit slowed in August while mortgage approvals picked up slightly. Britain’s economy had its slowest first half the year since 2012, as consumers came under pressure from a big rise in inflation following the fall in sterling caused by last year’s Brexit vote. (Reporting by Andy Bruce and Polina Ivanova) uk.economics@reuters.com, +44 20 7542 5109'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-lending/uk-consumer-credit-picks-up-in-august-as-carney-points-to-lending-risks-boe-idUKKCN1C411F'|'2017-09-29T11:47:00.000+03:00'
'aec809532c444e5070c3bf6d0986244a036697e8'|'Exclusive: German shipping bank DVB accelerates sale plans'|'FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - German lender DZ Bank [DETGNY.UL] is looking to sell its shipping finance business quickly after its transport division booked provisions for bad loans of 445 million euros ($522 million) in the first half, people close to the matter said.Potential buyers signaled interest over the summer in buying the cooperative bank’s DVB, which finances ships and aircraft, but differences over its valuation were too great and talks died down quickly, the people said.But after DVB posted a return on equity of minus 73 percent in the first half of the year, or a net loss of 547 million euros after breaking even a year earlier, plans to sell off its loan portfolios have gained traction, they said.DZ Bank, Germany’s second-largest lender, and DVB declined to comment.DZ Bank bought out minority shareholders in DVB recently, potentially facilitating a potential sale of the business.The sources said DZ Bank was working with Boston Consulting Group to evaluate options for DVB, while the transport division has hired separate advisors to assess the value of its $12.5 billion ship loan portfolio.Boston Consulting was not immediately available for comment.“A lot of internal discussions are ongoing currently (at DVB) and they have gained pace after the latest earnings hit,” one of the sources said.One source said the bank was still considering whether to sell the ship loan book as a whole or in several bundles, as the second option would probably yield a better return.“DZ Bank tried to integrate DVB earlier (into the parent bank) and that strategy failed to be implemented. They are looking for an alternative solution,” another source said.“Offering the entire shipping portfolio for sale to whoever wants to have it is still an option,” the second source said.Like other German banks, DVB is suffering from exposure to a prolonged long slump in the global container shipping industry, which has been struggling with too many vessels and sluggish trade growth for nearly a decade.One of the issues for potential buyers would be the cost of refinancing the ship loans in the future. While DVB benefits DZ Bank’s AA minus rating, it would probably be downgraded significantly as a standalone business.German banks are estimated to be holding at least $100 billion in distressed shipping loans and shipping finance sources say much of this debt is unlikely to be recouped in full, meaning heavy losses on investments.Banks in Germany, once global leaders in ship financing, have written off billions of euros lent to shipping companies and several have quit the business.Former market leader HSH [HSH.UL] was forced to take two bailouts from its public sector owners and is now in the midst of a privatization that may lead to the bank being wound down.Investment funds such as KKR ( KKR.N ), Apollo ( APO.N ) and Oaktree ( OAK.N ) have scooped up ship loan portfolios in recent years. However, some deals have run aground, such as NordLB’s planned sale of 1.3 billion euros of loans to KKR.Others have been smoother. Japanese financial services group Orix ( 8591.T ) has acquired loans from the Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ), which is in the process of exiting shipping finance.Editing by David ClarkeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-dz-bank-dvb-sale-exclusive/exclusive-german-shipping-bank-dvb-accelerates-sale-plans-idINKCN1C2229'|'2017-09-27T12:43:00.000+03:00'
'dc720cd2f0344fda170314651d37c1979125494a'|'Thomas Cook pilots call off strike planned for Friday'|'  3:36 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Thomas Cook pilots call off strike planned for Friday Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Pilots for Thomas Cook ( TCG.L ) on Wednesday called off a strike planned for later this week following talks with the British tour operator over an ongoing pay dispute. The pilots went on strike earlier this month in what the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) said was the first walkout by British pilots in more than 40 years. Further strikes were called and pilots walked out again last weekend after talks brokered by the have been facilitated by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) failed. But Thomas Cook said a strike planned for Friday was now off. The company had previously said that industrial action had not caused flight cancellations. “Following talks between BALPA and Thomas Cook this week, BALPA has called off the strike scheduled for this Friday 29 September,” Thomas Cook said in a statement. “BALPA is now consulting its members on a plan to go to arbitration. Thomas Cook remains keen to resolve this dispute in the interest of all those involved. We await the response of BALPA’s members.”'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thomas-cook-grp-airlines-strike/thomas-cook-pilots-call-off-strike-planned-for-friday-idUKKCN1C227M'|'2017-09-27T18:35:00.000+03:00'
'0729b704fbe5c5f7135ef1dadc982bd1db6950e9'|'Bombardier in talks for C-Series deals with Chinese carriers - executives'|'September 26, 2017 / 10:30 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Bombardier in talks for C-Series deals with Chinese carriers - executives Brenda Goh 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Planemaker Bombardier Inc aims to close deals with Chinese airlines in upcoming months and is in talks with the country’s three biggest airlines, a senior Bombardier executive said on Tuesday. Marc Meloche, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft’s head of structured finance, said in an interview the planemaker was also in discussions with leasing businesses on purchasing its C-Series plane. He spoke to Reuters while in China. Meloche said he hoped the deals could be announced during a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to China next month. “Prime Minister Trudeau is coming to China next month so there is optimism that Bombardier will be among those able to announce deals on that trip,” he said. In Ottawa, a Canadian government official said Trudeau would not be going to China in October. Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to Canada, told an Ottawa reception on Tuesday evening that Trudeau would visit China “in the near future”, according to a speech posted on China’s Canadian embassy website on Wednesday. Officials familiar with the visit said it was likely to take place in December. Canadian government officials have previously said Trudeau is expected to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vietnam on Nov. 11-12. Asked about the comment by the Canadian government official on Trudeau’s travel, a Bombardier spokesman in Montreal did not offer an immediate comment. Meloche added that China’s interest is high. “Bombardier is talking to all three big Chinese airlines, as well as many regional (players) and startups. All are very interested in the Bombardier C-Series,” he said. Bombardier is pushing hard for orders in China, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, at a time when it faces threats to U.S. sales of the C-Series single-aisle jet because of a trade dispute with U.S. rival Boeing Co. The U.S. government on Tuesday slapped steep preliminary anti-subsidy duties on sales of C-Series jets over that dispute. The C-Series competes with some aircraft made by Brazil’s Embraer SA, as well as the smallest planes made by Boeing and Airbus. Meloche also said that several Chinese lessors, many of which were looking at sale-and-leaseback opportunities, had issued term sheets in support of C-Series deliveries. New rules requiring Chinese airline startups to operate at least 25 smaller-city hopper jets before graduating to bigger aircraft have also fuelled hopes of Chinese demand for C-Series jets. While current C-Series models accommodate 110 to 130 seats, above China’s 100-seat limit for regional jets, Meloche said Bombardier can make adjustments to meet the requirements. He also said Bombardier could expand its activities at China’s Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, which already makes part of the fuselage for its C-series and Q-series aircraft. But unlike Boeing and Airbus, which are expanding production facilities in China, he said Bombardier had not discussed the possibility of a separate aircraft plant in the country. Additional Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by David Goodman, Matthew Lewis and Muralikumar Anantharaman'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-bombardier-aerospace/bombardier-aims-to-close-plane-deals-ahead-of-canadian-pms-china-visit-idUKKCN1C117K'|'2017-09-27T07:44:00.000+03:00'
'652adcd922925f685db9e9b44ab83dc5fbb609ba'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt strong, Saudi bolstered by $12.5 bln sovereign bond issue'|'September 28, 2017 / 1:56 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt strong, Saudi bolstered by $12.5 bln sovereign bond issue Reuters Staff * Egypt pricing in end of monetary tightening * Saudi banks strong on successful $12.5 bln bond sale * Petchems up as oil climbs over $58 * Positive effect of end to driving ban fades * Qatar drops again as foreign funds exit By Celine Aswad DUBAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Egypt’s stock index climbed on Thursday ahead of a central bank meeting on monetary policy later in the day, while the banking sector helped carry the Saudi index higher after news that the government had priced a $12.5 billion international bond issue. The Egyptian central bank was likely to keep key interest rates unchanged at its meeting, a Reuters poll of analysts showed, after a slide of inflation that is expected to continue in the last quarter of 2017. The main stock index rose 1.1 percent on Thursday as it priced in the “end of the monetary and fiscal tightening period”, said Wafik Dawood of Beltone Capital. “Though the market consensus is for rates to remain unchanged on Thursday, inflation has peaked, rates have peaked - this bodes well for the market,” he added. The central bank hiked interest rates in July by 200 basis points. Analysts at Naeem Brokerage suggested the central bank might even cut rates on Thursday, by 100 bps. “Our expectation is backed by the assumption that the central bank would weigh more into consideration the latest monthly inflation patterns, instead of annual rates,” Naeem said in a note. Construction and development companies were particularly strong in Egypt on Thursday as their financing costs may have peaked along with the interest rates; Emaar Misr Development jumped 6.6 percent. The Riyadh index rose 0.7 percent as most large-cap banks climbed following news of the successful sovereign bond sale, which attracted investor demand of around $40 billion. Shares of majority state-owned National Commercial Bank added 1.1 percent. The bond issue is good news for the Saudi banking sector because it will help to increase liquidity and gives the government financial room to move ahead with projects. Petrochemical shares were also strong as Brent oil climbed over $58 a barrel; Saudi Basic Industries advanced 2.1 percent. Auto insurance, rental and parts companies, which had surged on Wednesday in response to news that a ban on women driving would be lifted next year, mostly fell back. Al Rajhi Co for Cooperative Insurance dropped 2.5 percent. Qatar’s index lost 1.3 percent, heading back near a five-year low, as foreign funds intensified their selling, bourse data showed. Banking shares were particularly weak, with Qatar National Bank dropping 1.4 percent. The Dubai index edged up 0.1 percent as shares favoured by day traders outperformed large-caps; Union Properties rose 1.1 percent while Emaar Properties lost 0.7 percent. In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.2 percent. HIGHLIGHTS * The index rose 0.7 percent to 7,283 points. DUBAI * The index edged up 0.1 percent to 3,564 points. ABU DHABI * The index fell 0.2 percent to 4,397 points. QATAR * The index dropped 1.3 percent to 8,312 points. EGYPT * The index rose 1.1 percent to 13,889 points. KUWAIT * The index lost 1.3 percent to 6,680 points. BAHRAIN * The index slipped 0.02 percent to 1,283 points. OMAN'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks/mideast-stocks-egypt-strong-saudi-bolstered-by-12-5-bln-sovereign-bond-issue-idUSL8N1M94BF'|'2017-09-28T16:55:00.000+03:00'
'666bb2c8685e6e889d805329518f94e25ebbcdf6'|'Qatar Airways says acquires minority stake in parent of Italy''s Meridiana'|'FILE PHOTO: A Qatar Airways plane is seen at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar Airways said on Thursday it had acquired a 49 percent stake in AQA Holding, the new parent company of Italy’s Meridiana, adding to its growing portfolio of investments in foreign airlines.Previous sole owner Alisarda retains 51 percent, the major Middle East airline said in a statement.Loss-making, Sardinia-based Meridiana is Italy’s second largest carrier behind Alitalia [CAITLA.UL], which is partly owned by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. Alitalia filed for administration earlier this year.The value of the Meridiana acquisition was not given, and the deal was finalised after protracted negotiations that formally started more than a year ago.“We are delighted to formalize this important partnership, which will help increase Meridiana’s competitiveness in the European market,” Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker said.Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said the deal represented a turnaround for Meridiana and would help Italy’s tourism industry, especially in the poorer south of the country.Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said it would ensure job security for Meridiana workers, and created the potential for future job growth.Alisarda Chairman Marco Rigotti has been appointed chairman of AQA Holding, and Francesco Violante has been appointed as chairman of Meridiana.A new strategy and chief executive for Meridiana would be announced in “due course,” but al-Baker said Qatar Airways would work with Meridiana to improve its connectivity to Italy, other European destinations, and to the United States.Al-Baker has said Meridiana would use Boeing 737 MAXs ordered by Qatar Airways, with 20 to be delivered to the Italian airline from the second quarter of 2018.Meridiana, which offers flights to and from Sardinia and other destinations in Italy, was until now fully owned by the Aga Khan, a businessman and spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims.Qatar Airways bought the Meridiana stake nearly four months into a Gulf political crisis that has seen some Arab states cut ties with Qatar, and the airline banned from flying to some Middle East cities.Qatar Airways also owns minority stakes in British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG) and South America’s LATAM Airlines.Earlier this year, Qatar Airways tried to add American Airlines ( AAL.O ) to its portfolio of minority stakes but later backed away after being rebuked by American’s management. It has also expressed interest in Royal Air Maroc [RAM.UL].Qatar Airways has said it buys stakes in airlines that it believes are good investments, and lets them operate as businesses distinct from the Gulf carrier.Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak in Milan and Gavin Jones in Italy; Editing by Mark Heinrich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-airways-italy-meridiana/qatar-airways-says-acquires-minority-stake-in-parent-of-italys-meridiana-idINKCN1C32CC'|'2017-09-28T13:43:00.000+03:00'
'325bd8c38d6cfc70451075f60bda9299a74f5a88'|'Despite Brexit, London skyscrapers draw highest rents in Europe'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:11 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Despite Brexit, London skyscrapers draw highest rents in Europe Esha Vaish 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A city worker walks through the City of London, Britain in this December 16, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files (Reuters) - Rents for office space in London skyscrapers are still the highest across Europe, a report showed on Thursday, indicating that the capital remains one of the most sought after business hubs despite Britain’s looming exit from the European Union. Prime rents in London buildings over 30 storeys stood at $110 per square feet over the first half of the year, nearly double the $58 per square feet and $54 per square feet rent for buildings in Paris and Frankfurt respectively, according to the report by property group Knight Frank. London’s future as Europe’s premier financial hub has been threatened by Brexit as many companies have said they may move some jobs out of the British capital if the country loses its access to Europe’s single market and are already drawing up plans. However so far the amount of office space take-up, including across the City of London and Canary Wharf financial districts, has been steady over the past year, prompting overseas groups to buy the British capital’s best-known skyscrapers including the “Cheesegrater” and “Walkie Talkie”. The Walkie Talkie tower (R) is seen in central London September 3, 2013. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth “That London still commands the highest skyscraper office rents in Europe, despite the Brexit uncertainty, is a statement of its resilience and popularity as a business location,” Knight Frank Chief Economist James Roberts said. “Firms are willing to pay more to be in London skyscrapers than those in Frankfurt because they view the UK capital as a more important international hub,” he added. Slideshow (3 Images) A Reuters survey has shown that around 10,000 finance jobs will be shifted out of Britain or created overseas in the next few years if the country leaves the single EU market, with Frankfurt by far the most popular destination for new roles and Paris in second spot. Knight Frank’s report showed that rental growth for Frankfurt and Paris skyscraper offices was flat in the six months period, indicating that office values in financial cities expected to benefit from Brexit had seen a limited boost so far. Growth in London rents, which are the fifth highest in the world behind cities such as Hong Kong and New York, was also flat over the period. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-offices/despite-brexit-london-skyscrapers-draw-highest-rents-in-europe-idUKKCN1C3013'|'2017-09-28T03:05:00.000+03:00'
'6fd5fc2ce153365b9299c23ea9512f24c9acea0a'|'PM May says Boeing''s behavior in Bombardier row is undermining its UK relations'|'September 28, 2017 / 9:32 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago PM May says Boeing''s behavior in Bombardier row is undermining its UK relations Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bank of England''s independence, in the City of London, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday that Boeing is undermining its relationship with Britain by its behavior in a dispute with Canadian rival Bombardier that has put 4,200 jobs at risk in Northern Ireland. “What I would say in relation to Boeing is that of course we have a long term partnership with Boeing in various aspects of government and this is not the sort of behavior we expect form a long term partner and it undermines that partnership,” May said when answering a question at a Bank of England event. The U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday imposed a 220-percent duty on Bombardier’s CSeries jets, whose wings are made at a plant in Belfast, following a complaint by Boeing which accuses Canada of unfairly subsidizing Bombardier. Reporting by William Schomberg and David Milliken, writing by Andy Bruce, editing by Guy Faulconbridge'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier-may/pm-may-says-boeings-behavior-in-bombardier-row-is-undermining-its-uk-relations-idUSKCN1C313X'|'2017-09-28T12:32:00.000+03:00'
'a48e5a583ef21a2941878f0e88098efd8d03de3b'|'ABB CEO says investors won''t wait long for capital to be returned'|'The logo of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB is seen in front of a logo of General Electric in Baden, Switzerland September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann LONDON (Reuters) - ABB ( ABBN.S ) will not wait “multiple years” to return capital to investors and this could involve relaunching a share buyback that was put on hold after the Swiss group bought a unit from General Electric ( GE.N ), the CEO said on Wednesday.The engineering firm and power grids maker suspended its $3 billion buyback on Monday as part of its decision to buy GE’s Industrial Solutions business for $2.6 billion.Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer, who has been reshaping ABB’s business through acquisitions and divestments, told Reuters he would hold off on more major deals to build up cash.“As cash flow comes in and the balance sheet capacity goes up again, we will take the decision when and how to launch this (share buyback) program,” he said in an interview in London.“ABB has a very strong cash generation capacity. This will not take multiple years until we can consider again that we deploy capital. Whether it’s in the form of the buyback or other forms will be decided at the time,” he said.Operating in more than 100 countries, ABB employs about 136,000 people in sectors ranging from electrical products to robotics, power grids and industrial automation.ABB said on Tuesday it had joined up with Northvolt to help build Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery factory in Sweden to cater for the expected rise in demand for electric cars and to reduce reliance on batteries from China and South Korea.The deal covers a supply and technology partnership, and collaboration on research and product development. ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) said it would support the project’s initial phase with a 10 million euro ($11.8 million) investment.Spiesshofer said ABB did not seek to own a battery manufacturer but was ready to establish partnerships with other companies as demand for electric cars picks up pace.“My prediction is that between 2020 and 2025, there will be a massive, massive boost in this area (of electric vehicles), with the consumer driving the momentum,” he said.Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-abb-strategy/abb-ceo-says-investors-wont-wait-long-for-capital-to-be-returned-idINKCN1C22CA'|'2017-09-27T14:19:00.000+03:00'
'a6d5da59c09a64360d0b208e32f06b50d0d2480e'|'What if large tech firms were regulated like sewage companies?'|'THREE-QUARTERS of Americans admit that they search the web, send e-mails and check their social-media accounts in the bathroom. That is not the only connection between tech and plumbing. The water and sewage industry offers clues to the vexed question of how to regulate the Silicon Valley “platform” firms, such as Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook. The implications are mildly terrifying for the companies, so any tech tycoons reading this column might want to secure a spare pair of trousers.In America and in Europe a consensus is emerging that big tech firms must be tamed. Their dominance of services such as search and social media gives them huge economic and political clout. The $3trn total market value of America’s five biggest tech firms (Apple and Microsoft are the other two) suggests that investors believe they are among the most powerful firms in history, up there with the East India Company and Standard Oil.  14   14   15   Trustbusters in need of instant gratification want to break up the companies, but this might make their services less useful (imagine having ten social-media accounts), and network effects might mean that one of the tiddlers would grow dominant again. Others want tech firms to license their patents for nothing, as AT&T was required to do in 1956. This might create startups tomorrow, but will not stop firms exploiting monopolies today.An alternative is to regulate these companies like utilities—monopolies with high market shares that provide an essential service from which it is expensive for consumers to switch. Here, the water industry is relevant, particularly the concept of a regulated asset base (RAB). It emerged in the 1990s when Britain was privatising its water firms, borrowing elements from American regulation. It is an acronym that few in Silicon Valley are aware of. But from these obscure origins RAB frameworks are now common in Europe and Latin America, used to regulate at least $400bn-worth of power, airport, water and telecoms assets.The idea is that the monopolist’s profits should not exceed the level that a competitive market would allow. That means estimating the cost to an imaginary new entrant of replicating the incumbent’s assets (this is the RAB) and calculating the profits the newcomer would make if its returns matched its cost of capital. The actual monopoly’s earnings should not exceed this amount. Safeguards are added to ensure the utility is run efficiently, keeping costs low. Regulators review the framework every few years.How might utility-style regulation work for Silicon Valley firms? Consider a thought experiment with Facebook. Its 1.3bn users pay nothing, but give it their data and control over the adverts they see. Facebook then sells advertisers targeted access to its users, pulling in $27bn last year. Imagine that the service were “unbundled”, giving users control. All would own their data and could choose whether to sell them to advertisers. They would also have to pay Facebook a fee to compensate it for the cost of creating and operating the network.The big question is how much compensation—profits—Facebook and other firms would deserve if they were treated as utilities. It is possible to get a rough idea. Assume a cost of capital of 12%—a high figure to reflect the risk inherent in tech firms’ models. Estimating their RABs is harder. They have some physical assets such as data centres, but unlike utilities their main resources are not pylons, pipes and property, but software and ideas that they create or acquire by buying rivals. Only some of these intangibles appear on their balance-sheets; the vast sums spent on research and development (R&D) do not. But you can reconfigure their balance-sheets as if all their R&D in the past had been recognised as an asset with a 20-year life. Alphabet and Facebook would have a combined RAB of $160bn. If their returns were capped at 12%, operating profits would fall by 65% and 81% respectively.If their services were unbundled, users would benefit. Using figures from 2016, the average Facebook user would pay $15 a year to the firm for its return on its RAB, but they would pocket $23 from selling advertisers their data and the right to be advertised to. A Google user would pay $37 a year to Google, but collect $45 from advertisers. Those are fairly small sums, but richer users with particularly valuable data could make much more.Bog standardRegulating tech like water would cause an outcry among investors and in Silicon Valley. Yet some of the objections do not stack up. Essential investment would still happen—a guaranteed 12% return is a handsome reward. The firms could invest in new technologies that would remain outside the regulated utility. It would be possible to work out which assets sit abroad and exclude them from the RAB, or to reach arrangements with foreign regulators.This approach would have shortcomings, though. Tech moves at the speed of light compared with conventional utilities. It was only five years ago that investors worried that Facebook would struggle with the shift to mobile phones. Regulators would be clumsy at coping with rapid change. And a RAB methodology would not resolve the incendiary issue of whether tech platforms should be responsible for what they publish.Despite such problems, tech bosses should view regulation as utilities as a long-term risk. They have two defences. First, to bundle their services so tightly that it is impossible for outsiders to isolate the products that are monopolies and work out their profits and assets. Amazon is a master here. It is unclear how much it makes or has invested in e-commerce (where it is dominant), videos (where it is a challenger), or food (where it is a new entrant).The second defence is to lobby Washington. The lesson from America’s veteran oligopolists—airline, telecoms and health-care companies—is that you can manipulate and dance around the regulatory system to ensure high profits. For tech firms, financial obfuscation and cronyism are the most effective ways to ensure their monopoly profits do not go down the drain.  "Big tech, big trouble"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729455-being-treated-utilities-big-techs-biggest-long-term-threat-what-if-large-tech-firms-were?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-23T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'ca1f3d7291ec1093430f18c37f493584b2929810'|'Asian lending crashes to five-year low'|'HONG KONG, Sept 29 (TRLPC) - Syndicated lending in Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, hit a five-year low of US$292.47bn for the first nine months of 2017, 19.55% lower than the same period last year as more borrowers turned to the bond market and China’s curbs on overseas acquisitions dented volume.A third-quarter total of US$72.49bn from 210 deals is the lowest quarterly tally in Asia for seven years and is 37.31% lower than US$115.64bn at the same time last year.“G3 bond market issuance has increased this year from Asia, due to low benchmark rates and search for yield by investors. On the other hand, loan activity has seen a decline, leading to a volume shift from loans to bonds,” said Ashish Sharma, head of Asia Pacific loan syndication for Credit Suisse.Asian companies locked in low borrowing costs in Asia’s bond markets, driving record issuance in G3 currencies, in anticipation of a rise in interest rates following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to start unwinding its quantitative easing programme.At US$303.47bn for the year-to-date, bond issuance in G3 currencies have already eclipsed Asia Pacific’s previous full-year record of US$293.07bn raised in 2016, according to Thomson Reuters data.In contrast, China’s clampdown on outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and a weaker domestic economy is starting to hit loan volume. Lending to China in the first nine months is 36% lower at US$76.62bn compared to a year earlier as the mainland suffered the sharpest slowdown of any major country in the region.“M&A volume seems to have dropped mainly because of the impact of the regulatory restrictions on Chinese acquirers eyeing assets overseas,” said Benjamin Ng, head of debt syndicate and acquisition financing, Asia Pacific, at Citigroup.Excluding Japan, China is Asia’s biggest market and still accounted for 26% of regional loan volume in the first three quarters of 2017 despite the drop. In the same period last year, China’s share of the regional lending activity was 32%.In the third quarter, neighbouring Hong Kong eclipsed the mainland with a 25% share, the biggest in regional lending as buyout activity picked up.Low dealflow and abundant liquidity continued to put pressure on Asian corporate loan pricing, as highlighted by Indian companies that frequently tap the market.Indian Oil Corp mandated Scotiabank to lead a US$300m five-year loan in late August with all-in pricing of 93bp, undercutting the company’s last similar loan in June that was priced at 95bp and closed after a poor response.“The challenge with India is that we have seen a lot of spread compression and that’s because there are not enough new deals,” said Siong Ooi, co-head of debt capital markets for loans and bonds at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.Chinese companies are also able to access lower pricing. State-owned Zhejiang Energy International Ltd launched a US$300m three-year debut loan in July, which pays a top-level all-in pricing of 100bp – a level that is expected to find few takers, according to bankers.BUYOUT BOOST Event-driven financing boosted Hong Kong’s volume in the third quarter, including a jumbo HK$28bn (US$3.6bn) leveraged buyout loan backing the privatisation of shoe retailer Belle International Holdings Ltd that was the territory’s largest buyout.A consortium comprising Chinese private equity firms CDH Investments and Hillhouse Capital Group along with the shoemaker’s executives took the company private in a HK$53.1bn deal.Another US$900m-equivalent LBO backing the acquisition of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s fixed-line phone unit, Hutchison Global Communications Ltd, had a positive reception from lenders.The deal set the stage for a bigger US$4.10bn loan backing the mammoth S$16bn (US$11.9bn) LBO of Global Logistic Properties Ltd, Asia’s biggest warehouse operator.GLP’s privatisation also involved Chinese sponsors and HGC’s deal was the first LBO in Asia for investment manager I Squared Capital.The two deals for Belle and GLP are the biggest Asian buyouts of the year so far amid a constant flow of event-driven financings. Australia’s active buyout financing market continues to drive developments with the arrival of unitranche structures.US alternative investment firm Highbridge Capital underwrote a A$650m (US$516m) six-year unitranche financing backing iNova Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty Ltd’s US$930m-equivalent buyout by private equity firms Carlyle Group and Pacific Equity Partners.In September another A$250m six-year unitranche backing private equity giant KKR’s acquisition of Laser Clinics Australia Pty Ltd closed as a club deal, adding to an unusually active run of Australian leveraged loans. “Institutional non-bank investors have started becoming more active in senior LBO loans,” Sharma said.Despite a steady flow of LBO loans, only US$27.68bn of volume from 51 deals backing Asian M&A activity were completed in the first nine months, compared with US$55bn from 57 financings in the same period in 2016.The M&A loans tally for the three quarters of 2017 is lower than US$21.74bn of similar loans completed in the third quarter of 2016 alone, which included a US$12.7bn bridge financing backing state-owned China National Chemical Corp’s acquisition of Swiss seeds and pesticides company Syngenta AG.China’s curbs on capital outflows and outbound M&A are taking a toll on event-driven financings, after the government banned deals of more than US$1bn that were outside of the core business of a Chinese buyer.Bankers still see lending opportunities with increased volume and enquiries across the region.”Private equity firms have been active in various parts of Asia, which has improved the prospects for leveraged buyouts and related financing,” Ng said. (Reporting By Prakash Chakravarti and Chien Mi Wong; Editing by Tessa Walsh and Steve Garton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/asiapac-loans/asian-lending-crashes-to-five-year-low-idINL4N1MA254'|'2017-09-29T04:28:00.000+03:00'
'dfc3b7fc91e5f284d21c40d557138d900f79db82'|'Addison Lee seeks more London drivers after Uber licence loss'|'September 29, 2017 / 8:06 AM / Updated 10 hours ago Addison Lee seeks more London drivers after Uber license loss Reuters Staff 2 Min Read An Addison Lee minicab drives through central London, Britain September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - Premium car service Addison Lee plans to increase driver numbers in London by up to a quarter, it said on Friday, just as rival Uber [UBER.UL] is set to lose its license in Britain’s capital. London’s transport regulator said last Friday it was stripping Uber of its operating license, which will end on Sept. 30, citing problems with the company’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks. Its 40,000 drivers can still provide rides with the San Francisco-based company until an appeals process ends, which could take months, but many are concerned for their livelihoods. Addison Lee, the second biggest private hire operator in London behind Uber, has around 3,600 drivers, which will rise to around 4,450 under the plan. A further 100 drivers will be added to its Tristar brand, who will also mainly be in London. The Uber logo is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay “With demand growing and Christmas approaching, Addison Lee wants to add to the pool of talented drivers providing our passengers with a premium service,” Chief Executive Andy Boland said in a statement. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the announcement was also linked to competitor Uber’s troubles. ”The campaign was driven not only by Addison Lee’s growth but by the current market situation where Uber drivers are uncertain about the future,” the source said. Like Uber, Addison Lee treats its drivers as self-employed, entitling them to only basic protections, rather than workers, a category of employment law that also means they would be paid the minimum wage and holiday pay, among other benefits. Earlier this week, a tribunal ruled that a group of Addison Lee’s drivers were workers. The firm is still considering whether to contest the verdict. Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-addisonlee/addison-lee-seeks-more-london-drivers-after-uber-license-loss-idUSKCN1C40WO'|'2017-09-29T11:00:00.000+03:00'
'1a483aea0816c1e284467072e4996798bd44e8b3'|'''Sex and the City 3'' is over, but Kim Cattrall says not to blame'|'LOS ANGELES, Sept 29 (Reuters) - “Sex and the City” will not be back for a third movie, despite years of on-again, off-again plans, but actress Kim Cattrall says she is not the one to blame.“It’s over. We’re not doing it,” Sarah Jessica Parker, who played Carrie Bradshaw in the 1990s TV series and two subsequent feature films, told celebrity TV outlet Extra on Thursday.“I’m disappointed. We had this beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, joyful, very relatable script and story. It’s not just disappointing that we don’t get to tell the story and have that experience, but more so for that audience that has been so vocal in wanting another movie,” she addedThe prospects of a final reunion between the TV show’s four original stars Parker, Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, have been discussed for years, despite the lukewarm critical reception to the 2010 movie sequel “Sex and the City 2,” which was set in Abu Dhabi.Parker gave no details about why the plans had been shelved but Cattrall on Friday shrugged off media reports that she was responsible, while making clear she was not in favor of it.“The only ‘DEMAND’ I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film....& that was back in 2016,” Cattrall said on Twitter.HBO’s “Sex and the City” comedy series ran from 1998-2004, won multiple Emmy awards and was credited with capturing an empowering era for young women, and for its frank sex scenes.Each of the actresses, now in their 50s or 60s, have blown hot and cold since 2010 about whether its time to say goodbye to their gossipy, fashion-loving New York characters.Warner Bros, the Hollywood studio behind the first two movies, had no comment on Friday. (Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Marguerita Choy) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/film-sexandthecity/sex-and-the-city-3-is-over-but-kim-cattrall-says-not-to-blame-idUSL2N1MA1AA'|'2017-09-29T20:55:00.000+03:00'
'967d21087d95d9565a7e6ebc4c70f4f64d504c24'|'Exclusive: Blackstone, Apollo team up for Westinghouse bid - sources'|'Reuters TV United States   10:36 PM / a minute ago Exclusive: Blackstone, Apollo team up for Westinghouse bid - sources Greg Roumeliotis , Jessica DiNapoli 4 Min Read The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Apollo Global Management LLC have teamed up to bid for the business of bankrupt U.S. nuclear power plant services firm Westinghouse Electric Co, people familiar with the matter said. A successful deal would limit the financial hit to Japan’s Toshiba Corp, the owner of Westinghouse. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in March, hit by billions of dollars of cost overruns at four nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S. Southeast. Westinghouse is working with investment bank PJT Partners Inc on a sale process, which is still at its early stages, the people said this week. A deal could value Westinghouse at close to $4 billion, the sources added. Other private equity firms are also considering forming consortia to bid for Westinghouse. Buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP is in talks with U.S. nuclear power plant component provider BWX Technologies Inc about submitting a joint bid for Westinghouse, the sources said, cautioning that no offer was certain to materialize. Other bidders are also expected to emerge. However, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government panel which scrutinizes deals for potential national security risks, could make an acquisition of Westinghouse by a foreign buyer more difficult, according to the sources. The sources asked not to be identified because details of the sale process are confidential. A Westinghouse spokeswoman said the company had started the process to exit bankruptcy through a sale or by securing an investment, but declined to comment on the company’s valuation or potential bidders. Westinghouse has previously said it is hoping to exit bankruptcy early next year. PJT and BWX Technologies did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Blackstone, Apollo and Cerberus declined to comment. Construction of nuclear power plants has slowed down around the world following the 2011 Fukushima accident, and as the cost of renewable power sources plummets. However, private equity firms see value in Westinghouse’s relatively stable business of servicing nuclear power plants that are up and running. Westinghouse’s business for sale has 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $400 million, according to the sources. In July, Toshiba agreed to pay $2.168 billion to walk away from two unfinished nuclear reactors in South Carolina being built by its Westinghouse subsidiary. SCANA Corp and its partner, state-owned utility Santee Cooper, said Toshiba will make the payments in installments beginning in October and ending in September 2022. Toshiba reached a similar agreement for $3.7 billion in June with the utilities, led by a unit of Southern Co, that own the Vogtle power project. Apollo is already an investor in Westinghouse, having agreed to provide $800 million in debtor-in possession financing during the bankruptcy. Blackstone has owned several power assets, including a nuclear power plant in South Texas that was part of its Texas Genco LLC portfolio, which it sold in 2006. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Additional reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and David French in New York'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-westinghouse-m-a-blackstone/exclusive-blackstone-apollo-team-up-for-westinghouse-bid-sources-idUKKCN1C2371'|'2017-09-28T01:31:00.000+03:00'
'6189bff77f04983928a243bed9606051a449d227'|'Toys “R” Us files for bankruptcy'|'ASK young American parents about Toys “R” Us and they are likely to be able to sing a jingle from their childhood: “I don’t wanna grow up, ’cause maybe if I did, I couldn’t be a Toys “R” Us kid”. For children of the 1980s, Toys “R” Us was a mecca at the strip mall, an awe-inspiring array of dolls, trucks, board games, bikes, art supplies and much more. Many of them noticed when on September 18th, the chain filed for bankruptcy.Dave Brandon, the company’s chief executive, emphasised that shops would carry on operating as usual and claimed that Toys “R” Us was at the start of a new, brighter era. “These are the right steps to ensure that the iconic Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brands live on for many generations,” he declared. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy, many analysts agree, is a sensible way to deal with the chain’s $5bn of long-term debt. So Toys “R” Us is not dead. But its future is hardly certain.  14   15   15   The company’s tale in many ways typifies the ailments of American bricks-and-mortar retailing. Its woes began in the 1990s, as big-box stores grew both in number and in size. Walmart’s vast selection meant parents could buy a toy in the same place where they picked up milk.Then came e-commerce. Toys are particularly suitable for online shopping. Unlike a dress, they do not need to be tried on for size, and unlike a peach they do not need to be felt for ripeness. Those of prime toy-buying age, parents with young children, are busy. Women aged 25-44 spend almost as much time shopping as they do eating and drinking. Given the choice of buying a train set online or in a store, particularly when a toy shop can transform even the calmest child into an insatiable lunatic, many parents opt to buy online. Amazon makes that extraordinarily convenient. The result is that many former Toys “R” Us kids have no interest in being Toys “R” Us parents. Cowen, a financial-services firm, expects 41% of toys and games in America to be purchased online this year, about twice the proportion sourced from the internet in 2009.Toys “R” Us also suffers from other common ills. The first is a heavy burden of debt. Three private-equity firms bought Toys “R” Us in 2005 in a leveraged buyout, adding substantially to its borrowings; it pays around $400m a year in interest costs, even as it tries to compete with Amazon. It also has $400m in secured and unsecured debt maturing next year. Many expected a bankruptcy, but the filing, just ahead of the vital holiday selling season, underlines how squeezed the firm has become. Two other retailers—Payless ShoeSource, a 61-year-old discount shoe-seller from Kansas, and Gymboree, which began selling children’s clothing in 1986—are among those that declared bankruptcy this year after being backed by private-equity firms that left them similarly weighed down.Second, Toys “R” Us has not helped itself. Like many department-store chains, its inventory has been painfully slow to adapt to changing trends. Sales of fidget spinners, a toy that has become ubiquitous in the past year, for instance, got twirling online first. Nor is it clear whether its strategy of trying to lure families to its shops with live events, such as music classes for children, will work.Like so many other retailers, Toys “R” Us is striving to build its business online. That has been bumpy work. In 2000, back when Amazon was still trying to move beyond selling books, Toys “R” Us joined with the e-commerce giant to manage online toy sales. Four years later it sued Amazon, arguing that the e-tailer had broken the terms of their agreement. In 2006 a judge agreed, but 11 years on that victory gives scant solace.  "State of play"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21729375-rise-e-commerce-did-americas-former-favourite-toys-r-us-files-bankruptcy?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-23T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'90aaad7ccbe96b3b68b9f5f5f250c0d24e5c71e2'|'''Don''t just rely on NGOs'': finding solutions to deforestation - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'Friday 29 September 2017 10.28 BST Last modified on Friday 29 September 2017 12.56 BST Half of the world’s rainforests have been felled in a century. If deforestation carries on at the same rate, they may be gone in 100 years . Food companies are a big part of the problem; agriculture is the largest single cause of forest loss. And they are also part of the solution, with hundreds making commitments to stop deforestation. But as deforestation continues , what more can companies do? This was the question put to experts from the private, NGO, government and finance sectors at a recent roundtable on the topic, held in New York. Partnership emerged as a major theme. Although progress has been made on governments, food companies and NGOs working together to end deforestation, several roundtable panellists emphasised the need to act more quickly to stop destruction of forests around the world. “There isn’t enough action happening now to end deforestation. Companies must rectify their business practices before they expand into new territories, because that old model of industrial plantation isn’t delivering for the forest, for people or for the planet,” said Gemma Tillack, agribusiness campaign director at NGO Rainforest Action Network. Palm oil in Liberia: hope and anger in one of Africa’s poorest countries Brazil’s soy moratorium – a 2006 agreement between environmental groups and corporations where purchasers agreed to not buy soy produced on deforested land – was heralded by several panelists as an example of what can happen when collaboration is successfully implemented. “We need to replicate the extraordinary success of the soy moratorium in other parts of Latin America,” said Glenn Hurowitz, chief executive of Mighty Earth. “We need to do it in south-east Asia on palm oil and spread it to other commodities like rubber.” The key to the success of the soy moratorium – which is not without its critics – was effective collaboration, said Francisco J B Oliveira Filho, former director of policies to tackle deforestation in the Brazilian government. “It was a very hard discussion at the beginning,” he said. “But as soon as we got to know each other, we managed to reduce the illegal soy production related to deforestation in the Amazon region to the level that it’s almost 2–3%.” The conversation took place alongside the UN general assembly, and the body’s sustainable development goals were mentioned as a way forward for governments and other parties on their commitments to end deforestation. “This week’s theme around sustainable development goal 17, and the critical nature of partnership to accomplish these very complex issues, feels very fitting,” said Diane Holdorf, chief sustainability officer at Kellogg. “Without the partnership of collective action, we’re not going to achieve our best.” As well as working across sectors and along supply chains, Tillack added that companies had a role to play in encouraging each other to adhere to standards. “There is a very crucial peer-to-peer role. Don’t just rely on the NGOs to find the cases and pressure one company. We are the least resourced of all. That responsibility needs to go back to all of you guys that have big budgets.” Many panellists highlighted the importance of working along the whole of the supply chain, from the smallholder farmers to the multinational companies to the banks who finance different parts of the chain. HSBC triggers investigation into palm oil company over deforestation allegations Read more Pavan Sukhdev, goodwill ambassador to the UN Environment Programme and chief executive of Gist Advisory, said that banks should consider risk to the environment in their processes. “As a banker for 25 years, one of my observations as a member of the risk committee was that, how come we do not have ecological value as a risk?” he said. It is important to integrate rather than pressurise different parts of the chain, said Gabriela Burian, sustainable agriculture global lead for Monsanto and strategic adviser for food and agriculture in the Americas for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “Work as a team and then they can understand the value,” she said. Burian added that new initiatives are not necessarily the answer. “Every six months we launch a new coalition and this is really hard to track, for companies to understand. Let’s deliver on what we have and scale up.” Working with local governments is also vital, said Andrew Aulisi, senior director for public policy and government affairs at PepsiCo. “A lot of decisions are made at the local level,” he said. “There’s going to be a local desire to dedicate some of that land to agribusiness. We can’t allow our supply chain work to exist in a silo, where we think that we’ve created a clean supply chain but it’s existing in a parallel universe where the landscape is actually being degraded.” The High Carbon Stock approach (HCS), which identifies forest areas that need to be protected as distinct from land which has been degraded so does not have a high biodiversity value, was presented as a way all those who contribute to deforestation can make more progress. Deforested land in Apui, in the southern region of the state of Amazonas, Brazil Photograph: Bruno Kelly/Reuters Tillack asked why the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) hadn’t adopted HCS as part of their standard for members. Dan Strechay, RSPO’s US representative for outreach and engagement, said the organisation is currently conducting a consultation with members and the public on revising their standard and the question of incorporating HCS is part of it. Oliveira Filho laid out the challenge for coming decades: “How are we going to balance production to feed the world and protection for climate change, for biodiversity?” Productivity is at the centre of the solutions, said Aulisi. “If you take a step back and look at sustainable agriculture globally the key is yield and productivity getting the most production on the smallest footprint.” There are solutions out there, he said, but there is a lack of action to adopt them: “We have technologies and practices. We don’t need to invent anything, we could just take what we have now and put it to use on farms. And yet it seems at times there’s a lack of will to do it.” The panellists agreed that working together was how action would get started. “Because at the end of the day everyone around the table is working on the same goal,” said Strechay. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/29/finding-solutions-deforestation-ngos-partnerships-pledges'|'2017-09-29T17:28:00.000+03:00'
'36aceb603b3894c8b334f71afa5ac1167e4772cf'|'China outbound M&As seen picking on hopes of eased capital outflow curbs'|'September 29, 2017 / 1:11 AM / in 12 minutes China outbound M&As seen picking on hopes of eased capital outflow curbs Kane Wu 4 Min Read HONG KONG   Chinese overseas merger-and-acquisition (M&A) deals jumped   after several large transactions, and dealmakers expect continued momentum as recovering economic fundamentals damp the need for restrictions on capital outflows. Overseas deals this year by Asia-Pacific’s most active buyers reached $118 billion at September-end, nearly half of which were announced in the past three months, Thomson Reuters data showed on Friday. But the amount is 29 percent lower than the same period of 2016, a year in which a record $221 billion was spent on assets as varied as movie studios and soccer clubs. Such was the buying that China’s government began placing restrictions on overseas deals to stop huge outflows of funds destabilising the yuan. The yuan has since stabilised, while China’s foreign reserves have risen. The government has also been encouraging deals which support its Belt and Road initiative, whereby it aims to create a modern-day equivalent to the ancient Silk Road international trading network. As such, investors are scouting for deals in anticipation of the government relaxing restrictions on overseas M&As, bankers and dealmakers told Reuters. “Through the summer, on average, every week we have a new deal to look at. I’ve never seen this kind of activity before,” said Fred Hu, chairman of private equity firm Primavera Capital. “Now the exchange rate has stabilised. The yuan has appreciated. There’s also China’s longer-term geopolitical ambition - one belt, one road. If you retain capital controls, how do you obtain long-term objectives?” Steps toward curbing overseas deal activity have varied. One such step was the banking regulator in June ordering lenders to assess their exposure to overseas acquisitions of several conglomerates. The consequent decline in deals contributed to a 5 percent fall in the value of all Asia-Pacific M&As announced in January-September, to $754 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed. But China’s outbound M&A activity has started to rebound in recent months with many deals tied to the Belt and Road initiative, which involves countries along China’s ancient trade routes and beyond, bankers said. “If the target is in the same business, the same industry and the rationale is straightforward and the valuation is reasonable, I haven’t seen (Chinese entities) not able to do a deal,” said Kerwin Clayton, co-head of M&A, Asia-Pacific, at JP Morgan. Capital controls may have thwarted multi-billion deals, but transactions of $500 million to $1 billion are still considered achievable, bankers said. “In terms of deal size, the sweet spot this year is around $1 billion,” said Samson Lo, UBS head of M&A, Asia. “State-owned enterprises as well as consortium structures can pull off bigger deals.” One such consortium sealed the region’s biggest deal of the year so far in July - the $11.6 billion purchase of Singapore-based Global Logistic Properties Ltd ( GLPL.SI ). Investors are now looking to China’s 19th Party Congress next month for the government’s policy regarding outbound investment, bankers and lawyers said. “The 19th Party Congress may provide insight into how acquisitions are viewed and on which sectors China will continue to focus,” Lo said. Reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Christopher Cushing'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-m-a/china-outbound-mas-seen-picking-on-hopes-of-eased-capital-outflow-curbs-idUKKCN1C4055'|'2017-09-29T04:12:00.000+03:00'
'5421d2f20ffb34776f729025cc8782bee20642e9'|'South Korea bans raising money through initial coin offerings'|'September 29, 2017 / 5:15 AM / in 35 minutes South Korea bans raising money through initial coin offerings Cynthia Kim 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s financial regulator on Friday said it will ban raising money through all forms of virtual currencies, a move that follows similar restrictions in China on initial coin offerings. The Financial Services Commission said all kinds of initial coin offerings (ICO) will be banned as trading of virtual currencies needs to be tightly controlled and monitored. “Raising funds through ICOs seem to be on the rise globally, and our assessment is that ICOs are increasing in South Korea as well,” the regulator said in a statement after a meeting with the finance ministry, the Bank of Korea and the National Tax Service. “Stern penalties” will be issued on financial institutions and any parties involved in issuing of ICOs, the statement added, without elaborating further on the details of those penalties. The decision to ban ICOs as a fundraising tool was made as the government sees such issues as increasing the risk of financial scams. The decision tracks similar announcements in the U.S. and China where increasing trading volumes of cryptocurrencies are sparking concerns. It added Friday’s announcement doesn’t mean the government has implicitly accepted trading of virtual currencies as part of its financial system, and will continue to monitor markets to see additional regulations are needed. Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-bitcoin/south-korea-bans-raising-money-through-initial-coin-offerings-idUKKCN1C40FF'|'2017-09-29T08:13:00.000+03:00'
'31c9c2ad4bde174671a3a5555c6cd4ce3ed77664'|'S.Korea''s Celltrion to build plant abroad as partners fret about N.Korea'|' 01 AM / in an hour S.Korea''s Celltrion to build plant abroad as partners fret about N.Korea Heekyong Yang 2 Min Read SEOUL, Sept 29 (Reuters) - South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc said it was dropping a plan to build a third domestic plant after foreign business partners expressed concerns about the threat from North Korea, and would now build it overseas. It is one of the first big South Korean firms to reveal a major change in business plans amid escalating tensions with North Korea. Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3 and has launched dozens of missiles this year. Insults and threats hurled between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump have aggravated the situation further. A decision on the location of Celltrion’s first overseas factory will be made by early next year, CEO Seo Jung-jin told shareholders at a meeting on Friday that approved the firm’s shift to the country’s primary KOSPI bourse from the junior Kosdaq market. A Celltrion spokesman said Seo had made the comments in response to a shareholder’s question about the company’s preparations for a potential war. Celltrion, which makes biosimilar drugs - near-copies of biotech drugs that are priced at a discount - has partnered with U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, Israel’s Teva, France’s Biogaran and Spain’s Kern Pharma to distribute its products. Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Hyunjoo Jin and Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/celltrion-northkorea/s-koreas-celltrion-to-build-plant-abroad-as-partners-fret-about-n-korea-idUSL4N1MA22V'|'2017-09-29T10:01:00.000+03:00'
'9d9fa810e0f03e9d40d13d4ef5cc563562af83a9'|'European stocks set for best month this year, Volkswagen falls'|'  7:35 AM / in 13 minutes European stocks on track for best month this year; Volkswagen tumbles Helen Reid 3 Min Read The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks, propelled by a weaker euro, were heading for their best monthly gains this year on Friday, but Volkswagen shares sank on further provisions for its diesel scandal settlements. A weakening euro has taken pressure off Europe''s equities and especially the exporter-heavy DAX .GDAXI , helping investors find renewed enthusiasm for the asset class after the slow summer months. The pan-European STOXX 600 steadied at a two-month high, while euro zone stocks .STOXXE hit their highest in three months, on track for a quarterly gain after falling back in the second quarter. “Europe is ticking more and more boxes,” said Monique Wong, director of global markets at Coutts. “It’s slightly slowed down with the appreciation of the currency but the euro is still a long way below previous highs.” Analysts at Deutsche Bank expect earnings for the STOXX 600 to grow 11 percent in 2017, with the pick-up in global growth and rebound in commodities outweighing the negative effect of the stronger euro. Credit Suisse upgraded German equities to overweight, saying the weaker euro would support the DAX. On Friday Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) shares dropped 3 percent after the latest twist in the carmaker’s long-running diesel cheating scandal, when it said it was increasing provisions for settlements in North America. Shares in Porsche ( PSHG_p.DE ), Volkswagen’s controlling shareholder, also fell 2.8 percent. Investors have been weighing the pros and cons of investing in the autos sector, which is undergoing massive disruption as consumers begin to shun diesel and investments into electric vehicles gather pace. But depressed valuations are tempting to some. Goldman Sachs upgraded autos to overweight in early September. “It’s a very unloved sector, at a 60 percent discount on price to earnings to the rest of Europe,” said Sharon Bell, head of European equity strategy at the U.S. bank. “The sector has been hit by the strength of the euro as well, given its export focus.” VW and Porsche dragged the sector index .SXAP down 0.5 percent, but it was still set for its best month this year as cyclical sectors across Europe made gains. “European cyclicals have outperformed defensives by 5 percent over the past month, overshooting the fair-value levels implied by our models,” said Deutsche Bank analysts. Dutch bank ABN AMRO ( ABNd.AS ) rose 2.1 percent after Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the stock, saying it expected dividend payouts to increase. Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) pared earlier gains to trade up 0.4 percent, after Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) further reduced its holding in the plastics producer to under 25 percent. Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Julien Ponthus and Andrew Roche'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/european-stocks-set-for-best-month-this-year-volkswagen-falls-idUKKCN1C40SB'|'2017-09-29T10:34:00.000+03:00'
'7cdc434c3ab0c0971d46bd52bb56026d00787cd7'|'ISS says P&G investors should vote for activist investor Peltz'|'NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Institutional Shareholder Services, the influential proxy adviser, said on Friday shareholders in Procter & Gamble Co should vote activist investor Nelson Peltz on to board of the consumer goods giant.“The addition of one well-qualified nominee, who holds a large economic stake, appears likely to have benefits that outweigh the potential risks,” ISS said. “Support for dissident nominee Peltz is recommended.” (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/procter-gamble-trian-iss/iss-says-pg-investors-should-vote-for-activist-investor-peltz-idINL2N1MA1O4'|'2017-09-29T17:16:00.000+03:00'
'14db26a2465d1b17bab5bad96c75d98ae2bb8b4b'|'ADT burglar alarm stayed silent while I was being robbed - Money'|'ADT burglar alarm stayed silent while I was being robbed The thief passed the sensor but it apparently was on a ‘pet sensitive’ setting View more sharing options Tuesday 26 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Tuesday 26 September 2017 07.01 BST I was burgled recently and lost my laptop and PlayStation. My home alarm was on and in working condition (confirmed by ADT), but it didn’t activate despite burglars passing a sensor. I have since found out that this was because my alarm sensor was set up to be “pet sensitive”. I have no pets and ticked this on the contract. We did a test and my 6ft husband could move past the sensor upright on his knees (at a height of 1.3m) without it activating. I am furious. I paid £139 for installation in July 2015 and have been paying £27 a month since for a product that essentially never worked. I have been trying to call the company but have been put on hold countless times. AW, Chingford, Essex ADT failed to deal urgently with your complaint, but after we intervened it visited your property and said it had redesigned the system to ensure further security was in place. It will also be upgrading you free of charge, with a six-month payment break to compensate you. It has put you in touch with its loss adjusters to cover your insurance costs for the break-in. It claims to be in dialogue with you to ensure you are happy with this. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/26/adt-burglar-alarm-did-not-work-thief-pet-setting'|'2017-09-26T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'6732f84b141c3dd68de7df49d9aacdbce51fd0ca'|'Invesco agrees to buy Guggenheim Investments'' ETF business for $1.2 bln'|'NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Invesco Ltd said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Guggenheim Investments’ exchange-traded funds (ETF) business, which includes $36.7 billion of assets under management as of Aug. 31.Under terms of the definitive agreement, Invesco, the world’s fourth largest ETF manager, will acquire Guggenheim Investments’ ETF business for $1.2 billion in cash. The transaction will be funded with a combination of cash and debt.With the addition, Invesco’s ETF assets under management would total more than $196 billion globally, based on both firms’ ETF assets as of Aug. 31.“This combination will further strengthen our market share and position by providing greater access to key channels and expanding the scale and relevance of our global ETF business,” Dan Draper, global head of ETFs at Invesco said in a statement.“The addition builds on our existing self-indexing capability and brings the highly popular BulletShares(®) ETFs, both of which will further strengthen our ability to help clients achieve their investment objectives.”The sale comes as Guggenheim faces questions about its executive leadership, including the fate of its chief executive officer, Mark Walter, as well as clients’ questioning recent changes in its sales group. Guggenheim’s global chief investment officer, Scott Minerd, earlier this month told Reuters that he is focused on growing the firm, which as of June 30 had $290 billion under management.Jerry Miller, president of Guggenheim Investments, said in a statement of the agreement with Invesco: “We believe that today’s transaction paves the way for future growth by allowing us to sharpen our focus on core strengths including active portfolio management - across both our institutional strategies and in our retail businesses.” (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/funds-invesco-guggenheim/invesco-agrees-to-buy-guggenheim-investments-etf-business-for-1-2-bln-idINL2N1M92DY'|'2017-09-28T20:50:00.000+03:00'
'ec5e60663814bc83f2d7f33640aa26acd6343e1d'|'Canada''s Bombardier eyes options after blows to rail, aero units'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:19 PM / 38 minutes ago Canada''s Bombardier eyes options after blows to rail, aero units Allison Lampert 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canadian plane and train manufacturer Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) took big hits to prospects for growth in its core units this week, putting it under increased pressure to find new markets for its jets and a potential new train maker partner. On Tuesday, the U.S. imposed preliminary anti-subsidy duties that would effectively block Bombardier jet sales in a key market if upheld. Meanwhile, Germany’s Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ) opted to merge its rail business with France’s Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) instead of Bombardier’s Berlin-based rail unit. However, the Canadian plane and train maker is still pursuing talks on jet sales to China, potential European jet orders, and a $33 billion train order backlog which may help keep its turnaround plan on track. With C$9 billion in debt and future orders of its CSeries jet in the United States possibly blocked, some say Bombardier may face pressure to raise money to compete on its own against a newly-created European rail giant. “They (Bombardier) need fresh money,” said Maria Leenen, chief executive of German rail consultancy SCI Verkehr. “They will have to defend that (their turf) against the strong new player.” Analysts and company insiders see the potential U.S. duties on its flagship jet program as a bigger risk than the failed European rail merger. Bombardier is in a stronger position than it was in 2015, when it considered bankruptcy after the CSeries program fell behind schedule and sucked up capital. Cash infusions from the Quebec government in the CSeries plane production, and by Quebec’s pension fund in the rail business, helped it buy time to launch a turnaround program. But Bombardier is once again facing uncertainty that will weigh on its share price. The stock fell 14 percent on Wednesday before recovering to close down 7.49 percent at C$2.10. “The transformation plan requires that the company continue to ramp production and deliveries of the CSeries,” said Raymond James transportation analyst Steve Hansen. FILE PHOTO - A combination photo of a Boeing 737 MAX Before the opening of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France, June 16, 2017, and shareholders line up to view Bombardier''s CS300 aircraft following their annual general meeting in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/Christinne Muschi/File Photo “In the short term that’s not an issue, but I’d say over the medium term it is an issue and they will want to be able to sell to some of these U.S. airlines.” With the U.S. market in doubt for now, Bombardier is pushing hard for its first CSeries sale in China. A senior Bombardier executive told Reuters on Tuesday that it aims to close deals with Chinese airlines in coming months. Sources said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will soon visit China, where part of the CSeries fuselage is made, suggesting deals could be announced. Officials familiar with the plan say it is likely to take place in December. “There’s an excess of 56 carriers in China but five to six are really big,” said Robert McWhirter, president and portfolio manager at Selective Asset Management in Toronto. “If they standardize on some of the Bombardier airframes, then most of the problems are solved.” Meanwhile, rail unit Bombardier Transportation (BT) may need a partner at some point to compete against the new European giant created by the deal between Siemens and Alstom and China’s merged rail behemoth, CRRC Corp Ltd. ( 601766.SS ). For now, it has the heft to stand alone, analysts and company insiders say. “Suddenly the chess board has changed but Bombardier is not small,” said a source familiar with the matter. In addition, BT can scoop up contracts in the near-term while Siemens and Alstom focus on integrating their businesses. Trade experts are not convinced that Boeing’s CSeries trade complaint will be upheld in 2018 by an independent U.S. trade body currently composed of four commissioners from both American political parties. The International Trade Commission (ITC) will decide whether the CSeries, which was sold to Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ), and are to be delivered in 2018, harmed Boeing, which did not compete for the order with one of its planes. “There’s a real question as to whether the Commission will determine a company to be threatened with injury when it doesn’t produce a directly competing project,” former ITC chairman Dan Pearson said by email. “And the actual delivery of aircraft ... is at least a couple years away.” Reporting By Allison Lampert; editing by Clive McKeef'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-outlook-analysis/canadas-bombardier-eyes-options-after-blows-to-rail-aero-units-idUKKCN1C239E'|'2017-09-28T02:19:00.000+03:00'
'f0f8febb639c22bd67fdf8ef9efc4c5ea5c9ca4d'|'Special Report: Drowning in grain: How Big Ag sowed seeds of a profit-slashing glut'|'September 27, 2017 / 11:44 AM / a few seconds ago Special Report: Drowning in grain - How Big Ag sowed seeds of a profit-slashing glut Rod Nickel 16 Min Read Monsanto''s research farm is pictured near Carman, Manitoba, Canada August 3, 2017. Picture taken August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Zachary Prong CARMAN, Manitoba (Reuters) - On Canada’s fertile Prairies, dominated by the yellows and golds of canola and wheat, summers are too short to grow corn on a major scale. But Monsanto Co ( MON.N ) is working to develop what it hopes will be North America’s fastest-maturing corn, allowing farmers to grow more in Western Canada and other inhospitable climates, such as Ukraine. The seed and chemical giant projects that western Canadian corn plantings could multiply 20 times to 10 million acres by 2025 - adding some 1.1 billion bushels, or nearly 3 percent to current global production. The question, amid historically high supplies and low grain prices, is whether the world really needs more corn. A global grains glut is now in its fourth year, with supplies bloated by favorable weather, increasingly high-tech farm practices and tougher plant breeds. The bin-busting harvests of cheap corn, wheat and soybeans are undermining the business models of the world’s largest agriculture firms and the farmers who use their products and services. Some analysts say the firms have effectively innovated their way into a stubbornly oversupplied market. Never has the world produced so much more food than can be consumed in one season. World ending stocks of total grains - the leftover supplies before a new harvest - have climbed for four straight years and are poised to reach a record 638 million tonnes in 2016/17, according to USDA data. Farmers and agriculture firms could once count on periodic bouts of crop-destroying weather to tame gluts and drive up prices. But genetically modified crops that repel plant-chewing insects, withstand lethal chemicals and mature faster have made the trend toward oversupply more resistant to traditional boom-and-bust agrarian cycles, experts say. Another key factor: China - the world’s second-biggest corn grower - adopted stockpiling policies a decade ago when crop supplies ran thin, resulting in greater production than the world needs. “I think the norm is where we are now,” said Bryan Agbabian, director of agriculture equities at Allianz Global Investors. Allianz investors seem to agree: The value of two agriculture equity funds that Agbabian manages fell to $300 million this year from $800 million in 2011 as crop prices slid, he said. Abundant supplies have helped lower food prices across the world, but the benefit to consumers and impoverished nations is muted by several factors, including problems with corruption and distribution of food in developing regions, said Sylvain Charlebois, professor of food distribution and policy at Canada’s Dalhousie University. The bumper harvests may actually harm poor communities more than they benefit their residents in food savings because lower prices depress farm incomes in the same areas, said John Baffes, a senior economist at the World Bank. Even as farmers reap bountiful harvests, U.S. net farm incomes this year will total $63.4 billion - about half of their earnings in 2013, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast. Lower incomes mean farmers cannot spend as much on seed, fertilizer and machinery, extending their pain to firms across the agriculture sector. Potash Corp of Saskatchewan ( POT.TO ), the world’s biggest fertilizer company by capacity, closed its newest potash mine last year, eliminating more than 400 jobs, and has seen its U.S.-listed shares fall by nearly half since the beginning of 2015. The drop erased $14 billion in value, and left Potash seeking to merge with rival Agrium Inc ( AGU.TO ). With profits under pressure, seed and chemical companies are scrambling to consolidate. Monsanto’s annual profit in 2016 was its smallest in six years. It agreed last year to combine with Bayer AG ( BAYGn.DE ), which would create the world’s largest integrated pesticide and seed company if the deal closes next year. Grain handler Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) said this summer it would cut costs, and left the door open to selling itself after posting a 34 percent drop in quarterly earnings. Bunge CEO Soren Schroder sought to reassure investors in May by saying all that was needed to trim supplies was one bad stretch of weather in the U.S. Midwest. But the glut pervades many major farming regions, making it unlikely that drought or floods in one region could wipe out the mounting global surplus. Even with dry conditions in North America, Europe and Australia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that this year will bring the second-biggest global corn, wheat and soybean harvests ever. Bunge’s Schroder made his comment about bad weather less than three weeks before confirming an informal merger approach from commodities giant Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ). “When prices tanked, farmers were no longer willing to pay more” for seed and chemicals, said Jonas Oxgaard, analyst at investment management firm Bernstein. “The mergers are absolutely driven by oversupply because their growth is gone.” Monsanto spokeswoman Trish Jordan said the company believes demand growth still justifies corn expansion, and she disputed the notion that crop science advances are backfiring on agricultural technology firms. Monsanto rival DowDuPont Inc ( DWDP.N ) is making the same bet and currently sells the shortest-season field corn in North America, maturing in 70 days, spokesman Ali Aziz said. Success in the lab and the field, however, has contributed to oversupply and may continue to sustain it, said Oxgaard, the Bernstein analyst. “It’s somewhat the seed companies’ fault - they keep breeding better and better seeds every year,” he said. (Exploding crop yields eat into farm profits, click tmsnrt.rs/2y4zIGw ) (Grains glut guts global prices, click tmsnrt.rs/2y2Ushz ) DARWIN, SEX AND CORN Charles Darwin helped plant the seeds of the grain glut. The biologist and evolution theorist showed in the late 1800s that cross-fertilization of plants - in which sex cells are fused between crop varieties of the same species - creates a more vigorous breed than those that are self-fertilized. His work and others’ influenced successive generations of crop scientists and led to the development of hybrid corn, said Stephen Moose, a professor specializing in crop genetics at University of Illinois. U.S. farmers started planting the first significant acres of hybrid corn in the 1930s, and by 1950 it made up nearly all the corn seeded in the United States. Yields exploded. Farmers who reaped 20.5 bushels of corn per acre in 1930 harvested an average of 38.2 bushels in 1950, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Further hybrid breeding breakthroughs generated corn with leaves that grow more erect, allowing farmers to sow it more densely without starving plants of sunlight. Yields first topped 100 bushels per acre in 1978. After conventional breeding breakthroughs became harder to find, corn gained new vigor through the 1990s with genetic modification. In 1996, U.S. regulators approved corn that was genetically engineered to produce bug-killing proteins, accomplished by inserting a bacterium hostile to the corn borer insect into the plant genome. Before the end of the 1990s, corn able to resist weed-killing chemical glufosinate or Monsanto’s glyphosate hit the market. Those modified varieties and others that followed proved pivotal in generating the abundant corn crops that have since become commonplace, Moose said. “In the seed industry, it stimulated a whole other round of investment,” Moose said. In the 20 years since GMO corn reached U.S. farms, yields jumped another 37 percent to a record 174.6 bushels per acre last year. Some experts believe the expansion of corn yields may soon hit a ceiling. The crop may be nearing the natural limit of its production potential, and crop yields will likely plateau in the next decade, based on how plants convert light to food and their ability to recover from heat, said Ken Cassman, agronomy professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Technology has also provided better defenses against pests. Syngenta AG’s ( SYNN.S ) Viptera and Duracade traits, used to control worms and beetles, launched in 2010 and 2013. SmartStax corn seed, introduced by Monsanto and Dow in 2009, brought twin benefits of insect protection and herbicide tolerance, said Paul Bertels, vice-president of production and sustainability at U.S.-based National Corn Growers Association. The breakthroughs in seed and pesticide technologies have not come without problems. Monsanto is now embroiled in a controversy over dicamba, a big-selling chemical designed to kill weeds that harm Monsanto’s genetically modified crops. Many U.S. farmers say dicamba has drifted from its intended fields, damaging plants that are not resistant to the chemical. Monsanto believes the main causes of drifting are errors by farmers and applicators in deploying the herbicide, company spokeswoman Charla Lord said. GROWING CORN IN ALASKA As it grew stronger, corn grew faster. Corn that required 120 days to mature in the U.S. Corn Belt during the 1960s now needs only 105 to 115 days. Farmers in northern North Dakota plant and harvest corn in 80 days, and have doubled the state’s production in five years. Fast corn is now stirring even the imaginations of researchers in the far north. University of Alaska Fairbanks horticulture professor Meriam Karlsson grew hundreds of corn plants in the Arctic state in 2015. The plants, germinated in a greenhouse before they were transplanted outside, grew from a short-season garden corn variety that matured in less than 60 days. Corn rose only four to five feet, allowing plants to spend maximum energy on growing ears, rather than leaves and stalks. Karlsson had expected few corn plants to survive in Fairbanks - less than 120 miles (190 kilometers) from the Arctic Circle. “It’s much more adaptable than I expected,“ she said. ”Amazing what breeding can do. It was kind of exciting that you could do it.” The lure of technology comes down to money for farmers. Even with Chicago corn futures down more than 50 percent from their 2012 record high, the high-yielding crop offers one of the strongest returns to Canadian farmers, generating profits per acre four times that of canola, based on average prices and costs, said National Bank analyst Greg Colman. As corn spreads across the Canadian Prairies, those robust yields are winning farmers over, said Dan Wright, Monsanto Canada’s lead for corn and soybeans. “Once you harvest corn at 140 or 180 bushels, it’s something you want to do again,” he said. While corn compares nicely to some crops, it offers U.S. farmers marginal returns at current prices, Bernstein’s Oxgaard said. Switching to other crops is not easy in areas like the U.S. Midwest, where farmers traditionally swing between corn and soybeans, and have invested in costly equipment to grow them. GLUT TRACES ROOTS TO SHORTAGE The problems of plenty were on nobody’s mind less than a decade ago. In 2008, a dramatic food price run-up stirred riots from Haiti to Egypt. Four years later, the U.S. Midwest, the engine of the global corn and soybean growing machine, suffered its worst drought in decades, opening gaping cracks in the soil and withering crops. Chicago corn and soybean futures Cv1 Sv1 hit record highs as U.S. production fell to multi-year lows. But high prices proved the cure for high prices. Farmers in traditionally less productive corn-growing countries such as Russia, Argentina and Brazil expanded corn output to seize bigger profits. U.S. farming quickly rebounded, reaping record corn harvests in three of the next four years. New corn varieties have made global production more balanced than ever, with 12 countries producing at least 10 million tonnes of corn annually, up from 10 before the drought. Even if U.S. or Brazilian corn crops suffered major weather damage, the world would still have the expanding Black Sea corn region to tap, not to mention China’s enormous supplies, said Bertels, of the U.S. corn growers association. China’s stockpiling policies, enacted in 2007 when corn supplies were tight, also stimulated oversupply. Aiming for self-sufficiency in grains, Beijing bought virtually the entire domestic crop each year and paid farmers as much as 60 percent more than global prices. The program stuffed Chinese warehouses with some 250 million tonnes of corn by the time Beijing scrapped it last year. China is now boosting incentives for farmers to switch to soybeans from corn. “The world’s corn is mainly in China,” said Li Qiang, chief consultant at Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd. He said it will take three to four years for stocks to reach a “normal” level of around 40-50 million tonnes. The Black Sea region, made up of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, has become a disruptive force with rapidly expanding exports. Moscow aims to drive grain production to 150 million tonnes by 2030 from 117 million in 2016 after increasing storage and export capacity in ports in the last couple of years. Glut conditions are expected to ease modestly this year, amid dry conditions in China and the United States, but supplies are still so large that prices remain weak. OVERSUPPLY OF EVERYTHING In northern North Dakota, an expanding frontier for corn and soybeans, Paul Thomas started dabbling in both crops about a decade ago on his farm near Minot, seeking higher returns than wheat. Both are now among his biggest crops, including short-season Monsanto corn varieties that have only been available for a couple of years. Profits may be tougher for Thomas to eke out this year due to dry weather and soft prices, but he shrugs off the struggle. “We’re very capable of producing a large amount of bushels given an economic incentive,” he said. “If we end up over-producing, then we shift to one that’s more in need. That’s just the way agriculture works.” Thomas acknowledged, however, that the traditional dynamic may be changing in this current glut. “I don’t know any single crop that isn’t in oversupply,” he said. Seeding equipment is becoming more precise, and increasingly cost-conscious farmers are applying fertilizer and chemicals more intelligently, said Al Mussell, head of research at Canadian think tank Agri-Food Economic Systems. Monsanto projects that corn will become by the mid-2020s one of the biggest crops produced in Canada, which is an agriculture-exporting powerhouse in canola, wheat, oats and pork. Soybeans are also spreading across Canada. Farmers seeded a record high 7.3 million acres in 2017, up 75 percent in five years. On Monsanto’s research farm in Carman, Manitoba, the next target is marketing a corn variety that matures in 70 days within the next two years. After that: an even quicker plant to snatch DowDuPont’s claim to North America’s fastest corn. It is ambitious but realistic, said Kelly Boddy, manager of Monsanto’s research farm. “Wind the clock back a few years,” he said, “and breeders wouldn’t have thought it possible.” Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Additional reporting by Polina Devitt in Moscow; Michael Hirtzer in Chicago and Dominique Patton and Jo Mason in Beijing; Editing by Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-grains-supply-special-report/special-report-drowning-in-grain-how-big-ag-sowed-seeds-of-a-profit-slashing-glut-idINKCN1C21AR'|'2017-09-27T14:19:00.000+03:00'
'4bc5293342084d936f6eed86174e6b20961b2094'|'RBC''s CEO says AI helping to curb credit card fraud'|'September 28, 2017 / 10:28 PM / Updated 2 hours ago RBC''s CEO pushes back on suggestion bitcoin is a fraud Matt Scuffham 3 Min Read TORONTO (Reuters) - The chief executive of Canada’s biggest lender on Thursday pushed back on a suggestion by JPMorgan ( JP.N ) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that bitcoin is a fraud, though he said the cryptocurrency needs monitoring. Speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto, Dave McKay, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada ( RY.TO ), said: ”Has Bitcoin misrepresented what it is? No. “What it’s solving is a way to avoid detection in moving money in our society and transferring value from one person to another,” McKay said. “I think where Jamie is probably coming from is it’s helping evade the supervision of moving money and from that perspective it needs to be monitored.” While banks have largely steered clear of bitcoin since it emerged following the financial crisis, the virtual currency is supported by a range of people, including technology enthusiasts, libertarians skeptical of government monetary policy and speculators attracted by its price swings. Dimon earlier this month said that the currency “will not work” and said he would fire any JP Morgan staff who traded it. McKay said that if RBC staff were trading bitcoin, he would “probably ask them to stop.” RBC, however, is researching how it can utilize the distribution ledger technology that underpins bitcoin, called blockchain. RBC earlier told Reuters that it was experimenting with blockchain to help move payments between its U.S. and Canadian banks. Royal Bank of Canada CEO David McKay speaks with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler at a Reuters Newsmaker event "Big Banks Embrace Tech" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Gary He McKay said RBC is planning to use blockchain technology in its loyalty programs next year, the first time it has been used in a customer-facing application. He said the bank would initially use the technology in less risky areas where customers’ money would not be put at risk. “Loyalty is something where if there is an error or a problem we could recreate loyalty systems without impact on people’s real money,” he said, adding that blockchain could improve the speed at which people can join loyalty programs, particularly merchants. Slideshow (5 Images) AI INVESTMENT McKay said the bank is spending over C$10 million ($8 million) a year on artificial intelligence (AI), which can be used to predict customer behavior and help reduce problems like credit card fraud. RBC has set up an AI research center in Toronto with a staff of 35 to conduct pure research with massive data that the bank possesses. However, McKay said there is a scarcity of talent in AI globally, which means that RBC has to spend a significant amount to attract people with specialist knowledge. McKay said he expects competition to emerge from non-bank companies, particularly in the money-moving side of the business. “If you have a mass consumer franchise with a strong brand and lots of data about that consumer I think the barriers to banking are coming down to the point where I expect there to be competitors,” he said. Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-rbc-mcckay-reutersnewsmaker/rbc-ceo-mckay-says-ai-helping-to-curb-credit-card-fraud-idINKCN1C33CO'|'2017-09-29T02:24:00.000+03:00'
'ea26db1e4dbc23ef57ca154af6d26f3a56365512'|'Holiday carrier Monarch Airlines says talking to potential partners'|'LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Britain’s Monarch Airlines, grappling with competition from low-cost rivals, said on Thursday it was talking to potential partners after a report that parts of its short-haul network would be sold.Sky News reported that easyJet and Wizz Air had bid for parts of Monarch’s short-haul network, but the airline said it had no news to announce yet.Monarch, which predominantly flies to holiday destinations, said it was undertaking a review of its business.“We are having regular discussions on a number of options with potential strategic partners and we will announce any material developments, if and when they happen,” Monarch said in a statement.The move comes as tough competition in the airlines sector puts pressure on weaker carriers and drives consolidation. Air Berlin and Alitalia have both filed for insolvency this year and are seeking new investors for parts of their business.EasyJet is already interested in picking up about 27-30 planes, including associated slots and crew at Berlin airport, from insolvent Air Berlin, an administrator for the German airline said this week.Analysts at HSBC said easyJet would likely be interested in Monarch’s Gatwick and Luton slots, both airports where it is a major carrier.“easyJet’s opportunism makes sense given Monarch’s footprint at easyJet bases,” analysts at Credit Suisse said in a note, saying the move for Air Berlin showed easyJet’s ambition to make a move if slots in its key bases became available.A year ago, Monarch secured a 165 million pound ($221.50 million) lifeline from majority shareholder Greybull Capital, enabling the carrier to renew its Air Travel Operator’s Licence (ATOL) licence.With its ATOL due to expire on Sunday, analysts at Credit Suisse said they expected further developments could be imminent.A spokesman for Wizz Air declined to comment on the Sky report, while easyJet was not immediately available for comment.$1 = 0.7449 pounds Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/monarch-airlines-ma/holiday-carrier-monarch-airlines-says-talking-to-potential-partners-idINL8N1M94PA'|'2017-09-28T12:43:00.000+03:00'
'73a6cb9f7f403e1fef0486618ea6d73fe4ff9d9a'|'Siemens, Alstom join forces to create European rail champion'|'FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and French rival Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) agreed on Tuesday to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion to better withstand the international advance of Chinese state-owned CRRC ( 601766.SS ).Siemens will own 50 percent of the joint venture, the companies said, while Alstom will supply Henri Poupart-Lafarge as chief executive, helping to counter criticism that France is giving up control of another national industrial icon.Annual synergies are estimated at 470 million euros ($554 million) in year four after the closing of the deal, a joint statement published on Alstom’s website showed.“This Franco-German merger of equals sends a strong signal in many ways. We put the European idea to work and together with our friends at Alstom, we are creating a new European champion in the rail industry for the long term,” said Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser.The deal is a blow to Canadian transportation group Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), which also held talks with Siemens, sources have said, and which faces a separate battle this week to protect jobs in Quebec and Northern Ireland.The Siemens and Alstom transport businesses, which span the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signaling and rail technology, had combined sales of about 15 billion euros ($18 billion) in their last fiscal years, .Reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Richard Lough '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens-statement/siemens-alstom-join-forces-to-create-european-rail-champion-idINKCN1C12XM'|'2017-09-26T18:16:00.000+03:00'
'57ab1580f2200d932eb9588fef7bc17486330542'|'Aviva sells Italian JV to Banco BPM for 265 million euros'|' 30 AM / in 15 minutes Aviva sells Italian JV to Banco BPM for 265 million euros   LONDON (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva ( AV.L ) said on Friday it had agreed to sell its Italian joint venture to Banco BPM for 265 million euros (£232.73 million) in cash. The sale of Avipop Assicurazioni will not affect Aviva’s other Italian operations and is expected to complete in 2018, subject to regulatory approval, it said in a statement. Aviva said the price represents 27.1 times Aviva’s share of the joint venture’s 2016 earnings after tax and will increase its Solvency II capital by around 200 million pounds. Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Rachel Armstrong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aviva-m-a-italy/aviva-sells-italian-jv-to-banco-bpm-for-265-million-euros-idUKKCN1C40KQ'|'2017-09-29T09:30:00.000+03:00'
'3c654a9f0ca2c70b824e00bb5b4488e34e95222b'|'France''s Orange CEO sees little prospects for pan-European mergers: Les Echos'|'September 28, 2017 / 9:08 PM / Updated 9 hours ago France''s Orange CEO sees little prospects for pan-European mergers: Les Echos Reuters Staff 2 Min Read French telecom operator Orange Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard attends a shareholders meeting in Paris, France, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - The chief executive of French telecoms company Orange said he did not see at present opportunities for large pan-European mergers and ruled out buying a stake in media group Vivendi, according to remarks published on Thursday. French and German leaders have for years called for the creation of “European champions” such as Airbus to capitalize on the strengths of Europe’s single market and create the scale needed to compete with U.S. and Asian rivals. The comments by Stephane Richard come after investors welcomed a merger of the rail businesses of Germany’s Siemens and France’s Alstom, billed as creating a European champion. “I looked at all possibilities, both of great European marriages: Franco-German, Franco-Spanish,” Richard told Les Echos newspaper. “I do not see today a project that creates value and is achievable. Current political, economic and social conditions do not allow it.” When asked about a hypothetical tie-up with fellow French operator Bouygues or Vivendi, Richard appeared to close the door to both options. “Bouygues is following a policy of lone development. In the short term, there is little scope for rapprochement,” he said. “For Vivendi, there is no discussion. Vivendi is a mix of content, some of which, like music, are not relevant to Orange. Vivendi owns 25 percent of Telecom Italia but we are not interested in taking them back.” Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Hugh Lawson '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-france-orange/frances-orange-ceo-sees-little-prospects-for-pan-european-mergers-les-echos-idINKCN1C336C'|'2017-09-28T19:08:00.000+03:00'
'aa4706681fdffa480d589c558d8b7d38f121b9b8'|'FCC finds ''effective competition'' in U.S. wireless market'|'Specialist traders work at the post where Sprint is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved a report that found for the first time since 2009 there is “effective competition” in the wireless market, a finding that could help Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc to merge.Reuters reported last week that the wireless carriers are close to agreeing on tentative terms on a deal to merge, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers.The transaction would significantly consolidate the U.S. telecommunications market and represent the first transformative U.S. merger with significant antitrust risk since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said “most reasonable people see a fiercely competitive marketplace” citing intense price competition carriers. “This is strong, incontrovertible evidence,” he added.The FCC approved the report by a 3-2 vote.A decade ago there were seven major U.S. wireless carriers and today the largest four carriers led by Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc control 98.8 percent of the U.S. market, according to the FCC.The FCC would need to approve any merger as would the Justice Department. In 2014, the FCC and Justice Department told the carriers they would not back a merger and the companies abandoned merger talks.Pedestrians use their smart phones as they pass a T-Mobile retail store in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel referenced the potential looming merger.“While this report celebrates the presence of four nationwide wireless providers, let’s be mindful that a transaction may soon be announced that seeks to combine two of these four,” Rosenworcel said.“For my part, any transaction before us will require someone to explain how consumers will benefit, how prices will not rise, and how innovation will not dissipate in the face of so much more industry concentration.”She added: “Someone will also need to explain how having fewer potential big bidders in upcoming spectrum auctions will not render our most potent distribution mechanism substantially less powerful.”FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the competition report “takes a decidedly myopic view of the ecosystem, and instead focuses only on ‘competition in the provision of mobile wireless services.’ This is like a doctor looking at one organ and pronouncing a patient fit as a fiddle.”FCC Republican Commissioner Mike O‘Rielly praised the report and noted intense wireless competition has led to price cuts, despite carriers investing $200 billion in networks over the last six years.AT&T said in a statement the report shows “with an array of providers, pricing plans and service offerings to choose from, there’s no question that consumers are reaping the benefits of a competitive industry.”Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Marguerita Choy '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fcc-telecoms/fcc-finds-effective-competition-in-u-s-wireless-market-idUSKCN1C12MW'|'2017-09-27T02:22:00.000+03:00'
'3b4177087afa0d6443c78ca3450d5b7fc65e37a5'|'AIG to restructure into three new units, marking CEO''s first big move'|'  9:33 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago AIG to restructure into three new units, marking CEO''s first big move Suzanne Barlyn , Sweta Singh 4 Min Read American International Group Inc. (AIG)   Brian Duperreault seen at AIG headquarters on the day of the company''s 2017 annual shareholder meeting in New York, U.S., June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Suzanne Barlyn (Reuters) - American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ) said on Monday it will reorganize into three new units and will no longer have separate commercial and consumer businesses, marking the first major strategic move by new   Brian Duperreault. Under the new structure, AIG will have a general insurance business, a life and retirement unit and a stand-alone technology unit. Two of those businesses will be led by longtime colleagues Duperreault recruited to AIG in July. The shakeup marks Duperreault’s first major restructuring action after taking the helm of the company in May. Former CEO Peter Hancock stepped down, citing a lack of confidence from the board and investors. Widely seen as a turnaround expert, Duperreault, 70, has said he wants to grow AIG’s businesses. The insurer’s stock has underperformed rivals and the broader market for almost a decade since its near collapse and $182 billion taxpayer-funded bailout during the financial crisis in 2008. AIG shares rose 0.5 percent on Monday, closing at $61.01. For his leadership team, Duperreault selected Peter Zaffino to be CEO of AIG’s general insurance unit. Formerly head of Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc’s ( MMC.N ) brokerage business, he was previously Duperreault’s choice as AIG’s chief operating officer. Kevin Hogan will head the new life and retirement unit. An AIG veteran, he most recently ran the consumer insurance unit. Seraina Macia will be CEO of the technology unit, AIG said. She is the former head of Hamilton USA, North American arm of Duperreault’s former company, Hamilton Insurance Group Ltd. AIG agreed to buy Hamilton USA for $110 million in May. The insurer also named a new general counsel, Lucy Fato, on Sept. 5. Rob Schimek, CEO of AIG’s commercial unit, will leave the company at the end of October, AIG said. “I could not be more proud of what this company has accomplished over the last 12 years, from navigating the financial crisis and winning back the confidence of our partners and clients, to focusing on innovations that have outpaced the market,” Schimek wrote in an memo to AIG employees. The restructuring ”better aligns with how investors actually prefer to analyse AIG,” said Meyer Shields, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Duperreault’s changes place a greater focus on product underwriting rather than on AIG’s relationships to clients, said Credit Suisse analyst Ryan Tunis in a note. AIG still needs more hires with commercial underwriting expertise, Tunis said. AIG said it expects its year-end financial reporting to reflect the new structure, which will also be aligned with its incentive and performance management plans. The insurer has been trying to convince U.S. regulators to shed its “systemically important financial institution” label, which triggers stricter oversight and greater capital requirements. AIG received the label after the bailout by the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury during the financial crisis. Since then, AIG has sold dozens of businesses, including two Asian life insurance operations and one of the world’s biggest aircraft leasing businesses. It recently sold a mortgage-insurance unit. It remains the largest commercial insurer in the United States and Canada. Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr, Bill Rigby and David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aig-restructure/aig-to-restructure-into-three-new-units-marking-ceos-first-big-move-idUKKCN1C02YS'|'2017-09-26T00:33:00.000+03:00'
'c919e0988d1138f22be5c41bb45af429eb51f8c9'|'Fortum CEO rules out forced layoffs at Uniper in case of deal: WAZ'|'September 26, 2017 / 11:03 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Fortum CEO rules out forced layoffs at Uniper in case of deal: WAZ Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Fortum CEO Pekka Lundmark listens during an interview at company headquarters in Espoo, Finland, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Tuomas Forsell FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Finnish energy group Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) ruled out forced layoffs at Uniper ( UN01.DE ) in case of a successful acquisition of E.ON’s ( EONGn.DE ) 46.65 percent stake in the group, its chief executive told a German newspaper. There would be “no compulsory layoffs or a relocation of the Duesseldorf headquarters”, Pekka Lundmark told Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung in remarks published on Tuesday. “If the investment works out there won’t be consequences for the employees of Uniper.” The remarks come a day after Uniper boss Klaus Schaefer described as “hostile” an attempt by Fortum to buy the stake currently held by E.ON, which would automatically trigger a takeover offer for the whole group. Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Arno Schuetze '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-oyj/fortum-ceo-rules-out-forced-layoffs-at-uniper-in-case-of-deal-waz-idINKCN1C11B8'|'2017-09-26T09:03:00.000+03:00'
'e6b2631247a6b835d15e2b48d61b7cd08f513cf1'|'German jobless rate hits new record low of 5.6 percent in September'|'  8:24 AM / in 7 minutes German jobless rate hits new record low of 5.6 percent in September Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People wait inside a job centre in Berlin April 1, 2008. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s jobless rate fell to a new record low of 5.6 percent in September and the number of unemployed people fell far more than expected, data showed on Friday, highlighting the strength of the labour market in Europe’s largest economy. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 percent, the lowest level since reunification in 1990, after 5.7 percent in August data from the Federal Labour Office showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to hold steady. The jobless total fell by 23,000 to 2.506 million in seasonally adjusted terms, the data showed. That compared with the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a fall of 5,000 and was a steeper drop than that projected by even the most optimistic economist, who had expected a fall of 15,000. For a table of figures, click on: Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Paul Carrel'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-unemployment/german-jobless-rate-hits-new-record-low-of-5-6-percent-in-september-idUKKCN1C40YA'|'2017-09-29T11:23:00.000+03:00'
'e5e7e3074c3ef95b3df048df6d59a0501c1fd581'|'Uniper CFO warns of credit risk in case of Fortum takeover: BoeZ'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Uniper ( UN01.DE ) fears it could lose its crucial investment grade rating if a planned takeover by Finnish peer Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) goes ahead, its chief financial officer told a German paper.Fortum earlier this week said it would launch a 22-euro-per-share offer for Uniper, valuing it at 8.05 billion euros ($9.50 billion). The price drew criticism from Standard & Poor‘s, which placed its ‘BBB+/A-2’ ratings on Fortum on creditwatch with negative implications.So far, S&P has a ‘BBB-’ rating on Uniper, one notch above junk, which Chief Financial Officer Christopher Delbrueck fears could be at risk if the deal goes ahead.“We are very close to our target of a comfortable investment grade rating. We could lose that status as part of a takeover in the current set-up,” he told Boersen-Zeitung. “That destroys value for investors and sets back Uniper in its development.”Uniper’s net debt stood 3.26 billion euros at as of June, far bigger than Fortum’s 605 million euros. Uniper Chief Executive Klaus Schaefer told Reuters earlier this week that he saw the offer by Fortum as hostile.Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-oyj/uniper-cfo-warns-of-credit-risk-in-case-of-fortum-takeover-boez-idUSKCN1C425I'|'2017-09-29T22:42:00.000+03:00'
'0f29f6017f5ab11b4538f22ce47925f3de67874a'|'Japan''s inflation, labour demand and factory output signal solid economic recovery'|'  2:00 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Japan''s inflation, labor demand and factory output signal solid economic recovery Leika Kihara , Stanley White 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at t-shirts in a clothing retail store at Ginza shopping district in Tokyo April 25, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s core inflation accelerated in August, industrial output rose more than expected and demand for labor remained at its strongest in over 40 years in a further sign of solid momentum in the world’s third-largest economy. The flurry of data should bolster optimism about the outlook for growth, though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to call a snap election has raised some uncertainty over economic policy. There was also some uneasiness about monetary policy after a summary of the Bank of Japan’s most recent meeting showed one board member wanted an expansion of stimulus as consumer prices remain distant from the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target. Nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 0.7 percent, matching a median market forecast. It was the eighth straight month of gains in the index, and followed a 0.5 percent rise in July. “Prices are rising gradually. Exports are supporting output and domestic demand doesn’t look too bad,” said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute. “As long as Abe remains in power, we will see a continuation of his policies, but it all depends on the election.” Indeed, demand for labor remains at the strongest level since 1974 with data showing the jobs-applicants ratio held steady at 1.52 in August. Industrial output also rose a larger-than-expected 2.1 percent in August from the previous month as manufacturers of construction equipment, autos, and electronic parts produced more goods. Manufacturers surveyed by the government expect output to fall 1.9 percent in September and then expand by 3.5 percent in October. Politics, however, added a layer of uncertainty over the outlook for growth, with inflation still well behind the BOJ’s target. Abe on Thursday dissolved the lower house and called a snap election for Oct. 22. Initially, his ruling coalition looked certain to retain its majority. However, the outcome has been thrown into doubt because the largest opposition party has abandoned the election and will allow its members to run for a newly formed party that may be more popular with voters. The summary of the BOJ’s rate review this month did not identify who spoke or what specific measures were proposed. However, the central bank’s announcement after its Sept. 20-21 meeting showed board newcomer Goushi Kataoka, a vocal advocate of aggressive easing, dissented to the BOJ’s decision to leave policy unchanged, saying it is insufficient to meet the 2 percent inflation target. Japan’s economy expanded at an annualized 2.5 percent in the second quarter as consumer and company spending picked up. But price and wage growth remain weak with firms still wary of passing more of their profits to employees, forcing the BOJ to push back the timing for reaching its price target six times since deploying a massive stimulus program in 2013. The BOJ now expects inflation to hit 2 percent in the fiscal year ending in March 2020, arguing that a tightening job market and solid economic growth will gradually push up prices. Friday’s data also showed core consumer prices in Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, were up 0.5 percent in September from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast. Household spending rose 0.6 percent in August from a year earlier in price-adjusted real terms, but this was below the median estimate of a 1.0 percent increase and suggests that consumer spending is slowing slightly after a strong performance in April-June quarter. “I‘m not pessimistic on consumption,” said Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. “The labor market is tight and disposable income is rising. Consumer spending can remain on firm footing.” Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy/japans-inflation-labor-demand-and-factory-output-signal-solid-economic-recovery-idUKKCN1C407H'|'2017-09-29T04:55:00.000+03:00'
'd18ce5b20d47fa117b2c23ad293f1fff0fa9cd8b'|'Bank of England warns on draft law for handling failed clearing houses'|' 05 PM / in 11 minutes Bank of England warns on draft law for handling failed clearing houses Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The European Union should not circumvent long-standing principles in insolvency proceedings when allocating losses from a failed clearing house, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Friday. The bloc is scrutinising a draft law governing the closing down of a struggling clearing house, a third party that comes between both sides of a stock, bond or derivatives trade to ensure completion of the transaction. Cunliffe said the draft law should stick to the legal principle of “no creditor worse off than in insolvency”. He said one school of thought was that regulators should have flexibility to tamper with this principle in order to preserve financial stability. But this would raise the question of whose financial stability would be given priority bearing in mind that clearing houses operate across many countries, Cunliffe said. “The UK does not support that approach,” Cunliffe told a conference in London. The arcane world of clearing has moved onto the political agenda since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2019. The bloc has proposed a separate law giving powers to require clearing of euro-denominated trades to shift from the UK to the EU if it does not have joint supervision of clearers in London. The BoE has a mechanism for closing down or “resolving” ailing banks, and Cunliffe said “in my view, the case is probably made for a resolution regime for insurers”. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-clearing-regulations/bank-of-england-warns-on-draft-law-for-handling-failed-clearing-houses-idUSL8N1MA4E7'|'2017-09-29T17:03:00.000+03:00'
'517ffc43d5f2677c9222b5c501284de9df899802'|'McDonald’s wages a food fight in India'|'IN MOST ways the McDonald’s outlet in Jangpura, a gentrifying neighbourhood in south Delhi, looks like one anywhere else, with bright displays, plastic seating and a familiar menu. But this week a disconcerting sign warns that “unpredictable” conditions have affected tomato supplies; none are available. Not bad though for a store that McDonald’s has been trying to close since September 6th. Over a third of its 400 or so outlets in India were supposed to shut their doors then—yet nearly all are still slinging McSpicy Paneers to customers.War rages between McDonald’s India and Vikram Bakshi of Connaught Place Restaurants Limited (CPRL), who first brought the American chain to India in 1996 as a local partner in a 50-50 joint venture, starting in Delhi (along with another franchisee, Hardcastle Restaurants, which went into the southern and western states). Over the next two decades, Mr Bakshi expanded in the north and east. In 2008 McDonald’s tried to buy out Mr Bakshi’s share for $7m, but he had evidence from an accounting firm that his stake was worth $331m.  15   15   15   From his upstairs office in a residential colony near the Jangpura store, Mr Bakshi has been giving hell to the world’s biggest restaurant chain. In 2013 McDonald’s had him ousted as CPRL’s managing director. He sued to be reinstated, then sued to have his stake revalued, and again to keep control of 169 branches without interference from the mother ship.When McDonald’s tried to take him to the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in December 2013, he complained of “oppression and mismanagement” to an Indian national tribunal and won a reprieve; only in 2016 did another Indian court allow the chain’s case to proceed to the LCIA. Mr Bakshi is now trying his luck with an appeal to yet another court, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. The battle illustrates multinationals’ worst fears about India, from the instability built into the joint-venture model to the ease of stymieing legal judgments.The prospects for McDonald’s in India look appealing, thanks to expanding middle classes. But Mr Bakshi’s chain all but ceased growing since he crossed swords with the golden arches. He shows no signs of giving up. Now his hope is that the appellate tribunal will find in his favour on the LCIA case after a hearing due on October 25th.Meanwhile, McDonald’s seems to be taking matters into its own hands and squeezing Mr Bakshi’s suppliers. Jangpura’s ketchup comes from Cremica Food Industries in Punjab. Cremica stopped shipping to CPRL in August (it will not say why). Over the approaching holiday weekend of Dussehra, a Hindu festival, the restaurants should see their heaviest footfall of the year. McDonald’s worst fear must be that Mr Bakshi will find a way to carry on for months or years using its brand. But no tomato, then no ketchup. These are formidable weapons.  "Not lovin’ it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729783-vikram-bakshi-keeps-foiling-mcdonalds-indias-courts-mcdonalds-wages-food-fight-india?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'31df71ed9af650d4e82126d1ab5eae98a8d63cdf'|'Murdoch opponent challenges UK regulator over Sky deal'|'FILE PHOTO: The 21st Century Fox logo is seen outside the News Corporation headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Activist group Avaaz stepped up its battle to stop Rupert Murdoch buying Sky ( SKYB.L ), launching a legal challenge to the regulator’s view that the pay-TV group would still be a “fit and proper” owner of a broadcasting license if the deal goes ahead.Britain’s broadcasting regulator Ofcom ran a “fit and proper” test when it assessed whether the $15 billion deal to bring Sky under the full control of Murdoch’s Fox ( FOXA.O ) should be reviewed on the grounds of broadcasting standards and media plurality.It said in June that if Sky were fully owned by Twenty-First Century Fox, it would still be “fit and proper” to hold a broadcasting license, and also said it had no serious concerns about Fox’s commitment to broadcasting standards.Despite Ofcom’s recommendations, Britain’s Culture Secretary Karen Bradley decided this month to refer the deal to a wide-ranging review on the grounds of broadcasting standards and media plurality, which looks at Murdoch’s influence across Britain’s newspaper and broadcasters.Online pressure group Avaaz said it was filing papers in court on Friday seeking a judicial review of Ofcom’s “fit and proper” decision.It claims Ofcom did not correctly assess standards at Fox News and the track record of Fox CEO James Murdoch, Rupert’s son, who was responsible for Murdoch’s British newspapers during a phone-hacking scandal in 2011.“Repeated, large-scale scandals in the Murdoch empire indicate that something is very rotten at the core of their businesses,” said Avaaz campaign director Alex Wilks.“Ofcom didn’t dig deep enough before declaring the Murdochs fit to own even more of our media.”Ofcom said it would defend its ruling.“We will defend our ‘fit and proper’ assessment, which was independent, expert and based on the evidence,” a spokesman said.James Murdoch said earlier this month that the deal should be assessed solely on the evidence and not to settle political scores.“Whether or not 30 years ago someone had a grievance about a political position that a newspaper took ... is irrelevant,” James Murdoch, who is CEO of Fox and chairman of Sky, said at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention.Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sky-m-a-fox-challenge/murdoch-opponent-challenges-uk-regulator-over-sky-deal-idINKCN1C413H'|'2017-09-29T07:20:00.000+03:00'
'4413c34f777ae4068456ce147e93a40970c5963e'|'Exclusive: AC Milan''s Chinese owner seeks new investors - sources'|'FILE PHOTO: Yonghong Li shows a AC Milan jersey during a news conference in Milan, Italy, April 14, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo MILAN (Reuters) - The Chinese owner of former European soccer champions AC Milan is looking for one or more investors to share the financial burden, less than six months after buying the loss-making Italian club, two sources said on Friday.Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi finalized the sale of AC Milan in April to a Chinese-led consortium headed by Li Yonghong in a 740 million euro ($872 million) deal, the biggest Chinese investment in a European soccer club.But Li has since effectively become the sole investor after his partners backed out following Beijing’s crackdown on foreign acquisitions, especially in soccer, according to a source close to the matter.The source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Li would be more comfortable sharing the financial risk associated with managing and investing in the club, which lost 75 million euros in 2016 and is expected to remain in the red for this year at least.A spokeswoman for AC Milan said there was no indication of any potential changes in the club’s ownership.Reuters was unable to reach Li or his representatives in China. Attempts to find a contact for Li in Milan proved unsuccessful.AC Milan spent 230 million euros on players during the latest transfer season, behind only Paris St Germain and Manchester City. AC Milan is competing in Europe’s second tier cup competition and lies sixth in the domestic league.A second source said one option being considered to lure potential new investors, including Italian ones, was a Chinese market listing within a couple of years.The first source said other Chinese investors could emerge if the authorities soften their stance on foreign investment after the Chinese Communist party congress starting on Oct. 18.The sale of AC Milan to Li took far longer than expected to complete as Beijing clamped down on non-strategic foreign acquisitions, especially vanity deals in the sports industry.In parallel to the investor search, Li’s advisers are also working on the possibility of refinancing the Chinese group’s debt with U.S. private equity fund Elliott - which rescued the deal at the 11th hour, a third source said.Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ) are in the running for the refinancing, this source said.Elliott gave Li a 180 million euro lifeline in March to complete the purchase plus 128 million euros to inject into the team, finance the acquisition of players and allow the club to repay its debt with banks.The loans, with an average interest rate of just below 10 percent, will have to be repaid by October 2018.Additional reporting by Adam Jourdan in Shanghai; writing by Giulia Segreti; editing by Silvia Aloisi and David Clarke '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-acmilan-investors-exclusive/exclusive-ac-milans-chinese-owner-seeks-new-investors-sources-idINKCN1C4180'|'2017-09-29T07:39:00.000+03:00'
'84608d0b96c31842584f8a3f13e1c7bde8d36c04'|'A shareholder pact is rocked by Liliane Bettencourt’s death'|'DEATH does not end all uncertainties. News that Liliane Bettencourt, a glamorous 94-year-old Parisian heiress, died on September 20th has provoked a flurry of investor speculation over L’Oréal, the world’s biggest cosmetics company. She had held a controlling stake in the firm her father, an inventor of hair dyes, founded in 1909. Its market value has since grown to be a whisker short of €100bn ($117bn).Her death brings few immediate consequences. An Alzheimer’s sufferer, she had been declared legally unfit to manage her concerns. That followed a scandal, made public in 2010 after her butler secretly recorded politicians, lawyers and friends as they bilked her for millions of euros. The case still haunts Nicolas Sarkozy, an ex-president. He seethed in October that opponents had stymied his return to politics by repeating allegations he profited from the “sordid Bettencourt affair” (he was cleared of charges over it in 2013). One nurse of Ms Bettencourt likened her household to a “basket of crabs”, as staff and others battled to pinch her wealth. The drama eased in the past six years after her daughter took control of the family assets, including the one-third stake in L’Oréal. The family affirmed, on September 21st, their “entire commitment and loyalty to L’Oréal” and its chief executive, Jean-Paul Agon.That suggests no big changes are looming at the firm, which is considered a fleuron , or ornament, of France’s corporate scene. It is certainly flourishing under Mr Agon. L’Oréal’s share price has almost doubled in the past five years. It earned strong operating profits of €4.5bn last year, on sales of €26bn, and expects that profits this year should reach a record 18% of sales.Investors are watching one matter closely—whether relations now change with Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company. It holds a 23.2% stake in L’Oréal, the result of a deal Ms Bettencourt struck in the 1970s to fend off Socialist politicians she feared could nationalise the family firm. Recurrent speculation suggests that Nestlé, which reduced its stake once already, could divest entirely—or might decide to bid for L’Oréal outright. The deal lets either side increase ownership of L’Oréal only six months after Ms Bettencourt’s death.In the event, the news came just before Nestlé’s newish chief executive, Ulf Mark Schneider, was due to offer his plans to investors for the first time, on September 26th. Shareholders have long quipped that the seller of Nescafé, KitKats and Purina pet food has grown stale and lament its loss of market share to fresher rivals. Pressure has risen further after an activist hedge fund, Third Point, in June said it had bought a $3.5bn stake in Nestlé.Mr Schneider set a goal of achieving profit margins of 17.5% to 18.5% by 2020, speeding up share buy-backs and lifting sales of fast-growing products (mostly caffeine-related). The activists wanted all that, but he bluntly refused their demand also to sell the L’Oréal stake, which they say has no part in the firm’s strategy. Mr Schneider retorted that the stake constitutes a “fabulous” investment, generating an average of 12% annual returns in the past 42 years.Politics would probably not get in the way of buying L’Oréal outright. France’s strongly pro-European president, Emmanuel Macron, would struggle to oppose a purely European takeover. And other conglomerates show an appetite for beauty. Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch behemoth, is shifting its portfolio from food to faster-growing categories such as shampoo and skin creams. On September 25th it said it will buy Carver Korea, a Korean beauty firm, for €2.27bn.Yet for Nestlé, taking over L’Oréal would be a financial stretch, and looks impossible without the Bettencourts’ agreement. They show no sign of wanting to sell. The French firm might be willing to do the opposite, buying out the Nestlé investment, for example if it raised funds by selling its own €10bn stake in Sanofi, France’s biggest drugmaker. The domino effect of undoing the Nestlé-L’Oréal pact might mean even more uncertainties ahead. "Because it’s worth it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729805-nestl-s-ties-worlds-biggest-beauty-company-come-under-review-shareholder-pact?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'7ba74d107a0dd7f7adc792be65dbf113d9640876'|'Exclusive - N.Y. regulator subpoenas Equifax over massive breach'|'  6:04 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Exclusive: N.Y. regulator subpoenas Equifax over massive breach Karen Freifeld , John McCrank 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state’s financial services regulator has issued a subpoena to Equifax Inc ( EFX.N ) demanding it provide more information about the massive data breach the credit-reporting firm disclosed this month, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) sent the subpoena to Equifax on Sept. 14, said the person, who declined to be named because the matter has not been made public. The subpoena seeks documents related to the hack that compromised the personal data of up to 143 million Americans, details on when Equifax learned of the breach and what actions it took after it was discovered, as well as other information, the person said. The DFS put out guidance to financial institutions on Sept. 18 about steps they should take to protect consumer information following the breach, but the issuing of the subpoena has not been previously reported. A spokesman for DFS declined to comment. An Equifax spokesman was not immediately available. The state also proposed on Sept. 18 credit reporting agencies be subject to its cybersecurity rule that went into effect on March 1 and requires banks and other financial institutions regulated by DFS to establish a program to protect consumer data and alert the regulator to material breaches. Had Equifax already been subject to the regulation, it would have had to report the breach within 72 hours of its discovery, rather than the 41 days the company took after finding out that consumers’ social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and other sensitive information were compromised. Equifax has lost around $4.5 billion in market value since it disclosed the hack on Sept. 7, which the Atlanta-based company said it detected on July 29 and occurred between mid-May and July. Multiple federal and state agencies are investigating the issue, including the U.S. Department of Justice, which has launched a criminal probe. The fallout continued on Tuesday, with Equifax announcing its Chief Executive Richard Smith, would leave the company and forgo his 2017 bonus. Smith, whose departure followed the exit of Equifax’s chief information officer and chief security officer earlier this month, is still expected to testify at congressional hearings over the hack next week. Three Equifax executives, including the chief financial officer, are also under fire for selling $1.8 million in stock three days after the company said it detected the breach. Equifax said the executives were unaware of the breach at the time. Reporting by John McCrank and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber-new-york-exclusive/exclusive-n-y-regulator-subpoenas-equifax-over-massive-breach-idUKKCN1C22LU'|'2017-09-27T21:00:00.000+03:00'
'4dc09e82aeaee1f0bc5e0b0dd777677042795bc2'|'Chile left-wing candidates could form alliance, threatening market rally'|'Chilean conservative presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Santiago, Chile September 20, 2017. Picture taken September 20, 2017. The banner reads, "Pinera president, better times". REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile’s stock market has priced in a victory of conservative presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera, even though progressive candidates could form an alliance in a December runoff, traders and analysts said.The IPSA stock market index has surged 27 percent this year and is on track for its best year since 2010, spurred by a rebound in prices of top-export copper and polls that have shown Pinera ahead in the race.Pinera, a wealthy businessman and supporter of free-market policies, is expected to come in first by a wide margin in November’s first-round vote, but he is unlikely to win an absolute majority. That would result in a close runoff against the leading progressive candidate.“The majority is left of center,” said Kenneth Bunker, a political scientist at Universidad Central de Chile. “A Pinera victory depends on division within the left.”The most recent GfK Adimark poll shows Pinera, who has consolidated the support of the country’s political right, leading at 34 percent of the vote.Center-left Senator Alejandro Guillier is second with 16 percent, well ahead of several candidates promising to continue President Michelle Bachelet’s socially progressive policies.Hard-left candidate Beatriz Sanchez, who has proposed billions of dollars in new taxes on mining companies, was third at 15 percent.As campaigning officially began last week, Guillier appealed for unity, saying in a radio interview that he would share his policy platform with rivals on the left to try to align their positions.“No one doubts that in the second round we will all be together,” Guillier said at a rally.Chilean conservative presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Santiago, Chile September 20, 2017. Picture taken September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado A BANNER YEAR While Chile remains one of Latin America’s most business-friendly countries, public debt has grown as falling copper prices hit government revenue, and Bachelet critics say she has not prioritized growth.Last month, her top economic officials resigned in part over the government’s rejection of a $2.5 billion copper and iron project on environmental grounds.Slideshow (7 Images) Investors are particularly attentive to candidates’ proposals related to mining, Chile’s most important industry. Guillier and Pinera have both pledged to streamline the mine permitting process, though Guillier has suggested modifying free-trade accords to promote domestic mineral processing.In a banner year for emerging markets, the IPSA has outpaced most regional peers. Brazil’s Bovespa Index has surged 24 percent, Peru’s leading index is up 20 percent, and Colombia’s COLCAP index is up 9 percent. Only Argentina’s Merval, up 49 percent, has surged more.The industrial and raw materials sectors have led Chile’s market gains, surging 55 and 41 percent year to date, respectively. Lithium miner Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA has risen 77 percent in the past 9 months, while shipping firm Compania Sud Americana de Vapores SA is up 97 percent.In recent client notes, Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan have said the so-called “Pinera effect” has passed and that now might be the time for traders to take profits or wait for election results.Hugo Rubio, president of brokerage BTG Pactual Chile, said a Pinera loss would cause a double-digit drop in the stock market, though the full extent would depend on the candidate.“It’s a risk the markets don’t seem to be alive to at this stage,” said Edward Glossop, emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London. “The risks are to the downside.”Additional reporting by Antonio de la Jara; Editing by Richard Chang '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-election-markets/chile-left-wing-candidates-could-form-alliance-threatening-market-rally-idUSKCN1C131G'|'2017-09-26T23:54:00.000+03:00'
'65ba35d9dcfe7ab595d0ca95b80aa605ae8736c6'|'Amazon expands Echo lineup in bid to defend Alexa edge'|'  6:11 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Amazon expands Echo lineup in bid to defend Alexa edge Jeffrey Dastin 2 Min Read Amazon.com''s logo is seen at Amazon Japan''s office building in Tokyo, Japan, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo SEATTLE (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday announced a range of new voice-controlled Echo devices, as it gears up for new competition in the category from Apple Inc. At a press event at its Seattle headquarters, the world’s largest online retailer showcased new Echo devices, one tailored for gaming and one for phone calls. It also announced the small, circular Echo Spot, fit for video-calling from a bedside table. Amazon also announced the Echo Plus, aiming to make it easier for customers to install connected homes so they can command appliances by voice. “There’s no apps. There’s no skills. It just works out of the box,” Senior Vice President David Limp said, contrasting the Echo Plus with the smart-home setup on previous devices. The Echo Plus will cost $149 in the United States. The announcement comes after Apple announced its $349 HomePod speaker earlier this year, marking its first move into a completely new area in more than two years. Apple has leapt ahead of peers in the past when it launched competing gadgets, and many are already familiar with its voice-powered Siri assistant. The new lineup underscores how Amazon wants its own voice-controlled assistant Alexa, which powers the Echo devices, to work in a range of activities and to become a top computing platform like Microsoft Corp’s Windows. Amazon also sells items from its retail website by voice. Alphabet Inc’s Google has a competing product, the Google Home, though it lags Echo devices in market share, according to research firm eMarketer. Amazon also announced on Wednesday a new Fire TV player and said Alexa would be available in some BMW cars starting in the middle of next year. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Seattle; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-amazon-com-alexa/amazon-announces-new-echo-devices-voice-aide-alexa-coming-to-bmw-idUKKCN1C22MF'|'2017-09-27T22:35:00.000+03:00'
'1d81b7c4ffe12d76097a8eaaab095647822122e5'|'WHO urges govts to reject Philip Morris smoking foundation'|'GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization advised governments on Thursday to reject a plan by tobacco firm Philip Morris International to set up a Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.“The tobacco industry and its front groups have misled the public about the risks associated with other tobacco products,” the U.N. health agency said in a statement.“Such misleading conduct continues today with companies, including PMI, marketing tobacco products in ways that misleadingly suggest that some tobacco products are less harmful than others,” it said.“WHO will not partner with the Foundation. Governments should not partner with the Foundation and the public health community should follow this lead.”Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-tobacco/who-urges-governments-to-reject-philip-morris-smoking-foundation-idUSKCN1C31X4'|'2017-09-28T16:31:00.000+03:00'
'b3e4676e1c7d693e658e44a691c316e394485c9f'|'McDonald faces tough task to look good in M&S fashion'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:47 PM / Updated 7 hours ago McDonald faces tough task to look good in M&S fashion James Davey 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A customer looks at a clothing display at a Marks & Spencer shop in central London May 21, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Jill McDonald picks up something of a poisoned chalice when she starts as boss of clothing at Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ) on Monday, with little room to maneuver as she tackles one of the biggest jobs in British retailing on her first foray into fashion. McDonald’s retail credentials are strong, but they were earned as CEO of bicycles to car parts company Halfords ( HFD.L ) and she will have to work within a blueprint set out by her new boss as she looks to deliver the sustained sales and profit growth that has eluded M&S for a decade in competition with a burgeoning fast-fashion market. She will have to operate within the confines of the detailed strategy already set out by Chief Executive Steve Rowe, an M&S lifer. She must also work under the chairmanship of Archie Norman, who joined M&S this month and is known for turning around some of Britain’s biggest companies. To compound matters, Rowe and predecessor Marc Bolland have already used sourcing directors Mark and Neal Lindsey to boost profit margins by changing the way M&S buys and makes clothes, taking away any easy gains for a new boss. “If you’re not given free rein to implement the strategy that you want, you’ve got one hand tied behind your back,” said a former M&S director speaking on condition of anonymity. In its 1990s heyday M&S was the go-to British high street destination for clothes, selling everything from party dresses to suits and underwear. In 1997 it became the first UK retailer to post profit of 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion). But while the 133-year-old group remains the Britain’s largest clothing retailer in sales terms, it has been squeezed by the likes of Inditex’s ( ITX.MC ) Zara, H&M ( HMb.ST ) and Primark, owned by Associated British Foods ( ABF.L ). Profit was 614 million pounds in 2016-17. RADICAL RETHINK? Rowe’s strategy is focused on reduced prices for entry-level ranges, cutting back on clearance sales and promotions while improving service. He also has a five-year program to close some stores and restructure others to reflect faster-growing online sales. Some analysts have questioned whether Rowe’s plans are sufficiently radical, but he told shareholders in July that he was convinced it is the right strategy. That makes it hard for McDonald. “Is she just coming in to execute that plan?,” the former director said. “Let’s say she wants to do something really quite radical that’s going to have a major impact on the bottom line. Rowe might say, ‘you can’t do that to me, I‘m 18 months in ... I’ve given guidance to the City’.” McDonald will have overall profit and loss accountability for all aspects of M&S non-food business, from design and sourcing through to the supply chain and logistics. FILE PHOTO: A man leaves a Marks & Spencer store in London, Britain in this January 7, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo She will work alongside Jo Jenkins, clothing and beauty director, and Queralt Ferrer, director of design. Richard Marwood, senior fund manager at M&S investor Royal London Asset Management, said McDonald could be under pressure to cut margins or increase prices after the Brexit-related slump in sterling, which is also weighing on consumer spending. “The challenge of boosting growth in M&S’s clothing business will be no mean feat,” he said. Rowe maintains that the naysayers miss the point. He has highlighted McDonald’s “fantastic customer insight” and a bank of operational, retail and leadership experience developed at Halfords and fast-food giant McDonald’s ( MCD.N ). COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS “Whether you’re buying bikes and bike pieces or dresses and dress pieces, there’s the same type of negotiation needed, the same level of detail needed in terms of sourcing and profit margins and relationships with suppliers,” said one person with knowledge of the appointment process. M&S insiders also point to McDonald’s all-encompassing job title of managing director, a subtle difference from previous incumbents’ title of director of clothing and home. The suggestion is that the change means her role could include wider issues, such as the online service proposition that has lagged behind those of rivals. McDonald will, however, have to deal with a complex set of director relationships. Reporting to McDonald will be Jenkins, who has more than 25 years of fashion experience. She was passed over by Rowe for the top clothing job but may have to teach McDonald the clothing ropes. Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Helen Weir will lose responsibilities for clothing, home and beauty supply chain and logistics, which she has handled since last year. There is also a danger that McDonald could be caught between Rowe and new chairman Norman, whose previous turnaround exploits include supermarket chain Asda and broadcaster ITV and who won’t shy away from tough decisions. “Archie’s pretty hands-on, asking questions and probing strategy. That can be quite a distraction,” said the former M&S director. McDonald has given away little so far. “Whatever business I’ve worked in, the number one lesson -- and I’ll take it forward to M&S -- is you have to stay as close as possible to your customers,” she told reporters. “It’s amazing how easy it is to slip off that path.” Additional reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Kate Holton and David Goodman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-m-s-moves/mcdonald-faces-tough-task-to-look-good-in-ms-fashion-idUSKCN1C31RJ'|'2017-09-28T15:45:00.000+03:00'
'46c5ded20a2a0c9d37ca52a2f966a3c6eec6d419'|'Key U.S. senators announce deal on self-driving car legislation'|'WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Two key U.S. senators said late on Wednesday they had reached a bipartisan deal on sweeping legislation aimed at easing hurdles to getting self-driving cars to drivers.U.S. Senator John Thune, a Republican who chairs the Commerce Committee, and Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said they reached a deal on the legislation that will be voted on by the committee on Oct. 4.The pair said they planned to release the text on Thursday. Two sources briefed on the matter said the bill is not expected to include larger commercial trucks, which some Democrats and labor leaders had opposed including, but many Republicans wanted.General Motors Co, Alphabet Inc, Ford Motor Co and others have lobbied for the legislation. A similar bill was unanimously passed by the U.S. House earlier this month. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/autos-selfdriving/key-u-s-senators-announce-deal-on-self-driving-car-legislation-idINL2N1M901N'|'2017-09-27T23:06:00.000+03:00'
'7ea4f14765c1212e292d00e12dc5ffcbc1f4fb12'|'Siemens, Alstom join forces to create European rail champion'|'September 26, 2017 / 8:16 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Siemens, Alstom join forces to create European rail champion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and French rival Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) agreed on Tuesday to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion to better withstand the international advance of Chinese state-owned CRRC ( 601766.SS ). Siemens will own 50 percent of the joint venture, the companies said, while Alstom will supply Henri Poupart-Lafarge as chief executive, helping to counter criticism that France is giving up control of another national industrial icon. Annual synergies are estimated at 470 million euros ($554 million) in year four after the closing of the deal, a joint statement published on Alstom’s website showed. “This Franco-German merger of equals sends a strong signal in many ways. We put the European idea to work and together with our friends at Alstom, we are creating a new European champion in the rail industry for the long term,” said Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser. The deal is a blow to Canadian transportation group Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), which also held talks with Siemens, sources have said, and which faces a separate battle this week to protect jobs in Quebec and Northern Ireland. The Siemens and Alstom transport businesses, which span the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signaling and rail technology, had combined sales of about 15 billion euros ($18 billion) in their last fiscal years, . Related Coverage '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-siemens-statement/siemens-alstom-join-forces-to-create-european-rail-champion-idUSKCN1C12XM'|'2017-09-26T23:16:00.000+03:00'
'40c9ea8ca7fa0f6f2cb5c0089f2b5215251f078b'|'Pirelli cuts top IPO valuation by 19 pct - document'|'MILAN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Italian tyremaker Pirelli has lowered the top valuation it can achieve in its initial public offering by 19 percent to 6.7 billion euros ($7.9 billion), a notice to investors seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.Pirelli now plans to price its shares at between 6.5 and 6.7 euros each, compared with an initial guidance of between 6.3 and 8.30 euros a share.The IPO is fully covered within the tightened price range and books are expected to close on Thursday at 1200 GMT. ($1 = 0.8510 euros) (Reporting by Elisa Anzolin, writing by Valentina Za, editing by Mark Bendeich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/pirelli-ipo-range/pirelli-cuts-top-ipo-valuation-by-19-pct-document-idINI6N1LL025'|'2017-09-27T08:17:00.000+03:00'
'd79668a7d01f1aa631ea84ca96a0cdad5102b845'|'Uber to defend business model at UK tribunal on worker rights'|'September 26, 2017 / 11:04 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Uber to defend business model at UK tribunal on worker rights Costas Pitas 3 Min Read A message on the Uber app is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - Uber [UBER.UL] is expected to tell a British employment appeal tribunal on Wednesday that its drivers are self-employed and not workers entitled to a range of extra benefits, less than a week after the firm was told it would lose its London licence. The U.S. ride hailing service has faced regulatory and legal setbacks around the world amid opposition from traditional taxi services and concern among some regulators. It has been forced to quit several countries, such as Denmark and Hungary. Losing its licence in London, one of the world’s wealthiest cities, is one of the U.S. technology firm’s biggest setbacks so far. The London regulator cited the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. It can operate during its appeal, which could last months. Last year, two drivers successfully argued at a tribunal that Uber exerted significant control over them to provide an on-demand taxi service and had responsibilities in terms of workers’ rights. At the two-day appeal hearing starting on Wednesday Uber will argue its drivers are self-employed and work the same way as those at long-established local taxi firms, according to a court document seen by Reuters. The self-employed are entitled to only basic protections such as health and safety, but workers receive benefits such as the minimum wage, paid holidays and rest breaks. This would add to Uber’s costs and bureaucracy across Britain. The Uber app is seen on mobile telephone in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Those in a third category, called employees, receive all those entitlements as well as other benefits such as statutory sick pay and maternity or paternity leave. “Almost all taxi and private-hire drivers have been self-employed for decades before our app existed,” an Uber spokesman said before Wednesday’s hearing. “Uber drivers have more control and are totally free to choose if, when and where they drive with no shifts or minimum hours,” he said. Trade union-led protestors are expected to march through central London on Wednesday against what they deem “precarious labour” in the ‘gig economy’, where people work for various employers at the same time without fixed contracts. Uber faces a further challenge as law firm Leigh Day said it would represent a female driver who says Uber is putting her and other women at risk as the driver does not know the passenger’s destination until they are already in the car and that could mean travelling to a remote or unsafe area. An Uber spokesman said drivers could cancel trips without penalty and did not have to go to a particular area if they did not want to. He said many women worked for Uber due to its safety features. “One of the main reasons why women choose to drive with Uber is because of the safety features in the app. All trips are GPS tracked and a driver is able to share a live map of their trip with a friend or loved one,” he said. Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-britain-appeal/uber-to-defend-business-model-at-uk-tribunal-on-worker-rights-idUKKCN1C13AB'|'2017-09-27T02:09:00.000+03:00'
'47dab3f4fe2e2216902cd9c286855e29142944dd'|'Rupee hits 6-month low on growth worries'|'September 26, 2017 / 5:52 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Rupee hits 6-month low on growth worries Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A cashier displays the new 2000 Indian rupee banknotes inside a bank in Jammu, November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta/File photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee weakened to its lowest in six months as concerns over weak economic growth and uncertainty over the government’s implementation of reform measures hit foreign investor sentiment. The rupee was at 65.3275 to the dollar after falling to 65.3550, its lowest since March 24, on corporate dollar purchases and dollar outflows from equity markets, said dealers. The Indian currency had ended at 65.12 on Monday. The benchmark BSE index fell 0.5 percent, while the broader NSE index was 0.4 percent lower. “There is panic among foreign investors on fiscal stimulus and growth,” said one dealer at a foreign bank. India’s economic growth slowed to a three-year low of 5.7 percent in the June quarter, prompting the government to plan several steps including fiscal stimulus which would push the fiscal deficit wider than budgeted. The concerns over weak macroeconomic fundamentals has led to foreign investors pulling out dollars from India’s stock markets. So far this month, India has seen a net outflow of $359 million led by a sell-off in stocks. “Debt investors are also worried but they are hedging their forex risks while equity investors are pulling out,” another dealer said. Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-rupee/rupee-hits-6-month-low-on-growth-worries-idINKCN1C10IW'|'2017-09-26T03:52:00.000+03:00'
'eccbba7370d79aa468e3d7a4415b51218d87cee9'|'Video streamer Roku raises $219 million in IPO, prices at top of range'|'(Reuters) - Shares of Roku Inc ( ROKU.O ), a Fox-backed video streaming firm, rose as much as 16.6 percent in their market debut on Thursday, giving the U.S. IPO market a much-needed shot in the arm.The U.S. IPO market is struggling to finish 2017 on a high note even though it has already raked in more money so far this year than it did in 2016. ( reut.rs/2hina3u )Snapchat owner Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), and meal-kit delivery company Blue Apron Holdings Inc ( APRN.N ), which listed in the first-half of the year are trading well below their listing prices.At $16.33, Roku had a market capitalization of $1.55 billion.A pioneer in helping consumers cut the cord from traditional cable, Roku made one of the first devices to offer streaming content such as Netflix over TVs.But the market has since become more competitive, with Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), Alphabet Inc’s Google ( GOOGL.O ), Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and others offering their own devices.To compete better, the California-based firm has opened its platform to more TV apps than its peers, including Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Google Play, allowing it to offer over 3,000 channels internationally.A video sign displays the logo for Roku Inc, a Fox-backed video streaming firm, in Times Square after the company''s IPO at the Nasdaq Market in New York, U.S., September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid The company licenses its software to companies such as Sharp and Hitachi and gets a cut of the advertising revenue from media companies with apps on its platform.In six months ended June 30, Roku had around 15.1 million active accounts, with around 6.74 billion hours of content streamed, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Slideshow (3 Images) Those numbers however haven’t translated into profitability as the company pumps in cash into marketing and R&D.In the quarter ended June 30, the company posted a net loss of $15.5 million, bigger than $14.1 million loss in the year-ago quarter.“I don’t like that they are losing cash but, if you wait for a cash flow positive tech company, you may have to wait for a full solar eclipse to come around again,” Brian Hamilton, chairman and founder, data firm Sageworks said.Roku’s shareholders include Menlo Ventures, Fidelity and Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox.The 15.67 million Class A share offering was priced at $14 per share, the upper end of Roku''s proposed $12 to $14 range, raising about $219.35 million in proceeds. ( bit.ly/2hfyLzZ ) ( bit.ly/2xz1hH8 )Reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-roku-ipo/video-streamer-roku-raises-219-million-in-ipo-prices-at-top-of-range-idINKCN1C31HO'|'2017-09-28T09:28:00.000+03:00'
'aacdb60f05aae3667de8ed05d2dad92ecbd14383'|'RBI increases foreign investment limits for debt'|'September 28, 2017 / 12:12 PM / Updated 9 hours ago RBI increases foreign investment limits for debt Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People walk past the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in Mumbai, November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday it would raise the foreign investment limits for government bonds by 80 billion rupees ($1.22 billion) to 2.5 trillion rupees for the October-December quarter, after current quotas had been almost fully exhausted. The RBI said the limits for long-term investors in government bonds would be raised by 60 billion rupees, while the limits for general investors would be raised by 20 billion rupees. The banking regulator also raised the limits for state development loans by 62 billion rupees, with 47 billion rupees of that raised for long-term investors and 15 billion rupees for general investors. The changes in limits would be effective as of Oct. 3. ($1 = 65.4850 Indian rupees) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/india-bonds-limits/rbi-increases-foreign-investment-limits-for-debt-idINKCN1C31N0'|'2017-09-28T15:10:00.000+03:00'
'ca62054d0ec367e480aa8bb515fba22ed0342f51'|'Ryanair says it has complied with regulator''s demands on passenger rights'|'Juncker warns UK on progress of Brexit talks Juncker warns UK on progress of Brexit talks Juncker warns UK on progress of Brexit talks Reuters TV United States   4:51 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Ryanair says it has complied with regulator''s demands on passenger rights Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair plane prepares to land at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair ( RYA.I ) said it met a demand by Britain’s aviation regulator to fully inform customers affected by flight cancellations of their rights before a Friday deadline. More than 700,000 passengers due to fly between September and March have been hit by a recent wave of flight cancellations caused by a shortage of Ryanair pilots. Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had said the airline failed to properly inform customers and had given it until 1600 GMT on Friday to explain to customers on canceled flights how they could be re-routed on rival airlines and compensated for some out-of-pocket expenses. A Ryanair spokesman said the airline had posted a notice near the top of the main page of its website on Friday, which met aviation authorities’ demands in full. “We apologize again sincerely for the disruption and inconvenience our rostering failure has caused some of our customers,” Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer said in the notice. He said all passengers had been given a 40 euro travel voucher per affected flight and that he hoped all compensation under European Union rules would be processed by the end of October. Ryanair said in a press release that the move was made to comply with the Irish Commission for Aviation Regulation rather than the CAA, but said the demands of the two organizations were the same. The CAA did not say what action it would take if Ryanair did not comply, but it has the power to take court action against carriers that fail to comply with consumer rights laws. Senior politicians weighed in behind regulators on Friday with Britain’s Aviation Minister Martin Callanan and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar both calling on Ryanair to fulfil its obligations. Ryanair said it had enough pilots for the flights in question but that the cancellations were required as it did not have enough to provide back-up service in the event of disruption. It said the cancellations accounted for a small percentage of its total flight schedule. Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Adrian Croft and Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-cancellation/ryanair-says-it-has-complied-with-regulators-demands-on-passenger-rights-idUKKCN1C42JB'|'2017-09-29T19:45:00.000+03:00'
'956800d89d18db8f56e405761f95b136274b8999'|'How to save money on going out - Money - The Guardian'|'How much do we spend? It costs to take some time out. A ticket to the cinema for one person last year cost an average of £7.41 before any popcorn or drinks were taken into account, continuing a yearly increase from box offices. Going to the theatre, meanwhile, can really stretch the wallet – it was announced earlier this year that the cost of the best tickets for the Broadway hit Hamilton will be £200 each when it opens later this year in London.Three simple must-dos 1 Be theatre smart For major shows, prices can be very expensive. If there is a big name involved, try to book early. If you are hoping for a last-minute bargain, try the official ticketing sites 24 hours before a show and also on the day between 10am and 10.30am, when seats may fall in price. If you are not fussy about times, midweek matinees can be a source of cheaper tickets.2 Join a cinema chain Cinema memberships can reduce the price of a film to a fraction of normal box office prices – if you use them. Odeon has a monthly £19.99 limitless option where any film can be watched in the chain’s cinemas, including those in London, with a one-year sign up. Cineworld’s similar Unlimited card is slightly more expensive at £20.40 a month. For cinema-goers in the West End of London, this means only two visits in a month will result in a saving.3 Get gig alerts To ensure you don’t miss out on tickets for gigs before they sell out, use shrewd methods to get yourself to the head of the queue. MoneySavingExpert.com suggests signing up for email alerts from Ticketmaster and other sellers in order to get notification of gigs that are coming up. Joining a fanclub for your favourite act means you may get priority tickets or even discounted entry to gigs. Often, extra tickets are listed closer to the time of the event if the initial round is sold out.Five other easy ways to save 1 Meal deals aplenty The cost of an evening in a restaurant can mount quickly, especially in London. Using a Tastecard can give access to money-off deals and two-for-one offers at over 6,000 restaurants around the country, depending on when and where you are eating. Again, it’s down to how often it is you use it in order to justify the £80 annual fee. TablePouncer.com lists last-minute deals on restaurants, such as two-for-one on starters and mains or half-price bills – and users book tables through the website for either a fee or by buying an annual membership.2 West End bargains Walk through central London during the morning and you will see lines of people outside theatres waiting for day tickets to be released for later that afternoon or evening. Independent expert site Theatremonkey advises theatre-goers that tickets are normally only available on the day when the box office opens at 10am, and advises bringing both cards and cash in case one is preferable over the other. In the case that you miss the day tickets but are still in line, staff will frequently try to help you get other seats.3 Avoid top festivals Festival costs can mount up but with the wealth of events on around the country – there is estimated to be more than 1,000 running during the year – there are cheaper options than the headline events. Buying in advance also saves; a three-day ticket for next year’s 2000 Trees in the Cotswold Hills costs about £100 in advance, considerably less than the £243 charged for a weekend ticket for Glastonbury this year.4 Screenings for free Free cinema tickets for previews of new releases are available through sites such as Showfilmfirst, which works with distributors to show films to target audiences who they hope will then pass on a recommendation by word of mouth. Free Movies UK operates on a similar basis, giving users codes for preview screenings. Students can go to free screenings of E4 shows, films or unreleased movies at Picturehouse cinemas via the E4 Slackers Club.5 Service provider deals Look for deals on services you may already pay for – O2 customers can get tickets for gigs up to 48 hours in advance of their general release via its Priority app. Buying certain products such as car and van insurance off Comparethemarket.com gives two-for-one tickets at Odeons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for a year. Having a Tastecard also gives you discounts on some cinemas.Advanced money-saving tip Sign up to a theatre club Theatres give these clubs tickets to distribute to create buzz and to fill up early performances. The Audience Club was formed to offer tickets to London’s key workers. Each ticket costs only £3 plus VAT. The Theatre Club from What’s On Stage has a £30 annual membership and charges a lower member rate for tickets.Topics Saving money Consumer affairs Family finances Theatre features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/29/how-to-save-money-on-going-out'|'2017-09-29T13:00:00.000+03:00'
'5bd25e073898cbcba967e0c99ac09cdb853c5434'|'One BOJ board member called for more easing at September meeting - summary'|'September 29, 2017 / 12:19 AM / Updated 11 hours ago BOJ member called for ramping up stimulus in Sept - summary of views Leika Kihara 3 Min Read A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building under construction in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - A Bank of Japan policymaker called for expanding monetary stimulus at a rate review in September, a summary of opinions of the bank’s board members at the meeting showed on Friday, an indication divisions may be growing over the direction of policy. Most others in the nine-member board said it was appropriate to maintain the current stimulus programme given it would take time to achieve the BOJ’s 2 percent inflation target, the summary showed. The summary of opinions does not identify which board member made the comments, and had no information on when and what measures the board member wants the BOJ to take. However, the central bank’s announcement released after its meeting showed board newcomer Goushi Kataoka, a vocal advocate of aggressive easing, dissented to the BOJ’s decision to maintain monetary policy on the view the current policy was insufficient to boost inflation to the BOJ’s 2 percent target. The summary highlights a fresh rift that Kataoka could bring to the BOJ, with many others in the nine-member board hesitant about ramping up an already massive stimulus programme including Governor Haruhiko Kuroda. “It’s necessary to stimulate demand further with additional monetary easing to achieve and stabilise inflation at the BOJ’s target, given a scheduled sales tax hike in October 2019,” the board member was quoted as saying. At the September meeting, the BOJ kept monetary policy steady by maintaining its short-term interest rate target at minus 0.1 percent and a pledge to guide 10-year government bond yields around zero percent. While Kataoka did not make a specific proposal on expanding stimulus in September, the summary of opinions raises the prospect that he could present such a proposal at the next rate review on Oct. 30-31. Several other board members said achieving the BOJ’s price target would take time, with one saying the best way to achieve the target would be to patiently maintain the current policy. The summary also showed some members voicing concern over escalating tensions in North Korea and their impact on Japan’s economy. “If geopolitical risks heighten further, the BOJ must be ready to consider taking necessary policy adjustments to prevent deflationary mindset from re-emerging,” one member was quoted as saying. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Sam Holmes '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-boj/one-boj-board-member-called-for-more-easing-at-september-meeting-summary-idINKCN1C401F'|'2017-09-28T22:19:00.000+03:00'
'e9fc2d46348d2c672b26b7ba0ec23b94dd128e6b'|'Food regulator to investigate chicken supplier that fiddles food safety dates'|'M&S, Aldi and Lidl suspend buying from chicken plant that fiddles kill dates Food Standards Agency, Tesco and Sainsbury’s investigate 2 Sisters Food Group plant after Guardian/ITV News story Friday 29 September 2017 13.15 BST First published on Friday 29 September 2017 09.12 BST Marks & Spencer, Aldi and Lidl have suspended buying chicken from 2 Sisters Food Group’s West Bromwich plant following a Guardian and ITV News investigation that found evidence it had tampered with food safety records . The moves came as the Food Standards Agency said its inspectors had audited the site on Thursday, as it announced its own investigation on the back of the Guardian’s and ITV’s evidence of potential regulatory breaches at the chicken processor. The regulator also urged “anyone with information for this investigation” to make contact. A spokesman for Marks & Spencer said on Friday: “We have commenced an immediate investigation into these allegations and will not be taking any more product from the West Bromwich site until it has concluded to our satisfaction. “As per our statement yesterday, the standards shown in the footage are unacceptable, we take hygiene and traceability very seriously and have extremely high production standards.” Aldi said: “We have suspended supply from this site while we carry out an urgent investigation into these allegations. We expect all suppliers to adhere to the highest possible food hygiene and traceability standards at all times.” Lidl added: “Lidl UK takes the issue of food safety extremely seriously and we were very disappointed to see the unacceptable standards shown in yesterday’s report. We immediately launched an investigation with the supplier and can confirm that we will not be sourcing from those sites until the investigations have been satisfactorily concluded” . Tesco and Sainsbury’sare also carrying out investigations into the 2SFG plant in West Bromwich, where the evidence of potential breaches was filmed. All five supermarkets are supplied by the plant. The Food Standards Agency said: “Following allegations made in an undercover report from ITV News and the Guardian, Food Standards Agency inspectors went into the plant in question [on Thursday] to begin our investigation. “Our inspectors found no evidence of breaches. However we continue to review the evidence and if any incidences of non-compliance are found we will take prompt and proportionate action with the business concerned, working closely with the local authority. “We would urge ITV and the Guardian to share any additional evidence, including witness statements, that would inform our investigation. This particular cutting plant is regularly audited by the FSA and they are also subject to unannounced inspections. The FSA urges anyone with information for this investigation to contact them.” Chicken being relabelled to change the date of kill at the 2 Sisters plant. Photograph: Guardian/ITV On Thursday, an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News revealed undercover footage of an instance of workers altering the slaughter date of poultry at a 2 Sisters Food Group plant in West Bromwich. Workers at the company confirmed they had been asked to switch the labels on other occasions. Experts said changing “kill dates” could artificially stretch the commercial life of meat products by triggering the food processor to print incorrect use-by dates on supermarket packaging. It is illegal to place incorrect use-by dates on food, which are set for safety reasons and differ from “best before” dates. 2SFG said it had not been given enough time or detail to investigate the allegations, but that “hygiene and food safety will always be the number one priority within the business, and they remain at its very core”. It added: “We also successfully operate in one of the most tightly controlled and highly regulated food sectors in the world. We are subject to multiple and frequent unannounced audits from the FSA, BRC, Red Tractor, independent auditors as well as our customers. By example, our facility in the West Midlands under investigation received nine audits (five unannounced) in the months of July and August alone.” The discovery comes just four years after the 2013 horsemeat scandal , which has resulted in prison sentences for those convicted of a conspiracy to pass off cheaper horsemeat as beef. Paul Flynn, a Labour member of the Commons environment, food and rural affairs select committee, said the allegations could damage the UK’s ability to market foods after leaving the EU, adding he would raise the matter at the committee’s next meeting. He said: “The foundations of trust in the quality of British food will be shaken by the Guardian’s and ITV’s evidence. “It challenges the canard that UK standards are the among the world’s best. The reputational damage could profoundly undermine our ability to market foods to new customers in the tumultuous Brexit future. “I believe this is a matter of grave concern that demands the attention of the Efra committee.” The joint investigation, which involved taking secret recordings during a spell of 12 working days inside 2 Sisters’ plant in West Bromwich, also captured evidence that: • Chicken portions returned by supermarket distribution centres are being repackaged by 2 Sisters and sent out again to major grocers. • Workers drop chickens on the floor of the processing plant and return them to the production line. • Workers alter records of where chickens were slaughtered, potentially hindering authorities from recalling contaminated meat during food scares. • Chickens slaughtered on different dates are mixed on the production line. Workers said use-by dates printed on the packets of the mixed chicken tended to reflect the age of the freshest, rather than oldest, meat in the batch. Chicken is picked up from the floor for processing in the West Midlands plant. Photograph: Guardian/ITV Having been shown the evidence, Prof Chris Elliott, a food safety academic from Queen’s University Belfast who led the UK government’s independent review of food systems after the 2013 horsemeat scandal, said: “Over the past three to four years I have conducted many inspections of food businesses right across the UK. I have never seen one operate under such poor standards as your video evidence shows. “I think [this] absolutely calls out for a full investigation. We need to get environmental health officers, we need to get the Food Standards Agency to do a thorough investigation. The Food Standards Agency will take this very seriously. They will look at the premises and see if there are grounds to close the facility down.” The company said it had not been given enough time or detail to respond to the allegations, which it described as “false”. 2 Sisters Food Group response A letter from 2 Sisters Food Group’s legal advisers, Schillings, said: “Food safety and hygiene are 2SFG’s top priorities. To the extent that you have identified any shortcomings (which is not admitted), these could only be isolated examples which our clients would take very seriously, and they are investigating the allegations made.” During the course of the investigation, the Guardian and ITV News interviewed more than 20 workers at 2 Sisters about standards within the company. One worker said: “I have [changed the slaughter dates] lots of times when I was working in that area. My supervisor, he asked me to do it … If you are buying fresh chicken it can be older chicken.” A second worker claimed that 2 Sisters quality control staff in the West Midlands were working in a “pointless job” and could feel intimidated and be overruled by production supervisors who treated them as “enemies”. On one occasion the Guardian/ITV News footage captured workers altering the “kill date” of hundreds of chickens to one day later at the group’s West Bromwich plant in August. Other workers added that they had witnessed dates being altered by more than a day. Supermarket products typically have a use-by date around 10 days after the bird has been slaughtered. 2 Sisters in numbers Speaking about how chicken is returned by supermarket distribution centres, a third 2 Sisters worker said: “They will repack [the returned meat] like [it is] today’s production ... It is sent back on [the line] like today’s production. They mix it with today’s production.” Supermarkets return chicken to suppliers for a variety of reasons that can include packaging and labelling errors. Being returned does not mean it is unfit to eat. However, if older meat is mixed with fresher meat, the use-by date should reflect the age of the oldest meat in the batch. A fourth worker added: “I try to make them change the [use-by] date to [reflect the] older DOK [date of kill] but that doesn’t happen – they mix.” The footage shows chicken that has been processed and packed for Lidl being reopened and mixed with other pieces of poultry. The drumsticks re-emerge at the end of the line in packets saying they have come from Tesco’s Willow Farms. The labelling on the pack says the contents are “reared exclusively for Tesco”. Schillings said: “The Willow Farms brand is exclusive to Tesco, but the raw material is not. 2SFG meets the raw materials specifications for the Willow Farms brand.” The Guardian and ITV News showed the undercover footage to four government meat inspectors, who would speak only on condition of anonymity. All of them said they believed the film showed potential breaches of food regulations. Food law experts also added that the film amounted to prima facie evidence that the company had potentially committed offences. The 2 Sisters plant in West Bromwich. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian Dr Richard Hyde, an expert in food law at Nottingham University, added: “If you are placing a use-by date that is incorrect that is a breach of law. If you place food on the market that doesn’t have the correct traceability information that is a criminal offence. There are a basket of potential offences here that the regulators need to look at and decide whether further action is required.” The food processor said that Elliott and Hyde had not visited 2 Sisters sites or considered its policies, so their comments “cannot be, in any way, objective expert evidence, but are completely unbalanced, based on biased selective information”. 2 Sisters Food Group is the UK’s second largest food company by turnover and claims to process around 6 million chickens every week. It is owned by Ranjit Singh Boparan and his wife, Baljinder Kaur Boparan, and the chicken operations – which include 12 sites in the UK – are part of a sprawling £3bn food empire that separately includes the turkey producer Bernard Matthews, the restaurant chains Harry Ramsden, FishWorks and Giraffe, plus food brands such as Fox’s Biscuits and Goodfella’s pizza. Boparan family businesses The Boparans, who have always shunned publicity, are worth £544m, according to the Sunday Times rich list . The company added: “2SFG ensures all staff are fully trained on hygiene and safety matters, and enforces a number of policies to ensure compliance with all regulations. It is subject to regular audits in these areas and staff have a number of ways in which to voice their concerns. “2SFG has reviewed its [whistleblower hotline] records for Site D from the previous 12 months and there are no complaints from any quality assurance staff resembling those cited.” The five big supermarkets supplied by 2 Sisters’ West Bromwich plant all said they took quality and safety standards very seriously and were investigating. A Tesco spokesperson said: “We operate to the highest possible food quality and safety standards, carrying out our own regular audits at all of our suppliers to ensure these standards are maintained. As such, we take these allegations extremely seriously and will be carrying out our own rigorous investigation.” A Lidl spokesperson said: “Lidl UK takes the issue of food safety extremely seriously and, as such, we conduct independent audits to ensure that our high quality and safety standards are met. Therefore, we are very disappointed to learn of these allegations and will be urgently investigating this matter with the supplier.” Additional reporting by Olivier Acuña. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/29/food-regulator-chicken-supplier-food-safety-dates-2-sisters-food-group'|'2017-09-29T16:12:00.000+03:00'
'3c04e486b36ce9fd01a7e9a0c732c353a5de2eeb'|'UPDATE 1-Hain Celestial revamps board under activist investor pressure'|'September 28, 2017 / 1:17 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Organic food maker Hain revamps board in win for activist investor Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Hain Celestial Group Inc, under pressure from activist shareholder Engaged Capital LLC to make drastic changes at the U.S. organic food company, said on Thursday it would name six new directors to its board, including the hedge fund’s founder. Shares of Hain, which makes Health Valley bars, Walnut Acres tomato sauces and Tilda basmati rice, were up about 1 percent at $40.83 in morning trade. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the board changes, said Hain would form a group of directors to explore options including selling itself. ( on.wsj.com/2fSO4Pc ) The board changes are a win for Engaged Capital, which disclosed a 9.9 percent stake in Hain in June, saying it could urge Hain to consider selling itself. Hain’s board will now comprise 11 directors including Engaged Capital founder Glenn Welling, with all but one independent. Three current board members will not stand for re-election, the company said. Hain also said it had entered into an agreement with Engaged Capital to create a working group and executive compensation committee that will give Welling a seat at the table. Engaged also agreed to a standstill period during which it will not purchase more stock in Hain, the company said. Engaged Capital has previously targeted Rent-A-Center Inc, in which it is the top shareholder, nominating three directors to the furniture retailer’s board. Reporting by Tamara Mathias and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Savio D''Souza and Sai Sachin Ravikumar'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hain-celestial-board/hain-celestial-revamps-board-under-activist-investor-pressure-idUSKCN1C31V1'|'2017-09-28T16:08:00.000+03:00'
'8552cfbc1bb7e8fe51341ace0826bde0ca9364a1'|'Venezuela craft brewers rare bright spot in crisis economy'|'A worker drafts a glass of craft beer from a pump in a beer garden at the garage of Social Club brewery in Caracas, Venezuela, September 15, 2017. Picture taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello CARACAS (Reuters) - With Venezuela’s economic crisis leaving consumers struggling to buy basic staple foods, small Caracas brewery Social Club might seem out of place selling craft beer that costs per bottle what a worker earning the minimum wage makes in two days.But business is booming.Demand for Social Club’s beer regularly outstrips the 3,000 liters (793 gallons) it produces a month, according to its owners. Most of it is sold on weekends at a beer garden set up in the garage of its small production facility.Brewers like Social Club are a reminder that despite the widespread social misery caused by the country’s economic crisis, an appetite remains among well-heeled Venezuelans for high-end niche products like craft beer.At the same time, these small brewers are carving out a market in preparation for an eventual economic rebound.“Venezuelans continue to be vain creatures who like to be in the vanguard, who like to keep up with what’s in fashion,” said Victor Querales, 32, one of Social Club’s owners, speaking on a Friday afternoon before clients began arriving. “There’s still a premium market that isn’t very sensitive to prices.”The country now has around 30 craft brewers with commercial operations that supply high-end liquor stores and restaurants or deliver made-to-order brews for parties or weddings, according to the Craft Beer Association of Venezuela.Craft brew still represents less than 1 percent of the market, which remains dominated by domestic brewing giant Polar and its smaller rival Regional.But the last five years has seen the emergence of start-ups such as Norte del Sur and Pisse Des Gottes, both of which have won medals in international brewing contests.The fortunes of Venezuelan craft brewers contrast with those of most major industries, which operate well below capacity as triple-digit inflation and byzantine currency controls make large-scale production of almost anything nearly impossible.Social Club offers tours of its small brew facility and an adjacent bar that sells styles ranging from bitter coffee stouts to aromatic Belgian saisons.Its production volume is tiny, reaching about 2 percent of the 1.8 million liters per year that the Colorado-based Brewers Association describes as the maximum for the denomination “microbrewer” in the United States.Though Social Club’s fare is exorbitant by local standards, it is among the cheapest craft brews in the world at around $0.80 for a 12-ounce (354 milliliter) glass. U.S. brewpubs would likely charge at least five times that for a similar product.Francisco Lopez serves craft beer at Cerveza Caleta brewery in Caracas, Venezuela, September 13, 2017. Picture taken September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello NATION OF BEER DRINKERS Costs are nonetheless a concern.Malt and hops must be imported because they don’t grow in Venezuela’s tropical climate, leaving brewers at the mercy of the steadily depreciating bolivar currency.And brewers often say their biggest challenge is winning over Venezuelans unaccustomed to beers with stronger flavors and higher alcohol content than commercial alternatives.Slideshow (7 Images) But they believe there is room to grow, in large part because Venezuelans have always been avid beer drinkers.In 2010, at the height of an oil-fueled economic boom, the OPEC nation had the highest per capita beer consumption in Latin America and the ninth-highest in the world, according to figures compiled by Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co Ltd, which owns breweries in Brazil and Australia.But per capita beer consumption fell to 25th in the world by 2015 as the drop in oil prices pushed the economy into free-fall.Such slumping demand means microbreweries are far from a surefire route to success.Some young would-be entrepreneurs take brewing classes with plans to start up businesses, only to end up selling off their equipment as they raise money to emigrate, according to interviews with brewers involved in such training.But there are unlikely success stories too.Architect Gustavo Izarra took up home-brew after visiting his daughter in Belgium in 2012. He set up Caleta brewery in 2015, just as the demand for architectural services was collapsing along with the economy.He has since become the go-to design consultant for breweries including Social Club that are upgrading their facilities.“People have limited spending power, so you end up with a product that for most people is out of reach,” said Izarra, 60. “But nonetheless, people keep getting more and more interested in trying craft beer.”Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Christian Plumb and Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/venezuela-beer/venezuela-craft-brewers-rare-bright-spot-in-crisis-economy-idINKCN1C20CR'|'2017-09-27T03:13:00.000+03:00'
'ed8b6922f5fa6173d300d21bf873492903f3545d'|'EU considers greater protection for savers after run on Banco Popular'|'  5:08 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago EU considers greater protection for savers after run on Banco Popular Reuters Staff * EU Parliament set to agree on review of banking rules by mid Oct * Higher guarantees for savers may expose bonds to more risks * Italy, Portugal seen opposing move over fear of weakening banks By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers are considering changing the rules on bank rescues to ensure bondholders’ investments are used to prop up a failing lender ahead of savers’ deposits, EU officials said. The discussions follow a decision by EU regulators to shut down Spanish bank Banco Popular in June after a run on its deposits fuelled by fears that depositors’ money could be used to rescue the lender. But the proposed changes could expose investors who hold bonds issued by banks to higher risks should they run into trouble, and generally push up yields on lenders’ senior debt, making it more expensive for them to raise funds. Any changes agreed by the European Parliament would have to be approved by governments of the bloc’s members states. One EU official, who declined to be named, said Italy and Portugal opposed the idea, fearing it would make it harder for banks in the countries to increase their capital reserves to levels required under EU rules, an EU official said. During the global financial crisis, taxpayers in a number of EU countries had to fund bailouts for banks which came close to collapse. Since then, the bloc has tightened capital adequacy stipulations and introduced “bail-in” rules, under which shareholders, bondholders and depositors would bear responsibility for funding future bank rescues before taxpayers. Banco Popular’s liquidity crisis was partly prompted by the new EU rules that allow regulators to wipe out uninsured savings, deposits above 100,000 euros ($118,000). To prevent panicking depositors from hastily withdrawing money in the next bank crisis, lawmakers are discussing changes that would increase the level of protection given to savers, making them the last to be hit in a future rescue. Under current rules, uninsured depositors have the same level of protection as holders of senior debt. “Conferring a priority ranking on all deposits is expected to enhance the implementation of the bail-in tool,” said a proposal prepared by Ernest Urtasun, a Spanish Greens member of the European Parliament. The document said this would lower the risk of contagion - the kind of loss of investors’ confidence which spread rapidly from market to market during the crisis. The document seeks to amend a legislative proposal by the European Commission on the ranking of unsecured creditors in bank rescues. This adds a new category of liabilities that would be hit before depositors and after shareholders and junior creditors. Two EU officials familiar with talks on the issue said the amendment could be approved by mid-October by the parliament’s economic committee. But, as a compromise, states could be given discretion on how to treat depositors. “Discussions are still ongoing and all options are open,” one official said. Italy and Portugal are against increasing depositors’ protection, fearing a negative impact on bondholders, the EU official said, adding that other states may also oppose the move. In Italy, retail investors often hold much of a bank’s senior debt, and the government has faced mass protests when it imposed losses on bondholders during bank rescues. In the recent rescue of two small banks from the Veneto region, the government managed to win EU approval to use taxpayers’ money rather than involve senior bondholders in a bail-in as part of a rescue package. An Italian official in Brussels declined to comment. The shutdown of Banco Popular prompted debate among EU regulators on whether to exclude depositors from bail-ins altogether, but this bolder option has lost ground as it would leave banks without sufficient capital to be wiped out in a rescue. ($1 = 0.8481 euros) (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by David Stamp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-banks/eu-considers-greater-protection-for-savers-after-run-on-banco-popular-idUSL8N1M75JE'|'2017-09-27T20:08:00.000+03:00'
'8f19a752149b00c37f44e6d85129a5f5aca8689d'|'African Gold Group, Hummingbird to jointly develop Malian gold'|'LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - African Gold Group and Hummingbird Resources on Wednesday said they had conditionally agreed on an $6.4 million deal for Hummingbird to operate the Kobada Gold Project in Mali.In two separate statements, African Gold Group said it was selling a 19.99 percent stake to Hummingbird Resources for 8 million Canadian dollars ($6.44 million) and at the same time would allow Hummingbird to acquire half of the Kobada project.“Hummingbird provides us the financial capacity to develop the Kobada Gold Project and we are also gaining a partner with an operational presence in Mali,” said Stephan Theron, Chief Executive Officer of AGG.Hummingbird said the deal would give it the right to operate the Kobada mine and would enable it to increase annual gold production to more than 150,000 ounces by year by around 2020.The plan is to truck concentrate to Kobada for processing at Hummingbird’s Yanfolila project, which is scheduled to produce its first gold in December.“This high-grade concentrate would have a material increase to our annual production rates and could add up to an additional 50,000 ounces per annum to our existing average life of mine production of 107,000 ounces,” Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird said.Betts told Reuters this month he was looking for opportunities to offset depreciation of assets as Hummingbird brings online the Yanfolila project in Mali.$1 = 1.2426 Canadian dollars Reporting by Barbara Lewis in London and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/hummingbird-agg/african-gold-group-hummingbird-to-jointly-develop-malian-gold-idINL8N1M85VC'|'2017-09-27T15:19:00.000+03:00'
'21ff4556e590409ccfe00bc6b2fcf53dd7042846'|'Who’s afraid of disruption?'|'LAST week Schumpeter met two tech tycoons who control businesses in total worth $600bn. In both cases the mayhem around them was what you would expect if Beyoncé hit town, minus the musical talent and looks. Hotel floors were locked down by the official secret service; the corridors were crammed with lines of petitioners and in one case a Wall Street boss gatecrashed the room in order to hug his idol.The message from both titans—you ain’t seen nothing yet—was imperious. Over the next decade, they say, conventional industries will face an onslaught from tech competitors wielding vast financial resources, new technologies and massive reserves of data. It is a view that has swept through traditional firms’ boardrooms, too, where enthusing about virtual reality and singing the praises of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s boss, is almost obligatory. The notion of disruption, with its promise to destroy the status quo and then renew it, is the most fashionable idea in global business since the craze for emerging markets over a decade ago.  15   15   15   Yet there is a puzzle at the heart of the orthodoxy. Few bosses, in public or in private, expect their own firms to decline, and hardly any American companies are valued by investors as if their profits will fall. The tech revolution, it seems, will be momentous, but harmless, with no corporate victims. Something does not add up.If disruption is defined as conventional firms being clobbered by digital ones, there is certainly some of it about. This month Toys “R” Us went bankrupt, joining many clothing and hardware retailers felled by e-commerce. On August 23rd shares in WPP, an advertising firm, slumped after it said clients were cutting spending partly because of technological change. A few days later Amazon closed its acquisition of Whole Foods, a food retailer, and cut its high prices, spreading fear in the supermarket industry’s aisles.At least six conventional industries have been eviscerated by digital innovation in the past two decades—music, video-renting, books, taxis, newspapers and clothes retailing. In financial terms the survivors are shadows of their former selves. The New York Times Company’s profits are 67% below their peak. It is a similar story at Barnes & Noble (76%) and Universal Music (about 40%).But these firms and their peers were never large. In 1997, when Mark Zuckerberg was 13 years old and the six industries were in their prime, they accounted for 2% of the profits of the S&P 500 index of big American firms. The toll that digital disruption has taken so far on overall earnings is thus tiny. Across America’s economy profits are high and stable relative to GDP.If technological disruption was about to inflict a new and more devastating blow on traditional firms, you would expect to see lots of them with miserly valuations, as investors discounted a slump in their profits. Yet such firms are uncommon. Only about 40 companies in the S&P 500 have a price-earnings ratio of less than 12, which is a sign of imminent decline. That is similar to the share two decades ago and half the number of ten years ago.Only two industries are priced for devastation. General Motors and Ford are valued at just seven times profits. Investors expect Tesla, a manufacturer of electric cars, to steal market share, and ride-sharing firms to cut demand for cars. Airlines are dirt cheap but that is because the market frets about a price war and the chance of tighter antitrust regulation, not about disruption.Many industries that you might imagine to be directly in the crosshairs of Silicon Valley are expected to plod along happily. Consider television, where Amazon, Netflix, YouTube and Apple are pouring money into buying and making new shows. There are certainly worries about consumers cutting the cable-TV cord, but the incumbent cable firms and content producers are in aggregate valued on 20 times profits, implying cash flows will continue to rise. Likewise, hotel companies, rather than being wiped out by Airbnb and throttled by online travel agents, enjoy similar perky valuations to those they had ten years ago.The list goes on. The credit-card giants, Visa and MasterCard, are on a roll, and are together worth almost as much as Amazon: there is little sign of disruption by digital-payments firms. From stodgy banks (facing a putative threat from fintech) to electric utilities (which might be disrupted by batteries and smart grids) it is a similar story: valuations imply that investors are relaxed. Even food retail’s giant sitting duck, Walmart, is forecast to see pre-tax profits increase by a cumulative 6% over the next three years.A different kind of digital accommodationInvestors appear to be assuming an accommodation between big tech and the rest of big business, not a bloody showdown. The five largest tech firms (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft) have valuations that suggest their combined share of total corporate profits will rise from 7% now to 13% in a decade. They are expected to keep near-monopolies for decades in products that attract huge public interest, such as search and social media. But they are not expected to lay waste to America Inc.That is reasonable. Many incumbent industries have high barriers to entry. Two of the largest, banking and health care, are surrounded by a mesh of regulation. And existing big firms have raised their game. Most giants, from Walmart to General Electric, have digital or e-commerce divisions. America’s incumbents spend five times more on research and development than the five big technology companies do.But it is possible that the present balancing act may topple over. Either tech breakthroughs or deregulation could make it easier for tech firms to compete against conventional ones. If the tech boom becomes a bubble, there will be pressure on tech bosses to lower the hurdle rates they use for new projects and invest much more heavily in old industries. If they are rational, they will resist the temptation, but when you are holed up in a hotel room surrounded by admirers it can be easy to lose perspective.  "Uneasy accommodation"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729769-business-world-obsessed-digital-disruption-it-has-had-little-impact?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'45eb152b2e11bd1800c8b8a8821da14a709cdfe4'|'Yandex, Russia’s biggest technology company, celebrates 20 years'|'ARKADY VOLOZH, the bearded co-founder of Yandex, Russia’s largest search engine, bristles at his company being branded the “Google of Russia”. Far from emulating the American firm, Yandex launched in 1997, a full year before Google, he points out. More crucially, the moniker poorly describes what Yandex offers today, which is a group of products and services that includes taxis, shopping, payments, music and education. “Really we’re the Silicon Valley of Russia,” says Mikhail Parakhin, Yandex’s chief technology officer.That may only be a slight overstatement. Yandex’s Russian presence is immense; it accounts for just over half of the search market and 61% of online advertising, and its sites attract over 60m visitors each month. Like American tech giants, it is also expanding its offline logistical capabilities, signing recent deals with Uber, a ride-hailing firm, and with Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, to build out its transportation and e-commerce businesses. 16 Yandex doubled down on its home market, which accounts for 92% of its revenues, after a failed foray into Turkey soon after listing on NASDAQ in 2011 (when it raised $1.3bn). “You either go global in one service which you feel good about, or you focus on one market and do it really well,” says Mr Volozh. Russia already has Europe’s largest base of internet users—some 87m people—yet penetration rates are low at 71%. Along with the space to grow, however, comes the risk that Yandex’s activities attract greater political scrutiny. President Vladimir Putin paid a visit on September 21st, around its 20th anniversary, having criticised the company in past years.Its early lead online came thanks to technology that responded to local needs. The Yandex search algorithm processed Russian language requests better than early versions of international competitors, for example. Mapping software that displayed real-time traffic proved immensely popular, especially among drivers on Moscow’s highly congested roads.There were also challenges. As Russia fell into recession in 2014, profits began tumbling; the depreciation of the rouble in late 2014 hit especially hard, as a large chunk of Yandex’s costs are in foreign currency. Google began eating away at its search business by dominating the fast-growing mobile market on Android devices. But as macroeconomic conditions have improved, investors crept back.A victory against Google in a Russian antitrust court this year (the American firm must stop requiring Android phone makers to install its apps and services and instead offer Android users a choice of default search engine) as well as signs of successful diversification beyond search have pushed Yandex’s shares up by some 50% in the past year. Investors are particularly bullish on its taxi business. In July Yandex agreed a $3.7bn merger with Uber, which effectively ceded the Russian market after a costly price war. Yandex will take a controlling 59.3% stake in the new enterprise. A second joint venture is in the works with Sberbank, which aims to transform Yandex’s price-comparison platform into a fully-fledged e-commerce business.Other initiatives support Yandex’s vision of itself as the hub of Russia’s digital economy. A new machine learning-powered virtual assistant, Alisa, aims to conquer the Russian-language sphere, where Amazon’s Alexa does not operate and Apple’s Siri can be spotty. An early version that used Russian literary classics as a training data set was scrapped because it was so depressing, says Mr Parakhin. “You had the feeling that after it stops talking it’ll go and commit suicide!” But a revamped model will launch in October, voiced by the actress who dubbed the Russian version of “Her” in Spike Jonze’s hit film.As for politics, the firm has long trod a tightrope, drawing the Kremlin’s ire over its mobile-payment system, which opposition politicians have used for fundraising, and its popular news aggregator, which serves up stories based on an algorithm rather than the interests of the authorities. In 2014, as tensions between Russia and the West intensified over the annexation of Crimea, Mr Putin declared the internet a “CIA project” and singled out Yandex for being susceptible to foreign influence. The company’s stock promptly fell 5%.Since then, Yandex has made overtures to the authorities. Its maps now show Crimea as part of Russia, for example. This spring, Alexei Navalny, leader of the opposition, accused Yandex of manipulating news results to exclude mention of mass protests he led (Yandex has denied the charges). On his visit to the firm, Mr Putin watched a demonstration of Yandex’s self-driving car and chatted with Alisa. Inside Yandex’s glass-walled offices, among its talented young employees, Russia’s future must have looked bright. "Silicon Valley by the Moskva"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729779-search-giant-thriving-faces-political-pressures-yandex-russias-biggest-technology?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'272713acc1dae9ad20ce63f48955af7237eddef5'|'Asia shares recuperate after rough week, dollar firm'|'  12:58 AM / in 18 minutes Big week for dollar, records on Wall Street as quarter ends 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar was poised for its strongest week of the year on Friday, while world stock markets climbed back near record-high levels on the last trading day of the quarter. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq minted all-time highs, while European stock markets also gained. Firming expectations for another U.S. interest rate increase by year-end, combined with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax-cut plan, have dominated markets for most of the week. Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer spending barely rose in August but the report did little to change expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates again in December. Another report showed the Chicago purchasing management index, which gauges factory activity, came in better than expected for September. “The economic data we got was either on target or it was slightly better-than-expected, so there wasn’t anything negative at all to put a pause on things,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas. ”Generally, the overall economic backdrop is very solid. In a bull market when you don’t have bad news you tend to get up moves in the market,” Frederick said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 23.89 points, or 0.11 percent, to 22,405.09, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.3 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,519.36 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 42.51 points, or 0.66 percent, to 6,495.96. The S&P technology sector .SPLRCT led the way, rising 0.8 percent. “It really sums up kind of what we saw all month and all quarter, another calm day,” said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The stats have been out there, this is one of the least volatile Septembers in history.” The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.44 percent, and notched its best month of the year. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.45 percent. The index was within 0.5 percent of an all-time high and tallied its 11th consecutive positive month. “The pattern that has been working, easy money but relatively slow economic growth that keeps the tightening from becoming too tight, continues to augur for a decent outlook for equities in particular,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.01 percent. The U.S. currency was up about 1 percent for the week, on track for its best week since December. The euro EUR= was up 0.26 percent to $1.1815. “Economically, the situation in the U.S. merits the fact that the dollar has gained,” said Juan Perez, currency strategist at Tempus Inc in Washington. Most U.S. Treasury yields edged higher, marking the end of a choppy third quarter, as investors weighed the chances of the Fed raising rates in December and Washington’s implementation of tax cuts and other fiscal changes. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 8/32 in price to yield 2.3354 percent, from 2.307 percent late on Thursday. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 0.06 percent to $51.59 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $56.68, down 0.84 percent on the day. Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.5 percent to $1,280.15 an ounce. (For a graphic on ''World FX rates in 2017'' click tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh ) (For a graphic on ''Global assets in 2017'' click here #section/assets) (For a graphic on ''Global market cap'' click reut.rs/2mcp7T1 ) (For a graphic on ''Emerging markets in 2017'' click tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV ) Additional reporting by Richard Leong, Chuck Mikolajczak and Dion Rabouin in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/asia-shares-recuperate-after-rough-week-dollar-firm-idUKKCN1C403Y'|'2017-09-29T03:59:00.000+03:00'
'788032734df48ad9182a118f33c8e2843f72b23a'|'RPT-EU considers greater protection for savers after run on Banco Popular'|'(Repeats story that ran late Wednesday with no changes to text)* EU Parliament set to agree on review of banking rules by mid Oct* Higher guarantees for savers may expose bonds to more risks* Italy, Portugal seen opposing move over fear of weakening banksBy Francesco GuarascioBRUSSELS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers are considering changing the rules on bank rescues to ensure bondholders’ investments are used to prop up a failing lender ahead of savers’ deposits, EU officials said.The discussions follow a decision by EU regulators to shut down Spanish bank Banco Popular in June after a run on its deposits fuelled by fears that depositors’ money could be used to rescue the lender.But the proposed changes could expose investors who hold bonds issued by banks to higher risks should they run into trouble, and generally push up yields on lenders’ senior debt, making it more expensive for them to raise funds.Any changes agreed by the European Parliament would have to be approved by governments of the bloc’s members states.One EU official, who declined to be named, said Italy and Portugal opposed the idea, fearing it would make it harder for banks in the countries to increase their capital reserves to levels required under EU rules, an EU official said.During the global financial crisis, taxpayers in a number of EU countries had to fund bailouts for banks which came close to collapse. Since then, the bloc has tightened capital adequacy stipulations and introduced “bail-in” rules, under which shareholders, bondholders and depositors would bear responsibility for funding future bank rescues before taxpayers.Banco Popular’s liquidity crisis was partly prompted by the new EU rules that allow regulators to wipe out uninsured savings, deposits above 100,000 euros ($118,000).To prevent panicking depositors from hastily withdrawing money in the next bank crisis, lawmakers are discussing changes that would increase the level of protection given to savers, making them the last to be hit in a future rescue.Under current rules, uninsured depositors have the same level of protection as holders of senior debt.“Conferring a priority ranking on all deposits is expected to enhance the implementation of the bail-in tool,” said a proposal prepared by Ernest Urtasun, a Spanish Greens member of the European Parliament. The document said this would lower the risk of contagion - the kind of loss of investors’ confidence which spread rapidly from market to market during the crisis.The document seeks to amend a legislative proposal by the European Commission on the ranking of unsecured creditors in bank rescues. This adds a new category of liabilities that would be hit before depositors and after shareholders and junior creditors.Two EU officials familiar with talks on the issue said the amendment could be approved by mid-October by the parliament’s economic committee.But, as a compromise, states could be given discretion on how to treat depositors. “Discussions are still ongoing and all options are open,” one official said.Italy and Portugal are against increasing depositors’ protection, fearing a negative impact on bondholders, the EU official said, adding that other states may also oppose the move.In Italy, retail investors often hold much of a bank’s senior debt, and the government has faced mass protests when it imposed losses on bondholders during bank rescues.In the recent rescue of two small banks from the Veneto region, the government managed to win EU approval to use taxpayers’ money rather than involve senior bondholders in a bail-in as part of a rescue package.An Italian official in Brussels declined to comment.The shutdown of Banco Popular prompted debate among EU regulators on whether to exclude depositors from bail-ins altogether, but this bolder option has lost ground as it would leave banks without sufficient capital to be wiped out in a rescue. ($1 = 0.8481 euros) (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by David Stamp) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-banks/rpt-eu-considers-greater-protection-for-savers-after-run-on-banco-popular-idINL8N1M90Y9'|'2017-09-28T04:22:00.000+03:00'
'c484171d874f47dce7101a3b079c68a7b3bc7d17'|'Uber to shutter its U.S. auto-leasing business'|'  6:14 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Uber to shutter its U.S. auto-leasing business Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Uber logo is seen on a screen in Singapore August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White (Reuters) - Ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] on Wednesday said it is shutting down its U.S. auto-leasing business. “We have decided to stop operating Xchange Leasing and move toward a less capital-intensive approach,” an Uber spokesperson told Reuters. The Xchange Leasing business, which has about 40,000 vehicles and 14 showrooms in the United States, had attracted interest from buyers who were considering buying it outright, according to a Reuters report in August. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-leasing/uber-to-shutter-its-u-s-auto-leasing-business-idUKKCN1C22MB'|'2017-09-27T21:00:00.000+03:00'
'dd7be793cf83337d75c6f2e5518faa1e9e74e374'|'ECB''s Draghi cancels attendance of Bank of England event'|'  4:16 PM / Updated 44 minutes ago ECB''s Draghi cancels attendance of Bank of England event Reuters Staff 1 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi waits to address the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank’s president Mario Draghi will not attend a Bank of England event on Friday in which he was due to speak alongside BoE governor Mark Carney, an ECB spokeswoman said on Wednesday. A person familiar with the matter said Draghi’s decision was due to a health issue affecting one of his relatives. Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Gareth Jones'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-draghi-boe/ecbs-draghi-cancels-attendance-of-bank-of-england-event-idUKKCN1C22C0'|'2017-09-27T19:16:00.000+03:00'
'97dde50ccd4ed6424055d7d2769effe1f5eeaa0a'|'This week in sports: Anthem protests sweep the NFL - Reuters'|'Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts players kneel during the playing of the National Anthem before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo Listen to this week’s Keeping Score podcast:A wrap-up of the week in sports news:Tough-talking Trump: President Trump this week continued his crusade against NFL players who choose to kneel during the national anthem in protest, telling Fox News that team owners should do more to intervene. “I think they’re afraid of their players,” Trump said. “And I think it’s disgraceful.” An NFL spokesman refuted Trump’s statement.Meanwhile, in the NBA…: Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, said he expects players in the league to stand during the playing of the national anthem when the season begins next month. Unlike the NFL, the NBA specifically requires players to stand for the anthem -- though Silver was short on details when asked what would happen if any player were to kneel. “All I can say is if that were to happen, we’ll deal with it when it happens,” Silver said.NCAA scandal hits Kentucky state finances: University of Louisville’s national championship-winning head coach Rick Pitino was placed on leave this week amid a federal bribery investigation, prompting concerns about the financial fallout in Kentucky . The scandal could impact ticket and merchandise sales, as well as dampen support among alumni and quash interest from prospective students, according to economists.Chicago Bears players Adrian Amos (38), DeAndre Houston-Carson (36), Deon Bush (26), and Josh Bellamy (15) kneel in the end zone prior to their game the Green Bay Packers against before the national anthem at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Click here to see more of Reuters best sports photography. '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-weekinsports-29sept2017/this-week-in-sports-anthem-protests-sweep-the-nfl-idUSKCN1C4315'|'2017-09-30T05:23:00.000+03:00'
'a9c82efdfc8013f1d4f1cd3c8ac9696989f1c857'|'Sears Canada asks court for more time to close deal with chairman'|'September 30, 2017 / 2:19 PM / in 3 hours Sears Canada asks court for more time to close deal with chairman Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A customers enters the Sears store in North Vancouver, British Columbia February 23, 2011. REUTERS/Andy Clark/File Photo (Reuters) - Sears Canada Inc ( SRSCQ.PK ) said late on Friday that it has asked a court to extend creditor protection that expires on Wednesday by another month so it can finish negotiating a deal that would keep the iconic brand running in Canada. The company, which in 2012 was spun off from U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp ( SHLD.O ), filed for creditor protection in June and laid out a restructuring plan that included cutting 2,900 jobs and closing roughly a quarter of its stores. The company said late on Friday that it is in negotiations with its executive chairman Brandon Stranzl, who submitted a conditional bid on Aug. 31 that he amended last week. The statement did not identify any other bidders. Sears Canada also said it will ask the court to approve deals to sell assets from its trucking firm, S.L.H. Transport Inc, and home improvement units that provide duct cleaning, oil, and heating and cooling services. The statement did not identify financial terms of the potential deals, which it said it hopes the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will approve on Wednesday. Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto and Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-canada-bankruptcy-sale/sears-canada-asks-court-for-more-time-to-close-deal-with-chairman-idUSKCN1C50HT'|'2017-09-30T17:13:00.000+03:00'
'a36d582c7e9aace3f3f96c3795cc1c2a4e8f0d91'|'McDonald faces tough task to look good in M&S fashion'|'  12:42 PM / Updated 2 hours ago McDonald faces tough task to look good in M&S fashion James Davey 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man leaves a Marks & Spencer store in London, Britain in this January 7, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Jill McDonald picks up something of a poisoned chalice when she starts as boss of clothing at Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ) on Monday, with little room to manoeuvre as she tackles one of the biggest jobs in British retailing on her first foray into fashion. McDonald’s retail credentials are strong, but they were earned as CEO of bicycles to car parts company Halfords ( HFD.L ) and she will have to work within a blueprint set out by her new boss as she looks to deliver the sustained sales and profit growth that has eluded M&S for a decade in competition with a burgeoning fast-fashion market. She will have to operate within the confines of the detailed strategy already set out by Chief Executive Steve Rowe, an M&S lifer. She must also work under the chairmanship of Archie Norman, who joined M&S this month and is known for turning around some of Britain’s biggest companies. To compound matters, Rowe and predecessor Marc Bolland have already used sourcing directors Mark and Neal Lindsey to boost profit margins by changing the way M&S buys and makes clothes, taking away any easy gains for a new boss. “If you’re not given free rein to implement the strategy that you want, you’ve got one hand tied behind your back,” said a former M&S director speaking on condition of anonymity. In its 1990s heyday M&S was the go-to British high street destination for clothes, selling everything from party dresses to suits and underwear. In 1997 it became the first UK retailer to post profit of 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion). But while the 133-year-old group remains the Britain’s largest clothing retailer in sales terms, it has been squeezed by the likes of Inditex’s ( ITX.MC ) Zara, H&M ( HMb.ST ) and Primark, owned by Associated British Foods ( ABF.L ). Profit was 614 million pounds in 2016-17. RADICAL RETHINK? Rowe’s strategy is focused on reduced prices for entry-level ranges, cutting back on clearance sales and promotions while improving service. He also has a five-year programme to close some stores and restructure others to reflect faster-growing online sales. Some analysts have questioned whether Rowe’s plans are sufficiently radical, but he told shareholders in July that he was convinced it is the right strategy. That makes it hard for McDonald. “Is she just coming in to execute that plan?,” the former director said. “Let’s say she wants to do something really quite radical that’s going to have a major impact on the bottom line. Rowe might say, ‘you can’t do that to me, I‘m 18 months in ... I’ve given guidance to the City’.” McDonald will have overall profit and loss accountability for all aspects of M&S non-food business, from design and sourcing through to the supply chain and logistics. She will work alongside Jo Jenkins, clothing and beauty director, and Queralt Ferrer, director of design. FILE PHOTO: A customer looks at a clothing display at a Marks & Spencer shop in central London May 21, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo Richard Marwood, senior fund manager at M&S investor Royal London Asset Management, said McDonald could be under pressure to cut margins or increase prices after the Brexit-related slump in sterling, which is also weighing on consumer spending. “The challenge of boosting growth in M&S’s clothing business will be no mean feat,” he said. Rowe maintains that the naysayers miss the point. He has highlighted McDonald’s “fantastic customer insight” and a bank of operational, retail and leadership experience developed at Halfords and fast-food giant McDonald’s ( MCD.N ). COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS “Whether you’re buying bikes and bike pieces or dresses and dress pieces, there’s the same type of negotiation needed, the same level of detail needed in terms of sourcing and profit margins and relationships with suppliers,” said one person with knowledge of the appointment process. FILE PHOTO: Chief Executive Officer of McDonalds UK Jill McDonald speaks at the Institute of Directors annual convention in London May 11, 2011. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett M&S insiders also point to McDonald’s all-encompassing job title of managing director, a subtle difference from previous incumbents’ title of director of clothing and home. The suggestion is that the change means her role could include wider issues, such as the online service proposition that has lagged behind those of rivals. McDonald will, however, have to deal with a complex set of director relationships. Reporting to McDonald will be Jenkins, who has more than 25 years of fashion experience. She was passed over by Rowe for the top clothing job but may have to teach McDonald the clothing ropes. Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Helen Weir will lose responsibilities for clothing, home and beauty supply chain and logistics, which she has handled since last year. There is also a danger that McDonald could be caught between Rowe and new chairman Norman, whose previous turnaround exploits include supermarket chain Asda and broadcaster ITV and who won’t shy away from tough decisions. “Archie’s pretty hands-on, asking questions and probing strategy. That can be quite a distraction,” said the former M&S director. McDonald has given away little so far. “Whatever business I’ve worked in, the number one lesson -- and I’ll take it forward to M&S -- is you have to stay as close as possible to your customers,” she told reporters. “It’s amazing how easy it is to slip off that path.” ($1 = 0.7450 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-m-s-moves/mcdonald-faces-tough-task-to-look-good-in-ms-fashion-idUKKCN1C31R5'|'2017-09-28T15:55:00.000+03:00'
'd910f2b32b76e4c99c09d2544533304ccbca9877'|'CFTC says Morgan Stanley unit to pay $500,000 over supervision failures'|'  8:40 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago CFTC says Morgan Stanley unit to pay $500,000 over supervision failures Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Thursday Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC agreed to pay $500,000 to settle charges it failed to properly supervise reconciliation of exchange and clearing fees with the amounts it ultimately charged customers for certain transactions. The CFTC said in a statement it found that between 2009 and April 2016, the Morgan Stanley subsidiary overcharged customers in the United States $1,550,182 and customers of an affiliate were overcharged $1,439,047. It said the unit fully refunded nearly all of the affected customers and has otherwise taken responsibility for the relevant remaining amounts. (Reporting by Eric Walsh; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/morgan-stanley-cftc/cftc-says-morgan-stanley-unit-to-pay-500000-over-supervision-failures-idUSEMN4NWQQ5'|'2017-09-28T23:40:00.000+03:00'
'd6ea61540641e142bbe847101e475bd96a517cb9'|'REFILE-Rite Aid posts profit due to fees from failed Walgreens merger deal'|'(Corrects spelling of earlier in second paragraph)Sept 28 (Reuters) - Drug store operator Rite Aid Corp reported a rise in quarterly net income on the back of a termination fee it got due to Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc’s failed attempt to buy its smaller rival.Rite Aid’s net income rose to $170.7 million, or 16 cents per share, in the second quarter ended Sept. 2, from $14.8 million, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier.The latest quarter includes a $325 million termination fee.Total revenue fell to $7.68 billion from $8.03 billion.Walgreens scrapped its deal to buy Rite Aid outright in June after failing to win antitrust approval, and said it would instead buy nearly half of its smaller rival’s U.S. stores, which also failed to pass regulatory muster.Rite Aid finally got regulatory approval earlier this month to sell 1,932 stores to Walgreens for $4.38 billion. (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/rite-aid-results/rite-aid-posts-profit-due-to-fees-from-failed-walgreens-merger-deal-idINL4N1M84WE'|'2017-09-28T09:22:00.000+03:00'
'1466510e1af2e51303699253b663394ba418f09b'|'Brazil''s Petrobras board approves listing fuel distribution arm'|'  12:15 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Brazil''s Petrobras board approves listing fuel distribution arm Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SAO PAULO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The board of Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA voted to list its fuel distribution unit on the São Paulo Stock Exchange, according to a securities filing on Thursday. Petrobras will sell a 25 percent to 40 percent stake in BR Distribuidora, as the unit is known, the filing said. The transaction is subject to approval by regulators. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/petrobras-divestiture-br-distribuidora/brazils-petrobras-board-approves-listing-fuel-distribution-arm-idUSE6N1KX01X'|'2017-09-28T15:14:00.000+03:00'
'2ea85252f94ab0665921537f07f28151266d10bc'|'Spanish holiday costs to rise, plus meet the super savers - Money'|'Spanish holiday costs to rise, plus meet the super savers Also, the redundancy payout nightmare and a piece of Anglesey history goes up for auction To get Money Talks delivered to your inbox sign up here View more sharing options Thursday 28 September 2017 15.45 BST Last modified on Thursday 28 September 2017 15.47 BST Hello and welcome to this week’s Money Talks – a roundup of the week’s biggest stories and some things you may have missed. Money news Holly Smith: ‘Brands often offer coupons on their Facebook pages. Photograph: Holly Smith In pictures A Grade II-listed former ferryman’s cottage in Menai Bridge, Anglesey, could be yours for just £15,000. Photograph: Auction House In the spotlight Moving funds about is getting ever easier thanks to technology, but so are the chances of sending them to the wrong place. Anna Tims reports With 700 electronic payments a second in the UK, funds sent erroneously are a growing problem – and getting them back is not always easy. Photograph: Alamy Consumer champions'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/28/spanish-holiday-costs-rise-super-savers-redundancy-payout-nightmare'|'2017-09-28T03:00:00.000+03:00'
'b68d26b8325360297a51e77e4b72708fe1e8837c'|'Nomura, RBS lose bid to overturn $839 million mortgage bond award'|'  7:53 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Nomura, RBS lose bid to overturn $839 million mortgage bond award Brendan Pierson 3 Min Read A man holding an umbrella walks in front of a signboard of Nomura Securities outside its branch in Tokyo October 29, 2013. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nomura Holdings Inc ( 8604.T ) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc ( RBS.L ) lost a U.S. court appeal on Thursday to overturn an order requiring them to pay $839 million for making false statements while selling mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae ( FNMA.PK ) and Freddie Mac( FMCC.PK ). The two banks had challenged the 2015 award on multiple grounds, including that the loss of the securities’ value was largely caused not by any false statements, but by the broader financial crisis in 2008. A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York, however, rejected that and other arguments. “Defendants may not hide behind a market downturn that is in part their own making simply because their conduct was a relatively small part of the problem,” Circuit Judge Wesley wrote on behalf of the panel. Representatives of Nomura and RBS declined to comment. RBS, which underwrote but did not sponsor securities at issue in the case, said in an August filing with U.S. securities regulators that it would seek to have Nomura indemnify it for its losses. A Royal Bank of Scotland branch is seen in central London, Britain February 21, 2009. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo The award stems from a 2011 lawsuit brought against Nomura and RBS by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2011. The FHFA has acted as conservator of mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since their 2008 takeover by the federal government after the collapse of the U.S. housing market. The lawsuit was one of 18 brought by the FHFA that year over some $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities that banks sold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. All the other lawsuits have been settled. The FHFA has recovered more than $23 billion from the settlements, including $5.5 billion from RBS in a different lawsuit, $5.83 billion from Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) and $4 billion from JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ). Following a non-jury trial, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in 2015 ruled against Nomura, which sponsored $2 billion of securities sold to Fannie and Freddie, and RBS, which underwrote four of the deals. She ruled that the offering documents for the securities did not correctly describe the underlying mortgages and ordered the banks to pay $806 million. The banks later agreed to pay another $33 million for costs and attorneys’ fees, subject to the outcome of their appeal. The case is Federal Housing Finance Agency v. Nomura Holding America Inc et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-1872. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nomura-lawsuit/nomura-rbs-lose-bid-to-overturn-839-million-mortgage-bond-award-idUSKCN1C3305'|'2017-09-28T22:52:00.000+03:00'
'75f81a3f7a656a96307c94f176dc733895965399'|'Uniper CFO warns of credit risk in case of Fortum takeover: BoeZ'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Uniper ( UN01.DE ) fears it could lose its crucial investment grade rating if a planned takeover by Finnish peer Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) goes ahead, its chief financial officer told a German paper.Fortum earlier this week said it would launch a 22-euro-per-share offer for Uniper, valuing it at 8.05 billion euros ($9.50 billion). The price drew criticism from Standard & Poor‘s, which placed its ‘BBB+/A-2’ ratings on Fortum on creditwatch with negative implications.So far, S&P has a ‘BBB-’ rating on Uniper, one notch above junk, which Chief Financial Officer Christopher Delbrueck fears could be at risk if the deal goes ahead.“We are very close to our target of a comfortable investment grade rating. We could lose that status as part of a takeover in the current set-up,” he told Boersen-Zeitung. “That destroys value for investors and sets back Uniper in its development.”Uniper’s net debt stood 3.26 billion euros at as of June, far bigger than Fortum’s 605 million euros. Uniper Chief Executive Klaus Schaefer told Reuters earlier this week that he saw the offer by Fortum as hostile.Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-uniper-m-a-fortum-oyj/uniper-cfo-warns-of-credit-risk-in-case-of-fortum-takeover-boez-idINKCN1C425I'|'2017-09-29T12:44:00.000+03:00'
'87b2fe2c55685ccc627b19c8fa51bd84b898dfc8'|'Qatar Airways expects Meridiana to be Italy''s ''real'' national carrier'|'U.S. directly communicating with North Korea U.S. directly communicating with North Korea U.S. directly communicating with North Korea Reuters TV United States   5:38 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Qatar Airways expects Meridiana to be Italy''s ''real'' national carrier Alexander Cornwell 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Qatar Airways aircraft is seen at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon/File Photo DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar Airways will back Meridiana to be Italy’s top airline, supplying it with wide and narrow bodied jets to help expand its network, the Middle East carrier’s chief executive said on Saturday. Qatar Airways announced on Thursday it had acquired a 49 percent stake in Meridiana’s new parent AQA Holding, with previous sole owner Alisarda retaining 51 percent. [nL8N1M95QA] Qatar Airways will “massively grow” the Italian airline, including a relaunch with new aircraft and new branding and an expansion of its European and international network, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told Reuters in Doha. Meridiana, Italy’s second biggest airline, will “over the next six months” start taking delivery of widebody Boeing 787s or Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A330s, and narrowbody Boeing ( BA.N ) 737 MAXs ordered by Qatar Airways, he said. He did not say how many aircraft Merdiana would take. Qatar Airways has 26 A330 passenger jets in its fleet and 30 787s, with a further 30 787s on order, according to its website. It has also ordered 20 737 MAXs, and al-Baker said on Sept. 26 that the airline would confirm options for 40 more. [nL2N1M61P2] The Middle East carrier made its third airline investment after more than a year of negotiations. Contract terms for Meridiana employees, including salaries, benefits and working hours, were renegotiated as a condition of the deal, al-Baker said. He did not say how those terms had changed, but said the changes followed a “a very frank talk with the unions,” which had been “very accommodating.” “They realized we are not going to just shrink the airline in the beginning, but that we are going to massively grow the carrier to become the real national carrier of Italy,” al-Baker said. Italy’s number one airline Alitalia [CAITLA.UL] filed for administration in May after management was unable to reach an agreement with employees over its latest bailout plan. Minority owner Etihad Airways, a Middle East rival of Qatar Airways, subsequently said it would no longer financially support the Italian carrier. Al-Baker said that Meridiana “should make sure that the Italian public is properly connected” as Alitalia goes through its bankruptcy proceedings. State-owned Qatar Airways is also a minority shareholder in British Airways parent International Airlines Group ( ICAG.L ) (IAG) and South America’s LATAM Airlines LAN.SN. Qatar Airways has previously expressed interest in Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc [RAM.UL], and al-Baker said it would soon apply to launch a domestic airline in India, which he has said would involve sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority. Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-airways-meridiana/qatar-airways-expects-meridiana-to-be-italys-real-national-carrier-idUKKCN1C50NT'|'2017-09-30T20:35:00.000+03:00'
'126f44d6047fa3301a9194ce8ff062f726d9549f'|'Canada steel producer Stelco files for IPO'|'(Reuters) - Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings Inc, which emerged from bankruptcy protection three months ago, said on Wednesday it has filed a preliminary prospectus with securities regulators in Canada for a proposed initial public offering of its shares.Stelco, which is owned by U.S. restructuring firm Bedrock Industries Group LLC, is seeking to raise US$150 million in the share sale and could have a market value of about US$1 billion, according to a source familiar with the situation.Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco said in a statement that the number of shares to be sold or their price have not yet been determined. The proceeds would be used for capital investments to develop new products and for early payment to certain pension benefits trusts, Stelco said.Stelco emerged from nearly three years of bankruptcy protection on June 30 after it was able to extinguish its bloated debt and sign new agreements with its unions. This was its second time in bankruptcy court after it emerged from protection in 2007 when U.S. Steel Corp bought the company for US$1.1 billion.Stelco’s revival comes at a time when the United States is considering imposing import tariffs on non-U.S. steelmakers on national security grounds.Stelco produces flat-rolled value-added steels for customers in the construction, automotive and energy industries across Canada and the United States. It operates two processing facilities in Ontario.Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver and John Tilak in Chicago; Editing by Diane Craft and Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-stelco-ipo/canada-steel-producer-stelco-files-for-ipo-idINKCN1C230F'|'2017-09-27T19:01:00.000+03:00'
'03a7accb786739b47b529a621e5296ae79026b15'|'EU declines to rank rival bids for agencies leaving Britain over Brexit'|'The Union Flag and a European Union flag fly near the Elizabeth Tower, housing the Big Ben bell, during the anti-Brexit ''People''s March for Europe'', in Parliament Square in central London, Britain September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Tolga Akmen/Files (Corrects paragraph 10 to show that all three countries, not cities, host EU agencies)BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has shied away from ranking which cities should host Europe’s drugs regulator and banking authority after Brexit, saying the decision is up to the 27 member states which will remain.The EU executive said its assessment, published on Saturday, was wholly based on the information provided by governments in their bidding war to host the two agencies, which will be forced to relocate from Britain when it leaves the bloc.“It (the assessment) respects the member states’ decision that the criteria should be unweighted and does not provide a ranking or shortlist of any kind,” the Commission said in a statement.Nineteen member states have bid to host the European Medical Agency (EMA) and eight want the European Banking Authority (EBA).The final say on where to move the agencies rests with EU leaders who will try to reach a deal at their next summit in three weeks’ time, with a final decisions a month later.Candidate cities will be appraised based on their ability to have an office ready in time, their accessibility, the quality of schools, healthcare and jobs for the families of staff, and how disruptive the move would be.In their eagerness to host the agencies, some governments have offered tax breaks or rent-free headquarters for the EU institutions - a big break for the bloc’s budget.However, the EU’s need to ensure business continuity could clash with another EU ambition - spreading the bloc’s agencies more evenly across Europe and giving newer, eastern member states a chance to catch up.The EMA on Tuesday warned that it could lose more than 70 percent of its staff, making it unable to function, if politicians pick an unpopular base for the London-based agency once Britain leaves the European Union.Amsterdam, Barcelona or Vienna were the top three choices of staff, according to a survey of around 900 of its workers. The Netherlands, Spain and Austria all already host one or more EU agencies.The EMA has said it would take at least three years to recover fully from the disruption to its operations. It sees retaining staff as key to maintaining essential services such as new drug approval and monitoring side effects.Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Andrew Bolton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-ema/eu-declines-to-rank-rival-bids-for-agencies-leaving-britain-over-brexit-idINKCN1C50DW'|'2017-09-30T15:13:00.000+03:00'
'3246a8b275e8f309cc110b2dd24403841528602c'|'''Biggest ever'' EU budget overhang casts shadow on Brexit bill'|'BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The overhang of delayed payments yet to be made from the EU budget reached its highest ever level last year, the EU auditor said on Thursday, highlighting an ominous turn as Britain haggles over its Brexit bill.The 28 current member states, including Britain, committed to pay nearly 1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion) over the period between 2014 and 2020, the current EU budgetary period. But delays in some of the projects and programmes that draw down those funds mean that a hefty 239 billion euros remains unspent.Known by the French term “reste a liquider” or RAL, this overhang pushes into the next seven-year budget. But EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that Britain is refusing to settle bills beyond 2020. Prime Minister Theresa May made that concession to pay beyond Brexit in March 2019 only last Friday in a speech in Florence aimed at unblocking talks.Barnier insists Britain will owe a share of all outstanding obligations the Union has entered into while Britain has been a member. Some of those may not be paid out for years.Publishing its annual report on Union finances, the European Court of Auditors warned that “the total payments the EU is committed to making from future budgets were higher than ever”.It urged officials to make a priority of clearing the backlog, which stood at 217 billion euros at the end of 2015. But it rose by 10 percent over the course of last year.Calculating a British share of the reste a liquider could be one of the toughest tasks for negotiators. Typically Britain has contributed around 15 percent of the EU’s receipts. Brussels has estimated the total “Brexit bill” could be around 60 billion euros -- a figure dismissed by May’s government as outrageous.Part of that sum, due in March 2019, would include roughly 20 billion euros for the 2019 and 2020 budget years. But if Britain stays in the single market for a transition over that period, it may not have to pay those amounts up front.However, the EU will still want Britain to pay a share of the reste a liquider beyond 2020, as well as funds to cover, for example, the future pensions of EU staff who have earned pension rights during the by then 46 years of British EU membership.Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Matthew Mpoke Bigg '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-budget/biggest-ever-eu-budget-overhang-casts-shadow-on-brexit-bill-idINKCN1C32VS'|'2017-09-28T17:18:00.000+03:00'
'b51fdd6826ec1111867f4085c201f106ae45ef51'|'FCC chair wants Apple to activate FM radio chips in iPhones'|'September 28, 2017 / 3:10 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago FCC says Apple should activate iPhones'' FM radio chip, but newer phones don''t have David Shepardson 2 Min Read Apple''s new iPhone 8 (R) and 8 Plus are seen after they go on sale at the Apple Store in Tokyo''s Omotesando shopping district, Japan, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. communications regulator urged Apple Inc on Thursday to activate FM radio chips in iPhones that would allow Americans access to life-saving information when a natural disaster takes out wireless networks, but the company said its newer models do not have the chips. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Apple was the one major phone manufacturer that has not activated the chips. “I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria,” Pai said in a statement. But Apple, in its own statement, said newer iPhone 7 and 8 models do not have FM chips “nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products.” The company added that it has “engineered modern safety solutions into our products. Users can dial emergency services and access Medical ID card information directly from the Lock Screen, and we enable government emergency notifications, ranging from Weather Advisories to AMBER alerts.” FCC officials said it is unclear whether the agency would have regulatory authority to require a company to activate the chips. The FCC did not immediately reply to Apple’s disclosure that new phones do not have the chips. The FCC said that more than 90 percent of cell sites in Puerto Rico and two-thirds of those in the U.S. Virgin Islands remain out of service after hurricanes damaged them. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Dan Grebler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fcc-apple/fcc-chair-wants-apple-to-activate-fm-radio-chips-in-iphones-idUSKCN1C328C'|'2017-09-28T18:03:00.000+03:00'
'b35d69293d6a63c65bab2b2129ddc4c6e4c0d18f'|'UPDATE 3-Germany''s Delivery Hero serves up revenue leap, slimmer losses'|'* H1 revenue up 66 pct to 246 mln euros* Adjusted EBITDA margin narrows to negative 18 pct* Reiterates 2018 breakeven aim; profits target in 2019 (Adds company clarifying like-for-like Q2 revenue up over Q1)By Eric AuchardFRANKFURT, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Germany’s Delivery Hero , the world’s largest online takeaway food delivery company, reported a 66 percent jump in first-half revenue and sharply narrower losses, after slightly slowing its expansion with a focus on breaking even in 2018.First-half revenue reached 246.5 million euros ($291.8 million), while the adjusted margin on core earnings narrowed to a loss of 18 percent from a loss of 47 percent a year earlier.“We achieved a good balance between strong growth and moving closer towards profitability,” Chief Executive Niklas Oestberg said in a statement.Delivery Hero said it expected revenue of 530-540 million for the full year, slightly above analysts’ consensus forecast of around 531 million euros and in the face of headwinds from converting results from other regions into a stronger euros.The full-year adjusted margin on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is expected to improve to minus 15-17 percent. It reiterated its plans to break even and then turn profitable by at least December 2018.“We are committed to full year profitability in ‘19,” Oestberg told journalists on a conference call.The first-half revenue growth suggested a slowdown in the second quarter from 90 percent growth in the first quarter, based on previously published figures. However, on a like-for-like basis the company said second-quarter revenue growth accelerated to 49 percent from 46 percent in the first quarter.The company operates in more than 40 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and Asia. It saw double-digit first-half revenue growth in all of its regions.Oestberg said based on results reported by rivals, Delivery Hero had increased share in all its markets. In the first half, it faced heavy marketing spending in its home market Germany by Dutch rival Takeaway.com’s Liferando.de unit.”In markets where we do compete with someone, we have been taking market (share), regardless of whether we make money or not,“ he said. ”I am also very happy with Germany ... we had a good growth in Q2 (second quarter).Delivery Hero was the fourth online food delivery firm to go public in recent years, following U.S.-based GrubHub, Britain’s Just Eat and Takeaway.com, all of which have seen their share prices soar.Its shares are up nearly 30 percent since its initial public offering in late June. The stock closed up 3.85 percent at 33.75 euros in Frankfurt trading on Tuesday.A fifth online food delivery firm, privately held UK-based Deliveroo, recently raised $385 million in new funding at a $2 billion valuation.$1 = 0.8449 euros Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/delivery-hero-results/update-1-delivery-hero-h1-revenue-rises-66-pct-adjusted-losses-narrow-idINL8N1M70O1'|'2017-09-26T04:22:00.000+03:00'
'5ba9b708b08558b8714ca0c61c79a2888265364d'|'China''s factories grow at fastest pace in over five years as prices surge'|'A factory floor of XCMG Group is seen in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China August 14, 2015. REUTERS/Brenda Goh BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s manufacturing activity grew at the fastest pace since 2012 in September as factories cranked up output to take advantage of strong demand and high prices, easing worries of a slowdown before a key political meeting next month.Production, total new orders and output prices all improved to the highest level in at least a year, while a pick-up in a reading for the construction sector indicated a building boom is undiminished.The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Saturday rose to 52.4 in September, from 51.7 in August and well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.It marked the 14th straight month of expansion for China’s massive manufacturing industry and the highest reading since April 2012. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the reading would ease slightly.The data comes ahead of the Communist Party Congress in mid-October, a once-every-five-years meeting where new leaders are appointed and the government’s key political and economic initiatives are laid out, though details are usually not announced until much later.China’s manufacturers are reporting their best profits in years, fueled by government-led infrastructure spending, a strong housing market, higher factory-gate prices and a recovery in exports.“Over the short term, we believe the resilient demand growth and disciplined balance sheet expansion ... will point to further improvement in manufacturing profitability and investment returns,” analysts at China International Capital Corporation said in a note after the data.But cost pressures from high raw materials prices and continued underperformance of smaller firms mean some manufacturers are still struggling.“Mid- and downstream industries are worried about a further increase in cost pressures,” National Bureau of Statistics official Zhao Qinghe wrote in comments published with the data.INPUT PRICES CLIMB The latest survey showed input prices continued to rise at a solid clip, with the reading at 68.4 compared with 65.3 in August, benefiting upstream producers such as miners, smelters and oil refiners.Indexes for raw materials prices in the paper, wood processing and furniture, and chemical products manufacturing industries were all above 75.0, said Zhao, indicating large price increases.Output prices also rose but at a slower pace, pointing to lower profit margins for companies further along the supply chain who are unable to pass on all of the price increases to their customers.A separate PMI on the steel industry fell to 53.7 in September from 57.2 in August but remained in solid expansion territory, as the industry faces production restrictions aimed at reducing choking air pollution over the winter.Analysts at China Merchants Securities said stricter production limits related to efforts to improve air quality and supply-side adjustments from capacity cuts had helped to improve the supply-demand balance, with new orders rising faster than production in September for the first time since 2012.For the manufacturing sector overall, inventories of raw materials and finished goods continued to decline in September, providing little indication that factories were stocking up in preparation for winter production cuts.Big firms saw the strongest improvement in September, with a large firms sub-index rising to 53.8, while one for small firms improved slightly but was still in contraction territory at 49.4.China’s cabinet on Wednesday said that China will take a number of measures, including tax exemptions and targeted reserve requirement ratio cuts, to encourage banks to support small businesses.The impressive performance for China’s manufacturers comes despite a government push to shutter outdated industrial capacity and clean up polluting industries, though some analysts say official claims of massive capacity cuts are misleading as overall production is still rising.Chinese authorities are also in the midst of a campaign to reduce the risks from a rapid build-up in debt produced by years of credit-fuelled stimulus, and the continued strength of the industrial sector could give policymakers confidence to stick to the push for deleveraging.PRIVATE SURVEY SHOWS SLOWER GROWTH A separate private survey may temper some of the enthusiasm, as it showed growth slowed in September amid high pricing pressure and slower new order growth.The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 51.0 in September, compared with 51.6 in August, as new export order growth slipped.So far, the regulatory clampdown has focused on the financial sector, particularly interbank and shadow banking activity, and the pass-through to the real economy appears to be limited.But S&P last week downgraded China’s sovereign credit rating, saying the government’s deleveraging drive has progressed slower than expected, leading to higher economic and financial risks.An official survey on the services sector published Saturday rose at the fastest pace since 2014, though gains in that sector were also driven by higher input prices.A sub-reading for the construction sector rose to 61.1 in September from 58.0 in August.The official data showed firms in both the manufacturing and services sector continued to shed workers.Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-pmi-official/chinas-factories-grow-at-fastest-pace-in-over-five-years-as-prices-surge-idINKCN1C5027'|'2017-09-30T06:55:00.000+03:00'
'66468f281a64a7d0ce54cd51e55efeea9baca888'|'UK convenience retailer Nisa''s CEO leaves during takeover talks'|'LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Nisa Retail said on Saturday its chief executive had left the convenience retailer, which is in talks with the Co-operative Group ( 42TE.L ) to be taken over.Nisa, which is owned by its independent retail members, said Nick Read had left with immediate effect but did not give a reason. Read had held the role since December 2014.A source close to the negotiations with the Co-op said Read’s sudden departure “was not expected to impact the deal and exclusive talks are ongoing.”Last month Britain’s second largest supermarket group Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ) suspended bid talks with Nisa, saying it needed a clearer idea of whether the competition regulator will approve takeovers in the fast-growing convenience sector. That opened the door for the Co-op.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is probing Tesco’s ( TSCO.L ) proposed 3.7 billion pound ($4.96 billion) takeover of Booker ( BOK.L ), a wholesaler which supplies the convenience sector.($1 = 0.7465 pounds)Reporting by James Davey; editing by Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-nisa-moves/uk-convenience-retailer-nisas-ceo-leaves-during-takeover-talks-idINKCN1C50FG'|'2017-09-30T11:06:00.000+03:00'
'03e11337d13b06d8a757130ddb16d23811ebc2e5'|'China''s Leshi Internet plans to buy finance business from affiliate for 3 billion yuan'|'(Reuters) - The main listed unit of Chinese technology conglomerate LeEco said on Sunday that it plans to buy investment and financial service assets from an affiliate for up to 3 billion yuan ($455.24 million) as part of a restructuring exercise.Leshi Internet Information & Technology, a video content company, said in a filing it would have the assets transferred from Leshi Investment Management (Beijing) Limited for no more than 3 billion yuan. [ bit.ly/2wfwECT ]Leshi said the move, a financial arrangement between the listed company and its affiliate, fits its strategy and would help it provide internet finance to Leshi’s users.Leshi Investment Management is LeEco’s finance arm with businesses in online payment, online transaction and asset management. It is applying for licenses in banking, securities brokerage, and finance leasing, in addition to various licenses it already owns, according to the filing.Leshi has been suspended from trading on the Shenzhen stock exchange since April pending a major asset restructuring.Its founder, Jia Yueting, has been battling financial problems facing his LeEco group, whose businesses, from a Netflix-like video website to electric cars, were seen to have expanded too rapidly in recent years.Jia resigned from all posts at Leshi in July, with new investor Sunac China’s chairman Sun Hongbin taking over as Leshi’s new chairman.Reporting by Sijia Jiang and Hong Kong newsroom; Editing by James Pomfret & Shri Navaratnam '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-leshi-finance-restructuring/chinas-leshi-internet-plans-to-buy-finance-business-from-affiliate-for-3-billion-yuan-idINKCN1C0076'|'2017-09-25T01:20:00.000+03:00'
'3184d8fd017cef3599832dbb03049e942c92f258'|'Bank of England to ask banks to hold extra 10 billion pounds capital on consumer credit risks'|'  8:32 AM / Updated 3 hours ago UK banks must bolster defences against consumer loan defaults -Bank of England David Milliken , Huw Jones 4 Min Read Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, May 15, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British banks have underestimated the risks from a surge in consumer borrowing and need to hold an extra 10 billion pounds of capital to guard against future dangers, the Bank of England said on Monday. Unsecured consumer lending is growing at nearly 10 percent a year, far faster than incomes, and the BoE said the low rate of defaults at present had more to do with strong employment growth than prudent long-term lending. Last month the BoE forecast the economy would slow next year, partly due to Britain’s looming departure from the European Union, and earlier this month it said it was likely to start raising interest rates in the coming months. “Lenders overall are placing too much weight on the recent performance of consumer lending in benign conditions as an indicator of underlying credit quality. As a result, they have been underestimating the losses they could incur in a downturn,” the BoE said in a statement. If there was a sharp downturn that pushed unemployment up to 9.5 percent - more than double its current rate - and caused the Bank of England to raise rates to 4 percent from a current 0.25 percent, British lenders could face 30 billion pounds in losses. On average, 20 percent of consumer loans would need to be written off over a three-year period, compared with a 2 percent write-off rate at present, the BoE said. Last year, the BoE only estimated a 13 percent write-off rate, based on a scenario which did not include a big increase in interest rates as well as a different make-up of lending. Monday’s warning is part of a fuller assessment of bank risks which the BoE will publish on Nov. 28. After that, it will tell banks how much extra capital they need to hold based on the individual riskiness of their lending. For example, credit card lending has an expected write-off rate of 25 percent in a crisis, while car finance would only see a 10 percent loss, even if second-hand car prices fall as well. The extra 10 billion pounds is small in the context of the 280 billion pounds of core capital held by British lenders, but the BoE said it expected banks to take the greater risks into account in their future lending plans. INCREMENTAL? J.P. Morgan economist Allan Monks said Monday’s announcement represented an “incrementalist” approach from the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee, as it stopped short of placing direct curbs on consumer lending. By contrast, in 2014 the BoE limited lenders’ ability to issue mortgages that were worth more than 4.5 times a borrower’s income, and a separate regulator has tightened affordability checks further. “More direct intervention in the consumer loan market is unlikely unless banks fail to comply with the BoE’s requirements,” Monks said. Unsecured consumer lending is only an eighth of the size of mortgage lending, and does not play a big role in overall consumer spending growth, the BoE said. But unlike mortgage lending, there is a high risk of defaults during sharp economic downturns. The BoE said it still intended to raise a separate counter-cyclical risk buffer to 1 percent in November from 0.5 percent. As well as setting interest rates, the BoE is responsible for financial stability and much regulation, though conduct and consumer protection is mostly the job of a separate body, the Financial Conduct Authority. Britain’s opposition Labour Party proposed capping credit card interest payments in a major speech on Monday. FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey told Reuters that other measures to help heavily indebted borrowers should be given time to work first. Separately, the BoE said Brexit posed big legal challenges for about a quarter of derivatives contracts, which businesses use to hedge against interest rate and currency moves, and either new legislation or the redrafting of thousands of contracts would be needed. Editing by Andy Bruce and Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe/bank-of-england-to-ask-banks-to-hold-extra-10-billion-pounds-capital-on-consumer-credit-risks-idUKKCN1C00SK'|'2017-09-25T11:31:00.000+03:00'
'11bdbf1021ed92d8e66952c06acd60dd7493b94f'|'KKR lifts bid for Australia''s Pepper to A$682 million to appease shareholder'|'  12:14 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago KKR lifts bid for Australia''s Pepper to $543 million to appease shareholder Byron Kaye 2 Min Read (Reuters) - KKR & Co LP has added a small sweetener to its bid for Australia’s Pepper Group, caving to a demand from the non-bank lender’s biggest shareholder and bringing the deal value to A$682 million ($543 million). With the new offer, which sent Pepper’s shares surging, the U.S. buyout firm gains a slice of Australia’s A$1.7 trillion mortgage market while investors will be able to cash in at a 42 percent premium to its IPO price two years earlier. KKR announced a special dividend of 10 cents per share on Monday - appeasing Perpetual Investments Ltd, Pepper’s top shareholder with a 14.7 percent stake, which had said it was unhappy with the A$657 million offer the lender had agreed to in August. “It’s clear we were vocal, that we felt the initial bid undervalued the company,” said Anthony Aboud, a portfolio manager at Perpetual. “This has been a decent investment for us. KKR have got it at a decent price and we’ve been trying to get as much as we possibly could.” Pepper shares rose 4.6 percent to A$3.66 by mid-session, just below the sweetened offer price of A$3.70. That compares with its 2015 IPO price of A$2.60. Pepper’s loan book jumped 36 percent in 2016, compared with the banking sector’s 6.5 percent credit growth, as big banks backed off riskier lending in response to regulators’ concerns about ballooning household debt. Although the non-bank lender is seen as exposed to a possible housing correction, Australians are generally viewed as good creditors who will cut back elsewhere to meet their mortgage payments. Pepper’s shareholders will vote on the increased offer at a meeting on Nov. 15. Reporting by Byron Kaye; Additional reporting by Hanna Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-pepper-group-m-a-kkr/australias-pepper-group-says-kkr-ups-takeover-offer-idUKKCN1C000G'|'2017-09-25T06:06:00.000+03:00'
'296585df7e529097313ae7477bbc3acab451862b'|'Lufthansa names former CFO Kley as new chairman'|'September 25, 2017 / 1:54 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Lufthansa names former CFO Kley as new chairman Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Planes of the Lufthansa airline stand on the tarmac in Frankfurt airport, Germany, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) named its former finance chief Karl-Ludwig Kley as new chairman of its supervisory board, replacing Wolfgang Mayrhuber, who resigned six months before the end of his term. Kley, 66, who is also the chairman of power company E.ON’s ( EONGn.DE ) supervisory board, took over on Monday, the flagship carrier said in a statement. He was Lufthansa’s finance chief for eight years through 2006 before joining drugs and chemicals group Merck KGaA ( MRCG.DE ), where he later became chief executive. He has been a member of Lufthansa’s supervisory board since 2013, and there was already speculation late in 2015 that he would replace Mayrhuber, after Kley was quoted as saying he would take the job if it was offered to him. Lufthansa did not say why Mayrhuber, who has been with Lufthansa for more than 40 years and became its CEO in 2003, was stepping down from his post early. “In the interest of continuous development and a forward looking development, I have resigned from my mandate so that Karl-Ludwig Kley can assume the position as Chairman,” Mayrhuber said. Under the Austrian national’s leadership, Lufthansa pursued an aggressive acquisition drive, buying up rivals including Austrian Airlines and Swiss. The results were seen as mixed by analysts, as Germany’s biggest airline had to suspend its dividend twice and slash costs as part of a painful strategic overhaul. But the group posted record results in the past two years, and its current CEO Carsten Spohr said last week that business so far in 2017 was proving even better. Lufthansa is also poised to take over part of insolvent smaller peer Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), having been picked as a preferred bidder alongside Britain’s easyJet ( EZJ.L ). The group also nominated Miriam Elizabeth Sapiro, a partner at communications consultancy Finsbury, to fill the vacant seat left on the supervisory board by Mayrhuber’s departure after Lufthansa’s shareholder meeting in May 2018. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Arno Schuetze and Victoria Bryan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lufthansa-chairman/lufthansa-chairman-mayrhuber-steps-down-to-be-replaced-by-kley-idUSKCN1C01WQ'|'2017-09-25T18:53:00.000+03:00'
'1c904f8d840b33653c3b15b4c01b8036c78f2c4a'|'China makes targeted reserve requirement rate cut to boost lending to small firms'|'A Chinese national flag flutters outside the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, in Beijing, April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic/Files BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s central bank on Saturday cut the amount of cash that some banks must hold as reserves for the first time since February 2016 in a bid to encourage more lending to struggling smaller firms and energize its lacklustre private sector.The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website that it would cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for some banks that meet certain requirements for lending to small business and the agricultural sector.The PBOC said that the vast majority of China’s banks would be eligible for at least a 50 basis point cut to their required reserve ratio as most met the minimum requirements to qualify.“The size of the cut is big, it covers all big banks, and 90 percent of small and mid-sized banks. Conservatively we estimate 700 billion yuan in liquidity could be freed up,” analysts at Lianxun Securities said in a note.The PBOC said the move was made to support the development of “inclusive” financial services and will be available to all medium and large-sized banks that meet requirements starting in 2018.Analysts said the cut was different from previous changes to RRR in that it was a “delayed” cut that will not go into effect until next year.“Clearly, the market will be disappointed as this cut will not help ease the liquidity conditions in the onshore banking system in the short term,” Zhou Hao, a Singapore-based analyst at Commerzbank, wrote in a note after the announcement.The PBOC said the reserve requirement rate will be cut by 50 bps - or 0.5 percent - for banks whose loans to the targeted groups account for 1.5 percent of their outstanding loan balance or their newly added loans for the previous year.A much higher bar is set for a further 100 bps cut: 10 percent of loans must be to the designated “inclusive finance” groups, the PBOC said. Banks that meet the 10 percent requirement will see their RRR cut by 150 bps.FLAGGED China’s cabinet had recently flagged a possible move, saying the government would take a number of measures, including tax exemptions and targeted reserve requirement ratio cuts to encourage banks to support small businesses.Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen on a counter of a branch of a commercial bank in Beijing, China, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files The PBOC said the move was made to encourage more small loans - those under 5 million yuan - to small firms, loans to individual proprietors and lending that supports agricultural production, innovation, the poor and education.The move is in line with existing policy to encourage more targeted lending to more vulnerable sectors of the economy, even as the government tries to cut down on speculative investment in the financial sector and property and rein in a rapid buildup in overall corporate debt.But in the last two years, the central bank has preferred using new policy tools such as short- and medium-term lending facilities for a similar purpose. Most economists polled by Reuters had not expected an RRR move before 2018.The PBOC said in a statement that the targeted RRR cut did not constitute a change to its prudent and neutral monetary policy.RRR is the amount of cash as a percentage of deposits that banks must park at the central bank as reserves. The current rate for major banks was set at 17.0 percent after the last general RRR cut that took effect in March 2016.Lianxun Securities said the RRR cut would help to offset negative impacts to smaller firms from strict environmental protection measures and capacity cuts, while also offering some liquidity relief to small and mid-sized financial firms.The central bank in February extended a preferential programme that allows financial institutions that support rural finance and small enterprises to apply for a lower required level of cash reserves.But despite still-strong credit growth nationwide, many small businesses and farmers remain in desperate need of funds and do not have easy access to ample cheap credit that state-run firms enjoy.Also on Saturday, the central bank said it will maintain prudent and neutral monetary policy and use multiple monetary policy tools to keep liquidity basically stable.The statement, which came after the third quarter meeting of the PBOC’s monetary policy committee, said China will continue with interest rate and exchange rate reform while keeping the yuan basically stable.China’s economy grew 6.9 percent in the first half of the year, bolstered by a hot property market and a government infrastructure spending spree.But business activity surveys have repeatedly shown large companies are reaping the benefits more than smaller ones.Reporting by Elias Glenn, Ben Blanchard and Coco Li; Editing by Andrew BoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-rrr-cut/china-makes-targeted-reserve-requirement-rate-cut-to-boost-lending-to-small-firms-idINKCN1C50BJ'|'2017-09-30T14:04:00.000+03:00'
'45e7110375b150e6df5f32fc5ecc863e7dd20207'|'Qatar Airways expects Meridiana to be Italy''s ''real'' national carrier - Reuters'|'DOHA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways will back Meridiana to be Italy’s top airline, supplying it with wide and narrow bodied jets to help expand its network, the Middle East carrier’s chief executive said on Saturday.Qatar Airways announced on Thursday it had acquired a 49 percent stake in Meridiana’s new parent AQA Holding, with previous sole owner Alisarda retaining 51 percent.Qatar Airways will “massively grow” the Italian airline, including a relaunch with new aircraft and new branding and an expansion of its European and international network, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told Reuters in Doha.Meridiana, Italy’s second biggest airline, will “over the next six months” start taking delivery of widebody Boeing 787s or Airbus A330s, and narrowbody Boeing 737 MAXs ordered by Qatar Airways, he said.He did not say how many aircraft Merdiana would take.Qatar Airways has 26 A330 passenger jets in its fleet and 30 787s, with a further 30 787s on order, according to its website. It has also ordered 20 737 MAXs, and al-Baker said on Sept. 26 that the airline would confirm options for 40 more.The Middle East carrier made its third airline investment after more than a year of negotiations.Contract terms for Meridiana employees, including salaries, benefits and working hours, were renegotiated as a condition of the deal, al-Baker said. He did not say how those terms had changed, but said the changes followed a “a very frank talk with the unions,” which had been “very accommodating.”“They realized we are not going to just shrink the airline in the beginning, but that we are going to massively grow the carrier to become the real national carrier of Italy,” al-Baker said.Italy’s number one airline Alitalia filed for administration in May after management was unable to reach an agreement with employees over its latest bailout plan. Minority owner Etihad Airways, a Middle East rival of Qatar Airways, subsequently said it would no longer financially support the Italian carrier.Al-Baker said that Meridiana “should make sure that the Italian public is properly connected” as Alitalia goes through its bankruptcy proceedings.State-owned Qatar Airways is also a minority shareholder in British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG) and South America’s LATAM Airlines.Qatar Airways has previously expressed interest in Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc, and al-Baker said it would soon apply to launch a domestic airline in India, which he has said would involve sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Catherine Evans)Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/qatar-airways-meridiana/qatar-airways-expects-meridiana-to-be-italys-real-national-carrier-idINL8N1MB0FR'|'2017-09-30T15:24:00.000+03:00'
'c23e5fad3511c7ad3126278ace4c2e49a702f08b'|'Yandex, Russia’s biggest technology company, celebrates 20 years'|'ARKADY VOLOZH, the bearded co-founder of Yandex, Russia’s largest search engine, bristles at his company being branded the “Google of Russia”. Far from emulating the American firm, Yandex launched in 1997, a full year before Google, he points out. More crucially, the moniker poorly describes what Yandex offers today, which is a group of products and services that includes taxis, shopping, payments, music and education. “Really we’re the Silicon Valley of Russia,” says Mikhail Parakhin, Yandex’s chief technology officer.That may only be a slight overstatement. Yandex’s Russian presence is immense; it accounts for just over half of the search market and 61% of online advertising, and its sites attract over 60m visitors each month. Like American tech giants, it is also expanding its offline logistical capabilities, signing recent deals with Uber, a ride-hailing firm, and with Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, to build out its transportation and e-commerce businesses. 3 7 hours ago To Yandex doubled down on its home market, which accounts for 92% of its revenues, after a failed foray into Turkey soon after listing on NASDAQ in 2011 (when it raised $1.3bn). “You either go global in one service which you feel good about, or you focus on one market and do it really well,” says Mr Volozh. Russia already has Europe’s largest base of internet users—some 87m people—yet penetration rates are low at 71%. Along with the space to grow, however, comes the risk that Yandex’s activities attract greater political scrutiny. President Vladimir Putin paid a visit on September 21st, around its 20th anniversary, having criticised the company in past years.Its early lead online came thanks to technology that responded to local needs. The Yandex search algorithm processed Russian language requests better than early versions of international competitors, for example. Mapping software that displayed real-time traffic proved immensely popular, especially among drivers on Moscow’s highly congested roads.There were also challenges. As Russia fell into recession in 2014, profits began tumbling; the depreciation of the rouble in late 2014 hit especially hard, as a large chunk of Yandex’s costs are in foreign currency. Google began eating away at its search business by dominating the fast-growing mobile market on Android devices. But as macroeconomic conditions have improved, investors crept back.A victory against Google in a Russian antitrust court this year (the American firm must stop requiring Android phone makers to install its apps and services and instead offer Android users a choice of default search engine) as well as signs of successful diversification beyond search have pushed Yandex’s shares up by some 50% in the past year. Investors are particularly bullish on its taxi business. In July Yandex agreed a $3.7bn merger with Uber, which effectively ceded the Russian market after a costly price war. Yandex will take a controlling 59.3% stake in the new enterprise. A second joint venture is in the works with Sberbank, which aims to transform Yandex’s price-comparison platform into a fully-fledged e-commerce business.Other initiatives support Yandex’s vision of itself as the hub of Russia’s digital economy. A new machine learning-powered virtual assistant, Alisa, aims to conquer the Russian-language sphere, where Amazon’s Alexa does not operate and Apple’s Siri can be spotty. An early version that used Russian literary classics as a training data set was scrapped because it was so depressing, says Mr Parakhin. “You had the feeling that after it stops talking it’ll go and commit suicide!” But a revamped model will launch in October, voiced by the actress who dubbed the Russian version of “Her” in Spike Jonze’s hit film.As for politics, the firm has long trod a tightrope, drawing the Kremlin’s ire over its mobile-payment system, which opposition politicians have used for fundraising, and its popular news aggregator, which serves up stories based on an algorithm rather than the interests of the authorities. In 2014, as tensions between Russia and the West intensified over the annexation of Crimea, Mr Putin declared the internet a “CIA project” and singled out Yandex for being susceptible to foreign influence. The company’s stock promptly fell 5%.Since then, Yandex has made overtures to the authorities. Its maps now show Crimea as part of Russia, for example. This spring, Alexei Navalny, leader of the opposition, accused Yandex of manipulating news results to exclude mention of mass protests he led (Yandex has denied the charges). On his visit to the firm, Mr Putin watched a demonstration of Yandex’s self-driving car and chatted with Alisa. Inside Yandex’s glass-walled offices, among its talented young employees, Russia’s future must have looked bright. "Silicon Valley by the Moskva"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729779-search-giant-thriving-faces-political-pressures-yandex-russias-biggest-technology?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'71b8d02c122c6b1cd558d15b70df0dfa066a2565'|'American entrepreneurship is flourishing, if you know where to look'|'AT FIRST glance, it seems that America’s economy is losing its mojo. Many economists, most notably Robert Gordon of Northwestern University, have lamented that productivity growth seems to be anaemic when compared with earlier golden eras (see Free exchange ). A gloomy chorus of business leaders has echoed what media outlets have by now turned into a mantra, that American entrepreneurship is in steady decline. Surely America’s overall competitiveness, then, is plummeting?The answer from one influential think-tank, the World Economic Forum (WEF), is no. In its latest update to its long-running annual ranking of global economic competitiveness, published on September 27th, America rose from third place to second, ranking below only Switzerland. 4 8 hours ago To This is partly because poor economic policies and weak productivity growth are bedevilling rivals such as China and Europe. Yet glaring American weaknesses, such as fraying infrastructure and fractured politics, are outweighed in the WEF analysis by the country’s strengths in areas like business sophistication and technological readiness. And aside from market size, the variable on which America still outscores other rich countries the most is its culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.Hand-wringing about a crisis in business formation relies on official data showing that fewer new firms are being started than in the past. The latest figures, released on September 20th, show that there were 414,000 firms that were less than a year old in 2015 (the latest available year), compared with an average of 511,000 in the decade before the financial crisis. Still, not every new firm is equal—some entrepreneurs want to create the next Tesla, not open another bodega. Of the roughly 4.4m firms created in the last ten years, about 30,000 can be described as gazelles, or young, high-growth companies, according to the Kauffman Foundation, another think-tank that is known for its work on entrepreneurship. These firms have a disproportionate impact on job creation and innovation. They pack a powerful punch.A forthcoming report from the Kauffman Foundation finds that high-growth entrepreneurship has rebounded in America from the trough induced by the global financial crisis and is now rocketing (see chart). These experts scrutinise three things: how quickly startups grew in their first five years; the share of firms scaling up past 50 employees by their tenth year; and the prevalence of “fast growth” firms with at least 20% annualised growth over three years (and $2m or more in revenues).The analysis also reveals that such gazelles are found in unexpected places. Consider ProviderTrust, a health-tech startup. The firm has developed a novel software-as-a-service offering that helps health-care firms track people’s professional credentials and licences efficiently. Because states do not typically share timely information about disciplinary actions taken against health-care workers, footloose rogues can create a costly regulatory headache for unwitting new employers in another state. The company has been growing at a rate of over 60% a year since its founding in 2010; revenues should reach $10m this year.Or look at Root Insurance, America’s first mobile-only insurance firm, which is increasing downloads of its app by nearly 50% month over month. It uses actual driving data to set insurance rates for all of its customers, and offers discounts to drivers for using the self-driving mode of their Tesla car. Alex Timm, its chief executive, explains that data collected via its customers’ mobiles proves that people are much safer when the car does the driving. His firm monitors drivers for texting and driving, which it discovers by analysing the micro-vibrations of smartphones.These gazelles are found not in Silicon Valley or Boston but, respectively, in Nashville and Columbus. Other overlooked cities in the American heartland are also hotspots of high-growth entrepreneurship (see map). Mark Kvamme of Drive Capital, a venture-capital (VC) fund based in Ohio, points to Indianapolis as a rising technology hub: ExactTarget, a local software-marketing startup, was acquired in 2013 by Salesforce, a Californian software giant, for $2.5bn. “Luring talent away from Silicon Valley and Seattle is getting much easier,” says Mr Kvamme, a native Californian who left Sequoia Capital, a top Silicon Valley VC fund, to found Drive.Steve Case of Revolution, an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist (in 1985 he co-founded what later became America Online), calls this the “rise of the rest”. Having observed this trend on periodic bus tours across America, during which he encourages (and sometimes invests in) many local entrepreneurs, he thinks three factors are fuelling it. Barriers to entry have fallen, especially for technology companies. Access to risk capital for startups, including through crowdfunding, is no longer limited to the two coasts. Local governments are increasingly supporting training schemes, accelerators and other bits of soft infrastructure that greatly boost startups’ chances of success.Challenged on whether high-growth entrepreneurship can really be spread like jam across America, Mr Case acknowledges there is value to clustering. He insists, however, that nearly three-quarters of all VC money need not go to just California, Massachusetts and New York. “Spreading this to 30 cities”, he reckons, “would transform America.”Correction (September 29th, 2017): A previous version of this piece said that Root Insurance “punishes” drivers for texting and driving. The company monitors this activity but does not act on the information. This has been amended. "Gazelles in the heartland"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729781-high-growth-kind-has-rebounded-sharply-lows-after-great-recession-american?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-30T12:00:00.000+03:00'
'4536405a8e288059aaaef9dd5bfab4b8b54b4742'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX retreats as resource stocks cool on commodity prices'|'* TSX falls 42.11 points, or 0.27 pct, to 15,474.12* Materials slide 1.1 percent* Industrials the only sector to end positive* Bombardier up 6.1 percent at C$2.27By Solarina HoTORONTO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index retreated broadly on Tuesday from its highest close in four months hit the previous session, as cooling commodity prices sent mining and oil stocks into retreat.The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners as well as fertilizer companies, lost 1.1 percent as a pullback in the price of safe-haven bullion weighed on gold miners.Spot gold dipped more than 1 percent after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank needed to continue gradual interest rate hikes, despite weak inflation.Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd finished down 3.4 percent at C$56.78, while Barrick Gold Corp fell 1.3 percent at C$20.28.Copper prices also declined, ending the session down 0.6 percent to $6,411 a tonne after touching its lowest since mid-August on Friday.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended 42.11 points, or 0.27 percent lower, to 15,474.12.The index had posted its highest close since May 16 at 15,516.23 on Monday.Industrials, home to Bombardier Inc, was the only group that rose among the TSX 10 biggest sectors.Energy issues, which have rallied some 13 percent since late August, declined 0.3 percent on the back of softer oil prices, though individual stock moves were more moderate.Investors were taking profits after prices of crude rallied to a 26-month high in the previous session, fueled by threats from Turkey to cut crude exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region.U.S. crude futures settled at $51.88 a barrel, down 0.7 percent.“This is a group where everybody gets hot and cold about and it looks like they’re getting hot about it coming into the fall - today not withstanding,” said John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada. “There’s hopes of a production cut-back continuation and demand remains strong.”Bombardier Inc shares reversed course sharply during the session, jumping as much as 13.6 percent in afternoon trading, ahead of a U.S. trade court’s preliminary ruling on Boeing Co’s aircraft dumping complaint. The stock closed up 6.1 percent at C$2.27.The court decision over whether Bombardier is dumping its new CSeries passenger jet in the U.S. aircraft market was expected to be made public on Tuesday.The planemaker also aims to close deals with Chinese airlines in time for an expected trip by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to China next month, a senior Bombardier executive said.The financials group, which accounts for more than one third of the index’s weight, dipped 0.2 percent. Healthcare stocks were off 0.5 percent. (Reporting by Fergal Smith and Solarina Ho; Editing by W Simon and James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks/canada-stocks-tsx-retreats-as-resource-stocks-cool-on-commodity-prices-idUSL2N1M7282'|'2017-09-26T23:53:00.000+03:00'
'57dc9f49134d887136a1a5eff1a166ff9e439c46'|'Nikkei almost flat, clinches best monthly gains this year'|'* Weaker yen underpinned shares in September* Investors warily watch Japanese political developmentsBy Lisa TwaroniteTOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average ended almost flat on Friday but posted its biggest monthly gain this year as investors rebuilt positions they had scaled back earlier this month on geopolitical concerns.The Nikkei was down 0.03 percent at 20,356.28 but posted a solid 3.6 percent rise in September, its first monthly gain in three months.The broader Topix was down 0.08 percent on the day at 1,674.5 but ended September up 3.5 percent.“Month-end is having an impact here, and I don’t think you should be interpreting too much into the market being down today,” said Stefan Worrall, director of Japan equity sales at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.“The domestic focus may be adding to some caution at the end of the month, and the end of the quarter,” he said.Upbeat economic data early on Friday underpinned sentiment and kept losses in check.Japan’s core inflation picked up in August, though it remained well below the central bnak’s target. Industrial output rose more than expected and demand for labour remained at its strongest in over 40 years in a further sign of solid momentum in the world’s third-largest economy.A weaker yen also gave Japanese stocks a tailwind in September. The dollar gained 2.5 percent against the yen in the month.Investors were wary of political developments ahead of a snap lower house election called by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who expects to consolidate another term for his Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition even if it reduced its lower house dominance to a simple majority.But a fledgling party led by popular Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike was gaining momentum ahead of the Oct. 22 election, as the biggest opposition Democratic Party said on Thursday that it would step aside to let its candidates run under her conservative, reformist banner.Genki Sushi Co jumped 4.0 percent. The owner of the sushi restaurant chain will buy a one-third stake in bigger rival Sushiro Global Holdings Ltd from private equity firm Permira, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said. Sushiro shares rose 4.0 percent.Toshiba Corp’s shares gained 2.9 percent, after it said on Thursday that it had signed an $18 billion deal to sell its chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP, overcoming a key hurdle as it scrambles for funds to stave off a potential delisting.Shares of Koito Manufacturing Co fell 6.2 percent, after the company trimmed its full-year group outlook. (Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Kim Coghill and Sam Holmes) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday/nikkei-almost-flat-clinches-best-monthly-gains-this-year-idINL4N1MA2HU'|'2017-09-29T04:53:00.000+03:00'
'819dbd4ae6dc35c514e935277a8067c0b56a4e21'|'Rivigo is helping the Indian truck-driving industry out of a jam'|'THERE are 36 gradations in India’s archaic caste system, from the priestly to the supposedly untouchable. And then, somewhere below that, are the long-haul truck-drivers. Plying the subcontinent’s potholed highways for weeks at a time, few can settle into anything like a home life. Their marriage prospects are grim; venereal diseases and sore backs from sleeping in cramped cabs are but two occupational hazards. Despite an oversupplied national job market, the industry has struggled to attract the roughly 1m new drivers it needs each year to keep everything from Amazon packages to car parts moving. Can technology help?To fend off shortages, most truck owners have done precisely what economists suggest, which is to increase pay. Drivers can now command nearly 40,000 rupees ($610) a month, a decent white-collar wage—and not far from double the level of trucker pay just three years ago. Rivigo, a startup based in Gurgaon, an industrial city near Delhi, is using a different road map. Since its founding in 2014, it has set up a network of 70 “pitstops” across India, each around 200-300km down the road from each other. From those, it organises a pan-India relay system, where drivers ply the four- to five-hour journey from their “home” station to the next. They then drive back to their starting point in another vehicle, and clock off in time to make it home for supper most nights. Another colleague is then responsible for driving the load to the next waypoint, and so on.Latest updates What next for Kurdistan? The Economist explains 2 hours ago Facebook’s   14   15   15   20   See all updates Administering this logistical ballet is no simple task. Clever software predicts precisely when trucks will arrive and leave pit-stops and which petrol stations they might refuel at most cheaply. A trip from Bangalore to Delhi takes eight different legs. But by keeping the truck on the road more or less permanently, it takes a mere 44 hours to cover the distance of 2,200km, compared with the 96 hours a conventional trucker would take once rest breaks, meals and so on are factored in.Rivigo claims it has no trouble hiring drivers for the roughly 2,500 trucks it now owns and operates. At a pitstop two hours south of Delhi, Naresh Kumar, a “pilot”, as Rivigo dubs its drivers, says he misses little from his decade of pan-India trucking before he joined the company two years ago. “From being home once or twice a month, I’m now home most nights,” he says. Because most of Rivigo’s driving staff live near pitstops in rural areas between cities, it can pay them much less than truckers who live in cities and command an urban-dweller’s premium. Its monthly salaries are nearer the 23,000 rupee mark.In one way Rivigo’s approach is unusual for a startup. It is busy accumulating assets—those pitstop facilities and trucks—at a time when asset-light platforms matching service users with existing asset-owners are all the rage. Deepak Garg, the founder, had originally mulled launching an “Uber for trucking”; as a former McKinsey management consultant, he might be expected to. But the plethora of small-time operators running anything from one to 20 trucks didn’t bite. “Their problem wasn’t demand, it was finding drivers,” he says.Rivigo may yet go down an Uber-like road. Mr Garg says that within a few years he wants Rivigo to be out of the business of owning its own trucks, and focused instead on organising the relay for whichever trucking firm wishes to participate in it. The pitstop network, he says, cost a mere $30m to set up, a fraction of the $115m it has raised from investors such as Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners, two private-equity firms. Rumours are swirling of a whopping $200m investment round led by SoftBank, a Japanese telecoms and internet group, which would turn Rivigo into a rare business-to-business “unicorn” startup valued at over $1bn.Such a lofty valuation raises the possibility of far more competition. The concept of a relay is hardly new: the Pony Express used it to deliver mail in the American West before the advent of the telegraph. If relay is 15% cheaper than conventional trucking, as Mr Garg claims, others will cotton on. Rivigo has sped to an annual revenue of nearly $200m in just three years. DHL, a global logistics firm, has mulled a similar approach in India. Conversely, Mr Garg thinks his “relay as a service” concept might have applications in other parts of India’s logistics markets—or overseas.First, Rivigo will have to navigate transformation in India’s domestic logistics industry, which is worth around $300bn a year. A newly-introduced goods-and-services tax has unified what were 29 disparate states into a single market for the first time. While companies tended to need a warehouse in each state, most are now looking at fewer, bigger locations instead. That will mean larger trucks, longer journeys and less time stuck at internal borders (or paying bribes to speed through).Investors are ploughing money into the sector, and some new firms may tread on Rivigo’s toes. The opportunity is large, and growing, for spending on logistics is increasing at roughly double the pace of growth in GDP, which even in a bad year means double-digit increases. Mr Garg speaks of the efficiencies of the relay system with evangelical zeal. Will other firms pick up the baton?  "The Indian pony express"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729811-its-pit-stops-and-relay-system-could-elevate-low-status-truck-drivers-rivigo-helping?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'defb76aa8c0cf75019945ef546abd8c2fb3dca69'|'Bayer sells further stake in Covestro for 1 billion euros'|'September 29, 2017 / 5:54 AM / in 11 hours Bayer sells further stake in Covestro for 1 billion euros Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) said on Friday it had further reduced to just under 25 percent its holding in Covestro ( 1COV.DE ), the plastics producer which it demerged in 2015, by selling a 6.9 percent stake for 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). Bayer, which is trying to complete its $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds giant Monsanto ( MON.N ) by the end of the year, declined to name the buyers but said they would be bound by a lock-up agreement to not sell the shares until at least Dec 11. The sale was not an open market transaction and therefore meets a lock-up agreement from Sept 13, when Bayer agreed not to place further shares on the open market for 90 days. Before Friday’s transaction Bayer had already sold three separate blocks of shares in Covestro this year for 3.7 billion euros, and also raised 1 billion euros in for bonds that it can pay back with Covestro shares. “Through the move, we have taken a major step toward our goal of achieving full separation from Covestro in the medium term,” Chief Executive Werner Baumann said in a statement. A spokesman for Bayer said there would be no immediate changes to the Covestro supervisory board as a result of the sale, which takes Bayer’s stake down to 24.6 percent. The move means Bayer has ceded control of Covestro and will see it needing to revise its group outlook to take into account of it now being classed as a discontinued operation. Bayer is due to report third-quarter results on Oct 26. The Bayer Pension Trust continues to hold a 8.9 percent stake in Covestro. Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Victoria Bryan; Editing by Greg Mahlich '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-covestro-divestiture/bayer-sells-further-stake-in-covestro-for-1-billion-euros-idINKCN1C40IH'|'2017-09-29T03:54:00.000+03:00'
'dae951e8e1b15de18e8ea4c598bbbe2154a454b7'|'Toyota, Mazda set up venture to develop electric cars'|'Reuters TV United States September 28, 2017 / 2:22 AM / in 4 minutes Toyota to form electric car technology venture with Mazda Naomi Tajitsu , Maki Shiraki 2 Min Read The Toyota logo is seen on a car in a park lot in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) is establishing a new venture to develop electric vehicle technology with partner Mazda Motor Corp ( 7261.T ), seeking to catch up with rivals in an increasingly frenetic race to produce more battery-powered cars. Policymakers in key markets like China are aggressively pushing a shift to electric cars over the next two to three decades, pressuring traditional automakers to crank up their electric vehicle (EV) plans - just as declining battery costs enable more power to be packed into cars. Toyota said in a statement the new company will develop technology for a range of electric cars, including minivehicles, passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks. Toyota will take a 90 percent stake in the joint venture, called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co Ltd, while Mazda and Denso Corp ( 6902.T ), Toyota’s biggest supplier, will each take a 5 percent stake. Mazda Motor''s logo is pictured at its news conference in Tokyo, Japan August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon The plans build on a partnership announced in August when Japan’s biggest automaker agreed to take a 5 percent stake in Mazda and two said they would jointly develop affordable electric vehicle technologies. After years of focusing on bringing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the market, Toyota last year set up a division to develop electric cars which is led by President Akio Toyoda, and said it plans to introduce EVs in China in the coming years. Neither Toyota nor Mazda market fully electric passenger cars at the moment. Toyota has cited affordability and the limited range of battery-operated cars as obstacles to the mass popularization so far. Mazda has an R&D budget a fraction of Toyota‘s, which has made it difficult to develop electric cars on its own. Even so, it has said it plans to launch EVs in 2020. Shares in Mazda were up 3 percent after the announcement, while those in Denso were up 1.5 percent. Toyota shares were flat. Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Naomi Tajitsu; Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-electric-vehicles/toyota-mazda-denso-to-form-electric-vehicle-jv-nhk-idUKKCN1C3071'|'2017-09-28T08:06:00.000+03:00'
'762f115ecade5c88ec0a96535e21c00c9fb118bb'|'Board of Brazil''s Oi delays creditor plan decision -source'|'BRASILIA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The board of Brazilian phone carrier Oi SA has delayed a decision on whether to approve a plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection, which was to include a bigger debt-for-equity swap than initially thought, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.According to the person, who declined to be named because the matter remains private, management at Oi aimed to propose a planned capital injection of 9 billion reais ($2.8 billion), raising it from 8 billion reais. (Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Paul Simao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring/board-of-brazils-oi-delays-creditor-plan-decision-source-idINL2N1M823R'|'2017-09-27T17:51:00.000+03:00'
'd8b21a0ea6e155896a6858fd9df6f7e03c1c27e3'|'Millionaires'' wealth reached record $63.5 trillion globally in 2016: study'|' 31 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Millionaires'' wealth reached record $63.5 trillion globally in 2016: study Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Luxury boats are seen in the bay of Monaco, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - The number of millionaires in the world rose by nearly 8 percent last year to an all-time high of around 16.5 million people, with record total wealth of $63.5 trillion, according to a report by global consultancy firm Capgemini. The wealth of high net worth individuals (HNWI) -- which Capgemini defines as those with investable assets of $1 million or more, excluding the primary residence, collectibles and consumables -- rose 8.2 percent on the year in 2016 and is on track to surpass $100 trillion by 2025. Some 1.15 million people became millionaires last year, the report said. The United States, Japan, Germany and China boast the highest numbers and together make up for almost two-thirds of the total. In the United States, their ranks rose to 4.8 million from 4.46 million, while the number of millionaires in China rose to 1.13 million from just over 1 million. The Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America contributed equally to the rise in wealth, with Russia, Brazil and Canada reversing course from declines a year ago, the report showed. Russia, helped by a rebound in its stock market, saw both the number of its millionaires and their wealth grow by about 20 percent. France overtook Britain in the top five in terms of the number of millionaires, helped by a recovery in real estate, while Sweden knocked Singapore -- which saw a decline in its equity markets -- out of top 25. Surveys on the millionaires’ financial asset holdings show they held 31.1 percent in equities in the second quarter of 2017, compared with 24.8 percent in 2016. Fixed income held steady at 18 percent, while cash grew to 27.3 percent from 23.5 percent. Alternative investments, such as hedge funds, derivatives, foreign currency, commodities and private equity, fell to 9.7 percent from 15.7 percent. The report did not dive into the reasons for the reallocation, but stronger global growth, coupled with hefty liquidity after years of unprecedented stimulus by global central banks, have pushed stock markets around the world to record highs. On the other hand, investors are wary of geopolitical risks, with tensions growing between the United States and North Korea, and are uncertain about the consequences the U.S. Federal Reserve’s exit from unconventional stimulus might have on economies and markets. Millionaires saw a 24.3 percent return on average on investment portfolios overseen by wealth managers. Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Kim Coghill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-wealth/millionaires-wealth-reached-record-63-5-trillion-globally-in-2016-study-idUSKCN1C30L2'|'2017-09-28T09:30:00.000+03:00'
'224aed963b01459ef3f35d44ad36cabb41c8d8c1'|'Rescues of Russian banks allow state to tighten its grip on sector'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/6c83034a-a2b4-11e7-9e4f-7f5e6a7c98a2'|'2017-09-27T07:03:00.000+03:00'
'15c8b0d5e05916871c51c121983d90068be7bb3d'|'Boeing to invest $33 million in JV with COMAC for China plant: China Daily'|'The logo of Boeing (BA) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo (This version of the September 26 story corrects paragraph 2 to show COMAC investment is $22 million, not $40 million)SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Boeing Co will invest $33 million for a majority stake in a joint venture with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) that will oversee the U.S. planemaker’s new 737 completion plant in China, the China Daily reported.The firms had signed an agreement to set up the joint venture with registered capital of $55 million, the state-run newspaper said on Wednesday. Boeing would take a 60 percent share, while COMAC would invest $22 million for the remainder.Construction of the factory in the eastern city of Zhoushan began in May. It would install interiors and paint liveries.Boeing had not previously disclosed how much it would invest in its first overseas completion and delivery center outside the United States. It aims to deliver 100 planes a year.The China Daily, citing COMAC, added that the Chinese planemaker would participate in the completion tasks with Boeing employees, but how the two sides would share the work was still unknown. The delivery center would be owned by Boeing.Boeing and its European rival Airbus are expanding their footprint in China as they vie for orders in the world’s fastest growing aviation market. Airbus last week opened its Chinese completion plant for A330 jets in the eastern city of Tianjin.Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Stephen Coates '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-china-plant/boeing-to-invest-33-million-in-joint-venture-with-comac-for-china-plant-china-daily-idINKCN1C13DA'|'2017-09-26T22:02:00.000+03:00'
'28910c4be069a9a293a0ddc9692c73fa0ddc2fb5'|'Sears Canada asks court for more time to close deal with chairman'|'Sept 30 (Reuters) - Sears Canada Inc said late on Friday that it has asked a court to extend creditor protection that expires on Wednesday by another month so it can finish negotiating a deal that would keep the iconic brand running in Canada.The company, which in 2012 was spun off from U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp, filed for creditor protection in June and laid out a restructuring plan that included cutting 2,900 jobs and closing roughly a quarter of its stores.The company said late on Friday that it is in negotiations with its executive chairman Brandon Stranzl, who submitted a conditional bid on Aug. 31 that he amended last week.The statement did not identify any other bidders.Sears Canada also said it will ask the court to approve deals to sell assets from its trucking firm, S.L.H. Transport Inc, and home improvement units that provide duct cleaning, oil, and heating and cooling services.The statement did not identify financial terms of the potential deals, which it said it hopes the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will approve on Wednesday.Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto and Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sears-canada-bankruptcy-sale/sears-canada-asks-court-for-more-time-to-close-deal-with-chairman-idINL2N1MB0AD'|'2017-09-30T12:15:00.000+03:00'
'f84735cfac431588ff2a617b0a6a5f865d7f805f'|'Audi says resolves dispute with former engineer in dieselgate case'|'  2:29 PM / in 6 hours Audi says resolves dispute with former engineer in dieselgate case Reuters Staff 2 Min Read An Audi logo is pictured at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski BERLIN (Reuters) - Audi ( NSUG.DE ) said it had resolved a legal dispute with a former engineer who sued the carmaker for wrongful dismissal and re-employment after he was fired amid investigations into the diesel emissions scandal. Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) luxury division admitted in November 2015 that its 3.0 litre V6 diesel engines were fitted with an auxiliary control device deemed illegal in the United States that allowed vehicles to evade U.S. emission limits. At a German labour court hearing in February, Audi lawyers claimed that Ulrich Weiss, former head of diesel engine development at the carmaker, knew about the emissions manipulations but had failed to inform his superiors. Lawyers for Weiss had rejected the allegations. On Saturday, a spokesman for Audi said the working relationship with Weiss “has been terminated by mutual consent”. He declined to comment on possible severance payments to the engineer and other details of the agreement for reasons of data protection. The lawyer representing Weiss couldn’t be reached for comment. The agreement will spare Audi further, potentially public, hearings in court where details of its handling of emissions could be discussed as the embattled carmaker struggles to draw a line under its diesel crisis. On Thursday, a source told Reuters that Munich prosecutors had arrested a former VW executive board member in connection with Audi’s emissions manipulations. Reporting by Andreas Cremer. Additional reporting by Joern Poltz; Editing by Stephen Powell'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-audi/audi-says-resolves-dispute-with-former-engineer-in-dieselgate-case-idUKKCN1C50I9'|'2017-09-30T17:29:00.000+03:00'
'c6b25603cdcf9ec9c119146badbc4f699012d6d3'|'Who’s afraid of disruption?'|'LAST week Schumpeter met two tech tycoons who control businesses in total worth $600bn. In both cases the mayhem around them was what you would expect if Beyoncé hit town, minus the musical talent and looks. Hotel floors were locked down by the official secret service; the corridors were crammed with lines of petitioners and in one case a Wall Street boss gatecrashed the room in order to hug his idol.The message from both titans—you ain’t seen nothing yet—was imperious. Over the next decade, they say, conventional industries will face an onslaught from tech competitors wielding vast financial resources, new technologies and massive reserves of data. It is a view that has swept through traditional firms’ boardrooms, too, where enthusing about virtual reality and singing the praises of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s boss, is almost obligatory. The notion of disruption, with its promise to destroy the status quo and then renew it, is the most fashionable idea in global business since the craze for emerging markets over a decade ago. 4 8 hours ago To Yet there is a puzzle at the heart of the orthodoxy. Few bosses, in public or in private, expect their own firms to decline, and hardly any American companies are valued by investors as if their profits will fall. The tech revolution, it seems, will be momentous, but harmless, with no corporate victims. Something does not add up.If disruption is defined as conventional firms being clobbered by digital ones, there is certainly some of it about. This month Toys “R” Us went bankrupt, joining many clothing and hardware retailers felled by e-commerce. On August 23rd shares in WPP, an advertising firm, slumped after it said clients were cutting spending partly because of technological change. A few days later Amazon closed its acquisition of Whole Foods, a food retailer, and cut its high prices, spreading fear in the supermarket industry’s aisles.At least six conventional industries have been eviscerated by digital innovation in the past two decades—music, video-renting, books, taxis, newspapers and clothes retailing. In financial terms the survivors are shadows of their former selves. The New York Times Company’s profits are 67% below their peak. It is a similar story at Barnes & Noble (76%) and Universal Music (about 40%).But these firms and their peers were never large. In 1997, when Mark Zuckerberg was 13 years old and the six industries were in their prime, they accounted for 2% of the profits of the S&P 500 index of big American firms. The toll that digital disruption has taken so far on overall earnings is thus tiny. Across America’s economy profits are high and stable relative to GDP.If technological disruption was about to inflict a new and more devastating blow on traditional firms, you would expect to see lots of them with miserly valuations, as investors discounted a slump in their profits. Yet such firms are uncommon. Only about 40 companies in the S&P 500 have a price-earnings ratio of less than 12, which is a sign of imminent decline. That is similar to the share two decades ago and half the number of ten years ago.Only two industries are priced for devastation. General Motors and Ford are valued at just seven times profits. Investors expect Tesla, a manufacturer of electric cars, to steal market share, and ride-sharing firms to cut demand for cars. Airlines are dirt cheap but that is because the market frets about a price war and the chance of tighter antitrust regulation, not about disruption.Many industries that you might imagine to be directly in the crosshairs of Silicon Valley are expected to plod along happily. Consider television, where Amazon, Netflix, YouTube and Apple are pouring money into buying and making new shows. There are certainly worries about consumers cutting the cable-TV cord, but the incumbent cable firms and content producers are in aggregate valued on 20 times profits, implying cash flows will continue to rise. Likewise, hotel companies, rather than being wiped out by Airbnb and throttled by online travel agents, enjoy similar perky valuations to those they had ten years ago.The list goes on. The credit-card giants, Visa and MasterCard, are on a roll, and are together worth almost as much as Amazon: there is little sign of disruption by digital-payments firms. From stodgy banks (facing a putative threat from fintech) to electric utilities (which might be disrupted by batteries and smart grids) it is a similar story: valuations imply that investors are relaxed. Even food retail’s giant sitting duck, Walmart, is forecast to see pre-tax profits increase by a cumulative 6% over the next three years.A different kind of digital accommodationInvestors appear to be assuming an accommodation between big tech and the rest of big business, not a bloody showdown. The five largest tech firms (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft) have valuations that suggest their combined share of total corporate profits will rise from 7% now to 13% in a decade. They are expected to keep near-monopolies for decades in products that attract huge public interest, such as search and social media. But they are not expected to lay waste to America Inc.That is reasonable. Many incumbent industries have high barriers to entry. Two of the largest, banking and health care, are surrounded by a mesh of regulation. And existing big firms have raised their game. Most giants, from Walmart to General Electric, have digital or e-commerce divisions. America’s incumbents spend five times more on research and development than the five big technology companies do.But it is possible that the present balancing act may topple over. Either tech breakthroughs or deregulation could make it easier for tech firms to compete against conventional ones. If the tech boom becomes a bubble, there will be pressure on tech bosses to lower the hurdle rates they use for new projects and invest much more heavily in old industries. If they are rational, they will resist the temptation, but when you are holed up in a hotel room surrounded by admirers it can be easy to lose perspective. "Uneasy accommodation"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729769-business-world-obsessed-digital-disruption-it-has-had-little-impact?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'7c7e0b000414ecdd351523b7d4b74d944722c0cd'|'Uber''s Kalanick says he appoints former Xerox, Merrill bosses to board'|'September 30, 2017 / 12:25 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Uber''s Kalanick says he appoints former Xerox, Merrill bosses to board Reuters Staff 1 Min Read 89th Academy Awards - Oscars Vanity Fair Party - Beverly Hills, California, U.S. - 26/02/17 – Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] co-founder Travis Kalanick on Friday said that he had appointed two new board members, challenging Uber shareholders who have asked a court to stop the former chief executive from naming directors. Kalanick in a statement said that he had appointed former Xerox Chief Executive Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch Chief Executive John Thain as directors in the face of proposals to dramatically restructure the board. Reporting By Liana B. Baker; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Sandra Maler'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-board/ubers-kalanick-says-he-appoints-former-xerox-merrill-bosses-to-board-idUKKCN1C500R'|'2017-09-30T03:33:00.000+03:00'
'3eca4db764a69ce080117d683d8621cfde1d5cdd'|'China September official factory PMI rises to 52.4, highest since 2012'|'September 30, 2017 / 1:12 AM / in 12 hours China September official factory PMI rises to 52.4, highest since 2012 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Employees work at a production line inside a factory of Saic GM Wuling, in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, June 19, 2016. REUTERS/Norihiko Shirouzu/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s manufacturing activity grew faster than expected in September as factories cranked up production to take advantage of strong demand and high prices fuelled by a year-long building boom. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Saturday stood at 52.4 in September, compared to 51.7 in August and well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. That was the highest reading since April 2012. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the reading would come in at 51.5, easing marginally from August. China’s long-ailing industrial sector is reporting its strongest earnings in years, fuelled by a government-led infrastructure spending spree, stronger factory-gate prices and a recovery in exports. The economy grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first half of 2017, and looks set to easily meet the government’s full-year target of around 6.5 percent. Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-pmi-factory-official/china-september-official-factory-pmi-rises-to-52-4-highest-since-2012-idINKCN1C5016'|'2017-09-30T04:11:00.000+03:00'
'1881056e93c25d7a3b3585e3e1ceb9812177e51c'|'Wells Fargo hires new law firm to prepare CEO for Senate appearance'|'September 23, 2017 / 2:06 AM / Updated 18 hours ago Wells Fargo hires new law firm to prepare CEO for Senate appearance Dan Freed 3 Min Read Tim Sloan, CEO and President of Wells Fargo & Co., speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co. ( WFC.N ) has hired law firm Sidley Austin to take the lead in preparing Chief Executive Tim Sloan for his appearance before the U.S. Congress next month to answer questions about a year-long sales practices scandal, according to four sources with knowledge of the decision. Sloan will appear before the Senate Banking Committee, which writes rules for his industry, at a hearing titled “Wells Fargo: One Year Later,” on October 3. Wells Fargo spokeswoman Jennifer Dunn declined to comment. No one from Sidley Austin was available to comment outside of office hours. The testimony will be Sloan’s first congressional appearance since he took over as CEO in October of last year, roughly a month after Wells Fargo reached a settlement with regulators over the creation of as many as 2.1 million unauthorized accounts. The bank has since disclosed problems with other products, including auto and life insurance, and recently revised its estimate for the number of accounts that were potentially opened without customers’ authorization to 3.5 million. In his own congressional appearances last year, Sloan’s predecessor, John Stumpf, often lacked answers to questions posed by legislators. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren accused him of “gutless leadership.” He left the bank less than a month later and was replaced by Sloan. The law firm that prepared Stumpf for his testimony, Gibson Dunn, will still be working for Wells Fargo, but in a supporting role, said one of the sources. No one from Gibson Dunn was immediately available to comment outside of office hours. Hundreds of outside law firms work for Wells Fargo on various matters, and the bank’s new general counsel, Allen Parker, recently hired a new chief operating officer for the legal team, Tom Trujillo, who is reviewing those relationships. The hiring of Sidley Austin, however, was directed by Wells Fargo’s government affairs office, said one of the sources. Reporting by Dan Freed; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Mary Milliken '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wellsfargo-accounts-lawfirm/wells-fargo-hires-new-law-firm-to-prepare-ceo-for-senate-appearance-idUSKCN1BY030'|'2017-09-23T05:05:00.000+03:00'
'29e4752953f0d6c1832afb4e43d64ef5bc723d94'|'THIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE'|'Sept 23 (Reuters) - THIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORETHIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORETHIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORETHIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE THIS IS TEST3 FROM AMERS PLEASE IGNORE (Reporting by Sujay Wachasunder) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/this-is-test3-from-amers-please-ignore/this-is-test3-from-amers-please-ignore-idUSL2N1M408P'|'2017-09-23T11:04:00.000+03:00'
'a54fafee47b243026c3f670281ef3b61e7b4c0ac'|'UPDATE 1-Trump pressures U.S. senators to back Republican healthcare bill'|'(Adds line about Monday Senate hearing)By Amanda BeckerWASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted Senator John McCain for dealing a possibly fatal blow to the latest Republican attempt to dismantle Obamacare.According to a new independent analysis, the bill awaiting a Senate vote could lead to 21 million fewer Americans having health insurance.McCain, an Arizona Republican who is being treated for brain cancer and cast a crucial “no” vote to defeat a similar bill in July, said on Friday that he could not “in good conscience” vote for the proposal authored by Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham.“He campaigned on Repeal & Replace. Let Arizona down!” Trump wrote about McCain on Twitter early Saturday morning.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will schedule a vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill by Sept. 30, the last day when it could pass in the chamber with a simple majority of 51 votes instead of the 60 typically required.The bill would take federal money spent on the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled, as well as subsidies to help individuals buy private insurance, and deliver it to the states in block grants.The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which analyzes legislation, has not had time to assess the Graham-Cassidy bill before the expected vote. McCain, a close friend of Graham, said he could not support it without knowing how much it would cost, its effect on insurance premiums, and how many people would be affected.But the Brookings Institution said on Friday that the Graham-Cassidy bill could leave at least 21 million fewer Americans with health insurance by 2020 to 2026. The Washington think tank has generally been supportive of Obamacare, which is formally known as the Affordable Care Act.The coverage estimate “likely understates” reductions in insured Americans because it is not clear how states would use the money or if they would face obstacles in setting up new programs, according to Brookings researchers.“What is clear, however, is that the legislation would result in very large reductions in insurance coverage,” they wrote.The Senate Finance Committee on Monday will hold a hearing on the Graham-Cassidy bill. Cassidy, a physician, is expected to testify.CBO estimates of previous Republican proposals showed they could lead to more than 20 million fewer insured Americans. This complicated passage in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 52 seats and Democrats are unanimously opposed to repeal-and-replace measures.Republicans need at least 50 votes to pass the bill, relying on Vice President Mike Pence to break a tie. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has said she was leaning against the Graham-Cassidy bill, as has Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski are undecided.After blasting McCain, Trump on Saturday singled out Paul and Murkowski.“I know Rand Paul and I think he may find a way to get there for the good of the Party!” Trump wrote on Twitter.Regarding Murkowski, he tweeted that in Alaska: “Deductibles high, people angry!”The insurance industry, hospitals, consumer activists, the AARP advocacy group and organizations such as the American Medical Association, American Heart Association and American Cancer Society all oppose the bill.Shares of some health insurers closed higher on Friday after McCain announced his opposition. Centene Corp ended up 1.6 percent, while Humana Inc gained 0.2 percent and Aetna Inc rose 0.1 percent, reversing earlier losses. (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-healthcare/update-1-trump-pressures-u-s-senators-to-back-republican-healthcare-bill-idINL2N1M424E'|'2017-09-23T16:52:00.000+03:00'
'fa4832f074e636679958aa6ce2480145c7d47e15'|'Citigroup to settle dispute with Lehman Brothers for $1.74 billion - Bloomberg'|'May to rally Conservatives to build ''a better future'' May to rally Conservatives to build ''a better future'' May to rally Conservatives to build ''a better future'' Reuters TV United States   3:07 AM / in 8 hours Citigroup to settle dispute with Lehman Brothers for $1.74 billion: Bloomberg Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Citibank building is seen in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs /File Photo (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc resolved a fight over $2.1 billion that dates to the financial crisis era after Citigroup agreed to give back $1.74 billion to the estate of the investment bank, according to Bloomberg. Citigroup had kept about $2.1 billion that Lehman had on deposit with it for trades following the Lehman bankruptcy, Bloomberg said. The dispute arose because Citigroup said it was owed $2 billion as a result of Lehman’s bankruptcy, while Lehman argued that the money should go to its creditors, Bloomberg said. Lehman Brothers Managing Director Steven Mullaney said in court papers that the pact was “reasonable in light of the complexities of the litigation,” according to Bloomberg. Reuters was not able to get a comment from Citigroup or Lehman Brothers outside business hours. Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-citigroup-settlement-lehman/citigroup-to-settle-dispute-with-lehman-brothers-for-1-74-billion-bloomberg-idUKKCN1C503M'|'2017-09-30T06:03:00.000+03:00'
'8c836459c261e107dea9ffce39761a38121cb864'|'Global economy - In work, but out of pocket'|'  8:56 PM / in 4 minutes Global economy - In work, but out of pocket Jeremy Gaunt 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People ride on an escalator at a subway station in Tokyo, Japan, October 14, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Unemployment in the world’s biggest developed economies has been falling, at least since the end of the financial crisis. But wages, in the main, have not reacted as might be expected. They have generally either grown only modestly, or even fallen. Take, for example, resurgent Germany. Since 2012, the unemployment rate has tumbled to the lowest level since reunification. Wages and salaries have grown -- but only gradually and at nothing like a rate to imply pressure. It is even clearer in Japan, where unemployment this year has fallen to a more than 20-year low of just 2.8 percent “Everything tells us the labour market is tight in Japan,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. “(But) the one place we are not seeing labour market tightness in is wages, which aren’t rising at all.” One impact of this globally is that inflation has not picked up much despite the massive amount of stimulus hurled at it by central banks, including negligible or even negative interest rates. Indeed, it may be one reason why some banks appear to be less worried about low inflation than they were. For the worker, the lack of inflation has masked some of the wage stagnation. (It has only become a hot issue in Britain, for example, since inflation took off after the Brexit vote.) But this may not last. September’s GfK sentiment index suggested German consumer morale may be about to cool as a result of a more negative expectation for incomes. The more-workers-less-pay-growth phenomenon, meanwhile, is the subject of a new report from International Monetary Fund economists Gee Hee Hong, Zsoka Koczan, Weicheng Lian and Malhar Nabar. They find the disconnect between unemployment and wages to be the result of a number of factors -- including the slowdown of productivity -- that are relatively new and which are probably not going to go away. A key factor is an abundant workforce -- labour market slack in the jargon. But that is a seeming contradiction given the record low unemployment rates in some places. It comes down to people working fewer hours than they would like and the trend towards temporary contracts -- the gig economy, zero-hours contracts and so on. That leaves a large number of workers for companies to choose from if wage demands rise. FILE PHOTO: Commuters look at their smartphones inside a train in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo “Despite employment growth, hours per worker have continued to decline and involuntary part-time employment has increased in more than two-thirds of countries,” the IMF report notes. A second factor is, in effect, the impact of globalisation and a more integrated global economy. Local labour slack is essentially only part of the picture. “(Playing a possible role are) the threat of plant relocation across borders, or an increase in the effective worldwide supply of labour,” the economists found. Interestingly, a third factor -- automation -- was not found by the IMF team to have had a major impact, at least yet. FILE PHOTO: People look at their mobile phones while waiting for a train at a subway station in Tokyo, Japan, October 14, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo That may come later. In March, PwC consultants estimated that by 2030 automation will impact -- do away with or change -- 38 percent of existing jobs in the United States, 35 percent in Germany, 30 in Britain, and 21 in Japan. Sounds a long time away, but it is just over 12 years. ITALY NEXT The political impact of all this is unknown -- although Britain’s Brexit vote, the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the rise of the far-right AfD in Germany all point at the very least to voter disenchantment with the status quo. So the next big test could be Italy, where unemployment is a stubborn 11.4 percent and wage growth has been running at negligible year-on-year rates. Italy will have to hold a general election by the end of May next year and an economy deemed to be weak or unequal could boost support for parties that at the very least have been critical of the euro. Among them are the 5-Star Movement, the Northern League and even former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. Berlusconi recently raised the idea of a parallel currency to the euro. The coming week will give a snapshot of Italy’s economy, with September’s purchasing manager indexes (PMI) and the unemployment rate for August. There will also be retail sales data -- sometimes a test of voter contentment. Meanwhile, there will be a global economic snapshot for the end of the third quarter, from PMI across the globe to U.S. payrolls. Reporting by Jeremy Gaunt; Editing by Catherine Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-outlook/global-economy-in-work-but-out-of-pocket-idUKKCN1C40XG'|'2017-09-29T23:56:00.000+03:00'
'c26d6c6fe459e0580548393ce7106a1e13506bc4'|'Facebook and the meaning of share ownership'|'ONE group of Facebook friends that Mark Zuckerberg recently decided were not worth hanging out with were its public shareholders, who expected to cross-examine him (via a lawyer) on September 26th in a Delaware court. At issue would have been Mr Zuckerberg’s plans to refashion the social-media firm’s share-ownership structure more in his favour.There is not a scintilla of doubt over who controls Facebook. Not only does Mr Zuckerberg, its founder, serve as its CEO and chairman; owning 16% of its shares, he controls 60% of the voting authority through a special class of stock with ten times normal voting rights. A year ago, Mr Zuckerberg decided he would like to sell a large slug of his holdings (worth $74bn) without diluting control. The firm made a plan to distribute non-voting shares enabling him to reduce his economic interest to 3% without affecting control. 3 7 hours ago To That prompted litigation. Shareholder votes can be directly meaningful on many issues, including management pay and acquisitions, and indirectly meaningful, too, because these votes require the release of often important information, says Stuart Grant, a lawyer. He sued Facebook and Mr Zuckerberg on behalf of two of the company’s large investors for a breach of fiduciary duty. But shortly before the trial Mr Zuckerberg dropped the plan, posting on Facebook that he believed he had sufficient control regardless. He also probably wanted to avoid an extra fight amid controversy over Russians using Facebook to meddle in America’s presidential election.There was a time when ideas surrounding shareholder “democracy” created a vocal constituency for each share equating to one vote on corporate matters. This was a matter of contractual agreement under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange’s rise to pre-eminence in the early twentieth century was tied to listing standards that enhanced investor confidence. But its authority has since withered away. It now offers no opinion on the subject of multiple share classes other than that they are permitted by its primary regulator, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Indeed, because the SEC does not block the issuance of non-voting shares, Mr Zuckerberg could well have won the case.The NASDAQ, where Facebook is listed, defends multiple classes on principle, arguing that a share need only reflect an economic participation. Various structures are acceptable as long as shareholders know what they are buying, notably at the time of a public offering. If rules were tightened, it believes, firms would forgo listing altogether for less pernickety private markets.Whatever merits this argument has, it does not quite cover the Facebook case: the change was to be made after the firm had gone public. Other firms have been taking a similar approach to their shares, either limiting investor voting rights, such as Under Armour, a clothing manufacturer, or offering shares with none, such as Snap, another social-media firm. But poor results at both firms have raised doubts about investors’ tolerance for buying into similarly-structured offerings.Yet it does not amount to a meaningful mood shift on multiple share classes. If Airbnb, a home-sharing giant, wants them if it goes public, for instance, it will likely prevail; then others will. If a line is being drawn, it is not by regulators, but index-providers. Standard & Poor’s and FTSE Russell both said in July they would restrict firms with multiple share classes from their benchmark indices; MSCI is weighing a similar move. So future offerings may be defined not by exchanges or regulators, but by entities that merely describe collections of firms. Until then, shares of common stock, to use a precise though rarely used term, may have less and less in common. "Social classes"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729813-multiple-class-share-structures-are-controversial-are-probably-here-stay-facebook-and?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'4de1ae92b410b2315479582e34c09f845abce3c9'|'Uber''s Kalanick says he appoints former Xerox, Merrill bosses to board'|'SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc co-founder Travis Kalanick on Friday said that he had appointed two new board members, challenging Uber shareholders who have asked a court to stop the former chief executive from naming directors.Kalanick in a statement said that he had appointed former Xerox Chief Executive Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch Chief Executive John Thain as directors in the face of proposals to dramatically restructure the board. (Reporting By Liana B. Baker; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uber-board/ubers-kalanick-says-he-appoints-former-xerox-merrill-bosses-to-board-idUSL2N1MB009'|'2017-09-30T03:21:00.000+03:00'
'd2b69202a049667e53cd8f65258ad06d09681199'|'EU declines to rank rival bids for agencies leaving Britain over Brexit'|'September 30, 2017 / 11:53 AM / in 7 hours EU declines to rank rival bids for agencies leaving Britain over Brexit Reuters Staff 3 Min Read President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker listens at a news conference during the European Union Tallinn Digital Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has shied away from ranking which cities should host Europe’s drugs regulator and banking authority after Brexit, saying the decision is up to the 27 member states which will remain. The EU executive said its assessment, published on Saturday, was wholly based on the information provided by governments in their bidding war to host the two agencies, which will be forced to relocate from Britain when it leaves the bloc. “It (the assessment) respects the member states’ decision that the criteria should be unweighted and does not provide a ranking or shortlist of any kind,” the Commission said in a statement. Nineteen member states have bid to host the European Medical Agency (EMA) and eight want the European Banking Authority (EBA). The final say on where to move the agencies rests with EU leaders who will try to reach a deal at their next summit in three weeks’ time, with a final decisions a month later. Candidate cities will be appraised based on their ability to have an office ready in time, their accessibility, the quality of schools, healthcare and jobs for the families of staff, and how disruptive the move would be. In their eagerness to host the agencies, some governments have offered tax breaks or rent-free headquarters for the EU institutions - a big break for the bloc’s budget. However, the EU’s need to ensure business continuity could clash with another EU ambition - spreading the bloc’s agencies more evenly across Europe and giving newer, eastern member states a chance to catch up. The EMA on Tuesday warned that it could lose more than 70 percent of its staff, making it unable to function, if politicians pick an unpopular base for the London-based agency once Britain leaves the European Union. Amsterdam, Barcelona or Vienna were the top three choices of staff, according to a survey of around 900 of its workers. The Netherlands, Spain and Austria all already host one or more EU agencies. The EMA has said it would take at least three years to recover fully from the disruption to its operations. It sees retaining staff as key to maintaining essential services such as new drug approval and monitoring side effects. (This version of the story corrects paragraph 10 to show that all three countries, not cities, host EU agencies) Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Andrew Bolton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-ema/eu-declines-to-rank-rival-bids-for-agencies-leaving-britain-over-brexit-idUSKCN1C50DB'|'2017-09-30T14:51:00.000+03:00'
'ec9812a943ddb0b357a1daa662d28f8614e3d97b'|'China''s factories grow at fastest pace in over five years as prices surge'|'  2:07 AM / in 2 hours China''s factories grow at fastest pace in over five years as prices surge Elias Glenn 6 Min Read A factory floor of XCMG Group is seen in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China August 14, 2015. REUTERS/Brenda Goh BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s manufacturing activity grew at the fastest pace since 2012 in September as factories cranked up output to take advantage of strong demand and high prices, easing worries of a slowdown before a key political meeting next month. Production, total new orders and output prices all improved to the highest level in at least a year, while a pick-up in a reading for the construction sector indicated a building boom is undiminished. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Saturday rose to 52.4 in September, from 51.7 in August and well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. It marked the 14th straight month of expansion for China’s massive manufacturing industry and the highest reading since April 2012. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the reading would ease slightly. The data comes ahead of the Communist Party Congress in mid-October, a once-every-five-years meeting where new leaders are appointed and the government’s key political and economic initiatives are laid out, though details are usually not announced until much later. China’s manufacturers are reporting their best profits in years, fueled by government-led infrastructure spending, a strong housing market, higher factory-gate prices and a recovery in exports. “Over the short term, we believe the resilient demand growth and disciplined balance sheet expansion ... will point to further improvement in manufacturing profitability and investment returns,” analysts at China International Capital Corporation said in a note after the data. But cost pressures from high raw materials prices and continued underperformance of smaller firms mean some manufacturers are still struggling. “Mid- and downstream industries are worried about a further increase in cost pressures,” National Bureau of Statistics official Zhao Qinghe wrote in comments published with the data. INPUT PRICES CLIMB The latest survey showed input prices continued to rise at a solid clip, with the reading at 68.4 compared with 65.3 in August, benefiting upstream producers such as miners, smelters and oil refiners. Indexes for raw materials prices in the paper, wood processing and furniture, and chemical products manufacturing industries were all above 75.0, said Zhao, indicating large price increases. Output prices also rose but at a slower pace, pointing to lower profit margins for companies further along the supply chain who are unable to pass on all of the price increases to their customers. A separate PMI on the steel industry fell to 53.7 in September from 57.2 in August but remained in solid expansion territory, as the industry faces production restrictions aimed at reducing choking air pollution over the winter. Analysts at China Merchants Securities said stricter production limits related to efforts to improve air quality and supply-side adjustments from capacity cuts had helped to improve the supply-demand balance, with new orders rising faster than production in September for the first time since 2012. For the manufacturing sector overall, inventories of raw materials and finished goods continued to decline in September, providing little indication that factories were stocking up in preparation for winter production cuts. Big firms saw the strongest improvement in September, with a large firms sub-index rising to 53.8, while one for small firms improved slightly but was still in contraction territory at 49.4. China’s cabinet on Wednesday said that China will take a number of measures, including tax exemptions and targeted reserve requirement ratio cuts, to encourage banks to support small businesses. The impressive performance for China’s manufacturers comes despite a government push to shutter outdated industrial capacity and clean up polluting industries, though some analysts say official claims of massive capacity cuts are misleading as overall production is still rising. Chinese authorities are also in the midst of a campaign to reduce the risks from a rapid build-up in debt produced by years of credit-fuelled stimulus, and the continued strength of the industrial sector could give policymakers confidence to stick to the push for deleveraging. PRIVATE SURVEY SHOWS SLOWER GROWTH A separate private survey may temper some of the enthusiasm, as it showed growth slowed in September amid high pricing pressure and slower new order growth. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 51.0 in September, compared with 51.6 in August, as new export order growth slipped. So far, the regulatory clampdown has focused on the financial sector, particularly interbank and shadow banking activity, and the pass-through to the real economy appears to be limited. But S&P last week downgraded China’s sovereign credit rating, saying the government’s deleveraging drive has progressed slower than expected, leading to higher economic and financial risks. An official survey on the services sector published Saturday rose at the fastest pace since 2014, though gains in that sector were also driven by higher input prices. A sub-reading for the construction sector rose to 61.1 in September from 58.0 in August. The official data showed firms in both the manufacturing and services sector continued to shed workers. Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-pmi-official/chinas-factories-grow-at-fastest-pace-in-over-five-years-as-prices-surge-idUKKCN1C5027'|'2017-09-30T09:12:00.000+03:00'
'8c1dcbb9bcbe20e3ccf7a3ffd453dd4eac3dd655'|'U.S. court strikes down Obama-era rule on tax inversions'|'  3:07 AM / in 18 hours U.S. court strikes down Obama-era rule on tax inversions Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A Wall St. sign is seen in New York''s financial district September 16, 2008. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal court in Texas on Friday ruled that the Obama administration acted unlawfully last year when its Treasury Department cracked down on U.S. companies that try to reduce their U.S. taxes by rebasing abroad, in a process known as inversion. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Association of Business had filed a lawsuit in Texas federal court that said a regulation from the Treasury Department in April 2016 exceeded what the law allows the department to do. They argued the Internal Revenue Service rule used was “arbitrary and capricious” because it was instated without notice and opportunity for comment in violation of standards required for rulemaking. The U.S. District Court for Western Texas in Austin agreed, saying the IRS rule was a substantive or legislative regulation that required a notice and comment period before it was instated. The U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Texas Association of Business could not be immediately reached for comment. The lawsuit was the first to challenge a rule on inversion. The deals are legal, but have drawn criticism from some politicians who say U.S. companies that do them are avoiding their tax obligations. A wave of inversions largely ended after Treasury moved against the deals. The IRS rule had been aimed at transactions involving non-U.S. companies, such as Ireland-based drugmaker Allergan Plc (AGN.N) that have grown through a series of acquisitions. It had helped scuttle what had been a planned $160 billion combination of Allergan and U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) in what would have been the largest inversion ever. Dozens of U.S. companies have done inversions since 1983, when the first such deal was completed. Treasury has periodically moved to curb the flow of deals because inversions erode the U.S. corporate income tax base. Treasury unveiled a package of rules in 2016 meant to further discourage the deals, which typically involve a U.S. multinational buying a smaller company in a foreign country with lower corporate taxes and then rebasing there, if only on paper. Inverting U.S. companies usually leave their core U.S. operations at home, transferring only their legal tax domicile to the home country of the acquired company. Recent popular destinations for the deals are Ireland, Britain and Canada. Reporting by Chris Sanders'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-tax/u-s-court-strikes-down-obama-era-rule-on-tax-inversions-idUKKCN1C503K'|'2017-09-30T06:06:00.000+03:00'
'e62230debc6fad4c6194a0da495cce7d72a1e81c'|'McDonald’s wages a food fight in India'|'IN MOST ways the McDonald’s outlet in Jangpura, a gentrifying neighbourhood in south Delhi, looks like one anywhere else, with bright displays, plastic seating and a familiar menu. But this week a disconcerting sign warns that “unpredictable” conditions have affected tomato supplies; none are available. Not bad though for a store that McDonald’s has been trying to close since September 6th. Over a third of its 400 or so outlets in India were supposed to shut their doors then—yet nearly all are still slinging McSpicy Paneers to customers.War rages between McDonald’s India and Vikram Bakshi of Connaught Place Restaurants Limited (CPRL), who first brought the American chain to India in 1996 as a local partner in a 50-50 joint venture, starting in Delhi (along with another franchisee, Hardcastle Restaurants, which went into the southern and western states). Over the next two decades, Mr Bakshi expanded in the north and east. In 2008 McDonald’s tried to buy out Mr Bakshi’s share for $7m, but he had evidence from an accounting firm that his stake was worth $331m. From his upstairs office in a residential colony near the Jangpura store, Mr Bakshi has been giving hell to the world’s biggest restaurant chain. In 2013 McDonald’s had him ousted as CPRL’s managing director. He sued to be reinstated, then sued to have his stake revalued, and again to keep control of 169 branches without interference from the mother ship.When McDonald’s tried to take him to the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in December 2013, he complained of “oppression and mismanagement” to an Indian national tribunal and won a reprieve; only in 2016 did another Indian court allow the chain’s case to proceed to the LCIA. Mr Bakshi is now trying his luck with an appeal to yet another court, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. The battle illustrates multinationals’ worst fears about India, from the instability built into the joint-venture model to the ease of stymieing legal judgments.The prospects for McDonald’s in India look appealing, thanks to expanding middle classes. But Mr Bakshi’s chain all but ceased growing since he crossed swords with the golden arches. He shows no signs of giving up. Now his hope is that the appellate tribunal will find in his favour on the LCIA case after a hearing due on October 25th.Meanwhile, McDonald’s seems to be taking matters into its own hands and squeezing Mr Bakshi’s suppliers. Jangpura’s ketchup comes from Cremica Food Industries in Punjab. Cremica stopped shipping to CPRL in August (it will not say why). Over the approaching holiday weekend of Dussehra, a Hindu festival, the restaurants should see their heaviest footfall of the year. McDonald’s worst fear must be that Mr Bakshi will find a way to carry on for months or years using its brand. But no tomato, then no ketchup. These are formidable weapons. "Not lovin’ it"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21729783-vikram-bakshi-keeps-foiling-mcdonalds-indias-courts-mcdonalds-wages-food-fight-india?fsrc=rss'|'2017-09-30T08:00:00.000+03:00'
'22db42a682058ed171ce3c1821088dde40f4d58f'|'Equifax committee to review executive share sales'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets Other Subscription options:'|'ft.com'|'http://rss.ft.com/rss/companies/banks'|'https://www.ft.com/content/e102a826-a53c-11e7-9e4f-7f5e6a7c98a2'|'2017-09-29T23:59:00.000+03:00'
'86df3f47c9b3aaa9bce2d7004d4599ff853caa80'|'Convenience retailer Nisa''s CEO leaves during takeover talks'|'  1:05 PM / in 8 hours UK convenience retailer Nisa''s CEO leaves during takeover talks Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Nisa Retail said on Saturday its chief executive had left the convenience retailer, which is in talks with the Co-operative Group ( 42TE.L ) to be taken over. Nisa, which is owned by its independent retail members, said Nick Read had left with immediate effect but did not give a reason. Read had held the role since December 2014. A source close to the negotiations with the Co-op said Read’s sudden departure “was not expected to impact the deal and exclusive talks are ongoing.” Last month Britain’s second largest supermarket group Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ) suspended bid talks with Nisa, saying it needed a clearer idea of whether the competition regulator will approve takeovers in the fast-growing convenience sector. That opened the door for the Co-op. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is probing Tesco’s ( TSCO.L ) proposed 3.7 billion pound ($4.96 billion) takeover of Booker ( BOK.L ), a wholesaler which supplies the convenience sector. ($1 = 0.7465 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-nisa-moves/uk-convenience-retailer-nisas-ceo-leaves-during-takeover-talks-idUKKCN1C50FG'|'2017-09-30T15:50:00.000+03:00'
'7ec2295575daf643815b9b62338b0a87c1ce0e1f'|'U.S. fines HSBC $175 million for lax forex trading oversight'|'Juncker warns UK on progress of Brexit talks Juncker warns UK on progress of Brexit talks Juncker warns UK on progress of Brexit talks Reuters TV United States   3:16 PM / Updated an hour ago U.S. fines HSBC $175 million for lax forex trading oversight Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A branch of HSBC Bank is pictured in Cairo, Egypt July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany   The U.S. Federal Reserve fined HSBC Holdings PLC ( HSBA.L ) $175 million on Friday for “unsafe and unsound practices” in its foreign exchange trading business, the latest in a series of fines for banks that fail to prevent market manipulation. HSBC failed to monitor chat rooms where traders swapped information about investment positions, the U.S. central bank said, echoing findings by other regulators investigating the $5 trillion-a-day foreign exchange or FX market. “The board levied the fine for deficiencies in HSBC’s oversight of and internal controls over FX traders,” the Fed said in a statement. The fine follows others of more than $4.3 billion levied by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority on six banks including HSBC in November 2014. “We are pleased to have resolved this matter related to practices in the FX market from 2008-2013,” said company spokesman Rob Sherman. Authorities accused HSBC dealers of sharing confidential information about client orders and coordinating trades to boost their own profits. The foreign exchange benchmark they allegedly manipulated is used by asset managers and corporate treasurers to value their holdings. The Fed’s enforcement action also requires HSBC to improve its controls and compliance risk management concerning the firm’s FX trading, the Fed said. Reporting by Patrick Rucker; additional reporting by Lawrence White in London; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Tom Brown'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-fed-fine/federal-reserve-says-fined-hsbc-175-million-for-unsafe-forex-trades-idUKKCN1C4283'|'2017-09-30T00:37:00.000+03:00'
'ddbb072de7536e1b80f52104a6b6d712043f2e9c'|'China''s factories grow at fastest pace in over five years as prices surge'|'September 30, 2017 / 1:49 AM / in 5 minutes China''s factories grow at fastest pace in over five years as prices surge Reuters Staff 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker jokes and beckons at her colleague as she rolls away carts of unused tools between rows of spinning machine at a factory owned by Hong Kong''s Novetex Textiles Limited in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, China December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Venus Wu/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s manufacturing activity grew at the fastest pace since 2012 as factories cranked up output to take advantage of strong demand and high prices fuelled by a building boom, easing worries of a slowdown before a key political meeting next month. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Saturday rose to 52.4 in September, from 51.7 in August and well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. It marked the 14th straight month of expansion for China’s massive manufacturing industry and the highest reading since April 2012, when it was 53.3. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the reading would come in at 51.5, easing marginally from August. Production, total new orders and output prices all improved to the highest level in at least a year. China’s manufacturers are reporting their best profits in years, fuelled by government-led infrastructure spending, a strong housing market, higher factory-gate prices and a recovery in exports. The data comes ahead of the Communist Party Congress in mid-October, a once-every-five-years meeting where new leaders are appointed and the government’s key political and economic initiatives are laid out, though details are usually not announced until much later. The latest survey showed input prices continued to rise at a solid clip, with the reading at 68.4 compared with 65.3 in August, benefitting upstream producers such as miners, smelters and oil refiners. Output prices also rose but at a slower pace, indicating profit margins might be squeezed for companies further along the supply chain who are unable to pass on all of the price increases to their customers. Steel mills, in particular, continue to run at full tilt to cash in on fat profit margins and build up inventories ahead of expected government curbs on production to reduce choking air pollution over winter. But worries about a sharp drop in demand in coming months have seen China iron ore futures plunge more than 20 percent since August, though steel prices have continued to rise. The impressive performance for China’s manufacturers comes despite a government push to shutter outdated industrial capacity and clean up polluting industries, though some analysts say official claims of massive capacity cuts are misleading as overall production is still rising. Chinese authorities are also in the midst of a campaign to reduce the risks from a rapid build-up in debt produced by years of credit-fuelled stimulus. So far, the regulatory clampdown has focussed on the financial sector, particularly interbank and shadow banking activity, and the pass-through to the real economy appears to be limited. But S&P last week downgraded China’s sovereign credit rating, saying the government’s deleveraging drive has progressed slower than expected, leading to higher economic and financial risks. China’s economy grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first half of 2017, and looks set to easily meet the government’s full-year target of around 6.5 percent. Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-pmi-factory-caixin/china-factory-expansion-slows-in-september-as-export-orders-soften-caixin-pmi-idUKKCN1C501T'|'2017-09-30T04:52:00.000+03:00'
'807ea13421ea56646f0fd7b28db23f79074e41c3'|'Renewable energy investors see opportunity in Puerto Rico''s demolished grid'|'  11:20 AM / in 22 minutes Renewable energy investors see opportunity in Puerto Rico''s demolished grid Valerie Volcovici , Nichola Groom 5 Min Read WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s antiquated and bankrupt electrical system, leaving millions in the dark and utility crews scrambling to help. Now some politicians and renewable energy investors see a golden opportunity in the crisis to use federal funds to re-invent the U.S. territory’s grid as a storm-resistant network that relies less on costly coal and oil imports and more on local wind, solar, and batteries. If it happens, it could ease power bills on an island that struggles with the second-costliest electricity in the United States, behind Hawaii, as well as infrastructure prone to failing in the region’s frequent hurricanes. “We cannot waste the opportunity of this crisis and federal aid package,” said Ramon Luis Nieves, a Puerto Rican politician in the Popular Democratic Party, who headed the island’s senate energy committee until his term expired in January. “We need to focus on not only getting the grid back up, but improving it so it can tolerate more renewable energy.” A set of bills introduced this week by U.S. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon would call on the Department of Energy to make the U.S. electric grid hardier against natural disasters, and would offer grants for small scale, grid connected solar and other projects. A Wyden aide said Puerto Rico’s utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), could apply for such grants to modernize the grid, or get funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to rebuild and then apply for the grants to help pay for upgrades. Efforts to reach a PREPA official were not successful. That government support would be crucial. PREPA was $9 billion in debt before declaring bankruptcy in July. Its equipment was already “degraded and unsafe,” according to a draft fiscal report the company filed in April. Around half of Puerto Rico’s electricity is generated from imported fuel oil, with another third coming from natural gas, and much of the rest from coal, according to the Department of Energy. Renewables supply about 2.4 percent, though the island has set a goal to obtain 20 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2035. FUTURE GRID The prospect of a new grid in Puerto Rico has some renewable energy companies and investors interested. Jeff Ciachurski, CEO of Greenbriar Capital, a renewable energy investor in Puerto Rico, California and Arizona, said government support could open up new opportunities for the sector to take over market share. “The federal government is in the driver’s seat,” he said. Sunnova, a residential solar installer with 10,000 customers in Puerto Rico, said it was working with the governor to try to restore power off-grid in the short-term, but said the destruction also creates an opportunity to create a new, renewable-friendly grid. “Everybody can agree that what the future and the new power industry and system look like is not what was there before,” John Berger, Sunnova CEO, told Reuters. Tesla, meanwhile, is sending hundreds of batteries that can store power generated by solar panels to Puerto Rico to provide emergency help in the wake of Maria. A company spokesperson did not say what Tesla’s future plans were. On Friday, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said his team is looking at alternative ways to bring power back on the island, including by using microgrids, small power networks that can work independently of the main grid. Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator for Puerto Rico, said solar-powered microgrids, as well as buried power lines, could allow for a more rapid recovery after storms. Hurricane Maria left the entire island and its 3.4 million residents without power and destroyed 80 percent of its transmission and distribution infrastructure, according to the Department of Energy. The Army Corps of Engineers has been placed in charge of restoring power as quickly as possible, a key step to restoring other basic services like water, fuel, and food. Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom, Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Rosalba O''Brien'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-puertorico-grid/renewable-energy-investors-see-opportunity-in-puerto-ricos-demolished-grid-idUKKCN1C50C0'|'2017-09-30T14:21:00.000+03:00'
'959015af62400b2c8924a423e45f1393178347e7'|'Uber''s Kalanick reignites power struggle, names two to board'|'  12:26 AM / Updated 43 minutes ago Uber''s Kalanick rekindles power struggle, names two to board Paresh Dave 4 Min Read File photo: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick gestures as he delivers an address to employees and drivers marking the company''s five year anniversary in San Francisco, California June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] co-founder Travis Kalanick said he had appointed two new directors, a surprise move that publicly reignited a board battle over the role of the ousted former chief executive. Kalanick’s move on Friday sought to pre-empt a move by new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi to restructure the board and gain greater control, a person familiar with the co-founder’s decision said. Uber said in a statement on Friday the company was surprised by Kalanick’s action. Company investors are divided over whether Kalanick should remain on the board and whether he should be allowed to name two other directors. Benchmark Capital, which had pressured Kalanick to resign as CEO in the wake of several governance scandals, did not respond to a request for comment. Khosrowshahi is scrambling to portray Uber as a reformed company that is turning a page on concerns including sexual harassment claims and a U.S. bribery probe. Investors have described diluting Kalanick’s power as a necessary step on the path to making amends. Kalanick, still one of the largest shareholders, said in a statement he had appointed former Xerox Chief Executive Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch Chief Executive John Thain as directors. “I am appointing these seats now in light of a recent board proposal to dramatically restructure the board and significantly alter the company’s voting rights. It is therefore essential that the full board be in place for proper deliberation to occur, especially with such experienced board members as Ursula and John,” he said. He did not specify the proposals he opposed. File photo: Ursula Burns attends an interview at The Times Center in New York on April 13, 2013. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz Uber had nine directors before Kalanick’s Friday appointments. The person familiar with the matter said that Kalanick acted after Khosrowshahi had outlined a plan to directors, which is scheduled to be voted on October 3, that would give him control of four board seats in addition to his own on a panel that now has 11 directors. Khosrowshahi’s plan calls for transferring one of the two Kalanick-controlled positions to SoftBank Group Corp( 9984.T ), which is considering an investment in Uber, the source said. Khosrowshahi effectively could put a person of his choosing in the other seat, as well as three other existing ones, according to the source. A third of directors also would be elected each year under the plan. Uber did not respond on Saturday to a request to comment about the Khosrowshahi plan. But the company said earlier in a statement that Kalanick’s appointments were a “complete surprise” to Uber and its board. “That is precisely why we are working to put in place world-class governance to ensure that we are building a company every employee and shareholder can be proud of,” the statement said. Yucaipa Companies managing partner Ron Burkle, an investor who has supported Kalanick, praised Burns and Thain as “smart, high-quality people.” Division among Uber investors exploded in public in August, when Benchmark Capital filed a lawsuit to force Kalanick off the board and rescind his ability to fill two other seats on the panel, accusing him of concealing a range of misdeeds. Yucaipa and other Uber investors defended Kalanick and asked Benchmark to divest its own shares and step down from the board. A Delaware judge later that month stayed the Benchmark lawsuit and sent it to arbitration, pushing the dispute out of public view and delivering Kalanick a victory. Kalanick’s action on Friday could be subject to a new legal challenge. Benchmark or other Uber investors could attempt to block the appointments by asking the Delaware judge to issue a so-called “status-quo order.” The judge last month did not grant such a request. Kalanick’s lawyer at the time told the court that Kalanick had not rushed to fill the seats. The New York Times also quoted Kalanick’s lawyer as telling the court Kalanick had the power to fill the seats under the pre-arbitration “status quo.” Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Paresh Dave; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by David Gregorio and Lisa Shumaker'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-board/ubers-kalanick-says-he-appoints-former-xerox-merrill-bosses-to-board-idUKKCN1C500L'|'2017-09-30T05:00:00.000+03:00'
'2af0fd1fe3fef3c80ab2b076fc07a472fa14d868'|'Monarch Airlines'' package holiday arm could face administration - Sky News report'|'  4:52 PM / in 4 hours Monarch Airlines'' package holiday arm could face administration - Sky News report Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The package holiday arm of Britain’s Monarch Airlines is likely to be placed into administration within days if the regulator does not grant the business an extension to its tour operator’s licence, Sky News reported on Saturday. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) must decide by Sunday whether to extend the travel business’s Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL). Citing unnamed sources Sky News said KPMG has been lined up to act as the administrator if an extension is not granted. Asked by Reuters to comment on the Sky News report, Monarch said: ”We continue to work on plans to determine our optimal future shape, size and strategy. Our flights are operating as normal, carrying Monarch customers as scheduled. “Our ATOL licence – for packaged holidays – is with the regulator.” The ATOL only covers about 5 percent of Monarch’s total business. Flight only bookings, the main part of its business, do not require an ATOL. The CAA said the ATOL renewal process was on-going and it would conclude the processing of applications from about 1,300 ATOL holders in the next 24 hours. It said that in certain circumstances this could require a temporary extension to complete this process. ”We will not comment on the specifics of any ATOL holder’s application until such time as the process has reached a resolution. “However, we can confirm that ATOL protection will remain available for eligible holiday bookings made with Monarch on Sunday.” The CAA said it would provide a daily update with regard to the protection that is available to Monarch’s customers. KPMG could not be immediately reached for comment. On Thursday Monarch, which is grappling with competition from low-cost rivals, said it was talking to potential partners after a report that parts of its short-haul network would be sold. Tough competition in the airlines sector is putting pressure on the weaker carriers and driving consolidation. Air Berlin and Alitalia have both filed for insolvency this year and are seeking new investors for parts of their business. A year ago, Monarch secured a 165 million pound lifeline from majority shareholder Greybull Capital. Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Andrew Bolton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-monarch-airlines-licence/monarch-airlines-package-holiday-arm-could-face-administration-sky-news-report-idUKKCN1C50MP'|'2017-09-30T19:53:00.000+03:00'
'834a10ff29ab4665e045f22faa87f6edc737a341'|'Trump met former Fed Governor Warsh over potential Fed chair nomination'|'  9:22 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Trump interviews four for Fed chair job, to decide in 2-3 weeks Steve Holland 3 Min Read   U.S. President Donald Trump is ramping up his search for a new chief for the U.S. central bank, meeting with former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and three others and promising a decision next month. “I’ve had four meetings for Fed chairman and I’ll be making a decision over the next two or three weeks,” Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn. Trump has previously suggested he may reappoint Fed Chair Janet Yellen to the post. Jerome Powell, one of the current governors on the Fed’s board, also met with Trump earlier this week about the Fed job, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Trump on Friday did not provide details on his meetings. A new Fed chair would take the helm as the central bank eases well away from crisis-era policies in response to a strengthening economy and falling unemployment, though inflation still lingers below the Fed’s 2-percent goal. Under Yellen, the Fed has raised interest rates and launched a plan to shrink its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. Much of the latter was accumulated through a controversial bond-buying program that Yellen said helped the economy avert an even deeper downturn. Her term as chair expires in February. Warsh was a Fed governor between 2006 and 2011 and resigned from the board because of his opposition to the bond-buying program. He has called for a revamp of how the Fed makes monetary policy, saying it needs “fresh air” from markets and from the “real economy.” FILE PHOTO: A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Treasury yields spurted higher on news of the Trump meetings; Warsh is viewed as more of a hawk than Yellen. ”He’s definitely more hawkish on the spectrum. He is quite a contrast to Yellen. It does seem he is the front-runner even though it’s not a sure thing he will be nominated,” Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rates strategist at TD Securities in New York, said of Warsh. As recently as July, Trump had not ruled out reappointing Yellen, telling the Wall Street Journal that he liked her demeanor and desire to keep interest rates low. In addition to Warsh and Powell, Stanford University economist John Taylor’s name also has been floated as a contender. Powell specialised in financial regulatory matters during his five years on the Fed Board of Governors, which is led by the Fed chair. There has also been speculation that Trump could turn to his top economic aide, Gary Cohn, for the Fed chair position. A Fed spokesman declined to comment on the process while Warsh and Taylor did not respond to requests for comment. Reporting By Steve Holland in Washington and Jennifer Ablan and Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Chizu Nomiyama'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-chair/trump-met-former-fed-governor-warsh-over-potential-fed-chair-nomination-idUKKCN1C431E'|'2017-09-30T00:22:00.000+03:00'
'1dae1d6feab86035d081bb67a7cddf2990f98cea'|'Spend £1.60 for 35% off Harry Potter books? When share perks are fun …'|'Shares Spend £1.60 for 35% off Harry Potter books? When share perks are fun … Buying just one share of some brands could give you hefty discounts on purchases from books and toys to clothes and pub meals For just one share you can get money off Bloomsbury books, including the Harry Potter series. Photograph: China Photos/Getty Images Shares Spend £1.60 for 35% off Harry Potter books? When share perks are fun … Buying just one share of some brands could give you hefty discounts on purchases from books and toys to clothes and pub meals View more sharing options Saturday 30 September 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Saturday 30 September 2017 07.53 BST L ots of us love sniffing out a bargain and rooting around online for discount codes and money-off vouchers. However, some household-name companies reserve their biggest and best discounts for shareholders – and in some cases you can access these deals by buying just one share, which might cost as little as a pound or two. For example, owning a single share in Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing entitles you to a discount of 35% on the company’s books. One share currently costs around £1.60, so if you are a voracious reader or have just been given a long reading list of pricey academic books for your course, that could be a good perk. Meanwhile, if you live near a Mitchells & Butlers pub or restaurant – its brands include All Bar One, Harvester, O’Neill’s and Browns – did you know it offers shareholders an annual book of 12 discount vouchers, each worth 20% off the total bill, which can be used for up to 10 people? The minimum shareholding is one share, which would this week cost you around £2.50. Similarly, Moss Bros (current share price around 95p) offers shareholders an annual 20% discount, while Marks & Spencer (share price around £3.50) provides annual money-off vouchers. Shareholder gifts can give investors substantial discounts, with possible savings of tens, hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Stock market experts say that generally you should not invest in a company purely for the perks, but there are arguably some exceptions. This could also act as a way of introducing people to the world of investing, according to stockbroker The Share Centre, which reckons students heading to university are one group that could potentially benefit. “[This] could help students get into the habit of saving and investing, as well as providing help with the costs of student life,” says Richard Stone, the firm’s chief executive. He adds that parents and grandparents, some of whom may already be familiar with stock market investing, might want to consider giving a portfolio with some of these shares to the student in their family “as a parting gift”. Companies do it in an attempt to encourage greater loyalty from customers and more business as a consequence With some companies, however, a minimum holding of shares is required before you can unlock the perks. For example, clothes retailer Next offers shareholders a 25% discount off purchases, but only to people holding 100 shares or more. Based on this week’s share price, this would cost more than £5,000. Stone says it would be good to see more firms either giving shareholder perks or lowering the threshold of shares required. Of course, the shareholder discount won’t always be the cheapest option for buying a particular item or service, and in some cases there may be deals available to everyone that are just as good, if not better. And the costs of buying shares and holding them have to be factored in, though new entrants are shaking up this market – a new share-dealing service went live in June that is offering investors the chance to buy and sell for free (see box). If you hold your shares in a nominee account via a stockbroker you will usually be eligible for the perks (there are a few exceptions), but you may have to actively claim them. Pulling a pint at a Mitchells & Butlers pub, where you can save money. Photograph: Mitchells & Butlers “This is not a one-way street, and the companies involved do it in an attempt to encourage greater loyalty from customers and more business as a consequence,” says Stone. “It also gives a greater sense of overlap between the interests of shareholders and customers, which should help improve corporate governance and management.” Here are some of the companies offering shareholder perks that don’t require a big outlay: Aviva Offers available to all shareholders include discounts on home, motor, travel and protection insurance. Bloomsbury Publishing Any investor with one or more shares can enjoy a discount of 35% off the recommended retail price on all books (print only) published by the company when they shop on its website. You fill in a short form and are sent a discount code. Bloomsbury publishes academic and professional books. Character Group This could be a good one in the run-up to Christmas: Character Group, the Aim-listed toy maker whose brands range from Peppa Pig and Fireman Sam to Marvel and Doctor Who, offers all shareholders a 20% discount on items bought via its retail website. Shareholders are given a promotional code. Legal & General The insurance firm gives all shareholders a range of discounts and special terms. Current offers include 25% off life insurance and landlord cover, and 15% off home and travel insurance. Marks & Spencer The retailer sends a booklet of vouchers to its shareholders each year and there is no minimum shareholding requirement. The offer consists of one 10% off voucher, one M&S Cafe voucher and a selection of Spend & Save vouchers. M&S shareholders get books of vouchers. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Mitchells & Butlers All shareholders receive a booklet with 12 discount vouchers each year, “irrespective of their shareholding size”. Each voucher gives 20% off the total bill when buying a main meal in its pubs and restaurants. There are 1,700 of them – other brands include Nicholson’s, Miller & Carter and Toby Carvery. The vouchers are valid every day except Christmas Day and for up to 10 people. Moss Bros Each April it posts a 20%-off voucher to shareholders. This is valid for one transaction on full-price items in store. Pittards The luxury leather goods firm offers a 20% discount for all shareholders on full-price items (bags, gloves, purses etc) sold via its website. Renishaw Shareholders are entitled to discounts on package holidays booked through its travel agent arm, Wotton Travel. “The discounts vary and depend on the price we get for your chosen holiday,” it says. Trading for free Buying and selling shares can often involve paying chunky commission and administration fees, but the digital revolution has pushed costs down. And in June this year, the UK’s first free share-trading service launched. This app-based service, Trading 212 , charges no commission for up to 10 trades a month, provided each is for no more than £10,000, and there are no admin fees for having an account. Trading 212 is using a “freemium” model, where many people get the service for free, but larger traders pay commission. It offers access to around 1,400 UK, US and German equities, and the minimum trade is one share. It says users have “full regulatory protection” as its parent, Avus Capital UK, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Other low-cost players include Degiro, which charges £1.75 plus 0.004% for trades in UK shares. Richard Stone at The Share Centre says it is important that investors choose a broker/platform that offers “shareholder rights” – ie, passes on the benefits to customers. “Not all brokers pass on the perks,” he adds. That said, you can sometimes apply directly to the company in which you own shares for your benefits. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/30/share-perks-one-share-hefty-discounts-harry-potter-marks-spencer-pub-meals'|'2017-09-30T09:00:00.000+03:00'
'e1a3ff4d3cc8c09bd58d453dac1bf4aadb40f94f'|'UPDATE 1-Air France flight with engine damage makes emergency landing in Canada'|'Sept 30 (Reuters) - An Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles made an emergency landing in eastern Canada on Saturday after one of its four engines sustained “serious damage” over the Atlantic, the airline said.Air France Flight 66, originating at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, landed at Goose Bay in Labrador at 1542 GMT, the airline said, and no one was hurt in the incident.“The regularly trained pilots and cabin crew handled this serious incident perfectly,” the airline said in a statement.The aircraft involved in the incident was an Airbus 380 that was about seven years old, according to airfleets.net, an aircraft database. The engine was made by Engine Alliance, a joint venture between General Electric Co and United Technologies Corp’s Pratt & Whitney unit.The forced landing in Canada’s easternmost province is reminiscent of an incident seven years ago in which one of the Rolls Royce engines on a Qantas A380 suffered mid-engine damage after taking off in Singapore. The November 2010 incident prompted the grounding of the entire Qantas A380 fleet -- six A380s at the time -- for over three weeks.Photographs taken by passengers aboard the Air France flight circulated on the internet soon after the aircraft landed. The images appeared to show that the inlet, or front part, of the engine had torn off, but the main part of the engine was intact. Rick Engebretsen, one of the passengers, wrote a Twitter message saying he had heard a loud thud and felt vibration while in the air. It was not immediately clear how the engine became damaged. Airbus was not immediately available for comment. Engine Alliance said in a statement that it was looking into “reports of an issue” involving one of its engines.Officials with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday. The airline said it was making arrangements to send the plane’s passengers to their destination of Los Angeles.Aircraft on trans-Atlantic flights commonly use Goose Bay Airport in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador for emergency fueling stops. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan in Berlin and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/air-france-canada/update-1-air-france-flight-with-engine-damage-makes-emergency-landing-in-canada-idINL2N1MB0EO'|'2017-09-30T17:41:00.000+03:00'